Author's Notes:

Added on 01 May 2016

Originally part of Mare-Do-Well Returns

Gilda winces as she pushes herself to her feet, and a sharp pain shoots throughout her wing, making her swear loudly and bang the ground. Then she hears a set of hooves land behind her and she turns to see Brisk Wind behind her, her mane and tail frizzled and her body quivering and bleeding from many injuries.

“Wow, you just don’t want to die, do you?” says Gilda, wincing shortly after.

“I was hoping we could continue our alliance for our march towards Perfect Harmony, but I was mistaken,” says Brisk Wind coldly as she limps forward, her voice distorted by the revolver in her mouth.

Gilda spits blood by Brisk Wind’s hoof and wipes her beak clean. “You think I care about your stupid pipe dream? I only agreed to this so called alliance to keep my tail out of Singsong! But I should’ve known it was better to take my chances in there rather than be your puppet!”

Brisk Wind glances at the Gilda’s safe. “Tell me the combination and I’ll make your death quick.”

“You're fucking pathetic, you know that?”

Brisk Wind growls and pulls the trigger, but when all she hears is a click, her eyes bulge and her complexion pales. All while Gilda flashes her fangs in a hungry, satisfying grin as she coils her body and expands her wings.

Brisk Wind spits out her pistol and steps back. “Now, now, Gilda let's not get rash about this. We can talk this dispute out.”

Gilda roars and launches towards Brisk Wind, and she screams and reels back to block, but Gilda breaks through her defense and tackles her in the chest. Both of them slide across the balcony and bonk their heads on the wall. They both curse, but Brisk Wind quickly presses her hind legs against Gilda’s stomach and flips her over the edge. Gilda lets out a surprised scream that disappears in an instant and Brisk Wind clambers to her feet and peeks over the edge while panting heavily and trying to ignore the throbbing pain all over her body, specifically in her head.

Though, as soon as she looks over the edge a talon grabs her by her collar and drags her over the edge. Brisk Wind screams as she tumbles down with Gilda, both of them clutching each other and rapidly spiraling down to the pavement.

Gilda snarls and claws at Brisk Wind as she awkwardly bashes her hooves against the griffin's face and sides while simultaneously trying to keep the sharp beak from stabbing her face. Because of Brisk Wind’s armor, Gilda’s talons don’t slice her body open, but they do leave large gashes in them, and her unprotected limbs do get deep cuts. Gilda, on the other hand, has gashes all over her face from where the hoofs hit and her sides feel like they’re being stabbed from the inside.

When they are almost at the bottom, Brisk Wind dares to look away to check the distance, and upon seeing how close they are she turns and pushes Gilda to the ground. Gilda acts as a fleshy cushion as she impacts the ground with a sickening crunch and she skids across the ground, leaving a trail of blood, feather, and fur while Brisk Wind rolls across the pavement. When Gilda slides to a stop, she becomes still, but Brisk Wind stands up, albeit very wobbly and falls over a couple more times before regaining her footing. When the pegasus regains her footing she limps towards Gilda, wincing painfully with each step and trying to keep her eyes focused so everything will stop tugging and shrinking like an elastic picture.

When Brisk Wind is above the griffin she sees that she is still and barely breathing, and so, after taking a deep breath, she turns the griffin over. What she gets instead of seeing Gilda’s face is a swipe near her eyes, leaving three large scratches from her forehead down to the bottom of her cheek, barely missing. Brisk Wind shrieks and falls to the ground, clutching her face and kicking her legs wildly as Gilda towers above her, bleeding profusely from her shredded skin.

“You used me as a puppet!” screams Gilda furiously.

She stomps on Brisk Wind’s gut, making her retract into a ball and pulling her hooves away from her face to clutch the new injury.

“You killed my griffins!”

She picks up Brisk Wind by her throat and punches her in the jaw as hard as her injured arm could. Brisk Wind falls to the ground with a busted jaw and lip to add to her three pouring gashes. She tries to crawl away, bleeding and gasping for air while doing so, but Gilda stomps on her back, stopping her and leaving her to bleed and tremble the ground, at the total mercy of the mobster.

“You bring war to my home!”

Gilda picks up Brisk Wind by her throat again and lifts her off of the ground, glaring hellish daggers into the terrified pegasus’s eyes. As Brisk Wind struggles to breathe and fruitlessly fights to free herself, Gilda tightens her talons around the wounded pegasus’s neck, drawing more blood. Gilda laughs at Brisk Wind’s desperate gasping and sporadic thrashing.

“I told you I was coming for you,” says Gilda, and she raises her mangled, bloodied talons that reflect the sunlight. “And now here we are.”

A sudden gunshot rings out and Gilda drops Brisk Wind and falls to the ground with a smoking, bleeding hole in her side. She coughs out blood and tries to stand, but more gunshots ring out and Gilda’s body spasms as each new bullet tears into her. Brisk Wind can’t see what’s going on because of the blood all over face, but she does hear Gilda drop, Andromeda shouting and multiple sets of hooves running towards her. Brisk Wind wipes blood from her eyes just in time to see a medic wrap her face with gauze. Brisk Wind winces as the fabric touches her tender wounds, and when they are taped around her injury, she gallops away, ignoring the calls for her to come back.

Trixie is able to reunite with Lyra after a small time searching, and when they do reunite, they run straight to Gilda’s office. As expected, the office is trashed. However, what they aren’t expecting is Monte fumbling with a safe, mumbling unintelligibly between his terrified whimpers and heavy breathing. When the safe pops open Monte cheers, opens it and puts a sheet of paper in the safe, but when he turns around his cheerful, victorious grin is replaced with a horrified look in a half blink of an eye.

“Oh no,” says Monte deadpanned.

Trixie growls and despite the pain in her horn she uses her magic to blast Monte straight into the wall, specifically at one of the framed posters. The frame shatters and Monte falls to the ground with glass cascading around him and his stage garb acting as a shield to guard his hide from the sharp debris. As Monte coughs and tries to regain his stance, Trixie runs up to him and rams him against the wall.

“Check the safe!” orders Trixie.

Lyra runs to the safe and peeks inside, leaving Trixie to tackle Monte to the ground and climb on top of him with his collar being tugged on by her magic.

“What are you doing here, you snake!” yells Trixie.

“I know this looks bad, but-”

Trixie interrupts Monte with a punch to the jaw, making him yelp and grab his face.

“Stop hitting me!” cries Monte.

Trixie punches him again. “What the buck are you doing here, Monte!”

“If you want him to talk you should probably stop punching him,” says Lyra.

Monte looks at Lyra, nose and mouth bloody. “Thank you.” Then he glares at Trixie. “And you need to relax.”

Trixie punches him again.

“Relax? Relax!? You want me to relax!?” yells Trixie over Monte’s painful, child tier swearing.

“Uh... Vigilante,” says Lyra uneasily.

“Listen here, you little snot! My friend was murdered, I’ve been beaten, shot at, my horn is chipped, I was nearly squashed by burning zeppelin, had skin grow over my stitches, and I owe somepony a lot bleach and a shit load of lime, so don’t you tell me to relax!”

Monte stares at Trixie, eyes wide and no longer caring that his face is bleeding, and before Trixie can say anything else, Lyra clears her throat.

Trixie snaps to Lyra, mouth nearly foaming. “What!”

“That was entertaining,” says Adanz with a teasing grin and standing in the doorway to Gilda’s office with three earth ponies flanking him, all wearing the same, black barding with Roar Shock’s symbol painted on and armed with silenced battle saddles. Adanz is the only one who isn’t armed, but his barding is considerably thicker than the others.

Trixie drops Monte. “Adanz?”

Adanz arches an eyebrow. “Do I know you?”

“Adanz, it’s me!”

Adanz continues to stare at Trixie, and then she remembers that she still has her armored mask on.

“Oh right, the mask,” giggles Trixie, and then she starts removing her mask.

“Don’t do it,” says Sunshine.

“Shut up,” hisses Trixie.

“First, you tell me to talk. Then you punch me. Then you tell me to shut up. What’s it going to be, Boss Man?” says Monte.

Trixie growls and removes her helmet to reveal her red, battered face and to glare fiery daggers at Monte. “I’m not a colt!”

Monte's jaw drops, Lyra looks down shamefully with an embarrassed blush, and Adanz narrows his eyes, all while Trixie clips to her helmet to her suit and forces smile with a deep breath.

“See? I'm a mare. Through and through,” says Trixie. “And hi, Adanz. Long time no see, huh?”

“Well, this is awkward. I thought you were a big, buff guy with a sexy face,” says Lyra.

Trixie glares at Lyra, wondering how the unicorn could possible mistake her for a colt. Then she looks at her costume and flexes her muscles underneath, and reluctantly sees where Lyra is coming from.

“Yeah, you are kinda big,” says Monte.

Trixie snaps to Monte. “What?”

“And you did sound like colt with throat cancer,” adds Adanz.

Trixie turns to Adanz, whining. “Hey!”

“And Poor Attitude Syndrome,” remarks Monte. That remark makes all the League of Justice ponies aim their weapons at him and he holds up hooves defensively, chuckling and sweating nervously. “Okay, the Magnificent Monte Fountain will shut up now.”

“You ripped that off from the ‘Great and Powerful Trixie’ didn’t you?” asks Trixie accusingly.

A smile is all she needs to know that he did, in fact, rip her off, and now she wants to buck his teeth in more than ever. Then Adanz steps forward, smiling at Trixie while the others stand back.

“So, Trixie, since we are in a talking mood, we should have a discussion.” Adanz turns around and orders his escorts and Lyra to guard the exit. When the others are gone he looks at Trixie with deadly focus and stomps the ground, sprouting gleaming talons from his forehoof pads. “A big discussion, actually.”

Trixie gulps and takes a step back, and Monte also stands up and backs away while Adanz continues to walk forward, his new talons eerily clicking against the floor.

“Okay, it looks like you and Trixie have some history, so I think we need to settle this with some cider and hay bacon. Whaddya say?” says Monte.

“This is between me and Trixie,” says Adanz, his eyes narrowing and muscles tensing for a strike. “You betrayed us, and your betrayal ruined Roar Shock and killed Wazza. And I will take great pleasure in ending your life.”

“Adanz, I-I didn’t want it to happen! But the EIB-”

“It doesn’t matter what you wanted! What matters is what you did!”

Monte steps next to Trixie. “Okay, lookie here Atesanz-”

“Adanz!”

“Me and Trixie gotta go on a uh a nice date at the place. Like right now.”

“Shut up, Monte,” snaps Trixie.

It is then that Adanz leaps towards the two with a vicious roar. Monte shrieks and Trixie swears and jumps to the side while using her telekinesis to push Monte away from the dangerous zebra. She hits the floor, wincing from the burning pain in her horn and throbbing limbs. As for Adanz. He lands where they were a second ago, leaving a trail of nasty gashes on the floor, and his escorts run back in, but he orders them to stay back

With this distraction, Trixie uses the opportunity to attack, but right as she charges Adanz, the zebra spins towards her with deadly grace with his claws slicing the air. Trixie's hooves dig into the floor and her eyes widen with horror as the thought of getting her throat slit becomes a very real fear, but before her throat can be sliced, Monte tackles Adanz. Or tries to, anyway. The zony ends up bouncing off of him, but he uses enough force to make Adanz stumble. Unfortunately for Trixie, she has too much momentum and trips over Monte and awkwardly barrels into Adanz.

The impact knocks him off of his hoofs and the two equines get tangled in a mess of limbs, leading Adanz to snarl and swing at Trixie. She to barely manages a deflection, but Adanz's talons slice through her gauntlet and rip a thin trail on her flesh. It burns and Trixie grinds her teeth, seething and fighting back tears, and when Adanz goes for another strike, she tilts slightly, avoiding another fatal blow at the cost of another scratch. This time on her cheek, which bleeds more profusely and streaks the air with a line of red.

With gratuitous sweat and blood mixing, it is a miracle in itself that Trixie is able to move her battered body, much less hold Adanz down while she brings her hoof down on his face. But the zebra's speed is quicker than hers, and with a slight shift, Trixie's hoof smashes into the floor instead of his muzzle, sending an unpleasant shock all up her forehoof. She curses and quickly retracts her hoof, and Adanz bucks her off, putting her world in a spin. She lands on her back, trembling and trying to breathe, and when she tries to get up on her wobbly legs, Adanz bites down on her mane and starts pulling.

Immediately all Trixie can think of is Sunshine's nasty tongue inside her mouth, his teeth ripping out her mane, his grip holding her down, and him actually inside her. Breaking her with every thrust into her. Then Adanz flicks his head and Trixie sails through the air, screaming. Her scream comes to an abrupt end when she hits the phone, snapping its shell and covering her in sparks that burn her costume and exposed body.

Trixie slumps to the ground, groaning and shifting weakly, fighting the urge to puke and for her to stay down and rest. She cannot rest, she knows this, but her body feels like stone and splintered wood and wants to rest. She sees Monte leaping on top of Adanze and wrapping his hoofs around his neck, but the zony is quickly bucked off and stomped, leaving him curled on the ground and groaning.

Adanz snorts and kicks Monte off to the side and then starts towards Trixie. Seeing his rapid approach, Trixiesucks in as much air as she can and pushes herself up, huffing and glaring defiantly at her foe through the bloody, sweaty locks. Despite her astounding collection of aches and bruises and open wounds, Trixie still charges her horn and encases her hoofs in barriers of electricity.

“Adanz, stop this! I don’t want to hurt you!” says Trixie.

“Then lay down and bleed to death,” says Adanz.

“Adanz, this is stupid!”

Adanz charges without another word, and Trixie slides to the side, avoiding his claws, and she upper cuts him in the jaw, sending out a burst of electric light and the stench of burnt fur. Adanz stumbles back and Trixie screams and slams her other hoof down on his head. There is another flash of electric light and burnt hair flies with the stinky smoke. Adanz collapses to the floor with a fresh, hoof shaped bald spot, and when Trixie rears up to bring both of her hoofs down on him, he mule kicks her hind leg.

There is a snap and Trixie shrieks in pain and falls to the floor, trying to grab her cracked leg. Adanz then kicks Trixie on her back and slams his talons towards her muzzle. Trixie is barely able to put her hooves up in a protective X in time, and with the zebra now towering over her on top of her injuries, Trixie's heart beats sporadically and her hooves buckle under his weight. She cries through her gritted teeth and sees her sweaty, bloody face reflecting off of Adanz's blades, despite the fog of tears in her eyes.

“Give in and accept your fate, traitor!” says Adanz.

Then he gets a chair to the face that sends him spinning off of Trixie and flopping to the floor. When he tries getting up, Trixie is surprised to see Monte hit him on the back with the chair, pushing him to the floor and breaking the furniture.

“I've had enough of you, Stripes!” says Monte, also covered in blood and sweat, and his powder blue color tainted red around his face.

Monte's horn then glows and Adanz's body is covered in his magical aura, but much to Trixie's horror, the zebra's eyes dilate and shift to a pure gold.

Trixie gasps and turns to Monte. “Monte, look away!”

Too late. Monte's pupils dilate and his magic disappears. Trixie screams and charges Adanz, but the zebra retracts his claws and coolly sticks out his hoof right as Trixie is about to land on him, striking her in the chest and making her gasp in pain as she land on her back, hard, leaving her lungs feeling like they have been squished.

Monte’s body straightens and then he starts walking towards Trixie in a trance. Trixie groans and slowly rolls off of her back, only for Adanz to kick her in the side and send her skidding into the balcony. Trixie coughs blood to the floor and stares at Adanz as he walks behind Monte, guiding the showpony to the balcony, feeling everything from fear to sadness and terror to hopelessness.

“I told ya they wouldn’t take too kindly to ya,” says Sunshine.

“Adanz, I-I didn’t -Adanz please don't do this!” begs Trixie.

“Your crimes must be paid in blood,” says Monte distantly.

Monte’s horn glows and Trixie is lifted off of her feet and is carried over the edge. She shrieks and flails her legs as she desperately tries to use her magic for anything to save her. But all her horn does is shoot out weak bolts of lightning that serve only to send an annoying shock to Monte and Adanz. When she tries to levitate something, her horn feels like its going to crack and she screams and swears over her terrified sobs. Adanz only stares, though. The cheerful zebra that always played pranks on her is gone. Just like Wazza.

Trixie tries to look into Monte’s distant eyes. “Monte, listen to me! You’re the Magnificent Monte Fountain! The greatest showpony ever! You’re not a killer! You’re an egotistical snot, but not a killer!”

Monte hops on the railing, saying in a monotonous voice: “Just like you, Trixie. You and Monte are the same. Terra was right, Roar Shock should not have let you join us.”

“Adanz, don’t do this!”

“Justice is absolute.”

Then Monte jumps over the edge and his magic disappears, sending Trixie tumbling after him. Trixie screams as she spirals down, and then she hears Monte shrieking. She looks to Monte and sees that his eyes are no longer dilated, but wide as dinner plates and he’s flailing his hooves madly. Another thing Trixie notices is that she’s slowing down rapidly and she looks to her left and to her right and sees that her cape had turn rigid and is now acting like a little glider. That, and the ground is getting dangerously close.

Trixie’s horn glows and she bites back her tears as she pulls Monte towards her in a protective hug. Then she closes her eyes and tilts her body weight so that they go up. They fly over the griffin wall and end up smashing through a window, and the last thing Trixie sees before blacking out is her face coming in contact with a dirty ceiling.

Back at Gilda's loft, Adanz looks at the piece of paper Monte put in the safe. He chuckles quietly, then puts it back and leaves it open just a crack. The others look confused by what he did, especially Lyra, but she’s more confused as to why he killed her hero. Adanz notices Lyra’s uneasiness, though, and approaches her and places a hoof on her shoulder.

“You must understand that I did what I had to do. The Vigilante’s real identity betrayed us and was a fool to assume we would embrace her,” says Adanz in an even tone.

Adanz then walks down the hall with the others walking after him and Lyra staying behind.

“But she didn’t mean to!” cries Lyra as she stomps the ground. “Doesn’t that mean anything to you!”

Adanz stops and looks at Lyra from over his shoulder. “Intentions mean nothing, Lyra. What matters is the outcome. She betrayed us and for that, she had to be punished. Now, fall in line. We must leave quickly.”

Lyra hesitates. “Are you going to tell Roar Shock?”

Adanz smiles. “Of course I will, and he will be pleased to hear that Trixie Lulamoon has at last joined her father in Tartarus.”

Brisk Wind pokes her head out from around a corner and watches the last of the League ponies disappear from view. When they are out of ear shot she limps towards Gilda’s office, leaving a trail of blood in her wake, and sees the safe open for her taking. She laughs with relief as she hobbles towards it and when she yanks it open all the way, her relieved laughter turns into one of sheer annoyance as she sees only a sheet of paper with a childish message on it. Then she screams and bangs her hooves on the floor.

“Monte!”

The paper is actually a smudged out receipt for a safety deposit box in the Bank of Bernese with a simple note that has a crude, cartoony picture of Monte laughing with his speech bubble saying: “Hahaha! Too slow there, missy!”