Not all trials could be completed in a day. The tactician's case was one of them. The judges sat with the book perched between them, a compelling bit of evidence. "Now," started the human justice. "We cannot be certain this has not been tampered with after his capture."

"To what end?" argued Ruddertail, shrugging. "Already admit crimes big enough to hang. Why hide this one?"

Novo nodded in agreement. "It does defy logic, and that bull didn't have that appearance... I'm more interested in what it says than to chase the idea that he may have fabricated some of it."

The pony reached for it, drawing it closer with a hoof. "Beside that, if what is written is true, he planned to succeed where he failed. He had sent a great many more soldiers to Canterlot, every single one we faced across the country. The Wonder Bolts would have been shot out of the sky in short order, and none other even... aware... before it all came crashing down. Instead we had a pitiful scrap and a near aborted lunge at what should have been, by all rights, their priority target."

The justice tapped his fingers lightly. "If we accept this at face value, it lessens the number of crimes committed, but hardly exonerates him."

Novo raised a taloned hand. "Are we not here to look for the truth, and see justice done? I believe him. He did not seek to harm the other pony cities, but he should be remembered for what he intended to do, and what he did." She reached for the book and the pony surrendered it. She flipped quickly. "I find his plans for the lutrai were equally disrupted, or simply not followed. He had wanted you dead, above any other. He even included orders to leave as soon as it was done. They were to move for America and reinforce their presence there the moment the deed was completed."

Ruddertail snorted powerfully. "Not care." Her eyes went to the human justice. "No 'evidence' say he not plan your people's hurt. You kill?"

The human justice folded his hands neatly. "I will see he is punished for the part he played, but I would not be so quick to become apathetic. Not following his original plan resulted in a catastrophic loss of your people, did it not?"

"I already want him dead," she hissed. "What more is there?"

Novo set the book down on the table between them. "I would know who or what caused these soldiers to do this. In America, it was clearly planned, but the other targets become a fractured, but seemingly intentional, chaos outside the hand of the planners back home."

"It is a shame." Eyes turned to the female bull. "He was a bright bull, wise most said. But he was too proud to step down from his position, to relinquish his duty when those above him became corrupt. We are diminished, but this is the way it must be."

Things became quiet a moment. It was hard to not notice she was already speaking of the accused in the past tense.

The judges sat in their chairs. The court was regathered and ready. The human justice directed his gavel at the tactician. "After due consideration, we accept your words. You are innocent of war crimes committed in Equestria and in the lutrai lands. Let the record show your intentions for Canterlot, which you have admitted to, as well as three charges of planned murder of a head of state."

"I will not argue this," stated the bull, sitting up straight. "I was doing my duty to the best of my ability."

"That is no excuse." The gavel came down in a smart slap. "We, humans, have faced this before. The idea of following orders that breach laws is abhorrent and will not provide legal defense. You were in full awareness of how deplorable the actions you planned were. You made this clear. It was the desperate act of a desperate nation that could not bring victory, only a moment of petty vengeance."

Novo softly cleared her throat. "Be that as it may, we are in agreement. You are guilty of conspiracy to commit over a hundred cases of terrorism. An exact number will be recorded at a later date. You are guilty of ordering your soldiers to attack civilians and targets not directly involved in the conflict. These are truths that cannot be denied."

"And they won't be." He set his hands down flat on his stand. "So now I die? I do have one final argument to put forward."

The judges glanced at one another before the human justice nodded. "Proceed."

"With our gross lack of intelligence regarding your country, but full awareness that your population is armed to a level that no other nation could even hope to compete with, how would any country mount an attack on you without committing a 'war crime'? Is it not convenient on your part that you have created an impossible scenario, where a 'civilian' is not to be harmed, but any of them could attack a trained soldier and possibly win? Outnumbered and outgunned, I posit that my soldiers had no choice but to assume everyone was a threat, because anyone could have been. If you--"

The noise in the hall was raising dangerously, threatening to drown out his words. The human justice struck his gavel, but it wasn't enough on the first hit, forcing him to keep banging. "Order! Order in the court or you will be removed from it. We will have order!"

The noise died down and eyes were on the bull, but it was the human justice that spoke, "You assume that we have not been abiding by these rules ourselves, we have. In wars of our own, we have faced unknown masses. Most innocent, enough not, but such that following our own rules put our own soldiers at risk constantly, for decades. And yet, we did anyway. Why? Because it is right, and if we didn’t then how could we expect others to?"

"We did not want this war," countered the bull. "As has already come to light, we were deceived. We believed ourselves the defenders, so there was little choice presented to us. Caught in a conflict we thought we could not avoid, we acted with what we had."

The bull judge stood suddenly. "Then why was the chance for peace not taken, when it was offered? You could have made the humans look foolish or revealed their murderous intent, if you were so sure they had it. All you had to do was accept the peace they were offering and let them make the next move."

The tactician signed softly. "It is not my job, or within my ability, to accept or deny such things. Nothing I did would have changed that. I will not accept responsibility for the actions of my superior, but I will live, and die, for my own actions. I have said my peace. Do as you will."

The justice nodded gravely. "We are aware of the circumstances that led to this regretful outcome, but you were told only that we were 'preparing for an attack', an attack that never came until after your forces struck first, an attack I presume you planned?"

"I did."

Another potential crime admitted, though there were enough extenuating circumstances to not make it worth raising at that instant. "Perhaps that time could have been better spent gathering information on your own, or even reaching out towards us. We had not closed communication with you or your country. Trade had still been operating at that time. You made a decision, and it was not for peace, and it led to this." He looked to the other judges. "Agreement?"

"Agreement," they all echoed one by one.

The female bull rose to her hooves, hands clasped in front of herself. "I will do what I can, to see your family is cared for. I am sorry it came this way. As a calf, I looked up to you. In the battle of the Split Hoof, you saved so many creature's lives and avoided further bloodshed. You were a hero... I'm sorry." She sat back down.

The sentence was given. Death. He walked from the courtroom with the same determined pride that had carried him into it, and down the paths that led to the moment.

They worked through the rank and file, but none cared to, or potentially simply couldn't, offer any clues as to who ordered the attack to go wide in Equestria and in the lutrai lands. It didn't help that those who had gone to attack the otters had been killed to a last. It had cost the defenders dearly, but their land was entirely free of aggressors at the end of the day, with no quarter given.

This left those captured by Americans and the ponies. "You were captured during your attack on Fillydelphia, is this correct?" asked the dour mare, peering down at the accused.

"That is correct." The weasel on the stand was worrying his fingers in a nervous fidget, glancing around wildly. "Please don't hurt me..."

A lawyer approached. "If the ponies you were attacking asked for the same thing, would you have granted it?"

The weasel swallowed heavily. "I... I did! I swear. A scared stallion. I... I couldn't do it. He begged me, um, and I shooed him out of sight."

Murmurs spread through the crowd. The lawyer was unmoved. "But you did kill others?"

"No! No, I swear! I, um..." He had moved on to biting at his claws. "The money seemed nice, but then when we arrived, the ponies were... screaming. It wasn't fun anymore. I couldn't hurt them... Oh... their eyes. Even when they were... When they were dead, they looked at me." He broke into tears, piteous sobs. "I couldn't hurt them!" He collapsed forward, face buried in his arms. "I'm sorry!"

The defense lawyer raised a hand. "I would like to bring the court's attention to evidence." With a nod of agreement from the judges, soon a letter was displayed on a large screen.

To Whom it May Concern,

During the attack, one of them rounded a corner and ran into me. I... might have watered the sidewalk grass. But they didn't hurt me. They pushed me out of sight and told me to be quiet. I heard them talk to their friends, telling them there were no ponies there. I heard they were in trouble and I wanted to write this letter.

If you ever see this, thank you.

New murmurs spread through the audience as everyone read the words displayed.

The lawyer gestured to them. "While this creature may have joined intending to do harm, their conscience got the better of them before they could commit any crimes. They did exactly as we hope soldiers faced with illegal commands would do, acting against them to the best of their ability. This is a soldier we should be celebrating, not trying."

The dour mare's face warmed into a soft smile. "Equestria would welcome you. You've already made a friend, it would seem. Thank you, for listening to your better half, and I would hope you never pick up a weapon again."

"Agreement," spoke Novo with a soft nod.

Ruddertail shrugged softly. "Agreement."

The bull judge smiled as the mare had. "It is a great relief that some good natures emerged during this trying period. With great pleasure do I agree."

"Nooo!" The weasel sobbed all the louder. "You're still going to kill me?!"

The human justice leaned forward a little. "While we have agreed to such sentences, be at ease. We are agreeing that you are innocent and to be released. Bailiff, please see this creature away to rest and recover. He may leave when he feels ready."

With a sharp slap of the gavel, the court was sent into a recess. There were so many others to question.

Author's Notes:

Any other particular people who yet still live that you want to see on the stand?

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