//------------------------------// // A Stronger Alliance // Story: My Little Investigations: Wonderbolts Under Fire // by Metool Bard //------------------------------// January 17, 05:35 Wonderbolt Academy Airspace *** I'm starting to miss my old bed. This was the third night that I forced myself to sleep outside in order to escape Surprise's follow-wake-up call. While Misty Fly's advice of talking to Princess Luna has some merit (although I still think it wouldn't make a difference), falling asleep with so many thoughts weighing heavily on your mind is easier said than done. Even so, it couldn't go on like this. Clouds may be pretty comfy, but they do have their disadvantages. "Urgent message for you, Captain!" One of them is that falling out of bed is highly ill-advised. And that's what I almost did when I heard Crescent Moon calling out to me. Seriously, I was not expecting that at all. "For Celestia's sake, Crescent!" I snapped irritably as pulled myself up. "What the hay are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?!" "T-terribly sorry, Captain. Won't happen again," said Crescent nervously. "It's just that there's urgent news from the control tower, and Surprise told me you were up here." "Well, this had better be pretty damn important," I snarled. "Give me your report." "It's Ambassador Honor Bound, Captain. He's requesting permission to land." Well, this was gonna be awkward. That's another disadvantage of sleeping on a cloud: You don't get much in the way of privacy. I took in a sharp breath through my teeth. "Please tell me he can't see me right now," I said. "I, don't think he can, Captain," said Crescent. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Thank Celestia for small favors. "Tell him he has clearance, and extend my apologies for not being there to receive him," I said. "I'll try to move as fast as I can, so you won't have to stall him for too long." "Understood, Captain," said Crescent with a salute. As Crescent flew off to tell Honor Bound the news, I made a mad dash to the barracks to make myself at least semi-presentable. *** January 17, 05:44 Wonderbolt Academy Landing Strip *** Luckily for me, getting a quick shower and changing into my dress uniform didn't take as much time as I expected. As I trotted out to greet Honor Bound, it didn't look like he was waiting long. Kierra and Drake were also with him, making me wonder what this was all about. "I do apologize if I made you wait, Ambassador," I said with a hasty bow. "Honestly, I just got out of bed." "Is that so?" said Honor Bound thoughtfully. "Well then, I apologize for calling on you so early. I'll try not to make a habit of it." "No, no. It's my fault," I said. "A Wonderbolt has to be able to move at a moment's notice. I have no excuse." "Mmm. Very well then," said Honor Bound with a nod. "With that out of the way, I wish to make another apology on behalf of the Proud Pride. I heard from Kierra about Pierre giving you trouble." I had a feeling that this was what Honor Bound wanted to talk about. I sighed. "I'll tell you the same thing I told Kierra, Ambassador," I said. "I don't blame the Proud Pride for their captain's actions." "Drake also wishes to apologize," Kierra said. "He is a strong advocate of unity between ponies and griffons, and he would never attack anyone without provocation." Except that he did. I knitted my brow and adjusted my shades. "Did you get his side of the story like I asked?" I inquired. "Yes, but it's most baffling to me," said Kierra. "He said he had no control over his actions. The wind just seemed to, control his limbs and push him wherever it saw fit. It was almost as if some outside force was making him attack your comrade." I frowned. If this meant what I thought it meant, I had to tread carefully. "Actually, I believe you," I said. Kierra and Drake blinked. "You do?" Kierra asked. "I mean, we're grateful, but we both agree that it's incredibly bizarre." "The same thing happened to my team a few days ago," I explained. "Do you recall the incident at the Wonderbolt Derby, Ambassador?" "Mmm. I do indeed," Honor Bound mused. "You said that your teammates don't typically attack each other like that." "And they don't. We might have our differences, but we don't go at each other's throats," I said. "I talked about it with Fleetfoot, and she said there was some sort of strange gale that made her attack Rapidfire. I have a hunch that the same phenomenon made Drake attack Fleetfoot yesterday." Honor Bound placed a talon to his beak and struck a thinking attitude. "How very peculiar," said he. "What are you basing this hunch on, Captain Spitfire?" I took a deep breath. If what Pierre told me yesterday was true, then the griffons had a right to know about what I had to deal with for the past few days. "Kierra, remember what happened to Soarin' at the festival?" I asked. "How could I forget?" said Kierra. "What about it?" "It was actually part of a string of attacks that the Wonderbolts have been suffering lately," I said. "Ever since I first heard about the Ghastly Gorge Gauntlet, someone has been trying to pick my team off one by one." Honor Bound's eyes widened. Kierra's brow furrowed. Drake snorted and cracked his knuckles. "Ms. Spitfire, tell me everything you know about these attacks," said Kierra firmly. "I need to confirm something." "I'd be happy to oblige," I said. With that, I briefed them on all of the attacks, conveniently leaving out my conversations with Mare-Do-Well. Kierra nodded sagely. "It's just as I feared," she sighed. "Ambassador, I fear the tengu have followed us from the Griffon Kingdom." Well, that came out of nowhere. Honor Bound gave Kierra a stern glare. Before he could reprimand her, I had to step in. "Just a moment, Kierra," I said. "What's this about tengu in the Griffon Kingdom?" Kierra paused for a moment before whispering something to Honor Bound. Honor Bound whispered back and nodded, but gave Kierra a stern look as he did so. Kierra breathed a deep sigh. "Our land has recently been attacked by an unknown enemy," said she. "The Proud Pride was formed as a countermeasure. From what I've seen of the attacks combined with my research, I believe that it's the work of the remnants of the Tengu Dynasty." "Or it would be, if there was any such thing," Honor Bound added with disdain. "Kierra might have a good head on her shoulders, but this tengu obsession of hers sometimes clouds her judgment." Kierra opened her beak to protest, but instead let out a sigh and held her tongue. "Despite that, she may be correct," Honor Bound continued. "It's possible that our mystery assailants have come after you." Just as I suspected. Truth be told, this went a lot better than I thought it would. "I think I have some proof to that end," I said. "I presume that you're talking about the red cloth you showed me at the Wonderbolt Derby," said Honor Bound. "How did you know?" "I, had a little chat with Captain le Grand," I said sheepishly. "I'm, sorry for breaching protocol like this. I know you wanted to keep this information on a need-to-know basis." "There's nothing to apologize for, Ms. Spitfire," said Kierra. "You needed to know. The Griffon Kingdom and the Wonderbolts have the same problem, after all." "We just didn't know we did before," I said. "If we didn't have a legitimate crisis on our hooves and talons, it would actually be kinda funny." "Never mind the ironies, Captain Spitfire," Honor Bound said firmly. "This must be dealt with, and the Proud Pride will use any resource they can to assist." "I'd truly appreciate that, Ambassador," I said. "Actually, I've been doing some work on my own, and..." "SURPRISE~!" Heh, speak of the draconequus. Then again, Surprise always had a knack for perfect timing. "I'm here to report the status of the Meanie Trap, Cap-a-rooni!" she said with a salute. "The, Meanie Trap?" asked Honor Bound, raising an eyebrow. Kierra and Drake looked equally confused. "Yeah, Surprise has been working on a little something for our pest," I explained. "What's your status, Surprise?" "Everything is ready and raring to go, Cap!" said Surprise gleefully. "He or she won't know what hit him or her!" "Excellent. Good work," I said with a nod. "Dismissed." "Right-a-rooni!" said Surprise with a salute. With that, she flew off. Kierra cleared her throat. "Um, if you don't mind, I'd like to stay here and observe this, trap," she said. "I believe it's in our best interests to work together and see this through." Translation: She wanted concrete proof that this was a tengu. I made a mental note to look into that later. "It's no skin off my nose," I said with a shrug. "What do you think, Ambassador?" "I suppose it couldn't hurt," said Honor Bound with a shrug of his own. "Although because of Pierre being incapacitated, Kierra is acting captain of the Proud Pride. It wouldn't be wise of her to leave like this." "That will not be a problem, Ambassadeur Honor Bound." I turned around to see Pierre le Grand strolling in with his wing as good as new. Honor Bound scowled. "I do hope you learned something from your actions, Pierre," he snarled. "If it were up to me, you'd be out on your tail faster than you can blink." "I do not blame you for thinking this, Ambassadeur," said Pierre. "But rest assured, I will start taking my responsibilities seriously." "Words are cheap, Pierre. Let me actually see it," said Honor Bound before turning back to me. "Well, it seems that has been sorted. Be sure to let us know about any new developments, Captain Spitfire." "I shall, Ambassador," I said with a bow. "Thank you for taking this time to visit." "I wish you and Kierra the best of luck, Captain Spitfire," said Honor Bound with a bow of his own. "Fare well." With that, he took off into the air with Pierre and Drake quickly following. Kierra let out a deep sigh. "Everything okay?" I asked. "I'm just frustrated is all," said Kierra, sounding a bit dejected. "I know this is the work of the Tengu Dynasty, but no one else will believe me." I guess that can be frustrating, but I didn't have a response to that. I knew next to nothing about this Tengu Dynasty, or if it was connected at all to what was going on. Still, Kierra seems pretty adamant about this. There has to be a reason. My stomach made an audible growl and I blushed. Finding that reason would have to wait. "Um, you haven't had breakfast yet, have you?" I asked. "I have, actually," said Kierra. "Besides, I doubt your cook can make anything for griffons." Yeah, she had a point there. "Well, I need to get some food before I do anything else. But how about you drop by my office at, say, oh-seven hundred? I'd like to hear more about this Tengu Dynasty." Kierra smiled. "I'm glad you're willing to listen, Ms. Spitfire. Alright, I'll see you then. Um, where is your office, exactly?" Before I could answer, Crescent Moon came flying in. His timing couldn't have been more impeccable. "Captain, there's a bit of a problem," said he. "I just found a note in the mess hall saying that cloud busting drills are canceled for the day. I, didn't get prior notice of this." "That was Surprise's doing," I said. "Don't worry, she has a good reason for it. Hey, since you're here, I have a favor to ask you." "Yes, Captain?" "Kierra here is going to be staying with us today. Why don't you give her a bit of a tour while I go hit the mess hall? Just be sure to drop her off at my office at oh-seven hundred." Crescent took a second to process this, but immediately started jotting everything down on his clipboard once he did. "Y-yes, Captain. O-of course, Captain." I stifled a giggle. "Don't mind Crescent. He tends to be a bit skittish when it comes to things like this," I told Kierra. "So it appears," said Kierra with a shrug. She then gave Crescent a nod. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Crescent gulped. "P-pleasure's all mine, miss," he stammered. "Th-this way, please." As he led Kierra off for the impromptu tour, I flew over to the mess hall to get some well-deserved breakfast. Finally, it felt like things were starting to go in my favor. Of course, that's no reason to get complacent. There are still several unanswered questions that had to be addressed, and the assassin prick is still out there somewhere. But at least I'm making progress, unlike before when I felt like I was just spinning my wheels. I just have to wonder what all of this is building up to...