Day 3: Trial: The Red Pony
October 11, 11:44 AM
Canterlot District Court
Defendant Lobby
WHAT HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO!? Twilight thought.
"Twilight? You look like you're having another panic attack." Spike said.
"NO I'M NOT!!!"
Twilight was in quite the dilemma. She accused Star Cestus of being the attacker without bringing in the concrete evidence to prove it. If she was unable to prove it, Rarity would be declared guilty of the crime. Naturally, she freaked out.
"What am I going to do? So far, I've been defending Rarity using evidence I know I had on me. I don't actually have anything I can use to pin the crime on him. Heck, I'm not even sure if he did it!"
"Then I guess we have no choice but to let him take the fall." Spike said. "Too bad. He was even nice enough to bring me breakfast."
Weren't you complaining about that before? Twilight thought. "Well, let's think it over again real quick. Diamond Tiara said she saw a small, red and white pony. Rarity was at her room, Star Cestus was found there..."
"Yeah. AFTER Rarity was caught." Spike said. "Do we have anything in our evidence that can prove he was there before?"
"Well, let's see..." Twilight said as she went through her evidence. "His punching bag? No, that's nothing really. Broken glass? No, that has nothing but my own blood sample. Basket of gems...wait, isn't this yours?"
"Oh, sorry. I mixed it with your stuff because I didn't want to carry it."
Spike, you lazy a...wait a second...WAIT A SECOND!!!
After remembering what the basket was and where it came from, Twilight's brain started to tick again.
----------------------------
"Wait, then what's that you got there?"
"Huh? Oh, I remembered I promised your little dragon friend I'd bring him something since he couldn't eat important evidence." Cestus answered, referring to the scrying crystal they found.
"Oh, great! I didn't get a chance to eat breakfast." Spike said as he walked to the basket, but he lost his smile after looking in the basket. "Aww, they're only cheap quartz. That's dissappointing."
Even earlier than that...
..."Sir, the crystal isn't in this room."
"Keep looking." Twilight said, catching the police off guard. "That crystal is the most important evidence of this whole case.
"I'm sorry, your highness. But we've checked this room the crystal isn't where it should be. Somepony must've already taken it."
----------------------------
After remembering everything that had happened over the past day, Twilight's jaw had dropped in horror. Not only did she realized that it really was Star Cestus who attacked Prince Blue Blood, she realized just how much trouble she was in.
"He...HE FED YOU THE SCRYING CRYSTAL!?"
"He did what?" Spike asked.
Horrified by her revelation, she snatched Spike's basket and began digging into it to find what she was hoping to find. The basket was full of clear and rather worthless looking quartz crystals and were hard to distinguish from one another.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, OH NOOOOOO!!!" Twilight screamed.
"Twilight, what's wrong?" Spike asked.
"Spike, this is VERY important. Out of all of the gems you ate from here, were there any that seemed different from the rest? One that probably tasted better than the rest?"
"Hey, yeah. How did you--"
"WHERE IS IT!?"
In though Twilight had trouble finding the crystal she was after, Spike was able to dip his hand in the basket and retrieve it instantly. He showed Twilight a that bared a striking resemblance to the scrying crystal they already had. The one difference: there was a huge bite taken out of it.
"Spike! This is it! This is the missing scrying crystal!" Twilight said with cheer. "He must've given it to you so you would destroy the evidence for him! This means Star Cestus really is responsible! We can even prove it!"
"Oh, really?" Spike said, pointing to the big bite mark in the crystal. "I don't think that thing will work anymore."
To test Spike's theory, Twilight tried to activate the scrying crystal. A hologram did appear, but it didn't show an actual image, but rather just noise due to the missing information. Since there was no longer a recording on it, meaning they still had no proof that Cestus was the culprit.
"It's still something, which is more than we had before." Twilight said. "I'm sure we can figure out how Cestus could frame Rarity now that it's clear he did it."
"How?"
"The same way we've been doing it before. Finding contradictions and exposing the truth. Since we know Cestus will be lying, we should be able to find them."
"In that case, let's go back in there and find those lies!" Spike said with enthusiasm.
----------------------------
October 11, 11:52 AM
Canterlot District Court
Courtroom 1
As soon as the everypony got back from the recess, the Doctor slammed his gavel down to continue the trial. He knew there was a chance the trial would go on for a while, so he wanted to get it started right away.
"Court is now back in session." The Doctor said. "Is the next witness ready to take the stand?"
"Why of course." Discord answered. "I pity you, Twilight. I had to let Red blow off some steam when he heard you accused him of this great crime. It was hilarious."
I better cast a magic barrier to protect myself. Twilight thought.
"Well, ready or not, bring him to the stand." The Doctor requested.
----------------------------
A minute later, Star Cestus took to the stand as he was ordered. Just as Discord said, he was not at all happy, having his eyes pointed at Twilight while trying to face the Doctor. Twilight could tell that he was unbelievably angry, causing her to gulp.
"Red, state your name and occupation, would you?" Discord asked.
"Star Cestus. Chief Commissioner of Canterlot's police force." Cestus answered. "But before we start, I just want to say that this is the most ridiculous thing I've ever had to experienced."
The Doctor whook his head in disagreement. "You have no idea what "ridiculous" actually means." The Doctor said. "But I guess for you, this is quite interesting. Anyway, what do you think of these accusations?"
"I already said it. It's rediculous! I'm a pony of the law, pal. I took an oath uphold my duties and the law. Ever since I became commissioner, those fat cats haven't been able to bribe my men. We've actually managed to get some of them behind bars. Hahaha."
The Doctor looked down at Cestus with a smile. "You must be doing a fine job. Many races could learn a lesson from you ponies work."
Many races? Is something wrong with griffins and minotaur's view of the law? Twilight asked herself, though she quickly dismissed the thought after finding it to be pointless. "If you're so confident, than surely you won't mind giving us a testimony."
"Fine. What do you want me to say?" Cestus asked.
"I know what you can say." Twilight said. "Tell us about your day. From when you first found out about the crime, up to when you arrested Rarity."
The Doctor nodded in agreement. "Very well. Commissioner, please tell us about your day in more detail."
----------------------------
--Testimony: My Day--
"Well, I got an anonymous tip saying that the prince would die that day. So I ran to the hotel so I could get to the prince. On my way, I found Giant Hand and told him about what I heard. So we ran back to the room, which was when we found the defendant."
--End of Testimony--
----------------------------
"And that's pretty much my day in a nutshell, pal." Cestus said. "And if it makes the princess feel any better, me and my officers still don't think Rarity did it."
"Hmm...doesn't sound much different from what we already know." The Doctor said. "Wait! You don't think the defendant committed the crime? Please show us some evidence!"
"Actually, we couldn't find such evidence."
That's because you had Spike eat it. Twilight thought.
"Oh well, that's a shame." Discord said. "Since this is all a waste of time, how about we just end the trial now?"
The Doctor shook his head in disagreement. "I'm sorry, but I promised Miss Sparkle a chance to cross-examine the witness. You may begin."
It's a pretty tight testimony. I hope I can find something.
----------------------------
--Cross-Examination--
"Well, I got an anonymous tip saying that the prince would die that day. "
HOLD IT!
"You hate the prince. Why did you actually take tip so seriously?" Twilight asked.
"Like I said, I fight for the law." Cestus said. "Even though something bad would happen to my worst enemy, I chose to do what I could to protect him. He's royalty after all."
"But Giant Hand is captain of the freaking royal guards, and was more than willing to abandon him."
Cestus growled as Twilight made a good argument, pushing him in a corner.
OBJECTION!
"Yes, yes. Everypony hates the prince. It's no secret." Discord said. "At least give Red credit. He's the only pony in this city who actually does his job well."
I sure hope he wasn't directing that to me...because he's sort of right. Twilight thought. "Alright. What did you do next?"
"So I ran to the hotel so i could get to the prince."
He went to the hotel. Not much to work there. I guess his tip would've just told him to go there. I don't think pressing him will help me much right now. Twilight thought cautiously.
"On my way, I found Giant Hand and told him about what I heard."
HOLD IT!
"If I recall, he was across the street, right?" Twilight asked. "What exactly did you tell him?"
"I told him what was on the note I got. I even brought it with me today." Cestus said.
"The court will accept it as evidence." The Doctor said. "Please hand it over."
As requested, Cestus handed over the anonymous tip we was given. After Twilight got her hooves on it, she gave it a quick read, hoping to find something suspicious about it.
----------------------------
Prince Blueblood is in great danger. If something is not done soon, he will found, attacked, and killed at 2:05 PM.
--A concern citizen.
----------------------------
"2:05? That would've been the time when Diamond Tiara some somepony." Twilight said.
"Well, that's just what the note said. There's no telling when the crime actually happened." Cestus said. "Heck, even if he did die, an autopsy report can only be so accurate."
"Let's just be thankful no harm came to anyone...err, anypony." The Doctor said.
Darn it. His tip is to vague. Twilight thought. I can't cross-examine him when he gives a testimony like this.
Twilight carefully looked at the note she was given over and over again. She tried to find something that didn't match up with the evidence, but to no prevail. Then, after taking a deep breath to calm down, she thought of something else.
Alright. Maybe instead of looking for something that's here on the note...I got it! There's actually something missing on this note! Twilight thought after getting her idea. "Cestus, can you please repeat the last part of your testimony? The part before you met with Giant Hand?"
As Twilight asked, Cestus repeated the requested testimony, but started to grow more impatient since he had to repeat himself.
"So I ran to the hotel so I could get to the prince."
OBJECTION!
After shouting her objection, Twilight shook her head at Cestus in shame. "Star Cestus, I don't think you realize it, but you just contradicted yourself."
"What are you talking about, pal? There was nothing wrong with what I said before!"
"Before, no. Now, yes. According to you, you went to see the prince as soon as you got your memo, but according to it, that's all it said!"
Discord slammed his tail on his table after Twilight made her complain. "I told you all that this was pointless. All you're doing is telling us something about Red that we already know. Unless you explain the problem, I call for dismissal."
The Doctor shook his head in disagreement. "I agree with the defense. This is very suspicious."
"W-wait. What?" Discord asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Twilight asked. "Cestus said he ran to the hotel so he could warn Prince Blueblood about the danger. The problem? This note doesn't say that the prince was at the Gilded Horseshoe hotel, let alone "a" hotel. So tell us. How did you know where the prince was in the first place?"
Cestus jumped back from shock, but he recovered after slamming his hoof on the witness stand, causing it to wobble from his strength. "Y-you...I...no..."
"Wait a minute, I thought the witness stand was nailed to the ground." The Doctor said.
"Yeah, it was." Twilight said. Yeah, if I don't break this guy, he's definitely going to break skull.
"Now hold on!" The Doctor said. "If the note didn't' tell him where the prince was, how was he able to react to it so fast?"
"That's easy. A very logical reason for him to already know where the prince was..." Twilight said as she slammed her hooves on the table, then, as pointed her hoof forward to Star Cestus..."...is because he was the attacker!"
Between the contradiction found and Cestus's power presented, the audience grew restless. Nopony thought Twilight would've been right about the idea of Cestus being responsible, but with the note he brought in, things began to turn out Twilight's way.
FREEZE!
The entire courtroom went silent. With all of the accusations, Star Cestus grew impatient and had finally raised his voice. The Doctor didn't even have to bang his gavel.
"I've been busting my flank to get the evidence to help you, Princess Fat-cat. Now you're accusing me to save her?" Cestus asked. His patience grew thin, so once again, he started to hate Twilight. "Fine. Then I have no choice but to prove to you all once and for all that it really was Rarity who tried to kill Prince Blueblood!"
"Ooooh, does this mean you're going to tell them why you were at the hotel?" Discord asked.
"I was really, REALLY hoping I wouldn't."
OBJECTION!
"DISCORD! You KNEW somepony else was at the crime scene?" Twilight asked. "You've been withholding important information!"
OBJECTION!
"What makes you think this has anything to do with the crime, Twilight? At least give our witness here a chance to explain himself." Discord said.
"I agree with the prosecution." The Doctor said. "Unless this information actually does have something to do with the case, it's not really important information. Objection overruled."
So close. I guess I have to deal with Discord's shenanigans for a bit longer. Twilight thought.
"Alright. To start things off, Red, what can you tell us about this white hat here?" Discord asked. "This was the hat found near the crime scene."
"Yeah. It's mine. Like The fat cat said." Cestus admitted.
"S-so you really WERE on the crime scene?" The Doctor asked. "Explain yourself, commissioner."
I've got a bad feeling about this. Twilight thought.
----------------------------
--Testimony: How I knew Blueblood was there--
"That hat goes with my coveralls. I work part time at the Gilded Horseshoe as a janitor, and I was cleaning windows that day. While cleaning the windows, I saw the prince in the room, so that's how I knew he was there. His window was my last one, and it was about 12:05 when I finished."
--End of Testimony--
----------------------------
"And there you have it, pal. Happy now?" Cestus asked.
"Oh, so you work two jobs?" The Doctor asked.
"Yeah, I do. The money you make at the police force may look nice, but everything in Canterlot is so overpriced, from food to homes, I had to get a second job to help pay the bills."
"Your financial problems isn't a concern to the court, Red." Discord said. "What IS important is what time he finished. 12:05 PM i believe."
"And what does that have to do with anything?" Twilight asked.
"I believe I've solved the problem with the testimony from out last witness. If I recall, Diamond Tiara claimed to of seen a red and white pony at 2:05. If that's true, than Rarity couldn't be the culprit."
"Where are you getting at, Discord?"
"I'm saying she was mistaken of the time. She could've seen Red here at 12:05, thinking it was 2:05. It's a logical explanation, no?"
The court began to talk loudly again, as they all agreed that Discord's logic cleared up the inconsistency. Even the Doctor had to take it into consideration.
OBJECTION!
"Show us proof then!" Twilight demended. "Show us proof that Diamond Tiara was mistaken of the time!'
"Why should I? It's a sound theory. How about you prove to me that she wasn't mistaken of the time?" Discord asked.
"I..." Twilight sighed. She couldn't counter Discord's argument, but she did think of a way to help counter Cestus's. "Okay, I can't prove It. But Cestus, are you telling us the truth when you said that you only saw the prince when you were there at 12:05?"
"I already told you, pal! That and when me and Giant Hand showed up at the crime scene was the only time I saw the guy!"
Without anypony noticing, Twilight had started to channel her magatama spell, causing her horn to glow a faint green. After Cestus finished his statement, chains began to wrap around him, causing five red psyche-locks to appear around him. He was lying and Twilight could see it with her own eyes.
Got it! Now I just got to break--
OBJECTION!
Followed by Discord's objection, a second boot went flying and made a perfect landing on Twilight's horn, causing her to deactivate her spell. It was so random, she didn't know how to react to it, much like the first time.
"Nice try, Twilight!" Discord said. "Next time you try to cheat, I'll give one to your wimpy assistent, Spike."
Followed by Discord's threat, Spike screamed and ducked behind the defense stand, afraid to get a boot to the head as well.
"You can do it, Twilight!" Spike said. "I'm right behind and below you!"
"Geez. Thanks for the support, Spike." Twilight said sarcastically.
----------------------------
--Cross-examination--
"That hat goes with my coveralls."
HOLD IT!
"Coveralls while cleaning windows? What's the point?" Twilight asked.
"Because I don't want anypony to recognize me, pal! It's an embarrasment for the head hancho of Equestria's best police to be reduced to scrubbing windows! It's not something you woud understand. I bet that dragon of yours scrubs yours!"
"Hey, I may scrub her windows, but I get paid in gems for it!" Spike said.
As soon as Spike said. Cestus once again slammed his hoof down on the witness stand, causing it to wobble. When he did, Spike ducked down behind the table to not be seen.
"Spike, please don't wave a red flag in front of a bull." Twilight said.
"I work part time at the Gilded Horseshoe as a janitor, and I was cleaning windows that day."
HOLD IT!
"Can you prove you were doing that?" Twilight asked.
"I have a work scedule that proves it. Want me to give it to you?"
Ugh. My pockets already have glass, a punching bag, and a doodle. I don't need it. Twilight thought. "No, I'll just take your word. Continue."
"While cleaning the windows, I saw the prince in the room, so that's how I knew he was there."
HOLD IT!
"The prince was on the fifth floor. How could you see him?" Twilight asked.
"I climbed up the wall with mutent spider powers." Cestus said. "How else could I of done it?"
"Really? Cause it would make a lot more sense if you used a ladder or something.
FREEZE!
"Are fat cats really born with a silver spoon and no sense of humor?"
"What are you talking about, I don't have a silver...oh...wait. Your were making a joke?"
The courtroom went silent from Twilight's realization. She wasn't able to take the joke, and was humiliated because of it. Even Discord couldn't laugh at her.
And there goes the last trace of my dignity. Twilight thought. "hey, wait. You used a ladder to get to his room, and then Rarity supposedly used one. Could it be..."
"Yeah. After I left, I forgot to take my ladder with me. The ladder used in the crime would've been the same one I used. I must've forgotten it."
Discord chuckled as Cestus shared the new information. "I guess that explains how Rarity was able to get up to the room in such a short time."
"So you and the attacker used the same ladder?" The Doctor asked. "Please add that to your testimony."
As requested, cestus changed his testimony to reflect the new information. After thinking about it herself, Twilight got an interesting idea.
"Rarity would've taken my ladder and climb up to the room."
OBJECTION!!
"So Rarity used this ladder of yours, huh?" Twilight asked. "Can you prove it?"
"Sure I can...I...wait..." Cestus said.
"What's the matter, Red? It's easy." Discord said. "All we have to do is check the ladder for hoofprints."
Twilight shook her, disagreeing with Discord. "That can't be done. The ladder was already checked for hoofprints. Nothing was found. If Rarity did use this ladder, then entered the room, she wouldn't of had time to wipe her hoofprints."
"That's easy to explain." Discord said. "If she was wearing shoes, then no prints would be left. I'm sure if we look at the scrying crystal, we can find her wearing them."
Twilight shook her head. "That's not the problem. Since there's no prints, somepony DID wipe them. If not, then how the heck did Cestus's hoof prints go?"
With Twilight's discover, Cestus jumped back in shock, then slammed his hoof back down to regain balance. For a third time, he caused the stand shake. It wasn't just him. Discord was even horrified by the discovery.
"Commissioner Star Cestus!" The Doctor said. "This is huge. That ladder was the only was for the attacker to even commit this crime! How do you explain your missing prints?"
"I...well...maybe it was a different ladder." Cestus said.
OBJECTION!
"Even then, your prints would still have to be on there when you took it as evidence." Twilight said as she slammed her hooves down. "The only way for this whole case to make sense if you wiped the ladder for prints afterwards. Why? Do you would cover your own tracks!"
As Twilight explained her theory, the audience went into a small uproar, but even so, Twilight wouldn't let them silent her.
OBJECTION!
"How do you explain the anonymous tip?" Discord asked. "He said--"
"Yeah. HE said." Twilight interrupted. "We've been taking his word this whole time because of the evidence. But quite frankly, I'm starting to question the evidence our witness has been bringing in."
With Star Cestus and the evidence contradicting themselves, the audience continued to grow restless. They all agreed that Cestus wasn't telling them the truth and that his evidence were either tempered or fake. It was clear to all that Twilight was on to something and everypony was curious to see where she would go from there.
I can't believe it. I'm actually doing it. One more testimony and I'll of found the entire truth. It's beyond a reasonable doubt now. Star Cestus was the attacker.
FREEZE!
The out of control audience and the very happy Twilight were all put to a halt. Cestus was nervous seconds before, but in an instant, it all changed. He didn't want to be accused of the crime and didn't intend on letting Twilight do that.
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Please stop trying to use the magatama in court. Phoenix never did for obvious reasons. Also is it 'Pursuit' time yet?
3841105 Oh it's definitely pursuit time.
3841274
Finally.
Cliffhanger? WHY?
Now things are starting to get really fun. It would be kind of sad to work as the highest ranked of the police and still be an odd job to get by. Kind of seeing Star Cestus point of view here.
3842725 I blame Prince Blueblood. Someone ought to hit him.
...
Oh wait,
3844613
You certainly made Star out to be smart, he got the defense team to unknowingly destroy evidence that could have solved the case.
3844613 what is pursuit time?