“You knew?” Tsuki asked. “Of course you knew. You couldn't possibly have missed it after having done the research required to find that arbitration law in the first place.”
“Princess Tsuki, if you could enlighten the court?” Princess Celestia requested.
“We discovered the issue back in the days before Grogar’s activities caused the downfall of the Old republic. We’d traveled back in time to the beginning. We were there to learn and our facilitator had told us not to worry about anything we do as to her we’d already done it,” Princess Louise offered. “Knowing that there would indeed be times when a Priestess of Akkadia would not be available we added a provision to address that eventuality. Daisy Woods parole would only have spanned the amount of time it took your legal team to find it.”
“I am not undone just yet,” Mr Stain announced with just a hint of wavering in his voice. “We have yet to hear from this Moonie individual.”
“You want I should call her?” I asked as I directed my gaze to my counterpart.
“Hang on, what?” Mr Stain asked. “Wouldn't calling the witness be the responsibility of the court?”
“Moonie, is a Guardian spirit of sorts,” Tsuki offered. “A spell matrix that has gained self-awareness. Understand that she as likely recorded every detail of her encounter, and is capable of projecting an illusion that will allow us to witness the encounter as though first-hoof. “Are you sure that’s what you want?”
“In for a bit, in for a bail,” Stain offered. “Let us see what this Moonie has for us.”
“Go on then, summon her,” Tsuki requested of me.
“Moonie, if you could…”
My wings shot out as the room morphed into the bottom side of the cloud layer that obscured the Cloudsdale Air station sky island. I wasn’t the only one who spread their wings causing a moment of pandemonium.
“Calm down!” Tsuki ordered. “It’s just an illusion.”
Indeed my hooves were still on solid ground and the furnishings still visible.
“Damn it Moonie, warn a pony before you do that!” I protested as the figures of three fillies dropped down through the cloud layer. Folding my wings I watched in fascination as a little Moonie escorted Rumble, Scootaloo, and myself to the airship. The ship itself was presented as a cutaway for all to see, a figure in the lounge as yet grayed out.
Hearing Moonie’s interpretation of my voice was just strange. Rumble and Scootaloo were spot on, but did I really sound like that?
And then we watched as Moonie passed through the door to the lounge. She’d known someone was there and had gone to her adult size barely a moment after entering the room. Our voices quieted and muted as we heard the clack-clack of Moonie’s simulated hooves on the floor.
“Who’s there?” Called the voice of the pony in the lounge. It was Daisy. She turned to see Moonie. “Well, well, well, this is a pleasant surprise,” Daisy offered as she got up. “The boys have really outdone themselves. Princess Bucking Luna. My, my, my. Not like dear sweet Celly is going to care. In fact, I’d bet she’ll be glad to be rid of you. Just like she was glad to be rid of that brat. Of course, I could send you back to her. A piece at a- Guys, why the buck doesn’t she have a bucking horn suppressor! Oi, get in here!”
Why I hadn’t heard Daisy yelling I could only guess short of Moonie was actively using a silencer spell to keep us from hearing Daisy.
“Moonie, why didn’t I hear any of that?” I protested. “I should have heard that.”
“I used a silencer on the room,” Moonie offered moments after appearing next to me even as the Daisy projection made a lunge for an object on a table. “I didn’t want you to hear and come charging back, and you know you would have done it.”
The memory display of Moonie just watched in fascination as the Daisy projection slammed a horn ring on Moonie’s horn.
“Ha, you stupid unicorn!” the Daisy projection gloated.
“Also, Moonie wanted to have fun with her,” Moone explained as the memory projection looked up at her horn as though wondering why her magic no longer worked. She then turned her eyes to Daisy, smiled a toothy grin even as the ring fell to the ground as though there was nothing there. This was followed by the projection chuckling a rather sinister laugh that morphed into an evil laugh of delight as the form of the pony morphed into The Night Mare.
“I am Nightmare Moon! Bwa HA HA HA HA!!!”
I’ll admit that I was stunned. And yet, there was a part of me whispering in the back of my mind that the spectacle I was seeing was the funniest thing I’d ever seen. In fact, watching the eyes of the projection of Daisy roll back as her body slumped was nearly more than I could take.
Not like I had any sympathy for that mare.
My hoof hit my muzzle more to hide my smile than out of shock at Moonie’s behavior.
“So what you are saying is that you didn’t want me spoiling your fun, is that it?” I scolded Moonie even as we witnessed the image of Daisy fainting. The Moonie of the memory reverted to average pony size, carried the limp form of Daisy to a cabin, locked her in, and then proceeded to the back. In this manner, we saw everything Rumble and I had seen on our first trip back. The condition the foals were in was hard to dismiss by even the coldest of hearts.
The illusion faded away as Moonie went forward to join us in the bridge.
“Mr Stain, do you have any questions?” Princess Louise asked. Her tone was cold. Princess Tsuki had her muzzle down with a hoof on her forehead.
“Guardian spirit? That creature is some kind of monster,” Mr Stain protested.
“Define monster?” I protested. I’d no intention of letting him answer. “She certainly never hurt any pony. She never locked foals in cages. Never conspired against anyone. What she does is protect me and every creature around me. Even at her own expense.”
“That’s quite enough,” Princess Tsuki scolded. She’d a stern look on her face. She slowly turned her attention to Mr Stain.
“Mr Stain, I’ve a similar guardian. She is a warm loving sentient being who just happens to be made of pure magic. And to the best of my knowledge, which is quite extensive, a Guardian is incapable of lying to the individual they protect save in the need to protect them. I’m afraid I have to acknowledge what we’ve just seen as valid.”
“Trial by combat!” Daisy shouted as she sprang to her hooves, and a moment later she’d slammed her front hooves on the table in front of her. “I demand trial by combat, Earth Pony rules!”
“Is it too late to plead insanity?” Mr Stain pleaded.
“Discordant contamination?” Princess Louise asked Princess Tsuki.
“Yup,” Princess Tsuki concurred.
“Princess Celestia, is there any chance you left Discord where ponies could get close?” Princess Tsuki asked.
“I’m serious!” Shouted Daisy.
“He’s frozen in stone,” Celestia offered, her tone sounding confused.
“Fully aware and capable of influencing any week-minded creature that comes near,” Prince Prometheus offered. “Have you never noticed the odd behavior of the pigeons that land on that statue?”
“Oh no…” Celestia said softly. She couldn't be sure, but she was aware of several individuals who’d behaved irrationally after having come into contact with Discord.
“I’ll do it,” I offered. “I’ll accept her challenge.”
“Nova, no!” Mom protested.
“No takebacks! She accepted my challenge!” Daisy shouted, her tone bordering on manic.
“Earth pony rules. Earth pony magics,” I stated. “I won’t use any of my other abilities. Only that which is available to Earth ponies.”
“Princess Nova, are you sure about this?” Princess Louise asked.
“You can’t possibly be contemplating taking this seriously?!” Celestia protested.
“Afraid that’s our job,” Tsuki offered.
“But she’s just a filly,” Celestia protested.
“No!” Mom declared. “Nova, I will not have you fight. You have been through too much to be partaking in this folly.”
“No takebacks!” Daisy demanded.
“Nova is a minor in the eyes of the law, princess or not, and is not bound by any declaration of agreement,” Mom countered. “If there is to be a fight then I as her mother will take up the gantlet. And trust that I will make you pay for every harm done to every foal that you have wronged.”
“Oh, I am definitely making this a pay-per-view event,” Prince Prometheus stated with a touch of glee in his tone.