//------------------------------//
// Dawn of the Era Ch.23 
// Story: A Time Before 
// by Blue Turtle 
//------------------------------//

	A deep cool breath of air filled Celestia's lungs. It'd been two months since their fight with Discord. The land was healing, but slowly. She was kept under watch at all times, every second of the day. She knew why. That was what she expected after all. Many creatures were upset--well more than upset--with her actions, but they also knew that she also helped seal Discord in stone bonds. Hopefully they'd last forever. She glanced around her room, taking in her comforting environment. The courtroom rang in her mind though.


The mare was shoved onto the ground, ropes tying her to a metal pole. Her terrified eyes stared at the huge courtroom, filled with animals. All kinds of ponies, deer, buffalo, Sheep, llamas and alpacas. Some stared at her menacingly, others stared at her with fear. Then there were others, who were staring into her soul. These individuals tended to be older, wiser, they acted less on compulsion. Their eyes were cruel nor caring. Which was good. She didn't want pity.
"It has come to the National Council that Princess Celestia or Equestria has committed crimes against this world." The old dragon said, sitting atop a large chair bolted onto the floor. 
In front of his was a desk which many enlarged documents sat upon. The gigantic room's walls were made out of polished granite, with the various flags of several countries on it. And she knelt down at the center of it. She felt hot with all the attention. But her face was pale with fear. They were going to decide whether or not if she should live or not.
"Each country will submit what they think, but they need a compelling, well thought argument." The old dragon said, glancing at the Phoenix ponies who seem disinterested in the execution.
The countries talked amongst themselves, whispering. She couldn't make out what they were saying sadly, so she had no idea who was in her favor.
"We have all come to a conclusion." King Topaz said sternly.
"Then go ahead." The dragon said, tapping his claws on his gable.
"We believe it is within this world's best interest to exterminate Celestia and let Luna take over the country. The Sun's shepherd is simply too powerful to be left to her own devices. We must destroy her before we all perish." He continued with.
Celestia opened her mouth to speak but shut it. Speaking wouldn't get her anywhere if it was out of turn. The dragon marked down something on his papers.
"We have come to a conclusion as well." A quiet toned Llama said. She was adorned with jewels and beautiful pieces of cloth that had vibrate color on them. The dragon nodded.
"We believe that it is in the world's best interest to kill off her as well. She blindly fell into rage which costs this world dearly. Even if she aided in sealing the draconequus away, who knows if she won't become that thing again." The llama said before sitting back down. 
She and the rest of those around her did not seem pleased, but upset. They did not want Celestia to die, but they knew she had to in order to keep the world afloat.
"Alright..." The dragon said, marking down something else.
And so the meeting passed on. More and more countries went against Celestia. She was sacred. Cold chills ran down her spine as more and more and more individuals glared at her, or smirked at her evilly, knowing that  they were right. Her stomach turned as the deer council began to speak. They had a way with words, making everyone in the room listen to them. It was frightening to think about how they revered Levier, and since her... death was her fault that meant they would hate Celestia with every muscle in their body.
"Isn't it obvious? She should be killed! Tortured even for what she has done to the land. The land is nearly barren, the living beings of this land are dying because of her! If you cannot see then look at her! Look at her face and see the guilt! She knows what she did was wrong! She knows that it is her fault! So why bother with this court when even she knows she is wrong. Our mother, Levier, is dead because that monster could not control herself! Galaxia and Nebulis would have never let this happen, any, they would have never even brought this filth into existence if they knew that one day she would almost kill off the living beings of this planet! If it were not for Levier's sacrifice I do not have a single doubt in my mind that we'd all be burnt in the sun's rays. This... thing is not worthy of the life force she's been given." The king said. He and the rest of the deer, elk, and buffalo glared at her.
"I see.' The Dragon said, taking down another note.
"We've reached our conclusion!" The Phoenix pony leader said. The tall winged unicorn had a curve to her horn.
She was utterly stunning. Rubies adorned her golden necklace while her stunning gold eyes made Celestia's heart flutter. The tips of her wings seemed to become orange. Her name was Incendius, ruler of The Ira, land of the Fiery Ones. Or at least that was her full title. She wore the scars of battle proudly.
"We believe she should live!" Incendius said firmly.
"Oh?" The dragon said. He seemed more surprised that someone had finally said something to protect her after the Fawn King's speech rather than the fact she chose to defend Celestia.
"Yes. Celestia may have screwed up, but can we truly blame her? The White Demon Aurinko possessed her after all. Is it her fault she was desperate to save the land? Is it her fault we were all too lazy to help our brethren when they needed it most? I realize that Ira is just as at fault then the rest of you, but at least we do not blame the victim! You fail to see through the lies you've planted in your own heads. Who knows what would have happened if Discord was still in power? We'd all be miserable, or dead! You have no right to convict this poor girl of something that was out of her control? For shame!" Incendius said with disgust. She and her phoenix ponies glared around the room.
"Easy for you to say, we don't' eat coal." A Draconid, or batpony, said.
"That has nothing to do with anything! It's not her fault!" A Changeling, another one of Celestia's supporters called out.
"Of course it does! You two can feed on things we cannot!" An elk shouted back, the veins in his neck bulged.
"Changeling cannot survive in intense heat just as much as any of us can." A fairy pony said softly.
A verbal war started, shouts being thrown back and forth. But both had good points. This argument wasn't going well. Celestia couldn't focus on anything, their voices just lumped together. Something familiar started to creep in. A loud, irritating static. Her stomach was doing backflips inside her, while her heart pounded faster and faster. Her loose pink hair with the light green streak fell around her loosely. Like it had given up. A small portion was in her face. She couldn't move her hooves to push it out of theway and any use of magic could get her killed. So she had to sit there was the static grew louder, and louder and louder until it pushed out all else. Then the pounding came in. Her heart. It made sense, sort of at least. At least she knew where the pounding came from. But she was still terrified. No one was hurting anyone, yet. She didn't want to watch. She wanted to bury her hooves in her face and wait for the loud sounds to go away. But her hooves her tied onto a metal pole and of course she couldn't get away. Celestia always hated feeling helpless. She hated being thought of as weak. But instead of being cold and conceded she wanted to appear strong by her ability to show empathy. But Aurinko used that to her advantage and used her. She used Celestia as a tool. WIthin a flash Celestia terror became boiling rage.  She breath quickened and as soon as it came the static was just gone.

"Would all of you just shut up and listen to me for a moment?!"

The crowd stared at her in confusion. Go ahead, some thought, get yourself into deeper trouble. Others thought, Don't say anything! you'll get yourself killed. But Celestia didn't care. She was going to speak her mind, even if the thought was terrifying enough.
"I will let you speak then. It seems that we've already broken the rules I might as well let you speak." The dragon said, he gave a shrug. Celestia sighed with relief.
"But you must follow the same rules as the others in the room." The dragon said, Celestia nodded.

"I know... That what I did was an evil, terrible thing and I will spend the rest of my days making up for, but I know that all of you know why. It was in fact to kill Discord. To destroy him and make him pay for what he'd done. But Aurinko used me as a pawn, in my most desperate situation she knew she could corrupt me. Discord stole me sister and almost killed Levier. He killed my ponies and turned my father into a monster, which my mother had to send to Tartarus before throwing herself in. Can you truly blame me for being consumed by revenge? Can you truly blame me for not being able to control a situation you could have helped in one of you gave any way, shape or form of help. Whether it be military or economic when we were in our darkest hour. I realize that I should have known not to trust Aurinko. I admit that. But how could you feel, if everything had crumbled around you. Everything fell apart and you felt lost, alone. I had no hope, knowing I was far too weak to seal Discord, I was a fool to not think it through. But Aurinko.. she was so much like my mother. Her every word was so cool and calm. She snuck into my broken heart and soothed me with comforting promises that she later on broke. I was awake the whole time you should all know. I could only sit back and watch as she murdered my own ponies. In end though I should have known all along how susceptible I was to her. I should have known not to trust her. And you all paid the price. All I can ask for.. if your forgiveness." Celestia finished, trembling. 
She'd never said a word about what had happened. She couldn't bring herself to tell anyone, not even Luna. Luna could never know the same agony. The country's leader stared at her, mortified.
"I don't know if this means anything... but... I understand if you still resent me. I deserve every second of it." Celestia finally finished.
The leaders and co-rulers talked amongst themselves again. Incendious looked at Celestia. Her soft look or remorse brought slight comfort. Celestia looked back down, knowing she could die where she knelt. The dragon before her even seemed shocked.
"It is time to reach a verdict." He said, shaking his head slightly.
"Slide your ballets up. No peeking." He said, twisting coldly at the end.
Celestia could only wait as the leaders talked amongst themselves, whispering to each other quietly. The whispers passed around for what felt like hours to her as she grew more and more anxious. What would they decide? Would she survive this? Or would they execute her on the spot? It didn't surprise her if they did. They had a good reason too. She understood that there was still a high chance she could be executed and never see Luna gain. She wouldn't see Lily, or Wind Song or Nebula or Spark Shower. She wouldn't see her parents. She wouldn't see Levier... because she was already dead and it was her fault. The deer were angry at her for killing Levier. SHe was angry at herself. She was angry at them too. In truth, she didn't know who she was angry at. SHe was angry at everyone but no one at the same time. And no one could tell her who she should be... because that someone was dead. Levier was dead. Because she had killed her. The moments that passed by were agonizingly slow, every second ticking by felt like forever. It took all of forty minutes for the national leaders to pass their ballets up. The dragon took down every detail of each ballet, from the way they wrote to how much ink they used, before compiling all of them. He stood up, tall and looked down at Celestia, who was still shaking with fear that she wouldn't see luna's face again. The dragon cleared his throat and Celestia expected the worst.
"We, the National Council, have decided that Princess Celestia of Equestria shall not be executed. She will be returned to the city of Canterlot. However let it be known that this recent development does not come without its perils. If she is to fall once more, she will be executed without any further trial. Do you understand these conditions?" The Dragon said poignantly.  Celestia felt her eyes fill with tears of joy. She was going to see them again, Her family and friends! She'd see Luna.
"I agree to these conditions" Celestia said softly, a small smile forming on her face. It was if a thousand pounds had been lifted off her shoulders. A shadow walked past her. SHe could only assume she was being unbounded.
Then... then the unexpected happened.
A terrible, sharp pain shot through her chest and a warm metallic ooze drips down the corners of her mouth. Come to think about it there was also this warmth coming from the sharp pain. That's when she saw the blood.  Mere seconds after being so hopeful and joyful, she now was mortified. She could feel them screaming, or shouting. But she couldn't make a single sound.
Celestia slumped over, still tied to the metal pole. Incendius flew down as someone else cut the ropes. The fiery queen held Celestia's head, trying to get the bleeding to stop, but to no avail.
"Damn it. Don't you die on me. You didn't endure all that to die! Stay with me!" Incendius said softly, trying to get Celestia's attention. But the foggy eyed mare just couldn't focus on anything.
"Get something! SHe's gonna bleed to death!" The mare said, looking around. But some stood on stone legs. Maybe they'd never seen blood before, at least that's how they reacted. It was shameful.
"I'll do it myself then." The queen said, her curved horn glowed a fiery orange color and small sparks attempted to close up the wound. But Phoenix pony magic wasn't meant to heal. It simply just singed the half dead alicorn's skin and fur.
Incendius looked up at the thing that had... essentially killed Celestia. It was a deer, who'd dissolved into hysterics. She was sobbing while glaring down at the alicorn.
"How could you?" Incendius said as she could feel Celestia becoming colder.
"That... that thing killed my children!" The deer came back with,sobbing even more, but still enraged by Celestia.
"And that justifies murder? Would your children be proud to see their mother kill someone who had just been so happy to go home and see their family again?" Incendius said, rising upwards to stare into the doe's eyes. The doe looked down at the ground.
"I know the animosity you feel. We were all enraged by the actions that were not her own." Incendius said, putting her hoof on the doe's shoulder.
"You've lost much. You're free to go, We won't hold you to this. But in the future, do not turn to revenge like this. It makes you no better than Aurinko." Incendius said quietly. The doe sprinted away, about to be followed by guards but Incendius stopped them. The room had mostly cleared, Most of the national leaders not wanting to dirty their hooves. But some stayed behind to help Incendious. By the time they were able to get the bleeding to stop though... it was too late.
"We... we couldn't save her. I'm such an idiot!" Incendius shouted at herself. The changelings, flower ponies and others who supported Celestia all lowered their heads.
"What are we gonna tell Luna... The poor girl..." Incendius said, looking upwards. She took in a deep breath.
But then the flesh just started to come together. It closed up within seconds. Like the knife had never been there.
"I agree." Celestia said, touching the area. She stood up as if nothing had happened.
"H-How?" Morrow asked, the fairy pony was shocked.
"It's simple. There is a reason why the Sun still shines above us. I don't know the details but I do know that some how the Sun and Moon have to do something with this. I was supposed to die several times before this. Once had an arrow almost pass through my heart, another time I fell several hundreds of feet onto a stone road. I also went without food or water with quite some time. Under normal circumstances I would be dead." Celestia said calmly.
"So what are you saying exactly?" Someone else asked.
"I'm not sure. All I know is that I wish my parents had explained it to me." Celestia said, shrugging her shoulders.
"All I know is that I want to go home." Celestia said softly.