//------------------------------//
// If you can't do the time... 
// Story: Depression is Tragic 
// by artistwithouttalent 
//------------------------------//

	With a psychological profile detailing such savory attributes as BORDERLINE psychopathy and POSSIBLE multiple personality disorder, Sergeant Roger “Buck” Wilde was every bit the colt that he “put on for the recruits.” The fear that the two cadets sitting in his office felt as he stared at them, however, was not solely based on who he was, but how he looked. He was physically intimidating aside from his questionable mental state; having built his body over several decades, Sergeant Wilde was easily 15 hands high at the shoulder. His mane, once jet black, had been dulled by age to a lighter shade of gray, kept neatly in a military cut. While Cloudsdale was one of only a few provinces in Equestria that maintained a standing military and the only province which required enlistment, Sergeant Wilde’s compulsory service had ended decades ago without him having ever seen combat, as did all of the others; indeed, for nearly 1,000 years Equestria hadn’t even seen a protest, much less the need for combat troops. Still, Sergeant Wilde bore his title with pride, even after leaving the service, eventually following him to his post at Cloudsdale’s Camp Aero, where he sat with two of his recruits. They had gotten into a fight with a fellow cadet, and while the entirety of the facts in the case were not known, it had resulted in the “clipping” of the other student’s wings, a serious offense involving permanently limiting or eliminating the flying capabilities of another pegasus. In the more militant Pegasus settlements, like Cloudsdale, the death penalty was still an option for offenses like this, which were seen as tantamount to murder. He glared at his cadets waiting for them to explain the incident, but Bullet and Rainbow Dash were far too terrified to speak.

“Cadets, I believe I asked you what happened,” Wilde repeated.

This sent Dash and Bullet into a fear-induced frenzy in which they recounted their individual versions of history at about 600 words per minute and pointed indecipherably to various points in the room.

“SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!” the Sergeant ordered, and the tumult immediately subsided. “Cadet Dash, stand up!”

Dash stood up quickly.

“Since you seem to be the more composed of the two of you, I want you to tell me what happened,” he repeated, resuming his feigned calm.

“WellIwassleepingandMachandBullet−”

“SLOWLY, CADET DASH! TELL. ME. WHAT. HAPPENED!” the sergeant exploded

She shrunk back and tried again

“well, i was sleeping, and mach and bullet−”

“DID I TELL YOU TO MUMBLE I DON’T BELIEVE I DID TRY AGAIN, DASH!” 

At this the filly finally explained, comprehensibly, what happened: the taunting, the challenge, the fight. The sergeant motioned for her to sit and she immediately resumed her seat.

“Cadet Bullet, would you please stand?”

All Bullet could do was freeze his position mid-squirm.

“CADET BULLET, I BELIEVE I GAVE YOU AN ORDER!”

Bullet shot up.

“Can you tell me what happened?

“D-Didn’t Dash tell you?”

“Bullet, I DON’T BELIEVE THAT IS WHAT I ASKED! CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED!?”

“Yes!”

“Kindly do so, please.”

After an experience similar to that of Rainbow Dash, the sergeant managed to finagle Bullet’s side of the story out. Wilde sat for a moment, thinking.

“Well, since it’s pretty obvious neither of you know who clipped Cadet Mach’s wings, I’m afraid you’re BOTH going to have to be detained until we get this thing sorted out,” the sergeant finally said.

Bullet and Dash shared a look of utter terror before the sergeant shouted “EYES FORWARD!”
•••
Mach’s parents arrived first. His mother came in first, hysterical. It began with the usual bemoanings, in an all-too-typical melodrama:
“Oh, my poor baby’s never going to fly again!”

His father, on the other hand, was more the indignant type. While he didn’t come close to the best ravings of Sergeant Wilde, Celestia knows he tried.

“SERGEANT HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN TO MY SON! I’LL SUE YOU! AND YOU! AND YOU! YOU’RE ALL GOING TO BE EARTHBOUND BY THE TIME I’M DONE WITH YOU!” he bellowed.

It was obvious to the assembled party where Mach got his temperament from, but no comment was made. 

“Mr. and Mrs. Corde, thank you for coming.” Buck said, in as somber a voice as he could muster. “As is camp policy, the camp will pay for all medical services−”

“YOU’RE DAMN RIGHT IT WILL!” Mr. Corde said, but before he could go on another rant, he was calmed down (or more accurately, exceeded in hysterics by his wife, who he had to calm down.)
“And, as is provincial policy, the cadets responsible will be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” the sergeant concluded.

“Is-is my baby ever going to be able to fly again?” Mrs. Corde gasped out mournfully, in between sobs.

“Yes, ma’am. His wings are beat pretty badly, and it’s unlikely he will reach his full potential, but he will be able to fly again,” Buck said reassuringly.

“You’ll be hearing from our attorneys,” Mr. Corde concluded. He then turned to Rainbow Dash and Bullet. “I hope you know that whichever of you is responsible for this, the rest of your short life will be as unpleasant as it is within my power to make it,” he said, and with that, he stormed out.

This time it was the sergeant’s turn to look nervous.
•••
The guardians arrived next, Dash’s mother and father and Bullet’s older sister. The expressions on their faces could best be described as an odd amalgam of fear, anguish and reassurance. Dash’s father spoke first.

“So, Sergeant, would you mind telling us what this is all about?” he asked. “I mean, rumors have been going, but we want the story from the monkey’s mouth.”

“First of all, thank you for coming. Well, as far as I’ve been able to gather, Mach and Bullet instigated a fight with Cadet Dash. During this altercation, Cadet Mach’s wings were partially clipped.” The expressions of the assembled parents immediately shifted to shock and horror. The sergeant continued, “We haven’t been able to determine who clipped Cadet Mach’s wings, so the police have not been able to pursue formal charges−”

“Whoa!” Dash’s mother cut in. “Formal charges? Isn’t that a bit much? I’m sure that no one meant for Mach’s wings to be... that,” and the fillies in the room nodded in enthusiastic agreement.

“Mrs. Dash, I’m certain that no one means for this sort of thing to happen,” the sergeant resumed, “but the fact is that it did, and the law is abundantly clear that any instances of wing clipping shall result in prosecution.”

At this point, the ER surgeon came back in hastily. The sergeant shot him a look that, to say the least, meant that the doctor would be careful to knock next time. The doctor shrank back slightly but otherwise carried on as before.

“Yes?” the sergeant said.

“Well, uh, sir, we found something on the X-rays that might give us some insight into what happened,” the surgeon said, rather nervously.

“Well? Enlighten us,” the sergeant said, allowing some of his impatience and frustration to show through.

“These,”the doctor said, “are our preliminary x-rays of Mach’s wings. If you look at the shatter pattern on the bones, they look like hoof prints.”

The general examined them. “I’ll be damned,” he said, dumbfounded that x-raying wings with bones sticking out of them could tell someone anything they don’t know. “Doctor, what is the scale on this print?”

“That’s full-size sir,” the surgeon replied.

“Excellent. Say, could this sort of injury be accidental?” Wilde asked.

“Certainly; wing bones are strong, but small, so this could still be an accident, but the hoof-print-shaped scatter pattern is no coincidence.” the doctor said conclusively.

“All right, cadets,it looks like we have proof of who did it. So who wants to put their hooves on the line first?”

At first, no one moved. Then, slowly, Rainbow Dash came forward.

“That’s it,” the general said, slowly coaxing her to the prints. Dash needn’t even put her prints down for everyone in attendance to see who had cast the blow.

As Bullet and his sister left, and the police came and put her in cuffs, Rainbow Dash wondered why this had happened, why things had to end this way.