CHAPTER 21

Okay, I managed to get this done finally...took me forever to write this chapter, and I dunno why. I woke up feeling like refried crap today is one excuse, and I think that's the one I'm gonna chalk it up to. Anyway, much happens in this chapter, and I'm sure you all have questions that have been eating at you since last chapter. I'm sure the big one is 'will there be peace between the Buffalo and the ponies?' Now you get your answer. Please review, loyal readers, and enjoy.

Long after nightfall, I was in my small quarters, enjoying a cup of coffee and my book. After the summit, I just wanted to unwind and relax a bit. It was obvious that every tribe was wanting peace except for the one I had to contend with. Just my luck. So, I tried to forget about my martial problems for a while, burying myself in literature, the one distraction from life I had always used when I needed an escape. As I read by the light of a single lantern hanging above me, and a candle on the table, I heard a commotion outside. I ignored it at first, but when I heard the words 'dead' and 'killed', I strapped on my sabre, pulled on my hat, and decided to investigate for myself.

I stepped outside my room to find Sgt. Hardtack and Spring Shower already standing outside in the dark, watching the military ponies and Buffalo making their way to the row of barracks that were being used by the visiting Buffalo dignitaries. Something was definitely going on. The Royal Military Police were standing outside the rooms, keeping back the crowd of onlookers, and nearby, an officer was in a quarrel with a Buffalo warrior.

"What do you make of that?" Hardtack asked.

"I dunno." I replied. "Something bad's happened though." I looked at the two. "You guys stay here. I'll be right back." I walked toward the gathering crowd, and soon found a cavalry officer. The insignia on his hat, and the collar bars on his shell jacket told me he was the captain of E Troop. I saluted him, and he half-heartedly returned the salute. "Captain, what's going on?"

"I know about as much as you, lieutenant." He replied. "All I know is that one of the buffalo warriors died in his room. From the yelling and fussing, I'm gonna guess the Buffalo think he was killed." I couldn't help but feel a tinge of worry. If a Buffalo had been killed during the peace talks, it would undermine any attempts to create a treaty between ponies and Buffalo. In fact, it could start a riot here. It could start a war. I watched as the two doctors of the fort entered the room, followed by a Buffalo wearing a furry headdress and ritual paint on his face. Our Major himself walked into the room as well, and two guards stood on either side of the door. As we waited, I noticed a large, imposing presence by my side. I turned to see Chief Thunderhooves standing by me, watching the unfolding drama. He looked sidelong at me, and huffed.

"This could prove very bad for you ponies." He said in a low voice.

"I know." I replied morosely. "Who was it...the Buffalo who died?"

"A warrior from the Southern Band." The chief answered simply. This did nothing to relieve my apprehension. Finally, the major emerged from the room, followed by the two doctors and the Buffalo shaman. All of the lanterns present cast an orange glow on the entire scene, making it seem that much more foreboding.

"Quiet!" The major ordered. "Quiet down!" The crowd silenced, all curious to learn what had happened. "A Buffalo warrior has died sometime during the late evening. We have examined him thoroughly, under the eye of this Medicine Buffalo. There were no wounds. There was no sign of a fight. It appears that he died of natural causes. Probably a heart attack." He stood in silence a moment, then stepped aside as the Buffalo stepped forward.

"Brothers!" He began. "Though I distrust the pony soldiers as much as you...the words he speaks are true. Rolling Boulder was not slain in any way we could see. He was not wounded, and he died in his bed. This matter is strange, but at times, death can be strange." The Buffalo gathered in the crowd began to clamor among themselves. So the warrior had died naturally. That was somewhat of a relief, but something wasn't quite right. The dead warrior's compatriots entered the room, and brought him out in a sheet, and I turned and began to walk back to my room.

"Well, what happened?" Spring asked as I rejoined my two companions. She looked a bit excited, probably to finally see some action here.

"A Buffalo warrior died in his bed." I said.

"Really?" Spring asked with interest. "How?"

"I don't know." I replied. "They said it was probably a heart attack or something. There wasn't any sign of a struggle."

"So, he wasn't murdered." Hardtack stated. "That's...that'll keep down trouble, maybe."

"Hopefully." I said. "Alright, you two get some sleep. We got the summit tomorrow." I walked back into my room, and turned down the oil lantern and blew out the candle.

I lie in bed, trying to get to sleep, but sleep wouldn't come. Something just didn't seem right, and it was keeping me awake. I tossed and turned, thinking about the dead Buffalo. How could a strong warrior just die of a heart attack for no reason? It didn't make sense. The more I thought about it, the more I began to suspect something was wrong with the entire situation. No blood, no wounds, no sign of struggle. There was only one other way to kill without leaving any evidence...

I slowly opened the door to the quarters of the dead Buffalo warrior, making sure nopony saw me. I wore my camouflaged cloak to help me blend in with the darkness, and now, I entered the room, closing the door behind me without a sound. The shutters to the room were closed, and just to make sure I would not be observed, I locked the door, and closed the thick curtains over the single small window. I lit the small candle I had brought, and began to look around the room. Like my own small quarters, it consisted of a bed, a table with two chairs, and a wooden chest to store clothing and personal effects in.

I opened the chest first, but it was empty. Nearby, a small water bladder and a woven bag sat on the table. I opened the bag and sorted through the contents. Inside was another woven bag full of nuts, berries and dried sweet grass. There was a bundle of sage, and a small knife in a beaded sheath. I dug deeper, and found a satchel containing 10 bits, and a hoof-full of beads made from colorful glass. I looked closer. Some of the trade beads were actually made from semiprecious and precious stones such as turquoise, hematite and sapphire. One was clear, and I held it up to the flame of the candle, and watched the rainbow of colors sparkling inside. Diamond. I placed the beads back into the satchel and stuffed it back into the bag. If this had been a murder, there had been no robbery. If it wasn't over the bits and stones the warrior carried, then what? Rivalry? Revenge?

I picked up the water bladder, and opened the cork. I sniffed the contents. It contained water, but there was something else...a slight tinge of bitterness to the scent. I looked around, and spied a pad of paper laying on the table, a notepad left in the rooms for the guest's correspondence. I tore off a small scrap of the paper, and dipped it into the water. I placed the wet tab of paper under my tongue as I continued my search. As I peered under the bed, the area under my tongue in contact with the paper began to tingle, and I immediately sat up and spit it out. My mouth had a bitter taste, and the bottom of my tongue was still tingling. I looked down at the paper. Poison. Someone had poisoned the warrior using his own canteen of water as a weapon. I extinguished my candle, took the water bota and crept out of the room.

Just outside of my own quarters, I dumped the remaining water from the bota onto the ground. I entered my small room, and tossed the container onto my table. I stared at the deadly object for a while, wondering the who's and why's connected to the murder. Then, at least satisfied that I had solved part of the mystery, I crawled into bed, and allowed sleep to finally overtake me.

The next morning, after breakfast and a quick officer's call, the summit began anew. We sat in the hall as the Chiefs of the Northern Band and the Chokeberry tribe listed their desires. Colonel Surcingle countered with terms of his own, and after two hours of talk, a treaty was finally drafted. The Northern Band would cease all hostilities if the settlers in Appleloosa would stop planting trees in the area the tribe used for their ritual stampede. Furthermore, the settlers could plant apple trees all they wanted, as long as they were not in the areas outlined by the agreement. Furthermore, the Buffalo agreed that the settlers would not have to remove any of the trees already planted, save for three that would have to be transplanted. Once the treaty was written out, it was signed by Chief Thunderhooves, then by Colonel Surcingle and Major Lancer.

Next came an agreement with the Chokeberry tribe, who agreed to an alliance with the ponies. Running Water agreed to send some of his warriors to act as scouts for the cavalry, and even offered to begin sending crafts to local towns to sell to the settlers. In return, the scouts would be paid, and the tribe would be granted a tract of land to live on as they saw fit. For their agreement to help the cavalry, Major Lancer even agreed that the Chokeberry tribe would be given tents, blankets and foodstuffs if needed in the winter months. Once the treaty was signed, both parties seemed happy that their agreement would benefit both the natives and the ponies.

But then, there was the Southern Band, already in a foul mood from losing one of their warriors the night before, and still stewing over their argument during the previous day's peace talks. During the entire meeting, they and their Firehoof allies sat silently in the back of the room, not contributing anything to the proceedings except for angry looks directed toward the Buffalo who signed treaties, and toward all of the ponies in the hall. Finally, they were addressed by the colonel.

"Now, is there anything at all we can do to ensure peace between our races?" Colonel Surcingle asked of Chief Iron Horn. The large chief snorted in derision.

"There is much you can do, but you will not. We will do nothing but continue to live the way we have for generations. We will not change for you. Unless you give us what we want, we will be your enemies." Surcingle sighed.

"As before, we will not leave this area as you have requested." The commander spoke. "We will not take apart our towns, and we will not abandon our forts."

"Then you speak of war." Iron Horn declared. Now, Major Lancer stepped up, and Colonel Surcingle nodded to his subordinate. I practically winced, knowing what was about to be said.

"Chief Iron Horn." The major stated angrily. "As far as I've seen, and according to reports from my officers in the field, you have led many unprovoked strikes against our settlements. Your warriors have attacked our cavalry time and again. One officer stated that you attacked a detachment of his company outside of your...territory. Another reports that you attacked his squad twice while on patrol. Said officer stated that he had not led a single attack against you, your tribe or your village up to that point. And you dare sit there and say that we are bringers of war?"

"Big talk for little ponies." Iron Horn growled. "We attacked those who invaded our land. And we will continue to drive out those who invade our land."

"You can stop playing the victim, Iron Horn. You are a murderer and a thief, and your tribe will cease all hostile actions against the ponies at once, or we will declare formal war upon you, and your tribe will suffer for it." Major Lancer threatened. Iron Horn and his warriors stood, and the guards inside the room placed their hooves on the grips of their sabres.

"War has already been made!" Iron Horn exclaimed. "And we will continue our war until the ponies are gone!" Suddenly, Major Lancer was on his hooves and violently flipped over the small table in front of him.

"If you are sitting there and stating that you will continue to murder mares and foals, and attack our cavalry, then YOU are bringing the war, Iron Horn You are bringing the war, and you're about to get it! You continue to steal from the settlers, to kill and raid as you have in the past, and I promise you, we will hunt you down and exterminate you! We will kill you all down to the last calf, you son of a bitch!"

"Then it will be war, little ponies!" Iron Horn bellowed. He turned, and stomped out of the hall, his followers and allies close behind. Everyone left in the room sat in silence for several minutes, processing what had just happened. My heart was pounding. I knew what this meant, and I did not like it one bit. I glanced over to Spring Shower. She was biting her bottom lip hard.

"Spring?" I whispered. She was staring into space, and a thin trickle of blood ran down from her lip. "Spring!" I said again, and nudged her, snapping her back into reality. She looked at me, a blank expression on her face, then slowly touched her right hoof to her lip. As she pulled it away, she stared at the blood on her hoof, then gently licked her cut lip. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." She replied in a whisper.

"I want to see every officer operating inside the territory of the Southern Band and the Firehoof tribe now!" Colonel Surcingle ordered loudly. "Everypony else, dismissed. You Buffalo too. You may go. I'll call upon you later today. Clear the hall!" Every pony not attached to the cavalry within the areas Surcingle stated left, along with the Buffalo representatives. Soon, there was only a small group of us in the room. Now we were three cavalry captains, six cavalry lieutenants, a few sergeants, four scouts, the first lieutenant commanding the grenadiers, the cocky Master Sergeant commanding the pegasi, and of course our commanding officers. Colonel Surcingle cut to the chase immediately.

"This is a formal declaration of war, gentlecolts." He stated. "As of now, we are at war with the Southern Band of the Buffalo, as well as any and all tribes who ally themselves with our enemy." He looked at each of us. "All of you know what this means. You are no longer to simply keep the peace. You are to make peace by force only." He nodded to Major Lancer, commander of the frontier battalion. The heavy-mustached major stepped up and cleared his throat.

"Alright...as you have seen, there is to be no peace with the Southern Band. If those savages want a war, we will give it to 'em in spades. I want your patrols increased. Engage every party of the enemy you come across at once. I don't care if they're not warriors. Find their camps and stomp them out. Those damned Buffalo have killed, stolen and raided for years. They have killed your troopers, they've killed innocent families! They've fought us and burned a swath right through the middle of your duties to protect this land! Now, it ends. Now, there will be no peace! By Celestia I'm for battle! No prisoners!"

I stood in my room, angrily stuffing my possessions into my saddlebags and haversack. Now, it was war, and I didn't want to see another drop of blood. Why couldn't that stupid bastard Iron Horn just agree to peace? Why did Major Lancer antagonize the hostile Buffalo? I was stuck right in the middle of a damned race war out here in the boondocks, and both parties were out for blood. My orders were to fight the enemy whenever I could. Fight with what? The hoof-full of troopers at the fort? Was I supposed to walk out into the middle of the Badlands and tie my mane up, and lie down on the dust so they could scalp me right there, and make me another martyr for somebody's cause? I heard my door open, and the gentle hoofsteps of my scout behind me. I looked down at the water bota on the table, and grabbed it as I spun around.

"What was it, Spring?" I asked, shaking the container in front of me. "Turpentine bush? Milkweed? Huh?" She stared at me calmly.

"Drake...I don't know..." She stammered innocently. I got even closer to her, and now held the bota as close to her face as my muzzle was.

"Stop lying." I growled. "What...was...it?!" She blinked, and stared into my eyes.

"Desert mistletoe." She answered. "It causes heart failure." I threw the water bag across the room and turned away from Spring.

"Desert mistletoe..." I repeated in a low voice. I was beyond angry. I was burning with rage...at everything. "Why not? Why the Hell not?!"

"Drake..." Spring squeaked.

"I hate you." I growled. "I hate you and you know why?" She backed up a step. I was instantly in front of her, our muzzles almost touching. "You're a murderer...you're a blood drunk killer...and now I have to be just like you. I've always had to be like you, and never knew it. It's war now. War. So you go to tartarus, Spring Shower. You go straight to the bowels of hell, and I'll go with you now." She had tears in her blue eyes.

"He killed my family." She sniffled. She looked away. "He was...one of the ones who did it. I'm sorry, Drake...I'm so sorry, but I'm not, cause I would do it again." She turned back to me. "I'm a monster, Drake. You know that."

"I hate you." I whispered.

"I hate you, Drake." She said back. "You're everything I wish I could be, and I hate you."

"Pack your shit, Spring. We're going back to the fort, and we're probably gonna die there." I stated.

"Stop trying to be a monster." Spring said angrily. "You're not! You're not a bad pony like me, and I'm not gonna let you turn into one. Do you hear me?"

"Get out." I muttered.

"Stop it, Drake. The ponies at the fort love you and..."

"The ponies at the fort are soldiers under my command, and are my responsibility. Now get out!"

"You're not a monster!"

"Get out!" I exclaimed. I started for the door, but Spring blocked my way. She glowered at me angrily, and wouldn't move.

"Drake, you listen to me you piece of..." The loud slap silenced the room for a long moment. Spring stood there, holding her left cheek in shock, her eyes pleading with me for an answer. My right hoof stung from the blow. Her lip quivered a bit, then she stepped forward and slapped me hard across the face. Then she shoved me, and I shoved her back, but the athletic little filly bounded back and tackled me. We fell backwards, and knocked over the small table in the room. I threw her off of me, and she landed on one of the chairs. She stood, and picked up the chair, hurling it at me. I dodged it, but not her second attack. Spring dove onto me and punched me in the jaw. I backhoofed her, sending her rolling onto the floor. She got back up and charged me again. I absorbed her momentum, and threw her onto the bed. She rolled across the bed, and fell into the floor on the other side.

"Had enough?" I asked, panting. She rose up from the space between the bed and the wall.

"You had enough, Drake?" She returned. "I can do this all day."

"Stand down, Spring." I advised. "Come at me again, and I'll take your head off." She slowly stepped onto the bed like a cat approaching a mouse.

"Drake, I can pound you like a drum." She replied.

"Kill me if you can." I said stoically. "I wish you could kill me." She made a move toward me, jumping off of the bed, but I caught her and slammed her down on the floor hard. She brought up her hind legs and kicked me in the gut, causing me to let go of her. Then Spring seized the initiative, and shoved me up against the side of the bed, holding her foreleg across my throat.

"I ain't gonna kill you, you little pansy." She whispered. Then next thing I knew, Spring had pressed her lips into mine, and was embracing me in a desperate hug as she slid her tongue into my mouth. This time, I didn't resist. I didn't want to. I grabbed her in a tight embrace and kissed her in return. We slid into the floor, Spring atop me, and allowed our passions to rule us.

Two hours later, the three of us walked away from Fort Defiance, heading back to our own garrison. I walked in front, with spring and Hardtack close behind. For hours, we trudged across the barren landscape in silence, none of us saying so much as a single word. I couldn't even believe everything that had happened during the summit. It was all so surreal. The fact still stood that we were returning to Fort Mesquite, and I would have to tell the troopers...my troopers that war was coming, and we would be in the middle of it. Where would we go from there? From now on, we would be fighting, and fighting on our terms. It would always be like that day at the arroyo where we ambushed the Buffalo. That would be our new normal.

Another new normal would be whatever it was that Spring Shower and I had. I didn't know what had come over us at Fort Defiance, or if it were just something that had existed between us for a long time finally making itself known. I was no expert on relationships by any means, but whatever there was between me and the little warrior was far from the norm, I could see that. Then again, everything that had happened to me out on the frontier since I had first arrived was far from the norm.

And so ends chapter 21. It looks like things are about to get much worse now. War has been declared, and Fort Mesquite is now in the middle of nopony's land. Hopefully Drake and crew can weather the storm that is approaching. And on top of all that, Drake and Spring's relationship has turned into...whatever it is now. Things are about to change now for everypony...but change into what? I'll try to have the next chapter up soon. Until then, thanks for reading, everypony!