After murdering her marefriend in cold blood, Judge Final sentences Iris to life on parole with a therapist and an enchanted necklace that tracks her every move. Her cutie mark will forever be stained with blood, the mark of a pony that has committed a murder. What sort of therapist could possibly hope to save her from her own twisted, cold, uncaring mind? Princess Cadence, the Princess of Love, of course.
Silver Iris slowly looked up at the mirror mounted on her ceiling, disgusted with the mare lying beside her. She’d hated the girl for a while now. It’d been a long time since Daisy was truly welcome in Iris’s bed. She was so boring, and her yellow mane was a complete eyesore. For the longest time, Iris had ignored that mane... it was too curly to straighten, but the curls weren’t tight enough to bounce like most mare’s… and the color was atrocious. Iris cursed herself for talking Daisy out of dying the bloody thing a year previous. She knew dying required a lot of maintenance, which she didn’t want to deal with at the time. Somehow, Daisy took Iris’s objection as a compliment, like Iris actually liked the color. From then on, whenever they had to dress up a bit, Daisy picked outfits that accentuated the yellow, and Iris could hardly stand to look at her. Like always, though, she suffered through it, pushing her distaste to the back of her mind for the sake of avoiding conflict. Now, though, she was willing to do something about it.
The decision hadn’t come easily. It wasn’t just the mane. It wasn’t how boring the little foal was. No, these things were petty. Iris just couldn’t stand to be with Daisy anymore. She’d come to resent her marefriend for everything she was, everything she represented. Daisy was nothing more than a relic of a time that’d long since left them both behind. They met at a college party, and were introduced by some friend they didn’t even talk to anymore. They’d looked into each other’s eyes as the friend called their names out over the noise of the crowd. “Silver! This is Daisy Duke. Daisy, Silver Iris.”
Iris remembered thinking that the name had to be a joke or a nickname. When she woke up the next morning, though, she looked down at her foreleg, noticing a note scrawled there in permanent marker. “Don’t laugh, it’s actually my name.”
You know, it might not just be the mane, Iris thought to herself. I really hate her name.
Iris looked up to the mirror once more, this time into her own eyes. Over the past few months, her emerald eyes had grown dull and distant. She knew it was this dead-end relationship, but she hadn’t been able to split up with Daisy. She knew a breakup would devastate the mare. She was going to take mercy on her. She was going to avoid this conflict once again. She was going to spare Daisy the pain. As she plunged the knife into her marefriend’s chest, a small grin crept across her face.
Most of the pain.
Daisy’s eyes snapped open and her mouth widened, her scream silenced by the blood filling her lungs. A tiny bit of blood dripped out of the corner of her mouth, and her eyes began to glaze over. Iris stared into those eyes for what seemed like an eternity. She watched as the last bit of life left Daisy’s body. Even though she knew no one was looking back at her, she couldn’t tear her focus away from the eyes… their ember irises, the contracted pupils. Not a single thought graced Iris as she examined the lifeless eyes. Her mind was crystal clear for the first time in months. As she tried to divert her focus elsewhere, a fly landed on one of Daisy’s cold, open eyes.
Iris snapped. She sat up and shooed the fly away violently, trying desperately to get it to go away. It left her sight and she looked back into Daisy’s eyes, her vision blurring. She felt tears roll down her face and saw them land in the blood that was beginning to pool under Daisy’s chest. The fly landed next to the blood-splattered knife embedded between the mare’s ribs.
“Get off my marefriend, you bastard!” Iris screamed at the fly, attempting to swat it away. Her hoof hit the knife, making Daisy’s body lurch unnaturally. Iris gasped and gently removed the knife from Daisy’s chest. As she did, she looked at her bloodstained hooves in disbelief. She felt a terrible burning sensation on either side of her flank. She looked up at her mirror in time to see what looked like blood creep down her cutie mark, leaving agony in its wake. She frantically felt the area, trying to wipe away the blood. She didn’t feel anything wet, and realized slowly that her cutie mark was changing. The ‘blood’ crept fully down the contours of the three flowers that composed her cutie mark, terminating in a searing drop at the bottom of each.
Iris looked away from her altered mark and back to the pony she’d just murdered in cold blood. She buried her face in her hooves and cried, her sobs deepening until the police broke down the door to her apartment and shackled her, dragging her away from the crime scene roughly. Iris looked at her grisly work one last time.
“Good night, Daisy,” she sobbed. “S-sorry it had to end this way…”
***
Iris’s trial was a short one. Unlike most crimes that took place in Equestria, murder was easily identifiable. The ‘blood’ on Iris’s mark was unmistakable, as the arresting officers noted. Judge Final was surprised they were able to make any notes at the scene, as neither of them previously had the pleasure of investigating a murder. Most officers in Equestria hadn’t. What was more amazing was that they had the presence of mind to actually put the girl in cuffs. They’d skipped normal procedures, much to Final’s chagrin. Even so, she let them off easy, since they’d been expecting to walk in on an affair. After all, the neighbors called the cops saying something about “some crazy bitch screaming about someone banging her marefriend,” which was not at all the case.
Final just hoped Iris’s court appointed lawyer thought it was as open-and-shut as she did.
“Order in the court!” Final yelled, banging her gavel. “Miss Silver Iris, how do you plead?”
Silver Iris was silent. She continued to stare at the table in front of her, oblivious to the rest of the court. The judge looked to her lawyer questioningly, realizing he was smoking in her courtroom.
“Mister Sly! Put that cigarette out now! And for Celestia’s sake, represent your client!”
The stallion took one last drag from his cigarette and snuffed it out in the ashtray he’d hidden in his briefcase. He glanced over at Iris, seeing her changed cutie mark. “She’s guilty. Anyone can see that.”
Judge Final slowly placed her hoof against her forehead, in utter disbelief. “Mister Sly, that is not how you address my question.” She began to rub her temples, feeling a migraine coming on. “This may be an extraordinary case, but do not forget procedure!”
Sly Fox huffed a bit, obviously tired of the whole situation. “My client pleads guilty. Happy?”
Final’s eye twitched a bit at this display of apathy. “Sly, I find you in contempt of court,” she said as the lawyer began to raise his hoof in objection. “I don’t want to hear it. Let’s move on to sentencing.” Final turned to Iris. “Miss Iris,” she said lightly. “Miss Iris!”
Iris’s head jerked up and she looked at the judge wordlessly.
“Miss Iris, most ponies in your situation choose to exile themselves. This is how it’s been for centuries. In all my days, I haven’t seen a single pony come back from exile.” The judge looked at Iris, then to her uncaring lawyer. If he wasn’t going to help this poor filly, Final had to. “However, you show obvious signs of regret for your actions. Frankly, I think you still have the potential to contribute to society. That’s why I’m suggesting that you take the deal I’m about to offer you and never look back.”
Sly perked up a bit, shocked at the judge’s suggestion. “What deal?”
“You obviously don’t have a part in this, Sly,” the judge said accusingly. “Miss Iris, I am offering you lifetime parole with two conditions. First, we’re going to put a tracking device on you that you cannot remove. Secondly, I’m going to put you in therapy four times a week until your doctor deems you fit to exit the program.”
Iris looked at the judge, tears welling up in her eyes. “How am I supposed to live a normal life with this thing on my flank?”
Judge Final looked at the stained mark with a somber expression on her face. “Miss Iris, that is a living reminder of what you’ve done. Nothing you do can be able to cover it, and you won’t be able to get rid of it on your own. With years of therapy, the blood might fade. By that time, though, everypony will know exactly who you are and what you’ve done. You will never be able to live this down. I’m not suggesting you will live a normal life. I’m simply suggesting you make an effort to live with the rest of us, rather than throwing it all away.”
“I…” Iris didn’t know what to say. She glanced over at her lawyer, who shrugged. Iris took a deep breath and turned to the judge. “I’ll take it.”
"Good choice, Miss Iris." The judge jotted down a note and addressed Iris. "Your therapist will be waiting outside the courtroom to schedule your appointments."
"Um... who's my therapist?"
"The best we have, a certain Princess Mi Amore Cadenza."
A collective gasp was taken by the entire courtroom as a nearly-imperceptible grin crept across Judge Final's face. "I suggest you get moving, Miss Iris. You don't want to keep the Princess waiting."
Final Judgment sat in her chambers, reviewing for the fifteenth time the case of the murdered girl. With each pass, she felt more and more regret for letting the murderer go so easily. A pony was dead, and her murderer was going to walk. The only thing she could think was that it was her fault. Not only that, but something seemed fundamentally wrong with the case. She skimmed over the file one more time, trying to find some fallacy, some trace of uncertainty, but the case was airtight. Every single fact checked out, but doubt veiled her mind.
Final opened the bottom drawer of her desk and poured a glass of Applejack Daniels, downing it in a single gulp. She turned to pour another shot, seeing the statue of Celestia holding the scales of justice on either wing. As she looked upon Celestia’s marble visage, she felt her heart sink even further. Celestia had personally appointed Final Judgment to the position of Supreme Justice after a particularly difficult trial, not dissimilar to the one she’d presided over a few hours previous. A young stallion arranged for the untimely death of his wife, but didn’t know the time or place it would happen. Within the next week, the body was found in a lake outside Canterlot. Somehow, the stallion managed to use a memory spell to convince himself it was an accident, and his cutie mark remained unchanged. Final wasn’t fooled, though. She questioned him repeatedly, demanding he tell the truth. During the fourteenth day of the trial, the letter written to the assassin was found and presented to Final. She showed the stallion the note. As the memory spell dissolved, the shocked courtroom was treated to the sight of a cutie mark changing. Soon after, the stallion was exiled. What had changed since then? Why hadn’t she kicked the foal out of Equestria like she’d done forty-two years ago?
She shook her head, trying to clear the doubt from her mind. The world was different now. There was a new princess, after all. With Celestia and Luna in power, every decision made by the court was black and white, but Cadence upset this balance with myriad shades of grey. She knew the mind of a pony like no one else, and her surprising ability was evident. With her acting as a marriage counselor, the divorce rate in Equestria was slowly declining. It wasn’t just the work she was doing, but the hope she represented. Final Judgment knew that mare was going to change the order of things in the world, which is why she’d opted to have her attempt to rehabilitate a murderer. Final took a sip from her glass of whiskey, hoping the risk she’d taken would pay off. She glanced back at the statuette, her eyes darting to the wall behind it. Though she couldn’t read the note framed there, she knew what it said by heart. Final Judgment—
I’ve observed your work first hand, and I’m proud to have you as an executor of my law. You have wisdom well beyond your years, and you share my sense of justice. Any decision you make in the courtroom is mine, and I will uphold your rulings to the end.
~Princess Celestia
She closed her eyes, repeating that final line to herself. Oh, Celestia… I think I’ve made a terrible mistake….
***
Sly Fox approached Judge Final’s chambers with a smirk on his face. Sure, she’d made a fool out of him in court today, but he was about to knock her off her high horse. He knocked on her door, wiping the smile off his face.
“Come in,” he heard the judge call weakly. He opened the door, seeing Final’s stoic expression sour. “What the hell do you want, Sly? I’m not going to waive your fine.”
“Oh, this isn’t about the fine, Judge Final. This is about the girl whose murderer you let walk.”
“Come off it, Sly. If you think you know better than the highest law in the country, think again. Besides, that murderer was your client. You should be thanking me.”
“I think you should take a closer look at the name of the girl my client killed.”
“Who? Daisy Duke? What’s the big de—oh, damn it.”
“That’s right. She was the daughter of the Duchess of Trottingham. I think she’s probably going to want to have a word with you about this whole situation. Knowing the Duchess’s influence, she’s probably going to lobby Princess Celestia to have you removed from office.”
Final looked back down at the file, aggravated she hadn’t seen the connection earlier. Even so, there still remained the issue of addressing the smug jackass standing in her doorway. She knew Sly hadn’t chosen to deliver this message out of the kindness of his heart. He was hoping to watch her fall apart in front of him, and she wasn’t going to give him the pleasure. “You know what, Sly? I’m going to save the Princess the trouble. Tomorrow morning, I’m resigning.”
She stood up and walked out of her chambers, knowing they’d be cleaned out the next day.
“Well, that’s about it for the paperwork, Iris. Maybe we can get some actual discussion in before this session’s over, right?” Cadance wore a fake smile, and it felt much wider than she was comfortable with. The pony sitting awkwardly on the sofa across from her shrunk back in her seat and Cadance attempted to relax and display something closer to compassion. “I’m sorry, Iris. These sessions are probably going to be difficult for both of us. I’m not sure how much you know of me, but I’m normally a marriage counselor. This is going to be a learning experience on both ends, but hopefully it’ll all turn out alright.”
Silver Iris simply shifted in her seat, staring at the glass ball at the edge of Cadance’s desk. “Um… if you don’t mind me asking… why do you have a crystal ball in here? Is that for some kind of magic?”
Cadance noted the evasiveness inherent in the question, but she humored the foal’s inquiry. “That was a wedding present from a rather… random… friend of mine. We were talking about my plans for after my husband and I got settled down, and when she heard I was going to be delving into the minds of other ponies, she just pulled that out of nowhere, set it on the table and shouted, ‘Do me!’ I waved my hooves around a little bit, made a few off-hoof observations, and she insisted I keep it. All she said was, ‘You’ve got a real talent for reading people! I want you to keep it, because I know someday you’re going to need it, and if you don’t take it you’ll be sorry!’”
“Sounds like your friend had some serious foresight,” Iris remarked. “Can I look at it?”
“I can do you one better.” Cadance’s horn began to glow, and the room seemed to expand. The crystal ball levitated off of the surface of the desk, drawing Iris’s attention. “Now, Iris, I’m required to ask this every time I have a new patient, but will you allow me to use some light magic on you to assist in the therapy?”
Iris lifted a hoof up to her chest, feeling the cold metal of the enchanted necklace. The Canterlot higher-ups knew where she was every moment of her life, and she doubted she even had the freedom to choose what her therapist was allowed to do. “That’s alright…”
Cadance sensed Iris’s hesitation. “Don’t worry, Iris. It’s nothing scary or dangerous, just a few spells I’ve picked up that help with concentration.” She closed her eyes and her horn glowed again, making the crystal ball sparkle. “This first one is called a Want-It-Need-It spell. I’m not going to make it full-strength, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to think about anything else. It’s going to be just strong enough to take your mind off of all the little things around us, but you’ll still be able to focus on what’s important.”
“Okay…” Iris said absently, immediately feeling her attention being dragged towards the ball in the center of the room. Indeed, she felt as if she were unable to look at anything else. Her world revolved around this object, and nothing existed outside of that sphere. Cadance pulled the globe closer to herself, her face distorted through the glass. Iris found her attention drawn to Cadance’s beautiful features. She was part of the globe now, too. She willed her therapist to speak to her, to ask her anything. Iris wanted to be included in this little world. As if in response, Cadance spoke.
“Good, I see that you’re focused now.” For the first time since the beginning of the session, Cadance’s face displayed an honest smile. It only stayed for a split second before she decided to move forward with the session. “So, Iris. What have you been thinking about since the… incident?”
Iris gathered her thoughts laboriously, able to remember only what stood out the most. “I’ve been thinking about… the fly….”
“A… fly?” Cadance’s face screwed up in confusion, alarming Iris deeply.
“No, not a fly… the fly…”
The only thing Cadance could think about was a crappy movie she’d watched as a filly. Surely this girl had better things to do than think about sci-fi movies all day, right?
Iris tried her hardest to elaborate, grubbing for every scrap of information she could hand over to the mare in the ball. “There was a fly… it landed on Daisy’s eye… Daisy didn’t move, she didn’t blink… ponies blink when something lands in their eye… Daisy didn’t… I didn’t realize… she wasn’t a pony anymore then… she wasn’t like me… she wasn’t alive… and I—“ Iris began to choke up, and had to force the words from catching in her throat. “—and I did that to her… I killed her, and that fly… showed me…”
Cadance nodded her head in understanding. “I know it’s painful, but I need you to hold onto that thought for me. I’m going to pull back on the spell a little bit. I can see how hard it is for you to think right now.” Cadance closed her eyes once more, and the crystal ball began to feel a little less alluring. Iris felt her mind stray ever so slightly away from what had, moments previous, felt like her entire world.
“That feels better,” Iris said calmly. “Although now I’m aware of my tongue, and that’s a little annoying.”
Cadance giggled, feeling able to let her guard down a bit. “When the session’s over, you’re going to begin to feel everything again. It’s a little irritating at first, but it goes away. Now, let’s ease back into our discussion.” She adjusted the spell one last time, just enough to bring Iris’s mind back to the orb. She noticed the tears that’d begun to well up in Iris’s eyes and decided to move in a different direction. “What kind of home life did you have?”
Iris shifted her eyes to the left, anticipating disappointment. “I had a normal childhood, I guess. My parents loved me, supported me… my dad was harsh, but he never overstepped any boundaries…” she closed her eyes and grimaced. “I don’t have an excuse for what I did, Princess… not from my fillyhood…”
“Call me Cadance, Iris. I know we didn’t meet under the most… ideal circumstances, but I’d like you to think of me as a friend, okay? I’m here for you.” Cadance tried to make the words sincere, but held on to her natural caution. The mare across from her was superficially normal, but there was no denying the severity of her crime. She considered prying a bit further into Iris’s mind before she felt the internal timer she’d set to signal the end of Iris’s session. “Iris, I’m going to reverse the spell. Unfortunately, our time for today is up.”
“Okay,” Iris said, a bit relieved. She understood the need for the spell, but it still felt strange. Perhaps with time she’d get used to it. For now, though, it was an annoyance she’d have to put up with. As she came out of the influence of the spell, she began intently observing the surroundings she’d previously been ignoring. The room hadn’t always been the office of a shrink; the architecture was far too ornamental. There had at least been an attempt to make the secluded room appear more normal, however. Whatever material the walls had been previously was covered with hardwood in most places, but massive marble pillars hinted that less mundane materials were used in the room’s initial construction. She traced one pillar from the marble floors to the arched ceiling, her eyes jumping to the suspiciously mundane light fixture hanging from a chain from the highest point of the ceiling. Iris assumed that at one point a much more elaborate chandelier had been mounted here. She wondered whether these alterations had been due to Cadance’s personal preferences or if they were to make the room feel more comforting. In either case, the disparities between the two styles were incredibly distracting, if only to a mind that was tuned to heavy observation.
Iris forced her mind away from the bizarre architecture, only to find herself staring at Cadance’s desk. It was just as plain as the room was trying and failing to be, and was sparsely decorated at best. There was a small stack of folders off to one side of it, nowhere near large enough to be Cadance’s entire catalogue of cases. Iris silently hoped that the stack wasn’t only her file. If it was, Canterlot had a disturbingly huge network of informants.
“Are the aftereffects of the spell beginning to wear off, Iris?” Cadance waved a hoof in front of Iris’s face jokingly. She must’ve gotten up whenever Iris was lost in the architecture.
“Um, yeah… I think I am, Prin—” Iris caught herself. “Cadance.”
“If you need a little more time, I can wait a little while to call my next patient in. I know how jarring a Want-It-Need-It spell can be the first time around.” Cadance smiled reassuringly. “We don’t want you getting distracted by a particularly interesting carrot on the way home, do we?”
Iris tried to smile at the Princess’s attempt at humor, lifting a hoof up to the homing necklace and muttering, “No… I wouldn’t want the guard to get called out because this thing told them I forgot to go home in time.”
Cadance stood awkwardly in the doorway as she realized how insulting her ‘joke’ must have sounded to the mare. “Iris, I didn’t mean it like tha—”
“It’s fine. I think I’m going to be alright.” Iris walked out of the office stiffly. Cadance watched as she went, barely hearing the girl hiss, “As long as I don’t see any carrots.”
