Artex had just stepped out of the Library bathroom, freshly showered after another grueling exercise routine with Rainbow Dash when Twilight called to him from the main room,
"A message just arrived for you from Canterlot."

Artex walked down the stairs and into the main room wearing only the underwear Rarity had made for him. Among other Humans he would have been terribly embarrassed to do so, but the Ponies and Spike didn't seem to care one bit. He walked up and sat himself down on the floor right in front of the lavender Alicorn who was absorbed in the thick tome in front of her. The tall human could hear the occasional clank of dishes from the kitchen where Spike was cleaning up.

"Alright," he sighed, holding out his hand, "What's the issue this time?"

Twilight shot him an unamused look as she levitated the scroll into his hands,
"You know it could be that she's just concerned and checking up on you. She hasn't seen you in a couple of months now."

Artex rolled his eyes as he unrolled the scroll,
"Yeah, and I'm going to propose to Bulk Biceps." he said sarcastically.

He held up the scroll and began reading silently, 'Dear Artex, I am writing to let you know that my sister and I have come to a new understanding about Humans and would like your input. Perhaps we can rearrange the new laws to be slightly more in favor of humans before the laws are announced to the country. On a less pleasant note, there has been an arrest in New Humansville. As there have not been any Magistrates appointed for New Humansville yet, I believe there are very few individuals who are capable of acting as Magistrates. Since every case requires a trio of Magistrates to oversee each one individually, Luna and I wanted to ask you and Razor if you would be willing to act as two of these Magistrates. Asking you was a given since you have been completely removed from events linked to the case and we believe that Razor while not ideal, would be an acceptable second. The choices of who will act as Magistrates in this case are yours. Please respond if you have any questions or concerns, or when you make your decision.'

Artex sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose,
"Great." he muttered, "Just what I need."

Twilight tilted her head, puzzlement written all over her face,
"What's wrong Artex?"

Instead of answering her, he passed her the scroll,
"Take a look. I'm going to get dressed."

Twilight read the scroll while Artex began pulling on his pants, shirt, and footings,
"I don't understand the problem." Twilight said, "All you have to do is select three Humans or Kavim to act a Magistrates."

Artex plopped down on the couch,
"Yeah." he leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees, "I need some time to think." he suddenly stood back up and whistled loudly, "Suey! We're going for a run."

Twilight rose to her hooves,
"But you JUST showered..."

"And I can shower again." Artex quipped off offhandedly, "There's no law limiting how many showers you can take in a single day. I think better when I'm doing something physical and right now I really need to do some thinking."

Twilight sighed and dove back into her book,
"Razor Wit should be back soon. She went to Sugar Cube Corner to get some more of the zucchini bread you love so much."

Artex nodded as he opened the door and ushered Suey out,
"She's planning on asking me something then. I shouldn't be too long."

He closed the door behind himself and knelt down to Suey,
"Ready for some exercise girl?"

Suey wrinkled her nose, blinked, and cocked her head to the side. Artex smiled hugely and took off at a steady jog, Suey keeping pace with him. His mind slowly began to work as he established a rhythm, 'I need three individuals to basically act as judges and jury. I wish I knew what the case was about... actually no, I shouldn't know anything about the case, it might bias my opinion.' he picked up his pace and Suey followed suit, 'Who could I chose? I'm a prime candidate and I wouldn't feel right if I had somebody else take care of it. Razor Wit has had a good bit of experience interacting with me, but I'm far from a perfect example of an average Human. Twilight has had a bit of time interacting with me as well.' he picked up his pace again, 'Actually come to think of it, Applejack and Big Macintosh probably know me better than Twilight does. They aren't acceptable answers either though, they wouldn't be able to do something like this. Razor is smart enough and I already declared her a member of the staff for my Emissary duties. We've gone over the way the courtroom type situations in this world work. The Minotaur Justice System was the basis for the system every nation adopted and it's solid so I'm not going to try to fight that. Razor and I are good opposites but we need a third individual to act as a Magistrate... but who?'

Artex picked up his pace to a full-on sprint and Suey kept up, huffing and puffing out of her piggy snout, 'Twilight is analytical enough to pull it off, but I don't want a second Pony as a Magistrate, I want a Human. Razor is going to be more than enough of a swing-vote to balance everything out. I can't use Joyner or anybody who's a member of the C.W.G. their opinions would be biased for certain. I need somebody who isn't in the thick of the goings on in New Humansville, I need...' Artex came to an immediate stop as the answer suddenly came to him, 'Huh, it's certainly unorthodox but that might work, strange as it is.'

* * *

Artex walked back in through the Library door, Suey at his side, both perspiring,
"I'm back!" he yelled.

Twilight was still sitting on the floor absorbed in her book and Razor and Spike were nowhere to be seen. Artex curled up the right side of his mouth in a half smirk as he closed the door. Suey wasted no time in heading into the kitchen and toward her bed. The poor piglet was panting heavily and Artex had promised to draw her a bath to cool off, he was honestly tempted to join her. He was much more sweaty than he had anticipated and the thought of cool water against his sweaty skin was appealing to say the least.

Before he went to draw the bath though, he snagged a piece of parchment and quill off Twilight's favorite podium and wrote out his response to Celestia then entered the kitchen where Spike was cooking dinner and had him send it. Walking back out to the main room Artex saw that Twilight still hadn't moved. Feeling mischievous, Artex walked up and lightly tweaked Twilight's right ear in order to gain her attention. Twilight, somewhat used to such movements by that point, twitched her ear and instead of instinctively using her magic to throw Artex into the Library wall, as she had done the first eight times it happened, simply shot him a slightly annoyed look.

"I thought I asked you not to do that." Twilight said sourly.

Artex flashed his most winning smile,
"You did, I chose to ignore it last time and I might do so again. You know, I wouldn't have to do that if you looked up when the door opens. Anyway, I wanted to let you know I'm home."

Twilight cocked her head to the side,
"So did you come to a decision?"

Artex crossed his arms,
"What's it worth to yas toots?" he asked in a poor New York accent.

Twilight's face fell to an utter deadpan,
"How about a place to sleep tonight."

Artex held up the index finger of his right hand and wiggled the digit back and forth,
"Ah ah ah, I'm guaranteed room and board by order of the crown and only four Alicorns may revoke that. How about... an entire shipment of meat imported from the Gryphon lands?"

"How about... NO." Twilight said, "I'll find out soon enough anyway. Besides a shipment of... meat from Gryphonvale would be expensive to transport, not to mention next to impossible. You would need a Unicorn to cast a preservation spell on it and you would have to pay for not only the meat but also the service commission for the Unicorn to cast the spell. It would probably cost you close to two hundred Bits to... it doesn't matter anyway."

Artex crossed his arms and smiled,
"It sure is fun to trick you into going into lecture mode. I can learn all kinds of random things. So to answer your question, I chose Razor Wit, myself, and..."

"Artex, you're back." Razor said entering the room from the second floor to the accompanying sound of the upstairs toilet flushing, "Where did you go?"

Artex shrugged,
"I went out for a run. I needed time to think, it was pretty easy though. There has been an arrest in New Humansville and the suspect needs to stand trial, but there aren't any Magistrates appointed to New Humansville. Celestia sent a letter and asked me to select appropriate individuals to act as Magistrates. I just had to take into account three different points of view. You and I were natural choices but the third had to be as much of an opposite to us as we could find. I eventually settled on..."

"Dinner's ready!" Spike announced from the kitchen door.

Twilight shook out her head as she rose to her hooves,
"Thanks Spike, it smells delicious."

Razor continued speaking with Artex as they made their way toward the kitchen,
"Well at least you know who you want." she smiled brightly, "This should be good practice! The first case!"

Artex suddenly stopped and rounded on the tan Unicorn,
"This is not a joke or a game." he hissed intensely, "This is a person. I've been in hundreds of courtrooms and seen justice turned upside down time and time again. This," he pointed toward the floor, "This is my chance to dispense justice. Every one of the court cases I saw were examples of how all crimes were grouped into categories never taking into account the individual or their circumstances. Innocent gets no prison time, guilty means 25 to life. Regardless of possible extenuating circumstances, or how about repeat offenders walking free because there wasn't room for them in a jail, or because the Judge just didn't want to deal with the appeal, which often took years and slowed down the already mired system." he backed away from her surprised face and straightened up, "To say I feel strongly about this is like saying I am merely fond of breathing."

Razor blinked several times in rapid succession then followed behind Artex,
"Well at least the person will have the peace of mind of knowing the Magistrates actually care about the case." Razor paused, "Wait, you never said who the third person was."

Artex turned his head and commented,
"No, I guess I didn't."

Razor tilted her head as she and Artex approached the table for dinner,
"Well who is it?"

Artex sat down at the table in his usual spot and leaned down to scratch Suey on her head,
"Oh that, it's..."

"No work talk at the table please." Twilight interrupted.

Artex held up his hands in surrender,
"Alright, alright I'll just wait till tomorrow. I already sent the message to Celestia."

* * *

Celestia was seated in her private chambers peering deeply into her mirror. She still wore Luna's black gemmed necklace and its cosmetic appearance on her was a stark contrast. It was not the contrast of the black, light absorbing gem against her glossy white coat that captivated her attention so, it was the subtle change in her that only she could see. Her eyes drooped by the tiniest of margins, her ears wilted just the littlest bit, and her muzzle grew the smallest of microscopic wrinkles. To any watching she looked exactly the same as she always had, but in her eyes she had aged. She sat in front of her mirror on her backside which, despite frequent teasing from her younger sister, was as athletically toned as always. Her right forehoof slowly rose from the ground and gently stroked the black teardrop shaped gem. The necklace meant something to Luna and after five straight days of solitude and contemplation Celestia thought she was beginning to understand. The thoughts that had led Luna to her contemplative discoveries had also circulated through Celestia's mind as well and the elder sister had fully come to the conclusion that Luna was right.

Celestia had gained that epiphany by the third day. The following two days she spent doing nothing but sitting in front of her mirror gazing at herself, thinking and attending only the most vital tasks related to keeping Equestria running. She had not eaten, she had not slept, she had not relieved herself, showered, or groomed. She sat and stared at her reflection. In a moment of curiosity, Celestia took hold of the sun and spun it in place like a top then set it back on its normal orbit. She expended incredible amounts of magic in so doing and the expenditure allowed her magic a tiny empty vacuum which she had to build back up. As a result of her drain of magic her mane and tail stopped flowing for the first time in thousands of years.

For a few moments she was simply an extremely tall mare who happened to have both wings and a horn. While wearing the necklace she was mortal and to her surprise, once she saw the minute imperfections brought on by her unusual state, she found that she liked it. For the first time in thousands of years she was not a creature of otherworldly beauty, she was instead just lovely, desirable, and attractive in the same way any other mare could be, 'This is closer to perfection than we have come for eons.' she reached her hoof back up and stroked the gem, 'Perfection is a goal, not a destination. Thank you for reminding me Lulu.' Celestia silently admired her imperfect body, 'Good slightly wide hips, long svelte muzzle, slightly thin muscle tone, imperfect gloss in my coat, mane, and tail, and long supple legs that are just a bit too long. All in all, a very pretty mare.' A random thought floated through her head and she decided to humor it.

She rose to a standing position and turned around so her flank faced the mirror. After a quick cursory look around to make sure nobody else was present, she lifted her tail and shifted it to the side. Her bare backside looked back at her and she flexed the web of muscles which kept all Kavim decent. The pink puckered hole under her tail was the first thing which caught her eye, but then her gaze drifted downward to a different place. It was a place that she had only ever used for one purpose, having thought herself beyond such base desires for so many years, she gazed at the outline of her untouched marehood and its unexplored depths, 'Is Luna right in this as well? Are we meant to do these things? Should I have looked for a stallion to accept? Do we even have the same fearful limitations that force stallions to be so gentle with normal mares? That should be the answer to the question. If the magic has given us the same fear and the same need to accept a stallion...' her mind stopped as another reality crashed down upon her, 'Does it really mater though? Even if it's true, there is no stallion in Equestria who could handle Luna or I. The ancient Gryphon King wanted to court Luna. A Gryphon would be large enough, or a Minotaur, there are other possibilities I suppose, but how does Luna expect to have any foals if we're too big for any stallion to be with?' Celestia relaxed her muscles and lowered her tail, 'I'm being ridiculous. Luna might be able to find a stallion. But as for me, I'm so tall I doubt a Dragon would be interested.' she hung her head and shook out her mane, 'Bah, forget these foolish thoughts...'

A flash of magic over her head deposited a scroll in front of her face,
"Ah, Artex must have decided already."

She levitated the scroll in front of her and unrolled it,
"Artex decided that the three to act as Magistrates would be himself, Razor Wit, and M..." Celestia stared at the third name in utter disbelief, "REALLY!? Why..." she took a deep breath and let it out, "It's his decision and I will not question it." she looked back at the third name, "Even if I have absolutely NO IDEA why he decided the third Magistrate would be..."

She shook her head,
"Stop thinking about it, and just let it go." she levitated the scroll beside her she she emerged from her private chambers for the first time in five days, "Guards," she addressed the two motionless Pegasus stallions outside her doors, "Bring a large lunch to my sister's room at once. I will be spending some time with her."

She said nothing about the slight twitches in the eyes of the two Guards, but she did take some personal satisfaction from the fact that one of the two had to shuffle his wings to lay flat as she sauntered by swaying her hips intentionally. She had learned long ago that such a shuffle was a surefire sign of a healthy Pegasus hiding a wingboner.

Feeling exceptionally mischievous and owning to the fact that one Guard's eyes lingered on her tail, Celestia suddenly stopped and turned her head back to the one with the shifty wings and roving eye,
"Do I have something in my tail?" she asked giving her pastel colored gluten brush a flirtatious shake, "You seem so fixated on it I just had to wonder."

The Guard turned an alarming shade of pink, which morphed into red, the led right into purple at which time his wings sprung open and he fell forward stiffly and landed passed out on the polished marble floor.

The other Guard took one quick glance at Celestia's tail and responded,
"I see nothing in your tail your majesty. It's much more stationary than we're used to, but it looks healthy though it might use a good brushing."

Celestia giggled at such a blunt response,
"Thank you for noticing." she said giving her tail another shake, "I suppose I have been neglecting it. Thank you Corporal..."

"Fury, Corporal Howling Fury, Airborne Combat Specialist." he informed her.

"Well then, thank you Corporal Fury. Accompany me to my sister's chambers and drag along your partner." she said with a warm smile, "Then go bring lunch to us." she turned and took a single step before she stopped again, "By the way, do you find the royal flank to be... enticing? Alluring perhaps?"

Howling Fury looked at the dancing, shaking, gyrating pristine white backside for a moment before he turned his eyes back to Celestia,
"The royal flank is quite shapely. In regard to it being enticing? Perhaps in a different situation and in different context. As it stands right now, I am on the job and my job is to serve in whatever capacity I can within the confines of the law."

Celestia nodded,
"Thank you Corporal Fury. You've been the very picture of professionalism."

She turned and continued down the hallway, not noticing the fact that Fury was dragging more than his coworker along the hallway. He just knew he was going to have friction burns that night as it squeaked with every step he took down the marble corridor.

Next Chapter: Chapter 18: Out Of The Woods Estimated time remaining: 19 Hours, 19 Minutes