Daring Do fell forward.

The rifle flew from her hooves, her hoof stretching for it even as she hit the floor.

Her chin smashed against the wooden floor, her teeth viscously piercing her tongue. The taste of iron flooded her mouth as she struggled against the mercenary on top of her.

“I got her!” a stallion’s voice said amid several grunts. “Take the shot!”

She tried to turn her head to look at him, but a punch to her cheek sent her face back to the floor.

“Hold her still!” said a mare’s voice behind the stallion.

Daring grunted as she pawed the floor near the rifle. Her breathing quickened when the tip of her hoof touched its pistol grip.

Just a little further….

A pair of green hooves walked into view from the side and kicked the rifle away.

“Damn it!”

Daring’s mind raced. As she continued to struggle against the stallion behind her back, she saw the shadows of the stallion’s marefriend and the shotgun she wielded in front of her. Why hadn’t she taken the shot yet?

“What are you waiting for?! Shoot her already!” the stallion shouted, echoing Daring’s thoughts.

“I can’t!” the mare mercenary said. “I might hit you!”

“Listen, I can’t hold her down forever! You gotta-”

Daring elbowed the stallion in the face. He recoiled, clutching his snout. Before his colleague could take the shot, Daring dove towards the green mare’s hind legs, using her wings for extra speed, and then knocked the mercenary off her hooves. Daring got up and unfurled her whip. In a split second, it curled into a lasso, yanked the green mare’s shotgun from her hooves, and brought it to Daring’s own.

The gunshot’s boom echoed through the hall as Daring Do painted the walls red. The green mare’s body trembled and then collapsed.