Unshaken

by The 24th Pegasus

Chapter 131

Go back to Tumbleweed and suggest bringing the Gang to the river: 10 Votes

“Don’t see why we should risk gettin’ tangled up with ‘em for no good reason,” Kestrel said. “We already found someplace that’s likely gonna be much better than this, and there ain’t nopony livin’ there. If we need to, we can go and reach out to these ponies later. For now, let’s just go get the Gang to the river ‘fore the rain gets much worse.”

Silver looked up at the sky and nodded. “Right. Betcha the roads get damn muddy when it rains. And I ain’t lookin’ to go and push a wagon outta the muck.”

Backing away, the two pegasi made sure that they were well out of sight of the moonshiners’ hideaway before they spread their wings and took to the air. Kestrel squinted into the gray skies as she gained altitude, trying to keep the worst of the rain out of her face; while it wasn’t pouring yet, the rain was definitely heavier than what it seemed below the canopy of the trees. In no time at all, she found herself looking forward to enjoying some time by a fire to warm up and dry off, though judging by the clouds, who knew when that was going to be.

After some time backtracking their morning flight and following the roads, they found a spot where the road wound under some of the old bayou trees that provided shelter from the rain. Touching down there, they found the Gang and their two wagons hunkered down, trying to keep the worst of the rain off of them. Kestrel and Silver shook their coats off, shedding most of the water that had accumulated on them during their flight, and trotted toward the wagons, where Gizmo remained patiently hitched to Trixie’s heavier wagon. “Everypony inside?” Kestrel asked the automaton.

“Affirmative,” Gizmo replied in her tinny, chipper voice. “They sought to avoid the rain until your return, Kestrel and Silver Wings. I did not join them; my machinery and leylines won’t be bothered by a bit of water.”

“Well, that’s good to know,” Kestrel said as she walked past the robot pony. “Bet we’re gonna have to deal with a lot more rain than we’re used to.”

“The city of New Oatleans receives roughly 65 to 70 inches of rainfall each year,” Gizmo stated. “Comparatively, the city of Hoofston only receives roughly 45 inches of rainfall each year. As such, Hoofston regularly uses pegasi to bring rainclouds from New Oatleans to its fields during the spring and summer to make sure that they are adequately watered, as dry spells are not uncommon in the surrounding area.”

Silver chuckled and shook her head. “Guess we got ourselves a walkin’ trivia machine, ain’t that right, Kessie?”

“Lovely,” Kestrel said with a shake of her head. Walking around behind Trixie’s wagon, she found Tumbleweed, Roughshod, Snapshot, and Miss Irons sitting on the wagon floor, idly waiting for the return of their pegasi. Their ears perked up when they saw Kestrel, and Kestrel raised an eyebrow at them. “No card game or somethin’? Didn’t know that me bein’ gone left y’all so broken hearted.”

“You’re just so much fun to be ‘round that we don’t know what to do with ourselves when yer gone,” Roughshod grumbled. Rolling his neck, he looked down his muzzle at Kestrel. “Well? I hope you found us somethin’ good. Ain’t sure how long I could take livin’ in the bayou after these last few days.”

“Silvie ‘n me found someplace that looks pretty decent,” Kestrel said. “Abandoned riverboat dock by the Maressissippi. Plenty of little buildings and huts there, all sittin’ empty. It’s even got a decent road goin’ on into it, unlike the other place in the bayou we took a look at. I’m thinkin’ it’ll be plenty nice for us.”

“Next to the river could be troublin’,” Tumbleweed said as he thought it over. “Plenty of boats goin’ up and down the waters. The place big enough that we ain’t gonna be seen from the water if we ain’t lookin’ to?”

“We can hide the wagons in the middle of the place,” Kestrel said. “And not spend too much time by the water. I doubt anypony’s gonna find us there ‘less they’re lookin’ for us there in the first place.”

“You know the Pinks’ll be lookin’ for us for sure.” But nevertheless, Tumbleweed moved to stand up, and the rest of the Gang did so as well. “Guess we better get movin’ then. Brave the rain and all to get to our new home.”

Once they were organized, the Gang set out once more, Kestrel and Silver helping to lead them along the road to the abandoned riverfront buildings. Occasionally, they had to aid in lending a shoulder to pushing the wagons through mud on the quickly-deteriorating roads, an endeavor that only left Kestrel feeling even more tired and her legs covered in muck. Silver coughed and sneezed a few times, and by the time the waterfront was in sight, the younger pegasus was wiping her runny nose dry with the back of a wing. Kestrel hoped the mare wouldn’t catch a cold; the last thing they needed was to have somepony in the Gang down and out from feeling under the weather when they got all set up in their new home.

Kestrel was thankful for the rain for one reason; they didn’t have to worry about anypony chasing them down on the muddy roads and in the unpleasant weather. If they were being followed by the Pinks, and she knew that they were still doggedly being hunted anyway, it would allow them to put a little extra distance between themselves and their pursuers. Any little advantage the Gang could get to gain some breathing room was too valuable an opportunity to pass up.

But finally, after only a little bit of trouble navigating the roads, they finally arrived once more at the abandoned buildings by the riverfront. Kestrel and Silver led the wagons into the middle of the complex, where there were enough shacks and huts to obscure them from the river. “Home sweet home,” Kestrel remarked as they brought the wagons to a stop and Gizmo and Roughshod unhitched themselves. “Got plenty of buildin’s to pick from. Silvie and I scoped ‘em out, there ain’t many that look like they’ll collapse on us.”

“Well ain’t that a relief,” Roughshod said, but he did give an approving nod as he looked around the place. “Definitely seen worse. Better than campin’ out in the middle of nowhere.”

“Other place we looked at was a spot in the bayou,” Silver said. “But it’s already taken. Looked to be a bunch of moonshiners got a little camp set up out there.”

“Think we can make friends with ‘em?” Roughshod asked. “I’d love to get me some moonshine for all our troubles.”

“Maybe,” Kestrel said with a shrug. “They had an armed lookout, so they likely don’t want no uninvited company. Could just be more trouble than it’s worth, though.”

“We’ll have time to sort it all out,” Tumbleweed said. “We’ll need some allies here in New Oatleans if we’re gonna get anywhere. Starlight and her crew, no matter how… zealous they were, I should say, made fine partners for our time in Hoofston. We’ll likely need friends like ‘em at some point if we’re gonna go robbin’ here.”

“Just what are we thinkin’ ‘bout robbin’?” Roughshod asked. “We gotta make a lotta money and quick. Doubt the Pinks’ll let us slip from their hooves again once they sniff us out this time.”

Kestrel thought a moment. “Didn’t Applejack mention that that Miss Belle pony’s got a lotta business here in the city?” she remarked. “Big trade city like this, with big dockyards right on the water… bet a lotta bits flow through here.”

“We’ll have to scout it out,” Tumbleweed said. “But anythin’ tied to this Miss Belle’ll likely got a lotta bits. Might be we can find a bank to hit here that’s got her name on it.”

Roughshod rubbed his hooves together and grinned. “A bank’ll do us nicely,” he said. “We should be able to get everythin’ we need outta a bank if we time it right.”

“That timin’s somethin’ we’ll figure out.” Tumbleweed then looked up into the sky and frowned at the rain still coming down. “But for now, let’s get the wagons unloaded and get outta the rain. If the storm’s gone tomorrow, then we can go snoopin’ ‘round town, see if we find somethin’ good.”

“We better,” Kestrel said, turning toward the wagons to help out with unloading them. “Be a shame to come all this way an’ die for nothin’.”

[NO POLL FOR THIS CHAPTER]

Author's Note:

Sorry it took so long for this relatively short chapter. I've spent the past two weeks getting ready to move to a different state and start a new job, so that took up a lot of my time on Mondays and Fridays to work on this chapter. Things might stay slow for a little bit as I get used to working on my new job, but we'll see how it goes.

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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/RsVkdDP

Comments

[N4rwh41]

Happy to hear about the new job! good luck with your future prospects

[Gearsmash King]

So, here we are, New Oatleans. Somehow, I think this is the last stop for our outlaw friends.

Good for you, by the way. Hopefully, things work out in your favor.

[djthomp]

Silver chuckled and shook her head. “Guess we got ourselves a walkin’ trivia machine, ain’t that right, Kessie?”

Could be useful.

Once they were organized, the Gang set out once more, Kestrel and Silver helping to lead them along the road to the abandoned riverfront buildings. Occasionally, they had to aid in lending a shoulder to pushing the wagons through mud on the quickly-deteriorating roads, an endeavor that only left Kestrel feeling even more tired and her legs covered in muck. Silver coughed and sneezed a few times, and by the time the waterfront was in sight, the younger pegasus was wiping her runny nose dry with the back of a wing. Kestrel hoped the mare wouldn’t catch a cold; the last thing they needed was to have somepony in the Gang down and out from feeling under the weather when they got all set up in their new home.

INB4 Silver dies of the plague because we took so long in the rain looking at the bayou. It's way too wet down in Dixie.

[RoboRed]

Plz no sicc silvie

Hope the gang can make friends with the moonshiners.