Arc 1: Wanda’s Origins
Meet Darling Wanda the Man’s Cub
It was the mid-afternoon at the marketplace in the vast city of Canterlot. Ponies from all over this vast kingdom were wandering about and shopping for food to put on the table, clothing for a future event, or practical objects for decorating their abodes. In a nearby corner of the marketplace were bins full of delicious apples be it the usual red delicious, granny smiths, braeburns, jazz, ambrosias, or the ever popular honeycrisps. The owner of the apple booth was Bright Macintosh, a farmer not far from the capital. He had sold a bag full of jazz apples to a nearby customer and was given some bits for the sale.
“Boy oh boy,” Bright Mac said. “Today must be a busy day. Already sold nearly seventy five percent of my crop. In about a half hour, I’m ready to head back to Sweet Apple Acres.”
But just then, someone from out of nowhere said “Hello Unca Bright Mac.” That caught Bright Mac’s attention.
“Well ah be a mustang’s uncle,” Bright Mac chuckled. “I recognize that voice of one of those cute little varmints.”
As Bright Mac turned his head down, he smiled at the sight of two younglings. One was a young unicorn filly named Sunset Shimmer. She had a light amber coat, moderate cyan eyes, and a red and bright yellow mane and tail. Her cutie mark was that of the sun. But the other kid wasn’t a unicorn. In fact, she wasn’t even a pony, but rather a man’s cub. She was slightly taller than the unicorn, with light skin, shoulder-length yellow hair and an eye color nearly similar to the unicorn. But she also wore a denim blue overalls, a pink shirt, and black shoes. For one who was not a pony, she was unlike anything in Equestria.
“Good afternoon, Sunset Shimmer,” Bright Mac said with a smile before turning his head towards the man’s cub. “Howdy Wanda. What can I get from both of you?”
“Oh. We just came here to get some apples for our mom,” Sunset said, presenting a bag of bits for Bright Mac. “Especially the honeycrisps.”
“I take it you’re both doing a usual errand,” Bright Mac said as he accepted the bits and began to load some honeycrisp apples into his bag.
“Actually, it’s for our big sister’s birthday,” Wanda said as the little man’s cub jumped up and down in excitement.
“Wanda, you know that’s supposed to be our secret,” Sunset said as she gave Wanda a hoof noogie..
“A birthday?” Bright Mac said as he walked out of the booth and gave the bag of apples to Wanda. “Well what’s the occasion for your big sister and all those delicious apples from our family farm?”
Wanda accepted the apples from Bright Mac and said “Well. We’re making an Apple Cake for the birthday of our big sister.”
“Cake baking? Or rather mischief making?” That deep voice that came out of nowhere was enough to cause Wanda to hide behind Sunset Shimmer, shaking in fear.
“Get her away. I’m scared,” Wanda said as she hid behind Sunset.
“Wanda, it’s just the prime chancellor of Equestria,” Sunset said to Wanda.
“I don’t care,” Wanda cried. “She’s a big meanie.”
“That’s no way to treat your elders, man’s cub.” That voice caused Sunset Shimmer and Wanda Young to turn their heads upwards. They came face-to-face with an older unicorn with a light opalish gray coat, a mane with a variety of purples, and grayish fuchsia eyes. She wore a blue overcoat over a light blue turtleneck shirt, and a long navy blue skirt. A small set of glasses were set firmly on her muzzle. She looked down at Wanda with a distinct scowl.
“Prime Chancellor Abacus Cinch,” Bright Mac said with a low tone. “What can I get you today?”
“I will not require anything today,” Chancellor Cinch said as she turned her head towards Wanda, who was still hiding behind Sunset. “But a reminder to the man’s cub to behave herself and to not cause any mischief.”
All Wanda could do was stare at Chancellor Cinch, unable to move a muscle aside for the constant shaking in fear. What could cause the young human girl to fear someone like Cinch?
“Well you see,” Wanda said as she stood there behind Sunset. “We were just getting some apples for our big sister’s birthday. Nothing more.”
“A birthday you say?” Chancellor Cinch said as she glanced at Wanda.
“Y...yeah,” Wanda said as she swallowed hard. “I don’t want to cause you any trouble.”
“For your sake, I certainly hope so,” Chancellor Cinch said as she continued to stare into Wanda’s eyes. “That being said, let me remind you that you are still under the scorn of caution. You may be welcomed under the open wings of Princess Celestia. But I still consider you and your magic to be a danger to Equestria.”
Wanda tried to speak. But nothing came out of her mouth as she stood still, staring at Chancellor Cinch. Sunset looked at Wanda with great concern, and was about to open her mouth when Bright Mac got out of her apple stand.
“Now hold up just one moment, Chancellor,” Bright Mac said in protest. “She may not be a pony like you and me, but she’s still part of the Equestrian family. What matters is not what’s on the outside, but what’s on the inside.”
“Hmph. Very well, son of the matriarch of Sweet Apple Acres.” Chancellor Cinch turned her glance from a scared Wanda all the way up to Bright Mac, who was about to step in between the man’s cub and the prime chancellor. “But everyone in Equestria is entitled to their own words. Even I know not to lock up ponies for speaking their minds. After all, even Equestrians are entitled to freedom of speech”
Without a second word, Chancellor Cinch walks away from Sunset, Wanda and Bright Mac. Wanda looked at the Chancellor walking away and breathed a sigh of relief. At least for her, the danger was over, for now.
Bright Mac turned to Wanda and said “Don’t you worry about the Chancellor. She doesn’t know a thing or two about other species.”
“I….I’ll try,” Wanda said as she continued to watch Chancellor Cinch walk away from her.
Bright Mac then loaded the bag of honeycrisps into Sunset Shimmer’s saddle bags, and said to her “Now you get those apples to your mom, and bake up a great cake for your big sister.”
“You bet,” Sunset said to Bright Mac as she turned her head to Wanda. “Come on, little sis. Mommy’s waiting for us to bake that cake.”
“Oh….okay,” Wanda said as she began to walk off, still unsettled by the mere presence of Chancellor Abacus Cinch.
Bright Mac let out a big sigh as he moved behind the counter of the Apple Booth. As he was about ready to accept another customer, he noticed Wanda wasn’t paying attention and her foot was near a broom handle, looking like it could trip her over.
“Wanda,” Bright Mac yelled. “Watch out for that…”
Wanda turned her head towards Bright Mac, but it only distracted her long enough for her to trip over the broom handle. She yelled loud and fell onto a nearby stand that was holding a basket full of apples. The momentum of her fall was enough to catapult the apples into the air and send them flying towards Chancellor Cinch.
“Broom.” Bright Mac could do nothing, but watch as the apples flew right into Chancellor Cinch. The resulting impact smashed the apples into bits and juicy pieces, covering her mane and outfit in this soggy mess. She was not happy about what just happened.
“Oh no,” Bright Mac said as he started to cower towards the sight of Chancellor Cinch being covered in smashed apples. “That ain’t good.”
Chancellor Cinch turned her attention towards Wanda with a scowl on her face. Wanda and Sunset were trying to sneak off, hoping to get away. But that Chancellor would not have any of it.
“MAN’S CUB!” The voice of Chancellor Cinch echoed throughout the marketplace, catching the attention of Wanda and Sunset. “YOU GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!”
Without a second thought, Wanda and Sunset ran off from Chancellor Cinch. But in all the commotion, the saddlebags on Sunset’s back fell off onto the ground as the young unicorn filly bolted from the Apple Booth. Chancellor Cinch ran after the two, hoping to catch up and punish them for an unintended prank.
Bright Mac walked up, seeing Cinch chase after Wanda and Sunset. He looked down and saw Sunset’s saddle bag.
“In their haste, they forgot the apples for their big sister’s birthday,” Bright Mac said as he picked up the saddle bag. “If only the Chancellor wasn’t harsh on Wanda because of who she is.”
As Wanda and Sunset were running past various ponies and trade goods, Chancellor Cinch chased them with fire in her eyes. It was one thing to look down at Wanda because she wasn’t a pony. It was another to be humiliated by the young human girl.
“When your mother finds out what you did, you both are going to be in big trouble,” Chancellor Cinch yelled as she continued to chase Wanda and Sunset.
“It was an accident,” Wanda yelled in her plea of innocence. “I didn’t mean to.”
“Excuses, excuses.” Chancellor Cinch wasn’t having any of Wanda’s pleas. She ran faster and started to catch up to Wanda and Sunset.
As Wanda saw Chancellor Cinch catch up regardless of the ponies surrounding them, the young man’s cub jumped into the air. Suddenly, clear pink, insect-like flutter wings sprouted from her back and flapped wildly. Wanda was now flying. Without a second thought, she grabbed Sunset Shimmer and began to fly off.
“Wanda. What are you doing?” Sunset yelled, holding on to dear life as Wanda was now carrying her in mid-air.
“Getting us away from the big bad meanie,” Wanda said as she carried Sunset and flew up towards the rooftop of the buildings. Chancellor Cinch slowed down and watched Wanda and Sunset fly off to safety.
“Princess Celestia will hear of this,” Chancellor Abacus Cinch said to herself as she turned around and began to walk off. “You think you’re so smart, Man’s Cub. But you will rue the day you besmirched the Prime Chancellor of Equestria.”
Nearby, Wanda lowered Sunset on a nearby rooftop. She then landed nearby as her flutter wings retracted into her back. She breathed a sigh of relief, finally out of sight from Prime Chancellor Abacus Cinch.
“Wanda, are you okay?” Sunset said as she tried to comfort her little human sister.
“Yes,” Wanda said as she sat down. “But I feel like I always cause her trouble.”
“It’s not your fault, Wanda,” Sunset said as she reassured Wanda. “Chancellor Cinch doesn’t think kindly of you and sees you as a mere outcast who doesn’t belong.”
“Well if I wasn’t stuck in Canterlot, I would have been far away from her,” Wanda cried as she stomped her foot on the roof shingle. “It’s not fair. Why couldn’t I be living somewhere else?”
“It’s the condition to why you are allowed to live in Equestria,” Sunset explained to Wanda. “Without it, you could have been the first child to be locked away in Tartarus.”
“But it’s not right,” Wanda cried as a tear fell from her eye. “I don’t want to be an outcast. Why couldn’t mom let me live somewhere else? And besides, we lost the apples.”
“I know we lost the apples,” Sunset said as she gave Wanda a hug. “But what matters is that you’re safe. And I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Wanda’s frown turned into a bit of a smile as she hugged Sunset Shimmer back. She closed her eyes as a few more tears fell down her cheek.
“Thanks,” Wanda said as she continued to shed tears of joy. “You’re the best friend I could ever have as a sister.”
“I couldn’t have it any other way,” Sunset whispered as she also cried tears of joy.
Later that day, as the sun was starting to set, Wanda and Sunset returned back to the Apple Stand, hoping to find the saddle bags full of apples they left behind. But there was no sign of a saddle bag on the ground. All those apples were gone, as was the bag that carried them.
“We’d only just bought them,” Wanda said as she frantically tried to search for sunset’s missing saddle bag. “And that was also your favorite bag.”
“Don’t worry, Wanda,” Sunset said as she assured Wanda. “We can ask Bright Mac if he can replace our apples.”
But as Sunset Shimmer turned her head towards the stand, there were no apples left. It was empty, with the exception of a sign that said “Closed. Please come back next weekend.”
“Oh no,” Sunset cried as she was surprised by how empty the apple stand was. “He’s already gone.”
“I can’t believe we don’t have any apples for big sister’s birthday cake,” Wanda cried as she just sat there. “I blew it big time.”
Many ponies gathered around as Wanda dropped down on her knees, crying her eyes out. Sunset went up to Wanda and said to her “Don’t worry. We’ll think of another thing to give to her.” She then pulled Wanda back on her feet and began to walk her home.
Just then, a random unicorn mare walked up to Wanda and said “Excuse me. I was told that Chancellor Cinch has decided to tell your mom about what happened.”
Both Wanda and Sunset’s faces turned to shock, and dread. Early ago, Wanda had caused an accident that wasn’t her fault And yet, the burden of guilt was on them because of how upset Chancellor Cinch was to them.
“Come on. We’ll hide out until Cinch is done with mom,” Sunset said as she placed her arm around Wanda’s shoulders. “Then we’ll explain everything to her.”
“But I don’t want Cinch to drag me to Tartarus,” Wanda cried, fearing that she may be forced to face the mean Chancellor of Equestria.
“But what else can we do?” Sunset said to Wanda.
Wanda could do nothing else. She wanted to bake that cake for her elder sister’s birthday. But she had no apples. They were lost through the unintended accident she caused Chancellor Cinch, along with Sunset’s saddle bag. Even more so, the apple stand had been closed for the weekend. She would have to wait another week before Bright Mac would open up again, which means by the time that happened, her Elder Sister’s birthday was over with. Even though it wasn’t her fault, she felt like the blame was all on her.
“Come on.” Sunset nudged Wanda as they began to walk away from the closed apple stand. “Mom will understand.”
Wanda snapped out of her depression and said “But what about Mean Cinch? She’ll be expecting me when I get home.”
“We’ll do the same thing we did last time,” Sunset explained.
Wanda let out a sigh and said “Okay.”
A bit later into the evening sunset at Canterlot Castle, Prime Chancellor Abacus Cinch was speaking to Princess Celestia in her throne room. Celestia had a concerned look on her face all while Chancellor Cinch paced back and forth, troubled about the events that transpired on her recently. And the Chancellor wasn’t happy.
“I can assure you, Chancellor,” Celestia said. “Wanda didn’t mean any harm.”
“I am not here to listen to your excuses,” Chancellor Cinch fired back. “That Man’s Cub is as much of a danger to Equestria as she is to me. In fact, this is the third time this month that she had humiliated me in public.”
“To correct you,” Celestia replied. “I was the one who accidentally knocked you into that seven-layer cake last week.”
“You’re only making up excuses for that monkey, Princess Celestia,” Chancellor Cinch roared back, as she stood firm on Celestia’s defense of Wanda.
“She at least has been controlling her magic,” Celestia said.
“That may be true,” Chancellor Cinch replied. “But who knows how long until she goes maverick.” Those words began to pierce Celestia’s mind as she looked like she was about to lose her temper.
“You’re not giving her a chance,” Celestia yelled. “The reason why she’s been afraid of you is because you haven’t been giving her a chance, especially after you gave me the chance to raise her as my own.”
“Then explain why she’s been giving me a hard time.” Chancellor Cinch stood firm on her stance against Wanda, even as Princess Celestia went on the verbal offensive. “Explain why I end up being humiliated in front of nearly every citizen in Canterlot.”
“That’s because she speaks the truth, Chancellor.” That voice came from Bright Mac. He had just stepped through the front doors of the throne room halls, pulling a wagon containing the very same apples he was selling early ago this morning, along with jars of Zap Apple Jam, and a saddle bag that belonged to Sunset Shimmer.
“Bright Macintosh,” Princess Celestia said towards Bright Mac in a calm and cheerful tone, calming down from her aggressive temper. “I take it you came with the delivery of Zap Apple Jam.”
“I have,” Bright Mac said as he opened the back of his wagon. “Plus the saddle bag full of apples that Sunset Shimmer left behind after the accident.”
“Oh dear,” Celestia replied, putting her hoof on her chin. “Did that happen around the same time that Cinch got angry at Wanda?”
Cinch was about to say something, only for Bright Mac to cut her off and say “Eeyup. Wanda tripped over a stray broom that I left on the ground. As a result, she fell and sent a basket full of apples right at the Chancellor.” Bright Mac took off his hat and held it towards his chest. “If anyone is at fault, it’s me. I should have been more careful.”
Chancellor Cinch was at a loss for words. “You actually take responsibility towards the Man’s Cub’s incompetence?” She snarled.
“One hundred percent,” Bright Mac responded. “You can put me on trial, take my children away, or lock me in Tartarus. But leave the kid alone. It wasn’t her fault.”
“Hmph. Very well.” Chancellor Cinch did not take kindly to what Bright Mac said. But for now, it seems there was nothing she could do with Bright Mac taking responsibility for Wanda’s accident. “I will let this off the hook for now. Besides, I am not one who imprisons other ponies, or even man-cubs, in Tartarus. That is, unless they decide to drain magic from all of Equestria for their own personal gain.” She turned towards Celestia and said “Besides, I think your daughters have a wild imagination, your majesty.”
Without a second thought, Chancellor Abacus Cinch walked down the halls of the throne room and out the door. Celestia and Bright Mac breathed a sigh of relief. The worst part was over.
Princess Celestia turned to a nearby open window and said “You can come out, now.” Emerging from behind the drapes are Wanda and Sunset. The two were still nervous from seeing Chancellor Cinch scold Princess Celestia. But the mere presence of Bright Mac allowed them to walk towards the two older ponies.
“Mommy,” Wanda asked. “Is that Mean Cinch gone?”
“She’s gone, my dear,” Princess Celestia replied. It is clear that Princess Celestia is the mother of Wanda and Sunset Shimmer. But how could anyone, much less a prime princess of Equestria, adopt a human girl like Wanda, much less one with these mysterious, insect-like wings?
“When you two ran off without your saddle bag, I became really worried about you,” Bright Mac said as he picked up the saddle bag full of honeycrisp apples and gave it to Sunset Shimmer. The young filly was excited to see not just her bag, but also the merchandise she dropped by accident.
“I swear mommy,” Wanda pleaded to Princess Celestia. “I didn’t mean to…”
“It’s alright,” Princess Celestia said as she comforted her adopted daughter. “Bright Mac told me about what happened. You’re not in any trouble.”
Sunset rubbed the side of her head against Wanda and said “You have a family with us, Wanda. Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and myself. We’re here for you.”
“And besides,” Bright Mac said. “You happen to be a princess by adoption.”
“If I’m a princess,” Wanda said out of frustration. “Then why do I feel like a prisoner?”
“It’s because of that stupid agreement Cinch put on Celestia,” Bright Mac said as he gently put his hoof on Wanda’s cheek. “If it weren’t for that, I would have adopted you. Let you live the life on Sweet Apple Acres. Even allow you to become friends with my children Applejack, Apple Bloom, and especially my eldest son Big Macintosh.”
“I wish that stupid agreement didn’t exist,” Wanda cried as tears fell from her eyes. “It’s not fair that I can’t leave Canterlot unless mommy is at my side.”
Bright Mac brushed a tear from her eye and said “Now, Wanda. Don’t let that get you. I believe some cheering up is in order.”
“Perhaps it’s time I told you the story of how I met you,” Princess Celestia said as she walked towards Wanda. “It’s time you knew how I found you, and why the agreement was in place, Wanda.”
“Not to mention the time she met me,” Sunset said, reassuring Wanda as the young human girl smiled once more towards her mother and sister.
“Looks like it’s gonna be awhile before I return back to Sweet Apple Acres,” Bright Mac said as he sat right next to Wanda. “But they’ll understand I was only trying to help you.”
“Wanda my beloved daughter,” Princess Celestia said with a voice like the heavens. “Let me tell you the tale on how I became your mother.”
Outside, Chancellor Cinch took a few steps outside and looked up at the castle. Even in the cold dark of the evening, the lights that came from the inside shined bright and beautifully for every pony to see. The middle-aged mare looked up and let out a sigh.
“It’s been many years since I allowed that man’s cub to be a part of Equestria,” Cinch said to herself as she took off her glasses and wiped them down with a handkerchief. “Maybe I have been a bit harsh on her. But at the same time, I do fear not just for what she may become, but also what kind of danger she is in. Especially of Coldnelius Snap and the Windigo’s Guild. I hope what moth….I mean Princess Celestia has for her will make her a part of our culture.”
To Be Continued in
Three Alicorns and a Baby.