My Little Investigations: Wonderbolts Under Fire

by Metool Bard

Tactical Evidence

Surprise's follow-wake-up call hit me like a vapor cannon fired at point blank. As I hauled myself out of bed, I made the decision that as long as the assassin was on the loose, I would be sleeping outside. Yeah, I know that doesn't sound smart, but this mystery is giving me enough headaches without Surprise's help.

Despite that, I took this as a good sign. It should be obvious by now that Surprise is generally a good gauge of the Wonderbolts' morale. If she's not acting silly and bombastic in a casual setting, then the team is usually due for a pep talk. As you can plainly see, that wasn't the case today. Thank Celestia for small favors, I suppose. After all, I couldn't think of anything to say to them.

As I groggily made my way to the shower room, my mind was hard at work trying to plan my next move. To be perfectly honest, I was stumped. Nothing in this mystery was adding up. Heck, I still couldn't wrap my mind around yesterday's attack. I went into the battle knowing full well that it was a trap. Unless this guy was psychic, there was no way in Tartarus that he could've known that I knew it was a trap. And yet, Fire Streak was taken out just after the airship was neutralized. I'm sorry, those dots just don't conne...

As the shower's spray hit me, so too did an idea. Mare-Do-Well was wrong. There was some evidence to be gathered from that attack. It wasn't tangible, but I was almost positive that it could get me into the assassin's head. Hey, it was certainly better than nothing.

I quickly finished showering, slapped on my bathrobe, and went looking for Blaze. I caught her just as she was about to head off to the mess hall.

"Hey, Blaze!" I called out.

Blaze turned to me. "Oh, hey Sis. What's up?"

"You doing anything after breakfast?"

Blaze blinked. "Uh, no."

"Great. Meet me in my office at oh-seven hundred. I think I'm onto something."

Blaze smiled. "Understood, Sis," she said with a salute. With that, she took off.

I couldn't help but smile myself. After all, I came up with something that even the great Mare-Do-Well missed. What's more, I didn't need to think like a detective to find it. I just needed to think strategically.

"You wanted to see me, Sis?" Blaze asked as she tentatively poked her head through the door.

I looked up and smiled. "Right on time, Blaze. Come on in."

"Sure, sure," said Blaze, letting herself in. "So, you said you were onto something. Care to fill me in?"

"First, let me give you a hypothetical scenario," I said, pressing my hooves together. "I'm the assassin, and you're me. I send in an airship firing volleys of fireworks to attack you. You, of course, respond. After a while, I run out of ammunition. What do you do?"

Blaze tilted her head. "Honestly, I'd order the Wonderbolts to bring that ship down. If I'm you, I know it's a trap. Therefore, both boarding and impounding the airship are out of the question."

"Good answer," I said with a smirk. "Now, answer me this. Do you think the assassin would've been prepared for that?"

Blaze shrugged. "I dunno. It's not like he knows how you think or anything."

I raised an eyebrow. "What makes you so sure, Blaze? After all, he booby trapped the cloud that attacked Misty Fly, and he knew I wouldn't go after the airship unless he opened fire on the sentries."

"Yeah, but he couldn't have expected you to take the airship out with that tornado," Blaze argued. "You came up with that one on the fly."

"And yet, he still managed to get at Fire Streak," I said. "That can only mean one thing."

"What?"

"Blaze, we are dealing with a professional strategist."

Blaze gave me a blank stare. "A, strategist?" she parroted.

"Think about it, Blaze," I explained. "These attacks were planned out ahead of time. They had to be. Otherwise, he wouldn't have this many fail-safes. I'd bet my wings that he has drawn up a strategy to take each and every one of us down."

"That doesn't explain how he got to Fire Streak, though," said Blaze. "There's no way he can prepare for everything."

"Which tells us something else about our assassin," I said. "He thinks quickly, and he's able to adapt to changing situations."

"So he plans ahead, but he also thinks on his feet," Blaze mused. "That's one heck of a combination, Sis. How do we fight against something like that?"

"Simple, Blaze. We exploit his weaknesses," I said. "Judging by his tactics, subtlety is not his strong suit. He doesn't bother to disguise his attempts as accidents, and his traps are far too obvious. If I can find a way to play off of that, I can form a counterattack of my own."

Blaze nodded. "Wow. You're really on top of things, Sis. I just hope he's not thinking the same thing."

I smiled. "I wouldn't worry about that, Blaze. After all, he's not the only one who can recover from a spinout."

"You wouldn't be a Wonderbolt if you couldn't, Sis," said Blaze with a grin of her own. "So, are we done here?"

"Pretty much," I said. "Remember, keep your eyes open and report anything you find suspicious."

"Done and done," said Blaze with a salute. "Keep up the inspiring work, Sis."

"I intend to," I said, returning her salute. "Dismissed."

After Blaze had left, I went over to the window. I suppose this was a good a time as any to reflect while waiting for Crescent Moon to bring the mail. I felt that I had a good handle on one mystery. Now, I was going to make some headway in the next one on my list: The Proud Pride. There had to be something behind all the secrecy, and I could dedicate my resources to finding out what that thing was. After all, it wasn't likely that the assassin would attack at the Wonderbolt Derby. There were too many witnesses, and only an idiot would draw attention to himself like that.

Well, I would probably keep my guard up just to be safe. Just because it was unlikely doesn't mean it was impossible.

"Color me impressed, Ms. Spitfire. You found what I could not."

I smirked. "Dare I ask how you got in here, Ms. Mare-Do-Well?" I asked as I turned around. Sure enough, there she was in all her mysterious glory.

"Same way as last time," said Mare-Do-Well with a shrug. "By the by, have you figured out my clue yet?"

I scoffed. "Are you kidding? That cloth is as useless as a one-winged duck."

"Perhaps to you," said Mare-Do-Well cryptically. "But someone else might have a use for it."

"Someone else? What do you mean?"

"You're a bright pony, Ms. Spitfire. I'm sure you can figure it out."

I sighed. "Look, you're supposed to be helping me, right?" I said, going into my desk draw and pulling out the cloth. "I mean, I'm grateful for you being there to save my team and all. I guess it fits, seeing as you've got this whole superhero look to you. But do you know what would really help me? If you just dropped all of the cryptic crap, told me who you are, and explained to me exactly what the flying feather is..."

And just like that, Mare-Do-Well was gone, and my window was open. I swear, all I have to do is take my eyes off of her for one second, and she disappears. I don't know how she does it; I don't know why she does it. Honestly, I just don't get her. I looked at the cloth in my hoof, and then back out the window.

"You're next on my list, Mare-Do-Well," I said partially to myself. "If you want me to play detective, then I'm gonna unravel every mystery that has been placed before me these past couple of days. Including you."