Defending the Strings

“My name is Hot Blend, I am the manager at the coffee shop.”

The pegasus mare had a yellow coat with an orange mane. She was still wearing her uniform. Black dress shoes, khaki pants, white collar shirt, and a green apron. You could swear that you remember seeing a similar uniform at a coffee shop from Earth, but you can’t think of the name. The mare was about average height, and had a very curvy figure. You’re not sure if it was on purpose, but her clothes seemed a little too tight for her.

“I am Gamma, I was dining at the shop at the time.”

This unicorn pony was a stallion. He was a head taller than everypony else behind the stand. Looking at his palm, you see the literal gamma character. Maybe he was a math professor? He was wearing a suit similar to the prosecutor. The all black went well with his white coat and light blue mane, which was cleanly combed back.

“I am Ruby, I was with Gamma at the time.”

An earth mare; she was the shortest of the four behind the stand. The first thing  you notice is that she was wearing a ton of jewellery. She had diamonds in her hair, on her wrist, around her neck, and you’re sure the diamonds embedded in her red dress were real. Her red-purple hair was tied up in the back, and contrasted with her light blue coat. This mare was the definition of a Canterlot stereotype.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. My name’s Vinyl Scratch. I work with the tech stuff.”

This witness was going to be a problem, you could see that from a mile away. She wore purple sunglasses, which made reading her facial expressions nearly impossible. At least they were resting on the top of her horn. Also, her electric blue hair covered the left side of her face. She wore purple leggings with a white button down shirt. The sleeves have been ripped off the shirt, revealing a tattoo. Glancing down to her hand, you see her black quarter note cutie mark. Maybe by “tech stuff”, she meant the sound booth and speakers at the coffee shop. She also wore a short white skirt with….are those white combat boots?

“Witnesses, if you may please recite what you remember that night.” The prosecutor said.

Alright, this won’t be easy.

Hot Blend was the first to start speaking, ”I was taking an order for a customer, when I heard a loud thud from the employee’s lounge. I quickly ran back there to see if everypony was okay.”

Ruby was quick to follow after her, ”My husband and I also heard the loud thud, and ran back there with the coffee mare.”

“When I opened the door, I was in shock. I saw the body lying there.” Gamma recited, his tone as neutral as his introduction.

”You should have seen it, man… the body… just lying like that…” Vinyl had her head turned away when she said that. She was playing with her fingers.

“Thank you witnesses, you all did well.” The prosecutor flashed a confident smirk.

I can’t help the feeling that something is being left out…..

“The Defender may begin the cross examination.” Celestia said.

“Hot Blend, may I ask you about your testimony?” You ask the yellow mare.

“Is something the matter?” Hot Blend asked.

“You stated, ‘-to see if everypony was okay.’ What made you think someone was injured?”

“It was just what went through my mind.” The mare said, dismissively.

“Yes...but that doesn’t answer-”

“The mare answered your question.” The prosecution interrupted. “The mare was in shock from a loud noise, and simply wanted to see if everyone was okay. Would you not think the same?”

“I… I see.” You say.

“Please resume your cross examination.” Celestia says.

You direct your attention to the stallion.

“Mr. Gamma?” You ask.

“Yes, Defender?” He replies.

“I have a question about your statement.”

“I do not see how, I have stated everything I remember at the time.”

“N-Nevertheless, something is bothering me about your testimony…” You say, trying to get through his thick skull.

“Very well, what is your question?”

“You state you saw the body-”

“The same body the other three saw.” The stallion cut you off.

“-but.” You place your right hand on your side and flash a confident smile, if only for a second. “Did you see anypony else in the room?”

Gamma reflected for a few seconds, then replied with a simple no. You kept the look on your face for a few more seconds. Gamma picked up on what you were getting at, and visibly gasped. When he did that, you took your chance.

“So, you state you saw nopony else in the room. Which is odd since, in these floor plans, that room only has one exit! You should have seen Octavia!”

“Objection.” The prosecutor calmly says. Had he said it any softer, you would not have been able to hear it.

“The room has a hidden exit behind one of the bookshelves.” He continues.

“A-A…” You stammer out.

“-Hidden exit?” Celestia finishes.

“I can explain.” Hot Blend spoke up. “We often have local bands play in the coffee shop. Since they usually need to get out quickly, and there are a flood of ponies blocking the front door, we installed a back door so the members may slip out undetected.”

“And with Miss Melody being a musician herself, she has knowledge of this hidden door. She could have easily slipped out after doing the deed.” The prosecutor finished, he is sporting a very familiar confident smirk.

DAMMIT! I was so close!

“Don’t you see, stallion?” The prosecutor started. “We have a motive, a time window, and an escape. Nopony else was in that room., thus nopony else could have done it.”

“The cross-examination isn’t over yet.” You say.

You look over to the white mare with the blue hair. It looks like she is actively trying to avoid your gaze, or she is deep in thought about something.

“Miss Scratch, is everything okay?’

Vinyl didn’t answer. You slam your hand on the desk to get her attention.

“Miss Scratch!” You shout. At least you got her attention. She visibly jumped.

“Don’t shout at me, man. That’s not cool…” She trailed off, looking down to the side.

“May I ask you about what you have said?” You try to be more polite. It was understandable why Vinyl was acting that way. A young mare like her should never have to see a dead body.

“Y-Yea. Sure..”

“When you say you found the body ‘like that’, what exactly do you mean?”

“Objection, Your Majesty, we already know how they found the body.” The prosecutor interrupts.

“Objection. The body may have been moved since the guard showed up.” You rebuttal.

“Mrs. Scratch, if you may please recall how you found the body.” Celestia said.

“He… He was lying on his back.”

“OBJECTION!”

“Human, please refrain from screaming in court.” The prosecutor said.

“Sorry, nerves got to me.” You say.

“Miss Scratch, are you absolutely positive you found the body lying in his back?” You say, placing your hands on your desk and leaning on them.

“... Yeah...” You were concerned if Vinyl was about to pass out in court.

“Your Honor, if you may please look at the photo of the crime scene, you can clearly see that the victim is lying face down!”

“Objection. The witness is shocked from the event. You can clearly see her nervous actions.”

Looking back at Vinyl, you do notice that she is rubbing her arm. She’s also retreated behind her purple glasses.

“May I speak, Defender?” The light blue mare with the jewelry spoke up.

“Something on your mind, Miss Ruby?” You ask, curious as to what she has to say.

“Even though we were all shocked, I can say without a doubt that the body was moved.”

“WHAT?!” The prosecutor jumped back, putting his arms in front of him as if he was about to be punched.

“Miss Ruby, how do you know the body was moved?!” You press on, emphasising your words by slamming your hands on your desk.

“You see, I was the one that moved him.”

“WWWWHHHHAAAAATTTTTT?!” It was your turn to freak out. Her statement caused an uproar in the gallery. Celestia brought down her gavel on the sounding block. It hit to hard that you could swear you felt the room shake. She struck the block two more times.

“Order!” She shouted. It took a few seconds, but the public in the gallery eventually quieted down.

“Witnesses, you will testify on how the body was moved!” The prosecutor shouted.

Gamma was the first to speak up. “Looking back, I do seem to recall that the stallion was lying on his back.”

Ruby quickly picked up, “After seeing what state he was in, I flipped him onto his stomach.”

Vinyl didn’t say anything.

Hot blend broke the awkward silence. “I told Ruby to stay with the body while me and Gamma went to fetch the guard.”

“Was everybody accounted for?” You spoke up immediately after.

“I believe so.” Gamma said, deep in thought.

“Defender, you may begin the cross examination.” Celestia said.

The best place to start would be with Vinyl.

“Miss Scratch?” You ask.

“Y-Yes?” She says. At least she answered you this time.

“What do you remember? You ask her.

Vinyl turned her head away. You didn’t want to do it again, but there was no other choice. You slam your hand on your desk. “Miss Scratch!” You shout.

“Stop yelling at me!” She shouts back. Her reaction makes you flinch.

“Miss Scratch, please, your cooperation will really help us.” You say, trying to calm her down.

“F-Fine. Fine.” She took in a deep breath. “I set my soundboard on the couch and  helped Ruby examine the body.”

“Ruby, can you confirm this?” You ask the light blue mare.”

“Yes, I do recall seeing the unicorn set something heavy down and helping me.”

“Thank you.”

“Waste of time.” The prosecutor says just loud enough for you to hear.

“Mrs. Ruby. I have a question for you.” You notice Vinyl’s head drift down again.

“Yes, what is it?”

“Why exactly did you flip the body on its stomach.” You ask.

“Well, you see, Long Bow has a condition…” Ruby trails off.

“W-what condition?” You have a bad feeling about the answer.

“He is prone to seizures.”

“Is that so?” You say, putting a hand to your mouth in thought.

…

…

…

“Hang on.” You say, your eyes darting at random spots on your desk as you connect the dots.

“What is it?” The prosecutor asks, not that he cared.

“If the victim was prone to seizures, and you flipped him on his stomach….” You look from your desk to Ruby, your eyes were wide.

“Spit it out.” The prosecutor says, getting impatient with you.

“The victim was alive when Ruby found him!” You state.

“W-Why yes. D-Didn’t I mention t-that?”  She stammers, aggressively rubbing her diamond ring.

The public was in an uproar. While Celestia tried to regain order, you looked over to the prosecutor. He ran his hand through his mane, his eyes focused on his desk. He looked lost. To be honest, you were too. You weren’t sure how long you were staring at him, but he eventually looked up and met your gaze.

“I-I believe this calls for a recess.” The prosecutor stammered out.

“I agree.” Celestia said. “The court shall take a 10 minute recess. The Defender shall meet with the accused and the prosecutor shall prepare the witnesses for their next testimony.

“Yes, Your Honor.” Finally, a chance to speak with Miss Melody.

Celestia slammed her gavel.

-X-X-X-X-X-

“Miss Melody?” You ask. The grey earth mare in front of you didn’t look you in the eye.  You didn’t have time for this. You’ve already wasted two minutes finding a spot where you two could speak in private. It was an office. The office has not been used in years. The only objects in the room was a standard metal desk, and a file cabinet. Both were covered in dust and spider webs. There was a guard stationed outside of the room.

“Please, Miss Melody. I need to find out some information from you.” You finally managed to get her to look at you. You could see genuine fear in her eyes.

“I-If…” She stammered out.

“Yes? What is it?” You don’t care what it is, you just want her to say something at this point.

“I-If I tell you what happened, you must return the favour to me….” She said. You notice her right hand running up and down her left arm.

“Very well. I accept.” You state.

“Were you in the room with Long Bow?” You had no time to waste.

“Yes.”

Good. It seems like she doesn’t intend on lying to me.

“What happened?” You press on.

“He stated that I played the wrong note during a performance. We had a slight….altercation….ultimately, I did hit him ... with my cello case. After that, I was in shock, so I ran out the back door before anypony else got there.”

Thankfully, she’s being charged for murder, not assault. If what she says is true, and if what the witnesses say are true, Octavia is innocent, as far as murder goes.

“Will you be willing to say this at the witness stand?” You ask.

“About that, I feel it is time for you to hear my favour.” Octavia’s entire body shifted. She wasn’t the nervous mare she was a second ago. She stood tall, her hands at her sides. Her head was slightly tilted downward, but her gaze still met yours.

“What is this favor?” Surely, it couldn’t be anything unreasonable.

“Drop the case.” She says.

“W-What?”

“Drop. The. Case.” She states once again.

“Why?! Octavia, you’re innocent. We can prove tha-”

“You’re in danger.” She interrupts you.

“Danger? I don’t understand..”

“Somepony wants me to go away for a long time. “She crosses her arms and looks away from you. “If you interfere with their plans...you will meet the same fate that Long Bow did.”

“Octavia, who is it?” You place your hands on her shoulder, an action you quickly take back.

“I cannot say.” You see a tear roll down her face.

“Octavia….”

“Time is up, Defender!” The guard shouts as he enters the room to take Octavia away. As he pulls her away by the arm, she looks back to you.

“Drop the case, Defender! I can’t handle anypony else getting hurt because of me!”

You were frozen in shock. You wanted to chase after her, beg for a few more minutes. You are sure Celestia would understand if ponies’ lives were in danger.

"Defender!" The guard shouted. It was enough to snap you from whatever you were thinking about.

"Y-Yes. On my way." You reply. The guard salutes and walks back to the courtroom.

Okay. I can do this. I just need to keep searching until the truth comes out.