Chapter 4:  Trial and dragon part I

"Well... eh... um... I really wish we could have just deal with things peacefully, I honestly don't like to fight. But when I saw my friends in danger I... did what it had to be done. I am not proud of it, I cried for hours after hurting those monsters. But it was the only way to save my friends."  Princess Megan Fluttershy of Equestria  

JANUARY 1, 1000 AD

The trio instantly emerged at the teleportation machine at the Millennium fair grounds. No one was around. The air was crisp, and the trees were green. There were no knights or monsters hanging around. It was midday.

Twilight Sparkle turned and looked at Fluttershy. "Sorry for putting you through all that, Fluttershy."

Fluttershy looked at the girl with a strange expression on her face. "Are you kidding?" She asked. "That was the most fun I've had in years! We'll have to do it again sometime!"

Twilight Sparkle laughed. "Okay guys," She said. "I'm going to head back to my house. I have some reading to do, stuff to fix, and my dad is worried sick. He needs to know everything is okay now." She turned and looked directly at Rainbow Dash. "Hey, Rainbow Dash, be a nice mare and escort Fluttershy home!"

"Yeah, I can do that in ten seconds flat!" She said and her friends looked at her. "Just kidding! Even with the use of wings it's going to take longer than that to get to Canterlot."

"Dash, you are so funny!" Fluttershy said, smiling. "So, will you take me home?"

"Of course I will! Besides, I heard the royal palace has like, the best cookies ever!"

All the mares laughed, and after the two pegasi said goodbye to the unicorn, they started their flight To Canterlot.

It was past 1:00 PM by the time the two got to Equestria Castle. After four hundred years, it seemed unchanged by time. Fluttershy knocked on the front door with a heavy knocker.

A small slide in the door opened. Two eyes peered out, searching rapidly. They landed on Fluttershy and opened wide.

"Princess Megan! Where in Equestria have you been?" yelled a guard from the other side.

As she was about to explain, the small slide closed. The princess looked confused. "What gives?"

The doors flung open wide, and a barrage of golden pegasus knights ran out and tackled an unsuspecting Rainbow Dash. She felt to the ground, fighting desperately to escape the grasp of the armored soldiers. Fluttershy turned around and screamed furiously.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? STOP THIS NOW!"

The soldiers let Dash free. "What is the meaning of this?" The yellow pegasus asked.

Before the soldiers had any chance to explain, the Chancellor burst outside. Rainbow Dash noticed a resemblance between him and the one from 600 AD. Only he looked younger. "There she is! Seize that blue pegasus you idiots!" Before either of them could move, soldiers had surrounded Rainbow Dash again.

The knights grabbed Rainbow Dash's front hooves and held her up. One of them placed a sword across her throat, ready to slit it at a seconds notice. The others brought her front hooves and cuffed her. Rainbow looked around with a confused expression.

"What are you doing to my friend?" the princess asked.

"Protecting your best interests, my dear." said a voice.

She whirled around and saw a short gray colt in green clothes. He had a white beard and round hat. "Chancellor?" She asked.

"Rainbow Dash of Ponyville. You have been accused of treason and ponynapping." He waved his scepter in Rainbow Dash's face. "You will be subjected to a fair trial."

"This is outrageous!" Fluttershy yelled. "She has done nothing to me!"

The Chancellor shook his head and turned to face her. "You have obviously been brainwashed, my dear." The Chancellor said. "This fiend is obviously guilty. Stand back while we decide her fate!"

The knights dragged Rainbow Dash through the door and headed down one of the hallways. The Chancellor followed them, chuckling softly.

One hour later...

The Royal Court of Equestria was a grand sight to behold. The judge's seat sat on the ground floor, and the podium of prosecution stood in the center. Behind the judge's seat was a thirty-foot high stained glass window with a picture of a mare with a black blindfold over her eyes, holding the scales of justice.

Great balconies hung over the room, where senators and royalty sat to view the prosecutions. Behind the central area was a semi-circle of seats for the common crowd. It surrounded the floor, giving the spectators a full view of the person on trial.

That day the seats were filled. Angry and unruly commoners sat anxiously, waiting for the trial to begin. It was not usual for them to be held with such short notice, but it had been an emergency, as the defendant was accused of treason and, worse, the ponynapping of the next successor of the royal family!

A door behind the judge's seat opened, and a masked colt walked out. The bailiff stood and yelled, "All rise!"

The entire crowd stood up. The judge walked to his desk and sat down. "All sit." The bailiff said. The crowd returned to their seats.

The main door to the courtroom swung open. The Chancellor walked into the room. Several ponies cheered him on. He turned and raised his front hooves in the air, trying to gain more approval. The crowd stood on their back legs, whistling and hollering. The short colt smiled and turned. He walked up to the judge's stand and sat down on a chair next to it.

"Bring in the accused." said the bailiff. He looked at the main doors.

Three golden pegasus knights carried a bruised and beaten mare into the court. Rainbow Dash raised her head and tried to look back at the crowd who was booing her. Her eyes were blackened, some of her bones were broken, and she was bruised all over. At least they didn't touch her wings.

The knights walked to the podium and dropped Rainbow Dash flat on her face. The crowd laughed and cheered. The pegasus stood up and clasped onto the wooden top of the podium. She looked wearily at the judge.

The masked judge looked at the poor mare. "Rainbow Dash of Ponyville, you have been charged with the crime of ponynapping Princess Megan," he said. "How do you plea?"

The blue pegasus tried to shake her head, but she could barely move a muscle. She opened her mouth to speak.

"She pleads innocent!" said a voice.

The mare mustered up the strength to turn around. A brown colt carrying a briefcase walked into the court room through the front door. He wore a gray vest. He also had spiky hair and an hourglass cutie mark in his flanks. Everyone looked at it, as they had no idea what a cutie mark was.

The Chancellor stood up and waved his scepter at the stranger. "This is an outrage!" yelled the gray colt. "This girl has no rights!"

The judge slammed his gavel on his desk. "Objection overruled. Everyone has a right to a fair trial, which includes a lawyer."

Grumbling, the short colt sat back down in his seat.

"I will be Rainbow Dash's lawyer," said the brown colt. "My name is the Doctor. Call me Doctor Foreman if you want."

The judge nodded, and the short Chancellor got up from his seat. He paced back and forth in front of the judge's desk, then turned to face the crowd.

"Citizens of Equestria, I as the prosecutor, will intend to prove prove that Rainbow Dash here kidnapped the princess."

It was then the Doctor turn to talk to the crowd "And I as the defender, will try to prove that my client, Rainbow Dash is innocent" The brown colt then looked at the masked judge "Shall we proceed now your honor?"

"Yes, the prosecutor goes first, so are the rules" The judge said, the Chancellor then looked at Rainbow Dash

"Rainbow Dash, the accusations state that you ponynapped the princess," he started. "After which you went to Twilight Sparkle's little sideshow and disappeared. Where did you take her?"

Rainbow Dash said nothing. "He'd never believe me anyway..." She thought.

"The young mare declines to answer," said the short colt. "She is obviously guilty!"

"Objection!" yelled the Doctor. "Rainbow Dash is not much of a speaker. But her character is very good. We have witnesses that will testify to her virtues!"

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. The Doctor motioned to the knight at the door. The armored colt turned around and walked out of the court. After a few minutes he came back, leading a familiar yet strange earth mare into the court.

The mare was pink, dressed in a beautiful white and pink dress. And she had a curled up rose-magenta mane. She waved her hoof to Dash, looking at her with her curious bluish cyan eyes. "Hey Dash, are you excited? I am excited! I have never been in a court room before!"

"Ahem, miss Pinkie Pie, you are here to talk about how a nice pony miss Dash is, remember?" The Doctor said to the pink mare

"Ah yes, sorry! This nice pegasus, she found my cat Opal and have it back for me!" said Pinkie Pie, most of the crow cheered, there where many cat lovers in it it seemed.  

The Doctor smiled, more relaxed, but  the Chancellor jumped up and yelled, "Objection!"

The judge slammed his gavel down on the desk again. "She has a right to speak."

"Thank you for being so kind," said Pinkie Pie "Can I stay to watch? I never ever seen a trial!"

"Well, this is a public trial, you can sit down and watch if you want..." said the judge, but before Pinkie Pie went to sit down in the ground, since all chairs where full, the Chancellor crossed her path.

"Miss... Pinkie Pie.. isn't it? Since you are so kindly to stay, would you mind answering some questions?" The short gray colt grinned

"Yes, of course!" Pinkie Pie said

"Aren't you... the  owner of a lot of cats? Aren't you always seen doing strange things? Don't many ponies on town thing that you are a bit... strange?"

The Doctor could see where was this going "Objection!" the brown colt yelled "Miss Pinkie Pie is not on trial here!"

The judge slammed his gavel down on the desk yet again. "Objection overruled, the prosecutor has the right to interrogate any witness, please proceed"  

"Thank you, your honor. So, Miss Pinkie Pie, as I was saying before being so rudely interrupted, you are not what we could call normal, right?"  

"Well... I... while my behavior may seem weird I am also the  local Jester and party planer of the town of Ponyville. My actions, while strange, they just are meant to cause joy and fun!"

The Doctor smiled, that was a nice save, the Chancellor grunted, there was no way he could make Pinkie Pie look like the 'crazy cat lady' now.

"Very well, you can go and  take a seat with the crowd now..."

"Take a seat? But they are no chairs left!"

"Whatever!" yelled the Chancellor "Just... you can leave now if... you want?" Pinkie Pie went to the crowd and just say down on the ground.

The gray colt prosecutor then looked at the injured blue pegasus. "Now, Miss Rainbow Dash, just because you do return kitties to crazy... um... to Jesters, that does not mean you lack motives to have kidnapped out lovely princess!" The gray short colt knew that after such a beating, Dash would have trouble to answer, that would make her look like he was lying.

The Doctor smirked "Your honor, since my client is obliviously is not a good shape to answer for herself, I would like to do it for her."

"Well, what does the crowd thinks?" asked the Judge, most of the crow agrees shouting "Yes!"

"Very well, you shall proceed, as unusual as this is" Needless to say, the prosecutor was not happy

"Thank you, I would like to point out  that Rainbow Dash is Ponyville's weather mare, so she had a monthly income. Also she been doing all kind of odd jobs, helping to get the Millennium Fair ready. So she is not in desperate need for some bits.  Besides, several witness saw my client giving the Princess her royal pendant back. That object is a royal treasure and is more than enough to have given my client, had she sold it, enough bits to be rich for life"

"Oh, and where are said famous witness?" Asked the Chancellor, since the trial was held in Canterot, the chances of ponies from Dash town to be in the trial where low.

Five ponies from the crowd did stand up and started to give their short testimony, all of them had actually see Rainbow Dash give Megan her pendant back. Unlucky for the  Chancellor, some merchants from Canterot did go to  Ponyville to sell their stuff in the fair, and had come back to Canterot in a hurry because of the trial.

"Very well..." the prosecutor said "There is still the fact that Miss Rainbow here crashed into our beloved princess, any explanation to that?"

"My client was excited about the fair, and also a bit hungry, she just did not saw her, after that  she did apologize, and as testified recently by five witness, she have the princess her pendant back."

The Chancellor seemed pale for a moment, but then smiled. "Even if anything that happened in the fair was pretty innocent, there is the fact that the princess did disappear with miss Dash, I request three months of solitary confinement for the accused!"

"Objection!" the Doctor yelled "The defense would like to request the testimony of the princess herself, sure not better than her to tell us what happened!"

The crowd seemed excited, they wanted to hear the princess version of the story, plus she was kind of cute.

*End Of Chapter Four

Special thanks to rhiiazami from #mylittlepony at irc.irchighway.net  for editing this story