Chapters It was a quiet, uneventful day in Canterlot, well, at least on the rich side of Canterlot. What Most ponies don't see or just don't notice is the poor area of Canterlot. The same decor of the lively side of the city is present, but the inhabitants are noticeably poor. One giant orphanage is a staple of the "Poor Horse district" as the citizens liked to call it. The Canterlot orphanage was where some of the Poor Horse district's most noticeable representatives were raised. Some of them tend to keep quiet about there disdain for the selfish nobles and ladies that over take the humble city, all but one. This mere unicorn stallion had to work to get where he is today. He had to face many obstacles to show his capabilities as a lawyer. As soon as he became a lawyer, he immediately showed his favorite kind of client.
Sure, he's taken many cases that involved suing another pony, but his favorite kind of case is when the Poor Horse District citizens knock on his door. Now sure, Some Poor Horse citizens are trouble makers, but not all are to blame. In fact, most of these cases this stallion got were all but simple framing or facades by the noblestallion's of Canterlot. This Stallion had a keen eye in pointing out flaws in arguments and finding evidence to disprove accusations. This stallion is well known for his distaste for the nobility of Equestira in general. This stallion is named... Lawton.
Lawton sat on his chair in his quiet little room in his quiet little law firm, one where he is the only lawyer in business. He used his levitation magic to play with his pencil in the air in a bored state. Not much stunts by nobles to frame an innocent was happening recently. It seemed Lawton was going to have a very relaxing day with no groundbreaking new cases what so ever... alright lets get to the "twist" of this chapter.
A knock came from the gray door that sealed the nice room that Lawton tended to sleep in and forget he had an apartment. Lawton stood up and trotted to door where he opened it with his magic. Upon opening the door, a small flash a grey zoomed in his room, shouting excitingly. With a quick flick of his head, Lawton encased the gray flash with a red aura and set it down on the floor. What Lawton sort of expected was the small grey coated, light purple maned Pegasus filly Daisy Boot. The little filly was practically bouncing in excitement.
"Mr. Law, Mr. Law- um, you don't look so well." said the impeccable Daisy Boot. Lawton went over to his mirror where he examined his body. His black coat was unclean, his grey mane was sticking up when it shouldn't, and his red eyes were blood shot. Lawton took this time to look over his cutie mark, a red book with a brown hammer on it, symbolizing his dedication towards the law. Lawton levitated a brush over to help with his mane.
"So Miss Boot, do you have any mail for me today?" asked Lawton.
"Huh, OH, Yeah I have the best letter yo-" Daisy stopped to smell the impeccable odor in the room and then looked at Lawton like he broke a law himself. Lawton only gave a worried smile as he knew what lecture he would get.
"Mr. Law, have you been drinking again!?" said Daisy in a raised voice. It was true that Lawton tended to drink... constantly, but he could make regular decisions under the influence. Deep down however, Lawton drank to suppress many of painful memories, starting with his own parents... but lets not talk about them now.
"N-now Daisy, before you start to lecture me like Madame Flora... they were having a sale and i couldn't resist." confessed Lawton with a smile that a pony would make when they've done something wrong. Little Daisy only sighed and decided to stretch her wings. "Seems Swift Winds lessons have payed huh?" asked Lawton. This immediately made Daisy perk up from the fact that her employer was a drunk.
"Oh yeah, I've been able to go 10 laps before my wings get tired!" said an ecstatic Daisy. Lawton, now with a straight mane, trotted over to Daisy and patted her on the head, which was something Daisy loved greatly.
"Daisy, i'm sorry, I know you and Flora and everyone else are just looking out for me, but sometimes i need to... take care of a few things." said Lawton.
"It's alright Mr.Law" said Daisy, however, she remembered something "OH, the letter!"
Daisy opened her saddle bag to pull out a roll of parchment in her mouth. Lawton levitated the parchment out of Daisy's mouth and began to read aloud.
Dear Mr, Lawton
The royal's of the Crystal Empire require your assistance in an urgent matter regarding the sanctity of the empire. The Empire will pay you handsomely for your cooperation in this matter. We hope to see you tomorrow at 5 o'clock sharp.
Signed, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.
Lawton was shocked, his 5 years in being a lawyer, and now he is being summoned by the crystal empire itself. More shocking is that the princess of the empire took the time to actually right the letter. Little Daisy was fluttering in excitement, making Lawton wish he was as energetic as she was. But, Lawton needed to make sure he cleared something with Daisy right away.
"Don't even think about asking to come with me." said a stern Lawton.
Daisy then had a frown on her face and landed on the ground "But, why not?" she asked.
"Because Madame Flora would have my horn for taking you to a place far away from the orphanage." replied Lawton. Daisy sighed and fluttered up to leave, but was stopped by the Lawton's magic. "Aren't you forgetting something Miss Boot" Lawton used his magic to open Daisy's saddlebag and put in 9 bits, 4 more than the usual payment. Daisy squee'd and held Lawton in a quick embrace before leaving in a flash. Lawton smiled at the opened door, oh what he wouldn't do to make those orphan foals happy. Lawton took a quick shower to fresh himself up for bed, after all, he did have a princess to meet.
Lawton was sitting in a chair next to his client, the prince of the Crystal Empire, Shining Armor. He was looking around the waiting room frantically, but who wouldn't, he was accused of murder. Lawton was forcing himself to stay awake, he hadn't slept in two days. When Lawton asked his standard questions to the two royals, he was quite surprised that this case began a week ago. Apparently, Canterlot has a delay in news from the Empire, but after this fiasco gets out, Lawton is sure that will change. He wanted to question why the rulers didn't contact him sooner, but he believed a similar reasoning was behind that.
"U-um." stammered Shining Armor "Do you usually wear a scarf on the job?"
Lawton looked down at his his neck to look at his black and purple stripped scarf. He let out a half smile when remembering how he got that scarf. During his time as Twilight's playmate, she had made him a scarf to commemorate their friendship. The only problem with the scarf was that it was a little bit too big, but Lawton grew in to it.
"A good luck charm you could say." he replied. Shining Armor gave a worried smile, still shaken up about the trial he was being put in.
"You don't look so good." said Shining Armor.
"I've been up for two day's since you hired me trying to pick apart these accusations." yawned Lawton.
"O-oh, um, do you think-"
"I'll be fine Prince Armor, I usually lack sleep when I deal with a case."
"How do you stay awake?"
"Vodka."
Shining Armor gave Lawton a horrified look
"You drink before you go to court?" he said.
"Well, in all consideration, there really isn't any law against it... it's just not highly recommended." Lawton replied
Shining was at his wit's end, first he was framed for murder, now he's trusting his fate to somepony that drinks. Suddenly, a loud voice was broadcast-ed through the room/
"ALL PARTIES FOR THE MURDER OF CHANCELLOR KRYSTAL BALL PLEASE ENTER COURTROOM C-1." boomed the voice.
Lawton levitated a small canteen that held his precious cherry vodka and took a swig. Shining Armor was still hesitant to go meet his fate. Lawton put a comforting hoof on his shoulder.
"Don't worry Prince Armor" said Lawton "I promise to set things right."
Shining listened to Lawton and went to the courtroom.
Loud noises and many conversation's were going around the courtroom. Shining Armor was standing still on all four's at the podium with his lawyer, Lawton, on his left.
Lawton looked at all the notes he had gathered from his two day's there and was confident he could reveal the truth. Of course, this would be hard to look at with the whole courtroom being made of crystal, even the jury were sparkling. Lawton was very confident about this trial, considering he may be the only one with evidence. Just then, a regular green coated pony with a curled mane entered the room and used his magic to bang his judicial hammer.
"ORDER IN THE COURT!" the old judge pony shouted.
Everypony grew silent, this judge was well known in many places and he was not a pony to mess with.
"I am here today on a most important issue." the judge began "The court shall recognize that this is the trial of Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire, who is charged with murder of the old and wise Chancellor Krystal Ball. Now, as according to the traditions of Equestrian law, the prosecutor will show his side of the argument at hand. Mr. Emerald Shard, if you would please."
A green crystal pony trotted up to the stand
"Thank you your honor" said Emerald Shard "Ladies and gentlecolt's, I am a Stallion who strongly supports the royals and their endeavors into restoring this once great empire. However, when my client came to me with this news, I knew that this needed to be put to justice."
Lawton nearly spat, he knew when lawyer's were just saying things to get the crowds favor and he defiantly knew this Emerald Shard was one of them.
"I'd like to call my client, Rose Thorn, to explain the horrific events she saw and show the main piece of evidence that proves the Prince as a killer." Emerald ended his speech and left the stand. The mare that took his place had a dark brown coat with a red mane. Her cutie mark was a rose with plenty, and i do mean PLENTY of thorns. Lawton could already tell this was going to be easy.
"Please Ms. Thorn, tell us what happened." asked the judge, clearly not impressed so far.
"W-w-well." Rose Thorn began "I-I was walking from the florist shop at 4:00 pm last Tuesday when I turned left to an alley way to see-" she stopped, but after a short pause she began again "I saw P-P-Prince Shining Armor cornering the late chancellor... He levitated a knife to his t-t-t-throat a-a-a-a-and...." Rose Thorn was shaking profusely, shed plenty of tears.
"Please Ms. Thorn, that is quite enough for now." said the judge. Rose Thorn took a seat next to Emerald Shard, who was patting her on the back.
"Your honor, in place of my client, may i present the picture?" asked Emerald Shard
"Of course." replied the judge.
Emerald Shard levitated the photo and used a spell to enlarge it. The picture showed the late chancellor with a slit throat and the accused Shining Armor looking down at him sadistically. Everypony started murmuring to themselves while Shining looked like he was about to be strangled right there and then. The judge looked uninterested while Lawton was simply yawning, much to Shining's dismay.
"Your honor." exclaimed Emerald Thorn "I would like to end my prosecution by calling the head of the investigation team of the Crystal Empire's police department."
"Proceed." sighed the judge.
Another Crystal Stallion, blue this time, came up to stand.
"Your honor" the stallion began "We at the C.E.P.D have looked at the scene and have found the murder weapon and the body of the chancellor, freshly dead."
"Oh my." said the judge sarcastically "Then could you please present the court with the weapon in question."
"Can't do your honor, the higher ups want the weapon secured in case of any form of hexes." said the blue crystal stallion. Lawton smiled at that, now he was definitely certain.
"Alright, that's enough... now to the good part" said the judge turning his attention towards Lawton.
"Mr. Law" said the judge "I suppose you already have a counter argument for all the information displayed." The looks on Emerald Shard, Rose Thorn and the Blue crystal pony's expression diminished from the judge's words. The judge knew Lawton very well, he was the judge of all of Lawton's most prominent cases. Lawton trotted up to the podium and put on his reading glasses.
"Your honor, the jury, and the court." Lawton started "I have been a lawyer for plenty of... as the nobility of Canterlot would put it... low class ponies in my five years of work. However, I would have never expected that a pony such as myself would be asked by Royalty itself to defend them. I am sure that plenty of you... VERY shiny ponies know that I have no love for snobby, rich nobility. But, Prince Shining Armor was and still is a common everyday pony like the rest of us. I understand that we all tend to distant ourselves as lower than the royalty, but Shining Armor has proven that he cares a lot for us as he does his royal duties. I have never taken any client unless I know he or she is truly innocent. Shining Armor, captain of the guard and devoted husband to our Princess Mi Amora Cadenza, is one of those clients."
Lawton looked directly at Shining. "Mr. Armor, where were you at the time of 4:00 pm when the murder took place."
"I admit, I wasn't in the castle at that time, but I wasn't anywhere near the flower shop." said Shining Armor with a new confidence thanks to Lawton's speech "I was out renting a book from the library, which is quite a long distance from the flower shop."
"Thank you Prince." said Lawton in a calm tone
"Now to Ms. Rose." he averted his attention to the dark brown mare "From what I understand you took this picture that implicates my client. I would like to ask why you had a camera and how you managed to take such a well lined photograph without notice."
"W-w-w-well, um, I... used my magic to levitate the camera to that angle." stuttered Rose Thorn confidently.
"Hm, Ms. Rose, you do know your an Earth Pony correct?" chuckled Lawton. Rose Thorn hesitantly looked up at her head to see a lack of a horn... something she should have known she didn't have.
"W-w-w-w-w-w-w-well, I-I-I-I-I-I-I-"
"O-OBJECTION" shouted Emerald Shard "M-my client is being pressured by the defense."
"Objection overruled Mr. Shard" exclaimed the judge "Your client still needs to explain how she got that photograph."
"Actually your honor" interrupted Lawton "If you wouldn't mind, I like to show the court a special... property about that picture."
"Proceed"
Lawton levitated the picture and used a spell on it. Lawton had a keen eye for suspicious details and took plenty of lessons in magic, so when a case required some magic, he could provide it. The picture's color oozed away, revealing a green Earth Pony in place of Shining Armor.
"As you can all see, the picture in question is actually the front cover of the acclaimed and controversial book A Class Divided ." Lawton explained.
The Jury was in awe, such confidence and craft from a pony in a different environment. The judge was lightly smiling, glad to see that Lawton hasn't lost his touch. Shining Armor was trying his best to close his gaping mouth from how well Lawton was doing under this kind of pressure. The court watching the spectacle... well they were sleeping.
"To add on to the argument, I would like to review a rule in-placed in every courtroom linked to Equestria's Hierarchy. The number one rule before a case can begin clearly states that each party involved in the case must swear to tell only the truth. So, Mr. Head of the investigation team of the C.E.P.D, did you swear to tell only the truth?"
"Y-yes." said the Blue Crystal Pony.
"Unfortunately for you" Lawton pulled out his lawyer badge "I have certain permits that allow me to investigate crime scene's. Since I was hired to work on this case, I decided to look at the crime scene itself. What I found was the murder weapon and the body both in their original places."
Lawton levitated The knife in the air for the jury to marvel at and placed it down.
"I would have done an exception of the body, but when I approached it, it imploded on itself, revealing it to be nothing more than paper mache."
Once again, Lawton levitated a stack of colored, tattered paper to the jury, with their mouths wide open.
"And, to further disclose this argument, I found a certain chancellor knocked out in a garbage bin. You may come in Mr. Ball."
An old grey crystal pony walked in the courtroom, earning gasps from many of the jury members. He walked up to the stand and shook Lawton's hoof.
"*Sigh*... some of you may know me as Krystal Ball, Chancellor of affairs. Most of you think I was dead... but clearly that is untrue. It pains me to admit this to a bunch of strangers and even some of my closest friends, but to put the true criminals behind bars... I must. I am a very lonely stallion, so imagine my surprise when out of nowhere, a dark brown mare with a rose cutie mark comes up to me and asks for MY company. Being lonely and very inactive, I followed the mare to an empty ally were this blue crystal pony knocked me out. Before I passed out, another crystal pony, green this time, muttered something about 'a sacrifice for his dark lord Sombra'. Strangely enough, they looked exactly like those three."
Chancellor Ball pointed his hoof at the three to his right, the ponies trying to accuse the prince of an empire for murder of a well chancellor. The three were shivering, knowing that they have lost this little debacle.
"Well, jury, do you have a verdict?" asked the judge.
The jury began whispering to each other until one member spoke up.
"Your honor, we the jury find the prince of the Crystal Empire Shining Armor... not guilty."
And just like that, The trial was done.
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A Stallion Reunited (the one we actually get the story that was promised :) )
In the chambers of Canterlot castle, a young lavender unicorn filly was studying vigorously. She was specially picked by the ruler of Equestria, The Princess of the Sun, Celestia. All her life she wanted to learn how to use her magic, but she never expected to be Celestia's personal pupil. She was so happy about that day, because it also was the day she got her cutie mark. She never could explain what that rainbow was, but regardless, she was happy. This little filly's name is Twilight Sparkle.
"Twilight."
Twilight recognized that voice as her caretaker, the princess of the sun, standing at her door way.
"Princess Celestia!" said Twilight. "I'm sorry I didn't see you come in, I was just so caught up in this book. I never knew there could be so many spells to do multiple chores."
"That is alright my student." replied Celestia. "However, I wish you to end your study session for now, you should go and play."
"Aw, but Princess, I was just about to learn why chimera's are widely populated in forests."
Princess Celestia gave Twilight a warm look and smile and said two simple words
"Lawton's here"
There was a short pause as Twilight digested this information. Then, without hesitation, Twilight jumped up and down gleefully.
"LAWTON'S HERE, LAWTON'S HERE, LAWTON'S HERE." squealed the excited Twilight. Twilight had to stay in the castle to learn from her mentor, and thus was away from her family for most of her time there. When Celestia brought in Lawton to be a playmate for dear Twilight, she had initially shrugged it off. There first playtime together started it out with Twilight reading a book while Lawton just watched. Lawton asked the filly what book she read and she explained all of these steps that went in to what she was reading. Twilight wasn't used to being near other ponies her age and never socialized, so she was pretty sure Lawton would get bored of her easily. However, Lawton understood what she was saying and even added some points she didn't know of. Lawton was quite the educated colt for his circumstances, and this impressed Twilight. Their playtime's from then forth would be discussing books Twilight read and Lawton telling her of the misadventure's he and his friends would get into. Twilight would be proud to consider Lawton as a true friend.
Celestia was happy for her pupil. Though she had a lot more work to do, Twilight at least having one friend was good for her.
"Now I suggest you get going before he has to leave." said Celestia sternly.
"Ok, OH, wait!" said Twilight, going to grab her Mr. Smartypants doll to show to Lawton. She walked over to the door calmly, but as soon as she passed Celestia, she bolted towards the usual room they would meet in. Yes, Twilight knew this was going to be a fun day
...........................w-what, oh... I'm suppose to cut to the present... well why not just write more about the filly twilight... pfft, im sure no one's going to get angry... alright, alright lets get this over with........... NO I WILL NOT MAKE A SHORT STORY ABOUT PINKIE AND CHEESE!.............maybe
Lawton woke up to sound of steam and the train railing towards his home of Canterlot. He opened his eyes slowly and looked to his right, seeing a most peculiar site. The Princess of Love was sitting up on the seat of the cart with her husband resting on her knees, snoring softly. Lawton was about to ask why but remembered the barrage of events that followed after the trial. The three ponies that framed Shining Armor turned out to be part of a cult that worshiped the tyrannical ruler King Sombra. Worrying that the crystal castle was hexed by the cultist's, the royal advisers... well, ADVISED that the royals find a different place to rest until returning to their duties. Lawton suggested that they could stay in his law firm, but the royals, especially Princess Cadenza, suggested instead they take Lawton with them to their vacation house in Canterlot.
"Good morning Mr. Law." said Princess Cadenza with a smile.
"O-oh, good morning to you as well, Princess Cadenza." replied Lawton.
"Please Mr. Law, just call me Cadence."
"If you insist, but I must make a small request from you as well Princess Cadence."
"What would that be?"
"Just call me Lawton, 'Mr. Law' is just a name I prefer to hear in court."
"Very well... so tell me Lawton, did you speculate those ponies were cultists."
Lawton quickly yawned before replying.
"I admit, the motive between those three put me off, but I didn't expect cult activities... must have been the liquor." He replied.
"Liquor?" said Princess Cadence questioningly.
"Well, I tend to drink...profusely, but my health isn't affected by it... honest." Lawton tried to pull of a reassuring smile, but Cadence wasn't so easily swayed.
"Lawton" Cadence began. "Drinking in moderation is okay, but overdoing it can lead to horrible consequences. Do you have friends that know of your drinking?"
"Practically everypony knows that I drink, but they have seen me drunk and my closest friends will prove that my drunkenness is barely visible."
"Well, just don't drink to much at the party."
"Of course... wait, party?" asked Lawton.
"Yes." began Cadence. "For your bravery and for helping a royal and my husband, I thought it appropriate to invite to a little party were throwing at are vacation home. After all, you wouldn't take anymore bits then 300."
"Well, 700 bits sounds a little to much don't you think? but back on the party topic, why invite me? I don't know if you heard, but most noble's have a... disdain for me."
"Because there's a pony I want you to meet." Shining was awake, and heard the whole conversation. "Twilight Sparkle."
Lawton shivered at that name and what Shining meant by "wanting to meet" Twilight. Suddenly, a glimmer of light was rising in Lawton, would he meet his childhood friend, would their be something more?
"I recognize any stallion that keep's my Twili company when she's alone." Shining Armor said. "I thought it would be good for Twili to see her old friend, even if its just for a party."
Lawton was booming, his chance to finally see the one mare he cared about. He wondered what it would be like, to see a mare he only knew as filly. Would she have grown beautiful. Oh, that thought was non-scene, Lawton knew she was, he did see at the coronation... the coronation... the...coronation. Lawton sunk down at the reminder, his childhood friend was now The Princess of Friendship, surely she wouldn't be interested in a stallion like him.
"One thing though." Shining Armor said sternly. "...What kind of booze do you drink?"
"Pure dandelion vodka and fine red wine." replied Lawton.
"Hoof bump!"
Lawton did what he was told and hoof bumped the prince of the empire. Cadence gave her husband a death glare, Shining Armor just shrugged with a grin.
The train came to a stop and Lawton was the first to get up from his seat. He waited patiently for the two royals to put their cloaks to conceal themselves and departed for the vacation home. Shining Armor and Cadence had the vacation home built in the corner of the Poor Horse district, which most of the citizens thought was some rich pony's warehouse. The two never really saw the Poor Horse district up close, but they both agreed that it was no place to live in. The ponies that lived there were dirty and living on the streets.
"T-tell me Lawton, do the 'poor horses' get into trouble with the larger populace of Canterlot?" asked Cadence.
"Oh no, most of the cases I get involving the poor horses are usually forged." Lawton said. "In case your wondering, we poor horses have a strong sense of sticking together. No matter what state were in, financially or physically, we always lend a hand to one another. The ponies your seeing stranded on the streets now are most likely going to be invited by others, washed off, and then enjoy a nice meal."
Lawton's words made Cadence feel better as she made greater pace towards the vacation home. When they arrived, Lawton was astounded that the home was practically the size of a small castle. They entered the building, only to find it bigger in the inside. They were about to head upstairs until a voice interrupted them.
"SHINING!"
A lavender blur ran down the steps and hugged Shining Armor. Lawton looked close to see it was a mare, not just a mare, but and Alicorn. She had a purple mane and purple eyes, hay, she was purple everywhere. The familiar voice, the purple, it was Twilight Sparkle. Lawton practically had to hold himself down before he hugged her himself. Lawton simply backed away and looked at the siblings reunited, which brought a smile on his face. Five more mares came down the stairs, all very different from eachother.
One mare was a cyan blue Pegasus and had a mane and tail the colors of the rainbow with magenta eyes.
Speed demon I bet Lawton thought.
Another was an orange Earth pony with a blond mane and tail. She wore a stetson hat and simply screamed work pony.
Hm, her and Apple Tree would get along well.
The next was a pure white Unicorn with a purple mane concealed by a lovely blond hat with a pink ribbon. This mare seemed to give off a feeling of grace and elegance.
She and Monty could totally make a dress together
One of them was behind the rest of the group. She was a yellow Pegasus with a lovely pink mane. This mare was pretty attractive to Lawton, but he was to focus on Twilight to care.
The last one was pure pink with a poofy mane. She was bouncing constantly and looked like she had the energy that could last for 24 years.
Note to self, NEVER introduce her to Horse Shoes.
Finally, the siblings stopped their embrace.
"Twili!" Said Shining. "I didn't think you would get here so soon."
"Why shouldn't I, my brother was famed for murder and the only thing he tell's me is to go to his vacation home." pouted Twilight.
"I see you brought your friends along." said Cadence.
"Well, we couldn't jus' let are princess here go alone." said the orange mare.
"Yeah,yeah,yeah,yeah,yeah, we needed to make sure the prince wasn't sucked into a vortex prison or banished to Saddle Arabia or-" The pink one's mouth was stuffed by the cyan one's hoof.
"So darling, is trial going to be held here?" asked the pure white one.
"No, the trial was held yesterday." said Shining.
They all gasped at what he said. The cyan one flew up in the air and began shouting.
"WHAT" the cyan one shouted. "but we were going to figure out who framed you and testify!"
"Did you get hurt, did they throw the book, what jail are they putting you in?" stammered Twilight, looking at her brother depressingly.
"Twili, calm down, the trial went perfectly, but you can thank him for that." Shining Armor then looked at Lawton, which made the six mares do the same thing. Lawton smiled nervously, not use to being the center of attention unless he was in a courtroom. Twilight went up to him and looked at him carefully. Lawton's smile turned into a genuine one, finally he was reunited with his childhood crush.
"...Do I know you?" asked the oblivious Twilight Sparkle. Lawton's ear's flopped down but kept that smile for her, even though he wanted to burst into tears.
"Twilight, that's your playmate during your time under Celestia's tutelage." said Cadence. Something must have popped in Twilights head, because her eyes were wide while staring at Lawton.
"Lawton?" YES THAT'S WHAT I JUST SAI- oh, i mean, Twilight said.
"It's been to long Twilight." said Lawton.
Twilight squealed and pulled Lawton in for hug but quickly let go with a blush of embarrassment. Lawton on the other hand was as happy as he could be.
"Am I missin' somethin' here?" asked the orange mare.
"Oh, yes... um" Twilight began. "Girls, this is Lawton, he was the only friend I had while I was studying under Princess Celestia."
She then turned to Lawton. "Lawton, these are my friends I've made in Ponyvile."
Twilight gesture towards the cyan one. "That's Rainbow Dash, one of the loyalist ponies I know."
Rainbow Dash flew to Lawton and gestured for hoof bump. "Sup."
Lawton hoof bumped the cyan mare. "Sup."
Twilight then pointed to the orange one. "This is Applejack, are residential farm pony."
Applejack immediately took Lawton's hoof and shook it so hard that Lawton was shaking. "Well howdy their partner, any friend of Twilight's is a friend of ours."
When she let go, Lawton was still gradually shaking as Twilight went on to introduce the pure white one.
"This is Rarity, a very generous fashion designer."
"Hello their darling, its nice to meet one of Twilight's old friends." said Rarity as she shook Lawtons hoof gently.
"The one over there is Fluttershy, who is well... shy."
Fluttershy trotted to Lawton slowly and shook his hood cautiously. Now that Lawton wasn't focusing primarily on Twilight, this Fluttershy was actually quite adorable... and attractive.
Before Lawton could think upon this, the pink one bounced up to him and started badgering him with plenty of questions.
"So, do you lift weights, do you eat out or make your food, did you buy that hat, DO YOU THINK THE CAKE IS A-"
"Yes I think its a lie, my friend stitched this hat, I order my food, and no... I'm just chiseled." replied Lawton.
"Um... yeah that's Pinkie Pie, she's...Pinkie Pie." said Twilight.
"Don't worry, I have a friend like her." said Lawton, still joyed that his crush was still in the room.
"So... your a lawyer now."
"Yeah, no exactly the best job for getting on the good side of nobles."
"Well, at least you make good money."
"And clients."
Twilight giggled, It had been years since they last saw each other, but it felt like they haven't missed a moment in their lives.
"Well, I think I need to hit the hay." said Shining. "Lawton, your room is on the 2nd floor next to the bathroom."
"I should go to." said Lawton. "I've got unpaid bills to pay."
"Alright." said Twilight. Lawton went upstairs and found his room. He started to go over his bills when a thought came upon him that he savored for the rest of the day.
I finally found her again... and this time I'm going to make things right.
The Next Day
... What I'm the narrator I can do that
Lawton was sitting at the desk in his new room at the vacation home of Shining Armor and Cadence. Lawton was as happy as he could, he was in a room that didn't smell like his traditional vodka, and he was reunited with his childhood crush Twilight Sparkle. Lawton felt great, now he could possibly pursue his crush...until he remembered yesterday. After getting settled in his room, Lawton went down to the living room where he got to know of all of Twilight's life without him. So many things to remember... you know I think there's a biography for that. Lawton couldn't remember all of it, but he did take care to remember her new friends. Those mares seem to remind Lawton a lot about his friends, hay, he swore that this Applejack and Apple Tree were related. Lawton felt comfortable around these mares, especially Fluttershy. For some reason Lawton seemed to have an undeniable attraction for this mare, and he didn't like this. Sure, he's felt like this before, and Fluttershy seemed to be the stronger exception, but Lawton refused to look at anypony that way but Twilight. Everything was going great... until Lawton remembered... the last day he saw Twilight.
A lot of bad things happened the week before he would have to see Twilight...for starters it was the last time he would see her. It only got worse though, see, because the little colt that was Lawton was on trial. When Lawton was a colt, another colt about his age murdered his parents and was put in the most heavily fortified jail in Equestira for life. The law system was crippled by this shocking act... but it made a good excuse for noble's. Now sure, most noble's had morale's, but the system was very vulnerable at this point, and Lawton became one of the colt's framed for a crime. The lawyer for the orphanage that Lawton lived in, Clear Skies, took Lawton in as his client. Clear Skies was the "Lawton" before Lawton, but unlike Lawton, he lived in a time when lawyers weren't all corrupt. It was looking good at the trial, Clear Skies seemed to be winning the jury over. When they came down with the not guilty verdict, everything seemed to have gone right... until Clear Skies was killed. Right in the courtroom, a sword flew right into his skull. No one suspected one of the decorative sword's in the room was not magically protected, but the prosecutor manged to kill Clear Skies. What made it worse, It was right in front of Lawton.
Lawton was practically traumatized, seeing the soulless eyes of his mentor and friend staring right at him. Lawton still wanted to see Twilight though, even after the long conversations with Madame Flora. And so he did, he went to the castle and was meet with a tight embrace from Twilight. This made Lawton feel a little bit better, but that quickly disappeared when Twilight asked him not to be a lawyer. Clear Skies showed Lawton that he wanted to be a lawyer, and was the prime reason for his cutie mark. Lawton got angry and argued with Twilight for what seemed like hours. Lawton had a horrible temper, got him kicked out of a preschool once. So when the argument reached its boiling point, Lawton exploded. He started screaming at her, berating her for suggesting such a thing. He ran out of the castle, leaving his crush in a emotionally damaged state. Lawton could never forgive himself for it, and he was sure Twilight didn't either...but that didn't explain why she hugged him when they reunited.
"Lawton?"
Lawton looked back to find the very same mare he was pondering about.
"Twilight!, come in, I-I'll pull up a chair" Lawton replied and did just that. Twilight looked at Lawton nervously, and was about to say something until...
"I'm sorry..." Twilight was surprised, she thought she had to bring that day up.
"It's fine Lawton, I understand your point... he was your mentor and responsible for your cutie mark... I'm just hoping you see my side."
"*sigh*... you were worried about me and I took that as a challenge to my destiny instead of excepting it like a good little law pony."
Twilight giggled, but was still surprised at his automatic knowing. "I would have thought you wouldn't know."
"Well, I've had some 17 years to think about it, plus my friends have told that's what I tend to do sometimes, take something meant to be helpful and turn it into something ugly." Lawton poured himself a drink, something that caught Twilight's eye.
"I-Is that alcohol." Twilight asked.
"Yup, 99% dandelion vodka."
"You know that stuff's bad for you right?"
"Yeah, but I can control myself."
"Plenty of ponies say that Lawton, but that never lasts long."
Lawton hated to admit it but she was right. He was able to control himself when he was younger, but now he was slowly losing himself from his own drinks. One time he was kicked out of a bar for starting a fight with some burly Pegasus. His drinking also caused another problem for him... but will get to that.
"Look." Twilight began. "We may haven't left on the greatest of terms, but I still consider you my friend... yeah, I wasn't happy that you yelled, but I still care for your well being." Twilight put a hoof on Lawton's shoulder, causing him to shudder.
"Well, I need to go downstairs and help with the party." Twilight headed for the door and closed it gently. Lawton was conflicted with himself, what should he do? Should he quit his drinking before anything else happens... or should he ignore the advice from the one mare he admired. He would have thought more about it... but then his heart rate increased. Lawton was holding his chest with his fore hoof, not now he thought. Luckily it was a temporary attack, leaving Lawton grateful Twilight left when she did.
This... condition that Lawton has began 3 years ago. Lawton suffered a similar attack but it ended quickly before it could do any real damage. The doctors say it was a condition they have never seen, but they knew the cause was the obscene amount of alcohol that he drank on a daily basis. One doctor gave him a brand of medicine used for heartburn and gave it to Lawton to see it worked. It did work, but Lawton had to keep this a secret from his close friends. He convinced them it was some random thing that developed. Lawton couldn't bring himself to tell them the truth, he couldn't stop drinking. It got worse gradually, but no matter what, Lawton would not quit his liquor.
Twilight was going over the preparations with her friends, and a lot on her mind. She had never forgotten the argument she and Lawton had, but her opinion of him never changes. She still believed he was a trustworthy stallion and could only judge him on all of the good memories that over-weighted the one bad. It seemed everypony was also wondering about the stallion as well.
"So Twilight." Began Rarity as she was levitating some streamers. "How did you meet this Lawton character anyway."
"Well..." Twilight was trying to find the right words to describe that day. "Princess Celestia thought that I needed a playmate to balance the constant studying and practicing that I was doing under her tutelage. When I was a filly here... there was an increase in orphans being shipped to Canterlot. Princess Celestia was troubled by this, so she brought in one of them as my playmate."
"And that orphan was Lawton right?" asked Rainbow Dash, who was putting up some balloons in the party area.
"P-poor guy..." said Fluttershy, who was pouring punch in a bowl. "W-what happened to his parents?"
"He didn't know... but we never talked about it. It was funny really, when we first met, I just shrugged him off and kept reading this book I was studying."
"Hoo-wee, and you still met after that? why I reckon a colt would have just left ya then." said Applejack while unfolding some tablecloth.
"That's what I thought, but instead he was interested in what I read. Soon are play-date's just became me discussing the books I read and him telling me his little misadventures with his friends."
"OOH, OOH, OOH, did they involve cake?" asked the super party pony Pinkie Pie, who was basically doing everything while talking.
"Heh heh, no Pinkie, I do think one involved a veggie casserole though."
"Actually, it was Spinach." Lawton had entered the room, and was admiring the scenery. "Quite impressive decor you've got here."
"Why thank you darling." replied Rarity, now hanging up the banner. "Just wait until you see the dresses I ha-" Rarity stopped with her mouth wide open, which made everypony worry. "T-t-t-THE DRESSES." She screamed, causing everypony to flinch at the sudden shriek.
"You left them?" asked Twilight, going over to comfort her friend who was now bawling her eyes out.
"Oh Twilight, Just where *hic* am I going to get fabric in such short *hic* notice." Rarity cried.
Lawton cleared his throat, gaining the two mares attention.
"Well... I do know a fashion pony."
A Stallion With Fashion Sense
Lawton was trotting down to "The Richly Fine", a shop run by Montesquieu. Joining him was Twilight, who had to wear a cloak to hide her wings, Rarity, and Rainbow dash.
"I'm surprised at you Rainbow." said Rarity with some perplexity in her voice. "I wouldn't have thought you were interested in the dresses."
"I aint, I just want to tell this fashion colt about my preferences." said Rainbow Dash coolly.
"Rainbow, you remember what happened when we bothered Rarity about our dresses for the Gala." said Twilight sternly.
"Oh come on, YOU were just as responsible as I was."
"HOLD UP." said Lawton, interrupting Twilight. "Whats this about dresses and the Gala."
"Well Darling." Rarity began. "We had all received tickets for the Grand Galloping Gala and I was making the dresses for all of us, but someponies," She looked at Rainbow and Twilight playfully, "Didn't agree with my choices."
Lawton looked at Twilight with a smirk, "So, even before being a princess you were picky." Twilight blushed in embarrassment while Rainbow laughed and Rarity giggled.
"I learned my lesson." said a defensive Twilight.
"Yeah, yeah, we went through this speal when you wrote the letter, so Lawton." Rainbow flew in front of Lawton but was still going forward to the destination. "You seem....suspicious.... I don't think you let on all you seem."
Lawton kept his cool, he didn't want to show he did have any secrets to reveal, "What do you mean Ms.Dash?"
"Cut with the miss would ya." said an annoyed Rainbow, "Anyway, I think you... don't go on a dates do you?"
"RAINBOW." Twilight gave Rainbow Dash a death glare, which Dash just shrugged off. Lawton however, was chuckling at the bizarre accusation.
"Calm down Twi, it was funny, and you are correct Rainbow, I haven't really dated... at all." Lawton hid a blush, he usually never confided his love life with mares.
"Well Darling, if you ever need advice on the dating scene, Rarity will be here for you." Rarity gave a heart warming smile, and Lawton returned it. Lawton stopped in front of the small shop that Montesquieu owned. He opened the door to find an empty counter, most likely Monty was working in the backroom.
"Have we caught him at a bad time?" asked Twilight.
"No Twi," Lawton went behind the counter and headed towards the door that held Monty's work area, "He just really loves to work."
The room behind the door was a cluster of flying materials, dresses and suits being placed on mannequins, and one Unicorn personally attending to a hat. Lawton trotted in the room quietly, while the others did the same. Rarity felt she was in a personal heaven, wonderfully made dresses and hats were arranged in an aroma of colors. Monty was carefully adding some green paint to a hat he was working on. The group of ponies watched Monty quietly... until Rainbow spoke up.
"...HEY!" she shouted.
Monty nearly had a heart attack... instead he sprayed his chest with green paint. Rainbow was giggling, but had to contain from the glares she was given.
"Sorry Monty, but you got to admit your working a little to hard." said Lawton casually.
"Oh its alright Lawton, I needed a break anyway... wait your back?" asked Monty with a puzzled look.
"Well apparently I arrived a week late and had to postpone sleep for two days."
"Ugh, I hate the postal system here, and whats the big deal with two days for you? I recall you postponing weeks for one case."
"Is that true?" Twilight gave Lawton a concerned look that also read "Lecture time".
"Don't worry dear, this oaf can make up for months of lack of sleep with one just one night... and a shot of bourbon." said Monty casually.
"HEY, HEY, HEY... it is a shot of gin, GET IT RIGHT." shouted Lawton hysterically, which made Monty chuckle.
"So... Lawton... should I ask why there are three mares with you, or can i assume you went all out with the dating thing I've been suggesting." Lawton couldn't hide his blush while the Rarity and Rainbow giggled an Twilight gave an amused look.
"Hah, hah, girls this my good friend Montesquieu, Monty these are Rainbow Dash, Rarity and-"
"Wait a second... purple mane... horn... is this Twilight Sparkle?" asked Monty while observing the cloaked mare.
"Why yes I am." said Twilight, flapping her wings to give an indication of her new reason for everypony to recognize her
Monty gave a gasped at her now exposed wings, "T-The P-Princess of F-Friendship is in my store... and she's with you." he looked at Lawton, who just smiled.
"Well isn't this a shock, I've heard so much about you Princess." Monty bowed before Twilight, who blushed over having been fussed over, "So, what can I do for you."
"I can explain that darling." Rarity chimed in looking at Monty with trouble in her eyes. "You see, we were invited to stay at The rulers of the Crystal empires vacation home after a successful trial thanks to your friend here. There is going to be a celebration party for Prince Shining Armor, but I had forgotten these lovely dresses for everpony and I don't have any materials to make new ones."
"Ah, so you need my materials."
"Well yes, I swear to you Mr. Montesquieu I will pay whatever-"
"Ah,ah,ah... that will not be necessary Ms. Rarity, I have an offer for you... how about for the low price of 8 bits, I will personally make the dresses for you." Monty let out his hoof for a conformation shake.
"W-Well... I wouldn't want to bother you on such a thing seeing as I design myself." Rarity seemed very hesitant to accept Monty's offer. Twilight went up to Rarity and put a reassuring hoof on her shoulders.
"Rarity, you've been working a little bit to hard recently, let Mr. Montesquieu work on are dresses."
"Agreed, besides, this guy seems to have your craft of dress down to the letter." Rainbow said while observing the arrangement of clothes.
"Thank you, and please, call me Monty." Rarity shook Monty's hoof as they stared into each other for what seemed like hours. They were so intrigued in the other that barely paid attention to the other ponies in the room.
"Oh, I just remembered." Monty said as he snapped out of his trance. "If you would like, you could come by to monitor the progress of the dresses, Celestia knows how many times customers have asked that."
"Just don't have a blond mane and call yourself Prince Blueblood." remarked Lawton with a taste of venom in his voice.
"Ugh, don't remind me." Monty replied with the same disgust. Rarity was the first to pick up on this.
"You've meet that jerk Blueblood?" asked Rarity, who seem to have also matched the disgust of saying his name.
"Why yes dear, a week ago I got an order from that pompous unicorn for a suit. I made it of course, but when he arrived he mocked the way it was made an ordered a new design... 5 times. As soon as I was at the fifth time, he told to go back to the original, which I would have just brought the original I made anyway, but he personally had it trashed for 'my convenience '."
"OOOH, I absolutely detest that ignoramus, he was the worst date anypony could have at the Gala."
Monty and Lawton turned at Rarity and looked at her like she was a half eaten manticore on Princess Cadences back.
"YOU DATED HIM!" They both shouted.
"Only for the Gala, and do I ever regret it."
"Well, I'm glad to see their is another pony who understands what an arrogant bum he is." commented Monty. Rarity smiled at him, which was enough of a reply for him.
"Hey, I'm going back to the house." Said Rainbow Dash, who was pointing at the door.
"Ah yes, we should be going... Oh, um, about the measurements" Rarity was halted by a reassuring hoof to her lips from Monty.
"Do not worry miss, I will come by tomorrow and take measurements and get suggestions." Rarity giggled as she went towards the door.
"Lawton, are you coming with us?" Twilight asked as she headed towards the door.
"I'll head back soon, I just need to take care of a few things." Lawton said giving a smile. Twilight nodded and went after her friends.
"You seem to have taking a shining to Rarity haven't you Monty?" asked Lawton with a grin.
"Oh hush you, besides, that mare give off a wonderful aroma of elegance to her." Monty said with a smitten look.
"Well, If you excuse me, I need to go to my law firm to pick up my pills."
"You didn't have an attack their did you?"
"Only a small one, but they don't know about it, and I prefer you to keep this secret from them as well."
"Lawton, you know Twilight's going to figure it out eventually... but I will."
"Thanks."
"Before you go, Apple Tree and Horse Shoes should be back tomorrow, mind if I bring them with me?"
"That's fine." Lawton left and headed for his law firm. On the way, Lawton was pondering what he would do to keep his secret from everypony. He had hide the reason behind his condition for three whole years, and he wasn't done yet. Was it bad? should he feel wrong? did he care? All this and more was flying through his head.
"YO Lawton."
Lawton looked around to find a familiar pony behind him.
"Hello Blackout."
Lawton found himself once again heading for a destination. Lawton looked at the serious faced Blackout, a pony he had to respect, he was 10 years his senior. The earth pony seemed to be in a hurry and barely let Lawton grab his pills before they ventured off. A former marine is no pony to take lightly... especially one with anger issues. Lawton could never understand how he got to be friends with Blackout, but he was glad that he was. Blackout wore his signature black cloak that could have blended with his black coat if not for the red cloud designs that surrounded it. On one of the sleeves was a patch that signified his allegiance with his unit.His mane was a light black with white outlines and tips. His purple eyes seemed to be focused on going somewhere, but where?
"Uuuuummm... Blackout." said Lawton questioningly.
"Yeah, whats up Law?" asked Blackout while still looking forward.
"W-Well, you know i'm usually glad to see you... but usually when your at Canterlot, that means Shattered Psyche is here, and when both of you are here, It means somepony's going to get hurt, and that leads to me covering something up."
"Ha ha, don't worry mate, me and Psyche are here for a special purpose, and it involves your marefriend."
"...Marefriend?"
"You know, Twilight Sparkle."
"Oh, uh, were not a couple."
Blackout looked at Lawton like he was a dead pony walking.
"Seriously." said Blackout with a disappointed look.
"Look...I like to keep things slow for now, and why is Twilight Involved in this." Lawton asked. Blackout smiled at the distance, which revealed a similarly cloaked pony. The pony was sitting on a bench overlooking the river ahead of him. This pony also had a black coat but with a spikey silver mane. The river was almost as blue as his... slits. Yes, this pony was a Bat Pony, a race of Equestria over looked and mocked. Bat Ponies were a bunch that were remarked as ugly and bestial, except by a certain monarch of the moon. Princess Luna was responsible for the Bat Ponies, which was easy considering she had brought them their favorite time of the day. Their love was not enough for her thought because she turned into a monster and was banished by her sister Celestia. Times were hard for the race, their rights compared to the main three races were very little. They were governed over a council made for the absence of Luna, and lets just say they weren't so loving. When Luna came back, the Bat's rejoiced and finally got as many freedoms as everypony else. The Bat Pony looked at the two ponies approaching him and smiled.
"H-Hello Law." stammered the quiet voice of the Bat Pony.
"Hello Shattered Psyche... but before we get friendly, tell me why your here and why it concerns Twilight." said Lawton rather rudely.
"U-Um, w-well, um."
"Before the Tirek incident we were going to introduce your crush to the C.I.D and are methods." butted in Blackout. Lawton simply sighed as Psyche nodded in agreement, that bat pony may be shy but tell him to interrogate somepony and things get messy.
"However, since the incident happened, we didn't get another chance... until we heard our lawyer friend was helping her brother."
Lawton sighed again, he didn't know if being friends with these two was such a great thing after all. He remembered how one of his clients was assaulted and came to him to take the stallion responsible out of the streets. Turned out that stallion had some key facts about a secret drug ring, and this was when Lawton came in contact with those two... and learned of their methods. The case was at a point were Lawton saw no reason to testify further, but then these two came and asked him to continue with the case. They had him convinced right off the bat (no pun) but decided to let them persuade him with free drinks. Strangely, a friendship was made out of that night, and Lawton was let in on the secret that the public didn't know. The Criminal Investigation Department was made to extract information from convicts ranging from murder to domestic terrorism... by any means necessary after all.
"So, if you don't mind we would like you to take us to the new Princess of Friendship." asked Blackout. Lawton (for the third time) sighed and nodded his head in agreement. As the three ponies walked toward the vacation house, Lawton was wondering how Twilight would react to this. From what he learned about her life after that disastrous last meeting, she seemed to be fully unaware of most of the criminal scums that walk on equestrian soil. Once they arrived at the house, Psyche admired the lovely architecture.
"S-such amazing craftsmanship." Shattered Psyche said. Blackout patted Psyche on the back as Lawton knocked on the door. Some fuss was heard before Cadence opened the door.
"Lawton, we were wondering were you-" Cadence froze for a few seconds to observe the two cloaked ponies. "OH, Mr. Blackout and Psyche, I assume you're here to educate Twilight on the C.I.D." Lawton gave Cadence a shocked look, so quick on the situation, she seemed overly nice but he thinks there's a dark side to her.
"Hello again Princess Cadence, such a lovely day to meet." said Blackout with a bow.
"H-Hello." was all that Psyche said as he bowed.
"Do you know them Lawton?" asked Cadence.
"Well. being a lawyer seems to attract the most strange of friends." said Lawton with a smile. Cadence returned the smile as she opened the door fully to let the three in. They headed to the main living room where "The Mane Six" as they are dubbed and Shining armor were waiting for Cadence. Twilight lifted her eyes form a book she was reading and immediately caught Lawton's.
"Lawton, where were you? I thought you were going to your place for a minute?" asked a concerned Twilight.
"Don't worry Twi, just ran into some friends who needed to talk to you." Lawton gestured to the cloaked ponies. Blackout was the first to bow to Twilight, causing her to blush.
"Greetings Princess Sparkle, I am Blackout, security detail for the Criminal Interrogation Department and former marine." Blackout exclaimed. He then looked at Psyche and gestured for him to introduce himself.
"H-Hello P-P-Princess, my n-name is Sh-Shattered Psyche... head of the C-Criminal I-Interrogation D-Department a-a-and f-former m-member of the P-Psychological W-Warfare department of the m-military." stammered Shattered Psyche. This caught everypony except for Lawton, Blackout, and the Crystal Empire royals, by surprise. Shattered Psyche came across as a very... VERY shy pony, possibly more shy than... well, Fluttershy. Speaking of the element of kindness, Psyche seem to blush when ever the mare would look at him. It seemed that Lawton wasn't the only stallion who was enticed by the mares beauty. Blackout looked at Psyche again, signifying he had to explain there appearance.
"W-We were g-going to t-tell you this before now, b-but the T-Tirek incident p-prevented such." A moment of silence was made for remembering that dark time.
"Well, before you do, why not take off those cloaks." said Twilight. Taking that as a command, the ponies took off their cloaks and hanged them on racks. Psyche and Blackout both had tattoo's on their bodies and several scars. Blackout wore an armored vest that had a sleeve for his tazer and a sheathe for his kilij . Shattered Psyche wore a crescent moon necklace that showed his allegiance towards the lunar knights, a, order dedicated to Princess Luna. With their full bodies revealed, their cutie marks became more apparent. Shattered Psyche's mark was that of the recognizable psychology symbol . Blackout's mark was a pair of crossed sliver handcuff's with the golden justice scale behind them. Lawton knew that those ponies could be deceiving, but they were some of the most hardcore interrogators in equestrian history.
"W-Well, I-I guess I sh-should explain n-now." Psyche said as he took a deep breath.
"Hold on boss." said Blackout, interrupting Psyche. "Shouldn't we, you know, clear the room?" Blackout gesture towards the five mares who were approaching the Princess of Friendship.
"A-Actually i-f i'm not m-mistaken... y-you all a-are the f-friendship c-council." Shattered asked as the five mares nodded. "I-If they are ap-apart of a c-council overseen b-by a r-royal th-they are r-required to know of our c-conditions." The mares smiled at Psyche for allowing them to hear, which caused him to blush. Psyche took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and began. "The Criminal Investigation Department's goal is to extract important information by any means necessary. Because of this, members are granted 'the 5th freedom', which allows us to disregard the law to protect other ponies. What i'm trying to get is if there is a member in Ponyvile on buisness, do not be alarmed if they do something... drastic to the criminals."
"What d'ya mean by drastic." asked Applejack with a worried look.
"Oh, you know, beatings, water boarding, the occasional hallucinogenic." said Blackout nonchalantly. The Mane Six were horrified by this, something like beatings shouldnt be common to ponies in Ponyvile.
"WHOA. WHOA, WHOA... they do this in broad daylight." asked a shocked Rainbow Dash.
"N-No, its s-stressed that they a-are to i-interrogate in p-private away from c-citizen eyes." Psyche replied while putting on his cloak.
"Y-You have to go somewhere" asked Fluttershy, who seemed to be a little bit fidgety after that explanation.
"W-Well, I-I have family to meet."
"I should go to, you'll need somepony to protect you from your pops" Blackout said as he went to put on his cloak.
"I-I'm fine B-Blackout...r-really." Psyche replied.
"Please, last time you visited the old stallion without a marefriend he practically tried to tiger bench you." Blackout chuckled. Psyche blushed as they headed towards the front door. "Well it was nice confiding with you Princess Sparkle, but we must take leave... see ya Law." Before they could leave, Pinkie Pie appeared right in front of them and held a plate of pastries.
"CUPCAKES" squealed the very energetic pink mare. Blackout and Psyche graciously excepted a cupcake as they left. There was a short silence when the door closed and Pinkie bounced to the kitchen to make more of her cupcakes.
"Well, THAT was uplifting." said Rarity as she plopped on the couch.
"I would never think that's what ponies had to do for information... did you know about this?" Twilight turned to Shining Armor, who was quietly sitting on an arm chair.
"I was made aware after a week of marriage with Cadence." he replied
"Twilight, Its important that you and your friends don't tell another soul of what those ponies do." Cadence said.
"...I wont Cadence, I promise, girls" she adverted her attention to the five mare, who all nodded in agreement. "So... how did you meet those ponies anyway?" Twilight asked as she turned to Lawton.
"Oh... you know... you're working on a case... your suspect turns out to be a drug lord... two cloaked ponies tell you to testify further... you demand to know what they are going to do to him... they show you... you don't eat pancakes ever again." Lawton said as he remembered that day. "Well, I need some shut eye, Goodnight everypony." they waved as he left for his room to go to sleep. As Lawton rested in his bed, he noted something that he should do. Maybe I should see Psyche for a therapy session, get the quilt off my chest... see if i should tell everypony Lawton thought to himself. He would have pondered it further, but sleep over took him.
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(SORRY FOR THE WAIT) A Stallion with an Akubra.
The cold water hit Lawton hard, the noise of the shower distracting him from the cold. It was the day that Monty was coming over with Apple Tree and Horse Shoes to take measurements to make dresses for the 6 mares. Lawton wasn't the best morning pony, his constant drinking would usually seem to give him the worst of hangovers. The cold showers he would take would usually help him see straight for the day. He had to admire to lovely decor of the bathrooms, even the toilet looked like it was from a painting. So many things were in Lawtons head, he was reunited with his childhood crush after many years... but still felt inferior around her. When they first met and Lawton realized he had a thing for her, he never thought of himself as worthy for her affection. She was a pupil of Celestia, the ruler of their land, surely she wanted somepony more than an orphan. Now that they have been reintroduced, Twilight is even more special to his eyes. Element of Harmony, Princess of Friendship, help defeated Tirek and countless of others, could she really want a coltfriend like him? What did he have to offer? He was a lawyer of the ponies, a drunk, what could he offer? His train of thought was interrupted by a knock on the bathroom door.
"Lawton, you in there?" asked the voice of Twilight.
"I-I'm in the shower right now." Lawton replied
"Oh, okay." and with that Lawton heard the door open and close. The shower curtain completely blocked Lawton's body, but he still blushed over Twilight being in the bathroom with him.
"Mind if I groom my mane in here?" asked Twilight.
"Sure, but do you usually enter pony's bathrooms after they say their in the shower." Lawton said.
"The curtains here block a pony's body, so logically it would apply for the shower curtains as well. Plus, I just needed to groom my mane...its not great in the morning."
"No other bathrooms were available for a princess?"
"All of my friends are using most of the ones here, and yours was the only one available."
"Your room dosen't have restroom?"
"I decided to take a room with no restroom, my friends have a lot of morning prep."
"I can only Imagine."
"I still haven't worked up the nerve to ask."
There was a slight chuckle from the two before silence over took the room, the only noises being the cold shower and Twilight's man being brushed. Lawton was becoming uncomfortable with the silence, so he needed to come up with a question. He soon remembered something that actually bothered him a little on what the answer would be.
"So, what ever happened to that baby dragon you were raising? did he leave for the frontier?"
"Spike? oh no, he's tending to the castle back at Ponyvile."
"You let him stay in a castle alone?"
"I trust him to. He usually just tends to the library inside like he used to do when I just lived in a tree."
"How grown is he now? last time I saw him he was just a small thing...and spitting up fire."
Twilight chuckled a little "He's not as big as most dragons, around half the size of a pony."
"Does he...have a special somepony?" Lawton asked, a little scared that Twilight may take offense. Instead he was met with another chuckle.
"No...but he is interested in the idea, but he's a little shy...considering he's a dragon." Twilight said.
"I'm sure somepony will look past that." There was another moment of silence after Lawton's reply. He had a question he was dreading to ask, but he needed to know. "D-Do you have anypony your interested in?"
"W-Well." Twilight stammered, wondering if she should tell her old friend. But knowing friends like Applejack, she knew she had to be honest. "I've been seeing this guard named Flash Sentry...we haven't made it official but...there's definitely something there."
Something there...something there. Lawton was devastated at this... but also a bit glad. He knew Twilight deserved somepony that would protect her like he would, somepony who could appreciate her like he did...right? Lawton needed to know who this stallion was... he needed some reassurance.
"T-That's nice...so whats he like." Lawton asked.
"He's nice, he's handsome...he's good at kissing." Twilight whispered the last part.
"What was that?"
"Oh nothing...um, thanks for letting me use the mirror."
"N-No problem." And with that Twilight set down the brush and left the bathroom. Lawton couldn't think of anything else the whole time he was in the bathroom. Who was this stallion that got the attention of his old friend that way? He was a guard, Lawton knew that much, and what Twilight described was simply showing her affection towards this guard. If there wasn't any better time to drink... it was now. Lawton got out of the bathroom after drying himself and took out his bottle of his dandelion vodka, which he kept in his scarf. Now that the thought dawned upon him. Lawton realized that Twilight didn't even notice he kept the scarf she made him all those years ago. Pushing the thought aside, Lawton took a chug of his drink and sat it down down on a desk. Instantly, Lawton felt dizzy right away and needed to lay down in case he did something stupid. Unfortunately, A ringing was heard from downstairs.
"I'll get it." Rarity said as she headed for the door.
"N-N-No need Rari." said a drunk Lawton as he came down the stairs. "I-I will *hic* answer the...do...sea biscuit."
The 6 mares looked at Lawton confused, but he pushed it off as he stumbled towards the door. He opened it to reveal two ponies in front of him. First was Montesquieu, who had a displeased look as he wore an unflattering sombrero on his head, sticking up thanks to his horn. The second was an Earth Pony, muscular build, orange eyes, yellow coat, brown mane, and a cutie mark that depicted and grown tree of pears apples. The Earth Pony pulled Lawton in for a hug, which practically paralyzed him.
"Well, well, howdy there ol' partner, I havent seen you since that food charity at the town square." said the heavy accented Earth Pony.
"I-Its nice to see *hic* yo... Hors- Apple Tree... could you let go *hic*." pleaded the drunk lawyer.
Apple Tree let go of his drunk friend, who gasped for breath. "Uh oh, somepony's drunk as a skunk."
"W-Well ya know, ya need to...unwind sometimes." Lawton the directed his attention to the sulky face of Montesquieu. "M-Monty....you don't come f...from *hic* Mexicolt."
"Horse Shoes brought us all gifts from that convention and mine happened to be this...ungoddessly abomination of head wear." Monty replied, blowing on a loses straw from the hat to clear it from his eye.
"Oh don't be like that Mon, at least he got ya somethin' to use for farm work." Apple Tree exclaimed.
"Wha...what did he get *hic* you Ap'." Lawton asked.
"A flower for my akubra." he replied as he pointed his fore-hoof at his hat, which had a nice red flower on it.
"L-Looks nice *hic*... here, let m-me show you to the living *hic* room." Lawton said as he lead them toward the room where the six mares awaited.
"Mr. Montesquieu! so exited to see you-" Rarity stopped herself to fully scan the hat that Monty was wearing. "W-Well...what a nice hat."
"A friend of mine bought this for me recently at a convention and I usually find myself forcing to wear whatever parchment of clothing he buys me." Monty said as he repeated his action of blowing off the strand straw.
"Oh, well that's certainly nice of you."
"I'm still hoping he dosen't remember that rainbow fez he gave me months ago..." Monty then gazed at the wall like he was remembering horrible memories.
"S-So, would you like to get started?" Rarity asked.
"Yes, if you would please stand still, I will take measurements." Monty asked and Rarity complied. She stood on her hoofs straight and Monty pulled out some measuring tape from a saddlebag he was carrying. "I will call you all up as soon as I take Ms. Rarity's measurements...and ask her your names." with that said he began engaging Rarity in deep conversation. Apple Tree was resting on a wall next to Lawton observing the others. It was until Twilight noticed Apple Tree that he decided to make his presence known.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see you there, I'm Twilight Sparkle, nice to meet you." Twilight said as she extended her hoof. The other mares (besides Rarity) seemed to have pulled their attention to the yellow stallion. Apple Tree's eyes went big after Twilight revealed her name, and he immediately took her hoof and shacked it.
"Well howdy there miss, I never expected to be mertin' the mare Law kept badgering 'bout." Apple Tree exclaimed. Lawton was blushing... or just drunk, at that statement as Rainbow Dash nudged him on the shoulder playfully.
"I-I will have *hic* you know that...I simply just talked *hic* about her for a good... hou... Mary Poppins." Lawton said as he tried to defend himself in his drunken state.
"So, what do you work as?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Ms. Fluttershy, if you please." said Monty as Rarity went over to the group. Fluttershy went over hesitantly while Apple Tree continued the conversation.
"Ah work as an independent fruit seller." said Apple Tree proudly.
"Really now... what fruit?" asked Applejack. Most of the mares gave applejack a look of pure confusion as to why she would ask that.
"Pinapples." exclaimed Apple Tree. Everypony looked at Apple Tree like he was crazy. Lawton, even though completely drunk, had to call his friend out on this.
"O-Okay, I may be *hic* completely drunk right n-now...but you HAVE to be bunkin with us right?" said the hysterical Lawton.
"Alright, ya caught me... but seriously, what did ya drink before ah got here?" asked Apple Tree.
"I-I think it was my *hic* vodka...b-but you know the narrator...bucking *hic* erratic in his writing."
The group looked at Lawton like he just came out of prison. Twilight put a reassuring hood on Lawton's shoulder.
"Maybe you should rest Lawton, get the alcohol out of your system." Twilight said with a smile.
"O-okay." Lawton went over to the nearest couch and collapsed on it. The group then went back to their conversation.
"So, you're a fellow apple farmer I reckon." said Applejack with intrigue in her voice.
"Yes sirey, you?" said Apple Tree with the same level of Intrigue.
"Yup, names Applejack, farmer pony for the Apple family." Applejack held out her hoof, which was promptly shaken by Apple Tree.
"Ms. Pinkie Pie" Monty said Fluttershy came back to the group. Pinkie bounced away, which made Apple Tree chuckle.
"Your friend there reminds me of a close friend of our's" said Apple Tree.
"Speaking of that friend." Lawton raised up shortly after he collapsed and had a horrible hangover immediately. "I thought he was suppose to be here today."
"Had ta restock shipment or somethin' on those lines." Apple Tree explained. Lawton gave a nod and immediately went back to sleep.
"What does your friend do for a living?" asked Fluttershy, who was quietly behind a chair.
"He, like myself, is one of the Earth pony folk raised here, but unlike me, who just grows apples, are friend Horse Shoes runs a joke shop." answered Apple Tree.
"Ms. Dash" said Monty as Pinkie zoomed back. Dash groaned but went to Monty anyway.
"So what did I miss?" Pinkie asked excitedly.
"Apple Tree was telling us about a friend who owns a shop." Rarity of old her bouncing friend.
"Oooooh, does he sell cupcakes?" asked Pinkie.
"Na, sells joke items and hay like that... though he seems to be his best customer." Apple Tree said.
"He buys his own merchandise?" Twilight asked.
"Ah no, he USES his stock on us poor saps, why I can still remember when he pranked Lawton last month." Apple Tree said with a chuckle at the end.
"N-No, Horse Shoes, not the...syrup." Lawton mumbled in his sleep. Everypony chuckled at Lawton's nightmare, but Pinkie seemed to have wanted to ask something badly.
"DOES HE SELL DRIBBLE GLASSES." squealed the exited pink mare.
"Ms. Applejack." Monty said as Rainbow Dash flew back. Applejack trotted over to Monty as Apple Tree aswered Pinkie's question.
"I reckon so."
Pinkie gasped and turned to Twilight. "Twilight, can we go, i need to buy some dribble glasses for this hilarious prank for..." Pinkie stopped herself as she didnt want to reveal who she was pranking...although she did look at Rainbow Dash when she did.
"I don't know Pinkie... we still have a lot to do for the party." said an uneasy Twilight.
"Wha' kind of 'lot to do'?" asked Apple Tree.
"To many, we need more streamers, balloons, and even table cloths... and food."
"Why is food a problem again? Cant your brother and Princess Cadence just order from some expensive place?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Apparently there are a lot of clients who book under years in advance, and this time of year is when a lot of pony's get their orders. Besides, Cadence doesn't want to use her influence on a party." Twilight explained.
"Ah suggest you go to Horse Shoes for them party items Princess." said Apple Trees. "As for them food you need-"
"Princess Sparkle." Monty said as he approached with Applejack. "Would you mine if I measure you now?"
"Could you do it here? Apple Tree was telling me about a way to get more food for the party." asked Twilight.
"Of course princess." said Monty with a light bow as Twilight stood still and Monty measured her foreleg. "So Apple Tree, trying to promote your apple garden?." said Monty as he moved the measuring tape to Twilight's back legs.
"Hey, ah don't get much business here, ah'll pander to whoever I please." said Apple Tree proudly.
"Why I reckon that should work, what say you Twilight?" asked Applejack.
"I guess that could work, I'll send you a letter once Cadence and Shining give the clear." said Twilight as her wings were measured.
"No problem... but ma work don't come cheap these days, i barely make rent now." said a sorrowed Apple Tree.
"It's no problem sugarcube, times are tough, we understand." Applejack said as she put a hoof over Apple Tree's shoulder. Apple Tree gave a smile before he saw the time on the grandfather clock in the corner of the room.
"Tarnation, Mon' we got to skedaddle, my tree's needed waterin'." said Apple Tree.
"Alright, I'm done anyway." Monty put away his tape and went to the door with Apple Tree. "Oh, Ms.Rarity, if you want you can come and monitor the progress on the dresses." Monty gave a smile to Rarity, who returned it back.
"I'll see that I can darling." Rarity responded. With that out of the way, the two pony's left and the mares went about their business...while Lawton laid uncomfortably on the couch.
WARNING!! THIS SEGMENT OF THE STORY IS MAINLY A JOKE. IT DOES INTRODUCE A MAIN CHARACTER, BUT NOT IN THE REGULAR SENSE THAT THIS STORY DOES
In a pitch black room with a single light bulb on the top, a figure in a brown suit and tie was typing away on his laptop. He was pleased with the work he had completed and was ready to publish...but noticed he was still typing. Why was he typing? he felt satisfied with the chapter, so why continue writing? Just...why was he typing...these exact words. As he pondered this, a bright rift of some sorts opened in the side of the room. What stepped out of this rift was perplexing to the figure...it was an OC...HIS OC. The pony was red coated with a dark green mane, with a long strip of purple around his middle section. His eyes were multi-colored, his left eye being a light shade of brown while his right was cobalt blue. The cutie mark was that of two white horse shoes side by side with a single rubber chicken in the middle. The brown suited figure should have been shocked...but was to preoccupied by typing these letters.
"Hello zere Mr.Author." said the red pony with a distinct german accent.
"H-Hello...Horse Shoes?" the Author said when recognized the pony in front of him.
"SOOOOOOOOOO, have you put me in ze story yet?" ask the German pony with an innocent smile.
"W-W-What are you talking about? Why are you alive? HOW DID YOU GET IN MY ROOM!!" said the author who was still typing away.
"Veeelllll, to explain your first question, I vant to know if I have finally made my debut." said Horse Shoes. "Second, I'm alive because you, yes, YOU made me. Third...MAGIC" Horse Shoes then waved his hooves frantically.
"I know I thought you up...but how do you exist in real life." asked the Author.
"Silly, vhen a person comes up vith an idea, it is sent to a multiverse that holds these imaginations. It takes a general expression of said idea to make it its own universe. From vhat i guess you didn't show me in zhat chapter your vorking on. However, because you have a clear picture of vhat I am, I can exist in your vorld...make sense." Horse Shoes looked at the Author like he should understand what he said. Instead, the Author just looked like he heard the bible read to him in a 10 seconds flat.
"Okay...I am not going to question this...I am very confused...but I am going to try to stop typing." the Author tried to pull his hands away but kept typing.
"Oh, you cant stop unless I leave...BUT BEFORE I DO, I NEED TO ASK SOME QUESTIONS." shouted the german pony.
"Ugh, well its not like I have anything better to do...shoot." said the Author.
"ARE YOU EVER GOING TO PUT IN A CLO-"
"SHUT UP, NO!!!!!, IM NOT DOING THAT!!!!!"
"But you vould get some much attention."
"For the wrong reason's Horse Shoes...any more questions?"
"Vel-"
"THAT DON'T INVOLVE 'THAT' KIND OF SUBJECT MATTER."
"Okay, okay...vill you change the cover art."
"If someone proposes to make a new cover art willingly on their own accord then sure."
"Finally...vill you ever make zat side story vith those OC's that Jman796 sent you?"
"It'll probably be a small one after I finish this story."
"Vell, zat answers all my questions." said Horse Shoes as went to the rift.
"Wait...before you go...I need to ask one question." said the Author.
"Yes?" Horse Shoes said with a confused look.
"If you and I are the focus point in this segment of the story...who was the guy that's talking about all of this."
"Discord." Horse Shoes said simply. He then jumped into the rift, which closed in the process. The Author went back to stop typing as he realized that according to his OC, John De Lancie narrated his own story.
A Stallion Lost in the Head
Lawton did not want to get up today, that liquor he drank yesterday made him have the worst of his list of hangovers. He was unconscious during the whole day and to be escorted to his room by some of the small guard patrol in the home. But today was... a sad day that Lawton had to face. He did this sort of ritual every year since that one day. Forcing himself out of his bed, he brushes his pony teeth, combs his mane back, wraps his scarf around his neck, and stumbles out of his chamber door. Lawton slowly went down the stairs leading to the living room when he heard some conversation from the mares.
"So Twilight, when are you going to meet that Flash fellow?" asked the cheery Rarity.
"W-Well, I was planning on meeting him tomorrow." answered a blushing Twilight Sparkle.
"Ooh, somepony's falling hard for another somepony." said the bouncing Pinkie Pie while nudging the flustered Alicorn.
"Yeah, soon you to will be married at this point." joked the floating Rainbow Dash.
"Hush now both of y'all." said Applejack with a stern look. "Lets not embarrass are princess for to long, we still need to work on the party."
"What? jealous you don't have a special somepony?" Rainbow Dash laughed as she winked at Applejack. Applejack just grumbled as she went to straighten out a curtain. Twilight was still blushing until she got a glimpse at the slowly moving Lawton.
"Should you really be moving Lawton?" asked Twilight as she approached the stallion. Lawton came down the stairs and opened his eyes to stare at the Alicorn.
"Eh, its nothing Twi, I swear." said Lawton waving his hoof.
"Actually, since your up, mind if I ask a favor?" asked Twilight. Lawton could never refuse Twilight, she had those lovely eyes and that adorable face that would bend his will. However, he had things to do today, so he hoped it was somewhere along the route he was heading.
"Shoot" he said.
"Well, Pinkie, Rarity and I were thinking of going to that joke shop owned by one of your friends so we could get more party items. Since we don't know where to go...I was wondering if you could escort us?" Twilight gave Lawton that wonderful smile of hers, but Lawton was just sad at hearing this. He would have accepted, but Horse Shoes shop was the complete opposite to where he had to go.
"I-I'm sorry Twi, but Horse Shoe's shop is way out of the area where I need to go. I'm sure if you get Monty he'll be happy to escort you though." Lawton tried to give Twilight a smile, but he didn't feel in the mood to give fake smiles anymore.
"O-OK, but are you sure Montesquieu has the time?" Twilight asked.
"Knowing Monty, he's probably halfway done." Lawton replied.
"Alright, come on girls." Twilight and the other two mare headed for the doorway. Lawton felt bad that he couldn't help Twilight...but then he remembered something, or to be more suffice, somePONY.
"Twi." Lawton said, getting Twilight's attention. "Apple Tree's garden is on the route I have to travel, if you want i can go get the food he would bring here."
"You don't have to do that Lawton." Twilight said with concern in her voice.
"I don't mind Twi, really, its the least I can do for you." Lawton did his best to give Twilight a sincere smile, trying to fight the feelings of this day.
"Ah could go with ya. that wouldn't be a problem now would it Law?" asked Applejack as she stepped forward to the doorway with the group.
"N-No, I could use an escort." Lawton replied. Just why was AppleJack being so nice to him? in fact, why were all of these mares being nice to him? Lawton was pretty sure that most mares or stallions don't get used to somepony for quite a while. He just assumed that she did that to see the apples the Apple Tree grew.
"Alright, we'll be heading off." Twilight said as she dawned her cloak to hide her wings.
"And we'll be going the other direction, lets go Applejack." Lawton and Applejack went out of the door first and headed right, The other three went the opposite direction as the doors closed. Behind the doors, Rainbow Dash just looked in disbelief that she wasn't even acknowledged by the group.
"Was I just dissed?" Rainbow asked in an annoyed tone.
"Isn't nice to observe conversation?" said the meek voice of Fluttershy. Rainbow just responded with a sigh.
Lawton and Applejack were trotting down the Poor-Horse district to Apple Tree's house. There was an awkward silence between the two as they walked. Lawton appreciated this, as a day like this is when he rather not speak and just drown in beer. Applejack, however, wanted to break the silence with something that was bothering her.
"So pardner," Applejack began "ya have a thing for are Twilight don't ya?" If Lawton had a drink in his mouth, he would have spit out, took another sip, and spat it out again.
"W-What makes you think I have an interest in Twilight?" Lawton tried to ask as if he didn't know what she meant. Applejack simply gave a smug smirk at the reaction Lawton gave her.
"Pardner, ah'm the element of honesty, ah can tell when somepony's speaking through there teeth...so out with it." Applejack was stern, uncomfortably stern for Lawton's taste.
"Y-Yeah... I had a crush on her since I first met her... didn't go away either." Lawton's voice was faint on that last part, not wanting to remind himself of his crush having a coltfriend.
"Aw, don't get to sad sugarcube, ah'm sure you two would have made a cute couple." Applejack said with with some sincerity in her voice.
"Can I ask a question?" Lawton said hastily.
"Go ahead." replied the apple mare.
"Why do you like me? I mean, why do all of you like me? We met practically two days ago and you and your friends seem to be okay with me."
Applejack looked at Lawton like he was crazy. "What's the problem with trustin' somepony off the bat. 'Specially since yer Twilight's friend when she was just a filly, I reckon, as well at the others, that you were quite a trust worthy pony." The law pony was angry at this. He wasn't trustworthy, he made his closet friends believed he developed a heart condition while still drinking the reason for it. Lawton kept quiet, keeping his face neutral so the farm pony wouldn't notice his tirade of thought. "Well, if it makes ya feel better, Twilight was quite cheery when she would tell us about your play dates when you would go to sleep."
"Yeah, well... she'd probably be more cheery if her coltfriend was here." Lawton said in a deadpan tone. Applejack just sighted as they trotted along the streets. She took notice to a lot of the pony's that roamed the Poor Horse District. Many were dirty and rough looking, others were frail and helpless. Applejack didn't like to see pony's this way, especially when they all look like they haven't eaten something edible since birth. Lawton took notice to the disgruntled face the Earth Pony. "I wouldn't worry about the poor horses Ms. 'Jack...a lot of pony's look out for each other in these parts." Applejack gave him a nod until she saw a greenhouse not to far away.
Twilight and Rarity were walking to Montesquieu's clothing shop...while Pinkie Pie bounced there. A lot of the Poor Horses were staring at the group of three...but mostly at the pink Party Pony. Most of them were actually smiling at the display, the Poor Horse District never did get any cheer until Hearth's Warming. As the group came up to the door, they opened it to reveal, just like visit before, that Monty was no where to be found.
"Should we go in the backroom like last time?" asked Twilight while pondering on the idea.
"Oh heavens no, what if he's doing some important work on our dresses and we accidentally ruin his effort?" Rarity said with exaggerated panic. Her panic was soon reasonable as Pinkie Pie tapped on the small bell repeatedly, sending an annoying ring throughout the store. A long creaking sound was heard when the back room door was opened. Monty, with a messy mane and black lines over his eyes, trotted slowly over to Pinkie...who was still ringing the bell while looking at the pony. Monty sheepishly slammed his hoof on the bell before the pink pony could ring again.
"*Sigh*...hello Ms. Pie...would you like to see the dress I made for you." said Monty with a yawn at the end.
"Are you okay Monty-wonty? you seem a little sleepy. OOH, were you at a party, what kind was it. Was it a let's-not-go-to-sleep-party, because I've tried that before... it was the only party I couldn't last till the end. Although, maybe it was because of the super-duper amounts of eggnog I was drinking considering it was Hearth's Warming Eve. I mean, Hearth's Warming is a time to eat, and love, and cherish, but most of the time eat. What if-" Pinkie was cut off short by Twilight putting a hoof to her mouth.
"Mr. Montesquieu, we were hoping that you could escort us to Mr. Horse Shoes shop so we could purchase some party items we ran out of?" asked Twilight, struggling to keep Pinkie from talking to much as she did.
"We understand if you can't make it darling, we really do." Rarity said with as much sincerity as possible. Monty looked at the three mares for a few seconds until a small smile crept from his face.
"I'll be delighted to, after all...*yawn*...this is a request from the elements of harmony." Monty said as he levitated a near by brush and started aimlessly combing his mane.
"Here darling, used my mirror." Rarity levitated a mirror out of her hoof-made saddlebag and handed it over to Monty. Monty smiled as he levitated the mirror while combing his mane to be more presentable. After he was done, he gave Rarity the mirror back and levitated a saddlebag with nothing inside and put it on.
"Not going to bring anything darling?" Rarity asked.
"Knowing Horse Shoes, you may have more than you'll want."
"Well now, what a surprise, my lawyer friend visit's me the day after I visit him...FOR ONCE." Apple Tree joked as his company came in his door.
"I thought I told you I was working on a case for chariot theft, there was no time to visit." Lawton explained.
"Well, ya could have come fer a snack...but back on the track here, wha' brings you and yer OTHER farm pony friend." Apple Tree said with the same sarcasm in his voice.
"A.T, are my lawyer skills telling me your...jealous." Lawton imitated Apple Tree's sarcasm. A.T gave him a mock pout and flicked his head back, which made his quests giggle. "You need to stop hanging out with Monty, he's rubbing off of you."
"Tell me about it, so what brings y'all here?" asked Apple Tree.
"Well pardner," began Applejack "We were jus' wonderin' if ya would be so kind as to give us a sample of your treats that you would bring to the party?"
"Now that's jus' dandy, alright...follow me." Apple Tree lead his quests to the backyard of his humble garden house. Applejack expected some crude containment for A.T's apples, he didn't have the land that her family had. What she didn't expect was a very healthy apple tree in the middle of his garden surrounded by smaller trees's. Applejack looked at the apples hanging from the tree, taking note of the quality of the fruit.
"Somethin' the matter miss" Apple Tree asked as Applejack looked intently at his "apple farm".
"Nothin', just lookin' at the quality of yer apple's" answered the honest Applejack.
"So......what do ya think?"
"They look nice...though, if you planted these here trees in my family barn they would be ten times better."
"Really now? how good is yer mulch?"
"Probably better then this here ground you planted in."
"Hm, ya may be right on that." Apple Tree said as he looked to the ground. Canterlot was never the place with much dirt to plant in. The only form of dirt that A.T ever saw was the ground for the parks...the so very little.
"Uh, hey...Ms. Applejack, do you mind if you could take things from here...I need to do that errand quick." Lawton said with some hesitation.
"No problem sugarcube, I know how to get back to the house, you just go do what ya need to do." Applejack replied. Lawton went to open and close fence-gate in Apple Tree's garden to leave before A.T yelled out to him.
"Wha-" Lawton caught a bouquet of roses from Apple Tree, who gave him a sympathetic smile.
"For him." was all Apple Tree said as Lawton dashed of to his wanted location.
Monty and the girls arrived at Horse Shoes shop, an unsightly array of mismatched colors adorned it. The sign displayed a gold clown pony with a pie in his right hoof. As the quartet walked in, they saw the stock that this pony carried. Chattering teeth, whoopee cushions, joy buzzers and even a giant rubber chicken were some of the items that were displayed in the shop. Pinkie was admiring the stock before a bolt of color came out of a back room. this bolt of color turned out to be a pony...a very colorful pony. He was red coated and had a dark green mane, along with a purple line around his waist. He had interesting eyes...interesting as his eyes were different colors.
"Ooooh, are those contact lenses?" Pinkie stared into this pony's eyes very closely, so closely that her eyes nearly touched his.
"No, just a heterochromatic. Do you like zem? I think brown and blue match me complexion." said this Germane-accented pony.
"Whats your cutie-mark." Pinkie then stared directly at the germane ponies flank. It was adorned with two horse shoes and a rubber chicken in the middle. Twilight used her magic to pull Pinkie towards the group as Monty trotted towards his old friend.
"Hello again Horse Shoes, mind if my...um...acquaintances." Monty said, smiling guilty as a certain alabaster unicorn gave him a look.
"Oh my fruend, have you come to try my haarpflegemittel." asked Horse Shoes.
"...you know that there joke products right?" asked a concern Monty.
"...Kann sein." Horse Shoes said as he looked of in multiple directions trying to avoid the gaze of his angry friend.
"Actually," Twilight stepped up to the two "we were wondering if you could spare some party items for a-"
"A fohlen dusche, a betriebsfeier, the coming of Cthulhu!" Horse Shoes shouted with glee. Twilight gave a small smile at this pony's randomness, for it reminded her a lot of Pinkie.
"Horse Shoes, do you know who this is?" asked a stern Monty. It seemed that no matter what age Horse Shoes was, he would still be the practically insane individual.
"Ze Prinzessin der Freundschaft, Element der Harmonie Twilight Sparkle." Horse Shoes said with a smile, "Ooooh, is Lawton going to be here? I have a new fedora for him."
Monty gave Horse Shoes a sad smile "Horse Shoes...you know what today is right?" Horse Shoes looked at his calendar on the wall and then deflated...like literally deflated into a flat surface. Twilight and the group gave the two a troubled look. Rairty walked over to Monty and poked him on the shoulder.
"Mr. Montesquieu...what day is it today?"
The day Clear Skies died...almost like he died just yesterday. This was an annual thing for Lawton...just standing there...in front of the grave of his mentor. Not many things could make Lawton happy this day...nothing at all. It was simple, Lawton would get some flowers, place them on the grave and leave for a rough night of drinking. Thanks to Apple Tree he was able to skip the whole buying part of the process, or worse, getting the flowers from Madame Flora. Madame Flora was very protective of her orphaned foals, protecting them like they were all her own. Lawton apparently was the biggest example of such, as even in stallionhood the old mare worried about him constantly. His drinking didn't help with trying to calm her down. Lawton wondered what life could have been...if Clear Skies didn't die. Maybe he could have convinced him to stop his drinking...before he caused something to happen to him. Just on cue, his heart started to beat fast, causing immense pain in his chest. He levitated his pill case out of his scarf and took two capsules in his mouth and digested. Instantly, the pain ceased and his heart rate became normal. Lawton decided that he was hovering around the grave long enough and trotted back to the house.
On his way back, Lawton caught sight of something he despised, something that he attributed to everything that went wrong...Tarturas Wine. A drink that had the lovely color and class of red wine with the sharp punch of vodka. It started with a few shots, but soon Lawton was drinking bottles everyday. It was this drink that Lawton started to pin the blame on his condition and relative progress of becoming an out of control drunk. The only drink that Lawton ever quit... and most likely will always be the only one. Lawton snapped out of his funk and started jogging to the home. He got their in the nick of time before it got dark and opened the door. Instead of an empty hallway, he was greeted with a bone crushing hug. Lawton was a little annoyed until he realized it was the pony of his dreams.
"T-Twilight." Lawton was confused, but figured that Monty spilled the beans. Twilight didn't let go as she broke Lawton's oxygen flow. "P-Please...let go...your chocking me...I'll sue." Twilight let go, allowing Lawton to see the distressed look on her face "What's wrong?" he asked.
"L-Lawton... I'm so sorry." Twilight was on the verge of tears...an unholy sight to Lawton. He pulled her into another hug, not letting go until she calmed down. He stroked her mane as she quietly sobbed, Twilight remembering the horrible confrontation by her and her childhood friend.
"So, your friends asleep." Lawton asked as they stayed in the hug.
Twilight gave a small smile "Yeah...they were quite surprised about why you were so gloomy today. Pinkie's thiinking of throwing you a 'sorry we didn't notice' party." Twilight gave a short giggle to that.
Lawton also chuckled at the bizarre choice of a party "I take it Pinkie and Horse Shoes got along?"
"Oh yes, I don't think I've seen Pinkie converse with sompony for so long, let alone see sompony else keep up with her." She replied as she and Lawton stopped their hug.
"Yeah, he's a special pony."
"I was quite intrigued with his fluent germane, did he grow up their?"
"Yes...but the reason for him being here is something I don't discuss with everypony."
"Ah." there was a long silence as the two friends stood in place looking at the ground. Lawton, hating uncomfortable silence, tried thinking of something to ask Twilight. So many things popped in his head...but one just sticks out like a sore hoof.
"Are you going to visit your coltfriend tomorrow?" this took Twilight by surprise, it wasn't common for her to openly discuss her relationship...especially to a stallion.
"W-Well, I was...but there's still a lot of things to go over for the party." Twilight looked at the ground in a sad manner, which broke Lawton. Sure, he was glad she couldn't see this coltfriend of hers, but seeing her sad was worse. Every fiber of the law pony's body was telling him to let it happen, to let Twilight stay here...but his heart told him otherwise.
"Twi...if you want I can take over for you while you see him." Lawton said with as much sincerity as possible. Twilight looked at her friend like he just spatted something out of his muzzle.
"You don't need to do that Lawton, really." Twilight said.
"No, you, your friends, and your brother and sister-in-law have shown me nothing but unrelenting kindness. The least I can do is give my childhood friend the one chance she has to see her special somepony." Lawton said. It may have hurt, but Lawton knew what he was doing was the right thing. Twilight looked at him for a few seconds before pulling back in another bear hug.
"Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I'll write a list down of everything that needs to be checked. Lawton, I don't know how I can repay you." She said as Lawton was still being crushed by the hug.
"A smile is all I need." Lawton said through his breath. Twilight let go of Lawton and gave the best smile he'd ever seen until she waved goodbye as she left for her room. Lawton could only think of one thing as he stood there.
I need a drink.
Lawton had had to get up early today, something he was not used to. Being a regular drinker, getting up early was like trying to break out of a cage underwater; scratch that, under lava. However, seeing as this was for the unicorn of his dreams, Lawton felt it was his duty to fight the need to slip back into the covers. Of course, the fact that all of this was so she could see her coltfriend was rather depressing. After finishing combing his mane, Lawton went down to the party area; at least, he tried to. The one problem that Lawton came across when it came to being a drunk was that he tended to forget things quickly, except where he kept his vodka. When staying at a place of considerable size, with a plethora of rooms, chances were he would not be able to find a specific one. Lawton eventually found the room, where some guards were working. Twilight was just getting ready to head out when she saw Lawton.
"Glad you’re awake." Twilight said as she trotted towards him.
"Well, you know what they say, 'early to bed, early to rise, makes a pony healthy, wealthy, and wise.'" Lawton said with some fake cheer.
"I can't thank you enough for this Law." Twilight said with her smile. Lawton's heart was fluttering, never could something as a smile bring so much joy to him.
"It's no problem Twi, now you best be going before your coltfriend leaves you." Lawton said as he hoped that this coltfriend would leave her be so he could finally exclaim his feelings for her. Twilight gave Lawton the list of things to be checked on and went off to see this ‘Flash Sentry’. Lawton sighed, did she really not see the affection he carried? None the less, Lawton went on to accomplish his task of monitoring preparations.
First on Lawton's agenda was food. He entered the kitchen, which had the distinct smell of apples, to see Applejack, hard at work. Lawton felt that disturbing her would be impolite and so sat back and watched. Looking the food that would be served, Lawton chuckled to himself as he counted the multitude of apple products in his head. Apple pies, apple cake, apple strudel, even a giant apple kabob, 'Apple Tree, eat your heart out.' Lawton thought and chuckled once more. It took a while until Applejack finally noticed the law pony gazing at the display she provided.
"You just gonna’ stand there and admire?" Applejack joked, making Lawton blush out of embarrassment. "Calm down Romeo, I know ya’ got your eyes set on Twilight." Applejack said as she continued to work. Lawton coughed and re-positioned himself so that he was standing up straight. Lawton did sometimes look at mares in a suggestive way, but would never really act upon instinct.
"S-So how's the baking going?" Lawton asked, trying to get a different conversation started.
"Going nicely thanks to Apple Tree's recipe book...could ya’ pass the flour?" Applejack asked. Lawton levitated the bag of flour toward her.
"He gave you his recipe book?" Lawton asked and got a confused look from Applejack. "I’m surprised that he would give it so willingly." he said as he pondered to himself. Apple Tree liked to keep his things close to him, especially the mementoes he had from his late parents.
"Has it got some kinda’ emotional value?"
"Actually yes...how did you-"
"It has the name Pear Tree written in it." Applejack cut in as she put in something in the oven.
"We never did figure out who his real parents were...though we guessed they were from some southern part of Equestria." Lawton said in a deadpan tone. Pear Tree, the only clue as to who A.T's parent was. It was assumed by the orphaned five that Apple Tree came from pear farmers but had different talents. Madame Flora was usually the colts’ lead. She had told them that Apple Tree was found on the side of the road near the orphanage. The only thing that was with the foal was an akubra that he eventually grew into.
"Really, I thought he was a regular ol' Canterlot snob like a certain law horse." Applejack chuckled. Lawton also let out a snort before everything became quiet. It was only until the oven pinged that the two finally snapped out of their funk. "You know, ah think ma Granny Smith told me of that name once, but I was just a young filly so maybe ah'm just rememberin' things wrong." Applejack said as she set the dish down on the table. This intrigued Lawton. He definitely saw similaritied between Applejack and Apple Tree. But why would Applejack’s Granny Smith know the name Pear Tree?
"Hmm...well I should be going, Celestia knows, Twilight would kill me if I just stayed here the whole damn day." Applejack chuckled as Lawton left looking at the list she gave him.
Next was the curtains...odd but Lawton didn't question it. Entering the party room, Lawton saw the ever-so-fashionable Rarity hanging up said curtains. Lawton, again, felt the need to stay quiet, but Rarity turned around to notice him.
"Hello there Mr.Law, come to inspect the curtains for Twilight?" said Rarity as she gave her trademark wink.
"W-What!" Lawton said with a blush, just how many ponies knew of his crush?
"Oh come now Lawton, the way you act around our lovely Twilight is pretty suspicious on its own." Rarity commented as she levitated more curtains to hang them up.
"Does everypony think this?" Lawton asked.
"No dearie, though I suggest you put up a better act." Rarity said with a chuckle.
"I assume Monty took you to Horse Shoe's shop?"
"Oh yes, I must say Lawton, your friend carries himself with a certain air of decency."
"What does that mean?"
"What I'm trying to say is that he doesn’t act like the rest of the unicorns in this part of the city." Rarity said as she hung up the last curtain. This was true, Lawton thought to himself. Monty was a pony who really didn't care for the idea of social class. His friends, Lawton included, had always suspected that Montesquieu was of noble birth. As with the rest of them though, it was mere speculation.
"Yes, he’s the only poor horse so close to the Canterlot nobility..." Lawton said matter-of-factly.
"Poor horse?" Rarity inquired confusedly.
"Just a name we give to ourselves here." Lawton said with a small frown. It was a shame that the Canterlot Poor Horses were mocked for their social class, but unfortunately this was how things were meant to be. Lawton cast his mind back to when saw a poor couple being cruelly ridiculed by a noble for the mare's inability to get pregnant. Of course, the stallion left them alone after Lawton had paid a very nice earth pony to beat to rough him up more than a little, but the damage had been done. It wasn't Lawton's proudest moment, but it sure had been nice to see the grin plastered on that earth pony’s face. Lawton snapped back to reality when he realized he had a giant smirk on his own face and Rarity was staring at him.
"Thinking of Twilight in her party dress?" she teased. Lawton tried to conjure a retort, but simply trotted away while Rarity went to full blown laughter.
Recovering from that embarrassing experience, Lawton headed down to the garden to see how the bird choir was doing. Lawton could hear the birds from quite a way away. When they came into view, he did a double-take when he saw Fluttershy. Trying to avert his gaze anywhere else other than her flank, Lawton instead focused on the choir. Their music certainly was something else; Lawton never knew birds could make such wonderful noises. When it finally came to a stop, Lawton clapped his hoofs together, giving Fluttershy a shock.
"Eh, sorry...just liked the music." Lawton said with a sheepish grin.
Fluttershy finally calmed down enough to voice a reply: "O-Oh...h-hello Mr Law.” Fluttershy said quietly as she traced in the ground with her hoof. Lawton was overtaken by a blush that wouldn't leave his face. How can this mare be so attractive? Lawton thought, still trying to keep his eyes from her flank. Luckily, he was distracted once more by a look of obvious concern from Fluttershy.
"Is there a problem Ms. Fluttershy?" Lawton mirroring her look of concern.
"W-Well, I was wondering something and I didn't know if I should ask...you." Fluttershy said, averting her eyes down words.
"You can ask me anything miss." Lawton said with a smile, trying to reassure her. Fluttershy slowly looked back at Lawton and gave him a smile that almost matched Twilight's. This smile sent butterflies down into Lawton's stomach; pink-winged butterflies, no less.
"S-s-so...do you think those two ponies that visited... the interrogators...are bad ponies?" Fluttershy asked, slightly shivering when she saw the confused look on Lawton's face. "N-Not that I assume they're bad. It’s just that...after hearing what they do...Applejack reads ponies better than I do." Fluttershy looked at the ground with a depressed look. Lawton, however, couldn't help but smile at the mare's insecurity. He wasn't exactly sure if Shattered Psyche and Blackout were the ponies to hang around with, but after a couple drinks with them he had got to know them on a personal level. Lawton respected both ponies, admiring SP's history with protecting the regular ponies. As for Blackout, well...it wasn't common to hear about the stallion that won a divorce case against a mare.
"Ms. Fluttershy, I assure you, Shattered Psyche and Blackout are two of the most kind ponies I've meet...next to you of course, being the element of kindness." Lawton said with a goofy grin, hoping Fluttershy would lighten up. She looked at him and smiled, feeling better now that her fears had disappeared. Lawton on the other hand was desperately thinking of a way to dash off these wildly inappropriate feelings he was having about the nice mare. "You know...I could arrange for you and SP to, uh, hang out if you want." Fluttershy was taken aback by this, as Lawton expected.
"Y-You m-mean like a d-d-date." Fluttershy stammered. The idea of dating had never really been something that 'clicked' for Fluttershy. She had been interested in colts as a young filly, but they had all found her too klutzy
"W-Well, maybe not a date, more like that, uh, thing friends do...’hanging out’ I believe it’s known as," Lawton said, wondering if Fluttershy would accept.
"I-Isn't that a little...rushed?" Fluttershy asked sweetly.
"Most ponies don't make friendships unless they go for it." which was true in Lawton's eyes, if a pony can't make the first move, then why care about the pony in the first place...funny considering he still couldn’t confess to Twilight.
"I, I-'ll think about it...if that's okay with you." stammered Fluttershy in such an adorable way that it almost rendered Lawton completely unconscious
"Um...I should go check on the others. See you later Ms. Fluttershy." Said Lawton hurriedly, and he trotted away briskly as Fluttershy went back to practicing with her birds.
Upon returning to the party room, Lawton noticed that Rarity was gone, probably finished the curtain job. Before he could inspect the decorations, he remembered his heart medication which he should have taken a while ago. 'Usual routine, just wonderful' Lawton thought as he popped two pills in his mouth and thought about…
"Whatcha eatin'." Lawton leapt back in shock to see Pinkie Pie. Lawton hated explaining his condition, especially to ponies he just meet. It was even worse considering it was one of Twilight's friends. Twilight was a complete worrywart as a filly, and Lawton wasn't going to take the chance of seeing if she’d mellowed out over these years.
"U-Um... they’re...uh-" Lawton tried to finish but found a cupcake in his mouth instead.
"Have a cupcake, I think it tastes better than medication." Pinkie said with a cheery expression. Confounded, Lawton swallowed the confection whole, which nearly made him choke. "Silly, you’re supposed to chew it." Pinkie said as she bounced around the room, setting the decorations.
"E-excuse me, but I don't usually expect a cupcake shoved in my face...although now that I think about it, I probably should." Lawton said as he considered the number of times Horse Shoes had done the exact same thing. Thinking of Horse Shoes brought Lawton to a train of thought as he asked Pinkie a question.
"So how did the visit go?" Lawton aske, his voice laden with curiosity. Lawton felt that Pinkie would get along with Horse Shoes well, they did seem to both share some quirks.
"Ooooh, it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G, Horsey was soooooooo fun! He had all these cool pranks and all these funny jokes. We talked and talked and talked and talked and talked and talked and talked and talked and-" Pinkie went on in this fashion for several minutes, and Lawton eventually just tuned her out while. Horse Shoes was the kind of pony who'd make friends with ponies who seem to be easy to relate with. While Horse Shoes came from germane, a fairly hostile country, he was the most friendly out of the orphaned five. His cheery exterior harboured a troubled past. Unlike most of the group, Horse Shoes grew up knowing his parents...from what (little) he'd said they were quite abusive. Their relationship had been cut short however, as one day a massive fire took over their village, killing both of his parents, and him having witnessed the event. It took a long while until Horse Shoes opened up to his new friends, but he never really talked about the past. Lawton snapped out of his thoughts as he was drawn back to the fact that Pinkie had seen him taking his meds.
"…and talked and talked and talked-" Pinkie finally silenced as Lawton put his hoof to her mouth.
"Pinkie...could you do me a favor?" Lawton asked as he took his hoof away from the silenced pink pony. Pinkie nodded silently...but kept nodding until Lawton had to hold her head straight. "Could you...not tell anypony about my medication, I’d rather not talk about it with anypony." Pinkie stared at him for a moment as Lawton stood there uncomfortably. However, she smiled and nodded her head once more.
"Sure, I pinkie promise, cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Pinkie said as she did these motions and proceeded to jab her own eye with her hoof. Lawton smiled at the pony and held out his hoof to shake it, in which Pinkie accepted.
"Well...I see you have things under control so I'll take my leave...oh, and Twilight wants the balloons to be hung higher." Lawton said gesturing toward the balloons.
"Okie Dokie Lokie!" Pinkie cheered as Lawton went off to find Rainbow Dash.
Lawton trotted on to the yard of the house once more to check on Rainbow Dash, who was supposed to be trimming the bushes. As luck would have it, Lawton found the mare in question very quickly. Upon finding her, Lawton once again felt the need to be silent once more, but not to keep the mare concentrated on her work, but rather to stifle a chuckle as he observed the spectacle that was before him. Rainbow was at a loss, trying to trim the bushes evenly, but failing spectacularly. He finally let slip a snicker, and was turned on in an instant by Rainbow Dash.
"You could help out ya’ know!" Dash shouted in annoyance as Lawton openly laughed at the state of the bushes.
"I-I'm sorry Rainbow I-I-I just thought you would need some quiet in order to concentrate." Lawton replied, struggling to get the words out he was laughing so hard. Rainbow just groaned as she saw the carnage left in her wake. Lawton stifled his laughter as he approached Dash.
"Alright, I'll help, hand me the shears." Rainbow gave an annoyed grunt as she did what was asked. Lawton levitated the shears and tried to salvage a good looking bush for the party. While Lawton was doing this, he started to notice that Rainbow was actually sweating from her job.
"You want a cold one Dash?" Lawton asked casually as he moved onto the next bush. Rainbow looked on with a confused face.
"Sure..." Rainbow said, not really knowing what to expect as Lawton pulled out a cold beer...from his scarf. "How do you do that with your scarf?" Rainbow asked, wide-eyed as he opened the bottle.
"I can't explain it, though Horse Shoes says it’s...'magical OC powers' or some such nonsense." Lawton said as he kept trimming the bushes. Dash just shrugged it off as she downed the refreshingly cold beverage. Lawton wasn't the best at gardening like his friend Apple Tree, but Madame Flora had at least taught him how to take care of bushes. Before Lawton had got his first job, he trimmed the bushes for the owner of his first home for a decent amount of money. "Ya know Dash, you remind me of a friend I used to hang out with along with the guys." Lawton said as he gazed at Celestia's sun, radiant as always.
"Really? Was he as cool as me?" Rainbow said as she took another swig from her drink.
"Well, I guess you could say that." Lawton said as he remembered his old friend. His name was Swift Wind, a green Pegasus with a black mane and a slight scar under his left eye. He’d gotten the scar from a tussle with one of the poor horse district’s many bullies. Swift Wind was the only Pegasus in the group, but he fitted right in with the band of misfits. Swift was a rebel, always doing things that ponies weren't supposed to. He would smoke, drink, and get into street fights, even at the age of 16. Rainbow had the same brash attitude as Swift Wind, but Swift was much blunter than her. Lawton smiled for a second, thinking of all the stupid things Swift Wind had done, but then looking out at the completed bushes in the garden and handed back the shears to Dash, pushing Swift to the back of his mind once more.
"Thanks for the assist." Dash said as she gestured a hoof bump. Lawton returned the gesture and smiled.
"No problem, well, since this is done, I'm off to get drunk." Lawton said as he trotted toward the house, leaving behind a giggling Rainbow Dash.
Lawton sipped his vodka. All the jobs were done, so the party would be happening soon. Lawton had never thought that he of all ponies would have been able to organize such a thing, and he was glad that he could help accomplish this task for Twilight, even if it was for her to see her coltfriend. For a while all was silent until the main doorbell rang. Lawton got up from his drink and trotted over to the door. He opened it to find Twilight, smiling brightly and looking overjoyed. To her right however, stood a very familiar orange Pegasus.
Oh , he thought, and then, Buck my life.
A Stallion For the Empire
Lawton decide to tell his friends that were currently in the Poor Horse District about his new case... he was only able to tell one unfortunately.
"YOUR GOING TO THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE" Shouted Lawton's High classed minded friend Montesquieu, or Monty for short. Monty was a pale white Unicorn with a brown spot on his right eye. On his flank showed his cutie mark, a top hat with a gold ribbon. Monty is a simple designer of suits and dresses for the high-class of Canterlot. He of course is also known for his easy excitement over things.
"Monty calm down" said Lawton "I'm going to the crystal empire, big whoop, its not like there going to make me Alicorn King of Equestria."
"Well don't rule out the possibilities" replied Monty "and whats with you, not being exited about this, you have been invited to the newly re founded empire by the princess of love herself." Monty was able to carry on conversations while simultaneously work on clothes. Monty's multi-tasking is unrivaled by any pony in equestria, and it makes great uses when Madame Flora needs a re decorator for the orphanage. "Speaking of the Empire though" Monty began "what do you suppose the Royalty of the empire wants with you."
"I assume that the one of the royals or someone of high regards in the council they set up is in some form of controversy that requires a lawyer" Lawton was still confused on one matter "though i'm surprised that got a letter from the crystal-"
"NO ONE EXPECTS THE CRYSTAL INQUISITION!" shouted Monty. Lawton gave Monty a questioning look to his sudden shriek. "What? I've always wanted to say that." said Monty. No matter how regal or high class Monty could be, he would always be a "Poor Horse" by heart.
"I admire your excitement Monty, but i wish i could have shared this with the others." said Lawton.
"Well, Swift Wind is still living in Cloudsdale" began Monty "Apple Tree is out to pick some rare apple seeds and Horse Shoes is in Fillydelphia at a clown convention, huh, The Orphaned Five split in adulthood hm."
The Orphaned Five, the little foals that would run down and play in the streets of the poor horse district. They were friends since they first meet, and they have stayed friends since then.
"Ah, i just remembered." proclaimed Monty as he levitated a simple black fedora with a white strap "I just finished stitching this back together, I barely had any time since i was put through Tarturus last week."
Lawton put on his fedora before replying "some snobby noble."
"BlueBlood. " said Monty with a distaste in his mouth. If it was one noble that everypony in the poor horse district would hate with a passion, it was Prince Blueblood. The nephew of the princess of the sun, that prince treated common ponies as trash compared to him. He made Lawton's life considerably more difficult, considering he had plenty of "friends" in the law system. Plenty of times Lawton had to go the extra mile to pass through one of BlueBlood's cohorts.
"Sorry you had to deal with that Monty." said Lawton.
"You know what, a thought just came to me." began Monty "Princess Cadenza is married to the captain of the guard, whats his name? Shining Armor."
"Well... yeah." Lawton replied.
"And isn't Shining Armor related to..." Monty stopped when he saw Lawton piece together what Monty was getting at. Lawton use to be sent to the castle that homed the princess of the sun, Celestia, to play with her prize pupil, Twilight Sparkle. They were the best of friends during that time, and Lawton carried some feelings for the The purple unicorn... now alicorn. Yes, since Twilight Sparkle became the princess of friendship, Lawton's crush seem to be nothing but impossible to make an actual relationship out of it. This made Lawton depressed... and gave him more reason to drink.
"Now i bet you want to be an alicorn king huh." joked Monty. Lawton put his fedora over his face to hide his blush. All his friends made fun of his crush for Twilight Sparkle, Monty especially. Lawton then had a thought.
"What time is it?" he asked. Monty checked his clock trying to look through the multiple clothes he was putting on shelves.
"About 2:30." he replied. Lawton got up from the chair he was sitting in and opened the door to Monty's shop.
"I have a train to catch." and Lawton left
Lawton arrived at the Crystal empire's train station at 4:50, about 10 minutes before his meeting with The princess of love, but he liked to be early. Lawton ran as fast as he could to the castle, sightseeing some key locations. He saw the crystal library, the crystal bank, the crystal pharmacy, the crystal clothing store, and the crystal law firm. Of course, even most of the pony citizen's were crystal. When he came to the castle gate he was approached by a non-crystal pony guard. He had an orange coat and blue mane, and looked at Lawton like he was a terrorist.
"State your business near the gate." said the guard.
"I'm here by royal decree from Princess Mi Amora Cadenza." declared Lawton, showing the guard the letter. The guard looked at the letter and back at Lawton.
"Wait a minute, your that poor horse lawyer from Canterlot." said the guard in an annoyed tone.
"That is correct." said Lawton, who had not liked the way this orange maned guard was treating him. The guard opened the gate and lead him into the castle. The crystal furnishing got on Lawton's nerve's, what he wouldn't give for a regular looking wall.
As he arrived to the main doors, the orange coated guard whispered "Now don't waist the royal's time". The crystal pony guards opened the doors to show the rulers of the Crystal Empire in their respective thrones. Princess Mi Amora Cadenza was sitting on the left, With her light pink coat and beautiful mane of dark pink, purple, and yellow. The prince and captain of the guard Shining Armor was on the right, a mere white unicorn with a blue mane. He raised his hoof to shoe all the guards out of the room. When the doors closed Princess Cadenza spoke.
"You may rise Mr. Law" she said, prompting Lawton to notice he had bowed without even knowing. Lawton scrambled to stand up straight, causing the princess to giggle. He also made a mental note that his nickname "Mr. Law" was heard from and used by royalty as well. Shining Armor rose from his throne to trot to Lawton.
"Mr. Law, we have asked you here for a very important matter, you see..." Shining Armor froze, he couldn't bring himself to tell what has happened. Lawton saw this behavior before, many ponies were distraught at times like this, even if they were just accusations. Princess Cadenza flew up to Shining Armor to comfort him, clearly he needed it. Finally he restarted "I have been framed for the murder of a well respected chairmen of the Empire."
They expected Lawton to be shocked, a royal being put on trial for murder, but instead he had an un-amused look on his pony face. Lawton always expected the bad from everypony, but his recollection of Shining Armor from Twilight told him that he was too soft for murder.
"M-Mr. Law" said Princess Cadenza "I have heard of your feats and your... intolerance for injustice, but my husband isn't-"
"No need for that princess" reassured Lawton "I can tell when a pony is guilty or not, and looking at Mr. Armor, i can certainly see a stallion with a strong sense of justice to him."
Princess Cadenza and Shining Armor smiled at this law horse, for a stallion who is said to be a grump, he seemed to give off a reassuring aura around him.
"Now, since I assume i'm here to make sure the royal prince doesn't get locked up in jail or banished to the sun, i'll need to ask a few questions."