Author's Note

The Re-edited Version.

The Intorrgation

Snow now knows where she must go. Cloudy Heights is an apartment building on the edge of the suburbs of Las Pegasus and that’s where Open Source, the mare who holds the key to the secrets of the bloody camera now in her possession. She hopes that she’ll have some answers to this madness.

Snow looks up and surveys around the trashed bar. Aside from the car with a corpse slumped over through the broken windshield, every table has bullet holes in them, the jukebox is now smoking, and every bottle of booze at the bar is broken and their contents are flooding the shelves.

Amethyst is tending to the injured mare and Ardigus is giving his gun back to the bartender. The burly stallion and the one in the stetson hat are standing with Amethyst and the injured mare. The stallion in the novelty Las Pegasus cap and the mare he was with are nowhere to be seen.

A door slams in the back. A stallion shouts “Where did this dead body come from?!”

“Oh, that’ll be me!” Amethyst shouts back.

From around the corner where the bathrooms are, comes a very well built and big batpony stallion stands tall dwarfing most ponies with his size. He has light grey fur, copper mane and eyes, and a scar down his left eye. He’s wearing a plain, dark blue t-shirt and black pants.

He looks around shocked. “I go to the bathroom to vomit for half an hour and I come back to a war zone.”

“One full hour.” says another annoyed stallion. A copper coated dark grey-maned unicorn with a carnival hat, a worn out brown and white striped suit that looks like it was designed thirty years ago paired with similarly designed pants. He has a red tie with a white dress shirt and black dress shoes. He stands as high as the big batpony, but skinner.

He takes a quick look around and states, “Well, I’ve never seen a car in a bar before. Too bad I didn’t see it crash.” he walks to the car inspecting it curiously.

The big batpony stallion looks at him in confusion before turning to the bar’s patrons. “So what happened here?” he asks genuinely curious about his situation perhaps even too drunk or out of it to hear the commotion within the bar.

“Well, the car crashed in first.” Ardigus says.

“Then the driver gave her a camera,” the stetson hat stallion adds, “and then a bunch of gangsters showed up and shot the place to Tartarus before getting chased off.”

“Oh, is that all?” asks batpony.

“Just the average Tuesday out here.” the unicorn says as he peers into the car.

Snow goes back to thinking. If those goons would shoot up a bar with fully automatic weapons, then what other lengths will they go to? How many more are there? She ponders her own safety while she holds the camera in her hand, How far will these guys go just to get hold of a simple camera? More importantly what secrets does it hold?

Then she remembers the donkey said to retreat to a rallying point. Despite being a hardy fighter not exactly new to this sort of thing, she might not be able to do this on her own even if she wanted to. Who will help her though? Well, there’s several ponies here already intrigued by tonight’s events and the looming threat of being hunted by gangsters . If she frames this right, then maybe she’ll gain a few allies to join her fight It’s worth a shot. Now, how to present herself?

She marches up to a table, takes an intact mug of cider, and chugs it down, slamming it back down on the table. “Alright!” she shouts on the top of her lungs, “Listen up all you jackasses, what I got in my hand is the camera that these fucks tried to kill us all to get! Fucking shame it's in my hands now and I know these guys won't stop til they get it. That dying stallion give it to me and his final wish is for me to deliver it, and I won’t deny a stallion his dying wish. So which of you have the balls to become the hunters instead of the prey? If you want to help, get your ass over here and join me!”

“What's in it for me?” the copper unicorn asks, searching the inside of the car whether it’s looking for valuables or more information seems unclear to the mare but none of her business currently.

“Nothing but thrills, excitement and not ending up dead how does that sound?.” she answers, bluntly not caring if anyone takes her advice but her offer stands, “Also, I got his wallet.”

He stops searching the inside of the dead stallion’s car and walks to the bar.

Ardigus steps up and Amethyst follows after patching up the injured mare.

“Well, they tried to kill us,” Ardigus says, “so I got to help you with whatever it is you’re planning otherwise I might end up in a ditch somewhere.”

“If it goes against them,” Amethyst adds, “I have to join.”

“What about the rest of you?” Snow asks to the remaining bar patrons.

The group of two stallions and the injured mare just shake their heads.

The batpony sighs, “Well,” he says, “I have to go back to the city, so if it’s on the way, I’ll join for it looks like we are all involved in whatever is going on”

“And you?” Snow asks the copper unicorn with the carnival hat.

He tries to grab a drink off the bar, but the bartender says, “Sorry, closing up early.”

The unicorn sneers. After sharply exhaling, he turns to Snow to address her “Well, my night is ruined, so this better make it up for me.”

“Ok then,” Snow says, clasping her hands together with a big wicked grin on her muzzle “if that’s everyone, Let's paint the town red!.” Despite the bad situation, Snow Drift feels that tinge of excitement beating within her heart knowing that it’s going to be one hell of a night that makes her blood keep pumping and the adrenaline flowing freely, A feeling that she craves and follows like a drug only to get another taste of that thrill.

The group Snow assembled makes it’s way out into the parking lot. Snow trots along the bar, picking up the dead goons’ guns or what they dropped when they ran. They were packing Uzi submachine guns. The last one she killed had two of a machine pistol variant.

After picking up the guns and their ammo, she passes them out to her ragtag team of allies knowing they will need the firepower.

“You get a gun, you get a gun, you a gun, and you get a gun.” she says, handing the Uzis out like they were candy on nightmare night making sure everyone gets a weapon to defend themselves regardless if they need it or not.

“I’ll actually take those.” the copper unicorn says, taking both machine pistols.

Although these ponies and the griffon just met, not everyone introduced themselves and if they are going to be partners in crime for tonight, Snow best get their names.

“Ok, most all of us are not yet introduced.” she announces, “So, I’m Snow, Snow Drift! The big griffon is Ardigus, and she’s Amethyst.”

“Frostborn here.” says the big bat pony sneering towards the group filled with confidence in his actions despite being a heavy drinker.

“Just call me Slots.” says the copper unicorn.

“Ok then," says Snow, "we’ll head off to Las Pegasus to drop off the camera.” she saunters to her car, flickering her hips with every step. She pops the trunk and lays out her weapons to inspect starting with Shutter Speed’s pistol and checking her ammunition, After laying down her pistol the small mare grins mischievously grabbing the weapon hidden in the back of her trunk turning towards her allies “And no one is going to stop us, right fellas?” she pumps a military grade pump action shotgun, Snow is filled with confidence and a weapon that is illegal to have in the average citizen’s hands yet she doesn’t seem to care when she is on the warpath.

“Well that’s always part of the plan, isn’t it?” Amethyst asks.

“Ok,” Snow says, slamming the trunk with her shotgun in hand she is all ready to go. “let’s get on the road.”

They all get into their vehicles. Ardigus gets into the heavy car, Frostborn and Slots climb onto their motorcycles. Slots taking his hat off and stuffing it into his suit so it doesn’t fly off during the ride. Amethyst gets into her rather normal car. Snow opens up her custom car, tossing her shotgun into the passenger seat.

Starting the car, she lets it rev for a second, admiring the engine’s purr. Oh yes, her baby is made for speed.

Snow Drift leads the group out of the parking lot, away from the bar, and east down the highway. To pass the time, she pops in a cassette for her favorite metal band, Skull Force, into the radio and cranks up the volume just to keep her blood pumping during the drive.

The group lead by Snow Drift continues through the empty desert for about ten minutes, only passing a single motel. The rest is rocks, the occasional cactus or tumbleweed, and of course lots and lots of sand. Up ahead is where they are to turn north at the ‘T’ which will take them straight onto The Strip, but as they approach the ‘T,’ flashing red and blue lights up a ways north are visible.

Could it be blocked? The police maybe? Snow asks these questions to herself deciding if the quickest route is really the best, Especially since the bat pony and the authorities don’t get along so well. However, she spots something. Further, east, there are taillights. Could it be? The cowardly goons that ran away, has the group caught up to them? It’s worth the shot.

Snow grins wickedly and presses down on the gas pedal increasing her speed signalling the others to follow this time she’s going to make sure to get some juicy information out of these gangsters.

Slowly, but surely, Snow shortens the distance between her and the cars ahead. Then, as the highway turns north on its own, two of the cars ahead stop and block the road in front of a gas station forming a blockade to slow the group’s advance, while a third speeds off. He’s not getting away, not on Snow’s watch.

Snow gestures hand signals for the group to go through the desert, around the barricade the two cars ahead made.

Amethyst and Ardigus do so, but the motorcycles still tail Snow. A gas station is to be the battleground. Snow gets an idea. She opens the glove compartment and pulls out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Steering with her elbows, she takes one, sticks it into her mouth, and lights it before putting the stuff away and popping out her cassette.

Snow nears the barricade, seeing the ponies scramble from setting up tires and such around the cars to bolster their defenses before getting back into position. Snow can see the donkey from before among the gangsters no doubt their acting boss. She pulls off, parking quickly just on the gas station’s tarmac with her car pointing to the highway and jumping out with her shotgun, sliding across the hood, and rushing to take cover behind a nearby car parked in front of the convenient store.

There’s a car at the set of four pumps closest to the store and another car by some dumpsters on the far side of the station. The barricade lays just on the other side of the second set of pumps near the highway. The donkey and two stallions are there behind the barricade of cars. Along with three more stallions by the pumps closest to the store, about thirty feet away from Snow. She can see the one closest to her has a tire iron in his hand, but she can’t get a good look at the other two from her position.

Slots pulls in on his bike, hopping off it and letting it coast into place as he takes cover behind Snow’s car using the vehicle as a shield while pulling out his Micro-Uzis in preparation for battle.

Snow takes aim with her shotgun and shoots, not the stallion closest to her, but the gas pump next to him. Sparks fly as the pellets break the casing and a small amount of smoke trails from the pump. She pumps her shotgun as she hears Frostborn on his bike pull in, but before she takes another shot, Slots peeks out of cover slamming both of his machine pistols on Snow’s car roof and sprays two furious streams of bullets. One stream tears into the damaged pump and the other decimates the goon next to it. What has to be twenty rounds shreds his chest, leaving it an unrecognisable mess of gore with sizeable holes going all the way through the chest cavity before he could collapse backwards.

The pump now billows with smoke, scarring the gangsters that witnessed such a blaze of gore from one of their own and now flickers of a flame quickly begins to spread to the neighboring pumps.

“Run, everybody run!” one yells as both of them leg it to the dumpsters.

Snow’s eyes widen at the sight as she runs back to her car. Frostborn hasn’t even parked before he speeds off and Slots hopping right on his bike. She gets right in her car and floors it as the gas pumps have become a raging inferno that consumes anything nearby. Then a huge explosion rocks her car and the entire gas station as the ready-use tanks ignite.

Looking back, Snow sees half the station engulfed in flames. The car next to the pumps has been flung into the second set of pumps just ahead and right of her, being stopped by the pillar to the sign, but has uprooted a few of the pumps and gasoline is spewing out like a fountain onto the cement, quickly pooling into a ever growing puddle.

Snow still has the cigarette in her mouth and it’s half done. She slows the car a bit as she takes one last inhale and flicks it out the passenger window only to leave a mischievous wicked grin for anyone looking right in her direction. This sight makes the goons at the barricade turn and flees into the desert.

As Snow and the stallions on the bikes pass around the barricade without being shot at, a second explosion goes off, making her car shutter as the shock wave rolls over. Following the highway’s turn, they head north. After about a minute, there’s a flash and colossal explosion nearly pops her ears. The heat of the flash’s intense light singes her fur. Once the ringing in her ears stops, Snow looks back and sees a rising, flaming mushroom cloud where the gas station was.

“Well, won’t be seeing them anytime soon.” she says to herself.

Ahead, Snow can see the taillights of the rest of the group. The lights steer off to the right of the highway.

Snow and the bikes get to where the taillights are. Amethyst and Ardigus has caught up with the fleeing car and run it off the road where it has crashed into a cactus. Amethyst and Ardigus are standing outside, waving at her and the bikes. Frostborn and Slots pull off the side of the road to go down to the group gathering around something. Snow parks off to the side and sees they already pulled out the driver, an earth pony stallion. Looking at him, she almost recognizes something about him. Something about the blond mane, grey fur, or the white, soaked in blood suit, it just seems like she saw it before. Then she notices he’s clutching his chest, trying to stop his bleeding although his wounds are not too serious with simple treatment. His hands are right about where she shot one of the goons from before. It dawns on Snow that he was the gangster that got away after seeing her easily kill two of his comrades, maybe even his friends. An evil idea comes to mind.

“Tie him up with some rope or something!” Snow Drift yells from her car in a commanding tone as she gets prepared.

Snow backs up her car towards the group is in such a way that her trunk is presented towards them. Stepping out, she sees they’ve already finishing tying the gangster up with his arms to his sides and on his knees, facing the car’s trunk, but his head is down with a dejected expression, Beaten, bruised and shot, the gangster has no chance of escape.

“Lucky I had some rope in case my car gets stuck in the sand,” Ardigus says abruptly.

“Yeah, that’s great.” Snow says in a dismissive manner.

The gangster stallion looks up at Snow Drift the mare that straight out executed his friends and witnessed firsthand. He squirms, fear fresh in his mind, but with the gunshot wound and various injuries from the car crash, The gangster resigns to his fate shivering in fear, both Frostborn and Ardigus still keep a hand on his shoulders firmly to keep the stallion still.

With a wicked grin, Snow grabs her shotgun and begins to approach the young gangster stallion. Immediately his ears tuck backwards, gulping hard as a bead of sweat drips down the blonde stallion’s forehead, fear taking root within his mind.

Snow Drift stops once she reaches the end of her car. She looks down at her gun and pumps the weapon loudly, before then popping the trunk of the car and placing the shotgun back into her trunk, she proceeds to grab Shutter Speed’s pistol looking back at the blonde earth pony with a bigger, toothier grin no longer needing to say words to intimidate this stallion that has firsthand witnessed her ruthless and downright scary, Snow Lets her actions speak louder than any words she can muster. . Snow Drift pulls the hammer back of her pistol putting the weapon readied back into the trunk. The Blonde stallion’s eyes widen with every weapon she presents him causing the stallion to shiver in fear, finding himself short of breath immediately as his heart attempts to jump out of his chest. Snow Drift ponders for a brief moment in thought with a swish of her tail no doubt enjoying the stallion’s fear but then instead of the loaded and ready weapons she grabs something else instead and putting on the most wicked grin she can muster, the glistening of her fangs brightly in the car headlights and even a glint of malice in her eye as the small bat pony mare pulls out a steel baseball bat, clad in skull stickers. All the stickers have lots of skull symbols and art with blue flames surrounding them, Skull Force is written in along the steel bat, being Snow’s favorite band.

She pats her hand with the steel bat menacingly, walking up to blonde gangster, only to pause with her free hand grabbing the bloody camera now in her possession.

"Alright handsome, Listen up and listen well! I want to know all about you jackasses and why you trying to kill us over this! Otherwise, this will be the worst night of your entire life!" Snow says, raising her voice, holding up the camera to the stallion’s face.

Snow Drift gets a better, closer look at the blonde earth pony stallion with a grey coat wearing a white suit covered in small patches of his own blood. He’s quite young to be a gangster, barely even eighteen, roughly around Snow Drift’s age.

“I-I don’t know!” the stallion says quickly, his body trembling in front of Snow doing his best to tell the mare anything she wants to know wanting to live from this situation, “W-we were just told to get the camera at any cost!”

“Who told you?” she asks sternly, flashing her fangs with her signature grin and leaning forward narrowing her gaze,causing the stallion to pull his head back slightly.

The gangster cowers before Snow Drift, but he maintains eye contact staring into her forest green eyes followed by a whimper “T-the higher ups! They wanted the camera a-and we were just following orders! It wasn’t supposed to turn out like this!” He gulps hard after spilling the beans, followed by biting his lower lip hard knowing within his mind that he shouldn’t have said that but if he wants to walk out of this alive he complies with her demands.

“Higher ups? So who wants the camera then handsome??” she asks in an amused tone smirking down at her prey, Snow is full of confidence not to mention seeking out the fun of terrorizing this earth pony almost with childlike glee “Better start talking sweetie otherwise I’m going to have to get...violent.”

The gangster remains silent for a few seconds but once the blonde stallion glances over at her steel bat tapping against her slightly bloodstained boots impatiently, He speaks up with a trembling voice as his will falters against this small mare. G-Good Company! T-that’s what we are called! L-look just don’t hurt me!”

“Oh? And who is your boss? Got a name?” Snow is clearly interested leaning in a bit closer to him.

With a gulp, he says, “S-Scare Tactic is the boss, He’s a bat pony, just like you. Mean, like you. He’s also scary like you.”

"Huh really? Alright buddy where can I find him?” Snow demands with her smirk stuck upon her muzzle.“You see, I have something I wish to discuss with him. He did something he shouldn’t have done. Something no one should ever do. He fucked with me, granted not directly, but fucked with me none the less.”

“I don’t know! R-really!” he says in a panic trying to prove his honesty with clattering teeth “W-we were just sent to get the camera! I-I don’t know where the boss is, I-I swear I’m just a guy at the bottom of the totem pole!”

Snow Drift leers towards the earth pony staring right into his eyes Immediately he cowers back a bit but Snow keeps eye contact dropping her grin briefly to put on a more serious expression “Ok then, what if I want to meet someone that hates him just as much as I do right now?"

“T-there’s a guy like that!” he says.

“Who?” she demands tightening her arm around the stallion’s neck, but not enough to cut his voice. “Where?”

“H-he runs a club in the city. H-he doesn’t get along with the boss and w-we keep tabs on him at his club!” The gangster blurts out, “It’s the El Paradiso, b-but he doesn’t talk to just anyone, y-you’ll have to go through his middle man to see him!”

Snow Drift lets out a big grin towards the gangster stallion that makes him sweat bullets down his forehead. She then tells him, “Thanks handsome. You’ve helped quite a bit,” Her grin widens across her muzzle flashing those glistening fangs once again “But if you’re lying or holding out on me,” she take the baseball bat and taps his groin with it, “you won’t be having kids, ever.”

“Y-you crazy bitch.” he spits out without thinking so full of fear that his voice quivers, immediately he shuts his mouth gulping hard as he looks at the white-maned bat pony staring back at him.

“What was that?” she asks with a tone sounding like genuine curiosity, “What did you just say? I didn’t quite catch that mind speaking a bit louder so I can hear?” Playfully, the mare puts her hand to her fluffy tipped ears and leans forward towards the stallion's muzzle while the gangster immediately regrets his decision.

The gangster doesn’t answer the bat pony, remaining silent hoping that she’ll just forget about it. Unfortunately, she presses the steel bat against his crotch causing the stallion to wince once again as Snow Drift applies pressure to his balls “I won’t ask you again, What did you fucking say!? If you don’t answer I’m going to smash your little balls till they pop like grapes!” Snow raises her voice almost straight out yelling into the blonde stallion’s ear.

The earth pony shrivels up regretting that small little slip in front of the crazy mare before him, the pressure on his balls frightens the stallion knowing that if he doesn’t answer soon he’ll lose his crown jewels, but saying it again might also cause that to happen as well, Out of fear the stallion’s eyes widen as she blurts out his words once again “C-crazy bitch! I-i said crazy bitch!” Everyone is silent except for the heavy breathing of the young gangster stallion, So silent that even his quickening heartbeat might even be heard.

Snow stares at the stallion during the silence narrowing her intimidating gaze towards his eyes, suddenly the mare cracks a smile, then she laughs. She laughs, laughs, and laughs. It goes from just laughing like she heard a joke to that of a mental patient, then to as wicked as a witch. She raises her steel bat up high and with all her might, once seeing this, the gangster laughs harder in disbelief fresh tears filling up his eyes staring at the steel bat only for it to swing down hard. The Gangster immediately shuts his eyes preparing for the blow against his crotch. Sand splashed as it hit the ground right next to him. The loud thud makes Frost and Ardigus flinch behind the stallion, this being the first time Snow notices then since she started. The blonde stallion is simply whimpering and quietly sobbing, mentally broken and left mortified in front of the grinning bat pony and her steel bat between his legs onto the sand below.

“Listen up and listen good handsome, I'm gonna tell you this straight,” Snow Drift picks up her bat and rests it on her shoulder brief while she stares seriously towards the young stallion with tears in his eyes. “I don’t want to see your ass again. If I were you, I’d leave the city as soon as I fucking could.” Snow stares intensely right into his eyes for a good long moment one look that is burned into his memory, a moment that he’ll remember for the rest of his life leaving the gangster speechless and broken after all the events that transpired tonight “Alright, I’m done with him. Do whatever you want to him, but let him go.” Snow Drift turns towards her allies making her wishes clear she puts away her steel bat into her trunk followed by a stretch like after a good workout.

After that, Snow Drift Turns to see Frostborn and Ardigus have gone back to their vehicles already tired of dealing with the gangster while Amethyst is busy patching up the stallion’s chest wound to keep him from bleeding out.

Slots walks up to the young grey earth pony and gives a nudge with his hoof “Kid.” he says.

“W-what?” The blonde stallion says, looking towards Slots still shaking and stuttering from his interrogation, tears still slowly streaming down his cheeks.

“She’s right you know.” Slots lectures, “You come to this city, looking for wealth, fame, thrills, but it’s all disappointment, and so you’ll become one as well, a disappointment. Best leave now while you can. Elsewise, it’ll be in a casket, if you’re lucky.”

“I-I-I’m n-never c-coming back to t-the city, t-trust me, I-I’ll live an honest life I swear it!” The gangster nods his head quickly almost in disbelief taking the unicorn’s advice seeing his whole life ahead of him, Unlike his friends who are now lying dead back at the bar.

Slots ruffles the stallion’s mane with his hand, “Good boy.” he says and walks back to his bike.

“And there you go.” says Amethyst, “That should hold you for now.” finishing his bandages. She quickly undos the ropes tying him. Before letting him go, she gives him a kiss on the cheek, then goes back to her car.

The stallion wastes no time bolts for his car. It still works has he guns it, speeding down south on the highway, away from the city.

Snow climbs into her car and looks north-east at the lights of Las Pegasus shining like a beacon in the mostly featureless desert. A bright light for moths to flock to, as well as a zapper for moths to die at. Leading everyone, she starts her car, speeding off towards the city of sin.