"Take on more step and it'll be your last!"
The group turned around to see a demented looking horse with one lower leg and blinders over his clawed eyes.
"HEH HEH HEH! You shoulda seen the looks on yer faces! Name's T. Neigh! T. Neigh Baha!"
"Sweet Celestia, you scared the hell out of us!" Rainbow Dash yelled, looking as though she wanted to shoot the blind old stallion right in the face.
"Ah ha ha... I know, pretty good joke, yeah?" The stallion looked pretty pleased with himself.
Rainbow Dash was clutching the trigger of her gun, but through some miracle didn't blast T. Neigh's face clean off.
"Well, Doctor Whooves told us to come over here... he said you could help us with Nine-hooves?" Twilight asked, giving the blind old stallion a hard look.
"Well, sure! I could definitely help you foalks, that is, if ya help me first!" The group looked at each other, skeptical.
"What kind of things? If you want to take Big Mac and molest him, you can have him!" Big Macintosh glared at Rainbow Dash. "Hey, I was kidding! Mostly."
T. Neigh chortled. "Oh no, nothin' like that! Those damned skags stole my food! Them varmints never leave me alone, I suspect Scar told 'em all to do, that devious bastard. Anywho, go and grab four of my food containers! Then I'll help y'all out!"
The group exchanged glances, shrugged, and heading off into the gully to find some of T. Neigh's food.
"Hey, Twilight," Rainbow Dash asked as they walked down into the gulch "Do you think spiders dream?"
"Oh look, we're here."
Indeed, they had reached a pile of refuse surrounded by skag holes. "Ok, I'm going to grab the food, you and Big Mac defend me, ok?" Rainbow Dash charged the pile, and sorted through it until coming up with a can of baked beans.
"Well, that was -AAGH!" A skag pup lept from the refuse pile and latched itself onto Rainbow Dash's head. "GET IT OFF!"
Big Macintosh punched the skag off of the soldier mare's head with ferocious might, and it went flying. Twilight quickly sniped out a whelp going in for the kill. Rainbow pumped three rounds into another pup that got too close.
"Alright, let's move on!"
The process more or less repeated itself for the next three cans, and the three ponies returned to T. Neigh.
"Well, I'll be! The skags didn't kill yah! Guess you know how to handle yerselves. Alright, I'll tell yah where Nine-hooves is. Head down into Skag Gully, take a left, and there oughta be little gulch with a grave in the water pooled there. That's mah wife's grave. Take the weapons there, I don't need 'em anymore. After that, there'll be a TNT detonation device up the hill right next to the gave. Blow that up, and you'll be on yer way to Nine-hooves's lair! Hope yah get yer friend back and all. Oh, and one last thing. Buy yerselves some grenades from Pinkie's vending machines. I'm so happy you got me my food I'd give you some, but I don't have any left after mah last fishing trip. Have fun, and don't get yerselves killed!"
***
Fluttershy lay tied up in the back room of Nine-hooves's little shack that he had at the end of the the tunnel which he called his hideout.
"So, Fluttershy, how do you like my place?" The insidious bandit sub-leader asked the bound pegasus.
"Well, it's quite lovely, but I wish you hadn't tied me up and brought me here against my free will. Would you please consider letting me go?"
Nine-Hooves fought his best against the cuteness, and in the end, he won.
"Sorry Flutters, but I'm gonna have to say no this time. Also, looks like you only have three hours left for your friend to come and rescue you! You better hope they come in time!"
Fluttershy swallowed hard. She hoped her friends showed up in time too.
***
The bordermares (and stallion) walked into the small garage that was Pinkie Pie's Guns and Ammo shop. An automated voice greeted them.
"Hi! Welcome to Pinkie Pie's Guns and Ammo shop Fyrestone branch! I'm out at the moment, but feel free to browse the goods! Just remember to pay, or else you might end up in a bit of a tight spot! Have fun, and remember: Life's a Party!"
Rainbow Dash ran over to the vending machine, and stared into their tiny glass windows. She looked like a little foal in a candy shop. All manners of guns and ammo, just waiting to be used...
Big Macintosh got straight to work, grabbing some shotgun shells, and three grenades. Twilight stocked up on sniper cartridges and also purchased her grenades. Rainbow Dash continued to stare into the wondrous depths of the ammo giving machine, before finally giving in and buying herself the needed supplies.
"Ok, let's go kick some flank!"