Phoenix Wright - Turnabout Storm!

by Firesight

Part 55 - Myriad Truths

Ace Attorney: Announce the Truth

The fight was over. But the cleanup had just begun.

The courtroom was still in disarray after the magical duel; papers and possessions scattered everywhere by Trixie’s summoned tempest and the initial rush to leave. The tiled floor between the rival unicorns bore witness to the intensity of their battle as well; Trixie’s battered bench ensconced in slowly melting ice and the surrounding floor covered in a foot of snow. The stone floor tile around Twilight was likewise warped and melted, in testament to the fierceness of her flames.

For his part, Phoenix was still in shock over what he had just witnessed, in awe—and more than a little afraid—of the incredible powers the two unicorns had brought to bear. Twilight, he noticed, still hadn’t moved from where she was planted in the middle of the courtroom pit, staring sadly at Trixie.

I didn’t… I didn’t know… was all she could think, over and over again even as her friends congratulated her and the audience applauded her, ponies clopping their hooves together in appreciation as they recognized her as the victor.

“Twilight? What’s wrong?” Phoenix asked her as she finally retook her place behind their bench and her friends went back up into the bleachers, this time taking vacated seats in the first row of the stands directly behind them. “Are you hurt?” he asked in concern, seeing that she was walking with a slight limp.

She shook her head, doing her best to hide the trembling of her legs and a wound under her left shoulder where one of Trixie’s first lightning bolts had found its mark, the initial numbness of the electric shock wearing off and leaving pain in its wake. “Not really. It’s just…” she trailed off as she looked at Trixie again. “I’ll tell you later,” she promised as The Judge called court back to order, turning her remaining magic inward to help herself heal.

“Well, I’ve seen many things during my tenure as a judge, but never did I think my courtroom would play host to such a battle as we just witnessed!” The Judge admitted as he dusted the melting snow off his bench, taking great pains to wipe his gavel clean. To his credit, he had not left his bench despite having a front row and uncomfortably close seat to the duel. He had quickly taken control of his courtroom back when it had ended, directing the bailiffs to arrest Trixie, clean up the courtroom pit and see to any audience injuries.

There were none, thankfully, except some rattled nerves and ruffled manes. Whoever the strange and now-departed stallion was, Phoenix reflected, his shield spell had effectively contained the duel. “Are you able to continue, Ms. Sparkle?” The Judge asked Twilight, seeing her noticeable hobble.

“I’m fine, Your Honor,” she promised, focusing her magic on dulling her pain and mending her injured leg. Or give me about an hour, and I should be...

“I am glad, and I thank you for your intervention. Now, with that sideshow concluded, I believe it is time to end these proceedings,” The Judge said, turning his eyes back to the witness stand where Sonata looked badly shaken by what she’d just witnessed, still casting uneasy glances at an unmoving Trixie.

“Ms. Sonata—your plea of self-defense will be examined by the Equestrian High Council and Supreme Court,” he addressed the visibly unnerved mare. “By Equestrian law, it will fall to them whether to accept it. Your memory playback was undeniably compelling, but, as by your own admission it cannot be trusted, it exonerates neither you nor Ms. Dash.

“Regardless of its veracity, it also does little to mitigate the other allegations of blackmail and evidence tampering, to say nothing of your efforts to frame the defendant,” he further reminded her. “Having witnessed for myself the supposed events of that night, I cannot but have sympathy for you. But it will not fall to me to pass judgment upon you, and I must warn you that taking into account these additional crimes will not help the Supreme Court or High Council decide in your favor.”

“I understand, Your Honor. And I am ready to accept any punishment given me,” she answered in a subdued voice. Her tone and slumped posture left Phoenix no doubt she was telling the truth, seeing the broken shell of a mare before him.

The Judge nodded, a momentary look of pity crossing his features. “So be it. But as to the case at hand, I believe I can now retract my earlier verdict on the murder charge against Rainbow Dash.” He drew himself up straighter as the bailiffs slapped a magical restraint collar on Trixie, who was still face down in the snow on her bench. Twilight couldn’t help but feel sad at the sight of the proud showmare now beaten and broken, slumped over her desk with the tattered remains of her cape still draped around her.

I’m sorry, Trixie, she apologized mentally again. I just didn’t know…

Her sadness was not shared by her friends, sitting in the first row of the stands behind them. “You did it! You won, partner!” An elated Applejack called out to Phoenix from behind him, a sentiment promptly echoed by the others.

“Well done, Mister Wright!” Rarity offered.

“And how!” Spike added, while Fluttershy just gave a very quiet but adorable yay!

“Yeah,” Phoenix replied absently, feeling strangely troubled. Something about Sonata’s confession had been nagging at the back of his mind even before the duel, and the forced intermission that followed had enabled him to finally lock onto it—there was a final, and perhaps fatal contradiction in Sonata’s testimony…

One that could nullify her confession and yet doom his client.

Despite her concern for Trixie, Twilight noticed his brooding mood. “Phoenix? What’s the matter?” she asked him softly. “I’m okay, really.” Or mostly…

“It’s not that,” he answered, giving her a distracted glance. “I mean, I’m glad you are, but…” But I don’t dare reveal what I’m thinking, or Rainbow Dash could still be found guilty! he knew, closing his eyes to concentrate on his own thoughts. But we still don’t have the full truth, and I’m not sure Twilight or a new prosecutor could find it. So what do I do now?

In his mind’s eye, he saw the barest flash of a familiar figure, like an elusive dream or a distant desert mirage. You know as well as I do that it’s not over… he heard her soft but firm voice, like a whisper in his ear.

His head came up in surprise. Ch… Chief? he mentally called to her, not knowing how she could be there—Maya was in another dimension, and without her present to channel her older sister, how could Mia Fey be there with him? I must be hallucinating after that fight!

As if in response, he caught the barest glimpse of her again behind his closed eyelids. You’re worried, aren’t you? Don’t be, she implored him, her voice both calm and certain. Seek out the truth and everything will be fine. You’ll see! she promised like she was standing right there beside him again; her strength and experience his to draw upon once more.

Whether real or not, her voice and apparent presence gave Phoenix new resolve. No. I can’t let it end like this! I WON’T let it end like this! he swore as the Judge spoke once more.

“I hereby retract my earlier guilty verdict against Ms. Rainbow Dash,” The Judge announced, unaware of Phoenix’s thoughts. “And the case is continued until—”

The Judge couldn’t believe it, his head slumping and eyes closing shut in disgust. “Can’t I just hand down my rulings in peace?” he demanded of no one in particular, before it clicked from whom the objection had come. “Wait—Mister Wright?” he recognized in disbelief.

“No, Your Honor, we can’t end this yet!” Phoenix threw off his remaining doubts and plunged ahead, trusting his instincts and his somehow-present Chief that he was doing the right thing. “There was a major contradiction in the confession the witness gave!”

“What?” a startled Sonata asked.

“What?” Twilight and even Trixie echoed, looking at him in shock.

“What?” chorused Applejack, Rarity, Spike and Fluttershy from behind him.

No turning back now! Phoenix knew. “Your Honor! The defense now believes that Sonata Tarot did not kill Ace Swift!”

Sonata stared at him in disbelief. “But I just admitted it!”

With great effort, Trixie drew herself back up despite her drained state and the restraints she now wore. “What are you doing, Wrong? You were going to win!” she called out to him, struggling to remain at her ruined bench even as the bailiffs were starting to drag her away.

“Your Honor! Before we end this day’s proceedings, may I please request that the witness convert the confession she just gave to formal testimony?” Phoenix stood up straight and tall, ignoring the eyes on him from all over the courtroom, all asking him what in the name of the Sun and Moon he was doing.

“Uh…” the Judge was as shocked as anyone; even the bailiffs removing Trixie had stopped to watch the unlikely scene. “It is highly unorthodox for a defense attorney to halt a ruling in their favor, Mister Wright!” he voiced the thoughts that everyone else in the court was thinking, none more so than Twilight, who was looking at Phoenix like he’d lost his mind again, suddenly wondering if he’d been hit with a stray piece of ice, or was otherwise suffering after-effects from the pills or blow to the head he’d taken the day before.

“Please, Your Honor! If you allow me to do this, there will be no need for further investigation! I can settle what actually happened that night here and now!”
 
“I thought we already had settled it, Mister Wright! But I suppose if Ms. Sonata is willing, I can allow it.” He looked to the witness stand. “This court has already accepted your confession, Ms. Sonata, and requires nothing more from you. I therefore leave the choice whether to testify yours.”

Sonata looked as confused as everyone else. “I really don’t understand what he’s trying to pull here, Your Honor. But if it makes him happy? Fine, I’ll do it.”

The Judge gave a slow nod. “Very well, then. But Mister Wright, I must warn you…” he paused ominously. “If you succeed in uncovering a contradiction in this witness’s testimony and manage to prove it false, then I will have no choice but to throw out her entire confession. That means I will be forced to discard not just the memory playback, but all her testimony as invalid! And if that happens…”

He gave Phoenix his gravest, sternest look. “If that happens, then all will be as it was before Ms. Sonata took the stand! Your client’s guilty verdict will not be withdrawn and it will be that much harder to overturn later!”

“Phoenix?” Twilight finally found her voice. “Please don’t do this to me again!” she all but begged him.

“Please, Twilight. You can trust me,” he turned to meet her probing gaze, letting her see the determination and certainty in his eyes. “This isn’t like before. I swear I know what I’m doing.”

“But, I don’t understand!” she implored him, putting a hoof on his side. “Her psyche-locks are gone, Phoenix. She’s not hiding anything now. She told the truth in her confession!”

“As she saw it,” he amended her statement. “You’re about to see why it’s dangerous to over-rely on the Magatama. It can only detect a lie if the witness knows she’s lying.”

“So you’re saying she’s lying without knowing it?” Twilight asked dubiously. “That doesn’t make sense!”

“It will,” he assured her. “I promise everything is going to be okay. If you tell me not to do this, I won’t. I’ll step aside and let you take over the defense without any further protest. But I ask that you please let me proceed.” He squeezed her hoof and bowed his head to her. “If you do, I swear I can finish this and get Rainbow acquitted today!”

Twilight studied his face closely, finding not a hint of doubt or deceit in his eyes. She next looked over towards Trixie, who was still trying to remain at her bench, and then up at her friends in the stands behind them. Phoenix didn’t see the looks that passed between them, but whatever was said in their unspoken conversation, Twilight reached her decision quickly.

“Alright. I trust you, Phoenix.” She managed a tired smile, leaving Phoenix wondering if the duel had taken more out of her than she was letting on.

“Well, Mister Wright?” The Judge asked again. “You heard my terms. Do you still want to go through with this?”

“I do, Your Honor.” He nodded, turning back to the bench.

“B-but… I-I don’t… w-why are you…?” Trixie was visibly struggling to focus again, trying to pull herself back up. “Your Honor! I—Trixie requests she be allowed to stay for the duration of this testimony!” she called as the bailiffs began to pull her away again. “There has to be a prosecutor present while a case is still in session!” she reminded him desperately as she was about to be taken out the door.

“Wait!” Phoenix called out before she could disappear. “She has a point, Your Honor. By court rules, both a prosecutor and defense attorney must be present when a witness testifies.”

The Judge gave him a look of disbelief. “You want her to stay after what she did? She tried to attack you, Mister Wright!”

“She didn’t hurt me, Your Honor. And without the prosecution’s aid, we could never have blown this case open and proven Sonata was at the scene,” Phoenix reminded him. “She provided several crucial pieces of information and corroboration, including how Sonata could have left the woods undetected. It was also her final piece of evidence, unasked for by either Your Honor or myself, that proved decisive in this trial.”

And she needs as much as Sonata to see the truth of this case! “In summary, I owe her, and in turn, this court owes her. Personal attacks and magical duels aside, she has done her job and done it well, Your Honor. And just as you allowed me to stay and see this case through despite pending contempt charges, I believe she has earned the right to remain present as well,” he finished, turning to Twilight for support.

Somewhat to his surprise, she gave it instantly, turning to address The Judge. “I ask that you let her remain as well, Your Honor. She should see the end of this day.” For everything she’s been through, she deserves THAT much, at least!

“You do?” The Judge blinked. “But what guarantee have we that she will not turn her powers loose again?”

“Trixie is powerless now, Your Honor. She exhausted herself in the duel and will not be able to use her elemental magic again for several days,” Twilight replied instantly, causing Trixie’s lip to quiver at having her weakness and defeat pointed out.

You’re not weak, Trixie, Twilight told the other mare with her thoughts. You’re one of the strongest mares I’ve ever met, and I’m not just talking about your magic!

“Please, Your Honor,” came a rare moment of begging from the showmare. “Let me stay.”

The Judge gave her a level look. “Ms. Trixie! You are facing several counts of assault and destruction of public property, several hundred counts of reckless endangerment, and multiple ethics investigations for your conduct in this trial, even aside from your earlier contempt citation and the magical duel that followed!”

“Blame me for the magical duel, Your Honor,” Twilight spoke up again on Trixie’s behalf. “In truth, I challenged her and tried to goad her into one yesterday,” she admitted with a downcast expression, causing Phoenix and Trixie to look at her in surprise. “And thus, we share responsibility for the duel and damage to the courtroom equally.”

“Be that as it may…” The Judge looked shocked at both Phoenix and Twilight defending Trixie. “Out of simple respect for courtroom decorum, I can hardly allow her to continue after assaulting your co-counsel and tearing apart the courtroom like that!”

“I cannot refute your reasoning, Your Honor. I would simply point out that she didn’t actually hurt anypony. And that she would not be the first prosecutor to suffer a massive breakdown in your court,” Phoenix reminded him, suddenly eternally grateful Manfred von Karma hadn’t had magical powers he could have drawn upon in his rather epic explosion at the end of Miles Edgeworth’s murder trial.

“Point taken,” The Judge visibly winced at the memory, rubbing his eyes ruefully. “Very well, then, Mister Wright and Miss Sparkle. If for no other reason than simple convenience, Ms. Trixie may stay at her post as prosecutor until the end of the session.” He rapped his gavel to make his decision official. “But both the prosecution and defense should know that this will be the final testimony I grant today. With Ms. Sonata’s as-yet unverified confession remaining to be investigated, I see no further reason to prolong these proceedings!”

“The defense understands, Your Honor.” Phoenix acknowledged with a nod. “And thanks you.”

“Alright, Ms. Sonata. You heard Mister Wright,” The Judge turned his attention back to the witness stand. “Please convert your confession to testimony.”

“Fine, Mister Wright. I still don’t see what you’re doing, but have it your way, then.”

—————— WITNESS TESTIMONY ——————
— The Final Contradiction —

Ace and I had been blackmailing many top athletes for some time. I had finally had enough of it and was planning to quit as his manager after he had won the Equestrian 500. When Rainbow Dash refused the terms of our blackmail attempt, I realized the gig was up and Ace was going to be exposed, so I gave him my resignation letter after we had quelled the fire the first lightning bolt started.

When I told him I was quitting, Ace became furious and violent, threatening to kill me. My life in immediate danger, I attempted to defend myself with the burned golf club lying on the ground, still red-hot from the lightning and fire, striking him with it over the back of his neck. I hit him so hard with it the head of the club snapped off, but as angry and as strong as he was, it wasn’t enough to stop him.

Seeing he was about to strike, I dropped the broken pieces and resorted to an electrical stun spell I’d studied earlier that day in case we encountered beasts in the Everfree. In a panic, a magic surge took hold of me; between that and the wild magic of the Everfree, the overcharged spell was powerful enough to kill him… though I didn’t realize that at the time.

After it knocked him to the ground, I retreated into the Everfree running as fast as I could. After a good ten minutes, I realized he wasn’t chasing me, so I returned to the clearing to take a look.

Arriving, I saw the silhouette of his body lying there, lifeless. In shock over what I had done, I gathered up the pieces of the broken golf club and letter so I wouldn’t be caught, going so far as to try to arrange the scene so Rainbow Dash would be incriminated. I retreated back into the forest and, once I had mustered enough magic and focus, I prepared a teleportation spell back to my hotel room…

And you know the rest.

Sonata exhaled sharply when she was done. “And that’s my confession, which you showed great skill in extracting, Mister Wright,” she told him, a note of resignation in her voice. “Satisfied now?”

“Well… are you, Mister Wright?” The Judge asked as well.

“I would still like to cross-examine the witness—if it’s okay, Your Honor?”

The Judge gave him an odd look. “I would not be willing to let her testify if I wasn’t going to let you cross-examine her. So by all means, Mister Wright. But let me be clear about the terms of this testimony once more,” he felt compelled to remind Phoenix.

“If I find this testimony to be pointless and yourself to be wrong about her confession containing a contradiction. I will end the testimony and trial on the spot. Ms. Sonata’s confession will stand, and as such, I will withdraw your client’s guilty verdict and order Ms. Sonata held on ponyslaughter charges in addition to the evidence tampering and blackmail. I will also tack on additional fines and jail time to your contempt citation for wasting this court’s time on a fruitless attempt to force a verdict—though knowing you, Mister Wright, I’m sure that doesn’t worry you at all.” He paused and lowered his head.

“What you should be worried about is if you’re right about there being a contradiction in this confession. In that case, I will have no choice but to throw out Ms. Sonata’s confession in its entirety and Rainbow Dash’s guilty verdict stands!” The Judge warned again.

“Are you just doing this to rub salt in my wounds, Wright?” Trixie asked in a trembling voice, flanked by two bailiffs, the mare magician now without her hat, wearing hoof cuffs and an odd form of collar that Phoenix guessed was some kind of magical restraining device, her use of his real name not lost on him. “Are you just trying to drag this out as much as possible to grind my face in it further?”

“I understand, Your Honor,” Phoenix acknowledged The Judge but ignored Trixie, intending to let his actions speak for him.

Okay. Time to show Sonata—and Trixie—the Power of The Truth! He gathered himself carefully. I’ll show you both and everyone else what it truly means to be an attorney! What SHE taught me—and what you later showed me firsthand, Miles!

He couldn’t help but wish Miles Edgeworth was there to witness what he was about to do, wondering if he’d ever be able to tell his prosecutor friend about this case afterwards.

————————————— CROSS-EXAMINATION —————————————

Ace and I had been blackmailing many top athletes for some time. I had finally had enough of it and was planning to quit as his manager after he had won the Equestrian 500.

“For my opening question, I have to know—are you saying Ace never won a competition fairly?” Phoenix asked, his hand on his chin again.

“No, he did.” Sonata shook her head sadly. “Ace really was quite good. He won his way into the national circuit fairly and was better than ninety percent of the racers on it. It was only the best flyers he couldn’t beat without my help. But the Equestrian 500 is nothing but the best.”

“That begs the next question: why did you start helping him to begin with?” Phoenix followed up.

She looked away in regret and sorrow. “At the time I met him, Ace was an up-and-coming athlete with a world of talent and a chip on his shoulder. I said before that my weakness was pity? This is a prime example,” she told him. “I first took him as a client because he came from a difficult background and I felt sorry for him; thought I could help him. I didn’t come in intending to use my talent to help him blackmail his way to the top. It just kind of happened gradually over time.” She looked away in shame. “In fact, I never meant to use my talent that way at all.”

“How did it happen, then?” Phoenix was curious to know.

She cast a guilty look at Trixie, who was glaring back at her, her angry and accusing gaze no less intimidating for not having the force of her ice and weather magic behind it. “The first time I blackmailed somepony, it was our prosecutor back in magic school,” she admitted, causing a fresh stir in the still-refilling stands. “I did it to stop her from bullying me, threatening to reveal her weather power if she didn’t leave school.”

“And don’t think I’ll ever forget it, Sonata!” Trixie spat out before The Judge’s gavel came down hard again, warning Trixie to limit her commentary to the testimony proper.

For his part, Phoenix wasn’t sure why ponies would be afraid of Trixie’s weather power given the pegasi ability to control the weather and all the other magical talents he’d seen, but he let it go, resolving to ask Twilight about it later. “I’m guessing it went to your head, then?”

“Yes,” she admitted with some pain. “When I succeeded that first time, it made me think it was okay to use my talent in such a manner, and thus, I did so when I became Ace’s manager. At first, I only targeted other cheaters—there were more than a few griffons and pegasi using illegal performance-enhancing potions, for example. I told myself—and him—we were helping to keep the races clean, and at the beginning? Perhaps we were.

“But gradually, my standards relaxed. At first, I only went after bullies and cheaters. Then it was ponies who had embellished their background or were lying about their accomplishments. Then it was those hiding things society would find distasteful—I uncovered colt-cuddlers and racers in an interspecies relationship, for example,” she outlined, causing a brief stir in the gallery, spectators openly wondering which racers she was talking about.

“And then finally, any secret at all was enough. I justified it by telling myself that all secrets were bad and their owners were bad for hiding them.” She shook her head sadly. “It’s amazing how a pony can rationalize wrongdoing or hurting others.”

Phoenix nodded slowly. “So what changed?”

Sonata gave a heavy sigh. “As Ace won more and more, he started attracting additional interest, including some decidedly unsavory characters, who showered him with bits and… other benefits,” she added, somewhat cryptically. “The victories and lifestyle went to his head, and he became more arrogant; fame and fortune consuming him… slowly turning him from a cocky colt and mama’s boy into the monster you saw.” She shook her head regretfully.

“I blame myself for it. And in the end, I found myself trapped between my desire not to hurt him and the race-fixers we were working with, who might have decided to take exception if we stopped the money train.”

“As pathetically touching as this story is, what does it have to do with the murder?” Trixie glared at Phoenix, sounding on edge. “Are you just trying to make her appear sympathetic, Mister Wrong? Because I’ll happily call every pony she’s ever blackmailed to say differently! And that includes Trixie herself!”

“I must agree, Mister Wright,” The Judge concurred with a nod. “This is starting to look like a fishing expedition. What are you getting at?”

“I ask the court’s indulgence one final time, Your Honor,” Phoenix replied. “I am simply trying to fill in a few final blanks before I present a new theory of the victim’s death. And Trixie?” He turned to the hoofcuffed showmare.

“What?” she snapped, her emotions still raw and having trouble standing, leaning on the remains of her bench heavily.

“You were right about something important all along. You’ll see what and why in a minute,” he told her, causing the now-powerless mare magician to fall silent, staring at him in confusion. That should keep her quiet until then…

When Rainbow Dash refused the terms of our blackmail attempt, I realized the gig was up and Ace was going to be exposed, so I gave him my resignation letter after we had quelled the fire the first lightning bolt started.

“So why didn’t you want to do it anymore?”

Sonata stared down at the floor for a moment. “As it says in my resignation letter, I, too, was enjoying the fame and fortune. I can’t lie about that. But over time, my conscience began to reassert itself. I finally realized we'd gone too far when we all but held one racer’s sister hostage to force him to comply with our wishes,” she recounted, choosing her words carefully. “You’ll forgive me if, for that racer’s sake, I’d rather not say more.”

Phoenix nodded grimly. “If you were trying to abandon your blackmailing, then why did you turn around and blackmail Cruise Control into attacking me?” he asked, putting just enough emphasis on the name to tell her he knew who she meant.

She hesitated, visibly surprised. “That’s complicated, Mister Wright. But the short answer is—as I said, I thought you were on to me after you and Ms. Pie scrutinized my hotel room,” she told him. “Even outside of the suppression spells, I wasn’t myself yesterday. Or the day before. And as perceptive as you are, I think you can guess why.”

Phoenix nodded, having already guessed earlier in the trial. “You mean these painkiller pills?” he asked as he brought out the old-fashioned pill bottle again.

At her nod, he went on. “Out of curiosity, Sonata, this bottle was almost empty by the time you gave it to me. But the writing on the label says there was a substantial number of pills in here to begin with. So how many of these did you take?”

She hesitated before answering. “Triple the prescribed amount,” she admitted at length, causing jaws to drop open from Twilight and the medically knowledgeable ponies in the courtroom; even Trixie visibly winced. “I only stopped taking them after I gave you the remainder.”

Phoenix was aghast as well, remembering how just a small dose had affected him. So she’s only coming out from under its influence now. That certainly explains the difference in her demeanor between today and yesterday! “But why?”

“Because they didn’t just dull the physical pain of my ruptured horn; they took away my emotional anguish as well. I could only cast the memory suppression spells so often, but the pills were much longer-lasting. The more of them I took, the less I felt,” she explained. “You must understand, Mister Wright—after killing Ace, I didn’t want to feel. I didn’t want to think about or remember what I had done. And I quickly learned that if I took enough of the pills… I didn’t.

“The problem was, at a high enough dose, the medication took away everything, even my basic empathy. By the time you saw me yesterday, I had no feelings for anything left at all,” she explained. “All that remained was an instinct for self-preservation, but no moral compass or conscience by which to guide it.

“So I’m ashamed to say… when I thought you were on to me, I blackmailed Cruise Control into ambushing you, instructing him to steal your evidence and leave you for dead where nopony would find you,” she said with an apologetic look at an appalled Twilight. “One more thing I can never forgive myself for.”

So I was right. She WASN’T herself at all! Phoenix realized. He almost asked how she’d blackmailed Cruise, but quickly thought better of it, already knowing the answer.

Sonata seemed to take his hesitation for something else. “Oh. Is that what this is all about? Very well, then. Your Honor?” She turned to address The Judge.

“Uh… yes?”

“I respectfully refuse to press any charges against Phoenix Wright and Pinkie Pie for breaking into my hotel room.”

“Oh… okay,” The Judge said in some surprise, though his expression quickly turned stern again. “That does not, however, absolve you of attorney ethics violations, Mister Wright. On my orders, you will still be facing contempt charges and an attorney misconduct board once this trial concludes!”

“Yes, Your Honor,” Phoenix acknowledged. If I pull this off—and I know I will—I won’t care! “One last question before we move on, Sonata—how did you get Cruise to call me on my cellphone?” he asked the question that had been troubling him for some time.

“Cellphone?” she repeated the word like it was unfamiliar. “I don’t know what that is, Mister Wright. I tried to lure you into Cruise’s ambush by sending you a telepathic message—it’s in that spellbook, page 162. I was hoping that, due to your ignorance of Equestria, you wouldn’t question it.” Her brow furrowed as if in confusion. “I did feel that something intercepted the spell, but somehow I was still able to talk to you.”

Phoenix was no less confused. “That was you?” he repeated dubiously, pulling out his phone, causing Twilight to study it curiously. “This is my cellphone—a human remote communication device. I received a call on it, which shouldn’t even be possible in this world.”

“Really?” Twilight looked surprised. “Hey, Phoenix—can I try that spell on you right now?”

Phoenix gave her an odd look. “Uh… sure, but it won’t do any good. My phone’s not—”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence before Twilight’s horn flared and his cellphone suddenly rang in his hand, playing the Steel Samurai ringtone he used for unknown callers. Shocked, he clicked the speaker button. “Uh… hello?”

“Phoenix?” Twilight’s voice was heard clearly through the speaker even though her eyes were closed and she didn’t actually speak. “Wow! This is amazing! My magic actually interfaced with your communications device!” she said in a giddy tone. “We’ll have to investigate this phenomenon further after the trial!”

“Yeah…” Phoenix found himself more perturbed than excited by the revelation as Twilight cut her spell and his phone lost connection again. “But that aside, the voice I heard—it wasn’t yours, Sonata. It was male.”

“It’s not hard to alter your voice when speaking through magic, Mister Wright. As your co-counsel just demonstrated, you don’t use your vocal chords for telepathy. I just copied the way Cruise Control sounded with my thoughts and contacted you using that voice to articulate myself,” she explained. “Think of it as being able to project a piano melody you once heard vividly in your mind. You don’t have to know how to play the piano to replay it with your thoughts.”

“I see.” A troubled Phoenix nodded his understanding, returning the phone to his pocket.

“So, Wright—now that I’ve given you my life’s story, it’s my turn for a question.” Sonata turned to look at him directly.

“Huh?”

“What in the name of the Sun and Moon are you doing?” she asked him point-blank. “You’re jeopardizing your client’s fate, when just a little while ago, you were at my throat accusing me—correctly—of killing Ace instead of Ms. Dash. And despite all my efforts, you caught me! But now you’re saying I’m innocent?” She laid her ears back. “I’m guilty, Mister Wright. Whatever might be wrong with my memory now, I killed Ace and everypony in this courtroom now knows it. I know it. So just what do you hope to accomplish with these theatrics?”

To her frustration, Phoenix stayed silent. “I don’t understand you, Phoenix Wright. Do you still think I’m lying? Do you think I somehow doctored that memory playback when I can still barely cast after the injury my horn took?” she asked in a near-derisive tone. “Even if I could, why would I lie when I’m confessing my guilt, knowing what it means for me?

“I suppose I might if I was trying to protect somepony. But trust me, that’s not the case.” She gave a sad smile. “Because the truth is… I don’t have anypony to protect or take care of anymore. I’ve killed the only pony I ever truly cared about,” she announced, her voice going shaky for a moment, taking a deep breath before going on.

“I’m all alone, now—a colt-killer who can never escape her guilt or the shame of her actions.” She bowed her head. “All I can do now is own up to them and try to undo my framing of your client.”

“Then let me protect you, Sonata,” Phoenix offered, causing her to jerk her head up in surprise. “I can take care of you if you’ll let me.”

The grey mare stared at him for a moment, tears in her eyes; the entire courtroom heard her half-strangled sob. “I… I don’t understand you, Phoenix Wright,” she finally spoke again, needing several seconds to recompose herself. “After all I’ve done, why would you want to help me?”

“Yeah, why?” Rainbow Dash piped up from the defendant’s box. “She tried to frame me, Nix! She nearly got me sent to the sun!”

Because deep down, she’s not a bad pony, and I now see the truth, Sonata, he answered with his thoughts. And very shortly you’re going to see it as well!

When I told him I was quitting, Ace became furious and violent, threatening to kill me. My life in immediate danger, I attempted to defend myself with the burned golf club lying on the ground, still red-hot from the lightning and fire, striking him with it over the back of his neck. I hit him so hard it snapped, but as angry and as strong as he was, it wasn’t enough to stop him.

“How hard did you strike him with the golf club, Sonata?” Phoenix asked.

It was an odd question, and she gave him an odd look. “Hard enough to leave that burn on the back of his neck.”

Phoenix raised his hand to his chin again. “And what about that electrical stun spell you used on him? How strong was that?”

“I really can’t say, because I don’t know myself,” she answered, looking away in some pain. “The magic surge and forest energies boosted my power far beyond anything I’d ever experienced before. You saw the playback, Mister Wright—that was no ordinary stun spell I cast. It not only stopped him in midair, it was actually strong enough to knock him—and me—several feet backwards.”

Precisely, Phoenix thought, knowing he was going to have to lead her to where he was heading carefully. “And did you see exactly where he landed?”

Her eyes went wild and frightened for a moment as she recalled the events. “I… I don’t remember,” she finally told him. “I just remember seeing him on the ground. My night vision spell was fading at that point; all I could make out were a few shadows and silhouettes. So I can’t really say where he was.”

Which means you also don’t actually know if he was dead! Phoenix silently noted. “What about the location where you struck him with the golf club? Do you know where that was?”

Sonata thought for a moment, closing her eyes; her horn glowed weakly for a moment in what Twilight sensed was a memory playback spell the other mare was performing only for herself. “I’m not sure, Mister Wright. The argument began as we were putting out the fire the lightning bolt started, so we were initially under the cloud,” she said at length. “But then he chased me all over the clearing. I can’t really tell where we ended up, but from what I now gather, the stun spell must have knocked him into the dirt, and Gilda moved him back underneath the cloud while I was gone.”

“Why is this even a question?” Trixie asked in an agitated tone. “Clearly, he was struck down by the dirt area where Gilda found his body!”

“So it would seem,” The Judge agreed.

“I disagree.” Phoenix shook his head. “And you’ll see why in a minute…”

Seeing he was about to strike, I dropped the broken pieces and resorted to an electrical stun spell I’d studied earlier that day, in case we encountered beasts in the Everfree. In a panic, a magic surge took hold of me; between that and the wild energy of the Everfree, the overcharged spell was powerful enough to kill him… though I didn’t realize that at the time. After it knocked him to the ground, I retreated into the Everfree, running as fast as I could. After a good ten minutes I realized he wasn’t chasing me, so I returned to the clearing to take a look.

Phoenix didn’t explain himself right away, gathering his thoughts carefully. So after all this, and after all my missteps yesterday, it turns out I was right at the very beginning about the most important thing! he realized, suppressing an urge to chuckle at the irony. Finally, it all makes sense!

Now certain he had it right, he slammed his hands down on the rail hard. “Sonata! What you just said is impossible!” he pointed at her, but this time there was no accusing or reproachful tone in his voice, just a simple statement of fact.

“Impossible?” Trixie repeated. “How? How is it impossible? Why do you even care if it’s impossible?” she demanded to know. “What does any of this matter, Wrong?”

“What matters is the truth, Trixie!” he told her. If you learn nothing else from all this, I’m going to make sure you learn THAT!

“Mister Wright, I have told you nothing but the truth,” Sonata insisted again in strained patience.

“Phoenix, she’s not lying,” Twilight spoke up. “She doesn’t have any psyche-locks!”

Phoenix answered her by addressing Sonata. “I agree with my co-counsel. You’re not lying, Sonata, and despite your doubts, I believe your memory of these events remains accurate. But your talent—those wondrous powers of perception and incredibly observant eyes of yours—seem to have failed you this time!”

Sonata looked like she wasn’t sure if she should feel relieved or insulted by his statement. “I’m… mistaken?” she asked no pony in particular, her eyes darting, trying to see what Phoenix had already spotted.

“Mister Wright! Where are you going with this?” The Judge broke in.

“I-I agree! Explain!” Trixie ordered, a shrill note in her voice.

“It’s quite simple, Your Honor,” Phoenix began. “Sonata says she used an electrical stun spell to stop Ace’s attack on her and accidentally electrocuted him with it,” he outlined, holding up and tapping another sheet of transcript.

“Yes, that’s true,” The Judge recalled.

“But then you said something that struck me as strange, Sonata.” He put the sheet down and leaned forward over the bench again. “You said the head of the golf club snapped off when you hit him with it?”

“And that’s the piece you found on the crime scene, which was later instrumental in proving Sonata assaulted him!” Trixie remembered bitterly. “What’s so strange about that?”

Phoenix turned to Trixie. “What’s strange is that the two pieces were found in two different locations!” He walked over to the map of the clearing, which was now lying on the floor after being blown over during the duel. Picking it up, he dusted off the half-melted snow, wiping his hand with Rarity’s hoofkerchief before pointing at the map.

“The club head, you may recall, was found directly under the cloud, which makes sense—” He paused long enough to mark its location by sticking the tip of the red quill right through the paper since it was too wet to draw on “—but the handle was found in the dirt by Ace’s body!” He stuck a second quill at the site where Ace’s body was originally located. “As has already been noted, these positions are nearly thirty feet apart!”

“This is a waste of time!” Trixie announced, bringing a cuffed hoof down on her table, causing her to stumble when one of the weakened boards collapsed. “It’s easy to see what happened here! Ace cornered her by the dirt patch and had his back to the fire, enabling her to pick up the golf club from it unnoticed and strike him with it from behind. When she did, the head must have ricocheted off his neck back towards the center of the clearing after it snapped!”

The Judge nodded his agreement. “That seems the most logical conclusion.”

Phoenix shook his head. “No, Your Honor. That’s not what happened,” he stated with certainty, staying in front of the map, ignoring the shocked looks of The Judge and Trixie. “Let’s recall how Sonata stated the events took place…”

Seeing he was about to strike, I dropped the broken pieces and resorted to an electrical stun spell I’d studied earlier that day in case we encountered beasts in the Everfree…

“The witness stated she dropped the pieces after she struck him, and if I recall correctly, the memory replay showed that as well!” Phoenix pointed to the witness stand. “Am I correct, Sonata?”

Sonata looked like she was starting to grasp what Phoenix was getting at, her eyes wide and uncertain at what it meant. “Y-yes… I did,” she confirmed. “I was still holding on to the pieces after they snapped and I-I dropped them in place…” her voice trailed off as she finally spotted the problem with her testimony herself.

“Meaning, they should have been found in the same location! But then you said something else…” Phoenix noted as he picked up the next sheet of transcript.

Arriving, I saw the silhouette of his body laying there, lifeless. In shock over what I had done, I gathered up the pieces of the broken golf club and letter so I wouldn’t be caught.

“Sonata—you knew leaving a piece of the golf club behind could incriminate you, and you saw that it had broken in two. You took out the shaft. So why didn’t you take the broken head with you as well?”

“I… I couldn’t find it,” was all she could offer. “I could only cast a weak illumination spell after what had happened. I searched around Ace’s body in the low light it provided, but after a few minutes I only found the shaft.”

“Exactly!” Phoenix nodded sharply. “You just searched around the area you found the shaft in, because you knew you had dropped both pieces in the exact same spot!”

“Y-yes…” Sonata granted, then looked up and gasped in startled realization.

She sees it!  “And thus, we’re left with one critical contradiction!” Phoenix slammed his hands down sharply on the rail beside the map. “How did the two pieces end up so far away from each other? This question must be resolved before this case can be closed!” he asserted, to a new upsurge of gallery conversation—the stands were only about half-full after audience ponies had fled the duel, but they were now starting to filter back in, sensing the drama wasn’t over yet.

“I remind the court the club handle was found right in this location, judging by the imprint it left. But the club head remained next to Ace’s body, directly under the cloud!” He pointed to both locations on the map in turn.

Trixie had apparently recovered enough that her head was fully back in the game. “Did our duel scramble your senses, Mister Wrong? You got it backwards! The club shaft was initially beside Ace's body, while the head was found thirty feet away from it, under the cloud!” she corrected him.

“Was it?” Phoenix asked, glad Trixie had taken the bait. “I think we can all agree the golf club was dropped exactly where Sonata hit Ace with it. Therefore, the question before us becomes: which piece moved, and why?” he mused, sparing another glance at Sonata. “And the answer is obvious—it had to have been the shaft that moved!”

“But how could you know something like that?” Trixie brought a cuffed hoof down again, causing her waterlogged, ice-crusted bench to splinter further. “Why couldn’t it have been the end piece that moved, perhaps knocked away when he hit the ground following the stun spell?”

“Very simple!” Phoenix grinned, both at the conclusion he was about to reveal, and the fact that Trixie was now acting like a proper prosecutor—helping him seek the truth and providing a sounding board and foil for his ideas. Maybe all she needed was to lose her case and have her tail whipped by Twilight! “The golf club was lost while it was still whole, and was still whole up until Sonata used it as a weapon,” he began by noting.

“So?” Trixie asked.

“So when the imprint in the dirt was made, the club was no longer intact—note the imprint is only of the shaft, not the head!”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Yes, because it broke off when she hit him over the head with it! Why are we going over the same ground again?”

“I’m asking that myself, Mister Wright,” The Judge warned. “Get to the point!”

“The point, Your Honor, is that if she dropped it in place there, the end piece should have been right next to the handle—not thirty feet away under the cloud!” he summarized. “There is nothing that could account for that discrepancy except that somepony at the scene must have moved either the shaft or the head!”

“But… but… this doesn’t make any sense!” Trixie insisted. “No other pony was at the crime scene between when she hit him and—” her eyes went wide, and then narrowed. “Unless that mangy griffon moved the club as well as the body!” she realized, causing Rainbow Dash to snort angrily.

“Gilda didn’t move it.” Phoenix shook his head. “She dismissed the golf club as a ‘piece of garbage’ before any of us even knew Sonata had used it to hit Ace. She admitted to moving the body; there’s no reason at all for her to lie about moving the club as well!”

“Then maybe Rainbow Trash herself went back and moved it!” Trixie said in a tone that suggested she was trying to find a way to pin the crime on Rainbow Dash again.

“She couldn’t have either!” Phoenix wasn’t about to give her the chance. “My client left the scene immediately and didn’t come back. Even if you disregard both Gilda’s and Sonata’s testimony to that effect, that still leaves Fluttershy, who saw Rainbow Dash leave the woods immediately after the lightning bolt but didn’t see her with the golf club!” He glanced back at Fluttershy, who gave him a smile and wave.

“We’ve already established that Fluttershy is not a reliable witness!”

“All questions and contradictions raised by her testimony were resolved, Trixie—thanks to the teleportation theory you shared!” He put his hands on his hips and grinned.

Trixie’s only response was to pound her head on the bench repeatedly.

“So if not Ms. Behertz, and if not the witness or your client… then who moved it, Mister Wright?” The Judge asked.

“This is absurd! Your reasoning rules out everyone, pony or griffon, Mister Wrong!” a slightly cross-eyed Trixie called out, raising both hooves to rub the fresh bruise on her forehead.

“All but one, Trixie.” Phoenix was having a hard time keeping the grin off his face. “The pony who moved the stick is…” the entire courtroom held its collective breath as he waited a beat.

“The victim HIMSELF!” Phoenix proclaimed in a loud and commanding voice, causing Rarity to pass out again. “ACE SWIFT moved the golf club!”

The courtroom fell dead silent until Trixie finally managed a single word: “Wh-what?”

“The…” The Judge continued the thought everypony in the courtroom now held.

“Hay!?” Twilight finished for them. “Phoenix, what are you thinking? How could Ace have moved it? He was already dead!”

“Mister Wright! Have you lost your mind?” The Judge grasped his gavel more tightly, looking ready to pile on additional penalties to his contempt citation. “This is what you’ve wasted this court’s time for?”

“It’s the truth, Your Honor!” Phoenix insisted. “I believe Sonata did perform the stun spell as she stated and struck him with it as we saw.” He turned to Sonata, who was looking at him warily, as if she now sensed what he was getting at but was afraid to even think it. “But I now believe the prosecution was right all along—the stun spell couldn’t have killed him! In fact, it worked exactly as it was supposed to! It wasn’t fatal; it just rendered him unconscious for a few minutes!”

“But… but…” Sonata spoke up, looking torn between doubt and a desperate hope. “But he was dead when I got back! He wasn’t breathing! I’m sure of it!”

“And what about right after you first used the spell on him?” Phoenix immediately countered. “You didn’t check then, did you? Understandably, since you were more intent on escape than seeing if he was just stunned,” he pointed out, causing her to bite her lip as the faint flame of her hope began to grow in strength. “You’re correct in that he was dead when you got back, so he must have died in between when you ran away and returned to the crime scene.”

“This… is… ridiculous!” Trixie’s voice broke in again. “The Autopsy report confirmed he was electrocuted! If it wasn’t from the first lightning bolt or being hit with that spell, then what? What?”

“What, indeed?” Phoenix mused aloud. “I seem to recall an old saying from a certain fictional detective that once you eliminate the impossible, then whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth!”

“Oh!” Twilight spoke up in a delighted tone. “You read the Fetlock Holmes books too?”

He shot her a quick look and grin, marveling again at the parallels between the two worlds. “In this case, having eliminated both Rainbow and Gilda from moving the club shaft, all that leaves is Ace. And having eliminated the first bolt and stun spell as causes of death, all that could have killed him… is the second lightning bolt! That is the only thing that could have electrocuted him!”

Trixie looked like she wanted to facehoof but couldn’t do so properly while wearing her restraints, so she settled for pounding her head on the desk again. “No, no! NO!” she raised her voice and hit her head a little harder each time. “We’ve been over this again and again! The second lightning bolt was a dud bolt! It never left the cloud! No less than three witnesses neither heard nor saw it!”

“Make that four, because I didn’t see or hear it either,” Sonata added, starting to go downcast as her faint hopes began to ebb again.

Phoenix shook his head. “I don’t believe it was a dud bolt,” he said. “From my understanding, lightning here in Equestria makes sounds based on vibrations of the impact of what it hits.”

“Yes, which is why the absence of such sounds is a prime indication of a dud bolt!” Trixie rubbed her head with both hooves in exasperation. “A bolt that hits within the cloud hits nothing tangible, and therefore doesn’t make a sound! And any flash the bolt made would be very weak as well, since it doesn’t complete the circuit with the ground!”

At least THAT much is the same as my world! Phoenix noted. “True. But there is a circumstance when a lightning bolt hits something tangible but doesn’t make a sound either,” Phoenix quickly countered with a look over at Rainbow Dash, who confirmed it with a sharp nod, realizing that the knowledge she’d shared with him the day before regarding lightning was about to come into play.

“There… is?” The Judge looked confused.

“Trixie knows of no such phenomenon!”

Says the mare who can summon storms and launch lightning bolts at will! Phoenix suppressed a nervous shiver. “From my understanding, it can also happen if the bolt strikes something in midair that isn’t connected to the ground!” he asserted, causing nods and noises of agreement from Rainbow Dash and other weather-knowledgeable pegasi in the courtroom.

“After he woke up, Ace must have been infuriated by Sonata’s assault and escape after quitting as his manager.” As he spoke, he looked at Sonata directly. “He probably took to the air to find Sonata and pay her back in spades. So what if… the second bolt struck him in midair?” he asked the courtroom in a tone that said he wasn’t just suggesting it.

Trixie broke in again. “Did you forget about his lightning-proof racesuit already, Mister Wrong? From my understanding, a pegasus is completely invulnerable to lightning while wearing that suit in midair!” she reminded the court. “The exposed parts are completely covered by flying!

“And before you suggest he somehow wasn’t wearing it, if that was the case, the bolt would have pierced his body and hit the ground, resulting in a flash and boom!” she concluded. “And even if you overlook all of that, you can’t escape this simple fact: the odds of being struck randomly by a single bolt of lightning in midair are so infinitesimal as to be effectively impossible!”

“She’s right, Mister Wrong—er, Mister Wright,” The Judge nodded in agreement. “Even if by some remote chance the second bolt did hit him in mid-air, it should not have been able to kill him while wearing the suit.”

“But what about the wings?” Twilight spoke up. “They’re clearly exposed. What if the bolt hit one of those?”

“Sorry, Snarkle, but that doesn’t work either!” Trixie sneered, some of her old attitude back, causing Twilight to suppress a smile, sensing the showmare’s spirit was still intact. “A lightning bolt hitting his wing would have blasted a hole clean through it. Yet when the victim’s body was found, both his wings were still intact with no injury whatsoever!”

Phoenix scratched his chin, gratified that Twilight was trying to help him. “Cruise Control took a picture of Ace wearing the suit as he entered the forest. So we know he was wearing it from that point until his demise.”

“But I don’t understand! Then there’s no way a stray bolt could have killed him!” Sonata looked completely and uncharacteristically bewildered.

“She’s right, Wrong!” Trixie said in disgust. “So we’re back to where we were yesterday! You can’t claim he was slain by a random bolt that hit him in mid-air without concrete proof!”

“She’s right, Mister Wright,” The Judge told him. “And because of it, I am very close to ending this testimony as pointless!”

“But this time I have concrete proof! Of both Sonata’s and Rainbow Dash’s innocence!” he stated authoritatively. “Now that I know one other factor of the events, that is!”

Trixie’s jaw dropped open, The Judge and other ponies staring at him in disbelief, awaiting one final miracle from him.

Let’s not disappoint them, Phoenix! “This is my proof!” he held the golf club shaft up high. “The golf club! Or handle, I should say—we now know that Ace was the only one who could have reasonably moved it, right?”

“I’m not convinced of that, Mister Wright,” The Judge broke in again, his voice wary. “Though the fact that the head and handle were found apart is very odd, and process of elimination would seem to suggest that only the victim could have moved them, you have not presented any direct evidence that he was still alive to do so. You have also not explained how the golf club proves any of this!”

“Then allow me to present a new theory of the victim’s death, Your Honor—one that will resolve all remaining contradictions and discrepancies!” He drew himself up straighter, having finally arrived at the point he had been aiming for the whole time.

“The fight between Ace and Sonata ended by the fire, not the dirt. The pieces of the golf club were dropped there, where we found the club head. Ace was only knocked out—not killed—by the stun spell, and didn’t wake up for another eight or nine minutes. When he did and remembered what happened, he swore bloody vengeance on the witness!” he theorized with a glance at Sonata, who was now listening to him raptly, her expression all but begging him to convince her he was right.

“Angered by Sonata’s resignation and having been burned with the golf club, he picked up the now-cool shaft lying beside him and took to the air to get a better view of the dark forest, intending to find Sonata and repay her for her assault and escape!” He paused to let his words sink in. “Now tell me, Your Honor—where would a pegasus hold the shaft while he’s in the air?”

“Probably in his mouth,” The Judge guessed the answer everypony else in the room knew instinctively. “Lacking hands, that’s the only place he could hold it while flying, I would think.”

“Exactly, Your Honor!” Phoenix nodded. “In his mouth, which would not be protected by the racesuit if it was open! And as a golfer, you should know well the danger of holding up a long metal rod in the vicinity of a storm cloud...?”

“Mister Wright…” Sonata’s lip was beginning to tremble as a new picture of events began to crystallize in her head. “I—” She stopped short as her vision went abruptly dark, the entire courtroom somehow receding from her awareness except for Phoenix Wright, the bench he was leaning on, and… a second figure; a beautiful brown-haired human woman wearing a dark grey business suit now standing beside him on his left.

“Who… who is that?” Sonata stared at her in confusion. She had never seen the human woman before, and yet… It feels like… I know her?

“At 8:50PM, just as the victim took flight, the second lightning bolt struck!” the human pair spoke and pointed as one; Sonata swore the strange female’s voice was identical to her own! “The metal handle in his mouth acted as a lightning rod, attracting the bolt to him and pumping all that electricity directly into his body through his unprotected mouth, stopping his heart!” they announced, and Sonata—as well as everyone else—could sense the truth of their words.

“It didn’t need any accuracy to hit him since the metal shaft drew the bolt in, and the bolt made no sound and only a little flash since it struck him in mid-air! The lightning-proof racesuit contained the bolt within his body, preventing it from passing through and reaching the ground! Hit in mid-flight, he died instantly and dropped the club as he fell out of the sky, which hit the dirt beside him, thirty feet from where they started!”

Ace Swift awoke with a splitting headache and a very sore neck.

“Ow! What… what happened?” he asked himself, sitting up and rubbing his forehead before his memories all came rushing back along with a fresh wave of anger, fury at Sonata’s disloyalty taking hold of him once more.

“That… that bucking BITCH!” he snarled and slammed his hoof down as he found himself beside the remains of the fire, his sharp pegasus eyes picking out a few still-glowing embers and the pieces of now-cool club sitting beside him.

You’ll PAY for this, Sonata! he silently swore as he picked himself back up, willing his legs to steady themselves, still shaky after having had so much electricity pumped into him. Good thing I’m a pegasus, or that might have KILLED me! he all but growled, still unable to believe she’d both abandoned him and attacked him like that. And don’t think you’re going to get away with it, you betraying, blackhearted—

His gaze fell on the golf club shaft she’d hit him with, now cool, the broken-off club head sitting just a foot away from it, both pieces glinting softly in the light of the moon as it rose over the treeline. This isn’t over! I’ll just have to kill her and make sure they’ll never find her! If I can get rid of her and then Rainbow, there’ll be no witnesses! I play the part of a mourning lover, I can retire an undefeated champion and live the high life—reap the rewards and sympathy! he reasoned as he stretched his wings, preparing for flight.

She CAN’T have gotten far! I know enough about unicorns to know that she won’t be able to cast for a while after a spell like that! So she’s helpless now and if I can find her in this forest, there’ll be NOTHING she can do to stop me! He grinned eagerly.

First I’ll hit her horn hard enough to leave her helpless! Then I’ll beat her bloody with that bucking golf club but won’t kill her! No, I’ll leave her broken body for some lucky forest monster to find! he silently swore, a cold rage consuming him as he took the club shaft in his mouth, ignoring the burnt and bitter taste.

“Ready or not, Sonata, HERE I COME!” he all but snarled through his bared teeth, and with that, he pumped his wings once and took flight, shooting almost straight up, trying to rise above the forest canopy to get a better look around…

Completely forgetting about the storm cloud that lay directly overhead, flying right into it.

When he contacted the cloud, it reacted; there was a weak crackling sound and jagged streak of light that filled his vision, centered right on the end of the golf club. Guided by the metal shaft, the bolt bypassed his racesuit and entered his body directly through his unprotected mouth.

He had just enough time to realize what had happened before he convulsed once and his brain shut off, the massive shock stopping his heart and short-circuiting his nervous system. His wings no longer working, the pegasus racer passed clean through the cloud and then arced back to earth, hitting ground at the south end of the clearing, throwing up a cloud of dirt on impact.

Almost as an afterthought, the shaft of the golf club dropped from his suddenly slack muzzle as he fell, bouncing once on harder ground before settling into the soft dirt beside his lifeless body.

There was dead silence and more than a few open jaws in the courtroom as Sonata’s vision cleared, the mysterious woman beside Phoenix vanishing like an apparition in the night. And yet… she was real. She was here! she still IS! Sonata was strangely certain. She… she SAVED me!

Trixie, for once, was speechless, but she wasn’t the only one; everypony in the courtroom processing Phoenix’s theory… and finding it valid, knowing in their hearts it was The Truth. It was nearly half a minute before The Judge finally broke the silence.

“This… would seem to explain a few things,” he admitted in classic understatement, looking stunned yet again. “Do you have any objections to this new theory, Ms. Trixie?” he asked, turning to his right.

The dazed-looking Trixie considered the question, and then her shoulders slumped. “No. I don’t,” she conceded in a defeated tone, the mare magician somehow looking even more beaten at that moment than she had when she lost the duel. “Based on her latest understanding of the events and evidence, Trixie now believes that Mister Wright’s theory of the victim’s death… is correct. And if so, both Sonata Tarot and Rainbow Dash are innocent of murder,” she stated in a very subdued voice, then said the words that nopony ever dreamed they would hear from her:

“It’s over, Your Honor. The prosecution rests.”