By the time Adorabelle made it back to the Gifted Unicorn Academy, it was time for evening classes. The campus was being swarmed with zebras and older unicorns; there were even a few pegasi and earth ponies. A small flock of griffins came in for a landing, causing Adorabelle to gape in awe. As part of its mission to cultivate intelligence in all fields, the GUA had decided to open its doors to non-unicorns who showed great academic potential, but because half of the school board and most of the alumni were still somewhat racist, they still weren’t allowed on campus when the ‘normal’ students were having class.
Maybe it had been a mistake to come back. Maybe he was already gone. Maybe she should have just headed to the prosecutor’s office by herself…
…No, there he was. She’d recognize that purple jacket anywhere.
Violet Edge lay asleep on a small white bench, his head on a thick legal book for a pillow. His coat was a soft gray, his black mane was parted around his horn, his tail lay alongside his body covering his flank. He wore a tattered purple jacket, patched at the elbows and coming apart at the collar. His saddlebag lay on the ground under the bench, black with a golden balance etched into the leather. Adorabelle had picked it out, of course; if she let Violet Edge have his way when it came to his wardrobe, he’d wear nothing but that purple jacket all day, every day. She’d only let him wear it today because he’d had an important test to take.
Adorabelle Beauty watched his chest rise and fall and took in the way his mane crumpled against his face before she realized what she was doing. She reached out and shook his shoulder gently. “Hey, Violet?”
Violet Edge sat bolt upright, his brilliant violet eyes wide with terror. “What!? How long have I been sleeping?” He saw a group of passing winged zebras. “Oh no…”
“Thanks for waiting for me,” Adorabelle said.
“I wasn’t waiting! I fell asleep!”
“I was, y’know, giving you a chance to pretend you, like, did this on purpose…” Adorabelle wondered if he noticed her injury.
“I should go,” Violet Edge said, stumbling onto the ground. “Oww…”
“Sleepy hooves?” Adorabelle asked.
“I’m fine!” Violet Edge said, wincing with every step. He telekinetically lifted his saddlebags into place, adjusting them as best as he could to hide his blank flank. It was an entirely pointless exercise, since everypony at school already knew about it and didn’t care.
“I can carry those, y’know.”
“No! Stallions carry books for mares, not the other way around!” He turned and saw Adorabelle’s annoyed expression. “I-I mean, if I was actually having trouble I could just carry them magically.”
“Okay…”
They started on their way, awkwardly trying to think of something else to talk about.
When they were halfway there, Adorabelle broke the silence. “Going to the criminal observatory with me tonight?”
“Whatever crime you’re planning, I’ll have no part in it.”
There was a pause. “Was that a… joke?”
“Was it funny?”
“Well, like, not really…”
“Then I guess not.”
Adorabelle huffed. “Just, like, answer the question.”
“But what are you doing there?”
“It’s Gemini.”
Pause. “Oh.”
Adorabelle waited again for an answer, but none came. They finished their trip in more silence. What did she expect? Violet Edge never came with her. Nopony did.
***
The prosecutors’ office had once been a grand mansion, setting it apart from all the other municipal buildings nearby. Past the wrought iron gate was a lush garden, mostly tulips for the summer, with a silver fountain in the middle. The mansion was several stories tall, the product of many generations of increasingly successful lawyers adding on to their clan’s home. The latest in the pseudo-royal line, Iron Hoof, had achieved the highest honor of them all as Celestia’s Attorney General.
“So, like, what are we doing today?” Adorabelle asked as they trotted up the wide marble steps to the front door.
“Library. I have to study.”
“You just finished your test-” Adorabelle started to open the door but stopped herself. “Um, hey, I’m supposed to not open any doors for, like, 16 hours or something. Be a gentlestallion?”
Violet Edge gave her an odd look, then approached the huge oak doors. He lowered his horn and frowned in concentration.
“You can, like, push it open-”
“No I can’t!”
The edges of the door glowed violet. They rattled slightly.
“Don’t, like, try to prove anything. Your guardian isn’t exactly standing behind the door watching-”
“You don’t know that!” Sweat ran to the end of a strand of his black mane. It trembled at the edge, then fell. The doors still weren’t moving.
“It’s actually easy if you push-” Adorabelle gasped. “Oh, wait, actually-”
The doorknob smashed inward. A stallion inside cried in rage and pain.
“I was mistaken,” Adorabelle whimpered. “Pull, not push.”
Violet Edge gasped and pressed one hoof to his mouth.
The door swung open slowly.
“Ooooh, I was mistaken twice,” Adorabelle squeaked. “Your guardian was on the other side of the door.”
Perfect Karma cut an imposing figure. He was broad shouldered and hard jawed, and his light blue coat was covered with a darker blue jacket, ostentatious with gold buttons and silver lace. His steely gray mane in a long ponytail matched his one gray eye. A black eyepatch covered where his left eye used to be, it’s leather strap making a harsh slash across his forehead. His cutie mark was a set of silver scales with a black sword pinning one pan in a lower position that the other.
His horn currently had a piece of door impaled on it.
Violet Edge cried out, sat down, and pressed both hooves to his mouth.
There was only one thing to do, and it had to be done fast.
Adorabelle dashed forward and bowed her head in submission. “I-I forgot doors open outward. I’m, like, so sorry.”
“Well you should be!” Perfect Karma flicked the piece of wood off of his horn, somehow managing to hit Adorabelle with it. “Not only has your reckless magic injured me, you have damaged a historic building and somehow managed to fail at your sparkly, unique, magical talent.” He narrowed his eyes. “I use the word ‘talent’ as loosely as possible.”
Tears filled Adorabelle’s eyes. “I-I’m so sorry…”
“You already said that. I despise redundancy.” Perfect Karma’s gaze snapped to Violet Edge. “Your summer schedule. Are you with this young hussy more than necessary?”
The young stallion lowered his hooves and stared at the ground. “None of the same classes… sir.”
“Good. The bar exam is approaching. Do not fail me.” He turned and strode away, stately in his bearing.
Violet Edge tipped to one side. Adorabelle rushed to catch him.
“Hey, like, don’t collapse now, m’kay? Let’s get you to the library…”
***
The prosecutor’s library used to be a basement and wine cellar. Most of the wines had been donated to various charity balls to make room for legal books, case files, and a few evidence lockers for special circumstances. Adorabelle and Violet Edge took one of the study tables, a heavy mahogany square table with suns and lions carved into the legs. The two velvet-padded stools had matching legs.
Adorabelle had a regular math book, a regular notebook, and a small abacus. She scribbled idly with a sparkly blue pencil in her mouth, her mind only half on her work and half on the young stallion across from her.
Violet Edge had two law dictionaries, a book of collected cases, and several loose case files scattered across more than his share of the table. His quill was twice as long as his horn and was a fiery gradient from red to yellow. Every now and then, the extra heavy quill toppled from his telekinetic grip, and Adorabelle nudged it back into place when she noticed.
Idly, Adorabelle started counting to one hundred on the abacus, staring at Violet Edge through the bars. His violet eyes scanned the pages with intense concentration.
“Cute, right?”
Adorabelle gasped and spun around. “I wasn’t- Oh, hi Mystic Faerie.”
The lavender unicorn mare smiled at Adorabelle’s reaction. “Hi, Adorabelle, Violet Edge. Classes going okay?”
“Everything’s set for a, uh, super summer semester!” Adorabelle beamed.
“And how did the test go?” Mystic Faerie turned to Violet Edge. “Don’t look surprised; Adorabelle wouldn’t let you risk ripping your dad’s jacket even more unless luck was needed.”
Violet Edge blushed and hung his head. “Not… terrible.”
“Oh, the semester barely started. How could you have a test this early?” The yin medallion around Mystic Faerie’s neck swung as she shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure you did fine.”
“Got any cases?” Adorabelle asked, leaning her stool over to see what the young defense attorney was holding.
“Never happy unless busy,” Mystic said, holding up a thick stack of folders in her telekinetic grip. “Vandalism tomorrow, petty theft in a week. All good practice for when I finally get a newsworthy trial.”
“I’ll be there!” Adorabelle cheered.
“No, don’t be,” Mystic Faerie said, frowning and putting the cases behind her. “You’ll just keep falling behind in school if you keep skipping to watch me and your dad.”
“It’s real world experience; I have it cleared and everything. Don’t worry about me, y’know? Worry about your clients!”
“Oh, I do.” Mystic Faerie’s brow furrowed. “I’d… I’d better get back to work.” She turned to leave, her long brown mane and tail swishing as she left.
Adorabelle turned to Violet Edge. “She’s, like, your idol, right?”
Violet Edge winced. “Maybe not…”
“Stop changing your mind!” Adorabelle rolled her eyes. “Ugh, I mean, like, y’know, why do you think your, like, cutie mark won’t show? You’ve, like, wanted to be a defense attorney since you were, like, tiny and stuff. I know Perfect Karma will, like, kick you out of his house if you do, but, y’know, isn’t that totes what you want too?”
Violet Edge turned back to his case and kept reading. Adorabelle kept glaring at him.
A few minutes later, Violet Edge said, “Well, not all prosecutors are like my guardian.”
“I, like, hope you’re not so slow coming up with, like, counter arguments in court,” Adorabelle hissed. “Don’t be, like such a totes pushover.”
Violet Edge didn’t answer.
In fact, he didn’t speak to her for the next two hours, no matter what Adorabelle said. But she was used to his sulking by now, so when she finished her homework, she said goodbye and headed for the courthouse.
***
Adorabelle’s dad’s office was the real deal. Third floor real-estate, polished wood door, frosted glass window. A bronze plaque declared it the workspace of “Honorable Sterling Scales”, and Adorabelle squealed internally with pride every time she saw it.
She knocked on the door with three stately thumps.
“It’s unlocked?” The pony inside said. Or asked.
“If you’re sure!” Adorabelle nosed the door open, opting to avoid telekinesis altogether. Although Dr. Whooves had hinted that it might not actually make a difference as to whether her powers worked.
Her dad’s office was larger than Adorabelle’s bedroom at home. Bookshelves lined the walls, filled with neatly sorted law books, case files, and family photos. The books were sorted by type, then by color, preferring visual symmetry to anything else. His desk was one huge flat wooden expanse, devoid of everything except his name plate, a pen-and-pencil set his boss had given him, and his gavel on a stand. The far wall was all window, giving a magnificent view of Canterlot. Half of the window went all the way to the floor, but the other half had a window seat with a purple velvet cushion. Sterling Scales was perched here, a book lying open in front of him. He turned to Adorabelle as she entered and gave her a sheepish smile.
“Oh, it’s you!” The chocolate brown stallion climbed down and walked over to her. Father and daughter embraced, and he stroked her mane and sighed wistfully.
“How was today?” Adorabelle asked.
“Oh… keeping up with the times.” Slowly, he pulled back to look at Adorabelle. “No murder cases, so nothing much to say.” He looked down and gave a start. “Y-your leg! Adorabelle, what-”
“It-it’s going to be fine, Dad, I mean, really…”
She had to tell him the whole story. His face went from panicked to distressed.
“I can’t believe… I can’t believe it,” he whispered. “I mean, Dr. Whooves, maybe, I suppose, that I believe, but Romana should have… I just can’t believe Safeguard of all creatures… he’s usually so cautious…” He stared out the window and his whispers trailed into silence. Adorabelle blinked her blue eyes worriedly.
She nuzzled her father’s ear a bit. “Aw, cheer up. It doesn’t hurt that much, really it doesn’t. And I’ll be better before you, like, even know what happened!” She smiled.
Sterling Scales turned to her and smiled as well. “So, then, Adorabelle, if there’s anything I can do…”
“Welllll, I know something very special you’ll LOVE!” Adorabelle put her head under her dad’s chin, letting her mane tickle him. “Y’know, it’s time for a new constellation, and-”
“No, Adorabelle! No!”
Adorabelle drew back in shock. Her dad’s expression had changed completely.
“Wh-what?” she asked.
“Adorabelle…” Sterling Scales took a deep breath. “I don’t think you should be going to the criminal observatory anymore. I’ve let this go on too long.”
“Wh-what?” she repeated. “No! No, you can’t! This is sooooo important! You need to come too, so you can’t ban me and-”
“It’s too late to do anything!” Tears appeared in his eyes, for all he tried to look fierce. “You’re not going to learn anything that can undo the past.”
“What are you talking about? You, like, think I’m just doing this to investigate or something? No! It’s about family-”
“Adorabelle!” Sterling Scales grabbed Adorabelle and pulled her close, pressing her head to his chest. Adorabelle let him, even if he was being rough. “You… you’re all I have.”
“No I’m not,” she said, slipping her head from his grip and stepping back to glare at him. “And I’m not gonna vanish or something if I go. Where’d all this come from?”
Sterling Scales turned away from her. “I… I could never make you do anything, could I?”
“No, and if you think I’m going to just-”
“But if you love me, don’t go.”
Silence hung thick in the air. Adorabelle glared at Sterling Scales’s back.
“I’m, like, gonna expect an apology for you being weird, m’kay?” She stepped backward toward the door. “And, like, I hope to see you there!” She slipped out and shut the door behind her. It was too heavy to slam.