Rise of Ponietheus

by twitterdick

19. Twilight Sparkle: The Aftermath

It had been two days since Harbinger's capture. Princess Celestia herself oversaw his temporary incarceration before a trial could be organized. Twilight had barely gotten her library back in order when she received a royal decree on that nice hemp paper to reside over his trial. This was her first de jure political activity. She was incredibly nervous. She never been a judge before, even to a "suspect" so obviously guilty.

She and her friends took the train up to Canterlot the morning of the trial. The train was quite full of passengers. Ponietheus's impending trial had become something of an event. Several ponies, particularly farmers and property owners who'd seen his storm damage their livelihood, were quite angry. Twilight Sparkle stared out the train window and listen to them wish Princess Celestia's wrath upon 'Harbinger'. He would certainly get it. Twilight had never seen the princess so angry. Still, she couldn't decide herself if she was angry with Ponietheus or if she felt sorry for him. Princess Luna had seemed equally unsure, though that look on her face conveyed how she lent towards anger.

Spike put his hand on her back as she watched the rocky precipices of the unnamed mountain Canterlot had been built into drift by. She then looked over to him. He gently smiled at her. She smiled back and softly rubbed his cheek with her hoof. She looked around her section of the train car at her friends. They were all oddly quiet with the exception of Rainbow Dash, who joined the other ponies in condemnations of Harbinger. Twilight listened to her raspy voice tell others of the horrors she and her friends witnessed while staring at Pinkie Pie, who simply looked sick. She was slowly rubbing her hooves together and listening to Rainbow Dash talk. Her frown communicated her disagreement.

Twilight Sparkle laughed a little. '…Angel and devil on my shoulders.' she thought.

The train pulled into Canterlot station before long. Twilight saw her royal escort of guardsponies led by a familiar face. Knight Commander Protean Joy spotted her through her window, then smiled and nodded. She smiled weakly back. The raucous points started to funnel out of the train. Twilight Sparkle stood up, waited patiently for her turn and exited.

Protean Joy waved at her and motioned her to come over to him. Twilight obeyed and her friends followed her, clinging to her like Protean Joy's fellow guardsponies.

"You all look well," he said. He gave Twilight Sparkle a sympathetic look.

Spike was the only one out of her friends to be happy to see him. "Hey, Protean Joy!" he said, "How's it going?"

"There've been better days, Lord Spike," he said. His soft face fell back into the stern look of a pony of authority. "I'm sorry, but only Princess Twilight Sparkle and Spike are the only ones allowed in the castle at the moment. The trial will open to the public momentarily. Princess, Spike, if you'll follow me."

Twilight Sparkle nodded. "Come along, Spike," she said.

Protean Joy led them through the sullen streets of Canterlot. The roofs of the buildings had significant damage, and ponies were sweeping glass and rubble off the street. Twilight's stomach turned slightly. It amazed her the extent of which she hadn't have been aware of the scale of the storm's damage. Nopony had been hurt, but property damage was still very serious.

"…You've never served as a judge at a trial, have you Your Majesty?" Protean Joy said after a while.

"…No. There hasn't been a trial this serious in Equestria for… years, at least."

"Things will only get difficult if Harbinger pleads 'not guilty', which he'd be a fool to do. Normally, the princesses simply act as judges, but, in this case, Princess Celestia is the prosecution. She might call on you to be a witness - to testify against Harbinger. Other than that, you, Princess Luna and a group of jurors will reach a verdict depending on the evidence. Three verdicts - no ties."

"But only if he pleads 'not guilty'."

"Yes."

'I doubt he will. This trial is a sham. Not sure why it's even happening. Due process, I guess.'

They arrived at the castle and Protean Joy opened the door for her. The other guardsponies remained outside. A small crowd was gathering, so they stood at the base of the entrance's steps. Protean Joy led her to the castle's court room. She had always known were it had been, of course, but she let him show her and explain the room's layout anyway. Half of being a princess seemed like showponyship and the other half seemed to be about knowing when to keep your mouth shut.

The castle's courtroom was an intimidating place. It was a two story dome like structure in the shape of a large oval. Protean Joy led her in from a archway on the upper story. The top story was a large balcony that overlooked the smaller story below. Down there was a small podium for the defense, with a few desks for defensive lawyers and some booths for spectators.

Above, near the entrance, was a larger set of booths for spectators. Across from there on the other side was a smaller booth for the jurors, which were filled with very important looking ponies all murmuring among themselves. The Twilight's left was another podium for the persecution, as well as two smaller podiums reserved for the princesses. Princesses Celestia and Luna were already in the courtroom, as well as the jury. Protean Joy directed her to the vacant princess's podium, with Princess Luna stationed at the other one. Princess Celestia sat at the persecutor's podium with a stern face and was looking through a collection of papers. She spotted Twilight Sparkle and smiled quite warmly at her before the cold anger returned and she went back to the papers. Princess Luna had a forlorn look and was softly tapping at her podium impatiently. Two other guardsponies were stationed at either side of her.

Twilight Sparkle wordlessly took her place at the vacant podium. Protean Joy directed Spike to one side of her then took his place at the other side. Spike looked at the guards by Luna, then at Protean Joy and Twilight, then smiled to himself. Protean Joy had a small grin as well. Twilight looked at little Spike, who was beaming and sticking his chest out.

'At least somepony was having a good day,' she thought.

After a few minutes, the guards let the townsponies in. They were loud, and funneled into the booths on Twilight's level and below. Before long, Twilight Sparkle spotted her friends enter and sit at the booths on her level. She began tapping the floor nervously. She didn't like being set apart from them.

Twilight Sparkle breathed out, and reminded herself she'd only really have to participate if Ponietheus pleaded 'not guilty' - which was very unlikely, given that Pinkie Pie had convinced him to turn himself in, in the first place. Still, as more and more ponies filled the onlooker's seats, she grew more anxious. Spike dropped his guard pose, leaned over and put his and hand gently on her back. It calmed her down slightly, but her heart was still fluttering. He was shaken back into his guard pose by the sound of the doors below crashing open, signaling they were bringing Ponietheus in. The crowd grew quiet.

He was led in by five guardsponies and was in restrains. He was a somber figure with his head down and his eyes low. Ponies muttered negatively to each other as he passed them. He noticeably winced. Twilight frowned. The atmosphere pressed down on her harder than the storm ever had. She could feel Celestia's anger and was afraid, even though none of it was directed at her.

"Ponietheus of Hailcryon - Harbinger," Celestia said, "Step forward."

He stepped to a little podium positioned beneath them. He swallowed and continued to stare at the floor.

Twilight saw Celestia lean forward in her peripheral. She couldn't bring herself to peek at her face.

"Look at me," Celestia said.

'Theus was stiff. He moved his head slightly upward and dared to make eye contact with her.

Celestia allowed herself to glare at him awhile, then relaxed. She lifted a piece of paper to her right and brought it into her view. "Ponietheus of Hailcryon - you are hereby charged with the following crimes against Equestria and her denizens - unauthorized use of extreme magic, use of extreme offensive magic against unarmed citizens unprovoked, various accounts of vandalism, various accounts of property damage, various accounts of assault and battery - two of which are filed against Equestrian royalty, the destruction of staple crops and, of course, disturbance of the peace. How do you plead?"

'Theus was quiet. His mouth went agape and his eyebrows and lips curled. Twilight could practically hear his heart pounding in the back of her head. Celestia simply continued to glare at him and await his response.

"Uh… guilty…" he said.

"What was that?"

"Guilty!"

"Oh, guilty," Celestia said, "At least that saves me the trouble of presenting the library's worth of evidence to support my case against you. Very well. Guilty it is. Now, I'm sure I speak for nearly all of Equestria when I express my curiosity as to just why it is you decided to commit such heinous war crimes against us. Do explain to your peers here in jury - I'm sure they'd love to know the reason."

"I…uh…I-It was an accident…"

"Ah, an accident - something that was simply beyond your control," Celestia said, "Well, your 'accident' has cost the crown tens of thousands of bits in damage, erased three days from the lives of its citizens and caused considerable damage to various farmsteads and their vegetation during a crucial part of their gestation - with harvest being only a few weeks away. So, tell me, why should I waste my time with you?"

"I don't know!"

"Because why should I be expected to clean up your mess!?" Celestia bellowed.

Twilight felt her teeth clench and her shoulders tighten. It was terrifying to see Celestia this angry. She felt a sour weight in her stomach even though none of the anger was directed at her. She peeked down at 'Theus again. He was shrinking. He looked like he'd been kicked in the face.

Celestia sat back and breathed out. "A friend of yours urged me to spare you. He seemed to think you were something of a carpenter. Are you a carpenter?"

'Theus just stood there ramrod stiff with a frozen look of horror on his face. His mouth hung open like he'd forgotten how to make words.

"Are you a carpenter!?" Celestia repeated.

"Y-Yes," 'Theus said, "Though I'm… I'm more familiar with, uh, masonry…"

"Very well," Celestia said, "Then I have a job for you. You see, a violent storm knocked a few holes in various buildings here in Canterlot as well as a little town just west of here called Ponyville. Something tells me my little ponies would prefer sleeping with an intact roof over their heads. Should I grant you access to the proper supplies and equipment, might you fix up the buildings you ruined for me? I'd be happy to pay for your services. I hear you owe a princess quite a bit of money."

"Yeah," 'Theus said, "Yeah, okay. Okay, I can do that…"

"Perfect," Celestia said, "If the city I hear you helped construct is half a wondrous as your friend suggested, than such an assignment will be a breeze for you. Oh, but I suppose you need a place to stay as well. Princess Twilight Sparkle?"

Twilight's ears shot up and some unnecessary terror shot through her spine. "Oh!" she said, "Uh, yes, Princess Celestia?"

"Would happen to know anywhere our dear friend could stay will he is in my employment?"

"Oh, um… well, there's a, uh, an old watermill that went out of commission a few months ago. It's, um, just outside of town and could easily be repurposed as housing."

'Don't make him my responsibility. Don't make him my responsibility. Don't make make him my responsibility.'

Luna peered over and caught eyes with Twilight like she'd heard her very thoughts. Her face communicated everything affectively. 'Oh, she's going to make him my responsibility!'

"Very well. I'll purchase the property and put it in your name. Ponietheus will be your seneschal and be place directly into your command. I leave it to your discretion what privileges he is allowed to possess."

Twilight frowned.

Celestia turned back to 'Theus. "Look at me," she said. He obeyed. "This is not a vacation. You work for the crown, and you answer to the crown. I can be persuaded for second chances, Ponietheus of Hailcryon, but I care little for third ones. Is that clear?"

'Theus nodded slowly.

"Very well," Celestia said, "This case is adjured. Jury, you are dismissed. Princess Twilight Sparkle, take a few guardsponies and escort our guest to his new living quarters and prepare him for work. Now, if you might excuse me, my sister and I have appropriations to make."

---

Twilight and the same five-some of guards led Equestria's resident incarcerate down the street from the castle back to the train station. Twilight felt like she was parading Ponietheus, like having him stare at the city and listen to the townsponies whisper about him was part of his sentencing. She refused to let herself look back at him. She was so ambivalent; so unsure whether to pity him of condemn him.

A special train awaited him - a prisoner's train with two cars attached to the engine. Twilight watched the five essentially shove Ponietheus and his shackles into middle car. They then dispersed between the two cars, two and three, and invited Twilight Sparkle into the rear car. Twilight thought for a moment, then, to the surprise of all the guardsponies there, decisively entered the center car. The two that had already entered and locked Ponietheus behind a cage that occupied about the back third of the car stared at her in disbelief, then quickly rushed to attention. Ponietheus had simply laid down and was just staring at the floor.

"Your Majesty!" cried one of the guards. Both gave her a stiff salute.

"At ease," Twilight Sparkle said, finding her authoritative voice. She wasn't intimidated by guardsponies. They both relaxed and took their places at either side of the cage's entrance.

"…Could you two ride in the back car? I'd like to speak to the prisoner alone."

They hesitated. "Your…Majesty?" one asked.

Twilight held a stiff upper lip. "Do as I say," she said.

The two looked at each other nervously then nodded. They swiftly exited the car. Ponietheus looked up at them then at her. She tilted her head, trying to decide just what she thought of him. His hair was unkempt. His eyes were bloodshot and he had significant bags under them, like he hadn't slept for days. Twilight Sparkle tapped her foot on the floor as she thought of what to say. She then felt the shift of the train as it began to move. The train pulled out of the station and headed for Ponyville.

Words weren't coming to Twilight Sparkle. She just stood there staring at him, and he put his head down on the floor and decidedly looked away. Twilight Sparkle frowned.

"Stand up," she said at last with her cold, authoritative voice.

He did so wearily and looked her in the eyes. She began tapping again. She wasn't sure what to do.

"…Let's get something straight," she said coldly, "We're going to be seeing a lot of each other for the next couple of days, but I'm not your friend…"

He looked down again, but that was all he did. He didn't wince anymore, like he had in the courtroom.

Twilight's attitude shifted down and she tapped faster. "…But I'm not your enemy either. I don't know. I don't what to think of you."

He looked back at her and slightly clenched his teeth. It wasn't anger, it was more like resignation. "…That's okay," he said, "I don't expect anyone to like me."

"…Why did you do it?"

He shook his head. "I thought you were ponies I knew from a long time ago. I thought you had forgotten about me and I wanted to remind you. I didn't know what that storm would do, but I didn't stop it either. When I tried, it was too late. I've only ever been too late. Everyone I knew from back then died a long time ago."

"Back then? You mean in Pinkie Pie's story?"

"I don't know what story she was talking about, but it was probably written by a pony from back then."

"Tell me what happened."

He shook his head. "…It doesn't really matter."

'Yes it does. I need to understand. I need to know what I think of you.'

Twilight's authoritative voice returned. "I wasn't asking," she said sternly.

He sighed. "It was a long time ago, before your Princess Celestia started spinning the sun around the earth. Half of the planet was bright and sunny and the other half was cold and dark. Ponies lived on the precipice, up in what's now Hailcryon - where I was for a long time. When we came into the solar system, our leader, Draco, told us to stay away from the lifeforms of earth, but I didn't listen. Ponies were smart, but they couldn't survive in the cold and they couldn't make it south. So I disobeyed Draco and gave ponies fire, taught them how to use it, taught them how to build a city. Then Draco found out about it and ordered every pony, even the children killed. So I cursed him. I cursed all of them - took away their wings and horns and made them live down here. Then everyone left."

"That doesn't explain why you're here."

"I…found a jar."

"A jar?"

"Yes, a ceramic jar with a note that told me the jar's contents would get me out of Hailcryon."

"So that storm was in a jar?"

"It began as a powder, yes."

"Who left it?"

"I don't know."

'How can you be this stupid?' Twilight Sparkle thought. It was clear to her that his action the past few days were no where near as methodical as she had first assumed. He had repetitively dashed all her expectations. She was utterly suspended in judgement. She wanted to hug him. She wanted to punch him straight in the mouth. Still, more than Ponietheus, this jar and its assumed relation to the storm and his appearance as Harbinger was unprecedented and terrifying.

"Where is this jar now?"

"Back at Hailcryon's library, I guess. That's were I lived."

'How appropriate…'

Ponietheus looked away.

"Hey, look at me," Twilight said more gently. He obeyed. "…That was where you were, but it's not where you are now. You're here with me, and, like it or not, we're stuck with each other. Enough of this moping around."

Ponietheus swallowed and stared intently at her. 'You're no use to anypony whining...'

"…What happened to the first ponies wasn't necessarily your fault, but what you did to Equestria was and you have to pay for it. Keep appearances - stiff upper lip and all that."

He stretched his shoulders in his little cage and nodded slowly. This was followed by some stuttered deep breathing on his part.

'I feel like a life coach,' Twilight Sparkle thought, 'This is the almighty Harbinger? …What a shock. What am I supposed to do with this? What does Princess Celestia expect me to do with this guy?'

He shuddered. "What foul circumstance has brought this to pass?"

Twilight Sparkle shook her head. "…Not circumstance. You made your choices. Nopony… No one made them for you."

That last phrase seemed to bite into him. He looked away from her and was silent. Twilight sighed wearily, yet almost indignantly, and moved to perch herself against the window in order to stare out of it. She still hadn't decided her opinion of the creature.

She forced herself to chuckle. 'The detestable Harbinger and the pathetic Ponietheus. My seneschal is like a filly.'

They both remained wordless as the train pulled into the Ponyville station.

Author's Note:

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