Princess Celestia looks over at her sister Princess Luna as the latter continues to shove nacho cheese-flavored chips into her mouth. There would never be quite the same level of trust and cooperation between the two immortal sisters, of course, but Celestia was greatly pleased the old divisions of responsibility and trust had mostly been restored between her and her sister. The sister Celestia looked at now was still not fully recovered - some of the old powers and majesty had yet to reappear - but enough had been accomplished to get back the sister she had never stopped loving.
It might've been odd to think of friendship as an investment, but when measured in terms of time and energy it was an apt metaphor. Shining Armor and Cadance (among others) had been investing friendship heavily into Luna, just as they had done previously with Twilight Sparkle, and both investments were starting to pay out dividends - not in money, of course, but in accomplishments and relationships. Like with others before, her faith in those she had chosen to save Equestria had been proven right, and the future seemed to be bright regardless of the cloud of the Agents of Chaos...
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"Sister, they are about to give the oath." Luna says to Celestia, snapping the latter out of her thoughts.
"Oh right, it's important to see that." Celestia answers, using her unicorn magic to shove a moon pie into her mouth afterward.
Both alicorns turn attention back to the floating screen in front of them, which shows an interior of Zecora's residence in the Everfree Forest. On the screen, Zecora herself looks on curiously as Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor pulls out a scroll sealed with Princess Celestia's personal insignia. Shining Armor breaks the seal and unrolls the scroll, clearing his throat before beginning to read the text on the scroll:
"By authority of Princess Celestia, ruler of the Kingdom of Equestria and the domains around it, the representative stallions of each founding Equestrian race shall administer the oath of citizenship to make Zecora the zebra of the Everfree Forest a full and equal citizen of the Kingdom of Equestria, as well as accept any requests for compensation of as-yet unpaid damages inflicted by Twilight Sparkle and her fellow Element Bearers previous to this date."
At this point, Shining Armor pauses to give Zecora an opportunity to make any requests she wanted to, but instead Zecora more modestly in her rhyming ways: "Understanding and not compensation is what I seek, but I would be a fool to refuse an offer made so meek. I only request a supply of herbs stable, so that of remedy making I will be more able."
Shining Armor looks over at his comrades - Lieutenant Stratocumulus and Guard Upper Class Meadow Song - who give a shrug as if to acknowledge her request isn't unreasonable. Considering the poison joke in the forest, having a ready antidote to its effects would be a major plus in the future.
"I will relay your request to Princess Celestia. I imagine there will be some arrangement set up by her to let you order from stocks in Canterlot instead of having to scrounge around in the forest. If there is nothing else, we can begin the oaths." Shining Armor comments.
Again, the senior Guard officer falls silent, and Zecora continuing the silence indicates she has no other requests to make, so Shining clears his throat again and looks back down at the unrolled scroll:
"I, Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor of the Royal Guard of Canterlot, speak on behalf of the race of unicorns that Zecora the zebra is henceforth endowed with the full rights of Equestrian citizenship." Shining Armor formally states, his tone hiding the relief inside that he was able to make an important contribution in erasing a mistake his sister had made (although it not be until much later that Zecora knew of the connection).
"I, Lieutenant Stratocumulus of the Royal Guard of Canterlot, speak on behalf of the race of pegasi that Zecora the zebra is henceforth endowed with the full rights of Equestrian citizenship." Stratocumulus says, his part of the oath, after a moment's pause.
"And I, Guard Upper Class Meadow Song of the Royal Guard of Canterlot, speak on behalf of the race of earth ponies that Zecora the zebra is henceforth endowed with the full rights of Equestrian citizenship." Meadow Song concludes. Like Shining Armor, Meadow Song had a connection (marriage into the Apple clan) that made him glad to be contributing to this mission.
"Now then, Miss Zecora, we will need you to recite the Equestrian Oath of Loyalty and Citizenship after the three of us stamp the statement of the oaths being administered." Shining Armor comments while using his unicorn magic to stamp down his Lieutenant Captain's ink stamp on the appropriate documents.
"I'm afraid that might not be possible you see, because of the rhyming practiced by me." Zecora cryptically replies, causing Meadow Song and Stratocumulus to exchange looks before the latter gives his Lieutenant's ink stamp on the document.
"Miss Zecora, none of us doubt your skill in rhyme, but this really must be done..." Shining Armor patiently tries to explain, only for him to be stopped by Zecora shaking her head.
"Of a poison joke prank I am heir, so I must rhyme even though to others it is not fair." Zecora replies again, her tone being something of a shrugging indifference, as if she had gotten used to the compulsory rhyming.
Shining Armor turns back to look at the other stallions, who both shrug at him in turn - they didn't seem to believe her explanation either, but without any evidence against it they decided to take Zecora at her word. Meadow Song makes his own ink stamp on the oath document, and Shining Armor has to figure out how to get Zecora to agree to the oath.
"Will you stamp a written version of the oath instead?" Shining Armor asks Zecora - the standard alternate method for anyone that couldn't say the oath properly. Zecora this time nods in response, to Shining's relief.
"Alright, give me a second to write it down." Shining says to Zecora, with a relieved tone in his voice.
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"Do we need to keep watching?" Princess Luna back in Canterlot asks of her sister, while the screen still shows the inside of Zecora's residence.
"Nah, Shining's a professional, I'm sure it'll be accepted. And if not, I can make a decree exception." Princess Celestia answers, the screen beginning to shrink away and then disappear under her command.
"I am still disappointed that he has not said anything of the connection to Twilight." Luna comments, referring to Shining Armor being Twilight Sparkle's brother.
"The Lieutenant Captain is not under any obligation to disclose this information. Besides, I am certain it will come up in conversation with Zecora considering they are staying the full night with her." Celestia says reassuringly.
Luna gives a skeptical look in response, but shoves another moon pie in her mouth to keep from saying something snarky in response. And her skepticism was well justified, considering later it was revealed that Zecora was more interested in the Apple clan by conversing with Meadow Song than anything else - Shining was rarely involved in the conversations, according to his reports, and Zecora did not learn of that particular connection until much later...
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MEANWHILE, IN THE MINES BELOW CANTERLOT...
"Arise, flyers!" the cloaked Agent Snake proclaims to the bowing pegasi before him, addressing them in a torch-lit cavern. The "flyers" in question - the faction of Wonderbolts that belonged to the Agents of Chaos - rise from their bowing positions and return to the at-attention stance they had been in before.
"Fellow winged ones, I have summoned you down here tonight for a very special purpose." Agent Snake begins to address. "The organization called the Wonderbolts has over its history become corrupted and softened by the influence of the horned ones and earth ponies. Now Captain Spitfire and her allies will sell it out entirely, betraying a fellow winged one to support Celestia's favorite. I am tasking you to purge the Wonderbolts of their corruptions and return the organization to its roots in glorious military battle of the air!"
The Wonderbolts in question knew of exactly what Agent Snake was talking about - mid-air fighting between two pegasi, similar to what humans would've called "professional wrestling", sometimes strictly for entertainment value and sometimes to the death. It worried the group, particularly its unofficial leader Misty Fly, that they couldn't tell which version of this activity Snake was proposing they would go back to.
But they also knew that they stood to gain nothing by staying loyal to Captain Spitfire and the standard stunt displays that had been the "business" of the Wonderbolts for many years. Spitfire had already publically denounced Lieutenant Captain Aten for opposing Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor's efforts to rehabilitate Princess Luna, and it only seemed to be a matter of time they would be forced into supporting Shining Armor as well - a distasteful prospect at best considering Celestia's obvious favoritism. Therefore, the whole group decided to throw their lot with the Agents of Chaos in order to neutralize and eventually destroy Spitfire's career.
What they didn't know was that Snake was intending to destroy without rebuilding anything on the ruins. Spitfire would fight any challenge to her authority to the bitter end, and in the process shatter the Wonderbolts as an organization. Once the Wonderbolts were destroyed, the Agents that had been a part of it would no longer be useful - and every one of them would die.
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"To that end, I am reviving an old name for the Wonderbolts - the 'Blue Thunder'." Snake continues explaining. "Agent WA will be its Captain, with Agent WD being its Lead Wingpony. You Agents are to prioritize following their orders over those of the corrupted Wonderbolts, and to ensure WA and WD will become the leaders in place of the current ones. Do you understand your mission?"
All the assembled pegasi nodded in answer to the question. Agent WA corresponded to Misty Fly, the current Wonderbolt #3, and Agent WD corresponded to Lightning Streak, a lower-level Wonderbolt member that was also the father of Lightning Dust - the high rank for a minor member was an attempt by Agent Snake to assist recruiting Lightning Dust into the ranks of the Agents of Chaos.
"Good. Now you will take your oaths as the founding members of the Blue Thunder, ultimately to replace the Wonderbolts." Snake firmly states, making it crystal clear they were being set as an opposition organization against the Wonderbolts while pretending to continue loyalty for the moment.
The Wonderbolts assembled before him look on rather grimly, but raise forehooves anyway, knowing full well they were already too deeply involved to back out now. Which ultimately was what Snake was counting on - pitting two big egos against each other, with destructive consequences. Snake knew he could win any contest against Spitfire, and her fall would advance his plans. The dice, as they say, were cast...