I was nestled comfortably on Starlight's back, listening as Blueblood regaled me with his exploits in the retaking of Canterlot. To be honest, I wasn't sure if he'd even gotten my message in time to contribute anything. Apparently, though, he personally led a strike team that met up with the other Elements of Harmony and the various new followers their party acquired throughout their own adventure. They didn't remain united for long, however; not long after they met, the Elements headed towards the palace, while Blue worked to free captured ponies in hit and fade attacks.

When he told me of the spell his mages used to mask their approach by train, I was fascinated, and already the magic-focused part of my brain started trying to puzzle out how they achieved it. How could a pair of unicorns in joint-casting render an entire locomotive full of soldiers completely invisible? Did they somehow manage to allow light to pass harmlessly through the train and its occupants? If not for the fact that Twilight had assigned me the task of having a crack at creating a spell that mimicked a unicorn's natural telekinetic use of magic, I would've been on that fascinating line of research like a fly on shit.

What surprised me most, however, was when he partially credited their success in the field to me. When asked how I was a help, he conjured up a familiar looking baked-clay medallion, and levitated it over. The medallion I took in my hooves was the version of my strength amplification spell that Starlight had helped me properly recreate. Not the safety-stripped Berserker revision I'd slaughtered several ponies with, but the one that could still give ponies a fighting chance against larger foes like the Storm King's hedgehogs.

I looked from the medallion to him in confusion, and then leaned to the side to try and get a better look at Starlight. Part of me wanted to be angry that the spell had officially been used by Equestria in a military operation when I never wanted to become a supplier, but I understood the need. "Be honest, do Ah have ta worry about that spell floatin' around and bein' used to cause more hurtin'?" I involuntarily asked in Applejack's voice. "Just how many o' those were made?"

"Sorry, Anon," Starlight answered in a soft voice. "I knew how much you like having Prince Blueblood around, and wanted to give his strike team an extra fighting chance. Only six were made, and I unfortunately ended up using the last of your clay."

"If it comforts you at all, the spell saved countless lives and helped a member of my strike team survive what would have otherwise been a fatal blow," Blueblood interjected as he levitated the medallion back. "This is the last one remaining in existence. Two were destroyed during conflicts, and I personally saw to it that the other three were destroyed once the battle was over."

I nodded. "A jar of clay to help save a nation sounds like a fair trade." Even if the spell could be abused, I was at least happy that it had helped them. "I don't mind if you hold onto that one since you're my friend and I trust you, but I don't wanna find out it's been recreated for regular military use." That actually got a surprised sound of from Starlight, and I watched in amusement as she conjured up a five bit piece and levitated it over to Blueblood. "Don't expect me to start popping out any more spells with intentional combat applications, especially for the Royal Guard. I don't want dangerous spells to be my legacy."

Spreading my elytra, I lifted off from Starlight's back and landed in front of them. "Aunt Twilight and I both agree that until I'm in a better place mentally, my studies cannot be self-directed," I explained in a firm voice. "I want my legacy to be one of helping ponies, not hurting them... To that end, I'm forbidding myself from creating new spells that have intentional combat purposes. After I spend some time with Emerald. I want to spend whatever time I have between dinner and Twilight's festival in the library, getting started on my first project."

The rest of the trip out to the garden—the same one I'd been exercising in just the night before—was fairly demure. I hovered along at Starlight's side, just close enough that I could graze the floor with my hooves. I'd asked where Trixie was, only to be told that she'd chosen to go out to find if her cart was still where she'd left it. Given that she apparently lived out of it, that made sense. Apparently she'd already had to have her cart rebuilt once since getting involved with Twilight's life.

Just before we reached the garden, Blueblood stopped a few steps short of the door. "This is where we part ways, my friends," he said in a girm voice, turning away. When I landed beside Starlight, he didn't look back. His resolve was mustering around him in such a way that it was hard for me to pick up anything he was feeling. "There is somepony I must meet and have words with."

I often played the fool in the past, but I was anything but dumb. If there was someone he needed to talk to that evoked that tone of voice, it could only be the opposing commander in the Canterlot Invasion—Tempest Shadow. Even repentant and aiding in the cleanup efforts, Tempest was still complicit in a great number of crimes against Equestria. I didn't doubt in the slightest that Princesses Luna and Celestia had made their decisions regarding the mare's fate, but Blue was a prince and as such he was still entitled to interview Tempest, and suggest an amendment to her punishment.

Watching as he stalked off through the castle halls, I turned my gaze back to Starlight. "The Crusaders are in there too." It wasn't a question; I could feel three smaller presences out there in the garden with Emerald. Playing, I imagine. Other than that, I could tell Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack, Spike and Fluttershy were there. There was also a stranger there, flitting about in wonderment of everything around them. "Which form do you think I should take?" I asked her, not entirely sure of myself. "The Crusaders saw me disguised as an alicorn back when Tempest led me and Aunt Twilight through the city, but I don't know if anypo—anyone has told them I'm a bug now."

She was about to say something, but I continued. "For that matter, I think before I even go see Emerald and the girls, I need to talk to Applejack and Rarity first." Staring at the door, I felt my wings buzz with anxiety. "Before I even go near their sisters and Scootaloo, I need to clear the air with them. They're scared of me because they think I'm dangerous." A snort escaped my nose, and the next words out of my mouth were in the farmpony's voice. "Let's be honest; they're right... but just 'cause Ahm dangerous don't make me a threat ta them or their sisters..."

Due to my strange outburst, my big sister gave me a wary glance as I shook my head. It was clear that she was wondering the same thing I was; what was causing it? "I can ask them to come out and talk to you," Starlight responded in a measured tone, "but I'm staying with you. Princess Celestia informed us that there's been hostile attitudes towards you from Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity. I'm not gonna let anything happen."

With a grimace, I nodded. A bit late for that. I slowly watched her open the door to the garden and step out of sight. There was a momentary consideration towards transforming, but then a thought occurred to me. They're scared that I'm gonna hurt or drain their sisters. If they see me like this, filled almost to bursting, maybe they're more likely to recognise that I'm not likely to try to feed.

No expectation of trouble lingered in my mind. If they'd spoken to Rainbow at all since this morning's incident, they probably knew fully well exactly who I was the biggest threat to right now. Rainbow... I actually feel really bad about that, now that I'm more clearheaded. Sure, she was being a total bitch, but I think we've all been under a fuckload of stress lately. Even if, y'know, they did abandon Twilight.

The emotional presences of Applejack, Rarity, and Starlight started approaching, and immediately, I reached out to gauge their emotional auras. The farmer was angry, but not exactly at me; about me and the whole situation might be a better interpretation. Meanwhile, Rarity was just sad and anxious. No hostility was present in the mare.

As soon as the pair stepped through the door with Star and saw me, they froze. Their eyes looked from my face, to my distended, glowing belly. Rather than look relieved that they don't have to worry about me trying to feed on them or their sisters, I could feel the fear seeping into their emotional spectrum.

"Applejack, Rarity," I greeted with a quick dip of my head. "Before we start I want you to know how much Ah regret what happened with Rainbow this morning." Their eyes widened as AJ's twang started slipping into my voice, before I shook my head. "Sorry 'bout that, too. We don't know what's causing me to occasionally mimic you and the other Elements of Harmony." I flicked my ears, and sighed. "We've all been under a lot of stress as of late, but things have been especially bad for me."

Starlight flinched, snapping her attention to me. "Wait, what happened with Rainbow?"

Before I could answer, Rarity shook her head. "Later, darling," she said. "I think we should listen to what she has to say."

That drew surprise from not only Applejack and Starlight, but also me. It took me a moment to recover, but when I did, I gave her an appreciative nod. "I'm just speculating, but because I hadn't actively fed on anypony since my... rebirth, I think my brain was on the fast-track to deteriorating to the degree that Chrysalis' probably had," I explained. Even as I spoke, I recalled my encounter with the changeling queen... with how she'd become more lucid when I'd willingly allowed her to feed off of me. "I was starving, traumatised, and losing my grip on sanity. It's a wonder that I didn't melt down at dinner when she showed up. I'm doing better now, since Aunt Cadance fed me."

I stared down at the floor, considering my next words. Transformation magic was welling up inside my body, and I could actually sense it targeting my throat and eyes again, fully intent on causing another Applejack imitation—something I could easily have chosen to stop. I didn't, though. When I looked up at her and met her gaze with her own eyes, I said, "On mah life, Ah swear that, even in that state, Ah would never hurt y'all or the girls. Even if'n they was willin'—an that's the only way Ah'd even consider feedin' on somepony—Ah'd not feed on their emotions, 'cause they're too young." That magic flickered inside me again, and my next words came out in Rainbow Dash's voice. "I'd sooner give my own life than see them harmed or their innocence lost."

They were officially getting weirded out by this whole thing. Even Starlight was beginning to flood the hall with anxiety. Strangely, I wasn't feeling as distressed about the whole mimicking thing as I was before. Instead, I was trying to figure out where it came from. It was coming up most when I was expressing feelings closer in line with the personalities of the others... but why would that cause involuntary mimicking?

Applejack finally chose to speak up. "Ah believe ya when ya say all that, or at least ya believe it yerself, an' it does make me feel a mite better 'bout ya," she admitted, although her tone didn't really agree with that. She was all kinds of suspicious of me, and it was written all over her face. "That really don't change the fact that yer dangerous, Anon."

Rarity gaped at her friend. "Applejack, dear, you can't seriously believe she's still any sort of threat to the girls."

"Anon's only ever been violent to protect others or herself," Starlight agreed. "Remember how she stood up for your si—"

"No, girls, it's alright," I said in Fluttershy's voice. I think I might be starting to understand where it's coming from. Their primary attribute—their element—wasn't something that was all that plentiful in my personality. It didn't come as naturally as it could, and for some reason, my magic was reacting to something inside me, using their voices to supplement my own messages. "She's right, after all. I am dangerous."

They all gaped at me; even Applejack was surprised. "Ah'm right?" she asked in surprise.

I nodded, and glanced at the door beside them. "All things have the potential to be dangerous," I explained, "be it a cornered filly or a stick of dynamite. I'm dangerous, you're dangerous... Even the princesses are dangerous under the right circumstances. It's not that they are or can be dangerous that should matter, though."

I'm pretty sure Starlight had figured out where I was going with this, but wanted to hear what I had to say for myself. "And what should matter, Anon?" she asked with a thoughtful look. "If not the capacity to be dangerous, what should matter?"

With a flourish of transformative magic, I assumed my alicorn disguise—without the injuries, of course. "What should matter is to who or what a thing is actually a danger to," I said in my own voice. "Whoever or whatever threatens my family and friends, that is what I am a danger to. Starlight can attest to that." She paled a bit, but nodded in agreement. "I give you my word that I shall never bring the girls to harm."

To my surprise, they didn't interfere when I nosed the door back open and slid through. Instead, they followed me through, their eyes never leaving my back. The garden was much nicer out here in the daylight, what with many of the flowers now opened to the world. You don't get to see much from poppies, hibiscus, tulips, and crocuses during the night, after all.

It looked like the four fillies had been in the midst of a spirited game, passing a ball back and forth while they ran about under the watchful eye of a few royal guards. They hadn't noticed me initially, continuing trying to keep the ball in the air as they chatted with her. Emerald was struggling a bit to keep up with them, but wasn't complaining; if anything, she looked happy to get to run. To their credit, the other three clearly recognised that she was younger and were more than happy to keep their pace where she could manage.

I was content to just watch them for a few minutes. Emerald Flicker looked so at peace being at play, more like a normal filly than I probably ever had; it looked so natural to her. The Crusaders had definitely accepted her as one of their own. From the buzz of the conversation, it sounded like they were even trying to help her figure out where her special talent might lie.

You'd never know what that poor kid's gone through.

Eventually, when Scootaloo attempted to pass the ball to Sweetie Belle, she put a bit too much force into it, and the ball overshot the little unicorn... landing straight at my hooves. Without even thinking, I used the tip of my hoof to put it into a roll, quickly thrusting that hoof underneath, popping the ball up into the air and catching it on my head. It was only then that they all saw me and froze. "Hey, girls; been a while, hasn't it?"

Although the three Cutie Mark Crusaders stared at me, a mix of confusion, surprise, excitement, and a bit of fear, there was no such reaction from the little green earth pony filly. "Anon!" she cried, rushing over and all but throwing me into a crushing hug. To my part, I reared up on my back hooves, catching her hug and wrapping the feathery wings of my disguise around her as far as they could reach. The affection she was radiating as she nuzzled into my neck was intoxicating, but I knew better than to do anything other than passively bask in it. "I missed you so much!"

A soft chuckle escaped me and I patted her on the back. "I told you that you'd see me again, didn't I?" I asked, before mussing up her mane and then returning my hooves to the ground. Once she released me, I let the ball roll off my head, catching it in my hooves and holding it out to her. "I see you made some friends."

Just like that, the figurative spell holding back the Crusaders was broken. Slowly, the girls approached, eyeing me and Emerald with looks of amazement. They seemed to be comparing the two of us. I could feel their gazes going from my disguise's wings and horn, and the astonishment they were exuding. There was also building amazement

"Anon, is that really you?" asked Scootaloo.

"Was Emerald tellin' the truth when she said ya beat the Manehattan mob?" asked Apple Bloom at the same time. "Oh, an' didja meet mah cousin Babs?"

"Are you really an alicorn now?" Sweetie Belle waited for the other two to talk before asking her own question. "Does that mean you're a princess like Princess Twilight now?"

It's funny. Before the invasion, it felt like my biggest concerns were figuring out whether I could ever trust these three in the wake of my trip to the other world, and getting to the Crystal Empire to get some mental help. Seeing how easily the girls accepted the fact that there were now apparently two of the green filly that blundered into their lives made it hard to associate them with their human counterparts.

Even if you fillies did write a gossip column, I'm willing to give you all a chance, I decided, looking from one expectant face to the next. I just hope you all do the same for me.

Looking to Scootaloo and then Apple Bloom, I nodded. "Yes, yes, and yes," I answered with a forced smile; I still wasn't entirely proud of what I'd done, so the mention of the Blackwing Cartel dampened my spirits. Turning my attention to Sweetie Belle, I shrugged. "Kinda sorta, and not really but it's complicated."

While the first two looked super excited at hearing I busted the mob, they quickly fell into confusion at my last response. "How does that work?" Sweetie asked. "How can you kinda sorta be an alicorn?"

I chewed my lip. "Pinkie Promise you all won't freak out first," I said, ruffling the feathers on my wings. When I'd gotten the promises, I transformed into Apple Bloom's cousin, and gave a flip of my now straight, pink mane. Immediately, everyone but Emerald tensed, radiating a fair amount of fear. Credit to them, though; they're not actively freaking out. "Right... Blame Désirée... She's basically Discord and Harmony's sister. So... ta-dah, I'm a changelin' queen now." At that, I dropped the earth pony disguise completely, revealing my love-bloated buggy self.

Even as the girls cycled through several emotions, Emerald looked from my embarrassed smile to my love-bloated belly. "You got fat, Anon," she noted with a giggle. Maybe it was the fact that she wasn't scared in the least, they seemed to calm down. "How'd you get your belly to glow like that?"

When I snickered, I just transformed back into my normal earth pony Anon form. "I just overate at breakfast is all," I replied with a shrug. "Princess Cadance offered up her love, but since it was my first time feeding on a pony, I kinda overindulged. She says she's okay, but I still kinda feel bad."

Once they were sufficiently calmed, they started barraging me with questions. What was it like being a bug? Could I use my horn for magic now? Have I tried flying yet? How did I end up splitting into a pony and a changeling? Why did I disappear weeks ago? Did I think of a cool Nightmare Night costume? Oh shit, that's coming up real soon, isn't it?

Listening to how excited they all were to see me, and seeing how well they were treating Em, I came to a decision. I would give them all the benefit of the doubt. Even if they had been part of a rumour-mongering column in a kid's newspaper, they weren't the exact same as the three girls who had nearly destroyed Sunset Shimmer's life. They'd been nothing but good to me once they got to know me, and even finding out that I was now a fearsome changeling queen, they were accepting me. That deserved some honesty... I could trust them with knowing what I used to be.

Rather than the order I received the questions in, I decided to start from the bottom up. I explained to them that I'd somehow stumbled into Equestria and for all intents and purposes died, but Celestia, or maybe the Tree of Harmony acting through her, gave me a body. Although I told them that the body had belonged to Emerald, I didn't go into detail as to why she wasn't using it. Apparently, me being an alien in a foal's body was somehow not the most unusual thing they'd ever encountered, and they just... accepted it—even when they found out I used to be male.

Then I moved on to how I'd ended up with the ability to sense other's emotions after my encounter with Chrysalis. That segued into how I'd been sent on a mission by the Cutie Map to the mirror world... They seemed guilt-ridden when they found out what their counterparts had done, especially explaining how I'd gotten hurt, but I waved it off. They weren't their mirror world selves, and Gabby Gums was a far cry from Anon-a-Miss.

That brought me to my decision not to return to Ponyville until I could see a therapist in the Crystal Empire. Emerald's awakening, my deal with Hunger, and my encounter with the mob again remained quite abridged. I pointed out that I'd hurt a lot of people to protect Starlight and Trixie, but that was the furthest I went with them; they didn't need to hear how I'd eviscerated eighteen monsters.

Eventually, that brought us to the day they saw me as an alicorn, where I explained why I was being so placid, and how Tempest wasn't entirely a bad pony. They didn't buy that, but then again, they didn't really get to interact with her; they'd just been stuffed into a cage by those hedgehogs.

As for what it was like being a changeling, all I could really say was it was like being a pony who could transform and eat emotions... and that being around a lot of negative feelings at once was the worst. No, I couldn't use my horn yet—probably wouldn't be able to until it grew in some more. As for Nightmare Night, I said that I had an idea, but I'd need to test something first.

Maybe it was just their enthusiasm and general curiosity, but the realisation that I was a changeling meant that I could turn into a human again. I could turn into my previous self—albeit scaled down since I didn't exactly have enough mass to go fully adult human. Maybe myself at eight?

I tried to imagine what I looked like as a human, but the image wouldn't come. I could get the overall shape right, but the proportions were all wrong. The only things that would come to mind were the mirror world's humans. Hell, the only thing I could picture as me was the form of Emerald Flicker. My old face wouldn't come...

That bitch... she dumped an entire species' repository of knowledge into my head, but now I can't remember my own face?

"What's wrong, Anon?" Sweetie Belle finally asked. She'd probably seen the emotions playing out on my face and got concerned. "You look upset."

I just shook my head and sighed. There's no point in crying about it; it's just another thing to hate Hunger for. "I can't remember what I used to look like as a <>." Instead, I focused on the template of human Emerald Flicker and started adjusting it. I scaled it down to what would be appropriate for a body of comparable age, made the skin a few shades lighter than my carapace, and matched the hair to Emerald's coat. Finally, I decided I had enough stored love to power the transformation—although I'd need to eat a lot of normal food later. Putting my glasses atop my head, out of the way, I grit my teeth. "Guess a mirror world version of myself is the best I can do."

As the flame of transformation magic raced up my body, I shifted my balance so that the change to bipedal stance went smoothly. I managed to come out just a few heads taller than the older fillies, but it was kinda chilly. "I was thinking about collecting candy in this form," I explained, giving a quick twirl. If the girls had been human, I might've felt a bit embarrassed, but we were all ponies—er, ponies and changeling—and they didn't see nudity in the same way humans did. "Although I might need to make an actual costume to go with it... These bodies don't do well with the cold."

~ 48 ~

A while after I caught up for lost time with the girls, I noticed Spike, who'd been conversing with Fluttershy and a young hippogriff, watching me. I presumed the hippogriff to be Queen Novo's daughter, and the source of the wonderment I'd been picking up from outside the garden. What caught my interest more was the fact that Spike had just belched up a scroll. I knew full well about his mail-delivery flames, so when he did so, I didn't freak out all that much.

What did freak me out was when he opened the freshly delivered letter—which contained another scroll rolled up inside—and then paled. He looked slightly spooked as he apologised to his conversational partners and rushed over, holding up the smaller scroll. "Anon!" he called out as he ran. "You're gonna wanna see this!"

I turned to the girls with a frown. "Sorry, I think my time for fun is at an end," I apologised, walking over to meet Spike. Since I was about as tall as Starlight in my human disguise, I towered over him. "What's up, Spike?"

He pressed the parchment into my hands. "It's a letter from Princess Celestia," was his response. "It's pretty urgent." There was an expectant look on his face, and his ear-spines were twitching something fierce, so I figured I better read it quick. Without further prompting, I broke the seal with one of my fingernails and unrolled the scroll.

Anonymous Flicker,

It pains us to do this so soon after all that you have been through, but we must request your presence in the throne room immediately. In an official capacity, the events of the last week, as well as their consequences, must be discussed. Princess Twilight Sparkle will be in attendance at this meeting as your guardian and advocate, but we ask that you come alone.

Present this letter to any guard and you will be escorted to the throne room.

~Princess Celestia

I blinked and sighed. So the other shoe drops. With a nod to Spike, I walked over to one of the guards watching over the garden and passed him the scroll. While he read over its contents, I reverted to my usual pony appearance and removed my glasses from the top of my head, returning them to their rightful place. Without a word, the stallion started leading me through the castle halls.

If not for the fact that feeding on Cadance had done a lot to stabilise my mood, I'd probably be panicking. It'd be so easy to just freak the fuck out over the possibility that Celestia decided I was a threat and that I was to be banished to Tartarus. Was it likely? Hardly. Auntie Twilight wouldn't let her, but I don't think she'd banish a foal to that accursed place. That seemed more like the sort of place you'd send the likes of Sombra, Tirek, or whatever the pony equivalent of Hitler was.

That said, I also wasn't expecting the Sun Horse to roll out a hero's welcome for me. There were things I had to answer for, and consequences to my actions. I had to face them eventually. Truth be told, I think I preferred the idea that we'd be getting it out of the way now rather than when I went to the Crystal Empire when I was planning on healing. If I got lucky, I might not end up locked up for any stretch of time.

"I don't know how ponies can just tolerate her presence," I heard one maid whispering to another as the two of us passed. "They should just lock her up and be done with it! It's what she deserves!"

Even if I wasn't as paranoid or self-hating as I had been while starving, that comment still cut deep. Yet as I felt the fur on the back of my neck begin to prickle with anger, the other maid spoke up and stopped that reaction in its tracks. "You know that's not how the princesses do things. The way I heard it, Princess Celestia already has a plan for how that traitor can redeem herself." Traitor... They're talking about Tempest, not me. "Apparently Princess Twilight herself advocated for leniency."

Although I caught something about a cushy job and Blueblood before we got out of earshot, I didn't hear enough to get a full context. Still, I don't know what Blueblood and a cushy job has to do with Tempest. Instead, I just kept my eyes ahead, my head down, and kept following the guard. It'll be all over soon.

When we finally got to the fuckmassive throne-room doors, I was let right in. There on her big cushy throne sat the white horse herself. At the foot of the dais, sat Auntie Twilight, as well as a grey and black unicorn mare that I'm pretty sure served as Celestia's personal assistant. What really caught me off guard was the fact that Princess Luna was present on a smaller throne beside Celestia's. If Cadance had also been present, it would've been a full-on princess conference call regarding my fate. No such luck, though. Even if she were here, she could only advocate on my behalf like Auntie Twilight.

The doors slammed shut behind me as I crossed their threshold, and the princesses all fixed me with unreadable expressions. The only pony not wearing a masque of professionalism was Twilight. She looked anxious, but hopeful, as her eyes flicked from me to the thrones. Maybe I'm not gonna get ripped a new one?

I followed the carpet leading up to the foot of the dais, and then slipped into the pony equivalent of a respectful bow—folding one foreleg beneath me while the other bent to bring me low. Since this was an official capacity, I knew that I should remain that way until told otherwise. It took what felt like a half-hour before she finally gave me permission to rise... Clearly she wanted me to sweat a bit first.

When I did, and met Celestia's gaze, she heaved a sigh. "Anonymous Flicker, before we begin, I want you to know that this is mostly a formality in response to pressure from external sources," she explained in a soft voice. "That said, I need to be sure; do you understand why you've been called here?" She's speaking to me like an adult... that's certainly a nice change of pace. None of the soft intonations or shit ponies usually do to dance around the point when talking to a foal.

"I do, Your Highness," I answered without breaking eye contact. "I'm to be put on trial—or something approaching one—for the actions I've taken over the last week or so." Rather than say anything, she gave a subtle nod of her head, as if to tell me to continue. Sucking in a deep breath, I girded myself before continuing—intending to mute my emotional reactions as much as possible. "Chiefly, I imagine this pertains to the actions taken under the influence of the entity now known as Désirée: vigilantism, vandalism, assaulting a police officer, the unauthorised use of combat magic by a civilian, eighteen killings pertaining to Raging Storm and the Blackwing Cartel, dark magic, desecration of pony remains, giving form to an Embodied Concept, and disobeying a lawful order from the defacto head-of-state."

Princess Celestia actually blinked owlishly at what I'd just outlined. It was Princess Luna that spoke up however. "We were made aware of most of the items you listed, but could you clarify three of them?" she asked, glancing from me to Twilight. "You listed vandalism, assaulting a police officer, and desecration of remains. This is the first we've heard of any of these."

Biting my lip, I turned to meet her gaze. "I encountered two police ponies while on my way to the Blackwing hideout. One was crooked, and the other was a goody four-shoes who got in the way. I hit them with a pressurised water jet and slammed them into a wall to remove them as obstacles." Twilight slowly covered her face with her hoof and started shaking her head. "Desecration and vandalism kinda go hoof-in-hoof, as I used a pony-turned-carcass as a battering ram through a brick wall." I paused for a moment, caught up in thought. "Oh, and the spell Hunger had me cast literally turned all of the bodies in and around the warehouse into fuel for the spell she cast to separate me from Emerald."

I'm kinda glad Cadance isn't here, was what I thought as Twilight, Celestia, and the secretary went somewhat green, even as their emotional auras filled with disgust. Hell... If not for the fact that I was focusing on keeping my emotions dulled, I might have been feeling a bit ill myself. Even if it wasn't the worst thing I'd done that day, it was probably one of the most vicious. Plus, it made me shiver remembering the way the guy's blood clung to me after.

The only pony that seemed unfazed by it all was Luna. Oh, she was quite good at hiding the disappointment radiating off of her, but there was sympathy there as well. Then again, she had personal experience with this sort of thing. I had to remind myself that I was not the only pony in the world to have had their will subverted, even if only subtly, by malign entities. I also kinda got the vibe from her that she might have been the 'Sword of Equestria' back before her fall from grace a thousand years ago.

Once everyone had taken time to compose themselves, Celestia sighed and regarded me with an odd look. "Those are indeed the reasons you have been summoned here." She didn't seem all that angry—maybe a little tired or frustrated, but it didn't seem directed at me. "We understand the extenuating circumstances that led into this series of events, and those will be taken into consideration when we deliver a judgement, but we are unfortunately unable to simply turn our gaze from all of this."

That made me a bit nervous. Everything about her tone of voice told me that she was going to throw the book at me, even if she didn't necessarily like it. Even Twilight looked a bit worried now. Then again, I wasn't exactly expecting a slap on the wrist for everything I did. All I can do now is pray for lenience.

Instead of continuing, Celestia looked towards Luna and nodded. "From watching your dreams, I know that you would not default to lethal force in your right state of mind," she said, taking the cue to start from the Sun Horse. I opened my mouth to voice an objection, but she gently held my muzzle shut with magic. "Based on the report from the guard that served as a spotter while you defended the train station plaza, you never took easy kill shots. Even then, a discussion with Starlight Glimmer revealed that you were disturbed that you had killed the crew of an entire airship in the defence of the train."

She paused, considering her words. "Because of this, I am led to believe that your deteriorated mental state and outside mental influences played heavily into the eighteen killings. At most, they could be classified as mareslaughter, but Defence of Another statutes also need to be considered." She regarded Twilight with an unreadable expression for a few moments. "If you were older, both physically and emotionally, and acting purely out of self-interest, you would likely face incarceration. As it stands, we have something different in mind. The minimum sentence is probation, and in order to keep you out of further trouble, you are to be assigned a bodyguard who shall also serve a similar role to a probation officer."

I blinked, unsure I was hearing her correctly. Am... am I basically getting away with murder?

"You never should have been put in that situation, and had the Manehattan Police Department been doing their jobs, you wouldn't have," she said with a disgusted growl. This was followed up with a stomp of her hoof that caused cracks to spiderweb across the stone dais. "Those criminals were brazen enough to ambush a Royal Guard escort!"

Celestia nodded, taking over for her sister. "Similarly, the desecration, dark magic, and vandalism are being attributed to Désirée's influence," she added. "That does leave the matter of the illegal combat magic. Although the spell used to defend the train was excusable, those used in your raid on the Blackwing Cartel have been deemed to be military-grade combat magic." Why is she suddenly smiling? "We let you get away with testing spells in the firing range as it is a controlled setting under the watch of an experienced rangemaster, but using them in the field without a license is against the law. Due to the previously aforementioned extenuating circumstances, your fine is being reduced to five hundred bits, and you are barred from taking the relevant licensing exam for five years. Personal defence spells, such as the one demonstrated at the banquet after your return from Sunset's world, are still permitted as a last resort, but only if your yet-to-be-assigned bodyguard is unable to protect you."

I could hardly believe my ears. I was being assigned a bodyguard-cum-probation officer, presumably so that I could be kept out of situations where I'd need to be anything other than a foal, and so that they could keep an eye on me. The whole licensing thing actually surprised me, since it was the first I'd ever actually heard of it, but in retrospect, it makes sense; unless you're a member of the Royal Guard, you'd want to have records of who could use advanced combat magic in the case of a crime. Plus, it sounded like the rest was being dismissed as effects of Désirée...

"As for the matter of disobeying a lawful order from the defacto head of state," she continued with a playful smile, "we are sentencing you to two hundred hours community service. As you are likely going to be spending time in the Crystal Empire whilst seeking therapy, how do you feel about orphanages?"

Author's Note

This went through a few rewrites, and initially didn't even have the meeting with the crown. As it stands, I've been very, very distracted lately, and unable to focus my mind for too long, so Entry 49 is nowhere near ready for publishing. My new project is closer to going live than 49 is.