The Corps

by Rokas

Chapter 4

Ponyville

Approximately 7 hours Post Meridiem

“...And it was totally the best night ever!”

Dauntless just stood still as Pinkie Pie finished her story. Around them the party was in full swing, with more ponies present than the gray pegasus would have thought would show up to a party for complete strangers. This alone was already taxing on the normally reserved pony, but Pinkie's cornering of him and regaling of the trip she and her friends took to the Grand Galloping Gala had worn down his energy quite a bit.

Yet, Dauntless couldn't quite pull away, and he had to admit to himself that he was rather enjoying the story. “That was one heck of a tale, Pinkie,” he said, having resigned himself to calling her by her shortened name after 'miss Pie' had been thoroughly rejected in a manner he was not eager to revisit. “I mean, wow, you all accidentally wrecked the biggest party in Canterlot, and then finished the night eating doughnuts with princess Celestia?” He rhetorically asked, and then shook his head. “I admit, that puts most of my bar crawl stories to shame. And you all didn't even have a drink?”

“Nope! Totally didn't have time,” Pinkie Pie said, as she settled back on her hooves and grinned madly. “AJ went right to selling apples and Twilight was with the princess all night and Rarity was stalking Blooey and Fluttershy was hulking out and Dashie-” The pink pony paused at this, and then seemed to think. “Actually, I'm not sure if Dashie drank. She didn't talk about her part of the gala much, only that it was lame.”

“I see,” Dauntless replied, and then glanced around. “Speaking of drinks, is there anything hard, here?” He asked. I won't go nuts tonight, he promised to himself. Just one or two shots to take the edge off.

The headshake he got in reply deflated his hope, however. “Nope! Sorry, but alcohol doesn't mix well with most of my parties,” Pinkie said, and then pointed towards where a trio of young fillies were standing by a refreshment table, talking amongst themselves. “Nor with the guests I usually have.”

Dauntless blinked at that, temporarily surprised by Pinkie's use of a more cultured turn of phrase. Then his thoughts latched onto something else, and he gave the pink pony a look with a raised eyebrow. “Fillies at a welcome party?” He asked, curious. “You just used my and Val's arrival as an excuse, didn't you?” He grinned a bit at that to show he wasn't offended.

“Only a little,” Pinkie admitted, grinning a bit herself. “I really did want to welcome you both, but I figure so long as it's a party then I might as well make it really really big and invite as many ponies as possible!” She added, her grin spreading into a wide smile. At that moment, though, something seemed to tick over in her head, and Pinkie's eyes widened. “Oh! That reminds me, I spent so much time talking to you that I haven't made my rounds and I need to see if everypony else is having fun, too! See you!” She said, and then bounced off.

The stallion watched her go, and then shook his head. I'm going to get you for this, Val, the pegasus thought with a brief sigh as he turned to head for a corner of the main room in Sugarcube Corner. Not that I'm not enjoying myself, and I hate to admit that I am, but I'm still going to get you for this, just on principle. Dauntless thought, a smirk crossing his muzzle as he considered what to do to his friend. Itching powder in her feathers? Hmm...

“Excuse me,” a tiny voice asked from his side, and Dauntless blinked himself out of his thought to look down and see the three fillies he'd spotted earlier had come over. “You're mister Dauntless, right?” The unicorn of the group asked, though her two friends seemed to be paying rapt attention.

“Er, yes,” the stallion said, and then turned to face the trio fully. “And who might you be?”

“Oh, I'm Sweetie Belle,” the unicorn said.

“Ah'm Applebloom,” the straw-colored earth pony added.

“And I'm Scootaloo,” the orange pegasus said.

“Nice to meet you,” Dauntless said, politely. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“Uh,” Sweetie said, and then brought up a hoof to rub the back of her head through her pink and purple mane. “We were kinda wondering, if you wouldn't mind telling us-”

“How'd you get your cutie mark?” Scootaloo interrupted, apparently having lost patience.

“If'n ya don't mind,” Applebloom added.

Dauntless blinked at the request. “What, this?” He asked, and then turned the rear half of his body a bit so he could shift a leg out to display the mark on his flank: a blue disc overlaid with a five-pointed white star.

“Yeah,” Scootaloo replied. “We haven't seen anything like it around Ponyville before!”

“What's it mean, anyway?” Sweetie Belle asked, sounding truly curious.

The gray stallion thought about this for a moment. He quickly reached a decision and moved to sit on his haunches in front of the three fillies. “Well girls, there's not much of a story there,” he said, and then shrugged with his wings. “I got this mark when I was young, only a little older than y'all. A friend of mine was being bullied by a couple of colts, and I sort of stepped in and stopped it.” With a buck that would do a farmer proud, he remembered, and decided not to tell that part of the story to impressionable children. “They stopped bothering him after that, and that's when I got the mark.

“As to what it means, well, you have to know that the star in a circle is one of the oldest runes discovered by pony magicians,” Dauntless continued, grinning a bit as he saw the little fillies hanging onto his words. “The symbol forms a part of many protection spells that unicorns cast to keep bad things from hurting them or others. So my mark is about how I like to protect other ponies from harm.”

“Wow, that's neat,” Sweetie Belle said, and grinned. Applebloom also looked interested, but Scootaloo simply frowned at that.

“I don't get it,” she said. “Your special talent is protecting ponies?” The filly pegasus asked, and then waited while Dauntless nodded his head. “But Pinkie Pie said you work with the weather. How do you protect ponies doing that?”

The elder pegasus took a long moment to think about his answer. He let his gaze travel around the room for a bit as he thought, and then nodded softly before returning his focus to the fillies in front of him. “Well girls, that would take a bit of explaining,” Dauntless said, and then shrugged his wings again. “But the quick version is that sometimes weather can get bad. Like, really, really bad.” He paused for a moment then to shake his head a bit. “Especially with all the magic in the air. It can turn a normal spring shower into a raging thunderhead that pours out a hundred-year flood in seconds, or whip up a wind so fast it knocks over buildings.”

“Huh?” Scootaloo said, somewhat perplexed. From the looks on Applebloom's and Sweetie Belle's faces, they matched her confusion. “The weather around here doesn't get that bad,” the orange pegasus stated.

“Of course not,” Dauntless said, and grinned. “That's because of ponies like me, who keep an eye on things and modify the weather whenever it's needed. The Weather Corps keeps the weather from getting out of control, and so we protect the ponies of Equestria from being hurt.”

“Huh,” Applebloom said. “Sounds kinda boring, if'n ya ask me.”

Sweetie Belle shot her friend a look, but was kept from saying anything as Dauntless chuckled. “Believe me, Applebloom, we want it to be boring,” he said. Then the smile dropped from his face, and he looked up to glance around the room. “Because when things get exciting, they also get very dangerous,” he added, and then looked down at the three fillies standing in front of him. “Does that answer all your questions, girls?”

“Sure does!” Applebloom said, and she appeared to speak for her friends as well. “Thanks, mister Dauntless.”

“No problem, squirt,” Dauntless replied, and then reached out to rub the filly's mane with a hoof. “Now y'all run along and go enjoy yourselves.”

The three fillies thanked him at that, and then turned and cantered away as they excitedly chatted amongst themselves. Dauntless chuckled as he watched them go, and then stood back up on all fours again as his stomach growled a bit. And now, where's the buffet table? He asked himself, as he set off into the crowd.

* * * *

“This is gonna be great,” Rainbow Dash observed as she hovered in the air, moving forward just fast enough to keep pace with Twilight Sparkle and Spike, though the latter was simply riding on the purple unicorn's back. “Pinkie Pie always throws an extra large welcome party whenever there's more than one new pony.”

“And she breaks out the special cupcake recipe,” Spike said, and then licked his lips. “They have chocolate and more sugar than you can shake a stick at!” He paused at that, and then seemed to think something over as he tapped his chin with a claw. “Come to think of it, why would you shake a stick at anything?”

“It's just an expression, Spike,” Twilight said, and then shook her head briefly as a smile settled on her muzzle. “But yes, the party will be fun.”

“We're running a bit late, though,” Spike observed. “You think there's going to be any of those left?”

“There'd better be!” Rainbow chimed in, and then did a quick little maneuver where she moved froward a bit for momentum, and then did a little backflip before settling back into her position next to Twilight. “I'd go crazy if we missed Pinkie's Choco-tastic white coffee cupcakes!”

“And whose fault would that be?” Twilight asked, as she turned her head to give the pegasus a cheeky look.

Dash blushed at that, and she brought a foreleg up to rub its hoof along the back of her head. “Eh-heh, I guess I did kind of get a bit engrossed in that Daring Do book,” she said, her tone a bit sheepish.

Twilight blinked at that, and then stopped in the middle of the street to look over at the pegasus. Rainbow Dash came to a hovering stop as well, and then frowned. “What?” The cyan pony asked. “Did I use that word wrong?”

“No, actually,” Twilight said, and then smiled. “That was just right, Rainbow. I'm impressed; your vocabulary has really improved since you started reading.”

Dash blushed at the praise, and she just shrugged with her shoulders as Twilight and her resumed moving towards Sugarcube Corner. “I guess so,” the pegasus said, unsure. “It helps that you have that big dictionary in the library.”

“And it doesn't hurt having a brainiac like Twilight nearby,” Spike added, with a gentle pat on the back of the purple unicorn's head. “She has half of that dictionary memorized, anyway.”

The three beings shared a short laugh at that, though any further conversation was cut off as they rounded the last street corner and saw the familiar, gauche outline of Sugarcube Corner at the next intersection. It was hard to see into the windows with the summer sun still casting its warm light as it descended towards the horizon, but the size of the party was more than evident by the way several groups of party guests had spilled out onto the street surrounding the pink bakery. “Looks like everything is in full swing,” Twilight observed.

“Then let's get going,” Dash said, and then pumped her wings a bit harder to move forward at a faster clip. Twilight herself accelerated into a trot and soon regained her position next to the cyan pegasus, and both ponies arrived at the front door of Sugarcube Corner in mere moments. There Rainbow landed, and the two friends made their way into the crowded main room. “Oh, I can't wait,” Dash said, and then licked her lips. “Five hundred calorie cupcakes, here I come.”

“Hiya, girls!” A familiar voice said, just as the pink owner of it appeared in front of Twilight, Dash, and Spike as if she had sprung from the floor. “Oh, and Spike, too! I'm so glad you could make it to the party!”

“Well, of course, Pinkie,” Twilight said. “We wouldn't miss it for the world.”

“Yeah, your parties always rock!” Rainbow Dash interjected. “And so does the food. Speaking of which, where's your special cupcakes?” She added, and then glanced around and tried not to drool in anticipation.

Pinkie Pie cheerfully grinned as she noted Rainbow's preoccupation. “They're over there,” she simply said, and then turned to point a foreleg towards one of the bigger tables set up in the room. “Right next to where Dauntless is standing.”

“Who?” Dash asked, with a frown.

“He's a friend to my friend Val who's visiting and they're why I threw this party,” Pinkie Pie explained. “He's the gray stallion with the blue and white mane why don't you go say hi? I've got to get going still behind on my rounds make sure you eat up okay thanks bye!” With that, the party pony popped off to continue her patrol.

Twilight, Spike, and Dash watched her go for a bit, and then shared a collective sigh. “I swear, she's like a thaumokinetic reactor,” Twilight said as the two friends resumed their walk and headed for the buffet.

“Yeah yeah,” Dash said, though it was clear she wasn't really paying attention. Instead her focus was on the half-demolished pile of cupcakes that the gray stallion Pinkie had pointed out was standing next to. “Yo, brick wall, could you move?” The cyan pegasus asked as she drew near.

Suddenly, the stallion turned around and gave Rainbow Dash a look that made her pause. His eyes were wide, but his pupils had contracted a bit, and even as she looked Dash saw one eye twitch halfway shut. “These are delicious cupcakes,” he said, as he held up his right hoof bottom-up, with a cupcake sitting perfectly on top of it. “You must try some.”

“Uh, okay,” Dash said, and then took a step back as Twilight came up alongside her. “I was planning to, but you kind of-”

“It is so delicious and moist,” the gray pony interrupted, speaking as if Dash hadn't talked. “I believe it contains chocolate.”

“Dauntless, are you okay?” Twilight asked, as she tilted her head in confusion. “You seem to be out of it.”

“I have seen it, miss Sparkle,” Dauntless replied, his eye twitching again. “I have seen the corrugated conundrum of continuity coursing through the cosmos. The Wall is there, and I have seen it!”

This time both Rainbow and Twilight took a step back, and Spike seemed to cower a bit behind the purple unicorn's mane. Before any of the group could do or say anything else, however, Pinkie Pie suddenly reappeared in between the stallion and the mares. Quickly, she reached up with a foreleg and slapped her hoof across Dauntless' face.

Both Twilight and Rainbow started a bit at that, though neither spoke up as Dauntless blinked rapidly, and then his eyes returned to normal. “Ugh, what just happened?” He asked, as he looked around dizzily.

“Sugar rush,” Pinkie Pie replied, her tone quite matter-of-factly. “It's your first time in Ponyville so you don't know it but my cupcakes are super awesome special so you should really only eat one at a time and not on an empty stomach,” the pink pony pontificated, and then broadly smiled. “By the way, thanks for getting me one!” Pinkie added, and then snapped her head forward and snatched the cupcake Dauntless had been holding right off of his hoof. “Mmmm, choco-tastic!” Pinkie said through a full muzzle, and then once again moved off.

The three ponies and one baby dragon watched her go, and then turned to each other to share a set of confused looks. “Okay, I know I just asked this, but... What the hay just happened?” Dauntless asked, putting a bit more emphasis in his voice this time.

“Pinkie Pie happened,” Dash said, and then moved forward again now that the pony in front of her seemed normal. “Now move, I need my fix.”

“Uh, okay,” Dauntless said, and then moved aside automatically. After he did, he turned his gaze back to the other pegasus and then gave her his full attention, which had been rather distracted until then. It was fortunate that he had held off so long, though, for as soon as his eyes met Dash's, his body and mind froze up. Sweet heavens, he thought, as the mare simply glanced over him disinterestedly, and then walked to where the cupcakes and other treats had been set out.

Twilight blinked a bit as she saw Dauntless' reaction, though she was distracted from contemplating it as Spike hopped off of her back. “I'm going to get my share,” the baby dragon explained, and then started for the table.

“Only one for now, Spike,” Twilight said, almost immediately. “Remember the ice cream incident?”

“Like I could forget,” Spike replied, and then shuddered before he quickly ran off to join Rainbow Dash as she ingloriously stuffed her face with confectionery. “Hey, save some for the rest of us, Rainbow!”

Twilight chuckled as she watched the little dragon, and then shook her head at his antics. As she moved her head, though, her vision once again came to rest on Dauntless, and she was surprised to see he was still staring at Rainbow Dash, albeit now out of the corner of his eyes rather than turning his head around fully. Curious at this, the unicorn approached the stallion and then lightly cleared her throat. “Is something the matter?” She asked, after Dauntless turned his attention to her.

“Uh,” the gray pegasus muttered, and then blushed as he glanced back towards Dash. “I heard the dragon call her “Rainbow.” Is she...?”

“Rainbow Dash, yes,” Twilight said, a friendly smile on her face. “I'm guessing you know her name like you knew mine and Pinkie's?”

“From the Elements of Harmony? Yeah,” Dauntless admitted, a sheepish look across his face. “But with her, it's more than that: she's the only pony in recent history who did a sonic rainboom,” he added, and his eyes grew misty. “Every flier in the Corps tried to recreate it for weeks after she did one last year, but we all failed. Yet she's done it twice! Once as a filly, even.

“She's like a living legend, and possibly one of the best fliers in Equestria,” Dauntless said, and then sighed as he glanced back at the cyan pegasus again. “I just didn't know she was so beautiful, as well.”

Twilight blinked in surprise at that, and she simply stood in silence for a long moment. A brief pang of jealousy spiked through her mind, but she quickly quashed it, and then gave Dauntless another friendly smile. “Well, why don't you go talk to her?” The purple unicorn suggested. “Dash can be a bit abrasive at times, but she's really a nice pony once you get to know her.”

“What?” Dauntless hastily asked, and he snapped his head back around to give Twilight a shocked expression. “N-no, that's okay,” he added hastily, and then struggled to give the purple mare a crooked smile. “I'm sure I've taken up enough of her time already.”

“Nonsense,” Twilight replied, and then started to walk forward. Her horn lit up as she moved, and Dauntless felt a weird tingling along one of his ears before a force latched onto it and started to yank him around. He yelped slightly in surprise, and soon enough was completely turned around and led up to where the cyan pegasus was still munching on one of Pinkie's special cupcakes.

“Rainbow Dash, let me properly introduce you to Dauntless,” Twilight said as she released the stallion's ear, and then waited the moment it took for Dash to turn around to face them. “He and his friend Val are whom Pinkie is throwing the party for, since they're staying in Ponyville for a couple of weeks.”

“Oh, hey,” Dash said, as she put on a polite smile and offered a hoof. “How's it going?”

“It goes,” Dauntless replied, as he had no idea what else to say. He reached up and gently took Dash's hoof and shook it. “It's an honor to meet you, miss Dash.”

Rainbow dropped the hoofshake and then smiled a bit. “Heh, well, I am awesome, after all,” she said, and then extended and flexed her wings a bit as she turned her head to the side and closed her eyes. “Only the fastest pony in Equestria,” she added, in a more boastful tone.

“Of that I would have no doubt,” Dauntless said, his eyes drawn to her feathered limbs. “I was in Cloudsdale last year when you did the sonic rainboom. It cleared out the skies below the city like nothing else I've ever seen.” He gave Dash an appreciative smile as she opened her eyes and returned her limbs back to their normal positions. “You're practically a legend in the Corps.”

Rainbow gave him an odd look at that. “You're from the Weather Corps?” She asked, her tone suspicious. “You're not here about those letters they keep sending, are you?”

“Letters?” Twilight asked, just before Dauntless could voice the same one-word question. “What letters are you talking about, Rainbow?”

The cyan pegasus shrugged her wings in reply. “Just official letters asking me to consider joining,” she said, and then shook her head. “Like I want to go and be sent off to some boring weather station on the back end of Equestria. I can bust clouds here in Ponyville just as well, and at least I'm with my friends.”

Twilight frowned a bit in consternation at her friend's words. “I'm not sure I follow. I thought you worked for the Weather Corps, since you're in charge of the weather here?”

“Naw, the job's through the mayor's office,” Dash said, and then shrugged again. “I work with the Corps when there's a big storm brewing, but I get my pay from the town.”

“That sounds about right,” Dauntless said, putting himself back into the conversation. He then turned his head to make eye contact with Twilight. “The Corps primarily deals with medium and large scale weather patterns. Most local weather is usually handled by locals like miss Dash here, though the larger cities like Manehattan and the like use the Corps for local control as well, since we have better organization and more experience with the larger teams such cities need.

“Smaller towns like Ponyville, however, generally aren't large enough to rate their own weather station,” Dauntless continued, as he returned to splitting his attention between the two mares. “And since we're so close to Cloudsdale and the Corps' headquarters, Ponyville and even Canterlot don't really need their own stations, either. It must be a nice and easy job where you only have to worry about moving or clearing clouds just over a small town.”

Dash frowned at that, and then brought up a foreleg to jab a hoof into Dauntless' chest. “Hey, I work hard at this job,” she said, heatedly, and then lowered her hoof back to the floor. “It takes effort to work the skies in Ponyville.”

“I never said it didn't,” Dauntless replied, sounding a bit surprised at Rainbow's words. “I'm just saying, you must have a lot of time on your hooves since you don't have to worry about mid-latitude cyclones and the like, since the Corps handles those for Equestria,” he said, and then tilted his head and gave the cyan pegasus a look. “Doing the regular grunt work takes effort, yes, but it couldn't take you more than a few minutes to clear the skies if you wanted to.”

“A few minutes?” Dash asked, and then shook her head to toss her mane. “Try ten seconds, flat!”

“She really did, too,” Twilight added, a slight grin on her face. “It caught me by surprise.”

Dauntless smiled at that, to Dash's mild surprise. “Well, if miss Dash can do a sonic rainboom, then I have no doubt she can quickly bust through the partly cloudy skies the area around here usually gets,” he said, and then nodded his head towards the cyan pegasus. “Again, I'm not calling into question your skills, miss Dash. I'm just saying, it must be nice having your job, since you don't have to worry about the really nasty weather. As I said before, you must have quite a bit of time on your hooves.”

Rainbow Dash looked a bit uncomfortable at that, as she was not used to ponies figuring out how simple her job really was. She frowned a bit as she saw Twilight gleefully grinning at this revelation, and the cyan pegasus just shook her head. “Whatever,” she said, dismissively. “So what if I have a bit of spare time? I still do my job.”

“Nopony is saying you don't, Dash,” Twilight said, her grin still wide, though her eyes looked a bit more compassionate now. “All Dauntless is saying is you have more time than he does. Which makes sense to me,” she added, as her smirk grew slightly. “I always did wonder how you found so much time to practice for the Wonderbolts.”

Dauntless jerked at that, and he gave the cyan pegasus a surprised look. “Really, you're trying for the Wonderbolts?” He asked, sounding incredulous.

“Hay yeah!” Dash said, and again spread her wings up to show them off. “They're the best fliers in Equestria! They do all the best tricks and cool stunts, and one day I'm going to join them,” she declared, and lightly stamped a foreleg on the floor for good measure.

“I see,” Dauntless said, his tone having changed to sounding disappointed. “I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you're a boltie. They are quite... flashy,” he added.

Both Twilight and Rainbow gave the stallion curious looks at the sound of irritation in his voice. “What's the problem with that?” Dash asked, sounding offended. “Flashy is the whole point of stunt flying! And it's more fun than being some boring cloud pusher.”

“Yes, if you're a shallow airhead,” Dauntless snapped, the words leaving his lips before he even thought about them. “The boltheads love prancing about, putting on shows and making everypony swoon to their beat, but they don't do any real work,” he added, and then snorted. “I didn't see them in that hurricane last week, but you can bet tons of ponies know their names like the back of their hooves, while real heroes like Brewster are forgotten by the ungrateful public the moment their body grows cold!”

Silence met this statement, and Dauntless blinked as he realized he had grown loud during his brief tirade. He glanced around and saw the other ponies at the party all looking towards him with various expressions of surprise and shock, and he blushed profusely at their attention. “Uh, sorry, everypony?” Dauntless said, somewhat unsure of what to do. When more silence greeted him, he slowly turned and started to walk for the door. “I guess I'll just... go get some fresh air,” he said, and then accelerated to a trot, a speed he held until he was out of Sugarcube Corner. Once in the street, he opened his wings and launched himself into the air. Aimless save for the desire to be anywhere but the party, he flew off in a random direction and just kept going.

* * * *

Stars and a waxing moon filled the night with pale light, and though it was no match for the day Valorie could see easily enough as she flew through the air, looking for her friend and flight partner. It had been over two hours since the gray pegasus had flown off, but Val knew he would not have flown far. Not when his stuff is still at the inn, she mused; she had of course checked on that the first thing.

Valorie sighed at that, and then shook her head briefly. D, you really need to chill out sometimes, she thought, and then resumed scanning the area. She knew the night and Dauntless' coloration would work against her, but the dive bombing pegasus had a good idea which direction her friend had flown off. He always goes west. I wonder if he even realizes he does it?

The white pegasus was brought out of her rumination as her peripheral vision noticed an odd splotch resting on one of the few clouds that still drifted through Ponyville's airspace. Grinning to herself, Val adjusted her flight path and then stopped flapping her wings so she could glide down in a shallow arc that soon left her in the perfect position to land on the cloud. She set down easily, almost daintily on all four hooves only a few inches from where a gray pegasus was lying belly down and with his legs splayed out. The stallion turned his head up and gave her a brief look before he returned his head back to rest on the cloud. “Hiya, Val,” Dauntless said, half-heartedly.

“Hey, D,” Val replied, as she folded her wings up and then sat on her haunches and fell silent.

They both remained quiet and in their respective positions for several long minutes. Finally, though, Dauntless sighed. “So, how big of an ass did I make out of myself this time?” He asked, fatalistically.

“About a five,” Val said, her voice containing just a hint of cheerfulness. “Not a complete jerk, but yeah, you could have done better.”

Dauntless sighed a second time at that, and then started to push himself up until he too was sitting on his haunches. “So, no angry villagers with pitchforks and torches, then?” He asked, a bit of jocularity in his otherwise sad voice.

Val chuckled a bit before she replied. “Nothing like that,” she said, and then turned her head to look directly at her friend. “I think you just kind of surprised everypony with the talk about death,” she continued. “You know the Corps doesn't publicize our losses.”

“To keep enlistment up, I know,” Dauntless said, and then shook his head. “It ain't right, though, Val. So many ponies die to keep this place safe, and all they get is a chiseled name on a plaque in Canterlot.”

A moment of silence passed between them, though it was quickly ended when Val slapped the back of Dauntless' head. “Ow, hey!” He said, and then brought up a hoof to rub the sore spot while he gave the white pegasus an angry look. “What was that for?”

“For being an idiot,” Val replied, and then shook her head. “I know I didn't sign up to be a hero, D. Did you? Because if so then I want to know why you're still around after eight years?”

Dauntless blushed at this, and he turned his head away. “You know that's not it, Val,” he said, morosely. “It's just...” He paused, and then shook his head. “The fastest flier in Equestria, one of the best, a living legend... and she wants to join those over-bred show pony Dunderbolts,” Dauntless said, using yet another derisive nickname Corps personnel had for the stunt team. “I didn't join to be famous or anything, Val, but it would be nice to be appreciated now and again.”

“Yeah, it would,” Val agreed, and then let out a sigh of her own. “But getting mad at the civvies and taking it out on them isn't going to get you that.”

Dauntless winced at that, and then dropped his head down. “Yeah, I know,” he said, and then sighed again. “It's just... she... really pushed my buttons.”

“In more ways than one, apparently,” Val said, this time with a bit of mirth in her voice. The change in tone surprised Dauntless, and he brought his head up to see a small smile on his friend's muzzle. “I saw you over there, chatting it up with those two. And don't think I haven't recognized your “oh my heavens she's so gorgeous” face, because this isn't the first time it's happened.”

The stallion blushed furiously at that, and he snapped his head around to look off to the side. “Am I that freakin' transparent?” He grumbled, his voice low and throaty.

Val chuckled again. “Only to me, and that's only because I've flown with you so much I recognize every little shift in your muscles,” she explained, and then shrugged her wings. “But yeah, despite that anypony looking at your conversation from the outside could tell you were rather interested.”

Dauntless just grunted at that, as he brought his head back forward. “Like it matters, anymore,” he said. “I made a total ass of myself in front of her and insulted her heroes. She'll probably sooner buck me in the face than give me the time of day.”

“Maybe,” Val allowed, and then brought up a foreleg and patted Dauntless' back with her hoof. “Or maybe not. Pinkie said Dash is actually pretty nice, just brash and hot-headed.” The red-maned pegasus grinned at the stallion on her right at that. “Sound familiar?”

Dauntless rolled his eyes at the question. “How about “like every pegasus born in Cloudsdale in the last century?”” He asked, sarcastically.

Val laughed at the comment. “Okay, you've got a point, there,” she admitted. “But give it a try. Just go to her sometime soon after you've both had time to cool off, apologize, and see if you can't hit it off from there.” She shrugged her wings again at that as she brought her hoof down. “I mean, it can't be any more difficult than facing rampaging tornadoes or ploughing through thunderheads, right?”

“Says the female who goes through stallions faster than dental floss,” Dauntless dryly observed.

“Well, duh,” Val replied, a smile on her muzzle. “How else would I know how it compares?”

The gray pegasus rolled his eyes again, but didn't immediately dispute her words. “Alright, I'll give it a shot,” he said.

“Thattacolt!” Val said, and then stretched a wing to slap it against Dauntless' back. “You'll knock her right out of the sky with your charm.”

“If she doesn't knock me out with a right hook,” Dauntless replied, rather sardonically.

“As if that would stop you,” Val countered, her grin now much larger. “I know you love the tomcolts,” she added, and then turned her head and closed her eyes, before giving her mane a shake. “How you can resist me, though, I'll never know.”

Dauntless laughed openly at that. “You're crazy, you know?” He asked.

“But of course,” Val said, and then stood up. “Anyway, I'm going back to the party. Are you coming with?”

“Eh, nah,” Dauntless said, while he shrugged with his wings. “I think I'd just bring the place down. I'll just stay out here a bit longer, maybe get some flying done, and then turn in early.”

“Okay then,” Val replied, and then spread her wings. “See you later, D.”

“See you later, Val,” Dauntless replied. “And... thanks.”

Val smiled at the stallion. “What else are friends for?” She asked, and then hopped off the cloud and began her flight back to Sugarcube Corner.

* * * *

Farhold Castle, Ponygsberg

Capitol of East Griffony Province

Equestria

His hooffalls sounded loudly in the stone halls as he walked through the deserted corridors. With the darkness of night upon the world at large and a dearth of artificial lighting in the old castle, the blood red pegasus pony found the effect to be largely unnerving. How many years have I been living here? He asked of himself as he turned a corner, intent on following a route long ingrained into his memory. Yet this place still has its effect on me. My ancestors would be proud of that. He snorted at the thought, and then gave his head a quick shake to ruffle his black mane. It would be the only thing they would find pride in, these days, he bitterly thought, a frown crossing his muzzle. Soon, though, there might be at least one more thing.

This thought brought him back to the present, and specifically the reason why he was walking through his family's castle in the middle of the night. He quickened his pace as he drew near his destination, and soon the powerfully-built pegasus approached a pair of large, iron doors that sat at the end of a wide hall. A pair of unicorn guards clad in plain-looking steel armor stood on either side, but neither so much as batted an eye as the pegasus trotted up to the doors, and then pushed one open with a hoof.

The room on the other side was spacious, even by modern standards, yet it still felt cramped as it was filled with an array of machinery of all kinds. Analytical, differential, magical, and electrical equipment of various manufacture gave the place a chaotic look, yet as the pegasus walked into the cleared space in the center he could tell there was some kind of order imposed on the room. Not that I understand that order, but at least I can see it, he thought. Now if only the mind who made it could impose some of that order on himself.

The pony he was thinking of stood near a bank of alchemical apparatuses, his horn glowing as he lifted up two vials and mixed them carefully into a flask sitting on the workbench. The red pegasus waited patiently until the unicorn finished his task, and then cleared his throat. “Doctor?” The large red stallion asked.

“Yes, baron?” The sickly gray-green unicorn asked, without turning from observing the mixture in the flask he still levitated. “Vhat may I help you vith, tonight?”

“I wanted to make sure you will be ready for our upcoming excursion,” the pegasus said, his voice even. Their accents were the same, though the baron's was less pronounced, and more sophisticated. “We leave in two days, and it's a four day trip aboard the Scharnhorse.”

“I am avare of that, baron,” the unicorn replied, his tone polite, but slightly strained. Carefully, he set the flask he'd been holding down and then released it from his telekinesis, and then turned to regard his patron with a faint look of disdain. “I have been ready for quite some time, as I notified you last month. All zat remains is to load your airship vith my equipment and deposit us at ze target, and I and my team shall do ze rest.”

“Indeed,” the pegasus replied, and then turned to wander over to one of the larger pieces of equipment. “I trust your so-called “stormtroopers” can accomplish the mission with subtlety?” He asked, as he casually inspected the large differential engine. “My contacts in the court would become suspicious if anything untoward would be discovered before the rest of my pieces are in place.”

“I assure you, baron, zat I have hoof picked only ze best of ze best,” the unicorn said, as he haughtily tossed his head, which caused his gray mane to whip about. “Zere are no... undesirable elements to cause discord. All vill be harmonious.”

The baron turned his head to cast a wary look at the unicorn, who had turned back to his alchemical work. More of his blather about harmony, the red pegasus thought, with a frown. “Very well, doctor,” the larger pony said, as he turned to head back to the room's entrance. Once there, he paused and then turned to look at the unicorn again. “Just one more thing,” he added, and then waited for the other pony to turn his head around. “The Everfree forest is a dangerous place. If your experiment riles the beasts that dwell within, then you are to do your best to keep them away from the nearby towns.”

The unicorn frowned at this new proviso, and then turned to fully face the red pony. “My baron, surely you jest? Vhy vould ve concern ourselves vith such lesser ponies?”

The pegasus narrowed his eyes at that, and he also turned to face the doctor straight on. “Because we are not barbarians, doctor,” he replied flatly. “We are not the crude, axe-wielding griffons that my ancestors wrenched this land from. If we can avoid unnecessary death, then we shall do so. Is that clear to you, Steel Targe?”

Targe gave the baron a steady look that spoke volumes of what he thought of the pegasus' ideas. Still, after a moment of consideration, he nodded. “Very vell. It shall be as you say, herr Red Valor,” he said, deliberately using the pegasus' name instead of his title. “But I cannot promise perfection,” he added. At least, not yet I cannot... but soon...

Valor gave the unicorn an angry look at the use of his name, and the implications it represented. He soon reigned it in, however, and an expression of mild contempt replaced it. “Do your best, doctor,” he said, and then turned to push open the doors. “For Griffony.”

“For Griffony,” Steel Targe replied, as the baron left the room and closed the doors behind him. And for the radiant future, the unicorn mentally added, as he grinned and turned back to his experiments.