//------------------------------// // Bottom of the Bottle // Story: Clear Truth: Ace Attorney - The Timed Turnabout // by Dapper Guy //------------------------------// -Star Street, Canterlot- -12:20 P.M.- Spike pointed towards an open road leading towards Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. “Turn left up on this street and it’ll be on our left, Truth.” “You got it Spike.” After several wrong turns and twists, Spike decided that it would be best to guide Truth there instead of relying on relying on his intuition. Falling into the river in broad daylight was a contributing factor of how poor his sense of direction was. Thankfully the little guy’s got better a better sense of direction than I do. Since their departure from Aspect’s mansion, Truth decided that now was the perfect time to pull some answers out of Fizz Pop. “Hey Spike, how well do you know Fizz Pop?” Despite his overall success at clearing his name, Truth still remained in the dark about the pegasus. Spike had been born in Canterlot and he talked about going to the Jeweled Juice Bar often like it was his second home. Maybe he could learn more about Fizz Pop from the young dragon, maybe even a few secrets. Spike scratched his fins in thought. “Well, he makes the most awesome Sapphire Sundaes ever, of all time.” Truth could hear Spike’s stomach groaning in anticipation as he mentioned the thought of ice cream. His stomach gurgled in agreement, reminding the defense attorney that he hadn’t eaten lunch yet. “Okay, but have you ever heard about him doing anything illegal?” “Not that I can think of,” replied Spike as he put a claw on his nose. He could hardly remember hearing anything like that before. Then again, he was usually faced down into a bowl of ice cream when he ever paid a visit to Fizz Pop’s bar Looks like I’ll have to pry out the information the other way, guessed Truth. Truth stopped out in front of a double story building. Affixed above the entrance, the words ‘The Jeweled Juice Bar’ shone brightly even in the midday sun. Several small amethysts lit up around the edges of the sign, each one glowing and then dimming in a spectral show. Guess the gems are charged with magic to power the lighting in the sign. Truth had seen it several times before in Manehatten. Small gems were infused with magic were embedded into signs to give it an extra flair. In contrast to the bar’s sign, the building itself looked out of place with the rest of Canterlot. The lacquered wood gave it a rather rural appearance, a blatant contrast of simplicity when compared to the shops surrounding it. Out in front of the windows were dark oak tables with colorful pillow seats for anypony who wanted to enjoy their drinks outside. “Well, let’s see if he’s in then.” -1st Floor, Jeweled Juice Bar- -12:23 P.M.- Stepping through the door, Truth felt a small shiver after stepping inside. The dim lighting from the lantern hardly brought any illumination to the empty bar. Unease crept over Truth’s muzzle as the sound of even his hoofsteps echoed loudly as he made his way over to the bar stand. The entire place was covered with a small layer of dust. Guess none of Pop’s employees bothered to come by and clean the place up. Tables were emblazed with Fizz Pop’s cutie mark, a purple fizzing bottle pouring into an empty glass. The scent of old liquor and stale brews permeated through the air, making Truth wince at the smell. Chairs, tables, even the bottles set up on the shelves behind the bar stand remained untouched The Jeweled Juice Bar, for lack of a better term, looked dead to Truth. I haven’t been this creeped out about being in an empty restaurant since than that time my parents took me to that old pizzeria, recalled Truth. The thought of it still gave him nightmares when he remembered those magically animated puppets singing and dancing. He could’ve sworn that those dolls crept closer when he wasn’t watching them. “Ahh, there you two are,” came a hearty voice somewhere behind the bar stand. Truth doubled over himself at the sudden interruption of the silence. Fizz Pop’s head popped out from behind a storage room door beyond the serving rack. Making his way upfront, Truth thought he was looking at a completely different stallion. His mane had been brushed, his mustache combed neatly with a bit of gloss. His feathers were preened to perfection, not a single pinion out of place looked out of place. “My dear buddy Spike and of course my savior, Mr. Truth,” exclaimed Fizz Pop with exuberance. “I’m glad that rock head was able to pass on my message before you left.” “Please, come and sit down. Don’t worry about a thing, it’s all on me today.” Fizz Pop began uncorking bottles, tossing them into the air with a flick of his hooves and caching them in his outstretched wings. Spike stood back with childish glee, watching Fizz Pop fling soda bottles into the air. Truth had to admit that Fizz Pop definitely knew how to put on a show for his customers. Pouring several drinks into one cup with a dollop of whipped cream on top, Pop flung it across the top of the stand over to Spike. “So, Mr. Truth, care for anything in particular?” asked the now energetic barkeeper. “Surprise me." As Pop began to start mixing up his drink, Truth settled himself down on one of the elevated seats. A foamy, light purple drink was plopped down in front of him. Taking took a small sip of it, Truth’s muzzle curled a bit at the taste of grape juice and liquor. “Surprised you, didn’t I?” Pop gave a cheeky grin as he watched Truth click his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “That’s one way to put it,” Truth grimaced. He wasn’t expecting to served such a potent drink but he didn’t exactly tell Pop what he wanted. “Little early for something so strong, isn’t it?” “It’s five o’ clock somewhere, my friend,” Pop answered as he began to pour another drink. “I don't you could come close as to how many ponies come in here for a quick pick me up. If it's not your taste, do you want something else?” “Actually, I’m thirsty for a different kind of drink.” Truth began to loosen the knot around his tie, clasping something hidden inside of it. “Something in particular you’d like?” inquired Pop as he began to open several new bottles. “I want to know what exactly what you were doing at Clear Aspect’s mansion on the day of the murder?” The light around Fizz Pop began to darken until Truth and he were swallowed by a shroud of darkness. Metal chains began to form wrap around him in the ghostly prison that Fizz Pop couldn’t see. Two red padlocks formed in the air and snapped onto the chains, halting them in place. It’s time for this bartender to pour me up a big glass of truth. Why I Was at Aspect’s Mansion “Well, you know, he asked me to come over to discuss our future business plans.” The bartender began pouring out a strong drink into a beer stein. “I had nothing against Aspect. He is, err, was, the one who gave me my start up loan for me to setup shop here in Canterlot." “So you you’re telling me your visit was purely for business? I’m glad you brought that up.” Truth pulled Spike’s rucksack over to him and bean searching through his evidence. “You are?” said Fizz with a worried look. “Yes, because I have something that tells me otherwise.” Truth slammed down his hoof on the bar’s surface. In his hoof, was a bloodied knife with Fizz Pop’s cutiemark on the handle. “Sorry Fizz but there’s been something that bothers me right now. Nopony in their right mind would bring a knife to a meeting.” The frothing liquid inside the stein exploded upward, covering Fizz Pop in the dark draft. Mopping off his muzzle with his kerchief he began pouring more alcohol. Unknown to him, one of the locks let out a deep groan but still remained whole. “Well, that’s my personal knife I carry around me at all times. At the bottom is a retractable bottle opener.” Fizz Pop pointed his hoof at the insignia, his cutie mark, in the middle of the knife. “If you press that emblem, it’ll pop right out.” Applying a small amount of pressure on the center of the knife, a small metal ring did pop out of the knife. “So why was it at the crime scene then?” asked Truth as he examined Pop’s knife further. “Like I said before, Truth, it’s my personal knife. I brought a bottle of spirits to celebrate,” explained Fizz Pop. Taking a quick swig of the drink, Fizz Pop’s face jerked back at the taste. “Sorry but that contradicts another piece of evidence I have,” countered Truth. Truth shoved a white, bloodstained cloth onto the countertop. “I think you know what this is already, Fizz Pop. Your hoofkerchief, covered in none other than Aspect’s blood that was found at the crime scene.” The sound of metal shattering bit into his ears as he watched one of the locks break apart. One down but one more to go. What is it that you’re so adamant to protect, Pops? Once again, Fizz Pop’s head was covered in dark brown ale. Mopping off his face again, he gave Truth a rather pained smile. “Why are you asking all this? Didn’t you just prove that I couldn’t’ve killed Aspect in court? Sounds like you’re trying to get me convicted here.” Truth heard a bell tingle behind him from the front door. Who walked in? Augh, don’t lose focus Truth. I have to keep pressing Fizz Pop for more answers. “Far from it, Fizz Pop. I want to know what exactly you’re trying to keep from me,” said Truth. “From where we stood at in court, you were definitely suspicious. A knife and hoofkerchief in the victim’s blood, you may as well have painted ‘Guilty’ on your flanks.” “Look, just trust me on this one. There’s no need to delve any deeper into this.” Fizz Pop dropped his head onto his bar. Just like in the detention center, the pegasi’s energy was spent. Truth tapped the bridge of his muzzle in thought. It looks like he won’t be giving up his secret without a fight. Guess pegasi truly are warriors at heart. “Fizz Pop, I know this may be a tad painful but I have to know. One piece of evidence that could help clear Bright’s name.” Fizz raised his head, an expression of fear of knowing what Truth was about to present to him. “Aspect was going to make you sell your bar.” Truth revealed the stack of papers that had been submitted by Gruff Guard in court. “After nearly paying off your debt to him, he was about to leave you with nothing.” The bottle of spirits erupted in a geyser of aged ale in Fizz Pop’s hoof. His entire body was soaked, giving him the look of a moss covered log with wings. After the brief rainstorm of ale, Fizz Pop began in vain to mop up his muzzle. “Truth, you sure served up a mean drink with a nasty punch to it.” With that, the other lock broke and released the chains encircling Fizz Pop. The surrounding area brightened up, allowing Truth to fully see Fizz Pop. “You are right, Truth. Aspect called me over on the sole purpose of selling my bar,” lamented Fizz Pop. Picking up a green towel from a shelf behind the bar, Fizz began to dry himself off. “You had a means, capability and a motive. It was pure luck that got you out of jail, Fizz Pop. Please, tell me what happened inside Aspect’s study,” pleaded Truth. To his right, Spike had taken a seat right next to him. Judging from how clean the bowl was, Spike must’ve licked it clean. “I wanted to retire and live out my autumn years somewhere sunny. It was a surprise when Aspect approached me with an offer. Give him the bar and wipe away the debt,” confessed Fizz Pop. “It sounded too good to be true. We had to discuss the finer details with our second investor but he seemed just as eager as I was.” Putting away all of the evidence, Truth tugged on his tie. “That solves one problem but there’s still something you haven’t told me. Why was your knife covered in blood and why did you wipe away your prints?” Fizz Pop let out a strained sigh. “When I entered Aspect’s study, I saw him lying in front of his desk lying on the floor. I thought he had fallen asleep and passed out on the floor again.” “Again?” Finally cleaning himself off, Fizz Pop threw the ale soaked bar towel into a trash bin off to the side. “He was a notorious workaholic, surprised that wasn’t what did him in. I went to wake him up but when I was standing over him, I noticed a bit of blood on the floor.” Taking the hoofkerchief from Truth, he eyed it carefully, as if it was painful to even hold. “I thought Aspect had knocked himself out against the desk. When I pulled out my hoofkerchief my knife slipped out of my pocket and it landed straight in the puddle of blood.” His testimony matches everything about the crime scene to a T. Truth pulled out his notepad and began writing down everything that Fizz Pop had been telling him. “When I picked up Aspect, I saw that a hole that had been cut deep into his throat,” continued Fizz Pop. He rubbed his own throat with a shaking hoof as he recalled the painful memory. “The first thing to jump to my mind was to wipe off the blood off the knife. If somepony were to walk in the room-“ “-It would’ve looked like you just murdered Aspect,” finished Truth. Taking a quick sip of his drink, the stinging bitter taste of his cocktail sharpened his mind. It’s almost too perfect of a set-up. Fizz Pop took a purple bottle of the rack behind him and removed the cork stopper. Taking a large gulp from the bottle, he smacked his lips together in contentment. “You could even say it’s something out some has-beens play at the Ponyville Theater.” Truth finished writing down every detail that Fizz Pop had told him. Steadying the pencil in hoof, he turned to face the bartender with a serious glare. "There’s one last thing I want to know, Fizz Pop.” “And that is?” “Why, out of all these years, would Aspect want your bar? It’s completely out of the blue,” mused Truth, as he tapped his pencil against the top of his notepad. Fizz Pop gave Truth a mile long stare before speaking up. “I couldn’t agree more.” “You can’t?” said Truth in utter befuddlement. Taking another gulp from the bottle, Fizz Pop slumped forward a little. The smell of the pungent alcohol burned Truth’s nostrils as Fizz Pop went on with his story. “When he first approached me, he seemed rather nervous. It was easy to tell that something was deeply bothering him, how he worded everything.” Chugging the rest of his drink down, Fizz Pop threw it over his shoulder. The bottle sailed through the air before crashing down in a recycle bin beside the trash bin. “The only other pony who would know is my other investor. He probably knows everything.” “I can say that without a doubt, I do actually.” A rather polished voice with an underlying Canterlot accent spoke up behind Truth. A white stallion, a good hoof taller than himself stood near the entrance of the bar. He walked towards the bar with a swagger in his step. “The name is Fancy Pants, Mr. Truth. I feel that I’m obligated to let you know, you were quite the performer in court today.”