The Hero Club

by Mind Jack

Nothing Like a Fresh Breeze

The taxi carriage skidded to a halt. Gusty Breeze hesitated to climb out, but the yellow-uniformed pegasus stallion attached it shot her a dirty look. With a wince, she complied and hopped out. She barely got to pull out her dark-green saddlebags before the stallion took off, pulling into the air and left Gusty in the dust.

As she looked up at the looming, intimidating manor, Gusty felt very much like a prisoner condemned to the depths of Tartarus.

Gusty was a pegasus filly. Her mint-green coat and feathers were a little too thin for the cold of this part of Equestria, but luckily her seaweed-colored mane and tail were both longer and thicker, helping her keep a bit of warmth. A bright, yellow stripe twisted around the braids in both, each ending with a gold ribbon tied around the end.

She looked with helplessness on the old-fashioned, demonic-looking door knocker, as she struggled to build up the courage to move her body far enough to knock.

She shook her head to clear it. C'mon Gusty! You're braver than this! She's just your aunt! Squeezing her eyes shut tight, she rapped on the door three times.

There was a brief silence before the door cracked open, a single gray eye peering out at her. "No solicitors," said a raspy male voice not unlike the sound of a boulder hitting the ground at full speed.

Gusty reached into her saddlebag, producing a crumpled piece of paper that looked as if somepony had spit on it at some point. "I have a court order to be here? I'm Gusty Breeze." She thanked her lucky stars that she was somehow able to get through that line without stammering. Hours of practicing in the mirror had payed off.

The eye looked at her suspiciously. "I will confirm this with the Mistress." A large, gray hoof reached out and took the document from her, before slamming the door in her face.

Gusty rubbed her sore nose. Well, not as bad as I thought it would be so far.

After a few minutes, the door opened fully, revealing an old, slate-gray earth pony with a close cropped mane the color of unprocessed concrete. He wore a black suit and tie that looked so tight that it was a wonder he could actually move. The fact that the rest of him looked like a statue didn't help. His cutie mark was a silver teapot, with some kind of blue mark she couldn’t see clearly. "Mistress Daffodil will see you in the study," he informed her. "Follow me closely, and don't try going anywhere else.”

The gray pony led her through the foyer. In contrast to the outside of the house, it was well-lit by a giant chandelier and actually kind of inviting, with a red carpet stretching all the way up the stairs over the shiny marble floor. What wasn't inviting were the two other stallions in the room. Both had the exact same colors and cutie mark as the pony leading her. One was tall and unusually skinny, and the other was oddly proportioned, and had a face that looked like a half-deflated balloon with deep-set, beady eyes. Both of them stared at her with unreadable expressions as she walked.

He stopped before a door at the far end of the hall, on the second floor. "Mistress Daffodil, your guest is here!" he called through the door.

A bespectacled, pale-yellow head with a frizzy, dark-orange mane poked out of the door, bumping muzzles with Gusty. "Ah! You must be Gusty! Come in! Come in!"

Gusty found herself scooped up and plopped on the carrot-maned mare's back, between her wings. A toss of Daffodil's hindquarters launched Gusty into the air, sending her flying perfectly into the center of a red, velvet chair next to a lit fireplace. Daffodil seated herself in a similar one on the other side of a granite coffee table. "Stiff has told me a lot about you! Assault with a deadly weapon is a serious charge. But worry not! Daffodil Scented Breeze has never failed to reform a pony! Your honor, and our family's, shall be restored by the end of your probation!"

Gusty thought that the sheer amount of enthusiasm Daffodil showed was pretty unnerving, but did her best to not show it. "So, uh… no one told me exactly what I'm supposed to do here. I-I don't even know how long I'm supposed to be staying." Nice job, Gusty! You almost don't sound completely terrified!

Daffodil pulled some papers out of a manilla folder on the table. "Well, according to these papers, your probation lasts two years. So long as you keep your nose clean while you're here, that will be the end of that. But Stiff told me to, quote, 'Keep her until she learns her lesson,' so I guess that part is up to you and him."

Gusty sighed, her gaze falling. "Yeah. That sounds like Dad, alright."

"Hey, keep your chin up!" Daffodil scolded, wrapping a comforting wing around her niece. "I've never failed to reform a pony before. I even got my cutie mark in it!" She stepped away to point at the golden puzzle piece on her flank.

"Yeah, sure." Gusty was rather leery at the constant use of the word “reformed.” It sounded like she was going to be tortured until she was reeducated.

Luckily, Daffodil seemed to misinterpret her apprehension as more uncertainty. "How about I show you around the house, then we can go see your room? At dinner, we can go over the rules you'll have to follow while you're here. Your father pulled a lot of strings to let you spend your probation with a family member. I'd hate to see you get in trouble on your first day with us."

Gusty took a deep breath. "Alright. That sounds good." May as well get used to the place. Celestia knows how long I'll be here.

---

Gusty was thankful that Daffodil decided to give the tour of the house herself, rather than let one of her butlers do it. The stone-faced stallions' eyes seemed to follow the pair everywhere they went.

"Don't let Tall, Dark, and Gruesome bother you." Daffodil assured her. "They're just protective of me."

Gusty might have laughed at those unfortunate names, had she not still felt their gazes on the back of her neck even when she couldn’t see them.

Daffodil continued leading Gusty through the house. “You’ll love this one,” Daffodil promised as she pushed open the door. “Welcome to the trophy room!”

Gusty’s eyes went as wide as saucers.

All four walls were almost completely covered; there were weapons, shields, suits of armor, and banners bearing the Breeze family crest: three wavy, blue lines on a yellow background, bordered in more blue.

But most impressive were the actual trophies. Three hydra heads dominated the far wall, their snapping jaws frozen in what looked almost like surprise. A manticore-skin rug covered the center of the room, surrounded by four rocking chairs that Gusty knew were made of timberwolf wood, mostly from the fact that the backs were still bordered with teeth. The rest of the walls were filled with mounted heads, teeth, hides, and claws of unimaginable beasts and monsters.

Daffodil politely closed Gusty’s open mouth with one hoof, a small smirk on her face. “Impressive, is it not?”

“I… I don’t… Are they…? Did you…?”

“If my understanding of floundering gibberish isn’t failing me, I assume you’re asking if all of these belong to me, and if I hunted all of these monsters?”

Gusty nodded mutely.

Daffodil giggled. “Oh heavens, no! I’m a paper pusher, dear. My days of adventure are long behind me. These are mostly family heirlooms. I’m a collector. Maybe, if you behave, I’ll share some of the stories behind all of this. But only if you’re good. Maybe it’ll get rid of some of the eggshells you’ve been walking on since you got here.”

Gusty couldn’t help but think any other good little Breeze filly would be impressed, and begging to hear those stories, but Gusty wasn't. In fact, the idea filled her heart with dread, and no small amount of guilt. But she pushed those down, giving Daffodil the smile and nod she probably expected.

They finished touring the first floor, including the kitchen, bathroom, and dining room. After that, Daffodil brought Gusty upstairs. “This is your room. Well… the guest room, technically, but I expect you to care for it as if it were your own! My room is right next door, and my daughter’s is straight across. Tall, Dark, and Gruesome sleep in the rooms at the other end of the hall.”

Gusty opted for the safest conversation topic. “You have a daughter?”

“Ah, yes! Boomer's at school right now, sadly. She’ll be home soon.” She paused for a moment, seeming to be lost in thought. “I think that’s everything you need to know for now. I’ll leave you to get unpacked and settled in. Lunch should be ready in two hours. If you need me, I’ll be in the study.” Daffodil hesitated for a moment, before giving Gusty an awkward hug. “I know this is going to be hard, but I want nothing but the best for you. You’re in safe hooves, and you have nothing to worry about.”

That reminder of her circumstances made Gusty drop her gaze to the floor, her ears pinning against her head. “Yeah… thanks…”

Once Daffodil trotted away, Gusty pushed open the bedroom door. It was a nice enough place, with floral print blankets on a bed that was big enough for her to not fall out of, flanked by a couple of nightstands. There was even an old, wooden desk next to the window, where the light would be good.

She unpacked her bags, setting an old photo of her and her father on one of the nightstands, and a few books on the other. Her empty bit bag went in a drawer on the desk.

Then, out came her prized possession.

Gusty held the old book in her wings for a moment, flipping through it with a hoof. It was old, with a simple, unadorned, brown cover that seemed to be leather of some sort. While that may have brought a churn to the gut of other ponies, Gusty cared more about the contents of its pages than the contents of the cover.

A tear formed in the corner of her eye as she remembered that this book was the reason she was here in the first place. She shook her head violently, wiping the tear away and stowing the book between the mattress and the boxspring of her bed. Getting caught with stolen property, much less stolen property that she’d assaulted somepony for, was probably not a good idea on her first official day of probation. Keep it together, Gusty. Now is not the time for an emotional breakdown.

...

Feather it. She had a couple of hours to kill. Now was the perfect time for an emotional breakdown.

She flopped onto the bed, burying her face in one of the pillows in a vain attempt to stifle her open sobs.

---

Gusty wasn't sure how long she'd been crying for, but her pity party was interrupted by the sound of a door opening downstairs. "Mom! I'm home!" a voice called from downstairs.

She snapped to attention immediately, fixing her mane and wiping the tears matting the fur under her eyes away. She blew her nose on one of the emergency towels in her bag. There wasn't much she could do about the redness in her eyes, so hopefully they wouldn't notice that.

"Gusty! Come on downstairs! Lunch is ready!"

Gusty trotted downstairs, not stopping to question that she'd been sobbing into her sheets for two hours straight.

She was met at the front door by a short, chunky, and bespectacled earth pony filly who was dynamite red, with a bright yellow mane that stuck up like a cockatoo's head plumage. Her cutie mark appeared to be some kind of explosion, or perhaps raw cauliflower.

Boomer seemed just as surprised to see Gusty. "Uh, mom, there's another weird filly upstairs who looks like she's been crying her eyes out!"

Well that's not the best first impression.

Daffodil poked her head out of the kitchen, a surprised frown on her face. "Oh dear! I'm so sorry! In my excitement I must have forgotten to tell you we had a guest coming. Boomer, meet your cousin, Gusty. Gusty, this is my daughter, Boomer."

Gusty did her best to force a smile, holding out a hoof. Her mind let out a silent sigh of relief when Boomer grinned back and bumped it in greeting. "Hey! Nice to meet you! Sorry. I thought you were one of mom's projects for a second."

"She is!" Daffodil replied from the kitchen before Gusty could say a word. "Both of you get in here! Lunch is getting cold!"

Though she doubted that Daffodil had any ill intent in that remark, Gusty saw the very slight shift in Boomer's expression. Her eyes became a little narrower, her smile falling just a bit. "Coming, Mom!" she called as she galloped into the dining room.

Gusty sighed. This was going to be a long two years.

---

The three of them sat at the dining room table. Gusty shuffled her wings nervously, feeling the weight of the awkward silence between her and Boomer.

Thankfully, the silence was broken by the balloon-faced butler walking in with a metal pot balanced on his head, along with three white bowls on top of that. "Lunch is served, miladies!" he announced in a smooth and cheery Canterlot accent, expertly passing the pot from his head to the table. The bowls slid into position in front of each of them like they were on tracks. Producing a ladle hung on one of the pot's handles, he filled all three bowls with steaming tomato soup.

"Thanks, Mr. Gruesome," said Gusty with a smile, which vanished when she noticed Daffodil trying very hard not to smile, and Boomer not even trying to hide outright laughter. "What? What'd I say?"

"My name is Tall Order, Miss Breeze," the butler answered with a smirk of his own.

Gusty's head thudded to the table with an embarrassed groan. "I am so sorry!"

"Think nothing of it, my dear. It's a common mistake of anypony who sees my ghastly visage, and not all of us have Gruesome Gaze's temper."

With that he departed, leaving the three of them alone again.

"So what are you in for, Gusty?" Boomer blurted out.

"Boomer!" Daffodil scolded.

"It's alright," Gusty assured with a sigh. "I'm here for assault with a deadly weapon."

Boomer's eyes widened. "Ouch! Quite a bit different from the stuff you usually have here, Mom."

"That may be," Daffodil replied. "But it's nothing I haven't seen before. Now, Gusty, as I told you earlier, I have several rules I like ponies under my roof to follow."

Gusty's brow furrowed when Boomer rolled her eyes to Celestia's sun. "Mom! C'mon! Let the filly eat before you get into all that junk."

Daffodil shook her head stubbornly. "No. This is important, and it won't take long."

Gusty leaned forward, listening intently.

"First rule: You will go to school every day. Boomer can show you the way to school after lunch. I'll be keeping a close eye on your attendance. If I see an absence I don't know about, and you don't have a very good explanation, there will be trouble. Same thing if your grades fall too low."

That was fair. Gusty nodded in acknowledgment.

"Second rule: This should be rather obvious, but no criminal activity. I'll be giving you an allowance every week, so you'll have no need for theft. If you have problems with anypony, you come to me and I'll deal with it. Do not try to take matters into your own hooves. Do I make myself clear?"

Gusty nodded vigorously. Boomer looked quite amused at that.

"Good," Daffodil continued. "Third: Everypony in this house is to be treated with the utmost respect. If I, Tall, Dark, or Gruesome tell you to do something, you do it. No questions asked. You'll be expected to help out with chores and keep your room clean, but like I said before, you'll receive an allowance for it. Lastly: you're free to wander around Coltsburg, so long as you have supervision and are back by sunset. If you need to go out, ask anypony in the house, including Boomer, to go with you."

Gusty hesitated. "Those rules… don't sound that bad. What's the catch?"

Daffodil's grin was so innocent, Gusty could practically see the halo above her head. "That will be clear in time," said Daffodil with an ominous smile. "I won't lie to you and tell you there isn't one. It's best you wonder for now, and see what happens when you break the rules."

That smile made Gusty gulp. She discreetly looked over at Boomer, but didn't see any bruises, and she hadn't seen her limp at all walking into the kitchen.

Daffodil clapped her hooves together. "Well, I suppose we had all best dig in, before the soup gets cold!"

---

After a surprisingly satisfying lunch, Gusty found herself following Boomer down Coltsburg's main road. The town had a dreary, lifeless feel to it, being mostly made up of tall, brownstone buildings and gray stone roads. A bearded earth pony spat in Gusty's direction as she passed.

Boomer was quite an enthusiastic tour guide as they trotted down the crowded street. "That's the farmer's market! They have great tomatoes there, and the peaches are to die for. Over there's the post office, where everypony goes to have their mail get lost."

I better remember that. Dad’ll be mad if I don’t write home.

"And here's the school!" Boomer announced with a flourishing wave of her hoof.

Steelgate Middle School was about as welcoming as the rest of Coltsburg. It had a high brick wall that completely surrounded it, except for a single gap that was filled by a wrought-iron gate topped with sharp spikes. What Gusty could see of the building looked like a tall, off-white tombstone with black windows. The school's name was written in indigo letters above the main doors, just high enough to be seen above the wall.

"If you think this place looks like a prison, you should see the high school," Boomer quipped.

Gusty shut her eyes with a soft, sad sigh. Fitting, I guess.

She felt a gentle hoof on her shoulder. "Hey, are you okay? I didn't mean to depress you."

Gusty trembled slightly. "Can… can I have a hug? Please?"

Her eyes stayed closed, but she felt Boomer's short legs wrap around her shoulders. She wrapped her wings around the smaller filly, letting out a shaky breath into her shoulder.

"Um… now might not be the best time to tell you, but you just got pickpocketed."

Gusty broke the hug and whirled around to come nose-to-nose with the thief.

A pair of startled charcoal eyes met hers for a split second, Gusty's bitpurse floating in her navy-blue magical grasp, before the unicorn filly turned and galloped off in a black and white blur, Gusty hot on her hooves. She heard Boomer yelling something after her, but her vision was tunneled at that point.

The thief cut through the farmer's market, dumping a barrel of peaches in Gusty's path. Fortunately, Gusty had the advantage of flight. When the thief tried to flee into an alley on the other side of the market, Gusty dove down and roughly tackled her to the ground.

Now that she had the thief pinned, Gusty finally had the chance to get a good look at her. She was a unicorn filly with a strangely pristine white coat and a messy, curly, dark-brown mane. Three brown freckles dotted her cheeks on either side. The color of her eyes was such a dark shade of gray that it was near impossible to tell from her pupils. Luckily, her horn was blunt; otherwise it may have jabbed Gusty in the eye when their foreheads knocked together. "Try to steal from me? I bet I don't look like such an easy mark now, huh?"

The thief struggled beneath Gusty's weight. "Hey! Chill! Calm down! Here, take your stupid bitpurse!" The sack of coins once again levitated into Gusty's view, taking her eyes off the thief for just long enough that the other filly managed to forcefully roll over on top of her.

Gusty felt a sharp pain in her right wing as she landed on it, and knew she was in trouble. She raised her front hooves to protect her face, but no punches came. To her surprise, the weight on top of her vanished.

Taking her hooves off her face, Gusty saw the other filly calmly dusting herself off. "Sweet Celestia, that's one hay of a tackle you've got. You play hoofball?"

She slowly picked herself up, wincing as more pain stabbed into her limp wing when she tried to move it. "Yeah… I do," she replied with a glare.

Gusty was even more taken aback when the thief levitated her bitpurse back into her saddlebag. "There. Message received. No stealing from you. We cool?"

She scowled. "No, we're not cool, you dirty crook!"

"Ouch! I'm wounded! You wound me, Minty."

"Minty?"

"Hey, cut me some slack. Cuddles is on her way, so I had to think of a nickname on the fly."

Before Gusty could ask who 'Cuddles' was, Boomer came chugging into the alley like a tiny steam train, desperately trying to force words out between heavy breaths. "Finally... caught up... with you two..."Her eyes widened when she saw Gusty nursing her limp wing. "What the hay? What happened!? Oh Celestia, Snake Eyes! Mom is gonna kill me!"

"Here, lemme get that for ya." Without asking permission, the thief grabbed Gusty's wing in her teeth and gave it a violent tug. Gusty yelped as it popped back into place. "It was just dislocated," she said as she spat out a couple of Gusty's mint green feathers.

"Thanks..." Gusty muttered, glowering at her.

The thief stuck her hoof out. "Well, like Cuddles just said, my name's Snake Eyes. Call me Snake. What's yours?"

Gusty was going to snap something unkind at her, but Boomer put a hoof on her shoulder. "Don't take Snake seriously. She means well. She's just… really, really stupid."

"Me in a nutshell!" Snake readily agreed.

Gusty closed her eyes, taking a few deep, calming breaths. "I'm Gusty Breeze," she finally replied, pointedly not bumping Snake's hoof.

Snake didn't seem bothered. "Anyway, judging by the fact that Cuddles was giving you the grand tour, I'm guessing you're new in town?"

"Yeah. Here for assault with a deadly weapon." Gusty was half-hoping that would shake Snake's unflappable attitude.

Sadly, she was disappointed. "Neat! So you're one of Daffodil's shrunken heads?"

"Mom is not a shrink!" Boomer protested, a pouty frown on her face.

Snake rolled her eyes, smiling. "Listen, Gloomy, I don't mean any harm. I didn't even really expect to get away. It was just a little joke on the new kid in town. I'm sorry I freaked you out, and I'm sorry I hurt your wing. So, friends?" She held out a hoof.

Gusty grumbled, but, after seeing Boomer frantically nodding behind Snake, shook the proffered hoof. A pang of guilt shot through her as Snake winced at the slight shake of her leg. "I guess. I'm really sorry about tackling you. No more funny business, alright?"

"Filly Guide's Honor!" Snake proclaimed, one hoof over her heart. "Anyway, I got a few errands to run. See you two at school tomorrow!" With that, she scampered off and disappeared into the crowd in the market.

Though the confrontation had ended well, Gusty couldn't shake a sinking feeling in her gut. "She's lying about not messing with me anymore, isn't she?"

"Through her teeth," Boomer confirmed with a wry grin. "She’s not even a Filly Guide. Not about being friends, though, and in your situation, she's a good friend to have."

"What do you mean?"

"Word tends to spread fast in school when Mom has a new case," Boomer replied. "I'll wager you'll be the talk of the school tomorrow, and not in a good way. Snake has a… unique way of taking care of that kind of thing. You'll see tomorrow."

After that, they wandered aimlessly around town for a while. Boomer would occasionally point out something interesting; a mini golf course, an old abandoned house that everypony apparently said was haunted, and other typical town fixtures.

It was early evening when they returned home. Daffodil met them in the foyer, flanked by the scary butler who’d answered the door earlier. Gusty quickly found herself scooped up and placed on Daffodil’s back. “Ah, perfect timing, Gusty! I just finished setting up my study for your first interview. I apologize, Boomer. I need to speak to Gusty in private for a little while.”

Boomer rolled her eyes and sighed. “No worries, Mom. Still wanna go to the range, Gruesome?”

“I’m afraid not, Mistress Boomer,” the stony pony replied with his usual lack of emotion. “Mistress Daffodil has requested that I be present to prevent any escape attempts on the part of Miss Breeze. I'll be on watch for the rest of the evening.”

Gusty was insulted, but bit back her reply when she saw Boomer’s ears flop down in disappointment with a simple “Oh.”

“I believe Tall should be finished with the dishes soon,” Daffodil offered as she whisked Gusty upstairs. “I’m sure he’d take you if asked.”

Gusty didn’t get to see Boomer’s reaction, as at that point they turned the corner and she was whisked away into the study. Once again she found herself tossed through the air to land with perfect precision in the large, velvet chair.

The study was a little different this time. The fireplace had been extinguished, and sitting between the two chairs was a lamp with a flickering bulb. “What’s with the creepy lighting?”

“My studies show that ponies are more honest when in a room lit by a single flickering bulb.” Daffodil replied, seating herself across from Gusty. She set an old audio recorder on the table and turned it on. “Subject name, Gusty Breeze. Gender: Female. Age: 12. Tribe: Pegasus. Good evening, Gusty. How are you this evening?”

“Uh… okay, I guess?” Gusty's eyes flicked between Daffodil, Gruesome, and the recorder. Somepony watches too many crime dramas. “What's this about?”

“We'll be having meetings like this every Monday,” explained Daffodil. “Recorded therapy sessions, basically. We'll be talking mostly about your mental state, both current and past, as well as the decisions that led up to the incident.”

Gusty immediately sought an unoccupied wall to her left very fascinating, her ears pinning to her head. “I, uh… I really would rather not.”

She felt Daffodil's wing gently touch her cheek, forcing her to meet her aunt's slightly unbalanced, but deadly serious green eyes. “Gusty, you have to. Undergoing regular therapy is one of the terms of your probation.”

Gusty's gaze quickly tried to escape to the wall on the far side, only to be caught and gently corralled back to meet Daffodil's. “Gusty, I promise you, you can trust me. I'm here to help you.”

Her face pinned in place, Gusty pointed with a wing in the general direction of Gruesome Gaze. “What about him?”

“I am here to help Mistress Daffodil, and by proxy, you,” the stony pony replied.

Gusty and Daffodil simply held each other's gazes for what, to Gusty, felt like an eternity. Daffodil's slightly bloodshot eyes were caring, but firm. She could tell that her aunt would not relent on this. Feathers. “Okay…” she murmured.

Daffodil smiled encouragingly, taking her wings off Gusty and sitting back in her own chair. “Since it's our first meeting, I'll go easy on you. Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself? I haven't seen you since you were a foal.”

“I can do that. Where do I start?”

Daffodil pondered this for a moment. “How are things in school?”

I'm a C student who flunked Flight School twice. Her inner voice was apparently participating in this too. “Alright I guess. I'm scraping by.”

Daffodil raised an eyebrow. Gusty did her best not to flinch or look away. “Interesting. Have you been in any fights?”

Constantly. “A few, yeah.”

Daffodil nodded sagely. “Thank you for being at least partially honest. Try to be more so as we go, alright?”

Gusty's cheeks burned with shame. “Sorry…”

“Apology accepted. Now, please tell me the real answers to those questions.”

Gusty reluctantly told her all she’d been thinking. Daffodil didn't comment. She just stayed politely quiet, letting Gusty talk. She spilled pretty much every bad moment she’d had in recent memory, like when she’d hit a colt who tried to take her lunch money when she was ten, or when she’d nearly flung a chair at the school principal for yelling at her before catching herself and breaking down crying in his office.

When she was finished, Daffodil stood from her chair and walked over to give her a wing-hug. Gusty was surprised, but nuzzled into the warm wall of fur and feathers nonetheless. “Thank you for that, Gusty.”

They held the hug for a few more moments before Daffodil went back to her own seat. “So, you have a history of violence and academic troubles?”

Gusty sank a bit in her seat, but nodded.

Daffodil gave her a reassuring smile. “Don't worry. I'm not here to judge. I’m sure we can find somepony to help with your grades, and I'm certified to help with your anger management.”

Gusty returned her smile gratefully, her ears perking up just a little. “Thank you. Uh… what should I talk about next?”

Daffodil once again paused to think. “Hm. I don't have much of a script for this meeting, so how about you just tell me about your friends and life at home? Then we can turn off the recorder and go have dinner.”

---

After an entertaining dinner, Gusty was actually feeling a little better about her situation. Tall Order had left them one of the biggest salads Gusty had ever seen, and Boomer had launched into a boisterous, animated description of her day at school, swearing vehemently that the exploded third floor toilet had not been her doing.

Unfortunately, when she pushed open her bedroom door, she found that she had an unwelcome guest.

“Hey, Hero,” Snake Eyes greeted, lounging back on Gusty's bed as she flipped through Gusty's special book with her magic.

Gusty almost smacked Snake out of her bed right then and there, but found a red hoof restraining her from behind. “Relax,” Boomer commanded. “I let her in,” she informed as she stepped in and closed the door behind her.

“What!?” Gusty's breathing was starting to speed up, her wings flaring aggressively. Whoa! Down filly, before you hurt somepony again.

That sobering thought brought Gusty's temper back down, but only a little. “Why is she here, and why was she going through my stuff?” she demanded.

“She was visiting me, and because I asked her to,” Boomer replied.

“Cuddles wanted me to make sure you weren't gonna bust out a hidden chainsaw or something and go crazy while she slept.” Snake added.

“Nothing against you!” Boomer quickly assured. “But part of my tail still hasn't grown back after the last time one of Mom's projects did that.”

Gusty physically deflated. Of course she doesn't trust you. You're here because you almost killed somepony. You tackled her friend. Then she had to stop you from beating the Tartarus out of that same friend.

“Sorry, Hero. Didn't mean to make you sad.” Snake Eyes didn’t seem very sorry as she idly tossed the book up and caught it in her magic.

Gusty snatched it from her magical grasp, shooting her a look that could have melted steel.

Snake held her hooves up defensively, shooting back a teasing smirk. “Hey now! No need to get all mad. It's not your diary. Just some book of fairy tales.”

“They aren't fairy tales!” Gusty snapped. “Those stories are real history!”

“What are you two talking about?” Boomer asked with a curious tilt of her head.

“Some book that Hero here was hiding under her mattress,” Snake answered before Gusty could cut her off.

Gusty could feel Boomer's eyes burning into her. “You, little miss, have some explaining to do. There a reason you're hiding a book that isn't your diary?”

Gusty closed her eyes and sighed through her nose. “Yeah.”

“Are you gonna tell us what it is?”

Instead of speaking, Gusty flipped to the first page of the book, the only place where the title was visible, and showed it to Boomer.

Boomer squinted at the words on the page. “The Book of… Heroes? What the hay is that?”

“The reason I'm here,” Gusty replied.

“You mean like… the reason you beat the stuffing out of somepony?” Snake asked with interest.

“Yup.” Gusty set the book on the desk, tapping the side of her lamp to wake the fireflies in it. Boomer and Snake curiously peered over her shoulders to see its contents.

“The Hero's Oath is not one of pacifism,” Gusty read aloud. “Rather ‘tis the opposite; tis an oath to fight always- To fight against the darkness without and within. A Hero's work is never done, not even in the grave.”

“If that's why you mauled somepony, I don't think that's what the book meant,” Snake quipped.

Gusty shot her a dirty look. “I know, dingus. That's not what happened. It tells a bunch of stories about these old Hero ponies, fighting injustice and evil. Things like Sunlight and Lightning Streak fighting against the dragons and Songbird travelling by hoof across the entire continent, before it was even unified. When I read some of them they… I dunno. Gave me hope, I guess. Something to live up to. A way I might not always be thought of as violent, unbalanced, and dangerous.”

“So what did happen?” asked Boomer.

Gusty closed the book, putting it back under her mattress. After a heavy pause, she replied. “Somepony tried to take that hope away from me, and I broke all four of his legs.” She looked between Snake Eyes and Boomer. “Can you two just… not tell Daffodil about this? I could get in big trouble if she finds out I have it.”

“You didn’t answer the question,” Boomer accused.

“And I don’t want to!” Gusty shot back.

“Why not?” asked Snake Eyes.

Gusty shook her head stubbornly. “It’s… it’s none of your business! Look, just… please don’t tell anypony I have it? Please?”

The two of them shared a look. Boomer looked worried and dismayed, but Snake Eyes just shrugged.

“I personally don't see what the big deal is about some book,” Snake Eyes admitted. “But honor among thieves I guess. I'm not a fan of the head shrinker anyway.”

“She's not a shrink!” Boomer protested, giving Snake a dirty look that quickly turned to Gusty. “But I guess you aren't really hurting anything, Gusty. So long as you don't hurt anypony else over it, I won't tell mom. But, the second you do, I'll tell her everything I know faster than you can say ‘end of chapter.’”

There really wasn't much to say after that. Gusty stubbornly refused to show any more of her book, and too much noise was likely to bring unwanted attention to the room. Snake Eyes climbed out the window and slid down the drain pipe, scampering off into the night. Boomer actually stopped to give Gusty a quick hug before she went back to her own bedroom.

Gusty curled up in her bed. What small amount of improvement her state of mind had made was gone. Small shakes and sobs racked her body. They know. I'm doomed. Boomer doesn't trust me as far as she can throw me, and I trust Snake Eyes even less. One of them will talk. I just know it.

Her hysteric, paranoid crying proved to be rather exhausting. Slowly, the shivering and crying stopped, and blackness swallowed up her thoughts.

Author's Note:

Big thanks to Krickis, Berserker88, DarkFlameWolf, and Upplet for pre-reading and editing.

Comments

[Krickis]

A great start to what I’m sure will be a great story I’m incredibly curious what happens when a rule is broken, that was quite ominous... Also very curious to learn more about this Hero Book. Loving the dynamic between Gusty, Boomer, and Snake; so far Snake’s my favorite

[Bloody_Tofu]

Wow. This is so tracked!

[Berserker88]

Awesome start so far! I really like how you set up the characters and the world around them, easing us into it little by little so the OC-centric nature of it all isn't so jarring. Even so, not everything is explained and you've left some pretty tantalizing questions open to explore later, like what exactly happened to get Gusty in this predicament, what Daffodil's history with this kind of thing is, and how it all relates to this "Hero Book."

As far as characters go, Gusty, Boomer, and Snake have a pretty solid trio dynamic going for them. It helps that Gusty isn't 100% comfortable with them yet or vice versa because that gives them something to work towards. Gusty didn't seem too interesting at first, but that quickly changed the more that was revealed about her, Boomer is helpful and hilarious, and I have to agree that Snake is probably my favorite so far, with her completely flippant attitude towards just about everything and the fact that she's introduced by robbing the main character! Don't see that very often. Daffodil strikes this odd balance between caring and threatening and there's definitely more going on with her than she's letting on, and while they may not play much of a role, I have to give honorable mention to Tall, Dark, and Gruesome just for the creative theme naming.

Anyway, good foundations laid in this first chapter and looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.

[anarchywolf18]

Great story so far pilgrim

[Mind Jack]

9684880
Thanks so much! ^^

[anarchywolf18]

9684979
No problem

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Feather it. She had a couple of hours to kill. Now was the perfect time for an emotional breakdown.

Well said...

This... this is beautiful.