//------------------------------// // Interrogation // Story: Restless Spirits // by Maverick Huntress //------------------------------// CANTERLOT, EQUESTRIA AUGUST THE SIXTH, 1003 CANTERLOTIAN MAX SECURITY PRISON 2:17 AM ------- Ghost let out a grunt of pain as the two Guards shoved the wounded soldier into his cell, the door sliding shut with an ear-grinding screech. "Sleep tight, you have a tough day ahead of you. Princess Luna doesn't take threats to kindly." "Neither do I. So fuck off before you two end up in a body-bag and a hole through your foreheads." The Guards caught the malice in his voice and exited his field of vision with great haste. The British soldier smiled weakly, knowing that even in a jail cell he could inspire fear. He sluggishly made his way over to the cot placed by the wall, gripping his stomach as he sat down. 'Damn horses... I think I broke a rib or two. At least I have somewhere decent to stay, better then sleeping in piles of hay or trash. Not to mention free food if these wankers are anything to go by.' Ghost looked around and saw that creatures of all different shapes and sizes filled the cells around him, all wearing the same annoyed expression that they had after being caught and imprisoned. A jewel-hunting Diamond Dog attempted to dig out of his cell for what appeared to be the thirtieth time, judging from the scratch marks decorating the floor as a juvenile dragon tried to remove the bars holding him captive. What surprised the commando the most, however, was the sight of colorful horses with shackles placed on their additional limbs. The unicorns had some sort of steel cone covering their pointy appendage as the pegasi had unconformable-looking clamps on their wings, each type prohibiting the use of their bonus abilities. One of them, specifically an orange unicorn, attempted to break off the tip of his cone by banging it against the wall. Repeatedly. "You're going to end up with a headache and a broken horn at that rate kid. You'd need to grind away at the material instead of breaking it off." The unicorn looked at the commando with an irritated expression, giving him a moment to view the strange image printed on his flank. It appeared to be a ball of fire, or something similar as he immediately went back to banging his horn against the wall. "Hey jackass, I said stop that. You're going to give me a headache at this rate." The orange-colored horse turned towards the trapped human, his mouth turned upward in a sneer. "You wanna run that by me again?" Ghost got off the cot and walked to the front of his cell, turning his head to the right as to face him. "I said cut that out before you have one less appendage to worry about." "You threatenin' me?" The commando stood all the way up and cracked his knuckles along with his neck, each pop causing the stallion to wince. "No I'm promising you that if you don't stop I'll come over there and shove my boot so far up your ass you'll be tasting shit for weeks." Ghost went back over to his cot and laid down, the hall now silent once more. He couldn't tell if his threat had silenced him or how he had worded it- either way he still got what he wanted. He pressed a button on his headset and closed his eyes, a familiar tune filling his eardrums as he fell asleep. However, it seemed that a certain orange stallion had other plans in mind for the ex-Task Force 141 agent.... ------ CANTERLOT, EQUESTRIA AUGUST THE SIXTH, 1003 CANTERLOTIAN MAX SECURITY PRISON 8:43 AM ------ The British commando known as Ghost woke up to the teeth-grinding sound of his cell door being opened, a fresh pair of Guards waiting for him along with a pair of shackles "Get up, scum. You're been released for questioning." The soldier rolled his eyes, although the action was lost on the two pure-white horses as he still had his sunglasses on. He stretched his muscles a bit before sitting up, causing the Guard's expression to change from blank to worry as they noticed just how big the human was. Much to their surprise, he held out his wrists for them to shackle. "Take me to your leader." Judging by the confused looks plastered on the Guard's faces, they hadn't seen any alien movies with that line in it. 'Figures.' "Just get me out of here." The Guards did just that, placing the shackles on him and a large maniacal around the commando's neck before linking them together with chains. As they traversed down the hall of the prison, Ghost looked at the cells and their inhabitants. A majority of them had looks of envy on their faces while the minority shrunk back into the farthest corner of their cell when they caught sight of him. A Diamond dog, Watt if he recalled his name correctly, was still struggling to get the toilet seat off his head from last night; his thick neck unwilling to let it go. "See ya later Watt and remember: Getting stuck in a Maximum security prison jail is bad. Dying is bad. Pissing me off is even worse." The commando could of sworn he’d heard the sound of a certain somebody releasing bodily fluids onto the floor as a white stallion walked into the room, though Ghost noticed that the armor he wore was different from the traditional kind. The plume's colours alternated between a dark blue and two lighter shades, instead of the default white and light grey. His armor was primarily a dark purple, with a lighter yellow trim instead of pure gold. He momentarily glanced at Ghost before looking at the Guards, though the commando could detect the anger he hid behind his calm composure. "Is this the creature that took down half a platoon and threatened Princess Luna?" "Yes sir." "Good. Take him to the Royal Interrogation room. The Princesses would like to have a word with him." "Right away sir." Ghost obediently followed the Guards out of the room and out of the building, which took much longer then he had expected as they must have walked half a mile before reaching the exit. The bright sun caused Ghost to blink rapidly even with his sunglasses on, forcing him to use his arm to shield his eyes. 'Was it always this bright? Or is someone just trying to blind me?' Fortunately, Ghost didn't have to stay outside long as he was led to what he presumed to be the 'Royal Interrogation' building, where they met up with another pair of Guards. "Here's the prisoner the Princesses asked for." The Guard holding the ending of his chain passed it to another, although this one held it at distance with his magic after noticing how it was covered in slobber. "Make sure he stays bound and whatever you do, don't let him out of your sight. I heard he was able to knock out Nightshade with a single blow." Ghost's new companions nodded with understanding and led him inside as the commando made a note of what he just heard. 'Nightshade eh? First name I've heard that doesn't sound like it was made up by a child.' The path they took was shorter than the one leading out of the Prison, though Ghost knew that there were countless security measures in place even if he couldn't see them. The soldier had witnessed the destructive capabilities of magic, and he wasn't sure if his body could take a direct hit. Eventually, he was led into a room with couch-chairs and a lone window, though it didn't show a view of the outside world it showed a steel table along with more two couch-chairs. "Great, an interrogation. My favorite." The Guard dragged Ghost inside the room, attaching the end of his chain to a spot on the table with a smug grin on his face before heading for the exit. "Questioning will begin shortly. Don't go anywhere." 'That little-' a thought crossed his mind, and a rather devious one at that. "I won't, but your head might. I'd watch you’re six if I were you. I have friends in very high places." The stallion gulped audibly before slamming the door behind him, fleeing before Ghost managed to say anything else. The commando laid down in the surprisingly comfortable couch-chair, deciding to get some well-needed rest before his 'interrogation' with the Princesses. He reached for for the bottom-left pocket and felt nothing as he searched it, a single question crossing his mind before he laid down: 'Why are my cigarettes gone?' ------ CANTERLOT, EQUESTRIA AUGUST THE SIXTH, 1003 CANTERLOT INTERROGATION BUILDING 9:53 AM ------ Princess Celestia sighed as yet another interrogator was reduced to banging his head on the wall, a sizable dent now visible. 'That's the fifth one today. At this rate we'll never get anything out of this strange creature whom, for whatever reason, broke into a mess-hall. At least we were able to recover the weapons....' Said interrogator then stormed out of the room, proclaiming that it was easier break a rock with a paper towel then getting him to talk. The Sun Goddess looked towards the subject who was irritating her little ponies, who was now lounging comfortably on the seat he had been given. He had remained in this position for the last few hours; sometimes he even appeared to be sleeping! 'Either he's completely sure that he can get out of here clean or he's hiding something. Either way, I don't like it and neither does Luna. Let's hope he breaks before she does....' Celestia heard the sound of hoof steps and turned her head to see a familiar grey pony. "Good morning Princess, and might I say it is a lovely day today." The stallion strode over to where the Princess was sitting and joined her. "Good morning Enforcer and thank you. And I apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused you." "It was no issue, and it is my job. So I take it you're having trouble getting information out of whoever is inside that room?" "Indeed. He is more stubborn then a Dragon and as clever as a Sphinx. He's managed to elude every question they've thrown at him and caused more than one of my little ponies to walk out of here tearing out their manes." Celestia noticed that Enforcer had snorted upon hearing that little tidbit of information. "So I guess that's why I'm here right? Playing your hoof and revealing your Ace?" "I'm afraid so. He has injured many and he must pay, but before he’s carted off to some far-off place we must learn his motives and who he works for. I would not like any more bloodshed." "I can't believe I'm saying this but.... Wish me luck Princess." "You're going to need it....." ------- CANTERLOT, EQUESTRIA AUGUST THE SIXTH, 1003 CANTERLOT INTERROGATION BUILDING 10:12 AM ------- The commando was currently relaxing the best he could with the restraints that had been placed on his wrists and neck. He had managed to scoot the couch-chair down a bit so that the chain wasn't tugging on him which allowed Ghost to put his hands behind his head. Music played softly as he waited for his next visitor. ♫Don't wanna be an American Idiot.... Don't want a nation that doubts the new media.♫ The sound of a door opening drew Ghost's attention, causing him to press a button on his sleeve and the music ceased playing; a small red light now blinking out of sight. The commando sat upward and turned to face the newcomer, planting his feet firmly on the ground. It was a grey stallion who had a strong build and dark hair that looked somewhere between black and brown. As he walked over to the couch-chair across from him he saw an image of two billy clubs crossover each other. The stallion took a seat, staring directly at him with hooves crossed. "So you're the thing who took out half a platoon of Guards eh?" "The one and only." "Why'd you do it?" "They were in my way." "Would you have avoided conflict if possible?" "Probably." "Probably?" "Probably." Silence filled the room for a moment as the stallion pondered his next question. "I'm going to ask you some more questions and I want you answer them honestly." "I thought you guys had lie-detector spells or something." "We do." "So you want me to make this easier for the both of us then?" "Yes. I have places I'd rather be then here, and so do you. Now let's get this over with." The grey horse cleared his throat before pulling out a list from seemingly nowhere. "Question number one: Why did you break into the Mess Hall?" "I was hungry." "Question two: Who are you working for?" "Myself at this point." "Question three: How many ponies have you killed?" "None." A look of mild confusion appeared on his interrogator's face but it quickly dissapeared. "I'll ask again-How many ponies did you kill?" "Same answer as last time: None." Ghost noticed that he was getting visibly worked up, his left eye twitching. "They had no heartbeat! We couldn't feel their pulse!" Ghost put up his hands as if to say 'chill' as he began explaining. "There was toxin in the darts, refined from the nectar of the rhododendron ponticum. It's quite infamous in the region of Durga bordering the Svelestrian Sea for its ability to induce an apparently mortal paralysis. Strong enough to deceive even the most skilled doctors. They'll wake up in-What time is it?" "Uhhh ten twenty seven?" "Yeah, in about an hour or so. Wait, you guys do the 'Wait twenty-four hours and then declare officially dead' thing right?" "Yes. Now, can you tell me how you acquired it?" "Sorry Gov, but that's Top Secret." "You will tell me or else you won't be leaving this room." "Who said anything about me leaving?" The stallion before Ghost rubbed his hooves on his forehead, obviously stressed. He looked up at Ghost for a second and narrowed his eyes. "What flag is on your shoulder?" "My country's." "And that would be...?" "Classified." "Is your name classified?" "Yes." "Is your rank?" "Possibly." "Are you going to give it to me?" "Nope." A familiar absence of sound once again filled the room, the grey horse sitting across from the commando holding his head in his hooves. Ghost smiled and went back to laying down, an invisible grin on his face. 'I might be trapped here, but I ain't giving these bloody horses a damn thing.' The silence persisted for a while until it was eventually broken by a female voice. "Ask him if he would like something to eat." Ghost shot upward and looked around for any signs of a speaker, but found none. He looked towards the stallion, who appeared hungry himself. "Would you like something to eat?" Ghost nodded. "A cup of tea and a sandwich if possible. Been a while since I ate something good." "A sandwich?" "Yeah, a sandwich. But not any of that horse crap - an actual sandwich. With lettuce, tomatoes, and all that." ------ CANTERLOT, EQUESTRIA AUGUST THE SIXTH, 1003 ROYAL INTERROGATION ROOM VIEW AREA 10:41 AM ------ Princess Luna had come to see how the 'interview', as Tia liked to put it, was coming along. Her sister was sitting calmly, gazing through the one-way window. The lunar Princess went over and joined her, taking a seat to her right. "Any progress?" "A bit. We found out that he used a toxin in the tranquilizer darts to mask their pulses." "So... We can't exactly charge him for mass-murder?" "Nope." "Hmmmm...." "You sound a bit disappointed." "I don't like it that this... thing was able to waltz right past our guards, bust into one of our buildings, take out an entire platoon and walk away without a scratch on him." "He has a name you know; or rather the local residents in the Canterlot Prison gave him one." "Really? What is it?" "Restless Spirit. I didn't get to hear the full story but I heard something involving a certain group of inmates and him being a 'Heartless Demon' if I quote one of them correctly." Luna furrowed her brows. "A 'Heartless Demon? Is that meant to be literal or figurative? Surely if that were the case he would not be among the living. Speaking of which, did you ever find what group he belongs to?" "We looked through the Archives looking for any information on what 'Spirit' he may be, but we have found nothing. The closest thing we can compare him to is a Minotaur and that doesn't do us any good besides giving us a general understanding of his body structure." "Is it possible that we have discovered a new species?" "Discovered? No. Uncovered a previously hidden species? Plausible. He wears clothing, which means his species isn't primitive. He speaks fluent Eurian, which means his species is well educated. His weapons are far beyond ours, built with materials we have never seen before. While we dragged him over here I tried to perform a few spells on him but found that his body resisted them, even managed to make a few backfire." "Is he a threat?" "He's extremely dangerous if that's what you mean, and from what you told me either very brave or very stupid if he had the guts to threaten you." "He almost used that small thing with the long black barrel on me, but I knocked him out before he could." "How so? His body was resistant to magic when I got to him." "Perhaps it has something to do with his biology. Maybe It adapts to its environment to survive like many creatures out there, and seeing how I knocked him must've caused it to- " Luna stopped mid-sentence, something in her mind connecting. "Wait Tia, when did his body start reflecting the spells?" "After my third or fourth one. Why?" "I think we just made him immune to our spells." "Sister, I think you may have been effected by him somehow because that is the craziest notion I have ever-" Luna grabbed her sister, trying to shake some sense into Tia. "Think about it Tia! He was knocked out cold by my weakest spell, yet the next thing we know he's resisting yours to the point of making the spells backfire! The only species that have been known to be able to shrug off the simplest of magic are the Griffins, and we fought them for a very long time. If there are more of him, I and I bet there are, they could take over Equestria within hours! We need to do something about this immediately!" The only species that have been known to be able to shrug off the simplest of magic are the Griffins, and we fought them for a very long time. He's a living weapon if his body is able to change like that!" "If you're right, and by Star Swirl's beard I hope you aren't, then he and his race poses a bigger threat then then all the Dragon Kingdoms combined. However, the keyword in this situation is if there are more of them. It is likely that he is a straggler, either left behind or disconnected from his group. We should feel sorry for him if anything. A entire race with that kind of technology doesn't appear over night, and judging by the condition of his clothing he's been here for a while. All alone, struggling to survive. But if he were to become hostile and aware of his new abilities, it could indeed spell the end for us. I know the Real Steel managed to land a few blows, yet here he is walking around like nothing ever happened. And if he were to regain possession of that flaming sword we found on him...." Luna didn't want Celly to finish that thought, the mere mention of the sight last night sent a shiver down her spine. Dawn Breaker's power was unmatched by any blade, able to slice through solid stone like it was water. However her thoughts were drawn to a certain white unicorn with a chef's hat propped up on his head walked past the two Princesses pushing a cart, knocking on the interrogation room's door. "Excuse me Iron Chef, but what do you think you are doing?" Luna went over to the cart and saw there was a cup of coffee and some odd-looking sandwiches. "These are for the pris-" "Guest." Celestia interrupted. "I do not like the term prisoner, it is far too harsh and he has yet to be sentenced for committing any crimes. He asked for them shortly before you walked in." Luna eyed the sandwich again, surprised at how simple it was. "I would've expected something... else." "What? Seared pony flesh served on a silver platter? Must I remind you how the castle staff treated you after your return?" Luna lowered her head in shame. "I am sorry Tia, I shouldn't be judging anypony by their appearance; even if they threatened me and took out some of my best Guards. It's just that-" "That you do not like having to face somepony who could, potentially, bring you down? Times have changed Lulu, and you are no longer as powerful as you were back then. You must accept that." Celestia wrapped her wing around the smaller alicorn, her head hanging low. "I know Tia, I know...." Somewhere close by a door clicked and drew Celestia's attention away from her sister, revealing a surprised Enforcer. Luna quickly pushed herself away from Celestia, regaining her stern composure and tone of voice. "How much of that did you hear?" "The door was open since you frightened the Chef my Princess." "You are to speak of this to nopony, is that clear?" 'If the press got word of this, I'd never hear the end of it....' "Yes Princess, and if you don't mind I'm going on break. Your 'Guest' is taking his time eating." Celestia gave Enforcer her thanks before he left the room, leaving the two sisters with just Restless Spirit who was happily eating his sandwich. Celestia went over to the door and began to open it before she felt a hoof on her shoulder. Celestia turned and saw her sister with a look of worry plastered on her face. "Be careful, you know what he has done." -------- CANTERLOT, EQUESTRIA AUGUST THE SIXTH, 1003 ROYAL INTERROGATION ROOM 11:04 AM -------- Ghost heard the door open and looked upward; expecting to see the same stallion from before but instead saw a tall white mare in front of him. She had wings and a horn, something he had not seen on any other of the miniature horses. "What in the bloody 'ell are you supposed to be?" Ghost said aloud, having swallowed the latest bite of his sandwich. "I would have expected you to know at least who, or what; I am considering your performance last night." "Hey, I make a habit of not getting to know my enemies-makes it easier to take them out when the time comes." "Enemies? No, I think you have misunderstood. We are not enemies, we are more like....." "Acquaintances?" Ghost suggested before she could continue. "And if we are, then why was I thrown in a Maximum Security Prison?" "Yes, acquaintances. As for that, my sister insisted that you were to be put under lock and key. Though I must add it was rather humorous seeing the Guards attempt to carry you to your cell before you woke up. So far, you have not been charged by anypony or the wounded Guards' family members." "Not all that surprising. I busted some of them up pretty good." The commando took another bite of his sandwich, chewing quietly as he listened to what the wise white horse had to say. "Indeed. One of the, *ahem* survivors for the lack of a better term, said that you disarmed Flamehoof before preforming a move in which you did a full rotation before nailing him in the jaw and knocking him out. That must've taken a considerable amount of practice to perform." "It did, but having steel-toed boots helps." An odd silence began to creep into the room and persisted for several moments before was dissipated by the calm voice of pegacorn. "That is an unusual pair of headphones you have there." "Technically, they're called a headset since it has a built-in microphone and are far superior to anything on the market. They also have built-in bass, which is one of my favorite features." He pointed to the black oval at the end of the cord and then to the inside of the headset. "You like listening to music?" "Indeed I do. Not much else to do while you’re riding in a lorry for six hours or waiting for something to pop up." "What are your favorite bands?" "I doubt you've heard of these since you haven't gotten a clue where I'm from but I'll tell ya anyways. The Beatles and the Rolling Stones are among my favorites, pretty obvious choices, but there are a few non-native bands that I like." "Such as?" "Nickel back, Linkin Park, Avenged Sevenfold, Egypt Central, The Heavy, and Cage the Elephant." "May I, perhaps, hear one of their songs?" "By which band?" "The Heavy, if you don't mind. They sound simple and good." "Alright then." Ghost tore open the pouch on his right arm, revealing a black iPod. It had managed to survive his entire military career, from the beginning to the end taking more damage than he thought possible. Of course, having a near-invincible Gform case helps. He hit exit on the recording app and selected the Music app, scrolling down his playlist list until he found the song he was looking for. Ghost tapped the song's name, a familiar beat filling his ears. He removed his headset and placed it on the table 'If there's anything the Americans are good at making, its guns and iPods.' "Alright, have a listen to this." -------- CANTERLOT, EQUESTRIA AUGUST THE SIXTH, 1003 ROYAL INTERROGATION ROOM 11:25 AM -------- Enforcer, after taking a few stress pills and drinking a hot cup of Pony Joe's signature coffee, re-entered the room where Princess Luna was pacing back and forth, she seemed worried about something. He looked around for Celestia but could not find her. "Where did Celestia go your, Highness?" "See for yourself." The blue alicorn pointed to the window which gave the earth pony a view of the inside of the Interrogation room. Inside, it appeared that Luna's sister appeared to be conversing with the Prisoner. And he seemed to be replying. "They're.... talking?" "Yes, they are. I have tried to listen to them but they are speaking about topics beyond my grasp of knowledge." Luna walked over to one of the seats and sat down, her mane lacking its usual luster. She looked up at the earth pony. "Was he this open with you?" "He wasn’t. It was like trying to convince a diamond dog to give up his gems. Impos-" The alicorn interrupted the earth pony he could finish, having done the action before. "Not impossible, but incredibly hard. It appears that Celestia has found his sweet spot, if that is accurate to say. Would you like to hear what they are talking about?" Enforcer gave her a nod and Luna pressed a button that he had noticed before, activating the hidden microphone within the room. "-And he said, 'May I push in your stool'?" Celestia burst into laughter, along with the prisoner she had been conversing with. Enforcer looked towards the younger alicorn and raised an eyebrow. "Does she normally laugh that loudly?" "Neigh, she hardly laughs at all. It is good to see her enjoying herself for once. Perhaps this... thing is not as bad as we thought." Enforcer turned his gaze back to the Interrogation Room window to watch yet another unusual scene unfold. "Would you like the rest of my sandwich? I think it's the fifth I've had today. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to be rolled out of here if I eat any more." "I would love to." Celestia levitated the remaining piece of the yummy snack and tore off the part with bite marks before eating it, the lettuce making a nice crunching sound. She chewed for a bit and then swallowed. "Not bad, though I prefer mine with dandelions and a dash of hay." "I'm telling ya though, that was the best lettuce, tomato, pickle, and cucumber sandwich I've ever tasted. Don't think I’ve had anything that good since my mother made it." "How is she, by the way?" "She.... won't be joining us anytime soon." Celestia's smile shrunk a bit. "Oh, I understand. Well, I think it’s time to end this silly little interrogation. How about you?" "The sooner I get out of here the better. I like being asked ridiculously stupid questions as much as the next guy but you can only take so much. Am I right?" "Unbelievably so! All day I'm pestered by puffed-up lords asking for more stuff and complaining about every single thing! 'The sun is too hot!' 'The taxes are too high!' ‘There are too many peasants!' 'Can I tear down half the city to build a massive swimming pool?' 'Can you banish somepony to the moon for me?' It's unbeliev-" The prisoner preformed a spit-take, obviously surprised by one of the imitations. "You can banish people to the moon? How in the bloody hell does that even work?" "It works like one of your rockets, minus the fuel, preparation, money, the rocket itself, and willingness to go. It’s a high-speed, long-distance, teleportation spell." Celestia took a sip of tea. "So.... it's magic basically." "Yes, though there is a bit of science involved. You see-" Luna abruptly hit the button again, silencing the two speakers. "I rest my case. One second it appears as if they are done talking and the next thing you know they're talking about something else entirely different from before. Do you know what a rocket is Enforcer? They were talking about it running on combustion engines or something like that earlier." "I honestly have no idea." ------- CANTERLOT, EQUESTRIA AUGUST THE SIXTH, 1003 ROYAL INTERROGATION ROOM 11:59 AM ------ Luna had fallen asleep waiting for her sister, wanting to hear how the prisoner would be punished for his crimes even if he was 'nice'. She was awoken by the sound of the thick steel door hitting the wall. Her ears swiveled towards the door, wanting to catch the last bit of their conversation. "Bye, Ghost!" "Goodbye Celestia, hope we get to talk again soon!" Luna frowned, not liking the lack of her sister's royal title. "I'll make sure of it! Take care now, and stay out of trouble!" A hearty chuckle followed her sister's statement. "I'll do my best!" Another loud clunk was made by the door as it closed shut, with her sister standing in front of it with a smile on her face. She gestured towards the archway and the Princess of the Night got the hint, joining her as they walked towards the exit. "What did you find out?" "Quite a bit actually. You know, it helps if you don't demand for answers and you ask instead." "You seemed to have.... enjoyed talking to him quite a bit." Celestia's gaze drifted upward, she shook her head as her mind focused back to reality. "What was that? Ah yes, I won't be ashamed of saying I did. He's an interesting young fellow and has an incredible understanding of many topics we have yet to become knowledgeable about." "Such as...?" "Space travel, nuclear physics, combustion engines, faster-then-sound transportation, long-range communication, long-range warfare, the microwave, gaming...." Luna's ears perked up upon hearing one of the last few topics. "What was the long range one?" "Oh, it was long-range communication. Did you know that his species is able to send messages from one side of the globe to the other in mere seconds? Imagine how that could benefit us! Talks between countries could be planned much easier, information could be transferred between databases far quicker, and not to mention it would benefit nearly every aspect of life! Dozens of trees could be saved each year, which in turn saves us thousands of bits normally spent on logging and hauling the cut-down trees and we could even shut down a majority of the paper-processing plants! We'd still need some for books but eventually those too could become digital! We have found not only a new creature, but a jackpot of information! He's got a whole different view on life, a whole new culture, and think of all the things we could learn from him!" "I have one question Tia." "Yes?" "Have you decided on his punishment? He did break into a building, stole two priceless relics, used said relics to injure my Guards, and threatened me." Celestia let out a sigh, her coat no longer giving off the same brightness as before. "Unfortunately I have. But technically, we specified that it was illegal for Diamond Dogs, Dragons, Griffins, Minotaurs, Zebras, or Ponies to break into and enter a building without permission and that it was illegal for Diamond Dogs, Dragons, Griffins, Minotaurs, Zebras, or Ponies to steal property of said building. It never said anything about his specie." "So he escapes any real punishment due to a political loophole?" "Yes." "Hmmm...." Luna thought about this for a moment. "I need to find a way to fix that. Why is worded like that anyways? Seems a bit illogical." "Good luck finding out how to do that, and I believe it was one of our earliest laws. We kept encountering new species and had to add them. Also, it appeared that nopony could think of a word that includes every species instead of just one. Even now we still have the same issue." "But you do have a punishment in mind, yes?" "Indeed I do." "Will you tell me?" "I'm sorry, but that's classified information dear sister." Celestia walked onward with a smirk on her face while Luna just stood there with her mouth opened. She wanted to reply but she didn't know how. The younger alicorn heard hoof steps and looked behind her to see Enforcer making his way out. "I think he rubbed off on her a bit." He commented as he walked past her. "I agree. This is most unsettling."