The Royal Court of Justice
Third Lower Office of the Royal Minister of Law
6000 Manehattan Avenue, Magisterial District, Canterlot
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10th day of the 9th New Moon, 1008 SS
Notice of Conviction
Addressees: Mr. Hickory Kindling, Ms. Citrus Vanilla
This notice is sent in compliance with Section 3.22.1 (b) of the Equestrian Penal Code (revision 43c), which requires that immediate communication be provided to parents of minors convicted of High Crimes and Misdemeanors, in regard to the relevant details of charges, indictment, evidence brought forth in trial (if not cancelled by Royal decree), conviction, and sentencing. Upon reading this document, if it is your desire to appeal the decision of the court, correspondence may be sent to the above address within 30 days of conviction for legal review.
On the 8th day of the 9th New Moon, 1008 SS , your daughter , Cozy Glow (hereafter referred to as the Convicted), was taken into custody on charges of treason, endangerment of children, grand theft, impersonating a Royal, inciting a riot, illicit use of magical artifacts, foalnapping, endangerment of a public official, wrongful incarceration, conspiracy, and magical pilfering on a large scale. The list of plaintiffs includes the following:
- Princess Celestia of Canterlot
- Princess Luna of Canterlot
- Chancellor Neighsay of Canterlot
- Princess Twilight Sparkle of Ponyville
- Fluttershy of Ponyville
- Applejack of Ponyville
- Rarity of Ponyville
- Pinkamena D. Pie of Ponyville
- Rainbow Dash of Ponyville
- Spike the Dragon of Ponyville
- Starlight Glimmer of Ponyville
The Convicted was arrested at what was determined to be her base of operations, the School of Friendship in Ponyville, following a large magical disturbance related to what was later found to be an attempt to steal and relocate all Equestrian magic for her personal gain. While no pony or creature was significantly injured, and the stolen magic was successfully restored, the Convicted showed no remorse for her actions, instead attempting to evade capture and continue her activities elsewhere. The plaintiffs, with the aid of the Royal Guard, were able to detain and subdue her peacefully.
The evidence against the Convicted consisted of multiple eyewitness and victims' accounts of the perpetration of the above charges. No contradictory accounts were forthcoming. The Convicted was heard to openly admit to planning no less than the overthrow of the Equestrian Diarchy, to deny the elements of harmony as the sole means of obtaining friendship, and to proclaim her motive (the accumulation of power). Her primary co-conspirator, Tirek, also provided details concerning his involvement with the crimes, which consisted of communicating the means of constructing an artifact-driven force array to act as a magnet for magical energy. The self-proclaimed Lord Tirek is a notorious inmate of Tartarus, who was found guilty of magical pilfering two years prior.
Due to the grave and far-reaching nature of the crimes in question, the Royal Princesses unanimously waived the right of the Convicted to trial by jury, declared her a Monster of Equestria, and summarily sentenced her to eternal damnation in Tartarus without possibility of release. The sentence has been carried out under the attention of Princess Luna, who has agreed to ply the Convicted with nightmares twice weekly as a final attempt at reformation. Nightmare therapy will cease if the Convicted shows signs of mental degradation or collapse. The Convicted will be monitored under the unending vigilance of Cerberus, Hound of Tartarus and Keeper of the Lost.
The Court has deemed visitation rights to be too dangerous to allow at the present time, given the ability of the Convicted to influence others and win them to her cause, as well as the extreme risk to the stability of Equestrian peace. Communication in the form of letters, or verbally by third parties, is likewise denied. The personal belongings of the Convicted have been confiscated by the Court. These items will be shipped to you pending inspection for enchantment, poisons, or other hazardous materials.
Monster of Equestria status imposes further regulations. The name and likeness of the Convicted will be distributed throughout Equestria and beyond to allied nations and friendly territories, thereby providing an early warning system in the event of an escape. Should a prison break occur, no attempt will be made to befriend or reform the Convicted; rather, she will be hunted by the appropriate authorities, and if possible, taken alive to be returned to Tartarus. Lethal force is permitted if required to protect the innocent. All friends and family members of the Convicted will be placed under surveillance to ensure no assistance is provided to the Convicted in efforts to escape confinement. For your protection, in the case of public backlash, consider relocating to an area at least 100 miles from your current place of residence.
Finally, it is the opinion of the Court that you, as parents, have completely failed your child and the nation. Her scheme, had it succeeded, would have resulted in the death or permanent disability of millions of magical creatures, the loss of irreplaceable artifacts, weather catastrophes on a global scale leading to crop failure and starvation, and potentially, permanent day or night. The amount of damage that has so narrowly been averted cannot be overstated. The most revolting aspect of this affair, I am compelled out of disgust to convey to you, is that throughout the proceedings, your daughter exhibited not the slightest amount of regret, nor the most basic understanding of why what she did was wrong. It was agreed among the magistrates that Monsters are not born, but created, and that who else but this Monster's parents should be blamed for her moral failure? Perhaps, out of fawning devotion, you overlooked the signs of her growing depravity. Perhaps, out of pride, you denied the small crimes of childhood that become the great faults of maturity. Or perhaps your neglect was due to nothing more complex than the innocuous sweetness of her false smile. Whatever the case, it is strongly advised that you submit yourselves to the local hospital for a mental health evaluation.
Shame on you.
In service to Equestria,
Rhetorical Flourish
Assistant to the Under-Director of State Affairs
Note: this is an official legal document. Destroying, defacing, or otherwise altering its contents may result in application of fees and/or criminal charges.
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Under Sun We Thrive, Under Moon We Repose
Citrus Vanilla dropped the letter to floor, raising her trembling hooves to cover her face. Drop by drop, the tears began to stream down her forelegs, splashing onto the granite kitchen countertop. The pile of envelopes of the rest of the day's mail remained unopened.
"My baby," she cried, her shoulders shaking in restrained despair. "My sweet, precious foal ... in Tartarus!"
"We can appeal," offered Hickory Kindling, hugging her from behind. "It said we can appeal. We've got thirty days. Remember Bullhorn, my lawyer friend from back in Baltimare? I'll talk to him. He can get our Cozy back. Down Chester!" he kicked the family dog away. "Not now."
"She's gone," Citrus wailed. She pulled away from Hickory's embrace. "It was a Royal Decree. The Princesses don't change their minds." She swept the letter up and held it to her chest as if it were her daughter returned to her. "She's burning, now. She's suffering with the disgusting Monsters, and who knows what they're doing to her, and it's all our fault!"
"She's not a Monster," whispered Hickory. He went to the cupboard and pulled out a tall glass bottle.
Citrus glared at him with fire in her eyes. "Sending her to the School of Friendship was supposed to help her. All the doctors agreed, didn't they? 'Send her to Twilight Sparkle' they said. 'Move to Ponyville to be close to her if she needs you' they said. And now look! It made her worse! And now she's ..."
"Maybe dad was right," said Hickory. "Maybe I should have stropped her more. She always laughed when I ... when I ..."
"She needed help!" Citrus screamed, pounding the countertop. "She was sick! Our poor pegasus angel!" She sank to her knees and began biting her foreleg. The dog loped over and sniffed at her as she rocked back and forth.
"Oh honey, don't start," Hickory begged. He gulped the thin brown liquid from the bottle. "It's like you're not here when you do that. I can't deal with this alone." Turning back to the counter, he studied his reflection in the wavering surface of the drink. The house was quiet.
No pony was going to help them, he thought. They had moved only two months ago, and hadn't made friends. It had been impossible, juggling his fireplace restoration business and all the orders for Citrus's candles. No time at all. And Cozy had never been an easy child. Boarding school had seemed like the perfect way to lighten the load.
He took another pull at the bottle. Citrus always took the doctors' view of things. They had pegged Cozy as some kind of loony, like any filly that perfect and sweet could be sick in the head, and said that only way to plant the seeds of empathy was to get her out meeting other colts and fillies her age. So here they were, and look where all that mumbo jumbo had gotten them.
He sighed. What a child needs, he had always been taught, is strict discipline. It had worked fine for him. It seemed he just hadn't done his job, though the stars knew he'd tried. No, no pony was going to help them. They would be shunned after the trouble Cozy had caused. Now there was nothing left for it but to look at the pieces and plan his next move. Try to see even further into the game, and if there was a chance, come out the winner. Or at least stay in control.
The sound of his wife's crying grew louder. Chester began to whine, joining her. Otherwise, the house was quiet.
Author's Note
Hope this isn't too heavy. Thanks for reading.
