Equestrian Prairie, June 2024
Out on the prairie west of Appleloosa, a large group of teepees stood. Around a campfire, several dozen buffalo sat. Their chief, a large, chocolate-coated bison with a feather headdress and sharpened horns, spoke a chant and sprinkled herbs into the fire.
“Mareqencia… alluron… shilithar… zanenth…”
The tribe repeated after him as he said each word. His horns dimly glowed pale yellow, about a third as bright as a unicorn’s horn would glow.
The chief spoke. “Let us dance the dance of travel.”
They all got up from the fire, standing up and dusting themselves off. Then, they danced around the campfire in concentric rings, the bulls’ horns all faintly glowing as the cows beat ceremonial drums. After ten go-rounds, they sat back down.
The chief said, “The ritual of safe travel is complete. At dawn, we proceed to the next feeding ground and go with the spirits’ blessings. They follow our hoofsteps and protect us. May our path be the sound of our hooves upon the ground.”
“Amen,” said the rest of the tribe.
As they were about to head back into their teepees for the evening, a voice off in the distance drew their attention.
“Bravo! What an incredible ceremony to behold!”
The buffalo all turned to see an indigo unicorn approaching them. She walked in between the rows of teepees and over to the campfire.
“Incredible, you say? Outsiders don’t normally pay us, our rituals, or the Buffalo Nation any mind. We are an insulated people,” said the chief, chuckling.
“I think it’s a beautiful tradition worthy of admiration,” said Trixie, bowing to the chief.
“Thank you, kind mare,” said the chief. “You are an odd bird. Outsiders normally disrespect our
sacred traditions, mocking them and calling them mere ‘hexes’ and ‘hocus pocus’, when our rituals are as real as the magic that they perform. It may not be as flashy as a unicorn’s, but it gets the job done just as well.”
Trixie nodded. “I am well aware of the history of oppression of your people, Chief Thunderhooves. In fact, it rather matches the history of oppression of my own.”
The tribe members all laughed.
“Ponies are not oppressed,” said a small, cinnamon-coated cow, chuckling.
Trixie held up a hoof. “Oh, but I’m not talking about ponies in general, Miss…”
“Little Strongheart,” she said.
“—Little Strongheart, I am talking about the unicorn race in relation to ponies such as earth ponies and pegasi. And there, the oppression is quite clear. May I explain?”
The buffalo all muttered and mumbled confusedly amongst themselves. Chief Thunderhooves
held up a hoof and turned to Trixie.
“You may tell your story, but first, tell us your name, young mare.”
“My name is The Gr—uh, Trixie. I am Trixie Lulamoon. And I come from the Second Kingdom.”
The chief raised an eyebrow. “The Second Kingdom? The nation which has made war against Equestria these last few years? We have heard stories of war far from other ponies, but have not seen it here yet.”
Trixie nodded. “Yes, the Second Kingdom has made war against Equestria, in the very same way that the buffalo once made war with Equestria. You were oppressed, you made war.” She motioned to the buffalo around the fire. “We were oppressed, now we make war.” She pointed to herself.
The chief nodded. “We have not made war with the ponies for many moons, but your point is well taken, Trixie Lulamoon. Please tell us why you have made war with Equestria; tell us how you were oppressed.”
Trixie said, “Many years ago, a unicorn named King Sombra conquered a frozen land far to the north of here, called the Crystal Empire, with dark magic. Princess Celestia decided that, because of him, she distrusted all unicorns and all magic. She feared that some of us might do things like he did, and conquer her kingdom, as well.”
Little Strongheart asked, “I haven’t heard of this. Is this the same way that the ponies always claim that the buffalo are just like the cattle, just because we have cloven hooves as they do?”
“Yes, exactly like that,” said Trixie, her face lighting up. “It’s racial profiling based off of a stereotype. After Sombra, Celestia put down the unicorns. Celestia took away the unicorns’ sacred sun-raising ritual, not trusting us to do it anymore, and she decided to do it herself.
“That does sound familiar,” said a bull. Some of the others nodded.
Trixie smiled. “Oh, the resemblance is uncanny, and it doesn’t stop there. Just like the ponies who pass laws restricting your sacred ritual herbs, Celestia locked up many powerful magic spell scrolls in a secret library so we couldn’t use them. Just like the settler ponies who intrude on your land and seek to shrink your traditional stampeding grounds, Celestia demanded that earth ponies and pegasi be allowed to settle the traditional unicorn-only city of Canterlot. Just like the ponies who deny you your right to educate your children, Celestia put herself in charge of magic schools for gifted unicorns.”
Chief Thunderhooves gazed off into the sky. “I see,” he said. “The ponies are as cruel to each other as they are to the buffalo.”
Trixie nodded, pointing to the west. “The town of Appleloosa was made an earth-only town just because of the supposed actions of a single unicorn outlaw and his pegasus accomplice who lived many centuries ago. Earth pony prejudice is so potent that it knows no bounds. Their oppression of us is why the Second Kingdom declared its independence. We decided that if the pegasi could have Cloudsdale and the earth ponies could have Appleloosa, then we could have Canterlot all to ourselves. But they wouldn’t let us go so easily. We are now fighting a war to gain back all the unicorn children who have been taken from us, to support ourselves through farming, and to gain enough land and natural resources to do it.”
“I say it is a noble goal, then!” said Chief Thunderhooves. Some of the buffalo nodded along with him.
Trixie smiled. “Thank you, Chief Thunderhooves. However, we can’t do it alone.”
She paused, letting the words sink in.
She continued, “You see, the Equestrians have sabotaged our farming in the northern Flatlands. They don’t want unicorns to be self-sufficient and have our own nation; they want us to have to rely on earth ponies to grow our food rather than grow our own. So they’ve attacked our armory and ability to defend ourselves. They have salted the earth, blown up our tractors and harvesters, and even killed our farmers, some of whom were as young as fourteen.”
The buffalo gasped.
Trixie sighed, motioning with a hoof towards the stars. “Yes, just as their prejudice knows no bounds, neither does their cruelty, and they’ve resorted to genocidal tactics. Many thousands of unicorns in the Second Kingdom have starved because of this, and it is only by taking land that we know they won’t attack—land of their own—that we can eat. We have taken Ponyville’s apples for ourselves, but it isn’t nearly enough. We need to capture far more farms and food, or thousands more unicorns may starve to death for daring to want to live free of the other two races who have oppressed us for centuries.”
She pointed in the direction of Appleloosa. “Appleloosa is our target. There are thousands and thousands of apple trees stretching as far as the eye can see across the plains, more than enough to feed all of Canterlot. It’s called the Orchard of Equestria for a reason. However, it won’t be easy for us to capture alone. Our unicorn troops are stretched thin in other areas of the continent, such as the road from Canterlot to Ponyville, which Equestria attacks daily. And the Appleloosans are all armed.
“That is why I, the Magical Research Minister of the Second Kingdom, have come to make an alliance, a proposal to the Buffalo Nation. I do this on behalf of King Blueblood, who has authorized me to extend this offer.”
The buffalo murmured amongst each other. Little Strongheart bit her hooves, her eyes shifting. Chief Thunderhooves held up a hoof.
“Let us hear your proposal, Trixie Lulamoon.”
“Very well,” said Trixie. “King Blueblood proposes an alliance between the Second Kingdom and the Buffalo Nation, whereby the Buffalo Nation assists us in taking Appleloosa and all of its apples in the surrounding orchards. In return, the Buffalo Nation will get custody of all the land that it helps us capture as well as the earth pony trespassers who currently occupy it, to do with as you please. The Buffalo Nation will also be recognized as an independent nation by the Second Kingdom and treated as such.”
“We already are a sovereign nation,” said Chief Thunderhooves.
Trixie shook her head. “Sovereign, yes, but not independent. The Cloud Confederacy is independent. The Second Kingdom is independent. The Changeling Collective is independent. The Buffalo Nation, on the other hoof, is not independent at all. You get to choose your leaders, but even your chief is ultimately subjugated to Equestria. And look at how well that has worked out for the buffalo...”
Trixie’s horn glowed as a piece of parchment appeared in front of her. She opened it up with her telekinesis and read.
“The Treaty of Tortoise Shell, 1867, in which Equestria agreed to not settle south of Ponyville in what was then buffalo lands: broken. The Treaty of Playa Del Sol, 1883, in which Equestria agreed to respect water rights on the Everfree River: broken. The Treaty of Sacred Lands, 1921, in which the buffalo are relegated to reservations: broken by the Treaty of Looming Meadows, 1943, in which the size of said reservations are reduced by half.
“The Treaty of Teeming Ridge, 1971, in which Equestria agreed to not run train tracks through the Buffalo Nation between Dodge Junction and Mareicopa: broken. The most recent, the Treaty of Appleloosa, 2010, in which the town of Appleloosa agreed to supply apple pies in exchange for growing apples on Buffalo land. Not yet broken, but for how long? I’m seeing a pattern here, and I don’t like it. I’m sure that you don’t, either.”
The buffalo all shook their heads.
Trixie chuckled. “That’s what happens when you are a ‘sovereign’ nation rather than a truly independent nation. Other nations don’t respect your treaties, because they have ultimate power to overrule them. The Second Kingdom will never deal with the Buffalo Nation in such a way. We will treat you as equals. We will let you keep your historical lands, and we will recognize your ability to determine your own destiny as a people, just as we seek to determine ours. Our struggle against the Equestrians is common.”
The chief paused for a moment as he turned his head sideways. Finally, he answered.
“Say that I were to accept. How do you propose that we conquer Appleloosa? We have no weapons besides bows and arrows, and a few spare hunting rifles that we traded for.”
Trixie grinned. “With magic, of course. Didn’t I mention that I’m the Magical Research Minister? I can help you unlock the power hidden in those horns of yours. With a bit of engineering, you can go from having your horns faintly glow and bring about vague, unscientific prophecies, to being able to actually levitate things as well as I can.”
She demonstrated by picking up a smoldering log out of the fire with her magic. The buffalo gazed at it, intrigued, many having never seen a unicorn perform magic before.
Trixie placed the log back. “But, of course, even many of the unicorn troops rely on machine guns and other physical weapons, because not all of us are as magically gifted as I am.” She pointed towards herself and grinned. “Rest assured that you will be well armed with conventional weapons as well.”
She paused for a moment. None of the buffalo said anything else.
“Ah, so I see that there are no more questions. So, will you join us?”
The buffalo all looked at each other, and then at Chief Thunderhooves.
The chief stood up and said, “This decision cannot be made in a single evening. I will consult the council and my tribe members, and then I will sign or not sign the treaty with the Second Kingdom.”
Trixie nodded. “Very well. King Blueblood and I will be staying nearby in Mareicopa if you decide to join us. He is very eager to sign the treaty.”
She threw down a puff of smoke on the ground, temporarily blocking the view of the buffalo, as she ran back to Mareicopa.
Pound and Pumpkin Cake stood at the firing range, practicing with machine guns on the targets of Blueblood’s face. They had gotten quite a bit better at aiming, and most of their shots were hitting the cardboard cut-out of the unicorn king.
“Tarnation! If I didn’t know no better, I’d say y’all were startin’ to actually look like soldiers!”
The twins turned around to see Sheriff Silverstar observing them, nodding approvingly.
“Thanks,” they both said.
He smiled. “Now, when y’all can hit him in the eye every time, then you’ll be up to my skill, but that takes years of sharpshootin’ practice.”
The twins looked at each other. That seemed like a long time.
“Sheriff Silverstar!”
The sheriff glanced behind to see a buffalo galloping towards him. “Little Strongheart? What brings you around here?” he asked.
She panted as she skidded to a stop next to him, kicking up dirt.
“In a hurry, huh?” asked Pound Cake.
“Yes. I come with... ominous news,” she said in between breaths.
The sheriff turned his head sideways. “Ominous?”
“A unicorn calling herself Trixie has come to ask the Buffalo Nation to sign a treaty to join with the Second Kingdom and attack Appleloosa.”
The twins looked at each other silently.
Sheriff Silverstar said, “Y’all ain’t gonna accept, are you? There’s already a peace treaty with Appleloosa! We give the buffalo all them apple pies every year in exchange for plantin’ apple trees on their land.”
Little Strongheart shook her head. “Trixie has convinced many of them that you intend to someday break the treaty just the same as Equestria broke every single other treaty with the Buffalo before, and—.”
“Hogwash! It’s different this time, we swear!” the sheriff interjected.
“—she says the only way to stop is to become an independent nation,” Little Strongheart finished.
“They Second Kingdom is dividing and conquering the Buffalo from Equestria just like they did with the Cloud Confederacy, just like the unicorns living in Ponyville,” said Pumpkin Cake. “It’s what they do because it works.”
“I know,” said Little Strongheart, sighing. “I do not want a war with Equestria or Appleloosa. So I need somepony to tell the tribe the other side of the story. I don’t know much Equestrian history, but surely the earth ponies and pegasi were not so cruel to the unicorns? Surely you don’t oppress them and seek genocide?“
Pound chuckled. “Is that what she told you? What a liar!”
“Why, I’ve heard better sob story yarns spun from crooks on death row,” the Sheriff scoffed.
“It’s exaggerated history, yes, but some of it is true. Unicorns have been oppressed by Equestria. This earth pony-only town is living proof,” said Pumpkin.
Pound and Sheriff Silverstar both glared at Pumpkin, but she stood her ground, unblinking.
“What? Do you two honestly think that thousands of unicorns just woke up one day and decided to attack Equestria for the fun of it? That every day they put on black top hats, cackle maniacally, and twirl their mustaches while bombing earth ponies and pegasi? No. There were good reasons. Yes, what the Second Kingdom has done is still very wrong. Trixie killed my parents, kidnapped me, and enslaved me, for Celestia’s sake. If anypony has a right to hate them, it’s me. But if we go speak to the Buffalo, we tell them the entire truth. We don’t sugar-coat it, but we don’t give them propaganda like Trixie did. I’m tired of the lies.”
Little Strongheart nodded. “There is an old buffalo saying. When the war begins, the truth is the first casualty.”
“Alright,” said the sheriff. “I suppose I should go and try to make peace with ‘em. Not sure how much good it’ll do, but—”
“Pumpkin and I should come,” Pound interrupted.
Pumpkin raised an eyebrow. “And speak to all those buffalo?”
Pound chuckled. “You literally just gave a speech to the four of us like, ten seconds ago about the unicorns. What’s the problem?”
“Nothing, I guess, but we’re just fourteen. Will they really take us seriously?” Pumpkin asked.
“They’ll take a pegasus and a unicorn more seriously than just an earth pony, especially if Trixie told them that unicorns are oppressed in Equestria. How much would it blow their minds if you and I showed up to speak for Appleloosa?” asked Pound.
Little Strongheart shrugged. “Well, it’s either the three of you, or just the sheriff by himself.”
“Whichever way y’all wanna do it, it don’t matter a lick to me,” said Sheriff Silverstar. “I don’t got very good speakin’ skills, but I can give it a whirl all on my lonesome if y’all wanna stay behind and don’t wanna give no speech.”
Pumpkin grimaced at his slang. “No, it’s okay, we’ll come with you. We don’t mind.”
The buffalo sat inside of their teepees as the hot sun glared down on the prairie. They talked and debated amongst themselves, still trying to decide whether or not to join the Second Kingdom.
“Attention, Buffalo tribe members! This is Little Strongheart, and I have an important message for you!”
One by one, the buffalo emerged from their tents. Though she wasn’t the chief, Little Strongheart still held sway as the chief’s daughter. She stood in front of the Cake twins and Sheriff Silverstar.
“This is Sheriff Silverstar, this is Pound Cake, and this is Pumpkin Cake,” she said, pointing to each of them as she said their names. “They’re from Appleloosa, and they want to set some things straight about what Trixie said last night.”
The buffalo muttered as Sheriff Silverstar stepped forward.
“Little Strongheart here told us about the treaty that Trixie is proposin.’ Need I remind y’all that there’s a treaty with Appleloosa that is still in force, agreein’ to peace in exchange for apple pies? No peace, no pies. Don’t y’all like our cookin’ no more?”
He stalled for a moment, trying to think of something else to say.
“The Second Kingdom stole food from Ponyville and starved a hundred of ‘em to death. They kidnapped Pumpkin Cake here and forced her to farm for ‘em. They started the first civil war ever in Equestria. They ain’t good folk.”
“Neither are you!” one of the buffalos yelled, standing up and pointing his hoof at the sheriff.
“You callin’ me a liar?” Sheriff Silverstar asked, his brow furrowed. He stepped forward towards the buffalo heckler until he found himself surrounded in a blue glow as Pumpkin pushed him aside.
“Let me go!” the sheriff insisted, his legs flailing in the air.
“Thank you, sheriff,” said Pumpkin. She stepped forward, her face sweating slightly.
She gulped. Then, after a few seconds, she finally spoke. “Pound Cake and I lived in Ponyville four years ago. It was a peaceful town, and we had a good life. Then, the Second Kingdom invaded. They kidnapped me, killed my parents, and tore my family apart. Then, they segregated the town, kicking all the earth ponies and pegasi out of their houses and moving them to the slums while the unicorns got all the nice land.”
The buffalo muttered disapprovingly.
Little Strongheart said, “The Second Kingdom likes to talk about self-reliance and self-determination, but where was Pumpkin Cake’s self-determination? Where was Ponyville’s self-determination? There’s only one sort of self-determination that they care about, and that’s if you are a unicorn and they have a use for you. Once they don’t have a use for you, they toss you aside.”
Pound Cake hovered in the air, addressing the crowd. “The Second Kingdom doesn’t care about you buffalo. They pretend to care because it serves them right now, but what happens when it doesn’t anymore? The unicorns in the Second Kingdom think that they’re the master race. Do you know what the master race means? It means that they think that they’re better than you just because they’re unicorns and you’re not! They look down on you!”
“When Trixie said that the Second Kingdom would treat the Buffalo Nation as equals, she was lying,” said Little Strongheart. “How can you treat someone as an equal when you begin with the assumption that you are superior and they are inferior?”
Sheriff Silverstar stepped forward once more and said, “Now, I know that Equestria ain’t always been truthful with the Buffalo Nation. I didn’t have a say in it, and if I did, you’re darn tootin’ I woulda been more respectful of the treaties I signed, just like I’ve been respectful of the Treaty of Appleloosa. Unlike some’a our politicians, I conduct myself with honor. Sadly, the past is the past, and the broken treaties are still broken. But that ain’t no reason to go destroy our two people’s friendship. Y’all trade with us; we trade with y’all. We give y’all pies; y’all let us grow apples on your land. We come gamble at your casinos; y’all come buy liquor at our town. That ain’t gonna happen no more if there’s a war between us.”
Pumpkin Cake spoke again. “Most of you have never seen war. It’s not fun. You have to kill others, and your friends and family might die. You might want to sign up for it now, but you can trust me that after you do, you won’t want to anymore. You’ll just want it to be over. The best way to stop it is to never start it.”
“I still have nightmares about my parents dying, and so does Pumpkin,” said Pound. “She and I only fight because we’re defending the ponies that we love, and we have no other choice. The Buffalo Nation does NOT have to fight. You do have a choice, and I think you should say no to war and say yes to peace.”
The ponies and Little Strongheart remained quiet for a few moments. After nopony else said anything, Sheriff Silverstar turned around and walked off.
“Hope y’all make the right decision,” he said as he left.
Pound hovered, saying, “Don’t do something you might regret.” Then he flew off.
“It’s in your hooves now,” said Pumpkin Cake. Her horn lit up as she teleported away.
The bright desert sun shimmered off of the windows of the skyscrapers of the city of Mareicopa. In the year-and-a-half since the Second Kingdom had taken Mareicopa, it had been transformed. Its normally bustling streets were reduced to a trickle, as armed unicorn guards stood around, smoking and milling about. Earth ponies and pegasi passed them by furtively, careful not to do anything too suspicious. Even the unicorns who were native to Mareicopa rarely spoke to or even looked at the Second Kingdom soldiers directly. They had heard of the Flim Flam rally shooting in Ponyville, and they didn’t want to get on the soldiers’ bad side.
The somber demeanor of the city was despite the best efforts of Fancy Pants and Blueblood. Giant posters hung all over the sides of buildings, plastered over the red and orange stucco walls the city was known for. The posters promised unicorns a better life in the Second Kingdom than life in Equestria. A giant marble statue of a smiling King Blueblood had been erected in front of city hall. When it had been winter in Canterlot, posters and brochures had encouraged residents to take a vacation from the harsh mountain blizzards and visit the perpetually-warm city of Mareicopa.
Inside one of the office buildings in Mareicopa, Trixie sat at a table with King Blueblood. They drank water from plastic cups around a round conference table covered in paperwork.
“So, how goes the magical research, Miss Lulamoon?” he asked. “Are the Mareicopan scientists that we’ve appropriated working well for you?”
Trixie smiled. “Yes, it’s going quite well. Our Canterlot division, as well as our Mareicopa division are making excellent scientific progress! The buffalo will be magically enhanced and combat ready before we know it.”
“Do you think that I could see some of the results?” asked Blueblood.
Trixie shook her head. “It’s in a changing phase right now. I’d prefer to show it to you when it’s complete. But we’re confident in our results.”
Blueblood smiled. “Very well.” He glanced at the clock on the wall, and then at a report on the table.
A paper document sat in front of Trixie, which she kept out of Blueblood’s sight.
“BUFFALO MAGIC ENHANCEMENT TECHNIQUES: RESULTS INCONCLUSIVE. MORE TEST SUBJECTS NEEDED.”
She sighed, shaking her head. Trixie internally lamented. Would she ever make a breakthrough in her research? Not just buffalo super soldiers, but with everything else? It always seemed like her projects were “inconclusive,” and she couldn’t name even a single major advancement that she had made in the field of magic since Blueblood had named her as the Magical Research Minister.
There had been a few minor successes here and there, with precognition and flight magic in particular. But they had proven impossible for her to replicate outside of a tight laboratory setting. The unicorns that she had tested on weren’t showing much that she could present to Blueblood to help him win the war.
As for the buffalo, they had only rarely been able to levitate small objects. She had gotten scarce results with energy-based spells, though she only had a few subjects to work with.
There was a knock at the door of her office. She glanced up.
“Come in!”
The door opened, and Chief Thunderhooves walked in, along with a bodyguard. Blueblood’s head jolted up, as did Trixie’s. The Chief was the reason they were both waiting in the meeting room.
Blueblood smiled. “Ah, Chief Thunderhooves. Have you made your decision yet?”
The chief nodded. “Yes, I have, King Blueblood. We will help you take Appleloosa. I have also spoken to other chiefs of buffalo tribes throughout the plains of Equestria. Many of them are with me as well.”
“Excellent!” Trixie and King Blueblood exclaimed together.
“I’ve drawn up a treaty between our nations, which is on the desk in front of me,” said Blueblood, levitating it over towards him.
“Once you’ve signed if, if you would please gather up all bulls of fighting age in your tribe and have them report to this building for armament and magical enhancement,” said Trixie. “This is the Mareicopa branch of the Second Kingdom’s Magical Research Department. Since it’s closer than the branch in Canterlot, all enhancement will occur here.”
“I will gather the bulls. But some of them may not come here willingly,” said the chief, shaking his head.
Blueblood grinned. “Don’t worry, Chief Thunderhooves. We’ll send some unicorns to… nudge them along.”
The chief nodded. He took a pen and signed his name on the treaty before him. Blueblood signed his name as well.
“I will do what you have said,” said the Chief. “May our two nations be ever united as brothers against our common foes. And may we never be oppressed again.”
“You have our assurances. Unlike the Equestrians’, they are worth the paper that they’re written on,” said Blueblood.
Thunderhooves and Blueblood shook hooves. Then, he left the room, and Trixie and King Blueblood were alone once more.
“With your research and our new buffalo allies, we will seize the momentum of this war,” said Blueblood. “We can invade and take Appleloosa by the start of fall!”
Trixie grinned. “With my research, we’ll turn the buffalo into magical killing machines!”
She silently gulped. She certainly hoped that what she said was true. For years, she had been giving Blueblood nothing but promises and reassurances about her magical research.
Now, she actually had to deliver.