Chapter 10: Judgement [Part 1]
Paladin lay on the bed, his eyes closed, his mind still sleeping. Pariah stood guard, his eyes ever-shifting colours in the blind-induced darkness of the room. An empty cup sat on the bench next to him.
Celestia had departed, having to oversee the Day Court. Now, only silence filled the room. Despite his calm exterior, Pariah's thoughts raced in his head, and the normally emotionless pony's heart pounded in his chest. Despite his best efforts, his thoughts always returned to Silver Star.
Pariah's thoughts turned to Princess Luna, who was yet to return from Ponyville. He contemplated this, before writing it of as a hangover. "She probably had eight or nine drinks..." he chuckled to himself.
A moan drew his attention. He turned, and found Paladin sitting up, a hoof rubbing his head in an attempt to alleviate his headache. "Pariah? Why are you in my bedroom?" He blinked. "Wait, this isn't my bedroom. Where am I?"
"Princess Celestia's private chambers. She brought you here after Artemis knocked you out. And, after you tried to kill her," Pariah stated, rather bluntly.
Paladin stared at Pariah. "I would never try to kill the Princess," he exclaimed.
Pariah shrugged. "That's not what I saw."
Paladin lay back down, struggling to accept what he was hearing.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Concord's head pounded as he woke up. Another reason Paladin doesn't drink... the thought swam through his foggy brain.
"Hey, Concord." A loud voice cut through the fog like a knife, intensifying the headache. Concord's eyes slid ever-so-slowly open, to see the worried face of Spike. "You better come see this."
"K-keep it down Spike. My head's killing me," Concord moaned.
Spike raised an eyebrow. "I'm whispering. Now get up, you need to see this." The urgency in his voice prompted Concord to get up. Raising his head, he looked at Sarah, asleep on his belly, and Evening, asleep on the couch. Carefully, he slid out from under Sarah, somehow managing to put a pillow in his place.
"Right, lead the way Spike." Nodding, Spike took off, Concord staggering behind him.
As Spike raced up the stairs, Concord attempted to follow him, only to slip and whack his head against a wall. “Ooooowwww,” he moaned. Spike spared him a glance, before motioning for him to follow. Grumbling something about ‘never drinking again’, and ‘freaking hangovers’, Concord got up and started following him.
Spike stopped out side Twilight's room, motioning inside. "What is so damn import-" Concord's breath caught in his throat when he saw Twilight, cowering in the corner, her face streaked with tears.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Paladin lay on the bed. "What happened to me?"
Well, it's quite simple. You were overwhelmed by your incredible amount of negative emotions.
Paladin sat up, bolt straight. "Artemis?"
The one and only.
Pariah turned. "Artemis, in physical form please."
Artemis' body formed next to the bed, his fiery body lighting up the room. "Hey." He grinned. "So, thanks to me, Paladin is now free of his negative emotions, and is now completely himself again. Good thing you don't drink. It would've intensified the problem." He looked around the room. "Ooh, Celestia's personal chambers... I always liked this room." With a gesture, all the candles in the room burst into life, throwing the room into stark contrast and temporarily blinding both Paladin and Pariah.
Blinking to clear his eyes, Pariah glanced around the room, before opening the blinds. "You could've just done that."
"But my way was much more dramatic."
Pariah sighed. "Now that you're both here, we should go see the Princess. You have some explaining to do." And with that, he turned, and flung open the doors, not waiting for Paladin or Artemis to follow.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Luna and Sarah were up now. Luna had dropped her disguise, and the clothes she had worn were folded up neatly, resting on the kitchen counter. Once Concord had managed to calm her down, Twilight had fallen asleep almost instantly.
"Isn't there anything we can do for her?" Concord said as he downed his eighth cup of coffee. Despite the excessive consumption, he still felt tired.
Luna shook her head. "We don't know what happened." She glanced at Spike, who was busy making pancakes. "And we should probably help Spike first."
Sarah, who had remained quiet up to point, cleared her throat. "I think, we should tell her friends. They would want to know about this."
Luna nodded. "Yes... Concord, would you mind?"
He shook his head. "Not at all." He stood and walked outside, before a sonic boom, and a small moan, marked his passing.
Luna walked over to Twilight, who lay on the couch. "Perhaps a look inside your dreams would help..."
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The Princess sat on her throne, her gaze cold and unflinching as she stared at the pony before her. Finally, she spoke. "Paladin Amor, you have committed a most grave offence. The assault and attempted murder of a princess. This has never happened before. So tell me, what do you think your punishment should be?"
Paladin bowed his head, silent. Pariah studied both of them. "Perhaps we should speak to Twilight."
Paladin's head snapped up. "No."
"No?" Celestia continued her unflinching gaze. "Why not?"
"I- I can't say."
"Paladin. Your actions have determined mine." Celestia shook her head sorrowfully. "Unless my faithful student can provide concrete evidence as to why I should not present judgement upon you, I will hoof down my verdict." Her eyes glowed with an inner light. “And you will be punished.”
"Surely we should give some time to prepare a case Princess," Pariah spoke up. "Take the chariot perhaps?"
Celestia paused. "Alright. We will take the chariot, and I will send a letter ahead." Celestia's horn glowed, and a quill and parchment appeared. She was silent as she wrote, before the letter vanished with a 'poof.'
"We will go now to see my student, and we will determine your fate." Celestia stepped down from her throne.
"Wait, we? As in all of us?" Pariah looked at her indignantly.
"Yes, all of us. Guards." Almost instantly two guards were by her side. "Chain the prisoner, and prepare the chariot. We lead at once."
They both saluted, before wrapping thick chains around Paladin. Together, the armour-clad duo dragged him from the throne room and towards the chariot waiting outside, ready to fly to the barely visible speck of a town in the distance.