> The Measure of a Dragon
>  by Zephyr Spark
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Part 1 For Those We Love
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The hot air balloon touched down to the Canterlot ground, and two purple forms, the princess Twilight Sparkle, accompanied by her faithful assistant Spike, emerged from it. They walked from the balloon to Twilight’s old home, where they once lived with Shining Armor and her parents. Twilight planned to visit her parents as she seldom had in recent years and Spike, being her loyal assistant, came along. He was an undeniable part of the family after all. 
And she was grateful he was a part of the family; he always did so many little things for her and rarely asked for anything in return. More than services, he was her friend, her first one that she truly cherished. Together they walked towards Twilight’s and his old home. She reached the doorway of that familiar home but heard voices inside, prompting her to stop. Noticing his friend’s hesitation, Spike also paused. Two of the voices she recognized as her parents but the other, she had never heard before. They seemed to be engrossed in some deep argument.
Cautiously, she opened the door, her magic carefully turning the handle. She and Spike peeked inside, “Mom, Dad?” Twilight called.
The voices stopped talking. Twilight and Spike proceeded into the house until they came to the foyer where they saw Twilight’s parents, Twilight Velvet and Night Light sitting together on a couch. They smiled at their daughter and surrogate grandson. Twilight’s gaze turned to the adjacent couch where she saw a cream colored unicorn, about her age, with a short dull red mane, and small glasses that covered her blue eyes. On her flank, Twilight noticed a cutie mark shaped like a red gem stone, surrounded by a yellow halo. She could make the faint outline of a DNA structure decorating the gem's interior.
“Hello, dear,” Twilight Velvet pleasantly spoke, although her smile looked a bit strained, “this is Dr. Saffron from the Canterlot Science Department.” She gestured to the cream unicorn who stood up and turned to glance at Twilight, “We were just talking about—“
Her mother was interrupted as the doctor let out a large, excited exhale and her eyes grew massive the moment she saw Spike. She instantly rushed over to the little dragon, knocking Twilight aside and examined him with the anxious intrigue of an excited child.
“My stars, the professors really were telling the truth,” the doctor opened Spike’s mouth with her hooves and examined all of his fangs, “perfectly operating fangs hard enough to crush gems,” she then turned him around and inspected the ridges on his back, “distinct scaly protrusions aligned around the spinal chord,” finally she took his one of his clawed hands into her hooves and inspected his talons, “ and thumbs! There really is a healthy baby dragon we can use!”
Her inspection was cut short as a purple magical aura formed around Spike and levitated him next to Twilight. Her horn glowed as she stepped in between Doctor Saffron and the little dragon refusing to be barreled over again. 
“Now hold on just a minute,” the purple alicorn scowled slightly at the unicorn, “what are you talking about? What do you want to use Spike for?”
The unicorn looked slightly abashed but quickly put on her professional air, straightening her glasses and clearing her throat, “Forgive me,” the unicorn gave a polite and disarming smile, “As your mother said, my name is Doctor Saffron and I am a member of the Canterlot Science Department. I’ve heard so much about you. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Princess Twilight Sparkle.” 
“Hi,” the little drake smiled earnestly, not minding the unicorn’s intrusive inspection too much, “my name is Spike.”
The doctor eyed him with a moment of confusion and winced in mild astonishment. This was not the reaction she expected from this little dragon. It was oddly polite. 
“Yes, well,” she continued as she addressed Twilight, “I joined the science department last year and have been trying to further our studies on dragons. As you probably know, we have very little information regarding these creatures, as they are very dangerous to study and difficult to even find.”
Twilight nodded, but kept a wary eye on Doctor Saffron. She disliked how the doctor was acting like Spike was not present and had no say in the matter. Spike didn’t seem to notice this as he listened to the doctor.
“But the magic department recently informed me that you actually managed to hatch a dragon egg when you were a filly and the dragon has been living with you ever since,” the doctor spoke with her practiced formality but was trembling with excitement. “If you would permit it, I would like to take your dragon and analyze him so we could better understand these creatures.”
“Um excuse me,” Spike waved for the mare’s attention, “what exactly would you be studying about me?”
She blinked in surprise and annoyance. On one hand, she found it perplexing that the dragon seemed to be fully invested in this conversation. On the other hand, she wasn’t talking to the little dragon in the first place. Twilight’s eyes glanced to Spike and turned to the doctor, as though she was asking the same thing.
“Well,” the doctor felt a small headache but maintained her calm as she addressed both the princess and the dragon, “I would sample your scales, your fire breath, your growth, your biological and social behavior, and so on.”
“How exactly?” Spike asked with a curious smile that was really getting on her nerves.
“I can’t disclose my methods to you at the moment,” she spoke more to Twilight than the purple dragon, “but I assure you that he will absolutely further our knowledge of dragons.”
Twilight and Spike exchanged a quick glance. Neither of them liked the idea of participating in something when the doctor would not explain what she would even be doing. Twilight decided to intervene.
“Then perhaps you can disclose your methods to me,” Twilight’s authoritative voice startled the doctor as she realized Twilight was ordering her as a princess.
“The methods are classified by the science department and in their most primary state,” she quickly tried to divert the princess’ attention, “but they would require me to take your dragon for a few decades at least.”
Spike frowned and recoiled at the thought of leaving his friends for that long and her really didn’t like the fact her methods seemed to be untested. 
“Sorry,” he said, “I don’t think I could go without my friends for that long.”
The doctor narrowed her eyes. Of course the dragon would refuse. They were all an inherently guarded species that would do anything to maintain their secrets. Her gaze rose to the princess as she tried to continue.
“Well, there you have it,” Twilight gestured to Spike, “his answer is mine.”
No. She had come too far, suffered too much for her journey to end here.
“Please,” she implored the princess, “if you allow me to study your dragon, it will benefit countless ponies.”
“And I’d love to help,” Spike answered trying to keep himself from getting irritated that the doctor didn’t seem to think he was worth consulting, “but not if it means I have to leave Twilight for decades.”
“And I don’t want Spike to leave,” Twilight quickly and gently spoke to keep the professor from ignoring Spike, “so my answer is no, you can’t take him.”
Dr. Saffron looked particularly unhappy. Not furious, exactly, more like upset. 
“Princess,” Dr. Saffron spoke, “may I please speak with you alone? So I can truly show you everything this would accomplish?”
Twilight narrowed her eyes, “Anything you have to say to me you can say in front of Spike.”
“It’s fine, Twilight.” Spike subtly winked one eye to Twilight to indicate he would eavesdrop, “you two go outside, I can wait.”
Not missing Spike’s cue, she nodded and proceeded with Dr. Saffron out the front doorway she entered minutes ago. When they were alone, the doctor removed her glasses and gave the princess an absolutely sincere expression of conviction.
“Yes, I will admit my methods are untested, but they are guaranteed to benefit ponies to extents you can barely fathom,” Twilight exhaled sharply but listened patiently to the doctor.
“For starters, sampling real dragon scales could provide actual flame resistant armor for the royal guard. Studying an actual dragon’s physical growth could provide the first accurate model comparing pony years to dragon years and gauche their life spans. Merely studying ‘Spike’,” Doctor Saffron was still uncomfortable with the notion of naming a dragon but hid this as best she could, “in general would advance studies on dragons immeasurably as all other dragons have been too difficult to study due to the risks and unlikelihood of finding one. Most importantly,” the doctor was about to reveal her true intentions, “Understanding how dragons behave and think could prevent any dragon and pony conflicts in the future brought about by misunderstandings and resulting in losses.”
She stared at Twilight intently, “Please, I’m not doing this to advance my career or achieve fame. I want to improve and save lives. Don’t you too?”
Twilight believed her. Doctor Saffron truly wanted to improve lives as she claimed; Twilight could sense her honesty and determination. The doctor believed everything she was saying and wanted to do good for every pony. But she still could not agree.
“I’m sorry,” the doctor’s face twisted into visible disappointment with a trace of despair, “but I can’t let you treat Spike like some lab rat. And I can’t approve of methods you haven’t even tested.”
“The methods are untested because we’ve never had a dragon before,” Dr. Saffron interjected, “I swear they will leave your dragon unharmed.”
“The fact remains he doesn’t want to be separated from his friends for any extended period of time, he clearly was uncomfortable with your goals and methods, and he directly told you no.” Twilight firmly responded, “If he doesn’t want to go, then he doesn’t have to.”
Dr. Saffron bowed her head in sadness, which soon gave way to bitterness. It just wasn’t fair. How could she withhold a dragon that could save lives? It was so selfish. Doctor Saffron would not lie down and accept it. She couldn’t. She raised her eyes to meet the princess’ gaze with firm resolution and put her glasses back on.
“Tell me, Miss Sparkle,” the doctor spoke coldly, “are you aware that your ‘Spike’ is, in fact, a dragon?”
Twilight blinked at the question, not understanding what the doctor was trying to say, and frowned at the doctor’s sudden harshness.
“Those creatures have never lived under Princess Celestia’s laws,” the doctor advanced towards her but Twilight gave no ground. “They live outside of any law, save for their own: survival of the fittest. Your dragon is not protected by any of Celestia’s laws. He does not have any right to refuse.”
Twilight met the mare’s piercing gaze, refusing to be intimidated, “Well, I’m refusing on his behalf. Now I do believe you’ve overstayed your welcome.” 
Twilight’s horn glowed with the first traces of a spell, and Doctor Saffron suddenly felt less confident. She was far out of her league. Slowly, she backed off. Then she trotted out of sight. When she was sure the doctor was gone, Twilight relaxed and walked back to the door. Suddenly, it was pushed open by a familiar little dragon. 
“You know,” Spike said as Twilight stepped back inside, “that wasn’t exactly the best way to tell her ‘no’.”
“I didn’t want to see where that conversation would go,” Twilight explained as they walked back to the foyer. 
Twilight’s parents seemed relieved that the doctor was finally gone, and welcomed the two home at last like any family would. Twilight Velvet explained the doctor had been there nearly an hour, trying to convince them to let her study Spike, but she refused to give such permission, saying Spike had the right to decide. Dr. Saffron tried to tell them all the good this research would do, but they kept insisting Spike should be the one to giver an answer. The doctor seemed unaware that Spike wasn’t some family pet, but a full-fledged being capable of thought, or that’s how they felt when she gave little regard to the little purple dragon.
“In any event,” Night Light finally spoke and beamed at his daughter, “we’re both glad you’re home.”
Night Light and Twilight Velvet embraced their daughter and her number one assistant. Twilight Velvet excused herself to make some dinner for all of them, saying Night Light and Twilight could catch up on everything, while they waited. Spike offered to help cook dinner, but Twilight Velvet shook her head.
“You're our guest, Spike,” she explained, “don’t you lift a finger.”
With that, she turned around and walked to the kitchen, smiling at what a truly wonderful friend Twilight found in Spike.

***

Dr. Saffron sat at her desk with her hooves on her aching head. Frustrated wouldn’t begin to describe how she was feeling right now. As the moon rose over Canterlot, she could only stare out her window and wonder what she would do now.
Then a motion in the corner of her eye made her turn. A gray unicorn filly with a white mane, cerulean blue eyes, levitated a dinner plate with five specially prepared daisy sandwiches onto the doctor’s table. Doctor Saffron smiled and affectionately rustled the filly’s head. After all this disappointment, it was nice to come home with her number one assistant waiting for her. 
“Thanks, Silver Stone,” she removed her hoof from the filly, who grinned all the while, “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Well, for starters, you’d probably forget to eat,” Silver Stone teased her mentor with a playful smirk. “And sleep, and groom yourself, and go to the bathroom.”
“Oh come on,” Dr. Saffron gave an exaggerated look of exasperation, “I’m not that useless. Without me, you’d forget to take a bath.”
“I don’t forget,” she retorted with her usual boundless energy, “I just choose not to.”
The doctor made another exaggerated look of disgust as she pinched her nose, “And it shows! Maybe I should start calling you Stinky Stone.”
“Hey!” the filly looked at her with mock indignity.
“I’m kidding,” Doctor Saffron quickly assured her, “I’d never do that to you.”
She stared at the filly a moment, feeling Silver Stone’s smile radiate her very heart. Doctor Saffron then looked at her assistant's cutie mark, a light brown infinity-like structure that turned into wings towards the ends of its curves, positioned both above and below the mark. She recalled the day Silver Stone achieved her cutie mark with fondness, feeling immense pride for her student. But then remembering her dilemma, she turned her gaze back to the window and sighed. Suddenly, a daisy sandwich appeared in front of her face levitated by magic. The doctor nearly fell out of her chair in surprise.
“You have to eat,” Silver Stone’s horn glowed as she placed the sandwich under the doctor’s nose trying to tantalize her with the scent, “Doesn’t the sandwich smell good? Remind you how hungry you are?”
She was right. Dr. Saffron was hungry, starving in fact. She took a bite out of the sandwich and relished the taste. Silver Stone always prepared excellent meals and knew exactly what Dr. Saffron wanted, and she was easily the one of best friends the doctor could ever ask for, loyal and supportive at all times. Her eyes moistened as she stared at the little unicorn. It just wasn’t fair. Silver Stone did so much for her without asking for anything and Dr. Saffron couldn’t even get that dragon for research. Without him, she would never prove to Silver Stone that no other pony would suffer like she had; like her parents had. Without that dragon, she couldn’t prevent another tragedy that would cost more friends.
The filly noticed her mentor’s sadness and her smile faded. Had she prepared the sandwiches incorrectly? Had she done something wrong? She was too nervous to ask, and was ready to do anything the doctor asked to make up for any mistake
The doctor swallowed her food and gave a wistful smile, trying to ease whatever plagued her ward’s mind. She placed the sandwich down on the plate and spoke, “It’s delicious, Silver Stone. You’ve really outdone yourself this time.”
Silver Stone sensed something was amiss and began to worry. She found herself unable to return the smile as she spoke, “Saffy? Is something wrong?”
The doctor’s smile faded and she blinked in surprise. The little filly was remarkably perceptive. She should expect no less from her surrogate daughter. She deserved to know the truth.
“Well, you know about that baby dragon I wanted to study?” Silver Stone nodded and the doctor continued with misty eyes, “It seems the princess is unwilling to part with him. So I’m afraid I won’t be able to find a way for ponies and dragons to understand each other.”
Silver Stone rested a hoof on the doctor’s shoulder and gave a weak smile, “You tried. That’s more than any other pony would do. Thanks.”
They shared a fairly unhappy embrace; neither felt joy at their usual contact, knowing the other was so upset. Dr. Saffron felt upset at the prospect of failing her assistant, but Silver Stone felt upset at merely seeing her mentor upset. When they broke from the hug, the doctor glanced at a clock hanging on the wall behind her assistant and realized it was 10:00 pm.
“Come on. It’s past your bedtime, young lady,” Dr. Saffron scooped up the filly, who tried to object but quickly stifled a yawn. Placing the weary unicorn on her back, Dr. Saffron trotted up the stairs into the filly’s disheveled room, carefully avoiding the toys, comic books, and various articles strewn about the floor. She didn’t mind the filly’s mess too much. It was her room, after all. Besides, it was organized chaos.
Tucking the unicorn under the bed covers, she gently kissed the gray unicorn’s forehead and whispered goodnight. As the filly drifted off into sleep, Dr. Saffron stared at her assistant and could not stop tears from rolling down her face, feeling she had failed her precious friend. She had to have that dragon. For the sake of the pony most important to her and her deceased parents.

> Part 2 The Challenge
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The next morning, Twilight sat on the couch in the foyer and told her parents for the fifth time how they banished Sombra and saved the Crystal Empire, with Spike chirping in to add relevant details, and then for the tenth time, how they defeated Tirek. 
“So let me get this straight,” Night Light asked disbelievingly, “after he betrayed you and helped Tirek, you forgave Discord?”
“Yes, dad,” Twilight exasperatedly responded. “I forgave Discord. Now can I continue the story?”
So she retold her visit to a strange town where she uncovered a unicorn named Starlight Glimmer stealing cutie marks, and how her friends dealt with said issue. All the while, her parents listened on, proud of their daughter’s impressive accomplishments.
Suddenly, Spike’s stomach felt queasy and he let out a belch of flames. A scroll dropped from his green flames onto the table. Only Celestia would communicate like this. Twilight was instantly concerned. Picking up the scroll, she examined the princess’ seal binding the scroll, and opened to read it. Spike did not like the frown he saw forming on her face, but patiently waited for her to finish.
“Mom, dad,” Twilight rose from the couch and beckoned Spike to follow, “Spike and I have been summoned to a council meeting.”
“What for?” Spike asked curiously as he walked to his mentor’s side. Twilight being summoned he could understand, but him? He was just a baby dragon. What could they possibly want him for?
“I’m not sure,” Twilight answered, “the letter just says Celestia’s royal council must speak with us about a certain issue. It doesn’t say what or why or how long.”
“Do you have to cut your visit short?” Twilight Velvet looked a bit sad.
Twilight gave a quick reassuring smile, “Don’t worry. I’m sure we can sort this out, and we’ll be back in no time.”
Together, Twilight and Spike walked out the door into the Canterlot streets. Making their way to the castle, the little drake looked up at his alicorn friend, wondering what was going through her mind. He quickly diverted his eyes back to the road as at long last the castle came into sight.
Two guards bowed at Twilight’s approach and feeling embarrassed, Twilight ducked her head and continued through the doors with Spike in tow. The little dragon noticed the guards slam the doors behind them and instinctively sensed something wrong. 
Two more guards approached and led the two to a windowless room, filled with older, more official ponies sitting at a large round table with Princess Celestia at the head. The princess nodded her greeting to Twilight and Spike, and motioned them to sit down before the ponies. Her actions seemed empty of her usual happiness at seeing her student, and Twilight was instantly worried she might be in trouble. At her left, Twilight noticed her sister in law Cadence sitting in a humble chair, appearing apprehensive. In any other circumstance, she would have jumped over and given Cadence their special greeting. 
As she moved to take a seat, she turned to the right and scowled to see Doctor Saffron staring impassively at her with her hooves pressed together in thought under her chin. When she noticed Spike sit beside Twilight, her eyes briefly glinted with emotion. What emotion, Spike could not tell. It looked like bitterness, sadness, satisfaction, and resolve all tied into one.
“Princess Celestia,” Twilight spoke at last to diffuse the tension, “why did you summon me?”
The princess regarded her with a wistful glance, and then sighed. “I had to summon you and Spike due to …” she bit her lip a moment, “certain concerns.”
Twilight frowned. Celestia looked very disappointed with herself, "I'm sorry. I tried to overrule them, but I was vetoed due to --."
A member of the council cleared his throat to grab her attention. Celestia lay back and motioned for the councilor to speak, taking no pleasure what so ever.
“Princess Twilight Sparkle,” the elderly stallion spoke with solemn authority, “Doctor Saffron informed us that you refused to let her to conduct research on your dragon.”
Twilight sighed. The doctor must have gone whining to the council when she couldn’t have her way. Well, she was still going to be disappointed.
“Yes, Spike said he didn’t want to go, and I am standing by his decision.”
The stallion frowned at Twilight’s response, but pressed on, “The doctor brought to our attention that no dragon has ever actually lived under Princess Celestia’s rule, and that Spike is not protected by her laws. I’m sorry to say this,” he really was somewhat sorry, “but she is correct. As a dragon, Spike is not technically protected by Equestrian law therefore he does not have the right to refuse Dr. Saffron’s request. He must submit to her will or leave to go be with other dragons.”
Spike’s heart filled with dread. He couldn’t be separated from Twilight, he couldn’t! Nothing scared him more. His eyes grew watery, until Twilight placed comforting hoof around his shoulder. He realized she was far from beaten, as she turned to face the council
“But Spike has lived with me for years,” Twilight protested, “Surely he’s entitled to some rights!”
An elderly mare on the council rose to speak, “The fact remains he is simply not a pony, donkey, griffon, or any such creature living under Equestrian law. Therefore, he does not have the same rights. And given the countless advantages we could gain by merely studying him, this is necessary.”
Twilight grew irritated but remained calm, realizing it would do her case no good if she became emotional. “He has friends and family who would miss him if he left,” Twilight explained, “and as a princess, I refuse to part with Spike, who Princess Celestia decreed I would keep when I hatched him as a filly.” She gave the council a defiant but restrained glare, “don’t tell me the council is going against Celestia’s laws?”
“Unfortunately,” Dr. Saffron spoke without moving from her place, “your dragon was never formally adopted as a family member, much less a pet. Princess Celestia never officially recognized ‘Spike’ as a member or property of your family in any sort of document or proclamation. So, you have no claim to him, princess or not. Don’t tell me you’re placing yourself above Celestia?”
Twilight gritted her teeth. This self-righteous unicorn was unbearably annoying as she was correct. Celestia had technically never released any sort of decree granting Spike protection under her laws; they had always just assumed Spike had such protection. Seeing her friend in distress, Cadence decided to interject.
“Excuse me,” she waved for the council’s attention, “isn’t there anyway we could prevent Dr. Saffron from taking Spike? There must be a reason you summoned me here too.”
The first speaker nodded at Cadence’s observation. “Initially, we were content to reside with Celestia's ruling, but another scientist brought forth evidence that compelled us to veto her actions. We are willing to hold a court trial tomorrow to determine how much the law applies to Spike and evaluate whether he indeed has the right to refuse.”
He turned to Twilight, “as his surrogate mother and the one who knows him best, we assumed you would take up responsibility of defense attorney.”
Twilight blinked in surprise. She had not expected they would offer an alicorn the chance to defend someone in court, much less appoint her of all ponies. Still, they were correct. Twilight knew Spike better than any other pony and was already familiar with pony court procedures, having studied nearly every field of academia. And honestly, no other lawyer, no matter how skilled, could represent Spike’s interests as she knew she could. She turned to Spike to ask his opinion but he instantly nodded with a beaming smile. He trusted her more than any other pony.
“Yes,” Twilight said, “I will accept this duty.”
The elder nodded and then turned to Cadence, “We must uphold equality in our justice system and prevent jury bias. If Princess Twilight will defend Spike, we must ensure that the jury will not merely rule in her favor due to her alicorn status. That’s where you come in, Princess Cadence.”
Cadence’s eyes widened as she realized what they were trying to tell her, “You want me to lead the prosecution.”
A hush fell over the room. Twilight and Spike looked at Cadence in shock, while Cadence stared into the eyes of each jury member. Finally, her gaze fell to Princess Celestia, who sadly met her incredulous gaze. They weren’t joking. They truly expected her to prosecute one of her friends, one of the most important friends in her life, to Twilight’s life. Angrily, Cadence scowled and placed both her hooves on the table. She stared at Dr. Saffron and the council intently.
“Forget it,” Cadence snarled, “I’d sooner die than prosecute my friend.”
The elderly stallion sighed and shook his head, marveling at the impulsiveness of youngsters. “If you refuse to testify against Spike, then we will simply not have a trial whatsoever and Dr. Saffron will take custody of Spike.”
Cadence fell back into her seat, shocked. She didn’t have a choice in the matter. If she said no, they would take Spike without a fight. If she said yes, she would be fighting for the side to take him away forever. She glanced at Twilight and Spike who stared at her with anticipation. She stared at the purple alicorn she used to play with, and the little dragon she knew Twilight adored. Twilight was the best possible pony to defend Spike, Cadence knew that. If Twilight’s role as the defense demanded Cadence to take the role of prosecution, she bitterly realized there was only one thing she could do.
“Fine,” she muttered at last, “I’ll do it.”
The elderly stallion once again addressed Cadence, “If we think for a second that you aren’t trying to win, we will have to suspend the trial then and there and transfer Spike to Dr. Saffron’s care. Do we make ourselves clear?”
Cadence nodded grimly. Twilight and Spike took a moment to admire their friend for taking on such an abominable task. Then the council called their attention once more.
“There are a few other conditions that we must enforce if Princess Twilight is adamant in playing the defense,” the elderly stallion’s voice made them nervous. “Firstly, Spike must be confined to house arrest within the castle until the trial commences.”
Twilight looked like she wanted to argue, but bit her tongue to listen. Being placed under house arrest was not a truly harmful action, so long as Dr. Saffron could not touch him.
“Secondly, Dr. Saffron’s assistant, Silver Stone, will be the only one allowed to check on Spike until the trial commences. This includes bringing him meals and ensuring he has not escaped at some point.”
Twilight rose to her hoofs, “May I have some written oath that this Silver Stone won’t attempt any experiments on Spike?”
“Silver Stone is a little filly,” Dr. Saffron interjected with a pointed stare at Twilight, “what experiment do you possibly think she could perform on your dragon?”
“Well, forgive me if I don’t trust you,” Twilight responded calmly, “but I would prefer to know you aren’t planning some pre-trial experiments that could alter Spike in some way that would benefit your case.”
“It will be done,” Princess Celestia rose at last to speak. “And I will ensure the guards watch over them to prevent either one from attempting to further their own trial case by interrogating the other.”
The council nodded, and dismissed every pony.
“Twilight,” Spike tried to get his mentor’s attention, “I do trust you. I know you can win this.”
Twilight smiled until Spike was led away by two of the royal guard. He turned to glance at his protector once more before she faded from sight.
Cadence walked over to Twilight’s side in complete sympathy. She felt unworthy to touch her friend, knowing what she would have to do. Dr. Saffron proceeded to exit the room until Twilight approached her. The doctor turned to glance at the alicorns, masking her emotions.
“I hope you’re happy,” Twilight spoke with barely suppressed rage, “trying to take my friend for your own research.”
The doctor adjusted her glasses coldly.
“I take no pleasure doing what I know is right,” the doctor responded, seriously tempting Twilight to throttle her, “and I’m not doing this for myself.”
She left the room, leaving the two alicorns to ponder her words.
“Cadence,” Twilight snapped Cadence out of her ponderings, “I need to contact my friends in Ponyville to tell them what’s happening, and I have to tell my parents about this whole mess.”
“You tell your friends,” Cadence offered, “I’ll tell your parents.”
The two realized they would soon be enemies in the courtroom. This could be the last time they would ever stand together in camaraderie. Eventually, Twilight nodded and both set about their tasks with bitter resolve.

> Part 3 Hidden Truths
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“You mean they’re trying to take Spike?” Rainbow Dash angrily bumped her hooves together, ready to pound something, “alright, when do we beat them up and how long before we stop?”
Twilight rolled her eyes in exasperation. She had teleported to Ponyville and gathered her six friends at Sugar Cube Corner to explain this whole situation to them, but they seemed too outraged to even listen to her. They had to go back to Canterlot now. Find out whatever they could about dragons and law to help Spike’s case. More than anything, they needed to find a way to prove Celestia had decreed Spike could stay with her and this decree took precedence over any other claim. Every second they wasted put Spike in greater risk. 
“For the last time,” Twilight suppressed her irritation and spoke, “we can’t go beating these ponies up. We have to present a case for Spike.”
Rarity stamped her hoof, causing every pony to jump in surprise, “I can’t believe you Twilight!” She stared at the alicorn through narrowed eyes, “How could you possibly be willing to throw Spike’s life away for this trial? You’re a princess! You or Celestia just have to say no they can’t take him, and our problems are solved!”
Twilight inhaled sharply through her nose, trying to keep calm. “Princess Celestia and I may be monarchs, but we are not dictators. What kind of message does it send to every pony if we rule in favor Spike because we don’t like the council?”
Rarity was still undeterred, “This is absolutely preposterous! Spike is our friend! Surely, you could make an exception for him.”
“And then what?” Twilight challenged her friend, “Even if I just said no today, that might not stop another scientist from experimenting on him when I’m gone!”
Her friends flinched when they realized what she meant. Twilight was not an immortal, naturally born alicorn like Princess Luna or Princess Celestia. Given time, she would pass on like any other pony, leaving Spike to potentially live on by himself as dragons could live far longer than a pony. They never really thought about it, but being a dragon meant Spike would likely outlive all of them.
“I have to take on this case now while I’m still here for Spike,” Twilight fought back her tears while trying to maintain her dignity, “so that he can live on a free dragon among ponies when we’re all gone. I have to bring this case down now, while I’m still alive to do so.”
Her friends stared at her, as Twilight inhaled sharply to steady her pulse. She was absolutely terrified of what could happen to Spike in the distant future when she would no longer stand beside her treasured friend, so she had to ensure him the best possible future. Every one of her friends wanted that for Spike, as well.
Applejack frowned, “But couldn’t Princess Celestia or Princess Luna keep on protecting Spike?”
Twilight smiled at her friend sadly, “I’m sure they want to. But the council members said certain evidence brought before them, forced them to veto her decision. The council never vetoes a royal decision unless they are absolutely convinced to give the matter consideration.”
“What evidence was that, pray tell?” Rarity’s brow furrowed, hardly masking her contempt.
“They wouldn’t say,” Twilight said, just as wary as her friends, “But if we want to stop those scientists from taking Spike tomorrow or any point in the future, we have to move now while we still can. ”
Her friends exchanged glances, and then turned back to Twilight. Each one of them voiced their support and agreement to help in whatever way they could. With that, Twilight teleported them all to the Canterlot Library, to dig up whatever information that they could.

***

Dr. Saffron walked side-by-side with her little assistant, led by the royal guard. After explaining their arrangement, Silver Stone accompanied the doctor to the dragon Spike’s room in the castle to meet him, though she would enter alone. Being the protective guardian she was, Dr. Saffron insisted on following her assistant to the door at least, before returning to business. The guard promised they would attend to Silver Stone’s needs as necessary, so the doctor need not worry. Not that she wouldn’t of course.
She meant what she said to Twilight. She wasn’t doing this for herself. Silver Stone needed closure. After all her nightmares waking with screams of guilt, she needed peace. Dr. Saffron’s heart broke every time the filly had to remember that horrible day in vivid dreams. She loved Silver Stone, more than her career, more than her kingdom, more than herself, and would do anything for her. The only way to prevent another one of those horrible days depended on furthering dragon research. If obtaining peace for Silver Stone meant researching on the princess’ dragon, then so be it. 
They came to the door and the doctor asked once more if Silver Stone was sure she could do this, to which Silver Stone annoyed, said yes. Sometimes this motherly affection could be smothering. Dr. Saffron said farewell to her cherished assistant.
“I’ll be back tonight,” Dr. Saffron wrapped a hoof around her assistant, “you stay safe, okay?”
“I’m sure I can handle a baby dragon,” Silver Stone responded with irritation, but also embraced her protector.
“Still, be careful,” the doctor responded as they parted. “Dragons are not creatures to be underestimated.”
Silver Stone nodded. Dr. Saffron had debriefed her on what little scientists knew about dragons in preparation for this encounter. She already knew what dragons were capable of firsthand, they both were. A guard led the doctor away, and she reluctantly left. The second guard motioned to the door before them, and stood with two other guards posted to keep watch. They would monitor the room through their secretive means, but arrive seconds before any sort of incident could take place. At least, that’s what they said. Taking a deep breath, Silver Stone gritted her teeth preparing herself for whatever creature she might find. With gritted teeth, she opened the door and entered the room.
There was no way she could have anticipated … this. Instead of some ferocious dragon that grunted and groaned to communicate, shifted its reptilian eyes as it hoarded treasures, and bellowed waves of fire at anything it wanted to, she saw a purple and green dragon no bigger than her, sitting at a table reading what looked like a comic book. Upon hearing her enter, the dragon put down his book and turned to see who had come in. 
“Hi there,” Spike tried to be polite considering this would be his only company for the entire day with Twilight busy on the case. “My name’s Spike. You must be that Silver Stone the council mentioned, right?”
Silver Stone blinked and felt her mouth open slightly in complete bafflement. Every story tale she ever heard painted dragons as vicious beasts capable of leveling entire forests. From her firsthand experience, she recalled dragons as unfeeling creatures, who cared for nothing but their hoards. This little dragon was anything but that. He had greeted her like any pony would greet another, discerned who she was quickly, and identified himself with a name.
Noticing the filly’s hesitation, Spike scratched his chin in confusion. Realizing this might be a different filly, Spike put his hands behind his head in a sort of apologetic gesture.
“Sorry,” Spike quickly stuttered, “I just assumed you were Silver Stone because you’re all silver and you’re the first filly I’ve seen walk in here—”
“No that’s me,” Silver Stone quickly cut him off, “I’m Silver Stone.”
Spike gestured to a chair on the other side of his table, “Well, make yourself comfortable. We’re going to be here a while after all.”
Suspiciously, she walked over to the seat and inspected it for any hidden trap. She knew there probably wasn’t anything but she still didn’t want to take any chances. Dr. Saffron had taught her to be meticulous and observant, like any good scientist. Spike looked at her curiously, wondering if she had something against chairs.
“You know,” Spike’s voice stopped the filly’s inspection, “I doubt the chair is gonna bite you.”
She grew a bit flustered, feeling this dragon might be teasing her. She quickly sat down in the chair, and stared at the dragon perplexed. He was oddly docile.
After that uncomfortable silence, Spike nervously returned to his comic book. This was quite possibly one of the most awkward meetings he ever had, and he lived with Twilight so that was saying something. What was he even supposed to say? Hi, there. I know your mother/sister/employer is trying to take me for her personal lab rat, but we should still make some small talk or something considering we’re stuck with each other all day and I’ve already read this comic three times. Even in his head that sounded thorny and uncomfortable. He found himself immensely grateful that Cadence had managed to sneak him one of his comics back at Twilight’s house (after the guards thoroughly examined it of course) so he could pass the time, but the same comic, no matter how amazing, became less enjoyable to read when it was the only thing he had for the whole day. He wasn’t sure he could ask the guards if he could have another comic book; they were reluctant to even let him have this one. If this filly was going to sit there in silence the entire day, he could only imagine he would read this book hundreds of times before the day was up. What else could he do?
Silver Stone felt equally uncomfortable, unsure what she should say or do. Sitting before the baby of a creature that took her parents, she expected to feel anger, spite, but instead she felt pleasantly surprised. This little dragon, Spike, was actually kind of cute in some ways, and she could not possibly associate him with the great winged tyrants she had seen in the sky and her dreams. He seemed completely domesticated and fairly intelligent, and she found herself wondering if this was a case of nurture versus nature. Maybe, she had come here with incredibly misled preconceived notions. No, she definitely came here with incorrect preconceived notions. In any case, now she was stuck here for the rest of the day. She really wished she brought something to read because making small talk would be undeniably awkward, given the bitterness between both of their mentors. Yet, there was nothing else she could really do. Why hadn’t she brought a comic book of her own?
Then she looked at the comic book in Spike’s hands, and realized what he was reading. Her eyes grew large in shock. Spike looked up when he heard a sharp gasp, wondering what was happening now.
“Is that the collectible Power Ponies: Eclipse issue thirteen, where the Power Ponies finally discover the true mastermind behind the Shadow League?” she wasn’t even sure she was seeing this, “where did you get that?”
“I traded it for a Power Ponies/Beast Brigade cross over comic at an exchange,” Spike explained, but he added with a sly smile, “though to be fair, I got the better deal here.”
“I’ll trade you for that comic,” Silver Stone offered excitedly, “I’ve been searching for it forever, but none of the stores keep it in stock.”
When she realized she didn’t have her own comic collection with her, she almost panicked. “I don’t have my collection with me now, but I promise I can get you something amazing!”
Spike chuckled, “Sorry, but what could you possibly have that I want?”
Silver Stone’s head swiveled side to side, making sure absolutely no pony could hear her. She leaned in close to Spike and whispered, “What about the comic that all Power Pony fans have demanded since the series' inception?”
Spike’s eyes narrowed with intrigue. She couldn’t possibly mean – no, he was certain that comic was a myth, an April Fool’s joke. Or the writers never finished it. So much mystery and myth surrounded that book that supposedly no pony had ever laid eyes on it and lived to tell the tale. That is supposing it even existed.
Silver Stone grinned, “The book that the creators toiled endlessly to create, but did not publish due to copyright claims, causing its publication to be delayed for a decade, by which time the public had given up hope.”
Spike’s eyes widened incredulously. This sounded exactly like the comic book that he spent years searching for, but could never find. He had all but given up hope of finding it. Was she saying it truly existed? That his long searches might finally be at an end? He held his breath, feeling tension and excitement flood his body.
She had him now. “You know what book I’m talking about?”
“The –,” Spike couldn’t even finish his sentence, “you mean it’s real?”
“Oh, it’s real,” she smirked, “and I’ve seen it.”
“How?” Spike asked, “I searched everywhere but I never found it.”
“You weren’t looking in the right place,” she explained. “But I found it.”
Spike stared at her, trying to see if she was just toying with him. She seemed completely earnest.
“So what do you say?” She smiled nonchalantly, “Your Power Ponies: Eclipse for my Power Ponies Hearth’s Warming Eve with the Teenage Samurai Griffons?”
Spike’s head swiveled right and left, to be sure no pony was listening to them. If she was telling the truth, no way could he pass up this offer. He leaned in close and whispered, “if you can deliver, you’ve got a deal.”

***

“Hello, Princess Cadence,” the librarian politely greeted the alicorn. “Is there something I can help you with?”
“Yes, I need history books from the royal archives, detailing dragon and pony interactions since the reign of Princess Celestia,” Cadence was not particularly excited to do any of this.
The librarian frowned, “I’m not sure we have such records.”
Cadence hoped that meant there was no information whatsoever for her to use against Spike. The less she found the better.
“Well, there are mentions of such interactions in this one book,” the librarian motioned Cadence to follow her to a back room with several texts transcribed from ages long past, “but they’re honestly more of footnotes.”
“That’s fine,” Cadence replied as the librarian took a book from the shelf and laid it on a nearby table for her. The librarian told Cadence to make herself comfortable, and left to tend to others. 
Cadence skimmed through the book. Indeed, dragons were largely a footnote; there were mentions of pony and dragon interactions but they were few and interspersed with various other accounts. There were essentially no recordings of events where dragons actually attacked ponies; in fact, such attacks appeared to be scarce, largely exaggerated, and typically resulting from dragons being provoked. For the first time since the trial was issued, Cadence began to feel relief. She wouldn’t be able to portray dragons as monsters that needed to be understood to prevent conflicts in the future. Maybe, Twilight could win this after all.
“Excuse me, milady,” Cadence turned to see the librarian approaching with a book and several scrolls levitated by magic, “a stallion from the science department, Dr. Facts I believe it was, just came by with these and said these would help with your case. Is he a friend of yours?”
Cadence’s eyes narrowed as she slowly took the materials, noticing a royal seal of authenticity on each document, “I’ve never heard of him. Did he say a pony named ‘Dr. Saffron’ sent him?”
“No,” the librarian responded, “he said that these were from the council’s personal collections to ensure ‘the advancement of science’ or some nonsense. Sounds rather pretentious if you ask me, but the seal isn’t a counterfeit, and I seem to recall Dr. Facts has contributed a number of books on various fields.”
As the librarian left once again, Cadence placed the heavy book and scrolls on the table, unsure what to make of them. Slowly, she opened a nearby scroll and read its contents. It detailed the various creatures officially recognized as Equestrian citizens, noticeably leaving out dragons. Cadence would have loved to crumble this up and burn it, but if a member of the science department gave these to her and she pretended not to know, she worried the council might believe she was not trying to win and rule in favor of Dr. Saffron. 
Her eyes turned to another scroll, which detailed cultural barriers between dragons and practically every other creature officially recognized as Equestrian citizens. It also detailed how these barriers had lead to multiple confrontations. Few of them were violent, or even intentionally malicious on either’s side part, but they still resulted in setbacks from complete tranquility and in an extreme case, the destruction of entire forests and near extinction of certain animals. Cadence soon found all of the documents containing similar information that would prove her case, but nothing necessarily incriminating. 
Then she noticed a scroll she had unintentionally shoved to the side. Picking it up, she opened it to find a detailed account concerning the science department. Legally speaking, it had existed long before Princess Celestia under ponies such as Clover the Clever and Starswirl the Bearded, but was reorganized by name under the Princess and relegated to minor roles of government. So the department was older than Celestia, how did that pertain to anything? Then she noticed that the department had established certain practices that Celestia had never officially altered. Many in fact were still in effect, as they had been since the time before the princess. Although it had ceded many of its powers under Celestia, there were a certain well-established laws that could not be altered and were installed to keep a check on the Princess’ powers to prevent a tyranny. One of the most noticeable of them was a rule stating that all objects, relics, and animals discovered by the science department were property of the science department. 
She then opened the book, which she realized contained a list of every such thing the department had ever found, that legally belonged to them. She came to a page that was bookmarked and scrolled through the contents. What she read made her heart sink.

> Part 4 Discoveries
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Dr. Saffron scowled as she read another proposed experimental procedure from the science department to try on the dragon should she win the case. She crumpled it up and threw it into a trash bin already overflowing with similar proposals. Maybe she was a scientist seeking to understand dragons, but she put her morality first. 
Once again her eyes turned to the clock. She had been going through proposals like these for well over two hours. Plenty were insightful and reasonable procedures, such as creating a scratch test with the dragon’s crystal breaking fangs and comparing them to the hardest known stones to determine just what they were capable of crushing, and testing the bite force behind a dragon’s jaws. These experiments would not hurt the dragon in any way, shape, or form and would provide valuable biological findings on these species. 
However, there were many unorthodox experiments proposed, that quite frankly, she wouldn’t perform on a lab rat. One of these experiments involved a dissection. Dr. Saffron found this absolutely brutal, inhumane, and seriously considered moving for the scientist who proposed the experiment to be permanently suspended. It wouldn’t do any good if they mutilated the only dragon they might find. If the department tried to push for something so terrible, Dr. Saffron had no doubt she would leave the department for good or drop the case altogether. No dragon deserved that sort of treatment, even if it could be done safely. 
But these letters told her a sadly unfortunate truth. Few other scientists could appreciate what a valuable asset this dragon was, and how many of their methods could hurt it before they made any true discoveries. She was grateful she brought the case to the council before Dr. Facts and became its head. A scientist like him would squander the dragon in his attempts to achieve fame. If she won the case, she would ensure that dragon did not go to waste. Yes, her methods were fairly untested and could cause the dragon discomfort, but she had no intention to dismember the dragon or change him. She realized that if she dropped the case, some other scientist with no such reservations would take control and ruin any chance they had to learn about these creatures.
Using her magic, she grabbed a book, full of her research notes and proposed experiments. She added some notes regarding the reasonable propositions, before closing the book and placing it aside on the left side of her desk. She plowed through similar letters, made notes in her book, and crumpled up others. As she neared the final proposals, she noticed a package beneath the mail. She levitated the yellow package, no bigger than a letter, and inspected the address, which listed Dr. Facts’ name. She sighed, not wanting to deal with that doctor right now, until she turned the package over and noticed a message scribbled on its back.
You once asked us how we confirmed Dr. Ruby and Dr. Sapphire’s demise despite never locating their bodies. I’d say the ends justify the means. And I’m not the only one who thinks so.
The unicorn’s eyes widened and she gasped. Dr. Ruby and Dr. Sapphire were Silver Stone’s parents. After the fire, every pony assumed they had perished amidst the flames, but no pony ever found their remains. They had to bury empty coffins. Her whole body trembling, Dr. Saffron opened the package and out slid a journal, bound with some sort of scales. She immediately recognized them as flameproof dragon scales and recoiled. What kind of monster would do this to a dragon? One or two scales, she could understand, but to acquire this much, one would have to … She didn’t want to finish the thought. 
Tentatively, she opened the journal. On the first page, she had to catch her breath. There was a picture of a red male unicorn and blue female unicorn, cradling a silver coated little filly between them. Beneath she read:
Ruby & Sapphire with Silver Stone Day 1
Recognizing the handwriting, she scrolled through the pages, and realized the nature of this journal. It was her dear friend Sapphire and her husband Ruby’s research journal and diary from their days studying dragons, leading up to the day when something provoked the dragons into burning down an entire forest. Every pony knew that their field research had provided valuable knowledge of dragon migration patterns, but never had these documents been salvaged to reveal the exact migration routes. Had the science department, or some other pony, found this and withheld it from her all these years? Why? The public had a right to know this.
Then she read more closely. And for the first time in her life, Dr. Saffron wondered if she ever truly knew her friend.

***

Silver Stone raced back to the room with Spike’s meal as well as hers. She was anxious to resume their debate of which of the Power Ponies would win an all out battle royal. Every time they came close to the answer, one of them recalled a nugget of information that prolonged the debate. So far, the fight was ending up in a stalemate, as the ponies seemed far too evenly matched to truly claim victory over the other. With the guards’ permission, they retrieved loads of paper to chart out how any fight between the six could play out and so far they had tracked over 300 possible outcomes, though no common trends in the victors and many fights ending in complete wipe outs. This whole day was just pure geek fantasy.
Being home schooled, Silver Stone never really had the chance to interact with other ponies her age and now she was spending the entire day with a fellow Power Pony fan, just enjoying their time together as friends. The thought almost made her stop in her tracks when she realized she regarded of the purple dragon as her friend. She hadn’t realized it, but in the little time that they already had together, she and Spike had undeniably become friends, bonded by a shared love of Power Ponies and an appreciation for the other’s company. She didn’t just appreciate his company because he was the only one she could really talk to for the rest of the day, but because he seemed to appreciate her company equally. And they didn’t just appreciate each other’s company; they enjoyed every second of it.
She honestly rather liked him. He was polite, had a surprisingly sharp wit, and was a good listener. Even though her surrogate mother and his protector were enemies, they could both find common ground and camaraderie. It was the last thing she expected of any pony, much less a dragon. Everything Dr. Saffron taught her about dragons, it was all so wrong. Spike wasn’t some animal that kept to itself, he was a friendly individual, no different than her on the inside. Honestly, the biggest difference between them she could see was his physical exterior, but when she looked closer, they were so much alike. They both never really got to know their parents; she had very faint memories and he had none what so ever. They both loved the Power Ponies, and they both lived with a pony they admired above all else. 
With this in mind, she began to seriously question Dr. Saffron’s goals as she reentered the room. Separating Spike from Twilight would be the equivalent of separating her from the doctor. Being forced apart from the pony they loved most would break either of them and destroy their protectors. At least, Silver Stone was fairly confident Spike loved Twilight. He certainly seemed fond of her and endlessly loyal. Yet, this loyalty was not merely an animal staying with a master to be fed and sheltered; it was a loyalty defined by … love. She no longer doubted. This wasn’t right. She had to talk to the doctor
“Silver Stone?” Spike motioned for her attention, and she remembered where she was, “Did you hear me?”
“Um, sorry no,” Silver Stone sheepishly responded as she placed their meals on the table.
Spike smiled at the filly’s scatterbrained nature. It honestly reminded him a bit of Twilight. Then he remembered that tomorrow, he might never see her again and his smile faded. He quickly drove those thoughts away. He believed in Twilight. She could win this. She had to. 
Noticing his sudden frown, Silver Stone wondered if once again if she had done something wrong. Before she could ask, Spike put on another quick smile and walked to the table, pulling up a chair.
“I said that we could take a quick lunch break and get right back on it,” he said as the unicorn walked to an adjacent chair. “This would be like, what? Match number 324?”
“326,” Silver Stone corrected the dragon, “and we estimated there are over 3000 ways this battle could play out. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”
“Well, it’s not work if you’re having fun,” Spike grinned as he dug into his meal. Silver Stone completely agreed, and this was the most fun she had in a long time.

***

Twilight nodded to herself as she read another helpful bit of information. So far, this venture had revealed immeasurably beneficial findings. Dragons seldom attacked ponies. Indeed, there were incidents and conflicts between the two, but these attacks seemed largely the result of misunderstanding or provocation. It made sense and seemed consistent with their experiences. During the dragon migration, none of the thousands of dragons they saw fly over Ponyville demonstrated any aggressive tendencies towards the ponies. When they had to stop a dragon from filling the sky with smoke, it only attacked them after Rarity tried to nab some of its treasure and Rainbow Dash bucked its face. And even then, Fluttershy was more than capable of talking it down. With this, Twilight could prove dragon and pony interactions were not so strained as the doctor had said.
In the end, her case resided on one of Celestia’s laws. This law essentially stated any being who lived with another for a period of over eight years, would be recognized (if the being so wished) as the other’s family. Spike had been with her for longer than that. If she could get this point out quickly, perhaps she could turn this whole trial in her favor.
“Twilight,” the alicorn turned from the table to see Rarity approach with a grim expression, “we might have a problem.”
Twilight frowned, feeling a headache at the mere anticipation of whatever might be said. 
“The librarian told me she was here with Cadence a little while ago,” Rarity explained, “and in the middle of her research, some pony named Dr. Facts came with documents from the council for ‘the advancement of science’.”
Twilight knew that name. Dr. Facts had written often on biology and physics, and she had used his textbooks in magic school. He was a very curious albeit risk-taking scientist, who often posed that the ends justify the means. If he too was interested in experimenting on Spike for the sake of science, Dr. Saffron would be the least of their worries. Twilight turned back to the book with new vigor.
“We’ve been researching what we can,” Rarity continued. “We’ll tell you everything we’ve found for the case when you’re done with that book.”
Twilight nodded without looking back. The words before her became blurry, as her eyes grew moist with worry.
“Don’t fret, darling,” Rarity laid a hoof on the alicorn’s shoulder in an effort to comfort her, “I know you’re frightened, but I promise you, we will get him back.”
Twilight’s lips curled slowly into a smile. She was truly grateful to have such wonderful friends. No, that she and Spike had such wonderful friends.

***

“So how did you get into the Power Ponies?” Spike asked as they finished charting out the one-thousandth possible outcome of a battle royal, which once again revealed a stalemate.
“Dr. Saffron gave me one of their comics when I was six years old.” Silver Stone fondly recalled the event, “She said it was one of hers when she was my age, and she thought I might like it. Which I totally did.”
Spike noticed how she referred to the doctor as Doctor Saffron, and was intrigued to know what exactly was her relationship to Silver Stone. They didn’t look physically similar so Spike had doubts they were mother and daughter, sisters, or directly related. But he dare not ask as he realized they were actually enjoying their time together despite their protectors’ rivalry. He did not want to spoil it by overstepping his boundaries.
After seeing his curious expression, Silver Stone recognized that Spike wanted to ask her something. Given how far they had come, she felt obliged to answer any question.
“Is there something you wanted to ask me?” Silver Stone smiled innocently.
Spike blinked in surprise. The filly was remarkably perceptive. Well, she was a scientist in training.
“Yeah,” Spike admitted, “ about Dr. Saffron. Is she like your mother, sister, or – what?”
“No,” the silver unicorn answered, though she quickly reconsidered, “well, I suppose in some ways she is, but no, we aren’t related.”
Spike’s suspicions were confirmed, “So she adopted you?” 
As he asked, he noticed her smile fade, replaced by a melancholy expression. He was suddenly worried that he had ruined their friendship and was about to stammer out an apology before the filly nodded.
“Saffron was a friend of my mom and dad,” Silver Stone’s head drooped a bit but she remained strong. “She took me in after they…”
Before she could even shed a tear, Spike was by her side with a tissue and a comforting expression. She smiled, truly grateful to have found such a wonderful friend.
“I’m sorry,” Spike said, ears drooping.
“It’s fine,” Silver Stone assured him, though she had doubts, “I’ve had time to move on, and I really don’t remember them that well. I lost them when I was five.”
“What happened?” Spike blurted out, and instantly tried to backtrack, “I’m sorry, it’s none of my business.”
“No, it’s alright,” the filly’s gaze moved away from Spike to stare pensively at a wall, as the ghosts returned. “They were scientists studying dragons and their migration patterns in the field. They had been studying them for three years when something happened. No pony knows for sure what happened, but one of the dragons they were observing went berserk. It burnt down a forest with them inside.”
Spike’s eyes gaped at the unicorn. Once again, he felt disappointment with his dragon kind. How could they be so cruel and thoughtless? How could they orphan this sweet little unicorn? He longed to comfort her, offer some words to ease her mind. But he had never lived through such a traumatic experience.
“I wasn’t there when it happened,” she continued, “but I saw the fire and smoke rising from our campsite. After that, some ponies brought me back to Canterlot and Saffron found me and took me in.”
Silver Stone grinned wistfully, “You know, despite everything I’ve been through, she makes me feel so loved that it doesn’t feel so bad. She gave me family, home, and has always gone out of her way to care for me. To me, she is my mom and my sister. I know that doesn’t make any sense, but it’s just the way I feel.”
Spike’s gaze softened as he felt new kinship with this pony. Now, he recognized an undeniable truth. Silver Stone was exactly like him; orphaned and adopted by a pony, who treated them like family. They both saw their guardians as parental figures and siblings, and dedicated their lives to them. The purple dragon turned his gaze to the wall to confront his own ghosts.
“It makes perfect sense,” Spike’s heavy voice made the unicorn turn and see his pensive stare. “I never knew my parents, but Twilight has always acted like my mom and sister, so I never felt unloved. She adopted me, even though no pony told her to, and the only way I’ve been able to repay her is by helping her in any way I can, but even that could never show how much she means to me.”
Spike’s green eyes met the unicorn’s cerulean blue eyes, and she recognized tears of bittersweet joy trailing down his face. “She’s the most important pony in the world to me. I love her.”
She now recognized the kinship Spike had seen moments ago. Wordlessly, the two embraced in movements to comfort each other, as they both recognized how they needed their protectors. If Spike truly meant this about Twilight, Silver Stone would beg Saffron to drop the case immediately. No science was worth separating a family for.
“I’m sorry, Spike,” Silver Stone broke from the hug to look at Spike in the eyes. “Saffron’s probably doing all of this for me. She thinks I’m still suffering over my parents and wants to prevent another incident like this. I don’t think she realizes I’ve been able to move on because I had her.”
She stared at the dragon with new resolve, “I’ll tell her to drop the case. You shouldn’t have to help her if you don’t want to.”
Spike smiled appreciatively, “Thanks, but I really don’t mind helping her if it can prevent another incident. I just don’t want to leave Twilight. If you have to convince her of anything, please just show her how much Twilight means to me, okay?”
The unicorn could only look at the dragon in complete disbelief. He was willing to subject himself to any experiment for her, a pony he had just met. In return, all he asked was to keep Twilight by his side. Silver Stone no longer had any doubts. She had to confront her mentor.
“Silver Stone,” a guard peaked through the door, shifting their attention away from each other, “Dr. Saffron has returned.”
She gritted her teeth, ready to chew out her mentor until she felt Spike lay a clawed hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t be mad at her,” he said calmly, “her intentions are good. She’s just been looking out for you.”
Once again, she gazed at the dragon in disbelief. Then, she nodded, said her goodbye, and walked out the door to find Dr. Saffron, looking absent-mindedly into thin air. Normally, the doctor would greet her with a smile and warm embrace. Something was wrong. Silver Stone shook her head, dismissing the thought for later, and walked up to her guardian, shocking her from her ponderings.
“We need to talk,” she mustered the courage to reprimand the doctor and would not back down.
Dr. Saffron was slightly taken aback when her surrogate daughter did not give her usual joyful greeting. But the filly was right. Dr. Saffron had something to tell her. The guards led them out of the castle to the doors they entered from this morning. They departed through the night sky back to their little house, not speaking a word. They reached the door and Dr. Saffron used her magic to open it. Her ward walked in with her head turned down.
The second the doctor closed the door behind her and turned to the filly, she braced herself to tell Silver Stone the truth about her parents. Before she could, her assistant gave a very harsh stare.
“How could you –?” Silver Stone choked, disliking what she had to do.
Dr. Saffron blinked uncertainly, as she noticed the filly trembling. She motioned for Silver Stone to continue with a gentle motherly expression.
“How could you take Spike from Twilight like this?”
The doctor winced in surprise. This was not what she was expecting. What had the dragon done to her in their time together? No doubt he wanted to avoid revealing the secrets of his kind and was using Silver Stone to get her to drop the case. She was ready to dismiss anything the dragon told her assistant, but then Silver Stone continued.
“He thinks of her as family. Even though he never knew his parents, he hasn’t felt lonely because he had her. He needs her like I need you. If you take him away from her, he’ll die.”
Doctor Saffron shut her mouth. She always had a soft spot for her surrogate daughter, and valued her insights. Silver Stone believed what she was saying, so much that she compared their relationship to that of the dragon’s and Twilight’s. She was willing to listen and hear her assistant.
“I told him about my parents, and you know what he said?” Silver Stone’s eyes watered but she kept on, “He’s willing to help you understand dragons to prevent another incident. And all he asks is to keep Twilight by his side. You know why? Because she gave to him what you gave to me: a home!”
Silver Stone stamped towards her mentor defiantly, but with love.
“You wouldn’t keep someone from their family, would you?”
Dr. Saffron stuttered, “I…”
Silver Stone’s eyes gaped at Dr. Saffron in horror, “Would you?”
“No, I guess I wouldn’t.” she finally said, “but I can’t drop the case.”
For the first time in a long time, Silver Stone grew angry with the pony she had called her family. Was she really so wrapped up in her own grief not to realize how wrong she was? 
“Let me explain,” Dr. Saffron quickly tried to defend herself.
“No, let me explain,” Silver Stone grimaced, “what you’re doing is wrong. Spike belongs with Twilight like I belong with you. You have to drop this case now.”
“And then what?” Dr. Saffron became irritated with her student’s naiveté, “Another scientist would just come along and take up the case! And they won’t have any reservations about tearing him limb from limb if they think it could advance science!”
Silver Stone winced at those brutal words. She had never considered another scientist trying to take up Dr. Saffron’s case, and potentially destroying Spike.
“There are hundreds of other scientists who believe the ends justify the means,” the doctor brought her emotions under control, “and they would love to treat him worse than a lab rat. I’ve already had dozens of proposals for experiments that I wouldn’t try on any other being. If I don’t take the lead on this case, then there’s no guarantee that dragon will even be alive after one year.”
Silver Stone became irate and began pacing, furiously stamping her hooves. It wasn’t fair. Spike only wanted to keep Twilight nearby. Why couldn’t scientists see that he loved her? Did they think he was incapable of love?
Dr. Saffron noticed her student’s displeasure, and softened her gaze.
“If I win custody of Spike,” she said his name without any hint of sarcasm or mock, truly being sincere, “I promise not to separate him from Twilight or do anything that could physically hurt him.”
Silver Stone stopped mid-pace to look at her mentor. She meant it, every word. Spike wouldn’t have to leave Twilight after all. She no longer held back her tears, now fueled with joy. Suddenly, her teary assistant tackled Dr. Saffron in a bear hug, nearly toppling her over. Dr. Saffron wrapped a hoof around the filly unsure what to make of this outburst.
“Silver Stone?” her eyes gazed down at the little unicorn, “what’s wrong?”
Through sobs, the unicorn spoke, “Thank you. That’s all he wanted. Thank you.”
They sat on the floor, wrapped in an embrace for what seemed like hours. Finally, the doctor broke the hug. Silver Stone was confused when she noticed the doctor’s grim expression. Slowly, the doctor spoke, wondering how to explain what she learned.
“Silver Stone,” she began nervously, “I have something to tell you. Something I learned recently … about your parents. And what triggered that dragon to go berserk all those years ago.”
Silver Stone’s eyebrows rose with curiosity and surprise. Dr. Saffron trotted over to her desk and levitated a book, bound with some reptilian scales that Silver Stone could not identify. The doctor handed the book to the unicorn, who gazed uncertainly from the book, to her mentor, and back to the book.
“You know how I said some scientists believed the ends justified the means?” Dr. Saffron pursed her lips uncomfortably. Silver Stone nodded as she opened the book. “Your parents believed that, and it cost them their lives.”

> Part 5 The Prosecution
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight woke from a sleepless night. If she could have her way, she would have stayed up all night preparing the case, but her friends insisted she needed her rest. Her parents accommodated all of them and helped out with the case as best they could, agreeing to serve as Twilight’s witnesses if necessary, and promising to be present for Spike. Twilight Velvet offered them breakfast, but none of them had a true appetite.
Twilight and her friends thanked them and proceeded out the door towards the Ponyville Courthouse, near the castle. She had rehearsed her argument a dozen times, trying to anticipate the prosecution’s most possible argument, so she could respond appropriately. Rarity had offered to testify on Spike’s behalf if they needed to demonstrate his truly selfless nature. If the circumstances called for it, Twilight would certainly take up her offer as well as similar offers from her friends.
As they approached the courthouse, Twilight turned to address her friends.
“Thank you for being here for Spike,” she began.
“Why wouldn’t we be?” Rainbow Dash interjected, “He’s our friend too. We’ll do whatever it takes to get him back.”
“Actually, that’s what I had to talk to you about.” Rainbow Dash confusedly looked at Twilight. “I need all of you to promise me you’ll be on your best behavior. No matter what happens, don’t be disruptive or hinder the prosecution. It won’t look good for our case if any of you are rambunctious.”
They all promised to be on their best behaviors, in their own ways. To be honest, Twilight was most worried about Rainbow Dash being recklessly boisterous or Pinkie Pie unintentionally blurting out something in the middle of the case. They both begrudgingly promised to keep quiet no matter what happened. With their promise, Twilight entered the courtroom and took her place at the defense stand.
Twilight gazed around the room. In the stands, she saw hundreds of ponies from Canterlot, Ponyville, and even the Crystal Empire. Among them were her friends, her parents, Mayor Mare, Cheerilee, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Big Macintosh, Moondancer, and countless other ponies they had befriended. All of them were here to support Spike, and serve as her witnesses if need be to testify Spike’s selflessness and heroism. She knew that Spike had many friends and admirers, but she never anticipated such a large turnout. She was grateful to know none of them had forgotten what Spike meant to them. Of course, some of them would also likely serve as Cadence’s witnesses.
The purple alicorn gazed to her right to see Cadence sitting pensively at her stand with Dr. Saffron beside her. Once again, Twilight pitied her mentor for having to take up this unbearable duty but admired the pink alicorn for doing it to give her the chance to defend Spike. This wasn’t going to be easy for either of them. Then, Twilight noticed several documents and books on her desk and became nervous, wondering what Cadence might reveal in this case.
The jury filed into their place and the judge rose to his seat. Thankfully, no pony on the jury was associated with the science department or even the council. Unfortunately, none of them knew personally what a wonderful dragon Spike was, and none of them would be persuaded without reason. Even more unfortunately, pony court was structured so the prosecution would present their evidence first, and give the jury a few hours to consider what they heard, before the defense presented and the jury took a few more hours to consider that evidence and deliberate. Twilight would have to make an impression on the jury after Cadence had the first chance to impress her evidence on the jury.
Spike was escorted to Twilight’s desk by two guards. After sitting down beside her, she inspected him like a nervous mother. Her inspection was cut short when the judge cleared his throat.
“Is the prosecution ready to make their opening statement?” the judge asked in an elderly voice that had seen many trials.
Cadence closed her eyes and inhaled sharply. This was going to be torture, but she knew she could not hold back. All she could hope was Twilight had a plan to outdo her. The pink alicorn nodded and rose to face the judge.
“Yes, your honor,” she spoke with noticeable pain. “Today, the prosecution intends to prove studying Spike is absolutely necessary, that dragons never had a place in our society, and ancient law confirms,” she almost choked on the words, “that Spike is undeniably property of the science department.”
Twilight and Spike stared at the trembling alicorn. Her statement hurt them as much as it hurt her. Dr. Saffron tried to look on impassively, but felt slightly unnerved at the many ponies glaring at her and how Cadence stated Spike belonged to the science department, rather than simply her. The last thing the department needed to believe was they had complete control over Spike. Cadence gritted her teeth and walked to the witness stand.
Her voice projected to every corner of the court, “The prosecution calls Mayor Mare to the stand.”
The mayor knew this was coming. She had been notified to report as a witness, and sadly, had no way to refuse. She only hoped Spike could forgive her for whatever she was forced to say. The mare rose from her seat and made her way past the seated observers to the witness stand and took her seat.
She raised her hoof to recite the oath, “On the elements of harmony, I swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth.”
“Please state your name and occupation,” Cadence instructed the mare.
“My name is Mayor Mare,” the pony responded, “I serve as the mayor of Ponyville.”
“Tell me Mayor Mare,” Cadence began, “how long have you known Spike?”
“I’ve known him since he and Twilight came to Ponyville on the Summer Sun Festival, though I’ve never had the chance to know him personally,” she explained. “Every pony knows Twilight and Spike by reputation at least.”
Cadence nodded and continued unhappily, “Can you report what exactly transpired on his first birthday in Ponyville?”
Spike winced at the unpleasant memory. Twilight narrowed her eyes, wondering where Cadence was going with this.
“Well,” the mayor quickly tried to think of a way to word the events without placing any blame on the little dragon, but could not. “Ponies gave him birthday gifts and he began to grow in size until he became larger than a building. Fortunately, he was able to bring himself under control and return to normal size.”
“So you’re saying he went out of control when he grew?” Cadence had to seize the opportunity to press forward.
Mayor Mare flustered as she realized the unintentional implications of her statement. She quickly backtracked, “Yes, he was out of control but he soon came to his senses and shrunk back down.”
Cadence nodded, “How was he out of control exactly?”
“He was taking belongings that weren’t his,” the mayor responded, “and it made him grow unnaturally until he could not think clearly. What happened that day was not his fault.”
“You’re saying he had control at some point?” Cadence once again had to seize on the mare’s babbling before she could backtrack.
“I don’t—,” the mayor calmed herself and regained her composure, refusing to let Spike down once again, “I’m not sure. I only saw him as a fully-grown dragon rampaging through Ponyville. I heard about events from Twilight when it was all settled down.”
“Twilight’s been taking care of Spike for more than ten years now. He’s been living in Ponyville and Canterlot for years.” Cadence wasn’t asking, she already knew this, “and no pony was prepared for this?”
“No pony really knows that much about dragons,” Mayor Mare tried to cover for Spike, “so it’s not really any pony’s fault.”
“How much did it cost to repair the town afterwards?” Cadence asked.
The Mayor pursed her lips. She really wasn’t sure the exact cost, but it was very expensive. “I’m not sure I could give an estimate. The cost was hefty, to say the least.”
“Do you believe this incident could have been prevented” Cadence continued, “If you or any pony had known about dragons and their growth?”
Mayor Mare sighed, “Yes, I suppose it could have been. But no pony blames Spike for what happened that day.”
“And they shouldn’t,” Cadence’s agreement caught the Mayor off guard, “it was their own lack of knowledge that allowed this catastrophe to transpire.”
Cadence dismissed the Mayor, who gave Spike a sad look begging his forgiveness before returning to her seat. She then turned to address the jury.
“This incident demonstrates a crucial reason why we need to understand dragons immediately,” Cadence kept her voice emotionless but was clearly in pain, “when ponies don’t understand how dragons behave, the events can be catastrophic and lethal. Luckily, Ponyville was able to rebuild, but how many incidents such as these have to occur before we take action?”
Twilight rose to object, “Objection, your honor. Historical documents indicate that dragons seldom attack ponies or any non-dragon creature unless provoked. Furthermore, the defendant did not injure a single pony during this time.”
Cadence coolly met this objection by retrieving a scroll from her desk and laying it on the evidence bench, “True, documents will indicate such incidents are few. But other documents reveal those few incidents can be remarkably violent.”
The pink alicorn unraveled the scroll, “Your honor, I present this evidence: a document describing beings recognized as Equestrian citizens and dragon encounters that lead to unfortunate consequences.” She stared at the contents and gritted her teeth.
“Nine years ago, Dr. Ruby and Dr. Sapphire were leading researchers studying dragons in the field,” Twilight noticed Dr. Saffron blink, her eyes betraying a moment of recognition. “Their research is the only basis for our knowledge of dragons. And that research though profound, is minuscule, as their lives were cut short when they were caught in a forest fire started by a dragon they had observed. This fire nearly exterminated entire species of animals, wiped out an entire ecological system, and orphaned their little filly.”
Spike’s eyes widened and he stifled a gasp. These professors must have been Silver Stone’s parents. They matched the description and their demise was uncannily similar. Twilight turned to see Spike’s moment of surprise before motioning to remain quiet as possible. Some of the jury exchanged glances. Few of them had heard of Dr. Ruby and Dr. Sapphire, but they all recognized the dangers dragons posed when they could not be controlled.
“No pony knows what caused this attack,” Cadence continued. “These ponies had been safely examining dragons for years without any severe altercations. Therefore, we can only surmise it was an unprovoked attack.”
“Objection, your honor,” Twilight once again interrupted. “If there are no existing reports regarding the incident, then it’s unreasonable to assume the dragon suddenly attacked. For all we know, some accident may have sparked a misunderstanding.”
“And what possible misunderstanding could cause the dragon to burn down an entire forest?” Cadence challenged back, “Any accident on the part of these professors that provoked the dragons simply proves there are cultural and social barriers between dragons and all other creatures that cause strife. We could hypothesize all day what happened, but we may never know. This incident proves one important point: conflicts between dragons and ponies are astronomically lethal, and won’t be stopped unless we can understand these …” Cadence choked on the word. She could not say it. She didn’t believe it for one second. But she knew the council was watching her. If she stopped now, Spike was gone forever without a fight, “these beasts. ”
Twilight scowled and once again had to object, “Objection, your honor,” she had almost lost some respect for Cadence after calling Spike a monster. “The defendant is no monster; he is a baby dragon that has never willingly hurt another being in his life.”
Cadence had anticipated this objection and sadly prepared her counter-objection by retrieving another scroll with the royal seal. “You just admitted he is a dragon. Dragons are not among creatures officially recognized by Equestrian law,” she opened the scroll, her heart breaking with every second. “The beings officially recognized as Equestrian citizens are those who have accepted Princess Celestia and Princess Luna’s rule and entered her kingdom, such as ponies, donkeys, griffons, minotaurs, and zebras to name a few. Dragons have never lived by any law but their own: survival of the fittest. When Princess Celestia offered the dragons a place in her kingdom nearly a century ago, they refused, wanting no part. When she called every creature under her reign to resist the forces of Nightmare Moon, dragons were the only creatures not to answer the call. They were content to let the world fall into darkness, so long as they kept their treasure.”
“Objection,” Twilight was getting irritated with all this information and could only wonder if this was from the so-called “Dr. Facts”. If she ever found him, she swore to find out why he stuck his nose into this case.
“The prosecution’s statement is clearly a fallacy. Spike is not like other dragons; he has lived under Celestia’s law since his birth. Why should he be punished for the actions of other dragons?”
“This isn’t about punishment,” Cadence responded unhappily as she retrieved yet another scroll. “This is about bridging the gap between not just ponies, but all of Celestia’s citizens and dragons, which can only be accomplished through these experiments.” 
“Two centuries ago, a griffin stole a small gem from a dragon’s horde, not realizing this seemingly insignificant gem held some ritualistic significance to the dragon. In retaliation, the dragon laid waste to Griffinstone. Had the griffon known that a dragon would seek revenge over one little stone, perhaps this fiasco would never had occurred.”
She read further down the scroll, “And twenty years ago, a donkey was injured after trying to return a baby dragon to its family because those dragons only saw him as a thief. He was in a hospital for two years, during which time his wife and child constantly fretted over his well-being. Although he has recovered, he may never walk again. If he had some way to communicate with those dragons or make them understand his intentions, perhaps they would have received him as a friend. If he had understood dragon body language, social patterns, or behaviors, then his act of kindness would not have endangered his life.”
Finally, she traced down to the bottom of the scroll, “and a few years after that, three adolescent zebras unknowingly took shelter in a dragon’s cave and came too close to his treasure. Only one zebra escaped to tell the tale. Ladies and gentle colts of the jury, encounters with dragons are indeed few as the prosecution stated; however, the truly violent encounters leave cities decimated, lives ruined, and families broken.”
The jury soaked this information, acknowledging that many of these events were indeed rather dire. At the slightest provocation, dragons could apparently be unintentionally riled to violence. Even Twilight had to admit these encounters led to rather extreme outcomes. Still, she would not back down, not with Spike’s freedom on the line. Given the chance, she could prove dragons were not always the greatest danger to Equestria.
Cadence grimly continued, “Now that we have a baby dragon, we have not merely an obligation, but a duty to assure the families and the broken that no more will suffer.”
She turned to gaze at Twilight and Spike, wistfully. Cadence could only wonder if they would ever speak to her after this. She seriously doubted their friendship would endure.
“The defense has stated that the defendant is not like other dragons,” Cadence turned to Spike. “Now the prosecution intends to determine how true this statement truly is, and calls Spike to the stand.”
Exchanging a look with Twilight, Spike gulped nervously before walking to the stand. After taking a similar oath as the mayor had, Spike sat down. Cadence retrieved a small green emerald from her table, placing it in plain view for all the court to see. After the bailiff inspected it and confirmed it was indeed an emerald, Cadence handed it to Spike, who held the stone between his clawed hands. She turned to the court.
“Among other abilities, dragons are the only creatures capable of crushing gems with their bare teeth,” Cadence explained to the court before turning to Spike. If Twilight had not told Pinkie Pie to be on her best behavior, she would have objected that Maud Pie ate gems all the time. “Kindly show the court your capability to devour this gemstone with no ill effects,” she instructed the dragon. 
Spike found his appetite very absent as he studied the gem. Twilight was absolutely prepared to object, until she realized that there was no basis for her to oppose this. Begrudgingly, she nodded to Spike, indicating he had to go forward. He placed the emerald in his mouth and tried to chew it softly, but in the silence of the courtroom, this sound was very audible and made many ponies wince. He slowly swallowed it, feeling the crushed gem slide down his throat. 
Cadence then retrieved a bar of metal with her magic and handed it to the bailiff to assure this was indeed quality metal, before levitating it before Spike. Her eyes betrayed her heart breaking on the inside with every second. Yet, she refused to let the council see her hesitate. She once again turned to address the courtroom.
“Dragons are also the only creatures in all of Equestria capable of producing fire through their mouths,” she once again turned to Spike. “Please melt this metal with your breath.”
Spike frowned but opened his jaws to produce a small but powerful burst of flames. The metal slowly bent under the heat, shriveling, and warping until it curved and liquid drops fell onto the floor. He closed his mouth and stared at his work. He never really considered how dangerous his fire breath could be and reminded himself why he could never use it against a foe else he might end their life. If he tried to ward of a changeling during the invasion some time ago with fire, he could have easily inflicted fatal injuries. He had restraint and was a natural pacifist, but other dragons had no such qualms. His ponderings were interrupted when Cadence placed the deformed metal onto a table and proceeded to speak, levitating yet another scroll.
“The official records of every creature in Equestria describe dragons as fire breathing, gem-eating, scaly beasts fond of hoarding riches and living largely in seclusion. The defendant is clearly a dragon. He can consume gems with no adverse affects, breath flames capable of melting metal, has a body covered with scales, and clawed talons. Any differences between him and other dragons in the wild can only be attributed to his being raised in Canterlot, are negligible and essentially non-existent.” She gritted her teeth and bit back her tears, knowing she would never be forgiven after her next statement. “Dragons are by definition beasts with abilities and physical features not found in any other creature.”
Twilight and all of her friends in the courtroom were more than willing to dispute that claim. The purple alicorn wanted to object, but how could she? Cadence was correct; he might not hoard gems or live in isolation, but these were due to growing up amongst ponies. Any other dragon might have turned out similarly in the same circumstances. Spike was physically a dragon in every sense of the word. Cadence leaned close to Spike.
“I’m sorry, Spike,” her very soul aching to see the purple dragon actually meet her eyes after everything she had done to prosecute him. Cadence dismissed Spike back to his seat. Her eyes turned to the final, most crucial pieces of evidence.
Trembling, the pink alicorn levitated the final, most vital scroll to the table as well as the book. She pursed her lips and steadied herself with deep breaths. After this, there would be no turning back. She would undoubtedly be alienated from Twilight and Spike. She gazed at them both then turned her gaze to the parchment and book now resting on the evidence table. For a moment, she stared dully at them, cursing their mere existence. After sharply inhaling, she unraveled the scroll. Her tongue pressed the roof of her mouth to suppress her distress. At last, she spoke.
“The Science Department of Equestria has existed before Celestia’s rule, functioning as a branch of pony government under the likes of Starswirl the Bearded and Clover the Clever.” Twilight’s eyes narrowed. She had never heard that the science department had been around for so long, much less under Starswirl the Bearded. The scroll had a mark of authenticity, so this was all true. She still did not understand one thing. Where was Cadence going with this? The purple alicorn had a feeling she would soon find out.
“Since this time, the department has been relegated to minor roles of government, ceding most of its power to the princesses. However, there are many practices and laws established by the department that the princesses have never officially altered, which serve to keep a restraint on the princess’ powers and prevent a complete monarchy.” 
Cadence felt all eyes upon her. Many of her old friends stared at her, wondering what she would declare now to punish Spike. Many scientists observed this scene with varying emotions. Some felt eager to remind the populace their role in power, other unknowing novice scientists looked on, curious what possible rules were being referred to, but a small few including Dr. Saffron not only realized what ancient, long-forgotten laws were about to be invoked, but also what it truly meant for the little dragon
Cadence broke down inside, but through sheer will power, remained outwardly impassive even as she destroyed Spike’s life, and in effect, her life as well.
“The most prominent law, remaining in effect, is ‘all objects, relics, and animals discovered by the science department are property of the science department.’”
Twilight’s eyes widened, as she began to put the pieces together and deduce what was in the book. Spike blinked uncertainly, but noticing Twilight’s tension, became very unnerved. Cadence opened the book to that terrible page. For the first time the entire trial, she shed her long restrained tears.
“Twelve years ago, under the science department, Dr. Ruby and Dr. Sapphire found several stillborn dragon eggs, and one live egg. This egg was the same egg the defendant hatched from. He is by definition property of not merely Dr. Saffron, but the entire science department.”
The courtroom became deadly silent. Every Ponyville and Crystal Empire citizen present recoiled in horror. Every pony who knew Spike personally was outraged and almost in tears. Twilight’s heart nearly skipped a beat. She looked at the little dragon beside her, and saw his broken expression. Spike felt numb. The law specifically gave him no choice. He had to submit. Twilight couldn’t give up.
“Objection, your honor,” Twilight finally broke the silence, “the defendant is no longer in his egg, so he cannot be considered property.”
It was a weak objection and Twilight knew it. Cadence turned no longer hiding her teary eyes.
“None of the reptiles or birds the department found are still in their eggs. That doesn’t make them any less property,” Cadence trudged back to her stand.
Before her face fell into her hooves in despair, she choked out five little words, “The prosecution rests, your honor.”
Dr. Saffron could only watch helplessly as Spike slid from her protective custody as a volunteer, allowed to visit his friends when he desired, to the entire science department, bent on using untested methods on their newest lab rat.

> Part 6 Change in Strategy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight paced outside the courtroom, desperately racking her brain for some solution. In one swift stroke, Cadence had derailed her entire argument with legally approved laws and documents. Now, she had no idea what to do. Spike was legally property. She was going to lose him; it was no longer possible but inevitable.
“Twilight!” the purple alicorn looked up to see her six friends approaching with Rarity at the lead.
Twilight couldn’t even fake a smile and pretend this could all work out. Her friends noticed her despondency and wished they could offer words of counsel. 
“So,” Applejack spoke, “what do we do now?”
Twilight sighed, “I have no idea.”
“You’re not seriously suggesting we lie down and let them take Spike?” Rarity looked outraged.
Twilight could not meet her gaze, “Cadence proved her case. Spike is undoubtedly property of the science department.”
The group remained silent, unsure what to say. A yellow pegasus nervously spoke what had been on her mind.
“This is wrong,” every pony turned to look at Fluttershy. She blushed for a moment but continued. “Spike isn’t some monster or animal that the science department can claim as property. He’s a living, sentient being. What else do you call owning another being but slavery?”
Twilight blinked in surprise. She had not truly considered the implications of owning Spike, but had to admit Fluttershy was absolutely correct. Spike wasn’t a pet or a lab rat; he was family, not superior or inferior, but an equal. The law Cadence invoked implied disregarded, no, deliberately neglected that Spike was not an “object, relic, or an animal”. The six of them knew Spike was not any of these without a doubt. But Twilight still had no idea how to prove it.
“But how do I make the jury see that?” Twilight desperately wanted to know, “They already think Spike is an animal or beast they can own.”
“Well,” Fluttershy took a deep breath, “maybe you could show them who he really is on the inside. I mean that’s where we truly see who others are.”
Suddenly, Twilight recalled every moment she ever spent with Spike, hatching him from an egg, watching him breathe his first flame, feeding him gems, asking her for comfort after a nightmare, organizing all of her belongings, confiding his darkest secret with her, and calling her mama. Fluttershy was absolutely right; Spike was physically a dragon, but that didn’t begin to show who he actually was or felt. She had an epiphany. The purple alicorn knew exactly what to do to turn this trial around. Twilight rose with new vigor and enthusiasm.
“I have a plan,” all of her friends looked hopefully at Twilight. “But we need to move quickly.”
“What do you want us to do?” Rainbow Dash asked, eager to help.
“Rainbow Dash, Rarity,” she turned to the unicorn and pegasus, “I need to teleport us back to Ponyville so we can pick up some of Spike’s belongings back at the castle. Rarity, do you still have that fire ruby Spike gave you?”
Rarity nodded absolutely ready to contribute anything to this case.
“We’re going to need it for this case. And I’ll have you testify for Spike,” she turned to Fluttershy. “I need you to research anything you can on animal species similar to dragons, like amphibians, reptiles. I’ll be calling upon you as an animal expert.”
Fluttershy was uncomfortable at the thought of having every eye on her, but for her friends, she would not back down.
“Pinkie Pie, Applejack,” she turned to the two earth ponies. “Keep an eye on Dr. Saffron. We don’t need her getting any more evidence from this Dr. Facts.”
They both nodded. 
“What exactly is your plan, sugar cube?” Applejack really hoped Twilight had a plan that could solve this whole dilemma.
“No time to explain,” Twilight’s horn glowed purple as she began the spell. Within a second, she, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity had vanished, leaving the other three to go about their work.

***

Back under house arrest, Spike’s face fell to the table, mirroring Cadence’s despair. He had spent the better part of the day crying, distraught at everything Cadence had said against him, and terrified of his uncertain future without his friends. Now, he rested unmovingly on the table, truly feeling alone and helpless.
Silver Stone rested a hoof on Spike’s shoulder and wrapped him in her hooves, wishing she knew some way to solve this whole dilemma. She was present in the many ponies that came to support Spike. When the pink alicorn revealed the science department legally owned Spike, she nearly wept.
Her heart went out to the little dragon. It wasn’t right. She had managed to convince Dr. Saffron to let Spike at least be able to visit Twilight, only to have the science department claim custody over Spike. She didn’t even want to imagine how his friends were coping, or how they would cope in the distant future. Silver Stone hoped they had some master plan to turn this around, but she had no idea what they could do. The case already seemed completely closed.
Staring at the broken dragon, she could only say what she had been thinking since they became friends. Slowly, she retracted her hooves, realizing this was all her fault.
“I’m sorry, Spike.” The dragon lifted his red, puffy eyes and stared at Silver Stone as her eyes became moist, “If it weren’t for me, this whole case wouldn’t have happened.”
Rubbing his eyes with a clawed hand, he shook his head. Silver Stone’s very heart felt pierced; he must hate her. She lost her first true friend. She began to sniff.
“I don’t blame you for this.” Spike assured her. He bitterly turned away, “You weren’t the one who argued I’m just property.”
Silver Stone winced at his harsh words. She recalled how enraged she felt at her mentor from separating Spike from his family. This was the exact same situation with Spike. She had to help him.
“Dr. Saffron told me Cadence doesn’t have a choice,” she said. “If she refused to testify, you might not even have a trial.”
Spike knew she was right, and he wished he were capable of forgiving Cadence. But now, forgiveness was the last thing on his mind.
“I know it’s hard to see it,” Silver Stone sighed, “but she’s doing this for you. And believe me when I say it’s tearing her apart, saying things she and every pony with half a brain doesn’t believe.”
He looked at the filly who had fought back her tears, amazed she could be so wise. She was right. He knew it. Cadence had broken down in the middle of her case, disgusted with herself for prosecuting him. If he was suffering from being called a beast, how much more Cadence must have suffered calling Spike such a name. It was a lose-lose scenario for every pony. No one was to blame.
Staring at the filly, his lips broke into a small, weak, momentary smile. Truly, he was glad they became friends. If any good thing came out of this whole cursed trial, it was their friendship. It made this whole ordeal so much more tolerable. He wanted to say something, anything to this unicorn, just to let her know how much he appreciated her. How could he? It was like trying to thank Twilight for everything she did for him: impossible. But he would at least try to express some of his gratitude.
“Thanks, Silver Stone,” Spike met her cerulean eyes. “You have no idea what that means.”
The gray unicorn leaned over and kissed Spike’s cheek. It was a sisterly, friendly kiss, but it still left Spike blushing and smiling. She grinned, blushing a little, but grateful she could make her friend feel better, even for a little while. 
Spike remembered her parents, and once again could not help marveling they even became friends. They should have been enemies, but some how were capable of looking beyond their differences, to find camaraderie.
Then he noticed Silver Stone’s smile fade as she began to frown. His interest was piqued.
“Spike,” she choked a bit. “I want you to know that you’re the best friend, no, the only true friend, I’ve ever had.”
“You’re my friend too, Silver Stone,” he placed a clawed hand on her hoof, only for her to slowly pull back. This movement concerned him. Had he done something wrong?
“So I hope you can forgive me.”
His eyebrows rose in confusion and worry. He hoped she wasn’t about to leave him.
“Forgive you for what?” he wasn’t sure he could endure if he lost her friendship.
“For my parents,” she met Spike’s eyes. “And what they did to provoke that dragon.”

***

Dr. Saffron stared at Dr. Ruby and Dr. Sapphire’s journal. No wonder Dr. Facts and the science department had withheld it all these years. They wanted to respect the memories of Silver Stone’s parents and not tarnish their reputations. It was also painfully clear why Dr. Facts had sent her the journal now of all times. It was a warning of the future that she had to join. These methods, these measures, soon they would become the norm, the only practice. Dr. Saffron’s beliefs and morals were outdated and archaic. From now on, the ends would justify the means. If she could find Dr. Facts, she would be seriously tempted to strangle him. If only he used his actual name or physically appeared to others, then he could not promote his ideals from the shadows. Somehow, he managed to achieve complete anonymity, giving him freedom to promote his ideas. She kept referring to Dr. Facts as a he, for all she knew the doctor was a mare or a little filly. She was well aware the doctor had covered up his tracks and manipulated this entire case to his liking.
She was also aware that a pony was spying on her from her window. She had tolerated that pony for some time, but grew wary of spying eyes. Placing the journal into a drawer and locking it with key, she stood up and trotted outside. 
Approaching a bush adjacent to her window, on the other side of the street beside a lamppost, her horn glowed as she lifted the bush to reveal an orange pony with a yellow mane and brown hat. She recognized the pony as one of the bearers of the elements of harmony, and one of the many present at the trial. When the pony realized her disguise had been discarded, she panicked as Dr. Saffron spoke.
“If you’re here to spy on me, you’re doing a pretty poor job,” the doctor’s calm attitude unnerved Applejack, who stood rigidly upright. “Quite strange to find the element of honesty deceitfully watching some pony.”
Applejack sweated nervously, “Spy? Why, I was just –.“
“Please, don’t lie,” Dr. Saffron interrupted. “I’m not a simpleton. I’ve known you were here for quite some time. Can I assume Twilight sent you?”
Applejack was ready to deny for the sake of her friend, when Dr. Saffron interrupted again.
“Of course she sent you. Well, you can run back and tell her I’m sorry. I never intended for the case to go this far, and I never wanted Spike to become property of the entire science department.”
The orange pony looked perplexed at the unicorn’s apology. “What are you talking about?”
“Why don’t you come inside?” The doctor offered, “We don’t need other ponies eavesdropping on us.”
“Whoa! How did you know I was here?” A pink pony’s head popped from behind the lamppost, nearly giving the doctor a heart attack. How had the pony hidden perfectly behind the lamppost without being seen? How long had she been there?
“Who—? How long have you been– ?” The doctor was so flustered and astonished she had difficulty formulating her thoughts into cohesive words.
“Pinkamena Diane Pie! But you can call me Pinkie Pie,” the earth pony stretched her limbs as she moved out of the lamppost. “I’ve been here as long as Applejack.”
The pink pony gasped excitedly, “Are you saying you didn’t know I was here?”
The wide-eyed doctor shook her head, flabbergasted.
“See, Applejack?” Pinkie Pie turned to give the other pony a smug grin, “I told you lampposts were better hiding places than bushes!”
Regaining her composure as best she could, the doctor cleared her throat and gestured to her house, “So may I invite you both inside?”
Applejack scowled, “Well, forgive me if I don’t trust ya. But I ain’t going.”
“What in the world do you think I’m going to do to you?” The doctor exclaimed exasperated. Calming herself, she looked at the pony in the eyes. “If you refuse, I can always tell the council that two of Twilight’s friends were spying on me.”
Applejack’s eyes narrowed, and she reluctantly followed the doctor into her house with Pinkie Pie in tow. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were led to a living room and offered places on a couch, while the doctor sat down on an adjacent chair. The two sat down and met the doctor’s gaze.
“As I was saying,” Dr. Saffron said with despondent eyes. “I am truly sorry. I never anticipated Cadence acquiring so much evidence or finding that ancient law.”
The two blinked uncertainly. Was the doctor legitimately sincere in her apology?	“Wait, why are you apologizing?” Applejack asked. “You’re the one who brought this case to court.”
“Yes,” the doctor admitted. “I did indeed bring it to court. But I only intended to show the jury the benefits that studying a dragon would bring, not that he’s,” she scowled in disgust, “property.”
“Well, if ya don’t believe in the case, then just drop it.” Applejack told her plainly, “Let Spike walk away.”
The unicorn shook her head, “I’m afraid I can’t. If I dropped the case, some other pony would simply take it up and have no qualms against using their unorthodox methods to study Spike. And if I did, I would be dooming him.”
Applejack cocked her head. “What are ya talking about?”
“The way the case currently stands, Spike is property of the science department. I could indeed drop the case, but that wouldn’t change the law invoked during this case.” The doctor laid her hooves on her temples, massaging them, before returning them to her sides. “If I dropped the case now, I would simply deny Twilight the chance to defend him, and many scientists would insist the law should prevail.”
Applejack scowled. She wasn’t sure she could believe the doctor completely, but her statements were somewhat logical. She folded her hooves in deep thought. 
“Why the sudden change in heart?” Applejack asked, “I thought ya wanted to study Spike.”
“I’m a scientist,” the doctor explained, “given new, more convincing evidence I will reevaluate my previous assessments to accommodate new findings. Recently, I have been given reason to question my initial assessments of Spike.”
“And what was that?”
The scientist lowered her gaze for a moment. “My assistant revealed Spike considers Twilight his family, that he loves her. I cannot in good conscience separate a family merely for the sake of science.”
She rested back in her chair, “I was willing to compromise. Should I have won custody, I planned to let Twilight visit him or let him visit my lab every so often for inspections so he could stay with her. I would not harm him in any physical or mental way. But now,” she brought her hooves together, touching under her chin, in contemplation, “now the science department will own him and experiment on him any way they like. I’m truly sorry. This is all my fault.”
After a few seconds, Applejack decided to test if the doctor was truly remorseful.
“If you really mean everything you’ve said,” the unicorn met the earth pony’s gaze, “then tell us where we can find ‘Dr. Facts’. We don’t need him interfering in this case anymore.”
The unicorn was slightly taken aback, when they mentioned the doctor’s name, unsure how they heard of him. She nodded. They were right. He needed to be stopped or brought to court for his meddling. Unfortunately, she could not help.
“I wish I could tell you.” She sighed, “No pony know who Dr. Facts truly is. The name is an alias. He’s likely been sending all of these documents through lackeys, and even they diligently cover their tracks.”
“But ya must have some idea who he could be?” Applejack suggested, “Some pony on the science department?”
“Perhaps,” the doctor mused, “but there’s no way to know for sure. No way to locate him.”
“Yes, there is,” Applejack and Dr. Saffron turned to look at the pink pony who was silent this whole time. 
“What are ya taking about, Pinkie?” Applejack really didn’t have time for Pinkie’s games now.
“Don’t you remember, Applejack?” Pinkie Pie grinned as the idea took over, “The librarian said she received those papers from Dr. Facts, or at least one of his buddies. We just need to find her and ask what they looked like, track them down, and make them tell us where Dr. Facts is.”
Applejack and Dr. Saffron’s jaws dropped a bit, as they stared wide-eyed at the pony who pointed out the solution to the dilemma that they were overthinking. Pinkie Pie shrugged her shoulders.
“What? It seemed like the obvious thing to do.”

***

Spike listened to Silver Stone’s entire story as she described the journal detailing her parents’ final moments and what truly happened that day. He knew that he should be enraged or astounded, but he was already emotionally drained. Before he could even process everything she said, he heard voices from outside the doorway. One of them he instantly recognized as Twilight’s as she argued with the guards. He and Silver Stone turned as Twilight entered the room. Spike ran to greet her in an embrace; one that he feared could be his last.
When they finally broke from the embrace, Twilight noticed Silver Stone watching them and narrowed her eyes. The filly could sense the alicorn’s protective nature, warning her to stay away.
“It’s alright, Twilight,” Spike waved for her attention. “Silver Stone is a friend. She can be trusted.”
Twilight turned to look at him slightly surprised. Somehow, Spike had managed to make friends with the assistant of Dr. Saffron? He never ceased to amaze her. She remembered that she only had so much time.
“Spike, listen to me,” she leaned in closely and lowered her voice. “We have a plan. If it works, it just might turn this whole trial in our favor.”
“What are you going to do?” Spike asked. Twilight eyed Silver Stone once again, not willing to trust her.
“Sorry, I don’t want the prosecution getting wind of our plans,” she stated.
Noticing her glance at the filly, Spike was about to tell her that Silver Stone could be trusted not to blab when the little filly spoke up.
“It’s fine, Spike.” She waved away his concern, “It’s probably better if I have no idea about her plans whatsoever. Don’t want to risk the truth sneaking out.”
Twilight blinked, wondering for a moment if the filly was tricking her somehow. Then she remembered this was a filly, she was paranoid, and didn’t have much time.
“The point is for this plan to work, we need you to honestly answer any question we ask you no matter how personal,” she began.
“Of course, Twilight,” Spike interrupted.
“Spike, listen to me.” She frowned, “What I’m asking you to do isn’t answer some simple yes or no questions. You’re going to have to reveal some very personal things if you want to go free.”
Spike’s eyes narrowed in concern, “Like what?”
“Sorry,” Twilight said, “I don’t want to take the risk of any pony finding out and stopping us. I just need you to trust me, promise you’ll do exactly what I say. And know that everything I do, I do because I love you.”
Staring into her eyes, Spike had no doubt the purple alicorn’s affections for him ran incredibly deep. Before this whole trial began, he told Twilight that he trusted her and knew she could win. She could win, but she needed his help, his active participation. Anything she did was indeed motivated by love. And between becoming a lab rat or revealing a few embarrassing secrets, the latter option was far more appealing.
“Okay, Twilight. I trust you, ” he said, “I’ll answer any question you ask me honestly.”
She smiled, and embraced him once more; hoping this wouldn’t be the last time they ever would. She believed her plan could indeed win the day and set Spike free. But she was worried he might never forgive her.

> Part 7 The Defense Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Where are Applejack and Pinkie Pie?” Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity had met up with Fluttershy outside the courtroom, with their evidence in a saddlebag ten minutes ago. Now they were waiting for the two earth ponies to appear.
“I’m not sure,” Fluttershy responded. “Maybe they’re running a little late?”
Twilight exhaled sharply through her nostrils, calming herself.
“The trial starts in one minute and thirty-six seconds,” Twilight realized the seconds she said this, made it one minute and thirty-three seconds. “We can’t wait any longer.”
“I’m sure they’ll show up, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said, though she had doubts as they proceeded into the courtroom. “If you want, I’ll go look for them.”
“No,” Twilight immediately answered. “Spike’s going to need all of his friends here today.”
Rainbow Dash nodded her understanding, and wished the purple alicorn good luck. Her three friends then trotted over to their seats.
Twilight took her seat at the defense chair, placing her saddlebag on the table, removing only a scroll. Soon, Spike was led back to the seat beside her. He eyed the saddlebag curiously and wanted to ask Twilight what was in there. Noticing his glance, Twilight shook her head, indicating he would see in time. The judge and jury took their places once again. She noticed Cadence and Dr. Saffron sitting at the prosecution desk, wordlessly.
“Is the defense ready to make their opening statement?” The judge asked Twilight.
“Yes, your honor,” her calm demeanor and confidence intrigued many scientists, who already thought the case was closed. “Today, the defense intends to prove that dragons are far from the most dangerous creatures in Equestria, that the defendant has many traits that prevent him from being property, these qualities and capabilities reveal the ethical dilemmas of forcing him to submit, and that setting him free is the right thing to do, not only to protect his inherent rights, but to set a precedent for how dragons will perceive us.” 
Giving a moment for her statement to sink in, Twilight rose from her stand and approached the witness table. “The defense calls Rarity to the stand.”
The white unicorn delicately rose from the many ponies gathered, and made her way to the witness podium. She sat down in the chair and lifted her hoof.
“On the elements of harmony, I swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth.” She recited the oath, before lowering her hoof.
Spike could only wonder what Rarity would say in his defense, as she mentally prepared herself. Twilight had given her a short summary of what to expect, but remained vague to prevent a potential cross examination from revealing she had told Rarity what she would ask before the case began. 
Twilight continued, “Please state your name and occupation.”
Rarity, exemplifying all the dignity of a well-educated and respectable lady, responded, “My name is Rarity. I am a fashion designer and seamstress who works at Ponyville’s Carousel Boutique.”
“How long have you known Spike?” Twilight already knew but the court had to hear this. 
“I first met Spike when you and he first came to Ponyville years ago.” Rarity stated. “Ever since then, he’s gone out of his way to help me in any way possible.”
“The prosecution recalled the events that occurred on his first birthday at Ponyville,” Twilight began, “where were you during this whole event?”
“I was abducted by Spike when he was fully grown, though I didn’t recognize him at the time,” Rarity replied. Spike seriously didn’t see how reminding the jury of that day would help his case, but he had to trust Twilight.
“So you personally witnessed him, and were almost injured during this event.” Twilight hoped her plan would work. “Can I assume you stopped being friends after this?”
“Absolutely not!” Rarity said louder than she intended, but remembering this was a formal trial, quickly recomposed herself. “I could never stay angry with Spike. He had no intention to harm any pony.”
“Then how did you forgive him for his actions?” Twilight asked.
“After he returned to normal, I saw him staring at a footprint he made in his grown state. He was on the verge of tears, thinking he could have hurt some pony.” Rarity explained. “And when all was said and done, he did what he could to make amends. He returned everything he had taken, spent the rest of the day helping to clean up Ponyville, and promised never to let his greed control him again.”
“So you’re saying he seemed to feel guilt?”
The white unicorn nodded vigorously. Every Ponyville citizen concurred with Rarity. Many citizens still remembered Spike’s rampage, but they remembered his attempts to atone for his actions much more vividly. That was part of the reason no pony held this whole event against him. The other was that Spike was their friend. 
“May I ask what do you personally think about Spike?” Twilight questioned her friend. Cadence considered interrupting to claim this was off topic, but withheld her objection. Rarity’s opinion of Spike was likely relevant to the case at hand; Twilight wouldn’t ask her this unless she had reason. Anyways, Cadence had done enough harm already.
“Well,” Rarity tried to consider carefully how to express her sentiments. “Quite frankly, Spike is an incredibly sweet little dragon, who is always willing to help me with any chore without demanding anything in return. He has often come to my shop and assisted me in organizing my belongings, maintaining the shop, and acquiring gems for special orders.”
“He searched for gemstones just for you? He didn’t ask to eat any of them?” Twilight hoped the jury would recognize how out of character this would be for their typical notion of a dragon.
“No, he did not eat them,” Rarity stated. “Spike always puts the happiness and well-being of others before himself.”
“Could you give some examples of when he did so?” Twilight wanted to keep the prosecution from interrupting and calling Rarity’s account biased.
“Certainly,” Rarity took a deep breath. “Once, he worked hard to help me gain the attention of a certain some pony even though he—,“ she stuttered a moment. “Even though he could have been doing better things. Another time when we went out hunting for gems, Diamond Dogs kidnapped me and Spike brought my friends back to save me. I also recall an event where I read a magical book that cursed me, causing me to alter Ponyville in rather extreme and impractical ways. Spike was the one who snapped me out from that state by telling me that I had gone too far, even though he didn’t want to hurt my feelings. Though I believe, his greatest feat of selflessness was saving the Crystal Empire. When you were trapped in Sombra’s crystals, he took the Crystal Heart to Cadence even though his life was in danger. His actions made him a hero of the empire. He became an even greater hero when he saved ponies at the Equestria Games by melting a massive, falling block of ice caused by a mishap. Time and again, Spike stands up and makes selfless sacrifices for his friends. And those are only the ones I know about.”
Spike blushed under Rarity’s praise. He remembered each of these events and was pleased to know some other pony hadn’t forgotten. Then again, he supposed the Crystal Empire had never really forgotten his feat, considering they built a statue for him. Truth be told, his friends didn’t have to constantly recall his exploits. He just did what any of them would have done in his situation. 
“I must say this,” Rarity’s eyes fell a bit, “Spike is a dear part of our family, a friend to every citizen in Ponyville, and hero to the Crystal Empire. If we lost him, I don’t know what we’d do.”
Twilight thanked Rarity and dismissed her. As the unicorn walked past Spike to the audience, she shot him a brief reassuring smile that he returned with a thankful grin. Twilight returned to her desk and picked up a scroll, handed to the bailiff for an examination, and placed it on the evidence table.
“Ladies and gentle colts of the jury,” she addressed the ponies in the stand. “The prosecution stated that dragons are dangerous and encounters with them often lead to unfortunate consequences. She implied dragons are rampaging monsters.”
Twilight shook her head and unraveled the scroll, “We must face the facts. Of all creatures in Equestria, none has the potential to be more deadly or dangerous than ponies.”
Many of the jury blinked uncertainly, or felt slightly offended by the statement.
“Rarity testified that with her magic, she nearly transformed all of Ponyville in a fashion rampage. I myself can attest that I nearly drove all of Ponyville to war over a doll with spell. One of my friends nearly threw the town into chaos when she made clones of herself, and we almost couldn’t find the real one. And I’m sure every pony is already aware that pegasai are capable of controlling the weather and making hurricanes. I doubt any pony could estimate just how much destruction the princesses could cause if they so wished. One of them controls the night and could cast eternal darkness on the land or plague us with nightmares. The other controls the day and the rising of the sun. If she lost her mind and went rogue, she could prevent the sun from rising, which would destroy crops and starve all of us. Ponies have incredible destructive potential.”
Twilight then picked up the scroll, “Can any pony give the name of or identify any dragon that has done something abominable? How many dragons live in infamy?”
If it was possible, the room became even quieter as ponies contemplated her question.
“No pony knows? But I thought we already established dragons were monsters. Surely, you can recall at least one dragon guilty of countless transgressions?” Twilight challenged them. No pony answered. “Well, how many ponies live in infamy?” 
She turned to the scroll. “There’s King Sombra, who oppressed and enslaved the entire Crystal Empire. There’s Starlight Glimmer, who until recently, stole cutie marks from other ponies, robbing them of their special talents and destinies. Nightmare Moon threatened to drown the world in eternal night until she was banished to the moon.”
She placed the scroll flat on the table. “It’s painfully clear; dragons are not the real threat to Equestria. Yes, they certainly can be dangerous, but very few of them have committed serious crimes in comparison to ponies. No dragon has ever enslaved its own race or stole other dragons’ destinies. And while some dragons have attacked individual cities, none have ever threatened the entire world.”
Pausing for a breath, Twilight stood resolutely firm, “We commit atrocities, abuse our fellow ponies, even stripping them of inalienable rights. We can control the weather, we can alter the world in ways no other being can, and if we chose, we could unbalance the world. Is it any wonder dragons take great pains to stay away from us? To them, we’re the monsters. And if we allow Spike to become a lab rat for the science department, what kind of message does that send to other dragons? It will confirm their beliefs and drive a wedge between Celestia’s citizens and dragons forever. Ladies and gentle colts, if we truly want to understand dragons and avoid future conflicts, we must change the way we behave. We must prove that their assumptions about us are wrong, starting now.”
She paused to let her words sink in. The jury seemed to grasp the logic of her argument, and was reconsidering its position. Twilight decided to press on.
“The prosecution stated dragons are beasts, not on the same social level as Equestrian citizens,” Twilight said. “Now, I’d like to call an animal expert to gauge just how true this statement is. The defense calls Fluttershy to the stand.”
Conscious of hundreds of eyes staring at her, Fluttershy made her way to the witness stand, reminding herself Spike was counting on her. She almost tripped, but quickly regained her balance and took her seat. She clasped her hooves uncertainly, and the judge startled her by asking her to recite the oath. Raising a slightly shaky hoof, she softly spoke, yet was very audible in the quiet courtroom.
“On the elements of harmony, I swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth.”
Twilight smiled to encourage her, and the pegasus saw her friends from Ponyville offering similar encouragement. She would not fail.
“Please state your name and occupation.” Twilight prompted.
“Oh, my name is Fluttershy. I take care of animals,” she explained, “I’ve been doing it ever since I was a filly.”
“And given your personal experience, how would define an animal?”
“Well, an animal is typically an organism that reacts to its environment in unique ways, “ Fluttershy felt comfortable talking about something she enjoyed. “We too qualify as animals, but we’re not animals in the typical sense because we have abilities that other creatures simply do not. Six common subgroups of animals are birds, fish, amphibians, mammals, reptiles, and insects.”
“And how much do dragons fall into any of these subgroups?”
“They don’t,” Fluttershy answered, “dragons are honestly in a class of their own. They’re not reptiles because they breathe fire, can fly, and they aren’t coldblooded. They aren’t amphibians because they don’t have permeable skins or complex reproductive needs. Even though they fly and lay eggs, dragons aren’t birds because they have teeth, not feathers or beaks. But most importantly, dragons can talk and think for themselves. Unlike most animals that live in the present, if you asked Spike to recall every memory he’s had in Ponyville, he easily could. No other animal I’ve ever met could read, write, or think on the same level for themselves on the same level as Spike, especially given the fact he is a baby.”
As she paused to let the pegasus’ words sink in, Twilight reflected how thankful she was that Fluttershy was discussing something she was passionate about; this made testifying before all these ponies without stage fright so much easier.
“The prosecution also compared dragons to beasts,” Twilight recollected. “Given your firsthand experiences with animals and some dragons, how true would you say this statement is?”
Fluttershy considered the question a moment. “It’s true dragons can be dangerous. But they never consciously seek to harm others. In all the centuries of dragon migrations, no dragon has ever attacked a pony of their own accord. In the last dragon migration, thousands of dragons flew directly over Ponyville, but not a single one raided our homes.”
The judge and jury considered this. Indeed, dragons could be violent, but they never truly sought out ponies to harm even when given the opportunity. Seeing the audience apparently agreeing with her, made Fluttershy more confident, spurring her onward.
“There was one time when we had to stop a dragon from breathing smoke into the sky over Ponyville.” Fluttershy recalled. “He only attacked us after Rarity tried to make off with his treasure and Rainbow Dash kicked his face. And even then, I could talk him down and make him see reason. He agreed to leave with his treasure and never bother us again.”
Many ponies present did a double take. Was this timid pegasus actually saying she could talk down a dragon? Either she had magic of her own, or dragons were not nearly as dangerous as they had initially believed. Ponies caused that dragon in Ponyville to become violent only after provoking him, and another pony was capable of negotiating with the dragon.
Twilight thanked Fluttershy and dismissed her. The pegasus smiled nervously and left the stand. When she reached her seat in the audience, Rainbow Dash patted her shoulder with a beaming smile.
“I’m proud of you, Fluttershy,” the blue pegasus whispered. “That was really brave.”
Embarrassed, Fluttershy’s cheeks turned red. Nevertheless, she grinned and said, “Oh, thank you,” and turned back to the trial.
“Ladies and gentle colts,” Twilight’s voice reverberated around the courtroom. “The prosecution stated that even though the defendant hatched from his egg, he is still property of the science department as this is the case with reptiles and birds. However, you have just heard that due to their physical features, dragons do not qualify as amphibians, reptiles, or even birds. This means the prosecution’s previous statement was a fallacy, comparing dragons to such creatures is inaccurate and misleading. The defendant is unique; the science department has never owned an animal remotely like him. This begs the question, is the defendant really a simple beast that can be owned?”
Twilight took a deep breath, pausing to let her words sink in with the jury. “The prosecution is correct in assuming dragons can be a great threat to Equestrian citizens. There’s no denying they can kill and injure us. But the prosecution is incorrect in assuming experimenting on a baby dragon could solve our dilemmas or help us understand them. Fluttershy was more than capable of pacifying a dragon even after it was provoked. Scientists like Dr. Saffron claim they want to understand dragons. How many researchers actually try to talk to dragons?”
Dr. Saffron winced when Twilight mentioned her by name. Every other pony considered Twilight’s question. No pony had ever thought to try engaging a dragon in conversation. They seemed too beastly to even tolerate another being. Was it possible that they could be reasoned with?
“As long as we treat dragons like beasts and animals, how can they be anything else to us? If we can only perceive this one side of them, that may be inaccurate, then we will never understand dragons, no matter how much scientists might discover by experimenting on Spike. And if they treat Spike as a lab rat,” Twilight stared at Dr. Saffron hard, “they will be equating studies on him with the studies of any other animal, not accounting for his unique properties that such experiments would not only ignore, but possibly even obliterate. If you treat him as a monster, then you destroy the possibility for him to be more than that.”
She broke her gaze from the doctor, who seemed remarkably deflated. Twilight nodded, so far so good. Now would come the hard part. “But instead of debating whether or not the defendant is merely a monster or not, why don’t we find out how similar he is to us by simply talking to him? The defense calls Spike to the stand.”
Spike rose from the defense table and quickly crossed to the witness stand. He took a seat and lifted his hand to recite the oath.
“On the elements of harmony, I swear –,”
“Wait a minute!” A scientist in the audience interrupted, “He can’t swear on the elements of harmony! They hold no authority to a dragon.”
“Order!” The judge slammed his hammer on the gavel. “Given that this dragon has lived among ponies all his life and personally witnessed the power of the elements of harmony, his oath will be good in the eyes of the court. Now I’ll have no interruptions from the science department, or I’ll overrule the jury and give a verdict here and now!”
The judge nodded to Twilight, who smiled appreciatively at the bearded stallion. At least, they had an ally in him. She turned to Spike and motioned him to continue the oath.
“On the elements of harmony, I swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth.”
Spike lowered his hand, and sat back the chair. Remembering Twilight’s warning, he could only wonder what she had planned and felt nervous. Then, he remembered his promise and that she was looking out for him. The purple dragon resolved to answer her every question.
“Please state your name and occupation,” Twilight prompted him.
“My name is Spike,” the drake answered. He considered if being Twilight’s assistant was an occupation and decided it could qualify. “I’m your – I mean Princess Twilight Sparkle’s number one assistant.”
After giving him a brief smile, Twilight levitated several items from saddlebag on the defense table to the bailiff including a picture that Spike could not make out, several of his comic books, his apron, and his Rarity doll. The last item made him blush heavily. After the bailiff finished inspecting the items, Twilight laid them, not on the evidence table, but the witness stand before Spike. 
“Could you please identify these items for the jury?” Twilight turned to Spike. He glanced over all of them, trying to discern what his protector wanted him to say. Remembering Twilight ordered him to be completely honest, he decided to simply state what all these things were to him.
“These are all mine,” he answered. Twilight nodded, urging him to continue. He examined the comic books. “I collected these comics because I think the Power Ponies are awesome. I mean their adventures are really cool and the writers really develop their characters through intricate story arcs, showing how they all grow as teammates and as friends. Plus, the action sequences are well choreographed, the villains are complex and tragic, and I genuinely feel emotional attachment to these characters.”
Spike stopped speaking when he realized he revealed himself to be somewhat of a geek. No pony seemed to mind. In fact, many in the audience seemed intrigued that a dragon could find value in comics. It was rather unusual for a monster to appreciate comic books. It was especially unusual that the supposed monster could articulate why he appreciated these comics.
“And this picture?” Twilight levitated the picture into his hands, and he now recognized it as a photograph containing Twilight, himself, and their five friends.
“This is us with our friends,” Spike smiled. “We took this picture to celebrate our two years of friendship. It’s a precious memory.”
Many of the spectators shared his smile. He truly seemed treasure this moment and this photograph. Perhaps it wasn’t a gem, but the little dragon seemed to treasure its sentimentality more than he could love any jewel. Then again, some of them, particularly those who did not know him personally, believed he was merely imitating what he thought sentimentality to be. After all, how could a dragon truly feel anything?
Twilight levitated the apron over to him.
“It’s my apron,” Spike was a little embarrassed at admitting he owned an apron. “I wear it whenever I cook a meal for us.”
“You’re saying you know how cook?” Twilight hoped the jury could understand her point in showing this item.
“Yeah,” Spike was a bit wary of the eyes staring at him. “I had to learn.”
Twilight frowned, not understanding what he meant.
Spike shrugged apologetically, “To be fair Twilight, your cooking skills are so-so.”
There was a resounding chuckle reverberating through the courtroom, as every pony appreciated the dragon’s humor. He even grinned a bit, realizing his statement was pretty funny.
Spike’s smile immediately faded, replaced with profuse sweating and flushed cheeks when Twilight presented his Rarity doll. She just had to bring that to court.
“Um, that,” Spike tried to think quickly. He decided to tell some of the truth and rambled, “I made that one day when I wanted to try sewing. I had a lot of white and purple threads so I thought it would be fun to make it look like Rarity. She is my friend after all and I thought maybe it could be a great gift–.” 
Twilight motioned for him to stop so she could ask him a question.
“You’re saying you learned how to sew just to make a doll? Why?”
Spike twiddled his fingers, “I don’t know. I just thought it could be fun.”
“You learned to sew because you thought it would be fun?” Twilight wasn’t mocking him; she just wanted to make a point to the jury.
“Sure,” Spike said a little higher than he would have liked. “I mean every pony does something for fun, right?”
Twilight could sense this was having the desired effect on the jury. They recognized that no monster should be capable of sewing or cooking, much less seeking to learn such tasks and enjoying them. These items were demonstrating how Spike was a living being, just like any other Equestrian citizen, and hopefully, this would persuade the jury that the science department owning him was the equivalent of slavery. Of course, Twilight could go on endlessly demonstrating how Spike valued items for their personal value, rather than their monetary value, but that wouldn’t be enough. She had to prove he was truly capable of emotions to show tearing him away from her was ethically wrong. Fortunately, she already had set her plan to prove this in motion. She only hoped Spike would cooperate. If he did, she could only hope he would forgive her.
Finally, she retrieved another item that Spike had not seen from her saddlebag. He recognized the fire ruby as she handed it to the bailiff, who inspected it slightly too long with wide appreciative eyes. Twilight cleared her throat, prompting the bailiff to reluctantly return it to her. She placed it on the table before Spike. 
“This isn’t mine,” the little dragon said, confusion evident in his voice. “Well, at least not any more.”
“Well then, could you please tell the jury who this ruby belongs to and why it isn’t yours anymore?” Twilight kept her face impassive, refusing to preemptively betray her intentions.
“I gave it to Rarity,” Spike explained. “It’s hers.”
“Why? This would have made for a nice snack wouldn’t it?”
Spike returned to twiddling his fingers. “I just thought she might like it more, you know? I mean all I was going to do was eat it.”
The jury could see Spike was capable of generosity, even with gems. But Twilight knew that wasn’t going to be enough. She took a deep breath.
“You seem to have quite an interest in Rarity,” Spike’s eyes widened and he blushed even more deeply. “In her testimony, she reported you often visit her and offer to help with her chores. You made a doll resembling her, and you gave her a fire ruby that you were planning to eat. Why?”
Spike stammered, his voice choking, “I-I d-don’t know what you mean?”
“Let me rephrase this,” Twilight looked him straight in his green eyes. “What do you think about her?”
Suddenly, everything began to make sense. Rarity’s testimony, his doll resembling her, the fire ruby: all these pieces of evidence had built up to this one moment. When Twilight said he would have to reveal some very personal things, she really meant he had to reveal his longstanding crush on Rarity. He didn’t want to believe it. She would never make him do this in front of every pony. She couldn’t. His eyes fell from hers to the fire ruby.
Slowly, the little dragon shook his head and replied, “I’d rather not say.”
Forgetting her position as his defense attorney, Twilight placed her hoof under Spike’s chin and lifted his gaze. Her face expressed an apology for her actions and a kindness, he had always known since he hatched. He recognized she was sorry to do this to him, but she was desperate to protect him. Her eyes blazed with her fierce devotion, reminding Spike what Twilight had said before, “everything I do, I do because I love you.”
The court noticed her emotional expression, and for the first time, several scientists considered how separating Twilight from her little dragon would break her. The purple alicorn remembered this was a formal courtroom and lowered her hoof. The expression that the entire court had witnessed was suppressed but still very present.
“I’m sure given the circumstances, Rarity won’t mind.” Twilight never broke off from this mutual gaze, and Spike found himself magnetized to her purple eyes, unable to look away. 
Without words, Twilight told her assistant to ignore every other pony in the room and just talk to her. He tried to, he really did, but his disobedient eyes strayed into the audience where Rarity stared at him. When he saw her encouraging smile, he nearly melted, his tongue became tied and unyielding. He felt insignificantly tiny under the eyes of the hundreds of ponies present, but he felt significantly more miniscule under that beautiful unicorn's gaze. Any resolve he once had, vanished under those blue eyes.
The entire courtroom leaned forward intrigued. What was this dark secret that the little dragon was reluctant to share? Cadence couldn’t let this go on. As a prosecutor, she had to intervene not only for her case, but to protect Spike.
“Your honor,” the pink alicorn rose. “The defendant is unable to answer the question. The prosecution moves to end questioning and resume the trial.”
The judge sighed as he acknowledged her point. They could not sit here all day, waiting for the dragon to speak his mind.
“Motion carried,” the judge said. He lifted his hammer to slam his gavel and finalize the movement.
Within a second, Twilight’s eyes changed to reveal her boundless panic. She was going to lose Spike. They would never see he could feel. Spike saw her panic and realized what was about to happen. He was going to lose his family forever. As the hammer fell, Spike’s tongue untied, his eyes squeezed tight, and he screamed the truth.
“Ever since we’ve met I’ve always had a crush on her!”
The hammer stopped a mere inch from the gavel. Every pony stared at the little dragon as his face fell to the stand and he covered his head with his hands. Twilight rubbed a comforting hoof across his back, gently caressing the trembling dragon.
Every council member, every scientist, every member of the science department finally saw Spike in a new light. He wasn’t a monster; he was an individual capable of expressing generosity and truly feeling love. What’s more, he could feel love for another pony? This was unheard of, but no pony doubted it. This statement was completely logical in terms of everything that had been demonstrated with this little dragon. If he could feel love for another pony, then there could be no doubt he truly loved Twilight and experienced the same emotions they could, even though he was a dragon. On the inside, he was no different from any of them.
Noticing the little dragon’s overwhelming embarrassment, the judge turned to the jury, “Perhaps, we should take a brief intermission.”
It wasn’t as much a suggestion as an order, but the jury unanimously agreed. Twilight led Spike, whose face was buried in his hands, outside of the courtroom and soon several ponies had left the courtroom discussing everything they had heard and vocalizing their disappointment with the science department. Dr. Saffron sat beside Princess Cadence, unmoving. This was unprecedented. She never in her wildest dreams could have anticipated this. She rose from her seat and motioned Silver Stone in the audience to follow her outside. She was about to make a seriously risky move, but for once, she was resolved to do the right thing.
Twilight’s gathered friends watched the doctor exit the courtroom in a hurry. Rainbow Dash had rose to find Spike and offer him comfort, until Fluttershy put a hoof on her shoulder. She turned to look at the yellow pegasus.
“We should give him some space,” Fluttershy said. “Let Rarity speak to him.”
Rainbow Dash looked down the aisle, and realized the white unicorn was nowhere in sight. Begrudgingly, she sat back down, wondering if Spike would forgive Twilight for making him confess his affections. Then she looked up at Cadence, and wondered if any pony would be forgiven when this was all over.

> Part 8 Disclosures
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	In the comfort of her own home, Twilight at last turned to face the little dragon. She inhaled sharply, preparing herself for the inevitable storm.
“How could you make me do that?” Spike, still hot with embarrassment and clenching his fists to his side, berated her. “I thought you were my friend!”
“Spike, I’m sorry,” she apologized. “But it had to be done.”
“Why?” Spike could not control his voice, “what could you possibly gain from making me confess? Now every pony will think I’m a loser and a freak. I can see it now. Come see the baby dragon who has a crush on a unicorn! Don’t worry; he won’t bite!”
Twilight remained calm.
“You might not like it, but it seriously made the jury reconsider how they think of you,” she stated. “Before this, they thought you were a monster that could be bought and sold. Now, they’re beginning to see that you’re a unique individual, no different than them on the inside.”
Spike knew she was right, but that didn’t make him any less angry. How could she make him betray his deepest secret to Ponyville, Canterlot, and the Crystal Empire all at once? 
He folded his arms across his chest. “And the only way you could think to show them that was by making me confess?” 
“I’m sorry,” she apologized once again. “But I didn’t exactly have much time to prepare after Cadence practically destroyed my argument. Believe me, if I could have found any other way, I would have tried to prove my case without your confession. But with the circumstances being what they were—.”
Twilight trailed off when she realized Spike was hearing her but not listening. Growing frustrated, she decided to put her hoof down.
“You think I like this? I never wanted to betray your trust, but I don’t regret doing whatever it takes to protect you.” Twilight stated firmly. Spike met her eyes at last. “It’s like Cadence, alright? Neither of us wanted to do this, but we didn’t have a choice. You can blame me all your life for making you confess. You can blame Cadence for testifying against you. But don’t blame either of us wanting to save you!”
The alicorn and dragon stared at each other. He unfolded his arms, still bitter. “I can’t believe I trusted you.”
“Spike,” she reached out gently to him, but he shuffled back out of her grasp.
The little dragon looked down at the floor with teary eyes. “Now she’ll think I’m a freak. She’ll never talk to me again.”
Twilight frowned, “Spike, Rarity isn’t that shallow. I’m sure that—.”
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Twilight walked to the door, leaving Spike to stare as she left. She opened the door slightly and peered through the crack, finding her friend Rarity standing before her.
“Is everything alright, darling?” The white unicorn entered the house as Twilight opened the door. “I heard you and Spike yelling from outside.”
Twilight sighed, “He’s still upset that I made him confess.”
“Did you expect he wouldn’t be after all this?” Rarity turned to face the purple alicorn.
“No, I knew he’d blame me,” Twilight sullenly responded. “I just hoped he could see that I was doing this for him. Now, he’s afraid you might hate him forever.”
The white unicorn looked shocked that Twilight could even suggest that; her eyes were wide and her mouth agape. Inhaling sharply, she spoke to the alicorn, “Where is Spike? I think it’s time we talked.”
Twilight felt worried, unsure what Rarity planned to tell Spike, but she led her to the place where she left him. When he saw Rarity approach, Spike’s face grew red with embarrassment. His palms became sweaty with dread. He would rather face Queen Chrysalis and her army of Changelings than Rarity’s inevitable scorn. He turned, ready to run away and never come back.
“Spike, wait!” Her voice halted him in his tracks. He could not turn around and meet her eyes. “Please, let me say something.”
Spike gulped, preparing himself for the worst. The unicorn walked in front of Spike, who still could not meet her gaze.
“I’ve always known, Spike.” Spike’s teary eyes finally rose and met Rarity’s, “I’ve always known you’ve had a crush on me.”
The drake’s mouth dropped, his eyes expanding as the full implication of her words reached him. How had she—? When had she—?
“I’ve seen the ways you’ve fawned over me,” she continued, noticing his dumbfounded expression, “and you’ve always gone out of your way to be kind to me, expecting nothing in return. But I knew for certain when we were falling after you returned to normal size.”
Spike wasn’t sure his face could grow any redder, but his body felt uncomfortably burning. He lowered his gaze to the ground, twiddling his fingers. Rarity stepped closer to him, placing a hoof under his chin and lifting his gaze so their eyes could meet.
“Spike, I’m truly flattered,” she smiled kindly. “You’re the sweetest little dragon that ever could be, and this doesn’t change a thing between us.”
Spike’s chest tensed at their proximity. Rarity hoped she wasn’t putting Spike into too much discomfort. She lowered her hoof and backed off a bit. While his tension lessened, Spike still missed that closeness.
“Please don’t be angry with Twilight for making you confess,” Rarity spoke. “She just wanted to prove that you’re the same as any other pony on the inside.
“I know,” Spike’s eyes fell once again, “I just, I don’t know.” He twiddled his fingers awkwardly.
“What’s wrong, darling?” Rarity asked concerned, “You can tell me.”
“I just,” Spike found speaking difficult. “I wanted to tell you in my own time. You know, when it would be perfect.”
“Oh,” Rarity blushed, pleasantly taken aback by Spike’s romantic notions. When she tried to think of the last time any stallion she dated ever cared about being romantic, she found herself wishing she and Spike were not so far apart in age. “Well, I suppose we could always arrange for a more … atmospheric occasion for a confession. With a beautiful moon rising, surrounded by candlelights. I’ll pretend I was hearing it for the first time.”
Rarity almost was lost in the fantasy, until Twilight cleared her throat, snapping her back to reality. She shook her head clear, reminding herself what she had to do.
“The point is, I care about you too, Spike,” she moved her hoof to Spike’s shoulder. “You’re the dearest friend a pony could ask for, and none of this could ever keep us from being friends.”
Spike smiled, glad to know Rarity would not look at him any differently. The white unicorn lowered her hoof and turned away, ashamed of herself.
“And I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m sorry if you’ve ever felt like I’ve been leading you on and taking advantage of your generosity. I’ve sought the affections of other stallions fully aware that I was hurting your feelings. You have every right to be upset with me and I can understand if you never wish to speak to me again.”
Rarity gasped as Spike wrapped his arms around her, “I’m not mad. You let me help you even when I was more of a problem than an actual help. You never turned me away or thought it was wrong for a dragon to like a pony. And yeah, it was hard seeing you go after other stallions and ignore me.” Spike looked up at her resolved to maintain their friendship, “But it taught me what it means to truly love, putting some other pony’s happiness before my own.”
He gave a strong reassuring smile of his own, “I only ever learned that because of you. I only ever knew how to feel this kind of love and be selfless because I met you. And I could never hate you, because more than the pony I love, you’re my friend.”
Tearing up at his beautiful words, she embraced him, grateful to know their friendship would survive, and possibly even flourish. Rarity resolved to treat Spike better from now on, being careful not to take his assistance for granted or hurt his feelings. Spike was just thankful Rarity wouldn’t look down on him or mock his affections. Twilight gazed at the scene with contentment, glad to know things had worked out for them at least.
Spike broke from the hug and walked over to Twilight, “I’m sorry about what I said to you Twilight.” He twiddled his fingers, “I know it wasn’t fair to you and you really didn’t have much time to prepare for the case so you had to –.”
Twilight interrupted him as she embraced him, and he soon followed suit, pushing his scaly face to her purple fur. There was a knock at the door. They broke from the hug and exchanged glances. Twilight turned to Rarity.
“Did Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy come with you?”
“I don’t think so,” Rarity said. The knock at the door became louder and more urgent.
The trio walked to the door, and Twilight opened it with her magic to find Silver Stone standing before them practically out of breath, with a saddlebag.
“Silver Stone? What are you doing here?” Spike approached her and brought her inside, not waiting for Twilight or Rarity to give him permission. Rarity wanted to ask who was this filly, but held her tongue, closing the door behind them.
“I found something,” she panted, “something that could help your case.”
She took out a book, covered with dragon scales. Twilight and Rarity recoiled in horror at the binding, but Spike’s eyes grew wide.
“Is that the book you told me about?” He asked, “the one about your parents?”
She nodded breathlessly.
Twilight stepped forward and interjected, “Hold on, what’s going on? What’s this book about?”
“Twilight,” Spike took the book and handed it to her, “this is Dr. Ruby and Dr. Sapphire’s research journal! It has records of their actions that provoked the dragon to attack them.”
Twilight snatched the journal and began scanning its pages. Rarity gazed over her shoulder with intrigue. Noticing her fatigue, Spike brought Silver Stone to the couch and brought her a glass of water, which she quickly drank.
“How did you get it?” He asked after her breath had steadied. “I thought Dr. Saffron was keeping it under lock and key.”
“She brought me back home, and practically dropped the key in front of me,” the little unicorn stated. “She said that she can’t intervene in this case, but perhaps some other pony could. I took out the book and noticed some pony had already stuffed some documents in there about the science department’s proposed experiments for you. Only she could have put them in there.”
Spike’s eyes narrowed, “Why would she do this? Does she have some ulterior motive?”
“No, I made her see,” the silver unicorn explained. “When I told her how you feel about Twilight, she said that if she won custody, she would let you stay with her. You would only have to visit the lab every so often. Ever since the entire science department tried to claim ownership of you, she’s been regretting ever bringing this case to court.”
Spike wasn’t sure he was hearing this. Was the doctor actually sympathizing with him?
Silver Stone continued, “She thought going through with the case would prevent another scientist from trying to take custody of you and hurting you, but then Cadence brought in that stupid law.”
Spike considered this a moment. “We need to tell Twilight about this.”
The two walked back to Twilight and Rarity, who had just finished skimming through the journal, disturbed by what they read. In addition to Dr. Ruby and Dr. Sapphire’s notes, Twilight found a few documents haphazardly stuffed in between the pages. These documents detailed proposed experiments to try on the dragon proposed by various scientists. She and Rarity grimaced with each one they read. This case had gone beyond protecting Spike; now she had to reform the science department. Forget reforming, she might have to disband it entirely. Nothing gave them the right to do this to another being, especially behind the princess’ back.
“Twilight,” she and Rarity saw Spike approaching. “There’s something you need to know. Dr. Saffron let Silver Stone take the journal and these notes so she could bring them to us. She practically handed it all to her.”
Twilight’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. Was the doctor playing them? She scanned the journal once more, trying to discern its credibility. Rarity seemed to share Twilight’s wariness.
“Why would she do that?” Rarity pondered, “Do you think she’s setting us up?”
Spike shook his head, “No, thanks to Silver Stone, Dr. Saffron actually sympathizes with me. She doesn’t want the entire science department to claim ownership of me and separate us.”
Twilight was still uncertain about the doctor’s motives, but the journal seemed legitimate, and she could indeed use it in the case. It still didn’t make sense for the doctor to sabotage her own case. The purple alicorn scowled at the doctor’s duplicity. How long had she even had this journal and why wasn’t it ever released to the public?
Silver Stone walked over to them from the couches and spoke up, “Saffron said the journal was given to her by Dr. Facts.”
Twilight and Rarity’s eyes widened with irritation at the name. This doctor had caused too many problems for their case.
“She said it was his way of telling her the ends justify the means,” Silver Stone continued. “That her practices are outdated and don’t get results.”
“Do you know where we can find this Dr. Facts?” Rarity asked the little filly.
She gritted her teeth, “No pony knows who Dr. Facts really is. All we really know is that he’s well versed with science and philosophy, and has considerable influence over the science department. Whoever he is, he wants to,” she scowled, “hurt Spike irreparably.”
Twilight and Rarity gave the filly a hard stare, “He’ll have to get through us first.”
Just then, there was another knock on the door.
“Twilight! Are ya in there?” They recognized Applejack’s voice outside. Twilight opened the door and Applejack rushed in, nearly crashing into her.
“Applejack, what’s –?”
“We found Dr. Facts,” Applejack interrupted her. 
Every pony and dragon’s eyes widened and a thousand questions began pouring out. Twilight motioned for them to quiet down, so Applejack could speak.
“Dr. Facts sent us on a goose chase, even planted a false informant to try an’ lead us all the way to Griffinstone, but we figured out that some pony was tryin’ to trick us, and got a confession out of her.“ 
“Wait, 'her'?” Twilight raised a brow, “Are you saying Dr. Facts is a mare?”
“Yup,” Applejack nodded as she pulled out a piece of paper from her hat and showed it to the group. “Pinkie Pie managed to make her write a confession an’ everything.”
“How did she do that?” Spike asked, as Twilight took the letter and scanned it.
Applejack’s eyes flashed darkly for a fraction of a second, sending a chill down their spines. “Let’s just say Pinkie Pie can be very … persuasive. She didn’t exactly force the confession so it’s not coercion. If she tries to claim it was, just have Pinkie Pie testify an’ she’ll tell you how we got a confession.”
Twilight looked at the earth pony intently, “Are you absolutely sure it’s her?”
Applejack nodded, “It fits perfectly when you really think about it.”
Twilight stared at the signature once again. She glanced up to Applejack, “We need to bring her to court. She has a lot to answer for.”

> Part 9 The Defense Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Rarity and Applejack departed from Twilight’s house together. They agreed to space out their arrival from Silver Stone’s to avoid suspicion. The little filly could sense Twilight’s frustration with the science department, and she felt impelled to intervene. It wouldn’t do Dr. Saffron any good if Twilight declared war on the science department.
“Twilight,” the lavender alicorn turned to the little filly. “I know you’re angry at the department. I don’t blame you. But I don’t think disbanding completely it would be a good idea. I mean keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right? Plus, the department has done so much good for Equestria, and has for the most part tried to be ethical. They’re open to change, really! You know, that last reveal changed a lot of the scientists’ minds. They’re starting to think that only Dr. Saffron should have access to Spike, and the rest of the department should stay out.”
Twilight stared at the unicorn, studying her. She seemed like a well intentioned, honest child. But Twilight would have to see the science department change before her wrath was curbed. 
“Twilight, Spike. Just one second, I have one more thing to give you” Silver Stone turned to her saddlebag and levitated another book towards Twilight, “This is Dr. Saffron’s research journal. She took notes of all of the safe experiments she intended to conduct on Spike.”
Twilight skimmed through the journal, and Spike cocked his head with a question.
Not missing Spike’s cue, Silver Stone explained, “It was in the drawer with my parents’ journal. She already had several ideas of procedures to attempt on you and only added suggestions from other experimenters that she felt were ethical and productive.”
Twilight looked at the filly, wondering why she was doing all of this. Silver Stone looked down and fidgeted uncomfortably.
“It might not help your case,” she said, “but please know that Dr. Saffron never wanted to hurt Spike. The proof is in that journal.”
“She still has a lot to make up for in my books,” Twilight’s voice made Silver Stone wince, “but I’ll try to go easy on her.”
The filly nodded and raced to the courthouse. Twilight handed the journal to Spike, who looked up uncertainly. Why had she given this to him?
“Well, you’re the one she wanted to take,” Twilight stated. “You have a right to read this.”
The little dragon opened the book and read the experiments. If it weren’t for the fact he was at risk of being taken away forever, he would have found many of the proposed experiments intriguing. He actually would have liked to know the maximum temperature of his fire breath, or discover how long it would take him to grow wings. Spike never even considered how hard his teeth were, given that they could crush gems. The more he read these experiments, the more he realized how little he knew about dragons.
“Some of these are actually kind of interesting,” Spike admitted. Twilight gave him an incredulous stare. He shrugged, “I don’t know that much about dragons either. I wouldn’t mind learning how powerful my fire breath could become or my potential flight speed or even when I’ll grow wings. Of course, none of this matters if it means I can’t stay with you.”
Twilight nodded and took back the book, placing it into her saddlebag. The two left once more for the courtroom. As they walked through the streets, Twilight ruminated on that journal. She just didn’t understand. Why had Dr. Facts decided to give it to Dr. Saffron now of all times? Silver Stone said it was a way of showing Dr. Saffron’s morality and restraint was archaic, but Twilight had doubts. The journal undermined everything Dr. Saffron believed she was fighting for, so giving it to her in the middle of this trial was illogical. It could only push Dr. Saffron away from the case, giving her reason to doubt her cause. Unless that was what Dr. Facts was trying to do, there was no logical benefit. Twilight’s eyes widened with realization and she stumbled. Spike turned to look at his friend with concern.
“She’s playing us,” Twilight stood completely still, in the middle of the street.
Spike looked at Twilight puzzled, “What are you talking about?”
“Dr. Facts knew that Dr. Saffron would have a change of heart during the trial, she knew Dr. Saffron would send us the journal.”
Spike scowled, “Hold on, Twilight. You’re not making sense. How could Dr. Facts predict Dr. Saffron sending us the journal? And how is that playing us?”
“I don’t know,” Twilight responded. “But she has something planned. I feel it.”
Spike frowned thoughtfully. “Well, just don’t present the journal to the court.”
“I can’t,” Twilight paced anxiously. “This journal links Dr. Facts to the event all those years ago. I need it to show how her beliefs caused their deaths, and bring her into this trial.”
Spike shrugged helplessly, “Then don’t mention where you got the journal.”
Twilight gritted her teeth. “What else can I do?”
With that, the two marched on to the courthouse, racking their brains trying to make sense of this whole mess. They soon entered the courtroom, noticing most of ponies assembled were still present.
After putting her saddlebag on the defense table, Twilight and Spike took their places, noting that Cadence was absent from the prosecution stand. She glanced over to Dr. Saffron, who met her gaze for a brief moment. Try as she might, Twilight could not read the doctor’s thoughts. If she expected a smile or some thanks for the journal and documents, the doctor would find herself sorely disappointed. Twilight broke away from her gaze, but this time, did not scowl at the doctor, which the unicorn noticed.
Every pony seemed present. Spike noticed all of his friends from Ponyville, particularly Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack. Where were Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie? Well, Pinkie Pie was probably bringing Dr. Facts to court but what was Rainbow Dash doing now of all times? Did Pinkie Pie need some extra muscle? He considered that Rainbow Dash was a Wonder Bolt, or at least a Wonder Bolt in training, and Wonder Bolts were recognized as a branch of the military and police force. She could technically make citizen arrests on her own. Perhaps, she had Dr. Facts under arrest to prevent her escape? Spike didn’t know. When he scanned the many ponies present, he kept wondering why Shining Armor was not present, or at least visible.
The judge frowned at the vacant prosecution stand, “Where is the prosecution? We can’t resume trial without her.”
As if on cue, the tall, pink alicorn entered the courtroom and walked to her stand.
“Please forgive my tardiness, your honor.” Cadence said as she took her seat, “I had to take care of something.”
Twilight’s eyes narrowed, wondering what Cadence could have been doing. The judge spoke and she returned her attention to his words.
“In any case, we can now resume the trial.” He looked at Twilight awkwardly, realizing he had not consulted with her to ask if she had more to argue, “Um, does the defense have anything else to present?”
“Yes, your honor,” Twilight alleviated the judge’s worries, as she rose. “The defense calls Dr. Saffron to the stand.”
To the surprise of many ponies, Dr. Saffron proceeded to the stand without objection. The judge was particularly startled by this and considered asking if she felt well. The doctor lifted her hoof.
“On the elements of harmony, I swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth,” the doctor lowered her hoof and sat down.
Twilight approached the unicorn, “Please state your name and occupation.”
“Dr. Saffron, member of the Equestrian Science Department and leading scientist in the field of dragon research,” the unicorn responded, though she felt no particular pride in admitting to either.
“As a member of the science department, could you please tell the court what in your eyes qualifies as a being protected by Princess Celestia’s laws?” Twilight asked.
Considering the science department was undoubtedly watching her, Dr. Saffron carefully answered, “I suppose any being protected by Princess Celestia’s laws are under her rule. Dragons aren’t typically considered citizens because they live under their own laws.”
“Wouldn’t that make Spike a being deserving protection?” Twilight prompted her, “He takes messages directly from her and sends them to her. Not to mention, he has constantly obeyed her laws, never stealing or hurting any other pony. Even if other dragons don’t live under the law, Spike does. Should he be punished for their decisions?”
“Ordinarily, I would agree with you,” the doctor tried to hide that she completely agreed with the princess right now. “But Spike is still a dragon. Were he out in the wild, he wouldn’t be any different from other dragons.”
“But he wasn’t raised in the wild,” Twilight retorted, “I raised him here in Canterlot. He is different from other dragons. And you just admitted it.”
Dr. Saffron blinked and stuttered for a moment, gasping for a response. She had none. The unicorn nodded, “Yes, I suppose I just did.”
The unicorn turned to glance at Spike. At last, she decided to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. “I was too ignorant to realize it when we first met, but I can no longer deny that Spike is indeed unique, not simply compared to other dragons but to other creatures. I was wrong to treat him so poorly and assume I could own him.” She gazed at Spike and whispered one brief sentence, audible to the entire court, “I’m sorry, Spike.”
The entire court was silent, astounded. The scientists present were baffled; she had brought this case to court, was she now regretting her actions? Every Ponyville citizen was equally baffled but relieved that the doctor had apparently changed her mind. Twilight’s mouth was agape. She remembered Silver Stone said Dr. Saffron had changed her mind about Spike, but she never anticipated such a drastic change. 
“If you truly believe what you’re saying,” Twilight asked more as a pony to pony than a lawyer to a witness, “why didn’t you drop the case?”
Dr. Saffron glanced at Twilight’s saddlebag for just a moment, indicating she had the answer. The alicorn did not miss this and moved to retrieve the documents, stuffed in that journal. She handed them to the bailiff, who looked physically revolted by what he read. Taking the papers, Twilight placed them before Dr. Saffron.
“Could you please identify these documents for the court?” Twilight commanded.
The unicorn scowled, wrinkling her nose. “When I decided to pursue this case, many scientists were eager to perform frankly unorthodox and barbaric experiments on Spike. Before Cadence invoked that law, I was the one who would be overseeing any experiments performed on Spike, so naturally many scientists proposed various experiments to me. What you have here are the many proposals I rejected due to their cruel and unproductive nature. If you’d like a specific,” shifting through the documents, Dr. Saffron found that abominable proposal, “this document proposed dissecting Spike to study his anatomy.”
The entire courtroom winced, and several ponies felt sick. Spike’s hand rose unconsciously to his throat as he forced down his bile. All of Ponyville and the Crystal Empire were ready to break the skull of whatever scum proposed this, while many scientists looked aghast at the proposal. They all swore to have no idea of this proposal; some lied, but many more told the truth. Dr. Saffron placed the document back down and continued to speak.
“To answer your previous question, I did not drop this case because I didn’t want some simpleton destroying Spike or treating him poorly,” Dr. Saffron’s statement made Twilight’s eyes narrow. “And I didn’t drop it later because I was worried that might deprive you the chance to defend him.”
“I thought you wanted to understand dragons?” Twilight pointedly stated. “Why suddenly change your position?”
The unicorn narrowed her eyes in turn, “I want to understand dragons, yes, but not if it means destroying one and permanently separating him from his family. I believe that as a scientist, I am absolutely obligated to put my morality first.” Dr. Saffron’s gaze fell to the tabletop, ashamed. “Of course, I can’t say I always intended to let him stay with you. I had not realized how he truly views you as family until my assistant told me that he sees you as she sees me. That he needs you like she needs me. No good can come from separating the two of you. I see that now.”
Twilight did not turn around to the audience, but could sense the silver unicorn feeling proud of her mentor. She still would not go easy on Dr. Saffron, even though she seemed regretful.
“There’s something else I’d like to ask you,” Twilight continued. “You stated when Cadence invoked that law, your hopes of protecting Spike were foiled. Were you not aware she would present these documents to the court?”
Dr. Saffron shook her head. “I was dealing with all of the proposals and a certain journal when she received those documents. I can only assume Dr. Facts sent Cadence those documents, but I have no idea how he found them.”
Cadence nodded to confirm her statement, and Twilight pressed the point to see just how much Dr. Saffron really knew. “Dr. Facts? Can you identify this individual?”
Once again, the unicorn shook her head. “Dr. Facts is an alias. No pony knows who he really is; just that he has considerable influence on the science department and has been anonymously publishing books on various academic fields promoting his ideals.”
Twilight’s stared at Dr. Saffron, “And what exactly are his ideals?”
“In short, the ends justify the means,” the unicorn responded. Twilight believed she truly did not know Dr. Facts’ identity.
“Would you say the science department accepted this ideal?”
The unicorn broke her gaze for a moment, falling into contemplation. She considered all the proposed experiments she had read, both wise and barbaric, she considered Dr. Facts, a skilled but misguided professor, and then she considered the journal and her friends. 
“I wish I could say no,” the unicorn slowly met Twilight’s gaze. “But now, I’m not so sure anymore.”
Twilight decided it was time to make her first ultimate reveal. She retrieved the journal from her saddlebag, handing it to the bailiff. Dr. Saffron inhaled sharply, hoping her friends, Dr. Sapphire and Dr. Ruby, would forgive her for what she had to do, but then she remembered their actions. Once again, she wondered if she ever truly knew them. Twilight noticed Dr. Saffron's momentary reaction and considered how hard it must be for her to mar Silver Stone’s parents. Nevertheless, she placed the journal on the evidence table.
“Do you recall the incident that occurred with Dr. Ruby and Dr. Sapphire?” Twilight addressed the court. “The prosecution stated that a dragon the two had been studying was inexplicably provoked to attacking them, burning an entire forest to the ground with them in it.”
She took a deep breath, “For the longest time, every pony assumed this attack was random and unprovoked, but recently, their journal has been recovered, detailing exactly what happened.” She flipped open the journal; the spectators’ anticipation was palpable. “Thirty days before the incident, Dr. Sapphire added a powerful sedative to a dragon’s gem hoard, incapacitating the dragon for several hours. During this time, Dr. Ruby surgically removed several scales from the dragon to craft this journal’s binding.”
This statement triggered murmurings among the audience and left others in shock. The entire crowd felt revolted, scientists included who could hardly believe the esteemed and highly regarded doctors would commit such a heinous act. They all understood now why the dragon attacked them after waking up without his scales; he must have gone absolutely berserk.
“However, this event did not provoke the dragon into attacking.” Twilight felt the intrigue rise even further. What possible action could have been more enraging? Dr. Saffron knew, Silver Stone knew, Spike knew, Twilight knew, and they still had trouble believing it. Twilight flipped to the journal’s final pages. She took a deep breath.
“On the day of the attack, the professors collected several stillborn dragon eggs that were presumably left abandoned. Among these stillborn eggs,” The alicorn lifted her gaze to look at the little purple dragon at the defense table, “they tried to make off with the defendant’s living egg.”
Every pony reacted to this statement. Many mothers instinctively moved their front hooves over their hearts in shock, while many fathers unconsciously took aggressive stances by narrowing their eyes and gritting their teeth, as both confronted the imaginary ponies trying to steal their children. The scientists shook their heads in bitter disappointment with their colleagues or widened their eyes when they realized that their current knowledge of dragons came from these monsters, willing to kidnap an infant. All of Spike’s friends looked at him with pity, knowing ponies were to blame for separating him from his true parents. Dr. Saffron could only feel numb. She knew this had to be done; it was the right thing. Now, however, she had betrayed the memory of her dearest friends, of Silver Stone’s very own parents. The numbness faded, replaced with bitter resolve. These scientists were no longer her friends or Silver Stone’s parents, even in memory. Everything she believed in, everything that motivated her up to this point, all of it stood on false ground. Twilight however, did not intend to completely besmirch the professors’ reputation. She would trace the crime to its root. Dismissing the unicorn back to her place at the prosecution, she turned to keep Dr. Saffron in eyesight.
“But what if I told you that their actions aren’t entirely their fault?” Dr. Saffron looked at Twilight in confusion. Silver Stone blinked uncertainly. As far as they were both concerned, her parents willingly committed their actions that day, making them guilty. Every pony was on the edge of his or her seat now, wondering what else the alicorn had to reveal.
“Indeed, they performed their actions that day, but only because they were following some pony’s teachings.” Dr. Saffron narrowed her eyes, trying to discern what Twilight was telling her, or rather, telling the court.
“And what if I told you that this pony was their instructor during their time at the Canterlot Science Academy, who before retiring from her post to take up more quiet work, convinced them that the ends justify the means?” Dr. Saffron gasped. How could this be possible? Twilight shifted to the doorway where every head turned to see Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash leading in a green mare, who kept her face upright, proud, and arrogant.
“The defense calls Dr. Facts to the stand, or as she’s better known, Amber Heart, the Canterlot librarian.”
Cadence gasped as she recognized the mare who gave her those many documents at the library. She claimed a stallion gave her those documents, stating they were from the council to ensure justice prevailed. All along, she must have given those documents, possibly even fabricating them. As the mare reached the stand and half-heartedly swore the oath with a superior, smug smirk, the pink alicorn rose to her hooves.
“You? You’re Dr. Facts?” Cadence scowled, “You’re the one who’s been giving me all those fake papers?”
“Those papers weren’t fake, my dear,” Dr. Facts wore a smile that did not reach her eyes. “And yes, I found all those papers in the Canterlot Library long ago, specifically in the Council’s section.”
“You dare go behind the princess’ back to personally involve yourself in the law?” Cadence gritted her teeth, prepared to strangle the mare for putting her and Spike through so much agony.
“Please,” Dr. Facts condescendingly tilted her head. “I’m just a citizen trying to ensure due process of the law by contributing anything I can to this case. Since the beginning of their reign, the princesses have always had civil servants, assisting them and keeping them in order by maintaining awareness of the law. You can’t accuse me of wrongdoing, when I’m merely presenting the court with vital information. Though if you see my actions as unjust and believe I belong in prison, then you should bring every one of the witnesses to prison for,” the doctor paused, putting a hoof to her chin, mockingly, “what was it again? Oh yes. Providing evidence to influence the jury’s decision.”
Cadence could only glare at the mare. She was right. The princesses always had some ponies helping them in some way. Many experienced ponies offered their wisdom and counsel in extreme circumstances. No matter how much she wished it, Dr. Facts could not be imprisoned for providing evidence to a legal case.
“You’ve been trying to turn this case in your favor before the trial even started,” Cadence scowled. “All of the witnesses testified in court publicly; you handed me those documents that you found yourself. Why should you insist on anonymity while giving your horrible documents to me?”
The doctor shrugged, “Some of us prefer not to be at the center of attention. Besides, the witnesses testifying in court all had unique perspectives of certain events or misguided beliefs about that dragon,” she eyed Spike, looking for a response. When he gave no visible reaction, she continued, “Not to mention, those documents existed independently of me. Would you have preferred some pony to stand as a witness and explain every piece of evidence the prosecution or defense brought forth?”
Twilight cleared her throat, reminding Cadence this was her witness. As Cadence backed down, Twilight retrieved the confession from her saddlebag and handed it to the bailiff. She placed it on the evidence table and unrolled it.
“This is a full-confession written by Amber Heart, attesting to her actions as Dr. Facts,” Twilight felt unnerved by the green unicorn’s eerily calm demeanor. “In it, she explained that Dr. Sapphire and Dr. Ruby were her ‘prized students’ at the academy, and that she taught Dr. Sapphire and Dr. Ruby that advancements in science require sacrifice.” She turned to the unicorn, “Do you deny this?”
From the audience, Dr. Facts noticed that pink earth pony with a deflated mane staring at her fixedly with murderous blue eyes. Slowly, she lifted a cupcake in her right hoof, sending a wordless message to the defiant professor, reminding her that the pink pony could always make her fess up in public with her unorthodox methods. The doctor lost her arrogant smile for a moment and shivered with wide eyes, recalling how that insane pony made Dr. Facts reveal her secrets. She was not coerced to confess, but she really did not want to repeat that ordeal, or stare at that cupcake for another second. If that pony gave another six hour lecture on the tedious history of cupcakes, she would go insane. The doctor turned to Twilight.
“Yes,” her voice instigated several murmurs among the audience. “I taught them the importance of pursuing science at the academy. Being their mentor is what made me the first pony to legally inherit their research journal, when they perished. After all, their will designated I would receive their research. I do hope the court doesn’t intend to punish me for being so dear to them.”
Spike stared at this unassuming green mare, who wanted to separate him from Twilight. The purple dragon gritted his as he stared through narrowed eyes. The judge also narrowed his eyes as he noticed something inconsistent with the testimony.
“Wait a minute,” the judge frowned as the professor turned to him. “You’re saying that journal,” he gestured to the journal on the table, “belongs to you?”
Dr. Facts feinted her misunderstanding, “Why, yes. I own the journal. It’s been in my possession for over ten years now. Why do you ask?”
The judge scratched his bearded chin, “Why omit this journal in spite of all the other evidence you’ve contributed?”
“I didn’t want to present it because I was worried it would damage my dear students' reputation,” the doctor stated. “And I was so afraid it would cause every pony to view their daughter in some new light. She certainly didn’t deserve that.”
Spike clenched his fists and scowled. He was enraged that Dr. Facts had withheld this journal for so many years, while providing Cadence with necessary evidence to win her case. Worse still, she was completely justified in withholding the journal; no pony could blame her for protecting her student’s memory. All of these actions, no matter how provoking, paled in comparison to the one implied action that truly infuriated Spike. Yet, he remembered this was court, and he had no business speaking out of term. The doctor continued speaking, and Spike masked his discontent.
“Wracked with guilt from all these years, I sent the journal to Dr. Saffron a few days ago, so she could know the truth,” Dr. Saffron pursed her lips, fully aware the doctor’s true motives were far from benevolent. She just could not discern what Dr. Facts was trying to accomplish. 
Twilight recognized Dr. Saffron’s unease, and anticipated some foul scheming. She prepared to continue her examination, until the judge’s eyes widened and then narrowed. Twilight could only wonder what was bothering the judge now.
“If you gave the journal to Dr. Saffron,” he eyed the cream-colored unicorn and then the purple alicorn, “then how did it end up in court in the hooves of the defense?”
Twilight stumbled for a moment, and Dr. Facts leapt onto her hesitation.
“I suppose the only answer is that Dr. Saffron gave her the journal,” the green unicorn declared.
This prompted further murmurings from the audience that the judge could not immediately silence. Was it true? Had Dr. Saffron compromised her entire position and given Twilight the journal? The judge stared at Dr. Saffron with incredulous eyes. Ordinarily, he would have ordered the witness to refrain from forming their own conclusions, but this theory shook him to the core. The cream unicorn would not meet his gaze, knowing she was indeed responsible. Yet, she regretted nothing, and would have sent the journal again if she had to; perhaps this action compromised her position but Dr. Saffron reasoned it was the appropriate action given the circumstances. 
“Professor Saffron,” his mouth slightly gaped, “is this true?”
Dr. Saffron lifted her gaze to meet the judge’s eyes. She could have denied the claim, insisting her assistant stole the journal for them; she could even sense Silver Stone was about to admit before the court that she brought the journal to the defense. But a cross examination could reveal that she allowed the journal to be taken, which was practically as good as handing it over personally. Dr. Saffron would not allow Silver Stone to accept responsibility for her actions. As Silver Stone took a sharp inhale to declare her fault, the unicorn nodded her head and spoke.
“Yes, your honor. I gave the journal to my assistant and implicitly told her to deliver it to Twilight Sparkle.”
The silver unicorn in the audience stopped, in shock. What was Saffron doing? She couldn’t tell the court that she gave Twilight the journal to use; it would undermine her credibility as a professor, her eligibility as a member of the Canterlot Science Department, and the recent motion to overturn the department's claim to Spike, and simply grant Saffron custody. As further discussion rose from the audience, the silver unicorn’s eyes widened, as she realized what losing the last of these would mean for poor Spike. All the while, Spike looked at Dr. Saffron with growing admiration for the unicorn who accepted responsibility. Upon gazing at Dr. Facts, this admiration was replaced with disgust and loathing for the doctor who avoided responsibility all of these years. His musings were interrupted but not ended when the judge gazed at the unicorn in dumbfounded surprise.
“Why? You’re the one who brought this case to court on behalf of the science department,” the judge slammed his hammer to silence the crowd, still incessantly muttering.
“As I previously stated,” the unicorn met his gaze firmly. “I no longer falsely believe Spike is a monster. Claiming ownership of him by denying his uniqueness is the equivalent of slavery.”
“But you’re presenting this case on behalf of the science department. Is it really fair for you to ruin their goals with your own vendetta?” The judge sighed unhappily.
In light of the dragon’s recent testimony, he heard many scientists proposing that only Dr. Saffron should have custody of him rather than the department as a whole, should she win. Now, even that hope would be destroyed. He knew the law; he had to uphold it. With the science department’s claim on Spike, this case had become the science department against the little drake. To have one of their own betray their interests left one legal course of action. The law was very explicit: should a member of the science department betray the entire department’s interest in court, the scientist would be stripped of all rights and the department would instantly win the case. He had no idea how this law came into effect or why it was still present, but it forced him to make a loathsome decision.
“If you’re intent on sabotaging your own case, or rather the science department’s case, then I’m afraid I must rule in favor of the entire science department. As the scroll Cadence presented states, should a member of the science department betray the science department in court, the trial must end in the department’s favor. Spike will no longer be in custody of Dr. Saffron, but the property of the science department.” 
This prompted several ponies to verbally protest, most noticeably Twilight’s friends. As the judge tried to restore order, Dr. Saffron saw the smirk on Dr. Facts’ face; it brought to mind a chess player setting up their opponent and then ensnaring them. She studied this face curiously. She couldn’t help but marvel how the doctor guided this whole case to her satisfaction. It was uncanny.
The unicorn slowly grasped the whole of this situation. Dr. Facts had played her. When she sent that journal yesterday, it was not simply a mocking gesture. No, the doctor had the foresight to put herself in a perfect winning situation. She knew the unicorn would have a change of heart and send Twilight the journal. She knew Dr. Saffron would have to confess her actions, and that confession would ruin her position on this case, or more specifically, the entire science department’s position on this case. Once again, the doctor was exploiting more ancient laws.
“Objection your honor,” Twilight’s voice cut through the crowd. “This case isn’t about the doctor changing her mind or the science department; it’s about Spike.”
The doctor chuckled for a moment at this interfering alicorn. Watching her fumble was absolutely amusing to the doctor, as she had control over the entire situation.
“Actually, my dear, you’ll find the way one discovers information is vital.” Her calm demeanor silenced the spectators, “You received this information from unorthodox methods, namely a traitor of the science department,” she smirked at the unicorn whose face was downturned.
“Which under due process of the law means the prosecution was unfit to perform its duty, and the dragon goes to the entire department. As Saffron demonstrated, individuals alone are unqualified for experiments on dragons; they are too easily swayed by emotions. The beast is now property of the science department.”
Cadence’s eyes watered, Twilight’s heart skipped, Spike broke, realizing his life was over. Until, he heard a chuckle coming from the prosecution. Dr. Saffron rose with a confident smirk. Dr. Facts wasn’t the only pony who could play chess; the unicorn had anticipated the consequences of her actions, and did something even Dr. Facts couldn’t have predicted: the right thing.
“Funny you should call me a member of the science department,” the unicorn removed her glasses, to stare the doctor defiantly in the eyes. “I resigned from my post immediately after Spike’s testimony.”
The entire courtroom gasped. Silver Stone did a double take. Dr. Saffron valued her role on the department. She had worked years to achieve her position and receive recognition for her contributions. Yet, she simply gave it all up? Why?
“You can check the science department records. I put in my letter of resignation about five minutes before I had Silver Stone deliver the journal to Twilight,” the unicorn grinned at the wide-eyed, disbelieving doctor, satisfied to have thrown her so off balance. “My actions were not performed as a member of the department nor as the prosecution, but as a fellow pony intent on seeing justice. The science department was represented solely by the leading prosecutor Cadence, who had no involvement in, or awareness of, my actions.”
Spike and Twilight stared at Dr. Saffron in awe. She threw her entire career away for the sake of a little dragon she originally wanted to experiment on? Twilight and Cadence regarded the unicorn with gratitude, while Spike and Silver Stone regarded her with admiration. Dr. Facts barely suppressed her rage. How dare this impudent brat escape her machinations? Worse yet, she escaped by stepping down from a role most ponies only dreamed of. Did she really place so little thought on her role in the science department that she would throw it all away on the flip of a bit? And for what? Some monster that was responsible for the death of her friends? 
The doctor inhaled sharply, ready to counter argue. Then, she noticed the pink earth pony lifting another cupcake, unaware that the pony had bred in the doctor an unconscious, irrational fear cupcakes with her unorthodox methods. Somehow, deep down, she knew that cupcake in combination with that pink pony were to be feared. Dr. Facts found the words stuck in her throat under the pony’s gaze, and meekly sat down. Noticing this wordless exchange, Spike had no idea how she palled the doctor, but knowing Pinkie Pie, it couldn’t be rational.
Dr. Saffron turned to the judge, “The case is still on, your honor, and Twilight has the floor.”
The judge quickly nodded eager to see this case through, “Very well then. The case continues. However, should the jury rule in favor of the prosecution, Spike will be considered property of the entire science department, not custody of Dr. Saffron, who may not be retaining her title of doctor depending on science department's ruling. Otherwise, the defense may continue.”
As the unicorn judge sat down, Twilight nodded sourly and turned to the doctor, ready to confront the true mastermind. The doctor regained her posture ever so slightly, as she prepared to defend her stance. 
“As I was saying, Amber Heart,” Twilight refused to call the elderly unicorn Dr. Facts and strengthen her with that mythos, “the real issue here is how owning Spike is a practice that has been condemned since the time of Starswirl and Clover the Clever, who wrote your twisted law centuries ago. The real issue and ethical dilemma in using this law to justify the science department owning Spike, which in itself, can be translated to a universally abhorred crime. A crime that we believe violates intrinsic, natural rights that every living creature is entitled to; I’m talking of course about slavery. Tell me, do you not believe owning Spike is slavery?”
Her six friends leaned forward nervously. They knew that whatever happened next could determine the jury’s ruling. Each of them hoped Twilight could succeed. The doctor steadied her pulse and responded.
“Owning that,” she looked at the dragon with distain, “that thing is not nearly the same as slavery. It would be owning a pet, which I can assure you, only fanatics detest.”
Spike felt his blood boil not only at this statement, but an underlying assumption that no pony seemed eager to inspect. He knew that speaking out of term would not do them any good, but the more he ruminated on this assumption, the more irate he became. Despite sharing her friend's frustrations, Twilight maintained her calm attitude.
“Why is that?” Twilight asked. “Is there something drastically different about the defendant from any other pony that makes him nothing but an animal?”
“Of course,” the doctor smirked, “he’s a dragon. Those monsters have never been a part of Celestia’s kingdom. They’ve always kept to themselves, attacking any pony at the slightest provocation –“
“We’ve already proved dragons seldom attack without provocation and can be negotiated with, even by a timid pegasus,” Dr. Saffron interrupted the doctor, despite the judge’s cross stare. “We’ve also been given reason to believe that dragons prefer solitude than to mingle with monsters such as us. Given that, I suggest you refrain from referring to dragons as violent beasts.”
The judge hammered his gavel once again and the unicorn apologetically nodded. “The prosecution, err, the, Dr. Saffron is correct, Miss Amber Heart. Kindly refrain from referring to dragons as monsters or anything in such light.”
Twilight once again gave the unicorn a thankful smile, before turning to the doctor. Rankled but undeterred, the doctor continued her speech.
“Dragons are not recognized as Equestrian citizens; the defendant is a dragon. It seems to be a pretty closed case to me.”
Twilight stared at the unicorn intently, “Even if we were going on the misguided assumption that all dragons are mindless beasts, you’re forgetting one crucial fact: this case is not about all dragons, it’s about Spike. He’s already demonstrated that he isn’t so different from any other pony or Equestrian citizen; he can value objects for their personal value rather than their monetary value, he can take up tasks simply for diversion, and he can feel love. What was it Dr. Saffron said?” She turned to the court record, though she already knew the answer. “‘Claiming ownership of him by denying his uniqueness is the equivalent of slavery.’ Now tell me Amber Heart how do you reconcile this with your stance? Hmm?”
The doctor snorted. “If it appears to demonstrate similarities to ponies, it is simply because it is imitating them. Having grown up beside ponies, it can replicate what it visualizes ponies doing, but it doesn’t naturally possess these qualities itself.”
Spike gritted his fangs every time the doctor called him “it”, but remained outwardly impassive as he reflected on the one fact that kept him furious. Twilight admired Spike for remaining so calm; it would make her case all the more credible. 
“You’ll have to do better than that, Amber Heart. All ponies and creatures learn by imitation; babies learn by imitation of their parents and eventually attain these things themselves.” She gave the doctor a condescending smirk of her own, “Unless you’re saying ponies and dragons are the same?”
“Of course not! How can you ignore all the differences between dragons and ponies? Ponies don’t have scales, fangs, or the ability to breathe fire.”
“You’ve only listed physical traits.” Twilight turned to the court. “It’s undeniably true there are physical differences between ponies and dragons, but aren’t there physical differences between every species in Equestria? There are even physical differences between ponies. So just how much do these physical differences separate us?”
Twilight went to her saddlebag and pulled out a red, shiny apple. As the bailiff inspected it, every pony wondered what she could possibly have planned now. Twilight placed it before the judge.
“Your honor, would you please take a bite of this apple?” The judge frowned, glancing from the alicorn to the apple. “I promise you this is all to make a point.”
The judge shrugged. Who was he to complain if he could have a little snack in court? He levitated the apple to his jaws and took a bite, savoring the sweet flavor. As he swallowed the apple, Twilight placed it back on the evidence table.
“Your honor, could you please describe how this apple tasted?” Twilight prompted him.
“Well,” the judge considered how he would describe the taste of an apple, “I would describe it as crisp and juicy.”
“Would you agree that the physical traits of this fruit mark it as an apple?”
“Yes, of course,” the judge still couldn’t see her point.
Twilight turned to the apple. Her horn shimmered purple as she prepared her spell. In a beam of magic light, the apple was replaced with an orange that had identical bite markings as the apple. After explaining she transformed the apple into an orange, she levitated the fruit once again towards the judge and instructed him to take another bite. Shrugging, the judge complied.
“How would you describe this orange’s taste, your honor?” Twilight prompted, “And do its physical features make it an orange?”
“It’s citric, a mixture of sour and sweet,” the irritated judge responded. “And yes, its physical features make it an orange. Really Miss Sparkle, I don’t see the point to all this.”
Twilight patiently explained, “Your honor, this fruit was previously an apple. It had no intelligence or self-awareness, only its physical traits that marked it as an apple. Since it did not have any sentience, when I changed it into an orange by altering its physical traits, its change was complete; no trace of the original fruit remained. As an object, this item’s physical traits define it as either an apple or an orange. This all proves one thing, your honor: physical exteriors are adequate to describe objects. We can use magic to change the physical traits of objects, thus changing their entire identity. However, physical exteriors do not have the same worth to living, sentient beings.”
The alicorn shifted her gaze away from the judge. “Now, if I changed a pony to say, a breezie,” she turned to Amber Heart, “would such a change be like this apple becoming a fruit?”
The doctor narrowed her eyes, weary of a possible trap. She responded, “Yes, the pony’s physical exterior would be altered, no longer designating it as a pony.”
“So you’re saying ponies are objects?” Twilight stared the doctor down. “That physical changes would completely alter them as beings because they have no sentience or inner self?”
The doctor gritted her teeth, wrathfully. “They might be the same on the inside, but on the outside, they would be completely different. You can’t ignore physical exteriors.”
“Actually, it seems to me that we have to,” Twilight met the doctor’s vengeful stare. “With magic, I could alter anything’s physical exterior at will. I could change you into a dragon, the judge into a griffon, or,” she turned to glance at Spike briefly, “the defendant into a pony. Yet, none of that would change anything about your inner selves.”
Twilight addressed the entire court once more, “Physical exteriors only define half of what we are; like a fruit, they designate our species, our height, our outer appearance, but like this fruit, they can easily be changed. Our physical features do not reveal who we are inside; my purple fur doesn’t tell you that my favorite sorcerer is Starswirl the Bearded. The judge’s horn doesn’t tell you that he likes the taste of apples. And the defendant’s scaly body, fangs, and fire breath can’t tell you how he loves Power Ponies, how he enjoys cooking, or how he has a crush on Rarity.” 
Spike blushed when Twilight brought up his crush again, but he was not angry this time; he knew she had to make her point. She turned to Dr. Facts, who seemed noticeably tense.
“If you want to prove Spike is not on the same level of sentience as ponies, you cannot do so by examining his physical features, which can be changed at will thanks to magic and naturally through the process of aging: you have to provide some inner sight to all beings recognized by Princess Celestia’s law that goes beyond physical.” Twilight challenged her. “Otherwise, Spike is no different than any of us internally, making an attempt to own him essentially the same as a pony owning another pony: slavery.”
The doctor blinked, constructing an appropriate response. “All citizens under Princess Celestia’s law, accept her rule. Dragons have not.”
“I believe we’ve already stated this trial is about Spike, not all other dragons. He has not only accepted her rule and obeyed her laws, but serves as her messenger to communicate with me. And I’m sure I don’t need to remind you of the many ponies such as Sombra or Starlight Glimmer who refuse accept the Princess’ rule yet are still recognized as ponies.” Twilight took particular satisfaction at Amber Heart’s furious eyes. “Stop stalling and give an answer. What is something that internally marks all of us?”
The doctor leaned back in her chair, contemplating. Finally, she spoke, “Responsiveness and reactivity. We are fully aware of our surroundings and can interact with our environment.”
“So you’re saying we’re self-aware?” When the doctor nodded, Twilight turned to Spike and asked, “Spike, what are we doing right now? Why are you here?”
“We’re at court to see if the science department can own me or if I can stay with you,” Spike quickly responded. Twilight paced away from the doctor.
“’We’, ‘me’, ‘I’,” she emphatically listed Spike’s pronouns. “Sounds pretty self-aware to me. And what comes with responsiveness? The ability to learn, intelligence? The defendant can master complicated tasks requiring advanced cognitive processes and learn from experience. And how about morality?”
Twilight stopped pacing to meet the doctor’s gaze, “Where to start with morality? After his greed rampage, Spike appeared to feel guilty; he helped to clean up his mess and make amends for his actions. He stopped Rarity’s rampage even though he was afraid of hurting her feelings and alienating her forever. Or how about when he saved the entire Crystal Empire instead of himself? Should I mention how he saved every pony at the Equestrian Games by melting a massive, falling block of ice? If Spike is a beast as the science department wants to believe, why is he going out of his way to save others? Why does he go beyond bestial instincts? What does that make him?”
The doctor rolled her eyes. “It might seem to care about other now, but when it grows up, that thing will be no different from any other dragon: a monster. Really, experimenting on him now is justice.”
He had been sitting calmly in the defense table the entire time. He could take her constant disrespect to him, Twilight, and the entire court. Being called property had stopped offending him so deeply. He could even tolerate being called a monster. But that one comment that indicated the doctor wrongly believed she was above reproach, sent Spike over the edge. He rose from his seat, slamming his hands on the table.
“Look who’s talking.” Every pony turned at the sound of his voice. Twilight gave him a reprimanding glare, but he didn’t care. Some pony had to chew out this self-righteous hypocrite. The doctor rose from her seat, answering his challenge.
“What did you say, dragon?” She snarled at this little beast that dared to disrespect her. The dragon folded his arms, bitterly.
“You want to know something?” He almost choked as he let loose the very concern grasping him since the doctor began her testimony. “I can forgive you thinking I’m something that can be owned like a pet, I can overlook you giving Cadence all that stupid evidence, I could actually thank you for encouraging your students to steal dragon eggs because it lead me to Twilight, I can even forgive you for calling me a monster.” He pointed an accusatory finger and growled, “But I can never forgive you for claiming Dr. Sapphire and Dr. Ruby were your prized students, when you didn’t think twice about their orphaned daughter!”
Every pony in the court stared at the dragon stupefied. The real issue bothering him was Dr. Sapphire’s daughter? Why? This statement startled Amber Heart. She had no ready response. No way to answer him. Spike’s eyes watered angrily, but Twilight, sensing an opportunity, motioned for him to continue.
“If you really cared about Sapphire and Ruby, you wouldn’t have left Silver Stone on her own. She’s one of the sweetest, kindest friends I’ve ever had; she didn’t deserve to be orphan. Why was it then, that Dr. Saffron adopted her, not you? Didn’t you say Sapphire and Ruby mattered to you?” He glared at the doctor with burning rage, smoke rising from his nostrils. “Don’t talk about justice, you hypocritical monster. Dr. Saffron did this for justice; she wanted to honor her friends’ memory by protecting their daughter and preventing another conflict. You’re doing this for revenge. If her parents mattered to you for even a second, you wouldn’t have let some other pony fill the role of family to her while focusing on orphaning me!”
Spike and Amber Heart remained standing, neither refusing to back down. The doctor would not allow this arrogant little beast insult her any further, nor would the dragon allow this two-faced, heartless monster to shirk responsibility while claiming her motivations were pure. Yellow pony eyes faced green reptilian eyes. Every other pony vanished, every sound faded to a slow hum, until the two only recognized their opponent. This trial was no longer a battle between pony and dragon; it was not a battle between anything that physically existed in the natural world. It was now a battle of interests, punishment versus freedom, of goals, revenge versus justice, and of lives, for those lost versus the ones still living. 
Slowly, their senses returned. The ponies immediately around them appeared in the darkness. Soon the courtroom came into view, along with the audience. Finally, their voices and the sounds of everything else returned. Yet, the two never broke the gaze. Until the purple alicorn forced them both down with her magic. She moved to address to the jury.
“Spike even made friends with the assistant of the pony who brought him to court in the first place, even though they should be enemies,” she turned to Dr. Saffron. “Wouldn’t you agree, Dr. Saffron?”
The unicorn nodded, “Yes, my perspective has certainly been widened through their bond. Spike is just as capable of forming and valuing friendships as any other pony. He truly understands what it means to be loyal and how to love.”
Dr. Saffron and Twilight both moved their gaze to Spike. The unicorn’s lips turned upwards, into an admiring, humbled smile, “It’s true Spike is going to be vital in bridging the gap between our species. But if the best place for him to do this is by his friends, who taught him how to value friendship and constantly provided him with family and love, then that is where he belongs.”
The unicorn’s statement truly seemed to resonate with the jury. Many of the ponies nodded, acknowledging her reason. If this dragon, no, if Spike could find camaraderie with ponies who should have been his enemies because his friends taught him the meaning of friendship, then the best place for him to serve as an ambassador between ponykind and dragons was beside his friends. Twilight sensed the change in the jury and decided to capitalize on their sentiments. She walked in front of the doctor, determined to end this trial in Spike’s favor.
“Now, we previously established that slavery is wrong because it violates intrinsic, natural rights that every creature is entitled to,” Twilight paused for effect. “But we could also say we believe no pony can own a creature with a soul, at least that’s what many philosophers believe each of us possesses. They hold that the soul defines who we are, what we believe, and most importantly, that the soul maintains our eternal, intangible, individual essence. So if you deny Spike’s uniqueness, his inner being, his very soul, by calling him property you are in effect permitting slavery.”
“That thing –,” the doctor pursed her lips and slowly gave a smirk, “you can’t prove it has a soul.”
“Perhaps you’re right,” Twilight’s agreement wiped the smirk of the doctor’s face as she viciously pressured Amber Heart, “but then again, can I prove any one of us has a soul? No, science and magic are not capable of proving or disproving the existence of a soul. Can I show that there’s more to any being than meets the eye? Of course I can; I’ve already done so with Spike. He understands the value of friendship and love, and can even befriend those he should despise. If I changed Spike into a pony and his inner self was no different than from when he was a dragon, would that demonstrate he had a soul? I don’t know, do you?”
Amber Heart stuttered, uncertain how to respond. Twilight grimaced and turned to the judge, “Do you?” 
The judge shook his head. He had no idea where to begin with this question. She shifted to the jury, “Do you?”
None of the jury could meet her gaze. Twilight softened her frown and faced the entire audience, “Do any of you?”
Silence permeated the entire courtroom. No pony, pegasus, unicorn, scientist, or alicorn was capable of answering this question. They all turned to look at Spike, wondering how they could evaluate something beyond their own comprehension, beyond time and space, possibly beyond existence. When the silence became overwhelming, Twilight faced the jury for the last time.
“We’ve all been skirting around the basic issue of this case: how do we judge another being; what makes them constitute as another being or simply as an object? By what we can see on the outside, or what we find inside when we look closer?”
She stared each of them in the eye, “What shows you more about who Spike truly is? His physical exterior, which can be easily altered through magic or worn down with age? Or his inner self? And if he indeed has an inner self and you refuse to acknowledge it, then we are undoubtedly the monsters that dragons believe us to be. After all, what kind of creature with an ethical soul would condemn another to slavery? Ladies and gentle colts of the jury, I implore you: make the right choice; not only for our future and for Spike’s, but to prove justice exceeds revenge. And to prove that a soul, indeed does exist in all of us.”
Emotionally fatigued, Twilight trudged back to her stand and nearly collapsed in her chair. She turned up to the judge, “The defense rests, your honor.”
Awoken from his spellbound trance, the judge quickly nodded and slammed his gavel, prompting the jury to disperse and consider everything they had heard. One by one, the ponies filed out from the jury stand into a backroom, where they would contemplate the evidence and testimony for several hours before deliberating.
Two of the royal guard marched towards Twilight. They motioned for Spike, asking if he would like them to escort him back to the castle room to await the verdict. Smiling at their courtesy, he gave Twilight one final embrace that he hoped would not be the last, hopped out of his chair and proceeded with the guards towards the door.
“Um, excuse me,” Spike stopped and shifted his head to the source of the voice. He saw a yellow unicorn, who he recognized as the scientist who objected to him swearing on the elements. The guards glared at him, but Spike told them to calm down. He was willing to listen to the scientist. Being called a monster couldn’t hurt him much more anyways.
“I just wanted to say I’m sorry for speaking out against you during the trial,” the unicorn quickly stuttered, before awkwardly turning to walk away. 
“It’s fine,” Spike assured the unicorn, who gawked at him with surprise. He had not expected to receive much less deserve forgiveness.
“I understand why you did it. I’m sure it wasn’t out of spite so don’t sweat it. Anyways, I’ve gotta go back to my sweet little house arrest in the luxury castle until some pony comes to get me.” Spike waved a farewell to the scientist and went with the guards out the door.
The scientist stared at him dumbfounded, until he recognized a cream-colored unicorn and smaller silver unicorn trot to his side gazing at Spike as he departed. They both stared at him until he exited the door. Slowly, the older unicorn smiled.
“He’s really something else,” she whispered, so softly only those beside her could hear.
“Yeah,” the silver unicorn nodded. The two departed from the courtroom to await the jury’s decision.

> Part 10 The Verdict
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The hours passed, and Spike soon found himself sitting at the defense stand beside Twilight. He gripped her hoof nervously. The judge turned to the jury.
“Has the jury reached a verdict?” 
One mare rose from the group and responded, “Yes, your honor. But given the nature of this case, we feel it necessary to dictate our process for reaching this conclusion.”
The judge inhaled sharply, vexed by all this tension. “Proceed.”
The mare bit her lip. “At first, this case seemed fairly straightforward. The defendant is a dragon, which as a species have never been officially recognized by Equestrian law. The benefits to studying him would be countless and immense and the law recognizes him as property.”
Spike tightened his grip on Twilight’s hoof. The mare continued, “However, the defense revealed there are so many layers to this whole case that prevent the solution to this trial from being so straightforward; in fact, they deeply complicate the matter. The defense expertly demonstrated the defendant is physically a dragon, but internally, the differences between him and other ponies are practically nonexistent. Do we know if he has a soul? No. Do we know if we have souls?”
She shook her head. “So, designating him as property ultimately is the equivalent of slavery. Ironically, one of the deciding statements that helped us reach our verdict came from Dr. Saffron. I believe she stated ‘It’s true Spike is going to be vital in bridging the gap between our species. But if the best place for him to do this is by his friends, who taught him how to value friendship and constantly provided him with family and love, then that is where he belongs.’ With this in mind, we can only reach one conclusion.”
The unicorn took a deep breath. Every pony leaned forward anxiously. Spike sweat profusely, gripping Twilight’s hoof so tightly she cringed. 
“The defendant is physically a dragon, but on the inside, he is a not just a pony, but a rational, self-aware being capable of feeling emotions. He is a living, sentient being entitled to his natural rights and to his family. We, the jury, declare the science department cannot claim him as their property now or ever.”
Instantly, the crowd erupted with applause. Every pony from Ponyville, Canterlot, and the Crystal Empire cheered for their little friend. None cheered more loudly than Twilight’s five closest friends, her parents, and Silver Stone. Cadence and Twilight collapsed on their desks with relief. Spike was stunned. He wasn’t going to be separated from Twilight. He was free. As this realization hit him in full force, tears of joy emerged from his eyes and he tackled Twilight in a bear hug, nearly squeezing the breath from her lungs. She retaliated, embracing him with all of her strength, laughing with undeniable joy. Dr. Saffron looked on at them with a wistful smile. The judge dismissed the court and the unicorn left with her assistant without a word.
As the audience began filing out of their places, Amber Heart frantically gnashed her teeth, but remained outwardly calm as she deftly hid amongst the audience departing from the courthouse. This was not how any of this was supposed to go. How could her carefully laid plans be so completely thwarted? She stared at the purple alicorn and dragon furiously. This would be a major setback to empowering the science department. Now, they might never grow beyond the princess’ shadow. Worse still, Dr. Sapphire and Dr. Ruby would go on unavenged. The beast responsible for their deaths would escape her justice. She would have to leave Canterlot, reevaluate her strategies and spend months, maybe even years hatching a new plan. Well, she had time. Sooner or later, he would pay.
As she exited the courthouse and took her first step to the train station, a hoof on the doctor’s shoulder stopped her dead in her tracks. Beads of sweat poured down her forehead. She glanced behind her to see a white male unicorn marked as a leading member of royal guard by his specially designed armor and badge, with a blue mane and a cutie mark shaped like a shield. He gave her an incredibly loathing scowl. Four other stallions of the royal guard accompanied him, and a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane who assisted in bringing her to trial earlier, as well as that insane pink pony from earlier. Suddenly, she didn’t think she had any more time.
“Dr. Amber Heart,” the white unicorn growled as the other guards surrounded her, “You are under arrest for conspiracy, keeping national secrets from the crown, and plotting against my little sister.” He thoughtfully added, “Who is a princess. Come quietly or there will be consequences.”
Amber Heart was perfectly prepared to argue in her defense. She had millions of methods to legally justify her actions and countless loopholes to exploit. She could easily turn this around and have him arrested for wrongly accusing her of misdoing. But that pink pony came inches from her face and lifted a single cupcake; this one was the exact same color as the doctor’s fur; its frosting matched her mane. She stuffed it into her mouth and chewed very slowly, taking great pains to show the doctor how she grinded the food to dust before swallowing. She opened her mouth into a snarl, to reveal her teeth stained dark red. The doctor hoped that red material was simply juice, or some creamy filling in the cupcake. Honestly, she hoped that thing the pony ate was just a cupcake. The pink pony huffed an arctic breath against the doctor’s face, threatening her with tortures that would chill even King Sombra. The pony’s stone-cold eyes reminded Amber Heart that there were worse things than death, and easily worse punishments than what she did to the doctor to make her confess. How that pony could be so … persuasive, the doctor would never know, but she knew another encounter with that pony was the last thing she wanted to experience twice in her life. She gulped and obediently obeyed, following all of them to the castle, never to be seen again.

***

When Spike and Twilight left the courtroom and entered the open streets, they were instantly surrounded by all of their friends. Feeling so overwhelmed with happiness, Spike could barely keep their words straight. He recognized Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo cheering him and Twilight for showing those scientists they couldn’t take him. To his left, Big Mac wept happily while Cheerilee comforted him, and Twilight Velvet and Nightlight stared at their daughter with pride. To his right, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity raced forward to embrace him and Twilight.
“Twilight that was absolutely brilliant!” Rarity beamed. “You certainly showed that pompous know-it-all what for!”
“I couldn’t have done it without all of you,” Twilight grinned. When they broke from the hug, she shifted to face Fluttershy. “I especially couldn’t have done it without you, Fluttershy. If you hadn’t suggested revealing who Spike really is on the inside, I might not have been able to prove my point. You’re a real hero, Fluttershy.”
“Oh, well,” the yellow pegasus bashfully smiled, “I’m just glad it all worked out.”
“I’ll say. I especially liked the part where Spike here gave that no good doctor a piece of his mind.” Applejack slapped Spike’s shoulder playfully, “So how does it feel to be a free dragon, Spike?”
He gazed at every pony surrounding them from Canterlot, Ponyville, and the Crystal Empire. Looking at all of his friends, Spike smiled, “Not as good as it feels to know I’m staying with all of you.”
This comment lead to another happy embrace, only this time it included all of his friends from every part of Equestria. Twilight heard someone call her name and lifted her gaze to spot Rainbow Dash hovering above them.
“Pinkie Pie and I just helped the royal guard put Amber No-Heart away for good,” the crowd parted to make room as she landed beside Twilight. “We won’t be hearing from her again for a long time.”
The pegasus ruffled Spike’s head, “Glad to know you’re safe, little buddy.”
He grinned but realized something was missing. Given the nature of their victory, a certain pony making a certain exclamation was duly in order. As if on cue, Pinkie Pie appeared from thin air beside him, hopping up and down.
“Do you know what this calls for?” She smiled, not bothering to hide or contain her excitement. “A PARTY!!”
Twilight chuckled at the pink pony’s antics, “You know something? I couldn’t agree more, Pinkie Pie.”
“Alright!” Pinkie Pie faced Twilight and Spike, “You two go back to Mrs. and Mr. Twilight’s parent’s house for a few minutes. When you come back, I’ll have all of Canterlot set up for the biggest party it’s ever seen!”
The pink pony rushed away, eager to begin preparations. Every pony left to help her, wanting to celebrate Spike’s freedom as well. Twilight and Spike walked passed the many ponies congratulating them. Twilight nodded her thanks to all of them, eager for a moment of peace outside of this crowd. Spike found himself wondering where Dr. Saffron and Silver Stone went. He really wanted to thank them both for helping him. The drake especially wished he could tell Dr. Saffron how much it meant to him that she gave up everything just to help his case. When he thought of her sacrifice, his mind still boggled to comprehend it all. He then pondered how Cadence must have been feeling. If only he could find her and show he had no lingering ill will. While her prosecution was incredibly painful for him to bear, he now recognized she gave Twilight, the most brilliant pony in all of Equestria, the chance to represent him in trial. After all the betrayals every individual involved in this case had suffered, he wanted to forgive her as soon as possible.
Twilight approached the house with a weary, but satisfied smile. She opened the door with her magic and walked inside. The second she closed the door, Spike tackled her in another embrace. His green, teary eyes met her purple, affectionate eyes. He whispered.
“Thank you, Twilight,” he snuggled closer to her chest. “I knew you could do it.”
“I should thank you,” her words startled the dragon, who looked at her in confusion. “If it weren’t for you befriending Silver Stone, behaving so well in court, and answering everything I asked you, I might not have won. You helped me win, Spike. You proved to the entire court through your actions that you’re no different from any of them. Because of what you’ve done, I never have to say goodbye to you.”
Noticing Spike’s lapse in embrace, Twilight pounced on him, trapping him in her own, life-squeezing hug. They both giggled, content to lie in this embrace forever. They only broke when Spike’s stomach felt queasy. He broke away from the embrace, leaping to his feet, and belched a flame from which a letter bearing Princess Celestia’s seal dropped into his hands. Twilight noticed the letter was addressed specifically to Spike, but as he unraveled the scroll, she just couldn’t help herself.
“What’s it say?” She asked the dragon. He recited its contents.

Dear Spike,

I formally apologize for allowing this whole trial to take place. I should have listened to my heart and denied the department any claim to you, but Amber Heart’s machinations made this impossible. Her documents convinced the council Dr. Saffron was justified in trying to take you, and only my intervention convinced them to give you a chance.
To ensure this catastrophe never occurs again, I have sentenced Amber Heart to a lifetime of imprisonment (and possibly community service) and denounced all of her works and contributions to the field. The council has agreed that the science department should be temporarily disbanded so its laws limiting my power may be revised, particularly the ones used unethically against you in court. Most of its members may stay to serve the newly formed department, if I believe they can be trusted. The department as a whole, however, will no longer have the political power it once had, nor will it ever assume such power again.
Once again, I am sorry for this whole mess. If you never wish to speak with me after I permitted this whole ordeal, I understand. But please know I will never allow something like this to happen again.

Sincerely,
Princess Celestia

Twilight saw Spike frown. She could only hope he might forgive the princess, but realized she should not blame him if he refused to accept her apology. Suddenly, he raced away, leaving the alicorn perplexed. He entered Twilight’s old room, digging through her belongings for a loose piece of parchment, a quill, and an inkpot, preferably with ink. Finally, he found a white quill and an inkpot containing black ink, but still no parchment. He gritted his teeth, annoyed.
“Were you looking for this?” Spike turned around to see Twilight magically levitating a blank scroll towards him. 
He snatched it, and leapt onto her nearby desk. Haphazardly, placing the scroll and the ink on the brown desktop, he dipped the quill in the pot and began scribbling a message. Twilight glanced over his shoulder to peer at the letter, but Spike leaned in front of her gaze, indicating she should wait. After five minutes, he rested the quill in the inkpot and gazed at the letter. He handed it to Twilight.
“Could you proofread this for me?” He asked, “It’s hard for me to proofread my own work. As I’m sure you already know.”
Twilight nodded, taking the scroll with her magic and holding it before her scrupulous eyes.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today, I learned a very hard lesson about friendship. There are times, when friends have to do something that hurts you, not because they want to or because of peer pressure, but because they have no choice. When Twilight made me reveal my crush on Rarity to the entire court, it honestly hurt me as much as Cadence testifying against me. But neither of them did this maliciously; they both wanted to protect me in the only ways they knew how. Because Cadence testified against me, the best pony to represent me, Twilight Sparkle, could represent me. Because Twilight revealed my crush, the court was convinced that I could feel everything they could, that I was no different from them.
I won’t say forgiveness is easy. It really isn’t. I could only forgive Cadence and Twilight when I stepped back to look at the big picture. It took me a while to realize it, but I know they both did what they did out of love. I’m still a bit angry at what they did, but I do know why they did it, and I don’t intend to hold it against either of them.
Real, everlasting friendship isn’t always a happy lazy river. It’s marked with twists, sharp rocks, rapids, and waterfalls. But real friendships can endure any ordeal, no matter how it pushes friends apart, because the bond between friends is stronger than any challenge the world can conjure. After testing the strength of their friendship, any ordeal can even bring friends closer together, helping them grow side by side.
I’ll admit I was angry with you for allowing this trial to take place. Then, I looked at the big picture. You convinced the council to allow this trial so that Twilight could debate for my freedom, rather than allowing the department to simply take me. Yes, there was heartbreak and strife along the way, but I’ve grown because of it, and my bonds with Twilight, Cadence, and even you have grown stronger. In short, I forgive you, Princess Celestia. And I hope in time, you can forgive yourself.

Sincerely,
Spike 

PS: If you have to punish the scientists on the department, I understand, but please don’t be too harsh on Dr. Saffron. She gave us the evidence that linked Amber Heart’s teachings as Dr. Facts to Dr. Ruby and Dr. Sapphire’s actions as described in the journal. She practically testified on my behalf and convinced the jury I belong with Twilight. Given everything she sacrificed for me, I think she deserves some grace. But I understand that’s up to you. Just please don’t separate her from Silver Stone. They need each other.


Twilight placed the parchment back on the desktop, “It’s fine, Spike.”
As he rolled up the parchment, bound it, and sent it to the princess in a burst of flames, Twilight couldn’t help but smile at the little dragon. Even after everything that happened to him, Spike was still capable of not only forgiving her, Cadence, and Princess Celestia, but even Dr. Saffron, the very mare responsible for this whole trial. Sometimes, his morality could surprise even Twilight. When she mentioned this to him and praised him for being so generous, he shrugged and looked at Twilight with a humble smile. He said if he knew how to be generous, it was because he had her.
On the wall, Twilight noticed the sun's afternoon light glistening through a nearby glass window. Gazing out the window, she noticed the sun dipping the sky. They had been here longer than a few minutes. Was Pinkie Pie ready for them? Well, Spike wasn’t the only one capable of surprising her.
She was about to suggest they head to the party, when she heard a knock on her door. She and Spike exchanged a quick glance, wondering who was there.
“Twily, it’s me,” they both recognized Shining Armor’s voice. “Can I come in? I need to talk to you.”
“Of course,” Twilight answered. The white stallion entered her room, looking noticeably concerned as he approached them. “What is it?”
He sighed, “It’s Cadence. She’s so upset about testifying against Spike that she won’t move or even speak to me. I’ve tried everything I can think of, but nothing’s working.”
Spike hopped out of the chair and approached his surrogate uncle. “Let me talk to her.”
Shining Armor told them Cadence was resting in the living room, prompting Spike to march away, with the other two sneakily following him. He was ready to put everything he had learned to use.
Entering the living room, he found the pink alicorn lying flat on a white couch, looking blankly at the wall. He wasn’t sure when she or Shining arrived, but he knew what he had to do. Cadence lifted her eyes to see Spike, but quickly averted her gaze, feeling unworthy to look at him. She stared at the wall until her face slowly sunk into her hooves, wondering how Spike would berate her for betraying him. Perhaps, he would refuse to speak to her again, even demand her to stay away from their family forever. Whatever he asked, she would obey. She had no right to even be here; much less hope their friendship would survive.
“Hey, Cadence,” Spike’s voice startled her and awoke her from her brooding, “aren’t you coming to the party?”
Her head snapped up. She shifted her eyes to Spike, staring at him incredulously. Was he actually offering her forgiveness, in spite of everything she had done?
“I just testified against you,” Cadence sat upright, completely ashamed of herself, “I nearly took you away from your friends forever. How can you even talk to me?”
“Cadence,” Spike smiled at her sympathetically, as he crawled onto the couch to sit before her. “If you refused to testify, they would have sent me away without a fight. And I know that you didn’t believe a word of what you were saying.”
Cadence nodded at Spike’s statements, acknowledging them as true. Then, she frowned, not meeting his gaze. “Please, stop being so kind to me. I don’t deserve it after everything I’ve done.”
Cadence felt one of Spike’s talons under her chin, directing her face back up. 
“Cadence, just hear me out,” He gave her an incredibly stern expression. “To be fair, I was pretty angry with you at first. I was angry at Twilight for embarrassing me in court. I was even angry with Princess Celestia for letting this trial happen. But I know each of you did what you had to because you had no choice. You all wanted me to have a chance.”
He took the alicorn’s hoof in his appreciative hand, “You did something that I doubt Twilight could have done if she had to, even for me. And the fact is you didn’t win. I’m tired of being angry. Now it’s time to forgive.”
To the alicorn’s surprise, he wrapped his arms around her. He stood on his toes, reaching her ear and whispered firmly for the entire world to hear, “I forgive you, Cadence.”
Eventually, she began to forgive herself and wrapped Spike in her hooves. She leaned over to his ear and tearfully whispered, “Thank you, Spike.”
With a beaming smile, he led her off the couch towards the door, “Come on,” he grinned at her, “I can’t go to the party without my favorite aunt!”
She stopped him for a moment. “Spike, if there’s anything I can do to make up for this whole mess please just say the word.”
Spike paused for a moment, considering her offer. In truth, he did have one small favor to ask of Cadence. Twilight and Shining were out of earshot. Good, they might not agree with what he was about to do.
“Actually,” he began, “I was wondering if you could get a message to some ponies.”

***

As the purple alicorn observed the festive town, she reflected how astounding her pink friend could be. Twilight had no inkling how Pinkie Pie managed to decorate all of Canterlot, much less arm one hundred party cannons across the rooftops and prepare a celebratory cake for Spike, decorated with gems that were arranged to spell Hooray For Spike! She didn’t bother trying to make sense of her friend’s antics; tonight, they were more than welcome as she sat at the table, eating the delicious cake, with her five friends and Spike. After this emotional roller coaster, they were all content to rest.
Plenty of ponies had approached to congratulate Twilight for her brilliant defense and Spike for enduring such cruel abuse. They spoke their thanks to every pony they met. Several scientists appeared and expressed their sincerest apologies for nearly separating Spike from Twilight and denying his uniqueness. Some even offered precious, tantalizing jewels to him. Twilight had no objections to Spike accepting those gems, so long as he promised not to force every scientist to give him more as a form of apology. To be honest, the thought had briefly crossed his mind once, but he would not have acted on it even if Twilight hadn’t ordered him not to do so. 
Spike scanned through all the ponies present, hoping Cadence delivered his message. He had his knapsack with that other journal just for the occasion. Rainbow Dash was in the middle of telling some story that Spike had stopped paying attention to, when suddenly she stopped mid-sentence with a look of surprise. That surprise morphed into distrust and unease. Twilight, Spike, and the others all wondered what was wrong.
“We’ve got party crashers at one o’ clock,” Rainbow Dash gestured with her chin where her gaze was fixed, prompting the friends to turn around. 
Twilight’s eyes widened as she noticed Dr. Saffron and Silver Stone making their way through the crowd.
“What are they doing here?” She hoped the two hadn’t experienced yet another change of heart and changed their minds about Spike.
“It’s alright, Twilight,” Spike grabbed his knapsack beside him on the floor, and moved out of his chair. “I asked Cadence to invite them for me.”
Every jaw at the table dropped. Pinkie Pie was the first one to express her sentiments regarding Spike’s decision to invite the pony who forced him to court in the first place.
“WHAT? Have you gone crazy? They’re the ones who put you through this whole mess.” Spike winced at loud sound and rubbed his sore ears. 
“I had something I wanted to talk to them about,” he responded before another pony could shout their thoughts. “Don’t worry. They helped us win the case, remember?”
They all exchanged curious glances, before following Spike as he approached the unicorns. When the silver unicorn saw him approaching, she smiled happily and instantly burst through the crowd, racing towards him. To the amazement of many of Twilight’s friends, the dragon and filly shared a friendly embrace.
“Spike! I’m so happy for you!” The unicorn exclaimed, “I wanted to congratulate you when it was over, but Saffy felt we should leave.”
“It’s fine, Silver Stone,” Spike broke from the hug to stare at the filly with a grin. “I’m glad the two of you could make it.”
Dr. Saffron finally made her way through the crowd and trotted towards Silver Stone and Spike. She halted in front of Twilight’s friends, who stared at her uncertainly. She awkwardly smiled, trying to alleviate the tension, but her social skills didn’t make her smile the most inviting. 
“Hello,” the unicorn shuffled her hooves uncomfortably. She glanced at Spike who smiled at her. Feeling slightly more at ease, she addressed the dragon, “Cadence said you wished to speak with me.”
“Yeah,” Spike nodded and walked in front of the unicorn. “I’ve got so much to talk to you about that I’m not sure where to start.”
He scratched his head for a moment in contemplation, eventually making a decision. “Firstly, I want to thank you for giving us that journal and those documents for the case, and I want to thank you for testifying on my behalf in front of the entire court. Most of all,” Spike took a deep breath, “I want to thank you for resigning from your place on the science department so Dr. Facts couldn’t invoke another stupid law to automatically end the trial. That was absolutely amazing, and I can’t thank you enough.”
“So, um,” His eyes shifted away for a moment, slightly ashamed that he was the reason Dr. Saffron was forced to give up a job she undoubtedly worked very hard to achieve. Then he realized he was the reason Princess Celestia temporarily disbanded the department, so the unicorn might still have some resentment against him. Spike also realized he had not really thought this whole meeting through. “Now that the department is gone for a while, what are you going to do?”
Spike clenched his teeth, wishing he hadn’t asked such a stupid question. The unicorn studied him a moment, noticing his sudden unease. When she realized he felt responsible for the fate of the department and her position, she couldn’t help but chuckle. Not too long ago, Dr. Saffron would have responded angrily, but now certain events changed everything. She leaned down to speak with Spike on his height level.
“Actually, funny thing happened with the department,” she grinned. “I had sent in my resignation and had it ratified by the department after your testimony. But a few hours after the verdict, I received a letter from Princess Celestia. Her majesty wrote that she and the entire council were amazed by my strict adherence to ethics despite the overwhelming popularity of Dr. Facts’ philosophy. They were particularly impressed that I gave up my entire career just for your sake. The princess made a proposition for me: she is reorganizing the science department, and expects me to return so I can assume a higher level of authority as a department head. She believes that I truly demonstrated that a scientist has a duty to put their morals first and wants me to impart that belief to every pony.”
Spike gasped excitedly and beamed, “That’s great! I’m so happy for you.”
The doctor nodded her thanks. Twilight and the others opened up to the doctor a bit more, seeing Spike so friendly with her. After they offered their own congratulations, the unicorn glanced back at Spike.
“Oddly enough, the princess said a little dragon asked her not to overlook my actions or punish me for bringing you to court.” She gave Spike a very sly, playful look, “You wouldn’t happen to know who that little dragon was, would you?”
Grinning, Spike shrugged friskily, prompting a round of laughter from Dr. Saffron and Silver Stone. When they stopped, the unicorn wrapped a hoof around Spike.
“Thank you,” she smiled, with tears in her eyes. “I know I don’t deserve this after everything I’ve put you through, but I swear that I will convince every scientist that there are somethings far more important than discoveries.”
She retracted her hoof, prepared to leave. “Hold on. There’s something else I want to talk to you about.” Spike reached into his knapsack and pulled out her journal, handing it to the confused unicorn. She had almost forgotten about this journal. How did they acquire it?
“What you said in court, about me being important as the link between ponies and dragons, I think you were right. I’ve never thought about it before, but I really do have a duty to bring ponies and dragons together. But there’s a problem,” Spike said, as his friends listened intently. “I really don’t know anything about dragons. I can interact with ponies easily; I grew up with them. But dragons,” he shrugged, “I’m a little more in the dark where they’re concerned.”
Dr. Saffron blinked uncertainly, but gestured for Spike to continue. He pointed to the journal.
“Silver Stone swiped that journal from you to show us that you really just wanted to understand dragons. I’ve read some of those much more ethical experiments you had in mind,” the unicorn almost sulked in shame before she heard Spike’s next words. 
“I have to say, they’re all very intriguing. I mean, I don’t know how hot my fire breath could become or how hard my teeth really are, but I really wouldn’t mind finding out things like that. After you’ve gotten this new department settled out, if you ever have any spare time, come visit me in Ponyville. Once you’ve improved your research methods, I’ll gladly help you learn anything you can about dragons. Then, you can teach them to every pony and to me, so I can truly understand dragons.”
The unicorn stared at the little dragon, her jaw wide open and her eyes disbelieving. Every pony who could hear Spike’s proposal gazed at him astounded. Twilight’s amazement soon turned to pride; Spike no longer cared that Dr. Saffron had nearly cost him his freedom, now he really wanted to help the unicorn understand dragons. Her dumbfounded expression changed, revealing all the love and respect she had for her little friend. Twilight placed her hoof on Spike’s shoulder to catch his attention; her gaze alone praised him for his selflessness.
Dr. Saffron’s mouth closed, but she still had difficulty believing what she had just heard. She blinked several times, making sure this was not some dream. It wasn’t; Spike meant every word he said. She had stopped viewing him as a pet or an animal a long time ago, but now she wasn’t sure he was even an equal. There was no doubt she was standing before some being immeasurably beyond her in every way possible. Witnessing his presence alone, the unicorn felt undeniably insignificant. She did not mind feeling so small; how else could she feel before this hero? Finally, the edges of her lips pulled back into an admiring, completely humbled smile.
“Spike,” she gazed into his eyes with utmost sincerity. “I think you’ll be the one teaching me.” 
She quickly stumbled to ensure this time, she had not merely his consent, but his partnership. The unicorn removed her glasses, and leaned down to Spike, “That is, if you’re okay with that?”
Spike nodded, and gave his own admiring smile to the unicorn, who had not merely sided with him, but had risked everything for him. This incredible pony had accepted responsibility in every sense of the word and vowed to spread that responsibility to all scientists, no, to all ponies. He wasn’t sure he was worthy to stand before her presence, but he swore to demonstrate he was grateful for her in anyway he could. He had no doubts; this unicorn who put the happiness of others before her own goals, was a hero. The two of them no longer had a need for words. They understood each other perfectly.
“Now then, this is a party! Let’s celebrate!” Spike grinned, walking over to Silver Stone and politely bowing. He extended his clawed hand, “May I have this dance, milady?”
Silver Stone coyly glanced away, pretending she had to give the matter serious thought. She couldn’t keep it up long. Bursting into giggles, she placed her hoof in his hand and grinned, “I thought you’d never ask.”
Twilight and Dr. Saffron watched the two youngsters depart hoof in hand to the dance floor, where they joined other pairs dancing. Rarity smiled, marveling that the two could find such joy together. She could not feel jealous at his contact with the opposite gender, when she saw her little Spikey-wikey so happy. Rainbow Dash smirked and was about to make a snide comment before Rarity gave her a reprimanding stare. The pegasus shrugged equally satisfied this conflict was over. Pinkie Pie bounced energetically. Knowing Spike was so content provided her with a second wind, prompting her to leap away to spice up the party in her own Pinkie way. Applejack shook her head in amusement as the pink pony bounded away, then turned her gaze to Spike and Silver Stone, appreciating Twilight’s defense had made this friendship possible. Fluttershy could only watch the two as they waltzed to Octavia’s cello, mixing harmoniously with Vinyl Scratch’s dubstep, admiring the beauty of this moment.
“You know,” Twilight finally spoke to Dr. Saffron, without looking away from the dancing duo, “If I could have used my royal authority to shut down this case, I would have. But I’m glad that I was personally able to bring this case down while I’m still here for Spike. Now, I know he won’t have to worry about any pony mistreating him when I pass on.”
Dr. Saffron did not look away from the dancing children either, “I’m sorry for bringing this case to court. Before we knew about her parents, Silver Stone and I were tormented by their deaths all those years ago. I wanted to prove no other pony would suffer like she had. I wanted make sure she could go on to live a peaceful, happy life when I passed on.” The doctor’s smile widened, as Spike twirled Silver Stone around. “But now, she has something better than closure. She and Spike have a friendship that will last a lifetime, long after we both pass on.”
“Maybe,” Twilight grinned as Spike dipped Silver Stone, and stared into her eyes. “They’ll find even more than that.”
The unicorn finally turned to Twilight, perplexed. “What else could they—? Oh.” She had an idea what the purple alicorn was about to say, but had no intent to stop her. She just shifted her gaze back to the pair, still staring into each other’s eyes.
“Family,” Twilight smiled as Spike quickly pecked Silver Stone on the cheek, before placing her back on her hooves, to continue their waltz. “Family that lives forever.”
Silver Stone blushed, realizing Spike had returned the favor she gave him earlier. It had happened so fast, but there was no denying the brotherly affection. The two danced through the party, celebrating their bond and praying a future, where all ponies and dragons alike, could share this bond. Suddenly, this future was not so far away or impossible. Now, it was inevitable.

The End