Punishable by Law
By Crystalline Electrostatic
It was a day like any other, scratch that, actually it was a day like any other Tuesday. Don't ask me the significance of that day, because I am not sure myself, things just seem to happen on Tuesdays for me…But as I was saying, it was just another Tuesday, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, the upper-class ponies had their muzzles in the air, and I was in my lab with my friend Brick Breaker testing my latest creation.
That's what I do, create things. Not things like triple layer nachos with beans and salsa, or things like a wooden table or ceramic vase, but enchanted things. I'm a dabbling artificer who tries to do things that haven't been done before. Just three weeks ago I made a self lighting candle that goes out when something gets too close to it.
But anyways, as I was saying, me and my buddy Breaker were down in my lab testing the first version of a new idea I had last friday…
"Stat, are you sure this isn't going to zap me like the thundercloud generator?"
"Bricky, don't worry, if it was going to shock you, it would have done it already."
"That doesn't make me feel any better!"
"Just keep calm and focus on channeling your magic through the device."
"Fine, but I still think it feels incredibly weird to channel into something that isn't a plant or the ground. There's a reason why earth ponies don't sling spells Stat."
"Just channel your magic into the stone, then imagine it lighting up, it's simple."
You interrupt my story because you want to know what the device is? I thought it was fairly obvious. I was making a device that allows non-unicorns to focus and channel their magic in a way similar to unicorns. Just a little band that wraps around their hoof, which can light up and lets them levitate things…
I know that it sounds like a crazy idea, the crazy ones are usually the best. The thing was actually working before it blew up, now can I get back to where I was?
"IT'S WORKING! It actually worked! And you didn't get shocked!"
"Wait, what?"
"Nothing, just stop for a second so we can prepare for the next test. Let me just find the spheres, and we can get started."
"Hurry up already Stat, I would have thought you would have already had the practice weights out and ready for when I got here."
"Breaky, just be patient… AHA! Found them!"
"Finally. I thought I was going to die of old age."
"Seriously bro? You couldn't just be patient for two minutes?"
"Nope."
"..."
"..."
"Moving on then. Just do what you were doing before, but instead of focusing on light, focus on getting the spheres to levitate. Just one first."
"Huh, it's actually working. Crystal you're a mad genius."
"Don't get too excited yet, I want to see how many this can handle."
"No problem buddy, I'll get them all up right for you."
"..."
"HAH! I told you I could do it."
"I didn't doubt you, I just didn't expect you to make all the spheres orbit you like Joe's doughnuts around a fat unicorn."
"Bro, this thing is awesome, I need to take it out and show somepony."
"Wait! It's not ready for the public yet!"
"Cmon bro, this thing is wicked sweet, lets take it out and show it off."
"...fine, but only to a few ponies."
That is the point where Breaky, while levitating all seven spheres, trips and hits the gem on the steps from the lab. The funny thing is, in hindsight, I know exactly what went wrong with the design, he was simply channeling too much magic for the gem to contain while it was destabilized from the impact. The gem simply cracked and exploded from the strain, and I should have saw that coming…
After the gem exploded, I ran out my emergency hatch in my lab to find somepony to help Brick Breaker. When the guard pony saw him, he called in a medical team then pulled out his cuffs…
"As it stands, Mister Crystalline Electrostatic, you are, at the very least, guilty of negligence, and possibly indirect assault. Those charges aren't something to mess around with. Simply put, Brick Breaker is in a coma with magical burns on twelve percent of his body thanks to your creation blowing up quite literally in his face."
"I understand that your honour, but I don't see how this is more than a tragic accident. I have heard stories where other ponies have used outlawed spells and haven't seen more than a slap on the hoof, my sister down in Ponyville told me of a unicorn librarian who cast a want it, need it spell on a doll, then threw it into the center of town, and didn't get off with more than a light scolding from the princess. How does an accidental mishap involving a magically charged gem cracking have harsher repercussions than that? There wasn't even a trial for that librarian pony."
"What may or may not have happened in Ponyville is not of concern to this case. Just because you were told something from another pony doesn't necessarily mean that it's true."
"Then call up witnesses; when I went down to Ponyville last, I talked to my sister's friends who said the same exact thing. That Twinkle Shimmer or whatever her name was didn't even get taken to court. I still think it is outrageous that I am here for an accident, that only hurt one pony, while a pony who caused an entire freaking town to riot over a doll doesn't even get more than a talking to."
"Be that as it may, we aren't talking about Ponyville, or anything that happened in it, we are talking about your device exploding and putting somepony into a coma."
"I honestly don't see what the big deal is; in four days, he'll be healed up like it never even happened, then be woken up with a wakening spell, and while he might not want to help me test things for a while, he will be just fine. I know I sound callous when I say that it doesn't seem like a big deal, but think about it, in five days, he will be up and about like he didn't get blown up - he won't even have scars - and the only property damage was in my home. And not just that, but now I know to always ward up my gems better to prevent things like this from happening ever again."
"Is there any final words you want to say before the jury convenes for a decision?"
"Yes actually. Faithful ponies of the jury, sure I may have made something that was a bit unstable, and my friend may have been hurt by it, but was that really enough for me to be charged for crimes that can get me up to fifteen years in a penitentiary? Am I a bad enough pony to deserve fifteen years for a mistake? I didn't intentionally hurt anypony, and the pony that was hurt will be fine within the week. Is that such a crime? Is a bartender at fault for a pony that had a few too many trotting in front of a carriage? Is a foal a bad pony for accidentally setting the neighbor's shrubs on fire with a faulty firecracker? Is a pony who accidentally hurt his friend through indirect means sent to prison for fifteen years? I really don't think it should be."
"Court is adjourned for one hour while the jury reaches a verdict."
