Chapter 3: Strengths and Weaknesses
It was a brand new day for Twilight, and she was very glad to be out of Ponyville Hospital. Twilight had learned her lesson from yesterday, which was to allow her five best friends to aid her in the search for the talismans. This time, she called in her favorite country mare, Applejack, and her sister, Apple Bloom. "It's mighty fine of ya to invite us to help find the, uh... whatchamacallit." "The Ox talisman." Twilight answered. "Princess Celestia already has the Rooster talisman kept safe in Canterlot Castle." "How's the little guy doin' anyway? I thought he was gonna be with ya." Applejack commented. "Spike is still in the hospital because his stomach was pumped." Twilight said. "He swallowed the talisman which actually helped us beat these bad guys last night." "Hey, at least ya'll have me to help out!" Apple Bloom said with excitement. "Listen sugar cube, the only reason we're letting ya come to Appleloosa is to see Braeburn and other family and friends." Applejack stated. "I know you want to be heroic, but this is a very dangerous mission." Twilight warned. "We also need to make sure we're not being followed." As soon as the train arrived, the three ponies boarded and got settled in to their seats.
Shortly after, the Dark Hoof had just arrived to the platform on time to board the train. "I'm getting sick of trains, can't we just teleport like Trixie does to make things faster?" Ratso complained. "Earth to Ratso, we're NOT unicorns, we are earth ponies." Finn snapped. "Quiet you two" Tohru barked. "We have only one task, which is to claim the Ox talisman. We will use whatever means we can, so make the best of it!" As the enforcers boarded the train, Tohru looked around to make sure there were no unwanted guests. "You three should go on to the front car. I will stay in this area." Tohru suggested. "What's the deal, big T? We have first class year long tickets, and you're choosing to sit in coach?" Finn asked, wondering what the deal was with their lieutenant. "I sense there's rats near by." Tohru said sounding more serious. "We'll leave you to it then." said Chow. With that, Finn, Ratso, and Chow moved on to the first class car. As Tohru made himself comfortable in the back seats, he did not realize Applejack was eavesdropping on the short conversation. "Um, Twilight." whispered Applejack, nudging her friend. "I think we have some trouble near by." Twilight looked down the aisle while keeping her head low. "That's him." Twilight whispered back. "He's the one that attacked me at the library." "I also heard his other lackies call him by his name, which I think is Tohru." said Applejack. "Tohru... I'll remember that." said Twilight. To avoid being seen, Twilight concealed herself with a blanket and pillow whenever Tohru was nearby.
The entire train ride took only a few hours to arrive to the destination; although the only tricky part was getting Twilight off the train without being seen by the Dark Hoof. Applejack and Apple Bloom waited until everyone else was out of their car, and then they walked together while carrying a wrapped and tied piece of luggage inside a blanket. They looked around to make sure the coast was clear. "That was a mighty fine idea ya had, Apple Bloom." Applejack said to her younger sister. "Aw it was nuthin'." Apple Bloom said, being modest. They untied and unwrapped the blanket, which was actually Twilight the whole time. "Huff.. huff... are they gone? Twilight asked, catching her breath." "Yep, ain't none of them in sight." said Apple Bloom. "C'mon, we should head over to see my cousin Braeburn." Applejack said. The three ponies already had an idea of how to navigate the old-western town, but there had been some changes for the better. The last time they visited Appleloosa, there was serious tension between the settlers and the buffalo tribe regarding the apple orchards. With the help of the Twilight and friends, the ponies and buffalo made amends and have lived in harmony. While Twilight and the apple sisters were coming close to the middle of town, straight ahead they saw cousin Braeburn with another familiar face, Little Strongheart. "Howdy cuz!" Applejack greeted. "Well I'll be darned, it's my apple cousins and Twilight!" Braeburn said in excitement. "I know this is going to sound a bit strange to you." Twilight said. "But we're on a mission to find something very valuable." "Valuable huh? We should probably discuss this in private." Little Strongheart suggested. "I recommend we go to Braeburn's place." "That will work, thanks for the offer." said Twilight.
The whole gang made it to Braeburn's living quarters where they were free to discuss anything without being bothered. "Little Strongheart, do you or your father know the whereabouts of the Ox talisman?" Twilight asked. "I have not seen or heard of anything like that." Strongheart replied. "However, I believe there is one individual that might have something similar to what you're describing." "Who do ya think would have it then?" asked Applejack. Braeburn got up from the dining room table to fetch a flier that was laying in his bedroom. "I think this is who Strongheart is talking about." Braeburn said. "This is the Appleloosa hoof wrestling champion." "Wait a sec, that's Iron Will!" said Twilight. Out of anyone in Appleloosa that could have the talisman, she would have never thought the boisterous minotaur would have it. "I remember that crazy bull." Applejack said. "Rarity told me that he messed with Fluttershy's head and said all this nonsense about not being a doormat, and making every pony listen to you, and other hogwash."
"Look here, I found something." said Twilight. She held up the poster for everyone in the room to see, and sure enough, there was a blue ox emblem in the middle of Iron Will's belt. "Just as my father thought, he IS using magic." Strongheart said, feeling a bit angry. "So far Iron Will has not lost a single match since he arrived in our town." Braeburn said in a hopeless voice. "There's rumors going on that Chief Thunderhooves is afraid to challenge him." "I don't believe that one bit!" Strongheart assertively stated. "It's true that my father refused to face him in a hoof wrestle. However, I know for a fact it wasn't out of fear, but because he knows Iron Will is winning with an unfair advantage." "Then there's one conclusion I can make." said Twilight. "The ox talisman is giving him super strength to take out his opponents." "I'm with you on that, Twili, and there's only one way to find out." replied Applejack. "I'm going to challenge Iron Will to a hoof wrestle I don't expect to win, but we need to convince him to give us the talisman-" "Before our enemies get to him first." Twilight cut in. "I have an idea." Strongheart said. "Applejack, during your match against Iron Will, Twilight should use that chance to get the belt off his waist. Braeburn will stay here to watch Apple Bloom." "Aww... but I wanna watch!" Apple Bloom complained. "Look sugar cube, this ain't a rodeo or a game." Applejack said. "This is serious business and we need to get this done without drawing too much attention." "Alright..." sighed Apple Bloom." "The tournament starts at 6:00 tonight, so we need to be there on time." said Braeburn. "I wish I could help more, but I need to get back to the buffalo camp." Strongheat said. "Twilight, I wish the best for you and your friends." "We'll do everthing we can." said Twilight. Little Strongheart gave her last goodbyes and left the group.
As the day got closer to dusk, Twilight and Applejack managed to get to the saloon without anything stopping them. There was already a good crowd of tough looking buffalo and stallions ready to take on the champion in the hoof wrestling weekly tournament. "I'm very surprised we haven't run in to Tohru and his cronies since we got here." Applejack commented. "You're right, it almost seems too easy." Twilight said. "I'm ready for them to arrive any minute since they probably know where to look." "Here he comes." said Applejack. Everybody's attention turned to Iron Will as he walked through the saloon doors, each of them anxious to see whom his first challenger would be. "It's time for everybody's favorite weekly event: the Iron Hoof Wrestle Gauntlet!" Iron Will shouted. "As the current champion, each and every one of you has the chance to challenge me tonight. The matches will keep going until either someone defeats me or when there's nobody left that wants to compete. So now, the first challenger, please step up!" "I'll be your first opponent." Applejack said standing up to the mohawk haired minotaur. Everyone in the room except Twilight looked at Applejack in disbelief, thinking that she had lost it completely. "Then it's settled. The orange blonde pony will be my first victim." Iron Will boasted.
While Applejack and Iron Will were getting settled in at the table, outside the saloon the Dark Hoof enforcers were coming close to the doors, eager to see what was going on inside. "I hope they got happy hour on cider tonight." Ratso said feeling like a kid in a candy store. "We're all the way out in a desert town and all you can think of is drinking!?" Finn said, shaking his head. "Hold on a sec fellas. I think we may have found a clue." said Chow as he and Tohru peaked through the window of the saloon. Chow's attention was fixed on Applejack and Iron Will, while Tohru saw Twilight spectating the match. "Alright big T, when you give the signal, Ratso and I will nail the purple gal." said Finn feeling overconfident to knock out Twilight. "No, we are not going inside. Sparkle does not have the talisman." Tohru said. "Well then who does?" Finn asked impatiently. "Him." Tohru responded, pointing his hoof at Iron Will." "We should probably just wait for him to come out when he's alone." Chow commented. "I'm with you on that." said Ratso. The four bad guys saw a dark alley way to hide in so that they wouldn't be seen.
Meanwhile, Applejack and Iron were just seconds away from duking it out. "On your mark, get set, go!" the bartender exclaimed. While Applejack and Iron Will were both dead even in the center, a white light started to glow around the edges of the Ox indention, and eventually the front of the talisman beamed from the front of Iron Will's belt. In the blink of an eye, Iron Will slammed down Applejack's hoof so fast she thought the table was going to break. "The winner! Iron Will!" the bartender proudly announced, raising the minotaur's hand. "I know he cheated." Applejack muttered as she walked away in anger. "Using the opportunity, Twilight attempted to undo Iron Will's belt with her magic as he proudly stood in front of his audience. "Thank you for all your support. Without my fans and friends, I would still be- what the-!?" Iron Will shifted his attention behind him as he felt his belt trying to undo itself. It also didn't take long for him to notice Twilight's horn glowing the same sparkly color around his belt. "So, we have ourselves a thief trying to get my belt!" Iron Will shouted at Twilight. As he started to approach Twilight, Applejack intervened. "You keep your hideous hands away from my friend." Applejack barked. "And while you're here, let's have a rematch WITHOUT yer belt on!" "You're telling Iron Will what to do?" Iron Will snapped, who then proceeded to laugh in amusement. "You're out of your league, missy" he bragged. "Iron Will never removes his belt! Everyone in here, you can thank the thief and the sore loser for making me angry. I'm leaving tonight just because of their sourpuss attitudes!" After making his final speech, the champion left the saloon. "We still need to talk him into giving up the talisman." said Twilight. "Easier said than done, his ego is bigger than his brain." Applejack stated.
As Iron Will was walking down the empty town street, the enforcers came out of hiding and approached the already agitated bull. "Bravo, Iron Will, bravo!" Finn said, faking his applause. "That was one heck of a match you had in there, and we just wanted a few words with you. Iron Will, meet Tohru. Tohru, meet Iron Will. Iron Will; Tohru. Tohru; Iron Will. Tohru shoved Finn out of the way so he could cut to the chase about the talisman. "The belt, hand it over." Tohru commanded to Iron Will. "I'm only gonna tell you this once before I get really angry." Iron Will said, getting even more ticked off. "Iron Will never removes his belt!" "Then I will remove it for you!" Tohru responded. As Tohru tried to snatch the belt off of Iron Will's waist, the bull raised his hand to stop the big pony, grabbed Tohru by the neck, and threw him like a small rock in to wheelbarrow of hay. "Holy cow! No one nails Tohru!" Ratso said in shock "Keep the belt, we're outta here!" Chow said as the three enforcers ran to help Tohru.
The commotion caused enough disturbance for Twilight and Applejack to come quickly out in the open area. As Iron Will dusted his hands off, Twilight approached him. "Listen, I know you're still in a hot mood, but more of those guys are after your talisman." Twilight said. "Talisman? What talisman?" Iron Will said, playing dumb. "The one on your belt that you use to cheat!" Applejack snapped. "Oh, you mean this. It gives me good luck, that's all." said Iron Will, still feigning ignorance. "We know what the talisman does, and if you don't let us help you, more bad guys will come after you one after another." Twilight warned. "So please Iron Will, give us the talisman and we promise not to bother you again." "That's nonsense." Iron Will quickly said dismissing Twilight's plea. "I pity the fool that crosses Iron Will!" "Well you'd better look again." Applejack insisted.
Before anymore trash talk could be said, everyone got silent as Shadowkhan ninjas came out of the alleys and from the rooftops. There were at least 20 of them, which was more than the first encounter back in Ponyville. "Um, Twili, you got any ideas?" Applejack nervously asked. Before the unicorn could come up with a plan, Iron Will was already eager for a fight. "Bring it on!" Iron Will shouted at the top of his lungs. This initiated the Shadowkhan to attack all at once, but luckily for Iron Will he had backup. Applejack was very skilled in martial arts, and she easily dispatched of four ninjas at once. Twilight was more prepared this time, and fired magic beams from her unicorn; powerful enough to turn some of the Shadowkhan to dust one at a time. Iron Will also had no problem taking on ten enemies at a time, only because he was still wearing the Ox talisman. Unfortunately for him, a sly ninja came out of no where with a grappling hook, and hurled it far enough to snag the front of Iron Will's belt. After a short struggle, the belt snapped off and got pulled back to the culprit. To make matters worse, the ninja then threw the talisman over to Tohru and the enforcers, who then made a run for it. With their mission complete, every single remaining Shadowkhan threw down a blue smoke bomb simultaneously. When the blue smoked cleared away, not a single ninja was in sight.
Iron Will could not believe what had just happened. He had lost his pride, his confidence, and most of all, his reputation. "Applejack is right, I am a fake." said Iron Will as he slumped down on a nearby bench. He looked at the ground thinking about how he never won a single hoof wrestle until he found the Ox talisman. Even though he had hands instead of hooves, he still didn't think he was strong for a minotaur. "It doesn't have to end this way." said Twilight. "As much as we all like to win, we also have to grow from our defeats." "Well said Twilight." said a familiar voice. "Apple Bloom? What in the hay are you doin' here!? I thought Braeburn was watchin' you?" Applejack asked, trying not to sound too angry. "Shoot, I got bored with that guy. As soon as he turned around, I took off." Apple Bloom said with a smirk. "Hey Iron Will, I found this on the ground!" Apple Bloom handed Iron Will his belt, but the humiliated bovine did not feel any better. "That won't help me now. Without the talisman, the belt's useless. And besides, I didn't earn it." said Iron Will. "Applejack, find Tohru and the others before they escape." Twilight instructed. "I'm on it, sugar cube!" Applejack greatly replied. "Count me in!" Apple Bloom interjected. "Alright Apple Bloom, you can help me out now, but just this once." Applejack said to her sister as they took off.
The Dark Hoof was just getting ready to board an incoming express train, only to be caught by the two Apple sisters. "Stop right there!" shouted Applejack. "You varmits have somethin' I want, and I'm takin' it back!" "Um, I think she's with Sparkle." Ratso assumed. "Get her!" Finn yelled. Finn, Ratso, and Chow charged at Applejack, not realizing how skilled she was at physical combat. Applejack dodged every single punch and kick they threw at her, and she would sometimes use her hat as a shield and decoy. After she gave the trio a good beating without breaking a sweat, Tohru was getting ready to attack her from behind. Luckily, Apple Bloom made a quick move by sprinting and snatching the talisman from Tohru's back pocket. "Grrr, give me that!" Tohru growled as he chased Apple Bloom. "Gotta catch me first!" Apple Bloom teased back at her chaser. Applejack also followed Apple Bloom, leaving the three enforcers dazed and stunned on the ground.
Iron Will continued to sit with Twilight, feeling depressed about losing his lucky talisman, when out of the blue Apple Bloom, Tohru, and Applejack came running to the scene. "Iron Will, I got something for ya!" Apple Bloom shouted to him. She threw the talisman over to Iron Will, who then caught it in his hand. "Keep the talisman. I've learned a very valuable lesson today thanks to Twilight." Iron Will said with confidence. "I would rather lose with dignity than win with deception." He threw it back to Apple Bloom, who was rather shocked with his reaction. "Okay, whatever you say." Apple Bloom shrugged. Applejack and Iron Will braced themselves while staring down Tohru for a hefty brawl. "Raargh!" Tohru yelled as he charged in with powerful swing from his right hoof. With incredible strength and speed, Tohru struck Applejack and Iron Will at the same, knocking them both in to the ground. As they both laid there, fatigued and worn out, Tohru boasted. "Now who's the mightiest?" "Wanna take a guess?" Apple Bloom taunted from behind. Tohru looked back and was shocked to see that Apple Bloom was wearing the Ox talisman in her bow. The filly jumped forward in the air, followed with a spinning back kick, and knocked Tohru in to the same smashed up wheelbarrow from before. "Ohhhh..." Tohru moaned as he passed out.
"Hey Applejack can I keep the-" "No!" Twilight and Applejack said at the same time. "We've got a late night train to catch, and we're takin' this sucker back to Canterlot as soon as possible." said Applejack. "And if you two want to, we could even stay the night in the castle." Twilight said, attempting to make Apple Bloom feel better. "I have the three of you to thank for tonight." said Iron Will. "From this moment on, I will compete with my own strength and skill." "I'm glad you've changed your ways." said Applejack. "I think you've got what it takes to become a real champion." Twilight complimented with a wink. The heroes bid their last goodbyes to Iron Will, hoping that it wouldn't be the last time they would visit Appleloosa.
End of Chapter 3