There came a knock on Silver Tongue’s door, and the unicorn slammed down his quill, insofar as one could slam down a little feather on a desk.
“What do you want? I’m a very busy stallion!” He barked, looking up from his paperwork. However, when he saw the sight before him, his face fell.

Stronghooves was standing there in the doorway, a heavily necrotised stallion laying at his hooves. He fixed Silver Tongue with a most severe glare indeed.
“Committing murder in my city?” He asked conversationally, stepping over the unicorn’s corpse and striding up to Silver’s desk.

“We had a security breach. Somepony got into the facility and started snooping around.” Silver replied cooly. He knew well enough that Stronghooves was dangerous, but he was a guard too, and guards had rules.
This pony’s too idealistic for his own good…

“So Canterlot’s premier weapons contractor had a security breach, and you decided that the best, most sane course of action was to send a bloody Operative after them? That thing killed a whole guard patrol and caused massive property damage! That’s not how you respond to security breaches, Silver.”

“Perhaps...perhaps I got carried away, but the Count is putting pressure on me to field-test the enhanced stallions, and that seemed like a golden opportunity.” Said Silver, adjusting his spectacles.

“Well there you go.” Stronghooves gestured at the half-skeletonised body behind him. “You got your field test, and it cost you one of your Operatives.”

“Yes, and you’ll likely be explaining yourself to the Count when he finds out about this, and he will. Trust me on that.” Silver steepled his hooves, giving Stronghooves a very severe look.

“I might have signed up for this bloody programme and I might be answerable to your dad, but I’m a guard captain first and foremost.” Stronghooves glared back, placing a heavy forehoof on Silver’s desk. “My first duty’s to everypony in this city, and you’d do well to remember that.”

“Stronghooves,” Silver sighed, taking off his glasses and looking up at the big heavy stallion, “I get that you’re not motivated in quite the same way as everypony else who’s working on this project, but you and I, we’re working towards the same thing. A united and safe Equestria.”

Stronghooves looked down at his hooves for a moment, his expression softening a little. “Ye...yes. Of course, you’re right. Look, I understand what you’re working towards, but I don’t want anypony else getting hurt along the way.”

“We’ll do our utmost to ensure it doesn’t happen again.” Silver got up, trotting around his desk and putting a hoof on Stronghooves’s shoulder. “You’re a bright stallion and we’re eager to listen to everything you have to say. If something’s making you uncomfortable, tell us and we’ll change it.”

“Of course. Look, I know that your motives are sound, and I’m not angry at you. I’m just...trying to keep the peace, and you’re making it difficult by releasing Operatives on Canterlot. They’re supposed to be trained to fight griffons, not ponies.”

“Well, naturally.” Silver nodded. “But I get the impression that there was more behind your decision to hunt down and kill my prototype than just the safety of the Canterlot citizens.”

“Don’t talk about the ponies I protect like they’re a trivial thing.” Stronghooves shook his head. “My reasons for going after that monster are my own damn business, and that’s how they’ll remain.” He looked up, giving Silver a hard look that caused the smaller unicorn to back away a little.

“I...I wasn’t saying that.” he corrected himself. “I was saying that there’s probably more to it than that.”

“Like I said, they’re my business, Silver. Drop it.” Stronghooves sat down, looking strangely tired all of a sudden.

“What’s wrong, Stronghooves?” Silver asked, cocking his head and drawing closer. “Something’s on your mind, I can tell.”

“What the hell am I part of? I’m working for a bunch of ponies that are motivated entirely by money, by personal gain. I’m really going to get called to account for protecting the ponies I was hired to protect? Really?”

“Businessponies are motivated by money, Stronghooves. Sooner or later you’re going to have to understand that.” Silver nodded sympathetically. “However, you’ll find that a great many good things come into being because of stallions like us. I mean, take you for example. Do you think that you could have taken that Operative on and protected everypony from him if we hadn’t given you the same magical enhancements?”

“Well, you have a point there…” Stronghooves nodded. “I’m just not certain that they won’t use the Operatives irresponsibly if enough bits change hooves.”

“I suppose you, as the first test subject, would be responsible for ensuring that they act in an ethical manner.” Silver shrugged. “I can personally promise you that the Count doesn’t have any ill intent for these Operatives, but if you’re concerned, I recommend you talk to him about it.”

“I think I will.” Stronghooves nodded. “I’m not interested in getting into a fight with you lot, but I’m not having any more ponies get hurt by their protectors.”

“I quite understand.” Silver smiled sympathetically. “Oh, one more thing. Did the intruder get away?”

Stronghooves nodded. “Ye...yeah, she did.”

“Then it’s of the utmost importance that you track her down and terminate her.” Silver said quietly, pursing his lips. “We can’t afford to have anypony aware of what we’re doing. The Operative’s rampage was bad enough. That the intruder got away and could tell somepony...that could be devastating.”

Stronghooves got up, “I can’t kill her, Silver.”

“Why not? You didn’t seem to have a problem with the prototype over there.” Silver gave the dead stallion a nod.

“You don’t understand. She’s...different.” He shook his head. “I can’t allow her to come to any harm.”

“But you will catch her, right?” Silver narrowed his eyes.

“Of course I will. She’s a criminal and a terrorist. It’s my job to catch ponies like her.” Stronghooves gave Silver a look as though he thought him mad. “I just have principles, okay?”

“If you have any kind of conflict of interest…” Silver glared, stepping back behind his desk and sitting down.

“I don’t.” Stronghooves lied easily. “She doesn’t matter to me. I only killed that Operative because he could have hurt a lot of innocent ponies and I ran out of options.”

Silver and Stronghooves kept staring at one another for a while longer, before the latter finally cracked a smile. He glanced across Silver’s desk, eyes resting for a moment on a little photo he had sitting there.

“Is that your wife?” He asked curiously.

“Fiancee, yeah.” Silver nodded slowly, following Stronghooves’s gaze. “We’re getting married in a week or so. Why do you ask?”

Stronghooves shrugged. “She’s beautiful. I’m positive that you’re going to be very happy together, especially if she knows what you’ve helped achieve.”

“That’s why I’m doing what I’m doing.” Silver smiled softly. “It’s not just money that’s motivating me. There’s a special pony in my life that I want to keep safe.”

Stronghooves paused for a moment, giving Silver a look of deep understanding. For a mere soldier, he had a certain intelligence about him that both fascinated and terrified Silver. Perhaps it was that intelligence that had made him the officer he was today.

“Thank you for your time, Silver.” He beamed, stepping back. “You make sure that you keep safe. Any more incidents like today’s and the guards will be knocking on your door looking for answers. I wouldn’t wish that on anypony.”

SIlver’s ears splayed back. Stronghooves’s message was more than clear: Don’t go after Sky or I’ll come after you next.

“Well...we’ll be sure to prevent it from happening again.” He chuckled, giving the big stallion an uneasy smile.

“Good.” Stronghooves nodded, smiling briskly. “Then I suppose I’d better get back to hunting down that pony, hadn’t I?”

“I suppose you better had.” Silver nodded.

An unspoken agreement had been made between the two stallions, and as Stronghooves trotted back down the corridor to the express elevator, he grinned a little. He was at least reasonably confident that he’d successfully threatened Silver enough to keep that rich bastard’s nose out of his affairs. Hopefully he’d be able to continue pursuing Sky unmolested.

As he stepped out of the facility onto the street, his eyes flared blue, compensating for the dim illumination of the moonlit city. He breathed in the fresh air and looked around, as if by chance, Sky had been listening in on the conversation and would come forward to give him her thanks.

Nopony came, and Stronghooves bowed his head for just a moment before brightening up again.
Well, I’m sure when she sees what I’m doing to protect her, she’ll come around and be my biggest fan again… He thought to himself, sighing.

Stronghooves hadn’t been entirely honest with Silver when he said that his goal was for the safety of Equestria as a whole. He hadn’t signed up for this programme, had those electrodes connected up to his body and been blasted with magic for the safety of everypony in Canterlot. Even with his magical enhancements, he had limitations. There was no way he could protect everypony all on his own. It simply wasn’t doable.

His first duty wasn’t to Celestia or Luna, or to the city or nation as a whole. His first duty, as far as he was concerned, was to his family.

And that meant his little sister too.

Inspector Shield was awoken by a knock on his door.
The house had better be on fire… He thought to himself, groaning as he got up, giving his head a little shake to try and clear it. Making a rudimentary effort to make himself look presentable, the officer pulled his helmet on and trotted downstairs to get the door.

“Do you have any idea how late it is?” He grunted as he pulled the door open.

“Yeah, I do.” Stronghooves replied, stepping inside unbidden and pulling his helmet off. “I need your help, Inspector.”

“Official visiting hours are between 2-3pm on Wednesdays…” Shield grunted, trotting into the living room and sitting down on the couch, still groggy from his lost sleep.

Stronghooves couldn’t help but chuckle a little as he followed him, sitting down next to him. “You know Sky Runner’s been breaking into weapons contractor facilities now, right?”

Shield rubbed his eyes with his forehooves, looking up at his superior blearily. “She...she’s what?”

“A known terrorist is breaking into weapons contractor facilities.” Stronghooves repeated patiently. “I’ve taken over the investigation into her case.”

“And you want my help?” Shield cocked his head.

“Yeah, I do.” He nodded. “You’re an inspector. I want you to start tracking her down, trying to find a link between her crime scenes. Keep looking until you have something solid to give me about what she’s up to.”

Shield’s expression hardened a little. “I can do that. And you didn’t wait until tomorrow to tell me this because…?”

“Because I want your ponies to start work on this immediately.” Stronghooves smiled a little. “I know this is a lot to ask of you, and I’m sorry, but it is a matter of national security. I wouldn’t request it of you if I didn’t think that you could get it done.”

“I appreciate the sentiment.” Shield chuckled. “So where do you want me to start?”

“Wherever you think appropriate. Take her file and get a team of detectives together. Start with her family.”

“She has a family?” Shield cocked his head. “I didn’t think that somepony like her would even have parents.”

“I assume so.” Stronghooves shrugged. “Everypony has a family. Dig up copies of her birth certificate, medical records, anything you can find. Use it to track any family she has left down and ask them what they know about her.”

“You said there’d be a pattern in the crime scenes?” Shield asked.

“Indeed. I think that Sky’s up to something, and I want her stopped. However, I have one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“I need her brought in alive, and then I’ll interrogate her myself. I have experience with terrorists in the past.” He put a hoof on Shield’s shoulder, smiling confidently. “I know you won’t let me down, Inspector.”

“Of course I won’t.” Shield smiled. At least I won’t have to interrogate the bitch this time.

“I knew I could count on you.” Stronghooves smiled proudly, getting up. “You’re going places, Inspector. If you help me bring this mare down, then you’ll be richly rewarded for your services.”

“Well hey, you had me at ‘richly rewarded.’” Shield chuckled, getting up with him and seeing him to the door. “I’ll hit the barracks right now and get started.”

“See that you do.” Stronghooves beamed, patting the Inspector on the back one more time before excusing himself. “And good luck. She’s a wily mare. Don’t take any chances.”

“Don’t worry, Captain.” Shield nodded, the feeling of humiliation from their last encounter still burning in the back of his mind. “I can promise you that I won’t.”

With that, Stronghooves trotted off down the street, a wry smile playing about his features.
I’ll catch you, sis. If I have to bring the whole Canterlot Guard Department down on your head to do it, I will. I want to see you again.

I need to see you again…