The following morning, the trial resumed at 8am on the dot. Once the court was called to order, Judge Chief Justice asked the prosecution if they would call their next witness to the stand.

“With pleasure, your honor. The prosecution calls Princess Luna Nocturna Equus to the stand.” Pharynx declared.

Everypony in the courtroom, Chief Justice included, gasped at this. Nopony expected for one of the princesses to be called to the stand. They were equally shocked when Luna walked into the courtroom, her star-studded mane and tail flowing in a non-existent wind. Once the princess made it to the witness stand, the bailiff, almost reluctantly, held out the law book and gently requested that Luna put her right hoof on the book, which she did.

“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you Celestia?” The judge asked.

“I do. In the name of my sister, I swear I shall tell no lies.” Luna replied.

Once the princess took her seat, Pharynx began his questioning.

“Do you know why we called you here, princess?”

“Indeed. The queen of the changelings has filed a suit of defamation against the small town of Ponyville over an incident that occurred on Nightmare Night.”

“Correct. Given your own experiences with defamation in the form of Nightmare Night itself, we think you could show the court just how Queen Chrysalis feels.”

“How she feels? Pray tell, could you elaborate?” Luna requested.

“I’m going to answer that question with a question. Where were you on the previous year’s Nightmare Night?”

“I had decided to grace the small village of Ponyville, residence of my sister’s personal student, Twilight Sparkle, for the evening on my sister’s recommendation.”

“And what happened next?”

“Having heard it was a holiday surrounding Nightmare Moon, I decided to arrive in the guise of my evil persona, thinking I would be well received. But instead, I was met with shrieks of fear. It was as if they were afraid of me.”

“Do you know why they were afraid of you?”

“In the time of my thousand year absence, Nightmare Moon had become a legend. A story to frighten young foals. Particularly around that time of year.”

“And tell us, did you not feel insulted when you found that out? Did you not feel like your character had been made mockery of? That it had been defamed?”

“At first, yes, but-”

“And why would the same not hold true for insults made on the same night against somepony else?”

“Under normal circumstances, you would be correct, however-”

“How is it not the ponies of Ponyville’s fault that my queen has been slandered in much the same way you were? How is-”

“BE SILENT AND LET ME SPEAK!” Luna yelled in the Traditional Canterlot Voice. “I was indeed hurt and insulted when ponies reacted with fear at my mere presence. I felt like a blight upon my honor had been dealt to me. I even went so far as to cancel Nightmare Night. However, after a particularly enlightening conversation with Twilight Sparkle, as well as a realization that foals enjoy being scared on that day, all feelings of animosity left me. I learned that it was a holiday meant to make light of the darkness I succumbed to over a millennium ago. To make light of all that is frightening in the world. After returning to Canterlot, I had a lengthy discussion with my sister over the matter. She revealed that the tradition of paying tribute to Nightmare Moon on that evening was meant to be a gesture of kindness towards me, so that upon my return, I would feel the love I felt I was denied 1000 years ago. I had learned that all fear and/or mockery of Nightmare Moon made that night is made in jest, and should be taken as such. These jests serve the purpose of trying to amuse me and all the good citizens of Equestria. It is my own fault I failed to see that at first. Were I in your place, Queen Chrysalis, I would learn to, as the modern ponies say, ‘learn to take a joke’. I fail to see how it is defamatory to be the subject of amusement and jokes.”

Pharynx stood still in shock, still recovering from having the Traditional Canterlot Voice blasted right in his face. Once he recovered, he tried to ask another question.

“Be that as it may, what about-”

“I have nothing left to say to you. I believe I have made my position quite clear. I also believe that, in my absence, my sister implemented a law stating that those under arrest or on a witness stand have a right to remain silent. I choose now to exercise that right against you.” Luna cut off.

“…Fine! No further questions, your honor.” Pharynx snarled between grit teeth, angry that he had not gotten the answers he wanted out of the princess.

“Does the defense wish to cross examine the witness?” Chief Justice asked.

“No, your honor. I don’t think there’s much she can add for us.” Shining Armor replied.

“So be it. Thank you, Princess Luna. You are free to go.”

Without a word, Luna rose from the witness stand and walked out of the courtroom with all the grace one would expect from a princess. As she passed the prosecution’s table, she turned her muzzle upward at them.

“Prosecution, call your next witness.” The judge ordered.

‘Time for our ace in the hole.’ Pharynx thought.

“The prosecution now calls to the stand Her Royal Highness, Queen Chrysalis of the changelings.” Pharynx stated.

At that, Queen Chrysalis stood from the table and made her way to the witness stand. Once there, she, rather reluctantly, placed her book on the book the bailiff was holding.

“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you Celestia?” The judge asked.

‘I hate having to swear in that wretched mare’s name. But if it gets me the justice I deserve, then…’

“I swear.” Chrysalis choked out.

Once seated in the witness stand, Pharynx approached his queen.

“Now then, your majesty, tell us your side of the story. What happened?”

“On the holiday that the ponies call ‘Nightmare Night’, I observed countless young ponies dressed as my changeling drones. And one particularly impudent filly went so far as to dress as me personally. And all the while, the little brats kept going on and on about how scary, evil, and ugly changelings are. But none of them really know me, or any of my drones. They simply repeated their slanderous statements all through the night. And it wasn’t just the young. Many mares and stallions said similar things upon seeing their children dressed as they were. Even the very mayor of the town was quoted as saying that changelings are scary and nasty. All night, all I heard were insults, barbs, and hurtful comments directed at me and my race! These so-called ‘friendly’ ponies were judging all of us even though they know nothing of us.” Chrysalis answered.

“And what makes you think their statements were false, exactly?”

“I just said it. These ponies do not know me, personally. They know not you, any of the changelings on the jury, none of us. Not down to your brood brother on the jury there. They just assumed the worst and went with it. They spent the entire night spreading their lies.”

“Objection!” Shining Armor shouted. “Queen Chrysalis just admitted that her consul’s brother is on the jury. That alone should be grounds for dismissing this whole trial!”

“Well technically, all changelings are brothers and sisters. Much as we hate being called ‘insects’, our reproductive process is similar to those of ants and bees. We are all born of the queen, and thus, we are all siblings. Thorax and Pharynx just so happen to come from the same brood of eggs.” Kevin said.

“Besides, it was agreed beforehand that for fairness’s sake, the jury would be half pony, half changeling. We can’t have that without siblings interacting.” Delilah added.

The judge thought this over for a moment before coming to a conclusion.

“Assuming this is true, then there is nothing that can be done without selecting a new jury. A new jury which would be impractical to this one since changelings are all siblings. Your objection, and your motion to dismiss this trial, are overruled, Captain Armor.” Chief Justice declared with a bang of the gavel. “Mr. Pharynx, please continue.”

“With pleasure.” Pharynx said with a dark chuckle over how he had gotten one over on the ponies. “Now then, did any of the ponies ever explicitly call themselves ‘Queen Chrysalis’?”

“Yes. In particular that one white unicorn filly that testified yesterday.”

“Now then, do you believe that these ponies willingly did such a thing?”

“Without a doubt. They did so with the full intent of making us changelings look like a lesser species. A species of monsters. They were at fault for their own words and actions.”

“And what has happened to you as a result of these ponies’ mockery of you and the changeling race?”

“We changelings are a deeply empathic race. We feed on love, but are able to sense other emotions as well. The constant comments of fear and hate for changelings filled the air with those emotions. Since love is sustenance for us, those emotions make us want to vomit. Not to mention the fact that, again, they have no proof that their comments are justified in any way.” Chrysalis finished.

“Thank you, your majesty. No further questions, your honor.” Pharynx stated.

“Does the defense wish to cross examine the witness?” Chief Justice asked.

“Very much so, your honor.” Shining Armor said flatly.

As Shining Armor approached the witness stand, it took every bit of willpower and discipline from his years of guard training to keep from lashing out, maybe even attacking, the changeling queen, the one who nearly ruined his wedding and took over Canterlot, that was in front of him.

“So, Queen Chrysalis. Where were you on the night of October 31st? The most recent one?” Shining asked.

“Were you not listening a few moments ago? I was in Ponyville, observing my name being dragged through the mud.” Chrysalis answered.

“I see. So what were you doing in Ponyville? And for that matter, why were there no reports of you being there? Why did no one see you?”

“As is typical of changelings, I went in disguise to avoid detection.”

“Really? Well then, if you’re so defensive of the changeling name, so upset that others spoke badly of it, why hide it? Why hide something that you’re fighting so hard to defend in a court of law?”

“For one, it is changeling nature to be in disguise in the presence of non-changelings. For another, I have personal reasons to want to not draw attention to myself.” Chrysalis said defensively.

“Personal reasons. I’m curious, does that have anything to do with an incident that occurred on or around the most recent April 21st in Canterlot?”

“Objection!” Pharynx yelled. “Irrelevance. Not to mention he’s asking my queen to respond with unreasonable specificities.”

“Sustained. Captain Armor, if you want to file a suit against the changeling queen for what she did in Canterlot, do it after this trial has ended. But until then, focus on the defamation part.” Chief Justice ordered.

“Fine.” Shining grumbled. “You still never answered my first question. Why were you in Ponyville the day you heard these alleged defamatory statements?”

“After being cast out of Canterlot for reasons I refuse to disclose, I was attempting to rebuild my hive. I thought maybe a few of my drones wound up in that tiny town. I was there to gather them. To gather other information about where those I was looking for might be.”

Shining Armor had a gut feeling that there was more to that statement than what the queen was implying. But he let it go for now. He needed to focus on the defamation aspects like the judge had ordered.

“Alright, next question. You believe that everything negative that the ponies of Ponyville said is completely false. Is that correct?”

“Obviously. Or else we wouldn’t be here.”

“May I direct the court’s attention to a royal proclamation made by Princess Celestia herself on April 23rd that was submitted into evidence. She stated, and I quote…” Shining pulled out an official looking document from the stack of evidence and read it.

“’Some time ago, Chrysalis, the queen of a race of shapeshifters called changelings, infiltrated Canterlot under the guise of my adopted niece, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. While disguised as her, he took her place as the bride in then her upcoming wedding to Captain Shining Armor. This was done in an attempt to drain all the love Captain Armor had for Princess Cadenza. Love that changelings use as sustenance. Upon being discovered and ousted by the real Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, Queen Chrysalis revealed herself and instigated an invasion with her army of Changeling drones. During this invasion, many innocent ponies were injured, and many more were terrified by their attackers. It is only with the combined efforts of Princess Cadenza and Captain Armor, with some indispensable help from my faithful student and the other Elements of Harmony, that the attackers were repelled and peace was restored to Canterlot and all of Equestria. So signed, Princess Celestia Solaris Equus.’”

“What does this have to do with anything?” Chrysalis asked.

“It is generally accepted that proclamations made by Princess Celestia herself are to be taken as fact. And this proclamation openly states that many ponies were frightened by the invading changelings. And many who were in Canterlot that day admitted to being scared by them as well. I ask the court, how is it defamation to state that changelings are scary when it is a known fact that they frightened many ponies? As I stated yesterday, for any defamation suit to hold up, the statements have to be false. Not just unpleasant to the person the statements are directed towards. I also ask how it is the fault of Ponyville and its citizens that they were expressing their thoughts that changelings were monsters when it is, as I said, an indisputable fact that changelings invaded Canterlot and frightened its citizens. How can they be held responsible for any damages done to the reputation of the changelings when they are the ones who chose to invade Canterlot, thus coming off as frightening to the good ponies of Ponyville, if not all of Equestria.”

As murmurs filled the entire courtroom, Shining Armor turned towards the judge.

“No further questions, your honor.”

“Does the prosecution have any more witnesses to call?” The judge asked.

“No, your honor.” Pharynx replied.

“Does the defense have any witnesses they wish to call?”

“Yes, your honor. The defense wishes to call Twilight Andromeda Sparkle to the stand.” Shining Armor stated.

“Objection, he’s about to question his own sister!” Pharynx yelled. “That should not be allowed on grounds of bias!”

“I will again remind everypony of my privilege as Captain of the Royal Guard. As well as my training to avoid bias, even with family. I hope I don’t need to repeat myself in that regard.” Shining retorted.

“You do not. Objection overruled. But just know that you are on very thin ice here, Captain Armor. If I see even the slightest sign of unprofessionalism or bias while you speak to your sister, I will dismiss you from this trial and all your hard work will have been for nothing. Am I clear?” The judge warned.

“Clear as crystal.” Shining replied.

With that, Twilight slowly and calmly walked to the stand. She, like Shining Armor, tried to remain as professional as possible, wanting to avoid any sort of accusations of favoritism and bias since it was her brother about to question her. As such, both siblings agreed before the trial that when this time came, they would both avoid things like titles, family nicknames, and personal questions.

“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you Celestia?” The judge asked.

“I do solemnly swear.” Twilight affirmed.

Once Twilight was seated in the witness stand, she was approached by her brother.

“Alright, Miss Sparkle, why don’t you tell us what you saw on Nightmare Night?” Shining asked.

“Well, I never saw Chrysalis herself, but all through the night, I did see a number of foals dressed as changelings when they came to my door to ask for candy. And I also saw the filly named Sweetie Belle dressed as, and call herself, Queen Chrysalis.” Twilight answered.

“Did any of these foals dressed as changelings call themselves anything derogatory like evil, scary, or nasty?”

“Yes.”

“Why do you think they made such statements?”

“Well, I, along with several other citizens of Ponyville, were in Canterlot at the time of the changeling’s invasion. We saw firsthoof what they did. All the damage they did, all the ponies they hurt, me especially. I don’t like to think about it.”

Twilight was silent for a moment before she regained her composure.

“Anyway, when we returned to Ponyville, we all told of what happened. That, combined with Princess Celestia’s proclamation on what happened, it all sounded like something out of a horror story.”

“So do you think the statements that were made against Chrysalis and the changelings were false in any way? And why do you feel that way, yes or no?”

“No. I feel like the way the foals acted on Nightmare Night was accurate. I can’t fault anypony who dressed that way for acting the way they did. They were either recreating what they saw with their own two eyes at the wedding, mine included, or were acting the way they heard others talk about changelings from their firsthoof accounts.”

“What damages do you think these comments made on Nightmare Night did to the changelings?”

“Nothing that wasn’t already done by the changelings themselves. Like I said, I was there when they invaded. They did a lot of what ponies said they did on Nightmare Night.”

“And do you think those comments were defamatory?”

“No. That implies that those comments are false and made out of a genuine desire to hurt. I don’t believe either applies here for reasons I’ve already talked about.”

“Very good. No further questions, your honor.” Shining Armor stated.

“Does the prosecution wish to question the witness?” Chief Justice asked.

“No.” Pharynx said bluntly.

“Does the defense wish to call on anypony else?”

“Yes, your honor.” Shining said as Twilight returned to her seat.

Once Twilight had returned to the stands, the remaining Elements of Harmony were called to the stand one by one and asked similar questions as their purple furred friend. Once they had all given their testimony, the judge called order to his courtroom.

“Does the defense have any more witnesses to call?” Chief Justice asked.

“No, your honor.” Shining Armor stated.

“Does either side have any more evidence they wish to submit?”

“No, your honor.” Pharynx and Shining Armor said simultaneously.

“Then there is only one thing left to do.” Chief Justice declared.

Author's Note

If you haven't noticed, I was relatively vague with my language surrounding Twilight. I did this intentionally. As I stated in the description, this story is supposed to take place between the Canterlot Wedding and Spike's first meeting with Thorax in the Crystal Empire. But a lot happened between those two points. That's why I'm letting all of you decide when exactly this all happened. Has Twilight become an alicorn yet? Still a unicorn? Does she still live in a library? Has the castle entered the picture? What about Starlight? Flurry Heart? That's up to all of you to decide.

Anyway, there's only one chapter left. The outcome. Who do you think will win this case? Who has more cards in their favor? Let me know what you think. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and will enjoy the last one as well.