Chapter 7
Priorities
The sun burned over the small desert town of Appleloosa, with the ponyfolk around town tending to their duties with brightened and invigorated moods. The town seemed to be in good spirits with what the day had to offer, and one of its citizens showed more than anypony like always. His name was Braeburn.
Braeburn Apple, Applejack's cousin, was volunteering to pull a carriage with a group of larger stallions for some passengers looking for a quick trip to their destinations. While he seemed smaller and out of his element when it came to pulling something, his spirit gave him the strength needed to keep up with the rest of the group. It was no surprise to them with how Braeburn works around town without much of a problem in his head. Many think that he could be the perfect stallion for a mare, and it was shocking to realize he was still single.
When they reached their destination, the salt tavern known as 'The Salt Block', the passengers hopped off and thanked the stallions for the ride. The larger stallions all turned to Braeburn with smiles on their faces "Thanks fer pitchin' in when we needed an extra set o' hoofs, Braeburn." one of them said with a gruff, but grateful tone.
Braeburn waved a hoof with a warm smile "Aw, t'aint nothin', guys! I'm happy t' help anypony in this place if the situation calls for it! What say we round up some more passangers 'round town, huh? Let's get to it!" He spoke in his signature cheery tone. It was as if he was a male Pinkie Pie, minus the craziness. Earning a nod from each of his friends, they galloped along Appleloosa and searched for more ponies looking for a ride.
After a few trips here and there, Braeburn decided to look for more work after his friends convinced him that they could handle the rest of their shift. He trotted along town, passing by many folks and giving a warm 'Howdy' or 'How's it goin'?'. The cowpony continued on with a smile, until one of his ears twitched to hear rapid hoofbeats growing in volume.
He stopped and saw a distant figure galloping towards him at a fast pace. As it grew, it was not even a pony, but a young female buffalo. She wore a band with two feathers on her head, and her face was one of extreme distress. Braeburn noticed that it was his friend Little Strongheart of the buffalo tribe outside of town. He wanted to greet her with a smile until he noticed the expression on her face, knowing something was wrong when she came to a stop.
The buffalo calf caught her breath and blurted out "Braeburn! I require you and some of the other strong ponies in town to help me!! It's very urgent!"
Braeburn craned his neck at the outburst, but was understanding of his friend's tone of voice "What's goin' down? Are some o' yer friends havin' some sort o' dispute between one another??" If what he thought was true, he wouldn't mind going over and talking with them to sort out their troubles.
Little Strongheart's expression worsened "That's just it! One of the buffalos in my father's tribe has went crazy! Many of the others tried to stop him, but they all have failed and suffered harsh injury! Please, you must hurry and rally whomever you can!"
She was on the verge of tears as Braeburn looked at her, and that was more than enough for him to oblige "You got it, Li'l Strongheart! C'mon, we'll round ourselves up a team together!" They galloped in search of capable ponies to aid them with the problem Little Strongheart was facing.
Outside of the town, near a tribal settlement in the desert, many large buffalo were laying on the ground in pain, moaning coarsely with the blows they had suffered. Another one was tossed onto the sandy ground with a black eye, adding to the collection of injured buffalo. The only one left standing was the proud and noble leader of the buffalo tribe, Chief Thunderhooves. He carried a good amount of injuries himself, but he grunted and snorted steam from his nostrils as he held strong and readied himself for another round against the perpetrator.
The attacker responsible was a buffalo, but this one was different. His coat, instead of tan or brown, was a piercing grey, and his eyes were red with fury. Something was sticking out of his right side, but it was too deep in his coat to be seen. He was hyperventilating in an angry and hungry fashion, and for some odd reason, his body usually crackles with purple static. The strange buffalo snorted steam from his own nostrils as he began pawing at the ground.
Chief Thunderhooves did not waver as he called out "Enough of this! You have gone too far! Look at what you have accomplished!" He waved a hoof towards the injured tribe behind the two of them "Our brothers and sisters of the tribe have all faced incredible pain by your hooves! Do you not realize how ill-minded your actions have become!?" He thought he had reached his fellow buffalo, but the strange buffalo's body crackled with even more purple static after his words. It was clear that Chief Thunderhooves had to use what was left of his strength to try and restrain him as he himself pawed at the ground
The strange buffalo let out a fierce bellow as he began his charge with unbridled fury, with Chief Thunderhooves following suit. The two butted heads as they were locked in combat, pushing their heads against each other and trying to match their opponent's strength. While Chief Thunderhooves could hold out for so long, the strange buffalo began to gain the higher ground as he pushed his head further. It was as if he was running on a good supply of power with how he was able to outmatch the tribe leader, let alone the rest of the tribe.
Chief Thunderhooves gave a pained grunt as his injuries began to catch up with him due to pushing himself in battle, and then found himself flung back towards the rest of the tribe, falling on his sides as he growled. He staggered as he got back up, catching his breath as his larger injuries began to leak blood. Each drop hit the ground as he stared down at the attacker with a hardened gaze, and the attacker readied himself for another charge.
He thought it was the end, but then a new voice was added "Father!" The two buffalo turned to see Little Strongheart galloping towards the battlefield with Braeburn and a group of stallions behind him. They stopped with widened eyes at the scene before them, not anticipating something of this magnitude to even happen.
Braeburn looked around with a dropped jaw "Land Sakes!! One buffalo did all o' THIS!? T'aint right at all!!" The stallions behind Braeburn began having second thoughts about helping Little Strongheart after witnessing such a violent atmosphere like this.
Little Strongheart noticed Chief Thunderhooves' condition and galloped over to her father's side. The tribe leader noticed his attacker and quickly turned to his daughter as she drew closer "No! Little Strongheart, stay back! This one is too dangerous!! Get yourself to safety while you still can!"
His daughter did not listen as she drew closer "No! I cannot leave you again! not like this!" She was too blinded by worry and sadness with how her own father laid in pain. The strange buffalo noticed the young calf gallop towards his opponent, and decided to go for her instead. Giving off another fierce bellow, he went off into a mad charge.
Braeburn saw this with shock in his eyes and called out to Little Strongheart "Li'l Strongheart!! Look out!" The young calf had almost reached her father, but was then knocked away hard by the strange buffalo, shrieking in pain as she flew. She skidded across the sand back near Braeburn, who was now as worried as his friend.
Everypony present, while afraid of the attacker, could not let such an inexcusable act like harming a lady go unpunished. The cowpony turned to the strange buffalo with a glare "Alright! I figured we coulda talked this whole thing out, but it looks like yer far from words!" He turned to his group "C'mon, y'all!! Let's give this one a good buckin', Appleloosa style!!" His group yelled in agreement and vigor as they prepared themselves for battle. Little Strongheart picked herself as she recovered from the blow and stood with her friends at the ready.
They all charged in their own stampede towards the strange buffalo with fire in their eyes, but their own eyes could not meet the same amount of fury of their opponent's. While they had him outnumbered, they were clearly outmatched as the buffalo made another charge, and bowled right past the group as if they were a poorly-crafted fence. They all were tossed into the air with the strange buffalo's strength, and they all fell down into the sand as he turned around and went for another charge.
Braeburn staggered to get up, and could not be more baffled with this problem "This just ain't right! How could a buffalo have so much strength like that!? More importantly, why is it even actin' like this all o' the sudden!?" He noticed his opponent charging at him and quickly leaped out of the way to avoid another blow "I gotta kick it up a notch!! I ain't goin' down that easily!" The cowpony pawed at the ground and stared down the buffalo as he turned for another charge. He then leapt and charged himself after giving a good "YEEHAW!"
The strange buffalo was surging with power as he charged at Braeburn, who tried to meet his speed and strength as they drew near each other. Little Strongheart got up and noticed the scene and gasped "Braeburn! NO!" It was too late. He was blown back as if faced with an explosion, and his hat came off in the air. Braeburn then hit the ground as a wound opened around his chest and blood started to leak out.
Little Strongheart galloped over to his side and had a tear in her eye "Please! Don't go down like this! We need you! I need you!" She thought he was gone forever, but then was relieved when she heard a pained groan escape her friend's lips. He was in serious pain, but at least he wasn't dead.
Braeburn gave a cough "That buffalo's dynamite...What do we do now?? We just can't wait fer a miracle t' happen!" He grunted and held his chest after his last sentence.
The young calf laid a hoof on the cowpony's head "Don't strain yourself! You're in serious pain right now!" She turned to see the strange buffalo easily plowing through the other stallions trying their luck, only to be tossed aside like littered paper. This seemed to be a futile struggle as Little Strongheart watch "Oh, what do we do?? I can't do this alone!"
The strange buffalo went to charge, but then stopped with a grunt as he turned and looked behind him. This threw the others in confusion to see such a violent buffalo hesitate like this. However, with what he was doing, this caught the other ponies' attention as they turned to see what their attacker was looking at.
In the distance, Little Strongheart and Braeburn thought they were seeing things when they witnessed a bipedal figure traveling along the sands at a casual pace towards the group. The figure was seen with a large scythe in its right hand, and its face hidden in its hood. When it had reached the group it used its left hand to unravel the hood of its cloak and reveal its face.
He was masculine, and dark-skinned in color. His face was full of enough experience to last a good few lifetimes of battle and wits, and his left part of his face was surrounded in black markings around the eyelid, with his left eye glowing yellow. He gave a stoic stare towards the scene in front of him, not paying any mind to the shocked and confused glances being given by the other ponies, then focused his attention towards the strange buffalo, giving a knowing hum.
The strange buffalo turned his body towards the newcomer and gave a fierce bellow as he went for a charge, his body surging with more static. Little Strongheart saw this with worry and turned to the mysterious figure "Quickly! Whoever you are, you must turn away from this one! He won't hesitate in trying to kill you!!" Noticing how the newcomer was not moving, she felt her warning fell on deaf ears.
The buffalo neared towards the figure, unaware that he began to take a defensive stance as he gripped his large scythe with both hands and gave a small glare at his opponent.
"Very well...This should be interesting."
Little Strongheart and Braeburn thought that he was going to perish as they turned away and shut their eyes, but something different happened as the mysterious figure matched the force of the strange buffalo with relative ease, holding out his scythe and blocking the buffalo's horns with the scythe's pole.
They were at a stalemate for a few seconds until the buffalo pushed the figure back. While he thought the figure would fall in pain, he simply jumped back as if avoiding another charge. He stared at the buffalo with the same small glare "I shall show you just how different we are..." The figure held up his scythe again, goading the buffalo into another bellow and charge. They went at another clash, only the buffalo went with a series of strong headbutts at a good pace while the figure blocked each blow.
The ponies and buffalo that remained conscious witnessed the small fight in surprise and wonder, not anticipating such a foreign creature to be found in the desert and stand up to their problem like this. Braeburn, while laying in pain, was the most shocked at this happening "I dunno who that guy is, but he does pack a serious wallop! He's not even battin' an eye with this one!"
Little Strongheart observed this as well, but was more confused than surprised "I...I don't get it...How is he standing up to the buffalo in front of him?? What is he??" She could not look away from the strange spectacle in front of her.
Braeburn responded "Like I said, I dunno..." He coughed "But we should have faith in 'im iffin' he's gonna fight like this." The cowpony held his chest, and reminded his friend that she needed to tend to his injuries as well as the other bystanders. Little Strongheart bolted for her tribe's settlement to grab some medical supplies and help the fallen on the battlefield.
Meanwhile, the buffalo was getting frustrated with how each of his blows were not connecting and gave another bellow in anger. He charged once more, but this time, the figure was ready for him. With scythe in hand, he swung it professionally and slashed at the buffalo's chest, eliciting a pained shout from his opponent. The buffalo flew back and landed on his hooves as a trail of blood was made from the small distance covered and growled with hate as the wound hung out, and slowly grew in length.
The mysterious figure saw this and scoffed "So...you're finally giving out...I'd expect no less from just a shard being exposed to someone like you..." He stared intently at the faint object sticking out of the buffalo's side, but then focused on his battle as the buffalo gave one more charge. He did not have time for a futile struggle as he jumped up and jammed the pointed end of his scythe onto the buffalo's back the moment he was just above him. The buffalo then gave another pained shout and stopped in his tracks as the figure pulled out his scythe and jumped onto the ground, pushing the buffalo on his unscathed side and making him fall.
Everypony present witnessed the next move with fear in their eyes as the figure placed a foot on the buffalo's head and carefully slung the curved blade of his scythe along his neck "May you sleep..." He then swung his scythe and lifted the strange buffalo into the air in its hold "...for eternity!!" He slammed the buffalo's face and body into the ground with amazing force, pacifying the mad buffalo as he laid motionless. Drawing the scythe away from his opponent, the figure then walked up to the buffalo's right side and dug a hand into his large fur.
After feeling what he had been looking for, he yanked out what appeared to be an ominous metal shard, slightly glowing with power. Once the buffalo was relieved of it, his fur began to change from piercing grey back to regular brown, and his eyes were relieved of their fury, but were now devoid of life altogether. The figure had killed the buffalo as he laid in a pool of his blood.
When Little Strongheart returned, she gasped when she noticed the battle had ended. On one hoof, she was happy that another possible crisis had been averted, but she could not help but feel profound sadness over the loss of one of her kind. While she did not approve of the figure's methods, she was at least grateful that he had put a stop to what could have been a slaughter of her tribe.
She trotted over to the mysterious man's side as he stuffed the glowing shard in his white cloak "Excuse me..."She caught his attention while speaking in a slightly neutral tone, not sure on what to make of the one in front of her "My name is Little Strongheart. I do not approve of what you have done, but...I thank you for coming to our aid. Could you perhaps help me in tending to the ponies and buffalo and their injuries?"
The man was silent as he stared at Little Strongheart, the desert winds blowing. He then simply walked past her, speaking in his calm and deep tone "I'm sorry, but your matters do not concern me in the slightest...I have my own priorities to attend to. In the meantime, I would like it if you were more careful next time in situations like this...Goodbye..." He walked away at the same casual pace he entered in, leaving the group of injured ponies and buffalo behind. Little Strongheart could not believe that her savior had given her and her friends the cold shoulder, and could only glare at him leaving.
Braeburn watched him leave and called out "H-Hey! Where are y'all goin'!? Town's that wa-" He grunted and held his chest. The young buffalo calf remembered her problem and quickly galloped to Braeburn's side and began tending to his wounds. With how many have fallen in battle, this would take a while.
The man continued walking, and noticed a small desert town up ahead, but no resonance similar to the shard he collected. When he took notice of the railroads paved along the distant sands, he felt it was best to try and grab a ride for his next destination, wherever it would take him.
"At least there is some meaning to my endless life..."
End of Chapter 7