The Crusaders

by GJT_Productions

Rating: everyone
Tags: Applejack, Drama, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Rarity, Slice of Life
Length: 10082

The Cutie Mark Crusaders being invited to perform a reprise of an "award-winning" performance reveals a new threat to harmony in Canterlot

While the shakeup following Operation Whirlwind is still settling out, Princess Celestia invites the newly-formed Cutie Mark Crusaders to perform a reprise of their "award-winning" performance at the Ponyville Schoolhouse Talent Show.

But not everypony is pleased with this display of the three races working together, and with Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor distracted by the hunt for the escaped Agent Snake a new menace finds opportunity to emerge under the snouts of him and his allies, with the Crusaders as their primary target...

Prev: Consequences| Episode 19: The Crusaders | Next: Mission to Appleloosa

New to the series? Start here!

Published 2018-03-03 00:00:07 UTC
Last updated 2018-04-27 16:22:26 UTC

Celestia's Invitation

"Captain, I still do not understand why Princess Celestia has such interest in inviting three fillies over to redo a school talent show performance, even if those fillies are related to the Element Bearers..."

"Only two of them, actually, as far as Twilight Sparkle and I know. And, Stratocumulus, I've learned over the many years working here as Captain of the Canterlot Guard that an alicorn's mind is even more unfathomable than that of a more simple mare. Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor has come the closest to understanding them, but even he gets stumped sometimes..."

"Captain, are you going to make arrangements for the travel of the 'Cutie Mark Crusaders' to and from Canterlot?" Princess Celestia asks with a sly grin on her face, poking her head in to interrupt the conversation between Captain of the Guard Gibraltar and Lieutenant Captain Stratocumulus, newly commissioned as the replacment for Aten in charge of the morning Guard shift.

"Yes, Your Highness, I will get Lieutenant Biro working on it." Captain Gibraltar replies, Lieutenant Captain Stratocumulus joining him in giving a sheepish smile in Celestia's direction. These smiles were only dropped once Celestia's hoofsteps had faded into echoes in the Canterlot Castle hallways.

"I swear those alicorns are going to be the death of me one of these days..." Gibraltar sighs out, levitating a sheet of parchment as he does so over toward Lieutenant Biro working studiously and silently in the corner of the Captain's office.

"I wish Shining Armor was here to help me figure them out, sir..." Lieutenant Captain Stratocumulus replies with as much honesty as he can muster.

"Now you know he's been busy with other assignments, coordinating the batponies working at night trying to track down where Aten and his guards disappeared to." Gibraltar reminds his subordinate. "As if the critial nature of Lieutenant Troilus spouting anti-pegasus conspriacy theories has helped any... it's a pity he's the most senior Lieutenant on the shift after Aten's group was purged out..."

"Troilus barely even listens to me, sir. I'm sure it's because Celestia appointed me instead of him to replace Aten, I don't know what else it could be..." Stratocumulus growls out in quiet frustration.

"Celestia put your former Agent of Chaos and long-term double agent status out in public record. I wouldn't have done that myself, but such things are important with her, so I've kept quiet about the wisdom of such a decision to myself until now." Gibraltar states, looking up at the worry of Stratocumulus as he speaks. "Unfortunately, that put a big target right on you for Troilus and whoever believes his crazy theories. And there's not much I or your fellow Lieutenant Captains can do about it."

"What am I supposed to do with Troilus, sir, without triggering a huge scandal in the process?" Stratocumulus all but pleads to the Captain.

"Despite his loose lips, Troilus has not done anything worthy of formal punishment. Know this though - the princesses have your back. Celestia wouldn't have placed you in this situation if she didn't. I have you back, Fidelitas has your back and Shining Armor has your back. If Troilus ever does anything worthy of real punishment, the book will be thrown at him, just to make it clear that his race does not excuse his undermining behavior. Aten did enough of that before the rebellion, and it's extremely aggravating Troilus seems to be interested in continuing this in a different guise. Am I clear, Lieutenant Captain?"

"Very, sir."

"Good, you are dismissed. Lieutenant Biro and I will be able to take care of Celestia's request from here..."

MEANWHILE, IN PONYVILLE'S GOLDEN OAKS LIBRARY...

"Okay, before I give those around the table who don't already know how to play O&O the introductory course, I'm going to introduce everyone one at..."

"BURRRRRP!"

"Spike, where are your manners?!? Don't you see we have guests here?!"

"I couldn't help it, Twilight! Letter!"

Stallions Big Macintosh and Gizmo exchange looks mixing mortification and amusement as Twilight Sparkle uses unicorn magic to take the rolled-up letter in one of Spike's clawed hands. Obviously never having seen Celestia's delivery methods firsthoof, it's all they can do to avoid staring down at Spike in slack-jawed amazement.

"Note to self: Tell Princess Celestia my schedule for the new Ponyville O&O Club." Twilight Sparkle mutters to herself as she opens and unrolls the scroll while it is levitating in mid-air.

"What is it? Is that how Princess Celestia sends all her mail?" Gizmo asks Twilight, causing Spike to blush somewhat afterward.

"Not all her mail, Poindexter. Just anything that's supposed to be for me, which is weird since I've already sent a friendship letter this week..." Twilight trails off, referring to Gizmo by the name her older brother had called him in high school.

"Well, what does the letter say?" Big Macintosh pipes up.

"It's not addressed to me, Princess Celestia wants this taken to the Ponyville Schoolhouse and presented to Cheerilee on behalf of the 'Cutie Mark Crusaders'." Twilight replies with a great deal of surprise in her voice.

"That thing my sister's part of?" Big Macintosh speaks again.

"Must be. Can you take this to the schoolhouse when you pick your sister up, Big Mac?" Twilight asks, levitating the scroll over to the stallion as she speaks.

"Sure, I guess..." the red stallion replies in puzzlement, looking down at the scroll on the table as he does so...

LATER, AT PONYVILLE SCHOOLHOUSE...

The ringing of the school bell brings galloping excitement from the colts and fillies released from confinement to their desks. The teacher, Cheerilee, shakes her head in amusement as she begins to organize her notes. In the corner of her sight, she catches Big Macintosh sauntering into the classroom.

"Here to pick up Apple Bloom, I'm assuming Big Mac?" Cheerilee asks in her usual perky tone of voice.

"Actually, Twilight Sparkle wanted me to give you something." Big Mac answers, putting down the scroll he had gotten earlier on Cheerilee's desk. Puzzled, Cheerilee unrolls the scroll, reading it by holding it open with her forelegs while standing on her hindlegs.

"Hmmm... Apple Bloom, could you and Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo come over here please?" Cheerilee asks, calling over the three "Cutie Mark Crusaders" currently huddling in the planning phase of their next "crusade".

"What is it, Miss Cheerilee?" Sweetie Belle asks as the trio approach Cheerilee and Big Mac at Cheerilee's desk.

"Big Mac brought something from Twilight, a message from Princess Celestia herself!" Cheerilee states, placing the scroll on the schoolroom floor so that they can read it for themselves.

The three fillies crowd around the unrolled scroll, and their reaction to the contents is not joy, but shock and horror: "WHAT?!?"

"Why does the princess want us to do that?!" Apple Bloom exclaims.

"Yeah, aren't we gonna destroy her theater? Besides, it didn't do for us what we wanted it to do anyways, and I doubt doin' it a second time will get us the cutie marks. We gotta find other ways of doin' comedy if we're gonna get the cutie mark in that." Scootaloo adds in.

"And she wants us doing it as soon as we can make it to Canterlot? I mean, that show took a lot of planning, and we won't have our sisters to help us out..." Sweetie Belle pipes up.

Cheerilee looks over at Big Macintosh for help, but the earth pony stallion just shrugs in response. Cheerilee looks down at the skeptical fillies, and realizes the next week or so of her life just got very interesting...

Security Arrangements

"Good evening, Lieutenant Troilus. Something I can help you with?"

"No, sir, just checking the scheduling for tomorrow before I turn in for the night. With those fillies performing, I need to be sure about my assignment."

"... Very well then, have a good night."

After his short conversation with Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor, Lieutenant Troilus returns back out the way he came from the office, around a corner and back to where a unicorn stallion marked as a Guard Upper Class is waiting. Both ponies are waiting in the Guard offices - usually darkened and quiet at nighttime to aid the batponies as they worked - and were currently in an unused maintenance corridor, out of sight but still able to hear what was going on in Shining Armor's office.

"Too close, looks like we'll have to..." Troilus begins to explain in whisper to his Upper Class companion, before the latter puts a hoof over his snout.

"There's other ponies coming, sir!" the companion warns in the same whispering tone, and indeed hoofsteps are heard echoing in the hallways. Both Troilus and his companion froze in their current positions, trying to not be heard even with their breathing.

Shining Armor's voice is heard coming from the office shortly afterwards, and the conversation begins with the new arrival: "Ahh, Lieutenant Vesper. All is well with the assignment transfers, I'm assuming?"

"Yes, sir." Lieutenant Vesper's deep and growly voice replies.

"And you have taken the job of guarding the Crusaders yourself?"

"Yes, indeed. Arcturus is with me as the companion."

"Very good. Leave the paperwork with me, you are dismissed."

"Yes, sir. Have a good shift, sir."

"Same to you. Remember, you will have both royal sisters to answer to if anything happens to the Crusader trio!"

Troilus and his companion only have enough time to exhale in relief before the fading hooves of Vesper's steps are replaced by a more lively clip-clopping coming from a different direction. Again they freeze temporarily, but this time Troilus dares to sneak a peek around the corner of the corridor. This time approaching is Princess Luna herself, an owl of some kind clinging on to her horn as tightly as he can. Troilus quickly ducks back behind cover on seeing the princess of the night approaching, and the following conversation in the office is once again only heard, not witnessed, by the two unicorn stallions:

"Good evening, Lieutenant Captain. Is the Oubliettes and Ogres session tonight going on as planned?"

"Yes, Your Highness, I just need to finish... uh, what's perching on your head right now, if I may ask?"

"Oh, we are training this owl to be of nighttime service to Twilight Sparkle in the traditions of Starswirl the Bearded and other unicorn mages of the old times. He does not have a name yet, we will give him one at the end of his training."

"Um... I hope you remember to send a letter in advance to Twily, considering how Spike is going to react..."

"Who?"

"... Did that owl just ask me a question?"

"Your ears did not deceive you, Lieutenant Captain. He understands our speech, but probably will not be able to speak it back like the parrots in the aviary can."

"Who who!"

"Alright, fair enough. Your Majesty did tell him about Twily and Spike?"

"Who?"

"Spike is a baby dragon, assistant to Twilight Sparkle in Ponyville..."

"Who?"

"Twilight Sparkle is my younger sister and Princess Celestia's personal..."

"Who?"

"OK, now you're just being silly..."

At this point, Lieutenant Troilus heard his lower-ranked companion trying to suppress laughter, and has to break off his spying efforts to smack him back into a quiet state of affairs. When he finally dares to take another look at the situation, he sees Princess Luna, owl still on head, walking out of the office and turning away back the way she had come.

"OK, you remember the plan? We're going to execute as soon as the office is clear, and then head straight for the meeting." Troilus asks his companion in a whisper, to which the companion replies in a slient nod.

Then came a wait in agonizing silence, Troilus and his companion only daring to breathe as quietly as they could manage under the building anxiety over what they had set out to do. Finally, Troilus caught a glimpse of Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor exiting out of the office, traveling the same path Luna had followed previously.

"Let's go." Troilus says, just before his body becomes enveloped in a ring of green magic that starts around his hooves and travels upward.

Troilus' companion emerges from the darkness behind Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor - or a stallion that looks like him - and takes station watching outside the Shining Armor's office while the doppleganger of the Lieutenant Captain enters the office and begins searching around for certain tools Shining Armor used to authenticate official documents.

Tools obtained, the ersatz Shining takes them toward the assignment sheet posted on a wall just inside the guarded door. He scans for the entry for special assignment the following morning, makes note of the name and hustles back over to the main office desk, where he retypes the name and then "Lieutenant Troilus" on a seperate line below it on a typewriter-like machine placed on the desk.

The paper with the names typed on it was removed from the machine, and a clean one put in its place afterward. The names are cut into two seperate strips, and tape applied to each end of the strips. The strips are then taped in such a way to reverse the name with the special assignment guarding the Cutie Mark Crusaders with "Lieutenant Troilus", such that Troilus appears to have been given the special assignment in place of the intended Guard.

The previous process was repeated to switch the companion of the intended Guard with "Guard Upper Class Lycaon", the name of the stallion currently playing lookout at the office door. The changes are then "confirmed" by stamping across them with Shining Armor's officer stamp. Once the switcheroo had been accomplished and all had been put back in place, the Shining Armor mimic passes by Lycaon and returns to the darkness, Lieutenant Troilus emerging from the same darkness just moments later.

"You think anypony saw what happened?" Troilus asks Lycaon, to which the latter shakes his head.

"Good, we're off to the meeting then..." Troilus replies, giving an evil grin as he does so. He starts down the corridor in double-time march and malevolence in his heart, Guard Upper Class Lycaon right behind him...

A Dark Meeting

"Moon Dancer, what are we even doing here?"

"Those pegasi killed our father and crippled our mother, and I want to help get revenge on them. Staying in Canterlot isn't going to do that!"

"Can't we talk about this over at Pony Joe's? What would Princess Celestia and Twilight...?"

"Don't mention those names to me ever again! I have no use for them or friendship! Revenge is all I want now!"

Java Jive retained her mortified expression as she followed her fuming sister Moon Dancer down the back alley and through a side door into the meeting place she had been told about previously. Through the door, the pair of young mares observed a small group, all unicorns, mixing civilians and lower-ranked Royal Guards, with Prince Blueblood in conversation with Lieutenant Troilus in the back of the small room.

Immediately all attention was drawn in the direction of the arriving pair, and Lieutenant Troilus stops his conversation to work his way over to Moon Dancer and Java Jive - due to Moon Dancer's former social prominence, Troilus and some of the other Royal Guard members recognized her quickly despite the makeover she had done to resemble Twilight Sparkle.

"Moon Dancer - I remember standing guard outside of a lot of your parties. It's shocking how completely you flipped around in the social department. Too bad about your parents, Aten and his minions really screwed them over didn't they..." Troilus says to Moon Dancer.

"That's why my sister and I are here, sir. We want to join your campaign, the one you mentioned in the mailing." Moon Dancer replies with a determined expression on her face.

"Very good, very good. We can use the help of every pony we can get. Why don't you two get acquainted with Prince Blueblood over there, and make sure that you are paying attention when we go over the situation at the meeting?" Troilus offers, pointing back in the direction of Blueblood as he speaks.

Moon Dancer looks over at her sister, who just shrugs in response. The two mares begin working their way into the small room, already feeling more comfortable in the space as they do so...

A LITTLE LATER...

"Order! We shall have order!" Troilus exclaims while simultaneously banging down on a table with a forehoof, quieting the conversation going on between the attendees of the meeting.

The mixture of civilians and low-level Guards - including Moon Dancer and her sister, together at one table by themselves - settles onto cushions on the floor and look toward the far wall, where Troilus and Prince Blueblood are standing side-by-side facing the crowd. Guard Upper Class Lycaon emerges with a rolled-up wall map, unrolling it and manipulating it with unicorn magic to tack it up on the wall. Troilus levitates a pointing device with his unicorn magic and begins addressing the crowd as if in a classroom:

"This map shows the area southwest of Canterlot and Ponyville, also west of the Everfree Forest and northwest of the Earth pony settlement of Appleloosa. These 'Appaloosan Wastes', as it has become known, are generally considered too arid for even the earth ponies to deal with and would generally be left for the buffalo tribes to roam alone if it wasn't for the road to Las Pegasus and Applewood."

The entire room watches in rapt attention as Lieutenant Troilus points with the pointer toward two squares on the map, each pointed to by a large blue-colored arrow: "These two forts were built in the early days of the settling of Las Pegasus and Applewood to base patrols protecting the road from buffalo tribe attacks. These forts - I will just call them 'Alpha' and 'Beta' - were abandoned after coordinated buffalo tribe attacks breached their walls, but the earthen bricks and wood still stand in the arid climate. The pegasi rebels, presumably including the now-escaped ex-Lieutenant Captain Aten, have occupied these forts and intend to rebuild them for the purpose of harassing ponies that travel the road through this region."

"What about the buffalo tribes? What happened to them?" one of the civilian unicorns asks Troilus.

"The buffalo tribes later moved on to what is now Appleloosa, conflicting with the settlers there. This is why the pegasi rebels feel confident reoccupying those forts. We must deter their confidence and drive them out of those forts!" Troilus replies confidently.

"I thought Princess Celestia was looking for the rebels actively, shouldn't we be helping that out instead of doing something on our own?" Java Jive speaks up.

"That 'search' is a dodge, just to placate the unenlightened masses!" Troilus exclaims, giving a bald-face lie to deter the suspicions of the skeptical civilians being essentially asked to conduct a military campaign "off the books". "Celestia believes the trouble ended when the rebels fled Canterlot, but the pegasi will always give trouble unless we, as unicorns, assert our inborn superiority and drive them from their strongholds!"

"What about asking the Appleloosans for help?" another civilian asks.

"Pfft!" Troilus blows off. "The earth ponies are too embarrassed they can't get anything to grow in that region, so they want nothing to do with it! We can prove them wrong with enslaving the pegasi to provide the water and earth ponies to provide the irrigation labor to build a pair of flourishing settlements around the ruins of the rebel forts!"

This bombast from Troilus set off internal alarm bells in Java Jive - that kind of enslavement was supposed to be illegal, and one reason why only earth ponies had been allowed to settle in Appleloosa. But she looks over at the enraptured face of Moon Dancer, and immediately realizes that her sister is only thinking of revenge, not judging Troilus' words critically. Java Jive knew she was in over her head, but also knew she could not walk away from what Moon Dancer wanted her to do. It was tough enough to get Moon Dancer to help her crippled mother out - any further deterioation of the relationship would mean Star Dancer would be left without any support from her firstfoaled, which meant Java Jive now found herself between a rock and a hard place...

"Ahh, Prince Blueblood is here because he wants to use this campaign to revive the old kingdom as a client state, governing the region surrounding the two forts to make it prosperous and secure, an example that will outshine the Appleloosan settlement and prove beyond doubt unicorn superiority! Princess Celestia has ended his 'troubleshooting' services, so he's joined me to give a form of legitimacy to the operation, even if unsanctioned by Celestia herself." Java Jive heard Troilus explain, apparently in response to a question about Blueblood being at the meeting.

This statement sets off a quiet buzz among the meeting participants, but all Java Jive notices is her sister's enraptured stare at Troilus and Blueblood, and once again realizes she could be in huge trouble. The buzz is calmed down by Troilus speaking again: "Fellow unicorns, I am not going to pretend this campaign and subsequent nation-building is going to be easy. But I believe that being foaled with a horn is the mark of our superiority, and we will do this without help from any that are not unicorns. Not of the Royal Guard, not of Appleloosa - we will not even eat their food if they offer it to us! We are the superior ones, and working together we will build a settlement even greater than Las Pegasus and Applewood!"

At this bit of bombast, several unicorns, including Moon Dancer, thump hooves on tables in signs of affirmation, and Java Jive feels a pit forming in her stomach. Somehow, some way, this dark meeting would end up with very bad things happening to her and everypony else in that room...

Anger Leads to Hate

"Next turn, roll for initiative clockwise around the table. You first, Lieutenant." Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor says in his DM role, during the overnight meeting of the Oubliettes and Ogres group in Canterlot Castle. Shining speaks from behind his DM screen, at a place around a large circular table where the rest of the group - Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, Lieutenant Aldebaran, Guard Upper Class Buck Withers, Guard Upper Class 8-Bit and Guard Upper Class Gaffer - are gathered.

"Thank you." Lieutenant Aldebaran replies, rolling a D20 die between his hooves for his archer character.

"I'm curious about something, sir." Buck Withers asks in Shining Armor's direction, drawing the latter's attention toward him.

"Ten! Rolled a 10." Aldebaran exclaims after dropping the D20 onto the table, then passing it down to Princess Cadance seated beside him.

"What are you curious about, Buck?" Shining Armor asks, noting the 10 on a scratch pad as Cadance rolls the D20 herself via unicorn magic.

"Lieutenant Troilus, considering he's been going on a lot about how the pegasi in the service are corrupt..." Buck Withers replies, his tone somewhat awkward and a bit of blush on his face.

"It certainly has to do with a couple different things, I'm afraid Buck." Shining Armor begins to explain.

"I rolled an eight for my character." Princess Cadance primly states, before passing the D20 in turn to Princess Luna.

"A couple of different things?" Buck asks as Shining Armor notes down the 8 for Princess Cadance's "dance battler" character.

"Well, for starters, there was the Operation Whirlwind rebellion you were lucky enough to survive only because you were not specifically targeted to be taken..." Shining Armor states, only to be interrupted by a burst of the "Royal Canterlot Voice" coming from Princess Luna.

"A NATURAL ONE?! THIS ROLL IS UNACCEPTABLE!" Luna indignantly bursts out, the gusting wind that comes with it blowing over the figures on the map in the center of the table as well as several drinks on the table. This prompts a round of groans from the other members of the group as they start to try to clean up the resulting mess.

"We'll let you re-roll, Luna. In the meantime, keep the die moving." Shining Armor pragmatically sighs out, seeing Luna glaring angrily at the D20 as she passed it a moment later to Guard Upper Class Gaffer.

"You were saying, sir?" Buck Withers asks Shining Armor.

"Ahh, yes. Most of the casualties of Operation Whirlwind on the loyalist side were ponies Troilus either considered friends or subordinates at one point or another in his Guard career. Add in the fact that Aten deliberately kept him on the sidelines as a scapegoat for the failures around Luna's return..." Shining Armor begins to explain.

"Rolled a three." Gaffer sighs out in disappointment before passing the D20 on to 8-Bit.

"And after we made it clear that the failures were not to be held against him." a still-miffed Luna adds to Shining's explanation.

"I don't think it helps that he's the most senior Lieutenant on that shift now, even more senior than the Lieutenant Captain..." Cadance quickly chimes in.

"All of that very true." Shining Armor states, working on noting the turn order as he does so.

"Fourteen!" 8-Bit exclaims.

"Alright, let's let Luna reroll." Shining Armor cautiously states, daring a peek from behind his DM screen as Luna once again takes up the D20.

Nopony around the table dares even breathe as Luna picks up and rerolls the D20... and then there is an irritated growl from Luna as the result of the roll comes up to her dissatisfaction.

"Natural one again. The dice must hate you tonight." Shining Armor dryly notes, and several ponies stifle giggles as Luna crosses forelegs in a pouting gesture...

MEANWHILE, IN THE BACKROOM OF A CANTERLOT INN...

"Well, Your Highness, I think that was a very productive meeting we had earlier. Double the number of ponies came out this time, and we certainly should keep up with those discrete mailers..." Lieutenant Troilus was commenting.

"Lieutenant, do we really need to be talking about conquest and slavery? It's been barbaric enough with Celestia's response to the Agents of Chaos..." a worried Prince Blueblood begins, but is cut off by Troilus raising a hoof.

"Make no mistake, Your Highness. Those pegasi have done things deserving of the treatment, whether Celestia thinks so or not. Killing indiscrimately and ruthlessly, shattering unicorn horns and lives, taking trophies... they don't deserve to live, but letting them live as slaves would be a sweeter victory than simply slaughtering them all." Troilus responds, and the fire Blueblood sees in his eyes causes the unicorn prince to hesistate in his response.

When the response does come, it is tentative: "Well, I don't disagree that justice needs to be served, but I'm sure Celestia..."

"By the time Celestia knows what's going on, she won't be able to stop it." Troilus snaps out. "Neither will those Element Bearers, especially if you do your job properly, Your Highness."

"My job? What are you talking about? I thought my job was just to lead the army." Blueblood asks, his suspicions beginning to seep in again.

"That will be your job once the army is assembled, which we need to still diligently work on. But there's something else." Troilus answers, pausing to keep Blueblood's curiousity a more powerful force than his doubt.

"Oh? What else are we talking about?" Blueblood asks, as Troilus predicted.

"The Element of Generosity Bearer, Rarity by name. She is smitten with you." Troilus answers again.

"So? I'm sure that's true of many young mares her age, in particular ones seeking upward social mobility as I've heard she is..." Blueblood states, flattering himself as usual in the process.

"She is going to the Grand Galloping Gala with the other Element Bearers. As will you. I hope you see where I'm going with this, Your Highness." Troilus points out.

"Well sure, but what exactly is it you want me to try to do talking to her?" Blueblood asks, referring to Rarity.

"She is already smitten with you, and if you show your innate superiority as the prince of the greatest of the three founding races, and the heir of Princess Platinum's crown, far above any pegasus or earth pony, it will make it easier to for her to join our side. Or, at the very least, distract her long enough to keep the Element Bearers from interfering with the plan." Troilus explains.

This statement leaves Blueblood quite puzzled - what the Lieutenant was basically asking him was to try to drive a wedge between Rarity and the other Element Bearers, which struck the unicorn prince as a task quite difficult, if not outright impossible. He would later spend quite a bit of time trying to figure out how exactly he was supposed to do this - only too late would he learn that he was deliberately being set up for failure.

"Just remember, Your Highness. All you need to do is sow the seeds of confusion, the seeds of doubt. That alone will ensure the success of the mission." Troilus offers as a (rather false, in retrospect) reassurance.

Blueblood gives a wary look at the unicorn Guard Lieutenant, still skeptical of motives, but knowing how deep he was already in the project, shoves his doubts down and gives a silent nod of affirmation.

"I'm glad we have an understanding, Your Highness. And now it is quite late. We have a big morning coming up, so off to bed we must be!" Troilus exclaims, heading for the door out of the inn as he does so.

Prince Blueblood, after taking a moment to make sure nopony else was watching, follows Lieutenant Troilus out the exit. As soon as the two unicorn stallions are outside the inn, they are unknowingly joined by an unseen, unheard companion - an owl, perched just outside the inn's entrance waiting for the exit of the stallions. An owl with orders from Princess Luna herself to follow them and see what they were planning for the morning...

The Setup

"Captain, I still don't understand why we had to reschedule Feather Bangs' performance for... whatever it was we actually saw in there..."

"Lieutenant Captain, you should understand by now that the only opinion of consequence in this argument is Princess Celestia's. And by all accounts she enjoyed the 'comic destruction', as she put it, of the replica set."

"... Yes sir. Now I'll have to check... hmmm..."

"Something wrong, Stratocumulus?"

"There might be, sir." Lieutenant Captain Stratocumulus replies with a worried tone, stopping both him and Captain of the Guard Gibraltar in their hoofsteps in the hallways of Canterlot Castle.

"What are you looking for in there?" Captain Gibraltar asks as Stratocumulus rummages through his saddlebag with a wing.

"The shift transfer record for this morning... aha!" Stratocumulus explains, pulling out a small stack of papers as he does so with "wing fingers". He drops flat on the floor and spreads the papers in an arc in front of him, looking back and forth between the papers on the floor and one he is holding up with his right wing.

Gibraltar looks over the withers of his subordinate down at the papers and makes a worried comment: "Lieutenant Troilus was not supposed to get the special assignment for the Crusaders this morning, what's going on here?"

"I don't know sir, all the paperwork says is that the night shift special assignment was told Shining Armor approved the reassignment when the transfer was done." Stratocumulus replies with worry creasing his face.

"I'm going to have to double-check that in the office myself." Gibraltar replies with a skeptical tone of voice. "Meanwhile, you wake Shining and get him down here as soon as you possibly can. Something doesn't sit right with me about this, and we need to get to the truth fast if there IS something going on..."

"Yes sir, going doubletime!" Stratocumulus replies, jumping back up on his hooves and spinning around so fast the papers around him are blown every which way before he takes off back down the corridor...

ELSEWHERE AT THE CASTLE...

"Right this way, fillies. You three were fabulous out there!" Lieutenant Troilus exclaims to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, hiding his repulsion behind a plastered-on grin.

"I surely hope so, considering how much we knocked down out there..." Scootaloo replies under her makeup, as she and the other two filles walk through the doorway into the VIP Guest Suite.

"Designed to be cleaned up quickly and easily, I can assure you. Now, you three get undressed and cleaned up - your sisters will be arriving to take you back to Ponyville soon." Troilus states, pushing the door into the suite closed behind the fillies as he does so.

"Did he just call Rainbow Dash your sister, Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom comments, the conversation heard by Troilus behind the door.

"But she is my sister!" Scootaloo exclaims indignantly.

"In your dreams, maybe..." Sweetie Belle sasses out.

"She will be my sister, one day. Maybe not an actual 'sister sister', but in spirit for sure!" Scootaloo continues on.

In the midst of the devolving conversation, the Cutie Mark Crusaders do not hear that Lieutenant Troilus has locked them into the suite! The Lieutenant takes a post directly in front of the lock, trusting that his closest subordinate was doing his job properly...

AT THE CANTERLOT TRAIN STATION...

"Greetings to the three Element Bearers. My name is Lycaon, rank Guard Upper Class serving in the Canterlot Castle, and I'll be your escort while you're in Canterlot today." the unicorn guard in full armor replies, giving a bow of a practiced gracious facade as Rarity and Rainbow Dash step off the train from Ponyville.

"Ahh, I see Princess Celestia spared no expense for us! Now Applejack dahling, do hurry up with that bag before you're left behind on there!" Rarity exclaims, first to the guard and then back toward a struggling Applejack still on the train.

"How come I gotta carry this stupid heavy bag of your fancy stuff, Rarity?" Applejack snaps indignantly as she shudders under the weight of a fancy decorated bag roughly 3/4ths her size strapped to her back.

"Because you're an earth pony, Applejack, and earth ponies are made of dark matter. Hurry up now!" Rarity primly explains as Applejack struggles not to stumble onto the train platform under her load.

"Dark matter?" Guard Upper Class Lycaon asks, looking at Rainbow Dash as he does so.

"I think it's her fancy talk of way of sayin' 'only an earth pony could carry a load this heavy'." Rainbow Dash replies with a shrug as Applejack lurches onto the platform, just seconds before the train doors close.

"Ahh, I see." Lycaon states with stony politeness. "Anyways, the fillies would've just finished their performance, so it'll take some time for them to rest and get cleaned up. I've been authorized to take you fine young mares out for lunch on the royal tab - when we're finished they should be ready for you to pick up and take back to Ponyville."

"Fabulous! What do you suggest, sir?" Rarity exclaims, as Rainbow Dash gives a wary look at a red-faced and irritated Applejack.

"Well, my personal favorite is a little place called 'The Tasty Treat'. Specialize in spicy food there." Lycaon replies, hopeful that the three would approve of what would ultimately be a trek around the entire circuit of the city, buying some more time for his senior partner to do his work.

"Sorry, not a big fan of spicy food at all. Having bullies drip bits of the Cloudsdale rainbows on your tongue as torture does that to a pegasus." Rainbow Dash shakes in response, and both Rarity and Applejack wince a bit at the mental picture, having witnessed the very spice tolerant Pinkie Pie unable to handle those rainbows herself in a visit to Cloudsdale.

"Well, any suggestions for an alternative?" Lycaon offers, mentally holding out hope for a still long trek.

"How about that 'Kitchen of Tartarus' I've heard a lot about? With the head chef that's a ram?" Rarity states, Applejack and Rainbow Dash exchanging concerned looks after she finishes speaking.

Lycaon chuckles before making his reply: "Contrary to what you might've read in the gossip rags, Miss Rarity, I can assure you that Chef Ramspeaks is full-blooded earth pony, albeit one with a temper like your friend's. The ram's horns are just part of the show, and to help keep from injuring himself when he does ram other ponies out of the establishment."

Applejack makes an indignant glare at Lycaon after he finishes his explanation, feeling insulted that she was being compared to a pony like the one he was describing, but burdened down with the load she is carrying reluctantly decides not to escalate the situation further. Lycaon can notice, though, her suspicions are already raised as to what is going on, and that his job just got quite a bit harder.

"Anyway, I think it'll at least be an interesting experience. Lead the way, sir!" Rarity exclaims again, seeming to settle the subject under discussion.

"Of course. This way." Lycaon gestures, turning to face the way off the train platform. As he begins his travels, he feels the critical stare of the burdened Applejack and skeptical Rainbow Dash behind him, and wonders how long he can keep up his polite facade...

We Hate U

"GET THE BUCK OUT OF MY RESTAURANT! I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOUR BLOODY FACE IN HERE EVER AGAIN!"

The party of Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Guard Upper Class Lycaon assume a stiff politeness in their pose as the tempermental owner of the Kitchen of Tartarus restaurant, Chef Ramspeaks, passes by them. He had just finished ejecting another employee that hadn't worked up to his standard, and it took some time before the quiet buzz of conversation resumed once the earth pony and his strapped on pair of ram's horns had returned to the kitchen.

"Goodness, I didn't think there was anything wrong with the crème brûlée..." Rarity comments, using her unicorn magic to push away the last remnants of the fancy desert as she speaks.

"I thought the cream broo-lee was fab-u-lous myself!" Applejack replies, following up her comment with a belch that prompted Rarity to slap hoof over her eyes and Rainbow Dash to break out in uncontrolled snickering.

"Check please. And compliments to the chef." Guard Upper Class Lycaon nervously calls out to a nearby waiter.

"Much appreciated, sir. Are you on the royal account?" the waiter replies as he carefully makes his way over to the table.

"Yes, indeed. And where do you lovely and heroic young mares want to go next?" Lycaon replies.

"Hey, what are you tryin' to pull here? I don't want to be called anything like 'lovely'!" Rainbow Dash spits out with a suspicious glare as the waiter places the check for the meal on the table in front of Lycaon.

"Easy Rainbow, it's all a part of the training I'm sure." Rarity cuts in as Lycaon deposits the appropriate amount of bits to pay the check. "As much as we'd like to see the shopping district, we really do have to pick up the Crusaders for the afternoon..."

"Are you absolutely sure? I'm sure a pony like you would want to spend the whole day just window shopping there, if nothing else..." Lycaon hopefully asks.

"You're absolutely right, sir, but myself and the others have commitments back in Ponyville. I'm afraid you'll have to tell the princess to take a raincheck on the offer." Rarity graciously answers, prompting the Guard stallion's ears to visibly droop afterward.

"Of course, shouldn't keep the heroines of Equestria from their business. We'll start on the way to the castle now." Lycaon replies, the dishes on the table in front of them being cleared by the waiter.

"Very good, sir. Of course, we wouldn't mind the scenic route to the castle - there's so much to this city, and who knows when we'll be back here outside of that Gala..." Rarity suggests.

Lycaon's mood is immediately improved by the suggestion just offered by Rarity, and he immediately jumps on it: "Of course we'll take the scenic route - I don't get off my shift for another hour yet..."

"Oh marvelous, so much to see and so many display windows to look in..." Rarity exclaims, her expression taking on a sparkly-eyed look that prompt Rainbow Dash and Applejack to exchange concerned glances.

"Rarity, we can't go gettin' carried away here! I'm sure Apple Bloom and her friends are finished getting out of their costumes and makeup by now, and we can't keep 'em waitin' too much longer." Applejack speaks up.

"Aww, but what if we only stick to window-shopping?" Rarity pleads, starting to form a "puppy dog" expression on her face.

"We'll take you down the main shopping street once, just so that you can see what's there. No going into stores though." Lycaon offers as a compromise.

"...Deal." Rarity and Applejack exclaim simultaneously, prompting a suspicious look from Rainbow Dash in Lycaon's direction.

"What are we waiting for then, let's get going!" Lycaon replies, the excitement of Rarity and irritation of Applejack preventing them from seeing a knife-like glare flashed in Rainbow Dash's direction as he speaks...

MEANWHILE, IN CANTERLOT CASTLE...

"Sir, with all due respect, it's just an owl. It doesn't even seem to be awake. I don't know why you're..." a unicorn Guard Lower Class begins objecting, pointing toward the owl perched in a small, open circular window facing him, eyes closed as if in sleep - not a surprise considering the late morning time of day.

"I don't want it facing me! It gives me the creeps! I want it gone, and that's a direct order!" Lieutenant Troilus, beside the Lower Class Guard and now in a rather irritated mood, spits out in high volume.

"Y...yes, sir." the Lower Class finally begins to comply, raising his pike weapon with unicorn magic and moving it so that the not-sharp bottom was both higher and closer to the owl in the window than the sharp end - Troilus only wanted the owl gone, not skewered after all.

The Lower Class begins nervously sweating under Troilus' impatient glare as the owl was poked several times by the pike's bottom. The first time, nothing happens. The second time, there is an irritated hoot with the owl's eyes opening in a glare. And then with the third poke, the owl flies away with a series of irritated hoots.

"That's better. Back to your post. We're done here for right now." Troilus states, and the Lower Class Guard shows an obvious sigh of relief as he lowers his pike back to the position it was normally used in Guard duty, then shortly afterward taking off down the hallway to leave Troilus alone once again.

A knocking is heard coming from the other side of Troilus' post at the door to the VIP suite, which draws him back to that point and makes him unaware that the owl that was just chased away has returned to where he was previously, now fully awake and raptly paying attention to what Troilus was doing. The unicorn Lieutenant braces himself against the door as he hears the voice of Scootaloo from the other side: "Alright, we're all ready in here."

"Sure, just... give me a minute..." Troilus replies, using his unicorn magic to wedge the tip of his pike into the lock, jamming the mechanism shut in the process.

"Hey, what's going on out there?" Apple Bloom shouts through the door, on hearing all the noise Troilus was making.

"Nothing, I can assure you fillies. You three just stay right there and I'll be right back to fetch your sisters to pick you up." Troilus replies, continuing to push the tip of the pike further into the mechanism.

"But we're still locked in here!" Sweetie Belle adds, also speaking through the door.

"That's the point, you three! I don't want your despicable little trio causing me trouble." Troilus explains, unaware he was being listened to by the spying owl nearby. "I have a reputation to maintain - it's bad enough I have to deal with grown-up pegasi on a regular basis, but a filly makes it ten times worse! So I want you three to be good little subjects and just stay in the room until I come back."

"What? What do you mean 'subjects'?" Apple Bloom asks through the door, but the clomping of hoofsteps means Troilus' plan - to abandon his post and keep the Crusaders locked in the room as long as possible - was already being executed...

"Give me a boost, Apple Bloom, try to get that door open." Scootaloo replies to the earth pony filly beside her, already sensing something was wrong. Apple Bloom obliged, providing a living platform for Scootaloo to reach the door handle and try to yank it open. The crunching sounds not only told of the failure of the attempt, but the deliberate sabotage of the mechanism.

"We're trapped in here, what are we gonna do?!" Sweetie Belle exclaims, indulging in dramatic gesturing roughly mimicing that of her older sister's.

"What do you think we're going to do?" Scootaloo answers, hopping back off Apple Bloom as she does so. "We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders, we're going to try to get cutie marks in ramming our way out!"

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS RAMMING RAMMERS!" the three fillies exclaim simultaneously in practiced synchrony.

"Does that title even work though?" Apple Bloom comments to the other Crusaders afterward.

"The words start with the same first letter, and we can say it in one breath. Now come on, let's get ramming that door!" Scootaloo answers, already pawing to take a run at the door. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle exchange looks, and then shrugs, before also starting on the ramming effort to bust open the jammed-shut door...

All Botched Up

"Rarity, we're going NOW. Rainbow's restless over here, and you've been dartin' from window to window for the past half-hour."

"But certainly Miss Rarity is entitled..."

"With all due respect, SIR, we ain't stayin' another minute in this fancy shoppin' district. We're goin' to pick up the Crusaders NOW!"

"Applejack, no, let go of my tail! Rainbow Dash, help me!" Rarity shouts out as an irritated Applejack applies a direct method of removal from the window shopping trance - biting down on Rarity's tail and pulling in the opposite direction.

"Must say, this is a very bizarre situation." Guard Upper Class Lyacon nervously comments, Rainbow Dash drilling a glare into him as he does so.

"You're up to something. I know it and Applejack knows it. We're going to the castle, and not taking any more of your 'suggestions'." Rainbow darkly threatens, pushing off the ground into a hovering position so that she can push a forehoof into the Guard's snout.

"I can assure you, I am not..." Lyacon tries to explain with a nervous grin.

"RAINBOW DASH!" Rarity shouts out, losing her battle against Applejack's tugging and beginning to be dragged down the street as fellow upper-crust shoppers watch in shock and horror.

"Don't worry, I'm comin'!" Rainbow Dash calls out, zooming away from Lyacon's position. The Guard, seeing his control of the situation slipping away, chases after the blue pegasus mare.

Rainbow Dash zooms up and, instead of pulling back on Applejack's tugging, lifts Rarity off the ground to make it easier for the earth pony! Rarity glares in indignation as Dash smirks at Rarity's face smushed between her forehooves.

"I thought you didn't want to get your coat all dirty." Rainbow smugly points out to the off-white unicorn.

"Shut up, 'ainbow 'ash!" Rarity tries to say through her smushed face, the indignant glare growing more angry as Rarity continues to be carried along by her two fellow Element Bearers toward the castle. Guard Upper Class Lyacon, having no control over the situation now, fights down panic as he struggles to keep up with the young mares...

A LITTLE LATER IN CANTERLOT CASTLE...

The owl spying on Lieutenant Troilus' intent in the name of Princess Luna was zooming through the hallways, banking left and right in quick dodges of staff and other Royal Guards on patrol. Although it left them all confused, the owl was moving too fast for anypony to catch or even try to tell anypony else where it was going in order to set up some kind of catching effort.

It finally breezes through an open door, where Captain of the Guard Gibraltar, Lieutenant Captain Stratocumulus and Lieutenant Captain Fidelitas were huddled in meeting. The owl lands on the Captain's desk, the fluttering wings scattering paperwork everywhere as it does so.

"What's an owl doing active at this time of day? And doing flying in here too?!" Captain Gibraltar naturally asks, trying to gather up the scattered papers with unicorn magic as he does so.

"I think this is Princess Luna's pet, sir." Stratocumulus comments with alarm, referencing his previous night shift work as he does so.

"Well what's it doing here? Princess Luna doesn't have any daytime engagements today." Fidelitas asks, looking at the owl in extreme confusion.

"Who! Whowhowho!" the pet of Princess Luna exclaims, pointing a wing toward the side of his body near his tailfeathers repeatedly as he does so.

"Where is he pointing?" Gibraltar asks, looking up as he tries to reorganize scattered papers.

"I think it's where a cutie..." Fidelitas begins to state, but was interrupted by an exclamation from his fellow Lieutenant Captain.

"The Crusaders! They must really be in trouble, not just a maybe." Stratocumulus states.

"We already know Shining Armor did not actually sign off the assignment change, now I think our fears are realized. We're not waiting to catch Troilus after the shift change, we're going now!" Gibraltar exclaims, paperwork again scattering all over the place as the stallions rush out of the office, the alerting owl right behind them...

ELSEWHERE IN THE CASTLE...

Lieutenant Troilus grits his teeth as the sabotaged VIP Suite door shudders under another hit from the ramming Crusaders - he had braced himself against the doors to prevent them from spontaneously popping open due to the combined effort of the three fillies on the other side ramming into them. Already he had to shoo away several concerned staff members, plus a Royal Guard that fortunately he could simply order to keep quiet about the whole thing. He looked up at the clock, hoping for just a little more time...

"I told you to stop! The princess is going to make you pay for the damage to that door! Why won't you just do what I say?!" Troilus shouts out, the door shuddering again right afterward.

He hears a stampede of hoofsteps coming from one direction down the hallway, turns to face it... and is horrified to see his superior officers rounding the corner coming in toward him! Captain Gibraltar, Lieutenant Captain Stratocumulus and Lieutenant Captain Fidelitas are three wide in the hallway, two lower-ranked escorts and Luna's pet owl right on their tails.

"LIEUTENANT, YOU'D BETTER HAVE AN EXTREMELY GOOD EXPLANATION FOR THIS BEHAVIOR!" Captain Gibraltar shouts at full volume as his group closes on the location, his eyes full of fire.

Troilus desperately looks down the hallway in the other direction and was prepared to make a run for it when the doors he had been keeping shut finally swings open under the repeated rammings of the three Cutie Mark Crusaders, knocking Troilus flat on the floor and subjecting him to the indignity being trampled underhoof by the fillies as they spill out into the hallway.

With his enraged superiors still closing on him, Troilus scrambles back on his hooves and blows by the shaken but unharmed Crusaders as he makes a break for it. He rounds a corner... but comes screeching to a halt as he nearly bowls into Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash scrambling through the castle hallways. To the horror of the unicorn Lieutenant, he sees his subordinate Guard Upper Class Lyacon scrambling to keep up with the trio, themselves enraged and shouting in Troilus' direction about the fillies in apparent danger.

Lyacon makes a "last-ditch" attempt at restraining the trio using unicorn magic to pull on their tails, which only delays them long enough for the Upper Class to get ahead and join his superior officer, who is rapidly backing into the corner he just turned. The two rouge Guards look back and forth between the two angry groups, and realize there will be no escape for their current predicament.

"I'm sorry, sir, I tried my best to delay them, honest!" Lyacon begins apologizing in pleading tones to Troilus, all but confessing to their unwholesome intentions in the process.

"Never mind, Lyacon, I think we're bucked no matter whether you did your job or not..." Troilus replies, looking over in fear as the two angry groups close in with nothing but menace behind them...

Bathroom Duty

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! I'M THE MOST EXPERIENCED OFFICER YOU HAVE ON THE MORNING SHIFT! WHO ELSE IS GOING TO TRAIN ALL THE GREENHORNS YOU PUT...!"

"Can it, Troilus! Or it will be a court-martial for you!"

Thus spoke a peeved Captain of the Guard Gibraltar as he, assisted by Lieutenant Captains Stratocumulus and Fidelitas, heaved Lieutenant Troilus - stripped of armor and wearing only a work apron and a magic-suppressing horn ring - into one of the castle's many bathrooms. Quickly the bad-behaving Lieutenant was joined by his partner in crime Guard Upper Class Lyacon, also only attired in work apron and horn ring, in this dreaded high-tier punishment usually referred to as "bathroom duty".

The "bathroom duty" or "bathroom detail", as it was referred to in omnious tones amongst the ranks of the Canterlot Royal Guard, was a tedious drudge that numbed the mind far more than even the usual Royal Guard duties. It went far beyond scrubbing toilets or spit-shining and waxing floors with a hoof-held brush, although both of those were certainly part of the terror surrounding the assignment. Another part was that any pony that visited a bathroom being worked on was allowed to make as much of a mess as they wanted to, short of directly "dumping" or "leaking" onto the floor, and directly mock or abuse the workers without fear of reprecussions.

The biggest terror of the assignment, though, was that the length a pony was stuck in it was entirely at the discretion of the Captain of the Guard - the only ways out was either to resign your commission or wait for another pony to receive the assignment, which would "push out" the current assignees. Troilus and Lyacon being punished with bathroom duty subsequently meant the release of its previous assignment holders - both of which were pegasi and would inflame the racial hatred further - back to regular duties.

Troilus and Lyacon glare back at the superior officers as the two pegasi released from the most unwelcome duty were warmly greeted and welcomed back into regular service, presumably back to their previous morning shift work. The two unicorns was not alone in thinking they should've been drummed out of the service or simply had their heads removed instead of placed in this professional purgatory they would have a chance to escape from, mostly due to guilt by association of serving under the now-disgraced Aten. This provided the renegades with a slim, but ultimately unfulfilled, hope that they would get some sympathy for their plight by some of their morning-shift comrades.

"I suppose the only good thing about this is that we have plenty of time to plan things out between ourselves." Troilus sighs out as he begins scrubbing away at the floor with his hoof-pushed brush.

"Do you think Prince Blueblood is going to provide us some protection?" Lyacon hopefully asks as he begins scrubbing alongside his senior comrade.

"I wouldn't count on it..." Troilus replies cynically, silence afterward falling in the bathroom...

LATER THAT NIGHT, IN THE GUARD OFFICES...

"I must say, Your Highness, it's quite unusual to see an owl sleeping at night." Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor comments, sharing a chuckle with Princess Luna as her pet owl sleeps on its perch after his very long and tiring day helping thwart the threat to the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"'Tis true, but he certainly deserves the rest." Luna replies, looking over with beaming pride at what her pet had helped to accomplish.

"Your Highness, you mentioned that you hadn't decided on a name for him yet. Did you decide on one for him yet, before you send him to help my sister in Ponyville?" Shining Armor asks next.

"Yes indeed Lieutenant Captain, it has been decided to name him 'Owlowiscious'." Luna answers with a beaming smile.

"Owl-what-sious?" Shining Armor asks with a confused look, wondering how even somepony as smart as his sister could consistently remember - never mind properly write down or speak - a mouthful of a name like that.

"'Tis a name from the old times. And we will remember to send Twilight Sparkle a letter of explanation in advance." Luna explains, beaming smile still on her face.

"Sure, right..." Shining Armor replies nervously, looking away as a dreadfully grim mental image forms in his head featuring Spike trying to defend his "#1 Assistant" position with tooth, claw and fire breath - thankfully a vision that was mostly avoided.

"Sister was concerned about the judgment of putting Troilus and his junior comrade into bathroom duty when she gave me her briefing of what happened. Do you think the Captain made the right call?" Luna asks again, changing the subject and breaking the mental state Shining had briefly been caught in.

"I do not think anything the Captain could've done would've been 'the right call', Your Highness, to be perfectly honest. I think that Lieutenant Troilus is going to try to get revenge no matter what the Captain does." Shining Armor answers.

"Revenge? Could you elaborate, Lieutenant Captain?" Luna asks again, cocking her head in curiousity.

"Remember I told you about the two unicorns that ended up court-martialed because Aten accused them of deliberate discrimination? Troilus was friends with both of them, going all the way back to Academy. And that's not all." Shining Armor answers, a grave expression on his face.

"Oh? There's more to the story?" Luna asks once more, head still cocked as she speaks.

"Yes, and this is something that's only emerged after the Agents of Chaos were defeated and their records recovered from their lair inside the Canterlot mountain. All the pegasi that testified against those two unicorns were lying under oath. Every single one of them. And the paperwork was being forged by Lieutenant Quill in secret to cover up the lies. Those two unicorns never stood a chance because so many others were lying to get rid of them. If Troilus did not know that before, then he sure knows that now." Shining Armor explains, a shock spreading across Luna's face as he does so.

"Well, what is going to happen to those that lied all those years ago in support of the traitor?" Luna asks yet again, feeling indignation rising inside her as she speaks her fourth question in a row.

"Most of those that testified became Aten's 'lackeys', and have already been punished appropriately. But it won't matter to Troilus and those who think as he does. And that's what's most scary of all." Shining Armor answers dryly, the worry returning to his expression.

"A cycle of vengeance that could be very easily set up..." Luna comments, the worry spreading to her expression.

"Or even without that, all this hatred weakens us from within. An enemy from without could very easily exploit it for their own ends..." Shining Armor adds, not aware at the time that there was an "enemy without" that was seeking exactly this, and how deeply he would become involved in that effort...