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// Lawyering Up 
// Story: Paybacks Are Hell 
// by StormLuna 
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Three days had passed since Night Light had filed for divorce and he was impatiently pacing back and forth in his living room.  Given that Shining Armor and Flurry Heart had headed back to the Crystal Empire, he knew that what happened after receiving the papers would be solely up to him but that may not necessarily be a bad thing.  

Finally around 0930 there was a knock on the door.  When he opened it he was greeted by a unicorn with some papers.  The unicorn asked, "Are you Night Light?"

Night Light replied, "Yes, I am Night Light."

The unicorn levitated him some papers.  He said, "The judge has went over the paperwork and here are the official court papers letting you know when the court date will be and who the judge will be."

Night Light replied, "Thanks.  You have a great day."

The unicorn said, "You as well sir." 

As the unicorn left Night Light looked over the papers in a sense of relief.  He saw that the judge that would be handling this was Swift Justice, one who has a reputation of not playing favorites and not being intimidated by anypony's legal counsel.  He said to himself, "Well, I better go find myself a good lawyer if I'm to win this."

Night Light began to look through the phone book searching for attorneys.  While he was looking through the list of divorce attorneys one in particular caught his eye.  He saw a listing for an attorney who focuses solely on divorces, Legal Eagle.  There was something about the add that seemed to be calling out to him so he decided to head over to his office and set up an appointment. 





When he pulled up to the lawyer's office he noticed that it looked rather fancy and couldn't help but wonder if he could afford this lawyer.  He headed in and was greeted warmly by the clerk, "Hello, how may I help you today?"

Night Light replied, "Well I have filed for divorce and I need an attorney.  I didn't know if there is any way that I could schedule an appointment."

The clerk flipped through the scheduling book and said, "I do have some good news, there have been a couple of cancellations so Legal Eagle could see you this afternoon at either 1400 or 1600."

Night Light was thrilled when he heard this.  He figured that the sooner he could get everything started the better his chances would be of winning this.  He replied, "I'll take the appointment at 1400."

The clerk handed him an appointment card and said, "Just be sure when you come this afternoon that you have all the proper documents, such as the court papers, titles to your house and car, a bank statement with all your assets, both shared and ones that are solely yours and the marriage license."

Night Light replied, "Oh don't worry, I will."

The clerk said, "Alright, we'll see you this afternoon."

Night Light nodded and headed out the door.  While he was hoping that he could get an appointment with a lawyer soon, he never imagined that he would be able to see one that day.  As he was headed home he remembered that he needed his bank statements so he stopped by the bank.  





When he headed in he saw that most of the tellers were busy, except one.  The one teller that he headed to was a friend of his wife's, Meadow Song and she did not care much for him.  She motioned for him to come and coldly asked, "How may I help you today Night Light?"

Night Light replied, "I need a statement with a list of the balances of all my accounts."

She gave him a glare and said, "I can do that for those that are just yours but for your joint accounts with your wife, she will need to be present as well."

Night Light knew it was a lie as he had picked up statements a few months ago when he had to file his taxes.  He sighed, "Listen, I was able to pick up documentation of all our accounts a few months ago when I filed my taxes."

Meadow Song had a stunned look on her face before quickly stating, "Well that was then, this is now."  Her voice became more irritated as she continued, "I'm sorry Night Light but I can't give you all that information."

Night Light was growing tired of this so he asked, "Meadow Song, do I need to speak to your superior over this?"

While she normally is able to keep her cool, she knew that Night Light was likely up to something.  She snapped, "Look, what part of I can't give you all that without your wife being present don't you get."  She raised her voice and continued, "Now get out of here before I call security."

Unfortunately for Meadow Song, her superior, Fast Cash, had been within ear shot the whole time and said, "Meadow Song, I have helped this customer before and he does not need his wife present to get documentation on their shared accounts."

Meadow Song rolled her eyes and Fast Cash said, "Meadow Song, just go home for the rest of the day.  Come back tomorrow when you'll hopefully be in a better mood and not treat our customers so poorly."

Meadow Song grunted, "Fine."

After she left Fast Cash said, "I'm sorry about that sir.  I overheard that you need documentation on all your accounts?"

Night Light replied, "Yes, that is correct."

He began entering information into the computer and asked, "So do you just want a single sheet of paper with only the balances or do you want detailed lists, such as transactions on your checking and savings account and with your retirement accounts, the performance of all stocks in them?"

Night Light knew that he would need more than mere balances.  He replied, "I would like the detailed documents."

Fast Cash said, "Alright, I'll get those for you."

Before he could begin to print them Night Light requested, "Before you do that, I need to withdraw 1,000 bits from my personal savings account."

Fast Cash asked, "The one ending in 3847?"

Night Light replied, "Yes, that one and then I need all the documents."

Fast Cash nodded, withdrew the money and proceeded to print off all the documents that Night Light would need.  Given that he had to print off detailed documentations on the accounts, it took five minutes but Night Light did not care.  He knew what he needed to get.  Once he received everything he needed, he headed home to grab the documents he would need from there.   

Before he left the house though, a nagging voice in the back of his head told him to grab the note that Velvet had written notifying him that she was leaving.  He grabbed it and put it with all the other documents. 





Early afternoon had arrived and Night Light had all the documents he needed.  He had the financial statements, the marriage license, the titles to both the house and car, the court papers and his birth certificate.  He headed out the door with a smile on his face knowing that this will be one step closer to ending the marriage. 

Around 1345 he arrived at the lawyer's office, checked in with the receptionist and took a seat.  Much to his pleasure Legal Eagle came to get him early.  As he headed back Legal asked, "Hello sir, how is your day going?"

Night Light replied, "Oh it is going decent.  I had a little squabble at the bank with the teller but in the end I got the financial paperwork I needed."

Once they got into his office and got sat down, Legal asked, "So, you are seeking a divorce from your wife?"

Night Light replied, "Yes I am.  Things have been strained between us for a very long time but after what happened recently, I can't do this anymore."

Legal asked, "Could I see all the documents please?"

Night Light nodded and handed him all the papers.  Legal began to look over the court papers and looked at the reasons for divorce.  He said, "Hmmm....Infidelity, simply growing apart, abuse and irreconcilable differences."  He looked up at Night Light and continued, "Well the infidelity and abuse should really help you.  I do have a question, what kind of abuse?"

Night Light replied, "Well this happened a few months back when she became very angry with me and struck me with energy solely because I was looking forward to a buckball game and couldn't get in the....."

Legal interrupted him, "Ok, you don't need to go into detail on that.  I know what you're talking about."  He looked down and continued, "This infidelity, how did you discover this?"

Night Light replied, "Well this has been going on for a while and for quite some time I tolerated it until I found her and Princess Celestia and Princess Luna in our bedroom after going out of town."

Legal's eyes grew wide and he asked, "You're shitting me.  You mean that she was actually engaging in sexual activities with the princesses?"

Night Light replied, "Yes, that is correct and if what Celestia told me is correct, my wife has also been getting it on with Princess Cadence and even worse, our daughter, Princess Twilight."

Legal's jaw dropped open.  He gasped, "Wait a minute, you mean to tell me I'm going to be dealing with a divorce that involves royals in a way?"

Night Light was worried that this may be his way of saying he wouldn't handle it.  He nervously replied, "Uhm, yeah."

Legal said, "Well this is going to be tough but given everything that is going on, this may wind up being a whole lot more than a mere divorce.  Your wife and even the princesses could get caught up in an incest scandal."  He gave Night Light an intense look and continued, "Now the divorce part I will easily handle but whatever criminal charges become involved here, I won't be able to handle it."

Night Light asked, "Criminal charges?  Am I going to wind up facing any charges?"

Legal couldn't help but find it a bit humorous that he would worry about this.  He chuckled, "No, the worse thing you may get involved in there is being a witness."  He developed a neutral expression and continued, "Alright, back to the infidelity.  You said that for quite some time you tolerated it.  Why did you tolerate it?"

Night Light replied, "I tolerated it for so long because it kept peace in the household.  I had the activities I did with my friends and she had her times with the princesses.  It was not until I caught her and the royal pony sisters in our bedroom and found out about the incest that it became too much."

Legal sighed, "Well that's going to work against you.  I know how this judge works and he likely won't see it as that being a valid reason BUT putting emphasis on the incestuous relations with your daughter should."  He looked down at the papers again and asked, "You mention irreconcilable differences.  Could you go into detail about that?"

Night Light replied, "Yes, I can.  It was a couple years ago that her and I began to grow apart.  For years I have had my interests, such as following the local buckball team and it wasn't until a couple years ago that she began to become very angry over it.  She would constantly yell at me over it, belittle me over it and like what happened a few months ago, she struck me with energy and hit me over simply looking forward to a game."

Eagle asked, "Did you go to the police over her striking you like that?"

Night Light replied, "No, I did not.  I'll admit, I was a bit scared to because her temper is bad enough.  I didn't want to face an even worse wrath."

Eagle said, "Well in court when this is brought up, she'll have to tell the truth or face perjury charges."  He looked down again and asked, "So when you say you two are simply growing apart, is it because of this or other things as well?"

Night Light replied, "Well everything that has been going on recently has led to us growing apart."

Legal said, "Hmmm....I see."  He looked up again and asked, "So what are you hoping to win in this divorce regarding your shared assets?"

Night Light replied, "Well since Velvet has moved in with the princesses, which I'm guessing is permanently, I want all the assets.  With everything she has done AND the fact that she will be living comfortably with Celestia and Luna now, I figure she won't be needing those." 

Legal asked, "And what makes you think she has moved in with them?"

Night Light replied, "I grabbed a note she had written me since she left when I was out of the house.  The note should be in that stack of papers."

Legal began to go through the papers until he found the note.  He read it,

“Night Light,

I just want to let you know that I can’t do this anymore.  I can no longer live the lie of being married to you because I no longer love you, my true love is the princesses now.  Because of this, I will be moving in with the princesses permanently.  I have also talked to Celestia and I want a divorce.  This is all the more detail I will go into here.  If you want to go over things further, go to the palace and ask Celestia or Luna if you may see me.  I want you to know that I wish you no ill will but I simply can’t do this anymore.

Twilight Velvet”

When he finished reading it he looked up with a smile, "Well Night Light, I'm thinking that this note will likely seal it for you.  I have dealt with cases where one party moves in with wealthy ponies and is guaranteed a life of opulence and the judge gave the assets to the other party."

Night Light replied, "Well that is good.  I'm looking forward to getting this behind me."

Legal said, "Alright.  Meet me at the courthouse one hour before the scheduled court time and we can make our final preparations."

Night Light replied, "That sounds good."

Legal looked up at the clock and said, "Well it is almost time for me to see my next client.  You have a good day."

Night Light replied, "You as well." 

As Night Light left the lawyer's office he was in a very good mood.  He knew that maybe his tolerating Velvet's infidelity for a while may not work out that great for him, he was confident that Velvet's note should secure it for him.  Now came the hard part, the three week wait for his day in court.