Post by Sky Blue on Apr 17, 2015 22:53:55 GMT -5
Well, this is the beginning of Marble seeking a solution. He's a master of paperwork and finding the sort of information he needs, but so far he just hasn't found anything on Dr. Cakes beyond the fact he's from Black Rock. So he decides perhaps a higher power is needed. Of course, the day court is always so ridiculously busy...
"... but then she stole my pie!" "I did NOT steal your pie, you stole MY pie!" "Ooo, you little liar!" It takes five minutes for the loud pie-eaters - who were both guilty - to finish being seen to, at which point they are followed by a school group, two loads of well-wishers and plot-kissers, and then it is just Prince Blueblood in front of Marble, loudly complaining about the terrible service in the castle, the lacklustre effort with the cooking, and the mindless pen-pushing accountants.
Oh, Marble would hate to be an accountant right now. He gently fidgets with his folder, with all his evidence and information to this case. He imagines this sort of development might be unusual coming from someone not actually in this aspect of running Equestria. What's this got to do with artifacts, rituals, or the Late Studies?
"... and furthermore-" "I'm afraid any further complaints need to wait until tomorrow, Prince Blueblood," Princess Celestia says, smiling politely down upon the stuck-up prince. "And this is really a matter that should be submitted in writing." "Very well, my princess," Blueblood declares solemnly, kneeling down to kiss the sun princess' hoof, before rising up again. "I shall get one of my servants to take down a letter." With that, the snooty stallion turns and strides past Marble, eyes closed and head held high.
"I reassigned your servants, actually..." Marble says as he passes by. Little known fact: the stallion STILL controls Blueblood's finances. He finally trots up to Celestia and clears his throat. "Highness. I have a serious situation..."
"A serious situation, Marble Memory?" Princess Celestia enquires, a concerned expression upon her face, as a semi-distant 'thud' announces that the still closed-eyed Blueblood had smacked straight into a marble column. "It is something that should be discussed in private, outside of the day court?"
Marble looks around. "Perhaps that is best, Majesty. It concerns Sky Blue." The stallion will opt for discretion given the choice. Largely because of his flailing and screaming when things hit him. Like moderately thrown snowballs or pieces of paper.
"Very well," Princess Celestia replies, glancing up and across the still-packed day court, before turning her attention back down to Marble. "Is it urgent enough to require the day court to be put on hold or can the situation wait until after I have seen to the other ponies in the court?"
Marble shifts a little listlessly. "It's... on the subject of wrongfully denied liberty, majesty," he says apologetically.
Princess Celestia furrows her regal brow, then lifts her head up and announces clearly, "The day court shall be put on hold for a few minutes while I attend to something." As a series of mutters and sad vocalisations rise up, the alicorn princess rises up to her hooves and starts heading in the direction of a nearby corridor, presumably with Marble in tow.
Marble is right behind the princess. He's got to present his case eloquently. Otherwise, this petition could die on a simple question that Dr. Cakes has been making sure every authority asks: 'If she's a danger and indeed insane according to the paperwork, where's the problem?'
The two ponies, the all-powerful alicorn princess of the sun and the petty bureaucrat, soon find themselves in a private drawing chamber. Princess Celestia closes the doors behind them with a glow of her horn, then turns to face Marble Memory and asks, "Now, what's happening with Sky Blue?"
Marble finds a desk and opens up his folder, laying out Sky Blue's letter, every form filed by Dr. Cakes for the commital, the paperwork Marble filed, the details of Black Rock, every scrap of paper he could find, including the transcript of the trial. "There's this psychiatrist... Dr. Wibble Cakes. He's gone after Sky Blue and detained her as a high class, dangerous, mentally-unwell pony," Marble says, finally closing up the folder and setting it aside, letting the files lay on the desk as he arranged them. "I do not believe it was for anyone's good but his, as he was living in Black Rock at the time of the incident, and has actively persued measures to avoid allowing visitation for the filly. This is all the documentation I could get..."
Princess Celestia frowns as she walks over to the desk beside Marble and starts to cast her eye over the assembled paperwork. "Potentially dangerous is one thing, but I definitely wouldn't consider Sky Blue to be mentally-unwell, as you put it, Marble," she says, still reading over the details. "Considering Sky Blue's past actions in Fillydelphia, Ponyville, and Canterlot, I can see how Dr. Cakes considers her dangerous, and even why he would consider letting other ponies visit her be hazardous... though he doesn't seem to consider Miss Blue's lack of malicious intent, in regards to her actions."
"That's my point, your highness. She's not insane. I know she's dangerous. I've had... four-five-si- Six heart attacks courtesy Sky Blue... But she's not insane. She's always well meaning, in fact," Marble says, looking up at the princess. "What makes this suspect, however, is the commonality of Black Rock."
"It does appear that there may be an ulterior motive," Princess Celestia replies, "Though it is impossible to tell if Dr. Cakes recommended committal before or after he found out Sky Blue was the pony who accidentally destroyed Black Rock."
Marble doesn't have a response for that. That is indeed one of the details he hasn't been able to work out. "At the very least, majesty, as soon as he learned, he should have recused himself for a conflict of interest..."
Princess Celestia examines the various documents in thoughtful silence, her brow elegantly furrowed in concentration, occasionally levitating a document up for a closer read.
Marble fidgets as he waits for Celestia to make a decision. He did consider mentioning this would have meant a lot to his wife, but that itself could have come up as a real conflict of interest as well.
After several minutes, Princess Celestia magically sets down the last piece of paper, then declares, "While it is hard to tell if Dr. Cakes is acting maliciously or not, without administering a truth potion, I know Miss Blue well enough to know that she is not insane, and thus unfit for committal to an asylum or mental health ward." She levitates over a spare quill and three rolls of parchment, then starts writing down something as she looks over at the pegasus pony. "Thank you for bringing this situation to my attention, Marble. One of these letters will go to Dr. Cakes, another to the judge, and this final one I will give to you, as you have been legally acting in Miss Blue's defence, and are thus likely to do so in the future." She finishes writing upon the scrolls, levitates them down to the desk, gives each one her stamp of approval, binds each of them in turn, and then causes two of the scrolls to vanish, while leaving the last on the desk for Marble.
Marble glances up at Celestia, then hugs her ever so much. "Thank you, majesty. This means a lot to me and my wife," he says, then hurries over and picks up his own piece of paper to read it. Probably a coupon or...
The princess returns Marble's hug gently with a foreleg, before saying, "You have requested that justice be dealt out, and it has been, Marble Memory." The letter reads: 'It is hereby declared the earth pony Sky Blue possesses sufficient mental capacity to be regarded as sane and in control of her actions, and thus any proposal for committal to any asylum, mental health ward, or othersuch place is to be considered unsuitable. Signed, Princess Celestia.'
Marble smiles, then gathers up all the paperwork and letters and neatly places them in the folder. "I suppose I dont mind at all... being Sky Blue's advocate in the future. Though I do hope she'll keep out of trouble." Marble is still largely scared of the filly, after all. That will probably neer change because... Sky Blue.
"... following the letter of testimony from Princess Celestia, this court rules in favour of Marble Memory. The earth pony Sky Blue is to be released from Canterlot Asylum forthwith and is hereby certified as being entirely sane." BANG. Both the judge's gavel upon his desk and Dr. Cakes' head upon his own.
Marble can't help but stand and give a victory hoof pump. "Yes!" He really did do it! He saved Sky Blue! This is a day that's coming up Marble Memory! He bureaucrat cleans up his files from his desk, ready to go home.
Bang. Bang bang bang. Dr Cakes doesn't seem to be taking the ruling all too well. With his head still half-implanted in his desk, he throws Marble a most filthy look.
Marble stares at Dr. Cakes. Sweet Celestia, he feels like he might burst into flame at Dr. Cakes' look. But at least Marble knows he can't go after Sky Blue... so, the stallion heads on out of the courtroom, deciding to go see Sky Blue.
Clop-clop, clop-clop, clop-clop, WHAM. Following a swift blow to the back of Marble's head, Dr. Cakes is half-straddling the pegasus pony's chest, shaking him violently as an incorehent stream of angrish exits his mouth.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Marble screams, hold up his folder, trying to fend off his attacker, then loses his grip as he's shaken by the gibberish-spewing psychopathic phsychiatrist.
In a matter of moments, a pair of burly guard unicorns are holding back the still incoherent Dr. Cakes, who is flailing desperately in an attempt to get to Marble, who is in turn being helped to his hooves by some concerned-looking spectators to the court. "Are you okay?" one asks, gingerly examining the back of his head.
Marble is quite shaken, but it could be worse. "I think I'm okay just... wow... what happened?" He stares at Dr. Cakes as he's held back. He looks down and begins to gather his papers.
"ARGHLAYOUSONOFANAAGHAAAGH!" Dr. Cakes continues to do his best to try and break free of the unicorns, who are steadily starting to pull him back towards the opposite end of the court. "That Cakes guy just ran up and smacked you in the back of your head!" another spectator exclaims, while another two help Marble to gather up his papers.
"Oh, no, I remember that... vividly." Marble finally has all his papers back together and in order. After a moment he's put the file back in his saddlebags. "Just where is this hatred for Sky Blue from anyway? I mean, Black Rock was one thing..." Then again... he said her name and a stallion DIED...
A firework-like spark soars over Marble's shoulder and explodes a few feet beyond in a small burst of colourful sparks. The spectators promptly start stampeding off towards the door, either with the striped pegasus amongst their number or accidentally underhoof.
Since this is Marble we're talking about, the flimsy stallion is very very quickly underhoof screaming once more. Okay, maybe today ISN'T coming up all Marble.
Marble ends up getting stuck to the hooves of a very burly stallion, who only ends up noticing when he's halfway out of the courthouse. The stallion carefully pauses to peel the flimsy pegasus off his hooves, sets him to one side, then continues running like a pansy.
Marble just lays there, seeing stars as he lays on the ground, trampled. Laying ont he ground right in front of a park bench, in fact. Worse: He dropped all his paperwork! NOW how will he occupy his time?
Deep in Canterlot Asylum, a cyan filly is curled up in the corner of a padded cell, her mane a complete wreck and body malnourished, gently rocking from side to side.
Marble's all bruised up and battered, and he may be missing fur in a few places, but he's feeling good as he's heading down the halls of the asylum. He's actually looking FORWARD to seeing Sky Blue, if you can believe that. Finally, Marble reaches Sky Blue's cell, stopping a nearby guard and gestures to the door. "Please open the door." He's ready for anything. Including a Sky Blue who'll leap out and suck off his face.
The guard raises an eye at the bruised stallion, then turns and starts unlocks the aforementioned filly's door; presumably, he had recieved some orders in advance. When the door open and light falls upon Sky Blue, she instinctively shrinks back into the corner, curling up into a tight ball and covering her eyes.
After a moment, Marble walks into the cell over to Sky Blue, looking down at the filly. Just... what did Dr. Cakes do to her? There's 'no visitation' and then there's 'leave them to rot'. Marble can't help but feel sympathy for the young filly. "Hello, Sky Blue."
Ears perk up. Head tilts up. Bloodshot eyes focus upon... "MARBLE!" In a split second, she has wrapped her forelegs around the pegasus pony in a tight hug, head pressed into his mane, a look of unimaginable joy upon her face. "Y'all came fer me! Ah knew y'all'd come fer me!"
Marble returns the hug tightly. "It's all okay now, I promise," he says, then lets Sky Blue loose so he can look in her eyes. "You look awful. Have they even fed you, Sky?"
The malnourished pony shakes her head quickly, a desperate gaze in her eyes as she looks up at Marble. "We can go home?" she asks, shaky hopefulness in her voice.
"Let's get you some food first. Then I'll get you home," Marble says, gently motioning the filly out of the cell.
The two ponies end up getting barely ten feet from the asylum before Sky Blue finds her first meal. She makes a mad bolt for a nearby patch of grass, kneels down, and then begins to hungrily graze upon it.
"I... um..." Marble stares. Well... any port in a storm. "I was going to suggest pizza or... bran or something." Marble watches Sky Blue in bewilderment. He's never been starved before, though. And he still has questions for Sky Blue. Before, when Dr. Cakes attacked him, he was thinking of letting it slide, but now? Pressing charges seems more and more prudent.
It's a couple of minutes before Sky Blue relents, her chest heaving heavily and a look of relief in her eyes. The poor filly looks in even worse condition, now they're out on broad daylight. Her ribs are starting to show, there's a number of bruises scattered about here and there, and her mane is a complete scraggily mess.
"Celestia..." Marble says under his breath, looking poor Sky Blue over. "Did they ever let you out of that cell?" He leads her towards a nearby pizzeria. She's not even her normal self... he hopes that will change. "That... Dr. Cakes..."
Sky Blue instantly turns to face Marble, her forehooves upon the pegasus pony's chest. "Ah didn't mean t'destroy Black Rock, ah never did! It was an accident! Honest! Ah didn't mean t'do nothin'!"
... So it *was* about Black Rock. There's probably all sorts of reasons Dr. Cakes kept poor Sky locked away. He holds up his hooves to gently take the poor filly's. "Hey, hey! Sky... Sky, please... calm down, I know it was an accident. It wasn't your fault... Just... think about what kind of pizza you want... we can talk all about it, okay?"
The filly screws up her brow and glances down, looking thoughtful, before admitting, "Ah can't think of what pizza ah want." A worried look suddenly crosses her face and she snaps back to look at Marble with a wild, terrified expression. "This ain't another dream, is it? Please, tell me this ain't another dream!"
"Sky! I'm right here! Look at me!" Marble says, looking the filly in the eyes, worried. "... You're coming to my home instead. I don't know if I feel okay with you being alone for a while. I'll get you a nice double hay pizza, okay? Extra sprinkles!"
The little filly's eyes light up. And then, she abruptly throws her forelegs about Marble and holds him close to her. After a few moments, she gently pokes at the pegasus with one of her hooves, then tucks it back into the embrace.
"Yes, I'm still here," Marble says. And soon, after getting Sky her pizza and back home to the Memory residence to eat it, finds Marble sitting across Sky Blue at his kitchen table, watching her.
The filly had managed to drink her whole hayshake in one go and eaten half of the pizza, before setting her head down on the table, looking part sleepy, part exhausted, and part relieved.
Marble didn't eat anything but his customary bran muffin and thirteenth cup of coffee. "... Sky... do you want to talk about it?"
Sky Blue's relieved expression fades a little and she glances off to one side. "Ah probably need to, don't ah?" she asks, not quite meeting Marble's gaze. "All that official stuff and what have y'all, as ah know y'all lawk yer forms'n things."
"No... it's not for any official reason, at least not yet," Marble says, leaning back to sip his fourteenth coffee. "They clearly didn't feed you. That goes beyond what's legal for what Dr. Cakes claimed you were. Those bruises concern me... but if you don't want to talk about it, then we don't have to. We can close the book and put it behind us." Marble pulls the letter out of his folder and sets it on the table. "But... you *did* reach out to me for help... so I don't know if I'm done just yet."
Sky Blue sees the letter, and then lowers her head a little to gaze at her half-finished pizza. "After ah got locked up the first night," she says, reaching up with a hoof to idly nudge some of the crust, "He came t'mah cell and told me ah'm here t'be punished fer destroyin' Black Rock. He said ah ain't never gonna see none of mah family or friends never again. Ah tried t'run out the door, but he tripped me over, and the guards hit me. He said, fer that, he ain't gonna feed me nothin' fer a week, then'll come back with some food t'see if ah'd be more co... co-op... co-apperative."
"Nothing like 'therapy', but abuse. ... But you were kept longer than a week," Marble says, setting his coffee down. He may have started this because it would have made his wife happy, but now he's in it to see something set right. See justice done. "Did he say anything else to you? Perhaps anything I can use to make sure he doesn't do this to anyone else?"
Sky Blue screws up her face, as if trying to remember something that happened a long time ago. "There was one nawt when ah was cryin' in mah cell, and the guard told me t'stop cryin', but ah couldn't, so he hit real hard and ah fell asleep. Dr. Cakes came in a few times t'say some mean things t'me. He told me ah couldn't have no water, after Vahnul broke in, t'teach me a lesson. Ah'm not sure if ah can remember much else."
"Yes... after my wife broke into a mental institution." Marble rubs his temple. He's still trying to sort that one out. "What about... what about Black Rock...?" Marble would love to have more or a motive for Dr. Cakes. Best he can figure is this is all about the loss of his home... but still, Marble wonders if there's more about Dr. Cakes...
"... but then she stole my pie!" "I did NOT steal your pie, you stole MY pie!" "Ooo, you little liar!" It takes five minutes for the loud pie-eaters - who were both guilty - to finish being seen to, at which point they are followed by a school group, two loads of well-wishers and plot-kissers, and then it is just Prince Blueblood in front of Marble, loudly complaining about the terrible service in the castle, the lacklustre effort with the cooking, and the mindless pen-pushing accountants.
Oh, Marble would hate to be an accountant right now. He gently fidgets with his folder, with all his evidence and information to this case. He imagines this sort of development might be unusual coming from someone not actually in this aspect of running Equestria. What's this got to do with artifacts, rituals, or the Late Studies?
"... and furthermore-" "I'm afraid any further complaints need to wait until tomorrow, Prince Blueblood," Princess Celestia says, smiling politely down upon the stuck-up prince. "And this is really a matter that should be submitted in writing." "Very well, my princess," Blueblood declares solemnly, kneeling down to kiss the sun princess' hoof, before rising up again. "I shall get one of my servants to take down a letter." With that, the snooty stallion turns and strides past Marble, eyes closed and head held high.
"I reassigned your servants, actually..." Marble says as he passes by. Little known fact: the stallion STILL controls Blueblood's finances. He finally trots up to Celestia and clears his throat. "Highness. I have a serious situation..."
"A serious situation, Marble Memory?" Princess Celestia enquires, a concerned expression upon her face, as a semi-distant 'thud' announces that the still closed-eyed Blueblood had smacked straight into a marble column. "It is something that should be discussed in private, outside of the day court?"
Marble looks around. "Perhaps that is best, Majesty. It concerns Sky Blue." The stallion will opt for discretion given the choice. Largely because of his flailing and screaming when things hit him. Like moderately thrown snowballs or pieces of paper.
"Very well," Princess Celestia replies, glancing up and across the still-packed day court, before turning her attention back down to Marble. "Is it urgent enough to require the day court to be put on hold or can the situation wait until after I have seen to the other ponies in the court?"
Marble shifts a little listlessly. "It's... on the subject of wrongfully denied liberty, majesty," he says apologetically.
Princess Celestia furrows her regal brow, then lifts her head up and announces clearly, "The day court shall be put on hold for a few minutes while I attend to something." As a series of mutters and sad vocalisations rise up, the alicorn princess rises up to her hooves and starts heading in the direction of a nearby corridor, presumably with Marble in tow.
Marble is right behind the princess. He's got to present his case eloquently. Otherwise, this petition could die on a simple question that Dr. Cakes has been making sure every authority asks: 'If she's a danger and indeed insane according to the paperwork, where's the problem?'
The two ponies, the all-powerful alicorn princess of the sun and the petty bureaucrat, soon find themselves in a private drawing chamber. Princess Celestia closes the doors behind them with a glow of her horn, then turns to face Marble Memory and asks, "Now, what's happening with Sky Blue?"
Marble finds a desk and opens up his folder, laying out Sky Blue's letter, every form filed by Dr. Cakes for the commital, the paperwork Marble filed, the details of Black Rock, every scrap of paper he could find, including the transcript of the trial. "There's this psychiatrist... Dr. Wibble Cakes. He's gone after Sky Blue and detained her as a high class, dangerous, mentally-unwell pony," Marble says, finally closing up the folder and setting it aside, letting the files lay on the desk as he arranged them. "I do not believe it was for anyone's good but his, as he was living in Black Rock at the time of the incident, and has actively persued measures to avoid allowing visitation for the filly. This is all the documentation I could get..."
Princess Celestia frowns as she walks over to the desk beside Marble and starts to cast her eye over the assembled paperwork. "Potentially dangerous is one thing, but I definitely wouldn't consider Sky Blue to be mentally-unwell, as you put it, Marble," she says, still reading over the details. "Considering Sky Blue's past actions in Fillydelphia, Ponyville, and Canterlot, I can see how Dr. Cakes considers her dangerous, and even why he would consider letting other ponies visit her be hazardous... though he doesn't seem to consider Miss Blue's lack of malicious intent, in regards to her actions."
"That's my point, your highness. She's not insane. I know she's dangerous. I've had... four-five-si- Six heart attacks courtesy Sky Blue... But she's not insane. She's always well meaning, in fact," Marble says, looking up at the princess. "What makes this suspect, however, is the commonality of Black Rock."
"It does appear that there may be an ulterior motive," Princess Celestia replies, "Though it is impossible to tell if Dr. Cakes recommended committal before or after he found out Sky Blue was the pony who accidentally destroyed Black Rock."
Marble doesn't have a response for that. That is indeed one of the details he hasn't been able to work out. "At the very least, majesty, as soon as he learned, he should have recused himself for a conflict of interest..."
Princess Celestia examines the various documents in thoughtful silence, her brow elegantly furrowed in concentration, occasionally levitating a document up for a closer read.
Marble fidgets as he waits for Celestia to make a decision. He did consider mentioning this would have meant a lot to his wife, but that itself could have come up as a real conflict of interest as well.
After several minutes, Princess Celestia magically sets down the last piece of paper, then declares, "While it is hard to tell if Dr. Cakes is acting maliciously or not, without administering a truth potion, I know Miss Blue well enough to know that she is not insane, and thus unfit for committal to an asylum or mental health ward." She levitates over a spare quill and three rolls of parchment, then starts writing down something as she looks over at the pegasus pony. "Thank you for bringing this situation to my attention, Marble. One of these letters will go to Dr. Cakes, another to the judge, and this final one I will give to you, as you have been legally acting in Miss Blue's defence, and are thus likely to do so in the future." She finishes writing upon the scrolls, levitates them down to the desk, gives each one her stamp of approval, binds each of them in turn, and then causes two of the scrolls to vanish, while leaving the last on the desk for Marble.
Marble glances up at Celestia, then hugs her ever so much. "Thank you, majesty. This means a lot to me and my wife," he says, then hurries over and picks up his own piece of paper to read it. Probably a coupon or...
The princess returns Marble's hug gently with a foreleg, before saying, "You have requested that justice be dealt out, and it has been, Marble Memory." The letter reads: 'It is hereby declared the earth pony Sky Blue possesses sufficient mental capacity to be regarded as sane and in control of her actions, and thus any proposal for committal to any asylum, mental health ward, or othersuch place is to be considered unsuitable. Signed, Princess Celestia.'
Marble smiles, then gathers up all the paperwork and letters and neatly places them in the folder. "I suppose I dont mind at all... being Sky Blue's advocate in the future. Though I do hope she'll keep out of trouble." Marble is still largely scared of the filly, after all. That will probably neer change because... Sky Blue.
*****
"... following the letter of testimony from Princess Celestia, this court rules in favour of Marble Memory. The earth pony Sky Blue is to be released from Canterlot Asylum forthwith and is hereby certified as being entirely sane." BANG. Both the judge's gavel upon his desk and Dr. Cakes' head upon his own.
Marble can't help but stand and give a victory hoof pump. "Yes!" He really did do it! He saved Sky Blue! This is a day that's coming up Marble Memory! He bureaucrat cleans up his files from his desk, ready to go home.
Bang. Bang bang bang. Dr Cakes doesn't seem to be taking the ruling all too well. With his head still half-implanted in his desk, he throws Marble a most filthy look.
Marble stares at Dr. Cakes. Sweet Celestia, he feels like he might burst into flame at Dr. Cakes' look. But at least Marble knows he can't go after Sky Blue... so, the stallion heads on out of the courtroom, deciding to go see Sky Blue.
Clop-clop, clop-clop, clop-clop, WHAM. Following a swift blow to the back of Marble's head, Dr. Cakes is half-straddling the pegasus pony's chest, shaking him violently as an incorehent stream of angrish exits his mouth.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Marble screams, hold up his folder, trying to fend off his attacker, then loses his grip as he's shaken by the gibberish-spewing psychopathic phsychiatrist.
In a matter of moments, a pair of burly guard unicorns are holding back the still incoherent Dr. Cakes, who is flailing desperately in an attempt to get to Marble, who is in turn being helped to his hooves by some concerned-looking spectators to the court. "Are you okay?" one asks, gingerly examining the back of his head.
Marble is quite shaken, but it could be worse. "I think I'm okay just... wow... what happened?" He stares at Dr. Cakes as he's held back. He looks down and begins to gather his papers.
"ARGHLAYOUSONOFANAAGHAAAGH!" Dr. Cakes continues to do his best to try and break free of the unicorns, who are steadily starting to pull him back towards the opposite end of the court. "That Cakes guy just ran up and smacked you in the back of your head!" another spectator exclaims, while another two help Marble to gather up his papers.
"Oh, no, I remember that... vividly." Marble finally has all his papers back together and in order. After a moment he's put the file back in his saddlebags. "Just where is this hatred for Sky Blue from anyway? I mean, Black Rock was one thing..." Then again... he said her name and a stallion DIED...
A firework-like spark soars over Marble's shoulder and explodes a few feet beyond in a small burst of colourful sparks. The spectators promptly start stampeding off towards the door, either with the striped pegasus amongst their number or accidentally underhoof.
Since this is Marble we're talking about, the flimsy stallion is very very quickly underhoof screaming once more. Okay, maybe today ISN'T coming up all Marble.
Marble ends up getting stuck to the hooves of a very burly stallion, who only ends up noticing when he's halfway out of the courthouse. The stallion carefully pauses to peel the flimsy pegasus off his hooves, sets him to one side, then continues running like a pansy.
Marble just lays there, seeing stars as he lays on the ground, trampled. Laying ont he ground right in front of a park bench, in fact. Worse: He dropped all his paperwork! NOW how will he occupy his time?
*****
Deep in Canterlot Asylum, a cyan filly is curled up in the corner of a padded cell, her mane a complete wreck and body malnourished, gently rocking from side to side.
Marble's all bruised up and battered, and he may be missing fur in a few places, but he's feeling good as he's heading down the halls of the asylum. He's actually looking FORWARD to seeing Sky Blue, if you can believe that. Finally, Marble reaches Sky Blue's cell, stopping a nearby guard and gestures to the door. "Please open the door." He's ready for anything. Including a Sky Blue who'll leap out and suck off his face.
The guard raises an eye at the bruised stallion, then turns and starts unlocks the aforementioned filly's door; presumably, he had recieved some orders in advance. When the door open and light falls upon Sky Blue, she instinctively shrinks back into the corner, curling up into a tight ball and covering her eyes.
After a moment, Marble walks into the cell over to Sky Blue, looking down at the filly. Just... what did Dr. Cakes do to her? There's 'no visitation' and then there's 'leave them to rot'. Marble can't help but feel sympathy for the young filly. "Hello, Sky Blue."
Ears perk up. Head tilts up. Bloodshot eyes focus upon... "MARBLE!" In a split second, she has wrapped her forelegs around the pegasus pony in a tight hug, head pressed into his mane, a look of unimaginable joy upon her face. "Y'all came fer me! Ah knew y'all'd come fer me!"
Marble returns the hug tightly. "It's all okay now, I promise," he says, then lets Sky Blue loose so he can look in her eyes. "You look awful. Have they even fed you, Sky?"
The malnourished pony shakes her head quickly, a desperate gaze in her eyes as she looks up at Marble. "We can go home?" she asks, shaky hopefulness in her voice.
"Let's get you some food first. Then I'll get you home," Marble says, gently motioning the filly out of the cell.
*****
The two ponies end up getting barely ten feet from the asylum before Sky Blue finds her first meal. She makes a mad bolt for a nearby patch of grass, kneels down, and then begins to hungrily graze upon it.
"I... um..." Marble stares. Well... any port in a storm. "I was going to suggest pizza or... bran or something." Marble watches Sky Blue in bewilderment. He's never been starved before, though. And he still has questions for Sky Blue. Before, when Dr. Cakes attacked him, he was thinking of letting it slide, but now? Pressing charges seems more and more prudent.
It's a couple of minutes before Sky Blue relents, her chest heaving heavily and a look of relief in her eyes. The poor filly looks in even worse condition, now they're out on broad daylight. Her ribs are starting to show, there's a number of bruises scattered about here and there, and her mane is a complete scraggily mess.
"Celestia..." Marble says under his breath, looking poor Sky Blue over. "Did they ever let you out of that cell?" He leads her towards a nearby pizzeria. She's not even her normal self... he hopes that will change. "That... Dr. Cakes..."
Sky Blue instantly turns to face Marble, her forehooves upon the pegasus pony's chest. "Ah didn't mean t'destroy Black Rock, ah never did! It was an accident! Honest! Ah didn't mean t'do nothin'!"
... So it *was* about Black Rock. There's probably all sorts of reasons Dr. Cakes kept poor Sky locked away. He holds up his hooves to gently take the poor filly's. "Hey, hey! Sky... Sky, please... calm down, I know it was an accident. It wasn't your fault... Just... think about what kind of pizza you want... we can talk all about it, okay?"
The filly screws up her brow and glances down, looking thoughtful, before admitting, "Ah can't think of what pizza ah want." A worried look suddenly crosses her face and she snaps back to look at Marble with a wild, terrified expression. "This ain't another dream, is it? Please, tell me this ain't another dream!"
"Sky! I'm right here! Look at me!" Marble says, looking the filly in the eyes, worried. "... You're coming to my home instead. I don't know if I feel okay with you being alone for a while. I'll get you a nice double hay pizza, okay? Extra sprinkles!"
The little filly's eyes light up. And then, she abruptly throws her forelegs about Marble and holds him close to her. After a few moments, she gently pokes at the pegasus with one of her hooves, then tucks it back into the embrace.
"Yes, I'm still here," Marble says. And soon, after getting Sky her pizza and back home to the Memory residence to eat it, finds Marble sitting across Sky Blue at his kitchen table, watching her.
The filly had managed to drink her whole hayshake in one go and eaten half of the pizza, before setting her head down on the table, looking part sleepy, part exhausted, and part relieved.
Marble didn't eat anything but his customary bran muffin and thirteenth cup of coffee. "... Sky... do you want to talk about it?"
Sky Blue's relieved expression fades a little and she glances off to one side. "Ah probably need to, don't ah?" she asks, not quite meeting Marble's gaze. "All that official stuff and what have y'all, as ah know y'all lawk yer forms'n things."
"No... it's not for any official reason, at least not yet," Marble says, leaning back to sip his fourteenth coffee. "They clearly didn't feed you. That goes beyond what's legal for what Dr. Cakes claimed you were. Those bruises concern me... but if you don't want to talk about it, then we don't have to. We can close the book and put it behind us." Marble pulls the letter out of his folder and sets it on the table. "But... you *did* reach out to me for help... so I don't know if I'm done just yet."
Sky Blue sees the letter, and then lowers her head a little to gaze at her half-finished pizza. "After ah got locked up the first night," she says, reaching up with a hoof to idly nudge some of the crust, "He came t'mah cell and told me ah'm here t'be punished fer destroyin' Black Rock. He said ah ain't never gonna see none of mah family or friends never again. Ah tried t'run out the door, but he tripped me over, and the guards hit me. He said, fer that, he ain't gonna feed me nothin' fer a week, then'll come back with some food t'see if ah'd be more co... co-op... co-apperative."
"Nothing like 'therapy', but abuse. ... But you were kept longer than a week," Marble says, setting his coffee down. He may have started this because it would have made his wife happy, but now he's in it to see something set right. See justice done. "Did he say anything else to you? Perhaps anything I can use to make sure he doesn't do this to anyone else?"
Sky Blue screws up her face, as if trying to remember something that happened a long time ago. "There was one nawt when ah was cryin' in mah cell, and the guard told me t'stop cryin', but ah couldn't, so he hit real hard and ah fell asleep. Dr. Cakes came in a few times t'say some mean things t'me. He told me ah couldn't have no water, after Vahnul broke in, t'teach me a lesson. Ah'm not sure if ah can remember much else."
"Yes... after my wife broke into a mental institution." Marble rubs his temple. He's still trying to sort that one out. "What about... what about Black Rock...?" Marble would love to have more or a motive for Dr. Cakes. Best he can figure is this is all about the loss of his home... but still, Marble wonders if there's more about Dr. Cakes...