//------------------------------//
// Straight and True 
// Story: Ponyville Paintball 
// by Wisher 
//------------------------------//

	The sound of hoofsteps softly crushing the brittle leaves broke the silence of the Everfree Forest as two ponies cautiously advanced through the woods. Nothing moved but the branches of trees, swaying in the midday wind. The sky was pale and the air heavy with tension; the signs of a coming storm. Time was precious for these two ponies, and they were careful to move at a good pace but avoided making too much noise. Or else they would be heard. Or worse, they would be seen. 

Treading carefully forward, the pony leading the way stopped for a moment, raising her hoof to signal to the other one that they had to stop for a second. She squinted her eyes and slowly ran her gaze through the trees. She was an orange mare, sleek but toned, with a shiny mane of pure blond. She wore a stetson hat, which had become the trademark item for those who knew her, and which right now cast a shadow over her furrowed brow. 

After a while, she gave a small sigh of annoyance.

“Consarn it.”

The other pony, a petite pegasus mare with a yellow coat and pink mane walked up to her friend nervously.

“What is it, Applejack? We’re not in any trouble, are we?” she asked, in a shaky voice barely above a whisper, her sky-blue eyes wide open and darting left and right in fear.

Applejack turned around to face Fluttershy. She gave her a confident smile.

“Nah, sugarcube. We ain’t in trouble.”

She turned around to look back at trees as far as the eye could see.

“It’s jus’ this place,” she said. “It’s too quiet for mah tastes.”

“Maybe everypony moved to Ponyville?” suggested Fluttershy. Applejack shook her head.

“Nah. The game stays in the Everfree Forest. Princess said so herself.”

“Well I wish she hadn’t...” replied Fluttershy. “I wish she would’ve chosen somewhere less... scary,” she said, her voice turning into a squeak.

Applejack turned around and put a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder.

“It’s alright, sugarcube. You’re with me. We ain’t gonna lose this.”

“Oh, but... one of us has to, right? We can’t both win...” replied Fluttershy, unconvinced by Applejack’s words of reassurance. The earth pony’s smile faded, and she started to stare into space with a somber expression. It was true. There would be no room for two survivors at the end of this. She looked back into Fluttershy’s eyes, seeing that she had worried her even further than before. She gave her another warm, confident grin.

“Let’s jus’ move on, now,” she said.

Fluttershy gave a small nod and seemed to relax. The two ponies resumed their walking through the forest, Fluttershy now side-by-side with Applejack.

“I’m sorry, you know...” said Fluttershy after a while. “I know I can’t play paintball too well. You know, if ever you feel like I’m slowing you down, you go on ahead without me Applejack, I don’t mind...”

Applejack shook her head with a smile.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it none, Fluttershy. Yer fine, you don’t slow me down.”

“Oh, thank you for saying so, Applejack,” replied Fluttershy. “I just hope I’m not a burden... I’m trying to be a better shooter, but--”

“Ah’ll tell ya what,” cut in Applejack. “Ya might think that the skilled shooter is the cowpony who can shoot fifteen rounds in no time and keep his hat on right, but it ain’t really about that. All ya need is one shot.”

“One shot?”

“You betcha. Everypony big or small is out of the game with one bullet, ya know. So all ya need to do to win, is set the right conditions, nice ‘n’ easy, and give ‘em hell with one shot, straight and true.”

“One shot, straight and true...”

“That’s right. Your life rides on every single bullet you shoot. Can’t afford to mess it up by bein’ rash ‘n’ all. So ya just set the game right, nice ‘n’ easy now, and all you’ll need is one bullet to win.”

“Wow, Applejack,” said Fluttershy in a whisper of awe, “you really know a lot about this game.”

Applejack stopped in her tracks abruptly, which startled Fluttershy. The earth pony squinted her eyes again. She was looking intently for something.

“Ain’t no game,” she muttered.

Suddenly, both of them heard a crunching sound in the woods. Applejack’s ears perked up like those of a bloodhound at the sound of wild game, and one of them flickered while she scanned the area, eyes wide and breath held. Suddenly the noise repeated itself, and Applejack’s head locked itself in one particular direction. She pulled her head ever so slowly backwards towards Fluttershy.

“Right here," she whispered.

Fluttershy had adopted the instinctive reflex to duck and stay down, like prey that had seen its predator. She looked about frantically for the spot Applejack was talking about, her heart thundering in her little chest.

Very slowly and without the slightest noise, Applejack edged herself towards a nearby bush. She brought one hoof to the bush, ready to pull it to the side and reveal what was behind it, and another one to her lips. She turned around and signalled to Fluttershy to be very quiet. When the frightened pegasus gave her a shaky nod, Applejack slowly turned round to face the bush, and brought her free hoof to her gun, which rested in the pocket of a saddle strapped to her waist.

There was no sound or movement for a few seconds. Then, in an incredibly swift movement, Applejack swept the bush aside and took a step forward, pointing her gun straight before her as she did.

Behind the bush was a clearing. In the middle of it stood simple makeshift camp, around a bonfire. In front of the bonfire, on a large fallen log used as a bench, sat a red stallion familiar to Applejack. With a sigh she lowered her gun and took a few steps forward.

“Dammit, Mac. You scared me.”

Big Mac looked at his sister, completely unperturbed that she had just appeared out of nowhere and was aggressively pointing a gun in his direction. He simply sat in front of the fire he’d made, a long hay straw dangling from his mouth.

Fluttershy took a peek through her forehooves. When she realized that Applejack’s brother was the source of the noise, she relaxed a bit and walked up next to the farm mare.

“H-Hello Big Mac...” she said shyly. Big Mac gave her a brief nod in response.

“What in the heck is all this, anyway?” asked Applejack, looking around at her brother’s camp and tent. “Ya really think now’s a good time to go on a stargazin’ trip?”

Big Mac simply looked at her for a few seconds, completely expressionless.

“Ah’m settin’ camp,” he said after a while in a deep, flat voice, “ta catch ponies that come too close.”

Applejack scoffed. “Well, that sure is one way ta play the game.”

Big Mac shook his head.

“It’s not a game. Ah heard ya say so mahself. This here’s warfare.”

“Jus’ a manner of speakin’, Mac,” replied Applejack in annoyance.

“Jus’ sayin’. You an’ ah both know what it really is.”

There was a long, heavy silence for a minute.

“Where’s Caramel?” asked Applejack.

“Got struck down early,” replied her brother flatly, staring into the distance. “Couldn’ afford to stay back for him. You know how ah play.”

Something about that last sentence struck Applejack.

“... Yeah, ah know.”

Something was stirring uncomfortably inside her. She had a bad feeling about this. She knew her brother by heart. Including his way of playing paintball. The game had been in their family for generations, and they’d both grown up with it. She’d had plenty of time to analyse his playing style. And right now, she didn’t like what she was seeing...

She decided to stall him. Maybe she could still get a clean getaway with him, but she doubted it.

“Why are ya playin’ this anyhow?”

“For the same reason everypony else is. For the same reason you are. Last pony standing gets the prize, which is the one thing--”

“The one thing your heart desires. Yeah, ah know,” said Applejack, finishing her brother’s sentence. Everypony’s game right now revolved around those mysterious words, that had been instructed to them by Princess Celestia herself.

There was another moment of silence.

“There can only be one winner,” said Big Mac after a while.

Uh oh... thought Applejack. “True,” she replied with a nod. “But that don’t mean we gotta go an’ shoot each other silly, now. You and ah have common interests. The longer we work together, the longer we’ll both stand.”

“That’s right,” he replied. “You're useful to me.”

Slowly he got up and stood in front of the two mares, who had tensed up.

“But ah don’t need her at all,” he said.

Quickly he grabbed his own gun and pointed it straight at Fluttershy. The pegasus gave a squeak and fell to the ground, helplessly shielding her eyes with her trembling hooves. Mac would’ve pulled the trigger if he hadn’t spotted his sister at the last second, pointing her own weapon back at him.

She looked at him with a menacing glare, her breathing shallow and her every sense alert. This was what she had dreaded. Despite his usual quiet self, she knew exactly what kind of paintball player he was. And it was nothing like his usual self.

He was ruthless. And she’d walked straight into his trap.

“Eeeasy now, Big Macintosh,” she said, trying to keep her composure. “This little one’s with me. If you shoot her, we don’t have no mutual trust no more.”

Big Mac shrugged.

“We’re gonna end up pointin’ barrels at each other anyways, AJ,” he said, perfectly calm. “How long your friends last ain’t important.”

“Come on, now,” replied Applejack. “Ah got mah gun aimed at you. The moment you pull the trigger, ah’ll pull mine, and you’ll be out. Don’t be a dummy now.”

“Ah ain’t afraid of that gun o' yours,” replied Mac. “If ah dodge your bullet, and ah can do that, ah’ll have a window to take you out.”

“Well, aren’t you the bold one,” scoffed Applejack.

“Ya can’t intimidate me,” said the ever-composed Big Mac.

“Ah can’t by mahself, that’s for sure...” replied his sister. “But maybe this can.”

With a fast move of her hoof, Applejack kicked the ground strongly and sent something lying there flying upwards. Having seldom taken his eyes off his target, Big Mac hadn’t noticed Applejack moving slowly towards his tent, and the Smarty Pants doll lying nearby.

Applejack caught the flying doll with her free forehoof, balancing herself ably on her two hind legs. She pointed the gun at her new hostage.

She looked at Big Mac, and grinned internally when she saw a pang of fear flick through his eyes for a split second, unnoticeable to all but her.

“Let us go, or else,” she said with newfound confidence.

“Drop the gun, sis,” said her brother, not caring about Fluttershy anymore, pointing the gun absent-mindedly towards her.

“You drop yours first,” said Applejack menacingly.

“Ya know ah can’t do that.”

“Is that so?” asked Applejack, slowly bringing the gun closer to the Smarty Pants doll’s temple. Big Mac’s brow furrowed slightly.

“If you ain’t gonna drop that gun, let go of Miss Smarty Pants,” he said with a hint of annoyance.

Applejack gave him a smirk. “Alright then,” she said. And with that, she threw the doll high up above her.

Big Mac watched his beloved doll fly towards the trees, fearing that their branches might scratch it. Applejack took advantage of this diversion of hers, and while Big Mac lifted his head up high, she pointed her gun towards him with a flick of her hoof and fired a single shot.

Big Mac had no time to retaliate. The telltale splat of a paintball hitting him square in the chest echoed in his ears. He felt pain, but not from the impact of the bullet. His pride was hurt. His sister, and eternal paintball rival, had shot him out of their biggest game yet.

He watched her, eyes wide and mouth agape. She simply smirked at him. It was rare to see him with such an expression, let alone any expression at all.

“Yer out,” she said proudly, catching the doll back in her hoof once more.

Big Mac regained his senses and stomped the ground angrily with an expression of fury.

“Dammit, AJ!” he bellowed. “That was just low of you!”

Applejack holstered her gun back in her saddle with a chuckle.

“War is war, sugarcube. Now accept yer defeat like a stallion and let us winners be on our way,” she said, extending the doll to him. Big Mac trotted towards her, fuming, his large head hanging low in shame and anger.

“Yer too old ta be playin’ with dolls anyhow,” teased his sister. Mac simply snatched the doll angrily in his maw and stormed away, muttering something about telling Granny on his sister.

Applejack watched in amusement as her brother left. When he was far away, she looked back to Fluttershy. The meek pegasus was still cowering and trembling, expecting to be shot at any minute. Applejack laughed heartily at her friend's cute display.

“You can git back up, Fluttershy,” she said. “We’re safe.”

Fluttershy gave a cautious peek, and slowly eased herself upwards. She looked around to make sure she was safe, and then looked at Applejack.

“Th-Thank you Applejack...” she said, still a little shoken up.

“Don’t mention it,” replied Applejack with a chuckle. “See how ah did it? Ah played him like mah granpappy used to play the fiddle on our front porch! Ah set the game right, and gave him one shot only. Ya gotta learn how ta do that if you wanna hold yer own, ya hear?”

Fluttershy nodded in admiration at her friend’s sense of control. She felt safe with her.

“Come on now,” said Applejack, regaining seriousness. “We got a whole lotta ground to cover.”

She started walking past the camp, further into the forest, followed by her anxious pegasus friend.



* * *




Wisher


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Ponyville Paintball