The New Recruit

It was a few days later when Ace was allowed to move around again. He wasn't allowed to walk, but with two guards and a nurse, he was able to be wheeled around in a chair. It wasn't enough, but at this point, he was desperate to leave the bed, and although the chair wasn't better by much, it was better. He couldn't go wherever he wanted or move on his own, but at least he could leave the room.

To that end, he really didn't mind going to court. He hadn't taken to the Daring Do books the way Rainbow had intended. Sure, they were better than nothing, but he wasn't particularly interested in fantasy, any more than he could draw from them. He had noted the pattern on the floor during the sapphire statue, and thought himself clever for looking at it and realising that every animal was land-based except the eagle. And then it turned out that the trick was, they were all predators except rats, which wasn't even wholly true, as rats are known to eat insects, and in desperate situations, even other rats. Between the housecat, the lion, the jackal, the rat and the eagle, he'd have picked the eagle. Then again, he'd have grabbed a stick or a few more rocks and just pressed one of each until one refused to press. And if he were a temple designer, he might have picked the jackal, as that was the animal on the statuette. If the ponies that built the temple worshipped a two-headed jackal, he'd want to reinforce the idea that the jackal was a safe choice. No matter. It was a book series for children, and he just wasn't into it. He hadn't been back when he was a kid, and it held the same appeal now.

The door opened, and he found himself in a small room. Spitfire, Princess Celestia and seven other ponies were gathered around a conference table. He'd never met them before, but they scowled at him as he entered the room.

"Ah," noted the stout, balding earth pony sitting next to Spitfire. "I recognise you from your photos. We haven't met. Sallow Choir, Esq. I'm your representative in this matter."

"Nice to meet you," nodded Ace. "Glad to be here."

"Captain Spitfire has kept me abreast of your situation and your desires in this matter. If you have anything you want to say, gather my attention and whisper it to me, and I'll take care of the rest. The court doesn't do well with sudden outbursts. Besides, we're almost done, here."

As he spoke, he gave Ace his business card. Ace didn't know when he would need it, but if he did, at least he had it. It had an address, so if he needed a lawyer in the future, he could call on the law offices of A. T. Tourney, S. Crow and S. Choir, Esq.

He took a seat next to Spitfire as his lawyer and, presumably, the opposing lawyer argued with each other in somewhat hushed tones. Princess Celestia would interject from time to time, mostly to ask for clarification or to make judgements on objections.

"You know, you didn't have to actually come down here," whispered Spitfire to Ace. "In fact, I'd have preferred that you not attend."

"I'm not allowed to leave the castle until it's safe for me to do so," whispered Ace back. "I don't like being stuck in that room all day. It feels like I'm being punished. Like a jail cell."

Look, just because you're surrounded on all sides by stone and the only way in or out is blockaded by guards, and you're not allowed to le-- okay, yeah, feels very prison-y."

"I'd love to go stretch my legs, but they can't support my weight yet."

"And until we're sure about what happened, that's the way it has to be."

"And it is for that reason, your majesty, that I would like to move for a directed verdict," finished Mr. Choir, clasping his hooves over his stack of paperwork.

"Are there any objections to the motion for a directed verdict?" asked Celestia, turning to the other attorney, who was rifling through his notes.

"Ummm..." He scratched his head, then turned his ear to the mare that had tugged his arm and was now listening to her whispering. He sighed, almost sounding defeated. "My clients would like to raise an objection, on the grounds that this son of a bitch killed their daughter, and he deserves what happened to him."

Celestia just nodded. Saying "My client would like to inform the court," or "My client would like to object to this," was old Ponish for "I think this is a bad idea, but I need to say this to look like I'm not blowing this case on my client's behalf." It was a surefire way of telling the court that "The next words out of my mouth are going to be a lie at worst, and inadmissible at best."

"If that is all, your objection is overruled. As far as the directed verdict is concerned, I'm going to go ahead and pass my judgement. As I see it, Ace is not responsible for the wrongful death of Sunny McCloud. You have failed to provide any substantial evidence, and the court finds that he was not negligent in his health and safety warnings, as recorded evidence indicates. As such, I have little choice but to declare a verdict of "not guilty.""

The mare, with a scowl, stood up from her chair so fast that it was knocked backwards. The guards immediately moved to barricade her, to stop her from leaping across the table, but she just turned and walked out of the room, the other four following behind her.

Her attorney, however, stayed behind to pack up his things. "I'm sorry you had to deal with that, your majesty," he bowed, binding his files. "I'm sure they'll be okay."

Celestia just sighed. "If Luna hadn't involved herself so heavily in this case, I wouldn't have needed to preside over it."

"And there you have it," shrugged Spitfire. "Even Celestia herself thinks you're not responsible."

"Maybe a little bit," warned Celestia. "Don't go and let your head swell too much; I may turn on you at some point in the future, but for now, you're safe."

Ace's eyes went wide. He was afraid for his life for a moment, but Celestia's smirk couldn't help but creep across her face.

"Sorry. Bad joke. But I do mean that part about you being partially at fault. Less than five percent. And I have to have more than ninety percent certainty to secure a conviction. Don't make a habit of doing this."