Phoenix Wright - Turnabout Storm!

by Firesight


Part 47 - Trixie's Sonata, Symphony of the Witness

The Courtroom can be a cold battlefield, especially for a beginner.

Diego Armando, Turnabout Beginnings

The only time a lawyer can cry is when it’s all over.

Godot, Bridge to the Turnabout

Turnabout Storm - Part 5/4


Ponyville District Court
Courtroom No. 2
June 11th, 12:10 PM

“Court is now back in session for this post-verdict inquiry,” The Judge announced as he took his seat, calling for order with a sharp rap of his gavel before turning to his right. “Ms. Trixie—were you able to gather the victim’s manager?”

“Yes. She is here and prepared to testify,” she confirmed, but couldn’t resist one last effort to dissuade the Judge. “That is, if you truly still want to do this. I would remind Your Honor that you are simply providing Mister Wrong an opening to prolong the trial further and perhaps falsely accuse yet another innocent pony!” she warned with a glare at Phoenix.

The Judge gave her another irritated look. “We have been over this ground already, Ms. Trixie. My guilty verdict stands. But I do not like leaving cases with loose ends, and I wish to know how she came into possession of this peculiar stick.”

“As would we all,” Phoenix added. Sonata had to have been in the forest. And by simple process of elimination, that means she HAD to have done it—there’s nopony else left who COULD! he thought to himself. But based on what Twilight said, Trixie’s right—Sonata isn’t a pegasus and doesn’t have elemental powers. So there’s no way she could have manipulated that cloud to fire lightning, he knew, still having no immediate theory as to how she could have electrocuted Ace Swift.

Expect the worse, but hope for the best. Just like I told Twilight, gotta smile and fight to the end, no matter how bad things may get! he vowed, grateful she’d had been present to remind him of that simple truth and restore his shaken confidence.

With that, Phoenix and the entire courtroom turned their attention to the grey unicorn mare now standing behind the witness stand. Finally seeing her close-up where his eyes could focus, The Judge studied her for a moment, almost squinting. “Oh!” he said as he beheld her, clearing his throat as if in surprise. “Have we met before, Miss? You seem familiar.”

Sonata gave him an irritated look in return. “Given I have never been to your world or so much as set eyes on a human before yesterday, you can be reasonably certain we have never met, Your Honor,” she said dryly, though Phoenix noticed The Judge flinch slightly when he heard her speak in an eerily familiar voice.

At least I’m not the only one who notices her resemblance to Mia! he thought in some relief.

“State your name and occupation, witness,” Trixie prompted in even tones, suppressing an eyeroll at The Judge’s question.

Sonata didn’t answer right away, peering over her thin glasses at Phoenix. “So, you’re really going to attempt to pin this on me, Phoenix Wright?” she asked, ignoring Trixie and addressing him directly. “You’re already zero for two in naming new suspects. Tell me, after I prove myself innocent, what then?

“Will you instead accuse that charlatan and con artist currently standing in the prosecutor’s stall on the grounds that she bears a grudge against your co-counsel and is a weather elemental—albeit a rather feeble one?” she suggested almost lazily, causing Trixie’s jaw to drop open. “You may as well do it now, then. You’d at least have more of the gallery on your side for that.”

Whoa. Trixie did it? Wouldn’t THAT be a twist! Phoenix couldn’t help but smirk, briefly considering but quickly discarding the possibility. He’d faced prosecutors—and even police chiefs—who had committed murder, including the legendary Manfred von Karma, father of Franziska and the acclaimed “King of Prosecutors” who went undefeated in court for forty years before encountering Phoenix.

Phoenix had crossed legal swords with him when he’d framed his own prosecuting protégé, Miles Edgeworth, for a murder two Christmases earlier, going to desperate lengths to keep the truth behind a fifteen-year conspiracy hidden. Phoenix had cleared Edgeworth’s name and revealed von Karma to be nothing more than an obsessed and grudge-driven madman; one who killed Edgeworth’s defense attorney father over a single blemish on his otherwise perfect record. But in this instance?

No. Trixie’s certainly grudge-driven, but she’s no murderer; just an opportunist who saw a chance to get back at the pony who ruined her name. She’s little different than Franziska in that sense, Phoenix decoded.

For her part, Trixie acted like she’d been slapped, struck speechless for the moment as Sonata went on. “For the record, I’ve watched the entire trial and I’m not impressed with either counsel’s performance.”

Shut up and answer the question!” Trixie finally shook off her surprise. “State your name and occupation for the record!”

Sonata didn’t even look at her, speaking in a tone of pure disdain. “Do be quiet, Ms. Lulamoon. The grown-ups are speaking,” she said like she was talking down to a foal. “You have no business prosecuting this case, anyway.”

“Wh-what?” Trixie gaped, a shocked look on her face.

“Uh… ‘Lulamoon’?” Phoenix repeated under his breath to Twilight.

“That’s her real name,” Twilight whispered back, uncertain what was happening. “’Trixie’ is just her stage name.”

“Even to me, it’s a mystery how you managed to get yourself a law license and put yourself behind that stall,” Sonata went on scornfully while a surprised Phoenix just listened, inwardly impressed and struggling to keep a smile off his face as Sonata voiced the sentiments he had wanted to the entire trial. “One can’t help but wonder what stallion—or mare—you must have lifted your tail for to be here.”

Trixie recoiled at the suggestion while Phoenix’s eyes went wide; even Twilight blushed hard at that. “How… how DARE you!” the mare magician finally managed. “I strongly suggest you shut your mouth and remember what we discussed, lest Trixie turns her attention on you!” she threatened, giving her former schoolmate her most intimidating glare.

“The truth hurts, doesn’t it, Lula?” Sonata went on as if Trixie hadn’t spoken, looking completely unconcerned. “You know, it must really wound that vanity of yours, looking in the mirror every morning and seeing nothing but a failed street performer with her reputation in tatters, seeking revenge against the one that ruined it as her only source of solace,” she suggested, to approving whinnies and hoofclops from the gallery; even a previously glowering Rainbow had to suppress a smile at that. “That would be pathetic enough, but targeting Miss Sparkle through her friends over saving her town just makes it even more so.”

“WHY! Y-YOU!” Trixie was so angry she could barely speak, cold air forming about her again; for a moment Phoenix thought he saw her eyes glow blue. “Y-you’ll PAY for this, Sonata!” she promised, her violet eyes bulging.

“Um… does this pony have something against Trixie, Phoenix?” Twilight asked him quietly in an aside, turning her head fractionally towards him as she watched the scene in some confusion.

“Short answer? Yes,” Phoenix replied in a dry tone of voice, wondering what Sonata hoped to accomplish by antagonizing Trixie—regardless of their past, you’d think she wouldn’t want to provoke a prosecutor like this, or else she might go after her NEXT! he knew, thinking he might even be willing to help by giving Trixie evidence of the blackmail schemes Sonata had orchestrated over the years.

His answer came quickly. “Pay for this? I think not,” Sonata told the showmare evenly. “You see, I know everything there is to know about you, Trixie,” she announced, closing her eyes and looking down with a sly smile for a moment.

Trixie forced a smile of her own at that. “So what?” she asked, visibly trying to make herself calm down. “That’s actually kind of flattering. Trixie’s name should be known far and wide!” she answered grandly to a series of eyerolls from the audience.

“Oh, really now?” Sonata’s smile turned into a lazy, anticipatory grin, giving Phoenix the impression she was about to drop the hammer on Trixie—hard. “Then surely you won’t mind if we talk about poor widdle Twixie?” she said the last there words slowly, seemingly miming the baby talk Trixie had used against Twilight just before the guilty verdict.

Phoenix didn’t understand why Trixie’s eyes went wide at that. “Let’s start by discussing how ‘Great and Powerful’ you really are—or aren’t,” Sonata continued, her eyes closed and smiling as if savoring a moment she’d been waiting a very long time for. “Better yet, let’s talk about what you really desire. Because unlike everypony else, I know…” she trailed off warningly as she locked gazes with Trixie. “And if you don’t behave yourself and sit there like a good little filly from here on out, I might just decide to reveal it.”

Phoenix listened in some confusion, certain there was something going on at that moment he wasn’t privy to. Looking up at the showmare, he saw her jaw dropped open and eyes wide, even fearful. “But... how could you…?” she asked in an unusually quiet and unsteady voice.

Sonata rolled on, not giving Trixie a chance to reply. “That’s right, Ms. Not-So-Great-Or-Powerful. I know what drives the real Trixie to do what she does,” she began, turning her eyes on Twilight. “And I promise it has nothing to do with her last visit to Ponyville, as she has led many of you to believe. That was just the icing on the cake—the proverbial straw that broke the horse’s back,” she said, now addressing a surprised Twilight directly.

“Know, Miss Sparkle, that the Trixie you see right now is nothing but a helpless phony taking on an egotistical persona to cover up her pitiful insecurities and total failure to attain any of her dreams,” Sonata announced to the courtroom, her voice dripping with contempt. Trixie seemed to shrink back further and further within herself with each new insult issued, leaving both Twilight and Phoenix bewildered as to what was happening as Sonata went on.

“Her real talent should be pretending—smoke and mirrors is all she is. And I’m not talking about her sad little excuse for a magic show,” she concluded with an odd emphasis on the closing phrase, giving a triumphant, even gleeful look to Trixie as she took what Phoenix could only guess was a long-awaited revenge. “As I said before, she’s well and truly a pathetic pony. Just take a look at her now if you don’t believe me,” she invited all present, sounding immensely satisfied.

Twilight and the entire courtroom looked back at Trixie and were stunned at what they saw. There was no trace of haughtiness or attitude left in her defeated posture, no anger or arrogance, no fire in her eyes or elemental ice surrounding her—just a devastated countenance, a deep and abiding sadness that confirmed the truth of Sonata’s words. Her head was bowed dejectedly, her lip quivering and downcast eyes watering; for a moment Twilight thought she might break down completely, so total was Sonata’s dismantling of her.

Playing a hunch, Twilight tapped the mystical energies the Magatama had given her—she’d finally figured out how to block them after the end of Gilda’s testimony, in effect giving herself the power to turn the ability to see psyche-locks on and off—and waited for the mysterious black locks to materialize. When they finally did, she was surprised to see they were only barely holding on, visibly cracking and wobbling back and forth as they strained at their bonds, though they remained intact for the time being.

So they CAN be broken! That means there’s hope for Trixie yet! she thought even as Sonata went on.

“Oh? Nothing to say, poor widdle Twixie? Have you finally run out of insults and arrogant lies?” Sonata verbally slapped the already-beaten mare magician when she was down. “Strip them away, and what are you, Lula? The answer should be clear even to you, now: nothing,” she pronounced with finality, closing her eyes and appearing very pleased with herself while Phoenix and the rest of the gallery looked on in disbelief, stunned at how completely and cleanly she had crushed Trixie’s spirit.

“ENOUGH!!!!” The Judge’s voice finally broke in with a hard bang of his gavel, startling Phoenix and Twilight—the former having rarely heard The Judge yell so loudly or get so visibly upset. “I have had quite enough of sideshows, personal grudges, and recalcitrant witnesses! This trial has already gone on for far too long, and my patience is at an end! Now state your name and occupation!” he ordered in his most imperious voice. “Answer now, or I will find you in contempt!”

Sonata shrugged and drew herself up straight at that. “Sonata Tarot. Former manager of the late Ace Swift,” she pronounced.

Phoenix blinked at that, having not heard her last name before. Tarot? As in a tarot deck? That’s kind of close in meaning to “Fey”! he realized, but the grey unicorn mare cut off that line of thought before he could carry it further.

“Now where was I?” she asked almost rhetorically, turning fractionally to the side and briefly exposing her eyelike cutie mark on her hip. “Oh yes. Wright. You were accusing me of being in the Everfree based off a vague and unreliable testimony given by a vague and unreliable witness,” she said with a nod towards the gallery, where Phoenix looked up to see that Fluttershy was now sitting with Applejack, Rarity and Spike, the first two bracketing her protectively.

Despite the presence of her friends, Fluttershy visibly cringed at being referenced like that. Just hope The Judge wasn’t too hard on her… Twilight thought, making a mental note to ask her friend about it later.

For his part, Phoenix looked over at Trixie, reflexively expecting her to speak up in support of her witness. But she hadn’t moved from her forlorn posture, sitting on her haunches and staring down in deep despair at the bench in front of her.

Despite how happy he was to see the insulting mare magician get her comeuppance, Phoenix couldn’t help but feel troubled at the sight, wondering what secret was so painful that Sonata could reduce her to such a state with just a few choice phrases. It often takes both the prosecutor and defense attorney working together to get at the truth in these cases, he knew from long experience; in his last case it had taken the combined efforts of himself, Miles Edgeworth and even a wounded Franziska von Karma to bring the case to a successful conclusion.

“That witness says she saw me by the forest?” Sonata went on, interrupting his thoughts a second time. “I say I was in my hotel room all night. Which now brings me to you, Phoenix Wright,” she said warningly.

Phoenix felt his guts clench as he sensed what was coming next. Oh, great. Here we go! he thought, starting to sweat again.

“I believe you broke into my private quarters yesterday with that curly-haired confectioner of a pony,” Sonata informed the court, causing The Judge’s eyes to go wide and both Phoenix and Twilight to cringe. “Your Honor, I wish this court to know that Phoenix Wright illegally entered my hotel room yesterday afternoon, gaining access using a stolen room key to rummage through my things! I submit that by doing so, he has both broken Equestrian law and violated defense attorney ethics with his actions. As such, I demand he be removed from this case, and that I be given leave to press charges against both him and his earth pony companion immediately!”

“I see,” The Judge said gravely, giving Phoenix an appraising look, who held himself rigid under his scrutiny. “Have you proof of your accusations?”

“Indeed I do,” Sonata confirmed, floating The Judge a sealed envelope. “Here are some detailed photographs of both of their hoof and handprints all around my room, on bookshelves, tables, and the door handle. I’m sure if you compare them to Wright and a local earth pony named Pinkie Pie, you’ll get matching results. So as you can see, the evidence of their crimes is overwhelming!”

“Mister Wright! Is this true?” The Judge demanded to know after he had quickly scanned the envelope contents, his hand clenching his gavel, preparing to bring it down on Phoenix hard.

Phoenix took a deep breath and raised his eyes to meet The Judge’s. “It is, Your Honor. I apologize for my actions, and am willing to face punishment for them later.”

“No! He should be removed and punished right now!” Sonata interjected, her equine tail flicking back and forth in agitation. “He broke the law and violated my privacy when I was in mourning for Ace! And for it, I want justice, Your Honor!”

“I am inclined to agree, Mister Wright,” The Judge warned, glaring at him. “Can you give me any good reason why I should not order your removal from this courtroom and issue an immediate warrant for your arrest?”

Phoenix gulped at the suggestion—I wouldn’t mind staying in Equestria a little longer, but not like THAT! he thought, choosing his next words with care. “Just as Trixie stated earlier in reference to Mister Cruise Control’s assault on me, it’s an unrelated crime that has no bearing on the current case at hoof,” he offered, some part of him noting how easily he was now lapsing into pony word usage and idioms.

“I am fully willing to accept the consequences for my actions. But for now, I respectfully request of this court that I be allowed to finish the case,” he told The Judge, bowing his head humbly but looking back at Trixie in expectation of an objection, certain she was going to point out that the case was technically already over and his argument didn’t hold water. But the mare magician remained silent, still locked in her downcast and defeated pose.

Even without her objection, The Judge was unimpressed. “Mister Wright! I am shocked you would do something like this!” he said sternly.

But I didn’t WANT to do it! Pinkie was the one who broke in! he protested mentally, but knew better than to try to offer that as an argument to The Judge. “Your Honor—if you remove me now, there will be nopony to represent the defendant,” he offered a new argument instead.

“Oh? And what about your co-counsel?” Sonata challenged from the witness box. “Why can’t Miss Sparkle take over?”

“My co-counsel is not currently certified to be a defense attorney,” he said, turning towards Twilight, who nodded in agreement. “Legally, she cannot represent clients. It would take at least a day to get her such certification, and if you try to pull in another attorney, they won’t be well-versed on the facts on the case. I therefore submit, Your Honor, that I am the only one who can represent Rainbow Dash properly right now,” he concluded, speaking with more fervor as he sensed The Judge wavering.

The Judge considered that for a moment. “Is this true, Miss Sparkle? Can you not take over the defense?”

“I’m afraid it is, and I cannot, Your Honor,” Twilight stepped forward and confirmed. “For me to take over as lead attorney, I would have to file an appeal with the Equestrian Legal Affairs Council in Canterlot and pass a bar exam first. And Canterlot bureaucracy being what it is… that could take all night,” she grimaced, The Judge noting further confirmation in the form of some rueful nods of agreement coming from the gallery and even the bailiffs as well.

The Judge closed his eyes for a moment, thinking. “Be that as it may, I can’t simply let such brazen misconduct like this go unpunished!” he told Phoenix. “Ms. Trixie? What is the prosecution’s opinion on this matter?” he turned to his left to ask.

But Trixie remained silent, looking lost and forsaken, seemingly paying no attention to what was happening around her. She doesn’t look too hot, Phoenix noted, surprised to feel a moment of pity for her—whatever secret Sonata had threatened to expose, it was clearly a very deep and painful one.

The Judge was flustered by that. “Um… well…” he began, groping for a way forward. “In the absence of objections from the prosecution, I suppose there is no harm in allowing Mister Wright to remain lead counsel,” he decided. “But make no mistake, Mister Wright—both you and this ‘Pinkie Pie’ will face punishment in due time!” His voice turned stern again.

“I understand, Your Honor. And thank you,” he bowed his head in respect and relief. Score one for the good guys! he thought in triumph, hoping that whatever punishment he was eventually given wouldn’t be too bad.

Sonata’s jaw fell open and her ears laid back at that, giving a surprised grunt. “Fine. Whatever. See if I care!” She turned away from Phoenix disdainfully. “This outlandish accusation of yours is just going to fall flat on its face, anyway.”

Phoenix was unimpressed. You’ve already played your trump card, Sonata. You have no further power over me, and now it’s MY turn! “Sonata!” He pointed an accusing finger at her. “Fluttershy gave a perfect description of you carrying this stick near the forest on the night of the murder!” he reminded her, holding up the ruined metal rod.

“Perfect, you say?” Sonata rolled her eyes. “She gave a vague description based on a momentary glimpse of somepony in the dark. I sincerely doubt she could pick the pony she claims she saw out of a lineup. Regardless, I said it before and I’ll say it again, Wright: I wasn’t anywhere near the forest that night,” she replied evenly, giving a quick glance over at the prosecutor’s stall as if to warn Trixie to stay silent. But there was no need; the mare magician was still lost in her own despondency.

“Is that so? Then tell me, Sonata—if you are telling the truth and have nothing to hide, why did you try to sneak out of the courtroom earlier when Fluttershy was testifying?” he asked her over crossed arms.

Sonata gave him a level look and arched an eyeridge. “Really, Mister Wright. Was my reaction really so unusual or incriminating? I could see exactly where that testimony was going and what you were going to do with it. I can hardly be blamed for not wanting to be present when you inevitably accused me.” She rolled her eyes. “You’ve already shown a penchant for falsely casting suspicion on others to deflect attention from your own client’s guilt—I believe you’ve made two failed accusations so far?” she all but sneered out the words. “I had no wish to be the third, or be accosted as I was by those ruffians in the audience. So I tried to leave quietly and not cause a scene. I failed.”

“I agree with the witness, Mister Wright,” The Judge broke in. “Her reaction was normal given the circumstances and cannot be considered evidence of guilt.”

“Yes, Your Honor.” Phoenix grimaced, his mind racing. I’ve got to tie her into this somehow! he knew, but before he could, he needed something to work from. “Your Honor—as a degree of suspicion is cast on this witness, the defense requests to hear what she was doing that night in further detail!”

“Hmmm….” The Judge considered that, closing his eyes for a moment and then opening to them to study the mare behind the witness stand anew. “Now that I have seen Ms. Sonata’s appearance up close… the previous witness’s description does seem to match up,” he noted. “Very well, Mister Wright. Ms. Sonata—please testify as to what you were doing on the night of the murder.”

Sonata gave a short sigh of exasperation at that. “If I must.”

—————— WITNESS TESTIMONY ——————
— The Night Of The Murder —

I was settling in my hotel room after picking up some athletic equipment for Ace. He wasn’t at the hotel so I figured he was practicing for the race. I went to bed early but was woken up at midnight by a knock at my hotel room door. When I answered it, the police informed me of Ace’s fate. That witness must be mistaken. I wasn’t anywhere near the forest that night. And I certainly wasn’t carrying that golf club you keep waving around.

Once she had finished, The Judge spoke up first as Phoenix considered her statement, turning it over repeatedly in his head. “So you were in your hotel room while the murder occurred?”

“That is correct, Your Honor,” she nodded, turning to the side. “That witness must have been seeing things, because I didn’t go anywhere near the Everfree Forest that night.”

“She’s lying,” Phoenix told Twilight with certainty, who nodded her agreement but looked troubled. “Do you see any psyche-locks, Twilight?”

She tapped the Magatama’s power again, focused on the other unicorn and flinched hard. “Yes,” she confirmed, recoiling from the emotions the phantom locks carried—to her surprise the dominant ones weren’t hate or revenge, but… fear? Guilt? Shame? “At least a dozen of them,” she swallowed, blocking the mystical power again so she wouldn’t be overwhelmed by them, fearful of what might happen if they all broke at once as had happened with Gilda.

A dozen? Phoenix suppressed a wince. This is NOT going to be easy. But if she was lying before when she denied involvement, why the hell didn’t psyche-locks appear THEN? he couldn’t help but wonder.

“Phoenix? I hate to change the subject, but… look at Trixie.” Twilight motioned with her head over to the other side of the courtroom pit where the mare magician still hadn’t moved.

“Seems Sonata really got to her,” Phoenix noted; he had never seen anyone have their spirit so thoroughly crushed. Despite all she had done, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for her—he’d only known her for little more than a day, yet it was hard for him to see her in the state she was now. For her to be anything besides the cocky but clever, insulting but intelligent prosecutor she had shown herself to be just seemed… wrong.

As wrong as Franziska von Karma crying, was the only analogy he could come up with, immediately rolling his eyes at the thought. Oh come on, Phoenix. Like Franziska would EVER cry!

“I feel kind of bad for her,” Twilight told him, a note of sadness in her voice.

“Me too,” Phoenix agreed. “But whatever Sonata did to her, we can’t worry about that now. We have to focus on breaking this testimony,” he reminded her.

“Right,” she agreed, turning her attention back to the witness stand.

—————— CROSS-EXAMINATION ——————

I was settling in my hotel room after picking up some equipment for Ace.

“What kind of equipment?” he immediately asked.

“Training equipment. Knee pads, leg and wing hobbles, weighted horseshoes and harnesses. Stuff like that,” she shrugged. “He prided himself on his strength and being able to win at pretty much every sport in existence.”

Phoenix blinked at that, thinking that the items she listed could either be used for resistance training… or something else entirely. Flinching at the image of Ace and Sonata that suddenly popped into his head, he forcibly purged it and moved on. “Speaking of equipment,” he began, scratching his chin to cover up where his thoughts had gone, “any clue as to why he was wearing his lightning-proof racesuit that night?”

“He wore it all the time with the race coming up,” she replied easily. “The outfit is quite itchy and uncomfortable from what I’m told, and he practiced wearing it before the race to get used to the discomfort.”

That washes with what Rainbow told me about the suit, Phoenix mentally conceded, moving on. “Do you have anypony to confirm you were shopping that day?” he tried next.

Sonata closed her eyes. “No. I don’t.”

Phoenix leaned further forward over his rail. “Then this alibi of yours isn’t looking too solid at all!”

“And just how would you have me prove it, Mister Wright?” She rolled her eyes. “The stores are quite busy with the race coming up. I doubt either the check-out clerk or any of the other patrons would remember one out-of-town customer from a few days ago.”

“What about a receipt?” Phoenix immediately suggested. “You said you bought some items there? Without one you could have been—”

“I have it right here,” she announced with a suddenly smug grin, flaring her horn to float a scrap of paper out of her saddlebags and up to The Judge. “As a business manager, I keep records of all my spending, Mister Wright.”

“Ah!” Phoenix flinched in surprise, realizing he’d underestimated her. If she IS anything like Mia, she’s not going to be that sloppy or trapped so easily! You need your A-game against her, Phoenix!

“It says her items were rung in at 7:30 PM,” The Judge noted after scanning it quickly, then passed it over to a unicorn bailiff to magically produce copies for the prosecution and defense.

Phoenix recovered quickly. That proves she was shopping a little before the murder, but it doesn’t prove she couldn’t have been there! he quickly recognized. There’s still more than enough time—an hour plus—to put her in the forest at the time Ace was killed! “And where was Ace during this time?”

He wasn’t at the hotel, so I figured he was practicing for the race.

“Weren’t you concerned where he was?” Phoenix asked. “Your sole client out and about mere days before a big race? I’d think you’d keep better tabs on him than that.”

Sonata rolled her eyes. “I was his manager, not his mother.”

“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make an effort finding him, especially with the biggest race of the year only days away!” he countered.

Sonata gave Phoenix an annoyed look, peering at him over her glasses. “In case you haven’t noticed, Mister Wright… I can’t fly,” she reminded him pointedly. “I’m a unicorn, not a pegasus, and it would be a waste of time searching for him when he has wings and I don’t.”

Guess it would be a little hard to find someone who can fly while you’re grounded, Phoenix conceded, giving up that line of questioning as fruitless. “And what did you do after getting back to your hotel room?”

I went to bed early but was woken up at midnight by a knock at my hotel room door.

“What time did you go to bed?” Phoenix tried next.

“8:30 PM”, she answered instantly, turning away from him again. “And before you ask, I prefer to both go to bed and get up early. If you don’t believe me, you can check with the hotel room service. I left instructions with them upon arrival in Ponyville three days ago to bring me breakfast at 5 AM every day.”

8:30 PM? That’s around the time Ace was killed! Phoenix’s internal senses twitched, ignoring the rest of her statement as obfuscation. A poker player in his spare time, he had developed the ability to catch on to the physical cues skilled players referred to as ‘tells’, and he was starting to think that the turned-away pose she took was significant.

Is that her tell? Does she turn away and close her eyes like that when she’s lying? he suddenly wondered, scratching his chin as he pondered the question. It could be! If she was really in the forest that night—and I’m sure she was—then she has to be lying here! he deduced, resolving to watch for that same body language in the future.

When I answered it, the police informed me of Ace’s fate.

“And how did you react when they informed you of his death?” Phoenix asked. This should be good…

To his surprise, she didn’t turn away but instead gave him an even look. “I cried,” she replied with a perfectly straight face.

Phoenix’s thought processes came to a screeching halt. “You… cried?” he repeated in utter disbelief.

“Why, yes!” Twilight spoke up at that, an eager look on her face. “It’s a complex emotion-triggered secretomotor phenomenon characterized by the shedding of tears from the lacrimal apparatus, without any irritation of the ocular structures—”

“I know what crying is!” he cut her off before she could continue what sounded like a university lecture any further, turning his disbelieving gaze on her. “I just can’t see her doing it!”

“Like I said to you yesterday, I got over it quickly,” Sonata shrugged, turning away from Phoenix again—her change of posture instantly noted by him. “Bad things happen, but the perpetrator was caught quickly and is currently sitting over there with a guilty verdict hanging over her head. So I can mourn him and move on,” she told him. “If you don’t believe me, those police who came to my door can confirm my reaction as well.”

I should call them to the stand and ask them if her tears were made out of ICICLES! was all Phoenix could think. "Then how do you explain Fluttershy seeing someone matching your description just outside her cottage?"

That witness must be mistaken. I wasn’t anywhere near the forest that night.

“The witness is not mistaken!” Phoenix insisted, looking back up at Fluttershy, who gave him a brave and grateful smile. “She saw you on the path that went past her place!”

“Oh, please, Mister Wright. As has been noted many times already, this same witness you’re relying on had a glaring problem with her testimony yesterday,” Sonata reminded the court yet again. “She saw one witness leave the forest but not the other, and as our now-missing-in-action prosecutor pointed out, she might also have missed seeing that griffon who testified earlier. So even ignoring the vagueness of her description, what makes you think she is not wrong this time or that anything she says can be trusted?”

“Because she described you perfectly under Luna’s light!” he replied, pointing an accusing finger at her. I still can’t believe the sun and moon of this world are controlled by demigod pony ‘princesses’ called alicorns! he briefly reflected on his readings from the previous night, wondering if he’d get to meet them. “With her secluded lifestyle, I doubt she’s ever seen you before that point!”

Sonata looked struck speechless and Twilight visibly winced at his statement as well, leaving Phoenix wondering what he’d said wrong this time. “’Secluded lifestyle’, Mister Wright? Are you not aware that Miss Fluttershy was once a famous fashion model?” the former finally asked Phoenix, whose jaw dropped open, looking to Twilight for confirmation. She gave it with a very pained nod, one that warned him not to pursue the line of questioning further.

Sonata, however, was not so constrained. “She certainly got around and was even once in a photo shoot with Ace himself. I was there and she could have seen me then,” she went on, causing Phoenix to gape anew and look up into the stands, where the ponies surrounding Fluttershy were asking her about it while Spike, Rarity and Applejack tried to hold them back and protect their mortified and fearful friend. He couldn’t hear Fluttershy’s whispered response but by the look on her face, it wasn’t a pleasant memory.

“But even if she hadn’t? Ace was famous and as his manager, I was well-known, too. She could have easily seen me in a magazine or newspaper like Equestria Daily. I’ve been interviewed and had my picture published there many times,” she concluded with a grin. “Who knows? Maybe she’s just describing me to shift blame off her friend.”

Phoenix was still so taken aback he couldn’t even muster the objection her claim ordinarily deserved. Fluttershy… a FASHION MODEL? he could scarcely conceive. She certainly had the looks but he couldn’t fathom that she would actually enjoy such a thing, making a mental note to ask Twilight about it later. That seems about as likely as her being some secret government assassin! “Oh, really? You think Fluttershy of all ponies is one to lie!?” he replied, forcing himself to move on.

Sonata grinned again. “Why not? Why should you of all ponies—or humans, rather—even ask that, Mister Wright? After all, weren’t you the one who accused her of perjury just yesterday?” she pointedly reminded him, her smile getting broader.

Phoenix gave a strangled sound, wondering if he’d ever live that down.

With that, Sonata gave a glance over at the prosecutor’s stall, where Trixie still looked every bit as beaten and emotionally bludgeoned as she had but minutes earlier. “Since that sorry excuse for a prosecutor doesn’t seem to be up to speed, can you please put a stop to Mister Wright’s baseless claims against me, Your Honor? I have testified and answered all questions put before me. You have no basis of evidence to hold me on, and I would like to leave now.”

The Judge perked up at that. “Oh! Um… yes. I’m afraid I must stop this line of questioning about the previous witness’s credibility, Mister Wright. Though I do not believe Miss Fluttershy would willingly lie, we have already established there are major holes in her testimony. And I therefore cannot allow you to impugn the current witness’s credibility based on that alone,” he informed Phoenix. “However, Ms. Sonata—I cannot dismiss you yet as the cross-examination is not quite over. Proceed, Mister Wright.”

“Thank you, Your Honor. And I understand,” he acknowledged. It’s all right. I just wanted a little more information, and she was kind enough to provide it! He suppressed a grin. Time for the coup de grâce!

And I certainly wasn’t carrying that golf club you keep waving around.

Phoenix shouted, catching Sonata, Twilight and the rest of the court by surprise. “Sonata, I am very curious…” he began in a mild voice.

“About what?” she asked, giving him a wary look at his sudden change of tone.

“This stick,” Phoenix answered, hefting the burned and rusted metal rod again. “You claim you weren’t carrying it.”

“And I’ll say it again, Mister Wright—I wasn’t,” she said, this time laying her ears back to glare at him, daring him to say different.

Phoenix was only too happy to oblige. “But what I find odd here is what you called it in your testimony,” he noted, picking up the latest sheet of transcript that had just been floated to his desk by the court’s unicorn stenographer. “’I certainly wasn’t carrying that golf club you keep waving around’,” he quoted, swapping the sheet of scroll paper for the metal rod again.

“Sonata—this stick looks nothing like a golf club, nor has anypony referred to it as such during the trial,” he told her, causing her eyes to widen for just a brief moment as she recognized her slip. “It was a golf club at one time; you’re correct about that, but I doubt anyone in this chamber could recognize it as one now.”

The Judge looked at it in disbelief and motioned that he wanted to see it for himself; Twilight immediately passed it to him with her magic. Phoenix watched as he examined it closely from one end to another, some seared metal flaking off onto his bench. “This thing… is a golf club?” he asked in an incredulous tone. “My apologies, but I really don’t see it. I have no clubs that look like this in my golf bag!”

The Judge plays golf? I would have never guessed… Phoenix mused. “That’s because the end was broken off, Your Honor,” he replied. “I believe this strange metal object I found on the scene of the crime is the missing club head,” he went on, reaching into his evidence bag to next bring out the small, ruined L-shaped piece of metal he’d found in the burned area on the crime scene.

“If you put them together in the right way, you’ll find they fit perfectly,” Phoenix promised as Twilight floated the missing piece to The Judge, having fitted them together experimentally himself earlier that morning.

“Hmm….” The Judge said as he examined the new piece in his hand. “It does resemble a golf club if that piece were to be put on the end of the stick,” he conceded.

“Try to piece them together, Your Honor,” Phoenix invited.

The Judge did so, and once he discovered the right orientation, he found they did so readily and held the now-intact club high for all in the courtroom to see, holding the two pieces together. “You are correct, Mister Wright. It is indeed a golf club.”

Phoenix nodded his head at that. “It was once, Your Honor. But right now, it’s nothing but a ruined and rusted stick!” he noted, turning his attention back to the grey unicorn mare. “So tell us, Sonata! How did you know this was a golf club?” he ordered her to explain, pointing an accusing finger at her.

To his surprise, Sonata appeared completely unperturbed, merely closing her eyes and smiling again. “Tell me, Mister Wright. Do you think you’re some sort of knight in shining armor, come to save the day? Because you’re not!” she all but hissed, her eyes suddenly going angry, ears laying back as she turned away from him again. “You’re just another bottom-feeding defense attorney trying to confuse the issue with trivial details!”

The Judge spoke up before Phoenix could. “Mister Wright has pointed out a crucial flaw in your testimony, Ms. Sonata,” he reminded her. “He has asked a valid question, and this court demands your answer: if you were never in the woods, then how did you know this mangled stick was a golf club?” he asked directly, adding his own weight to the query.

Sonata didn’t answer right away, turning away again. “Defense attorneys fabricate the most interesting little fairy tales to protect criminals,” she noted.

You know, something’s seriously wrong when a talking unicorn in a land of magical, multicolored ponies accuses you of telling fairy tales! Phoenix couldn’t help but think, but her sideways pose was not lost on him—he now recognized she took it whenever she was either lying or trying to obfuscate.

“Ms. Sonata,” The Judge spoke up again, more angrily this time. “You are one more refusal to respond away from a contempt citation, in which case you will not be walking out of here a free pony. Now answer the question!” he ordered again.

“Very well,” Sonata said evenly, though Phoenix noticed her lips tightening and her mind visibly turning. “I was mistaken. As I see it again, I recognize that I have seen this stick before as a golf club,” she said, turning away yet again. “Remember how I said I was shopping for sports equipment that day? I saw a golf club at the store with that same unique handle shape—namely, that pink ‘P’ on the end of it, like the one you’re holding,” she told him. “In truth, it was rather hard to miss.”

“You saw it at the store?” The Judge prompted as Phoenix exchanged a knowing look with Twilight.

“Yes. But like I said earlier, Mister Wright is just admirably trying to defend a murderer. It’s his job, and I grant he does it quite well. But he cannot fabricate the truth to suit his own ends,” she said, turning away from him once more. “Oh. Did I say admirably? I meant shamefully.

‘Can’t fabricate the truth to suit my own ends’? I could say the same thing about YOU, Sonata! he didn’t say out loud. “You know, I just got the strangest sense of déjà vu,” Phoenix told Twilight, noting Sonata had just given her tell again. But this time, he didn’t even need it to know she was lying.

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked curiously. She had instantly spotted the problem with Sonata’s revised statement herself and knew Phoenix had picked up on it as well, wondering how he would make use of it.

“Her phony excuse reminds me of a previous case,” he noted with another scratch of his chin, reflecting that this was now going to be his second trial that came down to a store, a receipt, and an everyday item that was much more than it appeared. “And using the same tactics I did then, I’m about to blow this case wide open!”

Twilight gave him a conspiratorial smile, eager to see how he was going to accomplish that. “Do what you do best, Phoenix!”

“’Wing it’?” he suggested with a sly grin.

“And win with it,” she replied with a twinkle, standing back to watch the spectacle to come. “You’ve got your opening, Phoenix! Now go get her!