//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: 12 Angry Ponies // by Gregory the Mighty //------------------------------// From The Equestira Constitution, Article E.46-8B Every pony in Equestria is entitled to a trial by a jury of their peers. A jury pony must decide if the defendant has been found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The defendant must be guilty to the point a reasonable pony would believe their guilt, given the arguments heard during the testimony. If a unanimous decision cannot be reached, a retrial will be done until there is such. The door saw the passing of the 12 jurors. It was a simple room, with a water cooler and restrooms at the far end. There was a blackboard for writing and a large table for the jury ponies to sit around. There was also a coat rack, where many jurors hung their ponchos and umbrellas. The forecast was for rain that night. After they had entered, the guard--a gray earth pony--locked the door. There was not much crime in Equestria. Sure, there were stabbings in Manehatten with hoof-mounted switch knives, but they had decreased ever since mayor Ruby Ponliani cleaned up Times Square. This was the most severe crime ever in their history. Twilight Sparkle raised her clipboard and quill magically before her face. “Alright, let me take a role call. I am Twilight Sparkle, and I am Juror number one, that makes me the forpony. I will be tabulating the votes, and reporting our ultimate answer to the judge. I’m going to say everypony’s name and we’ll make sure we’re all sitting in the right spot. We should be sitting in order, clockwise from my spot.” “Lyra?” “Present” “Bon Bon?” “Present” “Big McIntosh?” “Eyup” “Doctor Whooves?” “Present” “Vinyl Scratch?” “Present” “Rainbow Dash?” “Present” “Fluttershy?” “Present” “Cheerilee?” “Present” “Pinkie Pie?” “Present” “Rarity?” “Present” “Applejack?” “Present” “Alright then,” Twilight started “How should we do this, do you want to discuss or just vote?” Bon Bon raiser her hoof. “Perhaps we should start with a vote.” Rainbow Dash agreed. “Yeah, maybe we can all go home early.” “Rainbow Dash! Don’t be so flippant!” chided Rarity. “This is a capital offense. If we vote guilty, this mare will be given the worst punishment possible in all of Equestria. She’ll be banished to the moon for a thousand years.” “Yeah, I didn’t even know non-alicorns could live for a thousand years.” added Pinkie Pie. Rarity shot daggers at Pinkie. “They can’t.” At that moment Pinkie put two and two and two together. “Oh...” Cheerilee raised a hoof. “I think Bon Bon is right. Perhaps we are all thinking the same thing. We should take a vote before we do anything else.” Twilight raised her clipboard. “Very well, let’s have a show of hooves for guilty.” Twilight offered up her own hoof, then counted the others in the room. “...ten... eleven... twelve.” She paused. “No, eleven. Eleven votes for guilty. And not guilty?” A single timid yellow hoof raised at the far side of the table. “I-I vote for not guilty, if that’s ok.” Fluttershy said. Bon Bon facehoofed. “So close...” Twilight looked somewhat confused. “Maybe you don’t quite understand. The case was pretty strong against her.” Applejack stood up. “Perhaps we can go over it again, just so you understand.” “Ok, I’ll start.” said Twilight, “I have the transcript of the case on my clipboard. Last month a fire was set that destroyed half of Ponyville. The fire chief ruled that it was arson, and the fire started on the second floor of the empty building on corner of Freehold and Yonkers. An elderly pony saw a figure hovering outside her second story window. She lived across from that building.” Vinyl Scratch interjected. “Yeah, remember that photo they showed us of her open window? She had all those flower vases and porcelain cats on her windowsill? That window was just a few feet across from the origin of the fire.” Bon Bon added more. “And there was a note from the defendant at the defendant’s office saying she was going to that exact address.” Fluttershy responded. “Yes, but the defendant had an alibi. She said she’d never seen that note before. She also said she delivered one last package that night, after everypony else had left. She delivered a floral tie from Snails to the Grand Taxi stand. That’s nowhere near the corner of Yonkers and Freehold.” “Fluttershy, it’s not an alibi if you’re alone and there’s no one there to corroborate your story,” Rainbow Dash huffed, “the defendant has trouble with her eyes and isn’t supposed to deliver packages unless her supervisor is there to read them for her.” “Besides, there is no record of Snails mailing a package to Grand Taxi!” Bon Bon added. “Well, I just thinking it’s possible that it was missed in the package log.” said Fluttershy. “It’s possible, but it’s not reasonable. This is about reasonable doubt. Sure, it’s possible for a wizard to be using a doppleganger spell to look like somepony else, but that spell is incredibly rare. Not even I know it. The thing is, we need to be reasonable and look for a reasonable doubt if we want to vote not guilty. The witness positively identified the defendant as the one outside her window that night.” Twilight spoke with a heavy heart. She didn’t want to send that pony to her fate any more than Fluttershy did, but it was her civic duty. Fluttershy looked around the room. It was full of angry ponies leering at her. “Well, I do have other doubts about the evidence.” “Like what?” asked Lyra. “Well, the note was written in ink, right?” said Fluttershy. “Yes,” said Twilight. “So?” “Well, the defendant is a pegasus. Only unicorns use quills. Earth ponies and pegasus need to use pencils which we hold in our teeth.” Fluttershy observed. Twilight was taken back. She at once became hyper aware of the quill she was writing with. “I guess you’re right. That doesn’t add up. But it’s still just one piece of evidence.” “I’m afraid she’s right dear,” added Cheerilee, “That can’t trump the witness, or her lack of an alibi.” “Yeah,” continued Fluttershy, “but I just don’t think there’s a motive. Why would that pony want to burn the whole town down. Lots of ponies were hurt and homes destroyed. It was so horrible.” The group all shifted uncomfortably. Eventually, Rainbow Dash answered the question. “Look, this pony was... different. Lots of ponies wanted her to change or stay in the background. It caused a lot of fuss every time she opened her mouth.” “Besides, some ponies just want to watch the world burn.” said Pinkie. After which, Rarity gave her a swift kick in the shins. “Alright, you can take another vote. By secret ballot. If nopony else votes not guilty, I’ll change my vote and we can all go home.” Fluttershy stepped away from the table and over to the water cooler while the others voted. Twilight, being ever prepared, gave out cards to write votes on. After the cards were given she went to the drawer in the table to get pencils. As the last pencil was assigned, Twilight realized what Fluttershy was doing. They exchanged a look from across the room. The votes came back; guilty guilty guilty guilty guilty guilty guilty not guilty... Fluttershy’s ears perked up to the ceiling and she trotted back to her place at the table. Bon Bon was mad. “Who did this?!” Doctor Whooves stood up. “I did. I think this young mare is onto something.” Pinkie Pie spoke too. “Fyeah! Fe Foo!” “Pinkie, you can take the pencil out of your mouth now.” said Applejack. “Ptoi! Yeah! Fluttershy is onto something! If we vote guilty, that mare is going to be sent away FOREVER! If we’re going to do that, we need to have the most in depth conversation ever!” Bon Bon was insulted and looked as if to leap across the table. “Hey everypony! Let’s be civil!” pleaded Cheerilee. “Ok, let’s settle down now! I think we need to take a five minute break!” announced Twilight Sparkle. The group stood up and took their break. Fluttershy went to the window to look out onto a half-destroyed Ponyville. The rain was beginning to fall. Twilight sparkle spread out her notes on the table. The last note was the one Twilight didn’t want to face. It was the photo of the accused. Because of what Fluttershy had said, she was compelled to look that photo in the eye now. It was a photo of a gray pegasus with crossed eyes. If Fluttershy couldn’t convince all the others, she would be sent to her death. To be Continued.