• Published 16th Sep 2012
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The War of 1002 - Fireheart 1945



A young man with a love of military history and MLP;FIM finds himself dragged into Equestria.

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Chapter 90; The trial begins

"Well, this will be an interesting escort," Shining Armor murmured, as the cavalcade of prisoners were hiked out of the palace.

"Yep. Protecting our old enemies from the very civilians they wanted to enslave," James replied, a hand resting on the butt of his revolver. "Irony. One of the oddest, funniest, and most tragic of concepts, sometimes all at once."

"Heh. No kidding," the albino unicorn said, putting on a brave face. "I hope this doesn't go too far."

"Celestia and Luna did send out a decree that no violence would be tolerated," James said, trying to reassure him.

"And ordinarily, I'd trust that that decree would do its job and that would be the end of it. But ponies from all over, including those who suffered occupation, have come, along with griffons and changelings who suffered under the criminals we're going to be escorting."

"Hmmm..." James didn't see how to argue with that.

"Maybe..." Shining shook his head.

The long trail of prisoners was largely made up of captured terrorists from the massacre in Gryphos Square, but at the head of the train were a number of changelings and griffons. The former king was among them; he had been stripped of all royal garments and looked both tired and worse for wear, but he still managed to sneer at the ponies and other species around him. James had heard that he'd continued to make demands as though he were still ruler of the Griffon nation, and when the guards had refused to play along, he'd gotten violent.

Explains the horseshoe imprint around one eye, he thought. And his attitude doesn't surprise me.

He wasn't the only griffon to look smug and confident. General Grayfeather appeared haughty and dignified, trying to stand upright with one claw on his chest and the other behind his back, as though he were still a commander looking over a battlefield. Blackfeather, on the other hand (or claw), appeared sullen. Word had gotten through to James that the few times he'd spoken, he'd muttered about how he'd failed his king.

The captured insurrectionists displayed a myriad of behaviors. Those who had been motivated by nationalism as opposed to loyalty to the deposed emperor mainly looked nervous, outright afraid, or shameful. Imperialists held their heads high, and few of them held any other pose.

Already, crowds were gathering. Loud hisses and boos came from griffons of all colors, and expletives were hurled at the captives. James, who had plenty of experience in swearing, turned red at some of the epithets that the audience was screeching at the accused.

"Back up, back up," a Guard shouted. "Make way, make way immediately, by decree of the Diarchs of Equestria!"

More slurs and insults came the way of the prisoners. Most griffon insults were aimed at the ex-king, though most ponies focused on Chrysalis, who was chained up and could not move.

"Murderer!"

"Scum!"

"Tyrant!"

A tomato came flying from out of the crowd and slammed into the ex-king's face. The former ruler looked surprised for a moment, then used a wing to scrape the remains and the juice of the vegetable away.

"Hey! No throwing objects!" one of the Guards yelled, and started toward the pony who had thrown the tomato.

That was only the beginning, however. A glob of green slime struck Chrysalis on the muzzle, with substances going splat against her body. More Guards and soldiers broke ranks to arrest the throwers, most of whom were changelings. They did not attempt to resist, and went quietly.

This was followed by a barrage of missiles; vegetables and gooey objects flew into the prisoners, most aimed at the highest offenders - the ex-queen and ex-king - but several struck the line of other captives. Cries of pain and fear came from those hit by them, and there were also cries of outrage from those less inclined to take the attack lying down.

"STOP!" came a loud voice.

James looked up to see Princess Luna flying down from the direction of the palace. Her face bore a look of anger and sternness as she landed in front of the procession.

"You are in violation of a decree issued from myself and my sister," Luna said immediately upon landing. "We of the Royal Family have determined that such behavior will not be tolerated. Any further offenders will themselves spending months in prison. We will not allow the streets of our fair city of Canterlot to become a hooligans' playground."

Most ponies had the decency to show a fair amount of shame at the Princess' words. That, or they were intimidated by her. Most changelings also backed down.

Some of the griffons among the crowd, however, showed signs of belligerence. "This scum saw to the murder of half my village!" one tall male among them yelled. "I want them to pay! At my own claws!"

"If you attempt to harm these prisoners, you will be imprisoned," Luna sternly replied, glaring at him. "And you will not be getting out for a long time. I repeat, Canterlot will not be allowed to become a hooligans' playground."

A pegasus guard let out a long tweet on a whistle. Almost at once, Royal Guards came flying and galloping into the area, armed and ready for a confrontation.

By now, most of the griffons were backing down, and those who weren't were easily identified.

"Not to mention that your missiles are striking the soldiers escorting the prisoners," Luna continued. "The decree will be enforced. Leave the soldiers and captives alone, or you will be punished, each and every one of you who breaks the decree from this point forward."

Except for the one griffon who had expressed called for personal revenge, the crowd, though not departing, was now backing away.

"I want to see punishment!"

"And you will. These criminals will not escape justice."

"Blast justice! Kill 'em now!"

"We will not. Sorry to rain on your parade of vengeance, but your demands for their instant slaughter are denied."

The griffon spat on the ground at Luna's hooves and began to walk away, snarling an offensive remark about Luna's personal hygiene. Then, without warning, he threw a knife at ex-king Raneiro and attempted to flee.

The knife never reached it's target; Luna grasped it with her magic and stopped it a few inches from the prisoner's head, and then proceeded to bend and crush it into a harmless metallic ball. In the meantime, three pegasi Guards tackled the griffon before he could get far.

"Lock him in the palace dungeon," Luna commanded. "I will visit him later. For now, we have more important matters." She turned to James and Shining Armor. "I will be flying just above the column. Continue escorting the prisoners to the courthouse."

"Of course."

"At your orders, princess."

"Good. I expect there shall be no more rioting," Luna said, with a calculated glance toward the crowds, who again drew back.

-----------------------------------------------------------

James found himself blinking as the procession entered the courtroom. He well remembered the inquiry he and Shining had had to go through, His memories weren't pleasant ones.

"I remember when we were in here," Shining said, pointing to a table and chairs. "Glad we're not on the receiving end today."

"Perhaps not, but it's ugly no matter which side you're on."

"Yeah..."

An audience had already gathered, sitting behind the defendant's own desk and chairs. To James' surprise, a changeling queen sat in the judge's seat.

"What's up with that?" James asked curiously.

"Ah," came the voice of Luna, who landed to his right. "In the interest of fairness between the species, we decided to appoint multiple judges, these to swap out day by day with myself, my sister, other queens, and clan leaders for the griffons, along with the Saddle Arabian general who served with us."

Luna pointed with her muzzle at the jury box, which was full of ponies, changelings, griffons, and a few Saddle Arabians. "Likewise, the jury is comprised of different species."

"Quite a lot of them... Dozens."

"We have seventy, for this particular trial."

"How are we going to convict the hundreds of captured insurgents?" James asked pointedly. "One by one?"

"We will, one after the other, though each one will be given much less time than the main offenders on trial, and in a separate room of the court. We expect it will take some time for the main defendants, namely the two ex-monarchs and their associates, to be fully convicted of their crimes, whilst each terrorist, having been captured in arms against us after the griffon surrender, is more or less already condemned. The only issue is how far to punish them. That will be decided for individual terrorists by griffon judges once they're convicted."

Luna paused for a moment. "We'll also be alternating the trial each day, so that either the ex-king or ex-queen will be on trial, and their lackeys will be accused the appropriate days as well."

"So... The big guys. The Queen, King... nice hand of cards we have to play with. We're just lacking a Joker."

"And a prize. We only have a deficit to fulfill, not a stack of bits to gain."

There wasn't much to be said for that, so James didn't reply.

"None of them will be getting away. We have enough evidence from witnesses alone to lock them up permanently, or..." Luna trailed off.

"Or execute them."

"...Yes. While we can convict them, it will be their own people who will decide the punishment."

"If we're doing that, we might as well build the gallows and guillotine right here and now. Chrysalis' people hate her, and the griffon people loathe their former king even more."

Luna flinched. "I'd prefer to not assume... In any case, we're here to do a job. Let us get started."

---------------------------------------------

James and the rest of the day's witnesses took their seats, along with the audience. Several pegasi, holding cameras, hovered above the crowd, snapping pictures, and reporters stood ready to take notes. One, he noticed, was the red earth pony Quick Quill, who was busy writing something he couldn't see.

Big crowd today. I suppose when history is being made, people rush to gaze upon it.

The courtroom was full of whispering and murmurs; despite the efforts by the speakers to remain quiet, the entire courthouse was echoing with their voices.

"Call to order!" A pegasus Guard said loudly, cutting through the chatter. "The Honorable Judge Queen Cocoon presiding."

James looked up. He distantly remembered that name...

Ah, yes, he thought, after fumbling for a few seconds. She's the one who greeted us before the combined Allied armies stormed Chrysalis' hive.

Cocoon still wore her armor and crown, but she seemed nervous; perhaps she wasn't used to pony customs, or to sitting down in so public a space. "Order, order," she called. "The proceedings will now begin." She turned toward Celestia and audibly whispered, "Is that how I'm supposed to start?"

"You're doing just fine," the alabaster pony monarch answered reassuringly. "Let's continue."

"Bring in the accused," the pegasus hollered.

The main doors opened. James turned around in his seat to watch.

Raneiro was made to march in first, a unicorn Guard levitating the iron ball the captive was chained to. There was no shouting as he was brought in, but the silence held malevolence of a different sort, as glares from his own people met him. He responded by continuing to smirk, something that did nothing to put his enemies at ease.

Not a great start for him, James thought with a sigh. It was easier to desire continued resistance than to really repent. I should know. I'd be more or less indignant when in a court of law or as a prisoner. It's wrong... but sadly, so easy an evil to fall into.

Chrysalis was brought in next. Unlike Raneiro, she didn't pull any punches, and glared back at her enemies. If looks could have killed, everyone she stared at would have long since died. Fortunately, even in Equestria a mere gaze couldn't injure, much less kill. She was blatantly angry, as opposed the to ex-king's smugness. The changelings in the audience had to remain audibly quiet, like everyone else. However, with the exception of drones from Chrysalis' hive, in addition to angry, even hate-filled, stares, they gave vent to their feelings by moving their wings intermittently, filling the hall with the sound of angry buzzing.

"That's enough," Cocoon said, after about a minute of noise. "Order."

The changelings went completely silent.

Several drones, each with a placard around their necks to let others know who they were and what they'd done, were brought in next. Finally, the former king's generals and officials were brought in. They still bore military uniforms, but these had been shorn of any decorations and were largely bare. They did not bare signs around their necks, but then again, they didn't look identical to one another, so there war perhaps no need.

"This court has been assembled," Queen Cocoon began solemnly, "to judge crimes against civilized species so heinous that they must surely stink to high heaven. Those who stand before you today are the arbitrators of the bloodiest war to occur in over a thousand years and of the conquest and brutal subjugation of the changeling hives. It is with the accord of the victorious Allied powers that the evidence be presented and witnesses brought forward, that none may doubt the existence nor the severity of these evils, and that justice may be served, especially for those no longer here to see the victory of our arms and the liberation of their respective peoples."

James began to remember, as if by a sped up montage, those ponies, changelings, griffons, diamond dogs, minotaurs, Saddle Arabians, and zebras lying dead in many fields, in changeling hives, in forests, in craters, by a river. He also recalled the tyranny of Chrysalis' councilors, of the stern and harsh rule of the royalist griffons, of the ponies they had made, and tried to make, slaves, and of the crimes they had committed against their own people. His right fist almost instinctively curled up in anger as a rage began to fill him.

Calm down. Don't let that anger become hatred.

He forced himself to breathe deeply.

"It has been decided by the leaders of the Allied nations that the the defendants who will be tried for the first half of today's session will be the one who has brought death and destruction to not only her own, but to Equestria as well. This trial will open with the prosecution of ex-Queen Chrysalis after the initial statements by the prosecuting and defending attorneys."

"Death to traitors!" one of Chrysalis' drones yelled. "This trial is illegal!"

"Your death will be a long and painful one, traitor!" another screeched.

"Order in the court!" Cocoon shouted back, using her magic to hammer her gavel against the podium. "This is your one and only warning. If you don't stop interrupting the proceedings, you will be muzzled and kept from speaking except in your own personal defense."

"Silence, traitor!"

"Filth!

"Dirty little-"

"I warned you," Cocoon said severely. "Guards..."

Several Royal Guards moved on the mouthy drones; as the latter had all four legs chained to the floor and their horns were sheathed with iron cones that prevented them from using magic, they could do nothing to physically resist, though they verbally abused the Guards before each of them were silenced with a muzzle affixed to their faces.

"Now, with that out of the way, we shall call our first witness."

Celestia reached up and whispered something in the Queen's ear. Cocoon flinched.

"Er, I mean, the prosecuting attorney may now make his beginning statements."

James wasn't so surprised this time to see the lawyer-turned-warrior Rusty emerge. The old leader of the formerly Unauthorized Regiment nodded toward James and Shining, who both nodded in their turn. Then, in a polished voice, he began to speak. "Your Honor, esteemed members of the jury, our noble audience, and rulers and representatives of distant lands, let me say that it has been an honor to serve my country in both military and judicial form in this hour.

"As all gathered here know, our land of Equestria was invaded, just over a year ago, with an attempted invasion of Canterlot thwarted less than a year before that. The perpetrator sits before you, the former Changeling Queen Chrysalis. What many of you may not know is that she was a brutal tyrant over her fellow Queens and their hives, subjugating them and annihilating dissent with a terrible efficiency. She has invaded sovereign states and toppled and murdered their leaders, who offered her nothing we may justly call offense. Upon each conquest, she would set up drones of her own hive, some of whom have appeared with her this day in this courtroom, with the intention of driving home that subjugation. These drones were the real power in each conquered hive, and each Queen was denied her rights to rule her own people. In addition, drones of these hives were forcibly drafted in order to inflate Chrysalis' own numbers for her invasions of Equestrian territory.

"Furthermore, these hives were forced to surrender their emotional energy in order to give strength to Chrysalis' own armies, even to the detriment of those hives that were deprived of their only source of food and energy. We do not know the casualty lists for these hives that were forced into servitude via starvation or loss from warfare. Perhaps we shall never know, and many a drone may lie somewhere on or near western battlefields in some forgotten place, never to be returned to their people in order to be given a final farewell. Perhaps ink and paper are not necessary; the crimes our captured enemy has committed speak for themselves, as does the blood of all slain in her lust for power and dominion."

Rusty turned to regard Chrysalis briefly. "As if all this was not enough, we know that Chrysalis and her associates mistreated prisoners of war; ponies were drained of love and stuffed into cocoons to live in a demented half-sleep, powerless to escape, while changelings from rebel hives captured late in the final campaign were murdered outright, some in ways that would forever tarnish the minds of those who would hear of it." Turning toward the audience, the lawyer continued, "For your sakes, I will not recite the methods of these murders now, but in the course of these proceedings, we shall of course need to discuss them. I warn that all of you with weak constitutions ought to leave the courtroom after today."

Rusty bowed to Cocoon, who got understood the gesture. "We shall proceed," the Queen said, motioning with her levitated gavel.

A changeling drone stepped forward. He looked toward the crowd, toward a white pony sitting there. James shook with surprise when he saw that it was not a pony but Queen Amalda.

Chrysalis' heir looked nervous; her mane, or what counted among changelings for one, was ragged and ruffled. It made some tragic sense why she looked and felt this way; she was surrounded by other Changeling Queens, and it was her mother who was on trial, after all. She gave a small bow to the changeling, who then turned back to Queen Cocoon.

I suppose Amalda is the only one of her hive who could appoint a defense attorney. It must suck, being a kid and watching her mom get the axe.

"Your Honor, esteemed members of the jury, our noble audience, and rulers and representatives of distant lands," the drone said, copying Rusty word for word, "I have the honor" - his face was rather neutral as he said this - "of defending Queen Chrysalis, who until recently was the ruler of our hive. I shall defend her before this court and before this jury to the best of my ability, as my duty to my present Queen, Her Majesty Queen Amalda, dictates."

He sat back down where he'd originally been seated and did not continue speaking. It's not like he really can, James thought. The trial outcome is decided; Chrysalis is going to get it in the neck. The only question is whether or not she hangs or is given a firing squad, or, if she's fortunate, a lifelong stint in a prison belonging to an enemy hive. Given that changeling Queens have long lives, like alicorns, she'd probably consider that a fate worse than death.

""Now do we...?" Cocoon whispered, a bit too loudly, to Celestia. The alabaster alicorn nodded. "Call in the first witness."

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Please state your name and status."

"I am known as Drone 3457."

"Do you have a more personal name?" Rusty asked.

"I have been called 'Rand' by friends."

"Do you might if I refer to you by that name?"

"No, not at all. I am still a bit new to it, though."

That does make sense, James thought to himself. He's been called by his drone designation all his life. A name takes time to get used to when you've only had it a few months.

"What was your role in the war?"

"I was assigned as a carrier, later a warrior. I served in several of the earliest battles under Queen Chrysalis. I was captured after the battle for Appleloosa, and spent the rest of the war in captivity."

"I notice that your record is entirely clean of hostile incidents. Other changelings from Chrysalis' hive acted aggressively every change they got."

"They didn't really have any choice. Each drone is bound to their Queen."

"But..."

"I have a disorder that disconnects me from the 'hivemind,' as ponies call it. As such, I can choose to be disobedient. Until my capture, it was much more prudent to go along with whatever the Queen said."

"Might I ask why?"

"Because any drones who were found to have that kind of... condition, were killed on sight. No exceptions. No one capable of resisting or disobeying the Queen was allowed to live."

"You must have been a good actor."

"It's all too easy, when you've lived in her hive your whole life."

"I'm sorry. Now, how was life in the hive before the war? As in, how did the city conduct itself?"

"Nothing in Chrysalis' hive did anything without her approval. All orders were to be obeyed immediately and without even the slightest questioning look. Everything... it was like a city inhabited by robots, not actual people, if you understand me."

"I see. Was any knowledge of other hives available?"

"No. If they were referenced at all, it was as 'outposts' and 'bases,' not as separate underground cities. We all assumed that there had only ever been one Changeling Queen, and she never said or acted otherwise."

"Why do you think that was?"

"Namely, now that I think about it, to still whatever dissent changelings are capable of."

"She was that determined to remain upon her throne?"

"Yes. I don't know if you've seen her since the trial began, but..."

"Rest assured I have. One more question; what is your opinion of living under Queen Amalda?"

"I haven't had the chance. From the little I've heard, she'd much nicer. Not that we knew of her existence. Again, Chrysalis withheld as much information on everything as she could."

"Thank you. No further questions."

"I would like to cross-examine the witness," Amalda's changeling attorney said, sounding as if he was merely going through the motions.

He's fighting a lost cause, and he knows it. You can hear it in his voice and see it in his eyes... not that they have pupils, but still...

"You may do so," Cocoon said, surveying him for a moment.

"Thank you." The changeling walked up and turned to face the stand. "Did you actually see Queen Chrysalis give orders to the effect that you have described? In person?"

"No."

"Is it possible that the hive misunderstood the orders they received?"

Nice try, but that won't work.

"No. We got our orders, and had to fulfill them. I remember the Queen's officers giving us direct instructions. They were certain of what they had been instructed to tell the rest of the hive, and Chrysalis wasn't the kind to leave any room for doubt in her instructions. I should know, I've seen her do so."

"How were you captured, exactly? Were you subdued while fighting, or did you submit without so much as a protest?"

"Objection," Rusty said calmly. "Not a relevant question."

"It is necessary to establish how trustworthy the witness is," the changeling replied.

"The defense is overruled," Cocoon judged, banging her gavel. "The defense will stick to relevant subjects."

The changeling serving for the defense sighed. "Might I ask why you are so willing to speak out against the previous Queen?"

"Simple. I had more freedom in pony imprisonment - with some certain exceptions - than as a member of my own hive. Chrysalis was a tyrant, and there was no room for the liberties the other hives enjoyed."

"Then you are disloyal to the hive you were hatched into?"

Rusty moved to speak, but before he could, Rand answered, "No. I want a better life for my own people. A better ruler. One who can tap into their potential without making them slaves in all but name. If it is true that I am disloyal, I am disloyal to Chrysalis, not my hive, and not to Queen Amalda."

"Did you take up arms against Chrysalis?"

"No. I remained imprisoned until the war in the west was over."

"Did you think, at anytime during that imprisonment, of taking up arms against Chrysalis, and thus your own people?"

"Objection! Leading!"

"It's a legitimate question!" the questioning changeling argued.

"The objection raised by the prosecution is sustained."

"...Fine."

"Don't get snippy with Her Honor!" a changeling from the crowd yelled.

"Order in the court!" Cocoon banged the gavel three times. "387, I will have you removed from this court if you speak out of turn again. Now," she continued, turning back to the defending changeling, "proceed."

"No further questions."

"Alright. Rand," Cocoon said, turning to the changeling on the stand. "you may go back to your initial seat."

"Yes, your Highness." Rand got up and walked back into the audience and sat down.

"Call in the next witness!"

"Right." Rusty got up from his seat and looked at a list on his desk. "The prosecution calls... Cicka... no, Cicada... Um, Cicedelade?"

"Close enough," a female drone replied.

Cicadellidae is what poor Rusty was trying to say, James noted in his mind. Kind of a difficult word if you've never heard it before. He crossed his arms. The defense was going to get it now.Rusty had begun with a member of Chrysalis' hive on purpose, so that one of her own, perhaps the only one able to cross the former Queen, could condemn her. Now Rusty was moving on to changeling hives that had been under her hoof for years. It was going to get ugly for her.

"Name?"

"Cicadellidae, but please call me Cica."

"Right then. Miss Cica, please describe the reign of Queen Chrysalis as an ordinary changeling from another hive would have seen it."

"Simple; tyranny at it's worst."

"Could you please be more specific?"

"Oh, certainly. For starters, our Queen was surrounded by 'councilors' whose job was essentially to rule the hive and keep her in line. They were all bullies, and they enjoyed their bullying. We were slaves to them; we were dirt under their hooves. Their soldiers treated us like living garbage. They enjoyed treating us like living garbage. Anyone even accused of saying anything against Chrysalis was murdered, right on the spot; sometimes, they would gather us in the center of town and take their time murdering a changeling who had done nothing worse than complain about the unbearable labors we'd been given, or who had said that we ought to have more liberty. In addition, to prevent us from rebelling, a group of guards was always posted outside the hive nursery, where all changeling larva within the hive are raised and cared for. The intent was obvious; we could easily overpower the garrison they left in our city, but they would butcher our young before we could win. Thanks be that our larvae came out safely during the fighting."

"Indeed. What kind of burdens did the councilors give you?"

"They worked us to the bone collecting and harvesting emotional energy. We would go into pony cities, always with a quota to fulfill, and about twenty-five percent of what we collected, if not more, was always shipped to Chryssy's hive. We would endeavor to construct new buildings within the hive, and we would not be allowed to rest until the building was complete for the day; no breaks, except for short feedings and drinks. If we were slow or did anything that displeased the guards and the councilors, they would beat us, right then and there, and then scream at us even more, until we finally got back up to a speed that pleased - or rather, did not displease - them, they were never happy. Furthermore, any changeling larvae that hatched anywhere, whether they were of our Queen or from individual parents, were immediately taken to the nursery; the parents would be beaten if they tried to object, verbally or otherwise. We were always reminded of how worthless we were, of how little any of us mattered, and that our job was to slave for Chryssi forever and always, never expecting relief or enjoyment."

"Enjoyment?"

"Yes. Changeling lives weren't always about labor prior to the takeover. We would still practice old dances and games in secret, and if it was possible, we would hide eggs from the guards and councilors, to prevent their discovery and confiscation. That didn't happen often, but we managed it."

"It strikes me that they didn't just annex your hive and get rid of your Queen."

"Hive rulership doesn't work like that. You can't just force drones from another hive to be part of your own, or add them to your own 'hivemind.' They had to work within the framework that existed. If they could have annexed us like that, they would have, and they wouldn't have had to be as cruel, though I don't doubt for a minute that they would have upped and stopped entirely."

"Back to the topic. Your hivemates were forced to fight for Chrysalis' cause?"

"Tragically, yes." Cica sighed. "We've lost brothers and sisters to the previous war. A friend of mine lost her brother at Appleloosa, and... I lost a sister in the defense of the advance fortress that Chryssi set up on pony soil." Cica's eyes seemed to gloss over at the memory of the loss.

"You have my condolences," Rusty said in all honesty. "That would be the base Equestria captured after the fighting at Appleloosa, correct?"

"Yes."

"The war in the west seemed to calm down after that, until the liberation of various hives began. What was the reason for the lack of progress then?"

"I apologize, but I really don't know. I'm not a soldier, and I never had the misfortune to be conscripted. I do know that after that battle, we were required to give more of the harvested emotional energy to our friends who had conquered us and treated us like slaves. In addition, forced recruitment was stepped up, though a little less than I had thought."

"Hmm. So, you were forced to fight. Do you remember any drones from your hive returning?"

"...No. They had to fight until they died or were victorious. I don't know what they did with the wounded, but I suspect it was nothing good."

"Objection; speculation," Amalda's attorney interrupted. "The last statement by the witness has not been proven, nor did the prosecution ask her about it."

"Sustained," Cocoon stated, though she maintained a rather impassive face. "Strike the last comment from the record."

"Right," Rusty said, not so much as blinking, "No further questions."

"The defense may now cross-examine the witness."

The changeling from Amalda's hive came forward again as Rusty withdrew to his seat. "How do you know your sister was killed in battle if none of your hivemates came back from battle, as you claim?"

Not sure that was a good idea, James thought, as Cica visibly got angry. Perhaps its the only opening he could see.

"A couple of drones ran away and informed us in secret. They were supposedly 'missing,' but told us what they - and the rest of our hivemates - had gone through."

"Rather convenient."

"Why you...!" Cica's wings beat angrily and she clunked her front hooves together.

"Enough," Cocoon said. "Both of you will remain respectful," she added, though James noticed she was looking mainly at the changeling attorney.

A little bit biased, aren't you? Then again, he did say something provocative.

"Right. How can we trust in the reliability of drones who ran away from combat duty? Especially when they pretended they were dead? How do we know they exist?"

"They were plenty brave in the uprising," Cica furiously replied. "One of them almost lost his leg, and I'm sure that Queen Metamorphosis could give you their names and deeds."

"Might I have their names?"

"5576 and 7890, better known as Felicity and Honorus."

The changeling grilling her looked taken aback, but rallied quickly. "Are they available for the court to question if necessary?"

"Yes, they are!" Cica all but screamed.

BANG! "Please calm down," Cocoon called. "Questions are to be asked respectfully, and responses are to be respectful."

"Understood, Your Honor," Cica said, still glaring at Amalda's lawyer.

"Could you name any of the soldiers and occupiers and councilors in your hive who supposedly oppressed you?"

"Supposedly!?"

"Please answer the question."

"They were oppressing us, and no, I don't know their names; it's not like they answered our questions. We were supposed to do what they told us to, not to think for ourselves and ask them stuff."

"So you have no names we could call upon, nor evidence?"

"Most of them were killed in the uprising, so you couldn't exactly call upon them even if I knew their names," Cica replied, in a voice as cold as ice.

Perhaps wary of Queen Cocoon's glare, the changeling attorney then said, "No further questions."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

James watched as another couple of witnesses - both from Camilla's hive - gave their testimony before the court. It went about as well as expected; the prosecution made easy process, as the two witnesses simply added to what Cica had said. The defending attorney, called 4589, or Fox, as Amalda called him, had attempted to cross examine them. It had gone about as well as every cross-examination he'd made; he had little if any ground to stand on, and that which he could made him seem loathsome.

It'll be a miracle if he isn't assassinated during or after this trial, James thought after one of Camilla's drone responded with pure rage at an offensive question that Fox had asked him, much like the ones with Cica. Fox would have to learn some measure of tact, or else he would catch it from his own species and the judge; Cocoon had given him warning after warning, and even as she now shouted for order, her anger (or most of it) was aimed at Amalda's lawyer.

"If you ask another deliberately offensive question-"

"I need to get to the bottom of this! How do you expect me to do my job if I don't probe for the truth!?"

Shining turned to James. "I wouldn't want to be in his horseshoes... or be the farrier to nail them on."

"Yeah. He's got his job cut out for him. And it's probably not going to get any easier."

Of course, he could wind up being kicked out, then Amalda will have to come up with someone else. This guy doesn't have much to stand on; none of the defending attorneys do. But they're gonna try.

"The prosecution calls General James Lavigne to the stand."

"Ah. I was wondering when that would happen," James murmured. He rose from his seat, walked over to the stand, and sat down.

"Greetings, general," Rusty said, with a respect that one veteran had for another. "What did you see when you first entered Queen Metamorphosis' hive?"

"Mainly the inside of her palace; the entrance into the hive was built into it."

Rusty shook his head politely. "Not exactly what I meant; what kind of things did you see in their society?"

"Leading!"

"Overruled."

James out his right hand to his chin as he tried to plunge back into the memories of the first underground city he'd entered. "Mainly, anger at the occupying forces, as well as a great deal of pessimism. In addition, there was a great sense of hopelessness in the air, something that thankfully did not last."

"I assume you mean that hope rose when knowledge of the Equestrian Army's arrival spread around."

"Yes, at least regarding the changelings in the palace. It remained a secret for a little while. I suppose Metamorphosis spread the word around at night, because apparently the entire hive - minus the obvious exception of the occupiers - seemed to know the plan by morning."

"What was the condition of the hive?"

"It was more than I had expected. It was an entire city, with it's own lighting and with more up-to-date - though rather... unconventional - methods of building construction."

"Not exactly what I meant, sir. What we conditions regarding the relations between the occupiers and the occupied? How was the existence of the latter affecting the things you mentioned?"

James scratched his chin. Stubble; I need to start shaving again. "I think that the occupiers were non-conductive to the process. In a meeting with Queen Metamorphosis, she had to leave to talk to the councilors. When she came back, she said that they were ordering that the hive give up a ridiculous amount of emotional energy - that's what the changelings call emotions that they collect - in order to meet Chrysalis' demands. It would have left them with the choice between starving and trying to find their way around in the dark, because emotional energy is what powers their lighting and other things that the changelings don't do themselves." He closed his eyes and remembered for a moment, taking a couple of deep breaths as he did so. "From what I heard from the Queen's own mouth, the councilors didn't give a counterfeit penny for the fact that this would have grievously impaired the hive."

"Objection; the last statement is hearsay."

Cocoon looked at Metamorphosis, who nodded. "Overruled."

"In any case, the occupation was overly negative?"

"Overly? More like entirely. I didn't see one act of good Chrysalis' councilors or soldiers did in our brief stay; they didn't even display a desire to do good for the population. Everything was about treating them like dirt, if not worse."

"How inclined were the enemy to fight, with an entire city against them?"

"Very. They fought as if they outnumbered us eighty to one, not the other way around. And they showed no mercy, not that a lot was shown to them until after the battle. If a detachment of friendly changelings hadn't managed to secure the nursery, they would have butchered all the hatchlings there."

"Objection! Speculation, again!"

"Overruled; it's a proven fact," Cocoon replied. "Continue."

"Fortunately, they failed to do that. And they didn't get the Queen, though they tried to. She was wounded early on, and spent most of the fighting trying to recuperate in the palace. They came close to doing her in, and to making her suffer before she died."

"Did any of the captured show any remorse?"

"Nope. They remained loyal to their Queen - and what she had taught them - to the end. The last I saw, they were being bundled down either to the palace dungeons or to Canterlot. None of them looked at all ashamed or regretful, or, if they did, it was over their defeat and not over their actions." James sighed. "I wish they had. As far as I'm aware, none showed any sort of remorse or regret over what they did until Chrysalis was dethroned and Amalda came to power. Some of her hive showed some measure or guilt after that, I'll give them that."

"Not enough, by the Queenlords!" a changeling bellowed from the audience.

"Remove him," Cocoon ordered. A group of changeling guards did just that. "Now, if there are no further objections..." She looked around the chamber before looking back at the proceedings. "Please continue."

"No further questions, Your Honor."

"I would like to cross-examine the witness."

"Proceed," the Queen said.

Fox stepped up toward the podium. James couldn't help but remember being here before, with another lawyer, at another time. He forced the memory down. It wouldn't help, and would he felt it would be poisonous to hold onto.

"How much did you actually see on your first visit?"

"Mainly the palace. We entered there, stayed there, away from enemy eyes. I did see the city through the windows and I saw the big gathering the councilors held in front of the palace, where they basically laid out their demands and threatened the hive. I also fought In a building until I was wounded. I also saw the city after the victory. The people there were quite hap-"

"Are you certain of what you saw?"

James felt the old anger come up again. "Yes. I was there. I saw the misery and the fighting."

"How can you be sure of what you saw given the natural chaos of combat?"

"I. Saw, It. The changelings in that hive were miserable. Even before the fighting began in the hive. Not to mention the fanaticism I saw from Chrysalis' own warriors on the battlefield."

"Do you know the identities of these supposed 'councilors?'"

"No. But they were known by the changelings in the hives they lived in. Ask Metamorphosis or Camilla and you'll get names, or numbers."

"No further questions."

"General, you may return to your seat," Cocoon said, looking concerned. "I wish you would have asked for an objection once or twice," she added in a whisper. "I could feel your anger."

Oh, right. They can sense emotions. Should have remembered that. That was certainly a scary thought; a lawyer involved in a case could easily manipulate their opponents by triggering their emotions. An unscrupulous changeling attorney could trick a witness into being held in contempt of court or into otherwise saying or doing something they would regret.

If laws aren't enacted to prevent such injustice, the legal system of quite a few countries could be messed up just by hiring a less than moral changeling lawyer.

He didn't think that Fox was trying to be immoral, or at least not on purpose. That didn't mean it was easy to let go of the way he tried to insinuate that every witness against Chrysalis was either lying or mistaken.

It's all he's got to go on, he reminded himself. Chrysalis' crimes can't be hidden, and everyone knows she did it. Fox has little to no ground to stand on, but he has to act like he does; it's what he's here for. The prosecuted get the right to a trial and to have a skilled defense, so Fox has to defend her the best he can. The only way he can do that is to cast doubt upon the prosecution; I only wish I was sure he was doing it in a morally right way. It's not going to make him friends, and he will probably be hated in changeling history from here on out, but he's doing what he can with what he has, or what he thinks he has or can grasp. James sighed. It was not going to be an easy or popular job that the defending attorneys had to fill.

All too easy to be recognized and assassinated for an unpopular job. They'll have to be careful. Hopefully, the defending lawyers get some measure of protection from those who are after their lives.

James took his seat again. Shining turned toward him. "This is really unpleasant. In a different way from the inquiry some time back, I mean," the Captain of the Guard said.

"...I won't argue with you. It's necessary, though. Can't allow atrocities and crime go."

"I know. It's just..."

"Yep. And it's going to be a while before it ends."

Shining gave that some thought, then said, "You think... any of them are gonna..." He swiped the tip of his hoof across his neck for emphasis.

"Yeah. Even if Chrysalis isn't executed - and I have my doubts about her survival - the ex-king turned on his own subjects without warning and slaughtered any who opposed him. In the middle of a war, no less. I feel like the changelings may be content with jugging Chrysalis for the rest of her life, such as she has one. But there's no way Raneiro is escaping the headsman; I don't think the griffon culture will let him, and his actions against his own people are even more recent than those of Chrysalis."

"...I wish the death penalty... wasn't..."

"It's ugly," James agreed, and left it at that.

------------------------------------------

The next couple of witnesses, both from Camilla's hive, got through their questioning without any real incident. Both were workers in the hive's nursery and were questioned about the task of Chrysalis' soldiers to kill the hive's young in the case of a revolt, and Fox was unable to get anywhere against them. However, the next witness, being questioned about the stealing of emotional energy, totally lost it when Fox insinuated that it was incorrect.

"How dare you accuse me of lying!" one member of Metamorphosis' hive screamed, leaping up from the witness stand; if looks could have killed, Fox would have been a melted puddle of goo on the courthouse floor.

"Order! The witness is instructed to hold to the rules of the court!"

"I am merely trying to get to the bottom of the accusations thrown at our old queen. If you think I'm calling you a liar, that's your problem."

"Objection; that last statement was insulting and irrelevant to the case at hoof."

"Sustained; the defense is not to make snide comments. Nor," Cocoon added, upon seeing the glee upon the face of the changeling in the box, "is the the witness allowed to do so. There will be order, or else."

"Ugh, this is ugly, alright," Shining muttered. "Maybe we should have just judged them without a trial and got it over with; I don't even know how many days of this we'll have to go through."

"We'll get through them," James assured him, sighing a moment afterwards. "I'm just hoping we get through it with our sanity and morals intact. I question whether the judges - not to even mention the jury - can remain just. Cocoon seems a little biased against Fox there."

"I've noticed it, too. She still remembers what happened... She's not happy someone's trying to tear at the truth."

"Or keep Chrysalis from punishment."

"That too. But it's really Fox trying to say, 'Well, you're a less-than-reliable witness' or 'You're deluded' or 'You just thought you saw that' that's really getting at her, and changelings from other hives."

"Yeah, the guy will probably have to go into protective custody to avoid getting assassinated. I was just thinking about that earlier."

Shining turned his head so that both eyes were looking at James. "You don't really think...?"

"He's really unpopular now, if you haven't noticed," James remarked, as Fox continued to question the witness; the former had just asked the latter whether or not it was true that he'd seen three of Chrysalis' soldiers beat a helpless elder to death in the streets, and the witness was stammering with utter rage. "I don't know what other tools he has to use, though. He can hardly agree with what the prosecution is saying; there would be no point in this whole thing. His job is... I can't even think of a word, but 'superfluous' comes close. Chrysalis is gonna get it, and he and everyone else here knows it."

"And so is the ex-king."

"Yeah, but if you think this is ugly... I'm sure the defense will actually be a royalist or imperialist, and will actively break the rules of court conduct a number of times. They'll probably be even more flamboyant, and even more in need of protection from their own people after this is all over; perhaps even before this is all over. Fox is... his need to obey Chrysalis was shattered the moment she 'died.' I'm not sure if he supported her, or if he's just doing his duty to his current queen. I don't think it'll be like that with the griffon defense attorney."

"I agree. That guy - or... what do they call female griffons again?"

"I don't know. I forgot to learn it."

"Anyway, that's going to be even more ugly, if anything."

"We'll get through it." James remembered the siege of Trottingham. "Not like we're being shot at."

"Not with bullets, no. With bad feelings, anger, and hate..."

James made a discomforted noise. That was all too true. "Yeah... hopefully, this trial isn't one where hatred, malice, and prejudice are mistaken for justice."

Author's Note:

Note;

I am not trying to incite hate with this chapter, nor do I intend to incite wrath beyond the boundaries of this story.

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