The group of ponies left the storage room and headed even further down the dimly-lit corridor. This time they trotted all the way to the end of it. The door at the end was labeled "Holding Block." On the other side of this door was another hallway that ran perpendicular to the last one. However, this hallway was much shorter and brighter. There were about twenty doors on either wall; they were each spread exactly five meters apart from each other. Almost every door had a sign above it that said "Vacant." The one exception was the door closest to the entrance; it had a sign that said "Occupied" above it.
Bronze Star approached the "Occupied" door, opened it, and entered the adjoining room. While all the previous rooms had either dim or adequate lightning, this next room was immersed in total darkness. The wall across from the door had a huge window and a door; the other two walls were bare. There were a few normal-sized chairs at the base of the window. Two of them were occupied by a male blue Earth Pony and a sky blue female Pegasus.
Both of them turned around when they heard the door open, and they immediately got out of their chairs and stood up straight when they came face-to-face with the gold stallion.
"Pleasure to see you, Your Highness," the blue Earth Pony proclaimed gladly.
"Same here, Glock," Bronze Star happily rejoined. He then looked at the other pony in the room and questioned "How are you holding up, Caracal?"
"I'm doing well, Your Highness," the mare informed the prince. She had been smiling when she said that. But after a few seconds, her smile faltered and she added in a dreary tone "All things considered, at any rate…"
Bronze Star covered his mouth with his front hoof in alarm and quickly uttered "I'm sorry; I should have worded that differently."
"You don't have to apologize for anything, sir," Caracal assured the gold stallion. She paused for a moment, and then she stated "I assume the others have brought you up to speed on the situation with Material Study?"
"That is correct," Bronze Star affirmed, "Basically, one of our leads is dead. But according to what I've been told thus far, he's still more likely to talk than our other lead."
"Yeah, that's pretty accurate," Glock bluntly conceded, "Sit down and we'll fill you in."
Bronze Star nodded in acknowledgement. He waited for everypony to get settled before the blue stallion and the sky blue mare began.
In addition to being dark and quiet, this room was notably small. There was only enough space for two more ponies. After some consideration, Bronze Star decided those two would be SIG Sauer and Noble Edict. The others remained outside the room. By regulation, the room needed to stay dark when it was in use, so Lord Bellerophon turned down the lights in the hallway and mostly closed the door. He left it slightly ajar so that he and the other seven members of the Regiment could hear what was going on inside the dark room.
Once this was done, Bronze Star, Noble Edict, Glock, Caracal, and SIG Sauer sat down at the chairs in front of the large window.
There was another room on the other side of the glass. This was the actual holding cell, but it bared little resemblance to one. Instead, it was designed to resemble a small apartment. There was a bed, a desk, a cabinet, a bookcase, and an adjoining bathroom. There was also a table with four chairs in the center of the room; one on each side.
Currently, a certain stallion was sitting easily in the chair that faced the window. However, he was not looking towards the window. Instead, he was gazing lazily at the wall to his right. He appeared to be in the midst of daydreaming. This was Sir Raoul Jowl.
"He seems to be doing well," Bronze Star drily noted. A moment later, he added "For a guy who's been subjected to extensive coercive methods for three straight weeks."
"I hear you there, Your Highness," Glock bluntly commented, "Ever since the incident with Material Study, we've been keeping a very tight lid on Raoul Jowl. We suspected he might try to pull something like that again. We didn't want to risk missing anything of the sort, so we've been watching him in shifts. Caracal and I have kept our eyes on him since six o'clock this morning."
"Has anything happened since then, Captain?" Bronze Star enquired.
"No, nothing new, sir," the blue Earth Pony disclosed, "The biggest difference is the change in his mood. During the five weeks we held him here, Sir Raoul always seemed agitated and nervous. Now he just seems completely nonchalant."
"I'd say he's more laidback than nonchalant," Noble Edict announced, "I've seen this kind of behavior before. I see it every time my security staff arrest a person who we know is guilty but the suspect himself believes there is nothing we can do to prove his guilt or get a confession out of him."
"An astute observation, Lady Noble," Caracal coincided, "That is precisely what this stallion is trying to do right now. He's trying to get ahead of us by feigning ignorance about the whole matter. But he definitely DOES know something. Make no mistake about that. Raoul Jowl is an expert at manipulation and deception. Trust me… I know firsthoof what he's capable of."
She had spoken that last sentence with a note of discomfort, and even a little dismay. Noble Edict turned to the sky blue Pegasus and asked her in concern "Special Agent, do you and Sir Raoul have a history?"
Caracal did not give a verbal response; she just lightly nodded her head. So Bronze Star answered for her: "Earlier on, I told you that the first time we dealt with Sir Raoul, a member of the Regiment had to get close to him on a person level. Caracal was that member."
"Essentially, it was because of her that we were able to expose Sir Raoul," Glock declared.
"I was able to get close enough to confirm Sir Raoul's role in the black market case," Caracal disclosed. She leaned back in her chair and mumbled "Of course, some would say I got too close."
"If you don't mind me asking, just how close did you get?" Noble Edict inquired, "What did you have to do to expose Sir Raoul's misdeeds?"
"If you'd really like to know, Lady Noble, I'll tell you," Caracal said openly, "But I should warn you; it's not pretty."
"It's alright, Special Agent," the red mare guaranteed the sky blue mare, "I'm used to dealing with 'not pretty.'"
Caracal nodded her head in acknowledgement. After another brief period of silence, she elucidated "From the moment we discovered Sir Raoul was affiliated with the stolen government files, we knew it would not be easy to prove his involvement. After all, he was a high-status official in Princess Celestia's administration. We couldn't bring him in for questioning or search his house without some well-founded evidence. With that in mind, we soon realized that the only way to expose a crook would be to act like one."
Noble Edict was a little baffled by the vagueness of this last remark. She requested "Elaborate, if you please."
"Well, Noble, every member of the Firebrand Regiment has worked for a branch of the military or a government-based agency," SIG Sauer expounded, "Because of our different backgrounds, all ten of us bring special and unique skills to the table. In Caracal's case, she has a practical ability to blend in to any crowd and intercept private information."
"When I worked for ETNA, I was one of the country's top spies," Caracal continued, "I went undercover many times to bring down certain criminal organizations. On several occasions, I was dealing with known murderers. With that in mind, getting close to Sir Raoul should have been a cakewalk."
"I'm guessing it wasn't?" Noble Edict assumed.
"No, not even by comparison," Caracal replied, "The easiest part was getting set up. You see, every time I go undercover, I have to create a temporary new background for myself. This time I passed myself off as a sleazy attorney from Manehattan."
"Sleazy in what way?" Noble queried.
"Imagine an attorney who betrays the trust of her clients," Caracal pronounced, "This would be an attorney who handles very important people, but also an attorney who'd be willing to sell the secrets of the people she represent unless her clients pay her off. That was what I pretended to be for weeks. Once I had this guise mastered, I approached Sir Raoul and offered to work for him. After a lengthy interview, he hired me as his lawyer."
"Was he ever suspicious of you?" Noble Edict queried.
"No, I don't think he ever once suspected that I was there to bust him," Caracal responded, "All the same, he was a careful son of a bitch. He had me over at his office in the castle and his house in the city often. Whenever he was away, I used every opportunity I could to look for anything that would confirm him as the one who stole those government files. After many failed attempts, I came across a file about a project known as 'Operation Breakdown.'"
"What's that?" Noble Edict queried in perplexity.
"I don't know, Lady Noble," Caracal disclosed, "And even if I did, I couldn't tell you."
"None of us could," Glock commented, "Project Breakdown is one of the top five most private files in the government's possession. It's for the eyes of the Equestrian Royalty only."
"So there are only four people who know about it," SIG Sauer pointed out.
"Five, assuming my mother has told my Aunt Luna by now," Bronze Star pronounced, "Other than the two of them, my cousins Blueblood and Cadence, and myself, nopony in the entire nation has any business learning about Project Breakdown."
"And because Sir Raoul had a copy of that file in his desk at his house, we had more than enough to prove him as the leak in the government," Caracal explicated, "We already knew he was the one who was sending away those files. However, we still needed to confirm that he knew where they were being sent. So I had to continue 'working' for Sir Raoul.
"After a couple weeks, he knew I was examining his records, and that I was aware of his shady business transactions," the sky blue Pegasus continued after a short pause, "However, he also knew that I was obligated to report him to the authorities as soon as I made that discovery. Because I didn't, he felt that I was the type of person he could trust with his darker secrets. He told me I could be 'useful' in more than one way."
"What happened after that?" Noble inquired.
"He asked me if I was interested in making some additional money," Caracal recalled, "As part of my cover, I told him I was always open to earning a little extra cash. After that, he finally started opening up to me. Soon I got to spend a lot more time around him. He started talking about some 'friends' of his who were always willing to buy information about the government. To them, the documents were worth their weight in gold and gems. He felt that with me covering his tracks, he could access even more classified files than before. I played along, knowing it would only be a matter of time before he led me to his affiliates."
"Unfortunately, that didn't happen as quickly as we would've preferred," SIG Sauer commented.
"Plus, another complication soon arose," Glock mentioned.
Caracal lightly nodded her head and stated "The longer I was around Sir Raoul, the more he started viewing me as more than a lawyer and a potential partner-in-crime. He had begun to admire me as a mare, as well. He flirted with me, made passes at me, complimented me on my figure… and said several things that I don't even want to think about. He was subtle at first, so I pretended to be flattered. But before long, he became much more direct, and it became progressively harder for me to mask my disgust."
Noble Edict winced and mumbled "I can't imagine putting up with that."
"Oh, it gets worse, Lady Noble," Glock informed her.
"Yes, it does," Caracal coincided, "One night, Sir Raoul invited me to his house to discuss business. When I got there, he spoke with me in his living room. He told me that he was almost ready to bring me to his friends' base of operations. However, he told me that before that happened, I needed to prove how far I was willing to go to get on his good side. When I asked him what he wanted of me, he gave me a depraved grin and told me to meet him in his bedroom. He said that if I didn't come, I was to leave his house and never come back. But if I did, he would tell me everything I wanted to know. Then he went upstairs, leaving me on my own to make a decision."
Caracal paused for an even longer period this time. Then she went on with "I only had ten minutes to make a choice. I had the option to leave the house then and there. If I did, my dignity would have remained intact, but we would have lost the lead forever. At the time, the only people who had seen those documents were freelancers and mercenaries. It would only be a matter of time before they fell into the hooves of an extremist group or somepony else who would use the documents with the intent to do harm. Basically, I had to choose between the people of Equestria and myself. Part of me contemplated getting out, but I've always put the people of Equestria before myself. I couldn't bring myself to make an exception, even for my own benefit. So I… I did go up to Sir Raoul's room that night. And we… well, we…"
"You needn't go on, Special Agent," Noble Edict interjected, speaking somewhat sympathetically, "I can guess what happened between you and Sir Raoul."
"If you're thinking I ended up staying the night, you're correct, Lady Noble," Caracal affirmed, speaking with a note of displeasure, "But as unpleasant as that experience was, it still paid off. When I woke up next to Raoul Jowl the following morning, the first thing he told me was 'Let's go pay my associates a visit.' He then took me to a private warehouse in Las Pegasus. Most of his associates were already there. I took notes on the outline of the building, the identities of the people I met, and which documents had been stolen. The following day, we returned to Canterlot. Mr. Jowl went to his house, and I came directly here to the Compartment."
"Within a week, that warehouse was raided and shut down by the Military Enforcement Corps," Bronze Star finished up for her, "All the participants were arrested, all the stolen documents were recovered, and the entire espionage network collapsed."
"Quite a lot for a single day's work," Noble Edict perceived, grinning lightly, "How about that? It took you months to track down these people, but mere hours to bring them down."
"Yeah, it was very satisfying," Glock smugly declared, "Everypony in the black market learned a valuable lesson that day: If you steal from the pocket of your leaders and protectors, everything you value will be taken away from you."
"Sir Raoul didn't learn that lesson, apparently," SIG Sauer commented, "Maybe because we let him off too easily. Not that I'm questioning the validity of your decision, Your Highness."
"I know you aren't, SIG," Bronze Star contended, "Even though I was the one who decided to release Sir Raoul instead of putting him behind bars, I wasn't exactly proud of that decision. I only did that to save my mother and the rest of the Canterlot Castle staff some major political and social embarrassment. I still feel as though some injustice was done when I made that decision. Mainly to somepony in this room."
At that, Glock, Noble Edict, and SIG Sauer turned to Caracal. She noticed this straightaway, and she calmly told the gold stallion "If I was uncomfortable with the concept of letting Sir Raoul go free, I would have told you, sir."
"Still, Caracal; I don't think I could ever apologize enough for what you had to go through," Bronze Star uttered sincerely.
"It isn't your fault, Your Highness," the sky blue Pegasus assured the prince, "You never ordered me to sleep with Jowl. I made that decision on my own. It was easily the most difficult choice of my career, but I still don't regret making it. It was worth sacrificing my pride to stop Sir Raoul from selling more government secrets."
"Well, all the same, you can't tell me that it doesn't bother you," Bronze Star remarked.
"I never said it doesn't bother me, sir," Caracal countered, "Believe me, it does. Just being this close to Sir Raoul right now makes me feel unclean. But my uneasiness isn't so great that it consumes my thoughts. I brought myself to cope with it long ago. At any rate, we have more important things to worry about than my emotional well-being."
"She's right," SIG Sauer coincided, turning back to the looking glass, "Sir Raoul Jowl's past crimes and the impact they left are not important right now. We need to remain focused on his current activities. With Material Study dead and Lavender Dazzle missing, he's our only remaining available source of information on this conspiracy."
"He's not proving to be a very reliable source, though," Glock candidly perceived, "We've been pressing him for weeks. We've used every advanced interrogation technique we know on him at least twice. We tried terrorizing him, starving him, depriving him of sleep, and everything else short of straight-up torture. He hasn't budged."
"Maybe we should move on to straight-up torture," Caracal suggested with a wicked grin, "Some might argue that torture isn't an effective means of extracting information, but from what I've seen, it gets the job done most of the time."
"And even if it doesn't work, at least Jowl will suffer," Glock remarked, smirking as well, "Then he'll finally learn what happens when he betrays his country."
"Let's not let this get personal," SIG Sauer advised.
"Aside from that, I've never been an advocate of torture, partly because it tends to yield questionable results," Noble Edict stated.
"True, and there are times when the victim will be willing to say anything just to get the torture to stop," Bronze Star pointed out, "We cannot afford to do that with Mr. Jowl. We need everything he tells us to be one-hundred percent true. Aside from that, I only approve torture as a last resort. There is still another alternative we have not considered."
"What might that be, Your Highness?" Noble Edict inquired.
"We need to convince him to see reason," Bronze Star proclaimed, "That's the solution. We should reason with me. And I don't mean by applying force. Force didn't work on him the first time around. You know what did work? Diplomacy."
"What do you have in mind, sir?" SIG Sauer queried.
Bronze Star did not reply straightaway. He just gazed through the looking glass and focused on Raoul Jowl. He rubbed his chin and sat in silence for a couple minutes. Then he gazed over his shoulder and called out "Lord Bellerophon, could you please come in?"
The palomino Pegasus promptly opened the door and poked his head in. "What can I do for you, Your Highness?"
"I need you to find Marshal Brighton and bring him here right away," Bronze Star ordered the tall stallion.
Bellerophon raised an eyebrow and repeated in interest "Marshal Brighton?"
"Correct," the gold Alicorn confirmed. He reached into his knapsack, pulled out a small object, and tossed it to Bellerophon, saying "Be sure to give him this."
His mother's chief of staff used his magic to catch the object. He saw it was the ornament that granted people entry into the Compartment. Bellerophon looked over at the young prince, nodded his head, and assured him "It will be done, Your Highness."
The palomino stallion then stepped out of the room, returned the door to its original mostly-closed position, and trotted out of the Compartment. Once his hoofsteps faded away, Bronze Star turned back to the looking glass and announced "I'd like to speak to Sir Raoul."
"Very well, Your Highness," Glock remarked. There was currently an invisible magical barrier around the looking glass that prevented sound from passing from the observation room to the holding cell. Sound was still able to pass from the holding cell to the observation room, though. Glock was about to remove the barrier so that sound could be two-way.
Before the blue stallion could do this, Bronze Star stopped him and clarified "No, not through the looking glass. I want to talk to him face-to-face."
The others were surprised by this, especially SIG Sauer.
"Sir, I must protest," the pine green stallion interjected, "Jowl is dangerous and unpredictable. It would be a breach of protocol to have you in the same room as him. He isn't even restrained."
"I'm aware of that, SIG," Bronze Star avowed, "But keep in mind that Sir Raoul has spent his entire life behind a desk. He was never much of a fighter. I, on the other hoof, am. If he tries anything, I'm sure I can stop him by himself. I know what I'm doing. I must insist that you let me handle this situation in my own way."
SIG Sauer thought about this for a while. He had always trusted Bronze Star's judgment, and the prince did not take risks unless he felt they were genuinely worth taking. Aside from that, he could not refuse Bronze Star a reasonable request. So ultimately, he stated "Alright, Your Highness. Unlock the door, Captain."
Glock nodded and unfastened the bolt on the door next to the window. As Bronze Star rose up from his chair and approached the door, the blue stallion informed him "We'll keep it unlocked behind you in case we have to rush in there."
"Understood," the young prince acknowledged.
As he used his magic to open the door and stepped inside, Noble Edict turned to SIG Sauer and queried "What exactly is he going to do?"
"Just watch, Noble," was all SIG Sauer said in response, grinning in anticipation.
Raoul Jowl had not moved when he heard the door open. But when he heard it close again, he turned to the front of the room. When he saw the gold stallion, he smiled bitterly and muttered sardonically "Well, well, Prince Bronze Star."
"Greetings, Sir Raoul," Bronze Star returned in a more welcoming tone.
"You'll forgive me if I don't stand up for you," the older stallion remarked cheekily.
"Please don't, I get enough of that from everypony else," Bronze Star muttered as he approached the table. When he reached it, he added in "Besides, I'd just ask you to sit back down."
"Indeed," Raoul Jowl said frankly. He leaned back in his chair and asked sarcastically "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
"I'd just like to talk to you," Bronze Star claimed.
"I'm not really in the mood to talk," Raoul Jowl professed.
"Then you can sit there and listen," Bronze Star sharply retorted.
"Fine, whatever," Raoul Jowl murmured quietly, "Either way, all you'll do is waste my time and yours."
"We'll see about that," Bronze Star slyly remarked.
Raoul Jowl was an Earth Pony stallion. He had a cerise coat, an azure mane, and light yellow irises. His cutie mark was a quill, ink well, and roll of parchment. He was in his late thirties. He had a notable number of bruises and scratches on several parts of his body. These were obviously scars left from his interrogation. As far as Bronze Star was concerned, Jowl deserved them.
"So, where to begin," he asked rhetorically, gazing down at the table. A moment later, he looked up at Raoul Jowl and stated "Oh, yeah, your business in Hoofington would be a good place to start. Just what the Tartarus were you thinking, dealing in chemical weapons?"
"I can assure you I was thinking quite clearly, Your Highness," Raoul Jowl tranquilly informed him, "We needed those chemical weapons to make a statement."
"What sort of statement?" Bronze Star demanded.
"One that would serve as a calling," the cerise stallion proclaimed, "Say what you will about speech and mediation. They can only get you so far. These days, the thing that really gets you respect and attention is power. The most effective power is the destructive kind."
"Is that so?" Bronze Star muttered
"Yes," Raoul Jowl affirmed, "We need a surefire way to get people to hear us out, and Material Study gave us with precisely what we needed."
"You keep saying 'we,'" Bronze Star noted, "Who exactly are you referring to when you say that?"
"Myself, naturally, as well as the other people in my organization," Sir Raoul Jowl revealed.
"Are they traitors, too?" Bronze Star presumed.
"We're not traitors, Your Highness," Sir Raoul Jowl claimed, "We're patriots. We all love Equestria. But it cannot continue to prosper in its current state."
"And why is that?" Bronze Star queried in intrigue.
"The government is riddled with problems," Sir Raoul maintained, "Every branch of it has flaws and errors aplenty. There may be hundreds of bureaucrats and officials that actively keep the government alive, but behind that façade of joint association and unity, all the real authority comes from the royal family. That's the main issue; you and the other members of the Canterlot Royalty have become too powerful."
"Have we?" Bronze Star uttered frankly, "Last time I checked, the people of Equestria preferred to leave the hard things up to a few particular people. There has never been a public outcry against my mother's rule, nor has there ever been an insurrection in this country. We place a high value on the life of each and every citizen of Equestria. Even the citizens who oppose us, like you."
"That may be, but you tend to distribute privileges unevenly," Raoul Jowl observed, "Most cities in Equestria have equal opportunity for everypony, regardless of where they're from. Yet all the best jobs and positions in this country are available in the capital city. You know what percentage of this city's workforce originate from Canterlot? Almost eighty percent. Four-fifths of this city's labor industry were born here. I had to leave behind my family and my hometown when I came to work here."
"I understand where you're coming from," Bronze Star disclosed, "But your observations are flawed. You make it sound as though we're intentionally suppressing the other peoples of Equestria. That is not our intent; not in any way. Aside from that, Mr. Jowl, in case you've forgotten, my mother knighted you. During your career, you gained more adoration than most of this city's native workers. You were more respected than the majority of the Canterlot Elite."
"Don't compare me to those prejudiced chauvinists," Raoul Jowl barked, "Those people are the worst of the lot. They've done nothing but make judgments and waste money for generations, yet somehow they've thrived and survived. Not only that, but they've also somehow managed to stand above almost everypony else in Equestria."
"You've made your dissatisfaction with Canterlot clear," Bronze Star proclaimed, "Now tell me; what exactly were you going to do with those chemical weapons?"
"I'd have thought that'd be obvious," Raoul Jowl muttered, "We would have divided them up and placed them in strategic locations around the city."
"What do you mean by 'strategic locations?'" Bronze Star queried.
"I mean the areas where the chemical weapons would deal the most damage," Raoul Jowl revealed, "Then, when the time was right, we would have set off the chemicals and watch them work."
At that, the gold stallion sat up straight and shouted "Are you completely mad? What would that have accomplished other than large-scale mass murder?"
"It would have showed the common people that our country is not invulnerable," Raoul Jowl asserted, "That was just the first in a series of plans we had. You may have been able to stop this one, but it's not the only danger you'll be facing. Oh, no; we have a lot more surprises planned for you. You want to know the best part? These are just stepping stones. Our ultimate goal will be much more dramatic."
"You mean the assassination?" Bronze Star presumed.
The cerise stallion's eyes lit up in surprise. He mumbled agitatedly "What are you talking about?"
"Don't pretend to be stupid; we know about the assassination," Bronze Star snapped, "Material Study used his dying breath to tell us about it."
"Oh, I see," Raoul Jowl muttered serenely "So Material didn't make it?"
"No," Bronze Star answered him, "If your intention wasn't to kill him, you failed."
Raoul Jowl lightly shrugged and stated "His death was unfortunate, but necessary. He should have been willing to give his life before he turned against us."
"Really?" Bronze Star remarked, "In that case, tell me something, Sir Raoul. What would you have done in his place? Would you have stayed silent? If the situation called for it, would you be willing to die for your cause?"
"Yes, absolutely," Raoul Jowl proclaimed, "Just give me the chance and I'd gladly take my own life."
"You're lying," Bronze Star softly said in response.
There was a tense period of silence following that blunt statement. Then Raoul Jowl mumbled irately "Am I?"
"Yes, you are," the young prince insisted, "You've recently already had more than one opportunity to end your life. If you were really willing to die, you would have killed yourself the moment we took you into custody. Aside from that, you had plenty of opportunities to commit suicide over the past five weeks. All you had to do was pull that pin out of your tail and stab yourself anywhere with it."
"The thought had occurred to me," The cerise stallion claimed, "But I needed to be sure Material Study did. I was bidding my time, waiting patiently until your people gave me a chance to get near him."
"You expect me to believe that?" Bronze Star said in disbelief, "Although we've held you here before, you don't know how our interrogations work when we have more than one suspect in custody. You had no way of knowing that we'd ever put you and Material Study in the same room."
"Luckily for me, you did," Raoul Jowl pronounced, "I made a call, and I was right."
"Still, that pin was very effective," Bronze Star pointed out, "All it took was a small prick and the victim would be done for. You had adequate time to pull the pin out of Study's neck and stab yourself with it before my people rushed in and restrained you."
Raoul Jowl did not know what to say to that. He could have claimed that the Firebrand Regiment had intervened before he had the opportunity to stab himself with the pin, but SIG Sauer and the others would have been able to counter that statement easily.
Bronze Star lightly grinned when he saw that the cerise stallion was speechless. "Don't deny it, Raoul. I've looked into the eyes of people who claimed to be as committed to a cause such as yours. I've been doing this business long enough to know how to tell when a person is willing to die and when they aren't. You, sir, are not ready to die."
As much as Raoul Jowl wanted to challenge that statement, he could not. The gold stallion was right about him.
"Let's assume for a moment that you're right and I'm not prepared to die," Raoul Jowl speculated drily, "What would that accomplish?"
"For one thing, it would imply that you're not totally insane," Bronze Star noted, "That in turn indicates that there might be hope for you. Hope that you'll do the right thing and cooperate with us."
Raoul Jowl scoffed and remarked "Why should I?"
"Because deep down, I'm not convinced you really want to go through with these plans of yours," Bronze Star contended, "Everything you're doing now is inconsistent with everything you used to stand for. Cultural reform is one thing. But genocide to make a point? There is no way you could've fallen that far without some doubt."
"I might've had some reservations at first," Raoul Jowl admitted, "But I came to accept them. This is the way it'll have to go down. I need to show the citizens of Equestria just how fragile our country really is."
"By letting hundreds of innocent people die?" Bronze Star snapped.
"Yes," Raoul Jowl affirmed, "If it's any consolation, Your Highness, I can assure you that their deaths will be meaningful."
"No, they won't," Bronze Star spat back, "This won't be an informative spectacle. It would just be senseless, pointless murder. Aside from that, imagine what impression you'll really leave. You think you'll be remembered as a martyr? No, you won't. I'll make sure of that."
"Just how will you do that?" Raoul Jowl muttered, unimpressed.
A scheming grin stretched across Bronze Star's face. He sat up in his chair and declared "It was because of me that your image was left intact four years ago. But I can easily change my mind and decide to stop protecting you."
"What do you mean?" Raoul Jowl asked anxiously.
"If you let your co-conspirators get away with their plot, I will make it my personal goal to bring you down in every way possible," Bronze Star threatened, "I'll let everypony know that you were responsible. I'll also let them know that you were the one who leaked those government files to the black market. Your reputation from your political career would be left in ruins. Your name would go from being one of the most adored to one of the most despised overnight. Every person in the country will be after your head."
Raoul Jowl seemed quite uneasy by that concept. After a moment, he eased down and pronounced "They might want me dead at first. But imagine how angry they'll be if they were to discover that a member of the Canterlot Royalty protected me the first time I broke the law. Who do you think would be the source of their rage then?"
Bronze Star had not considered this, but it did not worry him. He calmly said in response "Whose word do you think they'll believe? Mine or yours? People will just assume you're trying desperately to turn their hatred away from you and towards somepony else. No, YOU will be the only one with a death warrant on his head."
Once more, Bronze Star had gained the upper hoof over Raoul Jowl. The cerise stallion literally did not know what to say in response to that. Apparently, Bronze Star's plan was working; he was beginning to make Sir Raoul see his side of the equation.
"Look, Sir Raoul, I cannot imagine what you felt four years ago," Bronze Star proclaimed, "You knowingly broke the law by stealing those documents, but you were not the one who allowed those documents to get sold. Your associates used you so they could get rich. You must have felt betrayed."
"You have no idea, Your Highness," the cerise stallion grumbled angrily.
"Oh, I think I do," Bronze Star debated, "There's also the matter of how our last encounter ended. In exchange for your freedom, I had you give up a prolific career in politics that spanned two entire decades. Leaving that behind could not have been easy. You must have felt humiliated, disgraced, rejected."
"Right on the dot," Raoul Jowl affirmed.
"Well, even with all that said, I cannot say I approve of anything you're doing now," the gold stallion remarked "You left behind an entire generation of people who have prospered under your cultural reform projects. Those people are all in your debt, and they view you and your contributions as blessings. Why would you want to destroy your legacy by harming those same people? What could you possibly gain from that? If you want to deal with your grievances from the past, you should make an effort to right your wrongs. What you really need is a way to atone for your past sins. Causing suffering and spreading anarchy is hardly an appropriate solution."
Following this short soliloquy was another long period of silence. Bronze Star was expecting Raoul Jowl to counter him once more by finding another way to justify mass murder or something of the sort. However, something very different happened. Instead of continuing the argument, Raoul Jowl seemed to lose his capacity to keep it going. He leaned forward, resting his front legs on the table, and covered his face with his front hooves. He almost looked as though he was going to break down sobbing.
Bronze Star leaned closer and asked in concern "Sir Raoul?"
"You're right, Your Highness," the cerise stallion muttered quietly, "You are absolutely right. I never wanted any of this to happen. I've just spent these past four years so angry. So unbelievably, inexplicably angry at everything and everypony…"
"I can understand your anger," Bronze Star professed, "But there are other ways to quell your rage besides generating fear and pain. If you are not careful, your anger can incite you to do terrible things. Like form a radical organization with the intention of bringing down the government."
"I wasn't the one who started this conspiracy," Raoul Jowl revealed, "I was recruited like most of the others."
"Oh?" Bronze Star muttered, "So why did you join anyway?"
"Because I met their typical profile," Raoul Jowl enlightened him, "They were looking for people who work or have worked for the government or an agency that answers to the government. Their ideal prospects are people who are resourceful, influential, and have had qualms with Equestria's ruling body."
"That's definitely you," Bronze Star conceded.
"Quite," Raoul Jowl muttered, "They approached me about fifteen months ago. Even though the news of what I did during the black market case was never made public, they suspected that there was a hidden reason why I resigned from Princess Celestia's cabinet. When they confronted me, I had no choice but to come forward with them. They could plainly see how angry I was, and they offered me a way to pacify that anger."
"Now look where it's gotten you," Bronze Star interceded, "That's probably the whole reason they approached you in the first place. Your co-conspirators took advantage of your anger to turn you against the government. In other words, they used you. Just like your 'associates' from the black market case used you, too."
"That seems to be a fitting analogy," Raoul Jowl bluntly remarked, "It seems everypony's trying to use me these days."
"Must be a horrible sensation, being used all the time," Bronze Star conjectured, "But I have a solution to fix it. There are ways to stop letting people exploit you. How about turning the tables on them?"
"In what way?" Raoul Jowl queried.
"Tell us what you know about the conspiracy," Bronze Star beckoned him, "Tell us who else is involved and what their plans are. Tell us how we can stop them before their actions get out of hoof."
The cerise stallion sighed and gazed off to the side again. He spent a minute thinking about this proposal. Then he turned back to the gold stallion and said bluntly "You really are persuasive. I'm starting to think I should come clean. However, before I tell you anything, Your Highness, promise me one thing."
"What?" Bronze Star asked.
"Promise me it'll be quick and painless," Raoul Jowl replied
"What will be quick and painless?" Bronze Star said in bafflement.
"My death," Raoul Jowl answered straightforwardly, "Once I tell you everything I know, I assume I'll be executed. After all, I conspired to commit treason. Last time I checked, treason is punishable by the death penalty."
"Yes, it is," Bronze Star affirmed, "But when at any point did I imply that you would be put to death?"
"I would've thought it'd be obvious," Raoul Jowl commented, "What other options would I have? Something tells me you don't plan on keeping me in here until I expire. You could throw me in an actual prison, but you wouldn't be able to do that without exposing my past crimes, and you assured me that would not happen if I cooperated with you. You might turn me loose like last time, but I find that extremely unlikely."
"You are correct in all accounts," Bronze Star revealed, "However, there is one option you have not yet considered. One that I was hoping you would take, and one we have yet to discuss."
"And what might that be?" Raoul Jowl inquired.
Before the gold stallion had a chance to respond, he heard the sound of somepony tapping on the looking glass. He turned around towards it and asked "Yes?"
"Lord Bellerophon has just returned with Marshal Brighton, Your Highness," SIG Sauer apprised him.
Bronze Star nodded in approval and requested "Send the marshal in, please."
"Aye, sir," Glock avowed.
The door next to the looking glass slowly opened up, and a middle-aged Unicorn stepped inside. He had a turquoise coat, a grayish-white mane, and lavender irises. His cutie mark was a house surrounded by a metal fence, and he was wearing a saddlebag.
He trotted over to the gold stallion and bowed to him. When he raised his head back up, he asked rhetorically "You summoned me, Your Highness?"
"Yes, Marshal," Bronze Star confirmed. He gestured to the table and told the turquoise stallion "Please, take a seat."
Marshal Brighton nodded and sat down to the left of Bronze Star and to the right of Sir Raoul Jowl. The young prince then announced to the two stallions "First, a brief introduction. Raoul, this is Marshal Brighton of the justice department. Brighton, this is Sir Raoul Jowl."
"I know who he is, sir," Brighton proclaimed, grinning, "It's because of him that I still have my job."
"Really?" the cerise stallion queried, fascinated.
"Yes, sir, Sir Raoul," the turquoise stallion affirmed, "If not for your cultural reform projects, I would have had to step down from my post years ago. Now because of the new policies, there are more positions available in all the departments. I do not have to resign my post until the day I resign."
"Which hopefully won't be for a long time," Bronze Star commented, speaking mostly to Jowl, "He's the best in the business."
"I'll take your word for it," Raoul Jowl muttered drily, "May I ask why he is here?"
"He's here to help you," Bronze Star expounded.
"Help me?" Raoul Jowl repeated in confusion "How?"
"This brings me to the aforementioned option I told you about," Bronze Star enlightened him, "Sometimes the Regiment is willing to cut a deal with a suspect. As long as the suspect is willing to cooperate with us, we can keep that suspect safe and secure."
"You've got my attention," Raoul Jowl stated, "Just what are you offering me, Your Highness?"
"Witness protection," Bronze Star responded candidly, "Despite everything you have done thus far, you still have a way to redeem yourself. This option doesn't lead to prison, criminal exposure, or capital punishment. It gives you the chance to live in comfort and safety for the rest of your life. All you have to do to earn it is tell me everything you know about the conspiracy."
"Well, your offer certainly sounds appealing," Raoul Jowl thought aloud, "First there are a few details I need to know. What exactly would this program involve? Would you just move me out to the middle of nowhere and leave me there to fend for myself?"
"No, certainly not," Bronze Star countered, "You would be living in a safe house with three other marshals that have been hoofpicked by Marshal Brighton. They would stay with you at all times. After this, I've decided that it would be a mistake to let you go unsupervised for the rest of your life."
"Because you don't trust me to behave myself," Raoul Jowl supposed.
"That, and because there are people out there who would see you as a liability," Bronze Star revealed, "I am, of course, referring to the true masterminds behind this conspiracy, as well as everypony else involved in it. I imagine they don't look too kindly on snitches."
"You got me there," Raoul Jowl concurred. He took a few minutes to contemplate all his options. An hour ago, he would not have accepted a deal even if he was granted full immunity from the law. Now he was having serious second thoughts about his stance on the issue. After a long period of quietness, he turned to the young prince and told him "Okay, I'll accept your proposal, Your Highness."
Bronze Star smirked in approval and said to the turquoise stallion "Marshal, if you would…?"
Brighton nodded and removed a small stack of papers from his saddle bag, along with a quill and ink well. He passed all the materials to Raoul Jowl and instructed him "Please look through those and sign them where indicated."
"Very well," Sir Raoul acknowledged. He briefly read the papers, and every time he came to a dotted line, he used the quill and ink well to leave his signature. While he did this, he gazed at Brighton out of the corner of his eye and queried "Tell me, Marshal; has the Prince told you what I've done?"
"No, not a thing," Brighton informed him, "My involvement with the Regiment requires that I be capable of doing my job without being on a need-to-know basis. The Prince just gives me people that need relocation, and I move them carefully and discreetly. Doesn't matter to me what they've done."
"So you don't care what I did to get here?" Raoul theorized.
"Not particularly," Brighton disclosed, "I just follow my orders, and I do my work without question."
"Admirable," was all Sir Raoul said in response.
The next several minutes were spent in virtual silence as Raoul Jowl glimpsed through the papers and signed them all in succession. Once he was finished, he scooted the stack back towards Brighton. The marshal picked up the papers, organized them into a neat pile, and carefully returned them to a folder in his saddlebag. Then he turned to the gold stallion and notified him "Everything's in order, Your Highness."
"Very good," Bronze Star commented, "Please wait outside, Marshal. I'll call you back in a little while."
"Yes, sir," Brighton acknowledged. The turquoise stallion got out of his chair, trotted back over to the door, and stepped outside.
Once the door was closed again, Bronze Star faced the cerise stallion and told him "Now, in exchange for this protection, you must tell me everything you know about the conspiracy. And I mean EVERYTHING."
"As you wish, Your Highness," Raoul Jowl asserted, "Where should I start?"
"Well, to begin, I need to know the magnitude and capabilities of your organization," Bronze Star requested.
At that, Raoul Jowl chuckled a bit, which perplexed the gold stallion
"Is something amusing?" he muttered, sounding slightly annoyed.
"Well, yes…" Raoul Jowl admitted, rubbing his temple, "How do I put this… The term 'organization' does not really apply to what you're up against, Your Highness. You think like half the country is involved? Not even close. You give us way too much credit, Your Highness."
"What do you mean?" Bronze Star inquired.
"There IS no organization," Raoul Jowl elucidated, "I've only been implying the existence of one to mislead you. I would have continued doing that, but because you and I are apparently allies for the time being, I may as well come forward on everything. So let me tell you this right now; our numbers are much too few to cover a large scope."
"Then how many of you are there?" Bronze Star demanded.
"Nineteen, myself included," Raoul Jowl informed him.
"Is Lavender Dazzle one?" the gold stallion assumed.
"Yeah, and she's one of the few I've interacted with," Raoul Jowl disclosed, "I've never even met most of the others."
"Then how do you even know how many of them there are?" Bronze Star pointed out.
"We always have the option to contact each other," Sir Raoul explicated, "However, all we really know about each other is how to get in touch with the others, as well as where they live. We were told as little about each other as possible in case something like this happened."
"So, can you tell me the names of ANY of the conspirators?" Bronze Star asked hopefully.
"Actually, yes," the cerise stallion replied, "I know the names of the three most prominent members. They're essentially the ringleaders and founders of the whole conspiracy. Everypony else answers to them."
"I want those names, Sir Raoul," Bronze Star impatiently remarked.
"Okay," Raoul Jowl agreed. He paused for a moment, and then he declared "All the three of them contribute a major part to the structure of the conspiracy. The first one organizes all our campaigns and tactics, tests them through trial and error, and has us employ the most ideal ones. His name is Raging Tempest."
He paused again for a little bit, and then he continued with "The second one is responsible for locating all our equipment and resources, and he provides us with the means to survive outside the government as individuals and as a group. His name is Sparker Blare."
He paused even longer this time. After that, he announced "The third one is the stallion who produces all the funds to keep the conspiracy alive. He gets all the money we need from this nationwide enterprise he runs. t's actually amazing how rich the guy is. But he doesn't provide the money out of the kindness of his heart. He's easily the most ruthless of the lot. Everypony in the group fears him, including Tempest and Blare."
"So what's his name?" Bronze Star asked eagerly, placing his front hooves on the table.
"Hmmm?" Sir Raoul remarked, as if his mind was elsewhere. Then he quickly replied with "Oh, his name. Right, right, of course. His name is… is…"
He did not finish his sentence. He just gazed down at the table and rubbed his chin.
Bronze Star sat up and muttered in exasperation "You DO know his name, right?"
"Yes, I do remember it," the cerise stallion insisted. A few seconds later, he added in "Mostly."
"How do you 'mostly' remember a name?" Bronze Star mumbled in perplexity
"Well, this particular stallion had a… shall we say, very strange designation," Raoul Jowl explicated, "I don't make a habit of saying his name on a regular basis. The only time I ever met him was when he, Raging Tempest, and Sparker Blare approached me. When they introduced themselves to me, I needed him to repeat his name twice so I could remember the proper way to pronounce it. However, that was fifteen months ago, and in the time since then, I've almost forgotten the correct articulation. Because of that, I'm not quite certain I remember the proper way to spell his name either."
"You cannot be serious," Bronze Star uttered in annoyance and incredulity, "Do you really not remember this guy's name? Or are you just concocting an elaborate excuse to protect him?"
"Neither, Your Highness," Raoul Jowl proclaimed, "I never said I forgot the name altogether. Believe me, I do remember it; I'm just not quite certain about the correct way to say it. Give me a moment to think and it'll come to me."
"Fine," Bronze Star solemnly accepted, leaning back in his chair and crossing his front legs, "While you're recalling that stallion's name, how about you tell me more about him and his two accomplices?"
"They're the textbook definition of the word 'cautious,'" Raoul Jowl disclosed, "They conducted an extensive background check on me before they recruited me, and they did not approach me until they were certain I would accept their offer. During our only encounter, they told me very little about themselves, and next to nothing about the other people they had enlisted."
"So what did they tell you?" the gold stallion questioned.
"They told me what role each of them played in the conspiracy," Raoul Jowl revealed, "They also told me where their other employees could be found. I was surprised when I found out there were less than two dozen people involved in this matter. They explained to me that they intentionally kept the number of people small because they were concerned that a large group would carry too many liabilities."
"How do you contact them?" Bronze Star inquired.
"We don't," Sir Raoul illuminated, "They contact us. Still, there's no way of knowing when that would happen; their messages are erratic. They contact us whenever there's been a change in plans, whenever a new member has been recruited, or whenever there's been a new development in our timetable. They never speak to us directly; they always use a liaison."
"Is Lavender Dazzle your liaison?" Bronze Star presumed.
"Yes, and she was Material Study's, too," Raoul Jowl explained, "I'm not certain how many of us she spoke with on the part of Tempest, Blare, and the boss. She may have been the representative for all of us; she may have only corresponded with Material and me. Regardless of which, she kept me up to date on everything that was going on with the rest of our company."
Bronze Star nodded his head in acknowledgement, and then he queried "Is there anything more you can tell me about the top three members?"
"Well, it'll be relatively easy for you to find Raging Tempest and Sparker Blare," Raoul Jowl proclaimed, "It should also be easy for you to find the third stallion once I remember his name. You see, all three of them are prominent figures where they live. Instead of living in isolation, they live out in the open to divert attention. However, I would advise against bringing them in."
"Why is that?" Bronze Star inquired.
"Because they've taken steps to ensure that the conspiracy will not die if they are discovered," Raoul Jowl disclosed, "You see, the three of them gave all of us very explicit instructions on what to do if one or more of them suddenly goes missing. If they just abruptly disappeared, we are to assume they've been captured by the authorities. Subsequently, they expect each of us to use our own methods to stage an attack or do something else to leave an impression of our power on the country."
"What would your special attack have been?" the gold stallion asked in intrigue.
The cerise stallion did not reply straightaway. He hesitated at first, and then he informed the young prince "I would have told the public about Project Breakdown."
At that, Bronze Star slowly rose from his chair and muttered crossly "What?"
"Don't sound surprised, sir," Raoul Jowl drily remarked, "It's been four years since I've had access to government files, but I still remember the contents of several of the ones I passed along to my associates in the black market. Project Breakdown was a particular favorite of mine. I'm sure you can imagine why."
Bronze Star glared furiously at the cerise stallion and edged closer to him. He uttered through gritted teeth "For your sake, you better have kept that information confined to the space within your head."
"Trust me, I did," Raoul Jowl calmly assured him, "I'm the only person outside of the Canterlot Royalty who knows about Project Breakdown. If that were to change, I would have lost my leverage."
Bronze Star seemed to ease down considerably at that. He sat back down in his chair and commented "That's fortunate for both of us."
"I should say so," Sir Raoul coincided.
Over the next twenty minutes, Sir Raoul told Bronze Star of everything else he knew about the conspiracy. Despite having limited contact with the other people involved in the plot, he knew quite a lot about their long-term plans. Most notably, he knew they would be staging at least half a dozen attacks in Canterlot, and several more in the other major cities. He was able to tell Bronze Star and the Firebrand Regiment what they needed to do to ensure that those attacks would be avoided. They would have been able to prevent the attacks using their own methods, but Raoul Jowl had warned them that it would be very easy for them to tip off the conspirators if they were too direct. To get around that hindrance, he had given them plenty of sound advice on how to stop the attacks without tipping off the other conspirators in the process.
By the end of this explanation, Bronze Star was very pleased with how much information he had acquired from Sir Raoul. After hearing all about the conspiracy's outline and plans, he pronounced "We're just about done here. There's just one final thing we need to discuss: the assassination. Who's the target?"
Raoul Jowl did not reply at once. He actually seemed reluctant to respond. However, he knew that Bronze Star and the Firebrand Regiment already knew that he knew about the assassination. Because Material Study had tipped them off, he had to give them an answer.
He took in a deep breath, gradually let it out, and revealed "Princess Celestia."
Bronze Star was openly shocked to hear that. So was everypony else who was listening in on the conversation. The gold stallion muttered in absolute astonishment "My mother is the target?"
The cerise stallion tentatively nodded his head and remarked "Yes, the conspiracy's ultimate goal is to bring down the leader of Equestria."
Even with this confirmation, Bronze Star still could not grasp this concept. However, he did not let his feelings dictate his words or actions. He spoke as smoothly as possible "That's a very foolhardy objective, Sir Raoul. If your co-conspirators do that, they'll have the entire nation out for their blood."
"If we tried to take her out now, I agree," Raoul Jowl proclaimed, "Right now, Celestia is loved and worshipped too highly for the conspirators to try to take her out. However, we already had a plan to get around that using the attacks we planned. The first wave of attacks is meant to alert the public to our presence. All the subsequent attacks are supposed to increase in size and number. Overtime, when everypony realizes that the situation is just getting progressively worse, we expect the public would wonder why their all-powerful leader is unable to stop the murderers who are terrorizing her people."
"So, the goal of those attacks is to discredit her?" Bronze Star assumed.
"Precisely," Raoul Jowl affirmed, "We were hoping that after a certain number of attacks took place, the public support for your mother would be virtually gone. Once that happened, we would bring her down. Theoretically, in that situation, the only people who would still try to bring us to justice would be you, the Firebrand Regiment, and the Royal Guard."
Bronze Star thought about what Sir Raoul had just told him. From the perspective of a dissident, everything about it made sense. However, he could not exactly remain objective or open-minded about this topic, considering how it was supposed to end with an awful demise for his mother.
The gold stallion looked the cerise stallion in the eye and observed "As horrible and barbaric as that scheme is, I have to admit I'm amazed by how much thought put into it."
Raoul Jowl just shrugged and remarked "If it makes you feel any better, I was one of the few who opposed this idea."
"That actually does mean something to me," Bronze Star disclosed, "Whether or not you would have let things go that far does not really matter now, though. What really matters is whether or not you're going to help us prevent it."
"Of course I will," Raoul Jowl alleged, "Trust me, the absolute last thing I'd want to do right now is get on your bad side."
"That's wise of you, Sir Raoul," Bronze Star proclaimed. After another pause, he asked "Do you know when the assassination is scheduled to take place?"
"Actually, we haven't decided an exact date just yet," Raoul Jowl apprised him, "All I know for certain is that it will be sometime after the Grand Galloping Gala."
Bronze Star nodded his head in confirmation. Then he remarked "Looks like that's about everything, Sir Raoul. But before I go, I must ask you; did you remember the name of that third leader?"
"Actually, yes," Raoul Jowl disclosed, "I finally recalled the proper way to say his name."
"Would you care to share it with me?" Bronze Star queried.
"Of course," answered Raoul Jowl. There came another brief pause, and then he told the gold stallion "His name is Esopus Spitzenburg."
When Bronze Star heard that last statement, he froze in place. He stared at the cerise stallion in absolute silence. After a minute of that very uncomfortable silence, he muttered quietly "What?"
"I said his name is Esopus Spitzenburg," Sir Raoul replied, raising an eyebrow at the gold stallion's odd reaction, "I know it's a strange name, but I must say; I'm surprised by your reaction. Something about it seems to bother you. Almost as if you've heard it before."
"I have," Bronze Star darkly confessed. He took a moment to compose himself, and then he cleared his head and stated "Never mind that, though. I believe our business here is concluded. On behalf of the Equestrian Royalty, I'd like to thank you for your cooperation, Sir Raoul."
"My pleasure, Your Highness," the cerise stallion claimed.
Bronze Star slowly rose up from his chair. When he did that, Sir Raoul stood up as well to show him some respect. The gold stallion appreciated that. He told the former politician "Marshal Brighton will require a few days to file the appropriate paperwork for your transfer and relocation. Until then, you'll remain in our custody. Once that has been accomplished, you will be escorted out of the castle discreetly and taken to a safe house."
"Very well, Your Highness," Sir Raoul acknowledged, "I look forward to it."
Bronze Star gave a light nod of the head. Then he trotted over to the door of the holding cell, opened it, and stepped through. Just before he closed it, he gazed back at the cerise stallion and told him "Enjoy your life as a private citizen, Sir Raoul Jowl."
Then he promptly shut the door. As Glock locked it back up, the gold stallion looked around at the other people in the room. Noble Edict seemed to be rather intrigued by something.
"I must say, Bronze; I'm impressed by how you were able to get Sir Raoul to cooperate," the red mare commented in admiration.
SIG Sauer just smirked and told her "At times, the Prince can be a better negotiator than any of us."
"Thanks, SIG," the gold stallion said appreciatively. He then looked to the sky blue Pegasus. She was still gazing intently at Sir Raoul Jowl through the looking glass. Feeling somewhat concerned for her, Bronze Star placed his hoof on her shoulder and queried "Caracal, are you alright with this?"
She quickly looked up Bronze Star and told him "Yes, Your Highness. Of course I am."
"Are you sure?" he asked.
She firmly nodded her head and thought aloud "I haven't forgotten about what happened between me and Sir Raoul. I still despise him, and I always will. But I never let my personal feelings get in the way. If you believe this is the appropriate course of action to take, then I trust your judgment."
The gold stallion was relieved to hear this. Like every member of the Firebrand Regiment, his first objective was always to protect the people of Equestria. However, he valued the personal well-being of every pony who worked under his command. He did not like to see any of them in pain, grief, or distress.
"He said sometime after the Grand Galloping Gala," Glock recalled, "That gives us at least eight or nine months before the conspirators move in."
"Hopefully, we will be able to determine who else is involved in the conspiracy by then," SIG Sauer conjectured, "Once we've confirmed their identities, we should take them all out at once."
"I agree," said Caracal.
"Same here," Glock mentioned.
The three of them expected Bronze Star to either approve or disapprove of this proposal. However, all they got from the prince was silence at first. They turned in his direction and noticed he appeared to be lost in thought.
"Is there something on your mind, Your Highness?" SIG Sauer asked in concern.
"Yeah, SIG," Bronze Star informed his trainer, "Even though we just learned a substantial amount of information pertaining to this conspiracy, I'm thinking the conspiracy also just got a whole lot more complicated."
"What makes you say that?" the pine green Unicorn inquired.
"You know that last person Sir Raoul identified, Esopus Spitzenburg?" stated the gold Alicorn.
"Yes, and I'm not particularly surprised it took Sir Raoul so long to remember how to pronounce his name," SIG Sauer replied, "Also, Sir Raoul seemed to think you recognized that name."
"Well, he was right; I did," Bronze Star confessed, "I've heard that name exactly four times in the past two days; the first of those times was also the first time I EVER heard that name. As Heckler mentioned earlier, the expression 'an Alicorn never forgets' was very true."
"So, where did you hear that name?" Noble Edict asked the gold stallion.
"It was at Sweet Apple Acres," Bronze Star disclosed, "When I had dinner with Applejack's family the other night, Granny Smith told me the names of every person in the Apples' family tree three times. She listed them all out another time the following day when she gathered up their family pictures. As you know, I have an impeccable memory. Hearing the Apples' family tree just once was enough for me to memorize it. Yet I had heard it four times, and all four of those times, the very last person on that list... was Esopus Spitzenburg."