The Celestial Spirit World

The Moment of Justice

Libra's POV: Zodiac Circle

"Let the trial begin!" I shouted, banging my scales on a table that had been set up. "This is the trial for the Winged Horse, Pegasus. All spirits watching must remain silent at all times, and there shall be no use of magic nor violence whatsoever. However, if you have any questions, please tell one of the Zodiac Spirits that have been stationed in front of your seating area. They will be able to raise questions and objections. If you fail to comply with these rules, you shall be escorted from the circle. Now, please rise for His Majesty..." I began to rattle off the titles that the King bore in an absent-minded manner. As the Zodiac of Balance, I was usually the one presiding over the trials, because of my ability to detect lies. As all of the spirits rose, the King came, looming over the Circle.

"Thank you Libra." He said. "Let us begin. Libra, do the opening."

"This case regards the disappearance of the Winged Horse, Pegasus, for three millennia. Normally, this would not be considered a violation, but the Defendant left after clearly being put on permanent Custody inside the Spirit World. Pegasus left by hiding within the Clock, Horologium, via Human Insubordination Magic. Zodiacs, you may now begin the debate. "Should Pegasus be put on further custody for this violation?" The argument starts...now." 

Lyra stood up and went to Ares. She whispered something in her ear, and Ares nodded. "Lyra, The Lyre, has asked: "Why didn't Horologium say anything about what was inside of him?"

"Alright. Horologium, please stand up and answer." I banged my scales again.

"Well..." Horologium began. "Human Insubordination Magic gives the user the ability to control others. When used on Celestial Spirits, it can be used to enter the body and consciousness of the Spirit. Whenever Pegasus feared that his hiding place would be found, he would take over my body and answer. That is why I could not tell anyone."

"The Chisel Caelum asks:" Loke spoke. "Why didn't anyone think to check Horologium?" An angry mutter spread throughout the Zodiac Spirits. We, after all, were the ones in charge of the search. 

"I believe that The Lion, Loke, or the King of the Zodiacs should answer this." I banged my scales. 

"We did consider looking inside Horologium. But the only way to eject the Master of Horologium's body would be to use a large amount of brute strength to force him out. Would you do that to a fellow Spirit? Also... we did not consider the fact that a Spirit could use Insubordination Magic. We did not know that Capricorn's temporary gain could have been used by Pegasus to his advantage." 

The questions continued on until no one had any left. 

"No more questions?" The Spirit King was clearly itching to get to the verdict. "May we now-"

"Not yet your Majesty." I interrupted him. "Now that the Spirits have spoken, it is the Zodiac's turn to argue their mind."

"May we skip that?" He growled. 

"No. It is one of the laws that we must go through this process before making a final decision."

"But the final decision is up to me!"

"Yes," I replied. "But only I can hear what you say, and only I announce the results. So if you skip this step, I will do the exact opposite as you tell me." The King muttered and cursed, but he remained silent. Capricorn was the first to speak.

"I believe," He said slowly. "That Pegasus did indeed violate the rules and orders that were given to him. But looking at the circumstances, I also believe that the punishment was slightly too harsh."

"Harsh?" The Celestial King snorted. "We are talking about a horse with the power to destroy the world, and you call my judgement harsh? I would consider it lucky that I did not ban Pegasus from this world."

"Yes Sir." Ares whispered. "We do consider that lucky, but instead of banning him from coming in, you banned Pegasus from going out."

"I stay in this world all the time, because I'm also too powerful to be used. How come don't get bored?"

"Well," Loke answered. "I believe it to be a matter of personal preference. YOU may be fine staying in the Spirit World forever, but others certainly aren't. Besides, you can leave at any time. Pegasus was chained to the Spirit World, without any say for his own free will."

"Loke..." The King rubbed his temples. "Yes, I don't mind staying in the Spirit World. But I banned you from coming into the Spirit World; is there really a difference?"

"I think..." He said slowly. "That when I first got banned, I really was angry at the court for doing so. But there was nothing I could really do about it. The door was sealed off for me. But Pegasus had seen the door opening everyday, right in front of his face, taunting him. He had a choice to make, unlike me. He chose to leave, and we must respect his feelings."

"Alright. You've all proven to me that you aren't on my side. What would you do with a huge winged horse then?" The King seemed utterly surprised at the stance his supposed allies were taking.

"I'd give his key to Fairy Tail." Loke answered. "They could protect it; they did so for me."

"HA! Mortals! Aren't we supposed to be keeping the key from them?"

"If you're going to stop a spirit from going out, you might as well blow up the link between or worlds forever." Capricorn answered. A nod from the assembly verified that.

"Fine." I said. Then, an evil thought popped into my mind. "How about let's put it to vote."

The King groaned. "I'm glad you agree." I said. Then, I posed the question. "Who votes for Pegasus to be given to Fairy Tail?"

Silence. Then, Lyra raised her hand. More followed. Soon, the entire audience had voted for him. 

"It's a perfect vote! Pegasus will be given to Fairy Tail!" The spirits cheered. We did it. We won.