((Prompt: Re-imagine MLP: FiM as a courtroom drama.))
“Will the defendant please rise.” Judge Gavel peered down from his high seat at the head of the courtroom. Fluttershy had seen him around town once or twice before, and he had never seemed like a terribly imposing figure. A little chubby, even.
However, in his wig and robes, he now gave the impression of an unassailable mountain. His lips were pressed in a thin, humorless scowl. His hoof tapped impatiently against the corner of his podium.
Swallowing hard, Fluttershy rose.
“We find the defendant, Miss Fluttershy, guilty of non-participation in a musical sequence,” he declared.
Fluttershy squeaked, covering her eyes with her forelegs.
“Your honor!” Twilight shot to her hooves. Her mane was tied into a bun, and she wore a pair of sleek reading glasses. “That is for the jury to decide,” she objected, pointing her hoof toward the jury box, where twelve randomly selected Ponyville citizens sat, sleepy looks painted across their faces.
Gavel grunted and glanced at the jury. “Well?”
A few ponies shrugged. The rest looked on disinterestedly.
“It's for them to decide,” Twilight repeated, “after they have heard all the evidence!”
Judge Gavel rubbed his temples. “Fine, fine. Just get on with it, then. I've got lunch with Mayor Mare today.”
The prosecutor, none other than Applejack's neighbor Golden Harvest, took this as her cue to call her first witness. “The prosecution calls Bon Bon to the stand.”
A cream-colored earth pony mare was escorted to the front of the room and sworn in.
“Now then, Miss Bon,” Golden Harvest said, straightening her cravat. “Let's get the first thing out of the way to circumvent any kind of distraction tactics on the part of the defense. Bon Bon isn't legally your name, is it?”
Bon Bon hesitated for a minute, then shook her head. “No.”
“It is, in fact, Sweetie Drops, is it not?” A wave of murmurs and snickers passed through the courtroom.
A blush burned bright on the witness's cheeks. “...Yes,” she grumbled.
Golden Harvest cleared her throat. “Can you tell the court why you go by Bon Bon?”
“Because Sweetie Drops is a stupid name!” Bon Bon/Sweetie Drops cried.
The carrot farmer-turned-prosecutor smiled. “Thank you. Now that that's cleared up, why don't you tell us about last Tuesday?”
Bon Bon took a deep breath. “Well, I was out watering my flowers when, as you all know, Lyra had her song.” Everypony in the room nodded; Tuesday's musical outburst had been one of the bigger spontaneous productions the town had done that month. “I of course joined in, juggling my flowerpots while Flitter and Cloudchaser flew loops above me. But then I looked over to the side, and... and...” Tears welled up in the mare's eyes. “I saw Fluttershy just mouthing the words! She wasn't singing along, she just made her lips move! I've never seen anything so shameful! To think I once wanted her autograph!”
Fluttershy shrank beneath her mane, casting a sidelong glance at Twilight.
Twilight gave Fluttershy a reassuring smile. She took off her glasses and folded them as Golden Harvest ceded the floor to her. “Miss Drops,” she said. “Oh, sorry, Miss Bon.”
Bon Bon glared up at Twilight.
Twilight responded with a disarming smile. “I'm not your enemy, Miss Bon.” She leaned in close to Bon Bon, dropping her voice to a whisper. “Iamgoingtoaskyouaverysimplequestion,saywhatifyoudon'tunderstand.”
Bon Bon blinked. “What?”
Twilight slammed her hoof on the wooden table. “Ha!” She turned to the jury, pointing her hoof at Bon Bon. “If she can't hear and respond to a simple question spoken directly to her, how could Miss Bon possibly have heard whether my client was singing or not? She's practically deaf!”
“What?” Bon Bon shook her head vigorously. “I'm not deaf!”
“That will be all, Miss Bon,” Twilight said, putting her glasses back on. “The defense calls Fluttershy to the stand.”
“But I'm not deaf!” Bon Bon objected. “I do voice work as a side-job! My hearing is perfect!”
“I'm sorry,” Twilight said, raising one eyebrow. “You probably didn't hear me the first time. Can we get a hoof-sign interpreter in here to tell Miss Bon she can leave the stand, please?”
Fluttershy kept her head low as the bailiff dragged Bon Bon off of the stand and escorted her up to replace her.
Twilight gave her a supportive pat on the hoof. “Now then, I only have a couple of questions for you, Fluttershy. First, did you participate in Lyra's musical sequence on Tuesday?”
Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, I did.”
“Did you sing?”
“Yes.”
Twilight cast a glance at the jury. “That ought to be enough to prove the innocence of my client,” she said, “but for the sake of completeness, I would like to ask you one more thing, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy sank in her seat. “Okay.”
“Will you please sing for the court?”
Fluttershy swallowed hard. “O-okay.” A few notes rang from an unseen piano.
“I'm sorry if I'm not so loud.
My voice doesn't carry so well in a crowd.
But just because I sing quietly doesn't mean I don't participate.
Sometimes the softest voices can carry the most weight...”
Three verses, two refrains and an instrumental section during which Rarity had a softshoe dance-off with Berry Punch later, everypony found their seats again. Twilight gave the courtroom a satisfied grin. “The defense rests,” she said, falling backwards into her chair.