//------------------------------//
// Chapter One 
// Story: Innocent Until Proven Changeling 
// by fluffytailmofu 
//------------------------------//

Innocent until proven guilty. The mare in the magically ensconced cell was innocent of being a changeling, until the legal system found otherwise. Mayor Mare internally emphasized this fundamental fact, keeping it at the forefront of her thoughts. The laws enabling temporary detention under suspicion of being a changeling were new. Public knowledge of changelings even existing was mere days old. Presumed innocence, however, was a cornerstone of civilization which would never change- not so long as a Princess so benevolent as Celestia (and now Luna, the mayor still had to remind herself) reigned.
Ponyville’s police force was on edge after the attack on the capitol just a few days ago. The officers were fully aware their town was in the path where the invading insects had been scattered. The expulsion of the changelings from Canterlot had certainly been necessary, but the towns in the perimeter of that particular debris field had entered a state of paranoia. Fear, Mayor Mare knew, led to mistakes. This was potentially nothing more than a case of an overzealous hunt, representing a panicked herd of ponies at the verge of trampling an innocent in their wake.
It was also entirely possible that Mayor Mare was staring at a changeling.
Upon hearing the urgent news that her town’s first arrest on the basis of suspected changeling status had been made, Ponyville’s mayor felt this was the sort of sensitive matter she should be directly involved in. Mayor Mare arrived at the town’s jail so as to see the prisoner for herself, and immediately asked to speak with the officers who had apprehended the accused mare. Unfortunately, those two policemares were still filling out paperwork related to the incident at the police station.
The three officers currently guarding the jail knew only the most basic aspects of the case. Eyewitness accounts, from three civilians and the two policemares, formed the evidentiary basis justifying the arrest. These five observers all claimed the individual had been caught moving in ways hideously unnatural for a pony. One of the testimonies was from Lyra Heartstrings, famous throughout town for her own casual contortions. When somepony like her attested to the equine impossibility of certain movements, it was hard to dismiss as a panicked exaggeration.
Looking into the cell, Mayor Mare studied the earth pony locked within. Her cutie mark depicted a stylized foreleg in the midst of twirling around. It seemed like a typical mark for a professional dancer, albeit not one the mayor had personally seen before. If the prisoner was indeed a changeling, it might be a mark which didn’t actually exist on anypony.
The mare’s coloration was harder to determine, given the rippling swirls of multi-hued magical energy which shielded the cell. This barrier, crafted by unicorn police officers as per guidelines recently mailed to law enforcement across Equestria, hopefully prevented any sort of transmission of changeling magic. Still, there were times the rainbow of lightly swirling magical energy shifted to translucency, during which the prisoner’s palette could be observed. With a chestnut brown coat of fur, and a jade green tail and mane, it was an aesthetic combination that seemed reminiscent of a tree.
The changeling- no, only the ACCUSED changeling- finally noticed the mayor’s scrutinizing gaze. She started saying something- with body language indicating desperation- but the magical shield was apparently soundproof. Mayor Mare glanced to her own flank, looking at the scroll which comprised her cutie mark. That imagery may have been what proved her capacity for bureaucracy- but it was decisions such as the one she was about to make which demonstrated her strength as MAYOR.
“Why haven’t I heard anything about her meeting with a lawyer yet?”
The policestallion nearest to the mayor paused. “The documents the police received went into depth on changelings’ known abilities, and how to proceed based on them. Shining Armor was hypnotized by a Changeling to unknowingly work for her. The instructions we got said that we should avoid leaving anypony unprotected from a suspected changeling’s magic, so as to avoid that. I don’t think anypony even mentioned how that would work with rules about defense lawyers and stuff.”
“That’s completely unacceptable. I assume you have some method to push objects such as food and water through the shield?” Mayor Mare asked.
“Of course! We weren’t going to let a prisoner go hungry,” the guard stated. The town leader took note of both his indignant tone and the shock on the faces of the other officers in the jail, and felt a sense of relief. At least she could be reassured that not all of the rules of law had been thrown out the window in this case.
“Then I assume pieces of paper and writing utensils could also be pushed through, and a line of communication opened that way between her and a defense attorney,” Mayor Mare stated. As realization visibly dawned on the faces of the police officers who heard her, the experienced officeholder continued. “I want to write her a message myself, as soon as possible, reassuring her that I will be monitoring the situation to prevent any further civil rights violations from occurring.”
Seeing the police officers wince at the indirect rebuke, the mayor’s serious expression softened. “I’m not angry at anypony, as I understand you were just following safety guidelines which were hastily written by somepony else who was trying their best to get necessary information out quickly. The capitol was attacked just a few days ago by an enemy we hadn’t even known existed before then, and nopony is entirely sure how to handle it.” 
The monologue reached its most important part. Mayor Mare hoped her years of practiced oratory were enough to prevent future misconduct without crossing the line into alienating the police force. “I know you’re just trying to protect everypony to the best of your marks’ abilities, and you’re doing so in exactly the way you’ve been instructed. I’m exactly the same way- just with a mark that is different from yours. Right now, I’m doing my best to work with you to offer a different sort of protection to everypony, to the best of my own mark’s ability. If there are any other ways the new guidance might conflict with civil rights, I won’t blame anypony, and will be happy to work with you to find solutions.”
Her speech finished, the Ponyville mayor hid the anxiety bubbling beneath her now-smiling exterior. As much as she hadn’t been lying about understanding the reasons for what had happened, it didn’t stop the situation from being disturbing. How many other towns had received the same guidance as her own- but lacked an individual such as herself to properly consider civil rights?