Bullets of Fire

by BlackWater

17 - A Drag of a Rule

The air was hazy and it was hard to breathe. Everything was visible only through a tan-ish and very aerial layer of dirt. Such as it was, a beige stallion was having a hard time making out the words on his scroll. The bad air certainly made it hard to read but the goggles made it worse. It was unfortunate but he couldn't take them off - not unless he wanted to completely lose his sight. The goggles were the only thing keeping all of the dirt out of his eyes. His breathing mask was doing similar things for his lungs.

The sounds of digging, picking, hammering, and shoveling were all quite noticeable. He had set up his post near the workers to facilitate the orders that he had to keep giving them. He had to dictate the construction orders personally due to some dull security policy. Still, he kept some distance from the active work so that he wouldn't be drowned in the dirt and could have at least some quiet - or reduced sound as it was. He had little to do save for giving orders and writing in his own personal journal. It was the latest round of distant hammering that jolted him from his writing. He had been doing quite well on his latest literary venture. He was writing a detailed analysis of a light refraction spell. It could very well open the door to new ones. The hammering snapped his mind once again to the place around him.

He had to admit that, though dirty, the Earth pony workers could dig like no others. The head constructor, a massive stallion named Collider, was approaching him once again from the deep tunnels. The beige stallion double-checked the scroll, squinting to read the numbers. "We're at one thousand," rumbled the deep voice of the Earth pony. "How many hooves you need out from the doors?"

The unicorn recalled the numbers he had just reviewed. "Fifty. And go sideways from the stop point. We need two hundred hooves East and West."

The larger stallion grumbled in return. "What's the old mare thinking anyhow? No need for another vault...'specially not with the one bein' in Canternot."

The beige unicorn grimaced. This was the same lot of workers that was responsible for some of Equestria's most difficult constructions. They were "disenchanted" as a result and didn't hold much love for Canterlot or its throne. However, the unicorn had been one of Celestia's court messengers long enough to know when to let things slide. He would let the workers grumble because, regardless, they were still dependable. They would get the job done with speed and quality. Such was their pride.

Collider turned back down the tunnel and his form soon disappeared into the dusty darkness. The glow of the tunnel lamps was at extreme odds with the air particles and thus left some sections of the pathways to the dark. The workers were used to such things but the court messenger still had to travel carefully to keep from harm. Perhaps the only reason he had been given this job in the first place was because he had more field experience then the others - at least when it came to the filthy jobs.

The unicorn's horn lit with a pale yellow glow and the space around him brightened with a more clarified light. He didn't like to do it too much because repeated use of his light spell was draining him. It was the little things that added up, as any magic-savvy unicorn would say. He squinted at the hue of light as it emanated from his own forehead. It almost pulsated in indistinct levels of luminescence. Magically-created light was not the same as natural sources. Although it typically followed the same conventions, it didn't necessarily adhere to the rules. With further analysis, he might be able to exploit those differences and take advantage of them in other capacities. He levitated the pen once again to his journal.

"Light Scribe," a voice rang behind him. The voice was somewhat familiar but he wondered more immediately how a pony could get behind him when he was nearly against the tunnel wall to begin with. He never got to guess who it was that called his name because something struck him hard on the side of his head. He saw stars...and dirt...

Celestia was no foal. That and the scheme had be tried before a hundred or so years ago. There were so many such incidents and plots, in fact, that the shear number of them kept her from immediately recognizing when one was being repeated. It was after she had gotten the report from the border that she remembered this particular one.

She had needed the whereabouts of the pony named Actus. As it turned out, he had indeed crossed back over to his own country and had not returned since. A more detailed report from her own investigation team made it clear that any communication - including magical - had not occurred with him. That left only one possibility.

The note that was left in the Red Tulip office was a plant. Somepony wanted to tag his name to whatever was going on. Throwing suspicion onto a foreigner was easy, especially when there was such a recent controversy involving him. Celestia wouldn't fall for it though. It was all just a scheme - however complicated - to get money or power or both if the pony was particularly ambitious.

The remaining details were irrelevant because the scheme was already falling apart at the seams. Celestia already knew something was going on under the surface and it wouldn't take much longer to break the whole thing up. She had to think now. What was their most likely move?

They must have paid off the two ponies that were "responsible" for the trouble with the Royal Post. They were probably paid to re-testify at a later date with some notion that they had been threatened by the Princess. The entire Red Tulip case was a sham. They meant for it to fall apart with the express purpose of throwing dirt at Celestia. They probably wanted it to look like she had ordered the whole thing in the first place.

They needed more, though, and the revelation came to Celestia with ease. The new vault. It was still being built and would be an easy target for anypony who wanted to tamper with it or cause trouble with the workers. The artifacts themselves might be at stake, since they would need to eventually be transferred to the vault at completion. Any trouble there would be a pain to fix later. Somepony would need to be present at the site until the vault was completed.

Who could she send that she could trust? She obviously couldn't go herself since there was too much already to take care of in Canterlot. Luna might be able to go but her presence could cause just as much trouble with the workers - who probably still considered her to be Nightmare Moon. Not everypony was as understanding as Celestia would have liked.

Twilight Sparkle was trustworthy by far but she was already assigned to Ponyville and, to be honest with herself, Celestia didn't want to send the young mare into a construction site. She tried not to think of the worse places she had already sent the poor filly.

That left her with a few other options which she cancelled out for all of their own reasons. There remained just one pegasus...somepony that didn't have to be anywhere else. It was somepony that was trustworthy and had some tough hooves. She could be trusted in a tough environment and she had the physical ability to deal with any trouble. Her public status would also be a deterrent against anypony with a scheme. Cloaks and daggers didn't mix well with stars.

Celestia waited for the two pegasus mares to arrive for their afternoon training.

"Why me?" Silver Lining asked earnestly. It was true that he was a tad annoyed at being called off from their active roster but he was more curious than upset.

Spitfire and Surprise were walking alongside him as they began their trip out of Canterlot. "I have a few reasons," Spitfire responded vaguely.

Silver Lining wanted to groan. Of course she had her reasons. She was a good captain and she never did things without a point. "Mind filling me in?"

Surprise answered him next, "It was very nice of you to rescue Wave..."

There it was. He had a suspicion that the whole thing was related to that incident. He could have left it at that but, as he had nothing else to talk about, he continued. "This construction site isn't going to be like that half-baked dirt fort. I seriously doubt it will all come down on our heads," the stallion turned his gaze back to his captain. "You don't feel comfortable being around worker ponies without a trustworthy stallion. That's one of your reasons, isn't it?"

Spitfire sighed and then nodded. What Silver Lining suggested was only half-true but she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she really was nervous. After all, she had never done anything quite like this. The Princess' request was unusual but she couldn't turn it down - not after what Celestia had already done for her. And anyways, she could still train with Surprise at the work site. Exercises and stretches no longer required guidance.

Look out for anypony suspicious. Of course, Celestia had been more elegant than that but it was basically what the job came down to. Apparently, the construction was a strategic opportunity for some troublemakers and Celestia couldn't give the responsibility to anypony else. Still, she didn't know whether she should be happy that the ruler of all Equestria trusted her so much...or terrified of the expectation. Her life was normally free and only tied down by whatever trivialities her teammates dished out at her. This job was like a heavy weight and, in spite of each time she tried to reason it all out, she was worried. How could she tell if a pony was suspicious or not? She didn't even know any of them-

"-but the conditions might be too much!" Silver Lining's exclamation broke the captain's thought.

Spitfire looked over to Surprise to try and get a clue as to what the stallion had been going on about. The white mare made a gesture with her hair that filled her in. The stallion was probably the only one in their group that actually cared about the look of his mane. He had probably just finished a complaint about the work environment's effects on his appearance.

"However!" Silver picked up, "I will do whatever is necessary for my team, my captain, and my fellow members."

"Thanks. That's one of the other reasons I picked you...because you actually give a stick," the orange captain nodded to him.

The stallion widened his eyes and then replied, "I don't see what sticks have to do with it but I hope you don't think the guys are a bunch of brush-offs. They care about the team as much as I do."

"I hope so," Surprise ventured.

Spitfire shook her head and glanced to her wingmare, "I don't think they care the same way but I certainly hope they do too."

There seemed to be a lack of any further discussion but Silver Lining felt awkward with two mares and silence so he started talking about trivial things just for the sake of conversation. Things like his favorite fashion styles...

It was a long trip but Surprise noticed that Silver's favorite fashions had a very close resemblance to the style of one of their teammates. She noted it in her memory.

"Money is power," sniped a gravely voice in a dark room.

"But not always," replied another.

"It's all we will need," countered a third.

"Is the artifact secure?" the first voice questioned.

The second voice wavered in return, "Almost. Our agent is very close now."

Comments

[Man Of War]

Ah, some conspiracy thrown in now, nice. I will be waiting for more.