The Hateful Six

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6

Chapter 1

Chapter 1:
Last Stage to Ponyville

The world was cold. Covered in snow. Forests, plains, mountains, doesn’t matter. It was all covered in snow. One of the coldest winters in Equestrian history, and it was quiet. The sun was covered by heavy clouds, casting the ground below in a moody atmosphere. A bird chirped and flew away, high above a snow-covered dirt road.

A lone figure stood in the snow, a purple unicorn covered in fur coats. She stood on the road, nestled between the ruins of a broken down stagecoach. She stood facing the oncoming blizzard with no fear and waited peacefully. The mare wasn’t sure she could survive the oncoming storm, but she was confident. She waited patiently, her horn glowed in the snow, her hope to catch a traveler coming this way.

Her wait was rewarded when a stagecoach appeared on the horizon. The mare increased the light on her horn and stood up. The breeze was picking up and her fur coats were threatening to fly away. After making sure they were tight again, she looked up again. The blizzard had gotten thicker, but the stagecoach had gotten close enough for the mare to see who was carrying it. An orange mare, also covered in fur coats and had a stetson, galloping at full speed, the stagecoach hitched to her barrel.

Once she was certain the stagecoach was close enough, the purple mare shot up a flare spell. The sudden burst of light drew the orange mare’s attention. For a moment, the purple mare felt a flicker of annoyance, perhaps the orange mare wouldn’t stop, but then before the purple mare could prepare another spell, the stagecoach was pulled to a halt. Even over the now roaring noise of the blizzard, the purple mare heard a heavy thump inside of the stagecoach.

The purple mare started forwards, about to say her appreciations to the pony but then stopped when she saw a metal barrel pointed at her. Underneath the stetson, a set of hard green eyes looked up at her. The earth pony, the unicorn found out, pushed her hat up and kept her rifle trained on her.

“Now, what’s a filly like yerself doin’ out here. Did yer posse die out because they couldn’t handle a bit of cold?” The unicorn narrowed her eyes, this earth pony dared to mock her. She wasn’t like those other unicorn nobles, snobs the lot of them. The unicorn spat in the snow to show her appreciation of the joke.

“I’m looking for a ride. Mine fell apart, as you can see.” The unicorn gestured at the broken stagecoach behind her. It was in a sorry state. The axle had snapped, a wheel was missing, the roof had caved in, and the stallion pulling the stagecoach had perished because of the cold, but the unicorn wasn’t going to tell the earth pony that.

“Ya don’t have to tell me what ah see with mah own eyes.” The earth pony paused as if thinking of something, then she glanced behind her, no doubt checking how close the blizzard was. After a moment or two, the purple mare was sure the orange mare was going to leave her just out of spite, then she said, “where ya headed?” It sounded like she was going to regret that later.

“Ponyville.”

“Yer business?”

“Ah’m the new sheriff there.”

“Is that so?” The skepticism in the earth pony’s voce annoyed the unicorn. She lifted her head to directly look at the mare. They stood like that for a while, the unicorn’s patience was being tested. She didn’t like her patience tested. That must have been shown in her eyes because before she knew it, the earth pony relaxed slightly and grinned, but her hoof never lowered, keeping the barrel straight and true. “Ya got iron?”

“I do.”

“See that stump over there? Drop yer guns on it, slow and steady. Make sure ah can see em, wouldn’t want to get the wrong idea, would we?” The unicorn complied, slowly taking out her pistols with her flickering magic. The earth pony tutted and waved her gun. The unicorn made an annoyed noise but got the message. Her horn flickered off and took the pistols out with her hooves. They weren’t anything pretty to look at, like some other unicorns, but they got the job done. Slowly trudging through the snow towards the log, the unicorn made sure the pistols were in the view of the earth pony’s view the entire time. She placed them on the logs with the utmost care and then turned to look at the earth pony. “Now gimme yer paperwork.”

The unicorn nodded as if that made sense, then started patting around her pockets. The earth pony made another noise and the unicorn slowed down considerably. It took several seconds, precious seconds, to locate the parchment that held her orders. Taking careful steps forwards, the unicorn held out her papers and the earth pony snatched it with her other hoof, the other still trained on the unicorn. Unable to flip through with two hooves doing two other things, the earth pony alternated between the papers before quickly drawing her rifle on the unicorn. As for the unicorn, she just waited in the snow, her flank on the ground and her hooves still in the air, waiting for the confirmation.

“Alright, ah believe ya. Ah still don’t trust ya though, gimme yer irons and ya can help pull with me.” The unicorn glanced at the stagecoach itself and the earth pony caught the meaning behind it. “Ain’t no way yer going in there. Inside is a pony who don’t deserve to be called a pony no more, ah’m takin’ her in.” Then her eyes flickered with something. “Speaking’ of, ah’ll be handing her to ya when we pull up in Ponyville, now that yer the sheriff and all. Now git, gimme the guns and help pull. Wouldn’t want the snow catching up. If ya can’t handle it, ah’m leavin’ ya.”

Taking the hint, the unicorn picked up her pistols and hoofed them over to the earth pony who in turn stashed them in some saddlebags. In the meantime, the unicorn hitched herself to the stagecoach and together, the duo started galloping.

After an hour, the purple mare realized that she didn’t know the earth pony’s name. Thinking to rectify that, she turned to face the orange mare and opened her mouth. The snow blew into her mouth causing her to cough, but she kept her hooves pumping. There was no way she was going let the earth pony see any weakness, but it was too late.

“Is your highness feeling tired?” The earth pony taunted her with a grin and what miffed the unicorn was that she didn’t see a single drop of sweat on her brow.

Founding her voice, she replied with contempt. “Something got into my mouth, nothing to worry.”

“If ya say so.”

“I do say so!” The unicorn made the mistake of stomping her hoof and immediately tripped. She started scrambling to regain her footing and once she did, she casted a hateful glare at the laughing earth pony.

“Like ah said, if ya say so.”

The unicorn didn’t feel like going with her earlier plan but she was better than such pettiness. She let silence draw between them so the two of them could calm down. They galloped for a few more miles, the landscape around them barely changing. Everything was white and the blizzard was making everything more foggier but they could see the road and that was enough. The unicorn finally caved in to her urges to make acquaintances and opened her mouth once again.

“Miss, if I am to thank you, I must need to know your name.” The glance the earth pony gave the unicorn made her pause awkwardly.

“Need to know mah name? What an interesting way to put it.” She chuckled humorously. “And what are ya gonna do with mah name? Drag it through the mud, like all the other unicorns? Yer all the same, aren’t ya, Twilight Sparkle.” She ignored the gasp and continued. “Yea, ah know all about ya. The Sparkle clan, the glory of Canterlot, the noblest of the nobles, the highest of the high, ain’t that right?” The venom in her voice spoke of something. Twilight kept her gaze cool, she’s heard this many times, but every time she hears it, she couldn’t help but hate her ancestors.

“That was a long time ago, miss…?”

“Applejack of the Apple clan, pleasure to meet ya.” The earth pony sneered and looked back to the road, leaving Twilight to her thoughts. The Apple clan and the Sparkle clan have been fighting each other for years. The unicorns have been taking land from the Apples and have their racist views of mud ponies. In return, the Apples make it nigh on impossible for any of the unicorns to acquire any of the apples the earth ponies cultivate. The Sparkle and Apple’s rivalry is well known throughout Equestria and most are terrified when both are in the same room. Then that begged the question, why was Applejack helping her of all ponies? Before she could ask, there was a loud bang startling Twilight to a stop, thankfully, Applejack had the same idea.

The stagecoach halted, the wheels turning uselessly in the powdered snow, and before Twilight could blink, Applejack unhitched herself and bolted away. Not thinking, Twilight unhitched as well and followed. What she saw baffled her.

Applejack was pounding through the snow, the white stuff flying everywhere, as she hounded a naked buttery yellow pegasus who had shackles around her wings and neck. Even from this distance, Twilight could see tears streaming off the pegasus’ face. This must be the prisoner that’ll be brought to her new office once she arrives in Ponyville. The chase was over in moments and the earth pony tackled the pegasus and Twilight winced at how brutal it looked. There was a crack, it was audible even from her, and then the shrieking started.

Applejack somehow produced a rope and hogtied the pegasus and started dragging her through the snow back to the stagecoach and she made sure the pegasus hit every rock and branch on the way back. The closer they got, Twilight saw the broken wing and then the frozen tear-stained face of the pegasus. Her usual soft features were wrenched in agony and sorrow and peculiarity, not hatred. Applejack heaved the poor pegasus back into the stagecoach and got another steel lock from her saddlebags and replaced the broken one. After clicking the lock together, the earth pony dusted herself off, the snow from her tackle fell to the floor in a pile. After that, she trotted over to the reins and prepared to hitch herself when she cast a look back at the still baffled unicorn.

“Are ya coming or not?” Her voice was terse, betraying nothing. When Twilight didn’t come, she turned back, prepared to give a tongue lashing but then paused when she noticed that the unicorn was looking at something beyond her. Looking around, Applejack finally noticed a pink blur that was coming closer with every second. Something about this was suspicious. Whipping around, Applejack drew her rifle on Twilight once again. “Do ya know her?”

“Her!?” The unicorn raised her hooves up in the air in a panic, not realizing she needed her hooves to stand and then promptly fell to the ground. Trying to save face, she pushed herself back up in a scramble and spat out the snow in anger. This mare was getting on her nerves. “Why would I know her!? This is the first time I’ve ever seen that pony!”

“This ain’t a coincidence! Ya stumble upon mah path and then hours later, another mare shows up! Maybe yer in cahoots with her, taking my bounty and splittin’ it!” The earth pony kicked away the bridle and stalked up to the unicorn, pointing the rifle in her face in that weird awkward third legged walk. Twilight couldn’t do anything else but stare back, trying to not let panic show on her face. In the distance, the pink smudge was growing more in definition.

“I promise you, I have nothing nefarious up my sleeve. I have no idea who that pony is or what she wants, all I want is to get to Ponyville.”

“Yeah, well, that don’t look like that’s gonna happen now. The blizzard’s almost upon us.” The earth pony tapped her chin with the rifle before coming to a decision. She opened her mouth but before she could speak, a pink blur interrupted.

“Hello! I’m Pinkie Pie, what’s your name!?”

Chapter 2

Chapter 2:
Daughter of the Rocks

It was another earth pony, yet this one was unlike any of the ones both Twilight and Applejack had met. She was bubbly and her mane seemed to defy gravity, scratch that, the pony herself seemed to defy gravity. The pink pony was giggling loud enough for their ears to hurt and, she was bouncing. Every bounce seemed to last more seconds than it should, leaving them baffled. The mare was dressed in similar garb as Twilight and Applejack, but the colors were drastically different. Pastel yellow and blue along with her already incredibly bright pink coat.

Applejack finally regained her senses and whipped her rifle towards the pink pony and gritted her teeth. "Who are ya? Whaddya want?"

"Didn't you hear me, silly? My name is Pinkie Pie! As for what I want, I want to go to Ponyville, ah'm the hangpony there, ya know? Heard ya got some pony who needs hanging." The pink pony's smile turned a little sinister for a moment, it was so brief that Twilight almost thought it was her imagination.

"And how did ya hear that, if ya don't mind me askin'?" Applejack cocked the gun and Pinkie's grin turned into a frown.

"Does it matter? I need to get to Ponyville and you have a stagecoach. Since there's only two bridles, I'll sit in the stagecoach." Pinkie's mane seemed to have deflated slightly as she crossed her forelegs together. Something about this mare terrified Twilight and it seemed Applejack had the same idea.

"Gimme yer papers and from what ah'm seein', ah don't think ah'm inclined to take ya along." Applejack was getting impatient, Twilight could sympathize, she was too.

"And then what about your bounty, Hangpony Jack? If there's no hangpony, then how are you going to hang Fluttershy?" Her mane deflated even more and her smile looked terrifying. From the corner of her eye, Twilight even saw Applejack gulp. Something about this mare was definitely off.

"Can I have your papers?" Twilight decided to take the initiative. She was the sheriff after all. "I'm the new sheriff of Ponyville, I need to see your papers to see if you are telling the truth."

"Of course." Pinkie produced the papers out of her hair, of all places, and hoofed it over. Twilight glanced at Applejack who still had the gun trained, and then looked through the papers. To her surprise, everything was in order. She nodded and Applejack stored her rifle back into her holder, but still kept her eyes trained on her. Twilight gave back the papers and Pinkie beamed, her mane somehow inflating back to what it was before. Giggling, she hopped towards the stagecoach.

"Wait, hold on!" Applejack called out, galloping in front of the pink pony, halting her advancements. "If ya got any iron, ah need to confiscate em. And for mah peace and mind, not to mention the safety of mah bounty, ah need ya hoof cuffed until we arrive."

Pinkie seemed to ponder that, her hoof to the chin and a curious expression on her face, but then replied with a simple, "nope!"

"Whaddya mean nope. Ah ain't askin'." Applejack had her rifle out again, her stetson pulled low to make her even more menacing yet none of this had any effect on the pink pony.

"And why should I listen to you? You're holding a gun, but then again, so am I." Within a blink, Pinkie had two pistols drawn, one pointed at Applejack and the other at Twilight. "I even have a pistol drawn at your dear bounty." Sure enough, Pinkie's tail was also holding a gun and was pointing at the stagecoach. Applejack immediately went pale.

"Fine! Ya win, just lemme get mah keys. Don't want any more broken locks." The earth pony stalked off, mumbling under her breath. Every hooffall kicked up a lot of snow, her fetlocks good as drenched, despite the knee-high boots. After getting to her saddlebags, she turned around and gestured wildly for Twilight to follow, which she did.

When the unicorn got close, the earth pony shoved Twilight's pistols back at her. "Take em and go into the stagecoach with that pink pony. Ah don't trust her."

"Why are you trusting me? Shouldn't you hate all Sparkles?"

"My granny always said 'know em 'fore you judge em' but she also said 'trust yer gut.' Mah gut is tellin' me, this mare is off in more ways than one. Let's make a deal. Ah get ya to Ponyville and in exchange ya help protect mah bounty, how does that sound?" Applejack's voice was still hard but there was a hint of hope. Twilight clung to that and nodded, putting the guns in her holsters.

Steeling herself, the unicorn nodded once to the earth pony and then trotted towards the pink pony. Applejack followed with the key in hoof. She unlocked the lock and then stepped aside. The pegasus inside whimpered and shrank back. Pinkie didn't seem to care and bounced inwards, giving a bright smile which made the pegasus even more frightened. Twilight followed closely after, her horn at the ready for if Pinkie did anything.

The doors closed soon after and a heavy thunk announced that the doors were locked once again. Gloom enveloped the stagecoach and soon after, they were moving again. Pinkie giggled, the pegasus whimpered, and Twilight kept her cool. Now that the bounty was up close, Twilight could see those red marks all over her body, especially around her neck and wings. The left one was at an awkward angle, getting sympathy from Twilight, but there was nothing she could do. The pegasus' eyes were bloodshot, no doubt from crying and many sleepless nights. There was slight illumination from Twilight's horn as she drew her pistol and placed it next to her at easy reach. The sight of the gun terrified the pegasus to no end, her whimpering increased.

"So, Twilight Sparkle traveling with Applejack, what a turn of events! Are you having a picnic?" Pinkie was suddenly really close to Twilight and she scrambled backwards in surprise, hitting her head on the ceiling. Her yelp seemed to bring the pink pony joy and it creeped Twilight to no end. "You must tell me how it happened."

"How about you shut up, mud pony. I don’t talk to lowlives like you.” The unicorn let her voice turn cold and raised her pistol slightly, letting the barrel face the earth pony. The two slowly eased back to their earlier positions. In the silence of the stagecoach, noises from the background could be heard, the thrum of Applejack and the howling wind of the blizzard that was slowly catching up.

"I could, I could." The pink pony grinned. "Or I could ask about your letter."

"How do you know about the letter!?" Now it was the unicorn's turn to shove herself to the earth pony, her pistol cocked against her head. She merely grinned. Twilight screamed in frustration and thumped the earth pony on the snout, causing some blood to start leaking. "TELL. ME. HOW. YOU. KNOW." Each word was punctuated with a heavy blow. By the end, Twilight had both pistols out and cocked underneath Pinkie's chin and as for the pink pony herself, her nose was bleeding heavily and an eye was starting to blacken, but the bitch was still grinning.

Then the blizzard caught up.

The stagecoach was rocked side to side, the ponies inside getting tossed about. The pegasus's whimpers turned into wails, Pinkie's giggles turned into manic laughter, and Twilight's anger turned into shock. The walls shuddered and the floor creaked. Over the wind, Twilight could hear the growl of determination from Applejack.

And then, Pinkie sat up, a straight face appeared and breathed in deep. Twilight was too tangled in her ligaments in order to do anything so when the pink pony released a bellow, she couldn't do anything but yell too. Then the bellowing turned into coherent words.

"TURN LEFT!"

Without hesitation, the stagecoach immediately went left and every pony was thrown to the wall once again. Tears were streaming down the pegasus' face as Twilight face planted into her injured wing. She automatically apologized before getting smacked by Pinkie. The blow threw her against the other wall and before Twilight knew it, she had her pistol thrown up and cracked out a shot. It hit the wall and went out into the snowy apocalypse.

Just as the unicorn thought she had regained her footing, the stagecoach screeched to a halt, throwing the ponies once again. With a yell, Twilight blasted with her unstable magic and at once the two bodies that had piled upon her shot forwards and through the roof. There was a yell and the stagecoach door exploded inwards, showering Twilight with wooden splinters. In the doorway, a really snowy Applejack heaved with anger.

"WHAT DID AH SAY ABOUT PROTECTING MAH FUCKING BOUNTY!" With another buck, the whole stagecoach flipped over once and then twice. Twilight landed far away, bruises all over but couldn't feel it because of the blistering cold. She heaved herself upwards with a growl, determined to shoot all of these bitches, but then a sight stopped her.

A huge cabin with lights on. How about that.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3:
Sugarcube Corner

Twilight immediately galloped for the house, not caring about the other crazy mares. Light promised warmth and other ponies, maybe even food. The winds tore at her, threatening to tear away her cloths, but she kept on running. Up the stairs, across the porch, and with a shoulder slam, the door gave way and Twilight tumbled onto the floor in a dazed and shivering heap. She was then immediately assaulted by noise.

"CLOSE THE DAMN DOOR! YA GOTTA HAMMER IT IN!"
"The door, darling. It is of utmost importance."
"THE DOOR, BITCH! ARE YA DEAF?"
"Oh, heavens, I'm going to get a cold."

There was a grumble and then a chair screech. Heavy flaps indicated a pegasus and then a heavy landing as the pegasus landed beside Twilight. The mysterious pony spat on the floor, said something about fucking useless hornheads before going to the door and then hammering it in. By now, Twilight had somewhat recovered and managed to heave herself upwards onto her hooves. By the doorway, a cyan pegasus with a shock of a rainbow mane, touched with some grey, was using a hammer and nails to nail the door shut. The previous lock had seemed to be broken, busted down even. That made Twilight frown, but before she could comment on it, a lovely voice called her.

"Over here, darling! They have such lovely cocoa." A pristine white unicorn was flagging her down with fluttering blue eyes. Her dress was beautifully tailored and the fabrics rare and comfortable. Her coiled violet mane alluring and intimidating at the same time, Twilight was hesitant to trot over, but the promise of hot cocoa was enough to overcome her trepidation.

Trotting over, Twilight made sure that her guns were still there and was disheartened to find that one of them was missing, probably lost when the earth pony flipped the stagecoach. Using her hooves, she undressed slightly, taking off some of the warmer cloths as well as her hat, and placed them on a coat stand. After making sure everything was in order, she finally made the final steps to the other unicorn.

"Oh my, if it isn't Twilight Sparkle." The unicorn giggled while fanning her face. She then bowed, leaving Twilight speechless. "I must say it really is a pleasure to find another unicorn here, even more delightful is one of your stature! Oh, you must forgive me, my name is Rarity of the Belle Enterprise."

"A pleasure." Twilight replied with a slight hesitancy. She knew of course, the legendary Belle Enterprise, everypony who was anypony in Canterlot knew of Belle Enterprise. They had holdings in nearly every company, and had nearly as much sway as the Princesses did. Twilight disdained unicorns like the ones at Belle Enterprise, too much power, too much wealth, only after their own personal gain.

"Here's your hot cocoa, hope you like it, my own recipe." Rarity hoofed out a cup which Twilight accepted with her magic, quietly taking note of her lack of magic.

"Thanks." She then tipped her head and took a little sip. It was hot, but not scalding. It did taste wonderful, which surprised her. Perhaps this prissy unicorn did know something.

"May I ask, if it isn't too presumptuous, are you heading towards Ponyville?" The way she asked it made Twilight think of a vulture, a hunter looking for scraps. Perhaps she should throw a bone.

"Yes, I'm the new sheriff there. Now, if I may?" She paused and looked at Rarity, she in turn nodded slightly. "Why are you, Rarity of the Belle Enterprise, going to a backwater, mud pony controlled, little town called Ponyville? That doesn't seem like you."

"My, I don't think I like that tone of yours. But yes, I am going to Ponyville, like you so brutishly put. I'm paying my respects to my sister, she died out here, looking for fame and fortune. Her grave lies next to her friends, right next to Ponyville, as I do every year. It is a quaint town, so would you please refrain from disrespecting my sister's final resting place." The earlier warmth, if Twilight could call it warmth, in Rarity's eyes were now replaced with a certain hardness, perfected over the years no doubt from dealing with stuffy nobles. Perhaps Twilight misjudged her.

"My condolences and my apologies." Twilight tipped her head again, but still didn't let her guard slip. She went back to her hot cocoa.

There was a slam and the angry pegasus immediately started yelling. Twilight and Rarity turned around to see a pink pony standing in the doorway, the cold blistering wind whooshed beside her, making her seem creepier than usual.

"CLOSE THE DOOR! THE LATCH IS BUSTED!"
"Pinkie, close the door."
"Yes, dear, you must treat ladies with respect, this foul weather is absolutely dreadful for the skin!"
"MUD PONY, ARE YA DEAF? CLOSE THE FUCKING DOOR! USE THE HAMMER!"

"She's certainly loud." Twilight commented as she watched the pink earth pony shut the door with relative ease, all the while sporting a grin.

"Yes, she certainly is." Rarity sipped her hot cocoa before continuing. "Her name is Rainbow Dash, she was here when I arrived. That was 40 minutes before you came in. And then that ruffian too, mmm, how many of you are there, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Four."

"So two are still out there in that dreadful snow. Pity." Rarity finished her cup with one swift chug before moving back to the pot to pour herself more.

"If you say. If you'll excuse me, I am rather tired after that long and harrowing trip." Twilight said, her gaze focused solely on a chair near the fireplace.

"Of course, of course. Don't let me hold you up."

Pinkie Pie eyes the room. The door behind her was firmly shut by her hammering skills, but the latch was gone. Most curious. Sugarcube Corner was exactly how she left it, however with some key differences. To her right was the kitchen, bar, and pantry, a well dressed unicorn was sipping hot cocoa over there. There was a large bed and two baby carriages as well. It was all incredibly homely and inspired by warm and tingly feelings. A large dining table was at the far end, a place of many a warm conversation. To Pinkie's front was the living space. A warm and snugly rug, two sofas with a table between them, and the roaring fireplace. The sight always warmed her heart, but not today. The roaring fire was obscured by a purple pony, none other than Twilight Sparkle. She frowned. To her left was another table, smaller this time. On busy nights, that was where customers would hang out and play card games. A blue pegasus with a rainbow mane was sitting there. On the far side was more storage with more supplies. It looked homely, but not. There was still that key difference that changed everything for Pinkie.

"Where are the Cakes?" She asked no one in particular.

"The Cakes took off for the holiday, visiting family in Appleloosa. They left me in charge." It was the loudmouth pegasus from earlier. She stood up from her seat and trotted over. Pinkie now got a good look at her since she came out of the shadows and the sight was something. The pegasus was wearing a pegasus enclave aviation uniform and the insignia on her sleeve suggested she was a general. On top of that, she had several scars on her face as well as a prosthetic left wing. Pinkie also took notice of the hefty wingpistol on her right side.

"Is that so? Mrs. Cake left you, a pegasus general, in charge?" Pinkie peered closely at the pegasus. To her credit, she didn't budge. After a few uncomfortable seconds, she grinned. "That checks out!"

"I'm Rainbow Dash." The pegasus stuck out a hoof, which Pinkie accepted gladly.

"The Wonder Bolt. Wow, I never would have thought I would meet you here!" Pinkie grinned a little too wide. Now, Rainbow looked caught off guard.

"How do you know that name, mud pony?" She growled, her wings twitching, the right one especially.

"We met, once upon a time, in the Battle of Earth." Pinkie started.

"You mean Pegasopolis." Rainbow Dash corrected.

"Unicornia!" Rarity called out from the bar. She quieted and went back to her drink when she realized everypony was looking at her.

"Nope. It doesn't matter what the battle is called anymore, because it's now called Equestria!" She giggled but then turned serious in a split second. "We have met, Dashie. You were dropping those nimbus bombs down into the earth pony trenches, many of my friends died that day. Even my twitchy tail couldn't save them. So remind me, why did the Cakes, the owners, who are both earth ponies, I might add, put you in charge?" Pinkie was nose to nose with Rainbow who was visibly trembling, but not from being scared.

"Fuck off, mud pony, you don't know anything." Rainbow shoved the pink earth pony who didn't tumble like she expected, instead she rubber banded back and smacked the pegasus in retaliation. She crashed to the ground with a surprised expression before getting tackled by Pinkie.

"Then make me know." Pinkie all but whispered, a fierce look in her eyes.

"I said, FUCK OFF!" Rainbow bucked her hard and rolled to the side. She wasn't called the Wonder Bolt for no reason, after getting to a safe distance, she propelled herself to her hooves, drew her wingpistol and took aim, all within a minute. Since the Battle for Pegasopolis was more than several years ago, she was impressed she still had it. Then she scoffed, of course she still had it. She was awesome. Her self-congratulations went to an immediate standstill when she noticed a barrel in her face. The pink earth pony was right in front of her with a pistol drawn. The two stared each other down, barrels of death trained on both of them, daring one another to pull the trigger.

"Girls!" A magical hue shone over their pistols and before anypony could fire, they were ripped out of their grasps. The two glared at the one who dared and Rarity stared back with an equally grim expression. "Enough blood has been shed over the years, and definitely not over these lovely carpets!"

Their stare down was broken when the door slammed open again.

"CLOSE THE DOOR BEHIND YOU, THE LATCH IS BROKEN!"
"Darlings, it is far too cold to be out and about!"
"Hold it and hammer planks in. The hammer and nails are by the door."
"Some meanie meanie broke the door."

"Sh…shut the fuck up!" Rainbow spluttered before smacking the earth pony, well, tried to. Pinkie danced around the blow and somehow made it across the room in one second flat. Normally Rainbow would be impressed, but she couldn't allow herself to be impressed with mud ponies.

Applejack was annoyed, more than annoyed. She was mad. That fiasco with the caravan, she should've never let those ponies on, especially that hornhead, Sparkle, had her looking for her rifle and her prisoner in that fucking blizzard. Luckily, Fluttershy didn't go far and was crying underneath the wreckage. Applejack immediately chained her to her right hoof, so the featherhead would be forced to trot with the earth pony. Her rifle was another matter, took several shivering minutes until she found it near the well.

After gathering everything, she bucked the door down and was immediately assaulted with noise. "SHUT THE FUCK UP." The noise quieted and the orange earth pony went to work hammering in the planks. She was even more ticked off, who the fuck broke the door? All the while, Fluttershy was shivering and whimpering beside her, the chains tinkling.

"Good heavens! What have you done to the poor dear?" Rarity immediately abandoned the two, grabbed a blanket with her magic, and hurried over to Fluttershy. She attempted to cover the poor dear up with a blanket when she was shoved.

"Back up, bitch. She's mah prisoner, mah bounty." Applejack glared down at the fuming unicorn, before looking back up and staring at each and everypony. "This goes for all of y'all. This 'ere is Fluttershy. She's wanted dead or alive for murder. 10,000 bits. That money's mine, fillies. Don't wanna share it, and ah ain't gonna lose it. When Celestia raises that sun, ah'm takin' this filly into Ponyville to hang." She paused, dead silence as the four stared back. Nothing but whimpers, the crackle of the fireplace, and the roaring of the storm. "Now, is anypony here committed to stopping' me from doing that?" There was no answer from anypony. Twilight looked half asleep, the white unicorn was fretting about her 'ruined' tail, Pinkie and that cyan pegasus kept on glancing at each other, and all the while, Fluttershy was cowering behind Applejack. "Really? Nopony got a problem with this?"

Nothing.

"Well…ah guess that's very fortunate for me. However, ah hope y'all understand, ah can't just, take yer word." Applejack was moving around the room, slowly towards the unicorn while eyeing everypony. "Circumstances force me to…take…precautions." She was right above the fallen unicorn, still nursing her tail. She then looked up when Applejack's shadow fell on her.

"Precautions, you say. Darling, if you want something from me, you better spit it out." Applejack sighed from the response. She was one of those high falutin' pony types, gallivanting their wealth and power like it means nothing.

"What ah mean is that ah'm gonna take yer gun, sugarcube." The earth pony had her rifle out, but in more of a laissez-faire attitude kind of way.

"Certainly not! How else is a lady supposed to defend herself? Complain and whine? Admittedly, that has worked for me in the past, I would not part myself with my gun for anything." She then flicked her muzzle into the air in the haughtiest manner. Applejack ground her teeth. This mare was getting on her nerves.

"Listen, miss…?"

"Rarity of the Belle Enterprise. And who may you be?"

"Miss Rarity. Ah wasn't asking."

"How rude, and what of the others? Those ruffians, Rainbow Dash and whoever that pink pony is, both have guns themselves. Go deal with them." She made a shooing gesture with her hoof. Applejack wasn't looking all too pleased.

"And ah will, but if ya please?" She held out a hoof and with obvious reluctance and unnecessary drama, Rarity relinquished her dainty pistol. Applejack scoffed at the size, even unicorn weapons were useless. "Mighty kind of ya."

Applejack then stalked off towards Pinkie and Rainbow Dash, ignoring the scoff Rarity so clearly hid, Fluttershy following with whimpers. By now, the two had separated and were now on opposite sides of a table. When Applejack trotted up, neither broke eye contact to look up.

"Ah need yer iron, and ah ain't asking."

"Fuck off, bitch."
"I'm busy! Come back later."

Applejack cocked her rifle and cleared her throat. "Perhaps y'all didn't understand. Ah ain't takin' any chances with mah prisoner, so that means ah will need yer iron. Hoof em over."

Rainbow looked up from her stare down and glared at the earth pony. That face sparked a memory in Applejack's head. She knew that face, sure, it was many years later and the pony was aged, wrinkled and had some gray hairs, but that was definitely her. On the pegasus' part however, "And perhaps you didn't understand me, mud pony. I'm a fucking general, I don't take orders from low lives like you, scum." She had her gun out too and had it pointed at the earth pony.

Before Applejack could open her mouth, a knife seemed to materialize in the air and it was pointed right to Rainbow's throat. "Put the gun down." Twilight emerged from the shadows, eliciting a dramatic gasp from Pinkie who immediately went silent when a gun was also pointed at her. The unicorn waited for the pegasus to do what she was asking of, but it was taking too long so Twilight put some pressure on the skin, causing blood to emerge, tainting the blade. Rainbow put the wingpistol down. "Good. Blink if your calm."

She sneered, but she blinked.

"Did she blink?"

"Yea." Applejack replied, slowly dragging the wingpistol towards her before the pegasus could grab it again.

"Alright. Blink if you're going to remain calm."

She was positively seething, but she blinked.

"Did she blink?"

"Yea." She now had the gun safely stored in her saddlebags.

"Good." Twilight then left the scene, returning to her seat by the fireplace, meticulously cleaning her blade with a white cloth. Applejack was both grateful and astounded, but she quickly regained her composure.

"Right, now that goes fer you too, Pinkie. Hoof em over." The pink earth pony frowned but shook her mane out. Out came out seven different types of guns, all pistols. After a few seconds of utter disbelief by everypony in the room, Applejack recovered quickly as possible and grabbed those too. She then brought all nine over to the kitchen where she then proceeded to demolish all of them with well precise blows. Each thump and each sound of snapping metal caused a frightened screech from Fluttershy. "Shuddup." She didn't. Applejack had enough after the seventh and dished out a blow, leaving the pegasus wailing as silently as she could, her nose a complete bloody mess.

Applejack snorted and took the pieces and bucked them into the snow. In order to do that, she ended up opening the door which caused some screeching and annoyed grumbles. While the orange earth pony was doing that, Pinkie slowly backed off and made her way to the kitchen without attracting anypony's attention.

There, she looked around. She had the greatestest, most splendidest, and the bestest idea in the history of ideas! She was going to make cupcakes, now, if only she could find the ingredients. If she knew the Cakes, and she's pretty sure she knows the Cakes, they always have their flour in the top left drawer, the butter and milk in the right fridge, and the sugar in the bottom middle cabinet. The rest of the ingredients are in her mane, for all those baking emergencies. Then she noticed something. A still warm oven with a pie inside. She opened her mouth to question Dashie but then the door slammed shut.

"Fuck this door, ah'm having a real shitty day." Applejack cussed as she pounded the nails into the doorframe, keeping it tight. Fluttershy whimpered next to her, her eyes gleaming with something fierce. Pinkie blinked and Fluttershy was back to normal.

"Oh, you're having a shitty day?" Rainbow pushed herself up to her hooves, completely unaware that Pinkie was gone. So was Rarity. Wait, Pinkie glanced around wondering where the white unicorn disappeared to. It turns out, she went back to the bar to check out the alcohol. That unicorn is something else, Pinkie giggled, then she sobered.

Applejack pushed her way past Rainbow and made her way to Twilight. The two struck up a conversation but it was too low for Pinkie to hear. Rainbow huffed and went back to her corner and closed her eyes, but before she could relax, Pinkie was there. As in, right next to her.

"Hi, Dashie! I was just wondering…" Pinkie ignored the "Holy! Gah! Shitfuck…" and continued talking. "…on what we're going to have for dinner, considering you're the host and all."

"Holy shit, mud pony. You do NOT sneak up on a general like that!" The pegasus recovered from her earlier tumble and stood up, determined to beat the pink pony into a pulp.

"Should've been prepared." She replied with a sickly sweet smile. The problem was that she was right and Rainbow hated her for that. What she needed to do, was to calm down. So she calmed down.

"We're having daisy pie. It's in the oven right now." The pegasus muttered before ushering the strange earth pony away. She complied, thankfully. She wouldn't know what she would have done if the bitch hadn't followed her orders.

While Pinkie scampered away, Twilight was lounging. She had her eye on everypony, none of them seemed trustworthy in the slightest. She helped Applejack because of the deal they had earlier and maybe that would help her in the long run, but while she might have gained an ally, she definitely got an enemy in Rainbow Dash. Then the orange earth pony came over and sat across from her.

"Yes?"

"Ah wanted to thank ya. Promises are important to me, and mah granny sure as hell would've hugged ya right now, a hornhead keeping their promise to a mud pony like me. Who woulda thought ah would get to see the day." Applejack chuckled, but nothing about her posture said she lowered her guard. Fluttershy sat behind the chair like an obedient dog.

"I'm not an untrustworthy pony, it's society and the war depicting the races as separate beings. It's all horseshit." Twilight spat on the floor, her face clearly depicting her hatred for the racism in modern Equestria.

"Perhaps ah've misjudged ya, Twi. Yer not bad a pony, fer a unicorn."

A few hours later with little to no talking, Pinkie announced it was time for dinner. The six mares made their way to the large dining table and set on various sides of it. Rarity sat at the end with several napkins and inlaid cutlery. Applejack sat with Fluttershy on the other end, the orange pony helping feed the pegasus. Twilight sat near Applejack, but not too close. Pinkie sat on the other side of Rarity and Rainbow Dash got the middle, the opposite side of Twilight.

In front of all was a large piece of pie, delicious looking pie. Everypony dug in with various tempos and grace. Rarity and Twilight with the most grace whilst Pinkie and Rainbow ate theirs the fastest. It was during this time, things began to go downhill.

"So, Twilight, darling. Why are you, the personal student of Celestia, becoming Ponyville's sheriff, if you don't mind me asking." Rarity asked with a flutter of her eyelashes.

Twilight opened her mouth, an angry expression flushing her features, but before a word could come out, something was slammed down on the table. Everypony glanced at the sudden disturbance, which turned out to be Rainbow Dash. The pegasus was staring at Twilight with shock and horror, which was quickly replaced with fury.

"I KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING FISHY ABOUT YOU, YO…YOU BITCH!" While the five of them were looking, the pegasus somehow zipped to the other side of the table and had a whittling knife in her wing pointed at the unicorn. Before she could draw blood, Applejack kicked up her rifle into her hooves and cocked it.

"Ah think ya should put that knife down, sugarcube, else ya might get hurt." There was a stare down between the pegasus and the earth pony, all the while, Twilight was in the middle. The other spectators distanced themselves slightly, but were not looking too frightened. Pinkie was grinning, Rarity looked smug, and Fluttershy had a sadistic gleam. Wait. Twilight blinked and Fluttershy was cowering behind Applejack. Then a sudden jab to her ribs brought her back to reality.

"Fuck you, mud pony! This isn't your fight. This, this… HORNHEAD." She spat with such venom, Fluttershy squeaked with downright terror. "She was there! At the battle! The fucking bitch tore throw pegasi soldiers like they were nothing! Like they were fucking pieces of paper! Shit, like melted butter! Like, like…"

"Ah think ya made yer point, but we've all got grievances in that war. Now put down yer gun an' ain't no pony needs to get hurt." Applejack cautioned.

Twilight mused over the situation, it's funny how someponies forget that a unicorn can use magic. Carefully and expertly, she gripped the knife's handle and before the enraged pegasus could react, the tool was ripped from her grasp and was then thrown into the fire. Rainbow screeched with pure loathing and tried to tackle her, but Twilight was expecting that, and with magic, used the pegasus' momentum and let herself be catapulted into the wall on the other side of the room. Luckily the others were watching her as Twilight’s magic fizzled out. The cyan mare then slumped to the floor, no doubt unconscious.

"Well, ah'd say ya handled that alright, if ah do say so mahself." Applejack stowed away her gun and went back to eating like nothing had happened. That left Twilight to deal with Rarity. As she turned to face the white unicorn, Rarity chuckled nervously and slowly got off the bench.

"Perhaps I touched a sensitive topic, let us…forget about this, yes? You go your way and I go mine, how does that sound?" She took another step back, her smile wavering, her eyes uncertain. Twilight advanced.

"You don't get to talk about my teacher, neither do any of you! You're all just lowlives! The lot of you." Twilight gestured frantically at the gathered ponies, a wild look in her eyes. Applejack snorted, finished her food with one big gulp, and also stood up.

"Now, Twi, that wasn't friendly like, considerin' ah saved yer life and all. Ah don't mind about the others, mind you, but ah certainly do care about me. Ah would really prefer not to be lumped with these bitches." She chuckled without mirth and pulled her stetson low.

"A bitch!? Why I never!" Rarity scoffed loudly and immediately forgot about the looming purple unicorn and faced the earth pony that dared beseech her honor. "I'll have you know that I am pure at heart and give to the poor!"

"The poor, meaning what exactly?" The orange mare now had her hoof on her rifle and was leaning close. "Meaning…us, mud ponies, perhaps?" The beginning of a growl manifested in her throat.

"Miss earth pony! I assure you no such thing!" Rarity helped a hoof to her chest, never in her life had she been so offended.

"The name's Applejack, ya be sure to remember that, hornhead." She spat on the floor before trotting to the other side of the room, dragging Fluttershy along with her. The poor pegasus barely had time to finish her pie before she was dragged off, the yellow mare didn't complain, just whined a bit.

Rarity watched all of this with distaste, she couldn't believe she was going to spend the next few days with these ruffians, even her fellow unicorn was terrible. The mare in question was even using her hooves to eat instead of her magic. She had made her way back to her food when Applejack stood up against Rarity, but she kept one eye on the white unicorn.

Then Pinkie spoke up. "Say, you do have the letter, don't you?" Rarity and Twilight's heads snapped up and stared at the pink pony, the mare who wore a grin most sadist.

Twilight took one last mouthful, slammed the bowl down, and slowly advanced on the pink mare. As she spoke, low and menacing, her magic was touching the handle of her gun. "Be careful of what you say next, mud pony. You might end up on the wrong side of a barrel."

Rarity moved away slightly, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire. While her eyes were focused on the two in the middle of the room, she didn't notice a pegasus stirring, but Applejack did. Rainbow recovered quicker than anypony would've thought, but she screeched as she hurtled through the air towards Twilight, her teeth bared and a large cooking knife in a wing. Before anypony could react, Applejack whipped out her rifle and fired.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4:
Fluttershy's Got a Secret

About 20 minutes has passed since we last left our characters. Twilight volunteered to take Rainbow's dead body outside. Straws were drawn to see who'd help her. Rarity lost. Pinkie and Applejack had a vigorous debate about the legality of the self-defense murder that just transpired. Applejack, who was supremely confident of the legality of what just transpired, mostly ignored Pinkie. So really, it was just Pinkie who was arguing.

After enough seconds had passed, Pinkie left and went rummaging through Rainbow's saddlebags right after lighting some candles. Applejack had her rifle out at all times, not letting Fluttershy or Pinkie out of her sight. Fluttershy was cowering in the corner, but hasn't moved much since the murder took place.

"GASP!" Pinkie said while rummaging through Rainbow's saddlebags.

Let's go back a little.

20 minutes ago, Applejack shot Rainbow Dash before she could collide with Twilight. But about an hour before that, something equally as important happened, but not everypony saw it. While Rarity was drinking, Pinkie and Rainbow were talking about dinner, and Applejack and Twilight were chatting about their agreement.

"Ah wanted to thank ya. Promises are important…"

Somepony, poisoned the daisy pie.

"…er not bad a pony, fer a unicorn."

And the only one to see her do it… *gunfire* …was Fluttershy.

That's why this chapter is called…Fluttershy's Got a Secret.

"GASP!" Pinkie said while rummaging through Rainbow's saddlebags.

"What is it?" Applejack asked, curious as to what she found.

"Dashie was putting her pie pieces into her saddlebag! She must have not really like pie and was sparing our feelings, that's so kind." Pinkie smiled bittersweetly, seemingly not caring that she was standing in her blood.

"If ya say so."

The door opened admitting Twilight and Rarity, both covered in so much snow, it looked like their pelts were white. Applejack mused, then blinked. Rarity's coat was white. She watched them just like she watched her prisoner and that suspicious pink pony. Despite helping her, she couldn't help but not trust Twilight. Not help but not trust anypony. The two quickly shut the door and hammered in the nails and wood. That was when Fluttershy started humming, then that humming turned into soft singing. All the while, everypony seemed entranced. They hadn't heard her voice in all the time spent in this cabin.

At the Gala, in this cabin
I'm going to see them all!
All the ponies, I'll befriend them at the Gala!
All the unies, and the earthies
They will love me big and small!
We'll become good friends forever
Right here at the Gala!

There was something really haunting about the way she sung those words, like a promise she would do anything to keep. Applejack shook herself off from this shocked daze and raised her hoof, preparing to strike her, but before she could, a rumbling sensation gurgled in her stomach. Then she dropped to the floor. The sensation grew worse and worse and soon enough, it came up completely. Blood, pie, and alcohol. It came spewing out like a torrent. But Applejack was an earth pony.

She heaved herself up, trying her hardest to keep it all inside. Sometime during her heaving, her rifle was sent to the other side of the room. No matter. With her last remaining strength, she yanked down Fluttershy using the chain and threw up blood on her face. The pegasus screamed loudly before cackling loudly, a wild manic expression on her usually soft features. Applejack couldn't stand it. Pain was existence but that face took priority. Pulling her close once again, she wound up a punch that sent the pegasus back, but she couldn't get far because of the shackles. The orange earth pony growled and with determination only an Apple could have, she heaved herself to the pegasus and pounded her hooves into her face. She only got in two more blows before she collapsed onto the yellow mare, dead.

Twilight and Rarity watched this in horror and before they knew it, Pinkie was also on the floor heaving out her guts. The pink earth pony had a sickly, blood-stained grin when she pulled herself back to her hooves.

"The bitch poisoned the pie." She coughed out a laugh which lasted only a few seconds, resulting with her back on the floor, more blood spewing out. However, just like Applejack, she was an earth pony. With crazy strength, she ruffled through her mane and pulled out an impossibly huge minigun. Twilight shrieked and dove behind the bar, Fluttershy ducked behind Applejack's corpse, but Rarity wasn't fast enough.

With maniacal laughter, Pinkie let it rip. With her dying breath, she shot up the entire place. All the while, she yelled obscenities, most of them directed at Rainbow. From what Twilight could hear over the gunfire and glass shattering, Rainbow had killed the Cakes and was planning to kill them all. The hailstorm lasted for a full minute before a choked gasp signalled Pinkie's end. Twilight waited another few seconds or so before popping back up and gazed in dismay at the chaos caused.

Pinkie lay slumped over her minigun which in turn sat atop the dining table. Rarity was also shot up, laying in front of the front door, the light behind her eyes gone, her beautiful dress in shreds. Fluttershy was still alive and was pulling on Applejack's chains, her teeth bared. Around everypony, nearly every bottle on the counter was broken, most of the windows had bullet holes, the furniture was destroyed, and there was fire in the corner because of a knocked over lantern.

Twilight staggered upwards, pure confusion and rage on her face. She had no idea how she could feel these two conflicting emotions, but she did. She trotted closer, stumbling a bit on Rarity's corpse, but ultimately came close enough to see Fluttershy's marred face.

The pegasus looked up and her face split open with a grin. Her buttery yellow coat and pink mane didn't look all that yellow or pink. Just various shades of red and black. Twilight looked down at Applejack. The once proud and stubborn mare, reduced to a battered deadweight, still holding onto Fluttershy despite moving on to the next world.

Twilight sniffed and spat to the side. Her horn sparkled and the fizzed out. Twilight cursed and decided to take out her pistol with her hoof and cocked it. The barrel pointed towards Fluttershy's bloodied head and the mare merely looked on with an insane look.

“You will love me.”

Then everything went black with pain. Twilight's ears rung with the echoes of a loud bang and from a single look down, she came to the conclusion that she was shot with a shotgun. Then the screaming began.

Chapter 5

Chapter 5
The Two Passengers

A stagecoach traveled through the snow at a reasonable pace. The snowstorm was barely visible on the horizon, but the driver knew of it. The scenery was pristine and beautiful, depicting a winter wonderland. Unlike the one that will pass through here later, this stagecoach is handled by professionals. The driver, a brown stallion named O.B., was directing a team of six other earth ponies who were galloping at sustainable speeds. These seven had been traveling these roads for many years, they knew every shortcut, every pothole, every fallen tree. Today, they were traveling to Sugarcube Corner, a few hundred meters out from Ponyville.

It didn't take long for the team to pull up to the cabin. While the six pulling ponies took their bridles off, O.B. opened the door to the inside of the stagecoach. The first one out was a cyan pegasus with a shock of rainbow hair. She had hard magenta eyes, watching everything. The second pony that came out was an orange unicorn with a fiery mane. She had a cheerful enough smile, but her teal eyes had the same hardness, maybe even more.

The two made their way to the front door, which was already open due to the six tramping inwards. O.B. remained outside to take the stagecoach inside the barn to protect it from the elements.

Sunset Shimmer stepped hoof inside Sugarcube Corner moments after Rainbow Dash and she took it all in. The six ponies made their way to where Mrs. Cake was preparing coffee with a pleasant smile and a motherly air. They were jostling each other, laughing with the freedom of a content pony, and chatting with the matron. In the back, a cradle sat, carrying two foals. Twins, Sunset would guess. A pegasus and an unicorn. Very curious, considering that Mrs. Cake and Mr. Cake are both earth ponies. Speaking of the patron of the family, he was sitting down in a comfortable chair opposite a white unicorn. The two of them seemed focused on a game of chess, commenting every so often.

By the time Sunset finished taking it all in, O.B. stepped in next to her. The unicorn was startled into moving to the side, the earth pony sure was fast.

"Why, miss Shimmer. Have ya ever had a taste of the most delicious coffee in all of Equestria before?" The brown stallion took his hat off with a content expression and placed it on a hook.

"No, not that I recall." She replied with a smile.

"Then you're in luck, because this is exactly where ya need to be in order to receive such a blessing. The Cakes, they sure know how to make their pastries and coffees. Helps with the long rides." O.B. chuckled jovially before dragging Sunset over to the other six and Mrs. Cake. "Ya simply must try a cup! Ya won't regret it."

Meanwhile, Rainbow moseyed her way to the chess game, not that she was interested in it, but because the unicorn looked way too posh to be in a dump like this. Such a statement meant she had a story to tell. As a general, Rainbow knew firsthoof how dangerous a story could be.

"Oh, hello darling. Curious of the intricacies of the wonderful game of chess?" The unicorn battered her eyelashes, which made Rainbow sick. "I must say, Mr. Cake sure is quite the opponent."

"Yeah. I'm kind of new to the game, so I was hoping to develop strategies through watching others play." The pegasus lied.

"Perfectly reasonable, darling. I have been known to wipe the floor with chess. Only if Mr. Cake agrees." Rarity smiled beautifully, but there was something behind it. It made Rainbow on edge.

"Of course. I play better with spectators." The yellow stallion chuckled before moving his knight. The unicorn responded with a feral grin and placed her queen in a check position.

While Mr. Cake was cursing about his luck, Sunset was trying out a cup of coffee and she was loathe to admit it, but it tasted heavenly. Guess mud ponies know their way around beverages. She murmured her appreciation and then took another sip.

O.B. was talking to his pull ponies, thanking them for their hard work and dedication. The six in turn congratulated him on his expert navigational skills. Then as if it were a joke, the seven of them started laughing uproariously.

Taking one last sip, Sunset placed her empty coffee cup on a counter and made her way to Mrs. Cake. The blue earth pony hummed a little ditty while preparing a pie. When the unicorn coughed to announce her presence, the mare looked up with an apologetic smile.

"Oh sorry, dearie. Is there something you need?" Behind her, her foals started crying. "Oh, excuse me. My little babies need some attention, you know how it is." She giggled and moved away, grabbing some peppermint sticks on the way. Sunset smiled pleasantly to show she didn't mind, but in reality she minded, she minded a lot. She never liked foals, always loud and needy. She watched as their mother gave each foal a stick and the two quieted down, now enraptured with their treats. "Sorry about that, dearie. Was there something?"

"Oh yeah, I wanted to know how much a peppermint stick is." Sunset pointed at a jar with said candy.

"That'll be two sticks for a bit."

"Sounds delightful, here you go." Sunset dropped a bit into Mrs. Cake's outstretched hoof and in return got two peppermint sticks. "Thank you."

"No problem, dearie." Mrs. Cake then proceeded to walk away to a glass jar filled with bits.

Looking at Rainbow who was looking at her, Sunset nodded. And all at once, Tartarus came down upon Sugarcube Corner.

Sunset whipped out several revolvers with her magic and started firing them. The first bullet struck Mrs. Cake and she went down with a scream. The second lodged itself into a pull pony's skull and collapsed dead without a sound. Several more hit their marks. On the other side of the room, Rainbow pulled out a wingpistol and shot Mr. Cake several times, but he kept on moving. He struggled and groaned in agony as he tried to make his way to the door, but another bullet to his head ended that.

While Sunset was committing mass murder, O.B. somehow escaped the onslaught and tried to escape outside. Rainbow noticed and pointed her gun to the now closed door and fanned her hammer. There was a pained yelp and the door opened slowly, the hatch shot off. Rainbow took off and followed the blood trail the earth pony left, leading up to the back of the cottage. While she was tracking, the wailing of infants were silenced by two shots.

The cyan pegasus finally found her mark trying to hide in the log shed. "Please, please! I'm just the driver! I won't tell anypony, promise!"

"Yeah, but no." Rainbow shot him.

Several minutes later, Rainbow trotted back in and saw Sunset and the other unicorn in a showdown. Despite carrying four pistols and the white mare only having one, the unknown unicorn wasn't backing down. Rainbow trotted in closer.

"Well, it seems we're at a stalemate."

"So it seems, darling, so it seems."

"Do you need any help? Mmmf!" The pegasus asked before a silk scarf was wrapped around her mouth, knocked the wingpistol out of her grip, and then tied to a post, effectively taking Rainbow out of the equation. She started yelling through her improvised gag, but Sunset didn't even bat an eye in her direction.

"I'm impressed, that was some skillful magic." Sunset said, ignoring the raging cyan mare.

"Thank you. I'm as equally impressed your ability to kill those mud ponies without breaking a sweat. Although, killing those foals were uncalled for. I won't tolerate that." Rarity replied, her easy smile never faltering.

"Not much we can do about it now, unless you know the ancient rites to necromancy?"

"That I do not."

"Then I propose a truce. You're clearly a mare of many talents, just let me do my business and then we'll let you leave unscathed." Sunset proposed, an idea formulating in her head. "An extra mare could add to the authenticity."

"Perhaps, if you tell what you're planning." Rarity was hard eyed and hard willed, never breaking contact, never letting herself feel the strain of constraining the pegasus and keeping her gun aloft.

"There's a mare coming through that I've got beef with. A unicorn you might know. I want her dead for taking my rightful place."

"Ah, a revenge story, is it? Then I accept your offer." Rarity lowered her gun slowly and stuck out her hoof. The mysterious unicorn also lowered her revolvers and bumped her hoof against hers and a deal was struck. "I do have one question, however, why is the pegasus here?"

"Oh, she's here for an entirely different reason. Apparently, another mare is holding her friend captive. She wants the bounty hunter dead." The pegasus responded to this by growling really loudly, her wide magenta eyes betraying her fury. "Are you going to release her?"

"I don't know, darling. She does seem aggressive, I wouldn't want her killing me after we struck such a nice deal." Rarity inspected her hooves, ignoring the massive migraine the pegasus was giving her. Really, how do mages do it, scratch that, how do battle mages do it!

"I'll talk to her." Sunset nodded to the white unicorn before moseying towards Rainbow. "Hey Rainbow, I know you're strung up like a piñata and it's all because of this mare, but it would really help if this mare was, you know, alive. Two ponies instead of one would definitely help our causes. Oh, and please don't screw up. Don't give yourself away by trying to talk to Fluttershy."

Sunset waited and after a while, she received a nod.

"Good. You can let her go now." The white unicorn released her magic with the same amused smile and Sunset was pleasantly surprised to see that Rainbow didn't immediately tackle her.

"Don't ever do that again, bitch. I've got enough problems with this hornhead, don't need another one." Rainbow felt satisfied that that got a reaction out of the prissy unicorn. She wisely kept her mouth shut after that, she didn't want to get Sunset mad by accidentally breaking her deal with the white unicorn. "Alright, Sunny, let's go clean up."

During the next four hours, Sunset and Rainbow chucked the bodies down the well, put away the stagecoach, tidied up around Sugarcube Corner, stashed weapons for further use, and waited for Twilight's stage to arrive.

Without the help of the mysterious unicorn, the two mares finished with mere seconds to spare before the storm rolled in. When they came inside, the white mare was perusing through the bar, checking out the various bottles.

"Hey, bitch." Sunset cringed at Rainbow's choice of words, but she didn't care. The hornhead didn't help at all.

"My name is Rarity." Rarity replied tersely, not even glancing in her direction. That infuriated Rainbow even more but a hoof stopped her. Looking at Sunset, the unicorn shook her head, forcing the pegasus to calm herself down.

"Rarity, I'm going to be hiding in the cellar and Rainbow Dash will stay up here with you. Don't give up our intentions or my location and you won't find yourself in this world anymore, you got that?" Sunset said, her voice betraying nothing.

"Sure, darling."

"Let me here you say, you got it."

"I got it."

"Don't fuck up." Sunset left and probed the floor for a hatch with her magic. The three mares suddenly heard a loud crash, audible even over the roar of the snowstorm. "That must be them." Sunset quickly found the hatch, opened it and slipped inside.

Rainbow moseyed towards the corner table and propped herself up, eyeing the door. She fought to keep the grin off her face, she was going to meet her foalhood friend after so long. The door busted open and a wrapped up unicorn stumbled inwards. Rainbow forced the smile down and started yelling.

Chapter 6

Last Chapter:
Pegasus Pony, Unicorn Hell

Sugarcube Corner was a mess. There was a fire growing in one of the corners. Of the seven ponies who came in, only three were alive. Rainbow Dash's body was outside in the cold, Rarity's was by the doorway all shot up, Pinkie Pie lay face down on the dining table, and Applejack had coughed up her lungs near the fireplace.

Twilight Sparkle somehow made her way to the bed and promptly collapsed on it. Her left hind leg was a bloody mess and some of the shrapnel made their way into her belly. She clambered onto it with one hoof carrying her pistol pointed at Fluttershy and another hoof pressed to her side. She was not going to make it, but she sure ain't leaving this world with that bitch still alive, underneath the floorboards. All the while, through her struggle, she didn't dare leave Fluttershy out of her sight, who was still by Applejack's side.

"Whoever!" Twilight paused to take a breath. Bleeding to death is a fucking bitch. "Alright, whoever shot me in the leg, get the fuck up here! Or I'm going to shoot the fucking featherhead, right now!"

Twilight had never experienced anger at this level before. Something inside of her just snapped just like her leg bone earlier. All of her inhibitions cultivated over the years as Princess Celestia's student was gone. Politeness and cold mannerisms vanished as well.

"Ha! Shoot her, see if I care."

Twilight froze and looked to Fluttershy. The pegasus didn't seem to register what was said and was still in her crazed state. Twilight wasn't sure if she should chalk it up as shock or if she was just that crazy. But that voice. She knew that voice. It also sounded genuine, the pony truly did not care about the pegasus.

"Aren't you here for her though?" Twilight cursed inwardly, she wished she still had her dual pistols. Two of them would definitely help right now, she couldn't decide where she should point her single pistol.

"Fuck no. I'm here for you, Twilight Sparkle." She definitely knew that voice. "I want to come up. Can I come up?"

"Be my guest." Twilight watched as the hatch slowly opened, revealing a fiery mane and orange face she knew VERY well. "Sunset Shimmer." She opened fire, but the unicorn was ready and threw up a shield.

"That wasn't very nice, Twilight." Sunset grinned like they were old pals. "Besides, we're in the same boat, aren't we? We both got kicked out from Canterlot, didn't we?"

"Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about!" Twilight flicked her hoof and the pistol jerked back again. Another bullet bounced off Sunset's shield. The purple unicorn grimaced, if only she could use her magic. She tried, but her horn just sparked resulting in nothing.

"Ah, I see now!" Sunset started giggling, which then turned into full blown laughing. "Prodigy Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia, unable to cast a spell? Priceless!"

Then her head was blown off.

Twilight stared in shock as Sunset's headless body flopped back down the stairs into the cellar. Past her, Rarity was sitting up with utter hatred in her eyes, Applejack's rifle wrapped in her magic. Sunset must've only had her shield facing her and not surrounding her. Amateur.

"That…was for the…foals…" Rarity wheezed out before falling back to the floor, no doubt dead.

Twilight too was fading fast, her blood finally slowing down to a trickle. But she definitely had the strength to do one last act. Raising her hoof, she pointed it towards Fluttershy and…wait. Where was the pegasus. Twilight bolted upwards and tried to look around but before she could, a gun was cocked right next to her.

"Fuck me." Twilight Sparkle was no more.

Fluttershy sat into a comfy chair next to the raging inferno that nearly burned away the supporting pillars. The roof was going to collapse soon, but the pegasus wasn't looking at that, nor was she concerned about it.

In her hoof was a bloody parchment taken off Twilight's body. Her other hoof was still chained to Applejack’s foreleg, but Applejack’s foreleg was no longer attached to Applejack. At the bottom of the letter, it was signed by none other than Princess Celestia. Fluttershy chuckled weakly. The smoke was getting into her lungs. She slowly opened it and began to read.

My Faithful Student,

It is with great regret that I must send you away. You need time to recover and Canterlot is not the right place. Since the Battle of Equestria, your magic has been erratic and I've heard the wilderness of the countryside does wonders to the psyche.

I am sending you to Ponyville, you will love it there. Maybe even make some new friends. Come back to me when you're ready, I would be happy to see you fully recover. Write to me. I can't say more, Luna's calling. Have a pleasant journey!

Your Teacher,
Celestia

P.S. Talk to your brother, he might be able to get you a job there.

Fluttershy scoffed and threw the letter into the flames that were licking at her hooves. She didn't feel it, like she didn't feel many things. The pegasus thought back to the letter and concluded that Princess Celestia was just one big bitch. The Princess of Bitch. That thought made Fluttershy giggle.

Overhead, a support beam cracked. Guess it was time's up. Fluttershy gazed at her new friends, scattered all over the burning cabin.

"Told you, you would love me."

Author's Note

I DID IT! I finally did it. Holy, that was...something. I'm glad how this turned out, there were some things I could've added, things I probably should've added, but I'm tired. I want to work on other things.
Hoped you liked it!