Author's Note - As this part begins the portion of the trial where witness testimony will be heard, portions where the witness will give testimony will be written as a transcript.
State Evidence went through her witness list and decided who she would call first. Thorax and Plea both waited as the mare prepared to examine her first witness. After a few moments, she stood up and announced her decision.
"Prosecution calls Heavy Hitter to the stand."
A moment after she said this, Thorax heard a set of hooves walking up behind him. Turning around to face the source, his eyes went wide upon seeing the red earth pony that attempted to tackle him in that alleyway. The bailiff walked over to the small gate separating the audience area from the trial area and opened it, allowing Heavy Hitter to approach the witness stand. Once he stepped up to the stand and took a seat, the bailiff approached him.
"Please raise your right hoof" the bailiff told Heavy, who complied by raising said hoof. "Heavy Hitter," he continued, "You are a witness to events pertaining to charges levied by this court against the defendant, Thorax. Your truthfulness in your testimony will be paramount in determining if the defendant is guilty as charge or innocent of the accusations against him. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, under penalty of perjury for giving false testimony?"
"I do" came Heavy Hitter's response.
The bailiff nodded to the judge, who returned it and looked at State Evidence. After receiving the go-ahead from the judge, she approached the stand and began her questioning.
SE - Would you state your name for the record please?
HH - Heavy Hitter, ma'am.
SE - If you would, please recall the events that occurred approximately two weeks ago.
HH - Well, my friends and I were on our way to the open air market held every Saturday in front of the Crystal Palace. We were nearly there when we heard a filly calling for help. We weren't sure what was happening, but we figured that we should see what was going on. We came across an alleyway, and when we checked it, we saw three changelings that had a filly backed up against a wall.
SE - Three changelings, you say?
HH - Yes, ma'am. They were preparing to abduct the filly.
(shocked gasps)
SE - They were attempting to abduct the filly? Are you certain?
HH - Fairly certain.
SE - Did you report them to the guard?
HH - Not at that moment.
SE - Why not at that moment?
HH - There were no guards around to report it too. The only ponies that could help her were my friends and myself?
SE - So you and your friends took on a trio of changelings? Seems awful risky.
HH - In hindsight, not the smartest choice, but it's the only one other than go hunting for a guard and leaving her to be taken.
SE - I suppose that would be the only option available in that situation. So what happened next?
HH - Well, my friends Velvet Dice and Leather Whip crept up behind two of the changelings and charged up spells to use on them. I snuck up too, but since I can't use unicorn magic, I had to wait for the right moment to wheel around and buck one with my hooves.
SE - Your friends were charging up spells? What kind of spells?
HH - I'm not a unicorn, but my best guess was that they were supposed to be stunning spells of some sort.
SE - What led you to that assumption?
HH - After they released the spells, the changelings flinched back and fell to the ground and didn't move for a few moments.
SE - That does sound typical of stunning spells. What happened with the third changeling?
HH - He got startled by the other two suddenly falling over and turned around to face us. By the time he got around to look at us, I was already facing away from him with my hind legs cocked for a good strong kick.
SE - What was the result of your attack?
HH - I connected solid with his head and he wheeled back and fell down. He was out cold before he hit the ground.
SE - So you're attack knocked the third changeling out? Quite a feat. I notice that you have a sledgehammer as your cutie mark. Does this mean your special talent is delivering hard blows?
HH - More or less. Honestly, I got it while helping one of my uncles with their construction company. After I got it, all the other stallions there said I got it because I was a one pony wrecking crew.
SE - Judging by your overall size and build, I can understand why they'd say that. As for your blow, do you know if it caused any kind of injury to the changeling?
HH - I don't believe so. He wasn't bleeding and none of his fangs broke off. Nopony likes them, but I have to admit, they are pretty durable and can take a pretty good beating.
SE - What happened next?
HH - The two that my friends had knocked out had gotten back up and were about to come after us, but I think they heard guards coming so they took off.
SE - Didn't they make an effort to grab their third?
HH - No. They looked like they wanted to get away in a hurry.
SE - What happened after they left?
HH - We went to look over the filly. She must've passed out from the strain of the situation because she was unconscious when we got to her.
SE - Are you sure she wasn't under the influence of a knockout spell?
HH - Like I said earlier, I don't understand unicorn magic, so I guess that maybe it was, but why wouldn't the changelings have just led with that?
SE - That does make sense. I seem to remember a moment ago that you said the spells your friend used only stunned the two changelings momentarily. I take it they got back up shortly after you checked the filly?
HH - We'd just finished looking her over when we heard hissing behind us. The other two had gotten up and were going to try and catch us off guard.
SE - Did they succeed?
HH - In a sense. We were definitely surprised to see them get up as quickly as they did.
SE - If they had the drop on you, how did you manage to escape?
HH - They were getting ready to pounce when the one stopped and then stopped the other. The acted like they were listening and then looked at the third. They both shook their heads and took off down the alley.
SE - What do you think they heard?
HH - I believe it was the guard approaching.
SE - So what did you do when the guards showed up?
HH - They didn't arrive until a few moments later. In that time, we saw the third changeling trying to recover and take the filly. I gave him one good shot to the back of the head and knocked him out again. Once we were sure he was out cold, we noticed he grabbed the filly's tail, and being unable to open his jaws, we cut her tail hair to get her free.
SE - When the guards did show up, what did you tell them?
HH - The first guard we saw was a stallion, and we told him the story we told you. His backup arrived as he was assessing the scene. That's when he recognized the third changeling and said that it was the one the princess had allowed to stay here.
SE - If this was the same changeling, then you should be aware that his magic was being restricted by a ring on his horn. Was he wearing that ring when you found him?
HH - I can't recall. I know the guard found a broken ring in the alley when they started looking around for evidence. The other two probably helped him remove and destroyed it so the guards couldn't put it back on right away.
SE - So, to recap, you were going to the market, heard three changelings attack a filly, attacked them in order to save the filly, with two of them running off and leaving their third behind, and then gave your testimony about what happened to the guard who first got to the scene. Is that correct?
HH - That is pretty much the gist of what happened.
SE - Thank you. I have no further questions for now.
Thorax didn't like the sound of the story. It would sound plausible to the ponies, but he knew that changelings would not be caught by surprise. Training in the hive dictated that any time an enemy made an attempt to surprise them, they were to react immediately with hostility. Of course, revealing this information to ponies would probably not bode very well for how ponies would perceive him.
The judge interrupted Thorax's thoughts by clearing his throat. "Defense, you may now cross examine the witness" he told Plea. Plea examined his notes and stood up, walking over to the witness stand.
PB - Mister Heavy Hitter, you said you and your friends were heading to the market, correct?
HH - I did.
PB - And you witnessed a trio of changelings attacking a filly?
HH - Yes.
PB - And your friends and you all attacked the changelings, briefly stunning two of them and knocking one out cold?
HH - We did.
PB - You said your friends used spells on the changelings. Do you happen to know what kind?
HH - No. All I know is they were spells that they'd been taught as a means to defend themselves. They were just some simple stunning spells, I think.
PB - Stunning spells? Are you sure that's what they were?
HH - All I know is they used the spells on the changelings and it incapacitated them for a moment or so.
PB - Those do sound like stunning spells with how you describe them. Now, you said before that the changeling you kicked, also known as the defendant, you didn't show any signs of outward damage. However, a brief medical assessment of him at the scene revealed discoloration of hit chitin, which is consistent of bruising in his kind. Would you please explain the contradicting statements?
HH - I looked him over after the first kick. The second one must've caused the bruising.
PB - I suppose that's possible. I have one more question for you. I took notice as you approached the witness stand that you seem to walk awkwardly, as though you've hurt your barrel somehow. Can you tell us if you did injure yourself and how you managed that?
HH - I did become injured, but not that day. I received a letter from my marefriend about a week and a half ago. My one friend, who I leave nameless, stole it from me and was teasing me about it. I chased after him to reclaim the letter, but as we entered our kitchen, I slipped on some tiles and ran barrel first into our kitchen island. It was sturdy built and I hit pretty hard, so my barrel is rather sore because of it.
PB - Sounds kind of serious. Did you see a doctor about it?
HH - An uncle of one of my friends is a physician. He gave me a look over and said it wasn't too serious. Just rest and put ice on it every now and then and I'd be fine.
PB - Interesting. I have no further questions.
"The witness is excused," the judge said announced. Heavy Hitter gave a nod and stepped down from the bench. The judge wrote some things down before telling State Evidence to call her next witness.
"Prosecution calls Leather Whip to the stand."
As before, a stallion Thorax was way too familiar with made his way to the witness stand. He was swore in with the same oath as Heavy Hitter, and he then took a seat. State Evidence approached the witness stand and began her questioning.
SE - Please state your name for the record.
LW - Leather Whip, ma'am.
SE - Please, in your own words, recall the events that transpired a couple of weeks ago.
LW - As my friend said before, he, myself and another friend were heading to the market at the base of the Crystal Palace to get some things we needed, and on the way there, we overheard some kind of struggle, and after some searching, we witnessed a group of changelings preparing to abduct a filly.
SE - Could you describe this filly they were trying to take?
LW - Yes. She had a light mint-green coat, and her mane and tail were a raspberry red color.
SE - Did she have a cutie mark?
LW - Yes. A raspberry with two mint leaves on top of it.
SE - And you saw a group of changelings trying to foalnap her?
LW - Yes, ma'am.
SE - How many changelings were in the group?
LW - Three.
SE - Only three?
LW - If there were more, we never saw them.
SE - What did you do after seeing the changelings attempting to abduct the filly?
LW - We looked around for a guard, but didn't see any near by. My friend Velvet Dice then gave me a looked at me as if to say we were her only hope and had to act before they took her away.
SE - He said all that with a look?
LW - Yes ma'am. We've been friends for so long, we have a kind of unspoken language between us.
SE - I see. So, you looked around for a guard and saw none, and that's when you two decided to act?
LW - Yes, ma'am.
SE - How did you approach the situation?
LW - Velvet and I have some basic combat experience, and we knew the best thing to do would be to get the filly and ourselves as far away from the changelings as possible, so we picked the two who were attempting to cocoon the filly and gave cast stunning spells at them.
SE - What happened after you both cast your spells?
LW - Our spells connected, and the two changelings were targeting got knocked out for a few moments.
SE - And what of the third?
LW - Like my friend Heavy told you, he managed to buck the third one hard enough to knock it out cold.
SE - Yes. He said that he managed to surprise that one. Did he?
LW - Not quite. After the two fell down from our spells, the changeling wheeled around to confront us, but Heavy already had his kick wound up and released it before he could react.
SE - So he got knocked out, but the other two regained consciousness?
LW - Yes. They got back to their feet and were about to attack us when they must've heard the guard. I suppose they figured their comrade was going to slow them down so they just abandoned him to save their own necks.
SE - I assume the guard showed up sometime shortly after their escape?
LW - They did. We gave them our story and they investigated to see if they could locate the other two changelings.
SE - Did they find them?
LW - No. I believe they managed to get away.
SE - I see. What happened then?
LW - The guards started examining the alleyway for evidence.
SE - What happened with the filly?
LW - She must've passed out from the stress, because she was lying on the ground unconscious. We offered to take her home, and the guard let us.
SE - The guards let you take her home?
LW - They had plans to take her home, but wouldn't be able to do so until they had dealt with the crime scene. Since we were free to go until we were subpoenaed to be witnesses, we made the offer so she could recover in a more comfortable place then a dingy alleyway.
SE - How did you know where to take her?
LW - The guard had found out her identity and address and told us where to go.
SE - And the guards just let you take the filly home?
LW - As I said, they were preoccupied with the crime scene and the unconscious changeling, so they couldn't spare any guards at that moment to have one take her home.
SE - I see. Thank you. I have nothing further.
State Evidence took her seat at her table. The judge jotted down some more information and addressed Plea. "Defense, you may now cross examine the witness," he instructed him. Plea gave a nod and stood up, approaching the witness stand.
PB - Mister Leather Whip, you said the guards allowed you to take the filly home so that they could process the crime scene. What happened after you got to the address for the filly?
LW - We met her mother and explained what happened. She took her daughter to her room to lie down, and then she returned and thanked us for saving her and bringing her home.
PB - Are there any witnesses that can testify to this?
LW - Unfortunately, just the mother and the three of us.
PB - So we only have your words to go on?
SE - Your honor, I object to that question. He's implying that the witness is lying.
PB - Your honor, I am simply making the point that there were no other witnesses to corroborate the witness's story, so we can only take what he is telling us at face value.
Judge - Objection overruled. The question will still be kept on the record. Mister Whip, please answer the defense's question.
LW - Yes, unfortunately. As I said, only the mother, my friends, and myself can confirm what happened.
PB - Okay. Let's go back to the crime as it happened. You said that you saw three changelings trying to abduct the filly, and decided to step in and save her when there were no royal guards around?
LW - Yes, that's correct.
PB - You also said that you used some basic combat spells to get the drop on the changelings, correct?
LW - Yes, we did.
PB - Would you please give a rough description of the spells that you used? Nothing overly complicated; just a simple description of the intended effects.
LW - Well, the basic goal of the spell was to momentarily stun the target. For my spells, I elected to put more mana behind them than I normally would have.
PB - Why did you decide to add more mana?
LW - I had read some stories told by the royal guard after the Canterlot invasion. According to them, the spells they used were either too weak to have the desired effect or had no effect at all.
PB - You added more mana because you had read that the guards in Canterlot during the invasion, who would've been using more powerful combat magic due to the heightened threat level beforehoof, in order to make your spells more effective?
LW - I can only tell you what I did, not whether or not what I did was more effective than what royal guards can do.
PB - I have no further questions, but I may end up recalling you later.
Plea returned to his seat and jotted down notes on his yellow pad, then took a sip of water. The judge cleared his throat and addressed State again. "You may call your next witness" he told her.
State Evidence once again reviewed her notes and then stood up. "Prosecution calls Velvet Dice to the stand" she announced. A green unicorn that Thorax was familiar with stood up and approached the witness stand. He was sworn in and took his seat. State approached the stand to begin her examination.
SE - Please state your name for the record.
VD - Velvet Dice, ma'am.
SE - Please tell us what happened approximately two weeks ago in your own words.
VD - Well, as my two friends said before, we were heading to the market to pick up some things when we saw three changelings trying to foalnap a filly. We didn't see any guards nearby, so we decided to step in and try to stop them.
SE - According to previous testimony, you and your friend Leather Whip used some basic combat spells to attempt to subdue the changelings. Is that correct?
VD - Not exactly. We were only going to stun them long enough to grab the filly and get away.
SE - So you decided to attack and did so. Did the changelings react?
VD - Not immediately. Two of them froze up and fell to the ground. The third was caught off guard, and that's when Heavy bucked him hard with his hooves.
SE - Now, a guard appeared not too long after the altercation, correct?
VD - Yes, but two of the changelings that Leather and I had stunned recovered and got away.
SE - Was there an effort to locate them?
VD - Yes, but unfortunately, they got away.
SE - But the third one didn't?
VD - No, he did not.
SE - Is that third changeling here today?
VD - Yes, he is (points to defendant)
(audience becomes unruly)
Judge - (bangs gavel) Order! I will have order in this court!
(audience calms down)
Judge - Prosecutor, please continue your questioning.
SE - After the guard's search, what did you do?
VD - They asked us for statements, which we provided.
SE - What about the filly?
VD - The stress was too much for her and she passed out.
SE - Did she ever give a statement?
VD - No, or at least she didn't give one then.
SE - What happened with her?
VD - The guard identified her and came up with an address, but we overheard them saying that they were too busy examining the scene to take her home. We offered to do so.
SE - Did she get home?
VD - Yes. She's at home with her mother, as far as I know.
SE - Thank you. I have nothing further.
State Evidence took her seat. She wore a confident and smug grin on her face, feeling as though she had won the trial already. Plea and Thorax watched the exchange. Thorax was worried, but Plea was confident. "How can you be so confident?" he asked the attorney.
Plea looked at him with a smile. "Because I just thought of some questions that should help our case." he replied. Any further conversation was interrupted by the judge speaking.
"The defense may now cross examine the witness."
PB - Velvet Dice, correct?
VD - Yes, sir.
PB - You claim to have used a basic spell on the changelings to stun them. If you could please give a simplified explanation of the kind of spell you used.
VD - Well, the general idea of the spell was to stun the target momentarily. In that instance, it seemed to only work for a few seconds.
PB - Enough time to get the filly away.
VD - Yes, sir.
PB - Let's talk about that filly for a moment. You said the guard found her name and her address, correct?
VD - They did.
PB - Would you please tell us the name of the filly, please.
VD - According to what the guard told us, her name is Raspberry Mint.
PB - According to the guard? So they could've been wrong and given you the wrong information?
VD - Umm...
SE - Your honor, I object to this line of questioning. It has no bearing on the case.
PB - Your honor, this trial we're having is to determine whether or not my client is guilty of the charges filed against him, and since one of those charges is endangering the welfare of a filly, I would think the child's well being after the incident would be important to this trial.
Judge - Objection overruled. The well being of the filly will factor in to the verdict of the charges against the defendant. Mr. Dice, please answer the question.
VD - The guards didn't give us the wrong information. When we took her home, her mother was there to greet us, and the mare told us the same name the guards had told us the mother was.
PB - But, was the mare waiting there at the address for the filly the real mother, or one of the changelings that tried to abduct her earlier, according to your story?
VD - ...
PB - You mean to tell me that you turned over a child to a mare that you did not ensure was truly her mother?
SE - Your honor, I object to that question. The witness made a reasonable effort to confirm the mare was the filly's mother. Coupled with the fact that the guards later visited the address for the filly and checked both mother and child.as stated in their official report, makes this line of questioning pointless.
Judge - Objection sustained. Mr. Plea Bargain, I ask you to discontinue this line of questioning.
PB - Yes, your honor. I have no more questions for the moment, but I may recall the witness later.
Plea went back to the defense table and sat down. Thorax looked at him uneasily. "What was the point of that line of questioning?" he asked.
Plea took a sip of water before responding. "My goal was to cast some doubt on the stallions about parts of their story," the stallion explained, "I plan on doing the same thing later once we can make our arguments and call our expert witnesses."
Thorax didn't say anything, and chose to look at the judge and see what was going to happen next. As for the judge, he instructed State Evidence to continue with her witnesses. "Prosecution calls Lieutenant Onyx Stronghoof to the stand."
A pony in a simple dress uniform stood up and approached the stand. Thorax recognized him immediately; it was the stallion who had arrested and spat on him. The stallion approached the stand and was sworn in. Once he took his seat, State approached and began her questioning.
SE - Please state your name for the record.
OS - Onyx Stronghoof, 1st Lieutenant of the Crystal Empire Guard, ma'am.
SE - So, you're a guard?
OS - Yes, ma'am.
SE - If you would please, recall the events from approximately two weeks ago.
OS - I was stationed with my squad to watch over the open market being held at the base of the Crystal Palace. We were spread out around the perimeter and were watching the market for potential dangers and potential wrongdoing.
SE - What kind of wrongdoing?
OS - It's not uncommon for a pony to try and take something from a stand without paying. It's doesn't happen often, but it does happen.
SE - Did anything like that happen that day?
OS - No, ma'am. The market was relatively quiet in that regard.
SE - So you were stationed at the open air market. Did anything notable happen?
OS - Yes. We witnessed the defendant in the market with a pony from the palace staff. They were visiting various market stalls.
SE - The defendant was in the market with a member of the palace staff? Did they look in distress?
OS - No ma'am. In truth, she looked as though she was having a somewhat good time.
SE - What about the defendant?
OS - He... looked nervous.
SE - Nervous?
OS - Yes. He kept watching the ponies around him. I'm not sure why.
SE - Considering the events that occurred later that day, do you think he was waiting for some kind of signal from the other two changelings?
PB - Possibly.
SE - What happened next?
OS - We were keeping watch of him when a group of ponies approached him. From what we could hear, they were verbally harassing him.
SE - Verbally harassing him? Did you intervene?
OS - Not immediately. We were instructed by the captain of the guard that we were only to concern ourself with the physical safety of the defendant. Since he wasn't being attacked physically, we didn't see a reason to intervene.
SE - What happened after the ponies began harassing him?
OS - He appeared to have a panic attack and flew off to another part of the city.
SE - Which I assume is the point at which you followed him?
OS - We began pursuit once I gathered my guards and informed them of how we were to search for him.
SE - How you were to search?
OS - Yes. The captain gave us instructions on how to flush out changelings that could be in disguise. After I gave them their instructions, we took off in search of the defendant.
SE - And did you find him?
OS - We did. More specifically, I did. I took to the air and was checking the alleyways when I saw three stallions gathered around a black colored equine shape. After I landed, I confirmed that it was the defendant.
SE - What state was he in when you found him?
OS - He was unconscious, and appeared to have an injury to the back of his head.
SE - How could you tell he was injured there?
OS - I observed discoloration on the defendant's carapace, which is consistent for injuries in the defendant's species.
SE - So you have first hand evidence that changelings will get discolored chitin if they sustain physical injury?
OS - Yes, I do.
SE - And where did you acquire this knowledge?
OS - The defendant was attacked in the Crystal Palace about a month or so ago. Two of the staff disguised themselves as changelings and tried beating him to death in a hallway in the palace.
(shocked gasps from the audience section)
(shocked gasps from the juror section)
SE - So what the princess told us from about that same time was true?
OS - Yes, it was.
SE - Since he's here on trial today, we can assume he recovered.
OS - Yes, he did.
SE - Can you describe what happened after the attack on him?
PB- Your honor, I object to this line of questioning. It holds no bearing on the case at hoof.
Judge - Objection sustained. Prosecutor, please keep your questions on the topic of the crime for which the defendant is being tried.
SE - Sorry, your honor. Back to the attempted foalnapping. You arrived on the scene first and determined that the defendant was there and had an injury to their head?
OS - Yes, he did.
SE - What did the three stallions do?
OS - As soon as I landed, they started telling me about the attempt to abduct the foal.
SE - What did you do after you had all of their statements?
OS - I kept the three in the alley until backup showed up, which was only moments after I arrived. We cordoned off the area and began examining the alleyway for evidence. Once I was certain the scene was secure, I had another guard take an official written statement from the three stallions and then I arrested the defendant.
SE - Did the defendant resist arrest at all?
OS - No, he did not.
SE - Okay. On to the filly. What happened with her?
OS - One of our female guards gave her a brief physical inspection for any signs of trauma, as per guard regulations. Once we determined she was fine and not injured, we went about identifying her and determining her home address so she could be taken back to her mother.
SE - The filly was correctly identified as being one Raspberry Mint?
OS - Yes, she was.
SE - Now, the three previous witnesses testified that you allowed them to take the filly home. Is that correct?
OS - Yes, that is correct.
SE - Why did you allow them to do that?
OS - We were still in the process of examining the alleyway for evidence, and couldn't immediately take the filly back at that time. The three witnesses said they overheard us we read off her address and told us that they lived not far away from her and said they would take her home if we would allow it. I allowed them, but only after warning them that if the filly was not at her home address when we checked on her later, we would take them in on suspicion of foalnapping.
SE - Was there a follow up to make sure the filly returned home safely?
OS - A guard visited the address that was listed as being the home for the young filly. The filly was seen there and the mother was identified as being one Mint Julep.
SE - Was any confirmation made that the mare was indeed Mint Julep and not a disguised changeling?
OS - A magic detection spell was performed on the mare and no evidence of changeling magic was found on her.
SE - Is the spell used foolproof?
OS - It is the newest variation of the detection spell, created a few days earlier by the crystaller himself. Nopony has had enough time yet to study the matrices and find a workaround to beat the spell.
SE - Could such a thing happen?
OS - It's rare, but it happens sometimes. That's why the guard is always looking for good unicorns to serve in our mage corps.
SE - Thank you. I have nothing further.
State Evidence took her seat, satisfied with the questioning session. In that moment, Thorax thought of something and brought it to Plea's attention. Plea looked at him for a moment and smiled. "That may help," he told Thorax, "But it might also hurt, depending on how these ponies feel."
"The defense may now cross-examine the witness" the judge said to Plea, who stood up and approached the witness stand.
PB - So, Lieutenant Stronghoof, you were the arresting officer when my client was taken into custody, correct?
OS - Yes, I was.
PB - Please recall the process of arresting my client.
OS - The changeling was unconscious when we got to the scene. He came to shortly thereafter, and spat something from his mouth.
PB - What did he spit out?
OS - It was later confirmed, but I speculated at the time it was hair from the filly.
PB - So, my client came to shortly after you arrived. I take it he was treated fairly, with no unpleasant actions taken against him?
OS - ...Not exactly.
PB - Would you please explain.
OS - One of the witnesses pointed out the broken inhibitor ring that our forensic squad collected as evidence. Realizing that the changeling's magic was unrestrained, we acted with an appropriate amount of force that would be used for when a unicorn is being taken into custody.
PB - According to my client, he was kicked swiftly in the barrel so as to knock him down and keep him from standing up. Is this true?
OS - Yes, it is. Protocol dictates that when apprehending a suspect, only use force enough to subdue the offender. The kick was meant to keep him on the ground so he would be unable to run.
PB - And what about the spit?
OS - Beg pardon?
PB - The spit? According to my client, you spat on him rather contemptuously after kicking him to the ground.
SE - Your honor, I object. That claim is not part of the official statement collected from the defendant. The claim can only be accepted as hearsay.
Judge - Objection sustained. Lieutenant Stronghoof, you do not have to answer that question. Mister Plea Bargain, please keep the topics of your questions relating to witness testimony to that information contained within them.
PB - Yes, your honor. I have no further questions.
Plea returned to his seat, his expression looking more somber than before. Before Thorax could ask any questions, the judge interrupted his thinking. "The court shall recess for a one hour lunch. We will reconvene at 1 o'clock." The judge then banged his gavel and stood up.
"All rise as Judge Iron Gavel and Princess Cadance exit the courtroom," announced the bailiff. The judge stepped down from the pulpit and exited the courtroom. Princess Cadance stood up and did the same, but looked at Thorax for several moments before leaving. Even without his emotion-sensing abilities, he could tell the mare was very upset with him. Hanging his head, the changeling came to realize why the princess was acting as she was: she was still holding on to her prejudices, and the charges against him were only reinforcing that. Even if he won the case, he could still be banished from the Crystal Empire anyways.
Plea placed a hoof on Thorax's withers, getting the changeling's attention. "It's not over," Plea told Thorax, "The prosecution will call the rest of their witnesses, and we get a chance to cross examine them. Then, we get to call our own witnesses and present our own evidence. This trial isn't over. Not by a long shot." With that, the stallion gathered up all of his case documents and left to go to lunch, while Thorax was taken to the holding area to await the continuation of his trial.
The wait is killing me, would those a holes from Manehattan and hurry up arrest the witnesses to discredit them or make this a mistrial?
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You mean Van Hoover?
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Oh right, sorry derp. But point still stands. this is a sham of a kangaroo trial if i ever saw one.
The guards would have had to take Raspberry to a doctor regardless of the lack of obvious injuries and bring at least one of her parents/guardians to be present while they take a statement from her. Failure to do that would constitute a serious breach of protocol that can't be justified by 'being too busy collecting evidence to take care of the victim' - there's always a scene to be processed and evidence to be collected, and if there's a living victim involved, taking care of him/her takes priority over collection of evidence because you don't want to risk that the victim is dead by the time you scrub the scene for evidence even if he/she doesn't appear injured (edit: forgot to mention that a doctor's examination of the victim serves a forensic purpose as well as a medical one, and the doctor is required to list all injuries found, no matter how minor, because even a tiny scratch can help point the investigation in the right direction). Also, it's very unlikely that the filly needed to have her tail cut to release her from the (supposed) unconscious attacker's mouth, as all muscles automatically relax when you lose consciousness. It's interesting that Plea didn't address those little details
Only if Cadance wants to make herself look bad and upset Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and a bunch of other ponies.
It'll be okay Thorax! You have some good evidence behind you!!
And don't worry about taking time to adjust! Hope you at least manage to get some sleep before work
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this is what happens when the reader has a medical background and the author doesn't
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You know, it's alright to ask if you need advice on how to handle something
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I know. Just a detail overlooked unintentionally.
Actually, no he doesn't, but we'll worry about that bit later on in the trial, methinks.
Oh darn, somebody in their group wised up and decided it'd be smarter to NOT keep rounding up the number of changelings they'd claim were there. To be honest, I don't know why I thought so hard that they would, since there wouldn't be much in-story motive for them to be, considering they're trying to come across as believable here...but it WOULD have been amusing (at least for me ).
I do have to give State Evidence this much--she does know how to do her job, and to leave no detail unverified if possible so to build the strongest case she can.
I don't recall that actually being the case, so if we ever DO succeed at putting this filly on the stand...there's one big hole in this cover story.
Wait, I thought we'd just established that the supposed two stunned changelings had turned tail and fled before they went to check the supposed knocked out filly. Did they loop back for a second attempt at an attack or something, or is that a writing goof?
Because if the latter...you could still make that work to your advantage. We the readers already know this testimony is all bunk anyway, so you could use this discrepancy as proof in Thorax's favor later in the trial, if you want.
And no one else saw them leave this alley they were fleeing on hoof instead of by wing on? I mean, sure, it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility, but it certainly seems awfully convenient that the only creatures who can even verify the existence of these supposed two other changelings is this trio of hired muscle.
My bias as the reader who knows the reality of the situation might be showing here...but assuming I were the jury hearing details of this all for the first time, while I suppose it's a not unvalid cover and explanation for that detail, it still doesn't sit all that right to me. I guess it might that I have a hard time believing this hunk of muscle and two unicorns, all three of which who'd not care whether or not they'd hurt the changeling trying to force its jaw open, couldn't actually do so.
I mean, it's not necessarily a bad thing--just another flaw in the cover story that could potentially get used in Thorax's advantage later, really--but it does strike me as odd they thought to phrase it like that. Honestly, I would've sooner expected them to not even consider the fact the hairs were cut at all and just claim the hairs were yanked out. That would strike me as slightly more believable, and of course, one could argue the principle of Occam's Razor in favor of that--the best solutions are the ones with the least amount of assumptions, resulting in the simpler of answers.
Well, isn't THAT convenient. But also sort of lends credence to what I was saying earlier about the cut hairs. These three had the foresight to come up with an clear-cut and confirming explanation for the little detail of why the filly's hairs were evenly cut, but NOT for the more glaring detail of how Thorax's restriction ring ended up both off his horn as well as broken? It does sort of suggest odd priorities when devising this cover story.
But it IS all a cover story after all. I'd be more surprised if it was truly airtight altogether, so holes in the logic are to be expected. No cover story's THAT good. I guess I'm just pointing it all out at all because it's further evidence to help build Thorax's case of ratting out these three as the lying crooks they are.
Maybe, but it'd also help to clear your name, so I don't see why you wouldn't testify of such. You would be the best changeling expert in the room after all, by being a changeling, so that would help support the truthfulness of the word.
Besides, let's be honest here--it'd be valuable intel about changeling operations that the ponies could then use to help better defend themselves against such attacks in the future. By owning up to that it would not only give them that means, which alone should be worth a few points in your favor, it'd also demonstrate where your loyalties actually lie by showing you'd be okay selling out hive secrets for the sake of the greater good here. So by all means, don't withhold those details when the time comes. Besides, withholding them would only convey the impression that you have something to hide, which I think would be far more harmful for your situation in the long run.
You know, I really can't help but wonder sometimes if pony naming conventions led to unfortunate stereotypes about the ponies bearing those names.
Hmm. She didn't ask that question of Heavy Hitter (or Velvet Dice either, for that matter)...
I know, I know, State Evidence, I'm surprised at their restraint to keep from continuing to round up the number of changelings that were there too.
Wait, wait, wait--the two supposed changelings were attempting to cocoon the filly? Last time I saw, said cocoons were rather messy, so why wasn't there any residue or other evidence of this cocoon to be found anywhere in the alley, or on the filly herself?
Yeah, I'm surprised too, especially as there's no way these three could prove they knew or had any relation to the filly, and seeing the trauma she'd faced, potentially/theoretically fed upon by attacking changelings (or so would be claimed), AND that she'd been knocked out but no one could reveal how, why, or when exactly, you'd think the guards would at least want to see she got a medical expert to check her out first before she went much of anywhere regardless, which we know also did not happen. To say nothing of the fact that, for all anyone would know (assuming this was all true in the first place), the filly could've been a deliberately selected target for kidnapping, and that the attacking changelings may still loop back and try it again, meaning a period of protective custody as an added precaution, at least until the full depth of the situation was better understood, may also have been needed.
In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think that's actually probably a pretty big breach of protocol there. Even worse is this is obviously the part of the story that's NOT made up, so what the heck, guards? You'd think their obvious bias towards Thorax would make them want to be overly thorough on this, not the other way around.
My gosh, if I weren't already so focused on this trio of hired muscle, I'd be going about how bad that sounds for the attending guards, because it really kinda is. I don't think even Shining would be particularly thrilled to know about this apparent lapse of judgement, particularly seeing he's so anti-changeling himself and wouldn't want anything changeling related just slipping by because the guards skipped a few steps in procedure.
*noises of shock and outrage increase*
Seriously! The guards practically wanted the three to kidnap the filly at this point!
Why? It's not like it wasn't already clear everybody and their brother believed that--nor that it was any shocking revelation at this point.
It does demonstrate the audience's clear bias against Thorax though, not that needed verifying either.
Considering that, last we've heard, no one's been allowed to speak with the filly since, she probably still hasn't. I don't know about you, but that should probably raise at least one little red flag.
State, I've just spent the past several paragraphs poking holes in these testimonies. None of it enough to totally shoot them down entirely yet, of course...but your smugness is still probably more than a little premature here.
Well, thank heavens you get it, Plea.
That would then raise questions as to how Thorax knew to be looking for a signal from these two supposed changelings, and how they had managed to get word to him about this completely without the notice of literally anyone else. I mean, it's not a terribly relevant point to the trial here, but it does still raise the concern of a potential security leak that you'd think someone (*looks at Shining*) would want to look into just a little if it were true.
And, of course, more potential evidence in Thorax's favor, though admittedly the lack of evidence of such secret communication isn't necessarily evidence that it didn't happen, so...
Wait, wait, wait--he approached from the air. Granted, that doesn't mean the two supposed changelings that fled when they became aware he was coming couldn't have still somehow detected it...but given he didn't arrive on the scene until a good couple of minutes later, by the testimonies of the three stallions in question, then I have to wonder how the heck the supposed changelings could've detected a pony coming specifically their way from that far off while in what would be relatively quiet flight, while also that guard somehow missed seeing any sign of these two supposed changelings fleeing when he was high enough up he probably could've seen the whole of the alley way, or at least enough of it, to have detected at least some sign of the two fleeing changelings.
I mean, maybe that wouldn't see so out of place to the ponies of the jury, who wouldn't know better...but I would, enough to at least decide it ought to need further questioning if just to better verify how that could've happened.
Another slip-up--all THREE testimonies from the three hired muscle said Thorax was struck after he turned to face Heavy Hitter, so how did he manage to get a blow to the back of the head then, as if he had been turned away from them at the time?
Sweet! Ya just accidentally gave testimony of the clear anti-changeling bias that could be at play here, or at least enough of one to know it is a potential factor that should be considered here.
That said, how has that story still not gotten around to the general public by now, especially considering it got leaked to the media who proceeded to have a heyday with it?
Oh, okay, fine, I guess they did do at least THAT much after all. Still, considering there were changelings at play here, you'd think they'd would've wanted her examined by a professional physician just in case. If these testimonies are to be believed, then there was still the possibility the changelings could've done something to her that wouldn't be so visible from a passing and basic examination.
And this still doesn't excuse the fact they just let those three stallions walk off with the filly afterwards.
Explains why they didn't go through with the original kidnapping plan anyway. I mean, it was already pretty obvious this would be the case, but still, nice to have it verified, especially seeing the flubbing the guards did on the matter regardless.
I see you figured out what Plea Bargain's angle was on that there, State, though I don't know if it'll help protect your case much.
Well, how do they know it even worked in the first place? At the time, it's not like they would've had much chance to practice it on Thorax any, and I'm not aware of them having access to any other changelings it could be tested on. It's a long shot, but an argument could be made they had no verification that the spell is even effective to begin with, and that what they thought was a valid reading was in fact a false positive (or I suppose in this case, a false negative).
Also, they didn't check the filly herself, which seems like a lapse in judgment itself. Again, how do they know the changelings hadn't done anything to her in the brief time they supposedly were alone with her? They could've put a tracking spell on her, fed upon her in some manner that would negatively affect her health over time, or--and this is the real clincher here--done something to brainwash her and turn her into a mind-controlled puppet...like one Queen Chrysalis had done to one Shining Armor in one changeling invasion on Canterlot. Thorax may have claimed at some point this is impossible for anyone but the queen herself, but c'mon, it's not like most of the ponies here would actually believe Thorax's word on that and not want to double or maybe even triple check (I mean, Shining's a player in all of this too, even if indirectly) just to be absolutely certain.
And wouldn't manipulating an innocent little filly into being their pawn in taking over the land seem just like something some evil nasty changeling would do?
Oh definitely. Still feeling Thorax has a better chance of getting out of this than he might think. Hang in there, bughorse, you'll find light at the end of the tunnel eventually!
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Yes, this times infinity--that's exactly what I'm saying on both points.
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Yes. I mean, the kid fainted - protocol or not, that alone should have been reason enough to take her to the doctor. Kids don't just faint for no f***ing reason, and this one was actually assaulted. Taking her to the doctor should have been the most common-sense thing to do. Come to think of it, did Thorax get taken to the doctor after the fact? (I forgot.) He should have been, seeing how he too was not only unconscious but had an actual obvious head injury. And don't get me started on how the guards let tke kid get taken away by strangers... In fact, this whole thing absolutely reeks of sloppy guard work, so much that I can see the trial being forfeit as a result. Can the investigation be reopened after that and how much good would it do after all this time? I don't know; maybe someone with a background in law can clear it up. Either way, if I were Shining, I'd slap those guards with a dishonorable discharge from service for endangering a filly's life and wellbeing through gross negligence. That at least can be done
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Yeah, considering that there was a potential changeling threat involved in it that potentially wasn't getting addressed, and knowing just what feelings Shining has about changelings, you'd think he'd come down hard on those guards over this already.
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Doesn't seem like it, he was taken directly to the dungeons.
Ohh can't they argue that the 'changelings' are fake? Thorax was a victim of it and that was proven without a shadow of doubt there were no other changelings that attacked him. They can't argue 'maybe this time they're real changelings' the cried wolf defense
Good story so far. I'm enjoying it
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