Chapter 12 - Pitfalls
“Good things do not come easy. The road is lined with pitfalls.”

My mind was a complete blank. All I could do was stare stupidly at my friends, who all looked like they were angry. No, that wasn’t it. They all looked disappointed in me. And on some level, that was way worse.

Silver walked slowly up to me. “You don’t want to answer? Or did you not hear me the first time? And… just… where… do… you… think… you… are… going?” she said, punctuating each word with extreme sarcasm.

“I, um, I was just, well,” I stammered. I couldn’t think fast enough to form a coherent statement. “I was just…”

I never got the chance to finish my sentence. A pink blur moved towards my head faster than I could react. My vision flashed white as Silver’s hoof struck me, hard. “You son of a bitch! You were going after Muddy all by yourself, weren’t you?” she yelled. “Even after telling the sheriff that we were all going together!”

“Well, yeah, but let me explain!” I cried out. Brown, Flower, and One were all looking away from the argument. Hell, even Deputy Brick, was fidgeting with his rifle. I was all alone in this fight.

“Silver, I was trying to do what was best for everypony!” I cried out. “If it is Muddy, then he is less likely to kill me alone. He wants to hurt you ponies first and make me watch. If it is not Muddy, you’re right, then it was a stupid decision. But I couldn’t take that chance. I was trying to protect everypony!”

She smacked me again, harder than the first time. It was so hard that it made my legs collapse underneath me. “But what about what we want? Don’t you think we want to help you? Don’t you think we know the risks?”

“Silver, I don’t think you do. Muddy has sworn to kill you ponies! I can’t let that happen!” I said while rubbing my face.

“I don’t care about that. I’m coming with you, whether you like it or not,” she stated with a stamp of her hoof.

“And we’re comin’ along too, Dust,” Brownie said, while both he and Flower nodded.

“And I’m coming too, Mister Dust!” One called out with a big grin on his face.

“Well, I’m staying right here,” Deputy Brick said from his perch. “You all are crazy!”

After an awkward pause, we all couldn’t help laughing a little at his comment.

The lightheartedness from Deputy Brick’s comment didn’t last long. Maybe it was due to the fact that we were travelling in near darkness, except for the light from my Pip-Buck. We had decided that it would be safer to use that instead of lanterns which may have been easier to see from a distance. Or maybe the foul mood was due to the lingering effects of my failed attempt to sneak out of town. Silver had not spoken to me since we left. She spoke readily with Brownie and Flower. Hell, she even talked to One a little. Everypony but me.

Flower kept checking her scope, to see if the sniper had reset his or her perch. Fortunately, she kept finding no sign of the sniper. Then again, that could be a bad sign since they might just be setting up somewhere we weren’t aware of and might discover too late.

At one point, I was able to sneak my way next to Silver. “Silver, look, I’m really sorry about trying to sneak out before. I thought I was doing what was best,” I pleaded with her.

“Uh-huh,” she said noncommittally.

“I know it was an asshole move to make, but I just don’t want to lose anypony,” I said. “Whether or not you agree, can you at least tell me you understand where I was coming from?”

“Dust, I understand. I’m just upset that you think so little of us that we can’t fight for ourselves, or at least make that decision to risk ourselves,” she said, shaking her head.

“But, I don’t…” I started. But maybe she was right. Maybe I needed to let my friends make their own decisions. “You’re right, Silver.” She didn’t say anything in response. She did give me a small kiss on the cheek, moved away from me, and then refocused on where we were headed.

Brownie trotted up next to me. “Hey, Dust. Can we talk?” he asked.

“Brownie, if this is about me trying to sneak out, I am sorry…” I started to say.

“Dust, that was a dumb move and ah already accept yer apology,” Brownie said shaking his head. “Flower does too and One, well One is One. But I have somethin’ else I need ta talk to ya about. What are we gonna do ‘bout, One? He doesn’t know how ta shoot, does he?”

“Shit, you’re right, Brownie. I hadn’t thought about that,” I said, stopping dead in my tracks. “Hey, One! Besides that rifle you were shooting when we met, do you know how to use any other weapons?”

“Yessir, Mister Dust! I was the best out of my brothers with shooting. Daddy made me the primary hunter because of it!” he said. I could see him beaming, even in the inky darkness we were travelling in.

“Brownie, do we have a spare…” I started to say.

“Gun, eeyup. I bartered fer a revolver and a rifle while we were at Manny’s,” he said with a wink. “Easiest deal I ever made,” he said with a chuckle. “His guardsponies arn’t the smartest.”

“Brownie, you’re the best. Here, One. Just in case,” I said while Brownie handed him his new weapons. “Hopefully we won’t need them, but better to be safe.”

One took the weapons like a colt with a new toy. He looked at the revolver as he belted on the holster. “This looks just like those guns from the cowpony movies we used to watch!” he exclaimed joyfully. “We used to watch them together,” he said, his face now softening into a little frown. I patted him on his back and he responded with a small grin.

We finally reached the base of the mountains. Looking back over my shoulder, Fetlock Flats was a small collection of lights on the horizon. “So, Flower, about where are we looking?” I asked while scanning the mountainside. My EFS only had our green markers so far.

“Last ah saw, he was about three-quarters up the mountainside,” she said, pointing up the mountain we were standing next to. “Ah really couldn’t get a better look.”

We followed the foot of the mountain looking for a pathway up to get closer to the sniper’s perch. Daylight was starting to break when we found a small pathway that started to lead its way up the mountainside. It was a narrow path that started up the slope and turned around a large outcropping. “Looks like we can finally head up,” I said, eying the path ahead of me. “Everypony ready?”

After a few quick nods, I led the group up the path. After making the first turn, I saw that we were on the first leg of a long switchback trail. As far as I could see, there were at least five trails we’d have to climb, and there possibly were more.

“Umm, Dust, I have a question fer ya,” Flower asked from behind me.

“What is it, Flower?” I responded.

“What is yer plan fer if we find Muddy?” she asked.

I took a deep breath and sighed. “Well, Flower, I am hoping that I can talk him down. But something tells me that won’t happen. If it comes down it it, with the five of us, I figure we can take him down. I just hate not knowing what we’re walking into.”

“Uh-huh,” she said with a nod.

After we double backed a few times, the outcroppings that formed the ‘walls’ of the walkway were diminishing in height. Eventually, the outcroppings on one side disappeared completely. Looking over the one side also showed that there was no part of the switchback below us anymore. If we fell over the edge, it would be a long and bumpy fall to the bottom.

“Careful everypony, the first step is a doozy,” I called out to my companions behind me. This was yet another time I regretted having to hide my identity. Flying would have been so much easier.

A slight breeze started to blow across the mountainside. “Could things possibly get any worse?” I asked, rhetorically.

“Now, Dust, don’t get ta tauntin’ the Wasteland. It has a nasty karma streak,” Brownie called out.

“I know, Brownie, I know,” I said, shaking my head. He was right. Even in my short time down here, I learned that the Wasteland had a funny way of making things worse just when you didn’t expect it. The memories meeting One, and the events that followed, flooded my mind. Point taken.

Up ahead, I saw a post sticking out of the ground. The only remnant of the sign that used to hang there was the nails that used to hold it in place. An aged piece of paper was fluttering in the breeze having been impaled on the ancient nails.

As we got closer, I saw that it was actually folded in half. On the front, in very sloppy hoofwriting, was the word “Dust”. A chill went down my spine. This confirmed my worst fears. “Muddy,” I muttered under my breath. “Everypony, keep an eye open. I have a bad feeling about this,” I said as I approached the note. Before reaching out and grabbing it, I looked around, searching for any sign of a trap.

Gently removing it from the sign post, I unfolded the weathered piece of paper. The hoofwriting on the inside was the same unsteady print I remembered from his journal:

“Dust,

“This is your last warning. Turn back now, nopony gets hurt. Keep coming for me, and there will be casualties.”

“Short and to the point,” I muttered, crumpling up the piece of paper and tossing it.

“What did it say, Dust?” Brownie asked.

“Warning us to turn back or else somepony gets hurt,” I said, shaking my head. “Last chance for anypony to turn back,” I asked, turning to face my friends. Most of them just gave me a steely stare in response. Silver’s look had more anger behind it than the others. “OK, stupid question, I guess.”

The pathway leveled out for a bit as it wrapped around the mountainside. The breeze picked up into a steady, light wind. Every now and then there was a gust which would kick up a puff of dust from the pathway in front of us. From somewhere up above us, a small boom was heard.

“What in the hell was that?” Flower asked, stopping dead in her tracks. We all craned our necks upward. Some small pebbles were careening their way down the rocky face above us. Occasionally, a hoof sized stone would crash down on the pathway near us and splinter into smaller pebbles.

“Mister Dust, I gotta bad feeling about this,” One said nervously.

“It’s OK, One. Let’s just get through this part and we should be fine,” I said as confidently as possible. A few steps later, a louder boom was heard from above.

Looking upwards, I saw the telltale plume of smoke from the detonation of explosives of some kind. That only had my attention shortly, as I started noticing the large rocks and boulders beginning to roll their way down the mountain. “Everypony, heads up!” I yelled out, beginning to trot ahead.

I almost lost my balance several times trying to quickly trot while dodging falling rocks. I heard two sets of hoofsteps directly behind me, so two of my friends followed me and the others must have tried backing up.

The first of the larger rocks began to pelt the path way ahead of us. It became a precarious act trying to avoid the rocks ahead of us while keeping an eye on what was still falling down the rockface above us. A particularly large boulder was bounding its way down towards us. “Back up! Everypony back up!” I yelled at the top of my lungs, hoping whoever was behind me could hear over the cacophony.

Scurrying backwards, I bumped into something. A quick glance over my shoulder revealed that I had just bumped my flank right into Silver’s face.

“Watch where you stick that thing!” she yelled at me. “One, you gotta move back!” she screamed at One. To his credit, One was trying to backpedal, but kept slipping on the small stones that now littered the pathway around us. A rock about as big as I was slammed into the pathway directly in front of me. The sound was deafening and the impact knocked me off balance onto my side.

Afraid to look back up, I know I needed to do so. Another large boulder was heading right for me. This one was easily twice the size of the last. Kicking with my legs, I tried to move out of its path. It grew larger very quickly as it descended, picking up speed as it went. I wasn’t going to make it out of its way. I felt somepony grab my front hooves and pull hard. The stone crashed into the ground, nearly missing me.

Looking at my savior, Silver still hadn’t let go of my hooves yet. “Thanks, Silver!” I screamed. Smaller rocks bouncing off our bodies. Crashing sounds still boomed above us. Another large boulder was moving our way. Glancing ahead to where it would land, One was in the crash zone. “One! You have to move!” I screamed.

“I c-c-c-can’t, Mister Dust! I’m s-s-s-scared!” he stuttered back. “Help me, please!” His eyes were as wide as dishes and he was cowering while lying on the ground.

“Dammit, One! Move!” I yelled as I quickly got to my hooves. I trotted over to him as quickly as I could. Wrapping my hooves around his head, I tugged as hard as I could. One was dead weight and didn’t give me any help at all. I kept tugging and moving him inch by inch. If I pulled any harder, I probably would have hurt his neck.

The boulder crashed to the ground behind One, cracking into two separate pieces. One of the pieces bounded further down the mountain. The other piece began to fall towards us. It was still larger than a skywagon and would cause some serious damage if were to land on us. “Push, One! Push!” I yelled, still tugging on his head. He began to kick with his back legs and we began to make some ground.

The boulder fell down, crushing all the smaller rocks underneath it. It fell completely onto its side and then rolled over the edge of the path and continued to slide down the mountain below. One started screaming right into my ear. “One, what’s wrong?” I asked, giving him a once over. Then I saw it. One of his rear hooves must have just gotten caught under the rock. It was bent off at an angle that should not have been possible.

“It hurts, Mister Dust! It hurts!” he screamed clenching his eyes shut. Tears were streaming down his face.

“I know, One. We’ll take care of it. Just hold on!” I screamed while reaching into my bags and pulling out a Med-X, which was miraculously right on top. Biting down on the cap, I ripped it off, plunged the needle into his leg and pressed the plunger down. I immediately saw his body relax a little.

“One more’s comin’ everypony! Watch out!” Brownie yelled from somewhere behind us. The largest boulder yet was still making its way down the mountain.

“Silver! Move!” I yelled.

She glanced up and her eyes widened in surprise. She leapt in our direction, hitting the ground and scrabbling her way towards us. The giant rock slammed into the pathway, barely missing Silver. I could feel the shockwaves through my body as it crashed through the pathway and took most of it with it. It quickly disappeared underneath the pathway and relative silence began to replace the crashing we had just lived through.

I took several seconds to calm and collect myself. “How is everypony?” I called out.

“I’m, I’m OK,” Silver said, still laying right next to me.

One simply whimpered in response.

“I’m OK, but we have a problem,” Brownie yelled out from behind us, clearly panicked. “Flower got buried under the rockslide!”

“Silver, take this and take care of One, please,” I said to Silver while hoofing her a healing potion from my bags. I trotted over towards Brownie, who was trying to lift a large rock. It was one of many that had settled on the pathway. I couldn’t believe that anypony was actually still alive under all of that.

“She’s in here, Dust! Ya gotta help me,” he cried out, uncharacteristically flustered. A magical aura matching Brownie’s horn enveloped the boulder as he continued to try to lift the boulder out of the way. I grabbed another part of the boulder and tried to lift with all my might. Unfortunately, the rock didn’t even budge.

I trotted over the Silver and One. One was still crying on the ground, but at least his leg seemed better than it was. “I set the leg as best I could and then gave him the healing potion,” Silver informed me as I knelt down next to One.

“One, look, I know it probably still hurts. If I could give you more Med-X, I would. But I can’t. And we need you. Flower is stuck behind a large boulder and none of us can move it. We need your help!” I pleaded with One.

One was still sobbing. “Mister Dust… it still hurts. It still hurts,” he cried.

“One, I know. And normally, I wouldn’t try to force this. Flower needs you. If you don’t help, she may die,” I pleaded. “Please, we need your help! You’re the only pony who can do this!”

One sniffled. “OK, Mister Dust. I’ll try,” he said, followed by another sniffle. He gingerly got to his hooves and limped over to the large rock pile with me.

I watched as the pale blue magical field enveloped both his horn and the boulder at the same time. His face contorted and he grunted and I saw the boulder shift a little. The magical field popped out of existence and One gave a grunt and fell to the ground.

“My leg still hurts, Mister Dust,” he groaned while grimacing. “I can’t focus on the boulder.”

“One, you are the only pony that can do this,” I pleaded. “The only one,” I said placing my hooves on his shoulders and looking him right in the eyes.

“Please, One,” Brownie interjected. “I need ya ta save her. I love her an’ I don’t wanta lose her.” Tears were streaming down his face, leaving clean trails in the dirt which had collected there.

“OK, Brownie. I’ll try again,” One said, tears rolling down his face while he looked up at Brownie. One took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes. The blue magical field again enveloped his horn and the boulder. The boulder grinded against the ground as One was able to shift it a few inches. The magical field popped out of view again as One collapsed to the ground again, panting.

Brownie slid over to the small gap and peered inside. “Flower! Talk to me, Flower!” he cried into the small opening.

A couple of light coughs came from inside. “Brownie? Is that you, sweetums?” Flower said hoarsely.

“Oh, Flower!” Brownie cried out in excitement. “Are you OK? Are you hurt?”

“I don’t think so,” Flower said. “You said you wanted to pin me down today, but I didn’t think you meant it this way,” she said with a snicker followed by a cough. Brownie’s face turned red. “I don’t mean ta sound ungrateful, but can I ask what yer waitin’ fer ta get me outta here? It is cozy and all, but...”

I looked to One and he nodded without me having to say a word. He took several deep breaths and closed his eyes again. The boulder glowed blue again and it rose an inch or two off the ground. “C’mon, One! Just need you to move it a little!” I urged him on.

He grit his teeth as he grimaced, fighting the strain placed on his magic. The boulder slowly glided its way across the path. With a string of grunts, One continued to move the boulder. A loud popping sound accompanied the dispelling of the magical field as the boulder crashed to the ground. It rocked when it hit the ground and slowly turned its way over the edge of the path and tumbled away out of sight.

A thud behind me drew my attention. I turned and saw One on the ground. Sparks were fizzling out of the top of his horn, which was now blackened. He was breathing heavily as he just lay there. Brownie had already slid over to the opening and was pulling Flower out of it. Once she was completely clear, they embraced tighter than I had seen before.

“Oh, Flower. I thought this was it. I thought today was the day I’d lose ya,” Brownie cried between sobs.

“Oh, you big mush. You know it’s gonna take more to kill me than a few big rocks,” she snickered. “Unless ya like me in tight, confining…” she started.

Brownie was quick to place his hoof against her mouth. “Alright, Flower. I think that’s enough,” Brownie squeaked. I couldn’t help but to laugh a little.

I looked towards One. “How are you holding up, One?” I asked, worried we pushed him too far.

He looked up at me. I don’t think I ever saw him so tired looking since we met. “I’ll be OK, Mister Dust. I just need a few minutes to rest,” he said while rubbing his horn. “Why does my horn feel so numb?”

“Ya burned out yer magic, One,” Brownie answered. “Don’t worry too much. It’ll come back in a little while. Just needs some time ta recover.”

I walked my way over to Silver and placed a hoof on her shoulder, which she shook off. “Are you OK?” I asked awkwardly.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she spat back. “I just want you to imagine what would happen if you had come by yourself. You’d be seriously hurt, or worse.”

Actually, I probably would have just flown away to avoid the rockslide, but with the others around I couldn’t do that. “I know,” I said, not wanting to prolong the discussion, since I’d probably lose anyway.

I trotted over to the pathway where the large boulder had sheared away a sizable portion of the path. A good twenty to thirty hoofstep length of the path was just gone. What was left in it’s place was barely wide enough for our hooves.

“Aw, hell,” I muttered to nopony in particular. Staring at the path, I tried to figure out a safe way to get across. Coming up with nothing, I simply shook my head. “Shit.”

I hadn’t noticed that everypony else had joined me at the walkway’s edge. “So, ya got any plans, Dust?” Brownie asked.

“That won’t get us killed?” Silver added with acid in her tone.

“Except for Silver flying over, no. The only thing I can think of is to sidle our way across that little ledge,” I said, not taking my eyes off the walkway ahead. If I could fly too, it would make things easier, but Brownie, Flower and One would be stuck.

“Maybe I can levitate us over?” One asked hopefully. I saw him try to concentrate, but sparks shot from his horn. “Oh, I forgot,” he said with a grimace and a groan.

“It’s OK, One,” I told him with a pat on the shoulder. “Alright, here’s what we’ll do. Silver, you’ll fly over first with one end of a rope. At least then, there’ll be a safety line, just in case. Everyone else will go over one at a time and when we’re down to the last pony, Silver will switch sides. Unless anypony has a better idea?”

I was met by a chorus of grunts and grumbles. Flower pulled a rope out of her pack and gave one end to Silver. She grabbed it in her mouth and flew easily over the gap. I was really tempted to do the same, but I didn’t want to blow my damned cover. I couldn’t risk alienating my friends at this point.

Brownie volunteered to go first. Such a large pony looked awkward standing on two hooves, but he somehow retained his balance. He edged his way to the ledge and began to slide his two back (bottom?) hooves slowly along the narrow strip.

“Dust, this is not one of your better ideas,” Brownie muttered. I could see a grimace on his face and he had begun to sweat, even in the cool breeze this high up on the mountain. A couple of tense minutes later, Brownie made it all the way across.

“Alright, I guess I’ll go next,” Flower said, clearly not excited by the prospect. She stood up and moved against the mountainside. She shuffled her hooves much like Brownie did. “Aww, Brownie! This ain’t so hard,” she called out once she got halfway across. Her left hoof slipped a little sending a small collection of pebbles and stone dust tumbling down the mountainside. “Maybe next time, ah’ll keep mah mouth shut,” she said with a grimace. The rest of her crossing was uneventful.

“Alright, One. Your turn,” I said to the young, green stallion.

“Um, Mister Dust, I don’t know if I can do this. I can’t stand on my hurt leg,” he said looking between his hoof and the ledge.

“One, I know you can do it. Just don’t look down,” I said, mustering as much support as I could.

One slowly made his way to the ledge. Standing up on his back legs, he was clearly favoring his injured leg. Hopefully, he had enough strength to overcome his injury and get him across. Before placing his first hoof on the narrow walkway, he gave me one more nervous look. I nodded in response. Visibly gulping, he began to shuffle his way across. He was making tiny moves, which I really couldn’t blame him for. He never took his gaze off the narrow ledge, making sure each move left him on solid hoofing.

At one point across, he stopped and looked back at me. “Um, Mister Dust, this part of the walkway looks like it’s cracked,” he said, his voice tinged with panic.

“It’s OK, One. Just keep going, it’ll be OK,” I responded, hoping I was right.

One gingerly placed his weight down on the fractured part of the ledge and slowly tested it. I heard a slight cracking sound followed by the sight of more tiny pieces of rock tumbling away. One glanced back at me. “It’s OK, just keep going!” I yelled, not meaning to be so urgent. He didn’t need the stress. Fortunately, a few more slow shuffles later, and he was able to slide the rest of the way across.

Silver handed her loose end to Brownie and then flew back over the gap. “Your turn now, Dust. Please be careful,” she said. She didn’t seem as angry as before, but then again, it could have simply been anxiety. I wasn’t looking forward to the crossing myself.

After handing the end of the rope I was holding to her, I made my way to the ledge. Keeping the rope under my legs so I could grab it in case of a fall, I began to slide my way across the gap. Making sure to keep my hooves securely on what remained of the pathway, I would slide one hoof and then slide the other one to meet it. I was kicking loose pieces of gravel as I moved. I made the mistake once of watching one of the pieces bounce away down the mountainside.

“Whose idea was this again?” I cried out anxiously.

“Um, this was yer idea,” Flower scoffed. “One of yer worst, but yer idea all the same.”

“It was a rhetorical question, Flower,” I said with a grunt as my hoof slipped a little.
After travelling half the distance without incident, I was starting to feel a little confident. This wasn’t so bad after all! How quickly I was about to be reminded that the Wasteland likes to teach ponies a lesson.

I slid my left hoof over and planted it. I began to shift the weight of my body to it while I was going to slide my right hoof over and then I heard it. The cracking of stone underhoof hit me like an icicle. My whole body froze and my mind could only focus on the rock underhoof. I watched as the section of ledge gave way and I felt my body begin to fall with it. Flailing for the rope, I grabbed it with both hooves.

“Holy shit! Help me up! Help me up!” I cried out in a panic. My hoof was still on the pathway, but the upper part of my body had fallen backwards and I was nearly horizontal.

“Hang on, Dust! We’re gonna try to pull ya back up!” Brownie cried out through clenched teeth.

I felt my body start to rise a little as the rope became taut. I was starting to feel somewhat relieved as I felt myself get pulled back towards vertical. It was then that the snapping of rope caught my attention somewhere to my right. Glancing towards the sound, I saw the rope beginning to fray about a yard or so behind me. “Oh, shit. Ponies, whatever you’re gonna do, please do it quickly!” A pop sent a shiver of terror through my body as I watched another one of the strands of the rope snap. It was quickly followed by a third and a fourth. I was being supported by only two thin strands of hemp.

Grabbing the rope in my teeth for additional grip, I also grabbed the rope with my hooves as best I could. I heard two more snaps and felt the familiar sensation of freefall. If my wings were free, this wouldn’t be an issue, but they were “safely” tucked away inside my armor. The rope snapped taut in my grip. I felt my hooves burn as they slipped over the rope and I felt pain through my teeth as the rope threatened to rip them right out of my head. I began to swing and saw the sheer face of the mountain approach rapidly. Fortunately, I was able to brace myself as my body slammed into the wall.

“Oof!” I gasped as the wind was knocked out of my, being careful not to let go of the rope. I looked up and saw Silver’s face appear over the edge. I was dangling about ten feet below her.

“Dust! Hold on! Flower and Brownie are going to try to pull you up!” she yelled out over the edge.

I felt the rope trying to lift me as I imagined Brownie and Flower pulling with all their might. I watched as Silver’s eyes went wide and she started shaking her head frantically. “Stop pulling! Stop pulling! The edge is cutting into the rope!” she screamed out. Immediately, I felt my ascent stop and I was left swinging at the end of my rope, figuratively and literally.

“What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do?” I heard Silver mutter frantically. The sad part at this point was that even if I wanted to release my armor and free my wings, I couldn’t risk letting go of the rope with either my hooves or my teeth.

Silver’s head disappeared for a moment. For a split second, I panicked thinking that she was leaving me behind. After a short absence, I watched as Silver flew over the edge and slowly descended down next to me, carrying another rope in her mouth. She got near me and started tying the rope off to my midsection. The rough hemp cut into my flesh, but I didn’t care at this point. If it kept me from dying, I didn’t care.

Once she was done, she gave the rope a tug to make sure it was secure. “OK, Dust, I am going to try to push you up while Brownie, Flower and One pull. Hopefully the reduced strain won’t cut into the rope too much and we can safely get you up,” she said. “However, this would have been so much easier if you could just fly yourself. And again, I want you to think about what would have happened if we weren’t here with you.,” she whispered to me.

“Point made, Silver,” I grumbled.

“OK ponies! Start pulling!” she yelled up. She flew into position above me and hooked her legs under mine and around my midsection. She grunted under the strain of flapping her wings as hard as she could, but I felt myself rising. I kept an eye on the rope, hoping I didn’t hear any snaps or see the rope start to fray. We were about half way up when I heard the first snap above me. I could see the tell tale unraveling of one of the strands of hemp that had been cut by the jagged edge.

“Um, ponies! We need to do this faster!” I yelled. “I don’t think the rope is going to hold!”

Silver renewed her effort to flap as hard as possible and I could barely make out the grunting of my friends as they were pulling. The edge drew closer and closer until I could reach it. However, the way that Silver had me meant that she’d have to let go for me to do so. I just kept my grip on her, doing my best not to hinder her efforts.

Finally, the top half of my rose above the edge of the walkway. With one last grunt and tug, my entire body was pulled back onto the pathway and everypony else collapsed onto the rocky path, breathing heavily. My body was still tremoring from nearly dying, yet again.

I soon felt something tighten against my body. Fearing I was slipping back over the edge and the rope was getting taught again, I looked down and saw two pink legs wrapped around my midsection. “Dust, I thought I was going to lose you. Please don’t ever do that to me again!” Silver pleaded with me. “But don’t think this gets you off the hoof for trying to sneak off!”

“I know, Silver. I know,” I said trying to stroking her mane with my hooves. Looking at the rest of my friends, I saw Brownie and Flower were embracing each other just as Silver and I were.

One was sitting with a grimace on his face. “Ewwww…” he said, looking like he bit into something sour. We all chuckled a little.

We all rested for several minutes, considering what we had just been through. Even One had regained some use of his magic, but he was barely able to lift small pebbles. But it was a start.

“Don’t worry none, One. Yer magic will come back just as good as it ever was,” Brownie said to him, trying to comfort him. One simply gave him a forlorn look in return.

After traveling along a straight path for a while, I got concerned. “Flower, wasn’t the sniper’s perch in the other direction?”

“Yes it was, Dust. But I didn’t see any other way of getting up here, did ya?” she asked.

“I guess not,” I agreed, shaking my head.

The path pulled a full u-turn and I started to feel better. Another few minutes later, however, and I wasn’t feeling so confident anymore. The pathway ended at a sheer drop off and resumed across a twenty or thirty yard crevice. Connecting both sides of the pathway was a rickety-looking rope bridge. The wood was aged and splintering in several locations. Several boards were missing along the way. The rope had turned a dark gray in years of constant weathering.

My mind immediately flashed back to the lab. Of my nearly fatal drop into the cavern without the ability to use my wings. How I almost died. “No,” I said as I felt the blood drain from my face. “No, no, no, no, no. Uh-uh, no way!”

“Calm down, Dust,” Flower yelled at me while shaking me. “What the hell is yer problem?”

“Don’t tell me you can’t see where this is going?” I asked sarcastically. “The ropes will snap, a board will break at an inopportune time, the wind will pick up at the wrong moment. This can go wrong in at least a thousand different ways.”

Flower moved faster than I thought possible and slapped me right across the snout. “Now, Dust. I agree, it doesn’t look good, but we have no choice. And we have ta get across ta the sniper’s nest, right?”

“Ugh!” I growled through clenched teeth. She was right, of course. It was either that or turn back now.

“Alright, ah’ll go first, to show you how safe it is, Dust,” Flower said with a smirk.

Flower strode up to the edge of the bridge, confidence in her steps. She paused as she reached the transition from stone to wood and looked back at me. “Now watch this!” she called out and stuck her tongue out at me.

She began walking out over the bridge faster than I would have liked. She placed her full weight down on the planks that made up the bridge with each step. Some of the boards sounded like they cracked and with some steps I heard the rope supports creak. A few of them even gave off little puffs of dust as she stepped on them. How long has it been since this bridge has been used?

Flower finally got to the other side and made a big show of jumping off the last plank onto the stone on the other side. “See! I told ya! Easy peasy lemon squeezy!”

I watched as a grin formed on One’s face. “I can do that too, Mister Dust!” One took off at a gallop towards the bridge and didn’t even slow as he took his first steps.

I cringed and covered my eyes as I watched One cross the bridge. “One! Take it easy! That bridge is old and…” I started to say.

Even at a hobble, One actually finished crossing before I had a chance to finish my statement. “See, Mister Dust! It’s super easy!” he cried out in sheer joy as he sidled next to Flower.

Brownie gulped audibly as he looked at me. “Dust, why doncha go next since yer lighter than I am,” he said, his wide open eyes not moving from the bridge.

My gaze did not waver from the bridge either. “Nah, Brownie, it’s OK. You can go first,” I said in a nervous daze.

Flower stomped her hoof down on the other side of the bridge. “Luna be damned. Would one of ya grow a set of balls and cross the bridge, fer cryin’ out loud!” she yelled at us.

Brownie and I looked at each other. “I’m thinking of a number between one and one hundred?” I asked sheepishly. Please don’t guess thirty-six, please don’t guess thirty-six, I thought to myself.

Brownie scoffed. “Thirty-six?” he guessed.

I felt my jaw drop. “Luna be damned,” I muttered in shock. “I guess that means I go first.”

“Eeyup,” Brownie responded, with a relieved sigh.

I trotted over to the bridge and paused. The bridge still appeared as run down as it had before. Standing closer to it, I could see more cracks in some of the boards and more frayed cords in the support ropes. I looked back at Brownie and he simply nodded at me. Flower stood at the other side of the bridge, impatiently tapping her hoof on the ground.

Very carefully, I placed my hoof down on the first board. It creaked in protest of the weight now being placed on it after more than one hundred years. Eventually it was carrying the full weight of the hoof and the creaking ceased. Now I took my other front hoof and placed it carefully on the next board. This time, the creaking of the board was joined by the creaky sound of the support ropes being placed under tension. I could already feel my pulse beating in my forehead as my lower lip trembled.

“I am not happy with this! Not happy at all!” I cried out in frustration.

“Awww, c’mon you big sissy!,” Flower yelled from the other side.

I continued my slow progression across the bridge. It took me almost five minutes just to cross halfway. Every board threatened to break under my weight and the rope sounded like it would snap at any second. A new whistling sound joined the quiet symphony from the bridge. “What the fuck?” I asked. The bridge started to sway in the strong breeze that just began to blow across the mountain. In my mind, I saw my broken body lying on the floor of that dark cavern in the stable. “Oh no…. Not this… Why? Why me?” I dropped to a lying position and grabbed onto both sides of the board I was currently on.

“Dust, you gotta get up and finish!” Silver called out. “Just sitting there is only going to make it worse!”

“Nope. I’m gonna wait it out!” I screamed back in a panic. My stomach began to turn as I saw the mountain below me sway in my vision. Fortunately, I hadn’t had a lot to eat for dinner or else I might have seen it make a second appearance.

My friends kept trying to motivate me to keep moving, but I was having none of it. Sooner or later, the wind would die down, the bridge would stop swaying, and I’d be able to keep walking.

A snapping sound came directly from my side. I looked over and saw that one of the strands of the support ropes had snapped, the frayed edge blowing in the breeze. Oh shit.

Slowly, I got back to my hooves and kept moving to the far side. I did pick up my pace a little, but I was still moving at what I considered a safe pace. I was making decent progress… for a while. After several steps, I heard a board crack when I put my weight down on it. My hoof pushed through the board, sending the splintered sections freefalling down the chasm below the bridge. Halfway down, they turned into what I envisioned as smaller versions of my own body. I watched as they bounced off the sides repeatedly. I immediately dropped down and closed my eyes. “That’s it, I’m done, I give up!”

“Dust, open yer Luna damned eyes!” Flower yelled at me very loudly.

“Nope, uh-uh, I’m waiting right here,” I said with a pout.

“Dust… just open yer Luna damned eyes!” Flower said with a bit of growl.

“No, why would I do such a…” I said as I opened my eyes just to give Flower a dirty look. The words escaped my head once I realized I was one step away from the end of the bridge. I felt my cheeks flush with warmth as a stepped over the missing board and got my hooves on firm ground. I trotted away from the bridge until I felt myself calm down. I sat down and tried to get my breathing under control.

Silver trotted over while Flower motivated Brownie to cross. “Dust, why are you so freaked out? You aren’t afraid of heights, are you?” she asked, whispering into my ear which she shielded with her hooves.

“No, n-n-not generally,” I stammered. “Just when I know I can’t fly my way out.”

“Oh… the stable, huh?” she asked.

“Yes, the stable,” I said, wincing as I felt a phantom pain from my healing wing.

Silver hugged me. “That sucks, Dust,” she said with a squeeze. “But don’t think I’m not still mad at you.”

What was the saying about a mare scorned?

It took Brownie about the same amount of time to cross the bridge as I did. While he didn’t have to deal with the breeze blowing the bridge around as much as it did for me, he did break a few boards on his way over. He did handle the situation much better than I did, however.

We kept following the mountain path for a while. I froze when I saw it end at a metallic door set into the wall of the mountain. Above the door sat an extremely weathered, wooden sign. It was in relatively good shape, considering it had been exposed to the elements for more than a century. It had been painted white with blue block lettering. The sparse lettering that remained read “Equestrian Mining - Gem Mine #14-a”. Below that, etched into the wood were the words “Collapsed - Enter at Your Own Risk..” Off to the side sat an old skywagon in amazingly good shape. The metal was still shiny and clear of rust. A red EFS marker suddenly appeared in my vision.

“Everypony… shhhh!” I whispered to my friends as I dropped into a prone position. My friends all followed suit. “Hostile target ahead.”

I very slowly led the group closer to the door, being careful to keep the marker directly ahead of me. Making sure to check above us (see, I do learn from my past mistakes!), I made it all the way to the door itself.

“Brownie, did we bring any of those flash bang grenades?” I asked with a whisper.

“Nope,” he said. I sighed and grimaced thinking of a plan B. “But ah did trade for some back at Dirtpatch.” He giggled, seemingly satisfied with himself.

Without me having to tell him, he knew exactly what my plan was. I did have to explain it to Flower and One as I got them to take cover behind the skywagon. Flower got into a position where she had a clear shot at the door, but had good cover in case whoever was inside was ready to fight back. I took up a position right next to the door and Brownie got next to me. I saw the flash bang held aloft in his magical field. With a silent nod, the three of us signalled each other that we were ready.

Moving in front of the door, I grabbed the handle and quickly turned it and pulled the door open, making sure I stayed behind it. At the same time, Brownie pulled the pin with his magic and threw the grenade inside the door. All three of us looked away from the door itself and waited for the bang.

“What the hell?” a voice inside the door said shortly before the loud percussive sound struck. “Holy shit! I’m blind, I’m blind!” The voice was clearly not Muddy’s.

Hoofsteps approached the door. I heard a soft thud right near the door frame. “Ow! Where the hell am I?” the mysterious voice asked. The hoofsteps continued until they were clearly outside the door frame.

I drew my shotgun and spun around the open door quickly. Brownie had already drawn out his pistol in his magic. Running as fast as I could, I slammed into the midsection of a stallion with a sniper rifle strapped to his torso. The pony tumbled to the ground and rolled a couple of times. He finally stopped and stayed there, still rubbing his eyes.

I approached the pony. He was an earth pony stallion with brown fur and white mane. He was on the small side stature wise, and clearly hadn’t eaten in awhile. He was still rubbing his eyes as I approached, making sure to keep a safe distance away. I stowed my shotgun while both Brownie and Flower kept their weapons trained on him.

“If you have any weapons on you, I’d throw them to the side,” I ordered. “You have a sniper rifle and a submachine gun trained on you. I’d definitely think twice about trying anything.”

The pony on the ground stopped rubbing his eyes and looked up at me. His teal eyes immediately constricted and he began trembling in fear. “P-p-please don’t shoot me!” he cried out, immediately curling into a fetal position. His EFS marker changed from red to green.

I held out my hoof and lowered it and my friends lowered their weapons, but didn’t holster them. Carefully, I approached the pony. “Listen, I’m going to take off your rifle. Just stay calm, OK?” I said calmly and gently. Nearly holding my breath, I reached out for his rifle and pulled it free from where is was strapped to his torso. I tossed the rifle to Flower. “Now look, my friends are going to holster their weapons,” I said, nodding towards my friends who followed my lead. “We just want to talk.”

“But that other pony said you were going to kill me!” he blurted out between sniffles. “He told me that I needed to get rid of you and then you wouldn’t be coming for me.”
I sat down near him. “Wait a minute… what other pony?” I asked.

“He didn’t tell me his name. All I know is he was a yellow and green pegasus and he said a grey and blue earth pony with four friends would be getting to town yesterday.” He was talking a mile a minute, but I was still able to understand him. “He said you were bounty hunters who were going to bring me in.”

“Muddy,” I said grimly. “Wait a minute, bring you in? What are you running from?”

“I’m a thief! I shoplifted from the general store in Fetlock Flats and Sheriff Seven Stars was hunting me down!” he screamed out, his words almost blending together. “I ran into the pegasus on my way out of town and he said he’d hide me. He also said that you were a bounty hunter and were going to kill me to collect the bounty. Please don’t kill me,” he pleaded as he started bawling his eyes out.

“Now calm down there, I’m not going to kill you,” I said calmly, trying to assure the poor pony.

“Y-y-you’re not?” he asked, pleading in his eyes as he looked up at me.

“No… I’m not,” I responded. “Now, the pegasus, did he say or give you anything?”

“W-w-well he left his sniper rifle for me to use,” he said while gesturing towards the rifle that Flower now held. “And he gave me this,” he continued as he reached into his saddlebags.

“Whoa there! Get yer hooves away from yer bags,” Flower barked as she leveled her rifle at the pony. “Dust’ll get it fer ya,” she said with a nod to me.

I trotted over and opened the saddlebag he had reached for. Inside, was a folded piece of weathered paper. I pulled it out of the bag and unfolded it.

“So, Dust, what does it say?” Brownie asked, trotting over to me.

I read the note out loud:

“Dear Dust, I hope you’re enjoying your little hunt. I knew you just couldn’t give up on this and you will not stop until you find me and ‘bring me to justice’. Hah! As if these ponies know what justice is. Well, seeing as how I can’t dissuade you from pursuing me, then I might as well play along. Good luck. You’ll need it. Sincerely yours, Muddy. PS - Peekaboo! I see you!”

My blood ran cold as I unholstered my shotgun in one swift motion and began searching the area around us. My EFS still showed only green markers.

“Anypony see him?” I asked, panicking as I kept sweeping my field of vision. All my friends responded with a chorus of no’s as we all kept looking for Muddy.

A brown blur moved across my peripheral vision which drew my attention. The prone pony was able to move faster than I thought possible. With what I thought was impossible speed, he had flipped himself over onto all fours. He then glided next to Brownie, took Brownie’s knife from its sheath and got behind Brownie with the knife to Brownie’s throat.

Gone from his face was the look of fear and panic, and it was replaced with a calm and cruel demeanor. “OK, ponies. Everypony drops their weapon now or else the big one will need a needle and thread to reattach his head,” he ordered very coolly. “And, Flower is it? Throw my sniper rifle back over here.”

“Dust, what do we do?” Flower asked though the firing bit of her pistol.

“Anypony have a shot?” I asked.

“Tsk,tsk, tsk. Don’t know how to follow directions, eh?” the threatening pony asked. The knife slid across Brownie’s throat, drawing a thin red line. Tiny rivulets of blood began to run down Brownie’s throat. “Very nicely maintained! I barely had to apply any pressure!”

Flower was the first to act. “OK, OK! Here!” she screamed. She tossed the energy rifle towards the brown pony and dropped her own rifle and stepped back from it. “Please everypony! Do what he says!”

Everypony looked at eachother with uneasy glances. Tears were streaming down Flower’s eyes. With a deep sigh, I tossed my shotgun towards the hostage taker, and then did the same with my pistol. I also took a few steps back. Silver and One did the same.

“You ponies were too easy! Muddy said you were dumb, but I didn’t believe it!” he said and then laughed. “I’ve had some strange contracts but this one takes the cake! I don’t know what this one did,” he said with nod of his head towards Brownie, “but he wanted you to go first and for it to take a while.” He shrugged. “As long as the caps are good, who was I to argue!”

One’s mouth dropped open. “But you said no one would get hurt!” he yelled.

“You must be the dumb one,” he said with a snicker. “Let me fill you in on a secret.” He mimed looking around for somepony listening in. “I lied,” he said in a sarcastic whisper and a wicked grin.

“No, not again! I will not let somepony get hurt again by some bad guy!” he screamed. His horn became engulfed in his magical aura. I couldn’t believe that he was able to sustain a magical field having had burned out so recently. The tip of his horn was shooting out a fountain of sparks. The pain he was feeling must have been intense, but the look of fury on his face was frightening.

Behind Brownie and our assailant, a hoof sized stone began to glow in a matching color. The stone shot off the side of the mountain right towards our attacker.

“What the fuck are you all looking at?” he asked while turning his head. The stone impacted with his snout, making a sickeningly wet thud along with a crack. The stone seemingly bounced off, but was still shrouded in the aura. The stone flew back towards him and hit his head again. Another wet snapping sound was joined this time by a spray of blood.

“No!” One yelled each time the stone withdrew and impacting the poor stallion again. After about five or six impacts, the pony lost his grip on the knife and slid to the ground off of Brownie’s body. That didn’t stop One from attacking him with the stone.

“One! Stop! You did it! He’s unconscious!” I yelled. The stone did not stop its attack. I grabbed One by the sides of his face and stared right in his eyes. At first glance, what I saw was sent a shiver down my spine. His eyes had constricted so they were barely pinpricks and bore right through me. He was breathing heavily through tightly clenched teeth. “One! Stop! You’re killing him!”

His eyes refocused on me. I watched as the magical aura around his horn slowly faded and then dissipated. I heard the stone drop the ground behind me. One was panting heavily. His whole horn was now a charred black color, and the tip was releasing a steady stream of black smoke. He pushed me out of the way and surveyed the scene.

The bounty hunter pony was lying on the ground. His face was nearly unrecognizable, being caved in at several spots. You couldn’t even be sure he was a pony. Crimson red blood had pooled around his head on the ground, mixing with the dust on the stony path. Amazingly, he was still breathing, but the gurgling sound that accompanied it didn’t bode well.

“Mister Dust… d-d-did I do that?” he asked. His eyes were wide open with fear.

“One, it’s OK, he was going to kill Brownie,” I said, trying to reassure him.

“Mister Dust, I think I’m going to be sick,” he whispered. One trotted away to behind the skywagon and shortly thereafter I heard the sound of him retching.

Sighing, I looked at the body of the barely alive pony. “Silver, have you ever flown one of those?” I asked, pointing towards the sky wagon.

“I’ve never tried, but it shouldn’t be that hard,” she said with a shrug. “I mean, if that ghoul pony out near Ponyville can do it, why can’t I?”

“Silver, go get hitched up. Everypony else, help me load him inside the wagon,” I said. “We have to get him back to Fetlock Flats.”

Level up!

Explosives - 15

Perk Obtained:
Tightrope Walker - When dealing with precarious footing, you receive +1 Agility.