Chapter 18 (Rewrite)
Chapter 18
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“Where is she? Let me see her!”
The hospital doors and the guards standing outside them were flung aside as Rarity charged through them like a bull seeing red, Sweetie right behind her.
They hurried down to the small crowd of ponies near a bed far down the rows of beds, stopping and gasping, Rarity putting her hooves over Sweetie’s eyes at what they saw.
Luna was gently nuzzling Stellar's head, the filly sound asleep as she rested against the older Alicorn.
Rarity almost lost her lunch as she looked at the horror that had been inflicted on Stellar. The sight of no horn on her head sent a shiver down her spine.
“Rarity, let me see!” Sweetie Belle shouted as she pushed her sister’s hooves aside, before her face blanch at the sight of Stellar. “How...? How could somepony do this to her?”
“Shh,” Luna said, opening her eyes and looking to the two of them. “She is sleeping. Let her rest.”
They both nodded, though the horror did not leave their faces.
“Rarity, what are you doing here?” Rainbow Dash demanded, stepping up to the unicorn. “You’re meant to be at the hearing!”
Rarity turned to her, and the glare in her eyes caused the Pegasus to take a step back. “Stellar is like another sister to me, Rainbow Dash! Do you honestly think I would not come to see her the moment I got back from the search?! It took me two days to get back from where I was when Twilight sent the message.”
“I...” Dash looked away, not sure how she was meant to answer the question.
It had been three days since Stellar had been found and Blueblood arrested for his crimes. Along with him, those who had been working with him had been found unconscious in the castle dungeons.
Today was the pony who had been believed to be Blueblood for the last two years’ hearing and Rarity, Applejack, Pinkamena and Twilight were ponies that had been selected to be witnesses and give their testimonies.
It had been discovered ten hours after Blueblood's arrest and Stellar's rescue, that the one who'd held her captive had not been the stallion all were led to believe.
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Luna gently brushed Stellar's mane, quietly chuckling as it passed over her hoof. Stellar was resting comfortably, her dreams quiet and gentle.
Suddenly the doors to the infirmary burst open as several Royal Guards rushed in, only to halt at the glare Luna gave them as Stellar stirred, whining slightly. The guards relaxed, however, after the filly went quiet.
Luna looked at the five guards, frowning. "Why exactly have you come bursting in here?"
The guards glanced at each other, then the middle one stepped forward. "Your highness, something... has happened."
Luna raised an eyebrow. "Something?"
The guard scratched at his neck. "It's... hard to explain."
"Try."
What the guards told her made her mouth drop. The guard who'd spoken had been guarding Blueblood's cell at the time had been standing guard, when he heard a groan. At first he'd ignored it. However, when the groaning sounded pained, he turned to ask what was wrong, before the words caught in his mouth.
Blueblood had been hunched over, thrusting his head back and forth, screaming like a banshee.
As the guard watched, his fur colour became darker, until it looked brown. His mane changed to a sickly grey. His body began shrinking down, losing its tone and muscle the former prince was known for by many mares (who the guards had heard many times during their shifts near Blueblood's wing in the castle). His horn seemed to shrink into his head, disappearing. Finally, his Cutie Mark changed to a black pot filled with a golden liquid, before the Earth Pony that used to be the former Prince Blueblood dropped the ground, unconscious.
The guard said they would have waited to bring this to Luna's attention until a bit later, what with caring for her daughter, but the pony insisted that he was Blueblood and demanded to be given some kind of potion to cure him of the monstrous form he'd become.
When Luna spoke with the pony, it was as the guards had told her. He insisted that he was, in fact, Blueblood and, like Blueblood, begged her to see reason, that Stellar needed to be dealt with before she could harm Equestria.
Luna had then ordered the guards to search Blueblood's room, to see if their were any clues to his whereabouts and what this strange pony had to do with it.
It had been a day later that they found on the gruesome story from none other than Blueblood himself.
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“Princess.”
Luna was startled from the small slumber she'd started to slip into as she rested next to Stellar by the Thestral pony who had suddenly appeared before her. She had a very dark grey coat, almost blue, with wings that were a solid brown and a blonde mane and tail. The only other trace of bright coloring aside from her mane and tail came from her eyes; an almost luminescent teal.
Luna had to hoof it to her guard. If they could sneak up and startle even her, they were good at what they do.
She composed herself and nodded, saying, “Yes, Night Wind?”
The mare nodded, bowing. “I apologize for disturbing you while you were with your daughter, Your Majesty, but the unicorns who were studying Blueblood’s old room for those clues have found something.”
Luna’s eyes narrowed at the name. “What is it?”
The guard stood, frowning. “We are not really sure, Princess. Several vials of some strange liquid were found, hidden under the floor beneath his bed. We assume it was the potion that pony who resembled Blueblood had been ranting about, but as to its function, we are unsure.”
Luna cocked an eyebrow. “Vials? Have you tried to find out what they are?”
Night Wind shook her head. “None of the mages recognized it and none one of our records, nor even your older sister, have any idea as to what they are.”
Luna blinked. If Celestia didn’t know what the potion was, then it could be very bad.
“However, there is definitely Dark Magic blended into them,” Night Wind said, causing Luna to worry the tiniest bit more. If Dark Magic was involved in this, it was a very bad omen.
Luna didn’t realize she’d gotten up and followed Night Wind until a type of speaking she’d heard only from one mare in Ponyville reached her ears.
“... these potions would be very dire. Fortunately for us, their use time did a day ago expire.”
Luna blinked and saw the zebra Zecora standing in the middle of Blueblood’s room, a vial of a dull glowing blue liquid held with her left hoof.
“Zecora,” she said, nodding to the black and white equine. “It is good to see you.”
“It is good to you as well, Princess,” Zecora said, before her expression became serious. “But pleasantries must wait for now, I must digress. While visiting Canterlot I was called here to give my views on what is held in this vial, no doubt used by the pony who held captive your child.”
Luna nodded, shaking herself before speaking. “What is this potion, Zecora? Do you know where it comes from, what it does?”
The zebra heaved a heavy sigh. “The potion’s origins I sadly do know. My tribe thought we had seen the last of it long ago.”
Luna indicated for her to continue.
Zecroa put the vial down on the table that had been set up in the middle of the room.
“Many generations before mine, a potion was made, that almost caused the zebras’ decline. This potion, crude and hard to make, allowed one to be another’s fake. A bit of mane and fur was all that was needed, for the potion’s powers to be secreted. One gulp and the drinker’s body would change, causing their whole appearance, their very form to rearrange.”
“So, if I’m getting this right,” Night Wind asked, sounding skeptical, “that potion allowed anypony, or zebra in this case, to look like anyzebra else?”
Zecora shook her head. “The changes made were not just generic. The drinker’s body’s change was even genetic.”
Luna felt deep worry in her gut as what Zecora said was understood in her mind.
“My ancestors declared the banning of this potion just, for many ill of will would use it for greed or lust.”
Luna, Night Wind and all others present blushed as the understanding of those words easily came to them.
Luna coughed. “So, the potion was banned from your tribe? When was this?”
“Long before my day of birth. My elders have told me this tale since my youth with no mirth. What's more, regular consumption over a length of time will cause the drinker's mind and sense of reason to decline.”
So, if this potion was in Blueblood’s room and his impostor was hiding it... Luna’s eyes widened as it dawned on her.
Zecora nodded.
“But, then where’s the real Blueblood?” Night Wind asked, before shivering. “Or... is he...?”
Zecroa shook her head. “I highly doubt his life is ended. The potion’s time before ending has a limit to which it can be extended. No, to continue using the potion for long periods without strife, the fake Blueblood would have to have kept the real, whilst living his life.”
Luna’s became confused, being reminded of something her daughter had mentioned reading in a book about a potion with a similar effect, that only changed the drinker for about an hour. “How long would each potion last? An hour?”
The zebra shook her head. "As to the length before a potion's use ended, an hour is not right. A single potion could last until the next midnight."
“Wait a minute,” one of the unicorn guards said, turning to a wall mirror Luna had not noticed before. “If the fake Blueblood needed to keep the real one alive, but obviously somewhere nopony would simply stumble upon him, maybe that’s why I sensed something weird about that mirror when we came in.”
Luna frowned and walked up to the mirror indicated, then leaned her horn down to test it. She could feel a magical energy around it; one very much like that which she’d sensed when she’d last been near the mirror leading to the alternate world.
Her frown deepening, Luna used her magic to understand the spell on the mirror, then cast it.
At once the mirror shone with a blue light and where the mirror had been a second before, there was no an opening leading into blackness.
“All of you remain here,” she ordered, stepping towards the opening.
Before any of them could answer of protest, she passed through.
The world beyond the mirror was complete and utter darkness. Luna lit her horn with an illumination spell, but it barely lit more than a few paces in front of her.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d been walking, before she became aware of a sound. It was small at first and hard to pinpoint, but she eventually pick up where it was coming from and followed that direction.
After several minutes of walking, she found a pony chained to a stone wall. He was a unicorn with a blonde mane and tail and blue eyes that were staring up at her in total fright. The two overlaid four-pointed stars, i.e. a compass rose confirmed it. This was the real Blueblood.
At first sight, Luna had had to remind herself this was not the same pony who had tortured her daughter, but had been held prisoner himself by the very stallion who had.
Blueblood was shaking as if they were standing in the frozen north of Equestria. His mane was ragged, huge clumps missing. His fur was no better, large bald patches showing where his fur had been taken for the potion. He was also horribly thin.
The way he looked at her now... reminded her of how ponies had first reacted to her the Nightmare Night she’d gone to Ponyville, at the time not quite yet having learned how to act in public to make ponies treat her normally and not as the monster they’d thought of her as.
Luna knelled down to be closer to eye-level with the cowering stallion, who only cowered more as she drew nearer.
“Blueblood,” she said in as gentle a voice as she could. “You do not need to fear. I am Princess Luna. The pony who has treated you this way is gone, punished for crimes he committed that were heinous beyond words.”
“Th-th-then wh-wh-why are you here?” he squeaked, his voice hoarse and raspy. When had he last eaten? Luna realized with dread that his only company for however long had to have been just that imposter had been taking his place and had no idea how often those visits were, otherwise leaving Blueblood alone and isolated, with no idea what was going on in the outside world.
However, looking at him now, and since he was still alive, if barely, Luna could only assume this world Blueblood had been trapped in was designed to also keep him alive. After all, if the fake needed Blueblood's fur and mane for the potion and, living Blueblood's life, would sometimes be gone for weeks or months at a time, he couldn't risk the original dying, could he?
Luna smiled and leaned her head in, casting a gentle sleeping spell over him and his eyes started to droop.
“Worry not, nephew,” she had almost had to force the last word out, memories of his captor and impersonator brimming at the forefront of her mind, “when you waken, you will be back home, safe and sound, with no need to ever fear that pony again.”
Blueblood’s eyes closed and he was soon sleeping soundly.
After removing his chains, levitating him with her magic, Luna placed him over her back and, using her magic, forward the trail she’d left behind to return to the mirror.
Her pace, however, increased as she started sensing something wrong with the dimension she was in. Its purpose was to keep Blueblood prisoner. Now that he was unchained, its reason was gone and it was collapsing as a result.
Luna just barely got out of the mirror, her tail passing through it before the darkness seemed to implode on itself, returning to a simple looking mirror, before it shattered, the pieces tumbling to the ground.
Before anypony could speak, Luna turned to Night Wind and the Thestral stallion standing next to her. “Take him to the infirmary at once and inform my sister that our true nephew has returned.”
The stallion took Blueblood and left, Night Wind right behind him.
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Fluttershy glanced around the group, then to Luna. “Rainbow Dash does have a point, Luna. Shouldn’t both you and Rarity be at the hearing?”
Luna nodded solemnly. “Indeed,” her face grew dark. “I feel I should be at the hearing of the monster that has done this to my daughter and nephew—" she glanced at the stallion lying in the bed next to them. He was sound asleep, with IV drips in his foreleg. "I have the right!” She sighed, her face softening a bit. “However, that is precisely why my sister has forbidden me from going to the trial. I am too emotional involved in the matter.” She scowled. “She, however, better let me carry out whatever sentence that filth is given.”
Pinkie scowled, something that looked far scarier now that her mane never deflated after Pinkamena had been freed from within her. “No punishment on this plain will do for what he did.”
All the mares nodded.
Rarity’s face softened into one of sadness as she and her sister came closer to the bed.
Rarity lifted a hoof and brushed it against the black filly’s cheek. “You’ve become like my second sister, Stellar,” she said, tears welling in her eyes. “When Twilight sent that letter telling me the search was over and that they’d found you hurt, I never imagined it was so... so horrible.” She shut her eyes as the tears fell faster. “I felt so useless. And when she said you were hurt, I became so scared. I thought...”
Sweetie wrapped her forelegs around her sister, who returned the hug, her body jerking as she tried in vain to hold back the sobs.
Luna gave a small smile and nuzzled Stellar again. The filly shifted, a small frown coming onto her face, before it faded and she was sleeping soundly again.
After a few minutes, Rarity had recovered enough to turn to the others. “Will you girls watch over Sweetie while I’m at the hearing? I don’t want her to have to be there.”
Fluttershy smiled, came over and nuzzled the unicorn. “Don’t worry, Rarity. We’ll take good care of her.”
Rarity nodded, turned and left, the doors closing behind her.
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“All rise for the honorable Judge, Steel Claw,” the unicorn dressed in a brown security guards’ uniform said and all stood.
A griffon with light-brown feathers and a grey head crest stepped up to the judge’s podium and took a seat. He looked out at all present. “Be seated,” he said in a deep, commanding voice and all sat.
“Bring in the accused.”
The doors opened and a group of six unicorn Royal Guards in a hexagonal position marched in. Within the centre of their group was the pony who had pretended to be Blueblood, wearing hoofcufs with chains that connected them to each cuf.
He wore an angry, yet confident expression as he was marched to the podium and the guards stood either side.
Steel Claw banged his gavel and looked down at the unicorn. “Alchemist, your stand accused of murder of your family, ponynapping on two counts, torture on two counts, mutilation and attempted murder.” He snorted. “It also stands that you are accused of ponynapping a member of the Royal Family on two counts, mutilating a member of the Royal Family, torturing members of the Royal Family on two counts, impersonating a member of the Royal Family and, finally, the attempted murder of a member of the Royal Family. How do you plead to these despicable charges?”
Alchemist snarled. "My name is Blueblood!" Then he merely smirked. “I was just in all my actions.”
Steel Claw scowled. “I asked you a question, Alchemist.”
“And I do not need to answer it,” the pony replied, upturning his nose. “And you will address me as Prince Blueblood, you beast. I am a prince and have diplomatic immunity. This hearing is nothing but a farce.”
Steal Claw growled. "If you were Prince Blueblood, you would have diplomatic immunity, not that it would matter, seeing as most of your crimes were committed here, on Equestrian soil, not in a foreign country."
Alchemist scowled. “Regardless, the only reason this hearing is going is because you are all blind. That pony will be the end of you all, yet you refuse to see reason.”
“Reason?” the prosecutor shouted, standing up. “And it was this reason that convinced you to imprison and then impersonate his royal highness, Prince Blueblood and, even worse, torment an innocent foal?!”
All those present began murmuring, before Steel Claw’s gavel silenced them.
“Order! Order!” He looked to Alchemist. “The charges stand that you, Alchemist, several days after Hearth’s Warming, abducted young Princess Stellar Nova, took her prisoner and then proceeded to do things that make Sombra’s evil seem like a school bully in comparison.”
Alchemist snorted, both angrily and snobbishly. “I was stopping her from gaining power! You should all be praising me! And it's BLUEBLOOD! I do not know, nor care who this Alchemist you speak of is, but stop calling me by his name!”
“Enough!” Steel Claw’s voice boomed, griffin screeching entering his voice, before he turned to the prosecutor, speaking far calmer. “Prosecutor, your first witness.”
The black Earth Pony stallion nodded and got up, walking to the witness stand. “My first witness came to Princess Luna only just this morning,” he said, looking out at the crowd. “She was one of the ponies that were working with Mr. Alchemist, under the guise that he was Prince Blueblood, to find and capture Princess Stellar.”
Gasps and murmurs came from the crowd, and Alchemist's scowl grew darker.
“I call, High Steps to the stands.” As he spoke, the doors opened yet again and a green unicorn with a blonde mane and a ladder for a Cutie Mark and a grey mane and tail stepped through them, a Royal Guard at either side of her.
Alchemist’s eyes widened with anger as he watched her walk up to the stand and take a seat.
The prosecutor nodded to the guards, who stepped away, then turned his attention to the unicorn. “Miss Steps, is it true that you were involved in the capture and torment of Princess Stellar Nova.”
She sighed and nodded, keeping her head down.
“And, is it also true that you yourself helped to have her horn cut right off?”
She nodded again.
“Please tell the courts exactly what you told myself and the guard before the hearing.”
High Steps gulped, then, taking a deep breath, she began. “It started the day the princesses made the announcement about Stellar Nova. I was among maybe who believed they had been fooled and were dooming us all by not simply banishing her. Among my friends there were those who agreed with me.
We all would gather, wondering how we could tell the princesses they were wrong and get them to believe us. A few weeks later, Prince Blueblood... well, the pony we thought was Prince Blueblood, made contact with us.”
Murmurs came from all around.
The prosecutor nodded. “So, the pony you thought was Blueblood contacted you all? What did he contact you for?”
“He told us that we were right, that Nightmare Moon, that was who we saw her as, needed to be punished and that, if the princesses weren’t going to do it, we had to take matters into our own hooves.
He gathered us all in secret, explaining that we needed to be discreet, for even the Element Bearers were being fooled by her lies. So, we all kept tabs on her. Those of us who lived closest moved to Ponyville and watched her, waiting for her to slip up.
At first, we started to think that we may have been wrong. The child acted so scared it was like she wasn’t Nightmare Moon at all. However, we all were certain it was merely part of an act, something Chip Off, another of our informants became certain of, when she used the Royal Canterlot Voice just to tell a filly off.”
The prosecutor frowned. “Did you continue to keep tabs on her?”
Steps nodded. “We did. However, as time wore on, a few of our members started having doubts. Having kept tabs on her, they saw her acting, not like Nightmare Moon pretending, but as a truly innocent young filly that enjoyed life.
The prince told us not to be discouraged and this it was all part of her plan; that she knew we were watching and was putting on more of an act to make us second-guess ourselves, making it easy to manipulate us when the time for her conquest was at hoof. And we believed him.”
The prosecutor turned to look at Alchemist, then back to Steps. “And now?”
She shook her head. “We aided him in taking the filly. We waited for the right moment, it was easier with her shunning the Element Bears and princesses away. Once we had an opening, we raided Fancy Pants' mansion and took her away, using the false trails she left after that explosion on Hearth's Warming Eve to fool any who searched for her, whilst covering up the real one. We watched him remove her horn and then we... we... we helped him remove each an every one of her feathers, one at a time.”
Gasps and murmurs of disgust went throughout the crowd, silenced only when Steel Claw banged his gaffer.
The prosecutor indicated for her to carry on. “So, what did you do after plucking her wings? Did you aid him further?”
Her face darkened. “No! What he told us to do next made each and every one of us sick to our stomachs, especially the pegasi!”
A sense of dread went through the crowd.
“And what was that?” the prosecutor asked, though he looked slightly unnerved.
“He told us to remove her wings... by pulling them off.”
Huge gasps and the sounds of some trying not to vomit followed as everypony register what she said.
The prosecutor looked a little shaken, but cleared his throat and carried on. “So, what did you all do when he told you that was what he had planed?”
“We tried to stop him, obviously! Steps said firmly, her brows furrowed. “We’d all agreed that we should make Nightmare Moon suffer for what she put Princess Luna and Princess Celestia through and that dehorning her and plucking her wings was satisfactory for that, leaving her without magic or flight. With each feather we removed, we saw it as her being punished for every moment she kept Princess Luna imprisoned within herself and the suffering Princess Celestia had to go through after banishing her sister, with plans to do it each time new feathers grew again.
But to actually remove her wings? Even if we did think she was just Nightmare Moon pretending to be an innocent filly at the time, she was still just a filly, and he expected us to do that? Some of us actually hurled at just the thought.”
She turned and glared at Alchemist.
“When we realized he wasn’t joking, that he fully intended for us to do such a horrible act, we started undoing the straps binding her, with the full intent of just tossing her out onto the streets as she was. But he wouldn’t have that. He blasted us all with a spell, then teleported us to the castle dungeons, where we were found by the Royal Guards several days later.”
The prosecutor nodded. “You may step down, Steps.”
Steps groaned at the bad pun, as did most of the courtroom, but the prosecutor paid no mind and waited for Steps to be escorted out before speaking.
“Next, I call one of the mares who has cared for Princess Stellar since her arrival. I call the Element of Generosity, Rarity, to the stand.”
All heads turned as the purple maned unicorn stood and went to the stand.
The prosecutor stepped to the stands as she sat down and began. “Miss Rarity, is it true that you have been caring for young Stellar Nova during the last four months?”
Rarity nodded. “Indeed, I have.”
“Would you please tell the courts what you observed during your times watching over her?”
“Gladly.” Rarity cleared her throat, then looked out to the crowd. “When I first came across Stellar, she was terrified at the mere sight of myself and my friends. Naturally, my first thoughts were that it could merely have been because we were the ponies that defeated her, as I thought at the time, over a year ago. However, the very first morning I cared for her, she was timid and anxious, unsure what she was allowed to do in my house.
During a late breakfast, I got her to open up a bit and tell me about herself. She told me of the life she had before becoming the filly she is now. She spoke of her family, all the times she played with her little brother and sister and all the wonderful times she had with relatives.
Later that night, due to certain events, she had what my little sister Sweetie Belle called a Sleep Over. Though, in reality, Stellar was merely spending the night in Sweetie Belle’s room with her.”
“And did your sister come to any harm from Stellar?” the prosecutor interjected.
Rarity shook her head. “Not at all. In fact, I was woken that night, not by my sister’s screams, but Stellar’s. She had been having a nightmare, one she had many times after. I had to comfort the poor dear for over an hour before she was able to fall asleep again.”
The prosecutor nodded. “And, in the time after, what did you observe from Stellar Nova? Did you see signs of her becoming Nightmare Moon? Were there flashes where you did not see Stellar, but the pony that tried to take over Equestria?”
Rarity looked aghast. “Never! All I ever saw from Stellar was an innocent, sweet-hearted filly that loved having friends and enjoying life. She even became like a second sister to me.”
Murmurs went throughout the crowd and Alchemist scoffed, muttering, “Of course a ruffian like you would see that monster as your sister.”
Rarity seemed to pick up his words, because she turned to him, scowling. “A monster, hmm? Forgive me, but she is not the one who cut off a filly’s horn and ripped off their wings!”
“Objection,” Alchemist shouted.
“Over ruled,” Steel Claw said, glaring at Earth Pony, then turned to Rarity, nodding for her to go on.
Rarity nodded back, then shivered. “I saw her shortly before coming. It was the first time since I learned she’d been found that I saw her and...” she closed her eyes, a few tears slipping through. She opened then again and glared at Alchemist. “The state she was in was unforgivable.”
The prosecutor nodded. “You may take your seat.”
Rarity got up and moved away as the prosecutor called, “I call Miss Applejack Apple, Element of Honesty, to the stand.”
Applejack got up and took the place Rarity had recently vacated.
“You also have cared for young Stellar Nova, correct?” the prosecutor asked the orange mare.
Applejack nodded. “Darn right Ah have. An’ Ah’ll tell ya right now that that filly’s the kindest filly Ah’ve ever known. She never once complained when Ah asked her ta help round the farm. Matter o’ fact, she was happy t’ help.”
The prosecutor raised an eyebrow. “You made her work on your farm?”
Applejack blushed. “Well, it was her idea, really. She said she wanted t’ help out since we were givin’ her a place t’ stay. She was happy t’ help.”
The prosecutor nodded, closing his eyes. “So, let my understand this right. The pony that looks like Nightmare Moon has been staying on your farm, and was even offering to help out as repayment for your generosity in letting her stay, am I correct?”
Applejack nodded. “Darn tootin’!”
“And, as the Element of Honesty, you would not lie about such a serious matter, is that right?”
Applejack nodded again, her brow furrowing this time. “Got that right. That filly’s no Nightmare Moon. She’s her own pony and darn well proved it over and over, far as Ah’m concerned, an’ ain’t nopony gonna change mah mind about it.”
The prosecutor, nodded, saying, “You may take your seat.”
As Applejack got down, he turned again to the room at large.
“I next call, Pinkamena Pie to the stands.”
As he spoke, Pinkamena got up and passed Applejack.
When she’d sat down, the prosecutor looked to her.
“Miss Pie, can you please tell us how it is you are able to stand in front of this courtroom today.”
Pinkamena nodded. “Gladly." She looked out at all those watching her. "Since the day of the Sonic Rainbow that gave the Element Bearers their Cutie Marks, I was trapped within the mind of the Element of Laughter, Pinkie Pie. She did not mean to hold me prisoner, but I was a prisoner within her own mind, no less. For years I had to watch as she lived both our lives at once, without even realizing it.
However, the night Pinkie Pie first cared for Princess Stellar Nova, Stellar Nova entered her dreams and found me, watching memories within Pinkie’s mind. Risking her own life, Princess Stellar cast a powerful spell that left her hospitalized and magical drained for several days.”
“Oh, really?” the prosecutor asked, looking intrigued. “Please, tell the court what this spell did.”
Pinkamena looked directly into his eyes. “She freed me, risking her own life to do so, without even thinking about it.”
The prosecutor smiled and nodded, turning to the crowd. “So, if what you’re saying is correct, the filly that Alchemist tortured for being Nightmare Moon and for planning to doom all of us to a frozen death, freed you from a mental prison, because she felt it was wrong for a pony to not be able to live her life, correct?”
Pinkamena nodded. “Correct.”
The prosecutor grinned and looked up to Steel Claw. “No further questions, your honor.”
As the prosecutor and Pinkamena returned to their seats, Steel Claw looked to Alchemist, his face a mask of coldness. “So, despite all that has just been spoken of Princess Stellar, you say she is evil? Have you anything to say, Alchemist?”
The unicorn shook his head. “Nothing any of you fools would believe. She’d brainwashed you all. Why else would you all keep calling me this Alchemist's name?! She is even fooling you all now! Had you been there you would all agree with me that what I did was not only justified, but not enough!”
Looks varying from horror to disgust were visible on all present.
“I sincerely doubt that.”
There was a flash of purple and golden light and Twilight and Princess Celestia appeared by the judge, their gazes cold as they looked to Alchemist.
Alchemist looked to the taller Alicorn, his eyes pleading. “Please, Auntie, see reason. She is brainwashing you, just as she has all ponies. Why do you not see things as I do?!”
“You are not my nephew," she responded, her voice so cold all non-Alicorns shivered." And because I have not let my position as princess blind me to the truth or to the savagery that we abandoned long ago.” She closed her eyes. “The same, sadly, cannot be said for you, Alchemist.”
“And to prove that you are wrong, Alchemist,” Twilight said, her voice filled with contempt, “in that everypony would support your atrocious acts had they seen it for themselves, Discord?”
There was a popping sound and the master of chaos appeared next to the lavender Alicorn, giving Blueblood just as cold an expression. “Indeed, Princess.”
He sanpped his talons and a magical rectangle appeared above the ground for all to see. Another click of his talons and the scenes of Stellar dehorning, plucking and everything that followed began to play out.
Many ponies had to leave the room to vomit, some of them being the ones who’d been able to stop themselves from throwing up before. Even Steel Claw looked like he was struggling not to hurl.
When the screen showed Princess Luna cradling the unconscious filly in her forelegs, Discord snapped his talons again and the magical screen vanished.
After a few moments, Steel Claw cleared his throat. “The jury will now decide on whether you are guilty or innocent,” he said, just as several of the jury members who’d had to leave to throw up returned.
“No need, your honor,” a brown Earth Pony mare said, standing up. “We are all already in agreement. Alchemist is guilty of all charges.”
“How dare you?!” Alchemist snarled at the mare, his eyes wide. “I was saving your retched, useless life! I am a hero! You are all fools! If you punish me, you will only be serving to her ends!”
“ENOUGH!” Steel Claw bellowed, his voice echoing with griffon screeching that made all but Celestia wince. “Alchemist, you are hereby found guilty of every and all charges!”
He slammed his gavel, its bang resounding throughout the room.
Celestia stepped forward, her eyes on the unicorn that had done such horrific acts.
“However,” Steel Claw went on, putting his claws together, “I honestly do not know of any form of punishment that will match what you have committed. While some would say we should send you to a psychiatric prison since you harmed Princess Stellar whilst under the influence of the Dark Magic in those potions you were taking, you murdered your family, ponynapped and imprisoned Prince Blueblood and had already planned on assassinating Princess Celestia, while using his form to break her heart right before her death, all before you took said potions. Nopony has committed murder since before the Winter of the Windigoes. Would you have any suggestions, Princess?”
Celestia nodded, her eyes never leaving the fuming stallion she had been fooled for two years into thinking of as family. “Long ago, my sister and I dealt with those who had committed acts similar or worse than what this stallion has done.”
Gasps of shock came from the crowd, everypony unable to imagine worse things than what Alchemist had done.
"Princess, I feel just as in need for justice an anypony, but should we not let him recover from the Dark Magic within him before sentencing him?" Twilight glanced for a moment to the other Alicorn, before returning her gaze to the fuming stallion.
Celestia shook her head. "Dark Magic can take a very long time to work it's way out of any being's system. Due to the amount this heartless beast has coursing within him from his constant consumption of that vile potion, it would take a hundred years for it to work its way out of his system."
"By which time he'd have already died," Twilight murmured quietly, nodding. "So, he will be held prisoner until he can learn from his horrible actions."
Celestia remained silent for a moment. “He will but imprisoned, and he will have a long time, once the Dark Magic has left his system, to think about what he's done. However, it will be my sister who will pass sentence on this monster,” Celestia turned, a small smirk almost making it onto her face at the fear she saw entering Alchemist’s eyes. “As Stellar is her foal, it is her right to pass his sentence.”
___________________________________________________________
Stellar shifted, snuggling closer to Luna, who gave a small, warm smile and gently nuzzled where her mane would normally be.
There was a knock on the doors, causing all present to turn to them. They opened moments later, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkamena and Princess Celestia walking in.
“How’d the hearing go?” Fluttershy asked anxiously.
“He was found guilty!” Dash said, punching one hoof into the other. “No way he got off.”
Twilight nodded. “However, his sentence has not yet been dealt.”
Luna’s eyes darted to Twilight, narrowing. “And why not? That monster must pay for what he’s done!”
Celestia nodded. “I have decided his sentence, however, it is you, Luna, who shall carry it out. It is your right, as it is your foal he harmed.”
Luna blinked, looking at her sister, then nodded. She nuzzled Stellar one more time, before getting up and heading out. “He will be sentenced before the moon rises.”
___________________________________________________________
Alchemist, or as he thought himself, Blueblood glared at the guards standing outside his cell. This place was appalling. He had been saving them all and yet he was being treated like a peasant. The room was small, with the toilet right by the sink. How disgusting, having them not only in the same room, but so close to each other. How did the peasants live like this?
The guards all stood a bit stiller and stepped away from his cell.
The doors opened and Alchemist felt his heart skip a beat as the dark form of Princess Luna stepped into his cell. Her eyes were colder than even Celestia’s had been at the trial. They were as cold as the moon itself.
“Alchemist,” her voice made his whole body freeze up. “I have been given the power to sentence you for your despicable crimes against my daughter. If you have any words, speak them now, for they shall be the last you ever speak on this plane.”
Alchemist's face went paler than would be thought possible and he gulped. “Au-Auntie Luna—”
“You are no nephew of mine,” she cut him off, her voice chilling the room even more. “Your final words. Speak them now.”
“P-please, Au— P-Princess Luna, she is not your foal. She is fooling you into believing it! You must stop her before she—”
“A poor choice of words.”
Her horn glowed with her aura and her eyes turned pure white. A mighty wind began blowing through the cell, even though there were no windows looking to the outside.
Alchemist’s scream was never heard by the guards as he and Princess Luna vanished from the cell.
___________________________________________________________
Alchemist first noticed that he was lying on grass. He opened his eyes and looked around, confused.
He was lying on the ground in some forest. He couldn’t tell which though. It wasn’t the Everfree, yet it felt familiar to it.
“How do you like your new home?”
Alchemist shot up and whirled around. Luna was standing there, her wings outstretched, her eyes emotionless.
“Wh-where... Where are we?” Alchemist asked, looking around. “Wh-what is this place?”
Luna looked up at the trees, her eyes going distant for a moment.
After several moments, Alchemist grew impatient. “Well? Aren’t you going to tell me where we are?”
“I am trying to find words simple enough for a creature like you to understand,” Luna said, not moving her eyes from where they’d been looking.
Alchemist scowled. “Did you just call me stupid?!”
Luna shook her head. “To call you unintelligent would be an insult to those that are unintelligent.”
His scowl darkened. “Just tell me where we are? Is this real, or I am merely asleep and this is the dream realm you walk?”
“Oh, it is real. This is the... I guess you could call it the page upon which Equestria is printed. The primeval conception of the land itself. But it is not Equestria.
Alchemist’s scowl turned into a frown of confusion. “And you have brought me here to what, make me understand why I am wrong, when I know what I did was right?"
Luna looked to him at last, her face still blank of emotion. “You shall remain here, to think about what you have done and live with that knowledge.”
Alchemist scoffed, then sneered. “What’s next? You going to send me to bed without supper? It will be a long time before that is likely to happen, by which time I will be long dead. So your punishment is nothing.”
Luna looked like she almost was suppressing a smirk. “You do not understand, Alchemist. I am binding you to this forest, forever. You will never be able to go beyond its borders, nor will your life pass.”
Alchemist’s smirk slipped a little. “Wh-what?”
Luna’s horn and eyes glowed and Alchemist winced as he felt like he was floating into the air, though he could feel his hooves still firmly on the grassy ground. He felt like he was suddenly being spread across the forest. For a moment, he could see the entire forest and the lands just beyond its borders.
Then, the feeling was gone and he felt the same as before... and yet, there was also something different. Something he couldn’t place his hoof on.
Luna looked to him now, not with scorn or distaste or any of the emotions she had before. Now, all he saw was pity.
“I honestly hope you never understand the extent of what you’ve done, Alchemist,” she said, turning away. “For your own sanity, I honestly hope you do not. For, the moment you do, your soul shall be haunted by your actions for all time.”
“I-I don’t understand,” Alchemist said, taking a step forward. “What have you done to me? Why could I see the whole forest for a single moment?”
“Go to the edge and you will understand,” she said, flapping her wings, her horn glowing. “Though I honestly do not wish it upon you, given enough time, you will one day fully grasp the scope of the tragedy you instigated.”
With that she flapped her wings and flew into the skies, vanishing moments later in a flash of blue light.
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Woah! Lotsa chapters! Hopefully it'll be finished soon so I can start reading it.
I don't read anything that's unfinished anymore because it ruins the suspension of disbelief to wait for so long.
I am about to start reading all this chapter
6698528 they;re viewable again without the need for the password now
Kinda disappointed, I liked the re-write and wanted to see where it went.
6699107 Who said it wasn't. Stellar's forgiven Luna... that doesn't mean she's forgiven the others.
I think a better punishment would have been if she sent him to Area 51. He could have spent the rest of his life being experimented on.
This is still from the court's perspective, and yet suddenly you call him Blueblood instead of Alchemist. A little jarring.
Too little backstory on Alchemist, here. Who was he? Why did he do this?
Dammit, Autum. Coming up with a deus ex machina to make it someone else's fault, sentencing him to a physical prison, and not dealing with the conspirators at all...
I am inwardly raging at the injustice of it all.
Ummmm.... You keep calling Alchemist an earth pony AND a unicorn. You even call him Blueblood once. Other than that and a few auto correct errors well written.
Punishment is insanely disproportionate to the crime. Eternal solitary confinement? Solitary at all is just this side of cruel(as in cruel and unusual).
And the coconspiritors get nothing? Ugh.
This was an unjust court, no one in the jury was on neutral ground so it was a fixed court.
Not saying that he didn't deserve it but I would have done at least a little worse.
All and all its great so far and will keep reading.
7199874 It was basically a kangaroo court with a foregone verdict, but then Equestria is basically an autocracy, with rulers basically looked on as gods by the people. If a god says somebody is guilty...
7199874
7238559 kind of hard to have anyone not be bias in this case. And they were given overwhelming proof on his crimes. So it was just.
Autmn, I sorely wish I had been your editor/conscience. I know of exactly 1,329 different ways to torture Alchemist without killing him.
7656556 theres a litteral infinite possibilty of fun ways to torture someone, you just have to find out which ones get to them the most...
7199874
7238559
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Not to mention defense was not present, it was only prosecutor which spoke. This is not justice, this is nothing moral... this is worst kind of cruelty and evil made to look like a good thing.
ETERNITY? For someone who was influenced under Dark Magic? This is literally on ANY scale worse than what he did by FAR.
oh that is a very fitting punishment the only thing i can think of to make it better is if he was always on fire
8274277
You know what punishment I would have given him had I the power to do so? I would have had his soul brought to hell and tortured for the rest of eternity and given his soul wings so everything he did to stellar would be done to him over and over again for all of time with no relief in insanity.
It seems like a fitting punishment
you should write a chapter about what happened if he did go to the end of the forest or if he fully understand the punishment of his crime.
he got what he deserved
Something about the way Luna described the place and punishment makes me feel as if she just imprisoned him to the Ever free forest in its infancy, and basically turned him into the timberwolves.
Also to anyone who thinks that this punishment is insanely disproportionate... just take a minute or a few to imagine. Your own family, the ones you love and care for and can never stand go truly see hurt, tortured, in whatever way you can imagine (not just the idea, try to actually picture it), and shown it all on the highest quality video (like the video shown by discord) with all the blood and gore present. Also imagine that you held them in your arms when they were freed (like when luna found stellar in the dungeon) Then imagine you are basically a god, who has had infinite power for a very long time and are used to using it in any way possible. Tell me. What would you do? What would you honestly feel and do? I know I would be enraged beyond reason and do something indescribable.
I recently watched a movie that made me think pretty deeply into how much suffering people can truly feel, so don't stare too much please if you think I'm going off the deep end with this. Regardless of if this is just a story, the events described are horrific to imagine in reality.
i feel like i must write this down even it came out before "Apocalypse Bird is the fusion of the powers of Big Bird, Bird of Judgement and Punishing Bird, in an attempt to protect the Black Forest from monsters, thinking that the forest was too big for them to protect, but that nobody else can protect it like them. When Apocalypse Bird appeared, darkness fell on the forest, causing chaos across it, with all the creatures of the forest escaping them.... Apocalypse Bird ended alone in the Black Forest which it tried to protect, without sun or moon. The prophecy has been completed."
That is an epic burn
And this is the story of slender man but pony edition
The trial was a farce but we don't expect accuracy of any degree.
You do realize you put in one more Past Sins reference. There was a female pony named Night Wind.
10185340
I did not know that
Polijuce from harry potter.
Not cool
This could easily have been the climax of the story. But there are still 11 chapters plus the epilogue left.
10122596
Technically, it was a hearing, not a trial. There's a difference. But disregarding that detail, what about it is a farce?
10649751
Hrm, perhaps not technically a farce, but a one-sided smackdown, sure. Just a little shock and awe show to show the unrepentant evil. Could they not find one person for the defense?
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Perhaps they have found someone, but Alchemist turned them down, believing that his case was so obvious that he didn't need extra defense. And considering that he himself made an objection, perhaps he was acting as his own attorney.
10649875
We could see that. It just seemed like a weird publicity stunt. 😇
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Also, the Equestrian legal system probably works differently.
Oh come on!!! What the Tartarus!! Are you really redeeming Blueballs That is just some stupid contrived BS
Someone's a fan of the fanfic Apotheosis. Don't blame you though, it's a good story
JUST-KILL-HIM
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the thing is alex for some, death can be the same as mercy, but for others, being left alive can be the same as unimaginable torture, and if the alchemist is kept there, he will never age, and he will never leave and i myself just realized, if he cant die there, then the pain of hunger and thirst will be his only companions for the rest of eternity, and after a while, he will lose his sanity and mind (like what the corruption from steven universe does)
so in conclusion this punishment is the most fitting
So mutch suffering from a insane pony, simply wow...
11245368
This fate is far worse. A fate worse than death indeed.