Malum Prohibitum: Ace Equestrian Attorney

by Paradox Theory

Case 3: Turnabout Retribution: Trial part 2

October 31st, 10:00 AM
Canterlot Courthouse
Courtroom No. 2

The Judge smacked his gavel before speaking. "Court is now in session for the case of Durum Circa. Prosecution, are you ready?"

"Y-yes." Mora groaned, keeping her eyes on Malum.

The Judge nodded. "Defense, are you ready?"

Malum nodded. "Yes, Your Honor."

"Then will the prosecution give their opening statement?" The Judge asked.

"Yesterday, Durum Circa admitted to the murders of two mares in his home. I will show the court why he hid this knowledge." Mora answered, her voice shaking a little.

"Then you may call your first witness." The Judge said.

"I call the defendant himself to testify of what happened during the first murder." Mora explained.

Durum took the stand.

"Name and occupation?" The Judge asked.

"Durum Circa, Prosecutor." Durum stated.

"Is it true that you killed your wife and the other mare all those years ago?" The Judge asked.

"Y-yes." Durum hesitated.

"Then please, testify to the court what happened that day." The Judge asked.

WITNESS TESTIMONY

"I came home early."

"Mora was playing with her mother. My wife was teaching our kid magic."

"Not long after, Bronze Goblet arrived, and we met in my office to discuss something."

"Then there was a commotion from the living room."

"I heard our daughter scream, and I was filled with such rage that I shot a spell ahead of me."

"It. . .hit my wife and she collapsed, dead."

"I can only hope that Mora forgot that day."

The Judge paused a moment before speaking, "So you fired a spell under the assumption that somepony was trying to harm your young daughter?"

"That is correct." Durum answered.

"Hmm." The Judge hummed. "I suppose that's why a lot of the information was withheld."

Malum slammed his hooves on his desk. "Your Honor, I believe my client is lying."

"W-why?" The Judge asked in confusion.

"Because. I know him. He would never hurt his family." Malum explained, "And, how do we know his magic is potent enough to kill?"

Durum grit his teeth in anger.

"Hmm, I guess this means you'll want to cross examine him?" The Judge asked.

"Yes. Absolutely." Malum answered.

CROSS EXAMINATION

"I came home early."

"Early from what, and why?" Malum wondered.

"There was a rather. . . explosive case that day. An attack on the courthouse ended the day pretty quickly." Durum explained.

"What he was doing before the murder is irrelevant." Mora stated.

"This is true." The Judge said. "Defense, do you have any way to prove that this is relevant?"

"No, Your Honor, I don't." Malum answered.

"Then continue with the cross examination." The Judge answered.

"Not long after, Bronze Goblet arrived, and we met in my office to discuss something."

"How long were you two talking before you were alerted?" Malum asked.

"About an hour or so." Durum answered quickly.

"And were you two discussing the case?" Malum asked.

"Yes. Bronze saved me that day. I invited him for drinks." Durum answered.

So they just met. Malum thought to himself.

"Then there was a commotion from the living room."

"Can you describe the sound?" Malum wondered.

"It was a shout." Durum answered. "I heard a mare shout, and I came running."

"Hmm." Malum hummed. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes." Durum answered rather quickly.

"Continue please." Malum said.

"I heard our daughter scream, and I was filled with such rage that I shot a spell ahead of me."

"I'm afraid you're lying to the court." Malum said, taking a breath of relief.

"W-what do you mean?" Durum coughed, his brow forming sweat.

"Simple. You claim that you fired a spell. Yet we have a witness's testimony stated that she simply dropped dead. From a different kind of spell." Malum explained. "Actually, this changes another part of your testimony as well. According to this, you were already in the same room as Mrs. Circa!"

Durum howled and slammed his face in his desk.

"How can you prove that Durum, Mrs. Circa and Bronze met in the same room?" Mora hissed.

"Well, for one, he never mentioned any commotion drawing him away." Malum answered, grinning at Mora.

"Durum. . .are you really lying to this court?" The Judge asked in a grave tone.

"Y-yes." Durum sighed quietly.

"I am giving you one more chance to testify. If you are caught lying again I'll have to discredit you." The Judge explained, "Now tell us what really happened."

WITNESS TESTIMONY

"I didn't 'fire' a spell."

"Me, my wife, and Bronze were discussing the court and how it had ended when it happened."

"I. . .I snapped, and killed my wife out of anger."

"No one else could have done it."

"You were. . .mad at her?" The Judge asked.

"N-no. . ." Durum grumbled. "Just mad."

"I find that hard to believe." The Judge answered. "Defense, would you like to continue with the case, or would you like to cross examine?"

"There's really only one part of the testimony I want to focus on." Malum said.

"Which is that?" The Judge asked.

"The last statement. "No one else could have done it." I think I know another pony who could have done it. And I bet I can prove it." Malum answered.

"Malum. . .please, I'm begging you." Durum choked, his face wet with tears. "Don't do this."

Malum slammed his hooves down on his desk. "And there's my proof Your Honor. Proof that Durum is indeed protecting someone, the real murderer."

The Judge's eyes had grown wide at the turn of events. "Please, tell the court the real murderer."

Malum grit his teeth as he looked at the distraught Prosecutor in the defendant's seat. "The real murder is. . .Mora Circa!"

"W-what?" The Judge exclaimed.

"ME?!" Mora yelled. "HOW COULD I HAVE DONE IT?"

"Simple: you had no control over your magic." Malum explained. "You were still very little, and your magic was still susceptible to surges, some of which have been known to reach lethal levels."

"D-dad. . .is this true? Did I. . . ?" Mora asked, looking at her father in confusion.

". . .Mora, I tried to keep it a secret for so long. . ." Durum sighed. "What Malum says is correct. It was you."

"W-well then. . .what do we do now?" The Judge babbled in confusion.

"I'd like to hear my father tell us the events of the day. The real events." Mora said shakily, as the courthouse now eyed her.

"Nothing held back." Durum sighed.

WITNESS TESTIMONY

"Me and Bronze returned home after the explosion at the courthouse."

"We were conversing with my wife about the events of that day."

"Mora was practicing magic nearby, and her horn brightened up."

"I can clearly remember the sickly blue color surround my wife's head, only mere seconds before she died."

"Bronze and I worked to hush up as much as possible, claiming it was a freak accident, but I know now that eventually, all truths come out."

"And with that, I think I can hand down a verdict." The Judge announced. "Although I cannot say what will become of Mora, she will be detained for a small time while we gather more information about this. That being said, I find the defendant, Durum Circa. . ."

The court room fell silent as the Judge paused, Malum still puzzling over the events, and Mora looking down at her hooves. Durum sobbed quietly.

The whole court turned to look at Princess Heart, who had shouted out.

"Princess?" The Judge asked. "What's the matter?"

"It's this case, it seems like we're missing something important." Heart explained, looking at Malum.

"But everything seems to be cleared up." Malum answered, looking at Heart in confusion.

"I still feel like we are overlooking something. . ." Heart muttered.

"Hmm. . ." The Judge hummed, "Now that you mentioned it, it does seem like there's something off here. . . would you like to cross examine Durum's last testimony?"

Malum hummed for a moment. "I will. I suppose we might learn something new."

CROSS EXAMINATION

"Me and Bronze returned home after the explosion at the courthouse."

"I never looked much into that case. Who was involved?" Malum wondered.

"Your father was defending. . . a thief." Durum explained. "In the process, we learned the names of three more thieves."

"And they were?" Malum wondered.

"This is irrelevant!" Mora hissed.

"I must agree. Malum, do you really have any evidence as to why this might be useful?" The Judge asked.

"Well. . I heard there was an explosion that day, one of the thieves might've followed Durum back to his home. . ." Malum answered.

"I suppose that is plausible. . " The Judge hummed, "Well Durum?"

"I only remember two of them. . .Sleuth and Shrouded Blade. . ." Durum admitted.

So my mother was here in Canterlot on the day of the murder. . . Malum thought to himself.

"We were conversing with my wife about the events of that day."

"Can you tell us what she was doing before you got back?" Malum asked.

"She was just taking care of Mora that day." Durum answered.

"Hmm. . " Malum hummed, "Did you notice anything odd when you got back?"

"Now that you mention it, I remember the study window being open. . ." Durum hummed.

If somepony else was in the house, then they would have been able to escape just before Durum got back. . .

"Mora was practicing magic nearby, and her horn brightened up."

"What color was her aura before her horn got too bright?" Malum wondered.

"It's gold, like mine." Durum answered.

"Hmm," The Judge hummed. "Mora, could you demonstrate your magic so we can see what color your aura really is?"

Mora picked up her notes with her magic, a golden aura springing around her horn and the notes.

"Well, I suppose that proves that her magic is golden." The Judge decided.

"Continue please." Malum asked Durum.

"I can clearly remember the sickly blue color surround my wife's head, only mere seconds before she died."

"H-how did you miss this Durum?" Malum asked in surprise.

"What do you mean?" Durum asked.

"You state here that Mora's magic is a 'Sickly blue' color, yet we just proved it was golden!" Malum exclaimed.

"He's right!" The Judge exclaimed. "Durum, as a renowned Prosecutor, you should have no excuse for missing something like that!"

Durum's eyes had grown wide in surprise, then his head slumped. "All this time. . ." He whispered.

"We now have another problem Malum." Mora pointed out. "The real killer. Only four ponies were in the room. One was the victim. Two were unicorns with golden auras. The last was a pegasus. You've ruled out all the possible suspects."

Malum paused for a moment. "You're right. We have no idea who really did it."

"But. . .we're right back where we started. . ." The Judge stammered.

Mora sighed. "If the real murderer really was another pony, how were they not caught? Where could they be hiding?"

"Malum, think it through. If the pony responsible wasn't present, where were they?" Heart urged, looking to Malum.

Malum tapped his chin with his hoof before looking up. "Your Honor, do we have the floor plans for the study?"

"I have them." Mora answered, holding them up. "Let's see how you plan to bluff."

"Now, look here." Malum said when the floor plans were projected for the court. He pointed to the left side. "There's only one door into the study, here. Opposite of it is a window, and a closet sits here on the side."
"So, if there was another pony in the room, they'd have limited hiding places." The Judge said.

"Exactly." Malum smiled, "If they were trying to hide inside."

"If not inside, then where could they be hiding?" Durum asked, his voice trembling.

"Remember earlier, Durum said something interesting." Malum stated.

"Now that you mention it, I remember the study window being open. . ." Durum hummed.

"If there was indeed another pony there when the murder occurred, then they used the study window to escape, and hid just outside." Malum explained.

"Hmm. . . " The Judge hummed. "That seems very possible. . . but now the only question is, who really did it?"

"At this time. . .the defense does not have a suspect." Malum answered.

"Then I think we should ask about the second murder," Mora spoke up. "See if the two cases are connected by more then just the location."

"I would like to know more about this second case as well." The Judge spoke up.

"Malum, what do you think?" Heart asked, "Will the second murder have what we need?"

Malum nodded. "I agree. We should hear about the second case."

"I would like to call our friend Bronze Goblet to the stand." Mora stated. "I think we've heard enough from my father."

The Judge nodded. "In the mean time, I think we should take a short recess, and conclude this trial in a half hour."

"Court is adjourned." The Judge announced, smacking his gavel on the desk.

October 31st, 11:30 AM
Canterlot Courthouse
Defendant's Lobby No. 2

"I'm so sorry for putting you through this. . ." Durum sighed as soon as the doors closed behind the group.

"Don't worry about it." Malum answered. "We aren't out of the ball park yet. If Bronze is after what I think he's after, he'll try to find one of you guilty, and then that's it, he's won."

"What is he after, Malum?" Heart asked.

"This." Malum answered, presenting the journal. "His name is inside, along with a list of crimes him and others have committed. He works for a corrupt group in the Canterlot Council. The same ponies who tried to have Twilight's crown removed."

"Wait, what does this journal have to do with me and my family?" Durum spoke up, now intrigued.

"For that, we'll have to wait for Mora, as I gave her the letter from her mom." Malum answered.

"Wait, Feather left a letter behind? Where?" Durum spluttered.

"It was hidden, inside of the safe Bronze was after. Right next to the journal." Malum explained, "and the only two ponies who knew why it was there died years ago."

"So, my suspicions were correct." Durum sighed. "My wife died keeping a secret from me. . ."

"Durum, have you ever identified the victim of the second murder?" Malum asked.

"I know who it is, but pretended it was somepony I never met." Durum explained.

"It. . .was my mom, wasn't it?" Malum sighed.

"Yes." Durum answered. "It was her."

"Then I guess we have our murderer/suicide victim." Malum stated.

"Wait, you're saying it was Shrouded?!" Durum asked, "Why?"

Malum went to answer, but the bailiff interrupted them, and told them to get back to their seats. There was one last case to solve.

Author's Note:

Welp, only one part left before this story is over. I hope to have it out before Halloween.

Thank you all for reading, and stay tuned!