Twilight stepped up to the podium, a checklist floating along side her. "Okay, Everypony, final check. Snacks?"
"Check." yelled out Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Pumpkin and Pound were behind them, playing with a ball.
Twilight checked off the box next to a piece of cake. "Decorations?"
"Check." Rarity said, centering at a small vase of flowers with her magic.
Another box marked off. "Reinforcements?"
"Check." Said several construction ponies who had just got done adding some metal sheets to most of the buildings.
"Reinforcement camouflage?"
Pinkie Pie popped out of a barrel holding a paintbrush. "Check!"
Twilight checked off the box, not bothering to wonder how Pinkie had manged to paint all the houses in the time she had looked away.
"OK, looks like everything is in order," Twilight said, setting her checklist into her saddlebag. "Now we just need Buck Norris to show up. Does anypony know when that's going to be?"
Everypony started murmuring among themselves. There seemed to be no idea when Buck Norris would get there.
Suddenly there was a shout from down the street. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were running down the road, yelling out as loud as they could. "He's coming! He's coming!"
They ran through the crowd and stopped right in front of Twilight and the mayor. Applebloom spoke up first, "Cousin Buck is almost here! We saw 'im headed this way!"
Everypony instantly started running around, clearing the middle of the road. It looked like a parade was about to be held, ending right in front of Sugar Cube corner. Everypony was standing around, trying to get a good view without standing too far in the road.
Twilight and Spike were standing right next to Sugarcube Corner with her friends. They were all chattering excitedly, but Rarity was the one who was most excited.
"Just imagine! Buck Norris, the strongest, most dashing stallion in all of Equestria! Oh, I feel faint just thinking about it."
"Yeah yeah, we all know how you wanna get a night with Buck. But get in line," Rainbow Dash said, bumping her rump against her friend.
"I hope he notices me this time. I keep trying to talk to him, but he's just so..." Fluttershy trailed off, blushing hard.
"Well, that's one Buck Norris fact proven true," Spike whispered to Twilight, who swatted him in the back of the head with her tail.
There was a rumbling sound like thunder, slowly getting louder and louder. A large cloud of dust was seen rising up over the Ponyville buildings, getting larger as the noise grew. When the noise was starting to get deafening, the dust cloud erupted into the street, running down the cleared road.
The sound cut out when the dust cloud washed across Twilight and her friends, making all of them cough as it dissipated. Everypony looked on as a carriage sat in the open space. The door opened and several ponies fell out, looking frazzled from the ride. One mare even leaped up and ran into the crowd shouting about a mad pony.
"I guess some ponies just can't take a little speed," said a deep voice that made Twilight's legs tremble.
All eyes turned to look at the rust-red pony who had been pulling the carriage.He had a red-orange mane and mustache, a black cowboy hat, and black hooves. The mark on his flank was a clenched fist with flames burning on it. But what really caught Twilight's attention was the powerful build and blue eyes that held her gaze like a magnet. She instantly understood why every mare in Ponyville had been excited about this stallion showing up.
"So, where's that little Apple cousin of mine?" Buck Norris said, looking out across the crowd.
"Over here, cousin Buck!" Applejack cried, waving at him from behind Rarity. She shoved her way through, heading over to where Applebloom and her friends had ended up. The little filly was pulled along by her big sister, ending up right in front of Buck Norris. "This here is Applebloom. She wasn't around last time you wandered into our neck of the woods."
"Well howdy, Applebloom. I've heard a thing or two about you and your friends being in some sort of club?"
Applebloom looked a bit sheepish, and her voice shook a bit while speaking. "Y-yeah. Mah friends and I are all workin' to get our cutie marks."
Scootaloo and Sweetiebell rushed to their friend's side. "Yeah, we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders! Um... Mr. Buck Norris, sir."
He chuckled, rubbing his hoof over Applebloom's mane. "Well, that sounds great. It's always good to have friends when looking for that thing that makes you special. And you can just call me Buck, Crusaders."
The three fillies giggled and scampered off, bouncing ideas about how they should try being cutie mark crusader cheer leaders. Buck chuckled and turned back to Applejack and her friends. The orange mare gave Twilight a slight shove to get her to step forward. "And this here is Twilight, who ah'm sure you've heard a thing or two about."
"Ah, so this is the famous mare who i keep hearing about." Twilight blushed when she heard him say that. "Well, glad to meet you, little lady. The princesses just wouldn't shut up about you when I was in Canterlot last week."
"Really?" Twilight was surprised. She expected the princesses to talk about her, but not that much.
"Eeyup. They really seem to have high hopes for you. And from what I've heard, you're living up to them."
Twilight blushed. "Um.. thanks." She hadn't expected Buck Norris to be so nice. from all the strange facts she had read about him, she had expected some sort of muscle head like Roid Rage.
Buck raised an eyebrow at her, then asked Applejack, "There something wrong with her? Luna told me that it's hard to get her to shut up."
Half the crowd chuckled, and a few murmured that he was right. Twilight and her friends glared at them before she answered. "Sorry, it;s just, you not exactly what I expected. I um... read some things..."
Buck laughed, and the sound of s deep voice ran through her and made her legs weak again. No wonder nopony could resist him; that voice was just so... manly.
"You shouldn't pay too much attention to those books. not everything in them is true." Behind him, the carriage suddenly lost its wheels a crashed into pile a of kindling.
"Um... right. Well, welcome to Ponyville. I don't suppose you'd need a place to stay or anything?" Twilight offered before she realized what she was saying.
"No, I've got a place set up back at Sweet Apple Acres. Though i'm sure i'll be kept pretty busy around here, so I wouldn't count on finding me there too often." He gave a glance around the dwindling crowd, a few mares smiling and winking at him. Twilight guessed she knew what would be keeping him busy.
"Well, I better get that mess cleared up. Don't want nopony gettin' hurt." He wandered over tot he pile of wood that had been the carriage.
"This is gonna be good," Applejack said excitedly. "Twi, get ready to see one of the reasons Cousin Buck has so many rumors flyin around about him."
The tough looking red pony walked up to the pile of wood. After looking it over for a moment, he suddenly swung around, spinning in a small circle before slamming a hoof against it. The pile of wooden scraps flew into the air, then landed, piece by piece, until the entire carriage was whole again. Twilight's jaw was hanging open at the sight.