//------------------------------// // Chapter 11-Buffalo and a Show // Story: Abstract Helps Kyo Date Gilda // by AbstractThought //------------------------------// As I headed into the tent with the rest of the crowd, I could overhear Kyo’s conversation with Gilda and see the two of them fly off together. I couldn’t help but feel a bit giddy about Kyo actually getting along with Gilda after fawning over her for so long; it felt so surreal. It looked like the trip would be a success for him, assuming nothing went wrong during their date, of course. Now I just had to fulfill my purpose for coming here. I could see numerous buffalo amongst the ponies, including one with a headdress of feathers that I assumed to be the chief (and I really hoped that I was correct in that assumption, or else I’d likely come off as a species-ist). However, he was all the way at the front, and I didn’t think I’d be able to get to him while the tent was packed. Hopefully he’d be free after the show. In the meantime, I went up to the nearest buffalo and tapped him on the side. “Um, excuse me?” The buffalo turned to me and said, “Oh, hello! You’re a new face! What’s your name?” “Abstract Thought. Yours?” “Cardinal Wing.” He beamed at me and exclaimed, “Aren’t you excited?! A real live magician, performing here! I’ve never seen magic before! Maybe the Great and Powerful Trixie could teach me to do magic of my own!” “Yeah…maybe…” I replied with a falsely enthusiastic grin. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that ponies could only perform magic with a unicorn horn. Somehow, I doubted Trixie would sugarcoat it for him. “So anyway, uh, I’m here to learn more about the buffalo. Do you think I could ask you and your chief some questions about your culture?” “Sure, no problem!” he responded. “Just wait till Trixie’s done! I don’t want to miss a second of her magic!” At that moment, a drum roll started playing, prompting the excited buffalo to quickly say, “Shh, shh! It’s starting!” “Fillies, gentlecolts, and buffalo!,” a voice declared as a spotlight shone on the curtain. “Here to dazzle you and bring some wonder and spectacle to your otherwise dreary lives…” “Hey!” Cardinal griped. “… is a sorceress who’s traveled far and wide to master the arcane arts,” the voice continued, undaunted, “and share them with those who choose to believe! Prepare yourselves for the one, the only, Great and Powerful Trrrrrrixie!” With that highly dramatic intro out of the way, the curtain opened in a flash and mist poured out from the stage, revealing a blue unicorn wearing a purple hat and cape, both studded with stars, with a diamond (or cubic zirconium, more likely) clasp in the center of her neck. The crowd around me cheered upon her arrival, but I didn’t feel inclined to applaud with them, knowing what Trixie had done before. While I wasn’t in Ponyville for her disastrous debut there, I was there for her infamously dark return when she took over the town with the help of an evil artifact that was mercifully absent on her person now. Needless to say, I wasn’t exactly happy to see her again. “Thank you, thank you!” Trixie said with a smug grin. “And now…prepare to be amazed!” ---------- “Wasn’t that the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen?!” Cardinal asked as we left the tent together. “Yeah, sure,” I replied dismissively. The show was spectacular to look at, but that was all it was: spectacle. I didn’t see any of the advanced magic Twilight knew how to do, just stage magic. (Though I guess her cloud-forming spell was pretty impressive). Sadly, my new buffalo pal was too naïve to tell the difference. “I mean, I never knew magic could be so…so…magical!” he gushed, oblivious to my lack of enthusiasm. “Especially with Trixie’s reenactment of her defeat of that Ursa Major! I don’t even know what that is, but it must have been a real monster to beat! Just imagine what I could do with that kind of power!” “Uh-huh.” I decided not to go down that road of imagination, partly because I didn’t know him well enough to have a good idea, but mainly because I didn’t want to risk leaking my thoughts for him to see. Instead, I decided to change the topic. “Hey so, do you think I could meet with your chief now?” “Oh, right, that!” he recalled. “Sure, no problem! I’ll take you to him right now!” “Great, thanks!” I beamed. This trip was going rather smoothly for both Kyo and I so far. I was worried there’d be more friction between buffalo and ponies due to the whole incident between them from before, but thankfully they seemed willing to let bygones be bygones. Come to think of it, Equestria in general appeared to be big on forgiveness, considering how Luna and freaking Discord were forgiven and allowed to live free after they were defeated. That would certainly explain why Trixie never went to jail or anything. Anyway, Cardinal led me to the buffalo in the feathery headdress I had seen earlier, who was having a conversation with a smaller, female-looking buffalo I presumed to be his daughter. “…I am simply pointing out that that magician’s ability to create clouds would be useful for droughts,” the chief was saying. “I agree, but can we really trust her?” the daughter rebutted. “She may be a trickster who preys on the gullible; plus, we don’t know if her clouds can make rain or not.” “I’m pretty sure she is a trickster, personally,” I interjected, causing the two buffalo to turn and stare at me. “…And you are?” the daughter asked, nonplussed. “Oh, sorry, I’m Abstract Thought,” I responded. “I was hoping I could speak with the chief.” “I am Chief Thunderhooves,” the chief greeted, “and this is my daughter Little Strongheart.” “Nice to meet you two!” I said with a friendly smile. “Nice to meet you!” Little Strongheart returned. “What did you want to see my father about?” “He wants to learn more about our culture,” Cardinal explained. “Yeah, what he said,” I added. “It’s wonderful to see ponies take an interest in our culture,” Chief Thunderhooves replied proudly. “Glad you think so!” I levitated a notepad and quill from my bag. “So, uh, you don’t mind if I ask you some questions for an article about you, do you?” The chief approached me and narrowed his eyes at me. “You don’t plan to use your article to slander my tribe, do you?” he asked me sternly. I couldn’t help but think, Buffalo are a lot bigger when they’re in your face. “O-of course not!” I assured him with a placating smile. He glowered at me for a few seconds, until he suddenly smiled and said, “Well then, I’d be happy to answer any questions you have!” “Uh, great!” I responded, feeling a sort of emotional whiplash. As the chief backed up, I saw Little Strongheart facehoof and then give me an apologetic grimace. I gave her a shrug in response. “So, what do you want to know?” the chief asked. ---------- “…And that’s where we get the feathers for our headdresses from,” Chief Thunderhooves concluded. “Wow, that’s amazing!” I breathed. “I never imagined the eagles would be so generous!” “Yeah, but sometimes the favors they want you to do for them can get pretty ridiculous,” Cardinal Wing chimed in. “I remember one time I had to pre-chew worms for an eagle’s babies.” He stuck his tongue out in disgust. “Bleh, I can still taste them!” “Hey, you got off lucky,” Little Strongheart objected. “When the babies were still eggs, I was expected to sit on them to keep them warm while the eagle went on vacation! And I couldn’t just have some other buffalo do it for me because the eagle was afraid they’d squish the eggs!” “Rest assured, my daughter, you were more fortunate than I was,” Chief Thunderhooves declared. “For the eagle to have eggs in the first place, I had to–” “Whoa, too much information!” I burst out, trying with all my might to mentally scrub the image that came to mind from my brain. The buffalo stared at me for a long moment. “…find her a male eagle for her to mate with,” the chief finished in an unsettled tone. I sighed in relief. “Oh, is that all? Sorry, I thought you meant…” I paused quickly, just realizing what I was going to say. “…Yes?” the chief implored. I broke out into a sweat. “Uhhhhh…” Come on, I need a distraction! Think of a distraction! For some reason, that led me to think of a buffalo in a ballerina tutu dancing with an eagle. I’m not sure where I got the first part of that image from, but it seemed strangely familiar, like I’d seen it before in real life. Before I could dwell on that further, I heard the chief laugh uproariously. “You have quite the sense of humor, little pony,” he commended me. Gah, stupid leaky thoughts! I quickly grinned and said, “Uh, thanks! I aim to please!” “Whoa!” I turned and saw Cardinal gazing in awe at my thought image. “You’re a magician, too?!” “Uh, not exactly,” I replied, rubbing the back of my neck with my hoof embarrassedly. “You see, all unicorns are capable of magic, but some are better at it than others. Most unicorns do little more than levitate objects with their magic, though some can learn unique spells and stuff. This is my special talent: the ability to create images of what I’m thinking.” “Wow!” Cardinal burst out. “You have to teach me!” “Yeah, about that…” I cleared my throat and nervously adjusted my glasses. “You see, only unicorns can…” “Excuse me!” I turned to my other side and saw Trixie trotting up to us. Wow, I never thought I’d be glad to see you. “I wish to speak with you alone.” Cardinal gasped and squealed, “You’re going to give me private magic lessons?! Oh, thank you so much!” Trixie stared at the giddy buffalo for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. She laughed for what felt like ages, even falling on the ground and pounding it with her hooves. I glanced at Cardinal and mouthed at him, I think that means no, which sank his spirits rather quickly. Eventually, she pulled herself together and breathed, “Thank you, I needed a good laugh.” She then turned to face me and said, “You. Come with me.” “Me?” I asked in surprise. “What’s so special about me?” “Oh, you’ll find out in due time,” she answered teasingly. “Now come along; Trixie does not like to be kept waiting.” With that, she walked back to the tent. I sighed and said to the buffalo, “Sorry, I better see what she wants. We can continue the interview after this, right?” “Of course,” Chief Thunderhooves affirmed. “No problem,” Little Strongheart added. “Mm-hmm,” Cardinal Wing whimpered. “Oh, and Cardinal?” “Yeah?” I walked up to the tearful buffalo and gave him as big a hug as I could, which noticeably took him by surprise. “Don’t let Trixie get to you; she’s just a jerk,” I told him comfortingly. “You don’t want to learn magic from a bad teacher. Trust me.” “I guess,” Cardinal muttered. “Thanks for the hug.” “Anytime.” “Ahem!” I heard from behind me. “Coming!” I shouted back. What a killjoy. I let go and quickly said, “Sorry, talk to ya later!” before trotting toward the tent. I came up to Trixie who was standing by the entrance and tapping her hoof impatiently. “Alright, what did you want me for?” “Where did you learn that spell?” she demanded in a hushed tone. “You mean my thought image ability?” I asked. “Yes! Exactly!” Trixie hissed dramatically. “With a spell like that, my storytelling would know no limits!” Yeah, like you couldn’t tell stories without a spell like mine. “Sorry, but I don’t know if it’s a spell you can learn exactly.” “And what is that supposed to mean?” she snapped. “Okay, how do I explain this…” I began while tapping a hoof to my head. “Well, uh, to be honest, Trixie, I don’t know how I’m able to do that. I’ve just had that ability ever since I could use magic. Not even Twilight knows how to do it, and considering what a magic whiz she is–” “Yes, yes, enough about Twilight,” Trixie said curtly. “Why don’t we discuss this further inside?” “Um, okay.” I followed Trixie inside the currently otherwise empty tent, uncertain of what she had in mind, although I had a feeling she planned to extort me in some way. Hopefully she was enough of a wimp that if she tried to use force, I could surprise attack her into submission long enough to clear out. Eventually, Trixie stopped when we were behind the curtain on stage and told me, “Now, I have a proposition for you.” “What kind of proposition?” I asked skeptically. “You assist me with my next show in a couple of hours–secretly, of course–and I will pay you 10% of today’s profits!” She gave me a smirk, seeming confident that she had made an offer I wouldn’t want to refuse. “How does that sound?” Trixie wanting my help for her stage shows? That was certainly an unexpected development. “Uh, I dunno,” I replied. “I’ve never used my magic for a show before. To be honest, I feel a bit embarrassed when I share my thoughts using my magic.” “That’s the beauty of it, though!” she enthused. “You don’t have to expose yourself at all! I shall take all of the credit, while you stay backstage and help me dazzle the audience in secret! It’s the perfect plan!” “Yes, except for the part where you take credit for someone else’s hard work,” I retorted sharply. “I may not be a showmare like you, but I have some dignity. You want to impress the crowd, do it with your own talents, not mine. Good day.” With that, I turned on my heels and started to canter off. “Wait!” I turned back to face Trixie. Wow, she must be insecure. “What if Trixie were to sweeten the deal by, say, offering 25% of today’s profits?” “And you’ll give me credit?” I added. “I’ll say you helped inspire the act at the end of the show,” she rebutted. “…Fine.” “Excellent!” Trixie exclaimed. “We have a lot of work to do to prepare for my next big act! Come along, lackey!” With that, she grabbed my hoof with her magic and dragged me backstage. I can’t believe I’m letting myself get dragged into this, I thought wearily. And I thought this was going to be a simple trip. What a fool I am. End of Part 11