My Little Ace Attorney: Equestrian Trials

by Toonwriter

Episode 1: Return of the Turnabout, part 1

"Hey! What do you think you're doing!?"

"Ah! I was just-"

"Breaking and entering into somepony's room is a crime, missy! You're coming with me!"

"AAH! NO! GET AWAY!"

*BAM!!!*

*Thud*

*Heavy breathing, followed by a panicked whisper*

"I…I…What…"

As the screen opens, revealing an unfamiliar stallion laying on the floor, dead. A pool of blood was forming from the wound on the back of his head.

"Oh...oh my....what...what am I gonna..."

Then the screen shows a panicked unknown pony, a blood-soaked metal bar lying at its hooves.

"What am I gonna do?! They’ll make me burn in the mother of all furnaces for this!"

*The figure keeps hyperventilating*

"I have to....make it look like she did it...I gotta get outta here!"

Then, the pony in shadow sped off while formulating a plan which while possibly flawed, might actually work. Or so she prayed.

It was a quiet day in the park as the lawyer named Phoenix Wright was out on an incredibly well deserved day of relaxation with his co-worker Athena Cykes, his daughter Trucy, and his best friends Maya Fey and her cousin, Pearl, who had been excused from Kurain Village to take a holiday with “Nick” and company.

"Ah, what a lovely day a picnic at the park!" Athena exclaimed.

"It sure is!" Maya replied with a smile, "And it was a good idea to have a picnic out here today.”

"Too bad Polly isn't here to enjoy it with us." Trucy remarked.

"Yeah, our group feels a bit too quiet without him and his "Cords of Steel", but there's nothing we can do about it." Phoenix said in agreement, "All we can do is wish him luck in restoring Khura'in's law system and wait for him to return."

"Yeah. I hope he comes home soon." Trucy said.

"(It sure feels great to finally relax for the moment. And after that last trial, I sure could use a long, well-deserved rest and relaxation,)" Phoenix said in his thoughts.

Suddenly, he felt something grabbing him as he said, "Huh?" He looked around but saw nobody was grabbing him. Suddenly, he felt it again, but more forceful. "What the?!" he said as he tried to move, but couldn't. "(What's happening? I...can't...move my body...!)"

"Nick?! What's wrong?!" Maya asked in concern and worry as she noticed Phoenix acting strangely.

"I don't know, I..." Phoenix tried to move but couldn't, then he noticed something shocking. "(Wait a minute... is my hand fading away? And...why am I getting this strange sense of déjà vu all over again?)" he asked to himself in his mind.

"Girls, something is wrong with Nick!" Maya cried out in fear.

"What?!" Trucy, Pearl and Athena looked in shock.

"Oh no! Mr. Nick!" Pearl cried as she took Phoenix's fading hand, "He's fading away!"

As soon as Pearl took Phoenix's hand, a pinkish purple,-or lavender-colored jolt of lightning struck Pearl, causing her to fade out just the same.

"Pearly!" Maya, Trucy and Athena cried in fear.

"Nick, Pearly, no!" Maya shouted as she embraced Phoenix tightly.

But then, another jolt sparked to Maya, and she started to fade away, too. Athena attempted to grab Phoenix, but she got struck as well.

(Getting...dizzy...) Phoenix said in his thoughts, (Am...I...? Wait...dizziness...fading...and...Twi...?)

Phoenix blacked out.

Two hours later…

"Ugh..." Phoenix groaned.

"Huh? What? How...I didn't detect a misfire! How did these others get here? Does Phoenix know them?" a familiar female voice spoke, "and who are these other humans?"

("What the...? That voice! It can't be...") Phoenix thought in surprise.

As he felt his muscles coming back to him, Phoenix opened his eyes and got up on his knees. As his vision cleared he found himself inside an unfamiliar room. His friends were all laying on the floor unconscious.

"Huh? This place..." Phoenix said in confusion as he looked around, "Where am I?"

"Phoenix!" The familiar female voice exclaimed happily.

Phoenix turned around and saw a familiar looking purple unicorn, not noticing the sensitive wings on her sides.

"Twilight?" Phoenix asked in shock. Then he smiled excitedly before he hugged her joyfully as he exclaimed, "Twilight!"

"It's so good to see you back here, Phoenix!" The winged unicorn, known as Twilight Sparkle, said happily as she returned the hug.

"Whoa... You're Phoenix Wright?" An unfamiliar female voice asked in amazement.

"Hmm?" Phoenix looked at where the voice came from and noticed an unfamiliar unicorn come into the room.

The unicorn had pale, light grayish heliotrope fur with Persian blue eyes, and her mane was purple with lighter purple and pale light, grayish aquamarine highlights.

"Wow... he looks exactly like how you described, Twilight!" The unicorn exclaimed in surprise. "Even his hair... amazing!"

Phoenix stared at the unicorn, "Um, hello there. Who are you?"

"Oh, that's right, Phoenix, this is Starlight Glimmer...my student." Twilight introduced the unicorn.

"Student?" Phoenix asked in surprise.

"It's a long story..." Twilight said.

"I can imagine that..." Phoenix remarked, and then he noticed something on Twilight as he exclaimed, "What in the world? Twilight, since when did you have wings?"

"Oh, right..." Twilight blushed as she flared her wings open, "This another long story, but to make it short, I'm an Alicorn princess now."

"An Alicorn princess? No way!" Phoenix gasped.

"Yeah, I was just as surprised back when I became like this." Twilight said.

"Excuse me, but who are those other, uh, 'humans' over there?" Starlight Glimmer asked, "Are they friends of yours?"

"Yeah, they are." Phoenix said, looking back at his friends who were all starting to wake up.

"Ugh..." Maya groaned, "Nick?"

"Rise and shine." Phoenix said, " Plus, there's someone, or rather, somepony I'd like to introduce you all to."

"Somepony?" Athena asked in confusion, "What do you mean by that?"

Until she, Maya, Pearl and Trucy noticed the two ponies.

"Hi there!" Twilight greeted them.

Maya's eyes widened in shock, "Did that winged/horned horse just TALK!?"

"Actually, Maya, she's not a horse, she's a pony." Phoenix corrected her, "The same goes for the other one."

"Oh! Ponies!" Pearl squealed with joy at the sight of Twilight and Starlight.

Phoenix smiled as he began introductions. "Everyone, this is Twilight Sparkle and her friend and... student, Starlight Glimmer,” he said, “Twilight, Starlight these are my friends, Maya Fey, her cousin Pearl, my adopted daughter Trucy, and Athena Cykes."

"Hi!" Pearl greeted happily as she waved.

"Pleased to meet you all, especially if you’re friends with Phoenix!" Twilight said in delight.

"Pleased to meet you...too...." Maya said with an uneasy look.

"Umm...same here?" Athena said in delight and confusion.

"I heard ponies who can speak are a rarity in your world." Twilight said, slightly giggling on putting 'rarity' in a sentence, "Sorry if I'm scaring you at all…"

"Okay, uh...Twilight was it? What is going on here? And Nick, how do you know this hor...err, I mean pony!?" Maya demanded.

"This is my castle, the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom, in the town of Ponyville, one of the many towns and cities of Equestria, the name of this country," Twilight explained, "There are four princesses to this kingdom, including myself, the others being Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadance."

"And I met Twilight a few years ago, because she summoned me to help out a friend of hers on a very tough case." Phoenix explained.

"You mean that's how we just got here? By being summoned?" Athena asked in shock.

"That's right. I used a summoning spell." Twilight replied with a nod.

"Although, I'm pretty sure Twilight intended to summon just Phoenix here." Starlight said, "How in the world did you end up here?"

"Well, we thought something bad was happening to Mr. Nick because he was literally fading away, so we had to grab ahold of him." Pearl explained sheepishly.

"Oh." Twilight said nervously, "Well, that explains why I didn't detect a misfire."

"Unicorns do magic here?" Trucy asked in amazement.

"Yep, they certainly can." Starlight replied proudly.

"Hate to interrupt but, why were you trying to summon Phoenix?" Maya asked, looking at Twilight.

"Because I need his help." Twilight said while looking down sadly and worried.

"You need my help? What's the problem, Twilight?" Phoenix asked in concern.

"One of my friends... has been arrested." Twilight replied.

"What?" Phoenix asked in shock, "Who's been arrested?"

"Rarity." Twilight said sadly.

"Oh, I'm willing to bet she's been arrested for murder, right?" Maya asked.

Twilight and Starlight looked at Maya in surprise, "Why yes! How did you know?" Twilight asked.

"It was just a guess, but mostly because most of Nick's cases always involve murder." Maya said.

"Same goes for Thena here." Trucy said, but then she added in her thoughts, (And Polly...)

"Maybe unintentionally bringing you guys along is a good thing!" Twilight remarked in amazement. "I never expected you guys to know about these situations as well!"

"Well, Maya has been my assistant for some time now. Pearls and Trucy have also assisted me in cases before and Athena, happens to be a defense attorney like me, though she may still need a few more years under her belt." Phoenix said.

"Hey! I'm just as capable as you!" Athena protested.

"Plus, sometimes even you need help Daddy." Trucy said.

"True..." Phoenix chuckled while scratching the back of his head nervously.

"So, Twilight, where is this 'Rarity' friend of yours?" Athena asked.

"At the Ponyville Detention Center," Twilight replied.

"Then that's where we're going." Phoenix said with confidence.

"Yeah, and he'll have his badge to show off to prove he's an attorney!" Maya remarked with a smirk.

"That's right!" Trucy agreed happily.

"Uh, yeah...about that..." Twilight said nervously.

"Oh yeah." Phoenix said in an embarrassed tone, realizing what's going on when Maya and Trucy mention his badge.

"What's the matter?" Pearl asked curiously.

"Wait just a second here, I need to go get some things ready before we leave." Twilight said as she left the room.

"What's going on?" Athena asked in confusion.

"Girls... I hate to tell you this, but..." Phoenix said in a bit of an uncomfortable tone, "my badge is useless in this world."

"Huh!?" The girls looked confused.

"Your attorney's badge is useless here?!" Athena asked in outrage, "How could it be?!"

"Well, no offense, but... it kinda looks like a toy." Starlight said nervously.

"Hey!" Athena snapped.

Twilight soon returned into the room.

"I'm back!" Twilight said, "And...I couldn't help but hear you talking while I was taking care of business and, I'm afraid to tell that Phoenix is right. Your badges from your world won't do you any good here. So, I've got you these instead."

She presented to Phoenix and Athena two heart-shaped badges.

"A heart? Seriously!?" Athena deadpanned.

"Yep." Phoenix replied dryly, "That's what they do here."

"Believe me, even I find its design to be cheap and dumb." Twilight said, sharing their sentiments, "But it will have to do if you want to take on any cases while you are here."

"I guess we have no choice..." Athena said with a sigh.

"So... which way's out of here?" Trucy asked.

"It's this way. Follow us." Starlight replied.

"Come on, girls, let's go." Phoenix said. Then the group, Twilight and Starlight headed off to the exit of the castle.

Once they were outside, Twilight looked at Phoenix, "Oh yeah, before I forget, try not to feel too pressured if other ponies begin to recognize you."

"I understand." Phoenix nodded.

"Why is that?" Trucy asked.

"You'll see." Twilight said as they reached Ponyville's main street.

"Huh?" Maya asked in confusion.

As they walked down the main street, they saw all the townspony of Ponyville. As soon as they noticed Phoenix, they all started to gawk.

"Who the-Is that....is that Phoenix?”

“A phoenix? Attacking Ponyville?”

“...No. THE Phoenix.”

“...No...No way....”

Twilight blushed. "You are famous round here, Phoenix..."

"Oh my gosh! Bon Bon, look! It's Mr. Wright and some new humans!" Lyra Heartstrings shrieked like a fangirl.

"I know, Lyra, but please, calm down!" Bon Bon replied, trying to calm her friend down.

"I can't believe it! It's Phoenix Wright!" another pony exclaimed in surprise.

"Wow, Nick, she's right! You ARE famous!" Maya exclaimed.

"I guess you could...say that," Phoenix said with a chuckle, clearly blushing.

"Hey...who are those others with him? His friends?"

"Phoenix, what's going on here?" Athena asked the attorney who trained her long ago.

"Long story short, Athena, I was summoned here 'accidentally' by Twilight to help another friend of hers who was accused for murder. I defended her friend in court. There were hard situations along the way, but I managed to get her cleared of suspicion," Phoenix explained.

"That's correct. Well, except it wasn't really an accident..." Twilight admitted. "Princess Celestia was the one who asked me to summon him and play dumb by telling him it was an accident."

"Yeah, that, too," Phoenix said.

"He ratted me out though. Either I'm a bad liar or he's REALLY smart..." Twilight stated, getting a blush out of Phoenix.

"Wait! This Princess Celestia told you to summon him?!" Maya asked in surprise.

"Yes..." Twilight said, "And I know what you're going to ask next: how does SHE know him, right?"

"Yeah," Athena said with a nod.

"Well, she wouldn't tell me," Phoenix said, "When I asked her how she knew so much about me, five Psyche-Locks appeared around her, and I didn't have time to interrogate her."

(Hmm, I wonder...) Pearl said in her thoughts.

"Anyway, we're here." Twilight said as they arrived at the detention center. There were two pony guards by the entrance.

"Halt! Only defense attorneys may enter the detention center," one pony guard said.

"That’ll be us," Phoenix said as he showed his heart badge, along with Athena.

The pony guards examined the heart badges and said in unison, "Permission granted. You may enter."

"Okay, you can come speak with your friend now, Twilight," Athena said turning to Twilight.

"Sorry..." Twilight said sadly, "Even if I'm a princess now, I'm still not allowed to speak with suspects for murder. Only defense attorneys are allowed to."

"Sad to say, she's right, Athena," Phoenix said, sharing Twilight's sadness. Then he shook his head in surprise and realization what Twilight just said. "Wait, not even royalty? What sense does that make?"

"But she said..." Trucy tailed off in shock.

"Look, I know I said I wanted to speak with my friend, but perhaps it's best if Phoenix and Athena heard the details about the crime from Rarity herself," Twilight said.

"I'm not quite sure about this..." Athena said nervously.

"Please, Athena...Twilight really needs as much help as she can get..." Starlight begged in worry.

"Well... alright, I'll hear her out with Phoenix..." Athena said.

"Thank you so much!" Twilight said happily.

"Come on, Athena, let's go," Phoenix said, and then, he and Athena went into the Detention Center.

Once they arrived into the Detention Center, Athena looked around as she asked, "All right, so where's Twilight's friend Rarity?"

"If I know her, she should be right... there," Phoenix replied as he pointed somewhere in the Detention Center.

As they headed over there, they heard someone crying and shouting in an over-dramatic way. Phoenix recognized that voice as they saw Rarity.

"Oh, woe is me! Why, oh, why did this have to happen to me?! ME!? An innocent lady who simply wished to generously share her work with others be accused of something as horrendous as murder?! It's just awful! Dreadful! And, perhaps even...THE! WORST! POSSIBLE! THING!"

(Wow, what a drama queen!) Athena said dryly in her thoughts.

"Hello, Rarity," Phoenix greeted her.

Rarity's ears twitched at the sound of Phoenix's voice. She looked up and gasped in shock when she saw him. "Oh my stars! Mr. Wright?!"

"Yep. It's been a long time." Phoenix said.

"Oh, Mr. Wright, it's awful! They all think I murdered somepony I don't even know of and threw me in here like a bunch of brutes!" Rarity cried, "This is simply no way to treat a lady like me! Honestly!"

"Well, don't worry, Twilight summoned me, and I think you know what that means." Phoenix said.

"Oh, you’re here to defend me?" Rarity asked in joy, "Oh, you’re a lifesaver! Literally!"

"I won't be the only one defending you as an attorney, though," Phoenix added.

"Excuse me?" Rarity asked in surprise.

"You see, Twilight attempted to summon just me, but when my friends tried to 'rescue' me, they got brought along too. This one here happens to be an attorney as well," Phoenix explained.

"I'm Athena Cykes," Athena introduced herself.

"Oh my word!" Rarity exclaimed.

"We normally work together anyhow, so luck is smiling down upon a fine lady today." Phoenix said confidently.

Rarity was silent as she looked at Athena, and focused more on her clothing and hairstyles, being a fashionista and all.

"Um, Rarity?" Phoenix asked.

"I guess she must be speechless?" Athena asked in confusion.

"Darling, I couldn't help but notice how fabulous the suit you are wearing is!" Rarity finally said with a smile, "Tell me, who is your tailor?"

"Uh, his name is Shu Takumi, why?" Athena asked in confusion.

Phoenix chuckled. "Sorry, Rarity here is a fashionista, and a really good one at that too. Last time I was here, she fixed a... 'problem'... I had with my suit," he explained with a slight blush, remembering the big hole he ripped in his armpit.

"And your hairstyle, it's FABULOUS!" Rarity exclaimed excitedly on looking at Athena's hair.

"Really? I kind of styled it myself," Athena admitted sheepishly.

"Then you are just like Phoenix; you have a natural talent for this!" Rarity complimented her. “Is this common among your species? Tell me your secrets, please!”

"Aw, shucks," Athena said sheepishly as she leaned to the side running her hands over her ponytail.

Phoenix cleared his throat as he returned to the matter at hand. "Anyway, Rarity. We're going to take your case, but first, we'd like to know more details about the crime you're being accused of."

"Starting with how you got here," Athena added.

"Well, you see, it all started when I received word that there was going to be a fashion contest taking place in Canterlot, and being the fashionista I am, in Phoenix’s words, I decided to enter the contest and show them my finest works, with the help from Twilight and the others," Rarity explained.

"And what did you do while you were at it?" Athena asked.

"Well, we had picked the best dresses I've made, one for each of us, myself included," Rarity explained, "After that, we packed our things and the dresses and took the train to Canterlot. The contest wasn't going to start until 9 PM and we had arrived at, say, 3 PM. We went to get hotel rooms for each of us at the Hay and Stay Hotel. After we finished unpacking and setting up the mannequins for our dresses, we went out for a stroll around Canterlot. Since Twilight used to live in Canterlot, she showed us around the city visiting a few hotspots. Then at 7 PM, we returned to the hotel and each of us went our rooms. However, when I entered my room... I saw it! The body of a dead pegasus, laying right there on the floor, with a pool of blood forming around him! It was a sickening scene, I wanted to scream! However, before I had the chance, I was confronted by a group of police ponies, and I was instantly accused for murdering that pony! I tried to tell them I was innocent, but they didn't listen, saying they had evidence to prove my guilt! I was FRAMED, I tell you! FRAMED!"

(There are Pegasus ponies in this world, too?) Athena asked in surprise in her thoughts.

"So, let me get this straight: the police arrived, shortly after you found the body in your room and they took you in just like that?" Phoenix asked.

"Yes! That is precisely what happened!" Rarity said.

"It seems that she really means it, Phoenix," Athena said, "My device didn't sense anything about her testimony here."

"Good work, Athena," Phoenix said. He turned to Rarity as he asked her, "So, how did this pony get murdered?"

"Well, I didn't get a good look at him, but I do remember that he was bleeding from the back of his head," Rarity told what she remembered, "You could say he was perhaps hit really hard by a blunt object."

Phoenix thought to himself sadly about how Mia Fey was also taken out the same way.

"A blunt object... hmm..." Athena said.

"There weren't any signs of a struggle either." Rarity added.

"Seems like a planned attack." Athena assumed.

"Is there anything else you remember?" Phoenix asked.

"Not really," Rarity replied.

"Well, you should know that not everyone thinks you did it," Phoenix said.

"Yeah, your friend Twilight has faith in you, or she never would've summoned Mr. Wright... and me, Athena and our friends by accident," Athena added.

"Well, of course Twilight wouldn't doubt me, we're best friends after all," Rarity said with a smile, but then she asked, "What do you mean 'accident', anyway?"

"Well, like I said, Twilight intended to summon just me, but Athena, along with a few of our friends, ended up becoming stowaways when she cast the spell on me," Phoenix explained.

"An unexpected summoning gone wrong? Are you and the other friends okay?" Rarity said, astounded.

"Aside from the sore muscles, yeah, we're okay." Athena said.

"Well, in any case, more than one defense attorney is perfect for me!" Rarity exclaimed.

"Then we'll be your attorneys," Athena said.

"Thank you so much! I promise to repay the favor after this by letting you try one of my works!" Rarity said in excitement.

"Why, that's very generous of you," Athena remarked.

"Well, I don't know if Twilight told you this yet, but she, our friends and I myself each represent one of the Elements of Harmony," Rarity explained, "I myself represent Generosity."

"That title fits you like a glove," Athena commented.

"Indeed," Phoenix said, "Oh, there is one thing that I find suspicious, Rarity."

"What is it?" Rarity asked.

"The time the police ponies arrived, I find it a little fishy," Phoenix said, "Like, who called them?"

"Yeah, who indeed?" Athena agreed.

Rarity fell silent for a moment, then she turned away from them as her cheeks flared in anger and she hissed, "It was HER..." She had a look of disgust.

*BANG!!*
*RATTLE* *RATTLE* *RATTLE*
*Clang!* Clang!*

This caused Phoenix's Magatama to trigger and reveal two Psyche-Locks around Rarity.

(What the? Psyche-Locks?!) Phoenix thought in shock.

"Anyway, I have told you all I can tell you," Rarity said, "Good luck!"

"Sure, don't worry, Rarity. We'll have you out of here in no time flat," Phoenix said, making a mental note to crack the Psyche-Locks.

"Thank you so much, darling," Rarity said, "You're my only hope. You and Ms. Cykes."

After saying their goodbyes, the two attorneys left the Detention Center and meet up with Twilight, Maya, Pearl and Trucy who were waiting outside, although Phoenix couldn't help but wonder what those Psyche-Locks meant.

"Phoenix! Athena!" Twilight exclaimed, "How did it go?"

"Twilight, Starlight, we are going to represent Rarity," Athena said with a confident smirk.

"Oh, thank you so much! I knew I could rely on you!" Twilight exclaimed happily, nearly about to cry, and nuzzling Athena’s legs.

"I swear, she was about to cry!" Widget stated, followed by an angry look from Athena, a mark of death upon Widget. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"See? Told ya so! Nothing keeps us from defending the innocent!" Maya said with confidence.

"You're all so loyal, you remind me of Rainbow Dash." Starlight remarked with a smile.

"That's the same thing you said about me back when I first came here, Twilight," Phoenix remarked with a chuckle.

"Yeah," Twilight giggled.

"Rainbow Dash...?" Maya wondered in her thoughts, along with Pearl, as certain images started surfacing.

"Rarity looked really scared of what's going to happen to her," Athena explained to Maya, Pearl and Trucy.

"And that means she'll need all the support she can get," Twilight added.

"And I can certainly feel her fear," Phoenix said as he remembered being accused in the past.

"Well, now would be a good time to go check out the crime scene." Athena said.

"The crime took place at the Hay and Stay Hotel in Canterlot. The fastest way is by train. Let's go!" Twilight said as she led the way.

Phoenix's group followed Twilight to the train station, and upon arriving they took a train. During the train ride to Canterlot, Phoenix's group and Twilight got to know each other as they had friendly conversations with each other.

"Now entering, Canterlot Station!" the announcer spoke through the PA.

"There's our stop." Phoenix said to his group and Twilight.

They got off the train and entered Canterlot, the capital of Equestria. Phoenix had only heard of Canterlot from Twilight when he asked about a book she read the first time he was in Equestria. Now that he as there in person, he was awed at what he was seeing.

"Wow... this is Canterlot?" Phoenix asked in amazement.

"Oh yes, this is your first time here, isn't it, Phoenix?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah. Last time you summoned me, I only got to see Ponyville," Phoenix said.

"This place is majestic!" Athena exclaimed. "Wait till Edgeworth sees this! He’ll want to set up residence, since he’s so posh!"

"Yeah..." Phoenix agreed, but then, he suddenly had that disturbing fantasy about Edgeworth playing with ponies again. (Ugh...why did that stupid fantasy suddenly have to come back to me?) he asked in his thoughts.

"How're we gonna find the crime scene in this big place?" Pearl asked in wonder.

"I used to live here before I moved to Ponyville and I know where the Hay and Stay Hotel is. Follow me!" Twilight said leading the way.

"Right behind ya!" Trucy said as she and the rest follow Twilight.

Unknown to the group, a shadowy figure was watching them before it began following them…

Phoenix's group soon arrived at the Hay and Stay Hotel. They went inside, because of course they were, there was no point doing anything else.

"So this is the hotel. Obviously, the crime scene must be in one of these rooms," Athena said.

Twilight walked up to the receptionist table and rang the bell.

"Welcome to the Hay and Stay Hotel, Canterlot Branch," the receptionist pony appeared, "How may I hel-Oh! Princess Twilight! What a surprise!"

"Excuse me, but I've brought Rarity's lawyers here to investigate the crime scene. Could you escort us to it?" Twilight asked the receptionist pony.

"Of course, Your Highness!" The receptionist pony replied while bowing to Twilight, "Right this way."

Phoenix's group and Twilight followed the receptionist pony as he escorted them to the crime scene. They arrived at room number 47, second floor. They noticed the police ponies were still investigating it.

"Looks like it's still under investigation." Phoenix said.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

The group jumped at the sudden shout and turned to see a dark pink earth pony with orange eyes, a red-and-orange mane and tail, and he wore a pink vest and a grey necktie.

"This is a crime scene! No civilians allowed on the premises!" the pony said in a stern voice.

"Sorry to interrupt your investigation Detective, I only stopped by to bring in Princess Twilight, who has brought Rarity's lawyers." the receptionist pony said.

"Oh! Princess Twilight!" The stallion exclaimed in shock on recognizing Twilight. He bowed to her as he said, "My apologies, Your Highness. I didn't know you'd be here, or bringing the defendant's lawyers."

Twilight giggled. "It's alright. Phoenix and Athena simply wish to investigate the crime scene."

Honor lifted his head "Phoenix?" The stallion asked in surprise, "As in Phoenix Wright? The same human that defended Rainbow Dash in that one case some time ago?"

"The very same," Twilight replied.

"Oh my word, it really IS you!" The stallion exclaimed.

"Wow, you really are famous, Nick!" Maya exclaimed, "I wish I was there to see you in action!"

"Me too!" Pearl agreed.

"Yeah..." Phoenix said while rubbing the back of his head. "How did I get this much attention? All I did was save two mares from that death penalty!"

"More like how wouldn't you? Defending a pony of murder and actually prove them innocent...it is unheard of here in Equestria!" the stallion said, "You are the hero who saved both the bearer of the Element of Loyalty and the victim's former manager from being labeled as murderers."

"Well, when you put it that way..." Phoenix said.

"Excuse me, sir, but would you be so kindly to tell us your name?" Athena asked the pony.

"Oh, how silly of me," The stallion said, "I'm Virtuous Honor. Pleased to meet you."

"Well, you already know who I am. I'm Phoenix Wright, attorney at law, the one who defended Rainbow Dash," Phoenix said introducing himself.

"And I'm Athena Cykes, and I'm a lawyer too," Athena said introducing herself.

"I'm Trucy Wright, Mr. Wright’s adopted daughter and magician." Trucy said.

"I'm Maya Fey, the current Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique, and Phoenix's assistant," Maya said introducing herself.

"I'm Pearl Fey, Mystic Maya's cousin, and a spirit medium in training," Pearl said introducing herself.

"Pleased to meet you all," Honor said, "You are welcome to join the investigation, and if you have any questions you'd like to ask, then shoot."

"Okay, first, could you tell us a bit about yourself?" Phoenix asked.

"Absolutely," Honor replied, "I'm an attorney in the courts of Cloudsdale, and I'm also a police detective assigned to investigate criminal affairs, homicide, and robbery."

"Interesting," Phoenix said.

"Cloudsdale? Even though you're an Earth Pony?" Twilight asked, "Unless you have a unicorn that can cast the cloudwalking spell, I find that hard to believe."

"As a matter of fact, I do. My partner is a unicorn and an attorney,” Honor said.

"Okay," Twilight said.

"What's your partner's name?" Athena asked in wonder.

"Her name is Divine Oath," Honor replied.

"Did somepony call my name?"

Phoenix's group, Twilight, and Honor turned and saw a female green unicorn with forest green eyes and a pink-and-blue mane and tail. She wore a hot pink vest with a matching cape, a pink heart necklace, blue bands and a golden watch.

"Ah, speaking of her, here she is," Honor said. "This is my partner, Divine Oath."

"Pleased to meet you," Oath said with a friendly smile.

"Pleased to meet you too," Phoenix said, "I'm Phoenix Wright. Perhaps you've heard of me?"

"Why, yes. You are the human lawyer who defended Rainbow Dash," Oath said.

"That's correct." Phoenix said.

"I am honored to meet you," Oath said.

"Likewise," Phoenix said.

"So you'll be my opponent in the courtroom, I guess," Divine Oath said.

"Huh?" Phoenix asked in confusion.

"Come again?" Athena asked while raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, I forgot to tell, you. She's the prosecutor for this case," Virtuous Honor informed the group.

"Really?" Trucy asked in surprise.

"Yep," Divine Oath replied with a smile.

(At least she's friendly, unlike some prosecutors I faced before.) Phoenix said in his thoughts, as he was reminded of past prosecutors like Manfred von Karma, Manfred's daughter Franziska, and last but not least... Trixie, who Phoenix had given all of his earnings from the court case. He felt sorry for her.

"I gotta warn you, no one beats her in court cases whenever she gets involved," Virtuous Honor informed the group.

Phoenix looked ruffled. "I'm not sure you seem to get why we're defending Rarity. It's not because we want a paycheck. We just want the ponies we know are innocent to get out alive. I find that 'thrown into the sun' punishment disturbing, to say the least."

"I...admire your confidence," Oath replied with a smile, thinking over what Phoenix said. "So, would you like to see the crime scene? I'll allow you to do your own investigation, but under my supervision. Understood?"

"Understood, and it's nice to see a prosecutor playing fair for once." Phoenix said with a nod.

Oath allowed them to enter the hotel room. The mannequins were still there along with most of Rarity's stuff. There was wire tape on the floor, marking the spot where the body was found and there was a rather large dried puddle of blood around where the victim's head laid.

"Okay, let's start investigating!" Maya said cheerfully.

"Yeah!" Pearl said, equally as cheerful as her cousin.

"They sure are perky," Divine Oath remarked with a giggle.

The first thing they checked was the tape wire on the floor.

"Hmm... there seems to be some tape wire on the floor there," Athena said.

"That's where the victim's body was found," Oath explained.

"No doubt about it," Phoenix commented.

"And is that... blood?" Twilight flinched in horror and disgust when she noticed the dried up pool of blood around the head part.

"Indeed..." Oath said grimly, "The victim was hit with a blunt object to the head, causing a wound that was large enough to bleed."

"I think I'm going to be sick..." Twilight said with a hoof over her mouth, as she felt sick to her stomach.

"The prime suspect who caused that is Rarity, but we can't be too sure about it," Honor explained.

"I'll have you know, Rarity is my FRIEND! And she didn't do it!" Twilight said sternly.

"Evidence speaks louder than words, Your Highness," Oath said.

"But even so, to be honest, I don't see Rarity as the murderous type," Honor admitted, "Although...there was a time I used to see her as a murderer and it was in this one hideous nightmare I once had. And it was NOT a pretty sight; making dresses out of pony's skins!"

"..." Everyone stares at him in confusion, while crickets noises play in the background.

"Uhh... forget I said that." Honor said sheepishly.

Phoenix sighed, "Moving on..."

As they finished examining the tape wire, they looked at the pony mannequins.

"Pony mannequins," Twilight said as she took a glance at the objects.

"But isn't it odd that ponies make these clothes and most of them don't happen to wear any?" Maya wondered.

"It seems to me," Trucy said, “that clothing is optional for these ponies."

"Which makes me wonder, why do you humans ALWAYS wear clothes?" Honor asked in curiosity, "What do you even look like without them?"

"You don't want to know..." Phoenix answered sheepishly.

"I heard from this one pony that humans consider nudity as taboo and must wear clothes at all times when in public," Oath remembered the words of a certain unicorn.

"That's true... back in our world, you can get arrested for walking around in your birthday suit, in public," Phoenix added as he chuckled in embarrassment.

"And that's not a good thing," Athena added, sharing Phoenix's embarrassment.

Trucy decided to reason with them. “Besides, we don't have fur coats. Would you really go around place to place if all your fur fell off?”

The three ponies shook their heads violently in reply, Twilight especially attempting to purge the thoughts from her mind.

"No! Forget I asked!" Oath said.

All the ponies in the room reacted in horror at the thought.

Trucy decided to reason with them. “Besides, we don't have fur coats. Would you really go around place to place if all your fur fell off?”

All the ponies in the room reacted in horror at the thought.

"Okay, forget I asked!" Oath said as she sweatdropped.

Phoenix looked at the mannequins and one of them caught his attention. As he took a closer looked he noticed something about it, "Hey! This one has hole under the hoof of its left foreleg!" he said as he examined it further by peeking into the hole, "And the metal bar of the "skeleton" is missing."

"The missing bar from the mannequin's leg was removed by the killer, who used it to give the victim a huge bonk to the bonce'," Honor explained, "So we can conclude that is where the killer got the murder weapon from. It looks to be a planned attack, but who would want to kill him? And besides, a planned attack would mean they’d have taken the weapon with them!”

"Looks like it," Phoenix said, reminded of Mia's death somewhat.

"Why are Rarity's things still here?" Twilight asked as she noticed certain objects in the room.

"We wanted to 'preserve' the crime scene, in order to investigate it while it was still fresh," Honor explained, "Don't worry, we were careful enough NOT to look at her personal things."

"Even though I had to intervene to make sure that he didn't do it," Oath said, rolling her eyes, making Honor chuckle in embarrassment.

"Yeah..." Honor admitted.

"Anyway, let's keep looking around this place," Phoenix said.

Pearl noticed something on the floor, half hidden under the bed. "Huh? What is this?" she wondered. She was about to pick it up, but Oath stopped her.

"Hold it!" Oath shouted, "Just what do you think you're doing?"

"Sorry, Miss Oath! But...I think I may have found a clue," Pearl said, sounding guilty, her face looking like when Phoenix catches her with her hand in his jelly bean jar.

"A clue?" Oath asked in an intrigued tone, "Let's see it."

Pearl reached under the bed and picked up the clue. They examined it.

"It's... a button?" Oath said while looking at the button that Pearl was holding.

"Yeah, a cloth button, to be exact," Honor added.

"Do you think it fell off from one of Miss Rarity's dresses?" Pearl asked.

"That's a possibility," Phoenix said.

"No, it can't be," Twilight said, "Last time I checked, the buttons on Rarity's dresses were not light brown like this one."

"What colors were they, then?" Athena asked.

"Each one had colors that matched our coat colors or personalities: violet, purple, cyan, pink, orange, yellow, and white. But none of them were light brown like this one," Twilight explained.

"Hmm... intriguing," Oath commented.

"This button could be important evidence," Phoenix said.

"Light Brown Cloth Button" was added to the Court Record.

Light Brown Cloth Button

Found in Rarity's Hotel Room. Didn't come from any of Rarity's outfits, according to Twilight.

"But it's gonna take more than a button to clear Rarity's name." Twilight stated.

"Spoken like an investigator, Princess." Oath remarked with a smile.

"Investigator?" Athena asked on hearing Oath's remark.

"Since when did you become an investigator, Twilight?" Phoenix asked in interest.

"It's a long story, Phoenix," Twilight replied, "But after solving an interesting case, I became the Official Ponyville Investigator, and I solved some cases ever since. Although, there hasn't been any since I became the Princess of Ponyville."

"Wow, I take it you took some of the things you learned from me?" Phoenix asked.

"I guess you could say that." Twilight replied with a giggle.

"She's right though, a simple, seemingly out-of-place cloth button isn't enough evidence to prove your client innocent." Oath said.

"Yeah, for all we know, it might simply belong to the previous resident of this room, or something." Honor added.

"You're right about that." Phoenix stated, "But what else is there to find? Hmm..."

Maya looked under the bed, "There doesn't appear to be anything else under the bed. Besides some dust bunnies here and there."

"Hmm... there's gotta be more clues to help clear Rarity's name..." Twilight thought out loud.

"You keep looking Twilight." Phoenix said, before turning to Oath, "I have some questions I'd like to ask."

"Yes, Mr. Wright?" Oath asked.

"What can you tell us about the victim?" Phoenix asked.

"His name was Gold Guardian, a security pegasus who worked at this hotel." Oath said.

"And according to the owner of this hotel's testimony, his special talent was identifying anyone who was a criminal, a thief, a con artist or a murderer." Honor added, "He had a perfect track record in keeping this hotel safe from all sorts of bad ponies."

"Until now, that is..." Oath said grimly.

"Yup." Honor said sadly before continuing on, "Anyway, we asked the rest of the staff and they gave us each of their perspective on Gold Guardian, like what a great pony he is, and how he was like a big brother to everyone in the hotel and stuff..."

"But one thing they all agreed on was, as soon as he identified the criminal, he would throw them out of the hotel without a second thought." Oath said.

"Excuses be damned!" Honor added.

"Wow! He sounded like he could have been a detective or an attorney too, huh Nick?" Maya commented.

"Yeah..." Phoenix said sadly, "Too bad he can't become one of those now..."

"And sadly, seeing how his body was found in Rarity's room, this places her at the crime scene as the primary suspect," Oath said, "Unless, of course, you can prove that somepony else did it."

"Oh, I'm sure we can!" Phoenix said with confidence before adding in his throughs, (Or at least I hope so...)

"Hey, I think I found another clue!" Athena exclaimed, getting everyone's attention.

"What did you find Athena?" Phoenix asked.

"It looks like some purple hair, right here on the floor." Athena said.

"Purple?" Phoenix asked, "Could it be the killer's?"

"Yeah, and unfortunately, it may be Rarity's." Oath said.

"Let me have a look." Twilight said as she took the purple hair with her magic and looked at it really closely with a magnifying glass. After a few long seconds of inspection, she said out loud, "Hmm... that's strange."

"What is it, Twilight?" Phoenix asked.

"It's purple hair, all right, but it doesn't match Rarity's mane."

"How so?" Athena asked.

"It looks more like grayish violet, and Rarity's mane is actually a moderate indigo, with a gradient of dark mulberry to moderate mulberry on the shadowed side." Twilight explained.

"So it has to be the killer's then!" Maya said, "A-ha! Finally some decisive evidence, am I right?"

"Let's not jump to conclusions yet, Maya." Twilight said, "We don't know for sure if it is the killer's or some other pony who previously used this room."

"Yeah. We're gonna need some fingerprints for this." Phoenix said, "Or in this case, hoofprints."

"Purple Hair" was added to the Court Record.

Purple Hair

Found in Rarity's Hotel Room. Twilight said that this shade is different from Rarity's mane.

(Man, I wish Ema Skye were here. She'd be able to handle the prints situation here.) Phoenix remarked in his thoughts.

"There must be something else here that could be useful." Athena said.

Phoenix turned back to Oath, "I have another question: the timing of the police arriving and catching Rarity on the scene, seems a little too...precise. Like, who called them here in the first place?"

"That would be Suri Polomare from Manehattan," Oath replied.

"Suri Polomare?" Phoenix's group asked.

"Wait! Did you say...Suri Polomare?" Twilight asked in shock.

"Judging from your reaction, I take it you two are acquainted with one another?" Oath asked, looking at Twilight.

"You know her Twilight?" Phoenix asked.

"Unfortunately, yes." Twilight replied, "Suri Polomare is an old acquaintance of Rarity from a Ponyville knitting competition," Twilight explained, "They met when Suri saw Rarity's line of dresses for a pony called Prim Hemline's rehearsal. Then backstage, she was given a fabric of the dresses... so she would duplicate Rarity's dress line."

"What? But isn't that cheating?!" Athena asked.

"Yeah, but unfortunately, the officials didn't know that," Twilight said.

"You don't think she...?" Maya asked.

"No. I don't think she has it in her to kill anypony," (Or does she...? No, I don’t think so. Not even she can be that cruel.)

"Well, for better or worse, we'll find out in tomorrow's trial," Phoenix said.

"I agree." Oath said, "We can also confirm that Suri checked into the hotel before the murder. I can give you a copy of the hotel records if you wish." With that, Oath levitated a paper that showed who checked into the hotel on the day of the murder. Sure enough, both Rarity and Suri Polomare were on the list.

"Thank you," Phoenix said gratefully.

Hay and Stay Hotel Records added to Court Record.

Hay and Stay Hotel Records

A list of ponies who checked into the hotel on the day of the murder. Rarity and Suri Polomare's names are on the list.

Athena and the others continued to look around the room, making sure they haven't missed anything. Until Trucy noticed something about the door.

"Hey, I see something." Trucy said.

"What is it, Trucy?" Athena asked.

"Look at the door's lock." Trucy said, "Notice something off about it?"

Twilight inspected the lock for a moment before she said out loud, "Hey, you're right about that. It looks like it's been picked."

"Picked you say?" Honor asked in curiosity.

"Yeah, I didn't take the killer for a lockpicker."

"Well, we can confirm that no magic was used, so whoever picked the lock wasn't a unicorn." Twilight said, "So it was either a Pegasus or an Earth Pony who did this."

"How can ponies pick locks with their hooves?" Maya asked in confusion.

"They don't." Twilight said, "Anyone who isn't a unicorn can hold objects only with their mouths. Although..."

"But recently there's been the development of objects that ponies can hold with their hooves instead of just their mouths." Oath said, "This is because when an object is held in their mouths, they might end up leaving a bite mark and, more disgustingly, their own saliva."

"You certainly have a point." Phoenix remarked.

"So whoever broke into this room must have been either an Earth Pony or a Pegasus, using a lockpick either with their mouth or hooves." Athena deduced.

"Sadly, we haven't found anything that could be used as a lockpick, so, just like the murder weapon, we can assume that the killer must have hidden it where no one would find it easily." Honor said, "And trust me, we searched every part of the room, including the welcome mattress. Nothing there."

"Hmm... if there were at least one more piece of evidence here, we'll need it." Phoenix said.

"Sorry, doesn't look like there's anything left to find in this room." Athena said.

"That's what I thought." Phoenix then turned towards Oath and Honor. "In any case, thank you for allowing us to investigate the crime scene, Divine Oath and Virtuous Honor."

"The pleasure was all ours," Oath said with a smile, "I'll see you all in court tomorrow."

Phoenix and the others leave the room and head back the reception, "So now what?" Maya asked.

"Well, we've already checked hotel room and got some evidence from it, and we got information from both Oath and Honor, but I think we're still missing a few pieces..." Phoenix said.

"Yeah." Twilight agreed, "But where else are we gonna find evidence to clear Rarity's name?"

"Maybe I could be of assistance." a voice said.

Phoenix and the others turned to see the owner of the voice, which was a light yellowish gray unicorn with dark purple eyes and thick eyebrows. She had a mane and tail that both look almost identical to Twilight Sparkle's, except they were reddish with moderate purple and grayish violet highlights. The mane was clipped back in a short pigtail with a few wayward strands popping loose. She wore a bulky dark blue-gray turtleneck sweater with light pink buttons and a pair of eyeglasses. Her cutie mark consisted of a dark purple crescent moon surrounded by three lighter purple stars.

"Oh, hello there. And you are?" Phoenix asked upon seeing the unicorn.

"Moondancer!" Twilight exclaimed in surprise, recognizing the unicorn.

"Great to see you again too, Twilight!" Moondancer said with a smile.

"Friend of yours?" Athena asked.

"Yeah, from a long time ago, before I moved to Ponyville." Twilight replied.

"Back when you were a unicorn, right?" Maya assumed.

"You got it, Maya." Twilight replied with a wink. Then she turned to Moondancer as she said, "So, you said you wanna help us, Moondancer?"

"Yeah, cause I think I know where you could get more evidence, because I happened to have seen some suspicious activity outside that hotel you just came out of on the night there was a murder." Moondancer explained.

"Really? That's great!" Phoenix said, "Could please explain everything in better detail?"

"Sure I will!" Moondancer replied happily. But then, she looked serious as she spoke secretively, "But somewhere secluded, because you never know when somepony might be watching and/or listening to us, even now."

"Where exactly?" Trucy asked.

"Follow me." Moondancer said.

Then Phoenix and the group followed Moondancer to the area she wanted to discuss privately. They walked through Canterlot until at last, they found just the location she was thinking about.

"Moondancer... you're taking us here?" Twilight gasped in surprise and amazement.

"Yep. I figured you would need somewhere to hide out for now here in Canterlot." Moondancer explained.

"Twilight, do you actually know this place?" Athena asked the Princess of Ponyville.

With a nostalgic smile on her face, Twilight turned to the rest of the group as she replied, "Guys... this is my old studying home."

"Really!?" Phoenix asked in surprise.

"Yes."

"Wow! That house is really big!" Pearl exclaimed.

"You used to live here?!" Maya asked in amazement.

"I sure did." Twilight replied with a nod.

"Come on, let's go inside." Moondancer said, and then they all went inside the tower house until they got to the big library room where Twilight did research on Nightmare Moon a long time ago.

"Whoa... even the inside of this place is amazing!" Phoenix exclaimed.

"I see it's all fixed up since the last time I was here in a while." Twilight remarked with a smile.

"Me and my friends did some cleaning up here, and I've been coming here more frequently to take care of the books." Moondancer explained, "I did it to repay you for helping me learn about friendship, Twilight."

"I really appreciate you doing this, Moondancer." Twilight said with a warm smile.

"How sweet!" Maya said happily.

"But now, let's get down to business." Athena said seriously, "What suspicious activity did you see at the hotel, Moondancer?"

"On the night of the murder, I saw a pony figure running like crazy." Moondancer explained, "I tried to get a glimpse of what it looks like, but it got away. However, it dropped this out of its bag as it ran."

Then Twilight's lookalike friend pulled out a piece of purple fabric with a pink pattern of sorts on it.

"A piece of fabric?" Phoenix asked.

"That reminds me: didn't Rarity said that you guys were participating in some fashion contest or something?" Athena asked.

"Yeah, looking at this fabric takes me back where Rarity used to take part of a fashion contest in Manehattan a long time ago." Twilight explained.

"Then...that could mean the culprit could be a participant, or maybe someone...or, somepony involved with current one you guys were supposed to be part of!" Phoenix exclaimed.

Twilight gasped at hearing this, "You might be right, Phoenix! And seeing this fabric, I think I know just who the real murderer might be!"

"You do? Who?" Maya asked.

"An Earth pony named Suri Polomare, a sneaky plagiarist of a fashion pony from Manehattan." Twilight replied as she narrowed her eyes.

"Wait! Then, you're saying the same pony who reported the murder is the killer?" Athena asked.

"Exactly."

"No wonder that silhouette I chased that night looked familiar, because the only thing I saw of her was when she wore a two-tone blue crossed scarf!" Moondancer exclaimed in realization.

"Moondancer, those incriminating details you just gave us are precisely what we need!" Phoenix announced.

"We may have just met, but you have been such a big help, Moondancer!" Trucy remarked.

"Hey, Phoenix, remember those Psyche-Locks we saw on Rarity earlier?" Athena asked her fellow defense attorney.

"Oh yeah!" Phoenix exclaimed.

"Psyche...Locks...?" Moondancer tilted her head in confusion.

"It's a long story, Moondancer." Twilight said sheepishly.

"Are they a new form of magic or something?"

"Well, kind of." Maya replied, "They're only there when somepony tends to, like, hide an important secret."

"And by using your sharp wit and evidence, you can break said locks on them and if you succeed in breaking all of them, they'll have no choice but to spill the beans."

"One mistake can literally damage you." Phoenix said, "But when you fully exposed their secret, you'll be healed."

"The number of Psyche-Locks depends on the secret that the person- or animal, in this case- would try to keep." Maya added, "The maximum number of Psyche-Locks is five."

"On the other hand- or hoof, there's the matter of the Black Psyche-Locks." Phoenix said in a grim tone.

"Black Psyche-Locks? What's bad about them?" Moondancer asked.

"They're dark, cold and full of despair." Twilight said sadly, "I'm not even sure if it would be right breaking them."

"Actually, there is a way to break the black Psyche-Locks, but carefully without having to cause permanent emotional and spiritual damage." Phoenix said.

"Okay...I think I get it now." Moondancer said, "It is quite an interesting form of magic, though. I'd love to see it in action someday."

"Thanks for the info Moondancer! You just helped us expose the killer!" Twilight said.

"Glad I could help!" Moondancer said.

"I think our work here is done." Phoenix said.

"Then we better have a talk with Rarity one more time." Athena said, "I don't think she told us everything yet."

"You're right." Phoenix said.

"What do you mean she didn't tell you everything?" Twilight asked.

"When we asked her about who reported the crime, all she gave us was a rather vague answer." Phoenix said.

"What did she say?" Twilight asked.

"All she said was: "It was HER..."." Phoenix replied.

"Wow...that IS vague." Twilight deadpanned.

"Told you so." Phoenix said.

"Typical Rarity." Moondancer sighed in annoyance.

"Anyway, thanks for everything Moondancer, but I think we've overstayed our welcome long enough." Phoenix said.

"I understand." Moondancer said, "Good luck with the trial!"

Phoenix and the others, and Twilight said their goodbyes to Moondancer as they headed back to the train station.

"Alright, we'll go pay Rarity one last visit and then it's back to the castle," Twilight said.

"Agreed," Phoenix said. "Say, Twilight, have you noticed you're pretty much the only person of any species to call me by my actual name?"

"What nicknames have you had?"

“Nick, Nix, Mr. Nick, Feenie- please don't call me that one- and...loads more I've forgotten about."

Soon, they arrived back into Ponyville. Before heading back to the castle, they went back to the Detention Center and pay Rarity one more visit.

Inside, Phoenix and Athena approached Rarity's cell, "Hello again, Rarity." Phoenix said.

Soon, they arrived back into Ponyville. Before heading back to the castle, they went back to the Detention Center and pay Rarity one more visit. Inside, Phoenix and Athena approached Rarity's cell.

"Hello again, Rarity." Phoenix said.

"Oh, you're back!" Rarity exclaimed, "Did you find any evidence to clear my good name?"

"Before we get to that, I was wondering why you gave us such a vague answer," Phoenix said.

"Huh?" Rarity said in confusion.

"When we asked you who called the police, all you said was 'It was HER'," Phoenix said, "But that brings up the question: who is 'HER'?"

*BANG!!*
*RATTLE* *RATTLE* *RATTLE*
*Clang!* Clang!*

"So Rarity, who is exactly is this "HER" you mentioned?" Phoenix asked.

Rarity remained silent as she looked away in disgust.

"Come on, Rarity, tell us!" Athena insisted.

"I dare NOT speak her name!" Rarity said, "She took advantage of my generosity and made me look bad!"

"Took advantage of your generosity you say?" Phoenix asked, "Then I think I know who this "HER" is!"

"Suri Polomare of Manehattan!" Phoenix said.

Rarity looked at them in a look that seemed to be her willingly using her eyes to say they were correct.

"We were told that she was the one who called the police ponies regarding the murder." Phoenix said. "And by the time you arrived and found the body, they arrived at the scene just in time to "catch" you there. All because of her, wasn't it?"

Rarity grunted as the first Psyche-Lock shattered in Phoenix's vision.

"W-Well, even if you say it was Suri who framed me for the crime, how can you prove that she was indeed the one?" Rarity asked.

"Simple. We'll just have to use this!"

"These are the Hay and Stay Hotel records from the day of the murder," Phoenix said as he pulled out the paper he received from Divine Oath, "It says that both you and Suri checked into the hotel that day, so does that answer your question?”

Rarity looked impressed at Phoenix, but then she looked down in a mixture of sadness, anger, but also relief, "Yes, it does...Suri Polomare is the one who framed me for murder."

The final Psyche-Lock shatters as all of the chains around Rarity disappear in Phoenix's vision.

"I thought so," Athena said.

"So, care to share how you know each other in better detail?" Phoenix asked.

Rarity sighed, "I suppose I could tell you..."

"Let's start by how the two of you met," Phoenix said.

"SHE was an old acquaintance of mine from a Ponyville knitting competition," Rarity explained.

"Go on," Phoenix said.

"When Twilight, our friends, and I went to Manehattan, I went to a dress rehearsal with my line of dresses," Rarity explained, "I didn't recognize HER at first, though, but still, SHE took a look at my dresses and complimented me on my designs. She asked for a swatch of the fabric of my dresses, and I gave it to her. I thought she could be trusted."

Rarity then frowned as she looked down and said angrily, "Until the next day, I saw that SHE duplicated my designs with my own fabric. I confronted that thief about what SHE did, but SHE just said to me that 'It's everypony for herself in the big city'." Rarity explained, looking like she wanted to rip someone's spine out.

"That's terrible!" Athena exclaimed, slamming on the desk. "No wonder you didn't want to speak her name."

"But then, she had the nerve to get me arrested so she'd get the upper hand!" Rarity shouted angrily, "It's HER who belongs in jail, not me! NOT ME!!!"

"We know that Rarity! And we're going to prove that to everypony in court tomorrow!" Phoenix said, "We've got evidence that will prove you innocent AND reveal the true killer!"

"Yeah! So you sleep well tonight, because tomorrow, you're going to be a free mare again!" Athena said with confidence.

"Thank you so much!" Rarity said with a smile, close to tearing up. "I knew I could count on you two!"

"See you tomorrow, Rarity." Phoenix said.

"Goodbye, darlings, and good luck!" Rarity said.

The three lawyers left the detention center and met up with Twilight and the others who were waiting outside.

"You're back! How did it go?" Twilight asked.

"We were able to confirm from Rarity that Suri Polomare was indeed the one who called the police and possibly pinned the crime on her, if she did it." Phoenix said.

"Just as I suspected," Twilight said.

"We've got all the evidence to prove Rarity innocent, right?" Maya asked, "Then this should be a piece of cake!"

"Indeed," Phoenix said, "Now we just have to wait until tomorrow."

"It's gonna be worth it," Athena said with determination.

"Suri Polomare, you're going down!" Maya shouted.

After that, Phoenix's group and Twilight returned to the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom for the day.

While they were doing that, the same figure from earlier was spying on them. It overheard the entire conversation, and the figure smiled in hope before it headed off.

They soon arrived back in the castle.

Later that night, they joined together for dinner, with Twilight making something surprisingly edible. It wasn't hay, but oatburgers, which surprisingly tasted like normal meat burgers to Maya, to Phoenix's relief-she wouldn't moan about it-and horseshoe fries. Twilight even checked with Phoenix if potato fries were common. They were, in fact, similar to the curly fries Maya loved so much, making the Princess and Maya warm to each other. During dinner, Twilight introduced Spike to Phoenix's friends and adopted daughter for the first time.

"Good to see you again, Spike," Phoenix greeted the baby dragon.

"Nice to see ya, too, Phoenix. Been a long time." Spike greeted back.

Maya suddenly stared at Spike. "Uhh...a...dragon? I hope?"

"Yeah, I do happen to-wait, you HOPE?"

"...I thought you were a youkai. Don't ask me what that is."

Trucy stared at Spike and suddenly remembered something. She wanted to save it for Apollo, but at the same time...

"Hey Spike...I've got a friend I want you to meet!" Trucy said to the purple dragon.

"A friend? Where? And who?" Spike asked looking curious.

Trucy took off her hat and said, "First, I need you to place any item you have in here. A simple coin will do."

"Uh...okay?" Spike was confused, but tossed one bit into Trucy's hat anyway.

Trucy then placed her hand over the hat's inside, shook it for a few second until she stopped. Then she took the hand off and then...

Suddenly, a dragon's head popped out of Trucy's hat and roared right at Spike's face.

"HOLY...!" Spike exclaimed in shock.

Twilight screamed in horror as she hid under the table in fear.

"Whoa!" Phoenix and the others exclaimed in shock and awe.

"Say hello to my new assistant, Mr. Dragon!" Trucy said in delight, as the dragon head, known as 'Mr. Dragon', growled.

"Uh, how are you?" Spike greeted while sweatdropping.

Mr. Dragon growled a bit at Spike. "He says 'I'm fine, and you?'" Trucy translated.

"Just... fine," Spike replied, rather scared at this point.

Twilight came out from under the table, "I-Is that d-d-dragon... r-r-real?!"

"I'm not answering that." Trucy said with a stern tone.

"A good magician never reveals his tricks, they say." Phoenix remarked.

"That's right!" Trucy said with pride.

"Awww..." Twilight said in disappointment, pouting in a similar fashion to Ema Skye.

"Oh, well, that's just how magicians do their thing," Phoenix said.

"Yeah. At least she doesn't brag like Trixie does," Twilight said. "I can respect that."

"Speaking of Trixie, I wonder what she's up to right now," Phoenix wondered.

"Funny story..." Twilight said.

"And a long one, too." Starlight added.

"We still got time." Phoenix said, while the others nod in agreement.

"First of all, she made quite a mess when she came to Ponyville," Twilight replied. She then told Phoenix and his friends about the Alicorn Amulet incident.

"Whoa! Glad you outsmarted her back then." Phoenix remarked in astonishment.

"One day, after I became Twilight's pupil, when I was assigned to find and make a new friend, I was having difficulty." Starlight explained, "But then, when I went to the spa, that's where I met Trixie."

"Although... I didn't approve at first." Twilight said sheepishly.

"Why's that? Trixie changed, didn't she?" Maya asked.

"Yeah... but..." Then Twilight explained about that whole day with her trying to get Starlight a different friend, only to fully realize about their friendship in the end and accepted it.

"...and ever since then, Trixie and I have always been the best of friends." Starlight finished her story a few minutes later.

"Wow." Phoenix said, "Wish I could have seen it. Last time I met her, she just kept trash talking me and calling me "Phoenix Wrong" or "Mr. Wrong"...still, glad to know that she has changed."

"Yeah. She's not as bad as we thought she would be anymore." Spike said, "Plus, Starlight helped her with her magic show, and because of that, Trixie's gotten better."

"Hmm... I'd sure like to see her one of these days." Trucy said in interest.

"Well, anyway, it's getting pretty late." Twilight said, "We got a big day ahead tomorrow, to prove Rarity's innocence."

"You're right." Phoenix said.

"Oh yeah, Athena!" Twilight looked at Athena.

"Yes?" Athena asked.

"I've arranged some law books for you to read before you go to sleep. All of you, in fact." Twilight explained.

"Oh, great! I could use some knowledge about this world." Athena remarked.

"Yeah, don't make the same mistake I did on my first day." Phoenix chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, there are also some books on common knowledge in Equestria you'll want to read up on, so you won't look like a total idiot." Twilight remarked.

"Okay, I understand." Athena confirmed.

"So, am I gonna have to sleep in a small bed, just like before?" Phoenix asked a bit dryly.

"Don't worry, Phoenix. I studied on how you humans make beds and had them prepared especially." Twilight explained, "I've gotten you all your own rooms each, with beds that will actually fit you."

"Cool. Thanks, Twilight." Phoenix said in relief. (Whew! What a relief. Now I won't feel sore in the morning in this world.)

Soon, Phoenix went and fell asleep, and the others decided to study. Trucy put in more time on the magic books, understandably.

("Tomorrow is our first time defending a talking pony,") Athena said in her thoughts, ("Good thing we studied everything we could about this world before going to court. I sure hope we clear Rarity's name, for Twilight's sake.")