I Did What?

Fluttershy was brought into the courtroom after an odd night in jail. She was directed to sit down at the table. Her friends were in the front row, blocked off by a low wall. She looked back at them but they were as confused as she was about her presence.

The judge, a unicorn, came in. Everypony stood up but Fluttershy, who was disoriented and confused. The judge sat down and everypony else followed.

“Fluttershy, you stand accused of 31 counts of animal cruelty, 17 counts of animal neglect, and 16 counts of pony endangerment,” the Judge stated. “How do you plead?”

“What?” Fluttershy asked. “I don’t understand.”

The judge sighed. “Bring in the first witness.” He grumbled, “Maybe this will help.”

Lilly Valley stepped forward.

“Miss, what did you see happen yesterday?” the judge asked.

“The horror is near indescribable,” she replied. “I mean, they came out of nowhere. First it was the bunnies flooding into ponyville, who were followed by the mice. Next thing I knew, there was a wolf chomping down on them. I looked around, trying to find a place to hide, and I saw this snake was wrapped around that poor filly, Scootaloo, about to eat her. Her friends, Applebloom and Sweetie Bell were trying to stop the snake, but it was hungry for pony blood!

“There was a rampaging bear who stopped eating the raccoons and charged after Bon Bon and Lyra. They barely made it inside in time! He tore open the door, but they somehow drove him off. He was rather slow and lethargic, and skinny, like he hadn’t eaten in a while. The same with the wolf.

“Both turned on multiple ponies. Their poor health saved a lot of the ponies, but not without injuries from claws and jaws. I made a break for it and survived before they could get their claws on me. I don’t know what happened!”

Doctor Fauna was brought forward next.

“Doctor, what was the state of the rampaging animals?” the Judge asked.

“Well, all of the carnivores were in a serious nutritional deficit. It was like they hadn’t eaten anything in weeks. At least not anything in their diet.”

“And was anypony in charge of them, or did they come from the wild?” he pressed.

“Well, no,” Doctor Fauna hesitated. “They were at Fluttershy’s Animal Sanctuary, being cared for by Fluttershy while they healed.”

“But they were not in a normal state of health?” the Judge asked.

“Well, considering they go there to get better, none started in good condition,” the Doctor explained. “But they hadn’t improved since my last rounds there, two weeks ago.”

“In those two weeks, their health dramatically declined?” the Judge asked.

“Yes,” she said with a nod.

“In what way?” the Judge asked.

“When I got them back to my officer, they didn’t appear to be eating anything nutritional,” the Doctor answered.

“Was there any indication of improper nutrition or that anything was wrong last time you visited the sanctuary?” the Judge asked.

“Well, I was doing my rounds, I was a bit distracted,” she stated. “But there was a moment where the wolf was collared and leashed, then tied to a tree while Fluttershy tried to get it to eat carrots. A little extreme in my opinion, but she knows what is best.”

“Thank you doctor,” The judge said, dismissing her. He turned to Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, on the 31 counts of animal cruelty, 17 counts of animal neglect, and 16 counts of pony endangerment. How do you plead?”

Fluttershy had no idea how to answer such charges.

"Umm...innocent?" Fluttershy said.

"Is that a question or your response?" the Judge asked.

"Neither?" she responded.

The Judge let out an annoyed sigh. "Are you guilty of these charges or not?"

"Yes, er, no!” she stumbled. “No? Yes, I am not guilty of the charges!"

The Judge let out another sigh and shook his head. "Fluttershy did you or did you not feed carnivores fruit?"

"No."

"Then what were you feeding the snake?" He asked.

"Carrots,” Fluttershy confidently answered. “Which is not a fruit."

The room echoed with a loud smack at Twilight Sparkle’s hoof slammed into her forehead. After a moment of silence, the judge continued.

"Did you collar and leash a wolf or not?" the Judge growled.

"Yes. Wait. No. Angel did that, but in my body. So...maybe?"

“Where were you yesterday morning?” The judge asked.

“Um, teaching at Twilight’s School, like usual,” Fluttershy answered. “Why?”

“So you didn’t witness the carnage that most of Ponyville saw?” the Judge asked.

“I guess not,” she said. “It was all quiet from what I recall. A normal and typical day for me.”

“Were the animals in your care there at night?” the Judge asked.

“Umm, no?” Fluttershy admitted. “I thought they had gone back to their real homes. Some were a bit overdue to return. But they love it at the sanctuary. I wouldn’t force anycreature out. Or do anything to harm them.”

The judge raised his eyebrow at her. “Then why did they go on a rampage?”

“Did they?” Fluttershy asked.

The Judge had to unlock his jaw. “Doctor Fauna just testified that they were the animals under your care.”

“I certainly didn’t cause it,” she answered.

The Judge was trying to be patient. “Why were the carnivores eating carrots? Or any vegetables? Or fruit?”

“Well, Antoine the snake kept trying to eat Muriel the baby elephant,” Fluttershy explained. “Which made Muriel feel hurt. So I started a support group for predators and prey so they could cohabitate in the sanctuary and all heal.”

“And your solution for the predator's food was?” The Judge pressed.

“I got them all to agree on a vegan based diet for the time they were staying there,” Fluttershy confidently explained.

Twilight let out a loud groan.

“Everycreature agreed and everycreature was happy,” Fluttershy said. “I don’t understand why I am here.”

“What happens when you can’t control an animal?” The judge asked. “How do you get them to do what you want them to?”

“Umm...well...when it gets really bad, I have to use The Stare,” she explained. “It is part of my special talent and speaking with animals. They have to do what I say.”

“Fluttershy, I have heard enough,” The judge declared. “I find you guilty of all charges of Animal Cruelty, Animal Neglect, and Pony Endangerment. I sentence you to 25 years in prison with the chance of parole after 10 years. You will never be able to own an animal again.”

Fluttershy froze, eye wide. She was unable to comprehend what that meant. How could she hurt animals? Or ponies? Or neglect them? Or live without animals?

The bailiff couldn’t get Fluttershy unfrozen, so he was forced to drag her out of the room. Angel hurriedly hopped after her, trying to catch up with his beloved.

“Fluttershy!” Twilight Sparkle yelled. “We will figure something out!”

Fluttershy blinked as she was being dragged away. “Figure something out for what?”

Twilight almost fainted, unsure how to respond.

Rainbow Dash turned to Applejack, who was sitting beside her. “Um, AJ, did you see this coming?”

“Honestly,” Applejack sighed. “Yep. Yes, I did.”