BridgeWorld

[994AB Day 265]
"So, how did I do, Alfalfa?" Thomas asked as he rejoined Princess Celestia and the others.

"Much better, sir," his butler replied. "You've still got far more to learn, but you are definitely improving."

"You've been teaching him all the Royal Guard moves!?" Celestia demanded.

"No, I've been teaching them, Your Highness," Alfalfa replied. "I'm teaching Mistress Mareta and Master Buck, too. While I am able to teach them what I know of pegasi moves, I only know the basics of earth pony fighting, and unfortunately, the spells to properly utilize the unicorn horn are beyond my capabilities. Lucius was able to get them to learn basic levitation, but with him being kitsune, I understand that anything beyond simple levitation diverges far from unicorn magic. That's why I'm going to be bringing in some associates to help teach them."

"Interestingly enough, young Buck has been learning to do kitsune magic," Lucius told her. "We suspect it has to do with the flexibility of the young mind to learn things that far too many adults have so much resistance to understand."

Celestia looked at them in disapproval for several moments before sighing.

"We already have one set of rogue Royal Guard retirees," Celestia grumbled. "I'm loath to employ and encourage yet another. But it seems, I have no choice in the matter. I cannot give official approval of this operation—"

"But unofficially?" Alfalfa stressed with meaning.

"Unofficially—" she began, then shook her head. "As tempting as it is, 'unofficially', I cannot approve of it, either," she stated, still shaking her head.

She sighed again.

"But I suppose I again have no choice but to just look the other way and simply not see this," she finally concluded. She turned to glare at Thomas. "DON'T let me see or hear about any of this, Thomas!"

"See what, Your Highness?" he innocently inquired, cocking his head.

"Exactly!" she said firmly nodding. "You will, of course, NOT provide detailed reports of ANY and ALL your activities, and you will NOT send them as soon as you are able! Do you understand!?"

"Of course, Your Highness," he replied.

"I'll handle the correspondences, Your Highness," Alfalfa said. "Encoded, naturally."

"We'll have to develop encodings that aren't being used in our normal channels, Alfalfa," Celestia told her. "It's imperative this operation NEVER existed!"

"In the meantime, as your recordings have shown me, I have a bit of housecleaning to do with the Royal Guard!" she growled.

"Yes, Your Highness," Thomas said. "I'm so sorry you had to find out in that manner."

"Your sentiments are greatly appreciated, Tom."

"…And it was shortly after that, she departed," Thomas finished up the account to his wife and son.

"So, what does this mean for us?" Buck asked, still not quite understanding the implications.

"It means, we will be operating pretty much completely outside the Law," Thomas explained.

"It also means, that should anypony be captured by the authorities, the full weight of the Law will be coming down hard upon us, and there won't be the usual—underhoofed agreement or handling of those kinds of situations that would normally exist between the Guard and various Black Ops that are unofficially acting on behalf of the nation." Alfalfa said. "We'll be totally on our own. We'd be facing trial by Celestia, herself, and she'll have no choice but to deliver the harshest of verdicts upon us, and we won't be able to appeal to her as part of our defense in any way, even behind closed doors."

"We'll be literally 'thrown under the wagon', as they like to say," Thomas succinctly put it.

[994AB Day 266]
"… And because the material witness known as Jackie Valentine escaped protective custody and is unable and or unwilling to appear before this court, and further, as the state of mind of said material witness is in question, it is the ruling of this court that the charges of attempted robbery and attempted murder against the defendant, Jack Black, be dismissed!" Judge Flake announced, slamming her gavel down with a loud bang.

"Your Honor! I protest!" Thomas exclaimed. "As victims to his crimes, we demand the right to testify against him!"

"You are out of order, Thomas Mane!" she harshly declared. "Furthermore, your attempt at introducing new charges against the defendant through cleverly crafted and invented evidence—"

"That is far enough, Your Honor! Princess Celestia suddenly interrupted.

"I believe you are also out of order, Princess Celestia," Judge Flake pointedly said. "The case against the defendant has already been dis—"

"Only the charges of attempted robbery and attempted murder can be dismissed in your court, Your Honor," Princess Celestia countered. "The evidence recorded the other night were brought to the Royal Guard and to me, and those charges have yet to be filed! And they will be heard in my Court!"

"You—you—can't do that!" the judge protested.

"Excuse me? I believed you are forgetting something," Celestia challenged.

"You said the evidence was brought to you, Your Highness!" Judge Flake argued. "You cannot be both the investigator for the prosecution and the judge!"

"I suggest you reread the Constitution, Your Honor," Celestia pointed out. "All authority for each of the Branches of Government, the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches derive from the Princesses of Equestria—that, currently, would be me! The responsibilities that the Guard, Nobles, and Judges assumes may not be allowed to cross over to each other's branches, but their authority, and likewise, the responsibilities for all of those duties of each Branch derives comes from me! That is why I am the Head of State of Equestria. That is why I am the final approval on all laws that are passed by the Nobles. That is why I have a Court at Canterlot Castle! I am not just all three Branches of the Government—I am the Root!"

"But—but—but—"

"Furthermore," Celestia went on, "it has come to my attention where numerous disturbing and troubling signs have come to light that there is some severe corruption going on in the governance of the District of Manehattan. I already have substantial evidence of such in both the Equestria and Royal Guard detachments here, by the same irrefutable evidence that shows Jack Black is currently in league with agents who were seen mixing poison joke with magic mushrooms, and in mass quantities! And yet, they intentionally sat on their rumps giving the defendant's accomplices sufficient time to clean up and move their worksite. You should be quite aware of just how deadly a mixture that can be, both as an illicit narcotic as well as the potentially explosive and destructive nature of just such an operation! And the Constitution gives me the full authority to investigate and track down any and all indications of abuse and malfeasance in any and all Branches of Government, does it not, Your Honor?"

"Y-yes, Your Highness," Judge Flake whispered, visibly wilting.

"Guards, take the defendant into custody and remand him into a holding cell to await transfer to Canterlot where he will face trial in Court, there," Celestia ordered. "Oh, and for your information, Jack Black," she addressed him sweetly, "These Guards are not assigned to the detachment here in Manehattan. I brought them."

"Judge Flake! You were supposed to get me cleared of all that! That's what I paid you for!" Jack Black suddenly blurted out as several members of the Royal Guard converged upon him.

"Well, now—! That certainly sounded like both a confession and an implication," Celestia cooed, turning to look at the bench and the even more deflating judge. "Guards, please be so kind as to take Judge Flake into custody, too."

Thomas Mane, his family, and Alfalfa stayed behind with the princess as the court room was soon cleared out.

"And so, it begins," Celestia finally muttered. Then she looked at Thomas. "This one problem was relatively easy to trace, once I reviewed who was involved in setting the conditions of his bail to begin with. Others, won't be so smooth, however. And I imagine your work will likewise be considerably more difficult to ferret out any corruption still there once you get started, Tom."

"It is considerably still a bit too early for them to begin field work, Your Highness," Alfalfa spoke up.

"But we will keep what you have told us in mind, Your Highness," he replied. "Other than staying out of your sight and hearing, as well as out from under your hoof, do you have any suggestions where we should begin?"

"Information will be your greatest asset and weapon, Tom," she said as she departed. "Guard any such information you gather jealously and with your life, for all your lives will depend upon that knowledge. And best of luck to you. Just be sure to don't let me catch you."

Kaylee's head hurt something fierce.

Blinking at the light coming in from the entrance to the cave where she woke, she crawled out to look out upon the landscape.

Nothing looked familiar.

There was no sign of the thick jungle that she remembered walking down into from the volcanic landscape. These woods, while still wild and untamed looking, were not nearly as thick and varied in plant life as the start of her journey had been. While she knew it was possible they were connected, the types of plants were considerably different. Plus, the weather was much cooler here. It made her pause.

She had absolutely no recollection of the transition between there and here.

Stepping out, she looked around, dazed and confused. Other than the sun low in the sky, she had no idea which way was east or west.

Which way is civilization!? she wondered. However, that thought brought her up short against another thought.

Will they even let me in to a city!? she questioned, looking down at her arms. What kind of creature am I!?

A sudden and sharp stab of pain in her skull made her regret even thinking of that question.

It took quite a while for the pain to ease. When she could think and see clearly again, she witnessed the sun suddenly setting and was immediately replaced by a large moon.

"Luna!" she exclaimed, upon seeing the pattern of dark spots on the face of the orb in the sky.

"Oh, I'm in Equestria, somehow!" she remembered. It was a show she used to watch off and on, since it was Jessica who really liked it.

"That must be west, then," she sighed, rubbing her temples. Then she stopped with a sudden jolt of realization.

"Wait—Fuck!—I forgot! The show sometimes had the moon and sun rising and setting in the same place, just like it happened just now! With their magic, east and west might be just any old random arbitrary point on the map, depending on what wild hair is growing up the princesses' butts at the time!"

She looked again at the moon.

"Luna's face is still on the moon," she whispered. "I—I'm before the first episode."

She started walking in the direction the celestial objects had exchanged their dominance of the sky. Logic told her that with the arrival of night, she should return to the shelter of the cave. However, some urge made her want to head that way, now. So, she walked on into the night.

Jackie watched from the cover the foliage and night provided her and waited for the train to finish passing as it traveled down toward the city that she had left until it had finally cleared her view.

It was unnerving to see the strange misshapen creatures sitting and riding in the rail cars as though they were ordinary people doing ordinary human things.

It was only after she could no longer hear the train clanging down the tracks that she stepped out from the bushes and resumed her trek away from that weird metropolis….