"Er...Twilight? Y'all sure this is a good idea?"

Twilight looked to her friend, Applejack, seeing the clear look of concern upon her face, and gave a reassuring smile, placing her hoof upon her shoulder as she did so. Believe me, Applejack, I know what I'm doing. Turning, the young unicorn looked upon the scene before her, and gained a look of determination. It was a town of many wooden buildings, out in the south-western reaches of Equestria, surrounded by arid and near-barren lands. The town of Appleoosa, populated entirely by earth ponies, and home to a good chunk of Applejack's family. Right now, however, those ponies weren't the only ones here. For there, on the other side of the street, were a collection of very large, and very angry-looking, buffalo. All of them eyed the ponies menacingly, as did the ponies in return. Even a blind foal could see that there was tension here, even though no word had passed between the two groups. Twilight sighed as she looked to all of them. Disputed land, a problem in every part of the world. Neither side willing to back down, all thinking they’re in the right. Conflict brews until it bubbles over to the surface. She narrowed her eyes at both groups. Stubborn, the whole lot of them.

As she stepped forward, both groups began to turn their attention towards her. To Twilight's left were the ponies, headed not only by the town Sheriff, but by Applejack's cousin, Braeburn. To her right were the buffalo, led by Chief Thunderhooves, and his young daughter, Little Strongheart. As Twilight took her place in-between the two groups, she raised a hoof, gesturing to both sets of leaders to come forward. There was a brief and silent pause for a time, but eventually, all four of them began to move towards the unicorn, with the rest staying where they were, keeping an eye on the other group. Tension was abound as Twilight's friends stood aside, watching with baited breath as the leaders finally arrived in the centre. An uncomfortable silence fell over the place, only broken by the occasional ball of tumbleweed flying past, as per cliché. As the Sherriff, Braeburn, Thunderhooves and Strongheart stared at each other, Twilight cleared her throat, gaining their attention.

"So...I think it's safe to say that we all agree that this conflict needs to be brought to an end, correct?"

It took a few moments, but all four of her listeners nodded in agreement. Nodding back, Twilight continued.

"We need to settle things before open fighting breaks out...agreed?"

Another nod.

"We all want peace for our people and each other...correct?"

Another nod.

"Okay then."

Turning, Twilight looked to the buffalo Chief first, speaking in a calm and cordial tone.

"Chief Thunderhooves. I want you to start. Tell us what it is that you and your people want."

The Chief stood as tall as he could, perhaps as a means of intimidation, or perhaps to display his station. Either way, when he spoke, his voice was gruff and commanding.

"My people have charged and herded on these lands for many generations. But this year, we come to find this...place...built on top of it, cutting us off. Trees where there were once open plains. Our traditions and way of life have been uprooted because of these...newcomers."

The venom with which he'd spoken those last few words was clear to everypony, and the two earth pony stallions glared angrily at him. However, they were prevented from speaking back when Twilight raised a hoof, prompting them to close their mouths as she spoke.

"Thank you, Chief. Now then, Sheriff, Mr Apples...tell us what you want."

The Sheriff cleared his throat a little.

"Well, little lady, what we want is to be left in peace to grow our orchards. It took us close to a whole year to get the crop established, not to mention building the town up. We've got dozens, even hundreds of ponies living here now. If we were to give in to the buffalo, we'd all have to move elsewhere. After all the work we've put into this place, we ain't gonna budge!"

The buffalo Chief growled at that, stamping his hoof down in an aggressive gesture, to which both the Sherriff and Braeburn narrowed their eyes. Both groups behind them, the Appleoosa ponies and the other buffalo, began stamping the ground themselves, looking as if a fight was about to break out. However, frowning at all this, Twilight concentrated, focusing her magic and shooting off a single magical blast into the sky. Taken aback by this, both sides looked at her with sock as she turned to each of them, looking more than a little irritated.

"That's enough of that! We're here for peace, not war! Now...if you want this fight to end before it starts...say so."

The Chief looked to her, a slight look of fear filling his eyes. Twilight noted this and thought hard on the matter. The buffalo respect and revere the dragons a great deal. It's more than likely that they’ve heard what I was able to do with one of them. I don't want to have to use intimidation in peace talks like this, but if that's what it takes, then so be it. As the moments passed, the Chief turned to the Sheriff, and eventually sighed a bit before nodding his head, agreeing to wanting the peace. Sometime afterwards, the Sheriff did the same, prompting Twilight to put on a small smile.

"Thank you. Now, I know things are difficult between you, but, if you're willing to listen...I think I have an idea that can solve both of you problems."

Both representatives turned to her, raising their eyebrows in a clear display of confusion. Smiling at this, Twilight began to explain herself.

"Chief, you want your herd to have a means to pass through the orchards like before, yes?"

The Chief nodded, and Twilight turned to the Sheriff.

"I'll be able to let them do that without any harm coming to your orchards," she explained.

"But...how?" the Sheriff asked.

Twilight smirked a little.

"I'll use my magic to move the trees down the middle so that they take new positions on the outside of the established orchards. So, instead of simply uprooting the trees, like you feared, they'll simply be moved to the sides, giving the buffalo a passageway to charge through."

Both the Sherriff and Braeburn looked to each other, a look of incredulity crossing their faces. Eventually, the latter turned to Twilight again, trying to speak as politely as possible.

"Um...beggin yer pardon, ma'am...but do y'all think ya can really pull that off?"

Twilight said nothing, but soon found that she didn't need to. For the moment Braeburn had asked that question, Applejack had walked to the group herself, smiling at the stallion before speaking to him.

"Trust me, cousin, she can do it."

The young unicorn smiled warmly at her friend before turning once more to the two stallions. They looked at each other for a while, whispering to each other for a few moments before eventually letting out a deep sigh. The Sherriff walked forward, approaching the Chief, who simply looked at him in a stoic manner. Silence fell between the two leaders, and for a moment, Twilight feared that, perhaps, her suggestion would be rejected outright. However, gradually, the Sheriff raised a hoof, stretching it out and offering it to the buffalo leader. The Chief stared at it, and looked right into the Sherriff's eyes, trying to see if there was any kind of deception or under-hoofed play at work here. When he saw that there was none, his expression softened, and he turned to his daughter. Little Strongheart gave her father a warm smile, nudging him in a playful manner. That encouragement seemed to be all that the buffalo needed, for he soon raised his own hoof and accepted the Sheriff’s, shaking it cordially. With the agreement reached, Twilight let out a sigh of relief, turning as Applejack walked towards her, placing a hoof upon her shoulder. As the two friends smiled at each other, Twilight turned to the rest of the two groups, seeing that some had started to come together, albeit in a somewhat hesitant manner.

Baby steps, Twilight. Peace may be won in a day...but it takes time to hold.

As Twilight looked out upon the town, she couldn’t help but smile. Her spell had done its work well, and where once there had been vast and uninterrupted expanse of apple trees, now there was a column of open land in-between it, with dozens of buffalo roaming through without any trouble. Every once in a while, one of the herd would break off, wandering over to one of the local ponies, perhaps conversing with them. But there was no hostility there, nor aggression. The tensions seemed to have been alleviated here, and with it, the risk of open conflict had vanished. It was a thought that brought pride to the young unicorn. Success. I’ve brokered peace in the past, but never between entire peoples. A giggle escaped her as she considered that. But then...it will hardly be the last time I'll do something like this. One thing being a Princess always means is that ponies will always want you to end disputes like this. My future will be quite busy. Turning, she looked down the hill from where she was standing, seeing her friends in the distance, speaking with Braeburn over something. Probably getting ready to head on back to Ponyville. Better join them.

However, no sooner had she taken that first step towards them, when she began to feel strange. Her expression became one of uncertainty, and the sensation that now ran through her was not unlike a chill down her spine. This...this feeling. A disturbance in the local magic. She began to look around. The first time history played out I never had this kind of sense. But this time, now that I've exposed myself to the artefacts of the Everfree castle, my connection to magic has become all the stronger. But this feeling now...it's unlike any other ripple in the magic I've ever felt. A look of realisation crossed her face as that thought sank in. And yet...it feels familiar. Understanding dawned on her as her head darted left and right, trying to find the source of the disturbance. As she began to wander around, her senses practically pulled her like a compass in the right direction, heading towards the outskirts of the apple orchards. Once down there, she could feel it growing stronger, but stopped when she noticed a pair of young ponies digging near her, ready to plant yet another apple tree. Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but stopped after another nearby pony called them over for a drink.

When those ponies left, Twilight narrowed her eyes as she looked to the hole they'd been digging. She approached it cautiously, looking within it. I don't know what I'll find, but I doubt it'll be anything good. As she looked within, things seemed to be in order, at least at first, However, as she examined the newly-disturbed soil, her eyes widened as she saw something small and black poke out slightly. She reached forward, scraping the soil away with her hoof, before letting out a gasp. Before her, lying there, was an unassuming seed. But this was unlike any plant seed any other pony would have ever seen. For aside from its dark colour, it was also coated in a hard outer layer. Having recovered from the initial shock of seeing it, Twilight's horn lit up, levitating the seed to just an inch or two from her face. Glaring at it angrily, her words were hushed, but harsh.

"A plundervine seed."

Another shiver passed through her as she considered that. Plundervines. Buried by Discord during his reign over Equestria a thousand years ago. Celestia and Luna never knew about them, not until they were abducted by the things some time from now. But...to find them here...it's not something I ever expected. I guess they've spread out pretty far over the last few centuries. Twilight's eyes narrowed. It won't be active for some time, but even so, it's too dangerous to leave it here. So, she simply stared at the thing, deep in thought over what to do with it. However, as time passed, her expression became one of uncertainty, and then, a small smile. Maybe...maybe finding this here is a good thing. If I can find this, then I can find the others. Find them...and destroy them before they cause the trouble they're destined to. I won't be able to go on a task like that just yet. There's still things I need to do. But I know Equestria is better off not going through that crisis. Her expression then lost its smile, with her face suddenly bearing a slight harshness to it. In fact...there's quite a few things I need to go out and do, not just find plundervine seeds. She let out a sigh. I won't have time for all that...at least not until after...certain things have happened. But at least now I know what to do.

Turning back to the seed, she used her magic to levitate it into one of the compartments of the saddle-bag she'd been wearing during all of this. After which, she spun around after hearing a very loud whistle. Her face broke out into another wide smile as she saw Pinkie Pie standing atop the hill from before, waving down to her. Probably time to leave. Better get over there. As she began to gallop towards her friend, Twilight looked back at the orchards behind her.

I'm here to keep the peace for Equestria...and I'll be damned if I allow that peace to fall.