//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: To Be Bold! // by Whirl Wind //------------------------------// Chapter Six: Reprieve “So your name is Courage huh?” Whirl asked with a smile as he shook Courage’s hoof. “That’s a great name. You should be proud to carry it.” “It’s an honor to hear that from somepony like you… I think… Bold has told me all about you… well mostly…” Courage stammered as the train rolled out of the station again. “I’m sure my son did him justice.” Derpy said with a smile as she hugged Bold. “My big stallion, back home at last.” “Awww mom, don’t get all sappy.” Bold said with a blush as he hugged his mother. “It’s good to home though. I take it you got my message about my friends staying with us?” “Yes! We already have the guest room ready, but we don’t have more than one.” Derpy said with a slightly concerned tone. “Windy can sleep with me in my room.” Bold said reassuringly. Whirl looked at Windy with a smile. “A fine young mare you have there Bold, keep her safe.” he said with a serious tone. Windy giggled a bit. “With all due respect Mr. Wind; I can take care of myself. I believe I have proved myself to Bold once or twice.” she said as she gave Bold a wink. “Father, if you think I am good with my magic, wait until you see her combat skills.” Bold said with a chuckle. “Well, why wait? Let’s get going. Courage, I think you should watch this.” Whirl said with a smile. “If I see ONE bruise on any of you, then I will tie you to your bed until they go away.” Derpy said sternly. Bold and Whirl both gave nervous chuckles and rubbed the backs of their necks in unison. Windy laughed a bit at their synchronization. “Oh yes, they are father and son indeed!” she said gleefully. Derpy gave a small laugh as well and looked at Courage. “Courage dear, we hired a special carriage for you and Bold to take. He included, in detail, the world you came from and we want to make sure that you get all the comforts you deserve.” she said kindly. Courage smiled softly and looked at Derpy with a friendly expression. “Thank you Mrs. Derpy. I will only take up your offer because you have already paid, but from here on out I would like to be treated as an equal. Please, I have been treated differently my entire life and for once I want to feel… just like an average pony.” he said sincerely. Derpy smiled and gave him a gentle nudge. “I know EXACTLY what you mean.” she said kindly. “Well then, let’s get going Courage. Mom, dad, Windy, I will see you at home.” Bold said with a grin as he walked out of the station with Courage. Windy and the others took off to fly to Bold’s house as Bold and Courage boarded the carriage. “Thank you for transporting us sir.” Courage said kindly. “It’s what I do sir. And I love doing what I do.” the earth pony stallion replied as they started to pull them to Bold’s home. Courage looked around as they rode through town. His mouth was open constantly in awe. “Bold… everything here… it’s so… simple.” he said softly. “I don’t mean that in a bad way either. This… this is the life I have always dreamed of… simple… just the basics… the pure simple basics… not what we want but what we need… and we gain that through cooperation… and kindness… how amazing this place is.” “I can only wish your world was like that. I wish that you didn’t have to go through what you did. In the end all you can do is learn from it and never treat others how you were treated.” Bold said sincerely. “I’m not sure I understand what you two are talking about, but I wanted to let you know that we will arrive to our destination in about five minutes.” the taxi stallion said happily. “Thank you sir.” Bold replied politely. “Courage, look over there in the distance. That is Sweet Apple Acres, where I hope to get you a job.” he said as he pointed on the horizon. Courage looked at Sweet Apple Acres with a smile. “It looks wonderful. And the sky is so clear, so… blue! I have to tell you, I had never seen the sun or the sky before. It is quite beautiful!” he said with a chuckle. “What did you live under a rock?” the taxi stallion asked jokingly as they arrived at Bold’s home. “No, I was a slave under the rule of oppressive unicorns in a land where the sun doesn’t shine.” Courage said as he disembarked. “Don’t worry, I did not take offence at your words. You didn’t know.” The taxi stallion looked at Courage with a frown. “I should still apologize, my words were ill spoken. I’m sorry.” “Apology accepted. Thank you very much for taking us to our destination.” Courage said as Bold got off of the taxi. The taxi rode off down the dirt path and Courage turned to Bold with a smile. “You are quite forgiving Courage. Had he said that to me I might have been furious.” Bold said with a chuckle. “I cannot get upset whenever somepony something about my past, especially when they don’t know anything about my past.” Courage explained as Whirl, Windy and Derpy landed in front of the house. “Ack, you were right Derpy… they got here first.” Whirl said in a slightly irritated tone. “I’ll pay up later.” “Pay up? What does he mean?” Courage asked curiously. “Occasionally my parents bet each other fifty bits on random things. It was one of the things that brought them closer together before they got married so they do it to keep growing closer.” Bold explained. “Awww! Bold you have such a sweet family.” Windy said as she nudged Bold’s shoulder. Bold smiled and nodded. “Yeah, they are pretty awesome.” he said as he watched his parents nuzzle one another. “So, where do we go to fight? I am rearing to get started.” Windy said with a giggle. Those words got Whirl’s attention. “Right! Training room! Follow me!” Whirl said as he gave Derpy a kiss on the cheek and bounded towards their training room. The others followed quickly behind. They entered the large room that Windy and Courage couldn’t help but look all around. “Put on some safety gear Bold! Let’s give them an example of how we fight!” Whirl said happily as he started to strap on his safety gear. “I see mom made us a full set. I don’t blame her after I hit your face last time.” Bold said with a chuckle. Courage and Windy took a seat at the ring side and watched as Bold and Whirl took their positions. “Bold, you have three staves…” Whirl said in a curious tone. “Yes father. If you want to beat me, you are going to have to work for it.” Bold said as he spun the staves slowly with his magic. Whirl smirked. “No more holding back then. May I have the first move?” he asked politely. “By all meWHAO!” Bold exclaimed as Whirl leaps forward with immense speed. He barely managed to deflect the blow as Whirl flew up in the air and started to attack with extreme speed. Bold and Whirl were all over the room and Whirl kept Bold on the ropes as he blocked and deflected every blow. But Bold was getting increasingly tired of being on the defense and decided to switch to offense. The next time Whirl flew by, Bold caught his wing with two of his staves and stopped him mid-air and sent him crashing to the ground. “Hold! Augh! Wait! I think you dislocated my wing!” Whirl called out as he rolled on the ground in pain. Bold ran over and helped his father onto his belly. Whirl’s wing was indeed dislocated. “Alright, you know what I have to do dad. Stay still.” Bold said as he stood over his father. Whirl nodded as Bold’s magic enveloped Whirl’s wing. Bold jerked his head upward and a popping noise sounded throughout the room just before Whirl cried out in pain again. “There we go, realigned and ready to be patched. Go put some ice on it.” Bold said with a chuckle as he helped Whirl up. Whirl nodded and stepped off to the side. “Who’s next?” he asked with a chuckle. Courage quickly pointed at Windy. “Thanks for volunteering me Courage.” Windy said sarcastically as she got some safety equipment on. She stepped into the ring with Bold as Whirl got an ice pack from their emergency kits. “Alright Bold, show me what you got!” Bold swung a stave and suddenly lost track of Windy as she dashed off. Windy easily took out Bold’s legs and swept Bold onto the floor before pinning him down with her stave and giving him a gentle kiss on the lips. “Not fair… you are too beautiful… you distracted me…” Bold said with a chuckle. Windy’s expression softened. “Awww, Bold you WAAA!” she yelled as Bold flipped her over and pinned her to the floor with all three staves. “You cheater! You distracted me!” she shouted as she struggled on the floor. “Yield.” Bold said simply as he walked to the side of the arena and took a drink. Whirl was laughing and clapping his hooves and Courage was snickering a little as well. Windy finally loosened up and sighed. “I yield…” she said softly. Bold levitated the staves away and set them aside. “Now all that is left is Courage. Come on; I won’t use any staves.” he offered kindly. Whirl stood up and put his helmet onto Courage. “Come on, you can do it.” he said encouragingly. Courage smiled and stood up. Whirl helped him strap on his safety gear and then helped Courage get into a combat position. “Okay… I’m ready.” he said softly. Bold smiled and approached slowly. “You can have the first strike.” he offered as he continued to walk forward. Courage swung the stave clumsily and it barely made contact with Bold’s safety gear. “Sorry! Did I hurt you?!” he asked worriedly. Bold shook his head. “Not even close. You have strength, you have… built up anger even. Let it out. Pretend I am a unicorn that is bossing you around… servant.” he said as he tried to strike a nerve. That seemed to do it too as Courage let out a loud yell as swung violently at Bold. Bold dodged and ducked as Courage swung violently. One misstep caused Bold to take a hit to his face mask and he fell to the ground. Courage didn’t stop however as he pounded the stave against Bold’s chest with strong hits. Bold was completely winded and he couldn’t move as blow after blow knocked the wind out of him. “Courage stop! You got him!” Windy shouted. The words didn’t reach him though as he continued to slam Bold’s chest. Just as Bold passed out, Whirl grabbed the stave and stopped the next blow. Windy quickly pulled Bold to the side and started to resuscitate him. Courage shook his head and started to breath heavily. He looked around and then noticed Windy breathing into Bold’s mouth. “Oh gosh… I… I’m sorry…” Courage said sadly. “It’s okay Courage, Bold can handle it. He let you do that you know, so that you could let out your anger. He didn’t count on you hitting his chest over and over but it was a risk he was willing to take.” Whirl said in a reassuring voice. “He will be fine. This isn’t the first time he has passed out during practice.” Bold coughed and took in a deep breath. “Whoa… wha… what happened…? Ah right… good job Courage… *cough* You have one hell of a strike…” he said with a coughing chuckle. Windy helped him up with a smile. “Easy, easy…” she said softly as she carried him off to the side as he coughed. Bold unstrapped his chest protection and let out a sigh of relief. “Good… no bruise.” he said with a chuckle. “Yeah not on you, but my wing is definitely bruised at the joint.” Whirl said as he took off the ice pack, revealing a dark purple spot at his wing joint. Bold let out a loud laugh and he coughed violently. “I got you *cough* good! Ah ha *cough*!” “Now I see the darker side of your family. You two are stuck on hurting each other.” Windy said jokingly. Whirl shook his head. “Nah, it was my fault. I put him in the position where he could have done only that to stop me.” he said with a chuckle. “I have to admit that Sunny has trained him far better than I have.” Bold let out a cough and Windy rubbed his back. “You alright Bold?” she asked softly. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just need a moment… *cough*” Bold wheezed. Courage was staring at the ground with a guilty expression. “Gosh Bold… I am sorry I took it so far…” he said in an apologetic tone. Bold chuckled and coughed. “It’s okay… you got me good! That was the *cough* point…” Courage chuckled a little bit. “I did get you good huh…? I’ll try to go easier on you next time though.” “Just be sure not to go easy on somepony who deserves it. I mean REALLY deserves it.” Windy said sternly. “Well, let’s head inside before Derpy thinks one of us is dead and we are trying to hide the evidence.” Whirl said jokingly. They left the training room and went inside the house. “There you are! I was wondering when you were going to get in. I have dinner made for all of you; I hope you all like cucumber sandwiches.” Derpy said happily as she set the plate of sandwiches on a small table in the center of the den. She then flew back to the kitchen and flew back with a tray of iced tea. Everypony sat down in different chairs and took a sandwich. “Hmmm, cucumber sandwiches…” Courage said before he took a bite. “Mmmm! This is good! What is it made of?” he asked as he flipped through the sandwich. “Bread and cucumbers Courage.” Derpy said with a smile. “Very basic, but very good.” “What is a cucumber? Is it a type of fruit?” Courage asked excitedly as he took another bite. “It’s a type of vegetable. Pretty good huh?” Windy asked with a giggle as she finished her sandwich. “Amazing is more I like it!” Courage said happily. “Well I am really happy that you like it.” Derpy said with a smile. “So Courage, what did you do for fun in the other world?” Whirl asked curiously. “I used to see how many times I could avoid getting beaten in one day…” Courage responded quietly. Derpy smacked Whirl upside his head. “Remember what Bold’s letter said?” she asked in an irritated tone. “No need to worry Courage. We are going to go and see Applejack right now.” Bold said as he finished his sandwich and stood up. “N-Now? Do we have to? I… I don’t think I am ready…” Courage said nervously. “You are more than ready. Trust me.” Bold said with a smile as he helped Courage up. “Windy, stay here and relax. We already disobeyed the doctors order by having you fight against me in the training room.” he said with a nervous chuckle. Windy nodded in agreement. “The doctor told you not to do stuff like that and you did it anyway? Oh dearie, are you alright? Do you hurt anywhere?” Derpy asked in a worried tone. “Whirl, carry her to Bold’s room now and I will get her something to relax with.” “Mrs. Derpy, I’m fine. I can make it to Bold’s room with no worries.” Windy said as she stood up. It was true that she was a bit sore all over from the extra movement, but she shrugged it off and went to Bold’s room with Derpy close behind. “Dad, when I get back I will want to know how well the Dusk and Dawn teams have been doing.” Bold said as he and Courage walked out of the house. Windy walked over to Bold’s bed immediately and collapsed on it with a groan of pain. “Oh I swear…” she said softly. “Oh Windy dear! Are you alright?!” Derpy asked in a concerned tone. “Y-yeah… just really sore… I have to keep tough around Bold…” Windy explained with another groan of pain. “Oh no you don’t! Not if you are in so much pain!” Derpy insisted as she helped Windy relax in the bed. “Did he tell you that you had to do that? I’ll kill him! How could he do that to y---“ “Mrs. Derpy, I chose to do that! I just… I don’t want him to think less of me… you know?” Windy said softly as she rolled over on her belly and buried her face into Bold’s pillows. Derpy sat down on the bed next to her and rubbed her back gently. “Listen dear, Bold loves you. I can tell. He loves you for who you are, no matter who or what that may be.” she said kindly. “I know but… what if we are wrong? What if he sees me like this and thinks I am too weak for him? I know it’s unlikely because of how kind, sweet, amazing and awesome he is but… the thought still lingers…” Windy said softly. “What did he do when he saw you in that interrogation chamber?” Derpy asked with a smirk. “How did you know about that?” Windy asked curiously. “Sunny also sent us a letter and explained Bold’s… well… reaction.” Derpy said with a frown. “I am not thrilled to hear that my colt is capable of mangling some random pony, but once I heard why he did it I understood perfectly. Whirl would have done the same thing if they would have done that to me.” Windy nodded slowly and took her face out of the pillow with a sigh. “Thank you…” she said softly. **** Meanwhile, Bold and Courage had reached Sweet Apple Acres, but they were still outside of the front entrance. “Come on Courage, there is no reason to be nervous. They are my friends and they will treat you as such.” Bold said reassuringly. “Bold I can’t. I am just too scared…” Courage said as he turned away. “No, you are not leaving. You are at least going to say---“ Bold started before he was cut off by a familiar voice. “Well howdy!” Applebloom said as she peeked over the short wall. “Bold, yer back! Good to see ya in one piece, well mostly. What happened to yer eye?” she said as she nudged his shoulder. “And who’s this… handsome stallion?” Courage blushed at being called handsome. “M-My name is Courage miss… um… I never got your name…” he said nervously. “Applebloom at your service!” she said proudly. “Yall come on in and we’ll treat ya right with some apple cider from our special stash.” Bold wrapped a hoof around Courage’s neck and started to lead him towards the house. “Sure, we have some things to discuss with Applejack and Big Macintosh anyway. Are they around?” he asked as he continued to drag Courage to the house. “Yeah, ah’ll get them from the orchard for a break.” Applebloom said as she dashed off into the orchard. “APPLEJACK! BIG MACINTOSH! GET YER FLANKS BACK HOME! WE HAVE COMPN’Y!” she shouted as her voice became fainter as she got farther. “See, nice ponies huh?” Bold asked with a smile. Courage was shaking a bit as they walked but he nodded as they entered the Apple family home. “Yeah… she was er… nice…” he said quietly. Not long after they sat down the others came in with smiles on their faces. “Well bust my apples on a hot summer road, Bold is here! Welcome back!” Applejack said happily. “We are thrilled at the work yall have been doing, right Big Mac?” “Eeyup!” Big Macintosh said happily. “And yall did bring a friend! Courage, right? Pleasure to meet ya!” Applejack said as she shook Courage’s hoof vigorously. Courage pulled his hoof away, unsure of what Applejack’s intentions were. He looked a bit frightened at the sight of Big Macintosh but calmed down slightly when he saw they were all earth ponies. “Ah’m sorry sugar cube, ah didn’t mean to frighten yall.” Applejack said as she noticed Courage’s reaction. Courage let out a sigh and shook his head. “Sorry I am so fearful of others…” he said softly. “I’ll try to adjust a bit quicker.” “Now don’t yall go changin’ fer us. We think yer fine just the way ya are.” Applebloom said with a wink. “Let me get that cider ah promised earlier.” she said as she walked into the kitchen. Applejack and Big Macintosh took a seat nearby. “So, what brings yall to our fine orchard today?” Applejack asked calmly, trying to keep from frightening Courage again. “I was wondering if you had some work for my friend Courage here. You see, he is not from around here. In fact he is from a place so different and cruel that he is a bit… well you have seen.” Bold explained. Courage blushed a bit and Bold continued. “He just needs a job until we can find something else for him to do.” “Say no more. We’d be happy to give ya some work until ya get on yer hooves again. Isn’t that right Big Macintosh.” Applejack said happily. “Eeyup!” Big Macintosh replied with a smile. Courage smiled a bit, but kept his gaze low. “Quite the shy one aren’t ya?” Applejack asked sympathetically. “I’m not sure what it is like where ya came from, but let me tell you that you won’t find a better place to work. Applebloom, where’s the cider at?! Just wait till yall try our cider. That’ll perk ya up.” Applebloom came back into the room with five mugs of cider balanced on her head. “You try to balance five mugs on yer head and see how easy it is!” she said as she placed the tray on the table. Courage took his mug last and looked at it with an unsure expression. “It’s… really bubbly…” he said as he looked at it. “I propose a toast, to Courage. May his work here be productive and educational.” Bold said as he held up his mug. “Here here!” Applejack said as they all lifted their mugs. Courage held his up before quickly bringing it down again and taking a sip. His eyes widened and he up-ended the mug, quickly drinking every drop. He set the mug down and let out a gasp of air. “Wow! That was! Wow!” he said happily. “There ya are, nice and happy! Ah knew that the cider would do the trick!” Applejack said happily. “Now let’s get you outside and start you off on something easy. Ah gotta say, it’ll be nice to have another stallion as big as Big Mac working round here.” “Eeyup.” Big Macintosh said as he stood up. “Ah’ll take him down to the east orchard and get him started.” Courage stood up as well and walked over to Big Macintosh. “Are… are all earth ponies so… nice?” he asked Big Macintosh. “Nope. Ah have met one or two unkind earth ponies in my day. But yall will find that a majority of us are kind.” Big Macintosh responded as he led Courage out of the house. Bold watched them leave and let out a sigh of relief when they were gone. “Thank you Applejack, Applebloom… I owe you all.” he said with a smile. “Ya don’t owe us a thing. Applebloom here explained what you and yer team have been doing at night. Once the gangs were dispersed, Ponyville finally returned to normal. If anything, we owe you.” Applejack said happily. “Well, I am on leave right now. I won’t be out at night.” Bold said a bit sadly. “I guess I’ll have to get used to being a civilian again.” Applebloom giggled a bit. “Well good. That means ah won’t have to be worried about getting knocked out again at night.” Bold chuckled and blushed. “Yeah, sorry about that. You shouldn’t have been out so late though while gangs were roaming the street.” “Ah’m with Bold on this one. Yall should have known better.” Applejack said sternly. “Well, ah should get back to work. It was nice see’n ya Bold. Stop by anytime.” she said as she walked out of the house. “So Bold, is Courage uh… single?” Applebloom asked curiously. “Umm, I think so but… he may be a bit old for you.” Bold said with a chuckle. “Actually, I don’t know too much about him at all. Well, other than the fact that he is kind and loyal.” “And handsome…” Applebloom said dreamily. “Wow, you are really crushing hard aren’t you?” Bold asked with a chuckle. Applebloom blushed and got a bit upset. “No! Of course ah’m not! He’s just nice is all…” “Nice and handsome?” Bold asked with a chuckle. “Yeah…” Applebloom replied dreamily. “But not anything special!” she quickly tried to correct. “Apple-bloom and Cour-age sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.” Bold said jokingly. “Stop it!” Applebloom said as she pounced at him. Bold quickly grabbed her and pined her to the ground gently so he wouldn’t hurt her. “Oh stop it. I’m only playing around. So what if you like him? I’m not afraid to say that I love Windy and I am younger than you.” he said with a slight laugh. “Well it’s easier for you! You’ve had somepony else with you all yer life!” Applebloom protested. “Ah’ve never been on a date before! Ah’ve never held somepony before!” she said sadly. “Well, now’s your chance. Don’t waste it.” Bold said simply. Applebloom stood up and dusted herself off. “Ah won’t! Ah’ll go out there right now and tell him how ah feel!” she said as she started to walk out. Bold grabbed her tail and shook his head. “Not yet, he still has to adjust to life here first. You saw how he reacted to Applejack simply shaking his hoof. Imagine how he would react if you just walk out there and tell him all that.” he said with a slight frown. “Alright, alright…” Applebloom said stubbornly. “Ah’ll make sure Big Mac has him work with me tomorrow.” “Good idea, just remember… go slow.” Bold said with a smile. “I think it is time for me to get going home. Tell Sweetiebelle and Scootaloo I said hello and that I hope that they are doing well.” Applebloom gave him a quick hug. “Thank ya fer stoppin’ bah.” she said happily as she broke away from the hug. Bold smiled and nodded before walking out of the house. He took a quick look around and saw Big Macintosh pointing at a tree while Courage looked at it carefully. Courage said something before turning around and bucking the tree hard with his hind legs. The tree shook and apples fell into the baskets. Courage seemed pretty happy and so did Big Macintosh as they went to the next tree. Bold couldn’t help but smile before he left and started to walk home. “Bold! Hey Bold!” Windy shouted as she trotted up to him. She stopped for a second and winced in pain before walking a bit more slowly. “Windy! You should be resting!” Bold said in an irritated tone as they reached each other. “That’s why I am here in town. I figured we could go to the spa together.” Windy explained. “The spa? I didn’t know you were such a softie.” Bold teased. “I didn’t know you were so thick.” Windy retorted with a smirk. “Ohh, that was a good one. Alright you win, let’s go.” Bold said as he started to walk to the spa. Windy flapped her wings and glided up next to Bold. She landed and walked along with him. “Wow, that was easier than I thought.” she said with a chuckle. “Well, you retorted well enough that I had no choice but to surrender.” Bold said with a slight laugh. “In any case, this leave is for you.” “This leave is for us. Or did you forget about your eye?” Windy asked jokingly. “Yeah yeah, my eye. It was burned shut. I was lucky enough to just have to wear this eye patch for a few months.” Bold said with a chuckle. “You however, suffered severe cuts across your body. If you agitate those wounds you could be in for months of bed rest.” “I know! Why do you think I want to relax with a nice massage and some time in the sauna?” Windy asked. “Why do you think I didn’t argue?” Bold asked with a wink. There was a moment of silence before Windy finally spoke up. “So… you said yes just because I was the one who asked?” she asked softly. “Yes.” Bold said simply. Windy remained silent for a moment before she leaned against Bold and wrapped a wing over his back. “Such a sweetie…” she said as she kissed his cheek. “I know.” Bold said in the same simple tone. “An arrogant sweetie, but a sweetie none the less.” Windy said with a giggle. Bold laughed a bit as they arrived at the spa. “Oh welcome to our spa. My name is Lotus and this is Aloe. What can we do for you today?” Lotus asked as Windy and Bold walked through the door. “Kind of empty to day huh? Well, I can give you both something to do. Give us the full package. Everything you have to offer.” Bold said with a smile. “Just put it on my father’s account here. His name is Whirl Wind.” “Oh! Your father is Whirl Wind?! Then it is on the house! That stallion has been coming here every month with his wife for years!” Aloe said happily. “I agree! Come with us and we will treat you and your marefriend proper.” Lotus said in a tone that matched Aloe’s. Windy and Bold followed them back into another room. “Come come, lay down on your stomach on these beds.” Aloe instructed. They both got onto beds that were right next each other. The spa ponies immediately got to work on massaging Bold and Windy’s backs softly. “So, what happened to your eye there?” Aloe asked curiously as she kneaded Bold’s back. “Occupational incident.” Bold replied softly. “Oh my, what do you do for a living?” Lotus asked in a concerned tone. “We hunt down criminals and ohhhh… that’s the spot…” Windy said in an extremely relaxed tone as she melted into the bed. “We hunt down criminals and lock them away.” Bold finished for Windy. “Our most recent mission was… dangerous.” “And it must have been pretty decent on the work load. You seem to have a lot of tension in your back.” Aloe said as she pressed hard against Bold’s back. Bold let out a slight grunt of pain. “Well… I survived an explosion… ungh… and fought against a insane criminal… ohhh… with an insane ability to use maAHAHgic…” he explained as Aloe pressed harder and harder. “Sorry if you feel discomfort…” Aloe said softly as she kneaded his back a bit more gently. “This should feel a bit better.” Bold sighed contently and closed his eyes. “Oh yes…” he said softly. “So did you catch him?” Lotus asked as she started to pat her hooves on Windy’s back. “No… he got away and we were taken off of the case…” Bold said sadly. “It is up to the others to take care of it now…” “You don’t sound too thrilled about that.” Aloe noticed. “I’m not… it means that I am not good enough to do the job…” Bold said with a sigh. “Or it could mean that they think you have done well enough and they can easily take care of finding him on their own.” Lotus suggested. “I like Lotus’ suggestion. Maybe they just felt we deserved a break for all the hard work we have done.” Windy said happily. “Maybe… it doesn’t really matter now… augh… I might just fall asleep from being too relaxed…” Bold said with a yawn. Aloe and Lotus giggled a bit. “That just means we are doing our job well, thank you.” Aloe said happily. “Now we are going to put on a mud mask over your face. Just stay relaxed and keep your eyes closed.” Windy closed her eyes and felt a wet sticky paste apply to her face. Once her face was covered she felt two circles cover her eyes. “Eaugh… feels weird.” she said in a disgusted tone. Bold chuckled a bit and felt himself being rolled onto his back. “Just relax and we will be back in a moment.” Lotus said as her and Aloe walked out of the room. “So, are you enjoying yourself so far?” Bold asked happily. “I didn’t think it would be so weird.” Windy replied with a giggle. “I’m glad you came with me Bold. It is nice to spend some time with you when we aren’t training or on duty. Let’s me see the real you, you know?” “But you can’t see me right now.” Bold said jokingly. “And I see you have a terrible sense of humor.” Windy said as she threw a cucumber slice from her eye. It plopped against Bold’s face with a slight smack and stuck to it. “Whopse… sorry about that Bold. I didn’t mean to actually hit you with it.” Bold leaned up in his bed and took off the one cucumber slice from his eye and tossed it back at Windy. It stuck to her nose and they both laughed as Lotus and Aloe walked back in. “Those are supposed to stay on your eyes you silly ponies.” Aloe said playfully as she walked over to them. “I take it the mud masks didn’t go over so well?” she asked as she started to wipe Windy’s face off. “Not exactly relaxing, but my face does feel super soft.” Windy said as she rubbed a hoof on her face. Bold chuckled a bit and rubbed his face as well. “That’s cool. So, what’s next?” he asked Aloe. “A nice time in the sauna and maybe a dip in an herbal bath?” Aloe offered with a smile. “Oh that sounds wonderful.” Windy said excitedly. “Oh wait! How about a seaweed wrap first? A lot of customers are satisfied with our seaweed wraps!” Lotus offered excitedly. “Oh yes yes! You must try it!” Aloe said as she and Lotus lead them to the next room. They positioned Windy and Bold in front of two tubs full of mud and pulled out a large quantity of seaweed. “O-okay…” Windy said in an unsure tone as Lotus began to wrap her. “Feels snug.” Bold said with a chuckle as Aloe wrapped him. When they were fully wrapped Lotus and Aloe took their hooves and gently guided them into the mud bath. “Careful now. Try to keep the cucumbers on this time.” Aloe said with a giggle as she let go of Bold’s hoof. Windy was a bit more reluctant about getting into the mud. “No wait… please…” she said in a worried voice. “What is it miss…? Oh my we never got their names.” Lotus said with a giggle. “Windy, are you alright?” Bold asked worriedly as he levitated the cucumber slice off of his eye. He saw that Windy was shaking a bit. “Bold I can’t do this one… please take off the seaweed… take it off!” Windy said as she started to panic a bit. Bold used his magic to tear the seaweed off of her and looked up to her from the mud. “Windy, what’s wrong?” he asked worriedly. Windy sat down and took some deep breaths. “Windy dear, are you claustrophobic?” Lotus asked with a frown. “Am I what?” Windy asked in a confused tone as she let out a deep breath. “Are you afraid of confined spaces?” Bold asked as he slowly got out of the tub. Aloe started to rinse Bold off as Windy began to calm down. “Not that I know of…” Windy replied softly. “It’s okay Windy, no one here would make fun of you.” Lotus assured. Windy looked at Bold with a frown. “I… let’s go to the sauna… I’d prefer to tell you in private… nothing personal ladies…” she said softly. Aloe and Lotus nodded in unison and lead them to the sauna. “Just call for us if you need anything.” Lotus said as she shut the door. Bold laid on the bench next to Windy so their bodies touched. “So?” he asked worriedly. Windy sighed and laid her head down. “I… I don’t want you to think less of me…” she said softly. “Impossible… you can tell me Windy… I will not think any less than you.” he assured her. Windy rubbed her head up against his and whimpered a bit. “When I was young… I was so alone… no parents… no friends… a gang had me cornered…. I was so scared… I saw a small crack in between two houses… I squeezed in as fast as I could but I got stuck half way through… I couldn’t move at all… everything was stuck… I called out for help only to feel one of the gang members yank at my tail… but they couldn’t get me out either… but if they would have…” she explained before she started to cry. Bold nuzzled her softly. “It’s okay… it’s okay…” he said softly. “They were going to use me, Bold… use me in… sexual ways… but then I heard another voice… it was Sunny… but I didn’t know who it was at the time… I heard yelling and screaming before the gang ran away… then Sunny spoke in such a soft and caring tone that it calmed me down… he eventually got me out by lowering a rope for me to grab and he pulled me out. I thought that I was over it after that but I guess not…” she said sadly as she wiped away a tear. “Windy, do you want to know what my fear is?” Bold asked caringly as he nuzzled her neck. “I am absolutely terrified of dough.” Windy let out a sniffling laugh. “Dough? Like unbaked bread dough?” “The very same dough. When I was just a colt of no more than one year, my mother left some on the counter. At the time my magic was undeveloped and undisciplined. I levitated to dough over me and it fell right on top of me. I couldn’t breathe at all and if felt like it was going to crush me. Thank goodness my mother came back in and took it off of me before I passed out. To this day I am terrified of dough… and my mother never made bread again!” he finished with a laugh. Windy laughed a bit as well and wrapped a wing over his back. “Thank you Bold…” she said softly. “It’s no problem… fears are a part of life…” Bold said as he placed his head on her neck. “I love you…” “I love you too Bold.” she replied as more steam flooded the room. They sat there in silence for a while, just enjoying each other’s company and the steam from the sauna. After a while a knock on the door interrupted the silence. Bold leaned his head up with a raised eyebrow. “Yes?” he asked to answer the knock. The door opened up and Aloe stuck her head in. “Hello, sorry to disturb you but you have been in here for three hours. I wanted to make sure you were okay.” she said in a concerned tone. Windy giggled a bit. “Has it really been three hours? Wow, let’s get out of the sauna and enjoy another spa treatment, shall we?” she asked as she stood up and helped Bold onto his hooves. They both felt a bit like jello as they walked along. “Oh… it really has been three hours…” she said with a giggle. Bold chuckled along with her and they stepped out of the sauna, dripping wet with sweat and steam. “Perhaps now would be a good time for you to enjoy an herbal bath.” Lotus said as they stepped out. “We have everything set up if you would like to…” “Thank you Lotus, but I really don’t think I can relax anymore… I think my muscles are going to melt off of my bones…” Windy said in a tired tone. Aloe and Lotus looked at one another and smiled. “Then we have done our jobs well yes?” Aloe asked happily. “Very very well ladies…” Bold said with a smile. “But Windy is right. We should be getting home.” Aloe and Lotus led them to the front desk and bade them goodbye before the left in an embrace. They walked home silently and walked into Bold’s home with smiles on their faces. “Bold, Windy, welcome back. I take it the spa date went well?” Whirl asked as he fiddled with a small contraption on the den’s table. “It went great dad. What is that?” Bold asked curiously. “Well it’s a little something Zecora has been teaching me. It is a puzzle designed to change as you go along and the goal is to get the sticks here into a square.” Whirl explained as he tinkered with the contraption some more. When he pressed one stick the others clicked and started to move into a different shape. “Damn…” he said as he clicked another stick. “Father, I would appreciate it if you didn’t swear in front of this fine mare.” Bold said jokingly. Whirl looked up at them and smiled. “My apologies miss fine mare.” he replied with a chuckle. Windy shook her head and pulled Bold towards his room. Once inside she closed the door with her tail and walked him over to the bed. They sat down together and then laid on their back together. “So… this is your room huh?” Windy asked with a smile. Bold nodded his head and looked around the room. His walls were paved with notes and stories he had written. Then there was the drawing he drew when he was young and first started spending time with Frost Star. With a sigh he rolled off of the bed and walked over to the drawing before taking it down gently. Windy walked up behind him and looked at the picture. “First marefriend huh?” “Just a friend… I wanted to be her coltfriend but… I was too different, remember?” Bold asked with a slightly sad chuckle. “Hmm…” she replied as she took the picture from him. “What was her name?” “It’s not important now. I have you and that is all I’ll ever need.” Bold said as he used his magic to light the picture on fire. “… too different…” he said quietly as he slumped down on the bed. Windy dropped the piece of paper and watched it burn on the floor. “I can only imagine what she would say if she saw me now… one eye… a freak of nature when it comes to magic… a combat and strategy expert… ha…” Windy got in the bed next to him. “The perfect stallion. Brave enough to jump in front of an explosion for my sake, intelligent enough to use the highest levels of magic, and strong enough to fight for my honor.” she said as she rubbed her head against his. Bold smiled and turned to look her in the eye. They seem to never end, like a dark blue ocean. He leaned forward a bit and planted his lips on hers and kissed her passionately. Windy half expected it and kissed him back. Suddenly the door burst open and Courage was at the door. “Hey you guys! I love apple bucking!” he shouted happily.