CHAPTER 32
THUD
"Ohhhh..." I stood up, holding the side of my head with my hand. I wasn't hungover: I'd taken a few glasses and chairs to the head in the brawl the night before. "That. Was awesome..." I looked back to the bed I'd fallen out of, where Dashie was sleeping peacefully.
"Alcohol sure gets her going..." I chuckled a bit, and threw on some clothes. "I'd spend the day with her, but... I think she'd rather spend the day in bed... What about Scoots?" I nodded in agreement with myself. I headed out of the room, and down the hallway. I looked at Scoots' door for a second. It was covered in posters of The Wonderbolts, and had a "DO NOT ENTER" sign on the middle.
"What a teenager..." Another chuckle, and then I knocked on the door. "Hey, Scoots, you up?" I heard frantic movement, and then the lock on the door came undone. Scoots had a guilty smile on her face.
"Uh... Hi dad." I ruffled her mane a bit.
"Whatever it is you're doing in there, I'm not going to press the matter. Your secret is your secret." I had the sudden hope that there weren't any drugs in Equestria. They have medicine... "Uh... Unless it's illegal, of course." Scoots' eyes widened, and she stared at me like I was crazy.
"Wait, do you mean drugs?" I nodded, and Scoots almost fell over laughing. "I'd never do that! No, it's just- Uh..." I raised a silencing hand.
"It's alright, I trust you. As long as it isn't illegal, or dangerous, I'm fine with it." As you can all tell, I'm a very chill parent. "So, how about you hang out with your old dad today?" She smiled, did a little jump.
"Sure! I've always wondered what you do for fun." Suddenly, a list appeared in my mind.
"I beat the hell out of Hoops, argue, drink... Wow, I'm such a responsible person..." I shrugged, and motioned for her to follow me. Instead of just walking with me, she hovered alongside me.
"You know, you're growing up fast." It pained me to know that I wasn't going to be around much longer to see my own daughter grow up. Thirty years of life... At best... I shook the thought off, and decided to focus on the present.
"Whaddya mean? Like, I'm getting big?" I chuckled, and shook my head.
"Well, yeah, but not just physically, but in other ways as well. You've got a marefriend, and you two go great together, and you've got so much time to spend together. It's a wonderful feeling, knowing your daughter has her special somepony." Scoots' face turned red. "Heh. I'm proud of you, you know that? Even if you don't have your Cutie Mark yet, you've still made me so proud. And on the topic of Cutie Marks... What do you think it'll be?" Scoots shrugged, closing her eyes in the process.
"Dunno. I hope it's something cool, like mom's." I let out another chuckle. Scoots still had that hero worship thing going on.
"Well, with what I know... I think your talent is stuff like rhythm, and balance. You're really good on that old scooter of yours, and you're a good dancer too. I'm thinking stuff like choreography or something." Scoots put her hoof on her chin for a moment, and a smile crept across her face.
"You know, you're probably right. How come I never thought of that... Maybe I could dance at one of Sweetie Belle's shows." We both laughed, and I had to wipe a tear out of my eye.
"Speaking of Sweetie, where is she? Is she off performing again? I never see her." Scoots frowned. I'd hit a touchy topic.
"Well, she is off on a tour again... She tries to stop by whenever she can, and we're all still friends. I'm not mad at her, it's just... Sometimes I wish things could go back to the way they were. Before Sweetie Belle was always away." I pulled Scoots into a hug, and stroked her mane a bit.
"Now come on... You can't wish away the present, or the future. I know that from experience. And plus, if everything went back to the way it was, you wouldn't be with Apple Bloom the way you are now. And like you said, Sweetie stops by whenever she can. That's dedication. You're all good friends, and nothing will ever change that. Now, enough with all this sad stuff, lets go out and do something. Allons-y!" Scoots giggled, and we raced each other to the door.
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"... So then, I ended up completely turning it all around, and I won the case, and got the prosecutor arrested instead. Man did I love that..." I was telling Scoots about my days in Mock Trial in school. Winning cases, always surprising everyone with my tactics... It was fun.
"Wow. It sounds like you could think really quickly." I nodded my head,and took a sip from the drink I'd bought from Pony Joe's. Coffee always gets me going, no matter how tired I am.
"Yeah. Some of that was me getting lucky, though. I'm just glad the jury was on my side. I put on quite the show for them." Scoots put her hoof on her chin. I could see the gears turning in her head. "What's this girl up to...?" When Scoots let out a gasp from a good idea, I could have sworn a lightbulb popped up above her head.
"What if I get some of my friends together, and we put a case together?" I did a double take, and dropped my drink.
"Wait, really? Are you serious?" Scoots nodded, and I had a smile on that would make Pinkie jealous. "Scoots. I love you. So much. You know that, right?"
"I know. That's WHY I'm doing this! Besides, it'd be fun!" She held out her hoof for a hoof bump, which I did.
"Oh man, I'm finally gonna get to wear that suit Rarity made for me. That thing looks comfortable... So! How exactly are you going to set this up?" Scoots just grinned, and then got up.
"Meet me back at home in an hour. And get ready!" I nodded, and she flew off into the air.
"Well... I'd better get my pointer finger warmed up."
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(One hour later)
"Wow. Dad, that's really how you looked when you were a lawyer?" I nodded my head. I had my hair slicked back, ending in spikes pointing down to the floor. I had my suit's jacket unbuttoned, and the collar of the dress shirt underneath overtop the jacket's collar.
"Yep." I shoved my left hand into my pocket. "So, where's this taking place?"
"Town hall. There's a small courtroom there. We get to use it since there's never any crime here, so they don't see the problem." I nodded.
"I like that. So, can you tell me anything about my case? Defendant, witnesses, evidence..."
"I can tell you who's playing as who." I shrugged. Something is better than nothing.
"Shoot. Anything helps."
"Well, Mayor Mare is the judge, you're the defense attorney, obviously, and Twilight is the prosecution." I did another double take, and I felt panic grip me.
"WHAT?! Oh, words cannot describe how screwed I am... She's gonna out-logic me for sure!" Scoots punched me on the shoulder playfully.
"Come on, you're Kyle Bucy: Ace Attorney! Remember?" I calmed down a bit, and chuckled at the nickname I'd been given by a kid in the stands one time in a case.
"I guess. Alright, come on let's get moving. ALLONS-Y!"
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Whenever we arrived at the town hall, I was led to the defense lounge room, just outside of the courtroom itself.
"Feeling nervous, dad?" I nodded frantically.
"Yeah... It's been a couple of years since I've done this..." Scoots gave me a quick hug.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine. I bet it'll all come back to you!"
"Thanks Scoots... I sure hope so." Scoots hopped off of her seat, and walked away. "Where're you going?"
"Oh, I'm the defendant. I need to go to my stand before the case starts."
"You're the defendant." I said it more like a statement than a question.
"Yep! I'll see you in there!" Scoots walked away, and I stared at the wall blankly for about a minute, until somepony tapped me on the shoulder.
"Come on, it's time to start the case." I stood up, and walked to the double doors leading to the court room. I took a deep breath, and then burst through them, and stepped up to my desk. Twilight had her determined face on, and gave me a coy smile, which I countered with a scowl. Mayor Mare cleared her throat.
"Is the prosecution ready?"
Twilight nodded. "Yes, Your Honor."
"Is the defense ready?" I cleared my throat, and took another deep breath.
(Stop the music)
"Yes, Your Honor."