"Well, first things first," Said Steven. "I just need you to do a quick delivery. Not too far, nothing too serious. Just an evaluation of your skill and speed. And if you get back alive."

Slightly unnerved by that last bit, Rainbow said, "Er. Well, what do you want me to do?"

"Like I said, just a simple run. One of the town guards, Cameron, has a sister who lives in Shorris, another town down the road. Roughly a week as the average courier walks. I want to see how fast it takes as the....I'm sorry. What are you called?"

"A Pegasi," Rainbow groused.

"Ah, yes. Thank you," He said as if he hadn't paused in the first place. "Anyway, as fast as the pegasi flies. You go to the express post in town, get the address, then deliver the letter and come back. We'll discuss your payment when you're done. Sound alright to you?"

"Sure."

"Splendid. Splendid. Now, just go downstairs and talk to Diana. She's my receptionist and the one who handles the storehouse. She'll hook you up with some gear and the letter. Just come on up when you get back."

Rainbow walked down the stairs, contemplating her new job. She was, essentially, a glorified mailmare. Just bucking perfect. Well, not like I got anything better to do.

When she got downstairs, she knocked on the door that Diana had gone into. When the demigryph exited, Rainbow said, "Steven said you would hook me up with some stuff?"

"Ah," she said. "So, he hired you as a courier, huh? Well, hope you last. You seem like a nice equine, and couriers don't last long, even when compared to caravan guards. Anyway, yeah, I'll get you some stuff. Follow me."

While not regretting it, Rainbow was beginning to feel a little nervous. Already both of her co-workers had stated how dangerous the job was, and it wasn't exactly a cheering crowd to inspire her. Well, a little late to pull out now, eh Rainbow?

Diana led her into a room behind her desk, lit mostly by an oil lamp hanging from the ceiling. The still pretty dark room was mostly full of boxes and sealed clay pots/jars. A series of alcoves dotted one wall, the alcoves mostly filled with smaller boxes. She could see the labels, but apparently, the runic thing-a-magig was only able to translate spoken words, as she had no idea what they said. Diana went to and pulled out a bin on the lower levels of the alcoves, and pulled out some clothes and other items.

The clothes were simple enough: a red cotton shirt, brown leather wind-breaker, and a black hat that looked somewhere between a fedora and a baseball cap with a red band. All of them looked old and well worn, with even a few holes poking through. Additional objects included a leather single saddlebag (She had seen this style before; they were strung around the rear legs as opposed to the flank and were designed to rest on the lower part of the back, just above the flanks.), a canteen on a braided cord, a rolled-up bedroll, a bandana, and a sheathed sword.

"Here's your stuff. Go ahead, put 'um on." As Rainbow complied with the command, Diana continued. "I'll leave the letter on the pack, along with a map and a compass. Just take it to the Express place in Shorris, then to the persons house, then back here. No detours, as few breaks as possible, and the gods preserve you if you lose the package. Now, I still got some work to do, so just come back out when you're finished." Without even waiting for Rainbow to respond, she wheeled on her paws and left.

As she left, Rainbow finished sliding on the windbreaker. It was a little tight on her, and wasn't in the best condition in the first place, but it would do. Rainbow didn't like wearing clothes all that much, but she felt it might be necessary. If nothing else, she had been asked to, and she didn't really want to lose her job after barely five minutes. That would be so un-awesome.

She slide the bag over her hind legs, clipped on the canteen to the side of it, and fastened the straps to the bedroll. Then, she simply stood and looked down at the sword. It was more a long knife, barely coming past 12 inches of blade as far as she could tell, held in a simple black sheath. The leather-covered handle stuck out of the end, with a simple metal bar running out of one side acting as a guard. Rainbow spent a good two minutes just looking at it.

She didn't want to take it. She had seen what she had done with just a knife, and she didn't want to kill somepony else. Even with all of her bragging about being in fights back home, it made her sick to her stomach. Slowly, she calmed herself, rationalizing it in her head. It was a simple mantra she repeated to herself, which she somehow knew was false but hoped would be true: I won't have to use it. It'll just be to scare them off. I won't have to use it. It'll just be to scare them off. I won't have to use it... Finally, after a little more hesitation, she picked up the surprisingly heavy blade and tied off the sheath loops to the side of the bag.

She put on the hat, then trotted out the door. Like she said, Diana was at her desk as she walked by, looking over a few pieces of what looked like rough paper, not even bothering to even acknowledge her. Rainbow followed suit, walking out the door without a word. Once outside, she pulled out the map, studying it.

According to it, Shorris was actually kinda far away. Like Tyler said, it was a long walk off, if Rainbow was reading the map correctly, almost 60 miles. She saw a few other towns as well: Berrlot, Falkorville, Attaistown, and Stromae. Roads and paths crisscrossed the map like a pile of worms somepony dug up during a storm, heading in one direction as they split off and formed junctions. A few places had a red X over them, which Rainbow guessed were areas to avoid. In the corner, she saw another arrow, this one pointing off the map toward someplace or something called 'Pryhia'.

Well, enough standing around with my plot in my mouth. Time to head on out. Rainbow spread her wings, the cracking muscles feeling nice and loose from their extended rest. A few experimental flaps, a quick sneer of focus, and she shot off into the air like a train from a station. She smiled as she did a quick loop in the air, basking in her freedom. "Ohhhhhh, yeah! I still got it!" After a few seconds of simply flying above the town, she angled back and dashed parallel to the ground in the direction of Shorris.

At least, she thought it was. She didn't look at the compass, nor the sky, and ended up going the wrong way. When she realized her mistake, she had flow for at least half an hour. With an annoyed sighed and a slumped back, she whipped around and shot off in the right direction this time.

Next Chapter: 19~Nightmares and fears Estimated time remaining: 8 Hours, 38 Minutes