October 10,
Canterlot Police Department
Room 105: Criminal Affairs
And now we're back to the station. Feels like I've ran in circles. Twilight thought.
After talking to Fancy Pants, Twilight and Spike returned to the police station to see if Star Cestus and the officers had made any luck, but the entire room was empty, so it was clear that the investigation was still going on. Neither of them had any other leads, so they had nowhere to go to.
"Well, this stinks." Spike said. "How are we suppose to save Rarity like this?"
"We can't. We'll have to come back." Twilight answered.
As Twilight and Spike prepared to leave the station, another pony walked in the room. Not just any pony, but the most important pony in all of Equestria. To Twilight's surprise, Princess Celestia had returned to the police station. Twilight and Celestia didn't exactly part on good terms the first time they met that day.
"Princess!"
"Ah, Twilight. How's your investigation going?" Celestia asked, feeling happier than she was earlier.
"P-Princess! I've got some leads, but I need more evidence. I'm actually waiting on Star Cestus to bring in something new."
Celestia smiled as she had good news. "I was actually just talking to one of his officers, Apparently, he's been in a really good mood, so I think he found you the evidence you've been waiting for."
YES! Not guilty verdict, here I come! Twilight thought to herself. "Wait, if you already know where the police are, then why are you here?"
"Actually, I was hoping to find you here. I wanted to give you an update on Prince Blueblood's condition when...well...when I caught you and the commissioner fight." Celestia said with a somewhat angry tone.
I guess I'm still in the doghouse on that one. Twilight thought. "Wait, Blueblood's condition? Is he okay?"
"The good news is that he's alive and well. He actually woke up sometime during the trial." Celestia said, but she felt sad because of the other news. "The bad news is that he suffered from some brain damage. Everything that's happened over the past year is lost from his memories."
"So wait...that means..."
"There will be no way for him to tell us what actually happened that night." Celestia said with regret. "I'm afraid it will be up to you and Discord to find the truth."
And just like that, my already weak safety net is gone. Twilight thought.
With the trial being the only way to prove Rarity's innocence, another layer of pressure was placed on top of Twilight. Fortunately, she was already committed to win the trial, but with Blueblood unable to recall the night of his attack, it would make things more complicated.
"Speaking of the prince..." Twilight said, remembering that she had a question for Celestia. "It's come to my attention that the prince is a member of the Canterlot Council and that he's been doing a pretty bad job."
"Yes, he is. What about it?" Celestia asked.
I'm really curious about this. I'm sure she'll be honest with me, but just to be safe...
To take extra precautions, Twilight once again began to channel her lie detection spell, causing her horn to glow a very light green.
"Princess Celestia, why would you give such an important job to such an incompetent pony?"
"Now Twilight, just because you're both equal in power, it doesn't mean you can talk about my nephew like that. In fact, as his aunt, I knew he would be capable of handling the job."
Reacting to Twilight's spell, the area around Celestia went block as chains wrapped up around her, more so than with Rarity and Fancy Pants. After the chains appeared, four red psyche-locks appeared over the chains.
I remember hearing that they're distant relatives, so I believe she's telling the truth their, but no way am I believing that she had such confidence in such a snob.
Before Twilight could get the chance to interrogate Celestia to break her psyche-locks, the door to the room slammed opened as several police ponies, including Star Cestus, marched in. Surprised and no longer had the chance to talk to the princess privately, Twilight ended her spell.
"Hey twilight! id you hear the good news?" Cestus asked with a cheerful smile.
"Oh yeah, you found some evidence!" Spike said.
"Well, I meant about how the prince suffered brain damage, but I guess that's good news too."
Why is THIS guy investigating the crime again?
"What did you find?" Celestia asked.
"Proof that Rarity was with Fancy Pants on the day of crime." Cestus answered. "Check this baby out!"
To show off the fruits of his labour, he showed Twilight, Spike, and Celestia a white crystal. Neither of the princesses saw anything special about the crystal, but Spike saw it and was drooling over it, hoping he could eat it.
"It's pretty like a diamond, but what is it?" Twilight asked after getting tired of staring at it.
"This here is a scrying crystal, which is the Crystal Empire's equivalent to a security camera." Cestus explained. "The hotel had these installed to make security look like decoration. This one in particular was found in Fancy Pant's room!"
"Are you're saying this thing recorded their time together?" Twilight asked.
"Sure did, pal! Here, let me show you."
After pushing a shard further into the crystal, the crystal began glowing, following by a flash of light which went up into the air, projecting an image.
Above them all, a holographic image of Rarity and Fancy Pants in their hotel room appeared. Fancy Pants was wearing his usual suit while Rarity was wearing a beautiful red dress. It was definitely one of her better outfits. Before it shut off, Fancy Pants was shown giving Rarity a gold bar with his magic. Through out the whole projection, there was also a set of numbers that said 2:12.
"Not bad, huh?" Cestus asked. "All that happened at 2:12 PM."
"And what time did the attack happen?" Twilight asked.
"Hmm...well, me and Giant Hand showed up at 2:15 when we found..." Upon realizing the difference in the time, Cestus felt like an idiot. "Damn. I worked hard finding this piece of evidence and it's useless."
"It was a good effort." Twilight said. "Although...if there was one of these scrying crystals in Rarity's room...maybe there's another in Bloodblood's room!"
A confused look appeared on Cestus's face. "Now that I think about it, I don't remember seeing one in his room, and I was just there."
"Then let's go look for it. Lead the way."
Anxious to get the concrete evidence for Rarity's innocence, Twilight pushed Cestus and Spike out the door to go back to the hotel, all while forgetting to give Celestia a proper goodbye. However, understanding what was going on, Celestia didn't mind.
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October 10,
The Gilded Horseshoe
Prince Blueblood's room
"So is the scrying crystal and a security camera difference like how ladders and stepladders are different?" Spike asked.
Oh no. I'm not having this conversation again. Twilight thought.
After walking from the station back to the hotel, Twilight, Spike, and Cestus returned to the scene of the crime, where they hoped the concrete evidence they were looking for would be found. The problem though was that it wasn't already found before.
"Well, here we are again." Twilight said. "So where is this crystal."
"You two!" Cestus said to the officers outside the room. "Find me the scrying crystal in this room, tout suite!"
"Yes, sir!" The officers said in union.
As they were ordered, Cestus's men ran in the room to find the scrying crystal. As they searched, Twilight became impressed with Cestus.
"All this time, you made it sound like your were some loser, but look at you commanding your own little army."
Well, you know. You got to make best with what you got." Cestus said as he rubbed the back of his head.
After a quick search, one of the officers ran to Cestus and said..."Sir, the crystal isn't in this room."
"Keep looking." Twilight said, catching the police off guard. "That crystal is the most important evidence of this whole case.
"I'm sorry, your highness. But we've checked this room the crystal isn't where it should be. Somepony must've already taken it."
Twilight growled in frustration. She felt that without the crystal, it would be impossible to prove Rarity's innocence.
"Well this is just great. We have evidence that can't help us, evidence that's gone, can it get any worse?" Twilight asked, who was beyond mad.
"Well actually, I've been told that Discord found another witness for tomorrow." Cestus said.
"Your not helping!"
"That's a shame." Spike said. "If the crystal we have is worthless, allow me to dispose of it.
Spike then tried to reach for the crystal Cestus had, hoping he could eat it, but Twilight grabbed it with her magic, bonked Spike on the head, and took it for herself.
"I'll bring you a treat or something later, pal." Cestus promised.
With all the evidence already found in the hotel room and there being n more leads, Twilight was once again in a pinch. On on top of that, Discord had found a witness who he would exploit in court. The evidence she was counting on became a dead-end
Okay. Let's review what we've found. Twilight thought. We have a crystal that showed Rarity was with Fancy Pants minutes before Blueblood was found, so that means it's still possible that a third party was involved. There's also the question about the whereabouts of the crystal in this room. I'll make a note of that one. Now if we only knew when the crime occurred, then we would have Rarity's alibi.
"So what are we going to do now?" Spike asked.
"We'll keep looking to see if anything else turns up." Cestus said. "You two should probably rest up and get ready for the trial tomorrow."
"I hate to admit it, but I guess we have to call it a day. Maybe Discord found something we could use against him, although I would've liked to...hey wait! Cestus, do you know if he found anything?"
"All I know is that I had to show him the scrying crystal I showed you, but he cared more about the witness I mentioned." Cestus explained. "You better brace yourself for what he has prepared."
Today's trial was already a nightmare, and from the sounds of it, tomorrow will be even worse. How the heck could Discord find such a decisive witness? Did somepony actually see the crime occurring? There's no way they've could, because I know for sure that Rarity didn't do it.
After her final thoughts, Twilight left with Spike to prepare her evidence and get some rest for the trial. With all that had been found, she knew that a guilty or not guilty would be decided the next day, Twilight had to prepare for the best and the worst.