Nocturna Ace Attorney: Equestrian Trials

Turnabout Bloodmoon: Investigation Day 1

A phone rings on this chilly morning of Equestria, Nocturna waking up to the sound of her loud ringtone. Quickly getting herself woken up enough, she answers the phone.

"Nocturna Law Office, Nocturna speaking."

"Hello Ms.Nocturna, I'm sorry for calling you at such an early hour, but I must request your assistance. I can give you more information at the detention center."

"I'll be right there when the visitor hours start, Miss..."

"Trixie Lulamoon."

"Trixie, huh? You definitely aren't like I remember. I'll see you at the center, Ms. Trixie."

"Thank you," the phone call then ends, the phone beeping to indicate as such.

Trixie Lulamoon..I still remember her performances, leading up to her humiliation, and then the alicorn amulet corruption. She conversed with me some time ago after a performance, but I can only assume she forgot. I wonder what happened to the whole third-person arrogance business..in any case, better get ready.

Donning her usual look, surprisingly not much apart from glasses and the way she does her hair, she goes into her kitchen area to find something to eat. She simply gets some leftover hay fries she had the day before, grabs her bag, and steps out into the cool morning.

Feels nice today, I wonder what will ruin that feeling, haha

While walking along the dirt path she takes to get to ponyville, she hears a bush rustling then sees a shadow quickly pass by her peripheral vision, sadly not getting a good look at what caused it.

Possibly just a squirrel, still, it might be worth looking around in that area

Nocturna looks in the bush that rustled, and strangely found half of a note that reads:

Remember all this note told you, follow the instructions, and that arrogant wannabe will be declared guilty in your place.

Better take this with me..

>Note added to the court record<

She hurries to the detention center, making up for lost time. Just like she's always heard, two royal guards stand before the entrance.

“Halt! For what reason are you here?! Especially just at the start of visitor hours?!” The guards say in unison, noticeably ready in the event of being attacked.

“Nocturna, defense attorney. Here at the request of the arrested Trixie Lulamoon, gentlemen,” Nocturna said evenly. She then shows them her attorneys badge.

“You may enter,” they say again, allowing her inside. After asking the main pony there permission to see Trixie, she was called to room #3, where Nocturna headed to herself.

The detention center..the usual bland holding spot for both convicted innocents and true criminals, all awaiting trial. I now understand what they were talking about with stress..just remain calm Nocturna, deep breaths

It took a little bit of waiting, but finally Trixie appears, without her get-up.

"I take it you're Nocturna, the new defense attorney I called?" Trixie asks, looking Nocturna over.

"I am indeed Ms.Trixie. Do you mind telling me what you're accused of?" Nocturna takes out the notepad she keeps with her, alongside a quill.

"I can indeed. According to the police, I am accused of the murder of two ponies by the name of Snips and Snails, who were murdered at 8:00PM yesterday at the Hay & Stay hotel in ponyville. Apart from that, they told me nothing except that they had a witness and decisive evidence." Trixie tells her, downcast.

"You didn't do it, correct?"

"I may seem like a mean-spirited pony, but I'm not one who could ever commit murder, even if those two ruined..." Trixie trails off, making Nocturna curious.

"So you know these two ponies, I see, but what did they "ruin"?"

"Back when they were younger, stupid foals, they led an Ursa Minor into Ponyville, thinking it as an Ursa Major, since I stated I was able to defeat one. Obviously I couldn't even handle an Ursa Minor. Past that, during a situation involving an amulet known as the alicorn amulet, I basically made them my servants, and they wasted so much time, angering me greatly."

So she has a motive..that doesn't make this look good already. I guess that's all the information I'm going to get out of her for now though.

"Thank you, Ms.Trixie. I will take your case. I promise you I will prove your innocence, I just need to do some investigation work," Nocturna states.

"Thank you, Nocturna."

Nocturna leaves the detention center, and starts trotting over to the Hay & Stay hotel, thinking the information over.

Let's look over some facts:

-Somepony wrote another somepony a note, and with the half that I have, it makes it clear it could very well be talking about Trixie.

-Whoever wrote that note is of high probability an accomplice to the murderer.

-Trixie currently has an established motive, and I need to figure out who else could've had a motive, which should link back to that note.

-The prosecution apparently has decisive evidence alongside a witness.

-The murder occurred at 8:00PM.

After thinking everything she knows over, she arrives at the building, noticing the building is shut down to the general public, with a guard pony protecting the entrance. After explaining that she is Trixies attorney, she was allowed in, and told of the room number the murder took place at, room 427. After a fair bit of wandering, she eventually arrived, encountering a detective.

"Hiya! My name is Zachary, but you may call me Detective Z, if you like," Zachary states happily. Nocturna examines him a bit, making a mental note of his appearance.

Brown fur, a black coat, and a magnifying glass as a cutie mark. I wonder how much I'll see of him.

"Hello Detective, my name is Nocturna, the defense attorney for this case," She says to him, shaking his hoof.

"Pleasure to meet you! If you need any help, feel free to ask me!" Zachary tells her, hoping to be of assistance.

"There is something that is bugging me a bit, specifically a note that I found this morning. Is it possible to get it analyzed?" She asks him, hoping to possibly get a lead.

"Sure! I should be able to get that done fairly quickly. Just give me the note, and meet me in the hotel lobby later, and I'll give you the results," He says.

Note given to Zachary<

"Thanks, Zachary," She says, smiling a bit at his helpfulness and kindness.

“Not a problem at all!” Zachary says, starting on his way to the Criminal Affairs Department to get it analyzed. Nocturna proceeds to the crime scene, in order to investigate it, though not much was there, as the bodies have already been processed and moved out of the scene.

A gun marked on the floor, more than likely the murder weapon, given the bullet holes on the walls. Might want to check them out next.

>Deagle added to the court record<

3 bullet holes total, alongside the messy state of the room, pointing to a struggle between the killer and the victims. I can safely assume one of them was taken out easily, yet the second one was startled, making it a bit harder. Better take some pictures of the holes and the room, will definitely come in handy.

>Bullet holes added to the court record<

>Picture of the room added to the court record<

Not much more to investigate, given the bodies have been taken out already. One was murdered in the chair, and the other near the door, probably trying to run. Three fateful gunshots and the two lives were ended..a shame indeed.

Nocturna steps out of the hotel room to head to the reception area to get a copy of the hotel record to see if Trixie was staying in the hotel, and who else could've went into that room. When she arrives, a red-furred earth pony in a suit is talking to the receptionist, obviously after some information.

“So, Mrs. Harshwhinny, the defendant, Trixie, was staying at the hotel the night of the murder?” The earth pony asks her, examining the hotel record.

“Indeed, it appears she was staying here overnight, and our security cameras show her heading towards their hotel room, before the cameras cut off. Her hotel room was on the second floor, and if you look at the hotel diagram there is no reason for her to be going that way, unless to get to that room, due to it being a dead end at the end of that hallway,” Mrs. Harshwhinny tells him, making copies of the diagram, hotel record, and the recorded video. While she's doing that, the earthpony looks over and sees Nocturna.

"Hello Miss, may I ask what you're doing here? You don't look like a detective," He states, a bit suspiciously.

“My name is Nocturna, the defense attorney for this case. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Redwell," She says, shaking his hoof in greeting.

“Ah! I was told there was a newbie defense attorney on this case. Pleasure to meet you as well, Ms. Nocturna. I assume the next time we meet will probably be in the courtroom, as I'm just finishing up here," He tells her, receiving the copies of what he requested.

"May I get copies of those as well, Mrs. Harshwhinny?" Nocturna asks.

"Go ahead and take mine, I'm not in too big of a rush," Redwell says, smiling as he hands Nocturna the copies.

"Thank you, Redwell."

Hotel diagram added to the court record<

Hotel records added to the court record<

Security camera footage added to the court record<

Alright, so according to the hotel record, Trixie was staying here the night of the murder, and as it currently stands, that was indeed Trixie going to the room of Snips and Snails, as there were no other ponies on that floor. I haven't really learned anything too useful here, so I'm hoping Zachary arrives soon.

As if the universe had read her mind, Zachary trots through the front door with the Analysis Papers.

"Hello again Nocturna! I've got the results of the analysis, and according to it, a pony by the name of Moonlit Shard wrote it, a pony that has been hunted for a while due to an escape from the courtroom, when she was found to be the true culprit of a murder case while she was on the witness stand. She's been in hiding for some time, but it appears she's rearing her head again, this time as an accomplice," Zachary tells her, giving her the Analysis Papers.

>Analysis Papers added to court record

"Just out of curiosity, can you tell me what happened exactly in the courtroom that day, to the best of your ability?" Nocturna inquires, curious.

"Sure thing," He says, before he starts retelling the story.

"It's over Moonlit Shard! We've caught you! Admit to the murder of Lotus Blossom!" Defense Attorney Sonata Gloom shouts, pointing a hoof at the witness stand. As quietness befalls upon the courtroom, a quiet chuckle is heard from Moonlit Shard, and the Judge notices as such.

"Young mare, do you not understand the seriousness of this? If you don't have anything to say to defend yourself, you will be found guilty of the murder of the victim Lotus Blossom!" Judge states, being met with more chuckling.

"You think it's that easy? Oh please, you make me laugh," Moonlit says calmly, as everyone in the courtroom starts getting dizzy, some starting to collapse.

"What's....the meaning...of this?" Judge says, about to collapse himself.

"The meaning? Why, it's so I can escape!" She exclaims, galloping out of the courtroom, and managing to get long gone before the ponies in the courtroom regain consciousness.

"The witness is gone!" Sonata shouts, highly concerned.

"Bailiff! Call the Police Department! We have to track her down!" Judge exclaims, quickly bringing the trial to an end with a verdict.

"That's the basic gist of what went down. Why she would appear again as an accomplice is a big mystery, but maybe you can figure that out," Zachary states to Nocturna, who has been listening closely.

"Thank you for the help, Zachary. I guess I'll head to the Detention Center to speak to my client one last time before tomorrow. Stop by my office later on if you want, I'll be happy to speak to you," She says, smiling.

"Not a problem! See you tomorrow!" He exclaims, heading back to the Criminal Affairs Department.

Going through the same deal as before, she meets with Trixie again.

"Hello Trixie. Since we don't have much time, I need to ask you about something really quick, and I need you to be honest with me," Nocturna tells her, looking serious.

"Sure," Trixie replies.

"Did you go to the victims' room the night of the murder?" Nocturna inquires, hoping Trixie will tell her the truth.

"No, why would I? Those two aren't worth my time!" Trixie exclaims, obviously hiding the truth.

Alright Trixie, I guess I need to prove that I know you went there..

"I believe you're lying, due to this."

TAKE THAT!

"I received a copy of the security camera footage, and before it went out, it clearly showed that you went in there. Now the question become the following: Why did you go to them that night?" Nocturna asks, Trixie flinching after her lie being proven false.

"Fine, I went to their room. They requested for me to come, as they wanted to talk and apologize, wanting me to do so as well. Here's that note," Trixie states, hoofing Nocturna the note

Letter added to Court Record<

"Thank you for finally being honest, Trixie. I promise, I will prove your innocence," Nocturna states, determined and powerful.

"Thank you, Nocturna," Trixie says, before a guard leads her out of the room. Nocturna then heads out of the detention center, and towards her office. Along the way, she does some final thinking before preparing her case.

So what we have now:

-The note was written by a criminal by the name of Moonlit Shard, that appears to be the accomplice of this murder, for some reason. I guess it's up to me to solve that mystery.

-Trixie was seen heading to the room of the victims per request at the time of the murder, that was the requested time.

-Trixie still has a motive, which I'm positive will be brought up by the prosecution.

Let's hope the knowledge and evidence I've acquired will be enough..