The red disk of the sun shined gloriously above the sinful earth, pouring its warmth unto the mortal inhabitants. The sky, encasing this beautiful disk in the blue frame, was crystal clear - no cloud dared to show up, to shield the weary creatures. Only rarely the vultures cast their shadows upon the rough and dusty ground.
There is no place to hide. No place to sit down and rest, clean your pretty hide from the scratching dust, that slips in the space between your cape and your flesh, causing itch. There are lonely cactuses here and there, but you'd rather find a poisonous snake, that will sink its teeth into your leg, leaving your body beating in convulsion. Then, the vultures will descend upon you, and have a nice feast - first, they peck out your eyes, leaving only bleeding holes in their place. You want to scream, you want to call for help, you want to drive away the damned birds, but the poison has already reached your heart. It will not kill you, oh no - the nature here is not that merciful. For many years that snakes lived in this climate, they figured out that living inside bones of the deceased is much more beneficial than under the rocks. They evolved, developed a new poison - that didn't kill, but, instead, disabled you. You can still breathe, but try to even flinch - and you feel your muscles getting sturdier to the point they squish your bones.
The snakes have formed an unstable alliance with the vultures - the vermin on the ground brought the food for the birds on the silver platter, and they made homes for the crawlers on the ground. If you're bitten by a snake, be sure to see your entrails eaten by hyenas, vultures and cannibals. So, all in all, life in the Golden Desert, the most southern province of Equestria, wasn't sugary coated.
The clouds of dust were flying up in the air near the only road, if you can call it a road, that is. More of a hoofpath, created by many travelers, who passed here, and probably found their doom somewhere nearby. The amount of dust that was raised into the air signified only one thing - it was a carriage. Two big earth ponies were running swiftly, hitching the large wooden structure with wheels along with them. On the driver seat, there was a pegasus, in a leather jacket and a small linen hat. He was looking around nervously, trying to shield himself from the sun.
The carriage looked very old, with many scratches on the surface, and some parts of it missing - probably torn away. The windows were covered with metal slabs, which meant that he had something to hide. Something valuable. The pegasus looked around once again, nervously rubbing his hooves together, then looked inside the carriage through a little peephole behind him.
It was almost pitch black, with a trembling fire of the candle as the only source of light. There was no bags of money inside this carriage, no piles of gold and gemstones. Only empty bottles of whiskey, slowly rocking back and forth, ringing when they fell or collided with each other. There were also several full ones, with the sweet liquid inside letting the light through. The pegasus licked his lips, imagining him drinking up this fiery water - but soon, he will indulge this desire. Soon, he'll buy himself a bottle of whiskey, toss a coin towards some pretty mare, and have himself a bit of Good ol' time, as he calls it. He closed the peephole and looked around yet again - you can never be too careful around here.
However, it wasn't booze that they were transporting, oh no. Two pegasi, a filly and an adult with a pink mane and scars approached the pegasus this morning. They offered him a simple job - to transport them to the Dusthowl town using this road only. At first, he was reluctant, for the bandits are plentiful here, but their coin was more than enough to convince him. These two seemed quite sure of themselves - so why the hell not rack up some more cash? He was running low on shiny stuff anyway.
Besides, these two ponies looked quite prepared... almost too prepared. The adult one was all scarred and grim, with long cape made out of high quality leather, stained with blood, covering most of her body. She was quite pretty, too, despite the scars - some wrenches in the public houses had even more grittier look. Her long pink mane and light grayish gold coat mixed quite well, and he wouldn't mind taking her for a ride, if y'know what I mean. However, she looked very tough, and the pegasus preferred to mind his manners around her. Her wide-brimmed hat and the strange wristband she never took off also signified of something sinister about her.
The girl she had with her wasn't too bright and happy, like some children. She was wearing the same grim expression, maybe a bit more soft. She had her own small cape and a hat, though much more 'localized' - she probably bought them at the story in the town here, as it was quite colorful. Locals loved bright colors around here.
The pegasus looked around once more, and suddenly noticed clouds of dust on the horizon. Despite the scorching heat, his blood became cold and his heart stopped beating for a moment. Bandits!
***
"How much longer?" - Scootaloo asked, without raising her eyes, looking straight into the floor. Fluttershy took another sip from the bottle of whiskey, realizing that it was empty and threw it away. She looked at Scootaloo and smiled - the girl is learning something every day. She already got quite serious for all the time they've been travelling together, compared to the day they met at the hospital.
"Not long. Be patient" - Fluttershy replied, opening another bottle of whiskey.
Fluttershy didn't quite trust the idiots they hired to transport them, but they were harmless. Without weapons, they couldn't do anything, only gawk at her behind.
"Bandits! Bandits are coming!" - the pegasus, who was driving the carriage shouted, and Fluttershy grinned.
"There. I told you they won't take long" - she said to her little pupil, and Scootaloo grinned evilly in return. The girl was eager for some fresh blood, she could see that in her eyes.
Five years have passed since she and Scootaloo departed from Ponyville, trying to get away from the center of the royal power as far as possible. Many things happened, bad and good, none of them interesting though. But the time was merciless - Scootaloo was growing, and so were her skills and her personality. Fluttershy trained with the filly every day, hunting down wild monsters. She was too young to deal with high caliber monsters like hydras or werewolves, but she was slowly getting there.
However, life forced them to move to this damned desert, where nothing grows and only monsters for miles around are scorpions and snakes. Fluttershy was very, very displeased at first, but then, they discovered that another type of hunters is valuable in this region - bounty hunters. The bandits around here were like an endless swarm, which grew every day - and so grew the bounty on their heads. Fluttershy smirked when she first picked the 'Wanted' list from the wall - finally, she'll hunt down some real prey. And little Scootaloo won't have to worry about the initiation ritual, her first kill - it promised to happen quite soon. Or so Fluttershy thought.
Scootaloo was still pretty reluctant about the idea of killing a pony. Even though she enjoyed the fight and these sweet crimson drops flying past her face, she always preferred her enemy to live after that. She never tried to lethally wound anypony - usually, after the battle, Fluttershy finished off the wounded, with Scootaloo looking away every time her mentor delivered a final blow. That they will have to work on.
For now, they'll have to deal with these bandits, closing in on their positions with the speed of wolves, smelling fresh meat. The voices from outside signified that their 'companions' were scared shitless - the driver was shouting commands, and the two ponies dragging the stagecoach were dashing from one side to another, as Fluttershy could tell by the bottles falling and rolling. They thought they could escape - oh, foolish idiots. They were walking right into the bandits' grasp, just like Fluttershy wanted.
"Ready?" - she asked her little apprentice.
"Always" - Scootaloo replied, taking out a small gauntlet from under her cape and putting it on her hoof. "Let's show these ruffians that you don't fuck with monster hunters!"
***
The pegasus ordered the earth ponies to stop running, and swallowed nervously - there's no point in running anymore. The cloud of dust finally settled down, and six ponies, with wide-brimmed hats and black bandanas on their necks, approached the stagecoach, looking hungrily at its scratched surface. Three of them were wearing leather jackets, covered in some kind of trophies - paws, teeth and golden stars, and the other three had short capes, made out of flax. They all had some kind of scars on their bodies, some of them seemed pretty fresh. Out of this crowd, an earth pony dressed in a long trench coat, that was long enough to shield his whole body. He had a goatee and a golden star on his hat - it seems this guy used to be the sheriff. Now, he's the leader of this gang.
"Oi there, mate. Whatcha smugglin' ova' there?" - he said in calm tone, but with a challenge. The pegasus's ears were hurt by this atrocious accent.
"Umm... nothin'. Just travellin', got two friends back there, ya know? Just passing by" - he said, smiling awkwardly and sweating - and it wasn't because of the heat.
"That's nice to hear, mate. Then ya'll have to pay double: for these two, - and he pointed at the ponies, who were hitching the stagecoach, - for yourself, and for your two friends inside".
"But I've already paid the monthly rent. Wasn't that enough?" - the pegasus said, and the bandit smiled.
"Dunno anything, mate. You've paid the wrong person, surely. So, choose now - either there's gonna be money, or there's gonna be trouble!" - he said, and the pegasus rubbed his neck. He doesn't have that much gold on him right, and these guys were armed - each was wearing a bracelet around his front hoof, with a sharp blade attached to it. The bandit leader demonstrated it by pushing the blade forward, so it would be like an extension to his own hoof.
Suddenly a very...disturbing sound, coming from inside the stagecoach, reach their ears.
"Oh yeah! Yes! Yes, right there!" - the sultry voice of his employer pierced the pegasus eardrums. He quickly remembered that there were only the kid and the pretty pegasus inside, so the conclusion the pegasus came to wasn't too child-friendly. And he was afraid to admit it, but these screams turned him on, actually.
"Woah-hoah! What do we have here, mate? U-la-la, that voice, he-he!" - the bandit leader said, fixing the star on his hat. "Ho-ho, I guess you won't need to pay after all, if you just let us... have our way with what's inside"
"Go right ahead" - the pegasus replied quickly, and his two friends nod silently - they wanted to stay safe as well. They may not get the money, but at least they'll save their hides.
The moans continued to grow louder and louder, as the bandits, whispering to each other and giggling evilly, expecting a loads of fun to be had, approached the back of the stagecoach, where the doors were.
"Hey-o, girl. Whatcha doing there, huh?" - the leader said in playful voice, touching the surface of the door, scratching it. In return, the loud moan reached his ears, and he grinned even more.
"Alright, babe, I'll have a surprise for you. In fact, we all do" - the leader said, casting a glance at his comrades. "As my younger brother once said, prepare your...."
He was unable to finish as the door was kicked open, hitting him right in the face, breaking his nose and sending him falling back. Out of the darkness of the stagecoach Fluttershy emerged, quickly dashing towards the leader and hitting him in the jaw with a quick uppercut, sending him flying back into the crowd. The bandits barely realized what was happening, when something small jumped over Fluttershy and landed right on the face of one of the bandits. His teeth let out a disgusting crack, as he fell down with a broken jaw, and Scootaloo quickly jumped towards another bandit, hitting him in the stomach.
Fluttershy followed up by dashing to one of the bandits, and with a single twitch of her right hoof a small blade appeared out of the wristband. With movements swift and elegant she slit the throats of three nearby goons. She turned her attention towards the last bandit who was still standing. When she was passing beside the bandit who was desperately trying to calm the insane pain in his stomach, Fluttershy shoved the blade right into his chest, ripping the flesh and getting her hoof stuck inside. Negligently, she wrested her hoof out of this bleeding hole and shook it a bit, splattering blood nearby. The last bandit quickly raised his hoof, on which the bracelet with the blade was, and tried to push the blade out into 'attack' mode, but it got stuck. Fluttershy looked at this interesting device, then at her own wristband. The bandit's weapon was a complete rip-off of monster hunters' wristbands, only badly made, much less practical and, as it turns out, completely unreliable.
"Original concept" - Fluttershy said, grinning, as she approached the bandit and stuck the blade into his throat. "Don't steal".
The bandit coughed and gargled, as the blood started flowing from his mouth. He looked at Fluttershy with the eyes full of horror and surprise. He was still unsure of what was going on.
"Don't worry - at least you'll die with a raging boner" - Fluttershy added, and quickly moved her blade to the left side, completely tearing the moron's throat. He fell down into the dust, as a puddle of blood formed under him.
The bandit leader opened his eyes and looked around, but Fluttershy quickly jumped on him and put her blade right near his throat. The bandit looked at her in horror, and made an expression a small child will make when it's scared.
"So, how does it feel when the mare is poking you with something, eh?" - Fluttershy said, slowly making a little cut on the bandit's cheek. Scootaloo chuckled behind her - she certainly got the joke. She wasn't sure about the bandit though - he was still pale and scared.
"P..P...Please...." - he babbled, barely managing to hold back from crying.
"Oh, what's wrong, mate? Scared, aren't ya?" - Fluttershy remarked, and the bandit felt the blood dripping from her hoof and onto his chest. His friend's blood.
"Where do you keep the hoard?" - she said in a firm and harsh voice, finally discarding jokes. "Where's the cash that you've stolen?"
"I...I know! I'll tell you, I promise! It's not far from here, in the canyon. There are more of our guys there, much more. In fact, we have a camp there. Our boss is there, too! Please don't kill me!" - he shouted it all out quickly. Fluttershy smiled and slowly stroked his cheek.
"Good boy. Mama is proud of you" - she said, smiling, got up and took a few steps away from him. The bandit thought he was spared... oh, how delusional he was.
"Scoots, finish him off" - Fluttershy said firmly, and Scootaloo looked at her surprised.
"But...umm... ugh...." - the young pony said, looking at the bandit, who gazed at her with her eyes filled with plea for mercy.
"Scoots... you'll have to do it eventually. In this world, you kill, or be killed. We can't leave him alive - he'll return to his friends and bring us more trouble" - Fluttershy said, but Scootaloo was still reluctant. "It's the middle of the desert. Nopony will know you did it, if you're worried about that"
But Scootaloo continued to stare at the bandit, looking more and more worried and suppressed. Fluttershy even noticed a bit of tears in the young one's eyes - she really didn't want to kill, but the thought of disappointing her teacher was unconceivable to her.
Fluttershy sighed, realizing that she still wants too much from the kid. But at least, it wasn't Scootaloo's fault - she's just not ready yet, not yet prepared, not angry enough to kill.
Fluttershy quickly approached the bandit, and before he could cry out, pleading for mercy, she struck him right in the throat with her most efficient move, the most painful way to die. The bandit's vertebra moved a little bit forward from impact, covering the part of respiratory way just below the epiglottis but above the trachea.
The bandit started choking, trying to grasp for air, unable to say anything but cough. His mouth started to fill up with his own blood, and he was too weak to turn around and spit it out. Fluttershy walked away from the dying in agony bandit, without even looking back. Thankfully, he was just unable to scream, or poor Scootaloo would just cry.
"I'm... sorry...." - the girl said, approaching Fluttershy and looking down into the ground, like she's done something bad.
"Don't worry, kiddo. You're just not ready yet. I fucked up, sorry for making you feel bad" - she said and carefully pat Scoots on the head. The girl smiled innocently in return.
"Well, now we know our next destination" - Fluttershy said. There was only one canyon in many miles around here - and that's where the bandits made their base, and also stocked all their loot. Fluttershy quickly hopped onto the stagecoach, deciding to ride shotgun with the pegasus-driver. He was still scared, looking at her with the eyes saying - 'What the fuck, you survived?'. Fluttershy smirked.
"Get us to the Old Wrinkle" - she said firmly. "And stop gawking - I'm not going to kill you for selling us out. That applies to you two as well. However, I can still change my mind"
"Yes, o'course! Off to the Old Wrinkle we go!" - the pegasus said, smiling awkwardly and ordering his two friends to ride onwards to the canyon. Scootaloo decided to stay inside the stagecoach, and ponder about what happened - Fluttershy was pretty alright with that, though the stale air inside is probably not good for the girl's lungs. But it's her decision, and she probably needs to think over what happened. It's a cruel world, and there will come a day when she has to kill.
The stagecoach started moving again, leaving the lifeless husks of the bandits behind - more food for the vultures. Fluttershy breathed in, finally tasting the somewhat cold wind. She couldn't help but praise herself for the smart idea of using themselves as a bait for the bandits - if they hunted them properly, it would take weeks. And that sexy voice she imitated - it must have really confused their driver, but it worked just like Fluttershy intended. Now, they are on their way to her target's doorstep, with the reward of five thousand gold drawing coming closer and closer into their grasp. Fluttershy once again felt that fuzzy feeling when you are close to accomplishing your goal and getting the cash you deserve. She got it every time she killed another monster back several years ago. Good times, good times.
Author's Note
This story is a sequel to my older story, Tale of a monster hunter. If you ignored the warning in the story description, read the first chapter and didn't understand anything, remember - I warned you. You should go and read that story first, so you will understand all the changes I have made. Thank you!
