Chapter 7
The Hearing
_________________________________________________________
Three days passed, and we were finally called at the hearing of my curious case of Scootaloo getting in my womb, and her original biological parents (mostly her father) begin annoyed by the idea.
As I entered in the crowded courtroom, I looked at the ponies sitting there. On the extreme front of the left side, the accused (me) and the defendants, on the right, the accusers (Scootaloo’s parents) and their lawyer.
I sat down on the simple bench, and waited, just like everypony else in the room, for the judge to come. As I waited, I looked at my right, and saw Skies and Thunder, also sitting on the bench, but having different postures: while Skies, wearing a thin black veil on her head, had her head bent over and seemed to be shedding tears, Thunder had a more composite posture, one that transmitted tranquil fury towards me.
I kind of exchanged the feeling towards Thunder, mostly for the fact he left his flesh and blood alone for seven straight months without contacting anypony to look out for her, or, better yet, claim to have done it without truly doing so to his wife.
But I contained the anger, so to unleash it at its peak at the right moment.
After a while, the judge, a bald dark brown unicorn pony, entered in the room, his eyes wrinkled and dull, like the ones of an old elephant and his movements equally awkward.
I saw the judge climbed with difficulty the three steps that brought led to his seat, and, once he was there, he sat, and waited for the transcriber, a light-red earth pony, to bring in the typewriter for the memorandum.
Once everything was set, the judge said the usual formula with a bored voice.
“The year: one thousand two hundred and thirty-six. The day: twenty-one of the month of July at the hours twenty and five minutes, Canterlot, High Wall Street. In front of me, Legal Rights, Attorney in Canterlot of the Attorney District of Canterlot. Present, Miss Fluttershy, born in Poulpoleis, Cloudsale, 2nd of June of 1210….”
I cringed slightly at the mention of Fluttershy’s date and place of birth: it sounded as if the judge was judging a dead person, not helped by the fact that aside from the year, it was the same date I was born.
Or, better yet, considering that the “true” Fluttershy was in my body, he was processing a fetus, a per-pony before the pony.
I looked again at Skies and Thunder. While Skies listened, Thunder prepared himself to spring at the first occasion, and I, as counter-reponse, prepared to spring in too.
When the judge was done with his litany, he said the fateful words.
“The here present, Miss Fluttershy, has been charged with the crime of Foalnapping and Unlawful Morphing.” The judge pointed his eyes at me. “Miss, how do you plead?”
I wasted no time in thinking: I knew that in this situation I was guiltless, so I said with full security, something not many would know me or the previous dominant of this body to have, “Innocent.”
The judge nodded, and turned to Thunder.
“What is the accusation claim?”
Thunder’s lawyer, an amaranth Pegasus, sprang up, and said, “It is simple: Miss Fluttershy, along with Her Majesty Twilight Sparkle, according to my client, had convinced Scootaloo, my client’s daughter, to go in their houses, and do illicit acts with her. “
She snorted, as if in disgust.
“My client also theorized that, to avoid being found out, Her Majesty has decided to forcefully impregnate the accused with Thunder’s daughter, so as to make her a technically biological daughter to Miss Fluttershy.”
I glared at Thunder. That sounded like the most far-fetched and absurd claim I’d ever heard in my life, and I’d heard a fair few before even coming to Equestria.
I couldn’t help but ask myself if his lawyer was kidding, when he was presenting Thunder’s clearly fake claims of kidnapping and forceful transformation as if they were pure fact.
Twilight objected that.
“Excuse me, Excellence, but I consider this interruption necessary.” Twilight looked at the Pegasus lawyer, who was skimming like a rabid dog. “What would be the point, for the accused, to turn your client’s daughter into her own?”
“Many things,” she replied. “Insanity.”
I felt hurt and insulted by that. Fluttershy, before I’d become her, had helped save Equestria, this pony’s home, several times over, and she was calling me insane?
“Unlicensed Foal Slavery,” she went on.
That made me furrow my brows, since I would never image that Equestria even had slavery, let alone the foal one. Not to motion the very idea of accusing Fluttershy, bearer to the Element of Kindness to do such a thing.
“Organ harvesting, unlawful same-sex adoption and many, many more!”
I almost fainted. Organ harvesting? I felt like I was going to be sick. This is Equestria, not the middle ages of Earth. Where in the whole wide world of Equestria would they get that idea from?
“Objection,” Twilight called.
The judge nodded and Twilight turned to Legal, her eyes narrowed.
“Where have you been the last three years? Same-sex marriage and adoption has been legal since before Luna’s return. And for your information, nopony would ever do something so horrible as organ harvesting. Why in Celestia’s name did you think that idea would work in proving your case?”
A few ponies in the jury started whispering, seeming to agree that that last statement from Legal was a little beyond ridiculous.
Twilight went on. “Further more, we aren’t even married yet! Besides that, Scootaloo’s misplaced pregnancy was all an accident!”
“An accident?” Legal laughed. “What kind of accident is that?”
“I was trying to save her by regenerating her wounds!”
“And that is illegal: your position as royalty doesn’t qualify you as a physician, at least since the passing of the Law forty-five Comma four of the August of 1150 about Thaumaturgical Rulers. If this is true, it would be Unlicensed Medical Practice, with the increase for Minor Unwilling Victim.”
When I saw the witnesses whisper between themselves, and saying that the lawyer was talking very well now, I started to worry.
If the judge decided that Thunder’s lawyer had a good point, that meant that, as soon as Scootaloo was born, she would be back in Thunder and Skies’ hooves. Considering that was the reason for why Scootaloo had that fatal accident was because she was left unsupervised for months in the first place…
The fact that Twilight started to sweat slightly didn’t help my morale, either.
“But that was an emergency! If I didn’t use it, we wouldn’t even be here discussing about it because she would be dead!”
The lawyer smiled wickedly.
“That does not change anything, if you didn’t ask a professional about it.”
As he said that, I noticed that Skies was on the verge of tears. The poor mare. Even if I was originally a guy, I could partially understand her pain: first she discovers that her daughter isn’t hers anymore, then discovers it happened because the filly was involved in a big incident, and then somepony blames Skies of not caring enough about her daughter.
I guess that, even if she was winning the cause, that must hurt a lot emotionally.
Naturally, that didn’t justify her carelessness, but still.
“Hey!” we all turned to the crowd to see Rainbow Dash hovering above her seat, her face red with anger. “What about all the evidence? Twilight hasn’t had a chance to show you, bozo, who’s wrong.”
Legal smirked. “And just what kind of evidence could she possibly have found to go against these facts I have against her and the accused?”
Twilight seemed to regain herself and stood firm, her horn glowing, several black boards, each with diagrams appearing in front of the courtroom.
Twilight walked up to the boards and turned to the crowd. “Your Honour, ponies of the jury, while some of these facts about how I have no say as a physician may be true, the trying matter here is who will be Scootaloo’s mother when she is born and who is best suited to this task.”
She turned, giving me a small smile, then looked out again, her horn glowing, several of the diagrams lighting up.
“Thunder Strike claims he is in the right, however, he openly admitted in front of three royal guards that he willingly and knowingly lied to his wife about finding a sitter to look after Scootaloo whilst the two of them were away. And they are all here today and will back up that claim.”
Thunder glared at Twilight and was about to say something, but a glare from Twilight made him remain silent.
“By doing so, by not knowing she was believing lies, Bright Skies went along with her plans, thinking her daughter was being cared for. However, what is disgusting is this was not the first time this has happened.”
Murmurs came from all around the court room.
“Objection!” Thunder practically bellowed.
“On what grounds?” the judge asked, glancing at him.
“I— I— She can’t say that!” Thunder said, either his anger, or his worry about being proven guilty of the claims Twilight was making causing him stumble on his words. It was hard to tell which.
“Can you say in all honesty that these claims by the princess are completely false?” the judge asked, which Thunder replied with by looking away, mumbling under his breath. “Then overruled. You may continue, Your Highness.”
Twilight nodded. “Thank you, Your Honour.” She returned to her charts, highlight areas with her magic. “I have had several investigations into this matter, and found that, for the most of the last two years, Thunder has lied to his wife over and over about leaving Scootlaoo with a sitter. This resulted in Scootaloo being left on her own for months upon months at a time. If not for all her friends in Ponyville and so many of the residents being so kind, I highly doubt the filly would have lasted long on her own.”
She turned, with a slightly less intense glare at Skies.
“Not only that, but Scootaloo was neglected even before her birth.” A chart glowed with her magic. “While looking through the hospital records to see how many times Scootaloo was hospitalized because her parents weren’t around to watch over her, I noticed that there is a reason as to why her wings were underdeveloped for a filly her age.”
There were more whispers among the crowd and I felt my confidence in my marefriend’s words return.
Twilight snorted, holding up a chart. “This is a record of the blood of Bright Skies a mere three weeks into her pregnancy.”
“Objection!” Thunder shouted, and I noticed the slight bit of worry in his voice this time.
“Overruled,” the judge said, nodding for Twilight to go on.
“In her blood exam, it was revealed she had a large amount of alcoholic cider intake from the previous night, before the exam. Skies, whilst still only a few weeks into the pregnancy, had alcohol, resulting in Scootaloo’s being born with a defect.”
There was a unanimous gasp from all in the room.
“I’m sorry!” Skies shouted, tears streaming down her muzzle. “I didn’t know it was alcoholic cider! I was distracted and didn’t realize until I started feeling tipsy!”
“Shut up, mare!” Thunder almost hissed. “Are you trying to lose this for us? My pride is on the line here.”
Skies stared at him, wide-eyed.
“Pride? Pride? Is that all you care about, Strike? This is our daughter we’re here for.”
“Same thing,” he snorted. “And what does it matter if she was born with a defect? You can’t prove that it was my giving my wife alcohol while she was pregnant that caused it.”
“Oh, yes I can!” Twilight snapped, rounding on him. “Science can prove it, Mr. Strike and has. It is in every How to Raise Your Unborn Foal Guide Book, which I know you have, because you never returned it to the library. And that was before I even lived in Ponyville!”
As a huge argument began between the two of them, I saw Skies going into full-on sobbing and getting escorted outside the room by one of the participating ponies.
Feeling sympathetic, and because I wasn’t sure I could handle listening to Thunder for much longer, I decided to join her, while my future-wife and Skies’ husband had a verbal battle.
I exited from one of the mahogany lateral doors, and followed Skies, until she stopped outside in front of a statue depicting a scale with a sack of gold weighing less than a blindfolded filly, an allegory of the truth.
The pony who’d escorted Skies then quickly went back to the courtroom, leaving me alone with the broken mare.
She dropped to her haunches at the base of the statue, and started to cry and sob without control, making me feel extremely bad.
I walked slowly towards her and sat down, looking at her.
She’d taken off her veil and I now saw she was wearing a silver headband to keep her mane from her eyes.
As I looked, I could swear I saw a rainbow light filter across it, then my whole vision blocked by the same light and sighed, realizing what I needed to do.
Taking a deep breath, I said in the best calming voice I could pull off, though, being Fluttershy that wasn’t hard, “Please, don’t cry, Skies. It... It hurts, but, I’ll give your baby girl back when she’s born. I don’t want you to suffer because of me.”
The mare turned her head, her closed eyes full of tears and biting her lips, and said to me, with a voice that expressed spite towards herself, “No, don’t do it. You will be a good mother.”
I shook my head. “But I'm not a good mother. not yet, anyway. In fact, I shouldn’t even be one at all! It was all just extenuating circumstances that led me to being pregnant with Scootaloo.” And later, the original Fluttershy.
She turned her head yet again, and stared at her reflection in the puddle of tears that had formed had formed by her hooves.
“At least you didn’t blindly trust your spouse, and let your offspring run around unchecked for months.”
I frowned, my voice becoming firm. “Skies, from what I can tell, you loved Scootaloo with all your heart. I have no doubt that, if she could tell us so right now, she’d say how grateful she is to have had a mother like you.”
As if to agree with me, I felt a kick and giggled.
“Seems like she agrees with me.”
Skies turned, tears still in her eyes, but a sliver of hope in them too.
“C-could... Could I feel her kicking?” she asked, mourning in her voice that spoke volumes of how much she blamed herself for all of this.
I gave a warm smile. “Of course. Here.”
I guided her hoof to where I’d felt the kick. Seconds later, another kick came and her eyes lit up.
“She’s a strong kicker,” she sob-chuckled. “She always was, when she was in me.”
I nodded, my smile warm.
Skies reached into her hair, pulling back her headband and pulled out a small blue flower, the same one as the Breezies gave Fluttershy.
Wait. What?
Skies leaned over, and put the flower in my mane.
“This was my first ever gift to Scootaloo,” she said, securing the flower into my pink mane. “She always held onto this, keeping it in her special treasures box in her room. I’d like you to have it. Maybe give it to her when she’s born. A gift from the both of us.”
My smile became warmer and I nodded. “Of course, Skies. I’m honored. Thank you.”
She smiled, then a slight frown creased her brow. “For a second I could’ve sworn I just saw a rainbow... never mind.”
I had to hold back I chuckle. I knew what she was talking about. Though why it was happening now, I didn’t understand. Didn’t Fluttershy get her item long before I became her?
My thoughts, however, were interrupted by a loud scream.
Skies and I both looked up to see a small pinkish-brown Pegasus filly with a scruffy red mane and tail running towards us, green eyes wide with fear.
She ran underneath Skies and clung to her foreleg as if her very life depended on it.
Before either of us could do more than acknowledge this, a group of teenage colts, who were clearly part of a gang rounded the corner, looked around, saw us, no doubt noticing the filly and charged towards us.
They stopped in front of us, glaring down at the filly, who quivered and clung even tighter to Skies’ leg.
“Give her here,” one of them, clearly the leader, a grey-coated Earth Pony with a black mane, brown eyes and a coin-like Cutie Mark said, looking to Skies, completely ignoring me.
Skies stood firm, keeping the filly from their view. “Why do you want her?”
Another of the colts, with a blue coat, red mane and number 3 Cutie Mark snorted. “What’s it matter to you? She was on our turf and now she’s gonna pay the price.”
I glared at them, stepping in front of Skies and the filly, turning on The Stare.
For a split-second, they looked like they planned on advancing, but after that, their eyes went wide and their knees started to shake, after so slightly.
“Now, you boys listen closely,” I said with a firmness I reserved specifically for when I was using The Stare. “This little filly has done nothing wrong. If you try to come after her, hurt her, or do anything to her that she doesn’t want you to do, you’ll have to answer to me. Got it?”
They all nodded, before one of them, the second who’d spoken, shakily said, “Sh-she’s just the Element of Kindness. W-we could take her.”
“N-no way,” the leader said, starting to back away, his posy follow suite. “She may be that, but she’s also Princess Twilight Sparkle’s fiancée. You wanna be the pony who messed with the princess’s future-wife?”
They all shook their heads and, with a final, more intense Stare from me, they bolted like scared puppies.
After a few minutes, enough of a time to pass to satisfy me that they’d gone, I released my Stare and turned to the filly, who Skies was comforting.
“What happened, little one?” I asked, bending down to her level, a kind smile on my face.
“Th-they wan’ed t’ huwt me,” she sniffled into Skies’ fur.
Skies gently brushed her hoof through the filly’s rather dirty mane. “Where’re your parents? Do you want us to take you to them?”
Not only did I want to remind Skies that, since we were an important part of the court hearing, we couldn’t go any further than we already had, but I also wanted to stop her before she asked that question.
The response from the filly was just as I knew it would be. Tears welled in her eyes and she started bawling.
“Don’t hawe famwy!” she wailed. “None!”
Skies looked at me, shocked.
I just sighed, and nuzzled the filly a little. I’d feared that. And this filly looked no more than maybe five or six years old, maybe less. “Is there anything we can do to help?”
She sniffled, looking at me. “Fowget.”
“Huh?” I asked, pulling back a little, an eyebrow raised. Forget? Was she telling me to forget it?
She sniffled again, her eyes filled with hurt. “Wanna fowget.”
Skies gasped. “You... you want to forget everything that’s happened to you?”
The little filly nodded, then buried her face in Skies’ fur again.
Skies looked to me, her expression asking if I knew whether Twilight, or any unicorn I knew could know of such a spell.
I did know a few, and it would be a synch for Twilight, but it felt wrong. Even if the filly did have her memories of the past erased, she’d eventually want to know why she wanted them erased in the first place, and that would just open old wounds.
No, we needed a way for her to forget but never question why. If only we could... could...
My eyes lit up. Of course. That spell. It was perfect. This filly was an orphan, Skies wanted another chance to be a good mother, everypony wins.
I smiled at Skies. “Skies?”
“Yes?” she asked, looking up from the filly, curious when she saw my excitement.
“Would you like to be this filly’s mother?” I asked.
Skies’ eyes went wide and her jaw dropped.
The filly shared her expression, before she squealed with happiness and hugged Skies.
“Mommy!” she shouted, tears of joy now pouring down her face. “Mommy! Mommy! I have a mommy!”
Skies looked down to the filly, back to me. “B-but... how will we handle...?”
I giggled. “Remember the spell that put Scootaloo inside me?”
A small flicker of sadness came over her face as she remembered that. “Yes. What’s your point?”
I looked down at the filly, to Skies, back to the filly and back to Skies. “What if she used it again? In the same way?”
It took a few seconds for Skies to process what I meant. When she understood, her eyes widened with both shock and excitement.
“Y-you... you really think it could work?” she asked, her anxiety clear, yet mixed with eagerness.
I nodded. “I’ll just have to tell her not to specify an age. Then, all you have to do is be the one closest to her and she’ll be yours.”
Tears welled in Skies’ eyes and she looked down at the filly. “Would you like to be my baby, little one?”
The filly obviously didn’t know what the question really meant, but her eyes brightened, none the less.
“Yes, Mommy!” she cheered, nodding vigoriously. “I’ll be youw baby. I wanna be youw baby!”
Skies looked at me, her tears flowing freely down her cheeks.
I just smiled warmly. “Let’s go inside. After the hearings over, I’ll ask Twilight to use the spell on... What’s your name, little one?” I looked down at the filly.
She turned to me, her smile fading a little. “No name, Miss.”
I almost burst out laughing. That was the name of a filly in a fic I’d read, long ago, back on Earth. And the irony of it in regards to the situation was not lost on me.
I smiled. “Well, since you'll be getting a second chance, how about Second Chance?"
She grinned. "I wike it!"
I nodded, glancing at Skies, who nodded back, approving of the name and I said, "Well then, Second Chance, follow us and we’ll see about getting you a new family.”
We went inside, Chance sticking right by her new, or rather, soon-to-be mommy.
As we did, none of the guards seemed to notice Chance, who Skies asked to sit with Rainbow Dash, and, when she showed signs of fear, I assured the filly that she had nothing to worry about and that Dash would look after her until we were finished.
With some reassurance from Skies, Chance hesitantly went and sat by Dash, who glanced at me with confusion, so I mouthed “I’ll explain later”, which she took without asking and turned back to look ahead.
As Skies and I turned our attention to the front as we headed back, we saw Thunder Strike being held down by several Royal Guard Earth Ponies as he thrashed around, his eyes showing bloody murder to Twilight.
“Enough,” the judge said, glaring at Strike. “I have heard enough. From the evidence presented by Princess Twilight, the conformations from the Royal Guards who were witness to your confesion of lying to your wife about leaving your daughter with a sitter, when you didn’t to only save some money, I hereby grant full custody of Scootaloo upon her birth to Miss Fluttershy.”
“No!” Strike yelled, glaring at me now. If looks could kill, I’d be lying on the ground this very moment.
“In addition,” the judge continued, his voice firm, “I sentence you, Thunder Strike, to nine years imprisonment, with chance of bail in five.”
With the resounding banging to declare things settled, Strike was dragged kicking, screaming and cursing towards the doors.
“Wait.”
The guards holding Strike halted as Skies walked towards them.
Strike glared at her. “Where were you, mare?! Tell this fools to release me, now!”
Skies scowled. “You’re dumped, Strike.”
The stallion’s eyes widened in shock and rage. “WHAT?”
“Don’t bother coming back to Ponyville when you get out,” she said coldly. “Your stuff will be sent to the prison for you. You’re not the stallion I fell in love with all those years ago. Don't come back, because if you do, I'll have your arrested.”
“NO!” Strike yelled, his voice filled with utter rage as he wall dragged out, his eyes on me. “This is your fault, you wench! Just you wait! I’ll get my revenge on you!”
“By which time, Fluttershy will be a member of the Royal Family,” Twilight shot at him, a small smirk on her face. “Love to find out how plan on harming a member of the Royal Family and getting away with it.”
That just stopped Strike, who suddenly went limp, staring in utter shock and horror as he was dragged out.
There was a cough from behind and we turned to see the judge looking at us.
“As for you, Mrs... um, Miss Skies, you will have the rights to visit Scootaloo, as long as the mother is fine with it.”
I nodded, turning to Skies, smiling. “I’ve no problem with it at all.”
The judge nodded. “Then this court is adjourned.”
With that, ponies got up and started filling out.
Rainbow and the girls all came over and hugged me, glad things had worked out well.
“Mommy!”
The others, Twilight included turned, their eyes widening as Second Chance ran to Skies and embraced her in a hug.
“Uh... what?” Twilight asked, cocking her head and an eyebrow.
I giggled and turned to Twilight. “Twilight, I have a favour to ask.”
_________________________________________________________
“How does it feel, being a mother-to-be again?” I asked Skies as she sat with the six of us in our train cart, on our way back to Ponyville five hours later.
I couldn’t lie, I was overjoyed to be headed back home. These last three days had been the worst since I’d gotten to Equestria and I was happy to be leaving them behind.
Skies blushed, putting a hoof to her stomach. “Rather surprising, if I will be honest,” she chuckled.
Pinkie giggled. “Now I get to throw another Baby Shower Party!” she shouted, balloons and streamers appearing from... well, I had no idea where, but, after living around Pinkie Pie for six months, I’d grown accustom to that.
Skies, however, had obviously been away from Ponyville for too long, because she stared at Pinkie with absolute bewilderment.
I turned and looked out the window, smiling.
Twilight’s parents, Shining Armour, Cadance and little Skyla had seen us off.
Velvet and Cadance insisted that, as soon as we get home, I take a long rest and do nothing to strenuous. I’d been through a lot and needed to give my body and the foals some time to recover.
I closed my eyes and let myself fall into a light nap. Everything was going right. What could possibly go wrong now?
I know you should never ever ask that question, but come on. Thunder Strike’s in prison, Skies’ gonna have her own daughter now and care for her right this time, I had all my friends, Twilight and I will be getting married soon and we were going to have to wonderful little fillies.
So, I feel safe in asking: What could possibly go wrong?