//------------------------------//
// Foals 
// Story: TD the Alicorn Princess 
// by BronyWriter 
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I'm not sure how long Celestia held me while I cried, but I can say that I did feel a little better after I did. Looking back, I think that the reason that I broke down wasn't just because I had lost my temper and just about used my ever increasing powers to kill somebody, but everything that had happened since my ascension. It was a release of everything that had happened over the past few weeks that was triggered by seeing Dashing Wing's abuse. 

I took a deep breath and wiped my eyes. I let out a single chuckle when I saw that Celestia's fur was soaked with my tears. It was a little embarrassing, but still a little funny. She glanced down at her wet shoulder and gave a smirk of her own. She dried her shoulder with a simple spell. 

"Feel better, TD?" 

I took another deep breath and nodded. "Yeah. A little." I sniffled and pushed myself to my hooves. "I don't feel quite so angry or helpless now, so that's a plus."

"That's good." Celestia put a hoof on my shoulder. "Since I am here, you are more than welcome to ask my advice on how to deal with the foal abuser, but do know that the choice is ultimately up to you."

I raised an eyebrow. "So if I did put his head on a pike outside of my palace, you wouldn't stop me?"

Celestia grimaced and removed her hoof from my shoulder. "My first piece of advice would be against that particular course of action, but... I would not stop you. You are the princess of foal services, and it is not my place to interfere in your domain without your consent."

"I see." I looked over to my throne room door. "Well, do know that I'm less inclined to have him drawn and quartered now that I've calmed down a little, but if you think I'm going to let him off with a slap on the wrist you're wrong."

"I didn't expect that you would."

I nodded. "Firstly, is there some sort of record for ponies? Something that employers look at when considering ponies for jobs, that kind of thing?" 

Celestia nodded. "Yes, ponies have records, but most of it is for state use only."

"Well, I want to start a database of sorts for foal abusers." I walked over to my throne where Twilight had left some spare scraps of paper and a quill. I charged the quill with an ink spell Twilight had taught me and began jotting down some notes. "Something where employers can know if they're employing a foal abuser. This would be especially prudent for jobs involving foals: teaching, foalsitting, that sort of thing."

"That kind of thing would take quite a long time to set up, particularly on a national scale." Celestia walked over to me and looked over my shoulder at what I was writing. "Are you sure such a thing is feasible?"

I nodded. "We have similar things back on my world. Yes, we have the technology to make it easier, but there is magic here and Equestria is smaller and often more localized." I spun my hoof as I thought of my next sentence. "You know... somebody born in Baltimare or Manehattan is more likely to stay there on the whole, right?"

"Not all, but most," Celestia replied.

"Exactly." I finished writing down my thoughts and rolled up the scroll, giving it to Celestia. "If you could run that by Luna and Cadance, I would appreciate that. This affects all of Equestria after all, and you guys might have some good ideas about how to tighten it up, if you will."

"Very well." Celestia ignited her horn, and, with a burst of magic, the scroll disappeared. "Now then, what are you going to do with the abuser you currently have locked up?"

Right. Him. 

I sighed and began walking out of my throne room, Celestia following closely behind me. "Well, I'm thinking prison time at the very least, particularly if he's a first time offender. From what I understand, Dashing Wing has been showing up to school with bruises for a little while now, so it's not like he was just starting when I caught him." A grimace crossed my face. "I will not be going easy on him." 

Celestia mirrored my grimace as we walked towards where I had left my officers and the scum who had hurt the foal. "I did not think that you would. Just be careful, TD." We reached the doorway and stopped outside of it. "Understand that you are a princess now, and these situations must be handled delicately. If ponies hear that you bypassed due process and flat out murdered this stallion, they will not trust you anymore."

I nodded. "Don't worry, I'm not going to lose my temper again." I looked to the door. "Now or going forward. I like to think that I've learned my lesson there." 

I took a deep breath and used my magic to open the door. The abuser was sitting in the middle of the room, shaking like it was freezing inside. Lieutenant Rapids and Captain Blaze were standing on either side of him, and both had glares on their faces. When they heard us come in, my officers turned to us and saluted. "Princess Antares," said Captain Blaze, "we've been interrogating him about what happened. Apparently Dashing Wing, and I quote, 'was being a little brat.'"

I raised an eyebrow. "Indeed? And what does that mean?" 

The stallion covered his eyes with his forelegs and gulped. "W-well, sh-she was just kinda getting underhoof, ya know? She would come back from school and ask if she could go play with her friends even when she already knew that I told her ‘no’ that day. I..." He looked up at me. "I... I'm sorry for losing my temper."

"Okay, so how does that justify you hitting her?" I narrowed my eyes and leaned my head close to his. "And what about the other days she's been coming to school with bruises?"

"Oh Celestia please, no!" The stallion wailed. "P-please don't kill me! I'm s-sorry!"

I snorted and sat down in front of him. "Believe me, I thought about it." The stallion whimpered, but I put my hoof on his back. "Having said that, I won't." The stallion's forelegs moved away from his eyes, and for the first time, he looked a little hopeful. However, that faded the instant he saw the glare on my face. "That's not to say that I'm letting you off with a slap in the wrist, because I'm not. I'm going to be fair about this, so you're going to get a trial. If you are found guilty, you will be sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Your jumpsuit will have the words 'foal abuser' emblazoned on the side, and your cell will have a similar sign next to it. Once you are released, you will never see your daughter again unless she initiates contact. If you initiate contact, you will find yourself back in prison, is that understood?" 

The stallion weakly nodded. "Yes, your majesty." 

"Good." I got to my hooves and motioned to the stallion. "Get him out of here. A police station is fine." 

Captain Blaze and Lieutenant Rapids saluted, and Captain Blaze secured the stallion's forelegs with hoofcuffs before leading him out of the room. When they were out, Princess Celestia closed the door behind them before turning to me. "You handled that very well. I might not have given him such a long sentence, but I think ponies are going to find that abusing their foals is not worth it."

I gave a small nod. "Yeah. It's never freaking worth it."

"Do you have any punishments in mind for repeat offenders?"

"Yep." I took a deep breath and leaned against the wall, closing my eyes as I did. "I already mentioned a longer prison term if he initiated contact with Dashing Wing again, though she's going to be in her twenties by the time he gets out, but something like sexual abuse? Firstly, god forbid that ever happens, but if it does, I'm thinking castration. Second time offenders... execution." 

I opened my eyes to see that Celestia had widened hers. "TD, Equestria does not have the death penalty."

"You said you'd leave it up to me." I straightened up and began walking towards the door. "If it never happens then it will never come up. If ponies think that they're going to be castrated then executed for abusing a foal, they're not even going to think about it, yeah?" 

Celestia tightened her jaw, but I knew that she knew that it was up to me in the end. All she could do was nod. "As I said before, I'll leave it up to your judgment. You are right: those kinds of abuses are exceptionally rare in Equestria, so it should not ever come up." 

"Well then, there you go." I open the door with my magic and walk out into the hall, Celestia following closely behind me. "I'm going to go check up on Dashing Wing. She needs to know that she's safe now."


*  *  *  *


I walked down to the medical wing of my palace, a tight feeling in my chest. Celestia had told me that she was going to meet me in my throne room after I was done in case I needed any more help with anything. I supposed that I was grateful for that. She had thousands more years of experience with this than I did, after all. Sure, in some of my classes back in school this sort of thing came up, but it was more in the context of 'let the proper authorities know and follow up with the student when you can' as opposed to 'you're the ruler of the entire nation so you get to be the one who deals with it.' Given my still decently limited knowledge of pony society, I still wasn't sure how best to go about comforting Dashing Wing. 

I reached the medical wing and quietly entered. Dashing Wing was in the bed at the very end of the hallway, being watched over by a nurse. Shining Star was leaning her head against the bed, and she seemed to be sleeping. I made a mental note to ask her if her parents knew where she was, and to contact them in any case to let them know that she was okay. Dashing Wing herself was lying on the bed, the covers pulled up to her neck, and staring straight at the ceiling. Both she and the nurse perked up their ears when they heard me coming, and the nurse bowed to me. 

I waved my hoof at the nurse. "No need for that. I'm here for her. I want to make sure that she's okay." 

"Yes, your majesty." The nurse reached a hoof towards Dashing Wing, and she flinched back and whimpered. She relaxed when the nurse merely stroked her mane. "I healed her bruises, so physically she's fine."

"Good." I walked up to the bed and sat down on the side opposite the one where Shining Star was sleeping and gave Dashing Wing a comforting smile. "Hey. How are you doing?"

Dashing Wing flattened her ears. "W-where's my dad?"

"He's in a jail cell right now." I gently put my hoof on her head. "He can't hurt you anymore."

Dashing Wing's eyes widened, and her ears perked up. "Y-you're not gonna give me back to him? I don't have to go home with him anymore?"

I shook my head. "Nope. I'm going to find you a much better home with parents who aren't going to hurt you. Ideally they're going to be close, so you can still go to the same school and have the same friends, okay? Would you like that?" 

Dashing Wing slowly nodded, and, before I could say anything else, she pushed the covers off of her and threw her forelegs around me. I gently smiled and returned her hug, gently rubbing her back as I did. "You're going to be okay. I promise you that. Nopony is going to hurt you anymore."