//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Sting Like a Bee // by Gojipower12 //------------------------------// Twilight sat in her massive library, burrowing her snout into a large purple book containing countless information on alchemy. She had just turned a page when a obnoxiously loud series of sneezes blasted into her ears from upstairs. The lavendar alicorn turned around to see a very dreary Spike stumble downstairs. Had he not been holding on to the rails, the little dragon would’ve tumbled downstairs like a falling ragdoll. “The soup’s not working on your cold, is it? Maybe I should have warmed it up longer...” Twilight said while giving a concerned look for her ailing little brother. “Don’t beat yourself up over it, Twi. It’s not your soup’s fault this dumb cold is too... ACHOO! aggressive. Now I can’t even lie down without having my... ACHOOO! sinuses act up...” Spike groaned. Twilight sighed before turning her attention to her doorbell. Twilight trotted towards the castle’s front doors and opened it, meeting Fluttershy at the entrance. “Fluttershy, what a surprise! How are you?” Twilight asked. “I’m doing good. Twilight, I need to talk to you about a little situation. Rainbow Dash and I found a Volkswagen Beetle in the Everfree forest.” “A Volkswagen Beetle? But don’t manufactorers only make cars for rich ponies? What was it doing in the Everfree?” “I’m not completely sure how it ended up in the Everfree in the first place, but something... unique happened. I need you to come see for yourself.” Twilight raised an eyebrow in confusion as she looked at her friend. “Um, sure....?” *** Bumblebee walked, or rather, crawled around Fluttershy’s living room as he looked at the odd yet interesting decorations Fluttershy placed in her cottage. Bumblebee was lucky he wasn’t so big. The little Autobot had initially feared to go inside the cottage believing he would be too big for it and break something important to the pegasus. But fortunately Bumblebee was small enough to be able to sit upright without smashing a hole in the roof. Bumblebee noticed a camera sitting on a high-strung shelf. Having curiosity get the best of him, Bumblebee picked up the device in his right servo and held it close to his faceplate, inspecting it closely. ~ What is this thing? ~ Bumblebee noticed their was a small button at the top of the camera. He placed a digit on the button, pressing it gently. The Autobot yelped when the camera made a sharp clicking sound followed by a blinding flash of light that momentarily stunned Bumblebee. Bumblebee immediately let go of the camera, instantly realizing his mistake as he fumbled the device in his servos as he tried to catch it. His effort was for naught as the camera slipped between Bumblebee’s servos and smashed on the wooden floor, shattering into several pieces. Uh oh. Bumblebee placed his servos on the sides of his helm as he began panicking over the broken camera, trying his hardest to piece it back together. It was no use, the camera was too damaged. Bumblebee let out a audible groan as he flailed his arms hopelessly. ~The nice pony’s gonna be so mad I broke her flashy box thing...~ The sound of a wooden door opening ripped Bumblebee’s attention away from the shattered camera, alarming the Autobot. Without much thought, Bumblebee shoved the pieces underneath the shelf, turning around to see Fluttershy and Twilight walk in the living room. “Fluttershy, how did you manage to bring the car inside-“ Twilight said, cutting off her sentence the second she laid her eyes on Bumblebee. For a few long moments, a bewildered Twilight stood still as she stared at Bumblebee in shock. “That’s.... That’s the Volkswagen I told you about.” “Oh...” Bumblebee inched away from Twilight before looking at Fluttershy for guidance. “It’s okay. She’s a friend.” Fluttershy said. Twilight slowly approached the Autobot with a expression of disbelief on her face. “I can’t believe it. A technologically advanced mech is standing in Fluttershy’s living room. Look at it, I never seen any tech like his. I wonder how the mech’s creator even pulled it off!” Twilight said with excitement. “Twilight, if I may ask, do you think you can help fix some of Mister.... Um.... I’m sorry, were you given a name?” Fluttershy asked, looking at Bumblebee. The yellow mech looked at her for a moment before reaching his servos around his frame. Bumblebee let out a small groan as he dug under his grill until he pulled out a small car freshener molded in the shape of a bee. Bumblebee handed the freshener to Fluttershy, watching the pegasus look at the object. Fluttershy noticed a white tag hanging under the edge of the freshener that read “Bumblebee”. “Oh, so your name is “Bumblebee” then?” Fluttershy asked. Bumblebee gave her a simple nod before turning his gaze back to the lavendar alicorn. “It’s nice to meet you, Bumblebee. Now, what were you going to ask me, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked. “Bumblebee was wounded when I found him. Do you think you can repair the damage?” Fluttershy responded. “Certainly.”