The Charges Are As Follows...
"...unlicensed usage of mental magic, using mental magic on subjects without their awareness, magical unbalancing of subjects via forced extraction of emotional essence, unlawful impersonation of a pony, falsification of medical records, falsification of civilian records, unregistered immigration, collaboration with an armed enemy force, utilization of Equestrian governmental property for own purposes, and... housing dangerous species without obtaining a permit, apparently."
Celestia put down the scroll, giving the accused a level, unreadable look. "How do you plead?"
"...Um... can I plead to each charge individually? I mean, that was a lot of things--"
Blueblood frowned. "Your honor, I feel I must object to that proposal. Over-complicating the issue allows the defendant more chances to personally adjust their sentencing via rhetoric."
"If I may, your honor?" Shining Armor cleared his throat. "The law is clear: When an individual is brought to court with ten or more charges against them, the situation is considered already complicated enough to warrant individual treatment of the charges."
"You are correct, captain Armor. Objection overruled."
The prince's frown grew thinner as he narrowed his eyes. A thrust and a parry before even the first plea. He'd expected as such, but there was a protocol, and he had to follow it... even if in this case, he'd prefer to throw the criminal in the dungeon and be done with it.
Celestia moved her quill up her scroll. "Alright... Unlicensed usage of mental magic. How do you plead?"
"Well..." The yellow-chitined criminal tapped her chin. "I... suppose I might have to plead guilty to that..."
That... was actually fairly surprising, to Blueblood. While it wasn't the worst crime, it was a fairly serious one; mental magic was a delicate form of casting with many potentially insanity-inducing side effects, which was why only ponies who had received years of higher education were allowed to touch it--and even then, usually only in order to research for medical specializations in the field. The fact that this criminal was willing to admit to the violation... well, he had to admit a smidgen of respect.
Just a smidgen, though, and only to himself.
"Might I ask who you used this mental magic on?" he requested. "A list of affected ponies would be very useful for record-keeping."
"Oh, I never used that magic on ponies. I only used it on my animal friends, when they were misbehaving." The criminal frowned. "And... well, that one time that I used it on those vampire fruit bats, but that was only because Twilight told me to...."
Blueblood's ears fell back. "So you never obtained a license, but you only used your magic on... beasts?"
"That is what she just said," Shining Armor confirmed. "Your honor, in light of the evidence, I believe this testimony could be considered reason for leniency?"
"I must object," Blueblood interjected. "The exact usage of the mental magic is still important--"
"OH!" The criminal smiled sheepishly. "There was also Discord that one time. I mean, I'm not sure it counts because he just shrugged it off, and Twilight was talking about using reformation spells on him anyway, but he... well, what I mean is, that counts, right?"
There was an awkward moment.
"...Fluttershy," Shining Armor ventured, "what exactly was the mental magic you used?"
"I call it the Stare. Basically, I look at one of my animal friends, and they become very, um, scared. To the point where they stop acting out and just focus on me."
"...I'm not entirely sure that's mental magic," Shining Armor pointed out. "A lot of animals view eye contact as a challenge."
"But... but I did something that affected their behavior! Doesn't that count?"
"I think that's just ordinary manipulation," Celestia mused. "And if we made manipulation illegal, I'd never get anything done. That said, we have no evidence one way or the other for the magical content of your 'stare.' As such, I feel that the sentence for this particular charge must be postponed pending a scientific study of the phenomena in question. Are there any objections?"
Blueblood's hooves ground into the desk in front of him. "...Unfortunately, I cannot think of any legal basis to object."
"The defense has no objections, your honor."
"Very well then. The charge of unlicensed usage of mental magic is hereby postponed to a later date. In light of this, the charge of using mental magic without the subject's awareness--"
"Not guilty!" Fluttershy quickly interjected. "My animal friends were always aware of when I used the Stare!"
"...the charge of using mental magic without the subject's awareness," Celestia repeated, "will also be postponed to a later trial pending scientific inquiry."
Tattered transperent wings drooped. "Oh.... I thought... I'm sorry..."
"The third charge, magical unbalancing of subjects via forced extraction of emotional essence, still remains something we must address." Celestia put the scroll down. "How do you plead?"
"Um." Fluttershy folded her ears back. "...is there a way to say 'guilty without meaning to do it?' Because I did feed off love, but only when it was directed at me, and I never forcefully took anything--"
"Your honor," Shining offered, "May I remind the accused that the charge is not whether or not emotion was forcefully extracted, but whether this resulted in mental imbalance of the subject?"
"You may."
"Then I do so."
Blueblood sighed, rubbing his temples. Technicalities, technicalities that he himself never abused, being brought up in trial again and again... was it too much to ask that once, just once, ponies would stop manipulating the law to break it?
"Um. In that case..." Fluttershy shook her head. "Not guilty, I think. While all my pony friends have had breakdowns, they were always the result of them failing in their special talent, not... not because I drained them of love. Which I never did," she quickly clarified. "I just took the love that they gave me of their own free will."
"Hmm. These psychological records do support that claim," Celestia mused. "Do you have anything to add, Blueblood?"
"It's been made perfectly clear that no charges based on mental magic are going to stick," the prince groused. "So I won't waste your time trying to make them."
"I... see. Well then. On the charge of unbalancing subjects via extraction of emotional essence, I decree Fluttershy not guilty." She looked at the scroll and sighed. "The next four charges seem to all be related. Impersonation of a pony, falsification of medical records, falsification of civilian records, and unregistered immigration. Would either the prosecution or the defense object to trying all these charges at once?"
"The prosecution has no objection," Blueblood replied with a nod.
"The defense has no objection," Shining Armor agreed.
"Very well then. Impersonation, false medical records, false civilian records, and unregistered immigration. How do you plead?
"Um... guilty except for the impersonation charge," Fluttershy managed. "The pony identity I constructed was not pre-existing."
"I have here a series of questions written by one Rainbow Dash," Blueblood stated, pulling out a small paper. "As she is the pony who has known you the longest, I would like you to confirm that you are in fact the same Fluttershy as she first met in Flight Camp."
"...O-okay...?"
"Question one." Blueblood looked down at the paper and schooled his face. "What is the difference between awesomeness, coolness, and radicalness."
"Objection!" Shining Armor pounded a hoof on his desk. "Those words are synonymous to a high degree, and--"
"Awesomeness is the presence of a pony in any situation, coolness is the impact of a pony's image in the minds of others, and radicalness is the adaptablity of a pony's presence or image to unusual circumstances. It is possible to be cool from a distance, but being awesome always requires being part of the situation or at least present, and the level of radicalness can only be determined in extreme situations--"
"Yes, thank you," Blueblood interrupted. "I'm actually rather surprised you've memorized this... thesis... second question: Why was I named Rainbow Dash. Remember, this is Rainbow writing this--"
"The Rainbow part of the name comes form her family's unique mane style," Fluttershy explained. "Dash... well, there are two stories. Either she was named after her grandmother Haberdasher, or she was named for how fast she, uh, was birthed."
The prince sighed. "Personally, I'd believe the Haberdasher story, but the birthing one is the one written down. Final question: On the day after the race, what happened in the cafeteria?"
"Um... well, Rainbow Dash swore me to secrecy, but if I really have to tell--"
"No, being sworn to secrecy is the correct answer." Blueblood put his list of questions down. "I have no objections to dropping the impersonation charge, your honor."
"Very well... I hereby decree that on the charge of impersonation, Fluttershy is not guilty. Which still leaves the falsification of medical records, civilian records, and the unregistered immigration."
Blueblood managed a small smile. Here, at least, he could extract the legal punishment. "So, miss Fluttershy. What documents did you falsify and how did you go about it?"
"Well..." The yellow criminal bit her lip. "I don't entirely remember, but I do have a file of the stuff that Pinkie helped me forge--"
"Pinkie?"
"Yes, Pinkie Pie. Um, full name Pinkimena Diane Pie..."
Blueblood sagged. "Does she have a pink coat?"
"...yes?"
"How pink?"
Fluttershy opened her mouth, paused, and then coughed. "I, uh, could shapeshift into her form, if that's alright with you..."
Blueblood nodded. "Probably easier in the long run..."
Fluttershy nodded back, concentrated, and burst into flame. When the green fire vanished, a pink mare with a pink mane and, thankfully, blue eyes was standing there.
The prince groaned, leaning back in his chair. "The pink menace strikes again..."
"Um... what?"
Celestia sighed. "Ever since the founding of Equestria, pink-coated ponies have had... an unusual talent for subverting and forging legal documents. Something to do with their coat color not being officially recognized in old unicorn laws... The point is, the involvement of a pink pony in this situation is going to force us to run through a lot of paperwork just to figure out if anything you submitted is actually illegal." She shook her head, writing something down. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to postpone those charges until after an investigation--"
"That's half the charges postponed already!" Blueblood protested.
"You were the one that drafted the Pink Protocol, Blueblood. Would you go back on it?"
"...no." Blueblood sighed. "I will, reluctantly, agree to the postponment, but I insist that none of the remaining charges are postponed!"
"The defense has no objections," Shining stated, giving Blueblood a smug grin.
"Can I drop this disguise?" asked the pink pony.
"That would be for the best," Celestia replied.
With a thankful smile, Fluttershy returned to her chitinous form.
"Now, then, the next charge is... collaberation with an armed enemy force. Blueblood, I'm afraid you're going to have to clarify this."
"The enemy in question is that of the army that invaded Canterlot during Shining Armor's wedding."
"I see. So, Fluttershy. Collaboration with Chrysalis. How do you plead?"
Fluttershy blinked. "Does it count if it was before Chrysalis revealed herself?"
"Only if you knew who she was."
"Oh. Then... Not guilty."
Blueblood frowned. "I have eye-witness reports of you commanding a group of enemy soldiers during the battle!"
"Objection! If they were disguised, there is no way to know they were enemies in the heat of the moment--!"
"The witnesses describe a large amount of ponies identical to this mare following the commands of this mare."
"And how do you know that the one commanding was not a hostile herself?"
"I..." Blueblood looked through his notes and frowned. "...hmm. Evidence is circumstantial. That's incredibly annoying, I'll have to report that to the legal team.... my objection is withdrawn, your honor."
"I see. I suppose that on the charge of collaboration, Fluttershy is decreed not guilty. The penultimate charge is... utilization of Equestrian Governmental property for her own purposes..." Celestia looked up. "Is this referring to the element of Kindness?"
"Yes, your honor."
"In what instance--Nightmare Moon." Celestia facehooved. "Alright, technically she was not granted permission in that case. However, due to the nature of the situation, I believe the Desperate Measures clause can be invoked. Furthermore, charging Fluttershy would require that the other bearers of Harmony also be charged, which could lead to serious problems. Do you have any objections?"
Blueblood was fuming. Five postponed charges. Three not-guiltys. And now a false charge?! The worst part was that it was all entirely legal.
"...No, your honor." He glowered at the criminal. "No objections."
"Very well then. Let's move on to the final charge: housing dangerous animals without a permit. How do you plead?"
"Not guilty."
Here, though, he had her. "Objection! According to these reports, you regularly provide shelter to a bear!"
Fluttershy gasped. "Harry's not dangerous at all! He's a very nice bear!"
"Bears are considered dangerous animals, though." Blueblood grinned as he produced more damning evidence. "In addition, your home has been sighted with snakes and badgers at the windows. While not nearly as dangerous as a bear, they are still not creatures that would be safe for an untrained pony to handle."
The criminal whimpered. "But... but they've never hurt me!"
"That is entirely besides the point. The law is clear in this regard: housing a dangerous animal is a threat both to the pony doing so and to any pony who lives or visits the house. Not to mention the homes in the surrounding town--!"
"I'm afraid that Blueblood is right," Celestia interrupted smoothly. "As such, you will have to be punished. Does the defense have any objection?"
Shining Armor sighed. "Nothing that would have legal standing. Welp, Twily's going to kill me."
"I'm sure she'll understand. Fluttershy Flutters, for housing dangerous animals without a permit, I sentence you to remedial education regarding zookeeping laws, as well as a fine of three thousand bits to be paid within two years."
Blueblood sighed as the gavel hit. It was actually better than nothing, all things considered. And there was always a chance to pin her later on all her potentially falsified paperwork...
As the bailiff escorted Fluttershy out of the room Shining Armor walked over to him. "You know, I'm actually rather surprised. You never made, you know the obvious accusation." He waved a hoof at his legs. "You know, with the holes and the chitin--I was almost certain you'd jump on that."
The prince gave him a haughty glare. "Why in the world would I do that? While I am sickened at the miscarriage of justice that has been performed here, there's no law against being a changeling."
