When Celestia had finished reading the four ponies' minds, she took a moment to collect her thoughts. When she finally spoke again, her voice had a sharp tone to it.
"It seems that there are quite a few things you were reluctant to tell your friends about, Redfield." Redfield cringed. His two companions gave him questioning glances.
"The creature you hold so many accusations against, it did not appear by chance... it fled from your custody." Redfield seemed like he was about to give a reply, but Celestia continued, "And it fled after the foal had gone missing no less."
One of the other two ponies watched Redfield's face with unbelieving eyes, "Redfield, what is the meaning of this?"
"It doesn't matter!" he barked back, "It was a danger to our society and had to be killed at all costs!"
"He was innocent!" Celestia's voice thundered through the large hall, making the guards present shudder in their armor. Celestia continued, her eyes filled with anger, "You used him like an animal, beat him, locked him in a cage, forbid him to speak!" her voice got more quiet again, though it still carried its icy tone, "And when he fled, you were scared. Scared he would one day come back for you."
There was a pause as Celestia watched Redfield's face in silence and the other two ponies looked at him in shock, "You used the missing foal for your own purposes, thinking if you could convince the others that he killed it, they would hunt him down for you... and they believed you. But your plan failed... they caught him alive."
She turned to the bound unicorn, "And when they called for her to interrogate him you hoped he would die or go mad during the process, so they would never find out." the unicorn hung her head and a tear escaped her eye.
Celestia held her head up and addressed the four of them with a stern voice, "You have committed many crimes. Slavery, deceit..." her eyes passed over the unicorn, "Torture, forbidden magic..." she turned to Redfield again, "And you tried to deceive me as well, because she knew what you had done."
"Your majesty, I..." Redfield started to croak.
"You came here for justice, and in my name there will be justice. All of you will be judged for your actions. Guards!" the guards in the hall stepped forward, "Redfield and his companions are to be placed under arrest until their trial." she turned to the unicorn again, "As for her... Remove her chains and see to it that she receives medical attention and food." the unicorn looked up at Celestia, "I will not have one of my subjects suffer like this, even if they are under arrest." the unicorn's eyes widened a bit in realization, "You will be judged for your actions as well, Trixie Lulamoon."
Trixie only nodded quietly and hung her head, another sob escaping her throat as tears ran down her cheeks.
Celestia watched in silence as they were lead out of the hall. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself, the things she had seen in their minds, especially the things Trixie had seen in the gnoll's memories... She had hoped that something like this could be averted, but now there was no way back. She needed to write a letter.
There was going to be a trial.
---
"What do you mean he's going to get me a living manticore?" Purple Haze shouted at Spike, "Have the both of you gone insane?"
"He said he wanted to do something romantic for Heart and Hooves Day!" the little dragon wailed, "How was I supposed to know he'd do something like this?!"
"Heart and Hooves Day? How did he even find out about that?" Spike put on a guilty grin. Purple Haze gave a groan, "Why do I even... Wait. Are you actually writing this down, Twilight?"
Twilight blushed, "Well it does open an interesting insight into the courtship rituals of the gnolls. I wonder if there's a ritual for presenting the manticore as well, or if they have a mating dance..."
Purple Haze blinked her eyes, "Courtship rituals? Mating dance?!"
"Well... you are a nice couple, and the girls and I have been waiting for you two to... you know, take the next step..." Twilight mumbled before picking up her head again, "When you do... could you note down how you practice your intimacies? It would be helpful for the research on inter-species relationships."
"You mean they're going to kiss?" Spike asked with shock.
Purple Haze just stared at them, "You're unbelievable... both of you."
"But didn't you get him a present for Heart and Hooves Day at the market?" Twilight replied with a blush.
This time, it was Purple Haze's turn to blush, "I..."
She was interrupted by a loud belch from Spike, "How many letters is she sending today? We haven't even written our apology letter yet!"
"You didn't send anything else, did you?" Twilight snatched the scroll from Spike with an accusing glare.
He held up his arms in defense, "I swear, we didn't!"
Purple Haze shook her head, "I've gotta go find Scar before he does something crazy..." she started to head for the door, "Courtship rituals... Mating dance... I don't belive it! It was probably Dash or Fluttershy who came up with this idea! I..."
"Wait!" Twilight called out to her.
"What?" Purple Haze turned around, she didn't like the tone Twilight's voice had taken.
"Read this..." Twilight handed Purple Haze the scroll with a clear sign of worry on her face.
Purple Haze raised an eyebrow but read the letter nonetheless. As she read the words, all signs of emotion started to leave her face. When she had finished it, she simply stood there, motionless. Then, she read it again and again, letting every single word sink in.
"What's it say?" Spike asked with concern.
"They're here..." Purple Haze whispered, "They're actually here... We need to find Scar right now!"