//------------------------------// // Leaving the Vault // Story: Appledashery // by Just Essay //------------------------------// Rainbow's eyelids fluttered. White hot pain shot through her brain. Synapses fired, transporting her to a dozen different places at once. She smelled rainwater... the breath from her father's smiling muzzle... Pinkie Pie's party favors. Like cotton candy. Time slowed. She saw a crowbar raising... aimed for her head. A mule's yellow-toothed smile. "Mrmmmffggh..." Rainbow gurgled. She raised a limp hoof, mewling... pleading. "AJ..." SWOOOOSH! Listing Breeze's muscular figure flew in, plowing the mule into a nearby wall. WHAM! "Augh!" The Hump Ganger dropped his crowbar. Cl-Clank! Braying, he bucked his rear legs multiple times into Listing's chest with the merciless power of an angry donkey. "Rrrrrgh!" Listing took half of the impacts, gnashing her teeth. "That all you got? Haaaugh!" She contacted his skull to the vault floor with a very familiar style of suplex. WHUD! Rainbow caught her breath around this moment. It was with good timing too, for she spotted the second guard rushing Listing's right flank. "Listing! Behind you!" Listing Breeze ducked blindly. A savagely thrown punch flew over her orange mane. Rearing back up, she flapped her wings in reverse, knocking the guard off balance. "Wanna dance, do ya?" Listing jumped, kicked off a wall, and flew towards the guard in a violent corkscrew. "I call this the Cloudsdale waltz!" Whuddd! Listing shoved the thug through a stack of wooden crates besides two adjacent doorframes. Splinters and debris littered the floor. The pegasus straddled the mule, repeatedly pummeling his helpless face. By this time, the first thug had gotten up from the floor. Spitting blood, the mule grabbed a crate and approached Listing from behind. With a gasp, Rainbow exercised her only good limbs. Fwooosh! With a flap of her wings, she glided belly-first across the floor and wrapped her numb forelegs around the mule's rear fetlocks. "Aaaugh!" The mule fell on his chest, dropping the crate. Clank! Listing paused in punching his companion to a pulp. She looked over her shoulder. With an angry snarl, she grabbed the big bag of loot and swung it towards the gang member's skull. Rainbow wheezed: "No, dang it! Listing, don't—!" Smassssssh! The resulting impact tore the bag open, spilling the stolen contents of the armory across the grimy vault floor. "... ... ..." Listing winced. "Whoops..." "Nice going!" Rainbow wheezed. She used the now-unconscious thug to pull herself up from the floor, quivering. "I thought you wanted to leave this place rich!" "Yeah, well, you're welcome ya little dipshit!" Listing barked. "Why are you mad at me?! You're the one who bucked all this up!" "I've no time for this..." Listing grumbled, marching towards the door. "Since you can't open a single friggin' door, looks like I gotta do the hard work." "Oh, so now you wanna leave?!" "Shut up and pick all the crud up," Listing hissed, struggling as she turned the rusted valve. "Or are your limbs too useless to even do that?" "Why are you getting on my butt about all this?!" Rainbow exclaimed. "For Celestia's sake! I can't even believe you!" "Whatever... just get the most expensive stuff and—" "Where's the bit bag?!" "Grnnngh!" The valve finally gave way, turning loosely in Listing's grip. "Huh?" "The Desert Hounds' money, ya doofus!" Rainbow shouted. "The thing we came all the way down here for!" "It's the little brown bag." Rainbow spun around, eyes twitching as she glanced across the loot strewn all over the floor. "What little brown bag?! Where?!" "Dammit to Tartarus, booger..." Listing flung the rear door all the way open. Dim desert light wafted over her frowning muzzle. "Do I gotta do everything myse—" She paled. Her ears drooped as several angry shadows crossed over her. "Crud." "There!" Rainbow Dash limped over a groaning mule's body, reaching for the bag in question. "I found it—" Thwooosh! Listing flew over, grasping Rainbow's waist from behind. "Guh!" Rainbow gasped as she felt herself being drawn away from the prize. "Wait! Listing!" "Shuddup! Spread your wings!" Listing grunted as she flew the two of the swiftly out of the tunnel and above ground. "Airtime!" Before Rainbow could reply... ...she heard a sea of angry voices. Shouting. Cursing. Spitting. Rocks and pebbles flew up after the two pegasi. And—shortly after that— BANG! P-POW! BLAM! Bullets whizzed by. With expert grace, Listing twirled left and right before climbing to a safe altitude. A vicious stampede of mules loomed below, shaking their hooves and glaring skyward. However, there was nothing the Hump Gang could do. As the last sliver of sunlight disappeared behind the westward mountains, the two mares banked about... then sailed off towards the far end of the desert... alive... ...and empty-hoofed.