//------------------------------// // Chapter 26 // Story: Unshaken // by The 24th Pegasus //------------------------------// Chapter 26 The Gang left for the canyon shortly after breakfast, hauling two of their wagons after them. Roughshod thought two was too few; Silvie thought two was too many. But Kestrel and Tumbleweed knew that two was all they would be able to protect if they encountered trouble on the way back to camp, and it would likely be impossible they could strip the train bare no matter how many wagons they brought. Two would suffice, and so two it was. Roughshod and Snapshot had been drafted to pull the wagon laden with Trixie’s improvised explosives. The magician had taken several of her fireworks and bundled them together into something resembling a powder charge and combined them with a single stick of dynamite to create something sure to shear the rails in two. Kestrel knew just from looking at them that they’d do the trick. Once they’d been fashioned, Tumbleweed had ordered that Roughshod and Snapshot should be the ones to transport them to the site, not Trixie herself. Kestrel knew it was because he still didn’t trust her yet, but hopefully that would change after today. Trixie and Sienna were responsible for hauling the second wagon; Kestrel was just happy she wasn’t recruited to do so. The two new mares shared a lopsided conversation as Trixie endlessly babbled and grumbled while Sienna marched in silence, though Kestrel could tell they were both nervous about what they were getting into. She couldn’t exactly blame them. There was no way each imagined they’d be doing this a day ago. Tumbleweed had ordered Kestrel and Silvie to fly ahead and make sure that their approach to the canyon wasn’t noticed, and so far, all Kestrel saw was barren, empty desert. As far as she could tell, they were the only ponies in this stretch of sand and flat rock, and that was exactly the way she liked it. If there weren’t any witnesses, then there wouldn’t be any way to track the robbery back to the Gang. They made it to the canyon shortly before lunch, and Tumbleweed immediately set them to work. The wagons they left by the mouth of the canyon, as close as they could bring them, and the seven ponies began to stake out their positions for the hit. Kestrel directed Trixie to the spot she’d seen earlier, and told Snapshot to help make sure they were set correctly. Silver flew off to the north end of the canyon to scout for the train, with the promise to return as soon as she saw smoke on the horizon. Roughshod went to find a spot to lie in wait for the train to stop, leaving Kestrel and Tumbleweed to confer along the rails while Sienna sullenly lingered nearby. “This is a good spot,” Tumbleweed said, scratching at his chin as he observed the canyon walls rising above them. “We can stop this train here, alright. That won’t be a problem. Only problem’ll be if they have enough patriotism to fight back.” “You never know with the Army,” Kestrel mused. “Half of ‘em are cowards and the other half are instilled with the finest sense of duty you ain’t ever seen elsewhere.” “Wonder which half we’ll get.” Tumbleweed frowned at the charges being placed, noting Trixie’s distant complaints and bickering with disdain. “If your magician sets those right, we can derail the engine and leave the other cars intact.” “She’ll manage it fine,” Kestrel assured him. “But what’s the plan for the rest of us?” “I figure I put you and Silvie on the canyon walls, one on each side, keep a lid on this thing. Your magician I want back by the wagons; she seems like to get herself killed if shootin’ starts and she’s standin’ down in the canyon with the rest of us. And also, if those charges fail, she’s gonna have to come up with another way to stop the train.” “Don’t know how she’ll manage that,” Kestrel muttered to herself. “What about you and the boys?” “Roughshod and I will hide wait near the back of the canyon,” Tumbleweed said. “Any commandin’ officers’ll be ridin’ along in the caboose. I’d rather meet them face to face first before any of their soldiers get a chance to see what’s goin’ on. Might be able to get ‘em to surrender that way. Snapshot I’m gonna put on that bit of rock right there; I figure he can provide good fire from that angle.” He pointed up to an outcropping of rock jutting out above the rails, maybe twenty feet off the ground. It was situated in such a way that the train should stop right under it, so he could keep the whole thing covered from one spot. Kestrel nodded her head in approval. “Ain’t gonna be a better spot for him, that’s for sure. What about Sienna?” “I’ll put the runt up front with the magician,” Tumbleweed said with a shrug. “That way, we got the thing surrounded. Should be simple as that.” The fluttering of wings turned both their heads, and Silver landed beside them. “Smoke on the rails,” she said, sweat shining on her coat. “The train’s coming… maybe ten minutes.” “Good. Right on time.” Tumbleweed raised his voice, letting it echo off the canyon walls. “Alright, ponies, this is it! Sienna, Trixie, you go wait by the wagons! You blow the charges right before the engine runs over them, and if those don’t stop it, you two better! Snapshot, on this outcrop! Rough, with me!” He nodded at Kestrel and drew his bandanna over his muzzle. “Good luck, Kessie.” “Good shootin’,” Kestrel responded. “Hopefully I won’t need it.” Then he was off to his hiding spot, Roughshod following close behind. Silver turned to Kestrel and raised her eyebrows. “We goin’ up?” “We’re goin’ up,” Kestrel confirmed, spreading her wings. Silver followed close behind, breaking for the far canyon wall when Kestrel pointed to it. Finding a suitable spot of rock to hide behind, Kestrel leaned her repeater against the stone and pulled her bandana over her muzzle. Hers was a red cloth, red as blood, and she made sure it securely covered her muzzle before she grabbed her rifle again. Then all that was left was to wait. How many cars are on the train? Seven Sure enough, the train approached the canyon about ten minutes later. Not counting the engine, there were seven cars with an armored caboose bringing up the rear. Four of the cars had walls and a roof, while the other three were open top. Crates and covered equipment decorated the flat cars, while one of the covered cars was armored with Chatter guns sticking out of armored portholes. The Chatter guns worried Kestrel some. If those ended up trained on any of her friends, the storm of lead would cut them down where they stood. How many soldiers can Kestrel see on the train? Five A few soldiers milled about on the cars, supposedly on watch for ponies like her. She counted five in all, disregarding the engineer up front, who looked like a civilian contractor rather than a soldier. She knew there had to be more where she couldn’t see them, maybe inside of the covered cars, and definitely some in the caboose. Would there be only ten? She wasn’t sure, but it seemed likely. If there were more, then things would get interesting. Kestrel held her breath as the train rumbled along the rails. She kept a close eye on the soldiers, repeater in her wings, searching for any signs that Tumbleweed and the others had been spotted. But they didn’t turn their heads as the train rolled down the steel, and she grit her teeth as the engine approached the spot where they’d buried the charges. Did Trixie set the charges correctly? No Trixie uses Pyrotechnics to reroll the previous check: Fail But the train continued to rumble on by, and Kestrel felt her gut begin to sink. She watched the engine pass right over the torn up earth where the charges had been planted… and nothing happened. She saw Silvie whip her head in her direction, wings extended in confusion, and Kestrel could only curse and stop her hoof. But maybe the charges would still go off… Do the charges detonate at all? No But they didn’t. Soon the caboose was clearing the spot where they’d been planted, and Kestrel knew that something had to have gone wrong. Did Trixie and Sienna run off on them? There was no way, not when they knew they’d never be able to escape two gunslingers on wing… Does Sienna try to stop the train? No Does Trixie? Yes Then she saw Trixie run out onto the rails, purple cape aflutter behind her. The train blew its whistle at her, but Trixie stood her ground and let the magic on her horn grow. Only when Kestrel saw the sparks falling off of an exposed fuse did she realize that Trixie was holding another makeshift charge in her grip, ready to blow. The charges swung about in her magical grip, and Trixie let them fly straight for the engineering compartment. Does Trixie’s plan work? No The charges struck the armored front of the compartment and detonated, but the engineer ducked back out of the way. The blast echoed around the canyon, and suddenly the soldiers standing guard were on high alert, scanning the canyon for the cause. Kestrel felt her wings shaking in frustration; whatever happened, Trixie and Sienna had completely screwed up the plan, and she knew the blame was going to fall squarely on her shoulders for bringing them along. She saw Silvie anxious to take wing on the other side of the canyon, while Trixie jumped off the tracks as the train failed to slow down in front of her. Does somepony take a shot? Yes Does it hit? Yes A crack roared out through the canyon, and Kestrel realized that Snapshot must have tried to take matters into his own hooves. A well-placed repeater round went clean through the head of one of the soldiers standing in the open, and his body tumbled off the side of the train. More gunfire began to bark out among the hidden members of the Gang, all of it in futile frustration as the train continued to roll away from them. The engine had already made it onto the bridge, and soon the train would be out of their reach. “Stupid damned magicians!” Kestrel shouted, stomping at the dirt and spreading her wings. Was the train really slipping through their hooves?! 1.     Chase the train alone. I’m not lettin’ this damn thing get away! Trixie and Sienna may have screwed it, but I brought them; this is on my head as much as theirs, so I gotta atone for it! [DANGEROUS] 2.     Get Silver to help stop the train. We can’t afford to let the damn thing get away. If I bring Silvie with me, we might be able to stop it so the rest of the gang can catch up. I’ll be putting her in harm’s way, though, and two ponies are much easier to spot than one. [DANGEROUS] 3.     Give up. The train’s lost, no sense tryin’ to run it down. All it’ll accomplish is get us killed. Better to cut our losses and move on, though I ain’t lookin’ forward to gettin’ chewed out by Tumbleweed for this calamity. [GANG MORALE -1] (Confidence Required: 45 Votes)