High Fashion, High Noon

Chapters

High Fashion
Attack at the Fashion Show
The Mysterious Mr. Hoofer
Withers
Spitfire
Thornwing
The Aten Factor
High Noon
End of the Line

High Fashion

"Sir, what are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same question, Guard."

The place was Canterlot, just outside Hoity Toity's Best of the Best Boutique. The time was just after Celestia had risen the sun into the sky, when the boutique was scheduled to be opening. A small crowd of mostly upper-class ponies were in attendance, eager to see the designs of the young mare - Rarity of Ponyville - that Hoity Toity had been promising to feature.

At the head of the crowd was a very curious Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, aka Cadence, who had jumped on the opportunity to meet and greet in Canterlot one of Twilight's fellow Element Bearers. She was personally escorted by Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor, who was staying overtime from his nightshift work at Cadance's request and was also eager to meet an Element Bearer personally - although he was not sure if Twilight had told Rarity about him yet or whether it was appropriate to reveal that information while still on-duty.

Unknown to Shining Armor, Cadance had extended an invitation to two of her old highschool friends - the unicorn mare Lemony Gems and the pegasus mare Diamond Rose - to also attend the event, and after the two mares had accepted the invitation assigned as one of their guards the Upper Class Buck Withers, who was also the stallionfriend of Lemony Gems. The concealment worked well enough that neither stallion had any idea they would be encountering the other until the moment of the arrival, hence the surprised lines above.

Princess Cadance, Lemony Gems and Diamond Rose all converge on the two surprised stallions. Cadance was wearing her usual princess raiment while her two friends were wearing appropriately fancy dresses. Shining Armor was still in his armor representing his command of the night shift (a fancier variation of the armor worn by Princess Luna's batpony service) while Buck Withers was in his dress uniform. Cadance breaks into a sly grin at the confused looks of the two stallions, and it seems both Lemony Gems and Diamond Rose are seen trying to stifle giggles.

"Did you... plan this...?" Shining asks Cadance when the female group stops in front of him and Buck.

The mares pause for just a moment, but when the three start chuckling between themselves - like both Shining and Buck had seen in Canterlot Academy years ago - the answer becomes immediately clear. Mortification spreads across the faces of both stallions, which causes the three mares to chuckle even more. Finally, Shining and Buck look at each other, roll eyes simultaneously and let out one word: "Mares..."

A LITTLE LATER...

"Miss Rarity is going to be available here at the boutique all day, so take your time looking around and chatting with her Your Highness." Hoity Toity was explaining to Princess Cadance.

"That's exactly what I didn't want to hear." Buck Withers, who is standing beside and behind Cadance as she is conversing with Hoity Toity, mutters out in irritation.

"What was that?" Cadance asks, turning to look in Buck's direction as she speaks.

"What the Upper Class meant by that statement is that he thought this would be a short visit." Shining Armor quickly states from the opposite side of Cadance, covering for his fellow Guard.

"Lieutenant Captain, now you and I both know we've done visits like this before. And I'm sure that applies to the Upper Class and his marefriend too." Cadance gently chides, causing Buck to flush a deep red and Lemony Gems, listening nearby, to break out in snickering.

"It was worth a try though..." Shining Armor grits out, rolling his eyes and prompting Cadance to join in the chuckling.

"I'll leave the Princess and her friends to their business then. I have a lot of guests to attend to, so if you'll excuse me..." Hoity Toity explains, taking the opportunity to turn away and attend to other guests.

Shining Armor and Buck Withers again share a mortified look as they step behind Cadance, Lemony Gems and Diamond Rose toward where Rarity was conversing with other guests. The young mare was surrounded by the copies of her friends' dresses Hoity Toity had previously requested after the second fashion show in Ponyville, and Shining could tell Rarity was weary from the long hours necessary to make the dresses - the Generosity Bearer seemed to be sustained only by the excitement around her and a large cappucino she was levitating with her unicorn magic.

Although Cadance could've pushed her way to the head of the line, she decides to hang back and chatter excitedly with her friends about the merits of the design of each dress. Boredom was already setting in for Shining Armor and Buck Withers, both of which were only interested in one dress out of the colorful display around them - the star-themed dress that was intended for Twilight Sparkle to wear at the next Grand Galloping Gala.

"Pardon me sir, but aren't you going to see your sister at the Gala in the dress? Why see it now?" Buck Withers naturally asks.

"That snooze-fest? Give me a break, Celestia gives Cadance and me a free pass to do a far more fun 'date night' during the Gala." Shining explains with a chuckle. "I'll probably be on duty this year though, so I won't even get a chance to see her much, if at all."

"Oh, I see..." Buck replies, trailing off as he looks around with a neutral expression.

When Shining returns his attentions to his surroundings, he sees that the mares have congregated around the dress meant for Rainbow Dash, chattering even more excitedly than before. He also notices that Rarity's attention has been drawn to the group, and moves to Cadance's side at the same time Rarity stops in front of her.

"Oh this is all so exciting! All these high-class ponies I'm meeting and getting to show my work to! I'm hoping Fancy Pants comes by later..." Rarity was commenting to Cadance as Shining stops besides the latter.

"This was such short notice Fancy Pants won't be able to make it out here - preexisting engagements, you see." Shining pipes in before Cadance can responds.

"I thought Royal Guards weren't supposed to talk while they were on duty..." Rarity comments, giving a curious stare at the fully-armored Shining.

"My special escort here has authority to give out whatever information is deemed appropriate." Cadance replies.

"Of course, Princess... uh..." Rarity starts to reply.

"Cadenza. Mi Amore Cadenza. Considering how often I've been away from Canterlot doing my Aunt Celestia's work, even the elite sometimes forget who I am." Cadance replies, with only just a touch of irony in her tone. She was forced at the time, by Celestia's orders, to use the fancy name in public and her real name in private - something that would only change after the Canterlot wedding.

"I understand, but I still feel the need to apologize, as well as compliment your special escort. I'm sure he's quite handsome under that armor - can't be as handsome as Prince Blueblood though..." Rarity comments, looking up wistfully afterward.

Shining and Cadance exchange strange looks - both of them had vaguely heard of Rarity's attraction toward, and hopes to meet, Blueblood during the coming Gala, but did not know how smitten Rarity was with him, or whether it was a good thing or not. Shining was debating about speaking about the topic when Rarity started talking again.

"Apologies Princess, got lost in thought. Is there something I can do for you besides just conversation?" Rarity helpfully asks.

"Yes, my friends and I were drawn to the dress you made for Rainbow Dash, and I wanted something like that myself." Cadance eagerly answers, the excitement returning to her expression.

"Of course, of course. I'll just, uh, get some measurements and we'll go over the colors and the fabrics and all the little details." Rarity replies just as eagerly.

Shining has to hold in his desire to gag as Rarity escorts Cadance over to the replicas of the Rainbow Dash dress, where Lemony Gems and Diamond Rose were still by, giggling and chatting eagerly. To Shining, just about any place would be better than being here - a comic book store, looking at Oubliettes and Ogres models, even the Craftspony section of a Steer's store would be better!

Boredom sets in again with Shining as Rarity pulls out a measuring tape, notepad and pencil using her light-blue unicorn magic - a kit she had brought with her for the purpose just in case she got the opportunity to take dress measurements. Due to a combination of tiredness and the bright swirls of color around him, he feels a migraine starting to come on - groaning internally, as he hated when his migraines flared up and now was a really bad time for them to do so.

Before the migraines could get too bad though, his attention is drawn to the sounds of breaking glass coming from the other side of the boutique. The conversation buzz around abruptly stops, and a mare is heard screaming in the same general direction as the broken glass sound!

"What was that?!" Cadance exclaims to Shining, still frozen in the pose she had assumed to let Rarity measure her.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out!" Shining exclaims, turning and speeding off in the direction of the sounds...

Attack at the Fashion Show

When Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor is finally able to get a good look at the front of the boutique, he can hardly believe what he sees. Three ponies, one unicorn in a cloak and stockings and two pegasi in full suits, are standing among the shards of broken plate glass that once composed the front of the boutique. Several well-dressed ponies are running or cowering, and Shining wondered where in Equestria the two Royal Guards that were supposed to be at the door had disappeared to.

An irate Hoity Toity approaches the threesome as Shining watches in shock, but before Shining can intervene or even call out the two pegasi jump the fashionista and ram him sidelong into a wall, leaving a sizable dent as a result and also knocking off the purple glasses Hoity Toity was wearing. The glasses land near the hooves of the attackers and are promptly shattered by the hoof of one of them.

Shining can see the blow has knocked the wind out of the high-esteemed earth pony, but also sees another threat: the cloaked unicorn has raised a loaded crossbow pointed at Shining via unicorn magic! The crossbow fires, and Shining has just enough time to generate a shield to deflect the incoming arrow into a rack of clothes. However, this maneuver distracts him long enough for the two pegasi to slip past the point where a shield Shining could generate would block their further progress. They proceed into the store, knocking over racks of clothing and horrified upper-class ponies as they go.

Shining Armor is debating whether to charge the cloaked unicorn or assist Hoity Toity back up when the former drops something at his hooves. Immediately a black smoke envelopes his figure, hiding his location and presumably cloaking his escape. Without any idea where he was going, Shining could only hope that the Guards that should've been at the door were not AWOL and would go after him.

"Ohhh... I'd hate Sapphire to see me like this..." Hoity Toity moans as Shining stops in front of him and helps him back up. Although his appearance was quite disheveled, he seemed to be alright.

"At least you're alright. Now if you'll excuse me..." Shining explains, galloping back into the store.

When Shining arrives, he sees the two attacking pegasi attempting to grab a hostage - Cadance has cast a protective bubble around herself and Lemony Gems, but Diamond Rose had become separated from the other two mares in the confusion. Buck Withers, in his full Guard armor, gets into a shoving match with one of the pegasi, but the other slips by him and grabs Diamond Rose, starting to drag her back out of the shop. As Shining approaches, moving to block the path out, Rarity suddenly springs into action, launching off her hind legs and attacking the pegasus with a kung-fu style kick!

The kick connects, causing the pegasus to wobble off-balance and drop Diamond Rose to the floor with a hard thud. Shining Armor is now right behind the pegasus, and yanks him down hard with a tug of his magic. The pegasus sprawls to the floor and is pinned by Shining as Diamond Rose slowly gets back on her hooves, staggering over to join Cadance and Lemony Gems inside the light-blue shield bubble. When Shining looks up from the pin, he sees Rarity attacking the second pegasus, another dramatic kick breaking the deadlock and allowing Buck to pin his opponent.

"Most impressive." is Shining's quick compliment to Rarity as the unicorn mare levitates out a brush from her kit to fix her deep-purple mane and tail.

"You're too kind, dahling. A proper lady must be able to defend themselves as well as others in a time of crisis." Rarity modestly replies, the levitating brush running through the hair of the tail.

"WHO SENT YOU?! WHY ARE YOU ATTACKING THIS PLACE?!" Buck was yelling out at full volume at the pegasus he had pinned, as the rest of the shaken upper-class crowd watches the scene from a safe distance.

"It is in your best interest to start talking, pegasus." Shining coldly adds, putting a choking hoof on the neck of the stallion he has pinned.

The two pegasi briefly choke and try to squirm out, but when the two Guard stallions press down harder they immediately cease resistance. For the first time, Shining and Buck notice the now-dirty and ripped suits did not fit well on the pegasi wearing them, suggesting a good deal of improvising in the attack plan. Perhaps these two pegasi were being forced to do something against their will?

"WHO SENT YOU?!" Buck yells out again, both him and Shining staring into their pinned opponents with fiery expressions.

One of the pegasi opens his mouth to say something, but at that moment both are immediately enveloped in a bright red glow - different from the sparkling glow of a unicorn's magic and growing in intensity - and the Guard stallions push off. Several high-class mares shriek in horror as the red glow envelopes the two attacking pegasi, now writhing in obvious agony.

Shining Armor now fears something else bad will happen and quickly encases both pegasi in a shield bubble. Just moments later, a bright red flash fills the bubble - a contained explosion - and all that is left is thick, black smoke. The witnessing crowd is wondering whether they just witnessed a thwarted suicide bombing when a whoosh goes over the heads of the witnessing ponies.

Shining, keeping the shield bubble intact for the moment in order to contain the smoke, witnesses another crossbow arrow bounce off the bubble and embed itself into the nearest wall. Rarity, nearest to where the crossbow arrow hit the wall, pulls it out using her unicorn magic as the two Guard stallions and Cadance rush to behind her. The rest of the crowd in the store, including a recovered Diamond Rose and Hoity Toity, are watching with baited breath.

"There's something attached to this." Rarity comments, pointing to the crossbow arrow, which does indeed have a parchment scrap rolled up and tied to the arrow shaft. A quick tug of the string holding the parchment to the shaft causes the parchment scrap to fall to the floor, unrolling as it falls.

The Guard stallions and Rarity, as well as Cadance, lean over to read the scrap of writing scrawled on the parchment laying on the floor. All are perplexed by the single word that is readable on the parchment scrap.

"'Hoofer'? Who's that?" Rarity asks Shining Armor as the others looking down exchange glances at each other.

"I wish I knew, young mare. I wish I knew..." Shining replies morbidly, finally allowing the shocking scope of the recent events to sink in. The Agents of Chaos had attacked yet again, and this time with a horrifying new strategy...

The Mysterious Mr. Hoofer

"'Hoofer', or 'Mr. Hoofer' if you prefer - that's the codename for the head of the Equestrian Intelligence Agency. And that is very bad news."

"Captain, are you seriously suggesting that the head of the EIA conducted a strike against my assigned charges?!"

Captain of the Canterlot Guard Gibraltar could hardly fault Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor's disbelieving tone and shocked expression, but remained unfazed as he continued the briefing in his office: "What I'm saying, Shining, is that we have traitors in the EIA. And that means we can't even trust our own intelligence reports anymore. We're fighting the Agents of Chaos blind!"

"I don't understand how this could happen, sir. Every member of that organization is sworn in by Celestia personally, and that oath is renewed every few years!" Shining Armor exclaims in horrified disbelief.

"You're forgetting how hot the passions of pegasi run, as well as the shadowy nature of the enemy we face." Gibraltar solemnly replies. "Know this though, Shining. The current 'Mr. Hoofer', although a unicorn, has supported Lieutenant Captain Aten for a long time, almost from the time Aten emerged as a Lieutenant crusading against the supposed inequalities in the officer composition."

"I never heard anything like that before!" Shining exclaims again, the shock still on his face.

"Of course you wouldn't have had. Besides the usual media blocks on inquiring about the stallion under the code name of 'Mr. Hoofer', Celestia had the knowledge of his support deliberately suppressed. Until now, only Celestia and myself knew about his support."

"... I dread the potential implications of that statement, sir."

"As do I. I do have a double agent embedded in the enemy ranks, and as of now that is the only source of enemy activity I will trust in the future. Even if 'Mr. Hoofer' isn't involved with the enemy directly, his support of Aten will have created holes in his loyalty to Equestria. He might even be the elusive leader called 'Agent Snake', considering there's some similarities between the conduct of the two ponies."

"What about Celestia? What's she going to do, sir?"

"As of right now, she's a bit stunned herself. I'm hoping I can get some confirmation from the double agent, either up or down about the worst-case scenario. Once that happens though, she will not hesitate in doing what is necessary to protect her kingdom."

Shining Armor takes in the full weight of Gibraltar's sternness - such treachery from a high position as the head of the EIA could mean another public execution. And he feared what the public opinion implications of such treatment would mean...

LATER...

"Drip, drip, drip... there are leaks in our ranks, leaks that will be plugged by any means necessary!" the disguised Agent Snake was shouting in his cavern office to the pegasi in front of him.

All the major members of the planned Operation Whirlwind - all numbers 11 and higher that were currently still in active service, as well as WA and WD from the Wonderbolts - were present at this "high priority meeting", apparently called in the wake of the attack on Hoity Toity's business. And the tone of Snake's voice made it clear he was very agitated - perhaps an indication of things not having gone as planned.

"Double agents and leakers will not be tolerated! To that end, I am using Agent X as my 'plumber', to close any leaks that might be found. If any double agents and leakers of information are found in my ranks, they will be meant with a most summary punishment! Is this understood?" Snake lectures.

The entire group nods grimly - "summary punishment" almost certainly would've meant a quick death in this case. It seems their former records of loyalty would not protect them now, and even friendship might've been beyond capability of saving them. All had to be cautious. All had to be prepared to backstab a fellow pony. And most of all, they had to have faith that whatever they were doing, it would not lead them to a terrible fate, from one side or the other...

Withers

"Oh no, the Great Ogre of Greyhawk stands before us! What shall we do, Priestess?"

"A single ogre, no matter its size, shall not deter us from our quest! HAVE AT THEE, FOUL BEAST!"

It was in the art of live-action role playing - a wondrous synthesis of stage action, improvisation and fantasy play - that Princess Luna had finally found a way to truly express herself and have a good time with friends. And Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor, standing beside her on the "stage", could see the joy in her eyes as vindication of his efforts building upon the foundation laid by his sister and her friends.

Under the costume, anypony would've been able to see the dramatic transformation Luna had undergone over the past months from the much smaller form she first arrived in Canterlot as. Although her powers were not fully restored yet, enough had been recovered for her to take on her full height and beauty she had before her exile. Nevertheless, Shining could still see what she had been inside the glimmer in her eyes, and the slight blush she sometimes developed when talking to him.

He could tell she was still attracted to him, but knew she could never have him, bound to Cadance as he was. It helped that there was knowledge of "consorts to the princess" in the past, and in another time and place he probably would've ended up one. Here and now though, Shining was seeing the patient investment of time and energy beginning to pay off - Luna would be grateful for his friendship for eternity, and his hopes rose again that soon it would be the right time for the Canterlot Wedding Cadance had long hoped for...

"Sir, sir, we need help!" an Upper Class Guard's calling out interrupts the thoughts of Shining Armor. The LARP group currently assembled - Princess Luna as a "night mage", Shining Armor as a paladin, Lieutenant Aldebaran as an archer, Upper Class Buck Withers as a barbarian, and Upper Classes Gaffer and 8-Bit stacked in the ogre costume - let out a communal groan.

"Guard, what I have ordered about interrupting the LARPing session?!" Shining shouts in annoyance as the guard rushes into the room, having dropped out of character.

"But sir...!" the Guard starts to reply, before being interrupted by a shocking sight - a large club manipulated by unicorn magic smashing straight into the side of his head! The guard is knocked sideways, the cracked helmet coming off the guard's head, and a unicorn completely cloaked and wearing stockings emerges through the door, pinning the disoriented guard to the floor.

The cloaked unicorn shouts one word: "WITHERS!" and two pegasi wearing Guard armor with numbers - 18 on one and 25 on the other - crudely painted on the helmets and side armor burst into the room, charging straight for Buck Withers! The cloaked unicorn then steps over the disoriented guard and charges straight for Luna herself.

The two-pronged attack provokes various reactions from the LARPing group members. Luna first throws her prop staff at her attacker, which is deflected away by the club, and then uses her unicorn magic to yank away Shining's prop sword to engage the cloaked unicorn in an impromptu swordfight of sorts. Aldebaran moves to the side of Buck Withers and fires a prop arrow at the pegasi attackers, hitting "18" in a foreleg and stopping him in his tracks. 8-Bit and Gaffer struggle to get out of their costume, stumbling around the area as they do so.

Shining Armor first rushes toward the downed guard, taking a sideswipe at the cloaked unicorn as he passes, to check briefly if he's alright. The Guard has suffered some bruising of being trampled and his helmet is cracked, but otherwise he's alright, and as he attempts to get back on his feet Shining looks over to see the downed "18" and puts a forcefield bubble around him.

Princess Luna and the cloaked unicorn are now clashing their weapons together as if in a swordfight, intense anger on Luna's face and glowing red eyes on the attacker under the cloak. A swing of the sword leaves the attacker's club broken in half, and the attacker tosses the broken weapon in Luna's direction before taking off back the way he had come. Luna doesn't see him disappearing because of the instinctual reflex required to deflect the tossed weapon, and Shining doesn't see him either because of his focus on the other part of the attack.

The attacker "25" is dodging away from the defensive combat on the part of both Buck Withers and Aldebaran, and Shining is about to put a forcefield around the pegasi attacker when the stacked 8-Bit and Gaffer in the costume half-deliberately fall on "25", pinning the attacker to the ground. The ogre costume splits in two at the waist, and the two stallions within spill out of it. Buck Withers and Aldebaran work together to restrain "25", quickly joining his wounded comrade in captivity, while 8-Bit and Gaffer slowly get onto their hooves.

"8-BIT, GAFFER, AFTER THE UNICORN! DON'T LET HIM ESCAPE THE CASTLE!" Shining shouts out when he finally realizes the cloaked unicorn has escaped. It takes a moment, but 8-Bit and Gaffer spring to it, galloping side-by-side out of the room as they go after the unicorn attacker.

"One of the attackers took an arrow to the knee, sir. Everypony else seems to be alright." Lieutenant Aldebaran reports, looking up from his pinning work.

"How do you keep drawing this kind of attention to yourself, Withers?" Shining shouts out, having already guessed that Buck was the real target of the attack and the assault on Luna was just a feint to divide attention.

"I wish I knew, sir, but I must've earned the ire of some very powerful enemy." Buck Withers comments worryingly.

"This enemy is far more powerful than we have estimated. And they have chaos on their side, the ancient enemy of harmony. They will not stop until harmony is ended and chaos reigns over Equestria again." Princess Luna warns in a manner just cryptic enough to make Shining want to ask more about what she meant later, but ultimately decide against it.

"Noted, Your Highness. Lieutenant, have the prisoners and the trampled guard checked out at the medical center, then send the prisoners to the brig. The Captain can interrogate them in the morning. For right now, we have to find the unicorn attacker - it's the same one that lead the attack on the boutique a few days ago." Shining Armor orders.

"Yes, sir." Lieutenant Aldebaran replies with a salute and a grim expression shared by his fellow LARPers...

A LITTLE LATER...

"8-Bit, over here!" Guard Upper Class Gaffer exclaims, gesturing to his comrade behind him.

"What, you found something?" Guard Upper Class 8-Bit asks as he rushes over to Gaffer's side, hopeful after a failed attempt to track down where the cloaked unicorn had disappeared to.

"Yeah, stallion ditched his cloak." Gaffer replies, using his unicorn magic to lift up part of a large section of black cloth on the floor.

"Ditched his cloak? Why?" 8-Bit naturally asks, confused about why the attacker would shed his main means of disguise.

"I don't know, 8-Bit. I get the feeling there's more to this situation than what it seems to be..." Gaffer darkly comments, looking down at the cloak on the floor and wondering what the deal was with the pony that it had been covering...

Spitfire

Lead Wingpony Soarin' gave a worried sigh as he looked out of the Canterlot HQ of the Wonderbolts at the agitated pegasi crowds gathering outside the building. The signs they were holding - "OUR DREAMS MATTER" and "SPITFIRE MUST GO" - were the most plain indication of the tense atmosphere than Soarin' was tempted to compare to a siege. It seemed the Wonderbolts as an organization were under heavy attack, and he wondered whether it would survive to the next performing season...

The attacks and protesting were a direct result of the parasprite release fiasco at a Canterlot performance that lead to Captain Spitfire and Soarin' himself being briefly imprisoned on Princess Celestia's orders. Although Spitfire and Soarin' were ultimately cleared of wrongdoing, the whole incident had seriously damaged public trust in the Wonderbolts, at least in Canterlot, and triggered the crisis Soarin' was currently caught up in.

While Spitfire and Soarin' were imprisoned, Second Lead Wingpony Misty Fly was Acting Captain, and had done two things primarily: one being agreeing to the Celestia-demanded fines and damages, and the other offering full ride readmissions for pegasi previously rejected from Wonderbolt Academy, supposedly to "help restore good public relations". The costs associated with these measures were extraordinary, certainly high enough to bankrupt the Wonderbolts in short order, but the intense public pressure meant Spitfire could not safely scale them back when she was restored to her position.

Then Misty Fly made a media statement announcing that unless she was appointed Wonderbolt Captain by the end of the current performing season she and several other Wonderbolts would start a rival organization called "The Blue Thunder" and take in any pegasus refused by the Wonderbolt Academy. Lieutenant Captain Aten quickly followed this with his own public statement encouraging the pegasi offered the full rides to take Misty Fly's "Plan B" should Spitfire renege on the promise. A rumor spread that Misty Fly and Aten were working together to blackmail Spitfire into resigning her position, and to Soarin' it certainly seemed like the rumor was true.

The day Soarin' had already had was quite tense. Spitfire had started it by calling an "emergency assembly", canceling the normal drills and public visitation times for the day. The protests had built up over several days, and Soarin' braced to hear Spitfire's resignation statement. Instead, he and the rest of the Wonderbolts got something almost as bad.

"I just got a written notice this morning." Captain Spitfire wearily explained as she addressed her fellow Wonderbolts - the days of stress and sleepless nights of worry had taken a notable toll on her energy and determination. "Royal Guard Captain Gibraltar has warned he will no longer provide Guard protection from the protesters if I do not resign within the next 24 hours."

Shocked gasps spread throughout the assembled crowd - Soarin' and the others realized without Guard protection, the Wonderbolts would have no safety from the protesters outside. It appeared that Celestia had lost faith in the Wonderbolts as an organization, or at least with Spitfire being in charge of it. It did not matter that Gibraltar later denied ever giving such a notice, or that eventually it was found to have been a complete forgery - with no time for the truth to catch up to the lies, Spitfire seemed doomed. Either she would be forced out of her position, or take down the Wonderbolts out of sheer stubbornness.

"Fellow Wonderbolts, our course of action is quite clear." Misty Fly interrupts before Spitfire can continue her speech. "The Captain must announce her resignation quickly and to the protesting crowds outside. There is no alternative now."

Soarin' wasn't surprised by Misty Fly's comment - she had the most to gain by Spitfire's resignation. What he was surprised by though was the number of supportive affirmations that followed - five other Wonderbolts, almost half the entire Wonderbolt team, spoke up in favor of Misty Fly's suggestion. Soarin' looks over at Fleetfoot beside him, and Fleetfoot responds with a concerned eyebrow raise, clearly sharing Soarin's concern.

"I will address the protesters myself, however I want." Spitfire replies with a dry seriousness that makes it clear she was refusing to back down regardless of the consequences of that action...

It was this address Spitfire was now going to make, to the agitated crowd outside. Soarin' sees Spitfire go by with a clipboard under one of her wings, and gives his captain a sympathetic look as she goes by. Behind Spitfire is Fleetfoot, joining Soarin' to help him pull back Spitfire out of potential harm's way should the crowd turn violent. Although Spitfire is addressing the sign-toting crowd from a balcony two stories above, that wouldn't stop any pegasi from just flying up and taking shots at her.

As Spitfire emerges out onto the balcony, a chorus of boos and chanting "SPITFIRE MUST GO!" over and over again erupts from the crowd below. Soarin' and Fleetfoot exchange alarmed glances, wondering if Spitfire would even be able to get her speech started. Something long and thin whizzes between them, at the line of sight, coming from outside, and reflexively both Wonderbolts turn to look in the direction the object came from.

Immediately their blood starts running cold at the sight they encounter. Two Royal Guards in full armor, one with a "30" crudely painted on and the other with a "40" painted on in the same crude manner, have slammed into Spitfire! For a horrifying moment, Soarin' and Fleetfoot are paralyzed, the crowd roaring with approval as the two stallions yank Spitfire down and begin beating her up.

Soarin' and Fleetfoot finally start moving, but almost immediately get smacked in the face by objects thrown by the attackers - Soarin' by Spitfire's clipboard tossed toward him and Fleetfoot by an empty crossbow weapon. They are stopped for only a few seconds, but it's long enough - they hear Spitfire cry in agony as she's slammed hard against a wall. Just as the other two Wonderbolts are recovering to move again, the attackers slam into them as they zoom past into the building, knocking them off balance once more.

The surreality of the situation dawns on Soarin' and Fleetfoot as they look over at the crowd cheering as Captain Spitfire lays bruised and curled up in a fetal position on the balcony floor. Soarin' and Fleetfoot work together to help Spitfire back up, but it's clear she's going to need to be looked at by a doctor.

"Help me get her to the hospital, Fleetfoot. Those bruises look pretty bad." Soarin' orders.

"Yes, sir!" Fleetfoot replies, and she takes the side of Spitfire opposite the one Soarin' is on now to mind the Captain's wobbly walking and prevent another collapse on the floor.

Spitfire and her two assistants get down a flight of stairs and few hallways before they meet an unexpected obstacle - Misty Fly in the middle of the hallway, flanked by Lightning Streak on one side and Fire Streak on the other. Between the three ponies, the hallway ahead is blocked.

"You seen where the attackers went, Misty Fly?" Soarin' asks, trying to fight back the rising fear in his mind.

"No I didn't, nor did my assistants here." Misty Fly replies with cold disinterest.

"... The Captain needs medical help. Let us pass, Misty Fly." Soarin' continues, glaring in response to the seeming disinterest Misty Fly and her partners were having in the conversation.

"The Captain had opportunity to avoid this situation. But she was too stubborn. And soon she will pay. This is the only warning she, and you, will get." Misty Fly replies with tone and glare equally acidic, before she and her partners turn away to clear the path ahead.

Both Captain Spitfire and Lead Wingpony Soarin' are too stunned by the defiance and the situation around them to do anything, and Fleetfoot just stands frozen in total shock. After Misty Fly and her partners disappear, there is only Spitfire's heavy breathing heard in the hallway.

"Sir, what did we just see?" Fleetfoot finally asks to break the stunned silence.

"Death, Fleetfoot." Soarin' responds, looking over at Fleetfoot with a haunted expression. "The Wonderbolts are dying, and there's nothing we can do about it..."

Thornwing

"Sir, Lieutenant Skyver really wants you to come out and see this."

"... How important are we talking here, Guard? I've got a lot of paperwork to deal with yet..."

"An-AWOL-found-dead-in-a-dumpster-important, sir."

"Oh no, they got another one! Lead the way, Guard! I'll get the briefing from the Lieutenant when we get there."

"Yes, sir!"

A LITTLE LATER, IN THE STREETS OF CANTERLOT AT NIGHT...

Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor sighs in exasperation as he notices several curious civilian ponies observing the operation currently underway down the alley. The discovery of a dead Guard in a dumpster was bad enough, but having it be a nighttime spectacle was even worse. With Lieutenant Skyver busy setting up the operation to retrieve the dead Guard out of the dumpster, Shining would have to get the spectators to go away himself.

"Guard, could you please convince the spectators to move along? I need to talk with the Lieutenant and don't want the extra civilian distractions." Shining orders his Guard escort.

"Yes sir, right away sir." the Guard replies, turning away toward the curious ponies at the entry to the alleyway. Once Shining sees the Guard is off, he continues down the alley, stopping beside Lieutenant Skyver.

"Good to see you, sir. We're almost ready with the extraction now." Lieutenant Skyver comments with unsurprising somberness as he notices his superior approach beside him. The Lieutenant involuntarily crinkles his snout at the stench around him from the garbage in the dumpster - the only way to hide a dead body in such a place was under a mound of odorous, oozing garbage.

"What happened?" Shining Armor asks Skyver as both stallions observe two Guard pegasi hovering above the dumpster, each with the end of a rope tied around their mid-section. The rope dangled down between them into the contents of the dumpster, presumably also going around the dead Guard inside so that by the two Guards pulling upwards the body could be raised from inside and deposited on the ground.

"One of the morning-shift guards was found to be AWOL when an afternoon-shifter came to replace him. Aten showed paperwork that accounted for him over the course of the shift, and nopony claims to have seen him leave his post, so the afternoon shift was told to simply look for where he went. Just before the evening changeover, one Guard got a report from the users of the dumpster that they had seen a cloaked pony use unicorn magic to toss a body in the dumpster and then cover it with trash. Putting two and two together, I decided to order an extraction and summon you here." Lieutenant Skyver explains.

Shining Armor knits his brows under his Guard helmet. Claiming that Lieutenant Captain Aten and his lackeys in the morning shift were lying in concert to cover up the apparent assassination of an member of the Royal Guard was previously something that only would've been done by the tinfoil-hat-wearing crowd, but now there was good reason to not immediately trust any report Aten submitted. He pushed the conspiracy-encouraging thoughts out of his head for the moment and turns his attention back to the Lieutenant.

"Understood. I'll relay the information to the Captain in the morning. If you're ready for the extraction, go right ahead." Shining Armor replies to the Lieutenant.

"Yes sir." Skyver replies just before giving a "lift up" signal to the pegasi hovering above.

The pegasi start going straight up, the rope between them going taut. At first, the pile of garbage inside the dumpster just shifts slightly, but after a few moments of pulling, a stallion's form starts emerging from the pile, leachate and bits of rotting food in the coat and mane. Both Shining Armor and Skyver are repulsed by the fate their fellow Guard has suffered - not only taken by surprise (and probably betrayed) at the prime of his life, but dumped in what seemed to be the wettest and stinkiest dumpster in all Canterlot!

The lifting pegasi stop once the dead stallion is fully exposed, both to make identification easier and to let the gross liquid that had seeped into his coat drain out back into the dumpster. In the low light of the waning moon, Shining can see the stallion's wings had been broken, likely just before his death. The outsplayed wings hang down, but both they and the legs are stiff - they don't swing at all when the two lifting pegasi finally move from over the dumpster to the area in front of it to set the dead stallion down.

"Rigor mortis has set in - poor stallion has probably been dead all afternoon, at least. Maybe if somepony had spotted him leaving his post..." Skyver speculates.

"I'll just say this for the record, Lieutenant. I do not have trust any more in Lieutenant Captain Aten to do his job correctly, not when it is reasonable to believe lying and covering up is to his personal benefit. His shenanigans have pushed Princess Celestia to the end of her patience, and sooner or later something will have to give." Shining Armor warns.

Skyver pauses to absorb the implications of Shining's statement - very worrying for the future of the Royal Guard and Equestria in general. Meanwhile, the two lifting pegasi set down the dead stallion - on his side due to the stiff legs - in the area in front of the dumpster and begin working the ropes off while remaining in the air above the alleyway.

Shining and Skyver now approach cautiously - each taking one look back to make sure the alley is still secured by the Guard shooing away the civilian witnesses - and for the first time can get a good look at the dead stallion. The coat was at one point a minty green, but has been darkened by the leachate fluid and the first signs of livor mortis. The mane and tail are primarily a darker shade of pink, but have a pair of bright orange stripes separated by a gap. Interestingly, both mane and tail show signs of being chopped at very short but different lengths, as if somepony tried to cut them off in a hurry but ran out of time.

Shining Armor recoils back in disbelief when he gets his first good look at the dead stallion. Skyver turns his attention back to his superior officer when he realizes what is going on. The pegasus Lieutenant sees Shining shaking his head in sad dismay, which prompts the natural question of why.

"Well Lieutenant, I didn't want to involve you in this, but I'm going to have to explain it now..." Shining Armor sadly starts...

THE PREVIOUS EVENING...

"Captain, I still don't understand why you want me to attend this. Surely you don't need me to assist in this?" Shining Armor was saying to Captain of the Guard Gibraltar as the two were walking side-by-side toward the Captain's office.

"I want you to witness it anyway. Just trust me." Captain Gibraltar replies as the two turn into the office. Shining observes Lieutenant Biro calmly working away at the paperwork in a far corner of the room, and in the other far corner sits a dejected pegasus stallion wearing a Guard dress uniform. The stallion has a mint-green coat and a dark pink mane and tail, both mane and tail streaked with a pair of bright orange stripes. A pair of "soft", light-blue eyes tentatively stares out at Shining and Gibraltar as they approach him. Shining gives a curious look in return, and he can see the other stallion with burning cheeks of embarrassment.

"At attention, stallion. State your name and rank for the record." Gibraltar orders as he and Shining move to in front of the sitting stallion.

The sitting pegasus stallion straightens up, clears his throat and recites the required information: "Thornwing, Guard Upper Class."

"Very good. Now, will you please repeat for the benefit of the Lieutenant Captain the events that transpired early this afternoon?" Gibraltar asks.

"Yes, sir. I have some information that would interest the Lieutenant Captain." Thornwing cautiously begins, his continuing blush seeming to indicate his reluctance to even speak in the position he had found himself in.

"Go on, let's hear it." Shining Armor acknowledges, his curiousity suddenly piqued by Thornwing's statement.

"Thank you, sir." Thornwing begins. "It started this morning, when Lieutenant Captain Aten assigned me to guard the medical complex, that includes the morgue where the 'Jane Doe' that was found with Lilly Withers was being preserved in lieu of an identification."

"Have you ever been assigned to that area before?" Shining Armor asks.

"No, sir, and that's why I found it odd that the Lieutenant Captain would put me here." Thornwing replies.

"Understood. Continue." Shining Armor acknowledges.

"Yes sir. As I was doing my patrol through the complex, I spotted the 'Jane Doe' laying in full view, and I thought I recognized something about her as I passed. I asked the doctor on duty to let me take a closer look, and as soon as I got close enough... it was horrible, sir!"

"You were able to identify the 'Jane Doe'?"

"Yes, and it was my mother, sir! That's the reason I'm here now!"

Shining Armor recoils back in shock - he can hardly imagine the horror Thornwing must've experienced in seeing his own mother dead and desecrated, preserved like a museum specimen on a table. He catches Gibraltar giving a somber nod of acknowledgement out of the corner of his vision.

"I went into the Royal Guard, joined the Agents of Chaos, in hopes that I could save my mother. And now she's gone!" Thornwing exclaims.

"Agents of Chaos?" Shining naturally enquires of Thornwing.

"Yes, I am Agent 20. My father was a member too, and he wanted big, strong colts to go into the Royal Guard and follow in his hoofsteps. He married - although I'm not sure it was ever 100% legal - my mother, Posey, in hoping that her earth pony genetics would fortify the offspring with the best traits of both pegasi and earth pony." Thornwing explains.

"It's not an unreasonable train of thought, considering that kind of breeding was how the Royal Guard was built in the first place. Continue on, Guard." Captain Gibraltar comments.

"Thank you, sir. When it was just me and my parents, everything was fine. But then my mother got pregnant again, and it was with a filly this time. My father did not like this at all and threatened to walk away from the relationship unless she gave up the filly. It broke my mother's heart, but she agreed to do it." Thornwing continues on.

"What happened to the filly?" Shining Armor asks.

"My aunt - mother's sister - and her mate agreed to take the filly in and raise her as if she were their own. The birth certificate also had their names written on it instead of my mother's and father's. I saw that filly right after she was foaled - a pegasus, but the same coat and mane colors as my mother. I'm sure she would've been proud of the young mare that filly has now become. I know I am, sir." Thornwing answers with a shy smile.

Captain Gibraltar and Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor exchange surprised eyebrows, as both are aware of Posey's coat and mane colors from seeing her previously as displayed in the morgue. Gibraltar gives a little nod in Shining's direction and the latter turns attention back to Thornwing.

"So what you're saying, Guard, is that...?" Shining Armor asks, waiting for the shocking answer that had popped into his mind.

"I am Fluttershy's biological older brother. Because of the birth certificate and her adoptive parents being total pushovers, there's no way they'd ever work up the courage to tell her the truth." Thornwing quietly answers. "After the filly who is now called Fluttershy was given up, my father was sent into a field assignment as part of the Guard and ended up dying in an accident out there, which meant my mother became part of the 'herd' of Agent Snake. I continued into the Guard in the hopes I could rescue her, but now..."

"Say no more, Guard. We get the picture." Captain Gibraltar interrupts, raising a forehoof as he and Shining Armor exchange worried and concerned glances. Suddenly this otherwise unassuming stallion had become a very pivotal figure in the ongoing conflict against the Agents of Chaos.

"But why did you keep this information to yourself for so long? Why did you not say something to us sooner, Guard?" Shining Armor asks with great concern in his voice, again worried he would already know the answer.

"My mother would surely have died if I betrayed them while she was still alive. Now she is dead anyways, and I have no more reason to stay loyal to them. I have access to their inner sanctum, gather a force and I will lead you to it." Thornwing explains.

Shining and Gibraltar look over at each other again before Gibraltar replies: "That is a very generous offer. We will accept it, and just maybe you will get to see your sister again, even if she doesn't know who you are..."

BACK IN THE PRESENT...

"Well, that explains the whole business around Posey and Thornwing, but why wasn't Thornwing kept under 24 hour monitoring?" Lieutenant Skyver asks as the two subordinate Guards gingerly prepare to wrap Thornwing's trash-covered body for immediate transport to the morgue, to be beside his mother in death.

"The Captain believed doing that would tip off the Agents of his defection. The fact they got him so quickly means one of two things - either he was being actively monitored by the enemy, or they engineered a situation in which he would likely defect and make himself a target for immediate elimination." Shining Armor grimly replies, his tone conveying a touch of frustration.

"Considering the situation at the morgue, I'm inclined to believe the latter possibility, sir." Skyver comments.

"And now we have lost a golden opportunity to destroy the Agents of Chaos. His parents are dead, and with a forged birth certificate there's no chance that Fluttershy will ever know about him..." Shining Armor comments in turn.

"You seriously believe that story, sir?"

"He did identify the Jane Doe, Lieutenant. You can believe what you want, and it may not matter much in the end. But I believe the pernicious influence of the Agents of Chaos has done many bad things to good ponies, and if Fluttershy is one of those victims then it makes her success despite her beginnings that much more inspiring."

"If you say so, sir..." Skyver trails off, observing the dead Thornwing being wrapped by his subordinates, and wondering whether that dead stallion's story really was true and whether it would matter or not in the end...

The Aten Factor

"What are you listening to, sir?"

"Quiet, Lieutenant! I'm not supposed to be here, but I don't care what the Captain says, I'm listening in anyway!"

Lieutenant Amarna was beside Lieutenant Captain Aten as the latter was eavesdropping on a private meeting between Princess Celestia and Captain of the Guard Gibraltar. Normally he would've been allowed to sit in this kind of meeting, but the previous day Celestia had directly forbidden him from sitting in any more meetings. The fact this ban seemed to be exclusive to him made him smart and convinced him of continuing pro-unicorn and anti-pegasus prejudice, so he secretly wanted to defy the order, convinced that there were plans in the works to replace him as leader of the morning shift Celestia did not want him hearing.

Instead of what his paranoia was telling him though, Aten would instead hear something more interesting and a little more comforting to him. The conversation started with Celestia and Gibraltar answered in turn:

"The death of Guard Upper Class Thornwing has convinced me that Mr. Hoofer has turned against Equestria and forsaken his oaths of loyalty. His position will protect him no longer, and I am explicitly ordering you to arrest him as soon as the operation can be performed. Understood, Captain?"

"Yes, Your Highness. But how will the Guards get past the EIA defenses? Surely they will defend their leader to the death, and the last thing I want is casualties on either side."

"I will issue explicit cover for all Guards involved in Mr. Hoofer's arrest. Any EIA members that resist will have to answer to me directly for their actions. That will bring them into submission."

"I understand, Your Highness."

"Good. Have Lieutenant Captain Fidelitas in command of the overall operation, and give him latitude to choose the Lieutenants to take with him. All involved in this operation should wear full armor and expect armed resistance from the EIA as soon as they set hoof in the building. Your ultimate objective is the arrest of Mr. Hoofer. Obviously, I'm not going to tell him you're coming, so surprise must be maintained."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"This information is to be disseminated on a need-to-know basis, only to those who will be involved in the operation. Since I believe Lieutenant Captain Aten will tip off Mr. Hoofer if he hears anything about this, there will be no involvement of anypony on the morning shift as a result. Clear?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Good. Make your preparations to execute the operation as soon as possible. And remember, no morning shift ponies at all!"

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Sir, I think the Captain's going to be coming out shortly!" Amarna whispers in warning to Aten after the conversation between Celestia and Gibraltar is over.

Aten belatedly realizes the warning and gestures Amarna to follow him quickly away. Both Aten and Amarna are around a corner and out of sight before Gibraltar can look to see where the hoof sounds had come from. Gibraltar looks back at Celestia, who gives a concerned look before waving her Captain on to continue his work.

Aten and Amarna meanwhile have made it back to Aten's office, where they seem surprisingly unperturbed by what they had just heard. Both pegasi had expected to be locked out of the loop for something like this - this apparent erosion of trust filled Aten's delusions of an anti-pegasus conspiracy - but what they had heard was enough to allow them to gage the success of the real scheme behind "Mr. Hoofer".

"The plan is working, Lieutenant. Cover me for the rest of the shift, I'm going to the shrine." Aten orders with whispered excitement.

"Yes, sir. Glory to the chaotic one." Amarna replies in the same whispered excitement as Aten turns away and, only sparing one look back, disappears into a dimly-lit utility closet.

Aten passes buckets, mops, brooms, strange bottles filled with chemicals he doesn't want to bother learning about, a large sink and a circuit breaker box before halting at what appears to be a dead end. He rears up on his hindlegs and pushes a forehoof to the ceiling. One side of a ceiling panel lifts up, rather like a trapdoor, and the pegasus stallion pushes off his hindlegs to squeeze through the opening into a natural cavern running into the mountain Canterlot was built on.

The trapdoor closes behind Aten and he remains airborne to avoid causing too much noise. A little ways down, in the darkness of the cavern with only torches for illumination, is an old maintenance elevator he steps on. He yanks down a lever with his mouth, and the old cage starts slowly descending deep into the root of the mountain. Several side shafts - remnants of a mining operation from long ago - stretch into the darkness as he goes down.

The cage bottoms out, and Aten steps off it. Down a short passage he walks, and then he turns right to emerge at the "shrine". In reality, this place was a small cove with a classic symbol of chaos - an eight-way arrow - carved into the far wall. In front of this carving is a small table, covered in rock chips, on which is placed two candles and a drawing of a statue above in the castle gardens - disingenuously referred to a representation of the concept of "discord", and to the Agents of Chaos believed to be directly linked to the "chaotic one" they worshipped - framed between them.

Aten lights the candles using a small stick held in mouth and previously lit at the far end from a torch outside, then puts out the stick and prostrates before the shrine as if it were the alicorn princesses themselves. This was as close as the Agents of Chaos could get to worshipping the statue "representing discord" outside without being detected.

"Oh great and mighty chaotic one, I have news for you to hear!" Aten speaks in his prostrate position. "All is going according to plan! We will soon close all the leaks in our ranks, make our enemies blind and deaf, and be ready to unleash the whirlwind that will allow for the return of your glorious rule over Equestria! Your servant has spoken, please find him and his works in your favor!"

A very dark worship, to a very dark threat for the future of Equestria. The coming fall of Mr. Hoofer would be the opening gust of the whirlwind soon to come...

High Noon

"Are the Lieutenants deployed?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. We are executing the raid operation."

"Understood, sir."

It was high noon in Equestria, and Lieutenant Captain Fidelitas was ready to raid the EIA headquarters. His target was "Mr. Hoofer", the codename for the unicorn leader that was now believed to be "Agent Snake", leader of the Agents of Chaos, and having directly or indirectly been responsible for the crimes they caused. Besides the main raid force, commanded by him personally and dressed in full battle armor, there were two "catch squads", one commanded by Lieutenant Steelwing and another by Lieutenant Vigil, designed to prevent their target from escaping by deploying pegasi guards in a pattern designed to intercept escapees from the EIA building.

All the raiders were wearing insignia matching Celestia's cutie mark on their armor - an indication that the wearers were acting under Celestia's direct orders and thus attacking them was akin to attacking Celestia herself - but Fidelitas did not believe that would make the raid a cakewalk to perform. The squad was ready and prepared to meet armed, or at least physical, resistance from EIA members.

The first obstacle Fidelitas and his squad encountered was a security gate topped with pellet guns to shoot at pegasi that tried to fly over the barrier. There were two guards at the gate, but on seeing the decorated squad in full armor approaching fled into the headquarters complex itself. As the squad watched them flee, the second to Fidelitas, Lieutenant Vanguard, suggested flying two pegasi up to the pellet guns and turning them around to shoot at the fleeing gate guards.

"No, Lieutenant. We will not shoot unless shot at first. We do not want the whole complex in an uproar." Fidelitas replies to object to the Lieutenant's plan.

Upon reaching the gate, Fidelitas orders the gate opened, but a quick investigation reveals the gate has been locked shut and the mechanisms sabotaged - a worrisome development, as it seems to indicate that the EIA knew the raid squad was coming. Fidelitas orders most of the squad to push the gate open while consulting with Lieutenant Vanguard what to do next.

"Sir, should we expect an ambush once we're through?" Lieutenant Vanguard asks his superior officer.

"Maybe. It seems we don't have the element of surprise as we thought we did. We should act under the assumption we will be ambushed at some point, royal protection or not." Lieutenant Captain Fidelitas replies.

"Understood, sir." the Lieutenant acknowledges.

After some amount of pushing by the raid squad, the gate is forced open and the squad proceeds into the EIA complex proper. Although the buildings are defended by pellet guns and gas canister launchers, none of the weapons open fire, causing an eerie feeling to descend upon the raid squad.

"Lieutenant, have the squad form up in pairs and parade down the main access to the headquarters. Hopefully that will deter further resistance." Fidelitas orders Lieutenant Vanguard.

"Yes, sir." the Lieutenant replies, and quickly the squad is in pairs, with Fidelitas and Vanguard at the head of the parade line.

The parade passes cautiously between rows of secured buildings, the pellet guns and canister launchers tracking their progress but still not opening fire. Worryingly, the squad notices EIA staff beginning to stalk behind them, increasing worries they were being drawn into an ambush.

The main access road ends in another security gate directly around the headquarters building itself. This time, the squad sees ponies manning the pellet guns atop the gate as well as others with short swords directly in front of the gate itself. Fidelitas orders a halt just outside the approach to the headquarters gate and then a change of formation to a "wedge" shape, which would be the most effective way of dealing with head-on resistance.

"Make way and open the gate. We are acting on the orders of Princess Celestia herself!" Fidelitas shouts to the ponies in front of the gate, which seem determined to stand their ground.

"We know why you are here, horned one. And we will not let you take our leader alive!" one of the stallions with a sword shouts back. "We stand here unmoving! Harmony will end and the chaotic one will return! Attack and take no prisoners!"

And at that moment the situation turns chaotic as the pellet guns and gas canister launchers open fire, followed by two charges against the Guard squad - the sword wielders in front of them and a smaller group hitting from behind. All the Guard squad can do is react defensively, hoping to repulse the attack and then break through the gate into the EIA headquarters building.

A confused melee between the Guard squad and the EIA attackers follows, swords and pellets from the guns plinking off armor and the gas canisters releasing their irritating contents. Despite an advantage in numbers (about a dozen attackers versus 8 members in the Guard squad) and energy, the opponents of the Royal Guard squad have no effective weapons to penetrate the heavier battle armor the Guard squad is wearing, and the tear gas released by the canisters affects both sides equally.

The sword fighters slash and hack in vain against the heavy armor until knocked away or knocked down by the Guard squad, Fidelitas personally using his "laser sword" special talent to take down several attackers. The pegasi operators of the pellet guns and gas canister launchers abandon their posts after it becomes obvious that their weapons are not effective, flying away only to be snagged by the "catch squads" the Royal Guard had previously deployed for that purpose.

When the last tear gas canister finally dissipates, the Guard squad has enough time to take stock of the situation. Several ponies have been lightly wounded, including Fidelitas himself, and their armor is heavily damaged, but their opponents have either fled or are down for the count. Fidelitas orders Lieutenant Vanguard to take several Upper Classes to gather up the wounded and prisoners and lead them back to the castle, while he himself takes the rest of the squad in to continue the raid.

A quick application of the "laser sword" cuts through the lock on the now-undefended gate, and Fidelitas leads five Guards pushing it open and up to the EIA headquarters main door. There is no further defense - the normal detail and civilian staff made themselves scarce when the first shots opened up - and after several bucking attempts the locked-down main door is forced open.

The Guard raid squad bursts into the building, where the mostly civilian staff working in the lobby attempt to hide as quickly as possible. One of the Guards shouts in the echoing lobby that nopony who cooperates will be harmed while Fidelitas looks up the necessary information to find the office of "Mr. Hoofer". Once he finds that information, Fidelitas orders two Guards to stay to secure the lobby while the remaining squad worked up the stairs to the necessary target.

As the Guards rush up the stairs, they catch glimpses of several pegasi flying out the windows of the building - the "catch squad" Lieutenants later reported they were Agents of Chaos embedded in the EIA and attempting to escape capture. When the squad finally reached the office of "Mr. Hoofer", they found the door had been barricaded on the outside, and to the frustration of the Lieutenant Captain they had to take some minutes to break through the barricade and get the locked-down door open. While working on the barricade, Fidelitas received a report that several attackers had been caught by the catch squads but others had managed to escape.

"Understood. We'll find out if 'Mr. Hoofer' is one of them when we get this barricade open." Fidelitas answered as several Guard members bashed away at the door, assisted by the cutting power of the Lieutenant Captain's "laser sword".

For all the trouble the Guards went through to get to "Mr. Hoofer", busting into the office proved to be an anti-climatic affair. Amidst the broken debris of the door broken open to get inside the office, papers were scattered everywhere - most soaked in ink or coffee in an hasty attempt to render them unreadable - and two ponies were found limp on the office floor. Near one of the ponies was an open bottle of pills that were readily identifiable as cyanide pills.

One of the ponies was a unicorn covered from top to bottom in a cloak, while the other was a unicorn mare that reminded Fidelitas somewhat of Celestia's servant Raven - probably the secretary of "Mr. Hoofer". Fidelitas orders two of the Guards to check the down ponies while the rest of the squad secures the area to prevent any potential ambushes. It's not long before his fears are confirmed: both ponies are dead, having swallowed cyanide pills before the arrival of the Guard squad. The fact their bodies were still warm indicated that the deaths were not long before, perhaps even as they entered the EIA complex.

"Coward, he decided to off himself rather than face Celestia's wrath." Fidelitas comments with a sad shake of his head.

"Do you think the Agents of Chaos will be neutralized now that their leader is dead?" one of the Guards asks hopefully.

"Well, I think we've thwarted their immediate plans. But the forces of chaos and disharmony will always find ways to regroup and rebuild their strength. We should not let our vigilance down just because we've killed their leader." Fidelitas answers.

Wise words Fidelitas uttered, but their wisdom was compromised by the incorrect conclusions Fidelitas had reached. Little did he know he was setting up exactly what the Agents of Chaos would want in Operation Whirlwind...

End of the Line

It has been said that the dead need to be given due respect, but exceptions are generally made for traitors. And the higher the one performing the treachery, the more disrespect that can be done that doesn't seem inappropriate for the situation. For Princess Celestia dealing with "Mr. Hoofer", a high amount of disrespect to his body was acceptable, but she would not give it herself.

For him, she authorized an old and relatively cruel punishment: public burning at the stake. His dead form would be tied to a large pole in the middle of the plaza in front of the palace, and the pole set aflame by a blast of Celestia's own magic. This punishment once was a metaphorical representation of "the sun" (i.e. Celestia herself) consuming those who would turn against her. Curiosity about the old style of execution and the relative high profile of the traitor being burned at the stake would ensure a high turnout for the event and extensive media coverage of both it and the aftereffects. It was as much about making a statement as it was in serving justice for those who "Mr. Hoofer's" actions lead to being killed or injured, or so it was believed...

The view of the spectacle from the castle windows was both morbidly curious and morbidly scary. This unease was compounded by the revelation that the EIA had more Agents of Chaos in its ranks than just "Mr. Hoofer" - in fact, as documentation seized in the Fidelitas-led raid began to be sorted through, there was every indication that those members in the EIA were used to help cover the actions of others.

It was the implications of the seized documentation that made Captain of the Guard Gibraltar depressed as he sorted through the preliminary report of the raid on the EIA headquarters. Most of the report was a detail of the actions taken and the brief fight outside the building gate, but also buried inside was a list of the identities of Agents of Chaos within the EIA. All intelligence given by them to Gibraltar or the princesses directly was now suspect, and Gibraltar had the sad task of disposing of all suspect intelligence reports - most could not be verified by other sources to check their authenticity.

As Gibraltar was moving through the paperwork, he noticed a small note stapled along the edge of one of the pages. The note showed signs of being scrawled in a hurry and probably by a non-unicorn member of the Guard - the writing would not have been of acceptable quality for unicorn members - and then attached to a seemingly random page in the middle of the paperwork stack. It was a reasonably good way to get a secret message passed along in a hurry, so Gibraltar stopped his other work to try to decipher the note.

The words were simple, but extremely alarming: "Inconsistencies between claimed attacker description and actual pony description discovered - magic color different. Leader may still be alive and loose. - Double Bar"

Gibraltar knew who "Double Bar" was - it was his double agent within the Agents of Chaos that had helped thwart several of their plots. The fact that he was saying now that "Mr. Hoofer", who was currently under the process of being publicly degraded by an angry crowd, wasn't who everypony thought he was extremely alarming, as "Double Bar" was now the only trustworthy intelligence source Gibraltar had for determining what the Agents of Chaos were up to.

He took a look out of the office window at the crowds in the plaza - clamoring and throwing objects at the outstretched dead form of "Mr. Hoofer", all the while eagerly anticipating watching him burn. He wondered what was happening to Equestria, whether Luna's return and the rediscovery of the Elements of Harmony had really been a good thing or just unleashed more deep seated problems between the different pony races. But most of all, he wondered whether the Agents of Chaos would make "Mr. Hoofer" a martyr for their cause instead of a dirty coward, to rally even more extreme elements to their ranks.

"Oh Element Bearers, I hope we will not need you to fight for harmony here in this city..." Gibraltar mutters out in an almost prayerful manner...

A LITTLE LATER...

Agent Snake knew from the mighty roar penetrating even the mountainside into the caverns within that the bonfire consuming "Mr. Hoofer" had been lit. Although he couldn't see it himself for security reasons, the mental picture was delicious enough - the colorful crowd of Canterlot citizens jubilantly watching who they believed public enemy #1 burning on a pole, the downcast and somber Princess Celestia, the concern and worry on members of the Royal Guard, and most of all the fears that would certainly be stoked once the last ashes of the bonfire had been extinguished.

"Isn't it delicious, Agent X? And it's all thanks to you!" Agent Snake says as he turns to look at the pony beside him, which wears the same face and form as the pony burning at the stake outside the caverns, in the palace square.

Agent X gives a grunt nod of affirmation and gives two good stamps of the forehooves - a sign of particular satisfaction with the job he had just performed. By the time the loyal members of the Royal Guard had realized that they had been carefully misled by the actions of Agent X in disguise, it would be too late to mitigate its effects. Yes, several Agents of Chaos had been lost, but the leaky EIA had been sealed, and now the loyalists were essentially fighting blind and deaf with all other intelligence leaks sealed as well.

"They believe we are defeated and will let their guard down. We will storm through them when we get the sign - the sign of the pegasus ascendancy. In that moment all our hopes and dreams will be fulfilled. And what a glorious day that will be, Agent X!" Snake exclaims.

Agent Snake listened to the low rumble coming from outside with an eagerly evil grin, and X licking lips eagerly, almost as if it was a tasty meal he was eating. Both knew what that low rumble meant - a mob barely under control, and angry elements within it that could be utilized for the purposes of chaos. None of the Equestrian loyalists knew it, but the conditions of Operation Whirlwind were now step up, and it would only be a matter of time before it was unleashed upon an unsuspecting Canterlot population...