Fire Fight, Shadow Shroud, Turf War, Spiral Galaxy, Air Slash, Kickback, Crazylocks, Greensprout and Bullseye charged headlong into the den of marauders. Kickback seemed a lot more serious than usual, probably due to how bandits affected his life in the past. Despite being ready to start and all-out brawl with these ponies, Shadow Shroud scouted ahead to make sure that no traps were waiting for them. They hoped that Quantum Tech and Zebota would be able to hold down the fort out front.
Much like the Sand Vipers’ hideout, these bandits had dug out branching tunnels that were lit by makeshift torches. Although, one or two of the caves looked like they were already there. Regardless, they stopped at a fork in the road that branched into three more paths. “Ok, let’s see…Actually, Greensprout, would mind giving us a boost first?” Fire Fight asked.
Greensprout nodded firmly. “With pleasure, brother!” She raised her Gaia Root and emitted a small pulse of bio-friendly energy that heightened the Battle Foals’ parameters. They could instantly feel the effects and were even more fired up for battle.
“Awesome! Thanks.” Fire Fight said. “Now then, Turf War and Bullseye, you two-”
“What the hell!?” The foals looked over into the right tunnel and saw a stallion galloping towards them. “What’re you runts doin’ here?” Bullseye wasted no time firing an arrow that hit him square in the knee. “OOF!! AH, HELL!!” He fumbled to the ground.
“Hey! Mah boy took a arrow to the-”
“Turf War, don’t even say it!” Spiral Galaxy scoffed. She yanked the stallion towards them with gravity magic, and Shadow Shroud knocked him out cold.
“You were saying, Fire Fight?” Shroud said.
“R-Right. Anyway, Turf War, Bullseye and Spiral Galaxy will take that right tunnel. Air Slash, Crazylocks and Greensprout, go down the left one. Shroud, Kickback, with me; we’ll take the middle. Sound good?” Fire Fight ordered.
“No objections. I just hope that Quantum and Zebota will not get bored.” Air Slash said.
“We’ll bring them the bandits’ love letters to aliens as souvenirs!” Crazylocks blurted.
“H-How thoughtful of you, Crazylocks!” Greensprout stammered. “Regardless, let us purge this darkness!” They all high-fived save for Bullseye, who just nodded with a wicked smile on her face before retrieving her arrow and went down their assigned tunnels.
*****
Greensprout and Air Slash kept an eye on Crazylocks as the trio raced down the tunnel. Air Slash already had his swords drawn before they even encountered trouble, and Greensprout had her staff on standby in case something suddenly happened. Crazylocks was just ready to make some new friends the best way she knew how. It didn’t take the three very long to come across a large storage filled with much of the cargo stolen from the train amongst other commodities they likely pillaged. Unsurprisingly, it was being guarded and managed by a group of ten bandits.
Crazylocks sprouted her horn and magically lifted and flung a storage crate next to her at the bandits. “HOUSE KEEPIIIIIING!!” She shouted.
The bandits all glanced up in surprise and panicked upon seeing the flying crate. “WHAT THE HELL!?” Those that were in the path of the crate jumped out of the way just in time, and it impacted on a mountain of other crates that nearly caused an avalanche. “And just what do you brats think yer doin’ here? You on a field trip or something?”
Air Slash sighed. “I suppose subtlety wasn’t much of an option anyway…” he muttered to himself. He poised his swords aggressively at the bandits. “We were indeed, but then noticed the horrific mess you made of that train and decided to clean house!”
“You killed somepony! Have you any remorse in your hearts whatsoever!?” Greensprout pled.
The bandits just laughed at her. “That old codger? Please. His time was almost out anyway. What’s the harm?” one of them sneered.
Greensprout was in disbelief of just how compassionless these bandits. “You-…..You’re awful!” She poised her staff. “I will not see this darkness spread!”
“Pfft! Whaddya gonna do, girly? Cast a spell with your little wand and make us repent? How cute!” another one taunted. It was then that she noticed Air Slash’s swords. “Hang on…..those swords……….Ah, crap! Are you a Bladerunner?”
“So what? He’s just a runt! Bet he can barely cut butter with those knives.” Another taunted.
Any insult to his swords made Air Slash’s blood boil, and this was no exception. He was now even more fired up to fell his foes. “Nnrgh! Come closer and see for yourself! I shall rend those words!!”
“YOU ARE IN VIOLATION OF THE FOURTEENTH LAW OF THE EGG-LAYING TISSUE BOXES!! YOU SHALL BE PUNISHED!!!” Crazylocks blurted. The bandits looked at her with blank and confused stares for a moment.
“Er….Y-Yes…” Air Slash stammered. “As I was saying, EN GARDE!” He launched a sword beam towards them, catching the bandits off guard.
“WHOA!” Not expecting the unusual form of attack, the bandits barely had any time to react and just ducked. The beam hit and sliced the hat off of one of them. “OH, YOU’RE DEAD, PUNK!”
Before they could react again, Crazylocks intervened. She charged the maces on her pigtails with magic and slammed them in front of herself, creating a shock wave that blew back the bandits. She cackled. “In Soviet Crazyland, my hair conditions YOU!!”
“Huh…..that’s a new one.” Air Slash said. He charged towards the bandits with his swords sheening against the light of the torches ready to ambush them, and Crazylocks morphed back into an earth pony so her hair to do more conditioning. Greensprout lent some support by emitting a vital pulse that further sharpened their parameters.
Four of the bandits tried to dogpile onto Air Slash, but he swooped right above them and caused them to crash into each other. “CRAZYLOCKS, THEY’RE YOURS!” He called out.
“FRIENDSHIP SNUGGLE!!” Crazylocks lunged towards the four bandits and flailed her hair wildly, yet dexterously. The bandits were utterly flabbergasted that her hair hit so hard, and fell to the ground aching badly from the assault.
“HEY, RUNT!” a bandit pegasus shouted as she soared towards Air Slash wielding a part of a rail as a weapon. She swung it at him, but Air Slash easily sliced it in two, throwing the pegasus off balance and granting him an opening. He clipped her wing, and she crashed to the ground in a heap.
“Air Slash!!” Greensprout called out. When Air Slash looked back, he saw that she was surrounded by the rest of the bandits. He soared towards her without a moment’s hesitation.
Greensprout nervously glanced back and forth at her surrounding assailants, who were smirking viciously and ready to pound away at her. “What’s the matter, sweetheart? Yer fairy godmother not here?” one of them taunted.
This situation brought her back to the ruins where her parents rested. She recalled the darkness that she’d allowed to overtake her when she exterminated the Fallen. Even if Air Slash and Crazylocks were there to defend her, she knew that she still had to rely on her own abilities….even if it meant purposefully breaking her vow of non-violence. “Forgive me…” She muttered. Even as she could hear Air Slash’s war cries, Greensprout focused the vital energy in her Gaia Root and released it. “HYAH!” A wave of energy surge from around her, and the bandits felt it seemingly attack their very life essence, causing them their whole bodies to feel like they’d been stung by some kind of nasty new species of bee.
“AAAAHHHHH!!!” The bandits collapsed to the ground in some kind of pain that left an opening for Air Slash and Crazylocks.
“YOU NEVER LEFT YOUR TIP!!” Crazylocks bellowed as she and Air Slash ambushed the downed bandits in an all-out attack. Air Slash sliced any weapons they might have been carrying and whacked the bandits with the butts of his swords so as not to potentially land a fatal slash.
“UNCLE! UNCLLLEEE!!” one of the bandits shouted. The foals let up in response and stood above their fallen opponents.
Air Slash pointed one of his swords at the defeated adversaries. “Then you submit?”
“L-L-Listen! What is it ya want!? Toys!? Money!? There’s not a hell lot we can get ya from any of those cargo crates!” one of them pled.
“No. All we ask is that you abandon this lifestyle and stop hurting others. This is not a path any of us should walk.” Greensprout said.
The bandits were a little surprised to hear her speak in such a gentle tone considering their conflict, but decided that it wasn’t wise to further oppose foes that could clearly overpower them, even if they were just foals. “B-But…..what’re we gonna tell the boss? What’re we even supposed to do?”
“Your boss no longer matters. You know that this not the ideal life. It would be best if you just repented for your sins.” Air Slash said. “Where is your boss anyway?”
The bandit were both frustrated and guilty, but were wise enough to concede defeat. “In the innermost chamber down the middle path, but I tell ya, Rocky Mountain has been leading the Rockslide for quite some time now. She’s one tough b****.”
“Then we’ll give her a mudslide, and we’ll all be dirty friends forever!” Crazylocks blurted.
The bandits just started at her blankly while Greensprout smiled sheepishly and Air Slash facehooved. “Ignore her.” he said. “Anyway, just go. You might not receive such mercy next time.” Reluctantly, the members of Rockslide left the tunnel. It seemed that Greensprout’s kindness had gotten to them.
“The middle tunnel…..That’s where Fire Fight, Shadow Shroud and Kickback went. We should go to their aid.” Air Slash said.
“I’m worried about Bullseye, Turf War and Spiral Galaxy. Shouldn’t we check on them too?” Greensprout asked. They suddenly felt the tunnels shake violently for a few seconds before it petered out.
“I’d say Turf War has them well-defended.” Air Slash said. “But if you want to assist them, I suppose splitting up would be ideal.” He put his hoof on her shoulder. “Just…..be careful, ok?”
Greensprout smiled that gentle smile that soothed Air Slash’s inner beast, and the young samurai suddenly felt much less tense. She put her hoof on his. “I will. You too, Air Slash. Please look after Crazylocks.” Air Slash firmly nodded, and the split trio went their separate ways.
*****
Turf War, Bullseye and Spiral Galaxy experienced a little difficulty navigating the surprisingly rugged terrain of the tunnel they ran down. They could hear the sound of tools clanging against the dirt as they approached, so they assumed that this tunnel was still being dug out. It was good thing Bullseye could fly; she remained ahead of the pack to scout ahead while they continued to charge down the tunnel.
“Damn! Where d’hey at?” Turf War asked.
“Oh don’t worry…..they're close. I can smell ‘em!” Bullseye hissed.
Spiral leaned to whisper to Turf War. “Should we be worried?”
“I mean…..she gotta blow off some steam, so…..we might gotta let her bust loose.” Turf War said.
Spiral grimaced. “I just hope she doesn’t bust too loose…”
A few moments later, the trio reached what they suspect was waiting for them- a large digging sight. However, it was a huge room lined with bedrolls as well as digging tools with only a small few of the bandits. It must have been the barracks, and it was being expanded. Some of them were even laying down in bedrolls and resting. Turf War smacked his hammer onto his shield to get their attention. “HOW Y’ALL DOIN’!?”
The bandits stopped what they were doing and glanced at the foals. “Huh!? Since when did Rocky Mountain make us start wet-nursin’?”
“That’s your concern when somepony’s dead because of you!?” Spiral said. She had her horn lit and ready to rain destruction.
“Ha! Ain’t that cute! These foals think they’re gonna punish the grown-ups!” one of the bandits taunted. “Whaddya gonna do? Send us to our rooms?”
Bullseye nocked an arrow onto her bow. “How about hell, you dips***s!?” she shouted.
“Hol’ on one second!” Turf War said. “Let me drop a beat fo’ y’all!” He raised his hammer-axe and slammed into the ground. A little tremor erupted and started shaking the area around.
“WHOA-OA-OA-OA-OA!” The bandits were thrown off balance while Bullseye just floated unbothered by the small quake, and Spiral Galaxy manipulated her center of gravity in such a way that she wouldn’t lose her balance due to the tremor. Turf War seized the opportunity to shield-ram one of the nearby bandits. “OOF!!” The bandit he hit went flying and collided with another, knocking them down in a heap.
As the tremor subsided, Spiral Galaxy began charging a star bolt when she was suddenly struck by a bolt of magic herself. “AIIEE!” She brushed off her pain a little and looked up. A unicorn bandit in the back was smirking as his horn glowed as fiercely as hers did. This only encouraged Spiral to get her game face back, and she quickly got up to fire her star bolt at him, but he used his own magic to quickly erect a wall of stone in front of him that was destroyed by the bolt, but it protected him quite nicely.
“Heh! Amateur!” he taunted. He levitated the shards of his stone wall and formed them into a rocky javelin that he fired at her. “BACK TO THE EARTH!”
Spiral gasped and quickly formed a gravitic field around herself that managed to just barely stop the stone lance from piercing her forehead. She let it drop to the ground and formed a series of small meteors. “MAKE A WISH!” She fired them one by one at the unicorn, but he managed to erect a series of pillars that blocked them effectively, but the shock from each impact seemed to damage him a little. The two continued to have a back-and-forth volley of earth and star magic that kept her busy as Turf War and Bullseye had to deal with the others.
Turf War raised his shield that blocked that incoming headbutt of a rather burly earth pony stallion that caused him to fall unconscious from essentially headbutting himself. Just as another one was about to strike Turf War from his blind spot, Bullseye fired an arrow that pierced the attacking bandit’s shoulder. “ACK!” She clutched her shoulder just as Turf War managed to shield-punch her into submission.
“Good-lookin’ out, homegirl!” Turf War shouted as he charged further into the fray. What he didn’t notice was that Bullseye fluttered up to the downed bandit.
The pierced bandit glared up at Bullseye as she clutched her shoulder. “Nrgh! Damn brat!” It was then that she realized that Bullseye had a pretty malicious smile on her face, enough to kind of unnerve her. “Uh….you ok?”
Bullseye devilishly chuckled. “You have no idea!” She grabbed the arrow in the bandit’s shoulder and mercilessly ripped it out and jammed it right into her eye and ripped out again.
“AIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!!!” The bandit writhed in untold agony as Bullseye just watched with an evil grin on her face.
“<Gasp!> BULLSEYE!” Spiral exclaimed. Everypony stopped what they were doing to witness Bullseye’s brutality, but she just devilishly giggled in response.
She began angrily panting as though she were a predator driven mad by hunger and nocked the arrow back. “WHO’S NEXT!?” she shouted. Another bandit tried to pounce on her from behind wielding a broken metal pipe, but she effortlessly moved out of the way and whacked the pipe from his hoof with her bow. She then quickly fired her arrow into his side, and then picked up his pipe and slammed it hard into his genital area, rendering him helpless.
The bandit looked up in horror as Bullseye swooped down to him and reached for the arrow in his side. “N-No!! P-PLEASE!!” But it was too late. Bullseye ripped the arrow right out of him with no regard for his well-being and used the pipe the whack him across the head so hard that his neck nearly broke.
“Hehehehehe……Hehehehehahahaha!......AHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!! YOU'RE ALL SO PATHETIC, THAT THIS MIGHT ACTUALLY BORE ME!!” Bullseye shouted.
“Homegirl, chill!!” Turf War shouted.
The geomancer that Spiral was dueling tried to trap Bullseye in a cage of stone, but she quickly slipped out and fired an arrow at him that pierced his abdomen. “AAAHHHH!” He fell to the ground in agony.
“Bullseye, stop!! You’re hurting them!!” Spiral pled.
Bullseye turned to her so that Spiral could quiver at her expression. If the heart of a devil could be expression on somepony’s face, Bullseye was showing it right now. Her malefic, bloodthirsty smile was completely devoid of any trace of compassion, remorse, etc. She and Turf War’s fears had come to fruition. “SO WHAT!? YOU ARE TOO, YA KNOW!! MIGHT AS WELL HAVE FUN WITH IT!!” Bullseye shouted.
Greensprout suddenly appeared from the entrance to the room. “Friends! We’ve cleared out our tunnel. I’ve come to your- <GASP!>” Before her was exactly what she didn’t want to see. Bullseye’s malice was made clear through the horrors she witnessed.
Suddenly, a bandit with a bow of his own fired an arrow that hit Bullseye’s shoulder…..but she was completely unfazed. Instead, she continued to sadistically laugh. She turned toward that archer bandit and ripped the arrow right out of her shoulder and licked her blood off of it before nocking it back. “WHO’S READY TO BLEED FOR MAMA!?!?”