Red Rock

I looked at the encampment these obviously not bandits had set up in the middle of nowhere and could only shake my head. They looked like they should be on the streets in Manehatten, most were chunky and carried heavy weapons like a long sword or an axe but a few had crossbows. Their camp was basically in the shape off a badly drawn triangle with a crossbow wielding Pony keeping watch by a small lantern which illuminated him but nothing beyond a few metres of his position in the pitch black of the unforgiving night.

The Guards were all tired and by the looks of it hadn't switched shifts in hours if they were going to at all. There were three big tents inside with a small wooden table and a cart where four other thuggish and ridiculously dressed ponies considering our location chatted and played cards whilst getting slightly drunk every minute.

A specific tent was large than the other two and had a guard who actually looked like he was paying attention at the front. Other than that I guessed that the other ponies were all asleep. The rag marks definitely led to this camp and this wasn't any country club adventure from the city, these ponies meant some serious business.

Although they were all Earth Ponies as far as I could see I wasn't so sure what would happen if I charged in against the thirty of them…even I'm not that good…okay maybe I am but it would be a big mistake. So I drew out four throwing knives (a weapon I was unaccustomed to) from my belt and approached until I was five metres away from the first sentry and hiding behind a rock.

It looked easily enough and I had once participated in a fair doing this stuff so I had twenty minutes of experience under my belt. I aimed the first one and mistakenly threw it like a dart. It thudded into the wooden cart on the other side of the still loudly talking and annoying ponies.

I cursed mentally and drew another one, this time flinging it like a circus pony would. I thudded into the flimsy wooden guard rail behind the sentry and he was startled awake. He looked behind him and I thought "now" and rushed up to him before he could turn round and using the small knife I currently had in my hoof I slit his throat before he could gurgle a warning and alert somepony.

I caught him as he fell and silently placed him on the floor before pocketing the knives (which were basically the only thing I could use them for) and picking up the sentry's quite outdated Crossbow, glad for a weapon I was more adapted to. It was strung still and looked deadly, especially in my hands I supposed so I looked around the camp.

I could now take out another sentry but he may alert the other if he fell noisily and I didn't want that so instead I advanced up the camp, reaching the cart and taking cover behind it. On the other side, the gambling thugs loudly talked about some juicy pieces of information which I soaked up like a sponge.

"So yeah I heard the guy just never turned up and the spies in the guard say he is now traversing Equestria with the girl, so the boss mobilised everypony" said a deep and heavily drunk voice. "Wha...?" stumbled one guy whilst another exclaimed "Everypony in the Manehatten Mob"? The first thug chuckled at the ignorance of the other pony and declared "Every Thief, Cut-throat and illegal alcohol seller from Manehatten to Las Pegasus is all over Equestria to find this bastard and his friends". "Holy Celestia that's a Private Army" said another thug and another chuckled saying "Yeah well we found the girl and the guy's obviously gone under so we get our pay check after we haul her back to Manehatten and we retire to them fancy Canterlot estates".

It surprised me, I thought that the mare was simply some rich pony who disliked Celestia for spilling Punch on her and wanted her hateful enemy no matter what so had bribed me with fake cake to get her but this mare must have some contacts if she had hundreds of ponies on the streets, in the forests and deserts looking for me and Luna…my job just got harder all the time.

I looked around and saw that if I could just slip behind a tent and across the camp using it for cover I could get to the Guard guarding Luna and the others and use the Crossbow on him. With him out the way I could then storm the tent and hope they only kept prisoners in there.

My plan was perfect until a pony stepped out of the tent next to the cart and looked at my slightly crouched figure before opening his mouth to scream. I stopped him, dropping the Crossbow which clattered to the hard and rocky floor and breaking his neck with a rear of my fore-hooves before a stomp which snapped the life out of him.

"What the buck was that?" said somepony from the other side of the cart and I cursed, grabbing my Crossbow and aiming at a sentry on the other side who was still asleep and catching him in the back of the head. He fell and the thugs looked over to the other side of the camp as if the attacker had come from that direction.

"Wake Up!" cried a guard but there was no movement at first since these were thugs and thugs don't like being told what to do. However after somepony yelled "Lancer is dead!" the tents practically exploded as confused thieves and cut-throats poured out with half made suits and holding rusty axes and butter knives.

I drew my sword with my teeth and in a fluid motion brought it slashing across the chest of a young stallion with a scar down his eyelid. Next I switched to holding my sword with my hoof and stabbed the next pony that was still getting his tie tied right through the chest. He coughed and died quickly as I spun to the tent behind me and decapitated a pony with a battle cry in my lungs as he charged at me, butter knife raised.

The next ponies to come now had some groggy consciousness and the one which came at me from my front actually tried to cleave my head off. I dodged under the swing and sliced his belly open. His screams filled the camp and made panic which I needed and soon some ponies were running in the wrong direction.

I saw my blade drip red with fury and looked at the dozen lanterns all active around the camp. I strode over to one and sliced through the glass, cutting off the flame and plunging my section into darkness. Feeling where my enemy was going to be was mostly what I relied on but since I hear the screams a I hacked stabbed and slashed I guessed that I got it right.

However I was moving forwards and into the light and suddenly my foes were surrounding me. Three ponies all bearing swords and hatchets surrounded me and swung at me in an untimely fashion which lacked training completely and made them look like comedians. I dropped to the ground and swung my sword at everypony's leg in range and I heard the horrific sound as my blade sliced through six thick chunks which I preferred not to see.

The ponies all fell unconscious and died from blood loss soon but now the I'd cleared over three quarters of the camp the remaining quarter had pulled back and was now in a broken line of about nine ponies including the remaining sentry all armed with the same rusty weapons and the same shaky hooves. However the leader, the pony who'd been guarding the entrance to the doors looked calm and his emotions were completely masked by his face.

He looked exactly like a Royal Guard, even dressed in some a steel helmet and with a sword bearing the symbol of the Guard bathed in the candlelight. "Is he dead" whispered somepony in the line and I heard some shuffling before a very strict voice ordered Cress, go check it out and if he's dead shoot him in the head again with your crossbow.

There was more shuffling except far more slowly now and after five minutes what I assumed was the voice of Cress begged "Please sir, I don't want to" I distinctively heard the sound of a small trickle of what must have been urine as Cress wet himself and could only hate to imagine what their leader was going through right now.

The leader of these bad boys must have given him a look of such terror it forced him into moving because the next thing I heard was the quick hoof steps as Cree advanced quickly to the cart I was taking cover behind and tried to get a bead on me quickly. My sword was already through his head before his brain gave him the all clear to fire and Cress added to the death toll and dropped his Crossbow and quiver.

Since here were two Crossbows here I suddenly had a brainstorm and quickly grabbed hold of a Crossbow which lacked any bolt and fitted one into the mechanism, grunting only slightly to pull back the much heavier weapon than my old small one.

Then I assessed what I could do here and saw my options come up as either wait for them to figure out they can go and flank me or charge into the breach with my Crossbow's twanging and a heroic grin on my face. Everything made sense In option B except for the heroic Grin and instead of waiting to get older I grabbed the Crossbow's (which were heavy when held in a sole set of hooves) and leapt over the cart roaring nothing particular.

I shot the first bolt towards a chunky looking pony with caramel like hair and a blue coat, It hit him in the chest area and he collapsed dead. The other hit the leg of what almost looked like a colt and he along with several others gave up and deserted their post, running at top speed.

Now faced with the leader and his lieutenants, two stacks of pile driving meat I drew my sword and took up a fighting stance. "Cutter, Gutter kill this clown and bring me his head" ordered the boss as he drew his sword and simply set himself aside to watch the show.

Being the performer that I was, when Cutter or Gutter (I couldn't tell the difference) charged a me I stabbed one through the chest and ducked the other powerful yet clumsy axe swing and grabbed the axe the other had dropped and swiped his legs. The heavy axe cut into his legs and he cried out but not for long as I raised it over my head and bringing it down into his chest before retrieving my sword in seconds and facing off the next clown to mess with me on a particularly bad day such as this.

The Leader was clopping his hooves together and was nothing short of calling bravo for the bloody spectacle before me which I had painted across the rocky already red enough floors of these cursed Bad Lands. "You ever considered going tag-team man cause I'd be you partner" said the leader as he stepped up to a fighting stance.

He smiled and looked at my grim face and shrugged saying "Okay I'll be your foe, however a warning, I wasn't raised by a bunch muggers to slash and stab I was in the Royal Guard Training Camp and I was ousted for maiming one of my comrades or cutting his leg off so if you can take me on then by all means go ahead first hit free.

He led all his guard down and he must have full expected me to charge but instead I reared, bringing my forelegs up to the sword handle and drawing It back before flinging it in a spinning circle right into the belly of the pompous leader who'd pitifully signed his own death warrant.

He gurgled and tried to rise but my sword was holding him pinned to the floor. He looked up in fear as I came closer and begged "Please no, I have a foal, a family to provide for"! I wrapped my hoof around my sword and mercilessly drew it back so slowly that he could feel his intestines touch the cold Moonstone steel. I then drew the whole thing and with a fluid motion I decapitated himwhere he lay.

So was the end of the mighty Manehatten Bandit Mob which had set up in a poorly defendable place with poor soldiers and poor weapons and leadership, it just showed how much Luna really needed me. I wiped my blade on the jacket of a nearby foe and stepped cautiously into the prison tent where I saw what I'd expected to see.

All were tied to wooden posts embedded in the earth and Pick had a hoof free and was working his bonds loose, Luna was struggling and typically Soarin was unconscious. However they did not see what they had hoped to see obviously as the fear in their eyes was evident when they looked at me which confused me.

"Please mister I don't wanna die!" cried Pick pleadingly whilst Luna shouted "Shut up Pick! Sir take me and leave them alone they have nothing to do with anything I'll co-operate" but I silenced her with a hoof and looked to my side at a mirror set aside on the floor.

It wasn't me in the mirror. The blue robes were turned deep purple with blood and my face was slathered in the stuff. My white coat was certainly ruined and it had even saturated my mane. I looked like a monster but I had saved Luna and Pick from imprisonment and possibly torture and death so did this make me a good pony.

However I realised I'd been staring at the mirror for two whole minutes and Pick had gotten free and got hold of a broom which he swung at me. Instinctively I chopped it in half and levelled my sword at Pick who backed up to the tent walls in fear on his rear legs, hooves raised in surrender.

I stopped myself before I could kill him, burying the sword deep into a nearby chest and collapsing in a nearby fold out chair, breathing heavily. "Who?" asked Luna but her face changed when she saw through the mask of blood to who was actually behind there. "Captain!" she exclaimed in a mixture of surprise, joy and sadness if I could detect her voice right.

Pick came up behind Luna and with a small knife cut her bonds before doing the same with Soarin, who was not conscious and simply collapsed against the floor in a heap whilst Pick cringed at his mistake. Meanwhile I had to contend with the Princess whose emotions were up and down at that exact moment.

"I thought you were dead" she cried as she flung her hooves around me and hugged me so hard I thought my ribs would crush my important organs. "We walked for five hours and decided to turn back to find you but then they attacked from behind rocks and knocked Soarin out, Pick and I surrendered but they beat him up" she said sadly and looking at her body I saw new welts and cuts on her and asked "What about you?" In a dangerously low voice.

She wiped some tears in her eyes and said "I'm fine, just a cut and bruise nothing to worry about" . I grunted and looked over at our little group and how vulnerable it had been, how could I have been so selfish over something which I knew was a mistake and not my fault all those years ago, now somepony else had needed me and I had decided to go on a suicide walk.

I was quite disgusted with myself but I quickly put that aside and took temporary charge of the situation. "They may have other ponies out there searching for us with the same training and cunning as these fellas so I want us to get Soarin to the cart outside and retrieve our stuff and anything else useful that might aid us in the still long and dangerous trek we're going to have and be ready to leave in twenty minutes, they might have sent out a patrol".

They made to exit the tent, Pick carrying Soaring with effort but I stopped them before they could exit into the private visage of hell I had made and suggested "Don't look at the ground much, al you'll see is death". Already spooked they carefully made their way out of the tent, steeping over guards and coughing at the fould sick stench of metallic blood.

I retrieved my sword and felt my breathing ease slightly upon sheathing it. I had fought off about thirty ponies and I was exhausted however still cautious but I began to search through the chest I'd stabbed. I found my personal belongings in my saddlebags and a lot of documents and gold.

I took some gold bits and rifled quickly through all of the documents none of which had any information about what I their orders concerning us had been. I gave up and left outside to do one more thing before leaving. The others were nearly finished, Soarin having woken up and now holding a Crossbow like some movie would show him holding it.

I strode over to a sentry I'd taken out from a distance and strapped his Crossbow and quiver to my back, feeling the weight and after getting adjusted to it, taking the lantern hanging from the post and proceeding to light the tents on fire. It would be seen from afar for sure but I wanted to make it look like bandits which would hopefully deter this new foe we had to contend with.

Luna, Pick and Soaring all backed up a hundred metres from the camp as I strode out with the lantern. I set it down and watched as the fires engulfed the camp. Soaring came over and looked down at his hooves. "Listen Backwater, I know we got off on kind of the wrong hoof and you and I both exchanged those hurtful comments but I'd just like to say that I'm really sorry" he said with real manly emotion in his voice.

I rummaged through my pockets and pulled out a golden badge with wings all over it and handed it to him saying "I'm sorry Wonderbolt Soarin, I didn't mean to undermine your Corp or your loyalty I wasn't thinking straight" I apologised and Soarin shook my hoof and we both formed a slight bond of respect knowing that we'd each do our best to look after Luna and one another in the field.

"You know I kind of feel a group hug going on her guys" said Pick "Nothing like surviving bandits and then watching them burn to build a sense of unity" he cheered but Luna must have taken this seriously because suddenly we were all in the bear hug and Pick even whimpered a little as Luna hugged us tight saying "You are the best friends I could ever have, with us together we will be unstoppable"!

I wished I could agree with her but as I watched the camp burn I saw a shadow flicker in the flames and sighed before beginning to head north. "Guys we have another problem" I said as I began to tell them about how I had personally brought the power of Equestria's organized crime to our doorstep.

As I had imagined they were quite for a few moments as they took everything in but then dozens of questions came out, the primary of these being "Why do they want us"? "Who is the mare you speak of"? And "Why are they really interested in Luna"?

As much as I tried to answer the oncoming question which I was kind of bombarded with I was weak and tired and not really in the mood to be talking in the dead of night. The unforgiving night which had awarded me back my charge, my friends (although I wasn't sure if they really were my friends) and a little bit more steel.

However I had now killed many a pony and the blood would forever stain my soul until the day I died and now my mind was uneasy and always questioning my sanity despite the boot up the rear the old man had given me to focus my mind.

I wondered about the old man, Starswirl the Bearded. It might have just been a strange dream, but the plant was there which confused me and generally my dreams were of dark and depressing memories (or as I recently experienced) horrific nightmares which made me want to tear my head from my shoulders.

"Is something the matter Captain?" asked Luna softly, concerned for my welfare and generally looking at me with concern. "It's ok, just thinking about how I suck at throwing knives" I responded telling a small lie. "Wait you have throwing knives?" asked Soarin so suddenly. "Yeah I do, I can't really use them but if you can then go ahead" I said handing him the small set from my belt. "Thanks I studied with these in my days as a circus performer up in Las Pegasus" he said looking at the edge. Suddenly it all came rushing to me.