05 - The Mind Ecstatic
Was it just him, or was it suddenly really hot in here?
He didn’t know exactly how he had ended up here, in a stuffy court room absent of any windows and dimly lit by flickering light bulbs in the ceiling, but he was here. He also didn’t really care how he ended up here. The last thing he remembered before apparating was… he was chasing something. Somepony? Yes, that was it. There was a river involved, definitely. And he could remember getting wet.
The chair he sat in was stiff and uncomfortable. His lawyer- bless him, but Radius couldn’t remember his face nor his name for the life of him, but his lawyer gave him this suit to wear. It didn’t mix well with his Changeling anatomy at all. It felt like any uncomfortable movement would tear a hole through it with his spiky holes. On his horn was a small ring, barely larger than a bit, that stopped him from changing. Being disconnected from his magic supply was, strangely, very uncomfortable. Like a floor he’d always expect to land on suddenly becoming absent.
Carefully, to avoid damaging his suit, he turned around in his chair, creaking and groaning with his weight and age. Behind him was a court room packed in like sardines. There were twenty, maybe even thirty ponies, all of which he recognized from Ponyville. Although he couldn’t put a name to half of them, they were all definitely ponies he had seen before while commuting through the markets and the like. Every single one, without fail, were glaring at Radius with spite. Despite their scowl, however, not a single one moved. Not one breathed, talked, swayed in spot, or even breathed. It was uncanny. And if he didn’t know any better, he would’ve assumed they were all cardboard cut outs. It sent shivers down his spine, and he quickly turned back around.
Just in time, too. One of the many doors to the court room swung open. A tall stallion walked in with one of the longest, most royal cloaks he had ever seen a pony wear before. It completely covered his body below his neck and dragged on the floor wherever he went. The tall stallion climbed onto the middle podium, sitting down, and flicking open some kind of binder in front of him. Just like every other pony behind him, the stallion also glared at the Changeling, who suddenly began feeling very small in his presence.
The stallion leaned over, not breaking eye contact, and grabbed a white, powdery wig. With a straight face, still full of malice, he put it on.
Okay… Radius couldn’t help it. He cracked a small, even tiny smile at that.
“Resident Staples!” The stallion boomed, completely wiping the smile from Radius’s face. Radius quickly fumbled with his hooves, eventually settling putting them on the table in front of him. The judge’s scowl only deepened as he began rearranging a few papers on the podium, still not breaking eye contact with the now terrified Changeling. “Before we begin your sentencing, we will go through every detail we know about you, bug.” The last bit was added with a small amount of venom. Radius felt as if something was… off. Almost like some part of him knew that this wasn’t how court’s were supposed to go. But he still nodded with understanding, scared to interrupt the towering stallion. “You will plead your case to the jury. If they sympathize, then your sentence will be lessened. Do I make myself clear?”
“I- uhm- Mhmm!” He nodded frantically, turning his head to look at the jury he hadn’t even realized was there to begin with.
He then choked on the air he was breathing.
On the stands was every single Element of Harmony.
Every single one.
Twilight was leaning forwards in her seat intently, her eyes full of scholarly intent. It didn’t take a scientist to figure out Twilight was simply here for the research. Applejack was next to her, leaning back into her chair with her stetson off, with a large scowl clearly evident. Fluttershy seemed to be the one already with the most sympathy right from the get go, a hurt expression clearly present on her muzzle. Pinkie was somehow a double of Twilight, leaning forwards with intent to study, and Rainbow Dash was… also looking strangely hurt?
Rarity was… raising her hoof? This… was how court was supposed to go, right?
“Yes, Miss Belle?” The judge asked with a sigh, turning his glare to the purple-maned Unicorn.
“Dear Judge, if I may!” She sang in a high voice, lowering her hoof back down. “If this Changeling’s sentence is light, might I ask permission for his help in my dress-making business? A shape-shifter would be ever-so useful in my line of work, you know.”
“No.” He replied without hesitation. Rarity slumped back into her chair, defeated, and pouting. The judge sighed again, looking back down at Radius. “If everypony is done asking questions, we may begin.”
For a full two minutes, the judge was completely silent. His eyes glossed wordlessly over the papers in front of him. Without a word, a nudge, or a glance, he digested the entire paper. Radius, however, was far from still. He was constantly shifting in his seat, and constantly taking glances up at the jury. It really seemed like the only pony he had to be worried about was Applejack.
In the end, she was the only pony he was really worried about. The Element of Honesty, versus a species whose entire purpose is to lie and deceive. It was never going to work out. Fluttershy was probably already on his side, Twilight would be more than happy to keep him hostage to study him, Rarity already made her proposition very clear, and Rainbow…?
Rainbow was confusing. Why would Rainbow look that way? Wasn’t she photographed kicking Changeling’s jaws in during the Canterlot invasion? Maybe she was hurt because… she couldn’t do that to Radius right away?
Pinkie was probably wondering how to turn him into a cupcake.
“The Changeling known as Staples!” The judge boomed, beginning the questioning. “Many scholars, including some in the jury,” Didn’t take a genius to wonder who. “would like to know where you hail from.” He asked. Radius was slightly surprised at the question. But he suddenly found himself leaning forwards in his chair, speaking with truth.
“I don’t know where I came from.” His mouth began moving automatically as his brain went blank. Twilight blinked in surprise, leaning away from the jury railing.
“Hm.” The judge’s scowl deepened. “Staples, what is your earliest memory?”
“Being chased away from a garbage can in a back alley of Manehattan. That’s all I can say about that.” He couldn’t stop himself from talking. Why was he talking? Why wasn’t he hesitating?
Whatever he said, however, seemed to break through to Applejack. Her scowl momentarily faded away, and she awkwardly shuffled her stetson in her hooves in thought. Her scowl never fully returned, even though she did keep up her frown, if slightly lessened.
If the judge even believed him, it was hard to tell, with his unchanging wrinkled lip. “Were you, or were you not, involved in the invasion of Canterlot?” He asked.
“I think I’m supposed to have a lawyer.” He craned his neck backwards, looking back at the jury. Did they somehow seem… darker and less defined? Almost like he was looking at the crowd through a foggy door. “Do you guys know where my lawyer-”
“Answer the question, Staples!” The judge boomed, snapping the Changeling back to attention at a moment’s notice.
“Right. Err- no. I did not participate in the invasion. I was here, in Ponyville. I didn’t even hear about the Canterlot invasion until word spread through the newspaper and it landed on my front doorstep.”
Whatever he said, Rainbow suddenly leaned even further into her chair, the wood making an audible squeak as she did so. She rubbed a hoof over her eye, making her look tired and almost… defeated. The fastest Equestrian flier and greatest daredevil looked defeated, over a simple court case.
“Hmm…” The judge’s eyes narrowed. With the way he acted, with extreme bias, Radius began getting the impression that he wasn’t even a real judge. If he was, he sure as hay was an extremely biased and unprofessional one. “And what about your Queen? Do you take orders from Queen Chrysalis?”
“With all due respect, sir, I don’t have a queen.” He quickly shot a glance at Twilight, who was leaning forwards even more now, leaning over the railing. “I don’t even think I’m a part of Queen Chrysalis’s hive. I’m orange.” He waved a hoof at his mane, showing the judge and jury. “Why would I pledge allegiance to a Queen whose only made my life infinitely worse?”
“Can we start asking questions?” Twilight asked. She looked as if she was ready to burst, vibrating in her chair like it was the greatest scientific opportunity that had ever presented itself to her. The judge briefly flickered his eyes to the opportunistic scholar.
“No.” He flipped the page. “Next question. Do you, or do you not-”
“B-but sir!” Twilight called out again from the stands. “This could be-”
“This is my court room, and the answer is no!” He shouted. Twilight shrank back into her seat. “Next question! Do you, or do you not, support the rulings of Princess Celestia.”
“Wha?” Radius cocked his head to the side. “What does that even mean?”
“Do you follow Equestrian law?” Twilight coughed under her breath.
“Oh. Uh- yeah. I do my taxes.” Radius nodded. “Always done my taxes since I knew what they were.”
“Uh-huh.” The judge scowled. “Last question. Following the events that occurred yesterday evening, how do you plea for the murder of an eight year old filly?”
Woah.
Woah-woah-woah.
There was a cacophony of gasps from the audience in the benches behind him. The jury barely reacted, as if they had known all along. Not even the snarl of disgust from the judge’s face could make it to Radius as his world darkened. The river. The filly. He fell in. He could remember how suffocatingly cold it was. He could remember grabbing the filly, holding her tight, and then kicking her out of the water. Somehow, he survived, and she did not.
“I-” His mouth went completely dry as he focused on a single spot on the floor. He could feel the hundreds, if not thousands of eyes boring a hole through the back of his skull. He tried to swallow, but the dryness in his mouth was overwhelming. “I-I- d-didn’t-”
“I’ll ask you again.” The judge’s voice cut through, ignoring the silence. “How do you plea for the murder of a filly?”
He felt the room spin in an odd fashion. The jury, one by one, leaned forwards, each of them eagerly awaiting his response. He struggled to stay upright in his chair as nausea overwhelmed him.
“I-I didn’t mean to…” He said quietly. The judge barely changed his emotion. “It was just… I scared her by- by accident, and, uh…” He finally managed to swallow his spit. “It was just… I tried to save her. I didn’t mean to- I-I must’ve…”
…
He could remember, his eyes drooping heavily as he laid wet on the shore. There, a few feet away, was the filly, shivering with her mane clinging to her fur as she was drenched head-to-hoof. But she was alive.
“No…” He looked up at the judge. “No. I did save her. I… I kicked her to the shore. I remember…” His brows furrowed as he turned to the jury. “No- she was… I remember…” His eyes locked with Rainbow Dash’s own conflicted eyes. Suddenly, it began to make sense. “W-What is going on here? Where is my lawyer?” He quickly stood up from his chair, knocking it over in the process. He swooned as his head became lighter than a balloon. He quickly realized that the crowd in the benches had completely vanished, and the lights in the back had dimmed to the point of pitch blackness. “Where is the… the…” He looked up at the judge. Instead of a judge, however, there was a dark blue Alicorn, with the mane of the night sky looking down at him. “...the…” His knees suddenly gave out, collapsing to the floor.
“Do we trust him, girls?” Twilight asked, turning to the rest of the jury.
“I feel… weird, Twi.” Rainbow shuffled in her seat. “I feel… kind of guilty?”
“Growin’ up without a family isn’t somethin’ anypony should go through… even a Changeling.” Applejack said, planting her stetson back onto her head and adjusting it politely. “He gets my sympathy, that’s for dang sure, but… ah’m still conflicted, Twi.”
“I still feel as if he could become a great model, girls.” Rarity said, her eyes sparkling with creativity as she gazed upon the Changeling, now looking up and listening to them.
“I- um, if it’s okay, I believe him.” Fluttershy mumbled.
“I always believed him!” Pinkie chirped, wrapping a hoof around Fluttershy. She let out a silent squeak as Pinkie gave a squeeze. “I knew he wasn’t like the other meanie Changelings!”
“The question is…” Luna spoke, turning away from the shaking Changeling. “What shall we do with him now? It would be unwise to let him wake up on his own.”
“What the buck is going on?!” Radius shouted. It appeared, in their own talking, all of the ponies present had completely forgotten about the Changeling, despite talking about said Changeling. The ponies looked warily at one another, each with varying degrees of uncertainty.
“I-I think I’ll take this one, girls.” Twilight said. She stood up from her jury chair, and like it wasn’t even an issue, she trotted forwards, through the railings, and down what appeared to be an invisible ramp down to where Radius resided on the floor. Luna, along with the other element bearers, watched with interest as Radius slowly backed away, fear evident in his eyes.
“Where am I? Is that actually Princess Luna, or did I finally go insane?”
“You’re in a dream.” Twilight explained. Radius didn’t let up, however, only backing further away from the Unicorn and getting lower to the ground. “For the past… little while, I’ve- or, we’ve all been… testing you.”
“O-Oh my…” Radius swallowed heavily. The other ponies watched with keen interest as Radius looked… scared. His hooves were quivering unsteadily as his eyes were wide, darting around the court room. “A-Are you part of my dream, too?”
Twilight looked down upon him sadly, a chord in her heart tearing. It was usually the other way around, wasn’t it? A big, bad Changeling terrorizing a defenseless pony. But this time, it was unusual. Somewhat broken. If Twilight was going to come away from this with one thing, it was that Radius was not a normal Changeling.
Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but Princess Luna, still peering over the edge of her towering podium, spoke first.
“These are figments of your imagination, Sir Staples.” She boomed. “Talk to Twilight as if you were talking to me.” Radius swallowed nervously, looking down and not meeting the eyes of the purple Unicorn. Twilight let out a sigh.
“We need to know whether you’re a danger to the ponies around you, Staples.”
He was silent for a while, still shaking heavily, his eyes still glued to the ground. Rainbow Dash, in the jury, felt her bottom lip quiver upon looking at the scene. It was like watching a puppy who didn’t deserve it get yelled at, and after witnessing the events of last night with the river, she was sure he didn’t deserve it.
“Twilight…” He finally said. “I-I’m sorry, Twilight. I-I’m sorry for…” He sighed. “I’m sorry for not telling you the truth sooner! I-I’m just so… I’m just so scared!” He shouted.
The room was quiet once more. Princess Luna leaned back in her chair, a genuine expression of surprise crossing her features. Twilight looked as if she was hit the worst, backing up and tripping, landing on her flank.
Slowly, Fluttershy stood up from her seat in the jury. Unlike Twilight, she took to the air and flew over the railing politely, landing next to Twilight and putting a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. Twilight returned the gesture with a smile and a tap to Fluttershy’s hoof. But Fluttershy wasn’t done. Instead, she kept trotting forwards.
Radius flinched physically as Fluttershy put a hoof on his back. Gently, she sat down next to him, slowly caressing his mane- or, rather, his carapace.
“Why are you scared, Radius?” She asked. He took a moment, shivering lightly, before responding.
“I’m scared of dying.” He said through a worked up sigh. “I’m scared of being carted away. I’ve read the newspapers. I know what happens to Changelings up in Canterlot. I know what they’re gonna do to me.” He was silent for a few more seconds. “If I get caught, then I’m dead.”
Princess Luna sat as if she had been hit by a cart. She slumped in an un-princess-like manner in her chair, her hoof rubbing her own mane in contemplation.
“We wouldn’t let that happen, Radius.” Fluttershy said. “Do you think we’d give you up?”
Radius snorted.
“Of course I think you guys would give me up. If you guys weren’t just my imagination, I’m sure Rainbow Dash and Applejack would be trying to kick my teeth in.” Both of the mentioned ponies gawked, Applejack pulling her hat over her head to hide more of her face in shame. “I saw the newspapers. I know how many they… killed.”
Rainbow put her head into her hooves, hiding her face.
Fluttershy was simply wordless.
“I…” Princess Luna cleared her throat. “I… think I’ve seen enough. I… I think it’s time you woke up, Staples…” Her horn ignited her royal blue, and for Radius, everything went black.
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I personally liked the original chapter better, but that may be because I'm an edgy bitch.
11696870
i personally agree, i like the edgy one, buuuuut i like this one too because it tugs at the emotions for me a little more.
11696870
To each his own, but the original course of this chapter didn't rest well with a lot of us. I can't speak for anyone else, but personally it made it feel like the ponies couldn't deal with the fact that they were wrong about their assumption of Radius' character based on species, and were erasing his memories in order to hide from that. If things had continued as such we'd have seen, depending on if the Mane 6 or Luna were depicted from thereon as flinching, freezing, or otherwise 'breaking character' as it were at the sight of him, but either way this alternate outcome is just a lot more palatable.
It's hard to write unreality, so don't too bad about the critique. I think the ending is a little better, but I'm also just along for the ride and happy to get anything.
Personally, I think I prefer this over the original ending, and I'm glad that the Main 6 seem more in-character.
Ouch. Apologies are owed once Staples wakes up.
Defenetly an improvement. Well done and good work!
3 thumbs up: 👍👍👍
Yeah, I think this works more logically. There was something to be had with the "edgier" original version, but in the context of the greater story, it makes more sense to go this route instead.
I just got here. Can someone summarize the original chapter?
11698103
I made Twilight wake up early and wipe Radius’s mind in the real world. It was painful for him, as he was still conscious in dream land. People disliked it, and a few got angry, so I rewrote it.
Yes this is way better and our girls aren't ooc. And if the main character thinks Luna is on his side( with him believing the main6 to be all in his head) then he can relax a bit more. Also I'm guessing the main6 are gonna try to interact with him more lol
11698107
Ok thanks
I just noticed. When did Fluttershy learn Radius' actual name? I know Twilight said they were testing him for a little while. Did they learn his name during those earlier testings, or has this been the only testing done so far? They've been watching him for a bit but they've always called him Staples up until that point and even Luna is still calling him Staples at the end. Was that a slight error or did I just miss something earlier and I'm silly?
11700088
omfg somebody noticed.
intentional
Was wondering if this was before or after the carriage thing. Seems like after the rainy capture scene? Sequence of events are difficult as it's clear we're not linear but there's no denotation of past present or wherever.
Knew it was a dream sequence immediately, but couldn't confirm if it was directed and which were actual participants. Nice job there.