Chapter Six

Prairie Ghosts

Equestria’s badlands have a stark and desolate beauty. Sheer rock cliffs, rolling plains of desert sands and a dry heat that could shrivel any pony into a furry prune before a single drop of sweat could ever be seen. I might have been able to enjoy the view of the approaching jagged mountain peaks if I didn’t think someone was planning to kill me there.

The Malarson Mountains were glowing orange with the setting sun’s light. The swirling clouds were bathed with contrasting shades of red and yellow. We had stopped for a rest at what was supposed to be Chief Thunderhoove’s campsite. There were signs of a quick retreat. No blood or signs of a struggle. Just hundreds of hoof prints, the scattered remains of tents and a recently doused campfire.

Fluttershy was flying in small circles above us as she waited for her bats to return. After a few minutes, they flitted over a nearby hill and began to fly around her as she descended. As they squeaked at her, she nodded.

“Thank you, my friends,” said Fluttershy. “Take a break for a while.” The bats snuggled under her wings.

Twilight asked, “Well, did they find out anything?”

“No. I’m sorry.”

“Them buffalo ain’t exactly dainty critters, Flutters,” quipped Applejack. “How can they hide well enough to dodge your bats?”

Fluttershy shook her head and sighed. “I have no idea.”

Something about the mish-mash of tracks bugged me. There were several different sizes of buffalo tracks, but one set of prints didn’t match the others. Buffalo hooves are cloven, yet these were pony sized. So many cloven tracks obliterated the pony marks, I almost didn’t notice the two grooves that trailed around the camp. Did this pony carry a cart? Did he go native and run with the buffalo?

Twilight sidled up to me. “It’s possible a pony warned the buffalo about these bugs. Appleoosa’s only a few miles south of here.”

Fluttershy began to fidget as her bats poked their heads out from under her wings, sniffing the air. After climbing out of her embrace, they took to the air once more, squeaking urgently. Fluttershy flew up to them, peering towards the mountains.

“What do you see?” I asked.

Fluttershy pointed north. “Someone’s coming. They say it’s a pony.”

“Where is he?” asked Twilight.

“I can’t tell . . . Oh! There he is! About a quarter mile away.”

Twilight said, “Could you bring whoever it is over here? He might have escaped from Appleoosa.”

“All right. Oh, he sees me." Fluttershy cringed. “Why is he running away?”

I shook my head. “Well, this day keeps getting better.”

Twilight barked to the rest of our group, “Get him!”

Not surprisingly, every other member of the Mane Six out-distanced me. Spike didn’t count as he rode on Twilight’s back.

Vinyl and Octavia were in the lead as we gradually began to close the distance between us and the runner. Whoever was trying to escape us turned right into some thickets and large boulders.

Octavia charged through, tearing open the parched foliage as if they were paper-mache. The hole she left behind was wide enough for two ponies.

I could hear Vinyl yelling, “Hey, stop runnin’! We just wanna talk!”

After a few more zigzags among giant cacti and weeds, Vinyl had had enough of chasing. Her horn glowed as her magic finally grabbed her target.

“Gotcha!” cried Vinyl triumphantly as she dashed into the weeds to snag her prey.

I heard a few meaty-sounding thuds as Octavia joined her partner. Clusters of weeds fell as dust clouds boiled up from the struggling.

“Nooo! Leave me alone!” I heard a mare scream. Wait. That voice. It can’t be her.

“I’ve got her front hooves, Vinyl.”

“I’ll grab her . . . wheels? Hey, she’s in a wheelchair!”

“Ahh! Let go of me! Please! My back’s killing me!”

I heard the others running up behind me. Twilight said, “Nice work, girls. Bring her out.”

Vinyl grunted. “Tryin’ to, but she’s a wriggler.”

“Look, whoever you are,” said Octavia. “You might as well cooperate with us. We just want to ask some questions.”

As the dust began to settle in the cooling dusk breeze, we saw the musicians escort a white mare with a frizzy yellow mane. Even though she was covered in desert sand and twigs from the struggle, I still recognized her.

Twilight squinted at the wheelchair-bound stranger. When she saw the familiar blue eyes, the jig was up. She took a few careful steps towards the mare. Twilight was a fiend for details.
Even with the fur-dye and hair-job, she could recognize the cheekbones, nose and chin.

“Pinkie Pie? Is that you?”

“If I told you my real name’s Surprise, would that fool you?”

Vinyl let go of Pinkie and stepped back, astonished. “Wait, what? She’s the one Nightmare Moon possessed?”

Octavia patted her on the shoulder. “Oh, my. I’m very sorry about this. If we knew who you really were, we wouldn’t have tackled you.”

Twilight ran over and glomped Pinkie in a tight hug, making her wince. “Ow! Careful, Twilight! My back!”

Spike hopped off Twilight’s back and waved the others over. “Hey, everybody!” He cried. “It’s Pinkie Pie!”

Fluttershy and Rarity could scarcely believe their eyes as they joined Twilight in the reunion.

“Darling, how in the world did you end up in the badlands?” asked Rarity.

“Is your back feeling any better?” Fluttershy queried.

“Oh, Pinkie,” Twilight snuffled as tears trickled down her cheeks. “I never thought I’d see you again. When I tried to visit you a few weeks ago, they said you were transferred. They refused to say where.”

“Looks like we have another marshmallow in our group, huh, Equus?” remarked Vinyl. “Who did her dye job?”

“I did,” I answered. “I also did her mane, tail and new cutie marks.”

Twilight slipped out of her hug and stamped over to me. “Why didn’t you tell me she was sent here? Don’t you know how badly we’ve all missed her?”

Cringing from her sudden anger at me, I said, “Because Princess Celestia wouldn’t tell me where Pinkie was going. If only Celestia knew Pinkie’s whereabouts, no one could hunt her down.”

“He’s telling the truth, Twilight,” said Pinkie. “I asked Celestia to send me out here. If I keep my supplies trips in Appleoosa short enough, no one will ever know it was really me. That’s why I ran away when I saw a pegasus near my home. I can’t risk anypony knowing where I live.”

“Do you know where Chief Thunderhooves and his tribe are?” I asked.

She nodded. “Uh-huh. When I saw a bunch of nasty-looking bugs snatch all those poor ponies from Appleoosa, I ran over here to warn the tribe away. They’re safe in a nearby cave.”

Twilight asked, “Did these bugs go into the mountains near here?”

“Yeah. No buffalo tribe goes anywhere near that place, though.”

“Why not?” inquired Octavia.

“Well, Chief Thunderhooves once told me that a thousand years ago, a bunch of . . . what did he call them? Oh! A bunch of ‘prairie ghosts’ moved into the mountain caves. Soon after, the buffalo starting hearing weird noises and seeing floating lights. They think the place is cursed, so every buffalo steers clear.”

My breath caught. “Pinkie, did he say how many of those ghosts there were?”

“Three thousand, according to legend,” she said. “Equus? What’s wrong?”

“I don’t think those were ghosts the buffalo saw. Those were followers of Nightmare Moon. It sounds like a group that my great-times-thirty grandfather Quietus Mortis led to escape prosecution for war crimes.”

“Ghosts and bugs,” mused Twilight.

Pinkie wiped away her tears. “I . . . I never thought I’d see any of you girls ever again. I use my Pinkie Sense to help the buffalo find water, but this place sure isn’t Ponyville.”

“Howdy, Pinks.”

Pinkie winced. Her eyes became pinpoints. She began to shiver. “Uhh . . . H-hi. Applejack.”

Applejack slowly walked towards Pinkie. “Never thought I’d lay eyes on you again,” she said in a low, neutral tone. Was she gritting her teeth?

Pinkie cringed as she tried to back away.

Suddenly, Applejack raced towards her, scowling.

Her wheelchair was stuck in place by rocks, so she could only hold up a hoof as Applejack leapt at her.

“Applejack!” Pinkie screamed.

Author's Note

This one's theme is "Panoramic" (Book Of Eli soundtrack) by Atticus Ross