//------------------------------//
// Ch. 3: Court is in Session 
// Story: Boreas' Gaze 
// by TundraStanza 
//------------------------------//

*Tap! Tap!*

The gray unicorn with black mane and goatee put his hammer to the side. "Every pony, be seated!  Attorneys, give us the opening statements."

Gylpher held the side of his beak against his talons.  His eyes drooped a bit while the words of the lawyers became white noise in his mind.  It was mostly formal jargon.  Why couldn't they just get to point?  His train of thought was interrupted by a different set of talons gripping his wrist-area.

"Thought you'd leave me alone at your house, did you?"

"You weren't even in the house when I was taken aw- What?!" Gylpher snapped to attention and looked at the grabber. "Rukh?  How did you get here?"

"I'm an immortal devil, Gylpher." She deadpanned. "I own the shortcuts I traverse to keep an eye on you."

"These seem less like the immortals and more like unicorn magic spells." He raised his brow. "Particularly the teleporting and this telepathy you're doing right now."

"To be fair, unicorn ponies still haven't quite worked out the kinks of telepathy." She loosened her grip slightly. "Anyway, just thought I'd check to see what you plan to say during your testimony."

He pretended to scratch the air right next to his beak. "Don't hold your breath.  I was going to stick with the bare minimum and get out of here quicker."

"And just what is 'the bare minimum'?" She raised her free talon to the side.

"The Prosecution calls the bird-cat to the stand!"

"You're about to find out." Gylpher stood up and one of the guard ponies led him away from his seat.

One of the ponies in attendance looked in Rukh's direction, faced forward, then did a double-take.  But she was no longer there.  The pony scratched his ear before looking back at the floor of the courtroom.

---

"Name and occupation?"

The gryphon stared at the unicorn in the judge's seat. "Gylpher and... does Adventurer count as an occupation?"

"I suppose it will do." The judge held a stoic stare. "Mr. Darkbright?"

"Thank you, Your Honor." The prosecutor trotted over to the right of the witness stand. "Mr. Gylpher, where were you when the previous witnesses were just outside of Griffonstone?"

"I was rock-climbing in the Abysmal Abyss," he answered.

"Abysmal Abyss?" The prosecutor held back a chuckle. "Is there really no better mountain nearby for you to train your muscles?"

"Your Honor..." interrupted the defense attorney.

"Mr. Darkbright, please keep your questions related to the case." The judge gave him a look.

"Very well." The prosecutor shrugged. "Mr. Gryphon, when exactly did you encounter the crystal ponies on trial today?"

"Midday to late afternoon?" Gylpher shrugged his wings. "It's hard to tell when the sky is always red."

"All of them testified that when they saw you, they ran." The prosecutor walked to the other side of the witness stand. "Did you notice anything strange before they made a run for it?"

Gylpher crossed his talons. "Well, yes.  I thought it was very strange when I told them to take off their helmets, and they actually listened."

A breeze passed through the courtroom, despite that all of the doors were locked and there weren't any windows.

"You... told them... to take off their helmets?" Mr. Darkbright's brow rose.

"Yes." Gylpher nodded. "Did I stutter?"

Many of the ponies in attendance murmured to each other.  What was this gryphon talking about?  How could some creature that couldn't cast magic overpower the dark magic helmets with nothing more than a voice?

"Mr. Gylpher, this is a serious question." The prosecutor glared at the witness. "Do not lightly make jokes."

"I have yet to tell any jokes here, Mr. Darkbright." Gylpher's tail swished.

"You can't just tell some pony in Sombra's army to take off their helmet." Darkbright shook his head. "If any creature could do that, we wouldn't be having the war right now."

"Well, that makes sense." Gylpher nodded. "Not all creatures have this kind of power."

Manes went out of place.  Murmurs became open conversations.  Yelling tried to overpower the number of other voices filling the courtroom.  That in turn led to more yelling.

*Tap! Tap!*

"Order! Order!" The judge insisted.

Darkbright slammed a hoof against the wood of the witness stand. "Are you saying you have the power to win a war?"

Gylpher waved a talon dismissively. "Don't put words into my mouth.  If I ever got involved in the war, I'd likely be just as vulnerable to weapon fire as any other mercenary."

"But you do claim to have power that can overcome Sombra's brainwashing with a command." The prosecutor lifted his hoof and pointed it at the gryphon.  He was practically breathing in everything the witness was exhaling.

Gylpher's talons were balled into fists under the stand's wooden counter. "Please don't point at me.  In fact, go to the corner and think about what you've done."

Unseen by anyone in the room, a little red birdie flew between Gylpher's eyes and Darkbright's.  Something inside the prosecutor's mind snagged like a tripwire.  Pointing was rude.  He needed to think about what he was doing.

"Alright then." The prosecutor put his hoof down and trotted away from the witness stand.

The courtroom's attendees stopped talking to watch what happened next.  As the prosecutor turned away from the witness, his hoof steps were stiff and deliberate.  His eyes locked onto the room's far corner, as if drawn by a magnet.  Then, he stood still right in front of it.

"Mr. Darkbright?" The judge tilted his head while asking for him. "Are you... finished questioning the witness?"

"I cannot leave this corner." Darkbright did not turn away from the spot. "I need to think about what I've done."

Gylpher clasped his talons over his beak.  Dear Boreas, what had he done?  He looked down and exhaled.  If this power was using him to bring about some greater good, it sure had a weird sense of humor.  He needed to be careful about his suggestions and orders.

The judge cleared his throat. "Based on new evidence brought to the court's attention, I now declare the charges against the current crystal ponies on trial to be not guilty.  However, Gylpher the Gryphon must be detained until further notice."

As soon as he lowered the hammer again, two guards cuffed Gylpher and dragged him out.  Attendees murmured and yelled again as soon as he was out the door.  Rukh stood on the building's roof and ran the claws of her talons along her beak.  Her claws somehow looked sharper upon holding them up.

"Gylpher!" Cold Quartz ran out after.

Two other guard ponies galloped out and pulled her to a stop. "Stay back, miss!  He's dangerous!"

"But he's..." Quartz watched with longing eyes at the gryphon being pulled away.

Rukh muttered with a venomous gaze at the horizon. "He's mine."

---

Gylpher found himself back inside the interrogation room.  He looked down and exhaled.  His tail hung limply through the open back of the chair.

"Was that really the 'bare minimum', Gylpher?" Rukh silently walked in without disrupting the matter around her.

"I think I get why I did that." He stared at the mirror on the opposite wall. "Before Sunset Shimmer entered this room, I gave myself a compelling order.  'If you must go to court, be as forthcoming as possible'."

"Hmm... you're as curious as I am." Rukh sat down and crossed her talons. "You wanted to know if you were as vulnerable to your power as other creatures." She looked at both of their reflections. "So now you know.  But where do you go from here?"

"Rukh." He looked his professional partner in the eye. "Would you mind telling me everything you know about this power?"

She chuckled. "Tell you what: If you make it through whatever Canterlot puts you, I'll give you that information."

"Tch." He leaned his head back. "I really can't use it on you."

"Nope." She used her tail fluff to brush the tip of his beak. "Remember your place and we'll get along swimmingly."

"Maybe you should cash in that favor now." He gently shoved her tail out of his face. "At the rate things are going, I might not be around long enough to fulfill it."

"Perhaps I'll wear your pelt after they execute you." She leaned her back against a wall. "Centuries have made my kinks rather weird."

Gylpher squinted at her. "You're a sick female, Rukh."

Rukh shrugged her wings. "I lighten the mood whenever possible."

---
The next day...

A door slam woke Gylpher up.  He looked around the room of mirrors.  Rukh was nowhere to be seen.  All that was there aside from himself was the interrogator from yesterday, standing in the doorway.  She had her sunglasses back on, leaving most of her current mood hidden from view.

"You're being escorted to a different location," said Sunset Shimmer.

He rubbed some crumbs off his beak.  The ponies' poor excuse for grits had kept him from starving during his night of detention. "Where would that be?"

"You'll find out when you get there."

She levitated a cloth around.  In a rush of dark blue lines, Gylpher lost his line of sight.  Had they already figured out his power was in his eyes?  Something sounded like it was clicking, and he felt his talons being restricted.  He was being magically tugged forward, presumably out of the interrogation room.

"Why haven't you tried running or flying, Gryphon?" Sunset's voice broke the noise of steps along the ground.

"I agreed to be taken into custody." He idly scratched his fur with his right wing. "A few seconds of freedom wouldn't be worth a pound of feathers for a lifetime being hunted by the law."

"You're... submitting because of pride?" Her tone was one of confusion.

"Pride, stubbornness, circumstantial acceptance... you can call it whatever you want." He tilted his head. "Why?  Are you worried about me?"

"Maybe I'm just thinking out loud." The words she spoke after that sounded like a muffled, "Don't mind me."

He shrugged and held his head to look straight ahead, even though he couldn't.

"If you are trying to trick me, this isn't a very good attempt," she commented.

"And it would have been more efficient to execute me in that isolated room," he countered.

"Not my call." Her voice went lower.

Aside from footsteps, no more sounds were exchanged between prisoner and interrogator.

---

"Thank you, Sunset Shimmer.  Please, untie our guest."

A new voice entered his head.  He could tell it belonged to a female.  Most likely, it was a mare of a slightly higher station than the interrogator.  Although, her order seemed a little out of place.

"With all due respect, y-" Sunset's voice stopped short. "The judge deemed him dangerous."

"I would like to form my own opinion," said the mare. "I have precautions in place."

"Very well." Sunset sighed.

The shackles clacked open and the blindfold was lifted.  Gylpher flinched while he blinked a few times to adjust to the brightness.  It wasn't long before he opened his eyes wide.  His beak opened as a reflex.

"Please wait outside." The mare glanced over at Sunset and two guard ponies by a large set of doors.

The three addressed ponies slowly nodded once before trotting out.  Both doors collided loudly shut.  Gylpher was alone with the alicorn, the last one of her kind in Equestria.  That moment was lost when a familiar wing brushed against his side.

"My, my, getting an audience with Celestia herself." Rukh sat on her haunches. "How did you get so popular?"

"That voice sounds familiar." Celestia raised her brow. "Golden Grain?  I thought you were a hippogryph the last time we met."

"I no longer use that name or that species, Princess." Rukh pulled out a file and ran it across her talons. "It's 'Rukh' now."

Gylpher held up his own talon and shook his head. "Wait, slow down!  You two know each other?"

"It was a brief meeting before she took up Equestria's mantle." The other gryphon glanced at the shine of her claws. "That, and before the hippogryphs left into isolation.  Details."

"So, you're the source of this young male's unnatural persuasion." Celestia closed her eyes. "I had my suspicions, but I wasn't entirely sure until now."

"Don't give me all of the credit, Celi." Rukh stared deadpan. "Gylpher released me from my imprisonment. I figured the least I could do was offer him an extra tool to survive."

"I suppose it was." Celestia revealed her pink irises again. "Too much power in any creature's possession is dangerous.  If Sombra is ever defeated, I hope no pony as dangerous as me ever rises again."

"As... you, Princess?" Gylpher lifted his brow. "Pretty sure you get tired as much as any of the other ponies can."

"I wasn't always so easy to retire." She shook her head. "Do you know the story of Nightmare Moon?"

"Uh, from what I gather, you used the Elements of Harmony artifacts to banish her." He pretended to scratch the air next to his beak. "When she came back, they wouldn't work for you anymore.  So, you ended up offing her more permanently."

Celestia nodded. "That is what I mean.  Is there nothing more dangerous than the one that can destroy a great darkness itself?  I can't afford to cut myself loose like that, just because I feel like it.  Otherwise, I'll lose more of the ones I care about."

Rukh flicked her tail. "So instead, you use your pride to loathe yourself.  You've done half of Sombra's work for him."

Gylpher gave his pact mate a glare.

"What?" She barely glanced back at him. "I was simply saying what you were thinking."

He grit the inside of his beak before turning his eyes to Celestia. "Would you kindly tell me why you brought me here?"

His power's bird call flew from his gaze.  But when it made contact with the alicorn's eyes, something got stuck.  It almost felt like it was trying to swim through molasses.  Before Gylpher knew it, his whole body swung backward and landed on the floor.

"Ow... what the...?" He grunted before rolling over.

"You don't need to control me, young gryphon." Celestia's tone was even. "I was getting to that part of the conversation."

"Rukh, what just happened?" Gylpher spun around.

"You honestly think Celestia has lived as long as she has without picking up a few counter-spells?" Rukh rolled her eyes. "She had psionic barriers mastered back when she was in the double digits."

Gylpher exhaled while rubbing his head. "Then how did my power work on that unicorn prosecutor?"

"Same fundamentals, different practicality." Rukh crossed her arms. "Kind of like how not every gryphon can cook, not all unicorns can protect their mind."

He looked indignant. "Hey! I've survived just fine off my own cooking."

Celestia cleared her throat. "If I may bring us back on topic..."

Gylpher resumed a casual sitting posture.  Rukh nodded quietly.

"Normally, the noble parliament would demand that a creature with such incredible power should be locked away." Celestia folded her front hooves together. "Out of sight; out of mind.  However, I believe we should make use of your power." She glanced out the window at the red haze. "This war has been dragging on for too long.  Charging into battle against an enemy that barely tires is only resulting in less soldiers, be it mental trauma or casualties.  It is time for a different approach."

"What do you want me to do?" He pointed a talon at himself. "Look all of Sombra's army in the eye and order them to stop?  You know there's a thing called a blind spot that enemies can hit.  I don't have 360-vision."

Celestia shook her head. "I won't ask you to do anything so drastic yet.  We can start small and see how your power develops."

"Hmm." He tapped his claw on the floor. "Where do we start?"

"Really?" Rukh tilted her head. "No haggling for compensation?"

Gylpher pretended to scratch his head. "If there's anything left of the treasury when this war is set and done, I'll make a few demands.  Otherwise, I might as well be asking for more air to breathe."

There was a faint smile on Celestia's face. "A pragmatic mind.  We could certainly use more of those."

Her horn glowed golden.  Three cans floated out and their tops were opened.  Two of them floated to the gryphons while the third levitated near the princess.

"It isn't exactly a banquet, but we need to ration everything right now." Celestia magically pulled out some spoons.

Gylpher wasn't sure, but he thought he heard a vacuum cleaner as he shoveled preserved food into his beak.  Celestia and Rukh ate their fill at a steady pace.  The next few minutes were relatively quiet.
---