Part 13 - A Pink Pick-Me-Up
Phoenix stood frozen in place as the courtroom emptied, the ponies in the gallery giving him glares and nasty comments as they left.
But the veteran defense attorney was aware of none of it. All he could think of was the frightened, bewildered look on Fluttershy’s face as she was led away, the reproachful look of the Judge as he was forced to order her held for questioning, Trixie’s glee as she thanked him for doing so, and the shock and betrayal in Twilight’s eyes as he turned on her friend, lying through his teeth to accuse Fluttershy of the murder.
He’d done the only thing he could think of to prolong the trial and prevent a guilty verdict, but he also knew it should never have gotten to that point—he’d come in unprepared and given unquestionably the worst courtroom performance of his entire career, even going back to his very first case. He’d never been more ashamed than he was at that moment, and was suddenly very glad Maya wasn’t there to see what he had done...
To say nothing of her older sister.
Mia… what would Mia think of me now? he wondered, closing his eyes and remembering.
Fey & Co. Law offices
3 years earlier
“My name is Phoenix Wright and I’m fine!” Phoenix shouted, then frowned and took a deep breath to try again.
“My name is Phoenix Wright AND I’M FINE!!!” he shouted louder, but shook his head, still unsatisfied.
“MY NAME IS PHOENIX WRIGHT AND I’M FINE!!!!!” he screamed at the top of his lungs.
Just then, the door of his office burst open and a tall, beautiful woman rushed in, dressed in a rather revealing black business suit accented with a tan scarf and a comma-shaped gemstone worn as a pendant around her neck. “Phoenix? Are you okay?” asked Mia Fey, a veteran attorney who was not only the head of Phoenix’s law firm but his own former lawyer, having defended Phoenix from a murder charge some six years earlier.
The rookie attorney looked up in surprise, quickly yanking off his earphones which were attached to his old tape player. “Oh! Uh… hey, Chief. I was just practicing my courtroom shouts for my first trial, which is tomorrow,” he added needlessly—she knew perfectly well he was making his court debut as lead defense attorney the following day, though he’d stood at her side as co-counsel in other cases a dozen times before. “The guys back in law school said this legal workout tape would really help me out,” he couldn’t help but add, if a bit sheepishly.
Mia sighed in relief. “Thank goodness! When I heard the shrieking coming from the office, I thought someone was murdering you!” she teased, crossing her arms and putting on an amused grin.
Ugh… that wasn’t shrieking; that was step FOUR! Phoenix thought to himself.
Mia chuckled as she read the tape’s cover. “I don’t think you’ll need these ‘Chords of Steel’ voice exercises, Phoenix. I’m sure you’ll do just fine,” she reassured him, leaning over to remove the tape from the player, for once not making fun of him for using such old tech. “What matters is not how loud you can be in court, but how good you are at spotting contradictions and how persuasive your arguments are to the Judge. The suspect—he’s your friend, right?” she asked him.
Phoenix nodded somewhat glumly. “Yeah, he’s my friend, but…” he trailed off, unable to meet her eyes.
“But, what?” she prompted him, arms crossed and a hand on her chin.
“He’s, well…” He couldn’t say it.
“Yes?” Mia waited patiently.
Phoenix sighed and finally gave up the answer, his eyes closing and shoulders slumping. “Well, he’s kind of an idiot.”
She gave him an odd look. “That’s not a very nice thing to say about your friend.”
Phoenix shook his head and sat down heavily on the office couch, putting his hands on top of his head as all his anxieties came rushing back. “No, Chief, I really mean it. Larry Butz is about as clueless as they come. He thinks passing the 8th grade is an accomplishment; he even got the report card framed and everything,” he explained, trying not to roll his eyes.
Mia tilted her head at him. “So? What are you getting at?” she asked him, an odd smile on her face.
He glanced up at her. “What I’m getting at is—what if he really did kill that woman? What do I do then?” he wanted to know. “Do I simply lie through my teeth to defend him, or should I side with justice and let him be punished… in which case how can I be a defense attorney at all?” Phoenix sought the advice from his longtime mentor, an accomplished attorney who had not only successfully defended him from a murder charge but had also given him his first job upon graduation from law school, taking him on as a junior partner when nobody else would give him the time of day.
Mia stared at him for a moment, then put a hand on his shoulder. “Phoenix…” she started to say as he remained downcast. “Don’t stress yourself out so much. The first thing I would tell you is that you’re asking entirely the wrong questions. What you should be asking yourself is: do you think he did it?”
He looked up in confusion. “Do I? What do you mean? I haven’t seen the evidence against him yet! And Larry wasn’t exactly helpful when I interviewed him.” He remembered his teary-eyed friend being able to offer no real explanation or alibi but still begging him to help.
“I’m asking you as his friend, not as his defense attorney: do you think he killed that woman?” Mia asked him point-blank.
Phoenix didn’t have to think about it for very long before shaking his head. “Larry’s a good guy; his only real fault is that he’s a little—okay, more than a little—oblivious. He might not be the sharpest tool in the shed and willing to hit on any skirt he sees… but no, I don’t think he has it in him to kill anyone. He’s never gotten mad over girls rejecting him before, so why would he suddenly start now?” he reasoned, not immediately realizing he had just answered his own question.
Mia smiled at that, giving his shoulder a squeeze. “There you go!”
Phoenix blinked, looking up at her in surprise. “Huh?”
“Go off that. Believe him and believe in him, Phoenix. Whether it’s as his friend or his defense attorney, it’s your job to. Cast all doubt aside and make everything you do from here forward in pursuit of that one truth. If you do that, nothing can stop you no matter what arguments or evidence the prosecution may present. You will prove him innocent!” Mia promised him, sounding like the wise mentor and experienced attorney she was.
“The truth, huh?” Phoenix said, mulling over her words, feeling some of his anxiety start to recede. “Thanks, Chief. I’m still a little nervous, though,” he admitted with a wan smile.
“Don’t worry. It’s normal and we all go through it,” she grinned, though Phoenix couldn’t imagine the serenely confident and self-assured Mia Fey ever being anxious about anything, having seen for himself and immensely admired what she could accomplish in court. “Remind me to tell you about how nervous I was at my own first trial sometime.”
“You were nervous?” he asked in some disbelief, remembering how assertive and authoritative she always sounded in court, to say nothing of how devastating her objections usually were.
“Oh, yes. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, and my stomach was churning so hard I just about gave myself ulcers that morning,” she confirmed, but then her smile turned wan as she remembered what else had happened there. “The opening arguments were the worst, but once I got into the actual testimony, I was fine. I can’t tell you how good it felt making my first successful objection. I think that’s what got me over the hump.”
Phoenix kept to himself his worry that he’d perform so badly he wouldn’t even make it that far. “Hey, um… do you by any chance know who the prosecutor is, Chief?”
Mia looked surprised by the question. “The prosecutor?” She thought for a bit. “I didn’t check, but it’d almost have to be Winston Payne. You know—‘The Rookie Killer’?” she said in a slightly teasing tone. “They usually give him the newbies.”
“R-Rookie Killer?” Phoenix repeated in disbelief, the answer not helping his nerves. I don’t like the sound of that title at all!
“Don’t be intimidated, Phoenix. Take it from me; he’s actually not that good—I beat him badly the first time I faced him; the reason you haven’t seen him before is that they’ve been afraid to put him in the same courtroom as me since. Still, I’m glad you asked. Not many rookies take the prosecutor into consideration. So why did you want to know something like that?” Mia asked her junior partner curiously, pulling up a chair and sitting in front of him.
“No reason. Guess I was just curious,” Phoenix replied, going downcast a second time, running his hands through his hair anxiously again.
“You seem more morose than curious,” Mia noted, crossing her legs and clasping her hands in her lap, studying him carefully like she would a witness in court.
“Nah… forget about it. I’m sorry, Chief. I’m just a little out of it right now,” Phoenix insisted.
She stared at him for a bit longer before nodding. “Well, I understand if you want to be alone with your thoughts right now, but I’m here if you need me. And don’t forget I’ll be right there with you tomorrow, standing in the co-counsel position,” she assured her junior partner, making him feel instantly better at the knowledge that he didn’t have to face the trial alone. “You’re smart, you’re driven, and it’s your friend you’re fighting for. You’re going to do fine, Phoenix,” she promised him.
“Thanks, Chief,” he acknowledged again, feeling better about himself and his chances.
The memory faded and Phoenix opened his eyes to realize he was now standing alone in an empty Equestrian courtroom, his cheeks wet.
I’ll never forget what you taught me and everything you did for me, Mia. But somehow, I highly doubt you’re looking down at me smiling after what I did today.
Ponyville District Court
June 10th, 11:55 AM
“Twilight!” Phoenix called after her as she walked towards the courthouse exit, her equine head bowed low in sorrow. “Twilight, please! Just let me explain!” he pleaded, catching up to her in the middle of the entrance lobby, putting a hand on her shoulders.
She threw it off hard, all but flinging it away with her magic. Surprised, he drew back as she turned her head fractionally towards him, just enough that he could see the tears streaming down her cheeks. “Phoenix… I was wrong about you,” Twilight choked out, her words hitting Phoenix like she’d kicked him in the gut with her hooves.
“Twilight wait! I—” Phoenix tried again, but the despondent unicorn trotted away without another backwards glance. Exiting the courthouse, she disappeared from sight, emphatically closing the lobby doors behind her with a flare of her horn, leaving him abandoned and alone.
His head slumped as the full weight of her rejection hit him, leaving him leaning on a column for support. She’s gone. Oh, who am I kidding, she’s right—I did absolutely TERRIBLE in there! he knew beyond any shadow of a doubt. She brought me here to save her friend, but now thanks to me, ANOTHER of her friends is a suspect and jailed! So, what do I do now? he asked himself, still feeling unspeakably awful about Fluttershy.
He found another bench in front of the column and sat down on it, off his feet for the first time in several hours. I don’t have any leads at all, nobody to turn to. I’m all alone in an unfamiliar world. Which means, I can’t even get back home… his thoughts fell silent for a moment, hunched over and brooding, his forehead resting against his palms.
Abruptly, he sat back up. “No! No. I can’t think that way! I’ve got to stay focused. I said I’d clear Rainbow Dash’s name, and no matter how I did it, I bought her another day. I can’t let it go to waste!” he reminded himself quietly, determined to make maximum use of the time he’d won, trying not to think again about the cost. “But, where do I start?” he wondered out loud, getting some odd looks as well as angry stares from passing ponies as he talked to himself in the lobby, leaving Phoenix certain that after what he had done, he no longer had a single friend in all of Equestria.
At that moment, a bright pink earth pony with a very fluffy mane and tail appeared in front of him. “Hey there, Mr. Frowny-Wowny. What’s the matter?” she asked, quite bubbly for someone who just met a total stranger.
Phoenix blinked and looked up at the unfamiliar equine, swearing he could hear an odd but upbeat and catchy tune that almost seemed to be carried in with her. Huh? Where did she come from? She smells like cotton candy… He sniffed the air, suddenly and not unpleasantly reminded of the fairs he’d attended as a kid.
“Cotton Candy?” The new pony looked puzzled for a moment. “Oh! You must have smelled the new shampoo I’m using! It comes from the Fairground Flavors line of mane and tail care! They’re my favorites; I just thought I needed a change of pace from Bubble Berry!” she said, running a hoof through her floofy hair.
“Oh. That explains it, then,” Phoenix shrugged, his common sense kicking in a little late. Wait! Did I just say that, or think that...? He eyed the vividly pink stranger suspiciously. “Uh, excuse me, but... who are you?”
The mare looked only too happy to tell him. “I’m Pinkie Pie of course! Ponyville’s Premier Party Thrower and Professional Prankster Extraordinaire!” she introduced herself with a bright smile and a four-legged pronk that took her nearly six feet into the air as though her legs were on springs, startling him. “But sorry, I can’t talk right now! I’m looking for something,” she announced, closing one eye and squinting the other as she began peering at him through a magnifying glass she had suddenly produced.
“What for?” Phoenix asked warily, not at all sure what to make of her antics as she began searching the floor around him, lifting his feet for her as she passed to peer under the bench.
She continued her efforts onto the bench itself, examining the cushions around him.“Some other ponies said there was a spiky-headed monster in here! I can’t seem to find him anywhere, though. You’d think they’d stick out like a sore hoof! Have you seen him?” she asked in eager innocence as she put her magnifying glass away.
Phoenix let out a long groan with a sigh at the end of it. Anger starting to boil over again, he stood up and walked a couple steps away from her, his fists clenched.
Her expression dropped a bit. “Does that mean… no?”
Unable to keep his frustrations contained any longer, he slammed his fists into the column and kicked the bench he was previously sitting on in frustration, knocking it on its back. “GAH! I’m getting so sick of this place!” he yelled to nobody in particular, startling Pinkie Pie and several pony passerbys.
“Hey, no need to be angry! Hang out with me, and I’ll turn that frowny upside-downy!” Pinkie implored with a fresh smile and antics, trying to cheer him up by donning a silly hat and glasses.
Under most circumstances he would have been even more annoyed by that, but her words and manner were strangely disarming, not at all cruel but concerned and carefree, and his anger quickly gave way to shame for it. Red-faced and embarrassed by his outburst, he righted the bench and sat back down heavily on it, clutching his head in his hands. “How can I? I did such a lousy job in court today, and Twilight probably hates my guts after what I did to her friend,” Phoenix admitted, thinking that she had every right to—that he hated his own guts for what he’d done to Fluttershy, certain he would never live it down.
Far from upset, Pinkie Pie perked up even more at her mention. “Hey, you know Twilight? Me too!”
He looked up in surprise. “You know Twilight Sparkle?” he asked, thinking that he couldn’t imagine that a bookish unicorn like Twilight would be friends with someone so different from her own studious and logical personality. Then again, she’s friends with Rainbow Dash, who doesn’t exactly strike me as Twilight’s type either, he granted, wondering what other ponies she knew.
Pinkie Pie nodded eagerly. “Yep-yep! We’re the bestest of best friends!” Pinkie proclaimed with another pronk, but then looked behind her. “Oh! That reminds me! I’m supposed to go to court today, and cheer for Rainbow Dash! It was good to meet you but sorry, gotta run!” The pink earth pony announced as she went bounding down a corridor with a springing gait, all but bouncing on all four hooves as she moved.
“But you’re already—!” Phoenix called after her, only to trail off when she came bounding right back and finished his sentence.
“Oh, wait! I’m already here! YAY!” she squealed, rearing up in excitement and pinwheeling her front legs.
“Uh... I hate to break it to you, but you’ve missed the trial,” Phoenix told her, not sure what to make of her. Of all the pastel grass-chewers I’ve met, this one is definitely the weirdest, and that’s saying a lot! he thought to himself before remembering Pinkie’s uncanny ability to respond to thought. And I mean that in the nicest way possible!
“I did? Aw, bummer!” Pinkie said, dropping her distinctive smile long enough to look concerned. “Is Dashie okay?”
Phoenix blinked at that, never having heard that nickname for his client before. Does kinda suit her, though! “For now, yes. The trial has been recessed until tomorrow. I’m actually Rainbow Dash’s defense attorney, Phoenix Wright,” he introduced himself.
To his surprise, the pink earth pony seemed genuinely impressed, looking him over from head to toe. “OOoooooOoooo… then you’re a real lawyer? Neato! So what’cha doing now, Feenie?” Pinkie asked, coming up with her own nickname for Phoenix.
Phoenix was startled by that. “’Feenie’? But th-that’s…” He couldn’t finish his own sentence, remembering painfully the last person who had called him that… and what she had done to him. “Never mind,” he shook his head sharply, not wanting to dwell on that unhappy chapter of his life again; especially not when he had far more pressing matters to attend. “Well, Pinkie Pie… I don’t know what I should be doing right now, to be honest. My case is crumbling, my reputation is in ruins, my own client lied to me, and I have no leads at all,” Phoenix told her, slumped over in his seat while looking down on the floor, at least happy to have a friendly ear, even one that belonged to an odd pink earth pony.
“Your client? You mean Rainbow?” Pinkie studied Phoenix curiously, her tone turning something almost akin to serious for just a moment. “Well, Feenie—if she lied, maybe that’s the first thing you need to figure out! So instead of moping around here, why not go talk to Dashie about the trial?” she gave him some surprisingly sensible advice.
Phoenix looked up sharply at that. “Wait a minute—Rainbow had psyche-locks!” he abruptly remembered.
“Psyche-locks?” Pinkie tilted her head curiously, getting a very sweet smile on her face. “Ooooo… is that some kinda breakfast cereal? Sounds yummy! Is it made with real locks and not grossy-wossly artificial locks? You know all those fake ingredients are bad for you, right?” she reminded him eagerly.
Phoenix had no idea how to answer that, but was genuinely grateful to the pink earth pony for snapping him out of his funk, even if her methods were a little unconventional. “Thanks for the advice, uh, Pinkie Pie. You’re right; the first thing I need to do is go talk to Rainbow! I’m gonna head for the Detention Center right now!” he announced, getting up and walking away with new purpose, leaving a beaming Pinkie behind as he exited the court lobby and headed at a brisk walk across the cobblestone street of the plaza.
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More!!!!
Also well done
I did not know you culd find it here! I only saw in on youtube. This will be good.
*SPOILER ALERT*
...BUCK YOU SONATA. I hope Pinkie tests her saws and knives on you.
"The t is being trial postponed."
i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/154/596/sm%20seems%20legit.jpg
Ahhhh...glad to see your back on this story!
...and now we have tos ee Phoenix try to get the hell out of this mess
. Well...Pinkie to the rescue
. See you on the next chapter!
452125 sorry
*sees new chapter of story finally in*
db.tt/etBzuphC
You have no idea how anticipated I've been for this thing!
451987 But she won't.
Ok, I'm going to make a guess here. Gilda killed the guy because he and Dash were dating, and she was jealous of him. Maybe Dash broke up with him right before it or something. I mean, come on! Big brown feather!
EDIT: Darn. Just read Chapter 15. Alright, I still think that Gilda is the one that did it, but now I think she did because Ace was blackmailing Dash. Well, that or to get revenge on Dash by framing her.
I'm very much suspecting Trixie right now.
Wait...why is Phoenix doing the Chords of Steel exercise? It's a cute reference...but didn't Apollo invent it?
Not to burst anyone's bubble, but, wasn't the last person who called him that Iris? Not Dahlia? Sorry if I'm wrong, just wondering.
Poor Phoenix...
Heh heh.. Ohhh how I liked Larry Butz.
5332963 Well where this takes place is probably somewhere in the second game.
I'm not so sure Dashie is gonna want to see you, Phoenix...
This feels like it ought to be in the A/N. Using narration for purposes other than storytelling is technically against the rules. Not that I'm a snitch or anything!
A simple Youtube Link with the title of the video could also work if you want it inline, preferably after the first horizontal rule.
That's a polite way of saying 'Glass Joe", so weak the only people he can best are the newbs.
This is my partywerfer. She werfs parties.
Feeling teeny no doubt.