//------------------------------// // Ch16 - The Moment of Truth - Part 2 // Story: My Little Medic // by CommanderX5 //------------------------------// My Little Medic - Chapter 16 The Moment of Truth - Part 2 Awkwardness was something that a young dragon and many ponies experienced today as they stood in a circle, but none dared to say a word. Spitfire and Soarin’ stood next to each other while facing their team, who either looked at the ground or sky. Cadence stared at her very special somepony who was looking at the ground while rubbing his foreleg. Twilight Velvet and Night Light sat by his side as their attention was focused on a young dragon with their tiny daughter perched on his head. Always loud and filled with action, the training area was now quiet, as hoofsteps of leaving working staff could be heard from a long distance. Cadence raised her forehoof and opened her mouth, but no words left it. Spitfire and Soarin’ looked at each other and shrugged. Night Light placed a forehoof on Shining’s shoulder while Velvet gestured for him to speak up, but their son just shook his head in disagreement. Twilight studied their expressions, easily noticing drops of sweat or dropped ears. This is going to take forever. She bent her legs and, with a swift jump and help of self levitation, slowly descended into the middle of the crowd. Now being the center of attention as several giants looked at her miniscular posture, she lit her horn and inhaled air into her lungs. With her voice magically enhanced as her horn was surrounded by lavender aura, Twilight stood up on her rear hooves and shouted, “It’s obvious that almost everypony here wants to say something, but we can’t silently stand around for the entire day!” The group murmured as Twilight Velvet stepped forward and knelt before asking, “This is true. Do you have any suggestions how to break the first ice?” Twilight nodded, though movement of her tiny head was barely noticeable to everypony besides her mother and the perceptive Wonderbolt. “I do, but I need an empty bottle!” “Bottle?” Velvet asked in confusion, “Whatever for?” “To spin it of course. During a game of truth and dare, we need to spin a bottle, and the pony… or dragon that is pointed by its edge has to either answer a question truthfully or face a challenge.” Ignoring the sudden shaking and sweating head of her brother who gestured for her to stop, she added, “I always picked the challenge.” The little mare looked at her disguised foalsitter and added, “So did Cadence whenever I asked about her past.” Cadence looked to the side and whistled innocently while Twilight Velvet and Night Light turned to Shining Armor whose neck retreated slightly as he bit his lips. “Interesting games you’re playing with our daughter and her foalsitter,” Velvet said with a sly smile. “Are there any adult games you’ve taught our daughter during your visits? An innocent game of cards perhaps.” Shining looked at the sky and responded hastily, “Maybe…” “He sure did,” Spike added while receiving a look ‘you’re not helping’ from Twilight’s brother. “Any volunteers who would like to bring me a bottle?” Twilight asked while looking between ponies in surrounding her crowd. “I'll get it!” Soarin’ and Steel Blade said in unison. Soarin’ immediately retreated under the intimidating stare of the pegasus guard, but Spitfire countered it with a stare of her own. Not being a match for the captain of the Wonderbolts, Steel Blade looked to the side and murmured, “Where’s Overwatch when you need her?” “You called?” Steel Blade flinched and made a 360 turn in mid air while his heart nearly escaped his chest. After taking few quick breaths, he said, “How many times do I have to tell you, don’t startle me like that.” “Aww… but I like to see your shocked expression. You look really cute when surprised,” Overwatch responded. The ponies chuckled at Steel Blade’s expense, causing him to blush. With a sad smile, he turned around and sank into the crowd while Soarin’ flew to pick up the bottle. Overwatch lowered her head to Steel’s ear and whispered, “I’m sorry… please, don’t be sad.” Upon noticing that her partner just frowned and looked in opposite direction, she nuzzled his cheek and added, “I will take night shift to guard Twilight today, and I saved a dessert from the party for you.” “Really?” he asked in a soft tone before looking back at her. Overwatch nodded and whispered again, “I wanted to eat it myself later today, but you can have it.” Steel Blade smiled, but raised an eyebrow moment later. “But you like sweets a lot, why would you give up a dessert?” “That’s simple; while I like to tease you to see your cute, embarrassed face, I really can’t stand when you’re sad,” she responded quietly while fixing her scarf. “I thought you knew me better than that.” Two Wonderbolts flanking them innocently pushed Overwatch and Steel Blade at each other with their wings as they looked away and whistled. Twilight trotted in the circle impatiently while everypony either whispered to each other or tracked the movements of the little mare. After one more minute, Soarin’ returned with an empty bottle, carefully landing in the middle of circle made of Twiny’s hoofsteps. “Here you go, sorry it took so long,” he said while placing the desired object in front of his forehoof. Twilight approached the bottle and supported herself against it with her forehooves as she looked up at the towering stallion and said with a grateful smile, “Thank you.” “You're… welcome,” Soarin’ responded before returning to his spot next to Spitfire, who shot him a jealous stare. With her horn lit once again, Twilight looked at her brother. “Now, let the game begin!” She slowly walked backward while focusing on the large bottle, surrounding it with her magic. I could always make it spin with a solid kick, or push it at high speed, she thought at the possible challenge, but one look at several nervous ponies caught her curiosity. On the other hoof, let’s start this as fast as possible. The bottle spun at high speed as the aura around it disappeared after several seconds, leaving the device of truth to its own course. Soarin’ started biting his own hooves before Spitfire placed a forehoof on his shoulder. Steel Blade copied Soarin’s action until Overwatch reminded him that he doesn’t have any secret to share with everypony. *** The bottle slowed down, passing Shining Armor who looked at the sky, Soarin’ who flinched, and after few more mind-wrecking seconds, it stopped, pointing at the disguised alicorn. “It seems our first contestant is Cadence, give a round of applause for the lucky mare!” Twilight shouted. Few ponies clopped their hooves against the ground while Twilight’s parents chuckled at their daughter’s enthusiasm. “Step towards the middle, please.” Cadence did as she was told as everypony looked at her, few somewhat impressed by her size that was an uncommon sight when it came to mares. As the disguised alicorn looked down at the little mare, Twilight asked, “Truth or dare?” “Dear?” Twilight Velvet shouted. “Twilight, I don’t think this is necessary.” “Aww… but it’s more fun that way,” Twilight responded before looking up at her large foalsitter. “You can speak the truth when ready.” Cadence nodded before raising her head as she now faced the group of Wonderbolts. She looked to the side at Spitfire whose glare was somewhat hostile, while Soarin’ gave her a warm smile and an encouraging gesture of his hoof. Cadence closed her eyes and took a deep breath before speaking, “Few days ago, I and Specialist Overwatch–” She pointed at the female guard who suddenly became the center of attention, “–figured out that Captain Spitfire and Lieutenant Soarin’ like each other very much–” the officers blushed and looked to the side, away from the Wonderbolts staring at them, “–and we did our best to help them tell each other their innermost feelings.” The crowd murmured as Cadence smiled awkwardly at her special somepony’s stare of disbelief. She turned to the officers and lowered her head while holding forehooves together in apologetic gesture. “We had the best intentions in mind. I’m sorry.” “You should be!” Spitfire responded with slam of her forehoof as dust spread around it. Soarin’ wanted to say something, but didn’t get the chance over the shouting captain. “And that hard cider during the party two days ago? Was that your idea?! To get us drunk!?” Cadence’s ears dropped at the hostility in Spitfire's voice. She took another deep breath and pressed forehoof against her chest before shaking her head. “We organized the party to give both of you a chance to spend some time together, dance and celebrate. It was an unintentional mistake on my side that everypony ended up drinking hard cider.” Twilight gasped. “So that’s what happened after I passed out.” “You passed out?” Night Light asked with a stomp. “Don’t tell me you ended up drunk like everypony else?” Velvet asked with worry and hoof raised up to her face. Twilight disappeared in a flash of magic before re-appearing above her mother’s muzzle. She carefully landed on the nose with her forelegs and anchored her hind legs on both sides of the mouth. “Not really. I overdid my wrestling against Spike’s hand, and after eating two cookies and drinking a little bit of punch I felt very sleepy.” She frowned. “Maybe if I was awake, I would have used the toxin destroying spell the princess showed me recently to get everypony back to normal.” Night Light looked at his son and next back at Twilight on his wife’s muzzle. “Don’t worry, your brother didn’t do much to prevent it either.” “Daaad…” Shining responded with annoyance. Spitfire ignored the talk between Twilight and her parents as she stared at Cadence and spoke with anger, “And why should I believe you?” Cadence opened her saddlebag and levitated a letter over to Spitfire, who grabbed it violently and started reading. “There was still much hard cider left, so I returned it to it’s owners. They asked me to deliver this letter of apology for the damage caused,” Cadence said. She then lowered her head and murmured, “After I spent an hour of refusing their refund.” After double checking the letter and examining the Apple family’s signature, she rolled it and placed under her wing. “Seems legit.” Her hostile glare returned with full force. “Still, even with a few slips of hard cider, we were far too open about our feelings.” She pointed at Soarin’ who waited patiently for her to finish and added, “Is there something else you aren’t telling us?” Cadence nodded. “There’s one more thing.” Spitfire crossed her forelegs and narrowed her eyes. “Go on.” “I was doing my best, but you were afraid what your team will think of you. Soarin’ didn’t feel worthy of your presence and felt guilty that the Wonderbolts didn’t win because of him. None of you would open up to one another,” Cadence said as she poked her own horn. “I used my magic to bring up your most precious memories with the hope that you would start a conversation. It worked in the end.” Spitfire stomped and yelled, “You tried to use your magic to force–” In a flash of magic, Twilight reappeared on Spitfire’s muzzle and pointed her forehoof at the captain. “I know what you wanted to say, and that isn’t how Cadence’s magic works.” Twilight did her best not to fall off of Spitfire’s muzzle as the two of them entered into a debate. Soarin’ went ahead and gave Cadence a grateful smile. “Thank you. It means a lot to me.” Cadence tilted her head to the side. “You’re... not angry?” she asked while shake of lieutenant's calmed her fears. With surge of courage, she approached the group of Wonderbolts who whispered to each other. With their attention now on her, she said firmly, “Captain Spitfire was afraid to show her feelings for Soarin’ because of her rank as your leader.” Her tone softened as she raised her forelegs in pleading gesture, “Their relationship is honest and I’m sure that it can flourish into something more, but only you can either accept it or not. I plead that you support their relationship.” The Wonderbolts gathered in small circle and started to whisper to each other. After several seconds of hidden discussion, they turned back to Cadence while Fleetfoot spoke, “We'll see what we can do.” Cadence gave the Wonderbolts a thankful smile and sat next to Overwatch. The moment Twilight finished her heated discussion, she jumped onto the ground and once again spun the bottle with her magic. *** The bottle slowed down as it passed the young dragon, and finally stopped, this time pointing at Twilight’s family. “Mom, Dad, B.B.B.F.F!” Twilight called. “Truth or dare?” Shining Armor looked between Twilight and Cadence and steeled himself. With gathered determination, he walked proudly to the middle and looked down at his sister. “Truth.” Twilight jumped onto his back before climbing up onto his head. After she perched herself on the helmet next to some sort of tall decoration and she supported her head on her own forelegs, she then exposed her ears. “Go on.” Shining Armor rolled his eyes before taking few more steps towards Cadence and said, “I would like to apologize for my unspeakable behavior two days ago.” He lowered his head and took of his helmet while forcing Twilight to grab the decoration in order not to fall off. “Will you accept my deepest apologies?” Cadence raised foreleg up to her face as her mouth opened agape. A moment later she smiled warmly and lowered her hoof. “I should be the one apologizing, you did nothing wrong.” Shining ignored the murmurs that reached his ear and placed the helmet on the ground while Twilight sat on his left shoulder instead. “How can you say that? My dance with you was very forceful on my side, and even if I don’t remember what happened after it, I can bet it wasn’t pleasant.” He knelt, nearly bowing as he looked up at the towering mare. “I should’ve helped instead of acting like a fool, can you forgive me?” “It seems that taking the blame and painting oneself in worst possible light really runs in your family. I can’t even remember how many times Twilight apologised for the silliest of things.” Cadence knelt as well to the stallion's level and looked him directly in the eyes. “Do you want to know what you did to me?” Noticing a hesitant nod and hints of fear, she spoke with warm tone, “You danced with me, told me how much you love me, that you admire not just my beauty, but my character. You said few more compliments before kissing my cheek and passed out while supported on my shoulder.” Cadence chuckled before adding, “I escorted you to the guest quarters and placed on the bed while giving a good night kiss.” Shining eyes opened widely in pure shock. After gulping, he said, “That’s it? I avoided you for two days, thinking that I was the last pony you wanted to see… over this?” Cadence smiled sadly as she stood up before helping Shining stand. “I was afraid that you were avoiding me because you were angry at me for causing this mess.” “Never,” Shining responded before raising Cadence’s forehoof and kissed it. “You are the kindest, most understanding mare I have’ve ever meet. Your beauty is to be admired and your determination nearly rivals my sister’s.” He nuzzled the blushing alicorn before whispering into her ear, “I love you.” Cadence retreated slightly and looked to her left as every pair of eyes was now on them, but none said a word as if waiting for her answer. She looked back at her very special somepony and said, “Shining… you just openly admitted your love to me in front the Wonderbolts and your family… It’s something more than just dating…” Shining nodded. “And you told the truth about your attempts to help Soarin’ and Spitfire in front of their subordinates. You inspired me.” Cadence smiled warmly, somewhat grateful that her loved one didn’t decide to go all out and ask for her hoof in marriage. Not that she would mind, but she didn’t want to rush their relationship. “I love you too.” “Awww…” Twilight said as she punched Shining in the cheek in encouraging gesture. ”What are you waiting for Shiny? She’s just begging for a kiss.” She stood up to her hooves and giggled at the sight of large blush. “Don’t forget to send me an invitation for your wedding.” With a violent push of levitation, Twilight flew towards the ground and slide upon its surface, finally stopping next to the bottle while small traces of her hooves were left on the ground. She looked back at her brother, but all she could see was his large neck as he was probably kissing Cadence at this very moment. Twilight’s parents embraced each other's shoulders and smiled proudly. After a moment of waiting for her brother to finish, the little mare could see the large stallion turn around and walk towards her as she felt earth trembling under her flank, her attention now focused on large hooves crashing against the ground with each step. The moment she was by the shadow of her brother who was now towering over her, Twilight looked up and asked, “Should I spin the bottle, or do you have something else to say?” “One more thing,” Shining responded before walking around his little sister as he approached the Wonderbolts. Once close enough, he sat and exposed his chest proudly. “I have a score to settle with all of you. May I ask for your attention?” The group nodded. The Captain of the Guards took a deep breath and said, “I understand that our first encounter… didn’t leave the best of impressions.” “True,” Fleethoof admitted. “But your anger was justified considering that we demanded change of leadership in middle of a mission.” Spitfire added, “It wasn’t something that happened for no reason. The Wonderbolts had inner issues for years… issues I’m half responsible for.” Now no longer thinking about Cadence’s spell, she lowered her head and said, “Bullying, a general dislike for unicorns and nobility, the crippling desire to win at all costs, troubles among the ranks; it’s something that’s been going on for years, something I should’ve dealt with… maybe I tried ignoring problems rather than dealing with them.” Noticing the stress on Spitfire’s face, Soarin’ continued, “We were divided into Spitfire and Fleetfoot supporters for a long time. When princess took three of those who stood on Spitfire's side, and under pressure during a mission everything escalated.” Shining nodded. “I admit that your team made a crucial mistake, but they learned from it. What I saw for the past three days wasn't an unorganized mob, but a hard working team." He lowered his head and added with hint of regret, “It pains me to admit it, but my judgement wasn’t professional.” He sighed. “After I found out that my little Twiny participated in this mission and nearly died… my overprotectiveness blinded me. This is what I would like to apologize for.” Twilight’s ears curled as a terrifying memory of humongous mass descending towards her flashed in her mind. Her legs trembled slightly and head lowered. If I wasn’t paralyzed by fear… if I was faster, Soarin’ wouldn’t need to take the hit for me, and my mentor wouldn’t need to save us both... She looked at the lieutenant who stared at the ground and rubbed his foreleg. Ever since I started studying pegasus magic, Soarin’ was always there for me. He cheered me up after I was bullied, read with me, helped me make a saddle customized for my size. He isn’t as skilled and brave as his teammates, and yet he faced a giant worm and dangers of the obstacle course for me… and I almost cost him an eye. As Twilight was busy contemplating, and the Wonderbolts admitted their faults and accepted Shining’s apology, the captain continued, "I am glad that you have accepted my apology, but there is something I would like to confess to all of you." Spitfire raised her eyebrow and asked, “Confession? And what would a Captain of the Royal Guards and older brother to the most powerful unicorn I ever met have to confess?” “The Wonderbolts didn’t hold the Royal Guards in high regard, did they?” Shining asked, now facing Spitfire who rubbed back of her neck. “Not really…” She smiled and added in an encouraging tone, “But you sure did a heck of a job in proving us wrong.” Shining relaxed his professional posture as his head and ears dropped slightly, “I did… but only because I gathered elites trained by my predecessor.” Cadence’s eyes opened widely as she realized what her lover is about to say. “With the reputation of the guards at risk, I pulled the best of the best to gain your respect. As hard it is to admit, your original opinion about us is… not to far from the truth.” As the captain raised his head and prepared himself for a harsh response, Blaze's words captured him off guard. “So you sent elite guards to have a match against elite fliers. Seems fair to me.” Lighthoof added with a raised foreleg, “If you’d picked up a couple of rookies to face us, it would would have been way more insulting. It’s nice to know that we’re being taken seriously.” Flutter Bolt crossed his forelegs. “Hey, I’m a rookie and was pulled into the match. Don’t underestimate trainees.” Fleetfoot smirked. “So you worked hard to win our respect and impress us when it should be other way around. I take it as a complement.” Shining blinked in confusion. “R-really? You’re not angry that I cheated like that?” “I meet many competitive teams that tried to cheat to win against us. What you did is anything but cheating,” Spitfire said before giving Shining a suspicious stare. “Still, out of curiosity. If Equestria can produce such elites that can draw with my team in a hoofball match, a game where speed and agility is more important than strength. Why can’t you train the guards that patrol Canterlot?” Shining rubbed back of his neck while thinking about how to answer. With his forehoof now raised in lecturing gesture, he explained, “To spare you a long lecture, I and my fellow officers train recruits before they can become members of the Royal Guards. At the peak of their training, they are very skilled and dedicated, but once on duty, they don’t have many opportunities to stay in shape.” Few Wonderbolts nodded while Spitfire said, “Makes sense.” She looked at her team and added, “If I would leave my elite fliers to chill out for half a year, they wouldn’t be able to fly faster than my grandpa.” With her attention once again on Shining, she asked curiously, “Don’t you have any training programs for veterans?” “What for?” Shining asked as he shrugged. “Equestria is a peaceful nation. There’s no need to raise a strong army. Those guards who are assigned to secure the border or patrol dangerous areas like Everfree Forest stay in good shape, but the closest to the capital or any safe city, the less skilled they are.” Soarin’s pupils shrunk as realization struck him. “Excuse me,” he said, capturing others attention. “What about the guards who secured the border near Fillydelphia?” Shining responded with pride, “They noticed the incoming threat, alarmed the city while evacuating as many ponies as they could despite their small numbers, and the fastest of them was sent to Canterlot to inform the princess and deliver the intelligence about the invading force.” He lowered his head and levitated his helmed from the ground into his foreleg as he held it close to his chest. “I had to appoint a replacement for those… who didn’t make it.” As the silence overtook the group. Shining approached his parents and sat between them as they did their best to comfort him. As seconds passed and Twilight was deep in thought, Cadence lit her horn and spun the bottle instead, careful not to put too much magic into it. *** After the bottle stopped and pointed at Wave Chill, who asked if she could choose dare instead of truth, Spitfire and Soarin’ walked to the middle of the circle and faced their team. Spitfire looked at Cadence with a fake smile and next at her lieutenant, who nodded encouragingly. With deep breath and determination on her face, she faced the team once more and said, “Considering that Cadence already covered part of what I wanted to reveal to all of you, I will just admit that she is right. I really like Soarin’, and he feels the same way towards me. We won’t hide it any longer. As for the rumors floating around.” Flutter Bolt looked to the side and whistles innocently. “I convinced Soarin’ to drink the hard cider despite his warnings, which caused him to lose consciousness. I don’t remember what happened next, but I woke up in the morning and found him sleeping in my bed,” Spitfire said before pointing at herself while spreading protective wing over her lieutenant. “Whatever happened that day, Soarin’ was innocent.” “Actually,” Overwatch said as she walked forward, bypassing Steel Blade and Spike as she now faced Spitfire. “You lost consciousness few minutes after Soarin’. I just snuck behind Cadence’s back who was busy with her special somepony, and with Steelie’s help, we transported you both to your room.” Steel Blade blushed as he spoke hesitantly while hiding his face behind his wings. “She asked me to transport the unconscious pegasi to the headquarters while she would place them in their beds. I have nothing to do with this.” “He’s right, it was all me,” Overwatch said as she looked into eyes of the shocked captain impassively. Spitfire facehooved before massaging her forehead. Her mane and nose started to release smoke while her fur color turned from yellow to red. She took few slow breaths and asked as calmly as she could, “Do you have any idea how much stress Soarin’ and I went through for the past two days?” She stomped with great force and yelled, “Why didn’t you tell us in the first place?” Overwatch took a step back, somewhat startled by Spitfire’s sudden outburst of anger, but kept her poker face. She pointed at the Wonderbolts and said, “I did it to prove to you that your team doesn’t care if you and Soarin’ are together. If they got angry, I was just going to tell them the truth and take all the blame, but none of them did, so I kept silent.” Lighthoof nodded as she interrupted, “Wait a moment. So they didn’t do… you know what?” Noticing a shake of Overwatch’s head, she frowned and turned to Blaze. “No matter. The captain said that they really like each other, the bet is still on.” Spitfire’s pupils shrunk as she pointed at Lighthoof accusingly. “You… you bet that we…” Several heads nodded as small bags of bits passed from pony to pony. Spitfire rubbed her eyes before looking at Soarin’. “There was a pool on our relationship? Please tell me that I’m dreaming.” “It’s not a dream,” Fleetfoot said as she received some bits from Rapidfire. “We started it around a year ago and forgot ever since. When Flutter Bolt told everypony that you and Soarin’ were in the same room in a rather… awkward position.” Blaze nodded. “We decided that it's time to end this bet once and for all, but we didn’t know if you both would finally get together, or give up on your relationship.” “We decided to give you both time to calm down before asking, but now we know no doubt that your relationship is legit,” Fleetfoot said before chuckling. “If we are all telling the truth and giving up our secrets, we can as well go all out.” Spitfire looked at the closest wall while wondering if she would wake up if she slammed into it at high speed. After a moment of contemplation as her tired brain tried to comprehend the situation, her eye twitched, and a few seconds later her mane and tail caught on fire. Her mouth shut tight as she resisted the urge to shout, but each Wonderbolt recognized her angered glare as ‘are you bucking kidding me!’ Twilight Velvet whispered to her husband. “And here I thought only we could do that.” Night Light responded quietly. “She must posses a very powerful magic. Her name is quite fitting if I may add.” The angered captain took a deep calming breath and gave her subordinates a creepy smile. She asked, “So none of you have anything against me dating Soarin’?” Her mane and tail returned back to normal. All Wonderbolts shook their heads while Twilight Velvet picked up her daughter and placed on her back and stood next to Night Light, ideas for a love-related plot twist in her next adventure novel already forming in her mind. Lighthoof placed her wing on Blaze and said, “You’re not the only ones with a hidden relationship. We understand.” Flutter Bolt placed his wing on Wave Chill, only to be pushed to the side by her flank as she gave him a 'don't even think about it' glare. Fleethoof raised her forehoof and added, “We messed up enough in this past month. Let’s start over with a clean plate.” "Slate, Fleetfoot. But I agree, let's start over with a clean slate,” corrected Spitfire. Unnoticed by the group, Soarin’ pulled Cadence and trapped her in a tight hug. “Thank you so much. I know Spitfire is still angry at you, but I’m very grateful for what you’ve done for us. I know what she thinks of me, and I told her about my feelings, and the entire team is okay with it… I’m more happy than when I was after winning a pie eating competition.” “You’re… welcome…” Cadence responded with a blush as she looked between Spitfire’s angered and Shining’s chuckling face. Making anypony jealous was the last thing she wanted to do. Twilight stretched herself, no longer thinking about the terrifying memories. She climbed up to her mother’s ear and hung against it as she asked, “Is a romantic relationship really that complicated? None of books I read were anything like what happened today.” Velvet looked at Night Light and answered, “It sure is. Right honey?” The stallion chuckled. “Of course.” After taking a deep breath and gathering his determination, he said, “Since we’re all being honest, I want you to know, Twilight, that we love you very much, and we nearly had a heart attack after finding out what happened in Fillydelphia. Thank Celestia you’re safe.” Twilight murmured to herself, “Yes, thank Celestia,” before climbing up from her mother’s ear onto her head. “And considering how much stress you caused with your first visit ever since you became Celestia’s student, we decided to embarrass you as a little payback. I know that what we did was mean, and we’re really sorry. Can you forgive us?” Velvet asked. Twilight’s inhaled air as her cheeks turned into two small balloons, but memories of her own attempts to convince her parents that the protection spell made her invincible crossed her mind moment later. She sighed and stroke her mother’s head. “I forgive you.” As she carefully climbed down on her mother’s cheek, she kissed it before hugging it. “I love you too.” *** Spitfire’s mind was a mess as she desperately tried to comprehend the situation. After at least one minute of thinking and ignoring small talks all around her, she stomped against the ground and shouted, “Enough!” With silence overtaking the area, Spitfire said firmly, “Racism, bullying and lack of discipline in the ranks of the Wonderbolts, vacation, invasion, foalnapping, confessions of love.” Everypony stared at the captain and listened with fearful expressions. Spitfire looked at the little mare on Velvet’s head with apologizing look, “Don’t get me wrong. I really admire and respect you, Twilight, and I’m very grateful for all your help in fixing problems that I prefered to ignore, but ever since you joined our ranks, my world was turned upside down.” “S-sorry,” the little mare responded with squeaky voice, to quiet for anypony to hear. “I’m tired of this mess, let’s get everything back on track,” Spitfire said before pointing at the female guard. “You have been teasing an messing with everypony, and I don’t need to ever mention about your recent accomplishments.” She looked at Shining Armor and demanded, “Overwatch is your subordinate, I would like to talk with you about a proper punishment for her.” The captain of the Royal Guards nodded with a smirk. "Can do, ma'am.” Overwatch shrugged and said to herself, “Still worth it.” Spitfire pointed at Soarin’. “We will act professionally during our trainings and missions, but I would appreciate some privacy when we are off duty.” Her eyes closed slightly. “No sneaky messages, no surprise parties, no bets.” “Yes ma’am!” the group responded. She once again turned to Shining Armor and asked, “Do you want to punish us for what happened during our mission in Fillydelphia?” “Not really. As long as your team learns from their mistakes, I will turn a blind eye to it. I trust you that you won’t let a similar mistake happen again,” Shining responded. “It won’t happen again, I promise.” Spitfire faced her team once again, focusing on Fleetfoot. “For the past few days, you all have been working hard, you didn’t complain about being foalsat by a group of unicorns, and at least tried to restrain yourself during Captain Shining Armor’s inspection. All I wish is that we can put our past behind us and work hard to become a good and well organized team once again. It may not be easy and will take a lot of time, but I am sure we can do it.” “We’ll do our best, ma’am,” Fleetfoot responded before she saluted, other Wonderbolts did the same. Spitfire turned to Cadence and grit her teeth. “Considering what Twilight told me about your spell, and since this whole bed fiasco was just an accident… with a little help from Overwatch…” The female guard blushed. “I’m going to forgive you,” Spitfire said before smiling warmly. “I won’t hold a grudge.” Cadence returned the smile while Soarin’ walked towards Spitfire and nuzzled her in the cheek. With her attention now focused on Twilight’s parents, Spitfire asked, “Do you wish to continue your inspection? Spend more time with Twilight perhaps?” Velvet shook her head. “I think we’ve done enough. As much as we want to keep our daughter safe and see her again, we can’t stop her from spreading her wings—so to speak.” Night Light nodded. “We will pack up our stuff tomorrow and leave immediately. We have our own jobs to attend too.” Shining nodded. “My job is done as well.” He turned towards Twilight and asked, “Hey Twiny, since we still have one day left, how about we have some combat training? I need to make sure that your shields are hard and skills are sharpened in case another giant monster will try to eat you.” Twilight jumped cheerfully at the suggestion. “Of course… Blasting each other while avoiding fireballs, lightning and beams may be fun…” “J-just be careful, and remember about your size differences,” Night Light said. “Don’t go too hard on her,” Velvet added in a worried tone. Spitfire finished, “Our first show ever since our vacation is going to take place in three days. Let’s get all the grudges and craziness behind us and from now on, and focus on the bright future instead.” Her satisfied smile didn’t last long as Spike burped a letter and ran towards her. “I just got message from the princess,” the young drake said. “It seems that Fancy Pants was so impressed by the recent match, that he wants to organize some sort of party for the Wonderbolts in his residence.” Another burp later, several invitations landed on the ground. Spike gave the scroll over to Spitfire whose eye twitched a few times. “He is inviting the Wonderbolts, me and Twilight, the princess, and guess who else wants to participate?” “Don’t tell me it’s him…” Spitfire begged, already guessing who may be the surprise guest. “Prince Blueblood.” *gasp!* Spitfire massaged her forehead and said to herself, “Fine… fine! First we will have our show in three days, no more delays, and after a week we will participate in this party, and we’re going to enjoy it.” She gave Spike the most warm fake smile she could muster. “And nothing, I repeat, nothing crazy is going to happen on my watch, nothing!”