Confused shouts, panicked cries, and utter pandemonium filled the room as everyone jumped to their hooves. They hadn't just heard that, had they? They couldn't have heard that.

There was one pony who wasn't going to just sit there and question what he had just heard. Elder Gladiolus was on his hooves and moving far faster than anyone would've expected for someone of his advanced age. He was out the door and following the guard before it had even properly registered with everyone else.

The other delegates and the rest of the room, for that matter, weren't far behind. Once the initial shock had worn off, ponies crowded each other as everyone tried to be the first out of the room. Fortunately, there had been fewer ponies filling the hall than the two days prior, otherwise someone might've been trampled in the chaos. Even with that small blessing, it was still far too much for the guard to handle, as it was all they could do to avoid being swept away by the rest of the herd.

Clover and Azalea both looked at each other in stunned silence, but more so in Clover's case. It hadn't been that long ago when he personally witnessed just how powerful the oldest unicorn in the city was. Even with his recent power-up, he had been completely outclassed by the now deceased elder. The thought of someone not only besting, but outright killing her, didn't even fit into his purview of reality.

The unruly crowd pushed and shoved at each other as they tried to keep up with Gladiolus. Fortunately, the bulk of the panicked ponies didn't immediately make for the outdoors, keeping the growing madness contained to the building. If the report of the elder's demise was indeed true, they could have a straight on riot on their hooves if and when the news got out. With any luck, the two remaining elders would have a chance to get the situation under control before it got completely out of hand.

They came to a halt near one of the many side rooms contained within the lecture hall. Both Clover and Azalea had done their best to avoid being trampled by their neighbors, but they wanted to know what had happened just as much as everyone else. However, they both shared a look of dread when they realized the mob had stopped at the last place either of them had seen the respected elder, and it was then that they started to pick up on the whispers washing through the crowd.

"I see a body!"

"Elder Lily's really dead."

"Who would do this?"

"It was probably those brutish pegasuses."

"I never trusted those earth ponies and their shifty eyes."

"Clover, this way," Azalea tugged at him, pulling him out from the back of the crowd. Neither of them had been able to see exactly what had happened, although it was pretty clear that the worst had indeed come to pass.

Clover followed Azalea around the corner and far enough away from the mob that their shouts had lowered to muted cries. When they came to another room and opened the door, only to hear the voices rise again, he quickly realized what she was doing.

"These rooms have openings at the top for circulation," she said in a whisper. "If we move a few boxes around, we should be able to see inside."

The room they were in was apparently meant for storage, so there were plenty of boxes to move around. They shifted them around as quickly and quietly as they could. Fortunately, any noise they might have made was covered up by the angry shouting, and eventually, they were able to give themselves enough purchase so they could see into the neighboring room.

They almost wished they hadn't. The very first thing they saw upon looking inside was Elder Lily's body slumped over the desk. A bloody hoofprint was clearly visible on the back of her head, while dried blood littered with black feathers covered the entire desk.

Amidst the chaos, the remaining eight members of the Summit had somehow managed to get through the crowd and close the door behind them. The door still rattled and shook with repeated efforts to force entry, but with the bulks of Rock and Dandelion holding it shut, it may have been easier to move a mountain.

"I don't like this. I don't like this one bit," said Gladiolus, looking only slightly green as he examined the body, while barely restrained anger could be seen bubbling from behind his eyes. "It just doesn't make any sense. Who would do such a thing?"

"However it happened, I think it's pretty clear there was a struggle," said Roll in a well-defined measure of clinical detachment. She was casually jotting down notes while examining the scattered feathers. As for Chancellor Thistle, she was staying back as far as possible, all while keeping her eyes fixed on the pegasus leader, fear clear in her eyes.

"Would you stop looking at me like that!" Commander Thunderhead snapped.

"I'm not taking my eyes off you." Thistle said with clear disgust in her voice. "Who knows when you'll strike again?"

"For the last time, I didn't do it," he said through gritted teeth. "What reason would I have?"

"You don't. That's what I really don't understand," said Elder Gladiolus. "It's no big secret that the two of you are... cough... were on really good terms."

"Reason or not, the evidence is certainly damning," added Elder Dahlia. Somehow, she was maintaining a stony expression through the exchange, not once letting a trace of emotion show through. "Those clearly look like pegasus feathers, and you're the only one I've seen with a black coat since the summit started."

"And you know you're not going to," Thunderhead scowled as he snapped back. He was clearly getting more annoyed as time went on. "Very few ponies come in dark colors, and the pegasi are no different. The only time I've seen more than a few was when we encountered a colony of bat ponies, and they're not interested in the affairs of other tribes."

"It's not that I doubt you," said Gladiolus. "But you can't deny how bad this looks." He let out a deep sigh, his age clearly showing through the present trial. "I really hate to ask, but do you have any way of denying that these feathers are yours?"

Thunderhead continued to look irritated, yet he still approached the body of his friend to take a closer look. "Most of these appear to be down," he said. "It's fairly common for a number of them to come loose during a fight. However," he narrowed his eyes, focusing in on a few of the larger specimens. "A few pinions seem to gotten mixed in with the lot. If somepony was missing them, they'd certainly notice."

"Then would you agree to an inspection so we can stop wasting our time," Elder Dahlia said pointedly.

"Harumph," Thunderhead scoffed. "If we can put these pointless accusations to rest and find my friend's killer, then gladly." He turned to Storm Caller, who had remained silent through the exchange. "Lieutenant Storm Caller," he called, surprising the pegasus. "Inspect my wings so we can put this farce of an interrogation behind us."

"Yes sir," Storm Caller sighed as he pushed himself away from the wall. He made his way over to his superior officer and pulled his wings away from his body. He spent the next couple minutes nosing his way through the older pegasus' plumage, screwing his eyes and otherwise looking uncomfortable with the practice. When he was done, he pulled away with a rather disheartened look on his face.

Thunderhead hadn't missed the expression on his subordinate's face. Nevertheless, he squared his shoulders and nodded for the report.

"I'm so sorry, sir," Storm Caller said apologetically, his eyes not once leaving the commander's face. "But several of your pinions look like they've been recently torn loose. They didn't come out clean either, like they would with preening. They were clearly lost during some kind of struggle."

"So it was you!" Said Thistle as she recoiled even further away. The look of disgust on her face didn't look like it could've gotten any deeper, but she still managed to pull it off.

"So what happens now?" Elder Dahlia looked down her nose at him like he was something particularly disgusting.

The only response Thunderhead gave was to let out the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. Once he straightened back up, the resolve clear on his face, he reached up and removed the helmet from his head. "I don't know what this is all about, but you do what you believe you must, as will I. Lieutenant Storm Caller!" He called out.

"Sir!" Storm snapped to attention.

"Until such a time," he said, "that I am either condemned or acquitted, you are to assume my duties."

"Sir?" The confusion was clear on Storm's face. He clearly hadn't been expecting that.

However, Thunderhead continued without acknowledging his confusion. "Whatever else may happen, faith in my ability to lead and represent us at the Summit will be brought into question. That much is a certainty."

"But sir," he was now recoiling under the commander's gaze. "I can't lead everypony."

"You can and you must," stated Thunderhead as he thrust his helm into Storm's chest. "The griffons are getting bolder by the day, and we cannot allow them to see us falter now. This is sooner than I would've liked and under worse conditions than I would've preferred, but the tribe needs you. What say you, Commander Storm Caller?"

"Aye, sir!" He shouted as he reluctantly accepted the symbol of his new station.

Thunderhead nodded his approval before giving an impromptu salute to the new commander. "What are your orders, sir?" He asked while standing at firm attention.

"Orders..." Storm hesitated for only a moment, understandable given the circumstances. "Lieutenant Dandelion!"

"Sir!" She saluted from her place by the now quiet door, ponies had stopped trying to force their way in some time ago.

"Bind the wings of the accused and see to it that he's turned over to the local authorities," he commanded without any further hesitation.

The next few minutes consisted of just that. Dandelion produced a length of rope and proceeded to secure the older pegasus' wings. Once he had been thoroughly tied and rendered flightless, local guards made their way in and escorted him from the room, all while the gathering crowd watched on with mixed expressions.

When the doors finally closed and they were now one less in number, some of the tension that had been building finally started to relax.

"So," the newly appointed pegasus looked exhausted as he settled the his symbol of station on his head. "What happens now?"

"You really appoint your leaders that quickly?" Asked Dahlia, an inquisitive eyebrow raised all the way up.

"It's only a field promotion," he said in response. "At least until we make it back home and the council has a chance to review the situation."

"Well, hopefully we'll have Thunderhead's name cleared before the day's end," Gladiolus stepped away from Lily's body with a scroll in hoof. He cast a short spell on the document, and it was scooped up in a wisp of smoke before completely disappearing. "I've already messaged a team of specialists. They should be here shortly. I've no doubt they'll get to the bottom of this. I still refuse to believe he's responsible for this."

"Even with all the overwhelming evidence?!" Thistle recoiled in disgust. "If he had been an earth pony, we would've already been marching him to the gallows."

"He's not, though," Gladiolus shot back immediately. "And besides that, we don't practice capital punishment here. Regardless, we need to handle this delicately. We'll have to postpone the summit until tomorrow, and we should inform the selected interns that they'll have at least another day before their departure."

"What?!" Dahlia cried out. "You can't possibly be thinking of going through with the plan in the wake of such a disaster?!"

"We can, and we will!" Gladiolus snapped back, the barely restrained anger peeking through for the barest moment. "Lily made it very clear to both of us how important this decision was and still is. You know as well as I do that not everypony was on board with her decision, and while making a couple feathers disappear from Thunderhead's wings without him noticing is certainly an impressive trick, it's not an impossible one for a clever pony. We'll know for sure once we get a few arcanologists and diviners in here. But until they prove otherwise, everything will proceed as planned."

Elder Dahlia bit her lip, frustration boiling behind her eyes. "But my daughter..."

"Is a grown mare and can make her own decisions," Gladiolus growled. "Now unless you plan on helping, somepony needs to make sure we don't have an angry mob on our hooves. The last thing we need is for somepony out there to go and do something stupid." With that note of finality, the tired, old stallion made for the door. There was unfortunate work that needed to be done.

Author's Note

What do you think happened?