Unshaken

by The 24th Pegasus

Chapter 117

The two mares made their way across the camp to where Applejack sat tied to a tree. She was certainly an amusing sight, Kestrel had to give her that. The president and CEO of the Apple Conglomerates sat with her back to the tree, ropes wrapping around her midsection and the tree’s trunk and pinning her forelegs to her sides, and even her rear hooves had been bound together by another section of rope, at Roughshod’s urging after her attempt to break free. Not only would it make it more difficult for the mare to make a run for it if she did slip her ropes, but preventing an earth pony from planting their hooves in the ground and getting leverage that way was extremely important in keeping them contained. Kestrel had no doubts that Applejack tried to work her way out of the ropes when everypony else was sleeping in the middle of the night, but so far, she hadn’t made any progress in her escape plans. Definitely not when the ropes were retied every day after she was released to do her business, under careful supervision.

She had been trying to work some slack into the ropes when Kestrel and Silver approached, the older gunslinger noted, but she immediately froze and slouched back when she saw the two pegasi coming closer. The look of concentration on her face faded into one of contempt, and she pointedly looked down at the ground, refusing to acknowledge the outlaws’ presence. The absurdity of it just made Kestrel laugh. Why did hostages always feel the need to be disrespectful toward their captors, as if they had anything to prove? A hostage was still a hostage, no matter how they acted.

“Messin’ with your ropes, Miss Apple?” Kestrel teased the orange mare, stopping just outside of the reach of Applejack’s hind legs. The earth pony might have been tied up, but Kestrel wasn’t going to chance getting a buck to the face if she could help it. “If they ain’t snug enough for your likin’, just let one of us know. We’ll be happy to go fix ‘em for you.”

The industrialist just glowered in silence, and Kestrel rolled her eyes and sat down on her flank across the dirt and grass from the Gang’s captive. “Oh, cut it out, will ya?” Kestrel asked her. “Listen, I get that bein’ tied to a tree’s a far cry from callin’ on your zebra servants in the luxury of some Manehattan high rise apartment, but a little campin’ in nature’s good for the soul. Pair it off with some friendly chatter, and you’ve got the makin’s of a mighty fine time in the great outdoors. So, why not indulge us for a little bit with some talk?”

After a moment, that managed to drag a response out of Applejack, though it was hardly a conversational one. “I ain’t got nothin’ to say to you two,” Applejack said, and her angry green eyes met Kestrel’s for a moment. “Ain’t nothin’ to be gained by bandyin’ words with a pair of dishonest outlaws.”

“Distraction from boredom, for one,” Silver said, taking her seat next to Kestrel. “Believe it or not, we get bored, too. A little chit-chat will help us all pass the time with somethin’ interestin’ to focus on!”

Applejack looked skeptical, to say the least, but Kestrel didn’t much care; she and Silver were either going to talk to or talk at their prisoner, and if Applejack decided to respond or not, that much was on her. Rather than wait to see if Applejack agreed to talk or not, Kestrel quickly led in with a question for her captive audience. “I got somethin’ I kinda wanna know,” she said. “You ain’t seem like the other rich and powerful ponies we’ve robbed over the years. Most of ‘em were fat off of their wealth and decidedly… urban, guess I should say. But you look like a country girl gussied up in a suit. If it weren’t for that suit and attitude, I’d think youse almost one of us country bumpkins.”

That at least got a snort out of Applejack, though Kestrel couldn’t tell if it was from amusement or derision. “I weren’t born into money,” she said. “Not like most of them old families in Manehattan. I worked for everythin’ I had. My family’s big, and we owned millions of acres of apple orchards all across Equestria. All it took was somepony willin’ to work hard enough to go and get all them orchards workin’ in unison for the family, and then takin’ that money and investin’ it back into the orchards. You can build a business big and fast with enough hard work and blood, sweat, and tears. Honesty, too. Not that I’d expect outlaws to understand none of that.”

“Stealin’s its own business, too,” Kestrel countered. “Why, we’re practically both the same, you and us. We both lie, cheat, and steal to get what we want. Only difference is it’s legal when you do it but it ain’t when we do it.”

“I never lie,” Applejack insisted, glaring at Kestrel. “I built this business on honesty and no-nonsense deals. Everypony knows what they’re gettin’ when they deal with the Conglomerates. We ain’t gonna hide anythin’ in fine print like some of our competitors. We make up for it with a quality product, somethin’ the average Equestrian can truly appreciate.”

“You got a lotta products for a bunch of apple farmers though,” Silver Wings noted. “How’s a family ownin’ apple orchards go to makin’ a robot like Gizmo?” As if to emphasize her point, she extended her wing and gestured toward the robot carefully dragging a barrel of water back from the lake, no doubt fulfilling Miss Irons’ request for water to start preparing the night’s stew in. “Seems like a pretty big leap in direction, you ask me.”

“We made money sellin’ crops and produce, so we used that money to buy out the distributors we sold the crops to,” Applejack said. “Then we bought the processin’ plants and factories, bought up the canneries as well. And when you got plants and factories, you can make a whole lot more things than just apples and apple products.” She likewise shifted her attention to Gizmo. “The Workhorse of Tomorrow’s an extension of that. You get a bunch of robots workin’ the fields, you ain’t gotta pay for labor. They ain’t as good as ponies, but they don’t get tired and they ain’t gonna go on strike to unionize. That means more bits to everypony we employ, not just myself.”

Kestrel shook her head. “Everypony wants to think that they’re the only righteous soul in the room. What ‘bout them apple pickers Gizmo’s sisters are gonna replace? Doesn’t sound like they’ll be thankin’ you for cuttin’ labor costs.”

“That’s just business,” Applejack insisted. “You really want to look for a pony who’s bad to her workers? Look at what Miss Belle is doin’ with her textile mills. She’s got foals as young as six workin’ looms and losin’ ears and tails in her sweatshops, all for five bits a day. And on the contrary, I made my Conference open to all the ponies of Hoofston, full of fun and games alongside the exhibits, for two bits a head. Don’t complain to me ‘bout my business just ‘cause the Apple Family’s the richest family in Equestria when you got ponies gettin’ away with the things Miss Belle is.”

“Guess we know who we should rob next, then,” Kestrel said. “Sounds like Miss Belle’s got more bits than she can shake her horn at. We’ll keep that in mind for after we ransom you off to your family. Youse a pretty pricey pony, y’know.”

Applejack’s expression soured at that. “I knew that’s what you been keepin’ me here for. You should just be thankful you nabbed me and not my little sister. I woulda made Tartarus look like a summer vacation for the lot of you.”

Kestrel remembered that doing exactly that had been one of Starlight’s plans, and was thankful that they hadn’t gone with that one instead of crashing the Conference. “Yes, and after we go our separate ways, I hope you ain’t gonna try lookin’ for us. We find you’re out after us once you’re back home with your family, we ain’t gonna take too kindly to that. Might be we nab your sister after all, should we find ponies on your payroll sniffin’ after us. We’d give her back alright… but we’d need a few boxes, first.”

That little threat left Applejack bristling, and Kestrel decided there that their conversation was over. She stood up, and Silver did the same, regarding the angry earth pony with wary eyes. Kestrel, for her part, just took off her hat and gave Applejack a little bow. “But it ain’t gonna come to that, right? I think we can all go our own ways when this thing’s all done with. It works out great for everypony; we leave a little richer, and you ain’t ever gonna find us in your hair again. I’d think on it if I was you; it’s a great deal, when you look at the ins and outs.”

She flipped her hat back onto her head and turned around. “Pleasure speakin’ with you,” she called out over her shoulder as she walked away. “We should do it again, sometime.”

[NO POLL FOR THIS CHAPTER]

Author's Note:

This story is a CYOA comment-driven story, where you, the readers, decide the outcome of the story. Each poll contains several options, each with sub-optimal choices thrown into the mix, with nothing but the prose to clue the readers into what each option entails. The will of the masses, alongside a few unbiased dice rolls, will decide the outcome of the story.

You can find Kestrel's character sheet, along with some key information about her and the Gang, here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xAGDlcd5mlMTAHwexlsrXOffQMMLoQc12u9itAa-io0/edit?usp=sharing

If you want to see the dice rolls in action, check out my Discord server: https://discord.gg/RsVkdD

Comments

[JustFalcon]

Ah yes threaten Apple Bloom, that won’t go wrong at all.

[Gearsmash King]

So, Rarity runs her business very differently from what I thought. And here I was thinking our own honor was tipsy. She has none at all.

[hypervelocity]

Hmm...so the Elements aren't exactly friends here.

[RoboRed]

Might be we nab your sister after all, should we find ponies on your payroll sniffin’ after us. We’d give her back alright… but we’d need a few boxes, first.

[Applejack will remember that]

[N4rwh41]

There wouldn't be unions if your businesses wasn't crooked somewhere down the chain, Applejack

[Blaster M]

10445037
Just imagine this world is a variant of the Flim Flam alternate timeline

[djthomp]

Applejack’s expression soured at that. “I knew that’s what you been keepin’ me here for. You should just be thankful you nabbed me and not my little sister. I woulda made Tartarus look like a summer vacation for the lot of you.”

Kestrel remembered that doing exactly that had been one of Starlight’s plans, and was thankful that they hadn’t gone with that one instead of crashing the Conference.

It would have been a bad idea.

“Yes, and after we go our separate ways, I hope you ain’t gonna try lookin’ for us. We find you’re out after us once you’re back home with your family, we ain’t gonna take too kindly to that. Might be we nab your sister after all, should we find ponies on your payroll sniffin’ after us. We’d give her back alright… but we’d need a few boxes, first.”

Making that threat may also have been a bad idea.

[Quick Fix]

So we dodged one bullet earlier. Now the question is if we dodged another just now or swapped the bullet for buckshot.