Chapter 1: Who is Wild Wood?
It was a normal evening in Appleloosa. Everypony went about their usual ways. Some ponies were bucking apples in the orchard, while others worked in town at the bars and banks. The little fillies and colts played tag enjoying themselves. Nothing unusual was going on.
Cornflower sat on the wooden stairs of a bar, looking out at the little ponies having fun. She glanced down at her hooves, and then out at the little ponies having fun. Watching the little ponies playing tag reminded her of when she was a little filly. Her face cracked into a broad smile.
Her memories came to halt when the little fillies and colts ran away. She looked up at the end of the long desert road. Cornflower was in shock, along with everypony else in town.
“D-d-did they really R-return?” Cornflower’s pupils shrunk, and a drop of sweat flowed down her cheek. She froze and shivered along with the rest of the villagers when they saw him…
The shadow crept closer, expanding as he drew near the villagers, silence filling the air. His shoes clanked with every step he took. He swung his two hatchets one after the other, passing his tongue along his sharp teeth.
“Where’s the sheriff?” The crocodile sported an evil grin, causing the villagers run into their homes screaming “It’s him! They’ve returned!” They slammed their doors shut behind them as they cowered into their homes.
“The C-C-Cider Gang... has returned?” She grimaced at the memory of them.
“It can’t be true… Is he even one of them?” Cornflower stood on her hooves. She gasped upon seeing the symbol of a jug of apple cider and an axe below it on the sleeves of his black coat.
“I guess that only leaves you.” The crocodile raised his dark cowboy hat away from his eyes, glaring straight to the cowering figure below him. “You know where the sheriff is?”
Cornflower stiffened when she looked up to his purple, sinister, reptilian eyes. She tried to turn, only to be met by a hatchet, digging deep into the wooden stairs. She looked back the crocodile, who was slowly approaching.
“Oh little filly, did you know that no one escapes the hatchets of Mr. Croc?”
Cornflower stared at Mr. Croc as he drew closer. Her body was shaking uncontrollably. He continued flipping his hatchet. He then stopped, standing over the mare. He raised his hatchet high in the air, poised to strike at his helpless victim. The world around her seemed to be paralyzed with fear at the replitain goliath towered over her. Cornflower’s ears flopped down as she watched her years flash before her very eyes.
“Wait!”
Sheriff Silverstar stood behind him, his pupils twitching. “I’m here. What do y’want?”
Mr. Croc brought down his arm and turned towards him.
“Heh heh, it took ya long enough.” Mr. Croc moved up to Silverstar and took away his hat, tossing it to the ground. He grinned as he leaned into the sheriff.
“Where’s the cider?”
“We haven’t got much to g-g-give you,” Silverstar responded as sweat flowed down from his head. Mr. Croc smiled and backed away upon hearing that response.
“You see, we travel here to get our cider barrels, and we travel a long way to get this stuff. I’m sure you didn’t forget what happened twenty years ago. Your father, Goldstar, didn’t receive a pleasant death for not having the cider when we came for it,” Mr. Croc stretched his claws out on either side, almost as if he was shrugging.
“Unless you wanna to die like your father did. I suggest you get us those barrels that I’ve came for.”
Silverstar looked at the ground. His ears came down, and his body was shaking uncontrollably.
“Well, what r’ ya standin around there for? Get to it,” Mr.Croc raised his hatchet in the air as an evil grinned formed on his face.
Silverstar took a step back, but was too afraid to move any further.
“Shucks, looks like another sheriff wants to be made an example of. Now that’s just a crying-”
KA- BONG!
In a flash, Mr. Croc fell forward and flat on his face. When the smoke had cleared, he remained still on the ground with the hatchet in his claws. Silverstar looked over at the mare that stood on her hind hooves behind him with the broken guitar.
“Wh-wh-who are you?” Silverstar took a step back still shivering every few moments.
The mare came forward onto her front hooves and kicked the broken guitar behind. She plucked up her at and smiled.
“The name’s Wildwood,” she said in her sweet southern voice.
The ponies roared great cheers upon the defeat of Mr.Croc. Within a week the news had spread through of the four corners of Equestria of the “New Hero of the West”. Wildwood was known amongst the land as the new hero.
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In Manehattan, in a dark room within an abandoned facility, a bear gives Leader Algutzo a letter.
“Here’s the latest intel we have of what happened to Croc, boss,” the bear placed the newspaper onto the desk. He picked it up, used his magic and turned a few pages.
“Who is this ‘hero’ they speak of?” Algutzo glared at the bear.
“They call her “Wild Wood”. A mare they say that can move a guitar so fast and skilled, unlike what any equine has ever seen before. Most say that she’s a force to be reckoned with.”
“Hmm… Wild Wood, a force to be reckoned with, eh?” Algutzo brings his hooves together. He then takes a deep breath.
“Were there any other villains that survived her swings?”
“No sir, but a villain on his last breath said that all he heard was that phrase “Ka-Blow”. She also said that if any of us continue threatening her family and her kind, she’ll have us meeting our brethren in the stars.
“That is it. I’ve heard enough. I want all of you to go into Appleloosa and bring her back to me. She will severely pay for the interference of The Cider Gang,” Algutzo uses his magic and burns the newspaper leaving only the picture of the mare.
“Go. Now. We will just see how long ‘til she falls.”
“But what if we fail at capturing her boss?”
“Then take back whoever she holds most dear to her. She’ll have no choice but to come.”
And with that the bear turned and walked off into the door. Algutzo looked back down at the picture as the door closed shut.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cornflower was in her house going over her to do list. She wanted to make sure all of her duties were finished before leaving her house. All she had left was to wash the few dishes she had in her sink. She went to her kitchen and turned on the pipe over her dishes.
“Hmm, who would’ve thought that my best friend... would be the new hero?” She smiled and started scrubbing away at the first place she held up.
“Ooooh, so she your best friend huh?”
Cornflower froze upon hearing the voice. The plate dropped into the sink. She quickly turned around to find a mysterious draconequus sitting on of her kitchen stools. He then disappears then reappears in front of her.
“Looks like we already have who we need,” the draconequus said smiling down at her and had his bear paw and reptile hand on his dark wooden cane.
Chapter 2: A Kidnapping Of The Hero's Heart
Cornflower frightened by the draconequus which towered over her.
"Now if you'll just be a kind dear and-"
Cornflower threw a plate up at his face which afterwards broke on contact. The draconequus quickly wrapped around her but before he began squeezing, she freed herself jumping into the air and grabbing an empty pot from off the table.
"Hmm, so want to do it the hard way eh?"
The draconequus threw the cane in which Cornflower dodged as she jumped into the air.He disappeared and reappeared behind her still in mid-air, smacking her into a wall.
She quickly got up and dodged two jabs which opened a few in holes in her kitchen. She quickly knocked his right knee and moved to the other side of the kitchen.
Breathing so deeply, her eyes focused well on the draconequus that started laughing on his back.
"What's so funny?"
He popped his left eye open and his smile so faded away as he rose to his hooves.
"Oh nothing, nothing... just didn't I would actually have to try to take you kind ponies as a hostage. It's not something you expect of a normal civilian," he stretched out his scaly hand before her and within a moment Cornflower was immediately blinded in her right eye. She passed her hoof under eye and the pain came sharp making it almost unbearable.
"Aaah! Why?! Aaaah! Wildwood!" Cornflower squirmed in pain on the floor. The draconequus snapped his fingers and within moments black chains wrapped around the mare.
"Well I guess not so hard... A little push is all it took," he said as he grabbed up his cane and slowly walked out of the house and closed the door while Cornflower still squirmed in pain.
Two grunts came to him.
"Hey boss, you alright?"
"Oh fine I am, just grab up the mare and take her back to the base. Our lord would be pleased with what we bring him," the draconequus walked on to meet the hero.
"Got it boss!" The two crocodile grunts kick the door in and ran inside.
The draconequus walked over to where his henchmen were being knocked around the town by the “Hero”. He magically disappeared and reappeared in front Wildwood as his henchmen spiraled backwards passed him.
“So, you must be what everyone in Equestria calls the hero eh?”
Wildwood leapt backwards and her ears perked up as she glared up at the tall draconequus.
“Didn’t mean to startle you there. I just didn’t want to yell all the way back from where I was. I mean one that would be rude and two, I just don’t feel like yelling to say something that could be said much easier when closer. But I figured you knew that, didn’t you?” the draconequus smiled cunningly keeping his focus on her eyes like an eagle to its prey.
“What ‘bout it? I’m no hero. I just keep creeps like you away from hurting my friends and family and stealing our cider. Now leave this town and don’t come back or I’ll make y’all go. Now get!” She threatened the draconequus with her guitar.
She started swinging away at his face, but the draconequus moved smoothly through all of her movements.
“You know by the speed at which you move this thing it’s pretty to believe Mr. Croc dying from a single blow. Especially come from behind and adding to the fact the he’s a crocodil-” the draconequus quickly dodged the last swing which was much faster than her other swings.
He somersaulted backwards landing perfectly on his hooves.
“My my,” he smiled. “If that last one connected, I would’ve been surely a goner.”
“Boss, she’s powerful. I think we should get outta here,” one of his henchmen said slowly rising from the ground.
“Yes… that would be best to do,” the draconequus kept his stare at the mare which then threw her guitar straight towards him.
He quickly dodged the attack only to catch a glimpse of her galloping to him with great speed and velocity. He got hoofed punched backwards into his henchmen without enough time to block her surprise attack. He went crashing into his henchmen.
He magically disappeared and reappeared standing in front of his henchmen. He wore on a slight frown as wiped away the blood that trickled down his nose.
“My, my I should’ve known better not to mess with the “Hero”. My fault this was indeed.”
“Now that’ll teach ya not to mess with me and my family,” Wildwood’s eyes narrowed down as she glared on at the tall draconequus with her hoofs curled up.
“Apparently it didn’t. Since we can’t get you, we’ll just be taking your little friend here,” the draconequus magically summoned Cornflower chained up with a bloody eye in his hold.
“Cornflower!”
The draconequus wore his clever smile. Wildwood looked into her best friend’s face as she shivered in pain and fear. Cornflower opened her left eyed and stared at Wildwood.
“Save me!” The draconequus punched Cornflower in her right eye and caused her to writhe in agony.
“Let go of my friend now!” Wildwood jumped forward and arched her position to give the draconequus a severe hoof punch. But just as she was about to lay out flat the draconequus, he and his henchmen magically disappeared.
“Oh no… Cornflower,” She dropped back on her haunches. The wind of the orange sky blew past her mane taking off her hat and sliding along the desert ground. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she looked out to the sunset.
“What have I done…”
In a cell of the A.C.G. HQ, Cornflower was tied to the cold walls of the grey and dull cell. The draconequus stood in front of her with a large table of torcher devices perfectly placed about the white cloth.
Algutzo opened the door and walked in. He stopped in front of Cornflower and examined her swollen right eye.
“Oooh, looks like somepony here is quite hurt. Would like me to fix that?”
Cornflower remained silent. Algutzo wore small smirk and turned to the table behind him. His expression grew serious as he picked up a small knife which were slightly rusted as its edges.
“Okay, we are not gonna kill you, but we are going to ask you some questions. If you answer them, we won’t cause you much pain, and we will be sure to feed you two every...” Algutzo thought for a moment. “Eh, every two days how does that sound?”
Cornflower still remained silent.
“Okay, first question. How well do you take severe pain?”
She rose her head and met his eyes.
“Ah, now we have cooperation I see,” Algutzo smiled only to have it disappear on upon being spat at.
“Do your bucking worst you piece of cow dung. How dare you bastards take me from my home. You all will pay when Wildwood finds out this place,” Cornflower glared into the eyes of Algutzo.
“Glad you said when because it leaves me more than enough time to finish what I’m about to do to you, little missy,” he then used his magic and grabbed the hoof dusters from below the table and placed them below his front hooves then afterwards magically removed the spit from his cheek.
“Don’t worry your friend has quite the work cut out for her before she reaches me,” Algutzo knocked his hooves together. “Know I want you to clench your teeth and pray to Celestia that she comes sooner.”
Algutzo arched back landed his first left hoof into Cornflower’s right eye.
