Chapters Judge Dash: Mutants in Mega-Canterlot One.
Chapter 1: The streets of Judge Luna
“All units! We have a 2/11 in progress near the business district, seven, maybe eight attackers! Code 99 red! I repeat, code 99 red! Jack is down! He’s hurt badly! ”
“Dash responding!” Judge Dash changed her course and sped up; making her winds go as fast as she could. It sounded like Judge Luna, thought Dash. Ever since she started that damn TV show trouble just seemed to follow her everywhere and anywhere. Still, she was a good Judge; she had not faltered in her duty. But Dash thought she could be doing a better job if she wasn’t “acting” all the time.
“Hang in there Jack. I’m coming!” shouted Luna. She leapt from behind a chariot, opening up her lawgiver. “My – UNHH! – priority now is to get my partner out of the firing line.”
“You’re seeing this live folks, as another two, three shots rip into Luna!” Crowds had gathered to watch the spectacle; they always do!
“They killing her!” one filly screamed, “They killing Judge Luna!” Luna was lying in a pool of her own blood, her wounds were serious; if she did not get medical attention soon...
“Prepare to die, Luna!” shouted one of the attackers as he sprang from cover, “You’re finished –“ His pathetic chants were cut short by Dash filling him with sweet, sweet lead. “It’s Dash!”, shouted a coat.
“You’re seeing this live folks! Judge Luna has been cut down while trying to drag Judge Jack to safety! But here comes Dash!”
“Judge Dash! Judge Dash will save her!” exclaimed a young filly in the crowd. Judge Dash ignored the crowds; she was never good with people. There was only one thing she was good at: dealing out justice!
“Where’s the Med chariot?!” she yelled over the radio.
“Buh... Jack...?” stammered Luna
“Easy Luna.”
“A med chariot is now speeding Luna to hospital! And we’ve just heard that... oh grud it’s too awful!”
“Gruddamn it Charlie read the frigging line, the viewers got to know!” exclaimed the camera man.
“Judge Jack... Judge Jack was declared dead at the scene. Damn I loved her... Judge Luna is being taken to the specialist wounds unit at Justice-Dale.”
Dash looked around the scene, “Mutants” she grumbled. It figures, as candidate for next Chief Judge the Mutants are afraid of her. She would sweep all the reforms away and they would be forced to live in the Everfree forest again.
“What happens if Luna dies?” asked Judge Shy, “About the election I mean.”
“I suppose the anti-mutant brigade will find another candidate, plenty to choose from.”, replied Dash.
“Well it’s not looking good for Chief Judge Celestia”, said Judge soarin’, “The pony is a hero!”
“The pony is an actress!” retorted Dash.
“That doesn’t matter, the public love her... and you can’t change that Dash.”
“Maybe I won’t need to... she’s as good as dead.”
Judge Dash: Mutants in Mega-Canterlot One.
Chapter 2: Hospital Visit
"Shot sixteen times - body like a sieve - but's she's still in there fighting. You've got to admire her." said the doctor
"Yeah, I suppose." grunted Dash. The doctor was righ, thought Dash... her body was like a sieve!
It was all over the news: "The city's favorite Judge, who sacrificed herself so bravely to save her wounded partner. Sixteen shots struck home, severing bone, ripping vital organs, but STILL Luna fought on...
"This is Flim and Flam with breaking news."
That night, Cantorlot caught fire...
Judge Dash was patrolling the streets the following morning, when Chief Judge Celestia came out onto her balcony:
Celestia had ordered Dash to pay Luna a visit, as much as she didn't want to. There was only one place she belonged: on the streets. She wished she had never got into this whole mutant business; leave the politics to the politicians... leave the Justice to the Judges.
"Her condition is still critical." said one of the doctors, "But she is strong. Futher surgery will be required of course, but we believe she will make a full recovery."
Dash asked: "Has she been informed about Jack?"
"Yes." replied the doctor.
"Sorry about your partner, Luna." grumbled Dash.
"They... they said they were... mu... mutants..." croaked Luna.
"I've placed watch on every entrance and every floor. There's a strong possibility somepony will try and finish the job. With your whereabouts broadcast twenty-four hours a day, you aren't the hardest target to find."
"Rainbow..." began Luna. "I hope I can call you Rainbow..."
"I'd prefer it if you didn't." retorted Dash.
"I'm not against you, or celestia. I'm doing what I think is right. I... hope you can appreciate that."
"You're being manipulated, Luna. You've been manipulated all your career and now they're doing it to you again. You're a good Judge I don't doubt that. You think you're doing what's right, but behind you somepony's pulling the strings. What happens when they've got what they want? What happens when you've kicked out every last mutant? What happens when you've got rid of the best Chief Judge we've ever had?"
"Suh... somepony had to... to make a stand. It's... this mutant thing. Can't you see you've got it... wrong." replied Luna.
"It's not wrong, Luna, It's hard!" roared Dash. "There's a difference. What's wrong is injustice and I can see a big wave of it coming." With that, Dash turned on her hooves and left, stopping outside the door. Two Judges were standing guard. "No-pony gets in except verified medical staff. No-pony ever in with her alone, and that includes medics." she told them.
As Dash was walking out, one of the Judges turned to the other: "Wonder if she can see the irony?" he asked. "Double-protecting the one pony that's going to kick Celestia's ass out of office, and her with her."
"Dash doesn't DO irony. Plus Luna wouldn't have the guts to kick Dash out: She is the mother of Justice; SHE IS THE LAW!"
Judge Dash: Mutants in Mega-Canterlot One.
The attempted murder of Cantorlot’s favourite Judge at the hands of mutated ponies was just the anti-mutant supporters needed. They swarmed through the streets like a plague, burning every mutated pony in sight; but they weren’t the only ones out on the streets. Judge Dash and Judge Shy landed silently. They had reports of violence in sector 5’s square. They both drew their lawgivers and proceeded through some back-streets leading to the square.
“Shit?” asked Dash. Shy flinched at the word, but nodded; she had not been known for being “gritty”.
“I didn’t realise.” said Dash. Creeps just didn’t learn, she thought. Justice had increased dramatically since the introduction of the “Judges”; but so had crime. Everything to gain and nothing to use for most ponies these days, thought Dash. Besides, Shy was wrong: this city was always shit.
They came into a clearing, Shy gasped in horror; Dash reminded silent. Dash could see, what appeared to be a two-headed pony hanging from a lamppost with a rope around each head. There was a crowd of about twenty ponies, Dash counted, one of them came into view holding a flaming torch; he was clearly the groups’ leader.
“The mutie is unclean!” he roared.
“Unclean!” responded the crowd.
“The mutie is sick!” continued the leader.
Again the crowd responded: “Sick! Sick!”
“The mutie is an excrescence on the body of Ponyanity! What must we do to cleanse ourselves of this contamination?” he asked.
“BURN THEM! BURN THEM ALL!” erupted the crowd as the leader took the torch to the hanging mutant.
“I’ve seen enough.” spat Dash, cooking her lawgiver; Shy did the same. “I’ll take to the skies; cover me.”
“Got it.” replied Shy.
Dash took off: “STOP WHERE YOU ARE!” she yelled. “THIS IS THE LAW!”
“Grud it’s the Judges!” one of the crowd members shouted. “Even they are our enemy; kill them!”
Dash didn’t even give them a chance to cock their guns, unloading Justice Department bullets’ into their midst. She counted three K.I.A. She landed amongst them, going onto her hind legs and smashing one-pony’s jaw with her hoof. Spinning round she put two into another-pony; putting him out of the fight. Judge Shy landed beside her and whispered: “Hi-Ex.”, launching numerous high explosive shells from her lawgiver. The crowd scattered and began to retreat; everypony knew not to mess with Justice Department.
“Don’t let them get away!” shouted Dash, taking off once again; this time at the speed of light. She landed in front of them, “Drop your weapons and raise your hands where I can see them, creeps!” All ponies did what she said immediately; they knew the consciences. Shy came from behind and blocked them off, proceeding to cuff them all.
“You like those mutants don’t you?” asked the leader, while Shy cuffed him. “You think they should stay in Cantorlot, and be treated the same as us.”
“As a matter of fact I do creep.” retorted Dash.
“When Judge Luna becomes Chief Judge, which she will, she’ll kick them all out; and you and Celestia with them.” said the leader.
He then spat on Dashes uniform, without realising it would be the last thing he ever did.
“Good, load em up Shy.” she finished as Chariots came speeding towards them.
Judge Dash: Mutants in Mega-Canterlot One.
As the days leading up to the election for Chief Judge passed, the violence grew stronger and stronger. The Judges were working over time. Reports of mutant murders came flooding in; so did reports of normal pony murders. It seemed the mutants were standing up for themselves.
Dash hadn’t slept for forty-eight hours; but that didn’t bother her. What bothered her was the injustice in the city: Why did the “Norms” have to violent and hostile towards the mutants? They were ponies after all; just with an extra limp or two. It was bothering Dash so much that she had become more violent herself.
“Grud! It’s Dash!” exclaimed one of them.
“Get her!” yelled another.
“Looks like it’s going to be the hard way then.” she muttered under her breath.
The first was extraordinarily eager: he threw a punch at her; Dash grabbed his fist, broke it backwards and smashed her baton into his side. The second came from behind: Dash kicked him square in the face with her rear hooves. The remaining two looked at each other, contemplating whether or not to try their luck. Dash casually retrieved her lawgiving from under her right wing and cocked it; that was a good excuse to run away... and so they did. They didn’t make it out of the alley however; Dash saw to that.
“Control, I need a meat Chariot. Got two wounded and two dead.” she said over the radio. As she was doing that she noticed the mutants lying on the ground. “Make that four dead.”
“Good evening Cantorlot, this is Flim and Flam with the 6 o’clock news.”
“That’s right Flam, and the question on everyponies lips’ is who will be the next Chief Judge of Cantorlot? Will Judge Luna take the title from Chief Judge Celestia? Or will Celestia retain her title? Tonight we hear from both Candidates.”
“That’s right Flim. We will give each candidate two minutes to say why you should vote for them.”
“That’s right Flam. Just a reminder here from Justice Department: All voters must be eighteen or over and must produce identification.”
“Thanks Flim. Well without further ado, here are the candidates.” The news desk vanished and Celestia’s office came into view. She was sitting at her desk with a serious look upon her face.
“We all know what this is about, so i’ll get straight to the point.” she began. “You either agree with allowing mutants to return to the city, or you don’t. It’s too late now to change anypony’s mind, and I won’t try to. For good or ill we opened are doors and invited them in – people upon whom we have perpetrated a long-standing and systematic injustice. To turn them away again – many to their death – would be an act of inponyanity that will stain our name forever. Vote with your conscience.” Celestia’s office faded and a hospital ward appeared with a single bed. Lying in the bed was Judge Luna.
“I regret... this address must of necessity be short...” she stammered. It was clear that she needed further medical attention. “My opponent has in so many ways... been an excellent Chief Judge, yet on one issue been wrong... disastrously wrong... If left uncorrected I believe the mutant act could destroy us... destroy our integrity as ponies. So I say... Judge Celestia, I respect you... I honour you... but for the city’s sake, go.”
“There you have it folks, the two candidates. The voting will start at 9am tomorrow morning.”
“That’s right Flim. Remember to go to your sector’s hall to vote.”
“That’s right Flam. One final reminder from Justice Department: No weapons of any kind are allowed; they will be checking. And no violence, you have been warned. That was 6 o’clock news with Flim and Flam. Goodnight.”
Dash had been assigned to sector 3’s hall and of course public didn’t heed their warning. Over four-hundred firearms were confiscated within the first two hours and over one-hundred arrests were made due to violence. Anything from jeers to hand gestures were considered an offensive. The mutants were allowed to vote too; resulting in the unnecessary violence. After some demonstrations of what would happen to somepony who decided to be violent – at the hands of Dash herself, the violence soon ceased and the voting continued as normal.
“Good evening Cantorlot. This is Flim and Flam with your 6 o’clock news.”
“That’s right Flim. Tonight we reveal the winner of the election for Chief Judge. The final votes are being counted as we speak.”
“That’s right Flam. We’re all on the edge of our seats here folks.”
“That’s right Flim. Chief Judge Celestia has refused an interview with us – what do you gather from this Flim.”
“She’s probably too busy packing her desk. She knows the game’s up.” As Flim finished his sentence, a pony came onto the set and whispered in Flam’s ear.
“I’ll have to interrupt you there Flim. I’m just the result is in – Holy Equestria! Quite... quite remarkable. We expected a close result, but never this... It’s Luna! Luna by a landslide! Judge Luna is the new Chief Judge of Mega-Cantorlot one.”
To be continued...
