Introduction - The Beginning of the End

August 10th - 9:55 AM
Ponyville District Court
Courtroom No. 1

It's almost time.

That thought kept circulating through my mind as I stood silently behind the defense bench, trying my best to stand perfectly still and put on a straight face. Beside me stood my closest friend and aide, Aura Sensory, who has always had my back in these types of situations just as I have had hers. Judging by her trembling and sweat dripping down her face, it was obvious that we both needed each other more than ever right now.

Looking across the courtroom towards the prosecutor's bench, I saw my sister, Equity, and her aide, Semper Light, standing side by side. Though she may seem confident to others, I know when Equity is wearing a mask for the crowd. Her heavier breathing gave away what her face wouldn't say. Semper, the prosecutor that both Aura and I have already faced in court, was doing a much better job than all of us at hiding his emotions.

The courtroom was uncomfortably quiet. The only audible sound was the fluttering of pegasus wings. Since the gallery was beginning to overflow, the pegasi were being told to hover in order to give more ponies seats. In one corner, I spotted a camera crew setting up their equipment, most likely preparing to broadcast today's proceedings live to all of Equestria.

I continued to scan the crowd on the prosecution's side. It didn't take me long to find the six friends that I knew, without a doubt, would be here. Applejack and Rainbow Dash, along with Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Spike were all sitting as close to us as the bailiffs would allow (though Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were made to hover in the air like the other pegasi). None of them showed any hint of a smile, not even Pinkie Pie.

I shifted my attention to the defendant's chair, situated just beneath the judge's bench. The unicorn sitting there prodded at the magic nullifier on her horn with her shackled forehooves. Her expression matched that of her friends up in the gallery.

After a few minutes of the most unbearable silence I have ever experienced, the judge finally entered the courtroom and took his seat at the judge's bench. Using his magic, he banged his gavel to commence the trial.

This is it. No turning back now.

My breathing began to quicken, and I realized from my damp coat that I had started sweating at some point. I thought I was going to lose it right there, but luckily, my good friend placed her hoof on my shoulder. I turned towards her, and received an encouraging smile. After a few seconds of staring blankly, I gave her the best smile I could manage in return, and took a deep breath. Having finally calmed down (a bit), I looked back up towards the judge.

"Court is now in session for the trial of Starlight Glimmer," the judge announced in a deep and gruff voice. "Are both the prosecution and defense teams ready?" he asked, looking down at us.

"The defense is ready, Your Honor," I replied, supressing the doubt that tried to escape into my words.

"The prosecution is ready, Your Honor," my sister echoed. The judge raised an eyebrow in concern.

"As I am sure everyone here knows," he began. "This case is not one to be taken lightly. The assassination of Princess Twilight Sparkle is an incident that will no doubt have severe national and international consequences. It must be resolved as soon as possible in order to begin settling any issues that may arise in Equestria and elsewhere as a result of this tragedy. Therefore, we must have a prosecutor and a defense attorney that are both fully capable of tackling this case and confident in their abilities to do so." The judge turned his attention to the prosecution. "Prosecutor Equity, you and Prosecutor Light were assigned to this case because the five remaining ponies on the Council of Friendship demanded that you two be the prosecutors in charge." The judge then turned to me. "I trust that the defense took on this case under similar circumstances?"

"Yes, Your Honor," I replied. The judge nodded.

"If neither party has any issues, then we will continue with the official proceedings. However, if either team has any doubts about their ability to adequately perform their duties here in court, please voice them now. If needed, we can still assign somepony else to act as the prosecutor or defense attorney in this trial. Please take some time now to carefully think about your answer."

My sister and I averted our gaze from the judge and turned it towards each other, remaining completely silent. The masks we had been wearing earlier seemed to fall right off under this tension. I quickly glanced over to Starlight again, who was still sitting silently in the defendant chair. Rainbow Dash and Applejack had asked me personally to be her defense attorney, and when I went to meet with her, she had asked me the same thing. Though I agreed to do it at the time, I was starting to have second thoughts now.

This would be the first time Equity and I stand in court together. The only other time we had cooperated on a case was during an investigation about a week ago, and neither of us ended up acting as the prosecutor or defense attorney at the trial. It's only been about two months since we got our badges. Since then, I've only handled four cases, and my sister even less. There are plenty of other lawyers out there with a lot more experience than us. Yet, here we were, about to take on what will no doubt be recorded as the most monumental trial in Equestrian history. Are we even prepared for this?

As I stood there in stunned silence, my mind flashed back to the point when this all started: Equity's and my 18th birthday. It was on that day, almost two months ago, that the two of us decided to leave our home in Fillydelphia and follow our own paths in life. It was also the day when our lives took off from the comfortable ordinary and crashed straight into the unreasonable insanity.

That day, when our lives changed, is where our story begins.

Ace Attorney: Heart of Justice

Author's Note

So now that I've taken care of my real-life issues and am able to write again, here's what's going to happen. Originally, I had planned to write the entirety of Danganronpa: Equestria's Despair, Harmony's Hope before I even started this story. However, I've changed my mind. I'm now going to write this story first. Don't worry, I do intend to complete both stories. For the time being though, the Danganronpa crossover will be on hiatus until this story is complete.

~ Serenity Speedster