It was a sunny day in Appleloosa. Everypony carried their daily routines. However, one pony didn’t have much to do that day. Her name was Wildwood Flower. She wore a dark gray cowboy hat, with Turquoise blue eyes, a grayish lilac mane and tail, and a pale orange coat.
Wildwood Flower sat on the stairs in front of a bar with her hat over part of her face. She only had two days till the next Equestria Rodeo which didn’t really matter much to her. All she really had to do was sweep and help clean after the event. But it made her enough to get by traveling about Equestria.
Her guitar was always by her side. If anything, it kept her at ease even in the most difficult times. As she looked at it, she remembered all the moments where just by playing that guitar it brought her through some great troubles. But this time was different, for some reason she didn’t want to play the guitar. She didn’t really feel depressed enough to play it, but she didn’t feel all that happy either to stroll about the small town of Appleloosa.
It was midday in Appleloosa and Wildwood Flower was just sitting on the stairs minding her on business as other mares and stallions passed her by. Her friend came up to her carrying a small backpack. The mare had a brown cowboy hat with dark blue eyes, a pale, light greyish cornflower blue coat with a light gamboge mane and tail. She didn’t know how to start with Wildwood Flower so down. She tried but couldn’t come straight out with a proper greeting sentence no matter how hard the mare tried.
“Uh umm…” the mare stuttered.
Wildwood looked up with shock and then cheerful smile adorned on her face.
“Howdy Cornflower, what’s goin’ on with you?”
“Heh heh, funny you asked that cuz I was about ta ask you the same thing” Cornflower responded as she pulled out a freshly cooked corn out of her backpack. “Corn?”
Wildwood Flower takes the corn and holds it up to her muzzle. “Thank ya kindly for corn. I am starved.”
“You’re welcome.”
Cornflower sat down besides Wildwood Flower, and they ate their lunch.
“So whaddya put on this corn? It tastes great!”
“Oh, I just put a little butter around it, that’s all,” Cornflower said as she finished up the last bit of her corn.
Wildwood Flower and Cornflower took off their hats and relaxed in the sun. It was hot and Wildwood Flower grew tired of sitting around doing nothing.
“Hey Cornflower, could you pass me my guitar?”
“You feel sad?” Cornflower asked she passed her the guitar.
“No, I just feel like playin’ it now,” Wildwood Flower took the guitar. “Why do you ask?”
“Although you play the guitar well, I’ve only seen ya play it when you were down in the slumps.”
Wildwood gave out a slight sigh. She didn’t like admitting that was the true reason why she had played the guitar to anyone. But her friend read her like a book, and she couldn’t hide it any longer.”
“Yeah… you’re right. I do play when I’m down. I just don’t know why I’m down. Maybe its because I’m tired of movin’ around. I think I just want... a home.”
Wildwood put her head down and started playing a sad but beautiful song.
“Oh Wildwood, please don’t be…”
The sound of steel cutting through flesh distracted her playing. When Wildwood looked up, her eyes widened. She looked down at her friend who laid wounded on the ground, blood flowing from her mouth as she gurgled about in pain.
“Oh my Celestia, Cornflower!” Wildflower quickly held her friend tightly in her hooves watching at the hatched that was plunged deep into her side. Tears flowed down her cheeks for all she could’ve done was watch as her friend's eye lids slowly closed. She tried shaking her, but her eyes wouldn’t open.
“Cornflower…*gasp* Cornflower!”
“All right, you filthy mud ponies, where’s the barrels of them lovely drinks I came for?”
She looks away from her friend. In front of her stood an ugly crocodilian with a couple of his evil henchmen. He stood his hind feet, wore cowboy shoes. He had a scar over one eye. He had a gold reptile eye with scaly black skin, and he held a hatchet.
Sheriff Silverstar walked out in front of him hold out his two hooves side to side.
“Wait, Mr. Croc Sir, we don’t have them all ready. We will have them all done for you by evening tomor…”
Mr. Croc swung his hatchet hard and swift taking Sheriff Silverstar’s hat and hooking it to the roof of the bar behind him. Silverstar screamed in shock as he was pulled up by the collar.
“You think that letter I sent you three days ago was joke! I wanted my drinks today! I am the strongest, the toughest, and baddest villain in all of the buckin’ desert lands!”
“But it takes time to make.”
Mr. Croc punched Sheriff Silverstar in the gut, took his silver star, and then drops him on the ground. He turns around and starts slowly walking off into the sunset.
“You’d bedder have them by tomorrow evening! Or you’re all gonna pay!”
After he had left, the ponies of the village quickly started coming to help the sheriff get on his feet. Wildwood cried aloud to the crowd with tears flowing down her cheeks.
“Please! Somepony help my friend, please!”
A mare doctor quickly came with two assistants and took her to a nearby hotel. Wildwood followed and waited in the hall outside the room on the highest floor of the hotel. She waited there for hours thinking all about her friend. Wildwood worried that her friend would pass away and she would never get to see her again.
“Oh Cornflower, *sniff* I really hope you’re okay. I’m gonna get weirdo back for what he did to you. And That’s a promise for sure.”
The door to the room opens and out comes the doctor. She had a smile adorned on her face which put Wildwood Flower at ease.
“Is she gonna be okay, doctor?”
“Yes, she’ll be fine dear. The wound she received looked pretty bad, but she’s alright now we just have to do a couple of check ups. All she needs is plenty of rest.”
The doctor looks at the ground for a moment then looks up at Wildwood.
“That crook you saw earlier is a deadly foe to us Appleloosans ya know. Mr. Croc is on record one of the deadliest crooks of the desertlands. He’s known to get whatever he wanted whenever he wanted just by flinging one or two hatchets into anyone that dared to not give him what he wanted.
“Sorry for not introducing myself though. My name is Dr. White Flower, nice to meet you.”
Dr. White Flower lend out her hoof, and they both shook hooves.
“Thank you Doctor, my name is Wildwood Flower.”
The Doctor started giggling after she responded.
“What’s so funny, Doctor?”
“Oh well, both our names end with flower. Isn’t that funny?”
“Wow, you’re right. I didn’t think about it till ya mention it.”
Both the mares laughed and talked for the rest of that evening…
***
The night came and silenced the sounds of all the ponies in Appleloosa except one. Wildwood sat near her friends bed. She watched her sleep for quite some while. She then watched up at the moon.
“Princess Luna, guardian of the knight, please oh please would you grant me power over my foes this one time and bring peace to this town once more.”
Tears started flowing down Wildwood’s cheeks. She put down her hoof on her friend’s side.
“Please, hear my words. All I ask is to have the power to defeat my foe and return peace to this town.”
A shadow appeared on the face of the moon. It shaped itself into the face of Princess Luna and spoke.
“What troubles thee that ye stay up so late?”
“My friend, she’s hurt from a brute who calls himself Mr. Croc. I just want him to leave this town and never come back.”
“I would lend thee some my power to defeat your foe. But you must not let your hate get the better thee. I believe you know what happens if you do. Now get your rest for you only have a few hours till the time I have to lower the moon.”
Wildwood closed her eyes and fell asleep…
***
Late that morning she was awoken by Dr. White Flower.
“Sorry to wake you dear, but we have to check up on her to see if she’s ok.”
“Yes Ma’am.”
With that she walked out into the hallway. She looked down at the end of the hall and saw her guitar. All alone, just there catching dust. She felt a strong desire play it, but something was keeping her from playing it. She worried about her friend more and wanted make sure she was fine more than anything else.
After she took up her guitar and had it steady on her back, she left the hotel and went outside into the blazing heat. She walked over to the front of the bar where sat on the stairs with her hat once again over her face.She was minding her own business while all the other ponies were preparing for the worst.
Sheriff Silverstar prepared the four barrels in front of the bar. He and four other stallions wait for the arrival of Mr. Croc and his gang.
After sitting there for close to an hour, Wildwood becomes bored. She decided to play the guitar and practice that song she wanted to play for her friend.
As soon she had struck a string, the clinking sounds of cowboy boots were heard throughout the town. Everypony ran for their lives. Some ducked inside empty barrels, others hid in their homes and shut the doors and windows tight.
The four terrors finally came back…
Their shadows overshadowed the sheriff and his two cowboy cadet stallions. The stallion cadets were shivering as the three croco crooks neared them.
“Alright sheriff, hand it over.”
The sheriff didn’t respond. Neither did he want to give up the barrels of the town’s precious apple cider. It was too valuable to just give away to worthless crooks. He watched straight into the eyes of Mr. Croc. After a moment of silence, Mr. Croc spoke again.
“Alright, I’ll cutchya a deal. You give me the drinks, I give you back your little star thingy here. Or we could do it the harsh way where I beat ya half to death, take what I came for, and still keep this star thingy you got here!” Mr. Croc walks over to bends over meeting face to face with the sheriff. “So what’s it gonna be sheriff?”
“Stop!”
Mr. Croc and the gang looks to the pony standing the stairs with the guitar. The all gave the mare a perplexed look. They turned their heads towards each other and then looked back.
“Heh, Looks like the sheriff got himself a loud mouth. Good job there.”
“Quiet. I had a enough of ya, ya big meanie. Why don’t ya come over here and mess around with pony that ain’t afraid of ya.”
“Alright boyz hand me a hatchet, make that two. I got me some target practicing today.”
His henchmen threw over to him two hatchets. He spun them around like he were moving any other part of his body. None could’ve moved a hatchet like Mr. Croc. But as good as he was moving them it didn’t intimidate Wildwood Flower at all. She just stood there holding up her guitar ready to strike at any moment.
“You ready ta die Missy!”
“Are you ready to walk away like the little girl ya are?”
“What?”
“A real bad boy of the desert lands would come up to me and slayed me where I stood, right here.” Wildwood tensed her body as Mr. Croc suddenly stopped the movements with his weapons.
“Alright, ya asked for this one. And you’re gonna get it to.”
Mr. Croc knocked the sheriff aside and started on his way to where the young mare stood. As he got closer she lowered her guitar.
“Now!” Wildwood cried as apples started flooding through the bar doors making their way to the crocodilian.
“Huh? Wooh, wooh, aaaah.” Mr. Croc started tripping over the flood of apples. When he finally fell flat on his face, he looked up at the mare that was perfectly arched holding up her guitar high in the air.
Mr. Croc stared up in fear as the guitar came down on him.
“Darn, I really should’ve seen this…”
KAR-DONG!
The loud noise of a breaking guitar echoed throughout the town.The town was covered in a cloud of smoke.
When the smoke cleared, his henchmen stood agaped at their boss buried within the ground. Wildwood glared at them as another pony hoof from within the bar handed her another guitar.
“You guys want some too?”
Upon hearing that, they immediately ran off into the sunset leaving their boss dead sixty feet in the ground...
