//------------------------------// // Exile // Story: Experiment 187 // by Mike the Red //------------------------------// Twilight stared at the ground as she tried to think of a response -- an almost inaudible "I'm sorry" left her lips as she felt the gaze of the lunar princess bore into her. Spike clung to her neck tightly, his eyes clenched shut. "Do you have anything else to say in your defense, Twilight?" asked Luna, her voice cold and distant. The lavender unicorn stole a glance at the indigo alicorn and noticed traces of tears on her face. "I'm so sorry, Princess Luna," she offered meekly, her head very low and ears flat against her head. "All I wanted was to -- all I was trying to do was --" "That doesn't matter any more, Twilight -- the results speak for themselves. You were responsible for creating this mess -- and now my sister is gone to Faust knows where -- I've already sent a cadre of Royal Guard to assess and tally the final damage. You are to be kept in the dungeon without use of your magic until your trial." As she was speaking the words, the lunar princess placed an inhibitor ring on the librarian's horn, sapping her magic and nullifying it. Tears streamed down the unicorn's face as she buckled to the ground as though the weight of her guilt was a physical force upon her back. A whimper escaped her lips as she felt the ring rob her of her magic. "Guards, escort her to the prison," Princess Luna commanded, though her voice had more than a little sadness to it. She turned her attention to the librarian, whose tears flowed freely down her cheeks, still uttering weak apologies in a desperate plea for leniency as she was led away. The lunar princess hung her head and shook it slowly from side to side, her emotions weighing heavily on her as she tried to maintain some small semblance of decorum. Spike scurried after her, but Princess Luna used her magic to separate him from Twilight, carrying him to the alicorn's side. "I'm sorry, Spike, but you can't be with her while she's awaiting her trial," Luna noted, trying to strike a soft tone. Spike looked up at her defiantly and scowled. "Where am I supposed to stay? I've been with Twilight all my life, you can't do this to me! She's like a big sister to me!" he cried as he struggled against Luna's magic. "You can stay here at the castle -- I will see to it that you receive accommodations to your liking," Luna replied, her voice still soft. "But -- I want to be with Twilight! Please!" "Are you willing to share her cell in the dungeon?" Luna asked, surprised. Spike nodded his head in response. "You know what that means, don't you?" Spike nodded his head again. "Very well then, Spike, you may stay with her -- but you will be treated the same as any other prisoner. Guards, take Spike to be with Twilight," Luna declared, her voice tinged with greater sadness than before. A pair of thestral lunar guards escorted Spike in the same direction as the pair who took the unicorn, the drake having folded his arms across his chest in resentment as he was prodded forward by one of the guards. Twilight was forced to wait two weeks before her trial began; and in that time, a great many witnesses from Ponyville had been called in to testify against the former librarian. The bulk of the time Twilight wept as she heard the sadness of the ponies testifying against her, sharing the pain experienced by so many of Ponyville's residents. The final witness was Discord, who tried to say something positive on Twilight's behalf, though Luna scowled at the draconequus owing to his almost flippant attitude towards the entire proceeding. Twilight's defense was brief and peppered with a great many apologies, though it might have sounded more like a closing statement after an obvious guilty plea. Judgement was swift, with Twilight being sentenced to spend the rest of her life in a prison cell, deprived of her horn. Spike was devastated, but insisted on staying with Twilight, despite the fact that he had committed no crime. Even so, he was treated the same way as Twilight. END