, , and

Today was turning out to be like most other days in Duskfields: peaceful and not too exciting.  Everypony was busy with their daily duties or taking a few minutes to relax or catch a bite to eat.  The day was beginning to wind down a bit, and in a few hours it would be getting dark and ponies would be settling in for the night to ready themselves for the next day.

Lathe was on his way to the tavern, dragging a bundle of wooden planks behind him to put the final touches on the trim.  It was an hour or two of work, and after he got done with that he’d be right where he needed to be to get something to eat and then go relax.  As he rounds the corner though, something catches his eye.  Something wrong.

A strange mare was creeping up behind somepony.  No, a foal.  Cumulus.  He loosens the straps on his load and steps closer, trying to figure out who this mare was.  She had a sickly green coat and a mane that looked like it would be snow white if it had been rinsed in the last month.  There was adagger in her mouth!

“Help!” he screams at the top of his lungs.  He didn’t know who this mare was, but she was clearly up to no good.  “Help!  Anypony!”

She whips her head to the side to look at him, and he feels a chill roll through him.  Her blood red eyes cut through him like the weapon in her mouth as she makes a hateful scowl at him.  In an instant she grabs for the colt, pouncing atop him and pinning him to the ground.  She pulls a bag from beneath her cloak and tries to stuff the squirming and screaming foal inside.

Redhat was about having a nice stroll around the fort while he walked his dog. The big oversized wolfy surely wasn’t about to get to pudgy to actually help protect her master. The little pony’s pleasant’ little stroll was then suddenly stopped by a loud yell. “Oh hell...” he rolled his eyes and ran towards’ the scream. Thank god he brought his spear so he could claim he was “on patrol”.

He sees Lathe gallop by, shouting something incoherent.  Just ahead, a strange green mare was holding Cumulus to the ground with a forehoof as she tried to tie him up with a rope.  Her eyes track up to Redhat and she glowers at him as she continues to work with renewed haste.

“What the...” he didn’t have a clue the situation he was in, “STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!” he ran straight for the mare, his spear drawn. The dog at his side followed behind, growling loud.  

The mare knocks his spear aside and finishes tying Cumulus up.  “Mind your business, foal, and you may live today!” she hisses to Redhat above Cumulus’ frantic screams.  She starts to slip her bag over the colt.

The pony picked his spear back up. “I said stop!” and as if on command the oversized wolf pounced forward at the mare, “Let him go, and i might do the same to you!”

She lets out a frustrated snort and kicks the wolf aside.  “Die!” she shouts at Redhat, angling her dagger at his neck.

The pony dodged it ever so slightly, before throwing spear at her, “feeling’s mutual!” The wolf made a light whimper before going at her again.

Once again she bucks the wolf away, but Redhat’s spear finds purchase in her body.  A horrible scream leaves her mouth as the spear embeds itself in her back, and she immediately twists away.  The spear comes free from the wound, spurting blood and tearing her cloak away in the process.  She shouts in rage and goes for another brutal thrust of her dagger.

He saw the dagger coming right for his face, and turned away. He only had a moment to react, within a second, he felt a pain down his side as the knife cut into his flank.  An instant later a terrible pain shot through his leg as she went for another strike and hit a forehoof.

She chuckles as her weapon digs into his hoof, which she twists gleefully in the wound before withdrawing it.  Growls from the wolf can be heard, as can numerous agitated pony shouts.  She looks around quickly before leaning in close to Redhat.  “It looks like you got lucky this time, foal.”  A wicked grin forms on her face as she cocks her head.  “You should have listened to the warning you got.”  With that, she spits on him and turns to run.  “Rejoice in the coming oblivion...”

“SAYS THE MARE WHO’S GOT A HOLE IN HER SIDE!” He started to try and get himself up, before feeling a pain shoot up his leg. “GHA.... Bonnet, stop her!”

The hole in her side was most definitely something for her to be concerned about.  Her entire left flank was coated in blood by this point, and the best she can manage is a hobbling trot toward the embankments.  She swears volubly as she tries to climb down and back up and out to freedom, aggravating the already serious wound.

The dog was able to close the distance between the two in almost no time flat. She then pounced onto her back, ready to take a nice bite out of the discordant’s back.  The twisted pony grunts as the wolf leaps upon her, and with a snarl she tries to dislodge the wolf with a violent shake.

The wolf was able to take a decent chunk out of her back before being flung off. It took it a second to get back up before lunging in again.  She manages to get the pony’s leg in her mouth this time, eliciting another pained shriek from her.

“Blasted animal!” she shouts, thrusting her dagger down at her.  Despite the wounds she had received, the discordant mare’s aim was close to the mark.  She was aiming for the wolf’s chest, but her blade slides into the wolf’s stomach.  The mare twists the blade and draws it back in a slashing motion, trying to inflict as much damage as possible.

The wolf grip on the Pony’s leg instantly weakened, before the giant best finally collapsed with a loud whimper. Despite the hole in it’s chest, it still tried it’s best to get back up before whimpering again in pain.

The mare tests her leg with a snarl.  “You’ll get yours too,” she hisses before hobbling away again.  She was too badly injured to even trot now, but she could outrun the wolf at least.

The mare barely makes it to the top of the embankment of the not yet completed ditch, when like a streak of black lightning Flamberge slams into her, knocking her to the ground. The already wounded mare can put up little fight as the commander finishes her off with his sword, many seconds pass before Flamberge returns to his senses, as Praetorian pulls him away from the strange red dust cloud approaching their position.

The pony saw it all, he got up as fast as he could, which wasn’t very fast at all, before seeing the little foal quivering with a bag over his head. “ummm... are you okay?”

Cumulus was still bound up, but looks up to Redhat with a terrified expression.  “I-I-I-Is she g-g-gone?” he asks in a trembling voice.

The pony sighed. “um... she’s leaving.... please tell me she didn’t hurt you?” he said before getting his spear tip and trying to cut the binds.

Cumulus whimpers softly as he cuts the rope binding his legs, and as they come free the colt jumps up and throws his hooves around Redhat’s foreleg.  “N-no, I-I don’t th-think s-so.”

“Okay... well in that case.... c-could you get off that leg and promptly move to the other....” last thing a broken leg needed was a foal hugging it. “And um...” he looked over at his wolf, which was still trying to get up. “She kinda stabbed my dog...”

The foal waits a moment before complying.  “S-sorry...” he says, trembling slightly.  He joins Redhat in looking at the stricken wolf, but says nothing as he hugs tighter still.

“I need to go make sure she isn’t hurt to bad... um... could you hold onto this instead?” he lowered his wing to the foal.

“O-okay,” he says, transferring his grip to the wing.

Redhat sighs and moved toward the downed animal. He tensed in pain after every step.  As he got closer he saw the animal had a decent stab at it’s chest.  “Oh buck...” The wound was bleeding quite a lot, but it didn’t seem like she was gonna die of blood loss.

Cumulus makes a small startled noise and pulls on Redhat’s wing as he sees the wolf.  He says nothing, but begins looking around frantically.

“Trust me, she won’t bite you. Hell, you might have been taken away if she didn’t jump at the mare when she did...” He winced in pain again. “A-are you sure you’re not hurt at all?”

“I-I-I’m okay,” he insists, though he doesn’t loosen his grip at all.  He keeps looking at the wounded wolf.  “I-Is she gonna be okay?”

“probably... unless it get’s infected...” he sighed and looked down at the poor foal. “spose you could stroke her a little...” Maybe that’d make both of them feel a little better.

Cumulus looks at Redhat with a bit of reluctance before reaching out and giving the wolf a small rub on the head.  “Sh-should we take her to the doctor?”

“Maybe? I don’t think this town has a vet...” kept petting the wolf a little. Bonnet gave a soft whimper and nuzzled the foal’s hoof. “Also is there anything I could do to make you feel any better?”

Cumulus nods slowly.  “Do you know where my mom is?  I-I really don’t want to be o-out here right now...”

“Um...” he thought for a moment, he needed to get the foal to his mother, but his dog had a stabbed gut. “She’s probably tending to the animals or in the fields.”

“C-Can you take me to her?” he asks weakly.

“N-” he looked down at his whimpering pet, then the quivering little foal. “Of course..”

Redhat eventually finds Heartfelt right where he expects her to be: out with the animals.  She’s carrying two pails of fresh milk on a harness across her back, heading back toward the tavern.  When Cumulus sees her, he wastes no time bolting for and latching onto her.  “Mommy!”

Heartfelt is momentarily stunned, but wraps a leg around her son.  “Cumulus!  What’s wrong?”  She looks up to Redhat with a confused expression.

“Somepony tried to abduct him...” he said, limping over to the two.

“Abduct him?” she says, sounding even more confused.  She slides out from under the harness and puts another leg around Cumulus, who was beginning to cry softly into her chest.  “Who would do such a thing?  Does Temperance know?  Have you locked them up yet?” she goes on, sounding increasingly agitated.

“I have no idea who, and I made sure my first priority was to bring him to his mother.” He seemed a little agitated as well. His dog was still in need of help.

“Thank you,” she says, continuing to cuddle the crying foal.  “Do the other soldiers know?  Where is the pony who did this?”

“I don’t kno-aaaaaa...” He tensed again, and lifted his broken hoof. “Okay... my wolf has a hole in it’s bloody side and I need to take care of it. Talk to my captain if you have any question.”

Heartfelt looks like she wants to ask more questions, but simply nods and helps Cumulus onto her back.  “Alright.  Come on, let’s go inside,” she says to him as she trots off.

He sighed and limped off, making a B-line straight for his wolf.

 and

“I still can’t believe it...” Case Study smirked as he patted on something unseen in the drawer of his office desk, “This was a tremendously lucky find...and luckier still that I was even able to make it work...”

Then suddenly a loud knock was heard from the door, “Hello!”

Jumping a little in surprise, the sky blue pony quickly shut the drawer and locked it. After nervously clearing his throat, he calls out, “Yes? You may enter.”

The door was swung open in an instant and the pony limped in. “Okay... my hoof’s been gouged and my wolf needs medical assistance.” The pony said as he dragged in a wheelbarrow housing a his downed wolf.

Case took a quick visual assessment of the situation. Redhat was able to move around and talk. Other than the hoof injury he spoke of, any other wounds were probably minimal. The canine, however, seemed to be in much worse condition. Notable amounts of blood were present on its side and abdomen. So now it was apparent who needed to be taken care of first, “No time to lose, let’s get your pet on the table.” The two carefully take two ends of the wolf and lift her out of the transportation unit.

She wasn’t fighting much, so either this was a calm animal by nature or she was in grave condition. Stopping the bleeding was the first priority. “Grab some of those towels in the corner,” Case admonished with urgent yet calm words.

Redhat nodded and hobbled over to grab the towels, “okay okay.” once he got them, he walked over, and placed them on the table.

The doctor added pressure to the white cloth after wrapping it around the wolf’s middle. “This looks like a stab wound. What happened to her?” Hopefully this had only happened a few moments ago, as punctures of such a deep nature can quickly bleed a creature dry.

“it was only a little while ago. I caught somepony trying make away with Cumulius and she pulled a dagger on me.”

As alarming as the thought of that was, Case had to put that on the backburner of his mind and get the wolf stable. He laid an ear on the wolf’s chest, listening to her breathing. Next he took a look inside of her mouth. “Her lungs don’t sound congested, but this blood in her mouth concerns me,” he peers deeper into her throat, “I don’t seen any pooling or flowing...did she attack this...thief? I’m hoping this blood doesn’t belong to your pet.”

“Yes, she chomped it’s legs one or two times and removed a portion of meat from the basterd’s back.” He stroked the wolf a little.

“Alright,” that explained the red stains on her teeth, “If her stomach or lungs had been punctured, then she would likely be coughing up blood at this point or have trouble breathing. So far, I think the damage is limited to the skin and some deeper tissue layers. It’s possible that her intestines could be punctured as well, but I’ll need more time to discover this.” He continued to hold down the dressing as he used the other hoof to feel for broken ribs.

Redhat just waited to see if his wolf would be fine. He kept stroking her, hoping she’d be fine.

After feeling that the bleeding was under control, the earth pony opened a nearby cabinet and pulled out a jar of greenish-yellow liquid. It was something of a natural equivalent to laughing gas. “I’ll see if I can ease her stress. This herbal mixture should help take her mind off the pain.” After dousing a cotton swab with the fluid, he rubbed it onto her gums over a period of several minutes. “I may need to look at it more closely later, but she needs to regain her strength first. I think she’s stopped bleeding.” The doctor wraps her up in some blankets to keep her warm, then turns his attention to the pegasus, “Now what about that hoof of yours?”

The pony showed his hoof, which had a rather large gash in it. It was bleeding still, and didn’t looked like it was just a tad bit bent. “Here you go.”

“Let’s get that wrapped up.” It doesn’t take long to bandage it up, “How much does it hurt? It looks like it might be dislocated as well.”

The pony tensed when the medical pony touched the hoof. “It hurts really bad.” he said, “you can fix it, correct?”

“A dislocation isn’t very difficult to remedy, but the act of putting it back in place can be very painful,” Getting a fresh cotton swab, Case dips it into the liquid sedative as before. “Let me wipe this on your gums; it should shield you from a bit of the pain after a few minutes.”

Redhat “Ughed” when case study said the word ‘pain’. “Go ahead whenever...um... should I lay down first?”

“Probably, yes.” After the anaesthetic treatment had been applied for a few minutes, the stallion gave a rag to the now-prone pegasus, “You may also want to bite down on this. I’ll try to make it quick.”

“Oh bloody buckin’ gods... this gonna hurt like a bitch now ain’t it....” he took took the rag with his good hoof and shoved it into his mouth.

“It’ll just take a moment, so get ready.” Mentally prepping himself, Case felt for the best angle to twist and compress. After deciding the proper way to go, he took both hooves and quickly pushed the injured hoof back into place with an audible pop.

A loud whimper came from the prone pegasi, before spitting out the rag. “Well holy buckin’ shit that stung...”

“There, that wasn’t too difficult, now was it? Make certain that you don’t put any weight on it while it heals. I’ll need to get you a crutch unless you think you can do for now by flying instead of walking?” His red eyes then wander over to the equally red discoloration on the green pony’s pants. “Now then, is that blood from your wolf? I don’t think you mentioned any other injuries.”

“Nope. The motherbucker took a goddamned  swipe at my flank... It think it’s just a tiny little cut anyway...”

The doc’s eyelids lower in disbelief, “Um, no, not with that much bleeding. I need to take a look at that as well.” He motions with his hoof for Red to show him the offending area.

“Uuughhh... are you sure ya’ ain’t just trying to feel up my behind?” it was hard to tell whether he was being sarcastic or serious.

He puts a hoof to his now-lowered forehead, “Mr. Redhat, there is a time and place for jokes, but here and now is not one of them. If you have a grievous injury, I must tend to it. Although you don’t seem to be bleeding any longer, you may still receive an infection. I cannot let that happen.”

“UUUUGggh..... it’s bloody unhealthy not to laugh... your a freakin’ doctor you should know that!” He said, before getting up off the floor. “Aaanyways, you needed to tape up a wee lil’ cut?”

Case rolls his eyes, “Tee hee,” he complies without enthusiasm, “You’re not dismissed from my office until all of your physical ailments are inspected and properly treated. Now please, your clothes? Many of us don’t wear clothes in the first place, so I don’t see why this is a problem.”

“A wise man once said, quote, ‘everything popular is wrong’.” The pony then lowered his pants. “Now buckin’ please get this over with...”

Sighing with relief that his patient relinquished the childish act, he went to take a look at the cut. It was a long gash that would definitely require stitches. “This isn’t just a cut that can be bandaged. I’m going to need...” As Case moved around to examine the wound more closely, he noticed that some certain parts normally present on a stallion were missing from Redhat. “Um, sir, forgive my prying, but were you involved in an accident of some type as a colt?”

“Why never, imma’ 100% buckin’ perfect specimen of the pony race!” he said, almost unfazed by the fact somepony was stitching up his flank.

Case had enough sense to see that the anatomy of the pony on the table corresponded more closely with that of a female than a male. It now became clear to him why the pegasus was reluctant to remove his clothes. It really wasn’t any of the doctor’s business whether he was transgender or not. The shape of Redhat’s face and the pitch of “his” voice did lend unusually well to that of a stallion, however. Perhaps he should keep this a secret? He kept silent for the rest of the treatment and released Redhat to go on his way. “I’ll keep an eye on your pet. I’ll do the best I can for her.”

“Should I wait here for that stuff you rubbed on my gummies to wear off first.... and I’d love to stay with the wolf, she’s my favorite bitch in the whole world!” she giggled a little at the pun.

“If you wish to do so, you are certainly welcome to. It may be another half-hour before you are completely sober again.”

“Uuuugh.... fine...” She got up and had a shakily trotted towards the closest chair. It didn’t take long before she fell flat on the ground, her hat falling off in the process. “Aw buck.... why the hell is this floor so damn slippery....”

Having rushed over to help, Case leaned over and hoisted Red onto his back with a hoof. “Are you hurt?” He carried her over to a couch and placed her down on it, “That’s just the drugs. Maybe you should lie down for a little while. Your pet isn’t going anywhere.” He then noticed that her face had seemed different from before, much rounder and feminine in shape. That’s curious. He retrieved her hat, noticing the strange symbols running along its interior. “Here, you dropped this.”

“Ooooh... I’lllllll take that....” she put it back on, her face looking completely normal again the exact moment it’s on. “Heh...” The hat was in a rather awkward position, and looked like it was about to fall off her head again.

“Um, I think you should be aware that I’ve noticed something peculiar here,” Case Study carefully said, “...you’re not really a stallion, are you Mr. Redhat?”

“Um.... I plead my goddamn given right to habeas corpus!” Then the hat slipped off. “Oh bollocks....” her voice sounded a lot more soft, this time.

Once again, the blue pony retrieved the fallen headwear. Trying to talk with her in this state was probably going to be fruitless, “I’m not trying to bridge any of your rights. May I ask, however, why you have chosen to conceal your true identity?” He gave the hat back to the inebriated pegasus.

“Aaaand why would I tell you.... For all you buck’n know I could just be a reeeally confused little filly or maybe I want to become a lawyer in world dominated by opposite sex! Oh oh wait... bucking hell I forgot...”

“I was merely curious,” the doctor replied after sitting in a nearby chair, “It’s within your rights to keep that a secret if you so wish to. I just hope that this doesn’t cause you any trouble in the future.” He could envisage what might occur if she was to enter into a relationship only to later reveal her true sex to this hypothetical lover.

“Can you just get me on a table... this floor is like a freakin’ slip’n’slide!” She said as she tried to get up again, only to fall over onto her bad hoof. “GHAA!”

“Please Mr...Ms...Mr. Redhat, can you stay seated?” A second time, he rescued her from her clutzy doom and laid her back down on the couch. He sighed in frustration, “Let me see your hoof...”

“Wait.. I was laying down.... buck...” she rose her hoof. “here here.”

The hoof wasn’t further injured. It was probably just the soreness, “As your doctor, I do not permit you to leave this couch until you are completely back to your senses. I would much rather not pull you from the floor a third time.”

“Yada Yada Yada...” she just whimpered and kept her head planted on the sofa cushion. “How much longer!”

“Not much more. Maybe twenty to twenty-five minutes.” This is going to seem to like an eternity, regardless.

She rolled onto her side and sighed “'Kay!” and the hat fell off again.

“Yes...just try to sleep it off...” He picked up the hat and set it on his desk. When Redhat went to leave, then Case would return it to her.

“Meh... ugh.... I’d like to consummate the fact that i’m sorry for being jack arse right now...”

“That’s fine...” Case tries to hide his annoyance as he crosses his forelegs, “Take your rest now...”

“Okay...”

, , , and

Cream Puff is where she usually is: working in the kitchen.  Anypony who knows her would say she seems a bit less energetic than usual, and they’d be right.  She’s still feeling a bit sulky about needing to be the mature pony instead of getting what she wants.

Into the kitchen comes Praetorian, looking a little bit too pleased with himself. “Come on, Cream Puff, we want to have you out for dinner.” His horn starts glowing, and Cream Puff feels a little tug on her.

“We?  Wait, what?”  She sets her knife down and tries to fight the tug.

“Come on, Cream Puff, there isn’t much time to waste. We can’t have you working in the kitchen all day when you’re unhappy like this, so come on out,” says the stallion, repeating the tug.

“But... but dinner’s in the oven!”

“Cream Puff, you never take enough time out for yourself.” He sighs. “How much longer will it take?”

Puff looks uncomfortable, but answers.  “30 minutes?  But the salad still needs to be composed!”

“Cream Puff! It can wait! I’m sure ponies won’t mind if they have to make their own salad today. It’ll remind them of how good they have it with you. Now come on, we don’t have much time to waste. We’ve got somepony who wants to talk with you.”

She looks confused and still uneasy, but doesn’t fight the pull any more.  “Talk with me?  Who?”

“Come on, you’ll like him,” says Praetorian.

Meanwhile, Temperance is sitting quietly at the north end of Duskfields, just at the defensive trench.  He’s staring off into the plains that extend out as far as the eye can see.  Everything was calm today.  He sighs and takes a sip from a jug of juice he’d brought with him, trying to decide if he should keep sitting there or get back to work.

Crosshair landed next to him, giving him a quick salute. “Sir? You’ve got to come with me.” She said urgently.

Concern forms on his face as he stands.  “What is it?”  Please don’t be more discordant ponies...

“No, not discordant ponies sir. Not as bad as that, but, please. Just follow me, there’s somepony that you need to talk to.” Crosshair continued to urge him.

“Alright,” he says, still looking gravely concerned.  Was anypony hurt?  Or upset?  He follows after her, and asks, “Who is it?  What’s the matter?”

Crosshair then beamed up into a smile when he begins to follow her “It’s nothing serious, sir. But please, just follow me. You’ll see soon enough.”

He looks a little less alarmed at that.  “Alright,” he says, following her quietly to wherever she decides to lead him.

Crosshair eventually lead him to the incomplete hospital shell, the place set up perfectly for the blind date.  He looks around the interior, quite confused at what he finds.  An ominous feeling was beginning to set in, like he should leave right now.

“It’s a Blind date, sir!” Crosshair chirped.

Temperance’s eye go wide and he stammers something incoherent at her.  Who in the world could she have roped into this?  Why?  “I, uh... a what?” he finally splutters.

Waiting for him are Cream Puff and Praetorian, Praetorian smiling like Crosshair. “Ah, Cream Puff, your date is here.”

That feeling of needing to bolt doesn’t really abate much for Temperance as he realizes just what was going on.  “Date?  W-wait a second now!”

“Don’t worry, sir,” says Praetorian in a soothing tone, as he walks over to him. “Just...have a good time. You two both deserve a chance at that, if anypony does.”

Temperance locks eyes with Cream Puff briefly, wondering how she felt about all of this.  Maybe he wouldn’t have to protest too much...

Cream Puff looks pretty uncertain, but also resigned to her fate.  “Heya Temperance.  I don’t think running is an option with these two.”

“I, uh, suppose not,” he says, clearly nervous.

She gestures at the seat across from her.  “Have a seat.  I don’t bite.”

He does as asked, taking a seat and tapping his forehooves together from the nerves.  What were you supposed to do on these dates again?  It had been close to a decade since he last tried this!  “So, um, did they get you to cook too?” he says in a joking tone, hoping to lighten the mood a bit.

Puff chuckles a bit.  “Not really.  Tor dragged me out of the kitchen before I could do much more than get the bread in the oven.  How about you?  Did Cross have to drag you away from the paperwork?”

“Surprisingly, no, actually,” he says, glancing at the pegasus as she left alongside Praetorian.  “I was taking a break at the time.  So... I guess now is as good a time as any,” he says with a small chuckle.

Puff looks a bit surprised at that.  “You take breaks?” she asks with a wink.

“Every once in a while.  I try to take one every month or so,” he jokes.  After a short pause he asks, “So, we haven’t really spoken much lately.  How have things been?”

Puff shrugs.  “Pretty good.  Having a real kitchen makes life so much easier, and I’ve been able to make real food instead of sammiches all day every day, heh.  I’ve even been talking with Serenity to get my anger under control, so hopefully I won’t go nuts the next time parasprites show up.  How about you?”

“That’s good to hear.  I’m sure you’ve found things a bit easier working in here than with what we had thrown together.”  He intentionally sidesteps the anger issue.  “I’ve been pretty well.  Busy as always,” he says with a smile.  She’d no doubt caught on long ago how much time he spent sequestered away in his office.

“You really should see about delegating some of that, Temperance.  ‘All work’ and all that.”

He nods slowly and looks aside.  “If we had anypony to spare, I’d love to.  But, everypony is stretched pretty thin as it is,” he says with a shrug.  “Twenty five of us doesn’t leave a whole lot of slack.  I’m sure you’d love to have some help in the kitchen too, for that matter.”

Puff nods.  “Yeah, I’m going to definitely need a sous chef or two real soon, especially if we keep growing like this.”

“Well, I don’t think we’ll have too many more show up in the immediate future.  I sent a letter home with the caravan asking Coupledye to hold back a bit for now, since we’re still taking so long to get sleeping accommodations for everypony.”  He chuckles.  “I hardly believed it when my sister said it would take so long to build everything, but she was right.”

Puff giggles.  “Still, things are going up surprisingly quickly when you consider how few ponies are here to do everything.”

“True enough, I suppose.”  A brief but awkward silence falls as Temperance runs out of ideas for idle chit-chat.  He hoped the food was already done... otherwise he was going to be boring poor Cream Puff to tears.

Puff has no idea what to say either, so she looks around at the decorations Crosshair and Praetorian set up.

As Temperance does the same, something finally comes to him.  “The two of them seem to have gone through an awful lot of trouble for this.  I bet you didn’t think you’d be here right now, did you?”  He certainly didn’t.  He had no idea why they were doing this either, or why they picked him anyway.

She turns back to him and chuckles.  “Heh, nope!  I expected to be busy serving food right about now.”

As if on cue, the door opens, and in comes a large plate, with a salad bowl on it. In it was a salad with romaine and spinach lettuce, red cabbage, green and black olives, cheddar, swiss and fresh mozzarella, cucumber and strips of red and yellow bell pepper, with a red wine vinegar and olive oil infused with basil, onion, garlic, and black pepper dressing. On the side are a few fresh greens, including celery, broccoli, cauliflower and peeled carrots served with a dip of some sort. Praetorian is carrying the plate in his magic.

Temperance’s eyes go wide as he sees and smells the food approaching.  “Well, that smells amazing.”

Puff looks surprised as well.  “Fire him.  Kick him out of the military.  I want him as my sous chef.”

Temperance chuckles and shakes his head.  She’d have a time convincing Flamberge of that, although if Praetorian or Crosshair could cook like this, they certainly seemed to have taken up the wrong career.

“This isn’t really my creation. Not so much. One of my friends suggested it,” says Praetorian. “He says it’s quite good.”

“You might not have invented it, but this looks like a fairly lengthy recipe.”  Puff eyes her friend.  “You sure you wouldn’t rather cook?”

“It smells heavenly, so it must taste it too.  Whether it was your idea or not, it couldn’t have been simple to make.”  Temperance continues to examine the food, salivating at the expectation of the flavor.

Praetorian doesn’t make a reply, and instead lays the plate down between them, before making his exit.

Temperance was certainly getting hungry now.  “Uh, well, shall we?” he asks, motioning for Puff to take some of the salad.  You were supposed to hold doors for fillyfriends, right?  What about food?  Was there a priority there?

Puff can’t help but giggle at him again before she takes his plate and portions out half the salad to him.  She then sees to her own plate and inhales the pleasant aroma.  “Mmm... definitely going to need to pester him for this one.”

“Thank you,” Temperance says with a smile.  He didn’t mean to make her serve him, but it was a bit late to stop that.  He samples the salad, finding it taste every bit as delicious as it smells.  After he swallows the first mouthful, he says, “Yes, I think you should.  Somepony is going to have to make more of this.”

Puff takes a bite and nods.  “I’m telling you: fire him.  He belongs in the kitchen if he can make this.”

He chuckles again in response, but says nothing as he downs a bit more of the salad.  As he takes a few pieces of carrot to dip, he says, “So, you know, it never really occurred to me that we haven’t really sat down and had a long chat.  I’m not sure I ever even caught the reason you decided to join us out here at Duskfields.  Or where you learned to cook.”

“I was apprenticed to Soufflé, and was ready to start my journeyponyship.  An expedition seemed like the perfect opportunity.  Fresh ingredients are so hard to get back in Coupledye, you know?”  Puff chats between bites, looking rather comfortable.

He nods and chews on the carrots thoughtfully.  “That’s for sure.  Maize and Morning Dew certainly are doing a fantastic job with the crops.  I’m not sure I’ve ever had better food back in Coupledye than out here.”

Puff smiles and even blushes slightly.  Having ponies she knows well compliment her food is one thing, having the stallion in charge echo them is another.  “Thanks, Temperance!  Only thing we really need to put Duskfields on the culinary map is a few cows.  Sheep’s milk is all well and good, but doesn’t make very good cream.”

“I know what you mean,” he says, slowing his eating a hair.  “I wish I’d have had a chance to talk with the liaison.  The caravan brought hardly a thing, and there’s quite a bit we really need out here.  A few more farm animals is definitely on the list.”

“What else is on the list?”  Puff looks genuinely curious as she asks.  She had never really thought about what all Temperance actually does.  She knows he’s a busy stallion, but never realized how many things he has to keep track of.

He shrugs and stirs his salad a bit.  “Well, mostly some metal and stone.  It’s been a bit embarrassing to have a few ponies with a knack for working it and none to speak of.”  He takes a bite and stirs his food a bit more.  “Smoothblock says that the ground is saturated with water not far down, which is great for the crops but means we can’t really dig a mine of any kind.”  He shakes his head.  “I never thought I’d hear it was hard to find stone.”

Puff nods.  “I’ve talked with SmoothBlock about the difficulties, but I don’t know any specifics about why it’s so hard to get past all that water.  She mentioned something about pumps and making walls, though.  Sounds like we’d need pumps first, heh.”

“Yep, all stuff I know almost nothing about.  I trust she knows what she’s talking about though.  We can probably spare the ponypower to run a few pumps, but first the carpenters would have to take some time away from building more bedrooms.”  He dips another carrot.  “Sleeping arrangements for everypony seem a bit more important to me right now, but I would feel a lot better if the soldiers had better armor and weapons...”

“Yeah, it’d be nice to see them protected by more than hopes and prayers.  Do you know if there’s any metal under the soaked soil?”

“No idea,” he answers truthfully.  “We’re actually not that far from an old survey site where they considered setting up a mining outpost.  Some unicorns could detect metal underground there, but I guess the aquifer discouraged them from setting up there.”  He recalls the discordant pony attack and adds, “And maybe the locals.”

“Or the weather.  Those clouds are bad news.”

He sighs.  “They certainly look that way.  I wish I knew what they were exactly.  I get the feeling they’re not just dust clouds, but I’m no unicorn, so all I can do is look at them and wonder.”  Watching them really gave him the creeps, but this was drifting away from pleasant dinner conversation.  “But, anyway, I’ve been doing a little planning with the farmers, and they’re going to be planting a few more crops this coming year.  Some pumpkins and watermelons for sure.  Probably some tomatoes too.”  He gives her a small smile.  “Think you can work with those?”

Puff smiles in return.  “Definitely!  Tomatoes have a million uses, and who doesn’t like watermelon?”

Temperance makes a small laugh.  “I certainly like both.  I’m looking forward to seeing what you do with them.  And perhaps Praetorian.”  He finishes the last bit of salad on his plate.  “Maybe the next time the caravan rolls through they’ll bring us seeds for some new crops too.”

“I know Maize would love that!”  Puff finishes her meal and leans back slightly in contentment.  “And I would, too.  Variety is the spice of life, as they say.”

“Absolutely,” he echoes, sitting back himself.  So... what now?  He taps a forehoof against a hindleg as he thinks.  Perhaps they should go for a walk or something?  Not that there was really all that much to explore, especially in private.

So Praetorian comes back in to check how things are going, capisce? He comes in, maybe to have a word to Temperance, and maybe if he don’t like the response, say the same word, maybe a little louder; or maybe do a little community work. Maybe help quite a lot of old mares over quite a lot of roads, you get me? Maybe give him the gout, in the hoof!

“Are you finished, Temperance, Cream Puff?” he asks.

Puff nods at him.  “Yep!  That was a good meal, Tor.”

“It was, thank you very much,” Temperance adds with a smile.

“That’s good to hear. I’ll take these dishes, and leave you two alone to talk, if you wish.”

“Do you two have any other surprises for us?”  Puff gives him a friendly smile as she asks.  She was unsure about this at first, but it hasn’t developed into the disaster she expected.

“I am afraid not. I am sure Crosshair, at least, will want to know the result of this first date, but until you wish to tell her, I’m sure I can calm her curiosity.”

The ‘date’ was going better than Temperance had expected too, but he really had no idea what to do now.  He didn’t really know Cream Puff that well, so he wasn’t sure what to talk about.  He smiles and nods Praetorian off and says, “Perhaps you should do that then.”

He then looks back to Cream Puff, and after a few moments he asks, “So, we’ve established that I’m a bit too much of a workaholic, but what do you do in your down time?”

Puff shrugs.  “I’m a bit of a workaholic too.  Seems like I’m always in the kitchen.  Still, I manage to find time to hang out with my friends.  Tor, Maize, Crosshair of course, Flamberge.  Should I see about adding you to that list, Temperance?”

“Well, I could certainly use somepony to drag me out of my office on occasion,” he says with a chuckle.  That was more serious than he’d like to admit.  “How are the four of them, by the way?  I haven’t really spoken with any of them that much recently either.”

“Crosshair and Tor are doing well enough to set us up on this date, heh.  Flamberge and her are doing pretty well together.  Maize is still pretty shy, but she’s opening up more and more, and her and Praetorian make such a cute couple!”  Puff wisely decides not to mention the effect the clouds have on Maize and Crosshair, or her longing for Flamberge.

“That’s good to hear.  I was really worried about Maize, actually.  I wasn’t sure if she was alright, but it’s good to know she’s opening up to a few of us at least.”

The two continue the chit chat for a while, maybe half an hour or so..  They talk a bit about how things are going, where Duskfields was headed, and a few odds and ends here and there.  As time wears on, they start to run out of things to discuss, so they decide to call it a night and part ways.  They kept the mood light and friendly, and as they each decide to head home, Temperance feels that’s how things would probably stay.

He appreciates the effort that Crosshair and Praetorian went through to set up the little date, and while he’s glad he had a chance to catch up with Cream Puff and looks forward to talking with her again in the future, he doesn’t think they’re too likely to have any more particularly private get togethers.

Love was a strange thing, and not something he could predict though.  Who could say what would eventually happen?

and

Serenity sits at her- well, no, Temperance’s desk, carefully transcribing her latest patient’s last session into a large, thick book.

A loud knock at the door was heard, “Hello?”

Serenity looks up. “Yes? Please come in.”

The door creaked open, and the green pony slipped in awkwardly. “um... hello..”

She closes the book, setting it aside. “Hello... Redhat, is it? Were you looking for Temperance, or did you need to speak with me?”

“You, actually.” he said, looking around for a seat.

Serenity’s horn glows, and a small hoofmade sign proclaiming ‘With patient - please come back later!’, floats up and hangs on the door, which shuts with a click. Serenity turns her gaze back to Redhat, her hooves clasped before her. “So... what did you want to tell me?”

He took a seat on the closest chair, and sighed. “Well... I had somepony inform me I should come here... what exactly do you usually help with?”

Serenity raises an eyebrow. “...I don’t usually help with anything in particular. I help ponies with a wide variety of mental and emotional issues. Did this pony say why you should see me?”

“I believe he did...” He sighed and tried to think of a way to change the topic. “So... you help with emotional problems?”

Serenity notes the stallion’s attempt to dodge the question, but decides to move on. “Yes... is that what you’re here for?”

“Well yes.”

She nods. “Alright, what is the problem, specifically?”

Redhat looked down. “I’m actually a rather depressed pony, could you fix that?”

“Well, let’s find out just what we’re dealing with first. What sorts of things make you feel depressed?”

“When I look around and I realise the only real thing that can bear by presence for more than a minute is a dog.”

Serenity nods. “I take it you have trouble getting along with others?”

“Well yes” he really started to regret coming here. “I just... they can can become so insufferable so fast...”

“In what way?”

“Just, I feel like every moment i’m they’re judging me.”

“Well, I can tell you they aren’t constantly judging you. Ponies typically form an opinion about somepony in a split second, and it takes a bit of time and effort to change.”

“Still, they deem themselves above me and... well.. I get rather jackassy around ponies too...”

Serenity nods. “Yes, I do seem to recall hearing Praetorian mention something about some comments you made off-hoof. Well, that being the case, it sounds to me like the root of your problem is poor self-control.”

“I’m assuming good self control isn’t something you can take pill for.”

She shakes her head. “No, you have to learn it yourself. Though I can certainly help you, if you need it.”

“Yeah...” the pony sighed loudly. He didn’t seem all too thrilled.

“Well, why don’t we jump right in, then?”

Over the next hour and a half, Serenity walks Redhat through a few simple mental techniques designed to help him remain calm and collected.