The trial took a very crazy turn, but with the combine efforts of Twilight Sparkle and Hope Ray, things started to get back on track. The only problem was that the track was one Twilight didn't actually want to be on.
So far, the attempted murder of Apple Bloom was discussed, then poisoning of a police officer. It was time for the first actual murder of the case to be touched upon. While Twilight and Pinkie had the advantage of there being a lack of crucial evidence, there was no telling what Hope had up his sleeve.
"As I mentioned before, the first victim of the serial killer was a mare named Copycat." Hope ray explained. "She was reported to of been together with the defendant over 6 months ago at a concert of some kind. The cause of death was blood loss, caused by a stab would to the victim's neck, more specifically, the left side front of the neck. Only a pony right next to her could've inflicted such a wound."
"I see." The Doctor said as he processed the murder summary. "Sounds like a cut-and-dry case."
"Indeed it is. Shall we go straight to the verdict?"
OBJECTION!
"Nice try, Hope!" Twilight said. "If it was so cut-and-dry, why wasn't Pinkie Pie arrested for it already?"
"I appear to of underestimated you, Princess." Hope said. "As the defense said, the police were never able to arrest Miss Pie. This was because of the lack of evidence."
"How is that possible? Wouldn't the dagger used decide it all?" Twilight asked, which was immediately followed by a thought. Wait. Did I just complain about Pinkie's innocence?
"When the dagger was found, no hoofprints were found, leading the police to believe that a pair of boots were used to avoid leaving prints. The only basis on Pinkie's guilt was that she was the closest to the victim. Since it wasn't enough for a case to be built on, Miss Pie ultimately walked away."
Because of the lack of evidence, the ponies in the gallery weren't sure of what to think. Pinkie was the most obvious suspect, but there was no proof. It was something that made them all wonder if Pinkie could've committed any of the murders.
OBJECTION!
"Ponies of the court, I'm not quite done." Hope said. "While no hoofprints were found on the dagger, let me ask you a question. The defendant was accused of two more similar murders in less than a year with the third committed at a concert like the first. Would this strike you as a coincidence?"
The Doctor shook his head in disagreement. "No, I would definitely call it a pattern."
OBJECTION!
"You can't persuade the court without evidence!" Twilight argued.
"I agree, your highness. I'd like to submit as evidence the dagger that was used in the first murder."
Black Dagger has been updated
"Now this is where things get tricky. This particular dagger has no prints on it. So on its own, it can't prove the defendant is guilty." Hope explained.
OBJECTION!
OBJECTION!
"Don't interrupt me, Princess."
Did...did he just tell a princess not to interrupt him? Twilight thought in shock. I'm glad he treats me equally like I'd want other ponies, but if there was a time I wished otherwise, it's now.
"As Inspector Cestus mentioned at the start of the trial, the three murders and the attack at Sweet Apple Acres have all been done by the same culprit. It's been proven that Pinkie Pie is responsible for hospitalizing Apple Bloom, who committed the crime using the same black dagger. That's my proof that we have our killer."
OBJECTION!
"But what proof do you have that Pinkie Pie attacked Apple Bloom?" Twilight asked.
"We've just had two witnesses who clarified it. Our honorable judge was even planning on announcing a verdict because of them."
OBJECTION!
"And please don't interrupt ME this time." Twilight said. "Anyway, we can't take either of those testimonies seriously anymore."
"I see. I assume this is because you can't trust your friend anymore?" Hope asked.
That comment silenced Twilight for a moment. She found it to of been a low blow considering Applejack's trust was brought into question, but she couldn't let that stop her.
"Granny Smith's testimony had a big hole in it. She claimed to of seen Pinkie Pie go into the barn and was guarding the only open door in the barn, yet she never saw Pinkie try and escape!"
The Doctor nodded in agreement. "Like Miss Sparkle said, while that witness did see the defendant, it's hard to know what to think of her testimony. To think I almost handed down a verdict right there."
"And like you said, because of Applejack's behaviour has been called into question and has become suspicious in her own right, we have to discredit her as a witness!" Twilight continued.
OBJECTION!
"Miss Applejack is only suspected of trying to poison the defendant. A completely separate matter. As far as these murders go, her testimony is still valid."
"Object..." Twilight began to say, but she didn't finish her objection. "Ugh...if I object, I'm just going to get overruled, aren't I?"
"More than likely, yes." The Doctor said. "The court agrees with the prosecution's claim. As long as we're certain that Miss Pie is responsible for the attempted murder of Apple Bloom, then she's most certainly responsible for the real murders."
Twilight hoped to stray away from the most recent crime so she could get more information to counter it, but the damage was done and was slowly adding up. She couldn't find anything to prove Pinkie was innocent of the Apple Bloom attack, so she pressed on to learn about the first murder.
"Alright. Let's change the topic a bit." Twilight said. "What about the victim of the first murder. All that I know about her is that her name was Copycat."
Hope began to flip through his files to give Twilight the answer to her question. "I wasn't involved in this case until the third murder, so I have limited knowledge of the first victim too. All I know is that she looked nearly identical to the defendant."
HOLD IT!
Much to the shock of the ponies in the court, Pinkie Pie had ran up to the witness stand with an excited look on her face. On the other hand, Twilight wasn't very excited when she saw the crazy party pony making such an outburst.
"Copycat? She was awesome! It's a shame about what happened to her though." Pinkie said, sounding sad at the end as she genuinely felt bad for Copycat. "But at least we still had a great time. Look at this!"
Seemingly out of nowhere, Pinkie took a photo out and showed it to the court. Since Twilight was grasping at straws, she didn't feel discouraged to take a good look at it.
"I know that's you on the right, Pinkie, but who are those other ponies?" Twilight asked.
"Those guys? I don't know, but the orange pony, the one who bares an eerie resemblance to me, is Copycat! This is us when we were hanging out at Jersey Devils concert. I didn't even meant to get that group. I guess I stretched my arm out too far."
What Pinkie is able to do is scary sometimes. Twilight thought.
"The Jersey Devil? That actually exists here in Equestria?" The Doctor asked, but he quickly retracted it. "Uh, never mind. But...actually, yeah. What's that about the Jersey Devil?
"The Jersey Devils are a band I love!" Pinkie said. "Weird. You've talked about the concerts I went to this whole time, but you didn't know what they were called? And how could you not know about them? They have some of the best music."
OBJECTION!
"The court doesn't have the slightest interest in your taste of music." Hope said. "The court also no interest in your photo either."
"Aww, what's wrong with my picture?"
"It took place before you killed the victim, so it's irrelevant. Where did you get that thing anyway? Cestus promised me that you didn't bring anything on you."
"I didn't bring it in. It was already here. I keep different photos of me everywhere, just like how I leave balls all over Ponyville. You never know when you want to go on a nostalgia trip, right?"
The court went silent. The citizens of Ponyville had just witnessed a level of randomness they had not seen before. Twilight knew about Pinkie's hidden stash of balls in case she wanted to play, but the hidden pictures, especially such a specific one hidden in the courthouse, was new to her.
"Actually, I've been wanting to ask something." Sweetie Belle said to Twilight. "I was wondering why there was a picture of you wearing a lampshade under the table. Is it one of Pinkie's?"
"UGH! Give me that!" Twilight said as she fired a beam of magic at the photo Sweetie Belle found, disintegrating it. How did Pinkie get that picture?
As Twilight was dealing with the embarrassing photo, The Doctor took a second look at the photo relevant to the case since he wasn't sure what to make of it. "I see two pretty mares in this photo, but that's about it. Miss Pie, why do you think this picture is important?"
OBJECTION!
"I just said it. It's not important." Hope said before Pinkie could answer. "Unless this picture showed a pony stabbing the victim, I refuse to let it be submitted as evidence."
"Hey! I love that picture!" Pinkie said.
Before an outburst could be made from either Pinkie, Hope, or even the gallery, The Doctor slammed his gavel down. "Order! I suppose that photo really doesn't have anything to do with the crime. Does the defense have any objections?"
Twilight had to think about whether or not she had an objection, especially after hearing what Hope was saying. That picture seems to really made Hope angry. Why does he want to dismiss it so badly?
"Well, if the defense has no objections..."
HOLD IT!
"Your honor, can I please look at that picture again?"
Since it was a reasonable request, The Doctor passed the picture down to Twilight so she could have another look. She was under the impression that something about it would help Pinkie's case, but she couldn't quite put her hoof on it.
OBJECTION!
"Even the defense is finding that picture to be useless." Hope said as his anger began to show. "Dismiss it."
"No! Not yet!" Twilight said without thinking, thus pushing herself into a corner. Oh, why did I say that? I can't think clearly knowing that two of my friend's butts are on the line right now. What do I do? What do I do?
"Well, Miss Sparkle? Do you have any objections?" The Doctor asked.
Sweetie Belle was worried about Twilight, but she didn't know what she could've done to help. Twilight was beyond stressed and her refusal to give up fed that stress. After looking at Pinkie and staring Sweetie Belle in the eyes, she slammed her hooves on the table, took a deep breath, then exhaled. Pausing and breathing always helped her calm down before and it didn't fail her again.
Okay Twilight. Let's think this over again. Perhaps I need to turn my way of thinking around. I've been trying to find what's hidden in this picture, but like Hope said, it didn't take place during the crime. So maybe...maybe instead of thinking what happened when the picture was taken, I should consider what happened AFTER the picture was taken.
Once again focused, Twilight took a close look at her evidence while she had Pinkie's picture. That was when she finally found the importance of the picture. The one thing Hope was trying to hide.
"My word, it seems Miss Sparkle has become a mute" The Doctor said. "Not a good thing for when you need to talk a lot.
"Don' worry your honor. I'm fine." Twilight said. "And I'm prepared too. This picture proves that Pinkie Pie is innocent!"
OBJECTION!
"Ridiculous. This photo has nothing to do with the crime." Hope argued.
OBJECTION!
"This picture has EVERYTHING to do with the crime!" Twilight counter-argued. "Since Copycat was still alive in this picture, it goes without saying that it was taking before the crime. Now tell me, does this picture not look weird to you?"
The Doctor shook his head, baffled by Twilight's question. "I'm sorry, but I see nothing wrong."
"Then allow me to show you. Here's the part of the photo that contradicts with the crime!"
TAKE THAT!
"Hmm? The victim?" The Doctor asked.
"Correct. More specifically, the victim's neck." Twilight explained. "Based on Pinkie and Copycat's position in the picture, it's clear that Copycat was on Pinkie's left, and with the crowd from the concert, there would be no way for it to be the other way around."
"Okay, but what's the problem?"
"Take a close look at Copycat's autopsy report. Remind me how she died."
As Twilight requested, The Doctor took out his copy of Copycat's autopsy report . 'Let's see here. She died by a stab wound on the left side of her neck." The Doctor said. After realizing what he had said, he read the report again to make sure he didn't make a mistake. "FANCY THAT!"
When Twilight's discovery became obvious to all, Hope became horrified, discharging magical energy from his horn as a result.
"This entire time, the police believed that Pinkie Pie stabbed Copycat to death because she was standing next to her. But if the stab wound was really found where this report said it was..." Twilight said as she pointed her hoof out to the court. "...then it would be impossible for Pinkie to be the killer!"
The gallery went crazy when Twilight found the contradiction, and it was one that would change the entire case. Pinkie Pie was believed to of murdered Copycat, but because of the positioning of the ponies, a ray of hope was shined upon Pinkie, which ironically, was almost blocked by Hope Ray. Before things went out of control, The Doctor slammed his gavel three times.
"Order! Order! I will have order in the court!" The Doctor demanded. Despite the craziness, the gallery managed to calm down. "Well, at least you all are more behaved then ponies I've seen in Canterlot."
After the loud outburst, there was a long silence in the courtroom. it wasn't until Hope thought of something to say.
"Observation #7: While Princess Twilight may have her flaws, she arguably has 20/20 vision." Hope said, complimenting Twilight's discovery. "To think I tried to dismiss something that's clearly important evidence. I no longer have any objections about the picture."
That's because you knew it was damning evidence. Twilight thought.
Pinkie's photo was added to the evidence.
"I have to say, I'm stumped right now." The Doctor said. "With this new evidence, the accusation on Miss Pinkie Pie is now questionable."
"Correction: Pinkie Pie murdering the first victim is questionable." Hope said. "There is still nothing to prove she didn't try to kill Apple Bloom. The hoofprints confirms this."
"But this trial is to decide whether or not Pinkie is the serial killer." Twilight said. "And with this picture, we can conclude that she isn't!"
"Alright, alright. Calm down you two." The Doctor said as he slammed his gavel. "Now allow me to express my opinion. Ahem. As of right now, there is strong evidence for and against the defendant, but for both cases, I haven't seen any conclusive proof of either or. If both sides are out of evidence to share, then we've hit a brick wall."
After thinking about, Hope came up with a solution. "I think we've done all we can today. Unless the defense has an objection, I think it's time for me to make a closing statement."
He's right. There's no way the judge can make a fair verdict today. I could use some time to find more evidence anyway. Twilight thought. "I agree. Go on."
"Wise choice, Princess." Hope said. "Fillies and gentlecolts of the court, while I feel a mistake has been made, I understand if you don't wish to find the defendant guilty today. I failed to bring enough solid evidence to prove my claim, so I plan on making up for it. Tomorrow, I will bring in the evidence that will prove that Miss Pinkie Pie is responsible for the second murder, and thus, our serial killer."
That's the highly confidential murder, isn't it? Oh no. How can I prepare for something I know nothing about? Twilight thought with horror.
"Very good, Mr. Hope. I will use this time to speak with Princess Celestia so that I can know what to expect." The Doctor said. "I suggest Miss Sparkle does the same. Court is now adjourned."
Making his decision final, The Doctor slammed his gavel one last time for the day, ending the trial for the day.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
February 13, 1:05 PM
Ponyville Courthouse
Defendant Lobby
"AAAAHHHH! WE'RE SO SCREWED!!!" Twilight screamed.
Even though Twilight had managed to stall for time, she quickly found herself up the creek without a paddle. While she did investigate the farm for the Apple Bloom attack and there wasn't much evidence against Pinkie regarding the Copycat murder, the mysterious would likely doom them all.
"Twilight, what's wrong?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"What's wrong? WHAT'S WRONG!?" Twilight asked before having to calm herself down after realizing she yelled at Sweetie Belle. "Sorry, but we're in trouble right now. This second murder sounds pretty bad and I don't know how to prepare for it."
"It can't be that bad. None of the first three didn't get Pinkie in trouble."
"But Hope sounded really confident. It's possible that there's been new evidence found since then. But if it stays confidential until tomorrow, I won't have enough time to investigate."
"But you're a princess! Why can't you just order them to tell you?"
"I think I've mentioned this before. For the sake of a fair trial, I'm not allowed to enforce my rank as a princess to gain an advantage for the trial." Twilight explained. Which is REALLY ironic since I'm the one at the severe disadvantage. Our system is broken.
While Twilight was thinking of what to do next, she noticed two friends of hers walking by. Pinkie Pie herself, who was given another day, and Star Cestus, who was escorting her out of the courthouse. Twilight ran to them to try and pry out some information.
"Hi Twilight." Pinkie greeted. "You did a super awesome job in--"
"CESTUS!" Twilight shouted, interrupting Pinkie. "I need to know who else was killed! What's this second murder about? Who died? Why is it a secret?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down pal. You're talking a mile a minute." Cestus said. "I'm sorry, but I can't say anything. It's out of my hoofs."
"Yeah Twilight." Pinkie said. "Even I made promised to keep my Uncle Shepard a secret."
"PINKIE!!!" Cestus shouted in anger.
Her uncle? The guy who she mentioned earlier? I didn't know he was a victim too. Now I REALLY need to know what happened. Twilight thought. She couldn't afford to lose Cestus at that point since he was her only friend who knew anything about the case. As she got an idea, she blurted it out of her mouth. "I'll pay you fifty bits to tell me!"
Cestus was shocked from what Twilight said. Twilight had actually offered a bribe to one of Canterlot's best police officers to disclose highly confidential information. It was an idea Twilight did not actually think the idea through.
I hope there's room for one more in Pinkie's jail cell. Twilight thought.
"Oh what the heck. I could use the money." Cestus said with a sad look. "Fine. Where should I start."
Oh yeah. I forgot he's poor. Now I feel guilty for exploiting it. Twilight thought, feeling like a jerk. "Well, I'd like to investigate, but I
have no idea where to start."
"You can start at my uncle's lab. It's in the same town my family's rock farm is." Pinkie suggested. Saying caused Cestus to give Pinkie a very angry look. "What? You were already going to tell her anyway."
Wow. At this rate, I won't even have to pay Cestus. Twilight thought with delight, but her smile quickly went away. Wait a second. Pinkie's rock farm. Flying there and back would take hours. I still want to investigate the Apple Bloom incident. And Applejack...
Twilight was given a lead, but it was one that made her pressed for time. With the time she would spend at Pinkie's hometown, she wouldn't be able to investigate Ponyville. On top of that, it was already early in the afternoon, so she was already losing time. She was facing a desperate time, so she was forced to take desperate measures.
"Cestus, instead of that fifty bits, how would you like to make five hundred?" Twilight asked.
"Sold! What do you need?" Cestus said with a smile.
That was easy. I'm starting to question this guy's dignity. Twilight thought. "Alright, I'll cut to the chase. If Pinkie's uncle Shepard really is the second murder victim, I'll need to investigate the crime scene. Where did he die?"
"Well, you're already paying me, so..." Cestus said. He then looked around to make sure nopony was watching. "Like Pinkie said, he has a lab at her hometown, which is also his home. That was where his body was found. Do to the absurdity of his death though, I can't really explain it since we're not completely certain."
"I was afraid of that. In that case, I have a job for you. Since I won't be able to investigate her, I'd like you to keep a close eye out for evidence that can help prove Pinkie's innocence. The reason I couldn't win the trial today was because ponies still think it was Pinkie who attacked Apple Bloom."
"I did poison that guard though." Pinkie said.
"Fascinating." Twilight said before turning back to Cestus, not believing a word. "So what do you say? Can help me? I can't win this without you."
As the head of the investigation, Cestus technically worked under Hope Ray, the prosecutor. Because of this, he wasn't allowed to directly help the defense. However, because Cestus had a history with Twilight where he owes her a big favour, not to mention the pay he would get, he felt that he had to help.
"Alright fat cat. You got yourself a deal."
"Oh, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" Twilight said as he jumped and gave Cestus a big hug, grateful for what he promised to do.
"Hugged by a princess. Don't know whether I should tell that to the Misses or not." Cestus said.
"If you pull through, I'll hug her too!"
After a good laugh between the two, as well as Pinkie who joined in, the two ponies made their plans to start their investigations. Cestus had to escort Pinkie back to jail for questioning while Twilight had to learn more about Pinkie's Uncle Shepard. Since Cestus agreed to help, Twilight felt a lot of pressure lifting from her shoulders. There was a lot to do with so little time, but it all felt doable.
Right before leaving with Sweetie Belle, Twilight thought about one more thing. She didn't just want to learn about Apple Bloom's attack. There was a mysterious grey pony that she wanted an eye to be kept on.
"Hey Cestus! One more thing I want you to watch out for."