//------------------------------// // Chapter 40 // Story: Unshaken // by The 24th Pegasus //------------------------------// East toward Hoofston: 46% “Miss Belle, huh?” Kestrel said, tapping the name ‘HOOFSTON’ printed in block letters over a black dot. “We robbed her wagon not too long ago.” “And I’m sure she’s got loads more bits just sittin’ there for us to take,” Tumbleweed said. “Plus there’s a bank there. A pretty big bank, from what I’ve heard.” Kestrel whistled at that. “Probably not too guarded, either,” she said. “Big city banks think a cop on the corner’ll keep ‘em safe. They ain’t ever tussled with outlaws like us.” “Well, we’ll have to wait and see about that. No sense makin’ plans ‘fore we’re even there.” Tumbleweed rolled up the map in his magic and tucked it away. “So, east then?” “Better east than damn near anywhere else,” Kestrel said, though she added a chuckle onto the end of that statement. “Though now that you mention it, I always wanted to see Las Pegasus ever since I was a little filly…” “If we clean Miss Belle outta her fortune, we’ll have more bits than we know what to do with. I’m sure we can manage a vacation there on our way out of the country!” Tumbleweed guffawed and turned back to the camp. “Go get the rest of ‘em in line, Kessie, though you probably just need to help Miss Irons out. She’ll get everypony’s flanks in gear with a few commands, you know how she is.” Kestrel touched the brim of her hat with her wing. “Oh, do I ever. Ain’t nopony meaner than ol’ Miss Irons when she pulls out her slave driver voice.” “Make sure she don’t scare Trixie too much, young lass probably never had a mare as mean at her ear.” They split up, Tumbleweed to retrieve the stashed loot and Kestrel to organize the camp for moving out. A quick word to Miss Irons was enough to spur the rest of the gang into action, and she knew just who needed to tend to what. The elderly mare stormed away from the shadow of the supply wagon and into the center of the camp, where she kicked a snoozing Roughshod and set him to work. Kestrel snickered as she watched the tough, tall, and proud stallion wilt and carry out her orders grumbling like a beaten dog until the old mare turned her sights on her. “Get your magician marefriend all squared away and that gun in her wagon,” Miss Irons barked at her, pointing with a gnarled hoof for emphasis. “And make sure she doesn’t blow us up with any of those fireworks!” Kestrel gave the old mare a hasty ‘Yes’m’ and scurried away from the line of fire, not stopping until the unicorn dragged Silvie off of a rocky perch with her magic and set her to work helping Roughshod load up the wagon. Free of Miss Iron’s ire, Kestrel poked her head around the corner of the wagon to find Trixie napping in the shade. For a moment, she considered kicking the mare awake like Miss Irons had done to Roughshod, but decided against it, instead tickling the mare’s nose with an outstretched feather. Trixie’s nose twitched once, twice, and then she sneezed, sitting upright in a second. She blinked at Kestrel with bleary eyes, groaned, and tried to close her eyes again. “What do you want?” “We’re movin’ tonight,” Kestrel said. “Leavin’ Rock Ridge for good.” “Leaving? Already?” Trixie cracked one eye open. “But Trixie just dragged her wagon up to your campsite not even a week ago!” “That’s right,” Kestrel said, looking over the mess of Trixie’s supplies she’d strewn in a rough circle around her wagon. “But the Law don’t wait for nopony. We gotta go or they’re gonna find us.” “The Law?” That made Trixie open her eyes, and she sat bolt upright and looked around as if lawmares in pink suits were about to close in on the camp from every angle. “They’re here?!” “Not yet, dummy,” Kestrel said. “But they will be in a few days more. So we’re movin’ tonight. Come on, let’s get your wagon loaded up and get set to leave. We’re leavin’ at midnight.” Trixie didn’t complain much after that, and she climbed to her hooves with a tired stretch of her back. Together, the two mares were able to get Trixie’s wagon packed up without too much hassle, and once that was done, Kestrel had Trixie fetch the Chatter gun from the rocky bluff overlooking the approach to the camp. The magician returned a few minutes later with the weapon of war in her magic, the strain from hefting it plain on her face, and she dropped it roughly at the foot of her wagon. Kestrel winced as the barrels hit the dusty ground. “Easy with that,” she said, and she hopped inside the wagon to mount the stand and secure the weapon. “If we get attacked on the road, that’s gonna be our best defense.” “We’re going to get attacked?” Trixie asked, eyes widening. “No. Well, maybe. Ain’t sure, myself. Depends on if we’re lucky or not, so you better start prayin’ to Lady Luck to be kind.” She took the Chatter gun from Trixie’s magic and affixed it to the stand in the floor, tying it down as best she could with a little rope to the beams of the wagon. “That’ll have to do for now,” she said, eyeing up her handiwork. “Might look into gettin’ a more permanent solution later.” “You’re going to turn Trixie’s magic wagon into a war wagon? How is she supposed to do her shows now!” “You’ll be fine, not like we can’t remove it,” Kestrel said. Hopping out of the wagon, she slammed the door shut behind her and sighed. “Better go and get some grub for dinner, it’s gonna be a long haul tonight.” Under Miss Irons’ directions, the Gang dismantled and packed away their camp in no time at all, only leaving the stewpot and some tin tableware around to eat dinner before packing that away as well. The outlaws sat quietly around the fire as they ate their meal, watching as the sun slowly went down to the west, waiting for Wanderer to return from Rock Ridge so they could get ready to set out. Only he didn’t come back. Does Wanderer return from Rock Ridge without any difficulty? No The absence of the old pegasus soon had the Gang on edge. It started as a niggling feeling in the back of Kestrel’s mind, soon blossoming into fully fledged worry as dinner came and went. Rock Ridge wasn’t that far of a flight from their camp; what was taking him so long? She could tell from looking at the faces of her friends that they had the same thoughts on their minds, but nopony voiced those concerns aloud. Not yet, at least. But when the sun finally disappeared in the west and the indigo blanket of night began to rise in the east, Kestrel couldn’t contain herself any longer. “Somethin’ happened to Wanderer,” she grumbled, marching toward the edge of camp and peering down at Rock Ridge in the distance as if she could figure out what happened from afar. “I bet them Vipers was waitin’ for him.” Tumbleweed frowned alongside her. “I shouldn’t have sent him back,” he said. “I shoulda just kept him here. But I was hopin’ I could get the Vipers off our trail, if only for tonight…” “What are we gonna do?” Silvie said, hesitantly approaching the pair from behind. “If he’s in danger, we gotta help him! We can’t just leave him behind!” “And get the rest of us killed?” Roughshod called out from the fire. “I bet that’s just what they want. They want us all to go chargin’ in to save the day, and they’ll kill us in town. If he got caught, that’s his problem. I ain’t goin’ down in that ship.” “We can’t just leave him behind!” Silver exclaimed. “He wouldn’t leave any of us behind!” Kestrel chewed on her lip and glanced at Tumbleweed. “Boss…” “I know,” he said. “I know.” COMMENT POLL; SEE AUTHOR’S NOTES 1. Sneak into town to find Wanderer. We have no idea where he's at or what happened to him, but it'll be best if we don't tip off the law. The last thing we need is a shootout in the streets. 2. Tear apart the town to find Wanderer. We just loaded that Chatter gun up in Trixie's wagon; positioned rightly, ain't nopony gonna be able to touch us while we find our friend. Let's show these damn Vipers that we ain't afraid of 'em, and we ain't afraid of the law! 3. Wait for Wanderer to return. Maybe he's fine, just held up. No sense runnin' off into Rock Ridge and gettin' killed over nothin'. Best thing to do now is wait and see what happens, even if it means we're losin' precious time. 4. Leave now. Maybe Wanderer will find his way back to us, but we can't afford to put ourselves at risk tryin' to get him outta the fire. The best thing the rest of us can do is leave now before we get pinned between the Vipers and the Law.