A Second Chance
"Sonata Dusk?" A guard stallion entered the small room where Sonata was being held.
Upon returning to Equestria, Twilight had immediately used her cute little dragon to send a letter to Celestia explaining what was going on, and why she'd soon be arriving with Sunset Shimmer, somepony who had died centuries ago, and the three sirens. Then, with help from Sunset Shimmer and Star Swirl, they'd all teleported to Canterlot.
Almost immediately upon arriving, they'd been intercepted by a group of royal guards. With reassurances from Twilight and Sunset, the unresisting sirens had quickly been separated and led away to different rooms.
"Yeah?" Sonata asked the newcomer. She was a bit nervous to hear what was in store for her, but overall she felt rather good about the situation. She'd finally won over her sisters, and it looked like everyone was all set to be friends as soon as this official stuff was over. Twilight's certainty that they'd be pardoned as long as they promised to be good didn't hurt, either.
"I'm just here to tell you that you're free to go," the stallion said. "Your, ah, heart, will be returned to you as soon as you're outside."
"Wait, just like that?" Sonata asked. Reassurances or not, this was way too easy.
"Just like that," the guard confirmed with what was probably meant to be an encouraging smile. It looked more like a grimace. "Your sister Aria Blaze explained everything, and Adagio Dazzle confirmed it when we asked her."
"What do you mean?" Sonata leaned forward. This didn't sound right. She unconsciously tried to grip the table to steady herself, but of course her hooves couldn't do any such thing.
"Aria told us how she'd enchanted you and Adagio, and that the crimes you committed were done at her command," he explained.
"What? Sonata yelped.
The guard spoke right over her outburst. "Per Equestrian law, you can't be held responsible for what you do under magical compulsion. Therefore, there's no case against you or your sister, and you're both free to leave. Aria will face the princesses' judgment, but as long as you stay out of trouble, you should never hear from us again."
There were a dozen things that Sonata wanted, needed to tell this guard, so many things that her thoughts tangled and tripped up one another. Why was Aria doing this?
"It's not true!" Sonata shouted.
"I'm sorry?" The guard tilted his head.
"I was never under anyone's spell," Sonata protested. "You can't just punish Aria for what we all did!"
The guard reached into his barding and pulled out a sheet of paper, quickly skimming the contents. "Ah, here it is," he said. "According to Aria's statement, you fought particularly hard against the compulsion, so she had to use more powerful magic on you. She warned us that you might still feel a sense of loyalty to her for a while. That's why we confirmed with Adagio first." He tucked the paper back where he'd gotten it from.
Sonata's jaw flapped uselessly. Aria had trapped herself perfectly. Anything Sonata said would just be waved away as the aftereffects of the "spell." Why?
"Please come with me," the guard said, "I'll lead you out."
Feeling dazed and strangely numb, Sonata nodded and followed the armored stallion. She took no notice of the beautiful surroundings inside the royal palace in Canterlot, and paid no heed to the murmuring nobles or imposing royal guards. What was going on? Why was this happening? Nothing seemed to make sense anymore.
A surge of hope broke through the haze when she spotted another guard leading Adagio down the hall just ahead. Paying no attention to her own escort's cry for her to wait, she galloped up to meet them.
"Adagio!" she cried out as she ran. "Aria—"
"Not here," Adagio cut her off. "We'll talk outside, okay?" Her face was deadly serious. She already knew the situation.
"O-okay," Sonata stammered uncertainly, coming to a stop beside her sister.
The royal guard who had been leading Sonata quickened his pace to a trot to catch up. They weren't prisoners anymore, so there was no need to keep them on too short a leash, but he still had a job to do. Under the watchful eyes of the two guardsponies, Adagio and Sonata walked down the cavernous main hallway of the royal palace to the large doors at the front. Another unicorn in royal guard armor stood there with a small, gilded wooden box. He opened it as they approached.
"These are yours," the unicorn stated, holding Adagio and Sonata's hearts in a magical field, "and your bags are against the wall there. Everything that was in them was put back. You had no other possessions with you, correct?"
"That's right," Adagio said quietly.
"What about Aria?" Sonata asked.
"You are certainly welcome to take her bag as well," the unicorn answered, perhaps deliberately misunderstanding the question, "but I'm afraid that we will need to hold onto her amulet."
"That's not—!"
"Not now, Sonata," Adagio murmured.
The two sirens gathered their belongings, and Sonata took Aria's saddlebag as well. With the guards' permission, they stepped through the doors and into the open air of freedom. A freedom that Aria might never know again.
"This way," Adagio said, jerking her head for Sonata to follow. She led the other siren around the side of the palace toward the royal gardens. They found a relatively private place under a small stand of trees, and at last Adagio turned to face her sister.
"Aria's lying!" Sonata burst out as soon as Adagio looked at her. "We have to tell them. We have to—" she broke off as she noticed the tears, real tears, gathering in Adagio's eyes. She hadn't seen her sister cry in centuries.
"She's taking the fall for us," Adagio answered. "She's giving herself up so that we can have a second chance."
"But," Sonata sobbed, "but Princess Twilight said that everything would be okay!"
"If we agreed to live the way the ponies want us to," Adagio replied. "You're alright with that, and maybe I can learn to live with it, but can you really picture Aria devoting her life to friendship and harmony?" The scorn in Adagio's voice said quite clearly what she thought of that idea.
"But..." Sonata couldn't find anything else to say.
"Look," Adagio said, turning abruptly away, "they're going to let us see her once more before her trial. Why don't you just ask her?"
"Adagio," Sonata croaked. Her remaining sister was closing herself off again. She was going to lose both of them. "This can't happen. Please don't let this happen."
Adagio's head lowered. "Shut up, Sonata," she muttered through gritted teeth. "Just shut up." Sparkling tears fell from her cheeks, and her shoulders shook with repressed sobs. "You need to get away from me."
Sonata took a step backward. An emptiness was opening up inside her that was worse than anything she experienced while starving and unable to feed. Adagio blamed her for what was going to happen to Aria, and that hurt a thousand times more than Aria's fist had. No amount of magic could make Sonata strong enough to withstand those damning words.
Sonata whirled on the spot and galloped away, her own tears beginning to fall.
This isn't how it was supposed to be! Twilight paced around the main hall of the palace, her thoughts whirling. The sirens were supposed to apologize for what they had done, promise to use their magic for the good of all ponies, receive a pardon, and everyone would live happily ever after. That was what always happened!
"Twilight?" Sunset asked uncertainly.
Why had Aria done that? There was no need for her to take all of the blame. Under Equestrian law, a creature who mind-controlled someone else was held responsible for any crimes their thrall committed, as well as facing the penalty for using illegal magic. She'd be banished at the very least!
"Twilight," Sunset repeated.
Twilight's hooves were tied. As far as the official records were concerned, everything that Adagio and Sonata had done had been done under magical compulsion. They had no way of disproving it, especially after Adagio had corroborated the story. As the sirens' creator, Star Swirl might be able to convince them that it wasn't true, but he was being strangely silent about the whole affair. What was his game? Why was he letting this happen to one of his daughters?
"Twilight!" Sunset reached out and caught Twilight's chin, forcing the princess to look into her eyes.
Twilight blinked and brought herself back to the present. She shook her head to clear it, then pressed herself up against Sunset. She desperately needed some comfort. "I don't get it," she said.
"I'm not sure I do either," Sunset admitted, reaching up with a foreleg to hold Twilight closer. "Obviously Aria thinks that this is for the best. I mean, can we even be sure it's a lie?"
"You told me that Discord once made it so the sirens affected themselves with their own magic," Twilight answered dully. "That would imply that they normally don't."
"But it also means that there was a time when Aria actually could have enchanted the others," Sunset pointed out.
"Even if she did, that spell should have broken after the Battle of the Bands," Twilight answered. "I've got no evidence, though, and the only testimony we have all supports what Aria said." She sighed. "You're right, maybe she's telling the truth after all. I can't make a judgement based on what I want to be true."
Twilight and Sunset looked up at the distinctive sound of golden horseshoes clicking on the marble floor. Sunset dropped into a bow, but Twilight trotted straight over to the other princess.
"Princess Celestia," she said, her voice strained, "isn't there something we can do?"
"Something we can do?" Celestia asked in surprise. "Twilight, I thought you would be pleased. Your actions over the last two days have saved both the sirens and the human world."
"It wasn't supposed to be like this!" Twilight exclaimed. "I thought they'd be reformed, like Princess Luna and Discord. I thought we could pardon them."
Celestia exhaled softly. "I'm afraid it isn't that simple. Come, I was just about to meet with Luna to talk this over. Please join us. Sunset Shimmer, of course you are welcome too."
Twilight and Sunset looked uncertainly at one another, and followed the princess into a small, private room. Luna was already there, and to their surprise, so was Star Swirl. Tea had been set out for five. They took their places around the small wooden table and looked to Celestia for an explanation of why they were all there.
"Aria Blaze has confessed to everything," Celestia said. "By her own testimony, she is personally accountable for the crimes of all three sirens, as well as the use of illegal magic on her sisters. We are here to decide on a suitable punishment."
"We have to give her another chance," Twilight said urgently. "I mean, even Discord reformed himself once he learned the value of friendship. And, no offense to the ponies here, Princess Luna and Sunset Shimmer were both pardoned for their crimes."
"It is not the same, Twilight Sparkle," Luna answered evenly. "I myself was banished for a thousand years. Discord was imprisoned in stone for even longer than that, and Sunset Shimmer risked her life in your defense, saving an entire world in the process. One way or another, we all earned our forgiveness. The sirens have not."
Oh. Twilight hadn't thought about it like that. "So what do we do?" she asked miserably.
Celestia draped a wing gently over the smaller princess. "I can see that this is painful for you," she said gently, "but justice is not always easy. All we can do is make the best and fairest decisions that we can. You are the only one of us who had direct contact with the sirens, so what would you suggest? Sunset Shimmer, Star Swirl, your input would be appreciated as well."
"Star Swirl," Sunset chimed in, "is it even possible for the sirens to be affected by each others' magic like that? I mean, wouldn't they just keep enchanting each other every time they sing?"
"They should be resistant to their own powers, yes," Star Swirl answered, taking a small sip of tea, "but Aria found a way around that. Why do you ask?"
"It's nothing," Sunset sighed, her ears drooping. "Never mind."
"You're awfully calm about all of this," Twilight said to Star Swirl. "I thought you considered the sirens to be your daughters?"
"They are my daughters. There is no 'consider' about it," the old unicorn answered sternly. "And yes, of course it saddens me that one of my daughters must be punished like this. On the other hoof, I am very proud of her for owning up to what she has done and taking responsibility, and for giving her sisters the chance that they deserve."
Twilight was silent for a moment. She was starting to get it. Star Swirl had understood what she was only just coming to realize; one way or another, punishment would have to be meted out. By going with Aria's ploy, he was ensuring that at least two of his daughters got another chance. She sighed heavily.
"The sirens have spent the last thousand years living like royalty, at the expense of everyone around them," Twilight said. "At the very least, Aria would be guilty of grand larceny and the use of illegal magic. That's not even taking into account all the trouble they caused."
"She tried to kill us, Twilight," Sunset reminded her. "Multiple times."
"Yeah, I guess you should probably add 'attempted murder' and 'attempted regicide' to that list," Twilight admitted.
Celestia nodded. None of this was news to her. "And what would you deem a suitable punishment for those crimes?" she asked.
Twilight groaned. "Attempted regicide alone carries a penalty of either lifetime imprisonment or banishment from Equestria, left up to the princesses' best judgement," she said, reciting from her legal studies. "Although, given that Aria Blaze is effectively immortal, we could follow the precedent set by Nightmare Moon and sentence her to... a thousand years?" Twilight suggested. The very idea of confining a living creature for such an unthinkable length of time made her nauseous.
"An excellent ruling, Princess Twilight," Luna said encouragingly.
"A thousand years where?" Celestia prompted her.
"Banished from Equestria," Twilight answered quickly. She knew what Celestia was getting at, but no, that was just too horrible. "It doesn't matter where she goes, as long as she remains outside Equestria's borders until the sentence is up."
Celestia shook her head. "By that ruling, she could simply return to her home in the human world, with easy access to Equestria through the mirror portal. Even if she stayed in this world, we'd just be inflicting her upon another innocent kingdom. It wouldn't be viewed as any sort of punishment."
"I don't care how it's viewed!" Twilight burst out. "I know what you want me to say, but there's no way I can condemn her to a thousand years in... in..."
"Our ponies must know that we are protecting them, and appropriately disciplining those who try to do them harm," Celestia said. "You have a beautiful heart, Twilight Sparkle; one that yearns for everyone to be happy, even our enemies. Unfortunately, that is not always possible. First and foremost, we must ensure the security of our kingdom and the safety of its inhabitants. With that in mind, what sentence do you suggest for Aria Blaze?"
Twilight lowered her head, defeated. Even now, Celestia was teaching her, but she didn't care for the lesson at all. She closed her eyes, unable to even look at her loved ones as she said the fatal words. "A thousand years in Tartarus."
"Aria!" Sonata wailed, clutching at the bars that separated her from her sister. The iron felt so thin, so feeble, and she had so much power stored up. She could bend them with her bare hooves.
"Hey Sonata," Aria drawled from the far corner of the cell. "Good timing. They just said they're taking me to the princesses soon."
"It doesn't have to end like this," Sonata cried. "I can get you out!"
"Don't even think about it," Aria answered. "You do that, and they'll be sending us all to the moon, or whatever they do these days."
"But... but..." Sonata leaned her head against the bars. "Aria, why'd you do it?"
Aria exhaled heavily. "Look," she said, "all that stuff about happiness and friendship and whatever... maybe that worked for Sunset Shimmer, and maybe it'll work for you, but not me. I like being powerful. I like having people falling all over themselves to see who can adore me the most. I'll never be what these ponies want me to be, and I don't want to." She looked down and away from Sonata. "I had a good run, but one way or another, I'm going down right now. At least I won't be taking you and Adagio with me."
"Aria," Sonata sobbed, reaching through the bars, trying helplessly to connect with her sister. If she could just hold her once more, maybe somehow things would be alright. To her surprise, Aria stepped forward and nuzzled her hoof.
"You know something?" Aria asked.
"What?"
"Back then, when you said you loved me," Aria said almost wistfully, "I think that was the first time anyone ever told me that."
"What do you mean?” Sonata forced a giggle. “Lots of people have said that to you."
"Sure, because I made them. I think you're the first one who ever meant it."
Sonata bit her lower lip to stifle a fresh wave of crying. "Adagio loves you, I'm sure of it," she said past her tightening throat. "Star Swirl too. Maybe even the Rainbooms, now that it's all over."
Somepony cleared her throat behind Sonata. Sonata and Aria both looked to see a royal guard in full armor.
"Aria Blaze," the newcomer stated.
"That's me," Aria drawled.
"It's time."
"No!" Sonata wailed. "You can't take her yet! Please, just give us a little more time."
"Forget it, Sonata," Aria said. "Let's get this over with."
"Please stand back, Miss," the guard instructed Sonata, who obediently took a step backward. The guard unlocked and opened the cell door, and Aria stepped out.
"Aria," Sonata whispered, "I'm so sorry."
Aria snickered at some internal joke. Without warning, she reached over and flicked Sonata's mane with a hoof. "You're the worst, Sonata," she said. One corner of her mouth quirked upward.
The old, familiar insult brought an unwilling snort from Sonata. She mussed Aria's hair in return. "Nuh-uh. You are."
As the guard led Aria away, Sonata knew that those were the last words they would say to each other for a very, very long time.
Adagio and Sonata stood at the front of the small crowd that had gathered in the throne room to witness Aria's sentencing. Celestia had taken her usual place upon the throne, with Luna beside her. More unusual was the purple alicorn who sat on Celestia's other side; Twilight Sparkle tried to maintain a regal bearing, but her glazed eyes and sagging ears told anypony who cared to look that her heart was elsewhere.
"Aria Blaze," Celestia stated, "you are accused of crimes against both Equestria and the human world. These crimes were committed over a span of more than a thousand years, and include but are not limited to: use of illegal magic, use of magical compulsion, thievery, attempted murder, and attempted regicide."
The list of Aria's wrongdoings, particularly the mention of regicide, brought a wave of condemning murmurs from the crowd. Sonata tensed angrily.
“You have already confessed yourself guilty,” Celestia’s voice washed over the noise, instantly silencing it, “so I ask only this: do you have anything to say in your defense?”
A hush fell over the room. Aria easily met Celestia's eyes as she tossed out a single, carefree word.
“Nope.”
Celestia nodded and was silent for a time, allowing everypony to feel and appreciate the weight of the moment.
“Then, Aria Blaze, you are hereby sentenced to one thousand years of imprisonment in Tartarus.” Her horn began to glow. “You may make a final statement, if you wish.”
Aria tilted her head in thought. “I don’t think there’s anything to say,” she finally replied. “I just want my sisters to know that I don’t regret anything I’ve done.”
Celestia exhaled. “So be it. It is my honest hope that a thousand years in isolation may teach you the true value of love and friendship, and that you will return as a better pony. Farewell, Aria Blaze.” She lowered her horn.
Aria was covered in a golden glow. Chains appeared on her forehooves, trailing back before fading into nothingness. Her body became translucent, then transparent.
“Aria!” Sonata lunged forward, only to stop as Adagio placed a hoof warningly against her heart. She was prepared to rip the magic from Sonata’s heart if need be, as Sonata herself had done to stop Aria.
Aria turned to face her sisters. Her body was already mostly gone. She lifted a forehoof in farewell and flashed her trademark smirk.
“See ya later.”
She was gone.
Celestia allowed a moment of silence, then lifted her voice above the rising buzz of the crowd. “This session of the Day Court is dismissed.”
Adagio immediately stalked away, but Sonata held her ground as the crowd dispersed. A few others stayed behind as well. The princesses, of course, had to hold their positions until the room emptied. Sunset Shimmer was there as well. She half-expected to see Star Swirl, but he seemed to have followed Adagio from the room.
As the doors slammed shut behind the last of the ponies leaving, Twilight’s mask finally crumbled. She sank to the ground and buried her face under her forehooves, her heart breaking for the one she’d been forced to punish.
“Princess Twilight,” Celestia said softly, heedless of Sonata and Sunset slowly approaching the dais, “are you upset with me?”
She was. She was furious that Celestia had made her do something so horrible. But… no, Celestia had merely pointed out the flaw in what Twilight had wanted to do, a flaw that Twilight herself had recognized even before she proposed it. She could always have gone through with the sentence of banishment anyway, but she had come to the final decision on her own, based on the available evidence and her own knowledge of Equestrian law. This wasn't Celestia's doing.
“I guess not,” Twilight answered. “I feel like I should be. I want to be. But I’m not.”
“It was the correct ruling,” Luna said to her. “I would have come to a similar conclusion.”
“As would I,” Celestia added.
“Then why does it feel so wrong?” Twilight asked. “I—“ She looked up and gasped as she realized that Sonata was at the foot of the dais. Her wings flared in alarm, prompting the royal guards who were present to step in front of her protectively.
“No, I'm sorry, it’s okay,” Twilight said to the guards. They glanced around uncertainly, but stood down. Twilight wanted nothing more than to flee, to teleport out of that awful room and fly someplace far away, someplace where she’d never have to see Sonata’s sad, angry eyes again. Instead, she stepped forward.
“Sonata,” she said, “I’m so sorry that it had to come to this.”
“Why?” Sonata asked. “Why did it have to come to this?”
“Aria had to face justice for her crimes,” Twilight explained sadly, “and the ponies of Equestria needed to know that they would be safe from her.”
“You told me that everything would be okay!” Sonata cried. “You promised!”
Sonata’s sorrow cut Twilight like a razor. She opened her mouth to say something else, but there was simply nothing to say. Thankfully, Luna stepped forward to fill the space.
“Sonata Dusk,” she said, “Princess Twilight has had a very trying day, as have we all. You have my deepest condolences. If you would like to talk to somepony, I would be happy to send for some tea for us.”
Sonata gritted her teeth, tears running unchecked down her face. She considered the offer, then shook her head.
“Never mind,” Sonata said. “Sorry.” She wiped at her eyes, then turned her back on the princesses and left the room.
“I’ll take my leave as well,” Luna said once she was gone. “I should get at least some sleep before the Night Court. 'Tia, Twilight, Sunset, good afternoon.” Her horn glowed blue, and she vanished.
“Twilight,” Celestia said sadly. “I understand if you don’t wish to speak to me right now. I hope that, when you’re ready, you will write to me. In the meantime you should be with your friends. Farewell.” When Twilight didn’t respond, she, too, teleported away.
“Twilight?” Sunset hesitantly climbed the first step of the dais. “Are you okay?”
Twilight shook her head and turned away, hiding her tears from the unicorn.
“You did the right thing,” Sunset said, coming up beside her. “You did the best you could with what you had. That’s all that anypony can do.” Twilight didn’t answer, so Sunset gave her a gentle nuzzle. “Come on,” she said sadly, “our friends are waiting for us.”
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Oh wow... Aria, I didn't expect that from her.
I'm surprisingly sad now.
This... this... this outcome is making me feel bad.
Yeah, partially because Aria is my favorite siren, partially because Twilight was forced to do that.
But yes, at least they way Aria left was cool.
And all the chapter is good.
Still, it has a bitter-sweet taste to me.
I see a big loophole with their law here, wouldn't they have no jurisdiction over crimes committed in another world? The regicide and attempted murder charges would have to be dropped since they weren't committed on Equestrian soil.
Sonata, you have to patch things up with Adagio, and then you two must right this massive wrong! There is no alternative.
I was not expecting Aria to do that, if I were star swirl I would be proud too
This is an atrocity of justice no matter how you look at it.
It has serveral procedural problems as well (like leaving open the possibility that anyone theoretically capable of casting such spells can take responsibility for anything and apparently thats just accepted without even checking for evidence or even interrodating those affected, or otehr problems with deciding such a thing in a single day with no investigation and no trial beyond the princesses talking).
If they have a way to check for this, they can find out wether its true or not. If they dont, how do they know that Aria wasnt controlled by one of the others into making that confession?
Twilight not standing up to this is also major OOC, because this is horrible.
A thousand years of isolation for... what? A confession anyone with a brain can see is not true after five minutes of investigation? Having to survive in another world their father banished them too, where it was literally use thir powers or die? Doing stuff in the human world when sunset did the same and was... just forgiven? Or maybe banished there for 3 years?
Lunas comment about her and discord also falls pretty flat since they were just forgiven after attempting stuff the second time, or released after a few months. Discord was also instantly forgiven for siding with tirek and helping do far worse.
That aria is willing to accept this dosent make it remotely right or just. And i wonder if shed change her mind after sitting in there for a day/week/year/decade...
In story, there has to be something going on we dont see, and i dont see sonata nit mounting some ill advised rescue mission within the week (far from impossible, given what happend with cerberus before).
If not, out of story, my suspension of disbelief just fell apart. Like, completly. Celestia condeming someone to this for according to her PR reasons? Twilight going along with it? Equestrian law being this barbaric and this moronic? No... just No.
5417719 Took the words right out of my mouth. Honestly, *sighs* I don't even know if I want to finish reading this now. I don't see any possible way the ending could be satisfying. And after following a story for so long, that's a major dissapointment
5417731
That too. I keep hoping that theres something still ging to happen or something going on we dont see, but if this stands... The story was awesome up to this point, but this...
Not that i could do anything beyond tossing it off my favorites and downvoting it or something, but still... major jumping the shark there if this is it, and that happening with a really good story is somehow sadder (and more infuriating) then with something that was of limited quality to begin with.
I was not expecting that...
Now if you excuse me, I have to express my emotional breakdown that I experienced while reading this through a series of pony emoticons...
Aria took the fall for her sisters. Though if she hadn't sabotaged the ritual then this wouldn't have happened.
well, she does have her amulet back, right? leaving her in tartarus is one thing, but leaving her in tartarus to starve is another diferent thing... also, she did say
i don't understand why everyone seems so upset. now she can rule over tartarus singing heavy metal and sitting on a throne made out of demon's skulls.
edit: after thinking it a litle more, i'm not too sure about the heavy metal part, but i have no problem picturing Aria kicking back in a badass throne with demons adoring her and whatever.
5417804 Who gave you a copy of my notes? ;<_<
5417806
dude, we think alike. great minds think alike.
if i had power, the kind of power the sirens have, i would go to tartarus or hell or whatever just to get myself a bitching demonic/undead army to level everthing just for the lulz.
Huh.
Alright, this is some bullshit. Yes, Luna was forgiven after a thousand years banishment. But then she committed the exact same crimes again when she was freed. No, not even freed. Broken out of her prison. So using her as an example to punish by is bullshit.
And I am thoroughly disappointed in Twilight. She's more intelligent than this. Fucking twist their words to get what you want. "Ensure Equestria's safety?" Done. They did that already. Move past this. This is no longer a concern.
And let's not forget this piece of bullshit.
Oh I'm sorry, who was it that did the exact same thing they did? Only, you know, turned into a giant demon, corrupted the bodies of two kids from the human world, mind-controlled the entire student body, and attempted regicide and murder as well? Attempted to invade Equestria? And got off with an "I'm sorry"?
It is really looking as if Luna and Sunset are getting special treatment. Both of them were/are very close to Celestia. And, oh look at that, they're also ponies. Aria on the other hand, is not a pony, and is not close to Celestia, and Celestia is advocating for her to get a much worse sentence than Sunset. And she definitely wouldn't have sent Luna to the moon if she had any other choice.
Also, Star Swirl better have some fucking plan, or he is officially a complete scumbag. Throwing one of your children, who clearly are not in a rational state of mind at the moment, under the bus so your other children receive no punishment for their crimes is fucking despicable.
They're not really his children anymore anyway. I imagine that just decades away after barely knowing your father will get rid of any familial bonds they may have had. And we're talking a millennium here.
So Sonata really has good reason to be absolutely pissed at Twilight. She went back on her word. The Princess of Friendship has just betrayed a new budding friendship. I would laugh if her title actually meant anything.
----
5417804
They showed what Tartarus was in the Tirek episodes. It is simply a prison guarded by Cerberus. That's it.
And Twilight is forced to learn a painful lesson. Sometimes, things don't end in "they all lived happily ever after".
One big issue to start off with. Starswirl wasn't Celestia's student. Celestia was Starswirl's. This has already been proven in cannon.
Other than that though, as usual, amazingly done.
5418001 Where did I say that? I only ever meant to refer to Twilight and Sunset as Celestia's former students. Is there a particular line you're looking at?
And thanks! Seems this chapter was a bit more divisive than I expected
Nope. I'm not buying this.
This story held my attention as something excellent until now. I hate the way this has held my attention as a hopeful story of redemption only to turn around and stab me in the back like this. I'll keep watching in case something changes, it's not finished after all but there is little to be said of the characters here behaving believably.
For starters the Princesses public relations on the matter shouldn't even matter as the Sirens aren't even known about, let alone as a threat, to the general public of Equestria and there is no way Celestia or Luna is vindictive enough to do anything to force this situation on them.
The punishment itself is a farce as a thousand years of isolation, even if it did some how in a one in a million chance teach the meaning of 'love and friendship' would only ever breed resentment and hatred for the ones who imprisoned them. The escapes of Nightmare Moon and Discord from their own imprisonment is evidence enough for that.
Then Twilight, Sunset and Discord where ever he's hiding right now folded far to easily to this idea. Heck, I was anticipating the moment where Twilight refused to sentence someone to a completely unnecessary and premature punishment. This felt very out of character for them to just accept this ending.
Then there's the nice little sum of other flaws put together by 5417719 quite eloquently.
Honestly, with this as it is, I simply fell disappointed, miserable and other wise emotional beaten. If this is the way it ends, I kindly request you add Tragedy to the list of tags so others don't make the same mistake I did getting so emotionally invested in this.
“So be it. It is my honest hope that a thousand years in isolation may teach you the true value of love and friendship, and that you will return as a better pony. Farewell, Aria Blaze.”
I feel like this is some sort of veiled indictment of the American penal system
5418020 It says near the start that Starswirl is Celestia's former student, when in fact, it's the other way around.
But, other than that, just gotta say, you've been doing amazingly on this fic.
5418020 Hmm... just read some of the comments. Due to them pointing out some of those facts, I can't blame some of it. After all, the sirens are nearly unheard of in Equestria, after all. Though, I can see the reasons behind the rest of them from what I have read.
5418208 Oh, I see what you're saying. That was supposed to be read "Celestia's other former student (i.e. Sunset), a unicorn who died centuries ago (Star Swirl)..." The comma was meant to signify that they were two different ponies, but I see how it's confusing as written. I'll edit for clarity. Thanks.
Well, that was a bit sad. And a bit awesome.
I do hope theres a twist here though. Celestia and Luna's logic for the ruling is rather feeble given that:
A) Luna tried to commit omnicide twice and the second time her only punishment was a rainbow enema.
B) Discord was King of Equestria when they stoned him and usurped his throne. As such, they lacked the legal authority to sentence him to jack or squat. The original Equestrian government, if it had been reformed, might have had justifiable authoritah but the Sisters kind of took over.
As for the the Tirek thing.. thats a bit iffy, given that I'm 95% convinced he planned the entire thing just to get the Deus ex Machina opened. He also qualified for the 'saved the world' pardon.
C) Sunset only crime on Equestrian soil was swiping the Element of Magic. Then she kind of banished herself before getting her pardon.
Also, I'm pretty sure that the human world is outside of Equestria's legal jurisdiction. And that is where their crimes took place, as their activity in Equestria was during Discord's rule. I think he might owe them a medal for spreading chaos and disharmony.
There're also a number of other punishments Twilight could have meted out, particularly given what she could do to Aria's heart.
So I do hope you're setting us up for something really neat.
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Speaking of notes, Starswirl wasn't Celestia's student. Celestia was Starswirl's student. This is shown in both the IDW comic (which is canon to the series) and the Journal of the two sisters, itself a canonical supplment to the series.
Furthermore, as Xenif pointed out, this PR stunt is just that, a stunt, and Twilight should be calling Celestia out on it. Nightmare Moon tried to effectively murder the planet twice. The second time, not only was she not punished for it, she was welcomed back with open arms. Discord is in fact the previous ruler of Equestria, and was imprisoned in stone twice. Celestia then has him released for vague and undefined reasons, and he is immediately forgiven for betraying them to Tirek. Granted, Tirek actually got in his head to manipulate him into it, but still, he did it. No attempt was made to hunt down the changelings after their invasion either. Granted, the changelings are still presumably public enemy number one, but ironically enough, I imagine that if the right circumstances occurred, then they'd be given a free pass too. As it is, Celestia just made a liar out of Twilight, who gave Sonata her word that things would be okay, and instead Celestia managed to get Twilight to do what she wanted despite knowing it was the wrong call to make. And Twilight doesn't even call the manipulative bitch out on it.
(Normally I'm cool with Celestia, but in this case, yeah, I'm calling it. She was a bitch here and deserves to be chewed out for it.)
She also just proved to Sonata that the word of an Equestrian royal is worthless, since Twilight is a princess and their word has to be held to a different standard, or else their word is worth less than nothing. Celestia has, in fact, given Sonata proof that Twilight isn't to be trusted, nor is anyone else in Equestria who has a royal title. Twilight promised things would be okay, and Twilight gave her word on the basis that Nightmare Moon was given a free pass as was Discord, despite more than once doing the same things they were punished for to begin with. Twilight has to feel now that the word of a royal is useless since Celestia made a liar out of her for the sake of a PR stunt.
I know if I were in Twilight's position I would have slapped the taste out of her mouth for that.
Hmm.... wonder if it'd be possible to set up visiting times, considering Twilight's friendship with Cerberus.
And honestly, I do think that Aria COULD be redeemed. After all, though she at times smirks when plans go well for her... she's always complaining about how they were doing things before. Their actions never truly made her happy. Just the success when they finished a goal did, and even that lost its touch due to what they were doing. She showed she was tired of what they always did, so wouldn't that mean that something new might change things for her? Just a thought there.
5418215 No prob.^^ And honestly, glad this isn't the end of the fic. It just seems like a cruel ending the way it is now.
When I saw the new chapter up I expected a feel good happy ending chapter, not something like... this. Wow, just wow. Everything I could say about this has already been said by other people and I fully support the points made about this barbaric excuse for a justice system, the Pricesses' and Sunset's OOCness and stuff. You better fix this soon or you leave me no choice but to... write angrily worded comments!
Very sad chapter. I'm in agreement with some of the posters here though, Aria is getting railroaded, worse, she is allowing it to happen. I hope she becomes eligible for parole or something in time. That being said, I still enjoyed the chapter. I just feel bad for Aria, bitch though she is, she wasn't so much worse than Adagio or even Sonata, in the acts they all committed.
As another note, I have to laugh at this quote from Luna:
I'm sorry, but what the hell did Luna do to earn her forgiveness?
Again, she tried to murder an entire planet. TWICE. And the second time, was just given a cheery 'welcome back!' and they threw her a fucking party!
Sunset Shimmer? She literally tried to murder Twilight, and was basically told to go on her merry way after she broke down into a sobbing wreck after trying to plan a planetary INVASION. Sure, she did later help to defeat the Sirens and of course she does try to protect Twilight in this story, but she did nothing to earn her forgiveness at the end of EqG. Twilight doesn't even try to arrest her or anything. Hell, she literally asks the humane five to be her friends!
Discord...well again, Discord betrayed them to Tirek and was INSTANTLY forgiven for it. Hell, Tirek even points out the flaw in this when he fights Twilight in the season 4 finale!
What did either of them actually do to earn their forgiveness? And why the hell didn't Twilight point this out to Luna when she made this excessively stupid comment that is in no way, shape, or form, accurate?
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Excellently said. Agreed 100%. So much so that I sadly can't add anything more without just repeating your comments. (I'm listing all of these here just to compile all of them in one place).
Sadly there is no "fixing" this within the story. Yes the story isn't over but nothing can be done to make this horrendous chapter go away (outside of it being a nightmare Sonata had while in her cell or something). Aria might be rescued, Twilight might remember that she actually has a brain and spine, and Celestia might realize that she was inexplicably out of her mind for doing this and it still wouldn't change the fact that it happened.
Whatever this story was going to go for as a message seriously got crushed in one chapter.
If you think about it, theres ever more others who get forgiven ridiculous things. Like trixie and the alicorn amulet. Twilights stunt with the want-it-need-it and a few others. Discord had not just helping tirek, but the thing with the plunderseeds (which he technically did long before, but then let happen for fun). And im reasonably sure theres a bunch more if we comb trough every minor antagonist of the series.
And thinking more about the characters, is anyone here not OOC for going along with it?
Celestia and Luna for passing the atrocity of a sentence for no sane reason, Sunset, Twilight, and maybe Starswirl for going along with it, Sonata and maybe Adagio for not doing anything (simply stating to anyone that the control thing is a blatant lie or claiming they controlled aria too would have derailed everything, and i cant really see Sonata abandoning her).
May you learn the values of friendship and forgiveness by being sent to hell for a thousand years on obviosuly trumped up charges is just the tip of the iceberg.
That shes willing to go along with it, (for now, after getting knocked around and being in lifedanger, starvation and magic overload, emotional whiplash from meeting straswirl and sonata turning against her... far from stable conditions that lead to clear thinking... lets just railroad her to hell before she can think things over) dosent make it better. Any appeals court would have this thing trown out at supersonic speeds, but apparently this is a tyranny, and the one sane princess wont stand up because... because nothing, basically.
Since when has someone not beliving in friendship gotten the ponys to stop trying? Adagio was no better a week ago.
As 5418595 said, if tireks understanding of morality is better, something is wrong.
Aria is one of my favorite characters and i'v never felt myself cry so much! WWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
How the buck is 1000 years long isolation in a bucking prison cell with your only fellow inmate being Tirek (who, himself, has stated that he hates friendship) and your guard being Cerberus supposed to teach you "love and friendship???"
I liked this story, but I hate this interpretation of Aria. I know that it's artistic license (or whatever it's called) and all that, but I might unfavorite and downvote this if this issue isn't resolved at some point.
I'm actually hoping that the surprise reveal is the Star Swirl is just a monstrous pony and is using his familiarity/fame/magic to manipulate things to his advantage to drive the Sirens apart/keep tormenting them or something (even though that wouldn't make much sense at least it's just a badly done villain instead of everyone in Equestria losing their ability to think all at once for no reason). Honestly that or the dream idea are the only two I can come up with to salvage this...
5418830
Maybe another test for twilight?
"You failed to stand up to us when we acted like tyrants and used excessive punishment for nonsensical reasons. I expected better from you twilight. And of course it wasnt real. Now aria and sonata are outside this room, you can have your title as princess of frienship back once you convince them to forgive you."
Its a stupid clichee, but better than whats ging on here.
I might be one of the few, but I rather liked the chapter. Sure, I was sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to see if Aria would be exonerated in the end, but I feel that the events as they played out were justified with what little we know of how things work in Equestria.
I think that many of the readers are substituting their own justice system for what was written, mostly because they aren't familiar with anything else. There are also some definitive statements in the comments that were taken for granted. Things like a person's (of any species) actions not being a crime on the other side of the portal because it's not 'Equestrian soil'. There are two problems with this. First, who's to say that across the portal isn't considered Equestrian territory? Nations claim land they can't really control all the time. Or maybe they did control it at one point. Maybe the crown considers anything connected to Equestria via a portal as a national resource, dumping ground, conservation area, or training area. Who knows? We don't, but obviously Celestia does.
The other problem with 'across the portal actions', would be that the crown may consider banished subjects as still being subjects. The laws apply to them should they ever find themselves within reach of the crown's authority. If those banished have been found to have committed more crimes (especially of the same types that they were banished for), then they would be given a harsher punishment. Once again, we don't know this to be the case in the story, but it's possible and therefore should be considered when deciding that there was some 'travesty' of justice.
Another item that I see commenters taking for granted is about Luna's 'punishment'. Um... Luna was under the same bit of law as Sonata is in this piece. Luna was a victim of a crime, not the criminal. The Nightmare was the one punished, the one that escaped, and the one that was rainbow-blasted. Luna was trapped by the Nightmare and couldn't be separated from the Nightmare until said blasting occured. Sonata and Adagio are in the same vein. They were being controlled just like Luna was, and the controller, Aria, will be punished just like the Nightmare was. The difference between the two situations is the timing of the rainbow blast and separation of the victims from the criminal.
--Spade
5418983 What you say is true but from a legal stand point there is a far larger loop hole they could have exploited. All evidence or charges made here are completely anecdotal. The only reason they are being charged with a crime at all is because the three ponies who witnessed it said it happened. They could have just as easily turned around and claimed otherwise, or at the very least there was never any intention to kill and so clearing the sirens of the nastiest of their crimes and allowing more flexible, fair and fitting punishment.
True it would be a lie but it would be a whiter lie then the one currently being told and without the unnecessary emotional damage to everyone involved. As it stands it's easy to feel that there was a lot of out of character behaviour in this chapter.
Wow this, this just broke my heart
While I hadn't yet got around to making comments yet, I was thoroughly enjoying this story. The story was really brilliant, but this really felt out of character, and considering how in character they were during all of this, leaves me sorely disappointed. I'm not going to say that it needs to be fixed as I can understand how this was probably what the author wanted to do and I'd hate to get upset at them and demand change for just not seeing eye to eye on them with vision, but I am disappointed. If this really is going to be the end, then I agree with the others that their at least should be a tragedy tag
, and as I said before just because I don't like where the author is taking this, don't mean that it's necessarily bad........still feel the characters are ooc though
Still even though I really don't like this chapter, I must commend the author for the great story, up to this point I've loved it to death
Since Aria (and the other sirens) were already banished to a place outside of Equestria for about a 1000 years or so wherein they didn't at the time have a way back, shouldn't her sentence already be met? Alternatively, due to the corrupting nature of dark magic, such as what the sirens were in contact with regularly, are any of them capable of being tried for their actions as they cannot be held to be in control while exposed to said dark magic? Either way seems like a decent enough loophole to excuse all of their actions. Also, Celestia's judgement shouldn't extend to actions taken outside of Equestria against individuals who are not Equestrian citizens, sure Twilight could press for the attempted regicide claim but it doesn't seem like she would.
Additionally, most of Equestria seems to have forgotten the sirens, writing them off as mere myths, thus there is no need to worry about how the action would be viewed to citizens of a country which hasn't even seen the creatures you're trying for a millennia. The trial only needed to be held if anyone who had a claim against Aria came forth, such as Twilight or Sunset, else the charges would be dropped unless a human court decided to take action for the grand larceny or mass hypnosis charge, though that seems like a difficult case to process in a world without laws against certain types of magic.
Wow, a lot of talk of injustice around here. I'd probably agree, if not for three things. One, she totally co-did all of the stuff she was charged with, along with conspiracy to overthrow any governments that stood in her way (presumably all of them), enslaving students and inciting a riot. Those are crimes, she co-committed them and she's shown that she'll attack anyone who tries to stop her, regardless of who they are, lately with intent to kill. That's exactly the kind of person who has to be imprisoned. Two, she confessed. It was a lie, but as far as anyone but the sirens and Starswirl know, it's legitimate. Now, I may be a simple hyper-chicken country lawyer, ba-gawk, but where I come from, guilty+confession=you go to jail, whether the confession was real or just a selfless act to get your sisters off the hook. Of course, where I come from, I think attempted regicide gets you executed, so...yeah. Three, it was her choice to face what she had to know would be heavy consequences. It was between not being who she is and the mercy of the princesses, she chose to hold onto her true self. Kind of admirable. She could have lied, said she'd report for community service when needed and then not done it, but it's too late for that. Still, 1,000 years in horsey-Hell is a bit harsh, even for an immortal, especially in a land where actually imprisoning a princess and leaving her to die just gets you thrown a ways. How about this: two months for every student she co-enslaved, plus one pony-lifetime for the attempted crimes, served in a prison she can't just escape, for some reason. It won't be great, but it's not the underworld.
But, yeah, some of that was pretty OOC. Not quite Aria going from kind of annoyed all the time to homicidal-level, but fairly OOC.
Lot's of gripping about jurisprudence. It's almost as if Equestrian Law works differently than Earth Law. Imagine that.
Anyway, this should be interesting to see the fallout of.
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then she can piss him off.
Aria: oh whooo, oh whooo, now you cannot escape, oh whooo, oh whooo, now that you're inside your cage, oh whooo, oh whooo, now you cannot escape, oh whooo, oh whooo, now that you're inside your cageeeeeee.
tirek: neither can you.
Aria: yeah!? well, shut up!
Celestia exhaled. “So be it. It is my honest hope that a thousand years in isolation may teach you the true value of love and friendship, and that you will return as a better pony. Farewell, Aria Blaze.”
...wut?
seriously celestia that is the stupidest fucking logic I've ever heard, discord makes more sense than that.
Daring choice for a conclusion. I like it, but it's kind of... completely full of wholes.
Still, nice to see that not everything goes as planned. It's rare when author do the bad end thing. RESPECT!
Yea, I mean, I'm not gonna say something about chapter itself, but Aria and Adagio should have been swapped. Like, really.
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No idea where your from or how true that is, but theres very good reasons most modern legal systems dont do much convictions based on one dodgy confession. Like confessions being forced by various means. Or nobles or rich people paying others (or their families) if they confess for them. And thats just the tip of the iceberg.
Given that your own examplecase essentially contained an innocent getting punished and the guilty party getting off the hook, i think you can see the problem.
5419847 The story is still marked incomplete, I'd assume this isn't the end.
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Equestria is violating the territory of a sovereign nation. Even if Equestrian law is fine with that, it just means that the Equestrian legal system is heavily flawed and dangerous when it comes to international(and interdimensional) issues. There're quite a few objectively good reasons to respect another nation's jurisdiction.
And before you say it, yes I know America has had issues with trying to be the World Police. It's rarely ended well.
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What legal standpoint are you using? Did you see a jury of peers? Did you see any law specialists or judges other than the Princesses? From what is shown, this legal system is not a modern legal system; therefore, why should it follow modern jurisprudence?
Strict rules about factual evidence has only been part of law for about 4-500 years. We've had writing for almost 6000 years, and many of the first writings were of laws. Earlier systems of law didn't have systems to keep things 'fair'. A single person would control all aspects of the legal proceedings, and social status was more important than factual information.
Throughout my watching of the show, I haven't seen or heard any mention of representatives, senators, members of parliament, or even ministers. I'm sure there's a bureaucracy of some sort, but I've seen nothing of a modern style of government. From what we're shown, Equestria appears to be an autocracy, if a benign one. The Princesses hold all the cards. The court wasn't empty when the verdict was given out. The crown needs to keep order and keep up appearances (maybe to the nobles, maybe to the people as a whole...who knows?) and a willing scapegoat was the most efficient method.
--Spade