The courtroom was a flurry of movement within seconds, everypony jumping to their hooves and the guards leaping forward with their spears at the ready. Before they could reach her, however, they found themselves slammed roughly against the walls of the room by black tendrils emanating from Dimmed Star's puddle that had begun to fill the floor of the courtroom, stopping just short of the council table.

"Release her at once!" Business Savvy yelled out, his face twisted in anger as he glared daggers at her. Dimmed Star glanced to him for a moment, before turning back to Celestia, who stood with her uninjured wing flared and her horn alight in a golden aura.

"Do you want to do this the easy way, or the hard way?" Celestia watched her carefully, the magic around her horn slowly fading as she took in the situation that lay before her.

'She's taken a hostage and has already covered the floor in that dark magic... even if I were to bring the full force of my power down on her, the potential devastation she could cause before I could subdue her would be far too risky.' She contemplated as she glanced over the pool of liquid and the now frantically squirming Hasty. With a deep breath, she nodded to Dimmed Star and lowered herself back into her seat.

"Everypony relax... She isn't going to hurt anypony..." Although her tone carried with it the authority of her command, it also held a small undertone of uncertainty. Slowly, the other ponies in the room began to take their seats once more, looks of worry and no small amount of fear shared among them.

"ARE YOU BUCKING KIDDING ME!?" Celestia snapped her gaze to a still standing and very irate Business Savvy. His wild eyes glared daggers between her and Dimmed Star.

"You're not going to do anything!?" He screamed to Celestia who hardened her gaze upon him. Most of the other council members looked unsure, however, the pegasus stallion on the other side of the table who had also not taken his seat chose to voice his own misgivings.

"I agree. Although I believe it can be handled in a more civilized manner, we can't just sit here while the prisoner has escaped her bonds and taken a council member hostage." The pegasus stallion, a light blue pegasus wearing a wonderbolt veteran jacket spoke as he glanced cautiously to Dimmed Star.

"Surely you could do something to remedy this?" He asked as he turned his attention back to the princess, only to be taken aback as she glared at the two of them.

"Sit. Down." She ordered, her eyes burning with a subtle bit of solar magic. Her anger and frustration had finally begun to boil to the surface. The pegasus, Wind Rider, swallowed nervously before nodding and taking his seat. Turning her glowing gaze from him, she turned to the fuming form of Business Savvy who glared back, not intimidated by her power.

"If you think I'm going to just sit here while that THING is free, you have another thing coming, Princess!" He shouted, vehemence clear in his voice. The response that met him, however, did not come from the one he had expected.

"If you don't want to be here, then allow me to show you the door!" Snapping his head forward, he just caught the malicious grin across Dimmed Star's face, before he found himself within her tendrils’ grasp. He yelped as he was yanked into the air above them. She had had enough of this stallion’s attitude, and insulting her had only worsened her mood.

"Dimmed Star!" Celestia called out, causing her to stop her actions and look to the princess curiously.

"Put him down, please?" She asked carefully, the magic in her gaze having faded as she took on a pleading look. Dimmed Star growled for a moment, before shrugging her shoulders and releasing the stallion, dropping him back to the floor with a heavy thud.

"As you wish, Celestia." Celestia flinched at the casual use of her name from the pony who once treated her title with all the reverence she would have given to a loved one. Business Savvy scrambled to his hooves, shaking with fury.

"H-ho-how d-dare yo-you..." He stumbled over his own words as he glared at Dimmed Star, who merely stuck her tongue out at him. Grinding his teeth, he turned and bolted past her and towards the doors of the room.

"I-I won't stay f-for this farce any l-longer!" He proclaimed, throwing the doors open and sprinting from the room. Dimmed Star looked after him with a raised brow, before turning back to the princess and remaining council members.

"What crawled up his ass?" She asked casually, as though she hadn't just threatened to throw him from the room herself. Celestia only sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, rubbing her temple with her fore-hoof.

"You will have to forgive our fellow council member his outburst, he has a good reason to be upset." Dimmed Star directed her gaze to Fancy Pants, who studied her carefully.

"Oh? Well, whatever it is I'm sure it's something that could be-"

"You killed his only son." Dimmed Star stopped at that, a momentary pause as she considered this turnout with mild confusion, before shrugging it off and pressing onward.

"I... see." She spoke softly. An awkward silence stretched for a few moments.

"Princess?" The quiet voice would not have been heard, had it not been so silent. Celestia looked to see Twilight Velvet was now standing in the pews, a bit of confusion showing on her face.

"Yes, Mrs. Sparkle?" She addressed her, giving her the floor. Twilight Velvet shuffled in place nervously, glancing between Dimmed Star and the princess.

"Y-you called Twilight by another name... was that an accident?" She asked carefully. She stumbled over her words slightly, unsure as to how she should have posed the question. Celestia's response began with a shaking of her head.

"No, Mrs. Sparkle, there was no mistake." Turning from her, she addressed the room as a whole.

"Forgive me for not mentioning this earlier, but I suppose there is no time quite like the present. Mares and gentlecolts, may I introduce you to Miss Dimmed Star, formerly known as Twilight Sparkle." Dimmed Star smiled brightly as everypony looked to her, some in confusion, others uncertain.

"Nice to meet you all." Dimmed Star grinned at them. Standing from her seated position, she took to walking in a casual circle around her hapless victim, who watched her as best as she could with wide and fearful eyes.

"Now that introductions and most of the drama is out of the way, I'll go ahead and get to the point. I want to go home to Ponyville." She stopped just behind Hasty, not looking at any of them, but rather studying the mare's absurdly pink clothes. The council members looked to her in bewilderment, while Celestia looked contemplative.

"You can't be serious? You expect us to just let you walk out of here?" Wind Rider demanded, his wings half flared as he glared at the mare. Did her arrogance know no bounds? Dimmed Star didn't even bother to look up from what she was doing, as she had now taken Hasty's fuzzy pink hat from her head and was rolling it around in her hooves.

"I understand that you don't want to be imprisoned, Miss... Star? But as Wind Rider says, we can't simply let you walk out a free mare." Fancy Pants placed his hooves before him on the table, resting his chin on them.

"Before you all start bickering over what is morally right and wrong and how this should be handled, I want you all to consider something." She took the pink hat, now covered in black stains, and placed it upon her own head as she began to walk around the room, her eyes flitting to each member.

"You are all acting under the assumption that I am the villain. But let's think back to what actually happened at the wedding yesterday." She came to a stop in front of the Jury booth where the Element Bearers watched her carefully. She glanced among them, taking in their expressions of hope and trepidation. Despite the pang of anger and some remorse that threatened to show on her face, she kept it from showing and turned away from them, making her way around the edge of her puddle.

"How about you ask any one of the five witnesses there? I'm sure that they could elaborate." She nudged her head in the direction of the Elements, who looked surprised at being thrust to the center of attention.

"How about you, Celestia? I'm sure you remember what happened." Her tone carried with it a spike of venom as her piercing eyes bore into Celestia's own. Celestia shivered as she thought back to the day before when those same eyes were filled with a bloodlust that could not be sated.

"Yes... I remember." Dimmed Star nodded, looking away and continuing her path around the room.

"If I can recall, Cadence arrived before me and no doubt called out the imposter. Huh, the Cadence at the wedding was a fake, who'd have guessed?" She shot a seething look to the princess and her friends, all of whom flinched in shame. Ignoring their reactions, she once more found herself next to Hasty, circling her once more.

"When I did arrive, the imposter, a Changeling might I add, was neck-deep in battle with the princess and two others. It was during this conflict that I took the opportunity to get behind the imposter, capturing her..." It was at this point that the ponies in the room grew concerned. Dimmed Star's voice had grown darker than before as she thought back to when she had vengeance within her grasp. Her form shifted slightly, the ruined pink hat falling from her head and to the floor where she carelessly stepped on it.

"I had her... I had her... the imposter, who had threatened all of Canterlot, who had taken my brother hostage and imprisoned somepony I considered a sister... who had turned my friends and mentor against me and then locked me away in the dark..." Her eyes were unfocused as she glared at an invisible adversary. Her lips splitting open slightly and her sharpened teeth flashing before them. The ponies in the room all felt their blood run cold. Celestia stood carefully, watching the mare intensely, only to flinch back when her unfocused gaze locked onto her own.

"But then... just as I was about to deal with her, I was stopped." She snarled out as she glared at the princess, who felt a bead of sweat drip from her brow.

'If she attacks me, I'll have no choice but to defend myself, but the others could get caught in the crossfire...' She frantically thought about how to diffuse the situation. Dimmed Star glared for a moment longer, the tension in the air thick and heavy. However, just as suddenly as the malice had come, it faded. She slowly returned to her base form as she looked to the princess impassively.

"You took away my chance for revenge, Celestia. You stopped me from getting justice and terminating a threat to Equestria." Turning away from her, she sighed and continued her path around the room. Celestia released a breath she hadn't realized she had taken and sat back down.

"I had the enemy in my grasp and was ready to end her, but then I was viciously attacked by the princess herself." Celestia felt her ears drop as she remembered her actions.

"But, I had no idea that it was you... You must understand, when you came through the wall, the form that you took... it wasn't exactly..." She wasn't sure how she would have described the horrific image of the demonic Dimmed Star crawling out of the wall, Dimmed Star herself nodded idly.

"True, I never proclaimed my identity. However, the fact remains that you attacked me unprovoked, with lethal force." She glared at the princess who only felt smaller.

"Are you trying to sell us a self-defense plea?" Wind Rider asked incredulously. His expression of disbelief spoke volumes. Dimmed Star broke her gaze from the princess to give him a once over, making him feel very self-conscious once he realized that she was quite close to him now.

"I'm not pleading anything. It's a fact." She stated as she turned away from him, making her way back to the center of the room.

"Think of it this way, in a situation where two parties are fighting one another when a third party is introduced, you would have to quickly assume whether that party is friend or foe. What normally determines this factor is the object of that party's ire. The phrase that best fits a situation like this would be, ' the enemy of my enemy is my friend.'" Now standing once more in the center of the room.

"Taking what you have said, as well as the witness reports before us, into account; your argument is valid." Fancy Pants nodded towards her.

"However, what of the dozen's of Canterlot Guards that you slew after the fact?" Dimmed Star only stared back at him, the confusion in her mind returning.

"I'll be honest with you, I don't really remember doing that." Fancy Pants raised an eyebrow at this but motioned for her to continue.

"The last thing that I recall prior to waking up within the dungeons, was crying into the chest of my older brother." Celestia's eyes widened in surprise.

'That was when that third eye had appeared.' She thought back as she remembered the glaring red orb that had split the skin beneath her student's horn. Its black pupil had burned into her eyes with a malice almost palpable.

'I had thought that she had feigned those emotions at the time, perhaps I was mistaken?' Dimmed Star looked from Fancy Pants to her, catching her gaze. For a moment, in those black orbs that even now held a great anger directed towards her, she could see a glinting of confusion.

"I believe you." The ponies of the courtroom gasped in shock and surprise. Wind Rider himself seemed the most disturbed by this.

"Your majesty, with all due respect. You can't be serious?" She did not bother to look at him as she kept her gaze locked with Dimmed Star's.

"I have been alive for a very long time, Wind Rider. I've met with Minotaurs, conversed with Griffons, debated with Dragons and once bested a Sphinx in a contest of Riddles where the victor would be given the rights to an egg long dormant." She stated in a matter of fact tone, turning her eyes to him as she stared him down. Wind Rider nodded slowly, before raising his hoof in light protest.

"That may be your highness, but you are also biased in this case, which is why you do not have any ruling in this Hearing. Not only that, but the mare before us now is nothing like how your former student was. She is ruthless and no doubt cunning. If she is even half as intelligent as she was before this change, then there can be no question that she could trick you just as easily as any of us." Turning from the princess, he gave a nod towards Dimmed Star as Celestia thought this over.

'He has a point, she is not the same Twilight that I knew before... but still... I want to believe that there can be a chance.' She looked longingly towards her former pupil as Dimmed Star watched the council member with bored eyes.

"You say that you don't remember killing the guards, but what of the Captain of the Guard, Shining Armor? Do you remember what you did to him, your own brother?" Wind Rider pressed on. Dimmed Star felt her eyes widen in surprise, for the first moment since she woke up in the dungeons, suddenly she felt worry and a sense of dread building within her chest. The Ink beneath her reflected this as it quivered lightly, Hasty Vote clenching her eyes shut as she felt the liquid almost tighten around her.

'Do you remember what you did to him, your own brother?' The question echoed within her mind, only causing her worry to rise. Celestia and her friends watched her face twist from one of a calm demeanor to an expression of worry that they were all too familiar with.

"Where is he... where is Shining...?" Her voice was low, just above a whisper, and it quivered with the weight of her dread. Wind Rider had the decency to blink at this sudden change in her. Did she really not remember after all?

"He's... in a coma, here in the medical wing of the Castle, under armed guard." It was Celestia who answered, catching Dimmed Star's attention. Her eyes widened and her grasp over Hasty Vote tightened further causing the mare to squeal audibly as she struggled against the tendrils around her. The ponies in the room watched her with worry, some concerned for the life she held in her tendrils, some fearful for their own lives as they made to back away, and the few who were concerned for Dimmed Star herself.

"What did... I do...?" She could barely bring herself to ask, her voice barely above a whisper. Any answer to her question was muted however as her mind began to burn through a multitude of scenarios, all of them being drawn from what speculations she had made from their conversation. Her thoughts racing through the many ways she could have put him in this state, she felt her stomach churn and the small meal she had before threatened to revisit her. Her mind had gone from a calm and confident state to one filled with worry and a drowning sense of guilt. The darkest parts of her mind seemed to expand, trying to claw its way back from the depths that the Element of Magic had forced it too. It could feel the host's emotions in turmoil and it sought to drive her back into a state of madness.

Her eyes were clenched shut, Ink trailing from them, staining her fur as static drowned out any sound around her. The voices of the council members were naught but noise now.

'Shining... Shining...' She begged in her heart that he was alright, no longer paying attention to those around her. Suddenly, her cold body felt warmer and her body felt heavier, as though something held her.

Snapping her eyes open, she stared in shock as she found herself within the embrace of one she had thought she'd kill if she ever got in her way again. Celestia, still bandaged and now covered up to her ankles in Dimmed Star's Ink, had braved the situation and now held the mare in her own hooves.

"It's not your fault, Twilight..." She whispered into her ear. Dimmed Star tried to respond, but no words would come. The madness in her mind slowly subsided as a warm light pushed it back to the darkness.

"You weren't in control. Whatever did this to you, it had taken over completely." Dimmed Star did not relax into her, despite how warm she felt, how safe she felt.

"Thank you, Celestia." Celestia accepted her thanks with a light nuzzle above her mane, which Dimmed Star quickly pulled away from. Taking steps back from her, Dimmed Star took a deep breath and released it, relaxing herself.

"Thank you, again. But I remind you, my name is Dimmed Star." Celestia felt her heart drop a little, but not as much as it had before. She nodded towards her, signaling her acceptance. Dimmed Star hesitated for a moment, before nodding back.

'I need to find a way to control my emotional state better... this is getting out of hoof.' She thought as she dwelled on how she very nearly fell into despair. Celestia did not move from where she stood, watching her with no small amount of concern, Dimmed Star studied her silently.

'To think she still holds out hope for me...' The sound of a loud bell rung out from somewhere outside of the courtroom, startling everypony. Looking out the window, Dimmed Star could see that the rain clouds had finally begun to part and it was now reaching midday. She could have sworn that these proceedings had been going on for far longer.

"Perhaps we should call it a day and revisit this tomorrow?" Fancy Pants asked carefully as he looked to the watch on his hoof. Most everypony in the room sounded an agreement.

"No." Everypony turned to look at Dimmed Star in shock as she had turned her back to them, now facing the doors of the courtroom.

"Excuse me? Did you just say no?" Wind Rider asked incredulously. Dimmed Star didn't bother to even grace him with her gaze as she began to walk towards the doors, Celestia taking a step forward after her, only to stop herself as she bit her lip in thought and worry.

"I'm done with this game. I'm going to check on my brother, collect my things, and then I'm getting on the next train back to Ponyville for awhile. Then, I have an insect to squash." She spoke with conviction, a growl rumbling within her throat as thoughts of what she would do when she caught up to the Changeling Queen filled her mind. Her pool of Ink drew itself back into her hooves quickly so as not to be left behind, the tendrils wrapped around Hasty Vote tossing the mare aside as they withdrew. Hasty gasped for air as though she had been deprived of it while crawling her way to the back of the room as quickly as she could, shaking all the while.

"You can't just leave! You're a criminal who killed dozens and cost thousands of bits in government property damage!" Wind Rider protested. Dimmed Star stopped as she reached the door, slowly turning her head to glare at him, before her face twisted into a wicked grin, flashing her sharp teeth.

"Then stop me." She said in a sing-song voice, her multiple tones only serving to make it seem more of a threat than a suggestion, as she pushed forward and phased right through the door itself, leaving a pitch-black stain on its surface. The ancient carved wood creaked and groaned as it began to crack and split from the epicenter of the stain, black veins of her Ink spider-webbing across its surface.

The room stared in shock after her, before the sound of hooves drew their attention.

"Don' y'all worry now, we'll keep an eye on her Princess!" Applejack shouted as she ran past the princess, tipping her hat towards her before sprinting for the door, Rainbow Dash hot on her hoofs.

"And I will keep an eye on them, your majesty." Rarity offered as she stopped to bow to the still surprised Princess, before pressing on with a bouncing Pinkie and trotting Fluttershy.

"We've got this!" Pinkie shouted back just as the doors closed behind them. Celestia blinked after them, before chuckling softly to herself.

"I hardly see this as a laughing matter, your highness!" The shrill voice of Hasty Vote erupted next to her, making her jump in surprise. The mare looked to have seen better days. Her once pink and fuzzy outfit was now almost completely stained black, along with much of her peach-colored fur. Her hat was still on the ground, now nothing more than a black lump of cloth and that strange liquid that came from her former student.

"I agree, this has to be dealt with, Princess. You need to rally the guard and have her taken back to the dungeons at once." Wind Rider spoke from her other side, his gaze was not as wild as his fellow council member's, but it was stern nonetheless. Celestia openly sighed before them, before straightening herself and glaring down at the two of them.

"You wish for me order the remaining members of the guard to retrieve a pony who can walk through walls, use magic despite having had limiter rings placed upon her, and capable of who knows what else, all the while being able to heal herself from scraps after being blasted apart by one of my strongest spells, resistant to any other magic we have tried and has a craving for flesh." The two looked ready to say something, only to stop as their minds raced to find a solution to these problems. Celestia snarled as she turned from them, her mane and tail whipping in an imaginary wind.

"Foals, the both of you. What do you think would happen if I were to do such a thing? We would have a repeat of yesterday and then where would we be?" She made her way around the table and back towards her seat. As she took it once more, she heard the doors to the courtroom open and looked to see Dimmed Star's parents silently leaving the room. Twilight Velvet glanced back just before the door closed and caught her gaze. The two shared it for a moment before the door sealed shut, bits of it chipping and falling to the floor.

"You have excellent points your majesty, but they are right as well. We can't just let her wander Equestria unsupervised." Fancy Pants stated as he held his eyeglass aloft in his magic, a white cloth working to clean it. Celestia looked to him for a moment as she contemplated this.

'I already know this, but what could I do that she would not see as an act of aggression?' She wondered. Hearing a groan, she looked over to see one of the guards finally waking from his impromptu nap. Her eyes widened for a moment before a smile graced her lips.

"Oh, I think I'll have that covered." The council members looked to the guard, confused, as he finally stood up, looking around.

"Di-did I miss something?" He asked in confusion.

Author's Notes:

Dimmed Star: * Is munching on the end of a large bone while reading over Twilight's shoulder.* So, he finally finished it eh?

Twilight: Yep, I was very, ' persuasive' last time.

Dimmed Star: Oh I can tell. * Drops the bone she was munching on, only to pick up a fresh piece of meat.* So who has the disclaimer this time?

Twilight: Well the recording I had of him got erased when I was recording a lecture on the creation of magical golems, so I guess it'll have to be one of us. I did it last time, even if it was just a recording.

Dimmed Star: * groans in annoyance around the bit of flesh* Dammit, guess that's me then. Shaded Blood does not own MLP: FIM or the Equinox Ponies. There, are we forgetting anything?

Twilight: Uh, lemme see. * Pulls up a list* Hm, post the chapter, check. Do the disclaimer, check. Revive Shaded with necromancy.... we can do that later.

Dimmed Star: How do you even know any Necromancy?

Twilight: * Flash backs of her goth stage in her teen years.* Uh... we don't really have enough time for that, eh heh. * Ahem* Ah here we are, the last item is to introduce the new guy.

Dimmed Star: Oh yea, forgot about him.

Twilight: A special thanks to Kuunlehti! for Proof reading this chapter.... You didn't eat Shaded's head yet did you? I need that for the Necromancy spell.

Dimmed Star: Nah, it's in the fridge still... you don't think he'll be upset that I ate his leg do you?

Twilight: He'll be fine.