After a ruthless dragon attacks Canterlot, Spitfire finds herself the guardian of Wasp, a strange child-like creature. As she grows close to him, she will discover some unsettling truths about Wasp as well as herself. Can she provide him the one thing he needs more than anything? Can Spitfire give Wasp a family?
Takes place after both “The Last Problem” (flashback only) and “Spitfire and Old Silver
The anticipation was palpable. Sweat was beading down Spitfire’s brow, her concentration was focused on the track ahead of her. Next to her, Rainbow Dash whispered, “You’re gonna eat my dust captain.” “I don’t think so.” Spitfire cockily replied. She knew that even though age was beginning to catch up to her, she was still in her prime, and she wasn’t going to let Rainbow Dash upstage her.
“On your marks….” The announcer said from his stand. Spitfire loved performing at the Wonderbolts’ Derby. True, there was the chance to interact with the biggest names in Equestrian society and improve the Wonderbolts’ standing with financiers, but what she found the most rewarding was the friendly competition with the rest of the team. “Get set….” The announcer continued. ‘Time to get serious.’ Spitfire mentally scolded herself. Focusing back on the track in front of her, she prepared to do what she did best; fly higher and faster than any-pony in Equestria.
“GO!” The announcer shouted. Almost immediately, the gates opened and the entire Wonderbolts team darted forward. Spitfire was, naturally, in first place, followed closely by Rainbow Dash and Soarin. “Heh. You still got it.” Spitfire said to herself as the crowds cheered her on. From behind her, she could hear Soarin call out, “I’ll beat you this time!” “Fat chance Soar.” Spitfire called back as she sped forward. Unfortunately for her, Soarin had unintentionally provided Rainbow Dash the opportunity for move up until she was muzzle to muzzle with Spitfire. The announcer then said, “Oh my. Looks like it’s down to the Captain versus the hero of Equestria! Who will win?” Spitfire and Rainbow Dash continued all the way to the finish line, for a few split-seconds Spitfire was leading, and for a few more Rainbow Dash was in the lead. Eventually, both mares made it to the finish line.
“Amazing!” The announcer cried out. “It seems there may have been a tie!” As the crowd fell silent, pondering the possibility of a tie, one pony, a unicorn, called out, “I can prove who won!” He took his camera and performed a spell that projected the image in the sky for every-pony to see. Amazingly, by only her nose, Spitfire won.
“Well ladies and gentle-colts…” The announcer began. “…Victory once again belongs to our one and only Captain Spitfire!” The crowd then began to applaud her, chanting, “Spit-fi-re! Spit-fi-re! Spit-fi-re!” Spitfire, out of breath, simply stepped forward and bowed to the crowd, receiving a standing ovation. As she rose, she turned to face her team and was internally relieved to see the others saluting her. Spitfire then said to her team, “Thanks for the challenge guys.” Rainbow Dash replied, “Wouldn’t have it any other way. One day I’ll beat you.” “I’ll be waiting.” Spitfire replied as she let out a gentle laugh.
At that moment, dark clouds began to form over the arena as thunder began to crash. “What’s going on?” Soarin asked as he began to panic. Spitfire nervously replied, “I don’t know.” Fleet Foot then noticed something in the clouds and asked, “What is that thing?” The team then focused their sights on the dark clouds and could barely make out the rough shape of a dragon. Before they could say anything, however, lightning began to crash around them. “Something’s wrong!” Spitfire shouted as ponies in the crowd began to panic.
“Well, whatever gave you that idea?” A loud, deep and booming voice said condescendingly. The dark clouds began to gather around the stadium and thickened, making it nearly impossible for anyone to see anything. Before Spitfire could say anything else, the voice began to speak again. “I’m afraid I can’t allow any of you to go anywhere.” Rainbow Dash called the voice out, “Why don’t you show yourself you coward!” “Keep your voice down Dash!” Soarin said, not quite a shout but still loud enough to get Rainbow Dash’s attention. “We don’t even know what’s going on.”
“What’s going on…” The ominous voice began as lightning began to crash in front of the team as the clouds began to thin themselves out. “…Is the beginning of my conquest of the world!” The voice finished. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as she replied, “Oh, really? We’ve beaten a changeling queen, a centaur, a psychotic little brat, and a gang of ruthless pirates. We can take on a megalomaniacal whatever you are.” Though she normally appreciated Rainbow Dash’s can do attitude, Spitfire felt that right now this wasn’t the best moment for it. However, she wouldn’t get the opportunity to reprimand her friend and subordinate.
As the lightning intensified, the form of a dragon seemed to teleport in front of the Wonderbolts as the fog mostly disappeared. This dragon was very tall, incredibly muscular, and covered in dark purple scales. As his head rose to meet the Wonderbolts, they were terrified by his toothy smile, horns that went around his head, smoke that emanated from his snout and mouth, and worst of all, his piercing blood red eyes. All in all, this dragon was less like Spike or Dragon Lord Ember and more like the epitome of evil itself.
“I am the mighty Megaton!” The dragon pompously introduced himself. “And I declare that the city of Canterlot will be the first to fall to my might.” He then followed this with an exaggerated, “Yes.” As much as Spitfire was terrified of this Megaton dragon, she knew that she and the others couldn’t let him just stomp all over Canterlot, or Equestria for that matter. Taking a deep breath, she defiantly shouted back to him, “I don’t know who you think you are Mega-bum, but you’re crazy if you think we’ll let you stomp all over the place.”
Then, as the ground began to shake under them, Megaton let out a horrifyingly delighted laugh. “Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” Megaton belted out. “Look out!” Surprise shouted as she pointed to the ground in front of Spitfire. Spitfire looked down to her hooves to see that something was digging up, clouds and even some earth starting to be displaced. “Egh!” She screamed as she shot upward and began to hover in the air. As the cloud opened, She and the other Wonderbolts were absolutely horrified at what emerged.
A red being emerged from the hole. For the most part, it resembled a changeling, but the front of its body was more erect, it had a set of arms coming out of what seemed to be its shoulders, compact eyes, and a mouth of two mandibles. “Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” the creature chuckled maliciously, it’s lower jaw splitting in two as he spoke, similar to a snake’s mouth. The creature then, in a low and somewhat raspy voice, cackled, “You will obey the master, or you shall be DESTROYED!” Elsewhere in the stadium, more holes were forming and more of the creatures emerged, each bearing different colors.
“Behold my brilliant creations, the HALFLINGS!” Megaton shouted as he struck a dramatic pose. “Now, my children, destroy them, yes!” The insectoid creatures then began to spread out in every direction, hoping to cause as much chaos and destruction as possible. Spitfire herself found the red Halfling wrap itself around her hoof. “You shall fall.” He snarled. “Fat chance bug brain!” Spitfire replied as she bucked the crimson creature off. After crashing to the ground, the creature shouted, “All who stand against the master shall die!”
“I don’t think so.” A new, far more familiar voice said from the stadium. Spitfire and the others turned to see Princess Twilight Sparkle, Equestria’s new ruler, and the other bearers of the Elements of Harmony charge forward. “I won’t let you harm any-pony!” Twilight shouted defiantly. She turned to Rainbow Dash and playfully asked, “A little help?” “Thought you’d never ask.” Rainbow Dash replied. She then turned to Spitfire and the other Wonderbolts and ordered, “We’ll take care of this bozo. You guys get every-pony out of here!” “On it!” Spitfire replied as she and the others began to fly towards the stands, hoping they could get everyone out safely.
The Stands
Spitfire managed to fight her way to the announcers booth. Bucking through the door, she asked, “Any-pony in here?” Almost immediately, she was tackled to the ground by the announcer. “Oh, thank Celestia! I thought I was a goner!” he said with relief. “Don’t thank me just yet.” Spitfire said as she managed to gently get him off of her and began to lead him out of the booth.
“Yahoo!” another, unfamiliar voice cried out as another of the Halflings dropped down from the roof of the booth. This one was light blue and had red compact eyes and, if Spitfire’s own eyes weren’t deceiving her, a scorpion’s tail. As another Halfling, the red one from earlier, made his way up to her, the new blue one began to speak, “Ah don’t know about you Inferno, but Ah’m in the mood to kick some keister!” Spitfire then grabbed the announcer, held him in her front hooves, and immediately shot towards the heavens. It was just as she was out of ear range that she heard, “Next time, don’t gloat Quick Strike, just act!”
As Spitfire made it to a safe distance above the stadium, she was horrified by what she saw. As Princess Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and their friends distracted Megaton, the Halflings were continuing to spawn all over the place. It seemed that there was no end to how many of these creatures there were. She was so horrified by what she was witnessing that she failed to register her passenger shouting, “Look out!” until it was too late. Spitfire turned, only to see a light purple Halfling with yellow eyes and a pink pig nose like bump on his forehead crash right into her. “Ugh.” She groaned as she collapsed down to the ground.
As Spitfire began to rise to her hooves, she was held down by the light purple Halfling. It was then that Megaton managed to shake off the Element Bearers and made his way to her. “Ah, the captain of the Wonderbolts.” He boasted. “Well done Trapdoor.” “What of the other one sir?” Trapdoor asked. Megaton pondered for a moment before surprising everyone by waving his hand and saying, “Let him go. He’s not worth it.” Trapdoor then turned to the announcer and let out a terrifying shriek, scaring him until he flew off into the distance. “Now then…” Megaton began as he stepped forward as he bent down to Spitfire. “Let’s deal with the leader of the Wonderbolts, once and for all!”
“I’d be careful if I were you.” Yet another new voice called out. Spitfire managed to turn her head to see, of all things, a dark blue bat-pony. He was wearing an olive officer’s uniform not unlike her own drill officer’s, and had dark blue draconian eyes and a simple moustache above his upper lip. He then continued, “I’m afraid you’ve made a rather horrible mistake.” “And what would that be?” Megaton sarcastically asked. “Would it be targeting a pony too weak for my standards?” The bat pony then grew a smirk on his face and said, “Choosing to attack when the Thunder Makers are in town.”
Once again, the sound of thunder began to ring out all around them. However, this wasn’t thunder from the clouds, but from the horizon. Several yellow lights began to approach the stadium, and approach fast. It was at this point that Spitfire noticed a new expression of Megaton’s face; fear. Before he could react, the yellow lights crashed all around the small group. Explosions consumed the field and track in clouds of yellow and red, and clouds and dirt were sent all over the place, forcing Spitfire to cover her face, only to realize that the Halfling was no longer restraining her.
Megaton realized that he wouldn’t be able to win this day. “Halflings, retreat!” He shouted. The Halflings began to abandon their tasks and took to the air towards the dark clouds. As Megaton took to the air after his minions, he turned to face Spitfire and the bat-pony and angrily seethed, “Enjoy your victory ponies, for when I return, victory will be mine. Yes.” As he and his minions fled, Rainbow Dash mockingly shouted, “Run you great big coward!” Spitfire, Twilight, and the others simply rolled their eyes as Rainbow’s ego emerged once again.
The Royal Palace, Two Hours Later
“And that’s about it.” Spitfire said as she finished recalling everything she remembered from the attack. Once Megaton and his monstrosities had disappeared, Spitfire and the other Wonderbolts were escorted to the castle to recount what they’d seen and heard to the royal guard. The Pegasus before her finished writing everything down in his notebook and said, “Thank you for your cooperation ma’am. Your team should be in the dining hall.” “You’re welcome.” Spitfire replied as she rose from her seat and departed to rejoin her teammates.
Once Spitfire made it to the dining hall, she realized just how hungry she was as her stomach began to rumble. “Whoa. You alright Captain?” Soarin asked as he walked up to her with a plate with a sandwich. “Yeah.” Spitfire replied as she took the sandwich and took a massive bite out of it. As Rainbow Dash and Fleet Foot made their way up to their captain, the former began to speak, “I can’t believe that dragon tried to invade Canterlot. Talk about massive ego.” Fleet Foot then gave her friend a playful nudge and said, “Yeah, and if you’re saying it then it’s pretty big.” “You bet.” Rainbow Dash replied before she realized she had been subtly insulted. “Hey!” “Don’t worry.” Spitfire said as she found food falling out of her mouth. “She’s just messing.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that.” A vaguely familiar voice said from just out of sight of the group. “Who’s that?” Fleet Foot asked. It was then that the bat pony from earlier stepped forward. “That would be me.” “Hey, I remember you!” Rainbow Dash said as she approached the bat pony. “You helped distract that dragon!” The bat pony extended his hoof to Rainbow Dash and introduced himself. “Captain Black Adder, formerly of the 15th Lunar Lancers.” Rainbow Dash shook his hoof and answered, “Rainbow Dash, of the Wonderbolts?” Spitfire approached Black Adder and said, “Thanks for the help. But I thought you were part of those Thunder guys you talked about.” Black Adder raised his wing and explained, “No, the Thunder Makers are the 3rd Solar Artillery, and I knew they were in town. I figured some real soldiers could give you guys a hand.”
This statement confused the Wonderbolts. “Wait, what do you mean real soldiers?” Spitfire asked. “The Wonderbolts are the pride of the EUP guard.” “Yeah.” Fleet Foot joined in. “We’re the best of the best.” Black Adder gave a somewhat unsettling laugh as he said, “I’d say, as warriors, your gang is about as competent soldiers as griffons are generous money lenders.” This insult certainly irked the Wonderbolts. Soarin then made his way up to Black Adder and angrily demanded, “If you’re gonna say something like that, then you’d better prove it.”
In less than thirty seconds, he would wish he hadn’t challenged Black Adder.
In the Blink of an eye, the bat pony managed to evade the other Wonderbolts and made his way to the back of Soarin and restrain his wings. He then wrapped his front hooves around his neck. “Well now….” Black Adder began. “If I twist your head enough in either direction, I’ll sever your vertebrae, paralyzing you from the neck down. Any further…” he was interrupted by Spitfire flying towards him. Releasing Soarin, Black Adder managed to intercept the Wonderbolt captain. “Funny thing about studying Wonderbolt shows…” Black Adder began as a cocky smirk formed on his face. “You kids are very predictable.”
It was at that moment that Princess Twilight entered the dining hall. “What in the name of Celestia is going on?” Black Adder released Spitfire and replied, “Your majesty, I was giving the Wonderbolts an impromptu sparring lesson, though unfortunately an unwanted one.” As he inspected the room, noticing t the growing numbers of unhappy eyes staring at him, he added, “I should probably escort myself off the castle premises.” “That would be a good idea.” Twilight replied. However, before he left, Black Adder turned to face Spitfire and said, “If you ever need a lesson on how to fight properly, look me up.”
Once Black Adder was gone, Spitfire made her opinion very clear. “That guy was a jerk.” “I know.” Rainbow Dash replied. “I mean, what was his problem?” Twilight stepped forward and joined the conversation. “I’m not too sure. Apparently Princesses Celestia and Luna disbanded many EUP units. I can do some research into Black Adder’s past to see if it has anything to do with… This.” Rainbow Dash added, “He said he was part of something called the 15th Lunar Lancers.”
However, Spitfire wasn’t really paying attention to what Rainbow Dash and Twilight were talking about. She had two things on her mind. One was the fact that she hoped she wouldn’t want to meet Black Adder again. The second was to get something actually good to eat.
That Night…
If there was one thing that could satisfy Spitfire’s hunger, it was Donut Joe’s double chocolate donuts. “Oh, I can’t wait to dig my hooves into these.” Spitfire said to herself as Joe brought out a plate with a few donuts. “Here ya go.” Joe said as he set the plate down on the table. Before Spitfire could dig in, Joe placed a hoof in front of her. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” He asked with a smug look on his face. “Oh yeah.” Spitfire said as she pulled out a few bits and handed them to him. “Thank you. Bon appetite.” Joe said as he took the bits and departed.
With everything sorted out, Spitfire took one of the donuts and dunked it in her mug of coffee before eating it. The rich chocolaty flavor was simply intoxicating, and she nearly forgot that it had been a horrifyingly busy day. The Wonderbolts’ Derby, chasing off a megalomaniacal dragon and his army of mutant freaks, and the scuffle with that uppity bat pony Black Adder had worn her out. Still, being a Wonderbolt was never easy, and Donut Joe had given her a pretty nice discount, so there was that. “Oh yeah, I forgot I actually won today.” Spitfire said as she remembered she had come in first at the derby.
As she was about to take a bite from her last donut however, she heard the sound of something crashing. “Huh? What was that?” she said out loud. She then heard the crashing again, and it sounded like it was coming from behind the store. Quickly exiting, Spitfire began to head towards the back of Donut Joe’s bakery, figuring it was probably just a raccoon or some other pest getting into his trash.
What she found instead was far worse.
There, scavenging through the trash and scrounging anything that looked edible, was one of the Halflings from earlier that day. It was smaller than the others, had a dark green body, a rear end with yellow and black stripes, brown arms, the split lower jaw of the others, and two sets of blue-purple compact eyes. He was floating above the pile of garbage, his wings making the buzzing of a wasp or a bee. Perhaps what surprised Spitfire the most was his voice. “Ugh, Wasp always bottom of pecking order.” The Halfling said to himself in a long, drawn out and somewhat whiny voice. “Why universe hate Wasp?” The creature asked himself as his eyes briefly passed Spitfire.
“Aaahh!” the Halfling screamed as he realized he was being watched. “Pony sees Wasp! Wasp must get away!” the Halfling screamed as he tried to flee, only to fly right into the wall.
Spitfire found herself somewhat conflicted. While this creature was one of the Halflings that had attacked during the Derby earlier that day, he wasn’t trying to attack anyone. If anything, this “Wasp”, as he called himself, was just trying to find a bite to eat. He almost reminded Spitfire of a little filly or colt.
“Hey!” Donut Joe shouted as he came through the back door and found Spitfire and Wasp. “You!” He shouted at Wasp. “You’re one of those things!” He then pulled out a rolling pin and made it clear what he was going to do with it. “Neugh!” Wasp screamed as he fled in the opposite direction, only to stop in front of a speechless Spitfire. Donut Joe walked over to the pair and said, “Hey Spitfire, give me a hand and help me deal with this freak.” Wasp immediately flew behind Spitfire and began to whimper in fear.
Spitfire may not have been as good at telling when some pony was lying as Rainbow’s friend Applejack, but she knew when someone was genuinely afraid, and it seemed that the Halfling hiding behind her was absolutely terrified. She knew what she had to do. “Don’t!” Spitfire firmly said as she took a defensive stance. “You lay a hoof on him and I’ll beat you to a pulp.” “Ma’am, are you crazy?” Donut Joe asked. “He’s one of those monsters!” “Wasp not want to hurt anyone!” Wasp said as he raised his arms over his head. “Wasp was forced to attack or else Megaton would punish him. Wasp ran away when Megaton did!”
Run away. Those two words danced around Spitfire’s head. Was one of the Halflings really trying to flee? Realizing this, Spitfire stared Donut Joe and firmly told him, “Wasp here is coming with me.” Donut Joe was about to hesitate, but relented and sighed. “Fine. But don’t let me catch him near my shop again.” He angrily said. Spitfire then added, “And don’t tell any-pony about him while you’re at it.” Once again, Joe simply sighed and answered, “Fine.”
Once Donut Joe returned to his bakery, Spitfire turned her attention to Wasp. The Halfling was still shaking and whimpering. “It’s ok kid.” She said to him warmly. “He’s gone.” Wasp looked up to Spitfire. No one had ever stood up for him before, not even any of the other Halflings. Overcome with happiness, Wasp lept towards Spitfire and wrapped her in a warm embrace. “Wasp is so thankful. Thank you for protecting him!” Once again, Spitfire couldn’t help but find him more like a child than a dangerous creature.
It was then that both Spitfire and Wasp heard the sound of a stomach growling and realized it was coming from Wasp’s stomach. “Hey,” Spitfire began. “Why don’t we go back to my place and get you something to eat?” Wasp nodded and answered, “Wasp would like that very much yellow pony.” “My name is Spitfire.” Spitfire said as she knelt down and lowered one of her wings. “Wasp’s name is Wasp.” Wasp said as he climbed onto Spitfire and wrapped his arms and front hooves around her neck.
“Well then Wasp…” Spitfire said as she gently took to the air. “Let’s go get you some dinner.” With that, Spitfire took off towards Cloudsdale, figuring that Wasp would be much safer away from the city his friends had attacked earlier. Besides, she figured she had enough to make something for her little guest at home as well as herself, and probably much more filling than a donut.
“Grah!!!” Megaton growled as he slammed his fist into the table. The first time he unleashed his Halflings, his life’s work, and they’d been defeated by a group of pathetic little ponies. Despite all his plans and preparations, his efforts had only resulted in him being humiliated by Princess Twilight and her friends. Seething in anger, Megaton swore to himself, “The next time I meet that little equine, I will destroy her, yes!” He was already deep in thought, imagining how his next assault would go down, when he was snapped out of it by the sound of a familiar voice.
“Is there anything the master requires?” Inferno said as he and Quick Strike approached their creator. “Ugh.” Megaton sighed. “Unless you can bring me Twilight Sparkle’s head on a stick, I’m afraid there isn’t.” Quick Strike then asked, “In that case, can Inferno and I go out and blast someone? I hate not having anything to do.” Megaton didn’t move, simply standing and breathing heavily. “Uh, sir?” Quick Strike asked. He then turned to Inferno and said, “I got a bad feeling about this.”
“I’m sorry.” Megaton said sarcastically as he glared at Quick Strike and Inferno. “It’s just that our first attempt at conquering the world has ended in absolute failure, meaning that it will be all the more harder in the future, and all you seem to care about is going out and causing senseless mayhem!” Quick Strike began to step back in fear as Megaton began to lose his temper. “Anything else?” Megaton asked as steam began to exit his nostrils. Both Inferno and Quick Strike immediately ran out of the chamber. Megaton couldn’t help but let out a cruel chuckle as he reviled in his display of power.
No sooner had Quick Strike and Inferno fled that Trapdoor entered the chamber. “Lord Megaton.” The Halfling said in his wispy and gravelly voice as he bowed his head placed one of his hands over his chest. Megaton had to admit that the addition of hands to the changeling body design was one of the best tweaks he made in the creation of the Halflings. “What is it Trapdoor?” Megaton asked, annoyance seething from his teeth. Trapdoor replied, “I have been inspecting all of the others, assessing injuries and damages from the attack on Canterlot. Though nothing major has been inflicted on any of us, I have discovered an interesting anomaly.” This caught Megaton’s attention. The large dragon then asked, “And that anomaly would be…?”
“Wasp is missing.” Trapdoor reported. “What!?” Megaton furiously asked. “Wasp was not in his quarters when we returned, and he’s not in any of the caverns, near the magma pits, or anywhere near the lair.” Trapdoor replied. The gears began to turn in Megaton’s head. Right now there were either two possibilities. One saw Wasp Killed or taken prisoner, but Megaton knew that that would not be possible. Wasp was bred to be nearly indestructible, and the Equestrians didn’t have that kind of raw power. This, however, lead to only one conclusion.
“HE’S DESERTED US!” Megaton bellowed as he slammed his fist into the cavern wall. He knew that if Wasp was discovered, the ponies would find out what he’d done, and they would destroy all he had built, something Megaton would not allow. Knowing what had to be done, Megaton turned to Trapdoor and ordered, “Trapdoor, find Quick Strike and Inferno, and tell them to return to Canterlot and find any trace of Wasp! Then go to Nightmareville and find someone who won’t mind hunting him down!” “At once sir.” Trapdoor replied as he saluted and exited his master’s chambers.
Megaton then refocused on his table, more specifically the map on it. Using his clawed finger to trace a line from Canterlot outwards, he said to himself, “I don’t know where you are Wasp, but I’ll find you. And when I do, you’ll beg for mercy when I’m done with you. Yes!”
Cloudsdale, Spitfire’s Home
“And we’re here!” Spitfire said to Wasp as the two made it to her home. Under normal circumstances, it would only take Spitfire thirty minutes at most to make the flight from Canterlot to Cloudsdale. However, this time she had decided to take a slightly more scenic route to keep Wasp safe from any potential prying eyes. It hadn’t helped that she’d flown much slower to help Wasp acclimate to being so high much easier.
“Ooh, Wasp like fluffy house.” Wasp said at the sight of Spitfire’s home. It wasn’t as extravagant as many of the other houses around her, but it was still a rather impressive two storied cloud house. Spitfire chuckled at Wasp’s remark and answered, “Yup. Clouds are the perfect building material. They’re strong yet soft.” As she gently landed on her lawn, Spitfire extended her wing down to the ground. However, Wasp was somewhat hesitant to get off Spitfire’s back. “Will Wasp be able to walk on cloud?” He nervously asked. “Of course.” Spitfire answered. “I’ve had my whole house permanently enchanted so any-pony can walk on it.”
Wasp hesitated for several moments, but once he found that the clouds were supporting his weight, the young Halfling began to jump all over the cloud lawn as if it were a giant trampoline. “Wee! Wasp loves clouds!” He cheered. Spitfire couldn’t help but find the sight of him having fun adorable. Wasp would have continued to frolic all over the lawn if his stomach hadn’t growled again, this time almost sounding like a lion’s growling. Spitfire let out a gentle laugh and said, “Come on in kid, let’s get you something to eat.” “Ok. Wasp hungry.” Wasp said as he fluttered into Spitfire’s house, making the signature buzzing of an insect as he flew.
Wasp was amazed by the interior of Spitfire’s home. Not only was the building made of clouds, but it just gave a feeling of warmth and safety all over his body. To his credit, Wasp hadn’t seen much in his relatively short life, mostly Megaton’s lair and Canterlot, the latter of which was only rather briefly. Still, being somewhere that didn’t send a chill down his exoskeleton made Wasp want to see everything he could. Spitfire couldn’t help but find his curiosity adorable. As he began to flutter around the living room, she called out, “I’m gonna start making some soup and sandwiches.”
“What are soup and sandwiches?” Wasp asked, innocence oozing from his voice. Spitfire was about to answer when something hit her. Had Wasp never eaten either before, and if so what had he eaten before? “You’ll see.” She replied as she made her way to the kitchen. The first thing Spitfire did was pour some water into a medium sized pot then set it on her stove. She then began to go through her pantry, looking for what ingredients she had. However, it was then that she heard the sound of something crashing in the living room.
“What is that?” Spitfire asked as she entered the living room, only to see Wasp floating near a broken display of a newspaper. “What happened here!?” Spitfire nearly shouted, slipping into her drill instructor mode. Wasp screamed and flew behind the sofa. “Ahh! Wasp sorry. No hurt Wasp!” He said as he curled into a ball. Spitfire managed to snap out of her anger at the sight before her. She then began to tip toe towards Wasp as she whispered, “Shh. It’s ok. I’m not gonna hurt you.” Wasp moved his wing and arm out of his face and pitifully asked, “Pony not want to hurt Wasp? But Wasp broke pony’s picture.”
Spitfire noticed the paper and said, “It’s ok. I’ll clean it up.” She then made her way over to the paper and picked it up. It was then that Spitfire noticed that it was the day she first joined the Wonderbolts, something that brought a smile to her face. “What’s making pony happy?” Wasp asked Spitfire, who replied, “I was just remembering when I joined the Wonderbolts. “What’s a Wonderbolt?” Wasp asked. Spitfire hesitated for a moment before she replied, “Well, the Wonderbolts are the best fliers in Equestria.” “Ooh.” Wasp exclaimed. “Wonderbolts look like you?” “Not exactly.” Spitfire answered. “We all wear a flight suit like this, but we all look different underneath.”
It was now that Wasp began to look down in guilt and said, “Oh. Then Wonderbolts no like Wasp. Megaton told Wasp and others to attack ponies in blue suits.” Spitfire remembered that Wasp and the others had been ordered to attack during the Derby, and she was nervous as to how the others would react to him. However, she didn’t want Wasp to feel like they’d hate him, and she reassured him, “Once I explain things to them, I bet they’ll love you.” “You promise Wasp?” Wasp asked hopefully. “They will.” Spitfire replied. “Now, I’ll go finish making dinner. You promise to be careful?” “Wasp promises.” The young Halfling replied. Spitfire let out a sigh of relief as she returned to making dinner for her and Wasp.
Thirty Minutes Later
“You’re gonna love this kid.” Spitfire said as she brought two bowls of hay soup and a plate of grilled cheese sandwiches to the kitchen table. The mere smell of them made Wasp’s mouth begin to water. As Spitfire placed one of the bowls on the table, she turned to Wasp and said, “Come on over here.” “Wasp get to sit at table with Fire Spitter?” Wasp asked curiously. “Fire Spitter?” Spitfire replied. Wasp then grew a confused look on his face as he asked, “Pony’s name is Fire Spitter, right?” Spitfire realized he had had a slip of the mind and corrected him. “Oh no. My name is Spitfire.” “Spitfire.” Wasp replied. “Spitfire! Spitfire!”
After bouncing around for a few minutes repeating her name, Wasp felt his stomach growl and made his way to his seat. As Spitfire took a spoon and began to scoop up some of her soup, she heard the sound of sloshing and slurping. Looking up, she was both irritated and amused to see Wasp had plunged his mandibles into the bowl, gulping everything down. He then began to take several sandwiches and gobble them down, crumbs and left over broth cascading down his face. “Ahem.” Spitfire said sternly as she began to glare at Wasp. Wasp realized he was being stared down and began to hold his head down in shame.
“Wasp sorry. Wasp was just hungry.” Wasp apologized. Spitfire figured that these poor manners were born out of hunger rather than rudeness. “It’s ok Wasp.” Spitfire said as she let out a sigh. “We’ll clean it up when we finish, ok?” “Ok.” Wasp replied as he resumed eating, extending a long, yellow tongue to lap up clumps of noodles in his soup.
Spitfire, however, began to realize she might be somewhat over her head. She just hoped she wasn’t leaping too far.
Spitfire’s Guest Room, Later That Night
After a rather troublesome attempt at bath time (Which made Spitfire appreciate showers so much more), Spitfire had brought the now freshly cleaned and dried Wasp into her guest room. “Now…” She began as she let out a yawn. “I think it’s time for some-pony to go to sleep.” “Awh.” Wasp began to protest. “Wasp not sleepy.” However, his loud yawn and what seemed to be closing eyes betrayed his exhaustion.
Spitfire then proceeded to begin tucking Wasp into the bed. The moment he had the covers over him, Wasp began to drift off, but not before he muttering to himself, “Today is best day of Wasp’s life.” Spitfire couldn’t help but find herself both touched and saddened. If this was the best day that this young creature had ever had, she didn’t want to imagine what a normal day was like for him. Still, Wasp was now consumed by a deep sleep, and Spitfire figured he could answer any questions tomorrow.
Later That Night
Spitfire was awoken from her sleep by the sound of panicking and grunting. “Ugh, what’s going on?” She asked herself as she rose from bed. It was then that she heard the familiar sound of Wasp’s voice crying out, “No! Wasp not want to go back! Wasp not want to go back!” “Oh no.” Spitfire said as she realized something was wrong and dashed towards the guest room. When she made it to the guest room, Spitfire was horrified to see Wasp tossing and turning, tears dripping from his eyes. “No no no! No hurt Wasp!” The young Halfling screamed as he continued, clearly suffering a nightmare.
Spitfire knew what she had to do. Leaping onto the bed, she held her front hooves on Wasp as she began to shout, “Wasp, Wasp, wake up!” She shouted. Wasp was awoken from his nightmare and into a cold sweat as he managed to wrestle himself free from Spitfire’s grasp and rise to his hooves. “Huh?” He asked as he began to take in his surroundings. “Wasp! You alright?” Spitfire asked, worried for her young ward.
She was still surprised as Wasp wrapped his arms around her and began to weep. “Please don’t send Wasp back to Megaton!” The Halfling begged. “Wasp never want to go back to Megaton!” Spitfire couldn’t help but shed a few tears at the sight and sound of Wasp. Whatever she had seen of the Halflings earlier that day was immediately irrelevant. All she could see was a scared child with no one but her, and she had to do something.
But first, she had to see a friend.
Cloudsdale, The Next Day
“Where Fire Spitter and Wasp going?” Wasp asked as he held on to Spitfire as the two flew through one of Cloudsdale’s neighborhoods. “We need to go see a friend of mine.” Spitfire replied. “And, you get to meet one of the other Wonderbolts.” “Really? Wasp meet Wonderbolt?” Wasp asked. “You bet.” Spitfire answered with a confident smirk. “Yay! Wasp meet Wonderbolt!” Wasp began to cheer as he began to excitedly jolt around Spitfire’s back, unintentionally forcing her to swerve all over the neighborhood.
“That’s it!” Spitfire said to herself as she pulled over a clearing and pulled Wasp off her back. “If you’re gonna ride on my back, you don’t do that! Understand?” Spitfire didn’t realize she had slipped into drill instructor mode until Wasp began to back away, raising his arms in fear and whimpering. “Ugh.” Spitfire sighed to herself as she realized she snapped at him again. She then began to speak in a far softer voice, “Sorry, but I don’t want you to pull at me when we’re flying like that. I could crash into something or some-pony, and get both of us hurt.” “Wasp understand. Wasp sorry he hurt you.” Wasp apologized. Spitfire then held a hoof to Wasp’s chin and said, “I’m sorry too. Guess I’ve never had to look after someone like you before.” “Wasp never met anyone like you.” He then wrapped his arms around Spitfire as he rotated himself around her until he was back on his back.
A few minutes later, Spitfire and Wasp had arrived at their destination; a normal looking cloud house. “We’re here.” Spitfire said to her young ward. “Now, I want you to behave, alright?” “Wasp promises to behave.” Wasp reassured the older mare. “Ok, now, I want to introduce you to some-pony.”
Spitfire then walked up to the house’s doorway and began to knock. After a few moments, the door was opened by a green Pegasus mare with an orange mane. “Oh, Spitfire!” The mare greeted her as she wrapped her in an embrace. “Good to see you too Tailwind.” Spitfire replied. “Is High Winds home? I need to talk to her about something.” “What is it?” Tailwind asked as she noticed something, or rather, someone walking up to Spitfire and ask, “Who is other pony?”
Tailwind stared at Wasp for a few seconds before turning her head inside the house and calling out, “Hey honey, Spitfire is here!” From inside the house, they heard a vaguely more familiar voice of High Winds reply, “Be there in a moment.” Within a few moments, the far more familiar sight of a light blue Pegasus mare with a puffy, dark blue mane emerged. “Captain! What are you doing out here?” High Winds asked. Spitfire began to nervously rub the back of her neck as she took a deep breath.
It was then that Wasp flew up to High Winds, muzzle to mandibles. “Ooh. High Winds look different from Fire Spitter!” Wasp said excitedly. “Uh… Spitfire?” High Winds asked. “Who is this?” “Wasp!” Spitfire barked. “Get away from her now!” Wasp immediately darted away from High Winds and began to back away from the group. Spitfire then turned to High Winds and answered, “High Winds, meet Wasp.” High Winds could only gulp and mutter, “Oh goodness.”
High Winds’s House, the Kitchen
“So let me get this straight.” High Winds said as she took a sip of her tea. “Wasp here is one of those things that attacked the Canterlot Derby yesterday, and you are treating him like a CHILD!?” “I think he is a child.” Spitfire replied as she pointed to Wasp, who was buzzing around curiously yet cautiously. “I found him scrounging around the trash behind Donut Joe’s. Do you really think that he would be doing something nefarious by going through garbage?” High Winds hesitated for a moment before her wife replied, “She does have a point.”
High Winds replied, “So, what are you going to do with…” She eyed the young Halfling as she continued, “…Wasp?” Spitfire replied, “Well for starters, he’s staying with me. End of story.” The determination in her voice left no room for discussion. Tail Wind added, “Good Idea. Seperating him from you could give him more trauma, and if what you said is true, he’s been through enough.” High Winds then added, “Well, even if he doesn’t have anywhere else to go, you still can’t just take a kid off the street.” “I know.” Spitfire replied. “You two have foster kids, what should I do to make this, ya know, legal?”
High Winds thought for a moment before she answered, “You’ll need to go to FPS. They’re the ones who decide if you’re a suitable candidate for a foster child, and if so they should allow Wasp to stay with you.” Tailwind then walked over to a drawer and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. “I’ll write down directions to their Cloudsdale office. You should be able to make it before they close.” “Thanks girls.” Spitfire said as she took the piece of paper. “Oh, one more thing. Can you two look after Wasp for a while?” High Winds hesitated for a moment before Tailwind rested a hoof on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. “We would love to.” High Winds replied. “And I bet he’ll love it when the kids get home from school.”
“What ponies talking about?” Wasp asked as he fluttered into the kitchen. Spitfire walked up to Wasp and said. “Hey Wasp, I need to go run an errand. High Winds and Tailwind will be looking after you for a little bit.” Wasp then looked away and asked, “Will Fire Spitter come back?” Spitfire gave Wasp a reassuring look as she answered, “Fire Spitter will come back.” Wasp immediately wrapped his arms and front legs in a warm embrace. As they finished, Wasp couldn’t help but begin to giggle as he said, “Wasp will hold you to promise.” Spitfire joined in with a chuckle of her own as she made her way to the door. “Be back in a bit every-pony. Wasp, stay out of trouble.”
Once Spitfire had departed, Wasp turned to High Winds and asked, “Wasp heard you are Wonderbolt.” “Yeah, I am.” High Winds replied. Tailwind then walked up to her and said, “And I’m so proud of you for it.” As she said this, she planted a kiss on her wife’s cheek. Wasp then asked, “Why pony kiss other pony?” Both Tailwind and High Winds sighed as they realized they’d have to explain emotions to the young child.
Cloudsdale FPS Office, Two Hours Later
“Miss Spitfire!” The mare from behind the desk called out. “Finally.” Spitfire whispered to herself. She had been reminded why she hated bureaucratic government jobs; it had taken two hours just to get in and see some-pony. It made her realize how thankful that she had decided to take most important matters at base herself. Rising from her uncomfortable chair, she walked up to the desk as the other mare said, “Please go to office number 7.” “Thanks.” Spitfire replied as she made her way down the hall.
Once she made her way to the office door, she noticed that there was a sign on the door that said out to lunch. “Figures.” Spitfire said to herself. From behind her, a mare’s voice asked, “Everything alright?” Spitfire turned to face another mare and replied, “Yeah. I need to talk to someone about taking a foal in.” “Really? Another Wonderbolt wants to take a foal in? That’s awesome!” Spitfire found herself blushing at the idea of taking Wasp in, and continued, “I have one in mind, I just have to get everything sorted out.” The mare then noticed the door they were standing in front of and replied, “Well, good luck, cause Mr. Adder isn’t the friendliest.”
“Wait, Mr. Adder?” Spitfire asked. It was then that she heard a familiar stallion’s voice behind her. “Remind me not to go back to that little eatery. For a moment I thought their cooks had taken lessons at the Pigpen school of fine dining.” “Oh no.” Spitfire muttered as she turned to see a very familiar bat-pony walking down the hall. A bat-pony wearing a dark blue suit and sporting a familiar moustache.
“Oh, Mr. Adder.” The mare walked up to him and greeted him. “You have an appointment. Black Adder replied, “Really?” “Yes, and she’s another Wonderbolt!” the mare replied as she pointed to Spitfire. It was then that Black Adder muttered to himself, “Oh piss pots.”
“Oh for Celestia’s sake.” Spitfire groaned as she struggled to realize that the pony standing before her was Black Adder. She had already had enough of him threatening Soarin and making a fool of her, and now she was forced to tolerate his presence again. “What are you doing here?” She asked.
“I’m coming back from my lunch break.” Black Adder dead panned as he stepped forward towards Spitfire. As he closed the distance until he was muzzle to muzzle with her, he continued, “And I would very much like to enter my office ma’am.” Spitfire groaned as she stepped out of the way, allowing Black Adder to enter his office. The secretary then said, “As you can see Mr. Adder, one of the Wonderbolts has decided to take in a foster foal.”
“Really?” Black Adder asked, his eyes widening in curiousity. As he made his way towards his desk, he began to speak again, “Because if I may Captain, you have a reputation of being as cuddly and friendly as an impudent porcupine.” He then shot Spitfire a cheeky smile.
“Very funny.” Spitfire sarcastically replied. She then turned to ask the assistant something, but found that she had disappeared. This meant that she was alone with one of the most obnoxious ponies she had ever met.
“You were going to ask if there were any other ponies you could talk to, weren’t you?” Black Adder smugly asked. “Because when to famous or influential ponies taking in foals, I’m the only stallion for the job.”
Spitfire could only sigh as she replied, “Fine, let’s get this over with.” She then proceeded to enter Black Adder’s office. As she made her way to the chair in front of his desk, Black Adder asked, “So, I overheard you already have a foal in mind.”
“Yes.” Spitfire answered. “Well, not exactly. “Really?” Black Adder asked as he pulled out a tray containing a pitcher of water and two glasses. As he poured the glasses with water, he asked, “I take it this means you have your eyes on something like a griffon or hippogriff?” Spitfire hesitated for a moment, nervously scratching the back of her neck. Black Adder noticed her nervousness and asked, “A changling?”
After a few more seconds, Spitfire answered, “A Halfling actually.” “A Halfling?” Black Adder asked, momentarily confused. He then continued, “What in the name of the Princess do you mean by….” Within a few seconds, he realized what she meant. He then asked, “Do you mean one of those creatures that attacked the Wonderbolts’ Derby?”
Spitfire hesitated for a moment before she began to explain. “You see, last night I ran into one of them, a small Halfling named Wasp. Unlike the others, he sounds and acts like he’s a little foal, and apparently he ran away from that dragon.” She then took one of the glasses of water and took a large gulp. “To be honest for a moment I thought I was making a big mistake.” As Black Adder took the other glass, he asked, “So what made you want to double down?” Spitfire took a deep breath and replied, “Last night I woke up to him having a nightmare.” Just saying this made her shudder. Black Adder asked, “A nightmare?” “Yeah.” Spitfire answered. “Wasp didn’t tell me exactly what it was, but he was in tears begging me not to send him back to Megaton.”
After taking a moment to compose herself, Spitfire steeled herself and began to speak again. “Look, that monster treated him horribly, and right now the only other ponies he’s met have either threatened him or still see him as some kind of freak.” Black Adder simply let Spitfire’s words sink in, not letting any emotion show. After a few more moments, Black Adder asked, “Where is he now?”
Spitfire answered, “He’s with High Winds. I didn’t want Wasp having to deal with this kind of interrogation or skepticism.” Black Adder replied, “Hardly the worst choice. After all, High Winds is a familiar name around here, and she has a track record almost as clean as a mint condition bar of soap.” He then rose from his seat and said, “So, what are standing we around like gaggle of geese for?” “Huh?” Spitfire asked. Black Adder sighed and explained, “You’re going to take me to Wasp so I can meet him. After all, I need to be familiar with him if I’m going to be his social worker.” He then shot Spitfire a smug yet warm look. Spitfire was a bit hesitant, as she still didn’t entirely trust Black Adder, but she knew that right now, he was her best chance of keeping Wasp, so she simply sighed as she said, “Ok. Follow me.”
“Alright every-pony!” Black Adder enthusiastically called out as he pulled his olive-khaki cap off of the coat rack and continued. “Once more into the fray as we go to fight the huns!” Spitfire couldn’t help but let out a gentle laugh as she said, “Follow me.”
High Winds’s House
“Wasp doesn’t get it.” Wasp said to High Winds. He had spent the last two and a half hours probing her and Tailwind with question after question, ranging from how clouds were made to what other kinds of ponies were like. As much as his curiousity was endearing, High Winds could only take so much of his probing (as well as his long, drawn out voice) and was starting to lose her patience.
“For the last time…” High Winds began. “Pegasi have wings, unicorns have horns, Alicorns have both, and earth ponies don’t have either.” She now found herself taking a deep breath, relieved that she had made her point as clear as possible.
Wasp then began to speak again. “Fire Spitter says she is Wonderbolt, but Wasp saw picture and pony in picture didn’t look like her. Pony in picture was blue with yellow stripes. She also says you are Wonderbolt, but you don’t look like pony in picture either.”
High Winds slammed her head against the wall in annoyance. “Ugh!” She groaned. “I can’t take this right now!” Wasp backed away in fear as Tailwind rushed over to her wife. “Honey, calm down!” She cried to High Winds. “You’re scaring Wasp!” High Winds realized that she had been making a scene, especially now that she noticed Wasp was cowering and wimpering. She made her way over to the frightened Halfling and apologized. “I’m sorry for losing my temper.” She gently rested her hoof under his chin and continued, “Guess I’m still worn out from yesterday.”
The mere mention of the previous day was enough to make Wasp look away in shame. “Wasp is sorry he was at fancy race yesterday.” High Winds then reassured him, “That wasn’t your fault. It was that mean dragon that made you attack.” “Wasp knows.” The young Halfling sighed. “Wasp just happy he doesn’t have to listen to dragon butt anymore.” Both High Winds and Tailwind found themselves choking back laughter at the sudden use of such a dirty term.
It was at this moment that the small group heard the sound of a door opening, followed by a filly’s voice calling out, “Mommy! We’re home.” Before either High Winds, Tailwind, or Wasp could react, two Pegasus fillies, one red with a blue mane in a ponytail and another green with red braided pigtails, entered the kitchen, only find their mothers with a weird insect like creature. Being face to face with such an odd being, they did the only thing one would expect.
They both let out terrifying screams.
The green filly shouted, “Mommy! It’s one of the monsters!” Wasp, for his part, screamed in fear as he tried to fly away, only to trip on the kitchen table and crash into the cloud floor. Tailwind managed to make her way to her daughters and began to plead to them. “Girls, I need you to calm down.” Both fillies managed to partially calm down, no longer shouting but breathing heavily as Wasp managed to get back to his feet.
“Girls…” Tailwind began. “This is Wasp, and he’s going to be living with Spitfire.” The red filly snuck a glance at Wasp and asked, “But isn’t he one of those freaks that attacked mom at the Derby yesterday?” It was at that moment that Wasp started to growl angrily. “What did filly call Wasp?” He angrily asked, his voice deepening and becoming more guttural. As the two fillies began to back down, High Winds walked up to Wasp and demanded, “Wasp, calm down right now!”
Wasp realized he was being chastised and immediately backed down, shrinking into himself and raising his arms and wings to shield himself. He then gulped and began to speak. “Wasp is sorry. But Wasp doesn’t like being called a freak.”
It was then that the green filly made her way up to the scared Halfling. Her foster sister tried to call out to her. “Pin Up, get back here.” The red filly whispered loudly. The green filly then walked up to Wasp and extended her hoof. “Hi. I’m Pin Up.” Wasp hesitated for a moment before he extended one of his arms and replied, “Wasp’s name is Wasp.” Pin Up then apologized to the Halfling. “Sorry for screaming. I was scared for a moment for my mommies.” Wasp replied, “Wasp thinks he understands. Wasp wouldn’t know what to do without Fire Spitter.” “You mean Spitfire?” Pin Up asked. Wasp replied, “Yeah. Wasp has trouble with names.”
Pin Up then asked, “So, friends?” Wasp pondered for a moment before he replied, “Wasp never had friends before.” Pin Up then wrapped her hooves around the Halfling, an action that startled him for a moment before he reciprocated it as he replied, “Wasp likes having friends.”
The red filly then walked up to her foster sister and Wasp and introduced herself. “Hey, I’m Rotor Blade.” As she held her hoof out, she continued, “It’s, uh, good to meet you Wasp. Sorry about screaming and…” She was tackled by Wasp as he wrapped his arms and wings around her. “Wasp is happy to meet you!” he screamed happily.
As the three children continued to chat, Tailwinds faced High Winds and said, “I love it when foals make new friends.” High Winds leaned against her wife as she replied, “I do too.”
Skies of Cloudsdale, Thirty Minutes Later
“So, how come you know High Winds?” Spitfire asked Black Adder. She and Black Adder had departed the FPS office and were now making their way towards High Winds’s house.
Black Adder replied, “I did say that I’m the pony they call when celebrities want to take foals in, and around here you don’t get much more famous than the Wonderbolts.” He said this rather plainly and calmly, but Spitfire noticed that he said “Wonderbolts” with a small but barely noticeable amount of annoyance. He then continued, “After a few weeks, she and her wife proved themselves to be perfect candidates for taking in foster foals.”
“So…” Spitfire nervously began. “Do you think I’d be a good parent?” She’d never thought she’d actually ask that kind of question to any-pony, let alone someone who was effectively a total stranger. If anything, Spitfire felt she didn’t even sound like herself. After a few seconds, Black Adder replied, “Professionally, I can’t state an opinion yet.” He then shot her a somewhat mischievous look as he replied, “Personally, I have more than a few doubts.”
“What kind of doubts?” Spitfire asked as she began to slow down. Black Adder explained, “You have a reputation for being very quick to anger, you’re occasionally prone to negligence, and if what I’ve heard is true, you can be a bit dense.”
This thinly veiled insult infuriated Spitfire. She flew in front of Black Adder and angrily asked, “How do you know all that anyway?” Black Adder, unmoved by her attempt to intimidate him, replied, “You’re famous captain, and there are ponies who dedicate themselves to knowing everything about you. That and you have made a fair bit of yourself after the whole world learned about your brother.”
Of course. Spitfire remembered that after the little “excursion” involving her brother Old Silver, she had pretty much admitted many of her personal flaws and issues public. True, some issues, such as her probation for her decisions regarding the “hired help,” were easy to tolerate and just move on. However, this lead to ponies uncovering more dirt on her, and it resulted in the Wonderbolts losing a fair bit of respect as well as forcing them to cancel more than a few shows. To add icing to the cake, the team even had to remove Spitfire from a few shows or else face the performances being cancelled.
“Well…” Spitfire hesitated as she realized that, as much as she didn’t want to admit it, Black Adder wasn’t entirely wrong. Black Adder then continued, “Luckily, I am hoping you can prove me wrong Captain.” Spitfire could only sigh and reply, “Thanks.”
High Winds’s House
As Spitfire and Black Adder approached High Winds’s house, the aforementioned Wonderbolt and her wife exited the structure and made their way up to the Pegasus and bat-pony. Tailwind stepped forward and greeted her new guest. “Black Adder! So good to see you again!” she then wrapped the bat-pony in a large hug. High Winds then walked up and said, “Honey, I think you’re crushing him.” As Tailwind released Black Adder, he replied, “Don’t worry, I’ve survived the Anacondians, so think a simple hug wouldn’t harm me too much.”
“Anacondians?” Spitfire asked. Black Adder turned to face her and, as he straightened his hat, began to explain, “One of my first missions with the 15th Lunar Lancers saw us stopping a group of maddened constrictors who had a voracious appetite for pony flesh.” High Winds then joined the conversation. “Ehg, I remember you told me about them when we first took in Pin Up. She had nightmares for weeks.” Black Adder then asked, “Speaking of foals, where is Wasp?”
It was then that Pin Up and Rotor Blade ran out of the house, only for the former to be tackled by Wasp. As Spitfire and Black Adder started to approach the young children, High Winds stopped them. As Spitfire gave her teammate a confused look, Wasp and Pin Up began to laugh as the Halfling said, “Pin Up is it.” He then began to buzz around as he and the other fillies continued to giggle.
High Winds explained, “They’ve been playing since the kids came home from school.” Tailwind then added, “There was a somewhat awkward first impression, but I think the girls like him.” Spitfire continued to watch Wasp fly around with High Winds’s foals, smiling as they continued to play tag. She then turned to Black Adder and said, “Looks like he can at least make friends.”
Wasp then noticed Spitfire had returned and made a beeline towards her. “Fire Spitter!!” He cried out as he tackled her, wrapping his arms around her. “You come back for Wasp!” Spitfire couldn’t help but let out a gentle giggle as she replied, “Of course I did. I couldn’t stay away from you forever.”
As Wasp finished his hug, he noticed Black Adder was staring at him. “Who is new pony?” He asked as he began to back away nervously. As Spitfire struggled to find a way to explain her new acquaintance, Black Adder walked up to Wasp, confidence and an aura of authority emanating from him.
“Hello there.” Black Adder said gently as he extended his hoof to Wasp. “My name is Black Adder.” Wasp hesitated for a few moments, his many eyes darting between Black Adder’s face and hoof. He then extended his arm as he replied, “Wasp’s name is Wasp.” Black Adder shook Wasp’s hand as he said, “It is an honor to meet you Wasp.” Spitfire let out a sigh of relief. She had been nervous about how Black Adder would react to Wasp, especially considering how he initially treated the other Wonderbolts.
Black Adder then began to explain to Wasp, “You see my friend, Spitfire wants to take you in, and I am going to make sure that she can.” Wasp’s eyes grew in excitement as he asked, “So Wasp get to stay with Fire Spitter?” “Hopefully.” Black Adder replied. Wasp then leapt into the air as he began to happily cry out, “Wasp gets to stay with Fire Spitter!” He continued to fly around and shout in joy until he, as well as the others, heard the unmistakable sound of Wasp’s stomach growling. “Wasp is hungry.” The young Halfling said meekly as he made his way to Spitfire and Black Adder.
Spitfire then said, “I think I have an idea.”
Spitfire’s Home, That Evening
Black Adder would admit to himself that he’d seen many odd, interesting, and even disgusting things in his life. Even with this in mind, he hadn’t been prepared to see all three traits wrapped in a package of endearing adorableness as seeing Wasp tear a slice of pizza to shreds.
After having said their farewells to High Winds and her family (as well as managing to convince Wasp that he could visit Pin Up and Rotor Blade in the future), Spitfire had invited Black Adder to join her and Wasp for dinner, as well as allow Wasp to experience pizza for the first time. Needless to say, the fact that Wasp had devoured half of the pizza, spreading cheese, tomato sauce, and grease all over the kitchen made it clear that he found it delicious.
Spitfire then faced Wasp and began to speak. “Wasp, what did I tell you about table manners?” Wasp began to look away nervously as he replied, “Wasp is sorry.” Spitfire let out a relieved sigh and continued, “It’s ok Wasp. We’ll clean it up in a little bit.”
Black Adder then remarked, “Those are certainly some interesting table manners.” Wasp nervously replied, “Wasp is sorry. Megaton never really taught us manners.” “No, I figured not.” Black Adder replied. As he took a sip of his drink, he explained, “From what little I saw of that dragon, he didn’t seem to be the parenting kind of being.” Wasp then sighed as he replied, “Megaton doesn’t act like High Winds and Tailwind, or like you and Fire Spitter.”
“Spitfire!” Spitfire said out loud. “My name is Spitfire! Not Fire Spitter, Spitfire!” Wasp then began to whimper and, before either Spitfire or Black Adder could act, darted out of his chair and ran up to the guest room.
Black Adder turned to Spitfire and sternly reminded her, “That is the sort of behavior that I can’t allow.” Spitfire realized what she’d done and held her head in shame. Black Adder then added, “Luckily, that is exactly why I am here.” Spitfire could only reply with a simple, “Thanks.”
The Guest Room
“Wasp?” Spitfire asked as she entered the room. Sure enough, Wasp was hiding under the covers. As Spitfire began to approach him, Wasp pulled the blanket over him as he began to cry, “Wasp is sorry! Please don’t hurt Wasp!” Spitfire felt her heart break into several small pieces. After all, she had scared him.
“Wasp, I’m sorry.” Spitfire gently apologized. “I shouldn’t have raised my voice.” Wasp then rose from the sheets as he began to speak. “Wasp just gets confused with names. And Spifti… Spitty Fire…. Fire Spitter is hard for Wasp to remember.” Spitfire simply made her way up to him and wrapped her hooves and wings around him. As Wasp returned the favor, she began to explain, “You know what, I think Fire Spitter has a nice ring to it.” “Really?” Wasp asked. Spitfire replied, “You bet.”
As Wasp let out a big yawn, Spitfire let out a giggle as she said, “I think some-pony is tired. Get some sleep Wasp, I’ll get everything cleaned up.” “Ok.” Wasp replied as he allowed his exhaustion to consume him and drift off into a peaceful slumber. She then tucked him in and, before she realized it, planted a small kiss on his forehead. Spitfire then departed the room turning off the lights so Wasp would hopefully have a good night’s sleep.
Spitfire then returned to the kitchen, only to find that Black Adder had already cleaned most of the mess up. He then noticed she had returned and began to speak. “Oh, I figured you had more important issues than cleaning up pizza stains.” “Thanks.” Spitfire replied. “Sorry for snapping at him. Guess I kinda got annoyed at that nickname he gave me.”
Black Adder began to laugh to himself as he said, “A Wonderbolt not liking a nickname, isn’t that rich?” Spitfire rolled her eyes as she replied, “Ha ha, I know, we’re all a bunch of hypocrites.”
It was then that Black Adder said, “That does remind me of something important.” “What is it?” Spitfire asked. Black Adder, setting the rag he had been using on the table, explained, “Unless you’re planning on keeping Wasp hidden from the outside world, which I think is a rather idiotic move, You’re going to have to understand to show him to the world.” Spitfire asked, “What, like a prop?” Black Adder replied, “Oh no. I meant to say that it would be best to make known that he’s with you, so that other ponies can’t use him as some sort of blackmail material.”
Spitfire knew he was right. As much as she felt that announcing to all of Equestria that she had taken a Halfling in, she knew if Wasp was kept hidden from prying eyes, he could be used as leverage against not only her, but the team. Sighing, Spitfire replied, “Ok. I’ll tell the other Wonderbolts once we resume training.”
“Very well.” Black Adder said. “I’ll also need to report not only to FPS, but Princess Twilight’s court so that they know Wasp isn’t a scout for Megaton.” Spitfire nodded and replied, “Thanks Black Adder.” “Anytime Captain.” The bat pony replied. As he walked over to the door, he picked up his cap and jacket as he said, “Besides, you might need some-pony who can kill you twelve different ways with his bare hooves to keep an eye on you two.” He then gave a quick wink as he darted out the door and off into the skies.
Spitfire simply sighed as she said to herself, “What a jerk.” Despite essentially insulting him, she couldn’t help but smile. After all, despite her personal issues with him, Black Adder had been willing to help, even when he knew that Wasp had been a Halfling. All in all, she felt that despite his rough edges, right now he was one of her best chances of keeping Wasp safe.
However, exhaustion from a long day caught up to her, and Spitfire decided to get ready for bed. After all, it was going to be a long couple of days.
Spitfire awoke from a long night’s sleep with the odd feeling of something being off. “Ugh.” She groaned as she struggled to remove the effects of the sand-mare from her eyes.
It had been two days since she met Wasp’s new social worker, the sophisticated yet somewhat arrogant Black Adder. He had suggested that Spitfire introduce a schedule to Wasp, giving him everything from a time to be up by to a designated bedtime. Though he found these restrictions somewhat odd at first, the young Halfling had adapted in stride. By this point Spitfire could expect that he would be up by 8:30.
It was at this moment that Spitfire realized something. Today was the day that the Wonderbolts would resume practice following the attack on the Derby. “Oh no.” Spitfire began to internally panic. She needed to report to the Wonderbolts’ academy before the rest of the team arrived so that she could begin going over the team’s routines and inspect the base, but she knew that this was the kind of work that only some-pony like her could find interesting. Wasp would almost certainly find these sorts of tasks incredibly boring, and Spitfire knew that it wouldn’t be fair to put him through so much boredom.
As she continued to panic, Spitfire remembered something else. “Of course! Black Adder!” She remembered that, for the last few days, Black Adder would show up early and check up on her and Wasp. Taking a deep breath, Spitfire sighed as she made her way to her desk. Pulling out a piece of paper and pen, she began to write a letter to for Wasp so that he could know where she was if he woke up early or wondered where she had gone.
After finishing her letter, Spitfire noticed the time. It was almost 7:15, and she had to be at the Wonderbolts’ Academy in fifteen minutes. “Oh crap!” Spitfire said as she began to panic. Knowing she couldn’t be late, Spitfire began to put on her instructor’s uniform. Once she had finished her tie and slipped on her jacket. Once she was all dressed up, she darted to the kitchen, pulled a muffin out of the pantry, wholfed it down, set the letter for Wasp on the kitchen table, and started to make her way to the door. Before she could open it, however, she was surprised to see Black Adder, clad in his olive-khaki suit and cap, open the door.
“Ah, Captain.” Black Adder greeted Spitfire as he entered the house. As he stepped forward, he jovially asked, “Sleep well?”
“Not now Black Adder!” Spitfire angrily demanded. “I need to get to the base now!” She tried to get passed Black Adder, but he extended his wing to block her. The somewhat friendly expression on his face quickly hardened as he asked, “Where is Wasp?”
Spitfire groaned and, irritation seeping from her voice, replied, “I gotta get to the base. I left a letter on the kitchen table.” She didn’t have time for Black Adder prodding her, and she didn’t have time for his seemingly endless criticism.
As she tried to move past him, Black Adder held his bat wing out, blocking her again as he asked, “Alright, so you’re telling me that you’re leaving Wasp here all alone, and the only clue as to your whereabouts that you’re leaving him is a NOTE?”
Spitfire was about to reply when she realized that Black Adder was right. It didn’t help that he then asked, “Tell me captain, do you know if he can read?” “Huh?” The Wonderbolt captain asked. Black Adder sighed and, rubbing his face with his bat wings, sighed and said, “This is incredibly irresponsible behavior captain, and to say you are miraculously lucky that I decided to stop by early is as much as an understatement as saying Cozy Glow had a few emotional problems.”
Spitfire found herself growing increasingly infuriated by Black Adder’s questions. However, the bat-pony simply stepped out of the way and said, “Go on to your little playground. I’ll look after Wasp and bring him over later today.” He then trotted up to Spitfire until he was muzzle to muzzle with her and very sternly continued, “I expect that this will not happen again. Am I clear?” Spitfire could only growl out, “Crystal clear.” She then shot towards the sky, hoping to put as much distance between her and Black Adder as possible.
Guest Room/Wasp’s Room, An Hour Later
As the sun began to shine into through the window, Wasp began to stir from his bed. He had had a rather pleasant night’s sleep, even having a dream where he remembered to say Spitfr…. Spiffy…. Fire Spitter’s name correctly. “Ugh. Why Wasp having trouble with names?” The young Halfling muttered to himself as he began to rise from his bed.
Wasp’s train of thought was interrupted by the sound of the alarm clock going off. The sudden loud buzzing began to eat away at Wasp as he held his hands over his ears as he hovered over the clock, fiddling with the device with his front hooves. “How does Wasp turn annoying machine off?” he asked himself, struggling to remember how Spitfire turned it off.
After a few minutes of fruitless struggle, Wasp couldn’t take it any longer. “Grrrraaaaaagggghhh! Wasp has had it with tiny box!” He then grabbed the alarm clock, pulling its power cord out of the wall, and slammed it into the floor before stomping on it. Once the clock was reduced to several pieces of broken plastic and cables, he stared down the mess and gloated, “Wasp one, tiny box zero.”
It was then that, to Wasp’s surprise, Black Adder entered, wearing an olive khaki coat with a shirt, tie, and a khaki cap. The older bat-pony noticed the ruined alarm clock and quipped, “Good morning Wasp. I see you couldn’t find the snooze button?” Wasp held his head low in shame as he replied, “Wasp is sorry. Fire Spitter usually turns tiny box off.”
Wasp then noticed that Spitfire wasn’t with Black Adder. “Where is Fire Spitter?” He asked, starting to panic. Black Adder placed one of his wings on Wasp’s shoulder and answered, “Spitfire needed to go the Wonderbolt’s base. You and I are going to visit her later today.”
Wasp, tilting his head in confusion, asked, “Where is Wonderbolt’s base?” Black Adder, a smile forming on his face, answered, “It’s here in Cloudsdale. We can go later today.” “Ok.” Wasp answered dejectedly. “Wasp just wish Fire Spitter could show Wasp base.”
“Don’t worry.” Black Adder reassured the young Halfling. “You know, maybe she can give you the guided tour when we get there?” Wasp’s eyes began to shine as he enthusiastically asked, “Really?” Black Adder happily replied, “You bet. Now, how about I go make you some breakfast?” Before Wasp could reply, his stomach began to roar, nodded yes. “Very well then.” Black Adder replied.
As Black Adder and Wasp entered the kitchen, Black Adder began to go through the pantry, hoping to find something Wasp would find appetizing. After a few moments, he found some waffle mix. “Ah, this will put a spring in his step.” The older bat-pony said to himself. He turned to see Wasp staring at him and ask, “What bat-pony doing?” Black Adder answered, “I’m going to make us some waffles.” “What are waffles?” Wasp asked. Black Adder replied, “Just you wait.”
After a few minutes working a pan (Which Black Adder figured had not been properly washed), the older bat-pony was able to whip up a decent plate of waffles for Wasp and himself. As he brought the plate to the table, Wasp began to drool. “Waffles smell good.” The young Halfling said in an almost trance like tone. As Black Adder began to place a few waffles on a smaller plate for Wasp, he replied, “Oh they are. Made with army elbow grease.”
To say that Wasp found the waffles tasty would be a great understatement. The moment even one morsel touched his long yellow tongue, he began to tear them apart, gobbling them up like a broken vacuum cleaner. As much as the sight of what Black Adder would consider the antithesis of good table manners, seeing Wasp so content made his heart feel warm. After finishing the waffles, Wasp noticed the mess and asked, “Bat-pony want Wasp to help clean up mess?” Black Adder replied, “I would like that very much.”
As the two began to clean the mess, Wasp noticed that Black Adder’s seat had a large paper with several black markings on it with pictures. He remembered that symbols like these were on massive collections of papers and on the jars and tubes back in Megaton’s lair. This didn’t help the fact that they still puzzled him, and Wasp now found himself enthralled, and he began to buzz around the paper.
“Wasp, what are you doing?” Black Adder asked as he noticed Wasp had been distracted. Wasp turned to face the older bat-pony and asked, “What are markings on paper?” Black Adder looked at the newspaper and replied, “It’s a newspaper, and those are letters.” “What are letters?” Wasp asked innocently, unaware of the growing look of concern on his face.
Black Adder’s worst fear was coming true. He took the news paper and, trying to remain as calm as possible, asked, “So, you don’t know what these symbols do you?” Wasp, as innocent as ever, replied, “Wasp thinks he knows, but doesn’t know what they are. Megaton used pictures with us.”
So Wasp really was illiterate. Black Adder sighed and said, “After we finish cleaning up, I think I know a few games we can play before we go see Spitfire.” “Wasp never played a game before.” The Halfling replied. Black Adder simply rested his wing on Wasp’s head and replied, “I think you’ll like this one.
Wonderbolts’ Base
“Look out Spitfire!” Soarin called out to Spitfire as she drifted too close to one of the others, nearly crashing. Realizing her situation, Spitfire was forced to bail and break off from the rest of the team.
So far this had been an absolutely horrible day for Spitfire. Not only had she nearly overslept, but she received a verbal lashing and thinly veiled insult from Black Adder, arrived at the Wonderbolts’ Base late, and now could barely focus on the tasks ahead of her. No matter how much she tried to focus on the routine, her mind kept returning to Wasp. The thought of the young child was constantly distracting her, and she found herself performing incredibly poorly, almost as bad as the worst recruits on their first days.
After breaking off, Rainbow Dash and Soarin flew up to Spitfire, worry evident on their faces. Rainbow Dash asked, “Ma’am, I know we all have off days, but you’ve been having near collisions all morning.” Soarin then added, “Yeah, there something bugging you?”
Spitfire wanted to tell them what was going on, but something kept telling her not to. She was captain of the Wonderbolts, and she needed to keep her personal life separate from her work life, and right now Wasp was not part of her work life.
Taking a deep breath, Spitfire answered, “Yeah, I just didn’t get enough sleep.” Soarin and Rainbow Dash gave each other knowing looks as the former answered, “I dunno. I’ve seen you fly when you’re tired, and you’re never this distracted. Something’s bugging you.” Rainbow Dash replied, “Yeah, even I can tell that.
Spitfire knew what she had to do. “Guys, I’m fine!” She sternly replied as she slipped into her drill instructor mode. “And we’re wasting time talking about my sleep cycle. Form up!” Rainbow Dash, Soarin, and the other Wonderbolts followed their captain’s orders and returned to their positions as Spitfire returned to her place at the front of the team. She then turned to the others and called out, “Ok team, one more time from the top.”
Once again, the Wonderbolts began the practice run of their new routine. As the team soared through the skies above their base, Spitfire couldn’t help but feel right at home. After all, this was the place where she was always most comfortable. She began to wonder what it would be like for Wasp to be this high. Would he feel as comfortable as she did up here? Would he be able to sustain flight this high or be able to walk on non-enchanted clouds? Would Wasp….
*Crash!* Spitfire was so distracted by the thought of her and Wasp flying together that she allowed her mind to drift again. This time, however, she crashed right into Fleet Foot, sending both mares plummeting towards the base’s lake. As the other Wonderbolts began to gather around the lake, Spitfire and Fleet Foot emerged, both soaking wet and the former covered in green algae.
Fleet Foot, shaking herself dry, angrily asked her captain, “Ok, what the hay is going on?” Before she could answer, Spitfire stopped herself as she thought to herself, ‘If I tell them now, it could distract the team. They can’t know right now.’
Taking a deep breath, Spitfire answered, “Not now. I’ll explain everything after we finish.” The other Wonderbolts gave each other confused looks, unsure as to what exactly their captain was admitting. When Fleet Foot gave her a look that made it clear she didn’t buy it, Spitfire slammed her hoof down as she firmly asked, “Am I clear?”
“Yes Ma’am.” Fleet Foot replied as she saluted Spitfire as she took to the air to rejoin the team. Spitfire hesitated for a moment, briefly wondering what Wasp would think of the water. She was shaken out of her thinking when Rainbow Dash called for her, and she returned to rejoin her team.
Wonderbolts’ Locker Room, Later That Day
Wiping the sweat off of her brow and face with a towl, Spitfire couldn’t help but realize today had been an absolutely horrible day. No matter how hard she tried, the image of Wasp kept creeping back into her mind, and she’d either perform poorly at best, or have another collision at worst. As she began to inspect her reflection in the mirror in her locker, Spitfire realized how worn out and exhausted she looked. Her mane was drooping and she had small but noticeable bags under eyes.
Still, Spitfire knew that before she could leave, there was something she had to do. ‘Better now than never.’ She thought to herself. Though part of her wanted to keep Wasp a secret, she knew that Black Adder was right when he told her she’d have to tell them.
Taking a deep breath, Spitfire turned to face the other Wonderbolts, completely unaware that Fleet Foot, Rainbow Dash, Surprise, and Soarin had been whispering to each other. Ignorant of this, Spitfire began to speak. “Alright every-pony, great work out there today.” As the other Wonderbolts nodded in agreement, Spitfire continued, “And now the other important issue. You see, I….”
“Not quite yet Captain.” Fleet Foot interrupted as she, Rainbow Dash, and Soarin stepped forward, cheeky and mischievous grins plastered on their faces. Spitfire groaned and replied, “Not now guys. I need to explain something.” Soarin then added, “You forgot to announce the day’s worst flier.” Spitfire sighed as she answered, “I think that’s pretty obvious. That would be….”
It was then that Spitfire realized what the others had been whispered, and her fears were confirmed when Fleet Foot presented a broom and dust bin. At this moment, Spitfire remembered Black Adder’s criticism of her, and remembered that she hadn’t seen Wasp all day.
“I know we have our little tradition.” Spitfire began, this time sporting an uncharacteristic nervous smile. “But I think that this time we should just ignore it.” Fleet Foot took the broom and dust bin and stepped forward, her mischievous smile morphing into the kind of smile one wears to hide frustration. The blue mare then countered, “Oh no, you’re not getting out of it today, especially after that stunt at the lake.” Rainbow Dash then added, “Yeah, besides, you taught me that no-pony is above the rules.”
Spitfire began to sweat nervously, especially as some of the other Wonderbolts began to slink out of the locker room. Still, she was captain of the Wonderbolts, and she was not going to let Fleet Foot or any-pony try and push her around. Stepping towards her subordinate, she began to sternly retort, “I will not be cleaning the base up tonight because…” She was interrupted when Fleet Foot angrily replied, “I don’t care what excuse you have Ma’am. You were the worst flier today, and the worst flier has to clean the base up.”
Spitfire didn’t like the challenging tone in Fleet Foot’s voice. As Spitfire began to take an intimidating pose, she asked, “Are you threatening me Fleet Foot?” As Soarin and Rainbow Dash began to back away, realizing the situation had escalated from playful teasing to something a little more serious, Fleet Foot exploded with anger.
“I’m not challenging you ma’am!” Fleet Foot shouted as she shoved the broom into her captain’s chest. She then bellowed, “I’m just asking you to do your part and clean the base like a good little filly!” She was surprised to see how much force she had used, only realizing her strength when Spitfire was sent tumbling backwards, hitting her head on her locker door with a surprisingly large amount of force.
This was a horrible mistake.
From the door, Spitfire and the remaining Wonderbolts heard a youthful yet scratchy voice angrily callout, “Red Eyes hurt Fire Spitter!” Spitfire, Fleet Foot, and the others turned to see a small green creature that resembled a changeling staring the group, specifically Fleet Foot, down with an anger none of them ever thought they’d see. As the creature’s breathing turned into animalistic growling, Spitfire could only mutter, “Oh crap.”
Wasp had seen everything. He saw the light blue pony with red eyes shove Spitfire with the fancy stick. He saw Spitfire tumble backwards and hurt her head. Wasp had seen something like this many times. His mind recalled the time Megaton had done the same to him, forcing him to clean all of the Halfling pods or face his wrath. But now Spitfire was on the receiving end of the abuse, and he would not allow the other pony to get away with this.
“Wasp…” The young Halfling began, fury dripping from his mandibles with his saliva. Fleet Foot saw the creature and annoyingly asked, “What the heck is that thing?” Spitfire gulped in fear, not sure what was going to happen. Wasp then continued, “…will…” Rainbow Dash then leaned close to Soarin and whispered, “I got a bad feeling about this.”
“TERRORIZE!” Wasp bellowed with uncontrollable fury as he charged towards Fleet Foot, who was too shocked to respond until she found herself tackled by the young Halfling. If it wasn’t the slashing from Wasp’s clawed hands that snapped Spitfire back to reality, it was the sight of Wasp widening his jaws, letting out a horrifying cry, and clamped his jaws on Fleet Foot’s throat.
As Spitfire tried to make her way up to the fighting duo, Fleet Foot managed to remove Wasp and, to Spitfire and the other’s horror, slam him into the floor, spitting out, “FREAK!” “Wasp is not freak! No one calls Wasp freak!” Wasp bellowed as he began to tear up, his voice returning to it’s normal, vulnerable tone.
Spitfire charged forward and placed herself between Fleet Foot and Wasp. She then bellowed, “You lay one FEATHER on him and I’ll tear you limb from limb!” Fleet Foot, barely able to comprehend what was happening, angrily replied, “That monster tried to kill me, and it’s one of the creatures from the attack!”
“His name is Wasp.” Spitfire calmly yet angrily defended her young ward. “And you don’t hurt him.” Fleet Foot shot Wasp an angry glare, forcing the Halfling to back up as he shrunk into himself in fear. As it seemed that Spitfire and Fleet Foot were going to tear themselves apart, Rainbow Dash stepped in between the two and asked, “Ok, what’s going on?”
It was then that a vaguely familiar (As well as over confident) stallion’s voice answered, “I believe I can explain everything.” The group turned to see a blue bat-pony in an olive-khaki suit and cap. “I see that the Wonderbolts are engaging in their favorite past time, flinging shit at each other.” The bat pony turned to Wasp and calmly said, “By the way Wasp, I don’t want to hear you repeat that phrase, am I clear?” Wasp nervously nodded yes.
Black Adder then turned to Spitfire and cheekily asked, “I take it you didn’t tell them yet?” Spitfire gave a nervous laugh as she turned to the other Wonderbolts and began, “Yeah, that thing I was trying to tell you guys about….”
Wonderbolts Mess Hall, 45 Minutes Later
“…And that about wraps it all up.” Spitfire finished her long explanation. She had spent the last forty five minutes explaining the last few days to the team. Black Adder then stepped forward and said, “So, to put it as simple as possible, Spitfire found Wasp and is going to adopt him. I am here to make sure that she proves herself capable of doing so.”
As the Wonderbolts began to take in what they had just heard, Rainbow Dash and a few others glanced over to Wasp, who was munching away on a sandwich, or rather destroying it and gobbling up the crumbs. Rainbow Dash then asked, “So, does Twilight know about him?” Black Adder replied, “Oh yes. After I first reported him, she personally requested I oversee the process.”
High Winds then raised her hoof as she began to speak, “I can vouch for him. Black Adder here helped me and Tailwind with our foals.” Black Adder then replied, “Ah, High Winds. Good to see at least some-pony hear has some common sense.” As the other Wonderbolts gave him some unpleasant and annoyed glares, Black Adder simply let out a chuckle as he said, “Fine, I’ll keep quiet.”
Spitfire then began to speak, “Guys, I know this seems kinda sudden, but I can’t let Wasp down.” Rainbow Dash was the first to speak up. “I’ve got your back ma’am. If you need anything, just let me know.” High Winds then replied, “Same her. Besides, the girls like him.” Soarin then added, “I could also show him a guy’s night out.” As the other Wonderbolts gave him suspicious looks, He replied, “What? I mean like take him to get some pie or go to the arcade.” Surprise let out a laugh as she replied, “I could maybe take him to the toy store.”
“What is toy store?” Wasp asked, his curiosity having been peeked. As Surprise made her way over to Wasp to begin explaining, Black Adder shuffled over to Spitfire and said, “And while they decide what to do with Wasp, I need to inform you of something else.”
“What is it?” Spitfire asked. Black Adder then began to explain, “Captain, I am happy to say that Wasp is now familiar with the vowels.” “Huh?” Spitfire asked, confused by his statement. Black Adder sighed and explained, “It means my fears from earlier today are true, Wasp is illiterate.”
Soarin then asked, “Does that mean he leaves trash all over the place?” Rainbow Dash answered, “It means he can’t read.” “Oh…” Soarin replied as Spitfire realized what that meant.
Black Adder then said, “This means your little stunt today could have ended worse than expecting a minotaur to have an overdose on chill pills.” As Rainbow Dash and the others gave confused looks, Black Adder nonchalantly replied, “Oh yes, Captain Spitfire was running late and tried to leave a note for Wasp, completely unaware that he can’t read.”
Spitfire held her head in shame as Black Adder continued, “Which is why it’s good that you are all so enthusiastic about babysitting Wasp. This means that while you all are out, I can give Spitfire some one-on-one time to help her improve.”
Fleet Foot, who had been silent the entire time, simply said, “I’m not doing anything with that freak.” Wasp heard the insult and growled, “Wasp not want to be with Red Eyes. Red Eyes too much like Megaton.” Fleet Foot simply groaned at the Halfling’s response and shot back, “See? Its mutual.” As Much as Spitfire wanted to give her a piece of her mind, she couldn’t help but notice the bite marks on her throat.
Black Adder then added, “I’ve also decided Wasp should take anger management classes to help him deal with his…” He paused for amoment before he continued, “….Temper Issues.” Spitfire could only nod yes in response as she replied, “Yeah.”
It was then that Black Adder added, “And anger management might not be a bad idea for you as well.” “Hey!” Spitfire replied angrily. “I don’t have an anger problem!” Black Adder sighed and replied, “Not as much for anger but to help you find an off switch for your drill instructor mode.” Spitfire simply grumbled as she thought to herself, ‘Great, someone else complaining about that.’
It was then that Wasp began to yawn. Spitfire made her way over to Wasp and said, “Come on Wasp, let’s get you home.” As she picked him up, the Halfling began to wrap his arms around her, a sight that melted the other Wonderbolts’ hearts.
As she cradled the now asleep Wasp, Spitfire said, “I gotta get this guy home.” Surprise then added, “Yeah. Hey, don’t worry about cleaning up. I’ll get it.” “Thanks.” Spitfire replied as she gave her teammate a hoof-shake.
As Spitfire began to leave, Soarin spoke up, “Oh Black Adder, I need to tell you something.” The bat pony walked up to him and asked, “What is it?” he was then sucker punched by the Wonderbolt as he said, “That’s for my neck!” Spitfire and the others couldn’t help but start laughing, especially as Black Adder, in a resigned dead pan tone, replied, “I probably deserved that.”
It had been one week since the failed assault on Canterlot, and more importantly, Wasp’s desertion, and the mighty Megaton was losing what little patience he had. “Grah!” The large dragon shouted as he slammed his fist on the table, leaving a massive dent. “Wasp is too stupid to be able to hide this long!”
Inferno approached his master and nervously asked, “Would the master care for his stress ducky?” Megaton hesitated for a moment before he replied, “Yes. I would Inferno.” The red Halfling nodded and quickly departed his master’s planning room and returned a few minutes later with a large, yellow rubber ducky.
“You’re stress ducky master.” Inferno said as he presented the rubber ducky to his master. “Ah, yes.” Megaton replied with great pleasure as he grasped the duck and began to squeeze it intensely.
After a few good squeezes, Megaton asked, “So Inferno, has there been any word of Wasp’s whereabouts?” Inferno hesitated a few moments before he replied, “We haven’t heard anything, other than Trapdoor’s belief that he is somewhere near Cloudsdale.”
“Hm….” Megaton pondered as he squeezed his stress ducky. “Cloudsdale is inhabited primarily by pegasi. This means anyone who isn’t one would stand out like a sore thumb.” However, his mood swiftly changed to disappointment when he continued, “But we should have heard something from Trapdoor.” He had sent Trapdoor to scour the major Equestrian cities after Inferno and Quick Strike failed to find anything in Canterlot, but a single Halfling could only do so much.
Groaning in resignation, Megaton ordered, “That will be all Inferno. I require privacy.” “At once master.” Inferno replied as he bowed and departed, leaving the purple dragon to ponder.
“I know you’re out there Wasp.” Megaton said to himself menacingly. “I will find you, and when I do, you will beg for the sweet release of death, Yes.”
Spitfire’s House
“Ok Wasp, once more from the top.” Spitfire said as she pointed to the top of a chalkboard with a staff. “What is this word up here?”
“Bat.” Wasp answered as he noticed the “B” at the start of the word, as well as the bat wing as well as baseball bat. “Wasp thinks it is bat.”
“Very good Wasp.” Spitfire replied. It had been a little over a week since the young Halfling had been into her life, and around four days since she introduced him to the other Wonderbolts, as well as learned he was illiterate. She had since begun to teach him some basic words. Right now she was teaching him the “at” family.
“Now, what is this word?” Spitfire said as she pointed to the next word, next to a picture of a feline.
“Zat.” Wasp replied. “Wasp is certain it is zat.”
Spitfire groaned as she corrected her young ward. “No, this is cat. C-A-T, cat.” Wasp backed away nervously, beginning to wimper. Spitfire realized she’d nearly lost her temper again, and took a deep breath as she began to speak.
“Sorry Wasp, but we’ve been over this. This symbol…” She then pointed to the “C” on the board. “…Is called “C”. A “C” makes a “sss” or a “kuh” sound, not a “zzz” sound.”
Wasp tilted his head as he asked, “But Wasp thought “C” made a “zzz” sound.”
Spitfire rubbed her temple as she answered, “No, that’s a “Z”, not a “C”.” For the most part Wasp had made progress, but he clearly had trouble with his “Zs”, “Cs”, and “Ss”, and if Wasp seemed to grasp it, he’d forget it within ten minutes (nine minutes and forty five point three seconds to be exact).
*Knock knock* The sound of knocking rang throughout the house. Spitfire let out a sigh of relief as she said, “Well, I think that’s enough grammar for one day.” She then set her pointer on the table as she continued, “Besides, I think someone is up for a playdate.”
“Wee!” Wasp squealed with delight. “Wasp gets to play with his friends!” Spitfire couldn’t help but smile at the sight, especially as Wasp began to prance around on his hooves.
Spitfire had agreed to bi weekly inspections, with Wasp only having to go to one of them so the former army captain could use “less than friendly wording” in his analysis. This meant some-pony had to keep an eye on Wasp, but High Winds had insisted she and Tailwind were more than willing to take up the task.
As Spitfire opened the door, she began to speak, “Thanks for helping me with this….” She then stopped to see that the pony before her wasn’t a light blue Pegasus mare, but a light blue Pegasus stallion. “Soarin?” Spitfire asked, totally stunned seeing her other teammate standing before her.
“Hey Spits.” Soarin greeted his captain. “Sorry I’m here and High Winds isn’t.” Spitfire began to look around as she asked, “Yeah, where is she anyway?” Soarin handed Spitfire a letter as he answered, “Tailwind needed me to give you this.”
Spitfire took the letter, opened it, and began to read it out loud.
“Spitfire,
I regret to inform you that we are not able to take care of Wasp today. Tailwind came under the weather a few days ago, and the doctor confirmed it as the flu. I am doing fine and the girls are as well, but we don’t want to risk Wasp getting sick in the event one of us comes down as well. Soarin was the next in line, so he volunteered to take care of Wasp tonight.
Sincerely,
High Winds.
Spitfire was stunned. “Ouch.” She said in a defeated tone. Soarin rested a hoof on her shoulder as he reassured her, “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of him.”
“I know.” Spitfire replied as she managed to force a smile. “I know you will.” She then turned her head and called, “Wasp, can you come here for a moment?”
Wasp buzzed over, only to see a vaguely familiar stallion standing behind Spitfire. “Uh, who is blue pony again?” Wasp asked. Spitfire hesitated for a moment before she replied, “Wasp, this is my friend Soarin. Remember him?”
Wasp began to think before he remembered, “He Wonderbolt like you?” Soarin stepped forward and began to speak, “Yeah, we met a few days ago, remember?”
“Wasp remembers now!” The young Halfling replied. “Blue pony punched Bat pony.” Soarin began to laugh nervously as he scratched the back of his neck and added, “Yeah, let’s just say he had it coming.” Wasp then replied, “But why can’t Wasp be with Wind… Light….” Spitfire immediately interrupted, “High Winds?” “Yeah!” Wasp replied. “Wasp want to go with her.” Spitfire was afraid he might start to throw a tantrum.
Luckily, Soarin then spoke up, “Hey Wasp.” Wasp turned to him and tilted his head in curiosity. Soarin continued to speak, “I know we don’t really know each other, but I would really like to be your friend.”
“Really?” Wasp asked earnestly. Soarin made the motions of the Pinkie Promise as he replied, “Really.” To Spitfire’s surprise, Wasp flew up to Soarin and wrapped him in a massive hug. Soarin happily said, “Whoa there little guy, you’re pretty strong.”
He would have made another playful wise crack, but the sound of Wasp’s stomach growling made him change his mind. Soarin then asked, “So, you wanna grab a bite to eat and then we can play at my place?” Wasp let out an undeniably adorable squee as he pranced around Soarin before he climbed on the older stallion’s back.
Spitfire walked up to the two and sternly said, “Soarin, I want him back by nine and don’t feed him too much junk food. Wasp, behave yourself and obey everything he says.” Both stallion and Halfling nodded yes. The Wonderbolt captain then said, “Then off you two go. Have a good evening.” Soarin and Wasp then took off, departing for the former’s home.
Spitfire then let out a sigh of relief. “Phew, now to deal with captain killjoy.”
Soarin’s Home
“Here we are! Me casa es su casa.” Soarin said warmly as he lowered his right wing, allowing Wasp to slide off. He had decided to not go for anything too extreme, simply going for a pleasant night in.
“What did blue pony say?” Wasp asked, unable to comprehend the phrase the older stallion had used. Soarin replied, “It means that my home is yours.”
Wasp began to eye the house before him. It was a simple one-story cloud house, hardly a shack but certainly more humble than Spitfire’s home. Soarin trotted up to the young Halfling and asked, “You like it?” Wasp hesitated for a moment before he replied, “Blue pony’s home is smaller than fire… Spitter Fire… Stire Flitter….”
“Yeah, Spitfire is kind of a bit of a showboat.” Soarin playfully teased. “Personally I prefer simplicity.” Wasp didn’t entirely understand what he meant, but the rumbling of his stomach distracted both him and Soarin. “Whoa, sounds like some-pony is hungry.” Soarin playfully said to Wasp. “How about I go whip us up some dinner?”
Inside Soarin’s Home
Soarin wasn’t lying when he said he preferred simplicity. There was a simple living room containing a brown couch and a coffee table, a few books strewn around, and perhaps most embarrassingly, a few empty pie trays.
“Eh, don’t mind these.” Soarin said embarrassingly as he quickly darted over to the trays, scooped them up, and managed to dump them in a nearby rubbish bin. “Yeah, make yourself comfortable, and I’ll see what we have to eat.”
Wasp nodded and began to nervously tip toe deeper into the living room. His eyes were entranced by everything he saw around the simple room, mostly pictures and photos that were adorned all over the walls. One photo that did catch his attention was just out of clear sight, something that irritated the Young Halfling.
“Ugh. Why picture too high for Wasp?!” Wasp angrily muttered to himself. However, he remembered that, as well as his arms and four legs, Wasp possessed two wings. After fluttering them for a few moments, Wasp began to flap faster until he levitated himself high enough to see the picture.
It was a large group picture of a group of ponies, all of whom were pegasi in blue flight suits with yellow lightning accents. In fact, one of them, if Wasp’s compound eyes weren’t lying to him, seemed to be Spitfire. She had a surprisingly cocky expression on her face and had folded her hooves confidently. Next to her was Soarin, noticeably less cocky but still very proud of himself.
“Yeah, that was a good day.” Soarin said from behind Wasp, making the small Halfling nervously scream as he crashed back to the cloud floor. Soarin immediately replied, “Whoa there kid. Sorry about that.” He then walked up to Wasp and extended a hoof to help his guest up.
Once Wasp was back on his hooves, Soarin noticed the picture again and let out a wistful sigh. “I always liked this one.” Wasp began to buzz up to it and found himself at the same height as Soarin’s face. Soarin noticed his guest was nearly looking him eye to eye and asked, “You like this one?”
“Picture has Fire…. Splice Funder…” Wasp struggled to remember her name before groaning and dejectedly continued, “….Fire Spitter in it.” Soarin let out a gentle laugh and replied, “Yeah, this was a picture of the whole team taken a few years ago.”
“Team?” Wasp asked. “Team as in Blunderbusses?” “Wonderbolts.” Soarin corrected Wasp. “And yeah, this is the entire team.” He then began to point at each of the teammates. “There’s me, Spitfire, Rainbow Dash, High Winds, Surprise, Misty Fly, Fleet Foot, Blaze…” Wasp began to recoil in disgust when Soarin pointed to Fleet Foot, angrily muttering “Red Eyes is bad pony.” Soarin let out a guilty sigh as he replied, “Yeah, Fleet Foot can be kind of a jerk sometimes. I mean this one time she….”
“Red Eyes threatened Fire Spitter.” Wasp grumbled angrily, metaphorical venom and actual saliva dripping from his mandibles. “Wasp hates Red Eyes.” Soarin immediately added, “Hey now, Fleet Foot isn’t as bad as you think. She was just angry at Spitfire.”
Wasp eventually let out an angry sigh as he replied, “Fine, but if Red Eyes hurts Fire Spitter again…” Wasp’s voice grew lower in pitch and far more monstrous. “Wasp will….”
“Whoa there!” Soarin called out, managing to snap Wasp out of his furious trance. Wasp then began to back away as his soft and sweet voice returned, “Wasp is sorry. Wasp just not want to lose Fire Spitter.”
Before either Soarin or Wasp could say anything else, the young Halfling’s stomach began to rumble. Soarin then said, “Come on kid, let’s go make some dinner.”
Black Adder’s Home
If Spitfire thought she lived comfortably, then it was clear Black Adder lived in borderline royalty. His home was a three story mansion in the forests beneath Cloudsdale. The fact that the shadows cast from the trees made it look like a haunted house didn’t help calm her nerves. She almost wanted to just dart away, leaving the mansion to wallow in the darkness.
Then the door opened, revealing Black Adder in a normal suit (albeit with a double breasted coat rather than a common coat) and a pipe clad in his mouth. “Ah, captain Spitfire.” The bat pony greeted in a tone that was amost impossible to tell if it was sarcasm or genuine. “I see you’ve decided to journey down to join us common folk.” He then paused for a moment before he quickly added, “Though come to think of it, we bat-ponies are probably the rarest of all ponies.” He then let out a controlled chuckle, all while Spitfire gave him an annoyed glare.
“Hilarious.” Spitfire deadpanned. “Can we just get this over with?” Black Adder nodded as he replied, “Very well. Come on in and make yourself comfortable.”
Spitfire was surprised to say the least of Black Adder’s home. The foyer and living room were clearly well maintained, and the walls were covered with portraits and pictures of many bat-ponies. From deeper inside the house, Black Adder called out, “Go ahead, take a look around. Just don’t touch anything, some of these are more valuable than your flight suits.”
Spitfire groaned as she continued to investigate. She soon found herself drawn to a picture nestled above the fireplace. As she stepped closer to it, she was surprised to see the picture was of a group of ponies, all of whom were either pegasi or earth ponies.
Black Adder was in the center in the group, clad in his olive suit and cap and sporting a confident smile on his face. The others were in similar uniforms, though with different uniform pieces as well as headgear. One was a white Pegasus in a similar uniform to Black Adder except for a red beret, one was a light purple bat pony with a camouflaged jumpsuit over his uniform and a helmet that resembled an odd salad bowl.
“That was a photo taken for publicity during the campaign against the Golden Horde.” Black Adder’s voice said from behind Spitfire, shocking the Wonderbolt captain. As she turned to see her bat-pony host walking towards her, his eyes betraying his nostalgic memories. “We spent three months on the front lines against endless waves of brutal barbarians.”
Spitfire was so taken back by this that she barely had time to react when he quickly changed the subject. “But enough reminiscing about the glory days. I need to know how Wasp has been doing the last few days.”
“Well, uh…” Spitfire began, struggling to regain her composure. “Well I’ve continued to enforce a schedule, We’ve been working on his spelling and writing, and I have been making sure he’s behaving.”
“I see.” Black Adder replied. “So, have we had any emotional problems?” The bat pony asked, stepping closer to Spitfire. As the Wonderbolt captain struggled to figure out what he was meaning, she realized what he meant and answered, “Well, I still have trouble with him calling me “fire spitter.””
“Ma’am, I doubt him struggling with your name is much of a behavior problem.” Black Adder bluntly answered. “That is unless you….” Then he realized something.
Sighing, Black Adder continued, “You snapped at him for calling you fire spitter?” Spitfire found herself guiltily pawing at the floor beneath her. Black Adder continued, “Seriously captain, you can’t just snap at a child like that.”
“But that name is…” Spitfire began, not quite angrily but hardly calmly. She was barely able to finish her statement when Black Adder grew a mischevious smile.
“Of course, you could tell Wasp what a rainbow tastes like.” Black Adder said cheekily. He then began to speak in a voice very similar to Wasp. “Wasp thinks that’s why Fire Spitter is called…”
Spitfire snapped. She couldn’t stand that name, and hearing what sounded like Wasp use that name. unable to control her rage any more, she charged at Black Adder.
She forgot that Black Adder had demonstrated how much of a capable fighter he was. Before she even realized she had charged him, Black Adder had managed to deflect her hooves and pin her to the floor. When she tried to use her wings to move, he stomped firmly on them, preventing her from escaping.
Black Adder began to speak again, this time firmly and angrily. “If you can’t keep your temper in check over a stupid nickname, how can I trust you to keep it in check with Wasp?” Spitfire realized what Black Adder was implying, and slowly began to calm down. Black Adder then released Spitfire’s wings before gently releasing her hooves.
“I think that has convinced me enough.” Black Adder coldly said as he began to trot towards the door. Spitfire, slowly rising to her hooves, asked, “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to wait at your house.” Black Adder answered. “So when High Winds returns with Wasp, I can take him and have him placed into foster custody.”
Spitfire was horrified. “What? Are you kidding?” She asked. Black Adder, incredibly stoic and unemotional, replied, “I’m not captain. You attempted to attack me because I called you a mean name. This proves to me that you are not capable of controlling your anger.” He then stepped forward meanacingly as he continued, “What happens if you react the same way to Wasp?”
Spitfire realized what Black Adder was implying. She could only hang her head in shame. Black Adder nodded confidently and replied, “Very well, I hope you have a good evening ma’am.”
“You know what?” Spitfire angrily asked, starting to tear up. “I’ve managed to not hit Wasp so far. And I’d rather die than hurt him.” As Black Adder stopped, she continued, “You know, maybe I’m not the best at being a parent, maybe I outright suck at it, and maybe I really am just the absolute worst like you think I am.” Black Adder didn’t say anything, simply standing there and taking in what she was saying.
“But I will tell you one thing Captain Killjoy!” Spitfire said as the tears began to pour from her eyes. “I made a promise to Wasp, and I’m going to keep my promise. And don’t you dare stand in my way!” For the next few minutes, Spitfire and Black Adder simply stood there, staring each other down, neither budging.
“That….” Black Adder began as he, to Spitfire’s shock, began to smile. “… Is exactly what I wanted to hear.” Spitfire was stunned speechless. Why was Black Adder trying to get her worked up?
“You see captain…” Black Adder continued as he placed his pipe in his mouth and began to put some powder in it as he pulled out some matches. “…I’ve dealt with more than a few rich wankers who thought adopting a kid would be an easy publicity stunt, so I began to pull this little scenario on them. It’s a little something to show me how ponies react under intense pressure.” As Spitfire realized what Black Adder meant by what he was saying, the bat pony continued, “Congratulations Spitfire, you passed the test.”
After a few minutes of calming down (as well as Spitfire venting with vocabulary both agreed should never be used around Wasp), both ponies resumed their re-evaluation. Spitfire could only think to herself, ‘I hope Wasp is having a good time.’
Soarin’s Home, Later That Night
“Wasp is having good time!” Wasp cheered happily as he tore into the apple pie before him. As he lapped up the discarded pieces of apple pie around him with his long and yellow tongue, Soarin could only watch with both amazement and mild horror.
Soarin had made the seemingly innocent idea of letting Wasp taste his favorite treat, and now found he was regretting it. Wasp had devoured both his and Soarin’s pies, and now apples and pie crust were scattered all over the kitchen. Even with Wasp scooping every available morsel left, Soarin couldn’t help but dread having to clean the mess up.
It was then that he heard the sound of a door knocking. “Huh, who’s that?” Soarin asked himself. He then made his way over to the door, avoiding scraps of pie along the way. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see Spitfire, bags under her eyes and breathing heavily.
“Spitfire!?” Soarin asked. “What are you doing here? I thought your meeting would take like another hour or two.” Spitfire let out an exhausted sigh as she answered, “Yeah, Black Adder finished early.”
Soarin then noticed tear stains around her eyes, clear evidence that she had been crying. “Uh, you ok Spitfire?” Soarin asked, concerned for his captain.
“Yeah.” Spitfire replied, her voice betraying her exhaustion. “Black Adder pulled a real gut punch on me. Luckily he declared me a perfect fit for Wasp.” When Soarin gave her a confused look, she continued, “It means I don’t think he’ll be too much of a…” she then nervously looked around, making sure no pony was listening, before she whispered, “… too much of a pain in the ass.”
Soarin couldn’t help but start laughing. “That’s putting it lightly. I don’t like that guy.” Spitfire let out a playful chuckle as she replied, “I know, but I think we’re all going to have to learn to live with him, at least for Wasp’s sake.”
“Speaking of Wasp…” Soarin began. “I think I found someone who likes pies as much as me.” Spitfire asked, “Really?” Soarin nodded and motioned for Spitfire to enter his house.
Spitfire was certainly surprised to see Wasp licking the kitchen clean, gobbling every crumb of apple pie up. Soarin, meanwhile, was amazed to see that Wasp had, in the brief time he spent talking to Spitfire, eaten nearly all of the entire mess. The only reason he had stopped was because he noticed Spitfire had arrived.
“Fire Spitty!” Wasp cried in joy as he buzzed over to Spitfire and embraced her. “Fitty Spire came for Wasp!” Spitfire may have been somewhat unhappy at the fact that Wasp still had trouble with her name, she couldn’t help but have a warm feeling in her heart as the young Halfling embraced her.
“So, you had a fun night I take it?” Spitfire asked as she returned the hug. Wasp replied, “Blue pony was fun! Wasp and blue pony played games and ate pie! Wasp loves pie!” Soarin then walked over to the two and added, “Be careful with this little guy Spitfire. He has a massive sweet tooth.” Spitfire could only look around at the mostly cleaned mess and cheekily replied, “I couldn’t tell. Seems like you have a pie buddy.”
Soarin replied, “Yeah. We had a fun night. We gotta do this again some time.” Spitfire replied, “I think we can arrange that.” She then looked down to Wasp and asked, “What do you think little guy? You want to hang out with Soarin in the future?” Wasp let out a squee of joy as he replied, “Wasp likes blue pony.” He then climbed onto Spitfire’s back as he continue, “But Wasp likes Spitfire more.”
Wasp quickly realized what he had just said. “Wasp said Spitfire!” He realized he had done it again and continued, “Wasp said Spitfire again!” As the young Halfling began to prance around in happiness, Soarin remarked, “Wow, he hasn’t even managed to get my name yet.” Spitfire replied, “Right now it doesn’t matter.”
She then asked, “So Wasp, you want to go home?” Wasp replied, “Ok Spitfire. Wasp ready to go home.” Wasp returned to Spitfire’s back and made himself comfortable. Spitfire then faced Soarin and said, “Thanks again for looking after him.” Soarin replied, “No problem. I enjoyed myself.”
Spitfire then finished, “Take care Soarin.” She then departed the cloud house and took off for home. Soarin waved to the two as they disappeared out of sight. He then turned to get a mop and some soap; there was still some leftover pie stains left.
From behind the house, at an angle where one wouldn’t be able to see Spitfire leave or hear anything, another Halfling, a pink-red one with a pig nose like structure on his forehead, muttered to himself, “Found you at last Wasp.”
Spitfire was busy preparing breakfast, specifically toast and eggs, for herself and her young ward when she heard the energetic buzzing of Wasp’s wings. Taking in a deep breath, she turned to face her young ward and asked, “Good morning Wasp. You sleep well?”
“Wasp slept well.” Wasp replied with a massive smile on his face, or at least as close as he could smile with his split lower jaw. Spitfire couldn’t help but feel her heart soar at his earnest joy.
The night before had been a busy evening for both Spitfire and Wasp. Spitfire had a rather unpleasant meeting with her social worker, the former Lunar Lancer Black Adder, while Wasp had a more blissful but no less eventful evening with Soarin. However, the high point was Wasp finally managing to grasp Spitfire’s name. All in all, it had been an eventful evening.
It was a shame that Spitfire knew today would also be particularly busy. As the toast popped out of her toaster, Spitfire turned to her young ward and said, “Hey Wasp, about today….”
“Is Wasp in trouble?” Wasp asked nervously as he gently landed on the floor and began to tip toe backwards. Spitfire immediately reassured him, “Oh no. You’re not in trouble. I just want to give you the game plan for today.” As Wasp sighed in relief as Spitfire continued, “I have to practice with the other Wonderbolts today. And since Black Adder is busy today and Tailwind is still sick, you’ll need to come with me.”
“Wasp gets to see other Wonderbolts?” Wasp asked, his eyes growing wider with excitement. Spitfire couldn’t help but giggle as she replied, “Yes, you can see the other Wonderbolts.” She then adopted a serious expression on her face as she continued.
“But there are few rules I need to tell you.” Wasp gulped as Spitfire raised one of her winged talons. “One, I may be up in the air with the others. While we’re flying, you can’t come up and join us.” Wasp nodded yes as he replied, “Don’t follow Spitfire while she flies with other ponies.”
Spitfire continued, “Second, if I tell you to do something, it’s because I don’t want you getting hurt. This means if I give you an order, you need to follow it.” Wasp nodded as he replied, “Spitfire tells Wasp to do something, Wasp does it.” Spitfire then raised three talons as she finished, “And thirdly, I will be raising my voice to get ponies’ attention, so I need you to know if that even though I’ll be shouting, I’m not angry with you or them.”
Wasp hesitated for a moment before he replied, “Spitfire will be shouting, but she won’t be angry?” Spitfire rested a wing on his shoulder as she said, “Don’t worry, I’ll show you when we get to the base.”
That was when both Spitfire and Wasp smelt the sound of eggs starting to burn. Spitfire proceeded to return to the stove and switched it off as she scooped the eggs up with a spatula and placed them on two plates. Wasp noticed this and began to hover over to the toaster and grabbed the toast and handed them to Spitfire.
“Thanks Wasp.” Spitfire thanked her ward as she took the toast and proceeded to spread butter over the pieces of toasted bread. With that, she set the table with breakfast as she said, “Alright now Wasp. Breakfast is served.”
Wasp sat down and proceeded to lap up the eggs with his long yellow tongue. Spitfire would have said something about his dubious table manners, but her eyes drifted to the clock and realized that, though hardly running late, they were rather strapped for time.
“Better hurry up Wasp. We leave in about ten minutes.” Spitfire said right before taking a bite of toast. Wasp grew nervous before lapping up his remaining egg before stuffing his pieces of toast into his mouth. Spitfire was shocked to see this, saying, “Whoa there. We’re not that strapped for time.”
Wasp gulped as he replied, “Wasp is sorry. Whenever Megaton says to hurry up, he demands we finish quickly.” Spitfire couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Wasp. She may not have known much about Wasp’s past, but what little pieces she had found made it clear it wasn’t pleasant.
Still, Spitfire knew two things. She had a training session to head to, and Wasp was no longer under Megaton’s vile grasp. Rising from her seat, Spitfire trotted up to Wasp and reassured him. “Wasp, I’m not Megaton. And I will never be like him.” Wasp looked up to Spitfire and asked, “Promise?” Spitfire made the motions of the Pinkie Promise and said, “I promise.”
With that, both Spitfire and Wasp resumed their breakfast before departing for the Wonderbolts’ Academy and base.
Wonderbolts’ Base
As the duo approached the base, Spitfire turned to face Wasp, who was nestled on her back, and said, “And here we are. Home away from home.” Wasp began to eye the structures in the distance and asked, “So does Spitfire live here too?”
“Not exactly.” Spitfire replied as she soared over to the main building. “Well, kinda.” Wasp tilted his head and said, “Wasp is confused. Does Spitfire live in cloud house as well as fancy base or does Spitfire not?”
Before Spitfire could reply, the familiar voice of Soarin called out from behind them. “Hey Spitfire!” Spitfire and Wasp turned to see Soarin and two pegasi mares fly up to them. One was a white mare with yellow spiky hair and dark red eyes while the other was a light blue mare with a rainbow mane and tail with magenta eyes.
“Hey Surprise, hey Dash.” Spitfire called out as Wasp raised his head above her head. “Hate to break it to you guys, but Wasp here has to hang out here today.”
Rainbow Dash asked, “Really? What about Tailwind?” Soarin immediately replied, “She still has the flu, and we don’t want Wasp here getting sick.” Rolling her eyes and letting out a sigh, Rainbow Dash replied, “Alright. Besides, always good to have spectators, right?”
That was when Wasp buzzed off of Spitfire’s back and hovered over to Rainbow Dash until he was nearly muzzle to muzzle with her. Tilting his head with curiosity, Wasp remarked, “Wasp likes pony’s hair.”
“Thanks?” Rainbow Dash nervously replied. Spitfire let out a playful sigh as she called out, “Ok Wasp, come back here.” Wasp turned to Spitfire and nodded as he hovered back to his protector.
Surprise then called out, “Wait. Can I speak to Wasp for a moment?” Spitfire hesitated for a moment before she nodded and replied, “Ok. But make it quick.”
Now that she had permission, Surprise gently made her way to Wasp and gently asked, “Hey there Wasp. You remember me?” Wasp replied, “Wasp thinks he remembers. Is pearl pony Wonderbolt?” Surprise giggled as she replied, “My name is Surprise, and yes, I am a Wonderbolt.”
Surprise was, well, surprised when Wasp buzzed up to her and began to nuzzle her. “Wasp likes Surprise.” He gently proclaimed. “Surprise is nice pony.” As much as the sudden show of affection was awkward for everyone involved, Spitfire couldn’t help but find it endearing to see her ward so open and friendly with her teammates.
Even though she wanted the moment to continue, Spitfire knew that practice had to start sooner or later. “Alright guys.” She began. “We gotta change into uniforms and get ready.” Rainbow Dash stretched her front limbs as she replied, “Awh yeah! I got a need for speed.” Soarin and Surprise could only playfully roll their eyes as they departed for the base, though not before Surprise called out, “See you in a bit Wasp!”
Wasp waved as Surprise disappeared into the main building. Spitfire then said to her ward, “So Wasp, you want to see the inside?” Wasp enthusiastically began to nod yes as he replied, “Wasp wants to see big building.”
Wonderbolts’ Locker Room
“And this is where we keep our personal stuff, as well as rest after a good day’s training.” Spitfire said as she brought Wasp into the locker room. The young Halfling began to hover up to the lockers, testing to see if they could be easily opened. Spitfire called out, “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”
“Wasp wants to see what’s in lockers.” The child whined. Spitfire let out a playful sigh and replied, “Well, if the locker’s owner wants to show you, he or she will.” Wasp mumbled to himself, but didn’t press any further. At least, until he found a locker that didn’t have a visible lock on it.
“Who’s locker is this?” Wasp asked out loud. Spitfire noticed which locker it was and began, “Oh, I think that is….”
“It’s mine.” Fleet Foot answered defiantly. As she entered the locker room, Wasp’s many eyes locked on to her as he angrily growled, “Red eyed pony.”
“Wasp, stand down right now!” Spitfire immediately called out. Wasp snapped out of his anger and, not quite knowing what to do, buzzed behind Spitfire so she stood in between himself and Fleet Foot.
Fleet Foot didn’t say anything, simply darting her eyes between Wasp and Spitfire. After a few moments, she faced her commander and asked, “Will the freak here be a problem again?”
“Wasp is not freak.” Wasp mumbled to himself in a noticeably gruff voice. Spitfire raised a wing to keep him back while giving him a reassuring smile. Taking a deep breath, she turned to Fleet Foot and warned, “Fleet Foot, you do not, under any circumstances, threaten Wasp. Am I clear?”
Fleet Foot began to rub her neck, making the two bite marks on her neck plainly visible, as she dejectedly replied, “Yes ma’am.” despite her acceptance of the situation, it was evident that she was not happy about Wasp being on the base.
Sensing the tension, Spitfire to turn to Wasp and said, “Wasp, can you wait outside for a minute?” Wasp nodded yes and buzzed out of the locker room, making sure to neither run into nor even look at Fleet Foot.
Once Wasp was gone, Spitfire asked, “So, how’s your neck?” Fleet Foot, not even bothering to respond, angrily asked, “Why is that little monster here?” Spitfire replied, “Wasp is not a monster. Honestly he’s really just a little kid.”
“A little kid who’s some sort of nightmare creature from that came from a maniacal dragon!” Fleet Foot replied. “How do we really know that he’s not some sort of spy or saboteur or something?”
Spitfire hesitated for a moment before she sighed in resignation and replied, “I don’t know. I just know that he isn’t.” Fleet Foot could only shake her head in disappointment. The light blue Pegasus could only reply, “In that case, let’s just hope the KID doesn’t interfere with practice.”
“I don’t think he will.” Spitfire replied. “I told him not to mess with practice.” Fleet Foot simply shrugged and said, “Very well.” She then made her way back to her locker and pulled out her flight suit. Spitfire sighed and made her way to her own locker, hoping that today would not get anyworse.
The Flight Fields, Later That Day
“Come on guys! Maintain speed!” Spitfire called out from a cloud under the rest of the team. She had since slipped on her iconic blue and yellow flight suit, and was now shouting instructions to the other Wonderbolts. For the most part, they were doing an acceptable job as usual, but they seemed to be having some trouble staying in formation. Spitfire noticed that Misty Fly was drifting off a little bit, not enough the average pony would have noticed, but hardly tolerable to a highly skilled areal acrobatic team like the Wonderbolts.
“Misty, you’re breaking off!” Spitfire shouted into her megaphone. Misty Fly immediately began to edge back into formation as the group began to perform an Icaranian Sun Salutation. Rainbow Dash and Surprise began to show signs of struggling, but before Spitfire could call them out, they quickly corrected their mistakes, and soon the move was finished perfectly. She made a mental note to point it out to them later.
That was when Spitfire heard a sound that made her groan out loud. That sound was the now unmistakable buzzing of Wasp’s inspectoid wings, making it clear he was approaching.
Spitfire turned to face Wasp, fearing he would be breaking the rule she placed regarding interfering. She was pleasantly surprised to see Wasp was instead settling on a distant cloud, well away from her to prevent interfering with her as well as far out of the way from the team’s flight path. Spitfire certainly found his acknowledgement for the rules inspiring, as well as his surprisingly capable flight skills.
It was only then that she realized that Wasp’s buzzing wasn’t only catching her attention. From right behind her, Spitfire heard Surprise cry out, “What the heck is that noise?” As the other Wonderbolts descended, they realized that they now had a certain admirer.
“Oh crap.” Fleet Foot said as she approached Spitfire. “Now we have to deal with bug boy over there watching us. What’s next, us running a daycare?”
“Fleet Foot, shut up.” Spitfire retorted. She then began to fly over to Wasp. As she approached her young ward, Wasp began to back away as he nervously tried to defend himself.
“Wasp didn’t do anything. Wasp stayed away from other Wonderbolts.” The young Halfling begged. Spitfire simply rested a hoof on his shoulder as she replied, “It’s ok, I know. I think your buzzing is distracting the team. You mind watching from the ground?”
Wasp hesitated for a moment before dejectedly replying, “Wasp will watch from ground.” The little Halfling began to descend back to the ground, a sight that made Spitfire somewhat regret her decision. However, the snickering from the rest of her team forced her to roll her eyes before ordering, “Alright, that’s enough fun. Get back up in the air!”
That was when the Wonderbolts heard Wasp cry out, “No! Wasp’s wings stop working!” Spitfire turned to see, to her horror, Wasp falling down to the ground, flailing desperately as his wings were unable to keep him in the air.
“WASP!” Spitfire shouted louder than any point in her life as she dove after Wasp. She was moving with the speed that only a Wonderbolt could pull off, closing the distance between herself and Wasp.
But the ground was catching up to Wasp even faster. Spitfire could only watch helplessly as Wasp crashed into the grassy field, making a terrifying crack.
Landing next to Wasp, Spitfire ran up to him, frantically begging, “Wasp! You alright?” Wasp wasn’t moving much, but his labored breathing made it clear he was at least alive.
Groaning, Wasp replied, “Wasp’s leg hurts.” He then struggled to extend one of his front legs to Spitfire, but could barely move it. When Spitfire tried to touch it, Wasp recoiled, screaming in pain. “Grah! Wasp’s leg hurts!” The young Halfling shouted.
Several of the Wonderbolts landed nearby, with Rainbow Dash walking up to the two. She asked, “Is he alright?”
Spitfire sighed as she replied, “I think Wasp broke his leg in that fall.” Rainbow Dash trotted up to Wasp and began to inspect his leg. She then turned to Spitfire and said, “I don’t think his leg is broken. I think it’s only been dislocated.” Spitfire gave a confused look as she asked, “You sure?” Rainbow Dash gave a brief chuckle as she replied, “Ma’am, I know a thing or two about broken bones, and his leg here is only dislocated.”
Wasp then groaned as he complained, “Ugh. Wasp hates it when leg is dislocated.” He then turned to Spitfire and the other Wonderbolts and asked, “Does any Wonderbolt have stick?”
“Why do you need a stick?” Surprise asked. Soarin, on the other hoof, began to inspect the ground until he found a rather thick stick. As he picked it up, he said, “Hey I found one.” He then trotted over to Wasp and handed it over to the young Halfling before asking, “Why do you need a stick anyway?”
Spitfire and the others were shocked when Wasp took the stick and proceeded to bite down on it. Biting on a stick usually meant a pony was trying to keep themselves from screaming at the top of their lungs when doing something painful, and the sheer calmness with how Wasp was doing it gave troubling implications. Spitfire asked, “Uh, Wasp? What are you doing?”
Wasp then grabbed his dislocated leg with his brown arms and, taking a deep breath, screamed though the stick as he popped the leg back into its socket. The sickening crack of his leg popping shocked the Wonderbolts, especially Spitfire and Rainbow Dash. Taking a deep breath, Wasp spit the stick out of his mandibles as he muttered, “Wasp hates doing that.”
Spitfire rushed over to Wasp, frantically asking, “Wasp, are you alright?” She wrapped her ward in a tight hug as she began to gently caress his head, an action she didn’t realize she was doing until she heard Surprise say from behind her, “I gotta admit, that is adorable.”
After a few minutes of just making sure he wasn’t hurt anymore, Spitfire and the other Wonderbolts heard the sound of Wasp’s stomach rumbling. Groaning, Wasp weakly complained, “Ugh. Spitfire, Wasp is hungry.” Spitfire raised a hoof and placed it under his jaws as she said, “You know, so am I.”
The Wonderbolts Canteen
As Wasp began to tear into a sandwich, most of the Wonderbolts could only look on with a combination of amusement and horror. Rainbow Dash, slowly nursing a sandwich of her own, leaned next to Spitfire and said, “You know, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.” Spitfire simply let out a gentle giggle as she replied, “He does have a charm. Kind of a buggy kind of charm.”
Surprise trotted up to Wasp and asked, “Like your lunch I take it?” Wasp, swallowing his mouthful of food, replied, “Wasp likes his sandwich.” He then began to inspect his new guest and asked, “Does Wasp scare Wonderbolt?” Surprise hesitated for a moment before, “What? Of course not. If anything I think you’re kinda cool.”
This declaration made Wasp’s spirits soar. He then asked, “Does this mean Yellow hair is Wasp’s friend?” Surprise, a warm smile growing on her face, replied, “I guess it does.” Wasp didn’t hesitate to tackle Surprise in a massive hug as he squealed, “Wasp has new friend!” Surprise couldn’t help but laugh as Wasp began to nuzzle her cheeks.
Spitfire couldn’t help but feel her heart sore seeing her young ward befriend another member of the Wonderbolts. She was so distracted that she nearly missed Soarin and Rainbow Dash trying to get her attention.
“Hey Captain!” Rainbow Dash shouted. Spitfire turned to her subordinate and asked, “What do you need Dash?” Rainbow Dash then proceeded to ask, “So, Soarin and I were talking, and, we noticed something.”
Soarin then began to speak, “Yeah. I noticed when Wasp set his leg, he said he hated doing it. I think that wasn’t his first time.” Spitfire sighed and replied, “So did I.” She then set her sights back on to Wasp, who was trotting around Surprise as the white mare began to playfully tease, “I’m gonna get ya.” As much as she didn’t want to ruin the moment, she knew she had to ask him.
“Hey Wasp?” Spitfire asked as she walked up to Surprise and Wasp, the latter of who was crawling on the former’s back. Taking a deep breath, Spitfire asked, “Wasp, I need to ask you a question.”
Wasp immediately realized something was off. Climbing off Surprise, the young Halfling asked, “Is Wasp in trouble?” Spitfire raised a hoof to his shoulder and reassured him, “Of course not. I just want to ask you about something.” Wasp took a deep breath, but still didn’t show any signs of relaxing.
Spitfire sighed and asked her question. “I overheard what you said about hating to set your leg. It sounded like that wasn’t your first time this happened.” As Wasp began to guiltily shrink away, Spitfire asked, “Wasp, has this happened before?”
Wasp, his eyes beginning to water, didn’t say yes, but he did nod his head as he mumbled, “Wasp was misbehaving, so Megaton said he needed to make an example.”
Soarin gulped as he asked, “What do you mean he “made an example?”” Wasp began to look away as he muttered, “Wasp didn’t want to run obstacle course, but Megaton demanded Wasp obey. Wasp didn’t obey and….” The tears began to pour out as Wasp wrapped his arms around Spitfire, shuddering as he whimpered.
Rainbow Dash, having overheard everything, angrily replied, “That’s horrible! That monster better have a good reason why I shouldn’t knock his head clean off!” Surprise, normally a friendly and somewhat bubbly mare, found herself scowling and unintentionally growling. Even Fleet Foot, who struggled with her own complicated feelings over the Halfling, couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.
But for Spitfire, the mare who found herself in the middle of everything, she couldn’t think about Megaton. She could only think about the crying child that had chosen her for comfort. All she could do was hold him tight until he released all of his grief.
A Few Hours Later
“Ok fillies, one more time from the top!” Spitfire called out from her post. Once again, she was standing on a cloud behind a megaphone, giving orders to the rest of the Wonderbolts. However, this time, she wasn’t alone.
Standing next to her was Wasp, a gleeful smile on his face. After letting out his secret, Spitfire decided he needed something fun, so Spitfire gave him something few other ponies ever got to witness; an up close look at a Wonderbolts training session.
But that wasn’t the best part. As the rest of the team flew over the two, Spitfire turned to Wasp and said, “Alright, now it’s your turn.” She then pointed to the megaphone and said, “I think Fleet Foot is breaking off.” As she pointed up to the air, Wasp noticed Fleet Foot was indeed starting to break off from the rest of the team. Spitfire, with a cheeky grin on her face, said, “I think you know what to do.”
Giggling with glee, Wasp buzzed over to the megaphone and, taking a deep breath, shouted, “Red Eyes is breaking off! Red Eyes needs to get back in position!” Spitfire could tell that Fleet Foot was pretty pissed off at being called out by Wasp, but she figured that right now, she wouldn’t make too much of a deal about it.
As the rest of the team finished the routine, Spitfire stepped up to the megaphone and called out, “All right every-pony! Great job! I’d say that’s enough for one day.” Blaze wiped the sweat from her brow as she added, “So, anyone want to go for a drink?” Spitfire, wrapping her wing around Wasp, replied, “That sounds fun, but I think some-pony here is a little too young for that kind of thing.”
“Wasp is kind of thirsty.” Wasp innocently retorted. Spitfire quickly pulled the Halfling close to her and whispered “They’re talking about fancy grown up drinks.” Wasp would have protested, but Spitfire gave him a look that gently but firmly said ‘don’t push it.’
Soarin then added, “Don’t worry kid. How about I stop by later tonight with a slice of pie?” That made Wasp light up as he began saying, “Yes please! Wasp likes pie!”
Spitfire then said, “Ok. But first, we gotta shower and freshen up.” As she led Wasp away, she leaned towards Soarin and whispered, “make sure to bring the napkins.” Soarin could only happily reply, “You got it boss!” with that, all the Wonderbolts proceeded to return to the base to shower, stretch, and catch their breaths before heading home.
Soarin’s Home, Later That Night
As much as he loved being a Wonderbolt, Soarin had to admit that some times, he just enjoyed a lazy night at home. Of course, right now, he had to find some the pie that he had promised for Spitfire and Wasp.
Even though he initially found it odd that Spitfire of all ponies would take in a child, let alone a Halfling like Wasp, Soarin had to admit that she had taken to the task pretty well. It also didn’t help that Wasp was starting to grow on him. Soarin couldn’t figure out if he saw Wasp as some sort of nephew, little brother, or something else, but he had to admit the child had set a good impression on him.
As Soarin tried to open his front door, he realized something was wrong; the door was unlocked. He may not have been the brightest pony in Equestria, but Soarin liked to think he was at least smart enough to always lock his door. Maybe he had simply forgotten to lock the door that morning? Deciding that pondering on whether or not he hadn’t left the door unlocked wasn’t important, Soarin simply shrugged and opened the door, only to be horrified by what he found.
Soarin’s house had been absolutely trashed. Every door was open, every drawer was removed and the contents scattered everywhere, and in general, his house looked like someone set off fireworks in his house.
But that wasn’t the worst part. That dubious honor went to the fact that everything was covered in a blue-white silky substance that resembled a spider’s web. “Ugh.” Soarin groaned as he entered his now ruined home. “What in the name of Celestia happened in here?”
That was when Soarin heard the sound of someone laughing, or rather menacingly cackling. “Who’s there?” Soarin called out. There was no response, save for the cackling. Starting to panic, Soarin stepped into the remains of his living room and called out, “Whoever you are, you are in so much trouble!”
The cackling stopped, and Soarin found himself surrounded by deafening silence. Sweating nervously, Soarin called out, “Uh…. Come out come out, whoever you are.” Still, there was nothing. This was when Soarin made the mistake of letting his guard down.
The moment he surrendered his guard, he heard a raspy voice, one not unlike Wasp’s but a little older, shout, “Die pony!” Soarin turned to see, to his horror, a being that resembled Wasp charge him. He was so surprised by this sight that he was unable to react until the creature tackled him, forcing him to the floor.
It was now that Soarin realized this creature’s head was not the same as Wasp’s. This creature had a mouth consisting of eight claw like teeth, four on each side of his mouth, a single eye that cracked across his face like a scar, and an odd bump on his forehead that resembled a pig’s nose.
“Get off of me!” Soarin shouted. The creature, starting to giggle to himself, replied, “I think not. The master wants to have a word with you.” Before Soarin could ask what he meant, the creature extended his teeth and bid down on his neck. Soarin tried to scream, but he found himself feeling dizzy and tired.
As he lost consciousness, Soarin realized he had been poisoned. But he could only helplessly watch as the creature picked him up and begin to pull him out of his house. After that, Soarin was consumed by the dark oblivion of unconsciousness, unaware of how much danger he was soon to be in.
As Soarin began to stir back to the world of the living, only one thing passed through his mind. “Ugh, my head hurts.” He muttered to himself as his eyes slowly opened.
Immediately, a vaguely familiar voice barked, “Silence!” Soarin was swiftly smacked in the back of his head by what felt like a hoof. Groaning, the cerulean Wonderbolt asked, “Hey, watch it buddy!” He would have continued, but he realized something was horribly wrong.
Soarin couldn’t feel either his wings or any of his limbs.
“What the hay?” The Wonderbolt asked out loud as he realized that all of his limbs were being restrained on a giant, pulsating spider’s web. Soarin tried to pull himself free, but his limbs were numb and limp, effectively leaving him trapped. What was even worse was that the spider’s web was planted firmly on a small cart and being pushed down a very long and very dark corridor.
It was as he finally stopped struggling that Soarin heard a very familiar voice tease, “It’s no use pony. I’ve paralyzed your limbs.” To his horror, thin, insectoid limbs began to wrap themselves around him as a familiar, spider like face emerged from out of sight, cackling as the being continued, “You won’t be going anywhere.”
“You!” Soarin practically screamed as he remembered the Halfling that had trashed his home and done…. whatever it was to him. “Let me go right now or so help me I’ll….”
He didn’t get the opportunity to continue, as an excruciating pain began to coarse through his body, tightening him up as electricity consumed him. The wicked Halfling giggled as it continued, “Naughty little pony. Keep resisting and you’ll be fried. Not that it’s a bad thing, as I’m getting hungry.”
Once the electricity stopped, all Soarin could do was breathe heavily, struggling to keep himself calm in what could only be generously described as a nightmare. Managing to put on a brave face, the blue Pegasus could only sigh as the cart finally approached the end of the corridor. The pink Halfling stepped off the cart and approached the massive door and reported, “Master, I have the Equestrian, just as you asked.”
From the other side of the door, another familiar voice, this one deep and menacing, replied, “Excellent. Bring him inside, yes.” The Halfling bowed before turning to someone (or something) behind Soarin and order, “Get him inside, quickly!” As the cart began to move again, Soarin could only hope whatever was waiting for him was preferable to his current predicament.
Instead, the door opened, revealing a throne room carved out a massive cavern, the walls decorated with lava-falls. Right in the center was a granite throne, and sitting confidently on this throne was a large purple dragon, one that couldn’t be mistaken for anyone else.
“Megaton!” Soarin shouted in anger. “What do you want dragon breath?”
The indigo monster stepped of his throne as he replied “Why, I simply want to know one thing, my little pony.”
Though hardly happy with his situation, Soarin realized that whatever Megaton wanted, it was important that he didn’t get it. Allowing a smug smirk to form on his muzzle, the Wonderbolt replied, “In that case, yes, we are charging you the bill for wrecking the derby.”
Megaton shook his head in dismay as he turned to the pink Halfling and smugly asked, “Why Trapdoor, our guest is being rather rude. Would you mind giving him a little, how we say, shock?” The Halfling, Trapdoor as he was apparently called, giggled maniacally as he answered, “With pleasure master.”
As Trapdoor approached the spider’s web, he cackled as he grabbed a lever and pulled it down. The web lit up with a blue hue as Soarin felt electricity coarse through his body. Cramping in pain, all the Wonderbolt could do was scream in agony.
“That’s enough for now.” Megaton calmly ordered. Groaning, Trapdoor replied, “Yes sir.” The pink Halfling raised the lever, the electricity stopped, allowing Soarin to catch his breath. Grinning cruelly, the large purple dragon smugly asked, “Comfortable?”
“Can’t really complain.” Soarin sarcastically answered. Megaton chuckled menacingly as he said, “Well then, let’s cut right to the chase.” Leaning up to Soarin’s face, the purple dragon asked, “Where is Wasp?”
“Wasp?” Soarin asked. Megaton growled as he replied, “Yes. I know you have my little boy, and I would very much like for him to come home.”
Something about the dragon’s response sickened Soarin. He didn’t know if it was his oddly calm voice or his use of the phrase “little boy,” but the Wonderbolt knew two things. One was that his captor had mistakenly believed he was the pony who had taken Wasp in, and the other was he couldn’t let him know who.
Taking a deep breath, Soarin defiantly replied, “If you think I’m telling you where he is, you’re wasting your time!”
Closing his eyes and groaning, Megaton turned to Trapdoor and ordered, “Fry him!” The purple-pink giggled as he flipped the switch again, allowing sending more electricity into Soarin’s body. As the Wonderbolt screamed in pain, the purple dragon cruelly joked, “Why, I always thought the Wonderbolts loved lightning.” This time, Trapdoor let the electricity last a bit longer than the last time, drawing out the pain.
When the electricity finally died down, Megaton crept back up to the now panting Soarin and, with terrifyingly tranquil fury, said, “Now then, let’s try this again…..”
Spitfire’s Home…
Curled up in her fluffy cloud bed, Captain Spitfire of the Wonderbolts was consumed by a deep slumber. It had been a long week for her, juggling both her duties as leader of the Wonderbolts as well as her new responsibility for the young Halfling Wasp had proven far more taxing than she anticipated. While Spitfire already knew that looking after what was practically a child wouldn’t exactly be easy, she was still surprised by just how busy the little Halfling had left her.
And now she found herself in a deep sleep, the only audible sounds being her snoring and the buzzing of insectoid wings.
“Ugh….” Spitfire groaned as she began to process the buzzing coming from right on top of her. “What in the name of Celestia is…..” She didn’t get a chance to finish, as when she rotated her body to lie on her back, only to be face to face with two clusters of purple compound eyes. Being caught by surprise, Spitfire reacted in the only way a pony could.
She screamed, grabbed a cloud pillow, and slapped Wasp in the face.
As Wasp was flung to the ground, Spitfire realized what she’d done and quickly darted off her bed and to the Halfling’s side. Panicking, she asked, “Wasp, are you ok?”
The young Halfling replied, “Wasp is ok. Wasp is sorry he scared Spitfire.” The yellow Pegasus quickly interrupted him with, “No, it’s not your fault, its mine.” As she rose back to her hooves, she asked, “What are you doing in here anyway? It’s a little too early for you to be awake.”
Sighing, Wasp glumly answered, “Wasp had a bad dream.” As Spitfire realized what he’d just said, the young Halfling continued, “Wasp was all alone, and couldn’t find Spitfire anywhere.” He then looked into Spitfire’s eyes and, his voice starting to crack, asked, “Will Spitfire leave Wasp?”
Wrapping the child in a tight hug, Spitfire reassured him, “I’m not going anywhere Wasp.” As Wasp returned the hug, the Wonderbolt couldn’t help but realize that a stray tear had escaped from her eye. Was she actually crying over Wasp?
She didn’t have much time to ponder it though, as Spitfire heard Wasp begin to mischievously giggle. Curious, she asked, “What’s so funny Wasp?”
The young Halfling buzzed over to the discarded pillow as he said, “Pillow didn’t hurt Wasp.” He then shot Spitfire a naughty smile and, with speed that could rival any of the Wonderbolts, shot towards her and slapped her with the pillow. “Now Wasp is even with Spitfire.” The child giggled.
Spitfire stood motionless for a few moments, a sense of foreboding emanating from her. Starting to worry, Wasp asked, “Is Spitfire ok?” The Yellow Pegasus gave him a serious glare, forcing the child to back towards the wall.
Luckily, Spitfire couldn’t keep the ruse up for long, and a challenging smile grew on her face as she remarked, “Oh, it is on.” She then darted over to her bed and grabbed another pillow before continuing, “Ok Wasp, show me what you got.”
Realizing she wanted to play along, Wasp let out an adorably cute squeal as he charged his protector and began to pelt her with the pillow. Spitfire herself began to chuckle as Wasp attacked with his weapon of mass fluffiness. As she began to swing her own pillow, the Halfling child managed to evade her and even struck an “uppercut” with his pillow.
After roughly ten minutes, the two were interrupted when Spitfire’s alarm clock began to go off. Letting out an embarrassed chuckle, the older Pegasus said, “Guess it was perfect timing for you to wake me up.” Confused by this remark, Wasp asked, “Does that mean Wasp made a mistake?” Spitfire rested a hoof under his split jaw chin as she reassured him, “Oh no. If anything, I think you made today just a little bit better.”
Spitfire quickly realized what she’d just said. She just admitted that her day would be much better just because Wasp had been there. She would have continued on her train of thought, but the continuing buzz of her alarm clock as well as the rising sun told her she should probably start getting ready for the day.
“C’mon Wasp. Let’s start making some breakfast.” Spitfire said as she turned off her alarm clock. With that, she and her young ward made their way to the kitchen for a nice, warm, and probably messy meal.
Wonderbolts HQ, Not Too Long Afterwards…
As Spitfire descended towards the Wonderbolts’ base, she turned to Wasp and said, “Ok, so remember what I told you yesterday?” The child nodded and replied, “Wasp needs to stay away when ponies are flying, Spitfire will be shouting but she’s not angry, and do whatever Spitfire says?”
“Exactly.” The Wonderbolt captain replied. “Luckily I think the others will be more than happy to keep an eye on you.” Wasp could only smile as he recalled how all the other Wonderbolts were willing to be his friend. Well, most of them.
“Will red eyes be watching Wasp?” Wasp nervously asked. Spitfire bit her lip for a moment before she reassured him, “No. I’m not leaving you with Fleet Foot.” Wasp sighed with relief as he tightened his grip on her, replying, “Good. Wasp doesn’t like Red Eyes.”
Soon Spitfire and her young ward landed right in front of the barracks, only to be greeted by the sight of Rainbow Dash, Surprise, and Thunderlane talking to each other. When the trio saw their commander and Wasp approach, Rainbow Dash called out, “Hey Cap, we got a problem!”
“What’s going on Dash?” Spitfire asked. The Rainbow mained mare, noticing the small guest on her back, replied, “Uh, you think we can talk without Wasp? It’s kinda serious.”
Sighing, Spitfire turned her head to Wasp and said, “Hey, I need to talk with the team for a moment.” She then turned to Surprise and asked, “You mind keeping an eye on him for a moment?” The yellow Pegasus nodded yes as she answered, “You bet ma’am.”
With the reassurance he’d be in good company, Wasp buzzed off of Spitfire and towards Surprise, and the two made their way towards the mess hall. Once they were gone, Spitfire asked, “Ok, what’s going on?”
Letting out a deep breath, Rainbow Dash answered, “Soarin hasn’t shown up yet.” Blaze then added, “Yeah, he’s almost always here by now. It’s not like him to be this late.” Spitfire let out a deep sigh of concern. They were right, because Soarin should have arrived by now.
“That’s odd.” Spitfire remarked. “You two sure he’s not hiding somewhere?” Rainbow Dash shook her head and replied, “Nope. We’ve checked the barracks, the green, the mess hall, the entire compound.” Now the captain was starting to worry.
Concerned, Spitfire ordered, “Ok, Blaze, Dash, you two go to Soarin’s and see if he overslept or if he sick or something.” Both subordinate Wonderbolts nodded and shot off into the sky, on their way to look for their missing friend.
Spitfire then made her way to the mess hall, fully expecting Wasp to have made a mess of what would surely be his second breakfast.
The Mess Hall…
Spitfire was surprised to see that, instead of a mess, she found Wasp buzzing all around the hall’s ceiling, giggling with glee. Following him was Surprise, and it seemed the two were engaged in a game of tag. It was a sight that melted Spitfire’s heart.
Once Wasp noticed that Spitfire had arrived, the young child buzzed down to the ground and tackled the older mare in a great hug. Catching her breath, the yellow Pegasus remarked, “Whoa there, not so tight Wasp.”
As Surprise descended, she added, “I think he’s getting stronger. When I asked if there was anything he wanted to do, he touched me, said “I’m it,” and flew off.” As the young child released Spitfire, the white Pegasus remarked, “I think he might be as fast as a Wonderbolt one day.”
Hearing this, Wasp turned to Spitfire and asked, “Does that mean Wasp gets to fly with Spitfire?” The Wonderbolt captain hesitated for a moment before she solemnly replied, “Not today.” When the little Halfling pouted, Spitfire reassured him, “Don’t worry, we will one day.” With that, Wasp buzzed up to her and wrapped her in another hug, one she happily replied.
It was at this moment that Wasp’s stomach began to rumble again as he embarrassingly said, “Wasp is hungry.” Smiling, Spitfire replied, “Well then, how about we get you a bite to eat?”
Later That Day…
Much like the previous day, Wasp sat under the Wonderbolts as he watched the team practice their routine. He was amazed by just how well they flew in formation, not like the simple, massive hoard that the rest of his sibling flew in. Instead, the Wonderbolts flew with grace, beauty, precision, and unlike Wasp, they didn’t sound like insects.
From up above him, Wasp heard Spitfire call out, “Ok team, I think that’s enough for today. Time to hit the showers.” As the team descended towards the ground, Wasp buzzed up to Spitfire and squealed, “Wonderbolts are great fliers! Spitfire is the best flier.” The yellow Pegasus could only blush as she replied, “Well, I aim to please.”
As the other Wonderbolts began to make for the barracks, Spitfire turned to Wasp and said, “Hey, Fleet Foot is gonna take a shower, so how about we take a look at our museum?” Curious, Wasp asked, “What is museum?”
Smiling, Spitfire replied, “Well then, how about I show you?”
Wonderbolts’ Mini Museum
“Whoa.” Wasp said as he entered the small atrium. Before him was a large sphere representing the world, with a smaller one symbolizing the moon. As he buzzed up to the large model, Spitfire called out, “Hey, don’t touch that!” Though she was hardly yelling, she had raised her voice, forcing Wasp to descend back down to the ground and curl up in a defensive ball.
Making her way to her young ward, Spitfire reassured him, “Sorry Wasp, but that is a gift from the Princesses, and it’s very fragile.” The young child sighed as he apologized, “Wasp is sorry. Wasp was just memorized…. Melark…. Meme…..”
“Mesmerized?” Spitfire asked. The young Halfling simply nodded yes. She then rested a wing around him and asked, “How about I give you the guided tour?” His attention having been peaked, Wasp enthusiastically nodded yes. With that, Spitfire took Wasp deeper into the Wonderbolts’ hall of past glories.
After a while, the two came across a gallery of images and photos. Curious, Wasp asked, “Who are ponies?” Spitfire replied, “These are portraits of every pony who’s ever been a Wonderbolt.” In truth, that wasn’t the entire truth; Wind Rider’s portrait had been removed and destroyed due to “certain events,” and there were two portraits of ponies who weren’t technically Wonderbolts.
And just her luck, Wasp buzzed up to one of those portraits. It was an image of a dark yellow pony with dark crimson hair and a black tri-corner hat. Curious, Wasp asked, “Who is pony? He doesn’t have Wonderbolts’ flight suit.”
Letting out a small sigh, Spitfire replied, “Well, he’s not technically a Wonderbolt. You see, his name is Old Silver, he’s my brother.” Upon hearing this, Wasp turned to face the older Pegasus and asked, “Spitfire has a brother?”
Nodding, Spitfire replied, “Yup. Silver there is my older brother. He’s a sailor who travels all over the world.” She then let out a wistful sigh as she added, “Not too long ago he saved Ornithia from a monster by the name of….”
“Does Spitfire like her brother?” Wasp asked, his voice betraying a hint of sadness. Not quite picking up on the subtle gloom, Spitfire continued, “Well, not always. At one point we didn’t even talk to each other for almost ten years. We, well I…..” She stopped herself before bluntly finishing with, “Well, that’s a story for another day.” Turning to the young child, Spitfire asked, “Why’d you ask that anyway?”
Wasp simply looked back at the portrait and replied, “Wasp hates his brothers. Wasp’s brothers hate him because he doesn’t want to hurt anybody.” He closed his many eyes as he continued, “Wasp doesn’t know why he’s different from Trapdoor or Quickstrike or Scorponok or Inferno, But Wasp does know he doesn’t want to be like them.”
He then turned to Spitfire and, his voice starting to break a little bit, asked, “Is it bad if Wasp is not like his family?”
Spitfire immediately wrapped him in a tight embrace and replied, “Of course not. In fact, I think it makes you better than all of them combined.” Wasp didn’t say anything else, simply hugging his protector far tighter than he’d ever hugged anyone in his life before.
The two were interrupted when Rainbow Dash’s voice called out, “Hey Cap! Fleet Foot has finished showering and just bolted off the base.” She noticed that the two were having a moment and sheepishly asked, “Uh, am I interrupting something?”
“Oh no Dash.” Spitfire replied. “Wasp here was just looking around and I guess I had a little time to kill.” She then turned to Wasp and said, “I gotta freshen up, and after that, we gotta head home.”
“Ugh.” Wasp Whined. “Wasp wants to look around more.” Spitfire then rested a hoof under his jaws and reassured him, “Maybe we can look around more tomorrow.” When Wasp’s face lit up with excitement, she added, “But only if you behave.” Nodding, Wasp reassured her, “Wasp will behave.
As the two began to leave the hall, Rainbow Dash cheekily teased, “You’re turning out to be a pretty good mom ma’am.” Spitfire immediately shot back with, “Say that again and you’re on probation for a week.” Rainbow Dash simply gulped, saluted, and flew off. Spitfire, however, quickly realized that, in a way, her subordinate was right.
But she didn’t have time to think on it any further, as a mild stench began to emerge from her hide, and soon Spitfire took Wasp and departed for the barracks, hoping she could cool off with a nice shower.
Megaton’s Lair
“Ugh!” Megaton growled as he slammed his fist into the wall. Despite all his efforts, Soarin hadn’t broken under torture or interrogation. “Stupid pony! If I do anything else, he’ll die. And if he dies, then the Princess’s goons will start looking for us.”
Sighing, the vile dragon turned to Trapdoor and ordered, “Trapdoor, drug the Wonderbolt and dump him back where you found him. We can’t afford anything looking out of place, yes.”
Confused, the purple pink Halfling asked, “But sir, we still don’t know where Wasp is.” Megaton sighed and explained, “He’s not going to talk, and if he’s gone for too long, they’ll start looking closer. Just make sure he’s unconscious first.”
Trapdoor nodded as he grumbled, “Shame we can’t terminate him. I’ve always wanted to see what ponies taste like.” As he crept up to the barely awake and horribly injured Soarin, the Halfling cackled, “Sleep tight pony. Heh heh heh.” With that, he bid down on Soarin’s neck, filling the Pegasus with a powerful anesthetic.
Once Soarin was unconscious, Trapdoor dragged him off to “dispose” him. Now all alone, Megaton clutched a test tube and said, “So you’re not hiding with the blue stallion. But where ever you are Wasp, I will find you, and you will rejoin our little family, or I will subject you to a hell you could never even begin to imagine. Yes.”