//------------------------------// // Look Before You Leap // Story: Surge // by Zvn //------------------------------// When I had first laid eyes on the White Room I was entranced by its simplicity, its elegance; its beauty. I wouldn’t have been anywhere else but here, solving mysteries, reconstructing events, evaluating physiological patterns and deviations. I was again discovering the library I had been given as residence, during my first steps into Ponyville.       But the magic soured, and the pure, curious room I once knew was gone. In its stead was a prison, sickening me with its cleanliness, as I knew just how dirty the work waiting for me would always be. Rarely, however, did I receive news as grim as today’s. I lifted my gaze from the evidence to my mentor, eyeing her blank expression. “We can’t keep the past buried. Sooner or later, someone would have opened it.” Celestia seemed dissatisfied with my answer, turning her head towards the wall. “...They found the gun laying on the floor, just next to the body... they suspect the killer panicked after firing it, and fled the scene.” “Adrenaline usually leaves you careless. Has the lab seen this?” The pauses between the Princess’ responses worried me. “They have.” I took a moment to assess the conversation, then cautiously tread ahead. “This isn’t going to be easy. We both knew that when we lifted the veil. But it’s the right thing to do. In time, this will all—” “That seems largely subjective.” Her words surprised me. “Princess, you have been lying to a nation for, millennia!” “I have been keeping a truth from them, one obviously far more sinister than a simple facade.” “I think calling it ‘simple’ is a bit of an understatement—” “I put my people before all else. It is my duty.” I couldn’t believe Celestia’s words! It wasn’t often she was like this, so I was led to believe that something was wrong. I focused my attention back on the weapon in the center of the room. “I thought the White Room was used exclusively for the big picture? Why bring up an isolated case like this?” I lifted a hoof at the gun. Celestia’s response was dreadfully slow. “...I knew the victim... well.” I was pained to admit it, but I had already assumed as much. “I’m sorry for your loss... We don’t have to work today.” “No, I’m sorry.” Words I hadn’t predicted.   “Princess?” “Few knew her as well as you did.” My heart began to race as she continued. “It’s not your fault.” “...Who was she?” I stumbled back from Celestia in a cold sweat, as she slowly began to approach me. “Twilight—” “WHO WAS SHE?” Surge          Chapter One Look Before You Leap I found Rainbow Dash pacing outside of his house. She was still in her brigade uniform, so I could infer that she had flown here directly from Cloudsdale. Applejack was there with her, assumingly trying to talk Dash out of it. Now was my chance. “Rainbow! I need to talk to you.” She turned her head to AJ. “You dragged HER into this?” Before Applejack could retort I continued. “I came here because I was worried, not because anyone told me to come.” “Well then where were you when I watched my city burn? Where was the Royal Guard then?” This was going to be difficult. “You know that wouldn’t have done anything, this wasn’t a battle—it was a message.” “I don’t care what it is! Chestnut is FINISHED.” Rainbow Dash started towards the door, as I placed a hoof on her shoulder. “If you do this, I won’t be able to protect you. You will face the High Court, and you WILL be found guilty. Please...” I took this moment to look into my friend’s eyes. Often I could find more there than words could ever tell, and for a minute, I thought I had won. Then a muffled voice came from within the house. “YOU’RE THAT BITCH FROM THE CITY! WHATCHA THINK OF THE REMODELING?” Dash wasted no time shaking off my grasp, and approaching the door. At a similar pace, I weaved a new plan to stop her. “Applejack, wait by the plaza.” “There ain’t no wa—” “That’s an official order from Canterlot.” At the cost of an angry look, I was able to keep AJ away from the scene. I placed a conjured guise over my body then moved next to the door as Rainbow bucked into its flimsy frame. It wasn’t going to hold long. “You’ve worked awfully hard for your rank. It’s a lot to throw away.” The door buckled under Dash’s fourth kick, sending shrapnel into the Living Room. I could see Chestnut duck behind the kitchen bar, another crude remark leaving his lips. “FUCKIN' CUNT!” Just as Dash and I slid into cover behind a wardrobe, the degenerate actually fired several shots at us. I got a brief glimpse of the weapon: a hoof–mounted revolver; by the sounds of it, likely .357 caliber or higher. Regardless, he was now down three cartridges in what was most likely a six-round cylinder. My analytical pause had drawn my attention from Rainbow Dash, who was already charging the bar. Chestnut took the opportunity to stand above cover and take a shot at Rainbow; but not before I could cast a quick spell on his gun. He pushed back on the elongated trigger hanging from the weapon with the tip of his hoof, and a hard click played prelude to a cloud of ash rolling out of the barrel. That’s when Dash made contact. I watched as Rainbow Dash beat the colt within an inch of his life, every hit further defacing Chestnut. I watched as my friend finally stood up from her victim, hooves caked in blood, and eyes glazed with tears. I watched as she recoiled back, and turned her hopeless gaze to me. And I watched as the Element of Loyalty was reduced to a whimpering mess. I knew it was going to torture Dash for the rest of her life. And because I simply let it happen, I knew that I would be tortured longer. * * * “...Your lips have been alarmingly still, Princess Sparkle, considering how alive your thoughts must be.” Lifting my head, I found the entire board staring back at me. Light was bleeding through the windows, and showering half of the individuals. “Rainbow Dash is...” I looked closely into the inquiring gaze of the drake at the opposite end of the table. “The law of Equestria is absolute, and no one is exempt from its grasp. But why do we have a code?” I tactfully left a pause in my response. A short, young pegasus took the bait. “To stop criminals!” “To correct them; assimilation.” I noticed a few curious looks around me. “We want, more than anything in the world, to live in an ideal society... and we take the ones that don’t, and throw them in prison. It is in their grief that they... ‘wake up’.” The area just behind my ear became unbearingly itchy as I considered my next words. “So we opened the Vault. And now, at the cost of calamity, we have freedom. This is radical change, and not all of us will adjust well. ...I believe we all need a splash of reality. And maybe, one bad day is what it takes.” One of the board members interjected. “And what ‘woke you up’?” I froze at the question. An older unicorn with a deep, violet coat spoke out. “...You’re suggesting we just turn the other way on this because Rainbow Dash—needed to do it?” “We—we are comparing the hero of numerous battles with the suspected mind behind the Cloudsdale bombings; I don’t think Rainbow Dash should be able to just fly out of Canterlot legally unscathed, but we should consider alternatives to what the code mandates in this scenario...” The vocal young pegasus from before stated what the room was collectively thinking. “Banishment.” After a moment, the amber dragon at the other end of the room spoke while adjusting his position. “What punishment do you believe is sufficient?” I dipped my head in a thoughtful pause. “Clear her rank. Strip her title, replace her as colonel, but she remains the bearer of the Element of Loyalty, and a resident of Equestria.” At this, the room burst into discussion. Through the chaos, I could discern several arguments. “Personal relationships should never be involved in these debates, this is why!” “—what of an Equestria guided by only five of the six elements?” “—the code is Equestria! I won’t tolerate this!” The room was lost. All were engaging in an intense verbal battle, save the princesses and Dominus Temporis who, from his spot at the other end of the table, was still looking firmly into my own image, an amused smile creeping onto his face. Before I could regain my footing, Princess Luna stepped in from behind me. “SILENCE.” ...And the room fell into just that. With a stern look upon her face, she continued boldly. “We’re gathered here to diligently and decisively conclude the case of one of the most important crimes in Equestria, and yet here you are squabbling about like a bunch of fillies and colts on a playground. Now I personally know Rainbow Dash, and I can confirm that she is a crucial part of this nation and its people. And so, starting with my own, we will let our votes determine the outcome.” Luna then conjured a red letter next to her, folded a blank, golden sheet of paper into it, and hovered the entire thing to the table. “We’re deciding the fate of Rainbow Dash. Slanted charges, or banishment.” I watched as she placed her right hoof atop it, eying the rest of the board members. After a moment, she then slid the envelope and its contents to me, where I followed suit. This went on for several minutes, as each individual passed the enchanted object to the next, after first resting a palm on it. Finally, it was back in Luna’s telekinetic grasp, as she tore the letter open. Luna pulled the sheet out, looked emotionlessly at it, then turned it to face the board.                                                                                 for        against         ||||             ||||          I took the opportunity to finally get around to that itch. “Well that’s perfect.” I looked at a shaggy, abrupt, brown haired earth pony. My gaze then drifted to the others; it was clear that tensions were high. Celestia, who had been abnormally quiet, finally commented. “The draw is carried over to the judgement of the Princesses. Luna, Twilight, please step back with me.” Together we approached a sun and moon pattern on the floor, equidistant from one another. We shared a few glances, then I boldly placed my hoof in the center of the design. I watched the two sisters stare into each other. Luna had a seemingly sad expression. Celestia’s was not so easily discerned. The Princess of the Night lifted her hoof next to mine, shortly after, Celestia did the same. I heard a plethora of reactions from the table behind me as my mentor concluded the session. “As in accordance with the Scarlet Vote, and the laws governing it, it has been decided that Rainbow Dash, holder of the Element of Loyalty and Colonel of the Equestrian Police Brigade, will be stripped of her rank, while remaining a legal citizen of Equestria and Element bearer.” I was visibly delighted with the news. Luna and I shared a few gleeful expressions, and then I turned to Celestia. She was already looking in my direction, and when our eyes met she offered a small smile. I cautiously returned the favor, then turned to face a window. My relief started to fade, as I began inevitably recalling the evening’s events. Celestia’s silence was worrying, and rarely did her visage tell any truths. * * *          Later that night I found myself in the White Room alone with Celestia, conversing over the trial. I couldn’t help but notice how distracted the Princess appeared. “Celestia, if it were up to you, what would have happened to Rainbow Dash?” “It doesn’t matter, I’m not the only one making decisions for Equestria.” “...I’d like to think that we made the right one.” Celestia closed her eyes and turned towards the ceiling which, like the rest of the room, was sickeningly plain. When her head came back down, she spoke. “Where were you on the night of Chestnut’s misfortune?” Over the course of the past few days, I had readied several answers for that question. “...I was there.” ...Apparently my preparations were wasted. “You didn’t stop her?” “I tried.” Not entirely untrue. “This is my mistake.” I couldn’t believe that Celestia would take the blame for this, although her words were often cryptic. I then watched as my mentor’s horn was set ablaze with light, just as she stepped towards me. “Come close. There’s work to be done.”