"...Anypony moves, and her brain will paint this barn!" Shouted Wolf, that was aiming his 'Betsy' at the back of the head of Applejack, with his hoof tilting in the trigger.
"You both! Open this barn now!!" Shouted Dallas, aiming with his Bronco .44 at Big Mac. The image of the revolver completely creeped him out, as he knew that a single shot of that could tear a Buffalo appart.
Hoxton didn't said a single word. He just slipped between Big Mac and Applejack, and tied Applebloom's hooves and applied ductape to her mouth, so she wouldn't scream, or run.
But for real, they didn't expected a Foal there. It's true that criminals have their own morality. Well... Ones more than others, but still, they had a job to do -and a Filly would compromise the whole operation.
"Hox, apply some ductape for her eyes," Dallas said, still aiming the hoofcanon at Macintosh's face, "You know what always happens."
Hoxton did so, observing for the last time the Filly's innocent eyes, before being covered with the same blue ductape that was covering his cutiemark.
"...Open the damned barn!" Shouted Wolf, pulling his Locomotive-88 closer to AJ's head, making her feel the metal piece in the back of the mentioned bodypiece.
Big Mac obeyed, always looking at the menacing Buffalo-ripping metal piece. He slowly opened the door, showing hundreds of barrels, with apples inside of them. They all looked exactly the same.
"...Great." Hoxton said, while carrying Applebloom inside the barn, "Anypony up to start counting apples?"
"I've got a better idea." Said Dallas, while walking inside the barn, still aiming at Big Mac. "Wolf, bring that Mare in. They'll count the apples for us. If not..." He looked towards Wolf, that was still aiming his shotgun at Applejack's head.
"Start counting, big guy." Said Hoxton, trottling from one side to another of the barn, checking the obvious golden apples, mixed with the rest, "You too."
Wolf pushed AJ inside the barn. "You know what to do."
The group observed the two members of the Apple Family count apples, selecting the golden ones, and putting them in a stack away. When the stack was big enough, Hoxton grabbed one of the saddlebags, and filled it up. But, when he was ready to leave the barn and head straight to the carriage, he was forced to stop. An old Mare was slowly walking towards there, that just left the house.
"Sh... Guys, we've got a visitor." Said Hoxton, pointing towards the entrance.
"Who? Another by-passer?" Asked Dallas.
"Not really," Replied Hoxton, "It's just a granny."
Applejack raised her sight. "Granny Smith? No! Don't do anythin' to her!"
Dallas and Hoxton turned to her. Wolf was too busy trying to hold himself of pulling the trigger. Then, a voice up from the radio that their masks have integrated.
"...Guys, bad news. There's a group of civis' trottling inside the area. And, a Granny's heading towards the barn." Said Chain's voice trought the radio.
"Got it. You." Dallas pointed at Applejack. "I'll give you one chance to make your granny look somewhere else, and don't call any Royals here. If not, you can already say good-bye to the big guy." Dallas rolled the cylinder of his Bronco, meaning he was dead serious about this.
Applejack didn't said a word, as she slowly trottled outside, looking how Wolf was aiming at her brother with his shotgun, and Dallas was aiming at her with his revolver. Once AJ trottled outside the barn and headed towards Granny Smith, nopony in the group could hear what she was telling to the granny.
"Guys, she's going to reveal us." Said Hoxton, while dropping the closed saddlebag, and pulling out his silenced Bernetti-9.
"Now that I remember..." Said Dallas, rubbing his chin, under the mask, "She's Applejack, the wearer of the element of Honesty, right?"
Hoxton tilted his head, remembering her name, and the events that made the mane-6 famous all over Equestria. "Well, we're screwed. Good one, Dallas."
"Shut up." Dallas pulled out his M308 rifle, modified to be silent and bolt-action, and placed his telescopic sight on it. "Plan B, Hox."
"Granny, get back to the house, quick!" Whispered Applejack, trying to act normally.
"What'dya said, sweetie?" Said the granny, cleaning her right ear
"...I said..." Before she could end the phrase, she heardt a a quick buzz, followed by the image of the Granny falling in the ground, with a dart stuck in her neck.
She turned, to see horrified how Dallas was standing on both his hind legs, holding a rifle aiming straight at her through a telescopic sight. He pulled the bolt, and loaded another dart. Before he opened fire again with his silenced rifle, he signed Applejack to come to the barn. Hoxton came running from behind Dallas, with a saddlebag on his back, towards Applejack.
"You'd better go back..." Said Hoxton, pointing at Dallas, "He's a real markspony with that." He continued his way to the carriage, withought allowing AJ to reply.
She looked back at Granny Smith, and she saw her sleeping in the ground. Sleeping? Applejack crouched, to check if she was allright. Then, she felt how a needle went trought her neck, and everything around her blacked out...
"Bullseye." Said Dallas, loading his modified to bolt-action rifle. "Chains, everything clear?" He asked trought the radio on his mask.
"The other by-passers are heading somewhere else." Replied the Chain's voice in the radio, "But move your flanks, they'll be here anytime. Hey, Hoxtinator, how's it going?"
"Bffff..." Replied Hoxton's voice in the radio channel, "These saddebags weight a ton."
"Guys, focus. We're not done here yet. Hox, help me bring them both over here." Said Dallas, putting back his rifle, and trottling towards AJ.
"Got it. Let me give this to Twitch first."
"One saddlebag." Said the Mare's voice in the radio. "Bain believes that there's enough apples for six saddlebags there."
"Allright. Everypony, let's do this." Said Hoxton, trottling back to Granny Smith, that was snoring like if there was no tomorrow. He tied her legs with the ropes they all bring, and applied ductape to her mouth, both to prevent her from speaking, and snoring. Then, Hoxton dragged her inside the barn, and dumped her near Applejack, that was in the same situation, and close to Applebloom, the only tied hostage that was still awake.
"Hox, bring this saddlebag too." Said Dallas, while throwing another saddlebag to him. "This guy counts really slow."
"Heh." Lightly mocked Hoxton, while placing the saddlebag in his back. "C'mon, let's keep going." He left the barn, and made another trip to the carriage.
"Two bags so far." Suddently said a Mare's voice in the radio. "C'mon guys, we're going well. But be quick, ponies around are starting to suspect."
"Pfffft. I'm starting to get dead bored here." Exclaimed Wolf, that was still aiming his 'Betsy' at Big Mac, to make him do what he was told to. "Iv'e got a better idea to make this quicker."
"...What did you had in your strange mind?" Asked Dallas, that was sitting on an empty barrel, supervising Mac's work.
"This." Wolf took out from his suit a piece of plastic explosive, attached to a trigger and a battery.
"...Wolf..." Dallas face-hoofed.
"Dallas." Wolf replied.
Dallas sighted. "My dear Wolfie, didn't you learned your lesson from the Manehattan Diamond Hest?"
"Just think. Golden apples are stronger than normal apples, right?" He said, trowing the C-4 explosive towards a bunch of barrels of apples. "And, we have to make this quick too, right?"
"Wolf... Don't... Do... It..."
"Too late!" Wolf took out a hoof-helf detonator, and pushed it in the ground. This made the plastic explosive... Explode, blowing up the bunch of barrels, with apples inside. The explosion didn't only made the apples turn into cider almost instantly, but also trew away the golden apples, that bounced in the walls. Bic Mac flew away in the blast too, but since he's a tough one, he didn't really suffered any damage, but he smacked his head when he reached the ground, and felt uncontious.
Somehow, nopony outside the barn heard the explosion. Outside it, everything seemed normal, but the suspicious carriage parked in the outskirts. Applebloom and Applejack were completely covered in the remains of the apples, and the little Filly was trying to scream the hardest she could, but the ductape in her mouth didn't allowed her to.
"Wolf, you deserve a medal... Sometimes." Said Dallas, cleaning the splattered apples from his suit. "C'mon, we've got some apples to pick."
"Whatever." Replied Wolf, doing the same, and cleaning his beloved 'Betsy'.
When Hoxton came inside the barn, he only saw Dallas and Wolf picking apples in the mess. "Eh... What did I missed?"
"Wolf's big plan. That's what you missed." Said Dallas, throwing him another saddlebag filled with golden fruits.
"I see." Replied Hoxton, picking the saddlebag, and to his back. "Hey, Chains. Come over here, and help us carry all this." He said to the radio channel.
"Allright." Replied Chains. "Let's do this quick, I think the group from before is coming back."
Dallas and Wolf finished packing other three saddlebags, and Hoxton took another one. Once Chains arrived, they all picked the saddlebags, and went to the carriage.
"I can't believe that nopony heard that explosion." Said Dallas.
"What explosion?" Asked Chains.
"Mine, of course." Replied Wolf. "Let's say, they'll have to collect apples again."
"I see... Damn Wolf, thanks to you, no more cider in a while!" Shouted Chains, as he hit Wolf in the back of his head.
"Ow! Don't worry, with the money we'll make with these, you'll be able to buy all the cider you want, from anywhere in Equestria."
"Hm. You're probably right. Sorry, Wolfie. I'll get you a nice Mare with that money too." Mocked Chains.
"Hahah. Very funny. If I had fingers, I would just popped the middle one to you, jerk." Replied Wolf, as they arrived to the carriage, and dropped all the saddlebags inside, and jumped in.
"...Guys, you're starting to don't sound professional." Said Dallas, trying to recover a bit of morality between his team members.
"Whatever..." Replied Wolf.
"Hoho. You've got them all?" Asked Twitch, shooting out a smile. "Bain's going to get jumpy for this."
"Ya, whatever." Replied Dallas. "Straight to the Safehouse, sweetie."
"At your command. C'mon guys, let's go!" She said to the two Stallions pulling the carriage.
...Big Mac woke up. He was facing the roof, and was completely covered in the remains of apples. His head was hurting, as he seemed to hit the ground. When he got up, he saw horrified how the apples they've been collecting for a while were splattered all around the barn. He didn't remembered anything from before he hit his head, but he remembered AJ and Applebloom being tied up in front of him, by a band of masked, and suited ponies.
He trottled around, trying to find his family, untill he heard a muffled cry, from under a pile of mashed apples. He came closer, and started to clean the splattered apples, untill he finnaly saw something recognizeable: Applejack's hat. He got his hooves deeper, and grabed Applejack, and lifted her in the air. She had a dart stuck in her neck, and she was asleep.
"AJ... Wake up, sis!" He shouted.
No response. She was deeply asleep. Then, he heard another muffled shout, right from where he took Applejack. He left applejack at his right, and digged deeper in the small hill of mashed apples. He felt something soft at the end, that wasn't more mashed apples. He pulled, and had Applebloom hanging from her tail. She was hoof-tied and had blue ductape in her mouth and eyes.
"Hmmmmpf!" Half-said Applebloom.
Big Mac just pulled out the ductape from his little sister, as she screamed of full pain, as it took out some hairs.
"...Ow!" She finally said, as she could see and breathe again.
"You allright, Applebloom?" Asked Macintosh.
"Not at all... Who where those ponies?" She asked, "And why did they did that?"
"Iv'e got no idea..."
A loud snore was heard. Deeper in the mashed apples, Granny Smith was sleeping. Macintosh untied Applebloom, and digged deeper. There she was, sleeping like if nothin'.
Applebloom jumped over AJ, in an attempt to wake her up.
"I.. Ugh... Wha...?" Finally said Applejack when she woke up. She wasn't used to sleep much, as the job in the Apple Acres required a lot of phisical workout, and a daily wake up early.
She got untied, and they all hugged (But Granny Smith, she was still asleep).
"What did just happened here??" AJ said, when she saw the splattered apples all around the interior of the barn.
"We've been robbed..." Said Bic Mac, still shocked abbout the assault of the Acres.
"By who...?" Asked Applejack. Before she recieved any answers, she felt something in her pocket. She grabbed it. It was a small paper, wich had written:
" Applejack. If you say anything about us, we'll come back, and finish what we started. -OVRKLL. "