Ace Attorney: Diamond Tiara

by Yukito

False Alarm Turnabout

‘Okay Diamond, keep it together. You can do this. If that blank flank can, you certainly can, too.’

“Hey Diamond,” Silver Spoon said.

“Y-Yes?!”

“… Are you sure you’re okay? Y’know, it’s me that’s on trial here, not you.”

Diamond’s eyes widened, and she took a deep breath as she stretched. Y-Yeah. You’re right.” ‘I have to be strong here, for Silver Spoon’s sake.’

“Diamond… will everything really be okay?”

“… Of course it will. Just leave it to me,” Diamond said in a reassuring tone. ‘I say that, but I don’t really have that much evidence.’

Diamond Tiara opened up her bag and looked inside. ‘Let’s see here… I’ve got this photograph of the fire alarm that was activated. There’s no glass on it anymore, and there’s a hoof-sized dent in it. Other than that, it’s perfectly clean.

‘Next there’s the photograph of the glass shards around the fire alarm. Not much I can do with this. And finally… a map of the school.’

Diamond looked back up at Silver Spoon, who was glancing around nervously. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Silver Spoon said as she turned back to Diamond Tiara. “It’s just, for the past few days before the false alarm was set off, I kept having this feeling that somepony was following me. Oh! I almost forgot! The report for that investigation was delivered to me today.”

“Report? Ah, for the doll that was stolen from your locker, right?”

Silver Spoon nodded. “It’s right here,” she said as she pulled out a piece of paper from her bag.

Diamond looked over the report briefly, and noticed a folded-up piece of paper-clipped to the top. “What’s this?”

“The officer said that there’s a purple hair in there. It was found inside my locker.”

Diamond Tiara nodded and scanned through the rest of the report. “The locking mechanism was forced open? But the officer said that was impossible, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, he said that if tools were used, there would have been signs of it.”

“Hmmm… High-energy input used to force the locker open? Locking mechanism was melted? What does that-” As Diamond Tiara flipped the page over to look at the other side, another piece of paper fell onto the floor. “Oops… Wait, what’s this? An article on the Royal Wedding disaster?”

“Huh? … Um, maybe it was included by mistake? The officer who gave it to me looked a little out of it at the time.”

“Diamond Tiara! Silver Spoon!” The two fillies jumped and turned towards the classroom door. “We’re waiting for you! Are you ready yet?”

“… Well, here goes nothing,” Diamond said as she stuff the papers into her bag, and walked inside the classroom, followed closely by Silver Spoon.

---

The class chattered amongst themselves as they took their seats at the back of the classroom, waiting eagerly for their second ever class trial to begin. The first one left quite an impression, in many ways. Snails was now the most popular colt in school, being invited by the fillies to eat lunch with them and talk fashion, and not a single day went by that nopony pestered Scootaloo about her secret admirer. True to her word, though, she would not reveal their identity.

But most of all, everypony was practically begging for a second trial to take place, and remembering how much the first one evolved from what seemed a simple case, the entire class was excited to see what today’s trial would bring.

Cheerilee sighed as she took her seat at her desk. She had planned for a spelling test that day, but she was unable to resist caving in to the children’s demands, and simply rescheduled the test for the next day.

Picking up her gavel, Cheerilee slammed it onto her desk to silence the class. “Court is now in session,” she announced, looking over to the left of her desk. “Is the defence ready?”

Diamond Tiara looked over to Silver Spoon, who was looking as worried as she had been that morning. Realising that she had to be strong for her friend, Diamond turned back to Cheerilee and nodded with a confident look on her face. “Yes, I am.”

“… You look a little tense. Are you absolutely sure you’re alright?”

“Yes! Now let’s begin already!”

Cheerilee hesitated for a moment, before turning to her right. “And what of the prosecution?”

“Ah’m ready, ma’am,” Apple Bloom said, glaring daggers at the filly opposite her.

“… Apple Bloom, you put up quite the formidable defence during the last trial.”

“Thanks!”

“Are you sure you wish to now prosecute? You do realise that the two are very different things, don’t you?”

“Ah know! Ah didn’t get mah Cutie Mark in defendin’, so ah figured ah’d try prosecutin’ instead!” The class was silent at Apple Bloom’s remark, until Cheerilee cleared her throat.

“Very well then. Prosecution, your opening statement?”

Apple Bloom picked up an apple from her bag and took a bite into it. “Eheh. Sorry, Diamond, but there ain’t no way you’re winnin’ this trial.”

“Apple Bloom! You know how I feel about eating in class!”

“But this ain’t a class. It’s a courtroom, right?”

“Even so, in the real world, such a thing would be seen as very unprofessional.”

“The defence has no objections,” Diamond said. “What does it matter, just as long as in the end, I win? Just get on with the trial already, okay?”

Cheerilee paused for a few seconds, and then sighed and nodded her head. “Oh, fine. Just as long as you’re willing to share, Apple Bloom.”

“Of course! Bailiff, hand these out to the class!”

“Apple Bloom, that’s my job. Bailiff, distribute the apples out to the class.”

“We don’t need any,” Diamond said.

“Um, actually-” Silver Spoon began, but stopped when she saw Diamond’s glare pointed her way. “Uh, never mind.”

Apple Bloom took another bit out of her apple. “Now then, let’s start with a simple review, shall we?”

Cheerilee nodded. “Yes, that would be an adequate place to begin.”

“Right. So at around 11:20 three days ago, the school’s fire alarm went off. This was not a scheduled drill, and after the Fire and Rescue Service arrived and confirmed there was no fire anywhere, an investigation was started. It was discovered that the fire alarm at the back of the school was smashed open and pushed. Everypony in school had gathered outside at the evacuation site and was accounted for. Everypony, minus the defendant.”

“Hence she is the suspect,” Cheerilee surmised.

“That’s right. Incidentally, this is where the fire alarm that was pushed was located on the school map.”

Cheerilee nodded. “The court accepts this evidence. And? Where was the accused later discovered to be?”

“…” Apple Bloom laughed and took the final bite out of her apple, throwing the core into the trash can behind her. “Glad ya asked. The defendant, Silver Spoon, was found wandering around behind the school… with a piece of glass in her hoof.”

“A piece of glass?” Cheerilee asked.

Apple Bloom nodded, and reached into her bag to pull out a piece of folded-up paper. “The glass in question is in here.”

“Bailiff, please collect the evidence.” Shady Daze saluted and then ran over to collect the glass within the paper. He returned to Cheerilee’s desk and handed it over. Cheerilee unfolded the paper, and was greeted to a small glass shard with some red painting the tip. “I assume that this is…”

“Eeyup. It’s blood, ma’am. Blood from the accused.”

“I see. The court accepts this evidence.”

Apple Bloom pulled out an apple from her bag and took a bite. “So, ready to just call it quits an’ spare any yerself any embarrassment?”

“… Just call your first witness,” Diamond said, her hooves shaking and her eyes focussed on Apple Bloom.

“If y’all say so. The prosecution would like ta call the pony in charge of investigatin’ this case.”

Silence reigned for a few seconds, before somepony in the crowd whispered: “Sweetie Belle! That’s you!”

“Oh!” Sweetie Belle quickly jumped out of her chair and walked up towards the podium standing between the defence and the prosecution. “Detective Swee-”

“Witness,” Apple Bloom interrupted, “Name and occupation.”

“… Sweetie Belle, detective in charge of the ‘False Alarm’ case.”

“Sweetie Belle,” Cheerilee addressed.

“Yes, ma’am?”

“I received far fewer complaints from ponies this time about you invading their personal space. Well done.”

“Eheheh! Thanks!”

Apple Bloom took a bite out of her apple. “Now then, testify to the court yer findings.”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “Yes, ma’am!”

-WITNESS TESTIMONY-

“Our investigation showed that Silver Spoon was absent during the third period lesson.
“Ponies reported that she was acting off that day.
“And she was also missing during the break between second and third period.
“She was missing from the playground when we evacuated the building.
“When she was found, she was walking around outside the Gym behind the school.
“The piece of glass in her hoof proves that she pushed the fire alarm.”

-END TESTIMONY-

Cheerilee took a moment to take in the testimony. “… A false alarm is a serious matter. Diamond Tiara?”

“Yes?” Diamond asked.

“Please begin your cross-examination, but be careful not to ask irrelevant questions. The evidence stacked against Silver Spoon is quite high.”

“I know,” Diamond said. “And I’m ready to cross-examine now.”

“Heh.” Apple Bloom took a bite out of her apple and threw the core behind her. “It’s nice that ya trust yer friend so much. Let’s see how far y’all can get.”

-CROSS-EXAMINATION-

“Our investigation showed that Silver Spoon was absent during the third period lesson.

“Hold it!” Sweetie Belle gasped in excitement as she looked over at Diamond Tiara. “When you say she was absent, you actually mean that she stepped outside about five minutes into the lesson, don’t you?”

“Objection!” Apple Bloom shouted. “That is irrelevant. All that matters is that Silver Spoon was absent.”

“But-”

“Witness, continue with your testimony.”

Diamond Tiara gritted her teeth together. ‘Darn you, blank flank!’

“Ponies reported that she was acting off that day.

“Hold it!” Diamond turned her attention towards Silver Spoon. “What do you mean by ‘acting off’? Can you be more specific?”

“Well, some ponies say she was acting annoyed, and absent-mindedly.”

“I had a fight with my mum last night,” Silver Spoon explained. “It’s not relevant to this case though.”

“Y’all were so upset that ya hit the fire alarm, huh?” Apple Bloom asked as she took a bite of an apple. “How childish.”

“Apple Bloom, do not speak with your mouth full!” Cheerilee scolded.

‘There’s got to be something in this testimony that doesn’t fit with the evidence,’ Diamond thought to herself as she allowed Sweetie Belle to continue.

“And she was also missing during the break between second and third period.

“Hold it!” Diamond glanced over at Silver Spoon for a second. “Where was she during this time?”

“Nopony knows. I asked everypony who visited a restroom and nopony saw her, and she wasn’t on the yard either. Oh! There was one filly who reported her loitering around the fire alarm, actually.”

Apple Bloom snickered. “Goin’ over the details of her crime one final time, ah’d wager.”

“Well, Silver Spoon?” Diamond asked.

“I was just trying to clear my head. It was too loud outside,” Silver Spoon responded.

‘I believe you, but nopony else does. I have to find something in this testimony.’

“She was missing from the playground when we evacuated the building.

“Hold it!” Diamond slammed her hooves onto her table. “Are you sure?”

“Objection!” Apple Bloom pulled out a sheet of paper. “This is the register that was taken. Silver Spoon’s name was called out ten times before Miss Cheerilee order a search.”

Cheerilee nodded. “That’s right. I was so worried… and so relieved when Silver Spoon was found to be safe and sound.”

“What else did ya find?” Apple Bloom asked Sweetie Belle.

“When she was found, she was walking around outside the Gym behind the school.

“Hold it!” Diamond put a hoof to her chin. “What was she doing when she was found her?”

“She was just limping about.”

“… ‘Limping’?”

“Well, yeah. She had a piece of glass in her hoof, after all. She had tears in her eyes, so it must have hurt pretty bad.”

“Did not!” Silver Spoon shouted. “I was just dazed, that was all!”

“And why was she there in the first place?” Diamond asked.

“Well-”

“Objection!” Apple Bloom took a bite out of her apple. “What does it matter why she was there? All that matters is that she’s the only pony who didn’t show up to the yard.”

“Objection!” Diamond retorted. “If she heard the fire alarm go off, she might have gone there to evacuate!”

“But she knows where the evacuation site is. We’ve had many drills, after all.”

Diamond gritted her teeth. She was barely containing her anger at this point. “Silver Spoon,” she whispered to her friend, “Why were you at the Gym?”

“… I don’t know,” Silver Spoon replied.

“Huh? You don’t know?”

“I just woke up outside the Gym. That’s why I was dazed… I didn’t get much sleep last night, so I probably just fell asleep, but I can’t say I remember why I went to the Gym in the first place.”

“Is there anything else, witness?” Cheerilee asked.

“Well…”

“The piece of glass in her hoof proves that she pushed the fire alarm.”

“Hold it!” Diamond looked over at the glass on Cheerilee’s desk. “How can you be so sure?”

“Well, where else would she have got it from? We checked all the windows and everything else made of glass and nothing else was broken.”

“She was found outside the Gym, right? Maybe there was some glass on the ground outside?”

“Objection!” Apple Bloom shook her head. “Sorry, but that won’t work.”

“What do you mean?” Diamond asked.

“Ponyville, as you know, doesn’t have the funding for fancy science labs at our police station. However, it hardly takes a fortune ta fit pieces of glass together.”

Diamond’s eyes widened. “You mean-”

“That’s right. We fit the pieces of glass found at the scene together… and there was a piece missing. That piece… was found in Silver Spoon’s hoof!”

The class chattered amongst themselves until they were silenced by Cheerilee’s gavel.
“Order! Order!” Cheerilee shook her head. “I’m sorry to say, Diamond Tiara, but at this point, I am completely convinced of Silver Spoon’s guilt.”

“N-No!” Diamond slammed her hooves onto her table. “You can’t be serious! I know Silver’s innocent! She would never-”

Cheerilee shook her head. “This cross-examination appears to be over.”

“No, wait! Maybe… Maybe they just missed a piece of glass at the scene!”

“Sorry, but our search was very thorough,” Sweetie Belle said. “We got all the glass that was there. The piece inside of Silver Spoon, without a doubt, was from the fire alarm.”

“…” Diamond slammed her hooves once more. “T-That can’t be…” ‘Think, Diamond, think!’

“… If the defence has nothing more to say,” Cheerilee began.

“Hold it!” Diamond furrowed her brow and sweat as she thought desperately for some kind of contradiction. ‘Think, think! Why was that piece of glass in Silver Spoon’s hoof?! … Huh? Wait, that’s a good question.’

“Diamond Tiara, if you have nothing left to-”

“I have proof!” Diamond Tiara shouted, startling everypony in the room.

“Yeah, sure,” Apple Bloom replied in a sarcastic tone, followed by taking a bite out of her apple. “Proof of what, may ah ask?”

“Proof that Silver Spoon… may have been framed!”

The class started acting up once again, and Cheerilee’s gavel once more had to silence them. “So you are suggesting that somepony else pushed the fire alarm, and attempted to pin the blame on Silver Spoon?”

“Yes! I don’t know who, but I have proof at least that it wasn’t Silver Spoon that pulled that alarm!”

Cheerilee nodded. “Well then, please supply this proof. What is the proof that Silver Spoon did not pull the fire alarm?”

“Take that!” Diamond Tiara pulled out a photograph from her bag. “Why, the fire alarm itself, of course. Tell me, isn’t there something strange about it?”

“… I’m afraid you’ll have to enlighten me,” Cheerilee said.

“Well, Silver Spoon supposedly cut her hoof when she broke the glass, right?”

Cheerilee nodded. “Since the piece of glass was inside her hoof… and there was blood trickling down her foreleg.”

“Well then… where’s the blood on the fire alarm?” Diamond asked.

Sweetie Belle examined the photograph closely and gasped. “Ah!”

“That’s right. To activate the fire alarm, a certain amount of pressure has to be used, to avoid accidental activations from stray balls or toys. It requires you to place your entire hoof on it… which means that Silver Spoon’s hoof should have brushed against the frame. So then, where’s the blood?”

“That’s… a good question. Maybe she wiped it off?”

Apple Bloom nodded. “There’s yer answer. She wiped it off then ran away.”

“What do you think, Diamond Tiara?” Cheerilee asked. “Could Silver Spoon have wiped the blood away from the fire alarm?”

Diamond shook her head. “No. She couldn’t. Or rather, there’s a problem with that that contradicts the evidence we have.”

Cheerilee hummed in thought. “Well then, please share with us: what is this evidence that you speak of?”

“Take that!” Diamond pointed over at the piece of glass on Cheerilee’s desk. “Think about it: why would Silver Spoon wipe away the blood on the fire alarm? As you said, Ponyville’s police department has no scientific department. It’s not like the blood could have been traced to her.”

“Maybe she’s just extra cautious,” Apple Bloom suggested before taking a bite of her apple.

“Well then, if she’s that cautious, it doesn’t make sense that she would overlook the more obvious evidence against her, which is also the more incriminating evidence.” Diamond Tiara grinned as she saw Sweetie Belle’s eyes widen. “That’s right. Wiping the blood away is pointless… if she leaves that piece of glass inside her hoof!”

Apple Bloom held a hoof to her throat as she started choking, and then spat out some of the apple she was just eating.

“And as you said, it’s pretty noticeable! She was limping because of the pain, so of course she would know it was there!”

“You’re right!” Sweetie Belle shouted, followed by a class ruckus. Cheerilee’s gavel silenced the class.

“Objection!” Apple Bloom laughed and pulled an apple out of her bag, tossing it up and down in her hoof. “Ah’ll admit it’s odd, but it changes nothin’.”

“Of course it does! If Silver Spoon was the one to set off the fire alarm, then she would have-”

“It don’t change nothing’,” Apple Bloom repeated, “‘Cause we have a witness that saw Silver Spoon set off the fire alarm.”

“W-Whaaaaaaat?!” Diamond Tiara shouted. Cheerilee once again had to silence her rowdy class with her gavel. “Why have I not been told about this?!”

“… Because it’s mah witness. There’s no reason for ya ta know.” Apple Bloom took a bite out of her apple, whilst Diamond Tiara looked at her with a furious look in her eyes. “This witness will clear everythin’ up. He’ll prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Silver Spoon is guilty.”

Cheerilee nodded. “Very well then. Please call your witness to the stand, Apple Bloom.”

“The prosecution calls Button Mash to the stand.” Sweetie Belle left the podium and walked back to her seat, passing by a brown Earth Pony colt on the way. The colt took his place at the podium and pulled out his PSP, mashing the buttons on it immediately and focussing intently on the screen. “Witness, state yer name an’ occupation.”

Button Mash didn’t answer. He simply continued to pour effort into his game.

“Witness,” Apple Bloom repeated, “Name an’ occupation.” Once again, there was no response. “WITNESS!”

“GAH!” Button shouted, startling everypony in the room. “No no no no NO! You distracted me! I was so close to beating my high score! Now I have to start all over again!”

“… Before that, how ‘bout y’all state yer name an’ occupation fer us?”

Button shot a glare at Apple Bloom, who backed up slightly, before returning it with a glare of her own. “… Fine. Name’s Button Mash. Student and co-founder of the Ponyville Cast’s LP Squad.”

“‘LP Squad’?” Cheerilee asked.

“‘Let’s Play Squad’,” Button explained. “We record ourselves playing video game with live commentary and then post it on PonyTube for everypony to see. Oh, I guess you could also put ‘PonyTube celebrity’ down under my occupation.”

“… I have no idea what that means, but please testify to the court about what you saw the day of the crime.”

Apple Bloom nodded. “You claimed ta have seen the defendant, Silver Spoon, activate the fire alarm. Please tell us what it was exactly that y’all saw.”

Button looked up from his gaming console and up at Cheerilee. “… Alright, lemme just save real quick…” A few moments passed, with everypony simply watching as Button Mash played around with his game. When it seemed that he was finally finished, he placed his console down and looked back up at his teacher.

-WITNESS TESTIMONY-

“I saw her do it. It was definitely Silver Spoon.”

-END TESTIMONY-

Everypony looked at the colt with dumbfounded looks as he immediately went back to playing his game.

“Objection!” Diamond Tiara shouted. “Miss Cheerilee, that testimony was too vague! Not long enough! Completely-”

Cheerilee slammed her gavel onto her desk in order to silence the defence’s outburst. “Yes, Diamond Tiara. I am well aware of that. Button Mash?” Button paused his game and looked up at Cheerilee. “Would you mind being a little more informative than that?”

“… I’m not very good at speeches.”

“Jus’ pretend it’s a video game,” Apple Bloom said. Button immediately turned to her with an interested look. “How ‘bout: ‘Button Mash: Ace Witness’?”

Button Mash placed his console down once more, and a wide smile formed on his face. “Lllllllllllet’s play!”

Diamond Tiara simply stared at the witness with a look of utter disbelief. ‘I have to cross-examine this guy? Celestia help me…’

-WITNESS TESTIMONY: TAKE TWO-

“I was in Ms. Blossomforth’s class that day, doing… Math, was it?
“I needed to use the bathroom, so I asked to be excused.
“I went to the bathroom near the back of the school and… well, y’know.
“As I was leaving, I saw it.
“Silver Spoon hit the fire alarm and walked away.”

-END TESTIMONY-

“Witness,” Cheerilee began, “Are you absolutely certain of what you saw?”

“…” Button picked up his PSP and resumed his game play. “Like every playthrough since I first picked up a controller… one hundred percent.”

“Then why did you not tell anypony about this sooner?” Diamond asked.

“At the time, I thought it was a legit fire. When I got the evacuation site, I started playing on my 3DS, and didn’t notice until later that it was a false alarm.”

“He came ta me as soon as he found out about the investigation,” Apple Bloom added.

“I see.” Cheerilee turned to Diamond Tiara. “Defence, you may begin your cross-examination. But be warned that this is your last chance. If you fail to find any contradictions in his testimony, then I will have to hand down my verdict.”

‘So this is it,’ Diamond thought to herself. ‘Button has to be lying for Silver Spoon to be innocent. I just have to find those lies…’

-CROSS-EXAMINATION-

“I was in Ms. Blossomforth’s class that day, doing… Math, was it?
“I needed to use the bathroom, so I asked to be excused.

“Hold it!” Diamond slammed her hooves onto her table and glared at Button Mash. “Did you go alone?”

“Of course I did. I’m not a child anymore.”

“So in other words, you were alone at the scene of the crime. You could have pushed the fire alarm yourself!”

“Objection!” Apple Bloom shook her head and bit into her apple. “Diamond, if ye’re gonna accuse somepony of a crime, you’ll need evidence. Either that, or refute the evidence already stacked against Silver Spoon. Neither of which you’ve done.”

‘Blank flank, I swear to Celestia…’ Diamond closed her eyes and took a breath.

“Now, where was I?” Button asked.

“I went to the bathroom near the back of the school and… well, y’know.

“Hold it!” Diamond shouted with a cringe. She shook away the unpleasant image Button had plagued her mind with, and focused on her questioning. “Why did you go there? There are other bathrooms much closer to your classroom.”

“… True, but then I would have had to go back to lesson sooner,” Button said. “Actually, I didn’t need to use the bathroom desperately. I just wanted to sneak out and finish the Mario level I had started. I wasn’t sure how much battery I had left, and didn’t want to risk it running out.”

“So you cut class to play video games?” Cheerilee asked. “As a teacher, it is my duty to inform Ms. Blossomforth about this.”

“Go ahead. She already knows,” Button said, his brow furrowing and his face drawing closer to his console as he mashed the buttons much more furiously.

“Okay, continue yer testimony,” Apple Bloom said.

“Hold on! Just… gotta…” Button gasped, and then lowered his head as he sulked. “Shoot. I missed the treasure…” With a sigh, Button raised head back up and continued.

“As I was leaving, I saw it.
“Silver Spoon hit the fire alarm and walked away.”

“Objection!” The entire class gasped and leaned forward. They had been awaiting this. A cry of objection from the defence during a cross-examination. “Button, there’s something wrong with what you just said.”

“Is there? But that’s what really happened,” Button responded.

“Then allow me to just say: that’s impossible.”

Button flinched momentarily. “W-What do you mean?”

“Let’s take a look at the map, shall we?” Diamond pulled out her own copy of the school map and unrolled it onto her desk. “The bathroom that you came out of was… here. And the fire alarm that was pushed was…”

“Ah.”

Diamond nodded. “That’s right. You couldn’t have seen Silver Spoon pushing the fire alarm as you came out of the bathroom, because it’s around a corner!”

Button took a step back and pressed his left forehoof to his chest. “CRITICAL HIT!”

The class began cheering at Diamond Tiara’s first objection being a success. “Order!” Cheerilee shouted as she slammed her gavel onto her desk. “Order! Order!”

“Well, Button Mash?!” Diamond shouted as she pointed a hoof at the colt. “How do you explain this?!”

“… Oh!” Button gave a sheepish smile and scratched the back of his head. “S-Sorry, I kinda missed a detail.”

Cheerilee nodded. “Very well then. Please add this extra detail to your testimony.”

“Yeah, sure thing.”

“I stepped outside and heard a noise, so I decided to check it out.”

“Hold it!” Diamond shouted with an outstretched hoof. “What kind of noise did you hear that warranted you checking around the corner?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Button asked. “The sound of glass breaking, of course.”

“Glass breaking… Witness, add this to your testimony!”

Cheerilee slammed her gavel onto her desk. “I agree. Simply stating that you ‘head a noise’ is too vague. Please amend your testimony.”

“… Fine. Lemme just kit out my party.” The class was silent for a few seconds as Button focussed on his game. “Okay, I’m ready now.”

“I heard glass breaking. Naturally I’d be curious and go check it out.”

“Objection!” Diamond put a hoof to her chin. “Everypony, I think it’s fair to say that the sound of glass breaking… came from the fire alarm’s glass being smashed, right?”

“Duh,” Apple Bloom said, biting down onto her apple. “What’s yer point?”

“Well, after somepony breaks the glass on the fire alarm, what do they do next?”

“They push i- Wait!”

Diamond Tiara nodded, a smug grin on her face as she presented the photograph of the fire alarm. “According to the investigation, there was a dent in the alarm, suggesting that somepony kicked through the glass and hit the alarm hard.” Diamond Tiara slammed her hooves onto her table. “In other words, it shouldn’t have even been a second after the glass breaking… that the alarm itself started to ring!”

Button jumped, his cap launching into the air as its propellers spun and slowly landing back onto his head. “W-Well, that’s-”

“Button,” Diamond interrupted, “The sound of glass breaking shouldn’t have even registered with you, and even if it had, after hearing the fire alarm go off, your first thought should have been to evacuate, which would lead you away from the fire alarm!”

Button’s console slipped out of his hoof, but he quickly managed to catch it again. “T-That’s…” After a moment of thinking it over, Button gasped and took a step back from the podium. “SUPER EFFECTIVE!”

The class was in an uproar as they argued over whether Diamond Tiara was right or not. Cheerilee slammed her gavel onto her desk. “Order! Witness, you haven’t been lying in your testimony, have you?”

“N-No, I-”

“Then explain!” Diamond shouted. “Explain how you saw Silver Spoon push the fire alarm when she was around a corner!”

“I- I- I…” Something seemed to hit Button suddenly and his uneasy look faded as he cleared his throat. “Right, I remember now.”

“You ‘remember’?” Diamond asked. “What do you ‘remember’?”

“It seems we’ll need a new testimony,” Cheerilee said. “A more accurate one this time.”

Button nodded. “Yeah, sorry. I just used eye drops, so my testimony should be more accurate this time.” Button waited for a moment for a response, but none came. “Come on! Eye drops? Removes blindness? Blindness lowers accuracy?” There was still no response. “Man, you guys are SO LAME!”

-WITNESS TESTIMONY-

“As I said before, I was playing on my 3DS as I was walking.
“I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going, and walked into the filly’s restroom by mistake.
“As soon as I noticed my mistake, I turned and left immediately.
“That’s when I saw Silver Spoon.
“The filly’s restroom is on the opposite side, so you can totally see the fire alarm, see?”

-END TESTIMONY-

“… You must have been focussing hard to have wandered into the wrong restroom by mistake,” Cheerilee said.

Button simply shrugged. “Like I said, I wanted to finish the level before my battery ran out.”

Cheerilee nodded. “Very well then. Please begin the cross-examination, Diamond Tiara.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

-CROSS-EXAMINATION-

“As I said before, I was playing on my 3DS as I was walking.
“I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going, and walked into the filly’s restroom by mistake.
“As soon as I noticed my mistake, I turned and left immediately.

“Hold it!” Diamond put a hoof to her chin. “When and how did you notice? Were there other fillies in there at the time?” ‘If so, we have new witnesses to call forth.’

“It was the moment I walked in. I looked up from my game and saw the flower patterns on the wall. Sorry, but there was nopony in the room.”

“Too bad fer you, Diamond,” Apple Bloom said as she finished off her apple and threw it behind herself. “Nopony else there means nopony else ta throw suspicion on.”

Cheerilee nodded. “It seems a simple mistake for somepony so… distracted by his games. Please continue your testimony, witness.”

“That’s when I saw Silver Spoon.

“Hold it!” Diamond cocked her head to the side as she gave the colt a puzzled look. “Isn’t that odd?”

“What’s so odd about it?” Button asked.

“Well, you were so distracted by your game that you failed to even notice that you were going into the wrong restroom. How, then, did you notice a filly off in the background? As pretty as she is, I’d hardly think she would catch your attention when you’re so focussed on your game.”

“… True, but I did notice her,” Button said, sweat trickling down his head. “I wasn’t paying attention to my game at that time, since I didn’t want to mess up again and wind up in a janitor’s closet or something. I saw her.”

‘C’mon, think. There must be something else I can ask him.’ Diamond Tiara slammed her hooves onto her table. “But from where you were standing, you could only see the back of whoever set off the fire alarm. Not to mention, your view would be slightly obscured by the corner. How can you be sure that whoever you saw was in fact Silver Spoon?”

“UGH!” Button gulped and glanced around the room for a bit. “W-What’s your problem?! I saw her, okay?! I saw it all! Silver Spoon, the fire alarm, the hammer-”

“!” Diamond slammed her hooves onto her table again. “What was that? That last part you just said?”

Button gasped and jumped, his cap flying into the air and landing on top of his head again. “N-Nothing! I-I said I saw Silver Spoon and the fire alarm, nothing more!”

Apple Bloom was, at this point, holding an apple between both of her forehooves, squeezing so tightly that it threatened to crush the poor fruit. “Too late. We all heard it.”

“You said something about a hammer. What did you mean by that?”

Button hesitated. “I-I gave you my testimony. I should… probably get back to my own class now…”

Cheerilee’s gavel slammed onto her desk. “Witness, withholding information from the court is a serious offence. If you know something, then please share it.”

“Tell us about this hammer that you saw, now!” Diamond ordered, resisting the urge to grin as she saw Button sweat even more. ‘This is it. This is what I was after.’

“I-I saw S-Silver Spoon using a h-hammer to break the glass…”

“Objection!” Diamond Tiara held up Silver’s Spoon’s bandaged hoof for the class to see. “Miss Cheerilee, what the witness just said clearly contradicts this evidence.”

Cheerilee nodded. “Yes, even I can see that.”

“Button, perhaps you could explain how Silver Spoon’s hoof got injured if she truly did use a hammer to break the glass, as opposed to her hoof?”

Button turned his attention towards his game and mashed his console’s buttons more furiously than ever before. “That’s…”

“Objection!” Apple Bloom shouted, leaning onto her desk and directing a fierce glare towards the defence, heavy sweat dripping down her brow. “C’mon, Diamond! She clearly got cut by some stray glass as she smashed it with the hammer!”

“Objection!” Diamond slammed a hoof onto her table. “But you’ll notice that it’s her left hoof that’s cut, not her right. And Silver Spoon is right-hoofed!”

Button paused his game and yelped as he looked back up at Diamond Tiara.

“Breaking the glass with her weak hoof is understandable,” Diamond said, “But using a tool with her weak hoof? I don’t buy that. We also have another question on our hooves, though.”

“And what would that be?” Apple Bloom asked, her hooves shaking as she continued glaring towards her opponent.

“Well, recall my first cross-examination with this witness.”

“Button, the sound of glass breaking shouldn’t have even registered with you, and even if it had, after hearing the fire alarm go off, your first thought should have been to evacuate, which would lead you away from the fire alarm!”

“My argument then was that the sound of the glass breaking and the sound of the alarm ringing were too close together for Button to have wanted to check on the noise. However, if a hammer truly had been used, then that would have given him the time he needed to investigate before hearing the bell ring. So why, I ask, did he not testify about the hammer?”

“Ah have a feelin’ we’re about ta find out,” Apple Bloom said in a grim tone.

“The reason is simple. Silver Spoon using the hammer would make no sense, because of which hoof her wound is on. She couldn’t have used it, but somepony else could have.” Diamond Tiara lifted a hoof and pointed it towards Button Mash. “Somepony like our witness, who just happened to be at the scene when the alarm went off!”

Button shook his head quickly. “N-NO! THIS CAN’T BE! U-UP UP, DOWN DOWN…”

“No cheat code will get you out of this one, Button! Why did you mention a hammer? It’s because you used one to break the glass, isn’t that right?!”

“N-NO, I-”

“Objection!” Apple Bloom threw a half-eaten apple at Diamond Tiara, who only just managed to avoid it. “This is all baseless conjecture! Y’all don’t have a lick of proof, an’ he has no motive anyhow!”

“Y-Yeah! What she said!”

Cheerilee shook her head with a frown. “Apple Bloom, please refrain from throwing food at the defence.”

“Objection!” Diamond slammed her hoof onto her table. “Motive? I’m sorry, but does Silver Spoon have a clear motive? As for proof, just look at him!” All eyes turned to the shaking, heavily-sweating Button Mash, who had to put his PSP down to avoid the risk of breaking it. “He’s clearly hiding something, and his testimony so far has been nothing but a pile of contradictions!”

“B-But he-”

“Answer me this then, Apple Bloom: when does a witness repeatedly give false testimony to a court? When they’re trying to cover up something! Like their own guilt!”

“Objection!” The room fell silent. All eyes shifted to Apple Bloom, but she seemed just as confused as everypony else. All eyes moved back to Diamond Tiara, but she too was confused. Finally, all eyes moved to the centre to focus on Button Mash… who had thrown his cap onto the ground and was now glaring at the pink filly to his right. “That’s it! I’ve had it! Fine, you wanna know the truth?! The real truth as to why I was there?!”

“… Looks like we’re about to get our confession,” Diamond said.

“Darn it! This can’t be! Ah was so close!” Apple Bloom shouted, banging her hoof onto her table repeatedly.

“Yeah, I confess alright. I confess that I snuck into the filly’s room on purpose to take pictures!” The room fell silent once more.

“You… You what?” Diamond asked.

“You heard me! The guys and me were curious about what the filly’s bathroom looked like. Some of us thought it was a lot cleaner than ours, and others thought it was like a whole new world altogether. So we picked straws, and I got the short one, so I had to go in and take pictures. I used my 3DS’s camera. The pictures are all on there. That’s the real reason I was there. I chose that room because, like you said, it was out of the way, so I figured it was my best bet of not being discovered.”

“… That’s the crime you’re confessing to?” Diamond asked. “That you snuck into the filly’s restroom and took pictures?”

“Yeah. And… I never saw Silver Spoon at the fire alarm. I only saw a shadow put the hammer back and run away. I… I thought that, if anypony knew I was near the scene when the fire alarm went off, I would become a suspect right away. But when I heard they already had a suspect, I decided to become a witness to make sure she was found guilty… I-I’m sorry, Silver Spoon. I just didn’t want ponies to think I had pulled a false alarm. I was just… so scared, and-”

Cheerilee shook her head. “I understand that you were afraid, Button Mash. But regardless, giving false testimony is a serious offence… and somepony perfectly innocent may have been found guilty as a result.”

“And as things stand,” Diamond added, “You’re still a suspect.”

“W-What?!” Button shouted. “But, my pictures! They prove that I was there for a different reason!”

Diamond shook her head. “They only prove that you were at the scene of the crime. They don’t prove that you didn’t pull the alarm.”

“N-No…”

“Everypony who was in school that day was accounted for,” Diamond continued. “Everypony, except for yourself and Silver Spoon. And since you’re the only one we know for sure was actually at the scene…”

“Things are not looking good for you,” Cheerilee finished.

“… There… There was one more,” Button said. “There’s another pony… who wasn’t accounted for.”

The silence hanging over the class lifted as everypony started muttering amongst themselves, until Cheerilee’s gavel silence them. “There was?” she asked.

“Yeah. I… As I was evacuating, I ran into somepony in the locker room. They said: ‘I won’t tell anypony what you did, if you stay silent about me being here.’. Isn’t that strange?”

‘What the?’ Diamond thought to herself. ‘Is he just making stuff up? But, the locker room… Something was stolen from Silver Spoon’s locker. I wonder…’

“Witness, talk!” Apple Bloom ordered. “Who was this pony that y’all ran into!”

“… It was…” Button sighed. “I’m sorry… but I’ve got no reason to hide it anymore, Berry Pinch.”

“B-Berry Pinch?” Apple Bloom asked.

“It was her?” Diamond asked.

Button nodded. “Yeah. It was her alright. I didn’t see her at the scene of the crime, but still, she has no alibi now, right?”

“Objection!” Apple Bloom shook her head. “Berry Pinch was off school sick that day! There’s no way that she could have been there!”

“B-But I saw her!” Button pleaded.

“After your testimony so far, y’all will forgive me if ah have a hard time believin’ ya.”

“But I-”

“Objection!” Diamond shouted all of a sudden, startling the class. “Blank flank, this witness has clearly testified to seeing another pony in the school that day. A pony who is now a suspect.” Diamond shook her head. “No matter how poor his earlier testimony was, if we refuse to investigate this, we might miss something valuable.”

“That is correct,” Cheerilee agreed. “We must give all pieces of evidence and all witnesses due consideration, Apple Bloom, before I am able to reach a verdict.”

“Blank flank, call Berry Pinch up here to testify, now!” Diamond narrowed her eyes as she scanned the crowd for the mentioned filly. ‘I’m finally going to get to the bottom of this.’

“Diamond Tiara, that is my job,” Cheerilee said before clearing her throat. “Apple Bloom? Could you please call Berry Pinch up here as a witness?”

“… Ah guess ah have no choice,” Apple Bloom said in a bitter tone. She turned towards the class and was about to speak up, before she noticed a pink Unicorn filly already making her way towards the stand. “… Button, y’all can go sit back down now.”

“R-Right…” Button picked up his PSP and slowly made his way back to his seat, passing by the approaching filly on the way.

“… Well then, witness, why don’t we all start with your name an’ occupation?”

The filly smiled and nodded. “My name is Berry Pinch. I’m a student here, and I also help my mum out at her store sometimes.”

“Witness,” Diamond began, “Is it indeed true that you were in school on the day of the false alarm?”

“… It is,” Berry Pinch said, which stirred up the class. Cheerilee’s gavel banged a few times, before Berry Pinch continued. “I came in because I didn’t want to miss any school. Mummy says that a good education is the key to a happy life. That and alcohol.”

Diamond raised an eyebrow at that. ‘Just what kinds of things does her mother teach her?’

“Berry Pinch, you realise that you are now a suspect, correct?” Cheerilee asked, receiving a nod from the filly. “Very well then. The court asks that you explain what you were doing when you came into school on the day of the crime.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

-WITNESS TESTIMONY-

“I didn’t want to miss any lessons, so I came into school to attend classes.
“Suddenly, I felt sick, so I rushed to the nearest bathroom.
“After finding a bathroom, I… *ahem* threw up a bit…
“I then left and went back to the locker room, which I skipped past on my way to the bathroom.
“I didn’t go anywhere near the scene of the crime that day.”

-END TESTIMONY-

“Is that so?” Cheerilee asked. “You never approached the scene of the crime…”

“That’s right!” Berry Pinch replied with a wide smile. “Why would I? There’s nothing even back there!”

“Yes, that is true,” Cheerilee said. “Diamond Tiara, please begin your cross-examination.”

“Yes, ma’am.” ‘If my hunch is right, then Berry Pinch has to be guilty! I just need to prove it somehow…’

-CROSS-EXAMINATION-

“I didn’t want to miss any lessons, so I came into school to attend classes.

“Hold it!” Diamond put a hoof to her chin. “Even though you were sick? Wouldn’t your mum have noticed?”

“I snuck out! Mummy’s easily distracted, and I pretended I was asleep, so I knew she wouldn’t bother me!”

“A very deceptive little filly, aren’t you?” Cheerilee asked. Berry Pinch just laughed, but Diamond Tiara continued glaring.

‘Deceptive indeed. I’ll expose your lies, somehow.’

Apple Bloom watched in anticipation as the testimony continued.

“Suddenly, I felt sick, so I rushed to the nearest bathroom.

“Hold it!” Diamond looked down at her map of the school. “Where about did you start feeling sick?”

“Uh… Oh, it was just as I reached the locker room!”

“There’s a bathroom just around the corner,” Diamond Tiara pointed out. “I’m guessing it didn’t take long for you to reach a bathroom, then.”

“You guess right!”

Diamond gritted her teeth together as she watched the other filly continue to smile. ‘Darn it! Just you wait ‘til I wipe that big smile off your face!’ Diamond looked over at Apple Bloom, who seemed to be focussing on something very intently. ‘What’s she looking at?’

“After finding a bathroom, I… *ahem* threw up a bit…

“Hold it!” Diamond shouted whilst cringing. “I thought you just had a simple cold?”

“Doesn’t stop me from throwing up,” Berry Pinch said with a blush. “Um, I’d like to move on past this part…”

Cheerilee nodded. “Agreed. I don’t see what relevant information we could possibly gain from this.”

Berry Pinch’s smile returned to her face. “Right, so next I…”

“I then left and went back to the locker room, which I skipped past on my way to the bathroom.

“Hold it!” Diamond looked down at her map of the school. “It was here that you encountered Button, right?”

“That’s right! The fire alarm had already been set off by that point, so I was about to leave when I bumped into him. I didn’t want anypony to worry about me, so I told him not to tell anypony I was here.”

“Diamond?” Cheerilee asked. “Do you see something wrong with that?”

Diamond furrowed her brow as she thought hard about it. ‘Come on, come on! There has to be a contradiction!’ After a few long moments of mulling it over inside her head, Diamond sighed. “No… I see no problems.”

Apple Bloom took out an apple and bit into it in an aggressive manner. Diamond Tiara took a step back as she saw this, wondering what was wrong.

“Very well then,” Cheerilee said. “Witness, please continue.”

“I didn’t go anywhere near the scene of the crime that day.”

“Hold it!” Diamond slammed her hooves onto her table. “… A-Are you sure?”

“Hmmm… Yep! I’m positive!” Berry Pinch replied with a smile. “… Was there anything else?”

“… N-No…”

Cheerilee’s gavel slammed onto her desk. “Well then, it appears that we have reached the end of this cross-examination.”

“Does that mean I can sit back down now?” Berry Pinch asked.

Cheerilee nodded. “Yes. It would appear that you have nothing to do with this case after all, which returns us to our-”

“Objection!” All eyes turned to Apple Bloom, who was glaring furiously across the room and at Diamond Tiara. “Miss Cheerilee, jus’ hold on one second!”

“A-Apple Bloom?” Cheerilee asked. “Is there a problem? Do you need to use the little filly’s room?”

“Diamond, what’re ya doin’?! Why haven’t ya pointed out her contradiction yet?!”

“!” Diamond’s eyes widened. ‘Her contradiction? Was there one there?’

“Uh, excuse me,” Berry Pinch said, gaining Apple Bloom’s attention. “You’re the prosecutor, right? Why are you helping the defence?”

“… It’s the defences job ta point out yer lies,” Apple Bloom said. “Yet she’s not doin’ it, an’ ah wanna know why!” Apple Bloom slammed her hooves onto her desk. “Diamond, don’t rush into this! Think about it carefully, an’ try thinkin’ outside the box fer once!”

“Blank flank, what are you-”

“It’s touching that you wish to be a fair sport and help your opponent out,” Berry Pinch said, “But this cross-examination is already over. Right, Miss Cheerilee?”

“Y-Yes. That’s right,” Cheerilee said, though Apple Bloom appeared not to be listening.

“Diamond, don’t forget that evidence isn’t the only thing ya have! There’re ponies, too!”

‘Ponies…’ Diamond Tiara put a hoof to her chin as she thought. ‘But, the only other ponies involved in this case are… !’ The class jumped as Diamond Tiara slammed her hooves suddenly onto her table. “Miss Cheerilee, please let me cross-examine again! I promise I’ve got something this time!”

“… Your cross-examination is already over,” Cheerilee said.

“Too bad,” Berry Pinch said, turning around to walk away. She was stopped by the sound of Cheerilee’s voice.

“Very well then. Since this is only a mock trial, I will show some leniency and allow you another chance.”

“What?!” Berry Pinch shouted, surprising her teacher. “Uh, I mean… what?”

“… But be warned, Diamond Tiara, that this is your last chance,” Cheerilee added, pushing Berry Pinch’s outburst to the side of her mind. “Fail to find something, and I will have to dismiss Berry Pinch as a suspect of this case.”

Diamond nodded. “Yes, ma’am. You won’t be disappointed.”

Berry Pinch gritted her teeth together, but soon composed herself. “Fine. It won’t make a bit of difference, anyway.”

‘That’s what you think.' Diamond looked across the room to see Apple Bloom biting nervously into her apple. ‘That blank flank… what’s her deal?’

-CROSS-EXAMINATION-

“I didn’t want to miss any lessons, so I came into school to attend classes.
“Suddenly, I felt sick, so I rushed to the nearest bathroom.
“After finding a bathroom, I… *ahem* threw up a bit…
“I then left and went back to the locker room, which I skipped past on my way to the bathroom.
“I didn’t go anywhere near the scene of the crime that day.”

“Objection!” Diamond turned towards the class and pointed a hoof out towards a colt. “Miss Cheerilee, please recall Button Mash’s story for a second.”

“Yeah. I… As I was evacuating, I ran into somepony in the locker room. They said: ‘I won’t tell anypony what you did, if you stay silent about me being here.’. Isn’t that strange?”

“Berry Pinch, is it safe to assume that this secret you had on Button was him entering the filly’s room.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Berry Pinch said. “I’m sorry, I knew I shouldn’t have done that. Truthfully I had no intention of telling anypony anyway… W-Why are you grinning like that?”

“Because you’ve just sealed your fate,” Diamond said. “If you knew that Button Mash entered the filly’s room… then that means that you must have seen him, correct? Which means that you were there, at the scene of the crime!”

“GAH!” Berry Pinch flinched and gritted her teeth together.

“And as you testified earlier, you used the bathroom that was right around the corner to the locker room! Therefore… what were you doing at the bathroom near the back of the building?!”

Berry Pinch yelped as Diamond pointed her hoof towards her. “I-I-I-I-”

“Nice work, Diamond!” Apple Bloom said, now taking a bite out of her apple in a much more calm manner. “Ah was wonderin’ when ya’d catch on. But now it’s back ta mah real job. Which includes me pointin’ out that this here witness has no motive.”

“!” Berry Pinch’s smile returned and she nodded her head. “Y-Yeah. I’ve got no reason to do something like tha-”

“Obejction!” Diamond Tiara shouted. “Silver Spoon and Button Mash also lack motives!”

“But we still have evidence fer ‘em,” Apple Bloom pointed out. “Fer Berry Pinch, we lack both evidence and motive. An’ when ah say she has no motive, ah mean she really has no motive.”

“W-What do you mean?”

“… Well, why don’t we let the witness herself testify?” Apple Bloom asked. “About how there’s nothin’ in it fer an honour student ta go pullin’ a false alarm stunt.”

Diamond Tiara gasped. “A-An honour student?!”

“That’s right. Yer grades are among the highest in our school, an’ y’all are a star in the school’s choir, ain’t ya?” Apple Bloom asked Berry Pinch, who simply nodded. “Well then, let’s hear it: why would an honour student such as yerself go pullin’ a stunt like triggerin’ a false alarm?”

Berry Pinch nodded again. “Yes. Gladly.”

-WITNESS TESTIMONY-

“You want to know why I would pull the fire alarm like that? It’s simple: I wouldn’t.
“My grades are among the highest in the school, and I’m a star in the school’s choir.
“Why would I tarnish my good name by pulling a false alarm? What would I have to gain from it?
“Furthermore, keep in mind that I was sick that day. Getting away would have been difficult, so the risks were too high.
“In short, I have no motive.”

-END TESTIMONY-

‘Much of that was just what Apple Bloom had just said,’ Diamond thought to herself. ‘The stupid blank flank should just as well have testified.’

“Diamond Tiara, I can see that you are thinking very hard,” Cheerilee said with an encouraging smile on her face.

“Why bother?” Berry Pinch asked. “It’s not like you’ll find anything anyway.”

‘… Was Berry Pinch always so cocky?’ Diamond shook her head. “We’ll see about that. I’m ready to cross-examine any time.”

Cheerilee nodded. “Then please begin.”

-CROSS-EXAMINATION-

“You want to know why I would pull the fire alarm like that? It’s simple: I wouldn’t.
“My grades are among the highest in the school, and I’m a star in the school’s choir.
“Why would I tarnish my good name by pulling a false alarm? What would I have to gain from it?
“Furthermore, keep in mind that I was sick that day. Getting away would have been difficult, so the risks were too high.
“In short, I have no motive.”

“Objection!” Diamond Tiara searched through her bag for her piece of evidence. “Uh, one second… No, no, no… I’ve got to sort this bag out some day…”

“Hurry it up already,” Apple Bloom said. “We ain’t gettin’ any young-”

“Got it!” Diamond shouted, pulling out a piece of paper that was folded into a container. She also pulled out another piece of paper by mistake, which fell down onto the floor. ‘Oops.’ She placed the stray piece of paper to one side, and presented her evidence to the class. “Miss Cheerilee, in this container, there is a single strand of purple hair.”

“Oh? And… what does that prove?” Cheerilee asked.

“The hair in question was found in the defendant’s locker. But of course, as we all know, Silver Spoon does not have purple hair.”

“Where are y’all goin’ with this?” Apple Bloom asked as she took a bite out of her apple.

“In addition to this hair being left behind, something was taken.” Diamond Tiara nodded. “That’s right. In accordance with Picard’s Principle, when a crime is committed something is taken away… and something is left behind. In this case, Silver Spoon’s doll was stolen, and this hair was left behind!”

“Oh my!” Cheerilee exclaimed, giving Silver Spoon a sympathetic look. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry to hear about this. I remember when I was a filly and my doll was stolen, and-”

“Objection!” Apple Bloom shook her head with a frown. “And this has what to do with the case?”

“Well… the witness, Berry Pinch… what colour is her hair?” Apple Bloom’s eyes widened and she choked for a second on her apple. “That’s right. One shade of her hair is purple!”

“Wait,” Cheerilee started, “You aren’t suggesting-”

“Objection!” Apple Bloom interrupted. “Y-You aren’t sayin’-”

Diamond Tiara nodded. “I am. The defence hereby accuses the witness, Berry Pinch, of triggering the false alarm! Her motive? To clear out the building so that she could raid the defendant’s locker!”

Berry Pinch, by this point gritting her teeth together and glaring at Diamond Tiara, slammed her hooves onto the podium. “How dare you?! Making accusations like that… That hair is insufficient evidence!”

“Care to explain where it came from then?” Diamond Tiara asked.

“Hah! You fool!” Berry Pinch shouted, startling everypony in the room. “Don’t you realise what you just mentioned? It’s not Picard’s Principle, it’s Locard’s! And the principle in question is this: when two objects interact, there in an exchange of material from each to each other.

“That hair could have come from anywhere, even from Silver Spoon! If she had interacted with a somepony or something with purple hair, it could have gotten onto her, and then fallen off into her locker.” Berry Pinch took a bow. “It’s as simple as that. Furthermore, there’s no telling whose hair that is, or when it was deposited into the locker.”

“That’s… very well said, Berry Pinch,” Cheerilee said with a surprised look.

Diamond’s look mirrored her teacher’s. ‘W-Was she always this smart? I mean, yeah she’s smart, but this smart? I didn’t even understand most of what she just said!’

“Diamond Tiara, the witness has a good point,” Cheerilee said. “If you wish to suggest that her motive for triggering the fire alarm was to cause a distraction in order to steal Silver Spoon’s doll, then you shall need further proof.”

“…” Diamond Tiara nodded. “Very well then. I’ll give you that proof. The hair was just for starters. Behold my irrefutable evidence!” Diamond Tiara reached into her bag once more and pulled out the report on Silver Spoon’s locker. “Take that!”

“What’s that?” Apple Bloom asked.

“This, my dear blank flank, is the report for the investigation on Silver Spoon’s locker. You see, Silver Spoon first noticed that her doll was missing when she went to collect it… immediately after the all clear was given to go back into the school.”

“Wait, then that means-”

“Correct,” Diamond said. “Only Button Mash and Berry Pinch passed by that locker room unsupervised, and so the only ones who had an opportunity to steal Silver Spoon’s doll was those two.”

“That certainly seems to be the case,” Cheerilee said, “But then where’s the evidence that shows it wasn’t Button?”

“Well for one thing, if he was seen carrying a doll outside, somepony would have said something, don’t you think?”

“That’s true… Since it was an evacuation, he didn’t have his bag with him.”

“Objection!” Apple Bloom shouted. “But if he was on his own, he could’ve hidden it somewhere!”

“Secondly, there’s the report of the investigation done on the locker. It shows that the locker was forced open, but no signs of tools of brute force were present. How, then, was the locker opened up?”

Apple Bloom’s eyes widened. “Ah.”

Diamond Tiara nodded. “It figures you would catch on quickly. That’s right. To take a quote from our last trial, when Apple Bloom was defending me: it was magic!”

“N-No!” Berry Pinch shouted, sweat running down her brow as the class chattered behind her. Cheerilee banged her gavel several times in order to silence them.

“Order! Order! Diamond Tiara, i-if this is true… then there truly can be no other culprit than Berry Pinch!”

“T-That’s wrong!” Berry Pinch shouted. “I… I wouldn’t do something like that! Please!”

“Objection!” Apple Bloom slammed a hoof onto her table. “This is all circumstantial evidence! The locker was ‘forced open’? How do you know that it wasn’t picked open?! There’s an emergency keyhole in case we forget our combinations, y’know!”

Diamond Tiara shook her head. “Not a chance. You see, the kind stallion at the precinct explained it to me. Picking locks leaves marks around the keyhole. Furthermore, the lock was melted on the inside, which proves that some high-energy force had been used to open it.”

“B-But Berry Pinch is still jus’ a filly! Can her magic even do somethin’ like that?!”

“Well who else could it have been?!”

“M-Maybe it was…” Apple Bloom gasped, and straightened herself out quickly, grinning once more as she regained her composure. “Right. One of the fireponies that went in was a Unicorn. She could’ve done it.”

“Objection!” Diamond shouted. “For what purpose would-”

“Oh ah’m sorry. Are y’all suggestin’ that Berry Pinch had a purpose for stealin’ that scruffy ol’ doll Silver Spoon’s been draggin’ along lately?”

A loud bang caused everypony to jump. After a few seconds looking around for the source of the noise, everypony’s attention fell onto Berry Pinch, whose hoof was resting on top of her podium… nestled nicely inside of a dent. “… O-Oh! Sorry! I… don’t know what happened there…”

Apple Bloom was the first to speak up again, after clearing her throat. “A-Anyway, while it’s a nice theory y’all came up with, ah’m afraid it won’t hold up.”

“… But, she certainly has provided a believable motive,” Cheerilee said, surprising Apple Bloom. “Though you’re right about the fireponies, I have to wonder if somepony like that really would raid a child’s locker?”

“Um, excuse me,” Berry Pinch said, drawing all eyes towards her once more. “Aren’t you all missing something really obvious?”

“… And what would that be?” Diamond asked.

“Well, it’s impossible for me to have set off the fire alarm, you know?”

“!” Diamond slammed her hooves onto the table. “What do you mean?! Explain, now!”

Cheerilee slammed her gavel onto her desk. “Witness, please testify to the court as to why it would be impossible for you to have triggered the fire alarm.”

“With pleasure.”

-WITNESS TESTIMONY-

“If you’ll recall, I saw Button as he was leaving the filly’s room.
“After that, he went to the locker room, and ran into me.
“For that to happen, I would have had to have been in front of him.
“If I triggered the fire alarm, then I would have been behind him.
“There are no other routes to the locker room, and Button would have noticed if I had run past him.
“In other words, it would have been impossible for me to trigger the fire alarm and still beat him to the locker room.”

-END TESTIMONY-

“… It does seem as though you could not have triggered the fire alarm under those circumstances,” Cheerilee said.

“I know, right?” Berry Pinch asked in a cheerful tone, her previous smile now back on her face. “I’d say there’s hardly even a need for a cross-examination at this point!”

Cheerilee shook her head. “I’m sorry, but that would be unfair to the defence. They have a right to cross-examine, after all.”

“I know! I’m just saying.”

Cheerilee turned towards Diamond Tiara. “Well then, you may begin when ready.”

“… Y-Yes, ma’am,” Diamond Tiara responded. ‘This is bad. If I can’t prove she was able to pull the fire alarm, then my whole case falls apart.’

-CROSS-EXAMINATION-

“If you’ll recall, I saw Button as he was leaving the filly’s room.
“After that, he went to the locker room, and ran into me.
“For that to happen, I would have had to have been in front of him.
“If I triggered the fire alarm, then I would have been behind him.

“Hold it!” Diamond shouted. “A-Are you absolutely sure? I mean, you could have run past the restroom while he was still in there.”

“But didn’t he testify that the alarm rang after he left? He even saw a shadow near the alarm.”

“He could have been lying!” Diamond pointed out, pointing her hoof towards the witness.

“But why would he?” Berry Pinch asked, prompting a confused look to appear on Diamond Tiara’s face. “I mean, if he’s innocent, why would he lie about that? The way I see it, he would only lie if he was guilty. And if Button Mash is guilty… then I’m innocent,” she finished with furrowed brows and a stern look on her face, catching Diamond Tiara off guard. It only lasted for a second before her face returned to its previous cheeriness that it was before. “You see? Now can we just end this already? My legs are getting tired.”

“…” Diamond slammed her hooves onto her table. ‘This is bad. I can see a way she could have pulled this off, but it doesn’t make sense, because she’s a Unicorn. If it was somepony else, maybe, but not Berry Pinch…’ Realisation struck Diamond Tiara suddenly. ‘Wait. If she was somepony else… Come to think of it, she’s felt like somepony else this whole time.

Diamond’s eyes shifted to the piece of paper on her right for just a moment, which she could now identify as the news article from earlier, and she gasped. ‘I-It couldn’t be! That’s crazy! … Crazy? That’s what I kept thinking during Apple Bloom’s defence, too. But this is on a whole other level! … But, if you think of it this way, everything fits… Everything fits. But do I dare say it?’

“Diamond Tiara?” Cheerilee asked, startling the filly. “Are you okay?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah! I-I’m fine…” ‘If I don’t do this, then Silver Spoon will still be a suspect!’ “I’m ready to continue my cross-examination now.”

A laugh came from Berry Pinch’s mouth. “Heh. Why bother?”

“There are no other routes to the locker room, and Button would have noticed if I had run past him.

“Objection!” Diamond Tiara froze, her hoof outstretched and pointing at the witness. ‘A-Am I really going to do it?’

“Is there something wrong, Diamond Tiara?” Cheerilee asked. “You look rather uneasy.”

“Don’t go throwin’ out objections if’n ya got nothin’ ta object to,” Apple Bloom said as she took a bite out of her apple.

Diamond took a deep breath… and then looked down at her map of the school building. “There… is another way that you could used to reach the locker room.”

“… What?” Berry Pinch asked. “You must be desperate, because I certainly don’t see any other way at all.”

“… It’s there,” Diamond insisted. “There was another route alright.”

Cheerilee raised her eyebrow as she looked over the map. “I’m sorry, Diamond Tiara, but I really can’t see this ‘other way’ that you’re talking about.”

“Perhaps ya’d like ta show us?” Apple Bloom suggested. “Where’s this ‘other way’ that the witness could’ve used to reach the locker room from the fire alarm?”

“Take that!” Diamond Tiara pointed to the spot of the map. “It’s… here.”

“That’s…” Apple Bloom examined it for a second. “… The nurse’s office?”

“There’s an air vent there,” Diamond pointed out. “The nurse’s office was closed that day, because the nurse was helping out at the Ponyville hospital. The witness could have used this air vent to cut through, and then circled around to approach the locker room from the opposite direction to Button!”

“Objection!” Apple Bloom shook her head. “Sorry, but that won’t do,” she said as she finished off her apple and threw the core behind herself. “That air vent’s pretty high up, and there was nothin’ there that could’ve been used by the witness to reach it.”

“… You’re right,” Diamond Tiara said, shocking both Silver Spoon and Apple Bloom. Neither had ever expected in their wildest dreams that Diamond Tiara would agree with Apple Bloom on something. “The vent was too high up. There was simply no way for Berry Pinch to have reached it.”

The entire class was silent, until finally Apple Bloom spoke up. “Y-Yeah, well, ah’m glad y’all can see the flaw in yer logic.”

“Indeed,” Diamond continued, “Berry Pinch could not have reached the vent… but somepony else could have. If that somepony had wings, it’d be possible.”

“… What’re ya tryin’ ta say?” Apple Bloom asked.

“You know, it’s been bothering me this whole time, ever since Berry Pinch first testified. Ever since then, this whole trial has seemed… strange. Things just didn’t seem right, like something was out of place. And now, I know what that something is.”

“Please enlighten us,” Apple Bloom said in a tone of uncertainty, a puzzled look on her face.

“Gladly. That thing was… Berry Pinch.”

“M-Me?” Berry Pinch asked.

Diamond nodded. “Ever since you started testifying, I kept having this feeling that you… weren’t quite right. Everything about you just seems off, including the way you’ve been acting… and now I know why.”

“A-And why is that? Your imagination?”

Diamond shook her head. “It’s simple: you’re not Berry Pinch.” The entire class was in an uproar almost immediately, and was silenced moments later by Cheerilee’s gavel. “That’s right! You’re not Berry Pinch! As the prosecution has claimed, the real Berry Pinch has too much to lose from a stunt like this, and would hardly be interested in a scruffy old doll like the one Silver Spoon had!”

“What did you say?!” Berry Pinch shouted. “I-I mean, what nonsense is this? Of course I’m the real Berry Pinch!”

“The real Berry Pinch,” Diamond continued, “May or may not be powerful enough to force a lock open with her magic, I don’t know. But I do know that she can’t fly. If you used that vent to cut Button off, then it would have to mean that you aren’t who you appear to be.”

“Objection!” Apple Bloom turned to Cheerilee. “Miss Cheerilee, ah think the defence has lost her mind!”

Cheerilee nodded in agreement. “Diamond Tiara, if this is a joke, then we are not amused!”

“It’s no joke. I can’t say who the witness standing before us is, but I have proof showing what they are.”

“‘What they are’?” Cheerilee asked.

“That’s right. In actuality, this witness is…” Diamond looked over at the paper to her right, and gulped. “Take that!” She grabbed the paper and held it up for all to see.

“An article on the Royal Wedding fiasco?” Apple Bloom asked, before gasping as she caught on to what Diamond Tiara was suggesting. “Y-Y’all can’t be serious!”

“I am,” Diamond said. “The witness standing before us… is a changeling, disguised as a pony!”

The class was once more in an uproar, but this time it was not silenced by a gavel. It fell silent when Berry Pinch shouted: “How dare you?! What proof do you have of such a thing?!”

“Objection!” Apple Bloom shook her head. “What in tarnation has gotten into ya all of a sudden?!”

“Wasn’t it you who told me to think outside the box?” Diamond asked.

“Not so far outside the box ya can’t even see the box!”

“Well then, let’s do a test, shall we?” Diamond Tiara turned towards Berry Pinch. “Witness, I wonder if you could do something for us?”

“Yeah? What’s that?” Berry Pinch asked.

“Oh, it’s nothing complicated… Just sing the school’s anthem for us, okay?”

The class fell silent, everypony waiting for Berry Pinch’s singing voice. But it never came. “T-The school’s anthem?”

“Oh? Surely you know the words. After all, Berry Pinch is the star of the school’s choir, and knows the words to our anthem by heart.”

“O-Oh, yeah! I do, but… y-you see, my throat is… still a little sore from my cold, and-” Berry Pinch was cut off by a series of coughs escaping her throat.

“Oh that’s fine,” Diamond said. “You don’t have to sing it. You can just tell us what the lines are.” Berry Pinch froze and remained silent at that. “Too hard? How about something easier, then? What’s your favourite food? Father’s name? Grandmother’s? How did you get your Cutie Mark? What was your nickname in kindergarten? Who was the first colt you liked? Come on, you should be able to answer these…” Diamond Tiara lifted her hoof up and pointed it at the glaring, shaking figure of Berry Pinch. “… If you are truly the real Berry Pinch!”

The students and teacher all fell silent as they felt the classroom begin to shake, and chills ran down the spines of everypony present as they witnessed the filly standing at the podium glowing green. “G-G-G-G-G-G…

“GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Once the green flames surrounding the filly’s body diminished, all that remained… was the black, holey body of a changeling drone.

“… Case closed,” Diamond Tiara said in a cool tone, though the shaking of her body, and her hiding behind Silver Spoon, betrayed the cool image that she was trying to maintain.

The entire class was in an uproar, but this time Cheerilee made no effort to stop it. “Diamond Tiara?” she asked.

“Yes, Miss Cheerilee?”

“C-Could you… please explain what this is all about? And… And why there is a changeling standing in my classroom?”

Diamond took a moment to think it over. “Well, here’s what I’ve managed to piece together. As you know, Silver Spoon recently had her doll stolen from her.”

“It’s not a doll!” the changeling shouted. “It’s an action figure! There’s a difference!”

Diamond Tiara ducked back behind Silver Spoon again as the changeling’s fierce gaze was directed towards her. “A-As I was saying-”

“And it’s not hers! It’s mine! It’s my precious belonging, and you’re not taking it away from me again!”

“Order!” Cheerilee shouted, slamming her gavel onto her desk several times. “So am I to believe that Diamond’s story is true? You triggered the fire alarm for a chance to steal Silver Spoon’s doll?”

Diamond nodded her head. “That would explain how not only magic was used to force the locker open, but the only possible culprit, the supposed ‘Berry Pinch’, was able to get past Button and cut him off. No matter how you look at it, none of it makes sense… unless the culprit is somepony else altogether. Somepony who can both fly, and use magic.”

“Then,” Apple Bloom started, “The ‘shadow’ that Button saw… was actually the changeling?”

“It must have been,” Diamond said. “Like the witness said, Button would only have lied about the shadow if he was guilty. But there was no clear motive for Button, and it wouldn’t make sense for him to pull a false alarm trick like that.”

“Why is that?” Cheerilee asked.

“Well, a false alarm case means questioning, right? But remember that Button was trying to keep his scheme of photographing the filly’s bathroom quiet. An interrogation could have revealed what he was really up to.”

“Ah, I see what you mean.”

“Heh. Pretty clever, aren’t you?” All eyes turned to the changeling as he spoke.

“… ‘When you’ve eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbably, must be the truth’. That was a line in one of my daddy’s novels. I knew it would be impossible for you to be the culprit if you were just a Pegasus or a Unicorn, but I also knew that Silver Spoon and Button were innocent, and that you were the only other suspect who could have done it. However unlikely it seemed… this case only made sense if you made one assumption.”

“That I was a changeling in disguise.” The changeling let out a soft laugh and shook his head slowly. “This town really is crazy. There’s a filly who actually dared make a claim like that, there’s this class putting on a trial to determine Silver Spoon’s guilt, and there’s that crazy pink pony who made me lose my memento.”

“Memento?” Apple Bloom asked.

The changeling nodded. “My name is… Mir. I am a researcher, like my late mother. We were both studying equine magic, in an attempt to combine it with our own to create a new, more powerful magic… Our experiments attracted a pack of timberwolves, and my mother sacrificed herself to save me.” The entire class fell silent, with the exception of a few gasps from the crowd.

“That action figure, his name is Star Magister. He’s the greatest hero ever born! He protects the weak and the innocent from bad guys by using magic to beat them up!”

“Sounds like a cheesy children’s comic,” Diamond commented.

“… Yeah, I guess so,” Mir admitted. “Still, I’m his biggest fan! I’ve bought every volume so far, and my mother bought me that toy before we left for Equestria! It’s the last thing she ever gave me… so I cherish it.”

“But then y’all lost it,” Apple Bloom surmised.

Mir nodded. “I’m only ten. I can’t continue my mother’s research on my own. So I decided to head back home, to our Queen, and give her my mother’s incomplete notes. But while I was passing through town, I was jumped by some crazy pink pony who said a bunch of things I didn’t understand. I didn’t realise until later that I dropped my toy, at which point, it had already been picked up.”

All eyes turned to Silver Spoon, who looked down at the floor with an uneasy look on her face. “So, you were the colt who approached me, asking for it back?” She looked up to see Mir nodding. “… I really grew attached to that thing, though, and you had no proof that it was yours, so-”

“I know,” Mir said. “You don’t need to explain. I couldn’t prove it was mine, or tell you how important it was to me, without exposing my true identity to you. That’s why I followed you for a few days, to find out where you would put it.”

“So that was you.”

“Yes. And when I noticed that you put it in your locker during classes, I schemed to take it back then.”

“But you couldn’t risk breaking into her locker when just anypony could walk by and spot you,” Diamond Tiara said. “You needed an opening.”

“The fire alarm seemed like the perfect distraction. The one at the back should have been perfect, too. Nopony was likely to go there…”

“Nopony except somepony who had the same thought,” Diamond said. “Button also wanted to remain unseen, and that’s why you two saw each other.”

“But why go through the trouble of framin’ Silver Spoon?” Apple Bloom asked.

“A terrifying thought passed through my head. Several, actually. What if Silver Spoon got to the locker before me, and took out her new ‘doll’ to save it from the fire? Or what if an investigation into the false alarm somehow alerted everypony to my presence? I decided to knock out Silver Spoon and place the piece of glass in her hoof to draw attention to her. I figured you would immediately find her guilty, and nopony would be any the wiser to my presence. Never crossed my mind you’d put on this class trial.”

“… Just one more thing,” Diamond said. “Why are you still here, after you already recovered your precious memento? And where’s the real Berry Pinch?”

“You don’t need to worry,” Mir said. “Berry pinch is quite safe inside of her room, and is receiving all of the nutrients that she needs. She is simply under a sleep spell that wears off over time, and when she awakens, it will be as if time hasn’t passed at all for her. As for why I stayed here… I was caught by Berry Pinch’s mother on my way out.”

“Her mother? You mean Berry Punch?”

“Yes. I had to go home with her that day, and wait until nightfall to sneak out. However…” A tear rolled down Mir’s cheek, followed by another, and then another. “I… I didn’t mean to take her place… I just wanted… to have a mother again.” The class once again fell silent as Mir brought a hoof to his face and tried to hold back his sobs. “I tried to stay strong until I got home, so I didn’t even realise how much I miss her. I just wanted a few days to have a mother again, that’s all. I was going to leave after that. Just three or four days… that’s all I wanted…”

Cheerilee remained silent as she waited for Mir to finish. At some point, Apple Bloom had approached the crying changeling and wrapped her hooves around him, offering a shoulder for him to cry on. A few other fillies, including Dinky Doo and Sweetie Belle, also offered to comfort him.

After ten minutes had passed, Mir was finished, and Cheerilee called for order. “Well, this was certainly an… interesting turn of events. I never could have imagined that such a truth would be hiding behind such a seemingly simple case.”

“But that’s what these trials are for, right Miss Cheerilee?” Apple Bloom asked, receiving a nod from her teacher.

“Um, excuse me,” Mir said. “What will happen to me?”

“… I’m afraid that that’s out of my jurisdiction. I’ll have to contact the Royal Guard and turn you in.” A series of gasps filled the classroom.

“No, you can’t!”

“He didn’t hurt anypony!”

“He just wanted his dolly back!”

“Order! Order!” Cheerilee shouted as she banged her gavel. “In any case, I’m afraid that I have no choice. Now, will the defendant please take the stand?”

“… I understand,” Mir said. “I won’t try to run or fight. Not like I can, anyway. I’ll go peacefully.”

As Silver Spoon approached the podium, Mir passed her by and took the seat next to Diamond Tiara.

“Silver Spoon… how is your hoof?” Cheerilee asked.

“Huh? Oh! It’s fine now. Much better.”

Cheerilee nodded. “This has certainly been quite a day for all of us, but now it is time to bring it to a close. For the charge of triggering a false alarm, this court finds the defendant, Silver Spoon: ‘Not Guilty’.”

Archer pulled the string by her side, releasing confetti all over the classroom. The fillies and colts sitting in the crowd applauded until Cheerilee slammed her gavel one final time.

“That is all. You all may now leave for an early recess, with the exception of Mir.”

---

“That was incredible!” Silver Spoon shouted as she wrapped her forelegs around Diamond Tiara’s neck. “I thought for sure I would be found ‘Guilty’! Thank you so much for saving me, Diamond!”

“I’m just glad that’s finally over!” Diamond said. “Now we can finally focus on stuff that actually matters! Like what colour dress should I wear to daddy’s company ball?”

“Diamond!” Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon both jumped and turned around at the sound of a familiar voice behind them. “You gotta help us! We don’t have much time!”

“GAH! Blank flank, what do you want? Here to cry over your defeat?”

“Look, can we do this later? Ah need yer help right now!” Apple Bloom grabbed Diamond’s hoof with both of her own forehooves. “Ah need ya ta get Mir on a train outta here, fast! Y’all have the money for a ticket, right?”

“Wait, what?” Diamond asked. “Get Mir out of here? But Miss Cheerilee said-”

“Mir doesn’t deserve ta be arrested! He ain’t done anythin’ wrong! An’ he’s only ten, not ta mention he’s already been through so much. Please, Diamond! Ya gotta help!”

Diamond Tiara stared at the filly as if she was insane… and then let out a growl as she snatched her hoof back and reached out to snatch Apple Bloom’s prosecution badge. “What are you doing wearing this?!”

“Hey, what’re ya-” Apple Bloom was silenced by Diamond Tiara sticking her defence attorney badge where the prosecution badge just was. “Huh?”

“Stick to defence! You don’t have what it takes to prosecute.” Diamond Tiara reached into her saddlebag and pulled out her purse. “I give a two hundred percent interest rate, and expect the money back by the end of the month. Otherwise, you’ll work for me. Got it?”

“Got it!” Apple Bloom said as she took the money from Diamond’s hoof. “Thanks Diamond! Ah won’t forget it!”

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon both watched as Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle all rushed past them, a grey colt with a black mane following behind them. The doors behind them then burst open, startling the both of them.

“Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon,” Cheerilee began, “Have either of you seen the girls? They took Mir with them!”

“You mean the losers?” Diamond asked. Cheerilee was far too distracted to notice the insult, and simply nodded. “They were, like, talking about some kind of party at Sugarcube Corner.”

“Sugarcube Corner!” Cheerilee shouted as she took off down the dirt path, taking the turn that led her away from the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Diamond turned to leave, but stopped when she noticed Silver Spoon grinning at her. “What?” she asked.

“Diamond, I think you should consider sticking to defence,” Silver Spoon said. “You suited for it very well.”

Diamond Tiara blushed and harrumphed as she walked past Silver Spoon. “That’s the last time I’m defending you! Now come on, let’s go pick out a dress! The ball is this weekend, after all!”

“Right behind you!” Silver Spoon said in a cheerful tone as she followed after her best friend.

That was the first time I had ever defended somepony, and it was only because it was my friend I was defending. When Mir broke out into tears in that classroom, it left an impression on me. Sometimes, we have to hurt others to defend the ones we care about…

Because of me, a child could have wound up a prisoner of the Royal Guard for a petty crime, but it was the only way to protect the innocent from being blamed for a crime they did not commit. At the time, I gave this not a moment’s thought, but as I grew older, I started to reflect on this case more and more… and I decided not to take my friendships for granted. Silver Spoon would always have my back, and I would always have hers. That’s all there is to it.

-False Alarm Turnabout: End-

Comments

[Skeeter The Lurker]

You... Did a sequel...?

AND it's just as good as the first on!

SQUEEEEE! I LOVE IT!

~Skeeter The Lurker

[SpaceCommie]

These are great. More please?

[Thisisalongname]

This is why I'm following you. Cause you can put out fun to read one shots.

[Skeeter The Lurker]

2908506

Agreed!

~Skeeter The Lurker

[Seether00]

YES YES YES!

[Tachyon Xenophile]

Silver Spoon, Diamond Tiara, and sequel to awesome story?

[Mystic Deadman]

2908540

[OrpheusDefense]

...so awesome just like the first

[Linkonpark100]

I love the ending where Diamond matures more.

[Eternal Infernape]

Woo! You're good at this.

[shyguy7829]

And now the sequel that takes place when they are adults?

[Traishe]

This is the best sequel ever!

Especially the actions the kids showed. Really awesome.

[DanvilleBengal]

I'm gonna be honest. Please don't flame.

I did enjoy the story. I definitely see both Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara as prosecuter and defender, respectively, and yeah, I think Apple Bloom needs to stick to defense. Diamond Tiara really seems to be born for it, why is her cutie mark a tiara, anyway???

The trial was so convincing, and real. Cheerilee did a good job of being the judge as well, and making "mock court" time well spent.

All the twists and turns with the case, potential perjury of both witnesses, even the red herring with Apple Bloom potentially being a suspect herself despite that she's the prosecutor--good stuff.

Then it went south in a hurry.

Seriously, having a changling set up as an imposter just so it can set up and steal a doll?! Even with the apparent reason for Mir breaking into another pony's locker, the mere event that a changeling was even INVOLVED is a bit weak. It seems like you went and spent so much on this to be able to stand up to it's prequel that you forgot on how to create a solid conclusion. It's generally unbelieveable. I apologize, but the ending was quite disappointing. This reeks of a deus ex--"I created so many twists to keep the narrative interesting that I have to now use a sledgehammer to break out of it."

I can tell that you do have skills with stories like this, and I am truly looking forward to more stories from you. But the next one just has to be better.

[Omni]

Wow... This wasn't that bad. I can actually picture this as an Ace Attorney case.

[117dragon]

This is awesome.
The only thing this is missing is the investigation scenes. Maybe if you make another one you could think about adding some, if you want to of course. Just an idea. Keep up the good work.

[MagerBlutooth]

It occurs to me that these fillies and colts wouldn't be half as interested in all this legal jargon if all their cases weren't crawling with kangaroos. Miss Cheerilee should really consider the educational benefit to holding these mock trials that give their students such a warped depiction of what it means to become a lawyer. Or maybe she should just make her spelling tests this interesting.

When looking at a sequel, I find it important to view how a story stands on its own without comparing it to its predecessor. You don't judge the soup based on how much better it is than the salad. You judge it based on how few flies and human fingers are in it. However, there is one aspect that exists outside of that metaphor, which is the transition between the two stories. This story has a great lead-in from the previous one with Diamond trying to prove she can do something Apple Bloom can and Apple Bloom taking Babs up on the idea of giving prosecution a try. Apple Bloom even took the initiative to give herself a prosecutor's gimmick to help her out, though I do find it odd that she wouldn't draw any attention to the fact that it was her prosecutor's gimmick when trying to obtain permission to use it. You also managed to have Apple Bloom retain Cheerilee's lecture from the previous story about both sides trying to find the truth, and though I'm familiar with the AA moment you were referencing, it fits in the story by its own right because of Cheerilee's statement from the prequel. Also, I like how you actually did make Apple Bloom seem like a much better defense attorney than prosecutor, though didn't she say she hoped she never had to do something like that again?

As an adaptation of the Ace Attorney series, this story really hit its mark. The evidence was laid out, the logic flowed naturally, the contradictions smoothly revealed themselves as the case progressed, and in the end everything made sense. You also managed to capture several of the more subtle aspects about the series, which properly shows the research you did when writing this story. You had Diamond's little tutorial-esque statement about finding what doesn't fit in the first testimony when she came across a pointless "Hold It", the transition from "Take That" to her response is just as abrupt and senseless as a fan of the series would come to expect, the occasional keyword would pop up every now and again, there was a seemingly flawless testimony that threw the defense into a "last chance" situation, and you manged to do everything while keeping the core elements of the gameplay with testimonies being changed and all of the evidence coming into play at some point.

Looking at things from beyond the fourth wall, it would seem that whoever's playing this game wants to experiment a bit more to get those extra bits of humorous dialogue. Even so, it would seem that he's still using a walkthrough since he managed to get through the entire case without a single penalty. Story-wise there's no problem with that outside of creating the illusion of hypercompetence, but the fact that every "Hold It" doesn't result in a contradiction or a change in the testimony really makes it less of an issue.

I really like the fact that you managed to work in a one-dimensional, over-the-top comic relief witness that wasn't actually guilty but was hiding something. I don't think there are many cases in the actual series without one of those, and you managed to fit it in with the context of the world, provided the reader is willing to suspend his disbelief of modern technology existing in this world and other teachers working at this school. I would say of all the things you did in your attempt to mimic the series, Button Masher was your best move. You didn't hold back on the ham in the slightest with him. You even had the defense cleverly respond to one of the witness's exaggerated freakouts with your little cheat code remark. That was nicely done.

Characterization is really something I can't comment on in this story. We're dealing with an Equestria here that defies the canon one with its use of technology and everyone knowing exactly how the courtroom works. Aside from a few recognizable traits and mannerisms like Sweetie's timidity and Apple Bloom's interest in cutie marks, it's clear that an exact portrayal isn't the intention of this story. Therefore, to critique characterization of this story, it's not a matter of seeing how believable they are to their canon selves, but how interesting they are to read. That being said, this story isn't really character-driven. It's about the story. So all I really have to say about characterization is that no one stuck out as too bland or too annoying in comparison to the rest of the cast.

I did like the visual aid you provided to give a clearer image of the crime scene. It's difficult to describe that kind of evidence with words without giving away what you're planning to reveal later, so I thought that was a good way to go about it. My only concern is that a number of readers might not see it due to the amount of green text that isn't hyperlinked and the fact that there's really no indication that it is a hyperlink unless you scroll over it.

Now about this story's biggest flaw, you haven't completely let go of your hat yet. The contradiction found by Silver Spoon being right-hoofed came straight out of your hat since it wasn't established that Silver Spoon was right-hoofed and we weren't told beforehand that the hoofprint was from a left hoof. The height of the air vent was another case of it. Also, you actually have a tendency to pull the witnesses themselves out of your hat. While it's a bit more difficult to have a list of suspects set up in your case because you have no investigation scene prior to the courtroom, it really stretches the believable factor when there are actually two or three other ponies at a crime scene when there was only believed to be one and we find out about all the others one at a time without so much as hearing their names beforehand. However, while your hat comes into play in these cases, the resolution is where it really takes center stage.

It wasn't so much that you made the culprit a changeling that bothered me. Though it was a bit jarring for us to transition from a simple fire drill case to an international incident, it could have made for a decent twist if had been effectively set up. The problem was there really was no setup for it. It wasn't entirely out of nowhere since we had that Royal Wedding clue set up since the beginning of the story, but its relevance was due to a very flimsy reason: Diamond guessed. Sure, it was an educated guess, and it made sense after she proposed the idea. I even think a good number of readers would be able to pick up where she was going before she said it aloud. However, unless the reader were to make an equally wild guess early on, we're once again left with a great deprivation of interactivity. Furthermore, the fact that Diamond guessed that Berry Pinch was a changeling specifically was so arbitrary. All she needed to figure out was that Berry was an impostor, which she could have realized from hearing something subtle that Berry Pinch or just a pony in general would never say. When I was reading this, I thought the reason that Berry might have gotten to the locker room first was by teleporting there. Berry being some kind of magical prodigy was certainly a possibility given her unlikely opening of the locker, but that idea was never proposed. Diamond just lucked her way into having the word 'changeling' pop into her head and it happened to explain everything.

On the other side of this changeling coin is the way the revelation was handled. I like the fact that you made the changeling more than just "the villain", but I think you overcompensated with the goodness. For someone who loves tossing around the conflict ball, I was surprised you didn't take the opportunity to use it here with the guilty party. There were no implications from this story that anyone would have any reason to have a different opinion of the changelings than the one they have from the show, and from the show, we and the ponies are led to believe that the changelings are essentially a collection of merciless drones that want to feed on love and enslave all ponies. The CMC were there the day of the wedding, so unless they had a miniature adventure with one that day that you forgot to mention, they should be especially afraid of them. However, without something like that to provide context, I'm left to think outside the box myself and assume that Mir told this whole sob story to trick a bunch of gullible fillies into letting her escape and inform her queen about the understaffed Ponyville hospital. Mir admitted to stabbing an unconscious Silver Spoon with a piece of broken glass, causing her to bleed out and limp, and no one even batted an eye. There wasn't even an ounce of prejudice against Mir aside from them knowing she was guilty immediately after she revealed what she was. Ultimately, whether she actually hurt Berry Pinch, had any hidden agendas, or held any malicious intent toward anyone, she did deceive them all about her identity and lie several times in court; however, everything she said was taken at face value. It just struck me as unbelievable that anyone would even take the time to hear her out before taking her into custody, regardless of her age.

In my opinion, a stronger resolution would be the best thing this story could stand to improve. The changeling twist had its merit in shock value, but in all seriousness it wouldn't have made any difference if she was a changeling, a doppelganger, or Button Masher's neglected Game Boy. There were no real clues that foreshadowed the twist, and after the revelation, Mir wasn't really treated any different than a troublemaking pony. Though in all fairness, you did give her a cool name.

You seemed to have most of the logic down given how thoroughly you mapped everything out and explained away a good number of potential plot holes. There were just a few questions I had after a bit of contemplation. What was Silver Spoon doing near the crime scene in the first place? Where did Mir get a hammer? What sort of RPG was Button Masher playing that involved letting you obtain a high score? Why doesn't an Equestria with Internet access and handheld consoles have security cameras to sort out these sort of things? Just some more food for thought.

This is an Ace Attorney story. From the judge to the witnesses to the victim to the prosecutor, the world you set up here is modeled right after the genuine article. If you had just built up the culprit a bit better, you'd have all the pieces you needed for an amazing take on the series. I'd call this story another burger, and while you gave me some variety with the fixings, you made boiled cabbage a mandatory one. I didn't see it coming, but I can't say much for the taste.

Make the most!

[Alligator]

These stories,

Is why Spike is wearing the Ultimate Mustache of Feels.

[Vertorm]

2913719 I don't think I've ever seen a review so long. O_O You sir have just made me want to read this now. I put it on the read later and was just scrolling down idly when I found your review which just... never ended. Your comment here is longer than some recently featured stories I've read on the front page! Jeez. Welp, time to give this a read and not let it sit.

[MagerBlutooth]

2920284
I'm glad I was able to unintentionally convince you.
I'm sure when you're done reading, you'll have just as much to say, right?

[SlashopentheSky]

I'm am highly entertained by these stories. Do you plan on making more?

[MikeyJC]

Man, that was a fun read once again. The changeling twist was a bit out there, but I enjoyed it incredibly anyway. I really do hope you make more, because these stories are some of the best I've read.

One thing though...

“Lllllllllllet’s play!”

Who do you think you are kid, Ray Navraez Jr.?

[Blue_Paladin42]

This is making me want to pick up Ace Attorney again.
Ah! I need the third one!

[DETHSENTENCE1020]

THIS WAS AWESOME! Shame on the one who disliked. (JK)

[CrossingOver]

This was great! You took everything good from the 1st Ace Attorney fic and cranked the craziness to 11. I mean, the other one had it's twist but not like this! So fun!

I, for one, am stoked for more Ace Attorney Fic's from you. ...If you had that in mind, that is.

[Wiriamuzu]

Oh my sweet Celestia!!! That was AWESOME! That turnabout was insane! I'm having trouble just typing this! Ooh I can't wait for the next one! There IS a next one right? Right?...

[Michael Ramsey]

I'll be honest, when I saw this story had a sequel, I was expecting it to be a little...forced.

I'm glad I was wrong. Nicely done.

[Fervidor]

Christ, this one's even better than the first one!

[River Dashe]

Threequel please

[ThatOneWriter]

I have good and bad news for you. The good news is that this sequel was as good, if not better, than the first. The bad news is, now everyone will expect you to write more Ace Attorney style fics.

[ServingSpoon]

Who says sequels are never better then first?

this was funnier, easier to follow (for me anyway ;-_-) with even more suprising twists and turns.

Plus it stared my favorite pony as the defendant (squee) and DT made a great defense attorney. Applebloom only had to help her out once after all

"Applebloom will please refrain from throwing food at the defense?" LOL

[Red Bomber]

Wow, I didn't know you made a sequel to this story but it's really well done in a manner of a true Ace Attorney story. In fact the way you have written both of the endings, it seems like these are stories connected to a much bigger one like in Phoneix Wright 3 and Dual Destinies. I'm already seeing another sequel of this which involved Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara being brought into court again in a tougher case which would probably involved Mir (I thought he was a girl at first until I read more closely ^^;) and the outcome of this would determine how Equestria view changelings from now on. Apple Bloom already had a cutie mark in something else but once she heard that Mir was being accused of something he didn't do and no one would defend him she decided to take the case. (In a similar manner in Turnabout Storm because no one wants to defend the first-time murderer of Equestria. Also, I kinda had this running gag about Apple Bloom complaining about how she kept taking on court cases besides her actual job lately.) Diamond Tiara takes the up the prosecution of the case because Mir's (false) accusation is involved in her and her father's businesses, which is something she normally does whenever someone commits a crime on her business. (And as fate would have it, the cases Apple Bloom had to keep reluctantly taking involved Diamond Tiara's business cases so they met each other in the real court several times.) And that's one way of how these stories could be connected. Anyway this is a great story and I really love how you crossover those two series together.
(PS: I'm your 100th liker in this story, neat.) :)

2913719
I don't think the inclusion of a changeling distracts the story at all if you look at it in a connecting Phoenix Wright game. Most of the time the game has a bigger overarching plot over these courtroom case trials, sometimes you need to think out of the box, you know? :D So maybe the changeling could be a part of something bigger like my example above. ^^

[MagerBlutooth]

3725802
As I said before, it wasn't the changeling twist by itself that really bothered me; it was the way it was handled. We were given much too vague of a reference to changelings for it to actually be a clue, there was no actual evidence that Berry Pinch was a changeling for Diamond to make that guess, and the changeling herself ended up a total Karma Houdini. Mainly it was all that that bothered me.

If it's part of a bigger, overarching story, I'll have to look at the final product to know how well it works as a whole. But without the other pieces, I can only look at what I've been given.

Glad that you liked it, though. You've got an interesting idea for a sequel.

[Random Dude]

Apple Bloom picked up an apple from her bag and took a bite into it. “Eheh. Sorry, Diamond, but there ain’t no way you’re winnin’ this trial.”
“Apple Bloom! You know how I feel about eating in class!”

hmm reminds me of that one attorney turned prosecutor thats also a coffee addict

[jkreader]

In my opinion, Apple Bloom acted a lot like Godot in this one.

[Marioland1]

Simply stating that you ‘head a noise’ is too vague.

I’d hardly think she would catch your attention when you’re so focussed on your game.

Those sentences have pretty obvious typos. I suggest you fix them. Beyond that, it was excellent, if not a little rushed.

[TheGreatEater]

Y-Yeah. You’re right.”

needs beginning " marks
________________________

If y’all say so.

ya
___________________________

Y’all were so upset that ya hit the fire alarm, huh?

Ya
_________________________

That’s right. Yer grades are among the highest in our school, an’ y’all are a star in the school’s choir, ain’t ya?”

ya
__________________________

Oh ah’m sorry. Are y’all suggestin’ that Berry Pinch had a purpose for stealin’ that scruffy ol’ doll Silver Spoon’s been draggin’ along lately?

ya
_______________________

“But then y’all lost it,”

ya
____________________________

That was an interesting installment.

[Thi Fernandes]

I have to say, this in an intersting take on the Ace Attorney series. I have never played the game and will consider picking one up, but I've seen a let's play of the first game in the series to know some of the references used. Great job with this one, Yukito! And that resolution... damn, a changeling? That was too cute!

Favorite of the two so far. Will read the recent installment!

[Legioner8]

“Even so, in the real world, such a thing would be seen as very unprofessional.”

Tell it to this guy
i.ytimg.com/vi/ICUTRPMug50/hqdefault.jpg

[MyLittleTails]

4571126
You DO know that the Apple family tends to misuse y'all as you, right?

[TheGreatEater]

6965017

Actually they don't.

Applejack is the only one to do that. And even then it's a rarity. She usually uses it right, or she more than likely rather than say y'all uses, "sugarcube", or a nickname (Twi; RD; Rare; Flutters; etc.). But in 3 seasons other than the Sleepover with Twilight episodes. It's been used as a singular by AJ, relatively few times (still makes me shudder when it happens) [at least from what I've re-watched recently with my baby bro recently.]

Apple Bloom, Granny Smith, and Big Mac have used y'all as a plural. As is proper.

[MyLittleTails]

6965044
Got, it, my bad. Sorry.

[TheGreatEater]

6968425

It's all good. It's something (to my eternal annoyance) that's a common misconception. Spread by way to many writers, to the point that a fannon fail, is misremembered and grossly exaggerated as cannon by tons of people who push that bit of linguistic butchery.

[Zubric]

Still confused how a single school house has lockers or bathrooms. It’s like one room abs a basement