Day 9 of Trial, Afternoon, Palace of the Supreme Justice

On the stand was William Jonathan. An earth pony prosecutor was speaking.

"Mr. Jonathan, would you agree that as Foreign Minister you forced Equestria to surrender its territory by the most intolerable threats of aggression?"

"I do not agree."

"You threatened to send your army in. ln overwhelming strength. And also bomb Canterlot. What further pressure could you possibly have put upon them?"

"War for instance."

"War? What is that but war?"

Darren Jr looked at the other defendants

"Jonathan should be hanged for his stupidity. That is the greatest crime of all," Jr said as he chuckled a little, with some defendants chuckling as well

Next on the stand was William Von Bosworth, and Applejack soon spoke

"Mr. Bosworth, you were the Minister of the Economy during the war?"

"I was, yes."

"And you accepted unusual deposits into the banks, didn't you?"

"I don't know what your talking about."

"l am referring to deposits sent to your banks by the SF from the concentration camp and the homes of those who were forced to leave them behind."

"Again, I don't know what your talking about."

"lnside the bank vaults, there were literally piles of jewelry, gold watches, gold earrings, gold eyeglass frames, and gold teeth!"

"Many people deposit valuables in a bank and the bank is not required to look into them."

"Prior to 2120, exactly how many of your customers deposited their teeth into your bank?"

Bosworth didn't answer. Next on the stand was Blackstone. A dragon who was a prosecutor soon spoke, holding a copy of Humanum Suprematus.

"ln your newspaper, Mr. Blackstone, you wrote that the unter lebensformen are ''a planet of bloodsuckers and extortionists.'' Do you think that's preaching hatred?"

"No, I do not think It's preaching hatred, it is simply a statement of fact!" Blackstone said as he banged the stand with his fist. Next was the Minister of the Interior, Mack Canterbury. A Changeling soon spoke

"You've heard a guard from the concentration camp testify that you watched while the extermination chambers were demonstrated on inmates."

"I've never set foot at that camp."

"And we have heard eyewitness testimony from three inmates and twelve guards that you were at the camp at least three times."

"They are lying."

"And before he included himself in this trial, the deputy commandant, Ivan Novák, signed this statement that you ordered Hans Yossef to kill all the remaining prisoners rather then allowing them to be liberated by the allies."

"He is lying!"

"ls it not a fact that you are lying to the Tribunal about this as you have lied about everything else in your testimony?!"

"That is all a damn lie!" Mack shouted

Everyone in the room was shocked by the way Mack behaved. Mack looked at the judges. They looked at Mack with contempt at the way he was behaving.

---oooOoOoOOOoOoOooo---
An hour later, recess

Daniel Sr was with his friend's discussing an important subject.

"The supervisor who counted the numbers of prisoners and how many died wants to testify."

"If that's a joke, I don't get it," Spike said

"l don't get it either, but it's no joke. We have him in custody and I think we should agree to transfer him here to testify."

"Maybe Mack will look better in comparison to him."

"Wait a minute, we're not going to allow this right? Let the guy walk in, say God knows what and give Mack an alibi?" Daniel Jr said

"Might be a cheap price to pay for the opportunity to cross-examine him later on," Twilight said.

---oooOoOoOOOoOoOooo---
An hour later

A young man named Mr. Wittenburg was on the stand and the French prosecutor spoke

"Mr. Wittenburg, during your tenure at Tesco Camp, did Mack Canterbury ever visit the camp?"

"No."

"Not once?"

"In all my time at the camp, I never saw Mack enter the camp."

"Thank you," the prosecutor said, as he left the podium. Mr. Fredrick soon was on the podium

"Mr. Wittenberg, how long were you the supervisor of the camp?"

"From the beginning of operations."

"And what was the ultimate goal of the Grand Answer?"

"To cleanse the planet and make it a colony."

"How was this to be achieved?"

"Tesco was just one of ten camps we planned to operate. It became clear that we wouldn't be able to cleanse the planet in the alotted time with just one camp."

"And how long was the Grand Answer supposed to last?"

"We had planned to make this planet a viable colony within six years, the first three years were estimated to be when the last native lifeform were to be exterminated and the remaining three to dismantle evidence of the camp and any and all structures and histories of the native lifeforms."

"And during your tenure at Tesco, how many were exterminated per month?"

"Approximately five and a half million."

Everyone was shocked by what Mr. Wittenberg said.

"No more questions," Fredrick said, as he left the podium. The court was adjorned

---oooOoOoOOOoOoOooo---
Later, at the penthouse

Daniel Jr and the Mane Six were talking in the living room when Sr came down from the second floor.

"Hey dad, what's up?"

Sr had a solemn look on his face

"What's wrong?"

Sr looked at Jr and asked him to come over to him. Jr got up and walked towards his father. Sr then bent over to his son and whispered in his ear. Jr had a look of shock.

"You mean that's why...."

Sr nodded his head

"What's going on?" Fluttershy asked

"You wouldn't believe it if we told you," Jr said

The Mane Six didn't understood what he meant, but that it was better to leave Sr alone then force the answer out of him.

---oooOoOoOOOoOoOooo---
Day 10 of trial, PotSJ

Albert Dupont was on the stand. A young Soviet prosecutor was on the podium

"Mr. Dupont, if I understand correctly, wasn't there a rivalry between you and Darren Jr?"

"Yes. I have always seen Darren Jr as unfit to be next in line for the Presidency. I had always favored his son and Prime Minister of the ITPF, Darren III, to be the next president."

"So if that's true, why did Darren Jr put you in as Minister of Armaments of the SNU?"

"He wanted me away from his center of power, the ITPF. He figured, the further from the ITPF I was, the less trouble I would be to his attempts of consolidating his succession."

Everyone looked at Albert with approval. They were amazed that Albert would risk everything to get Darren Jr behind bars.

"You said you were grateful for every worker that Davidson and Heinwell provided?"

"Yes, because it meant that they wouldn't die immediately. I wanted to save as many lives as I could from Darren Jr. I gave them food, water, and protection."

"Man, Albert is the exact opposite of Darren Jr," Daniel Jr said

"I know, he's brave, kind, caring, and heroic," Rarity said, but no one in the courtroom was prepared for what Albert would say next

"I wanted to save as many lives as I could. I told my friends that there was only one course of action. So, as early as 2112, I actually made a plan to assassinate Darren Jr."

"WHAT!!" Darren Jr shouted as he raised himself off of his seat.

"TRAITOR!!" Shouted some of the defendants. There was a collective amount of gasps all around the courtroom as the judge banged the gavel to try to silence the courtroom.

"You would dare try to kill me? I tell you this, you traitor. If we get out of this alive, we'll put on our own court, and execute you for treason!" Shouted Darren Jr as he sat down.

Daniel Sr and his friends were shocked.

"Woah, did Albert just...." Rainbow Dash said

"I can't believe it, Albert wanted to kill Darren Jr even before the war?" Daniel Jr said

"What was the plan?"

"Darren Jr would go to his retreat on the Titan Colony. There was an electric station that controlled the power to Darren Jr's house. The plan called for one of the guards loyal to Darren Sr to override the security system, lock all exits, and set the power voltage to enough power to obliterate the home, killing Darren Jr and ensuring that Darren III would become the next President. But the next time I went to see Jr, he told me he had moved his retreat to the Mars Colony, so the plan was abandoned."

Everyone was speechless at Albert's testimony. No one could utter a word. After about two minutes of silence, the prosecutor stated that he had no more questions. Before the judge could adjorn court, Daniel Sr went up to Fredrick and whispered something into his ear. Fredrick stood up

"Your honors, I have reasons to believe that there is new evidence to enter."

"Very well, what new evidence do you have?"

"For that, I call Walter Wagner to the stand."

Everyone was surprised. What did the former Minister of the Interior of the SNU have to do with new evidence? Darren Jr had a look of dread, something no one has seen Darren Jr had in a long time. Walter soon took the stand and Fredrick walked up to him.

"Walter, how old are you?"

"I'd recently turned sixty-six about two weeks ago."

"And what was your position?"

"I was the Minister of the Interior in the SNU."

"Tell me something, what was your relationship with Darren Jr?"

"Well, he was friendly with me since I first met him in 2066, when I was five year's old?"

"Objection, relevance?" The defense asked

"It is relevant, because it concerns Darren Jr, his change of mentality, and about why he did what he did, which led to the whole war."

"Overruled. Continue," the judge said

"Do you know why Darren Jr was friendly with you?"

"No, not once."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thanks to Daniel Sr and his friends, particularly Daniels daughter Glenda, I have reasons to believe that Darren Jr went down the path he took not just to earn his parent's approval, which he always had their love, but that there is another reason and that reason is connected to your family Mr. Wagner."

The audience in the courtroom was shocked. How could Wagner's family have a part in all of this?

"Mr. Wagner, who was your paternal granduncle?"

"My paternal granduncle? What does he have to do with this?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

"Well, my paternal granduncle was William Wagner."

"Who's William Wagner," Flash Sentry asked

"William Wagner was a young boy who lived for ten years only to die in 2020 due to health related issues. He was mourned by the entire Catholic world."

"Why?"

"Because he acted and behaved like a Catholic. He was the poster boy of Catholicism and when he died, he was made a Servant of God by Pope Francis. Over the next four decades, his status changed based on his acts and confirmation of acts of miracles that were believed to be associated with him. Finally, in 2064, fouty four years after his death, William was canonized as a Saint by Pope Alexander IX."

"Oh."

"Do you know what happened to him?" Fredrick asked

"He passed away in 2020 at the age of ten, fourty-one year's before I was born," Walter said

Several of Daniel Sr's friends noticed Darren Jr was getting less and less smug and confident and more scared. Fredrick proceeded.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the reason I brought up the Wagner family, is because I discovered that the Wagners and Medkos are connected by association, from as early as 2014, which I will now present exhibit A."

A screen was lowered and the projector turned on, showing Exhibit A, which was a picture of two young boys and a young pretty girl with pink hair. One boy and the girl were standing while the other boy was in a wheelchair.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this photo, taken in 2019, shows three young kids in a field. But these kids aren't just any random kids. The young boy standing next to the girl is none other then Darren Medkos Jr when he was nine."

There was a quiet, yet noticeable amount of gasps in the courtroom. The Mane Six couldn't believe it. Daniel Sr and Jr however just sighed with sadness.

"If that really is Darren Jr, then who are the other two kids in the photo?" Burstein asked

"The girl standing next to Jr was, at the time the photo was taken, Jr's betrothed. However, due to the request of the Honorable Eternal President, I will not disclose her name. However, I can say that the boy in the wheelchair is none other then William Wagner."

Another collective amount of gasps went across the room. Walter looked shocked and surprised.

"Darren Jr, why were you with my granduncle? More to the point, how did you know my granduncle?"

Jr couldn't answer, for he had a look of sadness on his face. Fredrick continued.

"I would like to present Exhibit B next," Fredrick said, as the screen then changed to show exhibit B, which were a series of letters.

"Between 2014 and 2020, Darren Jr and William Wagner wrote a series of letters to each other. In the first and mid-series of these letters, you can tell by the writing that Darren Jr is happy and fond of William and in some of the letters, Jr called William his best friend and loyal confidante. But near the end of the 2010's, you can tell that in later letters, Jr was pleading William to seek medical attention, but William refused by allowing others to get medical attention first, before succumbing to his health issues on June 29th, 2020 at the age of ten."

Everyone was silent. The screen changed to exhibit c, which was a photo that showed Darren Jr and his betrothed in wedding attire, but the person in the middle was on a hospital bed, hooked to various machinery, yet he had a small smile, despite being ghastly pale.

"Exhibit C, this photo, taken just three weeks before William died, shows Jr and his wife in wedding attire. They got married in William's hospital room, due to the fact that William was too ill to move. Jr made William his best man."

There was silence in the room. The screen then changed to exhibit d, which was another picture.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this picture was taken during William's funeral. It shows Darren Jr, crying on William's casket, with his wife by his side. According to several accounts, Darren Jr was crying throughout the entire funeral, was inconsolable, and when he finished his eulogy, he broke down even further. After that, his family stated that Jr changed after William died."

The whole trial was filmed and broadcasted on live tv. To all who were watching, they now understood why Jr changed. The projector was turned off and Fredrick looked at Jr.

"Anything to say?"

"I have nothing to say to you all."

"Then maybe your many greats-grandniece can persuade you, if the court will allow it."

"I'll permit it."

"Being her in," Fredrick said. Glenda soon came into the courtroom. She looked at Jr with a sympathetic look. She soon started singing something that only Darren Jr would know.

"Life is uncertain and unknown, yet you go forward, because God will guide you along the way," Glenda was singing a tune only Jr knew, at which point, he began to shed tears a little

"I don't know what you're singing," Jr said in a quivering voice

"Yes you do know what it is," Glenda said

"No I don't," Jr said

"You don't need to lie anymore, William was the only thing that kept you in line while you desperately sought your parent's approval which you always had and when he died, a part of you died and changed."

"That's not true, I don't what your talking about," Jr tried to protest about this tactic near the edge of breaking down, but Glenda kept singing

"When God is there, your future is bright. When life seems to get you down, look up to the mighty Lord, for he will guide you to a happy future. The Lord created us to find our purpose, because the Lord loves us all equally!" Glenda sang on until finally Jr broke down.

"I loved my friend, but he got in the way of my ambitions. Why'd you have to fucking die on me William? Oh my god why did you die on me William?! Oh my god why?! I didn't want lose father and mother's love for me, so that's why I did what I did for all these years, and William was one of only two things that kept me in check, the other being my wife!" Jr said before breaking down in tears.

The courtroom was stunned. No one had seen Darren Jr cry at anytime. He just wept even futher. The scene was played over all the televisions across the whole federation and Equestria. Darren Jr supporters were disgusted by this display of weakness. Other people and ponies had mixed reactions from believing that he deserved this humiliation to those who sympathized with him. After a while, he calmed down.

"No further questions," Fredrick said, as he left the podium. Court was adjorned

---oooOoOoOOOoOoOooo---
Later that day

Images of Darren Jr crying on live television were spread across all of Equestria and across the Federation. There were various news agencies that picked up the story, with various types of headlines, but the most common one was "VP crying for first time!" The most common image shown was of Jr crying his eyes out.

Darren Jr had never felt more humiliated in his life than when he heard the news in his prison cell. But he also began to feel different, something he couldn't explain. He still believed that against all odds, his father would still consider him his successor to the Presidency.

Thanks to Jr's breaking down, the prisoners all began to admit to some degree of responsibility, some recanting their statements, like Von Bosworth, who admitted that his banks had admittedly accepted the victim's personal belongings and Canterbury, who admitted that he had indeed visited the camp several times.

Several of the defendants even changed their pleas to guilty. They were Karl Moore, Alfred Thompson, Walter Wagner, Hans Yossef, Mike Bulford, Jack Will, and William Von Bosworth. Over the next two weeks, the trial went on and on. After two weeks, it was time to deliver the final verdict on the defendants.

Author's Note

Well, I think this is the longest chapter I've ever made. Now that that's out of the way, we're nearing the end of the story. Let's see what happens next.