Princess Twilight adjusted in her seat next to her mentor, Princess Celestia. She looked to her idol with concerned eyes, wondering if she was doing a fair enough job leading such an important trial, but was left at ease when the fair princess gave her a reassuring smile. Up to this point, things had gone fairly one-sided, but she was trying her best to be fair to the accused and the accusers.

This trial was perhaps the most important ordeal that Princess Twilight had been a participant of, and who would have guessed her first royal trial as a princess would involve not only some of her friends but an alternate dimension entirely. She wasn’t even entirely sure if things fell under their jurisdiction, and it was certainly a most unusual trial, but they tried to treat it as standard as they possibly could. Princess Twilight wondered for a moment why such odd and bizarre circumstances always seemed to befall her.

There with her, was her brother, Prince Shining Armor, looking as serious as always. His poker face always impressed Princess Twilight, though her own was getting better and better as the years passed. Next to him was his doting wife Cadence who bore a look of remorse and sympathy, not unlike her.

This trial had gone on for a good few hours and Princess Twilight had just given the order for the accuser’s party to give a final statement and sum up their argument, along with the defense. Adagio Dazzle, the defense was on trial for murder, the murder of the human girl known simply as “Shimmer” among her friends. Murder was not a common crime in Equestria, though not unheard of, in the old days it was far more common than it was presently. Princess Twilight looked at Luna next to Celestia and recalled she had mentioned that Equestria experiences maybe a single murder every decade these days.

Princess Twilight cleared her throat and raised her hoof to gesture for Adagio to stand.

Adagio Dazzle had taken a simple unicorn form, chains cuffed her hooves together and rattled as she stood. “Ms. Dazzle, you may give your closing argument…”

Adagio shrugged and looked into the pews sitting around the courtroom, her eyes met with Sunset Shimmer whore bore daggers with her sight. It was probably a wise move that she allowed Twilight and her brother Officer Shining speak on her behalf, she would have been far too full of anger to make a sensible argument.

With a sigh, Adagio looked back at the royal council sitting before her. “It’s pretty simple really… I needed to kill that girl to get my magic back, but she wasn’t the intended target. I’m a victim of circumstance, you all don’t know what it’s like to be a siren, magic was…” She paused trying to think of the best way to put it. “It was… My only chance at a better life… I did what I had to do, by the time I pulled that trigger, it was too late. I panicked, it all happened so quickly… I’m not asking you to forgive me or to say I didn’t do it… I’m just asking to understand my circumstances…”

Adagio looked into the audience and then back to the royal council. “I was desperate, I wasn’t thinking properly…”

“Bullshit!” A call from the audience screamed.

The entire court froze and all eyes were drawn to the outburst to see Sunset Shimmer standing and pointing an accusing hoof. “That’s a load of bullshit and you know it! You could have fucking stopped! You didn’t have to kill her! There were other ways, you just didn’t give a shit! You killed her and you don’t even feel remotely bad about it!” Sunset yelled only for Applejack to awkwardly reach up with her hooves and pull her down. Fluttershy hushed Sunset and stroked her hoof affectionately, trying to get her to settle down.

“We’re sorry…” Applejack frowned.

Princess Twilight nodded. “I ask all of our human guests to please try and contain their outbursts, I know this is a difficult ordeal, but I must hear all sides of this story properly…”

“Yes, Princess… I’m sorry…” Sunset blushed and closed her eyes tightly, trying to keep herself from breaking down.

“Ms. Dazzle, you may continue…” Princess Twilight gestured to the siren.

Sunset could hardly believe that the Princess was capable of being so calm about the situation, but then again she knew that she was in a position where it was expected of her.

Adagio cleared her throat and continued. “Look, I would do anything to take back what I did, I mean that… I didn’t intend for Shimmer to die… It wasn’t my intention… I know that no one here believes me but…” She looked around noting that not a single sympathetic eye was looking in her direction. She sighed and shook her head. “But whatever…”

With those words, Adagio sat down, only semi-confident in her defense. At this point she knew it was proven beyond any doubt that she pulled the trigger, that she committed the act, her hope was not to escape that, but to at least have the sympathy of knowing she was put in a situation where she had little to no choice.

Princess Twilight gave a nod as Adagio sat and then pointed to the bespectacled pony sitting across from her, with her scruffy looking brother. “Ms. Sparkle, you have the floor, let us hear your closing argument please.”

Twilight nodded and adjusted her glasses as she looked up at the princess counterpart of herself. It was odd being in Equestria, moving as a pony, and even just standing, but she was slowly getting used to it. She gestured for Shining to follow her. He lifted a few large photos and placed them on a stand before the court while Twilight cleared her throat and gave her glasses one last adjustment.

“Ladies and Gentlemen… Err… I mean… Ponies of the court…” Twilight began.

“Ms. Dazzle’s assertion is that she panicked and could not undo what was initiated and that she acted as a victim of circumstance. It is clear that she would desire leniency from the county under the pretense that she had regret for what she did, and that had she been given more time she would have stopped what was set into motion…” Twilight added before gesturing to Shining.

Shining pulled the white paper in front of the photos down and Twilight gestured to the photograph presented. It was a diagram of the crime scene showing where the body had been found and where the bullet holes in the pavement had been found.

“There are two major points of contention which are the crux of my case against the defendant. The first being this…” Twilight paused and looked at Sunset in the audience. Sunset gave her an approving nod before she continued. “The body was found a good eight feet away from where the shots were fired. She was shot eight times in succession, all in the back.”

Twilight approached Adagio and looked her in the eye as she sat behind the defense bench. “She dragged herself, she tried to take cover under a nearby car, she pulled her body as far away from you as she could. She was trying to get away from you… But that brings me to my second point…” She gave another gesture to Shining, but kept her powerful eyes locked on Adagio.

“This weapon… It holds four rounds… Not eight…” Twilight pointed out.

Princess Celestia tilted her head in confusion. “Most of us are not versed in human weaponry, what does that mean exactly?”

Twilight smirked and looked back at the royal council. “It takes about eight seconds to load a clip into this weapon if you are skilled enough… That means… That Ms. Dazzle unloaded a full clip… Stopped… And reloaded… Just to fire again. You wanted to make sure she was dead, didn’t you? There was no regret, you wanted to finish what you started, there was no hesitation, no wishing you could take it back…” Twilight approached and banged her hooves on the table in front of Adagio, who met her with a cold uncaring stare.

“You wanted her dead… You didn’t care what happened…”

The Princess Twilight banged a gavel onto the podium in front of her and cleared her throat. “That is enough, Ms. Sparkle… Please control yourself.”

Twilight nodded and stepped away from the defense desk. “Yes… I’m sorry… That rests my case.”

A resounding sigh flooded the entire courtroom as everyone let out a breath they didn’t know they were holding in. Princess Twilight looked left and right at the other royal family members who all met her with their eyes. “We ask that all stay here while we go and deliberate the facts presented before us. We shall return with a verdict as quickly as we can, but we do not intend to take any of this lightly, our decision will be made with care and thought. After all, we are dealing with a serious matter after all…”

There was silence in the entire room before Princess Twilight gave another nod and banged her gavel once more. “Court is in recess.”

Reaching a room that Twilight had been told before was the old war room the group met back up and took their seats. Twilight wondered why Equestria would need such a room, however, she knew that in the past that war was not unheard of and Celestia and Luna had both dealt with some less than ideal conflicts in the past. However war had not broken out for nearly eight hundred years at this point, and such a place felt like a relic of the past, more so when Twilight brushed some dust off of her seat as she looked around the room at the rest of the royal family who had taken their seats around her.

There was silence in the room, not a single pony dared to speak, they all waited on Twilight’s words before they began.

She cleared her throat and adjusted the crown on her head with her hoof. “Alright… So we are here to discuss the verdict of the case against Adagio Dazzle… How do we proceed? I’ve read up on royal cases like this, but this is actually my first one…” Twilight admitted sheepishly.

Celestia gave an approving nod. “You may lead, Twilight. This is your case after all, and you clearly understand more about the human world than any of us.”

Twilight nodded and took in a deep breath as she began to go over the details. “Very well… Well for starters we know that the accused did indeed commit this murder, there is no denying that, even Adagio herself admits that guilt, what is being contested is if she felt remorseful or wanted to stop midway through the killing…”

Princess Twilight’s brother cleared his throat and spoke up. “I believe the… Prosecution, I suppose… Well, I believe they made it very clear that she had every opportunity to stop, but didn’t… If I am understanding this correctly…”

Cadence chimed in to explain the details to both her husband and any who may still be confused. “Yes, I believe the human Twilight explained that this… weapon would require reloading to attack her the eight times that she did correct?”

Princess Twilight nodded. “Yes, I’m not tremendously familiar with human weaponry, but guns, as they are called, require ammunition and they can only hold a certain amount at any given time. This particular model only held four rounds, meaning they would have had to reload it to use it eight times…”

“I think it’s clear that Adagio had no remorse when she pulled that trigger, while she did not hit her intended target, she believed it was the other Sunset and so she continued to fire hoping to end her life. She doesn’t regret killing, only that she killed the wrong girl, but chose to continue to use it to her advantage…” Princess Luna spoke up.

“How old was she?” Celestia asked with a raised brow.

Twilight frowned and looked down. “E-eighteen…”

Celestia’s face matched Twilight’s as a frown of her own appeared on it. “So young, what a waste…”

“Her mother and father had already passed away a few years back, but she was just starting to come out of her shell finally… She had made friends and was trying to learn about friendship…” Twilight explained.

“An entire lineage, ended then…” Luna added with a raised hoof.

The rest of the group hung their heads down at the news, it was far worse than they had originally imagined.

“So… I guess the only real question is… What do we do about it? I mean we got lucky here in that the issue was able to be handled by our own kind and that we had a few humans who were willing to help us out and keep this under wraps, but had someone else stumbled upon this… This could have been an interdimensional incident… It may have even sparked a war between our worlds…” Shining pointed out.

Twilight had considered that possibility. She levitated a folder onto the table and flipped it open while she went through Adagio’s known records. In the early days, history regarding sirens was seldom recorded and most of it was old myths and legends, but in the past couple hundred years, they started keeping records.

According to her files, Adagio had been in and out of different prisons and endured many different punishments over the years. She at one point spent eighty years locked away, only to escape during a prison riot. At another, she had been ordered to do hard labor for half a decade, but managed to get away when no one was looking. She was a crafty creature, one who was always able to patiently wait out her sentence until the opportunity to escape presented itself. This ordeal in the human world was no exception.

Her banishment to the human world was supposed to make her harmless, send her to a place where there was no magic for her to manipulate or control, but Twilight hung her head in shame at her own idol who neglected to think about the damage that the monster he had sent away could cause to the world where he imprisoned her.

Adagio had a long list of crimes, but murder was a new one. Ponies had died because of sirens before, but never because the siren used their hooves (or hands in this case) to end that pony’s life.

“We could banish her to Tartarus?” Cadence shrugged, clearly not very sure herself what to do with the murderous siren.

“She would just escape…” Shining sighed.

“She has no magic any more, no amulet even…” Cadence reminded.

“Doesn’t matter, she’s escaped before with less on her side. It’s clear she’s far too crafty and manipulative to trust. We need to send her somewhere where the chances of escape are literally impossible…” Shining spoke.

Luna cleared her throat and placed a hoof on the table to try and get the two to stop arguing. “I think… It should be Twilight’s decision… After all, she was the one who helped capture this creature and has dealt with her recently, she has a better understanding of what this siren is capable of than any of us, so I say it’s wisest to leave the choice in her capable hooves.”

Twilight blinked and shook her head. “W-wait! You want me to decide?”

Celestia’s face grew warm with a smile crossing her lips. “I actually agree, I think you are ready to make a big decision like this, Twilight. I know you will do what you feel is right.”

Hoping for some kind of objection, Twilight looked over at Shining and Cadence who both just grew smiles on their faces as well. “I concur, we trust your judgment, Twilight,” Cadence said.

Shining raised an approving hoof and nodded. “You got this, little sis.”

Sighing, Twilight sunk in her seat as she rested her head against the back of her tall chair. “Very well… I need… A moment to consider this…”

“Take all the time you need,” Celestia encouraged.

Twilight closed her eyes and thought it all over. Without her magic, Adagio was far from immortal now. She would eventually start to age (albeit at a slower rate) and die like any mortal. Sirens were one of the few creatures that actually could live forever if they kept on top of their diet.

However, Twilight knew that Adagio clearly was clever, even without magic she knew how to weasel her way out of tight situations, and even without eternal life, she had a long life ahead of her, and that meant she had plenty of time to plot her escape from whatever hell hole they threw her in. Even locking her in a cage so small she couldn’t even stand didn’t sound like a great idea, because there was always the chance she could manipulate the guards to let her go, that and it sounded absolutely cruel.

She didn’t want to set the precedent for her first trial to be that she condoned such unusual and immoral punishments. She didn’t feel that torturing Adagio would resolve anything, but she knew that Sunset was furious, she counted on Princess Twilight to deliver a punishment that was fitting for the loss of her “sister”, Shimmer.

Princess Twilight wished the decision was easier, but after enough internal deliberating she knew there was only one thing she could do, only one choice that made logical sense given all the information she was given in the past few hours. This entire ordeal had been going on for the past eight hours, and from the start, she didn’t know what to expect, but the royal family giving her the go-ahead to decide the outcome of this entire trial was certainly not something she even expected in the realm of possibilities.

Twilight leaned back forward and opened her eyes as the answer came to her. “Right… I think I know what to do now… If everypony here really does trust my judgment on the matter?” She looked around the room.

“Definitely, we are behind you, 100%,” Shining stated.

The rest of the group nodded in approval.

Sighing, Twilight nodded herself and came to a stand. “Alright, then let’s not keep them waiting, it’s time to finish this trial…”

The royal council began to fill the room again and take their seats as they looked down at the courtroom, the human Twilight just packing up her things and heading to the pews to meet with her friends when she saw her princess counterpart entering the room with the rest of the royal family. She decided to hold still and wait for them to speak.

Princess Twilight sat down in the center and stared down at the courtroom below with serious eyes. Everyone fell dead silent, the tension in the room could not be measured by any scale imaginable.

She cleared her throat and spoke loud enough for all to hear. “This court has reached a verdict…” She paused before raising a hoof toward Adagio, gesturing for her to stand. “Ms. Dazzle… If you would please stand for this…”

Adagio nodded nonchalantly and brought herself up. She knew that the chances of being found innocent were next to impossible. There was no way that Princess Twilight would be naive enough to think she could be reformed so easily, no she knew she’d be spending some time in prison or in banishment, she had already been mentally preparing herself.

“Adagio Dazzle… After much deliberation, and a lengthy trial, we have decided to find you…” Twilight paused but continued only a second later, “guilty of murder in the first degree. It is our opinion that this murder was premeditated and carried out without remorse.”

Adagio sighed and hung her head for a moment. She knew they wouldn’t believe her, but it was hardly to be unexpected at this point.

Shrugging, she looked back up at the Princess with cold, uncaring eyes as she let Twilight continue.

“Your punishment…” Twilight began.

Adagio smirked. “What’re you going to do? Throw me in another prison? Banish me? You know I’ll just get out, I’ll find a way, I always do. I can outlive all of you, meaning that you’ll never truly be able to stop me, I’ll be back before you even know it… Do your worst!”

“Is death…” Twilight finished.

The entire room fell silent, and Adagio’s smug expression quickly turned south. That was not the outcome she was expecting, she didn’t even think that Princess Twilight was bold enough to make such a call.

“W-wha!?” Adagio managed to get out.

Princess Twilight sighed. “After reviewing the evidence and your record I have determined that you are likely to kill again and that previous attempts to correct your behavior in the past have failed, so I believe this is the only suitable punishment…”

“Wait! Maybe we can work something out!” Adagio pleaded.

Twilight shook her head. “Because of you, a girl is dead. She was still a child too, she’ll never get to grow up, live her dreams, have children, anything… You ended her life, and you have to pay the price for that. Furthermore, your actions could have even sparked a war between Equestria and the human world should anyone else gotten involved.”

“Listen to me! I would do anything to take it back, I swear it!” Adagio placed a hoof on her heart, hoping the Princess would feel her sincerity.

Princess Twilight sighed and shook her head. “My mind is made up…”

Adagio was shaking, she couldn’t believe it. She was prepared for anything, but not for this. This was definitely an outcome that she had not anticipated.

“Adagio Dazzle, you shall be put to death twenty-four hours from this time. I suggest you use that time to make peace with whatever gods you have… Tomorrow you’ll be meeting them…” Twilight spoke as she raised her gavel with her magic once more and banged it on her podium. “Court is adjourned.”

The Princess made eye contact with Celestia, who seemed to give her a reassuring nod, trying to non-verbally inform her that she had made the right decision. With no objection, Princess Twilight found herself calm after such a tough call. She didn’t find it exceptionally cruel, in actuality she found this to be the most direct and non-cruel punishment she could think of.

She turned and began to make her way out the door with the other royal family members as a group of about eight guards came into the court to take Adagio back to the dungeon where she would be held awaiting her punishment. She would be switched from awaiting trial to awaiting her death. The siren didn’t even resist as the guards all began to take her away, she was still in shock.

Sunset was a bit surprised herself, she never imagined that Princess Twilight would employ such a punishment. The other Twilight looked at Sunset and could see and feel the concern on her face, but she had detected a slight bit of uncertainty from the Princess as well.

Twilight came to a stand and hopped over the pews and ran as fast as she could to get into the hallway where her pony counterpart had gone, hoping to catch up to her.

Almost out of breath, she called out to the Princess. “Princess Twilight!”

The Princess stopped and looked back to see a slightly smaller version of herself wearing glasses standing there. No wings to speak of, and a cutie mark of a beaker with sparkles around it. She looked back at the other royal family members who nodded and continued on ahead, giving the two Twilight’s some privacy.

“Twilight, it’s nice to see you again, to what do I owe the occasion?” The Princess smiled, her expression carrying the same warmness it usually did as if she had not just sentenced a person to their death only moments ago. It was clear that as time went on, the Princess was slowly becoming more and more used to her role as a ruler and as a result, she could switch hats without much effort and assume the next role she needed to be without much of a transition. It was somewhat fascinating, and Twilight wondered if she ever would be as calm and collected as the Princess was.

Catching her breath, Twilight approached slowly. “Princess… I’m grateful that you intend to punish Adagio… I mean the pain she’s caused… Is…”

“Unthinkable, I know. Murder is not that common here in Equestria…” The Princess frowned.

“Right, but…” Twilight bit her lip, unsure if questioning the decisions of the princess was a good idea.

“You fear I’ve gone too far?” Princess Twilight spoke, it was as if she could read Twilight’s mind.

Twilight rubbed her neck and looked away, not wanting to make eye contact as she criticized the Princess’ decisions. “Y-yeah… Sort of any way… I just…”

“Go ahead,” Princess Twilight gestured for her to finish, her voice didn’t have even a hint of being offended in it.

Twilight took in a breath and tried to quell her nervousness but to no luck. She felt her lip shaking as she tried to speak out but somehow managed to form words that would slowly become the sentences she needed them to become. “Well, it’s just… I never imagined you like this…”

The Princess sighed and nodded. “You aren’t the only one, but I assure you that I am not making this decision lightly. Death is a very rare punishment in Equestria, it hasn’t been used much since ancient times, as we firmly believe that rehabilitation is entirely possible given enough time, however, I have to consider justice… Justice for this young girl who lost her life, you know?”

Twilight nodded. “It’s just… I don’t know if this will help Sunset…”

Princess Twilight tilted her head. “Sunset?”

“Yeah… She has been torn up about all of this, and I’m not entirely sure putting Adagio to death will be the closure she needs…” Twilight admitted.

The Princess stepped forward as she spoke. “I am sure that Sunset will be fine, time heals all wounds and eventually she will be able to move on from this… If I may ask though, why are you so concerned for her well being? I understand you two are friends, but no one else came to approach me but you… You even had the courage to question me…”

“Well… I…” Twilight fidgeted and looked away, her face turning a shade of pink.

The Princess nodded and smiled. “I see… Have you told her that you love her yet?”

Twilight squeaked. “W-what!? No! What gave you that idea!?”

“It’s written all over your face…” The Princess sniggered.

“Am I… that obvious…?” Twilight frowned and shrunk down, trying to make herself small.

The Princess nodded. “A little… Sorry…” She paused and decided to move forward with the conversation through the awkwardness. “So… When do you plan on telling her?”

Twilight shrugged. “I… I don’t know how… I feel like I won’t ever work up the courage, I thought I was going to before but then… Shimmer died and I lost my nerve… I didn’t feel it was appropriate…”

Princess Twilight nodded and smiled once more. “Don’t wait too long, opportunities come and go, but you will miss them if you are always waiting for the appropriate moment.”

“I just worry because…” Twilight couldn’t make herself finish the sentence, but the Princess clearly understood her worries.

The Princess stepped forward and placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Love is a complicated thing…”

“I take it you speak from experience?” Twilight asked curiously.

The Princess grimaced for a moment and nodded. “Let’s just say… I have a tendency to overcomplicate things…”

Twilight blinked, wanting to ask more. The thought of gossiping about the Princess’ love life seemed almost too juicy to resist, but miraculously she managed to keep her mouth shut and end that subject before they took it further.

“Either way, tell her when you’re ready, but don’t wait too long, lest you miss your opportunity after all…” The Princess smiled. She turned to take her leave but turned her head back. “The execution is tomorrow, you’re not obligated to partake, but I’m confident that Sunset will be there, I think it would be wise for you to attend to be there with her…”

Twilight nodded. She wasn’t exactly keen on watching someone’s life end, but she knew that Sunset needed to see Adagio die to get it into her head that this was all finally over. That she had finished in avenging Shimmer.

All she knew is that tomorrow would be a long day.

A few Hours Later

The rattling of steel rang through the whole dungeon. Screams and violent banging noises shook the building and the guards tried to tune it out for the past few hours, hoping that it would subside, but to no luck. The siren they had imprisoned only eight hours ago was causing quite the commotion, unwilling to sleep, unwilling to eat and unwilling to be silent.

“BRING ME TWILIGHT SPARKLE! I WANT TO SPEAK WITH THE PRINCESS!” She screamed before banging on the bars again.

It had gone on like this for the past eight hours, and finally, the Guard Captain of the dungeon had heard enough. If it meant saving his men’s hearing, he would take the risk and try to see if the Princess was willing to meet with the prisoner so she would shut up.

“Stay here, I’ll go see if I can find her…” The Captain stated to his subordinate.

“Sir!” His follower stated and gave a proud salute.

Sighing, the Captain made his way upstairs and groaned. “Why do I always get stuck guarding the weirdos?” He complained out loud.

After ascending the stairs, he found his way to one of the royal guest rooms, often where Princess Twilight would stay when she came to visit Canterlot. With a sigh, he tapped on the door and waited. Realizing that the Princess was a heavy sleeper, he knocked a bit louder and this time he could hear stirring on the other side.

Grumbling noises could be heard as a messy and unkempt Princess Twilight answered the door, her mane a disaster compared to her usual very well kept appearance. “Captain… It’s 12:08 AM… Why are you knocking on my door?”

The Captain bowed respectfully. “Your majesty, I apologize… The prisoner that you have ordered us to hold… She has been… Unruly…”

“Most are, this required waking me, why?” Twilight grumbled.

“Ma’am, she has not stopped banging the walls, screaming or just causing noise in general since she went in… She continues to demand an audience with you, and my men are at the point where their eardrums are about to pop…” The Captain admitted.

The Princess sighed and levitated a hairbrush from inside the room toward herself and began to quickly fix her disheveled mane. Once she was finished, the set the brush down and stretched. “Alright, let’s go see her then… Lead the way…” Princess Twilight gestured.

“Yes, your majesty!” He bowed as he began to guide her through the castle. Eventually taking her down to the dungeon, a place that Princess Twilight seldom saw. Her duties didn’t really often deal with prisoners and she wasn’t particularly interested in punishing people.

The dungeon was far darker than she imagined, kept lit up only by torches that seemed to barely produce any light at all.

Making their way toward the cell in question, Twilight could hear the noise being caused by Adagio. She tapped one of her own ears, hoping to get the ringing caused by the noise to stop.

Finally coming into view of Adagio, the siren made eye contact with Twilight and ceased. She placed both of her front hooves on the ground and stared the Princess down. “Princess Twilight Sparkle… You came at last… I wanted to speak with you…”

“And what makes you think I have any interest in talking to you? Especially after you ripped me out of bed…” Princess Twilight replied with a raised brow.

“There’s a lot that I need to tell you…” Adagio said.

Princess Twilight sighed and looked at one of the guards. “Open the cage…”

“Ma’am-“ The guard attempted to dissuade her.

“It’s alright, I’ll be fine, open it…” Twilight assured.

He nodded and did as he was told and the gate creaked as it was opened and Twilight stepped inside. She sat down across from Adagio in front of the small table in the cell where food had been left, not a single bite taken.

“Alright, you have my attention… What do you want?” Princess Twilight asked.

“Make them go away…” She gestured to the guards.

The Princess nodded. “Shoo, I have it under control…”

“But ma’am!” The Captain protested.

“That’s an order, Captain.” Twilight glared.

Sighing, he realized she wasn’t going to budge and he gave a salute before escorting himself and his men away from the cell to give the two some privacy.

“Alright, so talk…” Twilight said.

“This will take a little while, you may want to make yourself comfortable…” Adagio said.

“I guess I’m pulling an all-nighter tonight… We’ve got a few hours to talk it over…” Twilight smirked.

The next day came faster than anyone could have imagined. Sunset didn’t feel like she had gotten even a wink of sleep that night, she was kept awake with anticipation and anxiety. She knew she wouldn’t sleep easy again until she knew that Adagio was in no position to cause damage to her or her friends ever again.

She had woken up early to get down to the royal chamber where the event was scheduled. It was odd thinking about an execution as an “event”, but Sunset tried to clear her mind and normalize it to herself. This was a rare occasion and it was justice being carried out on a wrongdoer, nothing more, right? She didn’t know why she couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling she was getting over the entire ordeal.

Making her way to the throne room she noticed a set of chained lined up in a star shape and ending in the center of the room. Five chains leading outward and three in the center that were strapped to the floor, making eight total. Sunset raised a brow, unsure of their purpose.

Her eyes wandered to observe Celestia, Luna, Shining and Cadence all ending the room, her friends all slowly gathering around her after them. Twilight raced toward Sunset and offered her a tight hug. Sunset gave into the embrace and then smiled at her friend lightly. “I’m here for you, alright?” Twilight stated.

Sunset nodded as she looked over at the remainder of her friends, noting that Fluttershy was already covering her eyes. She looks even more bashful as a pony than she did as a human. She wondered if the Equestrian Fluttershy was equally as timid.

“Just let me know when it’s over…” Fluttershy said.

“Sure…” Rainbow responded, placing a hoof on her shoulder. She didn’t give her usual snark, instead, she kept herself serious and collected; it was obvious that she knew this was a difficult ordeal for Fluttershy.

Princess Twilight finally made her entrance, she looked exhausted, bloodshot eyes, unkempt mane, and an expression that suggested she didn’t want to be there. Sunset wondered what was troubling her, but didn’t get the chance to engage her as she walked by. The Princess took a stand in front of one of the chains, while the rest of the royal family each stood in front of another.

From the entrance, a group of guards marched in, keeping their hooves tightly wrapped around chains that held Adagio Dazzle while they marched in. Adagio stepped in time with the guards and her expression was bleak. Her eyes had lost any luster they may have once had, and her entire being looked devoid of any and all life. It was clear that the siren that stood before them was a broken mare now; a creature that had realized its fate was death, and there was no chance of escape.

Sunset couldn’t help but feel anger the moment she saw the siren, but she tried to keep herself calm so as to not have another outburst.

The guards brought Adagio to the center of the chains and began to strap her in with the three attached to the floor. The remaining five were then fastened each to a limb and then one around her neck. When all were locked into place, the five chains leading to each member of the royal family were levitated and a cuff at the end of the other side was placed on each of their horns shy of Twilight’s who left hers on the ground.

The purple alicorn spoke loudly so the entire room could hear her voice echoing. “Adagio Dazzle…” She began.

Adagio remained silent, but she looked up at Twilight with intrigue. She watched and waited patiently for Princess Twilight’s words.

“You have been found guilty of murder in the first degree… It has been decided by the royal court that your punishment… Is death…” Twilight continued.

Adagio remained quiet.

“Do you have anything to say before this punishment is carried out today?” Twilight asked.

A small whimper finally escaped Adagio. “I-I… I’m sorry…” She managed to get out, as tears began to stream down her cheek, her emotionless facade finally breaking. The Princess could feel it, Adagio was scared.

Sunset growled. How dare she cry now? She didn’t deserve sympathy, her tears were nothing more than manipulation, one last attempt to try and weasel out of the retribution that awaited her. She was merely hoping to play the Princess in hopes of escape, that is what Sunset believed.

Princess Twilight sighed and stepped forward. Gentle steps brought her inches from Adagio. She raised a hoof and touched Adagio’s chin, making her meet Princess Twilight’s gentle purple eyes. The Princess smiled at the siren and wiped her tears with her hoof. What happened next confused the entire room.

Princess Twilight leaned in and planted a soft kiss on Adagio’s lips. There was a short pause, but Adagio closed her eyes and allowed it to happen, uncertain of why it was happening. The Princess broke the kiss and gently pet the siren’s cheek. “It’s going to be alright, I promise… It’ll be over quickly, alright?”

Adagio blinked, still a little confused by the kiss, but she nodded. “Y-yeah… Right…”

“We all have to pay the price for our misdeeds, this is yours… The path to redemption starts with owning your mistakes… In another life, you can walk that path once the road is started in this one…” Twilight lectured.

Adagio wasn’t certain what she meant, but something about Princess Twilight’s voice was soothing, calming even. For a moment she had forgotten where she was, or what was about to transpire. Adagio almost felt like she could trust the Princess and that everything really would be okay; even if she knew that to not be the case.

Walking back, Twilight lifted the final chain and placed it around her horn. At that point, Sunset had figured out what was going on. Metal was a surprisingly good magic conductor, thus why most anti-magic armors made of metal needed to be enchanted to be of any effect. They were going to use the chains to conduct their magic directly to Adagio’s body. The effect would be amplified and Adagio would be taking the full brunt of five royal family member’s magic.

Princess Twilight spoke once more. “In the next few moments, magic energy will be pushed through your body until you are dead. In Equestria, we consider this the most respectful way to end one’s life. It is a practice that has not been employed for some time…”

Adagio closed her eyes, ready for the pain, ready for the suffering that would follow, only praying it would end quickly.

Sunset spent a moment wondering why they used five ponies to administer the execution, but it dawned on her only seconds after she asked. Her eyes moved toward Cadence who was trembling to gain her answer. It was so that none of them would know who delivered the killing blow. All of them would send their magic out, but none of them would know who actually ended Adagio’s life.

There was silence for a solid eight seconds before the room lit up with a magical glow. Every chain vibrated and glowed as the magic channeling from each caster traveled up the chains and reached Adagio. Her body lit up and convulsed as the magic was pushed outward. Sunset could only watch what must have been tremendous pain. Her body twitched and vibrated violently, her mouth open, saliva dripping from her foaming mouth as her eyes looked up and rolled into the back of her head.

The sound of electric shocks going through her echoed through the room as a few in the audience whimpered, looking away. Fluttershy had already seen enough and she cowered into Rainbow Dash’s shoulder, who held her there, stroking her hair. Rainbow, however, continued to watch, she continued to keep her eyes locked on the display, unable to look away, just like Sunset.

It wouldn’t take long before the light would stop and Adagio fell to the floor motionless. Princess Twilight removed the chain from her own horn and stepped forward. She approached Adagio’s body calmly and touched her neck with her hoof, waiting to see if she could feel a pulse. She nodded to Celestia, who nodded back.

“Adagio Dazzle is dead…” Princess Twilight spoke.

The other Twilight reached out and grabbed Sunset’s hoof and smiled. “At least… It’s finally over… Right?”

Sunset could not take her eyes off of Adagio’s corpse. “Yeah… I guess it is…”

Act IV begins with a pretty big bang huh?

Say, are you interested in what Adagio told Princess Twilight? Well it was too long to fit here, but you can read about it in the upcoming side story "Silence of a Siren" where we get to hear the entire story. No ETA on when that will happen, but you'll get to see some stuff that is going on in the Shadowverse long before Sunset and Shimmer met.

Also, I promise the rest of the act isn't going to be like this, this was sort of a tying up a loose end with Adagio and giving the payoff from Act III.

Surprised by the kiss? You should be. It'll have more relevance later.