Then the second test came: to join them in a race. Braeburn would have to keep from ending up last in order to pass the test. Dolly Sue was still spying on him now and then, and when she heard about this next test she got an idea: keep him awake the night before so he would be too tired to race.
The night before the race she captured a mosquito and let it loose in Braeburn's teepee. He woke up and remained awake for about half-an-hour trying to swat it, and finally succeeded. Dolly Sue then set an alarm clock near his teepee. The ticking only slightly annoyed him, but then it went off after ten minutes... That woke up the tribe as well as Braeburn. Dolly Sue quickly made a run for it.
"What was that?" A buffalo protested.
"*Oog*, sounded like an alarm clock." Braeburn yawned. "Ponies use it to wake up when they don't have a rooster handy. But who would set one up all the way out here?"
"Beats me, but it looks like someone wants you to stay awake." Little Strongheart noticed how tired he look.
"If that's true then that mosquito that was in my teepee didn't fly in there on it's own."
"Mosquito?" Chief Thunderhooves repeated, a little worried. "There hasn't been a mosquito near the tribe for years, our quick swatting scared them off a long time ago. I think you'd better sleep in my tent, just in case."
"Nah, I think waking the rest of you up drove off this prankster." Braeburn shook his head. "I'll be fine."
"If you're sure." Little Strongheart looked concerned.
"Hey, don't worry about me." Braeburn smiled affectionately.
"In that case, let's all get back to bed." Chief Thunderhooves ordered.
Everyone did. Braeburn had a little trouble falling back asleep though. He thought that Sheriff Silverstar was the only one who knew why he was here. Then he remembered that Dolly Sue was nearby when he last talked to Sheriff Silverstar. Now, Sheriff Silverstar was one of the best ponies when it came to keeping secrets, but it was possible that Dolly Sue followed him out here and found out everything. Then Braeburn realized the reason for her past actions: she had developed a crush on him! Of course, she was trying to keep him awake so that he would lose tomorrow! Well, he was going to prove to her as well as the buffalo that nothing will stop him from ending up with Little Strongheart. He knew that he couldn't have fallen in love with someone of a different species without a good reason.
The next morning Braeburn was tired, but raring to race. Little Strongheart and Chief Thunderhooves were the only ones not racing. Little Strongheart was to signal the start of the race and then follow behind to keep an eye on things. Chief Thunderhooves was to wait for the winner and to see if Braeburn could keep up well enough to pass.
The race begun, and Braeburn had never been more determined. The race started out basically even, with Braeburn near the end but not at the end. As the race continued however, he started to grow more tired, but kept pushing on. At one point he tripped, and collapsed on the ground. Little Strongheart wasn't allowed to offer physical support to any of the racers, so she just stuck with verbal support.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"Yeah, I'm just really tired." Braeburn managed to get up, but only into a sitting position.
"Listen, if you're too tired to continue it's okay..."
"No. There is a reason why we fell in love, and I believe it's a good reason." Braeburn this time managed to stand. "I'm not giving up."
He started running again, Little Strongheart watching him proudly. Even though he was still tired, he continued, forcing himself to catch up with the tribe. He managed too catch up, and even managed to reach second-to-last place by the time they all reached the finish line. This was good enough for Chief Thunderhooves, so he declared that Braeburn had passed the second test. Braeburn smiled, and then fainted, exhausted.
"Is he okay?" Chief Thunderhooves asked Little Strongheart.
"I think so, he's just exhausted." Little Strongheart gently lifted Braeburn's muzzle up with a hoof; he didn't stir, but he was still breathing. "He forced himself to continue running despite being so tired." She smiled at Braeburn fondly.
Chief Thunderhooves couldn't help but be impressed.
"Put him in his teepee, he'll need all the rest he can get for the next test."
"What is the next test?" Little Strongheart asked.
"Testing his strength."
Braeburn ended up sleeping through the day and following night. When he woke up the next morning he felt like his old self and was ready for the next test. When he heard that it was to test his strength however, he grew nervous. No pony had ever been as strong as a buffalo before.