Mission to Appleloosa

by GJT_Productions

Party Gear Solid

"Sir, we've been searching all afternoon! If we don't start back to Appleloosa now, we'll get lost in the darkness and get eaten by a timberwolf or something..."

"Timberwolves can't live in the desert, Noteworthy. Besides, I'm not returning with nothing to show for it. We find our 'Quesadilla Polka', or at least determined what happened to Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash..."

"The citizens could've been lying when they said he was north of town, sir!"

"He probably keeps to himself, a bit like Zecora was before. They did mention he walked both north of town and in the Wastes, so we might have to check both..."

"Sir, smoke on the horizon!"

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Guard Upper Class Noteworthy's exclamation causes both him and Lieutenant Meadow Song to stop in their tracks. The sun was behind them, sinking fast in the west, when Noteworthy points out a whisp of smoke rising into the sky on the horizon. Meadow Song squints into the distance, trying to make out anything about the source of the smoke, but sees nothing helpful.

"You think it's friend or foe, sir?" Noteworthy asks.

"Well, there's no E.U.P. Guard patrols out here, and if it was buffalo I would expect their presence to be a little more obvious." Meadow Song replies with a wary tone in his voice.

"Maybe it's one of their scouts? Or worse, an Agent of Chaos rebel scout?" Noteworthy asks.

"Remember Noteworthy, we only have rumors of them being here, not confirmed reports." Meadow Song points out. "In any case, whoever it is may be alone. I would recommend approaching with caution, considering we have no leads currently about either of our objectives."

"Understood, sir." Noteworthy replies, beginning to follow Meadow Song as the latter heads toward the smoke wisp in the distance...

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As the two stallions get closer to the source of the smoke, they can see that the source is a campfire contained in a ring of rocks. The fire ring is placed near a one-pony tent, and the two travelling Guards can see the fire is being tended by a stallion who's orange fur almost disappears into the desert sands around them all. The only features the Guards can make out, besides the poofy brown mane and tail, is a black hat and a cloak patterned in black, grey and white.

The two Guards stop briefly as the mysterious stallion throws another log onto the fire he was tending, then picks up a barely visible yellow shape on the log beside him and places it on top of his hat. The Guard pair cautiously begins moving closer again, this time seeing the previous shape placed on the hat was some kind of rubber chicken and also seeing the stallion holding a party favor in his mouth.

Meadow Song and Noteworthy were debating what to do about this strange stallion when the stallion calls out to them, the party favor coming out of his mouth as he does so: "Well, are you stallions going to stand there watching all evening? Or you got business here?"

Meadow Song and Noteworthy stop their conversation, exchange a look, and then Meadow Song calls back toward the stallion: "We are members of the E.U.P. Guard, here by orders of Princess Celestia herself! We are looking for a stallion under the codename 'Quesadilla Polka'..."

The orange stallion glares silently at the duo, stopping Meadow Song speaking abruptly and making nerves add to the sweat from the desert heat, before finally gesturing over to them: "Pull up a log, Boneless and I don't mind. You can call me 'Polka' for short. Or 'Q.P.', doesn't matter."

"Well, looks like we found one of our objectives. But who's 'Boneless', sir?" Guard Upper Noteworthy asks of his senior officer.

"Never mind, Noteworthy. I'm sure we'll figure that out in due time..." Lieutenant Meadow Song replies as he begins again moving closer to the camp site, Noteworthy scrambling behind him after a moment's lapse of attention leaves him behind...

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With the sun rapidly descending, Noteworthy and Meadow Song mutually agree not to try the trip back toward Appleloosa before the morning and instead pitch their emergency shelters, taken from the survival kits they carry in saddlebags, next to each other and opposite Polka's tent. They also break out an emergency ration each, giving one for Polka to eat as well. Only once they are in the middle of their supper can the interview by Meadow Song start, the three stallions around the fire as a thin crescent of a moon starts rising in the sky:

"So, Mr. Polka..."

"Just call me Polka, Lieutenant. No need for 'Mister' here."

"... Right. Let's start off with how you came to Princess Celestia's attention. Obviously, you must've done something extraordinary in order to have us sent to interview you personally."

"Well, it might have something to do with what happened during the last Summer Sun Celebration - the one where the night lasted a very long time."

"And Princess Luna returned, yes. Go on."

"Well, when the Mare in the Moon disappeared and the sun didn't rise as expected during the celebration I had organized, I just kept on playing tune after tune trying to fight the fear. I think the younger princess was there too, she must've told Celestia about it..."

"Must be referring to Princess Cadance... is the attention why you're under a codename? Why can't you keep operating under your real name?"

"Lieutenant, I'm going to be honest with you. However the information about me got to Celestia, it also got to those Tartarus-worthy traitors! They've put a bounty on my head. If they ever found out where I am, they would gladly take my head off. And the world would be a lot worse off for it, not to mention Boneless..."

"'Boneless'?" Meadow Song asks, still having not learned who or what Polka was referring to.

"He's right here." Polka replies, pointing toward the rubber chicken now balanced beside him on the log he was sitting on. "He's very important to me, sir. Related to how I got my cutie mark..."

Meadow Song looks over toward Noteworthy beside him with a raised eyebrow, to which Noteworthy only replies with a shrug. The Lieutenant clears his throat and decides to continue on the interview without pressing for more details: "I... um... understand your concerns, sir. I'm assuming your current location is related to where the rebels are?"

"Yes, I'm hoping to stay as far away from them as possible. As well as maybe help out this situation between the buffalo and Appaloosa."

"So there are no rebels here? Or in the Wastes to the south?"

"Nope, no rebels, just buffalo with a grudge. You're probably going on bad intel if you're asking those questions - it's the road to Las Pegasus and Applewood you really should be checking out. That was my main operating area until the rebels showed up and I was forced to flee for my life."

"Understood, sir. We'll pass this information along to our superior officers and the alicorns. In the meantime, we'd like your help with our current mission."

"Well, if it's related to having those buffalo and Appalsooans making peace, then of course I'd be willing to help. Have had trouble hosting any good parties ever since those rebels showed up, you see."

"Good, one of the other reasons we're here is to help the Element Bearers with the problem here..."

"That includes Pinkie Pie, right?" Polka interrupts, his placid demenor suddenly being broken.

"Well, um, sure. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash I think are looking for what the buffalo took and we were hoping to..." Meadow Song tries to continue, giving a sidelong glance toward Noteworthy, who had also noticed the sudden change of attitude as soon as the Element Bearers had been mentioned.

"I get the picture, sir. Count me in in helping find them." Polka affirms, giving a determined look toward Meadow Song and Noteworthy.

"We appreciate your cooperation, sir, and I'm sure the Princess will as well."

"Are we going to do something tonight?" Polka continues on, his eagerness for action becoming more evident.

"Not without having an idea where they might be. You and, uh, 'Boneless' should get a good night's rest, and we'll start looking for them in the morning."

Disappointment appears on Polka's face, but he resigns himself to the logic of the argument and the old placidity begins to settle back in: "Fair enough. At first light, we're goin' out to find them. Make sure the fire's taken care of, won't you sir?"

"Of course we will, but I have to..." Meadow Song begins, only to be interrupted by Polka grabbing Boneless and retreating into his tent with surprising speed.

Meadow Song and Noteworthy once again exchange looks, and Noteworthy makes a comment in a stage whisper: "What a strange pony, sir."

"Strange, and strangely familiar. I can't pin down exactly why or how, though." Meadow Song replies in the same stage whisper, looking over at Polka's tent...

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THE FOLLOWING MORNING...

"Noteworthy, I told you I knew where I was going! See, there's four of the Element Bearers right over there, preparing their own expedition!" Lieutenant Meadow Song says proudly, pointing toward the group in the distance all packed up to search for Spike, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie - the group consisting of the other four Element Bearers besides the ones previously mentioned as well as Braeburn.

"I'm sorry for doubting your navigation skills, sir, but I have to remind you we're not supposed to be seen by the Element Bearers for the duration of the assignment..." an annoyed Noteworthy trails off, provoking a somewhat disappointed look from Polka beside him.

"Right, of course, behind the ridge, I don't think they'll be able to see us from behind that..." Meadow Song replies, dragging the heavily burdened Noteworthy beside him on the other side of the ridge line from where the Element Bearers were.

Almost as soon as Noteworthy and Polka were beside Meadow Song, Polka points out something with a hoof: "There's another group approaching that location!"

Meadow Song and Noteworthy turn to face the direction Polka was pointing in, and are both relieved and confused by what they see: "Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Spike... they all look alright... and is that the little buffalo from the train raid with them?!"

"I think so, sir." Noteworthy comments as he squints to try to get a better look at the situation.

"The pink party mistress herself..." Polka speaks in a manner approaching awe, the party favor in his mouth falling out as his jaw slacks open slightly.

"Are you alright, sir?" Noteworthy asks as he looks over at the orange stallion, confusing creasing his brows.

Polka blushes a bit and puts the party favor back in his mouth: "Sorry, but I'm sure you stallions know she's a living legend, Pinkie Pie..."

"Oh, definitely, without question..." Noteworthy replies, giving a suspicious look at Polka as he does so.

"Contact!" Meadow Song shouts, referring to the two parties previously mentioned meeting up. "Looks like the two are talking..."

"Maybe there's reason for hope after all!" Noteworthy comments optimistically.

"Or... maybe not." Meadow Song replies after a few moments with a deflated tone once he can see Applejack and Rainbow Dash are arguing as representatives of the parties they were originally a part of.

"Now what, sir?" Noteworthy asks before blowing out a sigh.

Meadow Song is about to reply when he sees Pinkie Pie make a leap into the air and then eagerly start leading both groups back toward Appleloosa.

"What's going on, sir?" Noteworthy asks again, this time looking over toward Meadow Song as he speaks.

"Looks like Pinkie Pie has some kind of plan." Meadow Song answers with a puzzled look.

"She'll figure this all out, I'm sure of it. She's the best pony to solve this problem." Polka comments, the determined look again appearing on his face.

"I sincerely hope you're right about that, Polka." Meadow Song replies, his lack of faith obvious despite his first-hoof knowledge of Pinkie's skills.

"Should we follow them, sir?" Noteworthy asks his superior officer.

"Oh, of course, definitely. We need to keep close tabs, and check in with Cherry Fizzy and the others..." Meadow Song trails off as he scrambles to keep a stalking watch on the Element Bearers with their companions travelling back toward Appleloosa. Noteworthy is right on Meadow Song's tail, and "Quesadilla Polka" follows moments later, his face marked with a cautious optimism born of previous personal experience with Pinkie Pie that was as-yet-unrevealed to the other stallions...