//------------------------------// // Chapter 103 // Story: Unshaken // by The 24th Pegasus //------------------------------// Use the hostages as a distraction and leave now: 18 Votes “Wanderer’s right,” Kestrel swiftly concluded. “We’re pushin’ things as we are, now. Stayin’ any longer just gives the Pinks more time to surround us. We ain’t gonna leave this conference alive unless we stay two steps ahead of ‘em.” She turned around to Starlight. “Applejack’s comin’ with us. She’s our shield while we’re gettin’ outta here; the Pinks ain’t gonna start shootin’ so long as she’s between us and them.” A devilish smile took hold of Starlight’s muzzle and she pulled Applejack a little bit closer. “You’re coming with us, capitalist,” she said, practically standing nose to nose with the earth pony. “We’ll see how you hold up without your money or goons to protect you from the downtrodden of Equestria.” “Maybe we can at least get a good ransom outta her,” Silver said. “I bet she’s got deep pockets. Maybe we can get the rest of the cash we need to get outta Equestria offa her.” “We’ll figure that out later,” Kestrel said, and she started hauling businessponies to their hooves and pushing them towards the tent flap. “Right now, let’s get these ponies ready to move. We ain’t got much more time to hang ‘round here if we wanna get out with our lives.” In short order, Kestrel and Silver had corralled the hostages by the exit to the tent, though they kept the frightened businessponies in place with drawn weapons. Bit by bit, Tumbleweed and Party Favor inched around the crowd, until there was nothing between them and the exit. The Gang formed up behind them, Applejack and Gizmo included, though one was much more cooperative than the other. “We got a plan of action?” Tumbleweed asked Kestrel. “Or are we just settin’ ‘em loose and runnin’?” Kestrel looked back at Starlight. “Can you stop time for all of us?” “Pause time,” Starlight grumbled. “I told you that before. And yes, for a few seconds. I can set up a bubble around us that will give us a brief moment to move. We should use it to slip away from the tent in case there are more ponies with guns around it. But it won’t last long enough to get us all the way out of the conference.” “It’s a start, and that’s all we need,” Tumbleweed said. “When we move, keep it goin’ as long as you can, but don’t split your horn open in the process. We’ll need your magic later, I’m sure of it.” He looked to Kestrel and Silver. “How much you’d put together?” “Little more than ten thousand, I think,” Silver said. “Not nearly as good as robbin’ the train, but it’ll do.” “Train robberies’ve always been good to us,” Tumbleweed said. “But we’ll do the count later; the money ain’t helpful to us now.” Then, drawing pointing his pistol skyward, he looked back at the Gang. “We move on my mark. Ready?” One by one, the Gang nodded, and Kestrel readied herself for the breakout. If they were lucky, then Starlight’s magic would get them clear past the first line of Pinks, and from there, they could have a clear shot as escaping. If they weren’t, then they were going to have to fight their way out. After making sure her bag full of bits and bills was securely fastened and snug between her wings, she drew her revolver, readied the hammer, and tucked it into her feathers. She did the same with her second revolver, and ready to fight for her life, she nodded to Tumbleweed. The breakout started with a bang—literally. Tumbleweed fired two shots through the roof of the tent, and the terrified businessponies galloped for the exit, fearing for their lives. In the same instant, the Gang ran in the opposite direction, towards a gap in the tent. “Hang on!” Starlight shouted, and Kestrel saw her horn flare with blue magic. As the Gang burst through the tent flap and to the other side, the world took on a grayscale hue, and the canvas flap felt as stiff and brittle as a sheet of ice as Kestrel shouldered it out of the way. It wasn’t until she saw the dragonfly hovering motionless in front of her face did she realize that Starlight had paused time using her magic. “Come on,” Starlight growled, sweat already beading down her face. “I can’t keep this up forever. Let’s go!” Party Favor dragged Applejack along, who at first tried to resist until Silver Wings pointed her revolver at her. Gizmo followed behind, first at a leisurely pace, but breaking off into a trot at Wanderer’s order. As one, the Gang and their recent additions slipped through the conference, making their way past a pair of Pinks frozen in time running towards the back of the tent, and into the street beyond. Starlight is able to sustain her pause time spell using Scholar (8): Fail It was at that moment that Starlight’s horn popped and sparked, and the mare dropped her spell with a curse and a heaping helping of panting. Color returned to the world, along with the ambient sound of their surroundings, and Kestrel found herself momentarily disoriented as she stepped out of paused time. Tumbleweed quickly gave Starlight a shoulder to lean on as she recovered, and the mare gritted her teeth and shook her head. “Fuck. I’ve done that spell on a couple of ponies, but seven ponies and a robot? That’s new.” “I ain’t able to do anythin’ like that,” Tumbleweed assured her. “I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. But c’mon, we gotta get outta here.” “Pinks ain’t on us?” Silver asked, looking around. “We didn’t get that far from the tent…” The Gang rolls Lady Luck (Average of 6) to avoid being spotted by the Pinks: Success But Kestrel didn’t see any ponies in Pink suits rushing for her, and she considered that a blessing. “They ain’t expectin’ us to have anythin’ like Starlight’s magic,” she said. “Let’s not squander it while we got the upper hoof.” “We can make a run for it,” Party Favor said. “There aren’t too many ponies between us and the edge of the conference. Looks like they started evacuated the crowd.” “Orrrrrrr we can take that fancy flying doohickey!” Silver exclaimed, pointing off to the side. There, on a stretch of flat ground, a wooden frame supporting canvas stretched between its beams and combustion engines nestled on the spars sat, ready and waiting. “Why don’t we take Applejack’s flyin’ machine for a spin! You know how it works, right, Applejack?” Applejack’s eyes narrowed. “You ain’t gonna crash my flyin’ machine, you damn outlaws! Leave the damn thing be!” “You ain’t in any position to make demands of us,” Tumbleweed said. “We make our own decisions here.” Kestrel nodded. A decision was certainly what they needed right now. 1.     Flee the conference to the south. We gotta cross an open plain to get to safety, but it’s the quickest way outta this mess of tents and ponies. Let’s just hope nopony got any rifles ready to pick us off as we try to cross flat ground. 2.     Flee the conference using the flying machine. We can get those of us who ain’t got wings in that thing to fly off, assumin’ the damn things works, which ain’t a guarantee. Perhaps more pressin’, though, is the noise those engines’ll make as soon as we turn ‘em on. Let’s hope this thing is fast, because if we use it, we gotta be outta here as quick as we can. 3.     Hide in the conference until the coast is clear. The Pinks are expectin’ us to run for it, so what’ll they do if we hide in a tent and wait ‘til the perfect opportunity to move? They might fan out and leave the conference entirely, lettin’ us slip on outta here without much in the way of resistance… so long as we don’t get caught while we’re waitin’.