The dragon stood obediently at Rainbow Dash's side, doing his best to wait patiently before a trio of older ponies in fancy uniforms, all covered in fancy decorations and medals. A folder was passed between the ponies, who quickly scanned through the files once before reading them more carefully. The dragon caught a few inquiring looks from the ponies separated from him by a long desk, looks that made him squirm.
He turned to the pegasus next to him, standing tall and proud with a disinterested frown on her face as she watched the panel members shuffle the files among themselves. Her dress uniform had been replaced with a blue flight suit that was marked with golden lightning bolts, the symbol of the Wonderbolts, he remembered Rainbow explain. The few times he had attempted to draw her attention were rebuffed with hushed and subtle touches to her lips, but even her patience and discipline were beginning to wear down as one of her hind hooves began to tap rhythmically.
Then there was the other Wonderbolt in the room, the light blue stallion with a long messy mane. Like Rainbow Dash, he wore a standard flight suit, but over it he wore a dark gray jacket with the same brass buttons and yellow tassels Rainbow's uniform had. He had arrived before them and was in front of the panel when they entered the room. The dragon had tried to follow the other Wonderbolt's report but quickly became lost. He only managed to recognize the sense of severity from the worried looks and murmurs shared by the ponies in the back.
He had caught the stallion staring at either him or Rainbow Dash the few times he had glanced over, and every time the Wonderbolt quickly turned away once he was found out.
"Lt. Rainbow Dash," the pegasus sitting at the center of the panel said, stealing the dragon's attention, "we have finished reviewing the supplementary information, though I believe I speak for most of the panel when I say that I'm as confused as ever." Nods of agreement were shared among the uniformed ponies as he lifted the folder. "Perhaps your oral report will shed some light. Lt. Dash, if you could."
"Sir." Rainbow stood at attention, with her hooves pressed together. "As you are aware, we received a message from the central government in Canterlot requesting a meeting of the upmost urgency with a military representative from the war front. The message was from the Specialized Armament Research and Development agency."
The ponies behind the table began to whisper. Rainbow Dash waited for the hushed conversations to die away before continuing.
"I was invited to see the agency's developed response toward Hostile Entity Five, known in the field as the crystal beasts. The director called the project Project Fifty..." Rainbow Dash's mouth went dry. She quickly swallowed as she filtered through her memory. "Five."
"A response to the crystal beasts?" said the earth pony mare closer to one of the ends. "Interesting. What were your first impressions?"
"Don't know, never got to see it," Rainbow answered, losing some of the respected tone in her speech. "The thing was destroyed in a combat test before I got there, but based on the remains the thing was massive, as big as a crystal beast."
"Size hardly matters," said another officer, a bearded unicorn. "If it couldn't handle a simple trial in a controlled setting, it wouldn't work in the field. What a waste of time." The others began to mutter in agreement.
Rainbow managed to hold back her smirk. "Well, I wouldn't say it was a complete waste of time," she said. "You might have noticed that those files in front of you are labeled Project Twelve. Project Twelve was the one that destroyed Project Fifty Five. Ladies and gentlecolts, I present our response to Sombra's crystal beasts, Project Twelve."
Rainbow pushed the dragon forward with a triumphant smile. It wavered a bit when the dragon fell onto his face. The smile disappeared as the panel members stared with raised eyebrows.
"Lt. Dash, is this a joke?" the center pegasus demanded sternly.
"What, no, of course not." She helped the dragon back up. "As you must have read from the files, Project Twelve is a dragon and all that comes with it."
"That's a dragon?" The earth pony mare pointed incredulously. The spines on the dragon's head seemed to droop.
"Well, uh, baby dragon, but he grows really really big. He, uh, I think it's, adaption or something." Rainbow's words were becoming jumbled and less clear. "It's in the files."
"Half of the lines in here are blacked out." The pegasus raised one of the documents from the folder and pointed at the entire paragraph of black lines.
"Oh, well, I guess that info's, classified?" Rainbow Dash suppressed her growl as the ponies before her began to whisper among themselves. The dragon shuffled his feet nervously as the panel stared. "Look, he took down the thing designed to take down crystal beasts. That's got to count for something."
"A question, Lieutenant," the unicorn officer said, "could you describe the combat test?"
"Well, no, I didn't actually get to see the fight, but there was this crater full of ash and--"
The earth pony narrowed her eyes. "So you just took the SpARDA spokespony's word to be true? You didn't ask for any recordings of the test?"
Rainbow scowled back. "What, you think they lied? Why the heck would they?"
"Perhaps to keep appearances," the pegasus office said, resting his hooves on the desk. "I can't possibly imagine the shame the director must have felt after calling us over and suddenly not having anything to present, especially considering how many resources are being thrown into that agency. I wouldn't be surprised if this is just a stunt to save face." The other panel members nodded in agreement.
"This is ridiculous!" As Rainbow pounded her hoof against the floor, the other Wonderbolt brought his hoof to his face. "I bring you an answer to the crystal beasts, something we desperate need considering Soarin's report, and you just sit there and nitpick and complain and--"
"Lt. Dash," the Pegasus said sternly, "need we remind you that you are before your commanding officers?"
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. She bowed her head. "My apologies, sirs."
"Very well, we will leave any disciplinary action to the discretion of your captain." The pegasus nodded toward the Wonderbolt busy trying to hide his face. He turned back to Rainbow. "Unless you have anything else to report, this meeting is--"
"Um, can I say something?"
The dragon cringed as all eyes went to him. He swallowed and clutched at his collar. Slowly, he looked up to find the three officers staring directly at him with their mouths opened.
"I-it speaks?" the unicorn said dumbly.
The pegasus quickly shut his mouth. "You are Project Twelve, correct?"
"Yeah, I guess." The dragon shuffled his feet. "I mean, sometimes I hear ponies call me that, but I really just like Spike. My friend Twilight gave me that name."
The sound of her name and the feel of her gift around his neck filled him with warmth. He stood tall, as tall as his tiny frame could. "I don't think I really understood everything you all said, but, um, I wanted to say, I want to help in anyway I can." He stared back at the panel with flames in his eyes. "Rainbow Dash and Dr. Moon Dancer, they told me I could help here, that I could be useful, and, and if that means I can help protect everypony, then please, use me in any way you can!"
The dragon bowed forward, his head nearly touching the ground. The panel took a moment to recover before exchanging looks and whispers.
"You are, ahem, indeed a dragon?" asked the earth pony mare. The dragon answered with a nod.
The pegasus in the center chewed on his lip. "This situation will require further discussion," he said after a moment. "We will request a more complete description of Project Twelve and Project Fifty Five from SpARDA before making any decisions regarding this development. Until then, Lt. Dash?"
"Sir?"
"We leave the dragon in your responsibility. Keep away from the front. This council forbids you from integrating it into combat for the time being, until we have determined the best course of action." The pegasus frowned at the Wonderbolt in front of him. "Do we make ourselves clear, Lieutenant."
The red in Rainbow's face slowly faded. With her teeth grinding against each other, she forced herself to stand at attention. "Acknowledged, sirs."
"Very well, this meeting is adjourned. You are all dismissed."
The Wonderbolt stallion was the first to leave. Rainbow slowly turned and stomped her way out of the room, with the dragon hurrying after her. Once outside, Rainbow Dash bashed her head against the wall.
"Stupid. Old. Morons," she muttered between each blow. She didn't notice the other Wonderbolt approach.
"Well, I thought that went pretty well," he said with a grin.
With a groan, Rainbow turned around to face him. "You could've said something back there."
"Like what? You were out of line."
"I don't know, something in my defense! Soarin, you're my captain, for crying out loud."
Soarin shrugged. "They weren't wrong, you know. I mean, even if everything those researchers said about the dragon and their crystal beast buster was true, do you think we have enough information for a strategy? What would've been your plan?"
"Well, clearly I would, uh, well..." Rainbow Dash scratched her head but refused to look away. "Figured we'd just throw him out there once the beasts showed up and let him do his thing."
Soarin crossed his forelegs over his chest. "That's not a plan." He sighed. "Great, your first day back, and I have to discipline you."
"Why?" the dragon suddenly asked. "Rainbow didn't do anything wrong."
The Wonderbolt captained opened his mouth to respond but found himself instead staring down stupidly at the tiny dragon beside's his lieutenant. "Uh, well, hey there." Soarin smiled. "Don't think we've met before. I'm Soarin, Rainbow Dash's captain. Loved your little speech, by the way."
"Oh, um, hi." The dragon waved hesitantly. "I'm Spike." He poked on Rainbow's side and leaned over to whisper into her ear. "He doesn't seem very trustworthy."
Rainbow Dash suddenly bursted out laughing, causing everypony nearby to stare. "Something funny?" Soarin asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Heh, no, nothing," Rainbow said as she recovered her composure. "Just an inside joke." She grinned and patted the dragon's head. "Don't worry, Soarin's a good guy. He's saved me almost as many times as I saved him, though can't really say much about his captaining right now."
Soarin brought his hooves to his chest and moaned. "Ouch, I'm already being sassed. Don't forget, Dash, you still have a punishment."
"What are going do, make me fly laps?" Rainbow sneered. "Ooh, I know, push-ups."
"Hm." Soarin tapped his chin as he smiled. "Nah, I'll just take your sugar rations."
"Seriously?"
The stallion nodded proudly. "Seriously."
Rainbow Dash shook her head. The three began to walk. "Well, alright then. How's everypony else?"
"Good, for the most part. Cloud Chaser's wings got clipped in the last mission, nothing serious, but it could keep her out of the skies for a bit. It could've been much worse, considering what had happened." Soarin shrugged as he led the way out of the building. All three shivered as they faced the cold arctic air. "Everypony's finishing up their reviews. How about we head over there and show off our latest recruit?"
"Latest recruit?" Rainbow Dash repeated, raising an eye brow.
"Well, kind of," Soarin amended. "Figured since he was your responsibility, and you're under my responsibility, and the entire squad is under my responsibility, then he must, he's a he, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, like I was saying, uh, well." Soarin frowned and began to mutter to himself. "Oh right, then he's all of our responsibility."
"Geez, get any slower and they'll have to kick you out of the Wonderbolts," Rainbow Dash teased. "What, no breakfast this morning?"
"Not even a slice of bread," Soarin sighed. "And it's almost lunchtime."
"Let's eat with the rest of the team after we show off Spike," Rainbow Dash suggested. "They might appreciate seeing a new friendly face, but that crude about him being the entire squad's responsibility?" She scoffed. "Please, you think I can't take of him myself?" She looked over her shoulder. "You keeping up alright, kid? Kid?"
Ponies of every sort walked by, to and fro. Some were pegasi, others were unicorns or earth ponies. Some wore armor as they rushed in and out of the buildings while others were simply dressed in scarves and winter clothing as they pulled along carts of supplies.
In the crowd before the two Wonderbolts, there were only ponies.
*
The pegasus mare sitting on the bench sighed as she glanced over at her uneven wings. "I can't believe this happened to me," she grumbled. "This is so not fair."
"That's the price for playing the hero," said the approaching mare, her light lavender coat half a shade darker than her fellow pegasus. "Come on, Cloud Chaser, quit moping. It's only a couple of days."
"Since when was a week just a couple of days?" Cloud Chaser groused. She looked up into the sky and reached for the clouds. She lowered her hoof and brushed back her pointy white mane and released another tired breath.
"Well, at least they didn't throw you in bed or something like that," the mare said cheerfully. "So, want to know how I did on my review?"
"Huh?" Cloud Chaser blinked. "Sorry. What was that, Cloud Kicker?"
"I said...what are you staring at?" She leaned back and followed Cloud Chaser's gaze. There, in the snow, crouched a small purple figure. Round green blades extended from the figure head that seemed to bob and droop as the figure moved. A gray band around its neck glinted in the sunlight
"What is that?" Cloud Kicker whispered. Her companion simply shook her head.
"No idea. Doesn't look like a pony."
"What's it doing?"
They watched as the creature stood up with its clawed hands cupped in front of it. It suddenly threw them up over his head, releasing snow into the air and watching the snowflakes fall. It bent over again and began dig, grabbing fists full of snow before throwing more flakes up to watch them drift back down to earth.
"You don't think that's one of Sombra's, do you?" Cloud Kicker asked quietly.
"What? No, of course not. I mean, Sombra wouldn't make something so..." Cloud Chaser gestured a hoof in the creature's direction. "I mean, it's, would he?" She turned away from the creature to the mare right beside her. "Would he?"
"I don't know, do you think we should report it to somepony?"
"Maybe, but..." Cloud Chaser looked around. "Who? It's just us here right now. If we go grab somepony, they might escape."
Cloud Kicker bit her lip. "So, what if, what if we captured it ourselves?" She swallowed. "I mean, we're trained Wonderbolts, and we outnumber them two to one."
They turned back to the creature, who was attempting to mold the snow together. "It doesn't look very strong, but..." Cloud Chaser took a deep breath, then nodded. Cloud Kicker nodded in return, and the two separated.
From one side of the creature, one of the Wonderbolts approached. The other snuck quietly forward from the other side. The creature didn't notice. Cloud Kicker raised her hoof and waited for Cloud Chaser to lift hers. She counted to three, then pounced.
*
The moment her feet touched the ground when she had landed, Rainbow Dash rushed toward Soarin. "Tell me you found him."
The stallion rubbed the back of his head and looked to the side. "I mean, you'd think a dragon that color would be easy to spot."
"Argh, where is he?" Rainbow paced nervously. "Should've kept an eye on him. So stupid, I can't believe this."
"Rainbow, stop worrying. We'll find him," Soarin assured. He flinched when the mare before him suddenly turned and glared.
"Stop worrying? Who's worried? What, do I look worried?" Rainbow Dash snarled. "I'm just super angry. Just, ugh!" She kicked at a small snow mound. "He wandered off in Canterlot too. I should've kept a closer watch on the kid."
With his front hooves raised in surrender, Soarin approached. "Look, why don't we grab the rest of the squad. Once we get a few more eyes in the sky, we'll find him in no time. Besides," he added as he patted his stomach, "we'll cover more ground on a full stomach."
"You're the only pegasus I know that can fly full." Rainbow shook her head. "Still, you're right about the extra eyes thing. Where are we meeting them again?"
"Logistics building, the dirty one next to barracks number five. Or was it fifteen." Soarin shrugged. "Ah, it's the one where Blaze got in trouble for impersonating the captain. Well, I mean, Spitfire."
The two took off, keeping at a low altitude, just above the roofs of the buildings. As they sped by, Rainbow continued to scan the ground below, hoping to find green spikes or an odd bipedal figure. They soon arrived however, cutting off her fruitless search, and landed in front of a building.
Like the other structures in the outpost, this one had been designed for temporary use, made with cheap wood and a flimsy foundation. As the war extended, the EUP Guard had been forced to add supports to the walls and set enchantments to prepare the building for more prolong usage. The rushed renovations left the buildings with an ugly grayish-tan hue, but for some unexplored reason, this particular logistics building had developed a sickly light green color. A running joke among the soldiers was that the cause was due to all the paperwork being done inside.
And like many, Rainbow Dash wasn't sure that little jest was just that, a joke; as she entered, her nose wrinkled at the sickly smell of paper pulp and wood rot.
"So, where is everypony?" Rainbow asked. The room they stood in was deserted, filled with empty cubicles and abandoned stationary.
Their ears lifted at the sound of shouts and shrieks. "That came from outside!" Soarin exclaimed, rushing toward the door. Rainbow hurried past him, kicking the door nearly off its hinges. The streets before them were empty.
There was another yell. "Behind the building!" Rainbow Dash shouted. She leapt into the air and flew right over the building's roof as Soarin ran along the side of the wall, preparing himself for numerous scenarios that were shuffled through his mind. Ambushes, fights, accidents...
He did not expect to find his squad and the entire logistics crew laughing around a large campfire, passing around cans of baked beans. In the center was Cloud Chaser, the mare they nearly lost in the last mission. In between her forelegs nestled the little purple dragon. Somepony held a can of beans toward him. The dragon took a deep breath and released a stream of flames, as green as the campfire everypony was huddled around. The ponies cheered as clouds of steam forced their way out of the can, which was passed down the line.
A mare standing a little distance away from the rest was the first to notice the Wonderbolt captain. She gave him a half-hearted salute, which Soarin quickly waved away. "So, uh, Fleetfoot?" he said as he approached, keeping as quiet as he could. "What's--"
"What's going on here!"
The laughter died away as the crowded looked up just in time to watch Rainbow Dash land in the middle of them. "Rainbow Dash!" the dragon said, trying to jump out of Cloud Chaser's forelegs.
"No, no," she cooed, holding him back and rubbing her cheek against his. "You're my prisoner, remember?"
Cloud Kicker, sitting right beside her, pouted. "He should be my prisoner. It was my idea."
Cloud Chaser just stuck her tongue out in response.
"Prisoner? What?" Rainbow Dash looked around. "Alright, who wants to explain what in Equestria is going on right here?"
"I wouldn't mind an explanation."
The entire company snapped to attention, much to Soarin's embarrassment. Cloud Chaser looked torn, trying her best to stand and salute while holding the little dragon closely.
"At ease, please," Soarin said, remembering that he was still wearing his officer's jacket, the twin silver bars on his chest like a painted target. "Uh, Fleetfoot, could you explain?"
Fleetfoot grinned. "Is that an order?"
"If you want it to be," Soarin groaned.
"Will this be an official report? Should I submit a write up or--"
"Fleetfoot, please?"
The mare shook her head. "Sorry, just thought I'd relieve some of the tension," she whispered in Soarin's ear. She cleared her throat. "A little less than an hour ago, Wonderbolts Cloud Chaser and Cloud Kicker found this unusual specimen playing in the snow."
"You wandered off to play?" Rainbow Dash nearly shouted at the dragon. Cloud Chaser's forelegs tightened around him defensively. "Do you know worried you made, um, Soarin?" She pointed at the bewildered captain. "He, we could have gotten into so much trouble, and you're telling me you just ran off to make snowponies? Don't you remember what you're here for?"
"Of course not, but I didn't wander off," the dragon protested. "You and Captain Soarin were too fast. I tried to catch up, really, but then there was this huge crowd of ponies and I got lost and I saw all this white stuff and I--" He bowed his head. "I'm sorry."
Rainbow Dash turned away, hiding her face with a hoof. She could feel the glares of the surrounding ponies, especially the mares. "Yeah, well, just don't let it happen again."
"Maybe you should have kept a closer watch, Lieutenant," Soarin piped in, suppressing a grin. "After all, Spike is your assignment."
As murmurs spread among the crowd, Rainbow's face grew redder and redder. She shot a glare at Soarin, who simply looked away innocently. She sighed. "I'm sorry too, kid. I should have been paying more attention to you. And, um, yeah. That's it."
"Wait, what do you mean he's Rainbow's assignment," whispered Fleetfoot.
"I'll explain it to the entire squad later, when it's just us," Soarin whispered back. "It's just a guess, but I don't think the higher-ups want this publicized." He turned to crowd. "So, you've got enough beans for all of us?" He slipped in with the rest of the ponies. "Come on, let's eat!"
At Soarin's command, cheers filled the air once more as the dragon continued to heat beans with his fire and even a canteen of coffee that had gotten cold. Cups were distributed, and cans of beans were passed along. Hooves grew sticky with sauce as they shoveled food directly from the can into their mouths.
Cloud Kicker fished out a single bean and held it out toward the dragon. "Say ah."
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as the confused dragon obeyed and opened his mouth. "He's not a baby, you know," she said as the mare set the food into the dragon's mouth. "He can feed himself."
"Hush you." Cloud Chaser patted the dragon's head. "He most certainly is a baby, baby waby, cutie, little--"
She ducked just in time to evade the thrown tin can. The mare stuck out her tongue at Rainbow as everypony laughed.
"You sicken me," Rainbow said lowly, though her grin undermined her threatening tone. "Seriously, I lost my appetite." She turned to the dragon. "And don't tell me you're enjoying this."
He shrugged. "It feels nice," he said, resting his head against Cloud Chaser's chest.
"Man, it sure looks it," said one of the stallions longingly, sending the crowd into a fit of rambunctious laughter.
The dragon watched the ponies around him joke and play and laugh as they messily ate. It was so loud and so chaotic, so unlike the silent controlled environment back at the facility, where ponies kept their voices just a step above whispering if they ever spoke near him. He didn't mind the noise, however odd and unfamiliar the sounds of shouting stallions and mares were to him. He didn't mind the noise at all.
He suddenly found himself lifted and pulled away by the pegasus mare sitting next to Cloud Chaser, now being settled into her chest. Cloud Chaser pouted and moved closer so that he now rest right between the two mares.
Whether it was from the campfire he helped make, the hot food in his belly, the collective body heat from Cloud Chaser and Cloud Kicker, or something else, something less easily described, the dragon felt warm, despite the cold snow around him.