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       The World-Wide Adventures of Dash and Pinkie        
                         -by Thar-                         
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                         Lift-off!                         
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Lift-off!
It was a beautiful day in Ponyville.  The weather team had decided to work extra hard and gotten rid of every clout in the sky, and Celestia's sun was high in the sky.  A small breeze was cooling the town, making it the perfect day for work, a walk, or even simply to lie outside and enjoy the day.  Every pony in the small village was outside doing one of these things, wondering why the weather team didn't make more days like today.
Even Twilight, the purple pony known to stay inside most days reading, was doing her studying outside in the park, unable to resist the allure of such a beautiful day.  She was lying down comfortably on a bench, an open book before her.  Every now and then she would get up and take a quick walk around the park, stretching her legs and saying hello to all the other ponies she saw.
It was on one of these walks that she saw her friend Rainbow Dash.  The light blue pegesus was busy bouncing a ball on her head, deep in concentration.  Her red, yellow, and orange hair was in a slightly bigger mess than normal from all the sweating she was doing, trying to keep the ball in the air.  She was doing a great job, until she hit the rubber object at a funny angle, causing it to start to bounce slightly erratically.
Rainbow did everything that she could to stabilize it, not wanting to start over.  Eventually, though, she fell flat on her face, the ball bouncing once more on her head before rolling away.  Irritated, the pegesus started to go after the ball until she noticed Twilight looking at her.
"Hey Twilight.  What's up?"  The rainbow pony asked, her unkempt green, purple, and blue tail swaying slightly behind her.
"Why were you bouncing the ball again?"  The purple unicorn asked, getting right to the point.  "You are already in the Equestrian Book of World Records.  Remember, Pinkie threw you a party to celebrate?"
"Yhea, I remember."  Rainbow said, letting out a small shudder at the memory.  "I don't think I'll ever forget that party.  Where did she even MAKE a bouncing cake?  This time, I'm aiming for a WORLD record, one everyone everywhere can see!"  This got the winged pony excited enough to start flying around in circles, getting higher and higher until she ended it with a small flourishing twirl.
Twilight facehooved herself as Rainbow made her descent, unable to explain the flaw in the pony's logic.  "Rainbow, it was a fluke you got the ball bouncing record for Equestria, the world record is way out of your reach.  If you want to get into the world records, try something you know you are good at, like racing."  Twilight smiled at her friend and turned back to the bench.  "If you want, I can help you find something to try in the library.  Meet me there later, during lunch.  I'll prepare a sandwich and some tea."
Rainbow Dash thought the offer over for a moment, before deciding it was probably a good idea to listen to the smartest pony that she knew.  "Make it soda and I'm there."
"O.K., see you later, then."  With that, Twilight walked back to her bench, turning her head just in time to see the winged pony start to fly around the sky, attempting another one of her tricks.  A few ponies stopped what they were doing to watch the pegesus perform her stunts.  A few other pegasi in the crowd flew up to set up rings of clouds and make a small flight obstacle course.
Twilight played with the idea of watching her friend, but decided against it.  She instead opted to head for the library and look at some records Rainbow Dash could possibly break.  It may have been a silly task, one that the light blue pony would loose interest in quickly, but she had never let down a friend before, and had no intentions of starting now.
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Twilight was setting the table for a small lunch in her library home.  While it was open to the public, most people stopped coming in since she snagged one for an experiment a few weeks ago.  Twilight honestly thought it was silly to fear the building for one single loss of control.  Besides, the pony had come back alright, if her coat was permanently dyed a new color and she was unable to speak for a week.  Since then, everyone had simply asked her about a book on the street and came to pick it up before quickly exiting the building.
As soon as Twilight let the final plate out of her levitation field, the door was opened by Rainbow dash.  Twilight sometimes wondered how everything in her life seemed to work out just right.  It was almost the life of her and her friends was some kind of script.  Shaking her head at the notion, she approached Rainbow to invite her in.
"Hey Rainbow, glad you could make it."  Twilight said cheerily, inviting her friend to come further into the library with an outstretched hoof.  "You ready to find out what you are best at?"
Rainbow nodded her head eagerly, taking a seat at the wooden table with the plates on it.  "Yep, time to get into the world's history books!  I do have one rule, though."
Twilight was expecting this, knowing her friend incredibly well.  "Don't worry, I highlighted only the ones that I know you would find cool, awesome, and radical.  Non of the dull ones are in there."
"That's great, thanks for doing that."  Rainbow said with a grin, but lost it in the next moment, getting extremely serious.  "But the other rule is that I will break no record put in place by Lightning Bolt."
Twilight was not expecting this, thinking Rainbow would love a good speed record to break.  "Why not?  Speed is your best asset that can get you a world record!"
Rainbow just looked at her plate, unable to look Twilight in the eye as she explained.  "Bolt is the one that gave me the encouragement to be fast.  If it weren't for his records, I may have never even tried racing.  I am not about to let my inspiration be lost to time, least of all in my dust."
Twilight thought for a moment, and then levitated her list in front of her face.  To her dismay, nearly every single record was set by that one pegesus Rainbow wouldn't even try to beat.  As she crossed each one out, she noticed Rainbow's smile drop a little.  By the time that she finished crossing out all the records that this new rule made unbreakable, only a few remained.  Twilight looked back at her friend, deciding now was as good a time as any to serve lunch.
With her horn glowing, Twilight made the daisy sandwiches float out onto the plates.  As she walked over to the table, she let go of the sandwiches, and then sat down herself.  Looking across the table at her friend, Twilight explained the situation.  "While your rule is very noble, Dash, it isn't very practical."  With this said, she levitated the list in front of Rainbow Dash to add visuals to her speech.  "Nearly every record you have a chance of breaking was set by Bolt.  You either have to do a less-known record, or break your rule."
Rainbow just sighed and looked Twilight straight in the eye.  "I'm not going to have my inspiration forgotten.  I guess I'll have to do one of the odd ones."  Taking a closer look at the list, Rainbow was terrified at the choices left (who would even want to be remembered for the longest without bathing!?).  As she was about to rethink her rule, her eyes lit up upon one record that seemed perfect for her.
"What about this record, Twi?"  Rainbow asked, pointing a hoof at the record in question.  Twilight took a look at it, and then levitated a book over to her.  Rainbow quickly glimpsed the title Records In Depth as it floated over her head.
"World record for traveling around the world."  Twilight read aloud.  "This record was set by the first pony to go all around the world, doing so in a shorter time than anyone thought possible.  The most amazed were the Wonderbolt's, who were so impressed with the pony's ability to go all around the world, they made him an honorary member, and made it a rule that any pegesus that can do the same will become a full member as long as the record stands."
At the mention of her hero's, Rainbow Dash's interest went from mild interest to exited energy.  "So I can become a Wonderbolt by breaking this record?  Then what are we waiting for, what do I have to do?"
Twilight continued to read, almost as if she hadn't heard her friend's remark.  "The last person to beat it was a pegesus named Flyright, who managed to make the trip in 80 days."
Rainbow, still on a euphoria high after learning of a way to obtain her life-long dream, just started pacing, unable to keep still.  "Yhea yhea, broken by a lameo.  What do I have to do?"
Twilight heard her friend this time, and decided to listen to her plea, flipping over a few pages that talked about Flyright's time breaking the record and his inspiration to break the record (apparently had something to do with a bet), going straight to the part that explained the record for future breakers.
"The World Trip Record requires you to go to a number of places across the world, grabbing one thing that can unmistakably be from there.  Any object is permissible, as long as it can pass an authenticity test upon arrival at the finish line.  Any object found to be fraudulent and knowingly so placed it as proof of stop is grounds for immediate expulsion from the event."  Confused, Twilight flipped through the pages.  "Odd, there is nothing in here about where to go or how many stops to make.  You would think they would keep that constant for all people that want to break the record."
While this irked Twilight to no end, Rainbow had barely heard anything after the description of how to break the record.  She already was planning on what to pack, how many days of vacation she had on the weather team.  It took Twilight calling her name, banging a gong, and eventually dumping some cold water on her head to finally snap her back to reality.
"We need to focus, Rainbow."  Twilight told her friend, who was now shaking her mane and coat dry of the water used to bring her back to earth.  "We need to plan your route around the entire world!  Not to mention get reservations set up in all your stops, get all your tickets.  Oh, and you need travel guides!  I'll lend you a few of mine."  With that, Twilight's horn began to glow softly, dozens of books floating down from the shelves to the floor.  Rainbow was amazed at how many books could be dedicated to a single topic, wondering what one said that the others didn't.  Shaking her head, she noticed where this was going and took a now excited Twilight by the shoulders and holding her still for a few moments.
"Twilight, settle down!"  With this, Rainbow dash shook the unicorn a little bit, bringing her back to her senses.  "I know how you are always happy to plan things out, but this is going too far too fast."  As Rainbow continued to talk, she started to push her friend towards the table, lunch still prepared on it.  "Now, lets get some planning done over this nice lunch.  We all think better on full stomachs."
Embarrassed by her sudden outburst, Twilight slowly sat down to eat lunch.  "O.K. Rainbow, but we should at least plan your stops around the world.  That is, I assume you're going to do this?"
"Hmm, lets see."  Rainbow said, the sarcasm in her voice hard to miss, but not at all patronizing.  " This record not only has to do with speed, but also has a good chance of letting me join my hero's?  Why not."  With that, Rainbow took her spot back at the table ready for a planning session with the best pony she knew for the job.
__________
"So where are you going again?"  A pink pony with   curly pink hair asked, tilting her head to the side?  "It sounded like around the world, but how can you be around the world at the same time?"
Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked at each other, wondering how to explain it better.  Finally thinking she cracked it, Twilight tried again to explain what was happening.  "No, Pinkie.  Rainbow is trying to get around the world in 80 days, not be around the world."
This just seemed to confuse the pink pony further.  "But if the trip isn't for 80 days, why are we holding the good luck party now?  The good luck will wear off by then, and Rainbow won't be lucky."
Rainbow decided to try one last time to explain the idea to her friend.  "I am leaving tomorrow for Appleoosa.  From there, I plan to go around the world, one place at a time, until I have made my way back here in 80 days.  I'm not going to be in two places at once, just one at a time."
This seemed to finally register with the party pony, whose eyes lit up like a light bulb, finally able to grasp the idea.  "Oh, I get it now.  Best of luck with your trip, Dash."  Pinkie said, wandering off to continue hosting the party.
While the pair was unsure that the hyperactive mare had a clue, they decided that it didn't matter that much in the long run.  After being questioned by Pinkie Pie as to the place she was going, Rainbow and Twilight took a moment to look around at Pinkie's decoration.  It was the usual set-up for one of her parties.  The entire bottom room of Sugarcube Corner was don up with streamers and balloons, mostly pink with some blue and yellow thrown in.  A small table was set up to the side, holding an assortment of cupcakes, drinks, and other small snacks.  In a small corner of the room were a bunch of speakers, playing a happy tune that was almost impossible not to dance to.  It was obvious that some ponies were trying to disprove the myth that you had to dance to the music, but so far the one closest to proving the myth false was tapping his hoof on the floor, and looked about ready to burst out in an elaborate move.
Rainbow decided it was better to simply enjoy the party.  Deciding this, she went and mingled with the townspeople, knowing that she may not see them for a while.  As she was walking around, a pegesus touched down next to her.  The pegesus was a mare with a deep blue coat and red mane, with golden eyes that seemed to be unable to leave Rainbow at all.  Her cutie mark was that of a cloud obscuring the sun, proof enough to all that she was part of the weather team for Ponyville.
"Rainbow, ma'am, we need to talk again."  The pegesus stated, obviously not in the mood for idle conversation.
"Relax, Sunshine.  I'm sure you can handle the weather for a month or two while I'm gone.  Just keep the clouds clear and make it rain on time."  Rainbow was obviously trying to diffuse some of the stress she was feeling from the mare.  She knew it was to be expected, of course.  She had been the leader of the weather patrol for Ponyville for years.  It was by no fluke that she was the leader for so long; Rainbow knew more about the weather than anyone.
Sunshine, however, was not content with that.  "I was actually making sure I had the weather schedule right.  Something about it seems a bit odd."
Rainbow just put a hoof up before she could go much further.  "Listen, pal.  I went over that schedule with Applejack, the mayor, and even Fluttershy to make sure it wouldn't disrupt anything anywhere.  You follow my schedule to the letter, and everything will work out just fine."
Before Sunshine could say anything else, Rainbow walked into the crowd over to the yellow pegesus by the snack table, sipping punch and looking around.  She had a pink mane that matched the butterfly wings on her cutie mark.  As her eyes fell upon Rainbow Dash, she let a small smile find its way to her face and walked over.
"Hi, Rainbow."  The pegesus said sweetly.  "Thanks again for trusting me with your house.  Don't worry, it will be cleaner than it's ever been by the time you get back."
"That's ok, Fluttershy."  Rainbow said, clearly not against the idea of her home getting cleaned.  "I mainly want you to look after my plants and Tank.  You don't have to clean my house.  Thanks again for doing it, by the way."
"Oh, no trouble at all."  Fluttershy said, her small smile growing at the thanks she had received.  She looked like she wanted to say more, but another mare, clearly caught up in the song, took Fluttershy by the hooves and dragged her to the crowd of ponies dancing to a DJ P0n3 song that just came on.  Rainbow was sorry for the pegesus, knowing that she disliked dancing with anyone she didn't know that well.
After that, the party went on for a little longer.  Everyone agreed that it was fun as they walked out the door, walking tiredly back to their homes to rest for the next day.  As Rainbow was leaving, however, a voice called out to her.
"Hey Rainbow, can you help me clean up?"  Pinkie called, a pair of brooms leaning against both sides.
Rainbow would normally have declined, feeling that cleaning was way too boring.  Looking at the party pony, however, she felt that there was more to it than a simple request for aid.  Pinkie looked troubled by something, and clearly wanted to talk it over with somepony.
"Sure thing, Pinkie."  Rainbow said, taking a brook in her hooves.  At first it was awkward, Rainbow Dash unsure whether the broom was to be held in her mouth or her hooves.  After dropping it a few times, one of which drops hit pinkies head hard enough to cause a bump to slowly grow, Rainbow finally got the hang of it.
As she looked around, however, she saw that it was a pointless effort.  In the time that it took the rainbow pegesus to figure out how to work the broom, Pinkie had apparently managed to clean everything to a shine, having two heaving trash bags by the front door.  Rainbow finished in time to see Pinkie place the last bit of sparkle on the floor.  Looking around, Pinkie blushed.  "Sorry Dashie, guess I worked a bit fast.  There was something I wanted to ask you, though."
Rainbow had an idea what it was, and braced herself to hurt the pink pony's heart.  "Sorry Pinkie, but I'm afraid I don't share the same feelings for you."
This caused Pinkie to look up, confused.  "What in Equestria are you talking about, Rainbow?  Are you feeling ok?"  The pink mare suddenly became worried.  "Please don't tell me you caught party fever, and on the night before your trip, too.  I knew I shouldn't have let that pony in, he was showing all the symptoms!"
Rainbow Dash cut her off quickly before things got too out of hoof.  "Sorry, guess my mind's elsewhere."  Rainbow mentally berated herself for thinking of that, when there was no proof.  An awkward pause took residence in the room, only being kicked out by Rainbow finally asking "so why did you want to talk to me?"
Pinkie looked up and into Dash's eyes, showing how serious she was trying to be at that moment.  Taking a deep breath, Pinkie finally got it all out.  "I was wondering if I could join you on your trip."
Rainbow had no clue how to respond to that.  She had no idea what she was expecting, but this was definitely not it.  "Uh, I don't know Pinkie.  I mean, why do you even want to in the first place?"
Pinkie seemed to become a bit less lively at the question, making Rainbow feel it was a matter of great importance.  "It's something I overheard one of the ponies say at the party.  They said that my parties were all the same."  This seemed to break the gates for Pinkie, as se started to lay everything down for her friend.  "I mean, sure the layout is the same, but everypony still has fun.  That's the important thing, that everypony has a good time.  My party set-up is made to maximize fun!  You don't fix something that works, you may end up breaking it!"
Rainbow, while always happy to help a friend, was also known to have a small attention span and a harder time empathizing with others.  "I understand what you mean, but how will coming with me around the world help?"
Pinkie got a bit more cheerful at this; clearly happy her friend hadn't simply said no right off the bat.  "If I travel with you, I can see other places, get new ideas.  I guess I can stay here and think of things, but that wouldn't be me.  I do best with inspiration, and what's more inspirational than going around the world?"
Rainbow wasn't sure what to do.  "I'm grateful you would think of joining me Pinkie, but this is essentially a race, and you would mostly slow me down."
"I've proven to be just as fast as you any day of the week."
"Twilight already helped me with the budget, I'm not about to mess it up by doubling room and tripling food allowances."
"I'll pay entirely my way."  Rainbow looked about ready to make another point, but was stopped by Pinkie putting up a hoof in protest.  "Look, we can do one of two things.  We can either knock out the list of reasons and be here all night, making you tired and groggy for the start of your adventure, or we can agree I'm coming and enjoy a tasty slice of apple pie."
Rainbow's argument was forgotten as she weighed the choices given to her.  On one hand, she had no intention of letting Pinkie tag along.  On the other…
"With ice cream?"
Pinkie smiled, knowing that the fight had been won by looking at Dash's eyes alone.  "And whipped cream."
__________
Ponyville had been as busy as it was the day Rainbow was set to leave for her worldwide trip once before, and that was when the Summer Sun Celebration was held there.  The most prevalent ponies were by far the reporter ponies, or reporties as they called themselves.  A small circle of them was around Rainbow and Pinkie, the pink pony in her balloon.  Rainbow, already able to fly by her self, decided that it would be better to do just that.  Plus, it left plenty of room for all the supplies that the pair was taking with them.
At least it would if there was anything to take.  So far the only thing the two could think of to take was bits, and those fit better in the saddlebags that pinkie wore on her back.  The only other things in there were some snacks, a few first-aid pieces, and some things Pinkie felt would keep her occupied during the dull parts of the trip.
The mayor got onto a podium that was set up nearby, wanting to give the two residents a quick sendoff speech.  "Today we say goodbye, as our friends Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie set out to-"
"Yhea yhea, great speech.  Award-worthy, for sure."  A pony interrupted, walking up to the podium.  Once the offending pony got up there, she nudged the mare away, taking up the stand herself.  She was wearing an official-looking black suit, with sunglasses that hid her eyes.  Her mane was green as grass, with a little of her blue coat peaking out from her suit.  "I represent the World Record Committee, and basically here to make sure the contestant knows the rules.  First, you must meet up with a representative in each place you touch down."
Rainbow looked up at the podium, eyes suddenly wide.  "Wait, the book said that I needed to get some objects, not meet stuck-up ponies!"  This was more an inconvenience than an issue, but Rainbow still didn't like it.
The dressed-up mare sighed, obviously not happy with having to waste time explaining what he saw as simple.  "You have to do that too.  The rep stipulation was added after somepony tried to steal everything he needed for proof.  Led to getting Celestia herself into a lot of trouble, and us more so!"  Taking a calming breath, the representative looked back at Rainbow through the glasses.  "The representatives will see you within 24 hours of you arriving in your destination.  I assume you already told us of your route?"
This was another thing Rainbow Dash wasn't expecting.  "um, uh…"
The rep facehooved at how unready this pegesus was for breaking a record.  "Let me guess, you're one of those guys that figured you would simply try to break a world record and decided this was the most fun?"
Rainbow smiled a little, feeling a small amount of pride.  "This one just seems the coolest.  Going all over the world, what's better than that?"
The rep thought for a second.  "Lets see, there's skydiving, wrestling, jousting against the dragons with giant salami on-" The rep shook her head, cheeks turning a slight shade of crimson.  Coughing, she continued.  "Anyway, everyone here already came by, so here's what we'll do.  Tell me your stops, and I'll relay them to all the reps there.  I can only pray that you have a guide at all?"
This question made Rainbow a bit angry, wondering what made this jerk think she was that unprepared.  "Of course I do!  I may have missed some red tape, but I never would have done this without planning a route."  Suddenly feeling an icy chill on her neck, Rainbow turned around to see Twilight standing next to Fluttershy, glaring at Rainbow with a look that could have frozen the sun.  Turning back to the rep, she rubbed the back of her head.  "Although I may have had help in that department."
"O.K. then, just tell me your stops then, and you can go."  The rep took out a notepad and placed it on the podium.  He next pulled out a pencil, only to find the tip had broken.  "Of all the lousy…" Coughing, the mare looked out at the group of ponies.  "Anyone here have a pencil I can use for a bit?"
All the ponies looked around, wondering what to do.  Most shuffled in place nervously, asking themselves how they could have pencils without pockets, or even clothes for that matter.  One pony, with a light brown coat and darker brown hair, took out a strange, cylindrical object from seemingly nowhere.  About to offer it to the rep, it was then that he noticed that, while his tool could do many things, leaving a mark on paper was not one of them.  Putting the tool back where he found it, he began to mutter to himself about upgrading it with a pencil attachment.
Just as somepony was about to leave and get one, Pinkie decided to help.  "I think there's one in my bag somewhere…" With that, the pink pony took her saddlebags off and hopped out of the balloon.  Looking around, she turned her bags upside down.
As soon as the bag was flipped, everything started to come out.  Rope, blocks, books, and a mountain of other random things three ponies high was made in a matter of seconds.  On top of this hill of stuff sat Pinkie Pie, who looked down at the awestruck ponies.  "Just give me a moment, please."  With that, the energetic pony began to dig into the pile, hunting for the tiny pencil.
The rep, obviously wanting to just get this tiring ordeal over with by now, threw her hooves into the air.  "Forget it!  Who helped you?  Surely they have a copy somewhere!?"
Twilight stepped forward nervously, careful not to incite the mare's growing rage.  "That would be me, ma'am.  I'll send you a letter as soon as I can."
"Good!"  The rep said, her anger easily apparent.  "In that case, you may take off when the clock strikes noon!"  The rep stormed away, not even staying to see the take-off.  The last thing any pony heard was "All the ponies…" the rest was lost to the wind, except for a clearly shouted "CRAZY!"
Looking at the clock tower, Rainbow saw that she still had about five minutes.  While she was tempted to go now, her good-sportsmanship spirit told her to wait.  Instead, the light blue pony opted to talk with Twilight.  Walking over to her, she noticed the strange brown pony was busy collecting rocks and pointing his strange device at them.  Deciding she didn't have time, Rainbow just decided to talk with Twilight.
"Hey Twi, I have a question."  Rainbow said, looking around.  "Where is everypony else?  I thought for sure they would see me off."  Twilight looked at her with a tilted head and a look showing pure confusion.
"We talked about this earlier, remember?  They all had things to do elsewhere.  Really, Rainbow, you would think you have only been listening for a few minutes."
Rainbow had more that she wanted to ask of Twilight, but got cut off by a bell.  Head going up, she looked at the tower to make sure Ringer hadn't made a mistake again.  Sure enough, it was indeed noon, meaning the race had begun.  Flying into the air, she hovered above the assembly of ponies, hoping to give out a final speech.
Unfortunately, Rainbow was too impatient to wait for the bells to stop, so all the ponies heard was "Bye, Every- DONG!- I will be back- DONG!!- Sunshine, remember to- DONG!- Otherwise the town will- DONG!- See you all in a few weeks!"  With that, she darted off, Pinkie's balloon in tow, leaving a nervous Sunshine calling out, asking what it was she wasn't supposed to forget.
__________
The din of a roaring crowd could be heard just outside the locker room occupied by six pegesi, all getting out of their blue jumpsuits.  The first one out, a mare with a yellow coat and orange hair, let out a sigh of relief.  "These costumes don't breathe at all.  Think we should get new ones, Soarin?"
The addressed pegesus just got out of his suit, his grey coat and black mane matted with sweat.  "Yhea, but the place that made these worked so hard on them.  It would be a shame to throw them out."  This got a raised eyebrow from the other mare.  Sheepishly, Soarin added "plus it would be a pain to design new outfits.  You understand, right Spitfire?"
Before the yellow pegesus could respond, a seventh Wonderbolt walked into the room.  She took her suit off quickly, revealing the white coat and red hair.  Looking around, she spotted Soarin and stepped up to him.
"You're getting sloppy, Soarin."  The strange mare said, looking down at the stallion.  "You need to step your game up.  Stop eating so many pies and start training more!"  With that, the mare walked over to her locker.
Annoyed with the mare, Spitfire walked up and began a lecture.  "Look here, Flyright.  You are not the leader of this group, I am.  I say that Soarin did fantastic this performance, like every single one he does.  You had better work on your attitude, or you will find yourself without a position!"
Flyright, obviously not caring about what the "leader" had to say, walked away to shower off.  Turning on the shower, she could faintly hear the conversation between the two friends.
"You know, laying off the pie may not be a bad idea."  Spitfire said with a giggle.  "You're starting to make it show."
Soarin, however, was not amused, still hurt by Flyright's words.  "Why do we keep her around again?"  Soarin asked, not for the first time?  It was well known why she was kept around, but Flyright still strained to hear, always happy to hear her accomplishment said aloud.
"She broke that darn record."  Spitfire said, hatred heavy in her voice.  "The way the rule is written, she's a member as long as her name is the one in that book."
Flyright took a moment to relish that.  While she knew that she had broken the record (she still had all her objects on a wall back home.), it was still nice to hear somepony say it.  Sure, she had cut a few corners, but that didn't make the record any less official, just harder for the following pony.
Flyright was about to tune out her co-workers, when Spitfire said something that caught her interest.  "Don't worry, though.  I heard that Rainbow Dash is trying to break the record.  Judging by what I've seen of that girl, she'll be flying with us pretty soon."
While this would frighten most ponies in Flyrights position, the pegesus was fairly calm.  She knew that the record was harder than it looked.  Heck, she had been forced to steal the last object she needed.  She bet that this… Plainbrow, she called her?  Whatever her name, the white-coated pegesus wasn't worried.  Turning the shower off, she grabbed a towel and dried herself off quickly.
"OK, guys.  Lets all get ready for the next show.  I expect to see you all in the exercise room with me in an hour."  With that, she left the locker room, a seething Spitfire helping a now-depressed Soarin through the doors, if not to help then to keep away from that jerk.
Left without anything else to do, the other Wonderbolts just shrugged and began to take off their own suits.  One, with a body a blue so light it could be easily called white at first glance and a make to match, looked to one of his fellow Wonderbolts, a black-coated mare with navy blue curls in her mane.
"Why are we never talked to, High Winds?"  The blue pegesus asked.  "They only seem to care about Spitfire and Soarin.  We live interesting lives, don't we?"
High Winds just looked at her friend, thinking about it for a second.  "No idea, Ice Winds.  Maybe we don't stand out?"
This made Ice Winds look at her friend with shock.  "We are so much more than part of the background!  At least I know I am.  You don't really stand out that much, to be honest."
High Winds simply chuckled.  "Really, I don't stand out?  I get fillies and colts begging for autographs after every show!  You only get them when a fan wants them from all of us."
"I get way more autograph requests than you, feather-brain.  I hear that some skip you, even those that want them all!  You're that much of background!"  Ice Winds slammed her locker shut, starting to get into the argument.
"Oh yhea?"  High Winds retorted, slamming her own locker.  "I hear Spitfire asks some of the foals to go ask for your autograph after the show, just so you don't feel left out.  Face it, I'm far more popular with the crowd than you can ever be."
"Wanna bet?"  Ice Winds asked, her eyes now pinpricks.
High Winds tilted his head to one side, confused.  "Bet on what?"
Ice Winds face quickly went from anger to smugness.  "I propose we bet to see who can get the most autograph requests between now and the last show of the season.  That's three more, in case you fell asleep during your boring moves."  High Winds shot a glare at Ice Winds, but was ignored.  "Winner will get the losers vacation days for the next season."
A gasp escaped High Winds mouth.  "No way, Ice.  I use every one of those days to visit family.  It isn't worth it just to show you something everyone else knows already"  With this, High Winds began to walk away to the exit.
"What's wrong, High?"  Ice said, her smug look deepening with a devilish smile.  "Chicken?"
This stopped High Winds in his tracks.  Walking back, she stared Ice Winds straight in the eye.  "Bet accepted.  Let's see who calls who chicken when I'm laying on a beach near Ram and you are stuck here!"
With that, the two Wonderbolt's nopony remembered made it their mission to become popular.
XXXXXXXX
Hey, Thar here.  hope you enjoyed the story!  If you are reading this, then this is a call for help.  I have the majority of the story written out in my journal, but I like some ideas more than others.  If you can figure out a great local to put in here, let me know!  I can probably swing it in somehow.  Also, comment or message me or something if you find problems in the story.  I only glance over it before submitting, so I know it isn't perfect.

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                2-1: Where the buffalo roam                
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2-1: Where the buffalo roam
Day 1
Dash and Pinkie sailed over the lush green grass below them, the wind making it seem as if even nature was wishing them luck.  Their balloon was making its way through the air at a decent rate, though Dash wouldn’t complain at all if it went a bit faster.  She was currently outside flying around.  She loved the freedom that flying gave, even from such things as gravity.  When flying around, nothing could stop her.  She was her own mare.
Pinkie, on the other hand, was admiring the landscape passing around them.  She marveled at how different it all seemed from inside a hot-air balloon.   In fact, it all looked a little too different.  Stepping back from the ledge of the basket, she took one last look, before calling out “Hey Rainbow Dash, are you sure this is the right direction?  This landscape isn’t ringing any bells, and I just had them polished.”
Pulling closer to the balloon, Dash looked around for a moment, unsure herself.  Still, she wasn't about to admit she couldn't do something, so she responded "Of course Pinkie.  We should reach the eastern coast of Equestria by nightfall at this pace."  Looking at the sun, she felt a final tinge of nervousness.  "Still, I guess we can look at the map again.  It won't hurt at least.  Can you pull it out?"
"No problem!  Just give me a second…" With that, Pinkie upended her bag to get the map out.  This caused the avalanche to come out again, a huge pile of stuff filling the basket of the balloon in seconds.  With this extra weight, the balloon began to sink into the sand below at a frightening pace.
Pinkie noticed this, and began to worry.  "Rainbow, help!"  Pinkie yelled, frantically getting everything back into the bag.  It was obvious, though, that there was simply too much stuff to put back into the bags in order to hope for it to be done in time.
Rainbow turned, seeing the balloon falling dangerously fast.  Rainbow turned around, speeding towards the balloon.  The balloon was only a few feet from the ground now, seconds away from becoming a wreck of wicker basket, pink pony, and… whatever balloons are made of.  Rainbow would never be able to forgive herself if something happened to a friend that she cared about.
Rainbow got to the balloon and started to try and lift Pinkie up.  Pinkie wasn't cooperating, however.  The party pony was still trying to get everything back into her bags, fending off Rainbows attempts to rescue her friend.
"Pinkie, we have to bail!  This balloon is gonna crash!"  Rainbow said, a hint of fear in her voice.  At this speed, they would have no fear of dying, but serious injury was still likely if they didn't move now!
Pinkie ignored Rainbow, still getting all she could into her bags.  "Not until I find it!"  Pinkie started to simply shift through all the stuff, obviously noticing that speed was starting to become important.
Dash got to the balloons basket with a few minutes to spare.  Silently thanking Celestia for her good luck, she got behind Pinkie and began to lift her up.  Pinkie, however, was not cooperating, deciding instead to keep looking through the pile of stuff that was weighing down the balloon.
"Pinkie, we have to bail!  This balloon's going down way too fast!"  Rainbow risked looking down, and was immediately made even more alarmed.  She had thought that she had at least five minutes to get pinkie out, maybe grab some of the more essential things like water, food, and most importantly, her teddy bear.  Now it looked like they would be lucky to have a minute at best!
Starting to panic, Dash grabbed Pinkie from her middle.  It was less comfortable, but most ponies preferred discomfort to pain.  Unconsciousness was still a topic for debate, but discomfort was still preferred to hurting.  Pinkie felt this, and immediately looked for something to anchor herself with.  Reaching out with her front hooves, she managed to hug an anvil.
Dash tried to pull Pinkie away from certain pain, but it was like trying to move a rooted tree: you can exert all the force you want, but it won't budge an inch.  Seeing the futility, Dash looked down to see that the balloon was only a few feet from crashing!  She considered abandoning the balloon, going to get help.  But Dash wasn't the type of pony to abandon anypony, least of all her friends.  Thinking fast, she grabbed the edge of the basket, straining to keep the balloon airborne for a little longer.  If she was lucky, they could get closer to a town.
Dash's plan seemed to be working to some degree.  The balloon wasn't crashing yet, at any rate.   The pull was tremendous however, and it was painfully obvious that this would only work for a little while.  However, Dash realized that there was no other option now.  If she let go, the balloon would only be in the air for a second or two.  That may have been enough time to grab Pinkie and run, but she would have to cooperate.
Before Rainbow could think of another idea, she felt something she dreaded.  Dragging.  The basket had hit the ground, and was starting to flip from the momentum.  Dash immediately let go of the basket and flew in to grab Pinkie before she was crushed by the mountain of things.  A quick search helped him see a pink hoof sticking out of the pile, limp and unmoving.  Horrified at what may have happened, Dash quickly went about moving the junk, trying to free her friend.
Fate had another idea, however, as Dash must have moved something just the right way, because the pile slowly started to shift over him, like a pile of sludge.  Dash didn't even have time to react, instead quickly becoming covered in junk, leaving only her upper body free.
"This is just perfect!"  Dash said to no pony in particular.  She tried feebly to shift the junk off of her, but fate was still playing pranks on her.  A bucket at the top of the pile chose that moment to fall from its peak of the small mountain.  It came down quickly, carrying more than enough force to cause pain, just enough to knock out the blue pony below.  Only the sands and winds of the desert heard the last words Dash said before loosing consciousness.
"Why are the stars rainbow-colored?  They are so pretty and shiny."
XXX
Feeling was the first thing that came back to Rainbow Dash.  She was laying down on something.  A cloud?  No, it wasn't that soft and yielding.  It was still comfortable, though.  Quite a nice substitute if a cloud wasn't around.
Next sound came back.  Some ponies were saying things indistinguishably, but Dash didn't really care.  He was more interested in the murmuring he overheard nearby.  One of them sounded extremely familiar, one that she felt she should know, but wanted to be sure.  The other one also sounded familiar, but Dash was having a terrible time putting a name to the voice.
Sight helped make sure she was right in her hearing.  An orange pony with a blonde mane in a ponytail was at the foot of the bed, sporting three apples as a cutie mark and a brown Stetson on her head.  The other pony at the end of the bed was yellow with a mane that reminded Rainbow Dash of fire, with the way the yellow and orange mixed.  He had a Stetson that was similar to the other pony's, except that it was a darker brown, and was missing the gap in the front.  The only other differences that Dash could make out at the moment were the single red apple on his flank and his vest.
At that moment, the two ponies noticed that Dash was awake.  The orange one came over and smiled.  "Nice of you to wake up, Rainbow."
"Applejack?"  Rainbow responded, confused.  "Where are-."  At that moment, a part of feeling finally found the right place to rest: pain.  Rainbow suddenly felt a throbbing pain on her head, lifting a hoof up to calm it.  It felt like she had run into a mountain.  Again.
AJ simply let out a little chuckle, quieted quickly by the look shot at her by Dash.  Clearing her throat, she looked right at Dash.  "Settle down, Sally."  This earned another look from Dash.  She HATED that name, it was so lame and uncool!  "You're currently in Appleloosa hospital.  We found you and Pinkie under a pile of-"
Dash burst out of the bed, suddenly going all cylinders.  "Pinkie!  Where is she, is she OK?"  After her quick outburst, her head reminded her that it was not happy.  "Ow."  Rubbing her head, she laid back down.
Applejack had to let out a giggle at her friends brashness.  It was something she admired, really.  "Don't you worry none, partner.  Pinkie Pie's in the next room, woke up about an hour ago.  Seemed a mite insistent to go through the junk heap, if you ask me."
At the mention of time, Rainbow remembered the entire point of leaving Ponyville in the first place.  "How long have we been out?"
AJ thought for a second, unsure how to answer.  "You were out here for about three hours, but I have no idea how long you were in the desert.  Couldn't have been that long, though.  I mean, you warn’t dehydrated or anything."
The other pony took this opportunity to talk.  "Hey there.  Welcome to AAAA-" Applejack cleared her throat loudly, cutting off the other pony, who blushed fiercely.  "I mean, welcome to Appleloosa.  You sure do look familiar.  You were here before, right?"
Rainbow started to nod her head, but remembered the bump.  "Yhea, I was here during the buffalo incident.  You're… Brandy, right?"
“Close, RD.”  Applejack said with a snicker.  “Especially with how he treats it.”  This remark broke the floodgates for the farm-pony, who began to roll all over the hospital floor laughing.  Dash just watched, not sure what was so funny.
The pony in question simply blushed, before clearing his throat and coughing.  "No, Braeburn.  Can't really blame you, though.  We were never properly introduced, I guess.  Shame on me!"
"That's O.K, nice to meet you, Braeburn."  Rainbow Dash recalled his last visit here almost a month ago.  “I did spend a majority of the time with the buffalo instead of you guys.”
That reminded her.  "So how are things with the buffalo, anyhow?  They still are allowing you to use their land in exchange for pie, I assume?"
AJ and Braeburn shared an uneasy look that Rainbow almost missed.  "Who-e, will you look at the time.”  Applejack commented, looking at the clock on the wall.  Taking Braeburn by the shoulder, she led him, a bit forcefully, towards the door.  “We have to get going, Rainbow.  It’s about time to, uh, do that… thing!  Yhea, can’t be late for that!”  About to close the door behind her, she stuck her head in.  “Doc said you should be able to move around.  We'll let Pinkie know that you're awake, I bet she'll wanna talk to ya."  AJ said as she walked through the door.
Looking through the door, Rainbow Dash wondered what just happened.  It was obvious that Applejack was avoiding the question, but why?  Either way, Rainbow now had a little time to herself, after all the craziness, to think.  I wonder why Pinkie wouldn't bail the balloon.  It was obviously going down, and she couldn't have thought that she could stuff that mountain back into the bag in time.  Rainbow's thoughts were derailed for a moment by the simply thought: how DOES she get all that stuff in there, anyway?  And how does she carry it all?
Shaking her head, Dash got her thoughts back into order.  Where was I?  Oh yhea, Pinkie.  Guess she was just being Pinkie Pie.  Dash was happy with that answer.  It was simple, absolute, and made her throbbing head hurt just a bit less.  Which reminded her: ow.  So things with the buffalo may not be so great now.  Wonder what happened… I'll go ask Little Strongheart and Chief Thunderhooves later.
Before she could think of much else, she was interrupted by Pinkie jumping into the room.  She gasped when she saw Rainbow.
"You're OK!"  Pinkie ran to Dash, giving her the biggest hug in existence.  Rainbow accepted it happily, momentarily forgetting the issues in her head.  "So, how do you feel?"
"Head feels like a polka band is dancing in my head, but otherwise fine."  Dash's tone then took a turn for the serious.  "What the hay happened back in the balloon?  We are lucky to have injuries as small as these!"
Pinkie shied away from the question, almost making Dash regret asking it.  Taking a deep breath, Pinkie started to explain.  "I was looking for my picture of gummy.  It's the only thing from home I have with me.  I doubt I could continue on this trip without it."
Dash didn't doubt that answer for a moment.  She had her teddy bear from home, after all.  It was always nice to have something from home whenever you left.  She did feel, however, that there was more to it than that.  Before she could call her out on it, however, there was a commotion outside the room that completely stole their attention.
“Come on, Ditzy!”  A tan pony with an hourglass cutie mark called out to a grey mare.  Both looked extremely familiar, though neither could quite put their hoof on who the ponies were.  “The buffalo are not meant to break away from pony kind for another 100 years, when a buffalo chief is served soup instead of salad at a peace talk.  Something caused a detour from the flow of time, and I plan to find out what!”
With that, the duo ran out of the hospital, leaving Pinkie and Dash looking outside the door, unsure what to say.
"So… Is it true that things with the buffalo aren't going so well?"  Dash finally broke the silence.  "I thought we broke the tensions last time."
"Yhea, things aren't all that sharing and caring right now."  Pinkie replied.  "It has something to do with the buffalo not feeling welcomed in town, mostly by the shops."  Looking Dash over, she gave a weak smile.  "Well, I say we’ve been in here long enough.  Ready to go outside?"
Dash was in slight pain; her bump was not letting her forget that yet.  But her curiosity as to what was happening with the buffalo was starting to get the better of her, as was her restlessness.  She was eager to get moving around, just to get out of this bed!
"Sure, lets go."  As she spoke, Dash threw the covers off of her and leapt into the air, beginning to fly for the exit.  As she approached, she was slightly surprised to see Pinkie at the door already, as she hadn't seen her pass her at any point.  "Wait, but- I- how!?"
Pinkie let out one of her signature giggles.  "I walked, of course!  Weeeell, I technically bounced, but they are pretty much the same if you stop to think about it.  They both-"
"Never mind."  Dash let loose an exasperated sigh.  The last thing she wanted right now was one of Pinkies stupid rants.  That caused her head to hurt even when it didn’t hurt already!  Opening the door, they both set eyes onto Appleloosa for the first time in a month.
Not much had changed over a month.  The town still held that western feel that had entranced them both when they first came into the town.  Nearly every building was made up of wood paneling in earthy dark colors, save the brick bell tower.  That was the only thing that seemed different from their first visit, the repaired one having a more decorative rim, with a few turquoises surrounding the clocks face.
The clock suddenly let out three loud chimes, letting the town know that the entire that it was now three in the afternoon.  As the last of the noise dissipated from the air, two small doors opened at the edges of the clocks main face.  From these two doors came two small figurines.  One was of an earth pony, tan with a darker brown mane.  It was hard to tell from this distance, but it almost looked like it had a black mustache.
The other figurine was much easier to make out.  It was of a large buffalo, the mud-brown hair deeply defined, his black hooves shining in the afternoon sun.  The buffalo also wore a headdress of white feathers with tan tips, held in place with a blue band.
The figures met at the center of the clock, bowing to each other.  They then began to spin around each other for a few seconds, before bowing out and going back into their respective doors, which promptly closed.
"Beautiful, ain't it?"  Applejack walked up from behind the two ponies, eyes riveted on the clock.  "It was rebuilt the day after the fight, by both pony and buffalo workers.  It was meant to be a symbol of peace between the two o' us.  There was a big day of celebration once it was done."
Rainbow looked at the clock.  This was a testament to how things were meant to be, a structure to peace.  A peace meant to last many years, maybe forever.  "Why did Chief Thunderhooves change his mind so suddenly?  He's the one that suggested the idea in the first place!"
"Don't know myself Rainbow.  The chief got powerful angry when we pony folk weren't able to let them into our stores."  Applejack then glared angrily at Dash and Pinkie.  "It ain't our fault the buffalo can't fit, we never planned for them to be interested in coming to town."  Applejack then grabbed Dash by the shoulders and started shaking.  "How is this our fault?  Why can't we seem to get along no matter what!?"
Applejack then relented in her shaking, letting Dash recover.  As soon as her eyes stopped spinning, she took Applejacks hooves and put them back on the ground, not saying a word.  She understood the importance of letting out your frustrations.
Stepping back, Applejack then lowered her head and shut her eyes.  Rainbow was almost positive that it was a trick of the lights, but it almost looked like a tear was trickling down her cheek.  "Could you two do something for me?"
Rainbow and Pinkie nodded in unison.  Pinkie's head was more a blur than any declinable action.  "Sure thing Applejack.  We will do any deed.  Nothings to hard, tricky, difficult, or even intricate."  Pinkie leaned in to hear the details while the other two ponies gave her a dubious look.
"Uh, Pinkie?"  Dash said slowly, making sure that each word got through.  "All four of those words mean the same thing."
Pinkie just gave a light laugh at Dash's remark.  "Silly Dashie, they all mean something slightly different.  Hard indicates difficulty, but intricate implies finesse is involved."
"Yhea, but they all carry the general idea that it will not be easy!"
Dash rubbed her head.  Dealing with Pinkies train of thought was impossible normally, and her head was not helping with the dull thumping.  "So?  Ants and beetles are both bugs, but they don't mean the same thing"
"Yhea, but-"
"I was going to ask if you could talk to the buffalo."  Applejack interrupted the argument before it got out of hoof.  Besides, she was also more than a smidge lost as well.  Not to mention it completely totaled the mood better than anything Dash could accomplish alone.
"Why us, Applejack?"  Rainbow looked at Pinkie, then back to herself.  "We aren't exactly the best representatives of ponies…"
"But you know them, Rainbow.  They'll be a might more friendly with you than with some strange pony they never met."  Applejack looked down at the dirt, making it only possible to see a hat and a small bit of orange hoof from where Rainbow and Pinkie were standing.  "Ya'll both know I would never ask this a you if I weren't desperate."
"Why did you even ask that, Applejack?"  This remark caused Applejack to look up, worried until she saw Dash's playful smile.  "We had planned to go there even before we knew something was wrong, right Pinkie?"
"Yhea, we were gonna say hello to Little Strongheart.  We hadn't seen her in ages, it would be totally fun to say hello!"  Pinkie's eyes brightened as she remembered another reason to visit her friend.  "Besides, I never got the recipe for that mush!"
Rainbow Dash made a quick disgusted look at the mere mention of the slop.  "Pinkie, you have to be kidding, right?  That mess looked more like barf than it did food!"
Pinkie threw Dash a look of pure innocence, one that can only be done by a pony that was telling the absolute truth.  "You should really learn to not judge by looks, Dashie.  That mush was magnificently mouthwateringly tasty."
"Yhea, I'm sill gonna have to pass on that… stuff."  Turning to Applejack, she gave her the most reassuring smile she could after the mention of that slop the buffalo ate.  "Don't worry, AJ.  We'll talk to the buffalo and get them to come to peace.  Thunderhooves is a reasonable guy, He probably feels the same way about this."
Applejack just smiled.  She should have known better than to think she had to ask her friends to help.  They always did it out of the kindness of their heart.  That was the greatest thing about friendship: it gave you people willing to shoulder a portion of your burdens, no matter the weight or importance.
"In that case, I'll go and get you some bags.  It's only about two hours trot from town, but the wilderness is as unforgiving as a rattlesnake.  You would probably die within a week if ya didn't know where ya were headed."  With that, Applejack left to prepare the bags for the pairs treck into buffalo territory.

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                   2-2 Living in Harmony                   
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2-2 Living in Harmony
“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!