Chapter 6
“Dances with Buffalo”
“How much farther Braeburn?” County complained as the five of us walked in the endless desert. The terrain around this area was less sandy and rockier. I can’t count how many times I got a rock stuck in my hoof and had to magic it out. How the buffalo could walk here let alone charge was beyond me.
Braeburn turned back as he was leading the way “Not much further, we should be hittin their camp bah nightfall”
“Ah hope so” County sighed “Ah don’t know how long mah legs can keep goin”
Indeed we have been walking all day trying to get to buffalo territory. Braeburn said that the Buffalo moved to this area after Poncho and the other bandits shot them. I hoped that the stallion knew what he was doing.
Just then we heard a scream and I felt Twilight leap on top of me. She clung to my neck for dear life and I struggled to maintain my balance. When I righted myself I looked over to where she jumped from. There was a large rattlesnake hissing at her. Twilight was shaking like a leaf as she looked at it. “Snake…”
I had her slide off my back and I gave Twilight a bemused expression. She blushed a little in embarrassment and we watched the snake return to its resting place under a nearby rock. I shook my head at her “Twilight it wasn’t going to bother you if you didn’t bother it”
Applejack chuckled a little “Twilight’s always been a little skittish round them belly sliders”
We all laughed a little as Twilight flushed in embarrassment “I just don’t like snakes okay! Winter Wrap Up was torture thanks to them…”
I rolled my eyes and chuckled “Snakes? That’s a silly thing to be scared off…”
County’s eyes went wide and she pointed at me with a hoof “PRIVATE THERE’S A SPIDER ON YER BACK!!!!”
I leaped and began to scramble to get that spider off my back. “Where is it?!! Get it off me quick!!” I rolled on the ground to get that big spider off my back…I heard no splat though.
Everypony roared in laughter as I lay down on the ground. I glared at County who was laughing the hardest “Not funny County! You know I hate spiders!”
“Get’s em every time” County said before laughing out loud again. “So who’s got a silly fear now?” She smirked and continued to laugh.
I crossed my forelegs in disapproval at the whole lot of them. This was going to be a long trip.
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Celestia was about to retire the sun as we kept walking in the desert. It was way too quiet and I looked over at Braeburn “You’d think we’d have run into the Buffalo by now…”
Braeburn nodded “Yer right, but if ya think about it they don’t exactly have reason to trust us” He looked around warily at the desert around us “Ah wouldn’t be surprised if they gone and left the desert entirely after what Voice and his cronies did…”
“True” I said knowingly “Though even still, we should’ve found some hint of them by now…”
“Uh guys…” I heard Twilight say.
Braeburn kept talking “Buffalo are actually pretty good at covering up their tracks. Used mostly to keep predators away from followin them”
“Guys” Twilight spoke again
I continued “Something so big and so easy at hiding…I wouldn’t want to face something like that on the battle field”
“Guys”
Braeburn shook his head “Ah’ve seen em fight, they can easily impale ya with them horns of theirs”
“GUYS!!!”
I looked back at Twilight rolling my eyes but I kept walking forward “What’s so important Twilight that you’d interup-oof!” I ran into something that interrupted my talking.
I looked up into the dark eyes of a full grown buffalo warrior. I yelped and ran back to my comrades. In a matter of minutes they completely surrounded us. There were at least of a dozen buffalo there all three times our size and not looking happy to see us.
Braeburn spoke out “Is Little Strongheart among ya?”
One Buffalo spoke out “What would you want with her pony!? Have you come to skin our chief’s daughter as well!?”
“That’s enough Fissure!” A feminine voice spoke from among the crowd. “I won’t have you attack my friends like this!”
The buffalo parted to reveal a young buffalo calf. She couldn’t have been much older then I was. She lacked the bushy fur of her brothers but she wore a headband with a feather on it. Her dark eyes looked at Braeburn and she smiled wide at him “Braeburn!”
“Little Strongheart!?” Braeburn ran and the two friends hugged each other. At least things were off to a good start if this was the same Little Strongheart that Braeburn spoke so highly of. The two parted their hug and Braeburn’s green eyes looked the calf over “When Ah saw all them buffalo Ah…Ah worried they…”
She reached up and put a small hoof on his shoulder in comfort. She then looked past us and saw Twilight and Applejack among us. “Applejack? Twilight? What are you two doing here?”
Applejack smiled at the young calf “We came ere tah help find the monsters that shot ya alls”
Little Strongheart then turned her brown gaze to me and County “And you two are?”
County and I took off our hats in respect. The fact we did it in sync got us a couple of looks. County and I did that as our sort of greeting. We've done it so often I did it without thinking about it. “Detectives Private Eye and County Sher, we’re here investigating the murder of your brothers and sisters of the tribe”
She nodded and gestured further up the path “You should come to our camp; we’ll get you all comfortable and get some food in your bellies”
My stomach growled in response to that thought. We all laughed including some of the buffalo. I guess food really is the great equalizer.
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The camp wasn’t large and looked to be built recently. A few structures made out of blankets and sticks offered minimal shelter from the elements. A single bonfire sat in the center of camp and burned brightly. I sat on one of the logs surrounding the bonfire looking down at the food provided for us.
I was never a picky eater but I would occasionally send some portions over to County who was more than happy to eat up. Something about Buffalo food just didn’t sit well in my stomach. I wouldn’t want to throw up before we met the chief.
Chief Thunderhoof came out from his tent with Little Strongheart beside him. The buffalo chief was huge, easily twice the size of me with a lot of fur and girth. He wore a headdress made from feathers that signified his rank as a leader. I bowed my head in respect and then my grey eyes met the brown ones of the chief.
“My daughter tells me, that you all are here to try and find the beasts that murdered our brethren” He spoke in a deep and dignified voice.
Braeburn nodded and spoke first “Chief, we saw what happened to the buffalo that were slaughtered. We want ya tah know that they all received a proper burial”
Thunderhoof nodded somberly “I thank you Braeburn, you’ve always held a respect for our people. You have done my people a great kindness”
I spoke up “Sir, Can you tell us exactly what happened that day? If it’s not too soon to speak of it”
Some buffalo hung their heads in mourning for their lost brothers and sisters. I saw more than one grieving mother have tears reach their eyes. There were five children of the twenty that were killed. Thank Celestia there weren’t more.
Thunderhoof fixed his gaze upon me. He was assessing whether I could be trusted or not. I held my gaze and did not back down or put up a front. I had to show him I have nothing to hide. He then nodded simply.
“This has not been the first attack by the bandits on our people. They attacked us whenever we stopped for camp or drink”
County whispered in my ear “That would explain why they haven’t been to Appaloosa, they must’ve been tryin to evade them bandits”
Thunderhoof continued “The most recent attack however was when we first saw them. They came at us from the hills with their fire sticks and slaughtered our brothers and sisters in cold blood. They wore cloth on their bodies and faces so I did not see what they looked like. But, I did notice one of them stopping to shoot at me with a smaller fire stick instead of his big one”
I reached into my trench coat and withdrew Blackbird. Some Buffalo were ready to charge me for pulling out a gun. I levitated it in front of me and showed it was empty. That and a glare from Little Strongheart got some of the more heated members of the tribe to back down. I held the gun to the chief “Like this gun?”
Thunderhoof’s eyes looked at my gun. Recognition entered his brown orbs “Yes, of similar size but a different color and shape”
I nodded and holstered Blackbird back in my trench coat. “After they shot at you, you and your people escaped?”
The buffalo chief nodded “Yes, they did not pursue us once we were out of range of their fire sticks. We did not look back at them as we fled for our lives”
I nodded “Thank you chief, I swear to you I’ll find out who did this and they will pay”
We dispersed after that and the group went to various places. Braeburn went around with Little Strongheart and handed off mementos we found on the bodies to their families. Applejack went to talk with the cooks about some recipes mostly involving apples you could get from Appaloosa. Twilight was talking with some of the elder members of the tribe with a notebook in hand. They told her of their long and incredibly complex history on these plains.
I on the other hand was drawn by a female Buffalo; she bore a strong resemblance to Little Strongheart. She smiled and gestured for me to follow her into a nearby tent. I entered and she sat down with a fire between us.
She was an older buffalo from what I could tell. She smiled warmly at me “You are the one who is searching for answers…”
“Yes mam” I said affirmatively “I’m Private Ey-“
“I know who you are young man” She spoke in a tone that I was used to hearing from my teachers whenever I spoke up in class. “My husband told me of you, he believes you are an honorable Pony. A rare thing indeed”
I ignored the obviously racist comment and moved on “Why do you want to see me?”
“Because dear pony” She said looking at me with those brown eyes of hers “You are sick, and I am a medicine cow so I plan to help you”
I put a hoof to my head “I don’t feel feverish”
“Not that kind of sick pony” She said with a chuckle “I meant sick in here…” She pointed a hoof at my chest. “You bare many troubles on your heart”
I raised an eyebrow “And you can cure me?”
“Not cure, simply treat so that you can go on the road to getting better…”
“I don’t need medicine I need clues to solve this case” I said as politely as I could muster.
She shook her head bemused “Your hunger for the truth is admirable, but in your current state you will only hamper yourself”
“What do you mean?”
“That is for you to find out little pony…” She took some herbs and tossed them into the fire. The smoke became a strange color that smelled sweet. “Inhale the incense…and find the darkness inside you”
I knew of Buffalo vision rituals from school. They involved inhaling a particular type of drug to receive visions. I’ll admit I was skeptical about the whole business. But then again I live in a world where friendship can be weaponized into an unstoppable rainbow laser. Maybe there was some truth to this stuff.
My grey eyes met the old brown ones of the buffalo medicine cow. “What will I see?”
She shook her large head at me “Only what your heart contains…and maybe some things yet to come…a future that may come to pass…”
I knew I wasn’t going to get anything out of her. I moved my head into the smoke and inhaled deeply. Suddenly my mind became foggy and I felt dizzy…maybe I just…need a…nap…
I fell over and drifted off to sleep to the sound of crackling fire…
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My grey eyes opened and I found myself sitting in the ruins of a strange city. I looked around; all the buildings around me were crumbled to waste. Some stood valiantly despite the destruction around them but they would fall in a number of years.
I wrapped my forelegs around myself…I was naked to this cold wind. I looked up at the sky and saw that a dense blanket of clouds covered it.
“Where am I?” I said to myself as I got up on my legs.
“Yer lookin at what’ll come but ya don’t need tah worry about that”
I looked around for the source of the voice. I looked up at the top of a nearby ruined store. There sat a rust colored Pegasus with a battle saddle and a black desperado hat on his head. He smiled a friendly smile at me and spoke in a very appaloosian accent. “Howdy, welcome to yer subconscious”
I simply stared at him then spoke “It’s official…I’m going nuts”
The Pegasus laughed “More nuts then ya think, but me and mah friends are gonna help with that…”