Copper watched as Glass trotted off down the hallway. She was a good little filly and quite bright. He guessed she knew exactly why he asked her to find somepony to get them some food; he wanted to converse alone with Chrysalis. She was exactly how he remembered her and he remembered her quite well. He had spent many a days wondering if he'd ever see her again, or if she would simply move on without him. “Must you stare at me?” she said with a slight glance at him.

“I cannot help it.” Copper waved a hoof vaguely in the air. “I know compared to ten years, two is nothing. A fifth of the time...I can't imagine what it was like for those who cared about me.”

“Quite easy I imagine.”

He chuckled softly, shaking his head. “Yes well...that would be the case in some circumstances. But as much as I enjoy your playful attempts to be hurtful, I'm afraid I'm not up for playing.” He looked up at the stained glass window. “I would have never imagined ten years...two was heartbreaking enough and I...well I found that I'm terrible at letting things go.”

“That's to be expected,” she said in quite a hoity-toity tone. “I imagine it would be difficult to get over one such as myself.”

There was a moment of silence in which he gathered his thoughts. “I do not know what I would have done if I found I couldn't return. It was the fact that I was sure I could that kept me going...” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Two years...ten years...fifty years...a hundred years...a thousand years... I didn't care how long it was going take, if there was a way back to you, I was going to do whatever it took.”

More silence followed, but a familiar warmth pressed against him. “I know...because you adore me,” she spoke very softly.

“No...I love you. Adoration is nothing compared to the love I have for you.” He leaned into her, taking deep breaths. She smelled of Fraud Valley and it's harsh air. She and her land were more alike than most would dare say. But Copper knew the secrets. He knew the nooks and crannies filled with warmth. Filled with hope and beauty.

It was not long before Glass returned, but Chrysalis did not pull away and she seemed quite happy to see the two of them in such a way. “They said that they will bring us up lunch.” She sat down in front of Copper expectantly. “Can you continue the story?”

Copper chuckled and nodded before taking a deep breath. “Of course.”

~

Copper was greeted with silence and so he asked again. “Are you the Priest?”

The albino bat pony straightened up behind his pedestal. “I am. And you, Copper Feather, are to be put to death.”

His brow furrowed slightly as more whispering spread throughout the crowd. “Put to death? This isn't a trail?”

“This is a sentencing!” the Priest nearly shouted at Copper and the whispers died down again. “You are guilty of threatening followers of our Lord, unwarranted murder and the use of magic.”

“And those are crimes warranting death?”

“Yes, each worse than the previous.”

Copper looked at the Priest a moment. “May I speak and ask questions before my sentence is carried out?”

The Priest looked slightly confused. “You are unlike anything I or any others have seen, I will permit it on the premise you shall die with the knowledge of our Lord.”

Again Copper's brow furrowed. “Your Lord? As in your god?”

“He is everyone's god. He is my god. He is your god. He is their god.” He gestured out over the large congregation.

“Who is your god?” Copper was annoyed that he actually had to ask. He hated playing pronoun games with other ponies.

“You do not know of our god?” When the Priest spoke, Copper noticed that the room always went silent.

“I am not from this world.” There was a lot of muttering and mumbling. “I traveled with the...bird thing as you called it, here.”

The Priest was frowning at him. “The bird thing you murdered. We take murder very seriously, especially such desecration of the body in such a manner...in such a struggle as we are enduring now.”

Copper looked around the room once again and took in the details. “Tell me who your god is,” he practically demanded.

“Do not speak to me in that tone!” Several ponies backed away from the Priest. “I was chosen by or Lord and god, the Other to be his tool and voice in this world!” Copper felt his heart heart sink slightly into his stomach.

“So that is how he won this world...” But it also made gave Copper some confidence. “I know of the Other.”

There was muttering again. “Oh? So you do know of god.”

“I do not know of it as a god, though the power it wields is godlike. But the Other is something of destruction. I fought it and beat to save my world.” The Priest and the congregation were stunned. “This world is doomed and it is the Other's fault.”

“We are at the end times,” the Priest said, regaining his composure. “The Other tests our faith, giving us this hardship that we must endure. Only then shall we pass onto Eden and live anew.”

“And what does the Other say about me?” The Preist looked taken aback. “What words does your god have for me? What wrath will he release upon me?” He stood up straight. “Your Priest has no power, because your god has abandoned you.”

He was met with silence until the Priest shouted, “You are the one who has been abandoned! You are the defiler who brings magic into our world once more and seeks to undo the work of the Other!”

“I do not use magic,” Copper said calmly. “I break it. My power is to shatter magic as though it were glass.”

Suddenly there were many conversations all at once, too many and too loud for Copper to catch more than snippets of any of them, but his attention was on the Priest. “You lie!”

“No!” Copper snapped and the crowd went silent. “You lie! You tell your people that things will get better. You tell them that they are simply being tested, when you do not believe it yourself!” He had everyponies attention now. “How can you sit there and preach your nonsense while ponies around you cower in fear and starve to death?”

“You are nothing but a test of our faith!” The Priest stood steadfast and glared at Copper. “I will not allow you to subject this church to this blasphemy!”

“You are a fool and you have doomed your entire world!” Copper had to admit that he had lost his cool, but this was the sort of thing that really got under his fur: blatant and willful ignorance.

“Copper Feather! For your crimes, you are sentenced to death!” the Priest shouted.

Suddenly Copper felt the ground give way. He thought that he had been on a large platform where the accused would stand, but it had another purpose as well. The open air bellow filled him with immediate panic and his wing flapped uselessly a few times before he broke the surface of water at the bottom in a loud splash.

~

Somepony cleared their throat and Copper shifted slightly to try and catch himself, but it was unnecessary because Chrysalis did not move. “Good day, Queen Chrysalis, Copper.”

“Good afternoon, Princess,” Copper said, gazing at Celestia.

“I hope that you are both doing well?” She had that smile of hers, the one that filled him with hope of a brighter future than the one he could imagine.

Of course now it made sense why Chrysalis had not retreated. “We are doing quite well,” Chrysalis said and Copper noticed the slight hostility on her voice, even Glass seemed to notice it.

“Is there something you need, Princess?” Copper could recognize her stance, the way she stood as though about to start walking.

“I am afraid I have rather unfortunate news.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, but Copper stared at her, noticing the rather large amount of guards down the hall. “I am afraid that ponies are calling for your arrest.”

“Oh?” Copper tilted his head to the side slightly. “Is that all?”

This statement caught everypony off guard, even Celestia. “Is that all?” Chrysalis snapped, staring from him to Celestia.

“I'm used to it. I...” He hesitated a moment. “My mind went to far scarier places than prison.” He gave the shocked Celestia a smile as he pulled away from Chrysalis. “Now then, I assume that I'll go down to the holding cell's until the trial?”

Corser pushed his way through the crowd of ponies, not just guards as Copper noticed. “Out of my way.” He caught sight of Copper and moved across the room. “I assume from that smug expression of yours that you were told?”

“Do I look smug?” he said up to Chrysalis as he began walking. “I don't mean to. But this is something I have thought about several times.” Corser walked beside him and he could vaguely hear Chrysalis and Celestia having a immediately heated debate in whispers. “After all...I've done horrible things.

“Don't be so smug about it,” Corser said as they entered into a lift and it began moving down. No other guards came after them.

Copper tilted his head to the side slightly. “My my, Corser...are you slipping? I'm a wanted criminal with probably an immense rap sheet and you just waltz into a lift alone?”

“Oh don't give me that. You wouldn't dare, for several reasons. The biggest being, that's your old style. The old Copper.”

Copper nodded and the lift doors opened. “Quite.” He couldn't remember this lift ever being here, it was very close to the cells.

One of them opened and Copper walked in. “Besides,” Corser said as he closed the door. “You'll just talk your way out of it during the trial like you always do.”

“Yanno, it doesn't always work like that.”

“Oh? Been going to trial often then?” Corser made sure to lock him in.

“Far too often in these last two years...” He laid down in the cot in the cell, closing his eyes.

~

“I cannot believe how absurd this is!” Copper lifted his head from the table he had been working at, tuning into the argument that was being had at the other end of the hallway. “You cannot simply detain him!” It was Chrysalis yelling at somepony.

“I'm sorry, Queen Chrysalis, but I have my orders,” Corser said in response. “The trial is going to happen.”

Copper looked down again at the designs he had been working on. Once he had woken up, he had asked Corser for basic supplies so he could begin work on his new leg. The cot had not been as comfortable as the bed he had slept in the night before, but it was better than the floor. “Jeez, all this racket. Makes it hard for-” His words caught in his throat.

“Good aftanoon, Coppa Featha.” There was a zebra standing in his cell. “It has been quite a long time.”

“Yes...” Copper sat up, staring at the zebra. “A very long time...are you-”

“No. I am not 'ere. I do believe it is time to repay your debt to me.”

Copper sighed slightly, looking at the ground a moment. “Now? I'm quite busy at the moment...”

“Thare is no rush. I know you 'ave many plans now that you 'ave returned. I merely wish that I become amongst them.” The zebra grinned at him.

“All right...” The image of the zebra shimmered and faded, leaving a very confused looking Glass at the door of the cell.

“Uhm...who was that?” she asked cautiously.

“That...was Voodoo.” He moved over to the cell door, giving her a slight smile. “I think it's time I tell of my time in Zebrica.”

~

There was nothing but hard dead grass in all directions. Or it resembled dead grass, Copper knew enough about Zebrica to know that the grass just looked like that. He couldn't even see where the caravan had gone. “Stupid little pony, huh?” he muttered as he continued to walk. “Don't know my place...I'll show them. I'm a diplomat!” he shouted, but was met with silence. “You can't treat a diplomat like this.”

His ribs still hurt from when the zebra had kicked him out the back of the caravan. “Insolent little foal does not know the way of the world,” he had said. It didn't matter of Copper was a foal, he had gone through a lot of diplomatic training. More lessons then he could keep track of and had actually handled a few diplomatic meetings. “Let the land eat him.” There were a lot of snippets that he had heard. And they had laughed. They had sentenced him to die out in the wild.

It would be better if it was not so hot. He had liked the heat at first, but it quickly lost its appeal after three days. The cold of the night was even worse. Off in the distance he could see some sort of shrub. He really wanted to avoid that. They had pointed one out to him a few days ago and showed what was underneath it. Lions. It was too hot for them to be out hunting, but he knew that as soon as the sun started to go down he would be an easy target.

He needed to find water first, drinkable water. Many of the watering holes were tainted, or worse, full of crocodiles. Had they really done this to him? He could see in the distance several large trees, though he knew that they would be spaced far apart. He was hot, but he knew he had to keep going. If he stopped to rest, he wouldn't be able to get back up. He hurt, too. The kick had hurt the most, but the tumbling behind the caravan had not been any better.

The feeling of filth clung to his fur. When he was childish this sort of thing would have been fun, but he was beyond that. He was mature now, even if he was still a foal. But because of that, they had mistreated him the entire time he had been here. They had been mildly respectful at first, but after the first meeting he had shown that he was intelligent and they didn't like that. They began flat out insulting him, telling him that he knows nothing because he was so young. That he should sit and be silent. It had been a warning that he had not taken seriously. Diplomatic immunity was nothing to mess with. After all, Equestria was a major buyer and supplier of goods to Zebrica.

Copper had never found out what was being purchased, or what they were even talking about because they would not do business in front of him. When he had made the comment that he was going to include this in his next letter to Celestia, it landed him in the current predicament.

He stopped and stared at the large stalks in front of him. Following them upwards, he found them attached to a giraffe. He swallowed as he stared. One could read about giraffes, but seeing one up close is a completely different matter. It either had not noticed him, or was ignoring him. He cleared his throat. “Excuse me?” he called up to it.

It turned slowly and stared down at him. It was chewing on leaves that it had recently pulled from a nearby tree. “Shoo.” It practically kicked Copper away, flinging him back.

Copper got up and quickly dusted himself off. “Please, I need help. I'm lost.”

“Not my problem,” the giraffe grumbled.

“Please. I was traveling with a caravan and they kicked me off!” He couldn't understand why it was being so rude.

“Well you must have done something stupid.” The giraffe pulled more leaves off the tree.

“Please, I need help.” Copper moved towards the giraffe again.

“I said, shoo!” A few hooves crashed beside Copper and he scrambled to get away.

He stared at the giraffe a moment and dusted himself again, though most of the dirt was caked into his fur now. “You are the rudest thing I have ever met.”

“I'm busy, stupid pony.”

Now it was insulting him. Not only was it refusing to even try to help, it was insulting him. “I would insult you, but I will not stoop to such a pathetic level.”

The giraffe turned and leaned in. “You're really getting on my nerves, tiny thing.”

“Not my problem,” Copper snapped.

“Harold!” Copper had not noticed the second giraffe's approach. For something so large, they didn't make a lot of noise. “Leave the little thing alone.” The giraffe known as Harold glared at Copper a moment before straightening back up and going back to eating. She leaned down so that she and Copper didn't have to shout. Copper was fairly certain that this giraffe was female judging from her voice. “I'm sorry deary, Harold's a bit grumpy lately. What are you doing way out here?”

Copper looked at the new giraffe, who had a very friendly smile. “I'm lost, thirsty and I'm pretty sure I have some bruised ribs...which being kicked didn't help.”

“Oh you poor little thing. Were you part of that caravan that went by not long ago?”

“They kicked me off...”

“What?!” She looked very perturbed in the direction Copper assumed the caravan went. “They left such a little pony out here all by himself with no supplies?”

“It's my fault for getting in over my head...” Copper gave in and sat down. He was immensely tired.

“Oh you poor little thing. Come along, there's a watering hole nearby.” She turned and began walking.

It took him a moment of struggle to get up and follow her, by the time he had she had had to come back to him. “Sorry, I'm tired...”

“Not from around here, hm?” Copper shook his head. “Oh, well, that's grand. I've always wanted to travel the world, but everyone refuses to leave and I'd be too lonely to go by myself.” Suddenly she stood straight up. “Oh my! Where are my manners? I'm Ellie. And what's your name, deary?”

“Copper Feather,” he said and then added, “Equestrian Diplomat.”

She blinked several times at him with large doey eyes. “A...diplomat?” Harold gave a snort of amusement behind him.

“I know I am young, but I am the official Equestrian Diplomat.” He felt like he had to defend that fact.

“And they kicked you out of a caravan?”

“Because I was going to write to Princess Celestia about how poorly they were treating me...and how they wouldn't let me actually do my job.” He felt slightly awkward now that he had said it out loud. It was a bold statement to make and Copper sure didn't feel like a diplomat.

She gave him a warm smile. “All right, little diplomat, let's go and get you something to drink and then we'll see about getting you someplace safe.”

Ellie was a kindhearted giraffe who cared for everything as though it were simply the way one was supposed to act. She seemed so out of place in such a harsh and hostile environment, but Copper was more than grateful to have someone who actually cared about his well being. There were quite a lot of animals around what Ellie was leading him towards, which was indeed a watering hole. “Whatcha got there, Ellie?”

Copper had never seen a gazelle before but one of them was walking towards them. Behind the gazelle Copper could see quite a large herd of them that he had not noticed from the angle he had been at. The grass hid a lot of things. “Oh this poor little thing was tossed from that Caravan we saw earlier.”

“And they didn't come back for him?” The gazelle looked down at Copper and gave him a slight smile.

“Tossed in the literal and purposeful use of the word,” Copper said with a polite smile. “Not accidental.”

He gained a thoughtful look with his brow furrowed slightly. “Well that's odd. Why would they do that?”

“Didn't like the things I was saying. They would have gotten into trouble otherwise.” They were still moving towards the watering hole.

Ellie leaned over Copper and whispered conspiratorially to the gazelle, “He's a diplomat, from Equestria.” Copper was surprised to not hear any sort of mocking tone in her voice.

The gazelle stared at Copper a moment. “A...tad young, don't you think?” He saw Copper's frown and quickly added, “Not that there's any problem with that. I mean, it's not the weirdest thing I've seen out here.”

Copper sighed softly. “It is not my way to question Princess Celestia, but I am starting to think she overestimated my abilities by giving me the title so soon...”

“I'm sure she had a reason, deary.” She stopped and Copper could see the watering hole. It was a lot larger than he had thought and there were all manner of animals around it, even more than before. He also noticed lions and hyena’s. He gulped slightly.

“Oh don't mind them,” the gazelle said with a smile. “It's too hot for them to do any hunting.”

“Still unnerving,” Copper said as he moved slowly towards the water. “No crocodiles, right?”

“Hm? Oh not here, deary. They tend to hang around in the rivers. This'll dry up too quick for them.” Ellie stooped down to take a drink for herself, as did the gazelle.

But Copper was reluctant and didn't drink till they were both standing. The water had been quite bad when he had first gotten to Zebrica but it wasn't as bad now. Still pretty bad though. He wiped his mouth as he looked across the watering hole, just in time to see the two hyena's staring at him. They both grinned and looked to be saying something to each other. “I think I'm good now...” he muttered as he took a few steps back towards Ellie. “Thank you, Ellie.”

She smiled down at him. “Oh any time, deary.”

“Now I just have to figure out how to get home...” he said with a sigh, staring down at the ground a moment, trying to think.

“Well there wont be another caravan for a few months,” the gazelle said as he looked around quickly, noticing the way that Copper sagged. “Where you gonna take him, Ellie?”

“Hm?” She hadn't been paying attention it seemed, and the gazelle had to ask a second time. “Oh probably to Abunto. He'll know what to do about the little one.”

The gazelle arched a brow. “Abunto? Are you sure Marcaline wouldn't be a better option?”

“Oh he's far too small, we'd have to worry about the old girl stepping on him.” There was a questioning look from Copper. “Marcaline is the local elephant matriarch. But Abunto will at least know what to do.”

They spent the rest of the day walking. It wouldn't have taken as long if they didn't have to stop again to drink, but this watering hole was close to their destination. The farther the sun went down, the more worried Copper felt. Then he heard an odd bark which was followed by a lot of rustling. He stared at the direction it had come from, trying to see what had made the noise.

“Pardon me?” Ellie had leaned down and was talking to something, after moving slightly closer, Copper noticed it was a hole. “I was wondering if I could speak to Abunto?”

There was a few moments of silence in which Ellie appeared to wait patiently. After what felt like several minutes a voice finally responded. “What's a giraffe want?”

“I'm afraid I've found a lost little pony.” Copper was suddenly aware of many things around him, staring at him. But he couldn't see anything through the grass. “We were wondering if Abunto would be willing to help?”

Again there was a drawn out silence, in which Copper assumed there was some sort of discussion happening. Copper looked up at the sky, trying to estimate how long until it would become dusk. When he looked down again he was face to face with a meerkat. “What's a pony doing all the way out here?”

“I-I...” He cleared his throat. “I was on a diplomatic mission from Equestria.”

He practically glared at Copper, staring him down. “I don't like it.”

“Oh come now, Abunto. He's not from around here and he wont last long on his own.” Ellie's head was there beside them.

“Don't care,” Abunto said as he crossed his arms. “Why don't you take it to him.”

Ellie frowned. “How is taking the little pony to him going to help?”

“He's a zebra. They're the ones doing most of the dealings with Equestria, I'm sure he'll have some interest.” Abunto turned around and scurried back into the brush.

“Come now, Abunto. At least let him stay the night, we wont be able to make it that far before the hunting starts.” Ellie had followed him over to what Copper guessed as another hole.

“Don't care!” he heard Abunto call.

Copper sighed and sat down. “Some easy first assignment this is...not the way I had thought it would go,” he was muttering to himself. “Nope...I get ridiculed, insulted, beaten up and left for dead. And on top of everything, probably gonna die.” He stared at the ground and watched as a few teardrops hit the ground. He wiped his face, which only smudged it with more dirt. And to top it all off, he couldn't stop shaking.

“Are you really a diplomat?”

He jumped slightly at the voice beside him. It was another meerkat, who was coming out of some nearby grass. Again he tried to wipe his face, but he nodded. “Yeah. Not a very good one apparently.”

“What were you doing so far from any city?”

“We were supposed to be talking with the small villages to set up trade routes and things. Of course, I wasn't allowed out of the caravan several times because of 'safety' concerns.” He hold up hooves, making gestures around the word 'safety'.

There was another bark and the meerkat disappeared back into the grass. “See? I told ya it was him. Ain't no other pony around, is there?”

Copper turned slowly to see two hyena's, both of them grinning. Copper couldn't move, frozen to the spot. “Yeah yeeeaah. You were right. But that doesn't answer the question of why he ain't with them zebra's.”

Copper wanted to cry for help, but his voice was nowhere to be found. “D'ya think we'd get in trouble?”

“Probly. He's got diplamaticsomethingorother. It'd be bad for us if we eat him.” Finally Copper managed to move some, backing away from them.

“How much trouble, ya think?” The hyena's seemed to ponder this thought, debating on the consequences.

Copper managed to find his voice. “A-a lot. Diplomatic immunity means I'm n-not supposed to be harmed.”

“He saying we shouldn't eat him?”

“I think that's what he's saying,” the other hyena said nodding.

“I'm sure the boss would love to see him.” They both snickered. “He was quite disappointed when he didn't come to the meeting.”

“Oh yeah, reeaaal disappointed.”

Suddenly both hyena's looked up. “Changed my mind, not hungry.” Both of them spun and took off running.

Copper looked up to see Ellie glaring after them. “What a bunch of brutes. Are you all right, Copper?”

He nodded slightly. “F-fine. Yeah...fine.”

“Well, I'm afraid that Abunto is refusing to help even in the slightest. I'm not sure what we're going to do, little one...”

There was a hole, obviously the one Ellie had been talking into. He stared at the sky as he watched the sun go down. The farther it went the less coherent his mind. Rational thought being overcome by fear. “Diplomatic immunity.” He was trying not to break down. “Do you know what that means? It means legal immunity, that ensures that I, as a diplomat are to be given safe passage and considered not susceptible to the laws of other country's. To go against this can lead to serious repercussion.” He was rambling off what he had been told, what he had been lead to believe. “I'm supposed to be treated well.” He was out of breath and couldn't stop shaking. “I don't want to die.”

“Oh just let the poor thing stay, Abunto,” he heard the voice of the meerkat from earlier from down in the hole. “It's just one night.”

Abunto's head appeared out of the hole and glared at the dirty little pony in front of him. He sighed. “Fine. One night. But you.” He pointed at Ellie. “Are to be here tomorrow morning to pick him up, as soon as the hunting stops.”

~

“Time to go, Copper.”

He looked over at Corser and gave him a small smile. “We'll finish this after the trial, my little Glass,” Copper said as he stood up and got down from the cot.

“Aren't...aren't scared?” Glass said, following after him.

“Scared? Of what? A simple trial?” He ruffled her hair slightly. “The worst they can do is banish me.”

~

“Death,” Copper said with a frown, staring back at court room from the defendants seat. “They're asking for my death?” He looked up at Celestia. “Surely laws have not changed that drastically to allow the death penalty in Equestria, have they?”

Celestia shook her head. “No, of course not. But they wish to have you extradited to somewhere where they will kill you for your crimes.”

Copper knew exactly where they would go: Trotland. “But any crime I have committed has been under the rule of diplomatic immunity. Surely they do not plan to break the law just to have me killed?”

“Law's have changed and not many places recognize that anymore, Copper,” she said with a frown. “And the actions they want you charged for are for what you committed when no longer a diplomat.”

He frowned even more as he stared around the court room. There had to be some bigger picture here that he had to get a hold of. Something was happening that he was merely a piece of. “That's quite a long list of crimes, yes, but none worthy of the death sentence.” Copper couldn't count how many times he'd received the 'death sentence' and simply gotten away.

“I am curious to see their accusations myself, to be honest,” Celestia said as she watched the prosecutor walk down the center aisle of the court room, the room itself was packed, as were the rafters.

Copper was sure he had never seen him before, but there was a certain thing he felt like he should recognize. “Where is the defending attorney?” the pony asked. He was dressed in a very sharp looking suit, with his mane brown mane slicked back.

Copper straightened up. “You're looking at him.”

“You're defending yourself?” the pony said with a smirk.

“Yes.” He couldn't put his hoof on what was so familiar about this earth pony.

Celestia knocked her hoof onto the table a few times and said, “Order in the court.” The noise died down quite quickly. “Please, Mr. Travis, read the charges.”

Copper had heard that name several times. “Of course, Princess Celestia. I will not go over the petty crimes, the serious ones we are here to discuss are the breaking and entering of Canterlots royal palace, the attempted murder of Princess Celestia, and the successful murder of King Sombra.”

The quiet conversations that Copper was vaguely listening to in the background immediately died. “The same being that possessed Princess Celestia and caused the deaths of many ponies and changelings alike?” Copper said slowly, watching Travis.

Travis did not look as young as the last time he had seen him. “Murder is murder, Copper Feather. If he were not dead, he would have been tried and convicted in similar manner to you.” He looked at Celestia expectantly.

“How do you plead, Copper?” She asked.

Copper's eyes never left Travis. But he cleared his throat with a smirk. “Guilty with exception to the murder of Sombra.”

The pony frowned at him. “With exception? You say that you did not kill King Sombra?”

“Sombra is alive as far as I am aware, last seen in the Crystal Empire during my fight with the Other. He fled in terror upon seeing it's true nature.” Copper leaned in slightly. “Have you not read the books?”

“There has been no validation of that, as the only ponies there were yourself, Madam Raven, Princess Celestia, Princess Twilight and Queen Chrysalis. The only evidence are their words and the words of a book that could be the work of fiction.” Copper noticed how quickly he had spun off with this, probably having been ready for such a retort.

“So you question the ruler of the land, and this court?” He gestured to Celestia. “The Princess has final saying on the ruling of guilt, you say that you question her integrity? Say that she would lie?”

“Certainly not.” Travis was quite calm. “But it still stands. Furthermore, the pony who was allegedly seen there was Sombra Starswirl. Not King Sombra.” That had been why he was stressing the king part. “I propose that they are two different beings, and therefore should be treated as such.”

“But they are two parts of the same being. Two parts, even if one is dead the other is alive. Half dead is still half alive. A worm split in two becomes two worms. If one should die, the other lives but is considered the same worm.”

This seemed to actually catch Travis off guard. “Are you claiming King Sombra was a worm?”

Copper leaned in further to be closer to Travis. “Of course not.” He straightened back up. “But continuing, I move that what you refer to as King Sombra was long dead before I ever came across him.”

“What's your reasoning?” He could see Travis trying to think.

“King Sombra was beaten by several ponies, Princess Celestia amongst them, and was killed then. His magic then clung to Celestia.”

“But if his magic still lived then he was alive,” Travis interrupted, looking slightly triumphant as though he had found a firm hoofhold.

“And then he tried to take the Crystal Empire again when it had return to this world. Again he was destroyed, using the power of the Crystal Heart. But still his magic survived.”

“And then you killed him, you killed the magic that was him,” Travis interrupted again.

“I pose to move that King Sombra was not alive to be killed. He was nothing but magic. When a unicorn casts a spell and is then done with it, are they accused of murdering the spell?” Copper looked out at the courtroom, there were a lot of unicorns out there. “Shall we accuse all unicorns? A unicorn brings forth a spell to do a task. Another unicorn may come along and end that spell, therefore they are murderers by your logic.” Copper looked down at the annoyed look on Travis' face. “I did not kill Sombra. I ended a spell called King Sombra.”

There were several moments where Travis simply glared at Copper. “Do you have any further arguments?” Princess Celestia said as she shifted papers around on her table.

“There is still the matter of the other crimes that Copper stands accused of, and he has plead guilt-”

“Copper Feather is acquitted of all crimes, in service to the land of Equestria. Corser, if you please.” Copper had not even noticed Corser in the second to front row of the crowd.

“Travis, you're under arrest for aiding and abetting the known criminal Madam Raven and her associates, which include Lady Evale, Sir Pedleston, the spell; King Sombra and a dozen others.” Copper now noticed the several guards at every window and exit. This was a well executed strike.

“Every pony will undergo a screening,” Celestia said with a slow gaze around the room. “We have reason to believe that many other supporters of The Other Movement are in this room, magic is disabled. This is for your safety, please cooperate to the fullest of your abilities.” She was smiling.

Copper couldn't help but laugh. “I was bait? Oh that is a familiar feeling.” He relaxed a bit in the defendants chair. “I was wondering why you were so serious about this...but it makes perfect sense now.”

“I cannot take all of the credit,” she said with a smile. “It was Corser's idea. When I received the letter for your arrest, and suddenly there was a pony named Travis with all the necessary paperwork at my door, Corser hatched this little plan.” Travis did not look very happy as he was being lead from the room by three guards, and Corser himself. “I think he learned a lot more from you, than you did from him.”

“He'd be a big problem for us...” Copper said with a smile.

Celestia moved down from the Judge's booth. “Not anymore he wont. Travis is going to be put under very heavy guard.”

“Not him. Corser.”

She smiled down at him. “I wouldn't worry about that. He wouldn't dare risk upsetting Luna” Next Chapter: 5: Drips Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 21 Minutes