A Few Good Pones
Come on, Twilight, stay focused.
Town Hall was a buzz of activity. Ponies of all sorts loitered around like a garish tapestry of colors and shapes. Above them all, one could see a shiny crown glittering atop a purple head. The crown spoke of authority and grace.
The head did not.
It spoke of worry, fear, and mild hyperventilation.
After an evening of studying and pushing all the “what if’s” out of her head, Twilight felt she might have enough legal experience to talk a Canterlot guard out of a jaywalking ticket. Bringing a hoof to her chest, she took a deep breath before letting it out, just as Cadance taught her. Her eyes traveled amongst the crowd and happened to fall upon a shade of orange nopony had been unfortunate enough to have been born with. Flanked by two guards and dressed in the aforementioned orange prison attire, Trixie miserably sulked into Town Hall as if she were already sentenced to the gallows.
"Trixie! Are you alright?”
Twilight regretted asking the question the moment it left her lips. She might as well have asked if someone on fire needed a glass of water, or if a half starved pony could do with a side of hay fries. Trixie’s mane looked like it was doing a timeshare with a mop. Her hooves were bound in shackles, and a magic nullification ring sat locked upon her horn, the insulting cherry on the insult sundae that was her imprisonment.
“Of course Trixie is not alright! She is a prisoner!"
Twilight nodded, her gaze falling to the floor as if it had suddenly become quite interesting. "I know. I pulled an all-nighter to study everything I could about the law. I promise I'll do everything I can to prove your innocence."
Trixie managed a smile, strained as it was. “Wait, where’s Pinkie Pie?”
“Heh heh… ummm, she’s not allowed in Town Hall during court anymore. The last time she went in, she tried to throw a ‘guilty party’ during a trial.”
Trixie’s smile faltered just a touch. “Oh. That sounds like her...”
"This is the criminal?"
A new voice rang out among the throng of ponies. It fell sharp among Twilight and Trixie, as if it were a spear, pointed right between their eyes. They turned as one toward the commanding voice which belonged to an unfamiliar mare.
Standing by one of the pillars, a red, fiery mane caught their attention first. As their eyes naturally scrolled down, they saw a set of bifocals resting on her muzzle framing a pair of green, piercing eyes. Further down, a strand of shimmering pearls rested around her neck which stood out from her cream colored coat. The mare radiated an aura which screamed confidence, much the way a sword aimed at one’s throat does.
Twilight wasn’t impressed. She had faced uglier creatures with far more power, and many more eyes.
"And you are?”
The mare laughed and tossed her mane to the side. "Me? You don’t know? I thought I overheard heard you say you studied the law, and my name didn’t come up? That’s homeschooling for you.”
Twilight simply pursed her lips, unwilling to give her any satisfaction.
“My name is Blind Justice. I will be your adversary today. I must admit to some disappointment in our venue. Having this ramshackle Town Hall masquerade as a courtroom is hardly suitable for somepony of my caliber. Regardless, this will be quite a treat. It isn't often I get a chance to put a princess in her place."
Twilight bristled in anger, the fine hairs on her back standing at attention. "Excuse me?"
Blind ran her hoof through Twilight's mane the way a mother would a filly. The only reason Twilight didn’t smack it away was that it had felt just the same way it did when her mother would comb through her hair.
"Feisty aren't we? Don't get your hopes up, little one. It’s not a poor reflection upon your abilities. I'm simply a perfect prosecutor, I never lose. Two hundred and forty-three cases, and not a single loss. Princess or not, you're outclassed."
Twilight shivered. She wasn’t sure if it was the arrogant pony’s touch, or the way she described her impending battle as futile. Regardless, Twilight swallowed hard and leveled two blazing eyes at her opponent. "Well... you better be ready to lose this one, because I know Trixie is innocent."
Blind placed a hoof upon her chest and laughed. It was a deep laugh, not a chuckle, or even a chortle, it was a laugh that said the she knew something Twilight didn’t. Twilight quickly decided she didn’t like this laugh.
"Oh, come now. You think I've gotten this far by taking any case without reviewing it first? I don’t accept cases unless I know I can win. This victory has already been assured, and I couldn't ask for a better gift. Another perfect prosecution, just handed to me."
"Everypony to your places please," the bailiff announced.
"That's our cue," Blind said, patting Twilight on the head. "Please make it interesting. I'd hate for my first crack at a princess to be short. Let me... savor this victory."
Twilight and Trixie waited, half in fear, half in revulsion, for Blind to step to the prosecution’s stand before they began their own walk to the defendant’s stand.
"I don't like her," Trixie whispered surreptitiously.
"Really? I think she reminds me of you," Twilight fired back with a smirk.
"You wound me, Sparkle..."
The bailiff marched to the front of the courtroom and cleared his throat." All rise for the Honorable Mayor Mare."
The door in the rear of the room opened slowly. Dressed in robes of black, Mrs. Mayor trotted through and hopped into her seat the way a filly would hop on a roller coaster, and with the same beaming smile.
Trixie leaned in close to Twilight. "Wait, she's the mayor and the judge?"
"There's not a lot of crime in small towns like Ponyville, so rather than have judges appointed, the town’s mayor doubles as a judge," Twilight whispered back. “Don’t worry. I know the mayor. You can count on her for a fair and just trial.”
"This is case number one-one-seven, Ponyville versus Trixie Lulamoon. You may be seated." The bailiff passed the folder over to the mayor and stood next to the bench, unflinching in his duty.
Mrs. Mayor adjusted her glasses and cleared her throat in an unnecessary show of authority. "It's been quite some time since I've had to dust this robe off. Let's make this worth it, shall we? Will the prosecutor give her opening remarks, Miss… Justice?” Mrs. Mayor looked up from her folder, her eyes brightening. “Blind Justice? Is that you?"
Miss Justice smiled and nodded thoughtfully. "Indeed it is, Mrs. Mayor? I didn't think any stallion had the gumption to drag you into wedlock."
The mayor chuckled and dismissively waved her hoof. "Ohohoho! I didn't think I would find one either, but life is so full of surprises. It's so good to see you again. We'll have to catch up sometime for a drink."
A bead of sweat rolled down Trixie's forehead, settling into the frown upon her lips. "Fair and just? This doesn't bode well for us, Sparkle."
"N-now now... I'm sure the mayor will be completely impartial in her duties," Twilight stuttered, unhappy with the possibility of eating her words.
The mayor turned her eyes toward the defense stand, her smile vanishing instantly. "Oh, look who it is. Can’t say I’m surprised. I've been itching to see you in that seat, Ms. Lulamoon."
Twilight buried her snout in her hooves, suddenly wishing they were made of sand. "Or not..."
"Alright. Let's get this trial underway," the mayor said, banging her gavel. "The prosecution may start with their opening remarks."
Blind took to her hooves in a flash. Not so fast as to look like she was in a hurry, but speedy enough to look important. Her vivacious hair bounced as it fell into place, and all eyes flew toward her as if she were the only pony in the room. As a prosecutor, she wanted to own the court, and it scarcely took her from the time she left her seat to the time she stood in the center of the room to accomplish that feat.
"Your honor, there is a law stating that the simplest explanation is most likely the truth. Well, the prosecution's claim is simple. Yesterday evening, the defendant destroyed a vendor’s stall, causing more than two thousand bits of damage to it and their merchandise in the process. She was apprehended just after sunset trying to sneak back into town. These are the facts of this case.”
Justice turned, removing her bifocals and adopting a grim visage.
“Now I’ll tell you the truth in this case. Trixie Lulamoon, a known vagrant and troublemaker who has already been bailed out of trouble by an irresponsible princess, went into town yesterday with malicious intent, and destroyed an honest pony’s stall, causing them significant hardship. That is all.”
Blind took her seat in the same dignified manner in which she left it. The smile she wore made it clear she was fairly confident in her victory as she tugged on one of the pearls dangling around her neck.
The mayor turned to Twilight and Trixie. "And the defense?"
Twilight stood up and immediately tangled her hooves in her chair. The result was the princess getting a face full of hardwood floor and a quiet chuckle that died once everyone remembered that Twilight was the princess and could possibly send them to a gulag.
If Equestria had any gulags. The official stance was that they didn’t, but some of the commoners would tell you that’s what the princesses wanted you to believe.
Righting herself, Twilight fired a nasty look at the chair and strolled to the middle of the court.
"The defense claims and maintains that the crime in question could not, and was not perpetrated by Trixie. While my client has done terrible things in the past, we must ensure we dispense justice fairly. We must not use this trial as a means of revenge. Trixie is on trial for this crime, and no other, and it’s a crime she is one hundred percent innocent of.”
The ponies in the crowd whispered amongst themselves as Twilight took her seat, glaring at Blind from across the room.
"Well, this should be quite entertaining," Mayor Mare said. "Miss Justice, you may begin."
The cream colored pony reached into a manilla folder and pulled out several pages. "Here I have one, two, three... all told, eight signed statements from various witnesses saying that a pony wearing a hat and cape adorned with stars destroyed the stand in question. Given the unicorn’s penchant for wearing magic themed clothing, I don’t think it’s hard to surmise who was wearing them. I don't know about you, fillies and gentlecolts, but that sounds pretty decisive to me. That is all."
Twilight's mouth hung open either in surprise, or in an effort to catch any stray flies that had found themselves into the courtroom.
How in the world am I supposed to defend Trixie against that!
She felt a pair of hooves shake her back to the present like a boxer who had just been knocked to the mat. "Come on, Sparkle! This is where you fight back!" Trixie reminded her.
"But how am I supposed to fight back?"
Trixie grabbed her in desperation. "If we both know I'm innocent, then there is no way they could have seen me!"
From across the courtroom, a loud tsking could be heard. Miss Justice shook her head in mock sadness. "And I thought a princess would be more of a challenge. Well, Mrs. Mayor? Pretty airtight, wouldn't you say?"
The mayor nodded in agreement. “Seems that wa-”
"Objection!"
Twilight slammed her hoof on the bench as if it had personally insulted her. Everypony in the courtroom flinched, besides Miss Justice of course. She merely raised her head, unfazed by the outburst.
"Yes, Princess?"
Twilight thrusted her hoof toward Trixie. "The reports state they saw a pony with a hat and cape, but anypony could make a hat and cape like Trixie's."
The crowd murmured at Twilight's proclamation. She had found a small crack, one that even intrigued the crowd, so she intended to follow it.
Miss Justice raised an eyebrow. "What are you trying to say?"
Twilight sneered at her enemy. "I think it's quite simple. Somepony is trying to frame Trixie! Somepony doesn't like that she's here in Ponyville, and is trying to get rid of her!"
The crowd immediately grew loud, arguing and shouting amongst themselves, drowning out any normal speech.
"Order, order!" The mayor shouted, slamming her gavel.
Blind's face never lost its confident smirk. "So you're saying that the ponies who signed these reports are lying?"
Twilight leaned across the bench, sticking her nose out quite far. "I'd prefer reports less vague than what you've given us, especially from a town that, quite frankly, has an unhealthy bias against my client!"
Miss Justice frowned and let her shoulders slump in mock resignation.
"I could go through all of these statements and watch you nitpick them… but that would be dreadfully boring. Instead, I will now call a witness that is so decisive, you'll have no choice but to surrender."
"Twilight put her hooves on the bench. “If there’s one thing you need to know about me, it’s that I don’t surrender!”
Blind cracked a smile. "It’s your funeral, Princess of Friendship. Your Honor, the prosecution would like to call Miss Applejack to the stand.”
Twilight's mouth fell open. "Wha-what?!"
In the middle of Ponyville, three fillies loitered about, having just finished their latest attempt at a cutie mark. This one only costed one of them their eyebrows, so they looked at it as a slight success.
"I wonder where everypony is at?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Probably at Town Hall like mah sister," Applebloom said. As they walked through town they saw Pinkie Pie further ahead, running in circles around a lamp post and wearing an impressive trench in the ground. Well, they would have seen Pinkie Pie, if the trench hadn’t been so deep. As it were, they saw her mane, running circles around the lamp post.
Scootaloo gave her friends a worried glance. "I'm afraid to ask."
Applebloom trotted over to the pink blur, unsure of how much distance would be safe. She quickly settled upon three yards and opened her mouth. "Hey, Pinkie Pie. What's wrong?"
"Oh nothing! Just panicking! You girls are welcome to join me!" The pink pony shouted as she continued circling the post.
"Why in Equestria are you panicking? Is something wrong?" Sweetie asked.
Pinkie skidded to a halt. Climbing out of the trench, she jumped in front of the three fillies, causing them to take an extra cautious step back. "Trixie was arrested for breaking somepony's stand yesterday and they brought in some sort of special genius miracle class prosecutor from Canterlot and she's going to be found guilty for sure!"
Pinkie backflipped into the trench and continued her panicked sprint, running even faster than before.
"You girls hear that?" Sweetie asked.
"Yeah, that doesn't make any sense! Trixie was on the farm yesterday relaxing! We’ve even got the photo to prove it!" Apple Bloom said.
“Rarity says Trixie is a troublemaker and that the sooner she’s gone, the better Ponyville will be.” Sweetie Belle looked torn. “What do we do?”
“Applejack says you have to tell the truth, no matter what. Even if we don’t like Trixie, we can’t just stand here and let her be locked up forever for something she didn’t do!”
“You’re right!” Scootaloo pulled out her scooter and motioned for the others to tag on. “Come on, girls, we have to go get that photo!"
The crowd mumbled and muttered to each other in hushed tones. Their eyes followed Applejack to the stand as if they were anchored to her, being dragged along unwillingly. Applejack was the kind of pony to wear her heart on her sleeve, that is to say, she didn’t hide her feelings. It came part and parcel with the whole “Element of Honesty” deal. Her scowl said most prominently that she did not want to be there. So it was that she reluctantly took her seat at the stand, legs folded across her lap, slouched back in the seat.
Blind’s hoof struck the witness stand like a bolt of lightning. Applejack’s hat rocked sideways and she nearly fell forward in shock.
"Witness! You will tell the court what transpired yesterday right before sunset!"
Applejack composed herself in an attempt to regain her lost dignity and straightened her hat.
"It's quite simple really. It was right at sunset. I was tending my stand, selling to some of the late shoppers before closing up, when all of a sudden, Trixie comes running by! She looks me dead in the eye with a smirk, pushes it over, and smashes it! Then she just ran off. I ain't seen anything like it! It was like she was possessed or something!"
Applejack's testimony dredged up noise from the crowd, forcing the mayor to pound her gavel.
"Order, order! I must say, Miss justice, this certainly sounds like definitive testimony, and from the Element of Honesty no less!"
Blind returned to the prosecution stand and took a curtsy, her smile never wavering. "I never disappoint."
The mayor eyed Applejack, then Miss Justice. Silently nodding to herself, she pounded the gavel once and cleared her throat.
"I think I'm ready to make a judgement in this matter."
Trixie grabbed Twilight as if she were the last stone on the edge of a cliff. "We’re about to lose! You have to do something!"
"Cross-examination!" Twilight blurted out, with little impulse in the matter.
The mayor leaned forward, lowering her glasses.
"Pardon me?”
"I have the right to cross examine the witness!" Twilight said, stamping her hoof.
Mrs. Mayor stared at Twilight as if she had just suggested a coup against Celestia herself. "But... this is Applejack. Honest Applejack. How could she possibly be lying?"
Twilight grimaced, swallowing hard. "All possibilities... must be explored, Mrs. Mayor."
The mayor banged her gavel and motioned to Applejack. "It's your funeral."
Twilight left her seat, keeping her head tilted to avoid meeting Applejack's venomous glare. "Tell me again what you saw when Trixie flipped your stand."
Applejack gave an annoyed huff. "I told you, I saw Trixie looking dead on at me. She flipped over my stand and smashed it, simple as that. I don’t like it anymore than you do, but it all matches, Twi. Everything from her hat, her cape, right down to those baby blue eyes of hers.
Nothing in Applejack’s statement seemed wrong. It was all so simple, so cut and dried. Twilight hoped for more, like cutting into a tree and finding a nest of nasty worms, crawling about and making a mess. All she found was wood, a solid testimony. There was nothing there for Twilight to even stall with.
“Is that all, princess?” Miss Justice called out in that way that said she wasn’t asking her, she was telling her there was nothing left.
Twilight turned and gave Trixie a mournful look, staring deep into her sad eyes. Trixie of course tried to look sympathetic, trying to tell her that she knew Twilight had done all she could. Unfortunately, she could see otherwise in her eyes.
Wait… her eyes...
"Objection!"
Twilight turned as if stung and pushed her head quite close to Applejack’s. "Did you just say, 'baby blue eyes'?"
The cowpony looked taken aback. "Well, yeah. They stood out like an apple in a basket of oranges."
"Interesting you would say that, since Trixie clearly has purple eyes!”
The crowd erupted like a volcano of noisy chatter. Mrs. Mayor banged her gavel, bringing the flow to a halt.
"Applejack, what's the meaning of this?" Mrs. Mayor demanded.
The cowpony fell back in the seat, the stetson sagging off her head. "I... I don't know!"
Blind gripped the pearls around her neck a little tighter and cleared her throat, causing everyone to look at her. "All of this noise over nothing. Princess, did it ever occur to you that maybe the light caught Trixie's eyes a certain way? Surely eye color is a detail too small to worry over. in a professional courtroom, this would be laughed aside."
"Small details are all I've got to work with!" Twilight protested.
Mrs. Mayor shook her head. "She’s right. It was near sunset. Maybe it colored Applejack’s vision. Eye color is not important enough for me to strike her entire testimony over. Find something else, Your Highness."
Twilight groaned. it was quite frustrating. One moment she had something, the next it slipped through her fingers, or hooves, as it were.
"Come on, Twilight! You found one loose thread, there has to be something else! Keep pulling!" Trixie encouraged her.
Twilight, never one to give up at the first sign of trouble, ran her mind through Applejack’s testimony again and again. "Applejack, was there anything different about Trixie at all? Something about her face, her cheeks, makeup?"
The cowpony tilted her head back and forth. "I don't recall anything... and we were face to face. If there was something, I’d have noticed."
Twilight smiled as she prepared to pounce.
"Then something is definitely wrong, because you should have noticed this scratch on Trixie's face!"
Twilight cantered to the defendant stand and turned Trixie's cheek for the courtroom’s benefit. The mark from the sticker brush left a red, nasty cut that everypony could easily see.
Applejack gasped as if she had just discovered a landmine in her seat. "But... she didn't have that when I saw her!"
From across the courtroom, a laser focused glare shot toward the alicorn. "Come on, princess, what are you getting a-?"
"I'm not done,” Twilight interrupted abruptly, earning a glare from her opponent. “Applejack, was Trixie's horn glowing?"
Applejack nodded. "Yeah, it was glowing yellow. I didn't think much of it."
"Did she use her magic to knock over your stand, or teleport away when she finished?"
"Nuh uh. She used her hooves to knock over the stand, and then she ran away. Plain and simple."
"Twilight, what's going on? Do you know something?" Trixie pleaded.
A knowing grin crossed Twilight's face. "It's simple. Applejack is telling the truth. She saw Trixie knock over her stand."
Trixie suddenly wasn’t sure whose side Twilight was on. "Are you crazy? Are you trying to get me arrested?! I’m innocent!"
Twilight gave a sage nod. "I know you’re innocent. If I know you didn’t do it, and Applejack thinks you did, the answer is simple. Somepony disguised themselves as you and committed the crime."
For the entirety of the trial, Miss Justice had been the very model of professionalism. All things must come to an end, however, and this was the end of Miss Justice’s cool mannerisms.
"This is ridiculous! You can't possibly shop such a crazy theory here in this court!"
Twilight stamped her hoof in defiance. "I am serious! Applejack's testimony is all wrong! She got the eye color wrong, she didn't notice the scratch, she got the horn aura color wrong, it all points to an imposter!"
Blind tugged at the pearls around her neck which suddenly felt like somepony strangling her. All at once, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and composed herself, seemingly transforming into the pony she was at the beginning of the trial
"All I hear is conjecture and coincidence. The courtroom is for evidence and decisive testimony. Trixie could have gotten that scratch at any time. If you want to push this theory, I want to see something that proves Trixie had the scratch before the supposed time when Trixie broke the stand."
Twilight reeled, her mane fluttering in the non-existent wind of the Town Hall. "But... I can't prove that!"
"What a shame. You see, Trixie only needed to go scratch her face after destroying the stand and then voila, instant alibi. Well I, nor this court, will fall for such a cheap trick."
Mrs. Mayor shook her head. "Twilight Sparkle, if you have nothing else, I'm afraid I must render a judgement."
Twilight's shoulders slumped. She had no other trump cards, no more testimony to scrutinize, not a single pebble to skip. "I'm sorry, Trixie. I did everything I could."
Trixie sighed, sinking in her seat. "That's okay, Twilight. I know you tried. Perhaps this is just destiny’s way of finally catching up with me."
Mrs. Mayor banged her gavel once. "In the case of Ponyville versus Trixie Lulamoon, I hereby find the defenda-"
"Waaaaiiiit!"
A shrill scream drowned out the mayor’s words, echoing through Town Hall and carrying out even further. It turned out this shout had more effect than intended as a pack of dogs staying at Fluttershy’s cottage abruptly left without so much as a bark or an arf, leaving a very confused pegasus behind.
Pinkie Pie, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo ran through the confused crowd up to the defendant's bench. Pinkie dropped a photo in front of Twilight with a wink, and ran back out leaving the Cutie Mark Crusaders like a set of luggage. Twilight scanned the picture, her eyes widening the longer she did so.
"Oh my gosh! Your honor, I have a new piece of evidence to present!" Twilight announced. She flickered her horn to life and levitated it to the mayor.
"This is a photo of Trixie... with the scratch on her face!"
Blind leapt to her hooves like she had sat on a tack. "What? Impossible!"
"And she has a rather impressive mustache too..." the mayor trailed off as she passed the photo to the bailiff who then passed it over to Miss Justice.
"Actually the mustache is just drawn on," Apple Bloom admitted.
"We were kinda planning to use it as a dart board," Sweetie Belle confessed.
"Yeah, but when we heard Trixie was on trial for breaking somepony's stand, we knew there was no way she could have done it! We saw her at the farm!" Apple Bloom explained. “That was when we took her picture!”
Blind’s demeanor fell back into seething rage. "This means nothing, princess! She could have destroyed the stand and then ran back to Sweet Apple Acres to get the scratch!"
For the first time since the trial began, Twilight suddenly felt like she had the upper hand. She let a smirk cross her lips and shook her head. "No way, no how! Look behind Trixie in that picture!"
Blind looked at the photo. "I don't see what you're ge-Gah!" Her mane flew back, as if somepony had lit a fire right in front of her.
Twilight nodded, knowing she had struck a severe blow. "That's right. Behind Trixie in that photo, we can clearly see the sun about to set, which means..."
Twilight slammed her hooves on the bench, aiming her next words like a finely sharpened arrow. "There's no way she could have been in town destroying the stand, and at Sweet Apple Acres getting her picture taken by the Cutie Mark Crusaders!"
The mayor nodded. "Indeed. It does seem impossible for that to have happened."
Blind sputtered, taking wheezing gasps. Her hooves wrapped themselves tightly around the pearls clinging to her neck as if they were choking the life out of her. With a loud snap, the pearl necklace broke free, and hit the floor with a thud. Blind's eyes rolled up into the back of her skull and she fell in a crumpled heap behind the prosecution stand and out of eyesight. The crowd became restless, chattering amongst themselves, prompting the mayor to bang her gavel.
"Order! Order! Can we get a medic in here?"
After a brief recess, Blind Justice returned to her bench with an angry scowl and a broken strand of pearls sitting on the table in front of her. The audience seemed on the edge of their seat, filling the air with electricity as they waited with baited breath on the finale.
"It seems the facts of this case are increasingly clear," Mrs. Mayor announced. "That being said, can you enlighten us a little more on what exactly happened, Twilight Sparkle?"
Twilight cleared her throat, and rose to her hooves with confidence. "I believe somepony made copies of Trixie's hat and cape, and then used a shimmer spell to disguise themselves as her."
The mayor raised her eyebrows. "A shimmer spell?"
Twilight nodded. "A shimmer spell is a spell used to take on the form of another pony. It's not perfect though. It will oftentimes fail at replicating certain small details such as eye color, or even horn aura, as Applejack saw. Another downside is that the spell requires continuous channeling, so they can't perform any other magical tasks while maintaining the shimmer."
"So that's why she couldn't teleport away," Applejack reasoned.
Twilight nodded.
"Well I think that ties everything up neatly. If there's no further objections, I'm ready to render my judgement," Mayor Mare announced.
Blind growled from her side of the courtroom, feeling quite cheated out of her assured victory.
"In the case of Ponyville versus Trixie Lulamoon, I hereby find Trixie, not guilty!"
"Yes! You did it!"
Twilight was immediately set upon by a pink missile the moment she stepped outside Town Hall.
"You're the bestest and smartest pony ever! Twilight can do anything!" Pinkie cheered to no one in particular, as she was won’t to do. Twilight carefully extracted herself from Pinkie’s hooves the same way she would a bear trap.
"Hahaha! okay, Pinkie, Just calm down!"
The pink pony immediately turned her attention to Trixie, tackling her in a hug. "I knew you were innocent! Some ponies tried to say you finally snapped, but I said 'nuh uh!', and what do you know? I was right!" Pinkie declared smugly.
Trixie gave Pinkie a smile, the first genuine smile she had given anyone since being arrested. If felt good to smile again, and she realized she’d quite like to do it a lot more.
"Thank you, Pinkie, for believing in me." Trixie turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders next. "And thank you for bringing that picture. If you hadn't, Trixie would probably still be in prison right now."
The three fillies blushed. "Ahhh, it was nothing. Applejack always says the most important thing is the truth, so we had to say something," Apple Bloom explained.
"That's right, Apple Bloom. Telling the truth is the most important thing you can do," Applejack interrupted. She took off her hat and placed it against her chest like a gracious loser. "I thought for sure it was you who messed up my stand. I felt so betrayed after everything we’ve been through... but I guess that's nothing compared to how you felt, spending the night in prison for something you didn't do."
Trixie smiled. "It's all right. Somepony went to a lot of trouble to frame me. It’s just another bit of my past, catching up with me."
Applejack shook her head and replaced her hat. "Maybe, but you still don't deserve to sit in jail for something ya'll didn't do, and I'm sorry for that."
"It's fine. Now we've proven I'm innocent, and prison is the furthest thing from my mind. I’d rather think about something much more pleasant," Trixie lied. Truthfully, she could think of little else but prison, and how happy she was that she wouldn’t be sitting in it.
Pinkie Pie hopped in place. "Oooh oooh! Lemme guess what you're thinking! Uhhhh... you really want an eyepatch?"
Trixie laughed. "Nope! I was just thinking I could sure go for a cupcake right now."
"Shoot! That was going to be my thirty-fifth guess!" Pinkie lamented. “Oh well, who cares about that because it’s party time!” the pink pony shouted, practically dragging Trixie along with her.
Trixie turned, giving Twilight a pleading look for help. Unfortunately for her, something else had caught the princess’ attention.
"You girls go on ahead, I'll catch up."
"Okey doke lokey! You better be there soon though, or I’m coming back to get you!” Pinkie threatened, still dragging her captive behind her.
Twilight walked over to the steps that led into Town Hall and took a seat. Her eyes rested on the horizon, waiting for the right time to speak.
"I'm sorry I had to break your record."
Blind Justice sat on the steps, leaning forward and cradling an open wine bottle. She tipped it back with little ceremony, drinking straight from the bottle. Taking a generous sip, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hoof.
"Casa De Luego. It's my favorite wine. I always drink a bottle after a win." Justice leaned back, letting her shoulders rest on the step behind her.
"But... you lo-"
"Yes, yes," Justice said, interrupting Twilight. "I normally drink it out of a glass... in my office."
The pony took another pull of wine and rested the bottle next to her. "I should thank you, Your Highness."
"Please, Twilight is fine."
Justice smiled. It wasn’t a sarcastic smile. It was a pleasant and honest smile. A smile that Twilight was sure not many ponies have seen.
"Twilight then. I've gone into every trial knowing what the outcome would be for years. I only took cases where I knew I could find the suspect guilty. It got to the point where the trials no longer had anything to do with the truth. They were just about winning."
"I... see."
"The Element of Honesty. A pony who would stand up for the truth no matter what. That's the only reason I took this case. Little did I know that she had been fooled. I forgot somewhere along the way that the truth was the most important part of justice. Not winning."
The ponies in Town Hall had all filed out leaving just Twilight and Justice to themselves. Only the ticking clock dared break the silence.
"So... what will you do now?" Twilight asked.
Justice smiled and picked her bottle back up, cradling it like a child.
"Now... now that I no longer have a record to protect, I'll fight for what I'd forgotten about for so long: The truth. Why don’t you ask me what you really want to know?" She asked, raising her eyebrows provocatively.
Twilight blushed. She knew that many ponies saw her as an open book, but few read her out loud. “I’m that obvious, huh? For you to come all the way to a place like Ponyville, someone had to ask for you by name."
Justice gave a wise nod. "You really are a smart one. I can see why Celestia chose you as her student. Yes. Somepony here in Ponyville requested me specifically. Said it was a slam dunk. It probably would have been, had it not been for that photo."
Right before Justice put the bottle to her lips once again, Twilight put a hoof on it. "I need to know who called you."
Justice laughed once again, this time dryer, and in a cynical manner. "Sorry, Your Highness. I'd like to tell you, but I can't break confidentiality."
Twilight looked down at the grass, once again feeling her chance at the truth slip through her hooves.
"Now now, none of that. You know and I know that whoever brought me here knew Trixie was innocent, which means..."
"They'll have to try again," Twilight reasoned.
Blind winked at her. "Bingo. They're desperate, which means they'll make a mistake for sure, and then you can ask them yourself. As for me," Justice said, rising to her hooves, "I've got to find my hotel before I get too far into this bottle. I can already tell tomorrow morning will be a hangover day."
With a smile, Justice thrusted the bottle forward. "To the Princess of friendship! May her reign be long and true!"
Twilight smiled, a blush breaking out across her muzzle. "Good luck, Miss Justice."
With a crooked smile, Blind Justice started her trek to the hotel. Despite having lost, she walked away with her head held high and the same confident gait with which she first entered the courtroom. At this time, Twilight realized that even though Miss Justice had lost, some part of her had won.
Twilight found that thought comforting, and chalked it down as a win for everyone.
Stats
Page generated in 0.043 seconds
Total duration
995 users online
165,477 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Blind Justice had a very Ace Attorney-villain like flair to her and I really liked that
I still think it was Rarity that did this, if it's not and it's just some random pony that doesn't like Trixie I'll be fuckin' amazed
Nice going with the trial, played some Phoenix Wright lately?
Now I wonder who the imposter was. A Unicorn with blue eyes and yellow magic... The only ponies with yellow/gold magic I can think of right now are Lyra and Celestia, but I doubt it would be the princess and Lyra got matching eyes to her magic.
Maybe I can think of somepony else, as long as it's not an OC you designed for the story
8230694
media.tenor.com/images/074439b5bdfedafbbe147f4e9988f341/tenor.gif
fuck me I didn't think of that
she'd seem like a surprising suspect to me, because unless I've missed something in a previous chapter, I don't see what grudge she specifically would have against Trixie - and I thought that performance Trixie did a few chapters back won Ponyville over
I know everything is hinting at Rarity being one behind this charade, but didn't Trixie mention back in the first chapter or so that there was a friend she was trying to make amends to but they shot her down. If so that pony would make a good suspect since they'd have something against Trixie(and unlike Rarity probably wouldn't be a blatant hypocrite, yeah I'm not letting the incident with the magic book go).
That was a tense chapter!
I couldn't help but to think of this during Twilight's cross-examination:
And this after Twilight made an objection:
I have a sneaking suspicion on who framed Trixie... and I hope I'm wrong.
yellow aura and blue eyes are a clue for whom did it... and no i don't think it rarity since she has blue magic
8230694
8230717
8230737
8230811
I will simply tell you all that Rarity did NOT do it. Twilight also notes that the spell gets the eyes and the aura wrong, not that they won't be disguised. The pony in question may not necessarily have blue eyes and yellow horn aura. As of now, there isn't enough evidence to make an educated guess.
8230751
Actually, it wasn't the inspiration at first. I was planning on having Twilight simply bail her out again, but realized that someponies in Ponyville might not like that so I came up with a trial. THAT is the moment the Phoenix Wright inspiration kicked in.
8230887
then this can only mean one thing
68.media.tumblr.com/44096537cee209a50e2c4d41a74f3a5e/tumblr_okgnk4P1uC1uijnlro1_500.gif
I think that Rarity paid someone to do this to get Trixie thrown in jail.
8231031
We shall see.
Nice name btw.
8231266
Why, whatever do you mean? It's just an ordinary, average, not at all interesting name to look at. Just boring and plain.
C H E W
I know, Phoenix Wright jokes, yadda, yadda, but really I would hope that Equestria has a Judicial system that's a lottle bit more fair to the accused than Japan's.
Well that tell me a lot about you that name.
Well that should have been a dead giveaway Trixie has a turquoise of Lavender magic colour depending on the story so that is wrong.
8231673
Well sure, but I'd chalk at least half of that to Confirmation Bias. Also the fact that she was clearly upset, certainly didn't help matters. I mean if someone who LOOKEd like someone you thought was Bad went and knocked over your cart being a total asshole, while walking away like they don't care, chances are you're not going to be paying as much attention to those "Fine details"
8232378
When it comes to a court case though little details like that are instrumental or else you may get the wrong person or in this case, pony.
8233702
Well sure, but I mean I can understand and was explaining why APPLEJACK thought that it was Trixie at first. Her anger & shock blinded her to the event. Now if she knew there was a shape changing type spell for Unicorns that would have been different. As it was she had little reason NOT to trust her own eyes.
8233832
I feel that anypony should just assume there is a spell for everything, why is this such a surprise.Changelings do it, why don't they think a skilled mage couldn't come up with a effect similar to that.
8233865 It's because there are NOT many skilled Magicians anymore. These days, with the exception of Twilight Sparkle & Starlight Glimmer, few Unicorns learn spells that do NOT relate to their Cutie Marks.
Seriously, name a SINGLE unicorn that has been known to do much in the way of ANY kind of magic besides those two.
Even non-Unicorns typically don't show much interest in skills that are too far removed from their Cutie Marks. Pinkie Pie is one of the few ponies who does this, but then again she's another exception.
Also you forget about the power of Confirmation Bias. Our brains are hard wired to resist things that might counter our strongly held beliefs. Applejack "KNEW", or at least was SKEPTICAL about this New Good Trixie. She still felt that Trixie was bad. Even more so when you take into account how she must have been extra angry, with how "Trixie" screwed up her Cart n stuff.
I mean we have people who you can provide solid evidence to counter their firmly held beliefs, and they will STILL choose to hold onto them. Hell that's not even getting into how easy it is for our brains to filter out information when focused on other details. One store person followed OPRAH around, thinking she was going to steal something, due to her confirmation bias about Black People = Thieves. There are countless examples of Filter Perception & Confirmation Bias that lead us to make the wrong decisions.
HOWEVER, notice how AS SOON as the evidence was pointed out there were wrong details about her memory of Trixie, Applejack started to have SERIOUS doubts. Once the Truth came to light, Applejack pulled a 180.
8234821
If I had to hazard a guess, I would imagine that magicians/unicorns in Equestria are almost like wizards in the Discworld series of books. They probably hold titles, positions, and cheap trickery in more regard than actually doing magic.
The thing that really puts such a theory into question however is that we rarely see a normal unicorn doing magic for comparison. Our best glimpses into that are Trixie, Sunburst, Rarity, Glimglam, and Twilight. Rarity and Trixie do not teleport, Twilight and glimglam and do on a regular basis.
Oh and the confirmation bias, you're correct. If Applejack had known about the spell, she probably would have doubted it actually being Trixie. The fact that the spell is only available to certain ponies hints that it would be a problem if normal unicorns knew about it on a regular basis.
With a powerful unicorn like Twilight being front and center from the beginning, it's difficult to tell what the baseline is.
8235002
Sunburst is an interesting case, because he's really more of a Scholar, than an actual Wizard. He can't really cast much magic himself, but has a serious amount of magical knowledge. He has the knowledge, but not the power.
Right, we don't see as many unicorns use magic, ESPECIALLY since Ponyville is more of an Earth Pony town. HOWEVER, Rarity is a great example, other than her Gem Finding Talent & Skilled Telekinesis...she doesn't really do much in the way of any kind of magic. All magic she casts is related to her job as a Seamstress.
So while there ARE ponies like Starlight, Moon dancer, and Twilight...I can't think of any other ponies that are able to cast more than Telekinesis & a spell related to their cutie mark. I mean other than Shield & Telekinesis (Inherent ability, not technically a spell), what other magic have we seen Shining Armor cast? If we include Sunburst, who else besides those 4 ponies really have much knowledge of magic?
It's NOT just unicorns though too. When was the last time you saw an Earth Pony or Pegasus Pony involved in a skill that wasn't related to their cutie mark? Again, there's only a small amount of examples that we can find, as most ponies are mostly just skilled at things relating to their cutie mark and/or job. One of the only ones I can think of is Applejack, considering she is skilled at playing music, can do ice sculpture, and other skills not related to being an apple farmer.
In fact just look at Trixie. The only time she becomes interested in learning much in the way of new magic, is the result of her friendship with Starlight.
Granted...I could be wrong, and I would love to hear some examples from the show or even the comics where I am a lot less familiar.
In terms of Applejack...again, once Applejack had a REASON to confront her own bias against Trixie, she thought that Trixie was probably innocent...or at least not enough evidence to convict her of the crime. We've seen this IRL, where a man was convicted of terrorism due to his finger prints being on the scene, because EVERYONE "knows" that fingerprints are 100% unique. only it turns out that's false, and he was 100% INNOCENT.
Didn't Twilight already establish that she can just pardon Trixie? Let the mayor send a letter to Canterlot, and when Celestia shows up she will send the mayor and the prosecutor to the moon together for wasting her time whining about Twilight not letting her run a kangaroo court on a hapless victim.
8268131
Yeah but at that point it wasn't about just getting her off the hook. Then it would just look like age pardoned someone guilty. All that work she put towards getting along with others would be wasted.
It was like justice said. It was about the truth, not just winning.
Though yeah I get what you're saying about how twilight acts as if trixie would be a prisoner in the end even with the pardon thing that was established
I love the Phoenix Wright Series, but I have to say this chapter fells a bit jarring. It feels really inconsistent with the rest of the story.
8491166
Actually, that was kind of the point.
Up until this part, things have been going well for Trixie. Ponies are starting to accept her, she's finally found a way to be true to her cutie mark that doesn't hurt other ponies and Mrs. Cake is softening toward her.
This is the rug being swept out from under her hooves. Sort of a "when it rains, it pours" type of thing. It also helps by adding a new layer of tension between her and the ponies who haven't QUITE accepted her yet. I actually intended this trial to last for a long time over multiple chapters, but I thought that would bore readers and wear on their nerves. So I looked to PW for inspiration and sped the trial up.
Looks like I was right with my guess to the evidence in the previous chapter.
This is a nice quick Ace Attorney-esque chapter (at least, it certainly feels a lot more AA than it does other stuff, even if the chapter title references A Few Good Men). The only problem I have with Blind Justice is that she's still rather hypocritical at the end. She talks about now fighting for the truth, but still refuses to divulge the pony who called her to Ponyville. This, despite her and Twilight both realising that said pony is going to try again to get Trixie in trouble. I would say that's quite well worth saying who the pony who totally isn't Rarity is.
Twi-Wright Sparkle saves the day.
It's totally that Lily girl ain't it, Who Framed Trixie