It was about a month after Spike and the ponies got back with the dragonsnap for Celestia's cure. However, this story is not going to take place in Ponyville. Instead, it's going to take place in Appleloosa.
Ever since the buffalo and Braeburn's clan made that peace treaty lives for both sides had gotten a lot better. Due to his love of peace and for not participating in the battle, Braeburn was made an ambassador to the buffalo for his clan. He was the only pony who was allowed into the buffalo tribe without any trouble. Little Strongheart, for not participating in the battle either (she only went along to keep an eye on her dad, the chief), was made an ambassador to Appleloosa for her tribe. She was the only buffalo who could go into town without suspicious looks.
Due to this, Little Strongheart and Braeburn saw a lot of each other and became great friends. Braeburn, though he didn't show it much, was one of the fastest land ponies ever. Even though he didn't come close to Little Strongheart's speed he got closer than any other Earth pony ever could, which impressed her and led them to having many races. By the time the month after Celestia's recovery arrived, Braeburn realized that he enjoyed hanging out with Little Strongheart even more than he enjoyed hanging out with the rest of his clan...including the females. Then, one morning, he saw Little Strongheart walk into town and she seemed to glow. That's when Braeburn realized that he had developed feelings for her.
"Hi Braeburn." Little Strongheart smiled.
Braeburn was still frozen, but recovered quickly.
"Hi, what brings you here today?" He asked.
Not quickly enough.
"Are you okay?" Little Strongheart asked. "You seemed shocked about something earlier."
"Oh...I...uh...it was nothing." Braeburn lied, nervously glancing to his right.
Little Strongheart followed his glance and saw some settler mares standing there giggling and smiling at Braeburn. Little Strongheart realized that whatever it was Braeburn wasn't going to tell her with them there so she decided to drop the matter for now.
"Never mind." Little Strongheart went back to smiling. "I came here today because I heard something about a square dance during my last visit and wanted to know more about it."
"Oh." Braeburn relaxed. "A square dance is a special dance we do when we celebrate something. Most of the moves are done in a square or rectangle pattern, which is why we call it that. This time we're going to celebrate a year of peace with your tribe. Actually, that reminds me, you and your tribe are invited too. Normally we hold the dance in a barn when it's at night but since there wouldn't be enough room we're going to hold it outside this time."
"I see, sounds like fun. I'll ask Chief if at least I can go, he's still a traditionalist so he and the rest of the tribe might not want to come. Is it okay if I don't get the moves right?"
"Of course, no one expects you to know the dance automatically. And I can teach you later, starting tomorrow." Braeburn smiled. "Say, maybe you can teach us some of your traditional dances during the square dance?"
"I'll ask Chief that too, he might agree since he wants you guys to know more about our customs anyway. So, what does one wear to a square dance?"
"Well, you can come as you are or you can wear one of the gingham dresses our mares usually wear to the dance. Your choice."
"I think I'll try one of those gingham dresses."
"Cool, I'll take you to the store so you can pick one out. You have time to decide though, the dance is at the end of this month."
"That gives me plenty of time to practice." Little Strongheart chuckled.
They went into the store and Little Strongheart studied the dresses. Since they were made for ponies they didn't fit her perfectly, but the store owner said that he would make the necessary adjustments. Little Strongheart ended up picking out a pumpkin colored one. Since she didn't want to take it back to the tribe, Braeburn offered to keep it for her and she agreed.
"Listen, if your dad allows you to come would you like to go to the dance with me?" Braeburn blushed a little.
"I'd love to." Little Strongheart, to her surprise, blushed back; that was when she realized that she had fallen in love with him.
When they left the store, Little Strongheart decided to leave town earlier than usual to ask her dad for permission. When she had gone, the mares Bareburn saw earlier came up to him. The head of the group Braeburn recognized as Dolly Sue, Sheriff Silverstar's sister. Dolly made toys for the fillies and colts, and was pale pink with red-orange hair. Her cutie mark was a doll and a marble.
"Braeburn, I was wondering if you would like to go to the dance with me?" Dolly asked.
"Sorry Dolly, but I'm already planning to go with Little Strongheart." Braeburn shook his head before starting to leave. "I have to go, see you later."
Dolly Sue was crushed.
Braeburn headed home and hung up Little Strongheart's dress in his closet. He then started thinking about his new feelings for Little Strongheart. Of course there were problems with it, namely how his clan and Little Strongheart's tribe would react to it. With his clan he figured that if they didn't accept it he would just move in with Little Strongehart's tribe, which is probably what would happen anyway if they ended up together. Little Strongheart after all was next in line to lead the tribe. As for Little Strongheart's tribe, especially Chief Thunderhooves, well...here's where Braeburn got a little scared. Buffalo were a lot stronger than ponies for one thing, and of course what with Chief Thunderhooves being Little Strongheart's dad and all...he was sure to be very protective of her.
Braeburn wasn't sure what to do, but one thing he did know was that he couldn't keep his feelings a secret. He decided to tell Little Strongheart the truth privately during the dance. The results could go one of a few ways. For one thing, if Chief Thunderhooves came to the dance too he could overhear him telling Little Strongheart his feelings. For another thing, Chief Thunderhooves might not go to the dance and so wouldn't hear about Braburn's feelings until Little Strongheart worked up the courage to tell him herself. But, no matter how Chief Thunderhooves heard, the main thing was how he was going to react.
Meanwhile, on the way back to the tribe Little Strongheart was having some thoughts of her own. They were pretty similar to Braeburn's, with a few differences. For example, she worried that if the tribe heard of her feelings for Braeburn they might threaten him or worse. Especially Chief Thunderhooves, he wasn't as protective of her as most dads were in some situations but when it came to guys...that was another story. Then there was Braeburn's clan. Would they handle Braeburn, one of their most important cowponies, leaving the clan to join her tribe? Because if there was one thing she knew, it was that she would never be allowed to leave the tribe. There was no one else to take her place as the next chief.