Author's Notes:

So a weird one I wanted to do. Not sure if I need to change the rated everyone tag to a rated T for this particular chapter, but I don't know. Hope you enjoy it!

A line of tin cans. All of them, mounted on the top of a fence. An open field. No cities, no one around to complain, and no one to call the cops for holding firearms. And best of all, plenty of quiet. Just the thing that Aria Blaze needed.

She stood far from the fence, with her eyes looking at the tin cans far ahead which sat like bumps on a log. They were there, begging for mercy, pleading that they wouldn't be taken out. In her right hand, she held an old revolver with a steel grip. If anyone could pry it out of her hand, they would have no luck. Not even a crowbar could loosen the grip of that gun. Slowly, she raised it up, pointed at the cans. She moved a foot back, standing in position. With an eye closed, she looked through the small scope she had, aiming for her three targets.

"Now, I'm going to give you a word of advice," Aria said out loud, acting as if she was facing a real being, "Don't rat out on your friends. Because if you do..." She pulled the trigger, shooting the first can down. "Your friends will turn your back on you..."

Another shot. The other can went.

"And then soon after..."

The last can went down. She raised the gun up, blowing the steam away from the barrel. A sharp grin on her face, admiring her success.

"They'll shoot you in the back."

"Is that so?"

Aria nearly jumped and she fired a bullet into the air, then spun around fast to where the voice came from. Thankfully the source wasn't a threat, but a friend. Seeing who it was, she put the gun down.

"Sorry, I thought you were someone else," Aria said, feeling her heart pound.

"No, I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that," Octavia apologized, "Never sneak up on someone who's holding a high powered weapon, that's asking for trouble."

Aria chuckled, "Yeah."

"What are you doing out here, anyway?" Octavia asked.

"Its far from the city, I needed some quiet," Aria shrugged.

"No, what are you doing?"

"Oh!" Aria realized. "Target practice, basically."

She swished her revolver, allowing the barrel to open up for her to see the bullets. Only two left. She put the loading barrel back, then she twirled it around in her hand. Then with one move, she flung it back into the holster that was strapped to her side.

Octavia looked back to the distance, seeing the tin cans that were down and laying on the ground. A smirk crept on her lips as she looked to Aria.

"You're a good shot."

Aria shrugged. "I've had hundreds of years worth of practice. In fact, back in some of my older days, people called me La Slugslinger."

Octavia snorted. "What?"

"No joke."

"No, no, I got that but, why Slugslinger?"

"I don't know," Aria shrugged, "Mostly cause I was pretty handy with these bad boys, and whenever I pulled them out, no one dared to step out of line or in my way."

Octavia chuckled, "I imagine that came in handy?"

"Oh it did, let me tell you..."

Late 1800s

Standing in a dress that dragged along the ground, she held her twin revolvers with steel grips, pointing them at the two bearded men in front of her. They were sitting at a bar, and the bartender was less than thrilled with their attitude towards em, especially since they turned guns on them.

"Now let me make this clear gentlemen. That man there, Tapper, he works really hard to quench the thirsts of everyone here in this town, not to mention the best supplier of aqua," Aria smirked for a split second before sneering again. "You're going to finish those drinks, and then leave. And if you so much as come back to have an affair with some drunken broad, I will find you. Get me?"

Both of them slowly turned around, finishing the last of their alcohol, and put the glasses on the counter. The got up on their feet, looking at Aria with some gruff looks.

"Aye. You think you're so strong, senorita. Well that's where you're wrong. Mi hermano y yo, nosotros no gusta tu voz y esas desagradables hermanas tuyas. Vamos, Redeye."

The two men walked past Aria, completely oblivious to what her face was expressing. She grit her teeth under that black veil, and she cocked both of the guns. Turning them behind her, she pulled the triggers with a loud bang. Both men were hit, and their bodies slammed to the floor.

Barely anyone batted an eye, rather instead they just shrugged at the incident. Aria slowly turned around and walked towards the men who were down on the ground.

"So, Tapper. How many people have been shot in your bar now?" Aria asked.

"Counting the two men you shot, Miss Aria, I estimate it to be about, ay... over 50 people, about."

Aria's eyes widened. "Over 50?"

"One wrong move sets the customers off," the bartender shrugged, "Surprised I'm still in business."

Aria held her head, groaning. "Well, if anyone minds, I think I'm gonna claim whatever valuables they have on them."

"Alright with me. But I must warn you, Miss Blaze, shooting them wasn't the brightest of moves. Now that you've taken these two out, oh-ho-ho, Tiro Largo is going to have it out for you now."

"I'm not scared. And I'm not going to take any bull from anyone," Aria huffed, stealing the bullet belts off of the men.

"--Unfortunately, little did I know that Tapper was right," Aria said with wide eyes.

The two of them were now sitting in chairs, across from each other. Octavia had brought some snacks over, much to Aria's appreciation.

"So tell me again, luv. You're saying that because you shot those two buggers, the gang of this Tiro Largo was going to come after you?"

Aria nodded, taking a sip of soda from the can. Octavia blinked.

"Tell me again, why were you living out here?"

"Because, we were helping a Mexican Revolutionary, and some men who wanted him dead decided to hunt us, so we had no choice but to flee. That's what got us chased out of Mexico," Aria groaned. "Kinda wish we didn't. Despite the heat, Mexico was pretty nice. And Sonata made some friends there."

"That where she got a fondness for tacos and mariachi music?" Octavia asked, taking a bite of her food.

"Sort of, yeah," Aria chuckled. "Never saw that girl so happy and giddy when she was partying. And, I'll admit. Seeing her so happy, and seeing Adagio smile for the first time in like... years, it... it honestly made me think for a second that we finally found a place to call home," Aria said with a genuine smile.

Octavia returned the smile, a warmness in her heart growing.

"You really love your sisters, don't you?"

Aria nodded. "They're everything to me. They're all I have."

"That's not true though. Its not just them, but you also have us, remember?"

"I never forgot," Aria nodded again, "Though word of advice, never do anything to aggravate me. You saw how I was with Rainbow Dash on the first day of school, now imagine how I would be against a violent gang."

Octavia's mouth fell. "I'm not sure I want to see that image. But I do see where you're coming from, I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to my mum, or any of you. That's why we've got to stick together out here."

"Agreed," Aria took another bite from her food, gnawing down on the meat and bread of her sandwhich.

Octavia took another sip of her drink, and pursed her lips.

"Actually, what was it like living in the Old West? That's where you were living, weren't you?"

"Yes, it was. But I can honestly say, without a doubt, the Old West is one of the worst places in time that my sisters and I have ever been in. We were paranoid enough as it is about who we could trust, but we were at our highest in the Old West."

"Well, isn't there someone you could trust out there?"

"No, there wasn't. Anyone who's not a close ally or family of yours, wants to kill you."

"And I mean literally, anyone. You can kick a single stone with your foot out of boredom, and someone will want to kill you."

Adagio, Aria, and Sonata walked by some of the small buildings in town, nothing but neutral looks. They were rather calm, nothing bad happening that needed their attention. But what they weren't expecting was the door in the building that stood right in front of to be kicked open. A split second after it was kicked open, an older man with a deranged look started to fire his rifle at weird angles, not even realizing where he was shooting. All the Dazzlings could do was duck and cover.

"Angry drunk people..."

But as the man turned his head, a wild coyote jumped from out of nowhere, pouncing on him with a loud growl. The man screamed in terror at the bloodthirsty beast, not ready for his fate.

"Hungry animals..."

"Hey!"

The sisters turned their heads, watching as a masked man fired a bullet at a civilian who came down faster a tree chopped in the woods.

"Outlaws."

A woman came screaming out of one of the buildings, while a man, presumably the doctor shouted at her.

"You wanted surgery, I'll give you surgery!"

"The freaking doctor! The doctor, wanted us dead!"

But right out of nowhere, a wild bull came snorting in, charging at the doctor who left the building. With one slam, he head-butted him down, taking him out.

"Even animals that you actually managed to tame wanted you dead!"

Octavia's food dropped from her mouth as she listened to her, to wit, an awkward pause with her and Aria.

"Okay, I'm pretty sure you're just exaggerating."

"Octavia, you haven't lived in the Old West, so how can you know I'm making this up?"

"And how do I know that you're not making half of that up?" Octavia asked, raising a brow.

Aria sighed, shaking her head. "There's a lot of stuff you don't know..."

Octavia set her drink down. "I don't understand, if everyone wanted you dead, then how are you still alive?"

"Because I don't take any bull from anyone, and my sisters and I are permanent immortals. We'll never die! But I will tell you this, there were times where we almost could have gotten killed, but we didn't."

"Aria?"

"Yes?"

"Mind explaining to me where your Slugslinger title came from?"

"Oh, right, sorry. Kinda got sidetracked," Aria apologized. "So anyways, a few days passed by after those two men were killed. I took their bullet belts, guns, vests, hats, and their money, and well, shortly afterwards some hungry coyotes came by and dragged their bodies out of the bar. Literally no one did a thing to stop them."

"Alright," Octavia said, continuing to listen.

"Unfortunately, Tiro Largo's men found out our location. And it was a day that my sisters forgot to put on the pendents, and, well..."

"Let us go!" Sonata pleaded.

The gang of outlaws gathered around Adagio and Sonata who struggled under their strength. Having their pendents not around their neck proved to be a problem, which they discovered right away. And the man running their group; Tiro Largo was with them. Tiro had a poncho covering his vest and shirt, two pistols in holsters strapped to his legs, and a mustache so long he could twirl it like an evil mastermind.

"We don't have anything you want, now unless--no, no, don't you, mmm!" Adagio didn't finish her sentence. Not that she could with the cloth wrapped around her mouth.

A single piece of cloth was used to gag Sonata as well, both girls unable to speak now.

"Hold them both. We find this Slugslinger that everyone in this town is talking about, and once we meet him, we kill him!"

The men nodded, clamoring with harmony.

"You think he'll show up?"

"He has to. No man would dare let these two cute ladies die, now would they?"

Adagio's eyes gave a deathly glare at Tiro. He just chuckled, brushing some dirt from out of the patch in his beard.

"Too bad a cute girl such as yourself has to suffer. I was almost considering asking you out, chica."

"She wouldn't be interested in you anyways, Tiro!"

The men turned their heads, looking at the distance. Dust and wind blew across the land, almost like a fog. A shadow walked through the mist, and emerging before them was Aria herself. A cowl covered her nose and mouth, and a big hat and brim covered the top of her head. And within her pockets, the pendents belonging to her sisters. And she had hers around her neck, but it was hidden away in the confines of her bosom.

"Now who might you be?"

"The name, is Aria. I'm the Slugslinger," Aria approached, standing her ground.

"You? A hot woman like yourself is the great Slugslinger?"

Aria didn't smirk, or smile. She wasn't joking today. She never joked when it came to throwing her sisters into any of their situations.

"Yes, that's me. And unless you want to spend the rest of the afternoon putting your face back together, you'll let those two go!"

"Now, now, lets not be hasty. Why not negotiate for them?"

"Because they don't belong to you!" Aria growled.

Tiro didn't back down from Aria's temper. "Sure they don't, chica."

His heeled spurs clicked against the back of his boots as he stomped towards her, his devilish eyes staring down at her.

"Now if you claim to be the great Slugslinger, then why don't you prove it?"

Aria stared right into his eyes, a glare of impending death still remnant. Adagio and Sonata's eyes focused in on the confrontation, right before their eyes. Their lips quivered around the gags in their mouths, and the men holding them were no longer paying attention to their faces. They still held onto their restraints, but they were all staring right at Aria and Tiro.

By half a minute, the entire town was dead silent. Some of the townsfolk who watched the events unfold came by to see the stare-off, awaiting for some move to happen. Nothing was happening so far, they weren't even sure if anything was going to happen. Until--

"AGH!"

Aria's arm had jolted up with one split second, holding her gun in hand. In that short time, she pulled the trigger right at the perfect spot. Once he was shot, he collapsed and fell to the ground. Her face was nothing short of blank.

She looked back up at the other men who were holding her sisters, all of which looked terrified.

"Now, now, come on, we can talk about this peacefully--"

Aria didn't listen, but instead fired another bullet at the outlaw. The next one who tried to speak got shot as well, and it wasn't long until outlaws 4-8 were all shot by Aria's guns.

Aria blew the steam away from the pistols, twirled them around, and shoved them back into her holsters. She stomped her heels past the men who were taken down, and going behind her sisters backs. She untied the gag in Adagio's mouth, allowing her to speak again.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah," Adagio coughed, "I-I'm fine. H-How did you do that?"

Aria smirked. "Practice. Also, people die in this town every five minutes, so I had to do what I could."

Once Adagio and Sonata were untied, Aria handed them their pendents which they put around their necks as fast as possible. There was no putting them away now. They'd need them if they were going to survive out in the harsh desert.

"Well we better get going then. Sheriff and his posse are going to have a mess to clean up," Adagio said, leading her sisters away.

"Still can't believe you actually killed them. I thought you two were going to have a stand-off."

"He was nothing but a talker, you really think I was going to waste my time?"

"A few days after that, some word spread around that some pig-tailed girl shot down a fugitive from Mexico. After that, my sisters and I were off on the run once again."

Octavia nodded, soaking in Aria's tale.

"... I still refuse to believe there wasn't a single soul who didn't want to kill you."

Aria's head sunk. "Okay, so there were a few people there who didn't hate our guts, not everyone wanted us dead, there, ya happy?"

Octavia smirked. "Yes."

Aria groaned, rolling her eyes.

"You know not everyone's the same."

"I know, but its just hard to think we met one decent guy out there," Aria said, standing on her feet. She grabbed a few more bullets from a bullet belt, loading them into the revolver.

"Actually, Aria?"

"Yeah?"

Octavia sheepishly looked away, "Perhaps, I could get a shot using that revolver?"

Aria was about to get mad at what she assumed would be another remark at her last comment, but she didn't. Instead, she gave a friendly smile and gestured her to get on up. Octavia got up on her feet, and Aria handed her the other revolver which had no bullets. She loaded up the other gun, and the two stood together, pointing the guns at the new targets set up.

"Now, remember, got to have both hands on your gun, I'm only using one because, well, I'm strong enough to just need one hand," Aria boasted, "But the other thing."

She passed her a pair of safety glasses. "The bullets have a tendency to either bounce or fly back at you, so you might want to cover your eyes."

Octavia grinned. "Thanks, Blaze. Now lets shoot em up."

And so, the rest of their afternoon, Aria and Octavia spent it shooting at targets. With nothing but grins, and the sounds of the bullet shells dropping onto the ground.