They, were huddle together, the wolves howls brought a chill to the buffalo's bones. As shadows moved along the mountain they huddled in closer. The night grew silent, but not for long a bone chilling yowl broke through the air. Chief Thunderhooves got to his hooves. The shadows now moved just on the edge of snorted heavily, stomping his hoof into the desert sand.
Little Strongheart jumped up beside the chief, but he pushed he back toward the other buffaloes, huddled together. A shawdow wipped toward them and jumped up biting down on the chief's shoulders. He bit down on his attackers neck and tore him off, throwing him back into the darkness just outside the fire light. Blood seeped through his fur as he fell to a knee. Two more shadows wipped inward and strait for the chief.
Two other buffalo, bandaged and bleeding, butted the shadows, back into the darkness. This process repeated itself throughout the night. As the sun started to show over the horizon the shadows disappeared into the mountains dragging along a buffalo, that they managed to bring down. The chief fell down exuaghsted, he knew they wouldn't come back during the day.
Little Stronheart ran around the camp tending her families various bite wounds and scratch marks. She held a natural medicine in her mouth the bowl was cracked and was covered with dried blood. As she went into the chief's tent, he woke up. His hooves grabbed her, spilling the medicine onto his chest, he fell back pulled a dirty rag out of what remained of the medicine and placed it on his shoulder, leaving his tent.
"Strongheart?" She turned and saw a large buffalo, his wound reopened and bleeding out. She sighed and proceeded to restitch his leg shut."I don' know what happened, it just snapped."
"Yea, i know. I just don't understand why the wolves keep attacking, it doesn't make any sense. Why won't they just leave us alone, Strongbell?"
Strongbell rolled his eyes."Listen, Strongheart, we both know what they want,They're hungry. with the applolossains rapid expainsions their forced to find other hunting resources, us. And with the mayor of appleoosa so i'll I fear this seige will last forever."
Strongheart bit the thin string she had been weaving into his leg, cutting it. "Just remember to stay off your hooves for a while okay, Strongbell." Strongheart, quickly ran off toward her tent. Inside she picked up a cactus and split it poured what little water that was in it into a bowl similar to her last one, dry blood and crude rusted dust covered the outside.
As she prepared to take it to Copperhead, a small buffalo who shes fond of, she fell.
Cheif Thunderhooves had gotten up and made his way to her tent."Strongheart you must leave this place." His words were laced with uncertainty, but still held a commanding tone.
"What!" Stongheart said, her eyes widening."You can't be serious Chief."
"Oh, but I am serious. I know it sounds strange but I have reason to suspect that their true intention is to get to you, Strongheart." Chief Thunderhooves fell to his side, sweating heavily. The word infection suddenly became too familiar to Strongheart. She took the what little remained of Copperhead's water and poured it into his mouth.
"Come on Chief you need to come lay down." She moved some things around in her tent, it was a mess. She finally finished clearing a small area and helped the Chief lay down inside."It's going to be okay just need to go to appleloosa and get you some help, medicine maybe.
Thunderhooves shook his head, "no don't go to appleloosa. The thunderbirds are on the way, and like every three years they try and clear the plains. Strongheart, leave, I'm telling you, as your father.
"But couldn't the appleloosans help us their kind ponies, they cou-" Thunderhooves put his hoof on her mouth.
"I'm ordering you to leave Strongheart, and please take Copperhead with you when you go. Your to young to have your lives end so soon." he voice faded as he fell asleep.
Tears rolled down Strongheart's face as she tried to figure out what to do. Leaving was out of the question, they needed her, and with the thunderbirds on the way her, Copperhead and all of the tribe were in danger. The decision weighed heavily on her. If she doesn't figure out what to do the wolves would be back tonight and Thunderhooves is to weak to protect them, leaving would be abandonment. While staying would mean death.
She left her tent and instantly saw the smaller buffalo climbing over his mother's back. His fur wasn't as dark as the others, it was almost like hers. She walked over and whispered into the mother's ear, she nodded and handed the child to strongheart, she ran.
It took her the better half of the day to reach the town of settler ponies, but she didn't let herself be known. She stayed on the outskirts of town until she heard the sounds of the train that came everyday, it wouldn't leave again till morning, but that's where she and Copperhead, will stay the night. As the train pulled into the station she threw Copperhead on the caboos, then jumped on herself.
she and Copperhead chose a empty car to sleep in for the night, she didn't tell him what was going on, but she felt he knew he was smart. As the sun set the first wave of wolves made themselves known, a loud howl sounded, even in appoloosa they could hear them. The train ran silent for a few hours, Copperhead was asleep. The sound of quietness and stillness was loud, to Strongheart. She had became used to the sounds of battle at night and sleeping in the morning.
The train's horn sounded. According to her it wasn't supposed to leave till morning, this was weird . she stood and headed to the front of the train there wasn't anyone else in any of the other car's but someone was making it move. It wasn't right the train never moved during the night. she got to her hooves and opened the car door.
She made sure that Copperhead was properly stowed away before she left off. She started to open up other cars but, they were all empty. There was no other ponies on the train. She came to the last few cars and started to hear ponies talking, she pressed her ear against the door, it opened. She fell in and hit the ground she looked up and saw the Sheriff.
"Well who do we have here?" he said staring at Little Strongheart. "Seems like, we've got a rotten apple in the cider, huh boys?"
*I realize I'm moving to fast and tries to slow down story*
Strongheart pulled herself to her hooves and backed up their were two other ponies in the room with the Sheriff. on was a dark stallion with a scared eye the other, a green mare wearing a eye patch. They pulled out what looked like wooden swords and moved toward Strongheart. She backed up, running away. As she left the car she slammed the door shut and bucked off the handle.
The two ponies bucked at the door, it shook furiously. She opened the door to the next car and reached down to detach the cars. She separated the the cars and jumped. She landed on the other side and looked back as the two ponies jumped of the train and landed inside her car. They pressed her head into the floor, then shut the door.
"What are you doing here." the mare asked."This was supposed to be an empty train, why are you here?"
Her ears buzzed but she managed to hear most of what she said, but couldn't answer, she wasn't supposed to be there. She felt something sharp press against the back of her neck, a blade. The swords the ponies held were bronze blades and they weren't wooden toys, like she thought. They stood her up and opened the door the train had been backed back up, to the car she just detached.
They pulled her off the train car down onto the Sheriff stood in front of her, he did seem sick, but not enough to be bedridden."Now what are you doing here, it's nowhere near time for your stampede." His voice also carried a air of sickness. Strongheart opened her mouth to say something when the sounds of, wolves, interrupted were close, to close for her comfort.
"Listen, Sheriff, I don't know what you were doing, and I don't care. But these shadow wolves are tormenting me and my family, I even had to leave so they'll be safe. I'm not trying to be an rotten apple, Sheriff." The stallion let Strongheart go and backed away.
"Wolves eh, Elly, what's the price on wolf pelts? "
The mare shrugged."Last I checked, about ten bits each, Patto." They all scanned the darkness of the night for movement, they were out there, but were also hard to see. Their bodies moved like the wind only making themselves known, when they eyes glowed a bright white in the moon and for a while they forgot about Stongheart. The moon provided very little light and only made the wolves blend in more.
"Sheriff, lets get you inside." Strongheart motioned for the Sheriff to go inside.
"I ain't sick I'm perfectly fine, just a cold is all." He backed away from Strongheart as a shadow whipped inward, It took him down and he grabbed onto Stongheart's leg. She paniced if she let the wolves get her, what would stop them from going back to her home and killing off everyone night by night. She thought for a moment before kicking down on the Sheriff's face, he let go and was instantly pulled into the night. Another shadow came inward but she punched at it, missing, but it left her alone.
She got back to her hooves and climbed back into the train and Patto stayed outside, their swords held tightly in their started to head back to the last car, the wolves howling as she went. She opened the her car door and found, Copperhead, wide went over and laid beside him, shaking off the coldness of the night. The night was shorter than usual, and she found herself asleep a lot sooner than expected.
The good news, for her was that if the wolves were truly after her than, the tribe would be safe. What bothered her now was know whether to take Copperhead back to his mother or not. She left without even telling her where she was headed or even, why she needed him. With the wolves focus on her should, she even risk going back there.
Her body began shaking rapidly, as a hoof slapped her face, she woke up. The green mare from last night, no longer wearing the eye patch, had woke her up. She pushed a bowl of oatmeal toward her, smiling.
"You seem like you had a rough night." It took Strongheart a moment to realize she'd been spoken to and a moments more to realize the train was moving.
"Where are we?" She stood up quickly, noticing Copperhead eating already. "What happened to Sheriff Silverstar?"
Elly shrugged,"Eh."She left the car and headed back to the engineer room.
"Hey, Little Strongheart you've got to try this stuff, it's better than that stuff we eat."
She ignored him the memory of kicking Silverstar played over in her head, the look of sickness mixed with fear was somthing she never wanted to picked up her bowl and sat next to Copperhead, but didn't fell like eating, So she just watched him eat. The thought of where they were headed suddenly became important, but not a priority. She waited until Copperhead finished eating, then they both started heading to the front of the train.
judging by the sun it was about noon, that meant that they had slept in. Now reaching the car they wanted to be in, they saw a dead wolf, only one, skinned. It's pelt had been ripped from it's body and it's skull had somehow been placed her hoof over Copperhead's eyes and smiled shyly at the two ponies in the car.
"What do you want?" Patto said shoulder had a bite mark in it, but it seemed they were only able to stop the bleeding not much else.
"I was just wondering if you needed any help."
Patto snorted."Help, I don't need any help I'm perfectly fine on my own and that's just the way things are." he then smiled."I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist." He reached up yo his eye and rubbed the scar off. "I'd really like some help if you know how to, it would save us a stop."
"Uh, sure, I'll go find a bandage, but where are we going?"
Patto shrugged,"It's a train, it runs on tracks when it stops, we stop."
"Oh I guess that makes sense, but who are you two, why were you with the Sheriff, and why'd he call me a rotten apple?"
Elly whispered somthing to Patto. Then turned to Strongheart, we've been dealing drugs. They may look like ordinary apples and taste like them but they have a side effect which I believe you saw when, you saw Silverstar."
"But I just thought he was sick?"
Both the ponies giggled."he wasn't sick he was addicted he was just about to blow the last of his towns money on these." Patto got off the crate he had been sitting on and showed her the apples."Sense he died, mysteriously." He glared at strongheart,"we didn't get to collect our money."
Strongheart smiled, and left the room in a hurry. She knew he saw her, it was her fault and he saw found a first aid kit and opened it. Pulling out some bandages, she went back to Patto. She quickly wrapped his shoulder and left the car, Copperhead followed closely behind her.
"Little Strongheart why are we leavin?"
"We're not leaving Copperhead, just think of this as a vacation, or something." Strongheat smiled at him,"Just a quick vacaton."