The Hold has been sealed, and the Champion’s mission complete.
Most of them have their homes to return to, but not Oleander. The Order was hardly good to her, especially after her pact with a Demon, so where should she go now that her eternal mission is now complete?
There is that city of Reindeer where Velvet could put a good word in for her, and that other one that might be keen on getting to know her better.
Cover Art: https://derpibooru.org/images/2626180
Oleander x Cashmere drama/romance fic, primarily done to experiment with scheduling
Updates each Saturday (hopefully)
Chapters (5)
OMG A NEW THEM'S FIGHTIN' HERDS STORY!!!!
I should really write them more... Just more slice of life stuff but I really should do this as well.
The recent tragic fate of the game has me deeply interested in fanfics of it. This one is EXCELLENT so far.
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Yeah, there aren’t that many TFH fanfics, actually, and while there are some more on Ao3.org, the pickings are still pretty slim.
That’s the main reason I went with this idea for this project over any other; it’s long past overdue a good Cashleander fic gets made, and I have the ability and will to do it.
Thank you both for the enthusiasm, and I’ll do my best to keep it up!
I'm hooked! Favorite'd, read later'd, and tracked!
You’re one of the few authors that actually could get me into the story. I wish you good luck writing and I’m looking for the next chapter!
It has always been a pain seing all the tfh stories on this site die and end up incomplete
(at least all the non-crossover ones)
But I really hope that this story is finished
Cause right now it really good, like really really good
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There aren’t many TFH stories at all, and while there are some more at Ao3 (link to them here), I can’t find anything about just a nice, clean ship that’s actually done well.
I’m trying to fix that, and I’m doing pretty well so far. I’ve already got the next chapter written, and am still pretty determined to see this through.
Thank you for the encouraging words!
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And thank you too!
I have to ask, is anyone brave enough to ask if characters from Them’s Fightin’ Herds are allowed to have their own character tags? I mean, I know they aren’t technically My Little Pony characters, but at least six of them are based off of My little Pony characters, so... Close enough?
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Eh, this site is a bit more strict on those types of rules than Derpibooru.
I feel they mainly don’t want to do that, as it’d quickly become a slippery slope, with characters from other franchises getting their tags here, and they’d like to avoid that.
All things considered, there’s few enough stories with TFH that specialized tags wouldn’t really help, ‘cuz you can just search the franchise tag plus the character names.
Just finished reading the last chapter. What a banger
it was just a piece of art 
and a very fluffly one btw 
Sorry for that cringy comment. But yeah, really cool chapter, really intrigued to know how will you manage Oleander as a character. 'Cause in most fics she is either super edy or basically a suicidal walking machine with the whole "Fred was not good" kinda plot
Best whishes for the fic
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Thank you! While a bit cringy, yes, I do very much appreciate the enthusiasm.
And yeah, a lot of stories like dumbing down characters in one way or another; for Oleander herself, that would generally shoving towards that edginess, rather than actually playing into her nuance, where she’s socially inept and wants to do good with what’s generally seen as bad.
I have seen in a more neutral direction, usually in fics that have her meet with Twilight, but also fail to capture her, once again with the social ineptness, but here also forgoing any darker tendencies to make a good person.
What I’ve done is examine her lifestyle and canon personality, and extrapolated that into what would
happed after spending some time with the other Champions. She becomes a bit less socially inept and gains sympathy for others, but loses her driving purpose when it’s all over, and that is far more interesting to think about than the either of the other options.
I’ve also taken the liberty of adding more nuance to the Order as well, as even I had them as more simplistic back in Chapter 1, but as that comes through Oleander’s viewpoint, it now works well as a way to show that she was blinded by her emotions back then, and has really only understood what it was all about later.
She still doesn’t agree with the Order’s negligence, which is a fundamental aspect I need to keep, but she can understand where they’re coming from now.
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I loved reading this. So cute <3
I'd say I wish there was more but I know well how over milking a cow ends.
Thanks for making this.
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Thank you!
I always like hearing people be really enthusiastic about enjoying my stuff!
And yeah, of course this’ll be it for now. This whole store was mainly to experiment with scheduling a story, and there are all I’ve got for now.
I do have ideas for stuff beyond this, or similar post-story stuff with other characters (Champions and otherwise), so we’ll see what happens with those.
I like the portrayal of the Hold being sealed by a concerted effort: and if it ultimately required turning the key like a literal door, it makes sense to have Tianhuo do it as one of the most agile champions.
And if that was her task it would also make sense for her to be less injured with every other champion working to clear a path for her: though doubtless she'd have still had to fight.
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Beneath her jaded outlook, I think Oleander's core trait is that she has a heart, wanted to help the outside world, and was willing to endure scorn to do it.
Though it's easy for me to believe that as time went on, the weight of that task may have overshadowed why she was doing it in the first place.
I think all of the champions would need to grow in different ways before they were ready to seal the Hold though, with the possible exception of Tianhuo with her age and learned humility.
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It makes sense for Tianhuo to mix in a little humor with Oleander to lighten the mood, but the Prarie comment still comes off as disrespectful given how they'd have all worked together.
It also seems callous for Oleander to talk about the entire order like that, which seems to include basically all unicorns.
Surely there were some that she had an indifferent or positive opinion of, though it's easy to see why she'd despise the High Priestess: a powerful unicorn leading an order that could have made a difference for Foenum who had them all sit on the sidelines in the name of tradition and elitism.
With that said, it seems like Oleander won one fight against the High Priestess once or at least got out, her story line:
"Oh... yes, that could create complications...
Well, what the High Priestess doesn't know…"
Seems to imply that she's powerful enough to be an obstacle.
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The bit of banter between the other champions was fun: fitting that Arizona is a little too young and too pure.
Since Velvet and Stronghoof seem to understand Paprika, and she manages to at least say her name to Arizona, I assume her communication problem is more a speech impediment on top of an accent than a different language or outright gibberish.
Given enough time around her, I think the other champions would be able to make out what she's saying more or less.
There isn't really space to set such things up in a skip to the end story, but I'd think there'd be a little more comradery and even friendship between them after what was probably a long and hard journey.
Maybe inviting others to visit sometime, even if everyone just wanted to head home now. I can't help but think of Gimli and Legolas going off to explore with the promises and bond they made in their adventure.
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Anyway, I like the story and I think you write Tianhuo well in particular.
Hopefully the comment wasn't too long.
I kind of doubt teleporting is practical for long distance travel for Oleander, given the effort for it in game relative to her normal attacks.
Like it'd be an useful tool, but in terms of raw distance it may be as or more tiring than just walking.
But her horn freezing over and failing to work is interesting: I'm not sure how that works, but it makes some intuitive sense.
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If there are any unicorns Oleander has a higher opinion of, hopefully she met with them rather than returning to the grove just for a final argument with Lovecraft.
You do a good job writing Lovecraft to be infuriating, as she should be.
Easy to talk about being enlightened and above petty squabbles from a comfortable ivory tower.
Working with champions from so many different cultures would have only cemented Oleander's disdain for the Order of the Horn by making it appear worse in contrast.
Oleander sounds like someone who got out of a cult and is now tearing its creed to shreds, fittingly.
Though I imagine Oleander's ethics were built on some genuine good in their teachings, with the dogma and hypocrisy swept away.
Wanting to kill Lovecraft still seems a step too far, but she is the embodiment of everything wrong with the Order.
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Fred turning out to be loyal without ill intent might be able to be explained somehow, but it's a little unsatisfying to just brush it under the rug.
But on the other it's fun to see Oleander and Fred play off of each other.
Enjoying the story as always.
Apologies for the double comment, but would you mind if I also used the name Linen for Velvet's main Winter Sprite in a story?
It seems like a very fitting name to match Velvet.
There's a good irony in Oleander finding Reine more appealing than the Woodlands while Cashmere admires the greenery in the Woodlands in shop dialogue.
Stronghoof asking questions to make sure Oleander would be safe to allow in, before immediately breaking down and hugging her feels on point.
Love how Velvet messes with Oleander: feels in character for how she'd show her around as a friend.
For someone so meticulous and focused in other aspects, it's amusing for Oleander say those first words to Cashmere in the meeting.
And it makes sense for Cashmere to worry about her like that, especially if she'd heard of a close call.
Though it is a bit odd if a crush was the extent of their relationship.
Cashmere is usually much more composed, but this is a good setup for a first date.
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The comment about the Cows’ stupidity is mainly just how she perceives them I imagine. She’s so used to being jaded, and while she has some respect for Arizona, she doesn’t know much about the Cows and basically categorizes them as stupid and illiterate.
With the Order, Oleander’s also very set in her beliefs about them as well, and that’s something Tianhuo comments on, with how Oleander should talk to them again and understand what they really are like, and not what her spiteful memories of them are.
I did have to cut some stuff for the sake of brevity and conciseness, of course, as explaining the Champions’ understanding of Paprika or what they’d get up to after everything settles down isn’t really the focus of this story.
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Yeah, go ahead! I have a bunch of details on the Reindeer, their professions, personalities, and their Sprites, all just for cohesiveness when I mentioned them in this story, and you can totally use them if you want!
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Thank you, I do really like the personalities of these characters and how well I executed them, so I appreciate that you feel the same way!
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That's fair, and there's a big difference between talking about cows like that privately with someone else vs saying it to Arizona.
It makes sense that she doesn't know much about cows, and that for all her virtues Arizona could give the impression that cattlekind are all brash and act without thinking.
I'm not sure how long Oleander would have been away from the Order here, since it also seems vague in the story and the book of lore. It's believable that she may be remembering them worse than they are, or at least letting the actions of some color how she views others.
It's for the best that how some things happened and where everyone settles down to after the story is sort of handwaved, to keep the focus on Oleander specifically.
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Thanks!
I would like to use them then, at least where and if they'd fit in my own story.
If you have other thoughts on them, I'd like to hear it: helps to see how someone else develops secondary characters as I'm trying to build them up with what details we have.
Though I'm sure I'll see more as I read through the story.
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Yeah, it’s basically that for the Cows, and how
Oleander thinks of the Order.
For how long Oleander’s been away from the Order, there’s some other stuff in this story that explains that (which is: about 13 yrs, and she’s about twice that age), and the Book of Lore does seem to say she gets exiled about then, because otherwise she’s be staying with them despite their religious tendencies and her darkened coat (the page does say “13 turns of seasons before the incursions of the Predators”, after all).
I have a table of each Reindeer with a name, their personalities, jobs, as well as their Sprites’ names and personalities. They’re pretty scant on detail, but I could PM it to you if you want. (Possibly plus as image I mainly used as reference for their designs.)
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The Book of Lore seems confusing and open to interpretation on when and even if Oleander was banished, since the only punishment we see to her confessing to using dark magic with a dark coat is literally being sent to her room.
Though the Book of Lore is contradicted by the story in parts, so I don't hold it as absolute; and the story seems to show that she's either banned from the grove, or just from the library.
Being banished then makes Oleander's anger very understandable.
I'd like to see that, if you don't mind.