Far above the city of Canterlot, inside one of the castle's highest towers, a chained-up Misty leans against the door of her cell. With a bored expression, she glances at her surroundings, which she became quite familiar with during her month-long incarceration. Ever since she and Sandstorm surrendered themselves to the royal guards, the two mares have been placed in the castle's most secure jail cells: large, well-furnished rooms secluded from the rest of the castle. And though the rooms themselves looked nothing like regular jail cells but rather fancy hotel rooms, Misty knew that every inch of that place was covered in powerful enchantments preventing the use of any magic, whatever its source. Unicorns couldn't cast spells, pegasi were unable to fly and earth ponies completely lost contact with nature as long as they remained in these rooms.
Misty knew that she had no way to escape and, if Princess Celestia wished it so, she would remain there for the rest of her days with no hope for freedom. She sighed, desperately hoping for her and Sandstorm's trial to begin soon so that she could defend herself. Besides, Aphelion did promise he'd vouch for them... If he was still alive, of course. Misty and Sandstorm received next to no news from the outside world ever since their incarceration.
But above all else, beyond the incredible boredom and the yearning for freedom, Misty wished for only one thing: to be reunited with her lover. Since both Misty and Sandstorm were considered to be extremely dangerous prisoners, they had been locked up in different towers. If the day was clear and sunny, Misty could barely see Sandstorm through her window, a simple yellow shape looking in her direction as well. They could wave at each other, but this had been the full extent of their communications for the past month. Misty felt utterly alone, her only contact with the outside world being the guards posted outside her room with which she could try and communicate, though they often remained silent.
And so, Misty waited, knowing that her chance at defending herself from her life of crime and her judgment would soon come to pass — one of the only things that was communicated to her by the guards. There was no exact date, as the court was apparently dealing with 'more pressing matters', whatever did that meant. Slumping down against the door, she sighed once more, the feelings of loneliness and utter boredom filling her to her very core.
Inside the tower opposite to Misty's, Sandstorm felt similarly. However, the yearning to be reunited with her beloved did not lead to Sandstorm going into a despairing apathy, but rather into a hyperactive state where her ultimate goal was to cause as much trouble for the two guards stationed at her door. Since she was going to be forced to wait here for weeks with nothing to do, Sandstorm thought it would only be fair for her jailers to feel as annoyed and angry as she was. And so, Sandstorm spent most of her days banging on walls, singing off-key and telling the same dad jokes over and over again.
At first, the guards did not react to Sandstorm's petty attempts at getting a raise out of them, but her persistence proved fruitful as the two royal guards outside of her cell quickly began feeling as miserable as her.
"... And then, he said 'I turned myself into a pickle'. Funniest shit I've ever read," Sandstorm said as she laid on the floor, looking at the ceiling while recalling the events of a comic book she had read some years ago.
"Prisoner, what the buck are you even talking about?" One of the guards asked with a dejected voice, the sound of a facehoof echoing audibly through the top of the tower.
"Don't answer her, Ash. You'll only encourage her," said the second voice with a stern and tired voice.
"Ha! Your silence would only embolden me, you fools!" Sandstorm taunted while kicking the door with one of her hind legs. Though most of her strength had gone ever since she was placed into this room, sapped by the enchanted security all around her, Sandstorm remained a powerful mare. Her kick caused the door to briefly shake.
"Stop that!" Both guards yelled at the same time.
"Nah, I don't think I will."
"I swear to Celestia, I will—"
The guards suddenly went silent as heavy hoofsteps echoed through the tower. Sandstorm heard it as well and stood up from her position. During the past month, the only ponies that came to her door were the guard ponies whose hoofsteps she had learned to differentiate by sound. This is why she quickly figured out that whoever was coming was a new face. And judging by her jailers' sudden change of demeanor, Sandstorm quickly assumed that somepony important was approaching.
Putting an ear to her door, Sandstorm listened carefully. Eventually, the pony reached the top of the stairs. Sandstorm heard the two guards salute while the newcomer took a moment to catch their breath. Sandstorm snickered, knowing that the tower must be a pain to climb. After a short moment, the newcomer spoke up with a deep, gruff voice.
"Princesses are ready. Bring'er down. Her mate's already on her way."
"Yes sir!" Both guards replied in unison before beginning the long process of unlocking Sandstorm's cell. She grinned, whispering to herself 'finally' though her mind quickly picked up on the mention of princesses, plural. As the guards finally entered her room and hoofcuffed her, Sandstorm couldn't help but smirk. Not only was she finally going to see Misty again, she also was going to escape the boredom of her prison for what already appeared to be an interesting trial...
When Sandstorm reached the large hallway in front of the throne room and saw Misty waiting near the large ornate doors, there was simply nothing the royal guards could do to prevent her from running toward her marefriend. Acting on pure instinct, Sandstorm had broken her hoofcuffs with ease, her strength flooding back her body as soon as she had left her room, before throwing herself at a just as happy, but also terrified Misty. The two mares violently impacted each other, causing them to roll on the floor for a short distance, before skidding to a stop. Sandstorm held Misty tight as every guard in the hallway began running and yelling.
"I missed you too," Misty whispered as tears began forming in her eyes. She completely ignored the pain she was feeling across her body due to Sandstorm's sudden and violent love-tackle.
"Well, I missed you more," Sandstorm replied as guards began pulling them away from each other. Sandstorm resisted at first, but eventually reluctantly let go. She smirked while the guards angrily put back another set of hoofcuffs on her, clearly having expected this outburst, though Sandstorm noticed a few of the royal guards trying and failing at keeping a neutral face. Visibly, the two mares' love for each other was enough to melt the hearts of some of the ponies around.
"Try that again, and we're sending you to the oubliettes. Got it?" One of the guards asked, somewhat regretting his career path.
Sandstorm opened her mouth to answer with a snarky remark, but Misty was the first to speak, predicting her marefriend's plan to cause more trouble. "We'll be good, we promise."
And so, after a moment to place new cuffs on Sandstorm's legs, the large doors to the throne room opened slightly. Misty and Sandstorm stood side by side, waiting to be led inside.
"The princesses want to see you alone," one of the guards said after a short silence. "You can head inside. If you cause any trouble, the whole of Canterlot will be on your tails in less than ten seconds."
"Princesses?" Misty asked.
"... Yes? Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?" The same guard replied, visibly confused.
"... Who the buck is Luna?" Sandstorm asked.
Every guard in the room glanced at each other, with varying degrees of worry. "Did... Did nopony tell you?"
Both Misty and Sandstorm shook their heads side to side. "... Ash, you did tell them about Princess Luna, right?"
A white pegasus began to sweat profusely. "Me?! I thought it was you who had to tell them!"
"Wait, so there's a whole bucking new princess outta nowhere about to decide our fate, and you buckers didn't tell us?!" Sandstorm said, her voice showing hints of both anger and laughter. Misty remained silent, though her eyes were wide open.
"Oh boy," Ash said. "Well, uh, no time like the present. Princess Luna is Princess' Celestia's sister and was, until a month ago, Nightmare Moon. She has been reformed and retook her rightful place on the throne. You will show her the respect that she's owed, got it?"
Misty and Sandstorm just nodded, an incredulous look on their faces. Further in the hallway, a high-ranking royal guard facehoofed, her subordinate's incompetence getting on her nerves. She spoke up with a stern voice. "Alright, just go in. They've been waiting for you long enough."
And so, Misty and Sandstorm entered the throne room, preparing themselves mentally to face their trial...