The Lord of Void

“Let’s begin” came the unmistakable voice of #0 “What is the status concerning our insectoid ‘friend’?”

“She is ready to move, the switch will be made closer to the wedding.” Came the voice of #9.

“Cadenza?”

“I have finished supplanting her guard force with my own; she won’t know what hit her until it is far to late.” #5 said

“What of when the bug is on the throne?” came the voice of #15

“Each time we met I've subtly been placing a geas on her, by the time she sits on the throne she will not even be able to realize that her thoughts are not her own, but ours.” #9 replied

“Hehe, stupid bug.” Chortled #16 “Like we would ever give her any measure of real control.”

“Is she and her race properly pacified?” asked #20

“Yes, in addition to the love poisoned fools we have been supplying her, we have also been feeding her information about our defenses and the weaknesses therein. She is quite content to wait, for now.”

“Is that a good idea?” came the worried voice of #14

“We have been giving her information that will only be true during the wedding and have plans to fix those weaknesses the minute it is all over.” #2 replied

“Speaking of, #5 have you made the proper changes to the guards on duty during the wedding?” #18 asked

“Yes, when the barrier fails, my guards will be nowhere to be seen. I do not have enough forces to have the guard completely disappear but I do have enough that those that are not mine will be spread too far apart to be of any use.”

No one spoke further.

“Very well, if there are no further questions on this, we will move on” came the voice of #0

After a full minute of silence, #0 spoke again.

“The floor is now open to any topic.”

“I would like to discuss this ‘Beast of Ponyville’ and the ramifications of its actions.” #8 said

“According to what I have learned from Luna –“ #5 began

“Princess Luna” #7 interrupted

“The day I recognize that harlot as royalty is the day I relinquish my own title. The only reason she is allowed to sit on the throne is by auntie’s misplaced kindness.” #5 retorted

“So the fact that they are sisters is irrelevant to her being royalty?”

“Yes” #5 answered, not understanding where this was going

“And the fact that you are a ‘Prince’ because you are of Princess Celestia’s bloodline, has nothing to do with why you are royalty?”

“No, I have proven to be far above the peasants, and a cut above nobility as well” #5 said smugly

The unmistakable sound of a facepalm came from behind the divider showing #7

“Blue-“ #7 started angrily

“ENOUGH!” came the defining roar of #0 “This meeting is not meant for petty squabbles. #5 continue with the topic at hand.”

“Eh, yes, where was I?” #5 tried to start after swallowing several times. “Apparently a few weeks ago some creature entered Ponyville, harming one of the element bearers and later beating four other bearers in a fight. Luna went to check it out under the guise of attending the local festival and ended up fighting the beast. It ran before she could detain it. She has since sent a squad of Royal Guard to protect the village.”

“First thing I’m doing when we rule is demolishing that money pit that dares call itself a town.” #22 said

“Can this beast be safely ignored?” #9 asked, ignoring #22

“It is not the Beast that is the problem, it is the Shadow Corps that is the real issue” #8 responded before anypony else could

“What!? The Shadow Corps was disbanded over a thousand years ago!” #5 shouted

“And you wonder why I think you are inept… The Shadow Corps was officially disbanded but it still, to this day, exists unofficially. It will most likely become official soon.” #7 replied

“For those not in the know, what is the Shadow Corps?” asked #2

“The Shadow Corps…” #5 began uncomfortably

“The Shadow Corps is a clandestine order of spies and assassins that are loyal to Princess Luna above all others. During the civil war they are credited with impossible kills and knowing things that should have been impossible for them to learn. That is why Nightmare Moon almost won despite her forces being outnumbered a thousand to one; The Shadow Corps managed to assassinate many of the high ranking members of Princess Celestia’s government and military and seemed to know their every move before they even began to make them.” #7 stated

“Why in the world would the Princess keep them around after all they did to her?” #2 asked incredulously

“The remnants of the Shadow Corps were traitors and defectors. All of the original members that were truly loyal to Nightmare Moon committed suicide the moment they were caught and the rest did everything in their power to cause as much civil unrest as they could, before they were captured and committed suicide.”

"What about the remnants of those still loyal? Could they still be around?" #2 asked

"Possible, though unlikely. The last anypony has seen of the remnants of the original Shadow Corps was during the massacre of Manehattan over 800 years ago."

“I will see about getting informants into the Corps then” #5 stated

“Good luck with that.” #7 said sarcastically

“I believe this will change nothing. The Corps will without a doubt be sent to investigate and or capture this ‘Beast of Ponyville’ and having needed to stay under everypony’s radar and remain unofficial they cannot yet have many members.” #3 put in

“I must agree with #3 the activity of the Shadow Corps changes nothing” #6 agreed

“Not like there is much we could do in any event” #7 said under their breath

A moment of silence passed

“If there are no further questions we will move onto other topics” #0 stated

Another moment of silence passed

“If there are no further topics –“

A third moment of silence passed

“Then this meeting of the Brain Trust is hereby concluded.” #0 said with finality