This story takes place before Of Lilies and Chestnuts
The parentless ponies of the Canterlot Orphanarium are in for a great treat—the Wonderbolts are coming for a visit! The aerial aces are eager to join the fun, but Spitfire has different plans. When she reluctantly agrees to spend some time with the kids, she gets more than she bargained for from a gang of two-and-a-half most notorious orphans who will put her patience and leadership skills to a test like no recruits ever before.
Spitfire, meet Chestnut, Glavia and Wind Whisper. Try to get along, will you?
Chapters (7)
Hello and welcome to Operation Wonderbit!
Back in Dec 2013 I committed a story about two background ponies which was meant to be, first and foremost, my first shot at writing [Slice of Life] stories. Its much warm reception and straight unbelievable exposure it gained helped me a great deal and I will never be able to thank enough for all the wonderful words of encouragement I received. The story I'd like to share with you today is sort of a thank-you gift for all that goodness - please accept it and discover the life of a certain orphan before a chance encounter with Fleur and Fancy Pants changed it forever.
Enjoy!
Sold.
And sold hard.
~Skeeter The Lurker
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Wait, are you telling me I should have sold that? Because I'm kinda giving it away for free.
...
Have I missed my one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get rich again?
Let me sit back and watch the magic happen, friend. I know how hard you've been working on this story and you deserve the credit coming your way.
More Chestnut? Yes please
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That'll be $9,99, please. No, wait—you're an OG reader of the original, so you're getting more Chestnut free!
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You should know. You're like the twelve percent of how the final product looks.
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Should I have it as a title, or something? "I am the 12%"?
Ooo, so cute and adorable. May we have some more, please?
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It'll come either soon or very soon (of course it won't be that easy with the rest couple of chapters - for those you'll have to wait a little longer).
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Get yourself a nifty t-shirt!
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Among other things, Spitfire is known for being a brilliant strategist who can define a clear goal for her squadrons, no matter how little they are!
I see what you did here...
vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/5/50/Comic_issue_9_Comics_World_cover.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130601215010
Hmm, that's interesting.
Bring me the griffon fledgling. I will babysit her. Cuddling may be involved.
I sense shenanigans in Spitfire's future.
I'm looking forward to learning something about Chestnut's backstory too.
I can only wonder what Luna did to hurt Chestnut...
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Yay! Before this story delivers it, you can find a little more of Glavia in Arcane Realms - see for yourself if she stayed cute and cuddly many years later!
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Yeah, I know that people are probably shipping Big Mac with Marble Pie these days, but when I saw that comic - that exact page you linked, actually - I loved the idea of Fleetfoot being a hopeless romantic.
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Regarding Chestnut's past, it largely consists of two parts - her "close past", so her years as a full-time orphan and havoc bringer at the Canterlot Orphanarium, and her "distant past", so the circumstances in which she lost her parents. This story will cover the former, but I've got a clear idea to show you the latter one day.
7305872 Alright. Are you using the official map or is Tramplevania elsewhere?
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I'm trying to keep to the official map in my writing, but since there are no batpony lands there, I'm thinking Chestnut's homeland is, approximately, on the other side of the mountain chain east from Griffonstone.
7305933 So, Chestnut's homeland is landlocked within griffon land? For that matter, it looks like Griffinstone is it's own country in canon when in fanon, Griffonia, Griffhalla or whatever the griffon country's name supposed to be is an ocean away. Weird, huh?
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I can really only speak for my own headcanon - for me there are Griffon Kingdoms, a loose conglomerate of griffon tribes with different backgrounds and customs that are reluctant to work together because there hasn't been one, strong leader to unite them. Such leader eventually emerges, and so the Griffon Kingom (note its singular form) is reborn.
As for Tramplevania itself, I never had a chance to outline its geopolitical situation. My forte is Canterlot so I usually don't have to go that far from Equestria. :)
Well this is really cute.
Great set of orders from Spitfire.
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Oh... that's her? I had forgotten about that story. I need to reread it.
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Giving an order is only half the battle. Making sure your Wonderbits will follow it - now that's a different story. :)
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Yeah, me too. Time is scarce, but I'm hoping to continue with that one after this one is complete.
I'm going to be honest, I have mixed feeling. While I am glad to be reading another Chestnut story I am a bit disappointed that it's a prequel. I was hoping to read one with Fancy, Fluer, and Nutsie
Still enjoying it so far at least
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Thanks for letting me know how you feel, I appreciate the honesty! Unfortunately we don't always get to choose which stories we want to write - sometimes they come to us as a little idea and we can either grab it or watch it run off in the distance never to be seen again.
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Trust me, I understand. I am grateful for what I am getting. Writing a prequel is tricky so best of luck
Now that was a well laid, multi-pronged guilt trip.
Glavia is so cute. And she was found in a basket with a scone? Heh.
Hugs x Spitfire? Sure, I could ship it.
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Oh, Doctor Hugs excels in those. This story may or may not show how will his blatant science work on Spitfire.
I'm glad to see people noticing Glavia in all of this. I didn't want to make the story feel like Spitfire vs. Chestnut and her sidekicks, so there's certain effort in giving both Glavia and Wind Whisper their own roles to play.
Also, Big Mac x Fleetfoot OTP!
Well, while this seems like a good story centered around the MLP IDW comics, I'm personally waiting for one that talks about this guy:
vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/0/0a/Observer_ID_comic_M10.png/revision/latest?cb=20140322055846
Who the Sam Hill is this guy, and why does he always seem to pop up everywhere?
Missing a "to" between "explaining" and "Chestnut".
Can't wait for more adorableness.
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Yup, thanks for pointing that out. It's fixed now. More adorableness will come in a few days!
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I wouldn't say it's centered around what we can find in IDW, but I've got a lot of interesting tidbits from those. As for your mysterious character - I have no idea, mate. But if you can't find the answer anywhere, it only means you have to make it up yourself. :)
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I'm actually not thinking of it as a prequel. I think it's too big of a word, so I'd rather call this one a sidestory that just happens to take place before the original. Nevertheless, it may serve as a prequel of sorts - it discovers the origins, explains the backstory, gives a new insight on the original etc., but it also contains a lot of independent things (like Spitfire, more Doctor Hugs, Glavia and Wind Whisper).
Tell you what, I'd love to get back to it once the story's finished. Then I'll ask you if it feels like a prequel.
7313400 You're welcome.
And like I said, can't wait.
7305963 Am I allowed to imagine Tramplevania as a ponified Romania? Or at least a blend of East European countries?
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It's a good starting point, I think. Just make sure to include a few mountain pastures with fluffy alpacas and at least some place with chestnut trees, as those are the only two things I headcanonically included in that land (in Dune Goddess and OLAC, respectively). However, Tramplevania is constantly in the making, so it's pretty much including stuff on the need basis before I start thinking of it as an actual, feasible country.
Eeyikes!
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Hey, it's Tats! Good to see you here, hope you're enjoying the story!
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Pretty interesting so far.
Poor little griffon. Talk about crummy babysitters. That kids gonna be traumatized.
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I just published the next chapter - see for yourself if the griffon ended up well and in relative safety!
Glavia!!!
You're killing us with adorableness!!!
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Heh. Just wait 'till she grows up and combines her charm with a skill set in magic. Actually, you don't have to wait - you'll find the same Glavia in Chapter 1 of Arcane Realms, if a bit older.
Yaaay, good save by Spitfire! I'm enjoying this trek into early Chestnut. Even if it's Glavia and Spitfire stealing the show.
7328663 Any plans for Arcane Realms? It's been a while for it.
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It's been a while indeed, and I feel terrible because of that! But once this story is done I'll be getting back to Spike and his friends. I actually rereaded it recently, and I'm pleased to say it still feels interesting to me. That's gotta count for something!
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Hey, good to hear it's up to your liking! This last chapter definitely had a lot of Spitfire-Glavia silliness, but Chestnut will join them soon - perhaps bringing a more serious note to the story.
Gotta watch out for those number sixties.
I'm really enjoying this Spitfire, there's such a fun voice and feel to her.
Gryphon chick on the face, still pretty cute in spite of things.
That poor fan, he really was not prepared for a non-wax Spitfire. Nice of Glavia to let him have an autographed picture, though.
Unexpected gryphon chick fire powers activate!
Fleur and Fancy, that's a fun crossover with the sequel story.
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You'd think that having a character with a stern captain voice would make it difficult to write dialogues or remarks involving/relating to kids and their antics, but it turns out it sounds pretty fun!
What can I say? It felt like they deserved a little cameo.
It's all fun and games until it turns out your face has become a pin cushion.
You just couldn't resist, could you?
I do have a question, though:
What made you decide to make this story take place after Crusaders of the Lost Mark?
So Chestnut's whereabouts for several minutes are unaccounted for. How many pieces is the wax Luna statue in?
That was cute. I enjoyed it.