Late one afternoon, Caboose and Daring entered the office of Mr. Curriculum, a teacher at Hurricane's school, having been called in for a parent-teacher conference. Mr. Curriculum was a grey-coated middle-aged Earth Pony with a short, beige mane, brown eyes, and a chalkboard Cutie Mark.
"Look, Mr. Curriculum, if this is about what Hurricane said last week, I swear, I didn't think there would be ponies outside Bitaly who understands Bitalian-" Caboose rambled.
"Mr. Napoleon, I assure you, that is not what I call you here for." Mr. Curriculum declared.
"Then why did you call us?" Daring asked. "Is Hurricane in some kind of trouble?"
"Quite the opposite actually, Mrs. Napoleon." Mr. Curriculum smiled. "We have been looking over your daughter's most recent test scores, and we discovered something... very shocking."
"Is she falling behind her classmates?" Caboose asked.
"No." Curriculum declared. "In fact, she's at the top of her class... in every subject."
"She is?" Daring gasped.
"Even algebra?" Caboose asked incredulously.
"Indeed. Moreover, her grades are actually putting some of our older students to shame." Mr. Curriculum smiled. "Your daughter is a bona fide genius, Mr. and Mrs. Napoleon."
"My Hurri, a genius?" Caboose gasped. "…How?"
"Well, it's hard to say for sure." Mr. Curriculum shrugged. "Sometimes, it's a product of genes and upbringing, not to mention environment... possibly even a latent hereditary potential..."
"…Uh, could you repeat that again, starting at 'product'?" Caboose glanced oddly.
Curriculum frowned.
"Of course, there's a strong possibility that Hurricane had inherited her intelligence from her mother's side of the family…" Curriculum supposed.
"Well, us Dos were always known for our resourcefulness and quick-thinking…" Daring supposed.
"Then that must be it then." Mr. Curriculum nodded.
So, what now?" Daring asked.
"Well, I might suggest looking for more advanced forms of education." Mr. Curriculum declared. "Though she has shown no signs so far, I fear Hurricane may become bored and unchallenged by her current lessons. I know the name of a good private school that will help in that regard."
"We'll have to think about it." Daring declared. "Hurri does have quite a few friends here."
"Of course, of course." Mr. Curriculum nodded. "I am only suggesting the possibility." He took some papers from his desk. "Feel free to peruse this information pack."
"Well, thanks for telling us this." Daring smiled.
"My pleasure." Mr. Curriculum grinned. "Grades aside, Hurricane is one of our nicest students. We're quite proud of her."
"So are we." Daring chuckled. "Come on, Caboose."
Caboose had been sitting stalk still, staring off into space.
"Caboose?" Daring asked.
"Oh." Caboose snapped out of it. "Coming!"
As they left the school, Daring noticed the worried look on Caboose's face.
"What's wrong, dear?" She asked.
"Nothing." Caboose declared. "I just can't believe my little girl's a genius."
"Me neither." Daring smiled, "I'm so proud!"
"Yeah, proud..." Caboose said quietly.
Meanwhile, Hurricane and Miracle were continuing their crusading (Pureblood and Vito were off training with their uncles). They had just tried (and failed) to attain crocheting Cutie Marks.
"Who knew wool could be such trouble?" Hurricane shrugged.
"And it took forever to get untangled..." Miracle groaned.
They came across Iron Hooves.
"Morning, Captain Hooves." Miracle smiled.
"Morning, young princess." Iron bowed. "Miss Hurricane."
"Morning." Hurricane smiled. "Hey, did you have raisin oats for breakfast."
"I- Yes, yes, I did." Iron nodded. "How could you tell?"
"Well, for starters, you've got raisin breath." Hurricane declared. "And you've got a little bit of oat on the corner of your mouth. After you had breakfast, you shaved, went for a jog, polished your spear, then tripped on something. A rock, I'll bet."
"That's right." Iron gaped. "How'd you-"
"In that order: most of your chin is smooth, though you missed a spot there." Hurricane pointed at the hairy spot on his chin. "There's some sweat stains on your coat, some leftover polish on your spear... oh, and a rough-looking scuff mark on one of your boots."
"Wow, Hurri." Miracle smiled, impressed. "How'd you do that?"
"I dunno." Hurricane shrugged. "I just... do."
"Very impressive." Iron nodded.
"Hurricane!" Caboose called, as he and Daring walked across the castle grounds.
"Hi, dad!" Hurricane waved. "What's up, mom?"
"We've just been talking with one of your teachers." Daring declared.
"I didn't do anything!" Hurricane yelped.
"It wasn't anything like that." Daring smiled. "You, my dear, are gifted."
"I'm what?" Hurricane asked.
"You're a genius." Caboose declared. "You got the best marks in the whole school. Even algebra…"
"Genius?" Miracle gasped. "Really?"
"Yeah, really?" Hurricane asked.
"Really." Daring smiled. "In fact, Mr. Curriculum suggested that we transfer you to a private school, where you can really put those brains to the test."
"Wow." Hurricane said quietly. "That's... that's really something."
"You don't have to decide right away." Daring assured her. "Have a good, long think about it, just to be sure."
"Congratulations, lieutenant." Iron slapped Caboose on the back. "You must be so proud."
"Oh, yeah." Caboose smiled awkwardly. "Couldn't be prouder..."
"This is incredible, Hurri." Miracle chuckled. "I knew you had some smarts, but I never guessed you'd be a full-blown genius! Isn't it great?"
"Yeah, I guess..." Hurricane shrugged.
"What's wrong?" Miracle asked.
"I guess I... don't really know what to do with this." Hurricane sighed. "Being 'gifted', I mean. It's all happening so fast."
"I'm sure you'll make the right decision, Hurri." Miracle smiled.
"Thanks, Mir." Hurricane said gratefully.
That evening, Hurricane's family had one of their quietest dinners. Neither Caboose nor Hurricane spoke a word, too busy thinking about the recent revelation.
"Pretty quiet tonight, isn't it, Michael?" Daring sighed.
"Too quiet." Michael nodded. "Me like it loud!"
Michael banged his spoon against his high chair.
"That's the spirit, Mikey." Daring smiled.
That night, Caboose was just laying in bed, as Daring was reading one of her books, when....
"Daring, dear?" Caboose asked.
"Yes, Caboose?" Daring smiled.
"Do you think I'm dumb?" Caboose said bluntly.
Daring paused for a moment...
"No, of course not..." She said finally.
"Whew, that's a relief..." Caboose smiled, as he made to lay down... then he got back up. "Hey, wait a minute, you hesitated!"
"What? No... no..." Daring insisted, though trailing off.
"You're doing it again!" Caboose frowned.
Daring let out a sigh.
"Caboose, you know I love you very much... but you have to admit, you had a lot of... dare I say it, 'derpy' moments." Daring explained.
"Such as?" Caboose asked. Just as Daring was about to speak, he cut her off. "And not counting the Church incident. That dead human has been whipped enough already."
"Well... there's that time you tried taking a cannon to a fly like you would a sledgehammer to a walnut..." Daring recalled.
"There were no fly-swatters nearby!" Caboose declared, "I tell ya, that fly was hopped up on something!"
"How about when you thought Ahuizotl had come back to life at one of my book signings, and proceed to beat up a husky cosplayer?" Daring asked.
"Hey, take it up with the bloody writers pairing you with that cat-gorilla!" Caboose growled. "I swear, if the Phoenix didn't kill him, I would have!"
"And how about the time you tried started a salmon farm... on an actual farm, with no water in sight?" Daring pointed out.
"Okay, granted, that was a bit of a snafu on my part…" Caboose admitted.
"And what about when you thought 'seed money' meant it had to be planted, and you buried some of Murray's own reserves?" Daring chuckled.
"Yeah, that was pretty dumb." Caboose admitted.
"Sure was." Daring smirked.
"Oh, so you think I'm dumb too, is that it?!" Caboose asked angrily.
"No, Caboose, that's not-" Daring asked.
"My own wife thinks I'm an idiot!" Caboose growled.
"No I don't." Daring said firmly. "What's this all about, anyway?"
"I just... I just can't believe my own daughter is smarter than me." Caboose sighed.
"That's it?" Daring asked, "That's what you are upset about?"
"What do you mean 'that's it'?" Caboose groaned. "I'm her father. Somepony to look up to, to respect... How can she do that when her brain's bigger than mine?"
"Hurricane does respect you." Daring smiled. "And it's not because of your brain. It's because you're a kind and caring father."
"Yeah, I guess." Caboose sighed. "I really do want her to be the best she can be. To use her brains to go places. It's just... yesterday, she was just like any other filly, and now I feel like she's a different pony altogether."
"She's not." Daring assured him. "She's the same Hurricane she's always been, and the same filly you held in your arms on the day she was born."
"Maybe I should just sleep on it." Caboose sighed, as he snuggled back under the covers. "Night, honey."
"Night, dear." Daring kissed him.
Unfortunately, sleeping on it didn't help. Caboose still held feelings of inadequacy, barely saying goodbye to Hurricane as he went to work. Hurricane was too busy thinking about her "gifts" to notice.
A short while after breakfast, Hurricane headed to the castle, bumping into Gauntlet on the way in.
"Dad told me about what happened." Gauntlet whispered.
"Oh, he did, did he?" Hurricane groaned.
"I think it's cool that you're so smart." Gauntlet smiled. "Now you've got brains and beauty."
"Oh, thanks." Hurricane blushed.
"Besides, you're the same Hurricane you've always been." Gauntlet added. "And I wouldn't want you any other way. Not that I'm saying I 'want' you, that is." He added nervously.
"Yeah, I know." Hurricane beamed. "But still, brains aren't really that important for my dream job. I wanna be a Royal Guard, just like dad. You don't need brains for that!"
"No, but I'm pretty sure it helps." Gauntlet shrugged.
"Not by much." Hurricane snorted. "But that's not the worst part. Mom and dad told me about this private school I could go to."
"Private school?" Gauntlet asked, suddenly worried. "Is it far away from here?"
"Sure is." Hurricane nodded. "They say it's my choice, but it feels like I'd let everypony down if I said 'no'."
"Well, I'd hate for you to be so far away." Gauntlet admitted. "Because I really like... hanging out with you."
"I like hanging out with you, too." Hurricane smiled. "Which only makes the decision harder. When did being smart get so difficult?"
Meanwhile, Caboose was still reflecting on things as he patrolled the castle corridors.
"I am not dumb." He told himself. "I am not dumb. I'm smart. I figured out the Deer Vinci code, for cryin' out loud...""
He bumped into Iron Hooves.
"Oops!" He gulped. "Sorry, captain. Didn't see you there."
"That's alright, lieutenant." Iron smiled. "I'm used to it."
"Wait... do you think I'm dumb?" Caboose accused.
"What, of course not." Iron replied. "You may have your... less lucid moments, yes, but you're a valued member of the Guard."
"'Lucid' means 'smart' in fancy talk, doesn't it?" Caboose growled. "You do think I'm dumb!"
"Now lieutenant, let's not get carried away." Iron tried to calm him, "Look, you're not dumb, sure…but there were times that you really dropped the ball…"
"Name three." Caboose glared.
"Well, there was that time that you destroyed a portion of the castle trying to kill that fly with the cannon…" Iron suggested.
"Oh for Pete's sake, that chapter was an entire story ago!" Caboose groaned. "Why must everypony bring that up?!"
"And then there was the time you thought your reflection was a doppelganger, and you destroyed an antique mirror." Iron recalled.
"Let that live forever!" Caboose cringed.
"And of course, there was the time when you though the Maretonian ambassador's headdress was alive, and you tackled the ambassador." Iron sighed.
"And the hits just keep on coming..." Caboose groaned.
"Look, I'm sorry..." Iron declared. "But all that doesn't mean you're not one of the best Royal Guards around..."
"No, no, I see where I stand here! Good day!" Caboose huffed, walking through a nearby door… "I walked into the broom closet, did I?"
"Afraid so." Iron nodded.
Caboose let out a sigh.
After exiting the closet, Caboose found Blueblood and Dusty, and told them his troubles.
"Of course you're not dumb, Caboose." Dusty smiled.
"And even if you were, what does it matter?" Blueblood asked. "Some ponies would call me dumb, but I'm getting along just fine."
"Yeah, but... you don't have a daughter who's smarter then you." Caboose frowned.
"True." Blueblood admitted. "On that matter, I'm afraid I'm of little help to you."
"Cheer up, Caboose." Dusty urged. "It's not all bad."
"Sure doesn't feel like it." Caboose sighed.
Meanwhile, Hurricane met with Miracle, Pureblood and Vito.
"Is it true?" Pureblood asked. "Are you really 'gifted'?"
"Sure am." Hurricane nodded.
"Seriously?" Vito frowned. "You? No offense, but you always spout this totally weird stuff all the time."
"Like when?" Hurricane asked.
"Like when you said trolls can disguise themselves as boxes and boulders." Pureblood recalled.
"You see?" Vito said.
"Geniuses do tend to be eccentric." Miracle smiled. "I can't believe we didn't notice it earlier."
"But now, they're talking about sending me to this big-time smart school, and I don't know if I should go or not." Hurricane sighed.
"That's all up to you." Pureblood declared. "Do what you think is right."
"Yeah, put that big brain to yours to work on finding the right choice." Vito smiled.
"And whatever it is, we'll support you." Miracle added.
"Thanks, guys." Hurricane hugged all of them. "You don't have to be a genius to know when you've got good friends."
During his lunch break, Caboose travelled to Sonny's new restaurant, and shared his woes with Sonny and Lars, the latter who often ate there.
"...Tell me the truth, guys, am I dumb?" Caboose asked.
"Well...." Lars and Sonny chorused.
"Not this again." Caboose groaned, "Is it really that bad?"
"Caboose, do you recall the time when we were buffing up our security, and you suggested laser-shooting sharks?" Lars asked.
"It seemed like a good idea at the time." Caboose shrugged.
"That has to be the only instance in which we were held up by sharks... with lasers." Sonny sighed.
"How was I supposed to know sharks were smart?" Caboose asked.
"Fair point." Lars nodded, "But it didn't stop all the other families from laughing at us for the next couple of years."
"Look, 'Boose, you're our brother, and we love you." Sonny declared. "But the truth is, you're no genius."
"Yeah." Lars added. "Besides, we all know I'm the brains of this family."
"Thanks a lot, guys." Caboose sighed.
"But you do have the strongest innate magic out of all of us." Sonny pointed out. "And when it comes to lovin' the ladies, you're second only to Salt, if you know what I mean."
"None of that matters when it comes to being smart." Caboose groaned.
"I think Daring might disagree with you on that last part." Lars smirked.
"Yeah, not really helping." Caboose frowned.
"Hey, You asked a question, and we answered." Sonny shrugged. "Don't blame us if you don't like the answer."
"Take it from me, smarts is something to be treasured." Lars smiled. "That little filly of yours is real lucky, if you ask me."
"Then what does that make me?" Caboose wondered.
"Chopped hay?" Sonny smirked.
"If I'm chopped hay, then you're a wet noodle." Caboose joked.
"Funny." Sonnny pouted.
"And actually, pretty clever." Lars smirked.
"Not clever enough." Caboose sighed.
That night, neither Caboose nor Hurricane could sleep. At the exact same time, they got out of bed and wandered onto the balcony.
"Oh." Hurricane stopped. "Hi, dad."
"Hi, Hurri." Caboose sighed. "Can't sleep, huh?"
"No." Hurricane groaned. "I can't stop thinking about all this 'gifted' stuff."
"Me too." Caboose nodded.
"You?" Hurricane asked. "But why?"
"Ever since I heard you were gifted, I've been worrying about how you'd feel about me." Caboose confessed. "A smart filly like you, with a doofus for a dad."
"Dad..." Hurricane whispered.
"I just... couldn't stand the thought of you losing respect for me." Caboose added. "I mean, I know that I was never the brightest among my brothers, but to you, I felt like the smartest pony in the world… next to your mom, of course. But now…I just don't want to be an embarrassment to you."
"That'll never happen." Hurricane declared. "How can I not respect the best dad ever?"
"Really?" Caboose smiled.
"Really." Hurricane nodded. "I'll always love you with all my heart... even when you screw up."
"Thanks, Hurri." Caboose smiled. "But enough about me, what's your beef with the 'gifted stuff'?"
"Well... I'm just worried about what'll happen to me." Hurricane sighed. "Once everypony knows about me being gifted, are they just gonna see me for my brains, and not who I am underneath? Will they think I'm just some brainiac know-it-all? Will I end up an outcast among the regular ponies? Maybe it'd be better if I never had this gift in the first place."
"Now you listen to me, Hurricane." Caboose declared. "Your gift is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, you should embrace it. And don't worry about only being a know-it-all. Your gift can only define you if you let it. Be Hurricane, that's all you need to do."
"Thanks, dad." Hurricane hugged. "Y'know, you're pretty smart yourself sometimes."
"I am, aren't I?" Caboose chuckled.
"Yeah… in fact, I think I know what I want to do now." Hurricane nodded.
"Atta girl." Caboose smiled. "Now, let's get you back to bed."
"That sounds good." Hurricane yawned. "All of a sudden, I'm really tired."
"me too." Caboose yawned.
The next morning, Caboose and Hurricane invited Mr. Curriculum over to Canterlot Park.
"Good morning." Mr. Curriculum smiled. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I've come to a decision, sir." Hurricane revealed.
"Oh, really?" Mr. Curriculum smiled. "What is it?"
"Well, Mr. Curriculum, I had thought about it and I had decided that-" Hurricane explained, but was interrupted when a thuggish Earth Pony stallion suddenly appeared, wielding a large crossbow.
"Alright, nopony move!" He yelled, waving the crossbow. "Get on the floor and fork over all your valuables. Do as I say, and I'll leave with no trouble."
"AH!" Mr. Curriculum hopped behind Caboose.
"Whoa, pal, let's not do anything rash!" Caboose held up his hooves.
"Shut it, nark !" The thug roared, "Just get on the ground, and give me all you got!"
"Seriously?" Hurricane smirked. "That's your whole plan?"
"Well, yeah." The thug growled. "Why, what's wrong with it?"
"Lots of things." Hurricane smirked. "First, that model of crossbow is notoriously difficult to wield, due to it's weight and lack of proper balance. And from the way your left hoof is shaking, I'd say you have a weak left hoof, making it hard for you to aim properly. Even more, if we're on the floor when we fork over our valuables, you'll have to bend down and get them, leaving yourself vulnerable, especially since crossbows aren't much use at low angles."
"Well… uh…" The thug stammered.
"And let's face facts: you're just a random villain that the two guys writing this pulled out of nowhere and we're two established original characters and since this is a 'Everyone' fic, Mr. Curriculum won't get hurt. I think we'll be fine no matter what you do." Hurricane finished.
"Really?" The thug lapsed into thought. "Maybe I should-"
Caboose suddenly tackled the thug, disarming and knocking him out.
"Amazing, Hurricane!" Mr. Curriculum smiled.
"Hey, give me some credit!" Caboose frowned.
"Yes, good work, Mr. Napoleon." Mr. Curriculum smiled. "But still, that was very clever, Hurricane. I can only imagine how you can put such cleverness to use at your new school."
"Yeah, about that." Hurricane frowned. "I'm not going."
"You're not?!" Mr. Curriculum said, flabbergasted.
"That's what we called you here for." Hurricane explained, "Look, I'm grateful that you want me to be the very best I can be…but it's not how I want to best at…"
"But… but… all that potential… what will you do with it?" Mr. Curriculum asked.
"Well, I was thinking of joining the Junior Royal Guard program." Hurricane revealed. "It's a terrific training regiment, and it will teach me to become a great Royal Guard, just like my dad."
"That's my girl." Caboose nodded proudly.
"Well, if that's what you really want, I suppose that's all there is to it." Mr. Curriculum sighed. "I'm sure you'll make a wonderful Royal Guard, Hurricane."
"Oh, yeah." Caboose smiled. "Like father, like daughter."
As Hurricane beamed, her flank glowed, revealing a radar Cutie Mark.
"No way." She gasped. "But... why now?"
"I think I know." Caboose declared. "I think it has something to do with you being both smart and quick-witted, not to mention agile. That's everything you need to be a Royal Guard… and a well-fledged Mafioso if I ever seen one."
"…Wait, what was that last part?" Mr. Curriculum gasped.
"Nothing." Caboose said quickly. "Just a slip of the tongue."
When they returned to the castle, Hurricane told the tale of the morning's events to the others, and showed off her Cutie Mark.
"Way to go, Hurri!" Pureblood smiled.
"Nice... even I don't know what that's supposed to be..." Vito admitted.
"Congratulations!" Miracle added.
Gauntlet walked over to them.
"Hey Hurricane, can we talk?" He asked. "In private?"
"Sure." Hurricane nodded.
"I wonder what he wants to talk about..." Miracle grinned knowingly.
Rounding a corner, Gauntlet turned to Hurricane.
"Congrats on the Cutie Mark." He smiled.
"Thanks." Hurricane grinned.
"I'm glad you're staying, and not going to some private school." Gauntlet admitted.
"Me too." Hurricane agreed.
"So... I was wondering." Gauntlet gulped nervously. "With you not leaving anymore... I figured I should ask... You wanna go... grab a smoothie sometime? Y'know... together?"
"Like... on a date?" Hurricane blushed.
"Yeah..." Gauntlet nodded, his own face bright red.
"I don't know, I'll have to think about it." Hurricane turned away.
"Oh, okay." Gauntlet sighed.
"Psych!" Hurricane turned back. "Like I'd even need to think about it. I don't need to be a genius to say 'yes' to a date with you. Had you going though, didn't I?"
"You sure did." Gauntlet put his wing around her. "Never change, Hurri. Never change."
"No worries there." Hurricane chuckled, as they walked off together.
That night, after a celebratory dinner, Caboose put Hurricane to bed.
"Goodnight, my little brainbox." He smiled.
"Night, dad." Hurricane smiled.
Caboose exited Hurricane's room and entered Michael's.
"Good night, my little dervish." Caboose smirked, as he tucked his son in for the night. He gave the sleeping tyke a kiss on the head and made to pull away… when he spotted something. Right next to him, there was a completed Rubik Cube in his crib.
"What the…" Caboose pondered, as he picked up the cube, "Is this…" He turned to Michael. "Did he…?"
He shook his head.
"Nah, can't be." Caboose shrugged, as he made his way to his bedroom, before stopping at the balcony. "But just in case…"
Caboose chucked the Rubik Cube out the balcony. The Cube struck something in the shadows. The creature hissed, and flew into the night sky over Canterlot. It let out a loud screech as it soared over the city.