/co/ Vs. Ponychan: The Western Anthology

by Write Off


A Hoof Full of Bits

The sounds of the southwestern Equestria desert were the sounds of peace. Quiet winds blew through the open deserts, sending tumbleweeds rolling across the sandy plains. Rattlesnakes wound their way out of the desert heat and into the shade of the rocks that dotted the landscape. One would say that it was the quietest place in Equestria, if it weren’t for the melancholy whistle of the train.
Aboard that train were a dozen school children headed on a weekend trip to Appleloosa to learn how the settler ponies of the west lived. As they bounced throughout the train cars, bravely defying their bedtimes and several laws of physics, the group of adults assigned to them sat playing cards at the rear of the car. The stallion, a massive red beast, looked at his card before pushing his hat up to eye the mulberry pony sitting across from him.
“Got any twos?” asked Big Mac.
“Go fish,” said Cheerilee. Big Mac drew a card and dropped his final pair on the table.
“That’s your sixth win in a row, Big Macintosh,” said Carrot Top. “Are you sure that you’re playing fair?”
“Eyup,” said Big Mac. “Just lucky I guess.”
“Well, it’s ten thirty, we should probably round up all these children for bed,” said Cheerilee. “I can’t thank you two enough for coming all the way out here.”
“Not a problem, dear,” said Carrot Top with a toss of her orange mane. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to let you know sooner. I couldn’t imagine sending my little sister all the way out here by herself. Besides, I can’t remember that last time I was out west.”
“Couldn’t let you come out all by yer lonesome,” said Big Mac. “Besides, we ain’t spent all that much time together since before you went off to college.”
Cheerilee blushed, though she hid it well beneath her mulberry coat. She pushed aside her candy striped mane with a giggle before putting on her teacher voice.
“Alright children,” she called. “Everyone into the sleeping car. We’ve got a lot of walking to do tomorrow and I don’t want to hear any complaints that you didn’t get enough sleep.”
The sad complaints and disappointed “awhs” of the children were not enough to dissuade Cheerilee from corralling the children into the sleeper car. The Cutie Mark crusaders were, as always, the last to make their way into the car.
“Ah told yah we couldn’t hide from Cheerilee,” said Applebloom. “We already tried gettin’ our ninja cutie marks.”
“Pft,” scoffed Scootaloo. “Because that worked so well.”
“Maybe we’ll get our cutie marks for being cow-ponies!” said Sweetie Belle.
“Nah,” said Applebloom. “That’s a bunch of bull...” She stopped short as Big Macintosh shook his head in disapproval. “Baloney.”
With the last of the fillies and colts in the car, Cheerilee bid Carrot Top and Big Macintosh a good night and slid the doors closed behidn her. Big Macintosh yawned, stretching his hooves wide. He rolled his neck around to the side with a soft cracking and put his rear legs up on the seat in front of him.
“Are you sure there isn’t room for us back there?” asked Carrot Top. “It’s not going to be very comfortable to sleep out here.”
“Sure ain’t,” said Big Mac. “Less you want to spend the night with Miss Cheerilee.”
Carrot Top chuckled softly. “I’m sure you wouldn’t mind to much. I know you two were a thing back in school.”
“Those days are long past,” said Big Mac. “Cheerilee’s married to the job now and a pony like me ain’t got nothin’ to offer a clever mare like her.”
“Ah, don’t sell yourself short,” said Carrot Top as she settled into a chair. “You’re clever enough for any pony.”
A tinny bang echoed through the car as the train jostled a moment. Carrot Top sat bolt upright trying to figure out what that noise was. Big Macintosh only pushed down his hat and closed his eyes.
“Nothin’ to worry about, Top. Just some debris on the track,” said Big Mac. “Get some sleep. Like Miss Cheerilee said, we got a lot of walking to do tomorrow.”
Not even ten feet above their heads, a khaki feathered griffin stood atop the train car. Her landing was much harder than she expected and she waited with baited breath for someone to investigate. As the minutes ticked by with no acknowledgement of her presence, she crept from her position on the roof toward the couplings. She looked up, waiting in silence for a signal in the darkness.
It was nearly an hour before a light responded in soft flashes of green. The griffin crawled from the train top to the platform, inching her way along the steel walls toward the coupling. She paused to look into the windows and saw the adults she was looking for. A mare and a stallion, quietly sleeping in opposite seats. That meant the children were in the other car, alone and unprotected. The light again cut through the darkness with a soft twinkle. It was time.
The griffin slammed a rear paw into the coupling, releasing the rear cars from the rest of the train with a quiet snap. As the load lightened for the engineer ponies, the train began to speed up. The released cars began to lose momentum and the griffin rolled off the coupling platform. She took to the skies in a burst of wings that signaled the flickering light in the distance to approach.
An Mule and a diamond dog furiously pumped a hoof cart along the tracks as a splash of white filled the night sky with reflected moonlight. The Diamond Dog nodded to the mule and the two doubled their efforts. Within a minute, they on top of slowing train car. A moment later, the couples snapped together. The mule touched the slightest hoof to the brake, so as not to fill the air with the squeal of steel on steel. The cars began to slow as the train vanished into over the hills of the Appleloosa territory.
“Nice work, Goffin,” said the mule to the landing griffin.
“Naturally,” she replied, brushing her claws against her chest. “Nice to see that Maxie could keep up this time.” The Diamond Dog only growled at Goffin. “So, who’s the customer this time?”
“Well,” said the mule, wiping his brow. “This crop is from Ponyville. I hear they’re all pretty rich there, so the boss says it’s going to be a straight ransom job this time around.”
“And if they don’t pay?” asked Goffin.
“We’ll worry about that if it happens,” Max growled.
***
The squeal of steel brought Big Mac from his restful sleep to the state of groggy half awareness that comes with sleeping in a chair overnight. He blinked, wiping the sleep from his eyes as he stared out at the sun rising over the Appaloosa ruins. It was going to be a beautiful winter day; he only hoped Cheerilee had woken up the children so they too could watch the glorious sun rise. He shoved open the rear door to find that the back three cars had gone missing during the night. The engineer ponies at the front of the train were stretching their necks and hooves when Big Mac came galloping up to them.
“There’s cars missin!” he yelled.
“I thought it felt lighter than normal,” said the lead engineer. “Don’t worry, this happens a lot. I keep telling our engineers we gotta fix those couplings, but no one ever listens to me.” He scratched his nose with a hoof. “Which car was it?”
“The one with all the kids in it,” said Big Mac. The four train ponies snapped to attention at that, and shook off their harnesses. They galloped to the rear of the car as Carrot Top emerged from the door. The five stallions stared in horror as they looked up her.
“Awh, come on now,” said Carrot Top. “My mane’s not that bad, is it?”
Big Mac only pointed a hoof at the message tacked to the exterior of the train. It was a scroll of parchment, pinned to the car with a knife.
If you want to see your children alive again, bring two hundred and fifty thousand bits to the old Rock Cemetery by Sunday.

You cannot find us.
You cannot tame us.
Do not test us.

Carrot Top looked up at the note, then back at the crowd of Ponies that had gathered behind the train. They stood staring in horror at the note as they tried to process what to make of it. A group of stallions pushed through the crowd.
“Outta the way, outta the way,” the stallions yelled as they pushed through the crowd. The three approached the train car, pausing only to look at the note. The yellow earth pony looked at the note, before turning to Big Mac.
“What’s goin’ on here?” he asked.
“Looks like our train car fulla kids got foal-napped, Braeburn” said Big Mac. “Applebloom was with ‘em. I didn’t even hear anything last night. Must have happened after I went to sleep.”
“You seem awful quick to pass the blame,” said the cyan earth pony.
“Cormano!” scolded Sherriff Silverstar. “You show our visitor some respect. I didn’t deputize you so you could go around makin’ accusations.” The earth pony straightened his mustache. “Sorry, Big Mac. You were sayin’?”
“Well, I fell asleep round eleven last night,” said Big Mac. “I got up to get a drink around one, and the car was still there. Carrot Top was with me in the car. I’m sure she’ll tell you the same.”
“I didn’t hear anything either,” said Carrot Top. “Do you think they’re going to be okay?”
“Hard to say,” said Silverstar. “Cormano, get that letter.”
Silverstar and Cormano studied the note for a moment. The writing was a perfect script, clearly better than anything a pony could write by mouth.
“This looks like griffon writing,” said Silverstar. “All perfect and flowery. Unless it’s unicorn.”
“I’d say unicorn,” said Cormano. “Look at those loops.”
“There ain’t a unicorn in a hundred miles of here,” said Silverstar. “Get this back to the station and get Canterlot on the wire. I’m callin’ in the royal guard. You two better come with me.”
“Ah think we better get lookin’ for that car,” suggested Big Mac. “If it’s still on the tracks, it could cause a big problem for the next train to come through.”
“My cousin’s right, Silverstar,” said Braeburn. “I’ll take him up the tracks to see if we can’t find it. His marefriend can stay here with you.”
“This here is Carrot Top,” said Big Mac, “and she ain’t my marefriend”
“Well then,” said Braeburn, removing his hat. “Welcome to Apploosa, Miss Carrot Top. I’m sorry it couldn’t have been under nicer circumstances. I would have loved to show a beautiful mare like you around town. Don’t you worry none; the Apple family will get your sister back lickity split.”
“What makes you think I’m not going to help?” asked Carrot Top. “That’s my sister on that car too.”
“Well come on then,” said Braeburn. “We got a lot of ground to cover.”
Three ponies galloped into the rising sun, their long shadows dragging behind as they followed the iron railway back toward Ponyville. The disconnect had happened at night, sometime after one in the morning. That meant they had at least sixty miles of track to cover before the day’s end; double since they would have to make the return trip. Big Mac set a steady gallop for the ponies as they rolled through the desert to find their family.
***
It’s so nice getting to sleep in, thought Cheerilee from behind the darkened curtains of her bed. It could only be nicer if some pony was making breakfast. She sniffed the air, hoping against hope that somepony was making eggs. What she smelled instead was the scent of feathers and musty fur.
She recognized the scent of musty fur; she had encountered it the previous summer. She also knew that the scent meant nothing but trouble. It meant there was a Diamond Dog aboard her train. As she peered through the crack in her curtains, a grey head lumbered past. It took her a second to realize the car wasn’t moving. She checked the window; they were in the middle of nowhere. The fuzzy head turned to face her bed curtains.
Cheerilee burst from behind her curtain with a kick, knocking the Diamond Dog off his feet. When he went to stand, Cheerilee stomped him again. She turned to scream at the children, but a sharp left hook from a griffon claw sent her reeling. Cheerilee reeled back from the blow and ducked under second. She snapped forward, grabbing a mouthful of feathered wing. Goffin screamed in pain as Cheerilee reared back. She let go, sending Goffin tumbling across the car in an explosion of feathers. Cheerilee lifted a hoof, ready to deliver a knockout punch when the sharp sting of a sap knocked her to the floor in an unconscious heap.
“I thought we got all the fillies and colts!” coughed Max.
“This must be their teacher,” said Steel Wheel. “I thought you said she was on the train!”
“There was another mare in the other car!” said Goffin. “All you ponies look alike to me.”
“Oh shut up,” said Max, holding his ribs. “Put her in the cart with the children. Make sure those ropes are tight. I want them to hurt when she wakes up.”
Goffin bent down to bind Cheerilee when she saw her cutie mark. Three smiling sunflowers stared back at her as she roped the mare’s legs together. She looked to her own flanks, wondering what sort of mark she would have, if griffins got cutie marks. She shook the thought out of her head. If she was good at anything, it didn’t need to be displayed across her flanks. Goffin lifted Cheerilee onto her back and stepped through the doorway.
The sunlight was over the horizon now and the cart full of struggling fillies and colts stared back at Goffin with pleading eyes. Cheerilee dropped in beside them with an unceremonious thud. Steel Wheel looked back to the wagon, and shook his head.
“Let’s get going! We’re never going to make it to Ridgeline caverns at this rate,” he said.
“Don’t talk in front of the prisoners,” said Max. ”Any information we give them will only lead the authorities closer to our arrest.”
“Oh, they’re just kids,” said Goffin. “They’re probably too scared to remember anything from all this.” She leaned down into the cart. “Now you all just stay quiet, none of you will get hurt, got it?” She fluttered to the front of the cart. “Alright, You and Max head to the hideout, I’m going to head toward Hoofnail for some supplies for these brats. I’ll meet you back at the regular place.”
She took to the sky in a cloud of dust that left the Diamond Dog and mule coughing in her wake. Max wiped the sand from his eyes and snorted.
“Stupid Griffin,” he snarled. “Everyone who isn’t us is the enemy. I wish she’d get that through her feathered head.”
“Come off it,” said Steel Wheel. “We’re about to be rich. Once we ransom these kids back, you’ll never have to see her again. Now quit whining and help me with this cart.”
***
Carrot Top, Big Mac, and Braeburn slowed to a trot as they approached the rail cars. They had no idea if the children were still inside. If they were, who were they with? Were they in immediate danger? Braeburn motioned to Carrot Top to come with him and they started to sneak toward the car. Big Mac trotted around to the rear and positioned himself below the door. He glanced underneath the train car to find Braeburn doing the same. He clopped at the dirt three times, then pointed to the door. Big Mac nodded, and hoofed at the dirt. One. Two…
On three, Big Mac spun and bucked the rear door into an explosion of splinters. On the opposite side of the train, Braeburn did the same and the two ponies rushed through the car. Amid the flying splinters and shattered glass, it only took a moment to realize that it was empty, save for the children’s luggage that had been abandoned in the aisle.
“We’re too late,” said Carrot Top, looking around the cabin.
“Shoot,” said Braeburn. He put a hoof to his lips. “Beg your pardon for my language.”
“Hey Brae, what do yah make of this?” asked Big Mac, picking up a feather. The ponies looked at it for a moment, then noticed the pile of grey hair in the same spot. Carrot Top leaned down to sniff it, and recoiled in disgust.
“Well that’s Diamond Dog hair,” said Carrot Top. “Smells like burnt carrots and sweat. I don’t know about that feather though. It’s too long to be a griffin feather.”
“Unless it’s from a wing,” said Braeburn. “But they don’t shed flight feathers like that unless…”
“Someone got a few licks in,” said Big Mac. “I’m guessin’ it was Cheerilee. Well, she’ll keep those kids safe if it’s the last thing she ever does.”
“Don’t talk like that!” said Carrot Top. “We’re going to find them!”
“Well, we’re going to have to,” said Braeburn. “I ain’t got a quarter of a million bits to pay for ransom.”
“Me either,” said Big Mac. “I might be able to sell the farm for that price, but we’re in a lot of trouble if we don’t find those kids before tomorrow. What all is out here?”
Braeburn put a hoof to his chin, and thought.
“Well, Hoofnail is around here somewhere to the north,” he said after a minute. “That’s a real hole of a place where no self respectin’ pony would ever go.” He paused a moment. “Then again, we’re talkin about a pony that hangs around with griffins and Diamond Dogs, so there’s as good a place to start as any.”
“What are we waiting for?” asked Carrot Top. “Let’s get moving!”
“Hold on, young lady,” said Braeburn. “A pretty thing like you ain’t go no business in a town like Hoofnail. It’s all bandits and bad guys, and I won’t have you risking you pretty orange locks goin’ there.”
“Do I have to remind you that my sister is in this too?” asked Carrot Top. “I can fight just as well as any other farm girl, Braeburn. I do have brothers, you know.”
“Alright then,” said Braeburn. “Should be about dozen or so miles north of here. Let’s get going.”
***
It was the pain in her head that awoke Cheerilee. Not the sort of headache that one gets from a wonderful night on the town, but the sort of headache that comes from some taking a sap to the back of the head. She opened her eyes and looked out into the caverns.
In front of here were the dozen faces of her students, each one bound hoof and snout with tears of terror in their eyes. She looked to them all, counting their faces as if calling roll. They were all there, all accounted for and all unharmed. Cheerilee gnawed on her gag for a moment, grinding the fabric with her molars like it was hay. It finally snapped and she spit the rag to the floor.
“Is everyone okay?” she whispered. Sobs of fear met with nodding heads as Cheerilee looked over her class. She leaned down and worked the rope with her teeth. In a moment, she was free and untying her students.
“Don’t make a sound,” she whispered. “I know you’re scared, but if you make a sound, they’re going to come back here, and we can’t have that, now can we?” She quickly undid the ropes binding Applebloom.
“I’m scared Miss Cheerilee,” whispered Apple Bloom. “Why would they take us?”
“I don’t know, sweetie,” said Cheerilee, glancing down the cavern. “Help me get everypony else untied so we can get out of here. Quick as you can, just be quiet about it.” Applebloom swallowed hard and nodded. It was only a moment before she untied Scootaloo, and another as Cheerilee untied Sweetie Belle. “Help me untie everyone,” she said. “Hurry, I don’t know…”
“How the heck did you get free?” boomed a gravelly voice. Cheerilee shoved the trio behind her as she turned to face the Diamond Dog. “I told that feather head to make sure those ropes were tight.”
“You let us go right now,” snarled Cheerilee. “I swear by the light of Celestia’s sun, if you hurt one hair on any of their manes, I will end you.”
“Like a female knows how to fight,” scoffed Max. “I’m not here to hurt them, just ransom them back. If you’ve got two hundred and fifty thousand bits somewhere, you’re free to have them all.”
“No one’s got that kind of money,” said Cheerilee.
“Well, then the Diamond Dogs will buy them,” said Max, polishing his claws on his vest. “Raise them from fillies and colts and you’ve got loyal slaves to the end.” He chuckled. “You, on the other hand are nothing but trouble. Perhaps you should have a seat before these children see you torn to shreds.”
Cheerilee stomped a hoof in the dirt, and lowered her head. It had been a while since her last tussle, but she wasn’t about to let some Diamond Dog push her or her students around. The Cutie Mark Crusaders cowered behind her.
“I’m going to distract him,” she whispered. “You three get out of here and get us help. I know you can do it. I’ll hold him off.”
“But Miss Cheerilee,” said Scootaloo.
“Just do it!” she growled.
In a mulberry flash, Cheerilee was next to the diamond dog with a two hoofed uppercut that sent him sprawling to the cave floor. The girls dashed past the downed Diamond Dog, as Cheerliee stomped on his back. Max growled in anger and swatted Cheerilee into the cave wall.
Cheerilee rolled off the wall and bucked, knocking the Diamond Dog backward into a stone pillar. Max weaved underneath another hoof, then another. Cheerilee was no fighter, but she fought like mother for her students. She ducked under a swiping claw and reared back with a kick that sent Max to the ground, clutching his ribs.
“Alright,” wheezed Max. “I’ve had enough of you, mare.” He threw out a pawful of claws and charged across the stone floor. Cheerilee rolled away from the attack and turned to buck Max in the back. She stopped mid-buck as his claws hovered over Diamond Tiara. “One more move and the fancy filly here gets it.” Cheerilee came back down to her hooves, seething.
“Typical,” said a voice behind her. Cheerilee swiveled to face the new voice. It was somehow familiar, but distant, like the voice of someone she had spoken with briefly. “I should have given them better instructions. Something like “watch out for the mare with fire in her heart.” Are you okay, Max?”
“I’ll be fine,” he snarled.
“There is a reason I had you bring your fillies out here,” said the voice. “I knew that young miss Applebloom would be among them, and that her Big Brother and cousin Braeburn wouldn’t let a little thing like money keep them apart.”
“The Apple family doesn’t have that kind of money,” said Cheerliee. “The only way they could raise that much cash is if they…”
“Sold the farm?” asked the voice. “Yes, I’m well aware. It’d be well enough to see the Apple Family reduced to poverty. It’ll be even sweeter still to see all the cherry trees replace the apple trees. And none of that stupid buffalo nonsense to deal with either.” She squinted into the darkness, and snapped back when she recognized the pony.
“You!” said Cheerilee. “You rotten son of a…”
The crash of a paw sent Cheerilee to the stone again. Max held his head as he gathered more rope. The other pony approached, and sighed.
“Make sure she can’t get free,” said the pony. “And bind those children together. We can’t have our retirement fund getting away from us.”
***
They had gone the wrong direction and had to climb through a pile of lead slugs as they ascended the rear shaft of the mine. But after a minute of climbing, the three young fillies galloped from the cave and into the noon sunlight. There were running on pure fear now, their hooves and hearts pounding as every fiber of their being told them to run away. They ran for nearly ten minutes before pausing to take a breath.
“We gotta go back,” panted Scootaloo. “We’ve gotta help Cheerilee!”
“We are helpin’ Miss Cheerilee!,” said Applebloom. “We gotta find help.”
“How are we gonna do that?” asked Sweetie Belle. “We need big ponies. Like Carmel! Or the Doctor!”
“Dr who?” asked Applebloom. She shook her head. “No, we gotta find Big Mac. He’ll be able to fight… whatever that thing was. And he’s sweet on Cheerilee, so you know he’ll help!”
“Alright, where do we go then?” asked Scootaloo.
“Head for the tracks!” said Sweetie Belle. She pointed a hoof toward the desert. “If we follow the tracks, we’re bound to find some pony who can help us.”
A wind swept through the valley, howling across the open desert. The three girls stared out into the desert, looking for the straight lines of rail that were supposed to be out here. What they saw instead was an expanse of sand and distant mesas. The girls turned to each other, hoping that one of them would the answer. Applebloom finally pointed a hoof.
“Let’s go this way,” she said. “I think we came out a different entrance then we went in, but the tracks can’t be that far.”
The three fillies set out into desert with no direction, and no clue what to do next. After an hour of wandering, they were no closer to the tracks then when they started. Not even Sweetie Belle’s suggestion of a desert survival cutie mark could cheer the Cutie Mark Crusaders up. They simply walked along the sands, hoping for some glimmer of activity that they could run to for help.
For hours they walked, seemingly in circles as the sun climbed across the desert sky. It was winter, fortunately, and the sands didn’t burn with summer heat that would have left the fillies to roast. Instead they only grew tired as the sand passed beneath them and by the time the moon rose, the girls had collapsed by a rock.
“I’m tired,” moaned Applebloom.
“I’m hungry,” complained Scootaloo.
“I’m seeing things,” said Sweetie Belle. Applebloom and Scootaloo turned to Sweetie Belle in confusion. She pointed into the distance. “There’s some kinda big hairy pony over there.”
The girls looked to see a hairy figure in the distance, huddled over a campfire. Scootaloo and Applebloom rubbed their eyes to make sure they weren’t seeing things.
“Sweetie Belle, you’re not seein’ things,” said Applebloom. “That’s really there!”
“Maybe it’s someone who can help us!” said Scootaloo, jumping to her hooves. “Come on!”
With a renewed vigor, the three fillies galloped across the sands toward the hooded figure in front of the camp fire. Their spirits lifted as they drew closer; hopefully to some pony who would help them. They slowed to a trot as they approached the pony’s fire.
“Thank Celestia we found you!” said Applebloom.
“And who are you?” boomed the figure. The three fillies took a step back as the shape got to his feet. He was gigantic; nearly five times the size of the fillies, with massive horns and shaggy brown fur. His two tiny eyes sized up the fillies a moment before speaking again. “And how did you young ladies get this far out into the desert?”
“Wh… what are you?” asked Sweetie Belle. The creature tilted his head at her.
“You have never met a buffalo?” he asked. “We are the natives of this land that you call Appleloosa and we roam the plains in great herds.”
“But there’s only one of you,” said Scootaloo. The fillies looked to Scootaloo with looks of terror. “Well, I’m right aren’t I?”
“He could be the last of his kind!” said Sweetie Belle. “And you just made him feel bad!”
“I am a wanderer,” replied the buffalo. “You may call me Tall Grass.”
“Uh, pleasure to meet you,” said Applebloom. “I hate to impose, but can you help us? A bunch of us got snatched from our train and our teacher sent us out here to get help.”
“What would you have me do?” asked Tall Grass.
“You’re huge!” said Sweetie Belle. “You could smash that… whatever it was and help us free Miss Cheerilee and all the students.”
He turned to Sweetie Belle. “I know of your teacher,” he said. “But I am an old buffalo and I am no fighter. I can take you to a pony town nearby. You can find help there, I’m sure.
“You got anything to eat?” asked Scootaloo. “We’ve been wandering all day, and I’m hungry.”
“What is mine is yours,” said Tall Grass, gesturing to his pack. “We will go to Hoofnail shortly, for the nights in the desert are cold, and I have but one blanket.”
***
The town of Hoofsnail was, as Braeburn said, a total hole. The buildings were mostly assemblies of whatever scrap could be found in the desert nailed to burnt out frames and roofed with tin and tar paper. The nicest building in town, if nice was the descriptor you were going to use, was the bar. It had four walls, a second story, and even real roof. What it had in architecture, it lacked in class, which was apparent from the moment they walked in the door.
The walls were pocked with hoofmarks and knife holes and a pony wearing far too much makeup stood flaunting her aging goods at any pony who’d watch. A mule stood behind the bar, polishing a glass with a dirty rag as a Diamond Dog played an out of tune piano in the corner. A dozen pairs of eyes turned to stare at the trio as they stepped inside the bar. The piano went silent for a moment as Big Mac turned an eye to the crowd. The music resumed and the patrons went back to their drinks.
“What a dump,” said Carrot Top.
“Well, we’re not here for the atmosphere, that’s for sure,” said Braeburn. “We’ll start workin’ the patrons. Mac, you see if you can get any information out of the bartender.”
Big Mac swaggered to the bar and pointed to a bottle of rotgut caught his eye. The bartender swept up the bottle in a hoof and poured a shot for the big stallion. Big Mac grabbed the shot glass in his teeth and downed the vile fluid in a single gulp. It stank like turpentine and tasted like death, but it was enough to get the bartender talking.
“No one ever orders that,” he said. “Mostly because that’s what I use to clean the bar with. But you didn’t even flinch, big fella.” He rolled the cigar between his teeth. “I like you, stranger.”
“It’s nice to be liked,” said Big Mac. “But I need information.” He plucked the griffon’s feather from his hat and rolled around in his teeth. “This look familiar?” The bartender rolled his cigar again, sizing up the stallion.
“Could be,” said the bar tender. “What’s it worth to you?”
“Could be worth a whole lot, dependin’ on what you know,” said Big Mac. “You see, my sister’s been foal-napped. I don’t know if you have a sister, but I’m the sort of pony who would bring down the heavens for my family.” He dropped the feather on the bar, and slid the bar tender a hooful of bits. “You think of anything you want to tell me, you let me know.”
Big Mac swaggered over to a group of stallions that had cornered Carrot Top. He simply tapped one on the shoulder and motioned with a hoof for them to scram. The much smaller stallions quailed in the face of a giant like Big Mac and promptly found other places to be.
“Well, thank you, Big Mac,” said Carrot Top. “I was just about to punch him in the mouth.”
“Let’s see if we can get out of here without an incident,” said Big Mac. He looked over to see Braeburn downing shots with a group of laughing ponies. “And without getting completely hammered.” Big Mac walked behind Braeburn and tapped him on the shoulder.
“These ponies have somethin’ real interstin’ to tell us!” slurred Braeburn. “They say that the only griffin in all of Apploosa territory is a bird named Goffin and that she’s with a gang called the Hoof, Claw, and Paw. Ain’t that right boys?” The ponies cheered again as they raised the glasses for another shot.
“I think you’ve had enough,” said Big Mac.
“Naw!” said Braeburn, taking a swig of beer. “You do a shot, you chase it with a beer.” A big green eye winked at Big Mac. “Ain’t that right boys!” The ponies again cheered and did another shot. “So tell me, where can I find this Hoof, Claw, and Paw?”
“They have a cave in the middle of the desert,” said a pegasus. “No pony knows where it is, but they say it is guarded by magic!”
“No, no!” said a unicorn. “It’s guarded by a three headed Diamond Dog!”
“It’s guarded by me,” squawked Goffin. The trio turned to face the griffin, who already hunkered low and readied for battle. “Who the hay are you strangers?”
“The name’s Big Macintosh,” he said. “And I believe you’ve taken something that doesn’t belong to you.”
“If you think you’re going to beat anything out of me, then you’re dead wrong,” said Goffin. “Because my gang owns this town. Isn’t that right, boys?”
The screech of barstools and the clatter of beer bottles prompted the trio to stand back to back as the population of the bar surrounded them.
“First one to draw blood gets a round on me,” said Goffin.
The bar exploded into a shower of chaos as a half a dozen ponies jumped on Big Macintosh. Braeburn took the opportunity to dive under four ponies who came for him. Carrot Top weaved past the crowd to block Goffin from leaving.
“Where do you think you’re going?” asked Carrot Top.
“I don’t’ have time for you, mare,” spat Goffin.
“You foal napped my sister, nag,” snarled Carrot Top. “I got nothing but time on my hooves for you.” Carrot Top dove at Goffin, only to have the griffin dodge backward and take to the sky. Carrot Top rebounded off the wall to drag her back down to the ground. “I live with a pegasus, bird brain! Don’t think you’re going to get away that easy.”
Goffin raked Carrot Top’s beautiful mane with a claw, spraying hair all over the bar. A tail wrapped around her hoof and drug her off her feet before she could react. Goffin leapt on top of the yellow mare with talons ready to strike. Carrot Top bucked forward and caught the griffin’ beak with a vicious head butt. Stunned, Goffin reeled backward as Carrot Top got to her hooves. She grabbed Goffin by the beak and slammed the griffin’s head against the bar.
“Where’s my sister?” she demanded, before slamming her head into the bar again. “Where’s my sister?”
Braeburn jumped backward over a diving pony and landed along the bench. As another pony jumped at him from across the table, he stomped on the edge of the bench to flip it into the air. The opposite end of the bench smashed into the pony’s jam, sending him to the table in a heap. If it weren’t for the three ponies that jumped him immediately after, Braeburn would have said he was doing pretty well.
He managed to shake off one and rolled another into the fireplace, but the third hung on to Braeburn like he was in a rodeo. Unfortunately for him, Braeburn not only knew all about rodeos, but he was the reigning Appaloosa champion at bucking. Brae burn bucked backward, flipping completely over, and smashed the pony into the ground with a dropping elbow. Braeburn rolled to his hooves and jumped back into the fray.
The ponies punching Big Mac didn’t realize it at the time, but the stallion they were trying to subdue was several times stronger than the entire pile combined. He bucked hard, tossing every single pony off him with barely a grunt. Ponies flew through the sky like pegasi, only to come crashing to the reality that was the walls and windows of the confined space. He glanced around to see Braaburn take down another pony with a table leg.
“Get to the door!” yelled Brae.
“I got this feather head!” yelled Carrot Top, sliding the unconscious griffin across the bar. The bar tender popped up from behind his bar with a rag, and clamped it across Carrot Top’s muzzle. She struggled for a moment in muffled cries of panic before her green eyes rolled back into head.
Big Mac turned to buck any ponies still standing but found that every pony in the bar lay in a groaning heap on the floor. He paused a moment to admire their handiwork before the gallop of hooves turned his attention to the door. A streak of orange tail carried by a mule caught his eye as the bartender galloped into the night. The stallions scrambled for the door after him.
The mule didn’t have much of a head start, but even carrying another pony, he was faster than both Big Macintosh and Braeburn. He weaved in between decrepit houses, tossing debris in his wake as the stallions gave chase. Big Mac and Braeburn leaped over the barrels and dodged the troughs as they closed in on mule. He was darted into a stone building and the two stallions dove in after him.
The building was little more than a long pueblo hut, made from the mud and sandstone of the Appleloosa west. Exits were at either end of the building and the walls were hung with pick axes and other mining equipment. At the far end, a table filled with black packages wobbled as Steel Wheel struggled with the door.
“You just put her down now,” said Braeburn. “I’d hate to have hurt you.”
“You have no idea who you’re messing with,” said Steel Wheel. “You’ve got until tomorrow, or you’ll never see any of your precious kids again.”
“Buddy, you’re out of options,” said Big Mac. Steel Wheel grabbed up one of the black packets, and held it to his cigar.
“There are always options,” said Steel Wheel through is clenched teeth. The burning packet whizzed past the stallions and thumped unceremoniously against the wall.
“I’ve seen better throws from a filly,” said Braeburn. “What was that supposed to…”
Explosions are funny things. They’re big, loud, and exciting when viewed form a safe distance. Ten feet away inside mud and stone hut is not a safe distance by any stretch of the imaginations. The wood roof collapsed atop them, giving Steel Wheel valuable seconds before Big Mac could buck all the debris off. Braeburn burst from the rubble and caught sight of the fleeing bartender. Without a word, the stallions gave chase again through the empty streets of Hoofnail.
“We can cut him off!” said Braeburn, ducking into an alley. Big Mac skid along the dusty soil before finding traction again. The two stallions spotted Steel Wheel at the edge of the alley before he turned again toward the bar. They skidded to a stop along the road as they caught sight of a familiar pink bow.
“Big Mac!” shouted Applebloom as she ran to her family. “Cousin Braeburn! You found us!”
“Boy, are we glad to see you,” said Scootaloo. “You gotta help us!”
“We’ve been wandering the desert all day looking for help,” said Sweetie Belle. “If we hadn’t found Tall Grass here, we would have died out there!” Big Mac cursed as he watched Steel Wheel gallop into the night.
“Ain’t you glad to see us?” asked Applebloom.
“I am,” said big Mac. “But that pony that just ran past just grabbed Carrot Top.”
“I don’t think we would have caught him anyway,” panted Braeburn. “He’s too fast for a couple of big stallions like us.”
“I’m so sorry!” said Scootaloo. “We could have chased him down.”
“You girls aren’t going to do anything of the sort,” said Tall Grass. “I assume that you are Big Macintosh?”
“Eyup,” said Big Mac, extending a hoof. “Scootaloo said yer name was Tall Grass?
“That I am,” he replied, taking a hoof. “I found your sister and her friends wandering the desert with no supplies. They are very brave to have escaped their captors.”
“Do you know where they took y’all?” asked Braeburn.
“I think I can find it,” said Scootaloo.
“I think that pony called it Ridgeline Cave,” said Sweetie Belle. “He was talking about it when we were all tied up.”
Braeburn thought a minute, and nodded.
“I know where that is,” he said. “It was a lead mine before ponies used it as a spare parts depot for the trains. There’s a connecting rail line to it.” He put a hoof to his head as the realization dawned on him. “Of course that’s where they’d take them! It’s the perfect place for a band of desperados to hole up.”
“I too know where this is,” said Tall Grass. “If you wish my help, I will come with you.”
“I appreciate the offer,” said Big Mac. “But if yah can, take these fillies to Appleloosa and get in touch with Sheriff Silverstar The royal guard should already be here. Right now, these three are our best witnesses.”
“I will run with the speed of the wind,” said Tall Grass. “Fillies, if you will climb on my back, I can get us there before dawn.”
Big Macintosh gave each filly a reassuring hug before putting them on top of Tall Grass, and reminded them to stay brave no matter what. Tall Grass and Big Mac shook hooves again before the buffalo galloped out of town and into the desert.
In the mean time, Braeburn was busy scrawling numbers in the dirt. Big Mac looked over the scratching and made a correction. Brae looked back down at his numbers and pointed a hoof.
“About three hours that way,” said Braeburn.
“We need some supplies first,” said Big Mac. “I don’t know about you, but I’m about tuckered out from all this running.”
“We should probably hole up here for an hour or so,” said Braeburn. “I saw some food in that building we were in. I think we can hide there for a bit.”
After an hour nap, Braeburn and Big Mac were again cantering across the desert. With the fate of dozen lives hanging in the balance, the two ran in silence, hoping their prayers would keep the children and mares safe. Their saddlebags clapped against their sides as they ran, weighted down by all the food and water they could find.
They ran through the night, just two silhouettes along the desert plains. As the moon hung high in the sky, the cousins came at last to the tracks where Braeburn nodded a direction. Again they set off, cantering toward outcropping hills that served as the entrances to the caves with nary a word between them.
In a way, Big Mac was happy to have the time to spend with his cousin. Sure, the circumstances could have been a lot more pleasant, and all this running was really starting to wear on his hooves, but it had been a long time since they had spent any really time together. Even if it was all charging over the deserts of Appleloosa like a mad pony, it was time spent with family.
Braeburn, on the other hand, had no such delusions of grandeur. This band of crooks had ruined what had promised to be a perfectly wonderful weekend with his cousins, and they had denied him the opportunity to get to know Miss Carrot Top better. While the foal-napping was what really upset him, he couldn’t help but feel guilty that he’d even thought about Carrot Top, considering the circumstances.
The stallions came at last the fork in the rails that lead to the abandoned depot. Still cloaked in night, they crept along the squat hill, looking for any signs of posted guards. They were nearly on top of the entrance when they spotted a Diamond Dog blocking the rail with a hoof cart.
“I think there’s a back entrance to this mine,” whispered Braeburn. “Follow me.”
Sure enough, not even a half a mile over the hill, a narrow shaft led down into the mine at sharp slope. It was manageable for a pony of Braeburn’s size but Big Mac found himself squeezing through in certain spots. It was clearly no place for a big pony like him, but they made it to the bottom after a few minutes of struggling. The shaft emptied them into a large dump bucket filled with dime sized lead slugs. Braeburn crawled out of the bin and listened.
The soft weeping of foals echoed through the caverns as Braeburn and Big Mac made their way through the tunnels of the abandoned mine. Their ears led them to an open cavern where nine fillies and colts had been tied to a hoof cart. Just ahead on the tracks, two ponies stood arguing about what to do with the children.
“You brought another one?” demanded the pony in the shadows. “You idiot! What if they followed you?”
“I didn’t have a choice!” spat Steel Wheel. “Besides, we lost three of the fillies. We got to have something else to trade.”
“Fine,” said the shadowed pony. “Stick her with the other mare. If nothing else, we can always sell them off.”
“I think they’re talkin’ about Cheerilee,” said Braeburn. Big Mac Stood to charge, only to be shoved back down by his cousin. “Hold on, Big Macintosh. We gotta have a plan.”
“Well then here’s the plan,” said Big Mac. “You untie all those kids and get them ready to go. I’ll go down there and wail on those ponies till they tell me where they’ve taken Miss Cheerilee and Miss Carrot Top.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” said Braeburn. “I’ll meet yah outside. Good luck.”
Big Mac crept along shadows along the shadows as he closed in on the ponies. The cyan pony turned to glance in his direction a moment, but shook off the feeling as paranoia. He followed the two as they made their way into another tunnel where Cheerilee and Carrot Top lay bound on the floor next to some cans of paint.
“Well, we better get moving,” said Steel Wheel, knocking over a gold colored bucket. “Ugh, why’d we stick them in a paint room?” He shook his hoof. “I’ll get the one with the orange curls. You get the berry one. She looks kinda fat.” A sharp left hoof knocked Steel Wheel off his feet and into the wall.
“I’ll thank you not to call my friend fat,” said Big Mac.
The cyan pony threw a hoof that caught Big Mac by surprise. He was amazingly strong for his tiny size and mareish figure, but Big Mac shook off the punch and countered with a hoof of his own. A second and third crashing hoof sent the pony to ground in groaning agony. Big Mac paused to roll his neck when he actually looked at the cyan pony.
“Wait a second,” asked Big Mac. “Ain’t you deputy Cormano?”
“Who do you think set this up?” said Cheerilee as she spit out her gag. “He was the one who set up the field trip in the first place.”
Cormano rolled to his feet in a weak attempt to stand, only to find that a massive hoof pressed his head into the stone floor. He looked up, seeing only the cold face of the stallion he had wronged.
“I ought to end you,” said Big Mac. “You terrified a class full of fillies and colt. You foal-napped my friend. Your partner there tried to blow me up. I’m havin’ a real hard time tryin’ to come up with a reason not to kill you here and now.”
“I got a few,” growled a voice.
From nowhere, Max lunged at Big Mac, knocking him off Cormano and into the room beyond. Big Mac rolled to his feet as the Diamond Dog pounced again, digging claws into his coat. Clenched fist collided with iron jaw, as Big Mac stepped back from the swinging paws of the creature. Max ducked under a clumsy hoof, and smashed Big Mac in the jaw with a double uppercut. Max thought the battle was won before Big Mac Caught hold of his senses and ducked under a swiping claw.
Max dodged a hoof, then another as Big Mac Swatted and weaved around the Dog. Max struck back with claws that tore out great chunks of the stallion’s red coat. He realized after a moment, that he wouldn’t be able to tell if the stallion was injured. Max ducked under another hoof before a snap of teeth caught his arm. Big Mac big green eyes narrowed as he cocked back a hoof.
It was a punch to be proud of. If Big Mac hadn’t been clamped on Max’s arm, Big Mac would have put the Diamond Dog through a wall. As it was, the hoof sent his teeth flying instead. Big Mac cocked his fist back for another punch when he saw Cormano and Steel Wheel hustling the mares out of the cavern and into the night. He slammed Max to the ground and bolted after them.
The fresh air was a pleasant change from the staleness of the mine shaft, but catching up to the foal-nappers was far more important than enjoying a winter breeze. Big Mac galloped outside only to catch a fleeting glimpse of Cormano and Steel Wheel furiously pumping a hoof cart.
“A quarter of a million bits!” yelled Cormano as the Hoof Cat pulled away. “On the bridge at dawn!”
Big Mac turned and ran back into the cavern to find a mob of fillies and colts hugging Braeburn.
“They’re getting’ away,” said Big Mac. “We gotta go after them.”
“Well, we gotta drop off the children,” said Braeburn. “Can’t go running after desperados with a bunch of fillies and colts.’
“But we want to help!” said a little orange filly. “They stole my big sister!”
“Bonnie, don’t you worry none,” said Big Mac. “We’ll get Carrot Top back, or my name isn’t Big Macintosh.”
“What are we gonna do about the ransom?” asked Braeburn. “If they’re goin’ to the bridge, then we ain’t gonna be able to make a rescue like we did for the kids.”
Big Macintosh looked back into the cave for a moment when an idea struck him. “You load the kids onto that hand cart,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”
It took him a moment to find it, but Big Mac finally found what he was looking for in the paint room. He trotted past Braeburn and the children, only to return a few minutes later with a sack of gold coins.
“Sweet Mercy of Celestia!” said Braeburn. “Where’d you find that?”
“Don’t worry about it,” said Big Mac. “Let’s get these kids home.”
***
With the dozen children and the giant sack of gold coins onboard, it was almost dawn before the cart finally pulled into the station outside of Appleloosa. Sheriff Silverstar was waiting at the station for them with the Cutie Mark Crusaders in tow.
“Hoof cart came rippin’ through here about an hour ago,” said Silver Star. “The engineers tried to run after them, but that grey mule was tossin’ powder charges off like it was his job.”
“We’ll take care of it,” said Braeburn. “You get somepony to look after these kids. Big Mac And I are gonna rescue the mares.”
“We ain’t gonna leave Miss Cheerilee behind!” protested Apple Bloom.
“Yeah!” said Scootaloo. “She’s counting on us to save her!”
“We can’t let her down,” said Sweetie Belle. Big Mac only shook his head.
“You’ve already done enough,” said Big Mac. “Things are gonna get ugly and I don’t want you to see what your big brother might have to do. You look after your friends. Braeburn and I will get Miss Cheerilee and Miss Carrot Top back. I promise.”
The two stallions rode away from the station, pumping furiously on the bellows of the hoof cart. With options fading fast, there was only one place along the rails that Cormano could go to keep Cheerilee and Carrot Top in check. He’d have taken the mares to the Dame River Bridge where he could contain and threaten them at the same time. The biggest problem was the east bound five o’clock. It would be passing over that bridge in less than a half an hour and there was no stopping a full herd of engineers.
There were going fast. Far too fast to be safe and far faster than any pony could run. The miles disappeared beneath the stallions as they furiously pumped the bellows and the cart nearly flew off the tracks on a few curves. As the sack of coins shifted with the cart’s bouncing along the rails, Braeburn couldn’t help but wonder where Big Mac got all that money. As the crested a hill, the Dame River Bridge came into view
The two stallions were too focused on the bridge ahead to notice the small, black bump between the tracks. As the hoof cart passed over the package, the wheels sparked, showering the powder underneath with molten steel. The spark was just enough to ignite the pile of powder between the timbers.
The cart launched off the tracks as if kicked by a giant. Braeburn and Big Mac held on to the cart for a moment as the cart rocketed through the air. From this high, they could clearly see an orange and a mulberry pony tied to the tracks in the center of the bridge. Braeburn took the opportunity to tuck and roll off the cart and into the sandy soil, while Big Mac rode the cart to the ground. Wheels flew in every direction at impact, but the platform remained whole and the sack of coins didn’t move a hair. Big Mac grabbed the sack and made for the bridge.
A cloud of dust formed in their wake as the stallions galloped toward the bridge. At the edge stood Cormano, flanked by Steel Wheel. They would have charged all the way down if Braeburn hadn’t noticed the line of familiar black packages in front of the bridge.
“Cross that line and you’re as good as dead,” said Cormano. “Put down the bag of bits where you are and kick it to me. Be quick about it; I heard the five o’clock to Appleloosa is running a bit early today.”
Big Mac dropped the bag in the dirt and bucked it over to the waiting ponies. Steel Wheel picked up the bag and glanced inside for a moment before nodding to Cormano. He only chuckled as he turned to leave.
“You won’t get away with this!” yelled Braeburn.
“Of course I will,” said Cormano. “I’ve got a nice place in the zebra lands all ready for me. Drinks by the beach every day, a big pool, a huge plot of land. All thanks to the Apple Family.” Steel Wheel spat his cigar on a line of black powder that lead to the packages
“So long, suckers!”
A trail of powder fizzled and popped as it raced toward the two stallions, but they were already over the line of charges before the fuse reached them. The air behind them filled with smoke and flame as they raced for the mares. Cormano and Steel Wheel galloped past Cheerilee and Carrot Top lying bound on the railroad tracks. The two stallions skid to a stop in front of their friends as Cormano and his gang galloped into the distance.
“Mmmrph!” yelled Cheerilee.
“We got yah, doll,” said Big Mac.
“We’ll have these ropes untied quicker than you can say…” The sharp whistle of a train filled the air as the five o’clock crested the eastern hill. “Train!”
The two stallions fumbled with the knots as the train sped toward the bridge. The engineer ponies atop the hill looked to each other in panic as they first caught sight of the herd of ponies on the tracks. With the train coming down the hill, there was no way for them to stop, even with all four engineers skidding along the rails. In about ten seconds, everyone on the track was going to be flattened by several tons of steel and hooves.
“Gotta jump!” yelled Braeburn. With a grunt, he pushed Carrot Top over the side of the bridge before leaping off after her. Big Mac snatched at Cheerilee’s ropes, pulling her from the tracks. Mare in mouth, Big Mac dove off the edge of the bridge. Yellow tail hairs caught in the cattle catcher as Big Mac fell through the open air.
It was a long fall. Long enough at least to see the panic in Cheerilee’s eyes as they fell. Long enough to let a lifetime of memories flash before his eyes. Long enough to regret ever bad thing he’d done. But as the river rose to meet them, he knew in that instant that it was almost over.
The icy shock of the river brought Big Mac back to his senses. Though the impact had nearly knocked Cheerilee out of his teeth, he held on. He ground his teeth through the rope, snapping the hempen prison just as they bobbed back to the surface. Cheerilee struggled free and wrapped her hooves around his neck.
“I can’t swim!” yelled Cheerliee. “Don’t’ let me drown please!”
“Just hang on!” said Big Mac. He spotted Carrot Top and Braeburn floating further downstream. “I gotta save them too.”
Despite everything he’d been through today, despite all the running and the fighting, Big Mac still found in himself to power through the water toward his cousin. Braeburn struggled to keep above the water, dipping into the river as he tried to keep Carrot Top above the surface. Even back in the old watering hole on the farm, Braeburn had never been a great swimmer and it took everything he could just to keep Carrot Top afloat. With a last push, Big Mac clamped his teeth around Braeburn’s vest, and started paddling to shore.
In a minute that felt like an eternity, Big Mac finally dug his massive hooves into the rocky shores of the Dame River a few hundred yards from the bridge. Exhausted, freezing, and completely expended, Big Mac dropped everypony and collapsed into the wet sand. A moment later, he looked up into the smiling faces of his friends.
“That was a heck of save, cousin,” said Braeburn. “I knew you were strong, but dang, you just drug three full grown ponies out of the Dame River all by yourself.” He took off his hat to wring it out. “Shoot, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were some kind of super hero.”
“Just doin’ what I need to,” said Big Mac. “Everypony okay?”
“Thanks to you,” said Carrot Top. “Is Bonnie okay?”
“All the kids are just fine, Miss Carrot Top,” said Braeburn. “We found Applebloom and her friends last night in Hoofnail and we dropped off the other children with the royal guard about an hour ago.”
“You have no idea how happy I am to hear that,” said Cheerilee, with sigh of relief. “I’m just sorry they got away with the money.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry,” said Big Mac, as he got back to his hooves.
“But that was a quarter of a million bits!” said Carrot Top.
“Nah,” said Big Mac. “You know all that room y’all were tied up in? Well, there was lots of gold paint in there. That cave used to be a lead mine so there were a bunch of lead slugs just sittin’ there.”
Bareburn’s jaw fell open in shock. “Big Mac you are a clever pony,” said Braeburn. “Shoot, you saved the day and you scammed the bad guys. Only thing you didn’t do was get the girl.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” said Cheerilee. She wrapped her hooves around his neck and planted a kiss that left him breathless. She pulled away with a smile. “Thank you Big Macintosh. You’re a real hero.”
“Well don’t that beat all,” said Braeburn.
“You did your part, too” said Carrot Top, planting a peck on his cheek. “Maybe this wasn’t such a bad weekend after all.”
“I really wouldn’t say that,” said Cheerilee.
“Well, Come on, every pony,” said Big Macintosh. “We’ve got a class to teach.”