A human living in Canterlot castle is given to Queen Chrysalis as part of peace negotiations between Equestria and the Hive. Celestia knew she shouldn't have let Luna finish the negotiations herself.

Cover art by jalm on Derpibooru.

Featured on 4/22/20. Thanks guys!

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This story takes place during the time skip in the final chapter of Run Without Debugging, but knowledge of that story is not necessary to enjoy this one.

Weddings are beautiful things. For many ponies, a wedding is the best day of their lives. Years ago, Chrysalis, the ex-queen of the changelings, adored weddings as well. Her intentions, however, were less than noble.

Today, she has put her past behind her. She has been (somewhat) forgiven. She has a place in society. She has someone who loves her. The real her.

It's finally time for her own wedding.

She didn't show up.

Not long ago, a strange creature named Anon wandered into Maretime Bay. It was clear from the get-go that he needed some help, but not everypony was immediately accepting of the strange creature. So, it fell to Sunny Starscout and her friends to look after the new arrival.

...At least, that was what they thought. When their backs were turned, Anon made an unlikely friend, and she was the last pony they expected to see him with. Posey Bloom isn't exactly known for getting along with others.

And yet, she adores him.

This story is a sequel to Stoking the Flames

Following her defeat, Opaline Arcana was consumed by her Together Tree. She knows not how long she was in there, but finally, everything has gone cold. For a fire alicorn, this can mean only one thing:

She has died.

And someone is waiting for her on the other side.

This story is a sequel to Lovesickness

Following the lovesickness debacle, your relationship with Chrysalis has been strained. Your deal still stands, but... things are different now. And with some troubling rumors going around about your favorite bug, her motivation to leave the house has only gone down.

However, that doesn't mean you've given up on her. You still believe in her ability to do the right thing, and it is that belief that caused you to get into an altercation with some of your closest friends. But when that altercation escalates as a result of Chrysalis's actions, you find yourself taking on a serious injury that could very well be fatal.

It comes as a shock to everyone when Chrysalis scoops you up and makes a break for it. Although her motivations are unknown, it seems that she is dead set on keeping you away from the ponies that could help you.

But with no friends to assist her, where can Chrysalis even run to, and what could she possibly be planning?

It was nearly one thousand years ago that Opaline Arcana defeated Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Her plan had succeeded, and the three ponykinds were split, their bonds broken. However, the ordeal left Opaline drained of her magic. If she revealed herself too soon, everything would have been for naught. She had a castle, but she couldn't leave.

While she still had her followers, there was one major issue: She is immortal, and they were not. Thus, she was eventually the only one left, and she required an assistant. Unfortunately, enchantments will only get a pony so far, and wild creatures aren't exactly reliable. While a young unicorn mare named Misty Brightdawn would come to her a few years before she would finally get her chance to return to the public eye, there were hundreds of years where very little happened.

However, about sixty of those years are an exception. Those were the years that she found herself with something she never expected.

A companion. A human companion.

Suggested by Wanderer312.

In your old world, magic only existed in fiction. However, once you wound up in Equestria, everything you knew was suddenly called into question, and magic became just another daily occurrence. As such, it should have come as no surprise when you were more enamored by the stage magic of "The Great and Powerful" Trixie than most. Over time, the two of you grew close, and you quickly went from a fan, to a friend, to a confidant.

And just days ago, she asked you out to dinner, thus making the two of you official.

Since then, you've been as happy as can be. However, you're quickly realizing that life with Trixie can be a bit more... demanding than you were expecting.

Just how much are you willing to put up with in the name of love?

This story is a sequel to Bed Bug

It was two months ago that you and Chrysalis struck a deal. Now, the two of you live together in your Ponyville home, under the condition that you share your love with the ex-queen while she... doesn't do villain stuff. You've grown quite close in that time, but despite getting her to slowly come out of her shell around you, she still refuses to leave the house.

So when you wake up one day to discover that she has contracted some sort of illness, it comes as a bit of a shock. She has apparently never been sick before, and you don't know enough about changelings to help her yourself. It seems like the only solution is to find somecreature who does.

However, the past is not so easily forgotten. How can you get help when the Changeling Kingdom wants nothing to do with her? When the wounds that she caused run so deep that even children bear their scars? When Chrysalis herself is so stubborn, so prideful, that she is unwilling to admit her fault in any of it?

When is a crime too terrible to forgive?

For a human that ended up in an alien world full of talking ponies, you've been living a surprisingly boring life. Sure, you have friends and go on adventures and stuff, but you don't really have a "purpose" per se. At least, you didn't until about a month ago, when a "heinous villain" that had been turned to stone went missing from Canterlot. Now, there's a washed-up queen crashing in your basement and stealing your love.

If only you could get her to admit that she doesn't actually steal it from you.

A lawyer doesn't always want to know what really happened. It's a tightrope walk. Whether or not the lawyer believes in his client's innocence is not the issue. It's his duty to defend his client - no more and no less.
— Ferdinand von Schirach

Proofreading done by Dancing Mop, Sevenofeleven, Setokaiva and N4.
Credit for many images goes to N4.

Now also featured on TvTropes.org!

Nearly one year has passed since Australian pilots discovered Equestria in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

Now the world watches in awe as, with the Princesses' blessings, one of the most ferocious and dangerous tyrants of the equine world - none other than Chrysalis, the Queen of all Changelings - is marched before one of the highest courts of law of the human world - the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the Netherlands.

But the Queen is wrathful and determined, still one of the planet's single most powerful creatures.
How can mere humans, who know next to nothing of her mystical home, achieve justice for the Equestrians?

Alexander Estermann is a conceited defence attorney who will have to wade through a quagmire of vengeance, racism, manipulation, lies, hearsay and self-deception to get to the core of the affair.
Seemingly the whole world is working against him - up and including the Queen herself.

Rated teen for liberal swearing and gore for minor gory descriptions and pictures.

Disclaimer: This is not a story that is meant to reflect reality. Several things about international law have been changed to accomodate the scenario and make it, well, readable. If that should offend you for any reason, I wish to apologise in advance.