//------------------------------// // Ch8 - Surprise // Story: My Little Medic // by CommanderX5 //------------------------------// My Little Medic - Chapter 8 Surprise The briefing room, a place where the Wonderbolts gather to listen to their captain’s lecture or instructions and discuss strategy, was now serving as a little library for an enthusiastic bookworm who doubled as a Lieutenant. “Here you go,” Soarin said while placing a few more books about Wonderbolts’ history and photo album of the former members in front of his tiny friend. He barely managed to find any free space on the table as it slowly became a small fortress of books. All that was missing was a throne for the Princess of Books. Soarin’ chuckled at the mental image that popped into his head. He had to admit, The Ruler of The Books did have a nice ring to it. “That’s just what I needed, Thank you very much!” Twilight said with a cheerful smile from her spot on the opened book before she carefully placed new books on top of others, while an opened album started hovering in front of her face. Curious, Soarin’ sat on a cloud behind the table and took a peek at Twilight’s study material. “Are you still worried about Spitfire?” Twilight shook her head. “Not really, I am rather curious.” The little unicorn looked back at the pegasus while pointing at pictures in the levitated album. “According to the former members and officers listed here, there were many commanders, admirals and captains back when the Wonderbolts were part of the military.” With a swift jump, Twilight stood on her rear hooves, pointing towards a picture on the top of the page. “See, General Firefly. She was one of military leaders and formed the Wonderbolts from the pegasi division.” With a quick turn of the page, she once again pointed at the top. “Around one hundred years after the war against griffons, they were assigned to Admiral Fairweather, and later Admiral Fairy Flight from the 7th squadron, back when Equestria finished its defensive fleet to defend and explore the ocean. With rather,” Twilight cleared her throat and grimaced, “poorly designed ships and a distinct lack of experienced crew to defend them, they needed a small but skilled group of fliers who could both fly quickly over short distances and defend the ship in case of attack, so the Wonderbolts were appointed as recon on the ships, or an air force for the first carriers. It is also when the development of enhanced gems started so that the Wonderbolts could sink hostile ships.” Soarin’ nodded. “Yea, but it didn’t last long. After ships got larger and more heavily armed, our services were needed less and less. As soon as unicorn offensive magic became more potent, and the ships housed squadrons of pegasi, we were basically put out of the ocean-faring business for good." Twilight nodded as her expression turned into a far more serious one as pages turned again. “Colonel Purple Dart from the ground forces was the last officer who connected the Wonderbolts to the military five hundred sixty years ago. As the situation in the kingdom stabilised itself, the military was reformed into royal guards and the Wonderbolts became semi-military, called upon only in time of crisis. It was also the first time they had chosen their own captain from their own ranks.” “Oh, I see,” Soarin’ interrupted while rubbing his chin. “I think I know what you’re searching for and I can already confirm it. The Wonderbolts turned into a sport organization and picked their own leaders. Changes of leadership became very common and only the most respected Wonderbolts became captains.” Twilight tilted her head to the side and asked, “What about Lieutenants and lower rank officers? From what Overwatch told me, you weren’t the most respected member, especially compared to Fleetfoot.” “Overwatch…” Soarin’ frowned at that name before nodding, a weak blush formed on his face. “Spitfire was the one who proposed my promotion. Back then every member called me egghead… though some still call me that to this day. The point is, you should have seen the looks on their faces when Spitfire wanted to promote me as her right hoof.” Twilight crossed her forelegs, “Let me guess. They respected Spitfire’s judgement and voted in your favour?” Soarin’ nodded. “Yea, and until I met Overwatch, I always wondered why she had chosen me from all the better fliers. So far she just kept saying that she needed a Lieutenant who is well educated and smart.” His smile suddenly vanished while his ears flattened against his head. “But now I know the true reason.” Noticing confused look on Twilight’s face from side of his eye, he added, “Nevermind, it’s… personal. Anyway, I‘m surprised that they didn’t go for me before Spitfire.” “I see… you don’t need to tell me if it is hard topic for you. Sorry.” “It’s okay.” He lowered his head closer to Twilight, faking a smile. “Any other questions? Ask me anything, I’m like an open book… at least that’s what Overwatch said. Your guard is really annoying sometimes.” Twilight stood and jumped onto Soarin’s muzzle, album still levitated above her head. “She’s not that bad, she likes teasing, but she means well,” the little mare said and pat her friend’s muzzle. “It’s always fun to talk with you or fly on your back. You remind me of myself when I was younger, trying to keep up with my studies while also training like an athlete, and trust me, it was not easy.” Soarin’ blushed and waved his foreleg. “Oh shush… You’re too kind.” Twilight turned around, sitting on the edge of pegasus’s nose while her hind legs started moving back and forth, her attention focused on the castle of books on the table. “I was curious. For a sport organization, you guys are really respected, and while I don’t want to offend my guard friends from Canterlot Castle, the Wonderbolts are far better in fighting and flying than military pegasi. Would you mind telling me what’s the secret behind it?” “I think you should ask Spitfire about it,” the pegasus responded, careful not to throw his friend off his nose, when suddenly the door slammed open as Overwatch and Steel Blade walked in, their expressions serious. “Twilight, you won’t believe it!” Steel Blade said hastily before catching his breath, his foreleg supporting him against a table while accidently crumbling the wall of books. “Your family!” Twilight’s eyes opened widely and with a firm jump, she landed on Steel’s muzzle, almost causing him to lose his balance. “Are they hurt, did the house burn, what happened?” Before the pegasus guard could speak, Overwatch beat him to it. “Calm down Twilight. It’s not that,” she started. “Following Princess Celestia’s orders, your brother will organize a reward ceremony for the Wonderbolts for their bravery in Fillydelphia.” In an instant, Twilight teleported onto Soarin’ neck, peeking from behind it with a panicked expression. “Does he know that…” “He does.” Twilight sighed. Her always strong legs that could resist weight dozens times their mass suddenly became soft like paper as the little mare laid flat against the neck. “I’m doomed.” Overwatch observed as Steel Blade placed Twilight gently onto his spread wing while trying to cheer her up before they both left the room, leaving Soarin’ behind to gather and transport books on his back. Being alone with her target, the female guard smirked and approached. “Hey there, hero,” she said while touching Soarin’s wing who trembled in response, books falling from his back, right into Overwatch’s levitation field before they could hit the ground. “You will soon be rewarded for your heroic deeds, Aren’t you excited?” “N-no… maybe a little,” the pegasus responded, steeling his nerves while grabbing the books with his wings. With a quick look at the guard’s mischievous smile, he responded with an awkward one. “I better be going… don’t want to leave Spitfire waiting and all.” With a swift flap of the wings, Soarin' was airborne. Though, foolishly, he kept eye contact with Overwatch; little did he know that a wall was in his path of flight. Overwatch closed her eyes upon hearing the sound of crackling wood as the Wonderbolt left shakily. With the room empty, the female guard murmured to herself, “Run and hide all you want, but I will crack that shy shell you’re hiding in.” She slowly raised her foreleg and scratched her chin. “I wonder if Shining’s future bride will be at the award ceremony. With such an experienced pony on my side, getting those two Wonderbolts’ together would be a breeze.” Twilight felt as if her heart was about to escape her chest while sweat covered her trembling body, a feeling she had experienced thousands of times in the past thirteen years as a hard working student. Was it because of levitating hundreds times her own weight, or lifting heavy objects with her tiny hooves as even her mentor’s humongous chest plate was no longer a challenge for her small, yet muscular legs. But not today. While in any other circumstances she would have been overjoyed to spend time with her B.B.B.F.F, after her adventure in Fillydelphia it was the last thing she wanted to do. Twilight’s hold around Steel Blade’s neck tightened the moment her guard entered the great colosseum on the edge of the city, the place where she watched the Wonderbolts’ show alongside her mentor before meeting Spitfire. Sudden feelings of nostalgia calmed her nerves slightly. She slowly peeked from behind her guard’s neck and examined the enormous stadium; seats were packed with an excited crowd numbering in the thousands surrounding a large, open central area, and small platform with a podium for winners in the middle, attached to the walls from four sides. Just like the last time, there were safety measures separating ponies from a long fall to the ground, while the clouds in various shapes that served as obstacles for participating pegasi were set up differently. Spitfire once told me that the number of clouds and their shapes were regularly changed with every new show, but the obstacle course was way harder before… Maybe new, less experienced flying teams were trying their luck while the Wonderbolts’ were on vacation, Twilight thought before looking at the VIP spot, her ears drooping at the sight of the empty seat in the distance. More memories surfaced as she had once watched the show from behind her mentor’s crown, and now she would be the center of attention rather than spectator. If there was anything she regretted besides facing her brother, it was that her mentor was too tired to personally attend the award ceremony. “It’s time, Twilight,” Steel Blade said encouragingly as the little unicorn dug herself into his mane. With a deep sigh, he spread his wings and flew, slowly approaching the podium in the middle of the area before landing next to Spitfire. After a solid shake of his head, the little unicorn yelped as her forelegs held the guard’s mane tightly, not letting it go. Noticing it, Spitfire grabbed Twilight with her hooves and pulled while Steel Blade bit his lips. If he ever regretted that Twilight was very strong for her size, he did now. With one solid pull, Twilight ended up placed on the Captain’s shoulder. Spitfire rolled her eyes as her little friend hid inside her orange mane instead. *** “Jeez, Twilight, what’s scaring you so much? Is your brother a bully or something?” “N-no,” responded a squeaky voice from inside her mane. Spitfire frowned. “I swear, Twilight. For such a dependable medic, diligent student and great friend, you’re weird sometimes.” Feeling trembling and hearing more squeaky noises coming from her mane, Spitfire sighed, her attention focused on a flash of light as the Captain of the Royal Guards teleported onto the platform and started his speech. “Mares and gentlecolts. We haven’t gathered here today to admire the Wonderbolts’ famous stunts, breath taking races and display of skills. Instead, we are here to celebrate their heroic deeds in Fillydelphia, reward their bravery and thank them for all the lives they have saved!” Shining said with magically enhanced voice. With a swift move of his hoof, he pointed at her team while still facing the crowd. “Give our heroes the cheers they deserve!” The clopping and cheering reverberated through the colosseum as the captain waited patiently for it to cease with medals levitating at his side. Once the loud cheers weakened, the captain spoke again, “According to the wish of our beloved ruler, bringer of harmony and protector of Equestria, I will reward the Wonderbolts, guards and civilians who proved themselves in this day of need.” Shining Armor pointed his hoof at the empty seat in VIP’s area. “Sadly, the princess cannot attend today's celebration as she is resting after personally dealing with the crisis in Fillydelphia, and she put me in charge of this honor in her stead.” Murmurs started among the crowd of ponies as the captain walked towards the awaiting group, rewarding very few of his guards and two airship pilots who assisted with the relocation of the last two unconscious monsters Spitfire sharpened her glare as she studied the captain’s expression and body language. Something was wrong. For most of her career as a Wonderbolt and later as their captain, she often dealt with nobles, delegates and celebrities. Over those years she mastered an ability to look past fake masks and false praises. While most would be fooled, Spitfire quickly recognized a fake smile, noticing second lasting glares of anger and annoyance in the captain’s facial expression, hidden rage hardly visible in his eyes. Suddenly her eyes widened at the realization while movements in her mane confirmed her suspicions. Medal after medal, Spitfire observed Shining’s every move, his fake smile vanishing for half a second with each rewarded Wonderbolts. He stopped in front of her, a rounded golden award with a sunmark levitating in his aura. Both captains stared at one another in lasting silence as the medal was slowly attached against Spitfire’s uniform. With a quiet frown, Shining Armor grimaced and looked around before glaring back at Spitfire suspiciously. Noticing it, she lowered her head slightly while pointing at her own mane. “It’s not a game of tag, Twilight, stop wasting everypony’s time,” Shining said with a firm ordering tone. With no movements coming from the mane as seconds passed, he added, “I know you’re in there. I won’t yell at you, so please come out.” Noticing the little unicorn slowly emerging from Spitfire’s natural hiding spot, Shining greeted her with a forced smile while the medal levitating into her embrace. “Good job Twiny, you saved many lives and made your family proud. Keep up with the good work.” Spitfire found it awkward with the Captain of the Royal Guards talking to her mane. Slowly raising her head, she looked Shining Armor in the eyes as he gestured his hoof for her to follow. Spitfire nodded and approached, step by step before she faced the crowd. “Let me help,” Shining said as his horn flashed. “I will cast a spell that will temporarily enhance the strength of your voice.” After taking a deep breath, he shouted to the crowd, ”Now quiet everypony. The leader of your heroes, Spitfire herself has something to say to all of you!” Spitfire closed her eyes before clearing her throat as her heart started to beat rapidly. She had faced crowds of this size on a daily basis and stage fright was the last thing she was worried about. What bothered her, however, was shame as she and her team were being treated as heroes despite the disaster her squad were during that mission. With a deep breath, she spoke, “My fellow ponies, it was a tough day for us all. There was much devastation and there were times when it seemed that all hope was lost. But in the end, we pulled through together as a team and were triumphant.” She turned to her teammates, even those that challenged her authority and smiled. “We may not be perfect, we may sometimes fight, and there are times when things seemed down. But we are Wonderbolts and we are a team to the end. We’re there for each other just as we are for all of you!” Spitfire waited for the cheers to cease as she scanned the crowd. Most of the ponies showed a lot of excitement typical for every show that her team participated in. Her sharp eyes noticed few sad and devastated expressions but also a few thankful smiles among all the cheering ponies who were not even in Fillydelphia during the attack. “I’m sure that many of you have a lot of work to do, starting your life anew, and I give you all best wishes. I know it may not be much, but I and my team agreed that income from the next upcoming shows will go into repairs of Fillydelphia, you are not alone!” “See, it wasn’t that bad,” Spitfire said as Twilight nodded from her spot on captain’s head, now perched comfortably on a bunch of orange hair with the medal between her little hooves. Twilight poked her award while turning it around, admiring from many angles. The medal itself seemed to contain far more gold than other metals if compared to her mentor’s golden horseshoe, and it was big enough to cover her entire belly. On the displayed part, Twilight could see emblem of the sun while a sash was attached to the lower part. On the backside she could see a safety-pin and shivered before looking at her own trembling foreleg, memory of a giant needle piercing it flashing in her mind. Twilight placed the award in front of her, careful not to prick her friend with the safety-pin as she started to look around, quickly noticing that she was now in a long hallway, passing doors with Wonderbolts’ names on them. “Where are we heading?” “The waiting room of course. It’s a place where fliers awaiting their turn to participate in the events and competitions go. Every big arena in every city has one and it is spacious enough for all of us.” Twilight looked to the side at the murmuring Wonderbolts, a mix of pride and uncertainty visible on their faces while a few of them looked at their medal with a sad smile, especially Fleetfoot whose ears were drooping. It seems that they are unsure they deserved their awards after they turned on Spitfire, those events in Fillydelphia really shocked the team, Twilight thought as her attention focused on opening doors, only to flinch as she reflexively jumped into Spitfire’s mane on the neck, digging herself into the orange bush. “Not again.” The captain frowned as she approached the waiting Shining Armor, ignoring the pink unicorn standing next to him. She said with serious tone, “We are no longer in presence of the crowd, you can drop the charade.” “That’s exactly what I am going to do,” Shinning said with a strong tone as he looked at Spitfire and her team with hostile glare, whatever pleasantries and fake smiles were hiding his true feelings disappeared in an instant. “You and your team are a disgrace!” “Excuse me?” Shining stomped his hoof with great strength, leaving a few cracks on the floor. “I have read the reports, and Princess Celestia shared with me what she learned from your team members.” “I see…” Spitfire responded with a suddenly low tone as she looked at her own hooves, not daring to look Shining Armor in the eyes. “So you know…” “Of course I know. Lack of discipline, bringing rookies into the battlefield, open rebellion among your ranks, a few Wonderbolts almost got eaten. If it was up to me, I would have the entire team clean the barracks for weeks while Fleetfoot would spend a few months in prison instead of receiving medals,” Shining responded, his muzzle dangerously close to Spitfire’s while his glare sharpened. “Why the princess tolerates the Wonderbolts is beyond my comprehension.” Spitfire steeled her legs and grit her teeth as she looked up at the angered stallion. “I won’t deny that there are issues in my team that need to be addressed, we are far from perfect.” Her wings spread as she made a step forward as her muzzle pushed against Shining’s. “I am far from being a perfect captain! However, despite our problems, despite the fact that most of the team just returned from vacations and the invasion caught us off guard, we rushed to the city, took down many foes and saved a lot of lives, and what did your guards do? Hide behind the princess while she did all the work?” “Why you little…” Shining pushed Spitfire’s muzzle with his own. “At least my soldiers knew what it means to follow orders, and my pegasi following the princess cleaned the entire city with minimal casualties.” Twilight slowly emerged from the orange bush while looking at her angry brother with drooping ears and a saddened smile. “Your army of pegasi arrived an hour too late while my outnumbered team did most of the dirty work. We may lack discipline, but at least we are fast and effective thanks to our training and regular shows, that cannot be said about your incompetent soldiers.” The Wonderbolts looked at one another, unsure what to do while Soarin’ and Fleetfoot made a step forward, ready to interfere. They were stopped however by a unicorn who walked in their way and shook her head before saying, “It would be best to not interfere. Shining has a dispute with Spitfire and luggage of emotions to unload, leave them be.” “Hey Candy,” a familiar voice caught the unicorn’s attention as she noticed Overwatch moving her hoof with ‘come closer’ gesture. “I need to ask you for a favour and I could really use your talents in a small project of mine. Can we talk in private?” The unicorn nodded and walked with Overwatch to the corner of the room as they whispered to one another, doing their best to ignore the dispute between two officers. Shining pressed forward again, forcing the pegasus to take few steps back, his mouth ready to respond, only to feel another force pushing his muzzle. His eyes crossed as he looked at the unicorn whose hind legs pressed against Spitfire’s nose and trembling forelegs against his, her body sweating as she looked at him with gritted teeth. “S-stop fighting, p-please! I can’t stand here and watch my f-f-friend and brother yelling at each other. Don’t force me to separate you both!” Twilight said as her horn started to light in a purple aura. Both officers stopped as Twilight pushed their muzzles, creating a small gap between them with strength alone as she now performed the role of a small bridge. Maintaining her awkward position, Twilight gave her brother a weak smile and chuckled, only to end up as victim of his anger instead. “And you, Twilight. Care to explain what you were doing in the middle of a battlefield? You almost died!” “I…” Twilight opened her mouth, but found no words escaping it, her strong legs suddenly weakening as they struggled to keep herself stable despite her brother’s moving mouth. “She wasn’t participating in the battle,” Soarin’ interfered with a determined look, but his self confidence crumbled as the captain turned his angered glare towards him. Twilight yelped from the sudden movement of Shining’s head, anchoring both of her forelegs and hind legs against his muzzle so she wouldn’t fall of. “I mean… she volunteered and was appointed to… to heal survivors on the roof of the tallest building. We didn’t expected an attack.” “Heal survivors? With her size she can hardly heal one wing at a time and you expected her to heal many wounded?” Shining said and crossed his eyes at Twilight as his anger was now mixed with worry, his ears dropping slightly as he carefully pushed Twilight onto his muzzle. “Are you feeling okay, did what you witnessed traumatise you?” Twilight shook her head. “Just a little… It was a bit scary, but I was hurt so often that the puddles of blood are not making me sick.” Shining’s eyes opened widely. “Blood?” Noticing his sister’s nod, he added, “How could they expect you to heal so many wounded. Your magic is strong, but to heal so many serious injuries, they pushed you to far.” She was about to respond, when Soarin’ cut her off, “Excuse me.” Receiving a few stares, he continued, “When I returned to check on my wounded teammates, Twilight was the size of a big cat. Her healing was… not as effective,” noticing his little friend shamefully lower her head, he added, “but she was strong enough to heal more ponies and even assist with evacuation. If it wasn’t for her, many ponies would have died.” “Yea, you should be proud of her, not angry,” Spitfire added. Shining looked between both Wonderbolts, shocked, waiting for confirmation. Had his little sister really grown to protect others? He looked at Twilight who rubbed her hoof while looking down at his nose. “Of course I’m proud. I’m the most proud brother in Equestria,” Shining said as Twilight looked up, a tear of joy forming in her eye. “To think that you even increased your size for the sake of everypony, it had to be tough considering your fears.” He took the armor from his hoof and pressed Twilight lightly against his head between his eyes. “But the risk you took, I can’t turn a blind eye on it.” With his horn lit, a scroll levitated from Shining’s saddlebag, slowly unrolling in front of Spitfire’s face. “What’s that?” she asked as her eyes studied it carefully. Suddenly her mouth opened widely as she lowered the peace of paper with her wing. “You can’t be serious.” “Oh, I am,” Shining said with a smirk as his little sister turned her head, looking at the scroll curiously. Twilight looked back at her brother and asked with forelegs curled against her neck, “Can I read it, please?” “Sure Twilight, it is about you after all,” Shining responded as the aura around the scroll changed to lavender. Noticing that Soarin’ was close enough, the little unicorn jumped towards him while levitating herself slightly to land on his head. Now perched on her new host, she cleared her throat with a cough and started to read the literature loudly. "Regarding the recent discipline as well as safety concerns in relation to my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, I appoint Captain Shining Armor as well as his parents to oversee and monitor the Wonderbolts training for a period of three days. At the end of this period they shall council Captain Spitfire on improvements to organization, safety and discipline. Signed, Princess Celestia of Equestria. Spitfire frowned with a grimace on her face. “What? But she swore not to interfere with our internal affairs.” Shining Armor said with a firm nod, “Yes, she did, but as you can see, I’m not Princess Celestia.” “I can understand getting the Captain of the Royal Guard’s to inspect the Wonderbolts and assist with discipline issues, but his family as well? Are they high ranking officers, advisors or very influential nobles?” “Officers and advisors, no way,” Shining responded with shake of his head. “Nobles, yes, but House of Sparkle doesn’t have much political power.” He stomped his hoof against the ground. “But very worried parents whose daughter is a student of our ruler for sure, do you want ANY more reasons for them to be here?” Noticing a dead silence as the Wonderbolts’ Captain bit her lips, he pointed his hoof towards the exit. “You can enter now!” The door opened as two unicorns walked in, waving towards the curious Wonderbolts as Twilight released the scroll from her magic, her mouth agape. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief before walking backward, only to lose her balance and fall onto Soarin’s back with a yelp. “Hello everypony, my name is Night Light,” said the blue unicorn stallion with twin half-moons as a cutie mark. “And my name is Twilight Velvet,” added the unicorn mare with three purple stars on her flank while holding her hoof on her chest. With firm steps, they passed the confused pegasi and approached Soarin’ who looked at the small mare on his back with a questioning look. Both unicorns sat next to Soarin’ from both sides and spread their forelegs in an inviting gesture. “Come Twilight and give your parents a hug.” “P-parents?” Spitfire said with a swift rise of her left foreleg. She looked towards Shining Armor who sat next to his parents, quickly noticing the pink unicorn who, just moment ago, talked with Overwatch, who was approaching as well. Twilight hesitated, looking at her family in confusion before she was swept up by Velvet’s hooves and pressed against her cheek. “The moment we heard what happened, we took a few days off from work before rushing to the princess with a few demands.” “We can’t let our little Twiny be crushed by giant monsters or overwork herself,” Night Light added. Twilight pushed herself off the cheek, wrestling against the pressing hoof as she looked back at the pegasi who stared at her with mixture of expressions. In an instant, she blushed. “S-stop embarrassing me.” Velvet chuckled before speaking, “It’s parents job to embarrass their children in public. We may have agreed to let you keep your current size, risk your life in dangerous adventures, but going into a warzone and be eaten by humongous worms is where you crossed the line. There will be consequences.” Shining nodded. “Look on the bright side, Twiny. Think of it as family reunion.” Twilight sighed as for the next three days, she would have her family embarrassing her every step. Could this get any worse? “And what kind of family reunion it would be without a picture show?” Night Light added, levitating a photo album from his saddlebag. I just had to ask.