//------------------------------//
// Part III, Chapter 11 - Prosecution's Arguments - Part II 
// Story: Fitting In Is Hard To Do 
// by origami 
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Thorax was led back to the courtroom an hour later to rejoin Plea Bargain at the defendant's table.  State Evidence and her two lackeys sat at the prosecution table.  Judge Iron Gavel and Princess Cadance both took their places, and Cadance resumed her glaring at Thorax.  Right now, the changeling wanted to hide under a rock until he was sure it was safe to come out.

Judge Iron Gavel was ready to resume the proceedings.  "State Evidence," he said to the mare, "you may call your next witness."

"Your honor, we call Doctor Micron, our expert witness in crime scene forensics."

A stallion with graying mane and dark brown coat approached the witness stand and was sworn in.  State Evidence approached and began her examination.





SE - Please state your name and occupation for the record.

DM - Doctor Electric Micron.  I am an expert in crime scene forensics. 

SE - And how long have you held this position?

DM - I have held this position for the past fifteen years.

SE - Doctor, did you examine the crime scene where the attempted foalnapping took place?

DM - I did so.

SE - What did you find there?

DM - I was able to locate several things relating to the crime.  Firstly, I found pieces of hair that were reportedly from the filly who was the target of the attempted abduction.  By analyzing the hair, I determined that it came from a female pony of prepubescent age.

SE - How were you able to determine that?

DM - Analysis of chemical components on the hair did not reveal any sign of hormones typically associated with an adolescent female entering puberty.  Medical science has shown that fillies entering into adolescence begin to secrete these hormones from their bodies before any of the more obvious signs associated with the onset of puberty.

SE - Could they not have come from a male pony?

DM - No.  Genetic study of the hair follicle determined the dominant chromosome to be XX, which is the dominant one for females.

SE - Okay.  What else did you find?

DM -   I also found a broken magic inhibitor ring, and found a serial number on the inside of the band.  Tracking that serial number, I was able to confirm that it was one that was meant to be used on the defendant to reduce his magical capabilities to simple telekinesis.

SE - Okay.  Now, you stated that the hair found at the scene came from a pony filly.  Can you determine if they did indeed come from the victim in this crime?

DM - Unfortunately, I cannot determine that.  However, the earlier witnesses confirm seeing the young filly with her mane caught in the defendant's mouth, so I feel confident enough with the facts I found in my analysis combined with their testimony that the hairs did indeed come from the filly that was targeted.

SE - Can you determine if a cutting spell was used on the hair?

DM - I could not determine what exactly was used to cut the filly free from the defendant's mouth.  It could have been a cutting spell, or it could've been a physical knife with a sharpness charm placed on it to help preserve the edge of the blade.  Both use the same fundamental base in spell construction.

SE - I see. What else did you find?

DM - Using a magic signature scanner, we found five traces of magic in the alley way that correspond to the four ponies and one changeling involved.  There were also several other signatures in the alleyway, but their sources could not be determined.

SE - Could any of those belonged to the two changelings that escaped?

DM - I can't say conclusively.  None of the other signatures matched closely to the one confirmed sample from a changeling we have, though it's possible that their magic signatures vary widely from one specimen to another.

SE - Was there any other evidence that you discovered?

DM - Yes, there was.  I examined the area where the changeling was found incapacitated and discovered that he had had combat spells used against him.

SE - So one of the two witnesses used a spell on the third changeling that was knocked out by Heavy Hitter's blow?

DM - Yes.

SE - How did you reach this conclusion?

DM - When the spell was cast, there was a mana spillage.  That's a trait common with almost every spell.  When I analyzed the area the defendant was found, I encountered mana spillage that used spell structure consistent with combat spells.

SE - Interesting.  Tell me, Doctor, when did you collect all of this evidence?

DM - I gathered this evidence shortly after the guard alerted me to a crime being committed.  They had told me that they had kept ponies out of the crime scene until I could collect my samples and bring them back to my analysis lab for study.

SE - Exactly how long is "shortly after"?

DM - I arrived on the scene about a half hour later.

SE - Was the defendant still there when you arrived?

DM - No, he wasn't.  The guard had taken him to prison by the time I had got there.

SE - I see.  Now, about the ring.  Did you do any analysis on it?

DM - The magic of the ring interfered with the machine I use for magic signature analysis, so I couldn't identify who removed it.  I could only examine it and find the serial number that traced it back to being the one used on the defendant.

SE - Is it possible that the ring was removed by another changeling?

DM - It is possible, yes.

SE - Thank you.  I have no further questions.





State took her seat while Thorax looked at her with worry.  With each witness, the mare appeared to be getting more confident.  Plea looked over at her with an unreadable expression.  Before Thorax could ask the stallion what was on his mind, the judge informed him of his turn to cross-examine the witness.





PB - Doctor Micron, you testified that you collected samples of hair that was presumed to be from the filly identified as Raspberry Mint, correct?

DM - Yes, I did.

PB = And when you collected these samples, you did an analysis on them, correct?

DM - Yes.

PB - You said that you did find traces of magic on the hair.  Could you identify who that magic belonged to?

DM - After studying the hair samples and the remaining magic signatures, I determined the magic traces as belonging to the stallion Velvet Dice.

PB - I see.  Doctor Micron, did you do a physical analysis on the hair samples?

DM - I put them through several machines to examine for various magic signatures, testing for everything I could.

PB - Doctor, that isn't what I meant.  What I meant was did you take some samples of hair and examine them under a simple microscope?

DM - I did not personally carry out that portion of the forensic analysis.  The actual physical study of the samples was delegated to an assistant in my laboratory.

PB - Do you have the assistant's name?

DM - Dynamic Prion.  She's a mare.

PB - Do you know what her findings were when she conducted the analysis?

DM - No, I do not.

PB - Oh?  Do you not sign off on her reports?

DM - Dynamic Prion filed her physical analysis reports separately.  The pony above us, Doctor Adenine, is the one who signed off on all the reports.

PB - Okay.  I do have copies of those reports, so I'll have to examine them in more detail later.  Back to the matter of the hair, my original reason for asking that line of questions was to ask you if you saw any evidence to show that the defendant was actually holding the filly by the tail with his mouth.

DM - I have little doubt on that matter.  The defendant was found with the filly's tail hairs in his mouth.  Part of my original analysis did find something akin to saliva on the strands of hair.

PB - But Doctor, is it not possible that the three witnesses could've cut the filly's tail hair off and placed it into the unconscious defendant's mouth in an effort to frame him?

SE - Your honor, I object to that question.  It's purely conjecture.

Judge - Objection sustained.  Doctor, you do not have to answer that question.

PB - I have nothing further your honor, but I may recall the witness later.





Plea Bargain returned to his seat and took a sip from the glass of water.  Thorax continued looking at the stallion nervously.  "Why did you ask that last question?" he asked.

Plea looked at Thorax with a smile.  "I asked that question because it will come into play later on in our expert witness's testimony.  You remember her name, right?"

Thorax thought on it for a moment.  Then it clicked.  "Dynamic Prion?"

Plea nodded.  "When she presents her evidence, I'm going to remind the jurors of the question I asked today, and also present her report, which should help establish the scenario proposed by the question to be much more plausible, and the established narrative of the prosecution to be much less sound."

Thorax nodded.  He could only hope what Plea had just told him would pan out.

Before he could ask anything further, the judge cleared his throat.  "State Evidence, do you have any more witnesses to call forward?"

"No, your honor," she told the judge, "but I would like to submit my evidence at this time."  The mare stepped forward with several items, some paper documents and others actual physical items in bags.

She held up each as she described them.

"For Prosecution Exhibit A, I present samples of the filly Raspberry Mint's hair, recovered from the crime scene."  She presented a bag with several strands of red hair inside it.

"Exhibit B - A portion of the magic inhibiting ring that was found at the crime scene.  The serial number for the ring is visible on the inside portion of the band."  She held up another bag with a piece of ring inside of it.

"Exhibit C - The forensic report filed by Doctor Micron, detailing all of his findings, as well as his conclusions."  She held up a paper, which looked like a very official document, with several swaths of hoofwriting all over it.

"For Exhibit D, I present these crime scene photographs, taken shortly after the defendant was arrested, but before Doctor Micron arrived to collect his samples."  State Evidence then held up several photos, showcasing the alleyway.  One photo was a close up of the hair, and another was of some of the ring fragments on the ground.

"This is everything that I have, your honor," State told Judge Gavel, "The prosecution rests its case."

The judge wrote down some information on his papers and then looked at a nearby clock.  "I will adjourn the court for today.  We will reconvene tomorrow morning at ten o'clock for the defense to make their arguments.  Court is adjourned."  The judge punctuated the dismissal with a loud bang from his gavel.  Slowly, the ponies in the courtroom filed out for the day.





Thorax was taken back to the prison for the evening.  Plea Bargain showed up about an hour after Thorax got back.  He was sitting in the counsel room with a worried expression on his face.  "Is something the matter?" Thorax asked him.

"Just nervous about tomorrow," Plea admitted, "Making our arguments tomorrow is going to be the best chance we have at getting you found innocent."

Thorax placed a hoof on Plea's withers.  "If anypony is gonna give me the best chance in this whole thing, it's definitely you" The changeling offered reassuringly.

Plea looked at him with a halfhearted smile.  "I appreciate your vote of confidence, Thorax," he told the changeling, "but even with all of the hard work I've put in on establishing our defense, it could still be for nothing."

Thorax looked at him confused.  "What makes you think that?"

"State Evidence" the stallion said plainly.

"The prosecutor?" Thorax questioned.

Plea nodded.  "State is good at putting together prosecuting arguments to get ponies convicted, but her real talent, and I'm not talking about her cutie mark talent, is her abilities in cross-examination.  Just like I've tried to turn witness statements around on her, she'll do the same to us."

"How can she turn facts around on us?"

"It's honestly not difficult.  We're already dealing with what is likely to be a prejudiced jury, so it won't take much to convince them that the evidence we're presenting is misrepresenting the facts."

"But it isn't" Thorax pointed out.

"I know," Plea countered, "but in a trial, the jury is tasked with making a judgment about whether or not a defendant is guilty, and they're likely to go with the most convincing argument, which in this case, would be the one most likely to align with their biases."

Thorax slumped down in his seat, the hope that the pony representing him could win the trial diminishing more.  Plea gave him a sympathetic look and tried to offer reassurance.

"It isn't hopeless," he told Thorax, "but the hill we have to climb is pretty steep.  Our best chance will be when we come to the expert witness.  There's some evidence that the prosecution didn't present that we will, and I'm hoping it will be enough that even the most doubting pony on the jury can't deny it."

State then leaned back with a frown and added "Of course, having that filly take the stand and testify would certainly help our case as well."

Thorax thought over what he had been told and offered his own halfhearted smile, still not sure if what Plea was telling him would actually make a difference.

After a few more minutes of discussing trial strategy, Plea was told he had to leave for the evening, and Thorax was taken back to his cell.  That night, the changeling didn't get much sleep, too worried about the outcome of the trial to find peaceful slumber.