Spitfire and Old Silver

by The FraudulentBrit

Two for one Deal

Spitfire had to admit to herself that she never would have thought she would ever go behind any pony’s back. However there was one pony she couldn’t stand, and she hadn’t realized it until about fourteen hours ago. Of course, that pony was her brother, Old Silver. As she flew towards Cloudsdale, the cool night wind refreshing to her worn out body, she thought back to his…. his everything. On one hand, why couldn’t he take his nickname with pride? Sure, he had his little wing stumps, but every Wonderbolt had an embarrassing nickname, and even Rainbow Dash could handle it, so why couldn’t he? On top of that, whenever Stumpy wasn’t alone with her like in the mess hall that morning, he responded to every order she gave him with a smug comeback or even calling her “sis” or “lil’ sis.”

Perhaps what she hated the most about seeing Stumpy again was that his presence was ruining team morale. Whenever the Wonderbolts flew over or around Silver or one of his sailor flunkies, Crash or one of the other team mates would stop flying and try directing her to him. Spitfire shook her head at the thought; she was captain of the Wonderbolts, and a captain commanded respect. It was, in retrospect, one of the only good lessons she learned from her predecessor, Wind Rider.

And here she was, flying towards Cloudsdale, or rather, to the unemployment office and shelter. Just like anywhere else in Equestria, there were always more ponies than jobs available, so most cities had a shelter for down on their luck ponies until they could find steady employment somewhere. Spitfire landed outside the shelter and paused for a moment. She wondered if she was doing the right thing, but then she remembered the reason she was doing this, a reason with two metal wings. With that, Spitfire entered the building.

Once inside, Spitfire couldn’t help but feel a little bit of tension. All around her were ponies, mostly pegasi but a few unicorns and earth ponies here and there. Many of them were seated around communal lanterns, some of whom were eating from bowls of soup, soup that was likely filling but bland. One pony, a Pegasus nurse, walked up and asked, “Oh, Spitfire, what are you doing here?” “I need some strong ponies to help with a little manual labor for about a week or two.” Spitfire said. She was thankful Rainbow Dash’s friend Applejack wasn’t there, as her reason wasn’t entirely truth. Sure, she needed the hired help, but really she just wanted to get rid of Silver.

“Hm…” the nurse Pegasus thought to herself for a few moments, before responding, “Well, I do know we have a few ponies that might be able to help.” The nurse motioned for Spitfire to follow. Both pegasi made their way through the crowd of ponies, many of whom gave Spitfire unpleasant glares. Did any of them know why she was here? Luckily, she was able to shoot her own glare back at them. Soon, the two approached a door, with the Pegasus nurse turning to Spitfire and saying, “They should help but just be careful. I think they might be a bit crude.”

The nurse opened the door and then stepped back. Spitfire figured it was just her from this point. Once she passed through the doorway, Spitfire noticed she was outside, facing a tent. Figuring what she wanted was in the tent, Spitfire made her way towards the tent. As she approached, she heard someone, a large stallion by the sound of him, saying, “And that’s when the poor schmuck tried to run, so I bashed him with the hammer! Ha ha ha ha.” Soon the whole tent erupted in laughter. Spitfire peaked her head into the tent, and saw a group of stallions, all but one of whom were wearing blue uniforms seated around the source of the first voice, a large light brown earth pony stallion with black stubble and a black mane. This stallion wore what seemed to be a cream vest, a red tie, a long green coat, and what looked like a black Stetson.

Once the laughter died down, the group of stallions began to notice their “Guest,” The large stallion in the green coat focused his opinion on Spitfire, and asked the mare, “Well, what do we have here?” As Spitfire found herself doubting herself, one of the stallions, this one an orange unicorn with a brown beard and a thin blue jacket covering a red shirt, said, “Hey, I think it’s one of those, uh, blunder bolts or somthin’.” Spitfire shot out, “I am Captain Spitfire of the Wonderbolts.” The large stallion then asked, “Then what’s a fancy Wonderbolt doing all the way out here?” Spitfire replied, “I need some strong stallions to help with some seasonal work. Think you can handle it?” The large Stallion stood there for a moment, before jollily replying, “You got yourself a deal ma’am.” He then held his hoof out, with Spitfire shaking her hoof back. “Alright boys, pack it up!” He shouted to his group of cronies. He then turned to the smallest of the group, a yellow Pegasus with orange hair in blue with a round sailor’s hat, and ordered, “Little Rascal! You work out the details with our new employer here.”

The unicorn walked over as the large stallion continued, “My associate will work out the details.” Spitfire then said, “Thank you mister… ugh….” The stallion cut her off, “Cutthroat. The name’s Cutthroat.” As Cutthroat left to organize his motley crew, the Pegasus made his way over to Spitfire. “Thank you for agreeing to this Little Rascal.” Said the gracious captain. “Oh, that’s not my name ma’am.” The unicorn replied. “Oh, what is your name anyway?” Spitfire asked. The unicorn answered, “The name is……”

“Alright, I think you’ve got it.” Old Silver called out to Angel Wings as she washed the windows. “You sure?” the nervous Pegasus asked. Both pegasi had found themselves washing the windows of the Wonderbolts Academy, With Angel Wings taking the upper windows on account of her being able to actually fly. “Aye. You’ll ner’y see a cleaner window this side of, well, anywhere really.” Angel Wings blushed a bit before replying, “Thanks Mr. Silver.” “Just Silver or Old Silver will do.”

Silver said before he asked, “If you don’t mind me asking, why did you stand up for me?” Angel Wings answered, “Well, you see, Rainbow Dash taught us that Wonderbolts always look out for one another, and I guess I don’t exactly like seeing ponies bully each other.” Silver then said, “Well, I certainly do appreciate the help. Don’t think I could get that high up.” Angel Wings then asked, “So, what happened to your wings? I mean your real wings?” Silver took a deep breath, only for Angel Wings to say, “Oh, it’s ok if you don’t want to talk about it.” “Don’t worry Ma’am.” Silver replied. “Basically, when we were kids Spitfire tried to pull off a sonic rainboom.” Angel Wings found herself speechless for a moment, before Silver, looking over his robotic hands, remarked, “Obviously she didn’t pull it off.”

“I’m so sorry about that.” Angel Wings said sorrowfully. “Ah, you don’ne need to worry about it.” Old Silver replied. “Honestly I got over it years ago.” Angel Wings then remarked, “Oh, and one thing.” “What?” asked Silver. Angel Wings giggled and replied, “You don’t have to call me ma’am.” Silver found himself laughing a little bit before remarking, “You sure? You seem to be a bit older than the rest of the other recruits.” Angel Wings answered, “Yeah, I was a bit of a late bloomer.” Silver’s jaw dropped and he remarked, “No kiddin’? So was I. Though honestly at this point it doesn’t really matter.” Angel Wings placed a hoof to Silver’s lower jaw and held his head up, Replying, “Maybe. But you certainly seem to be pretty amazing at a lot of other things.” Silver couldn’t help but blush a little bit.

At that moment, both ponies heard an unfamiliar voice with an appleoosan accent say, “So this is the Wonderbolts’ Academy?” Both ponies were surprised to hear such an unfamiliar voice on the base. Another voice, a feminine one, replied, “Yup.” Angel Wings remarked, “That sounds like Vapor Trail.” The unfamiliar voice replied, “Fine lookin’ place, don’t ya think?” After a momentary pause the voice continued, “For a hog pen maybe?” as the voice let out an obnoxious laugh, Angel Wings remarked, “The nerve of that jerk. This place isn’t that bad, right Silver?” However, when she turned to him, she noticed Silver had a look of shock and a little bit of anger on his face. “Silver?” Angel Wings asked, but Silver only responded, “It can’t be.”

Old Silver began to walk over to the source of the voice, with a worried Angel Wings following. They soon found Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail talking with a yellow Pegasus with an orange mane and a blue outfit, a red handkerchief wrapped around his neck, and a blue sailor’s hat. “Silver, who is that guy? He a friend of yours?” Silver stood there, his eye twitching as his shock slowly changed to a new expression; hatred. Before either Pegasus could do anything, the Pegasus faced Sky Stinger and said, “Hey man, you look like you need to shave. Come with me, I can get you a good razor.” The Pegasus began to try and lead Sky Stinger away, an action Silver knew he couldn’t let happen.

Silver began to walk up to the Pegasus, which was oblivious to who was approaching. “Excuse me you little bugger.” Silver said as he closed the distance. “Huh?” The Pegasus said, only to have a metal fist slug him in the face, forcing him onto the ground. Angel Wings cried out, “Silver, what has gotten into you?” However, Silver ignored her, and as the Pegasus got to his hooves, he angrily spat out, “You listen to me you two timing little back stabber. You get your flank out of here or I’ll beat the life out of you.” Before any pony could respond, the unicorn suddenly pulled out a large knife and snidely remarked, “Nice to see you too Stumpy. Been a while.” “DON’T YOU DARE CALL ME THAT!” Silver called out in anger.

Before either stallion could do anything else, a familiar voice called out, “What the hay is going on here?” Silver turned around to see Spitfire and Rainbow Dash. Spitfire turned to the Pegasus and asked, “Somers, what happened?” He replied, “Stumpy here punched me.” Rainbow Dash asked, “What?” Silver, on the other hand, simply stated, “That was for Cap’n Black Watch.” He then turned to Spitfire and said, “Spitfire, we have to get this snake out of here immediately.” However, he was shocked when she replied, “No. Somers and some friends of his will be helping you and your sailor buddies out.”

Silver stood there for a moment, shocked with what he heard, until he angrily asked, “Are you daft? This little jerk here is a treacherous snake!” Spitfire simply turned to Somers and said, “Head to the infirmary, get that looked at.” Somers waited for a moment, before another voice called out, “Let the fish go, we’ll deal with him later.” Somers turned to see Cutthroat, turned around to Old Silver and coolly said, “We’ll take care of you later. Finish what I started.” With that he left to go to the infirmary.

Silver then asked his sister, “What are they doing here?” Spitfire answered, “I figured you and the other sailors could use some help, considering how late it is.” Silver simply stated, “Even though you normally make one pony clean this entire place every night.” Rainbow Dash then interrupted the two siblings, asking, “Yeah, what’s going on? Why get extra help now that we have have…..” Then it hit Rainbow Dash. “Did you hire those guys so we wouldn’t need Silver?” Spitfire stumbled for a moment, before regaining her composure and replied, “Nope. I want this place looking better than perfect before the family day show.” Rainbow Dash didn’t buy it. “I can’t believe you. Ever since we met him you’ve been acting very different.”

Spitfire simply asked, “Are you challenging my authority Crash?” Rainbow Dash stood there, unsure of what to do, until she simply replied, “No ma’am.” Spitfire then said, “You are dismissed.” Rainbow Dash simply flew off, but not without giving her captain a very unpleasant glare. Spitfire then turned to Silver and the recruits and said, “That goes for all of you. Clear off and get some rest.” The recruits flew off to their barracks, but Silver simply said, “You have made a horrible mistake.” And with that, he walked off to the Hawkins.” Spitfire now found herself alone, surprised with what happened. Still, if it was driving Silver away, then it was working, and that was all she could ask for.

“I’m telling you, Somers is here.” Silver explained to Cap’n Flint and his friends. “That’s impossible.” Nelson said, Unable to comprehend what he just heard. “He wouldn’t dare show his hide anywhere near a major port or city.” Perry added, “Yeah, after what he did to Cap’n Black Watch you’d think that….” Wyvern quickly covered Perry’s mouth as both noticed Silver starting to shake with rage. The Pegasus couldn’t help but let out, “I cannae believe she’d just go and hire that two timing viper!” Flint then said, “I know she isn’t exactly the epitome of Hearth’s Warming Eve, but I don’t think she’d stoop low enough to hire Somers if she knew what he did.”

Silver then cried out, “But I do know why he’s here. She’s trying to get rid of us!” Cap’n Flint replied, “She wouldn’t dare. What would happen if the Princesses found out?” Silver paused, knowing Flint did have a point. Still, he didn’t have to like it. However, the long day had caught up to everyone, and they decided to head to bed. Tomorrow would be an even longer day.

That morning had pretty much gone the same as the previous one. After breakfast (once again provided by Old Silver), Both Wonderbolts and Recruits began to practice their routines. Elsewhere, Scootaloo, Old Silver, the other sailors, Somers and his gang began their maintenance duties. Unsurprisingly, Spitfire had assigned Silver and Somers to caring for the green, with Scootaloo deciding to help the older sailor. As Scootaloo began to push the lawn mower she had been provided, she heard a cocky Appaloosan voice from behind her call out, “You’re a long way from home little lady.” Scootaloo turned to see Somers sporting a wicked grin. “Better be careful around them sailor fellas.” Scootaloo replied, “What’s so nasty about them anyway?” Somers answered, “A fair bit.” He then pointed to Silver, who had been tasked to clean up trash and debris. “That fella over there threw me overboard.”

Silver overheard his name being said and walked over, adopting an intimidating posture, and remarked, “And do you care to remember why I did that?” Scootaloo found herself somewhat surprised to see Silver actually be intimidating. The metal-winged Pegasus remarked, “Considering you did the same to Cap’n Black Watch. Honestly I should have beaten you to a pulp.” Somers then coolly replied, “What’s stoppin’ you Stumpy?” Silver took a deep breath, clenching his metal hands, and said, “Scootaloo, with me, right now.”

Scootaloo nodded and began to make her way to Silver, only to find a yellow blur envelop her. “Don’t you dare think you can use the kid here to get out of work.” Somers said as he lunged forward and grabbed Scootaloo. Silver, shocked by the sight, Shouted, “Put her down you wanker!” Scootaloo began to flail nervously. “Put me down you jerk.”

Then, something happened that terrified Silver. Somers brought Scootaloo towards him, and then he pulled out his knife and held it to her throat. Somers’ answer was as terrifying as his actions. “Make me.” Silver then set his bag down and began to circle Somers. Somers, for his part, began to rotate himself, making sure Silver was squarely in his sights. He was so focused on Silver that he didn’t notice an elderly green earth pony sneaking up behind him.

“Excuse me.” Wyvern said into Somers’ ear before slugging the thug right in the face. As he fell, Somers let go of Scootaloo, who immediately dashed towards Silver. “Bloody ‘ell kid. You alright?” Silver asked. Scootaloo, for her part, simply held on to the sailor, shaking and whimpering. Wyvern walked up to the two, worry still plastered on his face. Silver, rubbing Scootaloo’s main, asked Wyvern, “Wyvern, can you take that prick and lock him in the brig?” Wyvern nodded and approached the now unconscious Somers.

As Wyvern lifted the Pegasus, a familiar voice called out, “Silver!” Silver turned to see Cap’n Flint running towards him. “I heard you shouting. Everything alright?” Silver answered, “Somers pulled the kid up to him. He held a knife to her throat!” Wyvern continued. “Aye. And this isn’t just a kitchen knife.” He pulled Somers’ knife out and showed it to the captain. It was a large knife, the kind one used for skinning animals.

“Mr. Wyvern?” Cap’n Flint said. “You take him and lock him the brig. Then make sure he stays there. I don’t care what Spitfire says.” Wyvern nodded and took Somers back to the Hawkins. Flint then turned to Silver and Scootaloo and said, “Silver, Scootaloo, we are gonna go have a talk with Spitfire.”

Spitfire was surprised to see that two of the sailors, Nelson and Perry if she remembered, had brought Cutthroat to her, and even more surprised that he had his hooves binded. “What is the meaning of this?” Spitfire asked. Nelson pointed to the subdued Cutthroat and said, “Ma’am, I found this cretin pilfering your supplies.” Perry then brought out a large bag, one that looked like the bag Santa Hooves would use. He then emptied the bag, revealing it was full of food and medicine that was supposed to be sent to the Wonderbolts’ mess hall and infirmary.

Spitfire gave Cutthroat a very displeased scowl and asked him, “You better have a good reason for this.” Cutthroat answered, “Well since the boys and I need the supplies to keep ourselves working, I figured we could use these and just dock the expense from our pay.” Spitfire simply said, “That doesn’t give you the excuse to steal from behind my back.” She then added, “I think having you on latrine duty will be sufficient.” Nelson and Perry were surprised to say the least. “Ma’am, all due respect,” Nelson began. “But do you think that’s the best option? We could hold him in the brig and turn him over to the authorities.” Spitfire simply said, “Perhaps, but this is my base, and we do this my way.”

Both Perry and Nelson were somewhat put off by the firmness of her response, but they knew they probably wouldn’t be able to do much to change her mind. “As you wish.” Nelson said as he pulled out a key and unlocked the shackles on Cutthroat’s hooves. The large unicorn stallion simply shrugged and said, “Thanks for the help Ma’am.” Spitfire then ordered, “Get out of my office and start scrubbing the toilets.” Cutthroat simply nodded and left Spitfire’s office, but not before he gave Nelson a sinister glare.

Nelson was about to ask a question, but before he could, Old Silver barged into the office. “Hey, you can’t come into my office without permission!” Silver simply gave a deadpan response, “Good mornin’ to you too sis. We have a problem.” Spitfire, annoyed by her brother’s sudden interruption, asked, “What is so important that you had to…” “Somers held a knife to the kid’s throat.” Silver interrupted, making it clear that he being serious. Spitfire was stunned by her brother’s accusation. “Are you sure?” From behind Old Silver, Wyvern appeared and placed a large hunting knife on the desk. “It’s true ma’am.” said Wyvern. “He used this knife. Not exactly the kind used for cutting melted butter.”

Spitfire was surprised to say the least. “Are you sure he did? It is possible the heat was getting to you.” She then added, “After all, you were always a bit of a hot head, weren’t you Stumpy.” Silver took in a very, very deep breath and, raising one of the metallic fingers on his false wing, said, “One, I know exactly what I saw.” He raised another finger. “Two, Wyvern here saw it as well.” He raised yet another. “Three, you could ask Scootaloo, but I would rather Rainbow Dash or Cap’n Flint be the one to do it”. He then showed her his hand with all three fingers and the thumb, and finished, “And finally…” Silver took another, far deeper breath as Nelson, Perry, and Wyvern began to back away. “MY NAME IS NOT STUMPY!”

Unsurprisingly, Spitfire was unmoved. “Yeah, I get it; you don’t like your nickname. Honestly, it’s just a nickname.” Silver then asked, “What if I were to call you a “thuggish gang leader”?” Spitfire immediately shot forward and angrily said, “Hey! My team is not a gang, and we are not thugs!” “Considering you hired Somers, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were.” Old Silver replied in a very deadpan tone. He then turned around and began to exit the office as he said, “Still got a fair bit of work to do.”

Elsewhere, in the locker room, Rainbow Dash was wiping the sweat from her brow as she undid the hood of her Wonderbolts uniform. From behind her, she heard Soarin call out, “Hey Rainbow Dash.” She turned around to see Soarin, Surprise, Fleet Foot, and High Winds staring at her, and they clearly had something they wanted to talk about. “Uh, is something wrong?” Surprise answered, “Yeah, its Spitfire. She’s been acting very differently.” Rainbow Dash sighed and replied, “I know, ever since Silver arrived she’s been acting like a great big jerk.” Soarin added, “Even more than usual. Not only is she pushing the recruits far harder than normal…” High Winds added, “You’d think she was Nightmare moon.” Surprise then said, “And honestly, the way she treats her brother is just shameful.”

Rainbow Dash then said, “Which is why I’m gonna give her a little ultimatum.” As the other Wonderbolts closed in, Spitfire entered the locker room. “Hey Crash. What’s going on?” Rainbow Dash then took a deep breath and said something she never thought she’d say to her captain ever again.

“My name is not Crash.” Spitfire and the others were shocked with what she said. “As long as you keep calling Silver “Stumpy,” you aren’t allowed to call me Crash.” Spitfire was stunned, but her resolve returned quickly and she replied, “You don’t give orders to me Crash.” Soarin then spoke up. “She’s right. And you can’t call me Clipper either.” Surprise added, “And until you stop bullying your brother no one calls me Slowpoke.”

Before Fleet Foot and High Winds could speak up, Spitfire Shouted out, “I am the Captain, and you will all obey my orders! IS. THAT. CLEAR?” Soarin shouted back, “What the heck is wrong with you? Ever since we met your brother you’ve been nothing but a bully!” Spitfire answered, “Because he’s a worthless little bum and he can’t even stand a nickname.” That was the last draw for Rainbow Dash. “But our nicknames are just little inside jokes, and it took me almost killing myself to learn that. But with him you’re just being a bully. Honestly I don’t even know who you are anymore.”

Spitfire couldn’t take it anymore. She blurted out, “Everyone, I am your captain, and you will obey my orders, am I clear?” Rainbow Dash walked up to her and answered, “Transparently, but I am under orders of the Princesses to fix your relationship with Silver.” Spitfire simply stated, “You don’t order me around.” Clearly, neither was going to budge.

“Oi, what in the bloody heck is goin’ on here?” All of the Wonderbolts noticed that Old Silver had arrived. Rainbow Dash answered, “We were just telling your sister that as long as she kept calling you that nickname then she can’t refer to us by ours.” Silver smiled and replied, “Well I do appreciate the gesture, but we have a more important issue to attend to. Somers held a knife to Scootaloo’s throat.”

A very loud “What” could be heard, as some would say, all the way to the moon. “Are you serious?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Aye. We’ve got Somers locked in the brig, and Scootaloo is with Cap’n Flint in the mess hall now.” He then said, “What’s more, as long as we’re all here, Nelson and Perry caught that Cutthroat fella trying to steal from the storeroom.” Now all the other Wonderbolts were glaring at Spitfire. “What?” their Captain asked. Soarin said, “Well, the guys you hired tried to steal from us and one tried to hurt a foal? Take a wild guess.”

Rainbow Dash immediately dashed out of the locker room, hell bent on heading towards the mess hall, and the other Wonderbolts (barring Spitfire) left as well, with Fleet Foot roughly bumping into her Captain as she left.

And so brother and sister were alone.

“Seems to me that your crew doesn’t respect your authority anymore.” Silver said with a slight bit of smugness. Spitfire answered, “No thanks to you. Ever since you showed up, there has been nothing but trouble.” Silver then said, “Well, guess you know how I felt.” Spitfire gave her brother a confused look, while the latter simply added, “After that accident that YOU caused, I had to put up with you and, to a lesser extent mum, treating me like I was a burden. Honestly running away was probably the smartest decision of my life.” Spitfire shot back, “Well Wonderbolts don’t run away. We fight our problems head on.” Silver simply sighed and answered, “Some battles cannae be won.” With that, he left the locker room, leaving Spitfire alone in the locker room to ponder over what her brother meant by his last statement.

Cap’n Flint, having helped Rainbow Dash calm Scootaloo down after her little “incident” with Somers, stood on one side of the brig cell, and on the other side sat a disgruntled Somers. “You know later tonight the authorities will pick you up.” Flint said to the disgraced sailor. “Honestly you’ve had this coming for years.” Somers shrugged and said, “Meh, so did that old fart.” Flint shot towards the cell and very sternly said, “Black Watch was a far better pony then you’ll ever be.”

Oddly enough, rather than back away in fear, Somers actually began to sport a wicked grin. “There is one thing that I am that that old fart isn’t. You know what that is?” “A decent pony?” Cap’n Flint answered in a dead pan voice. Somers simply answered, “Alive.” Before Flint could answer, he was smacked in the head by something heavy.

As he fell to the ground, all Cap’n Flint could see was what appeared to be a massive brown unicorn with a black hat and a long green coat. “Good job little rascal.” The large unicorn said in a gruff voice that was clearly having fun. “By getting yourself in trouble, we got the old fart here all by his lonesome.” Flint tried to get up, but Cutthroat simply walked up to him and began to mercilessly kick the old unicorn relentlessly, until he was finally out cold.

After enjoying himself beating the old unicorn to a pulp, Cutthroat shouted, “Hey Snipe Hunt, get your flank over here!” soon, an orange Pegasus with the brown mane and hair, red shirt, and blue jacket and hat walked into the room, saying, “Alright, alright. Give me a moment and I’ll get the lock.” After a few moments of delicate lock picking, Snipe Hunt had managed to open the cell door, freeing Somers. “Whoo. Good to be out of that hog pen.” Somers said out loud. “Now, let’s go give Stumpy what’s coming to him.” He then stretched his wings, popping them a bit.

However, Cutthroat spoke up. “Not yet Somers. The boss said we first gotta get gramps over here….” He then motioned over to the unconscious Cap’n Flint, before continuing, “And then the kid.” Snipe Hunt added, “Yeah, then we can wreck the joint and take anything we want.” “As long as we get the boss’s badge.” Cutthroat added. “He said if we get it he’ll pay us two hundred and fifty bits each.” He then turned to Somers and asked, “Will the others be here on time?” Somers answered, “Of course. They’ve been laying low ever since we started posing as bums.” Cutthroat let out a sinister laugh and said, “Man, Spitfire was a real fool to think we were just a bunch of unemployed bums.” Snipe Hunt added, “Yeah, you’d think military ponies like her would actually be more competent.” “Ha. The Wonderbolts are nothing but a few stunt fliers.” Cutthroat said in confidence. Somers added, “Yeah, besides, if spitfire is anything, they’re really stupid.”

Cutthroat then belted out, “Alright boys, get your pins, we gotta find the others. Then…” he pulled a small gold pin of a bugle horn out from his coat and fastened it to his hat. “We have a little fun.”

Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo had to admit one thing about Old Silver and his friends; they sure knew how to sing. “Farewell to your bricks and mortar, farewell to your dirty lime.” The sailors belted out. “Farewell to your gangways and your gangplank, and to heck with your overtime.” Though Rainbow didn’t think that Scootaloo should have heard such “coarse” language, she felt that it was acceptable “For the good ship Ragamuffin is a lying at the quay. For she’ll take ol’ Pat, with a shovel on me back, to the shores of Botany Bay.” The sailors finished their song, and were greeted with a round of applause from the Wonderbolts, the recruits, and the newly arrived reservists.

Angel Wings, who had a front row seat to her new friend, said, “Wow, that was really amazing.” Silver simply shrugged and said, “It’s just a skill I acquired over the years.” Nelson added, “Yes, you see singing helps us do our duties in sync.” Silver remarked, “I’d say you guys could try it, but I doubt you’d be able to focus while flying at breakneck speeds.” Angel Wings added, “Well either way, I think you’re pretty cool.”

Perry then cheekily said, “Ooh. Is it me or are there two love birds in room tonight?” Now both Old Silver and Angel Wings were blushing as most of the ponies in the mess hall were now “oohing” in surprise. “Oh come on guys.” Angel Wings said as she tried to quiet her friends. Silver also tried to hush Nelson, Perry, and Wyvern. “Come on lads, besides, I’ve only known her for a few days.”

Rainbow Dash then asked, “Hey, wasn’t there another one of you guys?” Scootaloo replied, “You mean Cap’n Flint? He’s watching…” she stopped herself from saying Somers’ name. “No, I meant another sailor guy.” Silver answered, “Ah. You mean Ishmael. Yeah he’s with his wife. He’s gonna be a dad real soon.” “Really?” Scootaloo asked excitedly. “Aye. His wife should be in labor any day now. He took time off to be with her when it happens.” Silver answered.

At that moment, Rainbow Dash turned to Scootaloo and asked, “Hey squirt, you remember that errand we had to do?” Scootaloo nodded and turned to Old Silver. “Hey Silver, we need your help with something.” Silver gave a confused look. “What do ya mean?” Rainbow Dash answered, “Just a simple task. Shouldn’t take long.” Silver then turned to his fellow sailors and said, “Alright lads, guess I’ll be back in a moment.” He then turned to face Angel Wings and bowed while tipping his hat, saying, “I shall be back m’lady.” Angel Wings blushed a bit as every pony else oohed at the sight.

“Alright Crash, what do you want?” Spitfire asked as Rainbow Dash brought her into the locker room. “Firstly ma’am…” Rainbow said, trying to contain her annoyance. “My name isn’t Crash. And secondly, I need your help with something.” Spitfire then continued, “Well whatever it is, it had better happen soon.” Soon, however, she would wish she hadn’t said that.

From outside of the locker room, Rainbow Dash and Spitfire heard a very familiar stallion’s voice. “Come on kid, what was it you needed me help with?” soon, Old Silver had entered the locker room with Scootaloo. “Well I’ll be. I should’ve figured you’d trap us together at some point.” Spitfire simply turned to face Rainbow Dash and asked, “Why did you bring Stumpy here?” Rainbow Dash said, “Clearly, there is a serious disconnect between you two.” Scootaloo then added, “And we’re going to help you two reconnect.”

Before Old Silver could say anything else, Spitfire nonchalantly replied, “Thanks but no thanks.” Silver, for his part, answered, “I appreciate what you’re tryin’ to do, but honestly she’s not worth it.” That elicited a response from Spitfire. “What do you mean I’m not worth it? I’m the captain of the Wonderbolts and a celebrity for Celestia’s sake.” Silver simply shot back, “Yeah, a captain who neglects to supervise her recruits, conspires against her teammates at the Equestria Games, hazes new recruits, need I continue?” He then added, “And considering she can’t even remember my name?”

Spitfire arrogantly answered, “Oh please, I remember your name.” Silver asked, “Oh really, well what is it?” Spitfire hesitated for a moment, with Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo holding their breath. Spitfire eventually answered, “Super Marine.”

Rainbow Dash face-hoofed while Scootaloo gulped. Old Silver, on the other hand, began to shake with rage. “That’s not my name.” he said, his voice seething with hatred. Spitfire said, “Well it’s what your name was when we were foals.” “A lot has changed since then.” Silver replied while pointing at his sister with one of his metal fingers. Spitfire, noticing how he positioned his metal wings, angrily shouted, “Oh come on! You whining about your wings again? That was years ago, get over it!”

“You don’t just get over something like that!” Silver shouted. Rainbow Dash tried to step in between the feuding siblings, but Spitfire pushed her away before ordering, “This doesn’t concern you Crash!” Rainbow Shouted back, “Did you even listen to what you just said? You told your brother, who lost his wings because of you, to get over it!” Silver then added, “And you clearly haven’t had the courtesy of remembering my DAMN NAME.!” everyone in the locker room was shocked to hear Silver use such language.

Silver turned to the door and began to leave, saying, “I don’t think this is going to work.” Spitfire dashed forward, saying, “Hey, don’t you dare turn your back on me without apologizing.” This got Silver’s attention. “Then why haven’t you apologized to me?” Spitfire answered, “Because it wasn’t my fault.” She then grabbed Silver’s metal wings. “Let go of my wings Sis!” Silver commanded.

What happened next horrified everyone who witnessed it.

Spitfire angrily shouted, “These aren’t your wings!” with that, she pulled down with all her force. She did this again three more times, until she ripped Silver’s wings clean off. She stood there for a few moments, breathing heavily, until Silver, unable to contain his hatred, roared, “I’M GONNA KILL YOU!”

Old Silver leaped onto his sister and began to punch her furiously. Spitfire began to punch back. Soon, both siblings were rolling around the floor, punching and kicking each other.

“That’s enough!” Rainbow Dash said as she managed to pull Spitfire off of her brother. However, Silver found himself being pulled up by another pony, one who wasn’t Rainbow Dash or Scootaloo. He turned to see it was, of all ponies, Soarin. Behind him were Nelson, Perry, and Wyvern. “What is going on here?” Soarin asked. He didn’t need any pony to answer verbally; he just had to observe Rainbow Dash picking up Silver’s now removed prosthetic wings.

Silver quickly and furiously grabbed his wings from Rainbow Dash’s hooves and said, “I’m leaving. And this time, Spitfire….” He gave his sister a terrifying glare. “This time I don’t ever want to see you again.” He then barged out of the room.

Rainbow Dash scowled at her captain and said, “I hope you’re proud of yourself. Maybe next time you can chase your mom away.” Spitfire, furious at what her subordinate said, “You’re on thirty days suspension.” “Make it ninety!” Rainbow defiantly replied, “Fine. A hundred and eighty.” Rainbow Dash suddenly realized what they had both just said. However, Soarin quickly said, “You’ll have to suspend me to.”

Nelson walked up to Spitfire, and said, “You know, you are an absolute disgrace of an officer. At this point I’m honestly hoping your team mutinies.” As he left, Perry walked up to Spitfire. “Look, He…” She began before he cut her off. “Come off it captain. You know I thought that you were a rather attractive and cute mare, but you put me off you realize that? I’m gonna go find Silver, we are gonna go to the Hawkins, and after we hand Somers over to the authorities, I’m gonna lie in my hammock and put away the best part of a bottle of ginger ale and with you being a somewhat attractive mare, I would have invited you to join us and you might possibly have come.” Spitfire was stunned this stallion called her attractive. He continued, “But you really put me off. You’re just a great big tool, you know that?”

As Perry huffed off, Wyvern walked up to Spitfire. She was expecting some long winded insult from the elderly earth pony. She was horrified with what he said.

“You’re just a right up jackass, you know that?”

With that, Wyvern, Rainbow Dash, and Soarin, walked out of the locker room, leaving Spitfire all alone. On one hoof, she had succeeded, and Silver would be gone, like he always was. On the other hoof, she felt something she never had before. She felt horrible about what had happened. She felt somewhat ashamed about what she did to her brother. She felt shocked about what every pony said to her.

But ultimately, she felt regret. She regretted what she had done. And to make matters worse, this night would get a whole lot worse before it got better.

Silver sat at one of the tables of the mess hall, nursing a large mug of apple cider. Rainbow Dash was sitting across from him, still trying to comprehend what she had witnessed. Spitfire had ripped his wings off not once, but twice. Wyvern was comforting his friend, saying, and “Its all right lad. We’ll leave after we hand off Somers, then we’ll put all this behind us.” Rainbow cringed as she heard this. Did this mean she failed? Had it finally happened? A friendship mission that hadn’t succeeded? And were she and Soarin actually suspended for six months?

She didn’t get a chance to ponder this any longer. She heard Perry’s voice crying out, “Raider! The Raiders are here! The Raiders are here!” “What?” Old Silver asked, stirring from his stupor. He and Wyvern made their way to the entrance to the mess hall, with Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo as well as Nelson in tow. Nelson turned to Rainbow Dash and said, “If this is real, take the kid and keep her safe.” He gave a look that gave no room for doubting how serious he was. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo nodded began to back away, heading for the window.

Outside, Rainbow could See Cutthroat, Somers, Snipe Hunt, and what appeared to be almost twenty other stallions, all wearing blue coats and shirts. Some had clubs, others had torches, and it seemed Somers had a massive knife, the sight of which terrified Scootaloo. Rainbow held Scootaloo closely, wondering why Somers was out of the brig. She also noticed they all had new gold pins of bugles on their hats or shirts.

Cutthroat walked up to the front of the group, a look of determination on his face. Rainbow Dash was horrified by the two simple words he barked out to his gang of ruffians.

“Take ‘em!”