The next day found the three ponies at the grandstand ring—Braeburn wanted to show off some of the practice areas before the actual event began, which wasn’t until tomorrow afternoon. Braeburn also stated to the two mares that he would need help planting apple saplings as well, given something was sneaking into random parts of his personal orchard and destroying trees, leaving nothing but broken stumps, smashed fruit and splintered wood—a right ‘gosh-darned mess’ as he so aptly put it.

Applejack and Skyward exchanged glances at this—three months had gone by without incident, and they could only wonder if this wasn’t related to Hayrule in some manner.

The lariat tryouts had ended, and now the rodeo clowns took center stage. They were doing all kinds of things: balancing on rolling barrels, riding the barrels, creating pyramids with their own bodies, doing stunts like jumping through hoops, juggling…

Skyward had to chuckle at the antics of the biggest pony out there in the ring—a large stallion: he was much bigger than any of the others, and with the hysterical clown costume he was in, she couldn’t see what color his mane or coat was; all she could see is that his short tail was a deep brown hue. He was clumsier than a young foal taking its first steps after crawling for so long, but it was in an amusing way. He galloped around the ring, chasing some of the smaller ponies about--he was a lot bigger than Big Macintosh and that was saying something--then he stumbled and rolled, ending up half in and half out of a barrel, and she couldn't help it; she started laughing openly.

"Ya havin' fun, sugarcube?"

Skyward chuckled, nodding her head. "I hath not had this much fun in ages, Applejack. I hardly did get to go to any of Lon Lon Ranch's competitions, even if Chateau Romani did invite me often."

Applejack grinned at her friend and how happy she looked, coming up beside her to give her a nudge to the shoulder. “C’mon, sugarcube. We got some saplings to plant.”

Skyward nodded—she turned to glance at the performers one more time before she turned and walked away. The huge pony in the ring glanced in her direction the second her back turned to face him, and he stood there watching her leave…

Until one of the others rammed into him from behind and sent him flying right into a pyramid of stacked hay bales—he was now stuck half in and half out of it. The entire ring erupted in laughter at the sight, the three departing ponies turning around to see what the fuss was; Skyward laughing and Applejack and Braeburn guffawing and slapping their hooves on the ground.

When they reached Braeburn’s orchard, Skyward changed into her Haylian tunic and cloak, but took her sword and shield just in case. They began moving the dead pieces of wood, cleaning up the smashed fruits and saving what seeds they could find. The stumps and half busted trees were harder to remove, however...Skyward growled, threw off her cloak and began digging aggressively with a shovel to get around the roots of one particularly stubborn pain in the flank stump; and once the dirt was freed of most of it, Applejack, along with Skyward, even with her using magic, heaved it out of the dirt.

She blew out a breath, wiped her brow and drank from the water bucket Applejack had thought to bring with them…and stilled when she saw the hoofprints in the dirt near one of the broken trees. She knelt down and eyed it, sniffed it…

“Hey, Skyward! It’s almost lunchtime, ya hungry? Hey, what’s wrong?”

The Haylian mare glanced around for Braeburn; not seeing him, she pointed at the marks in the dirt with one unshod hoof. “Boar hoofprints.”

Applejack’s eyes widened, and she glanced around warily, her eyes searching for the telltale glint of sun on scales or steel. “Oh, good gravy…there ain’t another Lizalfos lurkin’ round, is there?”

“Well, we hath not found any bodies nor a decay filled den, so one cannot say for certain. Still. Keep an eye out. We can only hope it is not a Lizalfos.”

“Ya said that they don’ really ride boars though…”

“Nay, they do not, but times change. But, Moblins and Bokoblins do ride the damned creatures, and what is more, none of the fruit hath been eaten, Applejack.”

“Yeah—I kinda thought it was a little odd. All this wreckage an’ yet, nothin’ was eaten…”

“Hey ya two! Grub’s getting’ cold over here, c’mon an’ eat!” Braeburn yelled from the porch of the ranch house, and the two mares nodded at one another, Skyward retrieving her cloak as she passed the tree she had hung it on. They had a simple meal of fresh cold water, fried cactus slices, fresh apple cabbage slaw, and warm baked corn bread with butter, apple jam and honey.

“So what were ya two gabbin’ about down there?”

Applejack thought about what to say; she couldn’t tell her cousin everything. Sure, Braeburn was kin, but unfortunately, he had a big mouth and ran it often. “We found boar tracks, Braeburn. Ya might have a pest hangin’ ‘round, lookin’ fer a free meal an’ a new home. Problem is, it might not be able to pick out where its gonna rest it’s rump.”

“Well, it sure ain’t gonna be here. Oh, that reminds me. Yer sister and yer friends are gonna be here by tomorrow mornin’, so that means we’ll have to practice some more tonight! Oh, Skyward, was it?”

Skyward nodded her head, turning to regard Braeburn, since her mouth was full.

“Thanks fer comin’ out t’ help an’ all. And, Applejack tol’ us how ya helped save Apple Bloom. We’re right grateful t’ya.”

Skyward swallowed her mouthful of slaw, wiped her mouth and spoke. “No thanks art needed, Farmer Braeburn. One considers Apple Bloom near to mine own kin, that, and ye never threaten a foal. The damned mutts had it coming; yet they sealed their sentence the second they laid their foul paws on those fillies.”

“So! Uhhh…Braeburn, whatcha goin’ t’ do ‘bout that there boar hangin’ ‘round? This keeps up, ya won’t have anythin’ left fer winter,” Applejack interjected.

The amber stallion shrugged. “Right now, we can’t do much, cuz, what with th’ rodeo an all. Only thing we can do is hope the critter don’ cause too much damage until it ends, then we can take care o’ it proper.”

Skyward looked like she wanted to say something, but kept her mouth shut. She knew from experience—hay, her own sire was an Earth Pony and they were very proud about doing things their way. They had magic of their own in Hayrule to be sure, but in Equestria, their magic dealt with the earth itself, and dealing with things with their own four hooves. Applejack noticed the look on her face as the unicorn picked up her empty plate and took it to the sink to wash it. She glanced at her cousin, who she knew was watching Skyward pretty closely. She had to bite back a snicker at the faint, soft smile on her cousin’s face—whether Skyward knew it or not, she was a very pretty mare.

“Hey, Braeburn. Ya wanna run down t’ the cider press an’ git us some more cider an’ some other vittles? We’re gonna need ‘em with everypony showin’ up tomorrow.”

“Oh yeah! Yer right; I’ll be back in a jiffy!”

The chartreuse green eyed stallion was out like a shot, and Applejack crossed to her friend as she washed her dish. “Okay, what’s chewin’ yer tail now, sugarcube?”

“…One did want to offer to plant shield runestones around the orchard, but…”

The orange farmpony cocked her head, and Skyward continued. “One gets the feeling t’would be a bad idea to offer. Mine sire is also an earth pony, and well…one can understand, that earth ponies prefer to do things with their own four hooves, but sometimes magic can be a help. Mind that one said sometimes. Magic is not meant for everything.”

“But yer thinkin’ about Earth Pony standards an’ our way o’ life, an’ that’s a good thing. Listen. If things get any worse with this boar runnin’ around, Ah’ll put th’ idea up t’ him, okay? But what are shield runestones?”

“They art simple stones with shield runes inscribed on them and buried in the ground after certain ponies hath been attuned to said stones. When activated by the caster, it creates a near impenetrable shield, and can block all but the most powerful of attacks or natural disasters. But, there is one flaw. If any of the stones break, the shield wilt fade.”

Applejack rubbed her chin. “Sounds like a decent idea t’ me, but we’ll bring that up if we need it. Ah wish Ah could meet yer sire. He sounds like a damn good pony.”

“…A good pony and a good sire, too.”

The blond maned/tailed pony slung a comforting foreleg around her ‘sister’s’ withers. “Ah know ya miss ‘im, an’ yer brother too.”

Skyward nodded soberly, and rubbed at her eyes, sniffing a little. “Hey. Don’ ya cry none now. It’ll be all right in th’ end, an’ while yer here, think of us as yer kin.”

The Haylian mare chuckled, snuffling a little. “Even if one can use magic?”

Applejack nodded and gave her a big grin and a wink. “Even then, sugarcube. Now, let’s git this mess cleared out so we can git back out there and try t’ track that critter down. Wait…”

The bluesteel unicorn mare cocked her head as Applejack looked around and then leaned in close. “Ya got two outa three…one more, ya think?”

Skyward shrugged, but her eyes gleamed with determination. “I do not know, but I do know that one hath many questions for Sheik when one next sees him.”

“Think he’ll give ya th’ answers?”

Skyward’s eyes hardened as she picked up some empty plates in her magic and moved to the sink. “One is not taking nay for an answer this time, I can assure thee.”

After the two mares had cleaned up lunch, Braeburn had returned with a cartload of supplies. Skyward aided them in putting them away, and followed them to the backyard training ring. She watched them stack hay bales as high as they could, catching some in her magic when they toppled so nopony would get hurt. Applejack introduced her to the other members of the family that were in the event: Candied Apple, Big Gala, Honey Crisp and Pink Lady.

Skyward formally bowed to them, and squeaked in surprise much to Applejack’s laughter when Big Gala hugged her hard and thumped her on the withers, Honey Crisp coming up to her and thanking her profusely.

“Lemme guess, Brae. Ya spread word o’ what she did, didn’ ya?” Applejack asked her cousin, who grinned and nodded. “How could Ah not? That took a mountain o’ courage, what she did; everypony should know about it!”

“Look, don’ embarrass her, okay? She’s been through a lot, an’ she didn’ do it fer the glory. She did it because she’s one o’ us even though she ain’t blood,” the orange farmpony replied, and Braeburn nodded his head, but he didn’t take his eyes off of the bluesteel unicorn mare. Applejack rolled her eyes and elbowed her cousin, before she stamped a hoof against the ground.

“Okay y’all! We got a busy day tomorrow, so let’s get some grub and some shuteye!”

*************************

The next morning, Twilight and the others arrived at the station, Applejack, Braeburn and Skyward there to greet them. They got themselves set up at Braeburn’s house, then the Mane Six, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Skyward left for the rodeo proper. When the group reached the rodeo grounds, it was abustle with ponies aplenty, most of them doing random rope tricks, running around barrels, or even jumping fences. The orange farmpony noticed Skyward’s interest in the races they were passing, and nudged her.

“Ya wanna join the mare’s race, sugarcube?”

“Aye, just for fun, nothing more. Wilt thou watch mine armor for me?”

At Applejack’s nod, Skyward removed her armor and placed it to the side, stretching her legs before she stepped forward, head held high as she walked at the starting line with the other ponies. One of the three judges noticed this and walked over to her.

“Excuse me, ma’am, you’re goin’ t’ have t’ step out.”

“May one ask why?” Skyward asked calmly, though part of her was insulted knowing it was because she was a unicorn.

“Well, unless ya agree t’ wear one o’ these (he held up a magic suppression ring), ya can’t race. Ya can’t use magic here.”

Skyward gave the earth pony stallion a withering look, then beckoned to Twilight. “Twilight, if thou wouldst be so kind to bring that...that thing over here.”

The Mane Six looked stunned at the bluesteel unicorn’s declaration. Twilight stepped forward, holding the magic suppression ring in her aura. “Are you sure?”

The bluesteel unicorn mare sighed, ears slicked back in annoyance. “Just do it. Clearly they’ll not believe one’s word otherwise.”

“Now hold on an apple-pickin’ minute! There is NO way y’all are gonna stick tha’ evil thing on her horn! Ah trust ‘er not t’ use her magic. Give her a fair chance,” Applejack shouted, glaring at the ponies in charge of the race. The head judge tapped his hoof against the ground, looking thoughtful.

“Well, missy, if Applejack’s stickin’ up fer ya, go right ‘head. Besides, Ah think I read somethin’ in the papers a coupla months back…weren’t ya th’ unicorn who got foalnapped back in th’ Crystal Empire cause the foalnapper in question was goin’ after a high profile pony?”

Skyward nodded: she knew Shining Armor had spun a pretty good yarn to mask the real reason why. “Aye, ser. He possessed a magic suppression ring and used it to keep one confined for two days. Instead of the real target, I was captured. I…shan’t go into further detail what he inflicted on one. But if thou wishes for me to use it...”

“Nah. Ya don’ need t’ use it. G’wan an’ line up with the others. From whut Braeburn Apple said, ya whooped the flanks o’ those Diamond Dogs an’ saved so many ponies from gittin’ foalnapped out there.”

“One wouldst not stand by and watch, given the severity of what the lot of those moronic mutts were doing. They were using them as slaves to mine a type of stone for weaponry, for the foalish mutts were planning to declare war on the Crystal Empire. Nopony is born in chains, Judge Gavel, and nopony should ever be made a slave.”

The tawny earth pony stallion with the slicked back dark gray mane and tail clad in a pinstripe suit with a bowler hat nodded his head at her in solemn respect. “Damn right ya are, Miz Skyward. Now, go on…let’s see if ya kin keep up wit’ the herd!”

The Haylian unicorn nodded as she took her place at the starting line, staring down the long stretch of packed dirt before her.

“Mares, on yer marks…”

Flanks tensed, muscles coiled…

“Git set…”

Most of the mares, Skyward included, crouched a little bit…

“GOOOOOOOOO!”

Skyward took off, a bluesteel blur against the backdrop of greens, yellows, browns, reds, ambers, tans and off whites. The unicorn was clearly running for all she was worth, her hooves pounding the ground just as hard as the rest. She cut through the pack—anypony could see she was weaving in and out between the other ponies. The herd of mares rushed down the track, raising a cloud of dust in their wake. Most of the watching earth ponies muttered things about unicorns being all afraid to get dirty, soiling their coats and such. But the earth ponies were in for a shock—the unicorn mare gave absolutely no bucks about the dust rising around her—she just ran right through it, rushing forward like water cutting through rock at high speed…

And she wasn’t even using her magic!

Skyward narrowed her eyes—she knew the mare in front of her was deliberately trying to cut her off. No matter which way she moved, the mare continued to block her way. The mare in question turned her head and shot her an arrogant grin…

But the bluesteel unicorn mare coiled her back legs and leaped high in the air, right over the front of the pony in front of her, much to the shock of the other ponies in the back; and the one in front of her trying to cut her off!

“Whoo-hoo! What a jump! C’mon now, keep it up, yer almost there!” she vaguely heard a stallion yell in a deep accented voice. She grinned as she flung her entire self into the race, leaving the burgundy and amber maned/tailed mare behind in the dust. The mare in front of her was swift of hoof indeed, a light green with a pinkish mane and tail. Skyward poured everything she had and came up just up to the other mare’s withers…

But it was to no avail—the pale green and pink mare crossed the finish line first, Skyward blasting over it second, the burgundy and amber mare coming in third.

Skyward panted, gasping for breath as she shook herself out. It had been a long time since she had ran like that but…Goddesses, what a rush! She glanced around—spotting the mare that had won, she walked over and bowed her head to the winner, giving her a friendly smile. “Well run, milady. Congratulations. Tis’ an honor to have run with ye today.”

The mare smiled broadly at her and gave her a hug. “Why, thank ya kindly! Yer pretty quick on yer hooves yerself! Mah name’s Prairie Breeze.”

“I am Skyward. Mayhap we might race again sometime?”

“Sure thing! Ya sure ya name ain’t Blue Blur or somethin’ like that?”

Skyward guffawed openly and shook her head, both mares laughing as the Mane Six came trotting up. Skyward accepted her crimson ribbon from Judge Gavel with a nod; the judge clapping her on the withers before moving to award Prairie Breeze with the blue ribbon.

“Hoo-eee! Nice legwork there, Skyward! Ya really showed ‘em an’ then some!”

“Yeah! That was soooo epic! Hey, were you holding out during the Running of the Leaves?”

“Mayhap one was,” Skyward smirked at Rainbow Dash, who chortled in return.

“You’re really dusty though…don’t you want to take a bath?” Fluttershy asked, and Skyward chuckled, nodding her head. Applejack led her to a tent where multiple tubs had been set for the racers; the unicorn bathed to get the dust off of herself, shaking herself dry and coming out with her armor on.

But somepony got in her way—a very familiar burgundy mare with amber mane and tail, and glaring pale amber eyes. Skyward eyed her—she knew aggression when she saw it and this one was looking for a fight.

“Ya cheated. Ah know ya used magic t’ jump like that.”

Skyward coldly gazed at her, lifting her chin to look down her muzzle at the other mare. “One did not use magic, and the adjudicators of the race hath passed their judgment, and found one true of word. Save thine venom for another, I’ll not hear a word thou has to say.”

With that, the Haylian mare moved to go around her, but the mare blocked her path. “Ya ain’t jest gonna walk away from me like that, ya no good horned nuisance! Ah know ya cheated an’ Ah’m gonna…”

“Amber Waves! Cut that damned nonsense out right now! She won fair and square an’ nopony saw her usin’ magic!”

A stallion wearing a ten gallon hat and a dark brown vest strode up, green eyes snapping with anger. His cutie mark was an ear of corn and a wheat stalk crossed together. “So ya got third place, so what? Next year ya might win first, if ya ain’t gonna be such a sore loser.”

Amber Waves stomped a hoof and stalked off, and the dark red stallion with the yellow mane sighed glancing apologetically at the bluesteel unicorn mare. “Sorry ‘bout that, ma’am. Enjoy the rest of th’ show.”

Applejack shook her head as she came up next to Skyward. “Ya okay, sugarcube?”

“Aye—one half expected her to do something foalish.”

“Tch, what a party pooper,” Pinkie Pie muttered, and Rainbow Dash snorted. “Aaah, forget her sorry plot—come on! The clown show’s about to start!”

The mares and fillies filed down to the grandstand ring as the rodeo clowns came out onto the grounds. Laughter soon filled the air at the clowns’ antics and pranks—somepony got offered a flower and got sprayed in the face, they performed flips and twists in midair…

One of the clowns was much larger than the rest—she recognized him from the practice a day earlier. She watched the huge clown try to clear a bale of hay, only to clip it with his hind legs and he stumbled, landing face first in a large bucket of water, which got stuck on his head. He ran about with it on his head until he tripped over a small rainbow-colored beach ball and it went flying with him somehow managing to land on all four hooves, the bucket removed from his head to land on another pony's head far off. Skyward giggled out loud leaning against the fence, and the huge pony glanced her way with a grin of his own, pricking his ears at her.

Leaf green met royal blue, for a split second--

That was before he suddenly got hit from behind by another pony and went sprawling head over flank right onto his back. The pony in question had landed perfectly atop his hooves and was trying to walk--but since he was perched on the huge pony's hooves in question, all it did was cycle their joined hooves in a bicycle walk.

Skyward almost fell over laughing hysterically--Nayru's shining mane; she had never seen anything so funny in her life! Wiping her eyes, she leaned against the fence, chuckling as she continued to watch the show.

The Haylian mare blinked when two clowns led out a huge boar painted pink and white, with a silly wig on and a red nose. The boar was clearly not one a Bokoblin/Bulbin/Moblin rode, but there was still something off. The boar was twitchy—it kept pawing the ground, snorting and shaking itself...

It suddenly let out an ear-piercing squeal and charged the nearest rodeo clown pony, who barely got out of the way in time. But instead of following its chosen target, it plowed right into the wooden barricades, scraping the ground with his hooves and setting up a right noisy ruckus.

By this time, it was pretty clear that the boar had gone mad for some reason or another—the stands close by had been cleared and the clowns had fled the center ring.

Skyward swore and leaped into the ring---she planted her hooves and pawed the ground, stomping harshly to get the attention of the maddened beast. When that didn't work--she snatched up an overturned bucket and whipped it at the boar's flank. The strike got its attention; it turned and charged at her, meaning to trample the smaller pony.

But instead of running away, Skyward reared and charged it in return, the crowd gasping in horror considering it looked like a suicide run to most ponies. At the last second, Skyward went into a slide under it, coming out the other side. She whipped around and lunged...it turned its head just in time for it to meet the unicorn's rear armored hooves, and it howled in pain. She followed that up with a vicious shield bash to the face, making it scream in agony and reel back, staggering around from the twin powerful blows to the snout.

Taking advantage of it being off balance, she reared and lashed out with her front hooves, grabbing the huge boar right by the tusks. She let out a war yell as she dug her hooves in and shoved as hard as she could, seeing its balance was off by the right side...she might have been a unicorn, but she wasn't her sire's daughter for nothing! Using all the strength she had trained physically for, she heaved with all her might--using the boar's off balance stance against it; she pitched the beast over on its side with a dust raising WHUD. The boar snorted in surprise--and actually shrank back when the furious armored unicorn bellowed right in its face as she shoved her sword point right between its beady little eyes.

"NOW LISTEN HERE THOU OVERSIZED TIMBERWOLF CHEW TOY! I HATH HAD JUST ABOUT ENOUGH OF THINE ANTICS!"

Every single pony was staring at the unicorn mare with their mouths open in shock and eyes wider than dinner plates. A certain rodeo clown stallion let out a low whistle at the sight: he knew unicorns were primarily magic users and to see one use physical strength like that...hooooo-whee! Never mind the sheriff sized yell she'd put out. Boy howdy she was something else!

The tri colored mare snorted angrily at the boar and slammed her sword hilt against her shield, making it cringe back in fright. "Now hie thee from here, before I change mine mind about needing a new rawhide whip! Begone!"

The boar sprinted out of the stands and Skyward stomped an armored hoof, snorting after it as she turned about...

She blinked, biting her lower lip in nervousness when she saw that everypony's eyes were on her and licked her lips, preparing a verbal apology as she flicked her blade, then sheathed it with a 'click'. What she hadn't expected was the roar of thunderous stomping applause, whooping and cheering from the ponies around her. She looked around, a completely confused look on her face, backing up a little on her hind legs in instinctive preparation to bolt…

A hoof poked her from the side and she turned her head to see Sheriff Silverstar and his two deputies standing there. "You sure ya ain't an earth pony, Miz Skyward? That there was pretty impressive!"

"Mine father was an earth pony, Sheriff Silverstar. But honestly, I am truly sorry for interrupting the event." Skyward bowed her head in apology, and the sheriff laughed, giving her a good clap on her armored withers. "What are ya sorry fer? That wuz ah-mazin!"

"Thou could say a true rodeo champion gave me a few pointers," Skyward replied with a wry smile, pointing at Applejack, who waved a hoof and grinned at her. “But truth be told, if nothing wast done, that boar would hath caused injuries aplenty to many ponies.”

Sheriff Silverstar nodded at her, giving her a bow, which she returned before she left the ring. The ponies were dissipating, given the show had ended when the boar’s wild display proved to be dangerous. The Haylian mare sighed and wandered over to a cider stall, producing some Bits for a mug of the chilled drink and thanked the earth pony who was behind the counter.

Skyward took a drink of her cider, before she felt a tug at her tail and she looked down; Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were all there, and she smiled at them. "Hail and well met, girls. Enjoying thyselves?"

Apple Bloom hugged her, and received a hug in return. "We sure as sugar are!"

Sweetie Belle beckoned to her with one hoof. "Come on, we want you to meet somepony!"

Skyward tilted her head as she quickly downed her cider and followed the three fillies. "Mmm…now who is it thou wish me to see?"

Scootaloo’s wings buzzed happily. "You'll see!"

Skyward had to chuckle and shake her head as she followed them to where the rodeo clowns were settled in. Apple Bloom scooted ahead, her apple red mane and tail flying as she ran around the corner.

"Hey, Trouble Shoes! How's it goin'?"

The huge brown and white stallion turned and smiled when he saw the three fillies who had helped him find the real meaning of his cutie mark. He had a bobbed dark brown tail, an unruly brown mane, a nut-brown coat and he was pretty big for his size. He had a white blaze and bald mark going down on his muzzle and he wore a small straw hat between his ears. His cutie mark was an upside-down horseshoe. And his eyes...well, they were a warm shade of green that would remind one of spring leaves.

Skyward blinked—leaf green? A nut-brown coat? Was this…nay, it couldn’t be…

"It's goin' pretty well. I've been larnin' all sorts o' new tricks from the others. So, what are ya'll doin' back here?"

Sweetie Belle smiled at him. "We wanted you to meet a friend of ours!"

Apple Bloom turned and beckoned behind her. "Hey, Skyward! Come on over and say hi!"

Trouble Shoes looked over and saw the royal blue and indigo maned armored mare that had literally hoof-wrassled the boar from earlier. She approached him and gave him a warm smile, bowing her head in greeting.

"Hail and well met, Trouble Shoes. I am Skyward."

Skyward. Her name was as pretty as she looked. Yet he knew she was one tough pony after that display she had put on against that runaway boar. He removed his hat, given he was in the presence of a lady, even if she was wearing armor and had a pretty fierce looking sword and shield on her back. He blinked when he met her royal blue gaze, the feeling of deja vu creeping up on him, but he shook it off.

"Aw now, no need t' be so formal, Miss Skyward. It's nice t' meetcha."

Skyward inclined her head, chuckling. "Forgive me, 'tis how I was raised. I apologize for fouling up thine performance."

He chuckled. "Aw, heck. Don' ya worry yer head about it none. Iffen ya hadn' done whut ya did, there'd be lot worse things to worry about. 'Specially how mad that boar got."

Skyward frowned, putting a hoof to her chin in thought. "One wonders how it got so angry in the first place. Tis' not normal one would think..."

Trouble Shoes shook his head at her. "Nope. That there boar wuz supposed t' be part of th' act, but fer some reason, he went plumb loco in the coco an' started a ruckus."

Skyward shook her head—inwardly she was relieved. So the boar was not one ridden by a Hayrulean monster. "Boars do not just go 'loco in the coco' for any such reason, I suspect foul play. And nay, nothing thou did, Trouble Shoes. Thy talent is making ponies laugh—one highly doubts one would cause malicious mischief. I know not what mine is yet."

She wryly indicated her blank flank—in truth, she did know, but could not reveal it…not yet.

The huge stallion gave her a sympathetic look. "Ah'm sure yer gonna find it, Skyward."

Skyward shrugged as she crossed to the broken fencing and began ‘moving’ the pieces around, frowning as she sorted through the mess. Possible portal or not, something about this didn’t sit right with her at all, and she intended to find out exactly what.

Trouble Shoes watched the mare rooting through the broken wood, turning over slats and splinters with her armored hooves, using her magic from time to time to toss wood to the side in a small pile. Skyward frowned as she turned over a slat of wood...she picked up something in her magic that had been hidden under the wooden piece and held it up to Trouble Shoes. "Dost thou have any idea what this is?"

The Appleoosan stallion snapped out of his musings and trotted over to her--he eyed the piece of reddish, bristly plant she was ‘holding’ and snorted. "Eeyup. That there's ember nettle. Nasty plant, that...ya get any on yaself an' yer askin' for a right painful rash. Iffen ya eat th' stuff...well. That's worse. Then its lahke ya went and ate a basket's worth of habanero peppers an' swallowed a cup o' itchin' powder right 'long with it."

Skyward's royal blue eyes narrowed to slits. "No wonder that boar went mad. Somepony must have tossed it on him or made him eat it. Bah, I should hath looked the damn thing over instead of chasing him off..."

He shook his head. "Now don' go bein' too hard on yerself, Sky. Lissen, ya figgered out why that boar went loco."

She shook her mane, trying and failing to hide a smile at the shortening of her name, incomplete as it was. "Thou mean 'we'. But we still dost not know whom, Trouble Shoes, and one suspects that this might disrupt the rest of the competition. Somepony might get hurt."

Trouble Shoes put a hoof to his chin. "Hmm. Might be best t' go see Sheriff Silverstar."