For all the drama surrounding getting construction started, the actual start of construction for "Operation Shield" was anticlimactic in comparison. Lieutenant Captain Fidelitas set up Lieutenant Crispin in charge of actual construction work while Lieutenant Steelwing supervised both guarding the workers and the supply shipments necessary for the job. The teams they commanded would rotate between the two different types of jobs on a weekly basis, with most of the actual grunt work done by local Ponyville residents.
The Element Bearers were involved in the project as well, though Applejack was exempted due to her farmwork and Rarity because of her business. Twilight Sparkle, as previously shown, was spent trying to reassemble the damaged cloud cannon. Pinkie Pie had already contributed her party cannon as a temporary replacement for the cloud cannon until it could be repaired, as well as donating Sugarcube Corner products that had gone stale but were still edible to help feed the workers. Rainbow Dash agreed to help with escort and guard duty between her regular assignments on weather control.
Finally, Fluttershy was tasked with what seems to be a simple duty: stand near the mouth of the Ursa's cave and alert to any sign of the giant bears coming out due to the work upsetting them. But even this was enough to put the shy pegasus in high tension, which is where we come in now...
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It was easy enough for Agents P1 and P2, both pegasi, to traverse through the treetops of the Everfree Forest undetected from their hideout to the target location. But, looking out at the nerve-wracked Fluttershy below from a tree at the edge of the clearing, both Agents realized that was the easy part.
"You gotta plan?" P2 says in a stage whisper to P1, both of them looking over nervously at the work site. The site was far enough away to avoid immediate detection of their plan, but still too close for comfort.
"The filly's pacing. We'll strike when her back is turned, taught her about the love of animals. Try to break her will that way. Shouldn't be hard." P1 replies with perhaps overwarranted confidence.
"OK Fluttershy, OK, you can do this, just breathe. The Ursas won't hurt you... right? All you need to do is just tell everypony else if they wake up..." Fluttershy was saying to herself as she paced, over and over again, alternately giving nervous looks at the cave and the site where the other ponies were working.
This time, though, she hears wings flapping behind him and she barely has a chance to look before a sock-covered hoof covers her snout, suppressing her screech of surprise. Rapidly looking back and forth, she sees two pegasi, both wearing cloaks and socks disguising everything but their wings. One is the pegasus holding a hoof over her mouth, the other gets right up in her face and goes "Boo!"
"Meanies! You're big meanies!" Fluttershy exclaims as both pegasi pull back laughing.
"Teh, look at you, scared out of your wits! Not so brave without your precious little Elements of Harmony, are you?" Agent P1 mocks.
"In fact, you look like a big yellow chicken!" Agent P2 adds, and both pegasi promptly begin making bawking and clucking noises in mockery.
"I am not a chicken!" Fluttershy replies with an angry glare, stamping the ground with one of her forehooves. Her previous nerves meant she was not inclined to act in the usual manner, and the chicken insult was just as demeaning to Fluttershy as it was to Scootaloo when she was called that. The two Agents did not realize the kind of trouble they were asking for.
The Agents continue laughing and making clucking noises in response to Fluttershy's outburst, only exacerbating the situation and causing Fluttershy to flare her wings open and growl like an angry dog. This should've stopped anypony who saw this, but the Agents were unaware of this fact.
"Aww, is the wittle chicken threatening us? You wouldn't dare, or the butterfly gets it!" Agent P1 mocks, pulling out a small cage from inside the cloak he wears. The cage contains a trapped butterfly, which flutters helplessly inside as P1 puts the cage down near a forehoof.
Fluttershy immediately stops her threatening pose, torn between her love of animals and the duty to keep the pegasi from entering the cave and likely waking the Ursas within in the process. The two pegasi relish her indecisive, back-and-forth look between them and the cage with the butterfly on the ground next to them.
"There's a good filly." Agent P2 states before leaning uncomfortably close to Fluttershy's face. "One move, one peep out of you and the butterfly goes 'squish'! Got it?"
Fluttershy doesn't do or say anything as her typical shyness partly reasserts itself. The pegasus P2 interprets the lack of action as an agreement and nods back to P1, who picks up the cage with the butterfly in it between his forehooves and takes off in a hover. Both the Agents proceed toward the cave entrance, leaving Fluttershy trapped in her uncertainties.
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Before they completely disappear into the cave entrance, they give into the temptation to make one more taunt. Agent P1 crushes the cage between his forehooves, also killing the butterfly inside, and drops it to the ground, him and P2 starting a mocking round of laughter and chicken clucking.
Fluttershy looks at the crushed cage in abject shock, and something inside her snaps. She straightens herself up as her face changes to a mean determination, stoutly marching up to the two pegasi engaged in rolling laughter and thus oblivious to what was coming. The yellow filly pauses a second to select her target, turn around, and use both hindlegs to smash Agent P2 hard in the stomach.
P2 immediately curls in pain, and P1 immediately goes from riotous laughter to explosive anger, slamming Fluttershy on the left flank and knocking her off balance. Both the yellow filly and the Agent of Chaos stallion tumble sideways, the stallion trying to pin her to the ground. Fluttershy uses a forehoof to smash P1's snout, which gives her an opening to escape. She gallops at full speed toward the construction site, yelling for help at the top of her lungs.
"I swear by the chaotic one, I'll tear that filly limb from limb...!" Agent P1 exclaims in rage.
"Forget about her, we got bigger problems now!" Agent P2, standing on shaky hooves, states looking in shock.
P1 follows his glance to find two pegasi - Rainbow Dash and Lieutenant Steelwing - divebombing toward their location! Both Agents knew this was not a fight they could win - the two would stall long enough for others to come up and finish the job. All they could do was run, so that's what they did, taking off in flight as if trying to make their way to Ponyville by air.
Rainbow Dash applies a boost of speed to try to get ahead of the two Agents. This forces P1 to pull away from his partner and confront Rainbow Dash directly while P2 tries to distract Lieutenant Steelwing and the other Guard pegasi now airborne and heading for the location.
The intensity in Rainbow Dash's eyes is obvious to the cloaked P1 as he tries using his heavier weight to knock her out of the sky. Instead, Rainbow Dash dodges out of the way with her high speed reflexes, flips around and rams P1 from behind, nearly knocking him out of the sky in the process. As he tries to turn around, Dash rams P1 again, this time sending him plummeting down into the Everfree Forest below.
"Hah, that's what you get for messing with the Rainbow Dash!" the rainbow-maned pegasus exclaims triumphantly before turning back to see what is happening to P2.
Agent P2, as it turned out, was being pursued by Lieutenant Steelwing and two other pegasi in the Guard close on his flank. Since he couldn't outfly them, he simply folded in his wings most of the way and abruptly dropped into a steep dive - before the other pegasi could bank around, he had disappeared into the Everfree Forest below. He had glimpsed P1 being knocked out of the sky, and now turned his efforts toward rescuing him. The operation had gone horribly wrong, and it would be all he could do to make sure both of them got out in one piece...
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LATER, IN CANTERLOT...
Captain of the Guard Gibraltar knew immediately upon seeing both the presented poster and unusual anger on Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor's face that something was seriously wrong. The previous "shenanigan" by Lieutenant Captain Aten with the transfer requests had kept Gibraltar busy in his office all day, and as he tried to navigate his way through the tangle of red tape he worried that something subversive was being done behind his back. The presentation of the poster, along with Shining's high-volume rant about "not being a showpony" and "having no more to prove than his sister", confirmed the Captain's worst fears.
The poster in question, copies of which appeared to have been distributed all over the castle while the Captain was trapped in his office by the paperwork tangle, promised a demonstration of Shining Armor "covering all of Canterlot" the evening of the following day and that the Wonderbolts would test the sturdiness of the resulting shield. Gibraltar didn't know what was most disturbing about what he was seeing - the brazenness of the ponies that put up the poster, the fact that Aten was most likely behind it all, or the prospect of an "unholy alliance" between Aten and Captain Spitfire being evidenced in front of his very eyes.
"Shining, I'm very sorry this is happening to you. All I can tell you is that none of this was done with my authorization." Gibraltar replies in the calmest, most sympathetic tone he can muster. Shining's continued glaring and annoyed snort tell Gibraltar that words alone won't be enough to placate the indignation.
"I'll call a meeting with Aten and Captain Spitfire first thing tomorrow morning. Captain Spitfire had business outside Canterlot today and probably isn't aware yet what has happened. Between the two of them, we'll get to the bottom of this." Gibraltar continues, hoping he had done enough.
"If nothing else, sir, I will petition the princesses themselves to invalidate this!" Shining replies through clenched teeth, trying not to yell any more than he had already done.
Gibraltar lets out a heavy sigh before replying: "To be perfectly honest with you, I don't know if even that will do any good. In the meantime, because the posters are illegal they should be taken down regardless of whatever official markings are on there."
"Yes, sir." Shining again says through clenched teeth.
"I already know you're going to have a long night, so I'm not going to keep you any longer. I'm also going to suggest you get practicing the shield, just in case." Gibraltar explains with a weary tone.
"With all due respect, sir, that does not make me feel any better!" Shining exclaims again.
"I know, Shining, I know. But there isn't much else I can do for you right now, so being prepared is all I can suggest. There's no use complaining about it, Lieutenant Captain." Gibraltar replies matter-of-factly.
The Captain can see the understanding in Shining's eyes, but nevertheless Shining turns away and leaves the office with angry muttering under his breath. The Captain's hooves were tied, and he didn't think even the princesses could do much more than he could. At that moment, all he wanted was a drink, just to ease the disorder swirling around him...