The meeting room seemed depressing as everypony sat at the table with unhappy looks on their faces. Cirrus, Gem Stone, Madam Melody, General Dash, Apple Barrel and a few other officers of the Rebellion sat with nothing to say as General Dash sighed and replied to what brought about this mood, “how… how many Wonderbolts are accounted for?…”
The rebellion officer replied, “all of them sir… after we identified all the bodies at the site… we found that all of the Wonderbolts excluding you were there… and… none survived the fight.”
Cirrus asked, “How is Jet?”
The rebellion soldier replied, “He’s fine… but he’s traumatized over the whole ordeal. We sent him to the medical ward to rest. We hope he might be able to sleep it off.”
Cirrus sighed, “We can only hope, he’s tough for his age, but he is still just a colt.”
General Dash slammed his hoof on the table in anger, “I can’t believe this! This time she’s gone too far!”
Cirrus thought to himself, “true, but something seems… off.”
Gem asked, “What do you mean commander?”
Cirrus replied, “This… doesn’t seem like something Thundaga would do. This just doesn’t seem like the Thundaga I know.”
Cirrus was met with blank stares as Madam Melody nodded her head, “I agree vis ze commander. Ze Zundaga I know vouldnt do such zings eizer.”
General Dash gave both Cirrus and Madam Melody a dumb look, “What… are you talking about?...” his expression became angry, “this is Thundaga! You know, the mare who has been holding the kingdom hostage for centuries. This is exactly like something she would do!”
Cirrus shook his head, “Before, I would agree with you. But there is more to her then what we know. Major Melody saw it, Allium saw it, and I saw it. Thundaga is dangerous, but she’s not heartless. She spared my life twice, and Gem’s once.”
Gem Stone objected, “Commander, she threw me from a bridge, after dislocating my wing. She didn’t spare me at all. She counted on your loyalty to let me die.”
Madam Melody though to herself, “Vait… she tossed you from a bridge and expected ze commander to let you fall?”
Cirrus realized something, “but… she knows perfectly well that I wouldn’t let that happen to anypony. Why would she?...”
General Dash sighed as he replied with an angry tone, “listen to yourselves… this isn’t her? Why would she do that?... don’t you understand!?! This is Thundaga! This is nothing new to us! Are you supporting her now! Are you actually sympathizing with her after what she did to the Wonderbolt Academy? Is that what’s happening here!?!”
Apple Barrel spoke up, “Now, now general, they didn’t mean anythin’ by it.”
General Dash continued in anger, “Commander… Major… say what you want but the fact still remains… the Wonderbolts… my family… Is gone! The only course of action now… IS WAR!!! We will go to battle and destroy her!”
Cirrus gave him a surprised look, “What? But that’s crazy?”
Gem Stone spoke up, “Calm down General, the commander is right, reacting in anger won’t solve anything. You said yourself that you didn’t have the forces to fight her before her declaration. How is now any different?”
General Dash still in a fit of anger replied, “I don’t care! She drew the line in the sand, now is the time to cross it.”
Gem replied, “Listen to me! I’m trying to tell you that you can’t fight her! If you march into battle now, you and everypony in your army will die!”
“SHUT UP!!! If we let Thundaga do this to our families then what kind of general would I b-”
Before he could finish, Apple Barrel stood up, trotted to him, and punched General Dash in his muzzle as he was knocked out of his chair and onto the ground. Stunned by the sudden punch, General Dash laid on the ground for a few seconds as Apple Barrel turned to Cirrus and Saluted, “Commander Halo, sorry for actin’ out of character sir. I s’pose you should have given me the order to ring his bell before actually doin’ it.”
Cirrus shook his head, “it’s alright lieutenant, you did exactly what I was thinking anyways.” He looked at General Dash, “Since you’re on the ground right now, take the time to listen up while you’re there… I know how angry you are, and I know what that kind of anger can do… but right now you need to think logically. Thundaga drew the line in the sand because she knew you were hard headed enough to cross it without a second thought. What we need you to do is to calm yourself down first then consider your retaliation carefully. Right now, Zine is at work on a spell to help, and the rest of my army is training. Soon we will do something as retaliation, but till then the best thing to do is to stand by and wait for an opportunity. When you’re finally ready to consider your options, then maybe I'll listen. Till then… I think this meeting is over.”
General Dash sat up and gave Cirrus an angry look, but didn’t reply as Cirrus looked at Madam Melody and asked, “Major, where is Allium right now?”
Madam Melody replied, “She is vith Jet. Alzough zey argue a lot, she is vorried for him after vat he vent zrough.”
Cirrus nodded, “alright… because of the state of the kingdom, I will suggest she stay here indefinitely until this mess blows over. Till then, you will continue to have command over the soldiers and see to it that they continue their training.” He turned to Apple Barrel, “Lieutenant Barrel, and gather information of all soldiers who were part of the rebellion before joining the Nightmare Legion. Let them know that their families are at risk for Thundaga’s threat, and if necessary allow them time to relocate their families as needed.”
Apple Barrel nodded his head as he replied, “Will do sir.”
Cirrus looked at Gem Stone, “Captain, you will continue to act as my second. But right now I need you to go into Ponyville and gather as many books on Commander Bolt and his battle tactics as you can. I don’t know much, but maybe they will inspire a course of action.”
Gem nodded, “yes Sir, and anything I don’t find, I'll try to remember for you… funny, you sound like a commander now.”
Cirrus smiled, “good, if I can fool you I can fool Thundaga.”
Chuckling at his joke, Cirrus concluded, “You have your orders… now let’s fall out.”
As Cirrus turned to leave one of General Dash’s officers spoke up, “wait! You think you can just get away with that? Your lieutenant need to answer for-”
“It’s fine...”
Surprised, the room looked at General Dash as he stood up and spoke, “Losing the Wonderbolts and my academy hit me pretty hard… much harder than any punch you can give me lieutenant… but… I was being a little foalish. I apologies… and… hope that if the time comes, you can offer me some words of wisdom, Commander.”
Cirrus smiled in a joking manner, “don’t worry, as soon as I find them, you will be one of the first to know.”
With that, the group left the small room as they each split up to do as they were told.
As Cirrus trotted through the tunnels, he could see the members of the rebellion and nightmare legion alike talking about the disaster at the Wonderbolts Academy. However as he continued, he found himself thinking about some of Gem’s lessons as they echoed in his mind, “A commander must keep his composure no matter the situation. Whether he is standing in an active battlefield, or trotting through the camp, he must understand that if his face shows worry or sadness, it can spread to his subordinates. I’m not saying you should be laughing in battle or smiling when a comrade dies, but at most times, showing no expression is better than the alternative.”
As he thought about these words, he started to notice everyponies expressions of worry as he mumbled to himself, “No expression?… easier said than done.”
Although the lesson was in his mind, his expression still had a hint of doubt as Cirrus entered the main cavern to see Spike helping some nightmare soldiers set up a food stall as he looked at Cirrus and smiled, “oh, hey commander. Uh… you okay?... you look a little uneasy.”
Cirrus replied, “I’m fine… I just have a lot on my mind. You’ve… heard what happened right?”
Spike’s smile faded as he nodded his head, “yea… I heard. I know Thundaga’s supposed to be evil and all… but considering who she used to be… it’s unsettling to hear her act like this.”
Cirrus gave Spike a curious look, “who she used to be… you mean Princess Um-”
Before Cirrus could finish his sentence, the doors leading into the magic lab blew open as a large dragon compiled entirely of red smoke flew through the cavern as everypony in its path jumped out of the way as it sent most of the cavern into a fit of panic. As the red dragon flew through the crowd, it knocked over tents and other obstacles in its path. As the blood red dragon tore through its surroundings, Zine quickly rushed out of the Lab as he called out, “Nopony panic! Nopony Panic! He won’t hurt you! Or… He won’t attack you at least. Sorry! Sorry! Wow that looked expensive. Sorry! Sorry! That looks like it hurt. Sorry! My fault! Sorry!”
As the dragon continued tearing through the cavern, everypony in its path quickly jumped out of the way until it approached Spike, as the red dragon paused and tilted its head in confusion leaving Spike to do the same before mumbling, “what the?...”
The smoke dragon stared in confusion at Spike for a brief moment before turning around and flying back towards the lab. As it drew closer, Zine had to drop to the ground to dodge the dragon as it flew passed him and towards the doors that closed behind him. Seeing this he called, “HEY! SOMEPONY OPEN THA-!”
Before he could finish, the smoke dragon hit and shattered the wooden door as Zine continued, “um… never mind.”
After blasting through the doors like a freight train, the dragon circled the cauldron one last time before diving into the cauldron and vanishing into the brew. After the dragon was gone, Zine sighed in relief as he looked at the damage, “is everypony okay? I promise that didn’t happen last time. Don’t worry I'll pay for everything broken… just… add it to the commander’s tab. Label it Zine’s doing. He’ll know what it means.”
Trying to forget what happened, Zine started trotting back to the lab as Cirrus called in anger, “ZINE!!!”
Hearing his name Zine turned to Cirrus as he smiled innocently, “oh… commander you’re already here… um… so… how’s it going?”
Cirrus replied in anger as he pointed to all the damage that was caused, “you mind telling me what that was!?!”
Zine looked at all the damage as he replied, “oh… right… sorry about that, but they will probably send you a bill for that… don’t worry it’s probably not as bad as it looks.”
Cirrus shook his head, “not that! I’m talking about the Dragon!”
Zine leaned to the side and looked passed Cirrus at Spike who was giving him an unamused look, as the zebra looked back and replied, “um… sir… that’s Spike… I thought we went over this already.”
Cirrus shook his head, “Not that dragon! THE RED ONE!!!”
Acting innocent, Zine nodded as he replied, “Oh! That dragon… It was just an effect of a spell. Still nothing to worry about.”
Cirrus tried to lower his voice as he replied, “Nothing to worry about?… A blood sacrifice is nothing to worry about!?!”
Zine smiled with pride, “Well look at you. Remembering a lesson from my story… and here I thought you weren’t paying attention when I talk about magic.”
Although Zine was smiling, Cirrus showed was scowling as he asked, “Whose blood did you use?”
Zine waved his hoof in a calming manner, “Calm down sir, the blood used was my own. This particular spell called for the blood of the caster, not the blood of the deceased like last time.”
Cirrus felt uneasy, “what exactly will this spell do?”
Zine shook his head, “sorry sir… I can’t tell you that. As I explained before, there are only three spells that use the blood of zebra, and all three are the most forbidden of our kind. This particular one… is number three. But… as I said. I can’t tell you what it does. Only that it’s called the Capture Spell… and for good enough reason.”
Cirrus gave him a skeptic look, “And it won’t harm us in anyway?”
Zine smiled in a reassuring way, “as much as its effects would say otherwise… it won’t. I didn’t make this for you sir. So you and everypony in the Nightmare Legion will be safe. You have my word.”
Cirrus sighed as he replied, “As much as I can’t trust you… I’ll let you finish this spell. Just let me know… are there any more unusual ingredients for this spell that I should know about?”
Zine shook his head, “not at all, all that’s left to do is add phoenix feathers and let it boil for about ten hours. After that I need to let it curdle so that I can make it into a ball and carry it by hoof… from there… I can’t say anymore.”
Cirrus continued giving Zine a look of distrust as he asked, “And there won’t be any more surprises?”
Zine smiled in embarrassment, “there shouldn’t be. The dragon was much different from the last time. Perhaps it reacts differently depending on the zebra. Don’t worry though. The rest of the ingredients shouldn’t be as violent.”
Cirrus started to reply, “good, then do what you have to the-”
“Commander Halo?”
Cirrus turned to Butterscotch Pie as the caramel pony returned from his messenger task. As the earth pony approached, Cirrus greeted him, “oh, welcome back lieutenant. I guess your message was delivered successfully?”
Butterscotch smiled, “well… yea, the message was delivered… but um… we need you to come to the hideout’s gate. We have a bit of a problem… just a little one though.”
Zine smiled, “ah… a messenger you are, but problems with the messenger?”
Butterscotch smiled nervously, “yep, they want to take her as a prisoner… but that’s not on me, I told them that she isn’t an enemy but um… the rebellion soldiers aren’t so sure.”
Zine nodded his head, “no problem, I can take it from here. Commander, would you accompany me? For an ex-sceptic like you… this is gonna be a real eye opener.”
As the two started trotting, Butterscotch started trotting with them until Zine stopped him, “you don’t have to come with us. I can handle it from here… in fact if you can, go into the lab and find the jar of phoenix feathers and add three to the potion in the caldron. After that you can put the lid over it and let it boil for a good while. I'll be back to handle it before anything else needs to be done.”
Butterscotch was curious, “Okie-dokie three feathers… but… are you sure I should do it? I don’t know much about magic.”
Zine smiled, “don’t worry about it. I’m sure you can do it. I wouldn’t be surprised if you had some gypsy magic in your family. Just add the feathers as if you were baking a cake. Only instead of batter, it’s boiling blood, and instead of eggs… it’s phoenix feathers.”
Butterscotch nodded his head as he replied “welp… I don’t know what a gypsy is… but I'll do my best…” he realized something as his expression became curious, “Wait… what was that last part about boiling blood?”
Leaving no reply, Zine turned and began trotting towards the gate to the hideout as Cirrus followed.
When they arrived to the room that separated the staircase entrance and the rest of the cavern the group entered to see a female Royal Guard standing in the center of the room with a patient smile on her face while six rebellion soldiers stood surrounding her with the tips of spear blades pressed against her neck as she spoke, “well it’s about time… I’m getting an itch on my back and they won’t let me scratch it.”
As the group entered, Zine smiled, “ah, Ms. Storm it’s good to see you. Funny I didn’t think you would wear your armor here. Not the brightest move on your part, you’ve basically painted a target on yourself.”
Major Storm sighed, “I kinda had no choice. You see, with the security at the Canterlot gates as high as it is, I had to be wearing armor to bring your purchase with me. Otherwise, I would have been taken in and probably executed. Now if you don’t mind… can I assume the pegasus your with is Commander Halo?”
Unsure whether he can trust this mare or not, Cirrus replied, “yes… My name is Commander Cirrus Cloud, but most ponies call me Commander Halo. And… you’re Ms. Storm?”
The captive mare smiled as she replied, “yes… My name is Major Tundra Storm. And as of today… I am an informant for the Nightmare Legion.”
Cirrus was confused, “an… Informant?”
With no room to shrug her shoulders she replied, “Informant, insurgent, call me whatever you want, but I believe the most common term would be a spy.”
Zine smiled as he explained, “Major Storm here wants to defect to the Nightmare Legion. She and I met a while back and she told me that if I were to ever stumble upon the Third Commander, that she would happily join your army.”
Cirrus gave him a funny look, “what?... why did you wait this long to tell her about me then?”
Zine shrugged his shoulders, “you didn’t have an army till the day before yesterday. Before that it was just you, me, Ms. Stone, and Spike.”
Major Storm started to speak, “as soon as I got your message I-” She sighed in irritation, “can you call off this guards please… it’s hard to talk with spears on my throat.”
The guards looked at Cirrus as he nodded as a signal as the guards responded by lowering their weapons and backing away. Free from her captive, Major Storm rubbed her neck as she replied with sarcasm, “thank you… geez. Hard to talk with the worry of impalement. Anyways where were we?”
Zine smiled, “you were about to show us what you’ve been working on… is it finished?”
Major Storm reached behind her as she held up a big box and replied, “Yes it is… although the color might be off… you said he was sky blue.”
Feeling unusual, Cirrus looked at Zine as he replied, “well… I call it sky blue. Why what color would you say he was.”
Major Storm replied, “He’s Closer to either a dark cerulean blue, or a sea green. Realizing they were talking about the color of his coat, Cirrus spoke up, “um… what’s this about?”
Major Storm smiled as she opened the box and smiled, “it’s about this.”
At that moment, Major Storm pulled out a diamond shaped shield from the box as she held it up and showed it off. From the tip of the top point to the bottom was almost three feet across while it was about two feet from the right to the left. Two of the four sides were only a foot long, however the bottom of the shield was extended down making the other two sides two feet while the edges of the shield on these sides were sharpened to resemble a sword’s blade. The center of the shield was bowed out with straight edges that made it resemble a three dimensional diamond. All four edges of the shield were silver creating a strip that lined both the blade and non-bladed sides. On the inside of the silver stripe was a sky blue field that filled in the inside entirely, while in the center of the shield with the peak of the diamond’s bow in its center was a white halo that circled the peak with a white cross on its inside, resembling Cirrus’s cutiemark.
Looking at the large shield, Cirrus spoke, “whoa… is… that for me?”
Major Storm smiled, “sure is Sir. Consider it a gift to christen my defection from the Equestrian Royal Guards to the Nightmare Legion. Although I was asked to make this about a month ago.” She looked at Zine, “oh, and I was sure to return Commander Bolt’s shield as requested. Just like the last, only this one I sent to Thundaga instead of Commander Mist.”
Cirrus was confused, “Commander Bolt’s shield?”
Storm smiled, “yes sir, I used it as a sort of blueprint for this shield. Like the other the smooth edges and reinforced steel make it a perfect weapon to both defend and attack. Although I used a stronger mix of iron and aluminum to increase its strength. It’s slightly heavier, but I could promise that no arrows of our royal guards will ever be able to penetrate it. And the micro-serrated blade will allow it to cut through even the toughest hide. To be honest, this is the best my family has ever made. And we’ve been making weapons since the time of Discord’s rule. But like all shields, it won’t help you, if it’s not between you and your enemies’ weapons so remember to use it properly.”
Cirrus looked at Zine as he asked, “you planned this?...”
Zine smiled, “a good commander needs a good weapon. Besides, what better weapon for the Commander of Peace to carry then a shield. Needless to say, Major Storm here it the best weapon smith the kingdom has to offer. And when I heard her mention that she wanted to be stationed outside the castle, I started to get curious.”
Major Storm nodded, “true… with my reputation, Thundaga wanted me to be placed in the main castle armory, but to be honest I like my job, not my boss. True that I must follow her orders at all times, but in the grand scheme of it, that doesn’t mean I have to respect her. Thundaga is the ruler, but I don’t like how her power is being flaunted over everypony in the kingdom like it is. A good princess looks out for the kingdom and its subjects. From what I’ve seen, she only looks out for the kingdom. And recently… she’s become a lot worse.”
Cirrus nodded his head, “yea… we heard about what happened at the Wonderbolt Academy.”
Major Storm shook her head, “it’s not just there. All over Equestria. She’s turned this kingdom into a prison. The mayors of every town have been taken out of office and replaced with her highest ranking officials. The security on the border has increased. Every town with gates have started randomly searching traveling civilians. I just don’t know what gotten into her. Ever since she started using the royal we she’s become… I don’t know… evil.”
Cirrus was confused, “royal what?”
Zine explained, “The Royal We. Some royalty refer to themselves as if they were two ponies instead of one. For example, I is now we, my is now our, and me is now us. It’s a strange way to talk, but then again, who’s going to question the princess? If she says apples are now oranges, a royal decree will go out and it will become the norm.”
Cirrus thought to herself, “She’s been referring to herself as two… hm…”
Zine was curious, “what’s up commander? Figure something out?”
Cirrus shook his head, “not really… just a curious thought.”
Major Storm smiled, “Either way, I’m here now and whatever you need, I'll be happy to help sir. I would just prefer to keep my cover with the royal guards for now. I can be of better use as a mare on the inside.”
Zine nodded his head, “you have a point. Welcome aboard. Since you are a skilled guard, you will maintain your rank and title and be placed under my command. But most of your actions, including your royal guard status will remain hidden from the rest of the Nightmare legion. Not saying it will happen. But I’m sure a number of my soldiers are holding grudges against the royal guards. So it would be better to avoid letting them know you were one of them.”
Major Storm smiled “Understood sir, If you want I can remove my armor, I will just need a bag to keep it in while I’m here.”
Cirrus nodded, “sure, will you be staying long?”
Major Storm nodded her head, “less than a week yes. If I’m here longer than that, then I will risk breaking my cover. Also I need to fit you for the strap on your shield, it won’t take long but I need to make it tight enough for you to wear it comfortably. So…”
that said, the armored unicorn used her magic to pull a tape measure, a pen, and a notepad from her saddlebag, “hold out your hoof.”
Cirrus was confused, “seriously… here?”
Major Storm nodded her head, “a commander must be ready for battle… not to mention I’m the best weapon smith in the kingdom, if your weapon isn’t ready for you when you need it, then what good am I… so, even before I get settled here…I need your hoof please.”
Cirrus hesitated before holding out his hoof to her, “um… okay…”
As soon as his hoof was accessible, Major Storm wrapped the measuring tap around his hoof as she carefully studied the measurement before speaking, “hmm… you’re much skinnier then I expected.”
Cirrus gave her an unamused look, “why does everypony say that?”
Zine smiled, “Cuz it’s true…”
After getting the measurement, Major storm used her magic as she jotted down the measurements and put all the item away, to include the unfinished shield back in its original box, “looks good sir, I'll have it ready for you by morning.”
Zine smiled, “good…cuz tomorrow marks day three…”
Cirrus gave him a concerned look, “okay I'll bite… what is day three supposed to be?”
Zine shrugged his shoulders, “who knows, the last day of the sub-peace maybe.”
“Sub-peace?”
Zine thought to himself as he replied, “well… you could say it’s the last day for us to relax like this… after tomorrow, things get… interesting.”
Cirrus started to ask Zine what he was talking about, but before he could Gem Stone came trotting down the entrance steps as she saw him and smiled, “oh commander, good timing, I have those books you as-”
Before Gem could finish her statement, she saw the obvious royal guard in the room as her expression became serious as she looked at Cirrus and asked, “Commander… who is this?”
Cirrus replied, “Oh, welcome back Captain Stone, this is-”
Major Storm saluted as she replied, “Ma’am, my name is Major Tundra Storm. It’s an honor to meet you Captain Stone.”
Although she was still skeptic, Gem saluted back as she replied, “Uh… thanks.”
Major Storm continued, “Hearing how you put the tension on Thundaga in Canterlot, It’s a real inspiration to all us who are unsure of Thundaga’s rule.”
Still unsure, Gem looked at Cirrus as he explained, “Major Storm here is one of Thundaga’s soldiers who wants to defect. Although her defection is kept quiet so for the time being, she is a spy for us. And from what I hear, she is also a master weapons smith.”
Gem realized something as she looked at Major Storm who replied, “Well… master is sort of an understatement. But yes, there is no pony better in the entire kingdom who can make weapons like I can.”
Gem Stone asked, “major… you say your name is Storm… are you related to Captain Iron Storm of the Nightmare Legion?”
Major Storm smiled, “in fact I am. Since long before even his time, my family has built weapons for all generations of royal guards. In fact it was my family who crafted the sword used by Shining Armor during the Eden’s Kiss Catastrophe.”
Zine smiled sarcastically, “didn’t that one break?”
Major Storm gave him an annoyed look, “well yea, but I don’t think any sword could have survived the power that wiped out an entire civilization.”
Gem Stone spoke up, “Captain Storm… was like a father to me. I honestly don’t know if I would be here if he wasn’t there to help train me.”
Major Storm smiled, “well… I honestly can’t say anything about him since… I never met him. But if you say he was a great stallion, then I’m happy to be his descendent. And if you ever need me to look at your bow or make modifications, just ask.”
Seeing that the two would get along, Cirrus smiled as he looked at Gem, “you got the books captain?”
Gem Smiled, “oh yes I did sir. She reached into a saddlebag, here, I was only able to find two books on the war, but if you need any more info on the original Nightmare Legion, just ask.”
Cirrus took the books as he smiled, “thanks, I'll look them over and see if I can come up with a strategy on the upcoming battle.”
Major Storm gave Cirrus a concerned look, “battle? So you are planning an attack?”
Feeling a little cautious about his reply, he hesitated, “well… not yet. But it’s not like things will get any better as time goes on. I know I’m not much of a commander yet… but as a commander, I’m not going to wait till Thundaga has us completely surrounded before giving the order to fight back.”
Gem smiled at his words as Zine patted him on the shoulder, “Well said, Commander Halo.”
Major Storm smiled, “well, you got me convinced sir. If you ever need any help from my position. Just say the word.”
With that said, Cirrus turned to the cavern doorway as he spoke, “Thanks, a high ranking Royal Guard just might come in handy. Well I'll be in the lab if anypony needs me. Hopefully things will be quiet enough for me to read these books.”
Zine smiled, “It will be… until I get back to finish the potion anyways. But for now… I’ll show the Major to a changing room. It’s not safe for a royal guard to go traipsing about here. She’s liable to get jumped by the entire cavern.”
With that said, Cirrus nodded as the group went off to do the tasks they had planned.
Back in Canterlot, Thundaga sat in her throne in a tension filled silence as her magic was used to hold an old teardrop shaped shield in the air as Commander Mist entered and spoke, “Your Majesty? You summoned me?”
Thundaga turned the shield around as she continued sitting and spoke in an angry but calm voice, “Commander… what is this?”
Commander Mist looked at the emblems painted on the damaged surface of the ancient shield as he replied, “That’s Commander Bolt’s shield isn’t it? But… when was it recovered?”
With no change in her angry tone, she replied, “this morning, a mail carrier was apprehended at the castle gate with it. It was in a parcel addressed to us. We don’t know who sent it… and yet they mock us with the same trick as Commander Mist’s spear.”
Commander Mist was curious, “Should we turn our focus back onto the museum robbery?”
Thundaga shook her head, “don’t bother… we already know who is responsible. We just realized it this morning.”
Commander Mist asked, “Really? Who?”
Thundaga explained, “consider the following… what three items were stolen from the museum. First, Commander Mist’s spear, an item carried by your family name. Next, Commander Bolt’s shield, the weapon carried by my father, the second commander, and the symbols of the Nightmare Legion. And finally…”
Commander Mist thought to himself, “Captain Gem Stone’s quiver… carried by Captain Gem Stone herself… who… was supposedly with Cirrus the other day.”
Thundaga nodded, “exactly, as you know… Captain Stone revealed herself here a few days ago in a pathetic attempt of overthrowing us. So although the other two artifacts are recovered, it’s only expected that the last is in her hooves.”
Commander Mist replied in anger, “so it was that mare who stole the artifacts isn’t it?”
Thundaga shook her head, “no… she may hold the artifact, however look at the other two. One, wielded by my father the second commander and a spear held by your family. The shield would have been stolen for Cirrus who is reported as the next commander.”
Commander Mist replied, “So it was that pegasus who stole them?”
Thundaga shook her head again, “wrong again commander, if anypony, it was Zine. He brought Captain Stone back from the dead, so he recovered her quiver so that she would use it since it would hold sentimental value for her.”
Commander Mist stomped his hoof in anger, “I KNEW IT!!! I knew all along that that traitorous zebra was responsible for this. I never trusted him! Ever since the day we let him out of that cell he’s been nothing but trouble. I never liked him.”
Thundaga smiled in amusement, “yes… and that’s why he took your families’ spear too… I can only guess he took that just to spite you further.”
Commander Mist replied in anger, “that miserable son of a-… wait… that explains why he took the spear and quiver… but why did he take Commander Bolt’s shield? If he still had it I would understand, but… why would he return it if he wasn’t going to have Cirrus use it.”
Thundaga rotated the shield around with her magic as she replied, “this hole in its surface was dealt by Nightmare Moon. I would guess that with this damage… it couldn’t be useful. And repairing it wouldn’t be good neither since metal this old isn’t as strong as it used to be. However… for some reason this shield was kept and held from us for a few weeks. So in that time… what could it had been used for? Nevertheless, there is only one obvious decision that needs to be made in this matter. We must seek out Zine to figure it out… and since Captain Gem Stone obviously has the quiver in her possession, I am revoking the banishment of Cirrus Cloud, and Gem Stone, and ordering a warrant for their arrest.”
Commander Mist bowed his head and smiled, “yes your majesty, I'll issue the order immediately.”
Thundaga nodded, “see that you do… we want them brought to us alive, that way … we can finish this with our own hoof.”