Chapter 89
Surrogate Sisters: 17 Votes
Silver Wings is no longer a romanceable character.
After what felt like an eternity to think things over, Kestrel finally closed her eyes after making a decision and coming to peace with it. Chasing Silver Wings, a younger mare who thought the world of her and wanted to be just like her, wasn’t a realistic option. It was obvious Silvie saw her as a sister, and at the end of the day, Kestrel didn’t know if she could live with herself if she ruined that relationship because she was trying to fill that void in her heart. There was room for sisterly love in there too, and with Silver, that was all she’d be able to get.
Still, as Kestrel pulled the brim of her hat further down over her face, her lips drooped into a slight frown. As much as she hated to admit it, the loneliness was starting to get the better of her, especially now that the Gang was flirting more and more with death. It seemed like everywhere she looked, especially as of late, she could see the shadow of Death looming over them, and catch glimpses of His pale hoof out of the corner of her eye. It would be nice to have somepony to commiserate with in that more than just friendly fireside chats, but perhaps opening that can of worms was more trouble than it was worth, especially with all the baggage that would be left behind at the foot of the gallows.
Now she deeply regretted not taking the chance to talk with Highball back in Rock Ridge. Seeing him on the train, albeit briefly before her injuries stole her consciousness from her, had sliced open an old wound she thought had long since scarred over. A little bit of additional closure would have been nice, but the time for that had long-since passed.
Kestrel grumbled to herself as she let out a wide yawn. She was one of Equestria’s most wanted outlaws, a dangerous mare who could take anything she wanted by force, and she couldn’t even steal somepony’s heart to hold and cherish until the end of her days. There was a bitter irony in that somewhere, she was sure, but it would take a smarter pony than her to find it.
She wasn’t sure when exactly she dozed off, not that she was trying to keep track of it anyway. But with the sun overhead broken up here and there by clouds, and with a breeze coming off of the small lake, the weather was plenty comfortable for the outlaw to get some much needed rest. When she woke up next, the sun had traveled many degrees through the sky, and her coat had just started to get that warm, tingly feeling that precedes sweat. Yawning again, the mare rolled on her back, her legs pointed up to the sky and wings outstretched by her sides, and worked some of the stiffness out of her joints that her impromptu nap had worked into them. She was already feeling better; a nap had been much needed, it turned out.
She lingered a few moments more before she finally worked up the willpower to rise to her hooves. Dry grass clung to her clothing and mane, and she did her best to brush it out with her feathers before returning to the camp. She could hear the Gang’s voices filtering through the trees and across the lake, punctuated here and there by a bark of harsh laughter. Kestrel shook her head as she leisurely walked around the edge of the lake. It was a good thing they weren’t taking Roughshod to the conference; the stallion was nothing if not loud and boisterous, the last thing a pony would want for a discreet job.
When she returned to the camp, she saw Miss Irons and Wanderer working together to prepare supper, as they often did, while the rest of the gang had gathered around or near the campfire. Tumbleweed stood in the middle of them all, explaining the plan that he, Starlight, and Kestrel had put together earlier that afternoon, with a little input from Silver. The unicorn had sketched out an extremely simplistic map of the town in the dirt with a stick, and tapped the tip between different locations as he went over the plan as it currently stood.
“Now, while me and Kessie, Silvie, and Wanderer handle the job at the conference, we need another team to draw away the Pinks,” Tumbleweed said. The tip of the stick in his magical grasp tapped a square marked inside of the city limits. “Kessie went and found a hotel that we think the Pinks are stayin’ at yesterday. At the very least, somethin’ was bein’ moved into that hotel under their supervision, so it’s likely important to ‘em. That’s why we need to cause as big of a ruckus as possible there, to draw their attention away from the conference. If the Pinks know we’re up to somethin’ in town, my bet is that they thin out security around the conference to come after us. The Pinks hate us sure as we hate them, and the prize of catching Equestria’s most wanted outlaw gang might be enough to make them forget about the Apple Family’s purse for a moment. And a moment is all we need.”
Then he took the stick and pointed it at Roughshod and Snapshot, who were sitting side by side, and Trixie, who sat a little further away. “Now, Kessie and me talked it over with Starlight, and you three are the best ponies we could come up with for causin’ the distraction,” he continued. “We’re gonna need loud, and we’re gonna need flashy. I’m sure Rough and Trixie, you two can handle that. Snapshot, you need to get on a rooftop somewhere nearby and give them some cover when the shootin’ inevitably starts. It’ll be up to you to be their eye in the sky and keep ‘em safe.”
“Beatin’ up the Pinks?” Roughshod rubbed his hooves together and grinned. “Oh hell, I been waitin’ a long time to take a few shots back at ‘em. We owe ‘em some payback for chasin’ us across the San Palomino.”
Trixie seemed a fair deal less gung ho, to put it mildly. “You want Trixie to be target practice for the professional bounty hunters out trying to kill us?” she said, somewhat incredulously.
“Why not?” Tumbleweed said, smirking at her. “You don’t think the Great and Powerful Trixie is up to the task?”
Trixie flustered, her concerns caught in a clash with her ego, and neither all that willing to back down. “Trixie… is always up to any task,” the mare boasted, her ego finally triumphing over her hesitations. “So long as that task doesn’t involve ponies shooting at Trixie too much.”
“Well, I’m sure between the three of you and Starlight’s three friends, you’ll be able to figure somethin’ out,” Tumbleweed assured her. He gestured back at her colorful purple wagon. “Besides, the distraction doesn’t have to immediately devolve into gunslingin’. A performance by the Great and Powerful Trixie might be enough to get a crowd into position to kick things off.”
“Might even be able to stage a robbery of your show and your crowd,” Roughshod said, grinning at Trixie. Kestrel shook her head and rubbed her feathers to her brow when she realized that Roughshod’s expression was genuine, not predatory or hawkish like it usually was. It looked like Miss Irons was two for two on who like who in the Gang. “It’ll be a fun little song and dance between us.”
Trixie fidgeted in place, and Kestrel thought she saw a shiver run down the magician’s spine, but she wasn’t sure. “That… sounds like an excellent idea,” Trixie ultimately conceded.
“I got a question, though,” Silver asked, interjecting her voice into the conversation. “We got a Chatter gun, and we know there’s gonna be Pinks everywhere. Seems a shame to not use it. So who should get it? The distraction team, or the conference team? Could be a lifesaver to either one.”
“A good question,” Tumbleweed said, nodding as he pondered it. Then he looked to Kestrel, who up until this point had been hovering along the edge of the conversation. “What do you think, Kessie? Got some good ideas fresh from your nap?”
1. The conference team should have the Chatter gun. We’re gonna be the ones takin’ the score and fleein’ with it, so we’ll need a way to defend ourselves from anypony comin’ after us. We’d get the most use out of the Chatter gun than anypony else.
2. The distraction team should have the Chatter gun. Rough, Trixie, and Snapshot are gonna be bringin’ down the house on themselves. If they get the Pinks’ attention and get it good, then they’ll need all the help they can get to get outta Hoofston alive.
3. Leave the Chatter gun at the camp. This could very well turn into a run-for-your-lives situation, in which case the Chatter gun would only slow us down. Best to leave it at the camp for defense rather than risk losin’ it durin’ this job.
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Option two ( 2 ). If the plan works (pray to Murphy!) then Trixie's team will have a lot more heat on them. Giving them a way to tip the odds back in their favor makes the most sense to me. Plus I hope to see Snapshot running the Chatter gun. Grinning like a wolf and howling laughter.
3. Honestly, I would say the distraction team should have it, but it is REALLY big, so we should probably just leave it at camp.
2
1. Because Starlight will use it to gun down all the rich people and the Apples and that would be just beautiful.
Option 2. They're going to need it, if the Pinks take the bait. If the conference team takes it, then there's no point in being "hidden among the sheep." Which is what we're trying to aim for.
I vote 3. I just don’t really see it being useful for either team to be honest, especially if they’re doing the show distraction. It would be absolutely useless on the infiltration team, gives away the whole thing immediately and would only be useful on the distraction team if the somehow maneuver it into a pre-entrenched position to hold out.
Best just to leave it behind, not so we don’t lose it, but so it doesn’t become a crutch that inevitably gets us killed.
I say the distraction team should get the chatter gun. If anything will draw the attention of the pinks, it'll be that. Of course the risk is that when the distraction team needs to get out of there, they may have to leave the chatter gun behind as it may slow them down too much.
Also, it'll probably be a good idea to decide where they will go next, and to preemptively move their stuff hidden away on the path to that location. Also have a meetup point (probably where they hide their stuff), and a meetup time. Maybe midnight for dramatic effect. That way, it gives them the ability to split up if things get really bad and still meet up later. Without such a plan in place splitting up or getting separated in the heat of the action will cause unnecessary confusion and uncertainty, and may cause the team to mount an ill fated rescue mission that may not even need doing.
Hoo boy, this is a toughie...I'm gonna say option 2. If we do need to abandon Hoofston in the wake of this, then we need to be ready to go at a moment's notice. Considering it sounds like Miss Irons is going to be the only one at camp while this is going down, she'd likely be unable to pack it in a hurry and we'd have to leave it behind anyway.
Also, crazy thought but hear me out. I'm going to guess that Trixie's had to make some hasty departures in her time. Her wagon harness can probably be fitted very quickly. Mount the chatter gun at the back of Trixie's wagon (securely hidden during her performance of course) and if things go south, or very north if the Pinks are drawn in, Roughshod (and maybe Trixie) can rush out pulling the wagon while Snapshot covers their initial retreat, then flies in and mans the gun.
I'm fully aware this'd likely go horribly wrong and get the whole team killed, but at this point, so would almost any plan.
I would say 3
Option 2. The chatter gun would be a guarantee in grabbing attention.
It needed to happen.
Kestrel is hopeless, but maybe Roughshod and Trixie could get a little action.
Hmn. Leave it at camp, we'll need to be able to move quickly.
I would say option 3. Leave it placed in a wagon in camp defensively where it can be used in case the gang needs to scramble back and make a hasty getaway.
Not only is it cumbersome and would hinder any speedy retreat, you would have to get it into the city and in a position where it can be used near the hotel while not attracting any attention from Pinks or civilians alike. If anyone sees them setting it up, the distraction is doomed before it starts. Plus, they are in a city filled with civilians and the chatter gun is by no means a precision weapon. Its one thing to shoot up a bunch of glorified mercenaries. Its another thing to use a Gatling gun to accidentally shoot up a bunch of commoners going about their day while trying to shoot at the Pinks, in broad daylight, in the middle of an actual city. If that happens, we wont have to worry about the Pinks or the police anymore cause were going to have the damn army after us for the rest of this story. There would be no "laying low" from that one.
3. Useful as it may be, far too conspicuous
Option 3. If we do have to exfil fast, we would have to leave it behind and thus lose it. Better to use it as a backup
3: Team should be hit and run. Chattergun in town is the wrong way to do it. Keep it at home, in case.