The next day came for the trial. Everyone was seated except for Discord, who couldn't be seen.
"Where is he?" Twilight Sparkle said. "He should be here by now."
"Well, if the accused isn't to come today, then he is automatically..." Golden Eyes said.
Suddenly, an explosion of blue smoke rose from the defendant's seat. A loud voice echoed throughout the courtroom.
"I am the chaos that casts in the night! I am the ghost story you tell around a campfire!" Discord appeared spinning in his seat. "I am Discord!"
"Order!" Iron Will shouted. "I said, order!" He pointed his gavel at Pinkie Pie who was holding a menu "Don't you dare."
Suddenly, Diamond Tiara appeared beside Discord.
"Oh, hey, kid." Discord said. "What are you doing here?"
"I represent my school's paper," Diamond Tiara said holding a notebook and pencil, "And I want to know, how do feel about being banished?"
"What are you talking about?" Discord asked. "The case isn't over yet."
"You know, we're printing this next week, right?" Diamond Tiara asked.
"Just get out of here!" Discord reacted shooing Diamond Tiara away.
"Today marks day 2 of the case 'Equestria vs Discord'." Iron Will said. "Now then, Princess Twilight Sparkle, you may rise."
Twilight rose from her seat and breathed in and out. "Defense calls Fluttershy to the stand."
Fluttershy got up from her seat and went into the witness stand.
"Fluttershy, is it true that you were in charge of Discord becoming a good guy?"
"Yes, I was.
"Could you describe your method?"
"Well, I knew that all I had to do was to befriend him. True, we had some bumps in the road, but in the end, Discord learned that once he had a friend, he'd never want to let them go. That day, he learned that friendship is magic and I've always had faith in him since."
Lok pointed his wing feather down his throat and motioned a gag. Twilight moved away from Fluttershy.
"Golden Eyes, would you care to cross-examine the witness?" Iron Will asked.
"Indeed, your honor." Golden Eyes approached the witness stand. "Fluttershy, a moment ago, you mentioned there were some bumps in the road while you were reforming Discord. Care to expand on those bumps?"
"Well... He ate all written notes for reforming spells... and spun my house like a gyro-sphere... and flooded Sweet Apple Acres... at the same time."
"Is that all?"
"Actually..."
"I... promised Discord to never use my Element of Harmony so that he'd stop the flood... but instead, he turned the water into ice... and he skated... and he wanted me to play along."
"Did you use the Element against him since he broke his promise?"
"No. I made a promise."
"I thought not. That will be all, your honor."
Golden Eyes grinned as she turned away.
"Does the princess wish to give one last round of questions to the witness?" Iron Will asked.
"Yes, your honor." Twilight said as she got up. "Fluttershy, give us a description on the moment Discord was reformed."
"All right. I refused to use my Element and grabbed the skates Discord offered me. He boasted on how free he was and how close we are. I was so angry, I proclaimed that he wasn't my friend. At first, Discord kept claiming that he didn't need a friend, but then, he realized how much he needed one and thawed Sweet Apple Acres. He apologized and agreed to amend for his sins."
"As you can see, members of the jury," Twilight proclaimed, "Yesterday, we went over all the bad stuff Discord has done. True, some things can't be forgiven, but they can easily be forgotten when they see how much a villain has changed into a friend. We talked about the day Discord became a friend and it wasn't the end that he proved himself."
"Hey, judge," Derpy called out, "When do we get those hammer thingies. I can make a lot of stuff with it and..."
"This is called a gavel," Iron Will replied, "And no, you don't get one!"
"Can I borrow yours then?" Derpy said taking Iron Will's gavel. She flew to the wall with everyone watching and smacked the wall with it. After a few worthless smacks, Derpy returned it to Iron Will. "Here you go."
Iron Will tapped Derpy on the head with it. He walked over to his seat and growled.
"I know they'll give anyone jury duty," Golden Eyes said, "But how did she meet the requirements?"
"That will be enough." Iron Will said. "The court will take another recess and will continue again tomorrow."
Discord took a pleasurable stroll across Ponyville with the Mane 6. Ponies would still move away from the draconequus, but he didn't notice because of his whistling.
"I say, that turned out better than yesterday." Discord said. "I'm starting to have hopes for the verdict."
"Don't get cocky, Discord." Applejack said. "We still have to prove your innocence to all twelve jurors."
"That's in the bag." Discord said. He looked and saw the festival still repairing the damages and stroked his beard. "Uh, you girls go on ahead to the castle. I'll be right there."
The Mane 6 agreed and left. Discord sneaked into the festival and found the broken bleacher pile. He picked up the one with the gap and looked at it.
"Hmm." Discord said. "It definitely looks enchanted, but it's no magic I've seen before."
"Here to finish the job?" Discord turned and saw Golden Eyes and Lok behind him. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone you're here. But out of curiosity, why are you here? I suppose criminals always return to the scene of the crime."
"I live in Equestria." Discord said. "The whole world's a crime scene. And, for the record, what are you doing here?"
"Collecting evidence." Golden Eyes answered.
"Oh, look around, you cruel crank." Discord said gesturing toward the fair. "There is no physical evidence that I did all this. Even you got to see this. There's no proof."
"Proof?" Golden Eyes asked. "What do I need proof for when I've got history on my side? I'm willing to do whatever it takes to win the case." She started to turn away.
Discord arced an eyebrow. Suddenly, he widened his eyes and had a regretful face. "What did I do?"
Golden Eyes stopped in her tracks and turned her head back at Discord. "What?"
"Well, there's only one reason you're so determined to punish me this much," Discord said, "I did something wrong? In the past, I made a mistake that meant a lot to you. So when you heard about my blame for the festival, you saw the opportunity to see me take what I deserve. So, I've got to know; what did I do wrong?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Golden Eyes asked. "You made friends."
"SQUAK!" Lok screeched. "MADE FRIENDS!"
Golden Eyes turned away and left Discord confused and scratching his head. How could making friends be a mistake for Discord?