//------------------------------// // A Time for Action (Mulberry Guardian 2, Black and White Guardians 1) // Story: Guardians of Many Hues // by TadStone //------------------------------// A Time for Action (Mulberry Guardian 2, Black and White Guardians 1) The officer had decided not to flee, mostly because his fear to pass by his unwanted visitors outweighed his desire to leave by far. He was content in sitting on the floor right under his table, closely monitoring every movement outside, still in hope for the arrival of reinforcements that would never arrive. Little did he know that Twilight had written to Celestia to recall them and that her wish had been promptly granted. When a large cloud of pegasi became visible as black dots against the bright sun he felt confident enough to leave his hiding place with a smug grin directed at the waiting group next to the entrance. Rainbow was asleep again, by the insistence of Twilight who kept guard together with Spike. To pass the time with something useful, the unicorn had started to read Scootaloo’s record again, still not finding any clues onto who messed up and why. The testimonies of about two dozen children involved had been recorded by a state psychologist as was the usual to spare them a visit in court. A summary of the witness report of Scootaloo’s teacher was also included. All of it spoke a clear language, incriminating Ms Birch. Enough evidence was at hoof to arrest and convict her twice over. Either it had just never happened or the news had not found its way to Ponyville. The record simply ended about one year ago with a note that Ms Birch had been banned from the orphanage and all other organizations involving foals and all further actions will be ceased until Scootaloo was found. An Equestria wide search order had clearly been given, or there would not have been a copy of the record located in Ponyville, but nothing ever happened after that, and no document revealed the order itself. Although Scootaloo had done a remarkably great job disguising her situation, she was just a foal. She would have been easily detected if somepony had taken the trouble to actually look at something else than paper. The filly could easily be dead by now hadn’t things turned out the way they did, a thought Twilight had banned from her mind as quickly as possible. Irritated by the rummaging stallion, Twilight tossed aside the stack of paper and got up to look at the source of new activity in the policepony. She instantly recognized the very special military formation framed by a left and a right echelon, consisting of ten pegasi each with a big gap between them filled out by two three by three square formations surrounded by spherical force fields, containing Luna and Celestia in their centre. Twilight once read that this was the favourite way for the princesses to enter battlegrounds and travel to other urgent events, when being pulled on a sky wagon seemed inappropriate and slow. Equestria hadn’t seen this kind of formation for more than a thousand years, last being even before the time of the banishment of Nightmare Moon.. The guards weren’t moving as fast as Wonderbolts, not with heavy armour and weapons trying to drag them back to the ground after each flap of their wings, but some of them would have surely made it into the team if not for their different career choice. It would only take them a few more minutes to reach their destination. For Twilight it was time to prepare for the visit. She went over to Dash, gently shaking the pegasus to wake her up. Rainbow responded by opening her eyes and exhaling a long deep growl before trying and failing to rub her eyes with restrained hooves. Getting up also didn’t prove to be easy, the cuffs not granting much liberty of movement. A beckoning look towards Twilight got her the discreet magical help her sore body needed to complete the task. “You see the squad? You two are going down!” A maniacal laugh reverberated through room, originating from the officer, wearing Twilight's patience thin to the point it gave out. How could a single pony be this stupid? “This is a traditional Royal Guard formation used as a vanguard for the princesses. Isn’t there any kind of aptitude check for police? Your files are disordered, you’re not doing your job properly, you've just committed high treason by arresting the keepers of peace and you not only endangered the life of a foal by your inactivity once, but you are doing your feeble best to endanger the existence of the same foal again by arresting her only caretakers and planning on forcing her back the place of her nightmares!” Twilight had turned white, hairs on fire, floating over the ground, as she screamed at the policepony who had shrunken back under his table, shaking like a leaf caught in high altitude air currents, a comparison true in more than one way. He was now tumbling in high politics he should not have messed with by simply doing his job. Satisfied with the stallion shutting up again, the unicorn transformed back to her normal version of herself and landed back on the wooden planks. “You are going to be back with Scootaloo after lunch,” Twilight promised to Rainbow. She could clearly feel the agitation in the pegasus. It was a sign, that a less observant pony might not notice, but for her friends Dash’s distress was easily visible in faded colours, twitching wings and dark rings under her eyes. A more than unusual and pretty disturbing sight. For Rainbow, the entire trip had been an utter disaster so far, combining all of her fears. She hated being restrained, especially in moments when her element kicked in, pumping abnormal amounts of adrenaline through her veins, forcing her to action while at the same time being completely worn out. It felt like something deep inside was being torn apart by giant claws. And yet, she had to wait, the prospect of Scootaloo being taken out of her reach burned into her every thought. All she wanted to do was to break the cuffs and fly to the filly, to give her the well-deserved and needed attention and love. She knew she could trust Aegis and Applejack. She knew she could trust Twilight. Only because of them was she able to endure the situation. She hated being helpless, she hated being useless when somepony else was in need... Even her two naps; normally one her favourite recreational activities; had left her worse off than before them. While she had managed to find some rest during the first one for a few minutes, her second one had been a bad mixture of being awake with closed eyes and fitful shallow sleep full of nightmares, painting a horrid and vivid vision of possible disasters. “I wish I had your confidence,” she murmured to Twilight, who in turn put her head on the pegasus’ neck in some kind of hoof-free hug. A violet clawed hand patted Rainbow’s back next to her shoulder. “Thanks again for being here, Twilight. And you too Spike.” “Don’t mention it. Just hold out a little longer.” Twilight smiled at the cyan mare after breaking the embrace. Outside of the building, the echelons had begun to dissolve. Three ponies each remained to keep the side guard, the rest of them skipping ahead in two V-formations, securing the perimeter. By now, their armours were visible, showing off matte black metal or bright polished gold, respectively to which princess was on their side. The captains shone in different shades of purple at the front of the Vs. Guards landed beside the building, three of them covering each corner, lances spread out into all directions. The captions secured the door, waiting for the rest of the platoon outside. Both princesses understandably did not seem to be pleasedwith the interruption of their work or sleep, normally cheerful expressions now distorted by anger and determination. The mere presence of them at the same time at the same place showed the seriousness of the events. The door burst open with magic, barely keeping it intact. Eight ponies in two coil formations stormed into the room, secured by a white glowing magic barrier each. Twilight recognised most of the soldiers. All of them recognised her and her companies, thus ignoring them while clearing the room. The police officer had stopped shaking, turning into a statue instead, a smelly yellow puddle forming under his hind legs. For a second Twilight felt bad for him, but then she reminded herself that he alone was responsible for the task force in his bureau. Four guards took their post around the blue stallion. The other four took their posts in the corner of the room, before Celestia and Luna entered the scene, interleaved with their captains. Unexpected by everypony present, the ruler of the sun erupted into merriment the second she saw Twilight standing next to her bound in regular chains. “Don’t you two want to take them off? These look pretty uncomfortable!” she asked her number one student. “I wanted you to see the state of your police with your own eyes.” Contrary to her mentor, Twilight was very serious. “Please take them off then. Next time please do so without waiting for me. I have personally overseen your training to break free of greater impediments than normal cuffs, so to see you sitting around with them is just ridiculous.” Celestia paused to let Twilight open up the constraints of her and Rainbow, smacking the chains into a corner with a loud bang before continuing in a more appropriate and serious tone. “Your letter sounded pretty disturbing. Could you please hand me the ...?” Scootaloo’s records had been levitated to Celestia before she could finish phrasing the question. The colour of magic holding the pages changed from raspberry to golden yellow as they moved one by one through Celestia’s vision. Each finished paper was directly passed to Luna, not wasting a second on data transmission. After the last page had been successfully processed and stacked again, Celestia waved over the captains who hurried to them with clattering armour. She passed the police record and Twilight’s letter on to the commander of her own platoon, now standing left of her, before giving a quick chain of orders using a military style of voice, seemingly not breathing at all and keeping her gaze locked with her sister’s for reassurance for the whole time. “Iron Shield, take your stallions and move to Trottingham immediately. You will take over the investigations from the local police. Everypony involved in the case is to be suspended until further notice and questioned within the day, including this pitiful being.” She gestured at the policepony sweating in the centre of the room, who was immediately accompanied outside by two soldiers without resistance. ”The disciplinary proceedings to determine their degree of penalty are to be hold in ten to thirty days, not later. Ms Birch is to be arrested instantly for multiple infringements against adoption law, sexual abuse of a minor in one case and personal injury of a foal in concomitance with maltreatment of charges in multiple cases. The court hearing for her will be held in five days. Clear room if necessary. I want a full assessment of the crimes she could commit during the past year because of this lapse in the system within two hours. Take as many stallions as you need for the task. You are dismissed.” “Yes ma’am!” He saluted and turned at the spot. All leftover golden-armoured pegasi followed him outside of the room and Celestia turned to the second captain. “Send a flier out to Shining Armour. He is to put together a task force to examine every unsolved case for similar problems. Once a problem is detected, the case is to be taken over by Royal Guards without any delay. As soon as he is done he should continue with all closed cases no older than twenty years. I expect a summary of the results by the end of this week. Please wait on standby outside. We would like to speak to the Elements alone.” “At your command ma’am!” The stallion saluted, leaving with all the other guards. “Strong Spear!” Twilight interjected right before he stepped over the threshold. The captain tilted his head back to face the unicorn. “How may I be of help Ms Sparkle?” he asked, keeping his formal attitude although he knew Twilight since she was a little filly. “Could you leave some of your Fliers Sprout here for Rainbow?” Fliers Sprout was a very rare and visually unimpressive herbaceous plant standing only a half foot in height, its small yellow blossoms blooming only in August for a single day each year. What it lacked in looks it made up in effect, boosting the energy level of pegasi while at the same time reducing the effects of missing sleep and pain on the organism. Once harvested, it could be easily dried and stocked without it losing its effects, producing an ideal battleground booster. The bad part was that only three known places existed where it could be grown in small fields, limiting the yearly output to barely enough to fill the military training needs and to fill up the royal warehouse for times of need. None of it was available on the civil market, not even Zecora had a plant or two stacked. Still, all pegasi guards of the Royal army high enough in rank carried a ration of it at all times. Although Dash’s overall look had improved since the arrival of the princesses, her friend could take a little boost nevertheless. It was going to be long day for her companion, even with the help the princesses speeding up things a little. The captain’s focus wandered over to Celestia, silently requesting permission that was promptly granted by subtle nod, before he retrieved a small brown lump under his front piece of armour and handed it to Twilight who accepted it with a thank you. The battered door closed with a soft thud behind the last guard, leaving them alone as requested. “Did I forget anything except for the question of custody?” Celestia inquired, looking back and forth between her sister and friends. “We need to tighten the control on our orphanages. I will write up the laws and build up a special force right after we are done here. However, this can’t be done with military force, but rather by skilled psychologists, so it will take a little longer,” Luna responded, finding agreement from everyone else. “The most important question is the custody of Scootaloo. I understand you would like to become her legal guardian, Rainbow?” “She already lives with me. She trusts me and she is at home in Ponyville. She has had enough hardship. I don’t want to see her someplace else than with me. Please make it happen somehow,” Rainbow pleaded, mustering the hardwood planks, her hoof producing scraping sounds on the floor. “I fear this is not for me alone to decide.” Luna had greatly improved on using a modern speaking pattern that left her conversation partner’s eardrums intact, now even managing to show sympathy, something that was never done in the royal night court more than a thousand years ago. “We will have to follow the law; I can only fast track the decision and stand up for you, but you aren’t quite a typical choice for emergency care, meaning that ...” What little colour had returned on the pegasus’ and more faded, leaving behind a mane more gray than rainbow. Lids shut, Dash dropped to the ground, little droplets running down her facial features. Aghast by the sudden outburst of emotion, still insecure about modern behaviour, Luna stumbled backwards, falling over her own hooves and crashing down onto the desk that could not take the sudden burden and broke it half with a scrutinizing noise. “I ... I just meant ... to say, that... that special requirements are needed and... and we need to work them out...” Her gaze wandered over to Twilight, searching for answers from the unicorn, sitting in the remains of what had once been a proud working place. Good thing the paperwork hadn’t been present on it anymore. Twilight reacted by unwrapping the brown lump and forcing the greyish green contents into Rainbow’s mouth, who involuntarily began chewing the minty and at the same time salty herb. “We already worked out the formalities, could you check if these give us the best chances?” The fruits of their nightly work changed hooves to the Night Princess, who took a few minutes to check up on everything. She hadn’t even troubled to sit up from the rubble, preoccupied with her task, again pages flittering through the air, producing a constant soft rustling. “Aegis is well known and respected in my social departments,” Luna concluded after the last page. “I think I can punch that through within an hour or so under the condition that the decision for who will take over long term custody will be fast tracked as well. Please hand in a psychological assessment stating who Scootaloo wishes for to be her caretaker this week. You will need to face a psychological assessment as well, Rainbow. Doctor Staple here in Ponyville has a state exam. If I understood right you will live in a domicile provided by Aegis, sparing you the inspection of living conditions. Is this all right with you Rainbow?” A warm feelling spread through Rainbow’s body, drowning the aching feeling from it. Her wings felt as if a fire had been lit within, spreading a strange and very intense heat right on the verge to being painful, but not overstepping it. Her sleepiness was gone, replaced by a feeling of light-headedness, blocking and enforcing her brain activity at the same time. The perpetuating trains of self-doubt had come to a halt, no longer running down any sprouts of logic, giving room for sober thoughts. She had been overreacting, following her fears rather than what was best for the filly she so wanted to care for. That would have to stop. Luna’s plan was sound. Scootaloo would not wish for somepony else, or would she? No she wouldn’t, Dash concluded. But what if she herself was an unfit parent? No, she had to toss these thoughts aside. Everything would be fine. Whatever it takes, she thought to herself, repeating her slogan of the last few weeks. Apparently she herself was the weak point in the plan. A fact she couldn’t change, but she would fight for the filly till the end. “Rainbow, you alright?” Twilight’s voice brought her back to the real world for good. The dishevelled cyan mare got back on her legs, yet again colourful hair standing out into every direction. Crusted snot and tears were smeared all over her face, diminishing the look of determination. “I am sorry everypony. Guess the events of the night knocked me out pretty bad.” Dash’s voice still lacked its usual cockiness. “Whatever you gave me Twi, thank you again.” She turned to Luna. “This sounds good Luna. I will visit Dr Staple tomorrow together with Scootaloo. Could you send a guard to make an appointment?” Luna smiled to Rainbow. “Of course. Do you happen to have Scootaloo’s certificate of birth or is it lost?” she inquired, receiving the answer as a document flying towards her. She snatched it from the air using her own magic and put it on top of the stack of other documents before making her way to the door. Celestia followed her sister outside, but came back after two more guards took off. “I just ordered to make the appointment and to bring us some food and drink while we wait for the results,” she spoke. “I know it is hard for you, but I would like to hear the story personally again, maybe adding the details?” Dash obeyed.