Applejack's hand moved over her mouth as she stifled something, either a gag or a sob, or maybe even a combination of the two. She couldn't tear her horrified gaze away from the body she was staring at, as much as she wanted too and as much as her brain told her body to turn away. Finally, the blanket slipped out of her hand, covering up the child once again.
She turned around and briskly walked out of the room, tears welling up at her eyes as she stumbled and fell onto her knees in the hallway. Harsh sobs suddenly poured out of her, tearing at her throat and making it even more dry than it already was. It was like a dam had suddenly burst, and months of built-up emotions were all tumbling out at once, and all she could do was sit there and wait it out.
And wait it out she did. Many long minutes passed until the stream of tears stopped falling from her face, and her nose was stuffy and runny. She felt terrible, and just wanted to curl up on the floor right there. Wiping her nose on her gloved hand, she slowly stood back up, slipping her revolver back into her holster as she glanced down the stairs. She left the front door open.
I swear I closed the damn thing. She sighed as she made her way down the stairs, reaching an arm out to slowly close the front door. As her hand pressed against the wood, she paused.
I did close it.
Her eyes widened, and before she could turn around, she felt something heavy collide into her back, knocking her body forward against the door and slamming it shut. She felt a sharp pain in the front of her head as it struck the wooden door, and she soon felt something spin her around and try to grip at her shirt. Even through the blur she was stuck in from her head injury, Applejack's adrenaline didn't let her rest. "Get offa me!"
She lashed out with a leg, aiming for the center of the person-shaped mass hanging over her. She must've hit it, because it flinched and let go of her shirt, stumbling back a step or two as she clambered back onto her feet. She reached her hand down to her hip, fingers curling around the grip of her revolver as she drew it from its holster. Before she could aim it properly, the person she kicked lunged at her, tackling her and sending them both down to the floor. She felt a large hand curl around her wrist before it started smashing her hand into the floorboards, knocking the revolver from her grasp and sending it sliding a foot or two across the floor.
She felt the hand on the front of her shirt again, and she struggled, trying to turn her body away from the man now hovering over her. Ripping her hand from his grip, she sent her fist straight into his jaw. He recoiled back, and she used this opportunity to kick him square in the knee, as hard as she could. He let out a curse and his leg buckled, nearly falling on top of her. Her arms moved to catch him, and she pushed him off to the side before she rolled over and pushed herself up and back onto her feet.
Now that he was on the ground, she used this moment to lift her leg up, driving her boot-covered foot right into the side of his head. She heard it whack against the floor, and even though he wasn't moving after that, she didn't stop, her heart beating quick and adrenaline pumping through her entire being, so caught up in the moment that she drove her foot into him again and again until his face was a bruised, bloody mess. She finally stopped then, her whole body shaking as she breathed heavily, staring down as what she did in her blind rage.
She waited until she was calmed down before she slowly reached down, her hands gripping under his limp arms as she started to pull him outside. Opening the door back up, she dragged him to the edge of the porch before kicking him off and into a patch of overgrown weeds, nearly hiding the body entirely. Her gloved hand lifted to wipe the beads of sweat from her brow.
"God dammit."
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She raised the rifle up to her shoulder, peering down the sights as she lined up her target. She hated shooting people, even when they deserved it, but she had to protect her sister. There was no hesitation before she pulled the trigger, the kick from the rifle lifting her sight above her target and ramming the stock of the rifle into her wounded shoulder. She held back a yelp of pain, but her aim was true, and the round she fired struck one of the men dead in the back. She pulled the bolt back, cycling around round as she aimed at the other guy. Before he could fully turn around and register what happened, his neck was penetrated by a speeding piece of lead, blood spraying from his body as he crumpled and fell to the ground. Applejack chambered the next bullet, hollering across the street.
"Apple Bloom, stay there! I'm comin'!" She peered out from behind her cover, met with a cloud of splintered wood as gunfire met the corner of the building. She flinched and moved her head back. One more guy on that rooftop. Easy.
Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she raised the rifle to her shoulder again, moving quickly out of cover and aiming at the rooftop where the other raider was. He took the shot when she peaked out, and he hit the building just a few inches to the left of her. He missed her entirely. She wouldn't make the same mistake.
She pulled the trigger, the rifle once again kicking into her shoulder as it shot the lightning-fast projectile right at the gunman's head. His cranium exploded in a shower of bone and blood, and he tumbled off the rooftop, landing on the ground with a hard thud. She chambered another round before she looked around the town. Spotting no one else right away, she ran over to where her hat rested on the ground. She reached down and picked it up, brushing it off and placing it back atop her head as she walked back to the wagon, where she was greeted by a giant hug from her little sister. She smiled and held her gently as Apple Bloom sniffed.
"I almost thought you wouldn't come back. I heard all the guns and..."
"Hey now, I told ya I'd make it. Didn't think I'd lie to you, did ya?" She leaned back, smiling reassuringly down at her little sister. "Come on, we gotta get outta here." She stood up, holding her hand out. Apple Bloom stood as well, wiping at her eyes and nose before taking the outstretched hand in hers.