The World-Wide Adventures of Dash and Pinkie

“Are you sure we need all this, Applejack?  It’s not far at all to the buffalo camp.”

Dash and Pinkie were at the outskirts of town, with Applejack there to say goodbye.  They were determined to talk to the Chief, and also to see Little Strongheart again.  Problem was…

“’Course ya need all this.  I made sure to pack only what you truly needed.”

“Really?  Lets see what we ‘need’ then.”  Sticking her hoof into the blue leather saddlebag next to her, she fished around for a bit.  When she brought it back up, it contained about ten feet of rope.  “What do we need this for?”

“Tying yerselves together in case yew get lost in a sandstorm.”  Applejack said, as if it were the most common thing in the world.  “Otherwise, ya could get lost faster than a mouse in a maze.  Except there are no edges to guide you.”

Putting her hoof back in, she pulled out another item.  “And what about this tarp?  It’s huge!”

Applejack just snorted.  “That’s to collect water when it rains.  Don’t want you to run out of water, do you?”

“We’ll be out there for a few hours, not a month!”  Feeling around again, she strained to take out another item.  With a dull thud, an anvil hit the ground.  Dash just stared at the anvil, shocked.  With nothing else to do, she turned to Applejack, completely speechless.

The normally sure pony scratched her head under her hat.  “Uh, to rope yourself to in case the wind gets too strong?”  She said, in a tone more like a question than a statement.  “Ok, that may have been a bit much.”

Rainbow just hovered above the ground, placing her hoof in her hand.  “Look, we don’t need anything for a trip so short, other than water and maybe a snack or two.”

“Fine.”  Applejack said, defeated.  “But will you at least take this to them?”  Reaching into her saddlebags at her side, she pulled out a box with simple red wrapping paper.  A tag on it said “Sorry”.

“What is that?”  Pinkie asked, curious.  “Is it a feather?  No no no, a dress from Prance!  Oh, oh, I know, a mat!”

“No Pinkie, it ain’t a mat.”  Handing it over to Rainbow, she smiled.  “It’s a gift for the chief, something to try and make peace with the buffalo.  It’s a silly enough squabble, I’m sure a gift should solve the problem.”

Handing the box to Pinkie, the party pony placed it in her special saddlebag.  Both then looked up to their friend.  “Well, we better get going.”  Dash said, turning around.  “We’ll tell you how it went when we get back.”  About to dash off, Rainbow stopped short.  “Oh, and try to get our balloon fixed up by the time we get back, ok?  We need to get moving ASAP!”  With that, she dashed off towards the camp, pinkie right behind her.

Applejack looked down, ashamed.  “Guess I’ll have to tell them when they get back.”  Eyeing Dash’s bag, she suddenly got nervous.  Upending it, she was suddenly very scared for her friends as she saw a piece of paper float down.

XXX

Slowing down to a walk, the two ponies were sharing the same thought.  It is really the only thought one can have when they are walking across nothing but sand and rocks for over an hour, with nothing but a bright blue-sky overhead and friends at the end of the trail.

“I’m so BORED!”  Rainbow yelled out, unable to hold it in any longer.  “How long have we been walking?  It feels like forever!”

“You haven’t been walking at all, Dashie.  You’ve been flying!”  Giggling, Pinkie continued on.  “So, how do you think Little Strongheart is doing?”

“I’m sure he’s doing fine.”  Rainbow replied.  “He’s a squirt, and maybe a bit… lean.  But he’s a good kid, and I’m sure he’s gonna be able to help us out with this peace thing.”

“Yhea, he’s helped a lot last time.  There’s no way he isn’t willing to help us out.”

The two walked on in silence for a little longer.  Finally, Dash just screamed.  “That’s it!  We should have run into the camp ages ago!  Pinkie, give me the map.  We must have taken a wrong turn.”

Pinkie just turned to look at her, confusion evident on her face.  “Don’t you have the map?”

“How could I have the map?”  Dash asked, slightly irritated.  “In case you didn’t notice, I’m not… wearing…”  Suddenly, her mind went back, thinking of all the useless things in that backpack, and the one thing they needed.  “Uh oh.”

“What’s the big deal?  We just turn around and grab it.”  Turning around, she began to move forward.

Dash slowly shook her head, becoming more nervous as the situation’s gravity dawned on her.  “You sure that’s the right way?  We may have turned around somewhere.”  The blue pony finally figured out how to describe the situation they were now in: “We’re lost in the middle of a desert!  Who knows how far we are from any form of civilization?”  Unable to hold herself anymore, Dash just screamed out.  “We’re doomed!”

Suddenly, a faint noise was heard.  Pinkie perked up her ears to hear it better.  “Rainbow, do you hear that rumbling?  I don’t think it’s my tummy, it’s too early for lunch.”

“Great, it’s probably one of those sandstorms AJ told us about.”  Dash whined, still pitying the bad luck she was having.  “Well, let it come!  It’s impossible for the Wonderbolts to want a pony who can’t even make it past their home without doing something stupid.”

Finding where the noise was coming from, Pinkie turned to see a cloud of dust approaching them at high speed.  The strange thing was, there seemed to be shapes at the base of the cloud.  Smiling, Pinkie prodded Dash to try and get her up.  “I don’t think it’s a storm Rainbow.  I think it’s a group!”

“Great, so monsters are coming to eat us!  This is definitely a wonderful start to our trip.”  Still sitting down, Dash began to sob, before her face became filled with fury.  “Well, no monster is going to take me down without a fight!”

Pinkie took one more look around, before nodding to herself.  “Rainbow, these are most definitely not monsters, their friends.  Right, guys?”

Curiosity finally prevailing, Dash looked up from her pity party.  Surrounding her and Pinkie were surrounded by what looked to be twenty buffalo.  Their hair was all different shades of brown, from the light brown of dust to the dark brown of fresh mud.  They all had tall backs, literally towering over their heads.  They went all around the two ponies, making a perfect circle around them.

“Guys!  Boy, are we glad to see you!”  Dash said, getting up to greet the newcomers.  “We kinda got a little bit lost, but now we… can get to… your…”  Dash realized that the buffalo were not happy to see them.  If anything, they seemed upset to see them.  “Guys, it’s us.  Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash?  We helped form the treaty between you and the ponies?”

“Yhea, and I sang that song, remember?”  Pinkie offered.  “How did it go again?”

Dash thought for a second as well.  “Wasn’t it something like-“ Her memory kicked in, reminding her of the song, as well as the consequences it had with it.  “Pinkie, wait!  Don’t-“

“Oh yhea, that’s one of my favorites!”  Taking a deep breath, Pinkie burst out into the tune.  “You gotta share, You gotta care.  It’s-“

The buffalo’s eyes widened and started to tick, their heads starting to jerk uncontrollably.  With a yell, they all started to charge into the center of the circle they made, as well as the two ponies in the center.

Dash and pinkie were only able to look on, staring the incoming charge straight on.  Hugging each other, they squeezed their eyes shut, shaking uncontrollably.  “This is not how I pictured the trip going.”  Dash said to herself.  “We haven’t even gotten out of the gate and we’ve already lost!”

“Stop!”

The buffalo stopped their charge, only a few feet away from the shaking Pinkie and Dash.  Turning their heads, they opened the circle to allow a single buffalo through.  This one was much smaller than the others, only the size of Dash and Pinkie.  Her body was covered in light brown hair that looked a lot like the dry dirt surrounding them.  Her dark blonde hair was kept in place by a headband with a purple and white zigzag pattern, holding two white feathers with blackened tips.

Walking closer, the scrawny buffalo smiled at Dash and Pinkie.  Laughing, she held out a hoof.  “Thought I recognized that voice.  How are you two doing?”

“Strongheart!”  Pinkie yelled, getting up and tackling the buffalo into a hug.  The other buffalo tensed a bit, before Strongheart waved a dismissive hoof.  “It’s ok, guys.  They’re friends from a while back.  Helped with the peace treaty?”

“Oh yhea.” One buffalo with a mud-colored hide remarked.  “They tried to be our representatives to the ponies.  Didn’t they overall make things worse, though?”

“No, they were crucial to-“  Strongheart began, but was cut off before she could say anything.

“Really?  The blue one was more assertive than us, and didn’t let us talk with that Brandy fellow.”

“Actually, it’s Braeburn.”  Dash corrected.  The two arguing buffalo shot him a quizzical look, before turning back to their debate.

“Yes, she was overly assertive.”  Strongheart confessed.  “But someone had to be, or we would never have gotten anywhere.”

“True, but she also made the chief take hasty action.  We could have come to an agreement if it weren’t for her making our Chief take action.”

“How is Thunder, anyhow?”  Pinkie interjected.  “Hope he’s well.”  The buffalo and Strongheart both shot Pinkie a stern look, one she apparently missed as she continued to smile at them.

“And then there’s her.”  The strange buffalo continued, pointing an accusatory hoof at Pinkie.  “She’s the one that sang that song.”  Steam shot out of the buffalo’s nostrils at the sheer memory of the song in question.  “That one undoubtedly set the final nail, and gave us no option but war.”

“But she did give the chief and the sheriff something to agree upon.”  Strongheart retorted, although with less conviction than before.  “That’s… something.  Right?”

“And lets not forget when we were about to charge.”  The buffalo continued angrily.  “We were about to back off, but then the pink one sang again!  The chief simply looked furious and ordered the charge.”

“Yes, but… What I mean is… They also…” Strongheart just shook her head and stared levelly at the buffalo.  “Look, they were key to the treaty’s creation.  They may have made it worse overall, but they still helped in the end.”

“If you say so.”  With that, the buffalo began to trot away, the other buffalo close behind.  Strongheart just hung her head, before turning to her friends.

“Sorry about that, you guys.”  Strongheart apologized.  “I know for a fact you were important to the founding of that treaty, it’s just hard to say how.”

“It’s cool.”  Dash replied.  “I honestly didn’t see what we did that way.  Guess we did make more of a mess than we cleaned up.”

Pinkie perked up at these words, jumping into the conversation.  “What do you mean?  We helped just by being there!  If we hadn’t intervened, who knows how the situation would have changed?  For all we know, the entire buffalo colony could have been wiped out.  Time is fickle that way.”

Dash looked at pinkie with an expression that would also fit seeing a pony loose a cutie mark right before her eyes.  “Wow, Pinkie.  That’s quite an interesting way to look at it.”

Pinkie just giggled into her hoof.  “Oh, I didn’t think of that.  Another pony told me.  He had an hourglass cutie mark, so he must know something about time.”

Strongheart just smiled.  “Well, it’s nice to see you both again.”  Just then, something clicked in her head.  “Wait, what are you two doing out in the middle of the desert?  You can die out here!”

“Yhea, about that.”  Dash said, rubbing the back of her neck.  “We kinda got lost looking for your place.  We heard about the latest issue and want to help.”  Hanging her head low, she sighed.  “Though after hearing about how we ‘helped’ last time, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”

“Of course we want your help!”  Strongheart said, giving Dash a caring smile.  “That buffalo was just being a jerk.  Everyone else thinks you helped out a lot.”

“Yhea, they really showed it when they charged us.”  Dash was dripping sarcasm with every word.  “That’s how everyone shows they like you.”

Pinkie cocked her head to one side, an eyebrow raised slightly.  “I’ve never heard of that.  If you say so.”  Pawing the ground, she started to run full-speed for Strongheart.  When she was only inches away, she stopped, beaming at the surprised buffalo.

Rainbow Dash put her head in her hoof.  “Pinkie, I was kidding.  Charging at someone is rude, dangerous, and not cool.”

“Yhea, sorry about them.”  Strongheart apologized, stepping around Pinkie to look at Dash.  “Ever since the new issue popped up, some buffalo are not exactly happy with ponies.  They were just trying to scare you, is all.”  Walking away, she gestured to the two of them.  “Well, come on.  I’ll guide you the rest of the way to the settlement.”

XXX

It turns out that Dash and Pinkie were only about 20 minutes away from their destination.  After arriving, they took a second to take in how little had changed for the buffalo as well.  There were still a few teepees’ that looked a bit too small for the massive buffalo.  A huge fire was still burning in the center of the settlement, with a few buffalo sitting around talking.  Little Strongheart stopped in front of it, turning around to her two friends.

“The Chief is going to want to talk to you tow and get your advice on what to do.”  Stepping into a teepee, she came back out with two bowls of the green slop.  “Have this in the meantime.  I’m sure you are hungry after your trek.”

“Yay, green mush!”  Pinkie exclaimed excitedly, before diving her head into the bowl.  Dash, on the other hoof, sniffed her offering before reeling back in disgust.

“Pinkie, how can you eat that stuff?”  Dash asked, looking at how happy she was with the mush.  “It smells awful!”

Pinkie just shook her head.  “It’s good, Dashie.  You gotta try it.  How do you plan to make it around the world if you refuse to try the local cuisine?”

“I’m sure daisy sandwiches taste the same the world over.”  Dash said with a nod of her head.  Still, she couldn’t help but look down at the mush in front of her.  She does have a point, though.  Dash thought.  Those sandwiches are going to get old real fast, and I doubt they have all the nutrients a pony needs.  Looking again at the green stuff in front of her, she gulped.  Well, Pinkie seems to like it.  Can’t be that bad, can it?  Taking the bowl in her hooves, she tilted it towards her mouth, eyes tightly shut.  As it hit her tongue, she opened them again.

“Wow, this actually isn’t that bad!”  Dash said, taking another gulp.  Looking back at pinkie, she saw her smiling at her, mush still stuck to her face.  Dash smiled back, and then both were laughing before they knew what was happening.

“Glad to see you two again, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.”  Turning, they saw a buffalo walking beside Strongheart.  He was much bigger, towering over the child.  His body was the dark brown, with prominent black horns.  On his head was a blue headband with many feathers in it, as well as red and white stitching and a red star at the sides.  “Also happy to see you are enjoying our hospitality more than last time.”

“Thanks Chief.”  Dash said, finishing off her bowl.  “After tasting it, I have to ask.  What’s in that mush?”

The chief chuckled a bit.  “It’s just some cactus rind mashed with some of its water.  It’s incredibly tasty and full of nutrients.”

Dash just nodded her head.  “Huh, that doesn’t sound too bad.  Bet I could even get some of the stuff to make-“

“And some moss from the rocks by the canyon.”  Thunderhooves added, licking his lips.  “That helps give it a delicious aftertaste.”

Dash’s eye’s widened, as she looked down into her bowl.  There was in fact something spongy at the bottom of the bowl.  Suddenly she felt a little bit green.  Swallowing the sudden urge to remove the food she just had from her stomach, she smiled weakly at the Chief and Strongheart.  “Sounds… Delicious.”

“You have proven it to be, Rainbow Dash.”  The chief said in his continually deep, strong voice.  “If you wish for another, you only have to ask.”

“No thanks!”  Dash replied quickly.  Getting looks from all three, as well as some nearby buffalo, she checked herself.  “I-I’m stuffed.  Maybe later.”

“I’ll take her portion then!”  Pinkie said, enthusiastically.  Strongheart grabbed another bowl and handed it to Pinkie, who dived into it with as much gusto as she did her first.  Dash leaned away from her, a slightly scared expression on her face.

When Pinkie had finished her bowl, the chief sighed.  “I guess we should get to the reason you arrived.  You’re here to talk us into befriending the ponies again?”

“More or less.”  Dash said, shrugging.  “I honestly don’t see what the big deal is.”

“I just wanted to see everyone again.”  Pinkie said, a smile on her face.  Suddenly, she perked up.  “Oh yhea, the ponies wanted us to give this to you.”  Reaching into her bags, Pinkie pulled out the apple pie, still looking as warm and tasty as ever.

Licking his lips, Thunderhooves accepted the pie into his hoof, putting it next to him for later.  “Thank you.  Though I’m afraid it won’t fix the problem, it is still a step in the right direction.”

“So what’s your side of the story?”  Dash asked.  “We heard that the ponies couldn’t fit you into their shops, but that’s all.”

“Ah, there is more to it than that.  The buffalo that was offended gave many ideas as to how he could see what the shop sold, but the owner rejected all of them, saying that they would be too much effort for a simple browsing.  We also offered to help enlarge the shops doors and isles, but he refused!”  The chief started to talk a bit faster, steam coming from his nostrils.  “We tried to garner support, but those ponies would not even consider trying to help us.  They said to-“

Strongheart stuck his hoof into the chief’s nostril, causing him to stop his rant.  “Point is, they didn’t even try to communicate.  They simply refused to let us shop in town by not making the doors accessible to buffalo.”  The little buffalo finished.

“Well, then go and communicate with them.”  Dash said matter-of-factly.  “I know of a few ponies that want to talk through this issue as much as you do.  I’m sure that if you follow us back, we can find a solution.  Maybe all you need to do is apologize to each other.”

“It isn’t that simple.”  Thunderhooves sighed.  “I’m the chief of the buffalo, I have to keep all their interests in mind.  I can not simply drop the issue and forget it, I have to do something.”

“Darn it.”  Rainbow commented, striking the ground with her hoof.  “Guess it couldn’t be that simple, could it?”

“The buffalo were hurt too by this, Dash.”  Strongheart explained.  “If Chief just backed down, it would be seen as weak, and the other buffalo may try to replace him with a stronger, more stubborn chief.  Last time that happened, nobody walked away happy.”

“Huh, never looked at it that way.”  Dash thought for a second before shaking her head.  “Still, I’m sure they could come up with something everyone will like.”

Thunderhooves thought for a second, before smiling.  “Very well.  Strongheart and I go back with you to talk to the ponies.  Maybe we will actually solve this issue.”

“That’s the spirit!”  Dash exclaimed, flying a foot into the air.  “Well, whats the point in waiting?  Lets get going!”  With that, she began to fly off towards Appleloosa

“Hold on.”  Strongheart call out, stopping the pegasus in her tracks.  “We have to get a gift for the settler ponies, in recognition of theirs.  We can’t just leave without preparing.”

“Fine, We’ll wait.”  Dash pouted, sitting down on the ground with crossed arms.  “Just don’t take too long, ok?”

“Don’t worry, it should only take a few minutes at most.”  Chief Thunderhooves replied, getting up to begin preparations.  Smiling, he turned back to the two waiting ponies.  “Feel free to have more of our mush while you wait.  Don’t want anyone to go there hungry, may make you quicker to anger.”

While Pinkie’s face brightened at the invitation to more food, Dash’s became a face of horror.  Looking down, she noticed that a bowl of the fungus food was already in front of her.  Pulling a face, she passed it over to Pinkie.

“Here.  I’m honestly not that hungry right now, and I can always get an apple back in town.”

“Sorry Dashie, but he has a point.”  Pinkie said, shaking her head.  “Hunger does make you more irritated, so it is important that you eat something.  Besides, you said you liked this earlier, and I don’t think I can get the moss back home.  This is your last chance to have this in what could be forever, so you better enjoy it.”

Dash simply looked back at Pinkie, who was staring directly at Dash.  “Pinkie, I said I’m not hungry.  Besides, this was more appetizing when I didn’t know what was in it.”

Pinkie’s face grew serious, giving Dash a hard look.  “It doesn’t matter what’s in the food, so long that it taste’s good.  You like my cupcakes, right?”  A gleam entered her eye, scaring Dash a little bit.

“Why, what’s in your cupcakes?”  Dash asked shakily

“Oh flour, sugar, salt water, all the normal stuff.”  Pinkie said, her normal, bouncy self returning.  “Really, what else would be in a cupcake?  Oh, except chocolate chips!  And gummy worms!  And maybe even some hot sauce!”

A little unsure what just happened, Dash simply shrugged.  Looking back at her bowl, she pulled a face.  “Look, I’m not eating this, and that’s that.”  Looking behind her, she hoped to see the Chief and Strongheart returning.  Instead, she saw nothing but a few more teepees’.

“Dash, you are not getting the buffalo in more trouble by being aggressive again.”  Pinkie said sternly.  “Now, I’m going to sit here, until you finish every bit of that mush.  Clear?”

Looking into her bowl, Dash made one last face and sent one quick prayer to Celestia and Luna before tentatively putting the bowl to her lips.  After knowing what was in it, all she could taste was the mold, as well as the spongy texture that came with it.  It now got stuck in her throat, and the mold refused to leave her tongue.  Finally, after three more swallows, it finally went down.  She felt it hit her stomach, and try to come right back out.  Keeping it in, she swallowed once more.

“There, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”  Pinkie commented, smiling at Dash.  The only thing Dash could do was give her a look she hoped was stern, but given how she felt most likely looked sick.  “Now, have another.”

“No thanks Pinkie.  I wasn’t hungry to begin with.  Now I’m stuffed.”  Dash said worriedly, patting her stomach for emphasis.  Pinkie, however, clapped her hooves together, and another bowl was brought out.  Pushing it in front of Dash, she smiled at her.  Before Dash could protest, Pinkie forced the mush into her mouth, tickling her throat to make her swallow.

When the Chief and Strongheart returned, they were greeted to the sight of Pinkie panicking over Rainbow Dash, who groaning with her hooves around her stomach.  Rainbow tried to roll over, but found that it made her pain worse.  After a quick sip of water, she was better, and all four went back to Appleloosa to try and barter a peace with the ponies.

XXX

As the four made their way into town, they noticed quite a commotion happening.  Ponies were all standing around a store murmuring quietly to them selves.

“Wonder what happened.”  Dash thought aloud, dashing ahead to check it out.  The others followed suit, worried expressions on all of them. As they approached, one of the ponies looked up.  Seeing the chief and Strongheart, his eyes widened.

“They’re responsible!”  The pony cried out, pointing to the buffalo.  “They’re the ones that messed up my shop!”

The crowd stated to advance on the four, backing them up into a wall.  They continued their insults as they closed in for the kill.

“You buffalo started this!”

“We tried to live together, but you messed it up!”

“Just go back to your settlement, and leave us ponies alone!”

“No, just leave altogether!  This land isn’t big enough for us both!”

As the crowd finished circling in, Dash and Pinkie got between them and their targets, ready to hold them off for as long as they could.

“Why do we keep getting surrounded?”  Dash yelled out to nopony in particular.  “It’s getting really old.”

Just then, all four heard a concise whistle.  Turning their heads, they saw Applejack, motioning for them to follow.  Quickly, all four ran in her direction, as she ran down the street and down a side path.  Dash flew ahead, catching up to AJ in moments.

“OK, I want answers now.”  Rainbow demanded, looking down at the running mare.  “Why are they suddenly going after Thunderhooves and Strongheart?  I knew things were tense, but they weren’t this bad when we left.”

Applejack just kept running, not even looking up to Rainbow as she responded.  “I think that answers can wait until we are safe from the mob, don’t you?”  Searching around, she spotted the saloon.  “Quick, in there.”  AJ commanded, dashing into the building.  The others followed suite, Thunderhooves scraping his back on the top of the doorway.

Moments later, the sound of pounding hooves was heard outside.  The four dared not to move; afraid doing anything would draw their attention.  The majority quickly passed them, the stragglers quickly trying to catch up.  Two ponies in particular decided to stay back for a second.

“Why are we chasin’ the buffalo, again?”  One of them asked the other.  His voice was slightly high pitched and reedy, carrying the common western accent of all ponies in the area.

“I have no clue.”  The other responded, obviously a mare.  “It has something to do with what one of them did to Stetson’s shop.”

The stallion scoffed.  “He was asking for a buffalo to do something to his shop, with how he was acting.  ‘Those things are a blot on our town!  We need to drive them away!’”  There was the sound of spitting, as if the very mention of those words left a bad taste in his mouth.

“I honestly don’t see what the big deal is.”  The mare replied.  “So the buffalo can’t shop here.  They did fine before we settled here.”

“I think that they were expecting to be able to shop, as an unspoken part of the deal.”  The mysterious stallion laughed.  “I mean really.  They were going to give up their land for pastries that we sell for 3 bits?  Not even an idiot would agree to that.”

“Let’s go back home.  It’s almost lunch anyhow.”  With that, the pair left to get food.  The ponies and buffalo inside the saloon sighed in relief.  Dash finally had a chance to really look around the saloon, for the first time ever.

It was all made out of wood.  There were wooden tables, wooden tankards, and a wooden bar in the back.  A stage to the side was also made up of wood.  The only things that were not wooden looked to be the paintings of landscapes and generals that hung from the walls.  Applejack was behind the bar, pouring five jugs of cider.  Bringing them to a table, they all sat down.

“First things first.”  Dash demanded after a few gulps of her cider.  “What happened to that pony’s store to cause that frenzy?”

“It’s bad, Rainbow.”  Applejack said, staring down into her drink as if she saw it happening in there.  “The owner was jus’ mindin’ his own business, when a buffalo stampeded inta the store, sayin’ ‘I hold it any longer!’  He ran practically right through the store.”

“What!”  Dash and Pinkie exclaimed in unison.  Their jaws were dropped so low they were almost in their cider.

“I apologize on behalf of the buffalo.”  Thunderhooves said, bowing his head.  “I will make sure that he is punished when I return.”

“It doesn’t make any sense, though.”  Strongheart said, thinking.  “The buffalo held little ill will to you.  Why would one suddenly lash out like that?”

“The why ain’t the question.”  Applejack said, getting them all back on track.  The big question’s are what to do now, and what your doing here.”

Pinkie perked up.  “Oh oh oh!  I know that last one!  Thunderhooves came by to try and talk with the settler ponies about making buffalo able to shop here.”  Taking a gulp of cider, she smiled.  “Give me a harder one!”

“OK, then.”  Applejack replied, turning to face Thunderhooves.  “You’re here, so let’s start talkin’.  I’ll let the sheriff know about this later, once we have somethin’ worked out.”

“Alright.”  Thunderhooves said.  “I shall not leave until we have figured out how the two of us can live in harmony, with the least trouble for both.”  Turning to Strongheart, he asked “Would you mind keeping things in order?”

“Sure thing, chief.”  Strongheart said.  Looking into her now empty jug, she got up.  “Think I’ll get more cider first.”

“Let me get that fer ya, sugar cube.”  AJ said, getting out of her chair to aid the little buffalo.  Dash and Pinkie looked on for a bit longer, before realizing that they were no longer needed.  Both tried to listen to the conversation, but it quickly got too technical and boring.

“We can’t do that!”  Applejack said, striking the table.  “We would all dehydrate in a drought!”

“Well your idea is awful as well.”  Thunderhooves replied, also getting agitated.  “If we had a bad year, the entire settlement would starve!”

Dash and Pinkie caught wind of how the discussion was going.  Afraid of what would happen, Dash walked out to get some air.  “Fat lot of good I’d be in there.”  Dash said to herself.  “I didn’t even know what they were talking about.”

“Oh, just about who gets what for doing how many things when.”  Pinkie said, stepping next to Dash.  Once by her side, Pinkie sighed.  “Doesn’t look like a resolution’s coming soon, huh?”

Dash shook her head.  “There has to be a simpler way, something we aren’t seeing!”  Dash said.  Spreading her wings, she hovered a bit above the ground.  “I’m gonna take a fly around, blow off some steam.  See you later.”

“Later Dash.”  Pinkie said, walking back in.  Dash simply flew around, not really sure where to go.  She always flew when she was having problems, and this definitely counted as a problem.  As she flew around, she noticed the storeowner setting things up outside.  Curious, she landed next to him.

“Hey there.”  Dash said, sitting down.  “Sorry about your store.  Just heard about it.”

“Yhea, it’s a real pain in the flank.”  The owner replied, not stopping from his work.  “Looks like it will take weeks to fix.”

“I don’t think that we’ve met before.”  Dash said, putting a hoof out.  “Name’s Rainbow Dash.”

Looking at the hoof a second, the stallion shook it.  “Stetson.  Tilted Stetson.”

“So why do you hate the buffalo so much, Stetson?”  Dash asked, cocking her head.  “It’s not like they really hurt anypony when they rampaged through here.”

Stetson hung his head, his work seemingly forgotten.  “It isn’t that I hate them, it’s what they bring.”  Lifting a hoof, he waved it over the town.  “We built this entire place with our own hooves.  It’s going to be this way for some time, maybe even forever.”

Dash tilted his head more.  “So your afraid the buffalo are going to… destroy the town and burn it?”

“Not like that, no.”  The tan pony replied, shaking his head.  “I mean that things are going to change if they start interacting with the town.  All the buildings will be remodeled to accommodate them, their traditions will fuse with ours.”  Stetson started to shake now, unable to stop himself.  “The entire town will become unrecognizable from what we made ourselves!”

“Ah, I get it now.”  Dash said, a glint in her eye.  “You’re afraid of change.”

“Yhea, guess that’s it.”  Stetson stopped shaking, instead shutting his eyes tight to hold back tears.  “Things are going so well right now.  The only problem is the buffalo!”

Dash put a hoof around the stallion’s shoulders.  “I understand being afraid of change.  It’s similar to the unknown.”  Getting up, she walked forward so that she was in front of the shop owner.  “Still, things have to change, it’s a part of life.  What if the settler’s decided their home was nice enough?  That they didn’t need to make a town?”

Stetson was about to say something, but Dash cut him off.  “Change makes life worth living.  It turns the boring into the exciting, the impossible into the possible!”  Grabbing Stetson by the shoulders, she pulled him up.  “Change is scary, yes, but it is also the most amazing thing in existence!  Sure not all change is welcome, but nine times out of ten it makes everything better!”

“But the settler’s didn’t-“ Stetson was about to correct, but Dash was not about to stop.

“The buffalo can help you guys in ways you wouldn’t believe!  They know this place like the back of their hoof!  They could easily show you where to start up mines, where the dangerous animals are.  Letting them be a part of your community is the best possible-“

Placing a hoof in Dash’s mouth, he gave her a blank look.  “I just want to clarify that most of the settler ponies came here because they had no place else to go, and we offered cake.”

“Oh.”  Dash said, blushing.  Pawing the ground with her hoof, she grinned sheepishly.  “Was not really aware of that.”

“Still, you have a point.”  The stallion said, smiling.  “Maybe the buffalo being a part of the town isn’t such a bad thing after all.”

“Mhmm, mhmhmmmmhm?”  Dash tried to say, but found Tilted Stetson’s hoof still in her mouth.  Pulling it out, she shot him a look, causing it to be his turn for a sheepish smile.  “So, does that mean that you’re ok with the buffalo now?”

Nodding his head, Stetson grinned.  “Besides, they already were kind enough to start the remodeling for me.  May as well not let it go to waste.”

“Yhea, about that, Stetson,” Dash replied, looking at the shop.  “What do ya plan to do?  You can’t really sell out of that building, it’s too damaged.”

Stetson chuckled a bit, before finishing his work and smiling.  “I plan to do this, my friend.”

Looking down, Dash saw that Stetson had put a white blanket on the ground, on which was an assortment of hats.  They ranged from Stetsons to bowlers to even a few feather caps.

“You plan to sell outside?”  Dash asked, confused.

“Yhea, why not?”  Stetson said with a shrug.  “Can’t close the business down, need the money.  So, I’ll just sell out here under the open sky.”

“Open sky, huh?”  Dash said, looking up.  “Gotta say, that sounds real-” Suddenly, Dash got an idea.  It was one that was so obvious that she facehooved for not thinking of it.  “Stetson, you’re a genius!”  With that, Dash flew back to the Saloon as fast as she could.

As she got closer, she heard that the argument in the saloon had gotten much worse.  Both Applejack and Thunderhooves had their fore hooves on the table, staring the other down across the table with scowls on their faces.

“Looks like we can never exist together.”  Thunderhooves said with a snort.  “We will protect our land, just like we did before!”

“Yhea?”  Applejack countered.  “You lost last time.  You buffalo only won because we all wanted to stop!  Try and take the town away from us, and ya’ll get kicked again!”

Dash, not wanting to waste time, jumped on the table in between the two.  “Guy’s I got it!”  She yelled.  “I figured out how we can let the buffalo be a part of the town, and how we can all live in peace!”

The two arguers turned to look at Dash, their faces still stuck in scowls.  “Sorry, Rainbow, but these buffalo refuse to cooperate.”  Applejack’s voice seethed anger with each breath.

Thunderhooves turned back to face the farmer pony.  “I’m doing everything I can to make this work, you’re the one that can’t seem to let anything go!”

Stuffing a hoof in both mouths, Dash cleared her throat.  “This idea is sure to work, trust me.”  She turned to Thunderhooves.  “I need you to go and get the buffalo, get them here in about an hour.”  Next, she turned to AJ.  “As for you, tell all the shopkeepers to set up shop outside.”

AJ’s eyes went wide with realization, nodding her head.  Thunderhooves, still not quite sure what was going on, nodded his head as well.

As the two left to do their assignments, Dash looked at her hooves.  Disgusted, she went into the restroom and washed them.  There has to be a cleaner way to shut a pony up.  Dash thought to herself.  Sticking a hoof in their mouth is way too gross.

Stepping out of the restroom, Dash ran into Pinkie, who was waiting right outside.  “What are you up to, Dashie?”  She asked, jumping around.  “It sounds like you figured out the problem.”

“Yep, I did.”  Dash said, chuckling.  “I’m just amazed I’m the first to think about it.”

“So, what do you want me to do?”  Pinkie asked, jumping around a bit faster, to the point that Rainbow was getting dizzy.

“First, sit down.”  Pinkie stopped where she was, still smiling.  “Second, uh… you could, um… plan a victory party?”  Dash tried.

“Yay, those are my favorite ones!”  Pinkie said, dashing off to get the supplies.  Dash, in the meantime, went and poured herself another cup of cider.  Sitting down, she smiled to herself.  “Honestly, Appleloosa, how did you guys not think of this?”  Taking a sip of her cider, she waited for the others to return, and change the town forever.

XXX

Every pony and buffalo was in the main street, enjoying a small day of shopping.  All the shops were out in the street, some on carts, others on blankets from home.  All the buffalo looked at the wares, some of them with bags containing food and trinkets.  A few buffalo had also set up blankets of their own, selling things such as flowers and jewelry.  One brown pony with a grey Pegasus next to him also had a blanket set up with the weirdest stuff Dash had ever seen

Standing off to the side, Applejack gave Dash and Pinkie a grin, before hitting herself on the head.  “How is it that we never thought about a market day?”

Dash shrugged.  “I guess that you were so busy looking for a solution, you missed it.”

“That makes less sense than a cheerful scorpion.”

“Scorpions can be very cheerful.”  Pinkie said, lifting her head from a bowl of mush she had.  “They are just crabby all the time because they are always hot.”

Applejack shot Pinkie a look, before shaking her head.  “Still, thanks for saving the town from splitting.  Stetson even asked that his new store be built to allow Buffalo, and he’s gonna start selling their headbands!”

“So it all worked out, huh?”  Dash asked.  “No reason to hate the buffalo now?”

“Nope.”  Applejack replied, shaking her head.  “In fact, looks like everypony loves them.”  Glancing around, she let out a laugh.  “Well, all a them but the chief.”  Walking over, they saw the chief had set up a spot of his own, with bowls of mush steaming for sale.  Everypony shied away from it on sight, the bravest only coming by to sniff.

“I do not understand.”  The chief replied to the approaching ponies.  “None of the ponies are willing to try our mush.  It’s a delicacy!”

“I don’t think ponies are going to want to eat it like that.”  Dash said, pointing to the mush.  “Try to make it look nicer, maybe add some color.  Then ponies will eat it up faster than you can make it!”

“Thank you Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.”  The chief said.  “For everything.  If it weren’t for you, I have no doubt that we would be fighting still.”

“Think nothing of it.”  Dash said, blushing.  “We’re always willing to help out a friend.”  Thinking about it, Dash remembered something.  "Oh yhea, ever find out why that buffalo snapped?"

"Yes."  The chief said with a chuckle.  "Turns out that he simply had to go to the bathroom."

"Really?"  Applejack said, surprised.  "So you're saying that wha' would have been the final nail in the coffin was actually just some buffalo answering the call a nature?"

"Yes."  Thunderhooves said with a nod.  "It's actually pretty funny when you think about it.  Especially seeing how everything turned out."  Turning to Rainbow Dash, he bowed his head.  "Thank you again."

"I said it was no big deal."  Dash said, blushing harder.

“I have to repay you somehow… ah!”  Taking off his headdress, he plucked a feather from it and presented it to Rainbow.  “This is only given to those who have helped the buffalo in times of crisis.  I’d say you earned it.”

“Thanks.”  Dash said, handing the feather to Pinkie, who placed it in a side pocket of her saddlebags.  Turning to Applejack, she rubbed her hooves together.  “Well, it’s been a good few hours.  Is the balloon fixed up yet?”

Applejack placed a hoof behind her head, rubbing it.  “Sorry, Rainbow.  I’m afraid the damage to yer balloon was worse than we thought.  Looks like the entire bottom was dragged off by, uh, varmints, yhea, and the uh, the actual balloon has more rips and holes than swiss cheese."

"What cause that?"  Dash asked, perturbed.  "It was a simple crash!"

"No idea."  Applejack said, hanging her head.  "But It’s going to be another month before we can fix it up.”

Rainbow went stiff.  “A month?!”  She croaked out.  “I’m in a race around the world!  I don’t have a month!”

“Ah know, ah know.”  AJ replied.  “That’s why I got you two tickets for the train to Sunrise Harbor, leaving in a few hours and will get you there in two days.”

“Really?”  Dash asked, looking at her friend with awe.  As Applejack took the tickets from her hat, she hugged her.  “Thank you, Applejack.”

“It’s the least I can do, you guided the town through its roughest patch yet.”

“If you have an hour, I heard that some buffalo set up their own little dance in the center of town.  You’re free to go enjoy it if you wish.”

Pinkie perked up at the mention of dance, and turned to give Dash the biggest grin she could.  Dash, smiling, shrugged.  “Not much else we can do while we wait.”

Squealing, Pinkie ran off ahead to see how parties were done Buffalo style.  Dash just walked slowly behind her.  Looking up, she saw the clear blue sky, starting to show hints of sunset creeping in.  Well, one thing’s for sure.  Dash said to herself, starting to run after Pinkie.  This is one hoof of a way to start an adventure!

XXX

And it's done!  Finally!  Was originally going to split this monster up into two parts, but decided I would make each stop their own chapter from now on, just to make it flow better.  Unfortunately, that means I need a little more time between updates, but I'll try and keep them normal.

Also, think I should submit this to EqD?  Really want more readers so I can get more pointers, but not sure this is ready yet.

Remember to comment, please!