//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: The Crucible Part 4 // Story: Recasted // by The Fiery Joker //------------------------------// - “ORDER! Order in the court!” The judge screamed, whacking her mallet in a frenzy. The entire crowd erupted into gasps and chatter as Prowler revealed his intentions. The continuous smacking eventually calmed the ponies down, after which the judge turned to Prowler and yelled, “Prosecution! Explain yourself, because I can scarcely believe that this is a viable option at the moment!” “Yes, your honor.” Prowler stated. He reached into his suit and pulled out a tiny blue book. “What is that?” The judge asked. “This is a compilation of exhaustively researched information regarding minuscule, and often forgotten details on the intricacies of our justice system.” Prowler explained. “All throughout these pages readers can be educated on the subject.” Prowler approached the stand, and placed the book next to the judge’s hammer. The judge picked up the book and scrutinized the cover. Her eyes narrowed the more she looked at it. “‘Loony Laws.’” The judge read. She slammed the book back down onto her podium. “Prosecution, are you mocking this courtroom? Because what I see here is a child’s trivia book.” “That doesn't make its contents any less true or important.” Prowler replied. “The target audience is irrelevant; what matters is the message and if it is delivered well.” A gaping void descended from an alternate dimension and filled everyone's souls. The entire room froze, with ponies in the pews starting shifting positions in their seats. It was as if an entity collectively walked on all the graves of the ponies in the room, summoned by a simple statement. “A-anyways, let's bring the focus back to the matter at hoof.” Prowler stammered, trying to regain his nerves. “There is a certain passage in these pages that will probably be of interest to the courtroom.” The very visage of professionalism and grace, Prowler moved to center of the courtroom, making sure all were able to see him. He adjusted his glasses and opened the small book. “In 747 Anno Discordia,” Prowler read, enunciating every syllable clearly, “A mare by the name of Water Walker was forced to be prosecution against her own daughter, Jupiter Apple. Refusing to send her own daughter off to prison, she petitioned Celestia to have a law be created so that prosecution could, if they so desired, make penance in the place of the accused. Celestia established the law, but added a small footnote that the sentence would be lightened against the savior if this law was enacted.” Prowler closed the book and turned towards the jury. “I paraphrased a bit there, but the point still stands. Since I am Celestia's appointed prosecution, I choose to enact this law, and willingly submit to Aqua Jet’s sentence of one year in prison, with 1000 bit bail." The judge remained silent, trying to take all of this in. This law was too good to be true as far as the group of friends were concerned. It did seem a little convenient that a law like this would exist, but then again, in all her years of working in the criminal justice career, she's seen weirder laws that lawyers scraped from the bottom of the barrel. The more she thought about it, the less fault she could find with it. "Yes, but don't get ahead of yourself," The judge reminded, "That law also states the one who enacts it also receives a lighter sentence. With that in mind, the defendant's sentence of a year in prison with 1000 bit bail will be reduced to the immediate preceding punishment, which so happens to be..." The judge paused for a moment, then sifted through the stack of papers on her desk. She lifted a small piece of paper, adjusting her glasses to get better focus. "Three thousand hours of community service, with 800 bit bail." Prowler winced. Three thousand hours? He had expected something like that, but it still intimidated him. His mind quickly worked through the math. If he were to work three hours of community service in a day that meant he'd be obligated to perform for... 1000 days... and if there are 365 days in a year that meant... Almost three years of servitude. "Well, as my dear friend Aqua Jet would say..." Prowler thought bitterly. "This is gonna suck." "By the power vested in me by the Diarchy of Equestria, you are hereby sentenced to three thousand hours of mandatory community service, starting today." Swift Justice stated. She turned to the guards still next to Aqua Jet. "Guards, escort Prowler to my chambers, where we will draw up the paperwork for this arrangement. The defendant Aqua Jet is free to go, cleared of all charges against him. And with that, court is now dismissed." The judge smacked her gavel. - Prowler wiped his brow, trying to get the salty water out of his face. Sweat blurred his vision and stung his eyes, but every time he would wipe, more perspiration would instantly replace it. A deep, clear growl resounded from Prowler's throat. "Blast this stupid cart..." Prowler cursed, "What did they put in here, rocks?" He looked over his shoulder. Atop the wooden cart were chains laced over a large stack of bricks. "Oh... right..." Prowler sighed. He continued his trek down the street, trying to ignore the pitiful gazes of bystanders and passersby. "So this is to be my fate every day for the next three years?" Prowler mused. "Enduring this suffering for three hours every day, on top of my actual working job. Was it worth it, Prowler? Was this really the best course of action to take?" "YO!" Prowler glanced over his shoulder. Twilight, Spike, Jinx, and Shenanigans approached him, carrying what seemed to be a large picnic box. Following them was a toothy smile of a certain acquitted blue speedster. "Yes... I suppose it was." Prowler's black tinted-glasses were suddenly wrapped in a purple aura and levitated of his face. Twilight then took a small hankerchief from the picnic basket and gingerly wiped the lenses. With a smile, she placed the specs back onto Prowler's muzzle. "Thank you very much for that." Prowler laughed. "I could barely see through those things." "That's not all we brought." Jinx piped as he pulled a pitcher containing a yellow liquid and cup from the picnic basket. "I made some refreshments for you, fresh from the trees of my greenhouses." "Lemonade?" Prowler smiled as he eyed the glorious godsend. "How sweet." "Shen's idea." Jinx explained. "We can't directly help you, but there's no law saying we can't keep you company or bring you food." "Heh, true." Prowler chuckled and took the cup. A chill bit him as he touched it, but it was a welcome bite. He already felt better just touching the cool plastic and letting the feeling spread across his skin. "Well, Shen, you certainly know how to make the best of a bad situation." He droned. "Nah, I think you pretty much trumped me today in that department." Shenanigans replied. "That's..." Prowler's grin vanished for an instant, "...one way of looking at it." Prowler took a small sip from the glass of lemonade. The glorious sensation of sweet and sour blend flowed over his tongue, somehow magically giving him a burst of strength. Considering what he went through, this could be the nectar of the gods. "You're insane, man, ya know that?" Aqua Jet said. "Absolutely bucking insane. And I mean that in the coolest way possible, dude." "We just wanted you to know that what you did was very brave." Twilight said. "You showed true loyalty today." "So does the hero get a kiss?" Prowler grinned, giving Twilight very unsubtle bedroom eyes. "No." Prowler sighed and rolled his eyes. "Thought not." "OOOH! YOU JUST GOT FRIENDZONED!" Shen cried. Raucous laughter burst from the group of friends. "Oh that reminds me," Prowler said, "Twilight, did you happen to scavenge a friendship letter from all of this?" "Yes," Twilight nodded, "But I wanted you to hear it as it was being written. Spike!" "Ready to go!" Spike cheered, pulling out parchment and flourishing a quill. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear Princess Celestia, The trial was a success, in a way. Aqua Jet was pronounced guilty, but Prowler found a loophole which allowed him to take the brunt of the law for the sake of his friend. Prowler taught me that you should never give up on your friends. Even if it seems hopeless, even if it seems everything is against you, with perseverance and hope you might just find a way through. We're all so happy we have someone we can trust will always be there for us through the tough times, even at the expense of himself. There is no greater sign of a good friend than one who will put others' needs above his. Your-" "Chief Prowler!" a voice cried. A yellow pegasus descended on the group, breathing heavily. From his white uniform and black cap over his short, straight orange mane, the group easily identified him as one of Prowler's newest day patrol officers. "Brass Star?" Prowler queried. "What are you doing here?" "I was told to read this to you! It's from the judge!" Brass Star pulled out a small piece of parchment. "From the desk of Judge Swift Justice, under Article 8008.3, following the subsequent currency transaction to the treasury of the Diarchy of Equestria, the coeval felon or felons are herewith discharged from their respective designated punitive measures and reinstated with full freedoms from government mandate from this date of September 7th, in the year of 1000 Anno Discordia. "Uhh..." Shen croaked. "T.L.D.R. version please?" "Prowler got bailed." Twilight breathed. "Somepony paid the money so he doesn't have to work out here anymore!" "Really?" Prowler almost squeed. "This is great! That's-" His smile turned instantly into a suspicious glare. "Wait, who managed to pay that ludicrous amount already?" "I don't remember." The young officer replied. "I wasn't there for the whole conversation. I think he had a black vest on, but that's all I know." Each of the ponies turned to each other with knowing looks. "Thank you, Brass." Prowler said. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off?" Brass insisted, saying, "But boss, what about-" "Exactly, I'm your boss." Prowler interrupted. "You do what I say; Go home. I'll deal with the rest of your shift." Brass Star hesitated, then shrugged and headed back towards town. "Now as for us..." Prowler hummed, "I think we have a certain musician to talk to." The others nodded and headed back towards town. Even as Prowler strode into the town square, his thoughts turned to his bailout. He couldn’t even begin to process what happened. The valiant sacrifice he made for the sake of his friend was probably the most intense thing he's ever done in his life. This choice held the fate of his friends' life, and if Twilight was right, all of Equestria. Despite the grueling manual labor that resulted from his decision, he felt the choice he made was the right one. And if he were being honest, he was feeling a little pleased with himself, almost smug that he was able to make such a choice. Now Firebrand just pays 800 bits out of the blue, completely taking away most of the weight of the consequences? Prowler did feel a little cheated, but then again, he was just saved out of three years of government slavery, so he couldn't complain... Much. The group soon arrived at the large wooden doors of the Parading Flames Hall. A swift knocking from Twilight's was soon accompanied by the door creaking open and Spark Fire's messy red and yellow mane appearing in the doorway. "Hello, Spark." Twilight greeted, maintaining politeness. "Is Firebrand home?" "Yeah, he just got back." Spark replied, opening the door more. With that, the group stepped off the porch and into the musical hall's main lobby. A door opened from the right of the group with a blast-vested unicorn appearing in the doorway. "Spark? Who was at the door?" Twilight and her friends eyes locked onto Firebrand's. For a moment, Brand just stood there in the archway, turned to stone by their gazes. Brand's mind went into overclock, trying to figure out the best way to proceed with the situation he was now presented with. “Hey, Sparks?" Firebrand said, putting on a facade. "Why don’t you take your sister and Snicker and go outside?” “Why?” “Because I asked you to." Firebrand countered. He soon caught his mistake then let out a deep breath. "Please?" A small grunt of disappointment left the colt's mouth before he went into the other room. A few seconds passed before the quiet muffled slam of the back door signified they were alone. Firebrand then took the opportunity to assault Prowler and Aqua Jet in a giant embrace. Aqua Jet immediately returned the gesture, but Prowler was a little more hesitant. “Oh, Sweet Celestia!" Firebrand cried, "I’m so happy you two are okay!” “Happy? HAPPY?” Jinx repeated, pointing an accusatory hoof at Firebrand. “You were the one who wanted to see Aqua Jet rot in jail. How can you possibly be happy?” Firebrand broke his hug and wheeled on Jinx. “Oh, so I'm not allowed to be happy that my friends are all right, is that it? Do I not deserve-" “BOYS!” Twilight screamed. Jinx and Firebrand froze. Realization soon dawned on them and their heads dipped down in shame. “I’m not going to sit here and watch my best friends argue.” Twilight reprimanded. "We're friends, and we talk through things, not shout at each other and call each other names." "Firebrand, look at me." Twilight ordered. Firebrand lifted his head and stared straight into Twilight's firm gaze. He knew he was going to get another lecture. “We're not mad that you thought Aqua Jet needed to be punished." Twilight continued. "What we’re upset about is that you completely bailed on us. When you were supposed to be supporting your friends in their utmost time of need, you instead chose to be around Trixie. I don't know much about boys, you might have just needed to "cool off," as some may put it. Say what you like, but that doesn’t send the best message to us when you choose a date with a random mare over the fate of one of your best friends.” “What?" Firebrand asked. "You thought me and her were... Oh, by the Creators, no! She was helping me get Aqua Jet out of prison!” “What?” Everypony asked in unison. “Look, it was obvious. Aqua Jet was guilty," Firebrand explained, "Not even the greatest lawyers in the world could’ve saved him. When there's a crime, there has to be a price to pay. I didn't want to see him get locked up for a year, so I did the only thing I thought I could do: try and bail him out." "You had a thousand bits just laying around?" Aqua questioned. "Eight-hundred, remember?" Shen reminded. "Lesser punishment and all that jazz?" "Still, dang," Aqua whistled. "Was that, like, your entire life savings or something?" Firebrand shook his head. "No. There was no way I could pay that, and that's where Trixie came into the picture. I asked her to help me with setting up a sort of charity show to raise funds. At first she was reluctant, but then I reminded her about our little scuffle earlier and how it created such a buzz with the audience. I thought the extra attention would be of interest to her, and she eventually agreed. So, we started a little charity show with me-" Firebrand coughed and his cheeks reddened, "-me helping her out with the show as her 'assistant,' which was little more than me being a pincushion for her tricks." "That explains why the courtroom was a little empty..." Twilight realized. “Wait, that doesn't make sense." Spike noted. "How did you manage to raise eight-hundred bits within five hours?" “I didn’t.” Firebrand replied. “We only raised five. The rest of it came out of my own pocket..." Twilight's jaw dropped. "He spent... 300 bits? That's enough to buy a small house! And he spent it all on Aqua Jet?" "Whoa... I'm guessing you're going to be on a noodles diet for a while, huh?" Shen quipped. "Pretty much." Now it was everyone else's turn to feel awkward. Jinx and Twilight in particular felt extremely guilty for the things they thought and said about Firebrand, even though he gave them little indication to think otherwise. "Contrary to what you may think," Firebrand affirmed, "I still care about my friends. It’s just that I-" “When it comes down to choosing between the law or your friends," Aqua interrupted, "You’ll pick the law?” Firebrand flinched as if struck. He opened his mouth to deny that claim, but stopped. He wrestled with the accusation... no... observation, until he realized Aqua Jet was speaking the truth. With an angry growl Brand snapped his head away, too ashamed to look at his friends. Firebrand's eyes drifted down to the floor, a large wave of self-loathing attacking him. “Hey, Brand..." Aqua comforted, placing a hoof on his shoulder. "Don’t feel so bad. You're still one of my best buds, even when push comes to shove. Besides, someone’s gotta be that guy.” “Sometimes you come across as unfeeling and cold,” Prowler added, “But deep down, we know you have a heart of gold.” “Hey, that rhymed!” Shen shouted. All the heads in the room turned towards Shen. A large, nervous grin grew on Shen's face as the silence egged on. “Oh... uhh.... sorry..." Shen apologized, backing away slowly and not making eye contact with anyone. "Interrupting touching moment... I’ll just... you know... go off into the corner here... and... not say anything else..." After Shenanigans reigned himself to his own given punishment, Prowler began to chuckle. “Well... that effectively killed the mood.” “Jinx..." Firebrand bowed. "I’m sorry for all those nasty things I said about you. It wasn't fair of me to not take your feelings into account. I’ll try to be more considerate next time.” “I’m sorry too.” Jinx frowned. “I kept jumping to conclusions and wouldn't listen to anyone. I’ll try not to let my emotions cloud my judgment in the future, too.” A slow hug from both stallions sealed the apology. “So, onto other important things, like this Trixie character." Prowler interrupted, "Even though it was strict business, I would assume you had to make her sympathize and feel for you when you two were discussing things. Forgive my fowardness, but do I detect a future romance?” Prowler asked with a smirk. Firebrand sighed. “You know how Trixie acted with her stage persona in front of everypony today? Arrogant, obnoxious, full of herself, and loud?” “No, but I can assume you're telling the truth from Spike's grimace." “That’s not an act.” Firebrand pursed his lips. “She’s actually like that... this goes without saying but it isn’t going to work out between us.” "See?" Spike yelled. "I told you she was unbearable!" "Whoa guys," Jinx tried, "Maybe you shouldn't say bad things about Trixie like that..." “Oh, so she’s no longer taken?” Prowler purred, licking his lips. “Well, technically she never was, so you won’t mind if I... tactically acquire her off your hooves?” Firebrand snorted at the use of military jargon. “Go ahead. I don’t think I could stand another minute of the Hammy and Obnoxious Trixie’s third person speech pattern...” "Oh, this I gotta see." Aqua Jet said. "You know, considering I... missed the first showing." He and Prowler burst into laughter as they walked out of the hall followed by the pseudo-grouchy Firebrand and uneasy Jinx. Twilight smiled and took a deep breath, releasing all the stress that had accumulated throughout the day. This was how her friendship was supposed to be: Jinx trying to be pacifist and not getting the joke, Prowler being an insufferable flirt, Firebrand being grouchy and overly critical, and Aqua Jet wearing that dopey, easygoing smile. Everything was back to normal. The only thing that was missing was Shenanigans laughing at somepony else's expense, but he was serving his own punishment right now. "Spike? Could you add something extra to the letter?" Spike hummed. "Sure, but I'm going to need to make a second draft. There a little blurb right here that-" "That's fine, Spike." Twilight huffed. "Just write this, please." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear Princess Celestia, The trial was a success, in a way. Aqua Jet was pronounced guilty, but Prowler found a loophole which allowed him to take the brunt of the law for the sake of his friend and through complex subversion of the law, we got Aqua Jet freed with Prowler only having to work an hour and a half of manual labor and Firebrand paying three hundred bits. I barely understand it myself, but maybe that's why I'm not a lawyer. Prowler taught me that you should never give up on your friends. Even if it seems hopeless, even if it seems everything is against you, with perseverance and hope you might just find a way through. We're all so happy we have someone we can trust will always be there for us through the tough times, even at the expense of himself. There is no greater sign of a good friend than one who will put others' needs above his. Your Another thing I learned today is you never know how strong your friendships are until they are tested. And when they are tested, sometimes things you don't like to talk about are brought up, and more often than not your friends will have conflicting perspectives on life. The sign of a true friend is one who is willing to look past those conflicts, and work to preserve the friendship rather than just be right. We may believe differently on how the world should work, but that doesn't mean we still can't be friends. Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Once she finished, Twilight decided to let Shenanigans out of his self-induced timeout. She quickly became puzzled as Shenanigans was staring at the floor with an intense gaze and frown. It seemed something was burdening him. “Shenanigans, is something wrong?” Twilight asked, concern creeping into her voice. Shen snapped out of his stupor. “Huh-wuh? Oh, no, not really, it’s just... I just noticed something.” “Noticed what?” “We’ve gone through a lot today. A magic show, an investigation, a court case, our friendship breaking apart and coming back together again..." "Yeah, I’d call it a day.” Twilight joked. Shen chuckled as well, then put his hoof to his mouth in contemplation. “But, in spite of all that, do you know what really surprises me about this whole fiasco today?” “What?" “I got through this entire chapter without shouting objection.”