Chapter 19
This was it. This was the moment, her moment, and Rainbow Dash knew she wasn’t anywhere near ready for it. She could feel it on her every breath, kept slow and restrained through the force of sheer willpower alone, and in every rough palpitation of her heart. The chair in the witness stand was much the same as her usual one behind the prosecutor’s desk, but it felt exponentially more alien to her. She just couldn’t seem to find a position that was comfortable, a sorry predicament only compounded by the knowledge that every slight adjustment—every single movement she made—would register in the eyes of countless ponies across the audience. Rainbow Dash was a watched mare, and she could feel little beads of sweat begin to leak out from behind her mane and streak down her forehead. She only hoped nopony could see them.
She could tell that Twilight Sparkle, for her part, must have been feeling much the same level of discomfort. The unicorn’s eyes locked themselves with Rainbow’s, emanating concern and what seemed to be a little bit of fear on her behalf. She thought to herself that it might be a good idea to give a little smile for Twilight, something small and intimate, just to let her anxious friend know everything was going to be all right. She might have done it had she believed so herself.
“Please, Rainbow Dash, for the benefit of the court, I’d like to take you back the night of the event in question.” Here it was. A few scant minutes of setup, of easy, low-ball questions meant solely to prepare her, just to get her into the mindset of answering them, let her get used to speaking before the crowd; all had been leading up to this moment. This moment that Rainbow Dash knew she wasn’t ready for. “I want you to recount exactly what happened that day from your perspective, in as much detail as possible. Can you do that for me?”
During sleepless nights back in her castle room, nights when the very last thing she wanted was to get up the next morning and face another day in court, she had rehearsed what few meager lines she had thought of before a mirror. She’d wanted to say “Yes, Ma’am.” It would sound professional, she reasoned. A good first impression—it might make the jury sit up and believe the rest of what she had to say. But when the time came, all she could manage was a simple nod.
She tried to ignore all the waiting faces and impatient stares of a room crowded with other ponies, and kept her focus on Twilight Sparkle. And despite the pinstriped suit that implied otherwise, she knew this was not Twilight Sparkle her attorney. This was still Twilight Sparkle her friend and confidant; the mare who had been fighting for her from the outset, shouldering some untold level of burden and always coming out on the other end with a reassuring smile. This was the mare without whom Rainbow Dash knew she never would have found the courage to be sitting where she was, and in that, Rainbow took solace. She steeled her nerves and put thoughts of the curling knot in her stomach out of her mind. Suddenly, all those eyes seemed not to matter so much. There was no crowd, no audience; Rainbow Dash was merely having a conversation with her friend. So she closed her eyes and began to speak.
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“Wow.”
To Rainbow Dash, the cavernous lobby of the Cloud Nine Inn seemed as nothing she had even seen before. Towering columns of shimmering cloud, carved to an artful degree that belied their vaporous nature, arced their way to a point upon the high ceiling to create a grand atrium. The floors, polished so smooth they may as well have been marble, glistened like ice under what waning afternoon light filtered in through the rotunda skylights. Across the lobby, a similar sheen marked the deep, rich tones of the mahogany desk—a rare and expensive piece for anypony in the cloud borne city to maintain, and an unusual glimpse of the world below. She took in all of this within moments of entering the hotel’s front doors, her eyes almost sparkling as her gaze swept the room.
The other Wonderbolts, far more accustomed to displays of opulence and luxury, moved through the lobby with little a care for their surroundings, and Rainbow Dash soon found herself having to hurry to catch back up with the group. With a glance across her shoulder, Fleetfoot caught the new recruit’s eye, and flashed a knowing smirk. Rainbow Dash returned with a sheepish smile.
Within moments, the team was already heading for the hotel bar, Soarin’ leading the way with a bounce in his step and a large grin spread across his face. Spitfire fell back behind the group, but Rainbow Dash remained so focused on soaking up every newfound sight and sound that she hardly registered the team captain’s sudden and conspicuous silence. And even so, the brilliance and luxury that opened up before her as she and the rest of the Wonderbolts entered the lounge soon commanded her full attention. The room seemed to capture all the wonder and chill of a cold, star-filled night. Her eyes lit up in awe, and were it not for the presence of her fellow teammates bee lining for the bar itself, she may very well have stopped in her tracks. Before she knew it however, she found herself seated at a stool facing a wall festooned with numerous bottles and sparkling glasses.
She felt a hoof thump across her back and jumped, to the sudden sound of warm, animated laughter. She looked behind her to see Soarin’ standing tall and still smiling wide. He sat down next to her and pulled her body up against his, and Rainbow Dash could feel heat rushing to her cheeks. “Just don’t forget this party isn’t just for you!” He called over to a team member, and received raucous cheers from the team. Rainbow Dash struggled to keep herself settled as the stallion dropped his hoof from around her withers. His ever-present grin remained as he looked her over. “Whaddya say then, kiddo?”
Even before taking a drink, Rainbow Dash’s head was already spinning. She hardly registered his question, and stumbled to scrape together an answer. “Nothing, I mean… wow. This is just… wow.”
“Struck speechless, eh? Don’t worry. We’ll see if a few drinks won’t loosen that tongue right up. Let’s get a few beers over here to start!” Rainbow Dash nodded along weakly, still feeling awash in awe and incredulity at the barrage of new experiences.
She tried to shake herself of the nervous bubbles filling her stomach as the bartender stopped by her place. “What can I get fer ye, Ma’am?”
“Uh… Just a beer, please.”
“What kind would ye care for?”
“I don’t know. Just surprise me.”
She could sense Soarin’ watching her with increasing interest as a tall, dark, frothy mug of unknown origin thumped down before her. Tentatively, she took a sip, and grimaced. Soarin’ chuckled again. “Listen, kiddo, now that you’re a Wonderbolt, your first lesson is how to party like one. Got that?”
She nodded, and, emboldened, took a larger gulp. It went down easier this time, and she could feel a familiar warmth spread from her gut to her hooves. Soon, a smile broke out on her own face. “That sounds like something more my speed.”
“Let’s get to drinking, then!” Soarin’ shouted this declaration for the whole team to hear, and was met with even more cheering.
For the next few minutes, Rainbow Dash merely nursed her drink, preferring instead to soak in every sight and sound of her surroundings as possible. In a way, she was still caught up in the novelty of it all. Sitting in one of the most expensive joints in Cloudsdale, surrounded by those ponies she had idolized for so long as they exchanged jokes and clinked glasses, and yet most incomprehensible of all was the very idea that they considered her one of them. This was it, she knew. She had arrived, and she could still only barely believe it.
It took her a moment to realize that one of them was trying to talk to her. “Hey, Rainbow… Rainbow Dash!”
She looked over to see Fleetfoot, a fiery, wild look swirling in her eyes as she twirled a crystalline glass of some amber liquid in her hooves. “Take some shots with me.” She said it in a way that seemed to leave no room for debate. Rainbow blinked.
“What?”
“We’re doing some shots,” She declared, albeit slowly, just beginning to pour the honey-colored liquor into two rows of small, ornately decorated glasses. “It’s… it’s an… what do you call it? It’s like a thing that you have to do. Like a rite of passage for rookies like you.”
“Are you sure?” Rainbow glanced from the mare’s face to the cascading tumble of spirits filling glass after glass. She had been trying to keep her own consumption slow, and she could tell Fleetfoot did not share that concern. The bottle wobbled slightly as she poured, and a bit of the liquor sloshed out onto the counter, though Fleetfoot didn’t seem to notice.
“What, are you scared?”
“Hay, no! Of course not.” Rainbow felt a rush of confidence course through her veins. The two mares exchanged confident smirks.
“Alright alright, if we’re gonna do this, we’re gonna do this right.” A visibly swaying Soarin’ exclaimed as he pushed his way between the two mares. “Standard contest rules. Eight shots each. Whoever finishes first wins.”
Rainbow blinked, twice, staring at the stallion. “Eight?”
He shrugged. “Hey, don’t blame me. Fleety here did it first, back when she first joined.”
“So it’s a tradition?”
“It is now.” Fleetfoot paused. “Initiation. That’s the word. It’s an initiation.”
“Alright. Enough chit-chat.” Soarin’ raised a hoof into the air, “Fillies and gentlecolts, if I could have your attention for this duel of titans, Miss Rainbow Dash, and Miss Fleetfoot, decking it out in a race to the bottom of the final glass. Ladies, if you please, on my mark… and… GO!”
The whiskey burned at first, but the sensation was quickly replaced by a fiery, yet soothing sort of warmth, one which she had taken the pleasure of enjoying numerous times before. Here was different, however. Here, the burn came with a sense of urgency, a numbing intensity in her brain that drove her hoof immediately back down to the counter for the next glass. Rainbow Dash had long prided herself on her ability to hold her liquor, and here, before her heroes, she was hungry to display this talent; increasingly eager to show how she could not only stand amongst them, but hold her own against them as well. She needed to belong. She became conscious of a growing number of gazes fixing on her, keeping careful track of her every move, yet still she dove back again and again for each new dose of searing liquor, her hoof flying from the bar to her mouth with smooth, repetitive, insistence, like a single-minded machine built for no other task.
She found she had lost her sense of how much time had passed the instant her hoof was thrust into the air by the presence to her side she mostly guessed was Soarin’. The fire in her stomach threatened to consume her, and she couldn’t quite find the will to focus. Even largely unwilling to process the stallion’s words, however, he could hear him shouting something, and the round of cheering that followed. Cheering that she understood, intrinsically, to be meant for her and her alone. And in that moment, she didn’t care where she was, why she was there, or what she was doing, all she knew was that it felt good, and that she wanted more.
The night became an extravagant affair; a fusillade of drinks that surged together and transformed into a single slug of alcohol; one blistering flood of it that erased all sense of propriety and self. Fleetfoot had collapsed against the counter, seemingly asleep, and Rainbow Dash had done the same against Soarin’s warm shoulder; she wasn’t quite aware of being awake herself.
In a way, she felt grateful for his presence. He was solid, a stoic presence that kept her from losing herself. It was through resting against him that she still knew which way was up. Her eyes blinked open when he shifted under her. She looked up at him, questions in her eyes, wondering just why he had made her move, to find him staring right back. His lips were moving. He was saying something, but her ears were ringing. She had to strain to even hear, focusing on the sloppy movements of his mouth. He was saying something about pretty eyes. Something about her eyes. Her pretty eyes. He thought her eyes were pretty!
What a funny thing to think. The thought ran through her head a few seconds after she began laughing uncontrollably, the mirth and the giggles pouring out of her like wine from an uncorked barrel. She couldn’t stop herself. She only just managed to choke out a strangled “thanks”, or something close. Soarin’ grinned. He leaned in close to her and said something again, but she couldn’t hear. She tried to slow her mouth down enough to match her thoughts, but “I don’t understand. What did you say?” became “I don… buh. Wha—” And then he kissed her.
It was strange, she realized. She’d kissed other ponies before, but this was new, somehow. It was warm, and wet, and graceless, yet still foreign. It was an infiltration, some alien thing that she had neither expected nor quite understood the need to expect, and so she didn’t break from it, if only out of sheer, dumbfounded confusion.
She was vaguely aware that there seemed to be other ponies cheering somewhere nearby.
What next she knew, but she was on the floor, struggling to preserve her balance and climb to her hooves. Then he was there too, offering his side for her to lean on, and of course she did, lest she fall and the alcohol sloshing angrily about in her stomach pass dangerously close to her throat. And then he lifted her onto his back, and she just lay there, no longer even supporting her own weight; immobile. And so, swaying dangerously but still managing to keep both himself and his cargo upright, Soarin’ trotted out the door of the bar, and she went with him, just like that.
She remained in a catatonic state of half panic and half confusion, yet still too frozen to even begin an attempt to express those concepts swirling about her heavily addled mind. Her face was buried in his mane, her nose inhaling a forest of deep blue hair with every breath. She remained like that, unable or unwilling to move—just which it was she couldn’t quite sort out—for the duration of the elevator ride. They arrived at the top floor and Soarin’, still uneasy on his hooves, meandered down the hallway. He fumbled with his keys before getting the door open and stumbling into his room. And before she even knew what was happening, he threw her onto the bed. Her mind was sent reeling as he loomed up behind her, she could feel breath against the back of her neck, the…
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“There. I’m afraid I must ask you to pause right there, Miss Dash.” Ink Scroll was up and in his element once again. The pegasus glared at him.
“And why should I?”
The lawyer raised his hoof. “I have only a few questions. Just a couple statements struck me as odd, first when you recounted your recollections of these events to Miss Sparkle, and then again just now.”
“Like what?”
“First, I’d like to know, what color were the bed sheets in that room?”
“Are you insane? What does that have to do with anything?”
“Miss Dash, I assure you I am of perfectly sound mental faculties.”
“Your Honor, I object!” Twilight stood up in a flash, throwing her hooves into the air. “The defense is pursuing a line of questioning at best only tangentially related to the case at hand.”
“You Honor, I assure you. If you allow me to continue, my questioning will prove to be quite relevant.” Ink Scroll maintained, keeping his tone even.
“I fail to see how the color of the sheets has any impact on these proceedings.” Twilight shot back.
Justice Honor Bound just sighed. “I’ll allow it. But you had better make your point quickly, Mr. Scroll.”
“Thank you, Your Honor. Now, Miss Dash, what color were those sheets?”
“I don’t know, white?” Rainbow huffed.
“I see. And would that be your final answer?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, then it might interest you to know, Miss Dash, that the Cloud Nine Inn uses dark blue sheets in all their guest bedrooms.”
“So? How do you expect me to notice that when I’m being assaulted?” She thrust her hoof out towards the defendant’s table, “By him!” Her eyes were as of ice, and they met Soarin’s for the first time in well over a month. He blinked.
“Miss Dash, I have heard your accusations against my client before. What I am trying to do now is establish a basis for them.” Ink Scroll resumed his pacing. “Now. Were there any other details about the hotel room that struck you?”
“No.”
“Really? Nothing that you can remember about the room? Nothing at all?”
“Nothing.”
“I find that a bit strange. Are you sure you can’t recall a thing?”
“Your Honor, the defense is badgering my client.”
“Get to the point, Mr. Scroll.”
“Forgive me, I only ask because I found it strange. In all your other recollections, you gave such vivid detail, yet that seemed to fall away afterwards.”
“It’s not like I didn’t have more pressing issues to deal with just then.”
“That would be understandable, except I have a theory. I don’t think you recall ever being in that room at all.”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes followed him as he strode past her perch. “Are you saying that everything I’ve said has been a lie?”
Once again, the lawyer held up his hooves, as if in defense. “Not everything you’ve said. Other witnesses have corroborated most of what you described about the incident at the bar. However, I do not believe you actually remember your experience beyond that point. That would explain your inability to correctly recall details.”
“That’s crazy. How can you expect me to mind the décor when everything is happening all at once? I was drunk!”
“Precisely!” Ink Scroll whirled around; his pacing ceased, and he looked right back up at her. “Miss Dash, I have a copy here of your medical records from the day you were admitted into Ponyville General Hospital. Your attorney submitted them as evidence. Were you aware of that?”
“Of course I was.”
“I see.” The lawyer strode over to his desk and assembled a series of papers, the writing on them had been marked over heavily, with parts circled and other parts underlined in red. He held the papers before him and cleared his throat. “Well, it says here that, upon arriving early that morning, your blood alcohol content registered as .21. Now, accounting for the few hours that we know elapsed before your arrival at the hospital, we can extrapolate that your blood alcohol content at the time of the incident would have most likely been between .27 and .32, well above the threshold for what is known as total memory blackout.”
The stallion paused, hoping to allow time for his words to sink in with his audience, and Twilight jumped at the break in his speech. “Your honor, the defense has no way of knowing whether my client actually suffered from memory blackout. This is purely conjecture.”
“Miss Sparkle,” Ink Scroll countered, “I do believe that, unless you have an objection, Miss Dash can speak for herself.”
“The only effect this line of questioning will have is severely distressing my client.”
The judge swept his gaze between both attorneys, “Mr. Scroll, I will warn you if I believe the witness is becoming unduly distressed. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Your Honor. May I continue?”
“Go ahead.”
Ink Scroll nodded, and again began his measured steps before the stand. “Thank you. Now, as I’m sure the jury is aware, it is quite rare indeed for anypony with a BAC of .27 or more to maintain accurate memories of the time spent impaired. And this, I believe, is precisely the ailment which afflicted Miss Rainbow Dash on the night in question.”
“That’s absurd. Of course I know what happened. Soarin’ took advantage of me. I wouldn’t be here if I couldn’t remember.”
“I don’t think that’s quite true, Miss Dash, and I’ll tell you why. I noticed it twice, first when you recounted your version of the events for Miss Sparkle, and again when I asked you to repeat certain pieces. You made it clear both times that you rode an elevator up to the room. Is that not correct?”
“That’s right.”
“Well, then it might come as a surprise to you, that the Cloud Nine Inn’s elevator was out of service for routine maintenance the night in question.”
Rainbow Dash blinked at him. “You’re lying.”
“I can assure you that I am not.”
“That doesn’t even make sense! I rode the elevator, I remember it!”
“I don’t doubt that. Yet, and if I need to produce the building’s maintenance records, I will, that elevator was out of service.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“It’s all very simple. The hotel only has one elevator, I assume because of the expense required to operate one in a building made entirely of clouds, and that single elevator was undergoing maintenance that night. Nevertheless, you had no way of knowing that. And that is precisely my point. You don’t actually remember riding an elevator, because you suffered a blackout on almost everything that happened after you left the bar. However, without knowing the elevator was out of service, you fully expect that you would have ridden it. So, when you try to recall the incident, your mind tells you that you rode an elevator.”
“You’re not making any sense.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll try to explain. Essentially, your mind has tricked you into believing you rode the elevator, because that seems logical, when it would in fact be impossible. In reality, you have no real recollection of the incident; your mind is simply trying to fill in the gaps. This leads to what we might call false memories.”
Rainbow Dash remained silent, deigning simply to stare down at the lawyer.
“Of course, we’re not gathered in this courtroom today to discuss the intricacies of elevator operation in a Cloudsdale hotel. I bring this topic to the attention of the court because it would seem your memory of this incident is compromised, and I am thus wary of any accusations made against my client based upon it.”
Rainbow Dash kept her gaze hard for a moment, unwavering. She shook her head. “You know, you can try to talk around me all you want, but that doesn’t change anything. That doesn’t change my experience. That doesn’t change what I know happened to me. Your words won’t change anything.”
“That may be all well and good, Miss Dash, but you have now twice said something, under oath, that was categorically untrue. From where I’m standing, that leaves two possibilities. Either you’re misremembering these events, or you’re deliberately manufacturing your story. And if the second option is true, I have no reason to believe that you won’t just describe my client’s actions in whatever way you think the jury wants to hear.”
“I am not lying.”
“Good to know. I am therefore free to assume that your memories cannot be trusted.”
“That’s absurd. Just because I missed a few details doesn’t make my experience any less true.”
“Unfortunately, neither I nor the jury has any way of knowing that. As far as I know, you can’t actually remember anything from when you left the bar until you woke up in the hospital.”
“That’s not true!”
“Then show me!” The lawyer spun on his hooves; in the matter of an instant he went from walking to stock-still, staring right up at Rainbow. “You have yet to show how your recollections provide any sound basis for prosecuting my client.”
“I know what happened in that room. He raped me! He assaulted me and he took advantage of me when I had no way of preventing him.”
Twilight Sparkle’s hoof tapped the desk expectantly. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but kept her eyes on Rainbow Dash. Her friend was still; she wouldn’t meet her gaze, instead keeping it locked on the defense attorney. Twilight could sense the fire behind Rainbow’s words, yet they still seemed calm, premeditated. Twilight bit back whatever quick interjection she might have had. She needed to trust Rainbow now. This was her moment.
“You’re going to have to do a little better than simply shouting accusations. As I’m sure you’re aware, in our society, ponies are deemed innocent until proven guilty. So far, the only thing that’s been proven in this trial is that you and my client had a sexual encounter. Nothing more.”
“I was drunk! He didn’t even try to get my consent.”
“Nor you his. Need I remind you, Miss Dash, that you were both heavily intoxicated, both well above the legal limit, and both incapable of giving consent. As far as the law is concerned, neither of you can be considered in control of your actions.”
“What about when he kissed me, huh? I remember that. Your witnesses remember it. I remember him kissing me when I didn’t want it. I didn’t want anything to do with it.”
“Interesting. And would you say that’s the last thing you remember?”
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“I see. What of this kiss, then? You say you didn't want anything to do with it, does that mean at the time, or that you’re regretting it now?”
“At the time, obviously.”
“Interesting.” At some point, Ink Scroll had begun pacing again. Rainbow Dash watched him, her gaze fixed, her breaths coming heavy but measured. She could have sworn she felt a vein throb in the back of her neck. The stallion’s steps were careful, deliberate. She hated it. She wished nothing more than for him to stop, to stand still. “Because I happen to have witness statements that speak much to the contrary. We have heard testimony stating not only that you made no attempt to resist, but that you actively encouraged the kiss…”
“That’s a lie!”
“…That you embraced him, even that your eyes closed—I’ll quote Mr. Whiskey Sour here—as if ‘in bliss’. Do you deny this?”
Twilight closed her eyes. She moved her hooves beneath her desk to keep the tapping from growing ever louder. She took a few hard deep breaths, inhaling through her nose. In, out. In, out.
“I’m telling you he kissed me against my will, but I suppose you’re going to take somepony else’s word over mine, then?”
“Miss Dash, you must believe me. I’m not against you here. This isn’t about anyone’s word being taken over anyone else’s. In fact, I can understand that you may not have wanted him to kiss you. The problem remains, however, that you gave absolutely no indication of that to either my client or any other witnesses present.”
“Rape is still rape, you know. It doesn’t matter if I resisted him or not.”
“Rape is only rape if you can prove it occurred, Miss Dash, and thus far, I have heard nothing that indicates my client acted in an aggressive or inappropriate manner.”
“How can you say that?”
“I have a theory. I think you and my client, both heavily intoxicated, had some form of sexual encounter which neither of you were in any position to think too much about. When it was over, you started to have your regrets, and flew off, only to run into your friends once you got home. One thing leads to another, and the next thing you know, you wake up in the hospital with no memory of the incident whatsoever. Does that sound accurate, Miss Dash?”
“No! Of course not! I know what happened to me!”
“But can you prove it? Can you prove it beyond reasonable doubt? I don’t think you can, and therefore I cannot, in good conscience, allow my client to be convicted based on accusations that you can’t substantiate.”
Twilight tried once again to catch Rainbow’s eye. Her friend wouldn’t look at her.
“I’m telling you he caught me off guard when he kissed me. I never would have let that happen otherwise. And I never would have had sex with him either. That’s the truth.”
“I’ll believe that. But I think we all tend to do things we never would have otherwise considered after we’ve had a little too much to drink. And from what I know, you had much more than a little too much to drink. Are you honestly telling me that this, all of this, couldn’t have been some mindless mistake you made while inebriated? A mistake you’ve come to deeply regret, perhaps, but a mistake nonetheless?”
“Yes!”
“Somehow, I’m not convinced.”
“Well isn’t that a shame?”
“This is a very serious matter, Miss Dash. We are talking about my client’s life here. I, for one, don’t believe he should go to prison over some casual drunken fling, regardless of how much you regret it.”
“It wasn’t a fling! He raped me!”
“I have yet to hear you submit any evidence of that. No evidence that this encounter was anything other than casual, and indeed, none that you gave either my client or anypony else present any indication that you weren’t receptive.”
“You want evidence? You wanna know why I couldn’t have been receptive?”
“Please, do tell.”
“Because I’m gay, alright!”
In the next instant, several things happened; not all at once, but each in such quick succession that any observer present in the courtroom would have found it impossible to say whether they didn’t occur simultaneously.
First, the color seemed to drain from Rainbow Dash’s face, as the adrenaline of the moment previous subsided and she looked out over the room, suddenly and horribly realizing just what she had said. She felt her mouth go dry, knowing just then that Ink Scroll was not the only person she was speaking to. She saw the countless faces surrounding her again as if for the first time, having forgotten for an all-too-short yet all-too-terrible moment that they were even there, and she froze.
Second, as if entirely unfazed, Ink Scroll made to continue speaking, his next counterpoint ready to roll off his tongue, before he stopped in his tracks, suddenly aware of a rush of noise coming up from behind him.
Third, Twilight Sparkle leapt up from her desk, glaring daggers at her opponent and bellowing one final, shrill “OBJECTION!” for all to hear.
Finally, commanding the attention of the entire courtroom in one decisive fell swoop, an orange blur erupted from the stands just behind Twilight’s desk, clearing the fence in but a single leap and heading straight towards Ink Scroll.
It was all over in a matter of moments. One of the Royal Guards tasked with maintaining order reacted quickly, tackling Applejack to the floor before the livid farm pony even had the chance to reach her intended target. The combination of Twilight’s objection and the sudden commotion at the front of the room had brought the whole court to a standstill, with not a sound in the chamber save for those of Applejack struggling against the guard. Rainbow Dash’s mouth opened and closed uselessly, again and again.
Honor Bound smacked his gavel loudly against his stand. “Order! Order! I will have order in my courtroom!”
Applejack paid the judge little heed, continuing her futile attempts to worm out from under the larger stallion. “Rainbow!” She grunted, “ya don’t owe this suit nothin’. Don’t say anythin’ else. It’s gonna be alright. Ya don’t owe ‘im.” She shifted her body weight but remained pinned. “Get offa me.”
Ink Scroll’s gaze flicked from the tussle just behind him to the bench and back again, his eyes wide. “Just what is going on here? Miss Dash?”
“No!” Twilight roared. “She isn’t answering any more of your questions. You were deliberately trying to make her angry. I won’t stand for this.”
“I can assure you that was not my intention.”
“I should’ve stopped you before any of this happened.”
“Miss Sparkle,” Honor Bound fixed her with a stern eye, “if you cannot control your friend, I will be forced to hold her in contempt of court.”
“AJ, please.” Twilight called. Reluctantly, Applejack quit her struggling, and the guard relaxed, though he kept the mare pinned. “Your Honor, you said you would stop Mr. Scroll if my client became too distressed. Well, just look at her.”
Twilight’s words, of course, has the unintended consequence of not only shifting the judge’s attention away from the floor and towards Rainbow Dash, but nearly everyone else’s in the room as well. It was only a few seconds before the blanched pegasus, suddenly feeling the burning weight of countless eyes fixed upon her, leapt from her seat and bolted for the door.
“Rainbow!” With an almighty effort, Applejack managed to throw the guard off of her and jumped to her feet, taking off after her panicked friend.
Deaf to the world behind her, Rainbow Dash burst through the door and out into the deserted hallway beyond. Applejack followed, right on her heels, sliding as her hooves lost purchase on the slippery marble floors. “Rainbow! Wait! It’s Ok!” She chased her through the back halls of the courthouse, skidding around corners until Rainbow Dash finally ducked out of sight through a plain door marked ‘Mares’.
Applejack hurried in behind her, slowing her frantic pace. “Rainbow? It’s alright, it’s…” her words of comfort died on her lips as she stuck her head through one of the stall doors, only to watch helplessly as the contents of her friend’s stomach splashed into the toilet.
That lawyer will burn...
Yes, it LIVES :D
Keep up the good work. Can't wait for more
not entirely sure what to think about it all. though i think rainbow dash reacted well enough, before shouting she was gay, revealing her secret to the world............. and i really have doubts that even if aj pounded him to an inch of his life, because of what he just forced rainbow to do, that celestia would definitely let it slide.
eithre way it seems pretty clear now that rainbow did not give consent. and when applejack's reason for attacking is revealed even HE will have to realize that rainbow dash is indeed homosexual and thus far less likely to try to have sex with soarin...... could applejack be brought up as a witness to prove rainbow's claim?
also her parents too.
4526645 You got that right!
I hope that they disbar the jerk, and that Soarin' gets his filthy tail kicked out of the 'Bolts, and court-martialed!
If the Wonderbolts are considered part of the Equestrian military, that is.
And good for AJ for being there for her friend (marefriend?)! Hopefully, she can help her get through what she (Rainbow) just dropped on the whole world, via what happened in that courtroom.
4526645 4526740 Tell me, why exactly should Ink Scroll burn? For doing his job?
However much we the readers are on Dash's side here and that Soarin is most likely guilty, the law states he still must have his side objectively defended and for his lawyer to try and prove his innocence beyond a shadow of a doubt. In the eye of the judicial system, he is still an innocent stallion until proven guilty, despite the opinion of most of the characters or the readers. Ink Scroll HAS to defend Soarin, and must to do so thoroughly. Yes, it is a horrible situation, but it's not Ink Scroll's fault he's in a position where he has to prove a mare claiming she was raped is wrong; I mean, notice he never at one point called her a straight-up liar.
4526760: the judge warned him about pushing Rainbow Dash, and he went and debilerately did it anyway; he's clearly working directly for Soarin in order to prove him innocent.
Anyone willing to work to help someone of that matter of crime lost his soul long ago.
4526760 yes he is using roundabout. it is one thing if he was simply defending soarin, it is his job, but his tactics are nothign short of amoral even by court standards. hell he was trying to piss her off, maybe hoping to fuck with the rape victim enoguh for her to change her story. doing this specifically because she IS a rape victim and he knows he could use her vulnerability against her............ yeah he needs to burn for doing that.
though if he does not realize that his tactic only revealed further evidence that rainbow dash would not consensually have sex with soarin, and that he basically made her vomit out one of her closest kept secrets in front of so many people, then.......... well let us say a sharp dagger and the sudden dissappearance of his root and stem. even if he has to cotninue defending soarin, he should at least acknowledge he went to far and regret it.
Just take your time. We will not judge you when the final result is this good. You take pride in qvality over qvantety, and that is the reason you have over 600 likes in your story. And don't worry about diffrent timelines between the story and the real deal. Most of the stories will come across that after a while. Just do what you are best in.
4526772
If that's the case, that's a failing on the judge's part.
I think you may have not listened to what I said: That is exactly what a defending lawyer's job is! To prove him innocent.
What I find funny was that Rainbow or Ink Scroll never mentioned the blood running down her hind legs. Clearly signs of forced entry if you ask me.
4526772 So in your opinion anyone accused of rape is automatically guilty? The circumstances involved do not matter? People never lie about that kind of thing?
4526760 That may be true on all counts (it's just one of the many reasons that I absolutely hate lawyers like him (you've heard the saying "Monet talks, BS walks", right?), but I totally agree with both 4526772 and 4526774. They both raised very valid points on the matter.
As for why we feel Ink Scroll should burn for "doing his job", I'm sure that we can all agree that we all feel, more of less to a degree, that there are lawyers who should burn for "doing their job".
Case in point: O.J. Simpson's "Dream Team" of attorneys. I'm quite sure that there are those folks who think that they should burn for getting him off for what happened back then. (I'm not one of them, though. But I'm not gonna start a big debate about that; just making a point.)
4526993 Hmmmm, good point. If I may, dear sir.......
For Rainbow's part, it may have been because she was too traumatized to remember or think about it.
(Although Twilight, as her legal council should have thought of it, and brought it up herself.)
And as for Ink Scroll not doing so; well, I'm sure that he wouldn't have brought it up, knowing how damaging it would be to his client's case.
I can't believe it, I mean, I know I've said it before, how Ink Scroll was my favorite character and that I was kind of on his side? I'm now off of Rainbow's side and completely onto his. He's only one thinking things through rationally, the prosecution just seems to be about blind angry justice, and it is becoming more and more likely that he's right about most of the things he's said.
I'm not saying I'm on Soarin's side, just his lawyer...Also, the whole her being gay thing better not be the thing that lets her win. That kind of...just adds credit, in the eyes of the law, that Ink Scroll's theory about her regretting it afterward was true. Sexuality isn't as hard-lined as people think, and they were both piss-drunk as far as anyone knows. If he is any kind of intelligent lawyer, he would immediately make the connection of "Drunk + Gay = A lot of regret about sex when she wasn't in a right state of mind."
Something big better be revealed when this inevitably ends in Rainbow's favor, as the author is clearly pointing this in one direction. Because as it stands now he would and should be declared innocent, or they both get charged with rape if that doesn't happen. Something has to be revealed, but if he is found guilty without any new information, it would be a huge disservice to the legal system as a whole.
Hmm....
While AppleDash isn't exactly my ship of choice (Crosses my OTP), I gave this story a chance. And I like it. Especially since it captures my hate of SoarinDash.
You, sir, have earned an upvote and favorite.
4527089
I may have written several AppleDash stories in the past, but one of my goals in writing this one was always to concoct a shipping-free story, so no AppleDash here. Now, AJ and RD may be particularly close friends, but there won't be any further relationship.
4527094
Hard to read as in difficult, or as in painful?
4527087
It also might be worth baring in mind that RD could honestly and wholeheartedly believe that she was raped, but (thanks to memory blackout) have no real memories of the incident, and thus cannot prove it herself. Thus she wouldn't be lying.
One of the things I'm trying to convey is that this whole incident doesn't have to be a black-and-white either "Soarin' raped Rainbow and is completely guilty" or "Rainbow is lying and Soarin' is completely innocent" either/or type of situation. There's a substantial grey area that i'm really trying to point out.
That did should be a didn't.
4527148 Ah, my apologies. Must be my shipping goggles turned up too high. Still, the anti-SoarinDash is awesome...
and the whole mystery of if he actually did it.
I really feared the possibility of this wonderful story, which is so interesting to read, to be cancelled or dead... I'm so glad my worries were empty. Once again, thank you so much for writing such a great story!
4527148
But you have the whole Spitfire thing where she woke up, presumably assaulted from what she said / her actions / her general avoidance of everypony. So while yeah the memory black out thing makes it almost a grey area [not to substantial]. You have to take into account that his semen was inside her; She is experiencing psychological distress and suffereing [which InVerse is a fact]; and after the act considered it rape.
Oh! And Laws regarding Rape. Second paragraph, also Ctrl+F: drunk
Edit:
Also I'm glad you are still doing this fic. It's awesome, and I love following it.
Don't use Rainbow Falls for anything. Seriously. They ignore so much previous cannon, and the Wonderbolts act like a bunch of jerks ignoring the cannon lessons / personalities they showed during Wonderbolt Academy. So your Soarin is still a good Soarin.
And I hope this fic last for a while longer. Also we don't know what Equestria's laws are. This fic might open up things for Equestria's laws to mirror earth's laws regarding intoxicated sex.
4527087 Honestly SOMETHING happened to Rainbow Dash at that party, and it wasn't pleasant. She was assaulted and the facts are pretty clear. There is more to this than meets the eye. Hopefully the author hasn't missed this detail (or there is something else building here).
(Warning spoilers!)
Taken from chapter one: Applejack understood. She had seen. Just before her best friend spun around, she had seen. She did not want to, could not, believe, yet she had seen. It shook her to her core, and she tried desperately to think of something, anything, that could explain what she had seen, anything except that. But there was no answer. There was only that. That which she could hardly fathom, yet understood all the same. She saw the dark stain of blood running down her best friend's rear leg, and she knew, like a great, two-ton boulder falling to the pit of her stomach, exactly what it meant.
What I want to know is the time gap, because if there was not any window in the room then SOMEONE would have seen her. I beginning to think that this is a cover up because one the behavior of the staff, two a broken elevator and three no one saw her leave not even the bartender. Lastly a wonderbolt could have changed the sheets before they came up.
Agh, the ambiguity! I honestly am not sure how I'd vote if I was on that jury (i.e. not previously acquainted with RD or most of the events of this story)... I think that means ur doin it rite. And this being an alternate continuity pretty much went without saying. Don't fret, just write as you will.
...At the very least I know there'll be payoff from Spitfire's distressed wakeup scene back near the beginning. I just hope it's not too little too late to save RD's rep or state of mind, or to prevent a grave injustice (whatever that even is).
4526993
4527008
I kind of hate myself for pointing this out, but that was brought up during Doctor Stable's testimony and cross-examination last chapter.
4526740 That lawyer is doing his job, even if it is a rather cruel one, it pays the bills and keeps him alive.
Also, AppleDash is highly unlikely here... But the whole appeal to this story for me is the setting and characterization, it's legitimately believable and "Shattered' is a very good, if a bit vague description of Rainbow's state of mind, also... I like seeing courtroom stories because they can end several ways, both in fiction and in life.
First off, I have to say that I'm glad this story is still alive and kicking. This is definitely one of my favourites on this site, and I always eagerly searched for it on my updates whenever I logged in. I'll be very happy to see it up there more often now.
4527087
Glad to see someone out there isn't calling for Ink Scroll's execution.
I'd say if anything is most likely to throw a spanner in the works for Ink Scroll is Spitfire. At least, I think that would be the most obvious thing to do, as I feel that, from the few parts of the story that focused on her, that she both knows what happened and is somewhat distraught by it. She even got a little mention in this chapter that seemed to indicate that she knew something was about to happen. Of course, because of how obvious of a course of action this seems, it would not surprise me to much if this was a red herring.
The slightly less obvious but far more interesting thing to do would be to actually have the prosecution fail to get a conviction, not so much for the surprise of this action occurring (as you said, it could be a fair possibility without some sort of endgame reveal) but for how this action would be handled by the characters involved.
Either way, I can't wait to see where this story goes.
4527585
Much like him do not worry about canon to much, beside are fanfiction suppose to be non-canon? Shipping for example, is it shown in the show that they are lesbians? So do not be worry about soarins personality.
4528391 Aw, crap! Forgot about that!
Thanks for reminding me.
You and OneAmongOthers, that is.
4528520 I think that this is something that we'll just have to agree to disagree on, and leave it at that. Okay?
Hmmmm, maybe so, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see, huh?
And yes, indeed, it is. That's why I like it so much myself. Sleazebag lawyers be damned.
4528649
Well technically fanfics build off cannon or take the characters and put them in new situations [while keeping them in character [for fanfics that are any good]. Although you do have some lee-way one direction or the other before personally it becomes to much.
As for them being lesbian. Link
The Cannon Gender Split as of Season 3 was 488 females to 264 males. Making it 1.85 females per 1 male. [S4 didn't mess up that ratio all that much.] So technically a high amount of female lesbianism / bi-sexuality is canonically possible [since there are so few males compared to females, you have to be lucky to catch one]. Then of course you have tons of HoYay! Moments which make them being lesbians / bi very possible.
4528655 Lawyers are sleezebags, more often than not they don't care about the client at all as long as they're being paid, I prefer to have some social interaction with a lawyer. If I hire a permanent lawyer it'll be someone I'll invite over for a beer or something, not someone who just cares about my money, a friend who would defend me, not a stranger who acts as a bodyguard from the law.
This Ink Scroll is one of the ones I would prefer to avoid, but it IS a job, someone has to do it and the amount of money that comes with it does corrupt a good deal of lawyers.
I'm saying that I don't agree with how he's acting, he's almost sadistic, but rather I'm saying that it's his job and sometimes in order to get the verdict you want you have to be as impersonal as possible.
Blah blah blah, psychology crap blah, blah blah point is I don't care for what he's doing either, but it's all he knows and it's how he supports his family...
"You will do whatever you have to do to ensure the survival of your family, it's a part of being human."
4528680
While I recognize the gender difference, would that be a huge issue in the long run? For example lets picture a village of 1000 people, 200 are male while 800 are female. Now let say 600 of them are bi, leaving about 200 straight females. The remaining 200/200 have one kid. So in the next generation when they turn adults the population is now 200. Because of the sudden loss of manpower the economy gets hit and ect.
4528704 Well, you make a good point there.
I still have an intense dislike of lawyers in general, though. But that's just me.
An example would be one who practices in the town where I used to live before my mom passed away. He is a good attorney, I'll give him that, but what I despise about him is that he has represented a cousin of my brother's on that side of the family (Bobby is technically my half-brother, so I, thank God, am not related to said cousin in any way at all).
Why do I say "Thank God" for that? Well, this slimebag, poor excuse for a "human being" has gotten more DUI charges than you can shake a Pegasus feather at (to the point that he has permanently lost his driver's license in the state of Missouri!), and this attorney has gotten him off numerous times! As long as this cousin of my bro's has the money, this guy will continue to do this. And I despise him for that.
4528731
Actually it does make a rather huge difference. Especially when you take in magical steps to getting pregnant without a male and / or for lack of a better word, futa-spells. With a heavy female split, with access to magic, or those with magic it'd simply be easier to be with what ever you can get. Now lets say that 200 of those males are straight [I'm not going to be giving double standards and say guys can't be gay in FIMVerse]. So we have 288 females who have access to multiple forms of pregnancy without males, or can't get to have a male. Since there is a limited number of males to get to begin with.
Now Equestria isn't like China with it's kill all the females (or in FIMVerses case "males") to make it so heavily leaning towards female births. They've had a civilization before Equestria, and over a thousand years as a society.
Since births show them to be heavily female based as well. It's a genetic thing. My headcannon is it's a genetic throwback from when they had herds rather than monogamy [where multiple females with a male made sense]. But throw in monogamy, genetic leaning towards female births, and you have a society that has a lot of excess females, thus lesbianism or even bi-sexuality is a given. And females will literally always outshadow the males in Equestria.
4526971
Clearly Ink Scroll didn't get the memo that Rainbow Dash is a protagonist of this story, and thus acting against them is objectively wrong. This is what happens to the genre blind characters!
I'll say this right now. This was all supposed to be some sort of hazing ritual that went awry because RD is gay and Spitfire didn't realize it until after the fact. Rainbow was completely passed out for a few hours while Soarin did the deed and when she awoke, she freaked the flying fuck out before Spit could explain the ritual. The staff of the hotel is OBVIOUSLY in the Wonderbolts' pocket, giving false testimonies so they can keep their honor. They are possibly in Soarin's pocket, if his demeanor is anything to judge by. That or he is just the guy all the Wonderbolt mares thinks is best at sex. Ink Scroll is probably unawares of the false testimonies, but I wouldn't put it past him to have a hoof in making said testimonies match. Spitfire will obviously barge in and tell the whole truth due to her guilty conscience.
Do I get a cookie nao?
"Rape is only rape if you can prove it occurred"
So I guess murder is only murder if you can prove it happened? Oh my God, I don't know much about law, but SERIOUSLY?!
This story just gets better and better.
Well... Plot-twist.
4529567 Well with rape it could be a casual sexual encounter, not rape. It's only rape is she can PROVE she didn't want it at the time. Murder on the other hand, is different cus it's against the law. Sex isn't, so unless she can prove he raped her without her consent, it's just sex.
I was really happy to see Twilight on top of her game this chapter. I'm glad she finally starting objecting him, and stopping him from badgering the witness until he got the response he wanted. Sure, the judge overruled them, but even an overruled objection can throw a lawyer off rhythm, and give the witness time to recover and think. Now if only she could've been this good throughout the entire trial.
Ink Scrolls is really playing with fire here in this court case. If both members are drunk there is some gray area for him to work with. But, one wrong move, and he's done. Rainbow's last declaration may be that one wrong move, but I'll have to wait and see how this plays out. Ink Scrolls can still work his way around this, and have it declared a drunken mistake.
All i can say is
4529567
4527585
With rape laws there's a lot of grey area to work with when both members are drunk. When you're drunk you can make some stupid decisions sometimes, like having sex with someone, and of course you will regret these decisions later. But, it's not fair to accuse someone of rape, and destroy their life, because you made a mistake.
So, for it to really be rape, you have to prove that there's no way the client could've possibly given consent, you have to prove that it wasn't a drunken mistake.
4529567
Also unfortunately the innocent until proven guilty laws mean that yes, murder is only murder if you can prove that it happened. The law does have it's ups and downs, but overall it's probably better that we have the law in place. Otherwise I can accuse someone of murder, and have him thrown in jail for life, even if he was completely innocent.
4526760
4528704
The man may be doing his job, but you have to remember this is completely optional. It's not like he has to defend Soarin, he volunteered, because he knew that he could take a lot of money from his client if he proved he was innocent. This is why I don't like Ink Scrolls. He knows that most likely Soarin did rape Rainbow Dash, but he doesn't care, all he cares about is lining his pockets with lots of cash, he even said this earlier. That's the kind of lawyer I dislike. The lawyer that will do anything for money, even help a guilty man get off free for his charges. I don't want to burn these lawyers, and I respect that they are trying to get a paycheck, in a corrupt way, but still... I prefer Lawyers that prefer justice over lining their pockets with a lot of money. I just can't like and support a man who's helping criminals run free.
4527087
One problem with this though is that the decision is still left in the hands of the jury, and the jury isn't always going to see things in the light you did. This gay thing, may be a pointless addition to someone who knows the law well, but it is a very powerful addition for the common people who will not understand the grey area you are referring to. I could easily see this helping Dash win the case here, and I could see it helping someone win if this was a case in real life.
It also doesn't help that Ink Scrolls will never get the ability to question Dash further, since Dash running out ended her testimony. The judge will not let him continue his cross-examination. So, it'll be hard for him to get out the point that Rainbow being gay will lead to more regret.
good job
As in 2.1 percent? I don't claim to know much about equine physiology, but if 2.1 percent of her blood was ethanol, I'm pretty certain she wouldn't remember anything. Because she would be dead as shit. BACs of .40% will put you into a coma, and possibly cause heart failure. I can't imagine how much liquor you would have to drink to get to even that threshold.
Sorry, but that really bothered me.
Whelp, this whole case has imploded in on Twilight faster than a star implodes after running out of silicon. If Soarin's not found "not guilty" by this point, not only will it cause a substantial jimmy rusting on my part, but would also probably be a cause célèbre in Equestria.
4526645
Why? What has the lawyer done that's illegal or unethical? He was poking some huge holes in Dash's story--holes big enough for a post-panamax ship to sail through.
4526760
I guess I'm one of the only people who's been skeptical of his guilt since the get go. Dash's memory lapses have only sealed it.
4526772
Actually, the judge said:
Meaning, he (the judge) would warn Scroll if the questioning started distressing Dash. Since no warning was given, the judge evidently felt Dash wasn't stressed enough.
Uh, yes. That is his job. He wouldn't be a very good defense attorney if he wasn't trying to prove his client's innocence. That is what he's getting paid for, after all.
So what you're saying is: anyone charged with a violent crime should be summarily found guilty because they should never be defended. Judge Dredd would love you.
4526774
Please point to me where picking apart a witness's testimony to find errors and inconsistencies in it is a violation of ethics. In fact, that's the whole damn point of cross-examination.
This entire case requires Dash's memory to be pinpoint solid. It's he said/she said. The physical evidence only proves that a sloppy sexual encounter took place and there's no other witnesses (even if there were, they are inadmissible due to the trial already being underway). Dash's memory is clearly not solid and no where close to being enough to convict. If she can't accurately remember what happened then how do we know a rape happened? We only have Dash's faulty memory to show it.
4527087
Soarin being declared "not guilty" is the only real way I can see this story ending. Any deus ex machinas (Pinkie, Spitfire, etc) would not only kill the story from a reading standpoint, but wouldn't fit with the justice system (discovery's already done and if the judge accepts any "surprise" evidence/witnesses, Soarin's sitting on a big fat juicy appeal).
That [Tragedy] tag continues to remind me that such an ending is a very real likelihood, if the author actually employs it properly.
4529567
Yes, requireing proof that something happened is how the legal system works, although, a medical examiner can generally tell whether a death was "homicide" or not. Rape's a different ballgame entirely as plenty of people have consenting "rough sex" that can lead to injury.
4530701
I think he misdid the decimal. It's supposed to be .21%. Wikipedia does state the highest ever recorded was 2.23%, although it was from someone who died in a car accident so it may not be accurate. The highest from someone living was 1.6%.
4530811 there is trinyg to find error, yes. then there is trying to fuck with a rape victim's head. he was trying to fuck with rainbow dash's head and try to get a reaction out of her. he could have been straight to the point but he wasn't.
4530811 there is trinyg to find error, yes. then there is trying to fuck with a rape victim's head. he was trying to fuck with rainbow dash's head and try to get a reaction out of her. he could have been straight to the point but he wasn't.
4526971 4530811>>4527008 : That wasn't what I meant, but too late to correct myself...*sigh*...
You know, this whole story has a huge load of plot-holes, that should be easily covered in a world where magic is real: they have spells that shapeshift selected ponies, travel through time (which they could also use HERE!), reverse gravity, and many others. Surely they would have some sort of Truth Spell that could reveal what happened. And if not, why not just use the Elements of Harmony on Soarin and call it a day (this is set before Season 4, right?): If he's innocent, then they'll spare him. If he's guilty, they'll punish him accordingly.