Conditioned From Birth

Twilight, Rainbow, Spike, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Applejack lazed around the Alicorn's house. Since the inception of the civilian public safety unit, crime and poverty had steadily declined. During the days spent recovering from their training, they kept in contact with their supporters - online and off. They were more than content with the outcome of the situation.

Everyone was almost ready to turn in for the night when an unexpected knock emanated from the exterior side of the door. Twilight opened it to see the nation's elected executive and founder of their organization, Celestia, standing in front of her.

"Ms. Celestia?"

"Hello, Twilight."

"I wasn't expecting to see you today."

"There's been a disaster. I'm in need of your assistance."

The expressions of Twilight and her friends turned even more serious than they were before.

"Please, come in."

"Thank you."

"Can I get you anything?"

"A cup of tea, if it's not too much trouble."

"Not at all."

Twilight stepped into the kitchen. She filled her kettle with water and placed it atop the stove burner. Once it reached a high enough temperature, she mixed in the tea. Pouring a cup, she levitated it to her representative.

"Delicious as always."

"I try."

"I know. That's why I've approached all of you with this task."

"What's wrong?"

"Have you monitored the weather recently?"

"No. Why?"

"A small community in the central region of the continent recently came under siege by forces of nature."

"Forces of nature?"

"Specifically, a tornado followed by a hurricane. The residents were driven out of their homes."

"Were there any fatalities," Twilight asked. A tinge of sadness crept into her voice.

"Do not despair. They are all safe and sound."

Twilight breathed easily with this news.

"The structures in the area have been reduced to ruins. I ask of you, with hat in hoof, to restore the village and repair the harm these disasters have caused to their livelihoods."

"We would, but...It's outside of our jurisdiction."

"Funny you should mention that."

Celestia levitated seven manila envelopes next to her - one for each of them. Twilight opened hers first. She pulled out an updated identification badge.

"You have proven yourselves valuable assets concerning the well-being of the people. I'm granting you full authorization to carry out your duties across all Northwestern regions."

"This is huge!"

"Check the bottom of the envelope."

Twilight did as she was instructed. She found an earpiece and a visual leg communicator. She positioned the earpiece and spoke into it.

"Hello?"

"Twilight? Is that you?"

"May I ask who's speaking?"

"It's me - DragonMaster."

"DragonMaster!?"

Everyone else perked up at the purple mare's response.

"I took you guys' advice and quit my old job. Now I can spend more time with my girlfriend and our daughter."

"That's great. I'm happy for you."

"Celestia taught me a few technical skills when I asked to join the team. I'm on standby until you need me."

"We're not leaving until morning at the earliest. Get some rest."

"Copy that."

Twilight chuckled a little before returning her attention to Celestia.

"There's still a problem. Our funds aren't enough to purchase the materials."

"I'll be providing the funding. Everything's already been set. I'm afraid I must take my leave now, however."

"Can I say one more thing?"

"Of course."

"I respect you - both as a leader and a friend. It takes someone of truly unshakable resolve to lead with benevolence."

"I'm honored to hear you say those words, but I do not deserve them. I'm just a figurehead. Without any of you to take action, none of this would be possible."

"Leave it to us."

Rainbow Dash rotated her head in a circular motion, cracking her neck loud enough for the room to hear.

"Let's rock and roll."

The next morning, Twilight made breakfast for everyone. Afterwords, they went into town to purchase the necessary construction equipment. While there, they were contacted by DragonMaster again.

"I'm sending you guys the coordinates, blueprints, and schematics on your communicators."

The party took a look at the plans.

"Woah," Rainbow commented, "This is all groundbreaking technological stuff that just barely came out!"

"Yep. Real state-of-the-art stuff. The materials are being delivered as we speak. Most of them should be there by the time you reach the village."

"We'll be leaving once we're done here," Twilight informed him, "Rainbow, Fluttershy, Spike, and myself will fly there anatomically. The others will board a plane. We should be there in about four hours if things go smoothly."

"Roger. I'll be on standby if you need me."

"Spend some time with your family until then."

"I will."

The active members of the CPSU arrived at the village around the time they speculated they would. It was a fair deal chillier than back home.

"Celestia wasn't kidding," Rainbow addressed, "This place is a wreck."

"DragonMaster, come in," Twilight summoned, "We're going to start clearing the debris. Is that okay?"

"That should be just fine."

"Right."

Through a combination of magic, physical force, and pure willpower, the crew completed a third of the cleaning process on the first day. They set up camp at dusk.

"I'm pooped," Rainbow complained, "Pass me a water, would ya'?"

Twilight took a clear bottle from her satchel and tossed it to her compatriot. She guzzled it greedily.

"Whooo, that tastes good!"

"Don't quote me on this, but if I remember correctly, intense work triggers ketones in your liver when your salt or water supplies are low. Those ketones temporarily alter your perception of taste and persuade you to re-energize by making food and liquid taste better."

"Well, it works. Anybody got any marshmallows?"

Two days later, Twilight and the others finished cleaning. On the fourth day, she checked in with DragonMaster again.

"Debris removal is finished. We're about to tear the rest down. Is everything clear?"

"You're good to go."

"Thanks."

With the next step approved, the group dismantled the destroyed homes down to their foundations.

"We'll have to uproot everything."

"Which replacement foundations should we install," Spike questioned.

"Concrete basement foundations with flood protection measures. We're reinforcing everything to defend against extreme conditions."

"If this were an RPG, no bosses would be getting through these preparations."

"That's a neat way to think about it."

One month passed. Everyone worked from sunrise to sunset. Rainbow in particular inadvertently pushed herself to the point of illness. Twilight nursed her back to health while the others continued rebuilding the once desolated place.

"I thought I was supposed to be stronger than this...," the Pegasus groaned.

"Even the strongest people have their limits. The only way to surpass them is to continue improving on what you've already learned."

"You think I've done a good job?"

"Of course I do - in more ways than one."

"...Thanks for taking care of me."

"What are friends for, right?"

Rainbow nodded.

"Yeah."

When the job was finally completed, everything from the plumbing to the electric outlets had been masterfully engineered for maximum safety and efficiency. Before Twilight could contact DragonMaster, she received a transmission from Celestia.

"How are things progressing?"

"We just finished up. It's time to go home."

"You're finished!? How is that possible!?"

"We never gave up."

"Oh...I see..."

Twilight started walking. The rest of the septet followed behind her.

"Is something wrong?"

"Well, I'm not entirely certain how to phrase this, but...I won't be able to compensate you for your efforts."

"Don't worry about it. We knew it would take a lot of funding to correct this debacle."

"I'm sure the villagers will appreciate what you've done."

"You're misunderstanding. We didn't do this for appreciation or personal gain. We did it because it was the right thing to do. That's all. Blood, sweat, and tears are what made it possible for the world to advance. That's always been and always will be true."

"I suppose you're right. Even at my age, sometimes a reminder of what's important is necessary."

"When you hear from DragonMaster, please tell him we owe him for guiding us through this."

"I shall."

The party reached the edge of a grassy cliff. Each of them lied down. They allowed the wind to freely blow over them as they drifted off for a while. They rested easy knowing their relentless persistence permitted them to succeed in restoring security to those who needed it.