//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: The Trial // Story: A True Mother // by cccvvvttt //------------------------------// The Trial The events took place right where they left off "So, what do you want to do today, sweetie?" Twilight asked, finally finished with unpacking all of the stuff she packed. Zachary, in response to this, put his chin up in thought. He had never really been a Canterlot before, and the whole place was beautiful. Something that Zachary rarely saw in his world. He then set his eyes on a park that was nearby. "Can we go to the park?" Zachary asked, pointing out the window. Twilight had been to that park many times before, that was, until she moved to ponyville. "I think that's the perfect place to go, we can even have a picnic ." Twilight said, wrapping her left wing around him, and pulled him into a light hug. Twilight let out a warm smile, as she felt the young child lay his head on her chest. The child that she grew to love over the past month, the child she truly considered her son. Spike was like a brother to him, but Spike and Twilight always saw each other like a brother and a sister. "Hey, are you guys in.... Awww, that's so adorable...." The voice of Rarity said, as Twilight and Zachary turned around, to see the mane six there, all with the same type of smile. "I'm.... I'm not crying!" Rainbow Dash said quickly, trying to quickly remove her tears of happiness. "I said I wasn't crying!" They all giggled at her little outburst. "What's the matter, Rainbow?" Twilight asked playfully. "Too cute for you?" She then pulled Zachary into another hug, and nuzzled his cheek. "Fine, it's too cute..." Rainbow Dash said, with a defeated sigh. "Don't tell anypony else, that I thought it was too cute, or I will deny it." They all nodded at Rainbow's request, and Twilight looked down at Zachary. "Would you like them to come with us?" Twilight asked. "I would like that, mommy." Zachary said, as he hugged her yet again. Her heat melted at the gesture. She then looked back at all of her friends. "Are you girls alright with that?" Twilight asked, and they all nodded. "Anything for my little cutie!" Pinkie Pie said, suddenly bouncing up to them. "It would be so much fun, we'll.... Wait, where are we going?" Twilight giggled. "We're going down to the park, for a picnic, you know, the one near the castle." Twilight said, pointing out the window, at the place where the park was at. They all looked down, and they had their mouths agape, due to how beautiful the park looked. "I used to take Spike down their a lot when we were living here." "Hey, where is he, by the way?" Rarity asked, now only noticing his absence. "Oh, he's helping Celestia with some paper work that she needed to catch up on." Twilight said. "Well, that's very nice of him, to help out the princess." Rarity said, with a light smile. Twilight looked back down at Zachary, still with that warm smile on her face. "When do you want to go?" Twilight asked, making Zachary go into thought. "I guess now, if that's alright." Zachary said. "Of course it is." Twilight said, and looked back at her friends again. "If that's alright with all of you, that is?" Twilight said. "Of course it is, darling." Rarity said. "I don't think any of us really had any other plans today, right?" The all nodded. "Alright then, let's go." Twilight said, levitating Zachary onto her back. They all left the room, and walked down the long hallway. As they walked, Prince Blueblood walked by as well. When he saw the human child, he shook his head in disgust. "Can't believe they would love such a creature as that...." Blueblood said. "Awwww, he's so cute!" A voice from behind him said. He turned around, and saw some of the maids, who were adoring Zachary. Bluebloods mind clicked. "Everypony seems to think he's cute, I could use this, maybe...." Blueblood said. It was just like with Rarity and the grand galloping gala. Meanwhile, they were all still making their way to the park, chatting among themselves. Once they were out of the castle, they made their way to the park, which wasn't very far, pretty close to the castle. "We're here." Twilight said, as they took their first steps in the area. "Would you like to get off now?" Zachary nodded, as Twilight leaned down, so Zachary could get off of her. Once off, he looked at the park, with amazement in his eyes. He had never seen anything as beautiful as he did in his world. "This is so cool!" Zachary said, with an astonished voice. Twilight smiled. "This kid has the right idea." Rainbow Dash said. "Come on, lets go find a good place to set up." Twilight said. They all found a good spot, that was on a hill, with a tree growing out of it. They all sat down, and started getting everything set up for their picnic. Everypony was helping in some way. Once they were all done, Twilight turned around, and saw Zachary, who was looking down the hill. "Zachary, are you okay?" Twilight asked. He was leaning on the tree. He tried his best to turn around. "It... It hurts again...." Zachary said. Twilight knew what he meant. Ever since they left the hospital, he has been having pain in the area where he was shot at. They would come at random, sometimes they would go away on their own, but the other times, Twilight used her magic to try to ease the pain. "Do you want me to use my magic?" Twilight asked, with a concern look. "No..... I think it's going away now." Zachary said, as his pained expression slowly began to disappear. Twilight was growing more concerned for him, as everyday passed. She thought about taking him to the doctor, which she did, but they couldn't figure out what was wrong with him either. "Alright..." Twilight said. They settled down the red stripped blanket. She sat down, and patted the spot next to her, indicating Zachary to come sit next to her. He did just that, and Twilight wrapped her wing around him. They got out the small basket that they brought with them. "What type of stuff did ya bring?" Applejack asked, as Twilight levitated the materials out of the basket. "Sandwiches, apples, that kind of stuff." Twilight said, as she gave everypony and human one sandwich and one apple. They sat there in peace, eating their meals. Twilight looked down at Zachary, and smiled as she saw him take another bite out of his apple. "Thank you, mommy." He said, with a smile. "You're welcome, dear." Twilight said. Once he was finished with the tasty and juicy apple, he put his head on Twilights chest, falling asleep in the process. The mane six let out another "awwww" as they saw the tiny figure slowly moving his chest up and down with his breathing. "Hey Twi, how's the little feller been?" Applejack asked, and Twilight smiled. "He's been making a lot of progress." Twilight said, taking a quick look at the small figure again. "His voice doesn't trail of like it used to, he doesn't ever really have any trouble with talking to other ponies anymore, and I think his mental trauma is no longer present, though he does now have a fear of hospitals, mainly because of the reason he went to the hospital in the first place." Twilight then put on a worried expression. "That's good...... but why do you look worried?" Fluttershy asked. Twilight sighed. "There's something wrong with him." Twilight said, causing her friends to gasp. "What could possibly be wrong with Zachary?" Rainbow asked, now hovering in the air. "If there's a pony giving him trouble, I will-" "No, that's not it at all." Twilight said. "He.... He's been having these random bursts of pain in the area he was shot in." She lowered her head. "I've been using my magic to try to ease the pain whenever he has it, but I fear that wont always work." She sighed again,. "Why don't you just take him to the doctor?" Applejack asked. Twilight looked at her, with a sad look. "I've tried that too, but they can't figure out what's wrong with him either." Twilight replied. They all looked at Zachary, each one had great concern in their eyes. "What should we do?" Rarity asked. "The poor darling doesn't deserve to be in any sort of pain." Twilight nodded in agreement. "Your right, but the only thing I can do for him right now, is heal the pain whenever it comes." Twilight said. "I really hope that we can-" "Hey, is that Princess Twilight?!" The voice of a pony shouted. They all looked in that direction, causing Zachary to start to stir a bit in his sleep. "It is! Look, she's with that human child!" Another voice said, causing more and more ponies to come. "Mommy..... What's going on.....?" Zachary asked, rubbing his eyes. The crowd of ponies gasped at the name. "Did he just call you his mother?" One pony asked. "How long has he been doing that, or is this is first time?" Another one asked. The group was getting closer, and Twilight could tell this was making Zachary uncomfortable. Suddenly, one of the ponies ran right up to Zachary, levitating a notepad and a pencil. "What year where you born?" The pony asked. He was suddenly lifted back by Twilight. She then used a spell to mute Zachary's hearing, as she was about to use the Royal Canterlot Voice. "Everypony stop! Your making him uncomfortable!" Twilight shouted, them growing silent. "No questions, no camera's, and no crowds! We already have a lot to deal with!" At that, everypony ran off in a different direction, while her friends just stood there, stunned. Twilight unmuted Zachary's ears. "Why did they all run off?" Zachary asked. "No reason, guess they got bored." Twilight said, with a giggle, as she rubbed Zachary's back with her wing, again." They wont be bothering us anymore." Her friends nodded in agreement. "Yeah..... Bored...." Applejack said. She was a terrible lair. "Come on, lets get back to the castle." Twilight said. They all began to pack up there things. Pinkie was surprisingly quit through out the picnic, until now, that is. "Hey Zachary, didn't you tell us your birthday was on June 10th?" Pinkie asked, with enthusiasm. "Yes, it's on June 10th, why?" Zachary replied. Pinkie giggled. "Juuust wondering." She said, with a smile. Zachary was confused, but he just shrugged it off as Pinkie just being Pinkie. The rest of the day wasn't very interesting. Once they were back to the castle, they just hung out, doing whatever they wanted, and what not. Luna's night was beautiful, as it was filled with star's, and of course that bright shining moon. Twilight, The Mane Six, Spike, and Zachary, we're all heading back to their rooms. They just had dinner with a two Princess's, and they all talked about what they did that day. Spike, after helping Celestia, went into Canterlot to see some of his friends that he hadn't seen in a while. After doing that, he came back to the castle, and he stayed in their room, reading some of his comic books. Celestia and Luna were mostly busy that day, talking with other ponies, going to meetings, and all those other boing things. The meal they had for dinner was hay burgers. Unfortunately, Zachary couldn't digest hay, and they had to find that out the hard way, so he just had a PBJ sandwich. After dinner, they were all walking back to their rooms, Spike was sharing a room with Twilight and Zachary. "I'm....... Tired........" Zachary said, with a tired tone in his voice. "Do you want to rid eon my back?" Twilight asked, and Zachary shook his head. "No, our room is right there, right?" Zachary asked, pointing a finger at one of the doors. Twilight looked at it, and realized he was right. The room was right there. "Yes, that is our room, actually." Twilight said, opening the door to said room. Once they were inside, Zachary went to the bed, and jumped right onto it, getting under the covers. Twilight giggled. "Well, someone is really tired tonight, aren't they?" Twilight asked, and Zachary just nodded his head. "We have a busy day tomorrow, so you should get as much rest as you can." Spike said, with a yawn. "That means me too." With that, he plopped into his basket, and nearly instantly went to sleep. Twilight looked back at Zachary, and she saw Zachary had a worried expression on his face. "Zachary, you're not hurting again, are you?" Twilight asked, and Zachary shook his head. "No, I just really don't want to see John again." Zachary said, shuddering at the memory of being shot. Twilight walked up to him, with a reassuring smile. "It's alright, Zachary. I know how you feel...." Twilight said. She never wanted to see John again, as he greatly effected her too, after he shot Zachary. "But if we don't go tomorrow, they might never be able to lock him up, and he might be free again." Zachary didn't want that to happen. "I.. I just don't want him to hurt me anymore." Zachary said, and Twilight gave him a sad look. "I know you don't, and he will never be able to hurt you ever again, not even in the court." Twilight said, giving Zachary a light hug. After the hug, she looked down at him. "Would you like to sleep with me tonight?" Twilight asked, and Zachary shook his head. "No thanks, I'm good." Zachary said. "But if I have a nightmare..." His voice trailed off. "Then I'll be here, you have no need to worry." Twilight said, giving him a light kiss on the head. "Goodnight Zachary, I'll see you in the morning." With that, she went to her bed, and turned out the lights. Zachary rested his head on the pillow.Never can hurt me again, John....... Zachary thought, as he went off into the dream realm. The Next Day.... "This trial is now in session!" The judge said, banging his gavel down, as the rest of the ponies, and they two humans made their way into the court room. Spike would have come, but because he didn't really have anything to do with this, he was not invited. Zachary was next to Twilight, while John was in ropes, had no lawyer to help him, nothing but the tight ropes around his hands. He gave Zachary a dirty glare, which caused him to flinch. Twilight noticed this, and glared back. "Don't worry, he can't do anything." Twilight said, with a reassuring smile. "Alright then." The judge said, as the lasts of the ponies sat down. "Lets start by asking a few ponies up to the stand, may Twilight Sparkle come up to the stand first please?" Twilight nodded, then looked back down at Zachary. I'll be right back, don't worry." Twilight said, and Zachary nodded his head in understandment. She got up from her seat, and went up there. "Thank you, your honor." "My pleasure, Princess Twilight Sparkle." The judge said. "Now, it's my understandment that you found Zachary behind your library, lost and alone, is this correct?" Twilight nodded her head. "Yes, this is true." Twilight said. "Care to explain the events happening after this?" The judge asked. Twilight nodded her head, and began explaining. "After that happened, I let Zachary stay at the library for the night, making sure he was warm and comfortable." Twilight started. "The next night, the defendant, John, came to my library, with his wife, and he had a gun with him, and he was going to try and shoot me!" The judge gave her a curious look. "What does this "gun" do again?" The judge asked. "It's like a bow." Twilight said. "It has these little things in it, that when you pull the trigger, they fire out, and whatever that little thing hits, can either be really hurt, or worse..." This got a gasp out of the crowd. "Has John ever used this gun on anypony or creature?" The judge asked. "Yes, he has, actually." Twilight said, pointing at Zachary. "He used it on Zachary, nearly costing him his life." This caused an even bigger gasp from the crowd. "Do you have any evidence to back this up?" The judge asked. "Yes." Twilight said, as she then levitated something off the table she was sitting at, and handed it to the judge. "This medical records came from the day he came to the hospital." The judge read what was on it. Patient 32. Has hole in the side of his torso, came from a tiny arrow, as we call it right now. Came from a gun. Condition: Stable, however, unsure on how to heal wound. The judge gave a quick glare at John. "He still has a little scar from it." Twilight said. "He also gets random surges of pain because of it, too." The judge nodded. "Thank you for your words, Princess Twilight. You may take your seat." With that, Twilight went back next to Zachary. "Next, can Rainbow Dash come up to the stand?" Rainbow nodded. "Sure thing, Judge." Rainbow said, as she hovered to the stand. "When was the first time you meet Zachary?" The judge asked. "The first time I meet him was back at Twilights library." Rainbow said. "What was he doing at that time?" The judge asked. "Well, when Twilight came to get the door, he was upstairs, and then he started to play a song on a piano thing." Rainbow said. "What was this song called?" The judge asked. Rainbow didn't know why he wanted to know that, but she went along with it. "It was called Theme Of Laura Reprise, or something like that." Rainbow said. "He was really good at playing it too." The judge nodded. "When was your first encounter with John?" The judge asked. "He was at Twilights library, and he was going to try and shoot Twilight!"" Rainbow said. "I had to stop him, so I flew up to him, and gave him a buck to the face." The judge had a thought. "How did you know he was going to try to shoot Twilight, and how did you know what a gun was at that time?" The judge had a curious look. Rainbow looked back at Zachary. "Because he told us, your honor." Rainbow said. "He told us how John would hurt him everyday for no good reason at all! He also told us what a gun could do, and believe me, I've seen a gun get used before." She gave Zachary a sad look. "Thank you for that, Rainbow. You may go back to your seat." The judge said. Rainbow nodded, as she took her seat next to Twilight and the rest of them. "Next, can Applejack come up to the stand." The judge asked. Applejack nodded, as she came up to the stand. "Thank you, yer honor." Applejack said, as she sat at the stand. "Miss Applejack, do you know why John was abusive towards his son?" The judge asked. Applejack huffed. "John ain't Zachary's real father, he is his foster father." Applejack said, bringing another question to the judge. "Why was Zachary in the foster system in his world in the first place?" The judge asked. "His real mother died, and his father was locked up." Applejack said. "The reason he was abusive, was because he wanted revenge on Zachary's father for accidently causing the death of his daughter, Ah think." She looked at Twilight, and she gave her a nod, indicating that she was right. "Do you have any evidence to back this up?" The judge asked. "Well.... No, not really." Applejack replied, with a nervous look. "Thank you, miss Applejack, you may return to your seat." Applejack sighed, as she went back down to sit next to her friends. "It's alright, even if you don't have evidence, you have witnesses." Twilight quietly told Applejack. She gave her a smile. "Thanks Twi." Applejack said. "Can Miss Rarity come up to the stand?" The judge called out, and Rarity went up to the stand. "Here, your honor." Rarity said. "Rarity, tell me what you think of Zachary." The judge said. "Zachary, why he is a little angle." Rarity said. "Even though he isn't a pony, he is still so sweet and kind. Sure, he may have had a rough start because of John, but he's doing better now." She gave Zachary a light smile. "What do you mean by "Rough start?" The judge asked. "Well, because of what John did to him, he was so shy." Rarity said. "Twilight told us that he would stare out the window, he would lose his voice a lot, and other things, and it's all because of him." She then pointed a hoof at John. "Can you tell me more about John?" The judge asked. "Well, John is a human, who thinks it's alright to hurt little children like Zachary, and they think that they can get away with it, but they can't!" Rarity said. "I don't know how John was capable of doing something like that to a child, but he deserves to be locked up, forever!" The judge was shocked at her sudden outburst. Even Twilight managed to keep her cool, and she was basically Zachary's new mother. "Thank you, Rarity, you may take your seat." The judge said. Rarity nodded, and went back. "Will Fluttershy come up to the stand, please?" A little eep came from the table, as the bright yellow Pegasus came up to the stand. She was nervous. "No need to be nervous, Fluttershy." The judge said. "I just want to ask you some questions, is that alright with you?" Fluttershy nodded her head, as she sat down at the stand. "Fluttershy, what did you think when you first met Zachary?" The judge asked. "Well.... When we first met him, he was all alone..... The ponies in ponyville thought he was a monster..... But just by looking at him, you could tell that he was innocent..... And not some evil monster...." Fluttershy said. "Why do you think the ponies thought he was a monster?" The judge asked. "Well, nopony has ever really seen a human before...... So I guess they all just assumed that he was one......." Fluttershy said meekly. The judge could tell that she didn't want to be up at that stand anymore, but he had another question he had to ask her. "Do you think John is a monster?" The judge asked. "Of course he is." Fluttershy said, no longer with a nervous voice. "But if he is a human like Zachary, how can he be a monster?" The judge asked, before realizing what he said a little. "No offense, of course, sorry...." Fluttershy had an answer. "It's not the appearance, or the way anypony looks that makes them a monster, it's the actions that they do." Fluttershy said boldly. "Wow, thank you Fluttershy." The judge said. She gave him a light smile, as she walk back to her seat. "Can Pinkie come up-" "Already here!" The pink mare said, causing the judge to nearly jump out of his seat. He regained his composer. "Alright, Pinkie. I understand you love to throw parties, right?" The judge asked. "Yep! Party's are amazing, and I love to throw them with all of my friends!" Pinkie said, bouncing up and down. "Have you ever thrown Zachary a party before?" The judge asked. "Of course I have! I've thrown him four parties!" Pinkie said. "The first one was for his amazing talent with the piano, the second was a welcoming party, the third one was an adoption party, and the last one was a glad your better party!" The judge was shocked at this. "Would you ever throw John a party?" The judge asked. "The only party I would throw for him is a "Goodbye, hope you never come back" Party, and he wouldn't even be invited!" Pinkie said, giving John a disapproving look. "That's all I need to hear." The judge said. "I find the human John, guilty. Thee might not be enough evidence to show he was abusive, there is defiantly enough evidence that he did try to murder Zachary. If Princess Celestia could, she should decide his fate." Celestia nodded in agreement, as she walked down from where she was sitting. "John, as punishment for what you've done, and for attempted murder, you shall be turned into stone!" Celestia said. "Murder is an act never to be performed in Equestria, so for that, you'll never be released from your stone prison!" "But, you can't do that!" John protested. "I have a life, you know!" Celestia gave him a dirty glare. "Well, maybe if you didn't use your life for evil purposes, then maybe this wouldn't be happening to you!" Celestia shot back. "But how do we know if that Twilight pony wasn't abusive?" John asked, pointing a figure at Twilight. "Hey, I don't hurt other's like you do!" Twilight said. "Well, maybe you didn't physically hurt him, but how do I know you didn't "Touch" him?" Twilight was confused. "What do you..." Twilight then knew what he meant by that. "I WOULD NEVER!" Zachary looked up at her, confused. "What did he mean by that, mommy?" He asked. "You don't need to know right now, maybe when your older." Twilight quickly said, calming herself. "Oh, now your calling her you mom?" John asked. "She's a pony, she can't be your mom, you little insignificant waste of-" "ENOUGH!" Celestia shouted, stomping her hoof down. "You no longer have permission to speak! You will be turned to stone tomorrow! Guards, get him out of here!" Celestia said. The guards nodded, as Cloudy Arrow and TriforceAndroid Carried him away. Though, TriforceAndroid used to be a inmate, he wanted to turn his life around, so Celestia turned him into one of the royal guards. "You will pay for this! You will, and I'll make sure of it!" They were out of the courtroom now. "I will kill you! Every single last-" "Oh, would you shut up?!" Cloudy Arrow said, as he punched John in the gut. "You little-" john said, trying to move, but the guards wouldn't let him. "You deserved that, to be fair." TriforceAndroid said, as they carried him away. In the courtroom, Celestia looked at The Mane Six. "Girls, if you don't mind, can one of you go back to ponyville, and get the elements so he can be turned into stone?" Celestia asked. Rainbow hovered in the air a little. "I will!" Rainbow said. "I'll go as soon as we leave this building, and I can be back here in like an hour!" Celestia smiled at the rainbow maned Pegasus. "Thank you, Rainbow." Celestia said, as everypony else besides the mane six left. "I must go now, I hope you all have the good rest of your day." With that, Celestia teleported away. As the rest of them left the court room, Twilight noticed that Zachary was looking down at the ground, and she had an idea why. "Zachary, you know what John said wasn't true, right?" Twilight asked. "I will always be there, and I will always be your mother, even if I didn't give birth to you." Zachary smiled. "Really?" He asked, and that's when the rest of them got into the conversation. "Of course she is!" Rainbow Dash said. "The rest of us are like your family, and were the coolest one around." Applejack got into the conversation next. "Yeah, if ya ever have a problem, you can come to me, Twilight, or any of us." Applejack said, with a warm smile. "That ruffian John, is a liar, but he wont ever be able to lie to you again." Rarity said, with a smile of her own. "Yeah, don't worry, we'll always be here for you." Fluttershy said, then pinkie came up. "If you ever need any cheering up, then just come to me, and I can turn that frown upside-down!" Pinkie said, with a bright smile. Tears of joys leaked from Zachary's eyes. Thank you..." He said, as they all got into a group hug. They stayed that way for a while, then they broke it. "Mommy, can I sleep with you tonight?" Twilight smiled at him. "Of course you can." She said, as they all left the court house, each with bright smiles, knowing John would never be able to hurt them ever again.