I just froze, uselessly catatonic in my hands, squeezing apart my face to come up with some clever way to turn this case around. It always happened. Whenever my client was about to get a guilty verdict, I’d just turn the case around, and find a way to prove another person guilty. I just needed a few moments.
“With the evidence supplied by the prosecution,” the judge began. Everything seemed so slow as my thoughts focused only on finding a way to find somebody else to blame. Fluttershy was innocent, and there was no way I could get away with that again. Trixie had little to no involvement in the case, other than as a prosecutor, so no matter how much I wanted to blame her, that wouldn’t work. I wouldn’t even THINK about attempting to accuse Sonata.
“I-I didn’t do it…” I heard Rainbow Dash stutter, her eyes watery and voice weak. She probably hated me now, and I couldn’t blame her for it. I was failing her at this moment, all because I couldn’t find a way around this. Come on, turn it around. Don’t think ‘who was the last one at the scene of the crime,’ think… Something else!
“This court finds the defendant, Rainbow dash,” why can’t I have the ability to freeze time when I need it? All I needed was time to think. But court just never gives us time to think. It just wants to give the defendants a verdict as quick as they can, without knowing everything. I always changed that. I would find something, something small, and make it huge, to give us more time and find out the whole truth. I just needed to find a way to show that it wasn’t Rainbow Dash.
“Guilty.” It was over. The judge made his decision, and I couldn’t think fast enough to save her. I felt so stupid. I gave up on thinking, and just began holding back my tears. I have to remain strong for my client, even if she’s going to be forced away from her friends to live on the hottest point in our known universe for the rest of her life… I seriously need to stop thinking like that.
“We lost…” I heard Twilight mutter. Trixie, naturally, continued her gloating. I didn’t care what she said. I had given up hope. That was it, wasn’t it? No way to save her? No… It’s not over yet. It’s happened before. Somebody will charge through those doors with a huge piece of evidence that changes the whole scenario. It’s happened before, it can happen again!
“Court is now adjourned.” The judge banged his gabble. The loud noise from that large hammer still echo’s through my mind. The moment I failed. Somebody just has to charge through… I know they will… Ponies began shuffling out. I heard Rainbow Dash crying, and Twilight trying to reassure her. I walked over to Rainbow Dash. I had to try something. I opened my mouth, about to say some words to try and comfort her, give her hope. But she just glared at me. It always confused me how people, or in this case ponies, could find a way to demonstrate so many emotions at once with a simple stare. Her sadness, her anger, her despair, all rolled into one glare.
“You promised me Nix!” She yelled as more tears streamed down her face. “You promised you’d help me out! And you broke it!” Her yelling made it pretty clear that I should keep quiet. Her words really hurt me. Why is nobody coming to help us? I thought childishly, still clinging to the idea that people still cared about justice over simply getting something over with. Twilight looked at me with her large, watery eyes.
“I thought you said you’d help her…” She muttered, as she began sobbing. Tears rolled down her face as well. I couldn’t look at her. I failed them. No… I haven’t failed yet… Right? There’s still a chance somebody could barge in and save us?
And now, to make everything worse, Trixie swaggered over to us. I really wasn’t in the mood for her annoying ways of speech, and that pompous grin was becoming my bane.
“Well Twilight Sparkle, how does the disappointment taste?” I’m glad I didn’t have a weapon with me, or I may have attacked her. All she wants is to make us feel as bad as we possibly could. You’d think a magician would want to entertain others, not ruin their lives. “Aw~, is the wittle Twiwight sad that her wittle fwiend is going away?” I seriously wanted to strangle that unicorn.
Darn it… The judge is leaving… I thought frantically, staring over at the entrance to the courtroom as other ponies began shuffling out. Where are you random witness? I could really use you right now… But nobody entered the room, they only left. Some looked over at Rainbow Dash in pity. Others didn’t seem to care. I still couldn’t bear to look at her.
“W-why Trixie? I didn’t mean to hurt you that bad…I just wanted to save Ponyville…” Twilight told Trixie through her sobs. Trixie seemed unimpressed.
“Why should I care if you’re trying to save a town? I have a reputation to uphold and you ruined it.” She said rather calmly, though with utter contempt in her voice.
“It can’t just be that…” Twilight persistently continued. “You’re saying ‘I’ again. I couldn’t have JUST ruined your career… Please, tell me.” I couldn’t believe Twilight continued trying to find a reason behind Trixie. Her revenge was already finished; knowing why would just make Twilight sadder.
“I-er, TRIXIE has no time to speak with ponies like you.” With that, and an overdramatic flip of her cape, she left, slamming the courtroom door behind her, and leaving me with two sobbing ponies. There wasn’t anything I could say to fix this. The judge was gone, the prosecutor was gone. All that was left was Rainbow Dash getting sent to the sun. If only I could be there for that…
The large doors swung open. I looked up hopefully. A very tall pony, taller than even me, stood there, with a beautiful white coat and a long, flowing mane the colours of northern lights. Was this the great witness I was waiting for? I definitely didn’t recognize her, but I guess it wouldn’t be the first time somebody new came to my rescue. Getting a closer look at the pony, I noticed not only did she have a horn, but wings as well! I didn’t even know ponies like that existed! And the sun on her flank made me rather suspicious. She trotted over to us.
“I’m very sorry Rainbow Dash,” she began, her voice very soft and comforting, like a mother. “but it’s the decision of the court. I must do this.” Her horn started glowing a bright yellow, as it moved down towards the rainbow coloured Pegasus. No… No! I finally realized who it was.
“Princess, wait!” I yelled, as I acted as a shield between her and Rainbow Dash. “You can’t! She’s innocent! You have to know that!” It would be really really really helpful if you would come now random witness… The princess’ horn stopped glowing, and she stepped back for a moment, her eyes wandering over me before she continued.
“Hello Phoenix,” She said, speaking as if we were old friends or something. “I’m sorry, but I must send Rainbow to the sun. Whether she’s innocent or not, she was proven guilty, and must receive her punishment.” How could she remain so calm while talking about sending an innocent creature to the sun?! I wasn’t exactly feeling in a respectable mood, no matter how much her presence gave me the urge to bow down and listen.
“You can’t just punish an innocent pony! Even if somepony else tells you too!” In a normal situation, I would have facepalmed at me using words like ‘somepony’, but at the time, the mood was too tense for me to feel stupid about.
“Phoenix, whether you’re here or not, she will be sent to the sun. I’m very sorry.” I didn’t move. I couldn’t move. There was still time. Somebody could still barge in with some new evidence and stop her from tearing about so many friendships. But nobody came. Twilight nudged me. Her eyes were pleading at me. Was she really going to let the send her friend to the sun? Rainbow Dash had a similar pleading look in her eyes. There wasn’t anything I could do to help, except stand still and hope Celestia would give up.
“Phoenix, shouldn’t you be returning to your own world?” She asked me, as her horn started glowing again. She moved it forward rather slowly, as if giving me a sadistic choice. As it nearly touched me, I jumped aside.
“P-please! J-just give me some time!” I begged her, while keeping a distance so she didn’t touch me. Okay, that came out wrong, but you know what I mean. “Just… Give me 5 minutes!” Her horn stopped glowing again, and she looked over at me.
“You may have 5 more minutes in our world, Phoenix.” I sighed with relief at our agreement. “Then, you’re going back, and I must send Rainbow to the sun.” Well… Better than nothing I guess.
“Okay… I’ll be back soon…” I said weakly, not able to look any of them in the eyes. I walked towards the door, using only one hand to open it, and slipped through, ignoring the guards, and Fluttershy silently sobbing on a bench. I stepped out the many other sets of doors and hallways until I was outside of the courthouse. I sat on the steps, and I allowed myself to cry.
I wasn’t sure how long I was on the steps. Probably not more than a few minutes, or the princess would have come out to find me. But my thoughts were interrupted by a high pitched, cheery voice.
“What’s got ya’ down Feenie?” I looked up at the pink pony, still miraculously energetic and happy despite everything that happened. “You won, didn’t you? I think we need a party to celebrate!” Oh God. How could I look her in the eye, and crush all the happiness in her by telling her, her best friend was being sent away forever? How could anybody in this universe stand to do anything like that?
“I-I’m sorry Pinkie…” I muttered, as I shamefully stared at the ground, splashed with my tears from my loss. If I just beat around the bush, I’m sure she’ll get it.
“Why? Oh, I know, GUESSING GAME! Did you… go to Sugarcube Corner and forget to say hi to me on your way out? Or maybe… Started a party and didn’t invite me? OH! OH! I KNOW! You found a way to go to space safely, started a party there, then you came back down, saved Rainbow Dash, and realized you forgot to invite me!” Well that plan failed. She continued her guesses, most of which went over my head. “It’s not a party if you don’t invite Pinkie Pie, so I forgive you if you forgot to invite me!” I looked up at her.
“I lost the case Pinkie.” I told her sternly. Somehow, she froze in midair. It hurts my brain when I try thinking about it, so I’m just trying to forget it. Her smile drooped down after she landed.
“I’m sorry; I think I heard you wrong.” She said, her voice becoming as serious as her expression. “Did you say you… Lost?” Great. I had to repeat myself. Like it wasn’t hard enough the first time.
“Yes Pinkie… I lost…” I began sulking at the ground again, expecting Pinkie to go crazy, or burst into tears, or at least show some form of negative emotion.
“Well… I’m sure she’ll be fine!” This pony really defies all expectations. “I mean, the sun will be hot, and lonely, and she’ll probably be really bored, but at least she’ll be fine, right?” The enthusiasm was returning to her. I would have almost preferred her to get angry at me. I’d get my just desserts then, at least.
“… Right?” Now she was scaring me. And not like that time she was talking about hacksaws. She genuinely looked like she was considering taking me to some basement and ripping my body apart. I looked away quickly. Taking a peek back, I saw her impossibly curly mane began flattening out, as he face drooped down along with it, her eyebrows arched down in a murderous glare. The colour somehow seemed to be darkening as well, becoming a much more grayish pink.
“You liar.” Her words pierced through me like a knife. WHY AM I THINKING ABOUT KNIVES RIGHT NOW?! “You said you’d help her, that you’d make everything better.” I’m pretty sure I didn’t say it like that. I mean, I took her job as a defense attorney, and I guess that entails protecting them, but I didn’t say anything about making things better.
“Shut up!” She yelled at me.
“I wasn’t even speaking!” I defended myself foolishly, as her words whipped at me like… Well, like the oddly familiar feeling of a whip. And now I’m thinking about whips.
“I know the stupid things you’re thinking! Mr. ‘I took her job as a defense attorney, and I guess that entails protecting them, but I didn’t say anything about making things better!’” I had no idea at the time what she was talking about. It makes much more sense now… Actually… It makes even less sense in context.
“Secrets and lies! It’s all secrets and lies with everypony!” I really wanted to defend myself. I wasn’t lying THAT much. I just made a promise I couldn’t keep. It wasn’t THAT serious. Was it? “I can’t even trust somepony to help my friend when they need help. Why do I trust anypony? All they want to do is break my heart!” This pony has some really serious issues! “DON’T TELL ME WHO HAS ISSUES MISTER!”
I backed away as quickly as I could. She finally grunted in annoyance and ran off. I hadn’t noticed how heavily I was breathing, until I could feel my heart start to slow down.
I was done. I had enough with all these ponies, wanting nothing more than to get even with each other. They were similar to humans in that aspect, it seemed. I stood up, and wiped away my tears. I really needed to walk. I walked down the streets, not caring that I should have been returning to allow Celestia to take me back. I walked down the street, just because it helped deaden my thoughts.
*****
“Morning Bonbon!” I yelled at the top of my lungs to the cream coloured mare, causing her to flinch as I interrupted her path.
“Oh, yes, hi Lyra!” She said enthusiastically after recovering. “You seem to be having a good morning.”
“Of course I’m having a good morning! I’m so excited!” Bonbon’s happy smile went confused pretty quickly.
“Excited? For what?”
“The Wanderer is coming to Hoofington today!” She still looked pretty confused. Why would she be confused? Did she not understand the greatness that was happening?
“The… Wanderer?” I stopped in my tracks in amazement. Did I forget to tell her? Aw well! Now’s the time to tell her I guess!
“The Wanderer! How could you not know who The Wanderer is? So, about a week ago, after Rainbow Dash was sent to the sun and Twilight locked herself away, the human who defended her just started walking and hasn’t stopped!” NOW I had Bonbon’s attention! I still had so much more to say though! “And when I say hasn’t stopped, I mean he hasn’t stopped for ANYTHING! Not food, not water, not rest, not safety, not even for human things! He walked straight through Diamond Dog territory like it was nothing! And did I mention that he’s a human?!”
“Really?! Wow! Why doesn’t Celestia just send him back?” Oh boy, I love it when Bonbon knows the right questions to ask! Almost as if it’s scripted to inform somepony about everything!
“Nopony really knows the ACTUAL reason, but most believe it’s because she pity’s him. Others believe it’s because he’s gotten so popular she can’t summon up the nerve to disappoint so many ponies.” I explained to her as we walked around Hoofington. It was definitely a nice vacation spot, with the quiet streets, polite ponies, and delicious food. I don’t really know why we’re vacationing. I guess it’s just because we can. There was a blue dot in the distance, and I knew who it was right away! “LET’S GO!” I yelled, telekinetically grabbing Bonbon’s hoof as we charged towards the entrance of the town.
After running for a bit, we finally ran into the human. A dirtied blue suit and a red tie, just like his description. The only thing that was off was his hair. I was told it looked like a porcupine, but I think it was much too flat to be a porcupine. Either way, it was definitely the human I was told about! His face seemed rather vacant, if not slightly depressed, and his eyes just looked… Empty.
“Hello human! I’m Lyra!” No response. He continued walking. “And this is my best friend Bonbon!” Still no response. He didn’t even look at us! I thought they were just overstating everything about him, but all the rumors seemed completely true!
“Is this it? I was hoping for more.” I heard Bonbon say, as we trotted next to the human.
“More?! What more could you ask for?! It’s a human! Hands and everything!” Bonbon just looked at me skeptically. She sighed, and remained silent as we walked back into town. I tried thinking of another way to get her interested. “They say if you ask the right question, he might respond!” She looked over at me again and finally spoke!
“Okay… Let’s try a few questions then.” Bonbon cleared her throat. “Hey, mister human, what’s your name?” She asked, gaining no response from the human. After a quick silence, she started with more questions. “What do you do for a living? Do you have a cutie mark? What is it? Do you like candy? Are you working with the barrels?” None of the questions she was asking were gaining any results. I quickly shushed her as I had my own idea.
“Why do you keep walking?” I asked curiously, gaining an ‘ooo’ from Bonbon. The human finally stopped, and turned to look down on me. His vacant face was rather intimidating, and his voice low, raspy and lifeless, almost like he wasn’t even alive.
“Because the miracle never happened.”