The train quickly gathered steam and began to chug forward as it pulled out of Ponyville Train Station. Onboard one of the passenger cars, the Mane Six all eagerly took their seats.
"Dodge Junction, here we come!" Pinkie Pie declared.
The reason for everypony's excitement was because Applejack had recently received a letter from Cherry Jubilee, the owner of Cherry Hill Ranch, who she'd briefly worked for during the time she hadn't come home from the Equestria Rodeo competition.
Dodge Junction was throwing its annual town festival celebrating its founding, and Cherry Jubilee had wanted to do something different than her usual cherry products this year. And so, she had contacted Applejack with an intriguing proposition as well as an invitation for her and her friends.
"Ah tell ya, everypony..." Applejack said, "This idea Miss Jubilee came up with fer th' Dodge Junction Festival is pure genius. Apple-cherry baked goods; a joint venture between Sweet Apple Acres and Cherry Hill Ranch!"
"It was very kind of Miss Jubilee to invite us to the festival as well." commented Twilight.
"Hey, ain't that what friends are fer?" Applejack smiled, "An' besides, y'all made o' bit of an impression on her durin' th' brief time we all worked fer her..." the orange earth pony suddenly looked a little embarrassed, "Ya know, in spite o' what was goin' on with me at th' time..."
"Come now, Applejack..." Rarity said with slight exasperation, "The less said about that whole venture, the better."
"It's all water under the bridge now." Rainbow Dash put in.
"Way under the bridge!" agreed Pinkie.
Fluttershy nodded, "Besides, we all had fun working for Miss Jubilee, and even made a new friend in the bargain."
Applejack smiled, "Yeah, Ah guess yer right. Though, now that y'all mention it, Ah do wish Miss Jubilee coulda got back ta me after Ah accepted her proposal. Ah haven't heard from her in two weeks."
"She's probably just been busy getting things ready for the festival." Rainbow Dash suggested.
Rarity nodded, "I'm sure that must take a lot of work."
"That it does." Applejack conceded.
"It's all right; we'll see her soon..." Twilight assured, "And if she needs help, we'll soon be there lend her a hoof."
"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie grinned, "So we can just forget about our worries and our strife, because we're not gonna let anything spoil our fun!"
Everypony voiced their agreement.
"All out for Dodge Junction!" the train conductor called as the train came to stop.
Having finally arrived, the Mane Six all quickly piled out of the train, and onto the station platform, hoping that Cherry Jubilee would be there waiting to greet them. But as they took in the scene before them, their anticipation quickly gave way to shock.
Miss Jubilee was nowhere to be seen, and that wasn't even the half of it...
Dodge Junction looked completely deserted. Not only was there no sign of any preparations for the upcoming festival, but there was absolutely nopony on the streets. The whole place was silent, with the only sound being a slight rustling in the wind, and the only movement being a few tumbleweeds blowing past. It didn't take a genius to know that something was
very wrong here...
Deeply concerned, the Mane Six began to cautiously make their way down the empty, silent streets.
"Where is everypony?" Rarity wondered aloud.
Applejack shook her head, "This ain't right; the place is like a ghost town."
"I don't like the look of this." Twilight said.
Fluttershy shivered, "Me neither."
" It's quiet..." Rainbow Dash commented, "Way too quiet..."
"HELLOOOO!!! ANYPONY HOOMMMEEE?!?!" Pinkie Pie suddenly hollered out of nowhere, scaring the hay out of her friends.
"Great gallopin' galoshes, Pinkie Pie!" Applejack cried, "Y'all tryin' ta give us a heart attack?"
Pinkie gave a confused shrug, "But you all said it was too quiet..."
Before anypony could say another word, the streets erupted into a flurry of action as the townsponies suddenly burst out of the nearby buildings, many of them carrying luggage, or children as they all scrambled to get out of town.
"Hey! Wait! Hold it!" Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Twilight respectively shouted as the crowd passed by.
"Whoa there, nelly!" Applejack managed to stop one of the fleeing ponies, "What in th' wide, wide world o' Equestria is goin' on here?!"
"We just got into town!" Rarity quickly added
"Better you than us! Run fer yer lives!" the pony said, before continuing his flight, "Th' outlaws is comin'!"
"Outlaws?!" the white unicorn exclaimed.
Another pony paused in front of the Mane Six, "That's right! A gang o' pony thieves is comin' ta town, an' we're clearin' out!"
"Y'all had best do th' same!" said a third pony as they raced past, "They're mighty nasty!"
"Well, just hold on a minute!" Applejack shouted, "Where's Cherry Jubilee? Has anypony seen Miss Jubilee?!"
"Applejack!" a familiar voice called.
Following the direction of the voice, Applejack, and the rest of the Mane Six were relieved, and overjoyed to see Cherry Jubilee galloping through the crowd towards them.
Applejack rushed forward to embrace the other earth pony, "Miss Jubilee! Thank goodness yer safe at least!"
"Oh, Applejack! Am Ah glad ta see y'all!" Cherry Jubilee said, "Ah'm sorry, but it looks like th' festival's been cancelled!"
Twilight quickly stepped up, "Is it true, Miss Jubilee? Is there really a gang of pony thieves coming here?"
"Yes! They've been rustlin' around these parts fer weeks!" confirmed Cherry Jubilee, "We all hoped they'd steer clear o' Dodge Junction, an' move on, but now they're comin' ta take over th' whole town!"
"Oh, dear...!" Fluttershy shuddered, "Hasn't anyone told the sheriff?"
As if on cue, a white stallion wearing the sheriff's badge ran up to them.
"Consider yerself told!" he said as he ripped off his badge, and pinned it on Fluttershy's chest, "Congratulations! Yer now th' official sheriff!"
"Me?! Sheriff?!" cried the yellow pegasus in shocked disbelief.
"Good luck to ya!" the now former sheriff quickly shook Fluttershy's hoof, and then ran off.
For a moment, everypony just stared after him, until at last, Rainbow Dash broke the silence.
"Some sheriff. No wonder this town's in trouble!" grumbled the sky blue pegasus.
It was then that everypony suddenly became aware of a low, deep rumbling that was steadily growing louder. Looking up, they soon noticed a huge cloud of dust rapidly growing larger as it approached. Within moments, the dust cloud rumbled into town, scattering those who still remained.
"It's them! They're here!" cried Cherry Jubilee.
The Mane Six and Cherry Jubilee braced themselves as the huge dust cloud loudly ground to a stop just a few feet away from them. As the cloud dust finally dissipated, everypony looked up, and were alarmed to see large group of rough, mean-looking stallions, all of whom wore cowboy hats, and had bandanas covering their muzzles.
"That's funny." said Pinkie Pie, "I see a bunch of ponies, but I don't see any thieves."
The leader of the gang stepped forward and pulled the bandanna off his mouth; he was a big, muscular tan stallion with coal black mane, and a mustache.
"Don't think you get th' picture here, friends." he said, "We ain't pony thieves. We're pony thieves! Ponies who steal stuff! Understand?"
"Ohhhhhh...!" the pink earth pony laughed, "Now I get it!"
"Just who are you anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Oh, where are mah manners?" the gang leader tipped his hat, "Ah'm Deadwood Dutch, the world's meanest horse thief, an' leader o' th' Hole-In-The-Roof Gang."
Fluttershy chuckled nervously, "Well, it was, uh, nice meeting you. Now if you'll excuse us, we've gotta go..."
She started to turn to leave but let out a high-pitched gasp when a whip cracked the ground right at her hooves, stopping her dead in her tracks.
"Leavin' so soon?" Deadwood Dutch asked, the whip gripped in his hoof, "That badge makes you sheriff, don't it?"
"What? This?!" Fluttershy clutched the badge the former sheriff had pinned on her.
Deadwood Dutch grinned maliciously, "An' ain't it th' job o' th' sheriff ta try an' stop us?"
"Y-Ye-Yes, but..." stuttered Fluttershy.
"Then it seems we got a problem." the outlaw snarled, "See, Ah don't get along with sheriffs, an' this town ain't big enough fer th' both o' us. So Ah'm afraid we're gonna half ta settle this thing western-style at high noon. Just you, an' me. Pony ta pony."
The yellow pegasus visibly paled at the words.
Pinkie Pie stepped forward, "Would you have to do that if she wasn't wearing the sheriff badge?"
"Probably not." Deadwood Dutch shrugged.
"Well, in that case...!" Fluttershy squeaked.
Ripping off the sheriff badge, Fluttershy tossed it away before promptly turning around, fleeing down the street, as her friends, and the outlaws looked on.
"Wow! That's gotta be a new record fer running off a sheriff!" laughed Deadwood Dutch,
The rest of the Hole-In-The-Roof Gang burst out laughing as well while the rest of the Mane Six, and Cherry Jubilee could only groan in resignation. It wasn't as if they could actually blame Fluttershy considering the circumstances.
"Well boys..." the outlaw leader declared, "Looks like this town's under new management! OUR MANAGEMENT!"
At his words, the remaining townsponies began to panic, and scatter as the outlaws proceeded to run rampant through the town, wreaking havoc at will. With the situation getting uglier by the moment, and having no game plan, the Mane Six, and Cherry Jubilee ultimately had no choice but to flee the area as well.
Eventually, everypony regrouped at the abandoned sheriff's office, and locked the doors behind them. To their relief, they found that Fluttershy had already made it there, the yellow pegasus having literally locked herself inside the office jail cell for her own safety. Meanwhile, as the others were trying to figure out their next move, Twilight and Cherry Jubilee headed over to the windows to observe the chaos happening out in the town.
With the town now under the control of Deadwood Dutch and the Hole-In-The-Roof gang, law and order had ceased to exist. Townsponies were stampeded, buildings were looted or vandalized, and as if that weren't bad enough, there was even shameless jaywalking on the streets.
"Oh, this is awful!" Miss Jubilee cried, "What are we gonna do?"
"We'll think of something Miss Jubilee." Twilight assured, before anxiously turning back to her friends, "Won't we?"
"Darn tootin' we will." a determined Applejack answered.
"Of course! We always do!" Pinkie Pie suddenly jumped in, "In fact, in a couple of days we'll all be laughing about this whole
thing, thinking how silly it was for us to worry! Laughing, you hear? Laughing!"
With that, the pink earth pony actually began to laugh heartily, and within moments, she was rolling around on the floor. However, Pinkie's laughter slowly ground to a halt when she noticed that nopony else was laughing, and in fact, everypony was glaring at her.
"Getting way too ahead of yourself, Pinkie Pie." Rainbow Dash stated matter-of-factly.
"Right. Sorry." said Pinkie awkwardly.
It then that Fluttershy let out a heavy sigh, causing everypony to turn towards the cell she'd locked herself in.
"No, everypony. I'm the one who's sorry." the yellow pegasus said, clearly ashamed of her earlier cowardice, "If only I could've been the sheriff we really need. But I just can't. I'm just...not."
"It's all right, Fluttershy." Rarity assured, "It wasn't your fault."
Applejack nodded in agreement, "If anyone's ta blame it's that yellow-bellied ex-sheriff who just ran off with his tail between his legs instead o' doin' his job."
"You mean like I did?" asked Fluttershy.
"No!" Twilight insisted, "It wasn't fair for him to dump all of his responsibilities on you like that. Or anypony else for that matter!"
"Maybe not..." Fluttershy conceded, "But I still feel bad. Is there anything I can do to help our situation?"
"For starters..." Rainbow Dash replied, "How about you come out of that cell?"
"Oh, okay." Fluttershy agreed.
Reaching under the pillow on the cot in the cell, Fluttershy pulled out a key which she passed through the bars, allowing
Twilight to take it with magic, before using it to unlock the cell. Once Fluttershy was out, Cherry Jubilee decided she had something to say as well.
"Perhaps Ah should apologize to." Cherry Jubilee put in, "Y'all weren't supposed ta get dragged into this..."
Applejack cut her off, "Oh, don't you start to, Miss Jubilee! Y'all didn't know this was gonna happen. And if y'all think we're gonna leave a friend in need, an' her town at th' mercy of a bunch o' ruffians, y'all got another thing comin'! Now, whaddya say we all stop playin' th' blame game with ourselves, an' get down ta business?"
Everypony nodded.
"So now what?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Well, one thing is certain..." Applejack said, holding up the sheriff badge, which she managed to grab during their flight, "If we're gonna run Deadwood Dutch an' his gang outta this town, we're gonna need us a new sheriff."
"Yeah, but who's it gonna be?" inquired Cherry Jubilee.
To everyone's surprise, Applejack promptly pinned the badge on herself, "Guess Ah'm as good as anypony."
"You?!" Everypony else exclaimed in.
"Why not? It ain't like anypony else in town stepped up ta th' plate." the orange earth pony pointed out, "But Ah'm gonna need some deputies."
Rainbow Dash immediately stepped up, "You can count on me, AJ!"
"I'm with you to!" Twilight volunteered as well.
"All right then!" Applejack grinned at them, "Ah officially appoint th' two o' y'all mah official deputies!"
Rainbow and Twilight both beamed with pride as Applejack gave them a pair of badges and cowboy hats as well.
"Hey!" protested Rarity, "What about me and Pinkie? What's our job?"
But before anypony could answer, a loud crash from the outside made them all jump in fright. Rushing over to the window, everypony could see Driftwood Dutch, and his gang forcing all of the remaining townsponies into the nearby saloon before proceeding to enter themselves.
"They've gathered everypony inside th' saloon!" Cherry Jubilee observed.
"Why?" Fluttershy asked anxiously, "What are they going to do to them there?"
"Ah don't know. But whatever it is, Ah doubt it's anythin' good." said Applejack, "We gotta find a way ta keep 'em busy until we're ready ta let 'em have it."
"We need a distraction." Twilight agreed.
At this, Pinkie Pie practically lit up, and she promptly grabbed a hold of Rarity
"Say no more!" the pink earth pony said, "Come on, Rarity! It's our time to shine!"
"This is NOT what I had in mind!" Rarity groaned as Pinkie led her out.
Meanwhile, inside the saloon, the outlaws dragged one of the townsponies before Deadwood Dutch while the rest cowered in the background.
"So buckeroo, might you be th' proprietor o' this establishment?" the outlaw leader asked.
The townspony stuttered, "P-Propriet... E-es-establishment? Uh...no no no!"
"Then, mah friend..." Deadwood Dutch sighed, "Ah'm afraid that Y'all are worthless ta me, an' so it's time ta take out th' trash."
Then, before the very eyes of everypony else in the saloon, the outlaw leader proceeded to literally throw the unfortunate townspony out the window.
Deadwood Dutch chuckled with amusement as he turned his attention to the other townsponies, who stared at him in fear and shock.
"Anypony here know th' proprietor o' this establishment?" he asked.
The cowering townsponies had no answer for him, and as the silence stretched out, it looked as though things were going to get ugly again. But then suddenly...
"Okey-Dokey-Lokey, boys!" Pinkie Pie popped up from behind the saloon counter, wearing a bartender's outfit, "What'll it be?"
Satisfied, Deadwood Dutch turned his attention towards her.
"Root beers, an' ice cream sundaes all around, pronto!" the outlaw leader boomed, slamming his hoof on the saloon.
Unfazed, Pinkie Pie promptly got to work, and before long, the entire outlaw gang had a root beer and ice cream sundae sitting before them.
"Finally, some decent service around here." Deadwood Dutch mused as he took a gulp of his root beer.
But Pinkie Pie wasn't finished yet.
"And now, for tonight's entertainment... " the pink earth pony announced, drawing everypony's attention towards a nearby curtained stage, "The dazzling, and truly ravishing Rarity!"
The curtains opened to reveal none other than Rarity standing up on the stage, clad in a dancing dress, and with a VERY less-than-amused look on her face.
"Confound it, Pinkie..." the white unicorn grumbled, "I can't believe I let you talk me into this!"
Regardless, it appeared to be working, as the outlaws all eagerly turned their attention towards the glamorous white unicorn, and away from both Pinkie and the townsponies.
"Hmm, baby doll!" Driftwood Dutch grinned, "Come on! Dance fer us!"
Rolling her eyes in complete and utter annoyance, Rarity reluctantly began to put on her best dance for the group of ruffians before her.
Meanwhile on the outside, Applejack watched in satisfaction as Pinkie Pie and Rarity's distraction seemed to be working as the outlaws seemed to have forgotten all about the townsponies who remained huddled in the background.
"All right, th' distractions workin'!" Applejack observed before turning back to her friends, "Once we got th' townsponies outta there, Miss Jubilee will lead 'em ta safety while Rainbow, Twilight, an' me go in there an' give those varmints what fer!
Got it?"
Cherry Jubilee, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight all answered in the affirmative.
"What do you want me to do?" Fluttershy asked somewhat meekly.
Applejack thought for a moment, "Y'all can be th' lookout."
"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash agreed, "Cover our backs, and make sure the coast stays clear!"
Fluttershy nodded, "All right. I'll do my best."
With the game plan now crystal clear to everypony, it was time to get down to business.
"Okay. Twilight, you're on..." Applejack said.
Twilight nodded, and concentrated as her horn began to glow...
Back inside, Deadwood Dutch and his gang were so enthralled by the dancing white unicorn that they didn't even notice the bright flash of violet light that appeared behind them as Twilight teleported herself inside the saloon. The townsponies were shocked at the lavender unicorn's sudden appearance before them. Twilight quickly gestured for them to stay quiet before concentrating with her magic again to teleport herself and the townsponies safely back outside.
Cherry Jubilee wasted no time in getting her friends, and neighbors out of there.
"C'mon, y'all! Let's go!" she urged she led them all away to safety.
With the townsponies no longer in any immediate danger, Applejack, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash were now ready to take the fight to the Hole-In-The-Roof Gang.
"All right, let's give it to them!" Rainbow Dash said.
And just in time to, because it was rapidly becoming apparent that the distraction was starting to work a little too well, for by now the outlaws had all taken a keen interest in Rarity, and were heavily crowding around the white unicorn, making her very uncomfortable.
"Come on, little filly..." one of the outlaws said a seductive voice, "We ain't that bad once ya get ta know us..."
Get away from me! Don't touch me!" Rarity cried, backing away, "Pinkie! This is not what I signed on for!"
"You're doing fine, Rarity!" the pink earth pony cheerfully replied, not even looking as she got the outlaws another round of root beer.
"Don't worry, Ah don't bite." Driftwood Dutch grinned as he approached Rarity.
It was then that the doors to the saloon slammed open with a bang, causing the outlaws to jump in surprise, and they
turned to see Applejack, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash standing in the entrance, and clearly ready for a confrontation.
"All right, boys; party's over." Applejack announced with authority, "There's a new sheriff in town!"
"Step away from our friend and put your hooves up!" added Twilight.
Deadwood Dutch sighed in annoyance, "Seriously, just where do they get you ponies from?"
"You're all through terrorizing this town, pal." Rainbow Dash declared, "So don't even try talking your way out of it."
"Is that so?" the outlaw leader replied in amusement.
"Y'all bet it is!" Applejack barked, "It's either ya get outta town by sundown, or it's gonna get really ugly!"
Deadwood Dutch was completely unfazed by the orange earth ponies words; in fact, he pulled out his whip, and stepped forward to accept the challenge.
"Better reach fer it, dollface..." he sneered, "Ah got a bullwhip here, an' Ah'm not afraid ta use it."
Equally unfazed, Applejack narrowed her eyes, and took out her lasso, "Neither am Ah."
For an eternally long moment, all was still as Deadwood Dutch, and Applejack stared one another down...
Then, there came a loud swishing sound as the outlaw leader suddenly lashed out with his whip. The orange earth pony, however, had been ready, and hurled her lasso forward in response, and there was a sharp snap as the two weapons became entangled with one another. Deadwood Dutch and Applejack both tugged, but the cord and rope stuck fast, and before either the outlaw leader or orange earth pony knew it, they were suddenly engaged in a brutal tug-of-war struggle over the whip and lasso.
The rest of the outlaw gang began to rush forward to aid their leader, but before they could interfere, Rainbow Dash quickly sprang into action. The sky blue pegasus soared straight through the crowd of outlaws, and then zoomed around them in circles, leaving them all disorientated. Then, Rainbow Dash proceeded to charge straight back into the midst of the outlaw gang again, and knocked one of the ruffians over, before zipping out once again.
"Come on! Catch me if you can!" she dared.
Incensed, most of the outlaws promptly turned their attention toward the sky blue pegasus, and within moments, she was zipping around them in circles, and making them dizzy.
At the same time, Twilight suddenly noticed two outlaws menacingly advancing on her from both sides. The two brutish stallions rushed at her, but she quickly teleported herself away, causing them to run straight into one another. Then, as Twilight reappeared a short distance away, another outlaw came charging at her only to run face first into a forcefield; the lavender unicorn had to stifle a giggle at the look of his smushed face as he slid to the floor.
All the while, Applejack and Deadwood Dutch continued their battle of strength, trying to wrest the tangled whip and lasso from each other's grip.
"Gotta admit Ah'm impressed, gal! Yer almost as strong as a stallion!" the outlaw leader commented.
"Funny!" Applejack replied through clenched teeth, "Ah was just gonna say th' same thing 'bout y'all!
Meanwhile, the rest of the outlaw gang now were throwing pieces of furniture at the airborne Rainbow Dash in an effort to bring her down, but the sky blue pegasus dodged each projectile with ease.
"Oh, come on!" the sky blue pegasus taunted as she ducked under a thrown chair, "Is that seriously all you guys got?"
At this, the somewhat annoyed outlaws all shared a malicious smile with one another before they all proceeded to pick up something heavy, clearly preparing to throw them at Rainbow Dash all at once.
"Good answer..." the sky blue pegasus suddenly felt a little worried, "Good answer...!"
As the outlaws threw the heavy objects, Rainbow Dash braced herself, but to everypony's shock, the projectiles suddenly froze in mid-air as Twilight reached out to grab them with her magic. Grinning rather smugly, the lavender unicorn proceeded to launch the heavy objects back at the ones who threw them, sending the outlaws scrambling for cover. Applejack, who'd seen all of this out of the corner of her eye, felt surge of triumph.
"Y'all ain't got a prayer, Dutch!" the orange earth pony tugged even harder on the tangled whip/lasso, "Ah'll never let go! Never!"
The outlaw leader however just grinned at her, "Very well."
Then, without any warning whatsoever, Deadwood Dutch proceeded to just let go of his end of tangled whip/lasso, causing Applejack to go flying backwards, and sending the orange earth pony straight through the saloon doors to loudly crash out into the street!
"Applejack!" called a shocked Rainbow Dash.
Unfortunately, this caused enough of a distraction to allow one of the outlaws to recover and throw a large barrel at the sky blue pegasus, with the impact sending her crashing through one of the saloon windows.
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight cried.
The lavender unicorn had little time to think however, as she suddenly found herself alone and surrounded by the outlaw gang. As the ruffians closed in on her, Twilight wisely decided to make herself scarce, and teleported herself outside. However, Deadwood Dutch and his gang weren't far behind as they made their way towards the saloon entrance...
"Uh oh, this doesn't look good..." said Pinkie Pie as she rose up from behind the bar where she'd taken cover, "I think we're gonna need a little bit of help..."
Luckily, Pinkie knew just the pony who could help turn the tables against these thugs, and so, she discreetly slipped out the saloon's rear entrance...
Meanwhile, Twilight reappeared outside the front entrance to find Fluttershy tending to a dazed Applejack, who lay in a heap amongst a pile of debris from something she'd crashed into.
"Applejack!" Twilight ran over to them, and quickly asked Fluttershy, "How is she?"
"She's out cold." said a worried Fluttershy.
Twilight started to look around, "Where's Rainbow Dash?"
"Twilight, over here!" came Rarity's voice, and Twilight saw the white unicorn standing by an alley situated between the saloon, and the adjacent building, "She fell somewhere over here!"
Turning back to Fluttershy, Twilight told her friend, "You stay with Applejack, and I'll go help Rarity with Rainbow Dash."
"All right." the yellow pegasus nodded.
As Twilight disappeared into the alley after Rarity, Fluttershy kept on trying to rouse the unconscious Applejack.
"Come on, Applejack. Wake up!" the concerned yellow pegasus urged, "You have to wake up!"
But the orange earth pony only moaned in response. Then, Fluttershy stiffened in terror as she suddenly heard the sound of heavy, approaching hoofsteps behind them...
"Well, well, well!" boomed Deadwood Dutch's voice, "Lookie what we've got here, boys!"
Trembling, Fluttershy turned around to see the outlaw leader and his gang looming over her, and Applejack. She didn't know what to do, and could only stammer out words...
"Uh, h-hello, Mister Deadwood, sir... H-How nice to...to meet you a-again..."
"So..." Deadwood laughed, "The ex-sheriff has come by ta give th' new sheriff a hoof, huh? Ah thought Ah ran ya outta town."
Fluttershy got a sudden sinking feeling the pit of her stomach, "Well, uh, actually...Uhh...I was just...Uhh..."
"Guess Ah'll just have ta be more thorough this time." Deadwood shrugged.
At this, Applejack, who by now had regained consciousness, struggled to rise.
"If y'all...lay one hoof on her...Ah'll...Ah'll..." she weakly tried to threaten before ultimately collapsing back down.
"Y'all will do what, new sheriff?" scoffed Deadwood, "Yer down fer th' count, yer deputies are scattered, an' yer friend here is too yellow ta try an' stop us."
The outlaw leader's words cut deep with Fluttershy, and she lowered her eyes, ashamed of her earlier cowardice. Even now, she wanted to run, but she couldn't bear to leave Applejack.
"It's all over. Don't ya get it?" Deadwood continued, "This town belongs ta me now, an' there ain't nopony left around ta stop me!"
"THINK AGAIN!" suddenly came a triumphant voice from down the street.
Surprised, everypony turned in the direction of the voice, and were shocked to see, standing in the distance, a pink earth pony clad in a white cowboy hat, with a red bandana tied around her neck, and a domino mask on her face.
For a moment, everypony just stared in disbelief, until finally, Fluttershy found her voice.
"Pinkie Pie???"
Deadwood Dutch arched an eyebrow, "What in th hay are you supposed ta be?"
"I am the Pink Avenger." the pink earth pony declared, before gesturing to her left, "And this is my faithful steed!"
And then, to everypony's disbelief, a bluish gray pegasus mare with blonde mane stepped up to take her place at the Pink Avenger's side. She also wore a domino mask, but both Applejack and Fluttershy instantly recognized her; they would've known those crossed eyes anywhere.
"DERPY?!" Applejack cried, her head suddenly much clearer, "What are you doing here?!"
"Uhhh..." the wall-eyed pegasus mused, before finally just shrugging, "I dunno..."
As always, it was best to not question Pinkie Pie or her ways.
Deadwood Dutch almost laughed at the absurdity of the situation, "Y'all are gonna try an' stop me? After nopony else could? Sorry, but Ah'd rather not waste mah time with th' likes o y'all. So why don't ya just run along before Ah change mah mind?"
The Pink Avenger just grinned, "Sounds to me like you're just a big, ugly, chicken, Deadwood!"
At this, Deadwood Dutch suddenly stiffened, "Wh-What did you just say?!"
"DEADWOOD'S A CHICKEN! DEADWOOD'S A CHICKEN!" the Pink Avenger shouted as she and Derpy began to prance around, clucking, and flapping their hooves.
The outlaw leader's face turned into a crimson mask of fury. One thing he DID NOT care for was taunting, and ANOTHER thing he didn't care for was somepony telling him that he had no guts.
"NOPONY CALLS ME CHICKEN!!!" Deadwood bellowed, before shouting to his gang, "GET THEM!!!
The outlaws all charged towards the pink earth pony and blueish gray pegasus before proceeding to dive onto the both of them, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
At last, the dust cloud dissipated to display the comical spectacle of the outlaws all lying atop one another in a massive dog-pile with several of them punching the ground or fighting with a fellow gang member without even realizing it. The Pink Avenger, and Derpy on the other hoof, were nowhere to be seen, having somehow slipped away in the confusion.
At last, the outlaws realized what they were doing, not to mention how foolish they must have looked, and struggled to untangle themselves, and get to their hooves.
Baffled, Deadwood Dutch looked around, "Where are they? Where'd they go?!"
"Oh boys, over here!" came the Pink Avenger's voice from off in the distance.
"There she is!" Deadwood pointed at her standing next to a nearby outhouse.
As the outlaws ran towards her, the Pink Avenger quickly went inside the outhouse and closed the door behind her.
"Ha! Yer a fool!" laughed Deadwood, "Now we gotcha trapped!"
But when they opened the door, the outlaws stared in shock when they saw that the Pink Stranger had disappeared.
"What the..." one member of the gang said.
"Where'd she go?" asked another.
Then, before any of the outlaws even realized it, the Pink Avenger, who had somehow managed to get out of the outhouse without being noticed, suddenly appeared out of nowhere right behind their leader, and slapped Deadwood right across the flank.
"Tag, you're it!" she yelled.
"Yow! Hey!" cried Deadwood.
The Pink Avenger quickly took off as fast as she could in the direction of a nearby water tower with the Hole In The Roof Gang hot on her tail.
Deadwood was seething, "Y'all are DEADER THAN DEAD!"
"And y'all are all WASHED UP!" The Pink Avenger shouted back as she dived beneath the water tower.
At that very moment, Derpy soared forward, and slammed her rear end into the the back of the water tower, knocking the whole thing down towards the pursuing outlaws. Deadwood and his gang immediately stopped dead in their tracks and began to scramble backwards. While they were able to avoid being turned into pancakes from the falling structure, they were promptly swept down the street by the tidal wave of water that came bursting out broken water tank.
By now, Twilight, Rarity and a staggering Rainbow Dash had rejoined Fluttershy and Applejack, and they all stared in shock at what was taking place before them.
At last, the outlaws finally came to a stop at the end of the street. Drenched and miserable, they all struggled to their hooves. By now, Deadwood Dutch's patience had reached its breaking point.
"All right, that's it! That's th' LAST STRAW!" he bellowed, "NOW AH'M GONNA...!"
But Deadwood froze in mid-sentence as he suddenly found himself staring down the barrel of a party cannon being manned by the Pink Avenger and Derpy.
"Ah, nuts..." was all he could say before the cannon fired.
The cannon sounded again, and again, and again, bombarding the Hole In The Roof Gang with confetti, party hats, balloons, and party streamers. Within moments, the outlaws were left scattered, and simply unable to handle this level of Pinkie shenanigans. In the end, Deadwood Dutch called for his gang to retreat.
"Run away! Run away!" he shouted.
"Aww, what's wrong?" The Pink Avenger asked, "Don't like parties?"
The outlaw leader snarled at her, "Y'all were lucky, but don't think this is over! Cause it ain't! We'll meet again!"
With that, the Hole In The Hoof Gang all ran out of Dodge Junction, and eventually they disappeared off into distance.
After a long moment of silence, doors all around town began to open, and the townsponies, Cherry Jubilee among them, slowly made their way outside. As the fact that the outlaws were gone sunk in, they all started to celebrate, and gathered around their liberators to express their eternal gratitude. Three cheers quickly went up for the town heroes.
"Hip! Hip! Hooray! Hip! Hip! Hooray! Hip! Hip! Hooray!"
While her friends smiled at this display of affection however, Fluttershy felt very undeserving of the praise being heaped on them by the town, for she hadn't really done anything to stop Deadwood and his gang. Noticing her friend's crestfallen expression, Twilight quickly shouted down the townsponies.
"I don't think we should start celebrating just yet." the lavender unicorn pointed out, "Deadwood Dutch said that they'd be back. And besides, Applejack and Rainbow Dash have taken quite a beating; we need to see that they're taken care of."
"Don't worry about us, Twi. We'll be fine." Applejack and Rainbow respectively insisted, only for both of them to wince, and let out a groan of pain.
"Will you two please quit being so stubborn?" Twilight asked.
Cherry Jubilee nodded, "Twilight's right, girls. There ain't nothin' wrong with lettin' yer friends take care o' ya. Besides, y'all can rest easy fer a bit. At least for now, our town's been rid o' those nasty varmints, thanks ta y'all!"
"I'm not sure WE deserve the credit, Miss Jubilee." replied Twilight, "We could never have done it without Pinkie P...er...uh, I mean the 'Pink Avenger', and Derpy...er...I mean her faithful steed."
"Yes, that's right!" Cherry Jubilee agreed, "Speakin' o' which, where are they...?"
Miss Jubilee trailed off as everypony looked around, and realized to their shock, that the enigmatic (not really) Pink Avenger, and her faithful steed had vanished from sight. They both had somehow managed to slip away in the midst of the confusion of the outlaw's retreat, and the townsponies' celebration.
"Where'd they go?" Twilight wondered.
"They're...They're gone..." confirmed Rarity.
Meanwhile, on a nearby hill overlooking the town of Dodge Junction and unseen by the townsponies, the Pink Avenger and her faithful steed prepared to ride off into the sunset.
Leaping onto Derpy's back, the Pink Avenger cried, "Hi-Ho, Derpy! Away!"
Derpy eagerly reared up in a rather dramatic fashion... And almost immediately lost her balance, sending the both of them comically crashing down onto the ground.
"Okay..." the Pink Avenger groaned, "We're definitely gonna have to work on that."
That night, miles out of Dodge Junction, the Hole In The Roof Gang were gathered around a roaring campfire. The outlaws were NOT happy, especially not Deadwood Dutch. The town had literally been in their hooves after weeks of effort, only for them to be humiliated and driven out by a group of outsiders who apparently didn't know how to mind their own business. But just as Deadwood had promised, the outlaws had no intention of giving up on this. They were going back to Dodge Junction to finish the job, and make their enemies pay...
"So what're we gonna do now, boss?" one of the outlaws asked.
Incensed, Deadwood Dutch narrowed his eyes, "First off, we're gonna have ta do somethin' about that Pink Avenger..."
END OF PART 1
Author's Note
HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERBODY! Sorry this took so long. I meant to have it up sooner but you know how the holidays are. Stayed tuned for part 2!
The next morning, the townsponies all emerged and quickly got to work repairing the damage done to the town by the Hole In The Hoof Gang, and the Mane Six wasted no time in lending them a hoof. Before long, Dodge Junction almost looked as though the Hole In The Hoof Gang had never been there.
"It's mighty kind of y'all ta help out fix th' mess those outlaws left behind." Cherry Jubilee said as she and Applejack worked together to fix a broken fence.
"Ah shucks, what else are friends fer?" Applejack replied.
"And besides..." added Pinkie Pie, who was sweeping debris off the sidewalks with Derpy, "Isn't it the job of the sheriff to clean up the town?"
Nearby, Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, "I don't think they mean that literally, Pinkie Pie."
"In any case..." Applejack continued, "We're all happy ta help. Besides, th' sooner we get this place back in tip-top shape, th' sooner we'll be back in business."
"That's right; we got a festival ta put together!" Cherry Jubilee said with enthusiasm.
Fluttershy blinked in surprise, "You mean you're still having it?"
"Of course we are!" Applejack declared.
"But what if those dreadful outlaws come back?" asked Rarity.
Cherry Jubilee gave a confidant smile, "Ah've talked it over with th' rest o' th' townsponies, an' we all decided that we ain't gonna let that gang o' scoundrels ruin our town's biggest celebration. We'll show 'em that we ain't afraid o' them no more."
"That's right!" nodded Applejack, "And if Deadwood and his ruffians dare show their faces in town again, we'll kick 'em out again just like we did before."
"Sure, as long as the Pink Ranger is around..." Twilight mused.
"Yeah, that Pink Ranger sure gave 'em what fer!" one of the townsponies put in, before another asked, "I wonder who that Pink Ranger was?"
Twilight glanced at Pinkie Pie and Derpy, "Oh, I have a pretty good idea..."
Suddenly, a loud scream pierced everypony's ears; startled, everypony turned, and were shocked to see a rather ragged-looking stallion stumbling into town.
"Sheriff! Help! Sheriff! Somebody help!" he shouted frantically.
Alarmed, Applejack quickly trotted over to him, "Whoa nelly! Slow down! Just tell us what's goin' on!"
"Trouble... Outside o' town..." the stallion panted.
"Trouble?" inquired Rainbow Dash.
"A cave in..." he continued, "At the old abandoned mine..."
Twilight's eyes widened, "A cave in?"
"Ponies are trapped!" the stallion finally blurted out.
Fluttershy gasped, "Trapped?!"
"Oh, awful!" cried Rarity.
A look of determination spread across Applejack's face; while Deadwood Dutch and his gang were gone, she had chosen to remain as sheriff of Dodge Junction at least until after the town festival. And she was not one to shy away from duty, or from ponies in need.
"Okay, no time ta lose!" the orange earth pony quickly took charge, first telling the stallion, "You head back th' mine, an' let those trapped ponies know help's on th' way!"
The stallion nodded, and quickly galloped back the way he had come. Then, Applejack proceeded to give instructions to her friends (and her deputies).
"Miss Jubilee, Ah'll need ya ta come with me, Twilight, an' Rainbow, an' show us ta th' mine." she directed.
"Of course, Applejack." Cherry Jubilee agreement.
"Your deputies are with you, Applejack." said Rainbow Dash, while Twilight nodded in acknowledgment.
Applejack then turned towards Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Derpy, "An' th' rest o' y'all keep an eye on things around until we get..."
Applejack trailed suddenly off as she, and everypony else suddenly noticed that Pinkie Pie and Derpy had disappeared.
"Pinkie Pie? Derpy?"
Everypony looked around, but there was no sign of the pink earth pony, nor the bluish-gray pegasus anywhere.
"Where'd they go?" asked Rarity.
Unconcerned, Twilight rolled her eyes, "Don't worry. I think I know what they're doing."
"All right." Applejack said at last, "Rarity, and Fluttershy, YOU TWO keep an eye on things around until we get back."
"We'll do our best." nodded Fluttershy.
Returning the nod, Applejack turned back towards Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Cherry Jubilee.
"All right, y'all, let's move it!"
Cherry Jubilee led the way, "Okay, follow me."
"Be careful!" Rarity called as the four of them quickly headed out.
Fluttershy, however, suddenly began to feel somewhat uneasy. The yellow pegasus couldn't quite put her hoof on it, but there seemed to be something awfully familiar about that stallion who'd come asking them for help...
The entrance to the old abandoned mine loomed before Applejack, Twilight, Rainbow, and Cherry Jubilee like a gaping maw of darkness.
"This th' place?" asked Applejack.
"This is it." Cherry Jubilee confirmed.
A moment later, the distressed stallion emerged from the mine, and frantically pointed back towards entrance.
"There! They're in there!"
Applejack quickly turning towards Cherry Jubilee, "Miss Jubilee, wait out here with him. We'll take it from here."
Cherry Jubilee nodded in agreement.
"C'mon, y'all." Applejack said to Rainbow and Twilight.
With that, the three of them darted into the mine.
Powering up her horn to illuminate their surroundings, Twilight took point as the four of them made their way further down into darkness.
"Hello! Is anypony there! We're here to help!" the three of them shouted.
Listening intently, at first they could only hear echoes...
Applejack took a deep breath, and shouted again, "Hello! Is there anypony there?!"
"Here!" a faint voice called at last, "Down here!"
"Hold on! We're coming to you!" yelled Rainbow Dash.
Applejack promptly took the lead as they darted forward once again, following the sound of the voice. They weren't sure just how far they'd gone when suddenly, Applejack, who run ahead of Twilight's light, felt herself run right smack into somepony, causing everypony to fall over one another.
"Hey! Can't you look where you're going?" cried a voice everypony immediately recognized.
"Pinkie Pie???" Applejack, Twilight, and Rainbow all exclaimed.
"Hey! Whoa! Wap-ap-ap-oh." the pink earth pony said as everypony regained their hooves, "I'm not Pinkie Pie, I'm the Pink Avenger!"
Nearby, Derpy eagerly added, "And I'm her faithful steed, remember?"
Applejack and Twilight both rolled their eyes.
"Right. However could we forget?" the orange earthpony and lavender unicorn said respectively.
"Hey, wait a minute!" interjected Rainbow Dash, "How did you get here before us?"
Holding up her hoof, the Pink Avenger opened her mouth to answer, but ultimately realized she didn't actually know, and turned to look at Derpy.
"Ah... Actually, uh, how did we, my faithful stead?"
But Derpy just shrugged, "Well, ya got me. By all accounts, it doesn't make sense."
"Oh, well." said the Pink Avenger after a beat, "Back to business."
Knowing that this was PINKIE PIE they were dealing with, nopony pressed the issue further.
"Anyhoo..." the orange earth pony said, "Did you two find the ponies trapped down here?"
The Pink Avenger shook her head, "No, not yet. We were actually just about to check out something up ahead when you guys showed up."
"Check what out?" asked Twilight.
Motioning for everypony to follow her, the Pink Avenger proceeded to lead everypony further down into the mine until at last, the passage widened into a large chamber. Upon entering, everypony looked around, and found that the area was strewn with abandoned mining equipment.
But that was all; there was no sign of any trapped ponies.
"Hello?" Applejack again called out.
"We're here to help!" Rainbow Dash added her voice, "Where are you?"
But once again, there was no response.
The Pink Avenger shook her head in confusion, "I don't get it. If somepony needs help, then why don't they answer? You'd almost think there was nopony down here!"
"Yeah, and what's with all those red sticks on the ceiling?" asked Derpy.
As the words of the bluish-gray pegasus sunk in, everypony promptly turned their gazes towards the ceiling. Sure enough, they could all see that a series of bundles of red sticks had been placed on ceiling, and they realized with alarm just what those sticks were.
Dynamite.
And that's when the reality of the situation finally began to hit them...
"We've been duped...!" the lavender unicorn realized with dawning horror, "There ARE no trapped ponies down here!"
"No, but there's ABOUT ta be." a familiar voice suddenly echoed down from the mine entrance, making their blood run cold.
It was the voice of Deadwood Dutch.
"Everybody out!" yelled Applejack as she and Rainbow Dash darted towards the tunnel leading out of the mine.
Twilight began to do the same but froze when she saw that the Pink Avenger and her faithful stead had fallen behind, for Derpy had tripped over a rock protruding from the ground, sending the two of them sprawling to the ground. Worse, already the lavender unicorn could actually feel the building explosion about to engulf them. And so, acting out of pure instinct, she did the only thing she could do.
Without even thinking about it, Twilight rushed back into the chamber to where the pink earth pony and bluish-gray pegasus had fallen, and activated her magic just as the cave exploded around them...
Back outside, Deadwood Dutch and his Hole In The Hoof Gang watched with smug satisfaction as the ground shook and a large puff of smoke came out of the mine entrance.
"NO!!!!" Cherry Jubilee cried out in horror as she was restrained by the stallion who'd come to town for help; he'd been a member of Deadwood's gang all along.
The whole thing had been a trap.
For a long moment, there was only silence from inside the darkness of the mine. Then, there came the sounds of coughing and somepony struggling to make their way out until at last, a disheveled Applejack emerged from the cave exit, carrying a battered and bruised Rainbow Dash with her.
Of Twilight, Derpy and the Pink Avenger there was no sign.
"Well, well, well..." smirked Deadwood Dutch.
Applejack looked up at him, "Deadwood..."
"Thought y'all had us licked, did ya?" the outlaw leader asked mockingly, "Sorry ta disappoint, but Ah always have a plan."
"We shoulda known y'all were behind this."
Deadwood just grinned, "But y'all didn't. An' now it seems yer short one deputy an' one Pink Avenger."
At this, Rainbow Dash shrugged herself off from Applejack's support, and struggled to stand tall before the gang of outlaws despite the injuries she'd sustained in escaping the exploding mine.
"We've faced worse odds before!" the sky blue pegasus growled, "Now let Miss Jubilee go before..."
But Rainbow's attempt at bluster quickly deflated as her strength gave out, and she slumped to her knees.
Ah don't think yer in any position ta be callin' th' shots, darlin'." Deadwood Dutch laughed, "WE on the other hoof..."
With that, the outlaw leader gave his gang a knowing look, and they all began to menacingly advance towards the orange earth pony and sky blue pegasus. Applejack quickly positioned her between her injured friend and the Hole In The Hoof Gang, but she already knew that it was futile...
There only one thing she could do.
Tying her lasso into one big loop, Applejack quickly tossed one end over the top of a tall pair of nearby cactuses, before putting Rainbow Dash inside the other end.
"AJ, what are you doing?" Rainbow asked in confusion; even the outlaws paused for a moment in bafflement.
"Gettin' you outta here!" replied Applejack as she pulled her friend backwards, making the cacti bend over as the rope went taut.
She knew this was absolutely crazy, using her lasso and a pair of cacti of all things to slingshot one of her friends to safety. It was the sort of thing that she'd expect Pinkie Pie to come up with, but it wasn't like if she a better plan. And for all she knew, it just might work.
"You can't be serious!" said Rainbow as she realized her friend's intention.
"Just trust me!" Applejack commanded as the rope and cactus were finally stretched as far back as they could go. "Y'all need ta go an' warn th' town!"
"But what about you and...?" Rainbow started to ask.
"Don't worry about us! JUST GO!!!" Applejack yelled as she finally let go of her friend.
With a loud TWANG, Rainbow Dash was launched into the air by the makeshift slingshot.
"APPLEJAAAAACK!!!!!" the sky blue pegasus screamed as she soared off into the distance.
Applejack could only wish her luck as Deadwood Dutch and his gang finally closed in around her.
Down in the pitch-black darkness of the collapsed mine, there was only a deathly silence that seemed to last for an eternity. But finally, the cave walls were suddenly illuminated by a bright purple glow as a large pile of rocks were levitated out of the ways, revealing covering Twilight, the Pink Avenger, and Derpy protected under a protective forcefield. All three of them were alive, and unharmed.
Just barely.
"Great job, Twilight!" commended the Pink Avenger as the lavender unicorn lowered the forcefield, "That quick thinking of yours really saved our flanks."
"Sure saved mine!" Derpy agreed.
Taking a moment to catch her breath, Twilight quickly took in their surroundings, and saw with growing dread that the tunnel leading to the mine's entrance had collapsed, leaving the three of them with no way out.
"I...I wouldn't start celebrating yet." she said grimly, "I think... I think we might be trapped down here."
Seeing that Twilight was right, and filled with alarm, the Pink Avenger ran over to the barrier of rock and dirt that separated them from the exit, and frantically tried to dig her way through, but quickly realized that it was useless.
"You're right; it's a dead end!" the pink earth pony cried, "We're trapped like rats!"
Twilight's shoulders slumped, "It was Deadwood Dutch; this whole thing was a trap. And we fell right into it."
"But what happened to Applejack and Rainbow Dash?" asked Derpy.
Twilight anxiously looked around, "I don't see them anywhere. Hopefully, they got out in time. But if the Hole In The Hoof Gang is really out there, then they could be in trouble!"
"The whole town could be in trouble!" added the Pink Avenger.
"So what do we do?" Derpy asked.
Twilight's sense of dread began to deepen as the implications of her friends and the town being left at Deadwood Dutch's mercy.
"We have to get out of here." she said at last, "There's gotta be another way."
With that, the three ponies began to make their way deeper into the mine, hoping against hope that they would find another exit, and more to the point, that they would make it back to the town in time.
Back in Dodge Junction, everypony patiently waited for the return of Applejack and the others. By now, the town was back in full working order, and the townsponies had resumed their usual daily business. All that there was left to do other than wait was to begin preparations for the town festival, which both Fluttershy and Rarity gladly took part in.
However, there remained an edge of anxiety hanging over the town that nopony could seem to shake. In spite of the townsponies' previous bravado, the knowledge that the Deadwood Dutch and his gang were still out there could not be completely ignored.
Then, everypony became aware of a faint whooshing sound coming from somewhere off in the distance, and it seemed to be getting louder...
"Hey, what in tarnation is that?" one of the townsponies suddenly asked, pointing up at the sky.
Fluttershy and Rarity looked up along with everypony else and were startled when they saw some kind of multi-colored object soaring through the air, heading in the direction of the town.
"I don't know..." Rarity said with growing alarm, "But I... I think it's coming right for us!"
"Oh, no way." disagreed Fluttershy, "It's not even coming close."
The incoming object grew larger in size as it rapidly closed the distance.
"Yes, it is!" Rarity insisted.
"No, it's not!" Fluttershy shot back.
Around them, the alarmed townsponies were beginning to scatter. A cry of fright escaped Rarity's throat...
"Or...uh...maybe it is." Fluttershy finally conceded.
Fluttershy and Rarity both leapt to the side just as a multi-colored blur crash-landed right at the spot where they'd been standing, sending up a huge cloud of dust. For a long moment, all was still as the yellow pegasus and white unicorn could only stare as the dust cloud gradually cleared...
There, lying in a crumbled heap, was a battered, and bruised Rainbow Dash.
"RAINBOW DASH!!!" Fluttershy and Rarity both cried out.
The next few moments were a blur of motion to the yellow pegasus and white unicorn as they almost frantically ran forward to collect their friend. Rainbow Dash was badly dazed, and almost collapsed when she tried to stand.
"What happened?" a distressed Rarity asked.
"And where are the others?" added Fluttershy.
Groaning, Rainbow Dash finally gasped out, "Deadwood... The Hole In The Hoof Gang... They... They got Applejack and Miss Jubilee..."
As the sky blue pegasus's words sunk in, a deep chill began to creep up everypony's spine in spite of the desert heat.
Fluttershy and Rarity immediately helped Rainbow Dash into the sheriff's office and tried to attend to her as she filled them in on all that had happened at the mine, and how Applejack had helped her escape.
"There was never anypony in trouble. It was all a setup." the sky blue pegasus said, wincing as Rarity gently massaged her dirty, bruised face with a wet cloth, "Deadwood tricked us into coming to the mine where he could beat us on his own terms."
"I thought there was something familiar about that pony who came to town asking for help." lamented Fluttershy.
"Oh, this is horrible!" Rarity wailed, "Those awful ruffians have Applejack and Miss Jubilee! And what's worse, Twilight, Derpy, and Pinkie... er, I mean the Pink Avenger are lost to us! Lost, I tell you!"
"No, no, no, no..." Fluttershy tried to reassure her, "We... We mustn't think that. I mean, for all we know they're still okay, right Rainbow...?"
"We can only hope..." Rainbow replied, a bit doubtful, "But I think..."
Suddenly, they were startled when there came an abrupt knock at the door of the sheriff's office. Heading over to the door to answer the knock, Fluttershy was surprised to see a rather rough-looking stallion smiling rather smugly down at her.
"Special delivery fer th' ex-sheriff!" he declared, holding out an envelope.
Fluttershy took it somewhat hesitantly, "You mean...me?"
"Compliments o' ma boss!" the stallion tipped his hat, before shutting the door in Fluttershy's face before she could inquire further.
Baffled, the yellow pegasus slowly headed back over to Rarity and Rainbow Dash. Upon opening the letter, she was slightly startled when a small object fell out onto the floor. Picking it up, Fluttershy quickly recognized it as the sheriff's badge, the very one that had more or less started this whole thing.
Fluttershy gasped "The sheriff badge..."
"Applejack's badge." Rainbow Dash clarified.
"But what does the letter say?" Rarity asked.
Holding up the letter, Fluttershy began to read, "It's for me. And it says..."
Dear Ex-sheriff,
Normally, Ah wouldn't bother with th' likes o' somepony as yellow as y'all, but Ah don't like loose ends. Dodge Juction ain't big enough fer th' two o' us. If y'all want yer two friends back, come an' get 'em. Be on the streets at high noon; we're gonna have a showdown, an' settle this once an' fer all. An' Ah wouldn't expect any help from that Pink Avenger either. Ah'm afraid she's got an appointment with some coffin jockeys, if ya know what Ah mean! So come prepared ta meet yer fate, it y'all got th' guts, that is.
Sincerely, Deadwood Dutch.
P.S. AN' DON'T BE LATE!
As the contents of the letter fully sank in,
Rainbow Dash struggled to push herself to her hooves in spite of her injuries.
"Well..." she gasped out "If Deadwood thinks I'm gonna let him threaten...another one of my friends...he's got another thing coming!"
But Rainbow Dash barely took three steps before she again stumbled down on her knees.
"No, Rainbow Dash!" Rarity cried as she pulled her friend back up, "You've been hurt for the second time in two days! You're in no fit state!"
"Well, somepony has to do something, Rarity!" Rainbow Dash asserted.
"But it doesn't HAVE to be you!" protested Rarity.
Rainbow almost laughed, "Don't tell me that YOU'RE going to go face Deadwood Dutch?!"
As her friends began to argue, Fluttershy replayed Deadwood's message in her head. He had specifically demanded that SHE come and face him, and she was afraid. But she thought about how she'd ripped off the sheriff's badge and run away during their first meeting with the outlaw leader. As a result, Applejack had taken up the job as sheriff with Twilight and Rainbow Dash as her deputies. And now...
The outlaws had Applejack and Miss Jubilee. Rainbow Dash was injured for the second time. Twilight, the Pink Avenger, and Derpy were gone, lost down in the darkness of the old, abandoned mine. And now Dodge Junction would soon be at the mercy of the outlaws once again.
Looking down at the sheriff's badge, Fluttershy now knew what she had to do. Taking a deep breath, she turned toward Rarity and Rainbow Dash, who were still arguing.
"Girls, stop it." Fluttershy suddenly interjected, "Rarity's right, Rainbow. You're in no state for this. Besides, it's me who Deadwood asked for. So... I'll go."
For a moment, Rarity and Rainbow Dash could only stare at Fluttershy as she finally pinned the sheriff badge back on her chest.
"What?!" Rarity exclaimed.
"I never thought I'd put it back on, but now..." Fluttershy trailed off.
"You... You can't be serious, Fluttershy!!!" said Rainbow Dash incredulously.
"To be honest, I wish I wasn't..." the yellow pegasus admitted, "But I have to do this."
"Why?" asked Rarity.
"Because I can't just run away again." Fluttershy replied, her voice tinged with shame, "By Celestia, I wish I could. But I just can't. I can't let everypony down again..."
Rarity and Rainbow Dash's expressions softened at Fluttershy's words. They knew the yellow pegasus still felt guilty about her actions in first encounter with Deadwood Dutch.
"Fluttershy, if you're just trying to prove something...!" Rainbow Dash.
"I'm NOT trying to prove something, Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy asserted rather forcefully, "It's because Applejack, Miss Jubilee, and the townsponies are all depending on me!"
Needless to say, Rainbow Dash and Rarity were quite taken aback by Fluttershy's sudden outburst, and upon seeing her friends' shocked expressions, the yellow pegasus quickly made herself calm down.
"I'm sorry. This is all just...a lot to handle..." she said regretfully, "But look, maybe...maybe this won't be so bad.
"What?" Rarity asked.
Fluttershy gave a nervous smile, "You know, maybe the Pink Avenger will make a triumphant return to help save the day in the end."
It was wishful thinking, and all three of them knew it, but they guessed that a slim hope was better than no hope at all.
"Well, if you're certain. Okay..." Rarity said at last.
Rainbow Dashed sighed, "I guess there's no stopping you. But there's no stopping us either, Fluttershy. We're coming with you."
"We are?" Rarity blinked, "I mean, yes! Of course we are!"
"Really? But you're..." Fluttershy started to say, clearly concerned about Rainbow's injuries.
"I may be down, but I'm far from out." insisted Rainbow, "And I just can't let you go out there alone!"
Rarity nodded slowly, "Neither can I. Whatever is to come, we will stand with you, Fluttershy."
Fluttershy smiled warmly in a full sense of gratitude. Although she was tempted to say that this was her burden, she could see that her friends just as steadfast in their conviction as she was. And not only was the yellow pegasus relieved, but she was also touched that she wasn't alone in this.
"Thank you..." Fluttershy said at last, "Rarity and Rainbow Dash, I name the two of you my official deputies!"
Twilight, the Pink Avenger, and Derpy traveled for what seemed like hours through the dark tunnels of the old abandoned mine, using the glow of Twilight's magic to light their way. But by now, their hopes were dwindling fast.
Tunnel after tunnel. Dead end after dead end. It all looked the same to the three ponies, and it seemed to just go on and on...
And what was worse was that they had no way of knowing where they were actually going. For all they knew, they were just heading further and further down underground with no way out.
At last, they found themselves unable to go any farther, and could only slump down onto the ground in hopeless exhaustion, ready to give up.
"It's no use... We're sunk..." breathed Twilight.
"It looks like this is the end of the trail!" the Pink Avenger cried, "We're lost, trapped in eternal darkness with no food, no water..."
"And no happiness!" finished Derpy.
The Pink Avenger could only crawl over and embrace the bluish-gray pegasus.
"I'm sorry, my faithful steed! But don't worry; soon, this will all be over, and you'll be outta your misery!"
In her own despair, Twilight barely registered her friends' words. The lavender unicorn had never imagined things would end up like this when they first boarded the train for Dodge Junction back in Ponyville. It had all just supposed to have been a fun outing to visit Miss Jubilee during her town's festival. But instead, here she was trapped in a cave, with her friends were scattered, and a band of outlaws on their way to wreak havoc on the town.
And this time, Twilight could see no way out. It really did look like the end of the trail.
But then suddenly, something caught her eye up ahead. Some kind of glow...
"Hey... Is that light up ahead...?" she asked.
"See, Derpy! It's almost over!" the Pink Avenger told her faithful stead, "Twilight can see the light at the end of the tunnel! So long, old friend!"
"No!" asserted a somewhat annoyed Twilight, "I mean there's really light up ahead!"
The Pink Avenger and Derpy finally stopped their wallowing, and looked up, seeing to their surprise that Twilight was right.
Pushing themselves back to their hooves, the three ponies began making their way forwards toward the mysterious glow.
At last, they stepped into the light, and were temporarily blinded by the bright glare, but once their vision cleared, they were shocked and overjoyed to find an opening to the outside. They had found the exit! They had made it out of the mine!
"Daylight!" Twilight exclaimed as they ran out into the light of day, "We made it!"
"We made it out! I knew we would!" the Pink Avenger shouted as she and Derpy literally began to kiss the ground, "See, I told you guys there was no reason to worry!"
"You sure did..." Twilight said sarcastically, but then she noticed something a short distance away, "Hey, look!"
Looking up, the three ponies couldn't believe their luck when they saw that the mine exited next to a railroad spur, and there on the tracks was a hoof-operated rail cart. Just like the one Pinkie Pie and Rarity had used to get back to Ponyville when they'd accidently been left behind the last time the Mane Six had come to Dodge Junction.
All they needed to do was follow the tracks back to town.
"Well, what are we waiting for? We've just found our ticket back to town!" the Pink Avenger said, motioning for Twilight and Derpy to follow.
Twilight and Derpy didn't argue as the three of them ran towards the rail cart. They were going to make back to Dodge Junction after all. They could only hope that they'd make it back in time...
Inside the sheriff's office, Rarity was looking out the window when she saw one of the townsponies standing on the other side of the street waving his hoof at her.
It was the signal. The Hole In The Hoof Gang had been sighted. They were coming.
"Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, they're coming!" the white unicorn informed her two friends.
Rainbow Dash, despite her injuries, seemed eager for some payback, "Good! They'll be sorry."
"Take it easy, Rainbow." Fluttershy cautioned, still concerned about her friend's injuries.
The sky blue pegasus looked at her friend, "Fluttershy, are you sure you want to do this? It's not too late to back out."
"Nopony will think less of you, darling." Rarity put in.
For an instant, Fluttershy was almost tempted. Now that the moment of truth had come, her fear was rapidly beginning to spike once again. But she thought the townsponies, and of Applejack and Miss Jubilee, and the wavering moment quickly passed.
"No. This is just something I have to do." the yellow pegasus insisted, putting a cowboy hat on her head.
"If you're still in, then so are we." Rainbow Dash said as she and Rarity did the same.
Rarity nodded slowly, "Well then... I guess...I guess we'd better get it over with."
"Yes..." Fluttershy agreed, "I guess we'd better..."
With that, the three friends headed out to meet whatever outcome awaited out in the streets. However, when they stepped out of the sheriff's office, they were surprised to see a large group of townsponies waiting for them.
"You'd...you'd all better go inside before things get bad." warned Fluttershy.
But the townsponies would not leave, for they'd had enough of this as well.
"No, they got Miss Jubilee, an' Applejack." one said.
"An' we're tired o' runnin' an' bein' afraid!" said another.
"We're with y'all to, sheriff!" a third declared, with the rest of the crowd all shouting out in agreement.
In spite of her usual shyness, Fluttershy felt a surge of gratitude and pride at Seeing the townsponies rallying behind her. And more than that, she felt hope.
"Thank you all so much." she said with a sudden burst of rising confidence, "I admit that when Deadwood Dutch and his gang first arrived, I was ready to give up, and to be honest...I kind of did... But now, I know that if we all stand together, then we CAN get our friends back, and run those outlaws out of town for good!"
Everypony cheered, finally ready to fight for their town.
But then, their attention was suddenly arrested by the loud snap of a whip and turning their gazes in the direction of the sound, everypony saw Deadwood Dutch and the Hole In The Hoof Gang standing just inside the town entrance.
"Ah'm sorry! Did Ah interrupt somethin'?" asked Deadwood Dutch sarcastically as the rest of his gang laughed.
Fluttershy quickly found herself trying to force down the fear that was starting to resurface. Taking a deep breath, she finally took her in front of the townsponies with Rainbow Dash and Rarity at her sides.
The time had come.
At last, the two opposing parties began to advance towards one another...
Back out in the desert, Twilight, Pink Avenger, and Derpy pumped the rail cart as fast as they could, fervently hoping that they would make it back to town in time to make a difference. They could only wonder about what had been happening while they'd been trapped in the mine.
"Come on; we've gotta hurry!" Twilight urged.
"No worries, Twilight." assured the Pink Avenger, "I'm sure we'll be back just in the nick of time!"
"Yeah, just like in the movies!" Derpy put in.
Exasperated, Twilight only wished she could share their confidence.
Then, the rail cart went around a curve in the bend, and suddenly, the three ponies found themselves going down a rather steep incline, causing the rail cart's speed to dramatically increase as they coasted downward.
"Uh, Pinkie- er, I mean Pink Avenger?" asked an increasingly worried Twilight, "How do you slow this thing down?"
But the Pink Avenger just laughed, "I have no idea!"
The Hole In The Hoof Gang and Fluttershy's posse finally came to a stop about 20 paces away from each other. For a brief moment, the two parties stared one another down, but Deadwood Dutch quickly broke the silence.
"Ah must admit, Ah'm kinda surprised y'all even showed up, ex-sheriff!" he said, laughing at his own joke, "Or is it current sheriff again? Ah'm not really sure."
Fluttershy cleared her throat and tried her best to sound a fierce and authoritative, but in the end, couldn't quite pull it off.
"Mr. Deadwood Dutch, sir, as sheriff of Dodge Junction, I place you under arrest, if you please..."
At this, the outlaws all began to laugh with Deadwood looking even more amused.
"Bold words, sheriff" he grinned, "But it seems mah gang an' Ah don't think ya can do that."
"She can and she WILL!" Rarity stepped up, "We've all had just about enough of you and your band of ruffians!"
Deadwood took in the full group opposing him, "Y'all call this a posse, sheriff? A prissy dame, a broken-down deputy, an' a bunch o' common folk?"
Rainbow Dash all but growled, "Don't count us out so soon, Deadwood..."
"We're done runnin' from y'all!" one of the townsponies chimed in.
"This is our town, an' we stand united!" declared another.
The rest of the townsponies all shouted in agreement.
"Gotta admit Ah'm kinda impressed that y'all found some backbone." admitted Deadwood, "But it ain't gonna make any difference. Lucky fer me, Ah got an ace in th' hole. Ain't that right, boys?"
At their leader's words, the outlaws parted and everypony gasped in shock when they dragged something forward. Or rather, they dragged two someponies forward.
Tied up back-to-back with Applejack's own lasso, and gagged with a pair of bandanas were Applejack and Cherry Jubilee...
Meanwhile, the rail cart carrying Twilight, the Pink Avenger, and Derpy was by now speeding out of control, with Twilight and Derpy both screaming in terror and holding on for dear life.
The Pink Avenger on the other hoof seemed to be having the time of her life.
"Weeeeeeeee! Faster! Faster!" the pink earth pony joyfully cried as if she were on an amusement park ride.
"Slow down! SLOW DOWN!" shrieked Twilight.
Soon, they found themselves speeding along the side of a high rock formation when suddenly, to their horror, they saw that that the track they were on was broken up ahead. With no way to stop the rail cart, they ran screaming off the tracks and plummeted down towards the desert floor below. Incredibly, the rail cart landed safely on a downhill slope, but was now off the tracks and speeding along the ground.
Then, as the three ponies struggled to keep their grip on the runaway cart, Twilight just barely caught a glimpse of a sign as they went zipping past, and she suddenly felt a surge of hope.
The sign had been pointing the way to Dodge Junction.
They were almost back to town.
"Applejack! Miss Jubilee" Fluttershy and Rarity both gasped.
"Let them go, Deadwood!" barked Rainbow Dash.
Deadwood however, only snapped his whip towards his two hostages.
"Tell yer posse ta back off, sheriff. Or yer friends git it." he demanded.
Applejack and Cherry Jubilee both shook their heads at Fluttershy, clearing trying to tell her not to give in to the outlaw leader's demands, but the yellow pegasus could see no choice.
"All right. All right..." Fluttershy conceded, "Just please don't hurt them!"
The townsponies all reluctantly began to back away from scene.
Deadwood then nodded towards Rarity and Rainbow Dash, "Now yer deputies."
"No way!" asserted Rainbow Dash, "Not this time!"
At her defiance, the outlaws immediately put Applejack and Cherry Jubilee in a headlock.
"Care ta run that by me again?" Deadwood grinned maliciously.
"Stop, please!" Fluttershy begged, "Okay, I'll tell them!"
"But Fluttershy...! You...you can't be serious!" a Rarity and Rainbow Dash respectively protested.
Fluttershy swallowed hard, "D-Don't worry, girls. For all we know, the Pink Avenger will soon be back to save the day."
The outlaws all burst out laughing at this obviously grasped straw.
"Still waitin' fer th' Pink Avenger, huh? Ah told ya Ah wouldn't count on it. There's seems ta have been a recent drop in th' Pink Avenger population." Deadwood taunted, chuckling at his own joke.
But the outlaw leader had spoken too soon, for by now, Twilight, the Pink Avenger, and Derpy were now rapidly coming up on Dodge Junction.
As the rail cart carried them through the outskirts of town, the three ponies could see the frantic confrontation occurring within the town center. It seemed as if they really had gotten back just in the nick of time.
Gripping the pumping mechanism, the Pink Avenger struggled to her feet as the rail cart sped directly towards the Hole In The Hoof Gang from the rear. A sense of triumph surged through her being as she pointed her hoof at the band of outlaws.
"CHARGE!!!" the pink earth pony hollered.
Startled, the outlaws spun around at Pinkie's battle cry, and were horrified to see the runaway rail cart bearing down on them. At the same time, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash were overjoyed to see that their friends were not only alive, but that they'd actually made it back in time to save the day.
The panicking outlaws scattered like bowling pins, but Deadwood Dutch remained rooted to the spot, staring at the oncoming rail cart as if frozen in shock. Taking advantage of the distraction, Rarity and Rainbow Dash quickly darted forward to grab Applejack and Cherry Jubilee and carry them to safety.
But then, just as the rail cart was about to knock Deadwood Dutch out of the ballpark, the outlaw leader suddenly grinned, and merely stepped to the side, causing the Pink Avenger, Twilight, and Derpy to harmlessly zip past him.
"Oops..." the Pink Avenger said, "I think we... missed..."
"That doesn't happen in the movies!" complained Derpy.
Twilight could only sigh, "I knew it was too good to be true."
The rail cart would finally come to an abrupt, and violent stop when it ran right into the sheriff's office. Thankfully, Twilight, the Pink Avenger, and Derpy all jumped clear before the crash, but they were no longer in any position to help Fluttershy against Deadwood Dutch.
In fact, with literally everypony else having been scattered, the yellow pegasus and the outlaw leader were the only ones still standing in the town center.
"Oh, dear..." mused Fluttershy.
"Well, well, well." Deadwood Dutch said, "Looks like it's come down ta just th' two o' us, sheriff. No posse, no gang, just you an' me! Pony ta pony! Mano o mano!"
"That may be, Mr. Deadwood." Fluttershy said at last, trying to steel herself for the inevitable confrontation. "But even though I didn't want to be, I am the sheriff, and it's the job of the sheriff to protect people, and clean up the town, and..."
Suddenly, there came a loud DONG as the town clock struck noon.
"Are y'all done?" asked Deadwood, "Just look at th' time! High Noon!"
Fluttershy took a deep breath; the time had come, "Okay..."
With that, the two combatants took their positions on opposite ends of the street. For a moment, they stared one another down as a tumbleweed breezed past. And then, before the anxious eyes of the townsponies, the Hole In The Hoof Gang, and Fluttershy's friends, the outlaw leader and yellow pegasus slowly began to walk towards one another in a classic western duel.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the showdown commenced. Everypony held their breath, and with the exception of the duelists' hoofsteps and a slight breeze, there wasn't a sound.
Step by step, closer and closer, Fluttershy and Deadwood Dutch approached one another. The yellow pegasus was terrified, but forced herself to keep going, while the outlaw leader was eager to finish this, a malicious smile plastered his face. At last, the two adversaries came to a stop within five paces of each other and stared into each other's eyes.
For an eternally long moment, there was such a deathly silence that the drop of a pin could've been heard.
Then, to the disbelief of the crowd of spectators, Deadwood Dutch's face morphed into a pale mask of utter terror, before he suddenly turned and ran screaming all the way out of town!
The Hole In The Hoof Gang could only stare in stunned silence at the retreating figure of their leader, unable to believe what had just occurred. Finally, the outlaws turned their gazes back to Fluttershy, and suddenly, they to were frozen in terror when they found themselves on the receiving end of just what had horrified their boss.
It was the paralyzing, unstoppable effect of "The Stare"!
And barely a moment later, the entire gang was promptly following Deadwood Dutch's lead, fleeing for their lives out of Dodge Junction as fast as their hooves could possibly carry them.
As the outlaws disappeared off into the distance, Fluttershy's friends and the townsponies slowly began to make their way forward. They couldn't believe what had just occurred. In fact, Fluttershy couldn't believe had just happened herself; she'd just done the only thing that had come to mind in the heat of the moment.
Finally, the crowd of ponies all started cheering, realizing that their town had just been saved. At the same time, Fluttershy could only stare at this massive show of gratitude around her in stunned silence. The yellow pegasus could never have imagined an outcome like this, not after she'd run away from the outlaws on the day they'd arrived. And yet, against all odds, she had actually just run them out of town.
"Fluttershy, that was incredible!" cried Twilight.
"Y'all saved th' town!" praised Cherry Jubilee.
"You're a hero!" the Pink Avenger congratulated, "Just like me!"
"Can I have your autograph?" asked Derpy.
I... I can't believe it. I..." Fluttershy stammered, "I just did the only thing I could think of."
"And it was simply amazing!" assured Rarity.
Rainbow Dash grinned, "As if a bunch of low-life outlaws were any match for 'The Stare'!"
"Well, Ah don't think Deadwood an' his gang will mess with this town again!" Applejack said.
"An' it's all thanks ta Fluttershy!" Cherry Jubilee declared.
Everypony began cheering again, and despite herself, Fluttershy couldn't help but bask in such a triumphant moment.
With the Hole In The Hoof Gang finally gone for good, the ponies of Dodge Junction were able to hold their annual town festival at last. As Celestia's sun began to set, the festivities finally began as the sound of music, dancing, and various other activities filled the air. Applejack and Cherry Jubilee's apple-cherry products were a massive hit with the townsponies, just as the two earth ponies had predicted.
It was the perfect celebration to commemorate the victory over the outlaws. And to further express the town's gratitude, an impromptu award ceremony was held, with everypony in attendance watching in anticipation as Cherry Jubilee and the town mayor commended Fluttershy for her efforts.
"Ta show our appreciation..." Cherry Jubilee announced, "This town hereby presents you with the official Dodge Junction hero award fer single-hoofedly savin' th' town!"
Everypony applauded she placed the medal around Fluttershy's neck.
The yellow pegasus almost blushed, "Thank you all very much, but I think this award really belongs to all of us. I mean, we all did our part to save town, didn't we?"
"Yeah, Ah guess we did..." Applejack conceded, "But even so, yer th' one who drove those varmints outta town fer good. In fact, y'all were a better sheriff than Ah was!"
"AJ's right, Flutters. You deserve to have this moment." Rainbow Dash put in.
Twilight nodded, "You really stepped up today."
"I would never have been able to do it without my friends." Fluttershy said, "Thank you all for standing by me."
Rarity smiled, "What else are friends for, darling?"
"But what will the town do when we leave tomorrow?" asked Fluttershy.
"Don't worry..." Cherry Jubilee assured, "We've all talked it over, an' decided that we'll hold an election ta decide who'll be the new sheriff. But in the meantime, whaddya say we all just enjoy th' festival? Ah think we've all sure earned it."
Nopony could agree more. But as the group began to head back out to enjoy the festivites, Fluttershy couldn't help but noticed that two someponies were nowhere to be seen.
"Hey, where are Pinkie Pie and Derpy?" she asked.
"Oh, you know..." Twilight said sarcastically, "Off doing their thing."
Sure enough, back on the hill overlooking the town of Dodge Junction, the Pink Avenger leapt onto the back of her faithful steed, preparing to ride off into the sunset.
"Hi-Ho, Derpy! Away!"
Once again, Derpy reared up in a dramatic fashion... And once again, immediately lost her balance, and sent both of them crashing onto the ground.
"Oh, forget it..." the Pink Avenger, or rather Pinkie Pie, grumbled.
THE END
Author's Note
PHEW! Finally, I finished the second half of this story. Sorry it took so long. Stay tuned for future content!
