Chapter 16: Over a Barrel
While the train speeded down the tracks, I looked out the window and watched as the various parts of the desert landscape quickly came out of view as quickly as they came out of view. To explain, the gang and I were riding a train to Appleloosa where Applejack is planning to plant an apple tree she has been raising in an orchard belonging to some relatives of hers. While most of us were walking about or lounging around the train cars, the cowpony herself was in the caboose, looking after her tree.
“Boy, this train’s fast!” Dog said, commenting by the train’s speed. “Look at everythin’, flyin’ by!”
“Well, it’s being pulled by a group of Earth ponies.” I told him, knowing the train we were riding wasn’t operated like the usual train we’re used to. “Being ran on pony power, I’m not surprised that there would be a difference in traveling speed.”
“Boy, I can’t wait ‘til we reach Appleloosa!” Dog said, sounding excited. “Heard Braeburn's livin’ there these days. Haven’t seen him since the last reunion I was at. Meanin’ we got a lotta catch up on for old times.”
“Thanks for letting us accompany you and Applejack while she plants her tree in the orchard.” I gave him a grateful smile.
“No problem. We don’t mind havin’ a little extra company. And y’all like your time in Appleloosa.”
“I am looking forward to seeing the town, we all are. I’ve done some reading on it. There isn’t much, seeing how the town’s only a year old. Though it isn’t just the town I’m hoping to see. I also can’t wait to meet some buffalo.”
“Buffalo?”
“Yeah. They’re a group of natives that live in Equestria. I found out that a tribe of them is nearby Appleloosa and thought this might be a good chance to meet them. I read a lot about them and their culture, like their traditions. Much how they’re a very deep people. I’ve always wanted to meet a buffalo, show them what I know about them and see what else I could learn.”
“Well, after we get old Bloomberg planted, I’ll make sure ya get to see those buffalo.”
“Thanks, Dog.”
“Excuse me, Dog.” Moving aside, Dog let Rarity pass as we watched her leave the car.
“Where’s your cousin goin'?” Dog asked, curious as to why Rarity left.
“Have no idea.” I said before I saw Leon and tried to see if he knew. “Hey, Leon! You know why Rarity left the car?”
“Oh, she’s going to talk to Applejack.” Leon told me. “Said something about not being treated right.”
“Oh, boy. I bet I know what she’s doing.” I said as I got out of my bed, placing Twilight’s necklace around my neck and putting my hat on my head before I looked to Dog. “Come on, Dog. Let’s make sure Rarity doesn’t get into any trouble.” With that, the two of us walking towards the back of the train, going through the multiple cars along the way. “Of course, Rarity wouldn’t be open to the idea of sleeping in the same car with multiple ponies.”
“Don’t see what the deal is.” Dog inquired. “It’s just for one night.”
“Well, remember that Rarity has standards with certain things.” I told Dog, reminding him how my cousin usually is. “She’s takes anything involving her appearance pretty seriously, including sleep. And I can’t really blame her, seeing how you and Shield do snore.”
“Come on, we’re not that bad.”
“Are you kidding me? You snore as much as my sisters and my mother. Why do you think the walls at the house were so thick?”
“Okay, I get it. I just don’t want her botherin' AJ. I mean, Bloomberg’s the whole reason we’re doin’ this trip.”
“Speaking of the tree, what is Applejack doing in the back anyway?”
“Oh, she’s just makin’ sure Bloomberg is all nice and comfy. Bein’ planted in a new place is pretty upsettin’ for a tree and Bloomberg’s one of AJ’s favorites.”
“Yeah.” I chuckled a bit, thinking how Rarity feels about it. “I bet Rarity is fuming that Applejack is giving a tree first-class treatment.”
“Yeah. Oh, that reminds me. I’ve been meanin’ to talk to ya about somethin’.”
“What is it, Dog?”
“Well, last Saturday, me and AJ had a little talk and she told me the day she and the girls met.”
“I’m pretty sure we all know that story, Dog.” I then began recalling the story of how the girls found the Element of Harmony, parts of it I got from the other elementals of our team. “How Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow lived up to their Elements and helped Twilight get to the Castle of the Two Sisters which was home to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and they all used the Elements of Harmony to defeat Nightmare Moon.”
“I know that, but that’s not what I wanted to talk about.” I then listened as he continued. “Ya see, AJ told me that your magic had been makin’ her think about that day.”
I raised a brow at that. “What does my magic have to do with that?”
“Well… she told me that it reminded her of somethin’ she saw that day, after Twilight was taken by Nightmare Moon.”
“Remind her of what?”
“She’s not actually sure, but she thinks she saw somepony with magic like yours.”
I was surprised by this. “You mean she saw somepony with magic like my own?”
“That’s what she told me.”
“So I guess maybe I’m not the only one with unique magic like that.”
“Maybe.”
“No fair, Applejack!” reaching the last car, we both entered as we saw Rarity speaking her complaints to Applejack. “You got a luxurious, private sleeper car for a tree while I’m 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 told the fashionista in defense. “He needs his rest so we can give him as a gift for my relatives in Appleloosa.”
“Hmph! You talk about it as if it’s your baby or something.” Rarity huffed, shocking Applejack.
“Who are you callin' a baby? Bloomberg’s no baby!” Applejack then rush over and began comforting her tree, like a mother comforting her child. “Don’t let widdle Rarity make ya’ll saddy-waddy. Bloomberg’s a big and strong apple tree. Yes, he is.”
When she began acting as if Bloomberg was actually her baby, I tried to hold in my laugh from seeing how silly she was behaving over a tree. Though this ended up earning a punch to the arm from Dog who I saw glaring at me.
“Ow! What was that for?” I asked him, returning his glare.
“Don’t make fun of AJ.” Dog said before he lost his glare while speaking to Rarity. “Rare, don’t start with her. Ya know ya ain’t gonna win against her.”
“It’s widdle Rarity who’s all saddy-waddy. Mmm!” Rarity said as she then turned and left the car.
That night, I told everypony about what Dog and I witnessed in the train car Applejack reserved for her tree, all of us (except for Dog) having a good laugh for the cowpony’s behavior that made her seem ridiculous.
“Seriously?” Leon said to me. “She actually did that?”
“Yeah. Applejack talked to that tree just like a mother to her foal.” I told him. “I mean, I knew she had a nurturing side, but I didn’t think I’d see it like that.”
“Yeah, who knew she could be such a big dork? Ha-ha!” Shield said with a laugh before yelling as he dodged an icicle that hit the wall of his bunk, nearly hitting him in the head. With looks of shock, we all looked to see Dog glaring at us.
“Call AJ a dork again and the next one goes right between the eyes!” Dog angrily told us, threateningly.
“Oh, come on, Dog! It was a joke.” Shield said as Dog then turned around and tucked himself in, the cowpony going to sleep.
“Um, maybe we should lay off the jokes there.” I said, knowing it would be a bad idea to talk any further about Applejack’s recent behavior. “I’m sure Dog’s being a little defensive with how he feels about Applejack.”
“Yeah, I don’t want to wake up frozen to my bed when we get to Appleloosa.” Leon added.
“Ugh! Do you guys mind?” Spike groaned as poked his head from under his blanket. “I was up early fire roasting those snacks you’re all eating and I’m pooped!”
“Sorry, Spike.” I said to my fellow assistant. “We all know you worked really hard. You’ve earned that rest.”
“Speaking of the snacks, mind giving a little more heat over here?” Shield said to him, holding up his bag of popcorn. “Some of these popcorn kernels didn’t get popped.”
“Oh, okay. Fine.” Spike told him before shot a blast of fire at the bag, burning half of it along with the popcorn before going back under the blanket. “Good night!”
Looking back at Shield, we all watched as he looked into the bag and an unpopped kernel popped, the piece of popcorn hitting him in the eye. After he recovered, we all shared a laugh as Shield groaned in annoyance that Spike destroyed his snack. We all stopped laughing as Twilight spoke up.
“Maybe it’s time we got a little shut eye.” She said. “We’ve got a big day ahead of us tomorrow.”
“Awww!” Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Pinkie groaned in disappointment.
“Twilight’s right, girls.” I said to them. “We still have a lot to do in the morning. Good night, everypony.” With them saying “good night” in return, I turned off the lights. As I drifted off to sleep, I smiled as I was having a wonderful dream.
I had never been more content, more happy, and more at peace in my whole life than I was now. I was in a beautiful meadow, the sun shining high in the sky, colorful flowers in full bloom, birds singing with joy. But it all changed when I saw black storm clouds fill the sky, the birds chirp with fright and fly away, and all the plants began to wilt to the point of death. I looked to see the unicorn mare who had captured my heart, Twilight Sparkle, running away from something truly terrifying.
“Dusk, run!” she yelled. “It’s coming!”
“What’s coming?” I watched her as she ran past me. Then I heard a terrible roar that sounded like a mix between a banshee screech and a dragon’s roar and turned to see a shadowy figure in the shape of my elemental form with a glowing red eye and rage-filled blue eye heading towards me. “Oh, now I see.”
I was able to catch up with Twilight as we ran away from that thing.
“Dusk, what in Equestria is this thing?” Twilight asked frantically.
“A servant of Dargon and one I never thought I would face again!” I answered her.
“Why? Do you know him?”
“I was gonna tell you, but I guess now it’s time you know.” I said. She had to know, it was already the time and it was probably gonna be our last day together to tell her all my secrets.
“The truth is that guy…is my brother.”
“Your WHAT?!”
“It’s a long story, but I don’t think we have time to even talk about it.”
We managed to get back to Ponyville, but it was all in ruin and my house along with EGHQ underneath it was destroyed.
We also got into a dead-end where we saw Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack lying on the ground completely injured.
That’s when my brother caught up with us and was ready to deliver the final blow.
We then grabbed each other in a hug full of fright.
“Twilight, because it seems we're about to meet our end, I have something I wanted to tell you.”
“What is it, Dusk?”
“But I wanted to be more than friends, Twilight.” I touched her hoof gently. “Because I…I love you.”
Her expression of bliss became one of shock. “You…you love me?”
“Yes, I really do. Do you feel the same?” I asked her.
She stared at me like she had never seen me before. Then, her face hardened into anger and she broke the hug.
“What?! No, of course not! How could even begin to think I would feel like that?”
“B-b-but I…I thought that…” This was all wrong, it wasn’t meant to be like this.
“You thought wrong. I could never love the brother of anypony who works for one of the most dangerous criminals in the world!” Her rage-filled face faded away, then the others got up and were all looked equally as angry or disappointed with me.
“Dusk, that’s your brother?” Applejack asked, shaking her head.
“How could you be related to this meanie?” Fluttershy added.
“That is awful! Didn’t your psychic powers warn you about this?” Pinkie said, patronizingly.
“Do you know how bad this makes you, Dusk? Now look what you’ve done!” Rainbow yelled, angrily.
“Well, Dusk, it seems I was wrong about the two of you, even if you are my cousin. I see it now, I don’t know what I was thinking.” Rarity said, regrettably.
“Here! You can have your brother! I don’t have anything to do with him!” Twilight suggested as she bushed me towards him, still furious at my confession. “None of us do!”
“What? No!” They had already started walking away, leaving me in a white void of emptiness. “Girls, please! Please! You can’t let him do this! Twilight…”
They turned their backs on me, not even listening to me. Deep down, maybe I had known I never really fitted in with them, but…I was alone. Like before. Now, nopony would be my friend. I would be alone, forever. I did the only thing I could.
I broke down and cried at how ashamed I truly was…
But then, as he wrapped tendrils around, instead of a painful, burning sensation, I received an ice-cold feeling up my spine that caused me to shiver and close my eyes.
Jerking awake, I jumped out of bed, landing on the floor and breathing heavily. The steady clacking of the train's wheels on the track resounded in my ears. It was still night out, so the whole car was shrouded in darkness.
I slowed my breathing and calmed my mind before I then created an orb of light and looked around to see everypony looking at me with looks of shock. The guys and girls were all awake, even though it was still dark out. How long had they been awake?
“Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked, confused by the looks they were giving me.
“Because ya’ll were using your magic in your sleep.” Dog told me as he helped me to my claws and hooves. “Things got so rough that I made some ice under you to wake you up.”
“Again?” I said, shocked by all this before my face began to express my guilt. “Oh, I’m so sorry, everypony.”
“Hold on, ‘again’?” Rainbow said, surprised by what she heard. “You mean, he’s done this before?”
“Yeah, back when we lived in Canterlot, Dusk’s magic just started going off in the middle of the night.” Leon explained to her and the girls. “Every night for a whole month, he’d send a flash of light flying around the place in his sleep. The three barely got much sleep because of it.”
“Dusk, are you alright?” Twilight asked as she walked over to me in concern.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I told her. “Just had a nightmare, that’s all. Nothing to worry about.”
“Are you sure?” She said to me. “If something’s wrong, I’m sure we can…”
“Twilight, it’s fine.” I assured her with the best smile I could give. “Everypony has nightmares. It’s no big deal.” I then looked to find that Spike wasn’t in his bed. “Hey, where’s Spike?”
“Oh, he left to find someplace else to sleep.” Shield told me.
“Guess he couldn’t take what had happened, huh?” I inquired.
“No, he left before you started sleep-spelling.” Leon said. “The girls were keeping him up while they were talking.”
“Seriously?” I gained an amused smile before I then looked to the four mares in question. “Guess he left all grumpy, huh?”
“Actually, the way he left was a little huffy.” Twilight told me.
“Huffy the Magic Dragon.” Fluttershy added and we all had a laugh at her joke.
“Would you all be quiet NOW?!” we all stopped laughing and we all horrified by the sight of an enraged Rarity wearing a beauty mask with cucumbers over her eyes and hair curlers in her main, a sight so frightening that we all screamed.
“Sorry, Rare!” I said before I canceled my magic and we went back to bed, though now I think I might have a new nightmare about what I just saw.
Speaking of, as I was still in bed, I looked back at the nightmare I just had told and how truly terrifying it was. But…it had also seemed so real. Then again, they all seemed real when experienced. I guess it was just my mind, bits of my fears creeping into my mind, to let my subconscious thoughts do whatever they felt like with them. Deciding to go with that and just try to forget about it, I then went back to sleep. It didn’t do to dwell on dreams, especially when I had enough fears to deal with already.
The next morning, just as before I was even close to waking up, a sudden crash caused the train to shudder. Being forcibly woke up, I fell out of my bed and onto the floor with a painful thud. Rubbing my head, I looked around to see everypony was awoken by the sudden vibration, all of them speaking in confusion.
“What the heck?” Shield said as I put my necklace and hat on. “What’s going on?”
Rushing over to the window, we were all surprised to find the source of the disturbance. What was surprising was that, rising alongside the tree, was actually…
“A buffalo stampede!” We hadn’t even arrived at our destination, yet here they were.
They were a magnificent sight to behold: twice the size of any full-grown pony, their bodies covered thick brown hair. I could see the points of their short, black horns, contrasting with the bright white feathers that adorned their heads. The very ground shook from the dozens of hooves that struck the ground, running together and easily keeping speed with the train.
“I just love their accessories.” Rarity remarked, no doubt noting on their feathers.
“Yes, the buffalo sense of style is quite unique, but they’re not just for show though.” I explained, remembering what I had researched. “You see, they earn those feathers or are awarded them for acts of bravery among their tribe. It’s a sign of respect and status.”
“You mean like a medal?”
“Exactly.” I affirmed. “The chief of the tribe has the most feathers. They adorn his headdress, just so you know who the boss is.”
“Hey, that’s pretty cool.” Shield said, impressed by my knowledge.
“They’re getting awfully close to the train." Twilight warily said.
“Oh, you’re right.” I said as we watched them starting to get ahead of the train. “They’re getting really close. What are they…”
CRASH!
I received my answer when the buffalo began bumping into the train, causing it to rock and sway and sending us all bouncing and sliding around the room from the turbulence. Every time we tried to pick ourselves up, we all went sliding around again, unable to stop ourselves.
“Dusk, what is goin' on?” Dog asked me as the car stopped swaying and we all picked ourselves up.
“I don’t know. This doesn’t make sense.” I told him, just as confused as he was. “The buffalo are usually peaceful. There’s no reason for them to attack.”
“Ooh, looky! Now they're doing tricks!” Pinkie said as we looked to see they’d stopped attacking the train, but two of them were now standing atop each other, creating a small tower.
We watched as another buffalo, a young calf from the looks of her, sprinted and jumped on top of the makeshift tower. Amazingly, they were able to remain like this while running at top speed without falling off.
“What in Equestria are they doin’?” Dog asked as I wondering the same question.
“I have no idea.” I told him.
“Ooh, ooh, ooh! Now do a back-flip!” Pinkie exclaimed before the calf then jumped off of the top of the tower and onto the roof of the carriage. “Or… Just jump.”
“Pinkie, something tells me this isn’t a circus act.” Shield said as we heard the calf’s hooves hitting the metal as she seemed to be running along the top of the train.
“Where’s that buffalo going?” Leon asked.
“Sounds like she’s heading towards the back of the train.” I said, following the sound of the calf’s hooves.
“The back? But that’s…” Dog then gained a looked of horror as he looked in the direction of the calf’s running. “Oh, no! Bloomberg!”
“I got her!” With a gust of wind, Rainbow hurried outside, either to fight or just reason with the buffalo calf.
“Come on!” I prompted, as we followed the sounds of the hooves on metal from below.
Thanks to my sense of hearing, I was able to listen in on the exchange between Rainbow and the calf.
“Hey, there!” Rainbow started. “Where ya heading in such a hurry?” I knew Rainbow was flowing the calf as I could hear her voice along the hoof claps on the roof. “Wow, you’re pretty quick for someone so… bulky. No offense. I got a friend of mine who’s just the same.” There was moment of silence before Rainbow spoke again. “I just want to know… Hey!” No doubt Rainbow was trying to stand in the way of the calf and the calf kept going around her as she kept running as there were pauses as Rainbow tried to talk to her. “I’m talking to you…” When the calf’s hooves stopped clapping for a moment before starting again, I knew that the calf had done over the pegasus and left Rainbow in awe. Rainbow’s attempt in trying to talk to the calf failed as the young buffalo reached the rear carriage, uncoupled the cart from the rest of the train, and whistled loudly. This was no doubt a pre-organized signal as the other buffalo broke off and galloped away, gathering around the carriage and pushing it the opposite way.
"They've got Bloomberg!" Applejack cried out in despair.
“HELP!” Hearing that cry, I looked over and saw a certain purple scaly someone, desperately calling for help through the glass.
“And Spike!” Twilight and I both said in realization.
“Okay, taking a tree? I’m fine with.” Shield said as he got in front. “But taking Spike? That’s a no-go!” He then jumped right out of the cart and got on the tracks. “Hey! Come back here, you dragon-nappers!” Just like that, he then dashed after the buffalo, determined to save Spike from his captors.
“I hope this tin can on wheels gets to Appleloosa soon.” Dog urgently said. “We gotta tell Braeburn what’s happened. He can help us for sure.”
“But why would the buffalo want an apple tree?” Leon asked.
“I don’t know, but they must have some reason for taking it.” Twilight turned to me. “Dusk, what do you think about this?”
“Well, it’s rather strange, to say the least.” I swiftly recalled all I knew of the bovines. “I don’t think they would just want the carriage itself. What would be the point? That means they must have known what was inside. They have food of their own that they’ve lived off for years, so they didn’t take it for sustenance.”
“Do you think it has something to do with the fact it was due to be planted in the orchard with the rest?” Twilight suggested.
“Yes. Yes, you might be onto something there. Hold on, let me think.” I placed a claw on my chin, voicing my thoughts out loud as they came. “They knew what was in the carriage because that raid must have been planned ahead of time.”
“That’s right.” Twilight agreed. “They distracted the drivers with the initial strike, took what they came for, and left.”
“They didn’t want to cause unnecessary damage or injury.” I nodded. “The only thing they could want was the tree, which was due to be planted at the orchard. Did they want to prevent it, but why? What’s the point?” I turned to Applejack. “I think I might be able to figure this out, but I'd need to see the orchard itself first.”
“Ya should be able to, but we need to save Bloomberg and Spike first.” she reminded me.
“I think they’ll be fine. From what I know, dragons are revered among the buffalo. But, I do agree, saving him is our top priority. They also don’t take kindly to trespassers on their territory, so Rainbow and Shield will be in more danger than he is. We need to…” I stopped as I realized something. “Um…where’s Pinkie?”
“Pinkie? Why, she’s right here.” Rarity looked to see that the pink pony had indeed vanished. “Where’s she gone? She was right here!”
“She must’ve flew off to help Shield and Dash go after the buffalo.” Leon suggested, which seemed pretty accurate.
“Right, so to recap: we’ve been attacked and robbed by buffalo, Spike’s been kidnapped, and Shield, Rainbow, and Pinkie have gone after him into their territory.” Applejack stomped her hoof in frustration. “Well, that’s just dandy.”
"We should be able to get help soon. We're almost there," Twilight pointed out. "But it'll be late by the time we get there, almost dark…"
We spent the rest of the journey fretting and worrying about our friends. The sooner we got to Appleloosa, the sooner we would be able to get help. About half an hour later, we arrived at our destination, the train pulling to a halt in the station.
I saw it and was reminded of the old settlements made in the cowpony days. The buildings were all made of wood and stone, the citizens going about their businesses in wide-brimmed hats or bonnets in the case of some of the mares. I supposed they were settlers only here for a year, so it made sense they start with something basic, not to mention nostalgic.
We hurried off the train and onto the station and were immediately greeted by an Earth pony with a wide smile, leather jacket, and Stetson hat.
“Hey, there!” he said before raising his forelegs skyward at this greeting. “Welcome to A-A-Appleloosa!”
“Braeburn, listen…” Applejack tried to tell her cousin, but he cut her off.
“Cousin Applejack, mind yer manners!” he scolded her. “You have yet to introduce me to your compadres! Shame on you!”
“Braeburn, we have no time for…” Dog started before the Earth pony grabbed him.
“Dog! It’s been forever!” Braeburn said as he noogied him a bit. “How’ve you been, buddy?”
“Braeburn, listen, something terrible has happened…”
“Terrible is right! Your train is full seven minutes late!" he cut him off again. Much like Dog, I was starting to get annoyed. “That’s seven minutes less for you to delight in the pleasures and wonders of… A-A-Appleloosa!” With that, he dragged us off, ignoring our protests, clearly eager to show us around his hometown and tell us many things that I already knew. “Boggles the mind, we settler ponies built all this in just the past year, don’t it? and as you can see, we have all the finest comforts.” He then motioned to a carriage being pulled by a stallion with another stallion riding in the carriage. “Like horse-drawn carriages.”
“Okay, you pull now.”
“Aww! We just switched.”
“And those there are horse-drawn, horse-drawn carriages.” We looked over to see a couple of ponies drawing ponies drawing in carriages. (Try saying that three times fast)
“Hey, listen, Braeburn…” Dog said before Applejack’s cousin dragged us off again.
“And here’s our local waterin’ hole, the Salt Block.” There, we looked to see a saloon with a large sign depicting a salt shaker on it.
“Why do you call it ‘the Salt Block’?” Leon asked before the answer came through the doors as a stallion was tossed right out.
“That’s enough salt for you!”
“Can’t I least… get a glass of water?” the stallion said as he tried to stand up before collapsing, his lips puckered and flakes of salt on his face.
“Never mind.” Leon said, now understanding the reason for the saloon’s name.
We were then brought over to a building with a mustached stallion laying against a post on the porch. “Over there’s the office of Sheriff Silverstar.”
“Uncle Silverstar?” Dog said as Leon and I were surprised as well to find his uncle laying in front of us.
“Howdy, nephew.” Silverstar casually greeted him before Braeburn dragged us to show us more of the town.
“And here’s where we have our Wild West dances.” We then looked to see a couple of ponies dancing around before we saw a couple of ponies dancing in a more calm fashion. “And here’s where we have our mild west dances.”
“Dog, as much as I enjoy the tour, we don’t have time for this.” I told him, knowing we were wasting time. “We still need to figure out what’s going on with the buffalo.”
“Yeah, that’s the problem with Braeburn.” Dog told me. “Whenever he gets to showin' somethin’ off, he’s completely clueless to everythin’ else, even a crisis.”
“But, Braeburn, we…” Applejack tried to get a word in, but her cousin wouldn’t listen as he then took us to see the apple orchard.
“And here’s the most wonderful sight in all of… A-A-Appleloosa!” We all looked to see the whole valley full of apple trees. “Our apple orchard.”
“Braeburn.” Applejack tried another attempt, getting close to her breaking point.
“First harvest should be any day now.” he was saying.
“Braeburn!”
“Good thing too!”
“Brae…”
“'cause we need that grub to live on.”
“BRAEBURN!!” she finally shouted, getting his attention.
“Uh… yes, cuz?” he inquired casually.
“Ya have a very nice town and all, but we have a huge problem! Some of our friends are missin'!”
“A stampede of buffalo!” Fluttershy put in. At the mention of the buffalo, Braeburn's grin vanished and was replaced with a look of utter terror.
“They took Spike!” Rarity told him.
“Rainbow Dash went after them!” Twilight put in.
“And Shield and Pinkie went with her!” Leon added.
“And we had an apple tree with us for your orchard, but they took that too!” Dog finished. Braeburn stood there in silence, unable to make comment. Seeing an opportunity, I stepped forward.
“As you can see,” I said, keeping my voice level and polite, “our situation is rather dire and we need to know what’s happening here. Have you been having trouble with the buffalo tribe?”
“Trouble ain’t the half of it.” He let out an exhausted sigh. “Them buffalo… They want us settler ponies to take every single tree you see here off this land. They sure as hay don’t want any new ones added in.”
“But why do they want the trees gone?” Leon asked.
“Beats me. We put a lot of hard work into this land, so we can feed our town, our families, our foals! And now they’re saying all these trees have to go? T’ain’t fair.”
“No, it isn’t.” I spoke after a moment of silence. “Listen, Braeburn, I’ve studied about the buffalo tribe and they aren’t usually like this. I think that the buffalo are doing this because you might’ve done something to upset them.”
“Upset them? How?”
“Well, I believe that it might have something to do with your apple orchard. There might be something about the land your using that might give us a clue to the buffalo’s aggressive behavior. Mind if I have a look around?”
“Sure thing. Just be careful.” he warned.
“Don’t worry, I will.” I assured him before I looked to Dog and Leon. “Dog, Leon, mind helping me with the search?”
“Not all, Dusk.” Dog said, Leon nodding in agreement with him.
“What about poor Spike and Rainbow? Are we not going to rescue them?” Rarity asked.
“Well, sure, but not now.” Braeburn said before we looked to the sun. “It’ll be night soon, so we won’t be able to go after ‘em till tomorrow. The buffalo know the land better than we do and it ain’t safe ta head out when it’s dark. Ya can rest up here, then we’ll head out in the mornin’.”
“Okay. If you need us, we’ll be down in the orchard.” I told the girls before I looked to my fellow unicorns. “Come on, guys.” The three of us then set down to the trees, bidding farewell to our friends.
Shield’s view
After I chased after the buffalo, I tried to stop them, but those guys managed to get past and trampled me. Seeing as to how I wasn’t gonna be able to get to Spike through them, I decided to follow them, sneak past them, and rescue Spike. Hiding behind a rock, I tried to see if I was getting close. Though I didn’t have much time to look until somepony tackled me. I thought it was that little buffalo from the train, but I was shocked to who it really was.
“Dash?” I said as I saw Rainbow Dash on top of me.
“Shield?” Rainbow said before she felt a twinge and got off me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked her.
“Trying to rescue Spike?” She told me. “What are you doing here?”
“Same as you.” I said. “I’ve been following them and I think they might be close by.”
“Good, I want a crack at that little buffalo from earlier.” She said as she started sneaking away. “Wait until I get my hooves on her. Nopony tricks Rainbow Dash and gets away with it.”
“Boo!” Pinkie said, scaring Dash before she got too far. When the pegasus saw who it was, she then glared at Pinkie. “Pinkie Pie!”
“Oh, you caught me!” Pinkie said, not even trying to keep her voice down. “I guess I tricked you and didn’t get away with it either. You’re good.”
“Pinkie, shh!” I shushed her before questioning her. “What do you think you’re doing? You got to get out of here!”
“I do?” She asked.
“Yeah, and keep it down!” I told her as I looked over the rock. “You’re gonna blow our cover!”
“I am?”
“Pinkie, stop shouting!” Dash told her. “We’re trying to rescue Spike!”
“Oh, my gosh! So am I!” Pinkie then got out from behind the rock.
“Yeah, that’s why you need to go!” Dash said, now speaking out loud. “It’s already enough with me and Shield and, the more of us there are out here, the more of the chances of us…”
“Uh… Dash?” I said as we found ourselves surrounded by buffalo.
“Getting caught.” Dash said before we both formed a barrier around her. “Run, Pinkie! We’ll hold them off! Save yourself”
“You buffalo want to fight? Well, bring it!” I said, ready to rumble with these buffalo. The buffalo were ready too until…
“Stop!” When they moved aside, we were surprised to see it was Spike. “Shield, Dash, Pinkie, what’s up?”
“Spike?” I said, confused by all this.
“Don’t worry, I know these guys.” He said, talking to the buffalo. “they’re cool.”
“If you say so, Spike.” One of the buffalo said before giving him a hoofbump. “Catch ya later, bro.” Just like that, all the buffalo just left.
“Uh, Spike?” I said as the dragon came over to us. “What just happened?”
“Oh, don’t worry about them.” he told us. “As long as you’re with me, they’re cool. Come on, I’ll tell you everything back at the tribe.”
That night, Spike led us back to the buffalo’s village and told us everything that happened.
“So you’re saying that the buffalo didn’t know you were in that car with the tree?” I said, getting all that he told me.
“Yeah, and they feel awful about taking me too. Poor guys.” Spike told us. “Fortunately, they totally respect dragons,” with a snap of his claws, the buffalo then brought me and the girls some bowls full of… I didn’t even know what it was, but it smelled awful, “so they treat me like an honored guest.” Dash gagged before we both pushed the bowls away. “Still don’t like ponies much though, but you’re with me, so they’re cool.”
“Well, I still don’t trust them.” Dash said, standing up and looking around for buffalo. “I say we turn tail and…” Dash stopped when we both looked and saw Pinkie eating that bowl of slop.
“Before we’re done eating?” Pinkie said as she finished her bowl. “Are you loco in the coco?” Looking back at Spike, I then watched as one buffalo came in with some fancy bowl full of blue gems. When she got close enough, I saw that it was the little buffalo from before. “Can I please have more of that mushy stuff, whatever it was?”
“Certainly.” She told her before looking to Spike. “And, Mr. Spike, you like gemstones, yes?”
“Turquoise!” Spike said before he started eating the gems.
“Hey, you’re that little buffalo from before!” I said, getting her attention.
“This here is Little Strongheart.” Spike said, introducing us to the buffalo. “And these are my friends, Pinkie Pie, Shield Steedor, and Rainbow Dash.” Little Strongheart and Dash then looked at each other in shock.
“You!”
“You!”
“That’s it! We are out of here!” Dash said, walking away and taking Pinkie with her.
“Wait!” Strongheart said, getting in front of Dash. “Please, accept my apologies for what happened on the train. We didn’t mean for anyone to be hurt."
“Yeah, right.” Dash said, not believing her one bit.
“Hold on, Dash.” I said, getting up and dashing over to stop the pegasus. “Let’s hear her out.”
“Shield, you believe her?” She asked me in surprise.
“Look, I don’t trust the buffalo any more than you do, but I do trust Dusk.” I told her as I explained. “He said that they don’t attack for no reason. If he were here, he would want us to find out what these guys' deal is.”
Dash thought about it for a minute before she sighed and said “Fine. Let’s hear her out.”
“Great.” I said before I talked to the buffalo. “So, Strongheart, right? Mind telling us why you attacked us?”
“We didn’t mean any harm.” She told us. “We only wanted the tree.”
“Why would you go through all that trouble for one little tree?” I asked.
“Because the settler ponies have taken the land and have planted an orchard all over it!” she told me. “Because of their thoughtlessness, we can no longer run over our traditional stampeding grounds.”
“Stampeding grounds?” I was confused by this, as were Dash and Pinkie.
“I think it’s time they meet Chief Thunderhooves.” Spike said.
A while after, we were gathered around a fire with their chief, a black buffalo with a hat made with tons of feathers. Seems as though Dusk was right about the feathers being used for ranks.
“Okay, Chief Thunderhooves,” I started, wanting to get to the bottom of this whole mess, “what exactly are the stampeding grounds?”
“Hmmh. We have a long and winding stampeding trail that we have run upon for many generations.” The chief told us. “My father stampeded upon these grounds, and his father before him, and his father before him, and his father before him, and…”
“I think they get the idea, Chief.” Strongheart told him, stopping him from putting everyone to sleep.
“Yeah, we get the idea.” I told him. “So what exactly do these grounds have to do with you stealing a tree?”
“Hmph. It is a sacred tradition to run the path every year.” The chief then began snorting in anger as he kept talking. “But this year, these… settler ponies, these… Appleloosans!”
“They planted apple trees all over it without asking our permission.” Strongheart said, getting to the point while stopping her chief’s snorting.
“Well, that’s not very nice.” Pinkie said before looking to me and Dash. “Right?” Dash just huffed as she turned away.
“So the reason you stole the tree we had was to stop any more of them from being planted?” I asked.
“Yes.” Strongheart told us. “The ponies refused to move their trees, so we are stuck here. And it’s not fair!”
“Yeah, that’s not fair at all.” I told them. “I’m really sorry you lost your lands.”
“See, Rainbow Dash?” Spike said to the pegasus. “They had a good reason to…” Dash then used her wings to stand up before she gave everypony a look of rage, surprising the buffalo.
“I’ll say they had a good reason!” Dash said, now wanting to help the buffalo. “Come on! We have some apple-picking Appleloosans to talk to!”
Dusk’s view
The following morning, we rose up early, alert and ready to move. I was asked about my findings from yesterday, but I told them I would divulge the information after we’d rescued the others. We’d conceded and made our way to the outskirts of town.
Applejack was just trying on Rarity’s saddlebag, which contained a good deal of supplies. We all had our own for the hike into buffalo land.
“I know that the situation is dire and all, but I can’t wait to see that tribe!” I said, feeling excited about meeting the buffalo. “I still can’t believe I’ll get to see a buffalo up close!”
“Speaking of the buffalo, are you sure they’ll let us in?” Leon asked me in concern.
“Don’t worry, Leon.” I assured him. “Once they know we’re friends with Spike, we will be allowed into their tribe.”
“Ow! Gently, please.” my debutante cousin requested to the farm pony.
“Sorry, Rarity, but our friends are out there and we have to be ready for a long hike into buffalo territory if we're gonna save ‘em. Let’s go!” She led the charge out, but we’d barely gone a few feet when we found them.
“Hi, guys!” Pinkie said to us as the four smiled at us.
“Pinkie!” Fluttershy tackled her to the ground. “We’re so glad you’re safe.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, I hurried to greet them as we all rejoiced at our reunion. I exchanged a hoof bump with Shield before we got onto the crux of the matter.
“I knew you’d be safe.” I said to them. “From the way buffalo revere dragons, I was hoping that influence would be enough to keep you safe.”
“It sure did and that’s not all!” Pinkie gestured to a rock and out hopped the calf who had been part of the raid yesterday. In contrast to her fierce determination from before, she now looked rather sheepish and shy.
“The buffalo calf.” I said, surprised and elated at finally having a chance to meet a buffalo while trying to contain myself.
“Easy there, Dusk.” Leon told me as we stood back and watched what was about to happen.
“We promised the buffalo a chance to talk.” Shield explained, confirming my hopes.
“Oh, yeah? About what?” Dog asked as he and Applejack had suspicious expressions on their features.
“Um, if I may,” Everypony turned their attention to me, where I tried to ignore their stares and continued. “In our investigation yesterday, we discovered what I had been suspecting for a while.” There, I then spoke to Braeburn. “Braeburn, the reason the buffalo are so mad is that you and the Appleloosans have planted the apple orchard on their ancient stampeding grounds. Every year, the buffalo stampede right through that valley as part of their long stampeding trail. By placing trees there, you cut off their route.”
“Really?” Braeburn said with shock. “But… but we didn’t know!”
“On top of things as always.” Rainbow remarked to me, proudly. “We brought our new pal, Little Strongheart here, to explain to the Appleloosians why they should move the apple trees off buffalo land.”
She pushed the calf forward, so she was nose-to-nose with Braeburn, who now looked rather relieved.
“That information would be quite help…” He was cut off by Applejack, who pushed him in closer too.
“That’s weird. ‘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…” Strongheart began, but Rainbow interrupted her.
“The land is theirs! You planted the trees not knowing that. Honest mistake. Now you just got to move ‘em, that’s all.”
“Well…” Braeburn said before Applejack interrupted him again.
“They busted their rumps here!” Applejack argued. “And now they’re supposed to bust their rumps again just 'cause some buffalo won’t stampede someplace else?”
“Plant the trees somewhere else!”
“Where? It’s the only flatland around these parts!”
“The buffalo had it first!”
“The settler ponies need it to live!”
They both dissolved into squabbling and bickering, which wasn't helping us in any way whatsoever. I was about to try and step in, when Twilight stopped them.
“Look, both the settlers and the buffalo have good reasons to use this land. There must be something we can do.”
“Hey! I’ve got an idea!” Pinkie jumped up and fell on the floor. “Bring all the ponies and buffalo to town in about half an hour and you’ll see. Come on, Spike, I’ll need your help. We’ll need a stage, a piano, and some dancing ponies!"
With that, Pinkie grabbed his claw and dashed off to prepare…whatever it was she had in mind. Rainbow Dash and Shield hurried to convey the message to the buffalo, whilst Applejack, Dog, and Braeburn went to round up the settlers. They were all confused, but they had little choice and they were rather curious to see what Pinkie had in mind.
I was still pondering this about twenty-five minutes later, tapping my claws on the ground. Living up to the reputation of the lightning elemental, Pinkie was rather random and unpredictable, so I didn’t have the faintest idea. I just hoped that, whatever it was, it was something good.
The buffalo were a peaceful people, for the most part. If they felt their ancestral land was threatened, however, they would take steps to defend their heritage. Violent steps if necessary. I was hoping that it wouldn’t come to that. Violence, with the exception of self-defense, was never the answer to anything…that much I believed.
“Excuse me, Dusk Noir?” a voice asked behind me. I turned to see the buffalo calf, Little Strongheart, who had remained with them to wait, standing there with a friendly smile on her face.
“Um… yes, er…that’s me.” Quashing my initial nervousness, I raised my head high and said “May the ground stay strong beneath your hooves.”
This was a formal buffalo greeting between two unknowns. Raising one’s head was a gesture of friendship and respect. Lowering your head was more aggressive and hostile, indicating you intended to ram your horns at the recipient. Little Strongheart seemed rather surprised at my knowledge of this, but she recovered herself and responded in kind, gently butting our heads together to complete the greeting.
“Your friend Leon was right. You have knowledge of buffalo customs.” she noted admirably. “He said that you wanted to meet one of our people, so…here I am.”
“Did he? Well, I’m grateful to him.” I returned her smile, glad we were getting along so far. “Yes, I do have knowledge of your people, modestly speaking. But the things I’ve read from books can’t hope to compare with your firsthoof experience of growing up as a buffalo. There’s so much I could learn from you.”
“You are very kind.” she said, respectfully. “I only wish we were meeting under more peaceful circumstances.”
“As do I.” I said, regretfully. “I’m sorry for what the settlers have done to your land.”
“It’s not entirely their fault. They didn’t know.” At least she was reasonable. I thought. “I just hope that we can come to a solution. I would much rather be friends than enemies.”
“The feeling is mutual. I’m sure that you and the settlers can come to an agreement that leaves both sides satisfied.”
“I certainly hope so.” She looked at me curiously. “What do you think the pony Pinkie Pie has planned?”
“Honestly, I have no idea.” I confessed. “She can be quite…unpredictable at the best of times, I think you’ll find.”
“She certainly can.” she agreed, laughing. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like her. You ponies, you say something different, don’t you?”
“Yes, er…we do. We say ‘anypony’ and ‘everypony’, things like that.” I taught her. “Unless, of course, we’re talking to somepony who isn’t a pony, in which case we just say ‘anyone’.”
“That is simple enough to understand.” she agreed. “How much do you know of my people?”
“Let’s see…” I tried to remember the most interesting things I could. “I know a formal greeting and farewell. I know that positions in a tribe are gained through one-on-one combat with another buffalo and that calves prove their worth by participating in a stampede with the whole tribe, without falling behind. Once that’s done, they are awarded their feathers, an official membership of the tribe.” I then gestured to hers. “You’ve earned yours, I see.”
“Yes, just last year.” she admitted, proudly. “That was before the settlers moved in and planted on our land… I am most saddened by it.”
“I can tell, yes.” I remembered her raid on the train. “Your athletic skills are very impressive though. I watched you from the train.”
“Thank you and your intelligence is equally so.” she noted. There was a pause as she considered something. “I am a little curious about you ponies too. You are a…a…alicorn, yes?”
“Unicorn.” I corrected, politely. “Alicorns have wings and can use a magical horn. I just have the horn, no wings.”
“Ah, I see.” She seemed almost nervous to ask. “So, that means you can do magic, yes?”
“Yes, it does. Would you like to see a demonstration?”
“Oh, yes, very much so! If you wish, of course.” she added.
I smiled more warmly as I levitated some pebbles that rested in the sand nearby and orbited them around her. She watched in wonder as they circled her, glowing as the magical aura surrounded them. I placed them back down after a few minutes and she seemed quite in awe.
It really was quite amazing how different we were, yet in some ways, we were both the same. I’d hoped that, on the day I would meet a buffalo, it would go well, but I had never expected anything like this. I still marveled at it as we arrived at the time Pinkie arranged. A wooden stage had been set up in the desert, Spike sitting at a piano and wearing a bowler hat.
I crossed over to the girls, whilst Little Strongheart stood by her tribe leader, who she told me was called Chief Thunderhooves. The impressive bull stood next to the sheriff, Silverstar, both of them looking impatient and tense. I actually sensed that from all the participants present.
Soon Spike started to play and the curtains opened, revealing a clam. This slowly opened to reveal Pinkie, who was wearing the dress of a saloon girl, sparkling and glittering. She wasn’t actually planning to… no, she couldn’t be.
Then, she started singing and all doubt was eliminated…as well as all hope.
We may be divided,
But of you all, I beg,
To remember we’re all hoofed,
At the end of each leg
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?
You gotta share!
You gotta care!
It’s the right thing to do,
And there’ll always be a way,
Thro-o-o-o-ugh!
I didn’t give her any applause. Nopony did, except for Spike. It might just be me, but I could swear the tension between sides had increased. As creative as Pinkie’s solution was, it hadn’t exactly been…well executed.
“It appears that Sheriff Silverstar and I have come to…an agreement.” Thunderhooves said in his deep voice.
“We have.”
We all leaned forward, everypony and buffalo waiting on bated breath for their leaders' verdict. Would it be too much to hope that it worked?
“That was the worst performance we’ve ever seen!” the chief said bluntly.
“Ta! Abso-tively!” Silverstar agreed.
“The time for action…” He paused to snort from his nostrils, a sign of aggression and anger, “is upon us! Our stampede will start at high noon tomorrow. And, if the orchard is still there, we’ll flatten it and the whole town!"
“But, Chief…” Little Strongheart tried to reason with him, but she was cut off.
“And we Appleloosians say you'd better bring yer best ‘cause we’ll be ready and waitin’.” the sheriff challenged.
“But, Sheriff…” Braeburn didn’t even get to finish as both sides ran back to their settlements to prepare…for battle.
“Oh… That wasn’t the message of my song at all.” was all Pinkie had to say.
We all arrived back at town, where the settlers were already preparing for a fight. They stacked up hay bales, boarded up windows, created barricades, and secured their town to withstand the coming storm.
“I want my kin to have what they need to live, but a storm’s a-brewin’ here. And I don’t like the look of it.” Applejack said, grimly.
“We’ve just got to talk some sense into them before somepony gets hurt.” Twilight suggested.
This plan, however, proved to be all for nothing. Every Appleloosan, even the sheriff, was in no mood to consider negotiation or compromise of any kind. The sheriff wasn’t even willing to listen to Dog, his own nephew. They were all so swept up in the anger of it all that their judgment was clouded and their hearts were ablaze with determination. Every time we tried to talk to somepony, we were shot down and ignored.
At the end of the day, the settlers were ready with their weapons, carts of apple pies ready to be used to fight. The pies themselves could do no damage, but they would confuse a charging buffalo and make him go off course. The resulting crash into a wall, however, certainly would hurt.
Shield’s view
The night before the big battle, me, Dash, and Spike went down to try and get the buffalo to call off the attack. When we got there, we saw that they were all getting ready for tomorrow with buffalo doing fight training, sharpening their horns, and putting on war paint. By the looks of things, unless the Appleloosans get rid of that orchard, I was hoping we would find a way to stop this.
“Chief, we know you don’t want to do this.” I said to the chief. “We know you don’t want to fight them.”
“But they have taken our land.” He said to me, not liking the idea of fighting. “What would you have me do, Shield Steedor?”
“I don’t know.” I told him. “But it’s never too late to think of something.”
“At noon, it will be too late.” The chief said, putting on his war paint.
Dusk’s view
That night, we all waited for Shield, Rainbow, and Spike to return to tell us how their negotiation with buffalo went.
“How’d it go?” I asked Shield as he, Rainbow, and Spike came over.
“Not so good.” Shield told us with regret. “Chief Thunderhooves is still going through with the attack.”
“We weren’t so lucky neither.” Dog told him. “Everypony in Appleloosa is still goin’ to fight.”
“Oh, it’s no use.” Rarity spoke out in despair. “There’s no way we can convince them to stop, let alone listen.”
“There’s always a way.” Twilight insisted. "There has to be something. A middle ground, a compromise, anything!”
“I hate to say it, but I can’t think of any that can prevent tomorrow’s battle.” I said. “What could the settlers have that the buffalo would want? All they want is their land and they will fight for it, make no mistake.”
“And the ponies’ll defend their homes, no matter what.” Dog said.
“So what do we do?” Leon asked with worry.
“For now, we wait until dawn…and hope for the best.” I stated. It was all we could do. Maybe one of the sides would back down… if we’re lucky that is.
The next day came. None of us slept well due to the dread that loomed over our heads. All was quiet and the ponies stood ready on the battlements. The buffalo stood ready on the ridge as it was one minute to midday, the time of reckoning had come.
“Come on, think. Think, think, think, think, think, think, think!” Rainbow told herself, desperately trying to come up with something to stop the fight.
I also felt desperate to find a way to prevent the conflict. Twilight and I had both tried our best to think of a solution, but we couldn’t come up with anything. I hung my head in despair. All of my knowledge, all of my supposed intellect, what good was it now? At that moment, I felt so useless…
A hoof gently touched my shoulder. Looking over, I saw Twilight was smiling at me gently, as if to say “at least we tried.” I couldn’t help but return it and touched her hoof with my claw, grateful for the small warmth that I felt from her.
Then the bell chimed on the clock tower as it was now noon, time was up. But, surprisingly, the buffalo didn’t move, they didn’t charge.
“Hey, why aren’t they charging?” Shield asked as I then used my metalbending to create a telescope and looked toward the ridge. From there, I was shocked as I saw Thunderhooves lower his head in submission.
“It’s Chief Thunderhooves.” I said, feeling relief from what I’m witnessing. “I think he’s going to call off the attack!”
“He’s not gonna do it!” Rainbow realized.
With all of us smiling that Thunderhooves was going to consider making a compromise, we thought we finally had our chance to help the settlers and the buffalo settle their differences until…
…what do you say?
You gotta share!
You gotta care!
It’s the right thing to do…
“Pinkie, no! Stop!” I called out, but it was too late as Pinkie’s song was all that was needed to set off Thunderhooves, the expression of pure rage on him. Marveling at how much he really didn’t like that song, I (even from town) could hear his fierce command.
“CHAAARGE!” With the pounding of hooves, the whole herd stampeded, making the earth shake.
“Stampede!” Dog called out in fear.
“Take cover!” I hurried with the others to get out of the way of the fighting. A crash told us the buffalo had breached the perimeter and entered the town.
“We’re gonna die!” Leon spoke out as we ran.
“Don’t panic! Stay together!” My cries kept us close as we crouched out of the way of the fighting. Looking over, I could see Pinkie in the middle of it all, unable to find an opening and escape.
“Everypony, stay here. I’m coming, Pinkie!” My quick mind going to work, I analyzed the quickest route through the two warring factions to get to her.
Once this was done, I proceeded to run, duck, dip, dive, and dodge around incoming pies, charging buffalo, and falling debris. I reached her, grabbed her hoof, and pulled her to the hiding place that we were all situated in. Her dress was in tatters and she looked a little shaken, but she was otherwise fine.
“Whew! That was close. Thank you, Mr. Psychic Pony.” she said to me, smiling brightly. “I’m sorry about all this.”
“It’s alright, Pinkie. You meant well. None of us wanted this.” We all looked and watched the battle unfold.
Everywhere, there was fighting. The buffalo were charging, using their immense strength and sharp horns against their opponents; and the settlers, throwing pies, using tricks or riding them rodeo style. When all that failed, they were fighting in hoof-to-hoof combat, fighting hoof and leg, strength and horn to gain an advantage.
All of this sickened me. Both sides had been living for years in peace, rarely once resorting to violence for anything. Sometimes fighting was necessary, to defend your home or your friends, but this conflict could have been avoided—should have been avoided—if both sides had just tried to find some form of compromise. It seemed nothing would stop them…until Thunderhooves was hit by a direct shot.
With that, the fighting stopped. The buffalo gathered around, weeping at the sight of their fallen leader, who lay defeated on the ground. Me, the guys, and the girls all gathered around the body of the fallen chief too. I removed my hat and placed it over my heart, raising my head high out of respect for such a noble creature. Even Spike started crying, hugging Twilight firmly.
It was truly a sad moment… until a crust of the apple pie fell into the chief’s mouth. As soon as it did, his eyes snapped open and he licked the remainder off of his face, thoroughly enjoying it.
“Hey, I’ve got a much better idea!”
Standing from a ridge, I still couldn't keep the smile off my face as I was truly happy for the buffalo and settlers for finding a compromise. After getting a taste of that apple pie, Thunderhooves had allowed the orchard to remain on their land, provided that the Appleloosans provide them a share of its fruit in the form of apple pie. There were less trees in the orchard now for a path was being cut through the middle of the orchard. It was near completion and the buffalo were almost ready to run.
“Ya know, this isn’t so bad.” Dog said as we looked down at the orchard below.
“Yeah, thanks to this path, now the buffalo have their stampeding grounds back.” Shield added, glad that the buffalo could continue their tradition.
“And this comes to benefit the Appleloosans too.” I said, noting how the buffalo stampedes caused the apples to be shaken of their branches. “Thanks to the buffalo stampedes, the ponies can be able to harvest the apples even faster and gather enough food for everypony, even the buffalo.”
“I’m just glad Applejack was still able to plant Bloomberg.” Dog said as we looked to see Applejack’s tree standing proudly in the orchard.
“And I’m just glad everypony can live together with no problems.” Shield smiled as now settlers and the buffalo could live together in peace.
“This is all simply incredible.” I said, as even I could never have considered this to happen. “To think that this whole conflict was resolved by pie.”
“It seems all our best hopes have been realized.” Little Strongheart said as she just arrived to stand with us. “I am quite relieved, to say the least.”
“As are we.” I agreed, speaking for my fellow stallions. “The settlers keep their homes and source of food and you get to keep your lands and get a share in one of the most delicious baked foods in Equestria.”
“Indeed.” The four of us laughed out of sheer relief at our situation. “So, what will you do now?”
“Well, our train home leaves at eleven, so we’ve got the rest of the day here.” I told her. “Why do you ask?”
“Because I wish to extend an invitation.” She faced me, proudly. “I spoke about you to the chief, told him about your interest in our people. He has graciously invited you to spend the remainder of the day at our home among us, if you would like to come.”
“R-r-really?” I couldn’t quite believe this. “You’d…you’d do that for me?”
“Consider it a sign of the new friendship between our people. Between us.”
I certainly hadn’t expected this. She truly did consider me her friend and she had done this for me, when just a few hours ago there was fighting. Friendship truly was a powerful thing, if it meant opening the door for such opportunities and wonders as it did here. My smile becoming warmer, I offered a claw to the buffalo.
“I would be honored that you would do this. Thank you.”
“The pleasure is ours.” Softly, she pressed her hoof against mine. It was amazing how much smaller it was. “I am glad we are friends, Dusk Noir.”
“So am I, Little Strongheart.” We butted our heads together and stepped apart before I looked to Dog and Shield. “Dog, Shield, mind telling Twilight and the others I’ll be spending some time with the buffalo? I don’t want them to worry.”
“Not at all.” Dog said to me. “Y’all go on ahead.”
“Thank you.” I said before I turned to Strongheart, motioning for to go on ahead. “After you.”
“Very well. Let us see how fast you can run.” As the buffalo began to make their first stampede through the orchard, Strongheart and I ran among their numbers towards their home.
As we did, I was quietly humming Pinkie’s song to myself. It still had an important message behind it, one we had all taken to heart. Besides, it was catchy. And from this, I believe Twilight learned a lesson I had learned a long time ago: friendship is a powerful thing and even the worst of enemies can become friends. All you need is understanding and compromise. Much like Pinkie tried to tell us, “you got to care, you got to care”.