My Little Investigations: Wonderbolts Under Fire

by Metool Bard

One Stray Spark

January 12, 17:00
Wonderbolt Academy
Training Ground
***

Anypony who has flown with me long enough knows that I'm a stickler for punctuality. If I say there's a meeting at seventeen hundred, I expect everypony attending to be there at seventeen hundred on the dot. So it's no surprise that when I arrived at the training ground, I was greeted by my team; all standing in a row at attention. I gave a nod of satisfaction and turned to address my fellow Wonderbolts.

"Alright, Wonderbolts! Sound off!" I ordered.

"Soarin', here!"

"Blaze, present and accounted for!"

"Misty Fly, reporting in!"

Each Wonderbolt called out their name in turn. Each of them, that is, except one. I had to roll my eyes. I knew all too well what was coming next.

Five, four, three, two, one...

"SURPRISE~!"

Yep, just as I suspected. The last Wonderbolt on the list, Surprise, flew up from behind me and shrieked right into my ear. She does this all the time.

"Reporting for duty, Cap-a-rooni!" the hyperactive white pegasus said with a salute.

I sighed. "Surprise, do you know what would really surprise me?"

"What's that, Cap?"

"If you didn't do that."

Surprise tilted her head. "I don't follow, Cap. Is this some sort of paradoxical riddle that I'm not supposed to get?"

"Never mind," I said. Seriously, trying to use logic with Surprise is like trying to solve a crossword puzzle with vague clues. It's possible, but if you keep at it for too long, it's gonna make your brain hurt. "Just get in line, alright?"

"Okey-dokey, Cap!" said Surprise with a salute as she dashed to the end of the line.

"So, what's this all about, Boss?" asked Rapidfire. "Crescent said you've got something important to tell us."

"I do indeed, Rapidfire," I said with a smile as I marched up and down the line. "This morning, I got a letter from none other than Honor Bound, the Hippogriff Ambassador."

The Wonderbolts began muttering amongst themselves before High Winds spoke up.

"What would the Hippogriff Ambassador want with you, ma'am?" she inquired.

"I'm glad you asked, High Winds," I said. "Apparently, he's planning to strengthen pony-griffon relations by creating a new event for the Equestria Games which both griffons and ponies can enter."

"Ooh, ooh! Ooh ooh ooh!" Surprise exclaimed, flailing her foreleg in the air like a filly trying to get the teacher's attention. I gave an exasperated sigh.

"What is it, Surprise?" I asked.

"Why do we need to strengthen our relations with the griffons? We already live together pretty peacefully."

That was, actually a pretty good question. I gotta hand it to Surprise; she always finds a way to live up to her name and catch me off-guard.

"I'm afraid I don't have the answer to that, Surprise," I said with a shrug. "Besides, that's not the reason I called you all here."

"Well, what iss?" asked Fleetfoot.

I gave my team a sly grin. "To test this new event, Honor Bound has organized a friendly competition at Ghastly Gorge a week from today. He wants us to race against the Proud Pride, the best fliers in the Griffon Kingdom."

"The who?" asked Wave Chill, tilting his head. "I've never heard of those guys."

"Me, neither," said Silver Zoom. "Are they new?"

"I suppose," I said. "Honestly, this is my first time hearing about them, too. But even so, I plan to take Honor Bound up on his offer. If these guys are supposed to be the best fliers amongst griffons, then it would be insulting if we just stood them up."

"I hear that, ma'am!" Fleetfoot proclaimed in agreement. "I'm alwayss up for a good racce!"

There was a general muttering of agreement from the rest of the Wonderbolts, punctuated by a squeal of glee from Surprise.

"This is gonna be so much fun!" she exclaimed, turning to Fire Streak. "Are you excited?! 'Cause I'm excited! Excited!"

"Glad to hear you're all on board," I said, lowering my flight goggles. "Because if we're gonna do this, we can't afford to do it half-assed. I already had Crescent Moon prepare the obstacle course for us, so let's get a few practice runs in before dinner."

"That's just like you, Spitfire. Always on top of things," said Misty Fly, putting on her own goggles. "I'm ready whenever you are."

That's what I love about my team, amongst other things. They're always ready to move at a moment's notice. Sure enough, the rest of them lowered their goggles and got ready for takeoff. I smiled.

"Good to hear, Wonderbolts!" I said proudly. "Now then, we'll divide into six wing pairs and take off in order. Blaze, you're with Surprise."

"Got it, Sis," said my younger twin with a salute.

"Soarin', you go with Wave Chill."

When Soarin' didn't respond, I looked up and had to groan. Even through his opaque goggles, I could tell that his eyes had completely glazed over. Honestly, I don't know what he thinks about half the time. The other Wonderbolts joke and always say it's pie, but I know better.

"Hey, Earth to Soarin'!" I snapped, clapping my hooves in front of his face.

"Huh, what?" said Soarin', shaking himself. "Oh, uh... Sorry, Spit. What was that?"

"You're with Wave Chill."

"Oh, right! Yeah, no prob," said Soarin' sheepishly.

I simply shook my head and continued going down the list. "Fire Streak, you're with Lightning Streak."

"Understood."

"Silver Zoom, you're with High Winds."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Fleetfoot, you're with Rapidfire."

"If he can keep up," said Fleetfoot with a sneer. Rapidfire scowled.

"Cut the crap, Fleet," I said, giving both ponies a stern glare. "This is exactly why I'm pairing you two. Both of you, get the Wonderbolt Derby out of your heads and fly as a team. You got me?"

Fleetfoot swallowed. "Y-yess, ma'am," she said meekly. Rapidfire gave a hasty salute of his own.

"Good," I said with a curt nod. "Misty Fly, you're my wing."

"I won't let you down, Spitfire," said Misty Fly.

"I know," I said with a smile. "Alright, Wonderbolts! Let's fly!"

With a chorus of acknowledgments, the Wonderbolts took to the skies in the wing pairs I assigned, starting with Blaze and Surprise and ending with me and Misty Fly.

***

At first, running through the obstacle course was pretty standard fare. We go through this sort of training all the time to keep ourselves in top form. If asked, I'd say that pretty much all of us could run the course blindfolded. I know I could. So while flying through the course, I usually find myself using the time to reflect, putting myself on autopilot as I get lost in my thoughts. This time around, I was thinking about my team.

Most new recruits see me as a hard-dock who doesn't take any crap from anypony. While that's true, there's more to it than that. Besides, you've already seen that we have our share of discipline issues. Soarin' often has his head in the clouds, Fleetfoot and Rapidfire have a tendency to be overly competitive, and Surprise is, well, Surprise. And trust me, there's a lot more that I could get into.

But you know what? None of that matters to me. For one thing, they know how to hide their flaws while performing. But more importantly, it makes them who they are. Nopony can take that away from them, least of all me.

I'm usually not a sappy pony, but when I'm asked about what my team means to me, I can't help but think about how much I care about each and every one of them. As their captain, I'm responsible for them. They're my comrades, and everypony knows I would never let them down. I'd even go so far as to call them my family (don't laugh. I can be sentimental when I want to be). They may follow my orders, but in the back of their minds, they can take comfort in the knowledge that I can steer them in the right direction. It's that mutual respect that makes us a great team.

And just when I was about to write this off as a pretty damn good day, disaster struck quite literally and turned my world upside-down.

I was snapped out of my daydreaming by a loud peal of thunder ringing in my ear. That already set off warning bells in my head. According to my autopilot, Misty Fly and I were nowhere near the thundercloud patch. When I stopped to take stock of what happened, I was surprised to see that Misty Fly was no longer by my side. Frantically, I looked around for my wingpony. After catching sight of a trail of smoke some ways back, it didn't take long for me to find her.

I looked down and gasped in horror. Sure enough, Misty Fly had been hit by that rogue thunderbolt and was falling fast. Without a moment's hesitation, I dove after her.

"Hang on, Misty Fly!" I shouted. "I'm coming!"

At least, that's what I think I said. My ears were still ringing from that thunderbolt. But that didn't matter. Nothing else mattered. I had to save her.

In a few short seconds, I managed to close the gap between us. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the thunderbolt had hit her pretty bad. Her right wing was completely singed, and she couldn't hope to recover. I slowly increased my acceleration, aiming to position myself under her and catch her that way. Pure adrenaline ran through my veins like wildfire, and my heart was going a mile a minute. I had to make this count, no matter what.

Just as I was within hoof's reach of her, she disappeared from my field of view. Utterly baffled, I stopped my dive and looked around again. This time, I caught sight of something that caused me to lower my goggles as my jaw dropped.

Carrying Misty Fly was perhaps the weirdest-looking pony I had ever laid eyes on. From the pony's build, I guessed that it was a mare, but I couldn't be sure. She was dressed in this bizarre costume, complete with a skintight body suit, a purple cape, and a wide-brimmed hat. The mystery pony landed on the tarmac below the obstacle course and set Misty Fly down gently. She then gave me a salute and flew off without another word.

I had countless questions running through my head, but I put them all on the back burner as I rushed to Misty Fly's side. I landed next to her, panting heavily as I looked over her barely conscious form.

"Hey, *pant* Mist. Y-you *gasp* alright?" I asked breathlessly.

Misty Fly tried to get to her feet, stumbling a bit as she did so. "I-I'm sorry, Spitfire," she said weakly.

"No. Don't apologize. You did nothing wrong," I assured her, holding out my hoof. "Need some help?"

"Th-thanks, Spitfire. I-I'll be okay, though," Misty Fly grunted as she continued to struggle. Honestly, I don't know why she bothered. I know false bravado when I see it.

"Hey, maybe you should save your energy," I said firmly. "You took a pretty nasty hit back there."

Misty Fly knew right away that I saw through her facade, and she let out a heavy sigh. "M-my wing feels completely numb, Spitfire. I-I don't know when it'll get better. I-I'm..."

"I told you, don't apologize," I interrupted. "Just take it easy, alright? I don't want you to push yourself."

"O-okay," said Misty Fly as she did as I asked. The other Wonderbolts crowded around from above, looking down at us.

"Everything okay, Spit?" asked Soarin'.

I gave Soarin' a dirty look. Seriously, what kind of question was that? Did he not see Misty Fly's condition? I let out a deep sigh.

"All of you, go hit the showers," I said. "Training's over for today. Oh, and Blaze?"

"What's up?"

"Get Fast Clip and Whiplash over here, on the double. Tell them to bring a stretcher. Also, get Crescent Moon in on this. I want him to find out what the hay happened up there."

"Right away, Sis," said Blaze with a solemn nod. With that, the Wonderbolts dispersed, leaving me and Misty Fly.

I looked down at my wounded comrade for the longest time. I'm not ashamed to admit it; I felt like crying. I was just so, relieved that she was still alive. But one thing about being a captain is that you have to know when it's okay to cry. And right then and there, Misty Fly needed me to be strong for her. So, I held it in until our security detail, Fast Clip and Whiplash, came in to take Misty Fly to the infirmary. After giving them a salute, I flew off to the barracks. I needed a cold shower and a lot of time to think.

Comments

[Skeeter The Lurker]

So far so good...

~Skeeter The Lurker

[ancientdragonduelist]

Mare-Do Well?

[Metool Bard]

2490870 You got it.

[Xyzpony]

(Singing) Mare do well!

[MariusIoannesP]

So far, I enjoy the characterization of Spitfire. The episodes "Wonderbolt Academy" and "Rainbow Falls" kind of presented her in a bit of a dark light. The noir presentation is also pretty good too. Noir is kind of a lost art form.

And Mare-Do-Well! Unlike a large number of our Brony brethren who have an almost pathological disdain for "The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well", I actually really enjoyed that episode. I wonder now how has taken up the mantle of Mare-Do-Well in this instance. I will continue reading to find out.

[Metool Bard]

4930365 Yeah, I understand that Spitfire gets a bad rap from those episodes; Rainbow Falls in particular. I'm firmly of the persuasion that she made a few bad calls, but that doesn't make her a bad pony.

[Godiswithus3]

Jeez. When the description said something bad happened to Misty, I didn't think that it was THIS serious. Lightning strikes are one of the things I fear a lot. *shivers*

And I did enjoy the introduction to the team and the personalities displayed on some them. Surprise obviously stood out to me the most. I have a feeling that she is going to put a smile on my face constantly in this story. And I can relate to Soarin here. I love pie and I tend to daydream a lot. Yup, this is sure is gonna be interesting.

And this is the first time I'm reading a story that has Spitfire as the main character, so I'm definitely gonna be entering into unknown territory here. This definitely caught my interest.