Mission to Appleloosa

by GJT_Productions

Chapters

Mission Given
The Raid
The Wrong Tree?
Party Gear Solid
Hoofsteps to War
Food Fight
Final Report

Mission Given

"Good afternoon, Lucky Clover."

"Good afternoon, Miss Rarity. We must've had the same idea to check the mail this time of afternoon."

"Guess so, darling. All's quiet from the Everfree Forest?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'm going to relieve Meadow Song for the rest of the afternoon, then Caramel covers the overnight."

"I see. You're still the one running the errands for the rest of the squad despite your promotion?"

"Yep. It's a matter of seniority despite the promotion - protocols we have to follow as part of the Guard."

"Oh of course darling, I understand what you mean."

"Do you still plan to travel to Appleloosa with Applejack, ma'am? To present the tree gift?"

"Well, considering Twilight Sparkle got a letter from Princess Celestia saying the princess wanted all of us to go with her, I am planning to do so. Against my better judgment, but I do plan it. This evening, I'm taking Sweetie Belle back to my parents and then close up Carousel Boutique for the duration of the trip."

"I see, ma'am. So this is going to be the last mail check before you leave?"

"Yes, indeed, just so there aren't last minute unwelcome surprise orders for dresses."

"Very good. I'll see you after the trip then?"

"Probably, yes."

"Have a good time then, ma'am."

"I'll try, but from what I've heard of Appleloosa is not all that good, sir..."

Guard Upper Class Lucky Clover shakes his head with an amused look at Rarity's vaguely low opinion of the new earth pony settlement. He was standing in front of the offical E.U.P. Guard box in Ponyville's post office - accessible only by keys kept by vetted E.U.P. Guard members - and watched out of his peripheral vision as Rarity walked toward the front desk as he carefully holds the key with his teeth and giving a twist of his head to unlock the box once the key was inserted into the lock.

Lucky Clover reaches into the box with a hoof and pulls out a few envelopes, muttering about their contents as he does so: "Shift listing... billing... ration menu for the mouth... special assignment by the princess?!"

The last envelope pulled out of the box had a special golden ribbon trim, indicating this was a special assignment coming directly from Princess Celestia. This prompted a quick closing of the box and exit from the Ponyville post office, galloping toward the road leading out of Ponyville toward the Everfree Forest...

Lucky Clover's destination was what was officially called the M.E.W.S. (Monster from Everfree Warning System) Tower - a watchtower along the road leading from Ponyville into the Everfree Forest. Its initial construction began after the Ursa Minor incursion into Ponyville that Twilight Sparkle stopped, under the codename "Operation Shield", and after it was finished became the permanent work station of any E.U.P. member in Ponyville not serving a shift in Canterlot. It had already justified its construction by confirming the arrival of a dragon on a mountain near Ponyville - the one Fluttershy had convinced to move elsewhere afterwards - and would in the future warn the citizens of Ponyville of several more monster attacks.

Currently on duty at the top of the tower was the recently commissioned Lieutenant Meadow Song, promoted to head the Ponyville contingent after his fellow Apple clan member Lieutenant Crispin was posted permanently to Canterlot. Excepting for some additional paperwork, his duties had mostly not changed - standing watch at the tower, overlooking the tops of the Everfree Forest's trees for any signs of approaching unwelcome creatures from the strange piece of Equestria.

One of the few perks of the job was the spectacular views usually only enjoyed by pegasi in Ponyville: the gleaming castle and city of Canterlot far in the distance in one direction, Ponyville and the nearby mountain in another (including the expansive orchards of Sweet Apple Acres) and the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters jutting from the treeline of the forest. The views were particularly good at sunset, which Lucky Clover usually got to enjoy, and help offset the tedium of the work.

Lucky Clover climbs the tower's internal staircase at full speed, making a concerned Meadow Song, who had seen his approach at full gallop, even more so. Meadow Song got out of the way just in time to avoid getting bowled over by his subordinate, Lucky Clover skidding to a stop and just barely avoiding going over the edge of the tower top!

"Goodness Lucky, what's the emergency? I haven't seen any monster activity or fires in the town..." Meadow Song comments with deep concern as Lucky Clover collects himself once he's stopped near the edge of the tower top.

"Special order... from Princess Celestia!" Lucky Clover breathlessly exclaims, showing Meadow Song the envelope as he does so.

Meadow Song takes the envelope with his teeth and balances it on a raised forehoof. He looks over the front carefully, flips it over with a careful toss upward, then looks over the back of the envelope the same way. Finally, he goes on haunches and uses the edge of one hoof like a human would use a letter-opener to carefully open the fancy envelope.

The Guard Lieutenant turns the opened envelope upside-down, causing the letter inside to spill out onto the stonework of the tower, then holds open the letter with forehooves as Lucky Clover reads the writing, which they can tell from certain quirks of penmanship is done by Canterlot Captain of the Guard Gibraltar himself:

"Order Issued By: Her Majesty Princess Celestia, via Captain of the Canterlot E.U.P. Guard Gibraltar
Order Issued To: Lieutenant Meadow Song, M.E.W.S. Tower CO, Ponyville Special Command

It has come to the attention of myself - and the attention of Her Majesty Princess Celestia - that the Element Bearers are planning on travelling to the new earth pony settlement of Appleloosa. It has also come to the attention of both myself and Her Majesty Princess Celestia that there are rumors of former Agents of Chaos rebel activity there, deliberately provoking the native buffalo tribes into attacking the Appleloosans. As such, you and your contingent at Ponyville Special Command has been given a special assignment with a three part objective.

Objective #1: Shadow the Element Bearers on their trip and ensure the success of their mission. You are to remain in civilian cover for the duration of the mission, and cover must not be broken until this objective is completed!
Objective #2: Investigate the truth or falsehood of the rumors of rebel activity, both in the Appleloosan settlement proper and the nearby Wastes.
Objective #3: Locate and make contact with a nomadic earth pony currently traveling under the designation 'Quesadilla Polka' - it is believed he has valuable intelligence of the area and is willing to help maintain peace between the Appleloosan settlers and the native buffalo once it has been established. He may also be of assistance in further attempts to locate and defeat the rebel threat in the future.

As you read this, Lieutenant Crispin and two Guards are enroute to temporarily take command of the watch while you are on your mission. Remember soldiers, Her Majesty is always watching - she expects a good and cooperative performance out of you all!

End Order Transmission, Signed Off By: Captain of the Canterlot E.U.P. Guard Gibraltar"

This letter immediately provoke both great surprise and some confusion between both stallions. There is a silent exchange of looks, then Lucky Clover speaks a single statement: "I don't mind a trip to Appleloosa to help the Element Bearers, but... what does it mean by 'a good and cooperative performance'?"

"Remember Lucky, we are not ordinary Equestrians." Meadow Song answers. "We have given a vow to the alicorns to serve and protect them and the kingdom of Equestria with our lives. In addition, most members of this command have some connection to the Element Bearers. I am related by marriage to Applejack and her clan. Aide Cherry Fizzy was a witness to Twilight Sparkle becoming Princess Celestia's apprentice. You and Caramel live next door to Rarity. It is expected that the princess asks more of us than even a regular Guard member."

"Yeah, I suppose, but... I'm still not entirely comfortable with the idea, sir." Lucky Clover states.

"We don't have to be comfortable with it, we just have to follow our orders." Meadow Song replies. "Go back into Ponyville and rally the rest of the squad."

"Yes, sir." Lucky Clover replies with a salute, turning and heading back down from the top of the watchtower. Meanwhile, Meadow Song took the letter with his orders and placed it in his supply bag, and was soon alone again with his thoughts.

For the rest of the short time left in his watch shift, Lieutenant Meadow Song was left to wonder what exactly this mission to Appleloosa would entail, what exactly "good and cooperative performance for Celestia" meant, and how exactly they would pull off shadowing the Element Bearers that usually would recognize them easily...

The Raid

"Ow, ow, stop moving!"

"Your hoof is in my eye!"

"I swear this is worse than how they pack us in at Academy!"

"Quiet, we'll get detected!"

"We are not dealing with this again! Rarity was right, this is completely not fair!"

The complaining of the five Royal Guard stallions of the Ponyville contingent, pretty much laying on top of each other in a small car just behind the train engine after awakening from an uncomfortable sleep enroute to Appleloosa, is abruptly stopped by the sudden appearance of the sound of thundering hooves. This noise masks their voices, such that the following conversation is not heard by the Element Bearers.

"What's going on out there?! Get me a report!" Lieutenant Meadow Song exclaims, unable to move due to being stuck underneath his subordinates on the car floor.

"Trying, sir!" Guard Upper Class Lucky Clover, on top of the pile, exclaims, going up on hindlegs to peak through the opening of the covered-top car. This prompts more complaining from his comrades - Aide Cherry Fizzy, Guard Upper Class Noteworthy and Guard Upper Class Caramel - as he shifts around to get a better view of his surroundings.

"Buffalo stampede, sir!" Lucky Clover shouts out, prompting the rest of the squad to squirm and struggle to stand up beside him and get a view for themselves. Meanwhile, the train shakes with buffalo impacts, apparently trying to derail the train or injure its pullers before it can get to its refuge at the Appleloosa train station.

"Element Bearers are responding, sir! Mostly Rainbow Dash!" Cherry Fizzy exclaims as soon as he gets in position, pointing back down the train toward where the Element Bearers are currently located.

"Anything we can do to help?!" Meadow Song shouts out again.

"Negative, sir, the train is surrounded by the stampede! We're trapped in here!" Caramel responds, currently watching the opposite side of the train from his comrades.

"Get me a report on the pullers!" Meadow Song shouts one more time.

"They seem to be alright, sir, but I'll keep an eye on them because the buffalo are knocking them around!" Noteworthy exclaims, facing toward the engine being pulled by a small squad of oversized earth ponies.

"Sir, something's happening on the train top. There's a small buffalo racing Rainbow Dash up there toward the rear of the train!" Cherry Fizzy shouts again.

"Isn't the rear of the train where Bloomberg is?" Lucky Clover asks.

"Yes, that might be their target. The tree is the whole reason the train is travelling, after all." Meadow Song comments.

"Then it seems like we're dealing with a smarter enemy than the buffalo have been made out to be." Cherry Fizzy adds.

There is a brief pause - to all involved, the terrifying prospect of the rebels employing or forcing the buffalo to attack the train, if not Appleloosa itself, had been raised. The Royal Guard could not ignore the prospect of an extended campaign in this isolated region.

"Rainbow Dash has taken a hit, sir! Ran into a sign. The little buffalo has made it to the rear of the train - can't see what's going on there, though." Lucky Clover exclaims again.

"Well, her nickname is 'Rainbow Crash', sir." Caramel comments with a wince on his face.

"Not the time right now, Caramel! Any other casualties?" Meadow Song asks, with nerves adding to the agitation of the situation.

"Negative, sir." Lucky Clover answers. "Wait, the little buffalo is on top of the rear car... the buffalo are turning around! And I can see Spike in there with Bloomberg!"

"A well-coordinated raid. Wonder if the Agents of Chaos rebels have been giving them training..." Meadow Song comments, as he and the others on the train watch helplessly as the buffalo herd make off with the rear car containing Bloomberg and Spike.

The train finally slows to a stop after the rear car is detached and the buffalo stampede moves on, taking the detached car back down the track. Meadow Song issues a series of orders as he tries to get a picture of the situation:

"Cherry, hop out and have a look at those pullers! See if any of them are hurt!"

"Got it, sir!", Cherry Fizzy replies, squeezing out over the top of the covered car and heading toward the front of the engine.

"Lucky and Noteworthy, check each side of the train, see what damage has been done by the buffalo rammings! Lucky on the left side, Noteworthy on the right."

"Left side? Yes, sir!" Lucky Clover answers, starting down the train as he does so.

"On it, sir!" Noteworthy follows immediately, doing the same as Lucky Clover.

"Caramel, can you see what's going on with Rainbow Dash and the other Element Bearers?"

"Trying, sir... they seem alright, Rainbow's impact notwithstanding."

"Good, I'll be up front with Cherry, let's see if we can get this train going again!"

"Sir, what about Spike and Bloomberg?" Caramel objects.

"We can't do anything for them out here. We need to get this train moving so that we - and the Element Bearers - can get to Appleloosa and help. We can hook up with Braeburn and Sheriff Silverstar once we're there and try to get help from there."

"Understood, sir. Do you want me to keep watch of the Element Bearers?"

"Yes, Caramel, I need you to do that. I'll be out front with Cherry if anypony needs anything."

Lieutenant Meadow Song leaps out and dashes to the front of the train's locomotive, mind racing with "what if" possibilities. Cherry Fizzy was already there, looking over the surprised and disoriented pullers. These large earth ponies were pulling the locomotive as a labor payment - a gateway to a new life in an earth pony settlement where they would fit in better than the generally awkward life in the more settled regions of Equestria - and if anything were to happen to them, the locomotive didn't have enough fuel on board to finish the trip to Appleloosa on its own. They would be completely stuck and have utterly failed in their mission - Element Bearers and Royal Guard alike.

Meadow Song glances around, observing nothing but rocky desert as far as the eye can see in all directions. The only exception is the thin parallel lines of the railroad track and the currently stopped train. Fortunately, the Element Bearers are too concerned with worrying about Spike and Bloomberg to notice the Royal Guard ponies at work, and Meadow Song turns back to the task in front of him.

"Everypony alright?" Meadow Song asks Cherry Fizzy hopefully, the latter looking over one of the large pulling stallions.

"A little hoofsore, but in terms of actual injuries none to be found." Cherry Fizzy replies, much to Meadow Song's relief.

"Cherry, make a mental note to recommend bravery citations for all four pullers in the final report." Meadow Song continues.

"Yes, sir, will do sir." Cherry Fizzy answers.

"I wonder when we can get goin' again, sir." one of the pulling stallions comments toward Meadow Song.

"My squad is still checking out the train for damage. Once they give their report, I'll make a decision on whether the train can proceed or not." Meadow Song answers.

"My cousin Trouble Shoes lives in this area, my family hasn't heard from him in years. I took this job to help find where he is, and whether he's alright..." the puller stallion trails off.

The mention of family once again focuses Lieutenant Meadow Song's mind on the "what ifs". The success of Appleloosa and the mission in front of him and his squad had a personal element involved, considering his personal history with the Apple clan. He was a colt of a line of entertainer earth ponies that had found regular employment with the Apples, and eventually Meadow Song married Apple Fritter to cement the commitment of the two different families to each other - Meadow Song himself had only joined the Royal Guard to provide a more regular income for himself and his mate.

Now, it seemed, he was in a situation way over his head, with no real way to get help and, with nothing but desert around him, could only run on hope at the moment...

Author's Note

(Apologies to missing posting this last week - work has been very difficult, and I didn't have an opportunity last Friday to do this. Hopefully, the regular schedule can resume this week...)

The Wrong Tree?

"I can't believe Apple Fritter gave us all these hats and roped us into being part of Braeburn's 'tour'! I thought for sure the Element Bearers would recognize us!"

"What is she even doing here in the first place, sir?"

"Braeburn invited her there to share her baking secrets - that's what set up the gifting of Bloomberg and she was supposed to return to Ponyville after Bloomberg's delivery. I didn't think I would be following her here..."

"Never mind that, sir. We need to catch up with Sheriff Silverstar!"

"Right, of course. Did anypony see where he went after the 'tour'?"

"Back into his office, sir. Probably still there, I imagine."

"Then let's go talk to him, while we still have the chance. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash aren't accounted for - probably trying a rescue mission - and the other four Element Bearers went with Braeburn to the orchard overlook. This might be the only good window of opportunity we have to talk to the Sheriff about what's going on."

Lieutenant Meadow Song leads the way of the small Royal Guard group, all wearing cowboy hats now after being dragged into the town tour Braeburn gave four of the six Element Bearers previously. Behind are Aide Cherry Fizzy, Guard Upper Class Noteworthy, Guard Upper Class Caramel and Guard Upper Class Lucky Clover, all cautiously looking around for the return of Braeburn from the small rise overlooking the Appaloosan orchards.

Meadow Song pushes open the swinging doors into Silverstar's office cautiously, looking around at the sparse surroundings. Silverstar himself was sitting behind a desk, the keys to the holding cell hanging behind him, the holding cell itself behind a locked door off to one side of the building. The Guard Lieutenant immediately notices the anxiety in the sheriff's eyes - even if he didn't know about the buffalo raid on the incoming train, something was clearly troubling the authority figure.

"Is there something I can help you gentlestallions with?" Silverstar asks, giving a critical eye on the party of stallions bunched in front of his swinging door.

"Sorry, sir, we don't know if you've heard..." Lieutenant Meadow Song begins awkwardly as he and his party file into the small office.

"I figured considering the train was late and missin' its caboose something went wrong with the trip." Silverstar states bluntly.

"Well, yes sir, there was a..." Meadow Song tries again, not quite sure if the sweat forming on his brow was from heat or nervousness.

"Buffalo been messin' up things again? Not new news 'round here." Silverstar cuts off again.

"Oh, so this has been an ongoing problem?" Meadow Song asks as a reply, curiousity now raised as a result of the last statement.

"Braeburn'll tell Applejack and her friends exactly that soon 'nough, but yes." Silverstar starts explaining. "Those buffalo want the whole orchard gone, no idea why. We can't do that because we'd starve - put a lot of work into establishing that orchard, ya'll understand?"

The group lead by Meadow Song give vague nods of understanding - removing the orchard would certainly lead to the starvation of the settlers and failure of the settlement. And as members of the E.U.P. Guard, they were duty bound to prevent exactly this from happening.

"Well, that supports the theory of a targeted raid on the train." Aide Cherry Fizzy points out to both Meadow Song and Silverstar.

"I've got a good picture of what's goin' on here, but I haven't had any introductions yet. Who are you gentlestallions?" Silverstar asks, eyes glaring between hat and moustache and hoof tapping impatiently on the desk in front of him.

"Apologies about that, sir." Lieutenant Meadow Song answers with a sheepish grin. "I am Lieutenant Meadow Song of the E.U.P. Guard normally posted in Ponyville, and this is my command contingent with me. We were sent here by the authority of Princess Celestia and the..."

"Ordered directly by the Princess? Can I see evidence of that?" Silverstar asks one more time, gesturing toward the desk in front of him as he does so.

"Sure... um, Cherry, what did I do with the scroll with our orders?" Meadow Song turns to ask Cherry Fizzy, the other stallions in the group exchanging concerned looks as he does so.

"Didn't you hide it under your hat?" Cherry Fizzy asks in return.

"Oh, right..." Meadow Song replies, blushing a bit as he drops his head down to shift his hat and create an opening for the scroll stored inside to drop out onto the wooden floor of the office. Gently, he picks up the scroll with his teeth and moves to gently place it on Silverstar's desk.

Sheriff Silverstar skeptically unrolls the scroll with his forehooves and begins to read silently, Meadow Song and his command not daring to speak and barely daring to move while Silverstar looks over the scroll. Finally, Silverstar leans back in his chair and lets the scroll roll back up.

"Well alright 'Lieutenant Meadow Song', I'll take you at your word. But I'm tellin' you, there ain't no 'Agents of Chaos' 'round here. Just angry buffalo and us Appaloosans." Silverstar comments.

Again, the members of Meadow Song's command exchange looks. Meadow Song himself tries a suggestion: "But sir, maybe they tipped off the buffalo...?"

"Maybe they did, maybe they didn't." Silverstar replies with a shrug. "Point is, haven't seen or heard of anything workin' with them buffaloes out there. If you want to find that out, you'll have to do that searchin' yerselves."

"Right, we understand sir. Thank you for your cooperation. We'll be leaving now." Meadow Song affirms, taking back the scroll as he does so - the conversation was clearly at an end with the sheriff, and time was of the essence for getting anything else done.

"If you find out anythin', make sure you pass it along to me, ya hear? Anything that'll help us solve this mystery we got on our hooves..." Silverstar comments, again showing his agitation about the situation he was facing.

"Yes sir, I promise we will sir..." Meadow Song replies as his command begins shuffling out of the sheriff's office...

"Are we barking up the wrong tree, Lieutenant? Sorry for the pun." Guard Upper Class Lucky Clover comments once the group has left the sheriff's office, adding the second sentence after some groans from his comrades.

"I don't know, Lucky. I don't know." Meadow Song sighs out, looking at the town and relieved to find the Element Bearers are not back yet. The sun was high in the sky above the arid town, and the heat was beginning to take an oppressive chokehold.

"Any suggestions on what we should do now, sir?" Guard Upper Class Noteworthy asks.

"Follow the last main objective - find the pony codenamed 'Quesadilla Polka'. We'll need to ask around town where he might be." Meadow Song comments, his expression taking on a determined look as he does so. "Once we get a lead on where he might be, I will take Noteworthy with me and attempt to make contact with him. Cherry Fizzy will be in charge while I'm gone, and if necessary is authorized to cooperate with Sheriff Silverstar on a defense of the town, its citizens and their property."

"Will that really be necessary, sir?" Cherry Fizzy asks worriedly, and once again the members of the group exchange glances.

"In the absence of any revelations to the contrary, we must assume the Appaloosans have a right to place their town and orchard where they choose. And as members of the E.U.P. Guard, we are under oath to protect them from the buffalo aggression. That means cooperating and organizing in the defense against any buffalo attacks, even if it means going against the Element Bearers. Understood?" Meadow Song warns.

No one was thrilled with the idea of opposing Princess Celestia's chosen six, particularly considering in many cases they had close relationships with the group's members, but all privately hoped that that scenario would be avoided somehow. The Royal Guard group exchange looks one more time to indicate they all understood what was at stake here.

Meadow Song takes the long silence as understanding of what he said, and he speaks one more time: "We're wasting time standing around here. Fan out and see what info you can learn from the residents."

The Guard members salute Meadow Song, then each one turns in a different direction and heads toward a different building in the main square of the town. Meadow Song is briefly alone with his thoughts and fears, before he too plunges into the search for information...

Party Gear Solid

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

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

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

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

"Sir, smoke on the horizon!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"So, Mr. Polka..."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE FOLLOWING MORNING...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hoofsteps to War

"Well, that ended in disaster..."

"Even a master of the art can fail to please the crowd from time to time..."

"WHAT THE BUCK WERE YOU TWO DOING UP THERE?!? YOU'RE MAKING A MOCKERY OF THIS WHOLE MISSION AND OUR PERFORMANCE!"

"Sorry, sir, she kind of just... pulled us up on the stage, you know how Pinkie Pie operates..."

"That's not a good enough excuse, Guards!"

"Sir, please, this mission has gone badly enough already, and yelling isn't going to help make it better." Aide Cherry Fizzy tries to plead with an irate Lieutenant Meadow Song.

The earth pony Lieutenant lets out a growl of frustration, bucking up briefly and smashing forehooves down on the ground. Not only had he feared his mission had been exposed due to the carelessness of some of his subordinates joining Pinkie Pie in her song-and-dance attempt at making peace, said attempt at peace-making had failed miserably, basically ensuring some kind of conflict at "high noon" the following day.

"This is not good. This is not... WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" Guard Upper Class Noteworthy comments, shouting his last statement as the special companion of his group, "Quesadilla Polka", turns and begins to leave the town.

"If she can't help here, then neither can I. Sorry, you'll have to accept a raincheck for helping you stallions out. I'll be back after tomorrow, assuming there's a town left that is..." the orange-coated pony replies with a shake of his head, his walk quickly becoming a gallop after he finishes speaking.

Noteworthy, realizing it was not any use to try to go after the other stallion, instead trots over toward where the rest of his command - Meadow Song, Aide Cherry Fizzy, Guard Upper Class Caramel and Guard Upper Class Lucky Clover - were huddled. Behind them, both the Element Bearers - at least some of them, considering Rainbow Dash and Spike seemed to have gone with the buffalo party - and citizens were gathered in tight knots engaged in agitated chatter about how they were to defend Appaloosa from the coming buffalo attack.

"We gonna get any help from 'Polka'?" Meadow Song looks up at Noteworthy as the latter stops near him. Noteworthy just replies with a shake of the head.

"We won't have time to call in reinforcements from Canterlot, either. The local resources are all we have for the defense, and we can't count on the Element Bearers fighting beside us. At least, not all of them, sir." Aide Cherry Fizzy adds from the other side of Meadow Song.

"Then our next steps are clear: Help Sheriff Silverstar and the locals fortify the town as best as can be done." Lieutenant Meadow Song firmly states, looking in turn to each of his subordinates to make it clear he was not going to take any objections from them. "Even if the buffalo have good reason to use the land, our oaths as members of the E.U.P. leave us with only one course of action now. The Element Bearers may be split and unable to stop this disaster, but we cannot be! You all understand?"

The members of the Guard contingent all exchange worried looks - they had to stand and fight despite whatever misgivings they might've had about the righteousness of their cause, not to mention the very real concern of lives being lost in the coming battle - both civilian and their own. But all knew, they had to conduct themselves honorably and follow their oaths, so that later, in the moment of judgement under Princess Celestia's critical glare, they would be able to avoid shame. The lesson of the Wonderbolts, compromised and then seriously damaged by giving into the lies of an internal enemy, was still fresh in their minds, and they did not want to repeat that mistake.

"Cherry Fizzy, I'm going to leave you in command of executing setting up the defense, but I will take command myself of the actual defensive organization, in cooperation with Silverstar." Meadow Song explains, after a few moments of silence previously made it clear he would be allowed to continue on without objection. "The rest of you are to assist the townsponies as best you can. It is worth remembering that the Element Bearers, notable as they are, are still technically civilians and outside the chain of command - you are not to listen to them unless their word is backed by an officer superior to myself. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." each of Meadow Song's subordinates answer in turn, expressions mixing worry and determination in equal measure as the weight of the situation begins to weigh down on the group.

"Good. Cherry, come with me, we need to meet with the sheriff. The rest of you spread out and offer your services to whoever needs them. Remember, we have until high noon tomorrow to get everything ready, and our options for working after dark are limited." Meadow Song orders.

"Yes, sir!" the rest of the Royal Guard group replies, giving Meadow Song a salute. Noteworthy, Caramel and Lucky Clover all pick a direction and start going that way, while Cherry Fizzy trots to keep up with Meadow Song's determined start heading toward Sheriff Silverstar's office...

Lieutenant Meadow Song blows out a sigh as he and Cherry Fizzy arrive at the town stage, looking up to see ponies already hard at work - tables being set up and a large mixer carefully being hoisted up onto the stage itself with a rope and pully system. A large stack of pie tins was placed in one corner, next to sacks of flour and blocks of butter, and Meadow Song could see the omniousness of that particular sign reflected in Cherry Fizzy's expression.

"The pie receipe is going to be Apple Fritter's. She was teaching it to the Appaloosans to help then produce a sellable product in the Equestrian markets. Now look what it's going toward." Meadow Song comments with more than a tinge of sadness in his tone.

"She's still here, right? Sir?" Cherry Fizzy asks, looking back at the Appaloosans hard at work planning how to defend hearth and home from the coming stampede.

"Yes... it's hard to imagine how she feels about all this, though..." Meadow Song trails off.

"You should go to her, sir. I know she was last seen at the Salt Block, might still be there because of the baking effort." Cherry Fizzy suggests modestly.

"Cherry, I don't see how that's..." Meadow Song begins, but a raised forehoof by Cherry Fizzy stops his train of thought in its tracks.

"Whatever she's going through, sir, she shouldn't be doing it alone." Cherry Fizzy begins to gently point out. "You made a promise at that orchard wedding, not just to her but to the entire Apple clan. I'm sure she needs you right now, just like this town and the rest of the Apples need you."

"You're right, Cherry. I can't be selfish right now. I'll go visit her." Meadow Song sighs out, although his tweak of a smile indicate he's not angry at being corrected by Cherry Fizzy.

"I've got everything under control here. Go visit her." Cherry Fizzy gently encourages his superior officer.

Meadow Song takes one more look at the town, then gives a silent nod toward the Aide and turns away, starting toward the Salt Block...

When the Guard Lieutenant arrives at the saloon and pushes the swinging doors open, he stares in stunned silence for a moment. Tables and stools had been pushed into corners to make room for ovens and other equipment, and even the bar had been stripped of its usual barrels of hard cider to store the ingredients needed to make the pies. Meadow Song looks at the ponies scurrying around, but does not recognize his Apple-foaled mate among them.

And then, in the din, he hears a quiet sobbing noise coming from one corner. Looking closer, he sees a pony behind a table, and when he pushes the table aside...

"What are you doing back here, Fritter?" Meadow Song asks, the surprise as much from her hiding location as it was from the tears staining her face.

"I can't, Meadow... I can't!" Apple Fritter cries out, obviously greatly distraught by what she was seeing. "I didn't come here to do... THIS!"

"Fritter, I know you came here to bake pies, not make weapons. But the buffalo will destroy everything here if we don't stand and fight. It has to be done, we can't count on the Element Bearers or the alicorns to save us." Meadow Song pleads, but to no real effect.

After a moment, Meadow Song quietly sighs, briefly looking back to see if anypony else was watching, before squeezing beside Apple Fritter behind the table. She looks over, eyes wet with tears, at her mate gently smiling beside her.

"We'll get through this, I promise. We just need to stick together." the earth pony stallion assures his distraught mate.

Apple Fritter immediately turns to squeeze her mate in an embrace, and the stallion looks up in deep concern at what was playing out around him. Their fate could only be altered by their courage - everything else about the situation was in the hooves of others...

Food Fight

"EVERYPONY TO POSITIONS!" Sheriff Silverstar's voice booms throughout the small town of Appleloosa, prompting a scrambling of stallions and mares alike toward the defensive positions previously constructed as high noon rapidly approached.

With assistance from Guard Lieutenant Meadow Song and Guard Aide Cherry Fizzy, Silverstar had ordered the foals locked in the buildings, shuttering windows so that they couldn't see what was going on outside as well as to make it more difficult for the buffalo to get in. The majority of the adult Appleloosan population was deployed at the front log barricades, each one armed with a small stack of apple pies. The rear defense was constructed of stacked hay bales reinforced with anvils - a donation from the local smiths that would eventually stop a few charging buffalo dead in their tracks.

Unlike initially anticipated, there were enough bales to form a two-tiered line, so Cherry Fizzy split the initial dense semi-circle into two lines. Cherry Fizzy himself would be in the front line, accompanied by Guard Upper Class Lucky Clover, while Guard Upper Class Noteworthy was in the second line - placed behind the first in roughly the same configuration - both to help coordinate those posted on that line and minimize the chance of the entire Royal Guard contingent being lost in the initial buffalo charge. Behind that second line, right in front of the railroad station and the tracks, were Meadow Song and Sheriff Silverstar themselves - their mutual responsibility, like that of a captain to his ship, were to be the last defenders to stand in the town, and the last to run should it be necessary.

As the morning had progressed and the fortification efforts had been performed to the town's buildings, the Element Bearers were still trying to talk the citizens out of fighting, and in frustration Sheriff Silverstar finally ordered them to stay in the train station and out of the way. Meadow Song did not object to this, even though he recognized it could be later used against him - in the moment, he justified it as "a reasonable demand for non-interference toward civilians considering they would not cooperate in building the defense".

The tension in the air increased in proportion to the height of the desert sun as it climbed high over the town. Meadow Song looks around in nervous agitation; first toward the crude flag showing a tree, raised up the flagpole near the clock tower, then toward Apple Fritter, who's face showed nothing but bitter resignation over the fact she had no influence over the events unfolding around her, and finally toward each of his subordinates in turn, wondering if it would be the last time he would ever see them alive.

As expected, the buffalo herd appeared on top of the ridge, with the apparent chief and the "little buffalo" the Royal Guard contingent recognized from the train raid in the center of the line, and Meadow Song feels his stomach drop. This terrible feeling instantly made lies of the thrilling depictions of battles in Equestria's past - Princess Celestia had once said "War is a foal of Tartarus, not a glory", and the Guard Lieutenant was beginning to understand what the sun princess exactly meant by that phrase.

The twelve bells ring out from the clock tower, signalling "high noon", and all attention turns toward the ridgeline. It seemed all Appleloosa held a collective breath, waiting for the seemingly inevitable buffalo charge... but it doesn't come. The buffalo remain along the ridgeline, and sighs of relief begin to be heard on the hope the buffalo won't attack after all.

Meadow Song wasn't convinced, though, and looking around for any signs of a potential ambush from the sides he notices to his horror one of the Element Bearers is missing from the group in the train station! He turns to look down the main way of Appleloosa, and his fears are confirmed when he sees Pinkie Pie replicating her previous disasterous dancing effort at the other end of the main way! Before he can even figure out the words to say, the buffalo are enraged and charging down the ridgeline!

Meadow Song looks over at Silverstar, and the latter only says one phrase: "She's banned for life."

The charging buffalo reach the bottom of the ridge and head straight for the town, blowing by Pinkie Pie and knocking her around in the process. As soon as the buffalo are in range, the forward defenders manage to get one barrage of pies off before the buffalo smash through the forward barricades and scatter the defenders, turning the attack into a series of chases and duels.

Some buffalo slam into the clock tower, causing it to crumble down but knocking them out and preventing more building damage. The rear defenders are furiously firing pies as scattered Appaloosans are being chased around, getting shots in whenever they can. Some buffalo, lead by their chief, reach the rear defense line, breaking the line but the placed anvils preventing any further advance.

Quickly, Meadow Song and the others around him are out of pies, and they fall back into the hat shop across from the Salt Block, prepared to fight hoof-to-hoof if necessary but aware the buffalo may just decide to keep going straight through the town to take down the orchard. In the confusion, Meadow Song realizes to his mortification that he lost track of Silverstar's whereabouts, and peeks back out of the building to see Silverstar without ammo and the buffalo chief coming straight for him!

Meadow Song only gets a few steps before an apparent rouge pie stops the buffalo chief's charge dead in its tracks - a clean hit in the face that temporarily knocks out the opponent leader in front of the unharmed Silverstar near the railroad tracks. This seems to bring the battle to dead stop, and ponies start coming out of the buildings - the Element Bearers out of the railroad station and the Royal Guard contingent out of the hat shop.

The Guards assemble on the hat shop porch, looking over the surreal scene in front of them. Besides the collapsed clock tower, the town itself does not seem to have suffered much damage, but knocked out ponies and buffalo alike litter the main way of the town, and an overwhelming sense of regret and mortification rises in the entire group. They don't know how long they last in this state, but are finally pulled out of it when Apple Fritter beside them points out the buffalo chief beginning to stir again.

As the crowd around him watch, the buffalo chief slowly gets on his hooves again, smacking his mouth as if surprised by what he was tasting - more specifically, the pieces of the apple pie that had slid into his mouth. All watch with rapt attention as the buffalo chief briefly gives a puzzled look, as if a realization had just hit him, and then his features light up as he speaks within earshot of the Royal Guard contingent: "Yum! Hey, I've got a much better idea!"

The relief finally emerges among the gathered ponies, but some are still confused about why, one of them being Guard Upper Class Lucky Clover. He asks his superior officer, who for some reason had started looking very sentimentally at Apple Fritter: "Sir, what's going on? What is the buffalo chief trying to get at?"

"It looks like the day has been saved after all, Lucky." Meadow Song answers, sharing Apple Fritter's beaming mixture of pride and relief as the bulk of the former antagonists gather nearby around the buffalo chief to hear out his proposal.

"How? By who?" Lucky Clover asks again.

"Apple Fritter and her special baking talent. The pie recipe must've tasty enough to convince the buffalo chief to look at things a different way." Meadow Song answers for his confused subordinate.

"You have to remember, Lucky, Apple Fritter's three-time champ in the apple pie category at the National Dessert Competition. Her coming here turned out to have purpose after all." Aide Cherry Fizzy points out as he stands beside Lucky Clover.

"Exactly. And we're going for the fourth title this coming year." Meadow Song points out, letting a moment of sentimentality toward his mate slip out before his serious facade comes back up. "We've still got a job to do here though, congratulations will have to wait. Cherry, get me a casualty and damage report as quickly as you can. Noteworthy and Lucky, I want you two tending to any wounded and help get medical attention to those who need it. I'm going over to the main group and help the Element Bearers get a tentative agreement going."

"Sir, I thought we are still bound by the mission parameters..." Noteworthy objects as Meadow Song begins moving.

"The buffalo and Appleloosans look like they are ready to talk, that's close enough to call it a successful mission. Besides, I'm sure our secrecy has already been compromised, so I don't have anything to lose now." Meadow Song counters, already moving so as to prevent a counter-argument from emerging...

As Meadow Song carefully worked his way through the throng - now surrounding both the Element Bearers as well as Sheriff Silverstar and the buffalo chief - he could hear Twilight Sparkle's agitated comments: "So much to do... need to do the friendship letter based on this, and get an agreement down... Spike, you have something to write on?!"

"I don't even have something to write with, let alone on, Twilight." Spike sasses back out in response.

"Excuse me, Miss Twilight Sparkle... Miss?" Meadow Song calls out, now deliberately trying to get Twilight's attention as he squeezes out into the central area where she was.

"Oh, Meadow Song, is there something you want?" Twilight asks in reply, baffling Meadow Song by the apparent lack of surprise in her tone.

"Wait, you knew we were here the...?" Meadow Song begins to ask, but is interrupted by Twilight speaking again.

"I figured Princess Celestia had sent you and the others here for some reason. I just didn't want to say anything about it, or have the others say anything about it, and I already knew about Apple Fritter being here because Applejack..." Twilight starts to explain in a rambling manner.

"Applejack told you about her being here first, right." Meadow Song interrupts in turn, rolling his eyes and hoping the emerging blush would be dismissed as simply being a result of the heat. At least he would be able to explain the "whole fiasco" about his mission in his final report, hopefully...

"You couldn't have only been here to help defend the village, are you going to help implement the compromise too?" Twilight hazards a guess once Meadow Song finishes his line.

"Well, yes, yes in fact." Meadow Song stammers into confessing. "Technically, you don't have authority to implement any kind of agreement between the buffalo and the Appleloosan settlers, but me and my squad as members of the Royal Guard do. I will provide you with the writing materials to draw up a preliminary agreement as well write a report to my superiors about what we're doing next..."

"And the friendship letter?" Twilight interjects hopefully.

Meadow Song chuckles slightly in response to Twilight's question: "Well, Spike's magic will get anything to Canterlot faster than the standard post, so yes I'll provide you with something for that. Just have you and your friends go to the sheriff's office with Silverstar and sit tight there, I have some other business that needs to be accomplished first."

"Right. Chief Thunderhooves and Little Strongheart will be coming with us as well." Twilight acknowledges, pointing respectively toward the chief that had charged at Silverstar during the battle and "the little buffalo" Meadow Song recognized from the train raid as she speaks.

"Eh, it'll be a tight squeeze in there, but we're all friends, right?" Meadow Song comments.

"Right!" Twilight eagerly replies, giving a sparkling smile that had become one of Meadow Song's favorite quirks about Princess Celestia's former pupil of magic.

Lieutenant Meadow Song smiles and shakes his head after working his way back out of the crowd and moving to set up a writing station to use later near the entrance to the Salt Block. Things might work out alright after all, it seemed...

Final Report

Guard Lieutenant Meadow Song smiled as he looked out at the scenes of ponies and buffalo mingling peacefully in the Appleloosa streets that had once been their battlefield. He was currently preparing to write the final report of his squad's mission to send back to Canterlot, attached to Twilight Sparkle's "friendship letter" intended for Princess Celestia.

His typing desk had been positioned outside Sheriff Silverstar's office, and from his post he could see the town getting back into its previous cycles of life, the only evidence of a battle having been even there was the clock tower some earth ponies were reconstructing after the buffalo knocked it down in the battle. This effort was being supervised by his second-in-command, Aide Cherry Fizzy, while the rest of his squad - Guard Upper Class Caramel, Guard Upper Class Noteworthy and Guard Upper Class Lucky Clover - was assisting the Appleloosans in transplating trees of the apple orchard and clearing a path for the buffalo to travel through, both of which following the terms of the preliminary agreement crafted between the Appleloosan settlers and the buffalo tribe lead by Chief Thunderhooves.

The Element Bearers would leave as soon as "Bloomberg" was planted and the preliminary agreement had been fully implemented, but Lieutenant Meadow Song decided on his own initiative to stay longer in order to lead crafting a more permanent agreement as well as to follow up with "Quesadilla Polka", the mysterious orange-coated earth pony operating under a codename. This pony had returned to Appleloosa the day after the battle, and vowed to help support the new peace with his own talents whenever he could.

The aid request for the town to replace the supplies used in the town's defense could wait until the Guard squad returned to Ponyville, and "Quesadilla Polka" had provided firm evidence there were no ex-Agents of Chaos rebels operating either in the Wastes or the area surrounding the town. All that remained for the Guard Lieutenant was to type up the report, so Meadow Song snapped himself out of his reverie and focused on the "typewriter" (really a hoof-operated keyboard which imprinted letters into pieces of parchment) in front of him. He begins typing, carefully pressing forehooves on the appropriate letters to compose the final report:

"Report Issued By: Lieutenant Meadow Song, M.E.W.S. Tower CO, Ponyville Special Command - Currently Operating at Appleloosa
Report Intended For: Captain of the Canterlot E.U.P. Guard Gibraltar

NOTICE TO WHO IT MAY CONCERN: This report is being sent via the special transmission ability of Spike the Dragon, with the usage being approved by Twilight Sparkle, and is thus expected to initially be delivered to Her Majesty Princess Celestia - this is being done to faciliate the report's arrival to Canterlot as quickly as possible. This report is to be detached from the 'friendship letter' by Twilight Sparkle it is being sent with and delivered to Captain Gibraltar at the earliest possible opportunity by her current bodyguards. However, as I do not have the means of preventing Her Majesty from reading the report herself while utilizing this transmission method, receipt of an opened letter by the Captain should NOT be constituted as a breach of the chain of custody unless it can be proven a pony other than Her Majesty did indeed open the letter.

We have completed all three objectives with varying degrees of success, although I fear that civilian cover was broken before the mission was completed. It does not seem to have affected the successful completion of Objective #1, however. We will not return with the Element Bearers from Appleloosa, but instead stay there longer to craft a more permanent treaty between the settlers and the buffalo tribe, and intend to bring a written copy back to Canterlot for Her Majesty Princess Celestia to endorse and archive.

Contact was established with 'Quesadilla Polka' and an interview was conducted with him about rebel activity. Between this and further interviews with the buffalo tribe leader, Chief Thunderhooves, it has been conclusively established there is no rebel activity or instigation in the area of Appleloosa or the Wastes to the south of the settlement. It is recommended to focus further intelligence gathering to the road between Canterlot and Las Pegasus, as 'Quesadilla Polka' suggested the rebels primarily operate in that area.

Sheriff Silverstar has requested aid be provided both to defray the expenses of defending the town and repairing the damages to it - this aid request is still being outlined and will be sent along with the draft treaty to Canterlot. I will give a second notice upon my squad's departure from Appleloosa so as to allow time for reassignments to be drawn up before the return to Ponyville. All is well with the squad and am in optimistic mood for further successes.

End Report Transmission - Signed Off By: Lieutenant Meadow Song, Ponyville Special Command"

Lieutenant Meadow Song looks up from his typing work to see his mate, Apple Fritter, smiling beside him. She chuckles and states to Meadow Song: "Twilight Sparkle's waiting for you, you know. You keep her waiting, it's like keeping Princess Celestia herself waiting."

"Sorry, dear, let me just get this parchment tied up..." Meadow Song replies with a blush, carefully working the typed-up piece of parchment out of the typing "machine" and then using an awkward combination of hooves and snout to start rolling the parchment piece up into a scroll.

While Meadow Song works, Apple Fritter continues talking: "So I decided to stay here instead of leaving with Applejack and her friends like I planned out. Those buffalo can't get enough of the pies, it seems, and I'm gonna have to figure out how not to run out of apples a different way than all the trees being knocked down!"

"Might need to set up shipment contracts for supply with Sweet Apple Acres. Make sure you talk to Applejack about this - I'm sure between you two and Granny Smith, you can come up with something." Meadow Song answers, finishing rolling the parchment and holding it in place with one hoof as he sticks his snout into a saddlebag beside him and uses teeth to extract a ribbon to wrap the parchment with.

"Right... wonder if Barnyard Bargains will open up here any time soon, that would really help with supplying the other ingredients for the pies..." Apple Fritter speculates, referring to the shopping chain founded by the Rich family and which was built on a business deal between the Apple and Rich families.

"Not here, dear, don't think there's been enough time for the market to get established. Heard rumor that Dodge Junction might get one to cover the whole region around it, again that's something you'd want to ask Applejack about." Meadow Song answers through clentched teeth as he ties the ribbon around the parchment scroll.

"Sure, keep that in mind. I'll take that if you ready, darlin'." Apple Fritter comments with a twittering sugar-sweet tone and a beaming smile that reminded Meadow Song of an aspect of the mare that charmed him in the first place.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Did I mention yet today how proud I am to have you as my mate?" Meadow Song beams in return, letting his mate take the scroll.

"Of course you have, sweetie pie." Apple Fritter answers, giving Meadow a kiss on the cheek before departing with the scroll.

Meadow Song is briefly lost in his giddy joy before calming to a more satisfied happiness. Sure, there was more work to be done, but right now he deserved a little break from his duties...

A LITTLE LATER, IN CANTERLOT CASTLE...

The wisp of magically transported green flame sailing through an open window into Princess Celestia's suite was a welcome and anticipated event for the princess of the sun. However, the alicorn was puzzled when two scrolls materialized out of the flame and dropped in front of her - curious, she uses her unicorn magic to open and unroll one of the scrolls, quickly realizing what was going on once she started reading the scroll she had chosen, which had the report Lieutenant Meadow Song intended for Captain Gibraltar written on it.

"Oh, well they did put on a good show... Guard?" Princess Celestia comments, calling over a guard with the last word of her statement.

"Yes, Your Highness?" a pegasus stallion that had been posted at the doorway to her suite answered, clattering over to beside Celestia as he does so.

"Please take this to Captain Gibraltar straight away, he should be in his office. If not, leave it with Lieutenant Biro and he'll get it to the Captain." Celestia answers, holding up with unicorn magic the scroll she was talking about and leaving alone the other scroll with the "friendship letter" from Twilight Sparkle.

"Right away, Your Highness." the guard stallion replies - his partner in the duty was still at his station, so Celestia would not be left unguarded while the guard ran the errand. He takes the scroll with a wing, then pulls the wing partly in as he turns to perform the errand requested of him.

The pegasus stallion exits the suite and makes several turns down the castle corridors at high speed, but skids to a stop after hearing somepony call out behind him. He turns around and sees two unicorn stallions, one wearing a Lieutenant's star pinned onto his work "scrubs", pushing a cart in front of them loaded with cleaning supplies and equipment.

"Where are you heading off to in such a hurry, Guard?" the unicorn stallion with the sewn-on Lieutenant star says to his pegasus counterpart.

"Delivery to the Captain from Princess Celestia, sir!" the pegasus answers with a salute - the Lieutenant's star marks the unicorn as a superior officer despite the implication of the work "scrubs" otherwise.

"We need to check in with the Captain ourselves now, I'll take that off your hooves and save both of us some trouble." the unicorn Lieutenant offers with a beckoning foreleg gesture.

"You sure, sir?" the pegasus asks with a skeptical look.

"Positive. I know you're guarding Celestia's suite, get back to that important assignment and we'll take it from here." the Lieutenant reassures, his comrade pushing the cart beside him adding a grin as an attempt to help out.

"... Alright, sir..." the pegasus answers with continuing skepticism, holding out the previously-opened scroll until a sickly-green magic aura surrounds it - a sign of the unicorn Lieutenant's magic taking hold - and then letting go of his own grip on the scroll. Warily, he turns away as he sees the scroll hovering in mid-air, but he does not see anything move before rounding a corner to head back to his previous posting.

"Phew. I didn't think he would fall for that, Lyacon." the Lieutenant says in a relieved whisper as he "reels in" the hovering scroll closer until it is at a position where he can read it.

"Never mind, Troilus. Are you sure it's safe to be reading that?" Guard Upper Class Lyacon asks of Lieutenant Troilus beside him, both retaining a hushed tone for the rest of the conversation.

"Nah, we're safe. Chain of custody was already broken by Celestia, can't get in trouble for it. See the note at the top?" Troilus points out.

"... Alright, I see. Anything good in there?" Lyacon asks again after briefly scanning the scroll himself.

"Hmmm... looks like the planted false lead about the rebel presence has been exposed - we're out of distraction options now." Troilus answers sadly. "Our timetable for secretly gathering support for the expedition will have to be sped up."

"But how? We don't have any good opportunities to rally..." Lyacon begins to complain, but is silenced by a gesture from Troilus.

"There are ways to get the support we need more quickly. I know a potential ally that will help us rally potential supporters more quickly, I just need an opportunity to meet with him." Troilus states assuringly as he lets the scroll roll back up, the parchment still being held in mid-air by the green magic glow.

"Who, sir? Who are we talking about?" Lyacon naturally asks.

"I'll explain when we're ready to meet him. Now, keep pushing, we'll drop this scroll off at the Captain's office and, with any luck, won't get in trouble for reading it." Troilus orders.

"Yes, sir." Lyacon answers, resuming his previous pushing stance and helping his superior in conspiracy wheel the heavy cart down the hallways of Canterlot Castle, their next scheme already beginning to unfold in their minds...

Author's Note

(Again, apologies for missing last week - same reason as the previous time. Stay tuned for the next story real soon now!)