Rainbow pushed open the wooden door to the Demos Express building, trotting in after it. The room was well lit by a pair of windows and several candles. Upon entering, she was greeted by a wall. A door was in the corner of the wall, with the rest of the wall taken up by a large desk. Behind it, sat a female Demigryph, wearing a dark brown and light yellow checkered shirt and a red bandana around her neck.

"Can I help you, Ma'am?", she said.

Rainbow said, "Yeah. I-I'm here cause someone named Steven wanted to see me."

"Ah, ok. You must be...Whatever you are that the guards gave ol' Cass. Just wait here a minute. I'll go get the boss." With that, she stood up from a seat hidden behind the desk and walked off.

There wasn't anything for her to sit down on, so she more or less just stood there. Looking back and forth, she didn't really see much. Just the same boring wood and shadows that she saw on her way into the building. She sat down, then folded out her wing to look at the injury.

It looked a lot worse than it likely was. Sure, the scabbed over wound and the dried blood would hinder her somewhat, but it was negligible in flight at worst. However, it itched like Tartarus, and she had to resist the urge to scratch and pick at it. She looked up at the gap in the wall. Still nothing.

She began to tap her hooves and shift slightly. She was never able to sit still for more than a few minutes at most, especially when she was bored. Looking down, she studied her legs next. They were also only lightly injured, at most a few cuts from what she guessed were the ropes digging in particularly hard or something. Then, she remembered a rather important thing about these two wounds in particular.

The pony; the one who she had killed on the road. She began to breathe harder, a look of panic crossing her face. I-I killed somepony. I killed them. She knew it was an accident, and that he had attacked her. She had also killed that weird animal out of that cave about a week ago, and a few timberwolves back in Equestria. And sure, she had gotten into fights with other ponies. But none of these comforts helped to alleviate the guilt.

"You all right, miss?", said a voice that cut through the silence of the room. Looking up, she saw that Demigryph standing in the now open doorway.

"Yeah. I'm fine", Rainbow replied back, hoping her voice didn't crack or something. That would be so uncool.

"If you say so," the Demigryph said. "Well, in any case, Mr. Tyler will see you now. Just go up the stairs at the end of the hall. His office is the only room on the second floor."

"Thanks." She trotted past the demigryph, who in turn slide past her into another door leading back behind the counter. Rainbow followed her instructions, going to the stairs at the end of the hall and going up them. At the top, she found a small door, a small metal plate saying 'Manager: Tyler B.' on it. She didn't bother knocking and simply pushed open the door.

Inside was a small room, dominated mostly by a large desk overflowing with papers and a chair in front of it. Behind it sat one of the pony-like creatures: A Bighorn if she recalled correctly. He wore a nicer looking white shirt, a small black scarf, and a hat similar to the one Applejack wore when playing Smart Cookie at the Hearths Warming play. "Ah, hello," he said. "I see you let yourself in. Well, come, take a seat."

After she sat down, she said, "Alright, I'm here. What is it you want?"

"Straight to the point. I like that." He then reached under his desk, pulling out a clay bottle with a cork over it and two wooden cups. "Care for a drink?"

"No thanks." Now Rainbow was starting to get a little frustrated.

"Suit yourself." He poured himself a cup, sliding the unused cup and the bottle back into the desk. He then took a sip, sighed, and leaned back in his chair. "So, to business. Now, from what the guards told me, they found you in a crater just outside of this town, at least half a dozen brigands chasing you. Correct?"

"About the gist of it."

"And said crater they found you in was in the middle of the hard-packed dirt road?"

"Yes, now can you get to the point!?"

"Ok, ok. Now, it is to my understanding that you, supposedly, flew; And that you made the crater when you crashed after a brigand hit you with a sling. Is it true? Can you fly?"

Rainbow couldn't help but puff out her chest and crack a grin. "Not only that, but I'm the best flyer in Equestria!"

Tyler cocked his head, his eyes blinking. Celestia, that's creepy. "I- Can't say I've heard of Equestria."

Her cocky smile turning awkward, she said, "Right. Heh, heh. Point is, I'm good."

Now it was Tyler's turn to smile. "Excellent. Miss... I'm sorry, I never got your name."

"Rainbow Dash."

After a barked laugh, he said, "You equines always did have funny names. Anyway, miss Dash, I have a proposition for you. One that I could make great use of your talents for."

"And that job is...."

"Tell me, miss Dash. How often have you seen one of these posts? Of the Demos Express, I mean."

"Um, just this one. I'm kinda new around here."

"Ah, I see. Well, point is, the Demos express is primarily a caravan company. We use pack boars and carts to transport goods between various towns, farms, etc. However, we have recently started employing couriers; Individuals transporting smaller packages to locations either further away or more isolated. Now, generally, these couriers have to be well-armed, armored, and be very skilled, as there is plenty who would be willing to hurt them on the road. Brigands, wild animals, and gods know what else. However, in your case, you can bypass all that all together! You don't need to stick to the roads; you can fly right over them!"

"So, you want me to work for you?"

"For the company, yes. It pays quite well, and due to your, unique biology, I'm sure I can arrange an even larger sum for you. What do you say, eh?" As he finished, he held out his hand over the desk, no doubt waiting for a shake.

Rainbow thought it over. On one hoof, she didn't know If she could trust him. However, looking it over, she saw the other hoof had a better point. She needed work, she would be able to fly, she could maybe make something over herself. Besides, it wasn't like she had anything else going for her. All she had were her goggles, and she couldn't really think of anything else she could do for a job. So, this was probably the best option she had.

So, she reached over the desk, took his paw, shook it, and said, "You got yourself a deal."

Next Chapter: 18~First run (PT.1) Estimated time remaining: 8 Hours, 43 Minutes