Learning to see Luna, the story of Vivid Colour.

by Hope

Prologue

Apace with the tapping sound next to her, Vivid Colour walked properly. Each lift of the leg was a practiced motion, perfect in every way for royal presentation. Her tail was held up in style, and head straight. She could feel her simple dress brushing against her legs, and dismissed the feeling as so much white noise in an environment full of noise.

She could pick out the noises of the two mares walking alongside her, the ponies seating themselves nearby. The judge was not present yet, she could tell, because the judge's dias was hollow and had a particular sound to it. She could hear the bailiffs shuffling in place, their hoofcuffs and heavy uniforms ringing in Vivid's ears like a whole mess of metal being dumped down stairs would for a normal pony.

She could hear sniffling, weeping. It sounded fake to her. The even breaths with slow wails, so practiced, too normal. Grief had many forms, Vivid knew, but she gladly interpreted this form as artificial.

As she passed across a raised ridge that marked a doorway, the occupants of the courtroom became aware of her, and she could hear a few of them gasp and make little, polite and stupid undignified noises. Vivid almost smiled, they sounded like pigeons rustling around on a rooftop, grumbling about the cold.

The two mares flanking Vivid stopped, and she did as well, standing until they sat, at which point she copied them. Each noise of movement gave her a cue on how to act.

"All rise for the honorable Judge White Sail."

They all stood, and Vivid turned her head slightly to follow the sound of the judge walking up the podium and sitting at her chair.

"The court may be seated."

"Before we begin I would like to establish a few things. Ms. Colour, you are a ward of the crown, and by that you must represent yourself, unless you submit to the crown's judgement. Do you submit?" the judge asked, her voice tired but the tone more likely just the calm offered by being witness to so many trials that they no longer shocked her.

"I do not, your honor," Vivid replied quickly, keeping her voice level and strong.

"Very well. Secondly, I have been told that you are fully blind, and this will have some relevance to the case. Is this true?"

"It is, your honor."

"Have you been seen by any medical professional?"

"No, your honor. My condition was from birth, and there have been no examples of it being cured by any method. I only see doctors when I am sick."

"Very well. Representing herself will be Ms. Vivid Colour, representing the Nail family will be Missus Strike. Ms. Strike, arraign the defendant," the judge concluded.

The voice that spoke up next was firm, loud. It was the sort of voice that came from confidence and power. Viv could also hear the low hum of the mare's horn lighting. She was a unicorn, and as she lifted her papers, Viv became aware of the papers themselves, like the echo of an image across her own horn. Thin sheets, slightly wrinkled at one edge, shimmering like the cool of a winter breeze.

"This is the first cause of the year. Paragraph number one: By the authority of the king of Bitain. The appointed court of Suffolk presents in the court of Suffolk that in Suffolk county, Vivid Colour, hereafter styled the defendant, heretofore on or about the first night of the new year, did then and there unlawfully intentionally and knowingly cause the deaths of Iron Nail and Sharp Nail, hereinafter called the complainant, by vivisection with magicks, against the peace and dignity of the ponies of Suffolk. Signed by the forepony of the jury."

The papers were set down which released that awareness Viv had over the magic that had held them up, and Ms. Strike took another breath before continuing.

"A good morn to you, your honor, and to the jury."

"Good morn," the judge replied calmly.

Vivid wondered if they might be friends, as familiar as they seemed.

"Ms. Colour, how do you plead?" the judge continued.

"Not guilty, by reason of self defense, your honor."

There was a spat of angry shouting and cursing from the pews, but they were subdued quickly.

"So the defendant pleads. Prosecution, your opening statement please."

"Your honor, ladies and gentlecolts of the jury, Vivid Colour is a killer," Ms. Strike said as she stepped out from behind her table and into the clear area in the center of the courtroom. "Though she says she is blind, she has considerable skills in hearing and in magicks, and has a heart full of fury. This murderer, sat between assistants, has no need of aid. She has no need for protection, and indeed has lived her entire life without any assistance or attempt to repair her eyesight. When two young colts, alone but for eachother, chanced across the defendant, she unleashed magicks so deadly and powerful that their mother could not recognize them. In this trial, I will prove that Ms. Colour intended to murder these children, planned it out, and did so without remorse. It is the intent of the prosecution to plead the court to enact the greatest sentence allowed by our laws. Exile at sea."

Viv listened to the rich low voice of the mare accusing her of murder. The voice stayed level, never sinking into emotional pitch, but maintaining a volume and tone that portrayed unquestionable fact. It was a practiced thing, and her breaths came carefully at the end of each sentence, setting a rhythm that other ponies probably didn't realize made them feel more comfortable towards her. Viv wondered if that confident tone had been used to sentence innocent ponies to the sea, or if that level of confidence required absolute belief in what she was saying.

"Ms. Colour, this is the time when you give your opening statement."

Viv tried to smile, but she was tense, nodding in the direction of the judge and stepping out into the same empty space, but she ran nose first into a table, recoiling and rubbing her nose as a buzz of muttered conversation rolled through the courtroom. One of the assistants stepped forward and guided her around the table, through the wooden gate that swung on nearly silent hinges, and over a small step down, all of which had remained invisible to Viv's keen senses.

It sprung in her a feeling of helplessness and anger, but she reminded herself that it served a point. It conveniently demonstrated that she was indeed blind.

"Your honor, and ponies of the jury," Viv began, making sure to turn to face each of them, based on the sounds she attributed to each. "Though I will not dispute the facts of this situation, I completely deny that this act was in any way premeditated, or intentional. Most unicorns have a strong control over their magic by the time that they are adult, and I am no exception, however the way I use my magic is unique. Your honor, may I demonstrate?"

"You may."

Viv lit her horn, and then bowed low, until her horn touched the floor. The glow then spread like a pool of water until it surrounded her, causing murmuring and whispered exclamations around the room.

"This is how I may walk safely in unknown places. I use my magic to touch the ground, and it allows me to tell what I may run into, or trip on. As I approach something..."

She walked purposefully back towards the table, feeling along her path until the glow touched the table leg, and she stopped.

"I feel it pressing back, and I know to stop. But my ability to sense is extremely limited. I cannot feel anything in the air. I cannot feel anything that is more that a short distance from me, or that can push my magic away. Though I can survive without assistance, I am not some skilled combatant."

She realized she was facing the table and turned back towards the jury, letting her magic fade.

"The series of events which led to the deaths of the Nail children began with, I believe, a misunderstanding. I have been living in the area most of my life, and the boys have gotten used to seeing me about. But the Nail family is a Pegasus family. For all their childhood, I had been able to sense them, greet them as they passed, and they only knew I was blind by the magic that I used. When one of them learned to fly, by their perspective, I began to ignore them. In fact, I rarely noticed their passing. But they felt ignored, and began to foster resentment towards me in their hearts."

"Objection."

Viv jumped a little at the sudden loud voice, and turned her head towards it.

"She claims she is blind to anything she doesn't touch, but she looks at us when we speak, certainly she could have heard the Nail Colts flying nearby, or if they called out to her. This premise is absurd."

The judge seemed to ponder the objection before clearing her throat. "Ms. Colour, please explain the limits of your hearing."

Viv thought on it and licked her lips, trying to wet them a little before nodding.

"Well... walking, is easy. Or talking. I hear talking from the jury, and to be polite I turn to face them. Or I hear where you walked to and sat down, your honor, and know where to face to address you. But a gliding Pegasus, or even one accelerating, is too quiet for me to hear most times. I can only really hear when they are trying to slow down, or take off."

"Seems reasonable that a young child might not understand that the defendant couldn't see them passing by, if they were used to her responding when they walked past, continue with your description of the events," the judge said.

"Gladly, your honor, but could I have a bit of water first?"

Comments

[Crescent Minor]

I haven't finished Redemption yet, I'm still on the fifth chapter; would it ruin that story if I read this one first? Because this is one hell of a hook, very interesting.

[Hope]

8743320
Would not ruin at all! This series (Except for the final one, when I get that far) will be very serial, you could take each one on it's own if you wanted, though seeing how Luna develops between them and from each is very interesting. I'm planning on six stories overall, so this would be #2.

[PolyBeaches]

hooray! like the last one, i'll be tracking until completion. I don't know if i couldhandlea few chaptersat a time!