“Gooooood afternoon, Canterlot! DJ-Pon3 here to bring you the news about what’s going on in Equestria! I know, I know, you’re all thinking ‘But DJ, we could care less about the news! Give us some music!’ and I say unto you: Relaxeth, for thou shalt getteth thy music. It's going to be a special day, anyway, since you guys get to hear some local music as well as some songs from national rising stars, including some by the adorable Sweetie Belle, Three Barns Up and a Solaria band called Ghostie Hunter. Don't change the channel because of them, though. They are metal! But, um, anyway, lets uh get you the daily dose of news first, then you can get your music.”

DJ-Pon3 clears her throat and for dramatic effect shuffles papers in front of her microphone.

“Let’s see here. First thing’s first, the Martial Law that’s in effect is to be taken very seriously. That means don’t screw around with the guards by throwing fire crackers at them or run at them screaming at the top of your lungs like a zebra savage. Its a great way to get cuffed and interrogated. Trust me, I would know. Secondly, we all know about the League of Justice and how they are the pinnacle of morality and we need to respect them because they are only misunderstood or some bullshit like that. Well, my chumps inside told me that the Royal Guard, under the orders of Captain of the Guard Sparkle and the command of General Ji attacked the League's HQ -which was quite literally in our backyard- and have been, I quote, ‘Eradicated with extreme prejudice’. End quote. That’s right! Those guys that have been terrorizing our beautiful nation have been taken out by our guardians! So, be sure to show them our gratitude and if your special somepony wears armor they deserve a special thank you. Hint hint. Wink wink. Nudge nudge. Thirdly, there are talks of the Civilian Defense Agency branch of the EIB breaking off to become its own entity. Who will lead is beyond me, but I got a bad feeling about this one, folks, even though Celestia thinks it is a good idea for 'Harmony's sake' or something like that. Lastly, and this one is interesting, there is a rumor that Shining Armor is opening a full investigation into the Equestrian Investigation Bureau. This linvestigation is definitely ruffling Brisk Wind’s feathers. Let me see if I can find a quote from her in this messy pile of... of... junk. And here it is!”

DJ-Pon3 clears her throat before she talk again, this time she’s using a poor impersonation of Brisk Wind’s voice.

“‘I’m sure Shining Armor is a nice colt with the best intentions, but there are places for brawns and there are places for brains. Our ponies protect the citizens of Equestria using brains while Captain Armor’s ponies use brawns. We do not try to understand why the Royal Guard does things their way and they should not try to understand why we do things our way’.”

DJ-Pon3 makes a drawn out whistle, followed by a seethe, and when she talks again, she is using her normal voice.

“I don’t know about you guys, but Brisk Wind sounded snappy there.” DJ-Pon3 hisses like a feisty cat, then chuckles. “Also, a little FYI, Celestia does not like the idea of Captain Sparkling Big Guy to investigate for some bullshit reason. I'll update on that as soon as I can. And I got one last piece of news for you before I give you guys your daily dose of music. The EIB's Rehabilitation Program is in full swing! Yep, you heard me right! Under a plan crafted by Brisk Wind, herself, the Rehabilitation Program will take jailed ponies who are deemed worthy of an early release and reintroduce them into society with the help of parole officers to retrain them to be better citizens. Sounds weird to me, but what do I know? I'm not a politician or a guardian, only a DJ. Anyway, send me a letter or give me a call about what you guys think about this move. But not now, now is the time for music!”

Shining Armor limps into a large, brightly lit, crowded room with ponies in the approrpiate workplace uniforms doing analytical work. With the recent victory against the League of Justice the analysts have to deal with a flood of audio recordings, notes, and apprehended data from the terrorist organization's headquarters. There is a lot that they have to go through, crowding the room to near suffocation levels with large tables that have tape recorders playing back audio recordings, tables with ponies comparing notes -and in some cases, deciphering horrible writing, and then there are the ponies with the most mind numbingly boring of jobs. Organizing and storing all the data. Because there is so much activity going on in the already stuffed room, Shining Armor has ordered the air conditioning to be put on at full blast. The cool rush of air being pushed down from the ceiling from the giant fans does not do much, but it is enough to keep the workers from collapsing due to heat fatigue. If anything, the sudden brushes of cold air might jolt them out of their boredom induced trances.

Shining Armor continues limping through the numerous rows of analysts, occasionally listening in to what they are saying, but mostly to see if they are doing their jobs. His movements are even more sluggish, the bags under his eyes are more defined, his eyes are distant, and now his mane and tail are not as well kept as his uniform, which is also failing in its pristine appearance.

When Shining Armor gets to the very back of the analyzing room, he enters a smaller room where Brisk Wind, Major Fuller and an earth pony mare are waiting for him. The earth pony, by the name of Aural Wave, has a yellow coat, a green mane and tail with red streaks and her a cutie mark depicting a megaphone.

Shining Armor stops and looks at Brisk Wind and Major Fuller warily, and while Brisk Wind is shaking in her hide, she still manages to flash a smile that rubs him like a rusty, steel combed brush. Major Fuller, on the other hand, looks like he is bored.

The three ponies greet Shining Armor and he returns the gesture before turning his focus to Aural.

“What did you find?” asks Shining Armor.

“I don’t think Roar Shock is dead, sir,” says Aural uneasily.

“What do you mean?”

Brisk Wind tilts her head down and rubs her brow. “Its not a riddle, Captain.”

“I think it is best if Captain Sparkle hears the tape,” says Fuller.

Shining Armor looks at all of them, then frowns at Aural. “You played the tape without me?”

“By my orders after her repairs due to your lack of appearance,” says Fuller, now stepping forward. “However, I assure you that Brisk Wind has not heard the tape, so it was only me and her. That said, I strongly advise that we keep what we hear next a secret from the general public.”

Brisk Wind huffs. “Fine. Secret stuff. Whatever. Just play the tape.”

Aural Wave looks at Shining Armor, and after taking a breath, he puts up a shield around the room, then nods approvingly.

“Do it,” orders the Captain.

Aural nods her head quickly and presses down on the play button. The device clicks on and the tapes whir inside the casing as they spin on the tracks. A few seconds later the audio plays. It starts off as a jumbled mess at first, but Shining Armor can make out someone talking, and after a minute passes by, the audio is clear enough to understand, despite it being plagued with crackles, pops, hisses and other anomalies.

“So this is the Bird Cage, huh?” says one of the soldiers in the recording.

“Oh, man, just look at the size of this place,” says another soldier whimsically.

“Okay, enough gawking. Let's get inside and clear it out. I don't want to keep General Ji waiting,” says yet another soldier.

There are jumbled responses that acknowledge the order, and the group listens to the soldiers make their way down some stairs. Suddenly the hoof steps seize, though, and Shining Armor's jaw tightens and both Brisk Wind and Aural tense when turbine engines roar to life over the audio.

“Contact! Eight o'clock!” barks one of the soldiers.

Then all Hell breaks loose.

Brisk Wind's eyes grow rapidly and her feathers ruffle from the sounds of yelling soldiers and the rattlings and pops of small arms fire crackle over the audio. The bullets bounce and ping off of a metallic surface, and the whirring intensifies, followed by a sonic boom, a static charge, and an explosion with screams of agony and falling rocks.

Despite the shiver up his spine, the cold sweat on the back of his neck and his racing heart, Shining Armor cannot take his eyes off of the spinning tapes. He is mesmerized by the sounds of electric shots colliding with the ballistic fire, the electric flames crackling and falling rocks, and the screams of the dying crying out over the terrified ponies shouting orders.

A close explosion sends the one with the audio recorder airborne, meshing his terrified screams with the rushing wind and wooshing flames. But it only takes him a few seconds to fall silent with a sickening crunch, and the audio cuts off.

The three ponies stare at the audio tapes, watching them spin with some life left on them, and right as Brisk Wind is about to say something, the audio returns with a pop and hiss and the engines return, although distorted. When the turbines stop, there is a metallic thud, followed by steady and very heavy and metallic hoof steps.

The steps stop by the recording device, and all Shining Armor can hear is electric crackling, and he looks at Aural and Fuller questionably, as does Brisk Wind. The earth pony looks at the two anxiously, but Fuller remains emotionless.

“It is clear,” says a stallion on the other end, his voice being magnified, yet slightly distorted by speakers.

“Excellent,” says another stallion, this one charismatic. “Please, guide me to the wall. My sight has gone from me, again.”

The steps retreat, then there is an earthly rumble, followed by a deafening split and more stones falling and crashing down below. Second later, all that lingers are loose rocks trickling down and the echoes of breaking stone.

“Is everybody ready?” asks the charismatic stallion.

More steps come forth, and there are a series of acknowledgments, ranging from eager to terrified, with some wanting to stay and fight.

“Brothers, sisters, I know this is a terrible loss for us, and we can never return, but I promise you we will win in the end,” says the stallion, his tone losing none of its energy, but that energy is manifesting into rage. “Evil will never prevail, and in due time, our cause will prove that. But in order for our mission to succeed, we must first flee and regroup and rebuild. Their reckoning will come by our hooves, and when we strike back, Equestria will be restored to purity, as it once was, as it should be, and as it will be once more!”

The crowd cheers, and then the audio abruptly ends, leaving Shining Armor staring at the tape as it lazily slows to a stop.

“According to the reports no tunnels or any sort of opening were found. Only bodies and carnage,” says Aural.

“What was that thing that killed them?” asks Shining Armor.

Major Fuller steps forward. “We believe it is a robotic suit of some kind. We discovered many blueprints for advanced armor, weapons and vehicles that are at least fifty years, maybe a century ahead of our time. One such suit was labeled as 'Kairos', and was depicted to use gems to power electric based weaponry and engines, which coincides with the damage and audio. There are other designs for advanced zeppelins, weapons, morphing vehicles, as well as advanced medicine. I have had all of these blueprints taken to Hoofington for research.”

Shining Armor shakes his head in disbelief. “Fifty years ahead? How is that even possible?”

“That is what I'll be finding out. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do.”

Major Fuller nods politely to Brisk Wind, thanks Aural Wave for her help, then offered a salute for Shining Armor, which is returned quickly. After the farewells are said and done, Fuller leaves the room. A moment later, Shining Armor dismisses Aural, as well, leaving just him and Brisk Wind alone in the room. The very first thing he notices about the icy blue pegasus is that her coat is paler than usual and her eyes are transfixed on the the tapes.

“Brisk Wind,” says Shining Armor.

“Hm?” replies the pegasus.

“We need to tell Princess Celestia that Roar Shock is still alive.”

“Yeah, I know... Why don't I tell her the news? You don’t look so well,” says Brisk Wind, still staring at the tape recorder.

“We both need to tell her.”

Brisk Wind turns fully to Shining Armor, frowning and ruffling her feathers. “Uh, no. Captain, look at you. You look like you’re about to collapse on the job!”

“Now is not the time for naps, Director.”

“You're running on an hour's worth of sleep! That means you will say stupid things, run into doors and make yourself out more of a fool than you already are!”

Shining Armor furrows his brow and meets her demanding stare with a glare of his own. “Director, I appreciate your concern for my well-being, but this is a matter that pertains to national security on the highest levels and I must be present to tell Celestia of this issue.”

Brisk Wind stomps her hoof. “You don't get it! You are in no condition to meet Celestia. You need to go home to your wife and do this wonderful thing called sleeping. Trust me, you’ll feel and look much better once you do.”

Shining Armor sighs and drops his head in defeat. “Fine, I’ll go home.”

Brisk Wind smiles.

Shining Armor lifts his head up with a conniving smile. “But only if you give me the files I requested.”

Brisk Wind’s smile is instantly replaced with a large frown and her eyes narrow to that of slits. “Are you serious?”

“If I’m going to be relaxing at home then I might as well do some work,” says Shining Armor coolly.

Brisk Wind's jaw drops. “What the- No! That’s not how relaxing works! When you relax, you go home and you sleep! You don’t go asking for more work! Especially when that work is an investigation that Celestia doesn’t want you doing!”

“Technically she didn’t say she doesn’t want me doing it, she just doesn’t like the idea.”

“Which means you don’t do it.”

“Director, in this time we must be cooperative and our departments must be open to one another.”

Brisk Wind cranes her head back, groaning obnoxiously. “You’re unbelievable. Cooperation doesn’t mean investigation.”

“Right, cooperation means we’re open to one another. You show me what you have and I’ll show you what I have and together we can get Roar Shock.”

“And what could you possibly have that will be of value to me?”

Shining Armor smirks and limps out of the room without saying a word, leaving Brisk Wind to stare at him skeptically. He can feel her condemning gaze burning the back of his skull, but to him, it feels like a neck massage, and it brings a smile to his face.

With the door closed and the music of air conditioning, scribbling pens and shuffling papers bringing comfort to his ears, Shining Armor feels a sense of peace. However, that peace quickly goes when the door to the audio room is flung open with a resounding bang that halts all work, and all but Shining Armor turns their heads when Brisk Wind marches and shouts after the Captain. While Brisk Wind calls him, a smile grows on Shining Armor's muzzle, but he sticks to his course and keeps his mouth shut.

When Shining Armor is near the exit, Brisk Wind flies over him and lands right in front of him, blocking his way out. Shining Armor stops and yawns for the first time in hours while Brisk Wind ruffles her feathers in a public display to show her dominance. But all that really happens is that Shining Armor yawns again and everyone resumes their work without giving her a second thought.

“Captain Shining Armor Sparkle, you will tell me what you know right this instant!” orders Brisk Wind.

“Give me your files then,” says Shining Armor.

“Fine, I’ll send them to your office, but I want what you know on my desk no later than tomorrow.”

“Deal. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to tell Celestia about the threat.”

Shining Armor winces and his horn sputters pathetically as weak magical sparks shoot out the tip and rose colored magical fluids trickle down through the cracks on his horn. Brisk Wind is briefly covered in the rosy aura of his magic, and she shifts slightly to the left of the doorway, but not enough for him to pass. His attempt to move Brisk Wind only leaves him with a skull splitting headache and the fond memory of him at the hospital being told to keep magic use to the bare minimum. Shining Armor grumbles and rubs his horn, it has a throbbing sensation in it now, and this time it’s Brisk Wind’s turn to smile smugly.

“Oh, it looks like that horn of yours is giving you a nasty headache. You really need to rest,” says Brisk Wind sardonically.

“You don’t say?” says Shining Armor, returning the tone.

Then, with a quick motion of his good forehoof, he slides Brisk Wind out of the way and she scoffs hatefully as he limps past her and into the polished hallway with decorated pillars. Then something clicks inside her a moment later, and Shining Armor smirks to himself when he hears her walking after after him.

“Captain Armor, stop walking this instant!” orders Brisk Wind.

Shining Armor looks over his shoulder and watches Brisk Wind hurry after him with a fire in her eyes and her wings flapping hard. Despite how hard she is flapping her wings, though, she barely is able to lift herself off the ground and the strain is enough to make her sweat. It is a pathetic sight, and Shining Armor looks away from her to continue his trek.

When Brisk Wind finally gets next to him, she is panting and her wings are twitching, and from the looks of it, she has decided to run the rest of the way after him.

“The deal was I give you what you want and you go home and sleep,” says Brisk Wind angrily. “So if you go to with me to tell Princess Celestia about Roar Shock then I will declare our deal null and void.”

“Who said I was going in pony? I’m going to my office to write a letter to the Princess, addressing the situation, and then I’ll send it and be on my way back home,” says Shining Armor.

“That wasn’t the deal!”

“No, the deal was I wouldn’t accompany you to Celestia’s chambers in exchange for information on both of our accounts. I won’t be going physically but I will still tell Celestia via typed letter of what’s going on because that is the responsible thing to do.”

“You’re giving Celestia a letter telling her what she’ll already know is just plain stupid, Captain, and... Did you say typed?”

“I sure did, and I'm sure Celestia will be impressed with how neat and tidy it is, too, unlike with your sloppy quill pens, Director.”

Brisk Wind stops dead in her tracks, her jaw drops in disbelief as she makes a pathetic squeak of disbelief. Shining Armor, on the other hand, continues his limping with a victorious smile.

"How come you get a... But I... That's not fair! I asked for one first!" says Brisk Wind.

“Take it up with Celestia. I got a letter I need to type and I don't want any distractions,” says Shining Armor.

Brisk Wind is frozen in place, eye twitching and teeth grinding and as rage rocks through her body, demanding she scream and buck the Captain of the Royal Guard in the face as hard as she can for the unfairness of this situation. She does not make such an attempt, though, since there is a group of guardponies looking at her. When Shining Armor disappears around the corner, however, the dam shatters and she screams and sporadically stomps her hooves furiously until her mane is a hanging mess in front of her wet eyes and her tail and feathers are frazzled.

By the time Brisk Wind is done throwing her fit, she is breathing heavily and her body and lips are trembling as tears roll down her cheeks. The icy blue pegasus then glances at her side to see the guardponies staring at her. She knows that they want to laugh at her behind their stoic, stone still expressions, and she would rather not deal with that, so she does the only thing she can do. Storm off before they can get a chance to mock her.

Shining Armor walks into his grand office for the sole purpose of typing the letter to Celestia. His office has a great view of Canterlot, and before the population boom that led to the towering steel buildings dominating the view he would enjoy staring out the window to look at the elegant buildings. But now he only sees huge, not-so-elegant buildings and zeppelins floating in designated paths with their messages displayed for all to see. Plus, with all the combustion engine vehicles driving around the once white city now has a layer of smog over it that gives the place a slight gray tint to it.

Shining Armor sighs and closes the curtains, blocking the view and all sunlight and leaving his only source of light to be the crystal chandelier hanging down from the decorative ceiling. He is glad to finally have a fabled typewriter in his possession, even though it forced him to get another desk since the device takes up just about every bit of space he had on his original desk. The typewriter would be a metallic eyesore for ponies of high standards, but confound those enormous hooves! They are the reasons why the buttons are so big in the first place! And the big size does make it a bit awkward to use since some of the buttons require him to lean forward to push. Then there is the blocky bulge on the typewriter’s backside that serves as the ink cartridge. It has already leaked on him twice, leaving a dried puddle of ink that dripped down the back of the desk and stained the carpet. But despite its aggravating flaws, he can see why earth ponies and pegasi would want to own a typewriter. He has had nothing but horrible experiences with mouth writing with.

After Shining Armor sits down in his velvety seat in front of the typewriter and stares at it with one word on his mind.

Sleep.

But he refuses to sleep, and even if he wanted to, he cannot. What happened to him and in Ponyville cannot be allowed to happen to anyone else, and after what he saw and allowed the EIB do to Trixie is also completely unacceptable. He has a load of problems that he needs to fix and wrongs he needs to right, and sleeping will only slow him down.

Shining Armor grumbles under his breath about his injured horn as he levitates the sheets of paper into the designated slot in his typewriter. He is about to push the first, jumbo sized button on the typewriter, but stops and bites his lips to think for a moment, and then his ears droop and he hobbles over to a large picture of him, his parents, Twilight, and Cadence hanging up on the wall. He nudges it aside, opens up a decent sized safe, and uses his teeth to pull out a stack of paper wrapped in a brown wrapping paper and tied together with thin string. He carries it back to his desk and yanks the string off with his teeth, which leads to the brown wrapping paper to roll open to reveal a stack of papers on the inside, labeled as:

Shining Armor smacks his lips together and looks at the typewriter and realizes that Cadence is going to kill him since he will be in his office for a while.

He is about to type again, but he is once again distracted. This time it’s by a light rapping on his office door.

“Door’s open,” says Shining Armor as he starts his letter.

A young unicorn mare with an orange coat, a flat, dark green mane and tail, and a notebook with a hat as a cutie mark walks in with a box of files and a bag of supplies levitating in front of her. She flashes a kind, sympathetic smile as she approaches, and Shining Armor returns the smile.

“Good evening, Case Study. Do you have something for me?” says Shining Armor.

“As a matter of fact, I do,” replies Case Study cheerfully as she carries the items to his desk. “I got the files you requested. Every last page. Plus I got you more paper and ink.”

“And that's why you're my go-to girl.”

Case Study rolls her eyes, but still smiles as she places the items in their respective places. “Don't let your wife hear that.”

“Nah, she don't mind me having a favorite worker.”

Case Study shakes her head, chuckling and finishing her work. “Well, if my Uncle Grape thinks a stallion twice my age is flirting with me he'd go on a rampage.”

Shining Armor rolls his eyes. “Hardy har har. I'm married, Case. I'm not allowed to flirt, remember?”

“Uh huh. Well, you're all set with the files, so finish up what you gotta do and get home and get some sleep, okay?”

“Alright, alright. I just have to finish this letter and then I'll go home, okay?”

“Sounds good.” Case Study smiles again and pats Shining Armor on the shoulder. “Take it easy. I'm going home.”

Shining Armor nods and wishes her a good day, and after Case Study leaves, he closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and relaxes. With this, his body might as well have sung him psalms proclaiming how merciful he is, since his eyelids have been feeling like they have the weight of Equestria pushing down on them and the rest of him felt ready to fall apart into a messy pile. And now that he has closed his eyes, his whole body is washed over in a blissful, relaxing sensation.

But when he opens his eyes, he feels like someone has smacked his cheek with a board, his mouth feels dry, and his cheek is stuck on the desk with an embarrassingly large puddle of drool originating from his mouth and seeping over the end with droplets splattering on the carpet below. When he lifts his head up, his cheek refuses to leave the desk for a moment, giving him an awkward tugging feeling. He stands up, shakes himself off and opens up the curtain to find none other than a cloudy night sky and a city locked down from curfew.

Shining Armor sighs, rubs his eye and heads back to his seat, then he goes back to staring at his typewriter.

“Yep, Cadence is going to kill me.”

Author's Notes:

Edited on 07 Sep 2015