Birds.

In those first few comfortable minutes of warm darkness, lying beneath a woven flax blanket on a litter of padded moss, it was always the birdsong which came to you first. Before even the first splash of light, it was the arrival of the dawn chorus that truly let you know the new day had come.

The deer Fallen Leaf, known to others of his kind as Runner On Swift Leaves, thought those few minutes as you slowly woke up listening to the birds were some of the most special of the day.

Above the intertwined branches of his hut’s roof, and outside of the living walls of the holt, the world was waking up.

The scent of fresh dew and the decay of rich leaf-mould, the swaying of tree crowns, the skitter of a squirrel- all of it was special. Because it was a promise from Mother Equus of the gift of a new day.

Every new day was special. Every time the family of the holt rose for their morning meal, the fawns scampering around with inexhaustible energy, it was all wonderfully, contentedly special.

It was all a promise of good things to come for those willing to work for them. Nature provides, for any who took but a moment to look.

Behind his closed eyelids, in the comfort of his self-made moss bed, Fallen Leaf reflexively smiled in his waking haze.

This new holt they had built after fleeing the oppressive, creeping sickness of their old one was one such blessing. Perhaps one year they would go back to the old holt. Perhaps not. The All-Mother guided them where she pleased.

The freedom and bounty of the land was open to everyone. The pony dwellers to the east would be so much happier if they could free themselves of their self-girded bindings. To stake themselves down in one place, to fight against the land for what nature already gave, it was foolishness. If they could but open their eyes, it was so simple.

The world is so wide, and free, and full of promise. Like the truly bountiful harvest of pignuts his brother, Morning Dew Burning In The Sun, had dug out of the edge of the marsh. There were enough of the rich, crunchy tubers to be included in every meal for the whole holt for a cycle. You just had to be willing to work hard and dig for the blessings.

Much like the promise that it was, this new day was promising to be a good one.

The courtroom loomed on all sides.

Circular tiers of seating surrounded him, so they could stare down on Prey from every side. No matter how he turned, there was no way to keep every seat in view.

Not that the tiered seating was filled. This was a closed court session. The powers-that-be didn't want any outside witnesses to their rushed kangaroo court. Nevertheless, gathered here this morning, a wall of specially selected faces in wigs looked down on Prey in united condemnation.

And Prey was locked down here in the dock, physically locked in with hoofcuffs, as if he could somehow have escaped with a Solar Guard standing at each side of the box. The hoofcuffs were redundant. But they'd locked them on anyway, to remind him of his place. To scare him.

Everything about the court was designed to make the prisoner feel small, weak, and guilty. Regardless of their innocence. The severe, unadorned partition wall further cutting him off from the seating, was intended to clearly divide 'him' from 'them'. Every single seat was placed higher than the dock. He had to stand on his rear hooves and grip the lip of the dock to even see over the edge. Everyone else could sit in comfort and still look down on him.

He was breathing too fast, but he couldn't help it as the judges and jury in their wigs and black robes peered down at him. His nose was filled with the smell of old wood and polish. The courtroom had been here long before his arrival, and would still be here long after he was taken away.

No Night Guards in the stands. No yellow slitted eyes in friendly faces. No Crimson. And no defence lawyer yet.

He hadn't been offered the option. That was against the law, but this whole thing was so obviously a sham. Or had they already assigned a bribed lawyer to him, and they just hadn't arrived yet?

Was that why they were all just staring down at him, waiting? Why hadn't they started? Why were they waiting!?

Prey's eyes skittered everywhere. They were just sitting there. Sunshine was standing to the left of the dock, face impassive, but never taking his eyes off of Prey for even a second. Utterly like the professional he was.

The other Solar Guard on the right was doing just the same. And both of their thoughts were hidden behind those accursed mindlock enchantments! If only he could hear what they were thinking.

'Zoma'Grika what are they waiting for?!'

The judge was a white unicorn. Of course he was a unicorn. A high judge had to be a unicorn, didn't they? Because how else would you know they were a 'high' judge instead of just a judge? The stallion was older, hard to tell his age exactly because of the wig, and wearing spectacles. And almost skeletally thin.

His eyes were watery green behind his spectacles. With bony forehooves folded on the cushion in front of him, he too was simply staring down silently at Prey.

The towering, high-backed padded chair the thin judge sat on was emblazoned with a golden sun, as was the jutting podium at which he sat.

The judge. The two Solar Guards. Two stenographers, blank sheets and quills set beside them. Twelve members of a jury, every single one of them ponies. And their one runt lamb prisoner.

And still they were just waiting as the tension ratcheted higher and higher.

'I shouldn't have listened to Crimson, I shouldn't have come back! Again! This is torture.'

From somewhere, the chimes of a clock struck nine. The black-robed ponies arrayed before Prey all sat up straighter.

The thin, white furred judge cleared his throat and spoke loudly, voice high and reedy:

"At the time of oh-nine-hundred, on the seventeenth day of Her Celestial Majesty's calendar in the month of April, of the year one-thousand-and-one A.C. let the records show that I, High Judge Magnus Opus, call this closed-court hearing to a start."

Magnus Opus turned his thin face slightly to the left, his reedy voice ringing out again as the stenographers’ magically levitating quills scratched on paper; "This is a case of the defendant, one Prey, versus the State. Please enter and be seated the prosecution, Strange Happenstance, representing the law and interested party House Fell."

Prey should've known.

He should have known!

Who else could it be but the smug, mud coloured private detective unicorn, with his long coat and stupid hat, as he trotted in through the courtroom's doors? A second, smartly dressed stallion with a slicked-back mane trailed behind him, carrying a briefcase.

Prey stared at Strange Happenstance as the detective trotted, no, strolled in.

"Your Honours." Strange dipped his head as he made his way to the prosecutors' booth.

He passed by Prey, his mind just as blank as it had ever been. When he met Prey's eye, all Prey saw in his face beneath the brim of his stupid hat was satisfaction.

'You. You. You you you-!' Then the rest of what the judge Magnus Opus had announced caught up to Prey's reeling mind.

'Representing House Fell.' Prey's wide eyes flashed to the second suited stallion, the one with the briefcase, darting over his smart uniform and going to the breast pocket-

The obnoxiously ornate, red and black sigil of House Fell sat proudly there.

House Fell. Lord Triton Fell was the grandfather of the now deceased Solar Guard Captain, Valour. The Solar Guard was here. House Fell was here. Strange Happenstance was here. That was what this was all about.

'How did they find out? How could they possibly know-!? No, they can't. There's nothing they could have as hard evidence.' Prey tried to tell himself even as he began to internally panic even more.

But this was obviously a sham court. He'd been denied at least half his rights, the Night Guard were being barred all access, and this had been rushed to trial. Would them not having any hard evidence even matter?

And they obviously thought they had at least something to use against him.

What the Tartarus had Prey ever done to Strange Happenstance, that the unicorn had taken up his crusade against him? Prey had never seen the stallion before their first meeting in the hospital, when Strange tried to accuse and interrogate him.

'Why couldn't. You just leave. Well enough. Alone?'

Strange Happenstance and the Fell stallion finished settling themselves down in the booth, the other unicorn drawing the briefcase smartly open and starting to pull out horribly official-looking documents.

The wavering, reedy voice of the judge dragged Prey's eyes away and back up to the robed jury all seated above him; "The prosecution is seated. Enter the defence. Let the record show, that the right to an independent defence lawyer was waived by the defendant, as attested to by-"

"No I don't-!"

"There will be no other defence, as attested to by us."

The spines of every single person in the courtroom jerked straight as every eye turned upwards. The imperious tones of command had come from above, up in the shadowed empty viewing gallery, shut to the public for this closed session.
Far above them, standing almost casually at the gallery's railing, one ice-cold eye covered by the rippling night of her mane, the other staring unblinkingly down on them all, rested Luna.

"As attested to and approved by Her Royal Majesty, Princess Luna." Magnus Opus finished, his voice nothing more than a thin whine in the wake of Luna's booming command.

Prey shrunk into the dock as the oppressive weight of Luna's unreadable expression bore down upon him.

But Crimson had said Luna had promised him-! But she'd told Prey to stay silent and not defend himself. She'd made no promises to him. She'd just waived his chance for a legal defence. Luna had lied to Crimson's face.

Dawning despair, as the last of the ground felt like it was crumbling beneath him.

'I should have known better. No. I did know better. I always knew. Because it's Luna.'

But for the sake of hope- cruel, poisonous, false hope, he'd put his faith in Crimson's trust and returned to his cell for this trial.

"With all in attendance and accounted for, I hereby call this hearing to session." Magnus Opus declared, giving a perfunctory bang of his wooden gavel on the block before him, "Let the charges against the defendant be read out."

A long-faced greying mare to the judge’s left stiffly stood up from the clerk’s desk, her magic unfolding a pair of glasses onto her long muzzle as she levitated a sheaf of paper.

"The charges against the defendant, a one Prey of the Night Guard stand as follows; violation of legal probation, further attempted violation of legal probation, posing a threat to pony life, possessing knowledge of which constitutes a threat to pony life, partaking in terrorist activities, contempt of Equestrian law, illegal immigration, not holding a valid passport, abuse of Guard authority, misuse of Guard assets, grave injury of a fellow Guard, reckless endangerment of civilian life in the town of Alfalfa Dale, involvement in the civilian deaths at Alfalfa Dale."

She paused to take in a deep breath. Then she continued on; "Refusing to cooperate with investigators, lying to investigators, directly and indirectly covering up for the misconduct of Night Guard superiors.” Another breath. “Accepting bribes, soliciting bribes, offering bribes, bribery, conspiring against the Solar Guard, the murder of Captain Valour of the Solar Guard, attempting to flee the country, two more counts of murder, and resisting arrest."

She lowered the pages, looking down in disdain at Prey, before flicking a nervous glance back up to the viewing gallery for barely a second, "The punishments to be affixed to these charges is the purpose of this court proceeding."

Prey was speechless. He could not find any words. His mouth was opening and closing as he stood propped up in the dock.

She had spouted that with a straight face. She was serious. So many blatant, out-and-out lies, made-up falsehoods, and she was serious.

The gall. They actually dared to so blatantly lie in front of everyone. In front of Luna.

They had no evidence. None whatsoever. And for those accusations which by accident were true, they couldn't prove anything.

Accusations which Prey refuted anyway! He was not a pony, and he was not responsible for their easily-offended sensibilities. He was not going to let these soft ponies who'd never gone hungry a day in their life sit on their high throne and tell him how much better they were than him.

'No real crimes. No diamond dogs. No changelings. Not even filthy worthless clan Myrrdon.' A tiny voice whispered. It went unheeded.

They had nothing. No clue. No evidence. None whatsoever. Those were the trumped-up charges they aimed to sink him with? He had committed so many sins, yet the ones they were accusing him of were sins he'd either never committed, or at least had never counted as sins. Sacrificing the villagers of Alfalfa Dale, the diamond dogs, and in the end even the changelings, those were sins no matter how hard he denied it. And he was denying it to himself, even now. Because he'd killed so many changelings, that he couldn't afford to have the magnitude of that guilt crush him.

Their accusations were so small, so petty! All the war crimes of the Resistance? Fighting the Border Guard? Killing those self-righteous unicorn thieves, mind controlling people for his own benefit, framing innocents? Not even one of those was being read out by these sanctimonious, conceited, self-satisfied ponies.

'Not even filthy worthless clan Myrrdon.' A tiny voice whispered in the back of his mind. Prey again didn't heed it, barely even heard it. He had no time for that clan.

The judge leaned forwards over his podium, his thin face under the mountainous powdered wig peering critically down at Prey and the two Solar Guards flanking him, "How do you plead?"

Plead? Plead… beg? How did he plead?

"I reject every lie you've just spewed!" Prey squeaked, voice betraying him yet again into sounding weak.

Above, Luna jerked her chin sharply down, but that was the only move she made as she brooded. 'Displeasure at me daring to speak and not refusing to defend myself like she ordered!'

"Lie, lie, lie, and more lies. That was a pack of blowfly-infested LIES!"

"Let the record show the defendant pleaded not guilty, and add a charge of contempt of court." Magnus Opus droned.

The chains of his cuffs rattled as Prey banged his forehooves against the dock, "No you DON'T just get to imprison and ignore me! I haven't done any of those things! I am a Night Guard, I have followed all my orders like a good little Guard. You made all those lies up. Where's proof, where's evidence? I'm innocent!"

For the first time out of the corner of his eye, Prey saw Sunshine's professional mask slip. For that moment, he saw all the righteous anger of victimhood the unicorn was feeling. Somehow, someway here was a pony who completely believed that Prey had indeed been the one to kill his Captain, Valour.

Prey had killed Valour, but there was no possible way anyone had any proof of that! Meaning, although they'd gotten the charge right by complete accident, Strange Happenstance couldn't prove it.

"This court hearing is for sentencing on the provided charges. A private court hearing has already concluded on the validity of the charges- in your case, in absentia. If you wished to contest them in a subsequent trial proceeding you should have attended or sent a legal representative to the hearing."

"Oh and how was I supposed to do that when I wasn't even in this city, and you never bothered to even try to contact-?"

"Silence in the dock! Add a second charge for contempt of court. This is a sentencing hearing, not a trial. This session is to determine the punishments for each crime. You have already refused your last right to plead guilty. Do you understand?"

Prey just glared at him, refusing to give this 'judge' the courtesy of an answer.

Magnus Opus' pinched brows drew further together and his reedy tenor rang out higher, "Do you understand?"

Magnus banged his gravel, "Let the record show that the accused understood the charges but refused to answer. Add a third strike for contempt of court." He ordered, and the harsh scribble of quills over paper rang out.

"Your Honour," The droll, smug voice of Strange Happenstance spoke up, "In my role, may I suggest here before the court that the evidence is presented to the accused anyway? House Fell feels it is conducive towards reiterating the seriousness of the necessary punishments on which are to be decided."

As if he'd been expecting that very request in advance, Magnus Opus didn't waste even a moment on deliberation and immediately transitioned into saying; "For the purposes of verification, the prosecution may briefly reiterate the evidence if they feel it is relevant to the court's proceedings."

'This is all just some rehearsed performance to them.' Everything here was basically already decided in advance in the backrooms between all these judges and jury members. Rehearsing the 'evidence' again was simply because Strange Happenstance wanted to revel in his power over Prey.

"Your Honour, and esteemed members of the court. This all began when I was investigating the Night Guard command structure in regards to the disastrous Lumber Yard fire- of which I am still gathering evidence and testimony. I was contacted by the parents of one Lilly Blossom after they heard of my inquiry, on behalf of the mare, aged twenty-three, who had returned from a Night Guard sanctioned operation in the border town of Alfalfa Dale. This was when I first learned directly of the actions of the ISND. Because of their actions undertaken while abusing Guard authority, they were complicit in the deaths of every single pony in Alfalfa Dale."

Strange brought his hoof solemnly up to his chest, "They did not report the presence of a dark-magic-wielding warlock active in the area in a timely manner, they did not move to try to stop this warlock, and because of gross negligence, they first injured, then proceeded to maim Lilly Blossom by implanting parasitic plants into her. By failing to contact the rest of the Guard, they thus are complicit in Alfalfa Dale’s destruction, and Prey, as a member, thus guilty of these charges."

A susurration of disgust went through all of the assembled court ponies, as Strange solemnly listed out the supposed murders of Alfalfa Dale. Pretending like he actually cared.

"Lie, lie, and another lie," Prey tried to interrupt, "We did send an emergency report to the Captain, we tried our hardest to fight the warlock, and we saved Lilly's life! If not for us, then-!"

"Silence in the dock!" Magnus demanded, petulantly banging his little wooden gavel.

"Of course I took the case, as any upstanding detective would," Strange carried on, "But when I presented my badge and tried to speak to the suspects and victim, the Night Guard refused to give me access or answer any questions, even when I followed procedure and attempted to escalate it up their chain of command-"

"As if! You broke into the hospital, lied to the guards, and then stalked us all around Canter-"

"Silence! Silence in the dock. Guards, the accused is deliberately disrupting the proceedings. Enact a silence spell until he has been rendered calm."

Prey barely managed to twist his head around in alarm before Sunshine had already cast, the Guard’s prodigious casting speed faster than Prey could manage to do anything about. A slight blueish shimmer passed in a giant bubble over the dock.

"Don't you dare-Stop it!" Prey protested, as invisible fire ants began crawling inside his hooves.

But from the way nobody outside the bubble reacted, it was already too late. It stopped his protests and denials getting out, while Strange Happenstance could continue to spin whatever lies he wanted as Prey was helpless to defend himself.

"This is all one giant, maggot-bloated lie. You're bribed, corrupt, all of you!" But Prey's shouting was utterly in vain.

"Thank you, Your Honour," Strange briefly touched his hat’s brim. Momentarily, his eyes went up to the gallery, but Luna still hadn't moved or reacted, eye still boring down through everyone, and particularly anyone who looked up at her. His confidence restored, Strange launched back into his prepared story, as the Fell servant stallion passed him pages for him to double check from.

"This conduct of the Night Guard roused my suspicions. I began making enquiries into various record departments, the City Hall, the Civil Office, and Immigration Control. Copies of their written responses are available if any here today would like to verify them again for yourself." Strange nodded to his Fell aide with the briefcase full of papers and files.

"That will not be necessary. The previous court session already carried out this review. Please continue." Magnus answered on behalf of all the ponies in the stands.

"Of course, Your Honour. Continuing on, this was where I discovered the illegal nature of Prey’s residency here in Equestria. No passport, no registration, nothing. He has been illegally working for the Night Guard, and he did not file an application for citizenship within one week as covered in the laws for exceptional circumstances of foreign employment. Not to mention breaking the underage labour laws too. Receiving a wage under these conditions and using this illicitly stolen wage comes under bribery and/or theft."

Prey's blood was boiling, but his stinging hooves were shaking with cold. It was anger masking fear. 'I never chose to come here to this filthy capital, I was pressganged and enslaved by Luna! Rushweed may have been a border town, but it was a border Equestrian town! I was born here!'

Strange shuffled the page in his mud-green aura to the back, and started going down the next sheet. He paused and pursed his lips, again faking that this actually emotionally affected him, "It was then that I became aware that at the time of their actions in Alfalfa Dale, Prey also murdered and disposed of two Border Guards who'd been sent to investigate, so they could not report back the ISND's failings."

Another ripple of palpable disgust through all the ponies present. Another lie. And they were just lapping it up.

Strange waved some pages, "Further, the ISND also claim to have been delayed and held up in a deer holt in the forest. Here are copies of where they sketched this supposed holt to have been on a map. A location that the Night Guard were unable to find afterwards. Which immediately brings into question the validity of the ISND's version of events."

"Corporal Shimmer and Private Atlas Line were originally reported missing in action against the warlock, agreeing with the ISND's version of events. However, later it was discovered that the ISND's story did not line up. They testified Corporal Shimmer had sent back reports to his Border Guard superiors, but these reports were found to have never actually arrived. Therefore, these reports were never actually sent."

'The Zoma'Grika changelings! Even now, even now, they're still messing everything up!' Prey uselessly raged. Of course Shimmer hadn't sent back any real reports like he claimed, because he was an infiltrator! Or he only sent them back to his fellow changelings infesting the Border Guard, who lied and covered up and were now blaming the ISND.

"Further evidence to support the motives of murdering the unfortunate Shimmer and Atlas Line can be found by the ISND's gross negligence in stopping the warlock, or refusing to raise the alarm and call for help. So when Shimmer discovered their negligence, in a panic they silenced him and Atlas to prevent them reporting their crimes and blamed the warlock for it."

"We did call for help, we begged!" Prey shouted, even though no one could hear him through the silence bubble.

They'd sent a message-in-a-bottle, and Nighthawk had ignored it because the Royal Inspectors were still breathing down his neck, and because the Border Guard said they'd already sent reinforcements. Which they hadn't. Because again, the changelings infiltrating the hated Border Guard had deceived them all. But did anyone else know that? No. They just saw the end result and blamed Prey.

"As for disposing of the two bodies, while it is possible they buried them, another more likely method was presumed employed." Strange Happenstance turned to glare with loathing at Prey, "Which is the same reason that, following their return to Canterlot, Captain Nighthawk immediately placed Prey under permanent probation for the protection of pony life."

Again, another page was passed to Strange by his House Fell helper, who waved it aggressively at Prey as if it already proved everything, "But back to my point; as written in Captain Nighthawk of the Night Guard's own report, the accused possess knowledge of how to create small magical bombs, which he callously, and deliberately, used against the hostages of the warlock. These bombs, and I quote here; 'Can dissolve a pony in their entirety, and leave not even a trace behind'."

Strange put the paper down and took a deep breath, resettling his hat on his head, "And while there is no hard evidence, if you'll forgive the appalling imagery, it is only because they dissolved the evidence. I don't think I need to elaborate any further on what happened to the bodies of Shimmer and Atlas."

He flung out his hoof to point at Prey, "They had the motive, and Prey had the method. A method which, I might add, falling under information that poses a threat to pony life, is illegal to know, and that since Prey has had no actual physical restrictions enforced upon him to prevent creating more of these acid bombs, he could have used to create more of these weapons at any time while inside Canterlot."

How had the lying detective even gotten his hooves on a restricted report? How had he stolen it? Or who had stolen it on his behalf? The court evidently didn't care. So what if Strange had twisted the law to get this equally as twisted 'evidence'? Who cares about fruit of the poisonous tree, when this entire charade was poison?

It wasn't so fun when the horseshoe was on the other hoof.

Prey twisted about in the silenced dock, trying to find a weapon or anything he could use, but he was hoofcuffed and the two Solar Guards were watching his every move with hawklike eyes. He couldn't start inscribing runes, even if he had the hours needed to build something to kill all these arrogant, pampered, soft ponies with. And Luna was standing there, impassively looking down on and allowing everything.

"Here is the evidence, provided by his probation officer, my own brother Safety Hazard, which filled me in on Prey's illegal practices, and also that he was breaking his grossly under-policed probation in the first place. It was also because of Safety Hazard's information, which I have his signed testimony here, I was first tipped off to Prey being responsible for Captain Valour's murder."

Strange glowered at Prey, eyes narrowed and ears back, not needing to read off his page of notes for the next bit, "I knew what the ISND, what Prey was doing and getting away with. I was already building this case from the scraps of evidence I could uncover, and beginning to see the wider picture, when I was approached by a representative of House Fell, looking to hire my services. Lord Triton Fell wanted somepony to look into his grandson's death, as he rightly didn't believe a stallion of Valour's calibre could have possibly died in a house fire."

"Evidence? What evidence?!" It did no good. Even if they could have heard him, he would've gone ignored.

There was no evidence. Strange was waving around those 'scraps of evidence', all made up of misinterpreted hearsay and declaring it rock solid proof of whatever he wanted. He was biased in every sense of the word. There were mountains of evidence disproving Prey did it, but Strange was ignoring that, and instead waving around whatever weirdly shaped coincidence he found saying Prey did it. Strange was ignoring all cause and effect, jumping straight from A to Z with nothing in between.

This was a court? This counted as evidence? This was pony justice?

But Triton Fell, the second single richest entity in all of Equestria, behind the Crown, was backing Strange Happenstance. And knowing that, it all made perfect sense.

The financial and political clout to rush this trial through, to skip over so many laws, deny him his rights, procure the Solar Guard’s support, and block out the Night Guard from being able to even get a hoof in. All those instances where money and power shouldn't bear any weight, and yet inevitably weighed the heaviest.

Prey was furious they were getting away with this. He was terrified they were getting away with this.

Luna had lied. Strange Happenstance was lying. Triton Fell was lying. This trial was supposed to be about the lords' precious grandson's death, and yet Triton Fell hadn't even turned up, not wanting to tie his image to this case just for the unlikely event it failed.

How? Just how? There was no evidence that he'd killed Valour, so how did Strange Happenstance know? He had no solid proof, Prey knew he didn't, so why was he so unshakeably convinced?

"In early November of last year, the ISND disappeared on a 'secret' mission. The details are apparently restricted, and again nopony will admit anything concrete, but what ponies have admitted to is that at this time, Prey here was still in Canterlot, and was left unobserved and unattended to do as he wished. On November the tenth and eleventh, Prey took two days of leave, I have the signed timesheets to prove it. In the early morning of the twelfth, Valour was found dead and his house on fire. The crime of again violating his probation is miniscule when compared to the murder he travelled to by rail to commit."

How? How could Strange even claim with a straight face-? There was no link! No evidence! Prey had done it yes, but there was no evidence! All Strange was saying was that he had annual leave booked off that coincided with the date of Valour's death. But so did thousands of other people that day! No one was aware he'd even known who Valour was.

Strange turned back to look up at the thin judge, tilting his hat brim back, "It is a documented fact Prey was outside of Canterlot on the night of the eleventh. It is a documented fact he broke probation to do so. It is a documented fact he purposefully avoided oversight. And it is a documented fact that Captain Valour was found dead the very next day."

As he said the word 'documented' each time, Strange slapped another page down on top of the pile before him, "Just like it is a little known but documented fact from the Solar Guard that only a week before his death, Valour was meeting with the High Command of the Border Guard. And what were they discussing? Among other things, co-ordinated defences against warlocks. And the case example discussed in great detail on that day was the most recent one, from Alfalfa Dale!"

Prey hadn't known that, it wasn't why he'd gone after Valour in the first place, and it had no bearing whatsoever on anything he'd done. How did Strange honestly expect him to have knowledge of what was discussed miles away in a private, high-profile meeting? It was complete coincidence!

Literally just one item from a probable dozen discussed in a Border Guard meeting's agenda, but Strange was trumpeting it like it proved everything.

Every word that Prey couldn't respond to hammered him slowly down deeper and deeper into despair. Not because of Strange Happenstance absurdly being right, but because every lie he spouted was being lapped up.

All those judging, condemning eyes drilling down from on high, Luna the highest of all, as the dock seemed to gape wider and wider around him like a trap. Or a mouth. Or like he was shrinking. He was having difficulty getting enough air.

'Oh Zoma'Grika, is the silence bubble airtight? Is that it? Is Sunshine going to secretly execute me out of revenge right here in front of everyone?'

Strange took a deep breath to recompose himself, straightening his overcoat, "As for final proof, I also add my own testimony and witness. As per the Court and Talent act of 766 A.C., evidence obtained through the use of a qualified pony's cutie mark is admissible in court if backed up by supporting evidence, and sworn under oath to be true. So I, Strange Happenstance, being of sound mind, do hereby so swear this to be the truth."

Prey tasted blood. Then felt pain. Only then did it register he'd bitten down on the side of his tongue. His head was throbbing fit to burst behind his eyes. And that rasping in the back of his raw throat, that was him screaming inarticulately with rage.

For an uncounted hoofful of seconds, Prey was so angry he couldn't see or hear straight. This. This was the reason. This was the truth behind Strange Happenstance's success.

'His. Cutie. Mark.'

Everything, the running into them at inopportune moments, his obsession on hounding the ISND, and his utter conviction Prey was hiding something. All of it.

It was all explained away with reasoning that would only ever be accepted in Equestria; 'Because my special talent said so.'

Not through any skill of his own, not through uncovering any evidence, and certainly not through anything but the most basic intelligence. Strange just relied on his flank. Because Strange was born a pony, Harmony just gifted it all to him on a silver platter.

'All obtained scot free from his special talent.'

This was the big reason? This was the secret behind all of the private detective's success? It was a bad joke, and life was howling with laughter at Prey.

Because Harmony said so, because Harmony gave its ponies the Elements of Harmony, magic, extra-long life, and free impossible mastery of anything with a lottery of special talents.

Strange had done all of this, constructed his whole entire case, wormed his way through the court system and convinced even the Archduke Triton Fell that what he was saying was true, and all he had to do was claim reliance on his cutie mark?

'Unacceptable.'

Prey could not accept that.

The uncaring, unfair world just laughed all the harder at the weak runt lamb, not even tall enough to see over the dock's side, locked in chains, and condemned by the funny feeling in a pony's flanks. It didn't matter if he refused to accept it or not.

He should have killed the Elements of Harmony. He shouldn't have come back.

He should have driven harder for more backup plans with Lemon. He should have taken his chances running after Discord.

He should have said something to Crimson. He should have holed up in his lair and fought tooth and hoof, damn all who came- especially Luna.

He should've, should've, should've-!

'Should haz', would haz', could haz'.' Garrow's remnant mockingly whispered.

Anger was far too tame of a word. Incandescent rage didn’t muster. Wrath barely touched it.

"Thank you for your time and consideration, Your Honour." The seemingly far-off drifting tones of the unworthy-to-be-breathing Strange's words snapped Prey back.

Magnus Opus nodded his thin head, then with a perfunctory bang of his gavel using his aura, not even unfolding his crossed forelegs to perform the act of condemnation, "Let the record show that after review of the evidence with the accused in attendance, no defence was found. No clarification were requested from anypony in the assembled jury. We now proceed to the sentencing, starting from least severe to greatest."

"Nay. The defence has yet to be heard."

The cold tones of Luna silenced the entire court.

In the void which followed, Magnus cleared his reedy throat uncertainly. He had to bend his head back uncomfortably to look up at Luna in the gallery as he addressed her, "Princess Luna, the ah, the option to a defence was waived by the defendant. Also by you, your majesty."

"Thou art mistaken," Luna's tone was as condescending as it was unbending iron, "We said there would be no other defence. Not that there was to be no defence. We have chosen to represent the accused ourselves."

A stir passed like a wave up and down the seated ponies. Unease, surprise, suspicion. Strange Happenstance was showing the same signs too, but to a much lesser degree. He wasn't worried.

But Prey felt not even one spark of hope. Because what had Luna ever done for him? Nothing. She only ever took. This trick right here to speak in his defence? Prey wasn't fooled, he knew what it really was. Luna had no intention of helping. He knew what Luna was like. She was simply grandstanding.

She was the princess, and always had to have the last word. And the court had not been paying her silent attendance the due respect and attention she felt she deserved. That just wouldn't do, would it?

But she wasn't going to defend Prey. Oh no, Luna was going to twist the role and condemn Prey instead, adding her own accusations and judgements, to prove beyond all doubt she'd already known all the court had accused Prey of, plus more besides that only she was privy to. A power play. A boast. Self-indulgence.

'I hate you.'

"Ah. I see. That is to say, Your Majesty, it is most unorthodox that a Princess should act as a defence lawyer. There is cause for concern about bias and unfair advantage..." Magnus' reedy warbling slowly trailed off in the face of Luna's unmoving, unnaturally still visage.

Luna was looking at the judge as if he were a piece of furniture that had spoken back to her. Exactly how she was looking at every single other person in this courtroom, because there was only one alicorn in it. No, actually, she wasn't even looking at Prey.

"We have heard the charges, Judge Magnus Opus- thy evidence, Strange Happenstance, and considered all that was brought forth for this case by Archduke Triton Fell." Luna's booming voice echoed around the circular court below her.

So declaring, with a slight jump that looked near effortless, Luna simply hopped over the gallery's railing.

"Princess-!"
"Ahh!"
"Watch out!"

Ponies tried to scramble to their hooves, or just locked up. The Solar Guards on either side of Prey were already moving to throw themselves forwards to catch her, but everyone was too slow to do anything before Luna had already landed in the middle of the courtroom.

She didn't even open her wings to slow her drop, landing squarely on all four silver-clad hooves without any apparent effort, seemingly not needing to bend her legs at all to absorb the shock. Her landing barely even made any noise.

Prey shrunk away from her, immediately skittering to the far side of the dock, as much as the hoofcuffs would allow.

"Princess Luna, you, that's not-" Magnus stuttered in shock, his wig almost slipping.

Luna didn't spare him or the jury members sputtering and holding their chests another look. As her brilliant, star-and-nebula-infused mane and tail settled back around her, Luna instead slowly swept her eyes over Strange Happenstance, and the so far silent Fell aide, both of whom had the sense to hastily rise and bow.

She yet hadn't once looked at Prey, still magically silenced and locked helplessly in the dock just a few hooves away. And a hundred-thousand times closer than Prey ever wanted to be to Luna ever again.

"Strange Happenstance. We have not had cause to summon thee before now, yet we have heard thy name from our Captain Nighthawk before." Luna observed, utterly impassive.

"All good things, I hope, Your Majesty. I have only ever done my job and followed my calling to the best of my abilities." Strange answered, going so far as to remove his hat as he straightened out of his bow.

Luna didn't ignore Strange's answer, because that would have implied she cared. Instead she had already moved on to coldly looking over the Fell stallion. Everything about her was cold.

"Lord Triton Fell did not see fit to inform us of any of these, his grievances or accusations. When thou returns to him, inform him we would appreciate if he would bring such things directly to our attention. T'would have saved us all much time."

The unicorn made another quick bow, the gold trimming on his red and black uniform flashing. He nodded his understanding, keeping his eyes respectfully lowered.

After a moment of Luna's gaze continuing to bore into him, he winced and apologetically made a show of touching his throat. It seemed he wasn't silent out of choice, but actually really was mute.

"Good. See that thou does." Luna ordered, dismissing him from her attention now that her message had been received and understood.

Magnus Opus shifted, his scrawny throat bobbing as Luna finally returned to facing the court, "Princess Luna, this is most irregular, but seeing as you are already here, do you still intend to stand as the accused's defence before we proceed to deciding the punishments? Perhaps you intend to weigh in on the sentencing as well?"

Prey knew the answer before it even left Luna's mouth, the hoofcuffs digging in above the gold of the tracer bands as he uselessly tugged on the chain.

"Nay."

Prey faltered on uselessly pulling on the chain, 'Nay'? Meaning, no? But that was just what Luna had started with, she was simply going to add something more, or worse. Such as; 'Nay. Thou shalt not decide on the sentence, we will.'

"We shall not be taking part in the sentencing."

So that's how it was going to be. She was going to at least pretend to give the court the final say in a blasé nod towards the laws she herself abused or simply ignored.

"For there shall be no sentence to give."

Prey choked as fear filled his throat. His heart pounded. She knew, she knew about the Elements of Harmony! About everything he thought he'd gotten away with! She instead meant to execute him right here at the end of this before witnesses.

But all the ponies in the court clearly misinterpreted Luna's declaration as the complete opposite. An uproar went through all of them.

"Princess Luna, you can't! He's guilty!"

"But the evidence, it's clear! He did it!"

"Your Majesty what are you doing?"

"He's guilty! He's guilty!"

"BE SILENT." Luna roared. The windows rattled and the court benches shook. Even Sunshine and the other Solar Guard momentarily went to cover their ears rather than remaining at attention.

"Either stay thy forked tongues, or speak the truth! You weary us with your incessant lies." Everyone recoiled, going silent and wide-eyed in their seats, abused ears pressed flat.

Luna's freezing gaze swept the whole court, "We declare ourselves... disappointed." The word was as good as a criminal accusation when coming from Luna's mouth.

"For the sake of fairness and the law, we gave thee the chance to present thy case, if such a sorry excuse can even be termed such. We sat, and listened, and held our peace, and thou all somehow took our silence as tacit agreement of thy half-truths and perversions of justice? We must confess, we did not think ponies foolhardy enough to try such under our very eyes, but we stand corrected. Thou art disappointments to justice!"

Luna's hoof shot out, pointing at the two frozen stenographer unicorns, both looking like they almost suffered a heart attack on the spot with Luna singling them out.

"Let the record so show that we, Princess Luna and Diarch of Equestria, by the Royal power of the Crown declare this court proceeding to be null and void, and the defendant cleared of all charges."

"You can't-", "Princess Luna-!", "Justice and the law-", "Illegal and-", "That's wrong-!"

Luna effortlessly out-shouted them all, "We art the highest judge in the land, and we have found this court wanting! In the court’s absence of any capable judge, we will step in and do what thou should have done thyselves!"

"I am a high judge! You can't overrule my own court!" Magnus Opus shouted, for a moment forgetting who he was addressing such was his outrage.

Luna's thundering response was irrefutable steel, as cold and unyielding as the frozen north and Magnus quailed in his seat, "WE ART THE LAW! We were there when thy more worthy ancestors first wrote it from our lips. It was us and our sister who have upheld and fought for the same law thee all hold so lightly. Our word is the law."

Strange Happenstance jammed his hat back onto his head, "Now hold on just a second there. By that same system of law my testimony and oath is qualified evidence, just like all the other evidence I've gathered. You heard, you saw what he's done princess! Here, you can read the proof for yourself." Strange whirled and grabbed up the stack of pages, trying to shove them onto Luna.

A mistake. With a careless flick of her horn, Luna's blue aura enveloped and bit off Strange's own, taking the documents from him. Strange's head snapped back as his telekinesis was forcibly broken. Luna tossed aside the fluttering bundle of pages without even a glance.

"We have listened to thy 'evidence' already. ‘Tis not evidence, but make-belief interpretation." She scoffed, derision so powerful it was all but an invisible force in the air, pressing the jury and judge lower in their seats.

Strange Happenstance took a deep breath and stood up to Luna, her overwhelming presence so much larger than even her taller stature, "Princess Luna. Respectfully, I refuse to accept such biased favouritism. That lamb has killed ponies, innocent ponies!"

"The irony of your pitiful accusation of biased favouritism is not lost on us, we can assure you. ‘Tis not so enjoyable when the shoe is on the other hoof, no? Yet that would imply that your accusations were even true to begin with. Which they are not."

"Princess Luna, Your Majesty. This is wrong. Even if it is you, the princess, I can't stand aside and let-"

"Thou wouldst accuse US!" Luna boomed. It was a statement, not a question. It should have crystallised shards of ice as hard as iron in mid-air. The courtroom seemed to darken, Luna at its centre. But after a long agonizing second, Luna spoke, and everyone could breathe again.

"Yet for true justice and the law, the very same truth and law which thou has bent, we shall give answer to thy 'evidence'."

Luna turned with a swirl of darkened stars, striding back towards the centre of the courtroom, "So let this court's records show. That means that thou shalt both write!"

Both the stenographers finally snapped out of their frozen state. Under their fur their faces went white, and they desperately grabbed for their quills.

"Prey is no illegal immigrant. He is here, in Canterlot, on our invitation. He is a citizen of Equestria just as surely as everypony in this court. So we declare, and by law, so it is done."

Magnus Opus shrunk lower into his high-backed seat and deep robes as Luna's gaze pressed down on him, "Your petty-mindedness that Prey should somehow be guilty for working to earn an honest living is not even worth our time. Rather, for all thy other accusations in the lands of Alfalfa Dale, the heinous warlock, and Lilly Blossom's regrettable injury, we say this; Thou hast only half the tale, for the other half is of military secrecy. Thus, lacking this knowledge, all thy accusations become meaningless, and Prey is innocent of all thus supposed crimes."

"Not the full story-? What could that possibly change?"

"Art thou hard of hearing? Didst thou perhaps misunderstand? ‘Tis of military secrecy. Thus, you are unqualified and unworthy of knowing."

"But if you're withholding it, then how can we be expected to properly judge-?"

"Fool," Luna scoffed, her tone biting, "Thou does not judge, because thou art not permitted to know. In instances such as these, the course is obvious. A judge who is permitted to know the full tale must be found. That is us.”

"That's not right," Strange still managed to protest, "It's not right. The Guard should be as accountable as anypony! The law deserves transparency-"

"They are accountable. To us. They have given account for their actions, details which thou does not have a right to know. The matter is closed. This is the last time we shall say this."

It was obvious Strange Happenstance railed against that. He wanted to protest, to keep demanding answers, but sense won out in the end. You could not demand answers from an alicorn, and Luna was not in a patient mood at all. She had the power to do whatever she wanted in this court, both the political power, but also the very real physical power.

The mute Fell lawyer hurriedly tugged at Strange's long coat, head lowered to avoid Luna's eye, but still insistently waving a page under the private detective's eyes.

Strange glanced at it, then seized upon the proffered suggestion, "And the murder of Captain Valour? What about that? As you say, princess, those other charges can be explained away, but Prey still stands guilty of murder. Even if nothing else, he is a murderer, who killed Lord Triton Fell's grandson, the Captain of the Solar Guard!" He desperately rallied.

Luna kept looking down at him for a long, unblinking minute, her astral mane the only thing which moved. The entire court was painfully holding their breath, not daring to make so much as the quietest sound. Finally she replied, "Aye, a most serious accusation, that being to have murdered one of our little ponies in cold blood."

Strange let out a breath of relief, relieved that Luna was finally speaking sense. Triton Fell would have his justice.

He relaxed too soon.

"We have heard thy accusations, and yet no evidence. Unrelated circumstances art all thou hast quoted so far. Doest thou have any real evidence for thy slander to submit? Any at all? No, we can see that thou do not. That Prey should be guilty because he travelled that he might visit his family on the same day, thou calls that evidence? Preposterous." Luna scoffed in derision, her freezing gaze washing over the court:

"And frankly, it has deeply concerned us that a court in our land would ever accept such baseless accusations. It is most interesting that this should be a case where the word of a rich, influential lord is brought against a commoner. As if my court was not interested in upholding their oaths of justice, but instead oaths of their own self-interest."

The judge and jury all froze in their seats, perhaps hoping if they didn't move or breathe, the Wolf's gaze would pass them over and pick someone else to be its meal. Or perhaps that Luna would leave it there, as a verbal warning. If so, they hoped in vain.

"Once again, we art disappointed. We find you all lacking. At the conclusion of this hearing, everypony of this court shall be placed on suspension, until an investigation can thoroughly be carried out to clear your names after this farce. If your names are found to not be clear however..."

Luna left the threat to hang in the air. She didn't need to finish it. If her investigation found them to be compromised, then she'd do whatever she wanted with them.

In their benches, one of the jury squeezed their eyes shut and mumbled what might've been a prayer to Celestia. Others went even paler, or even trembled. Perhaps they believed themselves innocent, or at least not culpable, but in the face of Luna? Now they were irrationally terrified by the awful certainty that their own perceived innocence wasn't good enough anymore. And then there were those who knew they were guilty, and hadn't hidden their illicit dealings well enough.

But Strange Happenstance couldn't accept that. "My cutie mark says it's him! He's the guilty one, I know it! My talent is lawful proof!"

The one thing a pony could have utter confidence in was their cutie mark, the one thing they could know made them special. Some ponies just took this empowering confidence in their own uniqueness further than others. And now Strange Happenstance was having his special talent dismissed by none other than the joint most powerful person in the whole land. A literal divine being was telling him he was wrong about his own specialness. How could he not desperately reject that?

Perhaps Luna understood that integral part of her subject’s psyche. Perhaps she didn't. But whatever her insight behind her visage of iron, she certainly did not care either way. Especially not for a pony trying to stand up to her.

"A ponies’ special talent is their destiny, made manifest by Harmony." Luna acknowledged, nodding almost imperceptibly, "Everypony has the right to the power of Harmony in their lives, and the opportunity to live to fulfil their calling. We wish to make this clear, with no room for misinterpretation; it is the destiny of all of ponykind to receive their cutie marks. From the moment the youngest foal receives this great blessing, to the oldest respected elder, all eventually do. However..."

Luna's resounding boom modulated somewhat. Perhaps it was supposed to have come out softer. If so, it wasn't as she went on; "...However, that does not mean a pony can always fully understand the destiny Harmony has laid before them. To err is equine. Everypony makes mistakes. This includes in following the subtle guiding hoof of Harmony. Oft we have sadly seen ponies not living up to their full potential. Or, such as in this case, misinterpreting it. ‘Tis all too easy to make a subtle mistake one out of ten times. How much greater the mistake then, out of a hundred times? It is often only with hindsight that we can spot when we erred in our understanding."

"No. No, I know what I feel. Please, just listen to me Princess Luna, you don't want to be mistaken when a murderer is on the line. I know I'm right!"

Luna shook her head just once, but once was all she needed. "Strange Happenstance, we disparage none of our little ponies their special callings. Be not discouraged from learning from this mistake. But in this instance, it is still a mistake on thy part."

"For the last time Princess Luna, please reconsider before-"

"This court hearing is OVER." Without a single moment more given to Strange Happenstance and his protests, Luna passed her judgement.

"Now everypony, get out of our sight."

Then, and only then, did Luna look at Prey for the first time while ponies scrambled to comply.

Prey was staring at her over the lip of the dock. His blue eyes were screwed up in confusion.

His whole body was a picture of uncertainty, his slightly shaking hooves held too close together, his drooping ears twitching, his dirty fur and wool standing on end.

"I don't understand." He mumbled plaintively.

The world kept shifting wildly sideways under his hooves. Nothing was where it should be.

Discord. Was this Discord again? Chaos was the only thing that made sense.

Or a dream twisted by Luna, a perverse punishment before she woke him up to take him to court to enact the sentence for real.

This was impossible. Theoretically possible, but also not, because he knew Luna. He'd suffered under her complete disregard for his safety and life. That was why this couldn't be happening.

Because you don't get third chances. Because the world is never, ever fair.

It was happening. It had happened. But Prey didn't believe it. There was always a price.

Enslaving him. Promising things that she never held to. Putting his unit in great unnecessary danger on her insane whims.

"I don't understand."

Mayflower. Lord Vanish. Refusing him even when he begged.

"I don't understand."

Clamping the tracer bands around his legs once again. Demanding more than a person could physically give. Drowning him in a muddy ditch.

"I don't understand."

"What is there to understand? Thou art innocent. Thus, you are free." Luna informed him. A simple statement of cold facts the way Luna saw it.

Prey didn't register that the silence bubble had been dispelled, nor that Sunshine and the second Solar Guard had backed off. Not even that he'd been repeating the same mechanical sentence out loud over and over.

"As if we would let lies and slander deface the good name of our Night Guard. Those who do their duty of protecting our great nation of Equestria should be able to do so without fear of mewling bureaucrats and simpering ne’er-do-wells rewarding such efforts with censure and prison." Luna was looking imperiously over his head, back to rigidly avoiding even glancing at him, like he was too offensive to her eye.

Her Night Guard. Her great nation. Her property. 'So that's all I am. A dog does not share its bone.'
The anger from the trial was coming back now, bubbling black and thick like tar.

Prey didn't believe it, because it was too good to be true. There was some secret agenda, hidden scheme, or simply a passing whim on Luna's part.

The air was too heavy and sluggish in his lungs. It took massive effort to draw a full breath.

Luna had saved him.

Luna had saved him?

'No. This does not make up for anything. She only saved me from the danger she threw me into. For Mayflower, for the drowning, for the humiliation, for the pain, for the death, for lying, for my mother and Fleece, and for Gloom. This makes up for none of it! Nothing is forgotten, nothing is forgiven.'

Does a right make up for a wrong? Does one right make up for a hundred wrongs? No. That has never been an equal exchange.

A husband who beats his wife, but then on the final day saves her from committing suicide as a result of his neglect does not suddenly earn a full pardon. One good deed does not redeem all the abuse and pain Luna had heaped upon him before.

'It does not excuse you, yez'?' The softened voices of Garrow, Snake, and himself murmured from the depths of his mind.

"Follow." Luna commanded. Prey reacted too late, his reaction time out of sync as Luna's midnight-blue aura snapped the hoofcuffs open with a momentary flex of power.

"Don't..." '...touch me.' But Luna had already turned away, her flowing tail billowing in front of his vision. The dock's door swung open with a tinny creak.

"Follow."

'I hate you.' Nothing was forgiven. All of this was Luna's fault to begin with.

Prey stumbled out of the dock and after Luna's retreating hooves. What choice did he have?

A wide corridor in the Upper Palace, only a few turns away from the courtroom. A few more turns and doors over, and you'd reach the Royal Palace proper, the restricted divide where the red carpets, drapes, and golden lace began.

This corridor though was more plain. One side was lined with a stretch of windows, lighting the cosier half of the wide corridor split lengthways, but leaving the other half shadowy.

A servant carrying a mop had started coming the other way but one look at the oncoming alicorn, striding at a clip that an exhausted Prey had to give it his all to keep up with, had sent the cleaning maid right around, vanishing the way she'd come.

Luna marched up to the middle of the deserted corridor then wheeled on her hooves. Prey almost fell on his front as he skidded to a stop beneath her.

They stood facing off in the shadowed half of the corridor.

Luna's staring blue eyes seemed to glow, framed in her dark face and by her ever-shifting starry mane.

Unreal.

Prey stared up at Luna. She stared straight over his head.

"Dost thou have nothing to say to us?" Luna abruptly demanded.

It felt like gears grinding to rust before Prey could deduce what she obviously meant.

"T-ttthh-" The words didn't burn. They were made of a thousand needles and thorns instead, so he spat them out, "-Thank you."

"That is not what we meant-Nay. Thou art nevertheless welcome. Of course. Thou were one of our Night Guards." Luna said stiffly, not once looking downwards to his eye level.

'Were'. Past tense. Were one of our Night Guard. Prey barely felt as if the curious words were coming out of his own mouth as he asked; "W-what is going to happen to me now?"

"Thou art one of our Night Guard." Luna repeated, as if it were simple, "Thy post is still there, that has not, it will not change."

Just return to the ISND? Go back to repeating the same thankless cycle of spiralling misery over and over again? So that was all that awaited him. Over and over and over again, the same ending.

Luna was never going to let him go. A lifetime of unending servitude. Better than death, though.

Again, the words just seemed to drift out of their own accord, "But, Gloom is-"

"Don't!" Luna's exclamation was harsh and rough, "Just don't. Do not say his name before us, not now. Not yet."

Shivers were going up and down Prey's scarred back as he stared up at Luna. The feeling of unrealness was still just as strong, but the hate was beginning to overpower it. Luna resolutely kept her head up and stared over him.

Neither of them moved, standing in the shadowed half of the silent corridor.

"I don't understand." He eventually got out.

"We do not mean to try and deprive you of his memory, Prey. He is, he was, one of ours. One of our precious Soldiers of the Night. You have every right to remember, to mourn, to claim him. You, and Crimson both."

"He died because of Clan Myrrdon," The words of hate were bubbling out now, "Because of them. Because they wanted to run away from you forever. And they killed him."

A single sound burst out of Luna. Prey couldn't tell what it was, it was too scrambled between a gasp, a whimper, a hiccup, or a keening. Too mixed to properly identify, and Luna cut it off as soon as it began.

"We don't, we don't understand them. Clan Myrrdon, we knew thy forefathers... so why? We would never have forced them. Why have they gone to such lengths?" Luna plaintively asked the air. She heaved in a breath:

"We never wanted them to hate us."

Prey backed up a step. Then another. What was this? This wasn't real. Luna was an alicorn, she never showed any remorse.

'This isn't Luna. It can't be. Something's wrong.'

For the first time, Luna's eyes finally flicked from rigidly staring ahead down to Prey's face. Just for a moment. And he didn't quite know what he saw in there. Age, and something else.

Then Luna was back to making use of her height to look over him rather than at him. Her mane drifted across half of her already shadowed face. Prey shuffled another step back.

"We are sorry, Prey."

Luna was a statue. Only her mane moved. Not even her mouth, the words were just breathed from parted lips like some ventriloquist were puppeting a Luna doll.

"We are sorry for thy loss. It has never become easier, even down all these years. It still hurts us too. It always has. We pray it always will. ‘Tis a bitter, cold comfort. Yet we art sorry. He deserved so much more… can thou forgive us, Prey? For Lord Vanish, now for Archduke Triton Fell, for Clan Myrrdon in Haven Hay, for thy and Crimson's suffering there and before? For being a naïve old mare? Can thou forgive us?"

Too little, too late. Luna's apology couldn't change reality. And it didn't excuse all of her abuse and crimes. Because for all Luna's apologizing, her professed remorse, Prey was still her unwilling prisoner.

She'd still clapped the tracer bands back on him the moment he'd returned. He was still just her slave on a leash. They could never come to an understanding with that disparity of power.

The strong take, and the weak suffer. Myrrdon had taken. Then he'd taken. Now Luna was taking. It was the cycle.

So Prey looked Luna right in the eye when she finally glanced back down, and lied to her face.

"Yes."

Luna's lips quirked up in the ghost of an expression unfamiliar to her face, "Thank you. We almost even believed that." She said wetly.

Prey started in fear. She'd caught him in the lie!

"Ahh," Luna almost groaned, "That thou, a burdened foal, who has already sacrificed so much for our country, still seeks to put our wellbeing ahead of his own, how badly we have failed thee."

"That's..." Prey couldn't find the words to put Luna's further misunderstanding into context. In fact it was better for him if he didn't.

"Fret not, Prey. We art thy Princess of the Night. It is our duty to bear thy enmity, as thou art one of our most loyal Soldiers of the Night. We care not if some distant stranger should disparage us, for they are nothing to us. But we shall treasure thy enmity, if it means that in some small part, we may still be worthy of thy loyalty. That is what it means to be somepony's Princess. The right to their love if so earned, and also the right to their hate if so earned."

'Oh how poignantly noble. How self-sacrificing and righteous of the immortal, all-powerful alicorn to say to the runt lamb slave.' Prey viciously mocked internally, even as on the outside he couldn't stop his body from betraying him by shivering. Because this was not the Luna he knew, because she was showing a sliver of mortal emotion, and because what if she regretted this later and took back her word?

The constant flowing and rippling of Luna's nebula mane slowed. Not a muscle moved under her dark fur, but for a moment it seemed as if she was gathering herself with a force of will, "Love and hate. Rise and set. Light and dark. Well do we know that each flows into the next. But what we have learnt after a thousand years away, is to embrace both with joy. For where there is any hate, there can be love. And where there is any dark, there can also be light. Thou art one of ours Prey, not our sisters', and shall find you always have a place in our night."

Luna began to turn away, affecting what was probably supposed to be a comforting or upbeat tone, "Take heart. Take the time thou needs to grieve. Let it strengthen you. Have confidence in thyself, never doubt that thou art strong enough. Now, go. We know that Crimson doth eagerly await you outside our Palace's gates. We highly doubt thou could wish to hoard the news of thy acquittal, when he is so sorely in need of some good news. Now go on, we shall speak again soon enough."

And just like that, Luna left him standing there as she strode away to get back to ruling her country. Or perhaps to sleep. It was the morning after all, not the dominion of her night anymore. The sun was high outside instead. Prey never had learnt if an alicorn actually needed sleep, or simply just enjoyed it.

He stood there in the palace corridor, finally alone.

When the choice was returning to slavery in the ISND, or going back to Dreverton, he knew which he would pick. Only one of those two had the chance for continued freedom. Only one of them had a friend in it. Crimson.

Prey didn't know what the future held. He hadn't thought he'd have a future after today.

But suddenly there was sand in the hourglass, the gears started their stuttering tick, and the future existed again. It was vast, and unknown, and terrifying. How would they even be able to work without Gloom?

No more Gloom.

It hit him again, then, and he almost started crying all over again.

No more well-meaning if misguided concern. No more flashes of dry humour. No more bond of shared survival. No more unquestioning trust.

Scenic, Lilly, and the others. They were going to have to be the ones to break the news. And then, travel all the way out to Gloom's clan for the same reason. The promise of what had once been going to be a holiday, now reduced to a grim duty. But despite all that, there was a future again.

If you were still alive, then there was hope.

Cruel, unkind, painful hope.

Utterly addictive hope.

'Free.'

Prey absently raised his hoof up before his face. He turned it this way and that in the sunlight, just his hoof crossing the divide of shadow down the middle of the corridor. Free. Well, not free, the golden tracer band caught the light and danced spots painfully across his eyes, but at least free from prison.

This all still felt so much like a dream. But the returning hunger in his stomach now that he no longer had the threat of Luna hanging over him was telling him this was real. The thirst and the beckoning void of sleep were real, too. He’d had precious little of all of it for far too long.

The white fur on his leg was still dirty, he observed. And the regrown fur over the uneven poison burn scars on his face felt especially manky and matted. For that matter, all of his fur and wool felt filthy, as seaside dirt had worked its way through all of it. Storm-rain and time had brought the scarlet staining of Gloom back to faint blushing pink swatches on his white leg fur, but undoubtedly Crimson would be able smell it when meeting him regardless.

'I really want a hot shower. And breakfast. Breakfast then a shower. Breakfast, a shower, Crimson, and some proper sleep. And a whole bag of candy.'

He could face the world again, along with all its uncaring fairness, after that.

Luna had left him alone to make his own way out of the Palace. Not a hard task, even if he'd never been in this particular stretch of the Upper Palace before, he'd of course memorised the floor plans available to the Night Guard. And she'd said Crimson was waiting at the gates. She'd probably actually meant the Guard Compound's gates, not the main gates.

Prey started back down the corridor, ambling at his own slow pace to a set of downward stairs at an intersection by the end of the sunlit half. His hooves were still rather sore from yesterday. But he'd get there in his own time.

And then Strange Happenstance stepped around the far corner and into Prey's path.

Neither of them moved as they faced the other down. The stretch of half sunlit corridor separated them.

Strange was just staring intensely at him from beneath his lowered hat brim, but not making any other move.

Ever so slowly, Prey tilted his head, mockingly half closing his eyes at the unicorn.

'You've shot your quiver, and missed every arrow. Now it’s my turn. I'm going to hunt you down once you leave the safety of these walls.'

Strange's face was twitching. Prey didn't care about whatever hateful hurt words he was here to spew, what promises of revenge, he only watched the unicorn's horn. He was beyond Strange's political reach now.

Then the double doors halfway down the corridor between them clicked open. Prey heard the gaggle of voices, ponies addressing or asking questions in a respectful tone.

For just a moment Prey saw the grin of complete victory on Strange's face, before he vanished as the great patterned oak doors swung open, acting as a barrier and cutting off his vision.

Strange Happenstances. Unusual coincidences. Suspicious timings. It was no great stretch of the imagination to figure out that Strange's name had always been a direct derivative of his special talent, like quite a few ponies were so named. Like at the café at the Green Cockatrice, what if Strange could literally contrive to create such happenstances? Not just take advantage of being in the right place at the right time, but actually pull strings as his cutie mark hinted to make unusual circumstances align?

Or like in this case, following Prey, and then simply just standing in Prey's path to stall him for a minute? Just a minute, so that Prey would still be standing in the corridor when the double doors opened.

A grey unicorn in a crisp Palace servant’s uniform backed out of the door first, holding the door open, levitating a list of papers in her aura, asking something of her superior.

"-decide on the fifteenth or sixteenth?"

Gold. A flowing rainbow. Tall. Dwarfing the secretary, bigger even than Carton Juice. Huge white feathered wings. Fur so glossy-white and perfect it glowed. A glittering crown.

Princess Celestia turned as she stepped out into the corridor, addressing her retinue of smaller servants as they hurried to hear her will.

"The sixteenth will do nicely Raven-Oh?"

The Wolf spied their Prey frozen in the middle of the corridor. She looked right at him.

Prey didn't remember how to breathe. All he wanted was to cease to be there.

A flicker passed through those vivid magenta eyes, a sudden spark of realisation being made. The huge alicorn's beautiful face smoothed out.

Prey was deaf to all but his thundering heart. He lip-read the soundless words being spoken, not heard.

"Everypony leave me. Sweep the Palace and the grounds. I must deal with this emergency."

Fighting through molasses, Prey turned to run. The world shifted under his hooves as everything moved sideways once more.

The baking warmth of golden summer light blinded him. It picked him up, his cloven hooves losing contact with the floor.

The flash and crack of displaced air, and Prey and the solar alicorn were gone. Forgotten, a blue silk ribbon lazily drifted down to the polished marble.

Sorry. 😅 Another cliff hanger. But we're getting there. (I still miss Gloom in the writing, though)

⭐ Editor ⭐ Panem et Circenses
(EDIT: greenface made this funny short comic thing. It's already in the comments but maybe you missed it. 😇)