January 19, 11:45
Ghastly Gorge
***
Ghastly Gorge. The most notorious canyon in Equestria; known for its wind tunnels, quarray eel nests, and various other hazards that make flying through it the most dangerous gambit a pegasus can think of. You know the phrase: "I'm a professional; don't try this at home?" Well, as corny as it sounds, that's my advice from me to you. Unless you've got the skill to match your guts, you should treat Ghastly Gorge as a no-fly zone. Otherwise, you're in for a world of hurt.
When my team and I arrived at the entrance to the canyon, we couldn't ask for a better turnout. Ponies and griffons from every corner of Equestria (and perhaps a few from the Griffon Kingdom) crowded around the cliffs overlooking the valley below. I managed to spot Fancy Pants, Gustav le Grand, all of the ponies from Ponyville, and many more besides. Even Shining Armor and some of the Crystal Ponies came to cheer us on. Considering that Ghastly Gorge is out in the middle of nowhere, this was pretty impressive.
However, I couldn't focus on that now. I had more important things on my mind.
We landed on a large rock outcropping at the base of the ravine.
"Wonderbolts, sound off!" I ordered.
"Soarin', here!"
"Fleetfoot, itching to fly!"
"Blaze, present and accounted for!"
Each of the Wonderbolts (sans Misty Fly) rattled off their names in turn. Even Surprise checked in normally, which did surprise me. But, only a little. I know Surprise can be serious when she wants to be. She just doesn't want to be ninety five percent of the time.
"Alright, you all know the drill," I said. "Captain le Grand and I will take point. Until we give the signal, just treat this like a normal, clean race. Once we give the signal, we take to the skies and give the tengu what's coming to them. Any questions?"
There was silence. I smiled and nodded.
"Good," I said. "Now let's get ready to fly. We're due to start any minute now."
As if on cue, Honor Bound and the Proud Pride descended from the skies. The griffons landed across from us, while Honor Bound touched down in between the two teams.
"Fillies, gentlecolts, and griffons!" Honor Bound called out. "I welcome you all to the Ghastly Gorge Gauntlet; a potential event for the Equestria Games! If successful, this will be a monumental step towards strengthening ties between ponies and griffons!"
The spectators cheered. Pierre and I met in the center. He took my hoof in his talon and gave it a firm shake.
"Is your team ready?" he whispered.
"As we'll ever be," I whispered back. "You?"
"But of course, Capitaine Spitfire. These tengu will soon know the wrath of the Proud Pride."
"And the Wonderbolts," I added.
Pierre didn't respond, but merely nodded as we got into position and prepared for takeoff.
"Now, the rules are simple," said Honor Bound. "The first team to the end is the winner. I expect everyone to fly fair."
There was a chorus of acknowledgments from both the Wonderbolts and the Proud Pride. I lowered my goggles and spread my wings and my comrades did the same.
"Good luck to all of you," said Honor Bound. When he said that, I knew he wasn't talking about the race. "Now, without further ado, let the Ghastly Gorge Gauntlet commence!"
"Let's fly, Wonderbolts!"
"Proud Pride, allez!"
With that, we all took off from the starting point and went soaring into the ravine. As we planned, Pierre and I took an early lead while the others were clustered behind us. I kept my eyes faced front and my ears open.
Bring it on, Tengu Empress, I thought as I licked my lips in anticipation. I'm ready.
***
As a Wonderbolt, I can safely say that flying through Ghastly Gorge is not necessarily a daunting task for me. But there's a bit of a trick to Ghastly Gorge, and that is you need to pay attention to what you're doing. Unlike the obstacle course at the Academy, I can't fly through Ghastly Gorge blindfolded. I'd be stupid to try. This is mainly because there are more things to crash into in Ghastly Gorge. And I mean a lot more.
So, you can imagine how hard it was for me to focus on my flying and be on the lookout for the tengu. I mean, it wasn't impossible, but it sure made bobbing and weaving through the thorn bushes and the quarray eels that much more difficult. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that I had lost a few feathers here and there while flying. But, of course, I couldn't get distracted by that.
And I'll say this much: Pierre le Grand might've been a lousy choice of captain, but he's a damn good flier. He managed to keep pace with me as if we were a wing pair. Every turn I made, every swoop, every dive, he matched me with expert precision. If we actually were racing, he'd be a worthy opponent.
Then, just as we were at the midpoint, I saw something falling from the sky at a fast pace. My eyes widened. It was one of those exploding clouds!
"Incoming from above! Evasive maneuvers!" I yelled, rolling to the side and increasing my acceleration.
"I see it!" Pierre hollered back as he did the same.
We both managed to get clear of the cloud's blast radius just as it detonated and caused an avalanche behind us.
"That's our cue!" I said. "Let's go!"
With that, Pierre and I propelled ourselves upwards and out of Ghastly Gorge. It was then that I spotted my target: A bunch of grey clouds that weren't supposed to be there. I flew through one, and sure enough, I hit something solid. When I stopped in midair to see what I had hit, it was indeed a tengu.
The tengu corrected his course in midair and snarled at me. He then charged forward, only to get blindsided by Pierre.
"Thanks," I said.
Pierre gave me a curt nod. Eh, better than nothing, I suppose.
After our initial attack, the other Wonderbolts and the rest of the Proud Pride followed suit. I watched as cloud after cloud was busted, revealing the tengu soldiers hidden within. When all the clouds were clear, we found ourselves in the midst of a small army. While we weren't outnumbered or anything, there were still enough tengu here to do some serious damage if we weren't careful. We had a brief reprieve while they were recovering from our surprise, and I had to make it count.
"Wonderbolts, form up! Break into wing pairs on my mark!" I ordered. "Blaze, you're with me!"
"Proud Pride, en garde!" Pierre barked.
Just as we all got into position, the tengu had recovered and were coming in fast. Some threw their cyclone weapons; others gripped their blades and prepared to slash.
"Ready... Mark!"
"Allez!"
The Wonderbolts and the Proud Pride charged to meet the tengu. The ensuing battle was fast and furious. Fleetfoot goaded a pair of tengu into chasing her, and led them right into the thorn bushes. High Winds countered the cyclone weapons by flapping her wings rapidly and creating small tornados of her own. Drake was tearing through hoards of bogeys as they tried to surround him. There's more I could mention, but I was distracted by something in the air.
The wind around us was slowly getting stronger and stronger. It was barely noticeable at first, and it didn't affect our flying at all. But suddenly, I noticed that the sky above was turning black. A large cloud pulsing with electricity manifested itself over us. In the middle of the cloud, I noticed a faint, green glow. I had a good idea what it was.
Blaze and I flew over to Kierra and helped her dispatch a bogey on her tail.
"Thanks," said Kierra.
"No problem," I said. "C'mon, you're with me and Blaze."
Kierra tilted her head. "Any reason for this, Ms. Spitfire?"
"I want your help in dealing with the Tengu Empress," I said. "You know the tengu better than anyone else."
Kierra pondered for a second, and then nodded. "Alright. I'm your wing."
The three of us then flew up towards the dark cloud as the battle continued to rage below. This was it. I was going to finally come face-to-face with the mastermind behind everything I had been through the past week. If I was scared by this, I didn't notice it on a conscious level. I only had one thought going through my head as we went to meet the Tengu Empress:
Say your prayers, Gypsy Moth. Because one way or another, I'm taking you down.