//------------------------------// // Chapter 122 // Story: Unshaken // by The 24th Pegasus //------------------------------// Hold the ransom in good faith: 12 Votes         “We can’t soil our word by actin’ how they think we are,” Kestrel said. “Gettin’ this whole thing set up in the first place was a risk in itself. If you asked me a week ago, I’d have said you’re kiddin’ yourself. Ain’t no way the Conglomerates were gonna talk with a bunch of outlaws like us. Yet here we are.” “Can we rely on their good faith any more than they can rely on ours, though?” Tumbleweed countered. He poked his hoof into Kestrel’s chest, right over her heart. “We are creatures of honor, Kestrel. We don’t rob from the poor. We don’t kill anypony unless they really need killin’. We do what we do to protect ourselves first, not just for the sickening thrill of murder and carnage. But in the eyes of these ponies, you think they see a difference between us and the Vipers? We’re all scum to them, Kestrel, and they’re gonna treat us like it.” “So we gotta prove that we ain’t,” Kestrel insisted. “We gotta make them see that honor that we hold, like it or not. If we can do that, then that gives us some wiggle room for somethin’ much more dangerous later on. I’d rather keep the door open on the chance to try and negotiate somethin’ should we need it later on rather than slam it shut first chance we get.” “A murderer can get in through an open door, but not a locked one.” Tumbleweed frowned. “And these ponies are murderers at heart. They cover it with sophistication and social standin’, but they’d kill a thousand of ponies like you and me if they felt it’d help ‘em get a few more bits.” After a moment, he sighed. “But I’m gonna be the one down there in the quarry with Wanderer and Applejack. I suppose it ain’t on me to decide when the charges go. That’s your job now. I’m leavin’ you in charge of everypony on the cliffs. Do what you think is necessary, and don’t get me killed.” “I won’t, boss,” Kestrel assured him. “You know I ain’t gonna let that happen.” “I know, Kessie. I know. But should it…” He took a long drag from his cigar, then blew out the smoke, the tiny orange light on the end of it casting an eerie, fiery glow on the cloud. “This gang was made by you and me, Kessie. I’ve always been first, but you’ve always been second. This band of ponies might be yours to worry ‘bout someday. Remember that.” Kestrel didn’t like the way Tumbleweed said that, but she nevertheless nodded and quietly added, “I will.” “Good.” Tumbleweed patted her on the shoulder. “Now get some rest, Kessie. Long day ahead of us tomorrow.” Then he walked away, taking the glowing ember of his cigar with him. Kestrel stood in the darkness as it vanished, wings pressed firmly against her sides. She felt like there was a chill in the air, pricking at the hair on the back of her neck, creeping down her chest. Tomorrow was going to be an important and dangerous day, of that she had no doubt. She just hoped that everypony would be able to get through it alright. The responsibility of when to blow Trixie’s charges lied with her, and in a sense, she was the one dictating the pace at which things happened in the morning. Supposing, of course, the Conglomerates didn’t start immediately shooting as soon as they showed up. She struggled to sleep when she finally made it back to her lean-to but, inevitably, morning came all the same. ----- Kestrel is no longer Grazed. Despite her lack of sleep the previous night, Kestrel was wide awake as the Gang advanced to the quarry. Tumbleweed, Roughshod, Wanderer, and Applejack accompanied her on the walk away from camp. Snapshot and Trixie had gone ahead to place the charges before sun up, and Silver had gone with them to help any way she could before she set up her observation platform and waited over the quarry. When Kestrel looked up at the lightening horizon, she could see three or four masses of cloud slowly drifting by the quarry, carried along by the breeze at altitude. Silver was in one of those, though she didn’t know which one. The silver pegasus would be almost impossible to see at a distance even if one knew she was supposed to be up there, and Kestrel doubted that any reinforcements the Conglomerates brought with them would be looking up anyway. Maybe their pegasi would, of which they would inevitably have a few, but ground-pounders tended to keep their eyes on the ground. Thinking in three dimensions wasn’t part of their biology. Everypony was quiet as they approached the quarry, even Applejack, though not by her choice. Tumbleweed had decided to gag her until the ransom was done, just in case her yelling brought any trouble for the Gang. But other than that, she wasn’t bound in any way. The four members of the Gang kept her in the middle of a diamond, and if she tried to make a run for it, she wouldn’t get very far before somepony stopped her. Besides, it wasn’t likely that she was interested in it anyway. She knew she was about to be let go as soon as the ransom went through; why risk ruining a surefire shot at getting out of this mess unscathed? They soon found the weakened cliff side where Trixie and Snapshot had planted the charges, along with the two ponies themselves, lying low in the brush.Wanderer and Roughshod hung back with Applejack, while Tumbleweed and Kestrel crept forward. Kestrel made sure to keep herself well clear of the wired fireworks and occasional stick of dynamite protruding out of little holes in the ground or wedged into cracks in the rocks. The last thing she needed was to get vaporized before the ransom even began. “Everything went well?” Tumbleweed asked them in a low whisper, crawling forward enough to peer through the brush to the other side of the quarry. Kestrel did the same, and noted a few ponies milling about the edge. She couldn’t see into the quarry from where she was, but she assumed there were more down there. “Trixie did everything right—and she triple checked the fuses this time.” She held up two red wires in her magic, their copper ends already shining in the pre-dawn light. “We just need to twist these together and then ready the blasting machine. Though Trixie trusts we won’t be blowing the charges while we’re still on the cliff…” “We may be crazy, but we ain’t that kind of crazy,” Kestrel assured her. She turned her attention once more to the other side of the quarry. “What sort of activity we got here? Silvie get us a count of what we’re up against?” How many hired guns did the Conglomerates bring along with them? 15 “Much more than we have,” Snapshot said. “She spotted fifteen; let us know with a note wrapped around a rock she dropped from her cloud. No Pinks though, so that’s good.” “Fifteen,” Tumbleweed said, frowning as he quickly did the math. “Twice as much as what we got. We only have seven.” “Starlight and her crew already are here,” Trixie said. “They’re in the quarry waiting for things to get started.” “That’s five more we can count on,” Kestrel said. “They’re supposed to be neutral, but if the shootin’ starts, they’re gonna get involved too, and it ain’t gonna be to shoot at us.” “Twelve to fifteen is more manageable,” Tumbleweed agreed. “Good.” He looked at Kestrel and touched the brim of his hat. “Sun’ll be up in a few minutes. Wanderer and I better get in position. You’ve got command of everypony else ‘til we get back.” “Good luck,” Kestrel said. “You’re gonna need it.” Tumbleweed sighed. “Still thinkin’ we shoulda blown this place open ‘fore the shootin’ starts, but that’s your call now.” He scooted back from the edge and stood up only when he was safely out of sight from the far end of the quarry. “If you gotta shoot, don’t miss.” [NO POLL FOR THIS CHAPTER]