//------------------------------// // A Town Hollineigh // Story: Flying With the Dusty Bolts // by Pony Bones //------------------------------// Tumble Weed sighed as he shuffled through the applications impulsively adjusting his eye patch that was cutting off his circulation, “What do any of these stats even mean boss? We do this stuff five times over every day; it’s going to be too steep of a learning curve for these young bucks.” Mirage was feeling Tumble Weed’s pain as he looked at the picture of some straight edge hipster pegasus who thought he already deserved a spot on the Dusty Bolts from the glance he took at the confident letter accompanying the application, “I don’t know Tumble Weed.” He said tossing the picture back onto the pile, “The good news is we won’t have to work as hard as we used to so maybe once the new joins get spun up we can let them figure out for themselves what it takes to be a Dusty Bolt.” Tumble Weed laughed cynically, “Yeah cause that’ll turn out well.” Mirage smirked and tiredly replied, “Well I’ve got my primaries crossed for the best.” Tumble Weed threw his hooffull of applications over his shoulder, “All these foals are going to get crushed.” “So that’s when we’ll find out the ones who really want it and work them up to standards.” Mirage said taking a sip of cider and continuing to wade through the applications, “I don’t know how you can be so optimistic, even Kid can outperform most of these full grown stallions and mares.” It had only been half a week since Tumble Weed had lost his eye and he was already back on his hooves, of course he was grounded for the time being while his body took time to recover fully, but really what kind of pegasus follows rules? He had a Dusty Bolts selection screening to go to in Cloudsdale and he wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to ensure the Dusty Bolts only got the best pegasi Cloudsdale had to offer, besides Cloudsdale was much a more conducive locale for convalescence recovery. He had talked to Applejack about getting one of her unicorn friends to enchant Apple Bumpkin’s hooves so she could come and see the city few other earth ponies had seen. He wanted to take her to a pegasus message parlor so she could learn how to give a wing message, he wanted to take her to the best cotton candy stand in Equestria and to get a real snow cone straight from Mirage’s old snow factory he also wanted to thank the pegasus who had carved Appasloosa’s pegasus horn. Fortunately Mirage and Tumble Weed didn’t have to suffer sorting through any applications when they were interrupted by a pounding at the door. They gave each other the “Oh road apples.” look, Tumble Weed opened the door and looked down to where Filly the Kid had collapsed in a sweating, panting mess. “Jeez Kid is the Sheriff after you again, why are you in such a rush?” Mirage asked over Tumble Weeds shoulder, “You wheeze, wheeze have to come and see wheeze hack…” Kid spoke with her tongue lolling out of the side of her mouth and the cold air sent her into a coughing fit before she spat a large chunk of phlegm over the edge of the porch. Mirage and Tumble Weed leaned in close fearing the worst, but Kid looked back with shining eyes, a huge smile, and gasped out, “Pant, pant the doctor is in, pant, pant, pant.” Mirage raised an eyebrow with surprise, “Well that is good news, just next time try not to kill yourself letting me know.” “Sure thing boss.” “Come on in and sit by the stove before you become hypothermic.” Mirage said helping Kid up and escorting her to the kitchen, then he grabbed a blanket from the couch and threw it over her shivering frame. Tumble Weed didn’t have anything softer than the cider he had warmed up but Kid would be in bad shape if they couldn’t keep her core temperature where it needed to be. He apprehensively hooved her a mug, “Drink this but slowly or you’ll get light headed.” “Is this booze boss?” Kid asked smelling the liquor in the drink, “Yes.” “Buck yeah, I should get hypothermic more often!” Kid shouted throwing back the mug until Mirage pulled her hoof back but it was too late. Kid already had a rosy glow in her cheeks and nose and it wasn’t from her flight in the cold, “What did I tell you Kid!?” Mirage said more frustrated than worried, he could feel his anger fighting to get out. “Woah, that’ssssssssssssstronnnnger thannnnnnn I thhhhhhought.” Kid said swaying on her hooves, “I tried to warn you, there’s a reason I say things and it’s not just to hear the sound of my own voice.” Mirage reprimanded harshly, Tumble Weed was chuckling quietly to himself watching the scene, “Tumble Weed this isn’t funny!” “I know boss, heh, heh, it’s just heh, heh, heh, she chugged that cider like a champ.” Mirage just shook his head Tumble Weed replied defensively trying to hold back outright laughter, “Hey I’m not the one who gave her the cider and then told her what it was. If you hadn’t’ve mentioned anything she might not’ve known.” “Naw, I coulddddd sssssmell it.” Kid slurred with a goofy grin, Mirage couldn’t hold back a grim smile, what was he thinking, giving a filly hard cider to keep her from going into hypothermia, he was sure that was the textbook definition of irresponsibility. Don’t do this at home foals, oh well if it works it works, she didn’t seem to be shivering as much anyways, he just hope she wouldn’t lose her cider from how fast she had guzzled it. Thankfully it seemed to be putting her to sleep, she let out an interesting combination between a belch and a yawn, “Bwaaaaaaahhhhhh, sssssorryyyyyyy Mmmmmirage I….” she never got out the rest as she settled down to the floor by the stove in the blanket. At least Mirage wasn’t the only pony who was wiped out from their whole excursion these past couple days, Kid deserved her rest as much as he did. Gently picking her up he moved her over to Tumble Weed’s couch propped her up on a pillow and tucked her in, “What do you think Tumble Weed, should we take this as a sign and take a couple days to ourselves before we head up to Cloudsdale for this screening?” Tumble Weed stared back tiredly and sighed, “I’d say yes boss but it seems we haven’t looked after the weather much since losing Crazy Wing, and I don’t want to throw the whole thing on the Wonderbolts.” “That’s just what I was thinking, we’ll have to do that anyways when we head up to Cloudsdale for the selection so I want to find the source of this bucking cold front before we leave. We’ll just have to keep it up until we get to Cloudsdale, if all we’ll be doing is the screening then it shouldn’t be a problem to catch up on our rest and make a good impression on the Bucking New Ponies.” “You know how it goes boss, as soon as we get to Cloudsdale the first shiny thing we see is going to distract us to the nearest party.” Mirage had been staring off into space, “Huh, what were you saying? I was watching that sparkle on the roof.” “You’re a mule boss.” Tumble Weed smiled throwing a hoof at Mirage’s shoulder, Mirage deftly caught the foreleg spun Tumble Weed around and proceeded to choke him out with his own foreleg, not wanting to tap out yet Tumble Weed let out a gurgling laugh, “Not… donnnnne… yet.” Throwing his knee into Mirage’s barrel and dropping his weight he grabbed Mirage’s hoof with his free hoof bent down and rolled Mirage off his shoulder throwing him to the floor, it was a soft landing on clouds but Tumble Weed heard the air knocked out of Mirage’s lungs and he jumped on his opportunity. Still holding on to Mirage’s hoof Tumble Weed threw his rear legs over Mirage’s head and barrel and leaned back. Surprisingly Mirage resisted Tumble Weed by pure force even though he hadn’t caught his breath yet, he pulled Tumble Weed over and rolled on top of him and began stomping him in the barrel. Not full force but enough to make Tumble Weed tap out. Jumping up Mirage offered a hoof to help Tumble Weed up, “Pant, pant, pant, you always beat me boss.” Mirage had gotten his breath back and wasn’t even winded, “You’re getting better though, we’ve got to be quiet or we’ll wake up Kid.” Tumble Weed smacked Mirage over the head with a wing, “I don’t know why you’re making so much noise boss.” The hit didn’t even phase Mirage, he got a crazed look in his eyes and started laughing picking Tumble Weed up by the base of his wings and throwing him up against a wall. Through Tumble Weed’s good eye he couldn’t tell if Mirage was serious or joking anymore, sure he was laughing but something was off. Anyways he wasn’t in a position to continue the fight so he conceded, carefully keeping his smile and with a laughing voice Tumble Weed said, “Uncle, uncle, I’m done.” Mirage let Tumble Weed down slowly, very slowly as if he didn’t want Tumble Weed to give in and he kept his eyes locked unblinkingly on Tumble Weed’s good eye with a blood chilling smile on his face. “No sucker bucks please or I won’t be responsible for what happens to you.” Mirage requested in an equally friendly voice, Tumble Weed’s pulse spiked, the way Mirage had said it, no hesitation, no sign that he didn’t mean exactly what he said. Tumble Weed’s skin crawled, he felt like Mirage could snap his wings with that same smile on his face. Tumble Weed knew Mirage had been a bit wound up lately but not like this, keeping his calm he changed the subject, “I think we should let Kid get some sleep and go welcome the doctor that just came in.” Mirage just grunted and nodded in agreement, the two of them left Kid on the couch and made their way to Appaloosa. Tumble Weed had to pick Mirage’s brain make sure he was still alright. Not being able to think of where to start he asked the first thing that came to mind, “Hey Mirage, remember when we used to work the weather in Cloudsdale?” Mirage sighed in melancholy, “Life was so much simpler back then.” Tumble Weed could tell Mirage was bucking himself inside for slipping up and threatening him, “What happened to us Mirage? It’s like we’re broken.” “We’re stronger than we ever were.” Mirage answered coldly glaring straight ahead, “At what price? Murdering dragons, attempted suicides, giving hard cider to a filly, none of this would have crossed my mind before I became a Dusty Bolt.” “You’re right, that’s just the way things are though, there are only so many things a pony can take before they’re shattered. This is the life we chose, no one forced us to stay in Appaloosa, even if we wanted to we couldn’t back out now.” “I want to believe we’re better than that, experiences don’t make a pony, experiences contribute a lot to who a pony is but not to the point of influencing what they do. Like you said a pony chooses to do the right thing despite their circumstances.” “I want to believe that too Tumble Weed but every time I try to be a better pegasus, a better leader I always fall short.” Mirage could feel himself tearing up, he didn’t want to talk about it but if he didn’t talk about it now when would he? This was the pain of becoming a better pony, all Mirage wanted was his space so he could sort things out himself but he knew if he didn’t confront his problem now with Tumble Weed it would overcome him. He had already let his hate take over. “I suppose everypony has their vices, I should know.” Tumble Weed admitted humbly “Yes and you got over it, I have no excuse.” Mirage said flying a little lower and dropping his head unable to look Tumble Weed in the eye. “Cut yourself some slack boss, when I gave up my drinking it wasn’t because I hated myself for my dependency, and trust me I did hate myself, but I gave it up because I realized the ponies around me believed I was better than my addiction.” Mirage laughed solemnly, “Tumble Weed you’ve got better vision than me and you’ve only got one eye.” Tumble Weed laughed with Mirage, “Yeah it does tend to give you a new perspective when you lose an eye.” After flying in silence for a while Tumble Weed looked over again and said, “Hey boss just because you’re our Captain don’t feel like you have to keep your problems to yourself, a problem for you is a problem for all of us. We got your back.” It was then that they pulled up above a crowd of ponies gathered around whom they could only assume was the doctor, he was had with frazzled black hair, and wore a khaki long coat, a scarf and a wide brim hat in the cold. He looked up as they flew in, “Ah just the ponies I was looking for, Princess Celestia herself ordered me to give the Dusty Bolts a checkup as soon as I arrived in Appaloosa.” “Well you’re the doc, doc.” Mirage said diving in and landing in front of the doctor with a dramatic bow, “Mirage von Stäube Captain of the Dusty Bolts at your service.” The doctor rolled his eyes and muttered, “Pegasi” before offering his hoof in introduction, “Doctor Hollineigh M.D.” “Doc Hollineigh, as in the Doc Hollineigh?” Tumble Weed asked eyes wide in disbelief, “The one and only.” The Doctor said taking off his hat and bowing with as much mock elegance as Mirage, “Oh we have to play poker sometime!” Tumble Weed said bouncing excitedly, “Well it seems my reputation has preceded me, sorry young buck I don’t play with amateurs, but if you wouldn’t mind I’d like to begin my initial exam.” Not waiting for Tumble Weed’s disappointed reaction he hooved Mirage’s cannon and pulled a watch out of his coat pocket, once a minute had passed Doc Hollineigh reached into his medical bag and pulled out a thermometer, “Well your blood pressure is excellent, much better than the layabouts in Canterlot.” Mirage spoke around the thermometer that was shoved abruptly under his tongue, “I wud hop sho.” “I’ll go round up the rest of the team boss.” Tumble Weed said turning to leave, “Please do.” Doc Hollineigh acknowledged, Tumble Weed thought about it and said, “Alright but you owe me a game of poker.” Doc Hollineigh sighed as he brought out a candle with a mirror and a scope on it and proceeded to look into Mirage’s eyes, ears, and nose, “I suppose I can afford a few friendly games with you, seeing as how I’ll be taking up residence here but you better bring you’re A game or I’ll cut it off after the first round.” SQUEE! Tumble Weed flew off and nearly smashed into the clock tower on his blind side, “Sounds fair to me!” Doc Hollineigh brought out a small mallet and tapped on Mirage’s joints frowning in contemplation when they cracked as they moved, “Well your reaction time is faster than most, but those joints don’t sound good at all. Do you stretch before your work day?” “Every morning.” Mirage answered hesitantly, he didn’t like where the questions were going, “More bananas.” Doc Hollineigh said flatly, “Those aren’t exactly easy to get out here Doc.” Mirage commented cynically, Doc Hollineigh ignored him and continued with his exam, “Close your eyes hold your wings out and relax.” Mirage silently obeyed, Doc Halliday grunted dubiously, “I thought so your nerves are shot.” Mirage opened his eyes and saw his wings twitching involuntarily, “Comes with the job.” “Right, well, until you actually hurt yourself I can only give advice. Your mane is going to turn grey before you hit 25 if you don’t find a better way of dealing with your stress. It looks like you did a number on your hoof.” Mirage followed the doctor’s gaze to his split hoof, “Landing accident.” He lied, “Have you been keeping it clean?” Doc asked picking up the hoof for a closer look, “Of course.” “Hmm, it should heal fine by itself it’s going to leave a nice scar though, come see me if it gets infected.” “Sure thing Doc.” Doc Hollineigh looked as if he was about to say something then he looked to the skies behind Mirage and his jaw dropped “Holy road apples that’s a big pegasus, what do they feed you?” “I live on motivation and crushing little foals dreams.” Sand Blast said causing a mini sand storm coming in, Doc Hollineigh rolled his eyes and started his exam on Sand Blast as the rest of the Dusty Bolts gathered around, “Everypony’s a comedian.” Mirage looked over Doc Hollineigh’s shoulder as he conducted his exams, Sand Blast’s and Silver’s exams had the same diagnosis, but after scrutinizing Tumble Weed’s eye and teeth Doc Hollineigh solemnly declared, “Your liver is on the verge of failure, you need to stop drinking now or you could die within a year.” Tumble Weed grimly but defiantly admitted, “I figured that, I never planned on living long but I planned on living.” “Well if you’re going to live by that code then you might as well say goodbye to your friends, they’ll be joining you short after I shouldn’t wonder with the way they abuse themselves.” “It’s always the sober ones that tell you that you need to stop drinking. If I hadn’t quit I’d have pulled out my flask right now.” Tumble Weed muttered darkly, “It’s our business to abuse ourselves when nopony else steps up to do our business.” Mirage growled defensively, “In case you haven’t noticed Doc we’re in the middle of nowhere any help that we might get is days away so nopony bothers to help.” Silver Lining made a pie slinger’s whistle, “AaAaAaaaa!” Dodging the hostility by changing the subject Doc Hollineigh asked, “Where’s the filly I heard you have on the team?” Mirage coughed nervously, “She’s not available for a checkup today.” Doc Hollineigh looked disappointed, “Oh, I was hoping to finish the entire team today, I suppose it won’t matter now that I’ll be living here but if you’ll please excuse me I’d like to get settled in.” “Do what you have to Doc.” Mirage said watching Doc Holineigh pack his medical bag and trot to the Apple Core Inn “Interesting stallion.” “Ah have ta agree with ya ther pardner.” Brayburn said stepping out from the townsponies who were still gathered to welcome the Doctor and were just disbursing, “Ah hope he figures out we’re on the frontier before anythin too terrible happens.” “Me too.” Mirage admitted worriedly.