Trial and Forgiveness
Written by: Mayhem Darkshadow
Edited by: Avatar of Shadow and TimeLord_Whooves
Chapter 9: Trial and Forgiveness
A little mood music
"Please Princess," Twilight cried, "Please can I just see him." It had been a few days since the whole Night Light ordeal and Twilight's father still remained incarcerated in the Castle dungeons. Those hadn't been used in centuries so everpony knew something was up when Celestia commanded Night Light remain there until a trial. Twilight had been pleading with Celestia, first to have Night Light released because he was innocent, but then to just see him. Princess Celestia's response every time had been no and this time was no different.
"For the last time Twilight, I said no," Celestia snapped. As much as she loved her student, she was starting to get annoyed with the constant begging. Twilight's eyes filled with tears and she sobbed.
"Why are you doing this?" she questioned, "I've never seen you like this before. You're always so kind and caring, but now...you aren't the same pony."
Princess Celestia sighed, put her work down, and looked at her student. "I know my dear, but I'm doing this for your own good. Your father hurt you and Luna physically and mentally. He nearly caused your death. He was even involved indirectly in the murder of an innocent pony. He doesn't deserve to be a part of your life and that's why I want to make sure he can't be. I'm doing this for your own good my faithful student."
Twilight hit her breaking point and just bawled her eyes out. Celestia tried to comfort her but Twilight shoved her away and ran off.
"I hate you!" was all she shouted before disappearing. Luna, who had just entered the throne room, saw that Twilight was running away. She tried to stop her but got shoved aside. Luna, slightly hurt, asked Celestia what happened.
"Did she ask again if she could see him?"
Celestia nodded. "Yes and once again I had to shut her down. It hurts me every time."
"I heard her say she hated you." Luna looked a bit closer at her sister and saw she was crying. Never in her many years had Celestia heard those words come out of the mouth of her student.
"Maybe you should reconsider Night Light's situation Tia," Luna started, "Do you not think you're being a bit harsh."
As soon as Luna spoke those words, Celestia regained her composure. "No Luna, that pony is a danger to the citizens. I don't plan to do anything drastic but you and I both know he doesn't deserve any chances."
Luna sort of had to agree with what Twilight said. She had never seen her sister act like this. "I know he doesn't Tia, but Twilight is completely distraught."
"I know she is, but in time she'll get over it and realize that I just want what's best," Celestia replied. Luna sighed and decided that she didn't want to talk to her sister anymore. Right now she wanted to make sure Twilight was okay.
**********
Luna spent the next hour trying to find Twilight. She went to her room, the library, the kitchen, and all the other places she would have expected Twilight to be. Twilight, however, was not to be found. Luna was going to give up when she finally found her lover. Twilight had locked herself up in the astronomy tower. She had her eye slammed into the telescope and seemed to be, rather angrily, looking for constellations.
"Twilight," Luna said quietly. No response. Luna got a little closer but Twilight wouldn't acknowledge her presence.
"Come on you stupid bucking telescope, focus in. Who the hay messed with the calibrations," Twilight growled. Luna got a bit closer and put her hooves on Twilight's shoulders. Twilight immediately flipped around and pushed Luna off her.
"Get away from me," she snapped, "I don't want to see you right now."
Luna was speechless. Twilight was really furious and she hesitated to even speak. "I just want to make sure you're okay."
"I don't want your comfort right now Luna," Twilight spat, "You don't want to help me at all."
Luna gulped and decided she should just leave Twilight alone. Before leaving though, she left Twilight with some words.
"I know you're angry sweetheart. I wish I could convince my sister to change her judgment but she won't budge. I agree with her somewhat in that something needs to be done about your father. That aside, I also understand why you are distraught right now. Just know that whatever happens I still love you and will always love you."
Luna left the room and Twilight lost all focus of what she was doing. She wanted nothing more than to chase after the Night Princess but decided maybe that wasn't best. In the end she decided she would do what she always did when she was angry. Go to the library.
**********
Going to the library didn't help in the slightest. Twilight had calmed down a bit but was still rather furious. After trying to read, she gave up and went to get dinner. This did not go any better. Luna and Celestia were there, enjoying a meal. Before they could even ask her to sit and have dinner with them, Twilight ran off in a storm. Despite the fact that she was starving, Twilight did not want to be with either of the princesses right now. Lost as to what to do, she found an unused guest room and decided to get some sleep. This didn't happen, at least not right away. She spent a few hours crying and then about an hour sniffing and grumbling. Eventually, though, she did fall asleep but it was only for a few hours. When Twilight woke up, she was not in the same room. She was in Luna's room, tucked into the bed. Sitting on the bedside table was a tray with food on it and a note.
Twilight,
I know you didn't get any dinner so I brought some for you. I know you are angry sweetie and I understand completely. I'm going to be at the Night Court for a while. When I get back, I would like it if we could talk.
Luna
Twilight wanted to crumple the letter up, but she just set it aside and dove into her dinner. It was a bit cold but a simple spell took care of that. She ate slowly, enjoying every wonderful bite. With each bite she slowly felt better. By the time she was done, Twilight wasn't even angry anymore. She really didn't know what to feel. Right know there was just too much on her mind.
"Oh good, you're awake."
Twilight turned to the door and saw Luna standing in it. The Princess of the Night closed the door and walked over to the bed. She sat down but neither of them said anything. Luna assumed the silence meant Twilight didn't want to speak. "I guess I'll just leave," she whispered softly.
Luna got up to leave but felt a hoof grab her own. Twilight pulled Luna back onto the bed and pulled her into a hug. She rested her head on Luna's shoulder but didn't cry. Luna wrapped her own hooves around Twilight and held her close. Neither of them said anything but their emotions did enough. Using extreme care, Luna lowered them onto the bed and pulled a blanket across their bodies. The whole room was dead quiet, so quiet you could have probably heard an atom shift. It was soon broken by quiet sobbing. The tears, surprisingly, were coming from Luna.
"Twilight, I'm so sorry for all this. I have tried talking to my sister but she won't budge. I wish there was something that I could do," Luna sobbed. Twilight couldn't hold her own emotions in and added to the tears in the room. Together they cried and cried until all the bad feelings were gone.
"I know you've done what you can Luna. I guess I just need to accept this all and move on," Twilight said quietly into Luna's ear. Luna grabbed Twilight's mane in her hoof and stroked it. She wished she had an answer to all this. She wished nothing more than to see Twilight happy again. Luna knew though, that if Night Light was convicted, and he would be, that her little sparkle would never be the same again.
**********
The rest of the week leading up to the trial was not any better. Twilight was no longer angry at Luna, but was still rather furious at Celestia. This was mostly because of how stubborn the Solar Princess was being. She refused to listen to Twilight and even Luna's pleas. Twilight's family life was not any better. Her mother, her brother, and even Cadence did everything in their power to try and convince Twilight to forget about Night Light. She tried her best to convince them otherwise but they wouldn't budge, especially Shining Armor. Twilight eventually gave up when she realized her Luna was the only sane pony left in the world. The two of them spent all their time together up to the day, Twilight even attended the Night Court with Luna, though she spent a lot of the time asleep on Luna's shoulder. The night before Night Light's trial, Luna called off the Court so she could be with Twilight. Unfortunately for both of them, they both had to be involved in the trial since it was about them. Celestia would also be with them, Luna had promised to sit between her and Twilight, and they would both be required to give a testimony on the stand.
"Are you ready for tomorrow?" Luna asked as she tenderly brushed Twilight's mane. Twilight, careful not to mess up Luna's work, shook her head. Luna understood completely. They knew that the outcome was going to be against Night Light and had already decided that after the trial they were going to leave Canterlot for awhile. Twilight wanted to get away from it all and Luna only wanted to be with Twilight. They had already packed their bags and acquired their train tickets. They would depart right after the trial.
"Where did all the happiness go Luna?" Twilight asked as Luna finished up. Luna wasn't sure how to answer the question. The one and only answer was before Night Light had found out about them. She did not want to say this though.
"It's still here Twilight. I guess it’s just hiding. Once we leave, I'm sure it will come back."
Twilight didn't have a response to this. She knew that nothing was ever going to be the same. Her family was broken, her teacher was doing nothing but hurting her, and her father was suffering with every passing second. As far as Twilight was concerned, Luna was the only thing left in her life that was still intact. Sure, time would pass but she knew that these events would never be forgotten.
**********
The day had arrived, Night Light's trial. Luna and Twilight neglected to ride with Celestia, despite the fact she had requested they do so. Twilight hadn't even spoken to Celestia in over a week. This hurt Celestia very much but she didn't show it, especially not today. Deep down, the older princess knew this was the right thing to do, even if it would cost her two ponies she loved deeply. The whole courtroom was packed with what could possibly have been every pony in Canterlot and the surrounding towns. Some ponies Twilight recognized, others she had no idea who they were. Twilight also saw her family. They all gave her smiles but she didn't acknowledge them. Why would she? They were only here to celebrate Night Light's fall. Luna and Twilight took their seats at the Prosecutor's table. Celestia was already there but she didn't say a word to them, which she knew was probably a good idea. The jury entered the room and then the judge entered soon after. Everypony stood up.
"Please be seated," he said to everpony in the room. They all did so and then the trial began.
"Bring the Defendant in."
A door to the right of the room opened up and Night Light was escorted in by a pair of Royal Guards. He was placed in his seat and then the trial continued to proceed. The prosecution gave their opening statement, followed by the defense. Then the testimonies began. The prosecutor started with Luna. After Luna gave her sworn truth oath, the questioning began.
"Princess Luna, how well do you know the Defendant?" the prosecutor asked.
"Well, not that well. I have only been together with Twilight for five months," Luna replied.
"Would you have guessed that he was able to do the deeds that he has done?"
"Well no because, as I said, I haven't known him for that long."
"You where one of the few ponies to witness what happened to Twilight Sparkle, yes?"
"Yes I was. The rest of the witnesses are... well, no longer with us."
"You were also able to hear Night Light's confession of his deeds?"
"Well yes, I was but..."
"So you would agree then, that Night Light Sparkle is guilty of causing both psychical and mental damage to both yourself and Twilight Sparkle as well as indirectly causing the near death of Twilight Sparkle and the murder of an innocent bystander?"
"Well yes, but the first crime is hardly punishable by law. As for the murder, I know nothing about it. Nothing about that was spoken on that night."
"That may be Princess, but what is your answer to the previous question?"
"My answer is, yes to the first part and no to second but..."
"No further questions your honor."
Luna snorted. She wanted nothing more than to pummel the prosecutor. She probably could have gotten away with it to, but she decided not to. The defense went about questioning a handful of ponies, including Night Light, but to be honest, it really didn't help the case. The final questioning was from the prosecution, and the pony being questioned was Twilight herself.
"Ms. Sparkle you are the only other pony beside Princess Luna that heard your father's confession of his crimes, yes?"
"Yes I was."
"So everything that your father has done is in fact true?"
"Yes it is but..."
"So would you say he is the direct cause of the pain and suffering you have endured including your near death beating?"
"No he did not. He tried to save me!" Twilight shouted. The whole courtroom went silent.
"He tried to save me from that gang of ponies. The only reason he couldn't was because he was being restrained by two ponies that were twice his size. He pleaded for them to stop what they were doing to me. My father, in no way caused anything those ponies did to me that night."
Twilight turned to the judge and, despite how hard she tried, broke down. "Please... please don't take my Daddy away from me. I know he did some bad things but he only thought he was looking out for my best interests. He then knew he was wrong and apologized not only to me, but to my entire family. We didn't forgive him but we’re glad to see that he was at least trying to make up for what he has done. Please... I love him and I don't want to see him go."
Twilight said no more and just bawled. Luna shot straight up to the stand and pulled Twilight down from it. The judge called a recess so the jury could discuss their verdict. Luna initially brought Twilight back to the table but, because she couldn't get Twilight to calm down, left the room and found a private area. Luna let Twilight cry into her shoulder for the entire recess. By the time they had returned, Twilight was down to just sniffing quietly. They took their seats and then jury came back in.
"Has the jury reached a verdict?" the Judge asked. The foreman stood up from his seat and nodded.
"We have, your honor. We find the defendant guilty of all charges against him."
The silence in the room was eerie. The only real sound was Twilight's renewed blubbering. Night Light remained emotionless, probably because not one emotion could describe what had happened.
"Night Light Sparkle," the Judge started, "For the crimes that you have committed. The psychical and mental torment of Princess Luna and Twilight Sparkle, as well as being indirectly involved in the murder of an innocent pony, I am sentencing you to eighty years in prison with no chance of release on good behavior."
Commotion erupted in courtroom as everypony started discussing the trial and the verdict. Twilight had given up completely and buried her face into Luna’s chest. Luna looked up at Celestia but spoke no words. The Jugdge banged his gavel and tried to call order but this didn't work. However, a few spoken lines made the whole room silent.
"Drop all the charges." Princess Celestia was up from her seat and looking at the Judge.
"Princess?" he gaped, completely baffled.
"Drop all charges against Night Light Sparkle. I can no longer stand to see my student in the condition that she is in. Drop all charges and release Night Light Sparkle."
The Judge opened his mouth to speak, but when he saw the face Celestia was giving him, he shut it.
"All charges dropped," he said rather quietly.
The noise that filled the court room was deafening. Celestia turned around and was toppled over by an incoming pony. Twilight wrapped her hooves around her mentor and cried her eyes out in joy. Luna quickly joined her and Celestia wrapped her wings around the two of them. Everything had seemed utterly and completely lost, but Celestia, who had finally come to her senses, came forth and saved the day. Twilight and Luna could not have been filled with anymore joy than what they were experiencing. As Celestia held them, she heard her student quietly whisper that she loved the older alicorn. This brought tears to Celestia’s eyes. She, herself was glad that it was all over, mostly anyway.
Despite the fact that Night Light was a free stallion, he still had to be led out by the guards. As he passed by, Celestia spoke softly to him. "Be wise with the second chance you have been given, Night Light. In no possible way do you actually deserve it. I only gave it to you because I could no longer stand to see Twilight as she was. Use this opportunity to fix what you've broken."
Celestia finished with a nod and went back to comforting her sister and her student. Underneath Celestia's wings, Twilight and Luna were holding hooves. The world which they thought was crashing around them had recovered. It wasn't perfect, but it was a start.
**********
Five Months Later
Twilight and Luna sat a table at Symphonious, waiting for two particular ponies. Twilight was especially impatient. Luna found it rather cute and funny.
"Twilight calm down, they just entered the restaurant," Luna giggled. Twilight remained unsettled until the two ponies they had been waiting for walked up.
"Sorry we're late," Night Light said politely. The other pony that was with him was Velvet.
The past five months had been rather event filled. After Night Light was cleared of all charges, he received the wrath of many ponies, including the rest of the family. For a solid week, he couldn't even leave the house without being tormented or assaulted, physically or verbally. Once some time had passed, he was able to work hard to try and fix what he had shattered, his family. Initial attempts had not been very successful. One incident between him and Velvet ended with Night Light having to go to the hospital and get stitches. Twilight was rather destroyed by the rest of her family’s lack of forgiveness, even after a lot of time had passed. When some members of the family saw this, they loosened up a bit. There was also a lot of convincing and arguing, both from Twilight and Luna. Velvet and Night Light were now living together again. Velvet had stopped divorce proceedings, but their relationship was still iffy. Night Light and Twilight had spoken on this, sometimes with Luna, and he figured they probably would never get back together completely. Twilight was still hoping that, in time they would.
Cadence had also given in to the pleading. Night Light was still probably her least favorite pony in all of Equestria, but she would at least acknowledge his presence and even speak to him sometimes. The only pony that refused to take him back was Shining Armor. As far as he was concerned, Night Light was dead to him. He wouldn't acknowledge his father or speak to him. Twilight did her best with her brother, but there was no budging with him. She wanted the whole family to be back together but was happy that at least part of it was.
"It's alright Daddy," Twilight said with a smile. Night Light and Velvet sat down and they engaged in some small talk.
"So what makes you think you are good enough to date my daughter?" Night Light asked with a chuckle. Luna quickly burst into laughter and tried not to choke on the drink in her mouth. Twilight gave her father a look but knew he was just messing with the princess. Even Velvet joined in on the playful giggles. Luna decided to play along.
"Well, I would say that is because I'm a Princess of Equestria and am charged with the raising and lowering of the moon as well as leading an entire country of ponies. Does that make me qualified sir?"
Night Light gave Luna a wink and a smile. Luna went back to laughing and, despite her best attempts, could not suppress them. Twilight could tell that this night was going to be an eventful one but a fun one none the less.
**********
Luna and Twilight walked through the door to Luna's bedroom. The night had been fun and dinner had been exquisite. The both of them wished it wouldn't end but sleep was necessary. As the two of them were getting ready for bed, they chatted about the night.
"It seems like your parents were actually rather happy tonight sweetheart," Luna mentioned from the bathroom. Twilight couldn't help but agree with the statement.
"Yeah, I noticed. I'm kind of hoping that means they've worked more of their problems out," Twilight replied. Luna came out of the bathroom with a smile on her face and crawled into bed with the lavender unicorn she loved more than any other pony in the world.
"Me too Twilight, me too," Luna said as she gave Twilight a soft kiss. The two of them cuddled up under the sheets and Luna turned the lights off with magic. Next month would be the one year anniversary of when the two of them started dating. So much had happened in that time. There had been lots of joy as well as lots of pain. The future was bright though and as each of them slowly drifted off into slumber, they could not wait for what it held.
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I was waiting for this to finish and now I can get started on the one shot. I wanted to see how the other characters were like following this trial and such. I'll get started on it sometime next week hopefully. Don't know when it will be finished but I'll do my best!
Also, the fic was great! Hope you update Guardian Angel soon!
3088289
Awesome I can't wait to read it
3088312
Soon hopefully. I had to get a new editor since one of mine won't be able to help me at the time.
well that was by all means utterly amazing , very well pleased at how you managed to pull the ending off and not to mention you still managed to do it in a way that didn't seem to rushed
Loved the story 120% and could not have done better i swear this is defiantly one of my most favorite fics and always will be . thanks for writing it
3088332
So glad you love it that much. Seriously when I first published this I thought it was going to be a flop like my first couple of fics. I never imagined it would be so popular
.
3088344
i agree , this site can really surprise you sometimes i'm writing a fic right now that i didn't think would get over 2000 views total in one week of being published
The only bummer is that such a great story had to come to an end.
I love this story, and I am fortunate to have read it.
3088289 Write it up, and I shall read it!
3088403
I'm glad you enjoyed it
So I see the vid for A7X's Victim and was gonna play it, but then Windows Media Player starts playing Disturbed's Indestructible so I was like "F%&k Victim!
" But you know what song I have on this playlist? Victim. And you know what song started after Indestructible? Motherfucking Victim. 
Great story, thought it was a bit of a spoiler that the chapter's name had "Forgiveness" in it. All in all: Awesome.
3088636
Putting "Forgiveness" in the title was more or less me trolling a little bit
And another story draws to a close. To me, the ending seemed slightly rushed, but that might be because i'm more used to 10k word chapters instead of 1-3k word chapters.
3090920
Good to hear. Rated PonyStar said he will begin work on his fic soon
this was an amazing story X3
3091173
Thanks
3092151np
This fic was fantastic. I'm kinda sad to see it end. I kinda hope you'll do a squeal or an epilogue about if Velvet takes Night Light back. or if Shining Armor accepts his father again. But if not, then this fic was still really enjoyable! Twilight Approves!
~Raxel~
3095766
Nope no sequels sorry there isn't enough material. However my fellow author Rated PonyStar is going to do an Alternate Ending fic to this. Let's just say I know what it's going to be about and I'm extremely anxious to read it
Happy Ending FTW!
3544653
If you want more read Night of Redemption by Rated PonyStar its an AU sequel to this
3544653
Here is the link
Night of Redemption
3545919 Too Late!
i love this story it is the best plus i love the shipping twiluna
3593329
Thanks. Also thanks for the watch
also when are more chapters coming out in guardian angle i would to see more cause i love the story you inspired me to start writing my own stories check them out they are almost done
3594125
Still waiting for one of my editors to finished. He's been sick though so it's been delayed
oh i hope i comes soon though it would be great if you mad a chapter were scootaloo gets baby sat by cadence i think every one would love that.
3594230
3907571
Well aware of that. Didn't even know that error was there. Strange nobody has pointed it out until now
Why can't I upvote more than once?
Great Story for a great ship!
I really like this story, I just wish it didn't feel so rushed. I see more than a few parts where you could have expanded the ideas on scenes but then the story would have ended up around 15 chapters or so. Either way, good story, great work and I look forward to more writing from you.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story and this is one of the best romance stories I have read. You tied the emotions well into the story and brought the reader into your world.
I really liked this story
Sad it ended and that thier wont be a part 2.
But it at least ended on a light note.
Òirdheirc!!!!!!!
A very good story, if seeming a bit too short for the content to really spread its wings. At times it seemed a bit rushed.
My only real issue is with the gang hired by Nightlight:
1) How in Discords Fluffy Tail were they able to get past the Royal Guard, not just the first time, but over and over again gaining access to the Royal family? Especially once the guards were actively looking?
2) Why did the gang go aganst orders and cause physical harm to Twilight not just once on accident, but repeatedly with malice? This not only messed with their possible paycheck, but it couldn't be hard to think that Princess Luna's wrath about harm to her special somepony would be hazardous to their health.
3) Why would they continue the harassment once they were paid in full? It isn't like this job was being done for reputation, it would be in their best survival interests for no one besides them and Nightlight to ever know they were involved. Continuing only means they are exposing themselves to additional risk for no conceivable benifit.
I mean kudos to Princess Luna for dusting the gang, but so much WHY? is left unsaid. Perhaps a quick epilogue could smooth over these, and any other, issues?
But asside from that, a very enjoyable tale, and thank you for sharing it with us.
Hmm, I actually thought it would be life.
This story was amazing and I loved the ending, I also loved all the drama throughout this entire story, I think that's the main reason why I like this story so much is because it's different from all other TwiLuna stories considering most of them don't have much drama as this. I mean have you ever seen a TwiLuna story with a homophobic father, a near death experience, assault, near divorce, a near broken family, and the public involving the relationship with both Luna and Twilight? Because I haven't.
It would be nice if there was a sequel to this story, maybe a sequel to Twilight becoming an Alicorn and seeing where the relationship with Twilight and Luna go on from there.
I don't see much stories involving a relationship with Luna and Twilight where Twilight starts off as a unicorn and then becomes an Alicorn, would make an interesting story and I'm surprised not a lot of people do it.
April 11