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// The Court of Injustice 
// Story: Ten Tasks To Redemption 
// by dreadbaron 
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Chapter Three: The Court of Injustice

Galeforce woke up a few hours later after a well-deserved rest, and found himself lying in an incredibly accurate reproduction of his old bed. He looked towards the foot of the bed, and found Cassim standing next to a portal. “Is that the next one?” he asked with a groan.
“Yes, my friend,” Cassim told him.  “Hurry now, Crothorr is waiting.”
Galeforce stood up on his hooves, and slowly trotted into the portal. He noticed 
Cassim was following him this time, and he turned to face his newfound ally. “What are you doing?” he asked. 
“I must join you on this trial,” Cassim informed him. “Crothorr has requested that I represent you in the court.”
“Represent me,” Galeforce repeated under his breath, as his eyes filled with the sight of the new room. It was a large room, with a full audience of assorted creatures on all sides. A large podium stood in the center of the room, and three small portals stood to the left, right and center of it. Galeforce looked to the top of the podium, and saw a pony he had not seen in ages: his father, Silverwing. “Dad?” he asked in amazement. “Is that you?”
“Yes, my son,” Silverwing answered in a dull monotone. “I am Silverwing, former soldier of the Cloudsdale Armada and current Dark Judge of Crothorr.”
“Judge…” Galeforce slowly started to realize, “I’m on trial!”
“Precisely,” Judge Silverwing hissed, as he waved a hoof towards the front of his podium. “Approach the portals, so that we may proceed.”
Cassim and Galeforce approached the three glowing portals before them, and a twinge of fear entered into Galeforce’s heart. “Be careful,” Cassim whispered to the trembling pegasus. “There is more to this than what you can see.”
“Is your client prepared for the first examination, Cassim?” Judge Silverwing asked. 
“Yes, your Honor,” Cassim answered him.
“Very well then,” Judge Silverwing said, as he chuckled cruelly. “What you see before you are three entrances to the fate of Equestria. The first one is a path to the past, the second is a path to the present, and the third is a path to the future. Everything you will see is a direct result of… that one crime, and thus you are responsible for it all.”
“Why must I see this?” Galeforce asked. 
“A biased account of your crime and its consequences is of no use to me,” Judge Silverwing said. “Everypony here will be able to see the truth through the dark magic of the portals, and we will be able to draw our conclusions from that.”
“Fair enough,” Galeforce said in defiance, as he trotted over to the first portal. He stepped inside, and the portal expanded into a ‘screen’ of sorts.
“Galeforce, do you recognize this area?” the booming voice of Judge Silverwing filled the newly forming room.
“Yes,” Galeforce answered him. “This is Princess Celestia’s throne room.”
“The scene of the crime,” Judge Silverwing mocked loudly, as a cloaked figure entered the room. “Do you see yourself, Galeforce?”
Galeforce looked on in dread, as he saw the cloaked figure open a nearby vault door with a broken unicorn horn. It grabbed the chest inside with it’s teeth, and the cloak fell down across his shoulders. It was Galeforce, as he had looked all those years ago. “Yes,” Galeforce asked, as he watched the ghost of his past slink away.
“So you confess at last,” Judge Silverwing snarled with a sneer.
“This is unnecessary, your Honor,” Cassim interrupted without hesitation. “The theft of the Elements of Harmony is well-known.”
“Perhaps,” Judge Silverwing admitted, “but this part of the tale is known only to one.”
The ghost of Galeforce galloped towards the exit, only to be met with a puff of black smoke. Another hooded figure stepped out, and flexed its mechanical claws menacingly. “Galeforce,” it hissed, “we meet at last.”
“Who are you, creature?” the Galeforce from the past asked. 
“You will come to know my name soon enough,” the mechanical monster stated firmly. “For now, you need only know this: I am the future.”
“What do you want from me?” the ghostly Galeforce asked.
“I need the Elements of Harmony,” the monster growled, “and you will surrender them to me.”
“Never,” the ghost Galeforce stated, as he dropped the chest to draw his Thiefblade. 
“Fool,” was all the monster said, as he slapped his opponent across the room with a wave of his robotic hand. “The Elements are mine, and soon enough the rest of my plan will fall into place.” The monster then seized the chest, and made a hasty exit in another smoke cloud.
“You wanted him to have the Elements of Harmony,” Judge Silverwing taunted his son. “You wanted to betray your allies, all to get back at Ahuizotl.”
“That’s a lie!” Galeforce barked, as he looked on at the bleeding remains of his past.
“Come now, Galeforce,” the Dark Judge laughed, as the room started to spin slowly. “You never intended to save them.”
“Your Honor, this is highly inappropriate,” Cassim interjected.
“Silence,” Judge Silverwing shouted, as the sound of wings slapping flesh filled the spinning room. “I am in control here!”
“Father, why are you doing this to me?” Galeforce asked in desperation, as he started to panic from the room spinning faster and faster.
“To teach you a lesson,” Judge Silverwing snarled. “Repeat after me: I deserve this.”
“No,” Galeforce said in defiance, as he struggled to maintain his balance.
“SAY IT!” the Judge bellowed, as another portal opened near Galeforce. “Tell me you deserve this!”
“Do your worst,” Galeforce challenged his enemy. 
“Perhaps you require more persuasion,” Judge Silverwing stated, as he calmed down at an alarming speed. The room stopped spinning, and the portal opened. “Please step into the present, my friend.”
Galeforce stepped into the next portal, and found himself standing in the charred remains of Ponyville. Griffins were storming the streets, rounding up ponies into mule-drawn cages. The buildings were mostly destroyed, and the ones still standing burned in the distance. 
“Do you see what you have done, Galeforce?” Judge Silverwing stated with hatred. “You brought the wrath of Talon down on this town, where even the former bearers of the Elements are powerless to stop them.”
“Why don’t they fight back?” Galeforce asked, as he recovered from the shock of seeing all this. “Even without the Elements, they should have a fighting chance.”
“They may battle Talon in furious skirmishes, but the outcome will always be the same,” Judge Silverwing told him. “Your act of betrayal at Canterlot spawned the flames of vengeance in the heart of Ahuizotl, which in turn made Talon into an unstoppable force.”
“I had no idea,” Galeforce uttered, as he started to cry. 
“Now you do,” Judge Silverwing stated without mercy. “Repeat after me: this is right, and I deserve this.”
“No more,” Galeforce stammered. “Please Father, no more.”
“This will end when you say it,” Judge Silverwing answered him. “You have the power to put an end to your suffering, if you finally admit that this is what you deserve!”
Galeforce sniffed deeply, and wiped his tears with his hoof. “I deserve this,” he said, as his spirit finally broke.
“No, Galeforce!” Cassim shouted, but it was too late: Judge Silverwing had won.
“At last, the truth comes out,” Judge Silverwing shouted triumphantly, as he pulled Galeforce out of the portal and back into the courtroom. “Now that you have confessed to your heinous crimes, you can visit the final portal.” He then gave the signal to a unicorn guard standing nearby, and the guard threw Galeforce into the portal with a blast of magic. The portal snapped shut, and Judge Silverwing stepped down from his podium. “I hope he enjoys the future he has earned,” he hissed at Cassim. “He deserves it.”
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