//------------------------------//
// Chapter 20. World of Loathing, Part 4. 
// Story: Meta Gamer in Equestria: Odyssey 
// by reflective vagrant 
//------------------------------//

With no guards around, the pony with large pearls claimed citizens arrest, and promptly had me "restrained" by her personal bodyguards, who didn't seem to care that I wasn't resisting.  But the real "fun" happened after I was handed over to the guards and put in the holding cell with the local hooligans.






A few hours later, in the local guard station.

"Seriously Spoiled!?  You're lucky he isn't pressing charges on you!  Stealing his bit bag from right out of his claws in broad daylight!  What were you thinking pulling as immature a stunt as that!?"
The pony that had gotten me in trouble was sitting on the far side of the guard station with shackles being removed.  She could only sneer quietly while avoiding her husband's eye contact.  Meanwhile, I was waiting for Fluttershy to pick me up again after she finished filling out the paperwork to regain custody of me, since I was once again proven not a criminal.
Fluttershy was as prompt as she could be in following me to the station, and from what I could tell had a very, very effective 'talk' with the guards alongside Starlight.  They brought up my sales receipt from the tailor as well as the records showing that the gems were indeed originally mine, as the first time they had been confiscated they were also checked against all records of stolen gems in the kingdom during my stay in the prison.  In fact, I was told I not only had the right to press charges for the theft of my bit bag, but also for the wrongful arrest she caused.
I knew better than to take it though.  I knew her type.  Even if I fought it, it would just give her an opportunity to flip it back around on me to save face.  I'm sure she had way more finance available to her than I did.  She would have her lawyer twist the story if given the chance.  Letting it go was my only practical option.  Even though it meant she got off the hook legally, I knew she would anyway.  If I didn't fight it, then best case scenario the incident would put her in a bad public light and even worse case it would still keep me out of another potential trap.  Because I kept my cool, I managed to break even through it all.   As bitter sweet a consolation it was, I still took it.  I was kinda surprised I got that much.


Fluttershy finally came through the door to pick me up.  I was relieved to see her at first, but a second later I was horrified at the condition I saw her in.  She wasn't hurt save for a light bruise on her cheek, but her feathers were horribly disheveled, her mane had a chunk of hair pulled from the end and her face was utterly exhausted.
"What..."  I tried to speak, only to get choked up as I fell to my knees, holding up my hand to the damaged part of her mane.  "...What happened?"  My amulet wasn't working yet, but I don't think my words needed translation.
Fluttershy just leaned in and gave me a firm hug.  We both took a breath and got some strength back, knowing that we both made it through a tough spot.  When she let go, I could see something in her eyes.  It wasn't the pity of someone looking at a victim, nor the fear of a victim.  It was just solid resolve in her eyes, burning straight through the pain.  As timid as she was and as difficult it might be for her to tap into at times, I saw just how deep the wells of her inner strength went in that moment.


It was in that moment that it finally happened.  What she showed me was more than mere kindness, but the true desire to care about me.  I was entranced by her raw compassion, same as every one of those animals back at the cottage.  I owed her a debt of kindness I could never repay with the love she showed me within those wells of inner strength, in that exact moment.


"Sorry for being so late," Fluttershy finally responded, "Cold Shoulder was in on it.  The paperwork he had for me was a lie.  The moment you knocked, he did his best to keep me from getting to you, but I finally managed to get here."
I just finished my decent to the ground and sat there for a moment.
"I didn't want to, but I had to turn him in or he was going to push for your return to prison instead of your release.  He's lost his RRE license."
I leaned back and tried to keep my breathing steady as Starlight finished with the guard outside, came in behind Fluttershy and finally recharged my amulet.
A quick press later, I responded, "So you still lose jurisdiction over me anyway, right?  A junior officer can't have a charge without a senior officer overseeing them, and we just lost ours.  Where does that leave me?  Prison again?"
Starlight wanted to comfort me, but really couldn't figure out how. "Technically, Fluttershy has emergency authorization to work autonomously with you for a few weeks until we can get a new senior officer to take you two on.  But if we can't find one when that time is up..."
I could only shake my head and say "Then I go back to prison until somepony is willing."
Starlight gave an exasperated sigh.  "Sometimes in cases like this the charges are deemed fit enough to stand on their own instead.  But in your case with you so new to our society... Basically, yes.  For your own protection, you'd be put back in your old cell."
Spoiled Rich gave a snarky giggle as she overheard Starlight.  I pleaded with all my willpower to ignore her, calling upon my one bit of good luck I had that day to catch me when I felt myself failing.  With a tingle on the back of my neck, I barely managed to ignore the baited sneer on her face, stood up, and calmly walked out of the station with the only two ponies there that mattered.


We traveled quickly through town.  Some of the more upper class ponies looking at me with contempt, but most of the rest them just stared, unsure what to think.
I ended up brushing my arm up against a sign and cursed myself internally for not having a second good luck charm that day as I visibly winced in pain.
"What's wrong?" they both asked.
With a quick press of my amulet, I answered them, "Nothing, I just fell and bruised myself earlier."
I did my best to be dismissive, but Starlight wasn't buying it.  Since nudity wasn't an issue in their society, she promptly used her levitation to strip me of my firs, exposing what was clearly multiple bruises from my fight in the holding cell.  There were even a few on my back that had the width and spacing of the cell's bars.
"They hurt you!"  Fluttershy exclaimed while Starlight gasped.
"When I'm through throwing the book at them, they'll be-" Starlight started.
I quickly interrupted her. "They will be exactly where they were before because you won't do anything!" I demanded.  I then turned the dial to my voice's presence up to eleven.  "I said I fell!"
As I reached for my firs, Starlight finally got the message I was sending to her with my tone.  And I think a few bi-standards wound up getting it too, because I saw their mouths agape as I put my furs back on.







Back at Fluttershy's cottage, the animals were there to greet us in the yard, eagerly missing their beloved caretaker.  Although they clearly wanted to come up and swamp her with affection, they could tell she was exhausted and held back.
Starlight opened the door with her horn, and Fluttershy marched in with myself and finally Starlight in tow.  The moment the door closed, Fluttershy's strength failed her and she collapsed.
As I knelt down to the floor to her level to catch her, I saw the tears finally flowing from her unconscious eyes.  Angel Bunny came right up to her, worried.  I think he started to throw an accusative glare at me, but lost his nerve the moment we made eye contact.  His ears went back and he winced as he looked at me for a moment.  He then went to his private pet door, unlocked it and pushed it open, put his paw to his mouth and whistled.
It seemed every critter that could fit through that tiny door came through in a hurry.  The strongest of the critters gently took Fluttershy from me and worked together to carry her to her bed while the others did other things by opening the door to her room and pulling the blankets aside, then over her after she was placed in the bed.
When I first arrived at the cottage, I would have been shocked by such actions.  Indeed, it still amazed me how the animals could coordinate like that.  But the fact that they were willing to?  Nope.  That wasn't a surprise to me anymore.
After kissing his master's head good night, Angel came out and jumped up onto my lap as I sat there on the ground.  We shared a stare that had no words, but the things we saw in each other's eyes said it all for us.  He saw what had changed in my eyes, and I saw the look in his, as well as every other animal that was gathering and staring at me in kind.  I wasn't just some guest anymore.  The message they were sending me through those looks was clear:

Welcome to the family.