Malignancy

Chapter 2, Part 2:
Disillusion

Manehattan, Midtown, Majestic Solar Tower,
Thursday Morning (September 21st, Anno Domina 988):

"And, while We have considered the petitions to the contrary," Her Most Effulgent Majesty, Princess Celestia of Equestria, concluded, "We hold that this is the best course for the Realm. And, with the same grace and honour of which We know you are capable, We shall expect Our Knights Council to carry out Our wishes."

"So sayeth the Sun and Moon!" the Princess's gold-armoured sergeant-at-arms bellowed.

The auditorium of ninety-nine knights all stood, their purple armour rattling. "The Knights hear and obey!" they called out in unison.

Her Majesty swept Her eyes across the crowd. "You are dismissed with Our continuing gratitude and blessings."

"Glory to Celestia! Peace to the Tribes!" rang the ninety-nine voices.

Her business completed, Princess Celestia turned from the podium and, with her escort of gold-armoured First Lancers, departed through the side door to the hall.

A sigh of release washed over the crowd as their monarch left them to their own devices. The drone of dozens of conversations rose like the swell of the tide to resound throughout the hall. Knight Commander Caesar, however, spoke to nopony, but headed for the exits at the rear of the hall, his dark purple armour clanging as he ran.

His subordinate, Knight Captain Fleur de Lys, followed in a hurried rush to catch up. Pressing through to the lobby, Fleur found Caesar leaning against one of the lobby's gold-inlaid alabaster pillars.

"Breathe, Caesar, breathe," she whispered as she approached him.

Caesar held up a hoof to silence her as he focused on collecting himself. The grey earth-pony's eyes were shut tight and his face was downturned. Through his nose, he took deep, steady breaths. "I'll be fine," he managed to whisper through clenched teeth. Another deep breath in and out. "I just need a moment to think."

The doors from the auditorium began opening again and Caesar forced himself to stand up straight and to unclench his jaw. Other knights began filling the lobby, their conversations blossoming into the high-ceilinged room, echoing off the white and gold pillars and solid platinum statuary. The diamond chandeliers tingled with the vibration of dozens of steel-shod hooves treading on the lush carpeting below.

"Are you alright, Caesar?"

Caesar's gaze snapped toward Knight Captain Garnet Glitter as she approached. He plastered a practiced smile on his face. "I'm fine," he assured her.

The crimson-coloured unicorn's face was a mask of concern, but she only nodded once in acknowledgement. She turned to Fleur and smiled, extending her armoured hoof to the taller, white unicorn. "Fleur darling, it's been too long. You're looking well."

"Thank you, Glitter dear," she extended her own hoof, touching it to Knight Captain Garnet's. "You wear your promotion well. Congratulations." They lowered their hooves and moved in to stand on either side of Knight Commander Caesar. Fleur towered over both Garnet and the grey earth-pony due to her highland unicorn heritage, but Garnet, as a lowland unicorn, stood just a hair shorter than Caesar.

"Thank you." Garnet's head gave a quick little bow, accepting the compliment, though her eyes were scanning the room full of knights. "Look at them all," she breathed.

"Mm," Fleur hummed.

"When was the last time Her Majesty assembled the entire Knights Council?"

"Years," Fleur shrugged.

"Seventeen years, nine months and eighteen days ago," Caesar grumbled.

Fleur caught Garnet's eye. "Before our time." She winked. Her tiny, mischievous smile was infectious, and the other mare returned the expression.

Garnet resumed watching the other knights milling about the room, bunching together in small groups or large circles of discussion. "How many of us, do you think, were here the last time the entire council met?"

"Twenty-one," Caesar answered right away.

Garnet turned back to Caesar, her smile wavering, her ears pressed down against her head. She drew breath to speak... but faltered, her comment dying on her lips. Caesar wasn't looking at her. He was looking out across the room, his eyes unfocused, distant. Garnet tried again. "I'm so sorry, Caesar," was all she could manage. "I'm sorry it had to come to this. I know what-"

"I'm fine," he said in a clipped tone, only just keeping the anger out of his voice. His face remained neutral. He took a deep breath, held it for a moment. Upstairs, in his office, the sealed letter locked in the upper right desk drawer, written on four sheets of his own official stationery, began: If you are reading this, I am either dead or disappeared. Let it be known that I died with no regrets, that I did my duty for Crown and Country. Whatever they may say about me…

He let the breath out slowly. "Sincerely, Garnet." He met her eyes, his expression softening. "I'm fine."

She couldn't hold his gaze for long, looked away. "Mm." She gave a single perfunctory nod. Her forehoof was pawing at the carpet, digging a rent in the plush material. The three of them, the earth-pony stallion and the two unicorn mares flanking him, stood without speaking for a moment. Garnet drew breath to say something but stopped when two loud pegasi walked past.

"I'm not saying Cloudsdale isn't grateful for the business," said the purple pegasus knight to the other. "But I think there are several industries and guilds that've become dependent on the weather factory running at 100% capacity. If productivity were to drop by just-"

"Yes!" The grey pegasus knight agreed with emphatic nodding. "This is what I've been saying for months now! We're just weeks away from the new spectra facility coming online, and with the reallocation of resources-"

"It'll finally show those Canterlot bureaucrats what we've been warning them about all these years."

As the two passed, in the direction of the buffet table, Garnet cleared her throat. "Have you been informed how the transition will be effected?"

Caesar nodded. "Beforehoof, Her Majesty informed me that, should I be… should another Knight Commander take up the position, as it were, that I was to assist in the transition by bringing the new Director up to speed as soon as possible. I wouldn't be surprised if Her Majesty has already informed Shining Shield of the... broad strokes." Caesar became aware that there were many pairs of eyes watching him from around the lobby, all of them looking away as he spotted them. He shot a few of them withering glares.

"Here he comes," Garnet whispered, seeing Knight Commander Shining Shield's approach.

"Caesar," Shining said, his tone formal.

"Knight Commander," both Fleur and Garnet greeted the tall, white, highland-unicorn stallion, bowing their heads.

"Captain Garnet, Captain Fleur," he returned with slight, respectful nods.

Caesar turned to look up into Shining Shield's eyes. The blue-maned unicorn was almost twice Caesar's size, and he had grown a blue, pencil-line moustache since Caesar had seen him last. Caesar remembered watching Shining Shield on the day of his graduation from the Equestrian Military Academy, how he had wondered whether this promising young colt was worth nurturing and forming, like clay, or whether he should crush him before he became a threat. Caesar nodded up at the colt turned stallion, the cadet turned Knight and usurper. "Shining, good to see you. Congratulations. This has been a long time coming... as I understand."

Shining waved this off with a hoof. "No need to congratulate me for this, Caesar – I know what this work meant to you. I'm sorry it worked out this way."

Shining was already referring to Caesar in the past tense – to his face. "Of course," Caesar cleared his throat. "Still, you'll share a drink with me in my office upstairs, perhaps? We can toast to the new Director and go over a few pressing matters right away? Get the ball rolling, as it were?"

Shining's brow furrowed, followed by a look of concern that caused the bile to rise in Caesar's throat. Caesar choked it down and struggled to keep his own expression neutral. "There's… uh," Shining started. "Really no need to get things going so fast, old boy. I need to return to Canterlot and-"

"I'm afraid some of these matters really will not wait. There are a lot of factors in motion at the moment that will define the remainder of your time as head of the Security Directorate, or whatever we're calling it now. And besides... I have a lovely bottle of nearly hundred year old brandy I've been saving for... an occasion."

"Well... That is, if you insist-"

"I do." Caesar gave a half-shrug. "Give me this, Shining. I'm eager to get this... on with." The pity returned to Shining's expression – Caesar ground his back teeth together and pretended not to notice.

"Understood," Shining said. He held out his hoof to press against Caesar's. Caesar pressed his hoof into Shining's in a brief gesture. "Agreed." The word hung between them for a moment.

The moment dragged on.

Fleur cleared her throat and cast her eyes toward the buffet table.

Shining gave a strained smile down at the smaller stallion. "Should we say three thirty?" He half turned to leave.

"Of course. And feel free to bring your staff if they're not rushing off after the summit."

"I'm... not sure they all have clearance to, uh... be briefed quite yet, old boy. Knight Captains Shard and Gypsum should be available, though."

"Wonderful. I'll see you there, Shining."

Shining nodded and departed, walking into the congratulations of another group of knights half way across the lobby.

"Well," Fleur began. "You've certainly succeeded in confusing the crap out of him."

"Caesar, you do know he probably now thinks you're planning some sort of elaborate murder-suicide, don't you?" Garnet put a hoof on his shoulder.

"I hope so," Caesar muttered.

"I…" Garnet started, but stopped when she saw a Manehattan Senior Constable come running into the lobby.

The constable, a brown earth-pony stallion, scanned the crowd of knights until his eyes fell on Knight Captain Garnet. He bolted in her direction.

"Oh shit," Garnet whispered. "Excuse me." She stepped away from Caesar and Fleur and ran to meet the constable half way.

Fleur sighed in the direction of the buffet table. She snapped her gaze back to Caesar. "We're not planning on killing Shining, are we?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Sadly, that ship has sailed."

In the middle of the lobby, Garnet was shouting orders at the constable, sending him running back out of the vaulted room. Garnet ran over to a group of pegasus knights, singling out the Warden of the Everfree, Knight Warden Wind Striker, and broke him the news.

"Here we go..." Fleur whispered to Caesar, not looking at Garnet and keeping her eyes fixed on the buffet table.

"Hush," Caesar whispered back. "What have you heard from your associates?"

Fleur turned her eyes from the buffet to the drama unfolding between Garnet and Wind Striker a few moments longer before turning her attention back to Caesar. "According to my military contacts, the Princess's First Lancers stormed the remainder of all Directorate facilities, on-the-books safe-houses, and police and government buildings under our control at about the time you were giving your address at breakfast this morning. They've arrested everypony even suspected of working for the Directorate. Hauled them off to Canterlot for 'debriefing'."

"Nothing we didn't anticipate," Caesar murmured. Both he and Fleur watched most of the pegasus knights form up on their Knight Warden and run out of the hall, Garnet trailing behind them with two of her own Knights flanking her. "But the timing..." He sighed. "I can't imagine a worse confluence of events."

"So... does this change-"

"This changes nothing," he snapped. He shook his head and calmed himself. "What have you heard of Folio?"

Fleur suppressed a sharp laugh behind a cough. Caesar glared at her before turning his glare back to the rest of the room. "I inspected both Flutter Gust's body and Folio's office before I left Canterlot. Her wounds were definitely consistent with Folio's preferred methods. His office was squeaky clean. I don't think he intends to go back to it."

"Oh Folio…" Caesar sighed. "All you had to do was maintain your nerve..."

"Should we be trying to find him first? Should we be concerned?"

Caesar shook his head and began making his way toward the buffet table. Fleur fell into step beside him. "Now that he's run we can't save him. He'll be trying to make it to the Free Cities during the lull in the storms, the fool... Put numbers 42 and 47 on it. They're good girls."

Fleur levitated a plate and began filling it with food. "Yes, Sir. I'll head out as soon as I'm– as we're finished here."