• Published 20th Jun 2013
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To Be Bold! - Whirl Wind



Bold Character, Whirl Wind's son, has an interesting life after the war.

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Chapter 4

Chapter Four: The Trip

“So where is the capital anyway?” Windy asked curiously as they got onto a highway.

Jim smiled and let go of the steering wheel and let his magic keep it steady as they drove. “Talk about cruise control… What did you ask Windy? Sorry, I was playing around with my magic… completely unprofessional.” he said as he grabbed the steering wheel again.

Windy giggled a bit and pat Jim on the shoulder. “You should enjoy your magic, it’s a part of you now. Now then, where is the capitol?”

“It’s three hundred miles from here.” Jim said with a smile.

Bold and Windy looked at each other with a confused look. “Miles?” Bold asked with a confused look. They knew full well what he meant, but they both wanted to cheer him up a bit with a joke.

“Uhh… it’s… um… a long ways away.” Jim said as they looked at them snickering. “Oh ha ha, you two are funny. You know what miles are, don’t you?”

“Yeah, we were just messing with you. That is a long way to go. How long until we get there?” Bold asked with a smile.

“At an average speed of sixty miles per hour we will be there in…”

“Five hours, give or take a few minutes based on speed fluctuations.” Bold said with a nod.

“Absolutely right. Magician and mathematician huh? You are just full of surprises.” Jim said with a chuckle.

“My father is a weather analyst. He has to calculate weather for months on end. His calculations are seldom wrong and he taught me a couple of tricks.” Bold explained.

“He is a meteorologist? That is an impressive occupation. What did he do before that?”

“He was a soldier in the royal guard. Well… not exactly a soldier. He Was corrupted by dark magic, lead a brutal war campaign against Princess Luna under the command of King Sombra, fought against the dark magic to break free, broke free, killed King Sombra, went home, split into two ponies, one good, one evil, converted the evil one to good, helped the evil one when he was corrupted again with dark magic then helped take down Bloody Marey and saved the Crystal Empire, and then he was a weather analyst again.” Bold said with a smile.

Jim looked over to Bold with an impressed look on his face, then looked back to the road. “Equestria doesn’t sound very safe to me, but I am impressed at the sheer amount of pain your father went through just to get his job back.”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that, but Equestria is generally a safe place. Maybe you can come by for a visit and see it when this is all over.” Windy said with a beaming smile.

“I am definitely going to take you up on that offer.” Jim said with a chuckle.

“Why is it always cloudy here? Ever since we got here it has been overcast cloudy or rainy.” Windy said as she looked up at the sky.

“It is always cloudy, it has always been cloudy and it always will be cloudy.” Jim said simply. “Scientists say that there is nothing there to move the clouds so they are trying to find a system to control the weather.”

Windy put a hoof to her forehead and shook her head slowly. Bold sighed and looked at Jim. “There are no weather pegasi… one of the problems with your way of living. You lose many things when you enslave others to do something other than what they were meant to do.” he said sadly. “Do you think we could voice our concerns to your government? I mean after we capture Star Scribe.”

“Worth a shot. I’ll even support you.” Jim said sincerely.

Windy smiled widely and hugged Jim, causing him to swerve a bit. “I am glad you are willing to fight against the enslavement of the pegasi and earth ponies!” she said happily.

Jim used his magic to keep the car steady as he patted Windy’s hooves. “You’re welcome. Can I have my neck back now?”

Windy pulled her hooves away with a blush. “Sorry, you have no idea how angry it makes me to see my kind treated the way they are here.” she said sheepishly.

Jim nodded. “I can imagine. A lot of unicorns are even getting tired of it. Slavery is old and things need to change. Not just for the other species but for us as well. Unicorns are really nice when it comes to other unicorns, but when it comes to the other species we see them as objects with no emotion or soul… and we treat them as such. I… I hate it.” he said sincerely.

Bold looked at Jim with a frown. “Then why not speak up sooner?” he asked curiously.

“Because I would have lost my job. I will lose my job after I support you publicly, but if it strengthens your proposal then I will gladly give it up.” he said with a smile. “But first, we need to finish the job we are on now. What’s the plan anyway?”

“We find Star Scribe, fight him, and arrest him. If we can avoid the fighting all the better.” Bold explained.

“What’s the backup plan?” Jim asked curiously.

Bold pulled out a scroll and tapped it on his hoof. “This… I activate this scroll and everypony within ten feet will die and nothing can stop it.”

“Then it will kill you too?” Jim asked sadly.

“Yes.” Bold said simply.

“And why didn’t you tell me about this backup plan?” Windy asked with an angry tone.

Bold sighed and looked back to her. “Because… I love you and I didn’t want you to feel worried… but you know we have a duty to Equestria.” he said softly. “If I die… go to my parents and tell them I said I love them and that I did my best.”

Windy nodded slowly. “Okay…” she said softly.

They sat quietly for about an hour before Jim spoke up again. “So… what’s flying like?” he asked curiously.

“Pure freedom and control. It’s like you driving your car. You have control over how fast you are going, which direction you are going and how long it will go. The only difference is that I can land on clouds… or go higher or lower… or spin… or bank… it’s just freedom.” Windy said happily.

“Sounds interesting. I heard your princesses have wings and horns so… why don’t the rest of you?” Jim asked curiously.

“Alicorns are a sacred race among all of pony kind. Only one has earned the power of the alicorns and that is Princess Twilight Sparkle. She… taught me a thing or two before I came here. That is why I am able to use such advanced magic. We love our princesses and they love us.” Bold explained.

“I wish I could say the same about our leaders but they don’t do very well in their positions.” Jim said with a scoff.

“Hopefully we can persuade them otherwise.” Windy said with a smile.

“Can we pull over for a moment?” Bold asked as he held his head with one hoof. “Something is wrong.”

Jim pulled the car over and Bold got out of the car the moment it stopped. He jumped over the rail on the side of the road and went into a nearby wooded area swiftly. Windy and Jim followed after him. “Bold! Where are you going?!” Windy shouted just as Bold came to a stop and fell to his knees.

Bold let out a loud shriek of pain and his horn started to glow. The ground shook around them and a large beam shot out of Bold’s horn and split a tree at its base. Bold’s horn was smoking and he was lying on the ground unconscious. Windy ran over and pulled him out of the way of the falling tree and rolled them away. She looked at him and his horn was still smoking and he was now awake. “Bold, what the hay happened?” she asked with a concerned look.

Bold groaned and rubbed his head. “Magical build up… Twilight said it would happen if I didn’t practice often enough… I was hoping this wouldn’t happen until we were fighting Star Scribe… but it looks like I couldn’t hold it together…”

Jim was staring at them with awe and a bit of fear. “Will that happen to me?” he asked worriedly.

“No… Twilight overloaded… my goodness… I know what happened! When we bumped horns in the elevator! You received some of my magic!” Bold said as he stood up slowly.

Jim looked at him with a confused look. “Like jumping a car… you gave me a spark of magic and charged my battery…”

Bold nodded slowly. “Well… now that that mystery is solved… let’s keep moving.” he said as he started to walk back to the car.

They all got back in the car, except Bold was lying down in the back so that he could rest. “Can we go faster?” he asked softly as they got back on the road.

Jim nodded. “I can turn on the lights and use my status to get us there faster, but we can only go fast for so long before we run out of fuel.” he explained.

“Let me worry about that.” Bold said as Jim switched on the lights and floored it. His horn started to glow and the car jolted forward as their speed almost doubled.

“Bold! What they hay are you doing?!” Jim asked as he was pressed against the seat.

“Just keep it steady!” Bold shouted as they went down the highway at an insane speed.

Jim clenched his teeth and looked over to Windy, who was having the greatest of times, and then looked back to the road. “Are you enjoying this?!” he asked with an absolutely frightened tone.

“I am! This is awesome!” she replied with a smile.

Jim barely had time to see a sign that said they were only thirty miles from their destination. “Bold stop! We need to slow down!”

Bold’s magic let up and he let out a gasp as he wiped the sweat off of his brow and tried to catch his breath. Windy heard him huffing in the back seat as he lay silently. “Are you okay Bold?” she asked worriedly as they slowed back down to sixty miles per hour. Bold closed his eyes and fell asleep, letting out a soft snore. “I think he fell asleep. Know any place we can stay overnight?”

Jim nodded as they entered the capitol city. “Yes I do. Welcome, to Talicium City.” he said with a smile.

Windy looked around at all the tall buildings in awe. “Wow, these are much bigger than the buildings in Canterlot… Reminds me a bit of Manehattan.” she said as Jim pulled over in front of a large hotel building.

“Manehattan? Clever name. Let’s get Bold inside and to the top floor where the police force has an emergency room for out of city cops.” Jim explained as he got out of the car and walked inside.

Windy got out and hoisted Bold from the back seat and set him on her back. She walked inside to see Jim at the desk holding out his badge and talking to the clerk. Jim pointed at the elevator and she walked inside to wait for him. He soon walked over to her and stood next to her before pressing a button to take them to the top floor. “Just thought I’d let you know, none of the staff here are pegasi or earth ponies… but… our room has a personal butler earth pony…” he said softly.

“Then this servant is going to have the best night of his life. He will eat dinner with us, enjoy the room with us and he will get the bed.” she said sternly.

Jim chuckled and nodded. “Not to mention the complimentary alcohol bar we can all share.” he said with a wink.

Windy smiled at him softly as the doors opened again. “Thank you.” she said as they walked out of the elevator and to their room. Jim opened the door and let Windy walk in first. She spotted the light green earth pony bowing by the door and she lifted his head. “Do not bow to us, we are no more important than you are.” she said softly.

The butler looked at her with a confused expression. “I… I don’t understand… aren’t you a servant as well?” he asked curiously.

“No, I am not. And tonight, you aren’t either.” Windy said as she walked into the room and set Bold on the couch. “Come sit with us.” she said as Jim closed the door.

The butler looked at Jim wearily, worried that this was some kind of trick and he was about to get beaten. When Jim smiled and gestured him to take a seat, he eased up a bit. The butler sat down in one of the open chairs and looked at them with the same weary expression. “So, what is your name?” Jim asked kindly.

“I… I don’t have a name sir… I am usually just called ‘you’…” the butler said softly.

Windy looked over to Jim with a slightly angry expression. “You don’t even give them names?! That’s awful!” she said as she stood up. “How about we name you Courage? Because it takes a lot of courage to do what you do every day.” she said kindly. “Now, can I get you something to drink or eat?”

Courage looked at her with tears in his eyes. “Wh… what?” he asked in a confused and sad tone.

“Some food? Maybe some water or even some campaign?” Windy offered again.

Courage nodded slowly. “S-some food… and… wine? Please…” he said softly.

Windy nodded slowly and went to the miniature kitchen in the room and started to prepare some steamed vegetables. “I’ll be done here in a bit.” she called out happily.

Jim looked at Courage with a smile. “I’m sorry if I make you feel uncomfortable. I understand it must be awkward for a unicorn to care for you but… I’m sorry for what my kind does to you.”

Courage nodded in an unsure manner. “O-of course master…” he said timidly as he looked down to the ground.

Jim shook his head with a frown. “They broke you…” he said softly as he stood up and walked to the bathroom.

Windy came back with the steamed vegetables with a smile and gave a plate to Courage. “Here you go. Where did Jim go?” she asked as she looked around.

“He… went to the bathroom. Thank you for the meal.” Courage said as he took his first bite. He looked back up to Windy with a smile and with tears in his eyes. “It’s delicious… best meal I have ever had.” he said as he set the plate down.

“Aren’t you going to eat it all?” Windy asked as she took a bite of her meal.

Courage shook his head. “I… I don’t eat much…” he said softly. He took a sip of the wine Windy had brought him and immediately spit it out. “How do ponies enjoy this?” he asked as he inspected the wine.

“It’s an acquired taste.” Windy said with a giggle.

Courage smiled softly. “That is something I never thought I would hear.” he said as he wiped the tears from his face. “A pegasus laughing… How are you not a servant like me?”

“I’m not from here… I am from a nation called Equestria and… there are no servants. Well there are some but they choose that as a job and they get paid for it.” Windy replied softly.

“Hopefully it will be that way here someday.” Jim said as he walked out of the bathroom and sat down in his seat again.

Courage jumped out of his chair and accidently knocked over his drink. “I’m sorry master! I will clean it up right away!” he said urgently as he scrambled to clean up the mess.

Windy stopped Courage in his tracks and held him still. “Courage, calm down. It’s all okay.” she said as she hugged him gently and rubbed his back. “It’s all okay. Jim, can you clean it up please?” she asked calmly.

Courage was weeping on Windy’s shoulder as she held him. Jim looked at Courage with a shocked look as he cried into Windy’s shoulder. He walked over to the bathroom and came back with a towel, which he used to clean up the mess. When he was done he looked at Courage again and put a hoof on Courage’s shoulder. “Courage… I’m so sorry…” he said as he left the room.

Windy set Courage into her seat while she picked up his and sat in it. “Courage… are you okay now?” she asked softly.

Courage nodded slowly and sniffled. “I… I thought he was going to beat me…” he said sadly.

“Jim isn’t like other unicorns. He would never hurt you.” Windy said sincerely.

Bold stirred and groaned as if he were in pain. His eyes opened to see a wet faced earth pony and Windy sitting in a strange room he couldn’t remember walking into. “Where are we…? Are we back home?” he asked as he leaned up on the couch.

Windy shook her head. “No, we are in a hotel room. You passed out after we entered the city and I carried you up here. How are you feeling?” she asked with a smile.

Bold rubbed his head and groaned again. “I have a headache… like I have been using magic for too long.” he said with a chuckle. “I have to find the balance between using too much and using too little.”

Courage wiped some more tears from his eyes. “Magic? There’s no such thing…” he said sadly.

Bold smiled and used his magic to levitate a handkerchief to Courage who took it with wide eyes. “The savior…” Courage said softly.

“Savior? What do you mean?” Windy asked curiously.

“It is a legend passed down for generations… when the tribes moved south they quickly set up this capital city and the pegasi and earth ponies were enslaved. A single unicorn stood up against the entire unicorn population and spoke out against the enslavement. He spoke of the coming darkness in our land and he cursed it to be forever dark.” Courage explained.

“The overcast sky…” Windy said quietly.

Courage nodded and continued. “He then spoke of a coming light that would cast out the darkness and free the other species. It was said that he cursed the unicorns and removed their magic and then left to find the other tribes that went north. Legends say he found a glowing empire that sparkled with the brightest light, but he was corrupted by the hatred in his heart and spread darkness though out that land as well. His rule did not last long as the goddesses of the sun and moon banished him, but not before he made the empire vanish forever.”

“King Sombra… he came from here…” Bold said in disbelief.

“The signs of the coming light are present. A slave that has been freed.” Courage said as he gestured to Windy. “The marks of destiny will adorn their flanks.” he said as he gestured to their cutie marks. “A great leader will discover his destiny, although that has not…”

“Jim! He discovered his cutie mark!” Windy said excitedly.

“The last sign is a unicorn that has not been corrupted by the magical curse will arise and bring the magic back to the land, but he must vanquish the darkness first… or this land will perish in fire…” Courage finished.

Bold tapped his chin and shook his head. “But Windy was never a servant so she was never freed… hmmm… Courage, how would you like to come with us as a free pony?” he asked with a smile.

Courage’s expression went blank. He wasn’t sure how to respond. “Courage, are you okay?” Windy asked as she walked over to him and put a hoof on his shoulder.

Courage nodded slowly. “I… I don’t know… Being a servant is all I have known…”

“It is time for you to taste freedom.” Bold said as he got up and walked to the door. “I’m going down stairs to see if I can buy y—WHAA!” The door swung open and Jim walked in.

“Sorry Bold, I didn’t mean to startle you. I have good news Courage… I just bought you.” Jim said softly. “It cost me all of my savings, but I did it… you’re free.” he said as he walked over to a spot in the room and laid down on the floor, curled up in a ball.

Courage was speechless; he was lost in his own mind unable to comprehend what had just happened. “I… I am free?” he asked as he started to choke up. “… and you… YOU freed me? Why?”

Jim didn’t respond, he just laid there and remained silent. Bold smiled and led Courage to the bed. “Get some rest Courage, tomorrow we are going after the darkness.” he said with a grin. “Hold still for a moment… I want to try something. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.” Bold leaned forward and his horn started to glow. It made contact with Courage’s head and there was a spark that threw Bold backward and Courage onto the bed. Courage groaned and held his head while Bold laid on the ground unconscious. Windy was just staring at Courage, who now had a weight on his flank, with awe. “Courage, look at your flank.” she said with a smile.

Courage managed to roll over and look at his flank with squinted eyes. Once he saw the mark on his flank he opened his eyes fully. “A mark of destiny…”

“Your cutie mark. I would say you have a talent for being strong.” Windy said as she picked up Bold and laid him down on the couch again and gave him a kiss. “Sleep well Bold…” she whispered in his ear before covering him up with a blanket.

Courage rolled off of the bed on onto his hooves. “You can take the bed Windy… I’ll sleep on the floor too.”

“No, you won’t. I’ll share the couch with my coltfriend here. You can have the bed.” Windy said as she climbed on the couch next to Bold and hugged him tightly. “Goodnight Courage, goodnight Jim.” she said before closing her eyes and falling asleep.

Courage looked at the bed like it was intimidating him, but he climbed up on it and laid down right in the middle. He let out a content sigh and rolled on his back before covering himself up and snuggling into the blankets and falling asleep.

****

Jim woke up before anypony else and stretched out on the floor. “Augh… Sleeping on the floor… is the worst…” he thought as he stood up and walked over to the kitchen and started cooking breakfast.

The sound of cooking met Bold’s ears and they twitched, smacking Windy in the face. Windy sneezed and pushed Bold off of the couch onto the floor. The loud thud woke Courage up with a start and he scrambled off of the bed swiftly and helped Bold up. “Are you okay mas… Bold?” he asked as Bold woke up fully.

“Yeah, I’m fine Courage. Thank you.” Bold replied sleepily.

Windy stretched out on the couch and sighed as she started to wake up as well. “Morning everypony… who’s cookin’?” she asked sleepily.

Jim chuckled and finished cooking the omelets. He brought them over to the table and set them in from of the chairs. “I cooked us all omelets. Come on everypony, time to eat.” he said as he walked around the table fluffing the pillows for them.

Windy and Bold walked over but Courage stayed put. Windy turned around and smiled before grabbing Courage’s hoof and pulling him over to the table where she sat him down next to her. Windy took a bite of her omelet and gestured Courage to do the same. He followed her lead and took a bite and smiled. “Wow… this is really good… Thank you mas… Jim…” Courage said softly.

“You are welcome Courage. I hope you enjoy it.” Jim said with a soft smile.

Bold was already finished with his and was getting his equipment ready. “So, where are we looking first?”

“First… we are going to check in with the local police department. See what they have for a lead then we will follow it.” Jim explained as he finished his omelet as well. He started to straighten out his mane, tail and coat before walking over to the closet and getting out a spare captains uniform and putting it on. He pulled out three more uniforms and laid them out on the bed. “I want you three to consider wearing these uniforms. It would make our job much easier.” he explained.

“Even if one of them is a pegasi and the other a strong earth pony?” Windy said with a wink as she nudged Courage’s shoulder.

Jim sighed and shook his head. “It won’t matter. In these uniforms you have the same authority as I will. You will be part of my team which I will officially establish when we get to the station.” he explained.

Bold took a uniform and started to put it on. “Wow, this is surprisingly comfortable. Come on you two, they won’t bite.” he said with a chuckle.

Windy grabbed one and Courage followed suit. “Oh, our belts go perfectly with these.” she said happily as she clipped her belt on.

Bold chuckled and shook his head. “I don’t think we need to worry about looking good Windy.”

“We don’t but it’s not a bad thing that we look awesome in these.” Windy replied as she struck a pose.

Courage tentatively straightened out his uniform and put the matching hat on. “H-how do I look?” he asked nervously.

Bold used his magic to straighten out Courage’s collar. “Like a professional. There is no need to be nervous, walk with pride. You have earned it.” he said sincerely.

Courage smiled and nodded. Jim gave Courage a smile before walking to the door. “Alright, let’s get going then. Remember Courage, walk with pride.” he said with a wink as they left the room.

They got into the elevator and Jim pressed the button to take them down to the bottom floor. When they reached the lobby they walked through it with their heads held high. Some ponies rubbed their eyes when they saw a pegasi and earth pony police officer, not believing what they were seeing. When Courage saw that they were all staring he leaned over to Windy and whispered. “They are all staring at us.”

“They just can’t handle this level of awesome.” she replied with a smile. “Don’t worry, everypony stared at me as well when I first got here. You will get used to it.”

Courage nodded and they left the hotel and got into Jim’s car. Bold and Windy sat in the back of the car while Jim and Courage sat up front. Windy wrapped a wing around Bold’s back and leaned against him as they drove through the city. Courage kept taking small glances at Jim tentatively. “Something wrong Courage?” Jim asked suddenly.

“N-no sir…” Courage responded softly.

“No need to call me sir. Just… just…” Jim tried to tell him how he should treat him but given Courage’s experience with unicorns he couldn’t figure out what to tell him.

“Just keep calm Courage. You are among friends and we won’t let anything happen to you.” Windy said suddenly.

Courage smiled softly and nodded. “Alright, I trust you… sorry for being so… timid.” he said to Jim apologetically.

“It’s alright, I understand. You haven’t exactly been treated the well during your life. I want to try to make sure that never happens to you again, okay?” Jim said sincerely.

They pulled up to the police station and got out of the car once Jim had parked. Jim lead them into an office portion of the building and then towards the captain’s office. Jim opened the door and the four of the followed him into the captain’s office. “Jim! Long time no see buddy!” the mare behind the desk said happily as she stood up and shook his hoof.

“Cassidy, good to see you again. My friends here are part of a special unit I am planning on making official here. Any way you can help me do that easily?” Jim asked with a smile.

Cassidy looked at the others with a raised eyebrow. “What did you do, go and buy some help? What makes you think they are good enough to be officers?” she asked curiously.

“They aren’t servants, Windy is from a different land and Courage was freed yesterday. Bold here is with Windy and they are both from a special task force in their land. They have the ability to do some pretty amazing things, don’t test that by the way, the last officer that did ended being hog tied by Windy.” Jim explained as Windy gave Cassidy a smirk. “Bold and I… well, let’s just say we have a special ability that will help in our investigation.”

“And what ability would that be?” Cassidy asked with a smile.

Jim used his magic to levitate the proper forms and a pen over to Cassidy. “Magic.”

Cassidy nodded slowly. “Hmm, this is interesting. I heard rumors that a unicorn had been using magic, but I didn’t think it was you.” she said with a chuckle.

“The rumors you heard were probably of Bold. He can do magic that you can hardly even imagine.” Jim said with a smile.

“Alright; I’ll form your team. I’m guessing you want to know what we know so… what do you need to know about what?” Cassidy said as she signed the paper.

“We are looking for a grey stallion unicorn with a cut across his face. This injury would have been sustained recently from an explosion that he caused in a museum.” Jim explained. “Star Scribe is his name.”

Cassidy nodded and tapped her hooves together gently and sighed. “Yes, we heard about that… We have been searching the city and we have found nothing. What makes you think he is here anyway?” she asked curiously.

“We are following a lead mam. What important events are going to be coming up in the next few days?” Bold asked as he stepped forward.

“Just the senate meeting tomorrow. Why?” Cassidy asked as she filed the paperwork for their team.

“Because that is where he will be. We have to add additional security to the senate.” Jim said.

“What we should do is cancel the meeting. I will make sure none of the senators are there to be harmed.” Cassidy said as she sat back down at her desk.

“No, if we cancel it then he may seek them out one by one and it might send him further into hiding. We need to flush him out and apprehend him when he is vulnerable. Then he will be extradited to Equestria where he will be sentenced and imprisoned.” Bold said sternly.

“I don’t know how you deal with ponies that blow up museums, but we definitely don’t put our senators at risk to flush them out.” Cassidy said with a scoff.

“I’m sure that Bold didn’t mean that, but we can’t risk this pony going deeper into hiding. If we lose him now he can improve his powers and pose more of a threat.” Jim said as he shook his head. “We can’t let that happen Cassidy.”

Cassidy sighed and tapped her hooves together again. “Fine, I trust you Jim. But if things go wrong it’s your flank that is going to take the punishment.” she said as she continued to tap her hooves.

“Of course.” Jim said as he gestured the others to leave. They left without a word and Jim walked up to Cassidy’s desk. “Cassidy, these ponies are more talented than anypony I have ever seen. I don’t know who trained them but I trust them with my life.” he said sincerely. “I know you have reservations about our plan but I know that nothing will go wrong.”

Cassidy nodded her head slowly. “So… when did you get the tattoo?” she asked with a smirk.

“It came with the magic. They call it a cutie mark.” he replied with a chuckle. “It is supposed to represent my talent for protecting other ponies.”

“Well, it is well earned.” Cassidy said as she bumped his shoulder.

Meanwhile, the others were waiting outside of the office and a couple of officers were snickering at them near a water cooler. Windy looked over to them with a smile and then looked to Bold, who nodded. Windy walked over to the pair of stallions and asked kindly, “Got something to say about me and my friends?”

“Just that I think two of you would make better janitors.” one of them said, causing them both to laugh.

“You must think I am pretty defenseless huh? A small little pegasi mare, not worth of this uniform?” Windy asked as she played with the badge on her uniform.

“Hey, I didn’t say that. But I am not going to deny how true that is.” the other said as they continued to laugh.

“I’m sure you two could easily take me on in a fight then?” Windy asked with a smirk.

“Listen little lady, you wouldn’t last two seconds in a fight against us.” the first one said confidently.

“Then prove it mister big stallion.” Windy said with a chuckle.

The other two were watching carefully and Courage whispered to Bold, “What is she doing?! Is she nuts?! Those stallions are huge!”

Bold smiled and gestured to Windy. “Just watch.”

One of the stallions lunged forward and there was a loud thud as Windy tossed him to the ground just as the other tried to jump on her. She quickly grabbed him and knocked him over on top of the other stallion. She then proceeded to tie them together. Jim and Cassidy ran out of the office to see what was going on, only to see Windy standing with the others and the two stallions tied together so that each other’s flanks were in their faces as they tried futilely to untie themselves. Jim looked over to Windy and sighed. “Thank you for your help Cassidy. I’ll uh… leave you to your mess.” he said as he gestured the others to leave.

Cassidy looked on at the two with a disappointed expression on her face. “You two won’t learn a lesson from this if I untie you.” she said sternly. She whistled loudly and others gathered around her laughing at the two stallions in their awkward position.

Jim and the others were back down where they had parked and Jim turned to Windy. “Why did you do that to them? They didn’t know you were trained in combat.” he said in a slightly irritated tone.

“Well now they do know. What could I do Jim; just let them laugh at me and Courage?” Windy asked with an angry expression.

“No but you didn’t need to tie them up like THAT. You were just doing that to exact some sort of revenge on them.” Jim said as he got a bit more irritated.

“I agree Windy; you should have just tied them up individually. I know how you feel about all of this but you can’t be so hateful towards the unicorns here. We are here to help them remember?” Bold asked with a smile.

“You nodded for me to do it!” Windy protested, but one look at Bold’s face and she sighed. “Fine, I’ll be a bit nicer… unless they threaten me, then they will get it!” she said with a smile.

Bold chuckled a bit and got into the car. The rest of them followed suit and they drove back to the hotel to rest and prepare for tomorrow.