Clear Truth: Ace Attorney - The Timed Turnabout

by Dapper Guy

Expensive Examination

“Let’s see,” Truth muttered to himself. “We took a left a Moon’s Passing and then a right at Start Street, or were we supposed to make a left there?” Since leaving the courthouse, both Truth and Spike decided to investigate the crime scene to try and scrounge up any remaining clues. However, the both of them had failed to realize they had no clue as to where Clear Aspect lived.

“It said Sunset Boulevard on the paper, right Truth?” Spike asked from on top of his back. As soon as Truth realized how lost he had become, Spike decided to help guide him there. Unfortunately, Spike had rarely ever ventured out this far into Canterlot despite having lived there his entire life.

“That’s what it said on the official report for the location of the murder.” He hadn’t felt so hopeless lost before, not even since he had moved to Manehatten to open his law firm. I really should’ve asked Celestia for a map. “I suppose we could ask somepony for directions.”

“Yeah but I think we could follow that guard instead,” said Spike, pointing up towards the sky.

Looking up, Truth saw a lone Pegasus in golden armor fly overhead towards a mansion at the end of the street. Several other Royal Guard pegasi could be seen flying around the mansion.

Truth couldn’t believe how dumb luck had saved him again as he began to dash towards the mansion. Police tape covered the front entrance with two police ponies standing out in front. Several ponies stood out front, each one holding a camera with lightbulbs flashing.

“Hey, you! What are you doing here?” shouted out a familiar, deep voice. Gruff Guard came stomping up to Truth from behind him. The detective looked even more shambolic since they had last met. “Don’t you know we’ve got to recheck everything since you guys got Fizz Pop off the hook?”

“Hey, we got an innocent pony free, you lughead,” snapped Spike as he shook a clenched fist at the offending pony.

Gruff recoiled at the verbal outburst, seeming to wither from the rather childish insult. “Jeez, bud. You don’t have to be so hurtful.”

“Sorry about that,” Truth apologized. Spike grunted and crossed his arms, clearly not regretting his rather hurtful words. “Detective, why are you just getting here?” He knew he had taken Bright Aspect in for questioning but he should’ve arrived here earlier then they had.

“Well, you know, I decided to take the scenic route here. Canterlot is a really nice looking place and all that,” Gruff said with a toothy smile.

“You mean you got lost,” Spike bluntly stated. Truth never thought he would see such a large pony be stricken down twice before in his life.

“Hey bud, we’re really under a lot of pressure here, alright?” roared back Gruff. Spike ducked beneath Truth’s mane to avoid making eye contact with the very large earth pony. “Mister Waltz wants us to go over everything with a fine tooth comb.”

“Have you found anything yet?” asked Truth. If he could get into the crime scene without having Waltz there, he may find something to prove Bright’s innocence.

"Nothing solid yet. We've broaden our search from the just the crime scene. Now were looking over the entire mansion and this place ain't exactly small," whined Gruff.

"Well would it be possible for us to do a bit of investigation ourselves?"

Gruff gave Truth an uneasy look, obviously thinking deeply as he could about Truth’s request. “I don’t know bud. I could catch some serious Tartarus from Mister Waltz if I let you guys walk in there.”

“Well, what if you watched us investigate?” offered Spike. “We can’t make anything worse if you keep an eye on us, right?”

Gruff’s entire face lit up like at Heart’s Warming Eve tree at thought of the young dragon’s idea. “Hey, that is a good idea, bud. If I keep an eye on you two, there’s no way you could find any evidence that could help you win the case tomorrow.”

Truth felt a wave of relief wash over as he watched Gruff walk past them towards the guarded entrance. “Wow, Spike, how did you know that would work?” He hadn’t expected Spike to pull out such a smart trick on short notice.

“Cause that trick always works with Twilight,” chortled Spike.

“Well then, let’s get to the crime scene.” Passing by the guards, the pair made their way into the mansion.

“So this is the crime scene.” Despite the clear display of grandeur in the front foyer alone, Aspect’s study seemed rather spartan in comparison. There weren’t any giant painting of Clear Aspect hanging on the walls or trophies being displayed in cases along the wall. The entire room seemed rather empty if it were to be compared to the rest of the house.

Bending his knees, he allowed Spike to hop down onto the floor. “Well, Spike, time to start our investigation.”

Gruff Guard stamped his way over to the pair of investigators from the other side of them room. “Remember you two, I’ve got to keep an eye on ya,” he reminded the two. “If I screw this one up, I’ll-“

“Detective?” asked a pony from the study’s door. A lone white stallion in armor was halfway through the door’s arch. “We need your help identifying something.”

Gruff let out a deep sigh, then looked at Truth dead in the eye. “Okay, new deal. You two aren’t going to investigate without me until I get back. Deal?” he said while trying to keep an imposing face.

“You got it,” answered Spike before Truth could interject. The two watched as the guard lead Gruff outside the study. “So, where do I look first?”

Good question, Truth noted. “Well our best bet would to find out where Aspect was murdered at.” Surveying the room, Truth saw an outline of a pony in white chalk near the desk by the wall with windows.

So this is where Clear Aspect was murdered, grimaced Truth. The smell of blood still hung in the air, sending small shivers up and down his legs. Judging from how the body’s position, it looks like he fell backwards.

Aspect’s head was the farthest part away from the desk, his hind legs were the closest. Aspect’s right foreleg was outstretched to his side while the other was bent at an angle. It looks like Aspect was facing his desk but why?

Hsssshhh…

Truth felt his heart began to race as Spike began to let out a bloodcurdling hiss. Spike was on all fours with his spaded tail standing up, giving him the look of a rather angry, scaly cat.

“Spike!” yelled Truth at the sight of the young dragon’s vicious appearance.

Apparently, Truth’s scream snapped him out of his trance. “What?” he asked as if nothing had happened. “Why are you so sweaty, Truth?”

Running a hoof through his mane, Truth was indeed sweating like he had ran a marathon. He did it again without realizing it. First at the trial and now here.

“It’s just that I can’t believe how somepony died in his own home like this.” Against his better judgement, he decided it was best not to ask Spike. He doubted even Spike could tell him what was going on through his head right now.

“Yeah, it’s really scary isn’t it? Not that I am.”

Truth put a reassuring hoof on Spike’s shoulder, comforting the young drake. “Yeah, it is scary Spike. Will you do me a favor and investigate over there?” Spike followed Truth’s extended foreleg over to two sets of bookcases near the back end of the room. Small scraps of papers were littered all over the floor.

“You got it,” he said before scampering off to the bookcases.

Now then, back to examining this outline. Besides the position of Aspect’s body, nothing looked out of place. Now he looked at the desk itself. On the side he was on were several drawers, small flecks of blood had seeped into the woodwork.

Several ledgers were open, containing rows upon rows of numbers. Several names were circled in red ink with the letter’s S.H.F. next to them. Small drops of blood could be seen on the bottom corners of the pages. So Aspect was leaning over his desk. Does that mean the killer came up behind him and attacked him with a knife?

Blood Speckled Folders
Ledgers found on Aspect’s desk.
Bottom corners covered in blood.
Has lists with circled names written inside.

Looking down at the floor, Truth nearly stepped into a small puddle of drying blood. Out of the corner of his eye, Truth saw a small streak of blood coming from a narrow gap between the desk and the bookshelf next to it. Peering inside, he saw a rectangle shaped object up against the wall. Pushing the wooden shelf aside, Truth picked up the item in question.

It was a wooden clock with a square frame. Golden frillings were embroidered on the side. Two small doors were carved into the wood. Small flakes of dried blood drifted off of the front. A small, hairline crack traveled across the glass protecting the hoofs. The minute hoof pointed at twelve while the hour hoof pointed directly at eight.

Holding the clock up to his ear, he couldn’t hear any sounds coming from inside. I guess the clockwork was damaged when it fell. That means it was knocked off the desk when Aspect was attacked.

Broken Clock
Ornate clock found in Aspect’s study.
Broken at around Eight o' clock.

“Hey, Truth, think I found something,” said Spike. He ran as fast as his tiny legs could carry him, a small golden envelope clasped tightly in his grasp. “This was on top of a desk in the back corner. I think it’s a letter from the princess.”

Grabbing the letter from Spike, Truth removed a single sheet of paper from inside. At the bottom of it was a golden stamp . A letter from the princess? Why would Celestia be writing to Aspect? Truth wondered as he began to read.

A,
I think he’s finally slipped up. We have to act fast.

“I’m not sure what it means,” replied Truth, hoofing over the letter to Spike. “Better put that in your bag for safekeeping. We can’t let this get away.”

Vague Letter
Cryptic letter addressed to Aspect.
Bears the Royal Seal.

“I couldn’t agree more, Mr. Truth.”

Both lawyer and drake eye’s snapped open as their heads turn in unison to see Just Waltz entering the study. The proud unicorn walked gracefully up to the pair, his nose hung high in the air. “Conducting an investigation without permission? That’s a very serious offense you’ve committed, Truth. Pray tell, what is it that can’t get away?”

“Nothing,” lied Spike. “Besides, we were let in by Gruff Guard, we didn’t do anything bad.”

Waltz clicked his tongue in his mouth. “Well, the detective and I will have a serious talk about salaries when I see him again. Waltz stuck out his hoof expectantly. “No need to commit any more felonies, gentlecolts. Hoof over everything you’ve ‘found’ and I’ll let you trot out of here unscathed.”

Truth felt his anger beginning to boil over at Waltz’s arrogance. He stepped in front of Spike and shoved his face an inch away from the unicorn. “Sorry, but I don’t exactly answer to you. We found our evidence.”

Waltz cast a long glance over the room. “Well, now. This is quite conundrum. Either hoof over everything, I will have the guard’s shake you down and throw you out. You had no jurisdiction to investigate, Truth. There’s only a hooful of ponies that can get you out of this situation right now and I doubt they’re coming to your rescue. Why it would take-”

“Princess Celestia?” said Spike.

“Well, I honestly doubt that she’d ever take the time out of her busy schedule ruling our nation to go to the scene of a murder.”

“Well, Waltz,” said a royal voice somewhere behind him. “When you're dealing with a murder case, one must expect the unexpected.”
Everypony in the room snapped to as Princess Celestia made her way inside of Aspect’s study. Guards bowed down in recognition as Waltz stammered to himself. “Princess, what, what are you doing here?”

“A rather fortunate occurrence happened today, most of my council meetings were abruptly cancelled. It seems that nearly everpony in Canterlot wanted to attend your trial today.” Celestia’s poise hid a slight sense of relief. “Mr. Truth, I wanted to catch after the trial but the bailiff told me you were already gone. Would you please accompany me downstairs? There’s something I need to discuss with you.”

“Yes, princess." Seeing his opportunity to get out of fire, Truth followed behind Celestia with Spike hastily stowing away their newest evidence.

“Well, I think congratulations are in order, Mr. Truth,” said Celestia. “It seems your efforts have cleared an innocent pony’s name.”
Truth felt a blush burning in his cheeks brighter than Celestia’s sun. The praise, however, was short lived as Celestia’s smile quickly dropped into a frown.“Yet, it seems that another has taken his place. Truth, I wasn’t their firsthoof. Please, explain to me what happened in court.”

Truth retold every detail, with a few notes thrown in by Spike.

Celestia nodded her head as he informed her of everything that had transpired in the trial. When he finally finished, Celestia leaned back against the dining hall table. “That was truly a remarkable turnabout you accomplished, Truth. Yet one thing bothers me.”

Truth tugged on the bottom of his tie. “And what would that be, Princess?”

“I know Just Waltz. He’s more a theater critic than he is a pony of law. Seeing him handling this case has given me some pause for thought.” Celestia placed a hoof against her golden regalia, looking down at her reflection in her jewelry. “What you described doesn’t sound like Waltz, though.”

“What do you mean, Princess?”

“Waltz has never shown this level of determination before in any of the cases that’s he taken part in.” Celestia’s horn flared with a golden light. A large, white envelope popped into existence. On the tab of the envelop read, J. Waltz. “I decided to do some digging. At first I thought Deep Edge would be the one prosecuting but then I found out Waltz took his place. Normally such sudden changes for an attorney would take days for them happen in a court of law. This change only took a matter of hours.”

The pink envelope hovered towards Truth who grasped it in his hooves. Opening up the envelope, Truth’s eyes scanned over the papers inside. Each one a different case that all had Waltz as the prosecutor. “Looks like Waltz already has a long history of prosecuting small cases.”

Over each of the case files was a picture of Waltz shaking hoofs with various ponies in each one. As he continued to peruse each file, Truth took note of the verdicts of each trial. “Has Waltz ever lost a court case?” asked Truth.

Celestia flipped over the files before stopping at the last one. “Most of the cases that are hoofed down to Waltz were very clear cut. There were strolls in the park compared to the one both you and he are now facing.”

Truth looked down at the case file Celestia was showing him. The words Not Guilty emblazed at the bottom from a rubber stamp. What stood out the most to him was the name of the pony who was pressing charges. Clear Aspect was shaking hooves with Waltz, his eyes lived at the now deceased unicorn.

“This case, Truth, was his last case for a while. It dealt a serious blow to his ego,” explained Celestia. “A whistleblower in one of Aspect’s banks slipped a tidbit of gossip to the newspapers.” With a quick flick of her magic, Celestia opened up the file. “Aspect had been charged with bank fraud. The trial lasted only a day though, no definitive evidence had been found.”

“I see.” Truth placed a hoof on the page, scrutinizing every detail that was written on it. “This case was just last year.”

“Yes. Now we find ourselves with another case involving Waltz and Aspect again,” said Celestia. “Mr. Truth, do you think you’ll be able to prove Bright Aspect’s innocence?”

Truth crossed his front legs across his chest. “The problem right now is that nopony else had access to Aspect’s study besides her. The windows were locked from the inside and none of them were broken from what I could see.”

“I have faith in you Truth to find out what happened.”

Just Waltz's Case Files
Composition of every case Waltz has worked on.
Had a previous case with Clear Aspect.

“Thank you, princess.” Tucking away Waltz’s case files in Spike’s bag, Truth’s hooves brushed against the envelope from Aspect’s room. “Princess, may I ask you a favor?”

Celestia’s eyes lit up at Truth’s elated tone. “Of course, I’ll help you anyway that I can.”

Truth pulled out the letter bearing Celestia’s seal on it. No sooner had Truth revealed the envelope, he felt a sudden invisible pull on it. The princess stared down at the parchment clenched tightly in his hooves, her regal face awash with fear.

“Where did you find that letter Truth?” asked Celestia. A thin bead of sweat trailed its way down her brow as Celestia’s focus rested on the letter.

“It was inside of Aspect’s study. I wasn’t aware of that you were the one who wrote it until Spike pointed out your royal seal.” Truth felt Spike grab his side like a foal having their hoof caught in the cookie jar. “Princess, is there something you know about this case you’re not telling us?”

The sound of iron chains hissed in Truth’s ear as the ghostly snares formed around Celestia. Five padlocks snared each of the chains, grinding them all to a halt. “Nothing I tell you right now will be able to help you, Truth. At least not yet.”

“Thank you, Princess Celestia.”

“Before I forget, I was able to ‘convince’ the police to let you talk with Bright Aspect. From now on, you’ll be able to talk with her freely.” Celestia turned to leave but stopped. “If you need help with anything else Truth, don’t be afraid to approach me. I’ve got a hoof in this case too.” On that note, Celestia walked through the open doorway and out of the house.

“Well, that was helpful. I think,” Truth said aloud. Stowing away the letter, Truth lowered himself to his belly to let Spike climb aboard.

“Where are we heading now? Are we going to see Bright?” asked Spike as he adjusted himself on Truth’s back.

Truth shook his head. “Not just yet. I want to have a talk with Fizz Pop. There are a few things we need to clear up with him.”
“Okay. I know where Pop’s bar is. Twilight and I use to eat there all the time.”

Truth and Spike left the manor, determined to find the answers that they sought. What stood between them and the Truth was an old bartender and they both knew this would be a bitter drink.