"Oh dear." Twilight stood once again behind her podium, breath shaking as an all too familar wave of nervousness washed over her, just like the first time. The only difference this time was that she was all alone. No mentor to stand beside her, to lead and steer her in the right direction.
Luna was gone, and this was her trial.
Trixie had important buisness to attend to that she didn't want to go into detail about, Twilight had learned not to press when she wasn't willing to talk on her own.
They did end up visiting the police station, however the leading detective was no longer at work so they met up with another friend of Trixie's, a young upstart detective by the name of Marey Allen. Although not directly involved in the investigation herself she was nice enough to scower through the police files. She gave them all the information she could find about the murder, which is as follows:
"Luna Eclipse was murdered in her office around 11:47 pm. She was choked to death with the cable of her landline. During this time of the evening the only other person at the office was Big Macintosh, who called the police."
"Now." The prosecution, the known and feared Sunset Shimmer, who could make her opponents cower with a single glance, continued. "I call Detective Sentry to the stand."
Soon, the young man Twilight had met the other day took the stand.
"Please state your name and occupation."
The young man straightened his back and smiled proudly. "Flash Sentry, leading detective of this case!"
"Tell us what you saw at the scene of the crime."
Witness Testimony: The Scene Of The Crime
"The body was discovered at around 12:07pm by the defendant, at least that is when he made the call. The victim was strangled with the landline of the office, on which we found the defendants fingerprints. The office is a mess and multiple folders and papers are scattered on the floor, the window sill has a large dent. We believe that the defendant and the victim had a fight with a struggle, resulting in the subsequent murder of the victim."
"OBJECTION!" Twilight cried immideatly, much to Sunset Shimmer's personal annoyance. "Of course his fingerprints are on the landline, he was the one who called the police!"
"Objection, so what?"
The rookie was silent, not understanding the odd prosecutors rebuttal. She stared at her as if Sunset had just asked her about the inner structure of a traveling space rocket. "What?" She asked dumfounded.
"So what?" Sunset repeated, her face bearing a bored yet stoic expression. "He was still the only person who was there."
Twilight continued staring. She couldn't think of a response to that. "Well,... that's true I guess...", she was sure she felt Luna's spirit cringe at her. Or maybe it was someone elses. Who knows?
The crowd started to murmur, making Twilight even more nervous than she was before. She regained her posture and tried to think, was there something she could ask about?
"A mess, you said?" Twilight asked more careful this time.
Flash nodded. "Yes, various folders and papers all about past cases were scattered across the office's floor."
"Was there anything suspicious around, or was it just old case files?"
"I don't see how that is important." Sunset muttered, mostly to herself.
"I think it would be important." Twilight crossed her arms and huffed, an action she definitly didn't copy from her flatmate.
The judge only sighed and vaguely gestured to the detective, who cleared his throat and prepared his answer.
"Not really, the only other thing we found were these flyers." Detective Sentry presented the court with two pictures of a trio of flyers. One as they were found and one with the three flyers unwrapped in a row.
The flyers were infomartive advertisment for the circus that had moved to town only a few weeks prior. Some names on them were circled in.
"We only took notice of them because they were so out of place. Under the folder on the table even!" Flash elaborated, pointing at the clearly visible folder in a photo of the crime scene. "I wanted to inspect the case file closer so I picked it up and while I was reading it I noticed they just sat there, you know?"
Sunset Shimmer shook her head. "I really don't."
"Well, I'm interested!" The judge spoke. "Which case was it?"
"Your honor, is that really important?" Twilight wondered. Sunset gave a devious smirk and said, with her best Twilight Sparkle impression, "I think it would be important~".
Twilight has never in her life wanted to commit a felony as bad as now. "Touché, Miss Shimmer."
"Would the attorney's please refrain from acting like children?" The judge sighed deeply beford turning his attention back to the detective. "Well?"
"It was about the AT-4 incident. I heard stories of it, but never knew the details."
As soon as Flash uttered the name, the court was suddenly drowned in a sorrowful atmosphere.
"You know," Twilight leaned against her table. "I feel like everyone and their mother knows about that case except for me."
"Perhaps it is better that way, Miss Sprinkle." Sunset Shimmer replied, her voice just a little quiter than before.
The judge coughed and regained his posture. "Well, does the defense have any questions that don't involve shattering the courts psyche?"
'But that wasn't even my fault!' Twilight thought, deciding not to say it out loud.
There was one thing that bugged the young attorney, which the detective had yet to explain.
"What about the blood? There was blood at the crime scene, wasn't there?" Twilight's question came out more as a whipser.
"Blood?!" The judge exclaimed, clearly not informed about said blood.
"There was, however the blood is not the victims." Flash clarified.
"Oh, that makes sense." Twilight tapped her fingers on the table, thinking for a moment. "Wait, no, it doesn't!"
Sunset cleared her throat. "Care to elaborate, Miss Sprinkle?"
"Sparkle."
"Gesundheit."
Twilight decided to ignore Miss Shimmer after that comment. "Luna- I mean Miss Eclipse was choked by the landline, not something that usually involves blood and you just confirmed it wasn't hers. So I ask you, Detective, whose blood is it?"
Flash Sentry shuffled nervously behind the podium.
"Detective Flash, I believe the defense has asked a valid question, for once."
The detective averted his eyes. "We didn't... check?"
The defense, the prosecution, yes, even the judge stared at him. Sunset Shimmer seemed as though she was about to burst, The Judge was even more confused and Twilight Sparkle was trying her hardest to keep it together.
"Surely, Detective, you had a good reason for this?" Shimmer tried her best to smile through gritted teeth.
To Twilight, she looked ready to tear the whole court apart. Perhaps Miss Shimmer simply needed a vacation, after all Trixie told her in all her years as a prosecutor Sunser Shimmer herself had never taken a day off. 'That's some dedication.' Twilight thought, before snapping back to reality.
"We assumed it was the defendant's blood."
Twilight glanced over to Big Macintosh. "But my client isn't hurt, is he? Are you?"
Big Macintosh shook his head in response.
"So the only solution as to why there is blood at the crime scene is because- because..." The rookie searched through her mind. 'Because it actually is his blood and we're just idiots? No, that doesn't make any- Oh! Of course!' Twilight slammed her fists on the table, causing the judge to almost drop his gavel. "Because there was someone else at the office that night!"
"OBJECTION!" Sunset Shimmer called. "How?"
"How? Uh, I don't know, maybe they went through the front door?" Twilight's answer did not do any good to Shimmer's mood.
"No, do you have any evidence that there was indeed a third party at the crime scene?"
"Oh." Twilight scratched the back of her head. "Well, the blood for one. We should get that tested probably..." She nodded and focused her attention to the judge. "Yes, we should test that. And maybe also search the crime scene for anything that could hint at another party."
Sunset chuckled. "Another party." She snickered to herself. "Ah yes, Luna Eclipse, expert party animal."
"With all due respect Miss Shimmer, please shut the fuck up." Twilight said, wearing the most deadpan expression she could muster.
"Alright then." The Judge lifted his gavel. "Detective, you may search the the scene of the crime again for any sign of a possible third party. We will resume this trial tomorrow, please don't be late this time."
Twilight drove into herself, blushing in shame. "It won't happen again, your honor."
The judge nodded at her. "Court is adjourned."
Twilight felt unusally tired on her way back home. Her feet felt heavy and her head was pounding, it felt as though her brain decided to do the cha-cha slide inside her skull.
She hoped Trixie was home, if only to compfort her after that short mess of a trial she just had. Who knows if they even find anything? Twilight sighed deeply, hoping they would.
When she arrived at their flat though, she was faced with an entirely new problem.
"Ma'am, I can assure you, your signiture is on them."
A woman was standing at their door, arguing with her friend.
"I can't take care of a child! I- we can barely take care of ourselves!" Trixie retorted, looking distressed. Her voice echoed through the stairwell of the building.
"We did background and financial checks on both you and your roommate, everything seems to be in order." The woman said, not as distressed as Trixie, but clearly confused.
Twilight approached. "What's going on? Who are you?"
The woman turned to Twilight, a smile present on her face. "Hello, you must be Miss Sparkle!" Twilight nodded. "My name is Flora Links, I am here to handle the legal procedures for the adoption of Babs Seed."
"Adoption?" Twilight asked dumbfounded as she shook her hand.
"Yes. Your flatmate is her Guardian."
Twilight turned her head to Trixie, who seemed to be clearly uncompfortable with the whole situation. "Guardian?"
"Yes, her guardian. Should anything happen to Babs' parents, Miss Lulamoon is her new legal guardian." Links explained.
"Oh..." Twilight stuttered.
Flora Links turned toward Trixie again. "Miss Lulamoon?"
Trixie shifted, looking back and forth between the two people standing in front of her. She took a deep breath.
"Alright, I'll take her in."
"Wonderful!" Flora smiled. "I will call you when everything is ready!" The woman left and as soon as she exited the house's front door Twilight snapped at her flatmate.
"What the hell, Trixie!" She yelled. "Why are you- what even-" Twilight struggled to find the right words in her confusion. "Explain yourself!"
Trixie reflexisvly put her hands up in defense. "I- I didn't think anything would happen to them aswell! I didn't even think they were serious!" Her voice cracked at the end, her words more directed toward herself than Twilight.
"We can't take care of a child!" Twilight glanced inside, taking notice of Apple Bloom awkwardly leaning against the wall. "... Permanently!"
"Babsy's a good kid, it would be unfair to leave her without a parental figure!" The wannabe magician backed away into their appartment. "Especially now!"
"As true as that might be you can't just make such a big decision without me!"
"I know!"
"Then why did you?!"
"She put me on the spot!"
Twilight shoved her finger accusingly at her friend, causing her to stumble just a little. "I thought you LIKED being in the spotlight!"
"This is different!"
Apple Bloom silently tiptoed out of the hall, and into the kitchen, hoping to avoid the confrontation from there.
The rookie attorney could feel her head pounding harder and harder with each sentence she yelled at the prosecutor in front of her. "We are not ready to have a child yet, Trixie! You can't just- you can't just adopt a child without my consent!"
"She needs this!"
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"
"IT FACTORS INTO THE POINT!" Trixie stomped her foot on the floor for emphasis. "I can't just leave her wherever they wanted to put her! Babs needs me. She needs a home, a real one!"
Twilight Sparkle usually is not one to get mad, let alone furious. But she couldn't help but feel seething anger for Trixie in this very moment. "THEN TAKE YOUR ASS OUT OF MY FLAT AND FIND ONE!"
The rookie held her breath, immideatly regretting the words that had just escaped her lips.
She watched as Trixie opened her mouth and closed it again, unsure of what to say. "Oh." Was all she could muster.
"Trixie-" Twilight stopped herself. She took a few steps back. "I think... I need some fresh air."
"... Uh huh..."
She turned around and left the building, first walking, then running however fast her legs could carry her. Wherever that might be.