It was another beautiful day in Equestria and the Mane Seven were currently on a train, which was being pulled by four strong stallions, heading for the newly built town of Appleloosa, which had been constructed by Applejack's relatives, and she was looking forward to the visit since she had something special to give them as a gift.
Bandit was helping pull the train along the tracks with the train ponies.
"And that's when the yellow birdie thought to himself, "Hmm. My favorite little tree isn't such a little tree anymore." So she sang her song, big and strong, and they all lived in that great, big tree happily ever after. The... end." Applejack read, looking towards a large tree. She then closed the book and tucked the blanket closer around the tree.
"Applejack!" Rarity exclaimed, making the orange pony jump, and turn to the doorway. "Were you reading a bedtime story to… an apple tree?"
Applejack chuckled nervously at being caught. "Heh… uh… Well, ya know, bein' replanted in a whole new place is very upsettin' for a tree… and Bloomberg here is one of my favorites," she pointed out while stroking and nuzzling the green leaves of the tree.
"No fair, Applejack!" Rarity complained, stalking over and glared at the tree. "You've got a luxurious, private sleeper car for a tree, while I am crowded and cramped in the same car with all the other ponies. How am I supposed to get my beauty sleep?!"
"But Bloomberg's the whole reason we're makin' this trip." Applejack reminded her friend. "He needs his rest so we can give him as a gift to my relatives in Appleloosa."
Rarity scoffed at the attention that an apple tree was getting. "Hmph! You talk about it as if it's your baby or something. Or like Chad talks to Quincy.”
“Who you callin' a baby?!" Applejack demanded defensively. "Bloomberg's no baby!" She then turned and began doing baby talk to the tree while nuzzling the leaves again. "Don't wet widdle Rarity make you all saddy-waddy. Bloomberg's a big and strong apple tree. Yes, he is. A-coochie-coochie-coo-coo-coo!"
Rarity was a bit disturbed at the affection Applejack was giving the tree before scowling.
"It's widdle Rarity who's all "saddy-waddy"!" she whined before storming out of the car. "Urgh!"
My Little Pony,
My Big Changeling too
Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhh…
[Bandit]
(My Little Pony)
We used to wonder what friendship could be
(My Big Changeling too)
[Twilight Sparkle]
Until you all shared its magic with me
[Rainbow Dash]
Big adventure
[Pinkie Pie]
Tons of fun
[Rarity]
A beautiful heart
[Applejack]
Faithful and strong
[Fluttershy]
Sharing kindness!
[Lightning Sprint]
Motivate the team
[Bandit]
Heroics makes it all complete
You have my little ponies
Do you know you're all my very best friends?
Night had fallen and the train was still going down the tracks. In one of the sleeper cars, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash were chatting away while Rarity, Chad, and Spike were trying to get some sleep since they were due to arrive in Appleloosa the next morning.
"Oh man, we're going fast!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "This is so exciting, I can't even wait!"
Lightning Sprint was looking out of the window, keeping to herself in a very excited manner.
"Oh my goodness...." Twilight said, gazing out the window as she was looking forward to being in town. Rarity, however, groaned and stuffed her head under her pillow, trying to ignore her chatting friends. "For crying out loud in the morning!"
Spike groaned as he woke up. "Do you guys mind? I was up early, fire-roasting those snacks you're all eating, and I'm pooped!" Spike said.
"And I was the one supplying the snacks! You know how hard it was for me not to eat them myself? That kind of restraint takes a toll on my energy." Chad said as he cuddled Quincy under his blanket.
"Awww." The mares said, bar LS who was still window gazing.
Spike looked at Chad and softly chuckled.
"Uh, speaking of snacks." Pinkie started. Chad threw some Twizzlers down the hall, which Pinkie ran after.
"Good night!" Spike said.
"Night Spike." Lightning Sprint said, raising a hoof but still looking out the window.
"Night everyone." Chad yawn.
"Night Chad." Everyone responded. Chad went to sleep. He didn't know that he did this, but he started sucking on his hoof.
Twilight tapped Rainbow Dash and put a hoof to her lips before pointing at the sleeping changeling. Rainbow dash looked at this and she nearly squealed at what she saw. Twilight giggled at her reaction. The other girls looked at him as well before Twilight kissed Chad on the forehead before putting the blanket further over him. She does the same to Spike and then gets in her bed.
“Maybe it's time we all got a little shut-eye. We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow." And they blew out the candles while their friends all grumbled, but they put out their candles, too.
Soon all was quiet in the car, saved for Spike's soft snoring, and this went on for several minutes.
"Psst!" Rainbow Dash whispered. "Pinkie Pie, you asleep yet?"
"No, are you asleep yet?" Pinkie Pie whispered back.
Rainbow Dash lit her candle and hopped out of her bed so that she was on the floor near the bed Spike was in. "If I was sleeping, how could I have asked you if you were asleep?" she asked, still whispering.
Pinkie Pie got out of bed and joined her, giggling. "Oh yeah!"
"When we get to Appleloosa, you think we'll have to carry that heavy tree all the way from the train to the orchard?" Rainbow Dash wondered.
"Unless Bandit takes the tree." Lightning Sprint said, finally turning from the window.
“You’re talking about Bloomberg right?” Pinkie asked.
“…No, Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash whispered sarcastically.
"Fluttershy's not a tree, silly!" Pinkie Pie whispered, giggling.
“What’s going on?” Twilight asked, not exactly whispering.
"Rainbow Dash thinks Fluttershy's a tree!" Pinkie Pie informed her, snickering.
"I do not think she's a tree! I was just-" Rainbow Dash began.
"Did you say she was a tree?" Twilight Sparkle inquired.
Rainbow Dash shook her head and stammered. "No. Well… Yes. But not exactly-"
"Ya know she's not a tree, right?" Twilight interrupted.
Pinkie giggled again. "She's not a tree, Dashie!"
"I'd like to be a tree…" Fluttershy said, joining the conversation with a smile.
“Ugh!” Chad exclaimed as he rolled out of bed.
“For pete’s sake!” Spike exclaimed as he grabbed his pillow and jumped out of bed. Chad took Quincy and walked with Spike to the other car. Where Bloomberg was.
"Well that was kind of huffy," Twilight remarked, wondering what had caused the baby dragon to storm off like that.
"Huffy the magic dragon!" Lightning sprint joked and they all giggled.
Just then, Rarity sat up and glared at them. "Would you all be quiet… now?!" she demanded, revealing that her hair was in curlers, and she had a mud mask on her face, which looked creepy in the candlelight.
"Aaaaaah!" The five ponies went as they quickly blew out the candle.
Bandit heard this from his spot and looked back at his friends' car. He chuckles into his hoof and keeps pulling the train with the other train ponies.
Chad got into the car and lied down his blanket.
"Hiya Bloomberg. Mind if we crash here for a bit?" Chad asked as Spike lied down next to the tree and pulled up the blanket.
"Sorry, but I tend to snore a bit. Good night." Spike said as he settled down, sighing with contentment, and went to sleep.
Chad used his tail as a pillow before heading to sleep himself.
The sun was rising as the stallions pulling the train raced past, and the ponies in the sleeper car were all sleeping peacefully when there was a sudden loud rumbling that shook the car, knocking Rainbow Dash out of her bed onto the floor, and her friends all woke up. Wondering what was going on, they gathered in front of one of the windows, and they gasped when they saw racing alongside the train was a huge herd of buffalos.
"A buffalo stampede!" Twilight exclaimed.
"I just love their accessories!" Rarity complimented.
"They're getting awfully close to the train." Twilight commented as she observed. Sure enough, the herd was getting a lot closer to the train.
"Oooh, looky! Now they're doing tricks! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Now do a backflip!... Or... Just jump?" Pinkie said.
"It's not a performance, Pinkie." Lightning Sprint said.
In the front of the train, one of the bison tried to knock the ponies off the track. Other Buffalo were slamming against the cars, the one that the girls were in, resulting in them bouncing around a bit. All the while, Spike and Chad were both still asleep. The bed Spike and Bloomberg were on conveniently slid past Chad each time.
The buffalo were still trying to sabotage the stallions pulling the train, then one made the mistake of trying to knock Bandit off, and received a devastating headbutt in retaliation. Said Buffalo fell to the ground and another buffalo tripped over him as Bandit pulled the train faster.
Back in the sleeper car, the seven ponies were sprawled on the floor, dizzy and dazed from being knocked around. Pinkie, however, bounced back up like nothing happened and went back to the window to see what was going on with the buffalos.
"Oooh, looky!" she exclaimed and her friends joined her and watched as two of the buffalos jumped onto the back of a third buffalo, balancing carefully while the third kept running near the train with the rest of the herd. "Now they're doing tricks!" And she nodded excitedly to a small female buffalo, who leaped across the backs of the herd until she jumped onto the small tower. "Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Now do a backflip!" she squealed and was a bit disappointed when the small buffalo leaped onto the train and headed to the back of the train. "Or… Just jump?"
Rainbow dash followed the steps she heard, hearing the steps head to the back of the train.
"Something tells me this isn't a circus act." She then flew out and over the train, spotting the small buffalo, and landed on the train ahead of her. "Hey there!"
The small buffalo gasped, but she kept running across the train cars, forcing Rainbow dash to move out of the way to avoid being run over.
Rainbow Dash flew after the small buffalo, named Little Strongheart. "Where ya headed in such a hurry?" She asked. Little Strongheart quickly began running, nimbly jumping across cars. Rainbow dash quickly caught up, however.
"Wow, you're pretty quick for someone so… bulky. No offense." She, somewhat, complimented. But Little Strongheart ignored her and kept racing toward the last car.
Determined to get some answers, Rainbow dash flew ahead and landed so that she was blocking the route. "I just wanna know– Hey!"
Little Strongheart kept dodging past her.
"I'm talking to you– Whoa… Arrgggg… I got you now, you-" However, she missed grabbing the small buffalo, and she slammed into a sign, crashing to the ground with a loud groan.
Smirking, Little Strongheart dropped down to unbuckle the last car and flipped back onto the roof before whistling. Soon the entire herd broke away and swarmed around the car, pushing back down the tracks.
Hearing the commotions, Applejack raced and stopped at the opening, staring and gasping in horror at the sight. "They've got Bloomberg!"
As she said this, Chad appeared in the window. Spike peeked out beside him.
"They have Chad and Spike!" Rarity exclaimed.
"Heeeeeeeelp!" They both called.
Lying under the sign, Rainbow Dash sat up and gingerly rubbed her sore head with one hoof as the buffalos raced past with the car. "Ugggh…" she groaned and then she heard the fading cries of help coming from the baby dragon and nymph.
"Dragon-napping Spike and Nymph-napping Chad. I'll show her!" she vowed and winced. "Ow…" Feeling the pain in her head, she got up, took to the air, and flew after the disappearing herd, determined to save the baby dragon and teach the small buffalo a lesson.
Bandit looked off to the side and saw the cart the two were in being hauled away. His eyes went wide.
"What's our call boss?" The stallion behind him asked, seeing his reaction.
"Get this train to Appaloosa, I'm going after them as soon as I stop. And it's not gonna be pretty." Bandit said as he picked up the speed.
"You got it." He nodded and matched his speed.
A few moments later, the train arrived at the station located just outside Appleloosa, and Applejack was quick to exit the train. Bandit unhinged himself. The others quickly raced out of the train. Lightning Sprint looked in Bandit's direction.
The others didn't get very far before they almost ran into a pony with light gold skin, orange hair with amber highlights, light green eyes, a red apple cutie mark, and he was wearing a brown cowboy hat and a brown vest.
"Hey there!" He exclaimed when he saw the ponies and Changeling. "Welcome ta Aaaaaapplelo-"
Bandit used his magic to slide him out of the way as he went and got some rope, a stetson, and a desert scarf for the sand and began to trot back out. The others look towards him.
"Bandit wait up." Lightning Sprint said, flying over.
Before she could get close, he began running somehow way too fast for her to keep up. He was already out of sight.
"Whoa....he's in a hurry. How about I show ya'll the rest of Appaloosa?" The stallion asked.
"Braeburn, listen-" Applejack began, recognizing her cousin.
"Cousin Applejack, mind yer manners." Braeburn scolded. "You have yet ta introduce me to your compadres! Shame on you!"
Applejack rolled her eyes, not in the mood for politeness. "Braeburn, listen, somethin' terrible's happened-" she began again.
"Terrible can't be right. Y'all are here right on time. Just in time for you to delight in the pleasures and wonders of… A-A-A-ppleloosa!" And he shoved them all to the other side of the station so that they could see the town, and it was an impressive sight with the neat buildings and the ponies walking around wearing all kinds of cowboy outfits. "Boggles the mind, we settler ponies built all this in just the past year, don't it?!" he continued, shoving them through the town for the cour. "And as you can see, we have all of the finest comforts. Like horse-drawn carriages!"
"Alright. You pull now." The stallion pulling said to his friend inside.
"But we just switched!" The other stallion said.
Braeburn then hurried them to another spot, where several fillies were busy drawing the carriages and their drivers. "And those there are horse-drawn horse-drawn carriages."
"…Listen, Braeburn, I– Oof!" Applejack began and grunted as they were herded to their next destination.
Braeburn stopped when they reached a saloon. "And here's our local waterin' hole, the Salt Block." he said proudly.
"No more salt for you!" A bartender said, throwing a stallion out. The old pony, known as Ol' Salt, sat up and looked blearily back at the saloon with traces of salt on his mouth.
"Can't I at least… get a glass of water?" he asked, hiccuping before flopping back onto the ground, having just passed out.
Morton Saltworthy, the stallion who threw a stallion out, snorted and went back inside.
Chuckling, Braeburn continued the tour by stopping at a building with a silver star on the front. "Over there's the office of Sheriff Silverstar," he announced, waving to the sheriff, who waved back and then showed them to the two dance locations. "And here's where we have our wild west dances! And here's where we have our mild west dances!"
"But, Braeburn, we-" Applejack began once again, trying to get him to listen to her.
Still ignoring his cousin, Braeburn herded them out of the town and onto a nearby ridge that was overlooking a huge apple orchard. "And here's the most wonderful sight in all of… A-A-A-ppleloosa! Our apple orchard."
"Braeburn!" Applejack shouted, wishing he would shut up for a few seconds and listen to her.
Braeburn was looking proudly at the apple orchard, and the trees were brimming with apples. "First harvest should be any day now."
The mares all looked towards Applejack. Lightning Sprint was about to shout but Applejack beat her to it.
"Braebu-"
"Good thing too!"
"Brae-"
"'Cause we need that grub to live on."
"Braeburn!" Applejack screamed and, it did the trick to get the pony's attention.
Braeburn finally looked at his cousin. "Uh, yes, cuz?" he asked.
"You have a very nice town an' all, but we have a hu-uge problem!" Applejack snapped. "Some of our friends are missin'!" And her friends all shared what happened at once.
"A stampede of buffalo!" Fluttershy said.
"They took Spike and Chad!" Rarity and Twilight said.
"Rainbow Dash and Bandit went after them!" Lightning Sprint said
"And we can't find Pinkie Pie." Fluttershy added.
"And we had an apple tree with us for your orchard, but they took that too!" Applejack concluded.
Braeburn stared at them, blinking for several seconds. "Did you say… buffalo?" He asked. After Lightning Sprint nodded her head to confirm, to which he sighed. He knew about the buffalo. He knew all too well
"Them buffalo. they want us settler ponies to take every single tree you see here off this land," he explained, nodding to the orchard. "They sure as hay don't want any new ones added in."
"Why? That's not fair!" Lightning Sprint said, flying a little off the floor.
"Believe me. We know." Braeburn added.
"But why?" Fluttershy asked.
"Beats me," Braeburn admitted. "We put a lot of hard work into this land, so we can feed our town, our families, our foals! And now they're sayin' all these trees have to go? T'ain't fair…"
Bandit was in the air, sniffing around. Looking for Chad, Spike's, or even Bloomberg's scent. He got a strong lead and landed in the ground to get an even stronger one. As he did this, Rainbow Dash was following nearby, though she was being more stealthy than Bandit.
"Ooh, I can't wait to get my hooves on that little buffalo…" She vowed and winced a little since her head was still a bit sore from earlier. "Hnnh… Ow! Nobody tricks Rainbow Dash and gets away with it." She crawled along the ground and was about to slip behind a rock when she suddenly found herself nose-to-nose with Pinkie.
"Boo!" Pinkie said.
Rainbow Dash yelped and jumped back into the air for a few seconds before landing flat on her back. "Yah! …Pinkie Pie!"
"Ah, ya caught me!" Pinkie Pie joked. "Looks like I tricked you and didn't get away with it either! You're good."
"Shhshh!" Rainbow Dash shushed, shoving a hoof onto her mouth to keep her quiet. "What do you think you're doing?! You gotta get out of here!" She let go and hid behind a rock.
"I do?" Pinkie asked.
Rainbow Dash nodded while making sure that they hadn't been seen. "You're gonna blow my cover."
"I am?" asked Pinkie Pie.
"I'm trying to save Spike and Chad!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Oh my gosh! So am I! I followed Bandit when he flew from Appaloosa. I mean, I was still behind the train when I saw him fly-"
Bandit landed in front of both of them.
"Time to stop talking. We're surrounded." Bandit told them seconds later, they were surrounded by the buffalo. Bandit stood in front of them protectively. The rope extended and ready to lasso.
"Okay….who's first?" He asked. The buffalo began to charge forward until two familiar voices spoke up.
"Stop!" Chad and Spike's voices exclaimed.
All eyes turned to Chad and Spike, who were among the buffalo.
"We know them. They’re with us.”
“They’re cool.” Spike added.
“If you say so.” One of the buffalos said. Chad hoof bumped him. “Catch you later bros.”
Bandit walked over to Chad and Spike, hugging them tightly.
“I’m so glad you’re both safe.” Bandit told them.
“Come on, we’ll explain everything.” Spike said as he and Chad led the way. Bandit looked at Rainbow Dash and Pinkie for following them.
That night, Spike and Chad were seated near a campfire with Pinkie, Bandit, and Rainbow, explaining what happened after they and the apple tree had been abducted that morning.
"Seems they took us by mistake. And they feel awful about it too, poor guys. Fortunately, they totally respect dragons and whoever they associate with, so they treat us like honored guests." Spike said.
Chad tapped the ground with his hind hoof, and on cue, three bowls of some kind of grayish food were brought to the two ponies and changeling.
“They don’t like ponies much though.” Chad told her.
Rainbow Dash sniffed the contents and made a face before shoving the bowl away. "Ugh…"
Bandit was eating the food, however.
"Huh. Well, I still don't trust them," Rainbow Dash stated, standing up and looking around. "I say we turn tail and bail while we still-"
"Mmmmm." Pinkie said whilst chewing. "Before we finish eating? Are you loco in the coco?!” She asked as she looked at Little Strongheart, who had a bowl full of turquoise for Spike. “Can I please have more of that mushy stuff, whatever it was?"
"Certainly," Little Strongheart agreed. "And, Mr. Spike, you like gemstones, yes?"
"Turquoise. Mmm! Heh hah! This here is Little Strongheart, and these are our friends Bandit, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash." Spike said.
Rainbow Dash briefly glanced at the small buffalo unimpressed and turned back, doubletaked to face her when she realized who the buffalo was. "You!"
"You!" Little Strongheart exclaimed, surprised too.
"That's it!" Rainbow dash growled. "We are outta here!"She trotted off. Pinkie smiled awkwardly before Rainbow Dash came back, dragging Pinkie by her tail. However, Little Strongheart jumped in front of the two ponies, blocking their way.
"Wait! Please accept my apologies for what happened on the train. We didn't mean for anyone to be hurt." She apologized.
“Yeah right.” Rainbow Dash said as she wasn’t phased by this and walked in a different direction, to which Little Strongheart moved again to get in front of her. “We only wanted the tree. The settler ponies have overtaken the land and have planted an orchard all over it! Because of their thoughtlessness, we can no longer run over our traditional stampeding grounds."
“Wait, what?” Bandit asked.
"Huh?"
"I think it's time they met Chief Thunderhooves." Spike said, Chad nodded and began to lead the way to Chief Thunderhooves.
Soon, they were gathered in the middle of the camp, surrounded by the herd, and before them was the leader of the buffalo, Chief Thunderhooves.
He let out a brief grunt before speaking. "We have a long and winding stampeding trail that we have run upon for many generations. My father stampeded upon these grounds, and his father before him, and his father before him, and his father before him, and his father before him, and-"
Bandit walked over and placed a hoof over his mouth.
“Look, I don’t mean to be rude but we get it. You’re boring your own tribe to sleep.” Bandit stated in the most polite way possible before moving his hoof. Chief Thunderhooves looked at the buffalo and saw they were trying to stay awake. He grunted and continued his story.
"Hmph. It is a sacred tradition to run the path every year. But this year, these… settler ponies, these…" he snorted angrily. "Appleloosans!" And he kept snorting until Little Strongheart stopped him.
"They planted apple trees all over it without asking our permission." She added.
"Well that's not very nice," Pinkie remarked, frowning, and looked to her friend. "Right, Rainbow Dash?"
“That does sound like a bad thing to do.” Bandit said as he tapped his chin.
Rainbow Dash merely grunted, her forelegs folded with a huff.
"The ponies refused to move their trees, so we are stuck here, and it is not fair!" Little Strongheart complained.
“See guys?” Spike began. "They had a good reason to-" Rainbow Dash interrupted him by flying to face the two buffalos. she grunted and the buffalo gasped.
"I'll say they had a good reason!" she declared. "C'mon. We have some apple-pickin' Appleloosans to talk to!"
“Hold on a second.” Bandit said to get their attention. “What if they just didn’t know this land was inhabited? Like how you folks didn’t know Spike and Chad were in the cabin with bloomberg. Did you guys ever try talking with the Appleloosans?”
There was a brief silence before the buffalo looked at Chief Thunderhooves, who looked back at Bandit.
“What are you suggesting?” Chief Thunderhooves asked.
“I’m suggesting we give you guys a chance to talk things over, maybe you guys could find some common ground.” Bandit suggested. Little Strongheart looked at Chief Thunderhooves looked at each other and nodded.
The next morning, Applejack, Lightning Sprint, Fluttershy, Twilight, Braeburn, and Rarity were getting ready to head out and find their missing friends, plus get the apple tree back from the buffalos while convincing them to leave Appleloosa alone.
"Ow!" Rarity groaned as Applejack tightened the straps on her saddlebags. "Gently, please!"
"Sorry, Rarity." Applejack said when she was done with the straps, "but our friends are out there and we have ta' be ready for a long hike into buffalo territory if we're gonna save 'em! Let's go!"
The group began running, and not even five feet away, they slide to a stop when Bandit, Chad, Spike, Pinkie, and Rainbow dash weren’t too far from them.
“Hey guys!” Chad and Pinkie exclaimed.
“Pinkie!” Fluttershy exclaimed as she tackled Pinkie with a hug. “We're so glad you're safe."
Twilight hugged Bandit and then Chad and Spike. Rarity, Applejack, Lightning Sprint, and Braeburn trotted over, glad that they were okay.
“How did you get them away from the buffalo?” Twilight asked Bandit.
“I didn’t.” Bandit answered before turning to a rock. “You can come out now!”
Little Strongheart came out from behind the rock with a nervous smile on her face.
"We promised the buffalo a chance to talk." Rainbow Dash added.
“Oh yeah?” Applejack asked as she walked forward, looking at Little Strongheart with both a suspicious and disapproving look on her face. “'Bout what?"
"We brought our new pal Little Strongheart here to explain to the Appleloosans why they should move the apple trees off buffalo land." Rainbow Dash explained as she brought Little Strongheart over to them.
"That information would be quite help-" Braeburn began with a smile.
"That's weird." Applejack interrupted as she shoved Braeburn forward. "'Cause my cousin Braeburn here wants to explain to the buffalo why they should let the apple trees stay."
"That would be a useful thing to-" Little Strongheart began.
"The land is theirs!" Rainbow Dash snapped, interrupting this time. "You planted the trees not knowing that. Honest mistake. Now, you just gotta move 'em, that's all."
"Can you let them two tal-” Bandit tried to say.
"They busted their rumps here!" Applejack snarled, glaring at Rainbow Dash. "An' now they're supposed ta bust their rumps again, just 'cause some buffalo won't stampede someplace else?"
"Plant the trees somewhere else!" Rainbow Dash growled.
"Where?!" Applejack demanded. Showing how there was no other flat terrain from where they were. "It's the only flatland around these parts!"
Rainbow Dash gestured around with one hoof. "The buffalo had it first!"
"The settler ponies need it to live!" Applejack shouted angrily. Bandit groaned and walked over as the two over another.
"Come on, Applejack!" "You're bein' unreasonable!" "I put my hoof down!"
They stopped when Bandit lightly tugged their ears with their magic. It wasn’t too hard, but it was enough to get their attention, and felt very unpleasant.
“Owowowow!” “Stop, please stop!”
Bandit let go of their ears and cleared his throat.
"Look! Both the settlers and the buffalo have good reasons to use this land." Bandit said. Twilight walked over to have her say as well.
"There must be something we can do." Twilight said.
Just then, Pinkie jumped up. "Hey! I've got an idea!" She suggested brightly before Bandit caught her, keeping her from hitting the ground.
A few hours later, both the ponies of Appleloosa and the buffalos were gathered around a stage that'd been built just outside the town. Bandit turned to look at Twilight.
"So, what’s this about you saying Fluttershy is a tree?” Bandit asked Twilight. She looked sheepish, but then Chad started to play a fun tune on the piano.
The curtains opened to reveal a large white calm shell, and it opened to reveal Pinkie Pie, who was wearing a fancy saloon girl outfit, and she began singing.
“We may be divided
But of you all, I beg
To remember we're all hoofed
At the end of each leg.” Pinkie started. Two female ponies appeared on the stage and lifted her out onto the stage.
“No matter what the issue
Come from wherever you please
All this fighting gets you nothing
But hoof-and-mouth disease
Arguing's not the way
Hey, come out and play!
It's a shiny, new day
So, what do you say?
You gotta share
You gotta care
It's the right thing to do
You gotta share
You gotta care
And there'll always be a way through
Both our diets, I should mention
Are completely vegetarian
We all eat hay and oats
Why be at each other's throat?” Four ponies joined her and they began line dancing for the chorus.
“You gotta share
You gotta care
It's the right thing to do
And there'll always be a way
Throoooough!”
Chad played the last note. Spike was the only one applauding. Bandit and Twilight facehoofed, one out of embarrassment, the other unamusement.
“All right, Pinkie Pie!" Spike cheered. "That was fantastic! What a great song! Yeah, right on!"
Pinkie was bowing to the stage, Chad was confused as to why everyone was silent.
Chief Thunderhooves exchanged a look with Sheriff Silverstar and they both nodded, clearly agreeing on something. "It appears that Sheriff Silverstar and I have come to… an agreement," he announced.
"We have." Sheriff Silverstar agreed.
"That was the worst performance we've ever seen," Chief Thunderhooves declared. Pinkie looked saddened at this. Chad walked over and gave her a comforting hug.
Sheriff Silverstar nodded. "Teh… Abso-tively!"
"The time for action… Hmh… is upon us!" Chief Thunderhooves announced and glared at the ponies. "Our stampede will start at high noon tomorrow. And if the orchard is still there, we'll flatten it… and the whole town!" The ponies gasped, very alarmed at the declaration.
"But, Chief!" Little Strongheart protested, not wanting to fight the ponies.
"An' we Appleloosans say you'd better bring yer best, 'cause we'll be ready and waitin'," Sheriff Silverstar declared, glaring at the buffalos.
"But, Sheriff…" Braeburn protested, but both groups parted ways, and he sighed sadly, following after the ponies of Appleloosa.
“We can’t let them fight. If they fight, not only will we get caught in the middle, but everyone is going to lose.” Bandit told Twilight.
“There has to be something we can do.” Twilight said. Both of them looked off to the two sides.
Sometime later, Applejack was watching as the residents of Appaloosa got the town ready for the battle by boarding up the windows, and she was worried since this wasn't what she wanted and she turned to Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Lightning Sprint.
"I want my kin ta' have what they need to live… but a storm's a-brewin' here." She admitted unhappily. "And I don't like the look of it."
"We've just got to talk some sense into them before somepony gets hurt." Twilight suggested and her friends agreed, so they went around the town and the orchard, trying to talk some sense into the ponies, but they weren't having very much luck. "Listen, maybe if you would just reconsider, we-" she began, only to have the ponies jump into the building and slam the doors and windows in her face.
"About the trees," Rarity said to a pair of ponies. "Now if you could-" But they glared at her so hotly that she jumped up, falling onto her rump.
At the orchard, Lightning was trying her hoof at talking some sense into the ponies there, who were busy bucking apples from the trees and into baskets that were being carried and carted away back toward the town. "If we could just sit down and talk we could-"
She was growled at by the stallion she was trying to negotiate with. She groaned out of pure annoyance.
“Will nopony listen to reason here!?” She exclaimed.
Back in Appleloosa, the ponies were busy cutting up the apples, which went into pies that were being baked by the hundreds, and throughout the town, there was a lot of hammering, sawing, and nailing going on as barriers were being built.
Applejack approached Sheriff Silverstar with her friends and tried to reason with him.
"Sheriff, if we could only-" she began, but he walked away with other ponies, and she sighed, frustrated. She and her friends gave up and just watched as the preparations were finished and the ponies raised the town flag, which had an apple tree on it, and cheered.
That night in the buffalo camp, Rainbow Dash, Chad, Bandit, and Spike were trying to reason with the buffalos, but they weren't having any luck either. While Bandit went to talk with Chief Thunderhooves, Spike and Chad watched as the buffalos hit their heads together, sharpened their horns, and applied war paint to their faces.
"Isn't there someway to stop this?" Chad asked Little Strongheart.
Little Strongheart shook her head sadly. "Unless the settlers remove those trees, I do not think so." She then offered the twins a bowl of turquoise, and they sighed sadly while accepting the bowl and began munching on the gemstones. They were so glum that they didn’t try to steal each other's food.
Meanwhile, Bandit was still talking with Chief Thunderhooves.
“Look, I know you don’t want to do this. There has to be some kind of compromise you can come to.” Bandit said.
“I doubt the ponies will be willing to negotiate.” Chief Thunderhooves told him.
“It’s not too late to try. It’s never too late to try and find some common ground.” Bandit told him, trying to get him to call off the attack.
"At noon, it will be too late," Chief Thunderhooves warned her while applying red/white war paint to his face.
The next day, the ponies of Appleloosa were positioned behind the barriers, armed with apple pies, and the buffalos were standing on a ridge, some distance from the barriers. Seven members of the Mane 8 were watching with Spike and Chad, and they were all worried that this would end badly for both sides. Bandit loafed and tapped his hoof. Spike and Chad went into his Bandana Pouch for safety.
Rainbow Dash was trying to come up with an idea or something to stop the fighting before it started.
"Come on, think!" Rainbow Dash said to herself, thumping her head with her hoof. "Think, think, think, think, think, think, think!"
Just then, the clock struck twelve times. Both sides were quiet and staring at the other. Braeburn looked at the ponies and the clock, looking very worried at what was going to happen.
Little Strongheart got Chief Thunderhooves’s attention and gave him a pleading look. He let out a sigh and looked towards the ponies with regret. Much to the relief of the mane 7, Spike and Chad.
“He’s not gonna do it!” Rainbow Dash said happily. The others sighed in relief. Unfortunately, Pinkie decided to sing that song yet again.
“–what do you say?
You gotta share
You gotta care
It's the right thing to do.”
Bandit snapped his attention towards Pinkie as the Chief Thunderhooves began growling with anger.
“You gotta share”
“Chaaarge!” Chief Thunderhooves roared.
“You gotta care”
Chief Thunderhooves led the charge down the ridge and toward the town. Bandit ran out of his spot and towards Pinkie. Before the buffalo could reach her, he grabbed her by the scruff and flew into the air. The buffalo missed her by inches. Bandit flew back to the others before holding pinkie in his hoof.
“Pinkie?”
“Hmm?” Pinkie asked, turning her attention to Bandit.
“Don’t sing that song again.” Bandit requested. Pinkie pouted her lip as they landed.
The charging Buffalo ended up crashing through the first barrier.
"Ready… aim… fire!" Sheriff Silverstar ordered, having expected this. Soon the ponies were launching pies at the buffalos, knocking them down and some were blinded by the pies, resulting in them falling to the ground. Carrot top poked her head out of the tower she was in before jumping out and wrestling a bison to the ground. More ponies and Bison were confronting one another one on one.
Ponies on the rooftops were tossing pies as well as ponies on top of hay bales. One pony gasped as a bison charged right for her haybale, knocking it and her away. Another bison charged for a hay bale and wound up hitting an anvil on the other side. The two ponies responsible hoof bumped each other proudly.
Another Bison was pied in the face and ran right towards the clock tower, crashing into it and cracking the tower. It started to fall to the ground. Bandit used his magic to pull the bison and the two ponies out of the way of the crashing tower. Chief Thunderhooves jumped next to the wreckage and looked around. That’s when he spotted Sheriff Silverstar, who was moving from hay bale to hay bale, launching pies left and right.
He began charging after him. The Sheriff sees him, as well as the other pies missing him, and reaches for another pie but was all out. Looking out and seeing the Chief barrelling at him, he took off his hat and accepted his fate.
However, right before Chief Thunderhooves could take out the Sheriff, a pie was sent flying at him from the sidelines.
“Nooo!” He said before he was hit in the face with the pie. He hit the ground in front of Sheriff Silverstar. The sheriff looked at him in surprise.
Both sides either removed their hats in respect or were reduced to tears. Chad and Spike popped out of the pouch and hugged each other sadly. Bandit took off his stetson out of respect but was initially confused.
Just then, some of the apple pie on Chief Thunderhooves’ horn broke off, dropped onto his tongue, and the second it made contact, he pulled it in his mouth and his eyes popped open. He jumped up and licked the rest of the pie off his face. "Yum!" he exclaimed with an excited expression on his face. "Hey, I've got a much better idea!"
A short while later, after repairing and cleaning up Appleoosa the ponies were cutting down some of the trees. This created a path that the buffalo were able to stampede through. Applejack let out a while, and Rainbow Dash leads the way down the path with the buffalos racing right behind her.
"We… will allow the apple orchard to stay in exchange for a share of its fruit.” Chief Thunderhooves narrated as his tribe ran past and was given freshly baked Apple Pies. “Those… delicious apple pies!"
Chad and Spike were sitting and watching the buffalo go by. Chad was eating an apple pie as Spike had a bowl of turquoise.
“I'd rather eat turquoise any day of the week.” Spike said. He tossed one into the air to catch it in his mouth. Chad yoinked it and ate it. Spike glared at him as he snickered.
On a nearby hill, Applejack was beaming as she finished planting the newly recovered apple three. "Bloomberg, this is yer special day," she told the tree, smiling. "Mama's so proud of you!"
Little Strongheart looked over and jumped over to them, waving at Bandit and inviting Applejack and Rainbow Dash to join them. Bandit waved back as Applejack and Rainbow dash ran/flew over to join in the stampede.
Bandit took a seat as he smiled at the stampede, writing the letter.
“Dear My Loving Mother, Friendship is a wondrous and powerful thing. Even the worst of enemies can become friends. You need understanding and compromise. You've got to share. You've got to care."