Defendant

by _Lunar_Sacrament_

Guilty

Why?

Why?

Why is this happening?

The thoughts rang out like a drumbeat in Twilight’s head, she could not comprehend what was happening right in front of her. For glaring down at her from on high was Princess Celestia herself, great and terrible in her glory, no gentle smile, no quiet laughter, but instead the full might of the Eternal Sun. The Princess of the Sun had backing her the full power of the Equestrian legal system, and the sentence had just been delivered:

Guilty.

Guilty of Murder.

Twilight Sparkle had just been found guilty in the murder of Captain Spitfire. Though she had absolutely no memory of doing so, she had been found with the Captain’s blood staining her fur and a single golden feather stuck in her hair. But the hours, no, days previous she had no recollection of, not that it really mattered in the end.

Now it seemed she was to rot for a crime she did not commit, that no one seemed to believe she did not commit. Not even her friends, their judgmental gazes found in the crowd. Well perhaps they were sad, Twilight couldn’t see beyond the blur of her own stinging tears. And though the courtroom was alive with noise in her own head all she could hear were her thoughts and the blood of her pounding heart.

She didn’t notice the rush of color headed her way but felt when the other mare slammed into her taking her breath away and launching them both into the air.

“What? Rainbow!? What are you doing?!”

They smashed through one of the many stained-glass windows and out into the open sky, leaving a cacophony of noise in their wake, screams of horror or rage or even elation, she couldn’t tell with the wind in her ears.

“Saving your sorry flank, Twi! What’s it look like I’m doin?! We both know you didn’t…didn’t..hurt Spitfire! It’s just not in you…” Rainbow trailed off, no less certain, but quite heavy with emotion.

Twilight didn’t know what to say, she thought that Rainbow of all ponies would be the most angry, the most hurt, the last one to pull something like this… But that was foolish, wasn’t it? Of course, Dash would stick by her, Loyalty.

“Dash I-LOOK OUT!” Twilight’s horn lit with magic, just barely getting the barrier up in time to protect them from arrows, slung by a pursuit of pegasi.

Rainbow swerved to and fro, dodging and weaving, as Twilight worked to keep the bubble barrier around them. “We’ve gotta lose em, Twi! I need you to trust me, and hang on tight, okay?!”

“Of course, I trust you, but what are we doing?!” Twilight repositioned herself as best she could onto Dash’s back, tucking her own wings as close to her body as possible.

Twilight received no answer beyond Dash veering sharply upward, right towards a set of gathering storm clouds. She slammed her eyes closed and held on tightly. She could feel them hit the cloud, her coat standing on end, an odd cold seeping under it and leaching to her skin. Behind her eyes flashed white, the two of them shook violently, spinning and whirling. Twilight didn’t know up from down anymore. It seemed to last for hours but finally they broke through, the sun warming her almost instantly.

“Okay uh, Twi? Twi? Twilight! You’re kinda choking the flyer here!”

Her eyes snapped open to blue skies. “Oh, I’m sorry Dash!” She quickly loosened her deadlock grip on the pegasus’ neck. “Do you think we lost them?”

“For now probably, but I wouldn’t count on it holdin em for forever. We needa go someplace safe.”

“I don’t know if there is one anymore Dash…”

We can’t risk going to our friends, it would just put them in danger. And if anycreature else gave us shelter it could risk an all-out war! What do we do?

Ever Free

The Everfree

What? Who? But it is a good idea... “We’ll hide in the Everfree Forest.”

“Uh Twilight, isn’t that…yknow, dangerous?”

“Well yes, but it’s the last place anycreature would think to look for us right now. If you have a better idea for this jail break then I’m all ears, Dash.”

Which of course, there wasn’t one.

So, with Rainbow Dash doing her best to stay above the clouds the Everfree is where they headed.

---

Twilight and Rainbow Dash manage to touch down in a, relatively, clear spot within the Everfree. Both are exhausted, and Twilight is still quite shaken.

“So, what now Twi?”

Twilight looks at her incredulously, “I have zero idea Dash! I don’t even know how we got here! I don’t know anything from the last three days!”

Dash puts a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Hey just breathe, okay? So, you don’t remember anything about meeting Spitfire for Pinkie’s birthday party?”

“No? Well…almost? Kind of? I remember we talked about getting the other Wonderbolt’s to come do a small show, but I don’t remember making plans to talk to any of them about it.” Faded, garbled noises start to swim in Twilight’s head, they almost sound like words, but spoken through water. Memories, maybe? But about what? “Was I acting any differently? Saying strange things or spacing out more than usual?”

“Not really.” Dash puts a thoughtful hoof to her chin and screws her face up in her best “I’m thinking” gesture. “No, you acted totally normal up until, well, you know... You said you were gonna talk to Spitfire and we should make sure Pinkie didn’t catch on. Next thing we know you’re being accused of…murder...” Dash’s face falls, it seems like the reality of her friend being gone is just crashing down onto her.

“Oh Rainbow, I’m so sorry. I don’t remember anything useful. I remember our pet play day, and then it’s just blank until... Until I came to with...blood…Blood on me. Oh moons! I might have killed somepony!” Twilight begins to gag, but there’s nothing in her stomach to retch up. She wants to, very badly. Tears begin to form in her eyes once more.

Rainbow scoops Twilight up in a fierce hug as the mare begins to sob, her whole body shaking with the force of them.

“We’ll get to the bottom of this Twi, somecreature killed Spitfire and they dared to use one of her friends to do it! We won’t let them get away with it!”

Composing herself Twilight sits up straighter, letting the last of her sobs dissolve into hiccups. “You’re right, you’re right! We won’t let them do this, whatever evil that’s trying to tear us apart with this won’t win! We’ll find the culprit and get justice for Spitfire!”

Rainbow nods with a steel like resolve, “For Spitfire.”

“If justice is what you require you may find it harder than you think to come by, my friends.” Says a calm, cool voice from the tree line.

“Princess Luna!”

Author's Note:

Welp first chapter down. I hope everyone is enjoying it so far. So, who do you think is the guilty one?

Comments

[Yutah123]

Hey, the Element of Loyalty is showing true Loyalty!

Yeah!

[Wonderboltfan10]

I need to know who did it , ill give em a piece of my mind
anyway, great story