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Twilight Sparkle: Mare Attorney – Justice For Everypony

Author: Fallin’ Winter

Editors/Pre-Readers/Story Consultants: GreatDinn & Escher

Case 1: Royal Turnabout

Chapter 1: Prologue/Pre-Case

July 7, 12:38 AM

Sweet Apple Acres, Ponyville

BOOM!

A single piercing sound shook the barn-like household of Sweet Apple Acres.  Only the small red-haired filly of the family jumped up with a start, but everypony was awake after the noise.

“Hey sis!  Didja hear that?  Sounds like a thunderstorm's a comin'!” The energetic little filly bounced up and down with excitement.

The orange pony squinted in the dark, her eyes following her sister as she hopped.

“Ah heard it.  Now quiet down.  Just go back ta sleep, sugarcube.  We've got a long day tomorrow.”

The older sister then turned over and laid her head back onto her pillow once more, ready to get a little shut-eye.  Within a few minutes her eyes opened again.  It was too quiet.  Her sister would never go back to sleep this easily.  She jumped out of bed, searching for her sister, but she was nowhere to be found.  Applejack galloped out of the house and into the night.

With a few glances she could see no sign of her sister anywhere.  Now panicking, she ran back into the house to wake up the large red pony, her brother.  They dashed out into the orchards looking for any sign of her, calling her name as they passed row after row of apple trees.  As the pair ran through the fields, something was becoming more and more distinct.  A smell was making their noses itch but they couldn't place the scent.

One, two, three more rows were searched with nopony in sight.  That's when their sister became a secondary problem, at least for a while.  In front of their eyes was the bright glow of a fire coming from a stand of their apple trees!  More shocking was the sight of a small, dark blue alicorn with light blue hair, papers in her hoof, fanning the flames and causing them to roar to life.  One of the embers caught the pieces of paper and it caught on fire as well.  The blue pony jumped in fright, dropping the papers, and took off into the night towards Canterlot.

There was so much going on at the moment that it was hard for the farm mare to take in.

“What the--?  Wasn't that the Princess?  Um...Luna?  What does she think she's doin’!  She thinks she can just waltz in here all high and mighty and cause problems for us countryfolk?”

“Pardon the interruption, Applejack, but we've got a bigger problem than the Princess,” said the stoic brother, his deep voice cutting into her fit.

“Huh?  Now what's more important than that hoity toity prin- Oh, the fire!”

“Eeyup.”

“Big Macintosh, you get some help and figure out how to put out the fire.  Ah'll keep lookin' fer Applebloom.”

“Eeyup.”

July 7, 1:15 AM

Royal Castle, Canterlot

A white alicorn with a long, flowing, colorful mane sat on her desk.  She was holding a letter up to her eyes to read its contents.

Dear Princess Celestia,

        I have urgent news to bring to your attention.  There has just recently been a fire at Sweet Apple Acres which has ruined a fair number of their trees.  Thankfully, the resident weather ponies were able to stir up some rainclouds to help put out the fire.  More important is my friend Applejack's claim that she saw Princess Luna starting the fire.  Of course, I don't completely believe the story myself, but if things are not cleared up soon, we may have a problem on our hooves.  The Apple Family is also on edge right now because it has been about 40 minutes since anypony has seen Applebloom, a young filly and Applejack's sister.  We are now sitting on the presipis tresold brinke edge of a potential disaster.  I wish for your help in this situation and ask for your quick response.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

Celestia put down the letter and called for one of the guards to enter the room.

“There is a commotion in Ponyville which I must see to immediately. Have a few of the guards keep an eye out for Princess Luna and bring her there as soon as possible.  I will need to make a few more preparations, and then I will be on my way there as well.”

“Yes, your highness.”

With that, the armored pony trotted out of the room and left the alicorn to herself.  She took out a blank piece of parchment and started making a list of things that she would need.  Celestia would need to work quickly if she was to get to Ponyville on time.

July 7, 8:01 AM

Library, Ponyville

Knock.  Knock.  Knock.

I jumped up, startled from my sleep.  Checking my surroundings, I realized I was inside of my home.  I had fallen asleep on my desk waiting for Princess Celestia's reply to my letter.  It seemed like she hadn’t sent one, though. Spike had curled up on top of the desk next to me, snoring lightly.  

Spike is my little assistant, and he’s the best little assistant I've ever had.  He's always there for me, even when I'm being pushy, and tries his hardest to complete the tasks I give him.  He's also a baby dragon.

I nudged him lightly with my nose, but I only got a “ten more minutes”, so I let him be.  Trotting to the door I used my magic to grab the handle and swing the door open.  I was met with the blank stare of two royal guards as they blocked the way to Princess Celestia.  She towered over them though, so it was not hard to tell that she was present.

Celestia was on my doorstep.  Princess Celestia was at my house!  I made a squeaking sound reminiscent of Fluttershy when embarrassed and ran back inside, picking up books and reorganizing them left and right.

As I frantically flew books all over the library, I felt a hoof on my head.  Celestia had stepped inside and was smiling warmly at my panic induced clean-up.  I floated the last books I had held with my magic and turned to her grinning sheepishly.

“Now Twilight, you know you don't need to be so worried.  Your house is fine.  A little messy, but that just gives it... character.”

Great.  My house is a mess, but at least it has character.

“However, I am not here to have an idle chat today.”  She turned her head and nodded towards the door.  In walked her younger sister, Princess Luna.  She took small steps and inched her way towards the two of us.  She finally stood behind her sister, only peeking out at me from behind a wing.

“As you know, this is my sister Luna.  I'm sure you remember her from the Nightmare Moon incident.  I am here today to ask you to do something very difficult.”

I honestly have no clue what it is, but I don't have a good feeling about this.

“I need you to defend my sister in court.”

Okay, I wasn't expecting that.

“Excuse me Princess, but... what exactly what do you mean by court?”

She glanced at my confused face and let out a small sigh.

“I suppose I should start from the beginning.  Do you know anything of the 'Judicial System'?”

“Oh!  That was the system which was outdated many hundreds of years ago.  It used a system based off of facts and evidence to try a pony for their crime.  Wasn't that stopped due to the possibility of forged evidence and other flaws in the system?”

The princess smiled.

“Very good Twilight.  That system was also simply unnecessary for a long time, due to the very few crimes being committed.  It was also more dangerous due to the possibility of improper rulings for such petty crimes.  So, for the time being, I simply took the few crimes into personal consideration instead of having to put them through a full trial.”

Somewhere in the back of my head, I remembered another book about an old type of ruling called dictatorship, but couldn't remember any details so I just pushed it to the back of my mind.

“This crime, however, seems to have gained quite a bit of attention and cannot be dismissed with a simple decision based on only my opinion.  Since the accused is my sister, it would look like favoritism, and that could lead to ill will from the plaintiffs.  If we hold a trial using the Judicial System, it should prove beyond a doubt who is in the wrong.  That is, if things are done correctly.”

“So what you're saying is that you want me to defend Luna from this Judicial System?”

“Well, the more accurate description would be representing her case and proving her innocence.”

Suddenly the cogs started working in my head and I finally got the big picture.

“Wait!  You want me to prove that my friend was lying?”

I didn't know how I'd be able to prove that Luna was innocent.  Even worse, prove that the Element of Honesty was lying.

“You don't need to make somepony a liar, Twilight; you simply need to find the truth.”

I stood there deep in thought.  I didn't want to go against my friend, but I didn't completely believe Applejack's story either.

“Alright.  I'll do whatever I can to help Princess Luna.  I won’t let you down, Princess.”

“Thank you, my little pony.  You'll need this, as proof of your new occupation.”

Celestia floated a small piece of metal from a white bag she had attached to her neck.  I had been so distracted I hadn't even noticed it.  I took the small object from her and floated it close to my eyes.  It was a little brass badge shaped a bit like a flower.  Around the edge, it was engraved:

Attorney Badge ID # 201

I continued to stare at the badge until the Princess politely cleared her throat.  “Ahem.  For now, I will leave you with your badge and this file, which you will both need for the trial.  It begins today at 11 o'clock in front of the mayor's office, so make sure you prepare your case and plan how you will defend her.  I also have this book which you can read for the rules and procedures.  I would suggest asking Luna about her side of the story, to start.  I'm sorry I cannot help more.  I must prepare for the trial, as I will be the presiding judge for this case, since there is almost nopony who knows the rules of a court trial -- and that means I cannot do much more than I already have, else I will seem biased.  Good luck, my faithful student.”

With that, Princess Celestia walked out of the library and shut the door.  I resumed staring at the badge.

How did I wind up getting a job?  I understand I should have gotten one much sooner after my arrival in Ponyville, but I didn't think it'd be as an attorney.  How could I, when I didn't even know what an attorney was before now?

I now regret not taking on the role of librarian of this town.

There wasn't much to go on, with me being new to the process and all, so I followed the Princess's advice.  I turned and looked to Luna.  She was standing there, looking down at the ground.  I don't think she’d even moved from where she had been hiding behind her sister.

“Um, excuse me!”  I probably said that a bit too loud, trying to break the awkward silence.

“Eep!”

Luna jumped and looked around frantically.  She seemed quite startled.  I guessed there was no way around it; I'd have to find out one way or another.

“I'm sorry, but can you tell me what happened this morning?  I need to know why they think you started the fire.”

She looked back down at the ground and pawed it nervously.  After a moment of silence, Luna looked back up.

“Okay.”

Well, that was anti-climactic.

“Since the... Nightmare Moon incident, I've been staying in the castle, trying to get used to the times.  It's been a thousand years since I was out, and I needed to catch up.  I wanted to thank you all for saving me back then, so yesterday afternoon, after bringing on the night-time, I left the castle to come visit you for a little while.  I started to fly down towards Ponyville just after sunset, hoping to reach the town before you were done looking at the stars.”

“Wait, how do you know I look at the stars?”  I interrupted her story -- I wanted to know the answer, because that sounded a bit too stalker-like to me.

“I read some of the letters you write to my sister”, Luna said as she blushed.

Oh my Celestia!  Don't tell me she read that letter as well.

“Oh, well, please continue, Princess Luna.”

“Um.  Can you please just call me Luna?  I don't like it very much when people act formal.”

Now I know those two really are related.  Celestia doesn't always act very formal either.

“Very well, please continue Luna.”

“I was flying over the orchard when I heard a loud noise.  I was disoriented by the sound and by the time I looked down, a fire was starting.  I flew down to try to put it out, but it didn't work.  I wasn't sure what to do after that, so I flew back to the castle hoping that my sister would know what to do.”

Luna had a somber tone and looked ready to cry.  I walked over to her and patted her on her back.

“It's okay, we'll see what we can do.  If you say that's what you did, then I believe you.  If you need anything just ask Spike and he'll gladly get it for you.  I need to look at this book and read up on what this trial thing is all about.”

I picked up the book and motioned for Luna to have a seat at my desk.

“SPIKE!”

There was a loud thud as the dragon looked up from the floor and made eye contact with the

royal pony.

“Huh?  ...you're not Twilight.”

“Spike, that is no way to talk to our guest.  This is Luna, and we're here to help her in her time of need.  I need to read this book in... about two hours, so I'll be in the other room.  If she needs anything, please help her get it.”

As I left the room to begin the learning process, I got a laugh out of watching the princess and the dragon sitting quietly.  Luna was just too shy to talk and my little assistant could only look down with a blush on his face.  I thought for a moment that Rarity had competition, but on second thought, that was probably impossible.

July 7, 10:45 AM

Front of Mayor's Office, Ponyville

I stared in awe at the crowd of ponies surrounding the circular field roped off to represent the court itself.  There were four podiums, two long ones on the left and right sides for the defense and the prosecution.  There was one in the middle of those two where the judge sits and then there was one more sitting in the middle where the witnesses would have their testimonies.

With all my reading skills I still wasn't able to finish the book.  I only read 487 of the 512 pages.  I was hoping that we wouldn’t have to deal with the last chapter of the book, which I hadn’t got to.  It was called “300 Ways To Celebrate Your Victory”.

Actually, on second thought, I really hope we get to that part.

I waited there with Luna and Spike for the procession to start.  Celestia, wearing black robes, landed in front of us.  She glanced behind her and called over a brown pony to join us.  He made his way over as I examined the new arrival.

He wasn't really a new arrival; I had seen him around town fairly often.  He had even helped with the snow plowing during the last Winter Wrap-Up.  He had a dark brown mane and had an hourglass as his cutie mark.  A bit strange, but I've seen worse.

“This will be the prosecutor for this case.  His name is...well, Doctor.”

“Hello Doctor, it's nice to meet you.  I think this is the first time we've really talked.”

“ ‘Ello.  Well that's odd.  First time I've gotten that reaction.  You sure you're okay?  With my name, I mean?”

“Well, I suppose.  I mean, if you're a doctor, why are you a prosecutor?”

“Oh, that?  I'm a prosecutor now.  Prosecutors are cool.  But that's not what I meant.  Don't you want to say something?  Like, Doctor what, when, where, why, how, something?”

“You were missing Doctor Who.”

“You know what?  Never mind.  It doesn't feel the same when you say it like that.”

What is with this crazy pony?

Celestia interrupted our little argument.

“If I may?  He is representing the Apple Family in the trial today.  He is one of the few who still remember the Judicial System.”

“What do you mean still?”

Was she hiding something?

“Oops.  Did I say that?  That was an accident.  Ah, look at the time.  You should get going, Twilight.  It's time to start the trial!”

“Right...”

Okay, she's definitely hiding something.

I wanted to pursue that topic more, but she was right.

Two sisters, a doctor turned prosecutor, and an unprepared mare walked into a courtroom.

This sounds like a bad joke.

Next Chapter

Previous Chapter

Twilight Sparkle: Mare Attorney – Justice For Everypony

Author: Fallin’ Winter

Editors/Pre-Readers/Story Consultants: GreatDinn & Escher

Case 1: Royal Turnabout

Chapter 3: Trial Part 2

July 7, 12:30 PM

Court Room Lobby, Ponyville

Everypony in the crowd was in a frenzy over the news.  I would have tried to eavesdrop, but I was a bit hesitant considering what I heard last time.  I was waiting in a small area outside of the courtroom that was cleared of any traffic in case anypony had to enter.  

There wasn't much I could do until we continued the trial.  Talking to Applebloom was out of the question.  She was being chewed out by Applejack at the moment.  At least I could tell that Applejack was somewhat calmer now.  Even though she was yelling, it wasn't filled with the same fury that she had while testifying.  That was a good thing for both Applejack and Applebloom.

Even if I wanted to make sure they were okay, I didn't want to risk talking to Applejack right now.  Unintentionally making her mad again wouldn't benefit anypony.  As I mused over how much I felt I had been acting like a mule (no offense) to Applejack, Luna trotted over to me.

“Thanks for doing all of this.  I'm really sorry you got into that fight with your friend.”

I turned towards her and gave her a small smile.

“It wasn't your fault.  She was just frustrated and needed to take it out on somepony.  I should be apologizing for all the things she said about you, Luna.”

Luna looked down and pawed at the ground again.

“Just to be sure, you don't know anything about Applebloom's disappearance, right?”

She shook her head.  “I didn't know who she was until her name was mentioned in the trial.  I'm glad she was found safely, though.”

You and me both.

“Is there anything else you can tell me about the fire?”

Luna shook her head again.  “Nothing that I haven't already told you.”

Looks like there's nothing to do except to wait and see how the rest of the case unfolds.

July 7, 12:50 PM

Court Room #1, Ponyville

“The trial of Princess Luna will now resume.”

Celestia kept her warm tone, but she was unable to hide her exhausted expression.

I suppose even my mentor gets tired sometimes.

“Before we hear from Princess Luna, The Doctor has requested we have Applebloom testify.  Is that all right with you, Twilight?”

I was hesitant to agree.  The more time passed before Luna testified, the harder it would be to make her case.  She did say she didn't have anything to do with Applebloom's disappearance, though.  I decided to listen to the book one last time.  If there was one thing that the book said that I actually agreed with, it was to trust your client.  I'm fairly certain it wasn't the author who came up with that line.

“The defense has no complaints, Your Honor.”

“Very well. Doctor, please help Applebloom to the stand.”

I couldn’t tell whether she had made it or not.  There was only the very top of a red bow sticking up over the podium.

The Doctor turned to Celestia.

“May I suggest we find a box for the witness to stand on?”

There were chuckles from the crowd while a few of the royal guards looked around for a box for her to stand on.  Those laughs ended quickly when Applejack gave them a nasty glare.

The Doctor started with the usual question.  “Witness, please state your name and occupation.”

Occupation?  She's still a filly.

I didn't want the testimony to take too long.  I thought I'd help speed things up.

“He means job, Applebloom.”

“Okay!  Um, what if ah don't have a job?”

“You go to school, right?  You can say you're a student.”

“Oh, okay Twilight.  Ah’m a student.”

Now it was Celestia's turn to speak.  “Good. Applebloom, please tell us about where you were since this morning.”

Testimony

- - Late Night Crusade - -

-There was lightnin' an thunder real early-like.

-Ah went ta go outside an see the thunderstorm.

-When ah went outside there wasn't any.

-When ah was lookin' fer the lightnin' ah saw somethin’ light blue in the sky.  It started fallin' and when ah went ta check it out, it was a pretty lookin' lei just lyin' there

-Ah wasn't tired so ah thought ah'd go on mah own Cutie Mark Crusade.

-That’s why ah went to Zecora's hut in the Everfree Forest!

That last line had everypony shocked.  She had snuck in the Everfree Forest multiple times by herself and with her friends, but it was still surprising.

“The Prosecution would like to present the lei in question.”

Flower Lei added to the Court Record

Case File

Evidence

-Flower Lei: A lei made of bright blue flowers.  Applebloom says she happened upon it early in the morning.  I wonder why it was there...

“Thank you, Applebloom.  Twilight, you may begin your cross-examination.”

Time to get this over with.

Cross-Examination

- - Late Night Crusade - -

There wasn't much I could question in her testimony.  Everything was basically just confirming what had happened to her.  I guessed I'd just ask a few questions and then move on.

“So you went outside when you heard thunder?”

“Yeah, there was nuthin' there ta see though.”

“I was in my library at the time and I couldn't hear anything.  Are you sure there was thunder?”

“Sure, ah’m sure.  Applejack heard it too.”

How strange.

There was only one more thing I wanted to ask her about.

“Why did you want to go to Zecora's hut?  It's in the middle of the Everfree Forest and I'm sure it was quite a walk.”

“Them flowers looked pretty.  Ah didn't want ta bother Fluttershy that late, else ah'd have asked her.  Ah wanted to know what they were.  Maybe ah coulda got a cutie mark for learnin' 'bout plants.”

A farmfilly becoming a botanist, huh?  That would have been interesting.

“Did you see Princess Luna?  She should have been near there somewhere around that time.”

“Ah didn't see her mahself.  Ah stopped lookin' at the sky when ah saw the flowers.”

Even if she was looking up, it'd probably be hard to see a dark blue pony in the middle of the night sky.

I didn't think I'd be able to get much more information out of that testimony.  As I thought, it was a dead end.

“The defense is done with the cross examination.  Now--”

The Doctor interrupted once more.  He seemed a bit too fond of that.

“The prosecution would like to call one more witness to the stand.  She'll be confirming the accuracy of Applebloom's testimony.”

“Understood, bring her out quickly.”

This better be the last one or so help me...

Within a couple of minutes, Zecora was brought before the court.  There were a few people who still seemed afraid of the zebra, while a few were just curious about the stripes.

“Please state your name and occupation.”

“My name is Zecora, if you will, to say I'm a witch doctor fits the bill.”

Profile added to the Court Record

Case File

Profile

-Zecora: A witch doctor who has been fond of Applebloom since we first met her.  If you ask Pinkie Pie, she's an “evil enchantress”.  Zecora is very knowledgeable of medicines and the flora in the Everfree Forest, her home.  So look out.

“Thank you.  Would you please testify about the truth of Applebloom’s story?”

A testimony that rhymes.  This is going to be interesting.

Testimony

- - Following a Flower Finding Filly  - -

-It was late that moonlit night, or should I say, would soon be bright.

-I found a filly that I know, who wore a garland ‘round her bow.

-She asked, and I told her about blue blooms; Mariphasa grows only beneath the full moon.

-When I finished the story it had grown very late, so I told her to stay, at least till daybreak.

-I gave her a stern and motherly warning, then we left after breakfast, quite late in the morning.

-A mail-pony pegasus flew overhead, and we signaled her down to speak with us instead.

-I gave her a note with the filly’s location, and said Ponyville would want that information.

-Now you’ve heard all I know of this affair; I suppose you have questions for me, purple mare?

I need to wrap this up as fast as possible.  Besides, she basically said to hurry up with that last line, didn’t she?

Cross-Examination

- - Following a Flower Finding Filly - -

I decided to clear up any of my obvious questions before I started checking for any hidden clues.

“So what you're saying is that those flowers she found bloom under full moons?”

“You are correct, and the flowers are few.  Mariphasa’s as rare as its blossoms are blue.”

So it's hard to find too?  Gosh, it's a shame that somepony lost it.

I looked at the lei skeptically.  “But the blossoms are closed now.”

“When the morning sunlight nears, they close until the full moon reappears.”

Oh.  That makes sense.

Flower Lei updated in the Court Record

Case File

Evidence

-Mariphasa Lei: A lei made of rare, bright blue mariphasa blossoms.  Supposedly the flowers bloom only under a full moon.  Applebloom says she happened upon it early in the morning.  I wonder why it was there...

“So Applebloom was at your hut until this morning?”

“I let her stay for the rest of the night, to let her walk back would give me a fright.”

I'd be scared, too, if Applejack found out I’d let her sister wander off alone in the forest!

“The pegasus you ran into, that was Ditzy, right?  Ditzy Doo?”

“I never asked for the young mare’s name, but she gave me a muffin, and her eyes weren't the same.”

Yeah, that's Ditzy.  Or Derpy Hooves.  Depends on who you ask.

“So the letter Princess Celestia was given earlier is the same one you sent with Ditzy?”

“I do not know which letter she received, perhaps it is she who you should ask instead of me.”

I think I was just insulted in rhyme.

“Your honor, I request that the letter in question be put into the case file.”

“Very well, Twilight, I'll accept this as evidence.”

Letter to Ponyville added to the Court Record

Case File

Evidence

-Letter to Ponyville: A letter from Zecora stating that Applebloom was with her at her hut and on their way back to Ponyville.  Delivered by one Ditzy Doo.

The Doctor spoke once again, he had been pretty quiet through these recent testimonies.

“I think it's quite clear that Applebloom's testimony checks out.  I say we move on.”

So do I.  Everypony still needs to hear Luna's side in all of this.

Celestia seemed to think so as well.

“I believe so too.  We will then bring out our last witness.  Princess Luna, please take the stand.”

It took her a while to just walk up to me and talk previously.  It took even longer to reach the stand with all eyes on her.

This is my last chance, I don't know if we'll have another chance to make everypony completely sure that she was innocent.

“Witness, please state your name and occupation.”

“I'm, um, Luna.  I raise the moon every night.”

“Can you please tell us what happened this morning?”

“Oh, okay.”

Testimony

- - Moonlit Meeting  - -

-I decided to visit Twilight Sparkle once I was done raising the moon last night.

-I was on my way to Ponyville when I was startled by a loud noise.

-I suppose it was thunder, but I didn't hear anything else after that.

-I must have hit a tree while I was disoriented.

-When I got my bearings, I saw that one of the trees was on fire.

-I flew down to try and smother the flames.

-It didn't work, so I flew back to Canterlot to tell my sister.  It was there where I was found by the guard and...caught.

There was a silence about the room.  Maybe everypony knew that this was the last leg of the race.  That the outcome of everything was riding on this one last cross-examination.  I was certain that I could prove she didn't do it.

Celestia looked to me and dropped her kind expression for a more serious one.

“Twilight, we are running out of time.  This will be the last cross-examination of today.  I will decide what to do after you finish.  Tread carefully.”

She was basically pleading for me to not make things worse.

I hope for Luna's sake that I don't.

Cross-Examination

- - Moonlit Meeting - -

All I had to do is make sure that all of her story checked out.  Just ask a few questions, make sure that the blame wasn't on her.  This was going to be harder than I thought.

“Can I just confirm why you were coming to visit me for the court?”

She looked down at the floor, embarrassed.

“I was...I was coming to thank you.  For saving me when I was Nightmare Moon.”

“Thank you Luna.”

Well that's one thing cleared up.

“About the thunder, you're sure you only heard it once?  Nothing else after the first one?”

She shook her head.

“No, I couldn't hear anything afterwards.  Even if there was something, I wouldn't have been able to hear it.  The thunder was so close my ears were ringing.”

“You tried to smother the flame after you saw it and flew down, correct?”

“Yeah, it didn't work out.”

“I understand you were smothering the flames on the tree.  I want to know what you smothered the flames with.”

Whether she's hiding it on purpose or not, it needs to be said.

“Applejack and Big Macintosh claimed you were fanning the tree with paper.  I'm guessing it was the same paper that this ash was made from.  You were actually smothering the flames though, right?”

She nodded her head vigorously.

There was an “ahem” from The Doctor.

“May I request that she add that to her testimony?  The more accurate the testimony, the more it reveals the truth of the matter.”

Celestia nodded.

“All right.  Luna?  Please add that to your testimony.”

-The only thing I had on me at the time were those papers.  I tried to use them to smother the flames.

“What was on that paper exactly?”

She looked down again, a slight blush forming on her cheeks.

“Those were maps of the night sky.  I knew you liked the stars so I thought I'd be able to show you all of them.”

I’m touched.  Those maps would have been a big help with my collection of notes about the stars.

Pile of Ashes updated in the Court Record

Case File

Evidence

-Pile of ashes: A slightly soggy pile of ashes.  They were maps of the night sky as a gift to me from Luna.  Unfortunately, they were caught on fire before she delivered them.

I thought I was beginning to understand another part of the case, but I had to press even farther if I wanted to find out.

“That wasn't the only thing you brought with you though, wasn't it?  You had something else with you at the time.  You were the one who owned the lei.”

She looked down again, blushing even harder than last time.

“I thought those flowers would be nice.  They were pretty and they could show how much I appreciated knowing someone enjoyed the night as much as I do.”

D'awwwwwww...

“I meant to give them to you, but I dropped them when I ran into the tree..”

Mariphasa Lei updated in the Court Record

Case File

Evidence

-Mariphasa Lei: A lei made of rare, bright blue mariphasa blossoms.  Supposedly the flowers bloom only on a full moon.  Applebloom says she happened upon it early in the morning.  Originally a gift from Luna to me, until she accidentally dropped it.

“Um, thank you.”

I must admit I was having a hard time avoiding blushing, too.

“Why did you fly back to Canterlot?  Why didn't you tell somepony nearby?”

Luna’s face fell at this question.  She was embarrassed again, but for different reasons this time.

“I saw both Applejack and Big Macintosh when I was trying to put out the fire.  I'm not used to talking to anypony yet, which is why I’ve been staying in the castle all this time.  I needed to tell my sister what happened and I thought that they would be able to handle the fire.  I didn't know it would end up making me look suspicious.”

I can't make a joke about being anti-social here.  That could have been me not too long ago.

There's one last thing I needed to do.  Hopefully, it would move the suspicion away from her.

“I have one more question to ask, Luna.  What do you think started the fire?”

She looked in thought.  I don't think she was expecting that question.

“I...think it was the lightning that did it.  It must have hit the tree.”

My thoughts exactly.

“I'm done with my cross-examination, Your Honor.  I suggest that it was not Luna who started the fire, but a stray bolt of lightning.”

Let's hope they buy it.

Celestia was the first to speak.

“I'm afraid we must first look into who moved the cloud and why it was put there.  It seems we must postpone this until more investigation has been done.”

“AH'LL TELL YA'LL WHO MOVED THAT CLOUD!”

Oh no, not again...

To be continued.

Next Chapter

Previous Chapter

Twilight Sparkle: Mare Attorney – Justice For Everypony

Author: Fallin’ Winter

Editors/Pre-Readers/Story Consultants: GreatDinn & Escher

Case 1: Royal Turnabout

Chapter 4: Trial Part 3

July 7, 1:30 PM

Court Room #1, Ponyville

“AH'LL TELL YA'LL WHO MOVED THAT CLOUD!”

Oh no, not again...

Applejack came marching back up to the stand, pulling it away from Luna so she could use it.

“Ah know ah’m not the smartest pony around, but ah’m no fool!  Ah’m tellin' ya, it was Luna!”

I was so close.

I wasn't going to let it go this time.  I was this close to getting Luna off the hook.

“OBJE...Objection.  Your Honor, she can't just barge in and-”

Celestia shook her head.

“I understand, Twilight, but let's hear what she has to say.”

I can't believe this.

“Applejack!  What are you doing?  You can't just say that Luna did it after everything we just said.  It doesn't make sense!”

“How about ah tell ya what ah think and then you can go tellin' me that ah’m crazy?”

“Well then, let's hear it!”

If that came off sounding angry, that's because I am!

“Look, we all know she was Nightmare Moon right?  Well, what if she's still sore 'bout the whole thing?  Maybe she's was plannin' her revenge on all of us. She had the perfect plan, after all.”

Perfect plan?

“All she had ta do is move that cloud right over our orchard and kick it.  The lightnin' would start the fire for her.  Then she could just drop that there lei and start fannin' the fire.  All she'd have ta do is say that she was plannin' ta give the lei to ya and she'd have an alibi fer comin' down ta Ponyville.  She pulled the wool over all yer eyes!”

Oh my Celestia!  That did make sense.

That's not going to stop me from believing in my client though.  Nothing would.

“Do you have proof that she did any of this?  This is all only a possibility of what happened.”

Got her there.

“Well do you have proof that she wasn't?”

Great, I forgot that this was a double edged sword.

“This still doesn't prove anything.  It just means that we need to do more investigation.”

“But it still makes her the prime suspect.”

This crazy pony is bent on pinning it on Luna.

Celestia interrupted once more.  This time, using her gavel to get our attention.

“Order in the court!  Everypony settle down!”

The courtroom was quiet.  Even Applejack refrained from directing another comeback at me.

I'm out of options.  It looks like the end of the line for today.

“Applejack has brought up a valid possibility, but there is still not enough evidence to make a verdict.  As I said earlier, we will be postponing the trial until tomorrow.  Until then, there needs to be an investigation conducted on this clou-”

“Excuse me, Your Honor.  There's something I would like to look into.”

She now seemed visibly confused.

“Doctor?  What are you talking about?”

What does he have to look into?

“You said we must investigate the stray cloud in the sky, correct?  I suggest we start by asking the only other pony who was out at the time other than Luna, Applebloom.”

Celestia shook her head in disagreement.

“I'm sorry Doctor, but that will be it for the day.  Twilight said she was done with her cross-examination and I think we’ve learned more than enough.”

“Ya heard the lady, now just move along and let her finish.”

“If I may, I think we should bring her up now.  Aside from saving her the hassle of having to speak again tomorrow, we can also get the information when it’s fresh in her mind.  After all, it did only happen this morning.”

What is he up to?

The Princess seemed to think the same thing.  She looked to him and raised an eyebrow.  So did Applejack.

“Very well.  I will give you this last chance, Doctor.  If you do not find anything pertaining to the case, that will be it for the day.  Understand?”

“Hah!  Good luck with that, yer gonna need it.”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

“Doctor?  Please help Applebloom back to the stand.”

She looked uncomfortable being back on the podium, at least from what I could tell.  She was still partially hidden behind it

“You are the one who wished to bring her back Doctor.  Please do this quickly.”

“Actually, I thought somepony else might be able to come up with a few more questions instead.  Onwards and upwards, Twilight!”

What?

“Of course.  Can you talk to us about what you saw in the sky this morning in more detail?”

“Ah...ah guess.”

I can’t give up just yet.  It looks like the Doctor gave me one last chance to turn things around.

Testimony

- - Night Gazing - -

-Ah didn’t see anythin' in the sky.  There was nuthin’ at all, it was too dark ta see anyway!

-That's it, ah swear!

The crowd was staring in disbelief.  Everypony in court looked confused.  They had no clue what Applebloom was doing.

Can you even consider that a testimony?  That was barely three sentences!

How am I supposed to work with that?

Cross-Examination

- - Night Gazing - -

I didn't want to waste any more time, I would need to get to the truth as quickly as possible.

“You didn’t see anything in the sky?  Are you sure?”

“Yeah!  Nothin’ at all!

“In your earlier testimony you said you saw something.  The mariphasa lei.  Did you forget about those?”

“Oh right.  Well ah didn’t see anything else.  Nope!”

“Applebloom, do you remember what Zecora told you about when the mariphasa blooms?”

“Well, of course ah do!  It was only this mornin'!  It only blooms on a full moon!”

She walked right into that.  I think I’m getting the hang of this.

“OBJECTION!”

“eep.” *Thud*

Looks like Fluttershy’s back on the floor.

“Applebloom, you've been lying.  You said that you found the lei when it was bright blue, which means it was in bloom.  If it only blooms on full moons, how could it have been too dark to see?”

“Ah, um, well, oh!  I forgot about somethin’ else!  Let me change what ah said!”

Celestia sighed.

“Applebloom, please don't forget in front of the court.  Fix your testimony, please.”

“Oh, okay.”

-Ah couldn’t see anythin’ ‘cept fer the lei.  It was too cloudy!

Why is she still trying to lie?

“OBJECTION!!!”

“Eep!” *Thud*

Really Fluttershy?  Again?  Oh, it was Luna this time.

Celestia gave me a concerned look.

“Twilight?  Please stop scaring the crow, as well as your client.”

Maybe I should calm down.  Just a little.

“Applebloom, you’re lying again.  It’s very unbecoming of you.  Those flowers only bloom on a full moon.  It would be impossible for it to be cloudy just as much as it would have been impossible for it to be too dark.”

“Ah know, ah know!  Just stop yellin' at me!”

She stared at the ground as if she were attempting to burn a hole through it.

“Applebloom, I can't help your sister get to the bottom of this if you don't help me.  Just tell me the truth, all of it.”

“But, but, but ah...okay, you win.”

Testimony

- - The Truth - -

-Ah saw the lei this morning.  It was up there in the sky.

-Ah swear Ah didn't see Luna!  Ah Promise!

-But ah did see that other thing...

-Anyway, ah found the lei and went to Zecora's hut!

At least her story makes sense this time.  She's leaving something important out though, I can tell!

Cross-Examination

- - The Truth - -

Finishing things up quickly took priority.  I didn't have time to question everything like I usually did. Then again, there was only thing I had to know about.

“Applebloom what do you mean by 'that other thing'?”

“Huh?  Whaddya mean?  Did ah say that?”

Good thing you're as bad a liar as your sister.

“Tell meeeee.”

“No, it's okay.  It's nothin' really.”

“Tell me.”

“Are ya sure?  It don't mean anythin' important.”

“Tell me, tell me, tell me, TellMeTellMeTellMe!”

“But ah don't want ta snitch on Rainbow Dash!”

I heard that worked for Rarity.  Looks like she knew what she was doing.

Applebloom's eyes went wide as she put both front hooves over her mouth.

“Oops...”

“Why were you hiding that information from us Applebloom?”

She looked down, ashamed of what she did.

“Ah couldn't just tell on mah sister's friend.”

“Maybe she'll have something that'll help us get to the bottom of this.”

“Ah, ah guess so.  Ah'm sorry, Rainbow Dash.  Ah saw her in the sky too.  Just like the lei.”

“Thank you, Applebloom.”

She walked off the podium back to her sister.  I turned to Princess Celestia with a question.

“Well then, may I ask for one more testimony from Rainbow Dash, Your Honor?”

Celestia just nodded this time.

I'm not sure if she even cares anymore.

Profile added to the Court Record

Case File

Profile

-Rainbow Dash: Frequent flyer extraordinaire and the Element of Loyalty.  A bit of a rebel and is known for her aerial tricks.  She wants to join the Wonderbolts, but I'd say she needs to be about 20% cooler.

Rainbow dash looked around, waiting for something to happen.  She was being very aloof.

“Rainbow Dash.”

“What?”

“Why didn't you tell us you were in the orchard that night?”

She took in a deep breath and let out a hugh sigh.

“Well, I didn't want to say it.  Guess I don't have a choice now.”

Don't tell me she did it!

Testimony

- - Sleeping On The Job - -

-I was sleeping on the job.  I can't really say that I'm proud of it.

-I was having this dream about Pin...cushions.  Pin cushions.

-I heard thunder! One of the weather ponies must have done it!

-I was startled – not scared! – awake and realized how late it was so I cleared the sky in ten seconds flat, then flew home.

-I ran into somepony on my way home.  I thought it was the weather pony on morning duty so I flew away before they could identify me.

That's it?  I thought she was going to say she was the culprit!  Well, this is the last testimony of the day.  I might as well see if I can find anything for tomorrow.

Cross-Examination

- - Sleeping On The Job - -

I guess I'll start from the top.  It can't hurt, can it?

“So you took a cloud and fell asleep on it?”

“Well uh, yeah.  I didn't mean to.  It was just a long day.”

“How long were you out?”

“Oh...it was probably a long time.  Maybe into the morning?”

It didn't seem like much, but maybe I could do something with it.

“Rainbow Dash, I'd like you to add that to your testimony.”

She looked at me curiously.

“Don't you have to ask the Princess about that?”

We both turned to her expectantly.

Celestia simply waved a hoof to tell us to continue.

Okay, now I'm sure she doesn't care.

-I ended up sleeping way longer than I thought.

“You were dreaming about pin cushions?”

“What?  No!  I was dreaming about Pink...oh!  I mean yeah!  Pink pin cushions.  Crazy, huh?”

“That's weird.  What kind of dream has pink pin cushions?”

Probably any dream that Rarity has.

“Well I was being tickle...poked!  Yeah, that's right!  I was pricked by one of the pins, then I must've kicked the cloud!”

“Right.”

I'm scared to press that statement for any more details I wouldn't want to know.

“Can I ask you to add that statement to the testimony Rainbow Dash?”

“Uh, sure. I guess so...”

-In my dream I was pricked by a pin from a pink pin cushion.  I must've kicked the cloud after that.

“You think another weather pony did it?”

“Yeah, who else would be in the fields at the time?”

Rainbow Dash then looked deep in thought.

“That must be it!  The pony that I ran into, I bet that wasn’t a weather pony at all!  They must've been the one who started the fire!”

“You really think so?”

“I know so.  Can I add it to my testimony?  Please?”

A witness asking to amend their own testimony?  You see something new everyday.

-That pony I ran into, they must've started the fire!

All these new statements weren't anything special.  They didn't seem to do anything, but expand on her story.  I would have moved on, but something in the back of my mind nagged me to look at them once more.  As those separate pieces of the story seemed to flow together, bits and pieces of the story meshed together to tell another one.  One that made me look at them again.  Although this time, it would be in front of the whole court.

I took one big breath and readied myself for whatever was about to happen.

“I'd like to take this time to recap what you've said.  Rainbow Dash, you were taking a nap on the clouds and you fell asleep.”

“Yeah...”

“That's when you had a... pink dream and kicked the cloud.  There was thunder afterwards and you woke up.”

“That's what I said!  Some pegasus out there must have been out of their minds!”

Not a pegasus exactly, but close.

“What if I told you that there was another pony out there in the sky with you?”

“Really?  See, I knew it!  That’s your fire-starter!”

“I don't know about that, but there was somepony else this morning.  The other pony in the sky was Princess Luna.”

“Well, duh, Twilight.  She was at the crime scene, we already knew that.”

As I kept talking, my mind was fitting more and more of these pieces back into the puzzle.  I was starting to realize the answer to another one of our mysteries.

I nodded once, then lifted my hoofs onto the podium to lean closer to her.

I was really getting into this.

“Yes, she was, but that isn't the point I'm trying to get across.  I have a feeling you didn't run into a weather pony, or an arsonist.  I think you ran into Luna, and I can prove it -- with this!”

I pulled out the mariphasa lei and raised it for the court to see.

“Luna testified that she had crashed into something and dropped the lei.  What if she wasn't the one doing the crashing?”

“What?  No way!  Wait...doesn't that make her the culprit?  I mean, if she was the only one in the sky then tha-”

I shook my head then raised the case file, tapping it with my hooves as I continued.

“She couldn't have started the fire.  If she had planned on using a rain cloud to start the fire, she would have been prepared for the thunder and have braced herself for it.  That also means she wouldn't have been startled, and she would have been able to see you and move out of the way.”

“What do you mean?  It was late at night, she could have easily missed me.”

“Someone would have to disagree with you.  She would have been able to see you.  In fact, she did!  Your witness was Applebloom!”

“Huh?”

“Do you forget why you're even up here Rainbow Dash?  Applebloom saw you in the sky that night.  If a pony on the ground could see you, then don't you think one right there with you in the sky could have?”

I'm on a roll!

“Would you like to know who I think started the fire?”

I think I know who did it.  There was only one pony it could have been.

“Stop beating around the bush already!  Who was it?!”

“I think it was you, Rainbow Dash!”

…

…

…

…

What did I just do?

Some ponies were staring intently, others were completely shocked.  Either way, all ponies in the courtroom were now silent.

“What?!  I wouldn’t do that to Applejack!”

I had hoped that she'd piece everything together like I did by now, but I guess that was wishful thinking.

“You were napping on the cloud and after your dream about Pin...cushions, you kicked the cloud.  What if you had accidentally used a rain cloud to sleep on?  With you at the center of the fire, everything else falls into place.”

I'm really sorry, Rainbow.

“No...no way!  I couldn't have done that.  I couldn't have done that!  Oh man!  What did I do?”

She sped away from the court, racing into the sky.  I wanted to make sure she was okay, but I couldn't just leave in the middle of the trial, could I?

Celestia saw this as a good moment to bring the case to it's end.  She pounded her gavel and quieted everypony down once more.

“It seems we have finally come to a conclusion to this case.  Applejack, do you wish to press charges on the guilty party?  Applejack?”

Everypony looked around, but couldn't find her anywhere.

“Can somepony please look for the two of them?

Two of the guards nodded and flew off in search of Rainbow Dash and Applejack.

“Other than that, I believe that wraps up things quite well.  Doctor?  Twilight?  Thank you for your assistance.  Luna, please take the stand.”

Luna approached the stand carefully.  I think she was afraid somepony would steal it away from her again.

“The court finds the defendant, Princess Luna...”

*  N  O  T    G  U  I  L  T  Y  *

Cheers erupted from the crowd.  There was also confetti raining down from above us.

Seriously.  When did Pinkie have the chance to hang those up there?

I wanted to celebrate -- I had just gotten a victory on my first trial ever!  I wanted to, but I just couldn't.  Two of my best friends just disappeared after finding out that one had caused the other lots of trouble.  My first thought was to look for them myself, but how would I be able to find them before the royal guard could.  I guess I could only wait.

As I waited for them to return, it felt like one of the longest moments of my life.

July 7, 3:30 PM

Court Room Lobby, Ponyville

Thankfully, they found Rainbow Dash curled up and shaking on one of the clouds not far from the court.  Once the rest of our friends talked to her some, she had calmed down.  Applejack had still not been found.

I was standing on the side, keeping an eye on them.  I wasn't sure I was ready to talk to her yet.  I did point the hoof at her.  Even if it was true, it didn't feel right.

“Um, excuse me?  Twilight?”

I turned my head to see Luna, sporting a saddened expression.

“Oh, hi Luna.  I'm glad your name's cleared.”

“But...but your friends.  Will they be okay?”

I'm not sure myself, but I can't have her worrying about our problems right?

“It'll be all right.  They'll figure something out eventually.”

Her expression lightened up a bit at my words.

“Thank you again, Twilight.”

I gave her a smile as she walked to her sister to talk.

Turning back to Rainbow Dash, I realized I couldn't avoid talking to her.  It might ruin our friendship.

FOREVER.

Okay, I might need to stop hanging around with Pinkie Pie so much.

Walking up to Rainbow Dash wasn't easy.  The closer I was to her, the more my body tried to turn me around.  When I was finally right in front of her, I just stood there staring.  I couldn't think of anything to say.  What was there to say after you prove your friend was guilty of a crime?

“Rainbow Dash, I'm sorry.  I wish it could have turned out differently, but Luna didn't deserve to take the blame for it.”

“No, it's cool.  I wouldn't want somepony else taking the fall for me, either.  I'm just worried about Applejack.  What am I supposed to say to her?”

How would I know?

I had no clue, but I couldn't just ignore Rainbow Dash.  I hadn't been able to help her before, the least I could do was give her some advice.

It took me a while, but finally an idea hit me.  Maybe all she needed to do was be honest with Applejack.

I reached into the case file and pulled out a photo.

“Huh?  Why are you giving me a picture of Applejack, Twilight?”

“I did that because you should take a page out of her book.  She's the Element of Honesty, isn't she?  If you just apologize and make sure you mean it, I don't see how she could blame you.”

Even though you did burn down part of Sweet Apple Acres...

“You really think so?”

“I know so.”

Says the anti-social mare who needed to be told to make friends

I didn't have time to second guess giving her that advice.  There was the sound of galloping hooves and soon everypony's eyes were drawn to the orange pony making a beeline for the court lobby.

Applejack stopped once she saw Rainbow Dash staring straight at her.

“There ya are.”

Applejack began trotting slowly up to us.

Realizing she was just staring, Rainbow Dash stumbled on her own words trying to get an apology out.

“Applejack, I...I don't know what to say first.  I know what I did was a terrible thing.  It was an accident though.  It doesn't make it any better, but I promise I'll make it up to you.  I...I'm really sorry, Applejack.  I'll do everything I can... everything I can, to help.”

Rainbow Dash, the Rainbow Dash was collapsed on the ground in tears by the last few sentences.  It was a humbling sight.

She just admitted to her crime and swallowed her fears to apologize to Applejack.  That was the Element of Loyalty for you.

Applejack finally stopped in front of Rainbow Dash.  Scared of what Applejack would do, Rainbow Dash actually flinched a little.  This must be really eating her up inside.

Relief filled me when Applejack simply closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against Rainbow Dash's.

“Ya really did it this time, didn't ya, sugarcube?”

She walked back from Rainbow Dash a bit and brought a hoof to wipe a few tears from her own eyes.

“Aw shoot.  Ah’m cryin' now too, aren't I?  Darnit, this is all messed up.  Look, ah better see ya bright and early tomorrow ta help move the dead trees and plant some seeds ya hear?  It's gonna be at least a week or two ta fix up Sweet Apple Acres back ta how it was.”

Rainbow Dash finally regained her composure and stood up.  She began wiping the tears out of her eyes as well.

“You know it!”

At this Applejack smiled, raised her hoof out, and spit on it.

“Deal?”

Rainbow Dash smiled back and did the same.

“Deal.”

As they finished making their peace with each other, Applejack broke away from Rainbow Dash and walked up to Luna.

She knelt on her knees and removed her hat, holding it in her mouth as she bowed her head.

She placed the hat on the ground and spoke.

“Ah... Ah’m real sorry fer all of this.  Ah accused you fer all these things and made a big deal out of all of it.  Ah know that an apology won't cut it, but ah don't have much else now.  It was wrong of me ta yell at you when the truth was right there all along.  It's all right if ya don't forgive me.  Ah wouldn't blame ya if ya did.  There was a whole lot goin' on at the time, but that's still no excuse fer nothin'.”

What's going to happen?  Maybe she'll get thrown in a dungeon.  Maybe she'll get banished.  Maybe she’ll get thrown in a dungeon in the place she was banished to.  Maybe she’ll just get sent to the moon.  I can't watch.

“No, you don't have to apologize.  You were right.  I should have told you about the fire and helped put it out.  If I wasn't afraid of talking to you, this wouldn't have happened.”

Phew, that was close.  Good thing it ended well, I forgot to not listen.

Suddenly, more streamers and confetti rained down upon the court lobby.  I still had no clue how Pinkie did it.

Pinkie Pie, you are so random.

“Thanks!”

“Huh?!?”

Pinkie had hopped up without me noticing.

Could she read my mind?

“For the confetti, silly!  I set it all up so we could be happy when the case was over, but I didn't want it to go off if it was sad.  Thanks to you though it all ended up Pinkie-keen, so I could set off the streamers!  I wanted balloons but those wouldn't be easy to hide in case it didn't go so well, so we don't have those.  Oh, do you know what this calls for?”

July 7, 5:30 PM

Sugarcube Corner, Ponyville

“A PARTY!!!”

“C'mon, shake your groove thang!”

Pinkie Pie was hopping all over the place, trying to make everypony dance and do the Pony Pokey with her.  After how hectic today had been, being able to relax and enjoy a party was a relief.

Zecora had a group of fillies staring in awe at her stripes.  Princess Celestia and Luna were supposed to be arriving soon.  The Apple family and Rainbow Dash, however, had begun their work on fixing up the farm.

I was sitting down having a conversation with Spike about my first case.

“So, Spike?  Did you take enough notes in there?”

“Yeah!  I'll be ready next time, Twilight.  I'll be right there helping you all the way.”

“Good.  It'll be nice to have my number one assistant helping me in court.”

Truth is, I don't even want to do this again.  What if I have to stand up to my friends like that again?  I wouldn't be able to handle it.

“You bet.  I'll talk to you later Twilight.  Now, where'd Rarity go...”

As Spike walked away to look for Rarity, The Doctor trotted up to me.

“You were brilliant, Twilight.  Absolutely brilliant.  And I must say I did quite well myself, actually.”

Figures.  He couldn't praise me without praising himself.

“I'm not so sure.  Even though I proved Luna's innocence, I did it by blaming my friend.  She was actually guilty, but it still feels like something a friend shouldn't do.”

He looked at me with an annoyed face.

“Look, let me tell you something.  Friendship, is like time.  It seems strictly about cause and effect, but if you look at it another way, it's really like this big bowl of wibbly, wobbly...friendly, wendly...stuff.”

What?

“What's the matter?  Don't think I know what I'm talking about?  Because I do.  Trust me, I know about time.  Have you seen that thing on my flank?  That's an hourglass.”

That wasn't the point I would have tried to get across.

“Look Twilight, it may be true that things didn't turn out exactly how you wanted in there, but that's just how it is.  There will be times when you have to make tough decisions like you did in court today.  In those moments you have to remember that no matter how much you try to hide the truth, it will find still find it's way to the surface.  I'm sure that Rainbow Dash would have figured it out herself and confessed even if you didn't say anything.”

That was good advice and I actually understood it.  Maybe he wasn't so weird after all.

“Think about it this way: Would Rainbow Dash have been better off even if you did cover for her?  Would she have even wanted you to, if she knew?  What's important is that you keep your friends -- companions if you will -- with you, to help make it through those tough times.  I may not seem like it, but I'm quite brilliant myself.  If you need help, give me a call anytime.  Except for now and...about fifteen minutes ago.  I'll be a bit busy.”

I take it back.  He is definitely a strange pony.

He then walked towards the door, pulling out a small cylindrical piece of metal from a pocket of his vest.

“Oh, hello, Doctor.  Heading off again?  Where to this time?  Really?  Oh, wasn't that place just beautiful...”

Princess Celestia was having a conversation with the Doctor.  I was trying to figure out how the two knew each other when I saw Luna walk up to me, mouth full of papers and a lei around her neck.

“Hmm hmph hm hmph hm hmm.”

What did she just call me?

She placed the papers on the ground and tried to speak again.

“It's nice to see you again, Twilight.  I thought I'd give you this now, since I wasn't able to yesterday.”

She lifted off the lei and placed it on me.  She then took the papers and spread them out into one giant map.

“This is the where a small cluster of stars form a few shapes.  This area has a bunch of stars that look like animals.  Oh, this part of space has these two little spheres floating around.  They’re not actually stars, but one seemed to really like space.”

And so, my first case came to an end...

Luna and I looked at the map for a long while, until the whole party started a conga line.

I was also sure that it was my last case, that I'd be able to turn in my badge.  I didn't know that it was just the beginning...

Case 1: Royal Turnabout

THE END

July 7, 9:56 PM

Royal Castle, Canterlot

Dear Princess Celestia,

        Today I learned that doing the right thing, doesn't always mean doing what feels right.  The truth is a powerful thing, but you need to take the time to find it.  Once you do, whether anypony likes it or not, nothing can change that.  Some things may better be left unsaid, but that doesn't mean you can make up things that weren't said at all.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

July 9, 9:32 PM

Wagon Home, Phillydelphia

A young mare was reading an article from the most recent issue of Equestria Daily

Mare Attorney: Twilight Sparkle Saves the Princess

        After an incident on Ponyville's very own Sweet Apple Acres, Princess Celestia herself brought back a long abandoned judgement method called the Judicial System.  New attorney, Twilight Sparkle takes her very first case with stride as she clears Princess Luna's name of the crime and assists in finding the real culprit.  An interview with the young mare about her defeat of Nightmare Moon and her recent trial where she defends her old enemy on page A4.

She put the article down, having read it for the twenty-seventh time.  She just couldn't believe it.  Her old nemesis, now making headlines as an attorney, and still being a show off.  However, this was what she wanted.  This was the moment she'd been waiting for.  Now she could knock Twilight off her throne at her highest moment.  She'd prove, once and for all, that Twilight could never defeat The Great and Powerful Trixie!

Next Chapter

Previous Chapter

Bonus Case 1: Turnabout Triplets

By The Unnamed Pawn

Original concept by Fallin’ Winter

Evidence

-Attorney’s Badge: Proof that I can legally represent ponies in court. I think I’m still the only pony to have one of these.

Profiles

-Twilight Sparkle: Me, the Element of Magic and bookworm turned attorney overnight.  This is only my second case.

-Princess Celestia: The ruler of all Equestria and also the judge of this case.  Apparently I’m supposed to keep the judges and prosecutors in here after all.

-Spike: My usual assistant. He was busy today so Pinkie is filling in.  I have absolutely no idea what he’s doing in here.

-Blueberrie Pie: Pinky Pie’s sister and my client. She was accused of kidnapping Fluttershy’s pet rabbit, Angel.

-Grayamina Pie: The prosecutor for this case. She’s always very serious and I can’t even imagine her smiling. She’s the exact opposite of Pinkie.

-Pinkie Pie: The Element of Laughter and the craziest pony in all of Ponyville. She’s assisting me in this case because she wanted to help her sister out. Her full name is Pinkamina Diane Pie.

-Flutttershy: The Element of Kindness and the owner of the victim. Despite what Rainbow Dash says, she is most definitely not a tree.

-Angel: Fluttershy’s pet rabbit. He was recently kidnapped and badly hurt.

-Rainbow Dash: The element of loyalty and a friend of mine. She was the pony that actually arrested Blueberrie.

-Daddy Pie: The father of Grayamina, Pinkie, and Blueberrie Pie. Runs the rock farm near ponyville.

-Mama Pie: The mother of Grayamina, Pinkie, and Blueberrie Pie. Helps runs the rock farm near ponyville. She’s been sick for the past week.

Bonus Case 1: Turnabout Triplets

Chapter 1: Crime and Investigation

July 11, 8:00 PM, Pie Farm, Ponyville

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!

Two ponies, one blue and one yellow, stood over a cart filled with rocks along with an unconscious rabbit.

“I swear I have no idea how he got there,” the blue pony said over the eerily quiet scream.

July 12, 9:00 AM, Library, Ponyville

I stared intently at my new badge wondering if I’d ever have to use it again.

If I do have to go in there again, I hope it’s not anytime soon.

 “TTTTWWWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!”

Pinkie Pie’s scream was almost deafening as she barged into the library.  She just got louder as she went on.

 “I need your help Twilight. My sister is in big, BIG, BIG trouble.”

 “Calm down, Pinkie. What’s going on now?”

 “Well you see my sisters been-“

 “By calm down, I meant speak quietly, Pinkie.”

“Oh sorry. My sisters been arrested. ”

 “That’s too quiet Pinkie. I can’t even hear you now.”

 “I thought you said you wanted quiet.”

“There. Keep talking like that.”

“Oh so you just meant a little quiet. Okay, I get it now.”

Pinkie just stared at me for a few seconds after that. I waited for her to continue, but it almost seemed like she had forgotten why she was here.

 “Pinkie, what was the problem?”

 “Problem?”

“You said your sister was in trouble.”

 “Oh yeah, now I remember.  Duh~!  I need your help, Twilight. Blueberrie’s been arrested and you’re the only attorney I know.”

That’s probably because I’m still the only defense attorney in Ponyville.

 “Please Twilight. I promise to throw you an awesome party if you help.”

She’ll probably throw one even if I don’t help, but I suppose I should at least see what’s going on.

“Okay, just let me get Spike from Rarity’s and we’ll go see her.”

“There’s no time Twilight, come on!”

And with that, Pinkie dragged me, both literally and figuratively, right into my second case.

July 12, 9:10 AM, Dungeon, Ponyville

The building that Pinkie dragged me to was incredibly well decorated. It was painted a lovely white with pink trim and had lovely curtains draped over every doorway and window. The only offsetting thing was the bars on many of those doorways.

“Where did you just drag me Pinkie?”

 “This is the new dungeon that Celestia had us make.”

 “Why do we need a dungeon in Ponyville?”

 “I heard that Celestia didn’t want to take everypony she arrested aaaaallllll the way to Canterlot.  She had us make this dungeon to keep the ponies we arrested here until they were declared guilty.”

“I suppose that makes sense. Still, why is it so nice if it’s a dungeon?”

“I heard Rarity helped decorate it.”

That explains it.

A new voice came from behind one of the sets of nearby bars. “Pinkie, who’s that?”

I looked into the only occupied cell to see a blue earth pony with a long light gray mane, a blueberry cutie mark, and a confused look on her face.

“Hi Blueberrie. This is Twilight, she’s gonna defend you tomorrow.”

Blueberrie turned to me and smiled politely. “Oh, so you’re the pony Pinkie was talking about. Nice to meet you Ms. Sparkle.”

 “Please, just call me Twilight.”

 “Okay Ms. Twilight.”

Close enough. I suppose I should try interviewing her now.

Dialogue

-Arrested

 “Pinkie told me you were arrested yesterday, but she wouldn’t tell me why.”

 “I was arrested because some yellow pony thought I was a bunny-napper.”

 “Well are you a bunny-napper?”

“Of course not. I don’t have a reason to steal bunnies. She freaked out when she saw me with him, so another pony flew down and arrested me. I have no idea how it got there, honest.”

“I’m here to defend you. You don’t need to plead your case to me. I just needed to know what the problem was.”

 “Oh, sorry. You’re not the first person to talk to me. It's just that the other pony wasn’t as nice.”

Dialogue

-Other Pony

 “Who was this ‘other pony’ you just mentioned.”

 “That was the pony that arrested me. She was very rude. She wouldn’t even let me answer half of the questions she asked.”

 “Do you know who this pony was?”

 “I don’t know many ponies from the town, but I think she was one of Pinkie’s friends. She had a rainbow colored mane.”

Wait. Rainbow Dash arrested Blueberrie?

Dialogue

-The Crime

 “So what can you tell me about the crime?”

Pinkie jumped in front of me and screamed, “Blueberrie’s innocent I tells ya.”

“Pinkie, I’m her defense attorney.” I pushed Pinkie to the side.

 “Oh right.”

Blueberrie smiled briefly, but it left as soon as I looked back at her. “I don’t really know what happened. I was just out farming the rocks when a yellow pony came by looking for a rabbit. Then she screamed and I was arrested. I still don’t know how that bunny got on our farm.”

 “Did you say farming rocks?”

 “Yes. The Pie family has run the Ponyville rock farm for generations.”

 “I didn’t know you had to farm rocks.”

“Well where did you think the rocks in Ponyville came from?”

I suppose she’s got me there.

Dialogue

-Cutie Mark

 “Before I take my leave, I'm curious.  If you work on a rock farm than why is your cutie mark a blueberry?”

Pinkie chimed in here. “Oh that’s not a blueberry, it’s a pebble.”

 I took another look at the blue orb on her flank. “Why is it so perfectly round?”

 “My special talent is polishing,” Blueberrie said, “I make the fancy rocks that Ponyville uses to decorate places. I even made my own rock polish.”

Blueberrie handed me a bottle of clear liquid.

 “You can have that for free because you're defending me.”

 “Umm...thanks.”

I suppose I’ll just keep this in my court record for now.

Rock Polish added to court record.

-Rock Polish: A special formula for polishing rocks. It’s Blueberrie’s specialty.

 “Well that’s all I can think to ask you for now.”

 Pinkie leapt up excited as usual. “It’s investigatin’ time.”

“Pinkie that’s the police pony’s job,” I said as I grabbed her and pulled her back down to the ground.

 “Yeah, but we can’t trust them. C'mon, it’ll be fun!”

“I suppose it wouldn't hurt if we investigated the crime scene.”

Blueberrie grabbed my shoulder as we started to leave, “Before you go I’ve got something that might help you.”

Blueberrie handed me a strange fish-like rock.

 “What is this?”

 “That’s my magic rock. It lets me know when Pinkie is trying to surprise me.”

Pinkie looked absolutely shocked. “So that’s how you knew about the surprise party.”

Magic Rock added to court record.

-Magic Rock: This rock is polished and oddly shaped. Blueberrie says it’s magic and helps her see when Pinkie is trying to surprise her.

 “Well thank you Blueberrie. I’ll take good care of it,” I said.

 “I hope it helps.”

I’m sure it won’t. What is up with the Pie family and predicting the future?

 “Let’s head to the crime scene Pinkie.”

“Okay.  Oh, I know!  Lets have a race! 123go!”

Pinkie ran out the door at full speed. I decided to let her win and just head to the farm at a leisurely pace. I waved goodbye to Blueberrie and headed out.

July 12, 10:10 AM, Pie Farm, Ponyville

The rock farm was surprisingly quiet considering that someone had just been arrested. The clouds above it made absolutely everything in sight, from the silo to the farmhouse, look completely colorless. I looked around the grey landscape, but I could only see one pony off in the distance.

This place is freaky. Pinkie looks gray from over here.

Suddenly, the pony started approaching and it became clear that it wasn’t Pinkie.  It was a dark gray pony with a long light gray mane. She looked a lot like Pinkie when she let her hair down. Her cutie mark appeared to be a brick, but it was gray like the rest of her, so it was hard to see.

 “What are you doing here?”

Her voice was so cold; I felt a chill down my spine.

“I’m investigating the crime scene. I’m Ms. Pie’s attorney.”

 “You must be Twilight Sparkle. I’m Grayamina Pie.”

 “You must be Pinkie’s other sister. It’s nice to meet you.”

I reached out my hoof to shake, but the gray pony just stared at me.

 “Are you going to investigate? Or are you just going to stand there like an idiot?”

Is this pony really related to Pinkie?

Investigate

-Cart

I took a look at the cart in the middle of the rock field. It was about halfway full, but there were a few things besides rocks inside of it. I saw a few dirty, half-eaten carrots, and a small amount of white fur.

“That was the cart where they found the rabbit. He was buried in rocks when they found him,” Grayamina said as she walked towards me.

 “That must have hurt.”

 “Two of his legs were broken.”

 “He’s fine now, right?”

 “I don’t know.”

I waited for her to continue, or show some form of concern, but her expression was the same as ever.

Rock Cart added to court record.

-Rock Cart: A cart for carrying rocks. Angel was found inside when Blueberrie was harvesting rocks. It was about half full when Angel was found.

Investigate

-Carrots

 “Do you guy’s farm carrots here too?”

“No. We only farm rocks.”

“Than what are these doing here?”

“They were found in the cart with the rabbit.”

Did the kidnapper feed him after they threw him into the cart?

Carrots added to court record.

-Carrots: Half eaten carrots found in the cart with Angel.

Dialogue

-The Crime

 “So what can you tell me about the crime?”

 “I was selling rocks in town with father when Blueberrie was arrested, so I don’t know much. All I can talk about is the evidence I’ve found.”

 “I guess that means you have a ‘Rock Solid’ alibi.”

She just continued to give me a cold stare.

Come on that was gold. Does this pony ever smile?

Dialogue

-Evidence

 “What evidence have you found?”

 “Look around. You can see most of it for yourself.”

 “Most isn’t all though.”

“Anything you can’t see here can be seen at Fluttershy’s cottage; except for the tracks.”

Dialogue

-Tracks

 “What tracks?”

 “The tracks that led here from the cottage of course. Have you just started investigating this case?”

 Wait didn’t this happen yesterday? How could I have already been investigating the case?

 “The tracks were washed away when it rained last night. Luckily for you, I got a picture.”

Hoof Print Photo added to court record.

-Hoof Print Photo: A photograph taken at the crime scene.  These prints lead away from Fluttershy’s cottage. They match Blueberrie’s hooves exactly.

 “Before you ask, I did measure them, and they are Blueberrie’s size.”

 “How did you check that?”

Grayamina held up an almost blindingly shiny hoof.

 “Blueberrie’s hooves and mine are the same size.”

Okay I get it. Just put that thing down before I go blind permanently.

Present

-Attorney’s Badge

 “Yes, that is an attorney’s badge and this is a prosecutor’s badge.”

Grayamina turned her head so I could see the pin in her mane clearly.

Wait, why does she have a prosecutor’s badge?”

Dialogue

-Badge

 “Why do you have a prosecutor’s badge?”

 “I’m the prosecutor for this case of course.”

 “How did that happen?!”

Grayamina sighed. “I was just as confused as you are when I got the job. The princess just handed me this badge on my way home last night and said I was the perfect pony for the job.”

 “So you’re prosecuting your own sister?”

 “Yes.”

Well that was eerily deadpan.

Present

-Rock Polish

 “That’s Blueberrie’s rock polish right? You know it works wonders on hooves too.”

So that’s how her hooves got so shiny.

Present

-Fluttershy

 “That’s the pony that takes care of the rabbit correct?”

 “Yes. Her name is Fluttershy.”

 “I know her name. I’ve done my best to familiarize with everything involved in this case.”

 “Have you ever met her before?”

 “Not personally. Pinkie doesn’t like to throw many of her parties at the farm.”

Why am I not surprised.

Present

-Pinkie Pie/Blueberrie Pie

 “You know you look a lot like your sister from a distance.”

 “That’s not surprising. We are triplets after all.”

 “It’s funny, I wasn’t even aware that Pinkie had sisters until today.”

Grayamina went silent.

I didn't know she could look any more gloomy.

 “Well I suppose I should start investigating Fluttershy’s cottage.”

 “If you need me for anything I will be at the courthouse for the rest of the day. The princess told me that I need to prepare witnesses for trial. Fluttershy and Ms. Dash should be there as well.”

 “One last thing. Did you see Pinkie Pie come by?”

 “I haven’t seen Pinkamina since last night.”

I wonder where she hopped off to.

July 12, 12:00 AM, Fluttershy’s Cottage, Ponyville

The cottage itself was surprisingly untouched considering that a rabbit had just been kidnapped in it. The most odd thing about it was the pink pony with the oversized magnifying glass.

When the glass turned to me I saw a smile even wider than normal on Pinkie. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t frightening. “Wow Twilight, you sure are slow. I’ve been waiting here for more than an hour.”

 “Pinkie, why are you here?”

“You said to go to the crime scene silly. Why?  Where have you been?”

“I was at the farm where they found Angel.”

“Well that was silly. Wouldn’t he have been bunny-napped at home?”

“I know that now, but before we couldn’t be sure where he was taken from. He could have been taken from Sugarcube Corner for all we knew.”

“What would Angel be doing at Sugarcube Corner?”

“That’s not the point.”

“What is the point?”

“Augh! Just forget it.”

“Already forgotten.”

“All right, what did you find?”

“I can’t just tell you. That would ruin the fun of it.”

“Pinkie, this is serious. Your sister is in trouble remember?”

“Just have a look around Twilight. It’ll be fun.”

I miss Spike.

Investigate

-Rock

I looked quizzically at the lark gray rock right in the middle of the cottage floor.

“This seems really out of place.”

 “Ooh that’s dad’s specialty. He calls it his super gray rock.”

 “What’s a ‘Super Gray Rock’ doing in Fluttershy’s cottage?”

Super Gray Rock added to court record.

-Super Gray Rock: Found at Fluttershy’s cottage.  It’s pinkie’s father’s specialty.

Investigate

-Hair Pile

As I glanced at the corner, I noticed that Pinkie had gotten the giant magnifying glass out again and was staring at it very intently.

 “Looks like Angel has been shedding,” she said. She was much more excited than seemed reasonable, but it this was Pinkie Pie after all.

 I decided I would take a closer look myself. “That’s weird. I think there’s some blue hair mixed in there.”

Hair Pile added to court record.

-Hair Pile: A mess of white hair with a little blue thrown in. Pinkie said that it was because Angel is shedding.

Dialogue

-The Crime

 “Come to think of it Pinkie, I still haven’t asked you about the crime.”

 “I was busy all day preparing for Gummy’s party, so I don’t actually know anything about what happened.”

 “You haven’t even asked Blueberrie or Grayamina about it?”

“I don’t talk with Grayie much, and the only time I’ve had to talk to Blueberrie was when you and Grayie were around, so I only know as much as you.”

 “Surely Grayie, I mean Grayamina, asked some questions. She is the prosecutor after all.”

“Grayie got a new job? I should throw her a party to celebrate.”

Pinkie doesn’t pay a lot of attention to her sisters does she?

Dialogue

-Gummy’s Party

 “So Gummy’s having another party huh?”

 “Yeah. It’s a surprise party, so don’t tell him okay.”

 “What’s the occasion?”

 “He didn’t try to bite me for a whole day last week.”

Any excuse to party, right?

Present

-‘Super Gray Rock’

 “So why do you think a rock is in Fluttershy’s house.”

 “It’s not just a rock. It’s a SUPER GRAY ROCK. It’s daddy Pie’s specialty. No rock is less colorful in all of Equestria.”

 “That just makes it even more confusing. Why would a Pie specialty rock be in Fluttershy’s house?”

 “Maybe Blueberrie dropped it when she took Angel.”

That’s weird. Something in the court record is vibrating.

“Pinkie we’re trying to prove that Blueberrie didn’t take Angel.”

 “Well I certainly don’t know how it got there.”

What is that shaking?

I pulled the rock that Blueberrie gave me out of the court record and stared at it for a second. For some reason it was violently vibrating. When I looked up, I noticed that some weird lock was hanging around Pinkie’s neck.

 “Where did that come from?” I said as I looked quizzically at the lock.

“Where did what come from? I’m pretty sure Blueberrie gave you that rock if that’s what you’re talking about.”

“I mean the lock.”

“No, Fluttershy doesn’t lock her door. I think she likes visitors to come by or something.”

Can she not see it? Come to think of it, didn’t Blueberrie say this helped her catch when Pinkie was trying to surprise her? Maybe I should ask her more about the rock.

 Psylock

- - ‘Super Gray Rock’ - -

 “Pinkie, I get the feeling that there’s something you’re not telling me about that rock.”

 “What rock?”

 “The rock from Fluttershy’s Cottage.”

 “Sorry, you’ll have to be more specific.”

Do I seriously have to shove it in her face?

Present

-‘Super Gray Rock’

 “THIS rock Pinkie.”

 “Oh! That’s a Super Gray Rock. It’s daddy Pie’s specialty.

 “I know Pinkie. What was it doing in Fluttershy’s Cottage?”

 “Ooooohhh! That’s what you wanted to know.”

 “Yes Pinkie. Now can you tell me?”

 “I don’t know how it got there maybe Blueberrie or Grayie left it here.”

 “I don’t think that’s likely Pinkie.”

Present

-Fluttershy

 “As far as I could tell, Blueberrie doesn’t even know Fluttershy, and something tells me Grayamina isn’t really known for giving presents.”

 “Yeah.  She only gives presents on birthdays.”

“So that means the only one who could have left such a special rock at Fluttershy’s house is you Pinkie.”

 “W-wait. That’s not true. Maybe Blueberrie left it here when she took Angel right?”

 “Pinkie, we’re trying to prove that Blueberrie is innocent remember?”

And with that the lock literally exploded revealing a sad looking Pinkie Pie.

 “Aww you’re right. Go ahead and ruin the surprise then.”

Dialogue

-‘Super Gray Rock’

 “Okay you caught me. I left the rock at Fluttershy’s place. Well, not really ‘left’ it. It’s a gift for her.”

 “Why would you hide that? It seems like a nice thing to do.” Even if it is the weirdest gift I’ve ever seen her give.

“Well you see it’s actually an invitation to the big rock party I was going to throw at the farm in a few months,” Pinkie said as she threw confetti into the air,” I can only carry around one a day, so I was giving them out to everypony on a different day. Yours wasn’t supposed to come until tomorrow. Surprise!”

 “That’s still a weird reason to hide something like that. All I needed was to know if it was connected to the case or not.”

 “But now the surprise is ruined.”

 “I promise I’ll still act surprised when you give me my invitation okay.”

This seemed to lighten her up a little, but it was clear that she was still a little disappointed.

Super Gray Rock updated in court record.

-Super Gray Rock: Found at Fluttershy’s cottage.  It’s pinkie’s father’s specialty. Apparently, it’s an invitation to a party that Pinkie’s throwing.

 “Now I just need to talk to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. I think Grayamina said they’d be at the courthouse.”

When me and Pinkie left the cottage I was shocked to hear her shout, “Hey look Twilight it’s afternoon.”

 “Why are you so excited about it being afternoon?” I asked as I rubbed my ears.

“That means the trials starting!”

“What!?”

“Let’s race to see who can get to the courtroom faster.”

Bonus Case 1: Turnabout Triplets

Chapter 2: Trial Part 1

July 12, 1:15 PM, Courtroom #1, Ponyville

I was panting as I sat down behind the defenses podium. I had barely made it in time, but I was here. Pinkie was forced to wait in the lobby though.

Celestia looked down at me and grinned. “Glad to see you made it Twilight. I was afraid you wouldn’t be joining us today.”

 “I’m sorry princess. I was busy investigating and lost track of time.”

 “Investigation is best left to the police Twilight.”

Then why didn’t I run into any police while I was looking around.

 “Regardless, I think it’s about time we got this trial started. Is the prosecution ready?”

 “Yes your honor.” I looked over and saw Grayamina sitting at the prosecutor’s podium. I guess she wasn’t kidding about being the prosecutor. Of course that wasn’t surprising; as I wasn’t sure she could even make jokes.

 “Very well. Is the defense ready Twilight?”

 “Actually your honor, before we proceed there is something that’s been bothering me. Isn’t it a conflict of interest if the prosecutor is related to the defendant?”

 “I’m sorry Twilight, but Ms. Pie was the best I could find on short notice with the Doctor out of town. Apart from you, she was the only pony in Ponyville that I thought would take this case seriously.”

 “Don’t worry Ms. Sparkle,” Grayamina said, the icy tone still in her voice, “I assure you that the defendant being my sister will have absolutely no effect on how I proceed with the prosecution.”

Somehow that doesn’t make me feel any better.

 “Well if that’s settled than we should proceed.” Celestia turned back to Grayamina. ”Prosecution, would you please call your first witness?”

 “Yes your honor. To begin, the prosecution would like to call the pony that made the arrest, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow dash entered the court room quickly, but seemed a bit more nervous than usual.

She’s probably remembering what happened last time.

 “Name and profession.”

 “I’m Rainbow Dash, and I’m part of the weather crew for Ponyville.” She seemed to be regaining a bit of her usual confidence as she spoke.

 “Tell us what happened when you arrested the defendant Ms. Dash.”

 Dash looked smugly at the Gray pony giving her orders and said, “You know it wouldn’t hurt if you asked nicely.”

“We’ve already been over this Ms. Dash,” Grayamina said and she leaned for on her bech, revealing her well shined hooves, “All we need is your testimony.”

 “Alright miss big shot prosecutor.”

Testimony

- - The Arrest - -

-“I was meeting Pinkie that day, because she said she had something to give me.”

-“She said that she was going to meet me at the farm, so obviously that’s where I went.”

-“That was when I heard Fluttershy scream.”

-“Of course, I got to her as fast as I could, but when I got close I saw that she had passed out.”

-“I thought that the blue pony must have done something to her, so I decided to try out that new ‘citizen’s arrest’ thing that Celestia made up.”

Grayamina turned her unfeeling gaze from Dash and aimed it straight at me. “You may begin your cross examination Ms. Sparkle.”

 “Ms. Pie, if you wouldn’t mind I believe it is my job to inform the defense to begin,” Celestia said calmly as she looked towards Grayamina.

 “I apologize your honor. Go right ahead.” Even though she spoke to Celestia, her eyes seemed firmly focused on the defendant’s bench.

 “You may begin your cross examination now Twilight.”

Thanks, but I don’t need to be told twice. I didn’t get to talk to Dash earlier, so I suppose I should use this time to get as much information as I can.

Cross-Examination

- - The Arrest - -

 “Do you have any idea what it was that Pinkie was planning to give you?”

 “I don’t know for sure, but she said she couldn’t bring it in the balloon, so I figure it was something pretty big.” She spread her arms out wide to emphasize this.

 “Ms. Sparkle,” the icy voice said from across the room, “how is this of any importance.”

 “It probably isn’t, but-“ I was interrupted by the slam of Grayamina’s hoof against her bench and the accompanying flash of light.

 “Ms. Sparkle, I would appreciate it if you refrain from asking such pointless questions.”

She sure doesn’t like wasting time.

“When did you finish cloud clearing, Dash,” I asked.

“Well I took a loooong nap, so I think I finished sometime around 7:00.” Once again her arms spread for emphasis.

Grayamina stared angrily at Rainbow. “I’ll be sure to recommend that they cut your pay for the wasted time Ms. Dash.”

Can she actually do that?

“However, there is a problem with your testimony,” Grayamina continued,” Fluttershy stated that she found the rabbit at 8:00 P.M. Where were you during the extra hour?”

“Well you see that’s because I went to the Apple Farm and it takes a long time to search those orchards, even for me.”

I guess she didn’t know that Pinkie was giving her a rock.

“So when I couldn’t find her, I decided to check the rock farm.”

“Fluttershy is a very quiet pony,” I said continuing my questioning,” Where were you exactly when you heard the scream?”

 “I was just below the clouds around the farm, but it was a really loud scream for Fluttershy. She must have been really freaked out. That’s probably why she fainted.”

 “You said she had fainted before you got there, correct?”

 “Yeah, she was out cold, so I figured somepony had freaked her out or something. That was why I decided to arrest the only other pony there.”

 “So you didn’t even have a reason to arrest Blueberrie when you first saw her?”

“Well, no, but after I arrested her I had a reason. When told her she was under arrest, she freaked out and started saying stuff like, 'I have no idea how he got there.' That’s when I checked the cart and saw Angel and arrested her for that.”

I think that’s all I need.

“That’ll be all Rainbow Dash.”

“Wait, so you’re just going to let me leave this time?”

“Yes Dash. All I needed was to know what you saw.”

“Cool. See ya later then. Good luck Twi.”

Rainbow Dash waved and left the podium quickly.  As if she could do it any other way.

 “Now, Ms. Sparkle, I believe it is your turn to call a witness for me to cross-examine correct?”

 “Actually Ms. Pie,” Celestia chimed in,” I’m afraid that’s not quite how it works.”

 “Really?  I simply assumed that the defense's turn came right after the prosecution's.”

I guess she did just get her badge yesterday.

 “No Ms. Pie. Feel free to call your next witness.”

 “Well I still believe in playing fair, so let’s give the defense a chance to speak. I would like to call Blueberrie Pie to the stand your honor.”

“You really don’t have to you know.”

 “Turnabout’s Fair Play.”

 “Very well. Will Ms. Blueberrie please approach the stand?”

Blueberrie moved from the defense’s booth to the witness podium with an air of confidence that seemed very inappropriate considering her situation.

 “Name and profession.”

 “My name is Blueberrie Pie, and I work at the Pie rock farm.”

“Very well.  Ms. Sparkle, what would you like to hear from the witness?” Her stare was a s cold as ever, but now I couldn’t help but wonder if she just couldn’t help it.

 “Ummm I guess we could start with why Blueberrie has no reason to kidnap Angel.”

 “Very well. Witness?”

Testimony

- - The Motive - -

-I had no reason to kidnap the bunny.

-What motive could I possibly have to kidnap a rabbit I don’t even know?

 “OBJECTION!”

I’M BLIND!

 “Your honor, I’ve spotted a contradiction.

-The witness is lying about her connection to the victim.

-While it’s true she does not know the rabbit personally, she does know its owner, Fluttershy.

-It is well known to me and the rest of the Pie family, that she dislikes this pony because she is such good friends with her sister.”

I still couldn’t see anything, but I’m sure that the next thing I heard was the sound of Celetsia’s gavel. “Ms. Pie, I think you’re still having trouble understanding how this works. It’s the defenses job to point out contradictions from your witnesses. If you keep up like this I’ll have to issue you a strict penalty.”

“I apologize your honor. It seems I am not as familiar with the system as I thought.”

 “Also, I would appreciate it if you’d avoid pointing in the future. It seems that Twilight can’t take the shine from your hooves.”

I stopped rubbing my eyes and looked around. I could see again! “I’m okay now princess.”

 “However, as this testimony does seem pertinent to the case, I will allow Twilight to cross-examine it if she pleases.”

This is just ridiculous. I guess I’ll just have to go about it like normal if the princess is allowing it.

Cross-Examination

- - The Motive - -

I moved my eyes back and forth from the stand to the prosecutor’s bench. I was cross-examining Grayamina so my eyes eventually settled on her, but it still seem odd to be looking at this part of the room during the examination. “As far as I understand it, none of Pinkie’s friends have even met the defendant. How could she possibly know who Fluttershy is?”

I shuddered a bit as Grayamina’s eyes stared into mine. “It is not impossible to know who someone is just because you have never met them Ms. Sparkle. Pinkamina is known to brag about her friends quite often during her rare visits to the farm.”

Well that wasn’t nearly as helpful as I thought it would be.

 “How is being a friend with the defendant’s sister a good reason for criminal activity?”

 “There is no ‘good reason’ for criminal activity Ms. Sparkle.” I spotted a bit of anger in Grayamina’s eyes now, although she spoke as straightly as ever. “However, if you are asking for the connection between the motive and the friendship, that is no more than a matter of simple jealousy. Pinkamina rarely visits the rock farm nowadays, and when she does she doesn’t do more than brag about her friends. We, as sisters, have of course often discussed how irritating this is.”

 “When you put it like that it seems just as likely that you could have committed the crime.” I pointed accusingly at Grayamina.

 “I have an alibi. The defendant does not.”

 “Maybe we should see just how true that is. I’d like to hear about Blueberrie’s alibi.”

“I am interested in hearing the defendant’s side as well,” Celestia interjected, “Besides, as fun as this has been, it would be nice to get this trial back on track. Defendant, if you please.”

Blueberrie nodded. Here previous confidence was completely gone. “Okay.”

Testimony

- - My Alibi - -

-I was at home all day shining the rocks for sale.

-The workload was pretty small because that day was sale day.

-Dad and Grayamina had gone into town to sell the rocks, so I was left home alone with mom.

-At around 6:00 I finished my work so I decided I would help out with the actual harvesting of the rocks.

-I was working for two hours straight when that yellow pegasus showed up.

 “So you were throwing rocks into a cart for two hours and you expect us to believe that you simply didn’t notice that a bunny was inside it,” Grayamina leaned accusingly toward Blueberrie.

 “Well you know I don’t move very fast, and I didn’t exactly look into the cart when I was throwing the rocks in.”

 Grayamina fell back and turned toward me. “Very well. Ms. Sparkle cross-examine the witness.”

 “Ms. Pie we’ve been over this,” Celestia said as calmly as ever.

 “I apologize.”

 “You may begin Twilight.”

Is this going to happen every time we start a proper cross-examination?

Cross-Examination

- - My Alibi - -

 “Can your mother confirm that you were at the farm all day?”

 “Yes I’m sure she would vouch for me-“

“Objection!” This time Grayamina merely slammed her hoof on the bench. The resulting flash was distracting of course, but I was just glad I could still see. “Mother has been bedridden for a week now, and her room doesn’t have a view of the field. If Blueberrie was out of the house from 6:00 to 8:00 than mother would not have been able to verify her location.”

 “What if Blueberrie were to check on her?” I asked, “It couldn’t be that unlikely if the woman was sick.”

 Grayamina turned away from me and stared intently at Blueberrie. “Did you check on her defendant?”

“...No, not after I started working. And I don’t think she ever got out of bed either.”

Darn, I thought I hit gold.  It was just a hard rock.

“Thank you for not raising your hoof Ms. Pie, but I would still appreciate it if you avoided shouting so much.”

 “Yes, your honor.”

 “Do you usually help with the rock harvest?” I asked Blueberrie.

 “No, I’m not much of a work pony. That’s why it took me so long to get the cart only half full. The rocks are very heavy.”

 “Why did you decide this particular time to work?”

“Well it’s not that uncommon. Dad has often come home to me or mom farming the rocks during a sales day. I just felt like I should be working even though I had finished my polishing.”

 “And does it usually take you two hours to harvest half a cart of rocks?”

“My speed isn’t very consistent, but I like to think I’m getting faster.”

 “By ‘yellow pegasus’ I assume you mean Fluttershy?“ I continued.

“Yes. We don’t get many visitors so I was really surprised when she flew up. She screamed when she got close, so I tried to calm her down.”

 “Did you know at the time why she was screaming?”

“She looked into the cart so I checked to see what had frightened her. I tried to calm her down after I saw the bunny in the cart.”

I can’t help but think there's a problem with that statement.

 “Princess, I’d like to request that the defendant’s statement be added to her testimony.”

 “If you insist Twilight. I hope you have a plan for it.”

-When I saw the bunny in the cart I tried to calm the screaming pony down.

 “Hold on just a minute.” Ha! That’s way better than objection. “Rainbow Dash testified earlier that Fluttershy must have fainted almost immediately after her scream. Why would you try to calm down someone who has just fainted?”

 “I-I didn’t know she’d fainted at the time.”

Grayamina didn’t betray anything when she turned to me. “I hope you have a reason for contradicting your own client, Ms. Sparkle.”

“Believe it or not, I do. I propose that the defendant was thrown into a panic by the discovery of the bunny. How could she be so surprised if she knew the bunny was there?”

“That’s a pleasant story Ms. Sparkle, but ponies have been known to panic for various reasons. The defendant could have been startled by the actual discovery of the rabbit. Maybe she didn’t know what to do now that it had been spotted.”

Curse you and your logic.

I tried to think of a rebuttal, but the sound of Celestia’s gavel kept me from gathering my thoughts properly.

“I believe that’s all that we need to hear from the defendant. Are there any further questions, or shall we move on?”

“I have no further questions your honor,” Grayamina said.

I tried to think of something else to ask, but nothing came to mind. “I can’t think of anything your honor.”

“Very well. Defendant, you may take your seat.” Blueberrie did so. I watched her walk somberly back to the bench.

“Now, I see we have proven the defendant’s lack of a proper alibi, but I still haven’t seen any conclusive evidence that she kidnapped the rabbit,” Celestia continued,” Ms. Pie, do you have anything more to go on than the cart that the victim was discovered in?”

 “Yes your honor.” Grayamina rifled through a file in front of her and pulled out a photo, “To start I have a photograph of a set of tracks found to lead from Fluttershy’s Cottage directly to the Pie farm.”

 “Those tracks could belong to anypony,” I interrupted.

 “As you’ll no doubt remember Ms. Sparkle I have measured these tracks and they match Blueberries hoof size.”

“But many ponies have the same hoof size. How can you be sure they’re Blueberrie’s?”

“Very few ponies visit our farm Ms. Sparkle, and I’d imagine even those few that might visit would not come from Fluttershy’s Cottage.

“Also, before you ask, I have taken the liberty of measuring Fluttershy’s hooves. They do not match the defendant, and Fluttershy herself says she flew to the farm. May I continue now, or do you have something else to add?”

 “...Go ahead.”

 “The other piece of evidence is the pile of hair found in Fluttershy’s Cottage. Mixed in with the white hair of the rabbit, there are various strands of blue hair that match the defendant’s cutie mark.”

 “That fur could have come from anywhere. It’s hardly compelling evidence.”

 “On that, we agree Ms. Sparkle. However I did not intend to use it as such, I simply found that it was worth mentioning.”

If you don’t plan to use it, how is it worth mentioning?

 “The evidence that will prove the defendant’s guilt takes the form of a witness. The prosecution would like to call the rabbit Angel to the stand.”

 “Hold on. How do you plan to question someone who doesn’t speak English?”

 “The rabbit has shown an understanding of my questioning so far, so I don’t expect to encounter any problems with the questioning. However the rabbit’s owner will be needed in order to translate. I assume your honor will allow this?”

“I don’t see any real problem with this,” the princess turned to me,”assuming the defense agrees.”

 “...I have no problems with it your honor.”

 “Very well. Bring the witness to the stand.”

Fluttershy nervously approached the stand with Angel in tow. It was clear Angel was badly hurt. Both his hind legs and his left ear were bandaged.

 “Name and profession.”

Fluttershy’s eyes darted nervously from me to the judge to the prosecutor. “I’m Fluttershy and I take care of the animals in ponyville.”

“I was actually referring to the witness, Ms. Fluttershy.” I noticed that Grayamina seemed to be acting a bit more warmly than she had been. Even her gaze didn’t seem as chilly.

“Oh. His name is Angel and he’s an umm... rabbit.”

“Very well. Mr. Angel, could you please tell us the events of the kidnapping.”

Testimony

- - The Kidnapping - -

-Angel says that he didn’t recognize the kidnapper when they walked in.

-Before he could find out who it was, they attacked him.

-Oh my! They hit you with a rock?

-That must be how you broke your leg, huh?

-Oh, they hit you in the head.

-So you don’t remember much after that?

The courtroom went silent for a moment. I wasn’t entirely sure why, but no one was talking.

“Your honor?” Grayamina piped up after a few seconds.

“Yes Ms. Pie?”

“Don’t you have something to say?”

“What? Oh right! You may begin your cross-examination, Twilight.”

Does she need Grayamina to remind her now?

Cross-Examination

- - The Kidnapping - -

“Did you get a good look at the attacker?” I asked.

Flutttershy paused briefly to look at Angel. He was making a bunch of strange motions with his paws, but she seemed to understand them. “He says he’s pretty sure that it was the defendant.”

“Pretty sure is not completely sure.”

Grayamina leaned forward and, once again turned her glare towards me. IT was icy again. “Ms. Sparkle, do you really want to argue this point? The witness saw someone who looked like the defendant and wound up in the defendant’s rock cart. Who else could the witness have seen?”

I took a moment to think of a name, but she was right. “I don’t know.”

“Then please stop wasting time and continue with the examination.”

I turned back to Fluttershy. “So the attacker hit you with a rock?”

“Y-yes, that’s what he said.”

“Then where is this rock?”

Grayamina interrupted again, although the slight warmth had once again returned to her voice. “I found a large rock at the scene of the crime. Here’s a picture of it.” She pulled another photo out of her folder.

“...Angel says that looks like the rock that hit him.”

Wait isn’t that..?

“Hold it right there!”

“Eep!”

Celestia leaned toward me and said, “Twilight, please try not to frighten the witness.”

I guess it’s not much better than objection after all.

“Ahem,” I continued trying to look professional, “the rock that the witness just mentioned has absolutely nothing to with the case. In fact, the rock was delivered to Fluttershy’s Cottage earlier today by the defendant’s sister, Pinkie Pie.”

“Why would Pinkamina deliver a rock to a crime scene?” Grayamina asked.

“I’d be lying if I said I understood it, but apparently it’s an invitation to a party. The point is that this rock could not have been used to attack the defendant, because it didn’t arrive until this morning.”

“That doesn’t mean that the witness is lying,” Grayamina said as she leaned on her bench, “The rock could have been carried back to the farm.”

“The witness said that the rock in the picture looked like the rock that hit him. You should know, prosecutor, that this rock is one of the more unique rocks of the pie farm.”

“Yes, I believe father calls it his Gray Rock. It is very easily distinguished from most rocks because it is so colorless.”

“And along with being super gray, I believe that it is also super heavy. Too heavy for one pony to carry it back and forth between the pie farm and Fluttershy’s Cottage in a short time.”

“It is true that the rocks are heavy and the walk is long, but it is hardly impossible. Couldn’t the defendant have used a cart to haul the rock and the rabbit back to the farm? That would explain why he was in the cart after all.”

“That would make sense, but I have proof that a cart was never involved. I believe you took this picture Grayamina.” Now it was my turn to pull something out an envelope.

 “Oh I see what you’re getting at. Very well.”

 “These tracks are believed to be the kidnappers correct.”

 “Yes.”

“And as you can clearly see, there are no cart tracks anywhere near them.”

Grayamina clapped her hooves together for a moment. I wasn’t sure if she was being sincere or sarcastic though, because her face remained as blank as ever. “Well done Ms. Sparkle. I suppose that means that a rock was not used in this particular crime.”

The glare from Grayamina was enough to freeze the bunny, and most of the court, in place.

“You’ve been lying to me this whole time, haven’t you witness?”

Surprisingly, Fluttershy was unfazed Grayamina’s gaze. Instead of freezing, like most of the room, she turned her own stare on Angel.  “Is that true Angel? What have I told you about lying?”

I managed to shake myself back to life and said, “Fluttershy, do you think you can convince Angel to tell us the truth?”

 “Just give me a minute Twilight. Come on Angel we’ve got some serious talking to do.”

Fluttershy walked right out of the courtroom while she scolded the bunny. Right after she left I heard Celestia’s gavel slam down again.

 “I think now seems like a good time for a recess. Ms. Pie, if you would please get the witness under control so we can continue.”

 “Yes your honor.”

 “We’ll reconvene when you’re ready, please make it quick.”

 Bonus Case 1: Turnabout Triplets

Chapter 3: Trial Part 2

July 12, 2:20 PM, Defendant’s Lobby #1, Ponyville

I entered the lobby with Blueberrie and saw Pinkie Pie jamming out on the couch to music that could no doubt only be heard in her head. I wondered why she was in the defendant’s lobby of course, but I decided that asking her questions about it was probably not just pointless, but futile as well.

 “Hey guys!” Pinkie shouted as she hopped toward us,” How’s the trial going? Is Blueberrie innocent yet?”

 I smiled and said, “It’s going pretty well actually. Blueberrie hasn’t been proven innocent yet, but I think everything’s going on track.”

 “What do you think Blueberrie?”

Blueberrie was still a bit sullen, but she managed to put on a happy face for Pinkie.  “Haven’t you been watching the trial Pinkie?”

 “It’s too loud in there. I’ve been in here trying to think of an awesome victory song. The problem is that I can’t think of anything that rhymes with innocent.” Pinkie turned to me. “Do you think you could make it last a little longer so I can think of something?”

“I can’t promise anything. Personally, I hope we can finish it quickly.”

“Maybe you guys can help me then. How much time until you have to get back?”

“We won’t be here very long Pinkie.”

I hope.

“Now that you mention it, why are you here in the first place?”

“The witness was lying, so Grayamina needs to sort some things out.”

“Ooh. That reminds me. I need to go and ask Grayie how the trials going for her. Good luck Blueberrie.”

Pinkie left the room at a brisk pace. No doubt she was going to surprise Grayamina with some random outburst when she arrived.

Blueberrie took a seat on one of the nearby couches and I decided to join her. “So how are you doing Blueberrie?” I asked.

She sighed and smiled at me. “I’m doing better than I expected. To be honest, when Pinkie recommended an attorney I didn’t have very much faith.”

 “Why? I thought I looked pretty respectable.”

 “It’s not that. It’s just that Pinkie isn’t exactly the most trustworthy pony.”

 “Does she let you down a lot or something?”

 “...I’d prefer not to talk about Pinkie much if you don’t mind.”

“That actually reminds me. Why didn’t you tell me about your motive before this whole thing started?”

“Well you never asked. Besides I didn’t even think I really had a motive.”

“I guess that’s understandable, but surely you knew that Grayamina could use this whole jealousy thing for her case.”

“I thought that Grayamina would be on my side,” Blueberrie’s head drooped as she spoke,” I guess she really does consider this her job.”

I wish I could cheer her up somehow. Why did Pinkie have to leave?

Before I could think of a way to lighten her spirits, someone walked into the lobby. I recognized it as the bailiff. “The prosecution is ready. Please return to the court.”

Blueberrie smiled at me as we walked out and said, “Please don’t let me down Ms. Twilight. You’ve done great so far.”

July 12, 2:40 PM, Courtroom #1, Ponyville

Grayamina looked somewhat more annoyed than usual when she entered the courtroom. I wasn’t sure if this was because of dealing with Angel or Pinkie’s earlier visit.

Celestia turned to her and asked, “Is the witness ready now Ms. Pie?”

“I believe so, your honor. Me and Ms. Fluttershy talked things out with him and I believe that the version he’s given us is true.”

“Why was Angel lying in the first place?” I asked.

Grayamina sighed. I was surprised to see her showing this much emotion. “Apparently he found that the truth was too embarrassing, and decided to tell a story that made the attacker seem stronger.”

“And you’re sure you’ve got the real story now?”

“As sure as my trust will comfortably allow. I’m afraid that you will have to settle for that.”

I get the feeling she’s not the most trusting pony. That’ll have to do.

Clestia nodded. “Very well. Please bring them to the stand, bailiff.”

Both Angel and Fluttershy were clearly annoyed this time when they approached the stand. It obviously hadn’t been easy to get the bunny’s confession.

 Grayamina regained her usual composure and turned to the stand. “Please tell us what really happened witness.”

Testimony

- - The 'Real' Crime - -

-Angel wasn’t really hit with a rock.

-He was embarrassed by what happened because he thought it made him look weak.

-He was actually poisoned.

-Somepony came to the door, and gave him a bunch of carrots.

-After he ate a few of them he felt woozy and passed out.

-He says that the pony he saw looked like Blueberrie.

This time Celestia was the first to speak. “You may begin your cross-examination now Twilight.”

This will probably be the last testimony. It’s now or never.

Cross-Examination

- - The ‘Real’ Crime - -

“Were the carrots bad or something?” I asked

Grayamina turned from the stand to me. “It’s possible, but we are operating under the assumption that the poisoning was intentional. We couldn’t learn much from the carrots that were found with the witness. Most of them were crushed after all.”

“Then the carrots in the cart were the same ones from the crime scene?”

“There weren’t any carrots at the actual crime scene, so it is most likely.”

Carrots updated in court record.

-Carrots: Half eaten carrots found in the cart with Angel. Apparently they were laced with something that makes rabbits sick.

I guess it’s time to bluff.

 “Did you get a good look at the pony, witness?”

“...He says that they looked like that pony in the defendant’s stand.”

 “You got a good look at their face, then?”

 “...Actually, he says he didn’t.”

The crowd and I gasped in unison.

Wow that actually worked? I wonder if this is how all defense attorneys do things.

“W-well then,” I continued, still surprised I’d actually gotten anything,” If he didn’t see the face, then how did he recognize them?”

“For that matter,” Grayamina chimed in,” How did he not see the face of his kidnapper if they gave him carrots?”

“...He says he may have seen their face, but he doesn’t actually remember it that well because of how sick he got.”

“Then,” I asked again,” how did he know it was Blueberrie?”

“...He says he saw a blueberry cutie mark like the defendant has.”

Well that didn’t help as much as I thought. Well I guess I might as well keep pushing.

“Just to make sure, can Angel please describe the mark?”

Even I could understand Angel’s gestures in this case. He pointed to Blueberrie, and made a circle.

Of course Fluttershy still felt that she needed to translate. “It was blue and round.”

Celestia’s gavel once again snapped me out of my thoughts. “I think that settles it. While the tracks and the testimony alone might qualify as flimsy evidence at best, together with where the victim was found make it clear who the guilty party in this case is. Does the defense have anything more to say?”

Cud! I have to think of something quickly. Let’s try that bluffing thing again.

“There is one other possibility.”

Grayamina sighed again. It was clear she was ready to end this trial. “And what would that be Ms. Sparkle?”

“What if it was some other pony that Angel saw?”

Grayamina leaned forward and gave me her usual cold stare. “Are you serious Ms. Sparkle?”

“All that Angel remembers is the cutie mark. I’m sure plenty of ponies have a round blue cutie mark.”

“Very well Ms Sparkle. I’ll give you one chance. What pony, other than the defendant, has a round blue cutie mark, the same size hoof as the defendant, and a reason for taking the victim to the Pie farm?”

C’mon Twilight. It wasn’t Blueberrie, so there’s only one other option.

“The only other person who might fit that description is none other than the defendant’s sister, Pinkie Pie!”

The commotion in the crowd had to be silenced by Celestia’s gavel.

Celestia seemed almost excited by this turn of events. “You’ve raised an interesting point Twilight. I would like to hear from this other potential kidnapper.”

They’re taking me seriously? This is going better than I thought.

“We will need to have a recess in order to find Ms. Pie however.

“Actually your honor, the accused is currently in the prosecutor’s lounge.” I noticed by Grayamina’s tone that she had returned to its usual cold state.

“Very well. Bring her in please, bailiff.”

Pinkie hopped into the courtroom behind the bailiff a minute later. I wasn’t sure why she was so happy. Obviously the bailiff hadn’t told her why she was here.

She immediately started waving toward everypony in the courtroom. “Hey Twilight. Hey Grayie. Hey Blueberrie. Hey Princess. How’s the trial going?”

“Pinkie,” I asked, “do you know why you’re here?”

“I’m here to hear the verdict right? So who won?”

Grayamina slammed one of her hooves on the table. “Pinkamina! This is serious business. Stop bouncing.” She seemed a bit more angry than usual. Her tone and face hadn’t changed, but the way she slammed her hoof betrayed her mood.

“Calm down Grayie. I’m just excited to hear who won.”

“That’s not why we called you in here! You have been accused by Ms. Sparkle of kidnapping the rabbit. We need your alibi right now.”

“Okie dokie lokie. Why didn’t you just say so.”

“Okay Pinkie. Please tell us what you were doing yesterday.”

Testimony

- - What I was doing yesterday - -

-Well first I woke up and I had a bowl of oatmeal.

-Then I went to town square and told Rainbow Dash to meet me at the farm after she finished working.

-After that I started handing out invitations for Gummy’s party.

-He didn’t bite me for a whole day last week so I thought we should celebrate.

-I was all over Ponyville handing out invitations.

Grayamina sighed again. It seemed she had returned to being exasperated. “Well that bit about the oatmeal was hardly necessary, but the rest of the testimony is unclear. Pinkamina can you tell us where you were from 6:00 to 8:00?”

“I wasn’t really keeping track of time, but I can tell you that I wasn’t at the farm.”

“Very well. Ms. Sparkle-“

“Ms. Pie.”

Grayamina didn’t even bother apologizing this time. She simply went quiet.

“Twilight, you may begin.”

Cross-Examination

- - What I was doing yesterday- -

“Did you ever go to the farm to meet Rainbow Dash? At 7:00 in particular.”

“No. There were still some clouds hanging around Ponyville so I assumed she was still working.”

I noticed Grayamina had begun writing something on her envelope. “I’ll be sure to include that in my report to the weather patrol.”

Poor Dash will be eating boiled grass by the time Grayamina’s done with her salary.

“Who were you inviting?” I said continuing my questioning,” I know I wasn’t invited.”

“Shh. I can’t say. Gummy’s in the audience.”

I looked up into the stands and, indeed, the toothless gator was there.

I was going to say something, but Grayamina beat me to the punch. “Pinkamina, do I have to remind you how serious this situation is?” Her anger was beginning to show in her voice. “We need to know where you were and who you met.”

“I’m sorry Grayie, but I can’t spoil the surprise.”

Celestia smiled at the pink pony at the stand and said,” I understand Ms. Pie. Bailiff, would you please escort the gator from the courtroom.”

“But then Gummy’ll miss the verdict,” Pinkie complained.

“The only other option is to tell us with him here Ms. Pie.”

“But Ihe’s already found out there’s a party. I can’t spoil the guest list for him too. Couldn’t we wait until the party’s over? It’s planned for tomorrow.”

Grayamina once again slammed her hoof on the bench. “Pinkamina be serious!”

Maybe I can get her to talk.

“Pinkie, if you don’t tell the court I’m going to have to.”

Pinkie looked confused. “How do you know who I invited Twilight?”

It’s just a hunch, but it’s worth a shot.

“Pinkie you invited Angel to the party didn’t.”

Pinkie’s shifty eyes activated immediately after I said the bunny’s name. I was on the right track. After a moment she focused her eyes on me intently and asked, “What proof do you have?”

Is she seriously going to keep arguing?

“Pinkie when we were visiting Fluttershy’s cottage earlier today, you mentioned that you thought Angel was shedding because of the hair on the floor. However, considering the situation it would have been much more reasonable to assume that the bunny had fought against his kidnappers. How could you have known he was shedding unless you had seen it yourself?”

I knew it wasn’t much, but I was hoping that the force I said it with would be enough. It seemed I was right because after my little speech Pinkie bowed her head and said,

”Why do you keep ruing my surprises Twi?”

This time when the prosecutor spoke up the anger could actually be seen on her face. “Pinkamina, why were you hiding such important information from this court?”

A smile came back to Pinkie’s face when she looked back to Grayamina. “I didn’t want to spoil the surprise silly.”

“This information could be vital to the case.”

Celestia was still smiling throughout all this. It was almost like she found it funny. “Ms. Pie, the prosecutor is right. I’m afraid that regardless of the alligator in the room we will need this information.”

Pinkie shrugged. “Well Twilight spoiled the surprise anyway I guess. So I can tell you now.”

Testimony

- - What I was doing yesterday part 2- -

-I did see Angel yesterday because he was invited to Gummy’s party.

-I also invited Winona, Owlicious, Opal, and this orange chicken that I met in town square.

-Each invitation was personalize for the invitee, except for the chicken, who I just gave a cupcake.

-I was all over delivering the invitations, so I’m not sure what time it was when I saw Angel, but I’m pretty sure it was before six, because he wasn’t kidnapped yet.

I looked over at Grayamina, expecting her to say something, but all she did was stare. Her previous cool had come back to her, but she seemed to be actively attempting to maintain it.

Celestia pulled my gaze to her by saying the very words I expected from Grayamina. “Twilight, you can start the cross-examination now.”

I shook myself back to reality. “Of course princess.”

Cross-Examination

- - What I was doing yesterday Part 2- -

“I didn’t see you deliver anything to Owlicious. Did anyone else see you deliver the invitations?”

“I met Applebloom when I saw Winona. That was after I met Angel though.” Pinkie seemed to be trying really hard to remember. “Oh! Sweetie Belle saw me when I gave Opal hers too. And I ran into Scootaloo right after I gave the chicken the cupcake.”

“So Fluttershy wasn’t there when you met Angel than?”

“Nope. I think she was buying more chicken seed or something.”

“What exactly was it that made the invitations personalized?”

“Well I gave every guest their favorite food. Except for the chicken, but that was because Fluttershy was out of seed.”

“What did you give each of them?”

“Let’s see...I gave Opal a fish, Winona a bone, the chicken a cupcake, Owlicious a rat, and I gave Angel some carrots.”

I looked over at Grayamina expecting to see a bit of surprise. Her face was still completely solid however. Apparently her emotion binge was a little short lived.

“Pinkie,” she said as she rifled through her envelope and pulled out a new photo, “Are these the carrots you gave Angel.”

Pinkie examined the photo probably longer than was necessary before saying, “No those carrots are too dirty. I gave angel some really nice shiny carrots.”

Suddenly an idea popped into my head. “Pinkie, did you do anything special to the gifts you gave out.”

“Yeah. I used some of Blueberries super powered shining stuff on them.”

“Pinkie,” Blueberrie gasped,” That stuff is highly toxic.”

“Well yeah I know that now. Angel got really sick when I gave it to him.”

I was moments away from leaping into the air and cheering. I couldn’t believe this had actually worked. However before I could get too excited Grayamina spoke up again. Her voice alone was enough to cool me off. “Hold on Ms. Sparkle. Just because Pinkamina poisoned the rabbit does not mean she’s a kidnapper.” She then turned back to the pink pony on the stand. “Pinkamina, what did you do after the rabbit passed out?”

“Oh that’s kind of embarrassing.”

“We need to know Pinkamina.”

“Okie dokie.

Testimony

- - Sick Angel - -

-I was really worried when Angel got sick, but I didn’t know where Fluttershy was.

-It’s embarrassing, but I couldn’t remember the way to the nurse pony either.

-I thought that Blueberrie would know what to do since she made the shining stuff, so I went to the farm instead.

-I still had all the other invitations to deliver though. Plus I had to get all new stuff.

-I just left Angel on the farm where I thought Blueberrie would find him.

The whole courtroom went briefly silent. I looked over to Grayamina at last expecting to see some surprise on her face, but what I saw was disappointment. “Pinkamina, do you know what this trial is for?”

Pinkie looked up obviously a bit confused. “It’s to see whether or not Blueberrie locked Angel in the silo right? How did you forget that Grayie?”

“Silo?”

“Yeah, that’s where I put Angel after all. I figured Blueberrie would find him when she went to put the rocks away. It was closer than the farmhouse.”

I chimed in here. “Pinkie, we were trying to figure out who took Angel from Fluttershy’s cottage.”

“OOOOHHH! That was me. Why didn’t you guys just ask me?”

I noticed something that almost seemed like a smile on Grayamina’s face. If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought she was laughing. “Pinkamina, do you no how much time you could have saved if you had told anyone what you just said?”

Pinkie took a moment to think this over. “A lot.”

This sent Grayamina over the edge. She fell over onto the bench and started laughing almost hysterically. For a few seconds, only to be interrupted by Celestia’s gavel.

“Ms. Pie, please get a hold of yourself. We do still have quite the unanswered question here.”

Grayamina pulled herself back up and after a second managed to put her straight face back on. “I’m sorry your honor. It’s just the very idea is humorous. A whole day here was wasted because nobody asked the one person who knew what was going on.”

I looked up at Celestia as I was still a bit confused. “Hold on princess. Doesn’t this mean that Blueberrie’s innocent. Pinkie just admitted to kidnapping Angel after all.”

Celestia shook her head. “I’m sorry Twilight, but I’m afraid Blueberrie can’t be absolved of guilt just yet. While it’s true that she did not kidnap the victim, the victim was found injured inside of her rock cart. If Pinkie Pie here left the bunny in the silo as she says, then we still need to figure out how they got from one place to the other.”

“So you see Ms. Sparkle,” Grayamina interjected, “While Blueberrie may be innocent in relation to the kidnapping, we still have the matter of assault to settle. Angel was badly injured after being buried in her rock cart. Blueberrie is still the primary suspect.”

“Thank you Ms. Pie, but I was just about to explain that.”

“I apologize your honor.”

“I think that for now we cannot deduce how the victim got from the Pie Silo to the defendants cart. Court will be suspended for further investigation.”

I sighed. When was this going to end?

Celestia’s gavel sounded the end of today’s court session and the court was emptied.

Me and Pinkie waved goodbye to Blueberrie as the Bailiff moved her back to the dungeon. “I’m sorry Twilight,” Pinkie said as she walked me home, “I could have saved you a lot of time.”

“It’s okay Pinkie. I suppose I didn’t ask.”

“I promise I’ll be more helpful tomorrow!”

“Tomorrow?”

“Of course. There’s still a lot more of investigatin’ to do.” She waved goodbye as I opened the door. “See you in the morning.”

Bonus Case 1: Turnabout Triplets

Chapter 4: Investigation Part 2

July 13, 7:00 AM, Library, Ponyville

I woke up to knocking on my door and the screaming of the local over-excitable pony.

“TWILIGHT”, Pinkie screamed, “IT’S INVESTIGATIN’ TIME!”

I tried to pretend I didn’t hear her and just go back to sleep, but I’d forgotten who I was dealing with. No more than a second after I had put the pillow over my head to drown her out, I opened my eyes and saw the pony staring straight at me. “What are you doing Twilight?”

“I was sleeping.”

“You know it would work better if you were on top of the pillow.”

“What do you want Pinkie.”

Pinkie started bouncing giddily toward the door and said, “It’s time to get investigating silly.”

“Isn’t it a little early?” I moaned.

“Well we need to get started before Daddy Pie wakes up if we’re going to go to the farm.”

I managed pulled myself out of bed and start brushing my mane while Pinkie bounced excitedly around me. “Does he really get up this early?”

“I think so. What time is it?”

I glance at the alarm clock near my bed. “It’s 7:00 in the morning.”

“Uh oh! We’re late,” Pinkie shouted as she grabbed my hoof and, once again dragged straight into the investigation.

July 13, 7:40 AM, Pie Farm, Ponyville

Somehow, despite how early it was, the Pie farm actually seemed more active than it had been yesterday. It was just as gray as before, but now I could see two ponies on the horizon moving about busily. I recognized Grayamina quickly enough, but I hadn’t seen the brown stallion with the gray mane. I assumed this was Daddy Pie.

After a moment Grayamina seemed to notice our arrival and shouted something I couldn’t hear to her father. She then removed the cart from her shoulders and quickly approached us.

Pinkie waved and shouted, “Hiya Grayie,” as the pony reached us.

“Hello Pinkamina,” she nodded to Pinkie. “Hello Ms. Sparkle.” Her voice was as cold as ever, but somehow it seemed more fitting at this time of day.

“Nice to see you again Grayamina,” I said.

“You don’t have to lie Ms. Sparkle. Why are you two here so early?”

Pinkie leapt up and shouted, “We’re investigatin’.”

“Couldn’t you have waited until later? We just started moving the rocks.”

“Pinkie wanted to get here before you guys woke up.”

“It’s been too long since you worked here Pinkamina. We wake up at six on work days.”

How is that even possible?

Pinkie stopped bouncing and looked straight at Grayamina, “I’m sorry Grayie. I didn’t think you got started until later. Do you mind if we look around the farm anyway?”

Grayamina shook her head. “Father won’t like it if ponies are moving around on the field while we move the rocks. He’s already annoyed that we can’t use one of the carts. You two can look around, but keep to the silo and the farmhouse for now okay.”

“Thanks Grayie.” Pinkie gave the pony a quick squeeze before bouncing over to the silo.

“Aren’t you going to follow her Ms. Sparkle?”

“I was just wondering,” I said as I turned back to the gray pony, “Why aren’t you investigating right now? You obviously got a head start.”

“Just because I’ve got this new job doesn’t mean I can just abandon my work on the farm. I’ll start looking around once we move the rocks.”

“Wow, you’re a really hard worker.”

Grayamina simply nodded and started walking back to her cart. “Oh,” she glanced back towards me, ”If you don’t mind, could we talk in a few hours? It would save me some time if you could tell me about what you find.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem.”

Grayamina managed to curl her lips ever so slightly before she turned away. I headed to the silo as soon as she got moving.

July 13, 7:40 AM, Rock Silo, Ponyville

I entered the silo to see Pinkie looking around with her gigantic magnifying glass again. I couldn’t help but wonder where she kept it, but with Pinkie it was better not to ask.

The silo itself was pretty much what I expected. It was basically a large wooden tube decorated only by a few streamers up in its highest parts. The silo was large, but mostly empty. A pile rocks lay on to the left and a few farming implements were hung on the wall. There was also round table directly in the center of the room, which I couldn’t help but think was a bit odd. I also noticed a trail of white fur leading from the back door to the table.

“Did you find anything yet Pinkie?”

The pink pony turned the magnifying glass on me and said, “I found some rocks, and a table.”

Well it’s not like I expected much.

Investigate

-Table

“Why is there a table in the middle of a silo anyway?”

“I’m not sure. I haven’t been in here for a while. It was a nice place to leave Angel though.”

“Maybe we should ask one of the other Pie’s about it.”

Table added to court record.

-Table: A round table found in the middle of the Pie rock silo.

Investigate

-Rocks

I walked to the pile of rocks and gave it a quick look over. “Yep that’s a pile of rocks,” Pinkie said.

“So this is where they store them after harvesting right?”

“It’s where they used to, so probably.”

“I’ll be honest, I expected a bigger pile.”

“Well they did just have a sale. So it’s a lot smaller than usual.”

Investigate

-Farming Tools

“I think I get the pick and the hammer. I can’t wrap my mind around the pitchfork though.”

“It’s been there for as long as I can remember. I asked dad what it was for once. He couldn’t remember either.”

Investigate

-Streamers

“So what's’ up with the streamers anyway? Did you throw a party in here recently?”

Pinkie looked up at the bits of colored paper and started tearing up. “Aww...they’re still keeping them there.”

“Is there something special about these streamers?”

“They’re from my very first party. I thought mom took them down when I left home.”

“I guess they wanted something to remember you by when you weren’t around.”

Table added to court record.

-Streamers: A few streamers hanging in the rock silo. They’re a memento from Pinkie Pie’s very first party.

Investigate

-Hair Trail

Pinkie once again pulled her magnificent magnifying glass from nowhere and stared intently at the nearest pile of hair. “That’s funny. I don’t remember this from before.”

“Are you sure you didn’t just miss it when you were here before. Angel was shedding after all.”

“Yeah, but I was carrying him on my back. I’m not sure how this much hair could’ve fallen off.”

“Angel was moved out of here after you left. Maybe some more fell off then.”

“Oh right! I’d forgotten. I wonder where the trail leads.”

I moved to the back door with the hope of following the trail, but before I could even unbar it, I heard the other door open behind us. I turned to see that the pony from the field had entered the silo with a fresh cart of rocks and dumped them onto the pile in the corner, after which he approached me. I noticed now the collar and hat he was wearing. Evidently I hadn’t been able to see them before.

“Hello Ms. Sparkle,” he said,” Ma’ daughter said you could use some help in here.”

“Hey Daddy,” Pinkie said as she waved enthusiastically to the pony no more than a hoof away from her.

“Hello Pinkamina. Good to see you again. We missed you yesterday.” His voiced showed how happy he was to see his daughter, but for some reason his face remained completely expressionless. Inability to show emotion must run in the family.

“You’re Pinkie’s father right?” I asked.

“Yep. Ma’ little Gray told me to come help you out with your investigation while she finished moving the rocks. Sorry Ah’ took so long, but  Ah’ figured Ah’ should gather up some rocks as long as Ah’ was headin’ to the silo.”

“Grayamina wanted you to help us?”

The pony nodded. “She’s really workin’ hard on this whole prosecutin’ thing. She wanted me to talk to y’all so you could tell her what Ah’ said later.”

“Why wouldn’t she just talk to you herself?”

“She doesn’t like to waste any time she doesn’t have to, and it’s hard to talk while yer’ movin’ rocks. She also said she thought this was ‘fairer.’”

“Well I do have a few questions for you, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course Ah’ don’t miss. With little Gray taking care of the field Ah’ve got at least a half hour.”

Dialogue

-The Day of the Crime

“So can you tell me anything about the day of the crime?”

“Me and Gray were in town that day. By the time we started packin’ up Blueberrie’d been arrested. We found out when the princess told us.”

“Did you notice anything unusual when you got home?”

“The only thing Ah’ can think of is that Blueberrie’s rocks were still in the cellar.”

 Dialogue

-Blueberrie’s Rocks

“What’s so odd about her keeping the rocks in the cellar?”

“Usually she moves them into the silo after she finishes polishin’ ‘em. Then she and Mrs. Pie start harvestin’ a bit. Ah’m not sure why she started harvestin’ before movin’ the rocks.”

“Maybe she wanted to harvest more because mom was sick,” Pinkie interjected.

“Still doesn’t make sense to me,” he said as he shook his head, “You should probably ask Blueberrie about it if you get the chance.”

Present

-‘Super Gray Rock’

“Ah, that’s one of ma’ special Gray Rock’s. I didn’t know you were a fan of ma’ work Miss.”

“Daddy, I told you before, ‘Super Gray Rock’ sounds way cooler.”

“That reminds me, the rock for today is still on ma’ workbench. Go ahead and get it whenever you’re ready darlin’.

“I was just wondering,” I interjected, “How do you make these so colorless?”

“Sorry, but that’s not just something I can tell everypony who comes askin’. Only me and ma’ little Gray know.”

Present

-Table

“That’s tables been here ever since ma’ daughter here threw her very first party.”

Pinkie looked at the table a bit oddly before saying, “Hey! Where’s the tablecloth.”

The stallion scratched his head as if to indicate confusion, but I still couldn’t see anything on his face. “I’m not sure. Your mama usually likes to keep it in here. She must be washin’ it.”

“Isn’t it inconvenient to have a table in the middle of a silo?” I asked.

“Actually, it’s where we keep the polished rocks so we don’t mix ‘em in with the usual ones and get ‘em scuffed up. Blueberrie gets real annoyed if her rocks get scuffed up.”

Present

-Streamers

Pinkie began bouncing in place. “So I noticed you kept the streamers up!”

Daddy Pie looked up at the colorful paper dangling from the sides of the silo. “Ah yeah. Your mama tried to take those down after you left home, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. You really should visit her more often, Pinkamina. She misses you a lot.”

“We should go say hi to her later Twilight.”

I nodded. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”

“She’s probably sleeping right now,” Pinkie’s father said,” But Ah’m sure she wouldn’t mind if y’all stopped by. Her room’s on the second floor of the house.”

I turned my attention back to the trail of fur. “Thank you for your help Mr. Pie, but me and Pinkie need to get back to investigating.”

“If y’all need anythin’ else, I’ll be in here sortin’ the rocks.” He said as he walked to the pile. I watched for a second to see how he could be sorting them, but I couldn’t figure it out.

“Seeya later dad.” Pinkie waved to her father as she unbarred the door to the field.

July 13, 8:20 AM, Pie Farm, Ponyville

Pinkie and I were disappointed to find that the trail was cold. No fur was outside of the door or anywhere in sight. This didn’t deter Pinkie though. She glued her eyes to the ground hoping to find something.

I glanced around the field, but I couldn’t see anything. “I wonder where Grayamina went.”

Pinkie hopped up and looked frantically in all directions. “I don’t see her! She must be in one of the other fields. Should we go get her?”

 “She’s probably busy farming. We should just go check out the farmhouse. Besides, you wanted to see your mom right?”

“Let’s get going then.” Pinkie bounced on toward the house as giddily as ever. She must have not been looking where she was going though, because she managed to hop straight into the open cellar doors on the side of the house.

I panicked and ran as fast as I could to the cellar, thinking that Pinkie had hurt herself.

July 13, 8:25 AM, Farmhouse Cellar, Ponyville

I entered the cellar to see an amazingly uninjured Pinkie Pie spread out on the floor and giggling. “Whoopsy daisy!” The pink pony leapt to a stand and shook her head. “I guess I wasn’t looking where I leapt.”

“Are you all right Pinkie?”

“I think so. Looks like the room wasn’t so lucky though”

I looked around the cellar. Either the Pie family was incredibly untidy, or Pinkie had actually ricocheted when she fell in, and I honestly wasn’t sure which was more likely. A bunch of small rocks were scattered all over the floor, several nearby chairs were broken, and a workbench in the corner was in complete disarray.

“We should probably clean up this mess you made.”

“Ooh! Good idea. It’ll give us a chance to investigate.”

I shrugged. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to look around a bit as long as we’re here.”

Investigate

-Rocks

Pinkie and I started pushing the rocks back into the bucket they had spilled from. “These must be the rocks Blueberrie was polishing the night she was arrested,” I said.

“They’re really pretty. Maybe we should take her some later to cheer her up.”

“I don’t think the guards would mind if we just brought her one. Let’s find the nicest one.”

“Ooh, how about this one!” Pinkie pulled a small golden ball from the pile and showed it to me.

“That’s weird. Most of these are gray. Are you sure that’s a rock Pinkie?”

“It was in the pile right. I bet Blueberrie would like it.”

“Well, okay. You know her better than I do.”

Gold Ball added to court record.

-Gold Ball: Found mixed in with Blueberrie’s shined rocks. It’s very shiny, but I’m not convinced it’s actually one of her rocks.

Investigate

-Work Bench

Tools were scattered all over the floor around the bench, including a small, dirty shovel, a hammer, a chisel, a mallet, and a saw. A clear liquid was spilled all over the bench from a bottle in the corner as well. The only thing that didn’t seem to be out of place was the large gray rock right in the center.

“Surprise,” Pinkie threw a bundle of confetti and leapt into the air before landing and handing me the rock.

“Wha-Oh right! Thank you Pinkie I wasn’t expecting such a nice gift.” I took the rock out of her hooves and it slammed straight into the ground.

“You’re not a very good actor Twilight,” Pinkie said disappointed, “You weren’t surprised at all.”

“I was surprised Pinkie, and I really am thankful for the invitation.” I used magic to lift the rock back onto the bench, but even that took a surprising amount of effort. “Let’s just leave it here for now okay. When’s the party?”

“The day’s on the bottom of the rock.”

I stared at the rock for a moment, thinking of the pain it would be to turn it over. “I’ll look when I get home. Now help me clean up this spill.”

Pinkie provided a towel to clean up the liquid, but I couldn’t find anywhere to put the glass. In the end I just decided to throw it in the court record with everything else.

Broken Bottle added to court record.

-Broken Bottle: A bottle of clear liquid found in the Pie family cellar. It was broken when Pinkie fell into the cellar.

Investigate

-Tools

“Is your father a carpenter too Pinkie?”

“Well he fixes things up sometimes. He doesn’t like to pay to have things around the farm fixed.”

“That explains the mallet and the saw, but do you know why this shovel’s here.”

“He probably just forgot he was carrying it when he came in from farming silly.”

“But I thought he took rocks to the silo. Why would he leave the shovel in here?”

“Hmm...Well he did bring your ‘Super Gray Rock’ in here. Maybe that’s when he left it.”

Shovel added to court record.

-Shovel: A dirty shovel found in the Pie family cellar.

Investigate

-Broken Chairs

“I don’t know what we’re going to do with these chairs,” I said,” Do you think you can fix them Pinkie?”

“Oh don’t worry about those. They were broken when I got here.”

“Why are there broken chairs in the cellar?”

“Well you can’t sit on them, so they probably shouldn’t be at the dinner table.” Pinkie seemed to be trying to think of some other place where they could belong before shouting, “I got it! They’re here because dad was going to fix them.”

I looked from the chairs to the bench. “I guess that makes sense. So we should probably just leave them for him then.”

“So everything clean now right?”

“Well everything that you messed up at least.”

“Goodie! That means we can go see mom now. C’mon Twilight.”

Pinkie grabbed my hoof again and pulled me up the cellar stairs and into the house. I would have made her slow down, but by the time I knew what had happened we had already flown past the bottom floor and stopped in front of a wooden door upstairs.

We didn’t stop for long though. Pinkie threw open the door and shouted, “Hi mom!” before I could say anything.

July 13, 8:50 AM, Mama Pie’s Room, Ponyville

I walked calmly into the room to see a white pony with a tightly tied dark gray mane sitting in front of a simple vanity. She was wearing a pair of glasses with gold frames on a chain of gold beads. She also wore a lovely golden pendant with a blue gem. She turned to Pinkie and smiled. “Good to see you Pinkamina.” Her voice was hoarse.

“Sorry I haven’t seen you when I came to visit. I thought you were busy sleeping.”

The mare laughed softly. “I suppose I was. I’ve been sick for the past week. I haven’t left bed for more than a few minutes at a time. I’m sorry I missed your visits.”

Pinkie gasped. “Why didn’t dad tell me you were sick? I would have done something to cheer you up.”

Something tells me that’s why he didn’t say anything.

“It’s just nice to see you again dear,” the old mare said,” It’s been too long.” After a moment she turned her gaze to me. “Who’s your friend Pinkamina?” I’m not sure why, but something about her gaze made me feel cold, despite the smile on her face. Maybe it was just another thing that ran in the family.

“This is Twilight,” Pinkie said as she put her hoof over my shoulder,” She’s helping Blueberrie in court.”

“Oh yes, Grayamina told me that she was trouble. Thank you so much for helping her Ms. Twilight.”

“It’s no problem,” I said,” I’m actually investigating the farm today. Would you mind telling me what you remember from yesterday?”

“I’d be happy to young lady, but I’m afraid I can’t tell you much. As I said, I’ve been sick all week.”

Dialogue

-Yesterday

“Do you remember anything odd happening yesterday?”

“I was up here most of the day, so I missed the arrest. The oddest thing was when my husband came to bed and gave me the news.” The mare’s smile disappeared and she shook her head solemnly. “I was awfully distraught.”

“Don’t worry mom.” Pinkie put a hoof on the mare’s shoulder. “Twilight will make sure that Blueberrie’s okay. Right Twi?”

“Don’t worry Ms. Pie,” I said,” Blueberrie will be okay. I’m going to need your help though. Were you out of bed at all yesterday?”

Ms. Pie smiled at her daughter before once again turning her gaze to me. “I was out for a few minutes around 5:00 I think, but I don’t remember anything odd happening.”

“Did you see anypony outside?”

“I do remember seeing Pinkamina out by the silo. I would have said hello, but the silo is awfully far from the house when you’re sick.”

“Are you Positive you didn’t see anyone else?”

Ms. Pie closed her eyes for a moment. “I do seem to remember seeing somepony wandering around the fields. I couldn’t see who it was, but it looked like a unicorn. I assumed it was one of Pinkie’s friends.”

Dialogue

-The Pony in the Field

“Mrs. Pie! This information could be of vital importance! Tell me everything you can about this other pony you saw.”

Once again, the mare closed her eyes. “I can’t remember much. The only thing I know is that it was a unicorn. I could tell by the shape.”

“Do you remember what they were doing?”

“I remember they came a little after Pinkamina did. They went into the silo just as she left, so I assumed they were following her.” The mare shook her head. “After that I dozed off. When I came to again I didn’t see anypony.”

Dialogue

-Sick

“So mom,” Pinkie said,” How are you feeling? Do you want me to bring you some medicine from town?”

“Oh it’s not that bad sweetie. It’s just a little flu. Beside, I’m feeling much better now than I did at the start of the week. I was even thinking that I might surprise your father with a nice lunch later.”

Present

-Streamers

“Oh right! I wanted to say that it’s okay for you to take those streamers down mom.”

Mrs. Pie’s smile stayed, but I could swear that the room got colder. “Thank you for your permission Pinkamina.”

“You won’t need them if I’m going to be visiting every day.”

“I suppose that’s true.” The room started to feel a little warmer. “Would you mind telling Grayamina to take them down when you get a chance?”

“Okie dokie lokie,” Pinkie said as she saluted her mother.

Present

-Golden Ball

“Mrs. Pie,” I said as I pulled the golden ball out of my bag,” Does this belong to you?”

“Yes, that’s a bead from one of my chains. They break from time to time you see. I usually try to pick them all up, but it’s not surprising to find them around the farm now and again. You can keep it if you want. Putting it onto the chain at this point would just be a nuisance.”

“When was the last time they broke?”

“Oh it happens so often I don’t even remember now. I really need to look for better quality string.”

I noticed Pinkie was rubbing her chin, deep in thought. “What’s wrong Pinkie,” I asked.

“Now how are we going to cheer Blueberrie up?”

“We can always get another rock Pinkie.”

“Yeah, but not one as pretty as that.”

No use arguing. Just let it go Twilight.

Golden Ball updated in court record.

-Golden Ball: A bead from Mrs. Pie’s glasses chain. Found in the Pie Farmhouse Cellar.

“I think that’s all that you can help us with. Thank you very much Mrs. Pie.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t help you girls more. If you need anything else though, I’ll be right here.”

“Don’t be silly mom.” Pinkie smiled at her mother. “Thanks to you now we’ve got another suspect. You might have saved Blueberrie’s life.”

“I hope you’re right Pinkamina. Now it’s up to Ms. Twilight here.”

“C’mon Twi! We’ve gotta go find that unicorn.”  I knew what was coming next, so I tried to wave goodbye to the old mare. However, Pinkie was too fast for me, and before I knew it we were down on the bottom floor of the farmhouse.

July 13, 9:10 AM, Farmhouse, Ponyville

“You really need to stop doing that Pinkie.” I looked around for a moment to try and recognize my surroundings. I was flanked on all sides by wooden walls. A large window was next to the front door with a clothesline hanging from it.  A few chairs were set around a small table near the window, and a large oven sat in the corner opposite the table. I realized where we had landed and was surprised to see that we hadn’t even left the building yet.

“Why did we stop here Pinkie?” I asked,” I expected you to drag me to the field.”

“I think I have an idea,” I heard a familiar chilling voice coming from behind me. The gray pony circled around me. “I see that you have talked to mother.”

“Nice to see you again Grayie,” Pinkie grabbed the pony’s hoof and shook it vigorously. Grayamina didn’t react. “Are you finished with work?”

“No. I came here to check on mother. How is she doing?”

“Oh she’s just fine. Her voice is kind of weird, but she says she’s feeling a lot better than she did.”

“That’s good to know. Now if you’ll excuse me. I must get back to the field.” The pony bowed politely to me and pinkie and turned to the door.

“Wait!” I shouted. “Before you go I need to talk to you.”

Grayamina turned around and shot me a glare slightly colder than usual. “Very well Ms. Sparkle. Please make it quick.”

Dialogue

-Report

“I’ve learned quite a bit about the case. I figured you’d want to hear it.”

“I’m sure it can wait until later Ms. Sparkle. I asked for you to report to me after I finished my work. As I have told you, my work is not finished. Unless it is incredibly important, I’m not interested.”

I guess I should avoid the little stuff for now and head right to my big question.

Dialogue

-Mystery Unicorn

“Yesterday, your mother said that she saw a unicorn on the farm around the same time Pinkie dropped off Angel.”

For a moment I thought I spotted some concern in Graymina’s demeanor. “Who was this unicorn?”

“We don’t know,” I said,” We were hoping you could fill in that blank.”

“What were they doing?”

“She said that she saw them go into the silo. It looked like they were following Pinkie.”

“Anything else?”

“She fell asleep after that.”

Grayamina scratched her chin for a moment and looked back to me. Her gaze was a bit warmer than it had been. “Thank you very much Ms. Sparkle. I’ll have to look into this.”

“Could I help? It might be important to the case.”

Suddenly I was frozen solid by the chill that seemed to cover the room. I noticed a familiar vibration coming from my court record, but I couldn’t bring myself to remove the stone. “This is a family matter Ms. Sparkle. It is of no importance to you.”

Grayamina left the building quickly and I noticed her through the window galloping to the field.

“What was that about?” I said once I felt I could talk again.

Pinkie was completely unfazed by the previous chill, but I noticed she did seem to be a bit concerned by Grayamina’s reaction. “I haven’t seen Grayie so worried in a long time. I hope everything’s okay.”

“Let’s just leave her be for now.”

“Okay. Let’s get back to investigatin' then.” Pinkie’s usual enthusiasm jolted back into her almost instantly as she glanced randomly about the room.”

Investigate

-Clothesline

The clothesline only had one item on it as far as I could see. It was a worn old tablecloth that had been patched up after what must have been years of wear and tear.

“Wow! That thing’s really old. They should replace it.”

“I think that’s the tablecloth from the silo Pinkie. They’re probably keeping it because it’s so old.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“Pinkie, it’s from your very fist party remember.”

“Oh that’s why they’re keeping it. Well that’s just silly. I’ll get them a nice new one when I throw the big rock party then.”

She may be missing the point, but not by much.

“Well it looks clean now, so we should take it back to the silo when we go talk to dad.” Pinkie pulled the tattered cloth off the line and skipped out the door.

Tablecloth added to court record.

-Tablecloth: The tablecloth from the Pie Silo. Mrs. Pie cleaned it recently.

July 13, 9:15 AM, Pie Silo, Ponyville

When I entered the silo I saw that Pinkie had already draped the cloth over the table in the center of the room. She was busy adjusting it while her father sorted rocks in the corner.

“Excuse me Mr. Pie,” I said as I approached him.

The stallion turned and said, “Hello Miss. Did you need somethin’?

Present

-Mystery Unicorn

“Mr. Pie, your wife said that yesterday she spotted a unicorn in the farm. Do you have any idea who it might be?”

“Ah’ don’t know many unicorns personally. What were they doin’?

“Mrs. Pie said she thought they were following Pinkie Pie.”

The brown pony lowered his head a moment and sighed. “Ah’ was afraid this might happen. Pinkamina,” he said turning to the pony busy with the tablecloth,” Ah’ told you to be careful when you came to the farm.”

“Why?” I asked. “What’s going on?”

The stallion turned back to me. “Ah’m sorry Miss, but that isn’t any of yer business.”

“Why are you all being so secretive about this? It could be very important.”

“Sorry Miss, but until we can find out what exactly’s going on here this’ll have to stay between me and little Gray. Now if y’all will excuse me, I have to go check on something’”

Mr. Pie walked calmly out of the silo and into the field. I tried to follow him, but he had already galloped off by the time I got outside. “What's so alarming about this unicorn?”

Pinkie hopped out of the silo a second later. “The table’s all set. Now what do we do.”

I shook my head and sighed. How did she miss that whole scene? “Well I don’t think we can find anything else out on the farm right now. Let’s go visit Blueberrie.”

“Oh can we stop by Fluttershy’s on the way. I need to apologize to her for that whole mess yesterday.”

“I suppose we could. I’ve got a few questions for her too.”

“All right, then let’s get going.” Pinkie grabbed my hoof again, and I didn’t even bother resisting. This way of travel was probably faster than me walking anyway.

July 13, 10:00 AM, Fluttershy’s Cottage, Ponyville

We arrived at the cottage to see Fluttershy sitting at her couch and sipping some tea. The ‘Super Gray Rock’ had been moved to her table and the fur was swept up, but apart from that the cottage was the same as yesterday.

“Hello Twilight and Pinkie.” Fluttershy waved to us.

“Hi Fluttershy,” Pinkie hopped into the house. “I just wanted to say sorry for that whole thing with Angel. I didn’t realize it was my fault that he got so hurt.”

“It’s okay Pinkie. You were just trying to be nice. You should go apologize to Angel though. He’s in his hutch.”

“Oh I’d almost forgotten. I need to tell him about the new time for the party.” Pinkie rushed out the door, leaving me alone with Fluttershy.

“So how are you and Angel doing Fluttershy?” I asked.

“Angel is still pretty hurt, but he’s feeling a better today. How are you doing Twilight?”

“I’m just fine Fluttershy. Do you mind if I talk with you for a second about the case?”

“I don’t know much, but I’ll tell you what I can.”

Dialogue

-The Crime

“I never got to talk to you about what happened.”

“That’s okay. I didn’t have much to say.”

“Anything you can tell me would be useful.”

“It’s just like Rainbow Dash said. I saw Angel in Bluberrie’s cart and I umm...fainted.”

“Did you see anything before then?”

“Nothing but the tracks and the fur I used to find him.”

“I didn’t see any fur in that picture of the tracks.”

“Oh! That was my fault. I think I must have blown it away when I flew over. There wasn’t very much of it.”

“Really...Did you see anymore fur when you got to the farm?”

“Yes. It led to the silo. Then it led a little around the silo and disappeared by the side. After that I saw the blue pony and went to ask her if she saw Angel nearby.”

“That’s when you saw him and fainted right?”

“Yes.”

Dialogue

-Mystery Unicorn

“Do you know of anyone who might have some sort of grudge against you or Angel? A unicorn specifically.”

“I don’t think so. Most ponies I know like me, and I don’t think anypony hates Angel very much. The only pony I can think of that might is that blue pony that hurt him and she’s an earth pony.”

“Thanks anyway.”

“Why do you ask?”

“A unicorn was seen at the rock farm when Pinkie left Angel. I thought he might be involved.”

“He must have been there for some other reason. I can’t imagine why anypony would go out of their way to hurt a poor defenseless bunny.”

“But someone did Fluttershy. And I’ve got to prove that it wasn’t Blueberrie.”

“I wish you luck Twilight, but I can’t really help you. I saw Blueberrie with Angel in her cart.”

I sighed. “I guess you’re right. Thank you for telling me everything though.”

Just then Pinkie walked into the cottage. “Hey guys!”

“Hello Pinkie,” Fluttershy and I said in unison.

“I’m sorry I took so long Twi, but explaining everything to Angel took some time. Plus I had the party plans to go through. But now I’m done and we can go visit Blueberrie.”

“Okay Pinkie.” I stood up and waved goodbye to Fluttershy. “Thanks again.”

“It was my pleasure Twilight. Good luck with the rest of your investigation.” Fluttershy waved us on as we headed to the dungeon.

July 13, 10:20 AM, Dungeon, Ponyville

We entered the dungeon to see Blueberrie on the bed in her cell playing with a small rock.

“Heya Blueberrie,” Pinkie shouted shocking the pony into falling off of her bed.

After a moment she rolled to a stand and said,” Hello Pinkie. Glad to see you came to visit again.”

“Actually this isn’t just a friendly visit Blueberrie,” I said,” I’ve got some questions for you.”

Blueberrie smiled at me. “Oh, I didn’t see you there Ms. Twilight. What did you want to know.”

Dialogue

-Yesterday

“Can you tell me a bit more about what happened yesterday?”

“I already told you my alibi. What else do you want to know?”

“I need to know what you did between finishing your rock polishing, and working in the field.”

“Nothing unusual. I moved the rocks from the cellar to the silo. Then I went to go check on mom. After that I went to work.”

“Are you sure nothing unusual happened?”

Blueberrie took a moment to think. “Well it did take longer than usual to find the cart.

Grayamina left it out in the field again. Usually we keep them by the silo, but every now and again she forgets to put one away when mom calls everyone in for dinner.”

“Huh, I didn’t figure Grayamina would be the absent-minded type.”

“Well she doesn’t really like farming very much, so sometimes she sort of daydreams.”

“I thought she was a farmer pony.”

“She is, but she really enjoys selling rocks to farming them. That’s her special talent after all.”

That explains a bit, but raises so many more questions.

Dialogue

-Mystery Unicorn

“Your mom saw a unicorn on the farm that day after Pinkie left Angel in the silo. Do you have any idea who it could be?”

“Apart from you, I don’t actually know any unicorns. Was it one of your friends Pinkie?”

Pinkie shook her head. “I don’t think so, but then again I don’t even remember seeing a unicorn that day. Not on the farm at least.”

“Then I have no idea who it was. You should see if someone else on the farm knows them.”

“The thing is,” I said,” When I asked your sister and your father, they both freaked out.”

“Maybe they think it was a thief. Dad is always really worried about those. I think it may have rubbed off on her.”

“That would explain it I guess.”

Dialogue

-Apology

“I just wanted to apologize for that whole thing yesterday Blueberrie,” Pinkie said as she scratched her mane,” I didn’t realize how much trouble I’d put you in.”

Blueberrie turned to her sister and smiled. “It wasn’t all your fault Pinkie. Whoever put the bunny in the cart is at least partially to blame.”

“Yeah, but I wasted a lot of time by not telling anypony.”

“To be fair Pinkie,” I chimed in,” Nopony ever thought to ask you.”

Present

-Magic Rock

“I was wondering, where did you get this rock?”

“I just found it one day when I was helping with the farming. It was such a weird shape that I asked dad if I could keep it.”

“Do you have any idea how it works?”

“Not really. I just know that with it I could tell when Pinkie and Grayamina were trying to hide stuff from me.”

“Does it work on anyone else?”

“Well it doesn’t work on mom and dad, but apart from that I don’t know. I don’t really get off the farm much.”

Present

-Broken Bottle

“Oh yeah!” Pinkie exclaimed,” I also need to apologize for spilling all of your shining stuff.”

Blueberrie looked at the broken bottle perplexedly. “That’s not a bottle of my rock polisher.”

“Then what is it?” I asked.

“I think it’s just a bottle of water. Dad always keeps one on the workbench.”

Broken Bottle added to court record.

-Broken Bottle: A bottle of water found in the Pie family cellar. It was broken when Pinkie fell into the cellar.

“Do you have anything else to apologize for Pinkie?” I asked.

Pinkie briefly considered if she might have forgotten something she did to Blueberrie. “ I didn’t drop a rock on you recently right?”

Blueberrie chuckled for a moment. “No Pinkie.”

“Then I’m done.”

I couldn’t help but crack a smile. “All right then. We should probably get back to the farm and tell Grayamina about what we found.”

Pinkie grabbed my hoof and I waited to be rushed to the farm, but nothing happened. “Pinkie,” I asked,” Why aren’t we moving?”

“It’s your turn now silly. I’ve been dragging you around all day. Go on give it a try.”

I just sighed and walked Pinkie to the farm at a nice brisk pace.

July 13, 11:20 AM, Pie Farm, Ponyville

We arrived at the farm and saw Grayamina and her father talking in the distance.

“Man you’re sure slow Twilight,” Pinkie said upon our arrival, “I would have had us here much faster. From now on I’m doing the dragging okay.”

“That’s fine Pinkie. What do you think they’re talking about over there?”

Pinkie looked at the ponies in the distance. “Why don’t we just ask them? HEY GRAYIE WHAT ARE YOU AND DAD TALKING ABOUT?”

The ponies looked in our direction briefly and nodded to each other. Mr. Pie headed back to the house, but Grayamina headed straight for us.

“Hello Ms. Sparkle, Pinkamina,” she said as she reached us,” I’m finished with moving the rocks if you are ready to report.”

“What were you and Dad just talking about?”

“It’s nothing Pinkamina.” The court record started vibrating again. “It was just a little trouble on the farm. Nothing to concern yourself with.”

Dialogue

-Report

Grayamina turned her eyes back to me. “So what have you discovered Ms. Sparkle?”

“Not much I’m afraid, apart from the unicorn I told you about before.”

“Surely you must have found something. You’ve been working all day.”

“All I have is a couple of conflicting stories. To start, Blueberrie says that she moved her rocks to the silo before she started farming.”

“Yes, that must have been when she found the rabbit. What is your point?”

“Well, your father said that he didn’t see the rocks there when he came home yesterday.”

“She must have moved them to cover her tracks. What is your next story?”

“Okay. Fluttershy saw a trail of fur leading to the side of the silo.”

“That’s where we keep the carts, so that makes sense.”

“But Blueberrie said that she found the cart out in the field.”

“Again, all we have is the word of the defendant. But, if it will put your mind at ease, she could have moved the cart and then the rabbit. Is there anything else?”

“Not that I can think of.”

“Well, if you do think of something please show it to me.”

Present

-Streamers

“Oh Grayie, mom wanted me to tell you something.” Pinkie scratched her chin for a moment as she tried to remember the message. “Oh yeah! She wanted you to take down the streamers in the silo.”

I could feel the air around me get briefly colder. It receded fairly quickly however when Grayamina turned to Pinkie and said,” Okay Pinkamina. If mother’s ready to take them down then I’ll get on it right away.”

Dialogue

-Mystery Unicorn

“So did you ever find out who the mystery Unicorn was?”

“I told you before Ms. Sparkle, it is none of your business.”

That stare of yours isn’t going to stop me this time.

I pulled Blueberries rock out of my court record, and sure enough, I saw a lock hanging around Grayamina’s neck. “What are you hiding Grayamina.”

“I’ll say it one more time Ms. Sparkle. It is no business of yours. This is a family matter.”

“it could be vital to the case.”

“I highly doubt that Ms. Sparkle.”

“It was another pony at the scene of the crime. How could it not be important?”

“If I were to explain it then you would understand, but as I said it’s a family matter. I would prefer you don’t get involved.”

“If it’s a family matter then why don’t you tell Pinkie? She’s family after all.”

“Pinkamina no longer has any right to the family business. She left years ago and seldom even visits. This matter has almost as little to do with her as it does you, Ms. Sparkle.”

“You’re lying. Pinkie’s more important to you than you’d like to admit.”

Present

-Streamers

“Your mother and father certainly don’t seem to think of Pinkie like that, and I don’t think you do either. Nobody wanted to take these silly little pieces of paper down. All because they reminded you of her didn’t they?”

Grayamina’s expression was unaltered, but her gaze was significantly less cold as she turned to Pinkie. “I suppose you’re right Ms. Sparkle, but that doesn’t change anything. Even if I were to tell Pinkamina, I doubt she would tell you what it was the unicorn was doing here.”

“Oh, so it’s not who the unicorn was after all. It was what she was doing that you were trying to hide.”

Grayamina turned back to me and shot me with a glare even icier than it her previous one. “To bad for you I already know what they were doing here.”

“Really Ms. Sparkle. Then tell me. What was the unicorn doing on our farm?”

“The unicorn was a thief right? Blueberrie told me how you and your father have been worried about thieves lately.”

“Ms. Sparkle why would we be worried about thieves? It’s not as if many ponies actually want to steal rocks.  What would anypony possibly want to steal from our farm?

Present

-‘Super Gray Rock’

“What else but the Pie family secret, the ‘Super Gray Rock.’”

I noticed that lock around Grayamina’s neck was starting to crack. It was good I could see the lock, because Grayamina betrayed nothing. “That secret is very well kept Ms. Sparkle. Why on earth would we be worried about some random unicorn figuring it out?”

“Well, if a pony like me could figure it out, why couldn’t some other unicorn.”

“Say that again Ms. Sparkle.”

“I said, ‘if a pony like me could figure it out, why couldn’t some other unicorn?’”

“You’re bluffing. If you know so much then how about you show me. How do we make the ‘Gray Rock?’”

“Super Gray Rock,” Pinkie interrupted.

Present

-Shovel

“I thought there was something odd about the shovel by the workbench. I’ve looked around and as far as I can tell most of your rocks aren’t buried. The ‘Super Gray Rocks’ are buried aren’t they?”

“Is that really all that you have to go on Ms. Sparkle?”

“N-no, I’ve got more.”

Present

-Broken Bottle

“There’s something you have to wash off of the rocks right? That would explain the bottle of water on the bench.”

“We use that to wash dirt off Ms. Sparkle. You obviously haven’t looked into this as much as I thought.” And with that the lock fell right off of Grayamina’s neck. It was a lot less spectacular than Pinkie’s lock.

Dialogue

-Mystery Unicorn

“You haven’t been looking for the secret, so I think I can trust you.”

“Wait, that’s what this was all about? You just felt that you couldn’t trust me.”

“I understand you’re from Canterlot correct Ms. Sparkle? You see, we’ve been having a bit of trouble with a unicorn from around there lately. My father and I weren’t sure if we could trust you. That’s why I couldn’t allow you to follow me when I went to check on the rocks. But it’s clear you haven’t been looking very hard.”

“I’ve been investigating a crime. Did you expect me to waste my time looking for a rock recipe?”

“We weren’t sure. I hope you understand.”

“So, this unicorn from Canterlot, is she the one who was here earlier?”

“That’s the most likely case. I believe her name is Soapstone. She’s an albino pony specializing in rock related magic in Canterlot.” Grayamina briefly rifled through an envelope and handed me a photograph. “Here’s a picture of her.” The picture showed a bleached white pony with a long white mane and pink eyes.

Does she take pictures of everything?

 “She was here a few months ago studying the farm,” Grayamina continued,” When she asked my father and I about the ‘Gray Rock’ we told her it was a family secret, but she was very insistent. Eventually we found her searching around the farm late at night, so we had to order her not to come here again.

“When you told me that mother had seen a unicorn, I was afraid she had come back and stolen some of the rocks. That was what I went to go check.”

“And you couldn’t have just told me all of this before?”

“Of course not. If you had been working with Soapstone, I couldn’t trust you with any real information. I had to find out whether or not you were. At the very least, I have learned that if you are working with her then you are incompetent.”

“Do you think this Soapstone could have been involved in the crime?” I asked, trying to ignore the insult.

Grayamina shook her head. “Most likely not. If she was here she most likely wouldn’t even have noticed the rabbit, much less attempt to harm it.”

“I’m not so sure.”

“You are free to draw your own conclusions Ms. Sparkle. In any case, thank you for your report. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go interview Fluttershy and the rabbit. It would be in your best interest to prepare some witnesses as well.” Grayamina walked calmly right past us toward Fluttershy’s cottage.

Pinkie Pie turned and waved enthusiastically. “Bye Grayie. See you at the trial later.” After a few moments of waving she turned to me. “See you later too Twilight. I’ve gotta go tell the rest of Gummy’s guests about the time change.” Pinkie waved goodbye to me and hopped away.

I should probably get ready for court while I have the chance. Grayamina said I should prepare my witnesses. I’ll need to bring Mrs. Pie to the courthouse.

Bonus Case 1: Turnabout Triplets

Chapter 5: Trial Day 2

July 13, 1:00 PM, Courtroom #1, Ponyville

I sat calmly at the defenses bench waiting for the trial to start. It was taking a bit longer than I thought it would though as Grayamina had yet to show up, so I decided to take the chance to talk to the irritated dragon sitting next to me.

“Are you still upset that you missed the investigation Spike?”

“You could’ve woken me up you know.”

“It was seven in the morning. You know as well as I do that you wouldn’t have gotten up even if I asked. Besides, Pinkie dragged me out of the house before I could get you.”

“Well you could have at least come to see me when you came back to town,” he mumbled.

“I’m sorry Spike. I promise you can come along on the next investigation okay.”

The baby dragon didn’t say anything. He just stared angrily at the opposite bench. I turned my attention to the other side of the room as well to see that Grayamina had finally arrived and begun organizing her envelope.

“Hello Ms. Pie,” Celestia smiled down at the gray pony,” Good to see you’ll be joining us today.”

“I’m very sorry your honor. My sister pulled me aside on the way here, and it’s surprisingly difficult to get away from her. She’s in the lobby right now as a matter of fact.”

“You don’t need to make excuses Ms. Pie. The important thing is that you’re here and we can begin. I assume that you are ready Ms. Pie?”

“Yes your honor.”

“And is the defense ready Twilight?”

I nodded. “Yes princess.”

“Very well. Ms. Pie, please call your first witness.”

“Yes your honor. For my first witness, I would like to call the victim to the stand once more.”

“Hold on,” I said,” We’re trying to determine what happened to Angel between him being placed in the silo, and him being placed in the cart. Wasn’t he unconscious during that time?”

“Apparently not Ms. Sparkle. He appears to have woken up at some point while in the rock silo. He failed to mention it yesterday because he thought it was just a dream. I’m sure you’ll understand why in a moment. However, I have reviewed it and believe it to be an at least mildly accurate account of events.”

 “How can you be sure?”

“The location that he described to me appears to be the silo, and as he has never been inside the silo while fully conscious, it is most likely that his dream is merely something he experienced while still dazed. If you’ll remember, the rabbit was still poisoned.”

As Grayamina spoke, Fluttershy quietly approached the stand with Angel in tow. “Umm...Hello again everypony,” she said.

“Hello again Fluttershy,” Grayamina said, turning toward the yellow pegasus, “Please translate what Angel saw in the silo for us?”

“Okay.”

Testimony

- - Angel’s Dream - -

-“He says that he dreamed he was weightless on a pink cloud of some sort.”

-“Only, when he started floating upward it turned out to be a lake.”

-“Then he floated through a waterfall of some sort and found himself looking up into a gray tube.”

-“After that he can’t remember anything else.”

Grayamina turned away from Fluttershy and back to me. “Ms. Sparkle, you may begin the cross-examination.”

I waited a moment for Celestia to react to this, but it seemed as if she had finally simply accepted it.

I guess that saves us some time at least.

Cross-Examination

- - Angel’s Dream- -

“What’s this pink cloud you’re talking about?” I asked.

“That was likely the tablecloth that he was resting on,” Grayamina spoke before Fluttershy could respond,” He confused it with a cloud because of his blurred vision and the fact that he felt, as he put it, weightless.”

So the tablecloth was there when Pinkie left Angel.

“You passed through a waterfall?”

“...Now that he thinks about it, he says it felt more like hair than water.”

“So you think it was a pony’s mane?”

“...probably...”

“What made you think that it was a waterfall?”

“...he says that it was mostly the length, and the way it moved.”

“Does he remember anything else about it?”

“...No, it was dark when he went through, and after that all he saw was the tube.”

I turned to Grayamina. “How does this prove anything Grayamina?”

“Simple Ms. Sparkle. It proves that Pinkamina wasn’t the one to move the victim. The only other pony who could was Blueberrie.”

“That’s not true.”

“All right Ms. Sparkle, then please show us this other pony. Who was it that you believe moved Angel?”

“You should know that Grayamina. The pony who really moved Angel is Soapstone.”

Grayamina shook her head dismissively. “So you really do intend to try this. I can’t say I blame you.”

Celestia of course was quite confused. “Twilight, who is this unicorn?”

“This unicorn is Soapstone, a unicorn that harassed the Pie family a few months ago. Apparently Mrs. Pie saw her enter the rock silo, shortly after Pinkie Pie left it.”

“This is quite an interesting turn of events. Twilight, did you bring Soapstone, or at least Mrs. Pie?”

“I don’t even know where to find Soapstone, so for now all I’ve got is Mrs. Pie.”

“Well then bring her in. Bailiff, go retrieve Mrs. Pie from the defendant’s lobby.”

“Hold it!” Grayamina shouted and pointed a hoof in my direction. This time, though, I was smart enough to close my eyes. “Before we waste a sick pony’s time here, I would like Ms. Sparkle here to answer a question for me.” She lowered her hoof, allowing me to look at her again. “Ms. Sparkle, why would Soapstone decide to bury a rabbit in one of our rock carts in the first place?”

“What?”

“It’s a simple question Ms. Sparkle.” Grayamina slammed her hoof on the bench for emphasis. “What is Soapstone’s motive for harming the rabbit?”

I paused for a moment to think of something. Then, suddenly, it came to me. “You should know that Grayamina.”

“Really?”

“Soapstone was after the Pie family secret, the ‘Super Gray Rock!’”

Grayamina shook her head and leaned forward on her bench. “For one Ms. Sparkle, I would appreciate it if you would call the item by its proper name as long as we are in court. Despite what Pinkamina says, it is called the ‘Gray Rock.’”

“Super Gray Rock,” A muffled shout said from the next room.

“For another, Soapstone’s desire to acquire this rock is completely irrelevant. How would harming a rabbit completely unrelated to our family help her in any way?”

“What if she didn’t know that the rabbit wasn’t related to you?”

Grayamina paused for a moment and sat back down. “I see what you’re saying Ms. Sparkle, but it still doesn’t answer my question. Even assuming that she did think that the rabbit belonged to us, how would harming it help her get what she was after?”

Once again I paused to gather my thoughts. “What if it was a threat?” I asked.

“A threat?”

“The plot thickens,” I heard Celestia mumble.

“Yes a threat,” I said,” If Soapstone wanted the ‘Super Gray Rock,’ as bad as you and your father seem to think she did, is it that much of a stretch for her to threaten you for it? And wouldn’t it be a hay of a threat to bury the family pet in a pile of rocks?!” I heard several loud gasps from the crowd around me, and a quiet one from the judge’s podium.

Grayamina was, as usual, unfazed. “That’s quite impressive Ms. Sparkle. I’ll admit that the idea hadn’t even crossed my mind. Perhaps this does bear looking into. Bailiff,” she turned to the pony sitting next to Celestia, “Bring Mrs. Pie in from the defendants lobby.”

I looked up at Celestia, expecting her to berate Grayamina for overstepping her bounds again, but she just smiled quietly down. It seemed like she was enjoying the show.

After a minute the bailiff guided the old mare up to the stand.

“Name and occupation,” Grayamina said.

“Oh little Grayamina, always so professional.” The mare smiled.

“Name and occupation.”

“Oh all right. I’m Susan Pie, and I work on the Pie rock farm with my husband and two of my daughters.”

“Mrs. Pie,” here Celestia chimed in,” Would you please tell the court about what you saw that day?”

“Yes your majesty.”

“Your honor will be fine.”

“Then, yes your honor.”

Testimony

- - The Mysterious Unicorn - -

-“I was feeling a bit better that day, so I decided to go outside and get some fresh air.”

-“I was resting on the porch outside when I saw Pinkamina hop up to the silo.”

-“I would have said hello, but as you can see my voice is quite weak.”

-“I couldn’t walk to the silo either, because I was still quite tired you see.”

-“After a minute, I saw a unicorn walking up the same path that Pinkamina had come from and head into the silo just as she left.”

“Was this the unicorn you saw,” I asked, showing Ms. Pie the picture of Soapstone.

“I’m not sure. My glasses weren’t on at the time. The unicorn did look white though.”

I smiled and looked over at the prosecution’s bench, waiting for a response. I saw that Grayamina was looking down and shaking her head. “I can’t believe I didn’t ask before. What a waste of time.”

“Is something wrong Ms. Pie,” Celestia asked, the smile still on her face.

“Yes there is your honor. Mrs. Pie,” she said turning her gaze to her mother. It was the same freezing glare that she had given Angel the previous day. Her mother seemed completely unaffected though.

“Please, Grayamina, I know that we’re in court, but you can still call me mother.”

“Mrs. Pie is what I will call you until you stop lying to the court, Mrs. Pie.”

“Excuse me?”

“You said that Soapstone came up the same path as Pinkamina, but as this entire courtroom knows, that is impossible.” She pulled a familiar picture out of her envelope and slammed it onto the bench in front of her. “There was only one set of tracks leading from Fluttershy’s cottage Mrs. Pie. If Soapstone had come from the same direction, there would be two sets. You never saw that unicorn did you?”

Mrs. Pie seemed incredibly flustered. All I could make out through her stuttering was, “B-Blueberramina’s i-innocent!”

I noticed that the formerly blue pony beside me was suddenly bright red.

Grayamina once again slammed her hoof on the table. “Mrs. Pie, please leave. We have no need for false testimony here.”

The crowd went into an uproar for a few moments before Celestia slammed her gavel down. “Calm down everypony. Now Mrs. Pie,” the judge said, turning to the mare on the stand,” While I understand your desire to protect your daughter; this is a court of law. We simply can’t allow ponies to lie in here, for whatever reason. You’ll have to leave now Mrs. Pie. We’ll deal with this later.”

“B-but, she’s innocent,” Mrs. Pie mumbled as the bailiff guided her out of the courtroom.

After she left I saw that Grayamina had already put her picture away and was looking back to the judge. “Wow Twilight, you weren’t lying when you said she was cold.” I looked over to see Spike shivering. “That was her own mother for pony’s sake.”

“Your honor,” Grayamina said, “With this it is clear who it was that put the rabbit in the cart. The only other suspect appears to not have even been on the farm in the first place.”

“I suppose you’re right Ms. Pie. However, before I deliver my verdict, did you have anything to say Twilight?”

“If you don’t mind princess, there is one pony that I would like to testify before you deliver your verdict.”

“Okay Twilight. Who is it that you would like to testify?”

“Hold on your honor,” Grayamina chimed in,” Do we really need to waste more time on this case. It is clear that the defendant is the only pony who could have moved the rabbit.”

“Give Twilight a chance Ms. Pie. Perhaps she knows something you don’t.”

“Very well your honor.”

“Now Twilight, who is it you’d like to call to the stand?”

“I would like to call Fluttershy to the stand,” I said as dramatically as I could muster.

“Haven’t we already spoken to her Twilight?”

“Actually, before she was just translating for Angel. I was hoping that we could hear from Fluttershy herself.”

“What do you expect to gain from this Ms. Sparkle?” Grayaimina asked as she leaned forward on the bench.

“You’ll just have to wait and see Grayamina.”

“All right Twilight,” the princess smiled down at me,” I’ll have Fluttershy give us all one final testimony. Bailiff, if you would please retrieve her.”

After a minute the bailiff brought Fluttershy back to the stand. Angel still sat on her head.

“Name and profession,” Grayamina said.

“Oh yes. He’s Angel and he’s a rabbit.”

“Actually Fluttershy, this time I was asking you.”

“Oh umm...I’m Flutershy and I umm take care of the animals in Ponyville.”

“Thank you Fluttershy. Ms. Sparkle, I believe you were the one who wanted to question her.”

“Thank you Grayamina,” I said sarcastically,” Fluttershy, can you please tell us about what happened the night of the crime.”

“Umm...didn’t I tell you earlier Twilight?”

“You did, but now I would like you to testify about it.”

“Okay Twilight.”

Testimony

- - Finding Angel - -

-“Ahem. I came home that day to see that Angel wasn’t in the cottage where I left him.”

-“He was shedding though, so I noticed a little trail of hair and decided to follow it.”

-“It led to the rock farm outside of Ponyville.”

-“I followed it around the silo before it ended.”

-“After that I saw the blue pony over there and stopped to ask her if she’d seen Angel.”

-“Then I saw poor little Angel i-in t-the-“

Fluttershy stopped abruptly and started crying. The bunny on her back tried to calm her to no avail.

She finally stopped when Grayamina turned her chilling glare on the pony and said, “Calm down Fluttershy. I understand the experience was frightening, but it’s over now. There is no reason to get so emotional.”

Fluttershy wiped the last few tears from her eyes. “I’m sorry everypony.”

“I hope you had a good reason for this Ms Sparkle. You may-“

“Begin your cross examination,” Celestia interrupted.

Grayamina seemed genuinely surprised as she stopped in mid sentence. “I-I’m sorry your honor.”

Celestia chuckled softly and turned to me. “Go ahead Twilight.”

Cross-Examination

- - Finding Angel - -

“So the trail ended at the side of the silo.”

“Yes.”

“That is where we keep the carts Ms. Sparkle,” Grayamina added.

“But Blueberrie said-“

Grayamina interrupted me by slamming her hoof against the table once more. “We’ve discussed this already Ms. Sparkle. Even assuming that the defendant can be trusted about the carts location, she could easily have moved the cart before moving the rabbit.”

“Ms. Pie please try not to frighten the witness.”

Me and Grayamina turned to the stand to see that Fluttershy had begun cowering behind it.

“I apologize Fluttershy,” Grayamina said,” Please come back up. I’m sure Ms. Sparkle has some more questions for you.”

“...I’m sorry Twilight. Did you have something else to ask?”

“Umm...Yes actually. Did you go inside the silo, when you followed the trail?” I asked.

“No. I just peeked inside. Since I didn’t see him in there I followed the trail the rest of the way.”

“What did you see in the silo?”

“Umm...I saw a wooden table with a bucket of rocks on it, and I saw some streamers, and I saw some fur.”

Wait she saw a bucket of rocks. “Your honor, could we please add that last statement to the witness’ testimony?”

“Of course Twilight.”

“You’re just grasping at straws now Ms. Sparkle,” Grayamina said as she shook her head.

That may be true, but I’ve got to do something.

“Fluttershy, are you absolutely positive that you saw a bucket of rocks?”

“Yes. I remember because of how shiny they were.”

“That confirms it. Blueberrie moved those rocks there before she started farming.”

Grayamina once again leaned forward on her bench. “Yes, Ms. Sparkle, but what is your point?”

“My point is that if Fluttershy saw them, then Blueberrie couldn’t have been the person to move them back to the cellar.”

Grayamina just stared at me as coldly as ever. Obviously she wasn’t concerned, but I decided to continue anyway.

“The defendant’s father said that he found it odd that the rocks were not in the silo when he returned home. That means that somepony had to move them between Fluttershy’s discovery and his arrival. As the defendant was arrested shortly after Fluttershy’s arrival, she could not have moved the rocks, and that means only one pony could have.”

“Hold it right there Ms. Sparkle. Are you saying that the defendant’s sick mother moved a bucket of heavy rocks from the silo to the cellar of the house?”

“Well she is the only pony who could have, and she did try to defend her daughter before.”

“I suppose you’re right Ms. Sparkle, but all you’re doing is digging your own grave, so to speak. Yes mother tried to hide something Blueberrie, but that doesn’t prove anything. All it proves is that Blueberrie had something to hide, and mother was hiding it for her.”

“Actually Grayamina, it proves more than you think.”

“And what’s that Ms. Sparkle.”

I braced myself for a dramatic announcement, and pointed my hoof with all my might. “It proves that Mrs. Pie knew that Blueberrie was arrested. If that's the case, then she is not as sick as we have been led to believe. And finally, it proves that Mrs. Pie knew more about the crime than she is letting on.”

“How in Equestria does it prove that?”

“Why would Mrs. Pie remove something from the silo, unless she knew that something happened in the silo?”

Grayamina sat back down. “Once again I must applaud you Ms. Sparkle.” And she did indeed clap her hooves together. “I can’t believe I didn’t recognize this before.”

Celestia was smiling down from her podium as usual. “Perhaps we need to hear more from Mrs. Pie,” she said,” This is getting quite interesting. Ms. Fluttershy, you are dismissed. Bailiff, please retrieve Mrs. Pie.”

The bailiff guided Fluttershy from the courtroom and came back a minute later with Pinkie’s mother. “Hello,” she said, bowing to the princess. She was obviously shaken from before.”

“Mrs. Pie,” I said,” I understand you know more about what happened than you want to tell us.”

“What do you mean Ms. Twilight?”

“I should’ve recognized it before when we found out about the fake unicorn. After all, why would you have had her enter the silo, if you didn’t know anything? However it has become abundantly clear that you do know something Mrs. Pie.”

“W-what are you saying Ms. Twilight.”

A loud slam suddenly shook the courtroom. I looked up expecting to see Celestia bearing her gavel, but shortly realized that it was actually the hoof of the gray pony across from me that made the noise. “Mrs. Pie, would you please stop lying to the court?! Just tell us what you know now!” Despite her obvious anger, her face remained as stoic as ever.

Mrs. Pie closed her eyes and sighed. “All right Grayamina. I’m sorry Pinkamina.”

Testimony

- - The Crime - -

-“When I saw Pinkamina go into the silo, I noticed she was carrying something white.”

-“Then, later that day, after I heard a commotion in the field, I went downstairs to see what was going on.”

-“I saw that Blueberramina was being carried away by some rainbow Pegasus along with the white thing I’d seen Pinkamina carrying and a yellow pony.”

-“When I realized that she had been arrested for her sister’s crime, I decided to hide some of the evidence by moving her rocks back to the cellar.”

-“When that didn’t work I made up the story about the unicorn to protect them both.”

-“I’m so sorry.”

“So Blueberrie did bury the rabbit then.” Grayamina said, having regained her usual calm.

“No, that was Pinkamina,” Mrs. Pie interrupted,” She was the one who took the rabbit.”

“It’s true that she took the rabbit mother, but she left it in the silo. Blueberrie was the one who buried the rabbit. In a jealous rage, she decided to harm an innocent creature by burying it in a pile of rocks.”

Mrs. Pie went dead silent, but I could see the tears welling up in her eyes. I almost felt bad about what I had to do next. “Hold on Grayamina. I can prove you wrong there. Allow me to cross-examine Mrs. Pie before the verdict is decided.”

“Very well Ms. Sparkle. Your honor.”

“Oh yes.” Celestia seemed as if she had just been snapped back to reality after watching some sort of play,”Go right ahead Twilight.

Cross-Examination

- - The Crime - -

“Mrs. Pie, did you ever enter the silo before moving Blueberrie’s rocks?”

Mrs. Pie hesitated for a moment. “No Ms. Twilight. I was asleep until all of the commotion woke me up.”

“You’re lying Mrs. Pie, and I can prove it.”

“What are you talking about Ms. Sparkle?” Grayamina asked.

“You cleaned this tablecloth correct Mrs. Pie?”

“Y-yes.”

“I noticed something odd between Fluttershy’s and Angel’s stories. Angel mentioned that he was lifted off of a pink cloud of some sort.”

“Yes,” Grayamina responded,” That was the tablecloth on the table in the silo.”

“But Fluttershy never mentioned it in her testimony; despite mentioning even the streamers that she had seen in the silo.”

Grayamina went silent this time. I could swear I saw her shaking.

“Mrs. Pie, If you moved this tablecloth before Blueberrie moved her rocks to the silo, that means that you were in the silo at the same time as Angel.”

Mrs. Pie shook for just a moment, after which her hair abruptly came unbound and fell wildly around her. “I’m a horrible mother,” she whispered.

“Mrs. Pie, you put Angel into the rock cart didn’t you? And you dragged him out to the field, so nopony would find him. Why Mrs. Pie?”

“I was just trying to protect my daughters...but then I threw them under the carriage when I got scared didn’t I. I’m a terrible mother.”

“Why did you do it Mrs. Pie?”

Mrs. Pie cleared the hair from her face and looked sadly at me. “I thought that Pinkamina had killed something, that's why! When Pinkamina came to the farm, I did go to say hello to her, but when I caught up she was gone and all I saw was a dead rabbit on the silo table.

“I panicked and tried to hide it. I would’ve buried it, but my husband keeps the shovel in the basement and I didn’t want to alert Blueberramina. So I decided that I would bury it another way. I threw it into the cart and put as many rocks as I could manage on top of it. I would’ve done more, but I still wasn’t feeling well.

“After I’d buried it as much as I could, I remembered that Blueberramina would come to gather rock, so I decided to hide the cart too. All I could do was move it out to the fields though. I can’t believe she worked so hard to find it.

Finally I decided to wash the fur off of the tablecloth. I guess I didn’t notice the fur on the ground. I was just protecting my daughters...but then I couldn’t even confess. I’m an awful mother.”

Grayamina turned her head to her mother and mumble something before stomping out of the courtroom. I’m pretty sure she said,” You make me sick.”

After that Mrs. Pie simply started mumbling “I’m sorry,” over and over until the bailiff carried her out of the courtroom.

For some reason Celestia was still smiling up on her podium, despite the overwhelming sadness that seemed to cover the room. “Well that certainly took an interesting turn,” she said,” I suppose that means congratulations are to be had Twilight. This court pronounces Miss Blueberramina Pie to be

*  N  O  T    G  U  I  L  T  Y  *

Confetti showered the courtroom just as it had before, but the cheeriness of the first time was lost. The defendant clearly wasn’t happy.

July 13, 4:00 PM, Courtroom Lobby #1, Ponyville

As soon as Blueberrie and I walked out of the courtroom she burst into tears. “Why does my family hate me so much Ms. Twilight?” She asked taking a seat on a nearby couch.

“What are you talking about Blueberrie?”

“Did you not see what happened in there,” she said. She spoke surprisingly clearly through her tears. “First I’m arrested for a crime stared because of Pinkie, then Grayamina tries to send me to prison, and finally I found out my mother almost let me get put away for a crime that she committed. Why do they hate me so much Ms. Sparkle?”

“Hold on Blueberrie, Pinkie only did it on accident, and your mother tried to protect you remember. She hid your rocks and made up a unicorn just to keep you safe.”

“Yeah but she still didn’t confess until she absolutely had to. I would have gone to prison if it weren’t for you, and it was Grayamina who tried to send me there.”

“It was just a job Blueberrie.”

“She didn’t have to take the job Ms. Twilight. She could’ve refused. She only took it because she hates me.”

“That’s not true Blueberrie, and I can prove it. You see this bottle of rock polisher.”

“Of course I see it. I gave it to you.”

“Grayamina uses this on her hooves every day. You know that.”

Blueberrie calmed down a bit and looked away from me. “You know that she loves you Blueberrie,” I said,” She’s your sister after all.”

“That doesn’t prove anything Ms. Twilight. So she likes to use my polisher on her hooves. Grayamina’s not even capable of love. You saw how she treated mom in there.”

“That’s not true Blueberrie,” I turned to see Grayamina approaching us from the prosecutor’s lounge. Her voice was cold, but it was tinged with sadness as well. “Ms Sparkle,” She said looking at me,” Do you happen to have Blueberries rock with you still?”

“Yes.”

“May I have it?” I handed her the oddly shaped rock and she moved into Blueberries vision. “Do you remember when Pinkamina took this Blueberrie?”

Blueberrie slowly turned her head up to her sister. “Yes. You were the one who told mom and dad on her.”

“And do you remember what happened the next day?”

Blueberrie nodded. “You wouldn’t even talk to her until I forgave her right?”

Grayamina nodded. “I love you Blueberrie. Just like I love mother, and father, and Pinkamina, but I can’t stand it when someone hurts others. I thought that you had hurt a rabbit out of jealousy. I couldn’t forgive you, just like I couldn’t forgive Pinkamina, and just like I won’t forgive mother.”

Blueberrie’s head drooped. “Here,” Grayamina said as she handed the rock back to Blueberrie,” It’s your good luck charm right?”

“Thank you Grayamina.”

The two sisters shared a brief hug before they were interrupted by their other third. “There you are Grayie,” Pinkie screamed as she ran into the lobby and grabbed Grayamina by the hair. As she dragged the gray pony away I heard her scream, “Pinkamina what are you doing!”

Blueberrie, Spike, and I all shared a confused look. “What was that all about?” I asked.

Blueberrie managed to smile at me and said,” I guess we should go find out,” and started walking out of the courthouse.

“You want to come investigate Spike?” I asked the dragon standing next to me.

He laughed a bit and said,” I think I already know what's happening, but sure let’s go.”

We followed Blueberrie to the Pie farm, and after searching around for her sisters we quickly settled on the silo. As Blueberrie pushed open the door I was distinctly unsurprised to hear Pinkie Pie shouting,” Surprise,” as loud as she could muster.

As we walked into the silo I saw everything typical of a Pinkie Pie party; including a brand new pink tablecloth. I even managed to be surprised by the two smiling Pie’s who greeted Blueberrie in the same manner as Pinkie.

“Welcome to the ‘Blueberrie is innocent party,” the pink pony shouted as she threw a few more streamers into the air. “Is mom here with you?”

I was about to say something before the grayest of the triplets pulled me aside and whispered,” Don’t spoil the mood. I’ll tell her later.”

“She won’t be home tonight,” Blueberrie said.

“Did she get sick?”

“Don’t worry about her Pinkamina,” Grayamina said as she wrapped her arm around her sisters’ shoulders,” Let’s just enjoy the party okay. Blueberrie’s innocent remember.”

“Right! This is Blueberrie’s party,” she said as a Grayamina piñata lowered from the ceiling. “That means it’s time for smack the prosecutor!”

The family shared a laugh over the odd choice of piñata, along with many more laughs during the course of the party. Thus my second case ended with another celebratory party.

Right before I headed home I asked the family what they would do now. Daddy Pie’s response was pretty much what I expected. “Ah’ll just wait for her and keep working as usual. Ah’ think Ah’ can learn to cook while she’s gone.”

Blueberrie answered similarly. “It’s over for now. I’ll just keep up life as usual I suppose. The only change will be an occasional visit to mother.”

Pinkie, of course, didn’t realize anything had changed. It was Grayamina who gave the most interesting response. “I’m not sure what I’ll do Ms. Sparkle, but I’m thinking I might look into staying a prosecutor. For now though, it’s just back to work as usual.”

“But what about your mother,” I asked.

Grayamina just stared silently at me as her smile faded away and her cold expression took hold again. “We’ll see what happens.”

With that, I waved goodbye to the Pies and me and Spike headed home, happy to be finished with my second case.

Twilight Sparkle: Mare Attorney – Justice For Everypony

Author: Fallin’ Winter

Editors/Pre-Readers/Story Consultants: frostedWarlock &

Case 2: Turnabout Friendships

Chapter 1: Prologue/Pre-Case

August 3, 12:58 PM

Books and Branches Library, Ponyville

It's been about a month since my first case and things have been pretty calm around here since then.  Applejack and Rainbow Dash have almost finished fixing the orchards too.  They just left for Appleloosa to get more apple seeds to plant new trees.  I've been lauded around Ponyville as an “Ace Attorney”, but it's nothing really that special.  The reporter ponies have finally stopped interviewing me since my first few interviews with Equestria Daily.  I think it's because everypony has moved on, my ten seconds of fame were up.

Since the Apple Family incident, there haven't been any cases.  Don't get me wrong, I like the sound of that, but maybe a part of me missed the thrill of the courtroom.  Every time I do however, I remember all the painful memories of having to hurt my friends.  Telling them things they shouldn't need to hear, making them turn against each other, it was terrible.  That's why I don't want to go back.  

Clearly somepony up there had other ideas...

“Spike!”

“…”

“SPIKE!”

“Okay, okay, hold your horses Twilight.”

How punny of you Spike.

Spike descended the stairs of the library before stopping at my feet, looking up at me with his eyes half closed. I most likely interrupted him in the middle of cleaning, which probably meant he was trying to take a nap without me knowing.

“Spike, I need you to take this parcel to Rarity.”

His eyes widened, just the mention of Rarity was enough to get him excited.  I floated a parcel from my desk and placed it in his hands.

“Don't bother her for too long, understand?”

He raised his hands in the air defensively.

“Me?  Bother her?  I'm insulted that you'd even think I'd do something like that.  It pains me just to think of hurting, *sigh* Rarity.”

Hoho there, loverboy.

“Fine, just deliver that to her all right?  I need to catch up on my studies.”

With the sound of a door slamming open and closed, I continued to read.  Then read some more.  Even more reading.  It was taking a while for Spike to return, but I'd give him the benefit of the doubt.  I bet he's trying to kiss up to her again.  That was my last thought as I fell asleep on my desk.

August 3, 6:15 PM

Books and Branches Library, Ponyville

*SLAM*

“Waugh!”

*Thud*

I was softly awoken by the door slamming open then proceeded to fall off the desk with a start.  It was quiet now and I was very awake.

It was a surprise to find that I had been startled by the most quiet pony in all of Ponyville, Fluttershy.

She was staring at me, her eyes darting left and right as if she were nervous.

“What's up Fluttershy?”

“There's a thing happening at Rarity's...”

Here we go again...

“I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that.”

“ Something’s going on at Rarity's...”

“Fluttershy, please speak up.  What's going on?”

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and let it out.

“Spike destroyed Rarity's boutique!  Um...at least I think he did.  I'm not really sure, but that's what it looked like...eep.”

August 3, 6:31 PM

Carousel Boutique, Ponyville

“How could you?  Look at my fabulous boutique!  What have you done, Spike?”

Before I even saw Rarity, I could hear her.  It looked like Spike was getting an ear full.

“I didn't do it Rarity!  You have to believe me!”

“Darling, I find you in my shop looking like...like...this, and you want me to believe that you're innocent?”

When I made it to the front of the shop, Spike was pleading at Rarity's hooves.  From the looks of things, it wasn't going well for Spike.  I had to do something!

“Spike!  What did you do?!?”

Okay, so maybe I wasn't helping.

“I swear I didn't do it!  I was going to go get someone when you came back!”

Taking a look inside the shop, it seemed as if a tornado had hit the inside of the store.  There were mannequins littering the floor, and various boxes and things around the shop having been pulled open and emptied on the ground.  The shop was in complete disarray.

Something told me that Spike wouldn't do this.  At least nothing this bad.

“Rarity, you're over reacting a bit aren't you?  Spike wouldn't do this.”

I think.

“Oh how would you know!  I found this ruffian inside the shop, what else could have happened?”

“I do know!  He wouldn't do this because he li-”

“FOREEEEEEEVER!”

“Waugh!”

“Eep!”

“Wahaha~!”

The group of us all fell into a pile, surprised by the sudden outburst.  None other than Pinkie Pie was standing there, peeking her head out from behind the corner of the boutique with her face scrunched into a scowl.

Is she really still keeping me to that Pinkie Pie swear?

“Pinkie Pie?  What are you doing here?”

She kept her sour face on, still glowering at me.

“I know when I'm needed.”

Rarity got back up and began patting the dirt off of herself furiously.  She finished with a swish of her mane and turned back to me.

“Anyway, you were saying darling?”

Pinkie's eyes were still on me.  She was kinda creeping me out.

“Uh, nothing.  I'm not sure, really.  I still don't think this was Spike's fault.”

Assured that I took the hint and didn't say anything, Pinkie finally put her normal smile back on and hopped over to us.

“Hihi you guys are silly, why don't you just let the court decide?  I mean it worked last time, didn't it?”

I gave her a concerned look.

“Well, that was different.  This doesn't really need to go to court, does it?”

“What are you saying, Twilight?  This is my store, my home, my destiny!”

I guess it does.

“Fine, I'll ask the Princess to hold a trial.  Is that okay, Rarity?”

“I suppose it will have to do.  Excuse me, I have to lie down.  Oh my stars, I simply cannot take anymore of this.”

With that settled, she walked off with Fluttershy, hoof around her neck to support her.  I wasn't sure what I had gotten myself into.  No, I did know what I had gotten into.  I was about to become the enemy to save my friend.  Again.

August 3, 8:12 PM

Books and Branches Library, Ponyville

My dearest, most faithful student, Twilight,

        In regards to your request for an official trial to be held in Ponyville, I must apologize that I will not be able to take immediate action and the trial will instead be held in two days time.  There are matters to be discussed, but I will leave that until tomorrow morning.  I must ask that Spike report to the town hall as soon as possible, where I have requested that he be brought in for questioning.

Putting the letter down, I turned to Spike.

“I know you're tired Spike, but you heard the Princess.  Just do what they say and answer their questions.”

Spike slouched, walking slowly towards the door.

“Okay Twilight, promise you'll help me?”

“Did you do it?”

Spike just shook his head.

“Then I promise I'll get you out of this.”

He gave me a weak smile and walked out the door.

I followed suit as I led him to the Town Hall.

Next Chapter

Previous Chapter

Twilight Sparkle: Mare Attorney – Justice For Everypony

Author: Fallin’ Winter

Editors/Pre-Readers/Story Consultants: frostedWarlock &

Case 2: Turnabout Friendships

Chapter 2: Day 1 - Investigation

August 4

Books and Branches Library, Ponyville

Dear Twilight,

        I'm sorry, but the Princess is in another castle.  She is currently in a meeting with other royalty and could not send you a letter this morning.  She asked me to do it instead.  It's been a while since we last saw each other, but I still cannot thank you enough for defending me in court.  My sister told me that it would be best to use today to find any evidence that may help you in court tomorrow.  It seems that the prosecutor in tomorrow's trial is also preparing and was supposed to be heading to Ponyville to investigate.  My sister has also told me that Spike will be allowed to stay with you until the trial tomorrow since there is no place to hold him until that time.  Just be careful Twilight.  If something happens while you are in charge, you will be held responsible.  Good luck, I believe in you!

~Luna

I rolled the letter back up, placing it on the desk to have sorted later.  It'd be a good idea to take the Princess' advice, but I thought I'd hear what Spike had to say first.

“Okay Spike, tell me what happened yesterday.  All of it.”

Spike looked down and pawed the ground with his foot.

“Okay.”

The baby dragon walked over to one of the cushions on the ground and took a sitting position on it.

“Well I walked over to the boutique, just like you asked.  When I got there the store had a closed sign on it and everything.  I figured that she wouldn't take very long so I went to Sugar Cube Corner to get a shake.  I left right after I finished and went back to the shop.  It was still closed, so I decided to just take a nap near the boutique.”

“You just took a nap?  In front of the boutique?”

I wouldn't say he was weird, but he did have his moments.

“Well not in front of the boutique, but I was in the bushes nearby.”

“Spike, that’s even more strange.  You weren’t stalking her or something, right?”

Spike shook his head and looked at me angrily.

“Of course not!  You know I wouldn’t do that!  I was just tired.  I had been walking all day and I decided to rest my eyes.”

I’ll make him tell me the details later, I need to finish this up so we can investigate.

I closed the book on my desk and decided to take a seat on a cushion as well.

“I see.  What happened after your nap?”

“When I woke up it was kind of late, I went to check if she was there, and the door was open.  I walked inside and the place was destroyed with everything all over the place!  I was looking around upstairs to see if anyone was there, but when I got back to the first floor, Rarity showed up and I was yelled at.  It wasn't my fault, honest!”

He seemed genuinely sad about that.

I stood up using my magic to open the door.  The clock still said it was early, but it wouldn’t stay that way forever.

“I know Spike, I'm here to defend you.  I believe you, I promise.  Well, we aren't going to figure anything out by sitting here.  C'mon Spike, let's check out the boutique!”

Case File

Evidence

-Attorney Badge: My attorney badge.  I've kept it on me since my first trial.  I still don't feel like an attorney yet...

Profiles

-Twilight Sparkle: Me, the Element of Magic and bookworm turned attorney overnight.  Even with one case under my belt, I've still got a lot to learn.

-Spike: My little dragon assistant.  He's being accused of destroying Rarity's boutique.  He says he didn't do it and I believe him.  I know he'd never do anything to hurt Rarity.

-Princess Celestia: Ruler of Equestria and my mentor.  She will be the presiding judge in the case.  Rumors say that she has quite the playful streak.

-Rarity: The Element of Generosity, and a fashionista.  Makes dresses that are chic, unique, and magnifique. The victim in this case.  Her store, Carousel Boutique was thoroughly destroyed.

August 4

Carousel Boutique, Ponyville

We arrived on the scene, with yellow tape lining the building.  Spike and I walked up to the line, ready to crouch under it, when we were stopped short.

“Where do ya think you're goin' huh?”

That voice?

“Yeah.  Like, where do ya think you're goin'?”

Oh boy.

Standing in front of us was the short and stubby, long and lanky duo of Snips and Snails.  Why they were even here was a mystery.  Snails was wearing a dark green coat which looked awfully dirty and worse for wear.  Snips was wearing a tie and a pencil on his ear.  Spike couldn’t stop laughing at the sight of them.

“What’s with the getup?  You guys look ridiculous!”

Snips walked up to Spike.

“What’s yer problem, huh?  You’re just jealous because you don’t have a suit like us.”

Spike looked at him questioningly.

“You realize you don’t have a suit either?”

Before Snips could comment, Spike’s smile grew into a smirk.

“Let me guess, you were too short to fit into it.”

Snips face grew red with embarrassment.

“What’s with the coat anyway?  It doesn’t look very clean.  Was it supposed to be like that?”

“It’s brand new thank you very much!  Can’t you tell?”

 No.  I can’t, actually.

“Whaddya want anyway?”

“Sorry boys, but I don't have time for this.  If you'd just let me and Spike through the-”

Snips held out his hooves, blocking us from entering.  Snails closed his eyes concentrating on his magic, while his horn sputtered and made sparks.  His satchel opened and a scroll wobbled through the air towards me.  I leaned in and squinted at the writing.

“On the behalf of the Royal Court, this document hereby states that no pony shall enter the premises of: Carousel Boutique, except those sanctioned by the Royal Court as the designated Prosecutor and Detective of the case?”

You've got to be kidding me!

“We can't even investigate the scene of the crime!?”

Snips and Snails looked at each other for a moment.

“That's what the document means?  Well we definitely can't let ya in now!”

Me and my big mouth.

I gave them a mean look and turned around, walking towards the town.  Spike ran towards me, with a confused look on his face.

“We're just going to leave?  Just let me at 'em!  I'll show them where I can and can't go!”

He raised his arms, punching the air.  It looked more cute than macho.

“Even if I thought you could take them on, I wouldn't let you do that.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

I just laughed as we made our way through the square.

August 4

Sugar Cube Corner, Ponyville

“What are we doing here, Twilight?”

A small ringing could be heard as we entered the sweetest shop in Ponyville.

“This is the other place you mentioned in your story.  We can look for clues here.  At the least, we should be able to find a witness that can prove your story checks out.”

Looking around the shop, there were a few ponies eating various delicious desserts.  At the front handling the register was Mr. Cake.

“Oh hi Twilight, looking to get anything?”

He offered a smile as he continued to go about organizing the display case.  Currently, he was moving a vanilla frosting cake over so he could move a carrot cake onto the counter next to him to cut into slices.

“Not right now, thanks.  I was wondering if you remember seeing Spike when he was here yesterday.”

The pastry chef stopped cutting the cake to think.  Putting the knife down to scratch his chin, he finally answered.

“Sorry Twilight, but I wasn't in yesterday.  I was making a delivery and picking up supplies.  You should ask my Honey Bunch about that, she was working the counter at the time.  She's in the back doing prep work for this weeks party right now.  The one for Sweet Apple Acres for finishing up their, um, renovations.”

Well that's a nice way of putting it.

“Thank you Mr. Cake!  We'll be on our way then.”

We walked around the counter to talk with his wife.  Spike looked as if he was struggling to turn his eyes away from a cake display with fake jewelry adorning the top.

When we got to the back kitchen we were greeted with a warm welcome.

“Oh hello there, Twilight.  Now what do you need today?”

I was distracted at the amount of pastries, cakes, and decorations that adorned the kitchen.  Clearly they were working very hard to throw a party for the Apple family.  They needed it, after all that they had to go through.

“Twilight?”

I snapped back to reality.

“Oh, sorry Mrs. Cake.  I was wondering if you remember Spike coming into the shop yesterday.”

“Why certainly!  He ordered a strawberry shake, if I recall.”

Looks like we're getting somewhere.

“Do you remember him leaving?”

She stopped to think about the question.

“Well I don't remember too much, just that he was there and then left.  It was a busy time of the day.”

We didn't get very far.

“Is there anything else you remember?  Like times, the parcel he was carrying?  Anything?”

Mrs. Cake stopped to look at me curiously.

“Parcel?  I don't remember him having a parcel with him.”

Huh?

I looked down at Spike, my eyes telling him we'd talk about this later.  He just gave me a shrug as if he didn't do anything.

Looks like that's all I'm going to get here.  Maybe we should head back to the library for a bit.

I turned around to leave and waved goodbye to Mrs. Cake.  She called a goodbye back to us and then returned to her party preparations.

Profile added to court record.

Case File

Profiles

-Mrs. Cake: Wife of Mr. Cake and pastry chef at the Sugar Cube Corner.  She's a nice mare and very tolerant.  She'd have to be with Pinkie Pie around all the time.

When we got back to the front of the store, we were ambushed by a pink ball of energy.

“Welcome to Très Bien!”

What.

“Pinkie?  Isn't this...”

She just giggled and ignored me.

“I know, I'm just trying out different names for the store.  Whaddya think, huh?”

Non.

“Well sorry to run, but we're kind of busy with the case right now.”

At that, her eyes lit up. Well, more than normal that is.

“Ooh!  Ooh!  Ooh!  I wanna help!  Can I? Can I?”

Help wouldn't be the first word that came to mind.

“I don't know Pinkie.  We're just going back to the Library to see what we've got so far.  There's no investigating going on right now.”

“Okie dokie lokie.  I'll head to Fluttershy's then.”

She began to hop away when I called her back.

“Why the interest in Fluttershy all of a sudden?”

She gave me that “Oatmeal, are you crazy?” look.

“Well isn't she the one that like, told you that Spike was at Rarity's boutique?  Maybe she knows something.  Duh~!”

“Oh.”

Credit where it's due.  I didn't think of that.

As she proceeded to hop away once more, I exited the shop as well, making for the library I called home.

Profile added to court record.

Case File

Profiles

-Pinkie Pie: Pinkamena Diane Pie.  Pinkie for short.  The Element of Laughter, which is appropriate since she throws some of the best parties.  If her tail starts a twitchin', hide.

August 4

Book and Branches Library, Ponyville

As soon as we stepped inside, I closed the door.  It was time to get answers out of Spike.

“What was Mrs. Cake talking about at the bakery Spike?”

He looked away from me, clearly not wanting to talk about it.

“H-huh? Wh-what are ya talking about, Twilight?”

“Where was the parcel I gave you?”

He pulled at an invisible collar, he was starting to sweat.

“Oh that?  I...I had it with me the whole time!  Really!  You said you'd believe me, right?”

Looks like I finally get to test this out...

Putting on a smile I walked past him.  I floated my attorney's badge off my satchel placing it on top of my desk.

“You're right, Spike.  Would you mind getting me the Ace Attorney handbook?  First edition, please.”

Spike looked shocked, but shook it off and took it as a blessing.  He ran up to the stepladder and began his climb.

“Watch out on the stepladder, Spike.  You don't want to fall off.”

As he reached for the book, he continued the conversation.

“Isn't this just a ladder?  What's the difference?”

“There's a big difference.  Stepladders have two sides and aren't as dangerous.  They keep you from falling.”

He pulled the book out from the shelf and turned around to talk to me.

“And how do you know so much about ladder's, huh?”

“Just bring the book down, Spike!”

Surprisingly, it was also inside the Ace Attorney book.  It had a definition in there and everything.  It was also bolded, highlighted, and underlined.  That thing is just filled with random facts.

Spike let out a yell as he fell off the stepladder, having slipped as he tried turning around to climb down.  He picked himself up and rubbed his backside.

“Yeah. Real safe, Twilight.”

I think he just did that on purpose.

“Isn't this the old version?  I thought the princess gave you a new copy.”

“That's the point Spike, the new one has a lot of the chapters edited.  Some of them were even taken out.  There's one in particular that...there!”

I poked the page with my hoof and stepped back.  Reading the bottom of the page, I closed my eyes and concentrated.  Pointing at the attorney's badge, a small spark joined my horn and badge together.  My horn began to glow and a faint light emitted from its tip.  The glow ended, and it seemed like nothing happened.  I floated the badge back onto my parcel.

“What kind of spell was that, Twilight?”

“Just trust me on this Spike.  Now, about that parcel I gave you earlier...”

As soon as I brought it up, he looked away again, just like last time.

However, something was very, very different.  Out of nowhere, two giant locks with attached chains forming a cross appeared in front of Spike.

I did it.  The enchantment worked.  I can see Psyche Locks.

Psyche Locks themselves were a completely new thing to me.  I jumped a little when the lock first showed up.  It's was mentioned in one of the chapters of the book.  The entire section was dedicated to the author's assistant and her amazing power.  Supposedly she was the successor of a long line of skilled unicorns who had been trained in the “Kureign Channeling Technique” and became masters of the art.  That wasn't what caught my interest though.  Supposedly, she had enchanted a piece of jewelry and gave it to the author.  It allowed him to tell when somepony was lying or not.  He did warn that it was more equivalent to a powerful mood ring, but the concept stayed the same.

“I just want to make sure where you said the parcel was Spike, that's all.”

He finally turned to look at me, his pupils shrinking.

“You said you had it the whole time, right?  If that's the case, where is it?  Did you give it to Rarity?  Considering how she was yelling at you though, I doubt you would of had time.  Where did it go?”

Spike looked ready to crack.  I just needed to deal the finishing blow.

“I think I know what happened to it. I think that you lost it.”

Spike tensed up again and at the same time, one of the locks shattered.  There was still one to go.

“You don't know that Twilight, why would you think that?”

He's just making up excuses, but I'll humor him.

“I have a very good reason why I think you lost it.  Somepony said something to that effect.  Mrs. Cake, wasn't it?”

Spike sighed and slouched even more.  The final lock shattered and the chains moved away.

“Fine, you win.  I'll tell you.”

This was more complicated than any mood ring I've seen.

“Good, now tell me what happened to the parcel.”

“I swore I brought it with me, but when I finished my shake it wasn't there.  I figured that I'd lost it, so I ran back to look for it.  When I got there the shop was still closed.  I looked around for it, but I just couldn't find it.  I ended up taking a nap in the bush while I took a break.  And when I woke up I went into the boutique.”

In other words, this wouldn't have happened if he didn't lose the package.

“All right Spike, let's get going.  We've got a lot of ground to cover.”

Spike jumped up and scurried to the door.

“Where are we going now?”

“Stop complaining, we're going to look for the parcel you lost.  After that we’ll visit Fluttershy.”

August 4

Carousel Boutique, Ponyville

“Okay Spike, I'll search back there, you can search the front of the shop.”

“Didn't that document say we couldn't be here?”

“The crime scene wasn't out here was it?  I don't think there'll be a problem.”

The two of us split up and we began our search for the parcel.

I started with the most noticeable thing, the tree outside of her house.  It was a bad start.  It was just a tree.

Seeing the multiple tarps scattered near her boutique, I thought I’d have a look at those.  I had always wanted to find out what they were.  Stepping in, there wasn’t much to look at.  Just a mirror and a small bench.  My guess is that they were dressing rooms, but I guess they don’t get much use.  Maybe Rarity was expecting enough business that she would need more than one.  As expected, the rest of the tarps were exactly the same.  I ended up walking back towards the boutique, this search wasn’t getting any results.  Deciding to see how Spike was doing, I stepped into the bushes to go around the building.  As I went through one of the larger ones, I spotted a wrapper.

“Spike!  I found it!”

I trotted to the front with the package in tow, Spike met me part of the way.  Placing it on the ground, we took a look at it.

Parcel added to court record.

Case File

Evidence

-Parcel: A parcel which was supposed to be delivered to Rarity.  It wasn't delivered on the account of her absence and the fiasco at her boutique not long after.  Found outside Carousel Boutique.  Looks a bit worse for wear and missing the string tying the package together.

Lifting the package into my satchel, we turned away and started our walk to Fluttershy's cottage.

*Munch* *Munch* *Munch*

What the...

*Munch* *Munch* *Munch* *Munch* *Munch* *Munch* *Munch*

When I turned around, I wound up face to face with the wall eyed mail mare.  She was munching on a muffin, the source of the sound.  As soon as she saw that she had our attention, she pulled out another muffin from her bag.

“Muffin?”

Why not?  I haven't had breakfast.

I picked the muffin up with my magic and floated it to my mouth.  It was quite delicious.  I floated the rest down to Spike letting him take a bite.

“So, what are you doing here, Derpy?  If you came to deliver something to Rarity, she's not here right now.”

She gave her award winning grin and spoke.  More than one word.

“Oh, I know. I'm here to investigate the crime scene.  Princess Celestia made me the official Ponyville detective after delivering the note in the previous case.  It seems that they're short handed.  There's not that much mail very often, and the bits will help take care of Dinky.  Isn’t investigating fun?”

My mind was in a bit of a processing malfunction.  As far as I could remember, the mail mare wasn't one for many words, if any.  I hate to admit it, but I also thought that her deck was a few cards short.  I didn't even want to think about whoever Dinky was.  Younger sister perhaps?

I wanted to say something, but my mouth wasn't connected to my brain at the moment.  I made more of an incoherent squeak.

“Oh, I'm sorry, you must be the pony who came from Canterlot a while back.  I had forgotten you never found out about me.”

I'm still confused.

“A while back before you came to Ponyville, a lot of ponies thought I was weird because of my eyes.  I was called Derpy Hooves at one point and the name caught on.  I couldn't understand why though, my hooves have nothing to do with my eyes.  My friend Carrot Top helped me come up with a new personality in public to go with the name, just to get back at them.  It worked for a little while, but everypony found out eventually.  They got a few laughs out of it and stopped making fun of me, so it worked out okay.  I still get called Derpy every so often, but I don't mind.  Maybe if I do well as a detective, I can get a new name!  How about Detective Hooves?  Nah, it doesn’t have that ‘ring’ to it.”

Well that answers my question.  I feel kind of bad now.

There was one thing I still didn't know about though.

“Who's Dinky?”

She clopped her hooves together happily and pulled out a small picture.

It was a little unicorn filly playing with Derpy in the park.

“She's my daughter.  Isn't she cute?”

I gave her a grin as well.

“Aww she's adorable.”

Putting the picture away, Derpy put our conversation back on track.

“So what are you doing here, Twilight?”

Oh right, I should start heading to Fluttershy's' cottage soon.

“I just needed to pick something up.  I'm investigating for this case too, though I can't get inside the building.”

She furrowed her brows.

“Oh that, I'm sorry.  She was very particular about these things and didn’t want anyone going in.  Here, I don't see why I can't give you this though.”

Pulling out a folder from her bag, she handed me it's contents.

Case Information added to court record.

Case File

Evidence

-Case Information: At a time between 1:00 PM and 5:45 PM a break in occurred at the Carousel Boutique, owned by one Miss Rarity.  There were no found signs of forced entry.  There has been a substantial amount of property damage on the first floor of the establishment.

“I hope that helps.  Sorry, I have to report back to the prosecutor or she'll be mad.  Goodbye!”

Stepping back from us, she jumped into the air and took off into the sky.  I was going to ask who the prosecutor was, but she left before I could get a word out.  Pulling the last piece of the muffin away from Spike and popping it into my mouth, I trotted down the road, we still had to check with Fluttershy.

“C'mon Spike, let's go.”

Profile added to court record.

Case File

Profiles

-Ditzy “Derpy Hooves” Doo: The mailmare of Ponyville with the wall eyed stare.  She's one of the kindest and most happy-go-lucky ponies around, despite what you may think at first glance.  She's working as the detective on the current case.  Has a daughter named Dinky.

August 4

Fluttershy's Cottage, Ponyville

Stepping into the tiny garden filled with flowers, the faint sound of clucking reached our ears from the hen house.  I knocked on the door hoping she was home.  There was a crash, then the door swung open.  As soon as it did, three small blurs ran out into the open field around Fluttershy's cottage.  Then I came face to face with the bright yellow pegasus.

“Be careful now girls, I don't want you to scare the chickens!”

Apple Bloom stopped running around and yelled to her friends.

“Ya heard her Sweetie Belle, we wouldn't wanna scare Scootaloo!”

Now it was the orange pegasus filly's turn to screech to a stop.

“Why would I be scared?  I'm not scared of anything!”

“Ya'll heard that?  She just admitted she was chicken!”

Scootaloo growled and began chasing after the other two girls, the three of them laughing and rolling in the grass.

Turning back to Fluttershy, my face became serious again.

“Fluttershy, can I come in?  I need to ask you questions about the incident.”

“Oh, ok.  Please, come in.  Didn't...didn't Pinkie Pie already ask me questions?  She said she was helping you out.”

Like I said, help isn't what comes to mind.

“You know her, she was just Pinkie being Pinkie.  I'm sorry Fluttershy, but I need to ask you these questions again officially.”

Officially might be stretching things a bit, but she doesn't have to know that.

She had seated me inside her cozy little house, some birds chirping while a few tiny creatures ran between our hooves.  Once we were settled in, I began my questioning.

“To start, how did you know what had happened if it was at Rarity's boutique?”

She glanced outside as if she were checking on the girls.

“I...only knew because I was checking up on her.”

“That late in the afternoon?  What made you check up on her?”

“With Applejack being in Appleloosa right now, Rarity said that she'd watch Apple Bloom.  Sweetie Belle was also staying over this weekend, so they could have a sleepover.  I guess they asked Scootaloo to come as well.  I just wanted to make sure the girls were behaving.  I know how much of a handful they can be.”

Well that made some sense.  I wonder why Spike didn't mention them.

“So you saw both Rarity and the girls at the boutique?”

“Yes...I mean, sort of.  When I was flying close to the boutique, the girls were already running in my direction.  They told me what happened and that Spike was there. Then I had them go to my house while I flew off to get you before I did anything else.”

I nodded to confirm that I had heard everything.  For the next minute it became awkwardly quiet.  The two of us just stared at each other looking back and forth between some object and then back to the two of us.  I eventually turned towards the clock and watched the seconds pass.  I couldn't take it anymore and I spoke up, breaking the silence.

I guess Fluttershy really is the world champ of Shhh.

“You can continue whenever you want, Fluttershy.”

She jumped, surprised at my voice and looked down.

“Do I...really have to tell you the rest?”

“Yes Fluttershy, I need to know everything.”

“Weren't you with me the rest of the time though?”

Oh.  Well then.

“Hehe, I guess you're right.  Is there anything else you can tell me about last night?”

She shook her head, her hair flipping back and forth as her head turned.

“I'm sorry.  That's all I know.  Have you asked Rarity anything yet?”

The thought crossed my mind a few times, but I didn't know where she was.

“Not yet.  I plan on it though, do you know where she is?”

“I told Rarity that her and the girls could stay here until the investigators were done searching her boutique.  She was called in for questioning at the town hall earlier this morning.  She should be finished by now.  If you see her, can you tell her that I'm going to be making lunch soon?”

“Will do, let's go Spike.”

This time he was occupied with trying to steal Angel Bunny's carrot.  It wasn't going so well.

“Hold on Twilight, I'm not moving from this spot until I -Ow!  Hey!- beat this rabbit!”

“Well you can stay here then, I'll just have a talk with Rarity myself.”

Suddenly there was a purple blur making a bee line out of the cottage.  Then a shout from off in the distance.

“What are you doing just standing there Twilight?  We need to interview Rarity!”

Boys.

Profile added to court record.

Case File

Profiles

-Fluttershy: The Element of Kindness and the most quiet pony in Ponyville.  Just don't mess with her friends.  Or the animals.  This caring pony has a small cottage where she cares for every creature big and small.  Except dragons.  Note: Is not a tree, although wishes to be one.

August 4

Town Hall, Ponyville

The two of us made it just in time.  Rarity was about to walk down one of the streets leading from Town Hall before I called out to her.  When she heard me, she turned around and trotted up to us.

“Hello darling, what are you doing here?”

She had her usual elegant tone, but she never looked at Spike.  Not even once.

The moon hath no temperature like a mare scorned.

“Well, I was wondering if you could answer some questions about the case.  I know you were just asked, but I could use the help.”

She turned her head to glare at Spike, then back at me.

“I'm assuming you want answers to help...him?”

Did it just get really cold around here or is it just me?

“Y-yes, if you could just let me talk to you for a bit.  Please?”

I gave her the biggest grin I could muster.  Hopefully she'd buy it.  Finally, she pouted and answered.

“Very well, but make it quick.  I've been stressed all day and I simply must go to the spa before I head home.  I mean, to Fluttershy's home.”

I was about to glance at Spike to see how well he was taking this when I felt something shaking behind my hind hooves.  That answered my question for me.

“Could you tell me where you were yesterday?  According to Spike, you weren't in all day.”

She raised her brows skeptically at me.

“Yes, I wasn't home.  Me and the girls left sometime after noon to run errands.”

“Errands?”

“I was holding a sleep over that night for Sweetie Belle and her friends and I didn't have any snacks at home.  We split up not long after leaving, I went to do the shopping while Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom went to pick up Scootaloo.”

I nodded my head.  This was new information, it was a good start.

“How long would you say you were gone?”

“Maybe a couple of hours.  We met up before heading back to have a snack at Sugar Cube Corner.  I'd say that was more than enough time for somepony to sneak in unnoticed.”

Spike was becoming more nervous.  He had dug his claws into my hind leg.  Is this what Rarity has to go through with Opal?

I'd better change the topic before Spike squeezes my leg any harder.

“Right.  Spike was actually trying to deliver that book you wanted.  The one about stitch patterns.”

“Oh?  Well where is it then?”

I pulled the beaten up and slightly dirt covered parcel from my bag.  The look on Rarity's face assured me she didn't want to even touch the thing.

“I'll look at it later.  Maybe I'll just find another copy.”

Evidence updated in court record.

Case File

Evidence

-Parcel for Rarity: A package meant to be delivered to Rarity.  Was lost by Spike and found later, dirty and with a missing string.  It contains a large book on stitching patterns called, “A Stitch In Time Saves Nine”  Now that it's evidence she wouldn't be able to read it even if she wanted to.

I slipped it back into my bag and asked her another question.

“Is there anything else you noticed at the time?”

“I noticed Spike.  He was standing there in the middle of my boutique.”

Good observation.

“I do recall that the window to my bedroom was open.”

Now we're getting somewhere.

“Is there anything else you may have noticed?”

“No.  That is all.  Now, if you'll excuse me.”

She noticed her window being open?  From the outside of her house?  Without knowing anything?  Once this is all over, maybe we should talk to her about that OCD...

With that, the white unicorn flipped her mane and trotted down the street.  Oh, I almost forgot!  I raised my hoof to my mouth, readying myself to project my voice and remind her that Fluttershy was making lunch.  Then I once again felt the shivering, scared baby dragon behind me and lowered my hoof.

I doubt she'd miss one meal.

August 4, 8:00 PM

Books and Branches Library, Ponyville

After my “talk” with Rarity, I headed back home to decide what I would do about my case.  With barely any ammunition for tomorrow and only a simple understanding of the events that occurred, I was in a very bad position.  How am I supposed to defend my client when I'm not allowed to look for clues?  There was only one thing I had up my sleeve and even that was a long shot.  If things were looking really bad, my only hope would be to use a few of Spike's Rarity belongings to prove that he cares far too much for Rarity to do something like this.

Rarity Shirt added to court record.

Rarity Flag added to court record.

Case File

Evidence

-Rarity Shirt: A shirt worn by Spike, showing his devotion to “Mistress” Rarity.  Part of me thinks I should be worried.

-Rarity Fan: A fan made and used by Spike, showing his devotion to “Mistress” Rarity.  Subtle isn't the first word that comes to mind.

“Foreeeeever.”

“Waugh!”

My files flew everywhere, documents floating onto the ground.

Even though it was only a whisper, that is still creepy.

“Pinkie, what are you doing here?”

“Well I was, coming to tell you what I learned from Fluttershy, but you're up to something.  I know it!”

Maybe I should consider getting a lock for my door.

She marched over to me and put her snout in my face.

“You're not breaking a Pinkie Pie Swear, are you?”

“If it keeps Spike from getting a guilty verdict, what's the big deal?!”

“Don't you know?  Breaking a promise is the-”

“-fastest way to ruin a friendship.  I know.  What if it helps him though?  Doesn't that count for something?”

“You're Twilight.  You can win without it.”

Somehow I doubt it.

“Look Pinkie, I've got a big day tomorrow.  Please...”

She gave a long sigh and turned to leave.

“Oh Twilight, and you were doing so well too...”

Ok, I should really think about getting a lock.

With Pinkie gone, I slammed my book closed, taking whatever frustration I had out on the innocent reference guide.  After picking up the papers left on the floor, I turned off the light and marched upstairs.

As I drifted off to sleep, I didn't hear the slight creak of the door opening.

Next Chapter

Previous Chapter

Twilight Sparkle: Mare Attorney – Justice For Everypony

Author: Fallin’ Winter

Editors/Pre-Readers/Story Consultants: frostedWarlock &

Case 2: Turnabout Friendships

Chapter 3: Day 2 - Trial

August 5, 7:40 AM

Books and Branches Library, Ponyville

They were gone.

The backup plan I had was ruined.  Somepony took them.  I'd looked everywhere and it wasn't there.  

...Wait.  Pinkie.  She wouldn't have, would she?

Maybe if I just take some time now, I can form an even better plan.

“Twilight?  What are you waiting for?  The trial is going to start soon.”

Aw horseapples.

Rarity Shirt removed from case file.

Rarity Fan removed from case file.

August 5, 7:55 AM

Court Lobby, Ponyville

I stepped into the fenced off court lobby and memories of my first case flooded back to me.  I lost myself in those thoughts for a moment only to realize the trouble I was in and returned to the present.  My first idea was to ask Spike about the case or how he was doing, but it would be of little use.  I think I was more worried than he was.  Without any real ways to prove Spike innocent, all I could do was stall the proceedings long enough to give myself more time to investigate.  If I manged that, maybe I would finally be on even ground.

With nothing left to do, I began the deceivingly short walk into the court room.

August 5, 8:00 AM

Court Room #1, Ponyville

I...couldn't believe it.  Something told me that I'd be seeing her again, but not here.  Especially here.  Even worse, this means my opponent will be that much more determined to win.  I had to question how she even managed to get this job.

There were more than a few glares from the crowd.  They obviously remembered the prosecutor.  After what happened, I don't blame them.  It had almost become as bad as the parasprite incident.  That Ursa Major (I mean Minor) could have destroyed the town, not to mention it could have harmed somepony.

Dressed in hat and robe, smug as ever, and standing across from me, was none other than-

“Why hello my en-thu-siastic little admirers, surely you haven't forgotten me.  It is none other than I, The Grrreat and Powerful Trrrixie!”

Jumping in the air and proceeding to land on her hind legs, a large stream of magical fireworks and the like shot into the sky.

Immediately following her light show, she lowered her fore hooves towards herself and loud, heavy, musical notes echoed from Trixie.  The notes quickened, then ended with a loud wailing screech as one of her hooves made an exaggerated circular sweeping motion.  It finally dawned on me that she had used magic to actually play an air guitar.

Still as big a showoff I see.  Hasn't she learned anything?

A few ponies who probably hadn't been there during the Ursa Minor incident were stomping their hooves loudly, giving applause for what seemed like an impressive trick.  However, they were mostly drowned out by the yelling of boos and other words that probably weren't appropriate in a court.  That didn't seem to stop her.

“Well, well, well, it seems there are still neigh-sayers in the audience.  No matter, the benevolent, Great, and Powerful Trixie will forgive you this time.”

Great.  I have a feeling this is what I’ll have to deal with the entire time.

Profile added to court record.

Case File

Profiles

-Trixie: The “great” and “powerful” Trixie if you ask her.  A traveling show mare who seems to be good at riling up the crowd, for better or worse.  She seems to have given up her profession to become a prosecutor.  I wonder why?

Cutting off any more attempts to talk, Celestia turned towards Trixie with a concerned stare.

“That's enough Trixie.  Now then, is the Prosecution ready?”

“How could Trixie be anything less?”

Celestia turned her head and raised her eyebrow, taken back by her bravado.

Maybe if I'm lucky, Trixie will be banished to the moon and I'll win the case by default.

“Twilight, is the defense ready?”

I nodded once, placing my hooves on the podium.

“The defense is ready, Your Honor.”

The sound of Trixie's voice interrupted the proceedings again.  I had a feeling that this would be happening very often.

“Finally!  Now that you're finished, Trixie calls that detective to the stand.  Derpy Doo?  No matter, as if the name of a simpleton from a place like Ponyville would matter.”

I didn't stand up to her last time, but I'm not making the same mistake again.

“What's your problem?!  She was helping you with your case and that's how you treat her?”

She just scoffed at me.

“What you say matters not Twilight Sparkle.  You are simply a foal.  I do not listen to foalish foals who say nothing but foalish things about other foalish foal's names.”

My head hurts now.  What the foal did she just say?

Celestia pounded her gavel, getting everypony to give her their attention.  Even Trixie looked, except it looked more like she wanted to know who would dare interrupt her.

“Trixie, I will have you know that Ditzy was assigned to your case by myself.  You will treat her with more respect or there will be penalties and consequences.  I would also appreciate it if you would wait until I give you permission to call a pony to the stand.”

Trixie rolled her eyes.

“Very well.  I suppose I will listen for now.  Continue.”

Certain that Trixie didn't intend to interrupt for the moment, Celestia nodded and the gray pegasus flew in the court room.  She walked up to the podium and reached into her bag taking four items out and placing them in front of her.

“Name and occupation.  Quickly!”

“My name is Ditzy Doo.  I'm a mail mare and the detective for this case.  While examining the scene, I came across three pieces of evidence.  They were all left in the middle of Rarity's bedroom floor.  I have the floor plans of the building here too.”

Map of Carousel Boutique added to court record.

Pieces of Rope added to court record.

Lamp added to court record.

Sheets of Fabric added to court record.

Case File

Evidence

-Map of Carousel Boutique: A floor plan of the two levels of the building.  It specifies that the lower floors, the store and storage, were damaged extensively with everything outside of their containers and off their shelves.  The only room which was not damaged, was Rarity's bedroom.  The window in Rarity's bedroom was also open.

-Pieces of Rope: Sections of rope left in the middle of Rarity's room.  They have been verified to be from the storage room's crates to keep the boxes closed

-Lamp: A lamp left in the middle of Rarity's room.  There's also a rope attached to its handle.  Further investigation found the lamp belongs to the Cake family.

-Sheets of Fabric: Assorted colored fabrics all bunched into a pile in the middle of Rarity's room.  On closer inspection, there seem to be holes left in the corners of a few of the sheets.  Verified to be from the storage room's fabric shipments.

Celestia nodded in affirmation.

“I'll accept these pieces of evidence into the case file.  Ditzy, please begin your testimony.”

Ditzy gave a salute to the Princess.

“Yes ma’am!”

Testimony

- - The How and Why - -

-The culprit, Spike, used the excuse of buying a shake at Sugar Cube Corner to steal their lamp.

-Then Spike used the lamp attached to a rope to make a grappling hook and climb the side of the boutique

-After reaching the second floor, he opened the window and went into the building.

-Once inside, he went looking for gems in her workshop.

-He couldn't have found any though, since Rarity used the last of her gems the previous day on one of her ordered custom designs.

Celestia immediately turned to Twilight, keeping Trixie from making any comments.

“You may begin your cross-examination, Twilight.”

Cross-Examination

- - The How and Why - -

Time to look for inconsistencies.

This was going to be a lot harder than I expected.  If Spike was telling the truth, Trixie had come up with an entirely different story that checked out at first glance.  It was time to look beyond the surface, and hopefully I could find a few cracks.

“What would Spike want with the gems?  He doesn’t have to eat them.”

Derpy raised her hoof to talk, but was cut short by Trixie.

“Gems are quite expensive.  Perhaps he wanted to make some money on the side?  I expect that working for you doesn’t pay very well.”

I said nothing to that.  I do take care of him, but he doesn’t actually get paid.

“Well, Spike’s not the only one who would find gems valuable.  The motive doesn’t only apply to him.”

Derpy once again tried to say something, but couldn’t get a word out.

“Even without a motive, that just means anyone else could have wanted to steal it.”

Trixie turned on her trademark smirk.

“However, thanks to the evidence, Spike is still the most likely culprit.”

She’s got me there.

“Are you sure that it was Spike who stole the lamp?”

“Foalish Twilight, this is simply a theory.  Do you even know what that is?  Even if it isn't certain, the evidence seems to point in the same direction.”

We'll see about that.

“So you're saying that Spike tied a rope onto the lamp, and managed to scale a building with it?”

“It is very possible, even if your tiny brain cannot comprehend it.  I tested the theory out myself.  Using the lamp and rope, you can reach the upper floor if one were to pull themselves up. With Spike's weight, I imagine he would have no problems.”

She actually did her homework, this doesn't look good.

Wait, something didn't seem right about that.  Something shouldn't be there.  What was it?

I've got it!

“OBJECTION!”

“Eep!”

Sorry Fluttershy, but I'm on a roll.  I can't stop now.

“The pieces of rope were found inside the boutique.  If that's the case, then how is it that Spike used the rope to get into the boutique in the first place?”

Yes!  Twilight – 1 Trixie – 0

I couldn't wait to see the look on her face, that look of utter...boredom?

“Are you done?  It seems like you haven't done your research at all.  I'd like you to take a look at the one thing you did manage to collect as evidence.”

Pulling out the wrapped book, I concentrated, trying to find what she was looking for.

“Must I do everything for you?  Weren't you the one who asked where the rope came from?  I'm certain that if we were to examine the rope from the lamp, we'd find that it was the same one used to tie that book.  The very one that the defendant was carrying.”

Correction.  Twilight – 0 Trixie – 1

Shouts of surprise from the crowd began to grow louder and louder.  I had walked into a trap and made it even harder for Spike to prove his case.  Turning to Spike, I lowered my head.

“Sorry Spike.”, I whispered.

Spike shook his head and looked me in the eyes.

“Don't give up now!  I know you can beat that show off. You have to!  I don't want everyone to hate me...”

That's right!  I have to keep going.  If I lose, I won't be the one who ends up paying the price.

“If you two are done whispering, there's more than one testimony.  Hurry up would you?  Trixie doesn't have all day!”

Testimony

- - The Escape - -

-Spike looked everywhere, but could not find any gems.

-Realizing there were none, he planned his escape.

-He couldn't leave through the front door because the key is necessary to lock it from the outside.

-He found pieces of rope and fabric to extend the strand attached to the lamp and climb down from the second floor without having to use it more than once.

-Before he could finish gathering the materials he was found downstairs by Rarity.

“This is nothing like what Spike described!”

I was angry.  She made up a story and now she’s pretending that’s what happened.  It was ridiculous!

“Then tell me you foal, is there any proof to what Spike was doing inside of the boutique?  Until we find any evidence proving otherwise, this is the most likely outcome.”

She was right, I couldn't prove his story was the real one.  Even if Spike says he didn't do anything.  How do you prove somepony did nothing?  I huffed and dejectedly muttered “Fine.”

“Very well, you may begin your cross-examination, Twilight.”

Cross-Examination

- - The Escape - -

“Hold it!  He says that the door wasn't locked!”

Trixie slammed her hoof onto the podium.

“It wasn't.  Yet Rarity claimed she locked it beforehand.  He must have unlocked it planning to escape until he realized he couldn't lock the door from outside, giving away that someone unlocked the door.  That is why he left to prepare his rope.  He was so determined to escape, he had forgotten to close the door or didn’t get around to it.”

“How can you be so sure?”

She was just piling up more and more lies.

“I could ask you the same question.  The thing is, I back myself up with evidence while you haven't done so even once.”

I hate her so much.

“Then how do you know that he was looking for gems?  That seems a bit odd, don't you think?”

Trixie looked annoyed.

“Is he not a dragon?  The defendant eats gems and Rarity is known for finding as well as using them.  Is this not obvious?”

“Objection!”

“Eep!”

Poor Fluttershy, maybe the court is a bit too dangerous for her.

“This map of Rarity's boutique makes the testimony hardly believable.”

I was on to something.

“Oh?  I dare you to prove it.  Or would that be too hard for you?”

It's now or never, where does the map prove her wrong?

“Right...here!  The map says that the upper floor wasn't touched.  Why wouldn't he search everywhere if he was looking for gems?  I'm sure Rarity has some kept in her room at least.”

She didn't bat an eyelash.  That worried me.

“You truly can't do anything yourself, can you?  Rarity claims that Spike assists her in collecting gems.  This is why Spike knows where she keeps them.  That happens to be on the lower floor.  Does your simplistic mind understand now?”

Somewhere in my head, I heard Zecora saying, “You're doomed.”

“I say we move on, save you from further embarrassment.  I call the victim to the stand.”

I would have complained, but she was right.  I couldn't afford to make the situation worse.

Celestia gave Trixie a look of displeasure then turned to me, waiting for a confirmation that I was okay with this.  I nodded and watched as Rarity stepped into the court room, Derpy flying back into the crowd.

“Ugh, It took Trixie ages to get this simpleton to listen to her and stop whining.”

Uh oh.

“I was not whining.  I was merely complaining.  Would you like to hear whining?”

Thankfully, Celestia saved us.

“That will not be necessary Rarity.  Please, just state your name and occupation.”

That was close.

“Hmph.  My name is Rarity.  I am a fashion designer who runs the Carousel Boutique.”

“Thank you.  You may begin your testimony.”

Testimony

- - Sleepover - -

-Apple Bloom is staying with me while Applejack is in Appleloosa.

-Sweetie Belle is staying over for the weekend as well.

-The two of them asked me to have a sleepover yesterday, so I said yes.

-That day, the girls and I left the shop a little after noon.

-I went to get supplies and do a little shopping, while the girls went to play and get Scootaloo.

-I met them later in the afternoon at Sugar Cube Corner to get a snack after the long day.

-Once we were done, we headed back to the shop.

-When I opened the door, I found Spike in the middle of the room and my store in ruins!

There doesn't seem like much I could deny in this testimony.  Let's see where it takes us.

Cross-Examination

- - Sleepover - -

“Could you be more specific about when you found Spike?”

“Well, when I found Spike, I gave him a stern talking to in front of the boutique.  That's when Fluttershy saw us and went to get you.”

“You mean you yelled at him?”

Rarity stepped back, offended at my comment.

“Of course not.  Ladies do not yell.”

That's my cue to change the subject.

“Anyway, you split up with the girls when you went into town?”

“Why yes, I did.  I needed to do some shopping and I didn't see any reason to keep them from playing for a while.”

I was right, there was nothing here that seemed out of place.  No point in dragging it out any longer.

“Your Honor?  I'm done with the cross-examination.”

“Of course.  Trixie?  Please bring out your final witness.”

Trixie made a waving motion and Mrs. Cake stepped out of the crowd.  Trixie then shooed Rarity off the stand with a lot of effort.

“Name and occupation.”

“I'm Cup Cake.  I work at the bakery don't cha know?”

Her name's Cup Cake?  I guess I didn't notice I hadn't learned her name.  I wonder what Mr. Cake's name is.

Celestia leaned towards Trixie to ask her a question.

“What is it that she is testifying about, Trixie?”

“I called her here to talk about the lamp that Spike stole.”

“All right then, Cup Cake, please begin your testimony.”

Hearing Celestia say her full name feels weird.  Even more, some part of me feels disturbed just from the mention of it.

Testimony

- - About the Lamp - -

-I saw Spike enter the shop sometime that day.

-Spike left not long after finishing his shake

-I actually didn't notice that the lamp was missing until we were asked about it the next day.

Whether or not I wanted this to end quickly, with a short testimony like that, I didn't have much of a choice.

Cross-Examination

- - About the Lamp - -

“Mrs. Cake, do you remember specifically when Spike was at the shop?”

“I'm sorry dear, but it was a busy day.  I hardly had enough time to notice he was even there.  Why if I didn't remember him ordering, I probably wouldn't have even thought about it.”

Guess that's not going to help.

“Do you remember anything specific about him leaving then?”

She thought about it for a while and shook her head.

“Sorry, nothing that I can remember.  Just that he didn't have the parcel like I said earlier, Twilight.”

Only one more thing to ask about then.

“Can you tell us anything else about the lamp?”

“Nope, sorry dear. It isn't near the front of the shop and with so many ponies coming in that day, it could have been anypony who stole it.”

Trixie slammed her hooves on the podium, getting our attention.

“Do I have to remind all of you that it's obvious the dragon did it?”

“It wasn't me, okay?!”

Spike looked alarmed and was shaking after his outburst.

C'mon Twilight, you have to keep Spike together!

“Spike, quiet down, before you say anything you'll regret later.”

“But...but...Wait!  I remember!  I saw Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo at Sugar Cube Corner!  Maybe they did it!  It had to be them!”

Trixie waved her hoof at Spike, almost as if she were dismissing him.

“How foalish.  You're just grasping at straws now.  For them to have entered through the second floor is impossible.  They didn't have the parcel to assist them.  It could only have been you!”

Spike was terrified.  He turned to me, his eyes begging me to do something, anything.

Is it true?  Could Spike really have been the only one to make the grappling hook?

That's right!

I slammed my hooves on the podium, swinging my hoof into the air, and pointed directly at Trixie.

“OBJECTION!”

*Thud!*

I think Fluttershy fainted.  Maybe it's better that way.

“Spike wasn't the only one who could have made the grappling hook!  In fact, anypony near the boutique could have!”

For a second, I saw confusion in Trixie's eyes.  Did I make her doubt victory?

“W-well then, let's see what you've got!  Why wouldn't he be the only suspect?”

“That's because he lost the book!”

Finally, the look on her face was priceless!

“Y-you're lying!  That's not what he told us yesterday!”

A smirk crept onto my face that would have made Trixie proud.

“He lied.  He had been scared that I would be mad if I found out, so he neglected to mention it.  If you need proof, Mrs. Cake said the same thing not only to me previously, but in her own testimony as well.”

“This!  Can't!  Be!”

Trixie's horn glowed, her cape now flowing behind her while her hat erupted and went flying into the audience somewhere.  Calming down a bit, her horn glowed and she bent her head into her cape, pulling out another hat, before speaking once again.

“This is that dragon's fault!  How dare it lie to the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

The sound of the gavel seemed to echo loudly, breaking us out of our argument.

“That is enough you two.  It seems like there isn't enough evidence to give a verdict at this time.  I will postpone this case until tomorrow.  Do be careful about overlooking these things in the future.”

At the sound of the gavel once more, the crowd and everypony else began to go their own ways.  I helped Spike hop onto my back and proceeded through the gates as well.  From the corner of my eye I could see the evil glare that Trixie was giving me.  If there was any chance of her holding back, there wasn't going to be now.

August 5, 1:00 PM

Court Lobby, Ponyville

Standing outside the court, I decided to see how Spike was holding up.  His outburst earlier couldn't happen again.  It may not have caused anything this time, but I doubt it would end well if he said something he didn't mean instead.

“Spike?  Are you okay?  You can't let Trixie get the better of you like that.  What if you say something that doesn't help our case?  She could use it against you.”

Spike looked down, realizing how close he had been to ruining his chances of freedom.

“Gee Twilight, I didn't mean to.  I couldn't help it!  She gets under your skin, you know?”

I just nodded, starting at a slow trot out of the vicinity of the court.

“I'm sure she can, but you're a dragon Spike.  Or are those thick scales just for show?”

He was ready to continue the friendly banter when we both heard a vaguely familiar voice.

“That was brilliant Twilight, the way you turned that around on her.  Good thing too, if you didn't, that would have been terrible indeed.”

I turned to greet The Doctor.

“Doctor?  What are you doing here?”

He just smiled and pulled out a small wallet out of his jacket.  Placing it onto the ground, he nudged it towards me.

“I can't stay for long, but I thought this might help you.  I've heard that you had a hard time searching the crime scene.”

I used my magic to flip open the book.  I was disappointed to find that it held nothing but blank paper.

“How is a piece of paper supposed to help me?”

He bent down to take the wallet again.

“Like this.”

Turning to find the closest pony leaving the court room, The Doctor flipped the wallet open quickly with his mouth and then swinging his head sideways, closed the wallet again.  Dropping the wallet he spoke quickly to the pony.

“'Ello, I'm The Doctor, one of the investigators of the case.  How're you doing?  Now, I need you to tell me exactly why you're here in this very spot and what you were doing in the past...five seconds.  Go.”

Amazingly, the pony nodded and explained the case, telling the doctor what he had been doing the past five seconds in detail.

“Thank you, you were a great help.  Don't worry, we'll call you if we need you again.”

I stood in awe as The Doctor picked the wallet up again and dropped it at my feet.

“There you go.  Simple as that.  You just need to know what you want it to say and then wave it around.  Well, not that simple, you have to be making sure you're thinking of it or it won't work right.”

Why is it that my brain hurts whenever I talk to The Doctor?

“I still don't get it.”

He picked up the wallet and did the same thing once more, this time to me.  All I saw was blank paper in the small time that he did show its contents.

“There, I look pretty good for the Queen of England, huh?”

Okay.  He's lost it.

“England?  Where's that?  I still think this is insane.  You just showed me the blank paper again.”

When I said that, The Doctor stopped and went into thought.

“You didn't see anything?  Truly?  Aw, well that's brilliant!  You really are, Twilight.  The last time this happened was when Celestia...”

He stopped talking and caught himself.

“Anyway, just give it a try would you?  If it doesn't work, the worse that'll happen is a few ponies will think you're a bit odd, but some ponies think that anyway.  I'll need that back eventually though, psychic paper is handy to have around.”

The Doctor trotted away, and I found myself standing there with a wallet and no clue what just happened.

“Spike?  Did you understand anything he said?”

“Beats me, I stopped listening a while ago.”

Psychic Paper added to court record.

Profile added to court record.

Case File

Evidence

-Psychic Paper: A wallet filled with blank paper given to me by The Doctor.  He says it'll get me into the crime scene, but how it'll do that still evades me.

Profiles

-The Doctor: Previously the prosecutor of my last case.  It looks like he’s stepped out of that role once more and is off doing...whatever it is he does.  Haven’t seen him around recently.  I wonder what he’s up to?

Next Chapter

Previous Chapter

Twilight Sparkle: Mare Attorney – Justice For Everypony

Author: Fallin’ Winter

Editors/Pre-Readers/Story Consultants: frostedWarlock &

Case 2: Turnabout Friendships

Chapter 4: Day 2 – Investigation

August 5

Carousel Boutique, Ponyville

Me and Spike were now standing once more outside of Rarity's boutique.  Now that I was working on a full stomach after eating a daffodil and daisy sandwich, I felt that I could figure out what was going on.

I just hope that the Doctor's paper actually works.

Stepping up to the taped off building once more, it wasn't long before Snips and Snails stood in my way.

“Where do you think you're goin' huh?”

“Yeah, where do you think you're going, eh?”

Here goes nothing.

“I've been given permission. By...the princess!  Right, I have my identification right here!”

I used magic to pull the wallet out of my bag and flip it open quickly then slipped it back into my bag.  The two of them looked a bit stumped, confused as to what just happened.  After looking back and forth between each other, they finally turned and began walking away.

“Well if you say so.  You better not cause any trouble to the G and PT though, you got that?”

“Yeah, because she's great.  And powerful...like pudding.”

That actually worked?  I guess I'll have to thank The Doctor later.

It was actually empty downstairs except for Spike and I.  Not much else to do except a little searching, right?  I proceeded to walk towards the middle of the room when I heard Spike's voice behind me.

“Hey, what's this?”

Turning around, I saw that Spike had picked up a small folded piece of paper.  He looked at it intensely, trying to find something suspicious.  Before long he gave up, shrugged, and tossed it over his shoulder back onto the ground.

Hold on!

“Spike, wait!  Let me see that!”

He gave me a puzzled look and turned back around to pick the paper off the ground.

“Uh, here you go Twilight, but what do you want with it?  Isn't it just from whoever trashed the place?”

I shook my head and floated it close with my magic.

“No Spike, if it was just thrown around, it probably wouldn't have been folded so neatly.  Let's see what's on it.”

Okay, I wasn't expecting that.

Inside the paper was a crudely drawn picture of a pony with five legs, the words Big Sis and a heart near the bottom.  It seemed to be drawn with a pencil.

“Wow, I guess drawing definitely isn't her talent, huh?”

“Oh hush, Spike.  I'm sure Sweetie Belle worked really hard on this.”

“Yeah, that's why she threw it away.”

Ignoring Spike, I folded the piece of paper back up and placed it into my bag.  I couldn't place my hoof on it, but something about the paper irked me.  Well, other than the five legged pony.

Folded Paper added to court record.

Case File

Evidence

-Folded Paper: A neatly folded drawing of a five legged pony.  I'm guessing it was done by Sweetie Belle considering it has the words “Big Sis” and a heart written at the bottom.  Found near the front door of Carousel Boutique

Walking back towards the middle of the shop, I looked around for the object I had wanted to check on.  Spotting it in the corner, I trotted towards it and lifted the top of the chest open.  As expected, the inside was empty and there were no signs of any gems.

It looks like Trixie wasn't lying.

“Spike, I'm going to go look in the storage room, you keep searching the store.”

“Roger.”

Walking through the storage room was easier than around the shop.  Unlike out there, things weren't strewn all over the place.  The crates were opened, but most of the contents remained untouched.  Only some of the boxes were emptied and it looked as if they were taken elsewhere.

Searching through the crates, and finding nothing, I stepped back from the closest one and noticed something a bit odd. Two tiny crates had been pushed together near a bigger one.  While the rest of the small crates were piled on the other side of the room.

Does that mean these crates were moved?

I used my magic to pick them up and move them to the opposite side of the storage area.  Underneath the crates was another small piece of paper which I picked up and read.

Interesting.  What is this doing here?

Sugar Cube Corner

8/3/03 1:34 PM

1xFruit Smoothie-----------------4-------4 bits

_________________________________

Total-----------------------------------------40 bits

One fruit smoothie costs 40 bits now?  That’s like stealing somepony's 40 bits!  That’s as many as four tens! And that's terrible!  Oh wait... that last line was just smudged.

Smoothie Receipt added to court record.

Case File

Evidence

-Smoothie Receipt: A receipt from Sugar Cube Corner for one fruit smoothie bought at 1:34 PM.  Found in the storage room of the boutique.

As I pondered what to do with the paper, I heard a yell from the other room.

“Just what do you think you're doing?  How dare you come back to the scene of your crime!  The Great and Powerful Trixie is in the middle of her investigation and I demand that you leave!”

Oh great.  I guess I have to deal with her too.

When I got to the store, Spike was glaring at Trixie with his arms folded while Trixie glared right back.

“He's with me, Trixie.”

Trixie turned her head at the sound of my voice and gave an even darker stare.  She was clearly not happy that we were in here.

“I thought I told those two imbeciles to keep everpony out of the building.  Clearly they are far more foalish foals than I thought them to be.”

Maybe she's the foal for giving them more credit than they deserved.

“No matter, you are not allowed in here Twilight Sparkle.  Leave the premises immediately before I have to take legal action against you.”

Not if The Doctor has anything to say about it!

“Actually, I have my documentation right here.  See?”

I repeated the action again, taking out the wallet and flashing it's blank page at her.  The emotions on her face went from anger, to confusion, to even more anger.

“This...this is impossible!  Trixie did not hear anything about this!  Trixie will get to the bottom of this matter, just you wait!”

For Twilight Sparkle's sake, let's hope she doesn't.  Great, now Trixie’s got Twilight doing it... I did it again, didn’t I?

She flared her cape dramatically and muttered to herself as she left through the front door.

“I'm done with my investigation anyway.  I'll find out just how she got that permission and then we'll see who gets the better of whom.”

With the slamming of another door, Spike and I were left alone once again.

“Sore loser, isn't she?”

“Looks like she didn't learn last time.  We've still got the upper floor to check out.  Let's go Spike.”

Or as The Doctor would say, “Onwards and upwards!”

Upstairs didn't have much, it just being Rarity's room.  It wasn't as stocked as downstairs, but there was still a good amount of cloth and sewing materials since this was where she normally worked.  Tape sectioned off an area in the middle of the floor and laying inside were the pieces of evidence mentioned in yesterday's trial.  Stepping around it, I checked the rest of the room.  Nothing seemed to be moved, just as Trixie said.

“This is the window that was open, right Spike?”

Spike nodded his head before going back to his own investigation, while I went over to inspect it.

It was a large window and it slid up to open.  Peering outside showed nothing of interest.  When looking around the window I saw a small part of the wall was a different color.  Looking more closely, I could see that the paint from the wall had been removed.

How did that happen?

Continuing to look for hints,  I looked a bit further down from the mark, and found another of about the same size.  After searching the entire section of wall, I found there wasn't anything else that was noticeable.

Wall Mark added to court record.

Case File

Evidence

-Wall Mark: Two marks on the wall of Rarity's boutique about a foot above and below from each other.  It seems that the paint was removed from the wall on those sections.  I wonder what could have done that?

Turning toward the stairs, I called out to Spike.

“Did you find anything?”

No reply.

“Spike?”

I doubled back to see what he was doing.  He had been searching through her closet.

“Spike!  What are you doing!  You can’t just go through her stuff!”

He rolled his eyes.

“Isn’t that what we’re supposed to be doing?”

“Th-that’s still wrong!  It’s still her... what did you find?”

He shook his head.

“Nothing, just boxes of pins and broken mannequins and a case.”

“A case?!  What was in it?”

“Just a ball.”

August 5

Fluttershy's Hut, Ponyville

“Come back, Sweetie Belle!  What are you doing?  Oh Apple Bloom, don't run in the house!  Scootaloo, how did you get up there?”

Looks like Rarity's having a hard time handling the girls.

I opened the door and stepped inside Fluttershy's hut.  For a second the girls stopped what they were doing and stared. Seeing it was me, they went back to whatever they had been doing.  Leaning my head down to Spike, I whispered in his ear.

“Keep the girls busy, I need to speak with Rarity.”

“But I told you what they did to me last time, right?  They made me be the princess!  Even Sweetie Belle!”

“No buts, Spike.  She may still be angry, and it'll be easier to talk to her by myself.”

Dejectedly, Spike walked towards the girls.  I stepped towards an annoyed Rarity, and tried to start a conversation.

“Can I speak to you for a bit?  Spike can keep them out of trouble for now.”

Rarity looked at the girls who were now talking with Spike.  Giving a heavy sigh, she lowered her head.

“Very well.  What else do you wish to know?”

“You're watching the girls today?”

She looked even more irritated than she already was.

“Fluttershy had to tend to the animals, so I offered to keep an eye on the girls.  Did you really come out here just to talk about them?”

“Um, no.”

Definitely still angry.  I'm sure it doesn't help that she has to deal with the “Cutie Mark Crusaders”...Yay!

I floated the drawing from my bag and showed it to Rarity.

“This is the picture Sweetie Belle drew the morning of the incident.  Why do you have it?”

“Well, I found it on the first floor folded up.  Did she happen to throw it away?”

Rarity shook her head

“Well, she was quite embarrassed after she noticed there were five legs.  I guess she hid it somewhere afterwards.  I didn’t see the drawing again after the first time she showed me.”

That's a bit relaxing, she didn't refer to the criminal as Spike.  Maybe she's coming around to believing that he's innocent.

Taking the paper back and placing it into the bag, I pulled out the small receipt.

“Do you know anything about this?”

She stared at it, reading it's contents.

“Somepony had a fruit smoothie at Sugar Cube Corner at one thirty-four P.M. and it looks like it cost four bits.”

Once again, keen on the obvious details I see.

“Uh, thanks. Do you notice anything else?”

“If you wish to ask somepony about it, maybe you should start at Sugar Cube Corner, not with me.”

Well, I thought it wouldn't hurt to try.

I floated the receipt back into my bag and closed the clasp.

“Did you know there's small marks on your wall where the paint came off?  They're close to the window.”

Suddenly, her eyes widened.

“What?  Now I have to fix the paint!?  All this after I told Sweetie Belle not to peel it off.”

“Peel what off?”

“That poster!  She wanted to hang it up and wasn't paying attention.  She ended up using a strong tape and she placed it too close to the window.  The other half of it wound up covering part of the window, but I didn't want her to move it.  Peeling off the tape would cause the paint to come off too.”

Well then, I guess that answers one question.

Wall Mark updated in court record.

Case File

Evidence

-Wall Mark: Two marks on the wall of Rarity's boutique about a foot above and below from each other.  It seems that the paint was removed from the wall on those sections.  This was caused by tape being removed from the wall.  Apparently, the tape was holding up a poster.

“Rarity, do you think that Sweetie Belle...”

“What?  It's a possibility, I suppose.  Although the culprit still could be anypony...or dragon.”

I can’t deny that.

Rarity turned and walked towards the group talking in the back of the room.

“If you're quite finished, I have things I must attend to.  Come along now girls, it's time for lunch.”

At the word lunch, the girls ran to the door waiting for Rarity.

“Quickly please, Twilight.  I need to lock up.”

August 5

Sugar Cube Corner, Ponyville

After being hastily removed from the cottage, Spike and I walked to the next place on our list.  The bell attached to the door made it's jingle and we were greeted by our pastel pink friend.

“Hiya Twilight, whatcha doin'?”

The store was now empty, aside from the three of us.  Pinkie was sitting at the front counter with stacks of small papers.

“Checking on things for the case.  Why's it so empty anyway?”

Pinkie Pie put down the paper she had in her hoof and motioned for us to come closer, pulling up two chairs so that we could sit next to the counter, she moved one of the stacks towards us.

“The store was being examined as part of the investigation. The prosecutor, Mrs. Stuffy McHuffy pants was here too.  She picked up something in the back, then left.  It's too bad, I wanted to play with the yellow tape.  Right now, I'm going through the receipts.  You know, those things that tell ya about what ponies are buying?  Mr. and Mrs. Cake wanted to use it to help figure out revenue and stuff, but it took them a while to get the hang of it.  I've been using them to see what ponies buy the most.  That way, I know what to make at the parties!  Isn't that exciting?”

I slipped the receipt out of my bag and floated it to her.

“Like this one?”

Pinkie took the receipt and looked at it for a bit.  Then she bit a paper out of the stack and pulled on it, managing to take it out without any of the other papers falling.  How she managed this was beyond me.

“Ooh, I have one like it right here.”

I stared at her in amazement.

“How did you do that Pinkie?  For that matter, how did you know where it was?  Wait, let me guess.  It was under E?”

She just laughed and put the receipt in front of me.

“Of course not sillyfilly, it was in the '1-2 P.M.' pile.”

I give up.

Looking at the two receipts, I could see they were completely identical.

Why are there two of the same one?

As if reading my mind, Pinkie continued talking.

“The machine makes two copies.  The customer gets one, and we keep the other.  That means that these two are a pair!  Isn't it neat?  Its like socks!  Except those come in fours...and paper wouldn't be very comfortable.  Or warm.  I wonder how I'd look in socks?  Ooh!  We should have a sock party!”

Time to steer this conversation back on track.  Anymore and Pinkie might run it right off a cliff.

“So there's only two of the same receipt?”

“Yup.  Isn't that what I just said?”

Smoothie Receipt updated in court record.

Case File

Evidence

-Smoothie Receipt: A receipt from Sugar Cube Corner for one fruit smoothie bought at 1:34 PM.  Found in the storage room of the boutique.  Pinkie has the only matching pair to this receipt at the Sugar Cube Corner.

Then that means...

As soon as the light bulb turned on in my head, I excitedly looked to Spike.

“Spike!  Do you still have your receipt with you?  This is really important!”

Spike gave me a funny look.

“Does it look like I have pockets?  Where would I keep it?”

I was now more worried than excited.  I didn't like where this was going.

“Are you sure Spike?  Did you leave it somewhere?  Try to remember Spike, we need to find it!”

Spike shrugged his shoulders.

“I dunno Twilight, I remember bringing it to the boutique, but I'm not completely sure.  Maybe I left it outside when I was looking for the parcel.  Or wait, maybe it was when I took a nap.  What's this about anyway?”

Ohnonononono, this is bad!

“If you still had that receipt, it'd be decisive proof showing when you were at Sugar Cube Corner!  We need to look for it as soon as possible!”

Before I do that though...

“Pinkie?  Where did you guys keep the lantern?”

She looked up again, having gone back to sorting the receipts after I started yelling at Spike.

“It was right back there, in the corner.”

I dashed towards the corner, quickly looking through what was there but whatever evidence had been there had already been taken by Trixie.

Rushing back to the front, I lifted Spike onto my back and ran through the door to the street.

“Bye Pinkie, thanks for the help.  Gotta go!”

“Okie Dokie Lokie!”

August 5

Carousel Boutique, Ponyville

As soon as we reached the boutique, I knelt down to let Spike hop off and went straight into the bushes.

“This is where you were sleeping, right?”

Spike walked into the bushes as well and nodded his head.

“Then start looking, this could be what decides everything!”

August 5

Books and Branches Library, Ponyville

7:00PM

I sat down on the pillow catching my breath.  We had been looking for at least an hour if not longer.

This was a disaster.  We looked everywhere around the boutique and still couldn't find it.

“What are you going to do now, Twilight?”

I don't know.  I can't just tell him that though, can I?

“I'll figure something out Spike.  Just get some rest for now.  I still need to come up with a plan for tomorrow.”

Spike stretched and let out a yawn.  Marching up the steps, he proceeded to his bed.

Letting out a yawn myself, I looked over the documents making sure that what I had could be used in some way.  However, no matter how much I tried to bury my thoughts in a strategy, the thought of letting my friend down managed to seep in.  All we needed was that receipt and Spike would be free.  Without that, he was still liable to be found guilty.

Hours passed and it was starting to get late.  Turning off the light, I trudged into my room and lay down on my bed.  I kind of hoped that instead of waking up, I'd just keep dreaming.

Next Chapter

Previous Chapter

Twilight Sparkle: Mare Attorney – Justice For Everypony

Author: Fallin’ Winter

Editors/Pre-Readers/Story Consultants: frostedWarlock &

Case 2: Turnabout Friendships

Chapter 5: Day 3 – Trial

August 6

Court Lobby, Ponyville

Spike and I were standing moments away from the court room.  Before the day was through, guilty or not, this case would be closed.  This wasn't the time to worry about the missing receipt, I had to manage without it.

Here goes nothing.

August 6

Court Room #1, Ponyville

Trixie had her smug smirk as usual, she was also tapping one of her hooves on a folder.  My guess was it didn't have anything good in there.  The pounding of the gavel signaled the start of the case.

“We will now continue the trial proceedings from yesterday.  I believe you have a witness prepared?”

Trixie waved her hoof to the crowd signaling for her witness to come up.  Pinkie Pie hopped her way through the throng, knocking over a few ponies in the process.

“Hiya everypony!  Isn't this exciting?  Ooh!  I can't wait to see what happens!  Do ya know who did it?  Do ya?  Do ya?” 

Trixie was grinding her teeth, infuriated at the nonstop chattering pony.

Sometimes I find it stressful to tolerate Pinkie's personality for long periods of time.  Though I think I can make an exception this time.

“Name and occupation.”

Pinkie just kept talking.

“This is awesome isn't it?  I mean not the breaking or the entering part, but the whole objection thing.  Have you ever seen anything so cool?  I mean you can't top that time with the 'HOLD IT!' and Fluttershy was all like 'eep' but that wasn't really nice of Twilight to begin with although-”

“Name.  And.  Oc-cu-pation!”

Trixie is really destroying those poor teeth of hers grinding them like that.  She may want to see a dentist after this.

Pinkie finally stopped her rant and made a disappointed face.

“You're no fun miss blue snooty.  I'm Pinkamena Diane Pie, but you can just call me Pinkie Pie.  I work at Sugar Cube Corner.”

“Good.  Now tell us about the receipts your shop uses.  Preferably in less than six sentences.”

Hopefully they aren't run-on sentences.  Or we'll be here for a while.

Testimony

- - Receipts? - -

-The Cakes decided it'd be a good idea so we can keep track of our incomes and stuff.

-I've been using it to see what to bake for my parties!

-There's this one cake in particular that's been selling really well...

-Oh wait!  I just used up one of my sentences, didn't I?

-Silly me, oops!  I did it again!  Let's see...

-We give the receipts to our customers when they pay at the counter. 

That was more like 8, but it was close enough.

Trixie looked as if she were ready to snap and throw something.  Celestia blinked a few more times trying to wrap her head around the testimony.  I stood moderately unfazed, used to her antics by now.  Finally regaining her composure, Celestia turned towards me and nodded.

“You may cross-examine the witness Twilight.”

Trixie once again slammed her hooves on the podium.

“Do not make Trixie wait!”

Cross-Examination

- - Receipts? - -

I didn’t have much choice on what to talk about here unless I was going to ask Pinkie about her sentence count.

“The cakes have been using the receipts to keep track of income?”

Pinkie rolled her eyes at me and nodded.

“Of course you silly filly!  That's what I said!”

I admit that I should have saw that coming.

I shook my head.

“That’s not what I meant Pinkie.  I want you elaborate on what you said.”

Pinkie shrugged and let out a giggle.

“Well why didn’t you say that in the first place?”

Pinkie tapped her hoof to her chin.

“Well they have me look at the receipts and stuff and then add up all the prices.  I have to figure out the income, the revenue, then I need to plan out what supplies we need to pick up for next week.  It's a lot of work, but I guess somepony has to do it.”

I have a newfound respect for Pinkie.  That seems like a whole lot of work.

“So you can tell what the ponies are buying based on the receipts as well?”

“Yeah!  For my parties!  It seems like lots of ponies are enjoying our special of the month.  The sugar gem cakes are pretty popular too.  Don't tell Applejack, but it seems the Carrot Clan's carrot cakes are selling like, well, hotcakes.”

I could feel Trixie glaring at me which told me I should speed things up.

“The receipts, you hand them out at the counter?”

“Yup!  They get one and we keep the other one!”

Trixe made a loud “ahem.” and floated what looked like two small slips of paper out of the folder.

“This is proof that she speaks the truth.  I have two of the same copy, one of which I found outside of the boutique, the other from the Sugar Cube Corner's backlog of receipts.”

Celestia skimmed the documents then passed them over to me to read.

“I will accept this piece of evidence into the case file.”

Matching Receipts added to court record.

Case File

Evidence

-Matching Recipts: These are a pair of identical receipts for a strawberry shake.  One was found outside of Rarity's boutique and the other was received from Pinkie Pie at Sugar Cube Corner.  They're both timestamped for 2:06 PM.

“Twilight?  Twilight, are you all right?”

I’d been staring at that receipt reading it over and over again to make sure that I wasn't making things up.  This was what we spent hours looking for just yesterday.

“Twilight?”

I finally snapped out of my trance.

“This is it!  This is what I was looking for all of yesterday!  This is Spike's receipt!”

The crowd erupted in gasps, taken back by the sudden claim.  Even Celestia looked a bit surprised, but quickly regained her composure.

“Are you sure Twilight?  This is a large claim to make.  Do you have any evidence proving that this is true?”

I looked down at my hooves, thoughts racing through my head.  The pieces were finally falling into place.  I could prove this!

“Yes, your honor.  I have just the thing that proves it!”

The crowd became even louder.  Making it take a bit of effort to hear the princess over them.

“Very well.  Before we continue, I take it you are finished with your cross-examination?”

“Huh?  Oh, um yes I am.”

With a nod from the princess, Pinkie Pie hopped over the podium and back into the crowd, a few ponies being knocked over as she jumped back to her spot.  Once Pinkie Pie had been taken care of, Trixie spoke out again.

“Well?  What is this evidence that can prove your foalish claim?”

It was time for me to get Spike out of trouble.  All I had to do was prove it to everypony.

Flipping open my bag, I pulled out another receipt.

“This receipt which I found earlier was inside the boutique itself.  It was hidden under boxes in the storage room.  The time on the receipt was for 1:34 PM which means that it isn't the same as the receipt found outside.  That proves two things.  The receipt that I found belongs to the culprit responsible for breaking in and the receipt here does not belong to Spike.”

Trixie shook her head at me and leaned in on the podium, both hooves on its surface.

“Trixie was expecting more of a fight, Twilight Sparkle.  That only means that there's two sets of receipts and one belongs to the culprit.  We still need you to prove to us which one belongs to your client.  It could even be possible for both receipts to be his and he had used one as his alibi.”

I scrunched up my face in frustration and cut off her argument.

“This other receipt does prove it.  Mrs. Cake didn't see much, but she did remember Spike and what he had ordered that day.  If she remembered him once, wouldn't she recall seeing him again?”

Trixie made a “hmph” and glared at me.

“Is that it?  Is that all you have to say in his defense?  May Trixie remind you that so far this has all been simple conjecture and theory.  Saying somepony would've noticed still means it was possible for them to forget.  Now, is there any evidence that he did not get two separate receipts?”

She's right, I have no physical evidence.  There's no possible way to prove that the receipt wasn't his.

“No, I don't have any evidence proving this.”

I'm sorry Spike, she backed me into too far a corner...

Spike looked horrified. I wanted to do something or say something to him, but I just couldn't meet his eyes.

“Then it seems lucky that The Great and Powerful Trixie does.”

WHAT?!

A tube floated out of Trixie's bag.  The cap opened with a pop and a rolled up paper slid out.  Unrolling it made it obvious what it was.  The poster was in good condition, though there were pieces of tape in the corners.  On it was a depiction of “Sapphire Shores: Beach Resort and Spa” along with a sunny beach with a lighthouse, ponies hang gliding, and a mountain with a few mountain climbers.

“This was found at the crime scene laying on the side.  Trixie has confirmed that this belongs to Rarity and was given to her by Sapphire Shores for her work on the dresses used

in Sapphire Shore's performance.  However, it is not the contents of this poster which matters, what does is the physical condition of it.”

Sapphire Shores Poster added to court record.

Case File

Evidence

-Sapphire Shores Poster: A poster depicting a beach resort with a lighthouse among other vacation past times.  Given to Rarity by Sapphire Shores as a gift.  Has tape on each corner of the poster.

”Trixie had spoken with Rarity previously and she has said that this very poster was attached to the wall before the incident.  Well, at least part of it was.  I'm curious Twilight Sparkle, do you know where the rest of the poster was attached?”

Finally being addressed, I snapped out of the confusion that I had been in.  Trixie was defending Spike!?

I have a bad feeling about this, but it's probably best that I go along with it right now.

“Rarity said it was stuck to the window because it was placed badly.”

Trixie smiled and continued her explanation.

“Very good.  The tape that was used is very strong and meant to keep together whatever it's stuck to.  This doesn't mean it is unable to be removed, however to do so would take a bit of effort and most likely peel the paint off of the wall, which Rarity did not want.  There is one place that removing the tape was impossible however.  Trixie does not want to steal all of the spotlight, so how about we let Twilight Sparkle answer for me.”

Now she doesn’t want all the attention?!  There really must be something wrong!

I started to realize where she was going with all of this. It started making sense now.  I guess I would just go along and make sure my suspicions were correct.

“The only place that you couldn't remove the tape is from the outside, where the supposed entry was.”

Trixie clopped her hooves together slowly in a form of mock applaud.

“Trixie sees you're beginning to understand what she's getting at.  Yes, the tape was impossible to remove from the outside.  If someone were to enter the building from out there, this poster would look quite different.  It would be ripped into more than one piece due to half of the poster remaining stationary on the wall while the other is pushed up by the window.  This clearly proves how impossible it would be to get in from the top floor.”

I was shocked, Spike looked shocked, the crowd looked shocked, even Celestia had a surprised look on her face.  This didn't last quickly however as Celestia pounded her gavel and got our attention.

“It seems that this case has taken a quick turn of events and I do not believe there's much room to object to the evidence presented.  Without a means of entry into the building, I pronounce Spike...”

*  N  O  T    G  U  I  L  T  Y  *

Once again streamers and confetti poured down upon the court and the crowd around it.  Hooves pounded everywhere and it seemed we were done, at least for the moment.  I gave Spike a warm smile, glad that we escaped another sticky situation.

“OBJECTION!”

The shout pierced through the court and all became quiet.  You could feel everypony’s eyes looking for the source of the objection.  First upon Princess Celestia who looked just as wide eyed as everypony else.  Then to me who was also searching for the source of sound. When it was Spike’s turn to be eyed by everypony, he stood there frozen in place in fear.  Finally, all eyes turned to the blue pony in the wizard hat and cape.  With the smirk she was sporting seemingly brighter than before, it was obvious who did the shouting.

“Yes, we have successfully proven that the dragon is not the culprit.  Does that not mean there is still an unnamed individual who broke into Rarity's boutique?  While this is not normal policy, how about we continue where we left off?  For Trixie knows who broke in.”

The crowd began talking amongst themselves realizing that she was right.  Celestia spoke up and leaned towards Trixie.

“I'm am unsure if we will be able to continue on such short notice, but I am curious as to who you are accusing of the break in. You may continue.”

“Gladly.  Trixie commends them, they did a good job covering up the facts and were almost able to pin everything on that dragon.  If it weren't for Trixie, they would have gotten away with playing the fool and making it seem as if they had merely tried and failed.  My evidence points to one pony, and that pony is Twilight Sparkle!”

You have got to be kidding me!

“OBJECTION!”

*Slam*

“Princess!  I mean, Your Honor, this isn't true!  I wasn't the one who-”

The gavel was pounded once more and everypony was silenced.

“As judge I cannot simply ignore a possible lead to the culprit's identity.  However, I will allow us to continue this trial after a short intermission to allow the accused to prepare herself.  Is this fine with you?”

How am I supposed to be okay with being accused at all?  No turning back now though, or I may not have another chance.

“I accept these terms.  I will defend myself against these charges.”

“Very well, we will be taking a fifteen minute recess.”

August 6

Court Lobby, Ponyville

“I can’t believe she’d try to pin this all on me!”

I was stomping around the lobby unnecessarily, but it at least made me feel a bit better.  I was angry that she had accused me of the crime, but what was worse is that I fell into her trap, hook, line, and sinker.  I wasn’t certain how early she had been planning to pass the blame onto me, but it was evident that she had thought it out well.

“Gosh Twilight, this is all my fault.  If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be in this mess.  What kind of an assistant am I?”

Oh Spike, shouldn't I be the one trying to cheer you up?

“You’re a great assistant, that’s what.  This isn’t the time to beat yourself up Spike.  I have a case to win, and I’m going to need my assistant right there to cheer me on.  As long I’ve got the truth on my side, I can’t lose!”

I gave him a reassuring smile and ushered him back towards the court.

“Wow, Twilight, you’re really starting to believe all this truth stuff aren’t you?”

I don’t have much of a choice.  It’s either that or give up.

August 6

Court Room #1, Ponyville

”Court is now in session for the trial of Twilight Sparkle.”

The Princess gave this trial its own name?

“I believe the easiest way to begin is to have Trixie testify about the evidence she has, then allow Twilight to cross-examine it.  Trixie?”

“Very well.  I suppose I will start with this...”

Testimony

- - Incriminating Evidence - -

-The first thing Trixie questions is where Twilight was at the time?

-The only thing we can confirm is that she was at the scene of the crime after it occurred.

-She has no proof as to what she was doing nor where she was.

-Without an alibi, this easily makes her suspicious.

-Trixie would also like to point out that the only way in is through the door.

-It has a lock in it which is magically sealed by Rarity.

-The technique was taught to her by Twilight Sparkle.

-This means that only Twilight Sparkle or Rarity herself could get through that door!

I hate to admit it, but she does make good points.  Although Trixie must have read my mind, because she's got her smug expression back.

“Well Twilight?  What do you say?  Show Trixie what you've got.”

Cross-Examination

- - Incriminating Evidence - -

“I was in my library the whole time, thank you very much!”

“Really now?  Well Trixie would like you to prove that to us.”

Ugh, being in the library by myself means that I have no witnesses to vouch for me.  I don't think I'll be able to talk myself out of that point.

“How do you know that the only way in was through the door?”

Trixie waved her hoof at me dismissively.

“You make this too easy, Twilight.  Trixie has already proven why the bedroom window is out of the question.  All the other windows are either not made to be opened, or they are blocked off by piles of boxes and closets.  This leaves the door.”

There has to have been another way to get in.  Right?

“Trixie theorized that you may have been able to teleport inside, but from what she's gathered, you are only able to teleport short distances through open space.  She's heard that the times you’ve tried long distance teleportation through an object, resulted in heavy burns on you and any passengers you have. She's certain it would have been easy to spot if such an incident occurred.”

I have to admit, she's being awfully thorough; but that doesn't mean I'm going to take this lying down!

“I’ll have you know, Trixie, that it'd be impossible for even me to remove the spell on that lock.  It works by reading the pony’s specific aura through their magic.  Without the same aura that summoned it, it'd be impossible for another pony to open the lock.  The spell itself isn't really a lock either.  It is made to keep the object that the spell is used on from moving.”

Trixie looked irritated now, but she still seemed adamant on figuring out what happened.

“You talk as if Trixie didn't know this.  There's still many possible explanations as to how you could have managed to get inside.  For instance, what if the door was stopped in a close-”

Suddenly Trixie's eyes went big as she covered her mouth.  She had spoken too quickly and given too much away.

I think I just figured out exactly what went on. Thanks Trixie.

“I believe the prosecution brings up a very good point.  In fact, it seems very likely now that I think about it.  I think that the door wasn't closed to begin with!  This means that even if the door's mechanism couldn't move, it was stuck in the open position making the door movable.”

Trixie took a step back, as if she was physically wounded by the claim.  Stomping her hooves on the podium, she shouted back to me.

“Even if this wasn't just baseless conjecture, how do you suppose the door was opened without her knowing?  Or are you suggesting that she simply forgot to close the door before using the spell?”

C'mon Twilight, we're finally getting somewhere.  How did the door stay unlocked?

The entire court was quiet as they waited for my reply in this heated debate between the two of us.  I was oblivious to all of this, calculating the different ways it could have been overlooked.  Then a thought hit me.  What if it was intentional?

“How about making the door look closed when it was actually open?  If they were able to do that, it would mean Rarity wouldn't know that her door wasn't closed and so she’d use the spell anyway.”

Trixie was giving me an icy glare.  I was starting to get a chill up my spine again.

“Then prove it!  Tell Trixie just how the door was closed if you're so certain!”

It was all falling into place.  This mystery with the door was almost solved, but I needed one last piece to connect it all.

That piece of evidence had to be here somewhere.

A minute passed and finally I looked back at Trixie with a smile.

“I've figured it out.  It was done with this.”

Using my magic, I floated the construction paper out of my bag.  The drawing of the five legged pony in plain view to everyone.  Trixie laughed aloud upon sight of the drawing.

“Hah!  What is that?  Trixie fails to see how this has anything to do with the door.”

I can see it perfectly.

“Then let me enlighten you.  While this didn't have anything to do with the door per se, it had everything to do with the door being open.  That's because it was placed here!  Inside of the door jamb!”

“Would you care explaining this?  Trixie fails to see how that does anything at all.”

“With pleasure.  The paper was found folded neatly.  In fact, it was folded quite small and I'd bet that it would fit inside the door jamb with a little effort.  The more times you fold paper the sturdier it becomes and could easily hold the door bolt from locking into place.”

Trixie's grinding her teeth again.  I wonder if she has those insured.

“That doesn't change anything!  You could have easily planted that there so you could return later and get in!”

I must be giving her a run for her bits if she’s making such simple contradictions.

“That's entirely impossible unless you claim that I was already inside of the boutique sometime the morning of the incident.  The drawing was made that very morning, making it very likely that the culprit was inside the boutique at that time.”

Shouts of confusion and surprise from the crowd overthrew anything that could have possibly been said in the court.  That was a good thing too, because I'm pretty certain Trixie was saying a few things best left unheard.  When the crowd began to die down, Celestia turned to me and spoke her first words in a while.

“Twilight, are you sure you wish to accuse Rarity?”

I shook my head fervently.

“No Your Honor, I'm not accusing Rarity. I’m accusing Sweetie Belle.  The girls don't mean any real harm, but I know for a fact how much trouble they can get into.  I had my suspicions, but I think I have enough reason to pursue this further.”

Celestia nodded her head and pounded the gavel.

“Very well Twilight.  Guards, please escort Sweetie Belle to the court as soon as possible.  Trixie, I will leave it up to you to prepare her.”

I’m running out of time, but at least I’ve set this case back on the right track, I’m sure of it.  I can tell that the truth is right there, hiding in plain sight.  Now all I have to do is spot it.

To Be Continued.

Next Chapter

Previous Chapter

Twilight Sparkle: Mare Attorney – Justice For Everypony

Author: Fallin’ Winter

Editors/Pre-Readers/Story Consultants: frostedWarlock &

Case 2: Turnabout Friendships

Chapter 6: Day 3 – Trial (Part 2)

August 6

Court Room #1, Ponyville

“Trixie?  May I ask why there are...two, no, three fillies here instead of one?”

I was greeted with this amusing scene upon entering the court once more.  Among the group in front of me was a disheveled Trixie, a confused Princess, and the one and only Cutie Mark Crusaders up in arms against the blue showpony.

“Princess!  Ya just gotta let us testify with Sweetie Belle!  It's awful important!  I was there too!”

“Yeah, we can't let her go in there by herself.  She wouldn't make it without us!”

“Thanks for the support, Scootaloo...”

“Heh, my bad.”

“Trixie has already told you little miscreants that this is not proper court protocol at least ten times!”

Profile added to court record.

Case File

Profiles

-Sweetie Belle: Sister to Rarity and part of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.  While she’s not usually the one coming up with the dangerous ideas, she’s often there getting into just as much trouble as the others are.  She hasn’t seemed to realize just how good she is at singing just yet.  She was there to witness Spike inside the boutique.

-Apple Bloom: Sister to Applejack and part of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.  She’s a brave little filly and is just as hard headed as her sister.  She’s often getting into trouble with the Cutie Mark Crusaders.  She seems to have a knack for building, but she’s more than stubborn enough to become good at anything she puts her mind to.  She was there to witness Spike inside the boutique.

-Scootaloo: Part of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and almost always seen with them, she’s the daredevil of the group and is willing to try anything.  She seems to look up to Rainbow Dash.  She’s really good at riding her scooter around town though I don’t think she’s realized how talented she is yet.  She was there to witness Spike inside the boutique.

I couldn't help but laugh at the hard time the girls were giving Trixie.  Celestia leaned in near Trixie and spoke to her.

“While this isn't the most by the book ruling I've seen, there hasn't been much about this case that I could deem by the book.  I say let them testify together.  Maybe we'll learn something new.”

Trixie flared her cape in frustration.  Picking up her bag, she marched off to her side of court mumbling the whole way.

“Do what you want, it's not like Trixie cares anymore.  This is getting out of hoof anyway...”

Soon the whole court had settled back in, ready to see the rest of the case unfold.  The gavel pounded once more and Celestia officially announced the beginning of the last session of the case.

“This is the final continuation of the Carousel Boutique trial.  We shall have our first testimony by these three young fillies.  Are you girls ready?”

“Sure!”

“You bet!”

“Got it!”

Testimony

- - Cutie Mark Crusader's: Alibi, Yay~ - -

-Apple Bloom: I swear we weren't involved with nuthin'.

-Sweetie Belle: Yeah!  We left with Rarity and went to pick up Scootaloo right after.

-Scootaloo: Yeah, I met them halfway in town square on my scooter.

-Apple Bloom: We didn't see the boutique again till we came back with Rarity

-Scootaloo: It looked completely different.

“See Twilight Sparkle?  This was completely pointless and a waste of Trixie's time.”

Trixie was at it again, pointing theatrically at everyone trying to make her case.

I'm not about to let her stop me when I'm this close to solving everything.

“They've said their part, now let me cross-examine them.  We've already gotten this far.”

Trixie huffed and crossed her hooves.

“This better be good.”

Cross-Examination

- - Cutie Mark Crusader's: Alibi, Yay~ - -

“You girls picked up Scootaloo while Rarity went to do her shopping I presume?”

Apple Bloom spoke for the group, nodding her head vigorously.

“Course we did!  When we saw her, she did this really cool trick where she went whoosh and then she did this really cool thing with her wings and then it was like pow!”

I honestly can't tell whether she meant to derail that thought, or if Trixie told her to do it.

“So you met them in the town square, Scootaloo?”

She hopped onto the stand with a little effort and shouted across the room.

“Of course!  I've got a scooter, so why should I make them walk the whole way?  Though I did practice some tricks on the way there.”

Apple Bloom hopped onto the pedestal alongside Scootaloo.

“Yeah!  When we saw her, she did this really cool trick where she went whoosh and then she did this really cool thing with her wings and then it was like pow!”

Why do I have a sense of deja vu?

“You say the place looked different Scootaloo?  How so?”

“Well I mean things were everywhere.  I didn't really see too much inside because we ran into Fluttershy.”

Maybe she didn't see anything after all.  Should I push further anyway?

“What did you manage to see Scootaloo?”

“Oh I don't know.  I guess the gem chest was knocked over.  I mean it was empty to begin with, but it wasn't like that the last time I was there.”

Gotcha.

“HOLD IT!”

“I'm sorry Scootaloo, but I have a feeling that there's something wrong with what you just said.”

Scootaloo's eyes narrowed and she pointed her hoof at me.

“Oh yeah?  Prove it!”

I shook my head and continued to speak.

“What's wrong is that you shouldn't know something.  More specifically, that the chest was empty.  Rarity had just used the last of her gems the day before and you couldn't possibly have known this unless you were there.”

Scootaloo's pupils became pinpoints as she realized her mistake and was caught on the spot.

“Augh!  Um...ah...heh, whoops.”

The crowd talked amongst each other at the new discovery.  Scootaloo finally got the courage to speak again, and defended herself.

“Okay, so we went back to the boutique.  That doesn't mean we were the ones who did it!  It didn't look like that when we got there, we were just drawing, that's all.”

What she fails to realize is that what really matters is how it looked when they left.  She can't be telling the truth, right?

“That can't be true Scootaloo.  The only drawing we found in there was this.”

I slipped out Sweetie Belle's drawing.

“You used this to keep the door unlocked, right?  That means it was made before you could have drawn it.”

Scootaloo shook her head vigorously and yelled back.

“That's not what I'm talking about!  We were drawing on the poster!”

What?

“We couldn't find anything to draw on and the poster was big enough for all of us to draw on.”

“You mean...the Sapphire Shore poster?  The one in Rarity's room?”

Scootaloo nodded again.

“Uh huh.”

Celestia coughed to get our attention and addressed Trixie in a calm tone.

“Are there really drawings on the poster?  I would like to confirm this.”

Trixie sighed and slid the poster out again.  Just as Scootaloo said, there were all kinds of drawings on the back.

“So there's drawings on the back.  What does that have to do with anything?  This is just ridiculous.  Trixie wanted to cut the pay of the forensic scientist who pointed this out, for wasting Trixie's time.”

As I looked at the drawings, Spike spoke up.

“Hey, doesn't it kinda look like the front?

Taking the poster from Trixie's magical grasp, I flipped the poster over a few times to see for myself.  Just like Spike said, it closely resembled the picture inside the poster.  There was a lighthouse in the middle with ropes and ponies (all with five hooves) hanging off the side of the lighthouse.  To the side of the lighthouse were triangles which I assumed were hanggliders.

“It does have an uncanny resemblance.”

Maybe this will come in handy after all.

Sapphire Shores Poster updated in the court record.

Case File

Evidence

-Sapphire Shore Poster: A poster depicting a beach resort with a lighthouse among other vacation past times.  Given to Rarity by Sapphire Shores as a gift.  Has tape on each corner of the poster.  On the back are multiple drawings in crayon made by the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“Now we know that the girls were practicing drawing.  How is any of this relevant?”

It was my turn to slam my hooves onto the desk.

“OBJECTION!”

“We won't know till we find out.  Will we, Trixie?” I said with a wry smile.

Apparently, Trixie wouldn't let me have the last objection.

“OBJECTION!”

Trixie slammed a fore hoof down before pointing at me with the other. “You're just grasping at straws at this point!  She couldn't possibly allow you to go through with this!”

Suddenly, everypony was silenced by a single word that erupted from the front of the court.

“OBJECTION!”

All ponies in the vicinity of the court froze in place with every eye on the princess who had her hooves to her mouth in an attempt to hide her giggle.

“Oh, please excuse me.  *ahem* It seems that was a bit louder than I expected.  Perhaps it's been too long since I've used the Royal Canterlot voice.  It is getting late, so I don't believe we have much time to continue this for much longer.”

Swinging her hoof at me, Trixie yelled across the room.

“Ha!  Trixie knew they would understand!”

However, her happiness was cut short.

“So I will give you this one last chance to make your case.”

Trixie simply lowered her foreleg and fell silent, though I could still feel her glare from across the room.

“Thank you, your Honor.” I said as I turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, “I'd like to ask you three about your drawing.”

Testimony

- - Cutie Mark Crusader's: Artists, Yay~ - -

-Scootaloo: We were just drawing on the poster.  We didn't do anything wrong!

-Apple Bloom: We just wanted ta draw the picture just like the real one.

-Sweetie Belle: I knew how much she liked the poster, so I thought we could make her a new one so she wouldn’t notice.

-Scootaloo: We let Apple Bloom draw the lighthouse, since she's good at building stuff.

-Scootaloo: I did the hang gliders.  Aren't they just awesome?

-Sweetie Belle: And I drew the climbers!  I made sure to count their hooves...One, two, three, four, fiv-

-Apple Bloom: Sweetie Belle!  Ya did it again!

I'm running out of time.  This is probably my last chance to point things in the right direction.  I better make this quick.

Cross-Examination

- - Cutie Mark Crusader's: Artists, Yay~ - -

“Scootaloo, you did do something wrong.  You drew on Rarity's poster without her permission.”

“OBJECTION!”

What now?!

Trixie had her hoof pointed at me again.

“This is getting nowhere.  Trixie believes we can forgo such a minor infraction at the moment when the rest of the destruction is far more important.  In other words, you're going off track again Twilight Sparkle.”

I gave her a stern glare and shouted back.

“This has everything to do with the point!”

My argument was cut short by the sound of the gavel.  Celestia shook her head regretfully.

“I'm sorry Twilight, but I don't see it.”

I can't argue against her!  Augh, maybe I should look at my evidence again...

Reluctantly, I paused to think over my next question carefully.  If I keep messing up, I'll just be wasting more of my time.

“You drew the climbers.  Correct, Sweetie Belle?”

Sweetie Belle nodded her head in excitement.

“Yeah!  They turned out better than usual.”

After hearing a few stifled giggles from the other two girls, I continued.

“Something seems off about it though.  Your picture doesn't seem right.”

Sweetie Belle's face became worried and confused.  Trixie chimed in again.

“Of course something's wrong!  Look at their hooves!  It's very obvious that they have one too many.”

Sweetie Belle looked down, a frown appearing on her face.  I shook my head in denial.

The act of making an innocent filly cry should warrant banishment to the moon.

“That's not it, something else doesn't match up.”

Raising an eyebrow, Trixie issued her challenge.

“Very well then Twilight, if you think there's something wrong in this picture, then show everypony what it is.”

Unfolding the poster, I studied it carefully, making sure that I examined each section of it.  As I turned to the other side to refresh my memory of the original, I spotted the difference.

“TAKE THAT!”

“The difference is right...here!  The climbers, to be exact.  I knew there was something wrong with them.  In the drawing they're climbing down a lighthouse. However, in the poster they're climbing down a mountain.”

Trixie burst into laughter at this.

“Is this truly what you were trying to get at?  What could you possibly gain from knowing this?  That the foals missed out on another detail?”

She was right, again.  I've been following another dead lead.  What am I supposed to do now?

“I can't place it, but that drawing reminds me of something...”

I jumped a bit looking for the source of the voice.  Standing next to me by the pedestal was my dragon assistant.  In the heat of the recent testimony, I had forgotten that he was still present.

“What are you talking about Spike?  It looks like the poster.”

Spike waved his hands in the air.

“No, no, no.  I mean it reminds me of something else.”

Something else?  What could it possibly remind him of?

The gavel pounded and snapped me out of my concentration.  The Princess was looking at me concerned.

“Is there something wrong, Twilight?  Would you like to ask anything else?”

With only one thing left to try, I had to risk it.

“Yes!  Well, no Your Honor.  However, I have a suspicion that the drawing is similar to something other than the poster.”

Let's hope that Spike's right...

Rummaging though my bag, I found what I was looking for and showed it to the rest of the court.  Trixie looked on in disbelief.

“It reminds you of Carousel Boutique?!  How does that even make sense?”

It makes perfect sense.  In fact, I think I've just solved the case.

 “Look at the drawing, the lighthouse itself clearly has a similar shape to the boutique.  That's not all though.  It explains something that's been sitting in the back of my mind for a long time.  We've looked so much into the entering of the boutique that we've forgotten something very important.  Evidence that ties all of this together.  I present to you the last piece of the mystery.”

Floating out of the bag was a picture of the pile of cloth and rope along with the lamp in the middle of Rarity's room.  Looking across the room, suddenly Trixie's eye's went wide.

Apparently, she's finally caught on to what I'm getting at.

“It seems like you've figured out what I'm talking about Trixie, but let me explain for everypony else.  We thought that these were to be used as an escape plan, but what if they were for another purpose?  With that lamp hanging inside, I'd say it would make a pretty convincing lighthouse don't you think?  Using that rope, I'm sure a pony could climb out that window as well.  Though with the right equipment it could be used for sport.  Mountain climbing perhaps?  The sheets, as you may have already guessed, were more than likely to be used for hang gliding.”

Celestia lowered her head to speak with me.

“Are you saying this may have been a misunderstanding all this time?”

I shook my head.

“No, there was a break in, but I'm sure it was for far different reasons than we expected.  Though I can't answer this for myself.  The only ones who can answer us are right there.”

My hoof pointed at the three girls who looked quite disheartened at this point.  There was a long silence as everypony looked at the fillies, waiting for a response.

“We just wanted to make my sister happy.”

Suddenly the other two, realizing that their cover had been blown glared at their friend.

“Sweetie Belle!”

Celestia spoke calmly to the girls.

“Do not worry, my little ponies.  Just tell me what happened.”

After a quick glance between them, they finally nodded and spoke to the princess.

“I didn't have anything to do with it.”

“Scootaloo!”

Scootaloo shrugged at her friends words and spoke again.

“Heh, I mean I helped them out.  Sweetie Belle wanted to do something nice for her sister, but she couldn't think of anything.  When she saw the poster, she thought of giving her the most awesomeriffic vacation ever.”

Sweetie Belle chimed in.

“Awesomeriffic isn't even a word.”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, whatever.  So she wanted her sister to have an awesomeriffic vacation, but she couldn't think of how.  That's when I had a plan, but to do it we'd have to get into the house.  That's when I told them how to get inside after Rarity left, by using the paper.  That actually worked pretty well.  Once we got in we had to make our plan and we didn't want to waste even more time looking for paper, so we took the poster which was the closest thing we could find.  After we figured out how to make the lighthouse and stuff, we had to go looking for things to build it with.  We realized we needed a lantern though, so we went to Sugar Cube Corner.  We went in and uh, 'borrowed' their lantern after getting smoothies.  I swear we were planning on giving it back!  We headed back to the boutique, but by the time we gathered everything, it was getting late and we had to meet back up with Rarity.”

Well that was quite the confession.  I'm still curious about something though.

“Why didn't you girls tell us sooner?  Spike almost got into a lot of trouble!”

They all turned to me with confused looks.

“Isn't a trial supposed to find the ones who were guilty?”

“Yeah!  We didn't want ta spoil the surprise vacation any.”

“He couldn't get in trouble anyway, right?  He was innocent, so you could prove it right?”

I wish it was as simple as that sounds.

The gavel pounded once more, and everypony gave their attention to the princess.

“I believe this is more than enough evidence to close the case.  I'm sorry my little ponies, but you are guilty of the crime.  Your punishment is to assist Rarity in cleaning up the shop, and pay off the damage by helping at her store.  Is that clear?”

Three heads nodded, followed by a “Yes your highness.” and the gavel was hit to end the case.

“Then I am very pleased to announce that the defendant, Twilight Sparkle, is...”

*  N  O  T    G  U  I  L  T  Y  *

Confetti rained down upon the court for the second time today.  Some ponies anticipating another abrupt interruption gave a little pause before starting to applaud.  While the stomping hooves were not as loud as before, it was most likely because of how tired everypony was.  It had been a long day, but after three days, this case was finally over.

August 6

Court Lobby, Ponyville

I stood in the lobby trying to console a baby dragon who was having trouble being happy, even after being found not guilty.

“It's all right Spike, she'll get over it.  Besides, you weren't guilty after all.”

Wiping a few tears away, he continued to talk.

“Did you see how she glared at me?  She probably hates my guts right now.”

Maybe I need to give him a reason to believe in her.

“Here ya go Twilight!  I figured you could have these back.”

“Waugh!”

Turning around I saw my pink, energetic friend standing there with Spike's Rarity paraphernalia.

I knew she was the one who took it!

“Well I have to go grab my party cannon to start the party, now you can go present those to Spike.  See ya!”

Wait, party canon?

I watched her hop off to begin preparations for what was most likely a “The Trial is Over Party” or the “Twilight Solved the Case Party” or something of the like.

Rarity Shirt re-added to case file.

Rarity Fan re-added to case file.

Turning back to Spike, I floated him back his shirt and fan.

“Here, you can have these back.  I know how much they mean to you.”

Pushing the items away, Spike pouted.

“I don't need those anymore.  It's not like she likes me.”

Forcing the items into his hands, I sat next to him.

“Of course she does.  She's the element of generosity isn't she?  She'll come around, just give her time.”

Spotting something in the corner of my eye, I smiled.

“In fact, maybe it'll be sooner than you think.”

A white mare with a purple mane trotted up to Spike with a pleading look on her face.

“Spike, I have to talk to you.  It's about the way I've treated you...”

Certain that I'd be in their way, I stood back up and trotted towards the doors of the lobby.

Maybe I can freshen up a bit before I get dragged to whatever party Pinkie's making.

“Hold it right there, Twilight Sparkle.”

What?  That sounds like...

Princess Celestia was standing in front of me, The Doctor close behind.

“I heard that you entered the crime scene with a document saying you were allowed to do so.  I don’t remember signing that paper Twilight.  Care to explain?”

Oh, no!  I knew this was a bad idea!

“I-I-I didn’t really w-want to P-Princess!  It’s just...I had to get in for Spike’s sake, and if I didn’t I might have lost him.  I wasn’t e-even sure it would w-work.”

My excuse was cut short by the giggling Princess in front of me.

“It’s fine Twilight, I know all of The Doctor’s tricks already.”

Just how well do they know each other?

The Princess became serious once again and looked at me sternly.

“However, I must ask that you don’t do that again.  If you need permission to enter a crime scene, you need but to ask.”

The Doctor pushed ahead of her this time.

“Right, well now that that’s all said and done, do you have the psychic paper?  It’s important that I leave now.  Not that time’s an issue for me, mind you, but I’ve got a few minutes before I’m supposed to be here and that would just make things far more confusing than any of us need to worry about.”

Lifting it out of my bag, The Doctor grabbed it in his mouth and left with a muffled “Toodles!” before running through the doors.

Psychic Paper removed from case file.

Princess Celestia bowed her head and turned back towards the court.

“I have a few things to do before leaving.  If you would excuse me, Twilight.”

After giving her a farewell, I turned back to the doors leading out of the lobby.

“Hold it right there, Twilight Sparkle.”

What?  I thought the Princess left to do something.

I turned to see the showmare turned prosecutor standing in front of the door.  It was clear that she wouldn't let me pass without a word.

“Trixie, why are you doing this?”

She looked even more angry now.

“Why do you think Trixie has worked this hard?  She will not lose to you again.  The next time we meet in court-”

“I don't want to keep doing this Trixie.”

Suddenly her eyes went wide open.

“What do you mean, you don't want to do this?”

She's missing the point.

“This isn't the place to settle a score Trixie.  You can't just play with ponies lives just so you can win!  This is too much, I don't want to keep doing this.”

Trixie's eyes narrowed.  Turning around, she trotted out without taking another look back.  However, she stopped outside for a second to say something.

“Trixie will keep winning.  She will do so for as long as you hide from court.  The Great and Powerful Trixie will not lose to anypony, lest she lose to somepony who is inferior to you.”

Once again Trixie left Ponyville and we weren't sure if we'd ever see her again.  Apparently she held up her side of the promise.  I hear stories from Rarity and other ponies coming from Canterlot about the new prosecutor who is merciless in the Castle Court. She's apparently on a winning streak that may rival Miles, a prosecutor from long ago when the system was still active.  I wanted to do something to stop her, but I couldn't just leave Ponyville and all of my friends just to become a Defense Attorney in Canterlot.  I couldn't even deny that she could very well be putting ponies who deserved to be punished in their place.  Though one day I promised to make sure Trixie learned that in court, you don't need to find the winner or the loser.  The only thing you need to find is the truth.

Case 2: Turnabout Friendships

THE END

Month's Later

Royal Air Field, Canterlot

DJ-P0n3: Aaaaaaand welcome one and all to the first, the only, and the best radio station on the air.  This, is K-COLT and you're listening to the Vinyl Scratch where I, DJ-P0n3, am here to play you some rockin' beats and annoy Octy!

(There is a momentary pause and Vinyl Scratch's voice is heard again, though it sounds as if she's pinched her nose)

DJ-P0n3: I say Vinyl, you're awfully rude and such a rebel.  You should teach me how to learn your wily ways and keep me from being completely stuck up and-

[Sounds of a door opening are heard].

Octavia: What are you doing Vinyl?

DJ-P0n3: Um...nothing?

Octavia: Right...you know they play the station in the lobby correct?

DJ-P0n3: Heheh, whoops.  Anyway, who cares about that when we're right here in Canterlot for , like, the biggest show ever!  That's right folks at home, if you didn't know it already, ‘When the Sun Goddess is away, The Wonderbolts will play!’  We're here doing the live coverage for The Wonderbolts performance for Princess Luna in Canterlot!  Thanks to my good friend Spitshine, I might add.

Octavia: Vinyl!  Her names Spitfire!  How can you say such a thing?  She's the one who talked them into giving us the job!  Is there anything you're civil about?

DJ-P0n3: Of course Octy.  There's one thing, and one thing only.

Octavia: That is...

DJ-P0n3: The civilians right to free speech!  Fight the power baby!

[A thud is heard over the radio, reports from the crew say that this was Octavia's head meeting the desk.]

Octavia: Isn't there something, anything we need to do?  Like an advertisement, or music?

DJ-P0n3: Maybe, but that can wait.  Don't you want to spend time talking with little ol' me?  We've got plenty of time.

Octavia: Oh joy.

To be continued...

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