Ezio vs Harmony

Ezio woke up the next morning to a bright, sunny day. It all seemed so perfect: the lavender smell in the air, the feeling of the warm morning sun on Ezio's face, the blue sky outside his window, the singing coming from the bathroom--

Ezio paused. Singing...?

...

WHAT THE HELL?? he thought. THERE'S NOPONY ELSE IN THIS ROOM!

He quickly got into his clothes and snuck up to the bathroom door. It made a slight creak as he opened it. He saw sompony's silhouette in the shower and heard the pony humming away like no tomorrow.

"Hmmmmmmm Hm Hm! La-lala-lalaaaa..."

Ok, now Ezio was worried. That was a mare in there, and he knew it.

He threw himself back from the door, putting his back to the wall.

Let's see... being the way I am, there are two things that could've happened here, Ezio thought. Either I got drunk and very lucky last night, or this is a really big misunderstanding.

He ruled out the choices, but with his lifestyle, he wouldn't be surprised if it was either one of these things. Preferably the first, but the second was good enough. Was there even alcohol in the castle...?

No time to think. He heard the mare turn off the shower and open the curtain. He had a few moments to react before that pony exited the bathroom. He chose the one place nopony ever looks.

The mare, followed by lots of steam, exited the bathroom and went under Ezio, who had positioned himself on the ceiling.

Ezio realized that he was in great danger. If he didn't leave soon, he might be in a serious situation here. That pony...

He waited for her to go into the bedroom. He got down from the ceiling and prepared to go out of the window while there was still time--

"Ezio?"

Merda.

He turned around. "Hi, Derpy!" he said in nervous laughter. "Wonderful day we're having!"

"Ezio, why are you here? You should be in the dungeons!" exclaimed Derpy.

Now Ezio was confused. Dungeons? As in, prisoner? Metaphorically, he was one, but wasn't treated as such.

"Whatever do you mean, Derpy?"

"Well, the trial got bumped up to today..."

"I'm sorry, 'trial'?"

"Yeah. Ezio vs. Harmony is what they're calling it. You should've been cleaner with your work! Shame on you, Ezio!"

"Ok, I have to ask three things: One, what are you doing here? Two, they're putting me on trial? Three, WHAT?? MY WORK WAS CLEAN!"

"IF IT WAS SO CLEAN, THEN WHY DID YOU GET CAUGHT?!"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

The ponies stared into each other's eyes with rage. That rage subsided when Derpy turned away.

"Look, you're in trouble, ok? You're lucky you have Mr. Wright defending you, otherwise... I don't think you'd get out of this alive or on this planet."

"'Or on this planet'?"

"Ezio, you could be banished to the moon! Murder is a capital crime in Equestria! Just like in all places!"

"The moon?"

"You heard me. THE. MOON."

Ezio stopped talking. There were only two things that could shut Ezio clam up like this: big potential threats and Derpy Hooves, and both of them were present at the moment.

"The trial is in an hour. You have half that to get dressed into something suitable." she said, looking at his Assassin wear. "Also, hide your blades in a secure place; when they search this room they'll be looking for them."

Derpy left the room.

Ezio kicked over  a chair. Derpy was only serious when talking to him and when she was under pressure. Given the situation, Ezio assumed it was both.

He could here her now, crying outside his door. For some reason, she really cared about him, and every time they fought she got emotional. Ezio couldn't help but feel bad for here, and he had no way to comfort her, even though he tried every time.

"Derpy... we're going to be fine, ok? You'll see. This will all blow over like--"

"No... no it won't!"

Ezio heard the mare run away from the door.

He knew this was a vicious cycle that he would never end. He lived with it, day by day, but it chipped away at his self-worth like a bad sculpter making a statue. He decided he needed to follow what Derpy said. He took off his assassin uniform and put on the suit and tie Derpy had left out for him. she obviously had no foresight, for the note on the clothes said "Do your best out there!" with several X's and O's. Eio placed the note aside and got into the suit. He didn't like it: his chest was a little too big for it, and the sleeves only reached hlafway the length he was used to.

He went with it. A guard came around soon after he had stashed his blades and told him to follow. No questions. Ezio proceded to the trial.

On one side sat Phoenix Wright. The other, a blue pony that Ezio had never seen before. There was the judge too, with a long beard and a stern look on his face.

"Is the defense ready?" asked the Judge.

"Yes, Your Honor."

"And the prosecution?"

"Indeed."

"Court is now in order. Defendent, please come up to the stand."

Ezio knew he had to go. He didn't like this one bit. It was just so strange to be in a place of law and order with a background like his.

"State your name and occupation."

Ezio had done this many times before.

"My name is Ezio Auditore da Fillyenze. My occupation: a landlord."

"A what?" asked the Judge.

"A landlord, Your Honor."

"Well then, Mr. Auditore, you are being charged with two accounts of first degree murder. How do you plead?"

Ezio turned his eyes to Phoenix. He had all the answers here. Phoenix shook his head.

"Not Guilty." replied Ezio.

Phoenix was trying to win this? Could he not just let what should happen just happen?

"Very well. The Prosecution may now make its opening statement."

"Thank you. The prosecution would to start out by saying this is just another lost cause dragged out by Mr. Wrong. As always. Now, onto the case. Ezio killed two ponies of Ponyville last week, both by means of stabbing. He had no relation to these two ponies. The first, named "Pinkie Pie", died last Wednesday at around 11 PM, from what the autopsy shows, at Sugarcube Corner. The other, Applejack, died Friday night, at around 12 AM, nearby Sweet Apple Acres." explained Trixie.

"I'd like to ask a few questions." said Phoenix.

"Fire away, Mr. Wrong."

"Firstly, You said the murders happened at night, both of them. Who called in for these attacks?"

"The first was called in the following day by the owners of Sugarcube Corner, Mr. and Mrs. Cake."

"And the other?"

"That was called in the following day as well, by the victim's family."

"Do you have evidence of the murder weapon?"

"No, we couldn't find anything of the sort. We can only assume he still has it."

"The places Ezio have been have been cleared out, and there was no such weapon, as given by this warrant report. Right now, I don't think this is looking to be in your favor: you can neither prove my client was there, nor that he had the murder weapon.

"Ah, but we do. You should know that you and your investigation team found hoofprints of matching identity in each crime scene. You say they were from somepony that wasn't from here, given they weren't in any of the records."

"True, but Ezio was already a citizen at that time, given this signed document of citizenship. The date given was a day before any of this happened."

"I want to check that signature."

"The prosecution has a right to check over the client's signature, Mr. Wright." said the Judge.

"Very well."

Ezio was given a  paper and pencil. He didn't exactly see why this flimsy piece of wood sufficed for a pen. He much preferred the quill. He signed his name in the same dramatic manner anyway.

The document and the written signature was scanned by a unicorn standing nearby.

"They match up really well here. No distinct differences are found." he said, passing the papers back to the defense.

"So if those really were his hoofprints..."

Ezio could swear he heard "Take that!", but he wasn't sure.

"He would've been caught long ago!"

Trixie made a worried face.

"Anything else for proof, though? I want to see this whole thing through before jumping to conclusions."

"No, I... I don't have anything left. There were no witnesses."

"OBJECTION!"

The courtroom fell silent.

"Mr. Wright?" said the Judge, his voice wavering a little, "You do realize what you are saying with that statement?"

"Yes I do, Your Honor." replied Phoenix. "The Prosecution is withholding information from the court! There was a witness... the prosecutor herself!"

"What?!" shouted Trixie. "I had nothing to do with the crime!"

"OBJECTION!" said Phoenix. "You had everything to do with this crime! The investigation team found locks of your mane nearby the both crime scenes. They were both dated by their decay, and it shows that they were detached, for a lack of a better word, at the time of each murder!"

"But-- I--"

"Face it, Trixie! You were there, and I'm still not done here! Not only did you witness the crime, but you are the murderer!"

The courtroom blew up in conversation.

"Order in the court! ORDER IN THE COURT!" shouted the Judge, banging his gavel. "Mr. Wright! This is a huge accusation! Do you even have proof?"

"Yes I do."

He pulled out a paper, and tapped it with the back of his hoof.

"This is a forged letter from the murderer. It clearly is trying to convince Ezio here to kill these ponies. He denied with a letter of his own, saying he was not going to do it. This letter was forged with traceable magic which leads back to none other than Trixie!"

The court room was silent.

"Trixie left this country to go live in the country Ezio came from. The hoofprints weren't verified because she hadn't re-registered within the year. She is the one who killed these ponies!"

The courtroom bustled again.

"Order! Order!" shouted the Judge, smacking his gavel against the podium.

"The Prosecution would like to have your facts checked!" said Trixie quickly. "Those cannot be my hoofprints!"

"Mr. Wright, you are required to have this checked."

"Not a problem. We already have the hoofprint from the area, saved as an inversion."

"Inversion?"

"Yes. We took some gel, poured it into the indentation of the hoofprint on the ground, and wait for it to dry. We then have the inverted hoofprint saved on the hardened material."

"So then you can recreate it with that? Then go ahead."

The unicorn stepped forward again. He started making the hoofprints, one from the inversion, one from Trixie. He compared the two hoofprints.

"These... I'd like to say they match, but it is very hard to tell. We'll need to take a brief resting period before we can verify any of this. Your Honor?"

"Court is dismissed until further notice."

Ezio and Phoenix left through one door. Ezio didn't want to say anything at the moment, given all those who could hear him.

"Phoenix, we have to talk--"

"Not here, Ezio. Follow me."

Phoenix led them to a room Ezio had never seen. Phoenix closed the door behind them.

"Now, this isn't going to make a whole lot of sense, but just bear with me. The Princess wants you here, and she wants you alive. I am to make sure of this. To do that, I had to pull some strings. The hoofprints from the crime scene were magically altered to fit Trixie's. I wouldn't be surprised on what the verdict will be when the prosecution is on trial. Now, I know you and I don't see eye to eye here. Speak now of your disagreements."

"You go into that courtroom and give them lies. You go and say that the evidence provided by the prosecution isn't valid to used against me, but you know it is. I may not like the way you are going about it, Wright, but I trust you. Do what you have to, for the Princess."

Phoenix knew Ezio could see his logic. After all, he was the most logical person in that courtroom.

"Alright. Now, you had better prepare wat you're going to say to the mare waiting for you."

"What?"

Ezio looked over at Phoenix.

"How did you--"

"I'm required to know everything about you Ezio. EVERYTHING. Where you live, where you came form, who you know, what you know... I know all that as well as you do."

"You--"

"Hold it! I know what you're going to say, and I know it's wrong, but... I let you keep some things to yourself. It was either this or something even more important to you."

Ezio opened his mouth to say something, but slowly closed it.

"Very well." is all that came out as he did so.

"Good."

A guard entered the room.

"It seems there's been a slight change of schedule. You'll find out. Get to the courtroom."

Phoenix looked worried. Perhaps they had seen through his false evidence.

They re-entered the courtroom. Phoenix took his place behind the defense podium.

"It seems there's a bit more than meets the eye here." said the Judge. "We have a little something her that questions your logic, Mr. Wright."

He pulled out a newspaper.

"As you can see, the pony pictured in this photo called 'The Equestria Killer' looks a lot like your client. What do you have to say to this, Mr. Wright?"

Phoenix thought for a moment. Ezio knew he hadn't planned for everything. This must be his kryptonite: unexpected new evidence.

He looked up at the Judge.

"HOLD IT! Just how does that look like my client? It looks like an average pony to me."

"True, but look here." said Trixie. "There's a clear scar on the depicted pony's mouth. Ezio, you can stop trying to hide the fact that it exists now."

Ezio removed his hoof from over his mouth. "What? I was just surprised at the new evidence, that's all." The scar was present.

"Whatever Mr. Auditore was doing doesn't matter. So it has one thing in common with him. That is still coincidental evidence, and not enough to prove that my client actually killed anypony." said Phoenix. "This picture is purely generic, as it should say at the bottom of that page."

The Judge looked at it. "So it does, Mr. Wright. The evidence is invalid for this case. I think that I'm ready to pass down my verdict now."

Ezio saw it. The light at the end of tunnel was here.

"The defendant is..."

Phoenix knew what to expect, but this could go either way when Judge is the judge.

"Not Guilty."

Phoenix knew it. There was moment of relief for him.

"However," interrupted Judge, "Trixie, as a pardon by the Princess, will go free. There is no way to prove that she did or didn't commit the crime due to some shaky evidence from the defense, lacking any better term. Court adjourned!"

He brought down his gavel.

Phoenix had done it. Nobody was going to jail, being executed, or even being sent to the moon. Today was a good day, thought Ezio.

Ezio left the courtroom. Somehow, Phoenix had made the blame nonexistent. The Princess did a majority of the work, though, changing hoofprints and creating false data. Either she had big plans for Ezio's death, or she simply wanted him to do the jobs she had for him, or perhaps the least possible answer: she cared. She cared about one pony's life, and she wished to express that...

... to the colt who killed her friends. Not likely.

Ezio returned to his room, where Derpy was waiting.

"Oh, good. You're not dead."

"Hello to you too, Derpy."

"You know, if it wasn't for the Princess, you'd be dead now."

"Look, I--"

Derpy put a hoof over his mouth.

"But the important thing is that you're alive."

Ezio let the moment sink in, whilst trying to figure out what exactly the moment was about. Any number of things could come from what Derpy had said.

"Ezio, I'm sorry you were tricked into killing them, but..."

She sighed. "When will you ever stop causing trouble, really?"

Ezio wanted to say something back, but realized how incredibly rude that would be at the given moment. He still didn't get what was happening here, anyway, and the best way to learn is to listen.

"Ezio? Are you listening?"

"Yes, it's just... I don't know what to say to you. Everything I say... is just never right. I can't keep up this... lie. This false idea that I know what to do, what to say, who to be around you."

"Just be yourself, Ezio."

"I wish I could be."

"Ezio, don't you get all down in the gutters now. Cheer up! I mean, you made it out all right!"

"But you didn't think I would. You doubted me."

"I doubted your luck, not you, Ezio."

"Luck? Who needs that?"

"Exactly."

Well, perhaps this would add up, as soon as he got done putting all these clues into place.

"Ezio?"

"Yeah?"

"A question."

"Go on."

"Do you really think the Princess is going to kill you?"

"Where's this coming from?"

"You're depressed. You can't be feeling happy, that's for sure. You don't trust the Princess. Add those together, and you are expecting the worst from her."

Derpy always could read him like a book, yet he couldn't understand her. It's funny how the world works.

"Derpy?"

"Yes?"

"A question."

"Fire away."

"What do you think I should do?"

"What?"

"I don't trust the Princess, true. I think she might kill me in the end, true. So what should I do: Stay, and repay my debt, then most likely die, or go, and stay alive?"

The question was a hard one: Moral and dangerous, or immoral and safe?

"Ezio, you have to stay until your job here is done. We'll get some ponies to get you out of any tight situations that you might get into after that. You won't die here, ever."

"Thanks, Derpy."

The conversation couldn't end here: Ezio still hadn't failed to comfort her again. That's how it always worked, right?

"Hey, Derpy. You never really told me why you came to see me, anyway."

"That's where it gets complicated."

"Tell me all about it."

"Well..."

***************************************************************************************

"Well, I guess Our work is done here, Princess. He's out of the pan, and into the fire. I have a feeling he might not be able to perform the tasks you want him to."

"Well, it's the last thing before the resurrections, -- it sounds so weird when I put it like that -- so he had better be up to the job. Speaking of that, good job on the case. You really showed 'em out there, huh?"

"Well, I wouldn't put it like that. I mean, I'm great, but--"

"Also far too modest. Be happy! This is a good thing!"

"Heh, you wish. I basically had to lie through the whole thing because of the situation."

"You did what you had to in order to keep him alive. He's the only one who can do the next job, no other can. You know that."

"True, but I can't help but feel bad about accusing Trixie."

"Look, Phoenix, feeling bad for her is like feeling bad for a hawk that attacks innocent mice, if that was ever a real life senario. You wouldn't feel bad for her if you knew what I already have known. Besides, you remember when you accused Fluttershy of being a killer? You felt bad about that, but in the end it helped get more time for the trial."

"This is different."

"I assure you, she'll be fine. I gave her a full pardon, so the only thing that is getting hurt here is her pride."

"It's just too bad."

"I think that we're done here. Ezio's going to be here soon."

The door clicked open.

"Very soon."

Ezio entered the room.

"Well, I think i've heard a little too much about muffins, but I'm still ready for aaaaaaanything you have to throw at me."

"I'm sorry, muffins?" asked the Princess.

"It's a long story. One I don't think I'll mention ever again."

"Okay, you and your muffins can be secretive."

"Oh, right, I was supposed to ask you, Mr Wright, if you if found the one who fooled me into killing Her Royalty's friends."

"You were looking at her in the courtroom. The prosecutor was the one who fooled you into killing those ponies."

"Really? The one with the assertive attitude? Huh. Maybe I shoulda known, but... I didn't. Too bad for her, you know? I'm gonna need my revenge once I've got it all planned out. Speaking of which, any ideas?"

The Princess was silent. Ezio had never been like this before.

"I'll take that as a 'no'. If you think of something, let me know. I'll think of something when I'm out on that mission. Uh... what's the mission again?"

Twilight then noticed Ezio's eyes.

"Ezio... are you drunk right now?"

Ezio wobbled a bit. "I dunno, maybe I had enough for that."

"Enough of what exactly??"

"It's a long story. Remember when I said something about those muffins?"

"Are you saying somepony had you eat spiked... muffins...?"

"Maybe, I dunno. Feels the same, I think. I mean, alcohol in muffins... you'd think it'd be cooked out of 'em right? Modern marvels, I tell you."

"Ezio, you'd better go lie down for a bit." suggested Phoenix. "Ezio?"

"At a time like this? I dun think suuu..."

Ezio was clearly slurring his words. Whatever kind of drink he had, it sure was strong.

"Ima go check on... uh... somethin'... I dunno. I'll be back, dun you worry!"

Ezio walked into the wall, then outside the door.

"Phoenix?"

"Yeah?"

"Do me a favor and make sure he doesn't get farther than his room. I don't want it to look like we have drunkards in the castle."

"I will."

"Also, one more thing..."

"Yeah?"

"Make sure he's not with anypony... strange, okay?"

"Got it."

Phoenix left the room. The Princess knew Ezio had met up with one of her favorite ponies. The problem was, now she knew more about the muffin-loving pegasus than she really wanted to, and she might need to act upon it. And not in a good way.

She tucked the thought to the back of her mind. She needed to go over explaining Ezio's next mission, anyway, and there was that letter from Rainbow that she never opened... There were a lot of things that she needed to do. Ezio would be sober in the next few hours hopefully, and that's when he would get to work.

She sat down, pulled out the letter from Rainbow Dash and read it.

And that's when she realized she had made a very grave mistake.