My Little Medic

by CommanderX5

Ch2 - Distrust (improved version)

“Move your sorry flanks if you don’t want to have them kicked!”

“You call that flying? My grampa can flap his wings faster than that!”

“Sweet Celestia! Were my elite fliers replaced during their vacation? Because all I see is a bunch of newbies!” Spitfire shouted while flying around, supervising her subordinates’ training. It had only been a months vacation, but the poor display of speed and agility from her elites alongside the lack of any volunteers to assist her in lecturing and taking care of Twilight annoyed her to the bone. Not that she regretted the time she spent in the enthusiastic unicorn’s and Soarin’s company, but she expected more loyalty and support from her team than that.

Meanwhile, on the top of a watch tower, perched on a ‘first aid kit’ and unnoticed by the exercising pegasi was Twilight Sparkle, surrounded by various medical equipment and accompanied by her guards and Spike. The little medic observed the training field for over three hours, and her enthusiasm was nearly dead. It was hard for her to remain excited when all she had to listen to was Spike’s snoring and Spitfire’s yelling. The training facility itself was in an open field next to the headquarters and was so spacious that she had to use a small telescope attached to the watchtower to keep all of the pegasi in sight. The area was filled with various obstacles, from multiple clouds of varying types to ring-shaped obstacles attached to large poles. On the ground Twilight could see a small obstacle course that reminded her of the one in the Royal Guard’s training grounds, as well as a large number of small rapid-fire cannons spread about. These were most likely used to train pegasi agility by having them evade blasts that only had enough punch to knock the breath out of them.

Twilight sighed from boredom before looking up at the Wonderbolts suspiciously as something seemed wrong. Despite Spitfire’s motivational yells, the elite fliers were acting far too careful: they were not performing risky tricks and were avoiding the moving rings and any rings that were on fire. In fact they were barely flying above average speed. Even if they weren’t in their top condition, there is no way they be doing this bad… she thought while rubbing the lower part of her neck. It’s as if they are trying to avoid getting hurt.

Suddenly, one of the bolts with bloodshot eyes hit a ring-shaped obstacle before crashing against the ground with his wing. This was it, a chance to prove herself, to fulfil her newly appointed responsibility. She disappeared in a flash, only to reappear on the ground before galloping towards the sleepy Wonderbolt, reducing her distance with a few quick teleportations.

“Are you alright? Where does it hurt?” Twilight asked as she stopped herself next to the pegasus who rubbed his eyes. Twilight examined her patient, quickly finding a small bruise on his wing. “Gotcha,” she said before jumping onto the undamaged part of the wing with her horn lit, only for the wing to spread and send her into the air. With another teleportation, Twilight reappeared in front of the Wonderbolt. “Please, stand still.”

The male pegasus clearly ignored her as he walked towards the exit. Not wasting a moment, Twilight galloped right behind him and shouted, “Wait! let me check your wound!” Once again ignored, she jumped onto the pegasus’s back, only to be pushed off by the undamaged wing.

With another teleportation, Twilight reappeared in the way of the sleepy pegasus while standing on her rear hooves, waving her forelegs in attempts to catch his attention. “Wake up! I am just trying to help,” Twilight shouted, only for her ears to droop as the pegasus didn’t slow down, his hooves dangerously close. Out of reflex, she jumped to the side, barely avoiding being stomped on as the hoof slammed next to her with a thump.

Twilight was about to yell once again, but her guard, who landed in front of the Wonderbolt, beat her to it. “Hold it right there!”

The Wonderbolt stopped and frowned. “What do you want? If you haven’t noticed, I don’t have time to chit-chat. I need to get my wing checked in the infirmary.”

Steel Blade’s expression sharpened as his muzzle pressed against the Wonderbolt’s. “If that was meant to be a joke, it wasn’t funny,” he said while pointing his hoof at Twilight. “You have an eager medic ready to heal your wound here and now. Are you ignoring her on purpose?”

The pegasus looked at the little mare before he turned back and shook his head. “I don’t see any medic. All I see is a little unicorn who got three of our teammates in trouble.” Steel Blade grit his teeth the moment he noticed Twilight lowering her head as the Wonderbolt added, “Forgive me if I prefer to put my trust in the hooves of a professional and normal sized doctor, rather than a tiny unicorn I’ve never met before. Now, excuse me.”

As the Wonderbolt passed him, the guard turned around and lifted his foreleg, only for a lavender aura to immobilize it.

“Let him go,” Twilight spoke before releasing her guard’s hoof. “If he doesn’t trust me, I’m not going to forcibly heal him.”

The worried guard knelt and took the armor off his hoof before gently stroking Twilight's mane. “It will be fine, Twilight. They’ll warm up to you. Just give them time.”

Twilight didn’t nod or reply, instead, she looked up at the training pegasi, Is this why they’re being so careful… because they don’t trust me? With a heavy sigh, she pushed Steel’s hoof away and gestured with her foreleg. “I think I’ll go get some exercise. Stretch my legs and stuff,” she said before walking towards the obstacle course.

Steel Blade lifted his foreleg as if ready to follow, only to sit instead while looking at his charge with flattened ears as just one quiet word left his mouth, “Twilight…”

Breathing rapidly, Twilight galloped while climbing and jumping various obstacles. Unlike when she trained her combat magic in the Royal Guard’s training facility, where she faced an obstacle course that required mostly climbing, jumping, running and weightlifting while under fire, the Wonderbolts’ ground obstacle course required far more balance and dexterity.

After she finally reached the top of a tall platform, she galloped onto the rope connecting it to yet another platform, though balancing on the thin rope with her tiny hooves proved to be a breeze. With the three rings above the rope being closer with every step, she jumped as high as she could, barely passing the obstacle by only a few millimeters as she landed on the rope with grace. Surely dancing and yoga lessons from Fleur really paid off. After reaching the second platform, Twilight sat and wiped the sweat from her head while taking a deep breath of fresh air as she admired the view. Her mind began to clear and all her worries almost seemed to disappear.

“Out of the way!” a shout reached Twilight’s ears, and a sound of hooves slamming against the wooden surface followed. Out of reflex and without looking back, she jumped forward, only for her eyes to open widely and ears to drop as an awkward smile spread across her face. She slowly moved her hooves in search for a surface to hang on to, but didn’t feel any while the distance from the ground rapidly changed in her mind. Twilight gulped as she began to fall, her tail and mane flapping due to the air resistance. The little unicorn looked at the ground as it sped closer and began to feel like she was in the middle of the Canterlot Tower incident again. She was about to levitate herself, but decided to steel her hooves instead, preparing to face the crash with a look of determination on her face.

Twilight’s legs bent under the pressure as her hooves sunk into the ground with her face mere millimeters away from hitting it. She released her breath and got got right back up, but her peace of mind was quickly interrupted by a pegasus landing in front of her, causing her to flinch. With a quick look back at the obstacle course, she noticed that it was now being used.

With exercise on the ground out of question, Twilight levitated herself, taking the aerial course instead. It didn’t last long though as she crashed into a pegasi, who just swept her off like a fly.

“Are you okay, Twilight?” Spike said as he quickly approached, breathing heavily. The moment Twilight landed on his hand and nodded, he shot the pegasus a hostile glare and shook his tightened fist. “What’s wrong with you? Is the training field not big enough for guys to share?”

The Wonderbolt raised an eyebrow and landed in front of Spike with a loud thump, dust spreading around her hooves, but the young drake stood his ground and showed him Twilight who was now in his hand. “Why are you treating her like a fly? She may be small, but she is not invisible.”

The female Wonderbolt stomped firmly and frowned at the depressed unicorn before saying, “If you hadn’t noticed, we’re training here for our upcoming events, and your little friend, owner, or whatever is getting in our way. If she gets stomped, it’s her fault for getting under our hooves.”

Spike growled while Twilight hid her face behind her own tail and murmured a question. “I… I was just a little bored.… No pony was letting me help, so I wanted to at least train with you like I did a month ago. You didn’t mind back then, so why now? What did I do wrong?”

“What did you do wrong?” asked the pegasus with a roll of her eyes. “How about playing with our flares and messing up our uniforms in the presence of royalty. We may not have any respect for the nobles, but the princess is another story.”

“I’m sorry! I am really sorry for that, it was an accident, I swear!” Twilight responded with her head lowered respectfully. “I just wanted to impress my mentor so she could forgive me for being tardy.”

“Yeah!,” Spike added. “And Princess Celestia found it entertaining.”

“If you are so sorry, how about you fix our uniforms? As for your mentor, I bet she was just trying to spare your feelings,” the Wonderbolt said before lifting her foreleg as she pointed her hoof at Twilight. “I bet she was very disappointed in you, but didn’t show it out of pity.”

Twilight curled up in a ball, her head almost touching her knees as the pegasus’ words weakened her self confidence. “You… really think so...”

Before the pegasus could respond, Spike turned around and walked away. “Don’t listen to her. These guys are just bullies.”

Twilight stood back up on Spike’s hand and pointed towards the gathering pegasi as their lunch break started. “They have the right to be enraged. Especially after I assaulted them with fireworks. And what if she was right, what if Celestia is hiding her disappointment in me behind her regal mask,” she said before sitting and rubbing her hoof.

Spike scratched the back of his neck with his free hand as he searched for a way to lift his mom’s spirit. “Let’s go to the cafeteria. I’m sure some strawberry ice-cream with whipped cream on top or a cookie will cheer you up,” Spike said as he placed Twilight on his head and followed the group. The situation didn’t improve on their way towards the cafeteria as every pegasi ignored them. It just increased his mom’s depression, and while her small body could endure any punishment, her small heart proved very easy to hurt.

“Mmm…” Soarin’ sniffed the pie in his hooves and licked his lips. As much as he hated to admit it, Overwatch was not mistaken when she called him a pie-loving colt… with colt excluded. Not that he only ate pies… although he sometimes wondered if he could sustain himself only on this delicious dessert alone. But while some ponies had obsession with apples or hayburgers, some with muffins or cupcakes, his were pies.

“Sup Soarin’,” Spitfire said as he turned towards her, only for the memory of Overwatch’s words to return to his mind. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Soarin’ examined Spitfire’s expression as a blush formed on his cheeks. He never noticed before, but Spitfire really looked at him differently than she looked at others. Was Overwatch right, could it really be true? Did she really feel something for him? He shook his head and cursed that annoying guard for putting the images in his mind of Spitfire lying in bed while gesturing for him to join that would forever haunt him.

“Sorry. Anyways, how is the team looking, getting us into shape and all?” Soarin’ asked.

“Not so good,” Spitfire said as she lowered her head slightly while her expression suddenly lost confidence. “But I am mostly worried about Twilight. I expected that they would not like my decision, but it seems like they do whatever they can to stay clear of her…”

Soarin’ put his hoof on Spitfire’s shoulder and said, “Yea, I noticed too. Poor Twillight. She was so excited for this job, and it has been three days already and nothings happened for her. Can’t you… I don’t know… order them to be more cooperative?”

“It seems I’ll have no choice but to do that. I hoped to leave it only as last resort though.”

Soarin’ put his foreleg on the floor and tilted his head to the side in confusion. “Last resort? Why?”

“Because Wonderbolts are not royal guards. We were always a team that trusted and respected one another, and if I were to assume direct command and order them to… Lets just say that it would be best if they cooperated with Twilight on their own free will.”

Soarin’ nodded before pointing towards the table in distance while pie was perched on his back. “Lets go and cheer her up.”

Twilight laid on the table with her head perched on her foreleg while poking a cookie with her other hoof. Spike was holding a half eaten gem hesitantly, not feeling up to finishing it while Twilight’s guards ate their hay sandwiches.

“Cheer up,” Spitfire called as Twilight raised her eyes towards her, not bothering to move her head. “Wow, you look more depressed than I expected.”

“Hello... Spitfire,” Twilight said with a bored tone of voice before pushing herself back to her hooves to salute. “My deepest apologies ma'am.”

Spitfire chuckled and shook her head before saying, “Its okay Twilight. No need for formalities.”

Twilight nodded before lowering her head in shame. “I would like to thank you for giving me a chance to work for you…and I will understand if you expect me to resign.”

Spitfire’s eyes widened as she rushed to the table, grabbing Twilight between the tips of her wings. “Resign? what are you talking about?”

Twilight didn’t dare look her in the eyes, her voice still sounding depressed. “I’m talking about getting rid of me. It has been three days and I haven’t proved to be useful even once. There is no need to keep such a failure like me as a medic an–” she didn’t finish her sentence as Spitfire shook her. After taking a moment to recover, she looked at the captain, only to be taken aback by her angered expression.

“Don’t you dare call yourself useless! Would a useless pony be able to hit the horn of a criminal that kept us trapped in a levitation field? Would a failure be able to cast a small flare to blind the griffons that were chasing us despite her size disadvantage? Would an excuse for a medic be able to perform complicated surgery on my wing that was penetrated by at least three enchanted arrows and was almost torn apart from smashing into rocks, let alone surf down a mountain while levitating a wounded pegasus so more arrows wouldn’t hit her?”

“But… even if I was useful before, I am useless now. No pony needs me,” Twilight responded, her eyes wide from shock. “What good is even the best medic without patients that need her?”

Spitfire shook her head and said, “Don’t worry about that Twilight, just leave it to me. I will make sure that they’ll let you help. Even if I need to use my high authority to do so."

“Spitfire,” Twilight struggled to free her hooves from the captain’s hold before climbing onto her wing, perching herself between the soft feathers. Once comfortable, she pointed her hoof at the eating Wonderbolts that still ignored her. “They don’t trust me, that is why their performance is so poor. I am sure that if you hire somepony else in my place, they wouldn’t hesitate to take your training more seriously.”

Spitfire grabbed a glass of water with her free wing, drinking it as the water slowly began to boil, matching the anger inside her. She shot her teammates an annoyed stare. “This is indeed a problem. Every Wonderbolt must perform dangerous stunts in the training area where they can receive quick medical assistance. This is the only way they will learn how to avoid danger during a show or on a mission. If they don’t take more risks during their training, it may have devastating results in the long run.”

Twilight nodded as she stood on her rear hooves that sunk into the yellow wing. “This is why you need to replace me!”

While Twilight and Spitfire talked with one another, Soarin’s attention was focused on Overwatch who was simply smirking at him. Oh how much he wished he could somehow knock that smug look from her face! As the silence continued, Overwatch cleared her throat and spoke, “I swear, Soarin, I’ve never met a pony, other than Twilight, who likes a game of hide and seek as much as you do. How did you like the little gift I left for you by the way? Surely it made you look far more mature.”

Soarin' bit his lips and held his breath, Don’t fall for it, don’t fall for it. She wants you to respond, just stay quiet.

“Oh, so your are playing the silent type now?” Overwatch said before walking closer to the pegasus, shooting him a duck face. “I guess mares like the silent type with stallions, but not colts. You won’t score Spitfire that way,” she whispered before her horn lit as she shot a beam of magic at him, causing him to flinch and fall off his seat. Soarin’ massaged his head before sitting back up, only to feel something on his lips. With one touch of his hoof, he felt the mustache once again covering his face. “Now that’s better! With this mustache, you’ll score Spitfire with no trouble at all! Just don’t play the silent type until you get her into your room while high quality apple cider will be prepared on the table.”

Soarin’ could hear a weak laughter coming from his teammates as his face turned red, both from embarrassment and anger while Steel Blade gave him ‘been there, done that’ look. Soarin’s mouth opened to respond, only for a piece of apple pie to seal it.

“Do not talk with your mouth full, foal. I am sure your mom taught you better than that.”

Soarin' cut of half of the pie with his teeth and gulped as it went through his throat. His mouth opened and ready to talk back, but closed immediately the moment Twilight demanded to be replaced. “Replaced? But…” Soarin’ murmured to himself, but was cut off by Spitfire as the two started to argue.

Soarin’s wings and ears dropped while pie fell off his back and onto the floor, but he could care less about the food. Despite Spitfire’s attempts to raise Twilight’s confidence, her self-esteem was just getting worse. How much he wanted to lift up her spirit, how much he wanted to assure her that she was important, but what would he say? What of his words would rival encouraging speeches of the captain herself that just failed?

“She’s between a rock and hard place, wouldn’t you agree?” Overwatch said, capturing Soarin’s attention as she looked at him with worry, her smirk long gone.

“Hard place… Like situation without exit?” Soarin’ said while studying the guard’s expression, surprised by her sudden change of attitude.

“More of a circle. Twilight cannot perform her role as medic because nopony trust her healing skills. In order to gain trust, she must prove herself by healing a major wound, but how can she prove herself if nopony lets her assist?”

Soarin’ nodded while frowning quietly at his teammates. If only somepony would give Twilight a chance to prove herself in front of everypony. He closed his eyes and slowed his breath as he thought deeply. The solution was so simple, but was he able to put it into action? His contemplation was interrupted by Spitfire’s call as every Wonderbolt flew towards the training area. With shake of his head and deep sigh, he followed, only for Overwatch to block his way.

“What do you want? You can tease me after training is over,” Soarin’ said firmly and walked around the female guard, only to feel her hoof on his shoulder as she whispered into his ear.

“What’s your plan?”

“Plan?” Soarin’ blinked in confusion.

“Don’t play stupid with me. The deep thinking, determination in your eyes and firm steps. I can read you like an open book, and I bet it has something to do with Twilight,” Overwatch said. To her surprise, he pushed her hoof off his shoulder and walked away, not even looking back.

“I’m just going to help a friend, that’s all,” Soarin’ responded with mix of determination and fear while spreading his wings. “And I’ll do whatever has to be done.”

Not waiting for a response and with a goal set, he flew, dashing towards the training field.

Come on Soarin’, you can’t back down now. Soarin’s determination weakened with every flap of his wings as he approached his first ring, ready to fly in the middle. With a quick scanning through the area, he could see his captain trying fruitlessly to encourage her subordinates to step up in their training as it was not going to take long before she would use her authority to force them to. As he expected, other pegasi hesitated the moment they reached the advanced part of the course before turning back, but he was not going to turn back now. Soarin’s hooves trembled on their own and sweat started to fall from his forehead as he tried to maintain his speed before looking towards the watchtower, his sharp eyes quickly noticing Twilight sitting in her usual spot, most likely bored and depressed. Soarin’ turned his attention back to the obstacles as he grit his teeth and steeled his hooves. Twilight needed him more than ever.

Gaining in speed, he dashed through the moving rings, passed each one faster than the last one. Every next ring moved faster and was closer to one another, every next turn was sharper and more difficult to make. Despite being focused on the obstacles, he could still notice few gasps of his teammates as their attention was now focused on him.

“See! At least one of you is trying,” Spitfire praised while pointing her hoof at him.

After passing last moving ring, he flew upward, heading towards the advanced course as the crew on the ground opened fire, forcing him to evade barrage of projectiles. His teeth tightened and muscles tensed as even one mistake would result him being hit or crash into flaming ring. Three rings later his body was drenched in sweat, when suddenly a moving ring bursting into flames captured his attention, a part of the course reserved for Spitfire herself.

“You are doing great Soarin’, but enough is enough!” Spitfire called as she followed him at increasing speed. Despite being faster, the distance kept her at a disadvantage. “I said enough. You are pushing yourself too far!”

Soarin’ gulped as Spitfire was right. So far only she managed to complete the flamed rings course without burning her wings as according to story about her cutie mark she once shared with her teammates, she got it after flying through a fire to save a classmate when she was but seven years old. What chance did he have against her unique skill?

“I said, enough!” The voice was getting louder as Spitfire was quickly catching up. Soarin’ sped up to keep his distance as he felt weak burn on his wing that almost touched the fire.

Soarin’ looked at watchtower for one last time. Even from this distance, looking at it for a fragment of second, he could notice the tiny mare’s worried expression. This is for you, Twilight. Make me proud, he thought before dashing at another ring, only to fly slightly to the left, his body brushing against the flaming ring.

A loud shriek followed as he fell to the ground at high speed, his wing half burned and smoking as it refused to heed his call. Soarin’s eyes closed as he braced himself for an impact, expecting to hit the ground at any moment. Though, the crash never came as he felt his body hit something fluffy, almost feeling no pain outside of his burned wing. After slowly opening his eyes, the angered expression on his captain’s face greeted him as she slowly descended and placed him on the ground while one of his other team members moved a rain cloud in to extinguish flames. Despite the pain, he refused to scream. He looked at his teammates and saw looks of worry and pity in their eyes, though he saw a hint of admiration as well. He slowly turned his head to look at Spitfire who grabbed his neck and slapped him in the face.

“What were you thinking? Do you have any idea how many years of my life I lost after the scare you just gave me? I didn’t promote you to my right hoof for…” she continued to unleash her frustration at him, but Soarin’ struggled to focus on what Spitfire was saying due to the pain, so he just smiled.

“I… I just,” Soarin’ bit his lips from the pain before taking few quick breath as he continued. “I just wanted to motivate everypony… to give an example. I guess I went a bit too far.”

“Too far is an understatement!” she said before grabbing him in a hug by his neck, careful not to move his wounded wing. “Don’t do that ever again!”

Soarin’ blushed as his captain released him and put a cloud under his head, his attention focused once again on the watchtower, only for Twilight to appear on his belly in a flash.

“Don’t move!” Twilight shouted before his opened mouth could speak even a single word. Without a second to lose, the little mare approached his wing as her horn lit with a small but powerful aura. He could feel pain jolting from his burned muscles and bones in his wing, but would care less as he fulfilled his goal. You got your chance, Twilight. Do not waste it, he thought before closing his eyes.

Despite the agony that lasted for minutes, he felt a warm sensation of healing magic in his wing as the little medic restored it back to normal, feather after feather, bone by bone. After slowly opening his watered eyes, he noticed his teammates staring at Twilight with wide opened eyes, some even rubbing them in disbelief. The little unicorn on the other hoof was covered in sweat, draining every bit of magic to help him. The healing process lasted for a few more minutes, but none of pegasi dared to move from their spot as Twilight climbed back onto his stomach with trembling legs before falling onto her face at it pressed against his fluffy belly as if it was a pillow.

“Twilight, are you okay? You look exhausted,” Soarin’ asked as he gently raised Twilight’s head with a hoof, as the little mare anchored her forelegs against it and stood.

After taking a deep breath, she pointed at him and responded, “I should be asking the same question. Does it still hurt?” The pegasus shook his head while clapping from surrounding him crowd reached his ears, but he ignored it as he felt Twilight embracing his neck tightly. “I am so glad! I was fearing the worst.”

Soarin’ responded with a chuckle as he got to his hooves while his living neck piece still hung on. “Twilight, it takes more than that to take down a Wonderbolt. I may be the softy of this team, but I am not made of cotton.”

“That’s questionable,” Spitfire added, her worry replaced with amusement.

Soarin’ smirked as he looked at his chuckling teammates before spreading his healed wing as he ignored the weak pain that came from it. “Thanks Twilight, you really did a great job,” he said before standing on his rear hooves while pulling Twilight of his neck who was now being held between his hooves. “My wing is as good as new,” he added while jaws of few Wonderbolts fell to the ground. They began to murmur amongst themselves.

Twilight shook her head and said, “Don’t strain it! It may be healed, but your wing is still in bad shape. You need to wait at least few hours before you can fly at full speed again.”

“Few hours is still less than few days…” he grit his teeth before closing his wing while taking Twilight’s advice to heart. “But I think I should give it a rest.” With Twilight placed on the ground as Soarin’ once again was on all fours, he half bowed and walked away from his little friend with satisfied smile. Spitfire quickly joined to escort him back to his room while praises and cheers from the other Wonderbolts followed.

Minutes passed as neither he or Spitfire spoke a single word. The captain decided to give herself time to calm down while Soarin’ was too afraid to be yelled at again.

“Take a long rest, you deserved it,” Spitfire said before slowly closing the door to his room.

Soarin’ approached his bed and waited few more seconds, only to start breathing rapidly as his legs began to tremble. With a solid thump his head hit the bed, sinking into the eiderdown as the memories of what he just did assaulted his mind.

Was he insane? To take an obstacle course that even his captain, a pony whose cutie mark represented her talent to fly even in the hottest and most unpleasant environment had trouble with. Or was he stupid to face it on purpose, to burn his wing and put his life in danger? No, not with Twilight around. She deserved his trust, and she deserved a chance to prove herself, and as supportive friend, he had to provide one.

Soarin’s thoughts were interrupted by knock to the door. With his forelegs pushing him from the bed, he answered “Come in,” with weary voice. The door opened as the female guard walked in. “Overwatch? What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be keeping Twilight company or something?”

The female guard clearly ignored him as she approached, forcing Soarin’ to walk backward as that mare clearly didn’t know the meaning of personal space. The unicorn just smiled warmly and spoke, “Thank you.”

Soarin’ stopped as there was not even slightest sign of sarcasm in her voice. “For what?”

“For faking your accident. I never expected you to go that far for a friend,” Overwatch said with her foreleg raised in front of her.

“How did you know?”

The female guard sat in front of a bed while placing her crossed forelegs on it and spoke, “I am not a specialist for nothing. Call it intuition or talent in seeing through facades, but I have always been good at figuring out others’ intentions, and you are very easy to read.”

Soarin’ nodded and scratched the back of his neck. “You’re good. Anyway, I didn’t do anything special. Twilight needed a chance to prove herself and I provided her with one. It’s what friends do,” he said with a warm smile, only for it to vanish under serious and intimidating stare from Overwatch, feeling as if she tried to penetrate his very soul.

“You’re wrong, what you did was a big deal!” she yelled before pointing her armored hoof at the somewhat scared Wonderbolt. “I’ll be completely honest. For the past two weeks I learned a lot about you and your captain. You’re a coward, Soarin’. You are soft and hesitant, afraid to push yourself, and even after month of vacation your teammates had, your skills hardly exceeded theirs.”

Soarin’ opened his mouth, but no words left his dry mouth as he stared as Overwatch in disbelief.

“You remind me of Steelie when he was younger. A naive, cheerful pony who pays up for his weaknesses with determination and spirit. Despite not being a dedicated athlete with no desire to win at any cost, you are still a Wonderbolt, and I can see why.” Overwatch stood and slammed her hoof against the bed as she continued, “You are very dedicated, both to your teammates and friends, pushing yourself not because you want to win, but because you don't want to fail those who are counting on you.”

Soarin’ lowered his head as his wings dropped. No matter how much he wanted to deny her words, they were like arrows of honestly, hitting the truth he tried to hide while hurting. His depression didn’t last long as he felt yet another hug around his neck. Not as strong as Spitfire’s, but definitely tighter than Twilight’s. “Overwatch?”

“You are a great pony, never change!” Overwatch said before breaking the hug and leaving the room as she spoke from behind half-closed door, “Thank you, Soarin’, for everything you did for Twilight.”

Overwatch walked back to the training area, clearly impressed that though she thought she figured out yet another pony, he still managed to surprise her. The moment Overwatch arrived at her destination, she looked at the watchtower that was empty for some reason. After a quick examination of the area, she smiled as the Wonderbolts were flying at higher speed and performed more advanced stunts than before. Meanwhile, Twilight and Spike stood in front of a Wonderbolt. Curious, Overwatch approached quietly and exposed her ear

“How can I help you?” asked Twilight as she did her best to hide any signs of weakness.

“I would like to ask you for a small favour,” she said before exposing her wing while pointing at a small bruise on it. After a quick look at her teammates, she continued, “I was wondering, are you feeling strong enough to take care of this? It won’t be a big deal if you refuse as it’s nothing serious, but it is still a little distracting whenever I flap my wing.”

“Of course I’m strong enough!” Twilight shouted before hopping onto the wing and sending her magic into the bruise. Despite her size, she had as much magic as any doctor and still some reserves to spare.

Minutes had passed as Twilight finally finished her work. She wiped sweat from her forehead and was met by Spike's proud smile. Satisfied with the result, she looked at the pegasus with a cheerfully and said, “Done. You had a few small splinters among your feathers, but they’re gone now,” she said while pointing at the levitated objects above her head before they bursted into flames and turned into ashes, only to flinch at the sudden move of Wonderbolt’s hoof that advanced towards her.

“My name is Fleetfoot, and again, thanks for the help.”

Overwatch smiled warmly as her little charge shook the hoof energetically. After a quick look at the pegasi in mid air, she noticed a few glares directed towards Twilight and Fleetfoot, most of them filled with mix of distrust and uncertainty, but no longer hostile. It seemed that the little medic will still had a long way to go before she will be fully accepted, but at least it was start.