December 21st, 9:30pm
???
In a secluded area, away from prying eyes and ears, two shadows in a dark alley were seen conversing to one another, one looked like a party mare with rockin' glasses, the other looked like a stylish and arrogant pony.
"What?! NO way! I humbly refuse!" said the annoyed Party Pony.
"You will do it, or else you will face the consequences of your actions... Remember that 'BAR' incident?" said the arrogant pony in a low whisper.
"Hah, fat chance, you're gonna have to do it yourself, I'm not your slave." replied the mare.
"How unfortunate... It seems you've lost yourself to the public image..." The arrogant pony walks forward towards her.
"Wh-..What are you doing?" replied the scared mare.
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"A rabid fan killed you tonight..." he said as he used his horn to magically grab an iron pipe to whack the mare with.
"N-NO!" shouted the mare.
She jumps onto the stallion, grabbing the pipe. "Let go, you whorse!" As a few seconds struck by within the intense struggle, a mild and strong WHACK was heard, and the arrogant pony collapses onto the wall with the mare panting in shock, holding onto the Iron Pipe with both hooves as she just stared at the scene before her. "...What... Happened?"
The lights were put on, showing the mare who attacked the stallion in self defense, Vinyl Scratch, a well renowned DJ Pony with a track records of partying, the guard ponies yelling. "Freeze!" to Vinyl as she just looks at them in a confused manner, the look of amnesia. [END: SUSPENSE BGM]
Later on that night, she was arrested for the crime, the murder of: "Pop Splint." A personal doctor for Vinyl Scratch who worked at a clinic near her apartments that she visits regularly while she's on tour around Ponyville/Canterlot.
The newspapers sold extremely well that day...
December 22nd, 9:00am
Canterlot Courtroom Lobby
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In the Courtroom Lobby, an earth pony stallion with a leaf green full suit, white work shirt underneath and a blue tie, long messy lime green mane and a short tail and clover green fur coat, with deep blue cat-like eyes and slim and slender build was pretty much nervous. "...Hooves shaking... Sweat pouring... Body heat rising... I don't know if I'm ready for this..." said the unsure stallion in his mind.
"This is your first case, right Mash?" said a lavender pony with a long purple mane melded with a pink streak, an Alicorn, a pony with Pegasus wings and Unicorn horn, a little worried about her new student.
Mash nodded. "Y-yeah, it's my first, and it's definitely not gonna be my last, Princess Twilight!" he said with deep enthusiasm, to which Twilight frowned. "I enjoy your enthusiasm and I wish that the other lawyers have the same depth as you, but don't call me a princess, I'm still your friend, remember?"
How can he forget? But it doesn't feel right without adding Princess in the beginning, it makes it feel weird without it...
"Okay, since it's your first trial, I'm going to be your co-counsel, so I'll be giving you tips and tricks of the trade within law." She said with a proud smile.
"Oh yeah, that human friend helped Rainbow Dash right? what was his name, Larry Butz?" Said Mash with a confused face, to which Twilight growled. "PHOENIX WRIGHT! Remember that name, I'm going to make him proud passing on his skills to a newbie." Mash felt bad. "S-Sorry... I'm just nervous..."
Twilight just smiled. "It happens to everypony." she said reassuringly while wrapping a wing over Mash to comfort him.
"The Defense and the Co-counsel are to head into the Courtroom, it's time..."
TFC - Part 1 - Cross Examination!
December 22nd, 9:05am
Canterlot Courtroom #2
The court murmurs can be heard, the shocking news was troubling to the jury, after a few moments the Judge banged his gavel.
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"The court of Miss Vinyl Scratch is now in session... Defense and Prosecution, are you ready?" The judge spoke with his voice of authority.
The defense was first to speak. "Y-Yes, the Defense is ready, your honor!" spoke Mash, and he suddenly felt faint. 'Gulp... Hooves shaking more... Temperature rising to boiling...'
Then the prosecution spoke after Mash finished. "The Prosecution, Wincing Paine is ready your honor..." spoke a wimpy like voice, but the tone had years of experience.
For some reason, Mash thinks he was a bit boned, but he kept his wits.
"This is your first trial correct, Mr. Mash?" The judge mentioned, with a nod from Mash. "Y-Yes, sir..."
"Alright, then let's start off with a training run since you look really nervous... I hope you are ready, Mash."
"I am, your honor..." Mash said nervously.
"What is the name of the Defendant of this case?" Judge asked in his first question.
"Defendant? That's uhm... Vinyl Scratch the DJ, your honor..."
He nods. "Correct, what was the victim's name?"
'Victim's name? That's so easy, I read the profile from beginning to end multiple times! It's...' Then Mash realized. "!" 'No! I totally forgot his name! I'm drawing a total blank here!'
"Mash, you forgot his name?! Are you sure you're ready for this?!" Twilight said with a bit of a worried look on her face to which Mash scratches the back of his head with his hoof sheepishly. "I'm fine, I just forgot his name... Temporarily..."
Twilight looked like she was mad. "I'm about to get a migraine..." she sighs. "Just look in the profile in the Court Record, Mash..."
"The Court Record..." Mash repeated as the Judge repeated his question. "What was the name of the victim of this case, Mr.Mash?" he said impatiently.
"The victim was named: "Pop Splint" your honor..."Mash mentioned as he looked at the papers, to which the Judge nodded, finishing off with a final question. "And what was the cause of death?"
"The Records state it was a blow to the back of the head, your honor..." Again the Judge nodded. "Correct Mr.Mash, you answered all of my questions accurately, the Court Record will be useful to the both of you."
Both Mash and Wincing nodded. "Yes, your honor!"
The honor bangs his gavel with Wincing calling out. "We would like to call the defendant to the stand."
Moments later, a cuffed Vinyl appears on the stand, she looked okay considering she almost has a guilty verdict on her head.
Wincing spoke after she took the stand. "The suspect, known as Vinyl Scratch, or DJ-P0N3 has been caught red handed by the police, the defendant was holding an iron pipe in her hooves the moment of the arrest."
Mash instantly thought something was wrong, but kept his mouth shut to let the Prosecution finish.
"Furthermore, she resisted arrest claiming and I quote: I didn't do it! I didn't do it! I don't remember a thing!" Wincing said with a smug look on his face. "Yet, the proof is undeniable, as we have hoof prints all over the iron pipe."
Iron Pipe w/ Hoofprints has been added to Court Records
"This autopsy report suggests that the victim dealt a serious blow to the head, therefore it's safe to assume that the death was instantaneous and the time of death was confirmed to be 1AM." Wincing finishes.
Autopsy Report added to Court Records
The Judge thinks. "Hmm, seems pretty predictable to me... Mr. Mash, what is your thoughts on this matter?"
'Gak! Vinyl! I can't protect you with evidence like that!' Mash said as he was visibly nervous.
"Hold on, your honor, I'm not quite finished yet... We have a witness who can testify to this." Wincing said with another smug grin on his face.
"A witness? Interesting, let's see if this witness can hold water." The judge said as they take Vinyl down to the defendant stand and a new face was shown to the whole court room. [ Trial Song Ends! ]
A pony with a purple coat, an oriental mark on his forehead, his eyes are closed and he has a very humble walk to his hooves, his hair isn't anything to gawk at, it looked fake, like a toupee, but nopony wanted to be mean to a witness of a serious crime.
"Witness, state your name and occupation." Wincing said calmly.
"My name is Seen It! Mr. Seen It if you please, good sir and I work in an office near where the crime scene took place, in fact it's in the top floor." he said kindly to which Wincing nodded. "Of course, Mr. Seen it."
"Mr. Seen It, can you explain to us what you witness on the night of the murder?" The judge said to the pony.
"Of course, your honor! I'd be happy to explain." Seen It says to the judge.
"Okay Mash, now's the time to know about Testimonies and Examination... Listen carefully to what the Witness is saying." Twilight spoke to Mash to which he nods and looks at Seen It.
-Witness Testimony-
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Mr. Seen It starts to testify... "I was in my office with the lights on and then I heard a horrible 'PANG' sound"
"There was an awful scream coming from the stallion after that."
"I went to go call the police immediately after seeing the horrid sight! The Defendant evilly smiling after attacking him, looking so proud of herself!"
"Oh the time, that's right! It was about 1AM, wasn't it?" Finishes his testimony.
End of Testimony and Song
"Hmm, so the defendant was sinister, was she?" Stated the judge.
'Gak! Vinyl, I can't protect you with a testimony like that!' Mash said in his head.
"Mash, wasn't there something strange in that testimony you just heard?" Twilight whispered to Mash, to which Mash just shook his head.
"I don't know, how can I prove that?" Mash whispered back.
"Look in your court records, there's bound to be a contradiction in the witnesses testimony, but I'll trust you to find it, if you can't find the information you're looking for, press him for more information..." she said with a smile.
"Right, got it chief!" Mash said with a smile.
The Judge looks at Mash. "Well Mr. Mash, you are ready to cross examine."
"Yes, your honor." Mash said surprisingly calm.
-Cross Examination-
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"I was in my office with the lights on and then I heard a horrible 'PANG' sound"
"You heard the scuffle? What were you doing before that?" Mash put into the question.
"Well you see, I was filing papers on my desk, handling stocks and what have you, and then I heard voices, thinking nothing of it I just carried on my work then I heard a loud 'PANG'!" he said, replying to Mash.
"I see, carry on..." Mash nodded to the answer.
"There was an awful scream coming from the stallion after that."
"Wait a second..." Mash thought as he saw something wrong with the testimony just then.
[END BGM]
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"You said that you heard a scream, was that correct Mr. Seen It?" Mash said as he slammed his hooves on the desk.
"Erm yes, quite right." Mr. Seen It looked a little nervous from this.
"But that's a contradiction! The report said that the death was instantaneous straight after the blow to the head!" Mash said as he pointed his left hoof at the stallion.
"!" The Stallion grunts in surprise!
"Well done, Mash! You found the inconsistency! I'm surprised that the prosecution didn't pick up on this, when somepony lies their whole story can fall apart!" Twilight mentioned as she gives Mash a congratulatory pat on the back.
"Mr. Seen It may have been confused, your honor!" Wincing mentions to which Mr. Seen It nods. "Y-yes, your honor, I just remembered it now! I-It must of been the shock of finding the body!" he pleads.
The judge nods. "Okay, we'll allow you to re-instate your testimony." he said as he clears his throat, allowing Seen It to continue.
[BGM Ends]
-Witness Testimony-
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Mr. Seen It starts to testify... "Ah, that's right, the yelp came from me..."
"After I heard the sound, I went to go look at what was going on outside, and that's when I saw her the defendant, in front of the body, holding that pipe like a weapon."
"Ashamed to admit, I yelped when I saw what happened, so I kept my calm and went to go phone the police." He finishes.
[END BGM]
"Hmm, understandable, anypony would yelp at the sight of a dead body." The judge says as he sympathizes with the witness.
"Well, seeing as Equestria is a very peaceful place, I wouldn't hold it against him." says Wincing.
'Yeah, YOU would, Wincing...' Mash said as he looked annoyed.
"You are now free to cross examine him, Mr. Mash." The Judge says to confirm.
Mash nods. "Yes, your honor..."
-Cross Examination-
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"Ah, that's right, the yelp came from me..."
"You're squeamish, Mr. Seen It? You look like a pony who's seen it all, in my opinion." Mash said to doubt Mr. Seen It's credibility.
"Ah, I am indeed quite squeamish especially that early in the morning, if you saw a body at that time, I'm sure you'd be surprised too." Mr. Seen It said to retort.
"Y..You got me there..." Mash said with a sweatdrop.
"I would definitely be scared at that point, I'd have to whack the criminal with my gavel of justice though!" The Judge said comically to which Mash just groaned.
"A-Anyway continue, please..." Mash said with another sweatdrop.
"After I heard the sound, I went to go look at what was going on outside, and that's when I saw her the defendant, in front of the body, holding that pipe like a weapon."
'Holding it like a weapon? Why do I feel like my Applejack senses are tingling?' Mash said in his head as he rubs his chin with his hoof and looks through his Court Record.
"!" Mash slammed his hoof on the desk and points his left hoof at the witness.
[END BGM]
"Mr. It, you claimed that the defendant was holding onto the pipe like a murder weapon, however if you look at the hoof prints, you can clearly see that she was holding the iron pipe in the OPPOSITE direction!"
Both Mr. Seen It and Wincing winced and grunted. "Th-that's! preposterous!" Wincing said.
"No, and I can bet my left hoof that our client is indeed innocent." Mash said as a retort.
Wincing growled. "That's again preposterous! She could of handled it a dif-- Urk!" He caught himself on the impossibility.
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"See what I mean? If she was indeed holding it as a weapon, she could of only hit Mr. Splint under the jaw, however, it was a blow to the head that killed him!"
Once again, Wincing and Seen It both wince and growl.
'Of course, how come I never seen this before?!' Mash thought to himself as he slams the desk and points again.
"We believe that the defendant was being attacked by somepony that night! And she had to use her hooves to defend herself, otherwise SHE'D be the one killed." Mash said accusingly.
Vinyl's face was of pure disbelief, but she couldn't deny it, his theory was spot on minus a few details.
The jury starts to rabble with the Judge whacking the gavel onto the desk. "ORDER, ORDER I SAY! Mr. Mash are you saying that the defendant was attacked by another unicorn?!"
Mash nodded. "That is exactly my claim, your honor."
"B-but, this is insane! Who would attack the mur-- I mean the defendant?!" Wincing said with nervousness.
"Well Wincing, if you were paying any attention, Vinyl Scratch and Pop Splint was the only ponies in that alley way, my theory is that Pop Splint had enough of Vinyl's visits and decided to attack her in an alley!"
Vinyl's face turned from disbelief to a very annoyed one, but she liked to see where this went.
"B-Baseless conjecture! Do you have proof!?" He said grasping at straws.
Mash slams his hooves on the desk. "Then how about this theory? What if there was a third pony involved?!" he said with a bluff.
But that got Seen It on the edge. "TH-Third pony?"
