February 13, 11:20 AM
Ponyville Courthouse
Defendant Lobby
Alright. I just bought some time. If only there was a real reason to stall. Twilight thought.
With a short break in effect, Twilight was the chance to give Pinkie Pie her medicine, but what she didn't tell the court was that the medicine in question was actually a highly addictive and illegal drug. Twilight was still questioning why her friend regularly takes such a drug, nor did she knew how Pinkie had such a huge supply of it, so she decided to take the chance to find out.
"Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU Twilight." Pinkie said quickly and nervously. She then reached her hooves out to try and get her medicine. "I-I knew it was a b-b-bad idea for me to miss s-s--so many days. Gimmie!"
HOLD IT!
"You owe me an explanation. How the heck did you come across these things?" Twilight asked.
"I-I-I a-already told you. M-m-my uncle Sh-sh-shepard told m-me that I need them."
The guy who told her about that smile thing? Funny. She never said anything about him when I asked about her medicine. I wonder...
Interested in what was going on in Pinkie's head, Twilight began to channel the magatama spell once again. Even if faint green from her horn was bright, she knew Pinkie wouldn't of noticed it due to her condition. As darkness appeared before Pinkie, several chains appeared in front of her, as well as two red locks to connect them.
Only two psyche-locks this time, huh? She must not be as focused as yesterday. If I had a little more time, I'd definitely try and break these.
"Hey Twilight? Where did those chains come from?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"AHH! I forgot you were with me!" Twilight said as she deactivated her spell.
"Hey, maybe you wouldn't forget about me if you gave me something important to do!"
"C-c-can I get my m-m-medicine now?" Pinkie asked.
Because she still knew very little about why Pinkie was on the unusual drug, Twilight didn't like the idea of letting her friend take it, but with the withdrawal symptoms interfering with the case, there was no other choice. With her magic, Twilight took two pills out of the bottle.
"Okay. I'll give you your pills, but as soon as we get the chance, you have to tell me how and why you have them at all. Deal?"
"Yes! Deal. N-n-now gimmie!" Pinkie ordered.
I can't believe I'm actually feeding her addiction to save her life. I feel like I'm the worst best friend ever, but I'd be a worst friend if I don't do what I can to get her free. As soon as I prove her innocence, I'll see to it that I help her with this drug problem.
With Pinkie back on her medicine, Twilight was ready to get back to the trial. She knew it was at the tricky part, not to say that the whole ordeal wasn't simple. Before, Twilight had a rough idea as to what would happen during the trial, but because Pinkie Pie herself was ready to take the stand, whether she would act like her normal self or not, she wouldn't be able to predict anything that would happen next.
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February 13, 11:26 AM
Ponyville Courthouse
Courtroom 2
With Twilight, Sweetie Belle, and Pinkie back inside, the trial was ready to resume, thus giving The Doctor an excuse to give his gavel a slam. That said...
"The trial of Pinkanena Diane Pie will now resume." The Doctor said. "Is the defendant ready to take the stand again?"
Twilight hesitated, but she nodded to The Doctor anyway. "Yes, your honor. In fact, she's at the witness stand right now.
Twilight's comment threw The Doctor off for a moment. There was indeed a pony at the stand, but she was a very different one. She was also a very pink mare, but unlike who was seen before, her mane was very poofy and a smile was on her face. Pinkie Pie looked calm as innocent as a child when ten minutes before, she looked the exact opposite.
"Let's try this again." Hope said. "Defendant, please state your name and occupation."
"Sure thing, since you said please. I'm Pinkie Pie. Wow, i can't believe I'm getting a first hoof experience at a trial! I love a good mystery book, so this i SO exciting! Thanks for bringing me here."
She certainly recovered fast. Twilight thought, who wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or stressed.
"I'm glad I'm not the only one fascinated with a pony trial, but could you please state your occupation for the record?" The Doctor asked.
"Oh, sorry. I actually do a lot. I'm a baker at a Sugarcube Corner and a freelance party planner." Pinkie said with a big grin. "I'll plan any kind of party for anypony. I'll throw birthday parties for the tiniest of tots, or special party for slightly more mature customers, if you know what I mean?" Pinkie said the last bit as she raised her eyebrows up and down.
"Twilight, I don't think I know what she meant." Sweetie Belle said.
"I'm afraid to know what she meant." Twilight answered.
Before things could get weird, Hope slammed his hoof down to become the center of attention again. "Miss Pie, do you understand the charges you're facing?"
"Hmm, let me think." Pinkie said as she thought about the case. "I'm accused of three murders, stabbing Apple Bloom, and smuggling sugar from the Griffon Kingdom, right?"
"Wait. What was that last part?" Hope asked.
"Stabbing Apple Bloom?"
Yep. We're dead. Twilight thought.
Convinced that Pinkie did in fact understood the charges, The Doctor continued the trial. Fortunately for Pinkie, he didn't question the sugar smuggling. "Then you understand how serious this is. As it stands, I feel I could pass down my verdict at any time, but before I do that, I want to give you a chance to explain yourself."
"Ooh, I don't know. I've been told to do that all week. Pinkie, explain how this drink was spilt. Pinkie, explain why you would hurt this pony. That second one wasn't because of the trial stuff, but because I got in a big fight with a guy made the cake twins cry."
We're SO bucking dead.
OBJECTION!
"Pinkie, can you PLEASE just tell us why you're innocent before you find any more reasons to go to jail again?" Twilight begged.
"The prosecution agrees. I'm sure the local attorneys can handle the petty crimes." Hope said. "If I recall, you had something to say before the recess."
With everypony agreeing that they only wanted to hear the important details, Pinkie was forced to think back to ten minutes, but she had a tough time remembering since she wasn't in the right mind at the time. After thinking so hard that it almost hurt, Pinkie remembered.
"Okay, okay, I remember! I think I know why I should be found innocent!"
"Remember Pinkie. I can only help you if you tell the truth." Twilight explained.
Suddenly, Pinkie became worried as the smile on her face disappeared, but it didn't take long before Pinkie smiled again, which showed Twilight that she wasn't worried at all. Pinkie Pie was ready to start her testimony.
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--Testimony: I Did something else--
-I don't remember trying even seeing Apple Bloom that day, so I'm pretty sure I didn't try to stab her.
-I DO remember trying to hurt somepony yesterday though.
-I managed to get an orange and some poison into my jail cell. Don't ask how I did it.
-I slipped the poison in and gave half of the orange to the guard outside of my cell.
-And that's why I'm innocent. Not sure why, but Mr. Sunshine seems to think so.
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"Hmm...interesting." The Doctor said. But then, after ignoring the obvious as first... "Wait...WHAT!?"
Normally, the ponies in the gallery would burst into chatter after hearing such a crazy thing, but after learning that Pinkie did actually attempt to murder a pony, the entire court went speechless. Pinkie Pie was well known in Ponyville, so from the start of the day, they were already convinced that Pinkie was innocent. Everything changed after the testimony. Twilight herself nearly had a heart attack and couldn't even speak up.
"Y-you..." Hope stuttered as he once again began to lose his composure, more so then when Granny Smith was on the stand. "The prosecution wishes to clear this testimony from the record."
"Denied!" The Doctor said as he slammed his gavel. "Now you're going have to explain yourself."
"W-what? What do I have to explain?" Hope asked.
"The defendant claimed that you think she's innocent because of this new murder attempt. I want some details."
"Oooh! Somepony else who knows why I call him Mr. Sunshine!"
Is this just because his name is Ray? Twilight asked herself. Wait, why is THAT the first question to pop in my head?
From the very start, Hope had been keeping a secret from the court. Since Pinkie had told that very secret to the world, he had no choice but to tell the court what it was.
"It's true. Last night, one of Ponyville's police officers was hospitalized after getting poisoned. He survived, but it came right out of nowhere. This is because it was so much different from the other crimes."
"You mean there was no dagger involved like the other four?" Twilight asked.
"Correct. Because a dagger wasn't used and the defendant never claimed responsibility, we assumed she wasn't the one who poisoned the guard."
"Well, I'm confessing my crime now." Pinkie said. "I waited until today because I heard it would help prove my innocence of the other murders. Still don't know how though."
"Pinkie Pie, the killer behind all of this has used a dagger before." Twilight explained. "If you really did poison the guard and not stab him, you couldn't be the serial killer."
The gallery began to talk again, but they still didn't know what to think. They didn't now whether to be happy that Pinkie couldn't of been a serial killer or be worried that she did still try to kill a police officer. Between Twilight, The Doctor, and all of Ponyville's citizens watching, the entire courtroom was filled with doubt.
Pinkie...why...this can't be true. Twilight thought. Unconvinced she would do such a thing, she spoke up. "I refuse to let my client...my friend...go on with this testimony. I'd like to proceed with the cross-examination."
"Well...as long as you realize that her testimony does technically help her case, then so be it." The Doctor said, approving the request. "Even with the previous evidence, I myself am finding it hard to believe Pinkie here can be ruthless killer."
With a cute and bubbly giggle, Pinkie herself made a comment before the trial continued. "Oh Twilight. Kind like Fluttershy, loyal like Applejack, and even honest like Rainbow Dash. Let me meet you half way there by saying..." In an instant, the bubbly smile on Pinkie's face vanished and was replaced by a stern face, almost like an entirely different pony was at the stand for a brief moment.. "I am dead serious."
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--Cross-Examination--
-I don't remember trying even seeing Apple Bloom that day, so I'm pretty sure I didn't try to stab her.
HOLD IT!
"What did you remember then?" Twilight asked.
"You silly filly. I already told you. I was so tired and confused that I couldn't remember a thing. Heck, I've even forgotten my bank's PIN number. My guess is that I got tired and fell asleep."
After hearing the testimony, an idea rushed into Hope's head. "Is it possible you did try to stab the child and mentally blocked it. If's that's the case, you may not of been in control of your actions."
An insanity plead? That would get her found not guilty, but Pinkie's reputation wouldn't be annihilated.
"Nope. That can't be it." Pinkie Pie said. "I AM in control of my actions because..."
-I DO remember trying to hurt somepony yesterday though.
HOLD IT!
"I'm still not believing that you're able to hurt anypony, Pinkie. You don't even have a motive for doing that." Twilight said.
"Who says i don't?" Pinkie asked. "Maybe he was a big meanie? Is that a good enough reason to kill?"
The Doctor shook his head at Pinkie. "No my dear, that is certainly NOT a motive."
"Well then, maybe I'm just an evil pony. RAARRRR!"
"You know, she actually might be evil." Sweetie Belle said. "I've heard rumors about things she's done in her basement.
I thought those rumors were debunked when Rainbow Dash returned from her vacation. Twilight thought, annoyed by how Sweetie Belle actually believed Pinkie. Things like that is why ponies think she's scary at all. It's disturbing minds like those ponies who are truly crazy.
"Twilight, what are you doing?" Sweetie Belle asked. "We need to finish talking to Pinkie."
"Sorry. I was just having a mental rant."
-I managed to get an orange and some poison into my jail cell. Don't ask how I did it.
HOLD IT!
"Sorry Pinkie. I'm going to have to ask you. How DID you get that orange into your cell?"
"I snuck poison in, so how hard is it to sneak in some fruit?" Pinkie argued.
OBJECTION!
Hope spoke up and made a loud objection, but after he did so, he didn't say a word after. It was a very odd thing for him to do.
"I...ugh...." Hope said.
The Doctor naturally didn't like the outburst. "Miss Pie, could you please--"
OBJECTION!
"I have something to say." Hope said. "This time, I actually do. The defendant is clearly lying."
"Lying about what?" Twilight asked.
"The orange. She says she gave one to the guard. That's the lie." Hope explained. "That wasn't what the poison was used with."
"You don't say." The Doctor said. "Please tell us. What was the poison put in?"
Hope had an answer, but every time he tried to give an answer, he would stammer since he didn't actually want to say anything in the first place. It seemed that he was putting in more of an effort to keep his composure, but is afraid that he would lose again.
I get it. He wants to help prove Pinkie is lying, but is afraid he'll make it worse. Twilight thought. I wonder...could the thing he's trying to talk about be...
TAKE THAT!
"Hope, the fruit used with the poison, was an apple? More specifically, this apple right here?" Twilight said as she presented the apple core she had with her evidence.
As soon as the apple core appeared in Hope's line of sight, the sheer shocked caused magic to surge out of his horn like electricity. "W-WHERE DID YOU GET THAT!? CESTUS!!!"
Hope wasn't the only one who was surprised by the apple core. The mane on Pinkie's head literally flew off of her head before it landed back on her head, but throughout the whole thing, her face stayed in the same happy state.
"So the poison was used with an apple. Interesting." The Doctor said. "But I have to ask. How exactly does this change anything?"
"Actually, I think it changes everything when you consider what Pinkie said before." Twilight explained. "And all you have to do is replace the word orange with apple in her testimony. I'd like the testimony to be changed to match the new information."
As Twilight made her request, Pinkie began to sweat intensely, but like before, she kept smiling the same way, so it looked like she wasn't worried at all.
"Will the defendant please amen her testimony?" The Doctor asked.
-I slipped the poison in and gave half of the apple to the guard outside of my cell.
OBJECTION!
After a long and complicated cross-examination, Twilight had finally found the hole in Pinkie Pie's surprisingly difficult testimony. She hoped that the contradiction would prove Pinkie poisoned nopony.
"You said you gave half of the apple to the guard. What did you do with the other half Pinkie?"
"The other half? I...well..."Pinkie paused.
"She ate it." Hope interrupted. "That apple core was still in Pinkie Pie's cell, so we can only assume she ate the other half."
"Then there's no way she could've poisoned the guard." Twilight said. "At least without poisoning herself as well!"
Once again, Pinkie's mane jumped up from her head before landing back on top, all while Pinkie worked to maintain the same happy face. The gallery began to talk loudly as they talked about Twilight's discovery.
"So did she poison the guy or not?"
"She couldn't of done it."
"Maybe she only poisoned half of the apple."
"Isn't this trial suppose to be about my sister?"
"Order! Order in the court!" The Doctor said as he slammed his gavel, silencing the court. After doing so, he thought of something. "Actually, I heard someone suggesting that the defendant could've only poisoned half of the apple. Is that possible?"
"There's an easy way to find out." Twilight answered. "We'll just have to run a test on the apple. If Pinkie DID poison only half, then there shouldn't be any on the apple core itself."
As Twilight presented the apple core, a pink blur swiftly flew across Twilight. As Twilight was briefly confused by what she saw, she didn't notice right away that the apple core she showed to the court had vanished before them.
"Huh...HEY! Where did it go?" Twilight asked.
"Twilight, look!" Sweetie Belle said as she pointed to Pinkie.
"Oooh, an apple! Thanks Twilight." Pinkie Pie said. "I completely forgot that I was suppose to take my medicine with food."
As it turned out, Pinkie Pie had grabbed the apple core using her mane like a limb. Twilight and Sweetie Belle was surprised by how fast it was done, Hope was surprised by the fact Pinkie was able to do it at all, but The Doctor was unfazed by it at all. Because of the confusion, nopony was able to stop Pinkie as she swallowed the apple core whole.
"Hmm hmm! Even an old rotten apple core tastes delicious!" Pinkie said with a smile.
"Did...did the defendant just eat poison?" The Doctor asked.
PINKIE! WHAT DID YOU DO?
Ponies were worried after seeing Pinkie eat the apple core which, as Twilight believed, was still poisoned. But after some time passed, Pinkie Pie, who supposedly poisoned herself, stayed standing on the witness stand completely unharmed.
"See? I only poisoned half of the apple." Pinkie said.
The court went silent. Normally when something so shocking was brought up, The Doctor would have to silent the room himself. After eating the apple and thus destroying important evidence, nopony could think of anything to say. All Twilight was able to do was to take note of what Pinkie had done.
Apple Core has been updated.
OBJECTION!
"Your honor, this doesn't impact the trial in the least. She's still the main suspect of the other crimes." Hope said.
"That may be true, but since she's tried to kill a pony outside the dagger method, it does create doubt." The Doctor said.
OBJECTION!
"Now that the apple core is gone, it's impossible to prove it." Twilight said. "For all we know, there wouldn't of been enough poison in the core to hurt her."
"Oh wow, The defense and prosecution teaming up to finding the truth Isn't that exciting?" The Doctor asked as he enjoyed the trial. "I will give you credit though. As of now, there's doubt for all of these crimes."
I guess it would make sense for Hope to be helping me. If the judge agrees with Pinkie, he won't be able to prosecute her properly. But if she does get a not guilty verdict like this, her life would still be over.
The Doctor had to think about his next move. With so much uncertainly due to Pinkie's claims, he felt it was impossible to continue the trial.
"I'll be perfectly honest ladies and gentlemen of the court. I'm completely stumped." The Doctor said. "As a judge, I have to make a verdict that's as fair as possible, but as it stands, I'm not sure what this pony is guilty of, if anything at all. If nothing else can be added, we may have to end the trial for today.
OBJECTION!
A very unexpected objection was made. It wasn't made by Twilight, nor was it Hope, not even Sweetie Belle said anything. The objection was called by a pony who had yet taken the stand. It was none other then Applejack, who was angry at the ponies of the court.
"Are you seriously buying this? What's wrong with y'all?" Applejack asked. "I myself would sooner buy something from the Flim Flam Brothers!"
"Applejack, what are you doing?" Sweetie Belle asked. "The trial is about to end soon so we can--"
"Be quiet, Sweetie Belle! Adults are talking here." Applejack ordered.
"Hey, don't you talk to my sister like that!" A mare's voice shouted from the gallery.
Before things could get out of hand, The Doctor slammed his gavel once to have silence. "Miss Applejack, what is the meaning of this outburst?"
"No offence to you Doc, but I don't see any reason for you to postpone this thing." Applejack said. "I think it would be best if you were to just end it all right here and now."
"You...think I should declare her innocent?"
Anger by what the Doctor said, Applejack slammed her hooves on the witness stand and said... "Guilty!"
The suddenly aggressive Applejack easily scared most of the ponies in the gallery and even Twilight and Sweetie Belle since such a thing said wasn't the norm from Applejack. It could be understood though since she had been through so much over the last few days.
Strangely enough, Pinkie didn't say anything about it. Instead, she smiled and left the witness stand so Applejack could take her place. Twilight found it strange that Pinkie would do it, but she was in position to question Pinkie at the moment.
"Miss Applejack, I don't want this trial to end yet either, but there's really not much left to do." The Doctor said.
"Wha'cha talking about? There's LOTS to talk about. You're just ignoring it all!" Applejack said. "There's my sister and that Copycat girl. Are you really just going to ignore them just because Pinkie tried to kill somepony else without the knife?"
"I do believe the weapon was a dagger."
"Same thing! The point is, nothing has actually changed. You guys are all just sounding like idiots!"
I feel like I should take offence of that, but I'm afraid to. Twilight thought, who then gathered the courage to speak up about something else. "Applejack, do you really think Pinkie Pie is still the serial killer?"
"Any pony with half a brain can figure that out, sugarcube. Obviously she used something else as a weapon this time so that she would make it look like she wasn't the killer. Ask yourself this: What are the odds of there being another potential murderer when Pinkie Pie has been accused of everything already?"
The Doctor thought about what Applejack said. He was still uncertain, but he did think of an answer. "I suppose the odds wouldn't favor the defendant."
Oh no. I was so close to getting some extra time to prepare for tomorrow. Why Applejack? Twilight thought as things started to look bad.
"Observation #6: Farm ponies make deceptionally brutal prosecutors." Hope said. "I feel guilty that I didn't speak up first. Your honor, I'd like to her to stay as a surprise witness."
"That sounds fun. I'll allow it." The Doctor said. "If you may, please testify about your logic on why you think the defendant is guilty."
Applejack... Twilight thought, knowing she would have to cross-examine another one of her best friends.
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--Testimony: Applejack's logic--
- Pinkie is an odd pony. When she wants something, she'll find a way.
- It's hard for anypony to bring in a weapon, but anything else, like an apple, can be snuck in pretty easily.
- By killing the first pony she saw without a dagger, her guilt of the other crimes would be questionable.
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OBJECTION!
Right off the bat, Twilight found a contradiction that she wished to address, so she didn't even hesitate.
"That's very counter productive, wouldn't you think?" Twilight asked. "She tries to kill one pony so we'd think she kill another? What's the point?"
OBJECTION!
"Easy. Because she figured one murder under her belt wouldn't be as bad. She obviously isn't that smart though since in Equestria, even one act of first-degree murder can give you the death penalty." Hope argued.
"It's Pinkie Pie anyway. She has no sense of logic anyway." Applejack said.
Maybe I should just go ahead with the cross-examination. It was my mistake of trying to combine reason with Pinkie Pie. Twilight thought. "Okay, I'll overrule myself."
Right as Twilight was ready to begin the cross-examination, The Doctor looked at her with an unhappy look. It was clear that he wanted to be the one to say "overruled".
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--Cross-examination: Applejack's logic--
- Pinkie is an odd pony. When she wants something, she'll find a way.
Twilight was ready to speak up, but after carefully thinking about the line of testimony, as well as what was said moments ago, arguing would do nothing but waste time and make herself look bad. Since it was already a short testimony, Twilight wanted to keep it short anyway.
- It's hard for anypony to bring in a weapon, but anything else, like an apple, can be snuck in pretty easily.
HOLD IT!
"So you think Pinkie brought in an apple AND poison?" Twilight asked. "Hope Ray, was there any poison found in Pinkie's cell with the apple?"
"None that could be found I'm afraid." Hope answered. "I'm still waiting on test to see what the poison even was. My guess is that the apple was already poisoned when she brought it in."
"No sugarcube, that couldn't of been it." Applejack said. "Pinkie only would've had the chance to poison it in jail."
"And why is that, Miss Applejack?"
"Simple. I'M the one who gave her the apple in the first place!"
"You..." Twilight stammered as she heard what Applejack said. "YOU WHAAAAT!?"
For a second time, a surge of magic blasted out of Hope's horn from shock. He didn't even get a moment to brace himself Twilight and Sweetie Belle nearly fell over from the surprise information too. The ponies in the gallery began to chatter among each other as well. For a few mere moments, the entire courthouse went into complete chaos.
"Order! Order! Order in the court!" The Doctor said as he slammed his gavel three times. "Young lady, do you realize what you just said?"
I certainly do. Twilight thought. But...could it mean...no, it couldn't.
"Rest assured fellas. I know what you're all thinking, but it's not true." Applejack answered.
Applejack's confession had quickly brought up an interesting possibility. From what Hope said, there's was a thin chance for Pinkie Pie to of poisoned the apple in question from her jail cell, thus, it would be logical if it was poisoned at the start. If that was the case...
Applejack...did you actually do it?