It's A Wonderful Case

by Winged Cat

Law Is Fashionable

Wine glasses tinked, muted conversation burbled, and wait staff glided through the three-hoofed trot that let them carry trays of food through a crowd as party guests – all unicorns tonight, as usual – telekinetically lightened the staff's load with no words, signals, or other communication exchanged. It was an unspoken agreement between aristocracy and staff that the veterans of the latter could effortlessly pull off this gait which everypony else found awkward, and the former did not attempt to learn it. At some events it was one of the few ways in which they could be told apart, as everypony was dressed up. It was something of a social game among the snobbish elite to attempt to trick each other into being seen having long, meaningful conversations with the staff, then snicker and pretend it was some major faux pas to be treating the staff with respect.

Prince Blueblood hated that game. Hated it, even as he had had to get good at it for his own survival. The ponies that lived and worked in the world could be as banal as the ponies that sat back from it and pretended themselves its masters, but at least they were banal in different ways and mixing the two made both more tolerable, a trick he had learned from Celestia.

And so he was attempting to catch the ear of two society mares, who were preparing to tear down the ego of one of their younger peers who had had the audacity to actually ask a staff pony where the restrooms were, when muffled gasps erupted not unlike a flock of pigeons taking flight at once. The two mares were distracted long enough for their prey to escape to powder her nose (Blueblood personally thought she had laid on her makeup too thick, and doing away with all that powder would have made her more beautiful), so he turned his head to the ballroom's double-door main entrance to observe the commotion.

Alicorns, even new ones, tended to be taller than most ponies, and Blueblood knew of exactly one purple alicorn. It was said that chaos often followed in her wake like an obsequious handmaiden, even before she had literally befriended Discord, and Blueblood's own experiences of her shored up the rumor. Unlike other royalty, she was reluctant to assume her position in high society; if rumor was to be believed, she continued to live in a library by choice after her ascension, and had only moved to a castle when forced to relocate by the library's complete and total destruction. Then again, Blueblood mused, perhaps a creature such as her would tire of her constantly chaotic life, and find that an orderly place like a library made a good mental fortress against the neverending onslaught she endured. He had heard of an incident or two when she had spontaneously gone insane, which led to trouble for the entire surrounding town. If that was true, he could almost pity her.

"Councilor Blueblood!"

Almost. But tonight, it seemed, she and her troubles made a beeline for him. The crowd parted to allow her through; even the ruffians in Canterlot knew well that one did not keep a Princess from her duties, and cautionary tales were told of the fates of the few Canterlot citizens to sorely test Celestia's wrath in recorded history. But even as they made way for her, all in the crowd laid eyes on her, and conversation fell quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

"Councilor Blueblood," Twilight Sparkle repeated more softly as she closed the distance. With the crowd out of the way, he saw that she was at least wearing a business suit, dark purple with pink highlights to match her mane and tail. Dress-up was mandatory for this event even for those not on the guest list, though nopony would dare dream of challenging a Princess's attendance here. "Good, I was hoping I'd find you here."

"Princess Twilight Sparkle." Blueblood nodded. "Of course you know my title is Prince."

Synchronized gasps came from the crowd of aristocracy, as well as some wait staff, who would likely be forgiven for acting like the aristocrats given the spectacle.

Twilight blushed. "Except to co-councilors on a case you're on! Umm...that is still an exception even for royalty, isn't it?"

Blueblood thought for a moment. "Hmm...I suppose it could be, though I can not recall any precedent of two members of royalty co-counciling the same case. That would require one to be the prosecutor and the other...oh! Oh, I see. You were the lawyer from Ponyville the guard mentioned, and you came here to work on the case of that changeling?"

Twilight's blush faded like a cinematic transition to black. Blueblood instinctively took a step back from the mask of depression and steel that settled on Twilight's features, then another once he heard the tone of ice in her voice. "Yes. I was worried it might seem like undue influence if only one councilor was royalty, so I thank you for taking the other side. I am here to avenge my friend's murder."

Another round of gasps, and there was suddenly more space around the two as Blueblood was not the only pony to instinctively beat a small retreat.

"I...see. An odd way to do it, but I understand you were close to the deceased, so I shall not judge." Blueblood approached her. "I welcome you to the case, star pupil of Celestia, hero of Equestria, Element of Magic, and Princess of Friendship."

"I wish it were under more pleasant circumsta..." She looked around, as if suddenly aware of all the ponies watching her. "Let's take this somewhere more private." Without waiting for permission or even reaction, she put one hoof on Blueblood's shoulder and teleported them away.

The crowd gasped in unison one last time, though the sound cut off in Blueblood's ears mid-gasp. Which was as well, for he was sure the only result if he or Twilight had confronted them about it would have been another gasp.

Teleportation always unsettled Blueblood. One moment you were here, the next you were there, and the space in between did not have the courtesy to be crossed properly. Between that and his parting thoughts about the party attendees, it took him a few seconds to get his bearings. In contrast, he had heard Twilight was so adept that she danced through multiple teleports, back to back, for practice, so he was not surprised to hear her ask, "Are you okay? Sorry, that was a bit long range."

He focused his eyes but found only darkness. "I'll be fine. Where are we?" Rather than wait for her answer, he lit his horn and took in the details the new light afforded. Angular, stone grey walls framed few windows, while nearby sat a desk with a quill tucked to one side. He blinked and shook his head, but for the second time that day what he saw did not change.

"The courthouse," Twilight offered. "Nopony will be here at this hour, but the evidence file's still where the guard left it. I was hoping we could-"

"That party was on the edge of town! It took me an hour to walk there, and I went straight from here, only stopping to pick up a suit." Blueblood gestured to himself, then checked himself. He was indeed still wearing that silly red and white blazon sweater that was the current fashion.

Twilight pouted. "I'll send you back when we're done."

"Tut tut, Councilor Sparkle." Blueblood closed his eyes, inhaled through his mouth, raised a forehoof to shake it, then exhaled in a near-ceremonial dismissal. "You have, in your indubitable style, abducted me on official business in front of countless witnesses, and thereby provided me an iron clad alibi for missing a painfully boring party." He opened his eyes and smiled. "For that you have my gratitude, and my attention for however long this task of yours shall take. If it shall be at least, oh, let's say ten minutes, plus another hour for me to walk back over there because obviously even you could scarcely do that twice in one evening, why I may as well just go home for what little of the party would remain by the time I returned."

Twilight blinked. "No, I could definitely reverse the spell, right now if you wanted."

"Nine minutes fifty five seconds. But surely you really have business that important to discuss with me." He dramatically put one leg across his forehead. "Alas, I shall just have to miss that speech about the proper place of zebras in pony society, whether they are better or worse than earth ponies. I suppose I must not-cringe as I don't-hear those tired, tired old cliches that lead to disharmony brought back to life. Why, at this rate I might just have to settle for reporting what I have to dear auntie Celestia, who asked me to identify the worst bigots in that crowd that she might arrange for, shall we say, spontaneous educational experiences for them. Fortunately, I have enough experience with their type that I completed that task quickly; unfortunately, it was fast enough that it would seem highly suspicious if I left immediately upon completion, thus I was forced to endure their company until you came along."

With a snicker, Twilight sat next to the desk. "I get the picture. I've got to say, I've had the wrong picture of you ever since Rarity told me about you."

Blueblood smiled back, sitting in the exact same place he had a few hours prior. "Rarity, Rarity...fashion designer, almost too elegant for Ponyville, tried to woo me at the Grand Galloping Gala, Element of Kindness, thinks she wants to be part of Canterlot's upper crust?"

Twilight blinked. "Element of Generosity, but otherwise yes. You remember her?"

A frown briefly graced Blueblood's mouth. "I remember putting on the mask Celestia has me wear more intensely. I'd heard about all of you, of course. I could tell she wouldn't take rejection kindly, so I attempted to dissuade her the only way I knew how. Ah, if you could, please relay my apologies to Applejack for that display: her 'carnival fare' was delicious, even if it was out of place at the event."

"And you couldn't just tell her?"

Blueblood groaned, putting his chin on the desk.

Twilight lit her horn, magic flickering in front of her eyes signalling a diagnostic spell. "Are you alright?"

"You know, I envy you sometimes. Nopony expects you to be anypony but yourself. I was born into a web of social expectations, and I must play to them or lose credibility. Canterlot is a prison for those who would be powerful, to keep them busy, entertained, and out of the way while everypony else makes Equestria move along, and my dear auntie raised me to be Canterlot's warden. My life for Equestria, but I see why she revels in controlled chaos. I may not live as long as her, but if I did I'd need such measures to stay sane."

Twilight tilted her head. "I thought your aunt was Princess Celestia, but she doesn't do anything like that. Chaos just happens around her, sometimes."

Blueblood blinked slowly, looking up at Twilight from the desk.

Twilight looked back. "Okay, it happens a lot."

Blueblood sat back up. "Let's get back to the case. If you're here to avenge Rainbow Dash, it's strange that you're defending the changeling."

"No, you're defending her."

Blueblood gave her a look.

Twilight opened a drawer on the desk, pulled out the folder the case's files had been stored in, and laid the paperwork out on the desk. "There, see?" She pointed to the one form with her hoof.

Blueblood examined it. Sure enough, his signature was right where he had left it: a full inch below the prosecutor's line, and half an inch above the defender's line below it. Twilight's signature was right on the prosecutor's line.

"That...is your signature, right? Not a forgery?"

"Yesss...hmm." Gears turned in Blueblood's mind as he thought through the afternoon. "I think...maybe there is more to this case than meets the eye. Normally we would investigate the case separately, but under the circumstances, I wonder if you might join me."

"Really? I..." She stopped, suspicion and relief battling across her face as the warred across her mind, until relief won. "Thank you, I accept your invitation. It's been a rough week. First my transfuser was stolen, and now this. I still can't believe Rainbow's gone."

"Forgive me for asking, but you seem to be taking her loss well."

Twilight looked into his eyes, steel back in her expression so fast that Blueblood nearly flinched. "I cried on the way over. I'll have nightmares tonight. And I'll mourn once this is all done. But right now I have a job to do, and I will never forgive myself if I do not do the best that I can for her."

"I see. Take tonight to rest; we'll start the investigation in the morning."

"Actually, I kind of already started. Or I tried to. Spitfire saw the murder happen so I figured I'd ask her, but when I stopped by her office..." Twilight looked off to the side, her features softening as her voice quieted.

When Twilight trailed off, Blueblood glanced over the docket. "Councilor Sparkle. Please tell me we are not dealing with a double homicide."

"Oh! No, nothing like that. At least, I really hope not." From her brief grimace, Blueblood could tell that Twilight disliked the possibility as much as he did. "She wasn't there. But I've met her before, so I know she keeps her office neat and tidy. This time it looked like a tornado had been through. Rainbow Dash told me Spitfire had requested her help coming up with a new training regime; that's why Rainbow Dash came up here. So I wasn't surprised to see a bunch of notes in Spitfire's office, but they just looked like they were comparing...well, one of the more intact ones said 'Toughness Vs. Friendship'. I didn't see a training regime at all, but the notes were torn up and scattered all over, so maybe I missed something. What was really odd was that slab of rock in one corner: it looked like the streets around here, but hooked up to the ceiling by a couple chains. It had a few dents in it, and was swinging back and forth."

Blueblood silently thanked Celestia for her visualization exercises, that let him keep up with Twilight's narrative. "Like a punching bag?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what it looked like! But who uses a punching bag made out of street? Anyway, that's all I could find before Soarin told me Spitfire was taking a leave of absence and asked me to leave. I've never seen Soarin without a smile before. I think he was taking Rainbow Dash's death hard."

"Hmm. I know Spitfire and Soarin as well, and you're right, Soarin not smiling is quite troublesome." He chewed over the information for a moment, but when Twilight did not continue her description, he continued, "Let us talk about something else, if you don't mind. Could you tell me about this 'transfuser'?"

Twilight's expression brightened immediately. "Oh! It's something I made to try to give pegasi and earth ponies the ability to cast spells. It...only kinda worked, it kept breaking or getting stuck, but the basic theory seems alright."

Blueblood's eyes widened. "I...forgive me, but I must have misheard. It sounded like you said you made something that can let pegasi and earth ponies cast spells."

"Yes! It was designed to copy a unicorn's or alicorn's magic, and encode it in a form that other ponies could use. So, like, I could imprint it on Shining Armor's magic since he's good with defense and protection spells, hand it to Applejack, and she could shield her whole farm if something attacked."

"My word! That could revolutionize...everything!"

Twilight spread her hooves, rolled her eyes, and scowled. "Yeah, if it worked most of the time. I was showing it to my friends, then Applejack tried an item-copying spell, duplicated an apple...before we knew it, the room was filling with apples, and Applejack was almost crushed on the far side of the room with the transfuser. Good thing I put in a spell so I could shut it off remotely. Once we pulled her and it out of the apples, it took me two hours to reset. I left it on a front table last night, then this morning it was gone. I was hoping to have Rainbow Dash try it next, after she was done helping Spitfire. And now..." She sniffed. "...and now, I-I'll never..."

"Shh." Blueblood leaned over the desk to gently hug Twilight as a minor fit of sobs descended on her. "There, there. Go get some rest. Meet me at the jail half an hour past sunrise, and we'll get started."

Twilight stopped crying, slipped out of the hug, and leaned back, looking slightly ill.

"Is something wrong?"

"No. It's just...that early in the day...ughh." She closed her eyes and sighed. "For Rainbow Dash. I'll do it. See you tomorrow at...eh...just past sunrise." In a flash, she teleported away.

Blueblood shook his head at her odd ways, before cleaning up the case file then letting himself out.

Comments

[Emperor]

Twilight seems rather a little dense at times. I'm a bit surprised she doesn't want to get up so early, though I suppose she usually stays up late anyways.

Either that transfuser will be the key to breaking the case open entirely, or it's one giant red herring.

[Emptybee]

First my transfuser was stolen

And that's the final piece I needed to crack the case.

What was really odd was that slab of rock in one corner: it looked like the streets around here, but hooked up to the ceiling by a couple chains. It had a few dents in it, and was swinging back and forth."

Hmm, or perhaps there's a bit more going on that I originally suspected? Color me intrigued.

[Seether00]

Anytime Blueblood speaks in this story, this guy pops into my head.

vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/aceattorney/images/6/6a/AAI_Miles_Edgeworth_Pointing_2.gif/revision/latest?cb=20130630180606

[SoloBrony]

So now we have an explanation for why Blueblood's behavior is so different from his first appearance, and an established rapport between the primary characters. It's been a very gentle, slow-build story thus far.