Transistance

Digital Love

The day of the trial dawned bright and sunny, white clouds spreading over the massive metropolis that spread from the sea and across the land. Luna’s airtaxi flew over gray hills and between outer sky towers whose landing spires made them resemble steel cacti. The air over the city was always a little hazy, but the sun had chased away most of it for the day. Luna wondered if it was Celestia mocking her, and showing off her power to all the ponies of the city. If it was, she certainly knew how to do it.

The Manehattan Courthouse was shaped like a giant metal tube that stuck out of the middle of the city. It blinked and glowed from the thousands of lights swirling on and around it. The taxi flew toward the tower in silence, the robotic brain inside the car making a perfect approach to the Courthouse. Luna wondered if it was aware of why she was there, if it knew she was fighting for its rights. If it cared.

She still had her princess outfit on, wanting to do her best to impress the ponies of her adopted hometown. Many had seen her before, but few knew her true identity. Her heart started to skip beats as the taxi lowered itself in the air toward a docking platform on top of the tower. Luna could see the press surrounding the platform, cameras and mics at the ready.

They all trained on her the minute the taxi settled on the landing platform, and flashes from simulated camera bulbs filled Luna’s vision with spots. The taxi door opened, and she stepped out onto the platform. Ponies rushed toward her, shouting questions at her in rapid succession.

“What are your thoughts on the case?”

“Are you a princess again?”

“Are you in a love with a droid?”

Luna walked through the middle of them, doing her best to ignore the questions. Her ears burned as the ponies seized on the question of her love with a droid, and she was soon bombarded with questions about her sexuality and if she was defending Sapphire and Rarity to further her own love.

It was a mercy when she reached a large set of doors in the middle of the roof, which were guarded by a few Manehattan guards in gray armor and with hard-light helmets. They pushed away most of the press and guided her inside to a spacious elevator car.

The guards didn’t say anything, but smiled and nodded to Luna as the elevator slid down through the building with a soft whir. Luna sighed and rustled her wings beneath the white scarf, letting the feathers stretch out and take in some air.

She was smiling once the car came to a stop and the doors whooshed open. The guards led her down a polished hallway decorated with murals of Manehattan’s rise to prominence through industry and technology. They were too optimistic for Luna’s tastes, but she smiled and touched a hoof to a few of them, happy to be in the city rather than Canterlot.

The set of doors at the end of the hall stuck out among all the technological livery, being solid doors made of rich, dark oak and inlaid with a design of the Manehattan skyline 900 years before. The guards pushed the doors open gently, and Luna found herself inside a large courtroom.

Row after row of seats led up to a relatively small area with two wooden tables for each party and a judge’s seat above them. Massive bay windows lined the far wall and gave the room a good view of Manehattan as the sun beat down on the glass skyscrapers in the middle of the city.

“This is where the fun begins,” Luna muttered.

A few ponies milled around in the sitting area, but none of the major parties were in the room yet. Luna looked around, then headed for the defendant's bench, passing through a small gate to the official area and sat down. The chair was hard and hurt her back, but she grit her teeth and bore it.