The Good, the Bad and the Ponies
- Written by Katie Cook, Art by Andy Price
The Mane 6 travel to Canter Creek after Chili Pepper, one of AJ's relatives, lives, implores them to come. They meet up with Sheriff Tumbleweed, who says that the town is being ravaged by Cattle Rustlers who want to gain control of the Peppers' ranch and do this by intimidating the townsponies and make them give them their food; as such, ponies like Chili Pepper and others have already left town, figuring that there's no hope. When the Cattle Rustlers, led by Longhorn, arrive after the Mane 6, AJ attempts to stand her ground only to be outpowered by Longhorn. Even with their power, Longhorn can tell AJ is stubborn, and creates a plan to set the Pepper barn on fire. The Mane 6 quickly help to put it out, though when AJ challenges Twilight and Rarity to use their magic against the bulls, Twilight says that they aren't supposed to use it against non-magical beings.
They come up with a plan with the help of the other townsfolk, but before they can set it in motion, the Cattle Rustlers create a cow stampede that damages more of the town, and even more of the ponies flee. With the meager few left, the Mane 6, Sheriff Tumbleweed and the others put the plan in motion to tar and feather the Cattle Rustlers next time they pass through town. However, this (along with Pinkie's decision to eat some of the flaming hot peppers and setting fire to the tar) does nothing to faze the Rustlers. Sheriff Tumbleweed gives up hope and leaves his badge behind, which AJ takes up and promises to end the Cattle Rustler threat for good.
The next day, after learning of AJ's persistence, Longhorn files official paperwork that, as the owners of the ranch have abandoned it, the Cattle Rustlers are due to become rightful owners as long as they remain camped on the property for 7 days. Twilight deems the paper all legitimate and within Equestrian law, but AJ comes up with a plan to dupe the Cattle Rustlers. While Twilight and Fluttershy pose as town officials, noting small mistakes in the signing of the document, forcing Longhorn to leave camp to fix it, the others, along with the help of some of the braver townsponies inspired by the Mane 6, distract the other, more dimwitted Rustlers long enough to move their entire camp piece by piece so that it's outside the ranch's property.
On the last day, Longhorn and the other Rustlers find the Mane 6 rebuilding the barn, and believing they are still on the ranch property, proceed to destroy it. However, AJ points out that where they are is no longer on the ranch, and thanks to a few favors Twilight was able to pull with the Princesses, had gotten the barn marked as an historical landmark. Since the Rustlers now have committed a crime within Equestrian law, Twilight willingly steps in with her magic to reconstruct the barn as the town's new jail for the Rustlers. With the threat ended, AJ returns the sheriff's badge to Tumbleweed, who has been re-invigorated by the Mane 6. The Mane 6 ride off into the sunset.
These issues provide examples of:
- Brutish Bulls: The town of Canter Creek is menaced by a band of literal cattle rustlers, a band of bandit bulls led by the villainous Chief Longhorn, who are attempting to take control of the town through ruthless attacks and fear tactics.
- Clean Up the Town: AJ's mission once she takes up the sheriff's badge for herself.
- Clint Squint: AJ does this within the comic; Andy Price's cover for #26 also has the same squint.
- Continuity Nod: Windingo [sic] ghost peppers.
- Cuteness Proximity: The Mane Six send Fluttershy, disguised as a cute messenger pony, to distract the bulls while the ponies move the villains' campsite.
- Early-Bird Cameo: The Cattle Rustlers were shown in the Rarity/AJ Friends Forever issue, the events of which are briefly mentioned here.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The mail pony lampshades this when talking to Rarity.
- Gosh Dang It to Heck!: Lampshaded when the Mane 6 are discussing the Cattle Rustlers.Rainbow Dash: Everpony in this town is afraid of a cow?Fluttershy: Bull.Rainbow Dash: I think that was uncalled for.
- Later, AJ swears using the phrase "meadow muffins".
- Lawful Stupid: Between Twilight's easy forgiveness of the kelpie in #23 and her refusal to use magic against the bulls in #25, the comics seem to be depicting that her position as princess requires her to follow a completely inflexible moral code.
- Loophole Abuse: How AJ schemes around Twilight's Obstructive Code of Conduct to get Twilight to use her magic against the Rustlers, by having them cause damage to a building that has only just been declared an historical landmark.
- Masochist's Meal: When Pinkie eats a Windigo ghost pepper, she goes through four panels of Fire-Breathing Diner reactions, then instantly snaps back to normal and exclaims "Delicious! Can I have a bag of those to go?"
- She then decides to eat a bunch just before the Cattle Rustlers arrive, and promptly tempts fate, her reaction ruining the plan.
- Mind over Manners: Twilight explains that she will not use their magic directly against non-magical citizens of Equestria like the Cattle Rustlers, which would have solved the problem rather quickly.
- Never Say "Die": Pinkie uses the phrase "sleeping with the fishes" when Sheriff Tumbleweed notes that Chili Pepper is gone. The Sheriff quickly corrects her to say he's gone and left town.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Pinkie's decision to eat some of the peppers right before the Rustlers arrive.
- No Name Given: We never learn the mail pony's name despite her pointing out that she has one.
- Nobody Calls Me "Chicken"!: Longhorn's reaction when AJ calls him out as a "yellow-bellied brisket coward".
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy manage to fool Longhorn just wearing fake mustaches and glasses.
- Riding into the Sunset: Lampshaded at the end of the story - Pinkie asks if they should be riding the goats the Rustlers had used as they set off.
- Shout-Out: Twilight calls Rainbow Dash "kemosabe," which is a term of endearment used by Tonto in the Lone Ranger.
- Tar and Feathers: Twilight's trap involves humiliating the Cattle Rustlers by covering them in syrup and feathers. While they do get covered, the way it covers them (combined with a shot of flames from Pinkie, who had eaten peppers earlier), causes them to actually look demonic, thus scaring the ponies into giving into the Cattle Rustlers' demands.
- Took A Level In Bad Ass : Longhorn and his gang; when they first appeared in the 'Friends Forever' series, Applejack and Rarity fought them off, without any outside help, while bickering with each other, with relative ease. Here, they're a very serious threat to a whole town.
- Training the Peaceful Villagers: They try, anyway.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The Mane 6 travel to Canter Creek on account of Applejack's missing great uncle. By the end of the arc, he's still missing and what exactly happened to him is never revealed.
- Whole-Plot Reference:
- The setup is effective the fable of "The Grasshopper and the Ants", itself retold in Pixar's A Bug's Life.
- Plus, The Magnificent Seven, and by proxy The Seven Samurai, with outside help being brought in to a village repeatedly plagued by a group of bandits.
- Longhorn's scam is remarkably similar to that of Alameda Slim from Home on the Range...except Slim had the excuse of using an alias when trying to buy up the land he'd pillaged.
