//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: A Wild Goose chase // Story: Fiery Passions // by Nailah //------------------------------// Tossing and turning in her bed, struggling to get comfortable. “Ugh!” Spitfire groaned, opening her eyes fully, staring up at the ceiling of her hotel room. She pushed the blankets away from her body, muttering. “Why am I here? I don’t need a vacation.” Spitfire declared, swiveling her hindlegs to the side of the bed, allowing them to dangle. She leaned her front forelegs back behind her, leaning against them. Rolling her eyes, and exhaling deeply.  Taking a moment to relax, she took a deep breath in… before slowly exhaling. Her ears tucked against her as she heard a knock on the door. She mumbled, standing up from the bed approaching the entrance. Opening it slowly, to see who was on the other side. Braeburn stood there, grinning from ear to ear. “Hey, Spitfire! I sure hope ya slept well. We got a lot to do today.” Braeburn started to say, pausing as he saw the exhaustion in Spitfire’s eyes. “That is if you’re up for helping out, there’s no obligation. I just thought… you might want too.” Spitfire opened her mouth to respond, as a soft yawn escaped her lips. Batting her lashes, she put her  hoof over her muzzle. She looked back at Braeburn, tilting her head to the side. “Wait, just a second. I thought you wanted me to relax…” Spitfire inquired, staring blankly at him. She slouched her shoulders, arching her back. “Well, yeah… I did want you to relax and enjoy yourself while you’re here.” Braeburn began, scratching the back of his hat. “However, it seems to me that you’re most relaxed when you’re working.” Spitfire smirked a smug grin, extending a wingtip and putting the tip of her feathers upon his shoulder. “I knew there was a reason, I liked you. Now shall we?” “Oh course!” Braeburn said, flushing as he awkwardly took a step back, as he swallowed a breath.  Spitfire followed him downstairs, and outside of the hotel she’d been staying in. She stopped herself, looking around to the many ponies of Appleloosa, they were all enjoying themselves dancing in the center of town. She raised her eyebrow, and shook her head. She couldn’t comprehend this level of relaxation. Perhaps, that was why Rainbow Dash was so aggressive with bringing her here. “Now, I still don’t really like the thought of endangering you, however I realize you are a strong, and capable mare. I reckon, I shouldn’t make a fuss.” Braeburn stated, rubbing the back of his hat,  his eyes narrowed onto Spitfire, before turning his head  away. Braeburn whistled for a wagon to come, and offered to aid Spitfire up into it, before realising she was already hoovering in the air. “You do know I can fly right?” Spitfire asked him, while remaining airborne. Braeburn blushed darkly, tipping his hat forward on his muzzle, in a desperate attempt to cover his eyes. He hopped into the wagon, and asked the driver to take him to the end of the Appleloosa lands.  He felt his spine shivering, as he looked out to the brazen lands of Appleloosa. Glancing out the window, he saw her, flying outside his window, waving at him. The wagon wheels bumped over the uneven ground as it came to a sudden and swift stop.  “We have arrived,” said the stallion from the front of the wagon.  Braeburn stepped out of the carriage. “Thank you, kindly. Have a safe trip back.”  Spitfire hoovered in the air beside him, glancing out towards the territory of the Buffalo. Crossing her front forelegs across her chest, sighing. The question digging at her subconscious. “So… what exactly is going on here? I know you really didn’t want me involved, but I’m here now. No sense to hide what’s already out in the open.” Braeburn stared out to the horizon beyond, sighing heavily. He took a deep breath in. “Honestly, I really don’t like all the trouble we’ve had with the buffalo. We’ve tried to be hospitable towards them, and respect our differences.” “It’s clear to see that something is wrong, and we need to address it.” Spitfire instructed, continuing to hover in the air, blankly staring out into the wide yonder. Braeburn lifted a hoof to his hat, rubbing the back of his head, exhaling. He slumped his shoulders. “Believe me, I’m fully aware of that.” Braeburn began, but before he could even finish his sentence his ears flickered at the sound of approaching hooves and a lot of them. He initially took a few steps backwards, feeling a bump in the soil beneath his hooves, as he landed upon his rump. A cloud of smoke epirated from the soil of the ground, as the many hooves skidded to a complete and sudden halt.  Standing there was none other than the leader of the buffalo, Chief Thunderhooves. With him, seemed to be his herd of buffalo, all of them silent, yet the unwavering stares at Braeburn, sent a chill down his spine. He gulped for air, gasping before struggling to address the buffalo with respect, and authority. “Um… Hello there Chief Thunderhooves. I wasn’t expecting a visit from you. Can I help you with anything? Anything at all.” Braeburn stuttered, his lips stumbling over the words escaping his maw in a raspy voice. “Calm yourself, young colt. I came to speak with you, it is of utmost importance. Do not waste my time, by stuttering and cowering in fear. I don’t intend to bring any trouble to Appleloosa.” Chief Thunderhooves stated, stomping a hoof into the soil of the ground, rolling his eyes and exhaling deeply. Kids these days. Braeburn bowed his head forward, so that his hat tipped slightly down, towards the bridge of his nose. He quickly adjusted his hat, and smiled softly, nodding. “Well, then...um what brings ya to these parts?” The Chief exhaled a deep breath, before speaking. "Strangeness travels amongst us, and ponyfolk have been spotted in odd places." “Trouble with the buffalo? Oh no that can't be good," Braeburn said, swallowing the breath he’d been holding. Chief Thunderhooves stood silently as the wind whistled through the valley. “Would you be willing to aid us? I know we haven’t been on the friendliest of terms, but I am in a rough patch.” The Chief said, with a subtle tip of his large snout forward.  Braeburn bit his bottom lip, fidgeting on his forelegs. His eyes darted from one end to the other, taking a mighty gulp. “Um, well… “ Braeburn began, fighting against his better judgement for  the right response. “We’d be glad to assist you. However, we’re going to need to know a lot more to truly find out what’s causing this stir.” Spitfire stated, speaking up at last, noting the way Braeburn fidgeted like a filly. “I’m afraid I don’t know much more,” began the Chief, pausing for a moment as he turned his head towards the horizon behind him. “My kin have felt extremely tired, and drained almost to the point where no buffalo can do their job, preventing us from making any progress.” “Hmm.. I reckon that doesn’t sound very good at all.” Braeburn hesitated. Spitfire stared at Braeburn for a good long minute, coughing into her hoof before once more, taking charge. Shoving her shoulder blade against his, coughing twice. Braeburn felt Spitfire’s barrel next  to his, causing his cheeks to redden, as he stuttered. “Yes, we will help you however we can.” The Chief nodded, before turning around to head back to his own territory. Braeburn paused to look over towards Spitfire, he opened his mouth to speak. She pressed a hoof to his mouth and shook her head.  "Don't start." “What do you mean?” asked Braeburn, blinking, seeming oblivious. “You were about to say something lame like “You don’t have to come if you don’t want, I can handle this on my own.” began Spitfire giving him the stare down. Her orange eyes staring right into his very soul. The fire in them, reminded him of a phoenix, burning intensely for all to see. “Actually, I was gonna ask if you needed anything before we left.” Braeburn began, scratching the back of his hat, as his cheeks flushed. “Afterall, it would be awfully rude of me to not allow a beautiful strong mare like you to accompany me. There’s no knowing how long I’ll be gone, and it might be rather nice to have some company.” “No, there’s nothing I need back in Appleloosa.” Spitfire said, sighing. She couldn’t help rolling her eyes, remembering the paperwork, and how behind she was going to be, because of Rainbow. “This ain’t gonna be easy, you sure you wanna get messed up in my problems?” asked Braeburn. Silently he stood there awaiting her reply, however he could feel the fiery passion within those eyes. There was no way, she wasn’t going to tag along. He wished he knew if that was good or bad, for her sake. “Honestly, Braeburn, I didn’t even want to come to Appleloosa,” Spitfire stated, dully. Her eyes narrowed, almost looking sleep deprived, or perhaps the better word was exhaustion. It was painted on her face, clear as the sun rose in the east.  “Then why did you come, if you didn’t want to?” Braeburn asked, while staring out to the barren emptiness of dust. “ I don’t mean to pry… but that doesn't really make a lick of sense.” Spitfire didn’t respond. Idly she stared out to the same emptiness he was gawking at. The land was filled to the brim with dust. The valley itself was covered like sand, except it was solid to the touch, almost bone dry.  “Um… but you seem like a mare who doesn’t let others tell her what to do, so why?” Braeburn asked, swallowing the breath he had been holding. He trembled visibly, despite the burning sun beaming down on them.  “I am.” Spitfire said abruptly. Sighing heavily, she realized why Rainbow Dash had done this. Yet, she didn’t have to come. She chose to come. Maybe, just maybe…  "A teammate of mine, recommended I get away from the office for a bit.” Spitfire continued, sighing. She didn’t really want to discuss the matter further. She turned her attention back to the reason, the two of them were out here in the first place. “Well, are we going to stand here idly all day long, or go find out what’s brewing?” “I guess that’s probably the best course of action to take.” Braeburn replied, biting his bottom lip, twitching visibly. His mouth suddenly felt dry as the desert around them Now, wasn’t really the time to be asking questions. It wasn’t his place. The ground beneath their hooves felt firm and solid. Wind ever so gracefully blew against them, tempting them with the facade of comfort, and yet leaving them aching, as they forged forward.  Braeburn glanced over to Spitfire, to gauge how she was doing. She was already at least five paces ahead of him. He blinked at the amazing stamina she possessed.  "What are you gawking at?" Spitfire demanded, head narrowing sideways to stare daggers into Braeburn's very soul. “Nothing!” Braeburn shouted, swallowing a gulp of breath. Mane on the back of the neck started to become sticky with sweat. Knees daring to buckle. Eyes desperately looking for cover from her burning gaze. Spitfire stared at him tilting her head down slightly, wings flapping at her sides as she hovered in the air. "You know, I thought you were Applejack’s cousin... maybe honesty doesn’t run in the family after all." Braeburn opened his mouth to speak, lifting a forehoof in protest to her words but before he could reply, she was already moving forward towards the Buffalo’s lands. Braeburn snorted, shoulders tensing up as he hurried to trot after her. “Hey, wait up, I thought we were in this together.” Braeburn pouted. He admired the way her wingspan had spread so quickly, after she took off. “Whew, that’s a Wonderbolt, alright.”  It left him gasping for air by the sheer dust she left in his path. Braeburn struggled to push himself forward, using all the strength he could muster. The heat wore on him with every step, but he kept pushing himself forward. Spitfire's hooves hit the dirt with precision as she came to a full stop, before turning to glance behind her for signs of Braeburn in her tracks. “Argh, darn that stallion, I swore he was right behind me.”