//------------------------------// // Chapter 50 // Story: Unshaken // by The 24th Pegasus //------------------------------// The Gang collaboratively puts a plan together. The outlaws and renegades puzzled over a sketch of the gulch created from Kestrel’s and Silver’s memories, tossing ideas back and forth for the better part of two hours. Many ideas rose up but were ultimately shot down for being too impractical. One such idea involved having Kestrel and Silver pull Trixie’s wagon like a sky chariot and rain death from above with it, but Trixie meekly informed the rest of the Gang that her wagon had no featherweight enchantments on it and was far too heavy to take to the air. Roughshod pouted when he heard that, while the Gang’s two pegasi merely let out a sigh of relief that they didn’t have to try and drag that heavy and cumbersome target over the Vipers’ heads. But the wagon and the Chatter gun featured prominently into the shape of the plan as Tumbleweed molded everypony’s suggestions together into something that might actually work. It gave the Gang something they could work with, a staging point they could unleash any number of ideas from. When Silver lamented the fact they didn’t have Siena’s body to place on the front seat of the wagon and lure in the Vipers from afar, Trixie acknowledged that as an illusionist, they didn’t have to have the mare’s body, not when they had a suitable replacement. Everypony’s eyes collectively fell on Kestrel when she said that; not only was the gunslinger of a similar color to the dead mare, but the pony who played the role of Sienna would be on the front lines when things invariably went south, and would need to be good with a revolver. After Snapshot, Kestrel was the Gang’s best gun, and that made the choice obvious. With the core of the plan in place, Tumbleweed began to divvy up additional responsibilities to keep the Vipers from getting too comfortable and springing whatever trap they may have laid for them in turn. Seeing as she still had plenty of fireworks, Trixie was offered a chance to redeem herself in turning them into deadly missiles to rain down on the Vipers from the nearby canyon walls. Snapshot volunteered (or rather, was volunteered) to accompany her with one of the scoped rifles seized in the train robbery. Accurate and deadly fire from afar would keep everypony safe from any unexpected threats, and if he had an opportunity to shoot Rattlesnake himself, he would take it. That left Silver Wings, Roughshod, and Miss Irons unaccounted for. Miss Irons, old as she was, was chosen to stay behind and protect the Gang’s money and supplies; after all, risking the second wagon by dragging it into the fight with the Vipers was out of the question, and so was leaving it behind unwatched. Though the old mare was adamant on joining the Gang in helping get Wanderer back, some quick words from Tumbleweed managed to convince her to stay. As for Silver, her place on a cloud in the sky was obvious, given her unmatched speed and grace on the wing, and that left Roughshod, too hurt to fight it out on hoof, to operate the Chatter gun once it was time. Though a few more ideas were discussed, such as sending somepony in to sneak Wanderer out of the Vipers’ camp while the rest of the Gang distracted them at the parley, those plans were quickly discarded. Tumbleweed refused to split the Gang any more than he already planned on doing, as sending one pony in alone into the Viper camp was far too dangerous given how few capable and unhurt ponies they had at the moment. Other ideas included setting a brush fire along the edge of the canyon and hope the smoke would draw ponies over and thin out their numbers, and simply ignoring the parley altogether and attacking the camp itself in force while Rattlesnake led most of his followers out to the arranged meeting. However, Tumbleweed ultimately decided against both of those plans for the same reason: they were too unreliable in drawing Vipers away long enough to get in and out looking for Wanderer, and if Rattlesnake took Wanderer with him in the first place, then they’d be raiding the camp for nothing and likely get him killed in the process, not to mention get themselves trapped in the gulch with Vipers all around them. And Kestrel didn’t even want to think about how they would get the wagon and the Chatter gun all the way to the camp without being spotted by the Vipers… But once they had the rough framework of a plan in place, the Gang raised some temporary accommodations for the night and tried to catch some rest before noon. It was well into the wee hours of the morning by the time Kestrel tossed her duster down on a scraggly patch of dead grass in the hopes it would give her something softer to sleep on than hard rock and cracked ground, unwilling to dig out her lean-to and sleeping mat for a single night in the rough. She took a cigarette to calm her nerves, a bottle of whiskey to chase down the sickly bitter aftertaste, and stared up through the clear night sky at the millions of stars so infinitely beyond her reach. After some time, however, she heard the crunching of hooves on dirt approaching. Yawning, she raised her head and saw Silver warily approaching, metallic feathers agleam in the moonlight above them. Rubbing some the sleep from her eyes with a wing, Kestrel forced herself to sit up and nod at the younger mare. “Silvie. Can’t sleep?” “No,” Silver confessed, sighing as she sat down across from Kestrel. “I’m worried.” “Bout tomorrow?” Kestrel blew air through her lips and shook her head. “Don’t be. Them Vipers, they’re green and undisciplined. They ain’t like us. They ain’t gonna put up a fight once we surprise ‘em with the Chatter gun.” “No, it ain’t that.” Silver looked left, right, and lowered her head. “I’m worried ‘bout Wanderer. What if Rattlesnake’s already gone and killed him?” “Well, Adder didn’t seem to think he was gonna do that,” Kestrel said with a shrug. “He said Rattlesnake just wanted him as collateral. Seems Sienna was one of his favorite toys, and he don’t want us leavin’ town without her, so he gotta have a way to make us stay.” “That don’t mean he couldn’t kill him now and wait for us to bumble on in there tryin’ to get him free,” Silver said. “We don’t know what’s goin’ on.” “Yeah, yeah. We don’t; you’re right. But that ain’t changin’ anything.” Kestrel gestured vaguely in the direction of the Viper, somewhere many miles to the south. “We’re already plannin’ on goin’ there, shootin’ the place up. If Rattlesnake wants to ambush us, well, he’s gonna have to be ready for an ambush of our own. Who knows if he’ll be expectin’ one or not; he might think we’re too worried about Wanderer to try anythin’ funny. Thing is, us worryin’ ‘bout Wanderer’s led to all this plannin’ anyway.” She could tell she hadn’t exactly reassured the younger pegasus, so she gave her a pat on the back and passed the whiskey bottle to her. “Don’t you worry ‘bout him none. He’ll be fine. Rattlesnake ain’t gonna know what hit him, and once he’s dead and Wanderer’s back with us, it’s off to Hoofston. New opportunities await us.” Silver stared at the bottle of whiskey in her hooves. “I guess you’re right,” she said, finally taking a sip of it. She grimaced as the harsh alcohol hit her throat, and passed the bottle back. “You just be careful out there, right Kessie? You and Tumbleweed and Rough, the three of you’re gonna be right in the middle of the fightin’. Don’t… don’t get hurt.” “I ain’t,” Kestrel assured her. “And if I do, I was already hurt to begin with, so you’ll never know the difference.” “Oh, quiet.” Silver managed a smile and, after a moment, tossed her own overcoat on the ground next to Kestrel’s duster and laid back on it. “Guess I might as well enjoy the pretty lights some ‘fore mornin’ comes.” “It’s a good way to fall asleep,” Kestrel said, laying down as well. “Good way to relax and unwind.” “Yeah… Maybe I’ll get a telescope or somethin’ in Hoofston. Look at the stars and the moon real good.” She chuckled. “The night sky always pretty out here in the desert…” Kestrel hummed her agreement and set her eyes to picking out the few constellations she could remember: the snaking lines of the hydra, the sword of the old pegasus god Ofnir, the bright spot to the north ponies called ‘Luna’s Little Sun.’ There were many more she didn’t know the names to, but her parents hadn’t exactly been willing to give her and her brother a proper education between the gambling and the drinking. It was a wonder she knew anything at all besides poverty and the fear of her mother staggering home from the saloon, drunk as could be, ready to strike her or Kite for the smallest mistake… The stars soon set Silver to sleep, and Kestrel didn’t last too much longer. Before she knew it, the sun had already risen to about nine o’clock, and now only three hours out from the parley, the gunslinger forced herself to her hooves once more, scarfed down some breakfast, and began to aid the rest of the Gang in preparing for their plan. It was time to have a meeting with a snake. Kestrel, Roughshod, and Silver roll to regain a point of Healthiness while resting: Fail, Succeess, Fail Kestrel, Roughshod, and Silver are all Grazed and suffering -1 to Healthiness (6, 7, 4, respectively) [NO POLL FOR THIS CHAPTER]