Cadance

by GJT_Productions

Inside Job

"Good morning, Shining."

"Good morning, Captain..."

"...So I'm guessing it didn't go well last night?"

"No sir, it did not."

"Well, unfortunately I'm not surprised. The whole situation was dicey right from the start. You don't need to give me details, just leave your report on my desk. I'll look at it later."

"Yes, sir."

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A weary and defeated Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor was standing in the office of Captain of the Guard Gibraltar. There was hardly a pretense of military manner about him, or in the old unicorn captain for that matter - both of them knew Luna's blowup at Cadance's presence was a serious setback in the recovery effort and could undo it altogether. Nopony, not even Celestia, could force Luna to accept Cadance, and what was worse lack of knowledge about her meant that rumor was just as easy to believe as the truth. The situation was on a knife's edge, one step away from total disaster...

"Sir? Lieutenant Captain Aten has arrived for the morning debriefing." one of the unicorn Upper Class guards says as he peeks into the office from his post guarding the doorway.

"Send him in." Captain Gibraltar says, his sapphire blue eyes showing some degree of annoyance.

Out from the hallway came a distinctive pattern of hoofsteps that deliberately overemphasized the force of each step, and in stepped the pegasus Lieutenant Captain Aten. As was usual for him, he was closely escorted by a pair of pegasus Upper Class guards. Aten almost always wore either a smirk or a scowl when not on duty, his bright yellow coat and fiery red eyes matching both his pride and fire-breathing oratory. Aten also always tied his mane and tail, both the color of milk chocolate with a dark red stripe, with spiked bands decorated with the symbol of the pre-Equestrian pegasus tribe - Lieutenant Captains had a little leeway when it came to unofficial additions to their uniforms, and Aten pushed that envelope as far as it would go.

Aten had first made a name for himself about five years ago, when as a Lieutenant he "blew the whistle" on a pair of his unicorn comrades that were blatantly discriminatory toward the pegasi and earth ponies under their command. A subsequent court-martial found them guilty of the accused crimes, and Aten leveraged the resulting fame into taking leadership of the embryonic "pegasus affirmative action" movement that arose over the course of the court-martial. He quickly went on the attack, accusing the entire Royal Guard of having an in-built bias against pegasi and earth ponies.

These attacks, appealing both to the glory of the old pegasus tribe and the ideals of Equestria's founding, both garnered Aten a large following among the pegasi members of the Royal Guard and protected him from anything more than token punishment. Then he decided to hold a rally for "pegasus rights" in the Canterlot statue garden in front of "the Statue of Discord"; for reasons that would not become clear until years later, this hit Princess Celestia's panic button and she immediately ordered negotiations between the upper ranks of the Guard and Aten's group opened.

One of the results of the negotiations was that Aten became the Lieutenant Captain leader of the morning shift, whereupon he could shape its roster according the ideals he championed so vigorously. Unfortunately, Aten tended to choose his officers more based on loyalty to his ideal than any measure of competence, creating a dysfunction in the morning shift Captain Gibraltar called "a dryrot". Since Celestia blocked all attempts to remove or transfer Aten, Gibraltar had little choice but to put up with Aten's presence and spread the "dryrot" by shuffling around the least competent of Aten's choices to other shifts to cover up their dysfunction. The presence of this "dryrot" was a factor in the continuing troubles surrounding Luna's rehabilitation and eventually played a major role in several critical failures, most notably the Changeling invasion of Canterlot.

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"Well well, who do we have here? What's the matter, Mr. Perfect? Your marefriend dump you, perhaps?" Aten mocked as soon as he saw Shining Armor present in the room.

"Aten, we knew going in this situation that there was a high probability of trouble occurring between Princess Luna and Princess Cadance." Gibraltar corrected. "But there hasn't been any marefriend dumping, and hopefully there won't be any of it. Period."

"Whatever you say, sir. But it is a shame the Lieutenant Captain has been put in this situation." Aten replies.

Neither Shining Armor nor Gibraltar believed Aten's words were sincere for a minute. The antipathy between Aten and Shining Armor was well-known - one reason was obviously that Shining was one of the "horned ones", Aten's favorite epithet for unicorns. Another was the favoritism shown toward Shining by Princess Celestia - Aten had gotten most of his non-pegasus supporters by tapping the resentment and doubt of capability this generated, generally by the unspoken premise that Aten was the only one able to counter the favoritism. A third reason was that Aten desired Princess Cadance as his marefriend, despite her not wanting anything to do with him and spurning his advances toward her.

Shining Armor had the feeling he was now Aten's number one target. Princess Celestia giving her approval to Shining's chivalrous act by placing him in charge of the night shift, in combination with Luna's obvious need, now made holding any kind of resentment of favoritism most unwise. Aten had also made the mistake of giving mere lip service toward helping with Luna's problems. These two factors worked together to produce a steady whittling down of support for the "affirmative action" cause, and with his power base declining his "immunity" was in danger. Needless to say, this was not a picture of peace and harmony in action, and would not be unless one or the other was gone for good.

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"Are you quite finished, Aten? I'm sure your Lieutenants are waiting for their assignments." Gibraltar now states impatiently.

"Yes, sir. If the morning report is waiting for me, I will take it and be on my way." Aten replies coldly.

"Right on the desk." Gibraltar says as he points with a forehoof. Aten walks to the desk, picks up the report and leaves, all the while his eyes trained in a piercing stare on Shining Armor.

"The things Celestia makes me put up with..." Gibraltar sighs out wearily as soon as Aten was out of earshot.

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The duty assignment procedure in the Royal Guard was done by lotto at the start of each shift. After accounting for all their charges, the several dozen Lieutenants of the shift assembled separately to take the duty assignment their group would carry out for the day. There were exceptions, generally special assignments given by the Captain of the Guard or the princesses as well as the "bathroom detail" given as punishment either for rule breaking or failure to properly perform duty, but most times the lotto system was used to give out assignments in a supposedly unbiased manner.

On one wall of the room where the assignments were given out was a large blue button and a metal chute sticking out perpendicular from the wall. After a quick test of the mechanism in the wall to ensure it was working, the Lieutenants lined up from most senior to least senior in front of the chute and the Lieutenant Captain pressed the button next to it. The mechanism would spin up for a few moments, then begin dispensing balls out of the chute. The Lieutenant at the head of the line would pick up the dispensed ball and step aside so that the next officer in line could pick up the next ball dispensed. The balls were dispensed one at a time to prevent the temptation of picking and choosing, so the whole process took a while to complete.

Once a Lieutenant had picked up a ball, they saw what assignment it corresponded to on their paperwork and marked it so that they in turn could divide it up further amongst the guard group under their command. Most balls were white and marked with an "S" (for an assignment patrolling the city) or a "V" (for an assignment within the castle itself) with a number indicating the particular sector to be covered. Some special assignment balls were colored: orange for Celestia's personal guard, pink for Cadance's personal guard, purple if guarding a particular visiting VIP (though this was usually an explicit special assignment given beforehand to a particular Lieutenant), green for "standby duty" (remaining in a standby room in case they are needed to cover another group busy with something else) and red for "check duty" (they would roam around as a double-check that Lieutenants were staying with their groups and that the guards were doing what they were supposed to be doing).

A recent addition to the system was a dark blue ball for Luna's personal guard, and it is the group that received this particular assignment we now turn to. As Luna's temper was already becoming common knowledge, getting the dark blue ball was seen as bad luck or a long day. The groans coming the four stallion group that got this particular assignment that day were therefore not surprising.

"I know, I know. I don't like it either. But we have a duty to perform, and I expect it to be performed to standard. Is that clear?" the Lieutenant in charge of that group explains, to which the group responds with various affirmative statements.

"One unicorn and one pegasus to guard the door to Luna's suite, one unicorn and one pegasus to do the sleeping prep for Princess Luna. Seniors do the sleep prep, juniors guard the door." the Lieutenant orders, again followed by various affirmative statements.

The Lieutenant goes over to the senior pegasus and unicorn of the group, both Guard Upper Class in rank, and gives a checklist for the two soldiers to follow. As he does so, he also whispers the following statement to them: "Agent Snake is waiting in bathroom for you. I'll cover you, be quick."

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With lists in possession, the unicorn and pegasus chosen for Princess Luna's sleep prep make their way to the nearby bathroom, covered by the Lieutenant telling the other pair of his command group that they are fetching some supplies in order to properly do their duty.

Inside the otherwise-empty bathroom is a stallion, completely covered in a hooded cloak and brown "stockings" hiding his hooves. The only distinguishing features are a grey unicorn horn sticking out through a hole in the cloak's hood and a pair of yellow eyes glowing from under the hood. The pegasus and unicorn give a nod in the figure's direction.

Its voice is in a whisper, only really audible by leaning in close: "Love and the moon are in conflict?"

"Yes, Snake, just as predicted." the pegasus answers in the same whisper tone.

"Good. The sun is behind clouds, and the Weather Ministry is cooperative. Operation 'Love Lost' is being initiated. Agents 15 and 27, you are to begin the misinformation campaign on the moon immediately. Acknowledge?"

"Acknowledged, Snake." is the whisper answer of the pegasus, "Agent 15".

"Good luck. The success of this mission is critical to the continuation of our operations. Do not fail me."

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ABOUT 20 MINUTES LATER, IN PRINCESS LUNA'S BEDROOM SUITE...

"So, Your Majesty, I heard that you met Princess Cadance early last night." the unicorn Upper Class Guard, "Agent 27", comments offhandedly as he and "Agent 15" are going about their preparation work to allow Princess Luna to sleep in quiet darkness.

"That 'princess' is an impostor and a fraud! We wish nothing to do with her, nor do we wish to continue this conversation on that subject!" Luna exclaims to the two guards in irritation, a reflection of an annoyed mood that had lasted through the night after her first meeting with Cadance.

"But Your Highness surely must be interested in the juicy information we have on that impostor princess?" comments "Agent 15".

"...Thou knows something of her true nature? Speak!" Luna answers, an eyebrow rising up as her curiosity is piqued by the question given by the pegasus.

"For almost a decade now, that enchantress has been deluding and snaring in illusions all of Equestria." "Agent 15" begins to explain. "Your sister had such heartache from your absence that she did not question the illusions Cadance put up of her being an alicorn and adoptive niece. Her wings are not even real, Your Majesty, just part of the illusion."

"... Really now? Is there more we ought to know?" Luna asks, eagerly listening to every word at this point.

"Oh yes, Your Majesty." the unicorn "Agent 27" picks up. "For most of that decade span, the stallion now in charge of the night shift has been under her illusion he is her stallionfriend, and that they are to be married in the course of time. The illusions have also affected his sister, the new bearer of the Element of Magic. She counts Cadance as one of her few friends. Don't ever expect anypony under the illusions to admit they really are illusions, though, Your Majesty."

The words seemed to fan Luna's smouldering anger - the concept of her sister, the filly that had driven the nightmare out of her, and the brother of that filly serving her so loyally all under these illusions was simply intolerable! Luna's pose quickly changed to that resembling a cat ready to pounce, her face in a scowl and her wings flared open.

"If we were at full power we would blast that fraud right out of Canterlot at this very instant!" Luna exclaims indignantly.

"Fortunately, Your Highness, we know her illusions are just that, and we will help you break them. We just need a little time to set up the plan, that's all." is the calm, collected response of "Agent 15".

"... Very well. We will trust both of thou. As long as the Lieutenant Captain wilt no longer be consort to a fraud and impostor, we will overlook any offenses thou might commit against our sister and thine superiors." Luna states, calming down slightly.

"We thank you greatly, Your Highness." answers "Agent 27", smiles hiding metaphorical knife blades.

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After finishing the preparations, it was all the two agents could do to hide their glee at having gotten away with telling a pack of lies to Princess Luna. Luna had believed them because it was what her itching ears wanted to hear, and by the time anypony found out about the deception it would be too late to do anything about it. The inside job would ensure not just their protection, but the conflict their boss wanted so badly. In Equestrian phrasing, "the seeds of discord had been sown"...

Comments

[Snake Staff]

This seems like a lot more telling than showing.

[Unbreakable]

Lieutenant Captain Aten is such a cunt.

[Obsidian Raindrop]

Personally I don't like Aten being one of those bad guys who are evil for evil's sake.

I also don't like Luna not asking the obvious question: Why aren't you two affected by a spell that Shining armor, Celestia, and Twilight sparkle are all affected by? Can't she just check with her magic if somepony is under an illusion.

[Keeper of Jericho]

Why would Luna even think Cadance a fraud? Would seem weird if she's not aware that ponies can ascend, given that it happened twice in a short span of time with Cadance and Twilight and that Celestia at both times was responsible for it. Surely Luna has to be aware of this ability of her sister, one she might in fact even posses herself (nothing in canon saying otherwise, so far). Even if she wouldn't be, why doesn't Celestia simply explain what happened? It's not as if Cadance's ascension story is in any way harmful to Luna. Cadance beat a dark pony using love, she ascended, Celestia adopted her. Big whoop. Why would Luna have such a problem with that? It's not explained. Also seems very silly Luna would believe whatever anypony says so easily, even that Cadance's wings aren't real, when that can easily be disproven by so much as pulling a feather. I know this is shortly after Luna's return, but even so, Luna's a lot more clever and cunning than this.

All of this feels very forced, contrived and unconvincing. Luna hates Cadance because that's what you need her to do for your story, not because she actually has any reason to do so. Celestia is being stupid and not explaining Luna a simple situation because that's what you need her to do for your story, not because she actually has any (good) reason to that makes any logical kind of sense.

The story has some nice ideas, it's just not executed very well. It feels very rushed and incomplete, with a lot of telling istead of showing, too. I cannot upvote this, I'm sorry, but I won't downvote either. It just needs some work.

[Obsidian Raindrop]

5082986 At least he doesn't have "because syndrome"

[GJT_Productions]

5083779

Why would Luna even think Cadance a fraud?... It's not as if Cadance's ascension story is in any way harmful to Luna... Why would Luna have such a problem with that?

Because Luna jumped to the wrong conclusion as soon as she first saw Cadance - that Cadance was some form of "replacement". And there is nothing in Cadance's ascension story that would convince Luna otherwise, particularly with the whole "orphan" thing going on. That's also why Luna is not asking questions as she should - she's already prejudiced toward what the lying stallions have to say, so she's willing to go along even if it doesn't quite make sense.

Even if she wouldn't be, why doesn't Celestia simply explain what happened?

Celestia is being stupid and not explaining Luna a simple situation because that's what you need her to do for your story, not because she actually has any (good) reason to that makes any logical kind of sense.

Ahh, now we've gotten into one of the biggest problems with the canon episode "Luna Eclipsed" - exactly this type of behavior. There is absolutely NO REASON why any of the drama in that episode had to happen at all if Celestia had bothered to sit her sister down and explain that the old style approach wouldn't work anymore. Instead, for whatever reason (and reasons have been suggested) the problem ended up with Twilight instead.

It can't be simple ignorance on Celestia's part because at that point Luna has been back for a long time (generally assumed more than a year), so those problems should have been anticipated by Celestia. If you want to say that "Celestia is being stupid/a douchebag here", then because the exact same behavior pattern is why "Luna Eclipsed" ever happened at all.

[SWEETOLEBOB18]

A weary and defeated Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor was standing in the office of Captain of the Guard Gibraltar. There was hardly a pretense of military manner about him, or in the old unicorn captain for that matter - both of them knew Luna's blowup at Cadance's presence was a serious setback in the recovery effort and could undo it altogether. Nopony, not even Celestia, could force Luna to accept Cadance, and what was worse....was that the...... lack of knowledge about her meant that rumor was just as easy to believe as the truth. The situation was on a knife's edge, one step away from total disaster...

5083591
No, being a guy, he's being a prick