Unshaken

by The 24th Pegasus

Chapter 25

Bring Both: 64%

“We ain’t gonna have no problems with both of ‘em,” Kestrel assured Tumbleweed. “I say we bring ‘em both along, see how they fit in. We don’t really know what we got until we see how they handle themselves.”

“I ain’t too confident with regards to that,” Tumbleweed said. “This Trixie mare… I don’t think she knows what she got herself into.”

“But you made her take the oath?”

“I did,” Tumbleweed said. “If she walks out on us now, the vultures will have a feast.”

“Nothin’ for it, then.” Kestrel yawned and covered her muzzle with a wing. “Best be gettin’ some sleep. I don’t like to be dead on my hooves when the bullets fly.”

“Neither do I,” Tumbleweed agreed. “Hopefully we can avoid that altogether.”

“Hopefully.”

Yet Kestrel found herself awake long before the sun rose the next day; she always found it difficult to sleep when anticipating a robbery. Instead, she used the time to clean her guns and make sure they were ready for a fight. Soon, both revolvers gleamed in the pre-dawn light, and the lever of her revolver slid easily along well-oiled hinges. On top of that, she made sure that her bandolier was readied with all the ammunition she could need for a fight. If there were only ten guards, then hopefully she wouldn’t need more than two reloads for each weapon. Anything more would weigh her down too much to fly fast.

When she went to the fire for coffee, she was surprised to find the two new mares sitting side by side… even if neither said anything to the other. Sienna looked wide awake and already jumpy, but at least she hadn’t tried to steal away in the middle of the night—not that she would have gotten far before Snapshot saw her. Trixie was decidedly more tired-looking, but she nursed a cup of coffee as if she’d done it all her life, and Kestrel figured she’d be alert and ready by the time the train came down the tracks that afternoon.

Both mares looked up as Kestrel poured some coffee into a tin and sat down across from them, though Sienna quickly averted her gaze. Trixie, though somewhat uncomfortable, didn’t. “So… is Trixie wrong to assume that you all aren’t ranchers or performers?”

Kestrel chuckled and took a sip of her coffee, bitter and black. “I wouldn’t quite say that. We’re all performers, alright, it’s just the government decided our shows break the law.”

“I… see…” Trixie took another gulp from her coffee and sighed as she set the empty tin down. “Tumbleweed made it fairly clear to Trixie that she is now committed to your gang for the rest of her life. Perhaps this is something that should have been made clearer to Trixie before she was brought here.”

“You were the one who was insistent that you wanted in with us,” Kestrel said with a shrug. “We weren’t about to tell you that we was wanted ponies in the middle of Rock Ridge. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t even be here; Tumbleweed don’t think you got what it takes.”

It was the right button to press; Kestrel had figured out within minutes of meeting her that Trixie didn’t take affronts to her pride lightly. “Trixie doesn’t have what it takes?!” Trixie echoed back incredulously. “Why, Tumbleweed just hasn’t seen what Trixie is capable of! She will show him that it was no mistake to let Trixie join!”

“Good,” Kestrel said between sips of coffee. “Because we’re gonna need your help blowin’ the rails in a train robbery.”

That gave Trixie some pause, and her brow slowly lowered. “Train robbery? Is it… dangerous?”

“Could be worse,” Kestrel said. “We could be trying to kidnap Princess Celestia. But I don’t think a little train job will be too much for the Great and Powerful Trixie.”

“No… No, of course not!” Though Trixie proudly puffed out her chest, Kestrel could see clean through her to the worry underneath.

“And you,” Kestrel said, turning her attention to Sienna, who instinctively shrank back when she realized she was being spoken to. “You’re comin’ with us, too.”

Sienna sharply raised her head. “I am? Why?”

“Because if you wanna be one of us and not end up back on that wheel or on your own, then you gotta prove we can rely on you.” Her eyes sharply narrowed on the ruddy mare. “I did you a favor speakin’ highly of you to Tumbleweed. I hope I didn’t misplace my trust.”

“N-No,” Sienna managed. “You didn’t, I promise.”

“Good girl.” Kestrel smirked and stretched her wings as far to the sides as they would go. “When the bullets start flyin’, I don’t wanna see you two runnin’. You got that?”

“Trixie would never run!” Trixie anxiously proclaimed. Sienna just quietly nodded her head.

“Good,” Kestrel said, and she finished off the last of her coffee. “You two take care of anythin’ you need to handle between now and lunch. We’ll be ridin’ west at Tumbleweed’s call.”

She stood up and left the two mares to their own devices and wandered off toward the chuckwagon. Miss Irons and Wanderer were busy preparing breakfast, gently teasing each other as they worked. Of course, the moment Miss Irons saw Kestrel, her face resumed its dour frown, and she tried to wave the gunslinger away with a hoof. “Food ain’t ready yet,” she grumbled. “Go and sit back by the fire.”

“I couldn’t, the smell here was just too good,” Kestrel said with an upturn of the corners of her lips. Her eyes fell on Wanderer. “You joinin’ us today, old stallion?”

Wanderer chuckled and shook his head. “If I go, who’s going to watch the camp and protect Miss Irons?”

Kestrel guffawed. “Miss Irons could fight off the Pinks all by her lonesome if need be. She ain’t the one needin’ protection.”

“All the more reason to stay close,” Wanderer said. He scrambled a few eggs and tossed them into a pan along with some cheese and peppers. “In all seriousness, I may go down to Rock Ridge again and keep my ears open. When that train doesn’t pull into the station today, it might be useful to know what the ponies in town start saying.”

“Good idea,” Kestrel said with a nod. If they kicked the hornet’s nest in Rock Ridge, it would be best if the Gang knew about it and stayed away until the heat cooled off. She turned to Miss Irons and raised an eyebrow. “What about you, Miss?”

“I may go with Wanderer,” the senior unicorn said. “Otherwise it’ll just be myself at camp, and I haven’t had much of a chance to go to town yet. We need to get more supplies and ammunition, we’re running low on both.”

“Better hope those Vipers don’t find it while we’re gone,” Wanderer teased her. “It wouldn’t look good if everypony came back from the train job to find the camp cleaned out.”

“We’ll be fine,” Miss Irons insisted. “We’re so far out of the way that I sincerely doubt anypony is going to stumble across this place while we’re gone.”

“You’re likely right about that,” Kestrel agreed. Then, touching her wingtip to her hat, she nodded to the two elders. “Anyway, you take care now. Make sure you grab some beer and whiskey while you’re in town. If all goes well, we’re gonna have a party tonight.”

“We’ll keep that in mind,” Wanderer said, waving goodbye with a wing. “Just come back in one piece.”

[NO POLL FOR THIS CHAPTER]

Author's Note:

No poll for this chapter.

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

[Merula]

Time to kick some ass, gentlemen!

[djthomp]

“I… see…” Trixie took another gulp from her coffee and sighed as she set the empty tin down. “Tumbleweed made it fairly clear to Trixie that she is now committed to your gang for the rest of her life. Perhaps this is something that should have been made clearer to Trixie before she was brought here.”

This is was your idea, Trixie. Possibly you should have looked harder before jumping.

“All the more reason to stay close,” Wanderer said. He scrambled a few eggs and tossed them into a pan along with some cheese and peppers. “In all seriousness, I may go down to Rock Ridge again and keep my ears open. When that train doesn’t pull into the station today, it might be useful to know what the ponies in town start saying.”

Not a bad idea.

Hmn, I'm thinking 3, buy some cannons while they're in town. The best defense is an overwhelming offense.

[Gearsmash King]

This is going to be interesting.

[Six String]

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