And there it was. Fletcher didn’t say anything. How could he? He was stuck. There was no way to answer that without being cast into prison for murder. Which admittedly, was better than being cast in prison for being a changeling, seeing as how it was an actual crime. Yet it still spelled death for him since he would die of starvation. A convicted murderer wasn’t likely to get many smiles from his jailers.

Seeing him pause, the Princess smiled. She figured that was the case.

“Allow me to ask again. Fletcher, did you kill the gryphons, in the defence of my little ponies, and in the interest of saving the life of the filly who is currently sleeping on your back?” she asked gently.

Fletcher looked up at her in shock. She was... offering him a way out? He couldn’t believe it. She put a positive, and even heroic spin on five counts of murder in her Kingdom. It was completely true, mind you, but Fletcher never thought the Ruler or the Royal Guard of said Kingdom would see it that way. Yet she was smiling at him. Before he even answered, he could tell from the look in her eyes that she was going to forgive him. He was clear. The relief welled up inside, and a tear ran down the side of his face.

“Yes, your Majesty,” he croaked. “Given the choice to take it back, I would still do what I did, even a hundred times over. Less I could have done it sooner, and saved her parents as well,” he whispered.

Once again the sphere turned blue. The guards in the room looked shocked, but both Princesses gave the stallion a compassionate and knowing look.

“And why did you not say as such in your original statement?” the Princess asked quietly, knowing the answer before she asked.

Fletcher looked down. “I… I was afraid, your Highness.”

Celestia nodded. “Understandable. But fear not. If some bandit is willing to take up arms and kill innocent ponies for the sake of gaining money or goods, they’d best be prepared at the very least to face the hoof of justice. Had any of the Royal Guard been in your horseshoes at the time, they would have had my full permission, and even my commission, to defend the innocent by any means. Even to the effect of eliminating the attacker. While I certainly would prefer that the offenders be taken into custody, the most important thing is the welfare of the victims.

“As well, the fact that foreigners attacked civilians raises diplomatic issues. Such could easily be seen as an act of war, and I’ll need to bring this incident to the Ambassador's attention, but I digress. I sincerely thank you Fletcher, for what you’ve done today and for saving this infant’s life. I hereby pardon your transgressions performed in that interest.” She gave him a warm smile, which he returned with more tears down his face.

“Thank you, my most kind and gracious Princess,” he said with a bow.

Suddenly the sphere turned red. Everypony looked up at it in confusion, especially Fletcher.
He looked to the Princess, worried that she would think him ungrateful.

“Your Highness, I assure you, my feelings of gratitude are sincere.”
The sphere turned blue. So... what? It doesn’t believe I think she’s kind?

“... and I most certainly believe it was gracious and kind of you to grant me forgiveness.”

It turned blue again. This caused even more confusion in the room. Then it hit him. Hard.
She’s not my Princess!

Fletcher silently prayed that no one else would come to the same realisation. No. Such. Luck.

“Perhaps you’re not from around here, Mister Fletcher?” Celestia asked jovially.

Fletcher’s ears fell. “U-um… you could s-say that…” he stuttered.

The sphere turned blue. Cadence and the guards looked at him curiously.

“I had been wondering about this before, but might the scar over your eye have something to do with it?” The Princess asked.

Fletcher’s heart stopped. Faust have mercy, she knows! This is it. It’s all over. He was so close to walking free and clear, too, but thanks to his big mouth, he was as good as dead. There was nowhere to run either. Sure, he could easily take the guards out with the techniques he knew, but he'd sworn to only use those techniques if he was protecting someone. Protecting himself from lawful arrest didn’t count, and to be honest, he would rather turn himself in than hurt the ponies that were just doing their job.

With no options left, Fletcher sighed. It was judgement day. He was, surprisingly, coming to terms with it.

To the room’s surprise, rather than answer the question, Fletcher slowly untied the blanket that was binding the child to his back, and gingerly set her down on the floor in front of him, propping her head up with excess folds. He leaned down, and gently kissed her on the forehead. At least I managed to do right by somepony in the end. He took a few steps back, laid down with his chin on the floor, and put his hooves over the back of his head. Cadence raised her eyebrows.

“I mean nopony any harm, and I will not resist arrest,” he announced amongst confused glances.

Fletcher looked at the foal in front of him one last time, squeezed his eyes shut, and revealed his true form. He heard a gasp from Cadence before the room’s guards sprang to action.

“SEIZE HIM!” the general shouted.

All at once the guards were surrounding Fletcher, causing the lie detection sphere to dissipate. Cadence flew forward and grabbed the foal out of the way. True to his word, Fletcher didn’t resist as they grabbed his forelegs and lifted him up. He let his head go limp as a guard fitted a shackle around his neck, and another guard, an anti-magic clasp around his horn.

Amidst the guards’ yelling and the clamouring of armor, the foal had woken up and began to cry. Cadence rocked the foal back and forth and tried her best to comfort it, but the chaos in the room only magnified, as several more guards burst through the doors and took positions, some around the changeling and some in front of the Princesses, but all with their spears pointed at Fletcher. This only caused the poor filly to scream louder.

Fletcher could feel it. The room, and everything happening therein, faded to the background. The only thing he was conscious of, was the feeling coming from the foal. She was scared. The warm heartbeat she had felt for the last few hours was gone. There were strange smells, none of which were Mommy or Daddy. There was a lot of yelling and other noise. She was scared.

So Fletcher chirped. He didn’t move, or pull against the guards, he simply chirped. A long, beautiful whistling sound filled the room, and the guards went silent, watching him cautiously. Fletcher chirped several different melodies all at once, and in beautiful harmony. In response, the cries of the foal began to settle. He felt her feelings change. She knew this sound. It was pretty, and it was soft. It chased away her fears and made her feel like everything was ok. The filly finally settled and snuggled into Cadence’s fur. His objective fulfilled, Fletcher let the final notes fade from his lips and simply hung his head again.

The room was completely silent. The guards looked up at Celestia, unsure of what to do. She was about to speak, when a different voice broke the silence.

“That was beautiful. Quite stunning, even.”

Everyone in the room looked up to find the Princess of the Night standing in the royal entranceway next to the throne.

Everyone except for Fletcher that is. He didn’t bother. One more Princess in the room wouldn’t change his sentence. The moment he stopped chirping, he began to recede to the back of his mind. After all, he didn't have anything to worry about anymore. He had no more concerns. He didn't have to worry about finding 'food', or even worry about getting caught anymore. He didn't even have to pay attention to his surroundings.

So he let his body relax, closed his eyes, and tuned out the rest of the world. All that was left, was the familiar darkness of his own mind. He'd spent a lot of time here over the course of his life time. It was private, secluded. Many grand solutions were made here, and difficult puzzles solved. But with nothing in particular to focus on, the mind did what it often tends to do... reflect on memories past.

Master...

Author's Notes:

Wow, thank you guys so much for the positive reception. Maybe someday soon we'll make it to the Featured Box, huh?

Thank you to everyone for your comments. Seeing people enjoy my work is what I've always lived for, so thank you.

Next time, it's blast from the past, and over the next few chapters we'll finally get some answers as to how Fletcher was able to take out those gryphons so... extremely.

As always, if you like it be sure to show it! Like and Fav, but also share your thoughts.
Till next time,
Cheers!