Gale had made the right call, as disheartening as it was for Rini.

While he couldn’t put names to faces, Cole confirmed there were others aboard the landship. Pinch would’ve damned all of them had not been stopped. Even so, Rini couldn’t linger and chose to stay on task, using the past hour or two to keep herself busy.

Clearing out any would be troublemakers was sound at first, and something Gale was happy to assist with. After that however, the last thing Rini wanted was to see his face again that night. Instead he was delegated to guiding groups towards the Rustbucket.

Threats to them be damned she’d deal with them herself if it meant preventing more blood from being spilled.

In the time since she’d worked tirelessly to find and allocate hiding space within the vents and maintenance ducts. Behind wall panels, below floor tiles, within any amount of unused space. If it could fit a pony they’d get crammed inside, and if not their luggage would.

She’d managed to smuggle several ponies inside by this point, at least a few dozen groups if not a few more then that. The scrapper lost count a little while ago but no matter how many she hid, more were always ready.

It was becoming a problem, as now she was having to explore more and more to find space for them.

That meant skirting around the more populated areas of the vehicle bay.

Rini rounded a corner and peeked down a hall, with a group of five huddled behind her.

She scurred across and tried the door, only cracking it open just enough to peek inside. She was met by the shrill voice of a certain chihuahua, the same one that had hounded her earlier that day and hardened her temper when the memories came back.

There was also the smile from when she wiggled away from his would be punishment, but that was irrelevant.

He was talking to somedog but Rini couldn’t get sight without opening the door up, and such a risk wasn’t worth her curiosity. The mutt, short in both temper and stature, was mouthing off about something, mostly frustrations about the day, which did include her at some points.

“Is that who I think it is?” One of the ponies spoke up, it was Two Bits, “By my mother’s jewellery case, that’s the ruffian that tried to chase me down!”

Rini quickly moved to cover his mouth and quiet them. “Shh! This way is a no-go.”

She closed the door and peeled away, now going down the hall towards the other far off door.

It was well lit and she heard no muffled conversation of muted mumbling. Then again the Rustbucket’s internals did a fine job filling the air with meaningless noise, even without Percy’s help.

“Huh, the upper deck break room. Not a bad place actually, as long as they stay quiet I bet I can fit them in here.”

Rini opened the door slowly and crept inside. To her delight she found the place empty and signalled to the others who followed. She got to work popping open panels and moving maintenance doors. When that wasn’t enough she shifted the seats around, finding the spaces under the pillows hollow enough to fit a young colt and their brother.

All of this didn’t even account for the easier, if more detectable spots. The kind of places Rini could see herself hiding were she still little.

She’d managed to hide up to about half of the group before her heart suddenly skipped a beat. Her blood ran cold as she heard the flush of a nearby toilet. She turned and stared at the bathroom door and saw the red “occupied” sign under the handle.

“Oh crap.”

She need not say anything more, as the ponies still exposed ran for hiding spots. Pegasi perched above ceiling fans, a pair ran behind a powered down vending machine and others ducked behind a wooden counter in front of a built-in bar.

Two Bits even pulled a disproportionately large fancy table cloth from his coat and laid it atop a table, which he and a couple others slid under. The fabric overhanging enough to conceal them.

By the time the door opened, Rini found herself standing alone in the centre of the room.

Out walked a mutt she’d hoped not to encounter that night. One that made the air around her heavy and hot, like the stench of a hundred cigarettes.

Captain Caleb “The Dopehead” Gnash.

Rini stood up and fixed her posture. Maybe she could just pass herself off as busy and he’d leave? For a moment it seemed that way when she turned but the captain caught her before she had the time to make another move.

“Oh! Good evening, Miss Burrows!” He called to her, wearing that same comforting smile she’d met him with, same twitching body too.

Rini tore her eyes away and began making for the door. “H-Hey.”

“How convenient, I actually wanted to talk to you.”

“You did?” Rini felt a twinge of fear set in.

“Yes, so turn to face me please.” She cringed but did as instructed, already anxious as he continued.

“This is about the coffee. I’ll admit it's been a while since I’ve had a caffeine high, but I’m fairly sure it doesn’t give you the runs like it just did for me.” Caleb’s smile then dropped, and in its place raised a cold, hard glare upon her as he pulled his trousers up. “Or anydog for that matter.”

Rini took a step back. She raised a paw towards her face to scratch her cheek and held it there as she spoke. “Well! I don’t typically drink coffee so maybe I didn’t make it right? None of your soldiers offered to help me brew it.“

“Hmm, maybe, but it has made me curious. Just what was that family emergency you had? The one that involved your mother?”

“Oh uh, she had an accident.” Rini felt panic start to set in as she struggled to stay coherent.

The captain only hardened his glare and crept forward. He pulled open a nearby fridge door without looking inside and Rini held herself as a very chilly pony pushed forward a water bottle into his extending grip.

Caleb continued but bestowed a layer of steel into his voice. “What. Kind?”

“Uh, that morning. We got up earlier than usual so, I uh, helped her at her shop…she slipped inside the break room while the stove was on, and got burnt real bad.” She kept scratching the side of her neck as she spoke, not once pulling it away.

Caleb narrowed his eyes and twisted the cap off. Rini found frozen in place with a proverbial bead of sweat rolling down her head. She watched as the captain took a swig, not once taking his suspicious gaze off her.

He wasn’t buying it.

“Miss Burrows, do you mind turning around for me? I’d like to quickly search you.”

It was in that very moment that she realised two things.

One: She had Brambles’s gun, and two: She had Brambles’ s gun!

“Think fast Rini!” She looked at the water bottle and back at the bathroom door, before turning to him.

“Uh sure, but did you wash your paws first?”

Caleb snapped his digits, “Oh right!” He then turned around and almost left the stunned Diamidian. Rini shook her head from surprise and quickly dug through her tools, withdrawing her trusty pipe wrench and sneaking up behind him.

“Hey wait a second!” He looked down at the water bottle and pulled the cap off with his teeth, before wetting his mits and rubbing them together under the cold, crystalline liquid.

“Y-Your not gonna use soap?”

“Doesn’t the dirt just wash off by rinsing? You use soap for like, dishes and stuff.”

Her face contorted and cringed at that, and Rini brought the wrench down on the back of his head. Her short size however meant it didn’t become the knockout blow she was hoping for, and the captain let out a pained howl upon impact.

Now things got serious, at least for Rini.

“Gah you flank steak!” Caleb whipped around and hit Rini’s face with a backpaw. Her semi-swollen cheek positively exploded with pain and she was sent reeling.

The Greyhound managed to maintain balance, and the adrenaline kicked in. “What’s this about huh? Tryna take me out?” Caleb got on all fours and charged towards her, with jaws opening wide to flash gnarled sets of teeth.

Rini was faster and dived out the way. He tried pouncing upon her some more but each time her smaller size proved her too slippery for him to catch.

“Oh I see how it is, you wanna steal all the parking money for yourself!” He cried.

“Nope! Just Rusty!” Rini ducked under another strike and belted the mutt’s chest with her wrench. Managing to knock the air from his lungs, but as she raised her weapon to slam his head Caleb shoulder bashed her into a nearby cabinet.

Rini recovered quickly and dived away from another would-be strike. Now running around the main table with Caleb close behind, circling the room before extending her arm out to spill over several loose objects upon the room’s bar counter.

Caleb skidded to a halt before slipping and crashing upon the rolling bottles and spice grinders, instead turning about face to circle around.

However the circling had caused some level of dizziness and he struggled to run how he wanted. So seeing him come her way Rini prepared herself with the wrench and batted the captain as he ran past. He slammed into the table in the room’s centre pulling some of its cloth downwards with him.

For a brief moment, Rini could see the terrified look in Two Bit’s eyes from where she stood, a reminder of what she was fighting for.

With a glare, she hardened herself as Caleb got back up and charged her, only to once move away and see him smash into the counter where the ponies opposite it ducked down even further.

“Come on Caleb, war dog captain can’t beat some scrapper girl?”

A fire danced in his eye at that and as he rose, he grabbed a nearby chair by its upper frame and hoisted it above his head.

“Oh shi!-” Rini moved aside as the furniture piece narrowly flung past her and into one of the fridges, denting it.

While she’d managed to avoid the chair, Rini wasn’t left with the time needed to then avoid Caleb’s follow up and found herself thrown up against the vehicle bay’s wall. She scrambled to slip away but Caleb wouldn’t have it, and slammed her over and over again.

Rini could only flail about as the captain punched her head in over and over, his other paw pinning her in place.

She howled and barked in pain, shrill cries echoing throughout the room as the enraged hound then pressed both paws around her neck.

Her own strength had no chance of overpowering his and she kicked her hinds in vain. With no other options she tried to reach for the weapon in her pocket and raced against her own diminishing resolve. Rini turned her vision skyward and watched within her darkening sight as a vague shape then descended down upon her foe.

Moments later she felt her windpipe open up and she slumped to the floor. Caleb thrashing about as a pegasus harassed him from above.

She heard a voice call out and saw Two Bits emerge from under the table, galloping toward and ramming the mutt. “Come on everypony! We can beat this brute!”

Things fell to chaos as more ponies emerged from their hiding places to confront the captain. Unicorns hurled bolts of magic at him, earth ponies charged into his sides and at least two more pegasi raced to attack him.

Despite all of that Caleb wouldn’t go down easy, and his drug fueled ferocity was put on full display as he fought back.

For every bolt that hit him an earth pony was sent flying, and for every kick, punch or buck he’d return the favour two fold. Ponies were slammed against walls, pummelling with furniture or bitten and thrashed around like chew toys caught within his red ridden jaws.

Rini pushed on through her haze and climbed to stand with shaky limbs. Adrenaline making up for her lack of oxygen as she reached for her firearm just as Caleb did the same, now reaching his own limits.

The two met eyes and drew their guns…

And fired.

Author's Note

Happy Halloween! Kinda funny how the dates lined up with me posting this. Hope ya'll are enjoying the story so far, we're getting close to the end.