Canterlot Vale Estate, Two Miles South of Canterlot

'I still don't know why Dad suggested coming here...' thought Archer. The young earth pony ran her fingers through her light brown mane, checking to make sure her ponytail was still tight, before pulling out a pocket mirror to look over her face one last time. With no noticeable blemishes in her golden brown fur, Archer sighed. 'Well, here goes nothing...'

Before the mare had a chance to knock on the door, it swung open to reveal a navy blue unicorn. Most prominent was a hairline crack running down his horn, disappearing in his dark mane. "Miss Archer I presume?" He asked.

Archer nodded. "Yes sir.

The stallion rolled his eyes. "Didn't your father tell you to avoid the whole 'sir' bit?" As Archer began to blush, the stallion stifled a chuckle. "Just remember, it's Dusk."

Archer stepped inside, before following Dusk down the hall to a decent sized office. The walls were occupied by bookshelves, framed blueprints, and a single picture of a group of ponies on the far wall. It was almost like it had a gravitational pull, drawing Archer to it like a moth to open flame. It was a decent size group, but two figures stood out as familiar. One was this Dusk character she was visiting, albeit younger and less battered. The other was her father Cosmo, decked out in his trademark black sportcoat, blending in seamlessly with his charcoal colored coat and grey mane.

"Now you see why dear old dad said you should talk to me for your report." Said Dusk. "Now, what do you know about me?"

Archer grabbed a chair and slid up closer to Dusk. "I know you're an entrepreneur, and you're part of the reason that human vehicles were reverse engineered and simplified for public consumption."

"That's just what I've done in my retirement." Noted the stallion. "But that isn't the topic of discussion for today."

"Come again?"

"What do you know about the Enclave?" Asked Dusk.

"The Enclave? Why bring up a bunch of terrorists?"

"Like I said, what I've done has been in my retirement. Before that..." Dusk paused. "Archer you're one of the best writers in the Vanhoover area, even if you're just a schoolfilly. So what'll be more interesting; hearing the story of how me and my team stopped the Enclave, or how I helped us develop a more mobile society?"

Archer looked down at her hands before she returned her gaze to Dusk. "I remember you now... You were in Vanhoover during the flood."

Dusk nodded. "That's right. I was also there when Cosmo took you out of Marcie's wailing." Dusk leaned back in his chair and sighed. "I know you might not care to hear it, but I'm sorry about your birth parents."

Archer looked like she was about to cry, but managed to choke down the look and regain her composure. "You've been keeping tabs on me, haven't you?"

Dusk nodded once again. "I was also the pony who sent you your mother's amulet. I found it on her corpse, and I couldn't justify leaving it to get stolen by looters."

"But why talk to me?" Asked Archer. "If you're really this big hero you could talk to anypony you want to."

Dusk chuckled. "Simply put Archer, every story has a time to be told. It's been ten years since the war with the Enclave ended. By now the wounds left over have healed enough where it is now appropriate to chronicle those events. You have the raw talent where, in my mind, there is no better pony to record the first hand accounts about our group of misfits. Now didn't you bring a few things with you?"

Archer pulled out a recorder, setting it to record while pulling out a brand new notepad. "You said there was a group... What did you call yourselves?"

Dusk leaned forward, cocky smirk plastered across his face. "We called ourselves Blaze Squad."

Author's Note

Time for an improved Prologue... Way better than the original (as far as I'm concerned).