Fortune Favors The Bold

by TheEquestrianWing

The Revelation

Author's Note:

Note: There will be three more chapters about Bronze Star's activities in Canterlot, including this one. The second one will be uploaded tomorrow night. The third one might not be uploaded until sometime in the middle of next month. After that, I'll be working on "Winter Wrap Up"

Bronze Star took a moment to process that concise statement. Then he slowly rose up from his chair and quietly asked "What do you mean 'he's dead?'"

"That's all there is to say, sir," Bellerophon disclosed, "He was killed yesterday morning."

"How could that have happened?" Bronze Star enquired, "Peacemaker and Heckler assured me they could handle interrogations properly."

"He didn't die during the interrogation, sir," Walther apprised the prince.

"Then did he try to escape and get killed in his flight?" the gold stallion presumed.

"No, he never made any attempt to flee," Carabine informed him, "He died while in our custody. However, nopony in the Regiment was responsible for his death."

"At least not directly," SIG Sauer added in.

"So who was accountable?" Bronze Star demanded.

"His fellow prisoner," Walther answered him.

Bronze Star raised an eyebrow and stated in perplexity "Sir Raoul killed him?"

"That is correct, Your Highness," Carabine affirmed.

Bronze Star was bewildered by this knowledge. How could a closely-monitored suspect in federal custody bring down another such suspect? Before he thought about finding out how that could happen, Bronze Star felt he needed some confirmation that such a thing actually could happen. He looked around at the others and requested "I'd like to see Material Study's body."

"Are you sure about that, Your Highness?" Bellerophon asked.

"Very," Bronze Star asserted, "I need to confirm his death myself before I put his file away for good."

"Fair enough, sir," SIG Sauer commented, rising out of his seat, "We'll show you straightaway."

Carabine and Walther proceeded to gather up the folders on the Nightmare Moon cult and store them in the evidence box. After putting the box away in its designated location, the five stallions and the mare left the Archives and headed back to the lounge. Once they were there, they made their way to the middle door on the left side of the room.

Before they went through this door, Bronze Star told the others "Hold on a second."

The other ponies promptly obeyed the young prince. He turned to the red mare and asked her "Noble, can you keep a secret?"

"Of course, Your Highness," Noble Edict proclaimed, "My job requires me to be able to keep certain things concealed from the public. Mostly to avoid creating a panic and such."

"Good," Bronze Star commented, "As you have probably gathered, the Regiment's activities are conducted discreetly. However, certain things are kept more confidential than others. For instance, you're free to discuss the Nightmare Moon conspiracy with your security staff and anypony else you'd like. But that policy does not apply to what you are about to see. What takes place behind this door must never be brought up outside the Compartment."

"I understand," Noble Edict stated, "But if you don't mind me asking, why?"

"Before I tell you, I need your word that you will never let a single soul outside of the Regiment know about what goes on here," Bronze Star sternly remarked, "I'm not just talking about verbal disclosure. You are not allowed to take notes or keep a record. You cannot even write about it in your personal logbook, if you have one."

"I do have my own journal at my house," Noble Edict revealed, "However, I never write any details pertaining to my job or anything of the sort in it. So I can assure you that I know better than to leave information about a classified government operation lying around."

"I'm glad to hear that," Bronze Star disclosed, "Because if you did and your journal got stolen, the thief might learn about the Regiment's activities and make them public. Even if we managed to apprehend the culprit and contain the gossip, you could still be held accountable for giving him or her the opportunity to let the story out. Subsequently, you could be charged with severe negligence and leaking top secret information."

Noble Edict was somewhat stunned to hear this. She took a deep breath and pronounced "If that happened, I'd lose my job, my credibility, and my new status. In that case, I promise you I'll NEVER mention anything I see in here to another person. In fact, maybe it would be better if I remained out here instead."

"No, I feel you should come on in, Noble," Bronze Star explicated, "I apologize if I sound as though I doubt your ability to keep a secret. Believe me, I have no reason to question my faith in you. If I did, I would not have invited you into the Compartment in the first place. I just need you to realize the seriousness of this particular situation."

"Well, you made your point quite clear, Bronze," Noble Edict declared, "I can understand and accept all the risks. They may be a little extreme, but I won't let them discourage me. Aside from that, am I to assume that I'm not the only one who must abide by them?"

"That is correct, Lady Noble," Carabine confirmed, "Every person here has sworn never to speak of the Regiment's procedures. The consequences of breaking that pledge are profound. If any of us was to somehow let information about these activities get out – even if it was only done inadvertently – that person would be subject to criminal prosecution."

"So I see," Noble Edict thought aloud, "I take it there are no exceptions to this regulation?"

"Nope, none at all," SIG Sauer replied, "This policy of secrecy is our first and foremost rule. It's a rule that cannot be bent, twisted, or broken in any way. None of us are permitted to violate this rule under any circumstances."

"Except for the prince," Lord Bellerophon added in, "He has the exclusive right to tell other ponies about these matters."

"That makes sense," Noble Edict commented, "After all, he's the only one here who is above the law."

"That is true," Bronze Star professed, "But even so, I don't pass along this information idly. Until today, there were only fifteen people who know about what goes on behind this door. You're about to bring the total up to sixteen, Noble. You see, I'm always very careful and selective about who I bring into our circle. The whole reason I brought you into it is because I trust you entirely. You also have several admirable qualities, primarily your devotion to your fellow officers and your determination to keep the public safe. Those are qualities that every member of the Regiment exhibits."

"I'm very grateful to hear you say that," Noble Edict stated, grinning lightly. There was a brief period of quietness, and then the red mare proposed "Now that we've established the need for secrecy, what say we go through that door already?"

"Excellent idea," Walther conceded. The mahogany Pegasus opened up the middle door on the left wall and held it open for the others. They entered one at a time, and the veteran Wonderbolt stepped through it last. The group then proceeded down another dimly-lit hallway. Every few seconds, they passed by a door. Soon they came to one labeled "Morgue."

Carabine approached this door and used his magic on the doorknob. As he turned it, he alerted the others "Brace yourselves."

It was a good thing he gave them that warning. The literal second the door became ajar, the odor of preservatives, rotten blood, and decaying flesh filled the air. Thanks to Carabine's notice, the others were able to cover their muzzles before the smells hit them.

Despite the unpleasant odor emanating from this room, it was only overwhelming for the first few seconds of exposure to it. After that, the five stallions and the mare gradually removed their front hooves from their muzzles and resumed breathing normally. Once they were accustomed to the smell, they stepped into the room. Once they were all inside, Carabine closed the door behind them.

At this time, there were six other ponies in the morgue. Only three of them were on their hooves and breathing. They were a male brown Pegasus, a female taupe Earth Pony, and a male scarlet Unicorn. The other three individuals were lying motionless on tables with white sheets over them. Two of them were on beds close to the entrance on the right side of the room. The third one was lying on a bed at the far end of the room.

The three standing ponies turned to the entrance of the room. As soon as they noticed the gold stallion, they beamed in his direction and lightly bowed to him. The Unicorn spoke first with "Greetings, Your Highness."

"Hello, Peacemaker," Bronze Star rejoined. He looked over at the Earth Pony and Pegasus and told them respectively "Hello, Ruger. Hello, Heckler."

"Glad you're here, Your Highness," the Earth Pony stated cordially.

"It's always good to see you, sir," Heckler claimed, nodding his head lightly. After a brief pause, he said in a slightly more grievous tone "I only wish it was under more favorable circumstances."

"I know what you mean," Bronze Star muttered bluntly, "According to what Lord Bellerophon told me, the main reason I'm here is because of a certain… incident that took place yesterday morning."

"'Incident' is putting it mildly, sir," SIG Sauer perceived, "It was an unlucky and disastrous mishap that we should never have allowed to happen in the first place."

"Before we discuss how it happened, I would like to see the body," Bronze Star requested.

"Very well," Peacemaker nodded in acknowledgement. He then led the young prince over to the covered mass on the other side of the room.

On the way there, they passed the two covered masses on the right side. Bronze Star gazed at them out of the corner of his eye and inquired "What are those two?"

"Those are the cultists Carabine and Walther encountered in Hoofington," Ruger explicated, "We conducted a complete autopsy on both of them. Unfortunately, we didn't learn anything we didn't already know."

"So what did you learn?" Bronze Star queried.

"Well, like the other cultists, they were young, agile, strongly-built, and they had fake cutie marks imprinted on their flanks," Heckler apprised him, "When uncovered, we found that their actual cutie marks were almost identical to the cutie marks of the cultists from Ponyville."

"The only reason we're still holding on to them is because you should have the final say on what we do with their bodies," Peacemaker told the gold stallion.

"In that case, I'm authorizing you to dispose of them, Doctor," Bronze Star disclosed, "There's no point holding on to them if they don't yield any new information."

"You got it, sir," Peacemaker avowed, "Burial or cremation?"

"Cremation," Bronze Star responded, "Dump their ashes wherever. I don't really care."

The gold stallion had said this last statement with a notable amount of angst in his voice. Normally, he did not speak in such a tense tone whenever he talked about the criminals who died during the Regiment's affairs. However, he had a personal grudge against the cultists because they had tried to overthrow his mother and murder SIG Sauer. Because of that, he had very little respect for them, alive or dead.

When Bronze Star and Peacemaker reached the far end of the room, the Alicorn stood to the right side of the occupied bed and the Unicorn stood to the left side of it. The physician looked the prince directly in the eye, as if waiting for a sign to proceed. In response, the gold stallion lightly nodded his head once. That was all the Unicorn needed to see. He took the edges of the bed sheet and slowly pulled it partway down the bed. He moved it enough to reveal the entire form of the person lying underneath it.

This person was a middle-aged Earth Pony stallion. He had a greenish-yellow coat, a sapphire mane, and mauve irises. His cutie mark was a scientific beaker filled with a bubbling liquid, and he had a thin beard along his face. Before today, Bronze Star had only seen this stallion in pictures, but he was very familiar with his face. It was Material Study, and he was indeed dead as a doornail.

Based on the paleness of his skin and the very small amount of deterioration, he had been gone for less than a day. Bronze Star briefly looked over the body, and at first glance, there did not seem to be anything indicative of what Material Study had died of. Then he noticed a very tiny hole on the side of the bearded stallion's throat. It looked very much like the mark a syringe leaves after an injection. However, it was too large to be left by a hypodermic needle.

Once Bronze Star finished examining Material Study's body, he looked up at the others and stated adamantly "Alright, now it's time for some elaboration. How did this happen?"

"Well, to make a long story short, Your Highness, this was the result of a serious error in judgment," Walther expounded.

"I don't want a long story short, General," Bronze Star muttered drily, "I'd prefer a full-length account."

"As you wish," the mahogany Pegasus avowed. There was another short interval of silence, and then the veteran Wonderbolt apprised the gold stallion with "As you know, Material Study and Sir Raoul Jowl have been in our custody ever since we returned from Hoofington. That was almost five weeks ago. But as per your instructions, we did not begin interrogating Material Study and Sir Raoul Jowl until SIG Sauer got back from Ponyville, which was three weeks ago. We still kept a close watch on both stallions in the two weeks between those two points in time. We were still hoping that the time in prolonged isolation might get them to crack. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Neither of them spoke as much as ten words during their solitary confinement."

"What about during the actual interrogation?" Bronze Star inquired.

"We didn't have much luck there, either," Peacemaker solemnly disclosed, "Heckler and I used several forms of physical and mental coercion on both Study and Jowl. We used weights, stress positions, waterboarding, controlled fear, environmental manipulation, and the old 'good agent, bad agent' routine."

"Basically, we experimented with everything short of full-out torture," Heckler recounted, "It still wasn't enough; they didn't break. Or they wouldn't. Must be one or the other."

"We believe it's the latter," Ruger continued for him, "I mean, we found it extremely unlikely that a chemist and a former politician would be able to resist that much intense interrogation. The only rational explanation we could fathom was that both of them must have been trained to withstand high levels of pain."

"They did more than withstand it," Carabine recalled, "The both put up with the coercion so well that they did not appear to be weakened or bothered by any of it in any way."

"So if Material Study didn't die due to complications during the interrogation, how did he die?" Bronze Star queried.

"We're getting to that, sir," Walther proclaimed. He took a moment to think about how to elucidate on this matter, and after another short pause, the mahogany Pegasus stated "We were careful to limit the number of people Material Study and Raoul Jowl encountered while we held them here. The only people either of them saw in the past five weeks were Ruger, Peacemaker, Heckler, and SIG Sauer. The rest of us observed the interrogations from the windows adjoining the holding cells. Other than that, we kept both Study and Jowl completely isolated from everypony, including each other."

"I figured as much," Bronze Star frankly declared, "I already know that total containment is a key element in this type of interrogation."

"That's correct, sir," SIG Sauer affirmed, "We suspected beforehand that it would not be easy to get either stallion to talk, but you can only ask somepony 'what are you up to' so many times without getting an answer. With that in mind, patience is another important aspect here. However, after three straight weeks of nothing but silence from the two stallions, our patience began to diminish. Yesterday, we started to question the effectiveness of our setup. Soon we decided to try another approach."

"What sort of approach?" Bronze Star inquired in interest.

"I suggested that we put the two stallions in the same room," Walther elucidated, "My hope was that if we have them together for a while, they would either become suspicious of each other or attempt to discuss their conspiracy without being overheard."

"Although the General's suggestion went against regulation, we were running out of ideas by that time," Ruger disclosed, "Our only other alternatives were to start torturing Study and Jowl using more extreme means, or to cut a deal with them. However, we needed your approval before we did either of those, and we did not want to bother you for something like that."

"So I gave the green light on Walther's idea," SIG Sauer went on, "We put it into effect approximately thirty hours ago. We woke the two stallions up very early yesterday morning. Before they even had time to compose themselves, we blindfolded them and moved them to a larger cell. We moved quickly and cautiously so that they would be dazed and confused by the time we were finished. Once they were secure in the new cell, we removed the blindfolds, left the room, and bolted the door behind us. There was nothing more we could do at that point, so we just sat back and watched them. We did not know what to expect, but we were confident this approach would produce better results than anything else we had done yet."

"Did it?" Bronze Star queried.

"Somewhat…" Carabine tentatively replied. He seemed a little uncertain about saying any more, but he took a deep breath and informed the young prince "For the first ten-to-twenty minutes of their joint captivity, neither Material Study nor Raoul Jowl said a word. After that, Mr. Study finally spoke. He asked his cellmate if he had told us anything. Sir Raoul insisted that he had kept his mouth shut, and that he had no intention of opening it anytime soon. Then he asked Material Study the same question. Mr. Study claimed he had stayed quiet, as well, but he also mentioned that he was beginning to have second thoughts about his own vow of silence. That seemed to agitate Jowl, but it did not set him off. He and Study spent the next few minutes arguing on what they should do. The former felt they should have continued to remain silent, and the latter advocated coming forward and confessing to us. Their debate ended when Material Study made a certain declaration. I don't remember what exactly he said, though."

Here Heckler interceded with "I believe it was something along the lines of 'No cause is worth undergoing this. Face it; our only real option is to tell them what they want to know. You can stay mute and rot in this place if you want, Raoul. But I am not spending my last days here. If there's even a chance that cooperating with them will get me out of here, then I sure as Tartarus am going to take that chance.'"

"Yeah, that's pretty much what he said, almost word-for-word," Walther conceded.

"What happened after that?" Bronze Star queried, leaning in closer.

"Mr. Jowl asked Mr. Study 'Are you sure this is what you want to do, Material?,'" Heckler reminisced, "In response, Mr. Study declared 'Yes, without a doubt, Raoul. I'm going to tell them what they want to know. And if you have any sense at all, you should do the same.'"

Bronze Star was intrigued by this revelation. He leaned closer and beckoned "Was he telling the truth?"

"Yes, he was," Ruger firmly proclaimed, "We saw the confrontation ourselves. I could see the desperation in Material Study's eyes. He was not going mad, but the pressure of his captivity must have finally gotten to him. I'm genuinely convinced he had decided to start talking. He was prepared to tell us everything."

"Unfortunately, he never got the chance," Peacemaker glumly disclosed. He trotted over to a cabinet in the corner of the room and used his magic to pick up a small plastic bag on the top. He then trotted back over to the gold stallion and kept the bag levitated in midair so that everypony could see it clearly. Bronze Star focused on the bag and noticed a small but thick pin was inside of it. Peacemaker then explained "Once Raoul Jowl was certain that Material Study was going to betray him, all he said was 'So be it.' Then without another word, he reached into his tail, pulled out this pin, and seized Material Study by the neck. Before we could intervene, Jowl stabbed Study with the pin in the throat, right on the artery."

Bronze Star winced at that statement, but he was still listening as intently as ever.

"As soon as that happened, we burst in there faster than the quickest Wonderbolt," Walther recounted, "We rushed to get the situation under control. Carabine, Glock, Caracal, and I secured the room. Beretta, SIG Sauer, and Koch were able to pull Jowl away from Study and restrain him. Heckler, Peacemaker, and Ruger hurried Material Study to the infirmary."

"We did all we could to save him," Peacemaker declared, "I managed to repair the damaged artery in Material Study's throat before he bled out. But just as I finished patching him up, Mr. Study had a violent seizure. It lasted almost an entire minute. At first I thought it was just a lingering symptom of his wound. But that wasn't the case. As soon as Mr. Study stopped convulsing, he was perfectly still. With difficulty, he used his last breath to whisper something. Then just like that, he was gone."

Bronze Star was astonished to learn this. He took a minute to process this explanation. Then he looked down at Material Study's corpse and remarked "A simple jab in the throat was deadly enough to kill this stallion?"

"Well, actually, Your Highness, it was not so much the injury itself as the weapon Sir Raoul used," Ruger disclosed, stepping up to the gold stallion, "After we lost Mr. Study, I took some time to analyze the pin. I discovered it had been laced with strychnine."

Bronze Star raised an eyebrow in astonishment "Did you say strychnine, Specialist?"

"Yes, sir," Ruger confirmed, "The deadliest poison known to equines. Jowl had less than a lick's worth of it on this pin, and it was more than enough to send Material Study into full cardiac arrest."

"It's illegal to use that poison without a license," Bronze Star thought aloud, "Of course, I'm certain that wouldn't be enough to prevent Jowl from acquiring it. The bigger question is this: How the Tartarus did Sir Raoul smuggle that pin in here?"

"My guess is that he had it implanted along his backside, right in the center of his tail," Carabine theorized, "That's the only way he could have kept it hidden from us when we frisked him without pricking himself by mistake."

"In that case, let's be sure to include all parts of the tail the next time we bring suspects in and search them," Bronze Star proposed, "And I mean ALL parts. I don't like it when suspects die in our custody. Especially when there's a possibility their deaths could have been avoided."

"We understand, Your Highness," SIG Sauer assured him, "On that note, I'm ready to accept responsibility for Material Study's fate. He died under my watch, but if I had been more attentive, he might still be alive."

"Oh, no you don't, SIG," Walther interposed, "It was my idea to put Study and Jowl together in the first place. This is on me."

"Gentlestallions, don't blame yourselves for what happened," Lord Bellerophon advised them, "You had no way of knowing how far Sir Raoul was willing to go."

"Lord Bellerophon is right," Bronze Star claimed, "This was an accident. Accidents can happen all the time and everywhere, even here. What matters is that you made an effort to repair this one. As such, I'm not holding any of you accountable for the loss of Mr. Study. The only blameworthy party here is Sir Raoul Jowl."

The present members of the Regiment were quite relieved to hear this. While they were always prepared to accept the consequences of their failures, they preferred to avoid facing charges when they could.

After another short pause, the young prince sighed and mumbled "Well, what's done is done. There's nothing left to do in here except close the case."

Bronze Star opened his knapsack and removed the file on Material Study. He opened it up and used his magic to print the word "DECEASED" on the first page of the bearded stallion's profile. After that, he closed the file and slipped it into his knapsack. Then he gestured for Peacemaker to cover the body. As the physician replaced the bed sheet over Material Study, the gold stallion stated "One last thing. The Doctor mentioned that Material Study said something in the midst of his death rattle. What exactly did he say?"

"We're not entirely sure, Your Highness," Ruger disclosed, "He was struggling to catch his breath, and he was straining to get every syllable out. Aside from that, he was barely talking loud enough to make a whisper. The Doc and I couldn't discern a single word of what he said."

"What about you, Heckler?" Bronze Star asked the brown Pegasus hopefully.

Heckler grinned smugly and replied with "Even though I was standing the closest to Study's head, I was unable to hear him clearly. However, I had my eyes on his face the whole time. Luckily for all of us, I can read lips, Your Highness. Mr. Study's lip movements were miniscule, but they were notable enough for me to make out the message. In the time since yesterday morning, I've been piecing together the fragments of what I recall Mr. Study said in my head. I finished shortly before you arrived."

"In that case, enlighten me, if you would," Bronze Star requested.

Heckler nodded his head in understanding and repeated Material Study's dying words: "'There will be an assassination. I don't know the target or who else is involved, but Raoul does. Just keep pushing him. Don't let him get away with it. He'll lead you to…'"

"Lead us to what?" the gold stallion queried.

"That was it, sir," Heckler notified the prince, "He died in midsentence."

"Oh, alright then," Bronze Star acknowledged. He lightly scoffed and murmured "How about that? Material Study spent the past several months developing chemical weapons for his own personal gain, and he used his dying breath to try to redeem himself."

"Rather ironic, isn't it?" Carabine sardonically commented.

"Very ironic," Ruger drily perceived, "If only he came forward before we put him in the same room as Raoul Jowl. Then he could have told us a lot more."

"Well, at least he gave us something concrete to work with," Walther pointed out, "Because of him, we know for certain that Raoul Jowl is our most solid lead."

"Now all we have to do is get Jowl to talk," Heckler noted.

"Easier said than done," Peacemaker remarked candidly, "The whole reason he killed Mr. Study is because the chemist was about to confess. Add that to the fact that he hasn't cracked after three weeks of intense interrogation, and I doubt he'll be changing his mind anytime soon."

"We'll see about that, Doctor," Bronze Star countered, "He may seem inflexible now, but every stallion has his breaking point. And even if he doesn't break, there are some alternatives we haven't considered just yet."

"That's certainly true," SIG Sauer concurred.

There was another short interval of quietness, and then Bronze Star professed "I think we're done here."

"As you say, Your Highness," Walther avowed.

Peacemaker returned the small bag with the pin to the top of the cabinet at the corner of the room. Then he gazed over at the gold stallion and asked him "What would you like for Mr. Study? Cremation or burial?"

"Give him a burial," Bronze Star decided, "I'd say he earned it. We'll work out his final destination later."

Peacemaker made a note of this, saying "It will be done."

After another brief pause, SIG Sauer approached the gold stallion and asked him "Where to now, sir?"

"First I want to take a look at the stash of chemical weapons we confiscated from Mr. Study," Bronze Star thought aloud, "Then we'll pay Sir Raoul a visit."

"You got it," the pine green Unicorn asserted.

The nine ponies proceeded to leave the morgue all at once. Once they were all outside the room, they trotted further down the hallway together. On the way, Bronze Star turned to the brown Pegasus and remarked "Have I ever told you that you have a rather impressive memory, Inspector?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Heckler proudly replied, grinning, "You've told me that exactly twenty-eight times. I remember every one of them."

"I would expect you to," Bronze Star wittily commented, "Still, it's a damn good thing you were there when Material Study died. If you weren't, we would might never have known about this 'assassination.' Aside from that, it's just one of the many times you've accelerated our investigations using just your head. I mean, the way you're able to take your memory and restructure it into an image as if you were seeing it as vividly as you did the first time around… I can't think of anypony who has that kind of ability."

"I'm very flattered, sir," Heckler said appreciatively, "But with all due respect, I'm not too sure about the validity of that statement. You'd probably surpass me in terms of the ability to retain information. Just look at how much you know about the military, the central government, and the Equestrian Royalty. I don't think I could balance all three of those topics at once."

"Well it helps when you've been learning about them for as long as I have," Bronze Star conjectured, "I've been studying the armed forces for ten years, politics for fourteen years, and the life of a royal for as long as I can remember. Practice really does make perfect."

"Or maybe you have a very keen ability to retain information," Heckler hypothesized, "I seem to recall a certain adage. I believe it goes 'An Alicorn never forgets.' Is there any truth to it?"

"There could be," Bronze Star admitted, "At the very least, I never forget anything I learn. I also never forget a face, an experience, a situation, or a name."

Heckler whistled in amazement and commented "That's definitely something. You've given me an idea for me to improve my fragmentation skills even more. Remind me to talk to you about this sometime in the future."

"Okay," Bronze Star affirmed, "But I'd have thought you'd be the last one who needs a reminder about anything."

The brown Pegasus chuckled and muttered "You got me there, sir."

Heckler was the youngest member of the Firebrand Regiment. That was the primary reason he was the lowest in their chain-of-command. However, he was still a few years older than Bronze Star. Apart from that, he never let his position in the Regiment bother him. He considered it an honor just to be on the team. After all, the Firebrand Regiment was composed of the best agents and soldiers in Equestria. Heckler had earned his place there because he was smarter and more observant than the majority of the people who worked for the Equestrian military or the Equestrian government. He also had a better sense of humor than most people Bronze Star knew. For that reason, the gold stallion enjoyed being around the brown Pegasus when he was on- and off-duty equally. Then again, the young prince had a good personal relationship and a good professional relationship with each and every member of the Firebrand Regiment.

The nine ponies soon reached another door labeled "Contraband Storage." There were two more ponies in this room. One was a male purple Earth Pony, and the other was a female tan Unicorn. They were sorting through a number of large transparent containers. When the gold stallion entered the room, they both stopped what they were doing and saluted him.

Bronze Star nodded in approval and told them "At ease, Koch. At ease, Beretta."

The Earth Pony and the Unicorn lowered their front hooves and grinned at the prince. Koch queried in interest "What can we do for you, Your Highness?"

"I'd just like to take a quick look at Material Study's chemicals," Bronze Star requested.

"Certainly, Your Highness," Beretta asserted. She gazed over her shoulder at the containers and declared "We've already catalogued everything in his stash; we did that as soon as we got back when we got back from Hoofington. We planned to hold on to it until he came forward or he died. Now that he's gone, we figured we may as well make the most of the remainder of his work."

"Now that's thinking efficiently, Sergeant," Bronze Star commented in approval, "Where will the chemicals be going?"

"We plan to reorganize the compounds into three separate groups," Koch informed the gold stallion, "The first will be composed of everything that can be used as a medicine in some way. We'll be sending that batch to Health Services. The second will contain everything that can be used to pacify, tranquilize, or weaken violent wrongdoers. We'll be sending those to the defense department. The third will probably be the largest; it will have everything that is lethal even in small doses. We'll be keeping those."

"Smart thinking, Lieutenant," Bronze Star remarked, "May I see the inventory manifest?"

"You bet, sir," Beretta complied. She used her magic to pick up a clipboard and levitated it over to the gold stallion. Bronze Star took the clipboard using his own magic and studied the contents of the first page. It was consistent with everything that had been on the list General Walther had shown him at the embassy. The only difference was that this list specified the quantity of each compound.

Bronze Star raised an eyebrow and observed "Material Study has sure been busy, hasn't he?"

"I should say so, Your Highness," Koch concurred, "You should know that these substances really are as deadly as we thought. When we moved in to arrest Mr. Study, he used two of the compounds to generate a toxic smoke as a diversion so that he and Sir Raoul could make a getaway. Heckler, Carabine, and I were directly exposed to the smoke."

Bronze Star was mildly surprised to hear that. "You weren't harmed by it, were you?"

"No, we were only exposed for a few seconds," Heckler recalled.

"We managed to avoid breathing any of it in, too," Koch added in.

"Still, it was enough to cause a couple problems," Carabine reminisced, "For about a half-hour after that incident, the Inspector contracted a violent cough, the Lieutenant's eyes became red and swollen, and I became severely dehydrated."

"Luckily, that was the extent of their side effects," Peacemaker went on, "Once the mission was over, I was able to diagnose our people in less than a minute. None of them had been infected in any way."

"Yup, the Doc gave us all a clean bill of health," Heckler commented happily.

"Good, the last thing I want is for my operatives to get sick on the job," Bronze Star proclaimed. He gave the clipboard back to Beretta and asked "Were we able to contain the spread of the smoke?"

"Yeah, as soon as the chemicals were spilled, the General had me inform the hotel's head of security on the situation," Ruger assured him, "I was able to get him to shut down the ventilation to Material Study's suite before the smoke got into the air ducts. None of the building's staff or guests were exposed."

"Splendid," Bronze Star remarked, "Sounds as though we didn't leave any loose ends."

"Indeed not, Your Highness," Beretta confirmed, "I monitored the entire operation from the roof of the building across the street. From what I could tell, nopony in the adjoining suites seemed to notice what was going on. Neither did any of the people down on the streets."

"We did have to give some clarification on the situation to the chemical spill response team," Walther disclosed, "When they arrived to clean up the smoke, they asked for an explanation as to how it was produced in the first place. All we had to tell them was that it was an accident. We told them nothing about what really happened there."

"Alright, good work, all of you," Bronze Star announced. He paused for a moment, and then he gazed over at the containers and observed "Everything appears to be in order here. As soon as you've finished sorting the compounds, I'd like to take another look at them. After that, you can send them wherever you'd like."

"Understood, Your Highness," Beretta avowed, "We'll keep them impounded until you give the word."

Bronze Star nodded in consent. There came another short period of quietness, and then Bronze Star sighed and pronounced "At this point, all that's left to do is drop in on a certain 'guest.' Shall we swing by and see him?"

"Yes, sir," SIG Sauer guaranteed the gold stallion.

Bronze Star, Lord Bellerophon, and the eight present members of the Firebrand Regiment started to leave the storage room. Noble Edict was standing in the doorframe. She had not spoken a word ever since the group entered this section of the Compartment. This changed when the other ten ponies reached her. The red mare stepped in front of the gold stallion and sternly told him "Hold on for a minute, Bronze. Before we go any further, I'd like some clarity about a few things. I'm getting tired of being the only one here who's completely in the dark."

Bronze Star was surprised by the somewhat demanding tone in her voice. The other nine ponies were even more surprised. None of them would dare speak in such an impertinent manner to a member of the Canterlot Royalty. In addition to that, Heckler, Koch, Peacemaker, Beretta, and Ruger had not even noticed the red mare was with them until now. SIG Sauer and Walther had introduced each of them to her during the ceremony Princess Celestia held for her, but they had only spoken to her for a couple minutes apiece. They were just as surprised as Carabine had been when he initially saw her in the Compartment.

"Lady Noble, I must ask that you choose your words carefully," Carabine firmly insisted.

"It's alright, Brigadier," Bronze Star calmly assured the aqua blue Unicorn, "All she's asking for are answers."

"With all due respect, Your Highness, what is she doing in here?" Beretta queried.

"'She' is here on my consent, Sergeant," Bronze Star disclosed. He turned to the red mare and instructed her "Show them the ornament, Noble."

Noble Edict promptly raised the object SIG Sauer had given her into the air. Once the members of the Regiment saw it, they became much less tense.

"In that case, welcome to the Compartment, Lady Noble," Peacemaker greeted the young mare.

"Thank you, Doctor," The red mare stated appreciatively. As she lowered the ornament, she looked back at the gold stallion and remarked "Formalities aside, the Brigadier's right; I had no right to speak so insolently to you. I must apologize if I sounded demanding or prying. It's just that whenever a crime or a plot occurs in Ponyville, I'm always made aware of all the details straightaway. Basically, I'm used to being the first one who knows about anything out of the ordinary. So you can imagine my frustration about the current situation. Right now, I know pretty much nothing about what's going on here."

"Well, there's no denying that," Bronze Star coincided. He leaned against the wall next to Noble Edict and stated "So, what would you like to know?"

"For one thing, I'd like to know more about this 'sting operation' you keep mentioning," Noble Edict requested, "To be precise, I'd like to know how it ties into everything that's going on here. Also, you keep bringing up a person named 'Sir Raoul Jowl.' I'm fairly certain I've heard that name somewhere before."

"I think I may know where," Bronze Star commented, "How often do you read the newspaper, Noble?"

"I read the Ponyville Gazette every day, if I can," Noble Edict responded.

"What about the Canterlot Post?" Bronze Star queried.

"On occasion, yes," the red mare informed him, "National news is not as important to me as local news. But I still read about it every now and then. That's the only paper I've had access to since I got here."

"Well, the reason I'm asking is because Sir Raoul Jowl used to be in the Canterlot Post all the time," Bronze Star enlightened her.

Here Bronze Star began giving Noble Edict a concise but thorough explanation about two separate subjects. The first pertained to Sir Raoul Jowl. The gold stallion informed the red mare that Raoul Jowl was once one of the most influential and prestigious officeholders in his mother's administration. He had been born and raised in Manehattan, where he had received most of his compulsory education. That included elementary school, middle school, and high school. After graduating from high school, he had moved to Canterlot to receive a college education in both government policy and social sciences. After successfully attaining his diploma in both fields, he immediately began putting his skills to use by working for the government. He had a long and fruitful career that lasted almost twenty years. He had contributed a countless amount to political restructuring, economic growth, and several other issues. Overtime, he had gradually risen to higher and more prominent positions in the government.

During the second half of his career, Raoul Jowl had played a major role in Equestria's cultural reform. He had drafted several projects whose main goals were to increase opportunity, availability, and efficiency for the entire nation. Among other things, he aimed to create more jobs, raise the minimum wage, and provide for the less prosperous regions of the country.

While many of Raoul Jowl's colleagues admired his resolve and his motivations, many others doubted that this plans would be as successful and significant as he envisioned them to be. After all, he seemed to be placing a lot of faith in the effectiveness of a few simple changes. They also doubted he would fine the means to provide for these projects, as they each had a budget that amounted to several million. Within a year, his critics were proven quite wrong. Not only were Raoul Jowl's programs adequately funded and capable of achieving their goals, but they also ended up bettering the living conditions for the average citizen of Equestria.

These programs earned Raoul Jowl a great deal of respect and admiration from everypony. In fact, the impact of their success even gained the attention of Princess Celestia. As a way of commending Raoul Jowl for his contribution to the nation, she granted him a prominent place in her cabinet, and she knighted him. That was when he was recognized everywhere as "Sir Raoul Jowl," the stallion who changed Equestria.

Because of everything he had done for his country, one might think that Raoul Jowl would be the last person to conspire against it. If he was still working for the government, he probably never would have. But we all have dark secrets that we never want other people to know about. These are the types of secrets that when discovered, they could cause even the mightiest and most adored people to fall from grace. That was precisely what happened with Sir Raoul Jowl.

Four years ago, the Firebrand Regiment had been conducting another covert operation. This time, they were investigating some strange activity in the black market. They were not trying to shut down the black market itself; even though the market had a notorious reputation for being shady and dangerous, everypony who participated it was aware of this risk and accepted it. Aside from that, all the transactions made in the black market were legitimate to some degree. All deals made in it were fair and equitable to all parties involved. So the government allowed the black market to exist.

However, the Regiment had acquired some intelligence which indicated that some traders in the black market had somehow acquired some documents. These documents contained very sensitive information about Equestria's central government. All of them had been classified top secret, and it was absolutely illegal to sell them in any capacity. Yet the vendors who had them were turning them over to the highest bidder.

Bronze Star viewed these actions as both a breach in the integrity of the government and a complication in national security. Both of which were completely unacceptable. The prince and the Regiment were determined to find the source of this disturance and eliminate it.

It did not take the Regiment long to gather the names of all the people who were dealing in the stolen government files. Every time one of the documents was sold, the Regiment arrested the buyer in secrecy, but they let the seller stay in business. They did this to avoid tipping off the people who supplied the merchants with the documents. They felt that if the distributors noticed that their middlemen were disappearing, they would realize that the authorities were on to them and they would go into hiding.

So to avoid suspicion, the Regiment left the sellers untouched. However, they still monitored their activities and transactions very closely. Before long, they discovered that an entire network was built around the stolen government files. The sellers were merely the ends of the trail. Before the documents even reached the sellers, they had already been exchanged at least half a dozen times. Eventually, the Regiment managed to trace the documents to the start of their trail. They discovered that the source of the stolen information was a private underground union.

This particular union was very cautious and very good at evading the government's notice. Their existence had been a complete secret until the Firebrand Regiment came along. Still, the Regiment needed to use all their combined expertise to learn anything about it. And even then, they were unable to get very close to the union. They were unable to determine its location or the identities of any of its members.

However, after months of digging around, they managed to discover that the union was not the start of the trail. In actuality, they received all the stolen government files from a single source. This particular source appeared to be somepony who held high-status position in the government. In other words, there was a leak.

After another week of searching, the Regiment was able to determine the identity of the leak. To the vast surprise of all of them, it was Sir Raoul Jowl.

At first, the Regiment hypothesized that they had the wrong stallion. But all the evidence pointed directly towards Sir Raoul from every angle. There was no denying that he was the source.

However, after the Regiment confirmed him as the leak, it gradually became easier for them to believe. After all, while Raoul Jowl was known for his benevolence and empathy, he was hardly what one would call modest. Some believed that he started those cultural reform projects to help himself as much as the people they were designed to help. In addition to that, he was also not as principled as one would expect a pony in his position to be. He personally believed that one should use whatever resources one has available to make the most of life. Considering how he had nearly unrestricted access to top secret government files, it would make sense if he regarded those as some of his own "resources."

Most of the Regiment wanted to arrest Raoul Jowl, but SIG Sauer and Bronze Star wanted to confirm that he actually knew where the union was before they took any direct action against Sir Raoul. However, they were confident that Raoul Jowl would lead them in the right direction. So the Regiment spent the following month watching Jowl closely. They kept a sentry on him, took a record of his day-to-day activities, and tightening security around him. They even had one of their own spy on him up close. By the end of that month, they had gotten him to reveal the location of the union's headquarters. Once the Regiment confirmed the location, they sent in the Constabulary Contingent to raid the base, shut it down, and recover all the stolen files.

A great deal of arrests were made that day. Every person who so much as touched one of the stolen documents was taken into custody, including the sellers. The entire union was taken down in just one day.

Every person who been in that union or in cahoots with it was looking at least five years in prison for espionage and dealing in stolen goods.

The Firebrand Regiment brought Sir Raoul in for questioning then. He revealed that the union had been his idea in the first place. He also confessed that he had been stealing government secrets for years and feeding them to his associates. That was how he acquired the money to fund his cultural reform projects. However, he claimed that he never knew his associates were doing anything as heinous as selling those files on the black market. He admitted that he was knowingly breaking the law by stealing those files, but he insisted that he would never have allowed them to be put on the black market.

He was actually telling the truth, and luckily for him, the Regiment believed him. However, that did not change the fact that he had willingly sold those files to thugs and bandits. By doing that, he had betrayed the trust of Princess Celestia and every other official in the Equestrian government. Every member of the Regiment wanted to throw him behind bars with all the others from the union. Bronze Star, however, did not. He was more concerned about what sort of political repercussions that would involve.

At that time, only Bronze Star, Lord Bellerophon, and the Firebrand Regiment knew of Jowl's misdeeds. Everypony else was oblivious to them. Raoul Jowl was greatly admired and loved by many people for his service to the country. If word got out that he was a liar and a thief who shared his fellow politicians' secrets with crooks, Bronze Star predicted that the fallout on the public and the government would be devastating, maybe even irreparable.

Because of this, he decided they would need another way to resolve this dilemma. He ultimately decided to make Raoul Jowl a deal. The young prince proposed that Sir Raoul resign from his current job in Celestia's administration, and that he never pursue another career in the Equestrian government. In exchange, Bronze Star would have him released from the Regiment's custody and allow him to live the rest of his life as a free stallion. Sir Raoul was hesitant at first, but since the alternative was to have his legacy ruined and live the rest of his days behind bars, he accepted Bronze Star's deal.

As soon as the Regiment let him go, Sir Raoul drafted a letter of resignation. Bronze Star helped him put it together, as he wanted to make sure everything lined up. Once he was finished, Bronze Star had Sir Raoul present it directly to Celestia herself. The Princess was stunned to receive it, and she asked Sir Raoul for the reason for his departure. Bronze Star had helped Sir Raoul come up with an excuse beforehand. He had claimed to the Princess "I have already done enough to leave behind a great legacy, Your Highness. I have had my time to shine; my time to make a difference to the people of Equestria. Perhaps it is time for me to stand down and make way for somepony else. I should let somepony else have a chance of their own to make a difference."

Bronze Star predicted this would be enough to satisfy his mother, and he was right. Princess Celestia was content with this response, and as a result, she accepted Sir Raoul Jowl's resignation, albeit reluctantly. By the end of the day, Raoul Jowl had cleaned out his office and departed from Canterlot Castle.

The Firebrand Regiment never heard from Sir Raoul again after that. A few of them thought about keeping tabs on him just to be safe, but Bronze Star was confident their troubles with the former politician were over. So the black market case was closed for good.

This was Raoul Jowl's history. Or at least the bulk of his history with the Regiment. That was easily the longer part of Bronze Star's explanation to Noble Edict. It took him much less time to explain what was currently going on in the Compartment. He was able to keep it short but direct.

About a year ago, the Firebrand Regiment had acquired some intelligence which suggested there was a treacherous scheme going on somewhere in the country. They did not know who was behind the scheme or what their intentions were, but they had uncovered enough evidence to confirm that something big was being planned.

The Regiment was able to confirm the validity of this theory within a couple weeks of creating it. They had found and followed a lengthy stream of clues and hints left behind by the conspirators. These numerous leads ultimately led them to two separate suspects. One of them was Lavender Dazzle, an outspoken protestor of Equestrian's government and one of few people who openly opposed Princess Celestia. The other was Material Study, a retired university professor and a certified expert in chemistry and biochemistry.

Bronze Star had the Regiment monitor both of them closely. As time went on, the young prince and his Special Ops team witnessed both Dazzle and Study demonstrate rather strange and erratic behavior. That was enough to convince Bronze Star that they were up to something bad. Neither of them seemed like much of a threat by themselves.

As the Regiment continued assembling more information about Dazzle and Study's activities, Bronze Star came to speculate that both Lavender Dazzle and Material Study had extremist intentions in mind. He was also fairly certain that they were working with more people. Perhaps they were aiming to… organize a type of confrontation with the government.

Bronze Star's faith in this theory was validated the day before the Summer Sun Celebration, when the Regiment was finally able to connect Dazzle and Study together. Before that day, they had never even been in the same town as each other. Now that they were actually meeting face-to-face, it would only be a matter of time before they executed their hidden plans.

Bronze Star and the Regiment had no idea what exactly these plans would entail, but when they learned that Material Study was using his minerals, isotopes, and equipment to develop chemical weapons, they were fairly certain an attack was eminent.

The meeting between Material Study and Raoul Jowl had confirmed this notion. At one point during that meeting, Sir Raoul had mentioned that his co-conspirators were going to use the weapons in Canterlot. He had not specified the targets, but his speech implied that they would be primarily civilians.

Fortunately, the Firebrand Regiment had seized the chemical weapons and their creator, as well as one of the creator's associates. All the same, that was just a small victory in the long run. Bronze Star was already unsettled enough by the fact that Sir Raoul was involved in this plot. The Regiment knew that their troubles were far from over. For one thing, the other people involved in the conspiracy were still at large, and Lavender Dazzle was the only one that had been identified. Plus, the Regiment had just learned that the chemical weapon strike was not all the conspirators had on their agenda. Now it turned out they were planning an assassination, too. But who could it have been, and where and when would it take place?

This was where Bronze Star wrapped up his explanation to Noble Edict. When he was finished, the red mare was absolutely astonished by everything she had been told.

"Now I understand why you were so concerned about my ability to keep this thing a secret," Noble Edict perceived.

The gold stallion lightly nodded his head, saying "Precisely. If news of this conspiracy got out, we would have a panic in the capital city. Worse yet, the people behind the conspiracy would go into hiding. It would be impossible to find them then."

"And that's a risk we cannot afford to take," Carabine proclaimed, "We NEED to find them at whatever the cost. If we don't, an uncountable number of lives could be at stake."

"I gathered as much," Noble Edict commented, "Do you have any conclusive information on the people behind the conspiracy?"

"Yes, but not much," Walther disclosed, "These people are surprisingly good at covering their tracks."

"I suppose they'd have to be, if they're plotting against the government," Noble Edict observed.

"Indeed, Lady Noble," Ruger affirmed, "We've known about this scheme for nearly a year, and we've barely even skimmed the surface. It's taken us this long to apprehend two suspects, and both of them proved to be rather uncooperative. One had to die to tell us about the organization's ultimate goal; the other is adamant about maintaining his vow of silence."

"At least he is for now," Bronze Star pronounced, "But that could change. Just remember; we've brought down plots like this before. Some of them were even more ominous and more extreme than this one. We've also gotten tougher ponies than Sir Raoul to talk. We just have to keep putting pressure on him. Sooner or later, he's going to crack like a nut."

"Oh, I agree, Your Highness," Heckler proclaimed, "But it if you were to actually compare our suspects to nuts, Sir Raoul would be a macadamia."

"In other words, he'd be the one that's by far the hardest to open up," Koch presumed.

"Exactly," Heckler professed, smirking.

"That may be, Inspector," Bronze Star admitted, "We'll just have to wait and see."

Comments

[Sea_Swirl]

YAY can't wait for the next!!!

[Truthseeker]

Why do I get the ominous impression that if Noble Edict sees Raoul, she's going to assassinate him because she's a part of the Nightmare Moon cult?