Lightning Dust landed on the windowsill and immediately ran downstairs to Babs, who was sitting on the sofa, reading some book about growing cherries. Cherry Jubilee was sitting next to her, silent, while Diamond Tiara was sleeping, curled next to the fireplace.
“What’s goin’ on?” Babs asked, raising her head from the book. “By the way, there’s some interestin’ stuff in here. Once we run away, I’m gonna start growin’ cherries. Applejack would have a heart attack...”
“Soon, you’ll have lots of time to think about it,” Lightning Dust replied dryly. “The whole town is full of cops.”
The book fell on the floor. “What?” Babs asked. “H-how?”
“You tell me...” Lightning Dust turned to Cherry Jubilee, whose face went pale. “You don’t have anything to do with that, do you?”
“Of course not!” Cherry Jubilee exclaimed, shuddering and glancing nervously at Babs. “I didn’t leave house since you arrived...”
“Then how do they know we’re here?” Lightning Dust started to pace around the room. “We need to get out of here...”
“But how?” Babs asked. “Not everypony of us can fly, you know...”
Diamond Tiara woke up and trotted to them. “What happened?” she asked.
“The guards are on us,” Babs replied quickly. “Lightning says that the whole town is full of them.
Diamond Tiara froze. She saw Silver Spoon walking from behind the sofa. “What to do?” she muttered to her.
“You will know,” Silver replied.
Suddenly, they heard knocking at the door. Lightning Dust looked at it, while Babs grabbed Cherry Jubilee’s shotgun resting against the sofa. Their guest knocked once more.
“Cherry?” They heard a voice from the outside. “Are ya here?”
“It’s Cornflower,” Cherry Jubilee whispered. “She’s my friend.”
“Cherry?” Cornflower asked unsurely. “Are you okay? I haven’t seen ya in, like, three days...”
“Tell her that you’re sick,” Lightning Dust whispered.
“I’m okay!” Cherry exclaimed, and faked cough badly. “I’m just a little sick... I’ll visit you once I get better.”
“Are ya sure?” Cornflower wasn’t going to give up easily. “I can help ya... Cook ya something... Or maybe ya need some meds?”
“No, thanks, really...” Cherry’s voice faltered. Some tears escaped her eyes. “I’ll manage...”
“Are ya crying, Cherry?” Cornflower asked. “Nevermind. I’m coming in...” They heard a sound of a doormat being pulled to the side and the ringing of the keys.
“Crap...” Babs muttered. She got up from the sofa and sat on the floor in front of the door. Lightning Dust turned her head to her to see that she had the shotgun with her.
“Babs, don’t...”
“Don’t worry, I’ll only invite her inside...”
The door opened and Cornflower, a grayish mare with honey-coloured mane wearing a brown hat stood on the porch. Suddenly, her eyes widened when she saw Babs aiming a shotgun at her.
“Come inside...” Babs muttered through gritted teeth. Cornflower took a tentative step forward. Suddenly, she turned around and started to run away. Cursing, Babs pulled the trigger.
Most of the pellets hit the door frame, throwing a wave of splinters around. Some of them, however, hit Cornflower’s flanks and hind legs, causing her to scream and collapse, rolling on the ground. Babs lowered her gun.
Lightning Dust wanted to say something, but had to catch Cherry Jubilee who passed out, seeing her friend getting shot. Diamond Tiara also staggered and rested herself against the couch.
“Before ya start to yell at me,” Babs said coldly, closing the door and pushing a nearby chest of drawers to barricade it. “She was going to call the guards...”
“Yeah, and now we have a dying pony on our front lawn,” Lightning Dust replied with a sigh, trying to bring Cherry Jubilee back to consciousness. “You could’ve as well put a banner here, saying ‘here we are, come and get us!’”
“Should I go and bring her?” Babs asked.
“Too late,” Lightning Dust replied. “Your shot will lure everypony in the town here...” They heard rapid hoofsteps from the outside.
Babs ran to the window and rested the shotgun against the sill. “Don’t move or I’ll shoot!” she shouted.
“Drop the gun and get out!” some stallion shouted. “We’re surrounding you!”
“We have a hostage!” Babs shouted back. “Don’t go anywhere closer or we’ll shoot her!”
“Don’t make your situation worse, Babs!”
“S-scootaloo?” Babs loosened her grip on the shotgun. “Who cares... Don’t go here! I’ll shoot ya...”
“Babs!” Lightning Dust hissed. “You’d better let me negotiate...”
“And what will ya ask for?” Babs asked. “An airship? Did somepony ever get an airship?”
“Do you want to spend you whole life in prison?”
“No,” Babs replied. “What’s the difference? Whole life or twenty years...” Suddenly, she aimed and fired, missing a guard by about two metres. She quickly reloaded the shotgun and pointed it at the ponies outside again. “One more such try...”
“Let us at least help that mare!” Scootaloo was almost begging her. “Do you want her to die because of you too?”
Before Babs could reply, Lightning Dust pushed her away from the window; Babs fell down, but didn’t let go off the shotgun. “We agree!” Lightning Dust replied. “Take her and get out!”
“Who are you?” the stallion, who was apparently the commander of the guards surrounding the house asked.
“Lightning Dust,” Lightning replied. Next to her, Babs stood by the window again. “And who are you?”
“We keep the owner of this house hostage, remember!” Babs added.
“Front Kick, from Ponyville Royal Guard,” the stallion replied. “Is Diamond Tiara with you?”
“Yes,” Lightning Dust replied, looking at Diamond Tiara, who was sitting next to half-conscious Cherry Jubilee with a blank expression. “She’s taken her medicine and should be safe...”
“What do you want?” Front Kick asked.
“Freedom,” Lightning Dust replied. She knew that it couldn’t be done, but it was always worth trying.
“I’m afraid we can’t do that,” Front Kick said. “You’re all wanted for murders. Release the hostage and we won’t add abduction to that...”
Babs gulped, clenching her hooves on the shotgun. “Diamond Tiara did nothing wrong,” she said in an emotionless tone.
“The judge will tell...” Front Kick replied. “If you won’t release the hostage, we’ll have to storm the house...”
Babs walked to the sofa where Cherry Jubilee and Diamond Tiara were sitting and aimed her shotgun at them. “Just try!” she shouted. “I’ll shoot them both!”
“Babs... Are you crazy?” Lightning Dust whispered. She tried to approach Diamond, but she stopped, seeing the barrels aimed at her.
“Maybe,” Babs replied, swallowing her tears. “Ya see yourself... We can’t negotiate with them...”
“Then we’ll need to surrender,” Lightning Dust said. “It was nice to be free for three years, but my time came. I’ll open the door and no one will get hurt, okay?”
“No!” Babs shouted. “I... I’d rather die than go to jail... It’ll be faster...”
“C’mon, Babs...” Lightning Dust rolled her eyes. “You’re a wise filly... Just think about it... You’re only nineteen... So many things can happen to you...”
“Don’t tell me what to do!” Babs exclaimed, her hooves shaking. “I... I just can’t...”
“Babs, please...” Lightning said in a soft voice. “I killed a guy so you could live... Don’t waste this...”
Babs shuddered. The shotgun in her hooves lowered a few centimetres. Suddenly, they heard a squeak of the door opening.
“Babs, NO!” Lightning Dust exclaimed, seeing Babs galloping towards the door.
Diamond Tiara blinked. In front of her, she saw Babs Seed talking with Lightning Dust. Next to her, Cherry Jubilee was watching them, paralysed by fear. Diamond felt her mind getting clearer; she could finally move her hooves without the feeling as if she was wading in a syrup. The static blocking her hearing disappeared. She could easily hear the voices of the guards outside. Scootaloo was among them... She blinked once more and saw that Babs was aiming a shotgun at Lightning Dust. She had to do something...
“You will know what to do,” Silver Spoon said. She was standing by the door. Next to her, stood Curtain Call – but not the Curtain Call from visions created by Diamond Tiara’s sick mind, but rather the one she’d first seen over ten years before – a small, scared filly, whose only desire was to play with her peers.
“Let’s go, Diamond,” Curtain Call said.
Diamond Tiara stood up. The rug muffled her hoofsteps. She walked out of the room, unseen by Babs, though she had a feeling that Lightning Dust saw her. As quietly as she could, she creeped through the hall to the door. There, she pushed the chest of drawers. Babs was too busy yelling at Lightning Dust to notice.
Diamond wiped sweat from her forehead. The chest of drawers was heavy, but it wasn’t only that. Something strange was happening with Diamond’s body; she wasn’t sure if it was some effect of her meds or maybe it was a sign of them wearing off.
Finally, the piece of furniture was moved out of the way. Diamond Tiara took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
Babs, seeing Diamond Tiara walking towards the guards, ran to the door, shouting something. She stood on hind legs. All her world was falling apart around her; all she could do was to give up and let it bury her under the debris. She held her breath and blinked to get rid of the tears from her eyes. Then, seeing that Diamond Tiara was about to walk next to the puddle of Cornflower’s blood, she aimed the shotgun at her.
Archer was faster. Seeing the silhouette of Babs in the dim hallway, she darted forward with the crossbow in her mouth. She held her breath and aimed in a split second. Her teeth clenched around the trigger. The string started to move forward, pushing the bolt out. It flew between Diamond Tiara’s ears and hit Babs Seed’s chest.
Time slowed to a crawl. Babs looked at the bolt, surrounded by quickly spreading spot of blood on her fur. She took a step backwards and lost balance, collapsing on her back and dropping the shotgun.
Several guards darted from behind the bushes, following Archer, who dropped her crossbow. Two of them tackled Diamond Tiara, while the rest, including Scootaloo, ran to Babs.
“Babs!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “Oh no...”
Babs coughed, spitting some blood. She looked at Scootaloo and smiled widely. Her breath was heavy and slow, each inhale causing bright red, foamy blood escaping her wound.
“Babs!” Scootaloo put her hoof on Babs’ wound, trying to stop the bleeding. “What will I tell Apple Bloom?”
“That...” Babs said in a raspy whisper and coughed. “... her cousin...” Another cough. Scootaloo leaned closer to her to hear the next words exactly. “... screwed up...” Babs’ body went limp. Her green eyes remained open, staring at the ceiling. Scootaloo couldn’t bring herself to look into them.
“I... I’m sorry...” Archer whispered, watching Scootaloo swallowing her tears, holding Babs in her hooves. “I didn’t want to...”
“It’s okay...” Scootaloo said, her tone bearing no emotions. “You did what you had to...” She looked at Babs once again and closed her eyes, her hoof shaking.
Diamond Tiara approached them, escorted by one of the guards. She was crying openly. Archer walked to her and hugged her.
“I didn’t mean to end it like that...” Diamond Tiara sobbed. “She... I don’t remember half of the things that happened...”
“It’ll be okay,” Scootaloo said in a tone suggesting that she didn’t believe her own words.
“Hey! Where’s that third one?” Chocolate Donut exclaimed. He was standing in the living room, where the guards were telling Cherry Jubilee, sitting on a stretcher and wrapped in a blanket, that Cornflower’s state was stable.
“Broken window in the kitchen,” another guard said. “She ran away in that whole commotion...”
Front Kick banged his hoof against the wall and sighed. “Just great... Now all we have is a corpse...”
Scootaloo hid her face in her hooves.