The next day, the courtroom was full of activity as the defendants, now with a shivering Rainbow Dash, and the plaintiff moved to their respective sides. The ponies who were already inside primarily consisted of news reporters and nobles who jeered at Jason until he showed them the Horn. The judges consisted of the rulers from every other country that was represented at the Gala, even Celestia.
"No matter. Let's start with you."
"I thank you all for attending this tribunal. As the offended party called this court session in Equestria, I will preside as the leading judge. Any questions?" Celestia began the proceedings.
Twilight instantly raised her hoof. "Princess, in the interest of fairness, why are you presiding? Wouldn't that spark a potential conflict of interests?"
Celestia nods in understanding. "If this was a standard trial, then yes, but that is not the case for a tribunal. It is a meeting of the world leaders, who will also act as judges, to hear a grievance that could potentially affect their kingdoms. As such, these proceedings will be transmitted live to the other domains so that there is no fallacy or undermining of the ruling. Now, will the plaintiffs please announce their names, species and aim for calling this tribunal."
"Jason Wright, human, and I want those who wronged me to face punishments of my choosing, including crimes against others, when I inevitably prove their guilt. Before we get started though, I have to do one thing."
"And that is?" Luna asked. Jason grabbed the Horn and lights began shooting in every direction, creating projections of the trial as far as the eye could see.
"Now we don't even need the press because everyone in the world is getting a front row seat. You're welcome."
"You believe the Elements have harmed a never before seen creature?" Celestia asked skeptically.
"'Believe'? One has electrocuted me multiple times and another shattered my ribs. So, unless my memories have been altered, which the Horn would've corrected already, or unless I found myself in another Ponyville with perfect look a likes, I don't just believe, I know they're guilty. But since you're obviously interested in defending them, let's start with you!" Jason smiled.
"And what would you accuse me of?"
"Criminal negligence to start. Does the rise of Nightmare Moon ring a bell? You brushed her off on even the littlest things and waited until after your sister snapped before trying to be the big sister."
"You should know speculation such as that holds no weight in a trial." She tried to steer him away.
"See, that's a fun feature about the Horn. It is either your equivalent of Google, not that you would know what that is, or it is sentient, hence how I can see into the past with it. Though, it did require relevance to this trial since I couldn't use it to answer other questions. See for yourself!"
"Luna, we've been over this. The answer is no." Celestia is seen speaking to her sister as if her word is law.
"I will marry him regardless. I am your equal and I won't let you take this from me!"
"If he doesn't die in battle first, you'll see him and all your descendants die like the rest of them. It's not worth it!"
"Nopony ever comes to my court unless they hope I'll grant a request you already denied. Nopony ever even glances at my night I spend so long trying to decorate, even offering a means of helping them find their way when they're lost in the dark. Even when I help them overcome a nightmare or use their dreams to find and save them in the real world, they thank you! Most don't even acknowledge I exist and the ones who do seek to exploit me! It's been this way since we were crowned!" Luna vented.
"You're exaggerating, our subjects respect and love you as much as I do." Celestia denied her claims.
"You couldn't be any more wrong. When I've finally found somepony who appreciates me as much as my night, your first thought is to deny us the chance of being together. I've stayed silent on everything else, but not this."
"You'll regret it later." Celestia warned.
"Does any of this sound familiar? What was his name again? Thorned Shield?" Jason asked. He saw Luna trying to restrain herself after seeing a memory be weaponized against her sister, but he chose to ignore her and focus on Celestia.
"... It does." She admitted.
"Princess?!
"Aunty?!" Cadence and the Elements loudly said in disbelief.
"We were still a young and relatively weak nation, we couldn't afford personal attachments to the very subjects we may have had to sacrifice the next day to defend ourselves from traditionalists who still believed the Unification was a mistake, or outside threats." She tried to justify herself to the court.
"Regardless, you'll say that to your own sister when she's already compromised by the ignorance of your subjects, but you never said anything like this to Cadence. Believe me, I checked. Why don't we go to the next memory?" Jason said with excitement before showing Luna standing in front of a tombstone, rage and grief evident on her in this scene as Celestia looked down upon them with a neutral expression.
"Please, not this one?!" Luna pleaded with Jason to not force everyone to relive this memory.
"Sure! Just as soon as my own nightmare finally ends after five years!" Jason continued to let the scene play out.
"Don't you say it..." Luna said to her sister.
"I don't need to. Your fiancé or not, we have a duty to uphold. We can't afford to appear weak now of all times." Luna snapped to her sister.
"He would've been your brother-in-law and that's all you have to say?!" She screamed at Celestia.
"He knew exactly what he-"
"He joined the Royal Guard to serve his country! To serve me! He was supposed to just discover why the Crystal Empire has been silent recently, not to be burned alive by an arrogant dragon. I'll see to it myself that monster's head rolls!"
"You will do no such thing. You wouldn't be able to track it in-"
"No." Luna interrupted again.
"No?"
"You won't deny me this. You would do everything in your power to deny me a chance at love, you will not deny me justice!"
"I will because thanks to a visitor from the Empire, we now know why it's been silent. You will focus on this, then you may do as you wish with the dragon. If you find it that is."
"How could anypony be so heartless?" Cadence asked in disbelief as Celestia looked down in shame.
"Oh but wait! There's more!" Jason switched the scene to the Sisters battling Sombra in his palace. Luna was incapacitated not too long after the fight started, but Celestia fought on against him with her golden halberd.
"It seems even the Gods lack purity in their hearts. I can taste your wrath. And it is delicious." Sombra taunted as he pressed down on her weapon with his scythe.
"I fail to see the relevance of their invasion against Sombra in this trial." Cadence interrupted.
"Fine, ruin the fun. After the failed and arguably unjustified invasion against Sombra, Celestia failed miserably to see the signs that would end with Nightmare Moon." Jason summarized.
"'Unjustified'?! He enslaved everypony in the Empire!" Twilight slammed her hoof down.
"Yeah! We did everypony a favor getting rid of him!" Rainbow added.
"So, by law, what should've happened instead? He arguably suffered as much as I did." Jason asked.
"He was evil from the start. He got what he deserved." Spike joined, but Jason didn't even spare him a glance.
"That doesn't answer my question. But fine, let's be specific: By the laws back then, what would've been the punishment for years of neglect, reckless endangerment, and attempted murder? Because that's what the Empire is guilty of."
"That's not possible." Cadence refuted.
"Sombra was taken into the Empire by its previous ruler, Amoré. Every Crystal Fair, he would become ill, and it only got worse every year until he almost died, but was saved by a pony who would become the student of the Diarchs. Her name was Radiant Hope." Jason showed the bond the two had, looks of shock and disbelief were on the faces of every creature present.
"I know of her, she was one of the greatest healers in history." Twilight remarked as Jason continued.
"Unfortunately, the next Fair was coming around and she wasn't there to save him, so he fled. Out in the tundra, he learned that he wasn't a unicorn, but an umbrum, and that's why the Crystal Heart was so dangerous to him."
"You mean it was killing him from the start?!" Cadence asked in shock.
"That is what I said, yes. After stealing the heart and deciding to free the rest of his kind from their prison, he was confronted by Amoré herself, who revealed she knew exactly what he was from the start. And like any competent ruler would do," Jason said sarcastically "she waited until after he learned that she's been letting the Empire slowly kill him his whole life, she waited until after his only friend and savior was no longer around before trying to help him, whatever her definition of that included. And what was it you said when you told Twilight about him?"
"King Sombra, a unicorn whose heart is as black as night."
"Monsters aren't born, they are made. So, I'll ask again. What's the punishment for child endangerment, criminal neglect, endangerment later, attempted murder, and enabling an entire empire to do it? Sombra enslaving the Empire, by law, was an act of mercy. Him killing Amoré? Self-defense. Usurping her throne? Who better to rule and pass judgement than the only one who hadn't broken any laws? The umbrum are another matter entirely, but you invaded for history's largest jail break. By law, whether they knew or not is irrelevant, every single pony in the Empire is a criminal, and there is no statute of limitations for murder or accessory to it."
"You can't just imprison and enslave an entire country. Now, can you get on with the relevance to the trial?" Cadence rushed.
"How do you fail so spectacularly that you not only lose an entire empire to who should've been a novice at leadership and battle, but you don't even notice the growing seeds of darkness in Luna's heart as a result of your failure? Not to mention all the wasted lives for a cause you had no business fighting for?"
"He was powerful enough to hold his own against two battle-hardened alicorns, he was far from a novice in battle, and their alleged crimes or not, we couldn't stand by and let our allies suffer such an injustice." Celestia tried to justify her actions.
"You didn't answer how you didn't notice Nightmare Moon until it was too late. When he incapacitated you in that fight, you saw it, or at least her betrayal. You saw it, you ignored it, and then you tried to kill her! Your own sister!" Jason accused, but Luna stomped hard enough to crack the floor.
"Nightmare Moon was my fault and mine alone, and she only did what was necessary for Equestria!" Luna defended Celestia as Jason looked at them with amusement.
"Wrong. Sombra left a gift of sorts in you, feeding your negative emotions. If Nightmare Moon was going to happen regardless, he accelerated the process immensely with his dark magic." Jason played the rest of that scene.
Luna had just been struck with dark magic. Her eyes glowed green as purple mist seeped from them. Her breathing became heavy, as though one had just witnessed true horror, but then she began to laugh instead, which startled Sombra.
"You think you've found an ally in darkness. Do you even comprehend the powers you were gifted with? The very same powers I was born into." Luna turned to face him, her eyes turned serpentine in appearance, and her grin only added to her increasingly intimidating appearance.
"Where do you think the shadows all go to hide from the precious light? Just who do you think stands against them?" Luna asked as she approached, stopping by his scythe. "What you possess is a mere fraction of their might. The same might I stand unyielding against each and every night."
"Stay back!" Sombra shot a magic bolt at her, but she deflected it with the scythe that just as quickly changed to resemble a crescent moon.
"You are nothing compared to them. You are nothing compared to me!" Luna dashed towards him turning into Nightmare Moon by the time she had him pinned to the wall. "You claim to know fear? I shall show you true terror!"
"What are you?!" Sombra asked fearfully. Nightmare backed away for a moment before raising her scythe.
"Hmph... I... Am a Nightmare."
Every creature, even the sisters looked on in disbelief at what they just witnessed.
"And despite the fact you could've been saved, the Element Bearers case in point, her first response was to launch you to the moon where if it weren't for the power of those divine relics, you would've died. The temperature is far enough below zero to freeze you instantly, and there is no oxygen in space. She could've saved you, but instead, she gave you a death sentence that you survived. Can you just feel the love?" Jason finally got to his point. The room began to feel hotter, but he paid it no mind, though he did enjoy every other creature becoming increasingly uncomfortable.
"Princess, I must ask you to restrain yourself. Not every creature here can withstand heat like Dragon Lord Ember." Grandpa Gruff tried to bring Celestia back to her senses. The heat was reduced immediately afterward.
"My apologies, it won't happen again." Celestia apologized.
"How can you stand there and make these accusations? There has to be some kind of trick you're using to not make the Gjallarhorn respond to your lies!" Twilight accused.
"The Horn prevents us from lying, but not from being wrong. However, I've already used it to learn the information used in this trial so far, even Luna basically confirmed it with the scene at the grave." Jason denied the accusation.
"He speaks the truth, Twilight. As for your insinuation that I tried to kill my own sister-"
"'Insinuation'? Your intent doesn't matter when the result is the same. Believe it or not, your sister should've died up there for a crime that there's a fair chance she wouldn't have committed otherwise. A crime that would've caused mass genocide, mind you. Humans discovered that ages ago. So, I have to ask. You were clearly able to save her, why didn't you?"
"Now back up just a minute, what was that about genocide?" Applejack asked.
"Simple. Plants need sunlight. No plants means herbivores like you die. No herbivores or plants means carnivores and omnivores die. No cycle of night and day means one side of the planet inevitably becomes a scorching wasteland while the other side becomes a frozen tundra." Jason explained.
"Surely magic would've found a way! We wouldn't let that happen!" Luna tried to argue.
"And how many would've died before then? Either from the temperature or when everyone tries to find the 'sweet spot' to not burn or freeze and is fighting for space and resources? Assuming your would-be subjects accept your rule that is?" Jason continued with his line of questioning.
"ENOUGH!!!" Celestia shouted with the Royal Canterlot Voice. "I am the one on trial here! You have no reason to villainize a pony you already proved was innocent!"
"I didn't prove her innocent, so much as I did the extent of her guilt. You're the one who villainized her though. History all but forgot she even existed. You let her become a foal's tale that struck fear into the very subjects she was supposed to rule over, and when she came back, what did you do while a friendless introvert known as Twilight was off to 'make some friends'?" Jason focused on her.
"'Friendless introvert'? I'll have you know I had some before Ponyville." Twilight took offense to this.
"We both know that's bullshit. Even if you did consider Minuette, Lemon Heart, and Moondancer to be your friends, you never acted like it. You valued reading and studying more than even their birthdays. Does that sound like a friend to you?"
"I-... But-... *sigh* no." She shied away.
"I thought so. My question still requires an answer. Where were you and what were you doing when Twilight saw the signs of Nightmare's return and you brushed it off to tell her to 'make friends'? You were next seen after Nightmare had been defeated. What's up with that?"
"I think we deserve an answer as well." Grandpa Gruff spoke. "If what the human says is true, Nightmare Moon was a threat to ever living creature in the world, but there was never any news of your involvement. Surely, she came seeking revenge?"
"I-... I couldn't do it. I couldn't fight my own sister again, so I let her banish me to the moon. I had faith in Twilight, and I needed to experience for myself what I subjected her to." Silence. That was all that could be heard as everyone looked at Celestia with disbelief. Baffled at how she could endanger everyone for her sister's sake.
"So, in other words, you bet the entire world on a gamble and just admitted to recklessly endangering everyone on top of failing to act against an enemy? Assuming your world is as populated as the one I come from, yes, I'm an alien, that's over seven billion people you would've killed by proxy. But now that begs the question: Why didn't you try to bring her back and save her? Even if the Elements were useless to you, you still could've found Bearers sooner. There are plenty of magic artifacts in the world too, one of them probably could've done it. Hell, you could've probably found someone who could drain magic similar to Tirek and worked with that. There were better and safer options than 1,000 years of isolation with no livable heat, food, or water, then essentially killing her when she returned!" Jason listed the alternatives as realization dawned on everyone's faces.
"I am still very much alive! Yes, it was... Unpleasant, but what's happened to me is in the past now." Luna tried to defend her sister.
"When people suffer mind altering illnesses that can be cured, they tend to suffer permanent damage if it went on too long without treatment. You suffered as Nightmare Moon for 1,000 years, all of which in solitary confinement. Let's list the effects that is known to have, according to human studies:
"How are you not making this up?!" Twilight tried to draw his focus away, but he paid her no mind.
"You may have been influenced by dark magic, but you still believed everything was your idea. How do we know you are Luna and not something else? At this point, Nightmare Moon should've been permanent, but here you are. It does beg the question though, are you Luna from before Sombra, or are you truly just a 'balanced' Nightmare Moon? Perhaps the Elements did a reset of sorts. Perhaps they purified you. Or maybe they killed Nightmare Moon in some way and replaced her with you." Jason continued. He was fully intent on putting her through an existential crisis, knowing this method would hurt her and Celestia by extension.
"... No. I am Princess Luna. Princess of the Moon, Guardian of the Dreamscape, and sister to Princess Celestia! I am not some fake!" She shouted as she backed away.
"Well, unless Faust wants to grace us with her presence, we'll never know."
"I-... I must recuse myself as a judge. I need time to think." She said with tears in her eyes.
"Luna, wait!" Celestia tried to reach out to her, but she teleported before she could. Without turning to Jason, she asked, her voice cracking while doing so. "What could my ponies or I have possibly done to you for you to possess such hate and cruelty?"
"It'd be faster to list all the things that so called 'Friendship Capital" hasn't done to me. Of the things it has done, by your own laws, I was allowed to kill a lot of them in the act of self-defense on multiple occasions, and not once did I verbally or physically retaliate. Let's start at the beginning:" Jason played memories of his departure from Canterlot, surprising the courtroom with images of him without his scars or other disfigurements as he was seen having a friendly conversation with her. He looked genuinely happy, a complete contrast to his current angry and miserable self that only shows signs of happiness now when others are suffering.
"You know, I'm nervous. I can't stop my hands from shaking."
"Oh? Well, if your hands need something to occupy themselves, my ears are more than up to the task," Jason leans in and scratches behind Celestia's ears as she sighs contently. "If you lead with this, I am sure no mare would resist you."
"Ha! A bit early for that. But, still, I'm about to meet my heroes. I don't know what to say. It feels like I got butterflies doing gymnastics in my stomach,"
"I can think of somepony who might be able to help with your shyness. Don't worry, Jason Wright. Ponyville is the friendship capital of Equestria; after all,"
"Did you officially call it that, or is that Twilight's doing."
Celestia tilts her head up playfully in thought. "It would seem you already know. Regardless, I'm sure Twilight and her friends will welcome you just as I have. Don't forget to Wright." Celestia winks at her little pun.
"Later, Princess Sunbutt," Jason waves as the two share another laugh while Jason boards the train.
Once again, silence hung in the air, every creature shocked by how different the human was before. Some though looked horrified by the fact he could speak so casually to the Princess.
"What was that?" Celestia faintly asked.
"The last time we saw each other, before you let me walk into a town that should consider itself lucky that I didn't burn them all alive for the Hell they put me through. Killing all of them indiscriminately would've been the greatest mercy they don't deserve." Jason clenched his fists, causing them to bleed.
"You know this psycho?!" Ember asked.
"No, this is the first time I've-" Celestia flashed yellow for a moment before falling to her knees, the Gjallarhorn absorbing a little magic from her, but her appearance and health didn't change at all. She looked up at Jason with recognition and the shock, the heartache evident on her face amused him as much as it fueled his anger. "By Faust! Jason Wright, what happened to you?!"
"As I said, it would be faster to list all the things the Elements and the rest of that town didn't do to me. To give you an idea though..." Jason removed his robes, his body was a road map of pain. The scarring over his left eye traveled down the left side of his torso, left arm, and lower back. A purple and black discoloration of skin stared angrily over his right abdomen. And several more minor welts and bruises decorated his upper right pectoral and right arm. The judges gasped as he did full turns with his arms stretched out for all to see. The Elements did a complete 180 for the duration of his display, shock and horror on the ones who didn't faint at the sight. The rest of the audience had similar reactions.
"You want to know why I hate you and the rest of your kind so much? It's because contrary to what you might say, Harmony is a luxury exclusive to you. Your kind is nothing but a cesspit of sadists, liars, cowards, traitors, thieves, and hypocrites. You left me alone with them and I woke up to reality and found it to be a never-ending nightmare. I am living proof of this, and I have plenty more evidence to suggest such in regards to your kind's treatment of other non-ponies. Griffons, zebras, dragons, even changelings, and it's all thanks to this." Jason tapped the Horn.
"Your kind is the scum of the earth, and I'm so very eager to prove just how much you deserve what comes next."