The Pinkietons were trotting along the railroad tracks and had almost made it back to town when a device strapped to Vinyl’s saddlebag began beeping. She pulled it off to see a small red light on it blinking.

“She took the bait,” the DJ remarked. “Messy reneged on the deal.”

“Technically, we reneged on it first,” Octavia pointed out. “If just to test her.”

Sharp Eye laughed. “You’re both wrong! There was no deal! A Pinkieton always backs up a real deal with a Pinkie Promise.” She gave them a smug grin. “You two still have a lot to learn about being Pinkietons.” Both she and Watt Sun laughed and gave each other a hoofbump, much to Octavia and Vinyl’s chagrin.

Quiet Earp and Doc were waiting for them on the edge of town. “Well? What happened?” the sheriff asked, his tone filled with apprehension.

“Messy took the bait,” Watt Sun answered. “Just as I had hoped. If she had actually held up her side of the bargain, that would have left us in an awkward place.”

Quiet gave him a nervous look. “She’s gonna hit us hard for this.”

“Then you’d better be ready for her!” Vinyl replied with enthusiasm. “How are the preparations coming along?”

“We’re finished,” Doc answered, gesturing back towards the town. “Everyone is holed up either in the mule town or on main street. We’ve got traps set up around town and the griffons are positioned overhead,” he added, pointing to clouds in the sky above main street, each one with a griffon standing watch. “Never thought I’d see everyone working together. Messy Manes must’ve scared them straight!”

“Perfect,” Octavia said, marching into town. “We’ll take position on top of the hotel. What’s the signal in case anyone spots something?”

Sharp Eye immediately raised a hoof. “Ooh! How about ‘Yippee-ki-yay!’”

“Sharp Eye, stop trying to talk like a cowpony,” Vinyl muttered. “You’re just embarrassing yourself.”

“I rather like it,” Watt Sun interjected, causing Sharp Eye’s expression to brighten.

“We are not using ‘Yippee-ki-yay,’” Octavia said flatly. “The signal should be something simple and dignified.”

“How about,” Quiet grumbled, catching the Pinkietons off-guard, “the signal is ‘Look out, there’s a bandit’? Is that clear enough for everypony?” Everypony hurriedly nodded.

A couple of hours later, Sharp Eye and Vinyl were lying around on the rooftop of the hotel, looking off into the distance with glazed eyes. Sharp Eye was plucking her banjo as she lay on her back, gazing up into the sky, while Vinyl stared out at the horizon, muttering to herself.

“And... now!” the DJ said, staring expectantly beyond town. “...Nnnnnow! ...Right now! ...Now! One... Two... Three... Aaaaaaaannnd—”

“Would you stop that?!” Vinyl looked over the edge of the roof to see Octavia glaring up at her from a window on the top floor. “You’ve been doing that non-stop for ten minutes now!”

“But I’m bored!” Vinyl moaned, flopping down on the edge of the roof and letting her forelegs dangle over the side of the building. “It’s midday and there’s still no sign of Messy Manes!”

“Would you rather be fighting for your life?” Octavia scoffed.

“Well gee, when you put it like that... Eeyup.”

“Do you two ever stop bickering?” Watt Sun called out, leaning out of another top-story window.

“Bickering is fun,” Vinyl shot back. “It relieves the tension. You should try bickering with Sharp Eye some time.”

Watt Sun opened his mouth to respond, but couldn’t think of anything to say. The plucking sound of Sharp Eye’s banjo stopped and a silent moment passed before her head emerged over the edge of the rooftop.

“Hey Watt Sun, do you want to try bickering?” she asked.

“Wha—No!” the stallion answered. “I don’t want to bicker with you!”

“Please can we bicker?” The mare’s eyes were shining brightly and she had an eager smile on her face.

“I don’t want to bicker.”

“Come on! Let’s bicker!”

“We are not going to bick—Why are you laughing?” he cried, looking hurt from the mares’ reactions.

“Oh, Watt,” Sharp Eye began with a chuckle, “I’m just messing with—” She stopped abruptly as something caught her attention. “Woah! Yippee-ki—I mean, bandits!” she screamed, pointing into the distance. “To the south!”

“I see ‘em!” Doc replied. The other Pinkietons quickly spotted them too. It was a group of ponies emerging over the hill, galloping directly towards town. They were all clad in bandanas, whooping and hollering as they brandished rifles and lassos.

The alarm was sounded and Quiet Earp quickly led a group of at least a couple of dozen townsfolk to the end of the main street. He stopped and held up a hoof, halting the assembled ponies and mules at the edge of town. They had clubs, pieces of wood, or nets clutched in their teeth, watching the oncoming and well-armed group of bandits with trepidation.

“O.K....” the sheriff yelled out to his fellow townsfolk, keeping his hoof raised in the air and standing resolute as the bandits came nearer. “...Hold...”

The bandits were close enough that their faces could now be made out. Their hollers and whoops mingled with the thunder of their hooves striking the ground.

“...Hold...”

The unicorn bandits levitated their rifles beside them as they continued to charge, taking aim at the crowd of townsfolk.

“...Hold...”

Suddenly, half the bandits vanished. There was no warning, they just seemed to be swallowed up by the earth in an instant. A cloud of dust slowly lifted in the air as the other bandits skidded to a halt, bewildered and alarmed. A couple of them stood in place before the ground suddenly gave way beneath them, revealing a hole big enough to hold several ponies.

“O.K.... Go!” Quiet Earp hollered, charging at the confused group of bandits. The other townsfolk gave a great yell and raced forward, waving their various weapons in the air as they closed in on the invaders.

Despite their superior weaponry, the bandits were no match for Quiet’s posse. The sheriff himself quickly lassoed a rifle out of the hooves of one pony, while a pair of mules with a net stretched between them entangled another bandit, bringing him to the ground before he was forcefully dragged into a hole, where he landed atop his fellows struggling to get out. Caught off-guard by the traps, the bandits were slow to react to the townsfolk, who made short work of them.

“Yeah!” Vinyl shouted, watching from the rooftop. “That all you got, Messy Manes?!”

There was the sudden screech of an eagle from overhead, and the DJ looked up to see a group of griffons diving towards them, wielding spears in their claws. “...Why do I open my fat mouth?” she grumbled.

She and Sharp Eye narrowly dodged the spears flung by the griffons, which impaled themselves on the roof, each with a harsh ‘thunk’. Vinyl managed to grab her guitar just before she heard a great ‘whump’ and the flap of huge wings behind her. The scrape of talons against the roof alerted the DJ as to what was awaiting her.

She spun around, readying her guitar in her forehooves, only to have a clawed hand sieze her by the neck. Vinyl let out a choked gasp as she stared into the narrowed yellow eyes of Gretchen. The griffon forcefully lifted her into the air, using her other claw to snatch the guitar out of Vinyl’s hooves. With alarming swiftness, she raised the guitar over her head before smashing it against the roof, shattering the wooden body into fragments and causing the strings to snap back against her claw. They left small cuts where they struck, but Gretchen didn’t seem to notice.

“Stringy!” Vinyl sputtered, struggling against the griffon’s grip. “Noooo!”

“No mercy for the guilty.” Gretchen casually lifted the pony over the edge of the roof, letting her dangle far above the street below. “Until we bring down their lying sun.” Without a second thought, she let go of Vinyl.

The DJ screamed as she flailed about in mid-air. “CATCH ME CATCH ME CAT—Oof!” Her fall was cut short as she felt a pair of hooves grasp her. Vinyl looked up to see Octavia leaning out a window, straining to hold onto one of the DJ’s forehooves with her own.

“Whew. Thanks, Octy.”

The cellist gritted her teeth, grunting from the effort of trying to lift Vinyl through the window. “Don’t... hrrgh... mention it...”

“You cannot delay the inevitable,” Gretchen said calmly, leering down at them. “For as the lord’s grace is unquestioned, her will is not—”

There was a sudden explosion of wood against the back of the griffon’s head, accompanied by a sharp twang that was quickly cut off. Gretchen briefly reeled from the impact before catching herself and slowly lifting her head, turning around to see Sharp Eye clutching her shattered banjo, which now consisted solely of the neck with the strings dangling off. The pony’s eyes widened as she saw the griffon shake off the blow so quickly.

Gretchen slowly rose to her full height, unfurling her wings to their fullest extent and looming over the young mare before her. Sharp Eye clung to her thin stick of a weapon as she backed away. “Oh,” she squeaked, her face pale and her knees shaking as the griffon rapidly closed in.

The Pinkieton made a lunge to the side, but was no match for the griffon’s speed. Just as she had done with Vinyl, Gretchen grabbed Sharp Eye by the neck and lifted her off her hooves. The pony tried to hit the griffon, but the pressure around her throat was causing her to lose focus fast.

“Time and mercy are out of your reach...” Gretchen cooed, teasing her talons against Sharp Eye’s skin before she tightened her grip. The griffon’s expression darkened as the mare’s face began to turn blue.

Without warning, something yellow and small struck the side of Gretchen’s head, making a small ‘quack!’ sound when it hit before it fell to the ground. The griffon glanced down to see a rubber duck sitting beneath her, then looked up to see Watt Sun standing on the rooftop, his nostrils flaring and his eyes burning as he clutched a cupcake in a trembling hoof.

“Get away from her!” he bellowed, lifting the cupcake in a throwing stance.

“Watt...” Sharp Eye choked, her forelegs flailing against the griffon’s hold.

Gretchen gave Watt Sun a sly grin. “As you wish.” Suddenly, she drew Sharp Eye back before flinging her at the other Pinkieton. Released from the griffon’s grip, the mare gasped for air only for her breath to get knocked out again once she collided with the stallion. Watt Sun’s eyes widened and he flung open his forelegs to catch her, but she hit with enough force to lift him off his hooves and send them both sailing towards the edge of the roof.

The two Pinkietons struck the edge of the roof, rolling across it into empty space. Scrambling, Sharp Eye narrowly managed to grab a hoofhold on the top of the wall as Watt Sun, failing to catch hold of the wall himself, maintained his grip around the mare’s body. They now dangled over the edge of the building, with Sharp Eye straining to hold on with her forehooves as Watt Sun desperately tried to get a hold on the building himself.

They both heard the tap of talons against brick and looked up to see Gretchen standing above them, her head blocking their view of the sun so that it cast her face into shadow. She raised a claw over her head and Sharp Eye flinched, waiting for it to strike.

A sudden streak of brown and tan struck Gretchen before she could land her blow, and the Pinkietons watched in stunned shock as Doc and Gretchen fell from the roof, the former’s claws digging into the villain’s hide. They tumbled over each other in mid-air above the street before they separated, both throwing open their wings as they brandished their claws at each other. Doc’s expression was livid and crazed, while Gretchen’s was one of calm fury. Both let out a screech as they dove for the other, swiping their talons at their opponent.

Meanwhile, Sharp Eye gave a pained grunt, her forelegs straining as sweat began trickling down her face. “Hrrrggh... slipping...”

Watt Sun tried to grab hold of the wall with his rearhooves, struggling to find a hoofing on the brick wall while he still clung to Sharp Eye with his forehooves. He tentatively reached up towards the top of the wall. “Hold on,” he murmured, “Just another moment...”

But Sharp Eye couldn’t hold out for much longer. With a final tremble, her forelegs finally gave out and the mare lost hold of the building, sending them both plunging towards the street. She yelped and clenched her eyes shut, quickly wrapping her hooves tightly around a startled Watt Sun as they fell towards the ground.

Their fall didn’t last long, however. Barely a few seconds passed before a rope, encased in a blue glow, snapped over the side of the roof and raced through the air at the two Pinkietons, quickly wrapping itself around them before pulling back, halting their fall in an instant.

Vinyl poked her head over the edge of the roof, her horn glowing the same color as the aura which surrounded the rope. “Hey, you okay?” she called down.

Watt Sun and Sharp Eye glanced at each other, their faces so close that their muzzles touched. They hung upside down, their hooves wrapped around each other’s bodies and bound in place by the rope tied around them. “Are you okay?” they asked each other simultaneously. “I’m fine, what about you?” they both immediately replied. There was an awkward pause as they both blushed and gave each other a goofy grin. The rope, brought to life by Vinyl’s spell, gently lowered them to the ground.

“Hold on!” the DJ called down. “In just a moment I’ll have you— buck!” she squealed, quickly dropping to her hooves as a griffon sailed overhead, narrowly missing Vinyl’s head with his talons. The griffon sailed past, arcing over the street as he turned around to make another pass at the Pinkieton.

But just as he set his sights on Vinyl once more, the griffon was suddenly bombarded by a hail of pink substance that splattered all over his body. Impact after impact, the griffon felt more of it clinging to his feathers, sticking like glue and spreading the smell of artificial fruit flavor to anything it touched. His desperate attempts to free the strange substance from his wings were in vain, and within seconds he plummeted to the ground, hitting the dusty street with a hard smack.

Facing the downed griffon from a window of the hotel, Octavia was leaning out, clutching a large machine gun that was painted bright pink, with a cylindrical magazine attached to the firing mechanism. Vinyl leaned over the edge of the roof, admiring the cellist’s weapon.

“Ooh, is that the tommy gum?” the DJ asked.

“Standard issue, bubblegum model,” Octavia confirmed, loading a new magazine into the gun before tossing it up to Vinyl. She caught it with her magic and took it in her forehooves, admiring it for a moment as a manic grin spread across her face before she unleashed its sweet, sticky firepower on the griffons above.

Nearby, Gretchen went hurtling into the charred wreckage of the saloon, smashing through a roof beam and tumbling into a pile of rubble in a cloud of dust and ash. Doc hovered above, breathing heavily and seething with rage as Gretchen calmly picked herself up from the wreckage. Both griffons were already covered in scratches and cuts, though Gretchen looked the worst for wear even while her expression betrayed no pain.

“I told you never to come here,” Doc growled. “I told you never to follow me.”

Gretchen gave him a crooked grin as she tossed a charred piece of wood aside. “It is no mere coincidence that Messy Manes would offer me the very skies that you fled to. A false witness will not go unpunished, and he will not escape.”

She launched herself into the air, tackling Doc and knocking him out of the sky. But he recovered as they fell, twisting around in mid-air to position himself atop Gretchen before slamming her against the ground. With a screech, he lifted his talons and lashed out, leaving a gash across Gretchen’s face. She let out a lion’s growl before bucking him off, catching him with the sharp claws of her paws.

Doc landed with a pained grunt, looking down to see deep cuts along his sides. Despite her wounds, Gretchen took it in stride and slowly paced around the other griffon.

“You are weak, traitor,” she remarked. “You are weak like all who sin.”

Doc rose to his full height, unfurling his wings. “Don’t underestimate me. I killed dozens in my day.”

Gretchen let out a haughty laugh. “And you call yourself a doctor.”

“I had bad days!” he bellowed, rushing at the villain. She sprang up at him, drawing her claws out. They collided, their talons locked against each other as both tried to overpower the other. They beat their wings relentlessly, snapping their beaks at each other while trying to dig their lion’s claws into each other’s flesh.

“Who will be your savior?” Gretchen snarled. “Will you die just to try in vain to escape the lord’s wrath?”

“If I die, I’ll die to protect my home,” Doc growled. “To save it from the filth I fled from!” With the swiftness of a predator, he clamped his beak around Gretchen’s throat. She bellowed and thrashed, struggling to throw him off, but he desperately clung to her even as she wrestled one of her talons free of Doc’s grasp and dug them into his back.

They remained locked in place for several long, grueling moments as Doc strained to hold on and ignore the agony of Gretchen’s claws ripping into him. Eventually the pain became too much to bear and Doc let out a cry of anguish, losing his grasp on Gretchen’s neck and dropping to the ground, writhing in pain. A deep gash ran along his back, his wings twitched pitifully, and his every muscle was clenched tightly as Gretchen stood above him, regarding him coldly.

“It is a shame, brother,” she remarked. “You had so much to offer the lord’s cause.” Gretchen raised a foreleg over her head, readying to strike a final blow.

Suddenly, she heard a strange whistling sound, like something rushing through the air, before she felt the stabbing pain of something sinking itself into her foreleg. She grunted, turning her leg over to see an arrow sticking out.

Gretchen turned to see Octavia standing in the street, already drawing another arrow against the string of her bow. The griffon calmly wrenched the arrow out of her leg and unfurled her wings to charge at the pony, when there was a sudden blur of pink and she felt something strike her paw. She looked down to see a sticky substance clinging to her leg, holding it to the surrounding ground. Before she could properly react, more of the pink substance struck her, attaching to her other legs and sticking to her wings.

Gretchen struggled to wrench her legs free from the ground, but they were held firmly in place. She looked up to see Vinyl standing on the roof of the hotel, brandishing the tommy gum in her direction. The griffon snarled at the two ponies. “You insolent fools! Your mortal instruments cannot overcome—”

A last projectile of gum struck her in the beak, filling her mouth with strawberry-flavored bubblegum and rendering her unable to speak. She gestured vigorously at the Pinkietons for a moment before toppling to the ground, held in place by the sticky substance. Townsfolk emerged out of the buildings to secure her in place with ropes, and Gretchen was helpless to do anything except squirm in place and make muffled shouts. Around them, the other griffons in Gretchen’s gang had been captured or were fleeing from the still fighting griffon townsfolk.

The Pinkietons ran to Doc, who was still lying in a crumpled heap on the ground. His injuries looked terrible, but the griffon was still moving. The sound of galloping hooves reached their ears and they looked up to see Quiet Earp returning with his posse, accompanied by some of the griffon townsfolk. The sheriff’s face was white as he frantically ran towards them.

“Doc! Oh my word, Doc!” He skidded to a halt by the griffon’s side and fell beside him, shaking with fear. “I-I’m sorry, we were so busy with the bandits outside town we didn’t notice Gretchen’s Gang attackin’!”

“S’ok, Quiet,” the griffon replied. His tone was still good-natured, though his voice was quieter than usual. "I think I'll get through this... though I don't think I'm going to be flying any time soon."

“Get him inside!” the sheriff barked at his fellows. The griffons quickly obeyed and, assisted by a few ponies and mules, gently lifted Doc before carrying him towards the hotel. Quiet remained by his friend as they took him inside.

The Pinkietons watched them go while curious townsfolk stepped out onto the main street, their expressions ones of shock as they watched Doc be carried away or their fellows tie down a gum-covered and furious Gretchen.

Author's Notes:

This is an edited version of the chapter. Originally, this chapter ended with Gretchen and Doc having a bloody fight to the death and both of them perishing. In retrospect, this was really unfitting to the otherwise comedic tone of this story, so I've tried to remedy this.