“Alright, newbies, on your positions!”
Spitfire looked carefully at the new Wonderbolts recruits, who would be subjected to the recruitment test today, “This is the notorious obstacle course. Surpass it in one piece and you’ll be one step closer to joining our team!”
Rainbow Dash had to grin. Even though it was some time ago that she had to run over the course herself, she remembered it well. She also had been confident at the time, and still excited and nervous. She was sure that the new rookies had great respect for the obstacle course as well. In the end, it was literally the biggest hurdle on the way to become a member of the best fliers this side of the Everfree Forest.
But unlike then, when she had to prove herself, the sun wasn’t shining today. On the contrary, the rain pattered on the runway, and thick clouds lay over the entire terrain. Rainbow wondered why the Pegasi of the weather control factory in Cloudsdale had planned a thunderstorm for this day, but they couldn’t change it now of course. Spitfire certainly knew about it, but somewhat more difficult conditions matched her character, so Rainbow guessed that she had deliberately chosen this day for the training and the test. As she eyed the contender ponies, the wind freshened up and blew her mane in her face. She wiped it aside and held it back with one hoof, so she wouldn’t miss the workout.
The test takers stood in a row at the runway and were waiting for the whistle of Spitfire to cross the obstacle course as quickly as possible, leaving as good of an impression as possible. The rings to fly through, the posts to fly around, and the poles to catapult in the sky were only one part of the completely modernized track, and promised additional difficulty because it was forbidden to fly with a wingpower under six at any time. All ponies wore a special harness, which always measured the current wingpower and, when it dropped under six for more than five seconds, automatically gave a loud ring and disqualified its wearer.
Spitfire again made sure that the first pony, a green young stallion with white mane and a sunbeam as a cutie mark was ready to start and then blew into her whistle. The stallion dashed off to the first obstacle and rounded the horizontal poles as required with a tight loop, flew a slaloming around the posts and crossed the rings with bravura. He stopped on the pole and pushed himself off it to catapult himself into the sky. He also performed some tricks, which were required in the course plan and finally dived down to the ground. He spread his wings at the last moment and landed safely in front of Spitfire. He smoothed his mane and looked hopefully at her.
With a wink to Rainbow, she acknowledged. “Almost a new record newbie. Congratulations you have passed.”
Lightened, the pony trotted away and stood to the side of the course to wait for the other ponies who would pass the test.
“Next! Do it like him, and we'll need some more beds in the barracks soon!” cried Spitfire and the next pony, a bright red mare with a yellow mane and binoculars as cutie mark made her way to the starting line. She looked nervously at the course and was now waiting for her start signal.
Spitfire's whistle sounded and the red pony flew off. Already at the beginning, Dash realized that this pony would have a way harder time at the course. She was much slower than her predecessor, and apparently also extremely nervous, as she almost immediately hit the first pole. Also, her loopings and the rounding of the poles were by far not as professional as the previous pony’s did.
She seemed to feel this too, for she was now trying with all her might to increase speed. She flew up to the pole with her legs outstretched, but instead of catapulting herself up into the sky, the scaffold suddenly gave way and the poor pony simply broke through. Completely shocked by this accident, she desperately tried to regain control of her dive and somehow get back up into the air again. But it was too late. She fell to the ground and crashed directly into the group of the other ponies, which waited for their turn.
Instantly, Rainbow and Spitfire ran in their direction to help if necessary. The fallen ponies stood aside shocked and left the leader of the Wonderbolts and her friend. The red pony had hit another one directly in her fall and both lay unconscious on the ground. The left-wing of the mare stood at an ugly angle from her body, and her right wing had lost almost all of her feathers during the landing.
The gray pony on which she landed had a deep wound on his right shoulder and several thick bruises from the hard crash.
“Dash! Call an emergency transport immediately! The rest of you, dismissed, now!”, she yelled aloud while trying her best to help the injured ponies.
The emergency transport, which Rainbow Dash called, arrived after a short time and took the two seriously injured ponies to the Cloudsdale hospital.
Spitfire was able to stop the bleeding as good as possible, but the two ponies were still unconscious.
In the meantime, Spitfire had a suspicious look at the broken pole, which the ponies were supposed to repel off. It had only been rounded up a few weeks ago together with the entire obstacle course and consisted of extremely stable oak.
"I don’t understand it, Dash. These bars can handle wing powers of up to 20, and not even us professionals can reach this level. And this pony barely reached seven wing powers though. That shouldn’t even bend the beam, let alone break it!" Spitfire was speechless and stared at the broken remains of the pole.
"I don’t know Spitfire, the plank is also brand new, and each of us went through the course yesterday too. Even Surprise and Soarin with their wing power of over 12 haven’t been able to even slightly damage it. That makes no sense.”
"The worst of all will be that tomorrow's newspapers will write about how dangerous the Wonderbolts training is, and that we would have extreme lack of safety. This could cause irreparable harm to our reputation.”
Rainbow Dash was outraged.
"That's what worries you the most?! What if the two injured ponies do not get through? The accident could cost them their lives, and you care for the reputation we lose?”
Spitfire calmed her down, "Of course, I'm worried about them, but I've already seen thousands of injuries and can assure you that the two will get well again. They’re both seriously wounded, but their wounds were not life-threatening.”
Rainbow Dash still disagreed, but left it with an angry look and went towards the barracks.
"I'll look for the recruits and calm them down. If you’re afraid of the reputation of the Wonderbolts, then call the police and claim it was a targeted attack on our camp," she said sarcastically and vanished into the barracks.
When Rainbow came back to the camp the next morning, she already saw from the distance that something was wrong. Everywhere were blue-dressed ponies to spot and the entire area was marked with barricade tape. Spitfire was standing at the accident site talking to one of the ponies that Rainbow could see as police. Without a trace, she flew toward her.
"You did not seriously call the police Spitfire? I can’t believe it. Please tell me you don’t really believe the course has been sabotaged.”
Spitfire did not answer but showed Rainbow a plastic bag with a brown, wet powder. She looked at it disbelievingly and looked at Spitfire questioningly.
"This is wood shavings, found under the pushing-pole. We have been sabotaged. Also on the surveillance camera are unknown ponies, which were here last night on the plant. Unfortunately, they aren’t identifiable, since the night vision function of the cameras are too weak.”
Rainbow was speechless. She’s actually been sure that her captain was just trying to save her reputation, but the evidence now seemed clear.
"Are there any suspects?" She asked skeptically and looked at the plastic bag with the powder again.
"No, but the policeman has already ordered an investigator group from Manehattan at my request. They will support us and hopefully enlighten the story. As long as the training facility is closed and the beginners have to take theory lessons. You’ll take care of that, Dash.”
"But…"
"No discussion Dash, let your friend Twilight help you if necessary. Dismissed.”
Rainbow Dash reluctantly went to the school building where the recruits were already waiting. How much she hated theory...
"So, what do we have today?" Copper Top looked at the pictures her pegasus colleagues had made at the crime scene in Cloudsdale, "poor construction?"
"A work accident at the Wonderbolts' site in Cloudsdale. Supposed sabotage," her colleague replied bored.
Copper Top had to smile. She knew how proud the Pegasi were of the Wonderbolts and their academy, and so they would try not to compromise the reputation of their prestige object. But the assertion of having been sabotaged was a new stage of the refusal of reality even for the Pegasi.
"Is there any evidence? Or do the Pegasi just claim something because they’re afraid of losing reputation?”
Her colleague shrugged.
"Our colleagues have some clues but nothing concrete. Apparently, the forensic team has found wood chips under the collapsed pole and the surveillance cameras have recorded a group of Pegasi at night on the area. However, the recordings are of poor quality and don’t allow identification of the suspects. Captain Spitfire has requested the best investigator of Equestria.”
“Because she didn’t have the time, I have to take over, right?"
Copper Top had to laugh. Although she and her team have already solved some tricky cases, she’d never call herself the best investigator of Equestria. Still, Spitfire had requested her, even though Cloudsdale was far away from her office in Manehattan. She seemed to have gained some prominence beyond the borders of her city, so that the leader of the country's best fliers had now asked her to solve the case.
Copper Top stood up from her chair and stretched.
"How does Spitfire want to take me to the crime scene? I mean, without wings, it will not be so easy to enter Cloudsdale. "She pointed at her wingless back.
Her colleague frowned.
"Spitfire said she'd make sure you could enter the city. But of course, she did not exactly say how she wanted to do that. But with her contacts to Canterlot and Ponyville, she will surely have an ace in her sleeve.”
Copper Top took her cap off the wardrobe and put on her sunglasses.
"Well, I'll be on my way. Wish me luck, guys!”
"You won’t need luck, Cop. Just a lot of patience with these Pegasi."
Copper Top said goodbye to her colleagues and headed for the station. Even with the train she would be traveling a few hours to Cloudsdale, so she quickly bought a newspaper at the kiosk and finally sat down on a bench at the platform. She still wasn’t sure of what to think about the whole situation. Of course, the Pegasi would try to protect their pride, but the evidence of sabotage couldn’t be ignored here. She pondered the pages of the newspaper and swerved the articles.
"The ten best tips for velvet-soft fur - from Aloe and Lotus of the famous Ponyville Spa", "Art or Mistake? The paintings of Discord from the second era," Copper Top was mad at herself for purchasing such a tabloid magazine. Two bits wasted for messages nopony cares for. She sighed and was about to put the newspaper aside as she noticed something on the page with the job advertisements.
A small block with a banner containing the mark of the Wonderbolts and crossed with a red line. Including a single sentence "End the military, stop the Wonderbolts!"
Copper Top frowned. Of course, the Wonderbolts were sort of a military unit for the protection of Celestia after Luna's exile, pronounced the "Protective Pony Platoon". But after the first year of peace and thanks to the famous General Firefly, they got a new job as aerial acrobats and with "Wonderbolts", also a new name. Their military roots are indisputable, but these days they are no longer intended for such actions. However, Copper Top recalled that she once read in a magazine that the Wonderbolts’ leadership was still dominated by generals of the Royal Guard, and for nostalgic reasons, defending Equestria is still the official reason of existence in the statutes of the Wonderbolts.
If these ponies really don’t want any military in Equestria, they should be ranting against the royal guard and not against the most talented aerial squadron in the country.
Bored, Copper Top put the newspaper aside and closed her eyes. The train would soon arrive and take her to Cloudsdale. She would get out of it, somehow enter Cloudsdale, investigate the crime scene, find out that there is no reason to assume that the area was sabotaged, and might be back in Manehattan before morning time tomorrow.
Work can be so simple, especially if she thought of the bold outboard surcharges on her pay...
While Copper Top daydreamed of her task, she suddenly heard a loud whistle, which made her snap out of her thoughts. The train was just driving in, and Copper Top was reluctant to enter. Many unicorns from Baltimare, who came to visit Manehattan on this Saturday morning, got out and Copper Top was now sitting practically alone with a few other ponies from Manehattan in their compartment.
The ride through half of Equestria would take a while, so she decided to make up for missed sleep. What else could she have done? Of course, she passed many places of interest, including the Neighagra Falls and, of course, the famous towers of the Canterlot Castle. But Copper Top was never a friend of sightseeing, so she didn’t care. As she dozed off, she heard the monotonous rumbling of the wheels over the tracks and the soft rustle of the traveling-car which eventually drove her into the realm of dreams.
Once again the deafening horn of the train ripped her out of her slumbers. Dreadfully, she looked at the clock and gasped. Did she really sleep for four hours at a time? During the day? She had to smile. Slowly, she should be seriously worried about her biorhythm ...
Copper Top got out of the train and looked around at the Cloudsdale station.
According to Spitfire's letter, she was to meet her contact here, who would take her to the actual city. However, she didn’t know who her contact would be, nor what they even looked like. So she had no choice but to wait at the platform. She could only hope that the proverbial punctuality of the Pegasi was not just a proverb. She sat down on one of the benches and, with all the boredom, almost wanted to get out the dreadful magazine that she bought at the train station in Manehattan, when a gray-green Pegasus with a curved yellow-green mane stood nervously in front of her.
Copper Top pushed her sunglasses down and looked at the mare in front of her.
After a short time of awkward silence, the unknown pony finally hesitantly opened her mouth.
"Um ... Miss Copper Top?"
Copper Top frowned.
"Yes?"
"I'm ... Vapor Trail from the Wonderbolts, Captain Spitfire sent me to pick you up from the train station."
Copper Top stood up, relieved, and stretched.
"Thank Celestia, I felt odd to just sit around here and stare holes in the air. Please, after you.”
With a hoof motion, she indicated Vapor Trail to lead the way and followed her through the small part of Cloudsdale that stood on the ground. Among other things, the station, the gardens and the large water reservoir were built here. Copper Top still couldn’t understand why the Pegasi were so long on it to send water by tornados from the surrounding villages and cities to Cloudsdale. She wondered every time who had such a weird idea and why they changed their minds so late. Once again the Pegasus pride stood in their own way. One could really only wonder at their arch-conservative lifestyle.
"Did you know that, despite the new visit offer to non-Pegasi, still only a handful of unicorns and earth ponies are visiting Cloudsdale?" Vapor Trail asked her as they arrived at the water reservoir.
"What?" Copper Top couldn’t remember ever hearing of something like a visit offer.
Vapor Trail sighed.
"I'm not surprised that you didn’t hear about it. Although the Pegasi officially welcome visitors, most of us unfortunately still believe that Cloudsdale should only be accessible to Pegasi. They follow the old credo, 'buy Pegasi – hire Pegasi'. They just want that it is ‘Pegasi first’, and therefore keep Cloudsdale with its position in the clouds as a symbol for their foreclosure policy.”
Copper Top interrupted her, grinning.
"No offense but we aren’t here to discuss politics. I don’t believe that I have the right to judge you anyway. You’ll have to make the judgment yourself. Could you please tell me now how I should get up there?”
She pointed to the city high up in the clouds.
"Sorry, I didn’t want to bother you with it. As I said there is a program to allow Unicorns and, above all, Earthponies access to our city. Since some years ago, Princess Twilight from Ponyville was here, using a spell that allows walking on clouds for everypony. Well, at least for a few days. However, we have hired some talented unicorns that can give visitors this ability. Officially from hospitality, but honestly, the responsible just hoped that the new tourism would bring a couple more bits to our funds...”
Copper Top had to squeeze a grin when she saw her companion blushed a bit at the last part.
At least not all Pegasi were so taken by themselves, as she knew it from the Pegasi from her hometown, and that definitely gave her hope.
Finally, they came to a modern-looking building, on which a sign with large letters said, “Tourist Office”.
Copper Top followed Vapor Trail to a counter in the center of the entrance area.
An extremely bored Pegasus pony sat there at a desk and looked at the two with an expressionless look.
"Welcome to Cloudsdale, two tickets?" she asked in a sonorous voice.
"No, just one ticket please." Vapor Trail responded, pointing at her own wings.
The reception pony rolled only with her eyes and quickly used the cash register in front of her. She took five bits from Vapor Trail and gave Copper Top a small blue paper ticket in return. Without a word, she pointed to an entrance with a few turnstiles in front of it and then went back to her work.
Vapor Trail looked down sadly.
"I’m sorry but as I said, many of us think it's a bad idea."
"It’s alright, what do I have to do now?"
Vapor Trail pointed at the entrance with her hoof.
"You hold the ticket in front of the reader and then go down the corridor. A unicorn will then equip you with the ability to safely enter Cloudsdale. Then you take a balloon and it will carry you to the city. I'll pick you up at the station.”
Copper Top shrugged her shoulders and looked at the ticket thoughtfully.
"Alright, then I'll see you upstairs. See you later."
But Vapor Trail was already half way to the exit and turned around quickly to wave at Copper Top before leaving the building through the large glass doors.
With a sigh, Copper Top headed for the turnstile and held her ticket in front of the reader. A bright beep, followed by a green light above the turnstile, showed her that the ticket was valid and let her pass.
As she entered the balloon, she noticed that she was apparently the only visitor to the trip, because according to the timetable, the balloon was about to take off in two minutes and there was nopony else on board. However, she scarcely wondered. Especially because of missing advertising and probably also the not particularly friendly staff, even the entrance hall was almost completely empty when she and Vapor Trail entered it. When the balloon finally lifted up, Copper Top was still alone in the basket and could only smile again at the so-called efforts to lure tourists to Cloudsdale. The empty balloon was a clear sign of how seriously this idea was actually implemented.
The journey through the clouds lasted only a few minutes and when she broke through the upper layer of clouds, she saw the city in the clouds with her own eyes for the first time. She had heard a lot about Cloudsdale, but its actual beauty was indescribable.
She looked suspiciously at the clouds, which served as a base here, hoping that the unicorns also knew what they were doing. Finally, she took a heart and carefully set a hoof off onto the clouds. At first, she thought the spell did not work, as she sank a little in the cloud. She was already about to panic and to jump back into the balloon, but her hoof dipped only a few millimeters into the clouds and found a firm foundation.
Disbelieving, she gradually put all four hooves on the clouds, and in fact, she was standing on the cloud cover. She couldn’t resist a smile. The magic really worked. Even though she was always suspicious of magic, and rather trusted to the good and honest work of her hooves, she was thrilled this time by the possibilities that the magic offered to the unicorns.
Almost a little jealous, she left the balloon's landing place and already saw Vapor Trail approaching her.
"Great, you’re already here. Then we can go to the headquarters. Captain Spitfire is waiting for us!”
Copper Top was still overwhelmed by the fact that she could actually enter Cloudsdale and looked around fascinated.
"That's incredible. I've heard a lot about this town and also saw some pictures. But to stand here is something completely different. I'm speechless…"
Vapor Trail blushed again and looked shyly at the ground.
"Yes, it's really beautiful here, isn’t it?"
Then she shook her head and pointed to a large stadium a bit off the actual city.
"There’s the terrain of the Wonderbolts. Come with me, they’re expecting us."
She flew off and Copper Top followed her as best she could. The unaccustomed underground gave way at every step, as if she was running over cotton wool, making walking on it even more difficult. But after a few meters, her legs got used to the ground and she was surprised how easy and above all, pleasant, it was to walk on the clouds. Once again, she became envious of the Pegasi. Hopefully, they were aware of what a wonderful gift they received with their wings...
Copper Top was more than just satisfied with the filigree structures from which the houses had been built. It must have seemed almost ridiculous for a stranger pony, seeing her running through the streets with the bright grin of a little foal, and absorbing almost every single building. Fortunately, at this time hardly any other ponies were on the road, as most of them were at work now. From time to time, one of them flew over her or trotted past her, watching her in disbelief, as she had no wings. However, most of the time Vapor Trail and Copper Top remained unnoticed.
"Can you tell me something about the incident, Vapor?" Copper asked, just before they reached the big cloud gate, which marked the entrance to the Wonderbolts camp.
But Vapor shook her head.
"No, I hardly know anything myself. My squadron had free time on the day and I wasn’t even in Cloudsdale when it happened. I probably know less than you do.”
Copper Top shrugged.
"Well, thank you for bringing me here. I'll look for Spitfire and hopefully I can get some light on the matter.”
Vapor Trail smiled slightly embarrassed and made her way to the accommodation on the other side of the camp. Copper Top sighed and stepped through the great gate to the meadow in front of the runway. Even though she herself wasn’t a real ‘fan’ of the Wonderbolts, she had to admit that their talent was indisputable and that their position as one of the hanger signs for Equestria was well deserved.
Nevertheless, the almost exaggerated self-infatuation of the Pegasi still made her frown. Especially when she looked at the Wonderbolts Stadium at the left end of the training ground. The huge building overtook everything in its surroundings and dominated the entire district of Cloudsdale. Even if Copper Top did not really like this show, she was still a bit excited to meet the leader of the best aerial team in Equestria.
Spitfire gravely sat at her desk, studying the newspaper, where reports and alleged background information on the "tragic incident on the grounds of the Wonderbolts" were already found. After reading the fourth interview with one of the many "experts", she couldn’t take it anymore and slammed the newspaper with anger on her desk. The general message of the press was exactly what Spitfire tried to prevent: The Wonderbolts and their systems were presented as unreliable and dangerous and this meant a severe loss of reputation for the entire team.
But above all she personally felt attacked by the many voices, which now got louder on the streets. Voices who thought she couldn’t handle the situation and became careless and inattentive by her long-standing commitment to the Wonderbolt's leadership. However even if she would never accept any self-doubt, she had to take responsibility as the leader of the team. She knew she wasn’t the one to blame, but she was ultimately responsible for security on the grounds and had failed. Two ponies under her supervision were severely injured; the course was damaged and the reputation of the Wonderbolts is probably permanently polluted.
She would have liked to lock herself up in her house to escape all problems but she was in the business long enough to know that it wouldn’t fix anything. Running away from problems won’t solve them.
But before Spitfire could continue to ponder, somepony knocked at her door.
She sighed and threw the crumpled newspaper into the paper basket.
"Come in!"
The door opened and her adjutant, Fleetfoot, entered and saluted.
"Captain Spitfire, the pony from Manehattan's investigation team has arrived."
"Thank you, send her in." Spitfire gestured to Fleetfoot with a hoof motion, and Copper Top came in hesitantly.
"Good morning, Spitfire, my name is Copper Top and I was sent to help you clarify the latest incident on your site."
Spitfire looked at her confused.
"Wait, just one pony? I asked for a whole investigation team!”
"I ... I'm sorry but I was told to come alone. I don’t know anything about requesting an investigation group. But I'm sure there are talented policemen in Cloudsdale who can help me if necessary.”
Spitfire sighed. The day seemed to be getting even better and better. Not only was she sure that the Cloudsdale police was completely incompetent after days without any significant results, but also now a single pony from Manehattan was about to solve all of her problems. Apparently, the generals in the board were not aware of the seriousness of the situation ...
"Well anyways, I should perhaps get you up to date. Your colleagues have already made a couple of interesting discoveries that underline my suspicion of sabotage.”
Spitfire stood up and led Copper Top through the corridors in one of the classrooms, which was converted as an evidence room. Neatly lined up on the tables were the individual evidences that have been secured until now.
"As you can see, we have not too much to go on. But what we do have, in my opinion speaks for itself.”
Copper Top looked closely at the evidence. First, she noticed a series of plaster casts that surely came from the hooves of the alleged saboteurs.
"You've been able to assign them yet?" She asked, pointing at the marks.
"No, unfortunately it probably won’t be possible. On the day of the attack on our system it rained heavily. The tracks were barely visible, making the backup hard.”
“I see," said Copper Top, "and what’s this? “She pointed to a videotape labeled "C17-night.”
"This is the surveillance tape of one the cameras that captured the invaders on the night of the attack. Unfortunately, the quality is lousy and the four ponies that can be seen, also wore masks. Therefore, identification is impossible.”
Copper Top shrugged.
"I would still like to watch the tape again, maybe my colleagues have missed something."
Spitfire raised an eyebrow. Most likely these idiots had missed something ...
Copper Top went down the table and picked up a small plastic bag in which a damp brown powder was. She looked at it interested and frowned.
Spitfire stood with a confident grin beside her.
"This is probably the clearest evidence of sabotage. Under the ruined bar we found this powder. We are pretty sure that this is wood chips. This would prove that somepony has been sawing the pole.”
Copper Top set the bag back down onto the table and looked at the last object on the table in a crumpled paper with a few dark spots.
"And what is this?" She asked skeptically.
"We don’t know exactly, the investigators before you found it near the entrance under a hazel tree and consider it a kind of coded message or something."
On this statement, even Spitfire had to grin. To interpret this dirty paper as a cryptic message, could only be an attempt by the police to not let the Evidence table look too empty. At least she for herself didn’t recognize any value in this "piece of evidence".
Copper Top also put it a bit incredulously back and turned to Spitfire.
"If you allow, I would like to see the scene again and if possible, speak with the witnesses. Although I know that you're also a witness as the other ponies, but maybe they’ve noticed something that might have escaped you.”
Spitfire looked at her blankly.
"Well, as you like, but they’re still all a little confused because of the incident. If you need me, you’ll find me in my office. My adjutant Fleetfoot will accompany you and assist you as much as possible.”
With these words Spitfire left the room and Fleetfoot stepped in briefly.
"The captain told me to help you with your investigation. What do you need?”
"First show me the site of the accident, I’d like once again to look around there. After that, I want to talk to the ponies who witnessed the incident and in the end, I would like to talk to the guards who were on duty on the night of the alleged sabotage.”
Fleetfoot looked at her stunned.
"Alleged Sabotage? The system of the Wonderbolts would never be easily damaged like that. Only the best materials and the most talented craftsponies are good enough for our matters!”
Copper Top resisted the temptation blankly to shake her head and just asked Fleetfoot to show her the way to the site of the accident. Fleetfoot she was still reproachfully looking at her, but led her on the obstacle course at the training ground without further comments.
She pointed a hoof on the broken pole on which the flyers should repel from.
Copper Top looked meticulously around and when she looked at the breaking point, she had to admit that Spitfire might actually be right: In an irregular pattern that looked almost like a breaking point, she realized clearly there were saw marks.
She cleared her throat and looked at Fleetfoot.
"I think you’re right. There are definitely saw marks in the wood, even if they were cleverly disguised as a fraction. The bar has been willfully damaged before the break. A complete break was inevitable.”
Fleetfoot looked at her both triumphant and slightly surprised. It appears that the investigators of Cloudsdale actually oversaw this hint and just randomly placed the correct hypothesis only thanks to the chips.
Copper Top looked further at the immediate vicinity but didn’t discover anything else. The hoof prints of the alleged perpetrators were no longer recognizable as fresh tracks were to be found everywhere in the soil.
"Looks as if my dear colleagues made every effort to destroy all potential traces," Copper Top said disappointed, "Well anyways, I'm not going to find anything else here. Could you please show me the accommodation of recruits? I'd like to talk to them.”
"Then you'd better go to the classrooms. They have only theory lessons with Rainbow Dash since the field is closed.”
Copper Top tried to smile as friendly as possible.
"Well, I follow you. Please lead the way. "
Fleetfoot brought her back to the main building and to exam room A3, where Rainbow Dash just held a lecture about Commander Easy Glider, the founder of modern Wonderbolts. At least, this was on the occupancy at the door, for in truth she was sitting in the back row with half-closed eyes, while her students held group talks about the Commander.
But when Rainbow Dash heard the door and saw that one of her comrades entered the room, she ran immediately to the podium and pushed the presenting students rudely aside.
"... and so, the commander took care of it and that what made the Wonderbolts became the ace team they are today!"
She turned to the door and acted as if she had only by now noticed Fleetfoot and Copper Top.
"Oh Fleetfoot, I was just in the middle of my lecture. What’s going on?"
Fleetfoot just looked at her with a smile and showed her with a wink that she knew who really held the lecture.
"Crash, the detective here wants to consult a couple of your ‘listeners’. Or are you too engrossed in the topic?”
Rainbow laughed sheepishly. Still it was very unpleasant for her to hear that nickname in front of other ponies.
"All good, I was just at the end of this chapter anyways. Sidewinder! Wing Tip! You stay here and help the police, the rest of you are free. Dismissed to the barracks!”
Gradually the room emptied until only Rainbow Dash, Fleetfoot, Copper Top, and the two other ponies, a purple mare with a jagged yellow mane and a dark blue stallion with a nearly shaved black mane were in the room.
"Dash and I will leave you alone. When you're done with the interview, I'll wait for you here Copper Top. Recruits, you then go to the barracks!”
The two ponies saluted hastily and Fleetfoot left the lecture room with Rainbow Dash.
"Well, you two, I'm going to ask you some questions about the accident a few days ago. Maybe you can help me shed some light on this matter.”
Both pegasi nodded and sat with Copper Top at a table.
"Well, then tell me what you have seen ..."
"Do you really think that they will find something out? I mean the police of Cloudsdale thought they had everything under control and would have solved this case in a short time. Why is this investigator from Manehattan here at all?”
Fleetfoot raised an eyebrow.
"Seriously Dash? The police Cloudsdale are a bunch of idiots. They would say in a hundred years that they are about to catch the perpetrators. It was Spitfires personal desire to get a team from out of town who do their job also reasonable and reliable.”
Rainbow Dash sighed.
"You're right. Every time I see the police ponies, they sit in the donut shop and cram. But nothing ever happens in Cloudsdale. How are they supposed to work professionally?”
" I don’t know Dash, but if they cannot make reasonable of their work, they should look for another line of work. "
" Nevertheless, is it common to make fun of them Fleetfoot? I'm sure they do their best, just like we always do.”
Fleetfoot shook her head.
"It's not mean to be honest. I tell the truth and you know it. It may be uncomfortable, but it's true.”
Rainbow Dash had to smile. Fleetfoots character, to always point out uncomfortable truths ruthlessly and yet still fair, she always reminded her of her good friend Applejack. The two would certainly understand right away.
After about fifteen minutes Copper Top opened the door and the two Pegasi she had talked to, hurriedly left the training room.
Rainbow Dash was now also gone and Fleetfoot approached her.
"And what did you learn?"
Copper Top shrugged.
"Unfortunately, nothing I didn’t already know. Spitfire had informed me on the way to the evidence room already on the events, of the two ponies, unfortunately, they didn’t knew anything else. Anyway, could we go to the surveillance station now?”
“Right, Spitfire wanted to see you once more before she travels to Canterlot.“
Copper Top looked at her questioningly.
"Canterlot? What does she want there?”
"Meeting the top generals of the Royal Guard and at the same time the management level of the Wonderbolts. As you probably know, we’re traditionally still are part of the military. Even if our work is only civilian nature nowadays, we are still officially a part of the Guard. Spitfire wants to know about the status of things and to point out the urgency to take this crisis seriously. Hopefully she succeeds because in the streets, ponies say that she can’t handle the problem...“
A short time later Copper Top was back in Spitfires office and looked at her quizzically.
"You wanted to see me again Spitfire? Unfortunately, I can’t present any results at the moment but I’m now fairly sure that a sabotage from outside is most likely.”
Copper Top hoped her words would make Spitfire leave at least somewhat satisfied, but she only looked at her with a dark face and gave her a newspaper without saying a word.
Copper Top took it, and shortly thereafter, she knew why Spitfire wanted to see her and why her mood was so bad. On the side with the letters to the editor she found an anonymous article, which was undoubtedly the act of sabotage on the Wonderbolts camp directly:
The incident at the training facility of Wonderbolts was not an accident, how the media represent it! We take responsibility for the attack on the site and promise that it will not end by that. The military affiliation of Wonderbolts was too long glossed over and trivialized. We refuse warmongering and military propaganda - be it ever so well camouflaged - endorse in our beloved city. And therefore, we will not rest until the Wonderbolts either leave town or dissolve voluntary. Anypony who has sympathized with them now is our target! We will find you and point out your faults; in our own way...
Copper Top was speechless. She had counted on a lot but not with a radical group of autonomists which would look at the traditional connection of Wonderbolts with the Guard as "military propaganda" and would therefore attack the lives and health of ponies.
"I had secretly feared that this would happen one day. There have always been individual voices, which didn’t like our union with the Guard. But now that it actually came to this, I never thought this could be possible. I will inform my superiors and they might be able to convince the princesses to have equipped our premises with more guards. We need to protect our staff as much as possible, but with this message, each pony in Cloudsdale will be afraid to support us or even to become a new member. I want you to concentrate on the autonomists and arrest those who are responsible. Every day when they are at large harms us more and more.”
Copper Top understood all too well. Also back home in Manehattan, there were small groups of anarchists who wanted to make the work of the police more difficult. But attacks of this kind had never experienced before.
"Don’t worry Spitfire, I'll grab them. The group announced further attacks on which might enable me to catch them with a bit of luck in the act.”
Spitfire looked grateful, but also desperately. The Wonderbolts were her life, she had invested many years and energy years in the job as captain of the squad and therefore regarded the attack on their team as an attack on herself. It was obvious to her that these incidents and in particular the claim of responsibility in the newspaper hit her hard.
"Thank you Copper Top, I hope you succeed. We can’t afford any further attacks without our reputation suffering irreparable damage. I'll give you a master card, so you can have full access to all places of Wonderbolts. This should help you find the saboteurs.”
Spitfire dug out of a drawer a silver badge, put a blue stamp on it, and then gave it to Copper Top.
She took the card and put into her chest pocket.
"Thanks Spitfire, I promise I’ll do my very best."
Spitfire smiled and nodded to her.
"Good luck, I’ll see you in a few days, hopefully with some better news."
Copper Top smiled back as confidently as possible, but knew that their task was not nearly as simple as it sounded.
She left the office and made her way to the surveillance office, to check the tapes again and talk to the security ponies. She knocked on the door and a senior gray pony with a black mustache opened it.
"Yes? What can I do for you?”
Copper Top cleared her throat.
"I'm Copper Top of the police of Manehattan and here to find out the reason for the attack on your ground. Spitfire said I could take a look at that video of the crime night here.”
The other pony looked at her a bit confused, but then spotted the silver badge in Copper Tops pocket and nodded.
"Alright, the captain said that you would come. Please come in.”
Copper Top entered the small room, which was filled with screens and other technical equipment that she had never seen before.
"Coffee?" The warden Pony asked, while he filled a cup for himself.
"Oh, no thank you. I'm a little pressed for time.”
The guard shrugged, put the pot aside again and pulled out the tape.
"Well, this here is a copy of the original in the evidence room. Unfortunately, the Cloudsdale police forbade us to use the original. For “tactical reasons” or something. Well anyways, the interesting passage is about one minute long.”
He put the tape into the player and immediately an unfortunately very blurry recording of the entrance area of the obstacle course appeared on the screen.
"Camera C17 is the only one that has recorded anything worth mentioning that night. The attackers must have avoided the other cameras and C17 is too central, as that they couldn’t have walked around it.”
He pressed the play button and soon Copper Top saw a small group of four black-clad Pegasi, who carried something that looked like a big tool box. The security pony skipped about 15 minutes and when he resumed to the video, Copper Top saw the group moved away quickly into the other direction.
The guard stopped the tape and took it out of the player.
Copper Top looked at him incredulously.
"Wait, that's all? That wasn’t very helpful.”
He shrugged.
"I'm sorry, C17 is geared only to the front of the training field and therefore has not recorded the bar, which was sawed. Although with C16, we have a camera right at the end of the obstacle course, which would have had a very good view of the bar, but it is switched off for maintenance for a couple of days already.”
Copper Tops eyes slightly widened.
"Good thank you. I don’t know if this will help, but still thank you for taking time. If I have any questions, I’ll come to you.”
The gray pony smiled.
"Roger that. Glad I could help. If you still need something, you can find me here. My shift runs until tomorrow. Thanks to the attack, the security station is now staffed every minute. Order of Spitfire.”
Copper Top turned around and left the room with a thoughtful face. She had an idea, but wasn’t sure if she didn’t miss anything imortant. The conversation with the security guard certainly had given her far more information than she thought.
Deep in thought she finally sat down on a bench in the training area and looked at the course. Normally, the recruits would be training here now and be putting their skills on display. However, due Spitfires instructions still prevailed a curfew for recruits, so that an almost ghostly emptiness prevailed.
Even if she still thought that the Wonderbolts and their way of working was a bit exaggerated, she really felt sorry for Spitfire. She stood with her whole heart for the Wonderbolts and their conversation just before her departure to Canterlot she felt her despair significantly. Copper Top knew that she had to help her with all her experience. The Wonderbolts were a part of Equestrias history and to see them on the ground hurted even her.
Suddenly she was torn by a blast from her thoughts. She looked around and realized immediately that something must have happened. From one of the barracks of the recruits, a dark black cloud of smoke raised and high flames hit through the roof. Copper Top jumped up and ran the distance from the obstacle course over to the accommodations as soon as she could. Even from the distance she saw the recruits running out of the building and to a safe location. Some tried to push clouds from the environment through the flames to extinguish them with rain but Fleetfoot and Rainbow Dash called them back vigorously. The risk of being injured simply was too high.
Copper Top quickly ran over to them.
"What happened?" she asked breathlessly.
"There was an explosion in the lounge that damaged a gas pipe. We have stopped the gas but the flames have captured the entire building. Fortunately, most recruits were in the canteen and not in the accommodations. And by our count, nopony is in the barracks. It was fortunate. The fire department should be here soon but I am afraid that the barracks will burn down.”
Fleet Foot stomped on the ground.
"There are no open fires and no valves in the gas line at the lounge. There might not even arise a spark! I don’t understand that!"
After a short time, the fire brigade arrived and positioned their large rain clouds above the building. The fire chief gave the order and in seconds rained thousands of liters of water onto the fire, which died shortly thereafter.
The fire chief, and two other ponies were on site as a fire watch while the remaining squad went back to the department. In the meantime, Rainbow Dash brought the recruits to the classrooms and Fleetfoot stood next to Copper Top in front of the still steaming remains of the accommodation barracks.
"I go to the surveillance office again, perhaps the inner camera has recorded anything inside the building. You can go and try to find anything suspicious in the barrack, maybe yo’re lucky. I can’t imagine that this was a coincidence. Not after I’ve read this letter in the newspaper...”
Fleetfoot nodded and went to the fire chief, to ask if she could enter the ruins. Copper Top ran back over the facility to the security room. If she was lucky, this will show the shots of what is really happening.
She knocked on the door once more and the gray pony opened with a smile.
"Oh, Copper Top. That was fast. I was just maintaining the camera links. Can I help you?”
Copper Top looked at him incredulously.
"Haven’t you noticed that one of the barracks burnt down? One of the cameras may have recorded something and I need to check this immediately!”
The gray pony frowned.
"What happened? I'm sorry but the place here is almost soundproof, I get almost nothing from the outside in here, and I also have to disappoint you with the cameras. After you left, I turned off the monitors to check the connections, as prescribed in the maintenance schedule. Unfortunately, this is the only way how I can do this. I am a bit in a hurry, I have to be ready no later than the arrival of the delivery uniforms.”
Copper Top was stunned. Once again, she had nothing, even if perhaps another attack had taken place directly in front of her.
"I'm really sorry, Copper Top, I'm just doing my job here ..."
The guard looked down in shame, but then smiled slightly.
"Fortunately, nopony was hurt right? That's at least something ...”
Copper Top nodded and left the office in silence. But in her mind, an image slowly seemed to emerge. She felt that she was about to approach the solution and that this "incompetent" security pony it perhaps just gave her the decisive tip. She now had to avoid arousing any suspicion. Or it was all for nothing.
Halfway back to the barracks Fleetfoot excitedly ran towards her.
"I found something! The fire department declared the building for reasonably safe and I was able to look around a bit in the former lounge. And I've found this here.”
She gave Copper Top a small, heavily blackened metal cylinder and a pair of charred cables that were attached to a battery.
"In the ground of the living room, just above the gas line was a small hole in the ground. It must have been leaking gas afterwards, which was then ignited with this thing here from a distance.”
Copper Top looked at the other cylinder.
"And what exactly is this?"
Fleet Foot's face darkened.
"Open it, then you'll understand it ..."
Copper Top frowned and turned on the closure until the cylinder opened with a scraping sound. A crumpled piece of paper and a photo fell out and Copper Top took both.
On the photo, she saw a pony in the living room that was sitting on the floor with some kind of a tool. Probably this was the Saboteur as he drilled the gas line, Copper Top suspected. According to the time stamp of the camera that shot this photo, it was taken less than an hour ago.
Copper Top put the photo in disbelief aside and now unfolded the note. It said with a spidery writing:
We are legion. We will neither forget nor forgive. End the militarization! Expect us.
Copper Top gave the items back to Fleetfoot.
"I think I know where the group will strike next, but I need your help Fleetfoot. We must not waste any time!”
Fleetfoot looked at her firmly.
"Tell me what you need. I promised Spitfire that on her return that everything will be fine, and I tend to keep that promise!”
Copper Top grinned.
"Well, please take the things you found to the evidence room and then come to the obstacle course, and bring with Rainbow Dash and the roster of the logistics department. I take a look at the ruined barracks again myself. Hurry up, I’ll explain it to you then!”
Fleetfoot flew off to the main building to do what Copper Top had asked of her. Copper Top herself went back to the remains of the room and looked around the living area, and indeed, in the black sooty floor, she found a small hole, which was the exact spot where the foreign pony had been sitting in the photo.
The puzzle now started to add slowly together into a clear image, and at least the explosion in the lounge was no longer a mystery. The escaping gas filled the room and with a pony in the barracks, nopony noticed the smell of gas, let alone the suspicious pony. From a safe distance, it caused a short circuit on the battery and the resulting spark ignited the gas.
So far, so simple. But if she was wrong in her current plan to catch the attacker, she maybe wouldn’t get a second chance to solve the case. Everything depended on to not make any mistakes now.
Copper Top made her way to the obstacle course and shortly after she arrived, Fleetfoot and Rainbow Dash flew toward her.
They landed next to her and Fleetfoot gave Copper Top the roster.
"Here, now please explain to us what you're planning."
Copper Top took the roster and scanned it quickly. Then she turned it to the two Pegasi, pointing to the schedule for today. Only one delivery today was still pending, a transporter with new uniforms for the recruits who had passed the intermediate examination, was expected in two hours.
Fleetfoot and Rainbow Dash looked confused at each other.
"And what does that mean?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I'm sure this will be the next target of the saboteurs. On each attack, the older gray pony was on duty and always had some maintenance of certain cameras on his own schedule. And I can’t imagine that the saboteurs will be able to resist attacking a loading wagon full of Wonderbolts uniforms. We have to go find the truck, enter it unnoticed and wait there. With a little luck, we catch the group in the act when they start tampering with the uniforms.”
Fleetfoot looked at her skeptically.
"What do you need us for then?"
"I'll never make it there in time, I need a Pegasus which can fly me there. But because you aren’t allowed to arrest ponies, we need a police officer to be there. Rainbow Dash, you come with me please. The two of us should be able to overpower the attacker.”
Fleetfoot raised an eyebrow.
"But what shall I do then? Standing around idly, I don’t think so!”
"You have to get access to the security office unnoticed and record this gray pony with a camera. If he really works with the saboteurs, we need evidence. There is certainly a maintenance shaft or a ventilation system where you can watch him ...”
Rainbow Dash thought for a moment.
"Yes, there is a ventilation duct to the Security Office. You can reach it from the room of the janitor.”
Fleetfoot looked at her in surprise.
"How do you know, Dash? Did you ever went there?”
Rainbow Dash blushed slightly and nodded ashamed.
"Well, when I was new here, I still had problems with the obstacle course. One night I wanted to train alone, despite night's sleep, but was observed by the cameras. So I squeezed my way through the slot and made the tape disappear...”
Fleetfoot had to grin.
"In that case you should probably stay here. I see you already know the way.”
Copper Top nodded.
"Good idea Fleetfoot. We have no more time to lose. Take the camera and get yourself on the road Rainbow, we’re relying on you!”
She gave Rainbow Dash a small camera, which she always carried with her and sat on Fleetfoot’s back.
"See you later, get the saboteurs!" Rainbow yelled after them as Fleetfoot took off and flew as fast as she could in the direction of tailoring. Rainbow Dash herself made her way to the room of the janitor to reach the security room.
After about ten minutes Fleetfoot landed some distance from the tailor shop where the transport was waiting for the uniforms.
"Well, we sneak into the truck and see what happens. If I'm right, somepony will come to tamper with the uniforms. We have to be quick and surprise them. Then we shouldn’t have any problems.”
Fleetfoot nodded and together they made their way to the truck. They slipped through a gap in the fence and hid at the corner of the building, directly in front of the loading gate of the truck.
Copper Top looked searchingly around and then gave the signal to jump. A few seconds later, both ponies were sitting next to each other between the boxes and waited. The minutes passed and finally, somepony closed the doors with a bang and the transport drove off.
Copper Top estimated that about half of the plug had been completed when the truck suddenly stopped at.
"We can’t possibly be there already ..." Fleetfoot whispered.
Copper Top nodded, motioning her to be quiet.
Suddenly the door opened and bright sunlight streamed in, as two ponies jumped onto the truck and began to rummage through the boxes.
Copper Tops heart beat stronger, but she still held Fleetfoot back.
The two foreign ponies were deep in their work, and Copper Top pointed briefly at the door. Fleetfoot understood and both were moving as slowly and quietly as possible through the boxes and towards the door. Copper Top looked around and when she was sure that nopony else was outside, both slipped out of the truck into the open. She pointed to the door and hinted Fleetfoot to close them on her command and lock the intruders. She went to the cabin and got ready to pull out the driver. She lifted a hoof and when she saw that Fleetfoot was ready, she lowered it and threw open the door. At the same moment Fleetfoot slammed the doors of the loading area and locked it hurriedly.
"Police! Don’t move!" she yelled and pulled the completely surprised driver from the seat onto the floor. Before he knew what was happening at all, Copper Top had put him in hoofcuffs and placed him on the passenger seat.
"You're under arrest due to the strong suspicion of complicity in serious sabotage. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you, and I advise you to make use of this right!”
The driver nodded grimly and said nothing.
Fleetfoot landed beside her and looked triumphantly at Copper Top.
"We got them!"
"Very well, I’ll drive our friends directly to the Cloudsdale police station, you fly straight back to Rainbow Dash and if she has anything useful, make sure that the guard won’t escape!"
Fleetfoot saluted with a wide grin and dashed off.
Copper Top got behind the wheel and drove back along the road, in the direction of the nearby police station. When she arrived, she rang the main door and a young pale yellow stallion opened it.
"Detective Copper Top, Manehattan Police Department. I bring some guests.", she grinned.
The deputy called a pair of colleagues and when they opened the trailer, the saboteurs were arrested without resistance.
"Thank you, Detective, we’ll take it from here", one of the police ponies said and led the three arrested inside the building.
"Do you need anything else?"
Copper Top nodded.
"A ride to the Wonderbolts camp would be good. Without wings, it would take a while to get there. We also need somepony there to probably pick up a friend of our new guests.”
The officer called two other ponies to him and instructed them to go with Copper Top onto the grounds of the Wonderbolts camp. They got into a patrol vehicle and drove back to the training ground. Even from a distance they saw Fleetfoot and Rainbow Dash with serious faces, waiting there along with the gray security pony.
Copper Top and her companions got out and walked toward them.
"What did you find out?"
"I'm afraid nothing good." Fleetfoot said, nudging the gray pony, "Tell her!"
The guard looked sad at her and started.
"Yes, I’ve made sure that the saboteurs were undisturbed to do their jobs. But only because I was ordered to! I’ve got a letter a month ago from the General Staff themself, where I was told that I will lose my job because of the good security situation. However, they offered me to be allowed to continue under certain conditions. I was told to make sure that at certain times the surveillance cameras were switched off and then send a confirmation via pneumatic tube to Station Alpha-4.”
" Alpha-4 is in the laundry room,” Fleetfoot added.
"Exactly. I was afraid for my job, so I did what they told me. I knew it wouldn’t be good but I had no choice!”
Copper Top shook her head.
"Well, we examine the Station Alpha-4, maybe we can find some evidence of who’s received the message."
"No need Copper Top, Fleetfoot and I have analyzed the records in the laundry room already and this pony has picked up the news. Fortunately, the cameras there were never shut down. The saboteurs had probably not expected that somepony would come as far as we did.”
Copper Top looked at the picture, but did not recognize the pony. One of her companions, however, apparently did.
"That's impossible ..."
"You know him well, right?" Rainbow Dash said seriously.
The policeman nodded stunned.
"Excuse me, who is that?"
Copper Top still had no idea what was going on.
Fleetfoot gave her another picture that showed a blue Pegasus stallion with a gray mane, which posed heroically in front of a banner of Wonderbolts and looked strikingly similar to the pony on the surveillance screen. At the bottom of the card stood in a curved handwriting:
For Fleetfoot, may your wings always have updraft!
Including a scrawly signature.
Copper Top was still not sure what that meant but at least they now know the name of the saboteur.
"Fine, but where do we find this, “Wind Rider”?"
"I told you before, I'm innocent! I have nothing more to do with the Wonderbolts”
Wind Rider was sitting with bound hooves on a chair in the interrogation room of the Cloudsdale police station.
"The evidence is clear Wind Rider. After you were dishonorably discharged, I can almost understand your anger. But I don’t understand why you’d risk the health of innocent ponies just to get revenge. Tell us what you know and keep at least some of your honor!”
Copper Top had learned everything necessary about the former ace of the Wonderbolts from Fleetfoot and Rainbow Dash on the way to his house. Even if he must be full of hatred for the Wonderbolts, his honor would still mean everything to him. Copper Top hoped at least to convince him that way for cooperation.
She put all their evidence on the table and looked deep into Wind Rider’s eyes.
"With this evidence and the testimony of the security ponies and three saboteurs in our other cell I have enough to detain you for a very long time. But if you help me, I could put in a good word for you in court... Maybe you can even show yourself in public without anypony calling you an unscrupulous criminal afterwards.”
She looked at Wind Rider with toxic look, then he sighed and looked down.
"Alright, you're right. In a way, I still get my revenge even so, just not quite as I thought.”
Copper Top sat on the chair across from him and looked at him expectantly.
"The attack on the accommodation and the Uniform Transportation go to my responsibility. I hired simple thugs who did the dirty work.”
Copper Top raised an eyebrow.
"And the first attack on the obstacle course? Who was responsible?”
Wind Rider raised his head with a cold look in his eyes.
"I know you're probably not going to believe me, but I had nothing to do with it. I found an anonymous letter in my mailbox just before the first attack. In this letter, the attack was announced and also given a list of dates on which the safety monitoring would be disabled. The letter said I would get my revenge if I attack the Wonderbolts, and make it look like if autonomists did it. Although the letter wasn’t signed, I recognized the hoofwriting immediately.”
Copper Top looked at him sceptically.
"Who sent the letter then?"
"It came from the same pony that wants to see Wonderbolts as a full-fledged part of the Guard again and not as a civilian group of aerial acrobats. The same pony that looks at the measly movement of the autonomists as an immediate threat and therefore wants more funds from Celestia to fight them.”
Copper Top still didn’t quite understand.
Wind Rider sighed and told her in a few words.
"Air Marshal Red Baron, vice commander-in-chief of the air squadron of the Royal Guard and commander of the Wonderbolts. He is responsible for the attacks on the Wonderbolts and their facilities so that Celestia takes his demands more seriously.”
" Thank you Wind Rider. If this is true, I will do my best to spare you a very long prison sentence.”
Copper Top took the evidence back, and left the interrogation room.
She put everything on the evidence table and turned to the other officers.
"Inform our colleagues in Canterlot. I know who will soon admire the Wonderbolts only through a prison window! "
