Sidewinder’s eyes widened as Applejack charged, she’d taken him by surprise in an admittedly well executed trap. The mare was not even a foot away when Sidewinder moved, he jumped back to the bed as Applejacks’ hammer moved to the spot where he stood!

Not fast enough, as the weapon dealt him a glancing blow, which knocked him back. The Thestral growled in rage, and with a mighty flap of his wings he crashed into the mare who was trying to regain her balance. The glass window shattered, and sent the two into the dirt.

Applejack recovered first and stood on all fours as her opponent shakily got to his hooves.

“I ain’t letting ya’ll get away with this, boy. Me and my kin don’t take kindly to thieves,” she sneered, but by the last word she seemed to have struck a cord in the bat pony.

Sidewinder growled in a rage and with a flick of his wrist to the right he unsheathed a dagger. He would give her no breath, no room for refocus until the mission was complete. It was then that he knew that Pepperjack had done his job, evident in the way the ground shook and a loud boom was heard.

***

Winding Storm was a dead-eye, meaning he could hit a small target from a long way off. He aimed his crossbow, careful to aim at the eye of his target. He breathed slowly, steadily, as he prepared to take the shot. Then it happened, the siege machines went up in a fire ball, right as Winding let a bolt fly.

Big Macintosh turned just in time to hear a loud ping on his helmet. He turned to face his attacker, no doubt linked to the attack. He focused on the bat pony as he reloaded his weapon. Mac charged him, and the pony used his wings to sail into the air! The pony twisted to where he was upside down, and let another loose. Mac simply turned his head and let the bolt hit his armor. Then something heavier crashed into him, not nearly enough to knock him even slightly off balance, he used a foreleg to throw it to the ground. It was a bat, not the one that he was fighting earlier but another one, fury entered his eyes as he reared high into the air and brought his fore hooves crashing down onto it’s head! He heard a hiss and saw out of the corner of his eye the earlier one coming at him!

Winding Storm unsheathed his dagger and tried to flank the giant of a pony only for Big Mac to hone in on him. Winding twisted in the air as Big Mac’s armored foreleg tried to make him crash, but Winding was slightly faster than Mac and was able to sail under the arm.

This was his chance! Winding knew that Big Mac knew if he lost sight of his target he would need time to re-acquire him. Time that needn’t be wasted. Winding prayed to whom ever would listen that his shot would hit the target. Winding twisted so that his back was facing the ground, he sighted the eye and fired. Mac turned right into the shot and howled as his eye was taken.

The behemoth staggered for a moment and tore his helmet off as Winding hovered in the air before, in a burst of near unnatural speed he shot towards the shocked Thestral. Mac jumped and sent the Thestral skidding into the earth!

Winding rolled onto his back before a hoof crashed into his breastplate, and cracked it. The young Thestral spat blood into the air as Big Mac prepared to finish him. Mac reared back and pressed all of his weight down. Winding closed his eyes as the hoof came down, he imagined that he’d see Thunderbolt again after six years of training. He hoped they’d be able to play again after all that time.

After a moment of nothing Winding opened his eyes to find that Pepperjack had made it and had slipped a rope around Big Mac’s neck. The unicorn held Mac up with his magic and lifted him off the ground. Mac gurgled as his own weight closed his throat.

“Are you going to lay there all night gawking, or would you mind being useful and help Mr. Pipsqueak?” Pepperjack asked the Thestral who stood and flew to the other side of the compound.

***

Pipsqueak rolled out of the way of Braeburns’ lasso, his years on The Walrus had apparently been worth it, he was faster than the cowpony without armor. He could dodge all night if need be but now it was a question of getting in close.

Braeburn readied another rope before a crossbow bolt narrowly missed him. A bat pony landed by the pinto and glared at him as Braeburn readied a noose. Without warning the bat rushed him but veered off as Braeburn launched his weapon. The noose found purchase around the bat’s barrel and the earth pony used all of his strength to send it crashing into the mess hall.

Braeburn barely noticed the pinto pony in time. He crashed into him, unfortunately Braeburn rolled with the tackle and threw the colt off, just as the barracks went up in flames.

Braeburn breathed deeply as he took in the chaos, blood spatter caked the mess window, he noted that nopony ran out to help them. At this he realized, to his horror, that there would be no reinforcements. This was a textbook ambush.

Braeburns’ gaze became akin to an inferno as his eyes settled on the pinto pony as he tried to stand with a noticeable gash in his foreleg.

The cowpony was methodical in his approach, he stalked towards the limping teenager with a murderous intent.

Pip breathed heavily as he staggered to his hooves. He winced as he moved his left foreleg, a piece of wood was buried in the limb. He bit into the offending object and tore it from himself.

Pip grunted in agony, it was bigger than he thought and now he had a heavily bleeding limb. He looked towards Braeburn to find that he was closing in on him.

Their gazes met for an instant before the cowpony caught Pip with a right cross. The blow was hard enough to send him into the ground. Pip’s vision swam as he was rolled onto his back.

Pip choked as a hoof was placed on his throat.

“You picked the wrong side Pip, but it’s good to know you’re back. I missed you, boy,” Braeburn said as he sniffed him, before Pip shot his hind leg up.

Braeburn grunted as he backed off. The kick to his crotch gave Pip enough time to get to his hooves. Pip saw red as he slammed his hooves into the Apple clanspony. Pip used his good foreleg to jab Braeburn in the nose and continued to do so thrice more until the former farmer tried to knock him off his hooved when Pip went to hit him over the head.

Pip’s adrenalin addled mind did the work and he wrapped his forelegs around Braeburns’ barrel and flipped over him as he used his own weight to send Braeburn face first into the dirt.

Braeburn crawled and tried to rise only for Pip to trip him. The sailor was exhausted, but wasn’t about to allow Breaburn to walk away from this. Pip crawled atop his opponent who tried to fight him off, only Pip redirected his feeble attempts at retaliation and slammed his good hoof into Braeburns’ head.

He grunted as he brought his full fury to bare, once, a cry tore through Braeburn, twice, a wet gurgled cry, and thrice, there was a crack and blood caked Pips’ hoof. Braeburn knew no more, which satisfied Pip just fine as he struggled to stand.

“Bloody hell, Winding?” Pip called, as he realized that his friend hadn’t come out of the mess.

Pip staggered in a near drunk fashion towards the mess before he was stopped by a Thestral he didn’t know. And was made to lay down despite his protests.

“Winding’s in the mess, I-I got to get him,” Pip said shakily as he was bandaged up.

Soon Pepperjack levitated an unmoving Winding Storm towards the group.

“How many casualties?” Pepperjack asked, his tone clipped.

“Two, Banks was killed by an angry cook and Scarlet by the big one,” the Thestral replied, her voice was reminiscent of the accent in Prance.

“Has anypony seen Sides?” Pepper asked, fearful of the answer.

The silence was deafening but Pepper was soon filled with urgency as Winding coughed up blood.

“Oh dear, Fleur, I’ll make sure that Mr. Winding is stable, you go into the medical tent and get a bloodbag and an IV stand. He has serous internal bleeding, and his blood pressure is dropping,” Pepper ordered as he used a basic healing spell on Winding’s lung.

***

Sidewinder hid himself in the bomb shelter beneath the barn. It was dark enough and big enough that he could have a breather from Applejack’s onslaught. A match lit a torch which illuminated a good portion of the shelter and would expose Sidewinder to the Supreme Commander if left alone.

“Ya’ll wrecked the whole place you varmint, after I kill you I’ll go after your kin, see how ya’ll like it,” Applejack said, her ire raised to it’s highest level.

Sidewinder used the bunk beds to remain hidden, since they were stacked three high he could go relativity unnoticed.

He moved three rows away from the hunting Apple matron and replied, “You can’t do that I’m afraid.”

Sidewinder squinted as he drew nearer to the light. He stewed in anger, and decided against his original plan and began to circle around the loud earth mare.

“And why not? It ain’t like ya’ll are getting out of this,” Applejack retorted.

“Who says I’m trying too?” the voice from behind made Applejack freeze.

It was whispered right in her ear, and she turned to face it. There the Thestral was, folding his dagger back into his gauntlet with his teeth.

Applejack wasted no more time and swung her hammer at him. Sidewinder didn’t jump back, instead he ducked below it and surged forwards. When Applejack was facing towards him a hoof planted itself on the nose. This was swiftly followed by her good eye. The blows sent her head into a bed post and dosoriented her. Applejack righted herself before she found that the Thestral was gone.

“Show yourself, you yellow coward!” she demanded.

A mocking laugh reverberated off the walls before the bat pony spoke, “Coward am I? That’s a lot coming from the mare that killed my son!”

Applejack looked around her and up to see where the voice was coming from. She lifted her eyepatch to make sure she saw everything she could. A blow from the right knocked her head into a bed post, hard enough for her vision to swim.

Sidewinder retreated after the blow and moved around her slowly, only to find her tracking him with that eye of hers.

“I can see you through these here beds ya varmint, come on out,” Applejack demanded with a grin plastered on her face.

Sidewinder crawled out of his hiding spot and stood before her. Applejack rushed him and struck his breastplate. He staggered back and dodged a jab at his face delivered a left cross. Applejack accepted the blow and spun to use her hammer, only for for the commander to duck and use his head to strike her below the jaw.

The Apple backed off and lunged to try and tackle Sidewinder only for him to roll over a bed and put some distance in between them.

“What the hay are you doing?” Applejack questioned.

“Fighting dirty,” Sidewinder replied before he soared over the bunks to hit her head again, but Applejack brought her hammer up which was caught on a bunk.

He angled his hoof so that it pointedly struck her eye. The mare gave a yell and punched his lower abdomen. Sidewinder hit the floor and scurried away as Applejack got loose and went after him.

“I recognize your fighting style, one that Major Blitz taught you after he joined your ranks,” Sidewinder commented as Applejack’s blows became sloppier, missing more often than him redirecting them.

Applejack growled and brought her hammer around only to hit air.

“Your version is sloppy and slow,” Sidewinder goaded.

Applejack bellowed and finally, with a vicious punch, knocked Sidewinder into a post before he fell to the ground. She wasted no time moving in, only to gasp as a dart hit her hind leg!

Her eyes darted to Sidewinder who had used his crossbow to fire another sedative laced dart at her. Her legs shook from her heavy armor, and her tongue was thick.

“This toxin was isolated from the liver of a Celestial pufferfish, the dart paralizes you and you feel everything,” Sidewinder explained, “You’ll be like that for a good two hours.”

He kneeled down and spoke again as Applejack slowly sank to the ground, “As much as I really, really, want to flay you alive for what you did to my boy, I’m not going to. Instead, I’ll let the Princesses have you.”

Applejack gurgled in response as the bat pony left her to assess his force.

***

Captain Flintlock leaned back against the wall of a makeshift bar, his rum was untouched as the Princess of the Sun finished unveiling her plan to him.

“Let me get this straight, you want to walk into Manehattan under disguise and become friends with Rarity? After you’ve captured her The Walrus will pelt the city with cannon fire, and we’ll make a get away?" Celestia nodded slowly, not liking the condescending tone of the Captains voice.

“It’s a stupid and long term plan,” Flintlock deadpanned, much to Celestia’s annoyance.

“Would you happen to have a better suggestion Captain?” Celestia questioned in a near rhetoric fashion.

“As a matter of fact I do, we simply offer them a juicier target, one who’s a known fugitive,” Flintlock revealed, “You will walk in and deliver me to House White-Gold and Rarity will be there, right where you want her. We’ll get her and have more chance of success if we work together.”

Celestia chewed her lip for a moment before she saw the sense in the plan. All eyes would be off of her so she could do the heavy lifting. A good plan all around, admittedly.

“So we have an accord?” Flintlock asked to which Celestia nodded.

Author's Note

Just a note, never mess with a grieving father.