“Eternity is a long time to hold a grudge, but when something so horrible has been done, that’s how long a grudge will be. Nowhere is this more obvious than the Northlands I visited long ago, where Deer and Caribou fight eternally, King and Queen against Jarl and Judges, the harmonic Yggdrasil followers in the Deer against the Old Believers in the Caribou. All of this started because of a single Buck with a degraded brain, of course, because the world just has to be so stupid. Is it wrong to be so… angry at it? That for a thousand years decent creatures have killed each other just because King Slate the Uniter had brain degeneration in his later years? Is that truly deserving of untold suffering and countless lives being lost? Of course, back then, it made me feel like I was better than the Caribou and Deer, I felt like I was above them. But then I thought some more. I realize now, I’m no different than the Caribou and the Deer, none of us are, no matter how above it all we might seem. It isn’t wisdom to say you’re better than those who fall for propaganda, it’s ignorance.”
Raven trots through Canterlot castle, the journal of Clover the Clever flying right next to his head, reading itself out. He goes through hall, past maid and guard alike, even using his short height to trot underneath some ponies. He takes a small pause as he reaches the end of a hallway, looking back at the hall he just trotted through, seeing maids hard at work dusting some windows, two guards trotting together and talking, a noble admiring some art, ponies, living their lives. He takes a deep breath before he continues, exiting out of a nearby door, into the Royal Gardens.
“Any historian, alchemist, or philosopher would know this already, but across land and worlds, these wise creatures are hunted because they realize the truth. Conflict is a cycle, a cycle where a misguided action with good intentions can lead to war and bloodshed, can lead to mass destruction and chaos. The Second Law of Magic states that for every repetition or layer of a spell, entropy shall increase. This is plain to see, magic is slowly growing weaker and weaker as time goes on, with even the ordinary mages of a thousand years ago being the things of myth modern day. This, however, applies to a lot more than just magic, it applies to everything. For every extra interaction between ponies, entropy and disharmony shall decrease, step by step, until the relationship is eventually destroyed. For every war, there shall be two wars in return, for every soldier dead shall a peacekeeper be slain in kind, entropy and disharmony increases. For every year that passes in history, every event, things degrade more and more, they impact a larger scale, entropy increases. This is given form in the Beast from Beyond, Die Leer, Entropy, Apollyon, Destruction, whatever name it may be called, it’s what will come when entropy and disorder are too high.”
“Celestia.” Raven comes to a stop in front of Celestia. The Princess sits in the middle of the garden, her large wings extended to either side, covered with perching birds, her hooves held up where two Phoenix sit, and her face bowed down, her long horn having an exceptionally glorious Phoenix sat upon it. Her lower hooves are connected to the ground, her wings connected to the sky, and her horn to the world. She slowly opens her eyes, looking at Raven silently, while he nods, “Chrysalis must be stopped. But I’m not going to hurt her. I’m done being Death, I’m done destroying the world slowly, and I’m done aiding the Beast.”
“I’ve been able to see it in the Thaumatic Web, the source for all magic, that Entropy shall eventually destroy us all, only to start it all over again. Clover the Clever is not a new pony, I’m not a new creation, I’ve trotted this cycle before. Many others have trotted it much more, especially those who are weak. The Web has told me that the foals who die in childbirth, they were once mighty warriors of some unknowable species an infinite amount of time in the past. For each cycle, only five new beings are made, and I have a feeling that Romau Ascendant would be one of those five, but I don’t know the others. One is created in the image of Entropy, one who brings destruction and creation in their wake, another is Order, one who will seek to understand at any cost, and one is Harmony, who will suffer and yet love the world all the same. Finally are the Brothers, I don’t know what they represent. But if we wish to end this eternal cycle of conflict, of life and death, then those three must accept what they are, and accept each other.”
He releases a deep breath, continuing on from what he last said, “Chrysalis won’t be stopped through force of arms, Celestia, and she will never be stopped by fighting her. Every slight against her shall result in a worse response against you. She believes you allowed her family to die, so she attempted to force you and those closest to you into a living nightmare. You stopped her from having her revenge, and so she has expanded that to the whole country. If this conflict continues, there will be no world left for either of you to overlook, and no family for anyone.” He takes a deep breath in, looking at the garden around him, beautiful flowers in bloom, with birds and other animals darting too and fro amongst them, “We must target the source of this all. Celestia, you are hereby under arrest for suspicion of blocking justice and aiding and abetting a murderer. You will have your time to speak your peace in court, as will Chrysalis.”
Celestia slowly blinks, folding in her wings and her legs, allowing the animals to leave her peacefully, then standing onto her hooves, “You seek to arrest me? A Princess?”
He nods and then grins ever so slightly, “Celestia, you wished for my help stopping what Chrysalis has planned, you were right to ask. And I will stop what she has planned, even if it’s not done in the way you wish. If you believe yourself to be correct, then you should have no issues defending yourself in a court. I am an unbiased judge, as much as one can be in this issue. All I want is to… live. Live a normal life. And I can’t do that while you two fight. Now please, come with me.”
She looks down at him, and then nods, smiling serenely, “I will admit, solving this peacefully would be much preferred compared to violently. I know that I am correct already, but perhaps this will finally allow Chrysalis to see.”
He looks up at her, keeping eye contact for a while, before nodding. He summons a skeleton of a hawk right next to him, “Hawk, find Chrysalis, tell her I have captured Celestia and my betrayal of her was a ruse. Tell her to come to Canterlot Castle, the Law Room.” The hawk noiselessly turns and then begins to fly, while Raven trots with Celestia, leading her into a trial room. Like everything in Canterlot, the room is made of rich marble, gold, with stained glass windows casting multicolored light inside, with two podiums for defendant and prosecutor, and a central podium for the judge to stand.
Celestia trots behind one podium while Raven lifts himself up to the judge’s, a platform of bone supporting him, letting him look down upon the two podiums. In a flash of green, Chrysalis appears with a wide smirk, immediately snapping her eyes to Celestia, and then her neck turns unnaturally to look at her, the bug queen chuckling, “Oh, the ever so high and mighty Celestia, brought so low as the common criminal she truly is. I must thank you, Death, this is even more than I expected.”
He looks down at her with a small frown, “Raven. Stand behind the prosecutor’s podium, Chrysalis. We are here today to discover the facts of what happened on that day with your family and fiancee. Should they have been killed by Captain Shiny Shield, then Celestia shall be given proper punishment for her negligence in justice. Should they not have been killed by the Captain, well, we’ll find out. Chrysalis, tell me what happened that day.”
Chrysalis nods and steps behind the podium, speaking with a small grin, taking glances at Celestia every so often, “It was a beautiful morning, quite cool and yet still sunny, the perfect day for a wedding, the type of day every mare would dream of. I was wearing a traditional wedding dress, of course, Equestrian style, and my soon to be husband wore a tan suit with his sword at his side and a necklace of Eyr around his neck, as expected of Griffons. I trotted down the aisle and waited at the end, my parents, family, and friends all looking at me, admiring me, until the music started up and he walked down the aisle as well.” She pauses, taking a second before speaking again, losing her grin, “He had reached the alter with me and a Prelate of Eyr began to read our vows, with the town’s bell ringing twelve times as it was then noon. We had it all planned out so we would kiss on the final chime of the bells, but as we leaned in, there was the twang of string, at least five of them, all of which were aimed exactly. Five were hit in the first volley, the Prelate was hit in the neck, his blood got on my veil, Grover was shot in the side, but he was fine, if injured. My mother and father were struck in the back of the head and the back of the neck, right in the spine, and the Mayor was hit in the eye. Grover told me to run, and do I did, into the nearby woods, and I ran until I couldn’t anymore.”
Raven nods, “Please, continue, what happened afterwards?”
She nods, “I returned to my village after a while, which is when I saw Captain Shiny Shield. He was a tall stallion with a blue coat and a white mane, the inverse of his descendant, Shining Armor, and he stood by the edge of the village in his orange soldier’s uniform, along with four other guards, all of which carried crossbows and swords, stained with blood. They had dragged all the bodies inside the many different buildings, and so they set them ablaze, so there’d be no evidence left of what has happened there, and then they left. I did the only thing I could, I went to Celestia’s court that very night and told her what had happened. Credit where it is due, Celestia took me very seriously to begin with, but she grew less serious over time, pretending not knowing my village’s name. I believe that Celestia didn’t wish to charge a war hero with any crime, because it would have destabilized Equestria, and she betrayed all justice and morality in doing so.”
Raven then looks over at Celestia, who smiles serenely, “It was a lovely evening, I had just received a petition from Duchess Bluebell requesting a chance to the Equestrian Constitution, and I agreed to speak of it later, as my guards told me of a blood soaked mare saying she had been attacked. Chrysalis entered into my court that night, dressed in a bloody dress, and she did look distraught. She told me that her village has been attacked and burned down, that she was the only survivor. I asked what village, and by who, and both answers were quite confusing. She claimed it was the village of Hasborough, north of Hoofington and south of Fillydelphia, yet said village had never existed, indeed, not a single village has ever settled between those two cities. She claimed as well that Captain Shiny Shield, who was, indeed, a war hero, had been the one to burn down her village. Despite my suspicions that she might have been playing victim for some personal gain, I decided to personally investigate her case. For the next few days, I traveled from town to town, asking Mayors and Nobles if they had ever heard of the village, or even if they had heard of a Prince Grover the Sixth. None had.”
Chrysalis scowls and shouts, “They’re your puppets, they’d tell you anything to make you happier or to get a bigger paycheck!”
Raven stamps his hoof down, “Chrysalis, Celestia was quiet for all of your testimony. This is a court, not a public forum. Allow her to speak.”
Celestia nods, “Indeed. I visited Hoofington and Fillydelphia, investigating their records, only to find that Chrysalis was born in Hoofington, the northeastern side of it, and was well known for a scandal where she tried to frame a factory owner for a crime so she would gain fame and popularity from it. I asked every guard station in the area, and they all reported that Shiny Shield was where he should be, patrolling between Las Pegasus and Hoofington with his standard issue 1926 Equestrian Semi-Automatic Rifle and Colt Single-Action Revolver. He had no sword nor crossbow, for those were archaic weapons by that point, and neither did anyone in his squad. All evidence seemed to align against Chrysalis, and so I could not, in good faith, allow any punishment to fall to Shiny Shield. However, I felt sad for her, so I did not punish her either. I still feel sad for her.”
Chrysalis scowls more, but Raven stomps his hoof before she can speak, “Celestia, please try to not speak in any way which might be considered condescending or insulting. Even if you truly do feel sorry for her, or sad for her, it is not proper to express that. With testimonies done, I call to the stand a witness. Prince Grover the Sixth, Forgotten Prince of the Holy Griffonian Empire, I call you from your rest, I call you to the stand!” His hoof lights up green, and he stomps it down on the podium, sending out a shockwave.
It takes a minute for something to slowly rise from the ground, the transparent, brown form of a Griffon. He is Grover the Sixth, but he doesn’t wear a tuxedo this time, instead wearing the Iron Crown, instead of a rapier by his side, he has a magical longsword, and upon his back is a golden chalice. He walks to the witness’ stand while Chrysalis and Celestia both stare at him, then looking at Raven, “Prince Grover the Sixth, Forgotten Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, husband of Chrysalis, I answer your call, Necromancer. I cannot see anything but you. Is she here? Is she safe?”
Raven nods, “Chrysalis is still alive, and she is in the room with us. You will not be able to see her, your Goddess’ afterlife does not allow me to bring back anything more than a phantom.”
He nods softly, “I see.” He looks into the room, where Chrysalis has started to quietly cry, speaking, “Chrysalis, I miss you every day, but your safety brings me nothing but joy. I’m sure you’ve found another who you love, and all I can say is that I cannot wait to meet you both in the afterlife.” He then smiles softly, and looks at Raven, “I had been shot by a crossbow, which I didn’t pull out, as I knew that would increase the bleeding. I told Chrysalis to run, and I summoned my family’s sword, the Sword of Emperors, and rushed to save those that I could. Sadly, I was unable, their crossbows fired too rapidly and with too much precision, so I instead sought to kill them, or at least delay them, so Chrysalis could escape. I landed and fought a figure in a dark jumpsuit, a stealth suit, whose skills with the sword were legendary, he was able to defeat me without landing a single blow on me. I lashed out in my final moments, revealing that the one who fought me was a zebra, a servant of the Empress, Xérna. My vision started to fade, and I pulled the bolt out of my side at last, where I realized the tip of it was replaced with a manticore stinger. That was the last I knew before I woke up in Eyr’s afterlife.”
Celestia frowns softly and looks towards the specter, while Chrysalis wipes her eyes softly, speaking quietly, “I knew I was right…”
Celestia shakes her head after a minute, “These… don’t make sense. The records are there, Equestria was at peace with Zebrica, Xérna had no reason to attack a village, or to falsify documents and memories.”
Raven frowns softly, and nods, “Thank you, Prince Grover. I wish you good fortune in your afterlife.” The specter then fades, “I bring to the stand now, Empress Xérna of the Zebrican Empire!” He stomps his hoof once more.
Unlike before, the specter appears almost immediately, a transparent zebra mare of a deep purple color, a headdress of gold and Phoenix feathers upon her head. She trots to the witness stand, looking towards Raven, “Ravens Breath, I have been awaiting this call for a long time. I won’t waste my breath, Celestia killed my father, Emperor Macedes, but that is not why I sent assassins to destroy the village of Hasborough. I destroyed the village, I falsified memories, I created fake records, I ruined the life of Queen Chrysalis, because I needed to.”
Raven frowns slightly, looking at her, “Why did you need to?”
Chrysalis looks at her, and then frowns heavily, her wings spreading and her horn lighting up, launching a beam of green energy right at the specter, which goes right through it, “You ruined my life! You killed my husband! My family! You bitch!”
Celestia, meanwhile, looks down, her magenta eyes wide, “She was right, this entire time… her village did burn down and I did nothing…”
Xérna looks Raven in the eyes and smirks, “Zebrica are close friends with the Griffons, this is because the Romauian Empire had two colonies in Zebrica, which they both gave to us for one agreement. Emperor Ascendant was visited by a time traveling mare, called Clover the Clever, who told him that you must be here. Chrysalis must be a vengeful Queen, Celestia must be arrogant in her belief in being correct, the fillies must be there, all so you would develop properly, all so you could become better. You see, Raven…
All this was because of you.”