My Little Investigations: Wonderbolts Under Fire

by Metool Bard

Confrontation: Pierre le Grand

January 16, 14:28
Wonderbolt Academy
Infirmary
***

As soon as I got back to base, I wasted no time and went straight to the infirmary. Visiting Gypsy Moth gave me some time to cool down (don't ever think about making the pun), so I felt I could discuss things with Pierre in a calm, level-headed manner. I was just hoping he was willing to do the same as I entered the facility. The medical staff gave me a quick salute.

"What's the status on Captain le Grand?" I asked.

"Grumpy," said one of the nurses. "His wounds are superficial, but he's been giving us all a hard time."

Figures. I guess him being calm would make things too easy for me, and we couldn't have that, now could we?

"Let me see him," I said. "We have a lot to discuss."

"Of course, ma'am," said the nurse. "This way."

***

The nurse was not kidding around. Pierre looked incredibly ornery and bad-tempered as he lay in bed with a bandaged wing. Seeing me walk in the door didn't improve his mood any.

"I suppose you're going to say I deserve this, Capitaine Spitfire," he snarled.

"You're half right," I said. "Your subordinate Drake attacked Fleetfoot without any form of provocation, and you didn't even acknowledge it. Either you planned for that to happen, or you just didn't care. Whichever it is, I've seen cadets who are better leadership material than you."

Pierre snorted. "Is that why you came here? To insult me?"

"Celestia forbid," I said, taking a seat across from Pierre. "I came here to get some answers. I want to know what happened this morning, and why Fleetfoot was attacked. I also want to know about the Proud Pride."

Pierre's eyes narrowed. "That information is classified."

"I don't care," I said firmly. "I've been in the dark for too long about this, and unlike Ambassador Honor Bound, your talons aren't really tied. After what you pulled today, I doubt you're going to keep the title of 'Captain' much longer."

Pierre muttered something incoherent, probably some griffon obscenity I'm not familiar with.

"I'll tell you about the incident this morning," he said sharply. "But nothing more, you understand?"

"We'll see," I said. Pierre could resist my inquiry all he wanted, but I had an ace in the hole. He was gonna tell me everything about the Proud Pride, whether he wanted to or not.

***
Testimony: This Morning's Incident
***

"I have no idea what happened with Drake, nor do I care," said Pierre. "I may be eager to beat you, Capitaine Spitfire, but I would not resort to foul play. By the same token, however, accidents happen. And if the accident goes in my favor, then c'est la vie."

So the attack wasn't planned per se. He just didn't care about what happened to my team. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to break his beak, but that wouldn't get us anywhere. Besides, I had a feeling that the whole "accidents happen" thing was a load of horse apples.

"Your brother says you'd do whatever it takes to win," I said. "Do you deny that?"

"You're still hung up on that?" Pierre growled. "If I told you once, I told you a thousand times! I did not poison the tarts!"

"We're not talking about the tarts, Le Grand," I said sternly. "We're talking about you. Now, how far would you exactly go to win against us at the Ghastly Gorge Gauntlet?"

"I would not shy from using more, aggressive maneuvers," said Pierre. "But that would only happen at the race itself, not during a practice run."

Note to self: If Pierre isn't kicked out of the Proud Pride, tell everypony on the team to watch their six during the Ghastly Gorge Gauntlet.

"Tell me this, Le Grand. Do you happen to know Drake personally?" I inquired.

"Somewhat," said Pierre with a shrug.

"Is this the kind of thing he would do?"

"Not to my knowledge. He listens to Kierra more than he listens to me."

"Then, how are you captain?"

Pierre blinked. "Come again?"

"I think I've made it abundantly clear why I think you're a lousy captain," I explained, folding my forelegs. "And from what I've seen, Kierra has more leadership skills in the tip of her talon than you have in your entire body. So what genius looked over all of the griffons who were going to be part of the Proud Pride and thought that you would be a good leader?"

"Capitaine Spitfire, that is not only an insult to me, but to the Griffon Kingdom military as a whole!" Pierre roared. "Retract yourself this instant!"

Oh, man. I was not letting that one go. "So, the Proud Pride was formed by the Griffon Kingdom military?" I asked with a sly smirk.

Pierre's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. "No! No, you weren't supposed to hear that!"

"Too late," I said. "I already know from the Hippogriff Ambassador that there's something going on in the Griffon Kingdom, and now I know that the Proud Pride are related to that. Care to explain yourself, Le Grand?"

Pierre sputtered angrily, unable to formulate a retort. I had him right where I wanted him. After he had calmed down, he gave me a dirty look.

"You are a wily one, Capitaine Spitfire," he growled. "But that's all you'll get out of me. I'll never betray my country."

"Except for the sake of winning," I added. "Face it, Le Grand. If you tried to pull anything at the Ghastly Gorge Gauntlet, it would be disastrous for both our nations. Personally, I don't give a flying feather if the Proud Pride beats us as long as they beat us fairly. But all you care about is boosting your ego and putting it on display for everyone to see. Therefore, you don't have a wing to fly on. And don't say that remark was insensitive; I know your wounds are minor."

Pierre grunted. "Hmph. I'll give you this, Capitaine Spitfire. You certainly think as fast as you fly," he said. "Fine, I'll tell you what I know. But if anyone asks, you didn't hear it from me, got it?"

"I'll consider it," I said. In truth, I didn't plan on snitching on Pierre. I like to think I'm better than that. But if the Griffon Kingdom really was in a major crisis, I had to have the option to cite my sources.

***
Testimony: The Proud Pride's Origins
***

"The members of the Proud Pride were randomly selected for their flight skills," said Pierre. "We were told about a series of random attacks that had been going on in the Griffon Kingdom, and that our true mission was to find those responsible. So as not to alert this enemy, we took the guise of a simple flight team. We organized le Ghastly Gorge Gauntlet with le Hippogriff Ambassadeur as part of our cover."

So the Proud Pride was actually a covert ops group, and Pierre got his position out of pure luck. I can't say I was surprised by the latter, but the former just complicated things. Why would the Griffon Kingdom military decide that this was the best course of action? Sure, they got themselves some good fliers, but did anyone in the Proud Pride have any real combat experience other than Drake? I mean, Kierra was an historian before joining the team. Not to bash griffon military tactics or anything, but I'm not sure they thought this one through.

"Tell me more about these attacks, Mr. le Grand," I said.

"From what we've been told, they are very strange," said Pierre. "The target was always military-based. No civilians casualties. Also, they all occurred in the air."

"In the air?" I asked.

"Yes," said Pierre. "And it was always some sort of weather. Freak tornados, sudden squalls, gusts that could cut skin, all very odd things like that. There was even a report of an exploding cloud, although no one believes that one."

The mention of the exploding cloud immediately brought back memories of my own close call with such a phenomenon. Was this somehow connected to the assassin trying to pick off the Wonderbolts? I had to find out.

"Mr. le Grand, I have something for you to look at," I said, taking out the cloth I got from Mare-Do-Well. "Do you recognize this?"

Pierre raised an eyebrow. "We found that at the site of a few of the attacks. Why?"

"Because what's been happening in the Griffon Kingdom, may also be happening to my team."

Pierre's jaw dropped. "A-are you serious?!"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" I said. "Ever since I got that letter from Ambassador Honor Bound about the Ghastly Gorge Gauntlet, my team has been systematically attacked one by one. You already saw what happened to Soarin' at the festival, and I'm now thoroughly convinced that the same dock-hole is also stirring up trouble in the Griffon Kingdom."

Pierre let out a muted sigh. "Perhaps I have let my pride get the best of me, and it blinded me to my true duties," he mused.

"Gee, you think?" I said. "Look, if Ambassador Honor Bound wants to keep you around, it's no skin off my nose. But if you were under my command, I'd have you packing your bags and find someone else. Preferably someone who's able to put ego aside and get the job done."

Pierre chuckled dryly. "I will not disagree with you, Capitaine Spitfire. However, it's too late to change our command structure. I have already pledged my duty to the Griffon Kingdom, and until this threat is dealt with, I have to see it through. That's how it works with griffons."

I have no comment. It's a different culture, they have a different way of doing things, and we're obviously not going to always see eye-to-eye. It happens.

"Well, thank you for telling me all this, Mr. le Grand," I said. "It was most helpful."

Pierre grunted in response. Seems like he still wanted to keep that last shred of dignity he had left. Eh, he can have it. I've done enough to his precious ego for one day. But while I was here, I figured I'd go check up on somepony else...

***

After my discussion with Pierre, I went over to the room across the hall and lightly tapped the door.

"It's open," came a voice from inside.

I slowly opened the door and poked my head in. There was Misty Fly, still recovering from that first attack. Her wing was in a cast, and she didn't look all that happy about it. Seeing her like this made my heart feel like it weighed a ton.

"Hey, Mist," I said softly as I let myself in.

Misty Fly looked up at me, and a soft smile crossed her face. "Hey, Spitfire. It's good to see you," she said.

"How's the wing?" I asked as I sat down next to her.

"Still numb," Misty Fly groused. "I can't even move it." She then sighed. "Looks like I'll be missing out on the Ghastly Gorge Gauntlet."

"It's okay," I said. "You just focus on getting better."

"Will do," said Misty Fly with a nod. She then flattened her ears and cast her eyes downward. "I'm afraid to ask. How have you been holding up, Spitfire?"

"I'm not gonna mince words here, Mist," I said with a sigh. "It's been rough."

"I can imagine," said Misty Fly. "I saw them bring Fire Streak in after that attack a few days ago."

"It's not just Fire Streak," I said. "Someone out there wants all of the Wonderbolts dead. Rapidfire and Soarin' have also been attacked."

Misty Fly's good wing stood up on end. "Sweet Celestia. Spitfire, a-are you okay?"

"I'm still fighting," I said with a smile. "You know me, Mist. I'm not the type to crack under pressure."

"Maybe not, but I'd hate to see what your dreams are like," said Misty Fly. "They must be horrific."

"Actually, I haven't been sleeping much lately," I said sheepishly. "This whole damn thing is keeping me up."

"Perhaps you should try getting some sleep," suggested Misty Fly. "Everypony knows that Princess Luna can help you deal with any fears or worries you might have."

I sighed and shook my head. "It wouldn't change a thing," I said. "Whatever night terrors are locked away in my psyche, I'm gonna make sure they don't come true. I'm gonna find this dock-hole behind these attacks, and I'm gonna make him pay. You just wait and see."

Misty Fly giggled. "Spoken like a true captain," she said. "Still, I hope you're not planning on doing this alone."

"Blaze and Surprise have been helping out, plus I've got a few other friends in high places," I said. "I'll be okay, Mist. Trust me."

"I already do," said Misty Fly. "Hey, Spitfire?"

"Yeah?"

"You mind staying with me for a while longer? I enjoy your company."

I smiled. "Sure. No problem."

***

I stayed with Misty Fly for as long as I allowed myself, and then went back to my normal routine. Now that I knew the true purpose of the Proud Pride, it got me to thinking. Fleetfoot was attacked today, and that technically meant that the assassin filled his quota. But it was Drake who attacked her, and I still have yet to hear his side of the story. It was possible that the assassin used Drake to attack Fleetfoot just like he used Fleetfoot to attack Rapidfire, but was that actually the case?

At this point, I'm gonna say it's certainly a possibility. Why? Because the rest of the day went off without a hitch. Hey, I'm not complaining.

Comments

[Godiswithus3]

So............my theory was correct. The formation of the Proud Pride and the Ghastly Gorge Gauntlet was a cover to draw out the assassin and the Griffins come after him/her. The Griffin kingdom military and the wonderbolts have a common enemy, as I suspected. And I'm more than convinced that the assassin is a tengu. Still not sure if he/she is in the ranks of the Proud Pride, but it's a possibility.

Now, the question. Why attack the Wonderbolts. Is it a means to an end or a grudge? I think it is the former.

One more trail to pursue in today's crime scene. Interview Drake.

[SilverDiamond]

Piss poor attempt at solving the problem. They would be in hot waters or even war, if something happened to Wonderbolts while the Pride team races them...