Just a story of a Guitar Smashing, "Bong" Crushing pony.
This is an epic tale of a western hero who lives in Appleloosa. After receiving the title of a hero, she gets involved with a very troubling group of high classed cider smugglers. When she finds out her best friend was captured, she sets out on a journey in hopes to save her best friend.
Will she find her best friend?
Authors Note: For those who have read Wildwood Flower: The Guitar Smashing Pony I told them I would remake the story into an epic. And I did. Also this story is in progress will release when ready, this story will be completed.
Some stories will be very dark in some parts. I rated it as teen for now, but don't know to what depths of darkness I will bring this story through, so the rating may change.
It was a normal evening in Appleloosa. Everypony went about their usual ways. Some ponies were bucking apples in the orchard, while others worked in town at the bars and banks. The little fillies and colts played tag enjoying themselves. Nothing unusual was going on.
Cornflower sat on the wooden stairs of a bar, looking out at the little ponies having fun. She glanced down at her hooves, and then out at the little ponies having fun. Watching the little ponies playing tag reminded her of when she was a little filly. Her face cracked into a broad smile.
Her memories came to halt when the little fillies and colts ran away. She looked up at the end of the long desert road. Cornflower was in shock, along with everypony else in town.
“D-d-did they really R-return?” Cornflower’s pupils shrunk, and a drop of sweat flowed down her cheek. She froze and shivered along with the rest of the villagers when they saw him…
The shadow crept closer, expanding as he drew near the villagers, silence filling the air. His shoes clanked with every step he took. He swung his two hatchets one after the other, passing his tongue along his sharp teeth.
“Where’s the sheriff?” The crocodile sported an evil grin, causing the villagers run into their homes screaming “It’s him! They’ve returned!” They slammed their doors shut behind them as they cowered into their homes.
“The C-C-Cider Gang... has returned?” She grimaced at the memory of them.
“It can’t be true… Is he even one of them?” Cornflower stood on her hooves. She gasped upon seeing the symbol of a jug of apple cider and an axe below it on the sleeves of his black coat.
“I guess that only leaves you.” The crocodile raised his dark cowboy hat away from his eyes, glaring straight to the cowering figure below him. “You know where the sheriff is?”
Cornflower stiffened when she looked up to his purple, sinister, reptilian eyes. She tried to turn, only to be met by a hatchet, digging deep into the wooden stairs. She looked back the crocodile, who was slowly approaching.
“Oh little filly, did you know that no one escapes the hatchets of Mr. Croc?”
Cornflower stared at Mr. Croc as he drew closer. Her body was shaking uncontrollably. He continued flipping his hatchet. He then stopped, standing over the mare. He raised his hatchet high in the air, poised to strike at his helpless victim. The world around her seemed to be paralyzed with fear at the replitain goliath towered over her. Cornflower’s ears flopped down as she watched her years flash before her very eyes.
“Wait!”
Sheriff Silverstar stood behind him, his pupils twitching. “I’m here. What do y’want?”
Mr. Croc brought down his arm and turned towards him.
“Heh heh, it took ya long enough.” Mr. Croc moved up to Silverstar and took away his hat, tossing it to the ground. He grinned as he leaned into the sheriff.
“Where’s the cider?”
“We haven’t got much to g-g-give you,” Silverstar responded as sweat flowed down from his head. Mr. Croc smiled and backed away upon hearing that response.
“You see, we travel here to get our cider barrels, and we travel a long way to get this stuff. I’m sure you didn’t forget what happened twenty years ago. Your father, Goldstar, didn’t receive a pleasant death for not having the cider when we came for it,” Mr. Croc stretched his claws out on either side, almost as if he was shrugging.
“Unless you wanna to die like your father did. I suggest you get us those barrels that I’ve came for.”
Silverstar looked at the ground. His ears came down, and his body was shaking uncontrollably.
“Well, what r’ ya standin around there for? Get to it,” Mr.Croc raised his hatchet in the air as an evil grinned formed on his face.
Silverstar took a step back, but was too afraid to move any further.
“Shucks, looks like another sheriff wants to be made an example of. Now that’s just a crying-”
KA- BONG!
In a flash, Mr. Croc fell forward and flat on his face. When the smoke had cleared, he remained still on the ground with the hatchet in his claws. Silverstar looked over at the mare that stood on her hind hooves behind him with the broken guitar.
“Wh-wh-who are you?” Silverstar took a step back still shivering every few moments.
The mare came forward onto her front hooves and kicked the broken guitar behind. She plucked up her at and smiled.
“The name’s Wildwood,” she said in her sweet southern voice.
The ponies roared great cheers upon the defeat of Mr.Croc. Within a week the news had spread through of the four corners of Equestria of the “New Hero of the West”. Wildwood was known amongst the land as the new hero.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Manehattan, in a dark room within an abandoned facility, a bear gives Leader Algutzo a letter.
“Here’s the latest intel we have of what happened to Croc, boss,” the bear placed the newspaper onto the desk. He picked it up, used his magic and turned a few pages.
“Who is this ‘hero’ they speak of?” Algutzo glared at the bear.
“They call her “Wild Wood”. A mare they say that can move a guitar so fast and skilled, unlike what any equine has ever seen before. Most say that she’s a force to be reckoned with.”
“Hmm… Wild Wood, a force to be reckoned with, eh?” Algutzo brings his hooves together. He then takes a deep breath.
“Were there any other villains that survived her swings?”
“No sir, but a villain on his last breath said that all he heard was that phrase “Ka-Blow”. She also said that if any of us continue threatening her family and her kind, she’ll have us meeting our brethren in the stars.
“That is it. I’ve heard enough. I want all of you to go into Appleloosa and bring her back to me. She will severely pay for the interference of The Cider Gang,” Algutzo uses his magic and burns the newspaper leaving only the picture of the mare.
“Go. Now. We will just see how long ‘til she falls.”
“But what if we fail at capturing her boss?”
“Then take back whoever she holds most dear to her. She’ll have no choice but to come.”
And with that the bear turned and walked off into the door. Algutzo looked back down at the picture as the door closed shut.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cornflower was in her house going over her to do list. She wanted to make sure all of her duties were finished before leaving her house. All she had left was to wash the few dishes she had in her sink. She went to her kitchen and turned on the pipe over her dishes.
“Hmm, who would’ve thought that my best friend... would be the new hero?” She smiled and started scrubbing away at the first place she held up.
“Ooooh, so she your best friend huh?”
Cornflower froze upon hearing the voice. The plate dropped into the sink. She quickly turned around to find a mysterious draconequus sitting on of her kitchen stools. He then disappears then reappears in front of her.
“Looks like we already have who we need,” the draconequus said smiling down at her and had his bear paw and reptile hand on his dark wooden cane.
Cornflower frightened by the draconequus which towered over her.
"Now if you'll just be a kind dear and-"
Cornflower threw a plate up at his face which afterwards broke on contact. The draconequus quickly wrapped around her but before he began squeezing, she freed herself jumping into the air and grabbing an empty pot from off the table.
"Hmm, so want to do it the hard way eh?"
The draconequus threw the cane in which Cornflower dodged as she jumped into the air.He disappeared and reappeared behind her still in mid-air, smacking her into a wall.
She quickly got up and dodged two jabs which opened a few in holes in her kitchen. She quickly knocked his right knee and moved to the other side of the kitchen.
Breathing so deeply, her eyes focused well on the draconequus that started laughing on his back.
"What's so funny?"
He popped his left eye open and his smile so faded away as he rose to his hooves.
"Oh nothing, nothing... just didn't I would actually have to try to take you kind ponies as a hostage. It's not something you expect of a normal civilian," he stretched out his scaly hand before her and within a moment Cornflower was immediately blinded in her right eye. She passed her hoof under eye and the pain came sharp making it almost unbearable.
"Aaah! Why?! Aaaah! Wildwood!" Cornflower squirmed in pain on the floor. The draconequus snapped his fingers and within moments black chains wrapped around the mare.
"Well I guess not so hard... A little push is all it took," he said as he grabbed up his cane and slowly walked out of the house and closed the door while Cornflower still squirmed in pain.
Two grunts came to him.
"Hey boss, you alright?"
"Oh fine I am, just grab up the mare and take her back to the base. Our lord would be pleased with what we bring him," the draconequus walked on to meet the hero.
"Got it boss!" The two crocodile grunts kick the door in and ran inside.
The draconequus walked over to where his henchmen were being knocked around the town by the “Hero”. He magically disappeared and reappeared in front Wildwood as his henchmen spiraled backwards passed him.
“So, you must be what everyone in Equestria calls the hero eh?”
Wildwood leapt backwards and her ears perked up as she glared up at the tall draconequus.
“Didn’t mean to startle you there. I just didn’t want to yell all the way back from where I was. I mean one that would be rude and two, I just don’t feel like yelling to say something that could be said much easier when closer. But I figured you knew that, didn’t you?” the draconequus smiled cunningly keeping his focus on her eyes like an eagle to its prey.
“What ‘bout it? I’m no hero. I just keep creeps like you away from hurting my friends and family and stealing our cider. Now leave this town and don’t come back or I’ll make y’all go. Now get!” She threatened the draconequus with her guitar.
She started swinging away at his face, but the draconequus moved smoothly through all of her movements.
“You know by the speed at which you move this thing it’s pretty to believe Mr. Croc dying from a single blow. Especially come from behind and adding to the fact the he’s a crocodil-” the draconequus quickly dodged the last swing which was much faster than her other swings.
He somersaulted backwards landing perfectly on his hooves.
“My my,” he smiled. “If that last one connected, I would’ve been surely a goner.”
“Boss, she’s powerful. I think we should get outta here,” one of his henchmen said slowly rising from the ground.
“Yes… that would be best to do,” the draconequus kept his stare at the mare which then threw her guitar straight towards him.
He quickly dodged the attack only to catch a glimpse of her galloping to him with great speed and velocity. He got hoofed punched backwards into his henchmen without enough time to block her surprise attack. He went crashing into his henchmen.
He magically disappeared and reappeared standing in front of his henchmen. He wore on a slight frown as wiped away the blood that trickled down his nose.
“My, my I should’ve known better not to mess with the “Hero”. My fault this was indeed.”
“Now that’ll teach ya not to mess with me and my family,” Wildwood’s eyes narrowed down as she glared on at the tall draconequus with her hoofs curled up.
“Apparently it didn’t. Since we can’t get you, we’ll just be taking your little friend here,” the draconequus magically summoned Cornflower chained up with a bloody eye in his hold.
“Cornflower!”
The draconequus wore his clever smile. Wildwood looked into her best friend’s face as she shivered in pain and fear. Cornflower opened her left eyed and stared at Wildwood.
“Save me!” The draconequus punched Cornflower in her right eye and caused her to writhe in agony.
“Let go of my friend now!” Wildwood jumped forward and arched her position to give the draconequus a severe hoof punch. But just as she was about to lay out flat the draconequus, he and his henchmen magically disappeared.
“Oh no… Cornflower,” She dropped back on her haunches. The wind of the orange sky blew past her mane taking off her hat and sliding along the desert ground. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she looked out to the sunset.
“What have I done…”
---------------------------------------------
In a cell of the A.C.G. HQ, Cornflower was tied to the cold walls of the grey and dull cell. The draconequus stood in front of her with a large table of torcher devices perfectly placed about the white cloth.
Algutzo opened the door and walked in. He stopped in front of Cornflower and examined her swollen right eye.
“Oooh, looks like somepony here is quite hurt. Would like me to fix that?”
Cornflower remained silent. Algutzo wore small smirk and turned to the table behind him. His expression grew serious as he picked up a small knife which were slightly rusted as its edges.
“Okay, we are not gonna kill you, but we are going to ask you some questions. If you answer them, we won’t cause you much pain, and we will be sure to feed you two every...” Algutzo thought for a moment. “Eh, every two days how does that sound?”
Cornflower still remained silent.
“Okay, first question. How well do you take severe pain?”
She rose her head and met his eyes.
“Ah, now we have cooperation I see,” Algutzo smiled only to have it disappear on upon being spat at.
“Do your bucking worst you piece of cow dung. How dare you bastards take me from my home. You all will pay when Wildwood finds out this place,” Cornflower glared into the eyes of Algutzo.
“Glad you said when because it leaves me more than enough time to finish what I’m about to do to you, little missy,” he then used his magic and grabbed the hoof dusters from below the table and placed them below his front hooves then afterwards magically removed the spit from his cheek.
“Don’t worry your friend has quite the work cut out for her before she reaches me,” Algutzo knocked his hooves together. “Know I want you to clench your teeth and pray to Celestia that she comes sooner.”
Algutzo arched back landed his first left hoof into Cornflower’s right eye.
Wildflower sat alone on a wooden chair inside Cornflower's now torn down kitchen.
She gazed at the claws marks on the walls and looked back down at her hooves.
"What have I done? I let my only best friend be captured by some strangers I really know nothin' about."
Wildwood slid off from the chair, took up her guitar, which had been laid next to the damaged table, and exited out the house.
"Celestia knows where my friend could be.” Wildwood said. She observed the damaged wooden stairs. She slowly trotted down them.
When she got to the last wooden stair, she looked out at the orange evening skies. The image of her best friend having her eye bleeding out in the grip of the Draconequus made her angry.
Her eyes widened when she remembered looking into his eyes and began to shiver. Wildwood stomped her hoof trying to keep back tears of frustration but couldn’t.
Who are they? Where are they? Wildwood crumpled to the ground and just thought away. “I don’t know where to find ya, but I have to start today, now!” She rose up strong to her hooves and galloped off to the city.
She went through everypony ignoring their questions till she ran into Sheriff Silverstar.
“Sheriff, I need to talk to you."
Sheriff Silverstar turned from his assistants to her.
"I'm sorry for your loss, Ms. Flower. How can I help you?”
"I'm going to find her. Do y'know where they are?"
The two assistants and the sheriff himself gasped.
"You can't find her. She's in the cider gangs hands now. No possibility of getting her ba-"
"Yes. There. Is."
The Sheriff went silent looking into her eyes, which were burning with vengeance and rage.
"I am and I will get her back, you understand me?" Wildwood leaned in closer and the Sheriff fell back on his rump. "Tell me where they are, now.”
"They, umm, they reside in Manehattan. It's said the top members, even the leader himself, lives there."
Wildwood turned towards the station.
"But you can't leave this town! Who will take care of the citizens of Appleloosa? Without your protection, we don't stand a darn chance against them pricks."
Wildwood stopped and looked at the ground. He’s right. Who’s gonna protect the town? Who’s gonna protect the whole West if I’m not here? At that split moment an image of her friend screaming for help entered her mind. She immediately stomped her hoof and galloped away from the Sheriff and the town. She got to the platform and tears began to fill the corners of her eyelids.
“I must… I must find her,” Wildwood said, resting her loin against the wood wall, sliding to the ground on her rump.
“She’s countin’ on me, and I won’t let her down.”
Wildwood waited in the cold, alone. One of the Sheriff’s assistants caught up to her and handed her a bag of bits.
“The Sheriff said for you to have this in case you’re in need of food or water.”
“But I don’t need this many bits for a night’s trip to Manehattan.”
“A commoner doesn’t need this much at all to get to Manehattan, but knowing a bit of history involving the cider gang the Sheriff could be doin’ ya good by givin’ this much,” the assistant trotted off in the shadows of the station leaving her alone again.
Wildwood dropped the pouch besides her and grabbed her guitar. She shook the guitar and a photo slipped out from within the hole. Wilwood picked up the old photo and placed the guitar on her side to give all her focus to the photo.
Wildwood stared at the photo of two ponies standing over a grassy field with Cornflower, Wild’s friend, holding a hoof around her neck. The more she looked at the photo, the more memory of that day came to her mind.
“Wildwood, hurry up. The stallion here is waitin’ to take the picture.”
“All right, I’m comin’,” Wildwood ran up next to Cornflower. “Make it quick,” she told the stallion taking the picture.
“Alright, smile now,” the photographer was preparing for the shot.
Cornflower quickly wrapped her hoof around the back of Wildwood’s neck. Wild eyed her as they took the picture.
The thundering sounds from the train arriving at the station in the middle of the night shattered her memory. She looked on as the doors of the train opened and found no pony had walked out.
Maybe nopony was awake tonight for the train, she thought taking up her guitar and bag, boarding the train.
Wildwood placed down her guitar next to an empty and neatly made bed that she claimed her own for the night.
“Well that's mighty strange," she watched all around the other beds in the cart. She noticed that all the other beds were unmade which doesn’t happen if there were no passengers on the train.
She trotted two beds down from her bed and looked at a bed that had a big blood stain just below the pillow with big claw marks along the bed.
“What happened…” Wildwood lifted the blinds beyond the bed and found that the window had been broken. She also saw the blood and pieces of clothing on its sharp edges. The wind was passing through strongly, so she let go of the blinds and walked over to the otherside.
But it wasn’t blowing... only until I had pulled the blind did it do so, she thought trotting over to the bed right across from it.
Wildwood came along the side of the bed when she stepped on something smooth and scaly. She looked down to and raised her hoof while watching at the scaly piece of some tail that was on the floor painted in blood. In moments the the piece she saw slid back under the bed and the banging sounds travels to the back of the train car.
It was very dark and Wildwood had a bad feeling something was beyond the darkness. She went back to her bed and grab up her guitar. She then looked on at the darkness the end of the car.
“I know somepony is there, show yourself!” There was no response. “Now,” Wild said.
There was still no response. The train car had remained quiet. Wildwood still kept on looking.
“I know somethin’ is there and if you don’t come on out, you’ll be sorry if I got to use this thing to make you come out.”
A pair eyes green reptilian eyes appeared and glowed out of the darkness.
“Oh, no!” The creature said in mock fear.
“Then show yourself,” Wildwood replied.
“Make me come out.” A large figure came walking from out of the shadows. First, the snout became visible, and then the rest of the creature revealing it to be an alligator. “No no, little pony. Your guitar wouldn’t get me out.”
“Who are you? What do you want?”
“The name’s Strong Jaws, and I want vengeance,” he walked a little closer and glared down at Wildwood with great terror.
“I want to get revenge for my cousin’s death. He was close to me, you know? And you just took away my happiness, well, besides getting and drinking up some good apple cider.
“If boss wasn’t beating the life out of your friend, I wouldn’t have to break your bones in such slow and painful ways. I’ll guess wherever this train is going is going to be a long way. So I’ll just take some time to explain in more detail of what I do as a top member of the ‘Apple Cider Gang’.”
Strong Jaws smirked and continued.
“As a top member, I’m tasked to take out all opposers to the way we do things. In fact, it’s my specialty because I get an extra meal.”
“E-extra meal?” Wildwood’s body began to shiver a little. She didn’t want to think that he could be saying that she was his next meal.
“Yes. I do get starved when there’s not a lot of opposers going around, so I’m just forced to eat those little rats and drink cider. It’s annoying.
“But that’s besides the point of why I’m here,” Jaws grinned, showing his sharp teeth. He charged forward, Wildwood moving back with her guitar to keep the distance.
Jaws made his first swing, but Wild ducked and bucked him back onto a bed. She then galloped into the next car.
“I would fight him, but these cars are too small for a safe swing. Definitely not with all these beds lying around,” she said to herself.
Racing from car to car, Strong Jaws gained speed behind her. She looked back and watched in fear as the alligator snapped his mouth open and shut, revealing his sharp teeth.
“Don’t think you can outrun me for good, missy.”
If I don’t think of something quick, I’ll be his midnight snack! Wild thought.
“Wait, why didn’t you eat the others?” Wildwood stumbled into the front car and slid near the lever, the guitar landing behind her back.
“I don’t eat non opposers. If they are in the way of my target, I just bite their heads off and throw their bodies elsewhere. Not only for sport, but it would do us much better if we didn’t have so many witnesses.”
“Now that’s just cruel of you apple cider drunkards.” Wildwood says, taking up her guitar. Jaws clenches his fist and moves in on her.
Wildwood backed up near the fiery furnace.
“So, hero, ready to die like a sorry sap and end up within the bowels of my “drunkard” mouth?”
Wildwood swiftly swung with her guitar, breaking two sharp teeth out of Jaws’ jaw.
The gator went flying back into the door. He slowly got to his knees and wiped the blood that dripped from his mouth away.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Jaws growled and charged once more at Wildwood. She was about to prepare for another swing, but Jaws’ tail quickly wrapped around the guitar and pulled it away. “Let’s see how well you do without it.” he taunted.
He went for a punch, but Wildwood ducked down and he went inside the furnace. Jaws yelled out in pain as tumbled backwards, holding his hand out and letting loose of the guitar.
Wild quickly grabbed hold of the instrument and went to deliver the final blow, but Jaws kicked her back into the lever, making the train go faster.
“I may have underestimated you this time, hero. But I promise you that the next time we see each other, I will gladly sink my claws into your flesh. Don’t think you are in any way winning against us. This war is just getting started. Archie!”
A space was broken out from on top the car, revealing a blind unicorn wrapped around in black bandages.
“Yes, Boss?”
“Get me the hell outta here!”
“Sure thing, Boss. Next stop is Trottingham, little mare. Buckle up, because the crash might be a little catastrophic by how fast the train is going now. Ta ta!”
A blinding flash of light took place and both the unicorn and Jaws had disappeared.
Wildwood ran back and tried pulling the lever, but it was jammed.
“Oh no, this can’t be good. What do I do?”
In a sudden moment, the car had become lopsided, and the amazing force had knocked Wildwood out cold.
