//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6 
// Story: The Adventures of Us. 
// by Wind of the Skies 
//------------------------------//

	When I wake up it's night time again and I stare at the sky. You sure can see a whole bunch of stars out here. I mean, wow. The night sky is even more beautiful than it usually is. I look down at the ground and see the hound using the loaded net as a pillow. Heh. Sound advice. I land quietly and poke the hound awake.

"I need your pillow now. And goodbye I suppose. Maybe we'll see each other again sometime." He rouses and moves his head so I can grab the net. Oof, heavy dog. I flap my wings quickly and achieve lift before soaring through the sky like a blimp. I fly for quite some distance before landing again to rest a bit. The hound starts snoring and his stomach growls. I look around for some food to shove into his face and do so. He chews and swallows automatically. Which is one of the many safety enchants layered on the net. With that done I make my way back into the air and catch a stiff wind to glide on. I takes this breeze for several miles before running into a giant thunderstorm. I may have fallen asleep while flying and only woken up by the loud CRACK! but I still managed to avoid the worst of the storm and rest atop the clouds for a few moments. From way up there I'm able to observe what feels like all of  Equestria. I sigh happily at the sight and feel another bolt of lightning leave the cloud. BOOM! I love weather like this. It feels wonderful. Feeling quite relaxed I fall back asleep and enjoy weather's sweet embrace for a bit.

When I awake it seems luck is on my side and the storm has drifted several miles in the right direction. Thank you Celestia. I grin and lift off the cloud carrying the heavy net once again. Looks like it’s only another days worth of travel from Shattered Branch. Then I get my bits and some more relaxation time. Which won’t be used. Mostly because I still have a bounty for a mare named Weskins and an unaming to perform. Really not looking forward to that. We’re supposed to be the good guys and yet we’re ordered to do things like that? I don’t know… but if not for me and a few other senior hunters there would be a lot of decent ponies being forced to do that. So we take the brunt of the unnamings. I guess just don’t think about it. I find a thermal and glide high above the ground. At this rate I’ll make it in no time. I shift the net between my forelegs and keep flying east. Maybe after these to bounties I’ll find a different job. Who knows? I sigh and hang my head mid flight. I’ll keep going. I’m terrible at about everything except this. I’d use my special talent but nopony seems to want to pay me to do that. A pony’s got to eat after all. I shake my head and give a hard flap with my wings sending me hurdling forward away from my worries and towards the facility. I look back to see a single blue feather drifting gently downward. Is it that time again? Huh. I start whistling piercingly as I land in front of the facility.

One of the guards groans and covers his ears. “Why do you always do this? My poor poor ears.” He looks at me with a piteous expression and I grin at him.

“It’s not that bad. Even the hound isn’t bothered by it. Look!” I wiggle the net around to show the deep sleeping prisoner. His tongue lolls out as he is waggled around. The guards straighten up when they realize I'm here on business.  “Now ready a tranquilizer spell. I want my net back. And take me to your leader?” I grin lopsidedly at them at the last bit and one of them facehoofs.

“Just have to keep using that joke.” He sighs and readies a spell. “Open the net.”

I untie the net and it falls down around the hound almost perfectly.  He stirs and the guard releases the spell into the hound’s face. It works as planned and I lean down to try and get my net.

“She’s in one of her moods Wind. You know what that means...” He looks glad he doesn’t have to deal with this himself.

“Oh drat. Just get it over with already.” I sigh at the guard and stretch my wings out as he charges a high power spell. Ouch, kinda bright. I quickly remove my glasses and scrunch my muzzle like I had eaten a lemon. Just then the spell impacts and I start to feel kinda nauseous. When I open my eyes again the guards are much bigger than they should be. “I don’ like bein this short.” My voice is high pitched and youthful. The guard pants from the exertion.

“Weirdest reformation spell in the whole Branch. One of the easier ones though. Come on little one. We’re going to see her.” The guard picks me up and I try to squirm out of his hooves. I don’t quite manage it and he sets me on his back before magicking a teddy bear into my hooves.

“I’m still me.” I grump at the guard and his partner pokes me on the snoot with a fluffy wing. I go cross eyed and let go of my mind in the shock. “Why’d you do that?”

“You know why Wind. She’d have noticed and gotten us as punishment.” He grins at me and offers a lollipop. I try to resist. It doesn’t work and soon I’m sucking away at a cherry flavoured lollipop quite happily. I squeeze the bear tightly and rest my head on the guard’s back for a bit.

Soon we pass another pair of guards and they snicker. “I guess we got the door duty for now.  Have fun Wind.” I grin at them around the lolli’ and wave a little hoof at them. The guard ruffles my mane with a fluffy wing quickly retracting it when I try to swipe at it.

“Quit it. Iss my mane.” I pout at the big guard and he does it again. The things I have to deal with, I swear. Soon though I'm distracted by the teddy bear again and ignore all the ‘Dawwing’ going on around me. I crawl under the guards mane and rest my head on the bear before yawning. The lollipop falls out of my open mouth and hits the ground shattering everywhere. The guard doesn’t miss a beat and charges a cleaning spell which dissolves the candy into nothingness. The other one distracts me with a wing and quickly a pacifier is popped into my mouth.

I glare halfheartedly at them before I accidentally suckle at it. I slump down and the guard grins victoriously. I do it again and grump at them before setting my head down and falling asleep.

I’m gently nudged awake by the feathered one as I'm set down on the ground. “We’re here Wind. You gotta go in alone though.” I sniffle at the thought and he boops my snoot with a fluffy wing again. “None of that now. You’ll be fine. Who’s the toughest little pegasus at the Branch?”

“Me?” I flutter my wings excitedly and a few more feathers fall out. I pout at my wings.

The guard notices this and winces. “Nope. Your meeting is gonna be delayed a bit little Wind.” He picks me up and carries me off. After going through several winding corridors we arrive at a room with a large bathtub placed in the centre. He sets me down and starts adjusting the faucets. After a bit he sticks his hoof in and nods. “C’mere little Wind. Tell if this is right.”

I trot over and he picks me up so I can reach into the tub. I stick my hoof into the falling water and nod at him. “Yup! Iss perfect.” He sets me down again and plugs the drain so the tub starts to fill. He trots quickly over to a cabinet marked by a feather and pulls out a plastic tub full of grooming supplies. He grabs a little bottle labeled with a pink bubble and squirts a bit of it into the tub. Almost immediately the water foams with bubbles. I laugh at the sight in delight. “Bubbles!” 

As an after thought he kicks the tub around to so I cant see the label on it. I shrug and continue watching the bubbling water. After he gets the tub filled to a certain extent he scoops me up and hops into the tub. I immediately spot a rubber ducky and wiggle my hooves at it. He smiles at this and lets me go. I rush over to the ducky and start playing with it. 

“C’mere again Wind.” He speaks quietly and I swim over to his open hooves. He sets me down on his lap and grabs a shampoo bottle marked with a blueberry. I dunk my head helpfully. “Thank you Wind.” I nod cheerfully at him and he starts working on my mane. After a bit he motions for me to dunk my head again. So I do and he starts with the conditioner. I hum cheerfully and play with the ducky. When I’m not paying attention he pulls my wing outwards and I keep as still as I can as he slowly preens my wing. “Such a good foal.” He moves to my other wing and repeats the process. After a bit he speaks again. “All done with your wings. Should I finish washing you?” 

I think for a moment. “Yup!” I nod quickly at him and he laughs again. He grabs a scrubby brush and starts lathering my coat up. Then he scrubs me with the scrubby brush. Which tickles and I laugh and squirm. He smirks down at me and I smile up at him. Then I sneeze from a clump of bubbles that get dolloped onto my nose. “Achoo!”

“Bless you.” He smile down at me and starts washing my tail. “You can manage your belly right little Wind?” I nod and he hoofs me the brush. I sing quietly as I brushy brush my belly clean and rinse the suds off.

“I’m done!” We stay in the tub for a bit longer as I play around. Soon though he picks me out of the water and sets me on a towel before vigorously rubbing me down with a very fluffy towel. After I’m dry we trot back to the door of her office. His unicorn partner sits there waiting patiently.

“You finished yet?” Me and the pegasus guard nod at him and I floof up dramatically. The unicorn laughs and waves a hoof at the door. “Go on then little Wind” I walk uncertainly up to the door and glance back quietly. The guard smiles at me and makes a go on motion with his hooves. I gulp quietly and knock on the door. The guards scatter and I hear somepony walking to the door.

“Hold on! This better be good.” A angry sounding mare shouts through the door and starts to turn the handle. I back away so I don’t get hit by the door when it opens. It pulls inwards and I blink before laughing at myself. Silly me. With the door open I can see the mare standing there quietly. “I see… Come in Windy.” She waves a gray foreleg and turns to walk back in.