//------------------------------// // Courteous Gesture // Story: Fortune Favors The Bold // by TheEquestrianWing //------------------------------// Bronze Star remained at Sugarcube Corner for a few hours more. He spent most of that time with Applejack and the three fillies. While he enjoyed the festivities, in the back of his mind, he was wondering what would happen from here. He felt apprehensive, to say the least. Ever since he interrogated Sir Raoul Jowl, Bronze Star had concluded that the investigation into the assassination conspiracy would be complicated. After all, the leader of the conspiracy was directly related to his fillyfriend. He had planned to ask Applejack about Esopus Spitzenburg at some point. He found that information about a suspect from somepony who personally knew the suspect could be very useful. The reason he had never brought up Esopus to her yet was because he was not certain how to address the subject with her. Applejack had hundreds of relatives; it would seem strange if he wished to talk about one of them in particular. Apparently, he no longer had to worry about that. Still, he never would have imagined that Esopus Spitzenburg would come straight to him. It must have been either fate or pure coincidence that both of them would be in the same place at the same time. Regardless of the circumstances, he planned to take advantage of this opportunity. But unlike the Firebrand Regiment, he had little firsthoof experience on monitoring suspects in the field. For once, he would need instructions from them on how to proceed, not the other way around. He planned to inform the Regiment of this affair soon. Initially, he considered sending them a letter as soon as he got back to the embassy. Then he recalled that it would be about a month or two until Esopus Spitzenburg would arrive in Ponyville. With that in mind, he was in no real rush to contact the Regiment. Even so, he did not want to delay this for too long. Luckily, Bronze Star quickly got an idea for a discreet yet effective way to deliver the news. The following day, Dapple Rhomb arrived at the embassy at exactly seven o'clock in the morning, as per Bronze Star's orders. This used to be the same time when the gold stallion's weekly meeting with the Mayor and City Council would take place. Shortly after Hearth's Warming, it had been decided for various reasons that the meetings would be pushed back to eight o'clock. So Mayor Mare and the City Council would be at the embassy in about an hour. Bronze Star used that time to thoroughly explain to Dapple Rhomb what the requirements of her new occupation were. As his secretary, she was expected to be ready to assist him at a moment's notice whenever she was at the embassy. Depending on the circumstances, he might even need her when she was NOT at the embassy. In other words, she had to be prepared to work overtime. Bronze Star explained that he only needed her to arrive as early as seven on Saturdays, as this was when he met with the Mayor and City Council. Every other day of the week, she could come at nine o'clock. He would need her to stay at the embassy until five o'clock; perhaps as late as six o'clock if it was an especially busy day. Despite the seemingly demanding and time-consuming nature of the job, most of Dapple Rhomb's tasks were fairly straightforward. The majority of them consisted of organizing reports, filing paperwork, helping Bronze Star compose his weekly agenda and double-checking it, setting his appointments, and apprising him of any urgent news once it arrived. This may have seemed like a lot of work for one mare, but Bronze Star had been doing all of that and more for over four months. As her résumé indicated, Dapple Rhomb was aptly qualified to handle it all. Although Dapple Rhomb would not be living at the embassy, Bronze Star had set aside a room for her to work in on the ground floor. He had helped her move into it after briefing her on the specifics of her job. By seven-thirty, Dapple Rhomb had gotten settled into her very own office. By then, she was officially ready to begin working. Since the Mayor and City Council would not arrive for another half-hour, Bronze Star decided that this would be the perfect time to send that message to Canterlot. He decided to have Dapple Rhomb write the letter while he dictated it. At first, one might question Bronze Star's choice to do this. Understandably so; it would have been strange for him to have Dapple Rhomb take notes about the assassination conspiracy and certain other matters that she had no business knowing about. However, he had devised a strategy to work around that problem. Part of Dapple's job required her to be able to do certain tasks without question; Bronze Star's strategy involved a way to take advantage of that. When Dapple Rhomb was finished familiarizing herself with her workspace, Bronze Star approached her and told her "Dapple, I'd like you to draft a letter to Canterlot." "Very well, sir," the purple mare coincided. She picked up the typewriter on her desk and moved it in front of her. After inserting a sheet of paper and locking it in place, she looked up at the gold stallion and queried "Who should I address it to?" "Lord Bellerophon, Canterlot Castle's chief of staff," Bronze Star replied, "Be sure to mark it for priority clearance." Dapple Rhomb nodded and typed the following words on the center of the sheet of paper: Sent from Ambassador Gold Streak at the embassy of Ponyville to Canterlot Castle's Chief of Staff, Lord Bellerophon. Urgently needing his attention. When she was finished writing, she removed the sheet of paper, flipped it around, and reinserted it into the typewriter. Then she pronounced to the gold stallion "Ready when you are." Bronze Star nodded in acknowledgement and began with: "Good morning, Your Lordship. Or evening, depending on when this reaches you. I am writing to discuss some matters of precedence with you. They are in no particular order, so I will leave ranking them to you." At first, he spoke a little slowly so that Dapple Rhomb could keep up with him. However, it quickly became obvious that she was an excellent typist. She was almost writing words faster than he could say them. So he decided to speak at his normal pace. He leaned against his desk and announced "Firstly, I have acquired some intriguing information about one of the 'targets.' It would seem as though one of the 'big ones' will be upon me soon. Specifically the 'biggest one.' ETA is approximately two moons. The reason for the arrival seems to be for family, not for business. Even so, this knowledge must not leave HQ. Please distribute this information to Omicron-10 and the others. They should be able to decide the most appropriate way to act upon it. But they must not do anything impulsive. I would hate to compromise the integrity of our 'project.'" Unbeknownst to Dapple Rhomb, Bronze Star was speaking in code. This was a code that only Lord Bellerophon and the members of the Firebrand Regiment understood. In actuality, he was letting Lord Bellerophon know that Esopus Spitzenburg would be arriving in Ponyville in about two months, and that he was visiting Applejack. He was also requesting that the Regiment do nothing to prevent this from happening, and that they provide him with instructions on what to do in this situation. He paused for a moment while Dapple Rhomb typed that passage. He looked over his shoulder and noticed she seemed somewhat baffled by the vagueness of the letter. But she continued typing without comment. Once she was done, Dapple Rhomb looked up to the gold stallion. Bronze Star starting pacing around the room and continued with: "Next, there is the matter of a more local issue. Our inspection of the premises has uncovered a valuable hint. We have become especially interested in the number three lately. Three of anything is noteworthy to us. The 'insight' has requested to keep this confidential, but for obvious reasons, I feel you should be made aware of it. Please make appropriate notes in the future." This time, Bronze Star was filling Bellerophon in on the relevance of the number three in the investigation into the murder plot. Although Lord Bellerophon was not actively involved in the investigation, he was aware of its existence and Bronze Star always came to him for counsel. Once again, Dapple Rhomb was perplexed by the ambiguous content of Bronze Star's letter. All the same, she did not ask any questions. After she was finished with that part, Bronze Star stopped pacing, turned to her, and clearly stated "Lastly, I wish to discuss a more personal topic with you. As you know, for the last six moons, we have withheld the whereabouts of the Astronomer. Due to recent events, a couple of us have started to consider the possibility of expanding the pool of those who know. Your input on this subject could be useful, and the Astral Queen's opinion might be even more useful. I will abstain from speaking further on this until I have heard from one or both of you." In this part of the letter, Bronze Star was informing Lord Bellerophon of his plan to reveal his true identity to a distinct few people in Ponyville. However, he was a little apprehensive on how to approach this subject. Here he was directly looking to the palomino Pegasus for advice on it. He was also seeking his mother's guidance. He was hopeful that one or both of them would be able to eliminate his anxiety. To an average person, this was perhaps the most bewildering part of the whole letter. However, Dapple Rhomb did not bother wondering about its actual meaning. She just pressed the keys on the typewriter as she heard the words. When she was done, Bronze Star trotted behind Dapple Rhomb and examined the contents of the letter. She had copied it down word-for-word without a single mistake in grammar or spelling. Bronze Star nodded in approval and wrapped it up with "Respond at your convenience, my Lord. Until next we speak, I bid you good day. Sincerely, Ambassador Gold Streak." Dapple Rhomb had those final sentences added in less than twenty seconds. Once she was done, she removed the sheet of paper from the typewriter and rolled it up into a cylinder. As she fastened the letter with a ribbon, she gazed up at Bronze Star and wryly asked him "Are all your letters this cryptic, sir?" "Only the ones that get sent to Canterlot Castle," the young prince illuminated, "Most of the time, I'm much more straightforward and coherent. I just use this particular sentence structure when I'm sending away very sensitive information." "I understand," Dapple Rhomb remarked, nodding her head. "That won't be a problem, will it, Dapple?" Bronze Star asked rhetorically. "Oh no, certainly not, sir," the purple mare assured him, "Fortunately for both of us, I'm not known to be curious. All that matters to me is that I do my job right and that I get paid. I'm not going to pry into your private affairs; that's your business." "I appreciate that," Bronze Star said in response. Once Dapple Rhomb finished tying the ribbon on the letter, she thought aloud "Since this is going to Canterlot Castle, I assume it needs the royal seal?" "You're quite right," Bronze Star confirmed. He pointed to the far end of her desk and informed her "Top left drawer, near the back." Dapple Rhomb nodded and leaned over to that section of her desk. As she reached over and opened the drawer, part of her mane fell over her eyes. As she searched through the drawer, she brushed her hair out of her face and moved it behind her ears. When she did this, most of her throat became visible. There were three small cuts along the side of it. Bronze Star noticed these scars, and he inquired in concern "Oh, what happened to your neck?" "Hmmm?" Dapple Rhomb commented, gazing at him out of the corner of her eye. When she realized he was staring at her neck, she placed her hoof over the scars and muttered "Oh, this? It's nothing to worry about. I just cut myself." "It doesn't hurt, does it?" he presumed hopefully. "No, I can handle it," Dapple Rhomb asserted, "It happened a long time ago. I was at home making dinner, and I knelt down at a cabinet in front of my knife rack. When I found what I needed, I stood up straight a little too quickly and… this was the result." "Well, we both know what happens when one is careless around knives," Bronze Star slyly perceived, holding out his right front hoof. The wound he had gotten from that party at Sugarcube Corner had healed long ago, but he still had a tiny scar on the front of his hoof. "True, true," Dapple Rhomb conceded, smirking. By now, she had acquired one of the royal seals from the top left drawer of her desk. She closed the drawer and stamped the seal to the ribbon on the scroll. After that, she held up the letter and queried "Would you like me to send it away now, sir?" "Yes, please, Dapple," Bronze Star affirmed, "Just deposit it into the outgoing mail receptacle at the front of the building." "Got it," Dapple Rhomb avowed. She rose out of her chair, tucked the letter under her shoulder, and trotted out of the room. Bronze Star moved to the entrance of Dapple Rhomb's office and watched her leave the building. He was not certain why, but something about her scars struck him as suspicious. He thought about bringing this up to Sir Haywood McCrank later on. As it turned out, he did not have to wait for this. A few seconds after Dapple Rhomb stepped outside the embassy, Haywood McCrank stepped out of the kitchen. He was already dressed in one of his suits, complete with belt and black shoes. "Good morning, sir," the indigo stallion greeted the young prince. "Hello, Sir Haywood," Bronze Star rejoined, "How was breakfast?" "Very satisfying, thank you," Haywood replied, "Then again, I could say that about nearly every meal I've had in the past four months. Ever since we came to Ponyville, I have been able to monitor my eating habits more closely." "I've noticed that," Bronze Star commented, "Most notably, you seem to have developed a particular fondness for apples lately." "Indeed I have, sir," the federal investigator affirmed, "The apples here are significantly more succulent and appetizing than the ones in the capital city. If not for my strong self-restraint, I could eat them by cartload." "Say that to Applejack, and you'll quickly become one of her favorite customers," Bronze Star suggested, "She might even offer you some apples at a discount." Haywood McCrank scoffed lightly and uttered "I wouldn't mind putting that theory to the test." Bronze Star just smiled in amusement and nodded his head. There was a bit of quietness between the two stallions, and then the elder of them noticed that the office door was open. He turned to the young prince and asked him "Is Dapple Rhomb here?" "Yeah," the gold stallion answered him, "She's only been here for about forty-five minutes, and I'm already convinced I made the right choice for my secretary." "That's excellent," Haywood McCrank commented. Bronze Star nodded his head again. After some more silence, he mumbled discreetly "By the way, Sir Haywood, there is something you should probably know about her." "What might that be?" Haywood McCrank queried in interest. "She has three small scars along the right side of her neck," Bronze Star enlightened him. The number alone was enough to catch the indigo stallion's interest. He raised an eyebrow and murmured "Three, huh?" "Yeah," Bronze Star verified, "Do you think it means anything?" "It could," Haywood McCrank proposed, "But I'd need to get a look at them until I can be certain." Just then, Dapple Rhomb came back inside the embassy. She called out to Bronze Star "Alright, Mr. Ambassador; the letter has been sent." "Thank you, Dapple," Bronze Star said appreciatively. He looked over at the clock on the wall and declared "The Mayor and City Council will be here in about ten minutes. Could you please help me put together the files we need for the meeting?" "Right away, Mr. Streak," Dapple Rhomb guaranteed him. She trotted back down the short hallway to her office. When she reached it, she noticed that Sir Haywood was standing there. This was actually the first time the purple mare had come face-to-face with the indigo stallion. "I do not believe I have formally introduced you two to each other," Bronze Star observed. He placed one of his front hooves on a shoulder of each of them, and he presented them with: "Haywood, Dapple Rhomb. Dapple, Sir Haywood McCrank." "Pleasure to meet you, sir," Dapple Rhomb stated warmly. "The pleasure is mine, my dear," Haywood McCrank proclaimed. He then placed his front hooves on her shoulders, gently pulled her closer, and lightly kissed her on either cheek. Immediately after that, he released her. Dapple Rhomb blushed a little, but Haywood McCrank was indifferent. To him, that was just a normal show of affection. Sensing that the purple mare felt somewhat awkward, Bronze Star tapped her on the shoulder and advised her "Let's get those files." The purple mare quickly composed herself and nodded in agreement. She and the gold stallion stepped inside her office and located the files they would need for the meeting with City Council. Once they had them all gathered up, Bronze Star instructed Dapple Rhomb to go ahead and get to the meeting chambers without him. He claimed he needed to talk to Sir Haywood in private for a moment. Dapple Rhomb complied with this request without any protest. Once Dapple Rhomb was in the meeting chambers with the door shut, Bronze Star turned to Haywood McCrank and quietly asked him "Did you see the scars?" "Yes, when I kissed her, I got a good look at both sides of her neck," Haywood whispered in response, "As you said, she has three of them on the right side. They're barely noticeable." "Yeah, but we managed to spot them," Bronze Star pointed out, "What do you make of them?" Haywood McCrank rubbed his temple for a moment, and then he turned to the younger stallion and asked him "Did she say how she got those scars?" "She claims it was in an incident with some cooking knives," Bronze Star apprised him. "I doubt that," Haywood McCrank contended, "Those scars didn't look like incision marks." "Just what I was thinking," Bronze Star concurred, "They're way too wide to be slits. But what reason would she have to lie about them?" "Maybe they involve a secret that she'd prefer not to make public," Haywood McCrank conjectured, "Or maybe she actually underwent a traumatic experience which she would prefer not to recall. Then again, she simply could have gotten those cuts in a more… embarrassing manner, due to clumsiness or negligence, and she just didn't want to look foolish by spreading the story around. Regardless of why, those scars are still something you should be mindful of. But don't bring them up around Dapple Rhomb. We don't want to give her the impression that we're spying on her or anything." "Don't worry; I wasn't planning on spying on her in the first place," Bronze Star disclosed. There came another brief pause, and then the gold stallion looked at the clock and added in "Well, the Mayor and City Council will be here soon. I'd better get ready for them." "Very well, Your Highness," Haywood McCrank acknowledged, "I'll talk to you later." Bronze Star swiftly galloped upstairs, went into his bedroom, and retrieved his knapsack. After that, he made his way back downstairs and entered the meeting chambers. Dapple Rhomb was placing the files which pertained to certain topics in front of the chairs that corresponded to the respective department heads of City Council. It did not take her long to have them all distributed. Bronze Star was about to sit down, but before he could, Dapple Rhomb made her way to the front of the table and pulled out his chair. The gold stallion snickered in amusement and remarked "You don't have to do that, Dapple. I can pull out my own chair." "Just wanted you to know I'm by your side, sir," Dapple Rhomb pronounced. "Well, I thank you for that," Bronze Star muttered appreciatively. He then gestured to a chair in the lower left corner of the room and professed "By the way, I had another chair moved into this room so that you could sit with the rest of us. Pull it up and make yourself comfortable. These meetings tend to go on for a while." Dapple Rhomb nodded in acknowledgement and moved the extra chair out of the corner. Once it was right by Bronze Star's, she sat down next to the gold stallion and got settled. Most of the files were spread out along the surface of the table. The rest were stacked in a short pile in front of Bronze Star. The purple mare picked them up and organized them in preparation for the meeting. Bronze Star gazed at her out of the corner of his eye and noticed she seemed a little uneasy. Out of concern, he inquired "Everything alright?" "Yeah," Dapple Rhomb assured him, "It's just… I was a little surprised by how casually Sir Haywood presented himself to me." "Oh, relax," Bronze Star encouraged her, smirking, "He greets everypony that way. Mares and stallions." "Alright then," Dapple Rhomb remarked coolly, "But is he really as flamboyant as I've heard he is?" "Probably more so," Bronze Star admitted, "But make no mistake; he's one of the most brilliant minds in the country." "I'll take your word for it," Dapple Rhomb commented, "There's one thing about him that does interest me, though. He's been in Ponyville for more than four months, and he's never said WHY he's here. I mean, I highly doubt he's taking an extended vacation." "He isn't," Bronze Star affirmed, "I can assure you he IS here for a good reason, but that reason is…" "Classified?" Dapple Rhomb finished for him. "Correct," the gold stallion verified. "Then I'll drop the subject," the purple mare pronounced. "I appreciate that," was all Bronze Star said in response. A few minutes later, Mayor Mare and City Council arrived at the embassy. After each of them checked in at the front, they filed into the meeting chambers and sat down in their usual seats. Since Bronze Star had already informed Mayor Mare that he had chosen Dapple Rhomb as his secretary, the Mayor had had time to inform City Council of this as well. So nopony found her presence in the meeting chambers to be strange or abnormal. The meeting began at eight o'clock sharp. During the meeting, Dapple Rhomb constantly assisted Bronze Star. Whenever he needed a certain document, she swiftly sorted through the files in her hooves and produced the document in less than fifteen seconds. She also catalogued and archived any new pertinent information that the City Council provided. These were just a couple of the things she did. She proved to be rather efficient as an assistant. Her performance during the meeting was reflective of her performance as Bronze Star's secretary as a whole. By the time Dapple Rhomb went home, Bronze Star felt considerably less stressed and exhausted than he normally felt in the early evening. He had also gotten most of his workload done in advance. Dapple Rhomb had only been his secretary for one day, and already he was grateful for her company. From this point on, Bronze Star's typical workday at the embassy became considerably less strenuous and wearisome. A few times a week, he was even able to take a few hours off and mingle with his friends. He was also able to give the investigations extra focus and attention. Before long, he began to view Dapple Rhomb was a saving grace. On mornings that he met with the task force, Bronze Star requested that Dapple Rhomb go to her office and do her work there until he summoned her. The reason for this was that he did not want her to overhear anything about the task force's investigation into the murder plot. Naturally, he did not tell her this, but she assured him that she would stay in her office until Noble Edict and the security officers left. Although Bronze Star felt he could trust her, he decided to take an extra precaution. At one point when he and Haywood McCrank were the only ones at the embassy, Bronze Star went into the meeting chambers, turned into his Alicorn form, and placed a sound-dampening spell on the entire room. He cast it on everything: the entrance, the windows, the walls, the ceiling, the floor, and even the closet on the inner wall. That way, it would be impossible to hear anything from the outside. Once he was finished, he turned back into his Earth Pony disguise and carried on with his day. At the next task force meeting, Haywood McCrank asked the others to recall every occasion from the past week when they had encountered the number three. They provided him with varying results, and they all approached this subject with a different degree of seriousness. Paisley Branch, Cassia Sprig, and Copper Hollow had decided to keep a logbook just for recording the instances of three they observed. Almond Wheeler, Rollin Fields, and Noble Edict had tried to commit every occurrence they witnessed to memory. Haywood McCrank preferred to do both. All seven of them were able to chronicle most of the threes they encountered, but there were still a few threes that each of them overlooked or neglected. Bronze Star did not have that problem. Thanks to his impeccable Alicorn memory, the gold stallion was able to remember even the most seemingly insignificant happening of the number three. Even after several hours passed, he was able to recall every detail of each of them flawlessly. Altogether, the eight members of the task force had seen well over a thousand examples of the number three in the past week. They had been listed chronologically, not in order of relative relevance. Because it would take several hours to organize them like that, Haywood McCrank decided he would handle that task by himself, and he would bring the new list to the next meeting. Once the matter of the number three had been discussed, Haywood McCrank moved on to the more concrete parts of the investigation. By this point in time, Haywood McCrank had been in Ponyville for four and a-half months. He informed the other seven members of the task force that after living with and interacting with the locals for that long, he had managed to profile every pony in town. He had compiled a list of ponies that he believed could have been in the vigilante group. He had also come to the conclusion that nopony in town was the assassin. The other members of the task force saw this deduction as both good news and bad news. It was good news because it implied that none of their friends or neighbors were killers. It was bad news because it narrowed their list of suspects down to zero. Basically, everypony who did not live in Ponyville was a potential suspect now. Luckily, the vigilante group had given the task force another helpful clue in their latest update. According to them, there had been a huge drop in the amount of activity that had taken place in the Everfree Forest. By contrast, another huge cluster of trees had witnessed a steep rise in activity. The vigilantes explained that they had been closely monitoring Whitetail Woods for the past week. Most of the time, the trees appeared to be calm and still. However, at least twice a day, the vigilantes had seen a branch quiver, heard some leaves rustle, or witnessed some other anomalies. They considered this to be quite relevant, as nopony actually lived in Whitetail Woods. Aside from some birds and bees, almost no wildlife lived there either. They were fairly certain that somepony was using the Woods as a hideout. The task force elected to follow up on this statement. It may have seemed of little significance, but at this point, they had no definite leads to pursue. Aside from that, Whitetail Woods was scheduled to be the location of one of Ponyville's cherished events in the near future. So as of this point, the task force made observing the Woods their top goal. The task force also shared the clue about the number three with the vigilantes. Sir Haywood McCrank was hopeful that their anonymous colleagues would be able to produce some conclusive results. Of course, he knew better than to hold his hopes too high. But the vigilantes had come through several times in the past, so one could argue that his faith in them was well-founded. Most of the investigation's progress over the next week was carried out passively. Whenever the members of the task force were working, all eight of them kept one eye out for more instances of the number three, and they kept another eye on Whitetail Woods. A week later, they discussed their findings at one of their meetings. This was the meeting when they received their weekly update from the vigilantes. Haywood McCrank had organized all the instances of the number three, but even then, he had been unable to find anything particularly notable. As frustrating as that was, he had somewhat expected that to happen. After all, since three was such a small number, it was bound to occur quite frequently. So frequently that it would be rather difficult to sort out the relevant threes from the irrelevant threes. In spite of this, Haywood had uncovered one slightly remarkable piece of information: More instances of three tended to happen around Dapple Rhomb than anypony else in town. Then again, this simply could have been attributed to the fact that Bronze Star was the only one who spent a lot of time around her, and it was practically impossible for him NOT to remember even the minutest details of his day. Since Dapple Rhomb worked with him for eight or nine hours every day, it would make sense that Bronze Star would notice all the threes that occurred around her. So it was not very likely that Dapple had any role in this plot. Whitetail Woods had yielded more fruitful results. Paisley Branch and Almond Wheeler had actually managed to discover a possible connection to the murder plot in the Woods. The other morning, they had trotted through the Woods. They had gone under the premise of taking a casual stroll to admire the scenery. That way, they would not draw attention to themselves. At that point in time, there were only a few leaves on the ground. The two mares had trotted slowly so that they would not cause any more leaves to fall. Paisley and Almond saw nothing suspicious during their walk that morning. As far as they could tell, there was nopony else in Whitetail Woods aside from the two of them. However, they wanted to be sure that nothing was going on in Whitetail Woods, so they came back in the late afternoon to walk through the Woods a second time. During this walk, they discovered many more leaves had fallen from the trees. To some, this may have seemed trivial, but anypony who lived in Ponyville would have just cause to feel wary of this. The trees in Whitetail Woods were unique from all the others in Equestria in that they did not lose their leaves the natural way. Their leaves did not just whither and break off during the autumn months. Instead, the leaves in the Woods clung to the trees as though they had been glued or taped to the branches. No wind, thunderstorm, or natural event could knock the leaves off. In fact, the only known thing that could shake the leaves in Whitetail Woods off their branches was physical force. Every pony who lived in Ponyville knew this. If one was to visit Whitetail Woods and notice that there were more leaves on the ground than when they last came to the Woods, they could have been fairly certain that somepony had been in the Woods sometime since they last went through them. So Paisley Branch and Almond Wheeler found it reasonable to assume that somepony was lurking in Whitetail Woods at this time. Nopony else in Ponyville had gone through the Woods recently, not even the vigilantes. Add to that the fact that the nearest settlement was dozens of miles away, and it appeared very likely that there was an outsider in Whitetail Woods. After discussing this experiment several times, Haywood McCrank concluded that the assassin must have been in Whitetail Woods. He proposed that the task force find some way to search through the Woods in a much more thorough manner. When he asked the others if they had any ideas on how to accomplish this objective without drawing attention, all six of the security officers got an idea almost immediately. Conveniently, they all got the same one. If the trees in Whitetail Woods were left undisturbed, they would theoretically hold on to their leaves indefinitely. However, each year, the trees always grew another set of leaves, even if the ones from the year before we still attached. That posed a serious problem: if the trees were left alone for long enough, they would become overgrown with dead leaves. After several years of this, Whitetail Woods would probably look just as barren and lifeless as the Everfree Forest. Shortly after Ponyville had been founded, the town's residents had discovered that physical force was the only thing that could remove the leaves from the branches. This physical force could be delivered in many forms: tapping on the trees, climbing the trees, and even galloping past the trees. With this in mind, the townspeople of Ponyville had decided that once a year, they would hold a special event at Whitetail Woods. They called it "The Running of The Leaves." It was essentially a marathon that involved the townsfolk galloping all the way through Whitetail Woods. The combined efforts of hundreds of ponies galloping in unison was sufficient to knock every last leaf out of the trees. That way, the trees would be able to grow new leaves for the next year without any old ones lingering. Originally, this event was held a couple months before winter, so that it coincided with autumn. This certainly was the most logical approach, but it proved to be a little overwhelming before long, as there were hundreds of other trees near Ponyville that they needed their attention, too. Eventually, they had decided to hold the Running of the Leaves after winter. In a way, it was like having autumn in the spring. Aside from that, they got the best of both worlds: the right climate with the right scenery. At any rate, this year's Running of the Leaves would be held early, due to the early spring. In fact, it was scheduled to be held in just two days. A considerable percentage of Ponyville's residents would be participating in the event. Noble Edict proposed that they use the Running of the Leaves to their advantage. She suggested that every member of the task force sign up to compete in it. Since hundreds of other ponies would be taking part in the race, the eight of them would hypothetically be able to go unnoticed from any spectators. Once the members of the task force managed to blend into the crowd, they could conduct their search of Whitetail Woods without standing out. None of the others objected to this suggestion. Several of them had already been planning to partake in the Running of the Leaves, anyway. Everypony else decided that they would partake, as well. Even Sir Haywood McCrank chose to join the Running of the Leaves. Bronze Star just hoped he would not wear a suit to the event. After the meeting ended, all eight members of the task force left the embassy and went to Town Hall. There they signed up for the Running of the Leaves. Once they were officially registered, the eight ponies went their separate ways. Bronze Star got back to work as soon as he reached the embassy. He planned to take the day off from work on the day of the Running of the Leaves. Because of that, he wanted to do three days' worth of work in two days to compensate for that. Two weeks ago, he would have labeled this as a foolhardy objective. But ever since Dapple Rhomb started working for him, Bronze Star had found that his general workday had become much more lenient. Taking on additional work at the last minute was a lot easier than it used to be. By managing his timetable properly, Bronze Star was able to get all his work done before noon the following day. He was actually somewhat amazed by how quickly he had gotten everything done. But rather than question his good fortune, he took advantage of it. Bronze Star had nothing else planned until tomorrow, so he gave Dapple Rhomb the rest of the day off. After that, he thought about going outside to get some fresh air. It was a very beautiful day. Bronze Star thought about jogging around town, but he wanted to conserve his energy for the Running of the Leaves the following day. As such, he elected to do something else. He had not seen Applejack very much for the past couple days, so he chose to pay her a visit. He donned the Stetson she had given him for Hearth's Warming, trotted outside the embassy, and swiftly made his way to the western border of Ponyville. When he got to Sweet Apple Acres, he found Applejack in the courtyard with Rainbow Dash. There were four horseshoes in front of their hooves; two of them were orange, the other two were cyan. Five meters in front of them, a large metallic stake was protruding out of the ground, surrounded by three wooden boards. The two athletic mares soon noticed the young prince, and Applejack waved at her coltfriend and called out "Hey, Bronze!" "Hey, AJ," he returned giddily. He then approached her and gave her an affectionate hug. After that, he ardently kissed her on the lips. He only meant for the kiss to last for a second or two. Somehow, it ended up lasting almost half a minute. After that, Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and muttered irritably "Are you guys QUITE finished?" The gold stallion and the orange mare quickly pulled apart from each other, blushing. Bronze Star told her sincerely "Sorry, Rainbow." "It's fine," the cyan mare proclaimed, "Still, do you really have to do that in public?" "Yeah; you should learn to deal with it," Applejack cheekily remarked, "Just wait 'til you have your first coltfriend, Rainbow." Rainbow Dash scoffed and commented "I don't have time for that stuff, AJ. I'm too busy training myself for when I join the Wonderbolts." "You can order your priorities however you like," Bronze Star conceded, "However, you may recall that General Walther became a father when he was just a little older than you." "I know that," Rainbow Dash pronounced, "But Fleetfoot is not exactly on speaking terms with him." "No, she isn't," Bronze Star solemnly agreed. After a short pause, he stated "Oh well. Let's forget about that. I wouldn't want to interrupt you girls' fun." "You weren't," Applejack assured him, "We were just about to play a friendly game of horseshoes. Would you like to join us?" "Nah, I'd prefer to stand by and watch," Bronze Star replied, "Thanks for asking, though." "Anytime," Applejack said in response. She turned to Rainbow Dash and beckoned her "You go first." "Gladly," stated the cyan mare. Rainbow Dash then picked up one of the cyan horseshoes with her mouth. She focused on the large metallic stake that was standing five meters away. After concentrating, she leaned backward slightly, thrust her upper body forward, and released her grip on the horseshoe. She grunted as the horseshoe flew through the air. It landed about a foot away from the stake. Rainbow Dash smiled, flew into the air, and yelled "Whoo-hoo!" "Hoo-wee!" Applejack muttered in excitement. She turned to the Pegasus and commented, "Not a bad pitch for a pony who works with her head in the clouds." "Oh yeah?" Rainbow Dash countered wryly as she landed back on the ground, "Think you can do better, cowgirl?" "I know I can," Applejack boldly declared. She used her mouth to pick up one of the orange horseshoes and she concentrated on the metallic stake. Once she had her aim lined up, she grunted and tossed the horseshoe forward. It landed two feet away from its target. The mare in the hat grimaced, saying "Oh, for Pete's sake!" "The Tartarus is Pete?" Bronze Star muttered in perplexity. "Nopony," Applejack claimed. "Heh!" Rainbow Dash uttered in amusement, playfully swatting the back of her friend's hat, "Looks like this Pegasus can pitch better than the workhorse. The object of the game is to get the closest to the stake." "All right, all right," Applejack mumbled, straightening out her hat, "You got another throw there, pony girl." Rainbow Dash picked up the other cyan horseshoe, focused on the stake, and grunted as she flung it towards the target. This time, her aim was way off. Bronze Star could not see where the horseshoe landed, but it sounded as though it broke something. Bronze Star held his hoof over his mouth to prevent himself from laughing. Applejack did not bother demonstrating the same courtesy. "Wow, Rainbow, heh," the orange mare sarcastically remarked, "You couldn't hit a barn door with that kind of a throw!" "Yeah, yeah," Rainbow Dash indifferently pronounced, "I still have the closest throw, Applesmack. Just try and beat it." Applejack nodded her head and picked up the other orange horseshoe. She spent a little more time focusing on the stake. After a few seconds of mental preparation, she grunted and flung it forward. Her aim was spot-on this time; the horseshoe struck the stake directly. "Yee-haw!" Applejack cheered happily, rearing on her back legs, "It's a ringer. That's how you do it down here on the farm." Rainbow Dash just stared, flabbergasted. "I lost." "Ah, don't feel bad, Rainbow," Applejack advised her, "It's all in good fun." "I hate losing," Rainbow Dash mumbled heatedly. "Don't let it get to you, Rainbow," Bronze Star recommended, "The whole point of these 'friendly games' is to have fun, not to win." "Besides, you're a mighty good athlete," Applejack asserted. After a short pause, she started trotting away and smugly declared "I'm just better. Heh heh heh." The cyan Pegasus did not take kindly to being ridiculed like that. She rose into the air and followed the orange Earth Pony. When she reached her, she murmured in aggravation "All right, Applejack, you think you're the top athlete in all of Ponyville?" "Well, I was gonna say in all of Equestria, but that might be gildin' the lily," Applejack slyly replied, teasingly using her tail to tickle Rainbow Dash's chin. "Maybe not," Bronze Star muttered under his breath. He had seen Applejack play sports. In his opinion, her prowess and endurance was greater than that of most professional athletes. With his recommendation, she might even have an opportunity to compete with them. "...And I think I'm the top athlete," Rainbow Dash proclaimed, "So let's prove it." "Prove what?" Applejack asked in perplexity. "I challenge you to an Iron Pony competition," Rainbow Dash brazenly stated, "A series of athletic contests to decide who's the best, once and for all." "All that just because of a game of horseshoes?" Bronze Star noted in astonishment, "Aren't you taking this a little too hard, Rainbow?" Applejack did not feel the same way. After a moment of thinking, she confidently avowed "You know what, Rainbow? You're on." The cyan mare nodded in approval and landed in front of the orange mare. The two of them hoof-bumped with one of their front hooves. As they did that, Bronze Star mumbled softly "This should be fairly amusing. But something's telling me this will not end favorably." The young prince had good reason to be concerned. There was about to be a contest between Applejack and Rainbow Dash, the two most competitive mares in Ponyville. One of them was the best farmer in town, and the other was the best weather maker. On the plus side, he knew he could expect a good, clean performance from Applejack. After all, she was all about honor and integrity. However, he was not so certain about Rainbow Dash. Despite being inflexibly devoted to her friends, she was known to be a little too greedy and ambitious from time to time. All the same, he was curious to see where this would go. So he decided to stick around for the competition. He made himself useful by helping the two mares set up all the equipment and obstacles for the various trials of the competition. Once everything was set up, Rainbow Dash started stretching to get warmed up. Applejack left the ranch for about fifteen minutes and came back with Twilight Sparkle and Spike. She had briefly filled the lavender mare and the baby dragon in about the situation, but Twilight was still a little confused on what exactly was going on. As Rainbow Dash grunted and continued stretching, Twilight Sparkle stated in interest "So you two are doing what, now?" "An Iron—" Applejack began. Rainbow Dash butted in front of her and announced "Iron Pony competition." Applejack glared at her momentarily, and then she explicated "See, we've set up a bunch of events to decide which one of us is—" "The most athletic pony ever!" Rainbow Dash interrupted again. She grunted some more as she continued stretching. "And I'm here to...?" Twilight Sparkle asked in bewilderment. Rainbow Dash grunted and sat up. She turned to Applejack, saying "I don' know. Why is she here?" "To be our judge and keep score," Applejack proclaimed. "Right, heh," Rainbow Dash avowed, "Somepony's gotta record my awesomeness for the history books." As she stretched and grunted some more, Bronze Star gazed around at the trials and thought aloud "You know, I could've done that, too. A lot of these games are similar to some of the exercises SIG has me do during my military training. Aside from that, I'm much more physically active than Twilight. So I'd probably make a better judge." "I actually agree with Bronze," Twilight candidly disclosed, "He's more qualified for this than I am." "That may be," Rainbow Dash coincided, "But all things considered, don't you think he's likely to be a little… biased?" "Biased?" Bronze Star repeated in perplexity, "Why would I be…" It only took him a moment to realize what Rainbow Dash was implying. Although he was good friends with both of the mares who were participating in this competition, he was more than friends with one of them. While he was capable of being a fair judge, he doubted even he could be impartial in a scenario like that. "I suppose you're right," Bronze Star resolved, "Still, I doubt you'd complain if the bias was in your favor, Rainbow." The cyan mare just grinned and shamelessly admitted "Maybe not." Spike picked up a large twig off the ground, climbed onto Twilight's back, and gleefully shouted into the twig "Hello everypony, and welcome to the first annual Iron Pony competition!" Twilight turned to her assistant and inquired "Uh, Spike, who are you talking to?" "Um... Uh, them!" Spike replied, pointing towards the entrance of the plantation. Bronze Star, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle looked in that direction, and they saw Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie approaching. Once the other three mares were upon them, Spike declared "Let the games begin!" He and everypony else excluding Twilight Sparkle cheered enthusiastically. The first event of the Iron Pony Competition was the barrel lead. For this one, Applejack went first. She maneuvered through the barrels as fast as she could without touching them. Unfortunately, she accidentally nudged one of the last ones. Her time came out as 17 seconds, but she got a five-second penalty for coming into contact with one of the barrels. Rainbow Dash had her turn next. She also moved very fast, but from Bronze Star's perspective, the cyan mare appeared to go slightly slower than the orange mare. However, she managed to avoid touching any of the barrels, and she got a time of 18 seconds. Rainbow Dash had won the barrel lead, but this was just the first of many events that would be held. The next game was the high striker. Since she won the first game, Rainbow Dash had the first turn this time. She gave the button at the base a swift kick, and the lever flung the puck all the way up to the bell, making it ring loudly. It was impressive, but since this test involved using the back legs, Bronze Star was confident that Applejack would be able to match Rainbow here. It turns out he was correct. The mare in the hat bucked the button so hard that she smashed it. The lever immediately launched the puck upwards and struck the bell so firmly that it broke off. The two mares were now tied one-to-one. Fluttershy was using a large board to keep score. Several other ponies had arrived to watch the competition. Bronze Star and the other mares had put up some bleachers to accommodate the spectators. Granny Smith, Apple Bloom, and Big McIntosh were humbly but resolutely cheering on Applejack. The third event was called the bronco-buck. Spike was an unwilling volunteer in this one. It involved him sitting on each of the mares' backs and holding on as tight as he could while they tried to throw him off. Applejack had her turn first again. She managed to throw Spike off her back and onto the ground a few meters away. Rainbow Dash went next, and while the baby dragon was still somewhat disoriented, the cyan mare threw him off her back so quickly and so violently that she sent him flying through the air and out of the pit. It was another victory for Rainbow Dash. Applejack managed to make a comeback in the next round, which also involved a reluctant Spike. Here, both of the mares would take a rope, use it to lasso Spike, and tie him down. Inwardly, Bronze Star found himself wondering if Applejack would be interested in doing the same thing with him. Of course, he would not ask that of her. At least not until the first time they got seriously intimate with each other. At any rate, due to Applejack's previous experience with rope, she easily captured Spike and pinned him down. Rainbow Dash did not do nearly as well. Somehow, she got herself tangled up in a tree. The score was tied once more. The next six events involved more basic activities, such as ball-balancing, haystack-tossing, hoof-wrestling, and hoofball-flinging. When all those events were over, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were tied at five wins apiece. By then, a huge crowd had formed around the competition. Now Spike had a legitimate reason to pose as the broadcaster. The second half of the contest was not as upstanding as the first half. Applejack continued to abide by the rules, but Rainbow Dash had decided to use a couple of her appendages to her advantage. For the eleventh event, the two mares were to do a hundred push-ups without pausing. Bronze Star found this to be an intriguing test. Push-ups were meant to improve the physique of bipeds. Since ponies were quadrupeds, doing a push-up was essentially little more than squatting for them. All the same, Applejack and Rainbow Dash tried to do one hundred push-ups in as little time as possible. By the time they got into the nineties, both of them were starting to get worn out. Rainbow Dash looked as though she would collapse any second. Initially, it appeared as though Applejack would win this round, but for the last few push-ups, Rainbow Dash lightly flapped her wings to keep herself up. Applejack had no wings, so her front legs gave out on the last push-up and she collapsed. Bronze Star and Applejack seemed to be the only ones who noticed what Rainbow Dash did. Bronze Star was disgusted by this blatant cheating. He would have intervened, but Rainbow Dash probably would have tried to accuse him of having a "biased" mindset again. As for Applejack, she decided to stay quiet for now, encouraging herself to be a good sport. She was hopeful that that action was just a one-time thing on Rainbow Dash's part. That was not the base. Over the course of the next eight events, Rainbow Dash used her wings to help her stay one step ahead of Applejack. At the 20-meter sprint, she levitated herself slightly ahead of where Applejack landed. At the chick relay, she extended her wings to keep the small chicks safely on her back. Strangely, nopony protested any of her misdeeds, not even Twilight Sparkle. Because of that, Rainbow Dash won all nine of these rounds. For the twentieth and last event, Applejack and Rainbow Dash played tug-of-war over a mud hole. It appeared as though Applejack would win this test, but just before Rainbow Dash reached the mud hole, she abruptly flew into the air. She caught Applejack off guard, and she pulled the orange Earth Pony directly over the mud hole. A thin rope and a sturdy set of teeth was all that kept Applejack from falling into the mud. She managed to hold on for a while, but Rainbow Dash tricked her into letting go of the rope and landing in the mud. Right after she fell into the mud hole, the bell rang, and the score was set as 15-5 in Rainbow Dash's favor. Bronze Star was deeply irritated that nopony objected to what Rainbow had done. In fact, his patience with Rainbow Dash was just about at an end. After the scoreboard was adjusted, the cyan mare flew over the orange mare and arrogantly proclaimed "Woo-hoo! I win by a landslide... or mudslide in your case." She chuckled in amusement as Applejack glared at her angrily. While Rainbow Dash was boasting, Bronze Star trotted over to his fillyfriend and pulled her out of the mud. She could see that he too was very displeased with Rainbow Dash's behavior. Rainbow Dash just chuckled and flew higher above the ground. Derpy and another Pegasus held a multicolored banner in the air for her, and the cyan mare smugly announced "I am the Iron Pony!" Applejack sharply retorted "Only 'cause you cheated." "What?" Rainbow Dash spat back, as if she had been offended. "You used your wingpower to help you win over half those contests," Applejack firmly accused. "Sounds like sour apples to me," Rainbow Dash muttered in intransigence. "Oh, give me a buckin' break, Rainbow," Bronze Star angrily admonished her, "If that wasn't cheating, then neither is tax fraud." Applejack nodded in agreement and asked Rainbow Dash rhetorically "Are you sayin' you didn't use your wings?" "Well... no," Rainbow Dash tentatively answered, "But you never said I couldn't use my wings." "I didn't think I needed to tell you to play fair," Applejack perceived crossly. "I still would have won even without my wings," Rainbow Dash steadily asserted. "Hah!" the orange mare rejoined, "Prove it." "Gladly," the cyan mare accepted, "How?" "Tomorrow is the annual Runnin' of the Leaves," Applejack apprised her, "I challenge you to race me in it." Rainbow Dash did not need any time to think. She promptly replied with "Heh! Easy shmeasy." "Hold on!" Applejack interjected. She seized the cyan mare by her tail, pulled her down to the ground, and climbed on top of her to hold her down. She muttered edgily "There is one condition: the point is to run, so no wings allowed." Rainbow Dash smirked and kicked the orange mare off her. Bronze Star managed to catch his fillyfriend before she landed roughly on the ground. As she recovered from the blow, Rainbow Dash bluntly remarked "No wings? No problem." When Applejack was standing up straight, she spat on her front hoof and held it out. Rainbow Dash spat on her front hoof and bumped it against Applejack's. They had made an official pact with each other. Bronze Star approached the two mares and raised an eyebrow. He asked them "Girls, is this really necessary?" "Yeah, it is," Applejack solemnly pronounced, "This isn't about having fun or a friendly competition anymore." "Then what is it about?" Bronze Star enquired. "Right now, it's about something more serious," Rainbow Dash disclosed, "This is a matter of principle." "Oh?" Bronze Star uttered, "And what principles might those be?" "Rainbow challenged me to the Iron Pony competition, and I accepted," Applejack pointed out, "But I'm… dissatisfied with the outcome, for lack of a better word. So I'm challenging her to a rematch." "Which, of course, I'm going to accept, too," Rainbow Dash decisively remarked, "Believe me; I'm just as determined to win the rematch as she is. Now this is all about keeping up a reputation." "You're one to talk about reputation, Rainbow," Bronze Star scathingly murmured. In response, the cyan mare mumbled tensely "Excuse me?" "If you cared an inkling about maintaining an honorable appearance, you would have refrained from using your wings," Bronze Star perceived, "I would've respected you if you kept them retracted during the competition, regardless if you won or lost. But apparently, your desire to win surpasses your sense of fairness, and that's something I cannot respect. If you ask me, Applejack was the rightful winner of that contest. You were just too stubborn to admit that she's stronger." Rainbow Dash seemed somewhat insulted by that observation, but she held her ground and faced the gold stallion. After a period of silence, she scoffed lightly and declared "I should have known you'd see it like that. This is why you weren't the judge: you can't be objective when Applejack's involved." "You think I'm defending Applejack just because she's my fillyfriend?" Bronze Star countered heatedly, "You're mistaken. Even if she wasn't, I would have taken her side. I'm siding with her because she didn't try to cut corners or take the easy way out. You, on the other hoof, don't seem the least bit remorseful that you 'won' that contest by exploiting your unfair advantage." "Why should I be?" Rainbow Dash cockily refuted, "Look at the bigger picture. Things aren't always fair in real life. Every day, people are competing for jobs and other things, and only the ponies with the most qualifications succeed. You of all ponies should know that." "Actually, she does make a good argument," Applejack frankly coincided, "That whole 'survival of the fittest' ideal is the reason why my family was able to establish Ponyville near the Everfree Forest before any other family did." "Well, you got me there," Bronze Star professed, easing down a bit. He lightly shrugged and uttered, "Alright, I'll let this issue go. But there's one thing I want both of you to take into account: It's always good to be ambitious, but not to the point of using unscrupulous means to attain your goals. Aside from that, I feel as though this whole contest was pointless. You're both excellent athletes; does it really matter which of you is better?" "It does to us," Applejack proclaimed, "We have our pride to consider." "Yeah, you can't expect us to forget about our pride," Rainbow Dash concurred. "I understand; just don't let your pride rewrite your values," Bronze Star advised them, "I've seen what doing so can do to people. In extreme cases, it can be enough to get them killed." Applejack and Rainbow Dash seemed somewhat bothered by that last statement. They turned to each other and then back to the gold stallion. They asked worriedly "Seriously?" Bronze Star solemnly nodded his head and informed them "Some of the best soldiers in the Equestrian military have lost their lives because of overconfidence or vanity." Applejack and Rainbow Dash understood what the young prince was telling them. Both of them were still equally determined to win the Running of the Leaves, but they would remember his advice. At the very least, they would remember it for the rest of the day. By now, the majority of the people who had come to the Iron Pony Competition had left the vicinity. It was already well into the afternoon; Bronze Star had been at Sweet Apple Acres for several hours. He gazed around the area, and then he told the two mares "I'm going to head back to the embassy. I've got some things I need to do. Guess I'll see both of you at Whitetail Woods tomorrow." That last comment attracted their attention. Applejack assumed in interest "You entered the Running of the Leaves?" "Yeah, I signed up yesterday," Bronze Star expounded, "I always enjoy a good workout, and I like to partake in traditions. Since the Running of the Leaves is a combination of both, that's something of a bonus for me." "So you're looking forward to it?" Rainbow Dash presumed. "Yes, very much," Bronze Star affirmed. He then smiled deviously and commented "I should warn you, though; I can run very fast. If you're not careful, I might beat both of you." Applejack and Rainbow Dash just grinned and cheekily said in unison "We'll see about that." The three ponies all got a laugh at that. After that, Bronze Star tilted his Stetson to the mares, bade them a good day, and swiftly headed back to the embassy. Bronze Star spent the rest of the day preparing himself for the next day. He did not wish to be inadequately prepared, as he was fairly certain he would be quite busy tomorrow. While he would not be doing very much paperwork, he would still be running a marathon and conducting an investigation at the same time. All the while, two of his closest friends would be fiercely competing with each other for some pretentious title. He just hoped he would be able to handle it all.