//------------------------------//
// Trial and Error 
// Story: More than just a Feathered Friend 
// by MittenPatty 
//------------------------------//

     Chapter 6

Gilda sulked in the corner of her cell, shivering as the cold stone floor touched her skin. She had been there for about an hour, but it felt like days. After the police shoved her into their car, a bunch of SWAT ponies sprung out of the foliage and surrounded the cottage. Some stayed outside, while others stormed into the house. The griffon couldn't tell what happened next, for the vehicle she was in had already sped away.
Sighing, Gilda got up as one officer banged on the iron bars. She cringed as the horrid sound peirced her eardrums. 
"Get up." the stallion spat.  The griffon slowly got to her feet as the metal door opened. She turned around to be grabbed by the shoulders and shoved out of the room.  The officer held tightly onto her arm as they trudged down the corridor. 
"Keep walking." he hissed into the griffon's ear. Gilda didn't protest until she saw familiar looking mare being brought into the building. Her eyes widened as she struggled to escape from her captor's strong grip.
"Fluttershy!" she cried. The mare looked up, appalled. One of the officers with her did also, and saw the griffon thrashing about.
"Hey, Stopwatch," He called out in her direction. The stallion holding her turned around.
"Yeah, boss?" The other officer gestured next to him. 
"Bring her here." Gilda's captor changed direction and started towards the group of police. He threw her on the ground in front of them with a smirk. Fluttershy rushed to her side to check if she was okay.
"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed helping the griffon up. "They didn't hurt you, did they?" Gilda smiled.
"Nah, I'm fine." 
Suddenly, a hoof was thrust between them. The stallion separated the two friends with a grunt. One of the police ponies pulled Fluttershy away, shoving her into a nearby cell. 
"Stay there." he growled. Gilda gasped and tried to help her, only to be pushed backwards.
"N-no! Don't arrest her!" the griffon protested. "It was all me, she had nothing to do with it!" The officer scowled.
"Yeah, right," he mocked. "She came up to cottage a couple minutes ago. She told us she lived there." He leaned in so close to the griffon, she could almost taste his salty breath. 
"Housing a criminal is a crime, you know," He hissed."She was keeping YOU hidden." Gilda shook her head in shock.
"No, she was just trying to be helpful!" She insisted pointing at the mare. "I mean look at her! Does she really seem like the kind of pony to commit a crime?" The stallion took a glance at Fluttershy, who was cowering in the corner of her new cell. He narrowed his eyes, staring her up and down. He let out a chuckle and turned back to the griffon. 
"Looks can be deceving." he growled and stood up, towering over Gilda. 
"Lock them up!" he ordered. Several police ponies nodded and lunged for Gilda, who had already begun to speed down the long hallways.
Most of the ponies chasing her were Pegasi, specialy trained for this kind of situation. They captured the griffon almost imediatly and brought her to back to the front. Gilda was clawing and pecking at the strong stallions who held her, but it didn't seem to phase them at all as they tossed her into her tiny prison. The griffon lunged for the exit, only to get the taste of metal and blood knocked into her. She reeled backwards, sliding against the stone floor. She crawled into her bunk and sobbed into her pillow, not for herself, but for the mare that was being punished for HER misdoings. Fluttershy hadn't done anything wrong, but here she was, trapped behind bars just like all of the criminals that resided here. And Gilda, was one of them.
_________________________________________________________________

Twilight galloped along the streets, searching for the thing she needed. Come on, where is it? She raced past other ponies, sometimes running into them as she looked. Finally, she found what she was trying find. She slowed to catch her breath before entering the building. The unicorn opened the front doors and stepped inside, only to see that there was barely anyone there. 
"Hello, can I help you?" a voice called from the side. Twilight located the source of the sound and trotted over to the receptionist counter.
"Um, yes, actually," the unicorn greeted the clerk. "How do I hire an attorney?" the mare behind the counter smiled.
"Well if you need a lawyer, you've come to the right place," She pointed to a clipboard with documents attached. "If you make an appointment we can arrange a meeting with an attorney of your liking." Twilight shook her head. 
"No, you don't understand." she explained. "I need a lawyer NOW." The clerk looked confused.
"Why, is it something important?" she asked. The purple mare nodded.
"My friend is in prison for no reason." she pleaded. "I need to prove her innocence!" And maybe get Gilda out of jail in the process. I can't imagine her getting off home free, but maybe just softening the punishment. Suddenly a blue stallion wearing a business suit trotted in.
"Barb, do you have the files for that old murder case?" he asked the clerk. He must've not noticed Twilight standing there, as he looked at her with a strange expression of his face.
"Oh, hey there," he greeted her. "Are you a customer?" The purple mare groaned. Was this guy stupid? What, does he think I'm like a plumber or something?! Twilight plastered a smile on her face.
"Yes, I am," she replied. "And you are?" The blue Earth pony smiled proudly.
"I, am Ace Politics. The BEST lawyer around." he bragged. Twilight smirked. Oh, really?
"Well, best lawyer around, are you available?" Ace cocked his head.
"For a date?" The unicorn face-hoofed, shaking her head.
"NO!" she exclaimed, annoyed. "I need to hire an attorney!" 
"OOOHHHH," The stallion laughed. "Of course. Shall we go to the meeting room?" Barb looked astonished  
"B-but, she has to have an appointment!" Ace waved her away as they walked off.
"You can make an exception this time, right?" 
_______________________________________________________________________

A loud clanging sound interrupted Gilda's slumber. She blinked and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. 
"Get up, griffon." Stopwatch banged even harder on the iron bars. Gilda tumbled off of her bunk and quickly got into a salute.
"Yes, sir." she hoped this would please the officer. Instead, he just smirked.
"You try so hard. Pathetic." The stallion scowled and got out his keys. "Fortunately for you, someone got you and twinkle-toes over there a lawyer." He opened the cell door. Gilda nearly screamed with joy as she calmly stepped past. Quick as a bullet, the officer grabbed her by the chest feathers and pulled her close.
"DON'T try anything funny," he hissed. "They don't call me Stopwatch, for nothin'." He shoved her away and turned to leave. 
"The boss is waiting for you down the hall." he instructed. "I suggest you not keep him waiting." With that he trotted off, leaving the griffon alone. Gilda flew past the other cells, not wanting to waste time. She sped towards the front, hoping to see Rainbow Dash there to bail her out. The griffon slowed her pace to land on the smooth tile of the waiting room. It was filled with police, ready to escort her out. She stepped onto the floor and looked around for Fluttershy. She has to be part of this too! 
Finally, Gilda caught a glimpse of the yellow Pegasus among the officers.
"Fluttershy!" she called, waving her arms. Her friend's head perked up, along with another. The griffon gasped.
"Twilight! You're here too?" The two mares trotted over, only to receive a huge hug from her. 
"Oh! Hello to you too," the unicorn laughed separating herself from the griffon. Fluttershy stayed next to Gilda, wearing a big smile. 
"Twilight got us an attorney!" she squealed excitedly, pointing at the purple mare. The unicorn rolled her eyes.
"Well, why wouldn't I?" she asked with a chuckle. "His name is Ace Politics, and from the looks of his resume, he's a pretty good lawyer!" The griffon was beyond grateful.
"Twilight, I could KISS you right now!" she exclaimed. Everything went silent as Gilda let the last few words escape her lips. She quickly realized her mistake and almost instantly felt guilt wash over her.
"Oh my god, I-I'm so sorry!" she apologized to the unicorn, who was now blushing intensely. Fluttershy also had some pink on her cheeks, and was covering her mouth with her hoof. Even some of the police ponies were staring at her. Twilight cleared her throat.
"It's okay," she tried to act professional by straightening her posture. "We all have, little slips once and a while." She smiled. 
"I'm sure Rainbow won't mind." That made Gilda feel a bit better. The unicorn motioned towards the door.
"Let's go," she said walking towards it. "The judge said it was okay for you both to stay with me until the trial tomorrow." The three exited the building and headed for Golden Oaks. 
________________________________________________________________________ 

Ace Politics rammed his hoof onto the snooze button of his alarm. 
"Five more minutes..." he mumbled turning over in his bed. Why did I set it so early? It's Sunday, I shouldn't have to wake up so soon. Unless... The stallion jumped out of the covers with a gasp.
"Crap, the trial!" he jostled through his closet trying to find a suit. He rushed to the bathroom and threw the clothes on the floor before stepping into the shower. 
Once done, the Earth pony turned off the water and grabbed a towel, drying himself off. Twilight's gonna be real ticked if I'm late! He tossed the towel aside and began wrestling with his suit, trying to get it on. He straightened his tie and sprayed on some cologne before racing down the stairs. He grabbed his briefcase and flung himself out the door, locking it and turning towards his car. Ace threw himself inside and started the engine, backing up into the road. Twilight's gonna give it to me now....

Politics flung open the doors to the courthouse. He frantically searched for a purple unicorn among the crowd of people. 
He located her off to the side, standing beside a yellow Pegasus. Wait, is that a GRIFFON?! Ace trotted over, catching Twilight's attention. She stormed over to him with a look of annoyance. 
"Where were you?" she asked angrily. "The trial's about to start!" The blue stallion rubbed the back of his neck.
"Well, I kinda overslept and-" the unicorn groaned cutting him off as she pulled him over to her friends. She rustled up a smile.
"Girls, this is Ace Politics, our lawyer." the attorney waved sheepishly as Twilight gestured to him.
"Ace, this is Fluttershy," the unicorn pointed to the Pegasus. "And this is Gilda." she motioned towards the massive griffon. The Earth pony's eyes widened.
"WOAH!" he exclaimed taking a step back. "You're huge!" Gilda looked up at him, hurt. Twilight glared at the stallion menacingly. Politics gulped.
"Ah, I mean," he tried to think of an excuse. "You're feathers are cute?" The griffon giggled with a blush. I've still got it.  Suddenly, a loud voice boomed from across the room.
"TWILIGHT SPARKLE!" it screamed. everypony moved out of the way of a furious Pegasus. Rainbow Dash stormed over to the unicorn, shoving Ace out of the way.
"How could you?!" she bellowed. "Hiring a LAWYER? For HER?!" she pointed an accusing hoof at Gilda, who was now cowering behind Fluttershy. Twilight took a deep breath.
"Look, I know you're upset, but-" Rainbow cut her off with a slap to the face. Okay, this has gone too far. Politics stood up and grabbed the raging mare, who had began to advance towards the bewildered unicorn.
"Hey, lemme go!" RD screeched. Twilight rubbed her cheek in shock as Fluttershy ran to her aid.
"How could you betray Pinkie like that?!" The cyan mare spat, still struggling to escape. The purple mare looked up at her with a sorrowful look on her face.
"Rainbow, she's the one who asked me to." she explained. The Pegasus stopped thrashing for a second.
"N-no, you're lying." she stammered. Just then, a small voice sounded from the entrance, confirming the debate.
"It's true." Pinkie Pie said softly as she rolled up to them. "I asked her to hire an attorney for Gilda." RD was astounded.
"But, but she almost KILLED you!" Ace decided she had calmed down a bit, or at least enough to be let free. The attorney stepped away from the cyan mare to protect Twilight from any future " incidents". 
"Dash, she said she was sorry," the party pony looked at her, disappointed. "And I forgave her." Dash glanced back at the griffon, who was watching with eyes full of hope. Longing for something, or someone. 
A voice sounded over the intercom, interrupting the conversation.
"Please enter the courtroom. The trial will now begin." a sea of ponies swarmed through the doors, leaving six other's behind. 
"Shall we?" Ace trotted in after the others. Fluttershy and Pinkie followed with Gilda close behind. Twilight gave one last look at the pony who had hit her before walking in with flick of her tail.

Taking their seats, Twilight noticed Rainbow Dash slink into the court. The purple unicorn shuffled anxiously next to her attorney. 
"What's wrong?" he asked the unicorn. The purple mare sighed.
"Nothing, just a little nervous is all." Ace nodded and turned back to his briefcase. He opened it and took out the files necessary for the case. I CAN prove Fluttershy's innocence. Maybe even Gilda too. The judge appeared and took hold of the gavel using his magic.
"Court is now in session." he gruffed and sat down. On the opposite side of the room, a female Pegasus stood up and cleared her throat. 
"Your honor, it is clear that there is no reason for this trial to go on, but I will give my opening statement anyway." She glared across the room at Ace, her eyes burning into his. The stallion whistled nervously and looked up at the ceiling.
"In this folder, I have evidence that Gilda "Gene" Griffon was indeed the criminal who attacked Miss. Pie." she grinned and pulled out a glossy white feather. The crowd gasped and began murmuring to on another. The ruckus stopped as loud banging echoed through the room.    
"Order! Order!" the judge bellowed an placed his gavel down. "Persecution, you may continue." The brown mare smiled. 
"Thank you, your honor. Ahem!" she lifted the evidence up again. "My team and I have taken several DNA analyses, and we discovered the feather does indeed belong to Gilda." The judge rubbed his chin in thought.
"Hmmmm... Interesting." he looked towards Ace. "Defense, your statement." The stallion nodded and stood up. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter a word Twilight sprang from her seat.
"WAIT!" she cried. Everyone went silent as the unicorn stood. "I already know that Gilda did this to Pinkie." Excited chatting popped up throughout the stands. Even the persecution was confused. The judge used the gavel again, signaling for silence.   
"Mrs. Sparkle, please explain to the jury what you mean." Before the purple mare could respond, Ace pulled her under the desk.
"We'll be just a minute!" he called before he went under as well.
"What are you doing?!" he hissed. "Why are you agreeing with the persecution?" Twilight gave him a reassuring pat on the head.
"Don't worry," she whispered. "I know what I'm doing." she stood up again, leaving Ace to sit back in his chair, grumbling.
"I know Gilda did it, because she told me." The purple mare continued. "My friend Fluttershy, who is also part of this trial, saved her life. My theory is, that Gilda couldn't live with herself after committing the crime, so attempted suicide." concerned murmers drifted about as Twilight spoke.
"Fluttershy brought her to my house, where she told me everything. She said, in fact, that she couldn't control herself. That she had lost any sanity she once had." The brown Pegasus interrupted with a snicker.
"You're basically just helping me." she said smugly. Twilight frowned.
"I'm not trying to prove Gilda's innocence, I think she should be punished." The unicorn stared proudly at the brown mare. "I'm still going to try and help her." The persecution snorted and leaned back in her chair. Twilight took that as a sign to continue.
"I've done some research, and I believe I found the answer." She nodded to Ace. The Earth pony cocked his head in confusion. The purple mare tapped her hoof on the table impatiently. Finally, he understood.
"OH!" Politics jumped from his chair. "Yes, me and Twi have been studying this case very closely." The attorney grabbed his papers, reading from them accordingly.
"Apparently, there is a mental condition that occurs when somepony is under a lot of stress." he looked over to the griffon.
"Gilda, were you under any pressure on the night of the attack?" she shook her head.
"No, I was fine!" she insisted. Twilight cringed, and turned to the stallion.
"She's lying." the mare whispered. "She had a huge reason to be stressed out then, I just think she's too embarrassed to say." Ace frowned. We'll find out soon enough.
"Anyway, this condition causes MASSIVE mood swings. You could be perfectly fine one minute, then boiling mad the next. It's a little like Autism." He looked up at the judge. "You could even be set off by just coming in contact with another pony." Gilda whimpered at that. Gotcha now, griffon. The olden unicorn considered this.
"Hmmm... So you're telling me Gilda couldn't control this at all?" The lawyer shook his head.
"No, she probably could've tried, but it would be unlikely she would calm down right away." He looked back to the griffon, who was trying to curl up into a ball.
"Gilda, were you by chance, mad at Pinkie?" the griffon glanced around nervously.
"I-I, um, ah," she gave up with a sigh. "Well yes, a bit. She pulled a bunch of pranks on me and I kinda lost my cool. I guess I just couldn't control myself, ya know?" Politics expected this. Twilight scribbled some notes down as Ace prepared to close his statement.
"So, my theory is, Gilda was under some stress and had a mental breakdown. The end." Everything went silent as the attorney finished his sentence. The persecution broke the silence with a laughing fit.
"THAT'S your statement?!" she giggled. "You basically said she was a psycho!" the judge tried to hide a chuckle as he picked up his gavel. 
"Now, now, Clara, we don't need to be disrespectful." he looked down at the attorney.
"Well, if Gilda couldn't control what was happening, I suppose I could lower the charges." before the defense could celebrate, he quickly asked another question. "Just one more thing. did Miss. Pie, forgive this griffon?" Twilight gulped. She knew Dash was in here somewhere, and she hoped she wouldn't ruin this trial. The sound of wheels squeaking along with a tiny voice spoke out.
"Yes, I did." Pinkie rolled in front of the huge crowd and faced them. "Woah, what a big group of ponies!" she exclaimed quietly before taking a seat next to Ace.
"Gilda visited me in the hospital on Thursday. I was pretty surprised to see her, but she gave a very sincere apology." the party pony looked over to the griffon. "I would like to consider her, forgiven, in my book."  Gilda smiled graciously. The persecution interrupted with an angry shout.
"That's IT?!" she protested. "You can't just let her off home free. What about the other one that was involved? She was hiding a criminal!" The judge tapped his chin. 
"Well, I don't consider it hiding, due to the fact it was a long flight home." he smiled at the yellow Pegasus, who was waiting near Gilda. "I think she was just trying to be a good friend." The defense cheered as Fluttershy flew from her seat and rejoiced. The joyous occasion was short-lived, for the final verdict still had to be given.
"Unfortunately, Gilda will still have to face the consequences." the unicorn brought his gavel down for the last time. "she will be sent back home, but is not allowed to return to Ponyville until twelve moons has passed." the crowd gasped as Gilda hung her head, waiting for police to escort her out. Twilight got up, but was quickly seated again with a hoof to the shoulder.
"Wait." Ace murmured. When the two officers arrived, the griffon stood up. 
"I would like to say something." she announced aloud. Bingo. The jury mumbled in confusion as the judge stared at her. 
"Well, I suppose that would be alright." he said nervously. The stallions let her pass as she strode over to the defense and grabbed a microphone.
"May I?" she asked softly. Politics nodded, letting her take the mic. She flew up to the judge's stand, taking him by surprise.
"I hope you don't mind, but I would like for everyone to hear this. The stallion nodded and backed away. Gilda cleared her throat.
"The past week has probably been the most exciting time of my life. I met a bunch of new friends, attacked one of them, and even got sent to prison." she chuckled softly, wiping the fresh tears from her face. "I lost a pony very dear to my heart, one that I had known since I was little." the griffon looked over at RD, who had perked  her ears and was focused intensely on the stand. Gilda kept talking.
"I never thought of myself as a bully, until the day of the party. I treated her and her friends like dirt, I now I fully regret it. Because the truth is," the griffon let a single tear roll down her cheek, and stared into the cyan mare's rose colored eyes. " I love you Dash. I have for a while now, and couldn't bear the stress of knowing if you liked me back or not. I took it out on Pinkie, which was wrong of me. I just want you to be happy, and if you hate me, I understand." Gilda paused before dropping the microphone. Her misty eyes were leaking droplets down the side of her face. The courtroom was completely silent, as if it were holding it's breath waiting for the Pegasus to do something. Twilight and Fluttershy hugged each other, while Ace and Pinkie sat with their mouth agape. Rainbow didn't move at all. The griffon flew down to the officers, and held out her arms.
"I'm ready to go now." the stallions shrugged and lead her to the exit. Gilda wiped her eyes, not even glancing back at the mare she so deeply admired as she stepped into the hall.
"Good-bye, Dashie." she whispered. "I'll miss you."