The Lawyer and The Unicorn (T-Rated Version)

Chapters

1: An Unexpected Guest
2: Roses of Revisitation
3: Scratching the Surface
5: Romantic Reunions
6: Settling In
7: More than Skin Deep
8: Mystics, Movies and Memories
9: The Two Powers
10: Temptations
11: Karmic Encounters
12: On a Whistle of Wind
13: Wisdom of the Sun
14: Unintended Effects
15: A Turnabout for the Worst
16: The Sum of All Fears
18: The Heart's Turnabout, Part 2 - Playing for Keeps
19: The Heart's Turnabout, Part 3 - Party Punches
20: The Heart's Turnabout, Part 4 - A Rare Revelation
21: The Heart's Turnabout, Part 5 - A Night Forgotten
22: The Heart's Turnabout, Part 6 - Mystic Malpractice
23: The Heart's Turnabout, Part 7 - Interlude: Scratching the Surface of Dreams
24: The Heart's Turnabout, Part 8 - For the Fate of Two Worlds
25: The Heart's Turnabout, Part 9 - Expert Opinions
26: The Heart's Turnabout, Part 10 - Nightmare's End
27: The Heart's Turnabout, Part 11 - Verdict
28: A New Day
29: Young Wubs
30: Romance Rekindled
31: Fairplay
32: Recording History
33: Fun in the Sun
34: All Good Things
Prologue
4: Mares, Mentors and Magic
17: The Heart's Turnabout, Part 1 - To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

1: An Unexpected Guest

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2: Roses of Revisitation

MUSIC: Spiritwalker

Phoenix couldn’t sleep.

It had been over twelve hours since Twilight’s all-too-brief appearance and departure, but he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He lay in bed for hours, his mind every bit as active and alert as if he was cross-examining a witness in court, trying to make sense of what he was feeling.

What made it particularly frustrating was that unlike in court, he couldn’t simply select a key piece of evidence that would reveal the truth from a reluctant witness… particularly when that witness was himself. The heart knows what it wants, and mere logic or evidence rarely dissuades it, a sympatheticMia had told him after his murder trial acquittal, when he had to tearfully face the reality of Dahlia’s betrayal and his own foolishly desperate actions in trying to protect her. In some ways, it was little different here—Twilight’s appearance had thrown him for a large loop, and he simply wasn’t sure what to think or do, his head and heart operating at cross-purposes… the former warning him that any relationship with Twilight was doomed while the latter insisted otherwise.

I said we needed some time and distance, and we certainly had some… five whole weeks, in fact. I thought maybe I’d lose what I was feeling for her when I left Equestria and yet… I really didn’t… he had to acknowledge, that fact driven home by all the awakened emotions churning within him.

He also wasn’t sure what he thought of her human form. It just seemed… off, somehow, for her to be anything but a unicorn. If he was honest with himself, he certainly enjoyed her kiss, and yet… as he held her, she didn’t feel quite right to him. Like it was her, and yet it wasn’t… was the only explanation he could come up with. Could it actually be I prefer her as a pony…? he found the thought disconcerting but also strangely heady, and suddenly wondered why she’d taken human form. I mean, did she do it just to disguise herself, or so she could actually date me and nobody would be the wiser? He simply didn’t know the answer, and realized it’d be another month before he could ask her. Even assuming I could get up the nerve to…

Four Weeks Later

“Come on, Nick! I know you’re nervous, but try to sit still, will you?” Came the voice of an unsympathetic Maya, who was hastily cleaning up the office in advance of their expected visitor’s arrival. “You know, she’s not going to be impressed with you if you keep acting like a gawky pimple-faced teen whenever she shows up!”

“Sorry…” he offered, wincing at the image, but he couldn’t help it. He’d gotten word of Twilight’s impending visit just two days before—an actual phone call from the violet unicorn telling him that the next ‘trans-dimensional ley line alignment’ was coming up and asking if she could visit again, promising she could stay longer this time—at least half a day. He’d managed to say yes before she’d lost the connection, her voice so distorted and delayed and it sounded like she was calling from the other side of the world and her signal bounced off six separate satellites.

Did she get it? Did she hear my response? What if she thinks I hung up on her? he couldn’t help but fret, wondering if he’d get his answer when she simply didn’t show and he never heard from her again. No other word was forthcoming, and he’d barely been able to sleep for being so nervous, hopes and worries whirling endlessly through his head… his dreams alternating between lurid fantasies that made him blush to nightmares of her saying he wasn’t good enough for her and telling him she’d found “a REAL stallion!”; his subconscious somehow coming up with the orange pegasus bailiff with blue mane they’d seen back at the trial.

He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. Oh, come on. We barely SAW that stallion! Why would she be interested in HIM? he told himself, but wasn’t reassured. Well, if I’m thinking like this, at least I can pretty sure what I feel for her is real now… he chuckled softly to himself, but that hardly made it any better. Nervous and not eating, he’d even thought of asking Maya to channel Mia just to have someone more sympathetic to talk to… though he had no idea how his former chief and mentor would react to the news he was interested in a single-horned purple-furred equine from another world.

The wait was interminable and nerve-wracking, but at the appointed mid-afternoon time, a magical glow appeared in his office and the familiar white bubble appeared surrounded by some electrical discharge that made Phoenix’s already pointy hair stand even further on end—“you don’t think a killer robot that looks like an Austrian bodybuilder’s gonna come out of it, do you?” Maya snarked, which didn’t help Phoenix’s nerves—but when it faded, it revealed…

“Twilight!” he immediately greeted her in genuine happiness and relief, noting that this time, she hadn’t changed her hair or eye color and was wearing a more-passable but slightly-odd outfit, a light blue blouse with poofy shoulders tied off at the collar with a violet bow paired with a short violet skirt emblazoned with her cutie mark, the ensemble finished off a red crystal pendant hanging from her neck and knee-length boots overlaid with argyle socks.

“Phoenix!” she locked onto him, her purple eyes lighting up at his sight. She started to move towards him and immediately lost her balance, falling into him, making Phoenix catch her. “Sorry. These boots are giving me issues…”

Though she’d been initially inclined to be moody at Twilight’s reappearance—she still wasn’t fully sold on the violet unicorn or her visits and was mostly making nice for Nick—Maya couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of her. “Tell Rarity that she needs to look at something other than schoolgirl animes to get an idea of how to dress you,” she snickered, but stood and bowed anyway. “Welcome back, Sparkle.”

“You too, Maya,” she nodded and gave her a half-bow back, floating her a pair of scrolls. “You’ve got mail!”

Maya blinked. “I do…?” she accepted the scrolls and started looking through them. “Oh, from Pinkie! Nothing from Vinyl though…?” her eyes lit up and went downcast in rapid succession.

Twilight’s expression suddenly turned sly. “There’s a reason. Is Pearly here?” she looked around.

Phoenix shook his head. “No, sorry, she’s at her village this time. I did let her know you were coming, and she’ll meet us later, though!” he promised. Though I did tell her late enough to make sure she wouldn’t be here when you first appeared, he didn’t say, finding himself already anticipating another kiss, mentally urging Maya to leave.

To his surprise, Twilight looked disappointed. “Oh! That’s too bad. I’ve also got some mail for her, and I wanted to show her something—this!” she held up the pendant around her neck.

“What is it?”

“The reason why I’m going to be able to stay longer this time! This is her bat-er-y. It’s a specially designed and enchanted ruby with a highly conductive mythril support lattice that can accept and store magical energy! We figured out how to charge it with my mana over a period of time and then be able to use it as a magical reservoir to power my spells. This means I’ll be able to hold the transformation for nearly an entire day!” she said eagerly, moving a little closer to him, holding it up for him to see.

“Wow…” Phoenix examined the pendant, finding it a simple faceted ruby in what looked like silver lattice hanging from a thin strap. “You came up with this yourself?”

She hesitated, looking embarrassed for a moment. “Well… I started to, but… it turned out that a certain somepony had already done most of the groundwork on it. She already had a working design, and… well, there was a price for her help. You both might want to step back,” she informed Phoenix and Maya, gently herding them both towards the side of the room.

It was then a second sparking white bubble appeared, fading to reveal a new figure inside. She, too, had the appearance of a young human woman though there was no mistaking her shock of electric blue hair or magenta shades over her pale skin. She’d been dressed in simple white zip-up shirt and skirt with some blue trim that matched her hair, a facsimile of her two-note cutie mark sewn into the side of the latter. She’d also been given some boots of her own, dark blue ones with violet leggings.

“Vinyl!” a delighted Maya called out as Phoenix looked on in surprise.

The DJ-pony-turned-human turned to Maya and grinned. “Hey, Maya!” she replied, raising her hand to wave and immediately losing her balance, her arms pinwheeling for a second until Maya caught her.

“Whoa. Walking on two legs is freaky, dude. How do you guys manage it?” she asked as Maya steadied her, the formerly unicorn DJ looking at her hands and fingers, tentatively grasping the edge of the desk with them as she took a few tentative steps. “And seriously, these boots ain’t exactly helping. Ain’t much of a fashion statement if I can’t walk!”

Maya giggled. “Okay, yeah, I’m gonna have to write Rarity a note. Okay, first thing we’re doing is taking you two to the mall for some new clothes. But seriously, though… why did you come?” she asked her Equestrian friend, holding both her hands. “I mean, it’s great to see you again, but didn’t you have any party gigs?”

“Or court cases?” Phoenix asked, uncertain if he was happy to see her or not.

She shook her head. “Nah, I’ve given up the whole prosecutor thing for now. You throttled me good in the Sonata Tarot trial and Octy said I was just embarrassing her anyway. Don’t get me wrong, I love that filly to death, but having her watch me in court cataloging every mistake I made was never any fun.” She rubbed the back of her head, her words suddenly making Phoenix wonder about the nature of their relationship.

THOSE two…? I mean, surely not…

Vinyl went on, unaware of his thoughts. “But that’s okay. I’ve got a new sidelight now—been working with Sparks a lot on getting these crystals to hold mana and music like Maya’s ‘smart-phone’ can, and once we get the design perfected, I’m gonna start selling them. Think I got you and Pearly to thank for that!” she grinned at Maya. “So, just thought I’d come thank you personally and see what your world was like!” she looked around curiously, then her eyes fell back on Phoenix. “Hope I’m not imposing…”

“Of course not!” Maya said with far more eagerness than she’d shown for Twilight. “Can’t wait to show you around!”

“Good to see you too, Vinyl, but uh… blue hair and red eyes aren’t exactly normal here,” Phoenix pointed out.

Maya grinned. “Anybody asks, we’ll just say she’s a raver… and she is!”

“Works for me!” Vinyl grinned as well. “Sorry, but I ain’t changing my colors—they’re kind of my signature, you know? DJ PON-3 turns it down for nopony!” she proclaimed with a wide grin. “Folks can deal. And while we’re here, I’d love to check out the music scene! Would be cool if I could DJ sometime, too…”

“You’d totally rock,” Maya agreed. “But your timing’s bad. Raves and parties only happen on the weekend, and it’s Tuesday,” she noted a bit sadly. “But that’s okay. I can still show you my setup and how I compose my stuff!” she offered, gently tugging the pony DJ towards the back room.

“Deal,” Vinyl nodded, following her human friend slightly awkwardly into the other room, her boots clomping hard as she went.

Twilight and Phoenix watched them leave, waiting until they were out of earshot. “Sorry, Phoenix. I meant to tell you she wanted to come when I called you, but I lost the connection before I could and had to save my power for the trip,” she explained, her tone sheepish.

“It’s okay,” Phoenix told her, drawing close to her. “As long as you’re here, that’s what matters.”

She smiled and blushed. “So… no Pearly…?” Twilight looked around cautiously.

“No Pearly,” he confirmed with a grin.

“That’s all I needed to hear.” And with that, she pressed close against him and kissed him deeply.

It was another minute before the two finally separated, at least momentarily sated. “You don’t know how much I look forward to that now…” she told him slightly breathlessly, her hands resting on his shoulders much as her hooves had as a pony when she reared up.

“Likewise,” he agreed, his tone turning wry. His powers of observation automatically kicking in, he noted she was roughly the same weight but stood just a little taller as a human than she did as a unicorn, and had perhaps three inches and fifteen pounds on Maya. She also had a more pronounced figure as befit her age, which Phoenix would have guessed was in her early twenties. Come to think of it, never did ask how old she was… “Especially after you kind of left me hanging last time,” he teased gently.

She blushed. “Sorry. But it makes you feel better, I ended up getting my tail chewed out by my friends for coming here and not telling them.”

Phoenix was puzzled. “Why didn’t you tell them?”

She blushed harder. “I… didn’t know if it would work, if you’d be here, or… even if you’d be happy to see me,” she explained, going downcast. “I just thought failure would be easier to deal with if they weren’t there to see it. I know it was stupid. They told me as much.”

He gave her a surprised look. “You honestly thought I wouldn’t be happy to see you?” That’s exactly what I was worried about YOU!

She forced herself to meet his eyes. “It’d been five weeks since you left Equestria, and… I really didn’t know if what we had was only because I was magically influencing you. If I really was, then…” the rest went unsaid.

Phoenix’s expression softened. All this time I was afraid of the same thing. Even worried it might be true. And here I was thinking that maybe SHE didn’t want to see me again… he shook his head, deciding Maya had been right—he had been acting like a gawky teen around his high school crush, and being generally worried for no good reason. No more! “Well, let me put your mind at ease, then…” his worries assuaged and confidence restored, he slipped a hand around her waist, pulling her close as he moved to kiss her again.

“Mister NICK!” Pearl’s shocked voice broke in, causing both Twilight and Phoenix to nearly jump out of their skin.

His heart going a mile a minute, he looked up and Twilight whirled to see… an evilly-grinning Maya, looking very pleased with herself, having pulled off a frighteningly accurate imitation of her cousin’s voice. “Sorry, we interrupting something?” she asked with a smirk over crossed arms, though Phoenix thought he caught a momentary glimmer of something far less amused in her eyes.

“Nice, Sparks. Enjoying the local scene already, I see,” Vinyl chuckled from beside her human friend, her shades up to reveal her dark red eyes.

Twilight blushed hard while Phoenix gave his unrepentant assistant a momentary glare. Way to kill the mood, Maya! he mentally told her, but Maya just stuck out her tongue. “I know you’d like to just stay in, Nick, but… we’re going to be proper hosts and take these two out!” she proclaimed, her arm going around Vinyl’s waist, who looked momentarily surprised but then pleased by the unfamiliar gesture. “We’re going clothes shopping, giving our guests the nickel tour of town, and then we’re meeting Pearly at the park for dinner…”

“That’s fine, but… we need to be back here by midnight,” Twilight warned, still blushing.

“Why? What happens at midnight? You two turn back into pumpkins or something?” Maya smirked.

The reference was apparently lost on the pony-turned-human pair, who gave each other an odd look. “Well no, but… at midnight, the return spell will pull us back, and you know the magical effects that accompany it,” Twilight explained. “I have to leave a large enough safety margin on these bat-er-y-s, and to be honest, I can already sense they’re draining faster than I thought they would. Holding these transformations takes a lot of magic, and… it seems like you need more mana in general here to power spells,” she said apologetically, Vinyl nodding in agreement, trying to levitate her shades with her magic but only managing a few weak and barely seen sparks off her hidden horn. “Otherwise… I’d be more than happy to stay the night.” She blushed again.

“You could always stay as a pony,” Phoenix suggested to his own surprise. “Would it save power if you only have to hold the transformation when you go out?”

Twilight blinked at him, startled, and Maya gave him an odd look as well. “Well, that’s… very nice of you to say,” she acknowledged, her cheeks warming, surprised by the note of eagerness in his voice. Does he actually prefer me as a pony…? she suddenly wondered but didn’t know how to ask, the thought making her giddy. “The problem is… the transformation itself takes a great deal of magic, and doing it more than once might overtax me.” But if I transform from the magic in the bat-er-y… her brow furrowed, suddenly lost in thought.

“We’ll see if we can improve the design on these for next time,” Vinyl promised, holding up her own pendant. “I’m sure we can figure out how to squeeze some more mana into them. But we’re here now, so in the meantime… how ‘bout we see this town of yours?” she suggested with a smile.

“Yeah, let’s!” Maya quickly agreed, all smiles herself even as she stepped between Twilight and Phoenix and all but shoved them towards the door, anxious to get them outside before Sparkle could put her hooks in Nick again.

But once again, she was denied. “Oh! Before I forget, Phoenix, I brought something else,” Twilight mentioned, pausing in mid-stride to pull what appeared to be a purple candle out of her half-saddlebag-turned purse.

Maya blinked, increasingly antsy to get them on their way. “Uh, Sparkle, the thought’s nice and all, but we don’t really need an extra source of light unless the power for the building gets knocked out.”

Twilight shook her head with a smile. “This isn’t a standard candle,” she said, as she lit it with a brief glow of her hidden horn. The green flame on the candle caught the other three off-guard.

It was Vinyl who recovered first. “Whoa, you made a dragonfire candle? Not a bad idea, Sparks,” she nodded in approval.

“A dragonfire candle?” Phoenix parroted, thinking the flame reminded him of the kind Spike breathed.

“Yes,” Twilight said, holding it before him. “This one is keyed to send messages directly to Spike. I thought of this the other day, after I tried contacting you via that combined summoning/telepathy spell. And it occurred to me that dragon magic works on a different level than unicorn magic, so dimensional barriers and leylines aren’t as much of a hindrance.”

Remembering that Spike was capable of sending such messages, Phoenix smiled. “Ah, so this way, we can keep in contact without relying on such a taxing method like that combined spell you were using.” And hopefully no accidental summonings either!

“Right!” Twilight beamed, setting the candle down on Phoenix’s desk, then showing him how it worked by jotting down a quick message on a piece of notepad paper using the quill pen made from Fluttershy’s feather, holding the finished note in her aura over the flame. It was consumed by the flame instantly, which flared strongly for a moment, the paper disappearing without so much of a wisp of smoke. A half-minute later, the candle flared again to reveal a small scroll with Twilight’s note rolled up inside, the former containing a message written in Spike’s flawless script that confirmed the message had been received. “Now you try it!” she invited. “Don’t worry, the flame won’t burn.”

Surprised, he did so, writing a quick note to Spike, asking the baby dragon if he wanted Twilight to bring him something back from Earth. He held the note over the flame and jerked his hand back as the paper suddenly caught, though the only effect the flaring green flames had on his fingers was a mild tingling. Another twenty seconds passed and then the candle flared again, disgorging the same piece of paper, this time with a new note that followed his:

Hmm… how about some human comic books? —Spike

Twilight rolled her eyes but chuckled along with Phoenix. “He’s got a one-track mind. Oh, and I enchanted the wax to make it an eternal candle. Basically, this means that you won’t have to worry about the candle burning down—it runs on ambient magical energy of the kind dragons use. It won’t even drip on your desk, even if you leave it lit for years on end,” she promised. “The one caveat is that it can only handle so much—if you send too many messages too fast, or maybe something too big, the dragonfire magic will run out and the flame will go out along with it,” she explained.

“If that happens just wait a day or so—it’ll automatically recharge. And if you need to extinguish it for any reason, you can—just blow it out. You can only send or receive messages when it’s lit, but you can always relight it the same way you would any regular candle. A simple match will do.”

Phoenix whistled. “Not bad. It’ll certainly make preparing for future visits from you easier,” he noted as the group started to leave, Maya trying to herd them outside again.

Twilight nodded happily, then turned to her fellow Equestrian. “Before we go out, remember the rules, Vinyl?” she asked, but the unicorn DJ waved off her concerns.

“Yeah, yeah. Expect meat-eating, don’t use magic, and always wear clothes. I got it,” she promised, smirking at the scene of Maya herding the two away and keeping herself between them. “Seriously though, doesn’t feel like I can manage much magic here anyway…” she shook her head in some disappointment as she followed them out the door.

The first thing that hit the visiting pair was the heat of the day, a blast furnace of 95-degree air smacking them hard as soon as they stepped outside; Phoenix grimaced at the sight of them wincing. “Sorry, you guys picked a hot spell to come. It’s not normally this bad,” he told them, but the pair weren’t as perturbed by that as a sight that made them freeze in their tracks, leaving the two staring slackjawed at what would be an impossibility in Equestria… or would at least indicate something was very, very wrong.

“Dude…” was all Vinyl could immediately say, removing her shades to stare up at it.

“How…?” Twilight couldn’t find the words to express her own bewilderment.

Confused, Phoenix and Maya followed their gaze to see… a half-moon rising in the eastern sky, visible in broad daylight.

Understanding dawned on their human hosts at once. “Right. Well, you guys aren’t in Equestria anymore. Our sun and moon aren’t controlled by pony princesses,” Maya grinned broadly, delighting in their reaction. “Instead, our entire solar system is held together by gravity.”

“But gravity is merely the force that keeps objects from floating off the ground, right?” Twilight asked, bewildered.

Phoenix shook his head. “Not on Earth.” He tapped his chin, then looked at Maya. “Think you can pull up a picture of the solar system on your phone?”

Music: Hidden Knowledge

Grinning, Maya did just that, showing it to the two unicorns-turned-human. “As you can see, we know of nine planets in our solar system, plus an asteroid belt, and the sun in the center of it all.” She paused a moment. “Actually, we technically only have eight planets, but the first few years I was in school, they told us we had nine, so that’s what I’m sticking with.” She shook her head, and regained her composure. “Rather than someone raising the sun and moon, Earth revolves in an orbit around the sun, while spinning like a top in space as well once every twenty-four hours. That rotation is what gives us our weather, by the way, causing swirls and eddies in the atmosphere that manifest themselves as fronts and storms.”

Twilight blinked as she puzzled that out. “So… as the planet moves in a circle around the sun, it also spins in place?” she struggled to comprehend such an unfamiliar and alien concept.

“Right,” Phoenix confirmed with a nod, unable to suppress a grin of his own. “The same holds true of every planet in our solar system as well. Days are measured by how long a planet takes to spin once, while years are measured by how long it takes to complete one circle around the sun.”

“So what about the moon?” Vinyl asked. “How the hay can it be…” she motioned towards it in the daytime sky.

Bringing up another picture, this one showing the Earth and its moon, Maya took the reins of the conversation, happy to show the bookish unicorn she wasn’t in Equestria anymore. “Like it says here, our moon is roughly one-fourth the size of Earth in terms of diameter and orbits the Earth at a distance of 238,000 miles, taking 29 days to complete an orbit. It’s much smaller than the Earth, so it’s held in thrall by Earth’s gravity. When it appears in the sky is dependent on where it is in its orbital cycle—if it’s waxing towards a full moon like it is now, meaning it’s moving behind our world and showing more of its daylit face, then it rises progressively later during the day… but if it’s waning and moving in front of our world, it rises ever later at night until all you can see of it is a small crescent,” she explained, taking no small amount of glee in Twilight’s jaw dropping ever further towards the ground.

She then brought up a new picture showing different stages of the moon and where it was in relation to the earth and sun.

“So a new moon will rise at 6am, a waxing half moon at noon, a full moon at 6pm, and a waning half moon at midnight, all give or take. But our moon isn’t just a nightlight, either—its gravity influences the Earth in subtle but important ways, most notable through our oceanic tides. Water levels at the beach thus rise or fall by at least a couple feet every few hours, and in some places it’s much greater than that!”

Phoenix blinked. “So when did you become such a science and astronomy buff, Maya?”

Maya grinned impishly. “Well, when you live way out past normal civilization, the stars are VERY pretty to look at come nightfall.”

Twilight’s mind was reeling, struggling to comprehend the astronomical differences between Earth and Equestria—Argh! My brain! My poor, poor brain! I can’t even comprehend such a crazy system! GAH!—while all Vinyl could do was shake her head. “This world is whack, Maya!”

“And we’re just getting started,” the young mystic grinned, looking very pleased to have finally left an agape Twilight at a complete loss for words.

3: Scratching the Surface

Happy though he was to see Twilight again, Vinyl Scratch’s appearance had thrown Phoenix for a loop.

Well, at least she’s adjusting well and not being freaked by everything, he conceded as they walked a short distance to the bus stop, noting she was looking around at her new surroundings with interest but not too much wonder, though she did, like Twilight, keep glancing at the rising moon. Maybe her being here will work out well, actually. Since Maya likes her, she’ll hopefully behave better, and not be too much of a wet blanket… he thought hopefully as he observed the pair close, still annoyed at the teenaged mystic for interrupting him and Twilight earlier.

The heat of the day too much and Maya worrying about Vinyl’s pale skin under a late August sun—they had to explain the concept of sunburn to the normally fur-covered pair—they elected to save any outdoor activities for later, taking a bus ride to the nearest large mall.

As they traveled the five miles, Twilight shook off her shock over the moon and had no end of questions as to how the bus moved and traffic was governed, marveling at the distant, if hazy Los Angeles skyline and noting the colorful houses and characters they passed. Vinyl, by contrast, seemed genuinely intrigued but not particularly awestruck by what she was seeing, Maya sitting beside her, pointing out places and sights as they went.

Upon arrival, Phoenix and Maya helped the pair down the bus exit stairs and led them inside the mall, causing Twilight to gawk anew at the massive interior, to say nothing of the variety of shops and wares being sold. “I don’t think I’m in Ponyville anymore…” was all she could initially say at the sight, looking uncertain where to begin.

Walking around, the two Equestrian Girls got more than a few odd looks at their hair color and attire, making Twilight uncomfortable enough that she ducked into a washroom and magically changed her hair color to black and eye shade brown, somewhat to Phoenix’s disappointment… though he did like the fact that she clung closer to him out of a need for familiarity in alien surroundings and even began to hold his hand, to a disapproving look from Maya. Vinyl, however, took everything in stride and enjoyed all the attention she was getting, going so far as to flip up her shades to show off her eyes whenever someone stared too closely, causing Maya to laugh as several onlookers took involuntary steps back.

“Hey lady, where’d you get those wicked shades?” one teenaged girl called out.

“Made them myself, thanks,” came Vinyl’s reply, looking back over her shoulder with a grin.

After getting the pair some snacks of soft pretzels and shaved ice from vendor carts—Phoenix was trying not to take them by the food court, knowing what would be found there—they went to a clothing store for new outfits, leaving Phoenix waiting outside as Maya got the two fitted for proper bras, making him realize with a start that Twilight hadn’t actually been wearing one before that. Wait… that means when I hugged and kissed her she was… his mind shut the train of thought down hard before it could go any further.

Since a regular bra was a little too much for Vinyl and Twilight to handle given their unfamiliarity with fingers and human fasteners, Maya got them sports bras. They served the purpose with much less hassle, though the two mares seemed a little surprised that such a thing was necessary until Maya explained in exact terms why, leaving Vinyl chuckling and both Twilight and Phoenix blushing hard.

They selected new outfits next. To little surprise of Phoenix, Vinyl went for a showy look based on some of the billboards and human girls she’d already seen, choosing jean shorts and a short white halter with a music motif and open midriff over her top, while Twilight exchanged her slightly poofy blouse and skirt for simpler, more summer-friendly ones, going with a lavender top and lighter blue knee-length skirt to Phoenix’s approval. Their boots were exchanged for sandals since neither knew how to tie shoelaces, leaving Twilight fascinated by the velcro fasteners, releasing and resealing them repeatedly in an attempt to figure out how they worked.

“They’re hoofwear, Sparks. You can figure them out when we get back home,” Vinyl said with some amusement, admiring herself in the mirror and picking out some blue and white bracelets to complete her ensemble.

They split up after that, Maya and Vinyl going off to the electronics and music shops while Phoenix took Twilight to the bookstore. Giddy at the massive selection, she stayed there for well over an hour looking through all the sections before selecting a few things to take back, paid for by Phoenix—fashion magazines for Rarity, a book on military planes for Rainbow Dash (”That’s if I can actually get her to read,” she admitted with a roll of her eyes), a pastry cookbook for Pinkie Pie, “nan-gas” for Spike (which she was particularly surprised to see human versions of), science and history books for herself, and, to Phoenix’s chagrin… a smattering of romance novels, explaining she wanted to “examine the cultural differences of our courtship rituals.”

Phoenix immediately protested they were all fantasy and not accurate representations of relationships, but Twilight waved him off. “Ours are no different. And fantasies say a lot about the psyche of both individuals and societies!” she told him, leaving Phoenix hard pressed to disagree. As long as she doesn’t try to use what’s in them on me…

The sun starting to head down and the temperature along with it, they headed over to a park Phoenix and Maya frequented with Pearl, where they met the young mystic off the bus.

She immediately leaped into Twilight’s arms, asking for news of ‘Mystic Trixie’ and her Equestrian friends. In response, Twilight gave her letters from Applejack, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle as well as some scroll paper to write them back with, but had to disappoint her on the subject of Trixie, explaining that she was still not in contact with her at her father’s request. “But the Crusaders are doing well! School will be starting back up for them soon, and I hear they’ll be going on a field trip to Canterlot to check out the Canterlot Gardens the first week! Lots of neat statues and topiary there,” she told her as they headed over to the food carts to get some dinner.

“Aw… wish I could go…” Pearl went downcast for a moment, but perked back up at Twilight’s suggestion that perhaps she’d be able to get permission to bring her back to Equestria for a visit sometime down the road. She agreed excitedly and also said that she’d been practicing her penmanship with Spike’s calligraphy set, asking her to show him samples of her work. Twilight smiled and promised she would, knowing her scribe had taken an almost brotherly view of Pearl.

Arriving at the picnic tables and adjacent playground, Maya made a beeline for the taco truck and immediately got in line. “Next to burgers, this is my favorite food!” she announced as she ordered three of the biggest, meatiest ones she could find, waiting impatiently as they were prepared. “You know, you should try this too, Sparkle!” She grinned mischievously as she got her order, sticking one in Twilight’s face despite Phoenix’s glare. “Beef taco! They’re the best!”

“Um…” Twilight shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to admit the smells surrounding the strangely-shaped foodstuff were strangely appetizing. Made of BEEF? Chicken’s one thing, but I KNOW some cows! she mentally protested. But before she could respond, a second hand reached in and plucked the partially wrapped item out of Maya’s.

“So they’re the best, huh? Let’s see, then…” Vinyl stared at it for a moment, and then took a big bite, crunching loudly into it.

“When in Roam, eh, Twilight?” Vinyl grinned at her shocked expression. “This ain’t nothin. I’ve DJ’d parties for griffins, and those involve raw meat and the occasional flying boar spit-roast. They don’t respect you unless you’re willing to eat it. So I learned. Although…” she took another bite and nodded in approval. “Have to say, this really does taste good.” She licked her fingers appreciatively.

“Really?” Twilight blinked, noting Vinyl’s enjoyment. Well, I know cows aren’t sapient here, so… steeling herself, she accepted and took a bite of the third taco and her eyes went wide at the myriad tastes on her tongue. “It… does!” she admitted as Maya grinned evilly, going on to get them to try them with taco sauce added on top.

Great… I’m turning Twilight on to MEAT! Phoenix winced at his own thought as he watched them eat, wondering how else being human was going to corrupt her before all was said and done.

* * * * *

They stayed at the park for a couple hours more, just chatting, Pearly alternating her time between the playground and Twilight, who felt somewhat troubled at what she’d just done.

Eating meat… is this body affecting me somehow? Is it actually giving me human tastes? she suddenly wondered, worried about how else it might affect her. But she put the question aside for later, reminding herself that she was here to see and spend time with Phoenix, not question the morality of her human form. As dusk fell a band started playing in the amphitheatre across the path, so they went over to listen. Vinyl was less than impressed and Maya was too, the pair instantly pointing out all the missed notes and off-beat lyrics.

The park closed at nine. Pearls was put back on the bus with a parting hug from Twilight, who promised to deliver her latest letters to the CMC and see about arranging a visit for her later. With less than two hours remaining until midnight, they took a different bus back to Phoenix’s office, where Maya dragged Vinyl into the back room to see her music setup and soon they heard the sounds of party music and what sounded to Phoenix like web videos being played, punctuated with impressed noises and the occasional comment from the pony DJ.

While Maya showed off her technology to her Equestrian friend, Twilight and Phoenix went out on his second-floor office balcony. It was something he would never do in the heat of an August day, but at night… it became far more tolerable, even pleasant.

He served Twilight some tea—not his usual drink—taking a seat beside her as she looked out over the balcony, soaking in the sights and sounds of the city at night. She sighed happily as she removed her sandals, ready to take a load off—she’d already commented to him that her feet were sore from walking, unused to bearing her entire weight ‘on only two hooves’.

Phoenix nodded in sympathy as he brought out a candle to put on the table. “If you think that’s bad, try standing in court for hours on end!” he told her, rubbing his calves ruefully as he sat back down. “I do wonder why they don’t give us chairs…” he mused, going on to share his personal theory was that it was to speed trials up further by making attorneys uncomfortable.

Twilight winced, thinking it made a great deal of sense. “You got me there,” she agreed, sitting on the deck chair, finally able to relax again, closing her eyes to soak in the evening breeze and cooler temperatures.

“Enjoying yourself?” Phoenix grinned, taking a sip of his tea.

She grinned back. “It was hot during the day, but… this actually feels kind of good now that’s it dark,” she acknowledged, savoring the unfamiliar but not unpleasant feeling of a warm wind rippling through her thin clothes, pressing against her skin. “It’s really weird seeing the moon during the day and not at night, though… and there are so few stars,” she shook her head as she looked up into the L.A. evening.

“It’s the city lights,” Phoenix explained as he poured her a drink. “The stars are up there, they’re just kind of drowned out by all these street lamps and skyscrapers.” Though of course, the haze and smog doesn’t help things either… he knew, wishing again for the clear air and pristine skies of Equestria.

She nodded. “And is it always so hot here?”

Phoenix chuckled as he sat beside her. “Is a fire elemental telling me it’s too hot?” he couldn’t help but tease; in response she grinned and her eyes glow red as she tapped her power enough to light the candle on the table, allowing him to turn off the balcony lights, leaving them alone in evening dark except for the streetlights and flickering light of the flame. Sure am glad I moved to a new office that wasn’t located across from the Gatewater! Felt like a fishbowl in there… “This place is pretty much a desert, Twilight. Rain usually only falls a few months out of the year. No, it’s usually not this hot, but when it is… there’s never anything to clean the air out.” He sighed, wishing again the city had a squadron of pegasi on call to do it.

“Can’t imagine being at the mercy of the weather like this,” she shook her head, then suddenly grabbed at her armrests as she felt the balcony move, the overhead plant gently swaying back and forth for a few moments before settling back to equilibrium. “What was that?” her eyes darted back and forth.

Phoenix didn’t even blink. “Earth tremor,” he told her. “This area is notorious for them. For the most part, they’re benign, but we can get some sharp shakes. And once in a long while a damaging earthquake.”

She looked at him in disbelief. “And you just… live with it?”

“Have to,” he told her, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “It’s not like we can stop them any more than we can control the weather. All we can do is adapt to them; build our structures and roads to resist them. Trust me, two or three tremors and you get used to them.” Well, unless you’re Edgeworth, that is…

She looked uncertain, but when the shaking wasn’t repeated she settled back down and picked up her drink. “Thanks.”

“No problem. And we’re home now, so you can let your hair down, Twilight… or in your case, change it back,” he gave her a wry grin.

That was all the encouragement she needed, flaring her phantom horn to restore her eyes to purple and her hair to dark blue bisected with adjacent pink and purple stripes. THAT’S my ponytailed girl! Phoenix couldn’t help but think.

“Better?” Twilight asked shyly.

“Much better,” Phoenix acknowledged, resisting the temptation to run his fingers through her long silky strands.

She looked down for a moment, giving the appearance that she wanted to ask him something. “So, um… you like me with my real hair?” she asked him. You like me as a pony?

“I like you as you, Twilight,” he answered, knowing he’d answered correctly when she blushed and beamed. “So now that you’ve had more than an hour here… what do you think of my world?”

Twilight visibly hesitated before replying. “Well… I don’t know yet,” she finally admitted. “This is all so new and different to me, and not always for the better. It’s an alien world with its own rules and a different set of natural laws, and the books I read don’t really convey that. It’s a little overwhelming, honestly, and doing things I normally wouldn’t, like eating that ‘taco’…” the formerly violet unicorn looked very uncertain. “Guess I now know how you felt when you first came to Equestria,” she shook her head and chuckled a bit.

He gave her a sidewise look as he settled in beside her, their chairs arranged side by side, reading between the lines and a little worried by the message he was getting. “Then you’re saying you don’t like it here…?”

She hesitated again. “If I asked you that about Equestria the first night you were there, what would you have said?”

He grimaced. “Point taken.”

She thought carefully about her next words. “Don’t get me wrong, Phoenix. This world does have a lot of interest to me and things going for it, it’s just… well, it’s going to take me a while to get used to… and to this,” she motioned down at her human body. “I don’t know how long it will take or even how often I’ll be able to visit. All I do know is… I don’t want to stop seeing you, even if it is so infrequently,” she raised her purple eyes to his.

“We don’t have to meet here, you know,” he reminded her. “If you want to see me, why not just bring me back to Equestria?”

She blushed and smiled, putting her hand over his in a surprisingly human manner, leaving Phoenix reflecting she already seemed to be picking up human gestures and mannerisms. “I really appreciate the offer, but in all honesty? I’d rather come here, for several reasons,” she told him. “First, if you come to Equestria, we won’t get much privacy or time to ourselves. The press and my friends would instantly descend on us again. They still haven’t quite stopped teasing me after last time,” she grimaced. “Trust me, it gets old and I really don’t want to get them going again.

“Secondly, you came to Equestria involuntarily, and stayed for over two weeks. So… I honestly think I owe you to come here a few times and not disrupt your life. At least, no more so than just visiting does, anyway. And lastly…”

She bit her lip, closed her eyes to gather herself, then took the plunge. “I know things are different here but in Equestria… mares court stallions, not the other way around. In all honesty, that’s what I’d rather do, and to me… that means I come here, to you.” She grinned shyly and turned her shining purple eyes on him, slipping her hand inside his again.

Phoenix felt his heart warm anew, giving her fingers a squeeze. “I’m flattered, Twilight. You have no idea how much.” It’s been so long since any girl showed interest in me, and the last one who did… he forcibly purged the thought as Twilight went on.

“You’re welcome, Phoenix. You know, I thought maybe you were right and I’d stop feeling things for you once you were gone, but… it hasn’t happened that way,” she shook her head. “I read a romance novel, it reminds me of you. I see a blue suit or a pony with spiky hair, I think of you. I hear about a court case, I can all but hear your objection.” She grinned, and he grinned back. Taking a chance she leaned to her right slightly and rested her head on his shoulder, taking in the warmth and presence of her… stallion? Man? Boyfriend? Coltfriend? The terms suddenly seemed blurred, even as she snuggled in tighter against him.

Phoenix’s cheeks warmed further at her affection. “And I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been thinking about you…” he offered slightly awkwardly, shifting uncomfortably as he remembered some of the more vivid dreams he’d had of her.

They sat silently a few minutes more, Twilight desperately trying to work up the nerve to ask her next question. She was so sure of the answer now, and yet… “So…” she placed her left hand over his where it rested on her hip. “Can we now say this is real, then?” she held her breath.

Phoenix’s heart was starting to race as he reached the same conclusion she did.“Well… maybe the best answer I can give you is…” he leaned in close and she reciprocated, their heads turning towards each other until their lips met. Their passions finally acknowledged, one kiss led to a second, then to a third, and then...

A throat cleared behind them three minutes later, jolting them both back to their senses.

“Well, now. Looks like you’re getting the hang of being a human pretty nicely there, Sparks,” Vinyl said with a wide grin as Twilight and Phoenix froze in their suddenly very compromising position, their eyes wide and both in a state of partial undress. The unicorn DJ was lounging against the side of the balcony door like she’d been watching them for some time, her arms and legs crossed as Maya watched from the balcony entrance as well, her fists clenched, cheeks red and eyes bulging. “Gotta say, I’m enjoying the show and would love to leave you to it, but… it’s time to go. We got less than two minutes before your return spell pulls us back,” the still-grinning unicorn DJ reminded her, hefting Twilight’s book-laden bag in her hand.

Shocked, both Twilight and Phoenix looked over at the wall clock and realized it was that close to midnight, the pair quickly disentangling, Phoenix withdrawing his hands from under her blouse, the pair stumbling back from each other in shock and confusion.

“Phoenix, I…” she couldn’t go on, wrapping her arms hard around herself and shivering like she was cold, still aroused but extremely confused by what had just happened. Wh-where did THAT come from? I w-want him, but… n-not in THIS form! she clutched her head even as she could still feel his hands roaming over her, exploring erogenous zones she didn’t even know her human body had!

Phoenix wasn’t much better—the moment broken but still sorely enjoyed, he felt more bewildered than ever, suddenly feeling extremely guilty and wondering if he’d ever be able to look Twilight—or Maya—in the eye again. “Twilight, I… I-I’m sorry…” he offered with a shaky voice, belatedly trying to rebutton his opened shirt front.

“I… it’s…” Twilight couldn’t talk, and couldn’t think what to say. Down to their final moments and at a complete loss for words, she hurriedly ran up and kissed him just as the return spell began to pull her and Vinyl back, the pair disappearing behind a white energy barrier again, leaving Phoenix alone with a very angry and irate Maya, who crossed her arms and glared.

“So… she doesn’t know how her body works, and then you go take advantage of that to give her a good grope as a send-off to not seeing her again for six weeks? Real classy, Nick!” Maya said in a disgusted tone before stomping off, and Phoenix felt the blow of her words like a hard punch to his gut.

What… what have I done? Phoenix could only fall back to his chair and clutch his head, certain he’d just screwed up beyond any hope of recovery.

5: Romantic Reunions

Twilight Sparkle awoke to find herself tucked into an unfamiliar bed, light streaming through an open window and spilling on to her face. It’s… morning…? the puzzled thought reached her. I thought it was still night… she cracked open her eyes to find herself staring up at a familiar vaulted ceiling, one her unusually sluggish mental processes finally placed as belonging to Celestia’s bedroom.

“Twilight!” Celestia’s voice rang out, following by slightly strange-sounding hoofsteps as she approached the bed, their rhythm and weight off from what they normally were. “How do you feel?” her voice asked from a point that sounded somehow higher than it should to Twilight, but she barely registered that fact as she felt a large weight sit down on the bed beside her, depressing the mattress next to her.

Like I just went ten rounds with Trixie… she didn’t say, struggling to piece together some strangely elusive memories of the night before. “Princess!” she called out, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the well-lit room. “I had the strangest dream… I was telling you about my problems, and then you turned into a human, and then you—” finally able to open her eyes, she turned her head and froze at the sight of a very human Celestia sitting on the bed beside her, smirking at her, concern and an element of mischief in her violet-eyed gaze. “—aaaand it wasn’t a dream, was it?” she mumbled, more to herself than to her, shivering lightly and burrowing a bit deeper under her blanket.

“I’m afraid not,” an amused Celestia told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “As it happens, you’ve been asleep for nearly nine hours. As I suspected you had been awake all night before this, I thought it best to let you rest.” She gave Twilight’s suddenly-tense shoulder a squeeze.

“You could’ve turned back…” she barely mumbled, unable to look at her regent’s human form for the memories it evoked of her own.

Celestia’s mischievous gleam got a bit more pronounced. “And miss the look on your face when you woke up and saw me again?” she closed her eyes and bent over to kiss Twilight on the side of her head. “Come, Twilight. I’ve been waiting for you to wake up before eating. I have cancelled my morning appointments so we can talk,” She motioned to her made breakfast table, covered with platters of fruit and hot food.

Twilight gathered herself carefully, getting up from the bed. Still feeling unsteady, she followed her humanized mentor to her breakfast table, though her system was still churning to the point that she wasn’t sure she could eat. Worse, she was having a very hard time looking at Celestia’s human form, finding it difficult to look at her from any direction, her eyes automatically averting themselves from her flanks and especially her large mammaries. Think I get why they’re normally covered, now…

“I’m sorry. Am I making you uncomfortable, Twilight?” the sun princess asked as Twilight joined her at the breakfast table, the glint of amusement getting stronger. “Do you prefer me to cover up?”

I’d prefer you change back entirely, she didn’t say, wondering if she’d ever be able to look at her mentor the same way again. “If… you wouldn’t mind…?” she finally managed to ask, in some disbelief that nudity was actually bothering her. I saw Maya nude when she channeled Firefly… that didn’t bother me… why does this? she wondered. Maybe because I didn’t know as much about human anatomy then…?

In response, Celestia flared her ethereal horn to materialize a thin, long belted robe that covered her from shoulder to knee… but only barely, the sheer fabric leaving tantalizing hints of her human curves and attributes. “Better?” she asked with a grin as she began to put food on her plate, noting with gratification her student’s suddenly hot cheeks.

Twilight sensed she was being teased, her cheeks flushing further, shocked at her own reactions as she accepted a stack of pancakes and began to pour syrup over it in a desperate attempt to master her nerves. “I… w-well…”

Celestia smiled again, more reassuringly this time. “Please forgive my indulgence, Twilight. In truth, I use this human form and the human world itself to occasionally… indulge my more sensual side, so simply taking it tends to bring that out of me,” she closed her eyes and smiled again. “As you have now experienced for yourself… the human form does have certain benefits.”

Despite her distraction, Celestia’s latest words got Twilight’s immediate attention. “Wait. You mean… you’ve had sex… like that… with… humans….?” she felt herself start to go faint again… and strangely heady. If it’s okay for her, then… it would be okay for me, wouldn’t it…? The thought flashed through her head, a new world of possibilities opening up to her… opening up to both her and Phoenix. Maybe Vinyl’s right and I’ve been upset for no reason…?

Celestia’s expression went genuinely sad for a moment, the humanized sun princess clasping her hands in front of her. “I am ageless, but not needless, Twilight. I have both physical and emotional needs that are simply not easily met in Equestria,” she explained as Twilight’s eyes went wide, having never dreamed she’d hear her mentor, whom she thought of as a mother and near-goddess, discuss such topics. “My size and station make having relationships here very difficult. Even impossible,” she said with a small sigh.

“The unfortunate truth is that few stallions can satisfy me, and even for those who can… it is very rare to find one who is emotionally compatible with me as well—who possesses the wisdom and maturity to truly be my lover,” she emphasized. “True, there have been some over these past millennia, and I have loved and treasured each of them in turn, but ultimately… they are simply too few, and our time together too fleeting,” she shook her head sadly, and Twilight was surprised to see a tear form in her eye.

Her brief excitement forgotten, Twilight now felt troubled as she listened to her mentor reminisce. Celestia’s vulnerable moments were few, and she knew from experience she would only share them with those she truly trusted. I never knew this about being a princess! Living an ageless life, having to watch those you love and care for live and die over and over again… she shuddered, placing her comforting hoof over Celestia’s hand. “But isn’t there any magic you could use to…?” She was afraid to say more.

Celestia chuckled softly and placed her other hand over her student’s hoof, giving it a squeeze. “Yes, judicious use of magic can alleviate some of those issues, and believe me, I have learned a few such spells over my long life, but… in the end, that makes me dependent on magical machinations for simple love or pleasure. Taking this form allows me to, in an odd way, be myself more fully… ever so briefly unencumbered by the pressures of being the Sun Princess,” she turned her human eyes on Twilight again, tapping a hand to her chest. “So in some very important ways, my dear Twilight… this is my real self.”

Twilight felt herself going faint again at the revelation that her regent was, in fact, a sexual being, no more or less than any other pony… albeit one who could take and enjoy the human form. It was disconcerting, and yet in an odd way… it was also strangely reassuring. Then… she… she really DOES understand what I’m going through! she realized. “Princess… I’m flattered beyond words that would you share this with me, but, I also don’t quite understand. Why are you telling me all this?”

“Perhaps I simply do not wish you to have to learn things the hard way as I did,” Celestia’s expression went sad and regretful for a moment again before perking back up. “Or perhaps I simply wish for somepony I can share these thoughts and experiences with. A pony who has experienced human love as I have,” she said with a growing twinkle, causing her student to blush again. “But either way… I do not wish you to be afraid of this form, or what may happen by using it. I promise it will not take you away from yourself or your friends, but in the end, bring you closer to them. You have my blessing for using it with Phoenix Wright or anyone else as you see fit, and all I ask in return is for you to learn from your experiences and be happy… and of course, as always, to share what you learn with me.

“You may consider whatever relationship you form with him to be part of your friendship training, and preparation for…” she trailed off, then closed her eyes and smiled again, saying a single word. “Life.”

Twilight’s eyes furrowed, certain there was something she wasn’t being told. “Life?”

Celestia gave her patented coy smile again. “You are very special to me, Twilight, and more than anything else… I do not wish you to fear new experiences, or fear to share them with others you deem worthy. I want you to find fulfillment in life, whatever form you take or mate you may choose. Do you understand this, my dear student?” she asked earnestly.

Twilight considered her answer carefully, thinking that a simple ‘yes’ seemed woefully inadequate to the question asked. Then, just as Celestia had the night before, she realized the perfect way to respond. Well, as Phoenix says, turnabout’s fair play, right…? she internally grinned.

Closing her eyes, she flared her horn and cast the now-familiar spell, causing her body to shift. Her fur shrank back to bare skin, her hips and chest swelled, her hooves turned to hands, and her muzzle shrank into a petite human face and nose. Her transformation complete, she rose from the table to face a surprised Celestia, gratitude and compassion in her purple eyes as well as mischievous gleam that would have done her mentor proud, taking her very surprised regent’s hands in her own as she stood before her, finally fully accepting of her human form.

“I do, Princess,” she announced, her eyes shining in joy and gratitude.

In response, an overjoyed Celestia stood, clothed Twilight in a second robe with a single magical flare, and then pulled her prize pupil close. She held her transformed student as they both cried softly, soaking in the other’s acceptance and love.

Maya sighed as she sullenly listened to her music.

She didn’t want to admit it, but seeing Nick and Sparkle, together like that, had really hurt. She couldn’t explain why—it wasn’t like she was romantically interested in Nick, so why did it matter to her that somebody else was?—but she was nonetheless very angry and hurt enough to not be speaking to him.

The first thing she’d done the previous night, after Nick had left and she’d spent time crying a little, was to call Pearly back at Kurain Village. She told the young mystic that ‘Mister Nick had majorly screwed up,’ which was more than enough for Pearly to promise to come to the office as soon as possible… though even the image of Nick being smacked senseless by an eight-year-old girl couldn’t bring Maya to laugh, or even smile.

Come to think of it, she’d heard Pearly’s voice earlier this morning, but it’d been surprisingly quiet since then. Maya didn’t know why, but maybe Nick was just so blue-looking that not even Pearly could see fit to bring justice down on him…

She was brought out of her funk by a firm knock on the door. Growling slightly, she removed her headphones. “Nick, if you really want to apologize to me for what happened, you’d better have it in writing!” she snapped, still not ready to talk to her pseudo-guardian.

“Well, that’s hardly fair,” mused a familiar, most definitely female voice. “He’s already writing an apology to Twilight Sparkle, and you want one, too?”

Maya bolted for the door, unlocking it and throwing it open to see the channeled spirit of her sister. “Sis! What’re you doing here?” she asked, eagerly embracing her deceased sibling.

“Phoenix asked Pearly to channel me, so here I am,” Mia said, returning the embrace before stepping into the room and closing the door. “He needed someone to talk to about last night.”

“Just talk?” Maya scoffed. “After what he pulled, you ought to have—”

“Yes, just to talk,” Mia interrupted, sitting down with a stern look on her face. “He told me everything that has happened over the past two months, from Rainbow Dash’s trial to what transpired last night. And I told him that, your friend Miss Scratch’s interruption aside, I saw nothing wrong with what happened.”

Maya stared at her sister in stark disbelief. “Sis, has dying made you lose a few brain cells? He took advantage of Sparkle!”

“Really?” the elder Fey asked. “Because from what he said, she was the one who offered herself to him.”

This did little to calm Maya down, instead causing her to shift targets like a Formula 1 racing car. “So Sparkle led him on?! Oh, that little lavender slut! I oughta—”

“Maya Amber Fey!” snapped Mia. startling the younger mystic into silence. “What Twilight and Phoenix decide to do with their relationship is none of your concern!” her brown eyes flashed, genuine anger in them. “Character assassination is something only bad attorneys practice, and I expect far better from you!”

Maya cringed. It was a well-known fact of life that when a personal authority figure used your full name, you had screwed up somewhere. “B-but sis! Th-they…” She fumbled, trying to vocalize her feelings—the shock, anger and sheer jealousy she felt at the sight of Nick with his hands on…

“Both Phoenix and Twilight Sparkle are fully rational adults, Maya,” the elder sister went on, crossing her arms and cutting off the younger sister’s thoughts. “It’s their decision whether or not to pursue intimacy… although, from what Phoenix has told me, he feels this was too much too soon. From what he described, it sounds like the two of them got a bit carried away when they started to kiss.”

“Carried away?” Maya echoed angrily. “He groped her boobs on the freakin’ balcony right in freakin’ front of me!”She slammed her fists down, her yell audible to Phoenix outside even through the closed door, making him cringe.

To her frustration, her sister remained unsympathetic. “They were caught up in a moment of passion, Maya. If it’s never happened to you, it will…” she caught her sister’s eyes suddenly going evasive. “… or has it already?” the former defense attorney quickly spotted, crossing her arms and taking on a knowing grin.

Maya squirmed as she suddenly remembered Equestria, Vinyl, and the night of the party… and having woken up in a badly compromising position with them. “But… but Sparkle’s not used to being human!” Maya protested, her cheeks going red, trying to quickly change the subject. “Doesn’t Nick bear some responsibility for what happened?” I-I was drunk and w-wasn’t myself! W-what’s HIS excuse…?

Mia knew Maya was hiding something, but decided it was not the time to press her on it. “As I told him, since she was offering herself, she might be more capable of consent than you think, Maya,” Mia riposted, then her attorney skills kicked in, calling out a contradiction in her sister’s words. “And you’re flip-flopping on this issue. You seem to want to hold Phoenix responsible, but at the same time, when given the chance, you call Twilight a slut. So, to borrow a phrase… what is your major malfunction?”

Maya opened and closed her mouth a few times, before finally giving up and deciding to be blunt. “I just… don’t want to lose Nick.”

Mia cocked her head. “What do you mean, ‘lose’ him?”

“To Sparkle!” Maya clarified. “I mean, ever since you died, it’s been Nick and me, tackling cases and solving mysteries. We were a team! And then this… this pony from another world drags him off to defend her friend, and when I catch up, they’re making googly-eyes at each other! Nick lets her stand as co-counsel there instead of me, and everything is just so different, I was glad to make it back home! Then she up and comes here, as a human, no less, and he can’t look away from her again… can’t even keep his hands off her! I’m worried if this keeps up, he’ll up and move to Equestria for real, and then…” she trailed off and looked down, tears welling in her eyes. “… and then I’ll be alone again…” she finally voiced her fear, burying her head in her hands.

Mia’s stern expression softened as she laid a comforting hand on her younger sister’s shoulder. “Phoenix is many things, but ‘selfish’ is never a word I would use to describe him, Maya. He would not so readily abandon you, or Pearly for that matter.” She frowned again. “Your fears are understandable but I still expected better of you. You’re acting like a petulant child who’s been told she must share her favorite toy.”

Maya flinched. “I…” she sighed and looked down. “I guess I have been a bit of a brat towards Sparkle…”

“Yes, you have. You owe her an apology as well,” Mia all but pronounced sentence, causing Maya to cringe at the idea, grateful she wouldn’t have to do so right away. “And Phoenix?” her older sister next prompted.

The younger mystic sighed again. “Yeah. Nick’s life is his own, and I shouldn’t expect things to always be the same just because.” She chuckled a little. “Honestly, I’m actually a bit amazed at this. I mean, I was seriously wondering if he was gay for a while there…”

Mia’s eyebrows flew up. “What made you think that?”

“Well, he’s always so concerned about his clients… most of which are guys,” Maya explained. “And he was most worried about Edgeworth during the whole DL-6 reprise…” she blushed.

Mia nodded, a small smile breaking her lips. “Well, I can understand your reasoning, but be assured Phoenix’s interests lie firmly with the female persuasion.”

Maya shrugged. “Hey, the guy never looks at any woman that way, so I was just surprised that Sparkle of all people—er, ponies—turned his head. Not just surprised, but confused,” she admitted grudgingly; she disliked not understanding something.

Mia’s smile became pained. “There’s… a reason for that, Maya.”

Maya blinked. “There is?”

“Yes, but it is not my place to say,” her expression turned brooding. “Just trust me that this represents a huge step for him, and that I believe Twilight is the one to help him take it. Now I believe you have an apology to deliver…?” she opened the door back to Phoenix’s office.

Cringing, Maya got up and trudged towards the opening wearing a hangdog expression, her channeled sister gently but insistently pushing her forward with a hand on her back.

Twilight ended up spending the rest of the day with Celestia, who canceled her remaining appointments. After a long talk, nap and lunch together, they reverted their transformations to take a private walk in the Canterlot Gardens, where Twilight’s eyes were momentarily drawn to a large statue of a rather odd-looking creature.

Wondering why the sculpture made her uneasy, she asked her mentor what she should do now. Celestia replied that it was important for her to write Phoenix quickly to assure the likely mortified human lawyer that she was not upset with him. “His sensibilities being what they are, he will likely blame himself. You must reassure him that he should not.” She went on to say that she thought it best for Twilight to see him again sooner rather than later… even offering, to Twilight’s great surprise, to come with her.

“But Princess… there won’t be another ley line convergence for weeks!” she pointed out, but Celestia just chuckled.

“Ley lines or no, making the trip is simply a matter of sufficient magic, my student. And as an alicorn… I do have some to spare,” the sun princess pointed out mildly, brightening the sun shining on them with a golden flare of her horn for emphasis, letting Twilight feel her warmth and affection through it. “In truth, it has been too long since I have visited Earth as well, and there are a few things I might like to do…” she said, her coy tone returning, leaving Twilight uncertain she wanted to know what those things were, her mind still spinning from the events of the previous day. By the sun itself, I don’t think I’ll EVER look at her the same way again!

“When, then?” Twilight asked. “I’m not sure I feel comfortable going back right away…”

“That is ultimately up to both of you, but… two weeks should be sufficient time, I think,” Celestia nodded to herself as they walked along. “I would also recommend that this time you stay longer. A week, at least,” she suggested, causing Twilight’s eyes to go wide. “You clearly need some time to acclimate to Earth, much as you say he needed when he came here. In your case, you must get used to both to a new world, and a new form. Intimacy is not easy when you are not comfortable in your surroundings and in particular your own skin, if you will excuse a human expression,” she closed her eyes and smiled again. “I would imagine it would take some time to truly settle in. Days, at least.”

Just like it did with Phoenix… Twilight remembered, deciding the sun princess was on to something. No more day trips… that means I’d have to stay overnight with him… the thought made her equal parts excited and fearful. “But… even with these new bat-er-y-s, I can’t maintain a transformation for more than twelve hours!” she reminded Celestia, who merely chuckled softly.

“These ingenious new devices of yours and your friend Ms. Scratch… they are charged by mana, yes? Any source will do?” she asked, to which Twilight nodded. “In that case… I will charge them for you. Alicorn magic should go a long way towards maintaining human form for as long as you wish,” she grinned, causing Twilight’s eyes to go wide, wondering why she hadn’t thought of it herself.

“You’re… right! That would work, Princess!” she nuzzled Celestia, who quickly returned the gesture.

“Excellent! It’s settled then…” the sun princess nodded in satisfaction. “Now it is time for you to return to Ponyville and talk things over with Mister Wright. No doubt your friends are worried about you as well,” she noted, to which Twilight’s eyes went wide.

“Oh no! I didn’t contact Spike this morning! I left him a note last night that I would and now he’s probably worried sick along with everypony else—” her worries started to run wild again.

Celestia silenced her student with a single smile and shake of her head. “I informed him you were with me, and that you would be staying for the day. I assured him nothing was wrong… though I admit I am somewhat curious to know why he was asking where his comic books were?” She gave Twilight an amused glance.

Twilight stifled a laugh. “One track mind…” she chuckled to herself. “I promised him some from Earth. But I guess you’re right and I should be getting back…”

“I will summon a chariot for you,” Celestia offered,” and you will be home in time for dinner. Though with regards to Phoenix Wright, if I may be so bold as to offer a suggestion if and when the time comes, Twilight…” her eyes went hooded as she whispered something in her student’s ear, causing Twilight’s lavender cheeks to go bright red.

“Human men… like… THAT?” was all she could say, feeling faint at the idea.

Celestia’s only reply was a knowing wink.

Two weeks later

Phoenix was starting to wonder if he’d ever get over his nerves that accompanied Twilight’s arrival.

After exchanging a series of letters via dragonfire in which they both tried to apologize and beg the other for forgiveness, Twilight had surprised Phoenix by asking to hold any further correspondence pending a much quicker third meeting and an extended weeklong stay, saying that ‘she now had the means’ to maintain human form for a much longer period of time and didn’t have to wait for the next ley line convergence. Stunned by the request, Phoenix could only say yes, asking why she didn’t want to exchange more letters. He got back a brief reply saying it was, ‘to give them both time’ to gather themselves and their thoughts.

Well, guess she’s right about that… Phoenix couldn’t sit still again, and Maya, he was surprised to see, couldn’t either. After her dressing down from Mia, she’d been very subdued and apologetic; even her usual snarkiness regarding Twilight had been dialed back.

His heart leaped into his throat as the familiar magical sphere appeared, though this one, he noticed with some surprise, was gold-colored and lacked the electrical discharges the previous ones had.

As the light from the summoning resolved into Twilight, whom, to his surprise, was dressed in a reasonable facsimile of evening wear and holding a travel bag in her hand. She materialized to find herself looking at Phoenix, anxiety in her purple eyes that matched his own. The two of them blushed, and glanced away from each other. “W-welcome back…” Phoenix finally managed, a trickle of sweat down his back as he beheld her for the first time since… “Did… did you get my last message?” Phoenix asked, trying to break the ice, his eyes flickering over her dark blue gown—this time, she had clearly been dressed by somepony who knew what she was doing. Maybe those fashion magazines she got for Rarity…?

“Y-yes, I did,” Twilight nodded, but still keeping a respectful distance. “I’m s-sorry for not replying earlier. It was just that, well, I-I had to sort out some issues of my own.” She rubbed her hand behind her head, still afraid to look at him for fear of flashbacks.

“Guilt, fear, and self-loathing?” Phoenix summarized, managing a wan smile.

“Yeah,” the disguised unicorn replied with an equally wan grin, making no move to step nearer. Then, as the light show that marked the arrival of a second traveling pony gathered behind her, she smiled in some relief. “Fortunately, I had a talk with somepony who knew more about what was going on than I did, and she set me straight…”

“Oh really? Who?” he asked.

In response, she smiled and stepped aside as the second teleportation bubble fully materialized. His first thought was that it would be Vinyl again, but instead… a very tall and well-built woman stepped out, dressed in a very elegant but surprisingly revealing sparkling gold evening gown. Her flowing pastel-hued hair and magenta eyes made her instantly recognizable, and Phoenix had to take an involuntary step back, certain she was there to banish him to the sun personally. “Hello, Phoenix Wright,” the transformed solar princess smiled, taking some amusement in his shock. “It is good to see you again.”

“P-Princess Celestia!” he all but croaked, stumbling backwards in fear before her, Maya going wide-eyed as well, staring at her warily.

Celestia chuckled and even Twilight giggled. “Be at ease, Phoenix Wright. I did not come here to smite you on behalf of my student,” she chuckled. “I am here because I thought Twilight might appreciate my presence, and to offer my personal blessing for your union… should you choose to pursue it,” she gave them both a sidewise grin and wink that left no doubt she thought—and even hoped—they would. “And… now that my sister can take over some of my day-to-day duties, I decided to take the opportunity to treat myself and Twilight to a weeklong holiday and enjoy some of what your world has to offer.” She looked out his second-floor window at the surrounding mountains and distant cityscape like she was a foal in a favorite playground again before turning her attention to Maya, who for once was at a loss for words.

“Maya Fey. I have heard of your abilities from my student, and I now wish I had been there to witness your channeling of one of my most beloved subjects,” Maya was stunned when the sun princess bowed to her. “Captain Firefly was a legend and one of the greatest warriors of Equestrian history. She single-hoofedly won entire battles and it was her Bolt Knights who turned the tide of the Great Pony/Gryphon War,” she noted. “Your talent is unique, and unknown in Equestria. I would very much hope to one day see it for myself.”

All Maya could immediately think to do was bow back. “Well, if you wish to see me channel, there is someone we can introduce you too…” she offered cautiously.

“Oh?” Celestia’s eyebrows went up in interest. “Who?”

Maya looked at Phoenix, who grinned and nodded. With that, the young mystic closed her eyes and her Magatama glowed. She grew and filled out before their eyes, taking a form that looked to a surprised Twilight much like an adult version of Maya herself.

The channeled spirit opened her brown eyes, saw Celestia and smiled, a sudden twinkle in her eye. “Your Highness,” she nodded, walking up to the taller alicorn-turned-woman and giving a short bow. “Welcome to Earth.”

Phoenix had the pleasure of seeing Celestia’s expression go stunned for just a moment before being carefully schooled again.

“Well then, I thank you for your hospitality. You will forgive my surprise, but I was hardly expecting to speak with a departed spirit here!” she bowed low herself. “And if it is not too much to ask… may I know your name?” Celestia asked with a slightly sardonic note.

Mia closed her eyes and smiled, crossing her arms over her chest. “My name? My name is…” she trailed off meaningfully, causing Celestia to give her a pouting look. “Mia Fey. Maya’s big sister, and Phoenix’s former law firm chief.” She opened her eyes and grinned broadly. “I have been told of you by Phoenix and Maya, Princess Celestia. Is it a great pleasure to finally meet you… face to face,” she spoke in a slightly ironic tone as she bowed low.

Celestia closed her eyes and smiled, taking Mia’s hands in her own. “Ah, I see… yes, that makes perfect sense,” she acknowledged, leaving both Phoenix and Twilight wondering if there was a joke they weren’t getting. I swear they’re acting like they KNOW each other! Twilight shook her head, exchanging a quick glance with an equally befuddled Phoenix.

“Truly, Phoenix Wright is blessed to have such a skilled and accomplished mentor… and Maya, such a sister,” Celestia further pronounced, causing Phoenix’s brow to furrow as he instinctively spotted the contradiction inherent in the statement. And how would YOU know about her skill or accomplishments, Princess…?

“I thank Your Majesty for her kindness,” Mia acknowledged, then turned to Twilight. “Miss Sparkle. This is an honor and a pleasure,” she bowed low again. “I am told you ably assisted Phoenix in his defense of your friend Rainbow Dash, and in the other cases that followed. I also understand your magic is exceptionally strong… though I suppose your current form is evidence enough of that!” she grinned. “I might like to see a further demonstration before all is said and done.”

“Oh!” Twilight blushed, feeling slightly awkward as she bowed back, trying not to think too much about the fact she was talking to Phoenix’s murdered mentor. “Um, sure, but… I don’t really have my full range of abilities here…” she offered tentatively.

“We can discuss such things over dinner,” Celestia offered, putting her hands on Twilight’s shoulders in a motherly manner, turning her ethereal multihued mane to a beautiful shade of blonde with a quick burst of magic, one that suited her dress and lightly bronzed skin tones quite well. “And I know just where I’d like to go…” she announced, and then with a golden flash of her phantom horn, she teleported them all away.

* * * * *

“Princess! How… how did you do that?” Twilight demanded to know as they found themselves stumbling out of a small hidden alcove beside a large plaza that fronted many high-end stores and restaurants, including what Phoenix knew to be one of the most expensive Asian restaurants in the city. “I-I can’t teleport here! How can you?” she asked in astonishment as Phoenix and Maya-turned-Mia struggled to overcome a wave of nausea and dizziness.

Celestia gave her patented coy grin. “Yes, well… this is one case where being me has its privileges,” was all she would say before turning to her disoriented human hosts. “My apologies for not giving warning. But in truth, I have been looking forward to eating here for days, and I just couldn’t wait any longer,” she smiled apologetically, helping them both to their feet, a fresh wave of magical aura washing over them, dispelling their dizziness. “I’m impressed, though. You handled my teleportation, and quite successfully I might add. Most humans vomit their first time…”

“Can’t imagine why…” Mia voiced the thought that Phoenix was thinking, unable to immediately place why the words felt strangely familiar. “But Princess, you want to eat… here?” Even she was surprised by the choice.

“Indeed I do!” Celestia proclaimed with what to Twilight was a rare note of eagerness, leading them up the steps. “This place has one of my favorite foods, and it has been terribly long since I last had it. Oh, and rice wine. I have missed it so!” she said in no small amount of anticipation.

“I see,” Mia laughed. “Well, since I no longer have much use for food, I believe I’ll leave this occasion for my sister to enjoy, then. It was very good to meet you both,” she bowed low and gave Celestia a parting wink before her spirit departed, leaving a very surprised and confused Maya in her wake, looking around at their new surroundings in bewilderment.

Five minutes later, they were being seated, the front staff instantly recognizing Celestia and leading them to a private table overlooking the plaza. Though Phoenix gawked at what he saw on the menu, he immediately offered to foot the bill. “After that massive payment you gave me, the least I can do is treat you to dinner, Princess!” he offered, his hands open..

“I insist on paying, Phoenix Wright,” she gave her coy smile again as they were seated. “After all, I don’t get many opportunities to come here… let alone use this,” she materialized a credit card into her waiting hand with a quick flare of her horn that passed so quickly it could not be seen except by those watching for it. “How could I let this chance slip by? To think: an entire bank account, accessible through a mere piece of plastic…” she admired the card, which sparked a long discussion after their drinks were ordered about how money worked in the human world, sending Twilight’s mind spinning yet again at the idea of a near-cashless society.

When their drinks arrived—cola for Maya, sake for Celestia, coffee for Phoenix and hot tea for Twilight (who was wary of trying anything alcoholic but very curious about the idea of such a beverage brewed from a mere grain)—their food orders were taken. Celestia shocked Twilight by ordering seafood, causing her student to go slightly green as she explained with noticeable relish what ‘sushi’ was.

Seeing her discomfort, Phoenix was prepared to order something vegetarian, but Twilight insisted he ‘eat normally’ and not try to respect sensibilities that she wasn’t even sure she had as a human. Nevertheless, she herself ordered off the vegetarian side of the menu, asking for grilled vegetables, miso soup and ginger-dressed salad, thinking the dishes reminded her of some Neighponese places she’d been. No fan of seafood herself, and the menu lacking burgers, Maya ordered hibachi steak while Phoenix ordered beef bulgogi and an array of Korean side dishes, a rare and welcome treat for him.

A mixed dim sum platter was brought out as an appetizer, and talk soon turned to Celestia’s visit. “Princess, I really want to know… why do you like our world?” Maya had to ask. “I mean… you have all this power and wealth, you’re immortal, you can fly and use magic, you’re adored and you have everything you could ever ask for in Equestria. So why would you come here? It just seems like such a step down…”

Celestia grinned like she was used to the question, taking her first sip of sake with a very happy sigh. “I have everything I want, yes… except for privacy, intimacy, and play time,” she sighed for a moment. “I am responsible for so much back home, and for so long I was the sole steward of my world—the only princess there was. Please understand… I love Equestria, and all my little ponies, but even I must take respite once in a while. And at times I have found it here.” She perked back up.

“But why here?” Maya asked again, plucking a dumpling off the communal plate. “I mean, we humans aren’t exactly shining examples of ‘harmony’, Princess…” she voiced the thought that Phoenix had been afraid to.

The Sun princess closed her eyes and smiled, taking another sip of her sake. “But that’s just it. Think about it. The earth is a place the sun and moon move of their own accord and I have no power over them. A place where the weather likewise operates on its own. A place where I have no responsibilities and few recognize me, where my station does not restrict me, where I can do as I wish, come and go as I please… that is paradise to me, Maya Fey. For as I told Twilight, here is a place where I can truly be myself, and… I think ‘cut loose’ is the human term most appropriate here,” she gave Twilight a wink as she threw back an entire glass of her drink, causing her student to blush.

“But Princess… they don’t have magic like we do,” Twilight felt compelled to point out, surprised and mildly disturbed by her regent’s behavior. “I mean, doesn’t it bother you that you can’t fly and don’t have anywhere near your full power here, especially in this form? In all honesty, it kinda does me…” she offered tentatively as Maya and Phoenix listened, curious for the answer.

Celestia nodded as she poured herself another drink. “It is true, my loyal student, that my wings are missing and my magic is much more limited here, but I retain power enough to protect and enjoy myself… and help others to do the same,” she answered, her eyes glowing gold for a moment to light all five candles at the center of the table for emphasis. “And now that my sister is back and can take over some of my duties, I hope it will mean I can take a few more vacations,” she smiled, replacing her sake with a glass of freshly poured plum wine and taking a long, luxuriant sip.

“I do hope that someday I can convince Luna to come here herself and partake of what humanity has to offer, but she is… reluctant. Understandably, given her last memories of humanity are a thousand years old, of you in your dark ages,” she sighed, making Maya and Phoenix wince. “And truth be told, she… hasn’t quite seemed to learn what it is to enjoy herself yet. Fun is a foreign concept to her, I’m afraid… but perhaps time and new friends will change that,” she looked over at Twilight, almost expectantly.

Twilight wasn’t certain why Celestia had looked over at her, given she’d seen neither hide nor blue hair of the Moon Princess since her purification. Wow… they really DO have good food here… she thought as she into a surprisingly flaky and tasty spinach-stuffed pastry.

“So I take it you’ve been to this city before, Princess?” Phoenix asked.

“I have,” the sun princess confirmed, dipping her own piece into a small dish of seasoned chili oil. “The ‘City of Angels’, this place is called. Not always an apt description, as I’m sure you know firsthand, Mister Wright… but a place I have enjoyed visiting in the past.”

You got that right! Phoenix thought. Though to be fair, she’s also right that L.A. does have some charms… he acknowledged as their main course was served.

* * * * *

Dinner went reasonably well. Though Celestia was clearly well-practiced with her hands and fingers, even using chopsticks with ease, Twilight was not, having trouble using her silverware without her aura, but by imitation and determination was doing a serviceable job by the end… though once in a while she resorted to quick flares of magic to move something onto her fork.

Still somewhat squicked by the idea of eating raw fish, Twilight kept mostly to her soup and vegetables, though the aroma got to be too much for her and she did ask to try a piece of Phoenix’s beef bulgogi. Celestia watched expectantly as she closed her eyes while chewing on the piece of meat, trying not to think about where it came from, only to pop her eyes back open in surprise when the taste hit her. “Good, my student?” the sun princess asked with a teasing tone.

Twilight’s only response was to ask for another, larger piece, to her mentor’s approval and Maya’s giggle. Dessert was eventually ordered; Celestia getting a massive piece of cake while Twilight and Phoenix, and Maya split some sorbets; the entire table watched in astonishment as Celestia downed her entire sweet slab before leaning back into her chair and sighing in contentment. “I may never know the summerlands, but this is a reasonable substitute,” she proclaimed, patting her belly and looking very happy.

Twenty minutes later, their bill was paid—Phoenix was afraid to ask the amount—and the foursome left the same way they came in, bellies full and Celestia alone acting slightly tipsy after two bottles of sake and several glasses of plum wine, putting an arm around Twilight and Phoenix. “I do hope you two know how much I want you to get together,” she squeezed them closer kissed each on the head in turn, making them both blush hard. “Such a glorious friendship report it would be!”

Twilight had been growing increasingly uneasy about her mentor’s behavior all evening, and her latest actions didn’t help, particularly as they garnered the attention of passersby. “Um, P-Princess…”

“Nick! Hey, NICK!” a new voice shouted out, and Phoenix instantly cringed.

Oh no… oh please dear god no… he froze, certain the earth gods were angry at him even if Celestia wasn’t. For why else would they bring to him…

“Larry?” Maya recognized in distaste, looking over Phoenix’s old friend and his first case client, a reedy twenty-something with long gel-spiked brown hair and matching short sideburns plus a short, diamond-shaped goatee over the bottom half of his chin. His very appearance was pretentious to Phoenix, and he was the absolute last person he wanted Twilight or Celestia exposed to.“Larry Butz? What are you doing here?” Maya asked, realizing the same thing as she stepped forward to try to head him off. While she had no real problems with the troublesome young man, his tendency to flirt with anything in a skirt had the potential for disaster in the current circumstances.

“Working! I’m a valet now!” he tapped his red jacket proudly, winking and giving the group a thumbs-up. “Needed a second job ‘cause I got a new girl and she’s got pricy tastes! But why are you guys here? Didn’t think you could afford…” his voice trailed off and jaw dropped open as his eyes suddenly fell on Celestia, who was looking at him curiously.

With that, he fell to his knees before the Sun Princess. “I am in the presence… of a goddess…” he announced, staring up at her in awe. “You are… the most… beautiful… woman… I have ever laid eyes on…” he gushed, all but crying as he beheld her radiance, clasping his hands as if in prayer in front of her. “Could I… pl-please ask you out? I-I know all the best pizza places!”

Phoenix couldn’t believe his luck, facepalming along with Maya as an equally stunned Twilight gave the interloper a look of disbelief. Of all the places he could be working and all the nights he was on duty, why here and NOW? he clutched his head as his old friend continued to embarrass himself before the Sun Princess.

Far from being offended, Celestia looked amused by Larry’s clumsy advance. “I’m sorry, Larry, but… I’m afraid I don’t go for younger men,” she offered a coy smile that caused Maya and Twilight to blush.

Larry stared at her in disbelief. “Aw, come on! You can’t be THAT much older than me!” he told her, causing Maya and Twilight to facepalm again with loud smacks.

Phoenix was having an increasingly hard time not smacking his old schoolmate as well. Larry, from what I’ve read, she’s at least fifty TIMES your age! AND she could incinerate you in the blink of an eye! Leave now before you end up sent to the SUN!

“Looks can be deceiving, my smitten friend.” Far from being angry, Celestia appeared to be thoroughly enjoying herself. “And your offer is appreciated, but I’m afraid I’m already spoken for tonight,” she proclaimed, glancing down the street at an approaching car.

Larry looked crushed, tears streaming down his cheeks. “Th-then… what men DO you go for?”

Before Celestia could answer, a pair of very high-end stretch Limousines pulled up. The door to the first opened to disgorge a single tall, strong and handsome-looking middle-aged man, dressed in his own formal evening wear. “My princess,” he bowed low like he knew her well. “It has been a long time, and I have eagerly awaited your return,” he told her, laying a reverent kiss on her hand. “All is ready, milady. Your chariot awaits!” he invited her inside, offering his arm to help her in as a Gentleman would.

“Thank you, my wonderful and attentive prince. It has indeed been far too long,” the rose-cheeked princess accepted his hand and kissed him deeply, leaving no doubt to anyone present that she knew him as a lover… and intended to know him that way again. “This is where we part company… at least for now, Twilight,” she announced, addressing the group. “I have hired this car to take you wherever you, Mister Wright and Miss Maya may wish to go, and you have standing reservations for a penthouse suite at the Downtown Gatewater all week… should you ever desire to avail yourselves of it,” she added with a teasing wink that caused the pair to blush.

“We will meet again in two days, my student and new friends. And to answer your question, Larry…” she turned back to a heartbroken Larry Butz. “I like my stallions powerful, virile… and already broken in.” With those words and a parting wink at an increasingly agape Twilight, the transformed sun princess stepped inside the stretch limo and was whisked away.

* * * * *

Larry Butz was inconsolable. “I’m telling you, Nick, I’m through now! I feel like I’ve gazed upon the glory of the sun itself, and no girl will ever be good enough for me again!” he wailed as Maya stifled a laugh and Phoenix facepalmed yet again.

“Larry… she’s royalty. A princess from a foreign land. Don’t you think she’s just a little bit out of your league?” Phoenix said with no sympathy despite the arm around his friend’s shoulders, having seen the same scene play out from his former schoolmate and first client many times before.

“Out of my league? Out of my league? How could she NOT go for a guy like me?” he raised his hands to the stars and asked the universe at large.

Let me count the ways, Larry! Maya didn’t say as she sat down a suddenly but decidedly unsteady Twilight, watching as Phoenix was eventually able to shoo his old friend off with a pat on the back and reminder that he still had a girlfriend… and that he needed to get back to his job.

Finally able to turn his attention back to a still-stunned Twilight, Phoenix became concerned. Sitting on the bench beside Maya, she was wringing her hands and her eyes were darting back and forth, increasingly ill at ease in the L.A. nighttime scene and sounds. The violet unicorn-turned-human was clearly feeling more than a little overwhelmed after the evening’s events, and finally asked to be taken somewhere she could escape the crowds and noise.

Phoenix quickly agreed, recognizing she’d had enough for one night and that the offer of the hotel room, though unquestionably generous, was a very bad idea at that point. Saying goodbye to Maya with a parting hug and promise to take Twilight to meet her and Pearl at Kurain Village in two days time, he had the limo simply take them back to his apartment, letting Twilight lean on his shoulder the whole way, her hands holding his arm tightly, all but clinging to him. She said little, but Phoenix knew the uncertain look on her face well—the look of someone who was no longer sure she wanted to be there anymore, yearning for the familiarity of home. Except she can’t go home this time without help… he shook his head, worried that bringing her for an extended stay so soon had been a bad idea.

Upon arrival at his apartment, he escorted her upstairs and opened the door, receiving one or two surprised looks from his neighbors that he was bringing home a girl. Ignoring their probing looks, he let her in and closed the door behind her, quickly pulling the shades as well.

Twilight was so troubled and spent she couldn’t even take curiosity in her new surroundings, trudging off to the bathroom. She came out a few minutes later and he was surprised to see how drawn her face looked. “Are you okay?” He asked, going up to her.

“I’m… tired…” was all she could offer, her eyes fluttering, not sure of her fatigue was more mental or physical. “This form is draining. I just want to sleep…” she told him.

“Then would it help if you turned back?” he asked her, concerned. “Don’t think you have to stay human on my account. I would kind of like to see you as a pony again,” he smiled.

She gave him a grateful smile of her own, removed her pendant and quickly reversed her transformation in mere seconds. THERE’S the filly I know! he smiled as he beheld her true form, noting with satisfaction and relief that his feelings didn’t change towards her because she was no longer human… though perhaps the physical attributes that caught his eye did, his gaze roaming appreciatively over her neck, flanks, beautiful lavender coat and luxuriant mane and tail. Different body, same Twilight… he nodded to himself. I think Mia’s right. I could be with her either way!

“Thank you,” the restored violet unicorn told him, exhaling sharply as she fell back to all fours and quickly rid herself of her clothes with her strengthened aura, sighing in relief when she was down to her bare fur again.

“You’re welcome,” he replied, reflecting this was the first time he’d seen her as a unicorn since his last day in Equestria. “You need some rest. If you’re not comfortable sleeping on my bed, you can take the sofa. It’s comfortable enough; Maya and Pearls sleep on it when they’re here. I’ll get you a pillow and blanket…” he started to head for a closet.

“Ph-Phoenix?” she called to him, stopping him short.

“Yes?” He asked.

She hesitated before speaking again. “May I… s-sleep with you?” she asked, causing Phoenix to start. “N-not to do anything, but just because… I… I-I don’t want to be alone right now…” she finally told him in defeat, her head falling, staring listlessly at his carpeted floor. “This place… I know it’s home to you, but… it’s still alien to me, and after everything that happened tonight…” she trailed off, still having a hard time processing her mentor’s actions, from her drinking to eating raw meat to teasing Phoenix’s friend… to going off with a human lover. I know she said she had them, but still… I didn’t realize by ‘cutting loose’ she meant all… THAT! “Just… please.” She turned her wide purple eyes on him.

His heart melted at her request. Wow, she really is rattled… “Of course,” he said, inviting her into his bedroom and up onto his bed, knowing instinctively nothing could or would happen that night. She climbed up and pulled the bedcovers back with her aura, sampling the bed texture with her hooves before settling in on her side as he stripped down to shorts and t-shirt and quickly brushed his teeth, splashing some water on his face but otherwise deciding a shower could wait until morning.

He turned on his floor fan to provide a comforting breeze and drown out some of the street and neighbor noise, turned off the lights and climbed in next to her, asking to tell him if she needed anything during the night.

Phoenix didn’t see her blush in the darkness of the room. “Actually…” she began. “Would you please… h-hold me?” she asked in a slightly pleading voice. “I just… need to know you’re there…”

He didn’t need to be asked twice, rolling over to pull her body against him, spooning her from behind, his arm draped over and around her barrel. He knew in the back of his head their position could be considered slightly compromising, and it wouldn’t take much shift of hips or tail to make it very compromising, but… no. This is not the time, he knew in his heart, resolving that he would simply be there for her, however she needed him. We do it, we do it when the moment is right… and this isn’t for either of us. “Goodnight, Twilight Sparkle,” he told her, kissing the back of her head. “I know things seem overwhelming now, but it will pass. Tomorrow will be a better day,” he promised, but she didn’t respond.

Sensing her distress, he stroked her fur silently, letting his presence, the air movement and droning sound of the floor fan go to work on her. At length, her tense body relaxed and breathing slowed, her hooves holding his hand to her as she finally fell asleep.

6: Settling In

Music: A New Day

Phoenix awoke to sunshine streaming through the blinds of the bedroom, falling on them both where they lay.

They were in a different position than she’d fallen asleep in. He’d held her as long as he could but finally had to shift, as his arm was falling asleep as it lay wrapped around her.

He’d been as careful as he could, trying not to disturb her, but she had stirred and rolled over herself to snuggle tightly against him, draping a foreleg across his chest and laying her head on his shoulder. She’d clearly been trying to keep as close to him as possible, though Phoenix had noted her sleep had been somewhat fitful even with his presence.

That was no surprise to Phoenix—it was always hard for him the first night in a new place; his initial night in Equestria had been awful and nearly cost them the case—and now that it was morning, he had no intention of waking her if he could help it…

Though the five-inch long unicorn horn hovering directly above his face was a bit of a distraction. He had never seen it up so close before, but it was gently textured with a single spiral groove running from its hidden base to the tip. It was the source of her power and very identity as a unicorn, and he found himself idly wondering what it felt like if it wasn’t supposed to be touched.

Well, maybe I’ll get to find out before too long…? he chuckled softly as he found himself gently stroking her mane as her head lay against his shoulder and chest, endlessly amazed by its soft, silky textures and colors, ones that so suited her, reflecting that it was the first time he’d shared his bed in years.

First time since I’ve shared my bed with a girl since… he shoved the memories of HER out of his head as hard he could, filling his mind with thoughts and images of Twilight instead, drinking in the feminine curves of her equine form, her brilliant mane and fur colors.

She began to respond to his efforts, stirring where she lay. “Mmmph… Phoenix..” she finally called to him, nuzzling his neck gently with her nose, sniffing deeply as if to breathe in his scent and presence.

She’s done that before. She seems to like it. Wonder what I smell like to her…? “Good morning, Twilight,” he called to her as her large purple eyes cracked open, focusing with some difficulty on him. “Sleep well?”

“Not really…” she admitted, blinking blearily. “Not because of you, but because of…” she made a sweeping motion with her hoof, indicating the greater and still-alien world around her.

“I understand,” he told her, squeezing her tightly to him and holding her for a moment. “Would you like some breakfast?”

“In a bit,” she replied at some length. “But for now… I think I owe you something, Phoenix.” she burrowed in a little tighter against him indicating she still wanted to be held, and Phoenix happily obliged, just happy she found in him the familiarity and comfort she needed.

So powerful… so beautiful… and yet so vulnerable… he observed not for the first time. And yet, for all her friends, her magic and her strength, she wants and needs ME… the thought brought of swell of pride and happiness to him. “And that is…?”

She grinned and blushed. “This.” She stretched out her neck to kiss him, a surprised but delighted Phoenix quickly obliging her, tilting his head to make his mouth more closely fit her muzzle, easing in gently to plant his lips on hers.

* * * * *

They lay in bed cuddling and talking softly for another half hour before finally rousting; Phoenix apologetically explaining that he needed to use the washroom.

While waiting for him to do his business, Twilight got up and stretched, looking around his bedroom. It seemed so… simple to her, just a square room with basic furniture, base white walls, textured ceiling, a small closet and a single window—not at all what she would have expected for a presumably rich defense attorney.

He had a few pictures up, including an autographed movie poster of something called The Steel Samurai, and there were scenes from his past and pictures of what she assumed was his family on his dresser, though it was Maya and Pearl who figured most prominently in them. She was also surprised to find one of Mia there, shaking his hand, the caption on the picture indicating it was when she’d formally made him junior partner in her law firm.

Beautiful woman… Twilight acknowledged, remembering her surprise at meeting her channeled spirit the previous night, wondering if she was the only one that found Maya’s clothes a bit too small and revealing for her big sister’s body. If she had lived, I wonder if she and Phoenix might have…

The thought was broken as she heard the sound of the toilet flush. Quickly replacing the picture where she’d found it, she grabbed her travel bag to take her turn in the washroom, giving him another kiss before doing so. She found the human plumbing intuitive enough and soon had the shower going to her liking, noting to some surprise that Phoenix had left her a human cleanser called Mane & Tailon the rack.

* * * * *

While Twilight freshened up in his bathroom, Phoenix got to work making breakfast.

He wasn’t by any means a skilled cook but possessed a basic repertoire, mostly of simple fare he knew Maya and Pearl liked. He put those to work now, making a stack of pancakes for them both, skipping the bacon or sausage he usually included (and Maya demanded). He substituted fruit and some grape nuts cereal for toppings instead, reasoning Twilight might retain enough of her equine tastes to like the grain and crunch.

He had just finished when he heard the water to his shower turn off, serving up the stacks as she emerged… a human once again, to his mild surprise. She was now dressed in the clothes he’d purchased for her on the previous visit, though apparently Rarity had gone to work on it as Twilight’s starburst cutie mark was now stitched into the side of the skirt, albeit in a somewhat more understated manner than her previous attempt at human fashions.

Wonder what Rarity would look like as a human? The odd thought crossed his mind, quickly followed by a grin as he imagined the look on Edgeworth’s face as he beheld her as one. Oh, I bet Franziska wouldn’t like that one bit!

Twilight nodded appreciatively at the set breakfast table, but before she sat down, she hugged him again, this time in her human form. They held each other for another minute before sitting down, though not before Twilight gave him another kiss, explaining it was to make up ‘for not giving him one the previous day.’

His cheeks were warm as they began to eat. Twilight, he noticed, was definitely getting better with using her fingers, albeit soft pancakes presented a simpler challenge to hand-held utensils than some of the other things she’d tried.

The food good and company better, the former unicorn mare felt herself starting to revive, some the uncertainty she’d felt the previous night diminishing. Though I’m still having trouble processing everything the Princess did! she shivered again, trying not to think of what Celestia might be doing at that moment… or might have already done the previous night. I just… never knew she had that side of her… she shook her head once more. And yet, she looked so happy to be here… so happy to be a human… and so happy to see that man, she granted with her thoughts. I wonder who he is and how she met him…?

“So what would you like to do today?” Phoenix broke into her thoughts.

“Oh!” Twilight blinked, startled, giving the question some consideration. “Well, we do need to stop by your office so I can use the candle to drop a message to Spike and my friends. I promised I’d write them daily. But afterwards…” she hesitated.

“Yes?”

She wrung her hands a bit. “Whatever we do, I’d prefer not to go into the city this time,” she admitted, a bit embarrassed. “No offense, but… all the noise, the smells… it’s kind of overwhelming for me right now.”

Phoenix grinned, reaching across the table to take her hand in his own. “Trust me, it gets on my nerves sometimes too. So let’s get away from it for a bit,” he offered. “We’ll be going to Maya and Pearls’ village tomorrow, but for today… there’s a place I like to go to relax and get some exercise. So instead of concrete jungles, as we call them, would you be interested in seeing some natural scenery instead…?”

Maya Fey didn’t like the feeling of being a third wheel.

With Nick and Sparkle off doing gods-knew-what, she lounged in her room playing video games on her tablet. They still didn’t have reliable internet in Kurain village, but her smartphone hotspot kept her in touch with her friends, at least.

The teenaged mystic had been resisting the temptation to text Nick all morning. She was trying hard to not think about what he was doing with Sparkle but couldn’t help it; she’d barely slept the previous night wondering and worrying. Probably nothing, given the shape Sparkle was in after that scene with Celestia… she acknowledged, but that didn’t stop the young mystic’s mind from wandering in various directions, feelings of anger and jealousy still trying to rise up whenever she thought about the pair.

Disgusted with herself, her sister’s scolding from two weeks earlier still ringing in her ears, she rubbed her eyes, sat up and put her tablet down, her game forgotten. Despite Mia’s remembered words, she couldn’t help it, and the one question that kept bubbling up over and over was… just what did he see in her, anyway?

What, is he into horses or does he just got a thing for purple ponies? Is it the fact she’s already naked and he can ogle her whenever he wants? she screwed up her nose at the thought of her flagging her tail at him as she’d seen some mares do to other ponies during Pinkie’s big party.

She shoved the thought as far out of her head as she could. It had taken her several days in Equestria to get more at less at ease with pony nudity—despite their lopsided gender ratio, she’d seen enough male equine attributes to last her a lifetime—but did admit that Nick had been right that she’d eventually stop noticing, or at least stop being so squicked.

None of which helped her deal with Sparkle. She can levitate, transform, teleport, is pretty much a Firebender right out of that old series… can even go full Rapidash… Maya cataloged, remembering with a chill the playback from her duel with Trixie, one that had nothing to do with the blizzard the show mare had countered with. Sparkle’s smart, pretty and an awesome co-counsel. Except for spirit channeling, she’s the full package for him… She slumped, finally starting to understand exactly why she felt so threatened.

And even worse, when she transformed into a human, she became a real looker. Nice body and everything. I mean, come on, sis, how am I supposed to compete with all THAT? A tear formed in her ear, the young mystic suddenly looking down at her young body and wishing that she wasn’t such a late bloomer; that she had more of her late sister’s curvy physique.

Maybe then Nick would notice me? Or do I also have to put out for him like Sparkle did? she suddenly wondered, a brief imagine of herself doing so causing the young mystic to mentally recoil, hard—where had that come from? UGH! she clutched her head in disbelief where her thoughts were going, deciding she needed a long shower and then to head down to the town at the base of the mountain for some lunch. The village’s usual vegetarian fare was simply too close to what ponies like Sparkle ate at that moment, and she didn’t want to feel any more like her than she did already.

After a quick stop at his office to send a message to Spike—normally a ten-minute bike ride that turned into a half-hour walk—Phoenix and Twilight took a bus out of town, heading for Angeles National Forest, one of his favorite recreation areas, nestled in the San Gabriel mountains that overlooked greater L.A.

It was a place he liked to ride his bike at, and one he’d occasionally taken Maya and Pearl to for swimming and river rafting… or in Maya’s case, so she could sit and meditate under a cold waterfall. Twilight’s spirits seemed to pick up as she watched the scenery change and the increasingly rugged hills rise up around her. By the time they got to where he was leading them, a trail that led down a pretty path to a city overlook, she was staring around in wonder again at a landscape far different than anything she’d really known.

And this happened… naturally? she shook her head in amazement.

They walked hand in hand along one of his favorite trails, dodging the occasional hiker or jogger. For the most part she was in awe at the scenery around them, though she turned troubled when they encountered a recently burned-out area of forest that consisted of nothing but charred stumps and bare, scorched earth.

“What happened here?” she asked.

“Wildfire,” Phoenix replied. “These mountain hills have basically evolved to burn and burn fiercely every couple decades. In autumn, we can get these occasionally violent windstorms, called Santa Anas—hot, dry gales out of the inland deserts that whip through the mountains and can fan even small flames into a firestorm that can consume whole hillsides.

“They’re dangerous, and when things have gone just wrong they’ve broken inside city limits and burned entire neighborhoods to the ground,” he explained as Twilight went agape. “Our forest service tries to mitigate them with what we call ‘prescribed burns’, when the weather is better and the flames can be kept under control, but still… it happens.”

He shivered at the memory of one such storm he’d seen as kid; he could still clearly remember the flames licking high over the hillsides and glowing embers floating down around him as his mother stuffed him and a few possessions in their car in a panic, his father trying to save their home by wetting the roof with a garden hose… though it had ultimately been a shift in the wind that spared their house. Come to think of it, maybe that’s one reason I had such a hard time with seeing Twilight’s fire powers that first time…

“Fire is my element, and yet I still can’t imagine…” Twilight shook her head again as they reached the overlook, her eyes going wide again at the panorama before her, the city in the background with the ocean just visible behind it in the far distance.

The sea-breezes had picked up and driven off the worst of the smog, making both show up clearly, and the wind was refreshing, blowing in their faces. “I guess what I’m having the hardest time with is that your entire world is like the Everfree, Phoenix—completely wild. All the things we take for granted… magic, weather control, even the forces of Harmony itself… you don’t have any of them, and yet… here you are.” And here WE are…

“But that’s what makes humanity enduring, Twilight,” he voiced a thought he’d been having for some time, standing behind her and putting his hands on her shoulders. “That we have to rise to these challenges and find a way to live with them. And I like to think there is some greater good or force for harmony acting here, even if it’s not as overt as yours,” he told her, giving her shoulders a squeeze. “Believe me, there are plenty of things not to like about our world, or even that city down there. It can be dirty, ugly, and it suffers some form of natural or man-made disaster every few years, it seems. But there’s also enough right about it to make it home… make it worth loving and fighting for.” He nodded slowly to himself.

I think I have new respect for humanity, now… Twilight silently acknowledged as she looked out over the landscape again, raising an arm to put a hand over his. And maybe even for Phoenix himself. “I think I get that better, now,” she told him, turning to him. “After last time, or even last night, I admit I wasn’t sure…” she fingered her amulet for a moment.

He smiled wanly. “Well, I think we were all caught a little off guard by Celestia, there,” he pointed out, making Twilight shift uncomfortably. “I can guess that was probably really awkward for you, seeing her like that. But after what she said at dinner, I don’t think I begrudge her the right to ‘cut loose’ once in a while,” he decided, scarcely able to imagine what living such a long life would do to a person or pony.

“Your friend Larry didn’t exactly help, either,” she quickly changed the subject and gave him a look of distaste, making Phoenix grimace and rub his head.

“Yeah, I know. Larry’s a good guy, just a bit… oblivious. He’s okay deep down, but he really doesn’t have any idea how he’s coming across. Or how to talk to girls,” he shook his head. “Look at this way: Celestia actually dealt with him pretty well. And if she hadn’t been there, he’d’ve probably have hit on you.”

Twilight shuddered in his grip. “I find the idea of male attention as flattering as the next filly, but… not his.” She gave him another look. And definitely not THEN…

“How about mine, then?” Phoenix suggested with a wry grin. “I’ll give you any attention you want!”

She blushed and grinned, sensing the dual-meaning behind his words. “You already are, Phoenix,” she told him, slipping into his arms and kissing him again. “You already are…”

* * * * *

By mid-afternoon, the two had seen quite a bit of the scenery along the trails. Twilight admitted that the more natural setting was a nice change of pace from the cramped steel jungle of the city, and felt herself starting to genuinely settle in.

There was, however, one more place Phoenix wanted to show his Equestrian girlfriend—I really am thinking of her that way now, aren’t I? he realized in some wonder—a waterfall and pool he knew a bit off the beaten path, where they could have seclusion and a chance to be away from prying eyes.

They took a crude path, and occasionally he had to help her over rocks and logs, realizing too late that she needed better shoes than sandals for the purpose. He had the thought that she’d be better suited to the terrain as a pony and shared it with her, until she pointed out that she had no means to keep her clothes except on her. If this was Equestria, I’d just do a reverse item summon to send them back to my bedroom, but here..

The thought was quickly forgotten as they arrived and beheld…

“Phoenix… it’s beautiful…” she stared at the picturesque pool, her jaw agape, scarcely able to imagine the geologic processes that must have forged such a scene, so patiently over time.

“Isn’t it?” he grinned, delighting in her suddenly starry eyes. “Technically, we’re not supposed to be here—you’re not supposed to go off-path, but this place is just too good to not visit. I sometimes take dips in here after a hot bike ride. I’ve even camped up here with Maya and Pearls once in the moonlight. It was great,” he grinned.

Twilight gave him a look of mock horror. “The great and noble Phoenix Wright, breaking the rules? I’m shocked, shocked I tell you!” she put her hand over her heart and staggered back from him in an exaggerated manner. “And now here you have me breaking the rules as well? Whatever will I tell the princess?”

He grinned. “I’ll accept full blame for corrupting you,” he suggested, sitting down on the rocks and removing his shoes, dipping his feet in the cool water of the pool. “Ahhh…”

“Well, you haven’t quite corrupted me yet!” Twilight rejoined as she duplicated his gesture, surprised at how good it felt—her feet still weren’t used to walking upright, and she’d actually been drawing on some of the amulet mana to also keep her stamina up. Gonna need another charge from Celestia soon, she realized, sparing her mentor a thought. Wonder what she’s doing now… or do I even want to know?

They laid out on the rocks for a bit, just listening to the waterfall, hand in hand. Wonder if it would be safe for her to transform back into a pony here? “You know… nobody can see us back here. So if you’d like to let your hair down again, feel free!” he invited.

She grinned and flared her horn, her aura barely visible in the last rays of the afternoon as her hair and eyes turned back to their regular shades. “You really like this, don’t you?” she said, giving her human mane a toss.

“I like it because it’s you,” he said, running his hand through it again. “And there’s total privacy back here. So if you don’t want to stop there…?” he trailed off meaningfully, inviting her to shed her human form entirely.

“Oh!” she said as she finally took his meaning, suddenly thinking, but to his surprise, her enthusiasm spiked, then disappeared. “Well, I… really appreciate the thought, Phoenix, greatly, but…” she hesitated.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, sitting up and putting a hand on her shoulder

“Well…” she began. “I kind of want to stay this way right now.”

“Really?” he blinked. Last night you couldn’t wait to get out of it!

“Yeah,” she said. “I guess in part, it goes back to me wanting to play the part of a courting mare and come to you, but there’s also a more… well, practical reason.”

“At that is…?”

She abruptly blushed. “You know how unicorn auras turn pink when we…?” she couldn’t quite finish the sentence.

He chuckled. “I figured that out pretty early in my stay, Twilight. Like the first day?” he reminded her, causing her blush to deepen.

“Well, yes, but…” she fidgeted a bit. “It has to do with we were originally worried about—whether I was magically affecting you or not,” she began, a bit nervously.

“Okay?”

She visibly gathered herself. “I didn’t really think of this at the time since it’s one of those facts of pony life, but… that change in color isn’t just for show, Phoenix. It’s basically releasing the equivalent of a magical pheromone. One designed to entice and…. excite… a potential mate,” she told him, a bit embarrassed. “When I’m a human, that effect is greatly muted, but as unicorn, even here… there’s a chance it would affect you and make you do something you wouldn’t otherwise,” she explained, going downcast. “So for now… I don’t want to take the chance.”

“Twilight…” his heart melted again. “Give me some credit. When you offered yourself to me that night after the review hearing, your aura went pink then. I resisted, remember?”

She blushed and nodded. “I’m still a bit embarrassed about that, Phoenix. You bared your heart to me, and I tried to take it right then and there,” she looked away. “It was too soon. I knew it, but I still…” she sat up and wrapped her arms around her legs, going downcast.

“Hey, you said it yourself—you had to try,” he reminded her, rubbing her back. “I didn’t hold that against you and I still don’t, especially after how your friends kept trying to throw us together. Look, I can’t say this enough—human or pony, you’re still Twilight Sparkle, and that’s all the matters to me. So you take whatever form you want. Believe me, I’ll make do,” he grinned, shifting mental gears a bit to admire her human attributes once more.

She smiled in happiness and no little relief. “Thank you. You really know how to make a filly feel good about herself, Phoenix Wright,” she acknowledged, reaching over to give him a quick peck on the cheek. “Then if it’s okay, I think I’d like to stay human for now. Honestly, right here, right now, I’m really enjoying this!” she stretched out on the rock, visibly enjoying the the sun and breeze on her bare skin, coupled with the cool water on her feet.

“More than okay,” Phoenix grinned at her obvious pleasure. “I take it this is what you were in the mood for, then?”

She nodded eagerly, idly splashing the water with her feet. “It is! You were right. Coming here was exactly what I needed,” she pronounced with a happy sigh, lounging back against a rock. And besides, it’s not like there aren’t things we can do with THIS form… she realized, feeling certain temptations begin to rise.

“So I was just thinking…” Phoenix broke into a suddenly uncertain thoughts. “You never did tell me… what did your friends think of what happened?” he had to ask. “They’re not… mad at me, are they?”

“Well…” her brow furrowed, surprised by the change of topic. “In all honesty… they didn’t get it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, when I told them about what happened… well, just listen.” She closed her eyes and dimly flared her hidden horn, and Phoenix was startled to hear the voices of her friends.

“Ah don’t get it, Twilight. I mean, if ya liked it and ya liked him, then what’s the problem?” Applejack gave her friend a cockeyed look.

“B-But you don’t understand, Applejack, it’s not that simp— Twilight stammered slightly.

“Not that simple? Not that simple?” The country mare was having none of it. “What can be more simple than having fun ‘cause ya like each other? And what does it matter what body yer in when ya do?”

Rainbow Dash’s voice broke in next. “Yeah, I’m kinda with AJ here Twi. I don’t see what the big deal about him touching your chest is, but hay, if it feels good, I’m all for it!”

“Oooo! Oooo! Was it fun? Did it make you feel good? Huh? HUH?” Pinkie asked excitedly, jumping up and down in front of her.

Twilight shifted uncomfortably. “Well… y-yes, but…”

“Girls, please!” Rarity spoke up. “Twilight is obviously distressed because they moved too soon! But still… though I cannot fathom why men would find such attributes so attractive, I still think you should be flattered by his attention, Twilight! Human or no, it would seem he can’t keep his hooves off you!” she noted almost giddily.

“R-RARITY!” Twilight exclaimed, suddenly wanting to hide.

“Oh, my…” Fluttershy’s voice came last. “I don’t really understand, but um… I trust Mister Phoenix, Twilight. Don’t you?”

She cut the playback, rubbing her eyes. “There’s more, but… you get the idea. And like Rainbow and Rarity said, they didn’t get why you touching my chest was such a big deal, even after I told them about… these,” she hefted her human mammaries in her shirt again, causing Phoenix to blush. She noted his reaction and grinned, making a show of a squeezing them for a moment, making him squirm. “Guess I can’t blame them, really… I mean, I didn’t get it until you… well…” she looked him in the eye and kneaded them, hard, just as he had.

Phoenix’s face went warm. Be careful, Twilight! “Speaking of things to still feel guilty about…” he looked away, trying to will his sudden excitement away.

Twilight looked over and asked a single word. “Why?”

It took a minute to gather himself, trying to focus on his thoughts and not where her hands were. “Because despite what Mia said, it felt like I took advantage of you, Twilight. You didn’t know about all that. Didn’t know how your body worked. I did, and yet…” he lowered his head in shame.

She stared at him for a moment. “Phoenix… I’m a grown mare. If anything, I led you on,” she reminded him, dropping her hands and moving towards him. “I saw what I was doing to you, and well… I liked it. More to the point, I liked that I was making you like me,” she quickly added. “Male attention is very flattering to a mare, and I don’t think that went away just because I turned human. In fact, I know it didn’t,” she lounged out and shifted towards him a bit, leaning back and propping herself up slightly as if to present her human curves.

Phoenix sensed events creeping up on them again, the two starting to circle each other warily, testing and probing their limits. “So what happened after you got back?”

She deflated slightly. “In a word… I freaked,” she admitted, causing Phoenix to cringe. “It was so intense it scared me and I didn’t know what to do or think. Didn’t know if you just liked me because I was human, or that was the only reason I came on to you like that,” she shook her head, her eyes going haunted for a moment. “Took Vinyl of all ponies to steady me, and then when I couldn’t sleep I went out to the train station and took the night express to Canterlot to see Celestia. I was still really upset when I got there, but don’t worry—the princess set me straight,” she rubbed her head ruefully with her hand.

“So, what about you, Phoenix? You said you talked to Mia?” Must be nice to be able to summon your mentor’s spirit for advice!

He nodded, somewhat ruefully. “Maya was really upset after you left, and so was I. She wouldn’t even talk to me, and I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror, I was so sure I’d screwed up beyond any hope of making things better with you. Started to write you but couldn’t figure out what I could even say, so I just went home. Didn’t sleep a wink,” he told her, burying his head in his hands as he’d done then, going on to tell her about Pearl’s visit and subsequent channeling of Mia. “So I guess in the end, she ‘set me straight’, same as you…” he rubbed his hand behind his head and gave his goofy grin.

“And Maya?” Twilight asked. “After everything else had more or less settled in my head, I still felt guilty about causing trouble between you. So did Mia talk to her too? I did notice she was acting, if not friendlier, at least a lot quieter this time around…”

He grimaced. “Well…”

Maya sighed as she munched slowly on her fries. She hadn’t touched the burger yet, a fact which would have surprised anyone who knew her well. However, her emotional turmoil led to anything she ate sitting in her stomach like a lead weight. Under the circumstances, she thought it’d be best to get the burger in a take-out box, and save it for later.

Still, she made no move to summon the waiter. It makes no sense! she thought to herself. Why am I so torn up about this?! Do I actually LIKE Nick like… that? She considered the possibility for just a moment before discarding it. No, that’s not it. Then what is it?! I need to get to the bottom of this, or my name isn’t -

“Maya Fey?” came a familiar, wholly unexpected voice.

Maya choked on her next bite of fry, pounding her chest and coughing to dislodge the rogue bit of potato that had sought entry into forbidden areas. Coughing it up, she swallowed it down the proper way, and turned to see one face she hadn’t expected. “P-Prosecutor von Karma?” she croaked, throat a bit sore.

Franziska von Karma smirked. “If my voice alone was enough to cause you to choke, you’ve clearly been left with the right impression of me.” The 18-year-old prosecutor was dressed as she always had: a black, bejeweled vest over a white blouse with puffy shoulders, and black tights with matching heeled boots and skirt for the lower half.

Maya frowned, trying to regain her composure. “You just surprised me, that’s all.” She turned back to her meal, but paused. “Actually, you being here at all is kinda surprising. I thought you’d left the country. That’s what Mister Edgeworth said.”

Franziska frowned herself. “I did leave, for a time. You will understand if I needed some time and distance to sort things out, after everything that happened during that last case.”

Maya shivered slightly. Even now, she remembered the cool gaze of Shelly de Killer, watching her like a hawk as she slowly starved. “Yeah, I guess I understand. You got shot during that case, didn’t you?”

The young prosecutor pursed her lips. “Yes… ultimately, not my finest hour. I despise needing to go to hospitals, or anything of the sort.” She grimaced slightly, rolling her shoulder slowly. “Still, I am not my father. I am not one to wait with a piece of metal embedded in my shoulder for sixteen years.”

Maya flinched slightly. “About your dad…”

Franziska rolled her eyes. “I’m quite aware that what he did was, in the end, wrong. He murdered Gregory Edgeworth over a single black mark on his perfect record. While I am all for pursuing perfection, my father’s actions were nonetheless unconscionable.” She sighed. “In truth, I almost feel better now that he’s out of my life. He was… not the most dedicated father in the world.”

Maya nodded slowly. “Right…well, what brings you back from your little sabbatical?”

Franziska smirked. “Just a whim. I decided I’d had enough time and distance from Los Angeles, despite the pain caused to me.” She took a seat across from Maya and ordered a glass of sweet tea from a passing waiter.

“But why come here in particular?” Maya continued, arching an eyebrow. “This isn’t L.A., you know.”

The prosecutor shrugged. “Crime investigations take me many places, Maya Fey, as you should well know.” She glanced at the young mystic. “As it happens, I’m here working a smuggling case for Interpol—information I will thank you not to divulge. But enough about me, what about yourself? You seem unusually pensive. What happened to the cheerful, upbeat girl I remember from a few months ago?”

Maya sighed, munching disconsolately on a fry. “Well… It’s about Nick, actually.” Don’t know why I’m telling her this, but I could use someone to talk to…

The silver-haired woman smirked again. “Ah, and what sort of trouble has Phoenix Wright landed himself in this time?”

The young mystic sighed again. “Romantic trouble.”

Franziska blinked, and smiled deviously. “Oho, so Phoenix Wright has actually managed to gain a significant other? I must confess, I’m surprised.” She paused, cocking her head. “But why would that bother you? Is Phoenix Wright not your friend? Should you not be happy for him?”

“I should, yes!” Maya burst out, causing Franziska to start slightly. “I know I should be happy for the guy, but… but I’m not! And I don’t understand why! It’s not like I like the guy that way, but—”

“Oh? Your young cousin seems to think otherwise,” Franziska said with a smirk.

“Oh, God, don’t you start,” the young mystic moaned, burying her face in her palms. “Pearly’s bad enough, I don’t need two people thinking Nick and I are ‘special someones’.”

Franziska actually laughed at that. It wasn’t a disdainful laugh, either; it was a laugh of genuine amusement. “Forgive me, it was a jest.” She leaned forward. “So, about this paramour of Phoenix Wright…”

Maya looked up at her. “I never took you for a gossip.”

The prodigal prosecutor sniffed. “Please. ‘Gossip’ implies that I will disseminate this information to others for no reason. I prefer to call it ‘information gathering’, and it is something all prosecutors do.”

Maya actually chuckled at that. “I guess that works.” She looked skyward. “Well… this girl is really bookish. Really smart, practically lives in a library.”

“It would seem the saying ‘opposites attract’ holds a measure of truth, after all,” Franziska mused with a smirk.

The younger girl snorted. You have NO idea… “I guess. Anyway… she’s not just smart, she’s very talented and rather good-looking, too. Nick can’t keep his eyes off her, whenever she’s around.”

Franziska arched an eyebrow. “Off her, or off her…?” She gestured to her own, rather modest bust line.

Maya blushed slightly. “Column A, for the most part.” In an undertone, she added, “His hands, meanwhile…”

Franziska blushed a little as well. “I… see. Are they that far along in their relationship?”

Maya opened her mouth, paused, and rethought her knee-jerk response to the question. “Well… according to both of them, they got carried away on their passions after a little make-out session. But… it kinda hurt, seeing him…” unable to speak their act, she quickly pantomimed what Phoenix had done to Twilight on herself, flexing her hands over her chest.

Franziska nodded, her cheeks flushing a little more. “Yes, well… why did it hurt seeing him having a moment of passion with someone?”

Maya groaned, clutching her head in her hands. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out! I mean, our relationship has been, if anything, like one between siblings. I don’t like Nick in that way! He’s like a goofy older brother, one who’s not very good with modern technology!” she exclaimed, then sighed. “I talked to my sister about this, and I said that I was afraid Nick would leave me for this new girl, but…”

Franziska had closed her eyes as she listened, arms crossed slightly as she sipped at her glass. “While I cannot say I am as close to Phoenix Wright as you are, Maya Fey, I think I know him well enough to say that he would not abandon you so readily.”

Maya nodded, not looking up. “Yeah… that’s what sis told me.”

The prosecutor opened her eyes as she set her glass down. “That said, I believe you’re misidentifying the root cause of your anguish. It isn’t that you are truly afraid of abandonment. That is but a specific branch of your actual fear: change.”

Maya looked up, startled. “Change?”

Franziska nodded and steepled her fingers. “You fear the changes in the status quo that this new girl in Phoenix Wright’s life will bring. You fear that things will not remain the same now that you are not the only female to monopolize his attention.”

Maya puffed up slightly. “Hey! Whaddya mean, ‘monopolize’?!”

Franziska gave a wry smirk. “Come now, Maya Fey, I have done my research. I know that, ever since your sister Mia Fey’s death at the hands of the criminal Redd White, you and Phoenix Wright have worked together on a number of cases. You often channel your sister when things look bleak for him, oftentimes resulting in a turnabout of unheard-of proportions…”

She grimaced slightly. “Speaking as someone who’s been on the wrong side of said turnabouts, I should know.”

Maya frowned. “So, what’s your point?”

“My point, Maya Fey, is that with the entry of a new factor in Phoenix Wright’s life, the situation is changing, and rapidly at that. And that is what you are most afraid of; the fact that things will not remain as they were, no matter how you wish they would,” the prodigal prosecutor explained succinctly. “You fear that you will no longer be ‘special’ in his eyes, and he’ll leave you behind as a consequence.”

Maya’s reflexive denial caught in her throat as she thought about the situation. The more she thought, the more she realized that Franziska had hit the nail on the head. I… I am scared of what the future holds, she thought. I had thought it’d always be me and Nick against all prosecutors who stand against us… but with Sparkle in the picture…

Seeing the sandbagged look on the younger girl’s face, Franziska’s expression softened into something almost approaching concern. “If I may offer some advice, Maya Fey? There’s an old movie quote: ‘Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.’ This downward spiral is quite true, and can only be stopped if our fears and anger are curbed.” She looked down, as if in rueful memory. “If we don’t do so… we may lose sight of what is truly important and end up hurting the ones we care about.”

Maya opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to give voice to her thoughts. In the end, all she said was a single word: “How?”

Her unexpected conversation partner sighed and stood up, finishing off her tea. “If you’re asking how to curb your fear… I’m afraid the answer is rather simple, yet difficult in execution: you must confront your fears head-on, and prove that you can master its hold on you. Only then may you be freed from the shackles that it has put on you.”

Maya thought about that. Confront my fear head-on, huh? Easier said than done, that’s for sure. How do I confront change itself? Out loud, she asked, “When did you become so well-versed in psychology?”

Franziska shrugged. “During my time here, I met a promising young prosecutor who seemed rather interested in the concept of psychology in the courtroom. He taught me a few tricks to identifying problems in others.”

“You’ll forgive me if I don’t go to you with all my problems from now on,” deadpanned the mystic.

The prosecutor chuckled. “As it should be.” She finished her tea and made to leave, throwing some money down on the table, but paused. “There is one thing, though…”

“And what’s that?” asked Maya.

Franziska turned to her, a gleam in her eye. “I’d like to meet the woman who could capture Phoenix Wright’s attention in the way she has.”

Maya was perfectly calm… on the outside. Inside, however, she felt a chill. Franziska meeting Sparkle? This can’t end well…

Music: The Flow of Life

“… So in the end, Mia spoke to her, privately,” Phoenix finished. “I don’t know what they said, aside from when voices got raised once or twice…” he winced again at the memory of Maya’s yell, “but afterwards, she came out and apologized to me for the way she acted. Said she’d ‘been a brat’ and it was our business what we did and nobody else’s.”

“I see…” Twilight acknowledged, wondering if would do any good for her to talk to Maya herself. Sure would like to know why she’s so jealous of me… she’s not interested in Phoenix herself, is she…? “And what did Mia tell you?” she wanted to know, rolling over on her belly and propping her face on her hands, her legs bent into the air, noting he was once again having trouble keeping his eyes off her.

Phoenix fidgeted at what he could see of her. “That she thought it was wonderful that I was finally seeking love again and didn’t think I’d done anything wrong.” But the only opinion that really matters here is YOURS…

Twilight stared at him a moment more, considering her response carefully. In her mind, he hadn’t, of course, but wasn’t sure of the best way to convince him…

And then it hit her. The perfect way. It was heady, it was naughty, it was something far more meaningful than mere words… and perhaps even an answer worthy of Celestia herself.

She closed her eyes and smiled, licking her lips once as she sensed the time was finally right. Well, Princess… maybe it’s this form, or maybe you’re being a very bad influence on me, but I think YOU of all ponies would appreciate this… she took a deep breath, trying to still her suddenly racing heart, blood surging throughout her body along with sudden, intoxicating excitement. It’s time!

Her purple eyes shone brightly along with her hidden horn, its outline starting to glow pink, adding its enticement to the very air around them.. “Phoenix… what we did that night…” she whispered silkily as she suddenly shifted her body against him. “I loved it. I couldn’t deal with it then, but I can now,” she promised him. “This isn’t like before. No Maya, no Vinyl, no deadline… and no regrets. Let’s finish what we started,” she invited him huskily, dropping her hands to her sides again while at the same time inviting his to travel freely over her.

It took all of Phoenix’s willpower to not take her up on the offer immediately, trying to override his pounding heart and rapidly growing excitement. “Are you sure, Twilight? Is this what you want?” he asked shakily, already knowing it was very much what he wanted… and his will to hold back was now hanging by a thread.

Her only response was to magically pop her topmost blouse buttons and push back hard against him, her aura bathing him, tempting him further. “As long as it’s what you want…” she told him, fraying the thread further. “But if it is…

She turned her head and whispered softly in her ear. “Show me what it is to be a woman, Phoenix Wright...”

The thread snapped.

Twenty minutes later and twenty miles away, the still-human Celestia was lying on a padded table surrounded by scented candles and oils, getting a very sensual massage. Her eyes, which had been closed in pleasure as her lover’s practiced hands went to work on her, popped open at a sudden, distant but powerful magical burst. She reached out with her awareness to check the source, then smiled.

“My darling Tia…” her paramour asked, not relenting his efforts on her shoulder even as he leaned over to kiss her head. “Is anything wrong?”

“Nothing at all, my love,” she assured him, feeling her heart warm. Congratulations, my student… she mentally called out. Welcome to a new world!

7: More than Skin Deep

Music: A New Day

Phoenix couldn’t remember the last time he felt so good.

That was unbelievable… even my first time wasn’t like… THAT! Was the only thought he could immediately manage as he slept at her side in the aftermath of the act, the pair just basking in each other’s presence and the afterglow of their first real encounter, leaving Phoenix reflecting that all they’d actually done was just fool around—if it was so good just for THAT, what about when we really…?

It was a question that he sorely wanted the answer to, but one that would have to wait. The sun was starting to edge lower in the sky so they had to leave the area sooner rather than later. They cleaned themselves up in the pool as best they could, stripping down and washing their clothes in the falls but stealing a few minor intimacies while in the water, leaving Phoenix marveling again that he could be ready to go again so quickly. This is almost unreal… did her magic affect me somehow…? he couldn’t help but wonder.

Twilight quickly dried their clothes with some judicious use of her fire magic, heating them without burning them; by the time she finished his flannel shirt felt like it had come right out of the dryer, deliciously soft and warm.

For her part, Twilight was still very much lost in the memories of her remembered sensations, her body and mind still basking in the afterglow of her first time not just as a human, but ever.

It wasn’t like she hadn’t self-stimulated as a pony before. Unicorn magic could certainly be turned towards such ends, and on occasion she had—especially recently, when she’d started reading Rarity’s romance novels. That one scene from Silverwing still gets me every time… she shivered, wondering if she could ever convince Phoenix to roleplay something like that. But still, they were NOTHING like this! She shook her head in happy disbelief, wondering how much of it was due to her human form… and how much of it was just the fact that at long last, they had gotten together.

Well, we didn’t QUITE… she reminded herself with a grin. If that was just fooling around, what is it going to be like when we go for real? She found the thought both scary and heady.

Their clothes clean, the pair reluctantly redressed and began making their way downslope again, the sun starting to turn color as it approached within an hour of sunset, tinted orange early by the large amount of dust in the air. They held hands as they walked, chatting softly and occasionally kissing, only to be caught short at a sudden hard clopping sound coming up behind them. They sounded like hoofbeats to Twilight, but the gait was far too long and heavy for any pony. They turned to see…

Twilight froze as she beheld the massive four-legged creature rounding the trail bend. It was white and brown and utterly enormous, all but dwarfing its rider, who was sitting atop it in a special saddle holding reins that attached to either side of its very long snout. Its eyes were far smaller and more offset than any pony, and Twilight couldn’t help but feel a tinge of revulsion as she looked at it and smelled its gamey, sweaty scent, knowing instinctively what it was but still wanting to shut out its presence and all it implied.

Music: Uncomfortable Echoes

It’s… a HORSE! Was the only thing she could think, still gawking as the large beast came downtrail, ridden by what appeared to be a uniformed officer not too dissimilar from the constables she knew back home. Seeing she was spellbound, Phoenix gently tugged her to the side, out of the path, as the Terran equine slowed and turned as it passed… staring at her from its greatly offset eyes that only emphasized their alienness, eying her as if they sensed something was different about her.

“Evening, folks,” the park ranger halted his mount as he called to them both, the horse’s head still turned to stare at Twilight. “Trail entrances were closed half an hour ago. Unless you’ve got a camping permit, you need to leave the park now, before sunset.”

“Apologies, officer,” Phoenix quickly acknowledged, noting Twilight’s slightly horrified reaction to the equine’s appearance, and the chestnut mare’s odd interest back. “We lost track of the time. We’re on our way out.”

“Last shuttle to the mountain base leaves in fifteen minutes,” he warned them. “Don’t miss it, or you’ve got a long walk out.” With that, he yanked his horse’s head around, seemingly confused at his mount’s reluctance and continued intentness on Twilight, whose eyes never left its retreating form.

“Um… Twilight?” Phoenix shook her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“I…” her hesitation told him she wasn’t as she finally tore her eyes away. “Sorry. Let’s just… get to that ‘shuttle’ or whatever,” she said, but appeared very troubled, almost clinging to him.

“Sure…” Phoenix replied, giving her an odd look, but didn’t press the matter further, the pair making the bus just before departure, sitting alone in the back.

Music: Afterglow

A completely contented Celestia relaxed, snuggled beneath the covers in the embrace of her human mate.

It wasn’t often she got to see him, so every moment she spent with him was precious to her. Despite having lived nearly twenty-five normal human lifetimes, there were few people, let alone ponies, who could truly meet her requirements for being her lover, but the man she had nibbling on her neck was one of those rare few.

“My dear Prince, you’re such a tease!” she admonished, giggling slightly. “You act like you haven’t seen me in a whole year!” she bared more of her neck to him.

“My apologies, my dear Princess, but you may recall that in fact I haven’t?” Ferro Stabile replied, not ceasing his efforts in the least. “Just making up for lost time. And if I may ask, what drew your attention earlier?”

Celestia smiled herself at that, closing her eyes to drink in his touch and comfort. “My apologies. Trust me, I wasn’t bored with your efforts, My Prince. It would seem my faithful student has just experienced a very important part of life.” She gave him a magical caress beneath the covers to emphasize what she meant.

“I see…” he said with a chuckle. He’d learned of Celestia’s magic early on and how it could be turned to more sensual pursuits; not minding her use of it on him in the least. “Twilight Sparkle. You’ve spoken of her glowingly before, but I never expected you’d actually bring her here. You care for her quite a bit, don’t you?” Ferro asked. “I could tell, even during the brief time I saw you two together, that she holds a special place in your heart.”

“Observant as always, my attentive Prince,” Celestia nodded, holding his hand to her. “She has learned much of the magic of friendship, but the even more potent magic that comes with intimacy has eluded her… until now.”

“She’s a lucky mare,” he mused. “Phoenix Wright is quite an amazing man. When it comes to his clients and those he’s loyal to, he’ll do anything to keep them safe.”

Celestia quirked an eyebrow in mild surprise, her hand stilling against him. “You know him?”

“Only by reputation,” Ferro clarified. “He’s been in the news repeatedly for miraculous courtroom turnabouts, proving his client’s innocence against impossible odds and uncovering conspiracies in the process. He’s not a prosecutor, yet he’s taken down everyone from petty thieves to corrupt police chiefs,” he told her, resolving to dig up some old articles to show her. “I was actually in the gallery at his last case, where he was defending a celebrity actor from a popular TV show, named Matt Engarde. But he only did so under duress—we didn’t learn this until the very end of the trial, but he’d been coerced into defending him.”

“Coerced? How so?” his otherworldly lover asked.

With effort, he focused his attention on the question instead of the sun princess, settling for holding her in his powerful arms. “From what I can recall… his assistant, a young girl from Kurain Village named Maya Fey, had been kidnapped by an assassin,” Ferro answered, looking skyward as he tried to remember the case.

“Apparently that assassin was the actual killer in the case, but Engarde hired him to do it, which makes him guilty of the murder as well. And to make a long story short…” he took a deep breath. “Engarde had the assassin hold Miss Fey hostage to force Phoenix to defend him. He hadn’t expected to be arrested, but once he was, he tried to arrange things so that he would be acquitted. And it nearly worked.”

Celestia frowned, their lovemaking momentarily forgotten. There were few things that could truly upset her, but assassins were one. To her, a nigh-immortal being who cherished life, the idea of someone whose job was to end lives was anathema, and she had dealt harshly with both pony and gryphon versions of them in the distant past.

“So what happened?” she asked, wondering if the local authorities had any information on this assassin. Or perhaps I could have my own agents check into this…

Ferro frowned. “The assassin had a surprising sense of… I hesitate to say honor, but in a twisted sense, that’s what it was. He testified remotely at the trial via two-way radio. He said he considered his profession a noble calling, and that he was bound by certain rules—one of which was not to betray the confidence of a client, and he expected the same of his clients in return.

“So in the end, Phoenix Wright used that to his advantage. He turned the tables on Engarde by proving to the assassin that Engarde had actually filmed the moment of the murder, to use as blackmail material to keep him in line. So when the assassin found out… he considered that a breach of contract and let Miss Fey go, announcing that his former client was now his next target,” he couldn’t help but grin as he remembered the stunned and fearful look on Engarde’s face as he heard the words coming from the transmitter.

“Miles Edgeworth, the prosecutor for the case, rather casually suggested that if he plead guilty, they might be able to provide him protection via incarceration, so the coward quickly did so, sacrificing his fame and freedom to save his own skin. It’s worked so far, but given that assassin’s reputation… he won’t avoid him forever. And you’ll forgive me for saying so, Tia, but… I don’t think many tears will be shed when Engarde is gone,” he finished, laying back and lacing his hands behind his head.

Celestia chuckled a little, shaking her head. “Well, now I truly have heard it all. An assassin with standards. They’re still one of the worst kinds of people, but at least this one seems… somewhat different.” She shifted to lay against him. “I didn’t realize that Phoenix had been through such an ordeal. From what you say, I am impressed he managed to keep himself together for the whole trial.”

He reached down to grasp her hand, feeling a surge of energy through it—it never ceased to amaze him how utterly magical she could make the simplest of touches. “I have no idea how he did it, Sunshine. A lesser man would have crumbled under the pressure, but not him. I mean, if you think about it, that was Phoenix Wright’s sole courtroom defeat, and yet… it was also in some ways his greatest triumph. He uncovered the truth, saved his assistant and got the correct party found guilty, yet still didn’t break his oath as a defense attorney. Can only imagine how much that case took out of him, though…” Ferro shook his head before his expression turned sardonic.

“So, My Princess… returning to the here and now, dare I ask how he and your student hooked up?”

Celestia looked over at him, her expression mischievous. “I’ll let them tell you themselves. You’ll get to meet them both tomorrow. Until then…” her voice turned sultry as she rolled up on top of him to present herself in offering, and he immediately accepted, the two making up for lost time yet again.

Music: Feelings of Insecurity

Phoenix was getting worried.

Twilight’s mood had changed dramatically on the way down the mountain, and on the bus ride home. Where before she’d been bantering and playful, stealing kisses and even the occasional magical caress, now she was quiet and brooding, avoiding eye contact with him, telling him she was fine but needed a little space ‘to think about things’. Concerned that she was having a delayed negative reaction to what they’d done, he’d granted her request, letting her be alone with her thoughts as he got take-out from the local Chinese place, making sure to order from the vegetarian side of the menu.

But she barely touched her food, distracted and only picking at it with her magic, and finally, Phoenix had to speak up. “Twilight… what’s wrong?” he asked her earnestly, putting down his chopsticks.

“Nothing’s wrong!” she snapped, still avoiding his eyes.

But just as she bit out the last word, his vision went dark. Wha…?

As Phoenix watched, everything receded from his sight except Twilight and the uncoiling chains around her that marked the appearance of two red psyche-locks.

Phoenix was very surprised—his magatama was in the inner pocket of his suit jacket hanging in his bedroom closet where it always remained outside of work days; he would have thought it was too far away to lend him its power! Moot point. So there’s something she’s hiding from me. Now what to do about it… he thought of simply telling her she had psyche-locks, but realized that might just make her even more defensive and attempt to avoid him entirely.

Well, guess I do this the old-fashioned way, then…

“Twilight…” he began cautiously. “We took a big step today. It’s natural that you might be feeling a little weird after, and I understand if you want to step back,” he offered first, watching her reaction and the phantom locks carefully even as some part of him reflected that to his surprise, he didn’t feel weird at all. Huh. Guess I really WAS ready!

He detected no change in her body language nor so much as a twitch from the psyche-locks, telling him his first probe had missed the mark.. “I know that, Phoenix…” she said. “And… I don’t regret what happened. I’m not mad at you or anything. It’s just that… just that…” she shook her head slowly, her eyes going distant again.

“What then…?” Phoenix studied her carefully considering his next move like he was cross-examining a witness in court, reviewing everything that happened in the aftermath of their session and the return trip. Wait. Now that I think about it, she only started acting strange after… “Was it that park ranger we ran into?”

She instantly tensed and a psyche-lock rattled, causing Phoenix’s brow to furrow. The Ranger…? But why would he bother her? She’s already seen uniformed police officers since she’s been here. Unless… he turned the question around as he always did in court and spotted the problem instantly.

“Was it the fact he was riding a horse?”

“Ngh!” Twilight grimaced as if in pain as a psyche-lock instantly shattered.

Bingo! Phoenix suppressed a smile. So you’re upset about the horse. Then the next question is…

“Why?” he asked. “They’re not intelligent like you and I are, but horses have been very important to my race over our long existence. We’ve used them as beasts of burden, transportation… they’ve even been companions, and yes, friends to humanity for a very long time. I’m not exaggerating when I say we owe much of our development as a species to them. We don’t need them as much anymore, but the bond we’ve formed with them lingers, and they’re still useful for getting around in rough areas like a national park.”

Far from reassuring her, she seemed to get even more tense. “I get that!” she said a little more sharply than she meant to. “I read about them and how humans still use them. But same as everything else here… reading and seeing are two different things,” she abruptly got up from the table and walked away, her posture defensive.

“And what did you see?” Phoenix quickly followed up, not certain where she was going with it.

Twilight shivered as she remembered the large equine mare turning its offset eyes on her, giving her a gaze that only reinforced its alien-ness and lack of sapience, a gaze that was at once curious and confused, as if she sensed something different about her… or maybe it sensed that we were somehow ALIKE? She shuddered again. “I… it’s… it’s hard to explain,” she stammered.

Phoenix didn’t reply right away, carefully considering his next question. Did that horse really bother her that much…? “If it’s the fact he was being ridden, don’t worry—they’re treated very well,” he assured her. “They get plenty of hay and water to say nothing of grooming and attention.”

She shook her head again. “No, it’s not that… not entirely, anyway…” Twilight murmured second phrase under her breath..

Not ENTIRELY? Then what… Phoenix blinked as the answer occurred to him. “Is it the horse itself that bothered you?”

Twilight flinched a little as the remaining lock rattled. “Phoenix… when you read about us during Rainbow’s trial, did you read about our ancient history? From before even Princess Celestia’s time?” She didn’t give him a chance to answer as she went on. “Many millennia ago, we ponies didn’t truly exist. What did exist were horses. They were non-sapient, uncivilized creatures that did nothing productive for the world.”

Phoenix frowned. “That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?”

“It’s the truth,” the disguised unicorn retorted. “Anyway… something happened way back when, and one particular horse stumbled into a pocket of wild magic. She gained both wings and horn, and her mind was opened to sapience. She was the first pony, in a sense, and the wild magic she stumbled into had granted her enormous power. She could have done virtually anything she pleased with it. However, she retreated from the world, but not before casting a spell that blanketed it… not before molding Equestria into the world it would become.”

“And that spell created more ponies?” Phoenix asked, his hand on his chin as he considered the story.

“It did far more than that,” Twilight explained. “The spell changed the very nature of our world. Unicorns instinctively understood that they were meant to wield magic and even control the sun and moon. Pegasi innately knew how to fly and manipulate weather. Earth ponies never questioned their strength or ability to yield more bountiful crops than the other two tribes. The magic spilled over into other races as well, creating everything from Gryphons to Minotaurs to Zebras, each with their own unique powers and abilities.”

“One pony did all that?!” Phoenix blanched, wondering what such a goddess of one would look like. “What happened to her?”

Twilight shrugged. “Nopony knows. She retreated from the world. She knew that her power was too great and could be misused, so she left. Some say that she moved on to mold other worlds, others that she ascended to godhood and still watches over us from afar. All we know about that period all comes from word-of-mouth and longstanding legends. But deep down… we haven’t truly forgotten that we used to be mere horses.”

Understanding dawned on Phoenix. “So when you saw the ranger’s horse… you thought you were seeing yourself…?” he ventured a guess..

“Yes!” The single, anguished word was torn from her throat as the second and last psyche lock shattered, his vision returning to normal as the chains retracted out of sight. “It-it was like looking into a funhouse mirror where everything was distorted and wrong, except… it wasn’t! Of all the things I’ve seen here, nothing was so alike me and yet so alien as that horse! It f-felt like… like I was looking into our ancient past, seeing the creatures ponies once were… and maybe deep down we still are,” she fell backwards on his couch and buried her head in her hands as her fears tumbled out of her uncontrollably.

“And it scared me, Phoenix. Scared me half to death! That… that thing had no magic, no mind, and… I-I mean, is that how you see me as a pony?” her lip was quivering. “As a dumb four-legged beast, only fit for riding or…” she couldn’t finish the sentence, suddenly getting up and walking away, her arms clutched around her. Though tempted to get up and comfort her, Phoenix stayed where he was, sensing his presence would be an intrusion at that moment.

“When we first met… you called me a talking horse, Phoenix. That’s an insult to ponies, as it implies lack of intelligence and magic—for some even, a lack of a soul itself. I brushed it off because you were new to our world, but now after seeing that… that animal, I keep hearing it over and over, and all I can think of… all I can think of…” her voice went unsteady, “is that horse. How it looked to me and how it must look to you. And how I must look to you as a pony for it,” she wrung her hands in all-too-human gesture. “H-how can we be together if you only see me like… that?” she gave a choked sob.

Phoenix stared at her, taken aback. In some ways, it was a variant on a question he’d had to ask himself repeatedly, in reverse—could he see past her equine exterior to the soul within? Could he look past the superficial resemblance of ponies to horses—and superficial was all it really was, given their brightly colored coats, expressive faces, magic use and sapience—and accept her as the pony and person she was? It wasn’t easy, but I did…

Music: Desperately Comforted

“You know, Twilight… the very night after you first came here, I lay in bed for hours considering that very question. I couldn’t sleep because it was bothering me so much. And then when I finally did nod off… I had a dream,” he told her from where he sat. “A dream where we were making out as humans. I started to undress you and yet I wasn’t very turned on. In fact I was confused, wondering how you being a human changed things. Was that really you? Was any attraction to you dependent on the form you took?” he recalled, wringing his hands for a moment, wondering how much he should tell her… and then deciding she needed to hear it all.

“And then I got my answer… or so I thought. When I started undressing you, I found that you were a pony underneath your clothes,” he remembered, startled to feel a strong surge of excitement at the memory. “And it really turned me on. Turned me on so hard I woke up… well, so hard,” he told her, motioning to his pants, bringing a brief, if unseen smile to Twilight, who was still facing away.

“At the time, I thought it meant I preferred you as a pony, and yes… it took me a while to come to terms with it. Then when I finally did, we had that first little encounter on your last visit, and it really confused me—how could I prefer you as a pony but still be attracted to you as a human? I thought it contradicted the dream. But after Mia’s talk and listening to you now… I think I know what the message of the dream really was,” he said meaningfully and, deciding the time was finally right, he stood up and went to her, putting his hands on her shoulders. She did not pull away but he could feel her trembling under his grasp.

“I didn’t fall for you because you were a pony, and I didn’t do what we did today only because you were a human. I fell for you and did it… because you’re Twilight Sparkle. A wonderful and fiercely loyal friend, full of power and life, who would do anything for those she loves… even cross an entire dimension and take an alternate form just to see them again… just to be with them,” he reminded her, giving her shoulders a squeeze.

With that, he turned her around to face him, holding her hands in his own. “And that was what the dream truly meant. That regardless of the form you take… underneath, you’re still Twilight Sparkle. And that is who I’m attracted to,” he held her hands in his own. “Not Twilight the human. Not Twilight the unicorn. But Twilight Sparkle… the person and the pony.”

The glimmering in Twilight’s eyes told him he’d said the right words. “Phoenix…” she began, her voice breaking. “Hearing you say that means everything to me. But still…” she stepped away again. “You don’t have to pretend. I understand if you only want to be with me as a human. For you, I’ll do it, but…” he could hear the yearning in her voice to accept her as she truly was.

Twilight… I don’t see you as a HORSE! he nearly said, only to bite off his own response. In the courtroom, there was a time for words and a time for evidence, and here she needed the latter to prove his interest was independent of her physical form. But this time, the only evidence he could provide…

He closed his eyes and smiled as he realized what he needed to do, feeling his excitement surge further at the thought. Well, she made a grand gesture to me earlier today to prove she was okay with what happened—with having sex as a human. Guess it’s my turn now. Turnabout’s fair play, and that’s what I’m known for, right?

“Twilight…” he tipped her face up to see his, then kept his gaze locked with her as he picked up the pendant battery from where it lay against her chest, the thing that allowed her to maintain human form as long as she wished. He kissed it once… then slowly raised it up over her head, removing it from her. Twilight’s eyes went wide when she realized what he was doing… and what he was inviting her to do.

“Ph-Phoenix… y-you mean… y-you really…?” she barely dared hope, her human attributes almost ironically responding to the idea of being made love to as her equine self.

His only response was to kiss the pendant again and then toss it aside—a symbolic gesture, since she could draw on its mana remotely as long as it wasn’t too far away, but still a very welcome one—and kiss the point on her forehead where her horn would be. “I do,” he told her. “Now let me see that filly I came to know so well.”

Twilight felt a sudden joy grip her, heady excitement quickly reclaiming her. She hugged him once, closed her eyes… and transformed back in his arms, her human features both shrinking and growing into equine ones, lavender fur erupting all over her body as her hands faded back into hooves. When she opened her eyes again… she was the purple-eyed pony he had originally met her as, not a talking horse, he reflected, but the unicorn mare he’d come to appreciate and even love.

And this is where I prove it… he promised her as began to make out with her in earnest. This is where I prove that our feelings are mutual and this attraction transcends her physical form...

8: Mystics, Movies and Memories

Phoenix and Twilight felt like they were all but floating.

Neither stayed awake for long after making love for the first time, falling asleep in each other’s arms, their expressions blissful, their spirits soaring.

It was nearly midnight before the pair stirred again, Phoenix awakening his Equestrian lover with another kiss to her neck. “Mmmmph… Phoenix…” she called sleepily to him but immediately tilted her head down up to kiss him where he was still snuggled up to her, using the means they’d figured out worked best by then for their slightly mismatched human and pony features—pressing cheek to cheek and then rolling their faces forward until their lips met.

As much as they wanted to stay where they were, their stomachs were growling after their missed meal and Phoenix in particular felt quite thirsty. So they got up, cleaned up, and sat down for their long-delayed dinner. The take-out was cold, but Twilight heated it back up to steaming with a simple flare of her horn and they dug in, eating ravenously, leaving Phoenix marveling how much energy they’d both burned off in such a short time.

After eating, they stayed in bed through the night and well into the morning, sleep interspersed with several more lovemaking sessions, leaving both spent but happy. Nevertheless, morning came, and Phoenix was stunned when he glanced at his nightstand clock and saw how late it was, telling Twilight they had to get moving.

“Aw… sure I can’t entice you for another round?” she suggested silkily, tugging at him with her aura.

He couldn’t help but laugh at that. Give her a taste, and now she’s insatiable—and hell, so am I! he marveled, wondering again if her magic had something to do with their enjoyment and his newly discovered stamina. “I’d love to. But… it’s nearly noon, and we do need to get going if we’re going to catch the 3 o’clock train to Kurain,” he told her apologetically, not wanting their time together to end any more than she did. “We need to eat and stop by the office. We can certainly get cleaned up first, though… want to shower together?” he asked hopefully.

“Love to,” she told him, craning her long neck to kiss him before following him to his bathroom.

* * * * *

Before going to the train station where they would meet up with Celestia, Phoenix stopped by his office to pick up a few things. Twilight accompanied him, though she remained in the main room while he gathered some papers and his dress jacket, deciding he should look his best if they were meeting the Sun Princess again. As she looked around, she noticed a scroll sitting by the dragonfire candle, which was still lit.

“Huh, guess we got a letter while we were out and about,” she mused as Phoenix emerged from his office.

“Oh? Who’s it from?” the lawyer asked, pulling on his royal blue jacket while Twilight unfurled the scroll. When no answer came after a few seconds, he looked at her. “Twilight?”

“Phoenix…” she looked stunned as she repeatedly read the letter. “They know!”

“Know? Know what?”

“My friends! They… they… know about what we did last night!” her hands shook as she read further and then held the scroll out to him.

“What?” Phoenix snatched the offered letter scroll out of her hand and scanned it. It was penned by all five of her friends and Spike, each doing a different section in markedly different writing styles, from Rarity’s elegant cursive to big block letters from Applejack and incredibly messy scrawl from Rainbow Dash. To his disbelief, the events of the previous night was all there in Pinkie’s opening description—it listed every single act they’d done! “But… how…?” he staggered back against his desk.

“Pinkie Pie…” Twilight said as if that explained everything, blushing and rubbing a hand behind her head—and somehow, to Phoenix, it did. Well, I guess there IS a Pinkie sense for everything… was all she could think, uncomfortable with the idea that her friend could even spy on her most private moments as she read it along with Phoenix, feeling increasingly faint.

The commentary was explicit and the questions that followed were embarrassingly direct as well, easily enough to make them both blush. Rarity wanted to know all about his ‘exquisite oral technique’, while Applejack complimented him on how well he made love in a manner that suggested she was interested in knowing it for herself.

Fluttershy admitted she ‘kind of liked how he used his hands’ in her usual understated manner, which caused Phoenix to have an immediate flashback to stroking her wings—wait! Is she saying she LIKED it when I accidentally felt her up?—while Pinkie Pie was just happy to know that “they had the BESTEST of best times!” but didn’t hesitate to offer a few suggestions of her own of what they might try later, causing their cheeks to go hot anew.

Then there was Rainbow Dash, whose messages were short but punctuated with crude pictographs. “Dolphin-style, egghead? Really?” was her first statement, followed immediately by a sour-faced stick figure of a pony. “So you finally laid my lawyer, eh? Took ya long enough! Congrats and thanks for a REAL fun night!” she finished with a crude drawing of what appeared to be her licking an apple, leaving Twilight no idea what she meant.

The note ended with a plea from Spike, who had the best script of all of them, though even it looked a little ragged. “TWILIGHT! Please make them STOP! I don’t want to hear about ANY of this!”he all but begged in big text at the bottom of the sheet, making Twilight cringe further.

Poor Spike! “So… how do we answer?” Twilight asked him, her face still flushed, suddenly dreading the idea of going home. By Celestia,I’m NEVER going to hear the end of it from ANY of them now!

“Uh…” Phoenix was for once at a loss for words. “Well, at least they’re okay with it, right…?”He offered a little wanly, giving his goofy grin even though he was still inwardly reeling.

She gave him an annoyed look. “Them, yes. But it may not stop there! I don’t need all of Equestria knowing about this!” she said as she magically plucked up the quill pen made from Fluttershy’s feather off his desk and began to write on the other side of the scroll.

Girls, uh… thanks for all the well-wishes, but these questions are just a TAD bit personal, don’t you think? We’re both shocked to hear you know about this, and I’m going to Pinkie-swear all of you not to spread it around—I do NOT want the press or other ponies descending on me again when I get back! We’ll be out of town for the next couple days to visit Maya and Pearly’s village, and we’re not taking the candle with us. So don’t expect a letter tomorrow. And PLEASE don’t pester Spike! He’s a baby dragon and doesn’t need to be hearing all this!!!!!

And Pinkie? If there’s any way you can turn off your Pinkie Sense for this, we’d appreciate it! We do NOT need everypony eavesdropping on us!

(And yes, I LOVED it! He made love to me as a pony, and it was WONDERFUL! Everything I dreamed of and MORE!)

Your friend,

—Twilight

“Think that’ll do?” Twilight asked uncertainly, showing him the note. Just hope they haven’t already told anypony! If anyone ELSE knew about this, I’d just die…

“Mostly…” Phoenix took up the quill pen and added his own note:

Seriously, guys—I’m flattered by all the compliments, but I’m NOT going to answer these questions! I promise to take good care of Twilight while she’s here, but our private time is our own!!!!

—Phoenix

He showed the addendum to Twilight, who nodded uncertainly, then moved the message over the candle flame. “That won’t stop them, you know…” she warned him as the message was consumed in a flare of green dragonfire.

“I know…” He rubbed his head, trying to fight off lurid images of Twilight’s friends the questions had sparked, finding them strangely compelling and no longer idle fantasy after having bedded Twilight. Boundaries, Phoenix… let’s not make things even more complicating than they already ARE! he reminded himself sharply as they departed his office, leaving the dragonfire candle behind.

Music: Mystical Air

Despite distractions, the two grabbed lunch at the Greek diner and then met up with Celestia and her human coltfriend at the train station, making the three o’clock train to Kurain without incident, though Twilight was surprised to see that Celestia averted her eyes and blushed when Phoenix initially greeted her.

Spent after a night of lovemaking, Phoenix ended up sleeping most of the way—and so did Celestia and her friend, oddly—while Twilight took in the sights and scenery of the train trip, noting the train car was definitely less pretty and more dirty than the Friendship Express she often took to Canterlot. But the views made up for it, leaving her admiring the rugged but semi-arid California countryside, surprised to see the landscape dotted with towns and vineyards. Lots of grapes grown… do they really have that big a market for grape juice? She couldn’t help but voice the question aloud, not understanding why the other three all exchanged good-natured chuckles.

With all the stops, the train ride took two hours, but eventually found a station in a small town, where they hopped a bus that took them the rest of the distance, finally arriving at…

It was an indeed a village, and not like any human one Twilight had yet seen as they stepped off and found themselves on what seemed to be a main street, at the center of which stood a large manor and massive rock. The village itself was nestled in a valley overlooked by several mountains, well away from most cities and roads, and the air was quite clear for it, unlike the city in which Phoenix lived.

The architecture strongly reminded Twilight of when she’d accompanied Celestia on a state visit to Neighpon, and so did some of the dress as she looked around, noting that oddly, most of the village members appeared to be girls or women—quite unlike the even gender ratios she’d gotten used to in the city.

And the air itself seemed alive, somehow. “My student… do you feel that?” A now-awake Celestia asked her, her awareness picking up… not what she would call magic, but a very potent energy in the air all the same.

“I do,” Twilight confirmed, trying to categorize it. It seemed somewhat akin to the mystical energy she’d encountered in the magatama, but far more prevalent and powerful, as ubiquitous to the area as magic was to Equestria. Huh. I wonder if I could draw on it the same way I can magic…? she wondered idly, noting that the large, oddly-decorated granite monolith in the center of the town seemed to be a locus of sorts for it.

“Nick!” a familiar voice suddenly broke her out of her thoughts. She turned to see…

“Maya!” Phoenix replied, going up to greet her. And behind her was…

“Pearly!” Twilight called out, a genuine smile on her face as she stepped forward, knelt down and opened her arms. “Give me a hug!”

She didn’t have long to wait. “Mystic Twilight!” Pearl leaped happily into her arms. “I’m so glad you could come!”

“Couldn’t leave without seeing your home!” Twilight chuckled, holding the human girl tightly for a moment and rubbing cheeks with her. “And I think you know who this is?” she nodded up at Celestia, who was watching the scene with a smile.

“Um…” Pearl looked at the tall woman in confusion for a moment.

In response, Celestia grinned and her horn glowed briefly, restoring her hair to its usual pastel-hued, flowing state, announcing her identity instantly to the young girl, who broke out into a surprised and joyful grin.

“Princess Celestia!” Pearl recognized in no little delight, instantly bringing her hands together and bowing very low. “Welcome to Kurain!”

“Thank you. It’s good to see you again, my dear Pearl,” Celestia returned the respectful gesture, returning her hair to its previous blonde color. “Have you been taking care of your cousin and Mister Wright?”

“Very much!” she responded eagerly. “I’ve even been practicing my calligraphy! My handwriting is nearly as good as Mister Spike’s now! Would you like to see?”

“I would love to,” she grinned, hearing an echo of Twilight’s old eagerness as a filly when she wanted to show the princess something new. She then turned to her left. “Everyone, I would like you to meet Ferro Stabile. He is my… friend and guide while I am here,” she said out of respect for Pearly’s presence, allowing a hint of irony into her voice.

“A pleasure to formally meet you, Mister Wright,” the much taller Ferro shook Phoenix’s hand, taking it in a grip of iron. “Your reputation precedes you. I watched one of your trials from the gallery, and I have to say, you were amazing in it. If I ever need a lawyer, I know who to call!”

“Oh! Well, thank you…” Phoenix grimaced at his grip, mildly intimidated by his size—he stood six foot nine, two inches taller than Celestia, and possessed a very well-toned but not over-muscled physique, leaving Phoenix wondering how well he’d fare in a hoofwrestling match against Big Macintosh. Or even Applejack! He couldn’t help but think, suddenly wondering idly what she would look like as a human.

“Good to meet you too, Miss Sparkle,” he offered his hand to Twilight next. “I’ve heard a lot about you from Tia here. I’m certainly glad to see Mister Wright found himself such a fine filly as you!” he said, his grin broadening.

Tia…? Twilight blinked, never having heard anypony use such a familiar address for the princess. “Wait… then you know about where me and…” She asked cautiously as she shook his hand back, grateful he used a gentle grip.

“About where you and Ms. Sunshine here came from? Yes, I know everything,” he grinned, resisting an urge to slip an arm around Celestia’s waist—he’d been warned when they got off the train not to do so around Pearly. “She’s even taken me to Equestria a couple times. Blew me away when I first went… like I imagine it did you, Mister Wright.” Especially when she turned me into a pony for the stay…

“That it did…” Phoenix said ruefully, rubbing his hand behind his head for a moment. “But I was glad I went for all the new friends I met. I was also happy that—at least in time—I got to share Equestria with my friends, here.” He gave Maya and Pearl’s shoulder a squeeze, the former flinching slightly and the latter grinning and nodding happily. “This is Maya Fey, my assistant, and Pearl, her cousin.”

“Good to meet you, Miss Fey,” the tall Ferro gave her a very gentle handshake before turning to Pearl. “Hey there, Pearly!” he got down on a knee and gave her a warm grin as she gave him a wary look back. “I’m Ferro. Celestia’s friend and… helper while she’s here. I promise I’ve been taking good care of her. Mister Wright tells me you enjoy video games and puzzles. Do you have any you really like to play?”

“I do!” she nodded eagerly, apparently deciding quickly the big man was okay. “I love Mario Kart! Do you play it?”

“I’ve been known to,” he grinned. “Got a daughter your age. She mostly enjoys playing games when I’m there with her, to make things more interesting.”

Maya coughed a little. “Well, it’s nice that you all came to visit, and I’m going to make sure your stay is as good as we can make it. But… I do have to ask the two of you to change clothes,” she said, pointing to Twilight and Celestia, who were dressed in simple shorts and blouses with bare arms and lower legs.

This drew a blink from the unicorn. “Why would we need to change clothes?”

For a moment, Maya looked embarrassed. “Well, Kurain village is very… traditional. We were founded nearly a century ago, coming to America to escape political persecution in our homeland,” she explained as if she giving a guided tour. “We were considered heretics, and our abilities unnatural, so we settled in this valley, which was very isolated at the time, in order to practice and develop our art unhindered. It worked for a while… at least until World War II, when, due to our heavy Japanese ancestry, most of our members were interned at relocation camps. Many left after, and it was nearly the end of our village. We had to drop our strictures against marrying outside our sect, and as a result, fresh blood came in and we began to flourish again,” she went on, Twilight mentally cataloging a slew of new terms and past events she was going to have to look up in her human history books.

“But even though we are more open to outsiders now, we still retain some of our original isolation. As such… while here, women are expected to be well-covered like me, and though we do entertain guests, unmarried couples are not allowed to sleep together,” she explained, causing Twilight and Phoenix’s expressions to drop. “I’m sorry. I don’t care, but the village elders do, so…” she gave a measured shrug, though not a very apologetic one to Phoenix.

Celestia didn’t blink. “I see. Well, we are your guests, and we would not wish to offend your sensibilities. If you require me to change my attire, then I will,” the sun princess promised.

Maya looked relieved, then concerned. “We can certainly find traditional Kurain robes to fit you, Sparkle, but…” she looked at how big Celestia was. “I’m not sure we can for you, your highness.”

“Just give me what you can and give me a few minutes alone with it. I’ll make it work,” she promised through closed eyes and a coy grin, by which Maya took it to mean she would modify it with her magic.

“Sold!” she said. “Just wait here…” she went into another building, emerging a few a minutes later with a series of robes. Twilight she gave what Phoenix recognized as an acolyte’s uniform, which was in the same design as hers but a different color, which Phoenix knew from previous visits was used by Kurain to denote rank. The all-white outfit she gave to Twilight indicated a beginner, while Celestia she gave the deep purple robes of a Kurain technique master. “The elders might not approve, but you’re certainly far more powerful than any of us, Princess!” she grinned, bowing low.

Celestia smiled and bowed back. “The gesture is appreciated, Miss Fey. If you will show us to our room, we will get changed. And Twilight…?” the sun princess turned to her student, who was studying the garment curiously. “We do need to talk.”

“So, my student…” Celestia began once the door of the guest quarters had closed behind them, the sun princess surprising Twilight by casting a privacy spell that would soundproof their immediate vicinity. “I take it from his exhaustion and your mutual good moods that you and Phoenix Wright are now… intimate?” she asked mildly, giving her student the barest hint of a smile.

Twilight blushed. Never could keep anything from her! “We are, Princess,” she confirmed, before giving her teacher an askance look. “You’re… okay with it, aren’t you?”

Celestia gave her a look back that was both amused and mildly reproachful. “Twilight… you would really ask me that after all you’ve already seen and heard from me?” She closed her eyes and grinned. “Be assured I am very happy for you both, especially given my worry that I’d frightened you with my behavior that first night. I might have had a bit much to drink, but please understand my intention. I was trying to show you by example it was okay to have a human lover. That it was okay to enjoy yourself and this world as one,” she said as she magically undressed before Twilight, who blushed but did the same, reflecting she was already picking up some human modesty.

“Well, I admit I wasn’t sure about everything at first, especially that first night we were here, but… I think I like this version of you,” she smiled. “It’s real, and it shows. And… I daresay it’s had a bit of an influence on me.”

Celestia looked at her student, an eyebrow raised. “Oh?”

“Well, yesterday, I, um… took a page from your book, and…” she whispered what happened at the park in Celestia’s ear, and had the pleasure of making the her mentor blush.

“I see… it would seem I have taught you quite well, my student…” Celestia chuckled happily, wishing she had been there to see it. “That would explain the magical bursts I sensed. And afterwards…?” she prompted, already knowing the answer.

Twilight’s grin got wistful. “And then when he got back, he made love to me as a pony, and… oh Princess, it was wonderful!” she all but danced in place. “He made love to me so many times I lost count!”

Celestia grin got broader. “I know.”

The tone in her mentor’s voice caught Twilight short. “You… know?”

Celestia paused and closed her eyes, smiling as if to savor the moment. “You were broadcasting your pleasure quite strongly, my student. And given our close bond and the fact that I was the only other magic user in the city… I’m afraid I experienced everything you did,” she grinned knowingly.

Twilight reeled, the blood abruptly draining from her face. “E… Everything?” she asked in a very small voice.

“Everything,” Celestia confirmed, her smile getting broader, delighting in her student’s reaction. “And I must say, I was impressed. You seemed to figure out the mechanics of mating men quite quickly. And I must also say, Twilight, that Phoenix Wright’s lovemaking techniques were superb. He would be more than welcome to do the same to me anytime… though in some ways, he already has,” she teased, thoroughly enjoying herself.

Twilight felt herself going faint, wondering if she’d broadcast her pleasure accidentally… or out of subconscious desire for her mentor to know what she was feeling. First my friends, now the Princess… is there anypony who DOESN’T know what we did? “Um… why didn’t you tell me?” she asked weakly. “You could have contacted me telepathically.”

“Because, my dear Twilight… I didn’t want to interrupt or spoil such a wonderful experience… for either of us,” she chuckled, tilting her student’s chin up and giving her a kiss on the forehead right where her horn would be. “But sadly… we are going to have to sit down for a magic lesson to ensure it does not happen again. As powerful as your magic is, your broadcasting can be picked up by other ponies and even affect humans who are near enough. And I’m afraid it would simply not do to cause sudden outbreaks of sex for those in range of your aura,” she said with the slightly sardonic tone of somepony it had already happened to.

Twilight suddenly wished she was able to cast an invisibility spell. “Um… I’m… sorry…?”

“Don’t be,” Celestia all but cooed in Twilight’s ear, her tone and closeness making Twilight blush anew. “I was very gratified to share such a wonderful experience with you. And even more than that, you reminded me of what it was to be pleasured as a pony. It had been a quite a long time since I had… until last night, that is.” She winked at her student again, making Twilight’s blush deepen. “I think I wore out poor Ferro, though. I suppose it’s just as well we’re sleeping apart tonight,” she conceded with a wry grin, pulling the Kurain robes on over her head.

Twilight’s blush deepened even more. “Well, um… should we do the lesson now?”

Celestia laughed as let her magic go to work on the garment, tailoring it to fit her, leaving Twilight wondering when she’d ever learned such spells. “It will take more than a few minutes in a hotel room, I’m afraid… several hours at least. But as long as we do it before you are intimate as a pony again, there shouldn’t be a problem,” the sun princess promised her student. “Just like me, your magic is much more muted as a human, so there shouldn’t be an issue then.”

Twilight was relieved to know she could still be with Phoenix as a woman in the meantime. “I imagine I’ll get around to it at least once more before this trip is over,” she mused, some of Pinkie Pie’s suggestions running through her head again. “But, let’s not keep the others waiting, shall we?” she said as she smoothed out the Kurain kimono, and headed out the door with her mentor.

After a brief tour of town and the surrounding fields—one where both Celestia and Phoenix noticed Twilight flinch at the sight of several penned horses—the group sat down for dinner in what Maya called “The Grand Hall”, though it was scarcely more than a large room with a long table set low to the ground, and places to sit marked by cushions around it.

The meal was, as always, vegetarian, though still quite good for it even to Equestrian tastes, consisting of village-grown produce, fresh milk, and even some local cheese and wine, the latter greatly surprising Twilight when she first tried it, thinking it was simple juice. A fruit-based alcoholic beverage other than cider? she marveled, though given its lack of sweetness she wasn't entirely sure she liked it. As they ate, the group made small talk, and the subject eventually turned to Equestria after Maya assured the group that they wouldn’t be disturbed.

As usual, Pearly inquired about Trixie and Twilight was about to disappoint her again until Celestia herself spoke up. “You mean Trixie Lulamoon?” the sun princess asked in some surprise.

Pearly nodded eagerly. “Yes! Mystic Trixie! I just want to know how she’s doing!” she pleaded, to which Maya audibly groaned.

“I see…” a ghost of a smile touched Celestia’s lips. “Well, I can tell you that we are keeping an eye on her, and thus far at least, she has kept out of trouble. It would seem that my sister has… plans for her, not all of which I am comfortable with,” she said carefully. “But Luna is adamant, and I have learned by now there is no point in trying to dissuade her when her mind is set on something. That much did not change even after her purification.”

Much like Trixie herself, Twilight couldn’t help but think, wondering what the moon princess would want with her still-missing rival. And in many ways, me as well…

“Really?” Pearly said eagerly. “Um… is there any way you could get a message to her for me?”

Celestia looked up again, surprised. “It might be possible, depending on my sister’s wishes…” she granted, drumming her fingers and deep in thought for a moment before smiling again. “You really like Miss Lulamoon, it seems.”

“Very much!” Pearly’s eyes lit up. “She’s a wonderful pony! I like her magic shows and I love her power!”

“Most eight-year old girls would…” Maya mumbled under her breath just loud enough for Phoenix to hear, praying her cousin didn’t ask to the show the movie again—Pearly had made her watch it so many times by then that the theme song made her ill.

To her relief, her young mystic cousin moved on after Celestia promised she would take back a message for her. “So you’ve been to Equestria too, Mr. Ferro?” Pearl asked curiously, having already made a new friend.

“Indeed I have, Pearly,” Ferro said with a smile. “It’s been awhile since I last went, though. For some reason, Tia always wants to visit me, and doesn’t like it when it’s the other way around.”

Celestia sighed and shook her head. “I’ve told you, Ferro. As a Princess, I get pestered non-stop to take care of some noble or another’s trivial disputes. I don’t like it when an opportunity to see you is reduced to you watching me watch nobles bicker.”

“Yeowch,” Maya mused. “So glad I don’t have to put up with that. I’d probably snap under the strain of managing a country. Being the de facto Master of Kurain is hard enough!”

This got some raised eyebrows from the ponies and Ferro. “De facto Master?” Twilight asked, puzzled. “You mean, you’re the Master in all but official title?”

Maya sighed, her good cheer vanishing. “Yeah. When my mother, Misty Fey, disappeared, everyone thought Sis would take over as the Master. But she left to become a lawyer, and then…” She trailed off, eyes going distant.

Phoenix knew full well what the young mystic was likely remembering, and decided to step in. “Anyway, Maya’s not truly the Master… yet.” He glanced at her. “Exactly when will you take up that role, anyway?”

Maya sighed again. “My mother will be officially labeled as ‘deceased’ come February. On that day, I will officially be instated as the Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique.”

Twilight blanched. “She’ll be labeled ‘deceased’?! Why? Can’t you look for her, or—?”

Pearl was the one who spoke up. “Mystic Misty has been missing for nearly 17 years. Kurain customs dictate that if someone disappears for that long, they are considered ‘de-seased’, and are labeled as such in our scrolls,” she recited.

Celestia nodded solemnly. “I see. Then it would seem a heavy burden lies on your young shoulders, Maya Fey.”

Maya shrugged. “Yeah, well, I may not be able to raise the sun, but I think I’ll do well enough.” She paused. “Of course, I think I’ll need some more training…”

Twilight, still not keen on the idea of someone being labeled as dead just for disappearing for a while, decided to change the subject. “So after dinner, what should we do?”

Maya considered that. “Well, there’s not much nightlife around here, of course… not even in the town you came through other than a bar or two. But maybe we could find you a movie or something to watch?” she suggested.

“That sounds like fun!” the disguised unicorn said eagerly, eating the last bite of her jaw-droppingly large strawberry dessert. “I’d love to see what your fiction and films are like.”

“Okay then! Let’s see… maybe something epic that has plenty of magic and mythology…” Maya mused, rubbing her chin in unconscious imitation of Phoenix. “I know! How about The Lord of the Rings?”

“Ah yes. Tolkien,” Celestia spoke up from the remains of her meal, causing Maya to give her a surprised look. “An excellent author, though I found his works a little too… dense for my tastes. I didn’t get past the first book, I’m afraid. However, I believe you would enjoy them, my student, as they are very richly detailed,” she grinned at Twilight. “I heard there were movies made, but I never did see them.”

“They were made about twenty years ago,” Ferro spoke up. “Some of the effects are a bit dated, but the movies themselves were highly acclaimed and hold up quite well.”

“Yeah, they’re pretty good flicks,” Maya said with a smirk. Checking the clock, she frowned. “Still, we probably only have time tonight for the first one. Good thing I have the extended trilogy on Blu-ray!” She pulled a green-bound item from the shelf.

Twilight thought at first that it was a tome of sorts, but when Maya opened it up, instead of paper, she saw two small, circular discs, each with writing on them: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. “Wait… that’s the movie? Those discs?”

Maya grinned. “Sparkle, Sparkle, Sparkle… don’t tell me Equestria is still stuck in the age of reel-to-reel cinema.”

Twilight coughed pointedly while Celestia just smiled. “We ponies don’t believe in fixing what isn’t broken.”

“An outdated, visually unimpressive, flickering movie isn’t broken?” Phoenix teased; even he knew that the age of reel-to-reel had come and gone a long time ago.

Celestia just smiled a little more. “Well, I admit when my agents first brought back the technology, I wasn’t terribly impressed. But, a little magic to clear up the flickering and improve the resolution made it far more popular. Most ponies with bits to spend have at least one projector in their home, and it’s worked for the past fifty years or so.”

Maya shrugged. “If you say so… but I think you’ll be more impressed with how far movies have come since then.” She removed one of the discs from inside the case, and opened up a device under the television set, pressing a barely-seen button as a tray slid out with a circular slot inside. She placed the disc inside and closed the device, powering on the big flat-screen TV as she did so… it was a little out of date considering the more modern ones, but was more than sufficient for entertaining a few guests.

A soft but strangely compelling female voice was heard, initially speaking in an unknown language:

The world is changed.
I feel it in the water…
I feel it in the earth…
I smell it in the air…

Much that once was is lost…

For none now live who remember.

Music: Shadows of the Past

It was nearly midnight when Twilight and Celestia returned to their shared room in the Guest Inn.

It was a simple suite that consisted of a single large “King-sized” bed and adjoining bathroom, which Maya had apologetically explained was the only guest room they possessed that had a bed big enough for the sun princess. While the latter was freshening up, Twilight stared out the open window into the dark of night, now dressed in a pair of ‘pajamas’ Maya had loaned her. The brilliantly starry sky and unfamiliar constellations might have held her interest on any other night, but now her mind was elsewhere, still back in the viewing lounge from where they had come.

Twilight never thought watching a movie could exhaust her, but that one had. Three hours of riveting story set in spectacular landscapes, featuring running battles, some questionable magic depictions and uncanny arrow accuracy—even the unicorn archers of old couldn’t find their marks so readily without first enchanting their arrows—interspersed with some superb character development and equally poignant sacrifices of two ‘Fellowship’ members.

Twilight was deeply moved by what she saw, but also very troubled as they returned to their guest room, taking the first turn in the washroom. What does it say of a world and race that they can imagine such things and turn it into such a work of cinematic art? she thought as she showered again, donning Maya’s “PJs”, though they were a bit small on her, exposing a bit of her belly. And those black, evil-looking horses the ringwraiths were riding didn’t exactly help matters…

“What troubles you, my student?” Celestia asked as she emerged from the washroom, now dressed in a sheer nightgown, recognizing the look on Twilight’s face as one she wore when she did not understand something… and even worse, could not fathom the answer.

“It’s nothing, Princess,” Twilight said, realizing quickly the wringing of her hands gave lie to her own statement. “It’s just that I keep thinking about the movie. I know it’s fictional and yet… it still affected me. It was so dark and depressing at times. Not just for the deaths of Gandalf and Boromir, or the breaking of friendship… er, Fellowship at the end, but the fighting and battles themselves. So much death, so much waste of life… and all the wanton sacrifice of males. Fictional or no, I can’t even begin to comprehend such a scene,” she shivered where she stood.

Celestia’s expression softened. She didn’t have the heart to tell Twilight that the movie in fact did not accurately depict a battlefield—the smells, the severed limbs, the mangled bodies and grieving, traumatized survivors. Pray you never see one for real, my student… She shook her head as she stood behind Twilight and put her hands on her shoulders, staring out the window with her.

“Be glad… because I have seen such scenes,” was all the sun princess would say on the matter, and Twilight knew better than to press her, guessing it had to do with either the griffin war or even worse, her war with her own sister. “Do not make the mistake of believing ponies are beyond such things, Twilight, for our own history says otherwise…” she trailed off in reluctant remembrance. “For me, though… the most poignant moment of that movie wasn’t the opening battle or Gandalf’s death. It comes later, when Frodo tempts Galadriel by offering her the One Ring,” she mused, her eyes going distant.

Twilight looked back at her, her brow furrowed. “Really? Why is that?”

Celestia hesitated for just a moment before speaking. “Because I have known that temptation, Twilight. Known it all too well. The desire to have more power, more control, to rule as a goddess-queen… in truth, Luna was not the only one to succumb to it. At the height of our war… I did too.”

Twilight looked up at her. “Pr-Princess… you mean you… like Saruman?” an analogy to the fallen wizard was the only one she could draw.

Celestia visibly grimaced at the comparison, sitting down in a large chair beside the room fireplace and lighting it with a brief flare of her power, magically dimming the room lights as well. “I take no pride in the memory, Twilight. Knowing the survival of Equestria if not the entire world was at stake, I hardened my heart too much for the battles to come, and in so doing lost my way. ‘The Tyrant Sun’, I was called for a time, and not just by the forces of the Nightmare,” she sighed, staring into the flames.

“It was a chapter of my life I would just as soon forget. In the course of that war and even the lead-up to it, I became, just as Galadriel said, ‘as beautiful and as terrible as the dawn,’ using my magic and control of the sun punitively. And all would indeed ‘love me and despair’,” she shook her head, managing a sad chuckle. “Fate has a cruel sense of irony, it seems. Had Luna not succumbed to the Nightmare when she did, our positions could very well have been reversed. Even before she openly rebelled, I was showing signs of iron hooves in my methods of ruling. At the time I was still the lesser of two evils, but had it been but a few years later… our subjects could very well have turned to her to depose me.”

“Was it really that bad?” Twilight asked, certain there was some exaggeration in her mentor’s words. Celestia? A tyrant? She couldn’t imagine such a thing.

Celestia looked at her student, sorrow and regret in her eyes. “Twilight, I once ordered a noblepony’s family imprisoned because he had the audacity to question me in court.” Twilight’s shocked look caused Celestia to cringe. “I know it seems hard to believe, given the pony and princess I am now, but at the time… I was well on my way to being a despot the likes of which would even have made King Sombra blush. And given enough time, I probably would have crossed that line, were it not for Luna’s open rebellion… and the war that followed.”

Twilight stared at her, aghast, even as a small part of her made a note to look up ‘King Sombra’ later. “But… how, Princess? How could you of all ponies turn evil?”

Celestia gave a very sad but knowing smile. “Because I wasn’t evil, Twilight… at least, not to me. I did what I did for the good of all, you see,” she gave a short, humorless chuckle. “In my mind, I simply believed that since I meant well, anyone who opposed my rule and methods did not. You assume that since you are good and only want what’s best for your ponies, that anyone who disagrees with you must do so from base motives… and is therefore evil. You therefore do not have to listen to them, or treat them with any fairness or respect,” she recited.

“It is a conceit, and a very dangerous one, my student. A very lazy and seductive way of thinking that can snare even the best of ponies… and I was far from my best then. I became arrogant, and when war broke out, even brutal in my rule. At the height of our conflict, I thought nothing of burning a village filled what I thought were lunar sympathizers to the ground, and assuaged my conscience afterwards by telling myself it was all for the greater good.”

Her expression turned brooding as Twilight stood speechless. “War is a terrible thing, Twilight. It twists even the gentlest of hearts, scars even the hardest of them. War between sisters; between those who should love each other… is even worse, for the feelings of sorrow and betrayal, anger and hatred it generates. Through attack and counterattack, atrocity and reprisal... we found ourselves trapped in a cycle from which we could not escape. Along the way we fought battles only too similar to the one we saw at the beginning of the movie, most notably when I ordered an assault on her mountain fortress of Nocturnia.”

“Nocturnia…” Twilight repeated to herself, her brow furrowing at the distantly familiar name. “I think I read about that. It was her stronghold, wasn’t it? The capital of Nightmare Moon’s self-proclaimed new nation that was always shrouded in night?”

“Indeed,” Celestia confirmed. “Her so-called ‘Lunar Republic’, though in truth it was anything but. The full story of the battle is in the Canterlot Archives, but in simple terms… it was a failed attempt to end the war quickly by destroying her base of power with a surprise attack. I fought Nightmare Moon directly there to make sure she could not engage and overpower my army as Sauron did, but it brought no victory. Surprise was lost thanks to her thestral spies and the battle ended in a bloody draw, leaving both us and our forces too exhausted to continue—it was all I could do to raise the sun the next day,” she recounted. “And it was only when I saw the wreckage of battle and broken bodies around me… when I saw the blood of my beloved ponies staining my own hooves, heard the cries of an orphaned foal calling for her lost mother… that I realized what I had become. Realized just how far I had fallen.”

Twilight listened, stunned at the scene she described. “What… what did you do then?”

Celestia turned her glistening eyes on her student. “I rescued the foal, withdrew my army, and returned to my castle where I then threw off my armor and cried openly in my chambers, grieving for myself and my lost ponies, knowing beyond any shadow of a doubt that it was all my fault… that I had brought them to this through my own arrogance and neglect,” her voice began to break, and it was several seconds more before she had composed herself enough to continue.

“And thus… just as Frodo had to journey far to destroy the ring and its evil, I had to journey far within my own heart to destroy the evil that had taken root there… and that meant finding my love for my sister and ponies all over again, even in the midst of war. I ordered my generals to fight a holding action while I went into seclusion, trying to rediscover my connection to Harmony. It was not easy but I eventually did it, and thus was able to wield the Elements of Harmony myself for the last time.”

She paused, as if to gather herself to tell the final part of the tale. “When my preparations were complete, I summoned Luna under flag of truce and made one last plea to end our conflict in our ancient castle in the Everfree. But she said there could be ‘but one princess’, and it would not be me. She transformed back into the Nightmare and it was there we fought our final battle, which thankfully was only between the two of us. With the elements at my disposal, the outcome was preordained… but no less wrenching for it.” She looked away, but not before Twilight caught another tear in her eye.

It was several seconds more before she could speak again. “Can you understand this, Twilight? That for the love of my ponies and the love of my lost sister… I had to banish that sister for a thousand years. As her rage and hatred of me left the elements unable to purify her, I knew it was ultimately the only way to save her and Equestria as well, but it still tore my heart out, and left a wound that in some ways never fully healed, knowing the pony I had nearly become and my culpability in her fall from grace… and then being reminded of it every time I saw her face in the moon. And it was only when she was gone that I realized how much she meant to me… how much I missed her… how much I needed her,” she shivered. And Goddess knows my coping mechanisms after left a great deal to be desired…

Twilight knelt at her side and put a hand on her arm. “But she’s back now, Princess. And I saw how happy you were to see her again,” she said, reflecting that their reunion was the first time she’d ever seen the Sun Princess cry. And tonight is the second…

She smiled sadly again as she put her opposite hand over Twilight’s. “Luna is indeed back now, and I thank you or your friends from the bottom of my heart for returning her to me, purified and free of the Nightmare that had consumed her. And yet, in some ways… she has not returned. She is still lost in the past, struggling to adjust to this new world and find her place in it. Struggling to come to terms with what she became… to forgive herself for it, long after I already did. She has a difficult road ahead, Twilight, and all I can do is be there for her… as I failed to do before,” she sighed, then smiled again at a more hopeful memory.

“It may interest you to know that I am trusting her with control of the sun and the rule of Equestria in my stead right now, even though she was uncertain she was ready for such responsibility again. That alone makes me certain she is… for the old her, the one tempted and enthralled by the Nightmare would never have hesitated.” And I have changed too, for back then I would never have surrendered that power, even temporarily…

Twilight echoed her thoughts. “But from what you’re saying… you aren’t the same pony now either, Princess.”

She nodded sagely. “I suppose not. But still, even now I cannot help but wonder… what if it had been me? What would have happened if I had been the one to give into my darker impulses fully, fall into the thrall of the Nightmare, or whatever my equivalent would be?” she asked out loud, staring into the fire. “What would have changed? Would I have ended up banished instead of Luna, only to return unrepentant a thousand years later? Would I ever have acknowledged the error of my ways, or simply continued on my course, believing my rule to be just despite all evidence to the contrary… rationalizing all my evil away as I did then?”

Twilight shivered. Not just you, Princess… what would have come of ME without your training and influence? she suddenly wondered, and got a bad feeling in return. Would there even have BEEN element bearers or an Element of Magic then…? “I don’t know, Princess… I just know asking ‘what if’ and ‘what could have been’ doesn’t solve anything. What matters is what actually happened; Luna fell to the Nightmare’s grip, and you were eventually forced to banish her to keep the world safe. That’s the ironclad truth of history. And if there’s one rule I know for certain, it’s that those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.”

Celestia chuckled a little, causing Twilight to look at her quizzically. “I’m sorry, Twilight, I just found it amusing that a human and a pony, who had no relation and no means of contacting each other, both came up with the same memorable line. A human named George Santayana said it here on Earth, while the philosopher Deep Thought came up with the phrase in Equestria.” She chuckled again. “There are a number of odd similarities in names and phrases between Earth and Equestria, now that I think on it.”

Twilight nodded slowly. “Right… I noticed that back when Maya mentioned a ‘Las Vegas’ after Trixie’s trial.” She shook her head slightly, deciding it was a question that could wait for later. “Getting back on topic… why tell me all this, Princess? You almost never talk about the past, especially something as personal as the war against Luna. So, why?” Twilight took the chair beside Celestia, staring into the fire along with her mentor.

Celestia smiled sadly. “Perhaps the movie touched me as well and now I find myself lost in old memories. Or perhaps I simply want you to know who I really am—the sides of me I cannot show in Equestria. Not Celestia, the Sun Princess, but simply… Tia, the pony. A flawed being who over the long years of her life has made some terrible mistakes, and is not always as all-knowing or all-powerful as she appears. Far from a beacon of light, she is at times a weak and wounded creature who seeks escape far away from her responsibilities and memories, sometimes on a different world entirely.

“She is a lover of men, at times a terrible tease, a mare who sometimes needs to let her mane down… and sometimes, she just needs the friendly ear of her student while she reminisces. This is who I am, Twilight, warts and all.” She put her hand to her chest as she spoke, turning to face her prized pupil. “And after all you have seen and heard… I hope you do not think less of me for it.”

Touched beyond measure, Twilight took Celestia’s hand in her own in a human gesture she had quickly come to appreciate. “Princess… I would never judge you for what I was not there to see or for choices I couldn’t fathom being faced with. I don’t know what you were then, all I know is what you are now—a teacher and mentor to me, and a benevolent, beloved ruler to us all. That is who you are too, no less than any of these other things,” she insisted, her eyes shining. “What defines us as ponies is not that we make mistakes. It’s that we learn from them, pick ourselves back up on and move on, remembering and applying the lessons for next time. And in the end… you did, Princess.”

“Twilight…” Celestia stood up and hugged her student hard. “How did you get so wise?”

“Well, I’ve had a very good teacher,” Twilight replied with a coy grin she’d picked up from Celestia herself. “And she’s still teaching me now.”

“And it is my honor to do so… my beloved student,” she suppressed a sniffle, holding Twilight even tighter, not even caring about their relative state of undress.

They stayed locked in their embrace for the next ten minutes, silhouetted in their bedclothes in front of the fireplace, until Celestia looked up and noted that the clock read nearly 1am. “It is time for bed now, Twilight,” the sun princess said, giving her student a motherly kiss on the head. “I think we both need our rest after last night. Certainly Ferro and Phoenix do,” she added with her coy grin.

“You said it,” Twilight agreed, chuckling a little ruefully, deciding it was probably just as well she and Phoenix were being forced to sleep apart. And come to think of it, this’ll be the first time I’ve actually slept as a human… “We’ll do the magic lesson tomorrow, then?”

“I think that would be for the best,” Celestia confirmed as they both tucked themselves in. “We’ll find an isolated spot in the woods where we can meditate… as ponies, if needs be.”

“I look forward to it. Good night, Princess,” Twilight called from the left side of the bed, her hand finding Celestia’s again beneath the covers as the sun princess magically switched off the light.

“Good night, Twilight,” Celestia answered back, giving her student’s hand a squeeze, the sounds of a summer night and slow crackling of the fireplace lulling them off to slumber.

They fell asleep hand in hand.

9: The Two Powers

Despite a generally good evening, Maya Fey found herself in a very brooding mood.

Nick and Sparkle… they’re lovers now, she knew beyond any and all doubt as she went to bed that night, not long after the movie had concluded. In truth, she’d wanted to watch it as much for the three-hour distraction as to show their Equestrian guests some human cinema, happy to see Pearly sitting between the pair as they watched, being doted on by both.

She’d sensed their consummation the previous night, faraway bursts of Equestrian magic registering on her mystical awareness like distant fireworks, and seeing them on arrival in Kurain had all but confirmed it when she saw their tired but happy faces and the loving looks Sparkle was giving him.

Well, that’s it then… she sighed as she bedded down and switched off the light, staring up into the darkened ceiling. They did it, and… now what? She wondered again what it meant for her, what it meant for them, whether or not Nick was going to return to Equestria with her, never to be seen again.

He would not so readily abandon you, Maya… she heard her sister’s voice reminding her, patient and reassuring in her head. And Twilight respects you and does not wish to hurt you. Can you not be happy for them, as a friend should?

Sis! her eyes went wide with surprise—it was rare her sister’s spirit came to her, but under certain circumstances it was possible… and as she probed the surrounding ether with her mind, she realized that one such set of circumstances was met. Her mystical awareness sensed a great deal of spiritual energy in the vicinity, far more than was normal even for Kurain.

The reason the village had been established in that particular mountain valley was because it was a natural locus of such power; a place where the boundaries between the physical and spirit planes were weak and it became far easier to channel spirits for it. It was also a two-way street in that spirits can and did cross over themselves, through dreams and sometimes even more directly. When the mystical mana levels were particularly high as they were then—and the Kurain technique had no means of predicting when such surges would occur—spirits were even able to physically affect the mortal plane.

Though curious at the portent, Maya’s mind remained with Phoenix, just happy he and Sparkle were sleeping apart for their stay—she wasn’t sure she could take the magical bursts associated with their lovemaking at close range. She remembered Franziska’s words about being afraid of change and nodded ruefully to herself. I’m trying, Mia! But I can’t help it. I’m just so afraid of losing him… she told her sister again, curling up into a ball. Franny’s probably right… hell, I know she is, but… she exhaled softly again, wishing she could could just turn off her mind and all thoughts of the pair; even switch off her mystical awareness for the duration.

But the heart knows what it wants, and mere logic and reason rarely dissuades it, Mia’s voice sounded again. Perhaps the question you must now ask yourself is… what do YOU want? Maya felt a phantom hand being placed on her shoulder, squeezing it gently, asking her to look inward. Why is Phoenix so important to you?

What I want…? Maya’s brow furrowed at the odd question. I want… she started to reply, only to realize that the answer was not so straightforward, hidden behind layers of fears and worry.

Her mind still processing the question, it was another hour before she fell asleep.

Music: Sunrise

Twilight awoke to the sun streaming through the open window.

Her sleep had been somewhat fitful again for being in a new place and lingering restlessness brought on by the movie and the talk with Celestia that followed. It also didn’t help that the bed wasn’t the most comfortable—certainly nothing compared to her own or even Phoenix’s, though the latter had been made all the more cozy for his presence at her side.

It wasn’t all bad, though. Her pillows, which she had originally found a bit lumpy, now felt very warm and soft, and she found herself nuzzled deep in between a billowy pair of them, breathing in their strangely familiar and reassuring scent. There was some thin pillow cover between her and the cushiony goodness but she nosed it out of the way, burrowing deeper between them, rubbing her cheeks into them, feeling strangely contented.

“Comfortable, my student?” Celestia’s amused voice asked from just above her ear.

Her eyes snapped open at the voice’s proximity… to find she had snuggled up to Celestia during the night, leg and arm now draped over her body… and her head was laying directly on her chest, squarely between her…!

Twilight’s cheeks went instantly hot and she hurriedly began to pull away, stammering apologies, but Celestia just chuckled and restrained her with a gentle hand on her shoulder, indicating it was alright. “You started to cuddle up several hours ago. I allowed it because you were very restless and seemed to sleep better afterwards,” she explained.

“Oh. Um…” Twilight began, keenly aware of where head was and cheeks were pressed, suddenly wondering if her mentor’s explanation was more the excuse than the reason. “I’m s-sorry. I guess the movie and our talk and…” she said a bit unsteadily. Her dreams had been unusually vivid, including a particularly memorable one of Phoenix riding into court on a horse, donned in the armor of Aragorn… followed by another of him as the blue pegasus from her romance novel swooping in to rescue her like a human ‘damsel in distress’ (which was a very odd and completely backwards phrase to her), his wings and mane suddenly turning to fire as he cut down her shadowy captors in a desperate effort to reach her.

Well, at least THAT one was kind of interesting… she chuckled nervously, trying not to think of her compromising position with her teacher.

In response, Celestia kissed the top of her head and gently stroked her hair. “It is understandable. The movie dealt with some… disturbing topics, after all,” she began, not immediately admitting that she, too, had a very restless night, including some very lucid dreams; her sleep had been filled with visions of past battles and events, students and lovers flowing freely through her head.

She quashed thoughts of the latter before they could affect her in Twilight’s presence, reflecting anew how close she was starting to feel to her student for all she had now been able to share with her. Truly, I have never had a student like her… she thought and not for the first time, starting to sense the line blurring between them, feeling a moment of alarm at the thoughts suddenly running through her head unbidden. NO. That is not a path we can go down… she told herself again, reminding herself forcefully of what had happened the last time she had allowed that barrier to slip, immediately seeking a different topic to talk about.

“On the subject of the movie, I couldn’t help but notice, Twilight… it is a minor thing, but… you seemed to react badly to the presence of the horses they were using,” she recalled, feeling her student immediately stiffen. “It also happened yesterday, when we saw the equines I assume they are using to help tend their crops and fields. Does their presence truly trouble you, my student?”

Twilight turned tense. “Yes,” she said shortly. “I already had this discussion with Phoenix—in fact, that’s why he decided to make love to me as a pony last night,” she admitted, going on to tell the sun princess about their walk down the mountain and the mounted park ranger they’d encountered, causing Celestia to marvel anew.

“I see…” was all Celestia could say even though her internal thoughts were ones of wonder. Well, then… you truly ARE special, Phoenix Wright, to do that for her—to worship her as a unicorn without any hesitation or regret, and all to reassure her that your love went far beyond simple appearance. I daresay precious few from either world would… she knew, reflecting again how lucky she was that Ferro was one of them. “Well, I understand your distaste, Twilight, but… you are wrong. Horses are not mindless or worthless. Far from it, in fact, as humans have amply demonstrated by all the ways they have used them over their long history.

“I know it is hard to look upon them knowing they are what we once were, but in some ways, that makes it even more important that we do so. That we remember our roots,” she suggested, though Twilight still seemed unconvinced. Hmmm… they do have those workhorses here. Perhaps I should take Twilight to visit them later? she kept the thought to herself, resolving take some suitable treats with her for their coming magic lesson.

There was a knock at the door, startling them both. “Princess? Miss Sparkle?” Maya’s voice called. “I know you went to bed late, so I didn’t wake you for breakfast, but… would you be interested in going into town for lunch?”

“Thank you for the offer. We will be up shortly,” Celestia called back, then chuckled. “I fear I’m falling into some very bad habits, my student. I’m not used to sleeping in this late. Normally, by definition I rise with the sun,” she chuckled, trying to make light of their predicament, patting Twilight on the shoulder to indicate it was time to get up.

“You said it,” Twilight agreed, amazed and appalled when she raised her head and saw from the wall clock it was after 11am, her cheeks still warm from where they lay. Keep on these odd hours, and it’s gonna be hard to readjust once we get back home!

* * * * *

After a lunch with their friends at a town ‘deli’ where Twilight found, much to her surprise, she greatly enjoyed a bowl of chicken soup and a ‘tuna salad’ sandwich—guess this body really is giving me cravings for protein! she conceded inwardly with a chuckle—Twilight and Celestia excused themselves, the latter explaining it was ‘time for their weekly magic lesson’ for which they required privacy, Maya directing them towards a small forest clearing about half a mile up-mountain past the village fields and stables.

When they arrived, they set their clothes aside and reverted their transformations so they could do the lesson in pony form, allowing Twilight to practice blocking the magical frequency she’d been broadcasting on while in it. To her surprise, her aura as a pony seemed far more powerful than it had been previously on earth, and she remarked as much to Celestia, pleased to discover she could even teleport a short distance for it.

“Yes. It appears there are two powers at work here…” the sun princess noted as she looked around and tested her own aura, surprised at its strength as well. “Our magic, and… the other energy that pervades this village and the area around it. It would seem we can draw on it much as we can our own mana.”

“Mystical energy,” was the only term Twilight could immediately come up with as they reached the small clearing that was their destination. “I’ve felt it before. Phoenix brought a little over with him in the form of his Magatama—that jewel all the Kurain girls and women are wearing around their necks. It seems to be a natural bat-er-y for it, and I saw Maya draw on its power to channel Firefly that one time.“

“Oh?” Celestia asked, her curiosity instantly piqued by the mention of her old friend and champion.

“Yes. As near as I can tell, it’s a different form of magic, and not one we’re familiar with even though it can and does interact with our own. I accidentally absorbed some of it and found myself able to detect lies,” she remembered, going on to tell the sun princess about the ‘psyche-locks’ she’d been able to use to good effect during her solo investigation of Rainbow Dash’s case. “So its effects seem less direct than indirect, not unlike Lady Requiem’s spellsinging. And there’s another similarity to her power in that it seems to grant foresight and communication into more ethereal, even spiritual realms.”

“Intriguing,” Celestia acknowledged, experimentally spreading her wings to attempt flight in the clearing and finding the level of combined ambient magic sufficient she could do so with relative ease, though she was careful to remain below treetop level and out of sight of prying eyes. “A different form of magic indeed, and one I would certainly be curious to learn more about, particularly if Lady Requiem is somehow tapping it… for that would imply it is available in our world as well,” she mused. “But that is question for later. For now, my student…” she trailed off meaningfully as she came back to earth and sat down opposite Twilight. “Let us make sure there are no further instances of broadcasting your passion, shall we?” She smiled wryly.

“Right,” Twilight said, her cheeks going hot for a moment, but taking a deep breath and assuming a meditative pose opposite her mentor.

Phoenix and Ferro spent the afternoon together, yet alone.

With Maya in training and Twilight and Celestia off by themselves for reasons both seemed somehow reluctant to explain—and was it Phoenix’s imagination, or was Celestia acting a little oddly around him?—the two men spent the afternoon together over at Pearl’s school, where they’d been invited to discuss their professions with the students and then stayed to help the mixed-age pupils work on their studies.

After walking Pearl home and giving her some brief help on her homework, Ferro decided he wanted to work out before dinner, and so did Phoenix—he’d been actually hitting the weight room pretty hard since Twilight had started her visits, wanting to look his best for her—so late in the afternoon they visited the village gym, or at least the closest thing Kurain had.

The guest inn had few amenities for the most part, but it did have a small bedroom-sized workout area consisting of a few free weights and some cardio equipment—a couple old rowing machines and exercise bikes. The village also had a few riding trails meant for the horses but also used for dirt bikes, which Phoenix had occasionally availed himself of when he spent a weekend there.

While they worked out, they talked, getting to know each other for the first time. Ferro, Phoenix was not very surprised to learn, was a former collegiate basketball player who had never played professionally except for a brief stint on a semipro team in Europe. “Long enough to learn it wasn’t for me. But I did have a physical training degree, and went back to school to get into coaching and conditioning,” he explained, going to on to say that with his looks, he had also been a movie extra and tried acting for a time before deciding he was more suited to ‘interpersonal trades’, which to him meant one-on-one work like physical training and massage.

Well, he’s right about his looks… Phoenix thought, feeling a bit envious. Ferro was a tall, slightly graying black-haired man with Italian features, brown eyes and somewhat swarthy, weatherbeaten skin coupled with a hawkish face and nose. He had the right frame for his 6’9” size, neither skinny nor overly-muscled for it, and was a very handsome man by any standard despite being in his late forties.

“So how did you meet the princess?” Phoenix wanted to know as he did some biceps curls, trying not to feel too bad at the observation that Ferro was pumping nearly double the weight. Guess he’d have to be big and strong to keep up with Celestia! Just hope I’m doing that well at his age…

“In the course of my job,” he replied between reps, a smile breaking his lips. “I’d just started as a masseuse and spa worker over at the downtown Gatewater. Was going through a messy divorce about five years ago and I met her then,” he explained, his eyes going brooding for a moment. “She was staying alone at our hotel and a bit of celebrity—said to be rather reclusive European royal who rarely came out to play, but when she did, the staff always went to great lengths to help her because she was so generous with her tips, both monetary and… otherwise,” he chuckled.

“So one day, she comes in for a deep tissue massage. Most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and it surprised me that I even noticed—I thought at that point I’d never be interested in one again after the way my ex-wife had hurt me,” he shook his head in amazement, causing Phoenix to nod ruefully to himself. “Long story there and I’d rather not tell it.

“But anyway… despite what I’ve heard, I’m expecting her to be demanding and aloof, but it turns out she’s anything but. Very open and gregarious, and I’m talking to her as I’m working on her. She sensed I was down about something, asked what was bothering me, and wouldn’t really take no for an answer. Now, we’re not supposed to discuss personal lives with our clients—we’re there for them, after all, not vice-versa—but she insisted. And somehow, it all spilled out,” he admitted with a chuckle. “She went sad and said that ‘such a fine stallion’ as me ‘did not deserve to lose his mare and his foal.’ Naturally, I thought that was really odd wording, but I was just happy to find a sympathetic ear, and from a woman, no less.

“And before you ask, no, nothing happened then. But she did inquire if I’d be interested in meeting… socially, asking me when I got off work. As you might imagine, that surprised the hell out of me—I mean, this gorgeous young lady asking me out? Figured it was a sympathy thing. So what could I say except yes? And the rest…” He closed his eyes and smiled. “The rest, as they say, is history.”

“Surprised the hell out of me too,” Phoenix chuckled as he switched to triceps work, remembering with a shiver when Twilight had first offered herself to him. Wonder what would have happened if I’d given into her right then and there…? “So when did you find out she was…?”

“On her third stay,” he laughed, racking his weights and climbing on an exercise bike. “By that time, we’re getting more serious as she’s inviting me to stay with her in her penthouse suite, though given her infrequent visits, that’s nearly a year and a half later. I get these occasional extremely generous gifts and very interesting letters from her in the meantime, scrolls penned in the most beautiful script, and then her last one says that there is ‘something she needs to tell me before things go any further’…” he trailed off meaningfully.

This time, Phoenix laughed as he strapped himself into a rowing machine. “That sounds nice and ominous!”

“I know, right?” Ferro laughed again as he fiddled with the controls and began to pedal. “So at that point, I’m thinking she’s going to tell me she’s a fugitive, she used to be a man… any number of things. The last thing I’m expecting when she shows up is to sit me down and tell me she is a princess, just not one from earth. ‘I am an ageless, 1800-year old Alicorn ruler from a world of intelligent equines called Equestria’,” he mimicked her voice and intonations surprisingly well. “And she goes on to say that she wields magic and can raise and lower her world’s sun and moon.”

Phoenix burst out laughing again, picking up the pace on his rowing. “About to call for a straightjacket, then?” Wait… if she came here before her sister came back… who controlled the sun and moon while she was gone? his lawyer mind abruptly kicked in.

“You said it!” Ferro rubbed his eyes. “By now I’m wondering what kind of crazy I’ve gotten myself involved with. I’m trying to be polite, but of course I don’t believe her! But then she says ‘seeing is believing’ and all of a sudden there’s this spiral-shaped gold glow coming from her forehead and she transforms into an alicorn right in front of me. So there I am, suddenly face-to-face with this winged white unicorn with flowing multicolored mane and large magenta eyes…” he rubbed his own eyes again at the memory. “So yeah… I’m not too proud to say I fainted.”

“I can’t blame you!”Phoenix agreed, remembering how bad his own reaction had been on arrival in Equestria and seeing Twilight. “So what happened then?”

“Well, I woke up to find myself on the bed staring this not-really-a-horse creature in the face. She calms me down, demonstrates some of her magic and transforms back into a human so I can see it’s really her. We have a long talk. She says she understands if I need some time to process this; that ‘she very much wishes’ for me to be her lover but for that to happen, her ‘true self cannot be hidden’,” he recited, the memory as clear to him now as it was four years earlier.

Wow… Phoenix blinked. I didn’t give Celestia enough credit. I kind of figured he would say she just jumped him right when she met him, but it sounds like she really took her time and tried to do things right… he realized, instantly raising his opinion of the sun princess by several notches as Ferro went on.

“I got the feeling this was a conversation she’d had many times before, because she wasn’t put off by my negative reactions at all. She very patient with me, had an answer for all my questions, even anticipated all my concerns and doubts about ‘being involved with a pony’, pointing out that she was a sapient creature, not an animal, and that some even called her a goddess. And in the end, all I could think to ask her was… why me?”

“And what did she say?” Phoenix asked between exhales and strokes on the rowing machine, pressing him not unlike he would a witness in court.

The tall Italian fell silent for a moment, hitting a button on the bike to increase the resistance. “That she thought I was ‘a fine stallion who deserved far better than the treatment he got’. That she liked and appreciated how I doted on my daughter even though I didn’t get to see her that much, and that she was impressed by my ‘intelligence and emotional maturity’ despite all that had happened to me and that I could still smile at life in spite of it all. Oh, and that ‘there were few stallions who could meet her needs,’ but I was one of them. Really didn’t know what to say to that. In some ways, I still don’t,” he shook his head. “I mean… me, a regular guy, becoming the lover of an immortal, otherworldly equine ruler? Can’t say that was high on my bucket list.”

They both laughed at that. “So now that you know my life’s story… what’s yours, Phoenix Wright? How did you get involved with Celly’s student?” the tall Italian wanted to know.

“Well… it’s a long story.” Phoenix chuckled at the new nickname for the sun princess, thinking he’d have to remember it. “But if you really want to know…” he began to tell his new friend the tale of his stay in Equestria, starting with how he was summoned to defend Rainbow Dash.

Their lesson done, Twilight and Celestia stayed and talked for a little longer, walking the path and admiring the natural scenery as ponies for a while before heading back the way they came. They transformed back into humans before returning to Kurain, and on their way back to the village they encountered the village horses grazing in a large penned field. There were four of them, a stallion, two mares, and… a young foal, who despite his early age was still nearly as large as Big Macintosh. The small equine herd looked up at their approach and began staring at them with their small offset eyes.

Twilight cringed at their sight and scrutiny, and Celestia instantly noticed, steadying her student with a hand on her back. Time to deal with this, I think… “Twilight… come with me,” she commanded, leading her reluctant pupil towards the group, stopping at the fence that penned them.

To Twilight’s surprise, it was not the stallion or mares that approached them, but the foal who trotted up and looked between the visitors curiously, glancing at Twilight but focusing most of his attention on Celestia.

In response, the sun princess produced one of the apples she’d brought for their trip with a quick flare of magic. She offered it to the young colt, who seemed to be staring at her almost in wonder, leaving Twilight reflecting that he seemed to sense something was different about them, his eyes questioning yet reverent. But whatever thoughts were running through his equine mind, he accepted the apple eagerly, biting into it right in Celestia’s hand.

“There’s a good colt,” Celestia replied, scratching the side of his head, causing him to lean into it slightly. “And what you’re thinking is correct, my student—he does know something is different about us. They all do,” she nodded up at the group, then turned away fractionally in what seemed vaguely pony body language, causing his herdmates to come clopping up as well, their horseshoes ringing hard as they impacted the ground. “They sense the magic within us, and it resonates within them,” she noted as they arrived.

The stallion in particular stood tall and puffed out his chest as if to present himself to the sun princess, who smiled and rubbed his neck, offering him a hard candy. “And such a big boy you are,” she said appreciatively as he crunched loudly into it. “A fine stallion who takes care of his herd. You must be very proud of your family,” she pronounced, and he bowed his head as if he understood as the other two mares also gathered around her, each getting her attention in turn.

Uncomfortable, Twilight kept her distance and did not approach the fence, amazed that Celestia was willing to interact with them so readily. “But… princess…” her cheeks were hot. “They’re not…” uncharacteristically flustered, Twilight didn’t even know what she was trying to say.

“Not what?” Celestia asked her gently, not bothered by their close presence or gamey smell at all. “What are you afraid of, my student? The echo in your heart of past times? The reminder of what we once were?” she suggested casually, causing Twilight to look away.

“There is no need for such fears. For if they are once we what were… do they not have the same seed of magic and friendship within them as we? Is their potential ultimately not as great as ours? And why would humanity have bonded with them so readily if they were simply worthless beasts?” she asked gently but pointedly, the foursome now pressing close to her, as if to soak in her presence and the magical radiance they could somehow sense.

“They do have a certain intelligence that goes beyond simply animal needs, and it is that intelligence that humans have prized as much as their size and strength—they can be bonded with, trained and taught to accept a rider, and all they ask for in return is to be taken care of and treated well. Do not think of them as mere beasts, Twilight, for that is an insult to them… and ultimately us as well. Humanity in fact owes much of their development as a race to them, for your own history books will say they made transportation and trade possible to early humans, as well as providing the means for large-scale agriculture and early industry,” she pointed out as her student remained silent, reflecting that Phoenix had said much the same thing.

“They are our roots, Twilight, and one we should freely acknowledge and pay homage to. They are also friends of humanity, and in that…” she trailed off to look pointedly at Twilight.

“In that, they are actually ahead of us, and something we as ponies should yet aspire to be.”

* * * * *

Twilight was still somewhat off-kilter as the group sat down for dinner an hour later. As with the previous night, the meal was delicious for vegetarian fare, but the unicorn’s thoughts kept drifting back to the horses she’d seen. They seem happy enough, she silently granted, but can non-sapient creatures actually feel happiness…?

“So, Princess, would you be interested in seeing the second movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy?” Maya asked, breaking Twilight’s train of thought. “And for our Equestrian guests, this one even has a lot of horses in it!”

“Certainly,” Celestia replied with a smile, though she didn’t miss Twilight tense. “Goodness knows, I can’t just stop with one! I must watch it through to the end, and see how everything is resolved!”

Everyone else chuckled, although Maya noticed Twilight’s laughter was somewhat forced. “Something wrong with another movie, Sparkle?”

“Oh! No, it’s not that, Maya,” Twilight hastened to assure her current hostess. “It’s just… a little personal issue, that’s all.”

Celestia shook her head and put down her fork, resting a hand on her student’s shoulder. “Twilight... are you still so uneasy around the horses of this planet?” she asked gently.

Phoenix went startled while Ferro and Pearl blinked in confusion. “I… I know they shouldn’t bother me, but… seeing them, it just…” Twilight shook her head jerkily, fumbling for words on how to describe it.

Maya, however, nodded knowingly and grinned. “Ah... the Uncanny Valley at work, I see.”

This caused everyone else to blink and stare at her. “I’m sorry, what’s this ‘uncanny valley’ you speak of, Maya?” Celestia asked. “Last I checked, we were in a mountainous area.”

The young mystic shook her head. “I’m not talking about a geographical valley, Your Highness.” She retrieved a pencil and some paper from a nearby cabinet, sitting down between their Equestria guests as she drew a pair of perpendicular lines on the paper, labeled the intersecting point as ‘0%’, and the extremes on each line ‘100%’. She then labeled the lines themselves; the horizontal line she labeled ‘Similarity’, the vertical line ‘Familiarity’.

“Okay, let’s think of this as a linear graph,” Maya said once she was certain she had everyone’s attention. “The horizontal axis represents how much something resembles a human. The vertical axis, in turn, is how familiar with and accepting of it we humans are.” She started at the ‘0%’ point, and started to draw a gentle exponential sloping line; as it grew on the ‘Similarity’ axis, so too did it grow on the ‘Familiarity’ axis as well. “You’re noticing a pattern here, I hope?”

Twilight, now that the subject was being broken down in scientific form, nodded. “The more something resembles a human, the more accepting of it you are,” she stated looking over the graph.

“Right,” Maya said. “But watch this.” As the line neared 100% on the ‘Similarity’ axis, Maya suddenly brought it down in a steep dive on the ‘Familiarity’ axis, dipping below the horizontal axis briefly, before rising back up just as steeply in time for both axes to top out at 100%.

This caused a few blinks from the group. “Why the sudden dip in the graph, Maya?” asked Phoenix.

“That dip is called the Uncanny Valley, Nick,” Maya explained. She began to label certain points on the line with words; things like ‘toy robot’ and ‘bunraku puppet’ were on the initial slope, ‘human’ was at the 100% mark, and at the bottom of the dip was ‘moving corpse’. She then made a box with an arrow pointing to the dip, labeling the box ‘Uncanny valley’.

“The basic idea is this,” Maya went on. “At a certain point of similarity, whatever it is we’re looking at is very similar to a human, but just different enough for the resemblance to an actual human to be disquieting or, well, uncanny. It’s why some people are scared of clowns or zombies, or other things that are mostly but not entirely human in appearance.”

The penny dropped for Celestia, understanding dawning in her normally magenta eyes. “Ah, now I understand,” she said. She took the pencil and another piece of paper, making an identical graph. On it, though, she labeled points like ‘toy pony’ and ‘windigo’, with ‘pony’ at the 100% point, and ‘Horse of Earth’ at the bottom of the dip.

This caused the light to go on in Twilight’s head, too. “You mean… my negative reaction to the horses here is just because I’m seeing something that’s uncannily similar to, but not quite a pony?”

“Exactly!” Maya said with a nod. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I personally don’t like zombies.”

“Really?” Phoenix asked, bemused. “I never would have figured.”

“I don’t think you should,” Twilight mumbled, suddenly remembering the terrifying tale Apple Bloom had once told her. It couldn’t have been real, could it…?

Maya cringed a little. “Well… it’s a combination of the Uncanny Valley, and well… the fact that zombies are a sort of perversion of what we of the Kurain technique can do.”

Twilight nodded slowly. “I think I understand. You allow spirits to enter your bodies to allow others to speak to the departed. But a zombie is a corpse brought back in a parody of life.”

Ferro chuckled. “Well, I honestly doubt you have to worry about zombies, Miss Fey. They’re just myths, after all.”

“Yeah, well…” Maya began dryly, not noticing Twilight tense. “That’s what I thought about unicorns, too.”

The table fell silent at that point. “So, how about that movie?” asked Phoenix, in a far-too-cheery tone. “I’ll make the popcorn!”

Maya shot him a grateful look, and stood up to go to the movie shelf. “Let’s see… here we are!”

Twilight noticed that this volume of the movie was in a red case, rather than green as Fellowship of the Ring had been. “Hm… ‘The Two Towers’?” she read aloud with a blink. “That’s a bit of an odd name. What two towers is it referring to?”

Maya snickered. “The funny thing is, Tolkien admitted at one point he didn’t quite know himself. The general consensus, though, is that it refers to Orthanc, the tower of Saruman in Isengard, and Barad-Dûr, the tower of Sauron in Mordor.” She popped the disc into the player. “I think this is where the story really gets going.”

Celestia laughed. “It’s a shame I can’t show these to Firefly. She’d have loved these stories, I think.”

“Really?” Twilight asked, puzzled. “Wouldn’t she have gotten tired of battles after all the war she fought, though?”

Celestia’s smile grew a bit wry. “That’s the thing about Firefly. She was a warrior, born and bred. While she eventually settled down to raise a family, she always told me that she still hungered for the thrill of the fight. I’d wager my crown she’d enjoy watching the battles, and picking apart strategies.”

Maya looked contemplative… then she grinned. “Well then, princess… who’s to say you can’t find out?” Without waiting for a response, her magatama glowed.

The last time Twilight had seen Maya channel the spirit of a pony, it had taken a few seconds for the transformation to occur. This time, however, the change was nearly instantaneous, perhaps for the fact she had a great deal of ambient mystical energy to draw on in the village. One moment, Maya was standing there, the next, a visibly confused pink pegasus mare with a blue mane was trying to untangle herself from the restricting robes that she’d found herself in.

“What in Equestria—?” the pegasus sputtered, caught off-guard. Maya’s channeling had happened so suddenly, she was still on her hind legs and began to topple over awkwardly.

Phoenix darted forward and caught her before she could hit the ground. “Easy, there, Captain Firefly. Maya’s channeling you again,” he explained.

Firefly blinked a couple of times, focusing on the taller human. “Phoenix Wright?” She looked confused for a moment, then her eyes cleared and she sniffed at the air, her wings flexing for a moment as if to take in the breeze. “Ah… we must be on Earth. The atmosphere here seems so… chaotic.”

That, or you’re standing underneath a ceiling fan! Phoenix didn’t say as he helped her to her hooves.

Celestia was staring in shock for several moments before she composed herself, allowing her hair to change to its flowing, pastel-hued nature. “You always were good at sensing air currents, Firefly.”

“My Princess!” Firefly gasped as she recognized her regent in human form, and attempted to bow, only to realize she was still tangled in Maya’s robes. With a little help from Phoenix, she finally wriggled free of the confining kimono and paid her respects properly, bowing low before her regent. “You’re doing well, I hope?”

Instead of bowing back, Celestia knelt down before Firefly and drew the somewhat startled pegasus into an embrace. “Very well, indeed. It’s so good to see you again, my noble captain.”

Firefly awkwardly returned the hug, unused to such displays of affection from her sovereign. “M-my princess, please... we are in public!”

“Oh, come now, Firefly, we’re not in Canterlot’s throne room right now,” she teased. “We’re among friends in a remote village on Earth, and the last time I saw you was at your state funeral. So let us not stand on ceremony now, my old friend!” she held the pegasus mare tightly, tears of joy in her eyes.

Though touched by the Celestia’s reaction, Phoenix also felt a moment of amusement watching the famous warrior try to force herself to relax in the face of her regent’s heartfelt affection. “As… as you say, Celestia,” Firefly finally managed as the embrace was eventually broken and hasty introductions were made, the pegasus mare looking on Pearl with particular interest, her initially uncertain expression softening at the sight of the young human girl who bowed before her.

“I am honored to meet you all, and I am very happy to see you as well, My Princess. But why have I been brought here to Earth? And why are you here as a human?” she looked around in confusion again at the unfamiliar setting. “The last time I was on Earth, ‘twas as a scout, and the humans were… barbaric. I must say, this is not what I expected to find again,” she said as she took in the well-appointed room and unfamiliar technology.

“Scout?” Phoenix asked, puzzled.

Celestia nodded. “After the war with the Gryphon Empire, I dispatched Firefly as a scout to Earth, looking for possible settlements for Equestrian refugees.” She grimaced. “Her report was… discouraging.”

Firefly nodded. “I witnessed humans eating their own horses or otherwise fighting over the barest scraps of meat, wantonly stealing and killing each other often without any regard for friendship or family…” she said simply, her nose crinkling in disgust. “In my report, I described humanity as irredeemable savages abandoned by Harmony that we should avoid at all costs. For what kind of race does that?”

Something clicked in Phoenix’s mind. “Wait… Princess, do you know when, exactly, you sent Firefly to Earth?”

Celestia looked thoughtful for a moment. “I believe was the year 1316 of your common era.”

Phoenix nodded. “Thought so. You most likely went to Europe, Firefly, and thus were witness to the Great European Famine.”

Firefly’s eyes widened. “Famine? You mean… that wasn’t normal?”

Ferro shook his head. “Not at all. It was our dark ages, yes, but that was a particularly desperate point of our history. A series of very bad weather years caused crops to fail and mass, continent-wide famine resulted. Eating animals, even our own pets and work animals, was for many the only way to stave off starvation. People did what they had to just to stay alive,” he said as Twilight listened, aghast.

Phoenix noted her reaction, deciding there was no point in sugarcoating the truth. “We can’t grow food like earth ponies can. Especially back then, we were dependent on good growing conditions to have enough grain harvest to feed everyone. And when it didn’t happen…” Phoenix trailed off meaningfully, his hand giving Twilight’s a quick squeeze out of Pearl’s view. And then the black plague came...

The pegasus mare looked chagrined, her feathers drooping. “Well… that certainly puts things in perspective. Methinks ‘twas foalish to say that humans were ‘uncivilized, uncultured barbarians who can’t tell the difference between a household pet and food’ in my report,” she recited sheepishly.

Deciding the gloomy atmosphere was getting to be too much, Pearl broke in. “Hey! Didn’t we bring Ms. Firefly here so she could watch The Two Towers with us?”

Firefly blinked in confusion at this. “Watch… Towers?” A quick explanation of what was to happen was provided, as was a recap of the first movie’s events. True to her nature as a military pony, Firefly listened attentively throughout the summary like she was receiving a pre-battle briefing. “I see… well, then! If we’re to watch this ‘movie’, shall we get started?” she said brightly. “’Tis been far too long since I’ve seen battle, and I admit, I’m curious to see how humans depict warfare in fiction.”

“Let’s hope you aren’t terribly disappointed, my captain,” Celestia said with a grin as Phoenix pressed ‘play’ on the remote control, hurrying to the kitchen to prepare some microwave popcorn to share.

10: Temptations

Music: Apart and Absent

Spike was finding himself increasingly moody as Twilight’s absence wore on.

Three days after her departure, the novelty of being on his own and being able to get up, eat and go to bed whenever he wanted had quickly worn off, and to his surprise he found himself missing Twilight almost as much as the rest of her friends, who still stopped by almost hourly to check if Twilight had sent them a letter.

He was forced to disappoint them, but despite the annoyance he affected at being asked—images had to be maintained, after all—he was surprised to find himself disappointed as well, hungry for news. Though he’d never admit it, he was genuinely worried for her and found himself missing her presence...

Even worried that for as much she was apparently enjoying herself, she might decide to stay with her new human coltfriend and never come back.

It was a fear he’d voiced to nopony, and one he knew was ridiculous on its face—Twilight was too attached to her friends, princess and Ponyville to ever leave them, even for Phoenix Wright. He knew she and her friends were adults. He knew that they had private lives, though some kept them more private than others. And yet...

He made a face. Ickiness aside, I should be happy for Twilight, right? I used to think she’d NEVER get a coltfriend, and even wished she would for a long time just to get her out of her books more. But here she finally did! So... why am I not happy now…? the young scribe asked himself for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, rolling from one side to the other in bed before glancing at the clock, wondering if he was ever going to be able to get to sleep.

Ugh… he thought again, sitting up and rubbing his eyes, sensing his mind going in circles and wondering what it would take to settle down. Sleep not coming, he got out of his bed and went downstairs for a glass of warm milk, nursing it slowly before heading back upstairs. He found himself wishing for company, any company, but he was alone in the library—since Twilight was gone, Owlicious was taking a holiday of his own, though Spike hadn’t been able to figure out exactly what that entailed given his only response to being asked was “Hoo!”

Sure wish I had somepony to talk to… he sighed, but after days of just wanting to be left alone, he’d finally gotten his wish. Reluctantly, he headed back upstairs to get back in bed, only to, on a whim, crawl into Twilight’s instead. He’d slept there once or twice when he was having nightmares or was sick, and the familiarity it provided did help.

Taking reassurance in her still-present scent and few strands of mane fur he found on the pillow, he slowly drifted off to sleep. Please Twilight… he silently called to her across the dimensions. Please come home…

Music: Riders of Rohan

Back in the viewing lounge of the Kurain Village Grand Hall, the popcorn bowl was empty as the end credits began to roll.

Firefly stretched her borrowed forelimbs, licking the faint residue of salt from her lips, the remnants of the unfamiliar but surprisingly tasty snack. She would have stood to stretch more of her borrowed body, but Pearl was currently using her shoulder as a headrest, the young mystic having fallen asleep partway through the movie. Firefly had, in response, wrapped her wing around Pearl, tucking her in close as she would do with a pegasus foal.

“So, what did you think, My Captain?” a subdued Celestia asked quietly, trying not to wake Pearl. She would never say so out loud, but seeing the pegasus warrior in such a motherly pose was very ‘d’aww’-inducing, as had heard humans say, very glad the young girl had not been awake to see the brutal battle for Helm’s Deep.

Firefly closed her eyes as scenes from the movie drifted through her mind. “A very compelling tale both for its story and depiction of battle, and I thank Miss Fey for letting me see it,” she acknowledged, still somewhat amazed that she was in fact inhabiting a human body. “Well, regarding King Theoden’s actions… I can partially accept his thinking. Edoras’ position was too open to attack, being at the top of a low hill that could be assaulted from numerous angles. Thus, he sought to force the invaders to strike from a single direction as they would have to at Helm’s Deep,” she noted, then frowned.

“He wished to save all his subjects, and the only way to do so was to shield them behind his most defensible point. An admirable, but ultimately foalish sentiment. For when you have so few defenders, ’tis folly to turtle up against a determined foe that outnumbers you thirty to one,” she shook her head. “In doing so, he gave his enemy a single objective against which they could mass their entire force. Far better for him to have scattered his subjects into the surrounding mountains and engaged in the guerrilla tactics that the company of Éomer used so effectively at the beginning of the movie,” she nodded slowly to herself, speaking in her slightly archaic accent.

Celestia nodded in agreement, somewhat amazed that a fictional battle had sparked such discussion and deep thought, even in herself. “I thought so, too. While King Theoden had his people’s best interests at heart, he was perhaps shaken by the death of his son and not thinking clearly, overzealous in trying to be protective. Had Gandalf not returned with Éomer and the bulk of the Rohirrim when he did... he and his subjects would have been slaughtered.”

“Agreed,” Firefly replied with the air of a captain holding a war council with her ruler. “In effect, he risked the lives of all his subjects on a single battle facing overwhelming odds. If instead he had dispersed his ponies—er, people—into the surrounding hills, he would have ensured at least some would survive, and bought time which he could have then used to wear down the invaders whilst gathering his own army for a decisive blow,” she nodded to herself.

“His conscripts were shaky, but his regular forces were superb. And I must say, the use of Terran horses as war mounts was ingenious, affording grounded soldiers superb mobility and shock effect. And the skill required to be able to both ride and fight from them…” she shook her head as she recalled the human archers firing accurately from their moving mounts. “I daresay we could have used such soldiers in some of our battles against the gryphons.”

A subdued Twilight nodded from where she had snuggled up against Phoenix, trying not to think of the decapitated Uruk-Hai head on a spike and the initial belief that Merry and Pippen were lost, smiling wanly at the memory of Ferro mentioning during the movie that Aragorn’s actor had in fact broken his toes when he kicked the helmet and his cry had been all the more anguished for it. She had read enough to know that the depiction of how the horses were once used in human warfare was accurate, but had not expected to see such a vivid depiction of it, and had found herself pressing close to Phoenix, less for comfort than out of a very Equestrian instinct to protect her stallion as she watched the battle unfold.

I thought the fighting in the first movie was bad enough, but this was an order of magnitude worse… she shivered.

While not a military commander like Firefly, she had read enough about military tactics to see the flaws in Theoden’s strategy as well. “When facing a foe with overwhelming numbers, engaging in a static defense, even behind the strongest fortifications, is a tactic doomed to failure. The Gryphons themselves nearly had that fate befall them at the Siege of Arnau against the Cloven of the Sun,” she recited, not noticing Celestia suddenly stiffen at the mention of the ancient foe.

“In this movie, even if the Deepening Wall hadn’t been breached, the Uruks would still have overrun them through sheer numbers and shock tactics,” she shivered at the memory of the monstrous and merciless super-orcs scaling the walls completely heedless of loss, cutting down the human and elven defenders alike. And somehow, the thought of the ageless elves dying for their mortal human friends was both touching and depressing all at once… “And what would we have done if faced with such an implacable enemy as Saruman and the Uruk-Hai, princess?” Twilight couldn’t help but wonder aloud.

Celestia’s eyes went distant. “With apologies, my loyal student… I’d rather not think about it,” was all she would say, mostly because she knew exactly how she had once dealt with such an existential threat… and what it had done to her. A wizard should know better... and so should a princess... she found herself momentarily brooding and lost in old memories again.

Seeking distraction, the solar diarch turned to Firefly, who appeared lost in thought herself, looking down at the young human girl lying against her. “So, my old friend… aside from the battles themselves, did you enjoy the movie?” she asked quietly, magically draping a blanket over Pearly as she lay against the pegasus mare.

Firefly closed her eyes again. “‘Twas a tale worthy of remembrance and song, and one I would wish to see the beginning and end of. Though oddly… ’twasn’t the battles that I shall remember the most,” she began, going strangely downcast. “No, methinks the scenes that will stick with me are those with the young captain Faramir. Two of them in particular are quite vivid in my mind.” She paused and bit her lip in an uncharacteristic display of nervousness… or was it shame? “The first is the memory of him being chastised by his father. That scene caused me to… think about my own harsh words to Rainbow Dash in a different light.”

Celestia blinked, noting at once her old captain’s change of demeanor. “Harsh words to Rainbow Dash? This is the first I’ve heard of this,” she said, looking at Twilight, who suddenly found the floor fascinating. “Why did you not tell me in your report, my student?” she asked, the barest note of reproach in her voice.

“… It seemed to me like it was a personal issue between Dash and Firefly,” Twilight replied carefully. “I didn’t think it was necessary to tell you about it, since I thought it was resolved.”

“It was, thanks to Captain Spitfire,” agreed Firefly. “A fine mare and a worthy successor, if her willingness to challenge me was any indication. But seeing Denethor so unfairly scold Faramir… it made me realize that I was overly harsh with my criticisms of Rainbow Dash and her dreams. In the words of Frodo’s friend Sam, perchance she does deserve the chance to ‘show her quality’,” she nodded slowly.

Celestia frowned a little, making a note to pay the rainbow-maned speedster and current Wonderbolts captain a visit to get their side of the story. “And what was the other scene involving Faramir that stuck with you the most?” she asked.

To her surprise, Firefly actually looked a little… guilty. “’Twas… when Faramir tried taking the Ring from Frodo. It… reminded me of something that happened when I was in training for the Royal Guard, prior to the formation of the Bolt Knights and the start of the Gryphon War...”

Music: Firefly’s Lament

Celestia’s eyes widened as her mind turned back several hundred years. “Ah… I see… you refer to your little incident with the Alicorn Amulet. Yes, I can understand how you would draw the comparison.”

The others in the room exchanged confused looks. “Tia, what’s the ‘Alicorn Amulet’?” Ferro asked.

The sun princess sighed. “It is a dark magic artifact that was created several hundred years prior to Luna’s… fall,” she explained, flaring her invisible horn to project a picture of it. “The amulet is inhabited by an ancient and rather evil alicorn spirit. It empowers the native magic of the pony who wears it, putting them on parity with an alicorn, hence the name. Earth ponies become unbelievably strong and durable, unicorns gain an incredible increase in magical output, and pegasi achieve feats of flight and weather control far beyond what they could normally do. It is a powerful artifact… but such power has drawbacks.” And I do NOT approve of how Luna now plans to use it… she kept the thought to herself. If she is wrong about her prospective apprentice, it could backfire badly on all of us…

“Let me guess,” deadpanned Phoenix. “The power goes to their head, quite literally, and over time brainwashes them into becoming power-hungry megalomaniacs?”

It wasn’t often anyone got to see Celestia pause in surprised silence. “That… is essentially correct, Mr. Wright,” she finally said. “It possesses and consumes them, turning its host into a puppet of its dark will much like the One Ring does… except it recognizes no external master, seeking power for itself and no other. How did you know?”

Phoenix rubbed his eyes. “Standard narrative fiction trope,” he replied with a sigh. So what I’m saying, Princess, is that Equestria is rather cliche… “Awesome power boosts often come with some sort of drawback, usually to the person’s mind,” he noted, idly wondering what kind of effect the amulet would have on a human.

Firefly nodded ruefully. “Yes, well… there’s something you should understand, Phoenix Wright. Tell me, during your stay in Equestria, did you perchance visit Canterlot?”

Phoenix arched an eyebrow, not sure where their channeled guest was going. “I did, yes.”

“Then given your sharp mind, ’tis certain you noticed that despite our mare-heavy species, the majority of the Royal Guard are stallions?”

“I did notice,” Phoenix answered, scratching his chin. “And in hindsight, it’s odd. I mean, if stallions are so few and protecting them so important to Equestrian society… then why are there so many in potentially dangerous professions like the police and military?” he mused as Ferro nodded in agreement of his own.

“A valid question,” Celestia spoke up; she, too, had instinctively drawn Ferro closer as the movie had worn on was now holding his hand in both of hers. “And one with a slightly backwards answer. It is because the instinct to protect stallions is very strong in Equestrian society that they are in such roles. As it is anathema to endanger one, their presence as soldiers and constables makes trouble much less likely… at least with other ponies. Thus, they are very effective peacekeepers just by the fact they are stallions. Fear not, they are well-trained and quite able to deal with matters in case violence does break out. But if, goddess forbid, it came to war…” she trailed off, scarcely able to imagine what enemy could threaten Equestria in that day and age, “it would be the mares who do the bulk of the fighting.”

Twilight nodded her agreement, taking the opportunity to snuggle up closer to Phoenix while Pearl was asleep. “What most ponies don’t know is that there are actually more mares than stallions in the Guard. The thing is, most of the mares are undercover security, disguised as maids, chefs, and other servants that everypony expects to see in a palace, and would never suspect of being able to lay a grown stallion out on the floor with a single blow,” she explained, her voice turning mirthful at the end. “They belong to the PSD—the Plainclothes Security Division of the Royal Guard.”

Firefly chuckled a little. “Yes, ’twas the case in my day as well. Back then, though, all of the mares were plainclothes security, and the armored guard was reserved for stallions alone. There were no exceptions to that… at least, not until I came along.”

Phoenix couldn’t help but smirk as he squeezed Twilight’s hand. “A rebel who didn’t like following the rules, huh?”

The channeled captain looked at their held hands, then to him, giving the human lawyer a knowing grin. “Methinks we have something in common then, Phoenix Wright…”

Phoenix, Twilight, Celestia and Ferro listened raptly as Firefly told the story of how, frustrated and full of fury at the harsh treatment visited by her drill sergeant during basic training, she had been seduced by the amulet and nearly fallen prey to its power only to be saved by the love of her friend and future Lieutenant, throwing off its influence before it could consume her.

“Now fully focused on my task, I graduated at the top of my class and, with the proverbial wind at my back, I proceeded to make Sergeant straight out of basic training, and shot through the ranks faster than anypony before or since,” Firefly recalled fondly, her chest puffing up in pride. “The Sergeant Major was indeed correct in that I had to fight many duels to start, but I won them all, and with them, my place.”

Twilight sucked in a breath. “That was dangerous.” Seeing Phoenix’s quizzical expression, she clarified. “Aerial duels consisted of two pegasi armed with wingblades trying to knock each other out of the sky. They were the pegasi equivalent of unicorn magic duels, used to settle questions of honor or worthiness as recently as a few centuries ago. Fatalities were rare, but wounds were frequent. Some pegasi were permanently crippled from being struck too hard in the wings.”

You know, for a supposedly peaceful society that hasn’t had a murder in centuries, Equestria has sure seen its share of fighting! Phoenix could only shake his head. I wonder if duels like that were a big reason why—give ponies and especially pegasi controlled outlets for their natural aggression and a way to settle disputes?

“You are correct, Miss Sparkle. But be assured I did no permanent harm except to my opponents’ pride,” she closed her eyes and grinned. “Within mere months, I had achieved the rank of Master Sergeant and was well on my way to being named Captain of the Guard, but then... the Gryphon Empire struck. ‘Twas a very well-planned attack—their assassins slew many of our generals and nobles in their first strike and their legions outnumbered our active-duty forces considerably, allowing them to strike all along the border at once and their initial invasion to overrun large tracts of Equestria,” she recited, causing Celestia to nod ruefully, her eyes closed as she remembered the near-disaster that had befallen her ponies in the first days of the invasion.

“Our leadership decimated and forces reeling, I was tasked with forming an elite team of first-response flyers made up of the very best warriors from the Equestrian Aerial Corps and pegasi regiment of the Armored Guard; one that could launch lightning raids or rapidly intercept any Gryphon approach, buying time for reinforcements to be brought up. And that’s how the Bolt Knights were formed.”

Phoenix whistled in appreciation. A legendary pegasus indeed… think I get now why she so jealously guards the legacy of her Bolt Knights even in death! “I knew you founded the Knights during the war… but certainly not the events leading up to it…” he shook his head, trying and failing to imagine himself as a pegasus warrior. “What you did… I never could, Firefly. I’m no fighter.” He went a little downcast as he spoke. And truth be told, I’m afraid to fly…

“Phoenix…” Twilight shook her head and squeezed his hand tighter. “I’ve never known a fiercer fighter than you,” she told him, causing her coltfriend—she was thinking of him like that now!—to offer a wan smile back.

“Thanks Twilight. Maybe in a courtroom, yes. But to physically defend someone…” he shook his head again.

The channeled pegasi warrior glanced at Twilight, then to him again. “Sometimes it is merely a matter of having something to fight for, Phoenix Wright,” she noted, favoring the human lawyer with a grin. “I learned that in my struggle with the amulet. Ultimately, we do not know what we are capable of until we face the choice to fight or lose all we hold dear.”

“She’s right, Phoenix. I know I certainly didn’t!” Twilight reflected as she remembered her battle against Nightmare Moon. “I read about some of your battles, Captain Firefly. It’s said you and your Knights were instrumental in turning the tide of the Gryphon War!”

Firefly bowed her head. “Thank you, Twilight Sparkle. But ’tis not that simple. It took much sacrifice and many acts of heroism, and a pony must give credit where due—in truth, ‘twas the stalwart earth pony defense of Stalliongrad that ‘turned the tide’,” she corrected, her eyes closing for a moment as Celestia nodded in silent agreement, neither noticing the surprised look that passed between Ferro and Phoenix.

“Still, ‘twas shameful that I let the Amulet tempt me. But in the end, methinks it taught a very valuable lesson: appearances can be deceiving. The Amulet presented itself as a friend but wanted to use me for its own ends, while the Sergeant Major, whom I thought hated me, was actually trying to look out for me.” She chuckled and shook her head. “‘Tis a strange world, to be sure.”

“Indeed it is,” Celestia agreed somewhat ruefully, closing her eyes in memory. “For me as well. I was very surprised to receive the amulet. I had thought it destroyed with the defeat of King Sombra. Wishful thinking, it would seem. But nonetheless… I was very impressed to learn you had thrown off its influence by sheer force of will, my Captain. A lesser pony would have been consumed by it. It was then I began to follow your career closely, expecting great things from you. You did not disappoint.”

“Thank you, My Princess,” Firefly bowed her head in acknowledgement.

Celestia nodded sagely, then glanced at the clock. “While it is wonderful to see you again, my old friend, perhaps you should let Maya Fey have her body back? It’s nearly midnight and I sense her mana weakening. I’m sure channeling you is taxing her and she needs her sleep.”

Firefly’s eyes widened, as Phoenix and Ferro both spun to look at the clock themselves. “Well, dang,” the lawyer said in disbelief. “I guess time really can get away from you.”

“Indeed…” Firefly agreed, carefully shrugging away from a still-sleeping Pearl, then pulling a blanket up over her with her mouth. “Time has little meaning where I now reside, but the opportunity to visit the living realm was appreciated. Please tell Maya Fey I would like to meet her someday, and not just inhabit her. But until then…”

Firefly turned to Celestia, who stood to face her. “My Princess…” She opened her wings and sketched her human regent a formal bow. “’Twas an honor to see you again.”

“And you as well, my noble captain,” there was a glistening in Celestia’s eyes again as she knelt to hug Firefly, who accepted the embrace somewhat less stiffly than she had previously. “If Miss Maya is willing, perhaps we can meet again.”

“I would like that,” Firefly smiled. “The Summerlands are wonderful, and I am aware that Equestria is at peace. But know this, my princess…” she took on an odd smile. “Though my time may be long past, my fondest wish is to feel the rush of battle again… to be able to serve you in war once more.” With that, her spirit departed and her borrowed body almost instantly reverted to Maya’s… causing Phoenix to blush as he realized that she was was quite naked, quickly averting his eyes. Smirking, Twilight took care of it by magically wrapping the young mystic in a throw blanket as Maya’s eyes fluttered.

“Oh… is it over already…?” she blinked tiredly, seeing the movie end credits still rolling on the screen, not quite cognizant that she was unclothed.

“It’s over,” Phoenix confirmed, his cheeks still warm.

“Hey Maya… didn’t you say before that channeling ponies was very difficult? So how were you able to hold it for hours here?” Twilight had to ask.

She blinked blearily, forcing herself to focus. “Because... channeling is much easier in the village given its natural concentration of mystical power to draw on. That’s why Kurain was originally built on this site. Which is not to say it wasn’t exhausting. So if you’ll excuse me…” she lay down and fell asleep right then and there, curling up on the rug.

Music: Resistant

As Phoenix and Ferro took the two Fey girls back to their bedrooms, Celestia and Twilight retreated to their motel room, getting ready for bed.

For Twilight’s part, she might have been brooding over the movie again had it not been for Firefly’s presence and the story she told, reflecting that her tale had driven home the fact that Celestia was correct—that pony history was indeed far from peaceful not too many centuries past… and not every problem could be solved by simple magic. Celestia herself seemed lost in thought, the young mage couldn’t help but notice, sitting in the chair in front of the fireplace, her expression distant as she stared straight into the flames.

Well, she just saw somepony she thought she never could again… Twilight reflected as she emerged from the washroom, dressed in Maya’s old pajamas once more while Celestia had again adorned herself in her sheer nightgown, briefly drawing Twilight’s eye despite her other thoughts. That’s something I never really considered about her ageless life; that she has watch her friends and loved ones die… and she can’t follow them, ever.

“What troubles you, My Princess?” she asked in a slightly humorous tone to break the mood, echoing Firefly’s slightly archaic address of her.

Celestia smiled at that. “Old friends, old memories,” she answered simply. “The Gryphon War… ‘twas a terrible time, and yet… some of our greatest friendships were forged then. And even without the elements of harmony, methinks ’twas still the magic of friendship that in the end won the day,” she said, unconsciously lapsing back into the speech of the long-ago era.

Twilight magically pulled the other chair up beside Celestia’s, joining her mentor by the fire. She’s right. There was nopony who could wield the elements back then. And that meant… the war had to be fought and won through force of arms. Unless… her brow suddenly furrowed. “I can only imagine, princess. Though I guess I do have one question, if it’s not too personal…” she hesitated, but decided she needed to know. “Why didn’t you intervene in the Gryphon War? I mean… it wasn’t like you were facing a foe backed by an evil alicorn or anything, so I would have thought you could have ended it quickly...” she offered tentatively

Celestia closed her eyes. “The simple answer is… I could not,” she said in a very subdued voice. “The Gryphons planned well. Beyond that… forgive me, but I prefer not to answer,” she finished, remembering only too keenly the shame and helplessness over her inability to protect her ponies she had felt then…

Remembering how many lives were lost for her own ill-preparedness and that of her nation. If only Luna had been there then, she would never have allowed it to happen...

If Twilight still had pony ears, they would have fallen flat. “Oh, um… I’m sorry, princess,” she bowed her head.

Celestia’s smile returned as she grasped and squeezed her student’s hand, her mind and speech returning the present. “It is all right, Twilight. After all, if there is one thing I have learned about you over the years, it is that your curiosity is never satisfied,” she gave her student a knowing grin, turning fractionally towards her. “It is one of your more endearing qualities, and one I have sought to actively encourage—that you seek knowledge for both its own sake, and that of others. There are times I do not think you understand what a rare and special gift that truly is.”

Or how special YOU truly are… the Sun Princess thought again, feeling herself growing closer to her student once more. No other student I have shared so much with… no other student I have been able to share THIS with… she looked down at her human form again, delighting in the feel of the radiant heat of the fire against her bare skin.

Twilight blushed, not just from the compliment but from her teacher’s pose, the angle and shadowed lighting drawing close attention to it. “Thank you, Princess.” A scion of fire herself, the heat of the flames felt good to her as well even in human form.

Pity Phoenix isn’t here to snuggle with… she thought, unconsciously doing so with Celestia instead. “And coming here and being with Phoenix has certainly been a learning experience…” she chuckled, feeling her desires start to stir in memory of their still-recent encounters. One more day and we can be together again...

The sun princess smiled at that, allowing Twilight to rest her head against her shoulder, turning to kiss her head. “You don’t know how happy I am to share this with you, Twilight…”

“Actually, I’ve kind of gotten that impression, Princess,” this time it was Twilight’s turn to give a knowing grin. “Judging by how much you’ve been… er… showing off at times,” she blushed.

Celestia flushed as well, chuckling softly. “Well, yes…” It was the certainly the truth, though her intention in doing so had been to teach… mostly. “I hope I haven’t made you too uncomfortable. I’ve been trying to show you by example it’s okay to enjoy the human form,” she offered. "Though I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t also enjoying the chance to tease..."

Twilight’s cheeks went a deeper hue. She’d certainly come to appreciate the human form and all its benefits, and conceded she wouldn’t have done so well to start without her mentor’s rather varied examples. But I still don’t think I wear this body as well as Celestia does… she thought, noting appreciatively again Celestia’s large size and ample curves.

There was no denying it. In the end, she had enjoyed Celestia’s repeated teasing; it had even taught her some things about human sexuality she had turned around and used on Phoenix. And for all they had shared, she too felt closer to the sun princess than she ever had. Close enough, in fact, to…

Twilight swallowed hard at where her thoughts were going, but she couldn’t stop them. For there was something undeniably exotic, to say nothing of outright naughty to the idea of exploring her newly-discovered sexuality with her mentor in human form…

And a single glance at Celestia’s warm cheeks, quickened breathing, and pinkish hue of her aura told her the idea was shared.

Her mind starting to quickly overheat, Twilight’s suddenly surging desires overrode her caution. W-well, we’re both apart from our coltfriends right now. S-so why NOT do what mares do when their stallion is away…?

“Princess…” she pressed close against her human regent, invitation implicit in her stance and unnaturally dilated pupils, her aura starting to turn pink as well. “You’ve done so much for me and, let’s face it, you’ve been teasing me pretty good too. So if you would like…” she stepped forward hesitantly.

Mustering all her will, a badly flushed Celestia rose and took a very deliberate step away, blocking her student’s aura with her own. “Twilight… please,” she plead in a slightly shaky voice, her own cheeks rosy and arousal evident. “We cannot.”

Twilight’s expression dropped as Celestia pulled away. “But… why not?”

The sun princess held her palms up in a halting gesture, though there was a visible tremor in her hands as she tried to keep her own surging desires in check, her mating magic but a hairsbreadth from being turned on her student. “Because... I have seen it happen many times before. Indeed, it has happened to me before,” she said, carefully keeping distance between them. “You have mated for the first time, and now you want more. You now see everypony, even your friends and teachers through a sexual lens, and want to explore the pleasures of the flesh in full.

“Believe me, I understand, my student. It is a wonderful and heady time for any pony, full of exploration and discovery. But it is also a potentially dangerous one,” she told her prize pupil. “Especially here. For if you are going to make a mistake; if you are going to do something you should not… it will be now, when you do not yet know your boundaries… or are otherwise unaware of the possible consequences,” she told her student, watching her go crestfallen. “Please understand, I speak from experience. I have allowed that boundary to slip with my students before. And greatly regretted it,” her eyes went sad for a moment.

Twilight blinked, surprised. “Y-you have?”

“Indeed,” Celestia confirmed, her head nodding quickly once before going downcast. “My previous student was such a case. Her name… was Sunset Shimmer. A young unicorn mare almost as magically talented as you, but even more ambitious and driven. When she had her first heat, she came to me for help, and… I fear I had a moment of weakness.

“It had been too long since I had a lover, she was young and needy, and… things happened that should not have,” she admitted with a bowed head, a moment of sadness and shame in her eyes. “I realized my mistake quickly, but the damage was done. She wanted more intimacy, more power, more… everything, really, and when I would not give it… she left. Though you are not her, I… would be lying if I said I did not fear the same result,” she finished, reflecting that the whole episode had been her impetus for taking a new human lover, for fear that her unmet needs might get the better of her again.

There’s that name again… Sunset Shimmer… Twilight recognized despite her disappointment. Trixie’s bane, and now Celestia’s too? She put the question aside for later. “But I’m not her. And why would us together be so bad?” she asked earnestly, putting a hand to her chest, her own arousal obvious to Celestia, who was having a hard time keeping her eyes away. “I’m an adult, not a filly, and It’s perfectly normal for mares to form relationships in Equestria… especially when their stallions aren’t available. So why not here as well?” she still held out hope.

“Normal for us, yes,” Celestia agreed. “But for humans…” she trailed off, trying to focus her thoughts on Ferro and her desire to be loyal to him.

Despite her own excitement, Celestia’s last sentence gave Twilight pause. Ponies were naturally polyamorous, a requirement given the high mare-to-stallion ratio, with normally a single stallion shared among all mares within a herd… and sometimes, even without one. Mare-on-mare relationships were also fairly normal in Equestria for the same reason—couples like Lyra and Bon-Bon or Vinyl and Octavia were evidence enough of that—even within herds as a means of cementing herd bonds. Neither was seen as unusual or threatening in Equestrian society, but to the more monogamous humans with their even gender ratios…

She’s right… Twilight belatedly realized, her shoulders slumping, her breathing slowing and aura returning to its normal hue. Whether or not it’s okay by Equestrian standards, this isn’t the time or place for it. Things are still too new, and there’s too many things that could go wrong. Have to remember that I came here to be with Phoenix, and he’s the one I’m in love with! she reminded herself forcefully, deciding she’d at least in part been redirecting her temporarily thwarted passion for him on the princess.

And that’s the other problem. If I DID do something with Celestia, Phoenix might not take it well at all, and in all honesty… I’m not sure I would either when all was said and done. It would change our relationship in ways we can’t predict, and I don’t want to lose her as a teacher any more than she does. I guess I am taking after Celestia that being here and taking human form is making me think and do things I wouldn’t normally… she rubbed her head ruefully. “I’m… I’m sorry, Princess,” she offered, her voice contrite. “Guess I’m needy too after being away from Phoenix, and… I got carried away. Believe me when I say I don’t want want to hurt things with him… or with you,” she bowed her head low.

Celestia exhaled sharply in relief and at least a mild pang of regret. “Thank you for understanding, Twilight,” she replied, wanting to hug her but thinking immediately better of it. “Let us remain teacher and student, then.” For now, part of her immediately added, unwilling to quite let go of the idea.

“So… what now?” Twilight asked, having the same thought as she sat on the bed away from Celestia. “If you don’t think we should sleep together...”

“I feel it is best to not tempt fate, Twilight,” the sun princess stated carefully, her cheeks still rosy. “As such... I believe I will spend this night with Ferro.”

“But princess… Maya said unmarried couples aren’t allowed to sleep together!” Twilight reminded her, her own face still flushed.

For the first time that night, Celestia gave her patented coy grin. “Well, my student… as worked up as you just left me, I sincerely doubt we’ll be sleeping much!” she noted, winking and teleporting out in a flash of gold light.

Author's Note

One thing I tend to do in a lot of my writing is try to tie my various works together. The inclusion of Firefly in these chapters is part of that. It was actually Leo Archon's idea to bring her in, and he wrote a good portion of these scenes, but I don't regret her inclusion at all. It directly led to two side stories of which I am very proud.

If you would like to know the story of Firefly, including the tale she related here of being put in her place by her drill sergeant, you can find it here:

TBefore the Storm: The Rise of Firefly

Before the Wonderbolts, there were the Bolt Knights. And before Rainbow Dash, there was Firefly. The story of Rainbow Dash's ancestor, the origin of the Wonderbolts, and the coming of the Pony/Gryphon War.

Firesight · 259k words · 299 17 · 3.5k views

It's a military thriller and in my not-so-humble opinion one of the best war epics on site, detailing how Firefly became the warrior she was set against a backdrop of coming war with the Gryphon Empire. And when you're done with that, proceed to the story of the Great Pony/Gryphon War proper:

TInto the Storm: The Flight of Firefly

Before the Wonderbolts, there were the Bolt Knights. And before Rainbow Dash, there was Firefly. The story of Rainbow Dash's ancestor, the founding of the Wonderbolts, and the outbreak of the Great Pony/Gryphon War.

Firesight · 173k words · 128 4 · 1.4k views

Both stories are well-written and well-received. If you like war epics full of well-thought tactics and colorful characters, check them out.

11: Karmic Encounters

Music: How She Always Felt

How do I keep getting myself in these situations? was all Phoenix could think as he carried a blanket-wrapped Maya in his arms, trying mightily not to think about how about her state of undress or that she had stirred and snuggled up to him during the walk to her room.

He and Ferro had already attended to a sleeping Pearl, the latter picking her up like his own child while Phoenix led him to her room—with her mother imprisoned for trying to frame Maya for the murder of Turner Grey, Pearl had been moved to Fey Manor along with her caretakers, where she could now be raised by not just Maya, but the entire village. He then returned for Maya, still lying curled up on the carpet, and picked her up to take her to bed. Uncomfortable at the thought of touching or moving her in such a state, he considered leaving her there or just shifting her to the couch, but decided that might raise too many questions with the manor staff if they found her there unclothed the next morning.

Which isn’t to say they wouldn’t have some questions if they saw me NOW! he grimaced, hoping he wouldn’t encounter any of them on the walk upstairs.

Fortunately, he didn’t. He also worried he was going to have to put her down to open the door, but it was ajar—having such a tight-knit community, they didn’t usually lock doors in Kurain—and he pushed it open with his shoulder, hitting the room light with his elbow so he could see well enough to tuck her in, hoping the light didn’t wake her.

Her room was decent-sized, certainly bigger than most in Kurain given her stature as the heir-in-waiting to the title of Kurain Master. To his surprise, she’d done some decorating since the last time he’d been there and now had on display a lot of keepsakes of their cases—the guidemap to Global Studios, Steel Samurai trading cards, a Berry Big Circus poster and card deck autographed by Max Galactica, various newspaper clippings and photographs, and, most notably… a slightly washed-out picture a tabloid photographer had snapped of their reunion after her release from Shelly de Killer’s captivity:

He smiled at that as he laid her gently on her bed, taking great care to leave her covered, remembering how relieved and happy he was to have her back. There were also some souvenirs from Equestria, though she had been careful not to openly display any pictures from there. A wise precaution; he had stashed the group photograph that Trixie signed into his personal case memoirs, though other things, like Fluttershy’s feather or Pinkie’s rock he displayed openly since nobody could tell where they came from. In Maya’s case, she had a now-half-eaten jar of Pinkie’s rock candy, Vinyl’s magenta shades, one of her music crystals and, somewhat to his surprise, a selfie photograph of them together from the pony DJ’s earlier visit as a human.

The most prominent pictures of all, however, were of her lost family; her sister and mother… and of him.

Wow… guess I never really knew how much of her life was wound up in mine… he reflected as he pulled up the covers over the young mystic and immediately turned to leave.

He had just hit the light switch and was about to walk out the door when she stirred, reaching out and grabbing his hand. “Nick…?” she called to him in the darkness, weakly.

“Y-yes?” He froze, suddenly keenly aware of her presence again.

He could hear her propping herself up on the bed. “Nick, listen, I… I know I’ve been a brat over Sparkle. And I’m sorry. It’s just that… look, I know she needs you, but… I need you too…” she clutched his hand harder, causing a moment of panic in Phoenix as she thought his teenaged assistant was offering herself to him.

“Wh-what do you mean?” he asked, trying but not quite succeeding in keeping the nervous catch out of his voice.

Unaware of his sudden anxiety, she went on. “I mean that wh-when sis died, you and your cases… they gave me purpose. Something else to focus on instead of the fact I’d lost her,” she explained. “Helping you was a way to help others and to honor her memory… carry on her work. Then Sparkle came along, and, well… I thought she was going to replace me in your life,” she told him, slumping.

He looked at her, startled by the statement despite his nerves... and to his own shock, an element of excitement as well. “R-replace you?”

She took a deep breath and took the plunge, finally voicing her fears to him. “Y-yeah. I mean, she was your co-counsel there instead of me, she can do all sorts of things I can’t, you really like her, and… I mean, if she’s there, then w-what do you need me for?” she sniffled, clutching his hand with her own.

Phoenix stared back at her for a moment, his heart starting to slow back to normal and excitement starting to recede… if only just. Oh, THAT kind of need! he realized in no little relief. It brought a question to the forefront of his mind, one that he’d been ignoring as well—what kind of relationship could he and Twilight ultimately have, given the distances and differences involved? Being occasional lovers is one thing, but anything more than that would be… problematic… he instinctively knew. “Maya, listen…” he sat down at her bedside, pulling up a chair from her desk. “This is as new for me as it is for you, and we’re feeling our way along right now.

“But whatever the future may hold, whatever happens between me and Twilight… I promise I’m not going anywhere,” he swore to her, placing his hand over hers. “My life here defending clients, while hers is in Equestria with her friends and the princess. And whatever relationship we form is going to have to reflect that…” he said as much to himself as to her. “She was co-counsel in Equestria because she needed to be, and I couldn’t have won without her. But the same holds true for you, Maya—I’d’ve lost most of my cases if you weren’t there… or weren’t there to channel your sister,” he reminded her a little wanly, motioning to the souvenir-filled room around them.

“R-really…?” she asked him, belatedly realizing she was in fact unclothed after channeling Firefly. “I-I mean, you want me there as much as…” she trailed off, confused by the thoughts suddenly going through her head.

Phoenix felt his excitement start to rise again and cursed himself for it. “I want to be with Twilight, yes,” he reminded himself as much as her, still mentally reeling from his renewed reaction—where is this COMING from? I’ve NEVER seen Maya as anything sexual before!—“but that doesn’t mean she’s going to replace you in my life, or behind the defense bench. You’re my assistant and friend, Maya, and nothing changes that. I promise,” he squeezed her hand, trying to keep a tremor from it.

He sensed Maya smiling in the darkness. “Pinkie promise?” she asked, a blush on her own cheeks as she sensed his aura intensifying again.

He chuckled at that. “Well, I’m not sticking a cupcake in my eye, but… Pinkie promise,” he told her. “And that means I have to my hold my promise…” he sentence was cut off by his phone ringing, startling them both.

After a second of fumbling in the darkness, he finally answered the call. “Uh… hello?”

“FOREVERRRRRR!” Pinkie Pie’s voice sounded before the connection cut. They gaped at each other for a moment… then burst out laughing, their tension ended.

“Good night, Nick,” a still-giggling Maya told him, curling up under her covers.

“Sleep well, Maya.” Phoenix answered before quietly leaving the room and heading for his own, giving the teenaged mystic one last look before departing.

Back in the guest inn, Twilight lay in bed, troubled.

She had thought about joining Phoenix as Celestia had already joined Ferro, but in the end did not, deciding she needed to be alone to think things over. What had happened, or almost happened with Celestia bothered her on many levels, not the least of which was how readily she was suddenly willing to set aside her feelings for Phoenix to have a fling with her teacher.

And what would HE think if he knew I suddenly got turned on by a longtime friend just a day after we finally made love? she shook her head, certain he wouldn’t even begin to understand. Hay, I’m not even certain I do…

Despite that, she couldn’t stop herself from stretching out her magical senses in Celestia’s direction, trying to get a sense of what she was doing with her human lover, only to hit a magical barrier her teacher had apparently erected around their room to prevent just that. A good idea… Twilight conceded, mentally scolding herself for trying to impinge on her mentor’s privacy. Not just for me either; Kurain practitioners like Maya do seem to have some magical awareness. So with that shield, they shouldn’t sense anything… she nodded to herself, still fighting an odd sense of being left out.

Still, no matter how much she thought about it, she had to admit Celestia’s reasoning was sound. You have mated for the first time, and now you see all your friends and teachers through a sexual lens… want to explore the pleasures of the flesh in full, Celestia had explained, and Twilight knew she was right—for as much as she had already experienced, she wanted even more… and now worried that she didn’t much care from where.

A very heady time, but a very dangerous one as well… for you do not yet know your boundaries… the princess had warned her, and Twilight now recognized how right she was and how close they had come to doing something they might both sorely regret.

But then… what ARE my boundaries? What’s okay and what’s not? she suddenly wondered, deciding she needed to settle that question before she was with Phoenix again, still debating whether to tell him what had happened, uncertain how he would take it.

In Equestria, such an encounter would not rate more than a few raised eyeridges, and that would be more for exceeding an acceptable teacher/student relationship than the two being together. Celestia’s status as an ageless alicorn aside, it was a given that mares mated with one another since stallions were so few, and that scarcity also meant that stallions were shared amongst mares, both within a herd… and, though it was at least mildly frowned on, without. In fact, it was not at all uncommon for stallions to be shared among friends; many a herd had started from such arrangements.

But for humans, things were different. They tended to be monogamous and had much stronger societal strictures against multiple partners. Their family units consisted of a single matched pair that bore and raised their children, and there were very strong taboos against intimacy outside of marriage, which seemed to be as much a religious institution as a societal one.

I knew this would be an issue from day one… she reflected, staring up at the ceiling while listening to the dying crackling of the fire. Just like I told Rarity—human mating and dating rules are completely different than ours, and if I’m not careful I could easily run afoul of them and upset Phoenix without meaning to…

Then another troubling question reared its head. I’m wondering how Phoenix would react to Equestrian norms, but what about the reverse? I mean, would I be willing to share Phoenix with MY friends…? she suddenly asked herself, and got thoroughly mixed feelings in response, a mare’s desire to share warring with a more selfish and perhaps human-influenced one to keep Phoenix to herself.

Huh… would they even be interested…? Well, I know Rarity would! she grinned, remembering her reaction to Phoenix giving her the royal treatment after fixing his suit, looking all but ready to swoon as he called her beautiful and kissed her hoof in gratitude. Fluttershy seems to really like him too, but sexually…? she found she had no idea, quickly moving on to her other friends. Pinkie’s good with anything as long as it’s fun for everypony. Dash I’m pretty sure is more into mares and Applejack… she grinned wanly.

Near as I can tell, Applejack doesn’t have any hang-ups at all. If she likes you, she’ll have you and make no bones about it. I guess in some ways, that’s the ultimate expression of honesty… she shook her head and chuckled.

Her smile vanished. But the thing is… I keep thinking in pony terms, even when I’m wearing this human body. I told Phoenix that mares court stallions, and that means I come to him, do things on HIS terms. And yet, even after all my reading I don’t entirely know what they are… she shook her head. He might be angry just that I was thinking about Celestia instead of him… and Luna only knows how he’d react to the idea of being shared amongst my friends… she sighed, reflecting that she wasn’t sure how she’d react either. Way, WAY too early to even consider that anyway…

In the end, she simply decided that she and Phoenix would have to have another talk, one where she would lay out the expectations of Equestrian society and make certain she fully understood the human ones as well. Might be a little awkward, but… best for the long run, right? she decided, finally drifting off towards sleep.

The morning sun dawned bright over Medium Valley as the group sat down in the Grand Hall to a late breakfast.

There was a definite tension at the table, Ferro couldn’t help but note as they ate, and a lot of bleary faces, though he and Celestia had in fact slept quite well… after she gotten some tension out of her own system with him, surprising him by teleporting in just as he was getting into bed the previous night.

She had told him apologetically about what had nearly happened with Twilight and, after being assured of his understanding, spent her passion on him, even bringing some of her stronger magic into play so should satisfy her sudden desire for a woman-on-woman encounter.

Ain't often you get gender-swapped in your own BODY! he reflected afterwards with a wry grin.

As it turned out, she hadn't been the only one with restless night. He had run into Phoenix earlier that morning, at the gym. He had been surprised to see him, and over the course of his workout they two had talked again, Ferro recognizing that his new friend was troubled and asking him why. As they trained, Phoenix had told him what had happened with Maya the previous night with no small amount of shame.

Ferro couldn’t help but laugh at the story, to Phoenix’s annoyance. “So… your longtime assistant, a pretty eighteen-year old girl, ends up naked, gets carried upstairs by you… she then tells you she needs you… and now you’re wondering why you were turned on?” he asked mildly and with the barest hint of a grin.

That caught Phoenix short. “Well, when you put it that way…” he conceded, though he still seemed troubled, going on to say it bothered him that he could even look at her—a child—that way. “Thing is, it’s not just her either. I’ve been noticing everyone, it seems. Never gave girls much thought, but now…” he started pumping his weights even harder.

Ferro shook his head. “Maya Fey’s no child, Phoenix. Hell, from what I’ve heard that girl’s been through more and got more responsibilities than most adults,” he noted, catching Phoenix short again. “It’s only natural you’d feel closer to her after all you’ve been through together, especially after that last case of yours. And as for the rest… the same thing actually happened with me after Tia showed up. I was with her, and all the sudden I was noticing all sorts of women after years of no interest—friends, coworkers, even the college kids at the beach. She woke that part of me up, much like it sounds like Twilight did for you. So my advice is simple—don’t worry about it. There’s nothing wrong with you for it. Just enjoy the scenery, as it were,” he smirked and lightly punched Phoenix’s shoulder.

“Huh.” To his satisfaction Phoenix, seemed to turn thoughtful, falling silent for the rest of his workout.

Despite his earlier talk with Ferro, Phoenix was still feeling uncertain as they cleaned up after breakfast. While Maya and Pearl went to their morning training, he and Twilight headed out for a walk into the surrounding hills. When they finally had enough distance, they sat down in a clearing and began to talk, each surprised to find the other seemed scared but strangely eager to say something.

Twilight went first, the story spilling out of her uncontrollably about what had happened with Celestia the night before. Though stunned, Phoenix immediately got very turned on at the idea, to Twilight’s surprise. That led to a new discussion about difference in social mores between Earth and Equestria, Phoenix informing her that for many human men, the idea of two women ‘getting it on’, especially under such circumstances, was a very titillating.

In return, he told her about his sudden and surprising attraction to Maya the night before, how guilty he felt over it and what Ferro had said that morning. “I think he’s right, Twilight. I’ve been with you, and all the sudden… I’m noticing everyone, not just you—even a longtime assistant and friend. I think that’s in part what’s been happening with you as well.”

Celestia said as much to me… Twilight nodded to herself, starting to feel better. She was surprised and at least slightly perturbed at Phoenix’s story, but at the same time, relieved to know he understood what she was going through. “I guess I’m just afraid that having these thoughts somehow means I cheapen what we have… what I feel for you,” she voiced the fear she’d been feeling for the past day. “I’m in love with you, Phoenix Wright. And as much as I may want to try more new things… I don’t want to hurt that.”

“Neither do I, Twilight Sparkle,” he answered her in like tone, taking her hands in his own. “And there’s no reason we can’t try more things,” he reminded her with an ironic grin, inviting her to press close.

They had wondered—and worried—if having their heads turned by friends and teachers meant they were no longer interested in each other. But a single kiss silenced that fear, and the subsequent ones obliterated it. When they finally parted, their cheeks were flushed and passions rising. “Do you want to…?” Twilight teased him with aura, speaking slightly breathlessly.

Sorely tempted though he was, Phoenix thought better of it. “Not here… too close to the village and there’s always a chance Pearly or the other Kurain kids are around—they go on field trips every so often. Can you wait until we’re back at my apartment tonight?” he asked, not even sure he could.

“If I have to…” Twilight replied, giving him a parting kiss that took his breath away, the pair walking back towards the village hand in hand.

Music: Karma’s Coming

They had nearly made it back to the grand hall for lunch when they rounded a corner, only to run right into…

“Watch where you’re going, you fool!” a familiar voice shouted as its owner and Twilight fell in a tangle of limbs.

Phoenix bit back a groan as he recognized not only the woman’s voice, but her attire as well. “Franziska…?” Oh, CRAP, this can’t end well…

“I’m sorry!” Twilight apologized, looking a bit frantic as the pair separated, finding herself face to face with a rather severe-looking young woman with a gold-trimmed black business suit accented by a poofy white blouse, dark stockings and black gloves in an ensemble she wasn’t sure if Rarity would love or hate, but complimented her icy eyes and features quite well. “I wasn’t looking where I was going!” she stammered, suddenly noticing the mysterious woman also somewhat ominously had a whip coiled at her side.

“Apparently,” Franziska von Karma grumbled as she got to her feet and dusted herself off with a gloved hand. “Be thankful that I have no pressing concerns at the moment, or else you would receive a proper lashing!”

Phoenix bristled at that. I don’t care if you whip me, but don’t threaten MY girl with it again, or I swear you’ll regret it… he thought, suddenly remembering Firefly’s point about having something to fight for. As he helped Twilight to her feet, he asked, “Something I’ve always wanted to know… why the whip, von Karma? Why choose that as your signature hobby?”

Franziska started slightly, having only noticed Phoenix at that moment. “If you must know, Phoenix Wright, I chose the whip because I was trained in horseback riding and my father gave me a riding crop when I was younger. As I grew older, so too did my reach.”

That doesn’t really answer the question… both Twilight and Phoenix thought, the former already mildly intimidated by her attire and manner.

Glancing between the two, the prosecutor’s steely eyes finally settled on Twilight. “Aha! So would this be your mysterious paramour, Phoenix Wright?”

Phoenix’s eyes widened. “How did you know about that?!” Does Pinkie have access to other worlds’ postal services…?

“Maya Fey informed me that you were in, quote, ‘romantic trouble’,” Franziska replied with an amused smirk. “She needed someone to talk to, so I filled the part. Though I have to admit, I was rather surprised to hear it. You don’t normally give any woman a second glance.”

Phoenix had to stop himself from giving Franziska the once-over as she said that. ENOUGH! She’s only eighteen, Phoenix, plus you have Twilight! he reminded himself yet again, trying not to think of how many women his eyes had been roving over during the past few days.

Sensing Phoenix’s discomfort and the tension between the pair, Twilight decided to take matters into her own hands. “I’m Twilight Sparkle. Pleased to meet you, Miss…?” she said, holding out a hand.

Rather than accepting it, the young, frosty-haired woman sketched a short curtsey. “Franziska von Karma, prosecutor,” she said.

“Prosecutor?” Twilight blinked, and looked at Phoenix. “How many prosecutors do you know here, Phoenix?”

The lawyer shrugged. “Edgeworth, von Karma here, her father… some guy I can never remember the name of…”

Franziska snorted. “You’re perhaps the luckiest lawyer alive, Phoenix Wright. To have defeated not one, but two of the illustrious von Karma family in your career is quite the resume. You even bested Miles Edgeworth, my father’s hand-picked protege.”

Phoenix shrugged again. “I just do what I think is right—defend my clients and seek the truth,” he said, then glanced at his watch. “Think we’re due for lunch, Twilight,” he noted.

Twilight nodded. “Yeah. Maya said she wanted us back with plenty of time to eat and watch the last movie. I know the Princess is looking forward to it.”

“Princess?” Franziska asked, curiosity piqued as she looked around. “Is there some foreign royal visiting this charmingly rustic village?”

Biting back a retort, Phoenix nodded and grinned. “Yeah. May interest you to know that Twilight here is actually the Princess’s personal student.”

To his surprise, the young prosecutor prodigy actually seemed impressed. “Well, now! Someone has set their sights high, Phoenix Wright!” She seemed to consider something for a moment, then nodded. “I believe I should pay my respects to this visiting royal,” she announced, causing both Phoenix and Twilight to cringe as she started striding with purpose towards the grand hall.

“What? No, that’s really not necessary…” he stammered, but Franziska had already made her way inside.

Phoenix and Twilight caught up to her just as she turned the corner and found herself face to face with Celestia, who was enjoying a cup of tea with Ferro and Maya.

“Princess, we’re sorry! She wouldn’t…” Twilight began, but trailed off as she saw the other woman stop short, her eyes settling on Celestia and then widening as if in recognition…

And then abruptly, she curtsied. “Princess Celeste!” von Karma acknowledged in a tone that bespoke genuine respect. “And Sir Stabile. It has been a while.”

Wha…? Phoenix, Maya and Twilight weren’t nearly as shocked by that as Celestia’s response. “Indeed it has, Miss von Karma,” she bowed her head back and offered her hand. “It would seem you have grown into a fine young lady, and from all reports, a feared prosecutor. I do not believe Ferro and I have seen you since that bank fraud business in Geneva two years ago.”

“You are correct, milady,” Franziska confirmed, then shocked Phoenix and Twilight by laying a kiss on Celestia’s offered hand in the same manner a commoner might pay homage to a noble. “I thank you for your kindness, though I fear that present company has taken my luster away,” she said with a glare back at Phoenix. “You have been well, I trust? What brings you and your paramour to this rather backwater village?”

“A simple vacation. A desire to spend time with Ferro, and to show my student a foreign land,” the princess explained, the barest hint of her coy grin on her face. “Miss von Karma, I assume you have already met her, but may I formally present my student… Miss Twilight Sparkle,” she motioned to a still-stunned Twilight, who stepped forward, and uncertain of how to greet the odd and slightly-scary young woman, simply bowed.

Franziska gave Twilight a return bow and an appraising look. “Twilight Sparkle is an interesting name. And how did you meet Phoenix Wright?” she challenged.

“Oh, um…” Twilight tried not to squirm under the other woman’s withering gaze, suddenly wondering how Phoenix had stood up to her in court. “The Princess had me summon him to… to our country to defend my friend from a murder charge,” she explained somewhat shortly, only barely catching herself before she said Equestria.

Franziska arched an eyebrow at Phoenix. “Romancing a client’s friend? Really, Mister Phoenix Wright?” she said in a disapproving tone. “I am so happy to know that attorney ethics mean so little to you!”

Says the woman who embarks on personal vendettas and deliberately withholds information at trial? Phoenix stifled a snort. “I didn’t intend it, von Karma. I ended up staying in her country for two weeks and it kind of just… well, happened,” he admitted a bit sheepishly, rubbing his hand behind his head.

“Hmph. You falling in love in such a manner is almost as unlikely as were Miles Edgeworth himself to. And you won your case, I expect?” she crossed her arms and said in an-almost disgusted tone.

“Yes, he did!” Twilight spoke up for him, pride and gratitude in her voice, taking Phoenix’s arm in her own. “Spectacularly, too!”

“But not right away,” Celestia clarified, an odd smile on her face as she watched the proceedings. “He in fact initially received a guilty verdict before a last-second witness appeared and new information turned the trial around.”

“Truly?” von Karma said in a grudgingly impressed tone, her arms crossed and squeezing her left forearm with her right gloved hand. “I see. I believe I would like to meet the prosecutor that could push Phoenix Wright to the brink,” she grinned, causing Twilight to tense and a trickle of sweat to run down Phoenix’s back at the more-than-slightly scary thought of Trixie and Franziska together. “And I am told you are a librarian?” Franziska asked, turning her attention back to Twilight.

“Oh! Um… yes?” she confirmed with a startled glance at a smirking Maya, suddenly worried about how much she had divulged. “And just so you know, I didn’t plan on it either. I was his guide and co-counsel while he was there, and, well… over time, found myself falling for him…” she rubbed the back of her own head. “He defended my friend without hesitation, fought for her—and me—as hard as he could and uncovered the truth behind the case, saving her life. So I guess it was hard not to fall for him under the circumstances…” she mused, feeling her heart warm at the memories.

“Just as he always has,” Franziska said softly, mostly to herself. “Then I am pleased to know that he was able to help your friend, and in the process won the heart of such a lovely and well-learned lady as yourself. Though given I know from personal experience how utterly infuriating he can be, perhaps I should give you my old riding crop to help keep him in line!” she suggested, causing Twilight and Phoenix to go bright red and Maya to stifle a giggle. “Then again, for as much punishment as my whip has given him, one almost thinks he likes it,” she couldn’t resist adding with a grin, delighting in the squirming reaction her suggestion brought.

Still giggling, Maya finally spoke up. “Hey von Karma… we’ve been showing our guests the Lord of the Rings trilogy and we’re going to eat lunch and watch Return of the King before everyone heads out. Would you like to stay and see?” she offered, hoping her presence would make Nick and Sparkle squirm some more.

“I regret I cannot, Maya Fey, as I am in the middle of an investigation. I simply came here to meet Phoenix Wright’s paramour, and I have,” she replied, to Phoenix’s relief, which was short-lived as she abruptly unfurled her whip and took a lashing pose, arms raised over her head and whip pointed directly at him. “PHOENIX WRIGHT!”she shouted, startling all present. “You will treat Lady Celeste’s student with all due courtesy and respect, or you will answer to me!” she proclaimed, her whip cracking an inch from Phoenix’s chest, causing him and Twilight to flinch back. “Is that understood?”

Phoenix gulped, his ears ringing from the whip crack. “Y-yes ma’am!”

She turned back to Celestia, who had watched the entire scene with mild amusement up into the point the whip came out but was now frowning. “Milady,” she curtsied again. “My work takes me many places. So if you are ever in need of a prosecutor…”

“The offer is appreciated, Miss von Karma,” the sun princess replied evenly, but coolly. “Though you will forgive me if I prefer not to have need of your services.”

“As it should be,” She bowed her head and then turned to Phoenix, challenge smoldering in her eyes. “Until next time… Mister Phoenix Wright!”

“Until next time… Franziska von Karma.” Phoenix rejoined, though he had an odd feeling as she strode out that he might never face her in court again.

* * * * *

Twilight watched the young prosecutor leave intently, an unreadable expression on her face as she abruptly pulled away from Phoenix. “Twilight…?” he called out in concern, having felt the heat level suddenly rise from her body.

“I’m fine, Phoenix. I’ll be right back, I just need to take care of… something…” she assured him a little cryptically, and, with a glance at Celestia, who nodded her understanding but gave her student a quick mental admonishment to keep her magic and temper in check, she followed Franziska out the door.

Once they were out of sight and earshot of the others, Twilight carefully schooled her expression. “Ms. von Karma!” she called out, almost amicably.

The prosecutor stopped and turned. “Is there anything amiss, Miss Twilight Sparkle?”

“Not as such,” Twilight replied, carefully keeping her voice level over her still-rising anger. “I just wanted to thank you for your concern over how Phoenix treats me. I promise you, though, he’s been a perfect gentleman to me for our entire relationship, and I see no reason that won’t continue.”

“That is… reassuring,” Franziska allowed, although she seemed skeptical of the shorter, dark-haired woman with brown eyes. “You seem like an upstanding young girl, and I do not wish to see a student of Lady Celeste hurt.”

“Thank you. That said…” Twilight’s hand lashed out like a viper and grabbed Franziska by the collar, yanking the silver-haired prosecutor down, enhancing her grip with magic. Twilight was actually somewhat shorter than Franziska, but that made little difference as the shorter girl glared into the eyes of the taller, who found to her shock she couldn’t move.

Twilight waited a beat before speaking. “Phoenix is my man, and I don’t much appreciate any sort of threat, oblique or otherwise, made against him. I may not look like much, but be assured I am quite capable of making my displeasure known. You are not to use your whip on him ever again, or you will regret it. Is that… quite… clear?” she all but growled through bared teeth, allowing her eyes to glow red for the barest of moments, just long enough for the shocked eighteen-year old prosecutor to notice but wonder if she’d imagined it… or the fiery, conical glow that briefly appeared around the other woman’s forehead.

Whether imagined or not, Franziska turned an even paler shade than usual. “Q-quite…” she stammered, feeling a very rare trickle of fear.

”Good.” Twilight released the young prosecutor, satisfied the message had been received. ”Good luck with your investigations, Ms. von Karma. And have a nice day.” With that, she turned and walked off, leaving a stunned and sweating Franziska von Karma behind.

12: On a Whistle of Wind

MUSIC: Clarified Relations

Lunch, Ferro was relieved to see, had far less tension than breakfast, with everyone chatting happily.

Even Maya, he noticed, seemed far more at ease than she had previously. Where before, she had been casting jealous glances at Twilight and Phoenix, now she was openly teasing them, though she carefully chose jokes that would go over Pearl’s head.

Wonder what Twilight did to Karma? he couldn’t help but wonder, having watched their discussion with Tia out the window, the latter apparently making sure her student didn’t go overboard in expressing her anger.

He chuckled at the memory. Franny has no idea how easily she got off. And she clearly has no idea about Tia or Twilight, or she’d know you don’t EVER threaten a mare’s stallion in her presence… particularly when you’re talking about THESE two! he shook his head and grinned as he remembered seeing the young prosecutor’s face go deathly pale from a distance, just wishing he could have heard what Twilight said to her. He had personally never much liked the young lady, between her overbearing manner and constant whip use, but did allow that she was at least a far better person and prosecutor than her father. Certainly, that bank fraud business in Geneva a couple years back showed she’s on the side of angels when she wants to be…

After their noontime meal—and Ferro was personally getting a little tired of vegetarian fare—they gathered in the viewing room again as Maya took out the final movie in the trilogy from its blue jacket, slipping it into the player with a now-familiar whirring sound. “Let’s see… last train out leaves out the town at five, so we should have enough time to watch it and still get you guys ready to go,” she nodded with satisfaction.

“That works. So should we summon Firefly again? She did say she was interested in seeing the end of the story,” Phoenix noted as the disc loaded, leaving Twilight wondering not for the first time how it all worked.

Maya actually grimaced a bit. “I’d say yes, but… in all honesty, I’m still a little spent after last night.”

“Oh! Oh! Let me do it, Mystic Maya!” Pearly piped up. “I’d love to channel a pony again!”

Maya’s grimace became more pronounced as everyone else in the room instantly locked on to the last word in her cousin’s sentence. “Wait… channel again? Pearls, do you mean you’ve channeled a pony before?” Phoenix asked.

Pearl had a sudden guilty look that Phoenix had last seen when he’d caught her with her hand in his jelly bean jar. “Oh! Um…”

“She has,” Maya confirmed shortly, cutting the questioning off before it could go any further. “Sorry Nick, we’re sworn to secrecy on the circumstances, but—she has. She did it perfectly and was even able to hold it for longer than I could!”

Phoenix and Celestia glanced at Twilight, who had no more idea of when it happened than they did. “Well, Firefly did say she wanted to meet Maya…” she shrugged. “Why not?”

“So can I, Mister Nick?” Pearl hopped up and down in front of him.

Phoenix glanced at the others and then looked to Maya. “As long as Maya says it’s okay, sure…”

“YAY!”she leaped and shouted in a tone that very strongly reminded Twilight of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Guess she picked up a few things from them! she noted as Maya led her young cousin into a side room where she could undress and channel. And just two minutes later, the door opened to reveal…

“Welcome back, my old friend,” Celestia said happily.

“My Princess!” Firefly replied as she immediately opened her wings and bowed before her regent, less startled than she had been the previous night, immediately accepting another hug from her humanized ruler. “I assume I am here to watch the rest of the ‘mo-vie’ story?” she looked towards the screen, then back to Celestia.

“Indeed. And I believe you also wanted to meet Miss Maya?” the sun princess nodded toward the young mystic with a grin, who stepped forward.

Firefly turned around in surprise. “Greetings, Captain Firefly. I am Maya Fey,” Maya brought her palms together and bowed low, speaking in an unusually formal tone. “It’s funny that I’ve channeled you twice, but never actually met you…”

“Greetings to you, young mage. ‘Tis an honor to finally meet you as well,” Firefly bowed back as she appraised her, then blinked. “Wait… if you are here, then… who is channeling me now…?”

“Pearly,” Ferro replied. “Maya needed a break.”

“The child…?” Firefly blinked, looking down at her borrowed body in disbelief, then noting Pearls’ clothes folded neatly off to the side in the room from which she’d just emerged. “I see… ‘tis a pity, then.”

Celestia’s eyebrows went up. “A pity?”

“A pity that Miss Maya cannot channel. While I was reminiscing after last night’s viewing, Wind Whistler came upon me, wondering why I’d departed the Summerlands. After telling her of this event, she now wishes to see this story as well,” the deceased captain explained.

Phoenix blinked. “Wind Whistler? As in, the mare who kept you from going… completely mad when you got that amulet?”

Firefly closed her eyes and smiled. “The same. My lifelong friend and confidant, my sister in all but blood… and later, my most trusted lieutenant and the one mare I would never go into battle without.”

“Wind Whistler? Truly?” Celestia spoke up, hopefully. “We would not have withstood the Gryphon invasion without her sharp mind and strategic vision. I would very much like to see her again.”

“And she very much wishes to see you again, my princess,” Firefly nodded, then turned back to her left. “That is, if Miss Maya is willing…?”

Maya looked uncertain. “Well, aside from not knowing what she looks like, I’m afraid I’m not really up to the task of channeling a pony at the moment,” she looked down apologetically at Firefly and Celestia’s disappointed looks. “I’m sorry, Captain. Channeling you last night used up most of my mystical power.”

Celestia regarded her for a moment before speaking. “Miss Fey… you draw energy from your magatama for channeling, do you not?” she nodded towards the jewel around the young mystic’s neck.

Maya looked down at said jewel, then picked it up between two fingers. “Oh! Well, yes, in part… I draw on the Magatama for the power boost required for the initial transformation, but maintaining it draws on my own internal supply of mystical power, and that’s rather drained right now. I mean, I could channel a pony, but… I don’t think I could hold it for very long. Certainly not the duration of the movie,” she explained apologetically.

“But if the magatama had enough power, could you draw on it for the duration, similar to how Twilight uses her own crystal battery to maintain her transformation?” the sun princess suggested, making Twilight blink, wondering why she hadn’t thought of that herself.

Maya looked surprised. “Huh. Well, I guess… never tried that before. Like I said, it’s normally just for an initial power boost, but if I could continually draw on it… then sure, probably.”

“If I may, then…” Celestia’s eyes closed and her ethereal horn flared, causing a surge of magical energy both Twilight and Maya could feel. The alicorn aura collected around the jewel, making it glow brightly as the sun princess powered it up. “There.”

Maya regarded her intensely glowing orange pendant with no small surprise. “Cool… only time I’ve seen a Magatama glow like this is when Nick’s got his green one out,” she noted. “Okay, then. Just let me get changed…” she said, ducking into the side room to strip down, then emerging wearing only a robe—she had learned well by then to not wear her regular clothes while she was channeling ponies. “Ready! But I’ll need a picture of Wind Whistler as well…”

“Easily accomplished,” Celestia replied, closing her eyes and projecting one of her own memories from the distant past, showing Firefly and… a blue-furred pegasus mare with a pink mane and three-whistle cutie mark.

Maya saw and smiled, while Phoenix had the thought that Wind Whistler and Firefly looked like a deeper-hued version of Aloe and Lotus. “Wow, you two really could be sisters! Okay, that’s all I need…” the teenaged mystic said, sitting in a lotus position and concentrating on the projected image. As she was channeling a new pony, the transformation wasn’t as quick this time, but her features flowed and within seconds, a new equine figure materialized from her previously human form, rose to all fours and blinked.

“Welcome, sister.” Firefly grinned. “You are being channeled, as I am.”

“Firefly? Am I truly… on Earth?” the blue pegasus mare looked around in surprise, Phoenix noting she had an even deeper, more classical accent than Firefly, one that spoke to him of an upper-class upbringing from the renaissance era.

“Indeed, dear friend,” a familiar voice answered with some audible emotion. “Welcome back.”

“My Princess!” she whirled to the sound of the voice, shocked to behold a very human Celestia, her hair changed back to its usual flowing state. “I… did not expect to find you here as a human!” she said, shooting a quick but accusing look at Firefly, who was watching her reaction in great amusement.

“Well, I could hardly walk amongst humans as an alicorn, my friend. I have come to enjoy this world and use it as a respite,” she said, leaving no doubt as to her meaning when she raised and kissed Ferro’s hand, causing Wind Whistler’s pale purple eyes to widen further and Firefly to stifle a chuckle.

Introductions were made quickly. Wind Whistler seemed intrigued at her surroundings, looking with some interest at the unfamiliar technology of the room, from the overhead ceiling fan to the large flat-screen television already showing the preview page of the movie, its lilting music on an endless loop. “Fascinating. I had no idea humanity had advanced so much!”

“Indeed, my sister,” Firefly nodded. “’Twas a great surprise to me as well. Perhaps one day we may have the chance to explore this world in greater earnest?” she suggested with a hopeful look at Phoenix.

“If Maya and Pearls are willing, that could certainly be arranged. Any other requests?” Phoenix asked their honored guests with a grin.

“Actually, methinks I have one…” Firefly grinned back. “Could we perchance have more of that ‘popcorn’ from yesterday…?”

The final movie did not disappoint any of the Equestrian viewers, in either its action or ending.

From the opening scene with Saruman to the final departure of Frodo and Bilbo in the company of the elves, Twilight watched riveted, often clutching Phoenix’s arms, less out of fear than a renewed and reflexive desire to protect her stallion from the violence being shown.

The lighting of the beacons of Minas Tirith, traveling from mountaintop to mountaintop as the call for help went out from Gondor to Rohan gave her chills, and the unyielding devotion of Sam to Frodo brought tears to her eyes.

Sam would make a fine Element of Loyalty… was all Twilight could think as he returned to save Frodo from Gollum’s treachery and the monstrous spider queen Shelob, later proclaiming that though he couldn’t carry the ring, he could carry Frodo, hoisting him over a shoulder and taking him up the mountain.

While all this was happening, the other characters were not idle. She watched the story reach its climax in the form of massive battle before the great white city of men—one very similar to pictures she’d seen of the Gryphon Kingdom’s capital city of Arnau, some distant part of her noted—from the initial siege of the Minas Tirith and struggle to hold on to the charging Rohan riders smashing into the orc lines. In the end, the field in front of the white city was dotted with bloody, slashed and arrow-riddled corpses of man and orc, horse and Oliphant, and here and there was a severed limb… the moviemakers had clearly known their craft only too well.

“That, my student… is a battlefield,” Celestia confirmed, her voice numb.

“Troubled, My Princess?” Firefly asked, an empty bowl of popcorn between her and Wind Whistler, the pair happily lounging on beanbags.

“Memories, dear friend,” the sun princess bowed her head low. “Of scenes such as this… they never go away.”

“‘Tis well that they do not,” Wind Whistler spoke up. “For we should never forget the ruin war wreaks, lest we grow too fond of it.”

For their part, Firefly and Wind Whistler had watched attentively and unflinchingly. Intrigued by the story and enrapt by the battle scenes, they discussed tactics and shared observations in low voices. The pair were most disgusted with Denethor for the wanton sacrifice of his son and several hundred soldiers in a futile effort to retake Osgiliath—“My Princess, if you ever gave such an order, wouldst you forgive me if I led an immediate mutiny?” Wind Whistler asked, to chuckles—but they also had harsh words for King Theoden for sending his mounted soldiers to attack the Oliphants head-on, costing many lives.

“Foalish when they could have run rings around them, rained arrows upon them from afar and brought them down without the loss of a single horse or rider,” Wind Whistler shook her head in disgust.

Though disturbed by the sheer carnage level, which dwarfed even the battle of Helms Deep, Twilight wasn’t impressed by Gandalf in his white wizard form, noting that despite his supposed power boost he used very little actual magic and his staff was too easily broken. She also wasn’t sure what she thought of the deus ex machina of an undead army summoned by Aragorn winning the Battle of Pelennor Fields, though their initial appearance gave her a couple shaky moments.

The dead do not suffer the living… she repeated the line to herself, then realized with a glance at the channeled forms of Firefly and Wind Whistler that in fact, they very much did.

Still, in the end… she found the final resolution and key to victory only too familiar. It was friendship that saved the day. Friendship among nations, friendship among races… and the simple bond between two hobbits that allowed them to reach Mount Doom and destroy the ring against incredible odds… she nodded to herself. Well, I certainly wouldn’t show these movies to foals, but I think I WOULD like to show them to my friends… well, maybe not Fluttershy! she quickly added, but knew Rarity and Rainbow Dash would likely love it—the former for the exquisite costumes and scenery, the latter for the endless action scenes. Not sure how Applejack or Pinkie would take it, though…

When the movie done and it was time for their channeled guests to depart, Celestia crouched down and took both her old friends into a hug. “Whoever else you may know in the Summerlands… those fallen, those passed… tell them their princess remembers and misses them all.”

“Of course, My Princess,” the pair chorused, tears in their own eyes as they were parted from their regent once more. “And please tell Miss Maya and young Pearl that should they ever need us… they may summon us at any time,” Firefly spoke as Twilight magically draped their hosts’ robes over them. With that, they stepped away… and their spirits departed for the Summerlands, leaving behind two robed humans in their wake.

“So… how do you two feel?” Phoenix asked.

“Tired…” Pearly yawned, as her own Magatama hadn’t been charged as Maya’s had, blinking sleepily. “Did they like the movie…?”

“They did,” Phoenix confirmed, making a mental note to get the story of when she’d channeled a pony before. “And you, Maya…?”

The older mystic blinked and stretched. “I’m… I’m fine…” she said in some surprise, standing up and pulling the belt on her robe tight. “Wow, I’m not tired at all! You were right, Princess! Drawing power from the Magatama the whole way worked like a charm!” she held up her jewel, which had lost about half the intensity of its glow.

“You are welcome. But I should be thanking you, Maya Fey,” Celestia answered, still teary-eyed. “You have allowed me to see friends and champions long gone and for that I am forever grateful. You truly are a special young woman. Both of you are,” she nodded to Pearly, giving her a magical hair ruffle.

They both bowed, causing Phoenix to avert his eyes when Maya’s robe lapels fell slightly open. “Our pleasure, Princess,” they replied in unison, Maya taking Pearly and herself to get dressed as their guests made ready to depart, their train for Los Angeles scheduled to leave in just over an hour.

“So, did you like it?” Phoenix asked Twilight before they parted to get their things from their respective guest rooms, giving her shoulder a squeeze, noting she’d been very silent since the movie ended.

“It was like nothing I’ve ever seen…” she shook her head in wonder. “None of our movies even come close to that kind of spectacle. I guess I do have one question, though…” Twilight finally settled on the thing that had been bothering her.

“Yes?”

“Well… if Gandalf had command of those giant eagles, then… why didn’t they just use them to deliver the ring to Mordor…?”

A half hour later, they had gathered at the Kurain bus stop, awaiting a ride to the train station in the town at the mountain base.

Twilight and Celestia bade Pearly goodbye with a hug and promise to see her again before leaving, at which point she somewhat wistfully wished she could return to Equestria with them to see all her new friends again. “It could perhaps be arranged…” Celestia gave a coy grin but otherwise no real indication what she was thinking, telling the young human girl to ‘take good care’ of her cousin and Mister Nick.

The two-hour train ride back to Los Angeles was uneventful, as Twilight ended up sleeping most of the way back with her head resting against Phoenix’s shoulder, making up for the time she had spent awake and brooding the previous night. While she napped, Phoenix noticed that Maya was hunched over her tablet, in seemingly deep discussion with the Princess and Ferro as she sat between the two.

Upon arrival, they stopped by the office to find a trio of letter scrolls waiting for them. One was an oddly plaintive message from Spike asking Twilight to ‘please let me know you’re okay,’ another was from her friends asking for news—“So, Pinkie ain’t had more twitches… ain’t y’all gonna do it again?” Applejack asked in her usual direct manner to equally eager agreement from Pinkie and Rarity—as well as a reminder from Pinkie “To Feenie—keep your promises!” causing him to flinch and Twilight to give him an odd look.

There was also a rather ornate scroll bearing a dark blue wax seal with a crescent moon imprint which Celestia immediately seized on, an expression of concern on her face. “From my sister,” she said shortly, scanning the contents quickly and then smiling. “Well. It would seem Luna is having some… difficulties trying to keep my regular schedule and attend to both the sun and moon. She also finds the business of holding daily court and settling disputes between nobles ‘a most infuriating and exasperating chore’,” she chuckled, going on to quote her sister asking if it “would not simply be easier to lock the lot of them in the Canterlot Mines and keep them there until they settle their petty squabbles for themselves?”

“Wow… never met her, but I think I like Luna already!” Maya volunteered as the sun princess chuckled again, immediately setting to pen a response as Twilight did the same, worried Spike was getting lonely as she ignored Applejack’s question but told her friends about Pearly, the movies and Kurain, saying they would be keeping in daily contact for the rest of the trip and that she would “have a HAY of a story!” to tell them later.

They had barely sent the messages before a response was received in another puff of green flame, Spike saying he had sent Celestia’s reply to Luna but also asking if he could have some more human “nan-gas”, saying he’d really liked “the dragon ones” and also asking if they were any human equivalents of “Power Pony” comics he loved.

“Well, hell… if he likes action and dragon mangas, I can recommend several!” Maya piped up, saying she’d pick out a few for him later, Twilight writing an additional response telling Spike to get himself out of the library and spend time with her friends, Pinkie Promising him she would return with Celestia and plenty of souvenirs in four days’ time, as scheduled.

“Well then… guess we should be parting now?” Phoenix asked, increasingly eager to get Twilight alone again, and judging by her slightly impatient manner, he wasn’t the only one. “I think it’s time for us to head home.” He gave Twilight’s shoulder as squeeze.

“Home? Not the penthouse suite at the Gatewater I reserved for you both?” Celestia put on a pouting look that would have done Rarity proud.

“Oh! Um…” Phoenix rubbed his hand behind his head. “With apologies, princess, there are some… bad memories associated with that place,” he explained somewhat sheepishly. “I really do appreciate the offer, but…” his voice trailed off as he realized that Maya, Ferro and Celestia were suddenly wearing identical grins.

“Well, actually Nick… you won’t be taking Sparkle back to your place, either,” she told him, her expression like she was about to tell the punchline of a joke.

“Uh… what?”

“On the ride home, I talked with the princess and Iron Man here. She was hoping you’d take her up on the Gatewater like she said, but I told her that even aside from the fact that… we used to have our office right across from the street from it, that place really wasn’t your speed.

“So…” her grin got broader. “With the help of Ferro’s smartphone, my tablet and Celly’s credit card, we’ve made you both reservations for three nights at a luxury beach villa in Santa Monica!” she announced, causing Phoenix to gape. “Limo should be out front in thirty minutes, and they’ll get you there in an hour! And after that…” she gave him a sideways grin. “And after that, enjoy!”

Phoenix was still gaping, stunned at not only the offer but Maya’s collusion in it. “But… but… the cost! Those properties rent for thousands a night! I can’t let you…”

“No buts, Nick!” Maya told him, waggling a finger at him. “Private beach, lots of natural scenery, lush green hills and hiking trails close by… that’s right up your alley for a romantic getaway! And I hope Sparkle’s as well…?” she turned her gaze on a surprised Twilight and bowed her head fractionally, in unspoken apology for the way she’d acted.

“That’s very generous of you, Maya…” she acknowledged, instantly raising her opinion of Maya by another notch. Guess she’s really trying to accept us, regardless of whatever she may feel for Phoenix… “And of you, Princess!”

“You are very welcome, my student. Both of you are,” she nodded once and gave a warm smile. “It is the least I can do.”

“Princess, please… I really can’t accept this…” Phoenix tried again, even though internally he was wavering. Really WOULD beat the hell out of my apartment… he conceded, suddenly imagining all the things he and Twilight might do on a private beach or bungalow.

Celestia shook her head and grinned. “I insist, Phoenix Wright. I wish to do something nice for you and my student. Please allow an old alicorn to indulge her more motherly impulses,” she bowed her head again, her eyes betraying her age for a bare moment. “You have more than earned this. You both have, and I wish you to fully enjoy the remainder of our stay… and your time together.” She closed her eyes and gave her coy grin.

“Well, um…” Phoenix was speechless. “Thank you…”

“Hey, you know me, Nick. I’m always ready to spend someone else’s money!” Maya gave him a lopsided grin of her own.

“You’re one lucky man, Mister Wright, to have such good friends who know you so well,” Ferro nodded towards Maya. “But for myself, I’m afraid I must part with you all now. I’m picking up my daughter for a scheduled visit over the next two days, but I’ll be sure to come by again before Sunshine and Sparkle here depart.” He stepped forward to shake Phoenix’s hand. “It’s been an honor to meet you, Phoenix Wright… to say nothing of a great pleasure to finally have someone else I can talk about things with!” he gave a slightly wry smile towards Celestia, who gave another coy grin.

“Likewise,” Phoenix smiled as he returned the gesture, wincing again at the larger man’s grip. “I don’t know to say, really…”

“Just say you’ll take it!” Maya prompted as Ferro kissed Celestia goodbye with a promise to spend another night with her before she left. “And then when you get there, take a page from those two!” the eighteen-year old mystic motioned to them with a thumb and a wry grin of her own.

I kind of already HAVE! Twilight couldn’t help but grin herself, reflecting on all the myriad ways the princess had been both teaching and influencing her during their stay… and certainly the lead-up to it. “We’ll take it, Maya. And thank you,” she said, giving the teenaged mystic a grateful look, bringing her hands together for a respectful Kurain-style bow.

Maya returned the gesture. “Take care of him, Sparkle,” she asked, a shadow passing across her face for a moment, but it was quickly subsumed as her tone turned teasing again. “Just be warned, Nick can be kind of high-maintenance at times!”

Phoenix flushed. “Uh, I’m right here, Maya…”

“Most stallions are,” Twilight giggled, joining in the banter. “But don’t worry. I’ll be sure and give him all the attention he needs…”

MUSIC: The Magic of the Moment

With the change in plans, Phoenix ran home so he could get several fresh changes of clothes and a swimsuit while Celestia and Twilight waited, the former exchanging a few more messages with Luna via Spike and the latter asking her scribe between royal missives if anything was amiss.

After some written hemming and hawing, the baby dragon finally admitted he was afraid Twilight wouldn’t come back, which made her expression soften. Just like Maya, he can be snarky but he really IS a softie at heart… she noted with a grin, wondering how best to reply.

“Let me answer him…” Maya offered, and immediately wrote out her own response assuring him she knew exactly how he felt, having had the same anxiety over Phoenix. “Listen, Spike—been there, done that, and I’ll tell you the same thing I was told—don’t worry about it. Sparkle and Nick may visit each other, they may even enjoy each other, but they’ll always come home. And listen, whenever we meet up again, let’s swap stories of Nick and Sparkle! Bet we’d have some doozies to share!” she offered, to which the scribe thanked her and immediately agreed, causing Twilight to blush and Celestia to chuckle.

Phoenix got back just as the limo pulled up, the group piling their luggage into it after closing up shop, leaving Twilight marveling at the Limousine’s spacious, amenity-filled interior. Wow… this is fit for a PRINCESS!she couldn’t help but think as she climbed in, deciding it was certainly a much more stylish and pleasant way to travel than the ‘buses’ and taxis they’d been utilizing to get around to that point. Can certainly see it’s expensive, too…

Celestia apparently agreed as she greeted the driver, who recognized her and immediately opened the door for all of them, promising a comfortable ride as the sun princess tipped him generously. She quickly availed herself of some of the minibar drinks as they pulled away, apparently favoring some sweet sake. She even got Twilight to try a sip, who blinked in surprise at the taste, a surprisingly good rice-based flavor with only a mild undertone of alcohol.

“Wow, that’s… smooth…” she admitted, licking her lips, suddenly understanding why her mentor seemed to like it so much, asking for her own cup. A little deceptive though… she also quickly realized, as despite the seemingly innocuous alcohol level she found even the single drink affecting her, giggling and swaying lightly. And what would Applejack say that I couldn’t hold my cider…? she wondered as she planted a few kisses on a surprised Phoenix as Celestia and Maya looked on, the former with the air of a proud mother and the latter that of a reluctantly happy friend.

Regardless, the conversation was good and the ride was fun despite LA traffic, and Twilight’s eyes lit up when they reached the beach and she saw the ocean for the first time—for all her travels and study, it was a place she’d rarely been even in Equestria, and found herself admiring the endless expanse of blue sea, the pounding surf and sandy beaches… though she did wonder what the odd offshore platforms in the distance were.

After passing through the main Santa Monica drag—a town with plenty of attractions that was made for walking, Maya noted, saying that was part of the reason why she’d selected it for them—they arrived at the beach house just as dusk was falling, a very well-appointed three-bedroom waterfront villa with spectacular views of the ocean, the mountains, the town… and even a fairgrounds off to the right.

“Wow, Maya, this… is really nice…” was all a gawking Twilight could immediately say, liking what she saw of Santa Monica far more than she had the downtown area of L.A.

“It really is! Thank you. Thank you both,” Phoenix sketched a bow to Celestia, who smiled.

“I am gratified you find these accommodations to your liking, Phoenix Wright. And I believe I may spend my remaining time here myself now,” she nodded happily, announcing her immediate intention to explore the unfamiliar area—for all her travels to Los Angeles, she had not been to Santa Monica, but she, too, certainly liked what she saw.

Not wanting to be a third wheel again, Maya immediately offered to show her around, and the sun princess agreed, giving the pair a parting hug and promise to check on them occasionally, but to otherwise “Enjoy yourselves, with my compliments… my new friend and loyal student.” She gave her coy grin again before turning on her heel to leave. “And Twilight? If you should change back into a pony… do remember your lesson this time?” she winked, causing Twilight to flush hard.

Phoenix barely had time to wonder what she meant before Maya spoke up. “Treat Sparkle well, Nick…” she admonished him, but stopped to turn back from the doorway, her expression turning mischievous. “You know… like how you wanted to treat me last night?” she winked as well, making Phoenix flush just as hard as Twilight, his manhood twitching once in his shorts.

“Uh… so what was that about? Your ‘lesson’?” Phoenix asked as the door closed behind them, still staring after Maya. Was she just teasing or…?

“Oh, um…” Twilight shifted uncomfortably, finally deciding that there was no point in keeping it from him. “Celestia told me that I was, um… broadcasting when you made love to me as a pony a few nights back…”

“Broadcasting…?”

She explained shortly, leaving his cheeks even redder. So in essence, I made love not just to Twilight but… CELESTIA? He felt his mind start to overheat at the idea. “Then that means…”

“It means exactly what you think it means…” Twilight admitted with a hand behind her head before her tone turned teasing—another thing she’d been picking up from the sun princess, she decided. “Oh, and… she said you’d be more than welcome to do the same to her anytime!” she delighted in his squirming reaction. You know, I really think I’m starting to understand why the princess enjoys teasing… and speaking of which…

“So, Phoenix Wright…” she sauntered up to him and put her hands on his shoulders briefly before snaking them behind his head. “We’ve both been away from each other for two nights, we’ve both been pent up, we’ve both been turned on by close friends…” her aura brushed the front of his pants, making him twitch, “and we both really need to do something about all that.” Her eyes sparkled and phantom horn glowed pink as she reverted her hair and irises to their normal vivid colors, giving him a deep kiss.

“I see… and what did you have in mind, Twilight Sparkle…?” he asked slightly breathlessly when they finally broke the embrace, recognizing her desire if not her exact intention.

In response, she stepped back and in a move she’d practiced repeatedly that morning, she magically disrobed before him, her clothes falling with a soft whisper to immaculate tiled floor of the foyer, her cheeks flushed, pupils dilated and phantom horn visible in a wispy pink glow as she repeated her words from the park several days earlier, hoping they would have exactly the same effect they did then:

“Show me what it is to be a woman, Phoenix Wright.”

His heart all but melting at the invitation, he did so in grand fashion.

The sun was setting over the Pacific Ocean as Maya showed Celestia around—for all her previous visits to the Los Angeles area, the city of Santa Monica was not a place she had been before. She took in the sights methodically, reading every historical placard and admiring the architecture, but seemed to most enjoy removing her sandals and taking a barefoot walk on the beach, looking out over the water and basking in the breeze and last rays of the sun before it settled into the sea.

You know, of all things I ever thought an 1800-year old demigod pony princess might be, she’s certainly not any of them! Maya could only shake her head in amazement.

As twilight fell, Maya followed Celestia to a beachfront gift shop, the sun princess looking for some curios to take home with her—“My sister is not the easiest pony to shop for,” she noted—when they both abruptly sensed a muffled magical burst that marked Twilight’s climax.

While the sun princess closed her eyes and smiled, nodding in satisfaction, Maya looked away, her shoulders slumping.

I did this for you, Nick… she mentally announced, still unable to stop herself from feeling a sense of loss. If Sparkle is truly who you need, then… I swear that from here on out, I’ll do what I can to help you keep her…

Celestia noticed her change of mood. “Come, young Maya,” she suggested, laying a comforting hand on the young mystic’s shoulder. “Let us talk over a late supper.”

“Oh. Uh, sure…” Maya agreed, deciding she could use a distraction. “Where would you like to go, Princess?”

“Well, in truth… there is one human food craving I haven’t satisfied yet,” she said, her coy grin back. “And I was thinking that perhaps this was the time to do so.”

“Oh? And what’s that?” Maya asked, thinking that given the sun princess’ clearly expensive and exotic tastes in food, it couldn’t possibly be something she would want.

“Well…” Celestia said, her tone suddenly teasing. “Is there by chance a good burger place nearby…?”

13: Wisdom of the Sun

MUSIC: A Celestial Supper

“You know, Princess, of all the places we might have gone, my favorite burger joint was about the last place I thought you’d want to go to eat,” Maya noted, munching on some fries. Her first burger long demolished, she was now on her second as well as her fourth order of fries, courtesy of Celestia’s credit card. “Not that I’m complaining, mind you, it just doesn’t seem… proper, for a princess. Or a pony for that matter.” She popped a fresh fry into her mouth as she spoke.

“Well, I grant it does make receiving bovines at court a little… awkward… when I get back,” Celestia replied in between bites of her burger. In contrast to Maya, she was savoring each and every bite of her triple-decker deluxe with all of the fixings, though she did ask for extra onion and pickles. “But it’s simply too good to resist. I’m a human at the moment, with human tastes, and I want to enjoy it all.” She punctuated her statement with a lick of meat juices off her fingers.

“Yeah…” Maya trailed off, as she paused in her eating.

Noticing her sudden change in mood, Celestia put her burger down, sensing the moment was finally right for their promised talk. “Is all well, Miss Maya? You’ve been distracted ever since we sensed Twilight and Phoenix.”

Maya ducked her head—was it that obvious?—but didn’t deny it. “I’m sorry, yeah…” she acknowledged. “When you mentioned being a human, I immediately thought of Spark—I-I mean, Twilight together with Nick. And I just don’t get it.”

Celestia gave her a curious look. “You just don’t get why they’re together?”

Maya blinked. “No… well, yeah, I guess I really don’t, but that’s not what I meant. I mean I just don’t get why it still, well, upsets me,” she finally admitted. “I mean, at first I felt threatened by her. I was afraid she was going to take Nick away, but I know better now after talking with Sis and von Karma. I admit I was jealous of her magic, too, and worried she was bewitching him somehow.”

To her surprise, Celestia nodded in some sympathy. “Not an unreasonable worry, given the circumstances. You found him in a new world with a decidedly non-human love interest, and I gather that for him to show interest in anyone of the female persuasion was quite out of character. So you fretted and sought to protect him as any good mare—or woman—would.” She dabbed her lips with a napkin before plucking a pair of fries.

Maya blushed slightly at being called a woman, let alone the implication that she was one trying to defend her man. “Well… that’s just the thing. It’s not like Nick’s my boyfriend or anything; he’s more like this doofus of a big brother to me,” she said, looking down. “We’ve no romantic interest in each other, and yet… I don’t know, he’s like…” She struggled to find the proper words, uncertain if she even believed what she was saying herself any more.

“He’s like someone you could nurture and take care of. Someone who gave you a focus and emotional anchor when your sister died,” Celestia proposed, causing Maya to blink, and then nod. The disguised princess nodded in reply. “Maya, your situation isn’t as complicated as you’re making it out to be. The man who took care of you, and vice versa, since your sister’s death is now showing romantic interest in a third party. It’s not unreasonable to be worried about it, especially given its nature or how suddenly it came about.”

“I guess. But still… Twilight’s got magic, she’s smart, and she’s got a killer body to boot!” Maya replied, looking down with disgust and some sadness at her still immature curves. “I can’t compete with any of that! I mean, what can I do for Nick that she can’t? And if she’s there, what reason does he have to keep me around?” she asked plaintively, her shoulders slumping.

Celestia gave her a deadpan look. “You can channel spirits, Maya Fey. That is something neither Twilight nor any other pony can do,” she reminded the teenaged mystic. “And through that ability, you give Phoenix something that Twilight cannot: the chance to speak with his lost friend and mentor. I meant what I said earlier today—you are a very talented young woman, and you should never forget that.”

Despite the compliment, Maya felt confused. “W-woman?” she repeated the strangely discomforting word.

The disguised princess nodded, closing her eyes and grinning. “You are very much a woman, Miss Maya. For all you have been through, you have been forced to grow up, perhaps sooner than you wished. And though I still see elements of a child in you, you are no longer a girl, either in body or in mind. You are a young woman now, with all that title implies. Simply because you are a ‘late bloomer’ as humans say does not change that. If your sister is any indication, be assured your body will catch up in due time.”

The young mystic sighed, though she found herself suppressing a blush as well. “Maybe… but still…”

“But still, given all you’ve been through with Phoenix, I’d be surprised if you didn’t feel some sort of strong attachment to him, and the exact nature of it may surprise you,” Celestia added, her eyes suddenly twinkling like she could see right through the young mystic.

Maya took her meaning only too well. “Wait… you’re saying…” she couldn’t voice the words.

Celestia closed her eyes and gave her coy grin again. “I am simply saying you would not be the first person—or pony—it has happened to. It is an age-old story, one that holds in both our worlds, and one I have seen play out time and time again over the centuries,” she noted. “I am saying it is only natural that you would feel closer to ‘Nick’ for all you have been through together, and romance has blossomed from less. It may well be that some part of you is trying to preserve him as a future mate, and that is from where your jealousy springs. Only you can decide if this is the case, Maya Fey, though even if not… I feel quite assured that you will find a special somepony of your own to share an evening and bed with… that is, if you haven’t already,” she added with a sly grin and wink.

Maya flushed bright red at the implication. How does she know?! she wondered frantically.

Celestia chuckled, looking like she was thoroughly enjoying herself. “Fear not. What happened between you and Miss Scratch at that party remains a secret between yourself, myself, and her. And as for how I know… well, that, Miss Fey, is my secret.”

Maya stifled a groan—she still didn’t know herself most of what had happened; all she remembered with certainty was how she had woken up the next morning, nearly completely unclothed and snuggled up with Vinyl in a very compromising position. The pony DJ had been just as surprised and mortified as she was, profusely apologetic and fretting more over her new friend’s reaction than her own. Are all alicorns this cryptic?! she wondered, shoving the memories out of her head as hard as she could. “So what about you, Princess?” she asked, eager to change the subject, her thoughts going in directions she wasn’t yet ready to follow. “Since you already seem to have me figured out, then if it’s not too personal… may I ask you a few questions?” she gave her a cockeyed look.

She chuckled. “We are not in Equestria, and I am not holding court, so you do not have formally request an audience. In short, you may.” Her eyes twinkled. “Ask away.”

“Well, I guess I’m a little curious about the similarities between earth and Equestria. While we were watching the movies the past few days, something Sparkle said stuck with me—that ponies don’t believe in fixing what isn’t broken. And yet, we saw plenty of cameras and film reels when we were in Equestria, and you yourself said your agents had imported it. That seems like, well, a contradiction, to quote Nick.”

“I suppose it might,” she chuckled approvingly, taking another bite of her burger, slowing down a bit now that there wasn’t much left. “I had them brought over to Equestria perhaps sixty years ago.”

Maya blinked. “Yeah, that’s about the era it looks like they came from. Well, I guess my question is… with how much your magic can do, why are you poaching human technology?”

“The better question is, why would I not?” she grinned, picking up a pickle that had slid out of her burger and popping it in her mouth. “It’s just a few select bits and pieces, and only ever a few at a time, things that can be easily adapted for magic and be integrated into greater Equestria. It is my way of at least gradually introducing some change to pony society. Change it sorely needs.”

“Equestria needs changing?” Maya blinked. “But you have your magic and ‘harmony’, princess! And I mean, hell, given the typical evening news, we could use some here…” she said with a nod and grimace at the flat screen television hanging in the corner, showing a distant conflict.

“Humans do need more harmony,” Celestia agreed, sparing the TV but a glance. “And yet in my view… ponies need a little less.”

Maya was surprised. “Really? Less?”

“Less,” Celestia confirmed, taking another bite of her burger before continuing. “When a pony is not challenged by life, they do not grow. But the same holds true for societies, Maya Fey,” she noted. “Equestrian society has been stagnant for centuries… really, since the end of the Gryphon War. There has been little innovation or advancement in the interim, and it worries me,” she explained. “We are not evolving, and this is dangerous, leaving us unable to adapt should sudden shocks occur.

“Humans, by contrast, are constantly evolving and adapt very well. The fact that you live in a wild world, enduring conflict and natural disasters has helped you tremendously on that score. You have no magic, so you have had to learn to live without it. In contrast, I fear ponies have grown dependent on it.”

Standing in the co-counsel position alongside Nick had taught Maya a few things and she spotted a flaw in Celestia’s logic instantly. “Well… the same could be same for our technology, Princess.” She motioned to the next table over, where the patrons were all heads down on their smartphones. “I mean, I didn’t do too well my first few days in Equestria without my internet connection.”

“Perhaps. But consider this,” she put down her burger and pursed her fingertips. “Equestrian society has barely changed in five hundred years. In contrast, how much has your world?” she closed her eyes and grinned. “I know. I saw your world back then. The difference is night and day, but if you took an average pony from today and placed them five centuries into Equestria’s past, they would notice little more but a few different words, music and manestyles. It is for this reason I am… borrowing… some human elements over time. Select pieces of technology, your justice system… and for myself, your world as a vacation resort,” she winked.

“Well, that actually brings up my next question…” Maya was certain there was more the sun princess wasn’t telling her, but also sensed she’d just get the runaround if she asked. “You know, you’ve lived so long, you have all this power… and yet, you’re nothing like I initially imagined you,” she stated cautiously, giving the sun princess an askance look. “I don’t mean it in a bad way; it’s just that I would never have guessed this is what you would be.”

“And what did you think I would be?” Celestia asked, almost rhetorically. “That I would be a power-crazed tyrant? Maybe a mare gone mad from such a long life? A dour and humorless demigod? Or perhaps a pony who, with an endless number of tomorrows, simply fills her days with debauchery and engages in all forms of excess?” she suggested, her grin growing bigger with each suggested version of herself.

Maya blushed. “Well…” surprised that the princess could so casually suggest such things.

Celestia chuckled like she was enjoying herself. “Well, you are right to wonder. For in truth, I have been all these things at various times in my long life. Some of them were simply stages I passed through, while others… left a more permanent mark.”

“Really?”

“Really,” Celestia confirmed, sipping on her soda. “At the time of Luna’s fall, I was well on my way to becoming that tyrant, and I regret it took a war with my own sister to shock me back to my senses. Afterwards, unwilling to fully face my grief, I became a humorless queen who was a stickler for rules and protocol, one who walled herself off from everything and everypony and wallowed in her own grief,” she shook her head.

“But a century later, lonely and desperate for love and comfort, I overcompensated, seeking distraction by losing myself in all forms of physical pleasure. You do not want to know the nickname I acquired back then,” she grimaced and rubbed her eyes at the memory, suddenly exceedingly glad that the modern human world did not exist back then for what she might have done in it. “That lasted another century before I finally understood that I was finding neither happiness or fulfillment by living in such a way. And yet of all these versions of me… in some ways, it was that one that left its greatest mark.”

“How so?” Maya asked, keeping the thought to herself that from what she’d seen, the sun princess was close to that version of herself now.

Celestia’s face turned thoughtful. “It taught me that I did have to seek release now and again. Release from my responsibilities, a chance to ‘cut loose’ as you humans term it. I learned the hard way that if I did not give voice to these sides of myself, if I repressed my desires and did not balance my needs with that of my ponies… I did risk going mad. And I think you will agree that is a very dangerous thing for an alicorn to be,” she noted, her eyes going distant for a moment as Maya shivered, suddenly imagining the magic duel between Trixie and Twilight multiplied by a hundred.

“So in the end I did not lose that part of me, Maya Fey, I simply got much more selective in when I gave it voice. I now choose my lovers carefully, as well as the time and place to be with them, and thus make our experiences much more enjoyable and meaningful for it. And certainly, in recent times your world has played a large role in this,” she noted, motioning down at her human form before taking a fresh bite of her burger. “But that was only part of the answer for me. It turned out there was something else I needed as well.”

Maya listened, intrigued. All these things I never thought about… and what does that mean for someone like Nick, who repressed his interest in girls for years? “And what was it?” she wanted to know, sensing the sun princess wanted to tell the story.

Celestia’s eyes got distant as she put down her burger again. “In the aftermath of the Gryphon War, I found an orphaned foal sealed in a shelter spell—a form of concealment magic. Her parents were both unicorns and when their town was overrun, they sacrificed themselves to power the spell, which put their foal into a deep sleep and hid her from all sight except mine. I found her and rescued her, taking her back to Canterlot, where I began raising her myself.

“At first, I saw it simply as some small penance for my inability to prevent the war and the many ponies I failed to protect. And yet over time… somewhat to my surprise, I grew very attached to her, coming to love her as my own. That mare became not only my daughter but my first student, establishing a tradition that continues to this day in Twilight. My students are my way of indulging my motherly side and giving back to each generation of ponies that follows. They give me an emotional anchor, and one I sorely needed when my sister was not here. Once I understood that… I believe I became a much better pony and princess. For it gave me a much more personal stake in the well-being of my world and insights into ponies that have served me well over time.”

“Wow…” Maya blinked. “I’m impressed, Princess. So this first student… what was her name?” she wanted to know.

“Her name?” Celestia’s eyes got distant. “Her given name I do not know, as she was but a tiny foal when I found her. So with a new life, I gave her a new name.”

“And what was that?” an enrapt Maya asked, surprised at how fascinating she found the princess’s reminiscence.

Celestia’s eyes went wistful, then closed in memory. “Guiding Light.”

MUSIC: The Night Is Still Young

Midnight found Twilight and Phoenix walking alone on the beach, the lights of the city on their left and glittering darkness of the ocean on their right, reflecting the stars and setting moon. The air was cooling off quickly given the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean nearby, but neither noticed the chill, Twilight for being able to tap her power and warm herself from within, and Phoenix for holding her close as they walked down the sandy shore, leaning on each other and talking softly.

They had awoken somewhat embarrassed at their compromising position and very sticky bodies but had quickly cleaned up and thrown the bedding into the wash, a happy but still-lightheaded Twilight making a mental note to research magical feedback loops when she returned to Equestria. That accomplished, they left to grab dinner at a local taco shop.

Continuing her culinary explorations, the former unicorn tried some fish tacos once she was assured the meat was cooked. She found herself again surprised by the mild and not unpleasant flavor of the fish, offset nicely by some mixed cabbage, topped with a tasty mixture of onion, tomato and cilantro, finished off with a dollop of sour cream and dash of hot sauce and then encased in a crunchy, tasty shell that brought it all together, leaving her licking her fingers happily. She tried Phoenix’s quesadilla but only a single regretted bite—“too cheesy!” she stuck her tongue out—but did otherwise enjoy her meal, wondering idly what the princess and Maya were doing at that moment.

After grabbing some groceries and stopping back at the villa to transfer the linen to the dryer, they went back out to take a long walk, removing their shoes to enjoy the cool sand under their feet. Twilight was surprised by how cold the water was when she dipped her toes in, though she did enjoy the sound of the surf and smell of the sea, regretting not taking the opportunity to visit the ocean more back in Equestria.

“So, Phoenix…” Twilight began as they stopped to sit on the cool sand, the furthest front of the waves just reaching their feet. “Just want you to know this place is wonderful and I’ve really enjoyed my week here with you. For all we’ve done and all I’ve seen… I wish it would never end,” she stated wistfully as she laid her head on his shoulder, staring out over the water with him.

“Me too,” he answered as he laid his head against hers, sensing a but that was to follow. “Something on your mind…?”

“Actually, yes..” she conceded, and Phoenix could all but hear her taking a mental breath. “And maybe we’ve been avoiding this question, but…” she shifted to face him, holding his hands in her own. “We really do need to ask where things go from here. Figure out what kind of relationship we can have.”

“You’re right. We do…” Phoenix replied cautiously. Knew we had to do this eventually… better now than later, right? “So let me start by saying I would never ask you to abandon your friends and princess to be with me. I’d be very selfish if I did, and it wouldn’t be fair to you.”

Her eyes shone for a moment and she laid her head on his shoulder again. “Thank you for saying so, Phoenix. Because the biggest fear I’ve had… is that I’d have to choose between you. Choose between our two worlds, choose between the friends I can’t live without and the man I’ve fallen in love with.” She raised her eyes back to meet his. “Because I don’t think I can make that choice and if I had to… it’d tear me in two.”

“I’m not asking you to,” Phoenix quickly reassured her, squeezing her hand briefly. “And I never would. I’ve had some of the same worries, you know. I’ve thought about it a lot already, and I don’t think I could make that choice either. I guess when it comes down to it… our lives can cross at times, but they can’t fully coincide. It’s like I told Maya… your place is in Equestria with your friends and my place is here, defending the wrongfully accused and trying to set things right. There’s just not as much cause for that in your world and when it comes down to it… I can’t leave or Maya or Pearls behind to be with you.”

“Well, I’m sure Pearly wouldn’t mind moving…” Twilight chuckled, “but I think Maya might be a bit unhappy without all her toys and meat.”

Phoenix flushed, his mind automatically taking that statement in an entirely different direction. “Uh…”

She giggled. “Relax, Phoenix. When it comes down to it, I don’t know how well I’d do here full-time either. I’m really starting to enjoy this body, and I get a lot better now why the princess likes this place. But still…” she shook her head, the wind ruffling her blouse and hair, which she’d changed back to normal hues for their walk.

“But your heart is in Equestria?” he suggested, giving her hand a squeeze as it rested against his thigh.

She hesitated, but only for a moment. “It really is,” she admitted. “With Spike, with my friends, with the princess, with my brother and my books… I guess whatever body I’m wearing, I really am a pony at heart, Phoenix.”

“And I wouldn’t ask you to be anything else,” he kissed the top of her head, suddenly wondering what she might say of their time together to Shining Armor… and how he’d take it. Just so long as he doesn’t want to ‘kick my flank’ for it! “No matter how well you wear that body, you’re still Twilight Sparkle. And that’s who I fell in love with,” he reminded her. “Your friends are part of what makes you who you are. Take them away, you wouldn’t be the same pony, and I would never ask that of you.”

Her response was to turn and face him, giving a long and lingering kiss. “And I would never ask you to be something you’re not either… though I’ll admit I have sometimes fantasized about you as a stallion,” she gave him a wry grin again. “And you know… there are spells to temporarily turn you into one.”

Far from being tantalized, he froze. “You know how I feel about magic, Twilight,” he reminded her. “The fact that you can is do that is… kind of scary to me.”

“I wouldn’t do it against your will!” she quickly added, then slumped slightly at the look Phoenix gave her, reminding her she’d used magic on him without telling him at least once already. “I’m sorry, Phoenix. I guess I was just hoping that since I came to you as a human, that maybe sometime, when you visited Equestria again… you’d return the favor. If nothing else, it’d be a lot easier for you to pass unnoticed as a pony. If you show up as a human, neither of us would be left alone,” she reminded him with a rueful look.

Well, that much is true… Phoenix rubbed the back of his head as he remembered the endless media attention he’d endured after Rainbow’s verdict, little of it having to do with his legal skills. “I think I would like to return at some point. See all your friends again,” he admitted. Sure wish I could get some more of that Sugar Cube Corner coffee, too… he wished, his supply having run out weeks earlier.

“Well, they’d all love to see you,” Twilight told him somewhat wistfully. “Pinkie wants nothing more than to see ‘Feenie’ again, Fluttershy finally understands you’re not a Phoenix, Rainbow Dash would love to show off her latest flight tricks, Applejack always likes having company for the cider and harvest season, the Crusaders want Pearly back, and Rarity I think just wants to get her hoof kissed again,” she giggled. Though unless I miss my guess, she is still pining a bit for Edgeworth…

Phoenix couldn’t resist. “Just her hoof?” he asked with a wry grin.

She gave him a look. “Considering what she did the night of the party, I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t object to more!” The better question is, would you or I…?

Phoenix’s cheeks flushed as he abruptly remembered the eyeful he’d gotten from the fashionista. It was one of the last things he recalled before… “Speaking of which, I don’t suppose you’ve remembered anything else about what happened that night…?”

Twilight shook her head. “At this point, I wish I did!” And I keep forgetting to find out what Pinkie’s putting in that super-special party punch of hers… “All I can say is, I’m pretty sure we did something…?” her brow furrowed, trying to lock on to the elusive, drink-blurred memories again only to sense them slip away the more she tried to reach them.

“Yeah…” Phoenix rubbed his head again, noting in some amazement how little it mattered to him now. “Well, given everything else we’ve done, I guess it’s kind of a moot point anyway,” he chuckled.

“You said it!” she grinned, already considering what she wanted to do next. Tempting to be taken as a pony again, but… “Well, since you kind of brought it up… there’s something else you need to know. I don’t know if you realize this, but in Equestria… given our gender ratios it’s… pretty common for mares to share males,” she informed him, half-cringingly.

“Right. That whole ‘herd’ thing,” he’d learned by the end of his stay. “It’s your family unit and there’s usually like three or more mares to a stallion, right?”

Twilight shifted uncomfortably. “Well, yes, but… even outside of it,” she added somewhat reluctantly, but decided he needed to know the full truth before there were any misunderstandings or hurt feelings. “It’s fairly common, for example, for mares on good terms to share a coltfriend. Herds often get their start from that.”

Phoenix froze internally as it finally clicked what she was saying. “And you’re telling me this because…?”

Twilight chose her next words very carefully. “While I’m here in your world, human dating rules apply. I’m yours exclusively and I wouldn’t have it any other way. But back in Equestria…” she trailed off, not even sure herself what she was trying to say. “Well, the rules are different. And it’s possible my friends may express interest in you. I just want you ready for it if they do.”

The images suddenly flowing through his head would have made Celestia blush even as he noted her careful wording… in particular, what she didn’t say. “And what would you think of that?”

She hesitated again before replying. “The honest answer is… I don’t know, Phoenix. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want you to myself for now, but for a mare that’s almost seen as selfish,” she went downcast for a moment, fighting off some lurid images of her own of Phoenix with Fluttershy or Rarity, remembering him unknowingly feeling up the former and his royal treatment of the latter. “I guess what I’m saying is… now that we’re lovers, that may change things in the minds of my friends. And I’m pretty sure at least a couple of them might be interested in you.” Well, definitely not Rainbow…

Phoenix wasn’t at all sure if that made him more eager to return or less, but in any event, those simply weren’t paths he was ready to go down, certainly not so soon after consummating his relationship with Twilight. And that’s to say nothing about what’s happening with Maya, he mildly cursed the reaction of his loins to sudden memories of the night before, forcefully reminding himself of Ferro’s words—that there was nothing inherently wrong with seeing her as the pretty young woman she was becoming or even appreciating her as one. “Well… thanks for letting me know. I get that’s the pony way of doing things, but… you need to understand that given human social mores, that would be very hard for me to do. And it’s way too soon for us to even consider stuff like that,” he shook his head, in disbelief he could entertain the concept so casually. “So I’d appreciate it if…”

“I’ll talk to them when I get back,” she promised. “I said I would meet you on your terms, and to that I hold, Phoenix. If you want an exclusive relationship… believe me, you can have it!” She threw her hands around him and kissed him again. “That aside… the offer to come back to Equestria sometime remains open!”

He returned her kiss. “Well, I appreciate the thought, but I don’t know when I can come. Something tells me I’m going to be getting busy before too long,” he said, looking down for a moment. “For now, I’d best stay close to home. I think new clients are coming my way soon.”

She gave him a curious look. “What makes you say that?”

“Just a feeling…” he shrugged, staring out over the water again. “Last time I had it, I ended up with four cases in pretty short order.”

“I see… and I assume in those four cases, you got justice for all?” she asked with a wry grin.

Phoenix groaned. “Well, I can name at least one client who doesn’t think so…” he mused. But Engarde can rot in the same hell as Dahlia! “Otherwise, yes.”

“Good,” Twilight nodded, thinking she might want to come back to witness him at work again. “So back to our original question, then… what kind of relationship do we want, Phoenix?” she prompted him. “I mean, is what we have enough, or do we want to go for more…?”

He considered the question carefully. “I think that for the time being, what we have as lovers is fine, Twilight,” he answered her. “We don’t have all the answers right now, but maybe we don’t need them all just yet. I don’t know what’s going on with Maya, and I have no idea about your friends. All I do know is… that whatever trials and tribulations may come, I don’t want to stop seeing you,” he told her, squeezing her hands. “You mean the world to me, Twilight Sparkle. Both worlds, actually…” he remembered after a beat.

He could just see her smiling in the dim light. “And right now, you mean everything to me, Phoenix Wright,” she said as she kissed him again, pressing close to him, her eyes going hooded. “Mare or woman, I’m yours. And you know the biggest benefit of having two different bodies? That you can take my virginity twice,” she all but cooed, kissing him lightly, her hand starting to work its way down his belly, her aura reactivating and casting a dim pink glow about them, her magic and implicit offer sending Phoenix’s excitement surging once more.

They headed back to the villa posthaste.

Maya and Celestia lingered long over dinner, the latter even deciding she would return the next day to do it all again, grinning as she imagined the look on her sister’s face as she described her culinary choices. “A guilty pleasure, but a pleasure nonetheless,” she sighed happily as she patted her belly. “Thank you for taking me here, Miss Maya.”

“It was my pleasure, believe me! So what do you want to do now, Princess?” Maya asked, still inwardly amazed at how easygoing and personable Celestia really was. Just hope I’m that way if I live that long! she thought with a chuckle. “Night’s still young, weekend’s coming, and there’s a nightclub I know here… DJ’s not as good as Vinyl, but it’s fun all the same. So what do you say, princess? Like to ‘cut loose’ at a rave?” she suggested with a sly grin.

Celestia put on a mortified look. “Miss Maya… are you suggesting that I indulge in commoner activities and engage in behavior unbecoming of an alicorn and the solar diarch?” She put a hand to her chest in mock horror. “Have you any idea of the scandal that would cause for me back home?”

“So is that a yes?” Maya asked with a sardonic smile, deciding that for her wisdom and willingness to break the rules, she well and truly liked the sun princess.

Celestia smiled back. “I would love to, Miss Maya. But first…” her eyes locked on something hanging on the far wall. “I think I have finally found Luna’s gift.”

She went over to the counter and asked to speak to the manager. Two minutes later there was an exchange of cash and Celestia exited the eatery with Maya, very happy with her find. Underneath her arm was a picture she had bought, a simple captioned image of the moon:

14: Unintended Effects

Author's Note

This was the trickiest chapter yet to excise the adult scenes from, because they were fairly integral to the chapter. In the end it remains R-rated in a couple spots for it simply because I can’t explain what happened except directly, and that information is needed by the reader going forward. Apologies, but you’ll see where this is leading very shortly and how consequential it truly is.

14: Unintended Effects

Music: Sending Transmission…

“So how’s it coming, Rarity?” Applejack asked her friend, who’d been working feverishly for the past day on a sudden “IDDDEEEEAAAA!” she’d had, a way to contact Twilight and Phoenix more directly than the dragonfire messages they were dependent on for news. Since then, she’d been experimenting in Twilight’s lab, given access by Spike, who had brought her every old mirror he could find after she’d broken the dozen or so she already had. “You been able to make that spell work yet?”

“I believe I’ve almost got it…” she said, her sewing glasses sitting on her head and her mane unusually messy, one of Vinyl Scratch’s new crystal batteries around her neck, replacing the three she’d already used up and discarded over the course of her work. “For all my work with mirrors, I’m surprised this never occurred to me before! I bet even Twilight will be impressed!”

“Ooo! And just in time! I think they’re doing it again!” Pinkie Pie jumped up and down, her nose and tail twitching. “If you hurry, we might even be able to watch!”

“Watch them do it?” Spike made a face. “No thanks!”

“Ditto!” Rainbow Dash added, sticking her tongue out. “No fur-less monkey bods for me!” she crossed her forelegs.

“Well, I for one hope they are!” Vinyl Scratch replied, lending her own expertise to the occasion, teaching Rarity to work with the new crystal batteries she was already starting to mass-produce. “You girls weren’t there to see what happened with those two last time. Let me tell you, human foreplay is fun!” she said, still looking forward to the chance of trying it herself. I wonder if Maya’d be interested…?

“I believe I already have some idea, darling!” Rarity grinned as she remembered Miles Edgeworth and the night of the party. She then cast one spell on a mirror, and a second on a small crystal, passing it to Spike. “Now for the final test… please position yourself, Ms. Scratch.”

“Copy that!” Vinyl said, teleporting out in a flash of light.

“Now then… you’re up, Spikey-Wikey!” she turned to the eager-to-please scribe and passed him the crystal in her aura.

“Roger, Rarity!” he saluted eagerly, and then wrapped the crystal in a letter scroll and breathed fire on it. None of them could see as it disappeared and subsequently rematerialized in Vinyl Scratch’s home, where the pony DJ had gone to wait for it. There was a pause as they gathered in front of another mirror, this one the large dresser mirror borrowed from Twilight’s room. At first, it only showed them their own reflection, but then the mirror surface shimmered and…

A huge cheer went up from the group, all present hugging and congratulating Rarity in turn.

Music: Back to Business…

Having already completed one round of lovemaking, Phoenix and Twilight wasted little time doing another.

Her magical refractory period very short after several days of not being with him, Twilight’s mating aura reactivated quickly, bathing him in her power and need once more. “You’re insatiable…” Phoenix told her between renewed kisses.

“Because you’re incredible…” she rejoined, then was startled as he pulled back from her. “Wh-what?” she called out in disappointment.

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to do…” Phoenix explained. “I guess you could call it… a little payback for last night…”

“And… wh-what’s that?” she asked somewhat shakily, turned on even more as she thought she might know what he meant.

“Let’s just say... turnabout is fair play...” he told her between kisses. “And as Maya says... I’m the Turnabout terror!”

Music: Generic Party Music Activate!

At the Angel City Rhythm Club barely six miles away, Maya and Celestia felt a strong magical disturbance, like a tremor in the ether itself.

The power of the Twilight’s latest climax startled both, making the former nearly lose her balance as she got a surprisingly strong and vivid sense of what Nick and Sparkle were doing, feeling an echo in her own body of it. Celestia, too, had to stop dancing for a moment, stunned that Twilight’s human form could also broadcast so strongly. I told her mating in human form was safe, but apparently NOT…? she looked around to realize that they weren’t the only ones affected, either—a lot of patrons had suddenly started kissing or outright making out… and some were even doing more than that!

Reluctantly, she reached out with her magic to disperse the attenuated wave of Twilight’s aura before it could have any further effect on the bar patrons, and in particular the young human mystic before her. The damage was already done, however: Maya’s cheeks were flushed, her arousal quite evident… and her own was as well, Celestia realized, her thoughts now very sexual, startled to suddenly find herself entertaining thoughts of doing what Twilight and Phoenix had been with the young girl before her!

NO! she told herself forcefully, helping Maya to a chair and magically snagging a bottled water, her aura unnoticed in the flashing lights of the dance hall. I am NOT that pony any more…

“Whoa…” Maya was still shaky, gulping down the water and then pressing the chilled plastic surface of the battle against her forehead, trying to cool down her suddenly overheated thoughts. “So… th-that’s what it’s like for them?” She was surprised to feel a moment of envy.

“Apparently so,” Celestia acknowledged, a bit ruefully. A little more powerful than I thought, particularly at close range… I had best alert her… she thought, concentrating and sending a telepathic message to her student to apply their recent magic lesson to her human form as well, receiving a weak acknowledgment and apology in return. “Are you alright, Miss Maya?” she asked, trying not to entertain any more thoughts of the young girl before her.

“I will be…” she said. “But… m-maybe we shouldn’t stay,” she said tentatively, her eyes darting around the nightclub where several couples were now in a state of partial undress, swept up by the music and given an extra push by Twilight’s magic. It was a push that was far more strongly affecting Maya given her attunement to magic and mystical energy… and, Celestia quickly realized, her inexperience in blocking them when they needed to be. As a consequence, she was pawing at herself almost involuntarily, her eyes locking on two women making out passionately. She started to pull the bow knot on her belt sash with one hand and open her robe with the other, balling her hands into fists when she realized what she was doing, clutching herself and shivering. “This isn’t really what I…” she trailed off as her eyes fell on Celestia, then widened at whatever thoughts were going through her head, looking away in fear.

Celestia recognized what was happening to her, and a need to take immediate action for the young girl’s sake. “Come, Miss Maya. Let’s get you out of here,” she said, taking her by the hand and waiting for the strobe to wash over them so she could camouflage her teleport, winking out with the young girl in a flash of gold light.

Music: Your Friends Are Still Here

Phoenix and Twilight awoke in the middle of the following morning, exhausted after several more rounds of lovemaking.

After lingering long under the covers in the morning light kissing and talking, they had finally gotten up to eat, pulling on a pair of robes the villa provided in the bedroom closet. She had a ‘western’ omelet breakfast cooked for her by Phoenix, who introduced her—at her request when she smelled it cooking!—to the joys of bacon for the first time. Deliciously salty, crunchy and fatty, it tasted heavenly to her human taste buds, doubly so for replacing the energy they’d both lost. Pigs she had less trouble wrapping her head around as a food animal than bovines, since they weren’t intelligent, even in Equestria. Applejack kept them around on her farm only for garbage disposal and manure… though Twilight couldn’t help but notice that a couple had disappeared during the course of the Equestrian 500 when griffins were in town; she’d hadn’t been able to work up the nerve to ask Applejack if she’d sold them for meat.

“So what do you want to do today?” he asked her. Her grin answered for her as she got up and pressed close to kiss him, only to turn a little wan when she sensed how weak his response was.

“Well, maybe we should break for a bit…” she admitted, to which Phoenix grinned a bit more ruefully, amazed he had anything left in the tank at all after the previous night. Viagra’s got nothing on TWILIGHT! he couldn’t help but think as she went on. “Would like to check out the town, and I’m pretty sure Pinkie would never forgive me if I didn’t visit that big pier fairgrounds next door.”

Phoenix had to laugh at that. “Let’s save that for later, when Pearls can come for the weekend and everyone can enjoy it,” he suggested. “We can hit the city, and if the crowds get to be too much, we’ll head up one of the hill trails and get away for a bit, like we did the day after you arrived. That work?”

“Perfectly,” she agreed, fingering her amulet. To her surprise, the longer she stayed in human form, the easier it got to maintain it; she was drawing less and less energy from the crystal pendant over time. Huh. I wonder if that’s normal? Should probably ask the princess about it…

The thought was cut short as the dragonfire candle flared, disgorging a scroll that fell surprisingly heavily to the surface below. They’d put the candle on the kitchen table, both for ambiance and so they wouldn’t miss it if anything came through.

Grinning, Twilight swept up the scroll in her aura but was surprised when a small ruby fell free, clattering over to Phoenix, who picked it up and studied it curiously as Twilight read the note, a look of confusion on her face as she showed it to Phoenix:

Twilight—when you get this message, please let us know immediately. A second message will follow when you do. I promise you’ll understand shortly! ~Rarity and Spike

“What do you think it is?” Phoenix asked her, examining the delivered crystal in his hand. It was a palm-sized ruby very similar to the one Twilight used for her magic battery.

“I’m not sure…” she answered, her brow furrowing and ethereal horn glowing as she gently probed the crystal with her aura. She could sense Rarity’s magic and some form of mirror spell on it—there was an entire class of incantations dealing with mirrors, mostly having to do with recording events and later replaying scenes that were in view of them. She knew Rarity was familiar with such spells, using them for everything from advertising and fashion shows to recording business transactions, but this wasn’t one she’d sensed before. “It’s not dangerous, whatever it is… so I guess we just do what it says,” she shrugged, writing out a quick reply and sending it back through the flame.

A minute later, a second message came through, with some odd instructions that made them trade odd looks. Shrugging, Phoenix took the scroll in one hand and the crystal in the other, going over to the big floor-to-ceiling mirror by the closet overlooking the living room with the balcony door and ocean in the background.

“Okay, then…it says to touch the crystal to the nearest large mirror…” he noted, and did so, gently tapping the crystal to the mirror surface. Abruptly, the gem began to glow, and then the mirror itself with the same light. When the glow had transferred entirely from the gem to the mirror, the surface shimmered and distorted to reveal…

All of Twilight’s friends standing in her library, eyes locking with them as if they could see them… a thought then confirmed as the group suddenly began leaping and cheering, Rainbow Dash and Applejack even exchanging high hooves.

“Girls?” Twilight was so surprised he forgot she was undressed for a moment.

Rainbow quickly reminded her. “Ew! So that’s what they look like without clothes?!” she made a face.

“My eyes!” Spike covered them and ran away.

“Oh, um… is this a bad time?” Fluttershy blushed hard she beheld the naked pair, staring with some interest at Phoenix.

“Perfectly good time if you ask me!” Vinyl grinned, flipping up her shades to take in the pair.

“See? I told you they were doing it again!” Pinkie jumped up and down.

“So they were. Well now… lookin’ fine there, Phoenix Wright!” Applejack twinkled and tipped her stetson to him, giving the gaping human lawyer a slightly salacious grin.

Belatedly realizing he was completely undressed, Phoenix went red and immediately grabbed for his robe, hurriedly pulling it back on to the evident disappointment of Twilight’s friends.

“But what…? How…?” Twilight herself was still staring at her friends with her jaw agape, placing her palm against the surface, half expecting it would allow her to pass. It didn’t, however, though the image shimmered again in a manner like what a still-stunned Phoenix could only describe as a magnet placed close against a television screen. “How did you do this? I don’t know of any spell that does this! And certainly not over this distance!”

“I used a binary mirror spell, darling!” Rarity beamed, looking very proud as well as very tired. “One powered by those same crystal batteries you’re now wearing! The two halves of the spell link mirrors no matter where they are for as long as the magic lasts!”

“Those batteries we made are already starting to revolutionize things, Sparks!” Vinyl confirmed, letting her red eyes appreciatively over her friend’s naked form, having already taken a mental snapshot of Phoenix for later. “They’re not just for storing mana or music now—with my help, Rares was able to figure out how to contain both the spell and some mana to maintain it within the crystal, and then have it released by touching it to a target surface!”

“So the crystal contains both the incantation and the magical energy to power it? That’s brilliant!” Twilight gushed, but then her brow furrowed. “But… binary spells are only for remote viewing of mirror-recorded memories! How did you make it… live?” she motioned at the mirror.

“Oh, it’s almost the same spell, darling! I just tweaked to allow for instant playback! In essence, it still is just a playback spell, but replaying memories as it makes them! It took me a while—and a few broken mirrors—to get right,” she motioned at the glass shards around them. “But once I did? We couldn’t wait to use it!” Rarity beamed again, her fatigue forgotten as she beheld her friend in human form, marveling at it and suddenly wondering what she would look like as a human. I wonder what my darling Edgeworth would think of me THEN?

“You… you did this for me?” Twilight put her hand to her chest, tears in her eyes.

“Well, we wanted to see you, egghead!” Rainbow Dash stated from her hover, then moved closer to the mirror on her end. “Kind of wanted to see this weird world you’re in, too!” she looked around behind them, and the pair immediately stepped to the side to show the plush living area.

“Such exquisite decor!” Rarity admired the room behind them. “And an ocean view! How romantic!” she gushed.

“Eh. Ocean never did it for me,” Applejack shrugged. “Saw it in Manehattan. Wasn’t impressed. The scenery here, on the other hoof…” she looked Phoenix over from head to toe again, making the human lawyer flush further, wishing he could tie his slightly undersized robe a bit more tightly.

“Oh! Um… I went once, when I was a model. Had a photoshoot on a beach once. It was the only thing I ever liked about it,” Fluttershy offered tentatively, seemingly unable to tear her eyes away from Phoenix for more than a moment, glancing up and blushing a little deeper each time, wings twitching.

Her reaction went unnoticed by all except Phoenix, who saw the furtive looks she was giving him, Twilight’s earlier warning about her friends being potentially interested in him taking on a whole new meaning and immediacy. “What’s all that weird stuff on the wall?” Rainbow pointed with a hoof at the TV and entertainment center.

“That’s a… movie player,” Phoenix explained somewhat sheepishly, knowing the explanation was true but still woefully incomplete, resisting the temptation to wrap a robe back around Twilight, forcibly reminding himself that ponies didn’t care about nudity. But I DO!

“A movie player?” Rainbow was skeptical. “Doesn’t look like a projector to me!”

“Told ya they had some cool stuff!” Vinyl grinned. “Hey Phoenix? Is Maya around?” she asked hopefully.

“No, she’s… with the princess right now,” Phoenix still felt a bit flustered, blushing under their continued scrutiny and worse, finding himself reacting to it. He wasn’t unhappy to see them all again, but wished they’d given them some warning. And being sized up by several of Twilight’s friends was both flattering and disconcerting; feeling Rarity’s, Vinyl’s, Fluttershy’s and even Applejack’s eyes on him in turn. “We’re going to meet them for dinner later,” he said in an effort to master his nerves and body.

“Okay. So answer a little bet we’re having. Just what’s the princess doing over there?” Rainbow asked.

Phoenix and Twilight looked at each other. “Well, uh…” the latter answered a bit nervously. “You have to Pinkie Promise not to tell anyone the answer,” she warned them, waiting until they’d taken the ritual oath. “If you could believe it, she’s… seeing someone.” She rubbed her hand behind her head.

“Ha! Ah knew it! Y’all owe me some bits!” Applejack held her hoof out as the others groaned and paid her off.

“So who’s the lucky stallion?” Rarity asked eagerly.

“A spa worker…” was all Phoenix would say. “Tall, dark and dashing.”

“Not unlike you?” Rarity batted her blue eyes at him, causing Phoenix to flush further.

“So, you been treatin’ Twi right, Phoenix Wright?” Applejack grinned at her new favorite turn of phrase.

“Has he ever!” Twilight confirmed before Phoenix could answer, pulling the startled human lawyer close and kissing him as the others cheered.

“Ooo! Did you guys enjoy doing the swirl?” Pinkie asked eagerly, causing them both to gape and the others to give them shocked looks, then grin, Phoenix not immediately getting the term until he mentally matched it to an act they’d performed the previous night and realized that humans had a completely different expression for it.

All except one, that was. “You did the swirl with a guy???” Rainbow made a face again.

“You kinky little filly!” Applejack grinned and made a swatting motion with her stetson at the mirror.

“That sounds… nice…” Fluttershy offered through her renewed blush.

“You’re now one up on me, darling!” a delighted Rarity admitted.

“Speak for yourselves! That’s one more image I can’t get out of my head!” Rainbow stuck out her tongue again.

“Wow, you really have gone native, Sparks!” Vinyl grinned. “I’m proud of you, filly!” she added, then abruptly the mirror image started to shrink from the edges in.

“Oh dear! The stored magic in the crystal is running out already!” Rarity panicked. “We only had one crystal ready and it will take us some time to ready another! We will send it tonight or tomorrow! Have fun in the meantime!” she called out frantically, the others waving at her through the narrowing portal until it disappeared in a poof of magical wisps, leaving only the mirror surface behind. It shimmered for a moment, then settled down completely, only showing their own reflection.

“Wow…” Twilight said, going up to the mirror again and probing it with her hand and magic, feeling the aural residue Rarity’s improvised spell had left behind. “Sometimes I don’t give her enough credit. She’s really clever when she wants to be…” she shook her head in amazement again.

“She really is…” Phoenix granted, impressed but still perturbed. “I think she just invented a Skype spell.”

“Skype?” Twilight blinked.

“It’s…” he realized he really didn’t know what it was, except he’d done one with Maya a couple times—following her instructions, which he’d had to be walked through step by step. “It’s a means we have to talk over long distances, not just with voice but with pictures. Maya can explain it better than me,” he rubbed his hand behind his head, suddenly wondering what she and the princess were doing at that moment.

Wherever they are, hope Celestia’s keeping Maya out of trouble… or should that be the other way around? he allowed a small smile as he went to clean up their meal.

Music: Sightseeing

After leaving Maya a text—and somewhat surprised when he didn’t get an immediate answer—he and Twilight went out to explore the city of Santa Monica proper.

They began by walking the Third Street Promenade, taking in the shops and sampling some snack foods, Twilight making a list of some gifts she might like to pick up later—she was even at ease enough that she decided to leave her hair its normal hues, seeing some odd dye jobs on the heads of women around her. Then, curious over the planes she could see taking off from the nearby airfield, Phoenix remembered there was an air museum there so they took a tour bus over and went inside.

It was a good call. Twilight was fascinated by the exhibits and the old planes, paying particular note to the replica of the Wright Brothers flyer they had there. Phoenix told her the story as best he knew it—that the two bicycle-making Wright brothers Orville and Wilbur (“no relation,” he told her before she could ask) brought mankind the gift of flight not much more than a century prior, figuring it out by trial-and-error over many years, and all planes humans now flew were descended from this original flyer and its first, twelve-second flight over a windswept seashore called Kitty Hawk.

She shook her head in amazement. “We’ve had dirigibles forever, and back in Firefly’s time there were ones for military use, but they were nothing like this!” she said, turning her attention to the sleeker and occasionally predatory-looking old military planes. “Have you ever flown, Phoenix?” she asked as she put her hand against one, feeling the cold metal beneath it, giving it a quick, experimental tug with her magic, her aura almost invisible in the bright light of the hanger.

He hesitated. “Not happily,” he shook his head. “A couple times, but I’ve never enjoyed it. Flying’s… well, scary to me.” He looked embarrassed.

“Is it not safe?” she asked him in some concern.

He shook his head. “No, it’s very safe nowadays. Accidents are extremely rare, but when they do happen…” he shuddered. “Rainbow may laugh, but I’d rather just keep my feet on the ground.”

“If you can keep a secret, me too,” she said, somewhat ruefully. “I’ve flown hot air balloons, but that’s different. Those I have full magical control over and I feel safe for it. But I can’t imagine flying like a pegasus, let alone in one of these,” she chuckled, patting the side of an old jet. “Then again, maybe I’ve got something for wings because I’ve sometimes imagined you as a pegasus, Phoenix,” she grinned.

“Me? A pegasus?” Phoenix had to laugh, putting his hand behind his head. “I think I’d be the only one afraid to fly!”

“Fluttershy doesn’t much care for flying either, but she’ll do it,” Twilight reminded him, stuffing a museum flyer into a purse Phoenix had purchased for her, replacing the re-purposed saddlebag she’d been using. “Especially if somepony she cares about is in danger.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Phoenix answered, suddenly remembering her swooping in to rescue him from the Timberwolves. “So you think Rainbow would be interested in stuff like this?” he asked her, motioning around them.

She thought about it, only to sigh and shake her head. “If it doesn’t go fast, she doesn’t care. Hay, I don’t even know if she ever cracked open that book on human flying machines I got her.”

Phoenix couldn’t help but smirk. “Well, if she wants fast, we do have aircraft that break the sound barrier. Would she be interested in those?”

“You do?” Twilight was visibly startled. “Well, if she considers them a threat or challenge to her being the fastest thing in the sky, she might!”

“Well, if you ever bring her here, guess we’ll have to take her to an air show!” he mused, then suddenly wondered… “actually, though… would you bring your friends here?”

She hesitated, but only briefly. “I think I’d have to discuss that with them and the princess, but… I’d want to, yes!” she said, nodding sharply. “I mean, I already brought Vinyl here, so there’s no reason the others can’t come!”

“Sure, just not all at once…” he rubbed his head again. “That’d be a lot to deal with.”

She grimaced at the thought. “You’re right. One at a time should do…” she put her arm around his waist as they exited the museum gift shop. Of course knowing them, they’re probably going to fight over who gets to go first worse than they did over that Grand Galloping Gala ticket…

* * * * *

Late afternoon had fallen when Twilight decided she’d had enough of crowds and noise again. So just as they did the morning after she’d arrived, they made for the nearby hills and hiking trails, hopping a bus to trade the seaside town for the nearby natural scenery of a state park.

Phoenix did finally receive a return text from Maya on the way up, though it was uncharacteristically terse, saying only that she was ‘having a private lesson with the princess’ and they wouldn’t be available for dinner.

Concerned, he asked her if anything was wrong while Twilight telepathically queried the princess herself, but the only answer she received was that “Miss Maya needs my help” and that she was trying to teach her how to block ‘unwanted influences’, for which they needed privacy, telling her to enjoy her evening with Phoenix but admonishing her again to remember their earlier lesson and not broadcast.

Unwanted influences? Twilight blinked, thinking the princess was being even more cryptic than usual. She must be talking about teaching Maya to block magical influences. So why does she need that…? she immediately wondered, but also recognized a note in her mentor’s mental voice that asked her not to press further at that time.

Phoenix likewise heard a note in Maya’s texts that said she didn’t want to be bothered, so he dropped the matter, wondering what kind of ‘lesson’ the princess was giving her. Though concerned, their thoughts were lost as they wandered the park, which Phoenix had chosen for its easier trails and ready-access scenery, including one of the waterfalls that Twilight had so enjoyed on her first full day in his world.

Well, we BOTH enjoyed it, he thought with a grin. And maybe we will again…? he felt his libido starting to kick back in, catching a few of the more lascivious looks Twilight was starting to throw him again as the crowds thinned out towards evening. Technically, they weren’t supposed to be out past sunset, of course, but that had rarely stopped him before on the biking or hiking trails he frequented around L.A.

It also didn’t help that they passed at least one kissing couple along the way and heard telltale giggles from another direction. Welcome to California… Phoenix chuckled as Twilight blushed and then bumped him with her hip—she’d clearly learned her human body language quite well by then and was using it to increasingly good effect.

And yet, to his surprise… he quickly found she was ready to go again, but not as a human. Pulling him into a secluded grotto which she encased in an illusion spell, she surprised him by transforming back to a pony in his arms as they kissed, her cheeks warm and glow of her horn remaining but turning pink, casting a soft glow over the clearing.

“This is a little public, isn’t it?” He said slightly breathlessly as they parted, his hands running through her fur and mane freely, enjoying her changed attributes anew. Her clothes were removed and stored back at their hotel room with a flash of her horn—they were close enough and she had enough magical power as a unicorn that she could do the reserve item summon to accomplish her goal—and she then stood before him as the violet unicorn she was, her equine body his for the taking.

“No more than last time,” she all but purred, kissing him again as then stepped in front of him and flagged her tail, propping herself on a boulder and displaying herself fully in the light of her horn, pausing only briefly to cast another spell that put some form of bubble around them. “I’ve put up a privacy screen. It’ll block sound and most sight from outside the bubble. And besides, if you’ll recall you invited me to turn pony back then. So how about it Phoenix? Want to ride a pony?” she asked, her eyes going hooded and magic teasing him with all her considerable skill, which had only grown over the past few days.

His heart all but leapt into his throat. “I could be persuaded...” he answered with a grin, going to her.

Not even ten minutes later, the two were beside themselves, their earlier elation having given away quite abruptly to shock and outright fear. “Phoenix! I’m sorry!” Twilight said in a panic. “I d-didn’t mean...”

“Twilight? What... what did you do to me...?” Phoenix was beside himself as he pulled back from her, anything but happy as he beheld himself and the aftermath of their latest encounter. The reason for his consternation was instantly apparent to anyone who might have been there to see--not only had her magic compelled him to perform an act he had categorically not meant or wanted to, it seemingly had other consequences that were even worse in his mind, representing not just a broken promise but his worst fears made real. For it was only in the aftermath when he was able to pull back from her that he realized...

His equipment was now considerably larger and had taken on a vaguely equine shape!

15: A Turnabout for the Worst

Author's Note

When this chapter was written, it was the riskiest one I'd done yet, even in terms of the M-rated story. I said the last chapter was difficult to sanitize? Well, so was this one, not just because of the scenes in it but because I was introducing what amounted to a second ship. You're about to learn part of what happened the night of the party at the end of Turnabout Storm, but not involving Phoenix.

The reason for the delay in releasing this chapter is it needed a lot of work to turn T-rated, and I had to think long and hard as to what to remove/leave in. In the end, I decided that the lead up to the final scene needed to stay, uncomfortable though it may make some people and borderline R-rated though it is. The reason is that it will factor in heavily heading forward into the trial chapters to come, and it needs to be understood what happened and how it affected Maya. So my sincerest apologies, but think of it this way: if what you read makes you uncomfortable, imagine how it made Maya feel and how she might lash out for it...

And how that willingness to lash out might be made use of by an evil entity who has no qualms whatsoever about using someone's hate and anger as a weapon and emotional bludgeon against others. The stage is just about set, so wait but one more chapter, and a trial unlike any Phoenix has ever experienced will begin.

15: A Turnabout for the Worst

Celestia was growing increasingly concerned about Maya.

She’d removed her from the nightclub, teleporting them both all the way back to her penthouse suite at the Gatewater, dispersing the magical effects on the young girl as best she could. That had been easy enough. The problem was, she couldn’t remove her memories of what Maya had felt—a strong echo of Twilight and Phoenix’s lovemaking in her own body—from what she guessed from long experience was the result of Twilight’s magic mixing with her mystic power.

It was the kind of interaction Twilight herself would love to study, but it didn’t do much for the young mystic at that moment, who was curled up in a fetal position on the couch, still sleepless two hours after their arrival and watched over with increasing worry by the sun princess. Then again, Maya would probably not even let her study it; when it came down to it Celestia sensed she still didn’t fully trust Twilight. And after this, she might well have reason not to…

Celestia decided to speak up from beside her, having given up the idea of sleep as well. “I must admit, I haven’t seen so much… sensitivity… to, well… any kind of magical influence before, let alone magic in its entirety. This is one instance where your mystic powers may indeed be less a blessing than a curse.” Maya couldn’t exactly sleep either, so she had no problem listening. Despite this, she chose to remain staring up silently at the ceiling to the room.

The silence might have lasted for about a few seconds or a few minutes. Neither party could tell exactly. The river of time had come up against a dam and it was quite a while before the young mystic finally spoke.

“P-Princess?” She finally called out in a very frightened voice.

“I’m here, Maya,” Celestia told her quickly.

“P-please help me… I-I don’t know what to do…!”

“What’s wrong?” Celestia asked gently, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder only to have her jerk away. “Tell me what you feel.”

With effort, she did so. “I d-don’t know. I feel… lost. It’s hard to describe. My head is spinning… I feel hot and cold shivers… s-something’s not right…” she clutched herself more tightly as Celestia magically pulled up another blanket over her. She thought of tapping her power to try and warm the young girl, but decided against it—magic seemed to be the cause of her distress just then, and she was worried that introducing more, no more how well-meaning, might only make matters worse.

Still, she felt she had do something, feeling at least partially responsible for the young girl’s discomfort. “Is there anything I can help with? Anything you need? I do not like seeing anyone suffer, least of all a new friend.”

Maya responded desperately. “Can you just… please… take away these… these feelings I’ve got?” She kept shuffling her body in awkward, seemingly restless movements that made abundantly clear to the sun princess where their focus was, bringing a blush to her cheeks. “I don’t want them.”

Celestia chose her next words carefully, finally recognizing the exact source of the young mystic’s distress—she had apparently absorbed more than merely a passing echo of Twilight and Phoenix’s pleasure; she’d absorbed some of Twilight’s magically-boosted desires as well. “To do that would merely mask the problem, young Maya… which would then reemerge later. In order to determine the correct course of action, we must first determine how and why this is happening. I’m guessing it’s at least partially due to your spirit medium abilities. This mystical energy of yours seems at least peripherally related to Equestrian magic, making you more sensitive to the latter’s effects.”

“Shouldn’t it have passed by now? Or maybe soon?” The young medium asked hopefully, keeping her eyes fixed on the ceiling.

“Perhaps…” Celestia’s brow furrowed at that, needing more information. And the only way to get it… “Miss Maya. Do you mind if I run a magical… ‘scan’ of sorts on you? I promise it will not hurt or affect you.”

“Sure… if it’ll help,” Maya said neutrally in response, though there was a slight tremor to her voice that suggested to Celestia she very much hoped it would. She really wanted these awkward urges to be gone.

But they weren’t going away. If anything, they were steadily getting worse, even despite Celestia’s earlier interventions. The sun princess had already helped to try and cool her off, practically and magically, but apparently even her powers had limits… or at least, there was only so much she was willing to do. Please… just make it stop… she silently begged the spirits themselves, wishing for her sister or anyone else to do so, only to realize that if the princess herself couldn’t help, nobody could.

She lay still as Celestia’s ethereal horn glowed and her aura lightly washed over her body. Despite her promise that it would not affect her, the passage of her aura left tingling sensations in its wake and causing her to bite her lip; seemingly every touch, both physical and magical now turned sexual, though her growing urges were at least temporarily alleviated by a sudden gasp of surprise from Celestia that set off alarm bells in her head.

“Princess? Wh-what’s wrong?” she froze as Celestia’s aura withdrew.

“My… most sincere apologies, Miss Maya. I fear I should have anticipated this sooner, considering Twilight’s earlier broadcasting and how her control over her magic isn’t as strong as mine…” Celestia said, speaking as much to herself as to Maya.

“Huh? What?” Maya questioned, not at all liking the tone of voice she heard. “Princess? What’s happening to me?”

There was a hesitation before Celestia spoke. “You…. seem to have absorbed a great deal of Twilight’s mating magic from her earlier broadcasting into your body,” Celestia replied with slight alarm in her voice. “It has found a home within you and is trying to act through you. That is the source of your distress.” I’m so sorry, Miss Maya…

“Mating magic…?” The revelation hit Maya Fey like a ton of bricks, leading to Celestia quickly explaining what she believed to be happening, trying to do so in terms that didn’t involve Canterlot Academy-level magic courses.

“You have absorbed Twilight’s magic, in a manner similar to radiation, into your body. It will do you no physical harm, but could affect you in... various ways,” the sun princess explained carefully. “This is not in itself a bad thing. Just as it does for ponies, borrowed magic can boost your talents and abilities, such as your spirit channeling,” Celestia offered, trying to paint a brighter picture. “However, since this particular magic was meant for mating, it is also boosting that part of you as well…” she trailed off uncertainly. “I fear with regards to that matter, Twilight’s magic has found resonance within you, Miss Maya.”

“Resonance?” she repeated, her eyes darting back and forth. “I… I don’t understand…” she added, trying desperately to focus on the Princess’s words and not her surging desires, her cheeks now badly flushed.

In response, the humanized sun princess gave Maya the first lesson she’d given all her students over the centuries. “Magic is a living force, Miss Maya. It seeks expression, and to fill voids where it does not exist. For just as nature abhors a vacuum, magic flows automatically into places that lack it, seeking suitable hosts for itself. In this case, it found one… in you,” she explained, almost cryptically. “Part of it is likely due to your affinity for these mysterious mystical energies you tap, but part of it…” she trailed off, visibly hesitating.

“Part of it what?” she demanded to know.

Celestia closed her eyes as she spoke her next words, knowing full well they would likely not be taken well. “But the bulk of it… is likely due to the fact that it sensed you had desires of your own in concert with the magic's intended purpose and could wield it to that end, and it was thus attracted to you like a magnet,” she carefully used a more human analogy she knew Maya would understand. “Magic knows its purpose, and the purpose of the magic you gained… was to mate… with Phoenix Wright,” she explained, knowing there was no way to sugarcoat it.

Maya was many things, but she wasn’t dumb. She read between the lines and sensed the full import of Celestia’s words immediately, even if she couldn’t yet accept it. I… want… NICK? was the only dumbfounded thought she immediately had, her own thoughts causing an immediate surge of excitement inside her, she couldn’t remember the last time she felt so desperately needy.

“What… what can I do?” she asked, unwilling to indulge even fantasies of the thoughts that kept trying to suggest themselves. I am NOT interested in screwing NICK! I… am… NOT! she swore to herself again, only to have the reaction of her own body give lie to the statement.

Celestia already knew the answer, but she also knew from long experience that the young mystic was nowhere near ready to hear it. And thus, she decided to buy time instead. “Proper training will help. I can give you lessons in meditation and magical awareness that can teach you to mentally screen out these effects in some ways.

“Once you master them, you will be able to block such unwanted magical influences on your mind and body.” To a point, she didn’t add, knowing that when you were talking about a mage as strong as Twilight, the best she could generally hope for was to take the edge off. “We should probably head away from the city so we can practice in solitude, and to give you some distance in case Twilight broadcasts again. You wouldn’t mind, would you?” she asked. “Burgers are on me if we do!” the sun princess added, almost brightly.

Maya wondered if Celestia added that last one in as some kind of attempt to lighten her mood… as if I have any mood to even RAISE! “I w-wouldn’t mind at all… If your student can’t learn any self-control, I-I’ll need it…” she clutched herself and shivered again, wondering if she could even make it until morning.

Celestia nodded gravely. “Then it’s settled. As for tonight… to help you with your immediate problems, do you wish me to perform a sleeping spell on you, Miss Maya?” she asked gently, trying to keep that side of her at bay.

“Pl-please…” she all but begged, clutching herself more tightly and awaiting at least a momentary escape from her torment that a forced slumber would provide, but not before she had one last worried thought.

If this just happened to me, then what about Nick? What has HE been absorbing all this time? I mean, if Twilight’s been giving these waves off and it affected me at long range… then what on earth is happening to HIM?

If only Celestia had heard that. “Rest, Miss Maya,” she told her, trying to keep the worry from her voice as she cast the spell upon her. What am I going to tell Phoenix Wright about this…? she suddenly wondered, finding no easy answers to the question. Or Twilight? She’ll feel very guilty over it, but in truth… it’s my fault. I assumed the rules that applied to me would also to her, given my greater power, but I neglected the question of control. I should have foreseen this… told Twilight to apply her precautions to both forms… she fretted, feeling helpless except for actions she was not about to take, leaving her unable to do anything more but keep watch on the young girl as she entered a fitful slumber.

To Celestia’s great worry, Maya awoke in even worse shape than she went to sleep, looking barely rested.

For her bleary eyes and flushed cheeks, she might as well not have slept at all; despite the slumber spell she’d been tossing and turning all night, lost in dreams she clearly did not want to have. Not helping was the fact that after nodding off herself, Celestia had awoken to find the young girl snuggled up against her tightly, having moved all the way over from the other side of the King-sized bed she’d left her on. The realization had caused her wings to go aroused and erect in a display that would have mortified any pegasus, but was doubly embarrassing to her; she’d barely been able to disentangle herself and get herself back under control before the young girl had awoken.

“Good morning, Miss Maya. Do you feel any better…?” she asked cautiously even though she knew the answer.

“No…” the young mystic replied after a short pause. “If anything, it’s worse.”

“I see…” At that point, Celestia could think of only one other option, but also knew she was not the one to provide it. “Miss Maya, I need you to channel your sister. I wish to speak with her to discuss your… condition,” was all she would immediately say.

Maya’s eyes went wide. “Oh, my God! I’m dying, aren’t I?!”

Celestia blinked. “No! No. It’s just… I need to discuss certain… options… with her.”

She gave the alicorn an askance look. “Wh-why not with me?”

Because I don’t trust your answers, or my own right now… “Please, Miss Maya. I do this for your sake,” Celestia said placatingly.

“I d-don’t understand, but… o-okay…” she finally acceded, though Celestia guessed it was perhaps only for the chance to escape her growing torment.

It took longer than usual, but ten seconds later, Mia Fey stood where Maya once did and immediately frowned. “Princess?” she recognized Celestia in her alicorn form, then felt the state her borrowed body was in, her cheeks almost instantly flushing. “What the...”

“My sincerest apologies, Mia Fey. I asked Maya to summon you,” Celestia bowed low to the spirit of Maya’s sister as she would before few living creatures.

Despite her state, Mia was instantly suspicious, pinning the sun princess with a stare. “She’s horny as hell. Did you do this to her?”

Despite her great age, her great power and all the battles she fought over her long life, facing down everyone from dragons to gryphon generals to Nightmare Moon herself, Celestia found herself intimidated by the other woman’s withering gaze, wondering how those she had interrogated in court had fared beneath it. Not well, I’m sure… “No. I did not,” she swore, praying the other woman could see the truth of her statement in her eyes. “Twilight did. By accident.”

Mia crossed her arms. “Explain,” she ordered in the same sharp tone of voice she once reserved for the courtroom.

The sun princess did, quite quickly, detailing their earlier dinner and visit to the nightclub, followed by the wave of magic that had overtaken and settled in Maya.

When the story was complete, Mia walked over to the window and looked out it, her arms still crossed and tapping her forearm with a finger. “Your student really needs to learn some self-control,” she said simply, echoing Maya’s own words. “I can feel what this did to her. And I have half a mind to march over there and show her why she needs it…”

Celestia felt compelled to speak up for said student. “She has control. She just didn’t realize she had to use it in human form.” And neither did I… Celestia shook her head, wondering why she’d never had that issue herself. “I told her afterwards, and there’s been no further episodes since. But… I fear that doesn’t help Maya now.”

“Then what does?” Mia demanded to know, concerned for her sister. “Surely for all your power you can help her, Princess?”

Celestia’s hesitation did not bode well. “The nature of magic is such that it knows its purpose and seeks a target or host to wield it for that purpose. In Maya’s case, the magic she absorbed… was meant to be used for sensual purposes. Thus she ended up in this… state.” she closed her eyes as she said her last words, knowing well how it would sound.

Lawyer that she was, Mia instantly spotted the problem with that statement, pointing an accusing finger at Celestia. “Then why wasn’t anyone else affected like that? Why just Maya? And why is it hitting her so hard?”

“For two reasons…” Celestia answered carefully, suddenly feeling like she was witness being cross-examined in court—a very odd turn of events, given she sometimes presided as judge over important cases herself. “First—and this is just a guess—her mystical power gives her an affinity for magic. As a Kurain practitioner, she seems predisposed to be able to wield it, unlike most. Magic tends to gravitate to hosts that can best wield it, like your sister. And second…” she gathered herself carefully, knowing how her next words would likely be taken.

“I believe in this case, the magic sought her because it found a certain… resonance… with its intended purpose within her. As the spell upon her was originally cast to help Twilight mate with Phoenix, it was attracted to her because it recognized that she had the same internal desire… and thus, the will to express and use it. And please understand… I cannot take that away from her. Not without doing severe damage to her psyche.”

Mia stared at her for a moment. “So… what are you saying? That she has to have sex with Phoenix? That would cause severe damage to both their psyches!”

“I agree. But no, that is not necessary. What is necessary is that she grant that magic… expression. Accept it and fulfill its purpose. And that in turn means…” she couldn’t go on, her cheeks flushing. There was a time I wouldn’t even have hesitated…

Mia gave the sun princess a deadpan stare. “And that means, that she has to find release somehow…?” The exact means were left unspoken.

“It means she has to accept and express those feelings, via self-pleasure or otherwise, yes.” She couldn’t say it any way but bluntly. “That would in effect complete the spell’s work, and its effects would then leave her.”

“I see…” Mia stared out the window again. “Unfortunately, I know my sister. She’d have a very hard time acknowledging any feelings for Phoenix, let alone fantasizing about him. And in truth, whether or not she is interested in him, I don’t believe she’s ready to be. And certainly, he wouldn’t be either,” she mused, her mind turning, leaving Celestia at least somewhat relieved that she now understood her sister’s predicament and had lost her ire.

“Could you write her a letter?” Celestia suggested. “Or I could record you giving a speech, then play it back to her? My magic can do that, at least.”

“She still wouldn’t believe it,” Mia shook her head in some disgust. “Trust me. That girl is even more stubborn than me when it comes down to it. The only way she’ll listen is if I talk to her directly.”

“Should we send for young Pearly, then, so she can channel you instead?” Celestia asked.

“Unless you can teleport her, it’ll take her half the day to get here,” Mia pointed out, not surprised when the sun princess shook her head, explaining that even as an alicorn, the low magic levels of earth meant she could only teleport twenty miles, not two hundred. “Didn’t think so. And it feels like she’s going to melt if she waits any longer…” She shook her head, then looked back up at Celestia. “Would it help if I relieved her tension while in her body…?”

Though tempted to say yes, Celestia was forced to explain that since the inherited magic did not now belong to her, it would not work. “It might grant her some momentary relief, but that’s all it would be. It would come back just as strong if not stronger afterwards,” she shook her head. “So she needs someone she trusts to listen to, someone who can be in the same place with her and talk with her… who can be there with her to help her through this. But who…”

Abruptly, they looked up at each other, realizing the answer instantly.

Music: Only One Way

The arrangements were made swiftly. Celestia sent a message to Spike via her magic, asking him to immediately find and retrieve Vinyl Scratch.

A brief explanation she hoped was safe for his young ears resulted in another exchange of messages that included a small red crystal and accompanying instructions. The princess was very surprised to learn about the new mirror spells that Rarity had developed in until she tried it herself and was shocked to realize they could be used to talk through mirrors instantly even across different dimensions, finding herself staring directly at Spike and a retrieved Vinyl in Twilight’s basement lab.

The ramifications of it aside—it could well be one of the most monumental inventions in Equestrian history for what it would do for communication!—she was grateful for it, as it made her instructions much more easily delivered.

“Whoa! Princess?” Vinyl was a little bleary-eyed and messy-haired after a late night, staring in some surprise into the mirror before remembering to bow. “Spike says you asked for me. What’cha need?”

Celestia would have found her informality refreshing if it the situation wasn’t so serious. “We need your help, Ms. Scratch,” she responded simply, stepping aside slightly to allow Mia to enter the picture. “Or more appropriately, Miss Maya does…”

“Huh?” Vinyl blinked at the unfamiliar human, flicking up her glasses to stare. Even Celestia had trouble looking at her deep red eyes, wondering not for the first time if given her coat and eye colors, the unicorn mare was actually an albino. “Whoa… don’t know who you are, lady, but you’re wearing Maya’s clothes, and I swear you look just like an older version of her…” she studied the older human from head to toe, taking some time to admire her more mature human curves.

Mia smiled wanly, crossing her arms in front of the mirror and lowering her head. “That’s because in some ways, I am, Miss Scratch. I’m Mia Fey, Maya’s older sister. She’s channeling me right now.”

Vinyl blinked again, hard, her slightly sluggish mind a second or two slow in grasping the implications. “Whoa. Channeling? So you mean you’re a channeled spirit?” She gaped for a moment, then grinned. “That is so cool!”

“Yes well…” Mia shared a glance with Celestia. “I understand that you and my sister became rather… close… during her stay in Equestria.”

Vinyl’s smile dropped fractionally. “Well, uh… yeah, we did, if not entirely voluntarily…” she glanced back and forth between the two, suddenly wide awake and wondering… “Am I in trouble?”

“No. But Miss Maya is…” Celestia spoke up and proceeded to quickly explain what had happened… and what was needed.

“Wow…” was all the pony DJ could immediately think to say as she processed it all. “So you need me to…?” She gave the mirror an askance look.

The pair looked at each other again. “We need you to help her accept what she feels and… express it, so she can free herself of the magic that now grips her,” Mia explained, leaving Celestia infinitely glad that she hadn’t had to say those words herself. “She trusts you and I’m asking you to talk to her and do whatever is necessary to help her,” she added, then pinned the unicorn mare with a glare. “That said, Ms. Scratch… you are to remember at all times that she is my sister, that she is very vulnerable right now, and I understand from the Princess that you have a bit of a… reputation. Whatever you do, I will be watching. So tread very carefully.” She leaned in close to the mirror and pinned the mare with a glare as she spoke.

Vinyl actually took on an offended air, pulling herself up straighter. “Hey now, sister. Maya’s your sibling, but she’s my friend. Dunno how much you know about us ponies, but friendship means everything to us. I’d never hurt her,” she promised, raising her hoof to her chest and flicking up her glasses again, meeting the human woman’s probing gaze evenly.

Whatever Mia saw in them, she nodded, satisfied. “I do know. And I will hold you to that,” she announced, then without further word, departed Maya’s body, leaving the teenaged mystic behind and shivering again. “Wait… what?” She found herself looking through a portal directly into Equestria. “V-Vinyl?”

“Hey Maya,” she called out, putting her hoof against the surface of the mirror. “I’m gonna come over and help you, okay?”

“Come over… how… how can you…” was all she could immediately say, her mind having trouble processing everything.

“So how do I cross over?” The unicorn DJ asked Celestia.

“Leave that to me,” the sun princess replied, closing her large eyes and concentrating her magic on the mirror. Whatever she did took the better part of a minute, turning the mirror into a shimmering oval portal wreathed in orange glow. “That should do it. Just step through,” she instructed, keeping the full force of her magic on it. “Quickly!” she added with surprising urgency when Vinyl didn’t move immediately, her voice sounding strained, and though surprised, the unicorn mare obeyed immediately, passing through with no resistance and suddenly finding herself in Celestia’s hotel room.

“Wow, cool…” was all the pony DJ said, taking in her new and very opulent human surroundings fully, then watching the mirror behind her fade back to her own reflection. “Wait, what…?”

Celestia looked uncharacteristically tired as her beam cut off and the mirror glow faded, her eyelids drooping and head falling onto her chest, even her flowing mane seemed more limp and still. “Apologies. Opening a two-way mirror portal between dimensions severely taxes even my abilities, and it can’t stay open for long. I fear I am rather drained now…” she realized, some part of her noting her state wasn’t helped by the fact she’d barely slept as well. “I leave this in your hooves, Ms. Scratch. Please remember Mia Fey’s words.” She allowed the barest hint of admonishment into her voice.

“No prob, Princess. I got this.” Vinyl promised, testing her aura and realizing that unlike her previous visit she did keep some of her magic in her unicorn form, allowing her to cast at least some minor spells, even in the magic-poor environment of Maya’s world. She waited until Celestia had departed to the other room and closed the door behind her, sensing a magical barrier go up on the other side—a privacy screen.

Huh. Wonder if Celly’s doing it for us, or for her? Vinyl briefly wondered, but put the question aside for later. Not wanting to make Maya uncomfortable with her presence, she slid a chair across the floor with her aura and hopped on it, keeping a respectful distance from her human friend as Maya sat on the edge of the bed, wringing her hands and shivering.

The pony DJ frowned at what she saw, taking off her shades and setting them aside on a nearby table. “By the moon, filly, you really are in bad shape!” she instantly realized, feeling the heat coming off her friend’s body. “So what’s the problem? Why you just stewing like this? Why haven’t you relieved it?” she asked earnestly. If it was me, I’d be pouncing the first stallion or mare I SAW!

“I… I don’t wanna relieve it! I just want it to stop!” Maya gritted her teeth.

The corner of Vinyl’s mouth crooked up briefly. “Maya, getting it to stop is easy. The way you’re feeling right now is just like being a mare in heat. You want relief, all you have to do… is indulge it. Doesn’t have to be with him; you can just get yourself off. I’ll even help if you want!” She offered eagerly.

“Vinyl!” Maya shouted, clamping her hands over her ears. “I can’t do it with you! And certainly not to… to thoughts of him!” She shifted to clutching her head.

Vinyl looked honestly puzzled. “Uh… why not? Not like we didn’t before!” She reminded her.

Maya recoiled slightly, finding for the first time that flashes of memory of that night were starting to return to her, memories of making out and… more. “But… but… that was just the party! The music and that drink and… I wasn’t me…” She insisted, desperately resisting the temptation to loosen her kimono to try to cool herself off, a thin sheen of sweat now covering her.

Vinyl raised an eyeridge, suppressing a smile. She knew Maya wouldn’t appreciate it, but she was just so adorable like that. “Wasn’t you, huh? Could’ve fooled me, Maya. From what I remember, you were having a blast. I mean, between the music, the punch, getting to DJ and seeing how much everypony liked your songs… and now you’re saying you weren’t enjoying yourself?” she challenged. “If you’re gonna say no, then I’m calling horseapples on you, fillyfriend. You were having the time of your life that night, and us ending up in the sack together was part of that. So what did we do that was so bad?”

Maya wasn’t any more ready to talk about that than she was about Phoenix. “I don’t know what we did! I don’t remember!” She exclaimed a little harder than she meant to, half-frantically, afraid of losing a friend—perhaps the only friend she had at that moment. “But… whatever it was, I wouldn’t have done it unless it was for all that. Whatever we did… I w-wasn’t ready for it… and I’m not… n-not into p-ponies or girls…” She told her Equestrian friend, her voice wavering repeatedly.

“No buts, Maya,” Vinyl waggled a hoof at her. “We spent a lotta time together, made each other’s music better, had fun together, and had a roll in the hay for all of it! As AJ would say, ‘there ain’t nothin’ more natural than that!’” She pulled off a decent impression of the country mare’s voice. “Truth be told, I don’t remember it all either, but that’s the only thing I regret about it. And if it’s the girl or species thing that’s gettin’ ya, my answer to that is real simple, and something I figured out a long time ago for myself—you’re like me, Maya. You’re not into girls, you’re into people—” she just caught herself before she said ponies ”—and that’s your orientation. You like people you make connections with. And girl, we did connect that night!”

Either due to her aroused state or lack of sleep, Maya was having a hard time thinking of ways to refute her arguments. Or is that because she’s RIGHT? “But… but… you’re a pony!” She could only offer weakly before wincing, worried how it sounded.

Far from being offended, Vinyl’s grin got broader. “And you’re a hairless ape who walks upright and can’t use magic. So what?” For the first time, the pony DJ chanced leaning forward and putting a hoof on her knee. “You know, the last time I got that line was from a griffon, so I’ll tell you the same thing I told him—we’re friends, Maya. And one of the things I learned a long time ago was that friendship doesn’t respect species or gender boundaries, and neither do the things that may spring from it. We got swept up in the moment, yeah. But if ya ask me, that’s what those moments are for, and it still takes two to tango, filly,” she took on a knowing grin. “Drink or no, we had the connection. Drink or no, deep down, we chose to….” she told her with surety, “And whether Sparks’ magic got you or not, it’s pretty clear you’ve got a connection with The Phoenix there too.”

Maya was speechless for a moment, processing everything her friend had said. It all rang true to her, even if she still wasn’t ready to accept it. “I… I didn’t mean to offend you, sorry.” Tears welled in her eyes, not wanting to lose her best—and at that moment, only—friend. “It’s just… really hard for me to accept… being with you… or the idea I’d want to be with him.”

Vinyl tilted her head to the side. “I don’t follow. Why would any of that be so bad?” Vinyl asked, moving a bit closer. “Me, I’ve fantasized about everything from dragons to Celly herself. Doesn’t mean I’d ever act on it, but it’s there. And I can see perfectly well why you might be interested in ‘Nick’. He’s a good guy and you’ve been through some real rough times together. And if you think it’s weird because of age difference or outlook or whatever, remind me to tell you how me and Octy met sometime.” She grinned and closed her eyes at the memories.

“But it’s different here…” Maya balled up her hands into fists again, Vinyl’s words increasingly having an effect on her, starting to at least half-convince her that she was right and thinking about Nick in such a way was okay. “Nick’s not my boyfriend or lover! He’s my… my…” she suddenly was at a loss for words.

“Your what?” Vinyl cocked her head, still keeping a respectful distance.

“My… goofy big brother. And my friend.” She shook her head hard to not speak the other words that were trying to suggest themselves. “I don’t want him to be any more than that! I’m not interested in him like that! Or at least, I wouldn’t be except for this freaky magic Sparkle put into me!” She tried to insist again.

Vinyl stared at her. Guess denial ain’t just a river in Steedgypt… she could only shake her head. “Maya, I’m sorry, but… magic doesn’t work that way. It’s like that party punch of Pinkie’s—it can make you excited, maybe loosen you up a bit or cause temporary feelings of infatuation, sure, but it can’t ultimately change who you are or what you desire. The princess is right—what happened is ‘cause you do have feelings for him deep down, real strong ones at that. That magic of Twi’s wouldn’t have latched onto you like this unless you do. And unless you admit to those feelings and give them voice…it’s just gonna get worse.”

“I… I can’t…” she clutched herself and shivered harder.

“Can’t what?” she cocked her head again.

She spelled it out. “I… can’t… sleep with him!”

“Nopony’s saying ya have to!” Vinyl threw up her hooves, feeling at least some small measure of exasperation. “Just enjoy the fantasy is all you gotta do, fillyfriend. Get yourself off to it. I’ll even help if ya need!” she suggested again, though made no move towards her, awaiting Maya’s word and very conscious of the fact that not only was Celestia in the other room but somehow, somewhere, Maya’s big sister was watching her from the great beyond. But hay, no pressure, right…? “Least I can do for a friend.”

Despite her fears, Maya was now wavering hard. “Th-that’s a bit more than just being a friend, V-jay.” She used her nickname for her.

Vinyl shrugged. “Maybe it is. But that ain’t an issue for most ponies. In Equestria, it’s not at all uncommon for mares to help each other out with stuff like this. Though in this case, I’ll admit I really wanna help you and would love to be with you again. I like you, Maya, and I hate seeing you suffer like this. Especially when you don’t have to, and especially when I can help,” she offered again. “The choice is yours. I’ll leave or I’ll stay, and it’s all your call.”

As frightening as the thought was to Maya of having Vinyl there to witness what she increasingly accepted she had to do, it was somehow even more scary for her not to be. If… if I do this, I sure as hell don’t want to be by myself after… she realized, dreading the thought of being alone with the knowledge of her act the most.

“Here…” Sensing she was wavering, Vinyl brought out a green crystal. “This is one of my new music gems—the one you gave me the idea for?” she reminded her human friend, then zapped it once with her aura, causing it to start glowing and playing. “And that’s one of the songs we worked on together, remember…?” Vinyl grinned, not mentioning the fact it was playing at the party when they started making out for the first time.

She didn’t have to, however, as Maya recognized that fact instantly, her cheeks flushing further as more memories started to stream back to her at the sound of the melody. “Th-that’s…”

“See? You do remember…” Vinyl grinned, gratified, starting to get back some additional recollections of her own. “And was it really so bad…?”

This time, Maya’s denial stuck in her throat as she recalled her friend’s embrace, the touch of her magic, and the moment itself, all enhanced by the music. “N-no…” she finally acknowledged. “I… I liked it…” she all but squeaked even as she went downcast, feeling her body and will slide ever closer to the edge with her admission. She just… wants… to help me… and I should let her... part of her insisted.

Vinyl’s grin got more pronounced as she finally heard her friend’s confession, one she’d wanted to hear for a very long time. “There. Now was that so hard?” The pony DJ asked, gently but happily. One confession down, one to go… “Well, for the record… I liked it too. And I’d love to do it again, especially if it means helping you… but it’s gotta be your choice, fillyfriend. Ask me to leave, and I will,” she promised.

Maya’s eyes went wide. “No! Don’t leave!” She begged, grasping her hoof hard. “I can’t… I need…” she was fumbling for words again.

“I’m right here, Maya.” Vinyl didn’t move, awaiting her friend’s next words, recognizing the struggle it was for her to say them. Been there myself, years ago… she reminded herself, gratified she was finally going to be able to return the favor of that long-ago day by helping another young mare through the same emotional ordeal. Come on, Maya… you’re a strong girl and I know you can do this… she silently urged.

Gathering all her courage, Maya raised her brown eyes to friend’s larger red ones, and said the final, fateful words. “V-jay… please… help me…” tears welling in her eyes as she made the request, surrendering herself to her friend.

That’s my girl! “All you ever had do was ask...” she said, finally allowing her mating aura to ignite.

16: The Sum of All Fears

Music: Self-Imposed Guilty Verdict

Celestia awoke, feeling infinitely more refreshed than just a few hours earlier… though such thoughts were quickly lost as she remembered the earlier events, worried anew for Maya. I still do not understand why she reacted so strongly to Twilight’s magic… she shook her head, suddenly wondering how she was going to explain all this to her student. Even with her natural affinity and suppressed feelings for Phoenix, the amount of magic that reached us shouldn’t have been enough to cause all this…

Realizing with some surprise it was already mid-afternoon, she pulled herself up from where she had been laying in the sun in front of her suite’s big bay window, using its rays to recharge—she could not control the sun of Earth, of course, but that did not mean she could not draw strength from it, just as she did back home. The sun, after all, was her element much as fire was Twilight’s; it was daylight that defined her and provided her power.

Feeling a bit more herself after the long night and casting the draining portal spell, she took a deep breath and walked gently over to the door, trying to quiet the clopping of her hooves, listening to make sure there were no housekeepers inside—she’d locked and magically sealed the doors, but a pony still couldn’t be too careful. The last thing she needed was a maid to see her as an alicorn; the last time it had happened had been in Monte Carlo a decade earlier when she had gone to bed exhausted and allowed her transformation to lapse. She had been forced to cast a sleeping spell on the shrieking woman and then—very carefully—excise her memory of the ordeal through arcane arts she neither taught nor let anypony else know existed. The closest modern spell known of was the scrying spell that Twilight had used on Trixie, and even that was heavily restricted.

Though it doesn’t always go so badly. That one may have screamed out that I was a demon, but the one before her asked if I was an angel… she remembered wanly, reflecting that in that instance, she had taken it so well she gained a new friend and confidant, someone to help her agents on Earth. And once or twice she might have indulged herself by deliberately taking her alicorn form in front of scientists, priests or other religious figures that alternately claimed magic didn’t exist, men were supreme or animals soulless, delighting in their reactions. Several had fainted outright and another had held up a crucifix as if to ward off a vampire; the only thing that had stopped her from taking a thestral form to tease him further was the fear he might have a heart attack if she did.

Still, though it could be a source of endless amusement to her, revealing herself was something to be avoided whenever possible. There had been at least one picture taken of her as an alicorn over the years, and the everpresence of cameras in the human world now meant she and her agents had to be much more circumspect than previously. If such a photograph—or worse, a video—‘went viral’, as humans now said, she might have a far more difficult time dealing with it.

Her sharp ears hearing no other presence in the other room, she took a deep breath and removed the privacy enchantment, immediately detecting the presence of Vinyl and Maya, the pair visible to her ethereal awareness by their respective auras, one magical and one mystical. Most of Twilight’s magic was now gone from the latter, she was relieved to sense, though at least small shimmer of it remained deep within Maya’s core. Well, hopefully that’s a good sign…

Concentrating, she called out with her thoughts to Vinyl Scratch, asking if she could enter. When the unicorn mare said yes, she opened the door… and started at the sight of an unclothed Maya Fey curled up with Vinyl Scratch on the bed, the pony DJ holding her.

“How is she?” Celestia asked, concern etched on her face even as she was trying to keep the blush off it—seeing Maya in such a state pushed many of her buttons, and she couldn’t help but feel a moment of envy towards Vinyl Scratch as she levitated a blanket up over them both, trying to give the young human girl a measure of modesty.

“Okay, I think. Got most of the magic out of her. She cried herself to sleep after, but at least now she is sleeping,” Vinyl stated quietly, sounding troubled. “Poor filly. For what it’s worth, princess, I ain’t gonna say it didn’t enjoy it, but this still sure as hay ain’t how I would’ve wanted this to be,” she shook her head as Maya stirred slightly. “Pretty sure she’s gonna need some space now. I’d really like to stay with her, but… might just be best for me to go back to Equestria and let her try to absorb all this.”

Before Celestia could reply, Maya stirred and clutched at Vinyl’s arm. “N-no…” she said in a weak voice. “Don’t go, V-Jay…”

“Maya?” Vinyl was surprised. “Easy filly, I’m here…”

“Are you okay, Miss Fey?” Celestia asked.

She sniffled again. “How can I be okay?” she asked in a broken voice. How can ANYTHING ever be okay after this…? With me or Nick? Or with me and Vinyl…?

Celestia went downcast, feeling at fault again, knowing she’d already done what she could to help the young girl… and it simply wasn’t enough. For all my magic and all my years, it would seem there are simply some things over which I have no power…

Abruptly, Maya gasped. “Huh…? Sis…?” She looked around, instinctively clutching the blanket to her.

“Your sister?” Celestia blinked.

Maya shivered. “I can feel her. Sh-she wants me to channel her…” she announced, and both Vinyl and Celestia stiffened as she pulled herself up into a sitting position. She gave Vinyl a worried glance, then steeled herself, sitting up and pulling her Magatama necklace back on. “Tell her I said not to be mad at you…” she begged, then her Magatama glowed and her body shifted.

Within seconds, Mia Fey stood where Maya did. She stood up and did not bother with the blanket, letting it fall to the floor, crossing her arms over her bare chest and looking down at Vinyl, pinning her with an icy stare.

Vinyl Scratch couldn’t remember the last time she felt so intimidated; even Octavia at her prosecutorial worst didn’t match the sheer withering power of the human woman’s gaze.

“Ms. Fey, please…” Celestia began to offer, but Mia simply held up a hand in a halting gesture towards her, causing her to fall silent.

Vinyl drew herself up straight and met the human woman’s eyes as well as she could, realizing even the Princess herself was cowed—but how could even she not be in the presence of an otherworldly spirit, one from which no secrets or actions could be hidden? By Celly’s sun, if Maya’s sister is like this in death, I’d hate to see what she was like in LIFE!“Look, lady… if you’re mad, I’m sorry, but… far as I’m concerned, I did what I had to help a friend in need. I don’t know if it’s what you wanted or the way you wanted it, but I helped her the best way I knew how, and it worked—the magic is gone now. I did what I was asked to do, and I don’t regret it.”

Mia’s facade cracked a bit at that as she closed her eyes and sighed. “Yes. I can tell it worked,” she acknowledged, if somewhat grudgingly. “And I saw you were genuinely trying to help her and did so as gently as you could. Nevertheless, understand this will be a very difficult time for her, and it will take some time for her to come to terms with her feelings for both you and ‘Nick’. You may not regret it, but she does right now. So my previous instructions hold—tread very carefully, Ms. Scratch,” she admonished. “Just because she was with you under some duress now does not mean she is ready for more, or that you can be with her anytime you want. Right now, she has a lot to work through and needs you as a friend, not a lover.”

Vinyl shook her head. “You don’t have to tell me that, sister. I may have a ‘reputation’, but that doesn’t mean I got no sense. I’ve been down this road before and I ain’t gonna push her on anything. Especially not after that,” she swore, rubbing a hoof behind her head. “Look, I ain’t gonna stand here and lie and tell you I don’t like Maya and don’t hope we can be lovers. But I didn’t want it like this any more than she did. We do anything again, it’ll be by her choice, and I’ll abide by her wishes either way.”

Mia studied her, and then nodded. “Well said, Ms. Scratch. And that is ultimately all I would ask. Be her friend, and be there for her. Because she needs you as a friend right now.” With that, she turned her attention to Celestia, who had been sitting by and listening quietly. “I will speak to my sister at the earliest opportunity through Pearl—but until then… I will take your earlier suggestion, Princess. I ask that you please record and then play back for Maya what I am about to say.”

“Of course,” Celestia immediately agreed, glad to feel useful again, briefly closing her eyes and igniting her horn. “Proceed,” she invited as her eyes opened again, her horn still aglow.

Mia crossed her arms and turned to face the sun princess. “Maya… I know what happened, and I know how you must feel—guilty, scared, perhaps even violated. I just want you to know there’s nothing to feel ashamed about. There’s nothing wrong with having feelings for others, even those you might not have looked upon this way before. I asked you before why Nick meant so much to you, and though this was not the way I would have wanted the answer to come, it was still the answer you would have eventually arrived at. As Vinyl noted, it is only natural we draw closer to those we know well, those we share so much with… and have done so much for. I know it seems impossible now, but you will come to terms with it in time. You have good friends,” she noted, making a sweeping motion towards Vinyl and Celestia. “Let them help you, and we will talk as soon as Pearl can reach you. Until then, remember that I am always with you in spirit… and in body, whenever you need.”

She nodded at Celestia, who ended her spell. “And what would you ask of me?” the sun princess asked earnestly, trying not to let her gaze linger too much on Mia’s gorgeous human body. This is REALLY not the time… she knew, but she couldn’t help it.

Mia stared at her like she could see right through her. “Train your student,” she said sternly, then her expression softened. “By which I mean Maya. You offered to teach her? Do so. The more control she has and less at magical mercy she feels, the better.”

“Of course,” Celestia bowed low before the channeled spirit, who departed for the human heaven and left the form of Maya behind.

Realizing she was unclothed, the girl instantly covered herself, Celestia wrapping her in a blanket and Vinyl passing her her robe. “Your sister left you a message, young Maya…” Celestia announced, then proceeded to play back her speech, projecting Mia’s image in front of the young mystic.

By the end of the speech, Maya was in tears. “Thanks, sis…” she clasped her Magatama in both hands and kissed it, and then began pulling her clothes back on. “You know, I could really go for a burger…”

Music: First Contact (Reprise)

Phoenix stumbled hard as they rematerialized in the living room of the villa, his insides churning. “Dammit, Twilight, warn me next time!” he snapped at her harder than he meant, causing Twilight to cringe again, only belatedly wondering how she’d just pulled off a multiple-mile teleport on Phoenix’s world when she couldn’t before.

“Sorry…” she all but squeaked, not wanting to explain she wanted to get as far away from the place of their act as soon as possible… grabbing her pendant and using its stored mana to transform back into a human in hopes that would mute her magic more around him. She immediately tried to go back to him, but he held up his hands in a halting motion, pulling on his pants. “Just… give me some distance right now, okay?” He rubbed his temples again, and not just from lingering dizziness from the teleportation spell. His senses felt… fuzzy… somehow, and he was having a hard time focusing, his thoughts being drawn towards not logic, but fear and anger once again.

“S-sure…” she promised, sitting down on the couch opposite again, wringing her hands in a very human gesture she’d already picked up, listening as Phoenix shared his conclusions as to what had happened back in the clearing, though she noted he seemed to be rubbing his forehead frequently, like he was having a headache. Did I do that to him too? Is he now in magical withdrawal…? she suddenly fretted, distrusting her magic even more.

Nevertheless, he laid out his deductions and their reasoning, and they rang true to Twilight. “So… do you agree with me that this transformation we saw has probably been happening all along? Happens when we have sex and then disappears afterwards?” he asked her, unconsciously tapping his fingers on the kitchen countertop. He’d been standing the whole time like he did in court, too nervous and restless to sit.

“Y-yes…” she agreed, going downcast. “And if it really is my mating magic that’s doing it… I d-don’t know if I can restrain it…”

That’s the problem right there… Phoenix’s lips tightened. If she couldn’t restrain her magic here… then where else? he wondered again. Even if I accept she didn’t MEAN to do any of this, could that also mean there are OTHER things she’s done unknowingly, and all to make me her mate? Could this mean I was right all along and what I feel for her… truly ISN’T real…?

“Phoenix…” she called to him in a nervous voice as she saw his jaw tighten and fists suddenly clench at his sides. “You’re scaring me…” Are you going to leave me over this? She didn’t dare ask.

I’m scaring YOU? He bit his lip to keep from saying. He didn’t believe it. He didn’t want to believe it, but the defense lawyer in him was pointing a finger at it as a very real possibility again, his distrust of her magic and their whole situation growing. “I’m sorry…” he answered automatically, even as his thoughts were going in decidedly dark directions. “It’s just…” All this time… have I just been freaking used!? AGAIN???? The spectre of Dahlia Hawthorne suddenly floated up in his thoughts, causing him to recoil. NO!!! This isn’t the same thing… he shook his head hard, trying to dispel her ghost.

“What… wh-what do we do now?” Twilight swallowed, her own fears growing. “M-Maybe the princess has some advice…”

“Maybe…” he admitted, wondering if it would help if he could talk to Mia again, but embarrassed at the thought of telling her what had happened. “But I think for now, it’d be best if we slept apart tonight.” He couldn’t meet her eyes.

Twilight slumped. She needed his reassurance badly, but also sensed at that moment he wasn’t able to give it. And maybe I don’t deserve it… “I… guess that might… be best.” Defeated, Twilight turned to walk away, rethinking everything as well, now worried that every intimate experience she’d had with Phoenix might not have been of their own free will. But even MY magic couldn’t alter his very heart… could it? “Phoenix… we will get through this,” she said as much for herself as for him.

“Yeah…” he agreed numbly.

Twilight’s shoulders slumped as well, recognizing his dull tone. Phoenix was hurt and scared, that much was clear, and no amount of apology or reassurance seemed to help. Maybe he’s right and it’s best to give him some distance for a bit… “I think… I’m going to take a walk,” she announced, trying to keep her voice from breaking.

“Okay...” Phoenix hung his head, having failed to either reason with himself or feel a way forward, finding no answers to the questions now haunting his thoughts. Is the trial really over, Mia? Is it safe for me to cry yet? “I think I’m going to bed. Enjoy your walk, Twilight.”

“I’ll be back later…” she promised, donning her clothes and walking out the back door, disappearing into the deepening dusk without another word.

Her lip trembled and a tear fell from her eye as she left.

* * * * *

An hour later found Twilight nearly two miles away from the Villa, having sought out the darkest corner of the beach she could. The seabreeze felt deliciously cool against her bare skin, but she barely noticed, lost in her own fears and brooding thoughts.

She transformed back into a pony as night fell fully, sitting at the edge of the water and staring out into the distance. She had never felt more alone than she had then, suddenly feeling how out of place she was in Phoenix’s world more than ever. I don’t belong here… she thought more than once, reflecting again on the myriad differences between her world and Earth, and how they once again conspired to come between her and her chosen stallion.

I chose him… but did he really choose ME? The question made her lip quiver and eyes water again. Did I somehow MAKE him my mate? Is he right and is my magic trying to make him a pony? Alter both his body and mind so he can be my dream stallion? The breeze picked up and she shivered again, less from the cool temperatures than the growing chill in her heart. But magic can’t do that… can’t alter someone’s heart… she recited one of Celestia’s long-ago lessons, trying to find comfort in it, only to realize… But I’m the Element of Magic. So if anypony’s magic COULD do it, it would be mine…

She found no answers, and was not willing to ask the princess for aid yet. I’ve leaned on her enough in all this; just stop bothering her and let her have her vacation, she told herself, wondering again what she and Maya were doing that they didn’t want to tell them about.

She stayed out for another hour, forming and discarding a dozen more theories as to what happened. The one she had come up with first still rang the truest; it must have been her mating magic acting on him that caused his physical transformation. And he’s right… I think it happened every time before when we rutted with me as a pony; we just never noticed it before this… she conceded the validity of his logic, cold comfort though it was. But I’ve still NEVER heard of this happening! Is my magic just that powerful? And do I dare trust it around him again…? For the first time the thought entered her mind that even if he forgave her, she might have to leave him to protect him. No… tears welled in her eyes again.

There were a few other people out walking as well as midnight approached, but she paid them no mind, knowing there was little light at the water’s edge and her dark coat made her nearly invisible… to most. At one point, a large dog broke away from its owners and ran up to her, barking loudly; she’d dealt with that by simply picking him up in her aura and dangling him in the air until he whimpered and whined, then lowered him back down gently and allowed him to run away with his tail between his legs, heading back to his owners, casting an invisibility spell before his owner’s flashlight could illuminate her. She’d felt guilty for it afterwards—he hadn’t deserved that; she certainly got along well enough with Applejack’s dog Winona—but she really didn’t want to be disturbed.

Some part of her noted again that her magic was coming much easier to her now than it had just a couple days earlier, but it brought her no comfort. Any other time, the fact that her full power was returning to her even in this magic-poor world would have been worthy of celebration and investigation, but now it only heightened her fears. For the more power she had, the more likely she was to accidentally affect Phoenix.

And haven’t I affected him enough already? The guilt came back full force. I mean, how much of ANY of this is real? Our love? Our lovemaking? She had a sudden, very strong memory of him taking her earlier that evening and found, to her horror, that she was responding to it, her aura glowing pink, attracting the attention of more passersby. She hid this time by teleporting fifty meters behind them, the sweep of their flashlight only catching her departing burst of light.

As if I don’t have ENOUGH to feel bad about! She took another ragged breath, trying to will her lingering excitement away, though the only thing her efforts accomplished was turning her attention back to Phoenix, worrying about him and what her magic had been doing to him.

In the end, her fears growing further and lacking all answers, she transformed into a human again and took the long walk back to the Villa. Arriving, she began to teleport inside, but stopped herself. No more magic… she told herself, taking out the house key and putting it in the lock. She entered to find Phoenix sleeping on the couch, still dressed, if somewhat fitfully judging by the tangled sheets around him.

He’d left some food out for her as well, but she wasn’t hungry, too upset to eat. The only thing she wanted was to cuddle with him, comfort both him and herself, but in the end she accepted his need for separation and went upstairs, climbing into the master suite bed they’d shared the night before, wishing forlornly that she could will the entire evening’s events away.

He’s going to leave me… the thought haunted her. And all because I couldn’t control myself or my magic…

Music: Sins Revisited

“Court is now in session for the trial of Phoenix Wright!” boomed The Judge, who stood at least five stories tall. He looked otherwise normal except for the fact his robe was crimson and his gavel was adorned with several spikes, to say nothing of his eyes glowing red just as Twilight’s did when she was angry or tapping into her elemental fire. “Although this is probably the most open-and-shut case I have ever borne witness to!”

Phoenix blinked as he realized he was in court, albeit not the room he was used to. The walls were made of brimstone, and there was a pit of fire in the center of the room where the witness stand should be; the audience appeared to be made of cackling ponies and people, caricatures of and human and equine friends alike. “Trial? What trial?” he asked, realizing he was all alone on the defense bench, and his evidence bag was empty.

“Don’t be so naive, attorney,” sneered the prosecutor, who Phoenix realized with a start was actually Manfred von Karma, the corrupt prosecutor whom he’d proven had framed Miles Edgeworth for the murder of his father. “The charges against you are rape and treason to the Equestrian crown, for taking the innocence of the personal student of Princess Celestia!” He snapped his finger for emphasis.

“Rape? Treason?” He recoiled in horror, suddenly feeling a trickle of sweat down his back. “B-but I’m not a pony!” his voice bore an uncharacteristic tremor.

“She accused you herself, Wright-O!” Damon Gant clapped his gloved hands together in glee, where he stood to one side of the judge’s oversized bench as a bailiff. “For groping her without consent the first night she was here.”

“And let’s not forget taking her where the sun don’t shine!” a badly scarred Matt Engarde sneered from the other side of the bench, lounging against a rail while swirling his goblet of wine. “She didn’t give permission for that, did she? Gotta hand to you, Phoenix Wright… you took that tail like a champ!” he mocked.

“B-but that was an accident!” he protested.

“An accident? So you just fell into her, attorney?” Von Karma stated derisively.

“No! It was…” her magic… he bit his tongue to keep from saying.

“If you are not guilty of these heinous acts, then who is?” the demonic Judge demanded to know. “You always accuse another of the crime, and this court will hold someoneto account for what happened! So who is responsible then, Phoenix Wright?” he brought his gavel down with enough force to shake the entire room, the flames leaping higher around him. “Tell this court immediately, or be found guilty of it yourself!”

“Indeed, attorney,” von Karma smirked. “So who will it be this time? You cannot accuse us of these crimes, so it must be the other party to these unnatural acts!” His smirk grew into a sneer.

“B-but…” Phoenix felt trapped. No… sh-she didn’t… she c-couldn’t… His mind groped desperately for a piece of evidence or testimony to counter his increasingly irrefutable arguments, but he found nothing. His evidence bag was empty along with his witness slate, nor was there any Mia or Maya at his side to aid him.

“If she is not guilty, then why is she not here?” Von Karma challenged. “If she truly cares about you, why is she not helping you now?”

“Because she’s just like me, Feenie,” a new and very unwelcome voice was heard, causing his guts to clench. “Because she used you. Just… like… me…” Dahlia Hawthorne said softly from the witness stand, smiling sweetly while idly twirling her parasol.

“N-no…” Phoenix looked down and realized his blue suit had been replaced by a pink shirt with a heart on the front; he was now wearing a surgical mask as well. “It’s not true… she’s my Twilie!” he protested through tears, suddenly feeling like the emotionally fragile college student he’d been then.

Von Karma was as merciless as ever. “Your honor! The prosecution submits the following evidence to this court!” he pulled out an old VHS tape and put it into an ancient player and tube TV wheeled forth by Officer Meekins. “Prepare to be as disgusted and appalled by this scene as I was…” he warned as the video began to play, clutching at his jacket sleeve with his free hand.

To Phoenix’s shock, it was a recording of his first night together with Twilight nearly three weeks earlier, sitting on his office balcony and chatting. But… there were no cameras there! He protested, but he’d barely formed the thought before he suddenly found himself inside the recording, again perceiving everything through his own senses.

He saw her aura go pink and felt himself falling into her eyes, felt his face begin to drift towards hers, tugged towards her like a magnet, causing his fears to rise as he felt himself losing control.

What… what’s happening…? he suddenly wondered as…

“Ţh͢e͞y͘ ̴kiss̷ęd҉ li̢g҉ht̴l͟y̧.”
͝
“Thȩ̴ń̶͏ a̕͞g̢͟a͘i̢n̸͜.̡̛”

The memories seemed very fuzzy to him, somehow unclear, corrupted, and covered up, like he was drugged or seeing everything through a thin layer of gauze; the only time he could remember feeling like that before was when he got put on laughing gas to have his wisdom teeth pulled as a teen.

Something wasn’t right at all. More memories kept surfacing…about how he felt so driven, felt so lustful, was getting more desperate to have her, more desiring of her no matter what her form…

Á̷͠n҉͠d̡̧ ̀͡҉i̵̡n̷̵̢c̵͢͝͞ŗ̶̷͞e͠҉̕͢a̢͞ś҉̷i̶͠n̡̢g҉̷̷̷l̵̢͠ý̸͟ ̸̛p̸̨̧͘̕ó͘͜͟w̷̶̧e̸͢͟҉r̶̡͞ļ͜e̡̢̨s͠͡͏̨s̷͠ ͏͢t̴̡̕͜͡ó̡͜҉ ̸̛̕͞ŕ̴́e̢҉͏s̶̡̢͢͏i̶̧̛͡͠s̵̸̛t̸̵̨͟͞ ̢̀͘͘͡ì̢͡͝t͜.̢́͟͜͞

Wait… what? The memory began to clear.

A͟͟ņ̛͠d̸̨ i̕҉̕n̶͜ḉr̡͞e̷aśi͜͜n̛͡͝g̷͜l͟y̨ ͘͘p͢o̢w̡͞e͟r̴̨le͞͏s̶̷s̸͘ ̡͞t҉͞ò ̴r̡͠e̵̕s̷͡i͡͏st͡ ̛͝í̢͜t͜.̀

It can’t be… Clearer still…

A͠n͏d i͞n̨çr͘e̢a͜s̸i̢ng̨ly̢ pow͟er̸le͝s͡s͡ ́t͢o̧ ͟res̷i̧s̸t͞ įt̀.

He could see what it was now; realized what was happening. And then the hammer fell on him as he finally pulled the memory from his subconscious…

And increasingly powerless to resist it…

He staggered back right out of the vision, finding himself in the courtroom again, leaning heavily against the back wall of his bench as the replay ended. All this time… she’s been affecting me…?

While Phoenix gaped, Von Karma closed his eyes and smiled. “Decisive evidence… a decisive witness… what more could possibly be required to condemn her?”

“No!” He collapsed to his defense bench and clutched his head. “She didn’t… she wasn’t…” he tried again.

“Wasn’t what?” the veteran prosecutor drove the knife in further. “Wasn’t tricking you? Wasn’t controlling you?”

Reeling and confused, Phoenix could not even muster an objection.

“Such a pathetic little man…” von Karma mocked him. “Allows others to manipulate him. To use him. So easy to trick and betray…” he roared in laughter, as did everyone else in the courtroom. Looking around, Phoenix recognized several faces more in the gallery, mostly criminals he’d proved had committed crimes in place of those close to him. Among them were Frank Sahwit, who was wringing his toupee in his hands while wearing an expression of undisguised glee, while beside him Morgan Fey sipped her tea with a measured but satisfied smile on her face. “You have once again allowed a mere female to use you! Her taint is all over you, attorney!”

Phoenix finally found his voice. “There is no proof such a thing happened!” He offered weakly, pointing a shaking finger across the burning pit at von Karma.

“Is there not?” Franziska’s father snapped his fingers again, the sharp sound ringing throughout the courtroom. As if on cue, the wind picked up and to his horror, he felt a sudden, uncontrollable swelling in his pants. “The prosecution submits as evidence… this!”

He banged his cane hard on the ground, and Phoenix’s clothes fell from him, revealing his new equine equipment, their size even more exaggerated than before. He tried futilely to cover himself, to hide it, but he could not as psyche-lock chains suddenly appeared and ensnared him, coiling around him and pulling him down to the ground, leaving him unable to break free.

The sounds in the courtroom were ones of revulsion and derision. “I have seen ENOUGH!” The Judge thundered as winds grew stronger and flames leapt higher around him. “The evidence of your crimes is incontrovertible, Phoenix Wright! You have broken the laws of pony and man, and sinned against nature itself! You are GUILTY! And for that, you must be PUNISHED!” With that, the demonic Judge raised his spiked gavel high to bring it right down on his head.

“NO!” Phoenix cried, unable to stop the blow to come.

But before the strike came, a beam of white light struck the apparition, which all but disintegrated under the blast. “BEGONE, vile creatures!” a powerful female voice thundered, the force behind it enough to leave his ears ringing even in the confines of his dream.

Opening his eyes again, he found the formerly hellish courtroom was suddenly bathed in a soft white light, the moon itself appearing through the back window, illuminating him. The light felt cool and comforting, as did the breeze that followed, extinguishing the flames and evaporating the chains around him; where it touched some of the other demonic figures, they sizzled and vaporized, disappearing into the air like smoke. The other courtroom figures suddenly fled the scene, morphing into winged creatures that looked like both human and pony versions of demons, exiting rapidly through doors and windows, all but leaving in a panic. And then in their wake, a new figure appeared, descending out of the moon itself.

She was a pony, and a very large one at that. Her fur was a dark blue and her mane seemed to share Celestia’s magically charged, majestic, and gracefully flowing locks, though replacing the solar radiance in favor of having the night itself flowing through her hair. She had a dark tiara, deep blue eyes and a crescent moon cutie mark adorning her hip with silver shoes covering her hooves, not at all unlike Celestia’s golden ones. She was nearly as large as the sun princess, if a bit more slender and about half a head shorter, and Phoenix could see the stars literally twinkling in her ethereal mane like it was made of the evening sky itself.

Still naked and reeling from the nightmare, Phoenix staggered back from her as she landed before him with flared wings, belatedly recognizing her as an alicorn. “Who… who are you…?” he asked her, though he had an uncomfortable feeling that he already knew, having seen pictures of her during his studies of pony society in Equestria. She can’t be…

To his surprise, she favored him with a smile. “Greetings, Phoenix Wright. We—” she bowed low “—are Luna. Sister of Celestia, keeper of the moon and Princess of the Night. We come to thee via the nightmares of our sister’s student, Twilight Sparkle. And ’twould seem we came when we were needed most.” She nodded at the ruined dreamscape around them.

Princess… LUNA…? Phoenix swallowed, his mind clearing as the nightmare’s spell over him was broken. He knew from his reading that this mare had once been the creature called Nightmare Moon, an evil alicorn apparently defeated by Twilight and his friends. Defeated… and purified… he gave a silent prayer, hoping she couldn’t hear his thoughts, uncertain of her intentions or purpose in being there. “Th-thank you…” he acknowledged, doubling over and taking some deep but ragged breaths, shaking badly. It was a variation of a recurring nightmare he’d had where he found himself unprepared for trial and unable to defend a client, but couldn’t ever remember having one that lucid or intense. “But wh-why are you here? How are you here?” He had to know.

The moon princess puffed her chest up in pride. “The night is our responsibility as much as the day is our sister’s. And with the power of the night, comes the power of dreams… though ’tis true that we once abused our ability to travel them, using them to manipulate and control others,” she went downcast for a moment. “But that version of us is gone. And now we seek once more to serve our subjects properly… though as thou art not one of our subjects, we shall spare thee the honor of our Royal Canterlot Voice.” Her smile deepened.

Phoenix wasn’t sure if she had just made a joke or not. “Thanks, I think…” he managed, still looking at her warily, not at all liking the idea that Equestrian magic could even invade his mind; that he wasn’t safe from it even on Earth or when he was sleeping. Is there NOWHERE I’m free from it now…?

She went a bit downcast at the look he was giving her. “Thou gazeth upon us in fear… as so many still do. We understand, but we did hope that a human who knew of us without having seen us as The Nightmare would receive us better,” she sighed. “Still, we believe we can, and must, help thee, Phoenix Wright. ’Tis our power and duty to guard the night and protect the dreams of our ponies, and we wouldst certainly extend this courtesy to the consort of our sister’s student… and favorite of our sister herself.”

“Well… th-thank you…” he shivered again at the still-potent memories of the dream. “Given how often my dreams turn into nightmares, sometimes I wish I wouldn’t have them.”

She arched an eyeridge as she helped him to his feet, her magic pulling him up, the mare of the moon not even blinking at the fact he was naked. “Thou shouldst not wish for such a thing, Phoenix Wright. For dreams are as necessary as sleep itself. They are a tool for memory and coping, and can reveal the fears and deepest truths that we ourselves keep hidden,” she told him, some part of him noting that she was echoing in far more archaic terms the lessons of a long-ago psychology class. “Though thou art correct in that they are not always benign and can be used by evil spirits for foul ends.”

“Evil spirits?” He felt a fresh trickle of fear down his back.

“Indeed,” she nodded, then changed the room around him with a flash of her horn, taking him to a far more peaceful place, an evening meadow with warm breezes and starry skies, lit by fireflies and will-o-wisps in the center of which sat a placid pond. “We guard the dreamscapes of our ponies from the fell demons that sometimes haunt them, seeking purchase in their very souls… as this group did with thee,” she nodded around them at the pile of ashes she’d reduced the judge and various other figures to, a gust of wind suddenly blowing them all away. “We hope thou findeth this place more to thy liking. ’Tis a recreation of one of our favorite places in Equestria. And one we oft retreat to when we need respite from this modern world.” She looked away, momentarily brooding again.

“It’s very nice, yes. But we’re not in Equestria…” he protested, the lawyer part of him kicking in automatically. “How were you able to find me here? And forgive me, but I really don’t like being in here naked… or having this…” he motioned down at his equine equipment, feeling very exposed and vulnerable in the alicorn’s presence.

In response, she arched an eyeridge, the barest hint of a grin breaking her lips. “Believe us when we say we have seen far worse, Phoenix Wright, in the nighttime fantasies of adolescent ponies… and even those of our own sister.” She rolled her eyes. “As to thy question… the realm of dreams hast no borders or physical boundaries except for those our own minds erect. All dreams are within our reach, whether from thy world or our own. So if thou wishes clothes or to alter thy form… ’tis thy dream. Simply will it,” she told him, and he did so, his body returning to normal and blue suit and red tie instantly materializing on his body.

“Cool…” he remarked, starting to feel a bit better for the simple fact he now felt back in control. Wonder what else could I do here…?

She gave him an odd look. “‘Cool’? Is the temperature here not to thy liking?” She tilted her head at him.

Phoenix blinked. “It’s a slang term for neat or impressive… wait. From what I’ve heard, and I don’t mean to bring up bad memories, you were locked up on Equestria’s moon for a thousand years.” Should I even be asking her about this?

“’Tis true…” she acknowledged, going downcast again. “And deservedly so.”

“I’m sorry…” he hastened to add, not wanting to lose her as an ally or be thrown back into the dream he’d just left. “Then is it possible that modern… speech isn’t really in your lexicon, or something?” He tried to make some small talk, mostly to calm his own still-frazzled nerves.

Luna smiled wanly. “We are aware… that manner of speech has changed over these long centuries. We now understand the new words well enough, but we find them… awkward and inelegant. We prefer to keep our current manner of speaking, at least for now. ’Tis a comforting echo of a time and world we once knew. A time… before the Nightmare we became,” she said wistfully and regretfully, staring up at a moon now devoid of her face. “But ’tis not time for such sentiments. We are here to help thee, Phoenix Wright. If thou wouldst allow it,” she quickly clarified.

“Help me? How?” he asked her, still wary.

“We can show thee the source of thy fears… and that of thy chosen mate,” she offered. “To know one’s fears is to be able to face them and overcome them. To move past the power they hold over thy heart.”

“And if my fear… is that what I feel in my heart… is a lie?” He finally voiced his deepest fear. “A magically-induced infatuation that I didn’t choose?” His lip quivered.

She stared at him for a moment before answering. “We could simply tell thee, but ’twould be far better to simply show thee in a manner thou cannot deny,” she answered evenly. “To face one’s fears is never easy, Phoenix Wright. But art thou not a seeker of truth?” she asked him with an arched eyeridge and the barest hint of a smile. “Thou art a barrister and defender of innocence, art thou not? Dost thou not follow the truth wherever it may lead?” she challenged him, causing Phoenix to blink again at the archaic term for lawyer.

He slumped at that, trapped by his own nature. I don’t know if we’ve met before, but she clearly knows me well… “Lead on, then,” he invited, steeling himself for whatever was to come.

Music: Must You Really Know?

With a flare of Luna’s horn, a pair of large doors appeared before them, ones he was certain he’d seen before, and frequently. They then swung open to reveal… a courtroom…? He recognized instantly. Not the demonic one his nightmare had taken place in, but a far more real one to his mind and memory; one he had visited many times… and not always as an attorney. Winston Payne was at the prosecutor’s bench, but looked different, slightly younger and wearing a full head of hair. And instead of himself at the defense bench, there was Mia, alive and well, Marvin Grossberg at her side. Startled, he nearly called to her, only to notice…

“That’s me!” he reeled, pointing at the defendant’s seat where he saw a younger version of himself, causing him to realize… “This is my trial!”

“’Tis true,” the moon princess confirmed. “’Tis within our power to bring memories to life by dream. And this is one of thine. One thou seemeth to hold great importance towards. And a source of thy woe that wounds thee even now,“ she told him as the memory to begin to play, the trial occurring exactly as he remembered it. He watched as Mia worked once again to save him in spite of himself, defending him from the depredations of a woman whose intentions were anything but innocent. Luna for the most part watched dispassionately, though once or twice she glanced at him. But it was only when she saw him attempt to protect ‘Dollie’ by swallowing the evidence of her guilt that she paused the dream and spoke.

“’Tis clear thou sought to protect her, however wrongly… as any good stallion that valued his mare would. Thou wert clearly smitten, so we would not question thy actions… though thou wouldst forgive us if we question thy choice of dress.” She arched an eyeridge at him again.

Phoenix grimaced at the pink shirt with heart on it he was wearing, far worse than the heart-shaped defense attorney badge he was forced to wear in Equestria. “I was… young and naive. Tolerance was a big thing at school then and in my mind I was just trying to show it. That I was for peace and love for all,” he rubbed the back of his head at his own naivety. “It’s rather embarrassing to see myself looking like that now.” He shook his head, imagining all the fun Maya would make of him over it. A power suit, it wasn’t…

As the trial ended with Dahlia’s deception revealed and the younger Phoenix crushed by the weight of her betrayal despite his not guilty verdict, Luna spoke again. “Base and vile this creature was. A mare with no conscience or remorse, who saw others only as means to her own evil ends, even willing to kill to reach them,” her lip tightened. “She is the key to thy puzzle, Phoenix Wright. And yet, ’tis not her that interests us so much as the mark she left on thy very soul.”

“She broke my heart,” he all but hissed out, his fists clenching at his sides as he saw that particular part of the trial play out again, his own emotions raw as he watched it all happen again. “I thought she loved me, and it was all a lie!” He felt the pain he did then.

“So ’twould seem,” the moon princess acknowledged, though Phoenix thought he caught a momentary hesitation in her voice. “She has left thy life now, and yet… she remains there in thy heart. Though now incarcerated and awaiting a richly-deserved death sentence as her reward, she is still all around thee, coloring thy actions. Tainting thy feelings. Skewing thy perceptions of others, particularly the mares of thy race.”

“The mares?” he echoed, surprised a pony princess could accept the idea of capital punishment so readily. “What do you mean…?”

“We mean that after one fair maiden betrayed thee… thou saw all others as her, Phoenix Wright,” she explained, slightly cryptically. “If thou dost not believe us, then simply look around thee.”

“Look around me…?” He did as he was asked, and then staggered back at what he saw.

Music: D̲͖̙̞͓̝͓͒͐ḁ̳͖̗͍̓̈̽̋ͅh̀̇̊̿̏̋̚l̜͇̫̠̓ͩ͗͑̌́ͧi̷a̶͑ͨ̇̽̂̌ͫa̶͖͖ͪ̽̌ͨa̴̹͖͇̺̼̭̯ͧa̺͕̲̜͚̔ͣ̅ͦͫA̭̣̲̜͔ͥ̂̐̋̚ͅÃ̜̜̖Ả͓̲̏ͮ̂̆̆͘Ä̫̯́̍́ͅA͚̩͔̗̲̞͠

Every woman in the audience now had Dahlia’s face.

Every. Single. One.

Phoenix was stunned at the implication, his mind putting together the pieces quickly. So that’s it? I saw all women as Dahlia afterwards and shut myself off from them out of fear of being hurt? Of being betrayed again? His thoughts came rapidly, hard on the previous one’s heels. Of being tricked again by a pretty face and once again having a love that isn’t real…? He reeled hard, realizing that the only woman in the courtroom that he didn’t see as Dahlia was Mia, a rock dressed in black against a backdrop of red hair and white skin.

Before Phoenix could think or say anything else, there was a crack of a fist meeting flesh. Both Luna and Phoenix spun to see that Mia had left the defense bench and punched Dahlia in the face as she stood on the witness stand. Her visage shattered like glass, revealing a decidedly ugly countenance underneath for a moment before she simply faded away, leaving Mia pouting slightly. “It’s just not as satisfying when I know she’s not real,” she complained, shaking out her fist, “but I’m not about to have Maya channel me just to visit the prison for that purpose.”

Music: Allow Us To Explain

Phoenix started. That hadn’t happened in the actual trial, and the way she spoke… “Ch-chief?”

Luna bowed low like she recognized the newcomer for what she was. “Greetings and welcome to our realm, fair spirit. We are not oft graced with the presence of the departed.”

“Greetings to you, Princess Luna,” Mia bowed back, momentarily ignoring her gaping protege. “I am Mia Fey, Phoenix’s former lawyer and mentor. I see you have done well by Phoenix, for which I thank you.”

“’Tis our pleasure,” she bowed her head again. “Though there is more we wish to show thy former student.”

“And there is more he needs to see. But I thought he might appreciate the presence of a friend.” She turned to Phoenix, crossing her arms and smiling as she usually did.

“But… how…?” Phoenix didn’t understand why he was so continually surprised even after all he’d already been through.

“The boundaries between the worlds weaken during dreams, Phoenix… particularly, it seems, in the presence of a potent magic user who can travel freely between them,” she said with a nod at Luna, who smiled. “Enough for me to appear to you now. And given what you’re going through, I thought you might like my company.”

“I do, but…” he trailed off and shook his head, not knowing how to explain the evening’s events. “What happened with Twilight… it’s off the rails, Mia. Everything just feels so wrong now…” he sat down in the empty defendant’s chair and clutched his head. How am I supposed to tell her about… THAT?

In response, she knelt before him and clasped his hands in her own. “I know what happened, Phoenix,” she told him, making him cringe even though there was nothing but sympathy in her eyes. “And I can guess what you’re feeling even without this little dog-and-pony show… no offense, princess.”

“Though ’tis hard for us to take thy meaning… none taken,” the lunar regent replied easily. “As a friend of Phoenix Wright, thou art more than welcome to accompany us on this journey.”

“Thank you. I believe I shall,” she said, then turned her attention back to Phoenix. “You know, you and Maya have been keeping me quite busy today,” she smiled wanly.

He perked up at that. “Maya? What’s wrong with her?”

“Nothing you need to worry about right now,” she said shortly. “She’s in good hooves. And as endearing as it is that you always try to put the needs of others before you, this is one time you need to focus on yourself first,” she said, almost grimly. “So tell me, Phoenix... what was the first piece of legal advice I ever gave you? The morning before Larry’s trial?”

“Before Larry’s trial?” Still overwhelmed, it took Phoenix a moment to remember what she was talking about. “You told me to… trust in my client,” he finally recalled. “And I’ve always tried.”

She nodded. “Yes. And that remains valid advice both inside the courtroom and out. For in this trial, your client… is your very heart, Phoenix.” She placed a palm against his chest. “But right now you do not trust it. And unless you do, this is one case you cannot win.”

His hand involuntarily went to hers. “How am I supposed to trust it when I don’t know if what it’s telling me is true?” He asked her, sitting down heavily in the defendant’s chair of the now-empty courtroom. “I get how Dahlia hurt me now. Makes more sense from what you said before about how I never looked at any woman the same after. But Twilight…” he shook his head, not even knowing how to voice what he was thinking. “This has just gotten so… messy…”

“Phoenix… take it from someone who’s been there. Every relationship is messy in one sense or another,” Mia noted, making Luna nod in agreement. “Every relationship requires sacrifice and for both sides meet halfway. This one is no different, though it does require extra work for the distances and differences involved. Yet for all that, you two were doing quite well, from what I could see. Are you really going to let one little revelation ruin it?”

“A revelation that this may not be real? Just like before?” Phoenix answered bitterly.

“Not like before,” Mia stood and crossed her arms again, taking a pose that Phoenix had seen before when she was examining a recalcitrant witness in court. “Unless you’re seriously going to claim that Twilight doesn’t love you and was just manipulating you to unknown ends. I know you’re hurting, but you’re smarter than that, Phoenix.”

Phoenix grimaced, her rebuke carrying as much weight in the dream world as it had in the waking one. “I know she didn’t mean it, but still… it happened. And it scares me, Mia. I have no defense against magic. I can’t detect it, I can’t stop it, and I don’t know what it’s doing to me. What she’s doing to me. So how do I know this is real? How do I know… her magic hasn’t affected me, making me love her?” His fears spilled out uncontrollably.

“Thou giveth thy mate’s magic too much credit, Phoenix Wright,” Luna spoke up again. “Take it from one who learned the hard way—magic cannot make thee act against thy heart. Cannot make others love thee no matter how powerful the spells thou may cast.” She closed her eyes in bitter memory for a moment. “It can increase one’s desires or bring hidden ones to the forefront. It can heighten sensation and pleasure. It can even produce a false feeling of infatuation for another, but not one that would last outside their presence. For just as transformative magic is only temporary, the body returning to its natural state after a time, the mind, too, will resist intrusion and being influenced in unnatural ways. ’Twas it truly her influence on thee, ‘twould leave thee soon after she did.”

“And did it, Phoenix?” Maya immediately picked up the thread. “Did your feelings for her evaporate after you left Equestria? Or when she left here after her previous visits?”

“No…” he admitted. “But…”

“But what…?” Mia challenged again. “This isn’t like you, Phoenix. Instead of defending your client—which is your own feelings for Twilight—you’re acting like a prosecutor, looking for reasons to doubt and convict them. Why?” she said in a tone that suggested to Phoenix that she already knew the answer.

He knew it as well, but still had a hard time voicing it. “Because it wasn’t… by my choice… “ he grated out. “Because I didn’t ask for that! And she promised me she wouldn’t use magic on me without permission! Promised me!”

“A promise she did not willingly break, Phoenix Wright,” Luna spoke up again. “She was as surprised as thee… and feels very guilty for it, as thou shalt soon see.”

“Phoenix… that girl has gone to great lengths to accommodate you. Far more than most human women ever would,” Mia crossed her arms and shook her head reproachfully. “She has met you more than halfway, by coming here and taking human form, even willing to make love to you as one. She’s bent over backwards for you, all so she can be with you. She loves you and would never willingly hurt you. Are you seriously going to claim differently?”

Phoenix fumbled for his response for a moment, sensing the truth in her words. “I want this to be real, Mia,” he admitted. “I really and truly do. But I’m terrified now it isn’t, and what happened… is just a symptom of that,” he groped through his myriad fears and anxieties for the answer. “I’m afraid that if I commit to this and then it turns out later that it was all a lie… just like before…” he couldn’t quite keep the tears from his eyes. “I’m sorry. I know it’s not fair to her, I’m just so scared right now…” he shivered, pained at his own admission.

Mia’s expression softened. “And thus, we now reach the crux of the case, Phoenix,” she noted with a glance at Luna. “What are you scared of? Her magic? Or just the truth?” she suggested. “What have I always told you about the truth?”

“To seek it and everything would be fine,” he recited automatically. “But it’s not as easy when it’s for myself…”

“Seeking truth in matters of the heart is never easy, Phoenix Wright,” Luna agreed, “but ’tis no less necessary for it. And the truth thou seeketh… can be found in the dreams of Twilight Sparkle,” she promised. “Or rather, the nightmares she now suffers. We have not intervened there yet, because we feel ’tis important that thou beholdeth them and see her fears for thyself. Normally we would be less direct about such matters, but time is short and she needs our aid as well. So please, follow us,” she ignited her horn and produced a new doorway, this one in Twilight’s lavender coat color with her cutie mark emblazoned across the front.

As she moved to open the door, however, a midnight-blue shield appeared, causing her magic to backlash. With a yelp, Luna backed off, rubbing her slightly singed horn tenderly. Mia and Phoenix blinked. “Um, I take it that’s not a normal reaction?” he asked hesitantly.

“Nay, ’tis not,” Luna answered, frowning. “To be rejected from e’en entering a pony’s dream… it should not be possible for me… unless…” she focused her magic again, and the door transformed into a window. All three of them looked inside.

What they saw was another courtroom, although the style and coloring indicated it was an Equestrian court. Twilight sat in the defendant’s chair, her head hung low, looking completely beaten down. A demonic red-suited form of Phoenix himself stood at the prosecutor’s bench, hair afire, eyes enraged and pointing an accusing finger at her, before which she cowered and sobbed. But worse, there appeared to be no counterpart at the defense bench; no one to speak for or defend her. The gallery was filled with mostly indistinct shapes, although there were a few known faces among the crowd, Twilight’s friends among them, all wearing expressions of disgust and distrust.

But it was the pony sitting at the judge’s bench that caught the trio’s attention. She was no indistinct shadow. She was an alicorn, that much was evident to Phoenix by the way her wings were mantled slightly and her long horn held high. Her coat was obsidian in color, and she was clad in severe cyan armor that gleamed in the low light. Her mouth was twisted in a vicious grin, allowing the three to see the fangs that protruded from her gums. Her eyes were not those of a pony, but more like a cat, being a near-solid mass of turquoise with a slitted pupil.

Abruptly, she looked up. “Ah, welcome, my former host…” she grinned malevolently at Luna, showing two rows of sharp teeth. “I have been expecting you. By all means, enjoy the show, and know that once this trial is over… Twilight Sparkle’s soul will belong to me!”

Luna trembled with barely-suppressed rage as she beheld the dark alicorn in Twilight’s nightmare. “How dare thee…” she growled. “How dare thee invade the dreams of one of our saviors!”

“Who is that?” Mia asked, not having studied Equestrian history as Phoenix had.

Phoenix swallowed hard. “Nightmare Moon…” he recognized, both from Twilight’s stories and his own research. But she was Princess Luna! How can she be… HERE?

“’Tis the foul demon that once possessed us!” Luna answered their questions, her expression one of pure hate as she tried and failed again to break through. “We mentioned before that there were evil spirits in Equestria that sought to take advantage of souls in turmoil? ’Tis certain The Nightmare is amongst the worst!” she spat out. “She came to us one night long ago whilst we lamented the fact that nopony appreciated us or our night, whispering the seeds of madness to us. Offered us the chance to help make ponies love us and see us for what we were… if we would but join with it. And in our weakness and sorrow, we agreed… and lost ourselves in rage and hate, nearly destroying all Equestria in our efforts to supplant our sister.”

“But didn’t the Elements of Harmony get rid of her?” asked Phoenix, increasingly desperate to reach Twilight as Mia studied the apparition and frowned.

Again, Luna shook her head. “The Elements, whilst powerful, cannot actually end another being’s life… e’en that of a foul spirit like The Nightmare. She was removed from us, not erased, dispatched to wander the ether… but ’twould seem she hath returned and chosen her next host!” She looked at the apparition with an expression of pure hate.

“Indeed. And I have you to thank for it, Phoenix Wright,” Nightmare Moon turned her attention on the human lawyer. “Rage and hate are our favorite emotions, but fear and guilt will do as well… and afraid of losing her stallion, her soul is now filled with them, giving me purchase within her. She is now convinced that she has hurt her beloved Phoenix grievously, that she broke her promise and that she deserves to be abandoned by both him and her friends for it. And once her certainty in her own guilt is total, all I need do is promise her you, and her soul belongs to me!” she laughed gleefully again. “’Tis such wonderful irony that the one who defeated me will now become my next host, wouldn’t you agree my dear Lulu? And in controlling the Element of Magic, I not only gain her power but ensure that the Elements themselves can never be used against me again!”

“NO!” Phoenix called out, pounding on the magical barrier with both fists, his earlier doubts and fears forgotten in the face of Twilight’s danger.

“Can’t you break through it?” Mia asked, the only one keeping a clear head at that moment. “And how did she hide from you?”

“Having held us in thrall for so long, she knows our power and how to counter it, including how to conceal herself from it. She was but a creature of dreams to begin with, so ’tis within her power to dreamwalk as well,” Luna’s jaw set. “Using all our power, we could break through… but she already has her claws in Twilight’s mind and spirit. To remove her forcibly wouldst irreparably damage both,” the moon princess explained in frustration. “The only way to remove her without the Elements of Harmony… is for young Twilight Sparkle to expel her of her own volition. But we fear she now lacks the will and conviction to do so,” she shook her head. “Do not blame thyself, Phoenix Wright. ’Tis our fault for not intervening sooner; for trying to save her nightmares for thee to witness. We fear we can give her no aid at this juncture.”

“But there has to be something we can do!” Phoenix pleaded, suddenly deathly afraid of losing her, now cursing himself. Mia was right… NONE of this was worth worrying about… this IS my fault! “TWILIGHT!” he called to her, desperately pounding on the barrier, trying to break through.

“She cannot hear you, Phoenix Wright,” the creature that had taken the form of Nightmare Moon cackled anew. “All she hears is your earlier accusations, each a stab through her heart. As long as you remain the source of her anguish, you cannot enter! But fear not. I am a Nightmare of my word. I’ve promised her you, Phoenix Wright. Your forgiveness and love forever.”

“Thy promises are tainted!” Luna shouted, her horn aglow as she again tried and failed to break down the barrier without hurting Twilight. “They lead only to heartache and suffering for many!”

“And you would know, my former host. The war we started was so delicious and fun,” she mocked. “Perhaps I’ll use Twilight Sparkle to start a new one, as she will soon be mine! For there is nothing any of you can do to stop me!” she proclaimed in evil glee.

“I beg to differ. Perhaps they can’t…” Mia stepped right through the barrier, surprising Luna and Phoenix. “But I can.”

Nightmare Moon looked momentarily startled, then smiled. “So… the fact that you can pass through my magic with no ill effects can only mean that you are not among the living. That you are what humans call an ‘angel’; an ascended spirit able to travel freely and not beholden to the rules of this realm,” she gave Mia a mocking bow. “Be that as it may, you still have no power to stop this, spirit. You can only observe as I claim this creature, body and soul.”

Mia gave the larger alicorn her most steely glare. “You’re wrong,” she said, then suddenly sprouted a pair of large, white-feathered wings from her back, flaring them like a pegasus. She rose several feet off the virtual floor and then unleashed a wave of mystic energy, a product of her own Kurain training and angelic power enhanced by the sheer strength of her spirit. It drove back the demons around them, causing the evil Phoenix to shatter like glass and the Nightmare’s aura itself to recede from Twilight…

But only partially, narrow tendrils of dark magic still embedded within her. “Impressive,” the apparition disguised as Nightmare Moon granted. “We did not think that a mere human spirit could check us.”

“The human spirit is something you will never understand,” Mia planted herself between The Nightmare and Twilight, who stirred.

The Nightmare laughed out loud. “Spare me such ridiculous sentiment. Humans are so very easy to manipulate,” she proclaimed with a glance up at Phoenix, who shivered at her gaze. “I have done so for sheer amusement in the past. But there is little point in me possessing them when they have so little power.”

The hold over her weakened, Twilight opened her eyes and raised her head weakly, focusing on the tall human woman before her. “M-Mia Fey?” she recognized dimly, her voice dull.

“It’s all right, Twilight. I’m here,” she called back to her. “I will not let her harm you.”

“Harm me? Who…?” she acted drugged and unaware of her surroundings, unable to hear Phoenix calling frantically to her, focusing with difficulty on the apparition before her. “Nightmare… Moon?”

“Well, then. ’Twould seem we have a standoff, Mia Fey,” The Nightmare called her opponent by name for the first time after hearing it from Twilight. “I cannot claim my new host with you here, but nor can you protect her forever. And I can wait an eternity if needs be.”

“As can I,” Mia answered evenly, crossing her arms and not moving. “Heaven and Earth will get along just fine without me. It’s not like I have any other place to be.”

“Very well, then…” Nightmare stalked down from the Judge’s bench and went nose to nose with the human woman, flaring her own wings and showing her teeth, trying to intimidate her, though Phoenix knew from past experience how well that usually went. “And how do you suggest we resolve this impasse, spirit?”

Mia grinned, showing her own teeth. “By trial, of course,” she suggested evenly, and then went to the defense bench. “You were conducting one when we arrived, however unfairly. And if she is to be tried for her supposed crimes, she requires an attorney. For the soul of Twilight Sparkle… I will defend her!” she pointed a finger at Nightmare Moon. “I will convince her of her own innocence, and then she will expel you herself!”

Far from being cowed, Nightmare Moon’s grin got wider. “A trial for Twilight? A real one with her very soul at stake? How interesting!” Her slitted eyes glittered. “A battle of wits with a worthy foe is something I relish but so rarely receive, Mia Fey! But let us be clear on the stakes: Should she be found guilty, she will then belong to me. And since you have destroyed my prosecutor, it would seem I should step into the role myself,” she nodded, taking her place behind the prosecutor’s bench. “But a trial also requires a judge… and who best to sit in judgement of Twilight Sparkle?” the alicorn apparition wondered aloud, though Phoenix had the distinct impression she already knew, but was simply milking the moment for all it was worth.

“Ah! I know the perfect pony for the job!” she announced gleefully, and then her horn glowed. A portal opened up in the floor as a new, seemingly sleeping equine figure was pulled in. As the glow that surrounded her faded to reveal her unicorn horn, ice-blue coat and frosty mane with a moon-and-wand cutie mark, Phoenix’s guts clenched as she opened her violet eyes and looked around in some confusion.

“What is this place? And why is Trixie here…?”

Author's Note

And so it begins, folks--a trial unlike any other, for the highest possible stakes. Welcome to The Heart’s Turnabout, and know that before this night is done, the truth about Twilight and Phoenix will be revealed, and expect some major revelations along the way. Sit back and enjoy the ride!

18: The Heart's Turnabout, Part 2 - Playing for Keeps

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19: The Heart's Turnabout, Part 3 - Party Punches

Music: Hollow Muteness

Twilight wasn’t certain what was happening to her. But that didn’t stop her from feeling she deserved it.

It felt like there were icy tendrils inside her, making her feel cold where she had never felt cold before—an icy caress that neither respected her power of fire or any other magic she knew. She was only half-aware of events around her, dimly cognizant of a courtroom and the back and forth of Mia Fey and Nightmare Moon. She knew she was on trial for hurting and raping Phoenix; she recognized that fact only too well, his angry words and accusations still echoing in her heart. Worse, she had killed him with her own runaway passion and then he had returned a spirit of vengeance…

Something was wrong with that, but she couldn’t quite seem to grasp what. Sometimes she swore she heard a second voice of Phoenix calling to her in frantic despair, but it was always muffled and fleeting, and quickly subsumed by the angry words and accusations of the first Phoenix, reciting her litany of sins and abuses.

I hurt a stallion… I hurt MY stallion… the thought echoed in her mind over and over, the icy tendrils sinking into her even deeper as she felt the certainty of it grip her. And behind them she could sense a powerful presence, cold and cloying yet offering her warmth and comfort, promising her an end to her torment if she would but let it in. Promises of absolution, promises of having the love and friendships she was certain she’d forever lost.

Despite the temptation, she resisted, some part of her insisting she was in danger and the voice’s words were a lie, but the more she heard the deeper her despair became. The possibility she may have raped Phoenix in his sleep. The increasing certainty she had been using him, magically influencing him all this time. Or worse, that everything they knew and felt had been a lie, if not due to her influence then to that of not-always-well-meaning others…

And therefore… can ANYTHING we have be real…? Nightmare Moon’s words echoed in her head once more, bringing tears to her eyes anew.

It can be, Twilight Sparkle… her voice came again. If you simply accept your guilt and punishment. If you simply surrender yourself to me, and allow me to make everything right…she cooed softly, letting her quarry feel the barest hint of warmth. With my help, you will know friendship and the love of Phoenix Wright. He will never wish to leave you again… she promised. Join me, and we will spread that love and friendship throughout your world and if you wish… the human one as well…?

I… I… The voice seductive and the temptation growing, Twilight felt herself drifting closer to the embrace of the voice’s owner, only to hear a sharp objection. Her fall into darkness was arrested as she again saw a winged human with a warm and inviting light surrounding her, reaching for her.

Do not give in, Twilight…the newcomer told her, offering her a hand. Phoenix is here. I am here. We will not leave you… Mia Fey’s voice promised. We will show you the truth, and then you will find your inner strength once more…

She is MINE, spirit!The voice fought back, its owner wrapping her tendrils more tightly around the violet unicorn, trying to keep the human woman’s voice from her quarry’s ears. And angel or no, you cannot take her from me!

That’s true. I can’t without hurting her… Mia Fey’s voice acknowledged, the pair somehow arguing in her own head, confusing Twilight further. But Twilight herself is another matter. I promise that before this trial is done, she will reject your lies and expel you herself!

We shall see, Mia Fey, the voice replied, an edge of anger in it. And I promise that before this trial is done, we shall know both whose will is stronger and whose wits are sharper…

“G… Grandpa?” Trixie asked, her voice shaky as she beheld the spirit of long-dead grandfather for a second time, arriving in the wake of a pillar of light apparently triggered by the winged human woman at the defense bench.

Trixie’s trembling query got Shadowmoon’s attention. “Lula!” he looked up and recognized in equal surprise, glancing around to recognize the presence of many other souls, both living and not. “Wait… this is a living dream? Why have I been brought here?” he asked in confusion.

The demon in alicorn form looked truly angry for the first time in the trial. “And you accuse me of manipulating the judge, Mia Fey? How is bringing in her grandfather any different?!”

“Shadowmoon The Illustrious is an important witness to the dreamtime meeting between Phoenix Wright and Twilight Sparkle,” Mia countered. “His presence here is merely for supporting Princess Luna’s claim. The fact that he’s related to our judge is not relevant at this juncture,” she closed her eyes and grinned in direct imitation and mockery of the Nightmare.

“But…” Luna was no less shocked than Trixie at the number of departed but powerful spirits now around her, finding herself no longer master of her own domain. It wasn’t just Shadowmoon either, the virtual spectator stands behind them were starting to fill in with other spirits, ponies, griffins and some other races Phoenix wasn’t familiar with along with a few humans thrown in, though the latter were wearing Roman togas and other old garb.

For just a moment, the Nightmare’s expression betrayed a moment of alarm as she beheld them, making Mia grin. “Recognize them, demon? You should. You killed or possessed most of them over the past several millennia. Others you drove insane or to outright suicide,” Mia recited as if she was preparing to pass sentence on the other entity. “Ironic, isn’t it? By trying to trap a new host, you’ve now trapped yourself. For this is now your trial as much as Twilight’s!”

Recovering quickly, the Nightmare sneered even as Red Phoenix drew closer to her for protection, looking genuinely nervous at the lethal looks he was getting. “Do I look worried, Mia Fey? As long as I have my hostage, by your own admission, you cannot touch me. And I fully intend to escape this realm with Twilight Sparkle as my new host. Regardless of what you—or they—may think.” She showed her teeth in an unpleasant grin. “This fight is far from over, but rest assured I will yet win.”

“We shall see,” Mia said evenly. “Now then, Your Honor… I have, shall we say… subpoenaed your grandfather, as he was a witness to the dreamtime events of that night.I request his testimony to corroborate Luna’s story and clarify the question of rape.”

The Nightmare opened her mouth to retort, but was cut off by Shadowmoon. “I see… so that’s what’s going on.” He glanced around, before stepping up to the witness stand. “Princess Luna, may I please testify in your place?” he bowed low before her. “With my granddaughter’s permission, of course…?” he added as an afterthought, glancing back towards the bench with a wry grin.

“By all means…” Trixie was still agape. “If you can shed light on this incident, then this court requests your testimony… grandfather,” she said shakily with the nervous air of a pony who was suddenly finding herself far out of her depth.

“We could hardly say no to thee…” the still-stunned moon princess agreed, stepping back into the gallery.

“Fine,” The Nightmare grated. “But be warned you may not like all you hear, Phoenix Wright…” her grin turned knowing again, letting that hang in the air for a moment before turning her attention back to Trixie’s grandfather.

“State your name and former occupation, spirit,” she instructed in no little annoyance.

He glared, but answered. “Shadowmoon the Illustrious. In life, a stage magician in the Court of Canterlot,” he said in equal disdain. “In death, still a father and grandfather who wishes to help his heirs.”

The Nightmare smirked. “Then tell me, what part of ‘helping your heirs’ involved peeping on a dreamtime tryst? Were you interested in that which you can no longer experience? Or does death merely make all spirits voyeurs?” she snickered.

The sounds of derision from the growing audience were legion, but Shadowmoon merely smiled. “Allow me to testify, and all shall be revealed, my not-so-dear demon…”

—— Witness Testimony ——
A Shadow on the Moon

I personally witnessed the dreamtime rendezvous, journeying there from where I reside in the Summerlands. Phoenix Wright and Twilight Sparkle met and mated in the realm of dreams, as arranged by Princess Luna. She wiped their memories afterwards at their mutual request. There was no rape or any undue influence used. I can confirm that what happened was mutual, and I daresay, beautiful to behold.

As to why I watched them, I was worried for the fate of my granddaughter and wished to ensure that her lawyers were genuine in their desire to help her, particularly in light of recent events between them. So I observed them and their dreams, as ascended spirits may do.

By the time he had finished, Phoenix’s cheeks had flushed again. Is our sex life an open BOOK? He suddenly wanted to scream, though Mia looked unperturbed, as did the rest of the spirits. His reaction was not lost on her, though. “I know this is embarrassing, Phoenix. Do you want me to handle this cross-examination…?” she asked him, putting a hand on his arm.

He sighed and shook his head. He wanted to be the one to save Twilight, but.. “It hits too close to home and I don’t even know what to do with this. This one’s all yours, chief.”

“Understood.” Mia nodded as Phoenix stepped fractionally back, the living lawyer resisting the urge to will a chair into existence so he could sit down heavily.

“Very well, then. Begin your cross-examination, Counselor,” Trixie instructed, still looking very uncertain, suddenly wondering what her grandfather or the other spirits saw when they eavesdropped on her!

“Thank you, Your Honor,” Mia acknowledged before turning her attention to her fellow spirit.

—— Cross-Examination ——

I personally witnessed the dreamtime rendezvous from where I reside in the Summerlands.

“For the sake of the living present, please explain how this is possible,” Mia instructed as if she already knew the answer.

Shadowmoon grinned. “As I’m sure is true for the human heaven as well, departed spirits have the ability to gaze upon the living when they wish, observing them both in the physical realm and in their dreams. We even have some ability to influence the latter if we so choose. And as a consequence…”

I can confirm Phoenix Wright and Twilight Sparkle met and mated in the realm of dreams, as arranged by Princess Luna.

“Exactly how did the princess ‘arrange’ this?” Mia next asked.

Shadowmoon grinned. “She brought them together in the same dream, giving them a very nice dreamscape under a starry night. She introduced herself to them, and explained why she had brought them there—‘We wish to help you relieve your tension and realize your hidden desires, lest it affect your performance in court tomorrow’, were her exact words,” he recited in Luna’s intonations, causing the Moon Princess to blush.

“I think it more accurate to say she wished to help herself,” The Nightmare snickered. “Tell me, witness… just what was my former host doing while they were ‘realizing their hidden desires?’

Mia spoke up quickly. “That question is irrelevant to the issue at hand, Your Honor,” she insisted as Luna visibly cringed and for the first time, Shadowmoon looked uncomfortable answering. “We are trying to answer the question of whether Twilight raped Phoenix that night! And all that matters is that we now have corroboration that she did not!”

“I’m afraid I must disagree with the defense. What we are trying to determine at this juncture is whether the two in fact rutted of their own free will. And as well as I know my former host, I can safely say she is not above tilting events towards certain outcomes, with or without my influence.” She pinned Luna with an evil grin. “She has already admitted as much in her testimony. So, did you really want to see them do it that badly, Lulu?” she teased, and this time Luna had no reply.

Their reactions were not lost on Trixie. “As much as I’m sure I don’t want to hear the answer to this… the prosecution is right. The question of magical influence remains an open one, whether the source was Sparkle or somepony else. So… the witness will answer and append it to his testimony,” she rapped her gavel weakly, giving her grandfather an apologetic look.

To her surprise, he grinned at her. “So you’re finally learning to put aside your personal feelings. I’m very glad to see that, Lula.” He bowed his head. “I will of course obey the judge’s instructions…” he promised, then added several new lines of testimony.

Princess Luna withdrew from sight, but was still watching the pair. And after a time, she began to… enjoy herself as she witnessed their lovemaking. Having said that, I hasten to add she did not directly attempt to magically influence the pair.

When he finished, Luna was blushing hard, while many of the new audience members were wearing amused smirks. “If thou seeketh to humiliate us, foul demon, we can do the same to thee. Shall we recite some of thine own proclivities?”

“Feel free. I’m shameless, Lulu,” The Nightmare grinned. “And don’t try to tell me that as repressed as you were when I first found you, you didn’t learn to enjoy them too…”

“Once again, Your Honor, these personal attacks have nothing to do with the question at hoof!” Mia pointed across at the Nightmare.

“It has everything to do with it, if she in fact decided to indulge herself and influence the pair in order to make them carry out acts she wished!” the demon in alicorn form accused outright.

“We did NOTHING of the sort!”Luna’s voice boomed.

“She did not,” Shadowmoon confirmed again. “For you see…”

There was no rape or any undue influence used. What happened was mutual, and I daresay, beautiful to behold.

The Nightmare broke in immediately. “Tell me witness. Did my former host’s aura turn pink at any point?”

He frowned. “It did.”

She grinned. “And when did the two of them start mating? Before or after her aura changed color?”

It was, both Phoenix and Mia realized, a good question. If Shadowmoon answered the latter, The Nightmare could claim that Luna did, in fact, magically manipulate the two into mating.

But to the relief of both, Shadowmoon simply smiled. “Before. Though I wasn’t watching them directly, I could feel the power of their passion through the dreamscape and clear into the Summerlands even after I returned. I believe Princess Luna found the display… quite pleasing.”

“When you say you weren’t watching them directly…” Mia trailed off, leaving it an open question.

“I mean I was observing them directly until the point where they began rutting in earnest. At that point, I shifted my direct focus elsewhere, letting them have at least some semblance of privacy.” He gave a sardonic look to Luna, who blushed all the more. “And I assure you, had I thought Princess Luna was even remotely influencing the two of them, I would have stepped in directly.”

That drew a blink from the living beings in the room. “How do you mean?” Trixie asked.

He smiled again. “Princess Luna, for all her power, is not the sole master of the realm of mind and dreams. Ascended spirits such as myself and our defense counsel have some ability to influence the latter.”

“Then how do we not know you didn’t try to influence this one?” The Nightmare challenged.

Shadowmoon glared at her. “Because unlike you, I don’t seek to manipulate others through their dreams to my own evil ends,” he all but sneered. “You have some nerve accusing me of such a thing when corrupting through dreams is your stock in trade!”

“Oh really? Then why were you even there?” she challenged, grinning like she’d just been flattered.

As to why I watched them, I was worried for the fate of my granddaughter and wished to ensure that her lawyers were genuine in their desire to help her, particularly in light of recent events between them. So I observed them and their dreams, as ascended spirits may do.

“I see no point in asking about those ‘recent events’ as our judge is perfectly aware of them. So please tell this court instead… were you satisfied their desires to help your granddaughter were genuine?”

He nodded sagely. “They were indeed. In fact, they spoke of Lula while I watched. In the end, they decided that if being tense or tired was going to negatively affect her trial, that was ‘a good enough reason to rut’,” he chuckled. “They started soon after.”

“You mean… they screwed… for my sake?” Trixie suddenly looked ill.

“In part, yes, Lula,” Shadowmoon grinned as well while Phoenix facepalmed as he replayed the described scenario in his head and realized that yes, under the circumstances he would consider such a thing for the sake of a client. Particularly if I was promised no memory of it afterwards… he rubbed his hand behind his head.

“Which just goes to show that neither my client nor Phoenix Wright had any ulterior motives or selfish desires,” Mia grinned as well. “As this witness says, they are truly a beautiful couple, blessed by the heavens of both worlds,” she said with a warm smile at Phoenix, flaring her angel wings to encompass him.

And at her touch, Phoenix found he believed her, his remaining doubts starting to ebb. Blessed by the heavens… touched by an angel… he repeated to himself, and as he watched, he saw Twilight’s head start to perk up a bit as well.

“Request the last defense statement be struck as speculative and unsupported by evidence, Your Honor.”

“That I am here in this guise is evidence enough you are wrong, Nightmare.” Mia crossed her arms and flared her wings anew.

“Do not presume to speak for the gods themselves, Mia Fey, any more than I can speak for the high demons and lords of darkness. We are free agents, able to influence events to our own ends. In that sense, by trying to interfere in living affairs, you are just as selfish as you claim I am.” Boos and angry noises erupted behind her.

Trixie’s gavel came down hard. “Enough! I am having a difficult enough time reconciling all that is happening here without invoking actual deities! The defense statement is struck, as well as the exchange that followed! Please limit your commentary to that which is relevant to the trial and questions at hoof!” she ordered the pair as several sentences disappeared from the parchment they were written on.

“Yes, Your Honor.” Mia never lost her grin. “Then as we have reached the end of this testimony, I think it is now quite clear that there was no rape or undue influence used. Thus, the defense moves that the counts of rape and illegal magical influence pertaining to this incident be dropped.”

“Not quite,” The Nightmare was grinning again herself, showing her teeth for a moment. “Before you pass judgment on these counts, I have one final question for this witness, Your Honor. One I think will be quite illuminating.”

Trixie slumped, her prosecutorial mind having picked out a hole in the defense logic herself; one she hoped she could ignore if it was not brought up. “Proceed.”

“Witness. Was my former host watching the whole time?” she addressed Shadowmoon again.

The former stage magician frowned. “As I have already stated, yes.”

“And her mating aura? Was it visible for the duration of the encounter?” she followed up.

“I already said that didn’t appear until after the pair had started!” he repeated, annoyed.

“That is not what I asked. I asked, was it visible for the duration of their rutting?”

“Yes…” he turned wary, and Mia did as well.

“And did it intensify at any point?” she asked next.

He hesitated. “When she… got close, yes. But she wasn’t casting any spells against them!” he quickly added.

“She didn’t have to,” the Nightmare said easily. “For just imagine what a close-range alicorn mating aura might have done to the pair, whether or not she meant it to. Just imagine my former host’s own subconscious desires backed by her ability to influence dreams. Just think what effect it might have had on them, raising their desire and lust to irresistible levels, making them engage in acts and behavior they would not have otherwise. So given these facts, can you say for certain, witness, that she was not influencing them?”

For the first time Shadowmoon looked flustered. “I wasn’t watching them the whole time. So I don’t know.”

“That’s right. You don’t,” she grinned, then turned to Luna. “So, my former host. Even if this court accepts the highly questionable assertion that you did not intentionally influence them, is it not possible your mating aura did it for you?” she asked, catching Phoenix short. “I know your appetites well, Lulu. So why don’t you tell this court… what is your favorite saying regarding sex in dreams?”

Luna slumped, but answered anyway. “That there is no adultery in our realm.”

“In other words, that when it comes to rutting, all is allowable,” The Nightmare paraphrased. “And do you not apply that rule to yourself as well…?” she grinned toothily.

“Yeah, you make us screw so you can have a good time?” Red Phoenix shouted angrily. “So what did you make us do, anyway? And how do we know what we did after wasn’t a product of it?” He slammed his hands down on the table just as Phoenix would.

The real Phoenix had never more wanted to murder his doppelganger than at that moment. “Though I find this assertion disturbing… this was a freakin’ dream, not reality! Her influence didn’t extend outside of it! So it couldn’t have affected us on an ongoing basis!” He beat Mia to the punch.

“If magical influence didn’t extend outside out of it, how did your clothes get removed that night, hm?” The Nightmare asked, catching Phoenix short. “I think the point is made. The prosecution has no further questions of the witness, Your Honor. And all the defense has done is demonstrate once again that their love and lovemaking was not their own.” She said as Twilight slumped anew.

Trixie could only hope her next words might perk her back up. “That is hardly proven, Prosecutor Moon. And regardless… the defense motion is granted. The counts of rape and illegal magical influence related to this incident are dropped, because it is now clear to this court that none occurred!” she banged her gavel, causing several lines to disappear from the charges sheet. “The witness is dismissed… with this court’s thanks,” she told her grandfather, smiling wanly at him but heartened when she received an approving nod back. “Then we will move on to the next incident… this one taking place at a party?” she prompted.

“Yes, Your Honor,” The Nightmare grinned. “And of this one, there can be no doubt…”

Music: Celestial Sentinel

A sleepless Celestia wasn’t sure why she felt so uneasy.

Night had fallen again, and Vinyl Scratch and Maya had gone to bed near midnight, the latter after some impromptu shielding lessons from the princess and all the room service burgers she could eat. Despite still being a pony, Vinyl herself had tried one and discovered she liked it as well, and then the two had gone off for a conversation to which the princess was not privy, talking things out in the breezes and privacy of the penthouse balcony.

Whatever was said between them, in the end the pair had reemerged on decent terms and hugged, but had apparently agreed it was best to spend the night apart. Understandable… Celestia granted, though she couldn’t help but feel a tinge of regret, both for them and for her. Seeing a young mare exploring her sexuality for the first time was always a huge turn-on to the sun princess, doubly so for the slightly involuntary manner in which it happened and the cross-species component. Thus far she had resisted the impulse to cast a spell on the large bedroom mirror that would have shown her what happened in sight of it while she was asleep in the other room, trying to respect the young girl’s privacy… and also fully aware of what witnessing those events would likely do to her.

Not what she needs, or me right now… the sun princess shook her head as sat down by the rail and looked into the glittering sea of lights that defined the large human city. It was a rare chance for her to experience and enjoy the Earthside night as an alicorn, wishing again that she could yet convince her sister to visit Earth. You’d think she’d enjoy visiting a place where the night is so alive and celebrated…she reasoned as she gazed at the terran moon which now hung low over the horizon, tinged slightly reddish by all the haze.

She knew the color was just a function of smog and an arid, dusty climate, but she still couldn’t help but worry it was an omen. The moon over Earth was smaller, or perhaps just further away than the one that appeared in the skies over Equus, and its more distant appearance only drove home how far away from Equestria she was.

Luna… Celestia called out with her thoughts, wondering what her sister was doing right then and if her uneasiness had anything to do with events happening in Equestria. She didn’t think anything was wrong back home—she’d get a deluge of messages punctuated by the appearance of one or more of her agents if there was—but the odd sense of foreboding did not go away. It was a feeling she’d learned to not discount, as her long life had attuned her to the flow of the world around her far more than most.

She also wasn’t the only insomniac that night. Through her longstanding connection with Twilight, she sensed her student’s severe agitation and restlessness as she tried to sleep, wondering what had happened and wishing then she had Luna’s ability to dreamwalk. She wasn’t sure why her prized pupil suddenly seemed so troubled given she’d sensed another extremely intense orgasm from her just hours earlier, but decided not to disturb her.

If Twilight needs me, she’ll let me know… and it would seem I have enough to deal with on this front with young Maya… she shook her head again, looking back into her room where the young mystic slept in the guest bed, Vinyl on a nearly equally plush couch out in the main living area, her trademark magenta shades folded neatly on the end table to her side. She can’t stay a pony here. I’ll have to either send her home or transform her and get her some clothes tomorrow… the sun princess knew, not wanting to open another inter-dimensional mirror portal if she could at all help it, knowing it would greatly drain her magic and leave her too tired to do much for the rest of the day.

And besides, something tells me that even if she’s not comfortable with what happened, Maya still needs Vinyl Scratch’s friendship and company right now… she shook her head. The lessons had gone well enough; the young girl’s training as a mystic had given her much of the requisite focus and meditation techniques she needed, so Celestia had been able to skip those parts of the lessons, able to start immediately into teaching her how to spot and screen out unwanted magical influences. Vinyl had helped with some meditative music, but had otherwise kept her distance except when Maya requested her help or presence, either out of her own experience or a simple desire to obey the instructions of her channeled big sister.

It wasn’t just Vinyl with regards to the latter. Mia Fey had all but ordered Celestia to train Maya, and even as powerful as she was, the sun princess was not about to defy the wishes and will of a departed spirit. A particularly beautiful and powerful woman at that… she shifted uncomfortably at the thoughts suddenly going through her head.

As much as the sun princess enjoyed being rutted by a strong stallion, being dominated by another, more powerful female was an equally strong fantasy that had great resonance within her, and one that, unlike her more conventional encounters with her human lover, she almost never got to indulge. Or certainly, no more than getting to be with a young mare like Maya again…

She blinked and shook her head sharply, mildly disgusted with where her thoughts kept trying to go. This is NOT the time, Tia… she reminded herself sharply again. Maya is my responsibility right now, and it still feels like something’s wrong out there… she stood sentry for the rest of the night, trying to discern a danger she could sense but could not see.

The dreamscape courtroom fell silent again as all attention was focused on the otherworldly combatants again. “Very well, Prosecutor Moon.” Trixie stared at The Nightmare warily. “What is this second potential incident of rape you speak of?”

“The second incident to be discussed happened at a party just three days before Mister Wright’s departure from Equestria,” the disguised demon of dreams began, her toothy grin making itself known again. “I could explain, but… I think it would be far more edifying if to hear what happened directly from the horse’s mouth.” She turned and nodded to Red Phoenix.

“It’ll be my pleasure!” He cinched his orange tie and retook the stand.

Music: Cross Examination B ~ Allegro

—— Witness Testimony ——
Super-Special Party Punch

That conniving little filly just wouldn’t take no for an answer! She got me drunk and laid me against my will that night! I know because I woke up with my shirt off and pants unbuckled, with her laying on me!

I was drunk on that horrid party-punch of Pinkie’s and couldn’t offer consent! She knew that and took advantage of me anyway!

Phoenix fists clenched as his doppelganger finished; he had never hated anyone so badly in his life. “Chief… will heaven hold it against me if I kill him?” he had to ask.

She glanced at him. “Your hatred stems from the fact that he is in some ways your reflection, Phoenix. He is the sum total of every negative thought and emotion you’ve ever had towards Twilight or women in general. That said, he is just a dreamworld construct, built from your own fears and misgivings. So if you wish to defeat him, you will have to face those fears,” she said, slightly cryptically. “Be warned, he has your wits as well as your memories. He will not be easy to trap.”

That doesn’t really answer my question… he thought as he steeled himself for the questioning to follow. I’ve cross-examined a parakeet and a clown, ponies and griffins. I never thought for all that I’d end up cross-examining… ME!

—— Cross-Examination ——

That conniving little filly just wouldn’t take no for an answer! She got me drunk and laid me against my will that night!

“Let’s cut to the chase here, you two-bit fraud! How do you know for a fact that she did anything with you?” Phoenix asked, pointing a finger at him and half-wishing it was a gun.

“Is that tie of yours on too tight, ‘Feenie’?” his red-suited fire-haired double snorted, crossing his arms and glaring at him, then Twilight. “You know as well as I do how we woke up! If nothing happened, how did we get that way, huh?” He slammed his hands down on the witness stand.

Phoenix wasn’t going to let it go that easily. “If you have my memories, then you don’t have any knowledge of what happened during the night! So you don’t in fact know whether anything occurred other than being partially undressed! And for all you know, we did that ourselves!” he rubbed his hand behind his head, blushing slightly.

“Are you freakin’ serious?” Red Phoenix asked.

I know because I woke up with my shirt off and pants unbuckled, with her laying on me!

“Like I said, that could have any one of a number of explanations!” Phoenix pointed out again. “So just what makes you so certain that we were, in fact, taken advantage of?”

“Don’t tell me you’re in the habit of sleeping partially dressed with a woman in your bed,” sneered his double, crossing his arms and glaring.

Phoenix narrowed his eyes. “When I thought I had a girlfriend… I actually did! Remember?”

That gave his double some pause, reviewing their memories. “Uh…” He looked askance at Phoenix. “Are you seriously bringing that she-devil up?”

“Well, there’s one point we can agree on,” Phoenix said sardonically. Then again, maybe THIS version of me would be the perfect match for her! “My point is, the morning after the party isn’t the first time I’ve woken up with someone in my arms in a state of partial undress! My surprise was due to the fact that I couldn’t remember getting there in the first place!” he snarled.

“Well that just proves my point!” Red Phoenix snarled back.

I was drunk on that putrid party-punch of Pinkie’s and couldn’t offer consent! She knew that and took advantage of me anyway!

“If you’re supposed to be me, you should be smart enough to know that claim is a load of baloney! We both had that ‘putrid party punch’, remember? Me and Twilight! At least half a dozen cups each, in fact, before we were so drunk we couldn’t remember what happened afterward!” Phoenix proclaimed, slamming his own hands down. “So if you’re seriously claiming if I couldn’t offer consent, then tell me, how could she?” he pointed directly at his other self.

Red Phoenix stared at him, then smirked, making a show of sticking a finger in his ear, twisting it inside as if we was trying to clear the passage. “I’m sorry. I must have misheard you when you said I was the stupid one. Are you seriously suggesting we raped her?” He dripped scorn on the claim. “Even if we wanted to, how could we in the face of all her power, given she could incinerate us in a heartbeat? Hell, she already did earlier!”

Phoenix didn’t know what he was talking about, and wasn’t sure he wanted to. “You’re making the claim that since I couldn’t offer consent, it was rape. Yet if she couldn’t either, then by your own logic, could it not be said that we raped each other?” Phoenix gave him an equal smirk, reflecting he would love to shove that logic down the throats of certain groups back home. “That’s the endpoint of your logic chain! And I would further remind my deluded double that prior to the party, Twilight specifically warned us against having too much punch! Care to tell this court exactly what she said to us on the subject?”

The fiery Phoenix’s jaw clenched, but he gave the correct answer. “’Go easy on Pinkie’s Super-Special Party Punch. Too much of that and you may start behaving a little oddly…’”

“Exactly!” Phoenix pointed at him again. “So if she intended to take advantage of us, then why did she specifically warn us about the punch? Moreover, why did she partake in it herself, knowing what it could do?” Phoenix pointed out, grimacing at the memory of Edgeworth’s appearance immediately after Twilight’s warning. “In answer to the second, it was Pinkie Pie who cajoled us both into drinking! In addition, I’m going to go out on a limb and state that casting spells of any kind while inebriated is a terrible idea…?” He looked up at Trixie for confirmation.

Trixie shuddered. “It is. Spellcasting requires concentration and focus. Even the simplest spell can misfire spectacularly if we’re unable to concentrate fully. I’ve seen unicorns try to levitate something while drunk, and end up waking up in odd predicaments or even the hospital a few hours later due to… varying effects.” She grimaced as if she was speaking from experience.

Luna nodded as well. “’Tis true, magic and spirits do not mix well,” she grimaced.

“Oh, come on!” Red Phoenix complained. “For the amount of drink she had, she wouldn’t have the cognitive ability to even think about that!”

“Oh really! So if she didn’t have the cognitive ability, then how could she knowingly offer consent?” challenged Phoenix, grinning as his double fell right into his verbal trap.

The doppelganger sputtered as the Nightmare facehoofed. “I can’t believe you walked into that,” she groaned, then grinned. “Still, there’s one thing our witness’s lesser half has neglected to bring up. The punch in question, as with virtually everything in Equestria, has a magical property to it. Given that, there would be a dramatic difference in how it would affect a pony, and how it affects a human.” She proceeded to conjure a glass with a sample of the punch in question. “If Your Honor wishes to examine it…?”

“There is no guarantee that punch is the real deal!” Phoenix immediately asserted.

“Care to try it yourself and see, Phoenix Wright? We assure the defense that this is a faithful recreation from Twilight Sparkle’s own memory.”

Music: Pinkie Pie ~ Positively Pink

“I’ll be the judge of that!” a surprise voice said, a split second before Pinkie Pie popped up beside the Nightmare, who jumped back in surprise along with a good portion of the gallery. Before anyone could react, she swiped the glass from the Nightmare’s magic, and drained the entire thing, smacking her lips a couple of times. “Yep, that’s my recipe alright! Nicely done, Black Snooty!” She promptly stuck the empty glass on the Nightmare’s horn, then headed for the courtroom pit exit, stopping before the Bolt Knight and gryphon warrior guarding it, the former possessing an eye patch.

“Hi there, great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandma!” She gave the startled pegasus pony a hug, then bounded out into the gallery, settling into an empty seat between an equally surprised human and gryphon spirit.

Everyone stared at her for several seconds, before the Bolt Knight she’d hugged began to chuckle. “Ah, ’tis good to see a pony of my line so full of life!” the one-eyed mare said. “‘Tis certain she has taken my awareness to heights I never could even e’en fathom.”

“You seem remarkably unperturbed that her appearance here is, by all rights, impossible,” her male gryphon compatriot noted.

“Methinks I simply choose to adopt the stance of her friends regarding her,” replied the mare to her former enemy. “To quote, ‘It’s Pinkie Pie, don’t question it.’”

“There’s sage advice for you,” grumbled the Nightmare, removing the glass from her horn and refilling it. “Ahem. As I was saying, before that distraction… Your Honor?” She offered the glass again. “Unless, of course, our newest visitor cares to share its secrets?”

“Now where’s the fun in that?” Pinkie lounged back in her chair, putting her hooves behind her head. “Besides, if I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret!”

“Just… give it here…” Trixie felt a headache coming on as the Nightmare levitated it towards her

The showmare accepted the glass in her aura and brought it closer, studying it carefully, her horn glowing to varying degrees. Finally, she gave a cautious sip of the brightly-colored liquid and licked her lips, considering the myriad parts. “Sarsaparilla… black cherry cider… watermelon juice... what I’m guessing is some burro sangria…” she catalogued, then her brow furrowed. “And… wait… what’s that…?” she probed it with her aura some more, and abruptly, the concoction turned a rainbow of colors for an instant before settling back to its normal clear purple-reddish hue.

Trixie looked at Pinkie Pie in shock. “You spike your punch… with zap apple ether…?!”

“Aw… you guessed!” Pinkie pouted, but quickly perked back up. “But yep yep! Fully distilled and extra-potent! For extra-super-duper-SPECIAL parties only, but guaranteed to give everypony a good time! Whenever zap apple season comes, AJ always saves some just for me!”

“Be that as it may…” The Nightmare rolled her eyes. “Perchance Your Honor would care to explain to this court what an ether is and what effects one made from zap apples would have on the average laypony… to say nothing of layman?”

Trixie shuddered, having had a bad reaction to eating a raw zap apple in the past. I ate one because I hoped it would boost my power. And it did, but it also gave me a Neigh Orleans accent for a day and made me start hitting on MARES! “An ether is the magical essence of an item. It’s imbued with that item’s magical properties, which in the case of a zap apple, would basically enhance everything from the punch’s flavor and alcohol effects to the deepest desires of the pony—or person—drinking it! Have enough of this and you’d lose all inhibition and good sense… and wake up with a hangover from Tartarus the next day! So tell me… just how much of this hooch did you and Snarkle have, Wrong?” she stared at him in disbelief.

“Uh… I kind of lost count after the first six cups?” He took on his goofy grin.

The gallery erupted in laughter as Trixie facehoofed with a loud smack. “That he’s an utter idiot goes without saying. But just how do you intend to prove rape when they were both so soused on this… concoction that neither could think straight, Prosecutor Moon?”

“I couldn’t have said it better, Your Honor,” a pleased Mia said, crossing her arms and grinning.

About the drink, or me being an utter idiot? Phoenix knew better than to ask.

“The point is that they were not both affected to the same degree, Your Honor. The point is that the punch would have hit Mister Wright far harder and faster than the ponies present,” The Nightmare was wearing her knowing grin again. “I do not have to tell you that ponies have some innate magical resistance. Humans, on the other hoof…”

This time it was Mia who rolled her eyes. “So you’re seriously claiming that Phoenix was incapacitated but Twilight wasn’t? Even though neither could remember anything the next day?”

“So she says,” The Nightmare grinned. “Six drinks may have made her suggestible, but not so drunk she didn’t know she was doing. And it is literally beyond belief that she would not have known what was in the punch, being Miss Pie’s friend and having had it before?” She glanced at Twilight, who cringed.

“But… I didn’t… know…” Twilight weakly protested.

“She didn’t!” Pinkie piped up again from the gallery. “She never asked and I never told anypony! Except AJ, once! And only ‘cause she wanted to know if she could have some of that punch for her family reunion! Yeah, I kinda had to explain to her why that wasn’t such a good idea…” she rubbed her hoof behind her head for a moment. “But after that, she supplied me the ether herself! Said she liked things that ‘made ponies more honest!’ Though sometimes I seriously think she just likes letting go now and again.” She then grinned. “Also, Twilight’s only had that punch twice before, so she actually has a lower tolerance for it than most ponies in Ponyville!”

“Well, given that information, I find it impossible to conclude that either Snarkle or Mister Wrong was capable of rational thought!” Trixie said in some relief. “With her lower tolerance and Mr. Wright’s lack of magic, six cups would ensure they were both completely plastered, and make sure they can’t remember anything afterwards!” She carefully pushed the glass away. “So once again, I ask you, Prosecutor Moon: given these facts, how can you possibly say that there was a rape that night?”

The Nightmare was starting to look very annoyed, but this time it was the faux Phoenix who spoke for her. “Do we have to spell it out? Fine. Then riddle me this, Your Honor… if you could so easily identify what was in it, then why couldn’t she?” he asked with a pointed finger at Twilight, making Phoenix fantasize again about all the ways he might murder him. “Do I really have to point out that she’s better at magic than you, and more learned in it?”

Trixie’s eyes narrowed. “Not if you value your magical hide, Fauxnix Wright!” the mare magician all but growled, her eyes glowing blue for a moment as a lightning bolt suddenly hit at red-shoed feet, causing him to jump several feet backwards. A chill wind then whipped around him, causing his hair flames to sputter and his figure to shiver, at which point he wisely shut up.

“I think my co-counsel’s point, Your Honor, is that given her power and usual thirst for knowledge, there is no excuse for Miss Sparkle not knowing,” The Nightmare clarified, looking unperturbed by the latest turn of events.

The showmare considered that. “A valid argument…” she reluctantly conceded. “Either Sparkle never checked it, in which case she was unusually incurious and grossly negligent with regards to how it might affect her human guest… or she did, which means she knew full well what it could do to him…”

“I couldn’t have said it better, Your Honor.” It was a grinning Nightmare’s turn to mimic Mia, who glared.

Tears were beginning to well in Twilight’s eyes again. “I… never… checked…” she finally admitted. “I meant to, but… never did…” she offered weakly.

“Because she had no reason to, Your Honor,” Mia broke in. “Perhaps she was mildly negligent, but hardly out of malicious or selfish intent. And let’s not excuse Phoenix Wright for indulging in a drink he was initially warned not to take, without asking what was in it.” She gave him a pointed look. “I think this court will agree that the fact he failed to makes him in part responsible for the consequences.”

“Gee, thanks, chief…” Phoenix muttered, though he knew she was right. “Then again, I didn’t know Twilight could possibly identify what was in it, and I assumed it to be a secret recipe that I wasn’t privy to information on…” he offered half-heartedly.

Mia gave him a look. “I seem to recall you also took those painkiller pills from Sonata Tarot without reading the fine print. Pattern of behavior, Phoenix.” There was a brief twinkle in her eye before she turned her attention back to the bench. “Your Honor. As the prosecution continues to assert that my client knowingly forced herself on Phoenix Wright, the defense requests to call a rebuttal witness. One who will shed light on the events of that night, and establish that once again, there was no rape.”

The gallery fell silent as all eyes again fell on her, including those of Phoenix himself. “Oh, really. And how, pray tell, are you going to do that, Mia Fey?” The Nightmare sneered, echoing the question that Phoenix wanted to ask. “The events you describe took place in the living realm, not a dream, and given this punch’s contents it is quite doubtful that any ponies or people present that night remember what happened. Unless perhaps, you plan to call the punch’s maker?” she glanced back at Pinkie Pie.

“Sorry Moonie, but I wouldn’t be any help!” Pinkie answered easily. “I was managing the party for the first half of the night, and I didn’t have the time to chaperone Twilight and Feenie. And later on, I was hanging out with Maya and Scratchie! Now that was a good time!” she grinned, looking almost wistful.

Mia coughed. “Yes, well… we don’t need the details there. As this was a living world event, I wish to subpoena a living soul who witnessed it. However, I do not have the power to bring her here from the living realm. That task will have to be left to our good princess…?” she glanced over at Luna, who’d been uncommonly silent for the last several minutes.

Addressed, the moon princess perked up, eager to make up for her earlier embarrassment. “Verily we shall, fair spirit… if thou wouldst tell us what sleeping soul thou wisheth to summon.”

“We ask for this court to hear from the one pony who had less punch and in fact does recall the events of that night,” she grinned and gave Phoenix a wink. “To that end, the defense requests the presence and testimony of the fair Lady Rarity…”

20: The Heart's Turnabout, Part 4 - A Rare Revelation

Arguing a case in the dream world between the living and departed realms was, Mia Fey reflected, nothing like the trials she’d defended in life.

Back then, defending my client was a fight to find and extract the truth in the face of lying witnesses and arrogant prosecutors who were more interested in padding their conviction tallies than the truth. This time, I already KNOW the truth, as does my prosecutor opponent, she catalogued with a glance across the room. This time, the objective is to convince our client of that truth instead of the twisted version The Nightmare wants her to believe. At least Trixie’s trying to cooperate in the effort… she granted with a glance up at the judge’s bench, where to her credit, the showmare was trying very hard to hold herself together in the face of all that had happened to her, doing her best to bear up under the terrible weight of responsibility she suddenly found.

But she’s doing it. Bringing you here was the Nightmare’s first major blunder, Trixie… after attempting to possess Twilight in the face of her friends and me in the first place! Her eyes narrowed. You’ve bitten off more than you can chew this time, demon. Your elusive head is now on the chopping block, and whether at my wings or those of my fellow spirits, I promise you won’t escape judgement this night. I just have to make sure you don’t wreck more lives and take even more innocent souls with you…

It was easier said than done. The Nightmare was, she was forced to admit, very cunning and sharp; devious and clever… to say nothing of utterly amoral. Nothing is beneath her, Mia, and you can be sure she hasn’t brought out her big guns yet. She’s holding something major back. Be careful… she reminded herself, knowing the battle for Twilight’s soul and to save her love for Phoenix was far from over.

The stakes were grave, and yet she found she relished it. For despite all her angelic power, there were some things that heaven simply couldn’t give her. Among them were the rush of a trial, the battle of wits, the all-too-real consequences… I really DO miss this… she admitted to herself, but also granted how lucky she was she’d been able to aid her friends and loved ones in death as well as in life, helping Phoenix and Twilight alike. I’ve been very lucky to be able to visit through channeling and in dreams as often as I have. And given that, the Nightmare’s right about one thing. It’s not often an angel gets to intervene so directly in mortal affairs like this. May the heavens forgive me, and Phoenix too, but… I truly AM enjoying this…

She shook her head as she watched Luna’s portal grow bigger and sensed the approach of a new and living spirit. It wasn’t that the afterlife wasn’t to her liking; far from it, in fact. She hadn’t been serious when she’d told Celestia the hereafter was boring. Her angel wings granted her incredible power, freedom of movement, all-seeing vision and access to knowledge she could not even dream of in life. Being an ascended spirit even granted her license to look upon and intervene in mortal affairs under certain circumstances—a power she had already availed herself of more than once to protect the innocent in other places and trials. But her home was heaven now, and what she had told the sun princess later was the truth: the human heaven didn’t actually look much different from the pristine skies and picturesque landscapes of Equestria, and she idly wondered how the griffin and pony versions would compare.

Well, why not find out? The renewed thought brought a smile to her face. All ascended spirits are free to travel between them. You know, I really SHOULD visit the Summerlands. In fact, I think I will after this, once The Nightmare is dealt with and I’ve gotten things set to rights with Twilight and Phoenix, she promised herself, then her smile turned sly.

Be nice to know more about Tia in particular. I see a lot of myself in her. Just like me, she’s trying so hard to be a good mentor and sister, but I don’t have to be an angel to sense that filly’s also got a wild side she needs to set loose once in awhile. Even when I spent some time in her mind during Rainbow Dash’s trial, I could tell she was pent up pretty badly, holding in all her fears and tension to look strong for her student and subjects. Guess in that sense, we are a lot alike! She smiled, moving aside a lock of hair. And I’m just guessing at some her proclivities, but I daresay she liked what she saw of me…

Still, first things first… She set her expression and turned her attention back to the Moon Princess as she completed the summoning process. I’m honestly not sure how Phoenix will take the truth in this case, or if Miss Rarity would so easily give it up… but it has to be revealed. Do so, and I not only all but destroy this rape accusation, but very possibly break The Nightmare’s hold over Twilight as well…

Music: Prove Your Point

“I’m sorry. Did you say the ‘fair’ Lady Rarity? Really, Mia Fey?” The Nightmare’s grin turned sly. “Methinks that ‘fair’ is not the first adjective that comes to mind when describing her. And just what makes you think she has any information or evidence that can help your case?”

“You mean you want to call in that stuck-up fashion-obsessed drama queen?” Trixie made a face of distaste. “She faints at the drop of a hat and can’t so much as tolerate one hair out of place in her mane. And exactly why would she know anything about that night? Wasn’t she drunk along with the rest?”

“She was not, Your Honor,” Mia replied evenly, closing her eyes and smiling. “She was far more experienced with Pinkie Pie’s punch and was able to resist its worst effects, both for greater tolerance and for having a bit less.”

“Yepyep! It’s true! She always wants to remember what happens, so she would always limit herself to just a few drinks. She likes being suggestible, not soused!” Pinkie Pie piped up again from the gallery. “And I secretly suspect that even when she’s ‘suggestible’ she’s faking. I’ve never seen her with a hangover, and hay, I once saw her down an entire bowl of my punch!”

Phoenix blinked at the image that brought to mind. So, what, does this mean she’s like that one girl from that anime I saw Maya watching once? He wondered. Something Peace?

“You seem quite confident in what she will say. And you know what happened how, Mia Fey?” Once again the Nightmare asked the question Phoenix was afraid to.

“Because I watched from the afterlife. How else?” Mia smiled, to snickers from the gallery.

The Nightmare’s lips quirked upwards again. “Really, spirit. Tell me, are you making it a habit to spy from your Summerlands on all your former protege’s most private moments?”

“Uh… are you, chief?” Phoenix had to know, his cheeks warm again.

She looked at him evenly. “When I’m worried about him and afraid that he might do something he’s not ready for, yes,” she replied evenly. “As it happens, I was watching that night, and intended to intervene in case something went wrong. But nothing did.” She smiled.

Phoenix blinked. “Wait. Then you’re saying Twilight and I didn’t do anything that night?” He was surprised to feel a pang of disappointment.

“Given the state he woke up in, I think that hardly likely, Mia Fey,” The Nightmare said.

“Agreed.” Trixie looked just as disbelieving by her furrowed expression, her prosecutorial mind trying as hard as the Nightmare was to discern the purpose behind the request. “This had better not be another bluff or stalling tactic, Ms. Fey! The stakes are too high here to indulge in your student’s cheap theatrics!”

Mia’s sly grin got more pronounced. “Not at all, Your Honor. Just that… well. I think this is one case where the truth is best heard from another witness. So Your Honor, the defense moves to call Lady Rarity to the stand so she may testify as to what happened—or didn’t—that night.”

Trixie gave a heavy sigh, certain the winged human spirit was going to make spirits out of them all when she lost the case and with it, Twilight’s soul. “Does the prosecution object?”

The Nightmare hesitated momentarily, then smiled. “From what I know of that pony, she is no angel, Mia Fey. A gossip to say nothing of a rather shameless seductress in her own right. As such, I can scarcely imagine what she could say that would help your case. If she testifies that nothing happened against all evidence, that simply discredits your defense further. If, however, she testifies that something did, then that is just more evidence against your client.”

“Uh, chief… she’s right,” Phoenix had to point out. “I don’t see what Rarity could say that helps us here.” Either she says Twilight took me while inebriated which implies rape, or she claims nothing happened and gets herself discredited along with us…

“Then there is no reason for the prosecution to object to calling her,” Mia never lost her smile as she gave a knowing glance at Phoenix. Trust me, she mouthed at him.

Trixie gave a heavy sigh and rubbed her eyes with a hoof. “So be it.” She rapped her gavel again. “By this court’s order, that difficult and disreputable dressmaker will testify. Princess Luna, if you please…?”

“’Tis our pleasure to help this court.” Luna’s horn glowed as she concentrated her power, reaching out for a very specific sleeping spirit in the living world. Barely a minute later, a glowing blue portal opened up in the very air around them and a new pony spirit was levitated through, appearing as a very familiar friend.

Rarity, it seemed, was a mare dedicated to her craft even in dreams, as her mane was ragged and she was wearing a set of red-rimmed glasses, and even had a bolt of cloth and several other sewing utensils in her aura. To judge from the rent in the cloth, and her expression of disappointment, Phoenix guessed that the cloth had torn in the sewing machine he could see through the portal.

Music: Rarity ~ A Dash of Sugar

“Gah! I’m never going to finish this new design for Twilight! How am I supposed to find a fashion that works for both ponies and humans?” she moaned, tossing the cloth and other implements aside, upon which they dissipated into the ether. With that, Rarity removed her glasses and tossed them aside as well. Looking up, her gaze landed firmly on Mia, and her blue eyes widened in surprise and delight.

“My, such marvelous business attire!” she gushed over Mia’s outfit, stepping forward for a closer look. “I am only peripherally aware of human fashion, but such flattering clothes! The high skirt… the plunging neckline… the scarf… the simple black-and-white motif punctuated by but a single colored jewel… such a basic but beautiful ensemble! And your wings! I do not know why a human would have them, but you wear them so well!”

Mia appeared genuinely pleased and Phoenix was surprised to see that even Twilight seemed to perk up at hearing her friend’s voice. “Well now. I am so rarely complimented on my clothes. Thank you for such kind words, Lady Rarity.”

“You are quite welcome! Wait… how do you know my name? And… where am I? What is this placeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEKKKK!” her voice escalated into a shriek as she looked around and beheld The Nightmare, taking an involuntary step back from her, her eyes wide.

The Nightmare smiled and bared her teeth, which glowed as brightly as her eyes. “Welcome to my realm, Miss Rarity. Pray you yet leave it with your sanity intact.”

“N-Nightmare M-Moon?” she all but squeaked. “But th-the elements… we b-beat you… wh-what… how…?” she stumbled backwards and found only more horrors the more places she looked, from demonic-looking gryphons to a facehoofing Trixie. “Where am I…?” she looked desperately for a place to hide or a familiar face, her eyes finding Red Phoenix, making her gasp and stagger back a second time.

He smirked as well at the aghast reaction his fiery hair and red-suited appearance garnered. “Phoenix Wright? What happened to you? What is this place? Am I in…” she visibly swallowed, “Tartarus?”

“Neigh, Fair Rarity,” Luna answered for her, stepping forward helping her to her hooves. “Welcome to the realm of dreams. Thy presence is required here to save thy friend, if not all Equestria!”

“Pr-princess Luna?” she started again. “You mean this is… somepony else’s dr-dream? You can’t be… seriously…” her legs wobbled and she made a show of fainting in the middle of the courtroom, to which most of the onlookers chuckled and the Faux Phoenix rolled his eyes.

Trixie was even less charitable, staring at her in disgust. “Oh, get over yourself and get up! You’re already asleep, Miss Melodrama. You can’t faint in a dream!” the showmare told her, to peals of laughter from the audience, including those closest to the scene.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that fainting flower of your line, Swift Strike?” One of the female Red Talon gryphons asked in amusement of the Bolt Knight next to her. A surprisingly slight stallion, he was easily the smallest of the pony warriors present.

“’Tis true,” he granted, the corners of his mouth crooking upwards as he observed the fashionista, speaking in what Phoenix thought was an old English accent. “’Tis hard to see sometimes, but her mind is sharp and despite all appearances, she does have great fighting spirit within her. If she ever used her tailoring talents to wield blades, methinks she would be even more lethal than I.”

“Well!” Rarity suddenly sniffed, all pretense of fainting vanishing as she moved to her hooves in a fluid motion, drawing herself up straight. “Forgive me for indulging in some theatrics, but I’m a little overwhelmed here! We all have our ways of coping with unexpected changes.” She looked around a little more calmly, taking a closer examination of the environs and spotting Pinkie Pie, who waved.

“Hi Rarity! Welcome to the party!” she called out, looking perfectly at home between a gryphon and a toga-wearing human.

Seeing a familiar friend seemed to settle the fashionista down further. “Oh! Hello, Pinkie Pie. Is this a courtroom?” Looking at where Twilight was sitting, and where the Nightmare was, it clicked. “Am I then to understand that Twilight is on ‘trial’ for some crime or another?” she guessed.

“You understand correctly, ‘fair’ Lady Rarity,” Nightmare Moon said with a smirk. “The defense has called you to provide testimony on their behalf, though I cannot fathom that anything you say could actually help their case.”

“A case?” Glancing at the defense bench, Rarity started when she saw a second Phoenix Wright, a normal looking one. She glanced back and forth between him and the false Phoenix repeatedly. “How can there be two of you? What is happening here?”

“I’m the real deal, Rarity,” Phoenix assured her. “The one over there is a phony concocted by the Nightmare, using Twilight’s fear of me against her!”

Rarity narrowed her eyes and took a step towards him. “Really. And… just what have you done that would cause Twilight to fear you, Mister Wright?” she asked in a voice laced with steel.

Phoenix gulped at the look she was giving him, amazed at her ability to change moods and adapt to unexpected surroundings on a dime. Or is it just the fact that Twilight’s in trouble that gives her courage, like all her friends…?

“Her fear of having hurt him, and that he might abandon her afterwards,” Mia explained shortly. “She is not in her right mind right now. Let us be clear what is happening, Miss Rarity. Twilight is currently in partial thrall to The Nightmare—the evil dream spirit that once possessed Princess Luna. To make a long story short, she is now trying to take Twilight as her new host.”

“She… what?” Rarity’s eyes went wide as she processed the implications, staring at her silent, shoulder-slumped friend. “But… she can’t!”

“I beg to differ. She can and she will,” The Nightmare promised with another toothy grin, making a show of tightening her magical grip on Twilight.

“She will indeed unless we stop her here and now,” Mia nodded gravely. “In short, Twilight now stands charged with rape and illegal magical influence for forcing Phoenix to fall in love with her against his will.”

Twilight went even more downcast even as Rarity’s jaw fell open. “But… that’s ridiculous! Twilight would never…”

“You know it and I know it. But at this moment, Twilight does not,” Mia explained, giving a Phoenix a glance that told him that he still needed some convincing too. “In order for the Nightmare to possess her, she must be convinced of her guilt. Once she is, she will surrender herself to the Nightmare, who has promised her Phoenix’s friendship and love. If that happens… I do not believe I need tell you of the possible consequences,” she finished gravely.

“Be assured you will all know them soon enough,” The Nightmare bared her teeth yet again.

Rarity listened, increasingly aghast. “No! No! I won’t let you! Twilight! Twilight!” Rarity called to her friend frantically, trying to approach her only to be repulsed by The Nightmare’s power, though Phoenix saw Twilight’s head come up fractionally for just a moment at Rarity’s shouts, causing the alicorn apparition to frown and wrap even more magical tendrils around her. “How dare you! Release my friend at once!” the white-furred unicorn mare demanded imperiously, igniting her horn and lowering her head in warning, pawing with a hoof at the ground beneath her, all her fears forgotten.

The Nightmare considered Rarity, then smiled, though Phoenix suddenly noted she seemed to have shrunken her protective barrier slightly. Wait… more tendrils means more power… is she having to use more magic now to keep Twilight under control? Could it be the voice of her friends are reaching her despite all? he wondered, though he wasn’t sure he hadn’t just imagined it as The Nightmare spoke again.

“Such strength of spirit coupled with untapped potential? A surprisingly ruthless businessmare and shameless seducer of human and pony stallions alike? For all your unrealized evil, perchance I should have possessed you instead, Lady Rarity.” She closed her eyes and smiled.

“And be subjected to your utterly horrid sense of fashion? A plain bowl helmet and purple plot blotch? NEVER!” Rarity retaliated, to roars of laughter from the audience ghosts and Pinkie Pie.

“Look at me! I’m giggling with the ghosties!” the latter announced happily as Phoenix suddenly imagined what Rarity would look like possessed, and what evils she would do.

Poor Edgeworth! he suddenly thought, scarcely able to imagine what a possessed Rarity would do to the subject of her greatest crush. At least he’s not involved in this so far… not sure how well he’d manage here. He shook his head, not even certain how well he was. His logic would take a beating here. I mean, here I am, defending my pony love interest from a dreamworld demon… what’s next, I have to travel to hell to defend some demon overlord from an angel-orchestrated plot…?

“Miss Rarity… you can help Twilight just by being here, and by the taking the stand to answer a few questions,” Mia pointed out. “As we have not been formally introduced, I am Mia Fey, Maya’s late older sister and Phoenix’s former law firm chief. We have never met, but I know Phoenix once said you were as beautiful as you were generous. Just seeing you now, I can tell he’s right.” She closed her eyes and smiled.

To no surprise of Phoenix, Rarity all but preened at the flattery. “I will help my friends however I can, darling!” she promised, quickly taking the stand. “Don’t worry Twilight! We’ll get you out of this!” she called to her, but her friend barely reacted as The Nightmare dulled her senses further, an act not lost on either Phoenix nor Luna.

“I sincerely doubt that. But for the sake of sheer amusement, let us engage in this farce. State your name and occupation, witness,” The Nightmare asked the ritual question, looking upon the cream-colored mare with a mixture of amusement and something more than mild interest.

“If I must!” Rarity glared at her. “Rarity Belle. Ponyville’s greatest dress designer and fashionista.”

“And also clearly its most modest resident,” Faux Phoenix rolled his eyes. “So would you mind telling us just what the hell Twilight did to me the night of Pinkie’s party?”

She stared at him. “What do you mean, did to you, you horrid fake? And how dare you address me with such impertinence and while wearing such a tempestuous mane and clothes!” She stuck her nose up in the air. “Phoenix Wright has a superb sense of style. Yours looks like it came from Stall-Mart!”

Faux Phoenix flinched back even as the real one smiled from beside Mia. You’ve bit more than you can chew this time, you phony!

For her part, Trixie buried her head in her hooves. “Kindly spare us the fashion commentary, you dress-obsessed drama queen! Just tell us what happened between Snarkle and Mister Wrong the night of that party!”

“And don’t get me started on you, Trixie!” Instead of answering, Rarity then turned to the bench. “You admittedly have a good base look, but I will never understand why you chose to hide yourself behind such garish attire! A purple cape and stars? An ensemble that looks like it comes out of the bargain bin at a Nightmare Night store? You could do far better!”

Trixie’s only answer to that was to flare her horn and transform the other unicorn into a sheep, causing her to shriek as she beheld her wool coat and suddenly curly mane. “If you’re going to engage in constant bleating, witness, then this is the look for you!” she said in satisfaction to renewed roars of laughter from the otherworldly audience.

“Heh! Good one!” Pinkie Pie approved and even Phoenix couldn’t help but stifle a grin.

The fashionista quickly turned herself back to normal, then looked startled. “Wait. I don’t know such a spell! How was I able to do that…?” She patted down her restored body as she spoke.

“Thou art in the realm of dreams, Lady Rarity,” Luna explained with the air of one who was repeating a favorite phrase. “All is possible here. The only limit to thy power… is thine imagination.”

“Truly…?” she blinked, then smiled. “Well, in that case…” there was a magic-like poof around her and when it faded, she was suddenly dressed as a femme fatale from any number of detective novels Phoenix had read, wearing a dark purple trenchcoat and a matching banded hat. “If I am in a courtroom drama and am to testify before such an esteemed and otherworldly audience, I must look the part!”

“That’s our Rarity… appearances always come first,” Phoenix told Mia, who grinned and nodded.

“Not true, Mister Wright… my friends always come first!” Rarity corrected him, tilting her hat at him before turning her gaze back to her left. “Do your worst, Nightmare!”

“Be careful what you ask for, Lady Rarity…” she grinned unpleasantly. “As Twilight Sparkle stands accused of raping Phoenix Wright the night of the party before he departed, we request your testimony on the events that transpired between them in the Golden Oaks Library.”

“Raped him?” She looked taken aback. “She did no such thing!”

“Oh really? Then let’s hear you testify to that effect…”

—— Witness Testimony ——

A Night to Remember

I was entertaining my own guest when I saw Phoenix Wright and Twilight Sparkle enter the treehouse not long after midnight. I greeted them briefly and fetched them both a fresh cup of punch, then chatted with them for a while. As neither was used to the punch, they both fell asleep on the couch and slept through straight until morning, cuddled adorably together. It disappoints me to say that neither had sex with the other, but at the same time, perhaps it was for the best.

When she had finished testifying, an uncertain silence had settled over the room. “That’s it?” a disbelieving Trixie asked.

“That can’t be all!” Faux Phoenix pointed an accusing finger at her.

“Do not lie to this court, Miss Rarity. It will not end well,” The Nightmare warned her, though she actually looked pleased to Phoenix, who guessed that she thought the fashionista’s testimony was easily discredited and turned against Twilight.

“Hmph!” Rarity turned her nose up. “If you think I’m lying, feel free to prove it, monster!”

“The funny thing is, she’s not lying, Phoenix.” Mia chuckled, speaking under her breath to him. “She’s just very selectively omitting certain things.”

Phoenix was no less disbelieving, but trusted her. “If you already know the answers, then maybe you should do the cross?” he suggested in an equally quiet voice.

She considered that, then shook her head. “I could. But I think this is one case where the truth is best extracted by you, Phoenix.” she told him, giving a sly grin. “I think in the end, you’ll be just as surprised as The Nightmare will be.”

“If you say so…” he answered uncertainly, but stepped forward. “Forgive me, Miss Rarity, but I can’t go easy on you here.”

She drew herself up straight. “Quite all right. If it is to save Twilight, then do everything you must! To borrow a phrase I have heard Rainbow Dash use… bring it, Mister Wright!”

Music: Rarity ~ La Couturière

—— Cross-Examination ——

I was entertaining my own guest when I saw Phoenix Wright and Twilight Sparkle enter the treehouse not long after midnight.

“I’m afraid to ask, but… what ‘guest’ were you entertaining?” He slumped as he had a sickening feeling he already knew the answer.

She beamed and even went starry-eyed. “Who else but the apple of my eye and the light of life, Mister Wright?” she asked if it was self-evident. “Who else but your good friend and rival, Miles Edgeworth!”

“Indeed? And just what do you mean by ‘entertaining’?” The Nightmare interjected, giving her a salacious look.

Rarity’s eyes went hooded as she tilted her hat a little more down over them to heighten the effect. “A lady never tells, darling!”

Phoenix saw Mia and the surrounding spirits grin even as Trixie recoiled. “You mean you rutted that plum-suited human prosecutor?” her jaw fell open.

“Not relevant, Your Honor,” Mia quickly pointed out, though she never lost her smile.

“And not something I need to hear about!” Trixie shuddered.

“Actually, I kinda want to hear!” Red Phoenix was rubbing his chin and grinning.

“Well, this court doesn’t!” Trixie brought her gavel down quickly. “Move on!”

I greeted them briefly and fetched them both a fresh cup of punch, then chatted with them for a while.

“And just how did you greet us?” he next asked. I remember THAT much, at least… his cheeks flushing as badly as they had then; even Twilight’s gained a hint of color at the question.

She regarding him for a moment, then grinned. “Well. I should hope you hadn’t had enough punch by then to forget, ‘Feenie’!” She grinned and winked at him beneath the brim of her hat. “The look on your face was truly something to behold!”

“Don’t remind me!” Red Phoenix made a retching motion, even as the real one felt his cheeks go hot at the memory.

“But for the record and to help ruin your reputation, please explain to this court exactly what you did, Lady Rarity?” The Nightmare directed.

She glared at the pair, but answered. “I simply let him know in my own way that… I found him a very attractive and desirable stallion, and quite the charming gentleman,” she answered unrepentantly.

“In other words, you flagged your tail at me like a dumb horse and flashed your wares like a two-bit dock whore?” Red Phoenix prompted with a smirk.

Suddenly seeing red, Phoenix began stepping out from behind the bench intending to punch his counterpart’s lights out but was stopped by the sharp rap of a gavel and Mia’s restraining hand… to say nothing of the outraged noises from the audience. Red Phoenix’s voice trailed off uncertainly at the murderous looks he was receiving from the gryphon and pony spirits alike as even The Nightmare glared at him as well. “That was hardly helpful,” she told her erstwhile ally while giving Twilight another wary glance, tightening her magical grip on her further as the unicorn’s expression went angry as well for a bare moment…

Or was that just my imagination…? Phoenix was afraid to hope as not far away, Luna’s brow furrowed, sensing the evil entity pour even more power into her magical restraints, retracting her barrier further in the process.

“Agreed! The prosecutorial co-counsel will hold his tongue and refrain from such obscene speech or this court will gladly send him back to whatever Tartarus he crawled out of!” Trixie announced, her eyes glowing blue again and lightning hitting all around the other Phoenix, with sharp cracks blowing holes in the floor at his feet, making him dance back and forth.
.
“For what? You insult witnesses and counsel all the time!” Faux Phoenix found some backbone and pointed a shaky finger back at her once the strikes had ceased.

“Yes, but there are lines even I don’t cross! And I try to make my putdowns witty! That was just ugly and gross!” She stuck out her tongue.

“I thank Your Honor for such… consideration. I believe that is the nicest thing you’ve ever done for me, Trixie!” Rarity somewhat grudgingly acknowledged.

The showmare gave her fellow unicorn a look. “Don’t get used to it. And that said… is what he claims correct? Have you lowered your standards that much to display yourself to a human, Miss Man-lover?” Trixie smirked.

For her part Rarity was unruffled despite the grievous insult. “I showed Mister Wright well-earned favor for all he had done for me and my friends, yes. Be assured I would hardly show such favor to a utter ogre like him!” she glared daggers at Red Phoenix, looking like she wanted to kill him as badly as Phoenix did.

“If I may request the court’s indulgence to ask another question…?” Red Phoenix addressed the bench, slightly more respectfully.

Trixie glared at him as well. “You may, but mind your tongue and make it relevant or get strangled with your own necktie!”

“As Your Honor wishes,” he smirked again, apparently as unrepentant as Rarity was. “Tell, me witness. What did you tell Twilight after she expressed disapproval at your… display?” he made another face.

She stared at him for a second before answering. “That I was just showing her how it was done.”

“Showing her what? How best to rape me?” he retorted as Trixie’s eyes narrowed again and the Nightmare gave him another warning look; Twilight’s head starting to come up further despite all.

“Hardly! I was merely showing her how best to entice a male in the future,” Rarity riposted. “After all, our Twilight was, for the longest time, something of a social recluse with little idea of how to interact with others. As she was inexperienced in such matters and could be somewhat… awkward… in expressing her interests, I was just trying to show her by example how a pony could be both playful and flirtatious in their teasing. I assure you I had no intention of stealing him from her, merely… helping matters along between them,” she finished carefully.

“Now that much, I can believe!” Trixie mused, rubbing her eyes with a hoof. “At any rate, what happened next?”

Music: Pursuit A ~ Crackdown

As neither was used to the punch, they both fell asleep on the couch and slept through straight until morning, cuddled adorably together. It disappoints me to say that neither had sex with the other, but at the same time, perhaps it was for the best.

Phoenix made the call before The Nightmare could. “Rarity, the court has already established that something happened that night. I awoke in a state of partial undress with Twilight lying on top of me the next morning, and as neither she nor I can recall anything after meeting you, you’re the only one who can answer the why. So, let me ask you plainly: did anything, no matter how small, happen between me and Twilight?” He held his breath as he awaited the answer.

Rarity fell silent, her eyes going evasive for a moment; both Mia and Phoenix could tell she was weighing her words very carefully before speaking again. “The answer to your question is no, Mister Wright. Nothing happened…”

The Nightmare rolled her eyes and Twilight seemed to slump further in her seat. “Your Honor, I think it amply obvious to this court her statement is false. The prosecution therefore moves to strike this entire testimony and sanction the defense as having wasted the court’s—”

“… between you and Twilight,” Rarity finished, placing an odd emphasis on the last word, speaking right over The Nightmare. “And I assure this court, I have answered Mister Wright’s question truthfully.” She would not say more.

A low murmur came up from the gallery as Twilight’s expression turned uncertain; even the Red Talons and Bolt Knights gave each other dubious looks. The silence in the courtroom pit lasted for several uncomfortable moments, Phoenix parsing her statement and finally arriving at a surprising and somewhat frightening conclusion. It was then the red-garbed Phoenix spoke up, having reached the same deduction, the only one possible that fit the fashionista’s carefully worded reply. “Wait… are you saying there was another pony who raped me?”

Rarity’s eyes flashed. “You weren’t raped, you red-suited ruffian! It was entirely consensual, and certainly mutually enjoyed!” she shouted back, then blinked. “Wait. Why am even talking to you?” With that, she turned back to the the true Phoenix. “Mister Wright… please. I know how this looks, but I assure you I have a very good reason for keeping silent about this. For the sake of both Twilight and your relationship with her, to say nothing of that other pony who no more remembers it than you, I do not wish to say more.”

Sensing an opportunity, The Nightmare quickly shifted tactics. “Really, witness. All we have thus far is your word that the blatantly obvious did not happen, and a highly questionable explanation for it. As such, I’m afraid your assurances will not suffice here. Either tell us what happened in full, or be held in the contempt you so richly deserve!”

“The prosecution is correct. I will remind the witness that in a court of law, you are meant to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth!” Trixie snapped. “You will clarify what you mean immediately, or I will grant the prosecution’s request to have your entire testimony struck and the rape charge against Twilight Sparkle with regards to this matter stands!”

It was, Phoenix reflected ruefully, the correct call on Trixie’s part. If Rarity refused to elaborate, it would not look good on either herself or Twilight. “Rarity, please, we need to know what happened. I need to know what happened,” he added, realizing his own fears were still very much present. “If there was another pony involved, we have to know. For Twilight’s sake.”

Rarity looked distinctly uncomfortable for several moments, looking back and forth between him and Twilight before sighing in resignation. “I was trying to keep this secret, since nopony but me seems to remember it, but given the circumstances… I s-suppose I have little choice in the matter.” Her voice went shaky before she took a steadying breath. “But I do ask that what I say not leave this courtroom.”

“Lady Rarity, you may be certain that neither I nor any other Summerlands spirit present have any intention of telling another soul, living or past,” Mia assured her. “And I’m sure our equally honorable judge will agree on a need for discreteness as well…?”

Trixie looked up sharply at that. “I am many things, Mia Fey, but I am no gossip! Especially for a matter as serious as this. And as for the prosecution, who I’m sure has no such intentions of keeping such a secret…” she glanced over at the Nightmare and smiled thinly. “If she loses this case, she’ll never be able to tell it. And if she wins… well. Then her blabbing about the night of the party will be the least of our worries!”

“Your Honor speaks the truth,” The Nightmare grinned. “So you were saying, Lady Rarity…?”

Rarity glared at her, then slumped. “There was indeed another pony involved in the events of that night. It was that pony who engaged in certain… intimacies… with Phoenix Wright, and who was responsible for his partial undress the next morning. And before the prosecution calls foul, I will say this: she no more raped him than Twilight did!”

“Oh really? And who was this other pony?” the Nightmare sneered as Phoenix staggered back, his suspicions confirmed. “Yourself, perhaps? If so, I must say I’m impressed. You’re quite the minx, aren’t you, Miss Manslayer? And how selfish, taking your best friend’s love interest in place of your own!” She watched in satisfaction as Twilight turned teary.

Rarity’s eyes flashed again. “I did no such thing! While I may consider Mister Wright to be a piece of eye candy and a fine friend, I am no Roseluck or Cloud Kicker! I was in fact busy with my own guest that night!”

Trixie gave her a sideways glance. “When you say you were ‘busy’ with Mister Wright’s friend…”

“Wow. I never knew Edgey-poo had it in him!” Red Phoenix laughed.

“Not like that!” Rarity blanched, then sighed in disappointment. “At least, not by design. I don’t mean to give the wrong impression, Mister Wright, but my dear Miles… he seems to have a much lower tolerance for alcohol and Pinkie’s party punch than you do. Its primary effect on him seemed to be to turn him more childlike, and though I admit I am not above seduction, I would hardly attempt it under such circumstances! After spending some time running around like a foal on a sugar high, he fell asleep. I merely made him… comfortable after he did so, removing his shirt and loosening his clothes. So I went back downstairs for a bit, where I beheld… the events I saw. After making sure all was well, I went back upstairs and slept at the side of his mattress.”

“Oh really. And the lipstick marks all over him the next day…?” the faux Phoenix reminded her with an arched eyebrow as the true one was still reeling hard, Mia putting a steadying hand on him.

She blushed. “Sometime late at night, I awoke to him snuggling me closer, pulling me onto the mattress.He was still quite inebriated and told me that I was ‘the only one who understood him’ and ‘Franny just doesn’t get it’.” Far from being boastful, her eyes turned teary. “I did not know who ‘Franny’ was, so he told me and proceeded from there to tell me his life’s story. He bared his soul to me… shared with me his past, his traumas and failures, all his fears and frustrations. He told it to me in confidence, so of it I will not share!” she proclaimed, her eyes shimmering as she remembered.

Mia’s expression softened. “Miss Rarity, do not feel you have to…”

“I know. But I must say this much.” She took a deep breath before going on, bowing her head and closing her eyes. “I will simply let it be known that… in the end, he expressed his deepest desire to me, and, understanding how hard it was for him and not knowing if we would ever meet again after he left… I indulged it. Be assured he knows what happened even if he does not remember it. At his own request, I told him the morning before he left. And I will repeat now what I said to him then—that he was a rare and special stallion, that I greatly enjoyed our time together, that I was honored to be able to help him in such a way… and that I will never express a moment’s regret for it!” She put her hoof down hard.

“Peace, Lady Rarity,” Firefly said as she bowed her head. “I have been on both sides of what you describe. And I certainly understand well the desire to help a worthy male have what he has never truly known,” she said with a glance at Layan Kaval, who smiled back.

“Speak for yourself, spirit. Such sickening sentimentality,” The Nightmare looked ill. “I take it all back, Miss Rarity. You are anything but a suitable host for me.”

“Hmph! Well, I will take that as a compliment, monster!” Rarity stuck her nose back in the air for a moment before turning to Firefly. “And thank you. Coming from such a famous pony, that means much to me.” She bowed to the long-dead warrior.

The rap of Trixie’s gavel brought attention back to the bench. “Touching though this story is… that is not at issue here! Since Mister Wrong seems speechless at the moment, this court now asks the witness directly: what pony did Phoenix Wright have sex with that night, and can you prove it?”

Rarity did not answer right away, visibly biting her lip. “Miss Rarity? Please,” Mia spoke up again. “I know this is hard, and I understand why you are so reluctant. That you are trying to put the interests and well-being of your friends first is admirable and does you great credit, but for the sake of the truth and Twilight’s soul… you must tell us. And you know as well as I the evidence you can present for it.”

Rarity stared at her, then slumped. “I Pinkie Promised myself I would never divulge what happened that night, no matter how tempted I was to tell…” With that, she looked back at Pinkie Pie, who appeared just as troubled as the fashionista. Finally, she nodded once to her friend, who sighed in defeat. “Very well. For the sake of Twilight… I have no choice. May the sun and moon forgive me, but the pony who had sex with Phoenix Wright was…”

She visibly steeled herself, and then spoke a single name.

Music: Suspense of Fate

The shocked silence that had descended over the courtroom was quickly broken by a series of incredulous noises and the Nightmare’s immediate objection, punctuated the sharp and repeated rap of Trixie’s gavel. Voices mixed together, and Phoenix wasn’t sure who was speaking what; he only knew they were echoing what he would be saying... if he was even capable of speaking at that moment.

“Her?”

“That’s impossible!”

“You can’t be serious!”

“No way! She’s lying! She has to be…”

The crescendo of disbelieving voices from living and dead alike was only broken when several new ponies suddenly materialized out of the swirling void of the dreamscape, their abrupt appearance bringing all conversation to a sudden halt. They were a mixture of thestrals and unicorns clad in dusky blue armor emblazoned with the symbol of the crescent moon, and they were just as shocked as Rarity and Trixie had initially been to see so many departed spirits.

“Your highness!” Overcoming his surprise, the lead pony, a thestral stallion with a captain’s insignia, spotted Luna and bowed to her. “We apologize for not answering your summons immediately, but we were locked in battle. The dream demons are very active tonight! Nightmares are erupting all over Equestria and we’re having trouble containing them!” he said hurriedly as he continued to gape at the dreamscape around them.

“We are aware, Captain,” the moon princess said shortly. “As thou art able to see, the source of this nocturnal assault is before us!” She nodded in anger and hatred across the courtroom pit.

The thestral stallion turned to look, then started. “The Nightmare!” the new arrivals chorused as the thestrals suddenly willed glowing blades into existence on the leading edges of their wings and the unicorns lowered their heads and charged their horns.

Far from being threatened, the Nightmare smiled like she’d been flattered. “Why Lulu, you actually called in your Dream Guard on me? I’m honored you think me such a threat. Pity they can no more stop me than you!”

“’Tis true,” she grated, but raised a restraining hoof before her, keeping her soldiers from attacking. “Listen and listen well, our loyal Lunar Guard! The Nightmare is attempting to possess Twilight Sparkle, but must first convince her she is guilty of terrible crimes—hence the courtroom setting. As thou can plainly see, her control is contested by a human spirit, and many others have arrived from their respective Summerlands to trap her here. So she cannot escape… except in Twilight Sparkle’s body.”

“Unbelievable...” was all the stallion could say, gaping anew as he recognized the Bolt Knight and Red Talon spirits lining the periphery of the courtroom pit. His eyes lingered long, Phoenix noticed, on the cat-eyed one, who nodded back and smiled in great satisfaction. “Then what shall we do, Princess?”

“For the trial? ’Tis little we can. But for Twilight herself… perchance there is. As the Nightmare is already trapped, we would have you leave once more to retrieve Twilight Sparkle’s friends—the remaining element bearers. We would do ourselves, but we dare not leave, and cannot reach them as they are not asleep. So ye must act in our stead. We bid you return to the waking world! We instruct you to cast sleeping spells on the remaining element bearers, and then escort their spirits here in safety!”

“As our princess commands!” they said as one, and then disappeared again into the ether.

The Nightmare grinned once they had departed, though Phoenix saw a moment of genuine wariness in her eyes as well. “We know what you’re planning, my former host. And it won’t work.”

“We shall see, foul creature,” Luna promised. “We shall see. But in the meantime, we believe some further explanation is in order…?” she looked back to Rarity.

“Indeed!” Trixie banged her gavel down repeatedly to silence the renewed chatter. “So would the witness kindly explain to this court how in the name of the sun and moon Mister Wrong had sex with Fluttershy…?”

Author's Note

Surprise, folks! No Ace Attorney case is complete without a massive twist or two... and this is but the first. You’re going to find out exactly what happened the night of the party, though admittedly, it’s going to be a bit difficult to make T-rated. I could just skip it, but the problem is, like Rarity said, the evidence that proves this happened cannot be understood except in context. So... I’ll figure something out.

21: The Heart's Turnabout, Part 5 - A Night Forgotten

Music: Hollow Muteness

Maya couldn’t sleep.

It was the most comfortable bed she’d ever slept on, one ceded her by Celestia, who had still not come in from the large penthouse balcony, sitting on her haunches and staring out into the city lights like she was standing guard, her ethereal multi-hued mane flowing out behind her as it always did.

The young mystic knew she was perfectly safe under the sun princess’ protection, who had done everything she could to help her in the aftermath of… earlier. She knew she was in the presence of friends who cared about her, and if she desired, her sister was but a simple channeling technique away. And yet, no matter how soft the mattress or how many plush pillows she piled up, no matter how much music she played in her earbuds or gentle the fan breezes that washed over her, sleep just wouldn’t come.

For how could it? The previous day’s events still haunted her, from helplessly fantasizing about Nick to what had eventually happened with Vinyl, and her mind would simply not shut off, awhirl with new experiences and still-barely accepted desires. Her earlier affair with Vinyl had knocked it all back to a more manageable level but hadn’t removed them entirely; she still caught her thoughts wandering in Nick’s direction...

To say nothing of Vinyl herself. Despite the fact that they were friends and she could take human form—in fact, Celestia had already promised to transform her the next day they could go out again—the fact that she wasn’t human was still very hard for the young mystic to get past. That she’d just been with another female was bad enough, but the fact that Vinyl Scratch was an intelligent mare was just another level of wrongness to the whole affair that she was having a very hard time dealing with. True, they had talked, and Vinyl had made every effort to insist that she would not pressure her in any way— “Like I told your sis, this ain’t my first rodeo, Maya. I get what you’re going through, and I’ll only be there when you want me to. I can be just a one-time thing or we can do it again, but whatever you decide, we’re still friends. It’s all up to you.”—she could still very keenly remember the unicorn mare’s magical touch, comforting and stimulating all at the same time, remember what it felt like to be bathed in her mating aura…

And remember how incredibly good it felt to be touched by it, helped by it towards the release her pony friend had been correct that she so desperately needed.

Music: Unwanted Feelings

Despite the remembered pleasure, she curled up into a fetal position even more tightly at the thought. I’m not… I’m just not ready for this… she told her sister and whatever gods were listening, pulling the covers further up over herself, trying to hide from her own awakened desires within them. I can’t be with Nick… I don’t WANT to be with Nick… she told herself over and over, but couldn’t reconcile those thoughts with the fact that somehow, she did still want him, and want him very badly. Almost in spite of herself, her desires began to grow again, only this time there was no Vinyl to help her through it. She knew the pony DJ was sleeping on the couch out in the living area after they’d agreed it was best to be apart for a bit. She thought about calling to her, but… d-don’t think I could deal with that again right now anyway… she realized, and finally, after two hours of tossing and turning, she realized that the only way she could sleep was to take matters into her own hands and give herself relief.

It felt unquestionably good, and with her tension spent, she felt her body relaxing towards rest again afterwards, but it brought her no inner comfort. It’s all Sparkle’s fault… she cried softly to herself. She… MADE me feel this way… she told the universe at large, bitterness mingling with jealousy and a half-dozen other emotions she couldn’t pin down. And if she did this to me, what is she doing… to HIM? The thought lingered hard in her mind as a fitful slumber finally claimed her.

The last thing she saw before nodding off was a pair of glowing cat eyes underneath a gleaming helmet and a set of a pointed teeth smiling evilly at her in the night.

Music: The Trial Continues

“Indeed!” The new arrivals from Luna’s dream guard had scarcely left before Trixie gavel-ed the proceedings back to order and asked the question that was on everyone’s mind; a question that had all but stunned Phoenix into silence. “So would the witness kindly explain to this court how in the name of the sun and moon Mister Wrong had sex with Fluttershy…?”

Rarity cringed at having to break her Pinkie Promise, though Mia had noticed her gaze having fallen on thestral captain in great surprise. “Believe me, I was just as surprised to witness these events!” she said even as she stared at the point in space he had been for several moments more.

“And yet you did nothing to stop them?” The Nightmare grinned as if she could sense Rarity’s inner thoughts, causing the fashionista to blush.

“Well, Fluttershy insisted on it, and it seemed a terrible shame given they were… enjoying themselves so much…” she offered weakly.

“But how could Fluttershy have raped me?” a slack-jawed Red Phoenix asked, looking every bit as shocked at as the real one.

“She couldn’t, you ungrateful wretch!” Rarity rounded on him. “You started it, not her! She doesn’t even know what rape is!” she told him vehemently, magically grabbing him and shaking him by his collar before she caught herself, realizing she was attacking a male.

“I… what?” The real Phoenix finally found his voice.

Hearing him, Rarity abruptly remembered he was there, releasing his doppelganger and turning back towards him. “On my honor, you did, Mister Wright. I was under the influence too, but not so much I would have allowed my friends to be hurt. Believe me, if I thought you were forcing or pressuring her in any way, I would have stopped it. Or Certainly Twilight would have! She saw the whole thing and even—” she abruptly clammed up.

“Even what?” The Nightmare prompted, giving her a leer. “Even helped it? Perhaps illuminated the scene with her aura, inducing them both to put on a show for her pleasure?” she leered.

Rarity gave a scoffing sound and turned her nose up at the suggestion. “Hardly, monster! And I will have you know Fluttershy was just as willing as he was! Have you any idea what she could have done to him if she wasn’t?”

Phoenix shivered as he remembered her using her stare on the Timberwolves, uncertain what it would have done to him. Never mind what Twilight would have done to me AFTERWARDS! He all but gulped,remembering the lethal look she gave him after he’d accidentally felt her up following her rescue. “I’m terrified to ask for it… but I think we’re going to need testimony as to what happened,” he admitted, feeling faint and unsteady despite the fact he knew he couldn’t actually pass out in a dream. He wasn’t able to resist materializing a chair from the dreamscape to sit down heavily in, leaning forward and clutching his head as Wind Whistler and Mia put a comforting hoof and hand on his shoulders.

Rarity went aghast. “You wish me to testify about the sex itself? I could never be so crass!”

“’Tis not necessary that thee do so, Lady Rarity,” Luna spoke up, casting a concerned look of her own at Phoenix. “Just as we did for Phoenix Wright earlier this night, we could bring thy memories to life using our power of dreams.”

Far from being reassured, Rarity got even more nervous. “I’m not certain I relish that idea any more than the other one, Princess Luna…”

“And why would that be?” The Nightmare asked, a smile breaking her lips again. “That you are afraid it will show you to be the shameless liar and seductress you are?”

“How dare you!” Rarity rounded on her. “My element may not be honesty, but I have most certainly not lied!” she stood up straight, though almost all present instantly noted that she didn’t dispute the seductress part of the statement.

“Really? Then tell me this, Lady Rarity. Why do none of the parties involved have any memory of this event, even in their dreams? Why have I not seen so much as a glimmer of what you claim happened?” she leaned over her bench and pinned the fashionista with a stare.

“The better question, demon, is why you so over-rely on your dreamwalking power that you missed the truth that was right there in front of you?” Mia needled. “You did not see these events because they had no memory of them, or perhaps you dismissed what little they did have as idle fantasy. And it would further seem you failed to check the dreams and memory of our fine witness here. That oversight will now cost you.”

“It costs me nothing, Mia Fey,” The Nightmare retorted. “Thus far we have nothing but her word and a highly questionable explanation. The prosecution demands proof for such a ludicrous claim, and if we do not get it, we move once again that this entire testimony be stricken and the defense be held in contempt!” She punctuated her statement with a grin.

All eyes moved immediately to Trixie, who looked to a still-stunned Phoenix like she felt caught between a rock and a hard place. Her thoughts were racing, her mouth opening and closing repeatedly as she fought desperately not to come to the conclusion she was forced to reach. “I regret that… the prosecution is correct. This court cannot accept such an outlandish allegation without proof,” she said at some length, her shoulders slumping. “That Fluttershy of all ponies would have had sex with Mister Wrong is literally beyond belief and I further regret to state that this court cannot even begin to fathom what proof could be produced for such an… event. And with apologies to Princess Luna, by Equestrian law, I cannot accept memory recall magic in any form as authoritative testimony without significant supporting evidence!”

The Nightmare and Red Phoenix smiled. “Then as the defense cannot possibly produce such evidence, the prosecution moves once again to strike this witness testimony as an outright lie, and for an immediate guilty verdict on the charge of rape, Your Honor! Twilight Sparkle allowed me to have the punch in spite of knowing its potentially deleterious effects, then took advantage of me for it!” The latter spoke up, pointing an accusing finger at Twilight, who was crying openly again.

Mia immediately spoke up. “To quote my adversary from earlier… ignoring the fact that we are not in Equestria, Your Honor, there is no harm in at least seeing what the witness saw that night. The court may then draw its own conclusions as to its veracity, once our proof is presented. And yes, there is proof!” she asserted as she arched an eyebrow at Rarity. “The witness knows of what evidence I speak!”

The fashionista’s brow furrowed before her eyes widened beneath the brim of her hat. “Yes… yes I do…” she admitted, her tone tentative. “But… I fear it would not make any sense unless given its proper context.”

“A context our illustrious princess may provide through her dream magic, Your Honor,” Mia added. “And I would further note that you did admit my client’s dream journal as evidence even though that was created via memory magic. As you have already granted the prosecution such latitude, the defense believes it only fair we be given the same courtesy.” She moved a lock of hair aside as she spoke.

Trixie looked relieved as she was presented with a plausible way to continue the trial. “A valid point. Fair’s fair, Prosecutor Moon. I allowed you leeway, so the defense gets it as well. Your motion is denied and the witness will testify! This court will then decide whether to accept the testimony based on the evidence presented!” She banged her gavel again.

The Nightmare’s eyes narrowed and glittered. “Pray in vain I do not win this case, Trixie Lulamoon. For when I do, I will not only make you my servant, but make certain that Twilight fulfills her fantasies regarding you… with some additional input from me!” she gave her trademark toothy grin.

Trixie somehow both paled and flushed at the same time, but to her credit worked up some nerve. “I fought Twilight once and I’ll do it again if I have to. And you haven’t won yet, abomination! Summoning me will be your undoing!”

“A mistake you may be assured I will not repeat,” The Nightmare rejoined. “Pray it may please me to let you keep your life and sanity, if only for Twilight’s amusement—and my own.”

“Thou dost not make threats here, demon!” Luna teleported in front of the bench, interposing herself between her prospective student and The Nightmare as Firefly and Layan Kaval stepped forward to flank her. “Thou art under grave threat thyself! Tonight is thy final night of freedom!”

“And don’t think you will escape my notice either, Lulu,” the dream demon queen turned her attention on her former host, far less humor in her eyes. “With Twilight’s power combined with my own, and the elements useless against me, we will be your equal and you could only defeat me by killing my host! But even if you succeeded, I wonder what it would do to your standing with your sister to learn you had slain her beloved student?” she said, delighting in Luna’s flinch. “Perchance I could then possess her!”

“THOU WILT NOT TOUCH OUR SISTER!” The entire courtroom erupted in wind and lightning as Luna’s voice boomed and her eyes glowed with supernatural fury.

“Temper, temper, Lulu,” The Nightmare tut-tutted. “Your inner rage was one reason you made such a good host. ’Tis good to see you still have your inner darkness.”

“Though I would call it passion rather than darkness, methinks ’tis fortunate we did not face her in the war,” Layan Kaval noted as an aside. “To see her now, methinks she would have been a far more ruthless and dangerous foe than Celestia.”

“Aye,” Firefly responded dispassionately, though there was a hint of a smile on her face. “’Twas a saying I read in an old scroll once. ‘Enemies of Equestria beware. For if Celestia is our shield, Luna is our sword’.”

“Do not listen to her, any of you,” Mia spoke up, giving a pointed look at Phoenix, who was still sitting stunned, trying to recover his wits. “She gives neither Tia nor Twilight enough credit… as this trial will soon make clear. So enough idle threats, Nightmare. All you have on your side right now is your hostage, and a faux version of Phoenix. Our esteemed judge has denied your motion. So may we proceed with this trial?” She moved another small lock of her hair aside.

“By all means, Mia Fey,” The Nightmare recovered her smile. “The sooner we end this sideshow, the sooner I will have my guilty verdict and new host. So let us see what lies and fantasies this witness may spin…”

“Very well. Princess Luna, if you please…?” Trixie looked like she was dreading the show to come as much as Phoenix.

Controlling her anger with great effort, Luna stilled her weather magic, the background cacophony of thunder and lightning fading to a light breeze. “Verily, we shall, Thine Honor. But before we carry out our task, we would ask thee for a short pause in the proceedings.”

“And why is that?”

“Because by this court’s leave, we would expect some new and very important guests to arrive anon…” she abruptly looked to her right as the surroundings rippled and one of her night guard returned.

“My Princess!” the thestral Captain called out, bowing low. “I have brought the Element of Kindness!” he stepped aside to reveal…

“Fluttershy!” Phoenix called out. Any other time, he would have been happy to see her, but given the circumstances, he wasn’t sure her presence was a good thing.

“Oh! Mister Phoenix?” She recognized him in some surprise. “Mister Alucard here said Twilight was in trouble?” she looked over at her slumped friend, then gave a soft gasp as she saw The Nightmare and Red Phoenix, who crossed his arms and smirked.

“Hello, Fluttershy. So what’s this about you raping me?”

She was given no chance to respond before a second and much larger ripple appeared, and out of it spilled… Applejack, seemingly struggling with four different dream guard members, to which she had dealt a series of black eyes and other bruises. “HOLD, noble Applejack!” Luna called out in a booming voice. “Cease thy resistance! They brought thee here on our orders!”

“‘Noble’, my former host? Really?” The Nightmare smirked. “Again, not the first word that comes to mind.”

Applejack focused on her and apparently recognized her, but was still unimpressed, contemptuously brushing her captors off with ease. “Dagnabit! Ah don’t care who y’all are, t’aint right ta drag somepony off into who-knows-where without so much as a by-your-leave!”

“Miss Applejack, please!” a unicorn member of the Dream Guard replied. “This is important! We brought you here to help Twilight Sparkle!”

Music: Elements of Harmony ~ United, We Stand

Applejack stopped her struggles for a moment as her eyes locked on Twilight and recognized her state. “Well, why didn’t y’all say so before?” she shoved them backwards before straightening her hat.

“You didn’t give us a chance!” One of the thestral mares answered, gasping for air and nursing a black eye, barely visible against her dark fur. “You jumped us, remember?”

“’Cause Ah thought ya’ll were overgrown fruit bats attacking mah apple trees! Ah swear, you guard types… so what’s goin’ on here?” She looked around the courtroom before her eyes settled back on Nightmare Moon. “And what the hay are you doin’ here? Didn’t we blast you back to whatever hole you crawled out of?” She took the presence of the Nightmare far more sedately than her friends.

“And apparently my former host is hoping you can do so again,” she answered in disdain, though Mia caught the glimmer of concern in her eyes. “She hopes in vain.”

Trixie’s eyes widened, reaching the same conclusion at the same moment as Phoenix. “You’re calling them here in hopes the Elements of Harmony can beat her again!” she realized at the moment Phoenix did, her eyes going wide. “In that case, court stands in recess until all element bearers are present!” the showmare quickly brought her gavel down as The Nightmare frowned.

“As Your-so-called Honor wishes,” she said in disgusted tones as a third portal appeared, and a familiar Rainbow-colored mare spilled out along with a unicorn and two thestrals. “It matters not.”

Rainbow Dash sat up and rubbed her eyes with her hooves as if she was sleepy. “Huh? What’s going on? Where am I?”

“Ah’m asking the same question right now!” Applejack took in the scene, her eyes glancing back and forth between Rarity on the witness stands and the two Phoenixes. “What is this? And who are all these… others?” she looked around at the mingled spirits in some confusion.

“Ooo… they’re ghosties!” Pinkie explained, then gave a wave. “Hey girls!”

“Uh… hey Pinkie. And say what now?” a still-skeptical Applejack asked. “Ghosties?”

“Yepyep! They’re all dead! They came to make sure that black snooty down there doesn’t escape! Gather she hurt them all when they were living!” Pinkie explained with the same matter-of-fact air she would recite a weather schedule with.

“Black snooty?” Rainbow blinked, then fully noticed The Nightmare. “Hey! What are you doing back? And what’s with that weird red-suited Nix? Is this a prank, Pinkie?” she gave her friend an askance look.

She shook her head but answered brightly. “Sorry, Dashie, but this is no joke! Twilight’s in trouble, and we have to help save her!”

“Twilight?” Rainbow Dash belatedly noticed her sitting in the defendant’s seat. “What’s she on trial for? And why’s Trixie of all ponies presiding?” She gave a look of distaste.

“Good to see you too, Rainbow Trash,” Trixie smirked, causing the hot-blooded pegasus to growl and take a step towards her. “But since your element is Loyalty and not Intelligence, allow The Great and Powerful Trixie to enlighten you all…” She closed her eyes and put her hoof to her chest.

Swiftly, the situation was explained by the showmare, but to Phoenix’s annoyance, all Rainbow Dash did was laugh. “Oh, come on! You can’t be serious, Trixie! I admit this is either a really weird dream or really cool prank, but who would really think we’re watching a trial for Twilight’s soul with a bunch of stiffs? I mean really, what pony could possibly believe…” Her voice trailed off as her gaze went around courtroom pit, locking onto one of the pony spirits.

“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!” she exclaimed as her hooves went to her cheeks, trying and failing miserably to keep her voice down and excitement under control as she pointed with a trembling hoof to the nearest Bolt Knight, a very chiseled stallion with a pale coat and gold mane with a cutie mark of a jagged lightning bolt. “That’s Thunderbolt! They have a statue of him at the Junior Speedsters’ camp! He single-hoofedly saved Cloudsdale on the first day of the war! And wow, Wind Whistler? Master strategist and tactician! She could outthink and outfly anypony!” she recited next, continuing counterclockwise around the courtroom pit.

“Holy hayseeds, that’s Swift Strike! Nopony was better with blades than him! And Blindside…? She could fly through a hail of arrows and never be touched! Nopony could lay a hoof on her!” she gushed in turn, her jaw dropping a little further with each turn of her head. “Fell Flight! She brought the bat-ponies back into the fold and could beat a hundred gryphons at once! And there’s Sky Sentry! He took down a slew of dragons and there’s still a monument to him at Fort Spur!” she recited in rapid-fire, apparently unaware she was clutching a slightly bemused Applejack in her excitement.

“Remind me never to take you to a Daring Do convention, Trash,” Trixie facehoofed as the Bolt Knights themselves wore smiles that ranged from tolerant to very pleased.

“She’d have to start reading first…” a partially rousted Twilight muttered under her breath, responding to the voices of her friends despite The Nightmare’s influence.

“To use the current human parlance, your descendant seems a bit of a ‘fangirl’, Captain,” Layan Kaval noted to Firefly in some amusement.

“Aye, that she is. But methinks she can be forgiven. Truth be told, she reminds me of myself at that age,” Firefly responded, the barest hint of a smile on her face. “Supremely talented, a bit arrogant for it… and almost as good as she thinks she is. ’Tis certain the potential is there, though. Methinks with proper training, she could even surpass me.”

Rainbow’s jaw dropped open. “You… you mean it?”

“I do indeed.” She closed her eyes and grinned. “And perhaps one day you will get the chance to ‘show your quality’.”

“Surpass you? And just who the hay are you supposed to be?” Applejack was unimpressed until Rainbow elbowed her sharply.

“AJ!” Rainbow Dash whispered urgently, elbowing her friend hard. “Are you blind? That’s Firefly!”

Applejack’s eyes went wide as even she recognized that name, and she swiftly removed her hat in deep respect. “Hero of Equestria and savior of the earth ponies at Stalliongrad? Well now,” she bowed her head deeply. “I don’t say this often, but… it’s a real honor to meet you.”

“And you as well, noble Applejack,” Firefly bowed back. “I fought alongside some of your ancestors and you do them great credit. It gratifies me greatly to know such a strong and honorable pony as yourself has formed such deep bonds with my kin.”

“If the dead are through being fawned over by the living, may we please proceed?” The Nightmare asked in annoyance. “I have a host to gain, and now two worlds to conquer.”

That brought an immediate uproar from not just Phoenix and Twilight’s friends, but the audience spirits as well, several-toga wearing humans calling out in what Phoenix recognized as Latin, the gryphons and ponies shouting in equal outrage.

“Over my dead body!” Applejack called out over the din.

“And mine!” Rainbow flared her wings. “We beat you once, and we’ll do it again!” She charged the Nightmare only to be bounce off her barrier, which had retracted even further as she tried to completely block out the sight and voice of Twilight’s friends.

“Be careful what you ask for, my little ponies.” She gave a toothy grin as Red Phoenix smirked. “And there is little use in attacking me in this realm, especially so long as I have your friend hostage.” She made a show of digging her tendrils into Twilight a bit deeper, though Phoenix had noticed her head come up slightly with each appearance of an additional friend. “Either defeat me in this trial, or your friend is mine, body and soul.”

“For once, she tells the truth,” Rarity confirmed, glowering. “She’s trying to possess Twilight just as she once did Princess Luna!”

“And we would do everything in our power to prevent this!” Luna turned to Rarity as Twilight’s friends reluctantly left the courtroom pit, taking seats beside Pinkie Pie offered them by adjacent spirits, who quickly caught them up on the trial to that point. “Lady Rarity… as we stated, ’tis within our power to show thy memories via dream. We do not wish to embarrass thee, so we would first ask thy permission. May we bring thy memories of the party to life for all to see?”

There was a bare moment of anxiety in the fashionista’s eyes, just visibly beneath the brim of her femme fatale fedora. She looked at Pinkie Pie, as if to take courage from her friend’s presence, then at Twilight, reminding herself again as to why she needed to do this. “Very well. For Twilight’s sake, I consent to this… procedure,” she grimaced at some length. “But I do ask of all present, that as you witness these events… please remember that we were all under the influence, so judge me not too harshly for what you see…”

As Phoenix and all present watched, Luna’s magic collected around Rarity’s head, whose eyes instantly closed though she remained standing. Once the Lunar regent’s magic had found the memories it sought, a second beam lanced out from Luna’s horn into the center of the courtroom pit, resolving itself into a new portal, much like the memory replay spell Twilight had cast on Sonata Tarot.

The difference was that this time, the experience was far more immersive. Where Twilight’s spell could only give sight and sound, Luna’s created dreamscape involved all five of the fashionista’s senses, allowing all present to not just see, but experience everything she had that night. As the dream spell took more power, the portal expanded to encompass the entire courtroom pit. The latter then disappeared and in its place… was the inside of the Twilight’s Treehouse, seen through Rarity’s eyes.

Music: Mystic Space ~ Where Are You Now…?

As the dream playback began, Phoenix found himself looking at a sleeping Miles Edgeworth lying on a plush library rug with his jacket off, Rarity’s aura removing his cravat and loosening his other clothes, neatly folding his dress jacket and moving it safely aside. There was also a pinkish haze around everything, especially at the edges of her vision—a byproduct of the punch; Phoenix remembered, having experienced it himself.

Ah, my darling Miles… Phoenix started when Rarity’s voice sounded in his head like it was his own—he could even hear her thoughts!—you are so very special, but so very repressed if you needed to play like a foal! she chuckled to herself, before turning her attention downstairs, looking down at the festivities happening on the first floor. Perhaps I can yet teach you how to relax and enjoy yourself in more adult ways? But until then, the night is still young! And perhaps there is still a chance that I may find a way to do so…

With that, she magically moved a couch pillow under his head and pulled a blanket up over him, giving him a kiss on the forehead. She then moved to the exit, looking back at him for a few seconds, her gaze lingering lovingly on him before exiting the room.

Well, here we go… Phoenix steeled himself as he sensed as much as watched her head downstairs to the main library floor, giving an equally worried Fluttershy a glance in the audience, who had no more idea of what she was about to see than him. And may we all yet survive the experience…

22: The Heart's Turnabout, Part 6 - Mystic Malpractice

Music: The Monsters Under My Bed (by Aviators)

Being in Luna’s Dream Guard meant the pay and benefits were good, but the hours were awful.

You were on call at all hours of the night, regardless of your physical state or lack of sleep… for such things mattered little in the dreamscape. The selection process was rigorous and you had to survive an insane amount of lessons and exams, one after another, in quick succession, during boot camp. Not to mention, the course seemed to stretch on for an eternity. Rumor even had it there was a magic spell cast upon it to make it seem longer than the twelve weeks it actually was.

Upon Luna’s return, she had resurrected the organization, which had once been her personal guard but been thoroughly corrupted by The Nightmare and disbanded by Celestia in the wake of her sister’s defeat. Though there had been no shortage of volunteers, many thestrals welcoming the return of their long-lost regent with open arms, not many had qualified as the Moon Princess had turned out to be a brutal taskmaster during training, wanting to make sure you were worthy of not just the Dream Guard, but of her. Though more a mental ordeal than physical, it was a psychological stress test that rivaled anything Celestia’s Royal Guard had to go through in basic training and ensured that those who survived had earned and solidified the group iconic reputation: “The Dream Guards have defeated their demons and befriended the monsters under their beds.”

The training was referred to officially as the “Dream Hazard Courses” and unofficially as the “Hazardous Courses.” But for those who had completed it, it was simply remembered as “Your Worst Nightmares Made Real” Course. As part of your training, your greatest, most deeply-rooted fears were dredged up and brought to life in your dreams, and if you could not withstand their emotional onslaught and fight back, you failed the course.

To that end, the Moon Princess tested each soldier personally as a final exam, making sure they would hold up against the very worst the night could offer, often taking the form of Nightmare Moon to tempt or outright torture them. Though she never said so directly, it was believed by her soldiers that she did so to make sure that should she fall again, she could not corrupt them as she had before—that they would fight her to defend Equestria if need be.

For those who failed her ultimate test, there was no shame. Their memories were wiped of the ordeal and they returned to their previous lives. But for those who passed… a new world opened up, full of great wonders and horrors alike. A realm where all was possible and the departed themselves sometimes walked; a realm where if you could dream it, you could do it…

And above all else, a realm where myriad dangers awaited, including demons who specialized in preying on the dread fears and emotional weaknesses of others, seeking to corrupt hosts and gain purchase in the physical realm. Such a fact had never been more in evidence as that night as the aforementioned creatures crawled out of the darkness, taking advantage of the chaos caused by the Nightmare’s return. Some were simple opportunists; others were loyal foot soldiers supporting the efforts of their mistress as she attempted to gain a new host, knowing that if she succeeded, both the physical and dream realms would become fertile ground for their feeding.

They were meeting stiff resistance, however, from the hundred ponies of Luna’s Dream Guard, who perhaps for the first time that night truly appreciated the training the Princess had put them through. But they were starting to worry it would not be enough as they were being forced back line by line, dream by dream. “By Luna, where are these things coming from?” A unicorn mare asked her compatriots as she fired beam after beam from her horn. Join the Night Guard and see the Dream World… it’s fun and full of adventure! Right… she internally groaned as she vaporized one apparition, missing another one closing on her from behind.

It was cut down by her thestral squadmate, the forward edges of her bat-wings covered with glowing violet blades. One of the benefits of the dreamscape, she was told from day one, was that your only limits for weapons and worlds was your imagination, and that quickly ended up leading to mind-over-matter battles brought into a literal form, duels against dream demons where logic and sanity simply did not apply. “There is no end to them!” the bat-pony agreed. “If this keeps up they’ll overwhelm us with sheer numbers!” she feared, going back to back with her comrade.

“Where is the princess?” another thestral mare, this one bearing the mark of a corporal asked as she cut down one demon with glowing wingblades only for three more to take its place. She materialized crossbows on her forelegs and immediately launched arrows from them, the bolts finding their marks but the surviving demons retaliating by turning into zombie gryphon soldiers clutching and slashing at her.

Her heart clenched—zombies had always been a deep-seated fear for her—but she persevered. “We can’t handle this alone! We need her help, and we need it now!” she transformed into a dragon as she spoke and breathed a great gout of fire, incinerating them, consuming them in violet flames. But several counterattacked, striking her with mental bolts and assaulting her with rapidly changing environments and dreamscapes, all dredged up from her own fears and phobias—everything from the fear of water she had as a foal to far more adult one of losing her own foals to nightmares.

But she had not survived training and the Princess’ final exam to falter under such visions; none of them had. “The princess is dealing with The Nightmare!” her harried wingmare replied. “She’s trying to take over a new host and if she does, she’ll have to stay to battle her! We just have to hold on! Reinforcements are coming! The Captain has already sent for a heavy hitter… ”

Music: Dramatic Discovery ~ Aperi Veritatem

There was dead silence in the courtroom as Luna’s dream magic and the memories it recreated vanished into the ether. Having experienced and seen what Rarity did that night, all of Twilight’s friends were flushed red to one degree or another, although with Fluttershy, it was difficult to tell. Her hooves had gone to her muzzle as the scene had progressed and she was now mortified beyond measure, doing her best to disappear into Pinkie’s mane.

“Oh my… was that me? Did I… really…” Fluttershy finally squeaked, though she’d seemed the most stunned at when she’d turned aggressive and all but attacked Phoenix, taking him in a very unusual manner for ponies and not even caring that others were watching.

“That you did, Sugarcube. That you did.” Applejack grinned and gave her friend an affectionate mane ruffle. ”And Ah couldn’t be prouder!”

“Wait… you remember this too?” Rainbow was scarcely less shocked by the events of that night, particularly to see what had become of her at the end of the party!

“Sure do! I knew dang well what was in that punch even if ya’ll didn’t.” Applejack never lost her grin. “Ah know mah limits with it just as well as Rarity. But that don’t mean Ah don’t like seeing how honest it makes other ponies act! Zap Apple Ether’s great for that sorta thing!”

“And you didn’t tell us?” Rainbow was shocked at her friend’s apparent deception.

Applejack merely shrugged, completely unrepentant. “’Cause ya’ll never asked! Ain’t dishonest if you don’t have to tell!”

“Well, Phoenix. If you make love to Twilight like you did to Fluttershy, I can’t see that either would ever leave you,” Mia finally told Phoenix, apparently unable to resist a small tease.

“Not helping, chief…” he barely mumbled, reeling for not only witnessing what he did through Rarity’s senses, but for the fact that as the scene had progressed, he felt stray memories of his own rising up from deep in his own mind, enough to confirm his witnessed encounter with Fluttershy as real. He found he remembered not words or actions so much as emotions and sensations; he could recall the taste of her lips, the texture of her wings, the softness of her fur and the feel of her flanks beneath his fingers…

To say nothing of the pure reverence he held for her and utter ecstasy of taking her, making love to the most kind, beautiful and wonderful creature he’d ever known. Worse, he looked down to realize he was quite aroused, though thankfully only at his normal human dimensions; as he willed it away he glanced at Fluttershy and found her staring back in equal consternation, averting her eyes just as quickly as he did. Dear God in Heaven… even if we win, how can ANYTHING be the same after this…? He leaned heavily on the rail, suddenly wondering if Luna would be willing to wipe his memory again.

“It’ll be fine, Phoenix,” Mia promised him as if reading his thoughts, putting a hand on his shoulder, sending another wave of warmth and comfort through him. Whether due to her angelic aura or just familiarity, her very touch imparted strength and hope to him, making him stand up straighter. “Don’t fear what you shared, be grateful for it. For in the eyes of Heaven, such love and beauty as you two created is never wrong or to be regretted.”

“Methinks you seem quite pleased at these events, Fell Flight,” a male gryphon warrior told the large cat-eyed mare wearing a smile and nodding with great satisfaction at his side.

“And why would I not be?” she rejoined. “’Tis gratifying to see my greatest granddaughter does have a predatory streak within her, and thus she is a credit to my line and her bat-pony blood. Certainly far more than her brother!” she rolled her slitted eyes.

Rainbow Dash did a double-take at that, her blush vanishing. “Wait… so Fluttershy’s descended from you, Fell Flight? Wow, talk about a distant relation!”

Pinkie Pie shrugged. “Hey, I’m descended from Blindside, so you can’t really use the ancestor as a measuring stick for the descendant, Dashie! And aren’t you the direct descendent of Firefly?”

“Well… yeah, but…” While Rainbow pondered that, Applejack looked around the otherworldly audience, her expression dropping.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Pinkie Pie asked her country friend. “The ghosties are all really friendly! Well, all except her!” She made a face at the Nightmare.

Applejack shook her head. “It ain’t that, sugarcube. Reckon Ah was just hoping that if they really are spirits, then maybe… Ma and Pa would be here.” Her ears folded back, and she looked down at the floor in disappointment.

The Bolt Knight closest to them, a stallion of orangish hue and blue mane, turned to her. “Fret not about them, young Applejack. Your parents are at peace in the Summerlands, and be assured they watch over you and your kin at all times. They did not come here because, unlike the other spirits present, they have no prior connection to the Nightmare and did not expect your presence.”

“Really?” Applejack all but sniffled. “Ah… Ah see. Then please tell ’em… we all love ’em and miss ’em, okay?”

“I shall. I give you my word.” He nodded back.

“Wait… wasn’t The Nightmare dealt with before your time, Sky Sentry?” Rainbow asked, pointing out a contradiction in the stallion’s statement.

“’Tis true, we did not have to deal with her,” Sky Sentry replied. “However, the fallout of her rebellion was still being felt three centuries after the fact, as Fell Flight can attest to.”

The named mare nodded. “Aye. We Bolt Knights came here in part because we wanted to ‘thank’ her personally,” she said with a predatory gleam. “We might have lost the war but for the bat-ponies her actions ostracized. I worked hard to bring them ‘back into the fold’ as you say, and thus, it gratifies me greatly to see that they are fully accepted now.” She grinned and nodded at Luna’s Dream Guard Captain, the stallion Alucard from Rarity’s memories, who stared back at the long-passed half-thestral warrior in wonder from his regent’s side.

“Um… it’s good to meet you all, but… w-who are they?” a still-blushing Fluttershy pointed with a shaky hoof at the black-and-red gryphon warriors accompanying the pony spirits.

“You even have to ask? They’re the Red Talons,” Rainbow Dash answered in some contempt. “The Bolt Knights’ greatest foe.”

“They’re scary…” Fluttershy all but whispered, cowering slightly and hiding her eyes behind her bangs, her mortification at least momentarily forgotten. The gryphons did not look back, though a couple smiled like they’d been complimented, and one even bumped her talons with Swift Strike’s hoof.

“Ain’t the word Ah’d use for ’em. From what Ah read, they were a buncha stone cold killers!” Applejack crossed her forelegs and spoke out loud, not caring if they heard her or not.

“Eh. They’re not so tough,” Rainbow stated, visibly sizing them up. “I could take ’em.”

No sooner had she said that than the two nearest Red Talons turned towards her and pinned her with a stare that made her blood run cold. “Think that at your peril, my little pony,” an eagless told her, giving her a grin that was anything but pleasant. “We may no longer be amongst the living, but be assured there are ways we could test that claim, even now.”

“Well, now. Two on one ain’t a fair fight. So if ya’ll test her, you better test me too!” Applejack gave the gryphon warriors a level look, completely unintimidated. “We Apples fought at Stalliongrad under General Rock Biter. And I reckon we whipped your flanks good!”

“Hah!” Rainbow Dash chortled. “We didn’t just whip them, we went right through them!”

“Rainbow Dash, mind your tongue and manners,” Firefly called out with the air of a mother scolding her foal.

“Huh?” Rainbow Dash blinked. “But why are you defending them? Aren’t they your enemies? Aren’t they ours?”

“Hardly,” she replied, making a point of giving Layan Kaval a reverent nod. “Just like the gryphons of your modern day, they are no longer enemies, but friends and allies. In the years that followed the great war, we fought at their side against Dragon Lord Diabla and her Crimson Order. That they are even here means that they are ascended spirits like us, journeying from the Gryphon Valhalla to ensure that the Nightmare faces justice tonight. You wouldst do well to treat them with the same respect you wouldst I, or you will answer to me.” She pinned her descendant with a stare, causing her to cringe.

Trixie’s gavel came down hard and repeatedly. “Order in the court! We can discuss friends and enemies of old later!“ She ran a hoof through her mane in exasperation, still looking quite flushed herself from all she had seen. “If you all don’t mind, I’d like to get back to the business at hoof! Now then, witness. You said before that you have incontrovertible evidence regarding your claim, but that it wouldn’t make sense without context. Well… we have context now, so perhaps you could provide this evidence?”

“That would be my pleasure, Trixie,” Rarity replied with a triumphant look at the Nightmare and Red Phoenix. “This is your proof!” With a flare of her horn she produced… a large roll of parchment. “As evidence of these events, I offer this court the notes Twilight took while watching the scene. As you can see, they are quite… extensive. And could hardly have been written by me.” With that, she willed two more identical copies into existence to pass to the prosecution and defense. “The real copy of this scroll is back in my home, hidden amongst the dress designs in my inspiration room, center cabinet, third drawer, hidden compartment in the back. I’m sure our fine and noble Captain Alucard may retrieve it if this court requires?” She all but batted her eyes at him, causing him to blush.

“Just… pass it here…” Trixie ordered, feeling her headache starting to come on again. The fashionista did so promptly, producing and floating a copy to Mia and Phoenix as well.

Upon receiving it, Phoenix flushed anew. Every inch of the three-foot long scroll had been filled with notes and diagrams, including some very explicit pictures of his own anatomy, annotated with length measures and angles. It was definitely written in Twilight’s elegant script, though it got steadily more ragged and rapidly written as it went down the page, either due to her increasing inebriation or excitement. It wasn’t just about him, either; she’d taken careful notes on Fluttershy’s reactions and what she liked the most; there were even annotations indicating things she might want to try!

For her part, Trixie read as much of it as she could stomach before finally turning away. “Enough! This court is satisfied that these notes could not have been produced by anypony but a complete and total human-obsessed nerd… of which the only one present was Twilight Sparkle! This court is now more than satisfied as to the veracity of these events, and accepts this witness testimony and evidence into the court record! Hard as it to believe… Mister Wrong had sex with Fluttershy!” She made a face.

“Excuse me…” A visibly green Red Phoenix held up a finger. He waited until all attention was on him before making a show of doubling over and retching hard. “Okay, I’m good…” he announced somewhat shakily as Trixie and the rest of the gallery gave him a disgusted look. The showmare then quickly rolled up the scroll and shoved it aside like she never wanted to look at it again.

“In that case, Your Honor… as the claim of rape that night has been disproven beyond any doubt, the defense moves to strike all charges in connection with this incident.” Mia looked very pleased while Red Phoenix still looked very ill.

“Gladly… unless the prosecution objects?” Trixie turned to her right, smiling like she was certain there wasn’t any valid one.

For her part, the Nightmare had never looked more disgusted. “The prosecution has no interest in beating a dead horse, as humans say. Though the defendant and Miss Rarity are certainly guilty of voyeurism, they demonstrably did not rape him,” she grated out the admission, causing Twilight’s head to come up a bit more. “However, I would note the defendant clearly does not think too highly of him or their relationship if she simply gave up her stallion and his first time with a pony to her friend, treating them both as little more than lab specimens to be observed and conduct behavioral studies on!”

Mia spoke up immediately, giving a pointed look to Phoenix that told him to pay attention to her words. “She shared her stallion with her close friend, as any Equestrian mare might do. And far from doing so cheaply, she allowed it because she thought they deserved it—that they were owed the chance to thank each other after all they had done for each other. And you’ve spent the last hour trying to claim my client was selfish? Well, this was about as unselfish an act as you could imagine. You can’t have it both ways, demon,” she crossed her arms and pointed out with a grin.

Instead of objecting or looking angry at being thwarted, The Nightmare turned her attention back on Luna. “Oh, I think my former host and I amply proved we can,” she all but leered. “So, have you been treating your Dream Guard properly, Lulu? I do hope you at least allow your Captain the right to service his princess as you did when we were joined!”

“That will do!” Trixie’s gavel came down before a freshly-blushing Luna could reply, though Mia caught a furtive look passed between her and Alucard. “As all the prosecution can offer now is putdowns and personal attacks, may I assume there are no real objections?”

“Wait a second! I still have questions!” Red Phoenix still wouldn’t let it go, ignoring the Nightmare’s warning look. “If our anything-but-‘fair’ witness is telling the truth and what we saw really happened, then why didn’t I wake up on the floor rug with Fluttershy like the dream showed when we went to sleep? Why was I on the couch with Twilight on me?” he demanded to know.

This time, Phoenix beat Mia to the punch, quickly standing up and pointing a finger, staring daggers at his doppelganger, surprised at his own vehemence. “Because she said with her thoughts she was going to clean up the scene before anyone got up, remember?” Wait… I really WANT this to have happened…? he realized in great surprise.

“And did you, Lady Rarity?” Mia quickly asked, still looking quite pleased.

“Of course I did! I most certainly knew better than to let them wake up like that!” Rarity put her hoof down sharply. “After my darling Miles was… taken care of, I crept downstairs and rearranged the scene at sunup. I levitated Fluttershy off him—in truth, I had to all but peel her away; she didn’t want to let go of him!—removing her to a pegasus reading perch in the rafters and then Mister Wright to the couch, on the other end from where Twilight lay. The rug and blanket they used was then removed to my boutique for proper cleaning—I think you might understand that the pieces of yellow feathers and certain smells on them might have been a dead giveaway—and then partially redressed Mister Wright.”

“So that’s why the rug was gone!” Twilight spoke up, now sounding much more herself.

“But why only ‘partially’?” The Nightmare asked, though there was little more than idle interest behind her question. “Did you just like seeing him naked, perchance?” the corner of her mouth crooked up again.

“And what if I did?” Rarity gave the otherworldly entity another glare. “He is eye candy, yes. But in truth, I was unable to complete the process because Twilight stirred and climbed on top of him from where she lay. She snuggled up to him, and well… it was just so adorable a scene that I had not the heart to separate them,” her gaze went wistful. “In any event… I decided that if I left them that way, then if they thought anything at all had happened, it would be with each other and would thus spare no thought to Fluttershy. On that basis, it worked perfectly. I certainly never imagined it would come to be used as the basis of a rape allegation!”

“Trixie finds this explanation satisfactory if slightly creepy. Are there any further objections?” she asked, trying to glare Red Phoenix silent.

But the doppelganger failed to take the hint. “Yes, there are! I’m not done yet!” he pointed a finger again. “I still want to know if—” abruptly, his voice was stopped and his hands went to his throat like he was being choked.

“No, I’m afraid you are,” The Nightmare said in annoyance, levitating him off the ground. “You have served your purpose, but I think your usefulness to this endeavor is at an end. As I created you… I will now end you,” she announced before she flared her horn… and incinerated Red Phoenix, who screamed briefly just before he was reduced to a pile of ash that blew off like so much smoke, fading into the ether.

Despite his own murderous intent towards his doppelganger, Phoenix was shaken by the sight. So were Trixie and Twilight’s friends as Rarity looked horrified and Fluttershy began sobbing into Pinkie’s mane, held by her and Applejack, the pair trying to remind her that the other Phoenix wasn’t real. The deed done, The Nightmare pinned Phoenix with a stare. “I do hope you appreciate this, Phoenix Wright. Consider it a gift… and a warning to what I will do to those who oppose me!” She bared her teeth in her trademark unpleasant grin.

“Thou has not changed at all, foul demon,” Luna was unmoved while Alucard and the other dream guard members suddenly understood how dangerous The Nightmare truly was and why their regent had been so brutal in their training. “All are but expendable pawns to thee!”

The Nightmare snorted. “Oh, spare me the sanctimony, Lulu. You were not above sacrificing pawns of your own even before we were joined. Need I remind you of your conduct in the war with King Sombra…?” she trailed off meaningfully as Luna’s lips tightened.

Trixie’s gavel came down hard again. “Enough! He wasn’t real, just a dreamworld construct, so spare me any expressions of grief from the gallery! He’s gone and I’m glad! Now back to the question at hoof… does the prosecution have any further objections to the defense motion?”

“None, Your Honor,” The Nightmare was serene and looking very pleased with herself despite having lost a major round and her only ally. What’s she up to…? Phoenix wondered, but had a sinking feeling he would know soon.

“Then as both sides are in agreement… the rape and illegal magical influence counts regarding this matter are dropped!” the showmare announced with sharp gavel bang as several more lines erased themselves from the charges sheet, leaving only a few remaining. “Our human-loving and prosecutor-rutting witness is dismissed with this court’s thanks… and bade good riddance too!” she smirked at Rarity.

“And I thank our gracious if fashion-and-friendship-challenged judge for her wise rulings, and offer once again to make her some attire that would not make her look like like a bargain basement raider at a Nightmare Night store!” Rarity retorted to the cheers and hoofstomps of most of her friends, then simply smiled sweetly and joined them in the audience.

* * * * *

“Allow me to summarize our findings,” Trixie said after one parting glower at Rarity, speaking clearly to the whole courtroom, her voice now filled with confidence and authority as she sensed the trial drawing to an end. “It has become apparent that there was no rape involved during Phoenix Wright’s time in Equestria, either in the dreamscape or during that punch-soaked party. Without the rape as a foundation, I find that the prosecution’s other charges lack enough substance to warrant continuing this trial further.”

Hear that, Twilight? You’ll be free from the Nightmare soon! Phoenix thought, standing tall and proud again at Mia’s right, grateful not only for all her help, but for the chance to stand by her in a courtroom once more. Then we can talk in the waking world! And I’m going to start with a huge apology for ever doubting you…

“It’s time we brought an end to this trial, as strange as it’s become,” Trixie continued, raising her gavel high. “To that end, this court finds the defendant, Twilight Sparkle—”

Music: Intense Trial Theme

The Nightmare, for her part, looked particularly smug, shaking her head and wagging a hoof in a manner that reminded Phoenix strongly of Manfred von Karma. “Methinks you’re being a bit too hasty, Your Honor. My case isn’t over, yet.”

Trixie was unamused. “This must be how The Judge felt during Rainbow Dash’s trial,” she muttered to herself, rubbing her forehead with a hoof. More openly, she said, “Prosecutor Moon, I understand you have personal reasons for wanting to win this trial, but given the collapse of the most serious of your charges, I fail to see any reason to continue. The defense has proven there was no rape. Trixie cannot even begin to understand their attraction, but whatever Snarkle and Mister Wrong did, they did so willingly.”

“The prosecution concedes the defense has proven there was no rape… during Phoenix Wright’s time in Equestria,” the Nightmare retorted. “But we’ve yet to discuss more recent events… particularly those of the past week.”

Dammit all, I could live WITHOUT reliving the highlights of our sex life in court! Phoenix thought bitterly. “What are you trying to pull, Nightmare?” he asked, pointing a finger at her. “Most of your case depended on the rape accusations in Equestria holding up. Without those, the magical manipulation charges would be diluted, since there was a period of five weeks between my leaving Equestria and seeing Twilight again! I’m no magic expert, but I believe any aftereffects of her mating aura would have long since dissipated by that point?” He posed the question to Trixie.

“For once, Wrong, you’re right,” Trixie said with a nod. “Studies of unicorn mating magic show that the effects will last, at the absolute longest, a period of forty-eight hours after the exposure, and even before that they tail off sharply. Even were we to increase that timeframe given Twilight Sparkle’s prodigious magical prowess, it could not conceivably still be affecting you five weeks after the fact!”

“Unless Twilight Sparkle had planted an item charged with magic on Phoenix Wright before he left Equestria,” the Nightmare mused. “A flower that you kept with you for those five weeks, perhaps…?”

Phoenix started—that was eerily similar to what he’d been thinking as the flower had started to wilt; that his feelings for Twilight would last only as long as the flower itself did.

“That flower… wasn’t magically charged,” Twilight spoke up for herself for the first time in what seemed like an hour, her voice stronger than it had been through the trial so far; the tendrils The Nightmare had implanted in her were almost completely expelled.”Far more likely it just took a long time to wilt because plants from Equestria have innate magic and are thus much hardier than those on Earth,” she suggested with surety.

“So you say,” the Nightmare sneered. “At any rate, there are still charges on your sheet, and the prosecution has more arguments to make and evidence to present, Your Honor.”

Trixie sighed, rubbing the side of her head with a hoof. “I was hoping to end this now, but it seems I have little choice in the matter. Very well, say your piece, Prosecutor Moon.” She sat back and crossed her forelegs.

The Nightmare nodded, and drew herself up. “Over the course of the past week, Twilight Sparkle and Phoenix Wright have engaged in several sexual acts. It is the prosecution’s opinion that these acts may not have been entirely consensual on Mister Wright’s part, owing to Twilight Sparkle’s mating aura activating during each set of activities, even while in human form.”

“Just a moment!” Trixie broke in, eyes widening as she turned to Twilight. “Sparkle, it’s bad enough you decided to choose a human to rut you, but to turn yourself into one while doing it?!” She made a face. “Trixie honestly thought better of you! Why would you lower yourself to meet his standards?!”

A badly insulted Phoenix was about to object, when Twilight looked up sharply, returning Trixie’s gaze evenly, almost completely herself again. “When you meet someone you’d be willing to bend over backwards for, you’ll understand, Trixie. I won’t say more here.”

Trixie made a derisive sound. “Me with a human? THAT’LL be the day!” the showmare’s eyes rolled.

“Ahem. May I continue?” the Nightmare asked with a sneer, looking strangely unconcerned with the fact she had nearly lost all control over Twilight. “At any rate, there is far more to the prosecution’s case than the simple lack of consent, Your Honor. I submit that, as the week has progressed, Twilight Sparkle has shown an alarming and increasing lack of control over her magic whilst in the middle of her… escapades. This has resulted in rather severe side-effects on Phoenix Wright, not the least of which happened earlier this evening,” she said with a knowing leer at Phoenix, making him cringe along with Twilight while the rest of her friends looked on in confusion. “It is the prosecution’s belief that, as long as her magic remains out of control, Twilight Sparkle is a danger to both Phoenix Wright and those around her.”

“So are you adding ‘reckless endangerment’ onto the list of charges?” Mia asked, crossing her arms again and tapping her index finger where it lay. If I was in Las Vegas, I’d lay odds that she’s about to bring up Phoenix’s earlier anatomical transformation… the angelic attorney thought with a glance at Phoenix, who was guessing the same thing. “If so, we will need far more than your say-so that Twilight Sparkle’s magic is dangerous, demon.” Go for it, Nightmare… she silently urged. I haven’t exactly been idle here when Phoenix has been doing the cross-examinations. Because as soon as you bring that up, I have an expert witness that’ll blow your claims right out of the ether…

In response to that, The Nightmare grinned, as though she’d anticipated the reprimand. “Oh, but it’s not just my say-so, my worthy adversary…” she chuckled, her horn beginning to glow. “For I have a second witness of my own, Mia Fey. And I believe you of all people will find her quite authoritative.” As before with Trixie, a portal began to take shape and another form was pulled through, this time by the witness stand. What everyone present noted was that, while the figure was prone, it was most definitely human. And when it took its final shape, both Phoenix and Mia had to restrain themselves from rushing out from behind the rail.

Music: The Flower Hath Wilted

On the floor of the courtroom was Maya Fey, albeit a far cry from the one those who knew her had seen. She was disheveled, and seemed to not have noticed her change in location just yet. Worse, she looked like she’d been beaten badly, possessing a black eye and a split lip, visibly hobbled as she pulled herself up with some effort.

“Maya!” Both Phoenix and Mia shouted, with even the latter looking alarmed, flaring her wings and stepping forward, only to be stopped as she saw The Nightmare’s tendrils in her sister as well, holding Phoenix back with an arm barring his way.

“Wha? Sis? N-Nick?” She focused on him with some difficulty, squinting through her good eye.. “Wh… where am I?” She asked in audibly shaky voice.

“You are here to help the cause of justice, and in the process heal yourself of your grievous injuries, Miss Fey,” The Nightmare promised her. “I now present to this court Phoenix Wright’s own assistant, to testify as to the deleterious and poisonous effects of Twilight Sparkle’s mating magic…”

“Wha…. Who are…. What do you… Wait. Wait… I…” Maya stuttered while stumbling around for a bit, trying to get a grip on her surroundings, coughing and spluttering as she tried to get to her feet. The Nightmare lifted her with her magic and placed her on her feet, in what seemed to be an honestly sympathetic action.

“Please, do take your time, Ms. Fey, we can all wait for you to get your bearings.” The Nightmare spoke in a uncharacteristically soft and gentle voice.

Maya promptly stumbled around the brimstone courtroom, eventually leaning on the prosecutor’s bench, twisting her face in pain as she did so, her breathing heavy. Her breaths came out as ragged as her clothes were, like a torn and ripped flag flapping on the wind. She looked beaten into submission, the entirety of her body and will broken, her mind and psyche just barely holding themselves together.

“Wha-? What’s happening here? Is this some kind of dream? Wh-where am I?” Maya couldn’t help but ask as Mia and Phoenix remained silent. They looked at each other, wearing identical expressions of confusion and sheer dread.

Trixie spoke up first, having recognized the young human girl herself. “This… this is the trial of Twilight Sparkle, Ms. Fey,” she explained, her tone troubled.

“Huh? B… Blue butt…?” she barely recognized the showmare. “What are you doing here?”

“What happened to you, Maya?” Phoenix still wanted to rush to her side but Mia and Wind Whistler held him back, both shaking their heads sharply.

“What happened to me? What happened to me?” she asked bitterly, her eyes flashing, at least the one that wasn’t swollen shut. “Sparkle happened to me, Nick! She did this to me!”

Phoenix was just as confused as Twilight, exchanging a glance with her. “What do you mean, Twilight did this to you? She’s been right here! She couldn’t have beaten you like that!”

“Thy assistant’s injuries are not physical, but emotional, Phoenix Wright,” Luna clarified, sounding very worried. “They are not real, but rather, a direct reflection of her current mental state.”

“But what happened?” he spared the moon princess but a glance.

“Something I wasn’t going to tell you until much later if I could help it, and I assumed she wouldn’t either,” Mia admitted, quietly.

“Why, whatever is the matter, Mia Fey? Nightmare asked her, a pleased expression on her face. “Neither you nor your apprentice have ever been reluctant to cross-examine witnesses before. You’ve leapt at them, tearing them apart, exposing all their lies and secrets. So why is this so different?” She couldn’t keep the grin from her face.

By Heaven and Earth… she’s got me… was all Mia could think as she looked upon Maya’s broken body, feeling true fear for the first time since she arrived in the ethereal courtroom. I’ve been a fool… she realized too late. I thought I had The Nightmare’s strategy figured out and everything planned so perfectly. Now Maya pays the price, and if we can’t find a way to break her testimony and convince her to accept what happened without hurting her, all may be lost…

Maya’s head came up just a slight bit sluggishly, seemingly not fully aware of her surroundings. But she succeeded in pulling herself up despite the pain, and the condition of her current form. “What’s the charge?” she uttered, her voice clearing up just to ask the question.

The Nightmare spoke up first. “The charges are rape, deliberate injury of a stallion, and illegal magical influence. To that end, I need you to testify about the effects of Twilight’s magic upon you. You know of what what I speak, do you not?” she couldn’t quite keep the hint of a smile from her face

Maya Fey suddenly stood up straight, suddenly filled with strength. “I think so. Is this trial karmic retribution, Miss… Moon? Is that your name?” she inquired, leading the Nightmare to nod her head solemnly and pass the young mystic the charges sheet.

Maya scanned it quickly. “I see… so Sparkle is being tried for the effects of her magic and presumably causing harm to others, huh? Rape and illegal magical influence of Nick foremost among them? Well then…” She took a deep breath, and spoke her mind swiftly, a gleeful smile breaking out on her face. “I’d be more than happy to help you!”

Music: Y͙͔͇͚̭̮̘͕͈̖̞̣̞̤͕ͅO̦̖̝̠̺̠̟͇͉͎͔̭̩U̜̪̥̭̙̖̤͎͎̰̻̝̼͍ ̦̙̩̪̹͈̥̝̪̳͎͍͎̝͖̳̫ͅD̰̭̹͖̫̯̞̥̰̼̪͕ͅO͕̟̭̗͎̼̙̟͔͉̙͈̝̭̭̰̺̙̭ ̭̥̟͇͍͎̤̼̙̥͓̬̙͙̤̜N̩̣̟̱͎͈͉̟̟̰̠ͅO͍̫͚̞̜̘͓̥͉̯̠̖̟̲͇T̩͉͎̝̙̞ͅ ̬̙̼̫͕̖̳͈̭̩̪͓͎̦̖͈͍̱̤D̩̼̹̘̘̺̝̞̮̹E͙̮̘͚̻̦͎S̻̣̠̩̘̪͇̱̺E̬̯̝͈͚͍̳̼R̳̹̻̼̼̩̝̭͔͈͚̟͎̼͔͓̟̝̯V̯̙̝̰̻̘̭̯̞̭͍͙͚͙̣̲̱͔͓E̹̩̖̪̫̠͕͉̞̘̬̙̮̹̱ͅ

Twilight finally spoke up out of her confusion. “What!?” she squealed. “What have I done wrong? What have I done to you, Maya?”

“What have you done?” Maya echoed, her voice beginning to rise into hysterics. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, YOU ASK?! I’ll… I’ll… OH, I’LL TELL YOU WHAT YOU’VE DONE!” The vehemence and sheer hatred in her voice was enough to cause Twilight to recoil and even the assembled spirits to draw back.

“Look at me, Sparkle. Look. At. Me.” Maya snapped, the fury evident in her one eye that had not gone black, paying no attention to anything or anyone except the target of her ire. “I have been smashed up, broken, beaten down, and utterly VIOLATED. And all by your horn. All by your DAMNED MAGIC.” She hissed out each word in turn. “Do you hear me, you goddamned purple-furred menace? Your spells have cascaded everywhere, even halfway across the city, hypnotizing an entire dance party and turning everyone’s minds into what can only be described as mindless, feral, lust!” She informed the Twilight, who listened, uncomprehending but increasingly aghast.

“And YOU... you have done nothing good for me, except steal away the only true friend I’ve ever had! You used your magic to utterly destroy him and make him yours, leaving me TOTALLY ALONE, and for what?” her voice quavered along with her lip. “So you could use him as your own personal prostitute?"

“Maya!” Phoenix was shocked—Maya normally never used profanity or such obscene terms—while Twilight’s friends were scarcely less so, Twilight herself staring at the young mystic in bewilderment.

“Maya, listen! You gotta—”

“Stay out of this, Pinkie!” Maya yelled, as she saw Pinkie coming out of the gallery towards her, the snarl in her voice, causing her Equestrian friend to reluctantly retreat back to her seat.

“Maya, please… I know you’re upset, but you’re not thinking clearly right now,” Mia offered quickly, holding her hands up in placation. “The Nightmare is not your friend. She is trying to use you as a bludgeon against Twilight.”

“Then let her!” Maya said vehemently. “After what Sparkle did to me? I deserve at least a little payback!” Tears were streaming down her face.

“But… what did I do?” Twilight was as lost as Phoenix.

“Indeed, darling! I know you had some issues with us, but I swear Twilight has not performed any wrongdoing to you! I know your injuries must be telling, but… please, there must be some other kind of explanation! She’d never do something like this!” Rarity called out.

“Ah agree! It don’t make no sense for Twilight to do this to ya!” Applejack followed up.

“Yeah! It’s just too downright mean!” Pinkie voiced, her face etched with concern.

“What in the hay is wrong with you, Maya? I know you never liked us, but why are you punishing her for something she couldn’t have done?” Rainbow Dash said next.

“Like you would care, bolt-butt!” Maya snarled back, The Nightmare’s tendrils sinking into her more deeply even as they retracted slightly from Twilight. But Maya herself seemed unaware of them, Phoenix noted in consternation. She’s controlling or at least influencing her… she has to be…

Princess Luna decided it was her time to speak up. “Methinks thou needeth to think thrice about thy actions, young mystic! The prosecutor here is the same spirit that turned us into… Nightmare Moon. We have not met, but I would hope thou hast heard the legends,” she spoke with slight guilt. Maya actually started at her words and then drew back in shock for a moment as she recognized the Lunar regent. “If thou acts brashly, or out of temper, thou may doom both our worlds!” she added, causing the spirits in the room to speak up, talking over each other in agreement.

“Do not listen to them, young Maya. For none can know your pain,” The Nightmare offered sympathetically. “But I do. And I alone can fix it. If you will but help me make Twilight face her guilt and receive the punishment she so richly deserves…”

Maya’s eyes flashed. “That’ll be my pleasure!” she announced forcefully despite her state.

Trixie slammed her gavel down hard, cutting off any further conversation. “Enough! Despite the unusual circumstances, this is a court of law. The witness’s statements, and all those resulting from them, are hereby struck for not being delivered within proper judicial procedures. Witness, you will go to the stand and deliver your testimony, and you will do so with a civil tongue!” She pinned the young girl with her fiercest stare.

Maya stared at the showmare incredulously. “Oh, you’re calling me out for being uncivil? That’s rich, given what I read of the transcripts of Bolt-butt’s trial, you stuck-up, frigid bitch!”

Trixie’s gavel came down hard again. “As I’ve already said once, Miss Fey,” she said slowly through narrowed eyes, reminding herself that the young human mystic, though even more annoying than Phoenix Wright in many ways, was clearly under the Nightmare’s influence as well. “I at least tried to make my put-downs witty. There was no wit involved in that very vulgar and childish temper tantrum you just threw. If you wish us to listen, you will behave yourself. Is that quite clear?”

Maya stared at her in contempt. “I’m sorry, are you accusing me of losing my temper, Miss attack-Sparkle-and-freeze-an-entire-courtroom-when-she-lost-her-case?”

Trixie’s lip twitched and the air around her chilled. “For which I lost my law license for a year and stood trial in which the pony you’re currently accusing defended me!” she reminded herself as much as Maya. “What I learned then is that there are consequences to one’s actions, and it’s now a lesson I’ll teach you if I have to! So if you have something you wish to say to me or this court, you will do so with propriety; otherwise, I will hold you in contempt and dismiss you from this court for breaking decorum and end this trial for lack of further evidence immediately!”

Maya’s jaw dropped open while The Nightmare looked like she’d swallowed a lemon. “Your Honor—”

“Don’t even try, Prosecutor Moon,” Trixie cut her off, pinning her an icy stare she punctuated by letting her eyes glow blue. “I don’t care if she’s your witness and I don’t care if you threaten me, I am The Judge, just as you brought me here to be! And as such, your witness will mind her manners, or she will be returned to her own dream posthaste without testifying and I will pass summary judgement in favor of the defense here and now!” She looked at Princess Luna, who nodded in response.

Maya pursed her lips. “Fine… you win, Blue-butt. I’ll dial it back… for now.” She staggered to the witness stand, taking a shaky position behind it.

The Nightmare sighed, then spoke. “Witness, state your name and occupation for the record.”

“Maya Fey. Currently the de facto master of the Kurain Spirit Channeling technique,” replied the human girl.

“Miss Fey, I’ve called you here to testify regarding the effects that Twilight Sparkle’s magic has had upon you, specifically earlier today,” the Nightmare explained. “Are you able to deliver such testimony?”

Maya actually looked briefly angry again, before schooling her features. “Yes… although I reserve the right to omit details that are of no importance to the case at hand.”

Trixie frowned at that. “It is not your place to determine what is or is not important, Miss Fey. As I’ve told one witness already, you must tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”

Maya flicked a glance at Phoenix before answering. “Your Honor,” she said the title slowly and with some distaste, “I say this because there are certain details that I feel could do irreparable harm to Ni—to the defense co-counsel. I promise, nothing I say will be a lie, but the whole truth could do far more harm than good.”

Phoenix blinked at that. “What’s she talking about?” he asked Mia, who looked distinctly uncomfortable.

“It’s not my place to say, Phoenix,” she replied shortly. “Something tells me you’re about to find out. Just know for now that the two of you need to talk… in a less tense environment.”

Trixie considered Maya’s request, before speaking again. “Given your relationship with the defense co-counsel, I will make an exception this once. But I will ask that you only omit the details that would cause harm to Mister Wright. Is that clear, Miss Fey?”

“Certainly,” Maya replied. “May I begin my testimony, now?”

The Nightmare had a thoughtful look on her face. “Please a wait a moment, witness. Before we begin, there is a minor matter that needs to be discussed, Your Honor.”

“Objecting to your own witness, Prosecutor Moon?” Trixie said sardonically. “You’re quite indecisive on this issue, aren’t you?”

“It’s not her I’m objecting to, Your Honor,” The Nightmare replied, her eyes narrowing. “It simply occurs to me that, should she give testimony, neither member of the defense team will be able to cross-examine her.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Phoenix asked hotly, though he had a sneaking suspicion he already knew the answer.

The Nightmare showed her fangs in a grin. “Need I spell it out? You were Maya Fey’s unofficial guardian, having taken her in after the unfortunate demise of her sister, who is your co-counsel for this case. The conflicts of interest should be obvious enough to this court. Her older sister clearly cannot conduct cross-examination, and as for you, Phoenix Wright, given how… intimate you are or might like to be with Miss Fey, I’m afraid you, too, must recuse yourself from her testimony,” her expression twisted in a leer again. “For I could easily call into question any cross-examination you attempt, as I doubt either of you would push her properly in her current state.”

“She’s right, Phoenix,” Mia said heavily. “If we were on earth, I wouldn’t be allowed to cross-examine her, and quite rightly. For I can’t question Maya like I would normal witnesses, and especially not with how she is now. And even if you’re willing to, I don’t think you should do it, either. Even aside from the fact you can’t interrogate her dispassionately right now, you’re part of what’s causing her pain.”

Phoenix grimaced at that. He still didn’t know everything that was going on, but he didn’t need to in order to realize it was a valid point. With how Maya looked right now, he thought she would fall over to a stiff breeze, let alone his cross-examination. And would she forgive him afterwards? “The defense concedes the point,” he slumped, his mind scrambling, trying to find some alternative, someone else who could do the job. Could Luna? Could Rarity…? He glanced to his right, then into the gallery in turn. Is there by chance a lawyer in the audience? He wondered as he looked out over the various spirits present, none of whom were stepping forward to volunteer.

“And there you have it, Your Honor,” The Nightmare said with a triumphant grin. “As neither member of the defense can offer proper cross-examination to this witness, I move that, following her testimony, you examine her testimony alone and then pass summary judgement on this particular charge.”

“By courtroom rules, witness testimony requires a cross-examination… even if it can’t be done by present counsel!” Mia quickly pointed out.

“There’s nothing to examine!” Maya retorted before The Nightmare could, raising her voice at her sister for one of the few times in her life. It’s not like Sis doesn’t know what Sparkle did to me. So why’s she DEFENDING her? she wondered bitterly. “Sparkle raped me, Sis! I want retribution!” Tears slid down her bruised and battered cheeks. “And if takes an evil alicorn to get it, that’s fine with me!”

This caused a stir in the gallery. “C’mon, Maya, can’t you see she’s using you?!” Pinkie Pie called out. “She doesn’t care about you, she just wants Twilight’s body!”

“Like I care!” Maya all but snarled. “After what she did, she deserves it! I wish I’d never heard of Equestria!” she finished with a shout, Pinkie flinching back like she’d been slapped.

The gallery went silent at that, all eyes turned to the shaking, trembling form at the witness stand. Before anyone else could speak, a new voice broke the silence. “Is that really how you feel, Maya?”

Heads whipped around as the unlikely figure of Vinyl Scratch emerged from the shadows of the courtroom, walking forward, ignoring the various spirits around her. As she reached the center of the courtroom pit, she flicked her glasses up, pinning Maya with a ruby-eyed stare. “Cause if so, then you ain’t half the girl I thought you were...”

Author's Note

Sorry for the one-day delay. A chapter was skipped over from the M-rated version that described in exact terms what happened between Phoenix and Fluttershy, and also other punch-fueled naughtiness that night. I started to try to make it T-rated but it quickly became apparently that there wouldn't be much left afterwards. So I dropped it entirely and added a little more explanation to this chapter as to what happened.

The Nightmare is starting to bring out her big guns, and exploiting Maya's raw emotions is one Mia didn't anticipate. Expect an interlude chapter after this that explains how Vinyl got there, and then we head into the climax of the trial, one worthy of the Ace Attorney name The Nightmare's strategy is three levels deep, and we just hit the second level. And the third...?

The third will be hardest to overcome of all.

23: The Heart's Turnabout, Part 7 - Interlude: Scratching the Surface of Dreams

Music: Troubled Sleep

If you asked a resident of Ponyville to describe Vinyl Scratch in a single word, you’d get a variety of answers, depending on who you asked.

If you asked Rainbow Dash, she might call Vinyl ‘awesome’. If you asked Granny Smith, she might call Vinyl ‘loud’. If you asked her roommate/marefriend, Octavia Melody, she would say Vinyl is ‘incorrigible’. But if you caught her on a rare softer moment with several drinks or Pinkie’s party punch in her system, she would say ‘soulmate’.

For Vinyl‘s part, right now, she would describe herself as ‘worried’.

“This is so not of the cool,” the pony DJ sighed, looking at the wall of the incredibly luxurious hotel suite living room she was in. Though undeniably opulent even by Canterlot standards, it was still uncomfortable and empty to her, and not just because of the alien environment she now found herself in while wearing her pony body. On the other side of the wall was Maya’s room, and Vinyl wanted to be by her side, lend her the love and comfort she was certain her human friend needed whether she would accept it or not. But no matter how badly she wanted to, it was out of the question—they had both agreed it was best to sleep apart that night, and Vinyl Scratch was a mare of her word. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it, though,” she muttered, thinking aloud, uncertain herself what had happened meant for them and their friendship, but not as worried about that as Maya herself for the moment. “I get that she’s in an awkward place right now, but being alone in this kind of situation ain’t always the best idea.”

Her mind not at rest any more than she assumed Maya’s was, she recognized then that sleep was likely not going to come to her easily that night, if at all. She, too, was lost in not just concern for her human friend, but the memories of what they’d done. humans really DO got some interesting assets! she allowed herself a wan grin, hoping she’d get the chance to explore them more directly as Celly had promised to turn her human the next day and keep her that way for the duration of her stay. Another encounter with Maya seemed out of the question, however, given how badly she'd reacted to what happnened. “Are humans so hung up on their own sexuality that it makes them uncomfortable to clop to a fantasy?” she wondered aloud, knowing nopony was there to hear. “Seriously, it ain’t like she’s actually gonna lay Phoenix any more than I’m gonna lay Luna, so it shouldn’t matter, right?” she asked softly to herself, wondering idly what the Moon Princess would think of some of the dreams she’d had of her. “Or maybe she knows already…?”

She couldn’t help but chuckle at that, though her humor was short-lived. “Then again,” Vinyl mused, her mind shifting tracks like the expert DJ she was, “Maya did say once she saw Phoenix as her ‘goofy older brother’. So maybe to her, it’s like fantasizing about about a sibling, which ain’t acceptable by any standard.” The more she thought about it, the more the idea made sense. While Maya and Phoenix were certainly close, their relationship seemed to be more familial than romantic in any form. “Goddess knows I ain’t no prude when it come to sex, but even I'd draw the line there!” Vinyl shivered, rolling over on the sofa and shifting the blanket a little with it.

Her mind drifted back towards thoughts of Maya again, remembering again not just their acts, but the thrill and pleasure they gave her. She considered again the question of what effect it would have on their friendship, and more deeply, what she felt for the young human girl; barely an adult by either race’s standards and her body and mind still somewhat immature for it—particularly in comparison to her channeled older sister!

It wasn’t a question of upsetting her current relationship, at least. She didn’t think Octavia would mind her taking a human lover too much—the rule they’d always had was that Vinyl was allowed to indulge her wild side as she wished, as long as she came back to Octavia afterwards, and the pony DJ had never had any reason or desire to violate that promise. Unlikely though their union was, the very definition of ‘opposites attract’, she loved and respected her earth pony mare mate too much to ever contemplate leaving her, no matter who else she bedded along the way.

But for all the lovers she’d already been with, from mares and stallions to griffins to even adolescent dragons, Maya Fey was by far the most exotic and interesting partner she could remember. And yet, it wasn’t just simple exoticness or the uniqueness of her human body, either—Vinyl couldn’t explain why, but she felt drawn to Maya in a way she hadn’t felt towards anyone, pony or otherwise, save for Octavia herself. But where the attraction to Octavia had formed due to their joint love of music (clashing styles notwithstanding), Vinyl couldn’t quite yet explain her attraction to Maya. Certainly, that they had similar tastes in music was a factor, but the unicorn couldn’t help but feel there was more to it than that. Can’t seem to put my hoof on it, but I swear there’s something deeper there…

She sighed and shook her head, knowing whatever unanswered questions were in her own mind at that moment, she could be certain of one thing: her confused and uncertain feelings had nothing on Maya’s. Given what they'd done, Vinyl knew that the human girl was going to be off-balance for a good while, and that some breathing room would be necessary for her to come to terms with what had happened. The young mystic had a lot to work through, and painful though it was to admit, Vinyl knew she didn’t come first in that equation.

“Guess that’s it, then. Still, Maya shouldn’t keep this bottled up. She needs to talk to Phoenix, get things out in the open between them. Yeah, it’s gonna be uncomfortable, but the longer it’s put off, the worse it’s going to be. Besides, it’s not like she wants to bed him, just air some actual feelings,” she concluded and, finally satisfied, started to settle down towards sleep.

Music: “Ghost River (Instrumental Ver.)” by Nightwish

She had nearly drifted off when a sharp ‘ping’ within her skull jolted her back awake, causing her to nearly fall off the couch. Catching herself, she focused on what was causing the disturbance, less a sound from the air than one from the very ether itself. To her alarm, she realized that a dream ward she’d cast on Maya was going off. “Buck me sideways, I was hoping I wouldn’t need that!” Vinyl swore, realizing she’d just picked up a new complication, and one that would require her immediate intervention. Settling in, she marshalled her magic, preparing to cast a very specific spell on herself.

As she had told Twilight Sparkle once before, Vinyl Scratch was a mare of many talents. While most of those talents were associated with her musical career to one degree or another, she was not at all lacking in knowledge of other fields, in contrast to some ponies’ thoughts regarding her. Though no Trixie or Twilight, she was a magically gifted unicorn in her own right, particularly strong when listening to or working with her music. Even outside of it, she had mastered teleportation and was surprisingly well-read, having passed the bar exam some years earlier, and had even dabbled in areas of magic well beyond the abilities of most unicorns.

One such area she’d read about and dabbled in was dream magic. While a fairly obscure and arcane branch of magic (at least, prior to Princess Luna’s return), Vinyl had read one text on the subject and found herself very engrossed, experimenting with some of the spells it offered; spells that would allow you to traverse the dreamscape and do literally anything you wished inside of it—an ability she might have availed herself of with Octavia once or twice. But far from being all potentially very illicit fun and games, the text had mentioned that there were things in the dreamscape that fed on the fears of ponies, dread demons that could prey on the emotionally vulnerable and unwary. As a teenager, she’d had a bad experience with such creatures, although she didn’t know what precisely they were at the time; that knowledge had come when she read the dream text. As a result, she knew only too well what those things were; how they could turn your mind and very soul inside-out if they found you in a mentally weakened state.

Accordingly, the book had made clear up front that dreamwalking was not something you ever wanted to try without an experienced guide to protect you, and thus started by teaching protective enchantments. One such spell had been a low-level dream ward, meant to alert the caster if the subject was being targeted by a malicious dream spirit, another was a spell to track spirits through the dreamscape, and a third was a rescue spell, meant to send the caster’s consciousness directly into the dreamscape without already being asleep… though that one came with warnings that it was a very disorienting process and if miscast, could leave your spirit untethered to your body, making it very hard to get back to the waking world. The latter was the spell Vinyl was preparing now, gathering her weakened power to her and hoping the fact that she was on magic-poor Earth and not Equestria wouldn’t prevent her from casting it.

“Haven’t used this for a while,” Vinyl mused as her horn began to glow. “Though you know, Octy really did over-react that time. Can’t say she didn’t enjoy it, though…” she allowed herself a momentary grin at the memories before stilling herself, knowing she needed to be calm and collected as possible when she entered the dreamscape, or her agitated emotions would just be a big beacon to any dream demons in the area. Shaking off those thoughts, she cast the spell. Her body’s breathing slowed and her eyes closed as the magic took hold of her, enabling her to enter the world of dreams.

Outside of a dream proper, the dreamscape is a cross between a deep sea environment and a starfield. It’s the equivalent of being plunged into a roiling and rapidly flowing river as you immediately get picked up by the currents and swept along, leaving you no idea which way is up or even what direction you came from. It is far from an empty void, however; occasionally broken by the appearance of a doorway or portal that represented an entry into the dreams of others, or single points of light belonging to more distant souls further out, not at all unlike distant stars. Much like the sea, there are also myriad creatures of soul and spirit that inhabit this plane and feed off the energy of dreams, most benign but some decidedly not, the former swimming along in schools like fish and not hard to mistake for them.

“Who needs an aquarium when you got this place?” Vinyl chuckled as she found herself in the midst of one such school, favoring them with a bit of magic and allowing them to feed off her, watching as they changed color and glowed brighter for it.

Navigation through this plane is difficult, even for experienced members of the Dream Guard. For Vinyl Scratch, it was akin to being tossed into a hurricane-battered sea, with no ship or even a rescue buoy in sight. Still, she had done this enough before that she knew how to manage it, and understood from both her reading and past experience that in the dream realm physical strength was useless; it was will and focus that were paramount. Accordingly, she quickly focused her will on the area surrounding her, willing a spot of calm into the swirling void and turning it into a beautiful Equestrian night scene, one that would have done Luna proud.

“Never gonna get used to that,” she mused, always and endlessly amazed at what the dreamscape enabled her to do. Focusing her magic, she cast another spell she’d learned from the text, one meant to reveal entryways into the minds of ponies that were nearby in the living world. Two doors immediately appeared before her, one white, one a pale purple. The white one bore the stylized sun that was easily recognized as Celestia’s Cutie Mark. The purple one bore an equally stylized image that Vinyl recognized as the magatama worn around Maya’s neck. “No points for guessing the right door,” she joked, as she pushed on the pale purple door.

As she pushed, however, a sign appeared on the door that read, ‘Tenant unavailable. Please check back later.’ Seeing this, Vinyl groaned. “Great, just great,” she sighed and rubbed the back of her head with a hoof, knowing that meant Maya’s spirit wasn’t present… meaning in turn that something had pulled her spirit away, and few dreamscape denizens did so without malicious intent. “Guess I didn’t get here quick enough. Something’s already found her. Hold on, fillyfriend, I’m coming!” She cast the tracking spell, focusing her thoughts on Maya’s face and immediately felt herself swept up yet again, being pulled like she was attached to a tether towards an unknown destination, streaks of light around her as she was rapidly pulled through the dreamscape starfield.

* * * * *

She never made to her to destination. She got a brief glimpse of roiling clouds and lightning as her spell was disrupted and she was unceremoniously dumped into another pony’s dream, finding herself in the midst of a rather one-sided battle.

“What the…?” she looked around in surprise, realizing this wasn’t Maya’s location, but somepony’s nightmare; worse, she’d just been thrown into the middle of a group of dream demons, who initially looked as surprised to see her as she was them. Their surprise was short-lived, however, as they abruptly turned into a disapproving Octavia and a naked but sobbing Maya Fey. The former told her that if she loved human girls instead of her, there was no point in them being together and the latter accused her of rape, begging for Nick to save her.

Her guts clenched at their sight and voices and her will wavered hard for a moment, her fears brought to life in a way she hadn’t been ready for. For other ponies, it might have been enough to allow the dream demons to overwhelm her emotionally and feed on her fears, but Vinyl Scratch was nothing if not extremely adaptable, and she immediately countered the mental assault with a magical one, a strike from her horn reducing one attacker to vapor.

“Vinyl Scratch?” she then heard several startled voices chorus, and spun to see several ponies wearing the night-blue uniforms of Princess Luna’s Dream Guard. The two thestrals and one unicorn mare were hard pressed against a much larger group of assailants, trying to defend the dream’s owner, a pegasus stallion who was cowering and sobbing on the floor from the dread creatures menacing him in various guises, one in the form of his own foal telling him he was a horrible sire and the others appearing to be old teachers, friends, and even his parents all saying he was a terrible disappointment.

“That’s me, sisters. Nice to see my reputation proceeds me even in the dream world. So what the hay’s going on here?” she asked as she teleported to their side, relieved to see some friendly faces. “Where’d all these demons come from?” She’d never seen so many before; only ever one or two at a time. Dream demons were greedy and tended not to cooperate, though they were certainly not above being rank opportunists and flocking to a dream that was particularly promising for them.

They explained shortly. “The Nightmare? Buck…” Vinyl all but hissed, sensing instantly that the ancient queen of dream demons had something to do with Maya’s disappearance. “If she takes over Twilight like she did Luna, that’s it for Equestria and maybe Earth as well!” The DJ instantly realized, then told them why she was there. “You haven’t seen Maya, have you?”

“We haven’t seen any human girls—well, aside from the demons appearing as a few, and that one green unicorn’s dream that had a lot of humans in it. And there weren’t any human girls at the trial when we were there other than departed spirits, but that was half an hour ago!”

“Then why would she…” Vinyl’s lips tightened as she instinctively realized the answer, her deductive powers helped by her stint as a prosecutor, placing herself in The Nightmare’s hooves. “That bucking bitch… she’s planning to use Maya against Twilight!”

At the quizzical look from the Guards, Vinyl sighed and zapped another demon who came too close. “It’s a long, nasty story, but the short version is, Maya was suffering from some side effects of being exposed to Twilight’s magic, and she’s really torn up about it. She holds a huge grudge against Twilight now and it gives The Nightmare pretty good means to tempt her.”

A group of demons broke free from the horde, leaping at the group of ponies, taking the form of bloodthirsty griffin warriors from the days of yore led by a green-armored paladin, his body hideously pumped up on strength and size enhancement potions. Before any of them could react, however, a dark winged form shot out from the dreamscape, striking and slaying several before flipping backward like Mistress Marvelous from the Power Ponies comic.

This was no comic book creation, however; the new arrival was a caped pony whose features were initially unseen, but the weapon she was holding was unlike any that the Guards or Vinyl had seen before. It was a bright blue blade, with an unusually-shaped handle. Hefting it in both hooves, the cloaked mare charged again, launching the final and largest green-armored demon into the air before laying into it with a punishing series of blows that ended with an explosive slash, ripping the demon apart and giving the others pause and they sought a new strategy. As the figure returned to the ground, the weapon dissipated into the ether.

“Heh. Humans may not have magic, but they have some wild imaginations. That weapon would never work in real life… but dreams are another story,” the newcomer mused, turning to face them.

“Lady Requiem!” The dream guard mares chorused, sketching her a quick bow. “We’re relieved to see you, milady!”

“Me too. Well, that’s one way to make an entrance,” Vinyl quipped. Had it been her imagination, or had there been a loud sound every time the weapon had struck the demon…? “Been a while, Delta. Hope I didn’t make too much of a mess for you at that last party in Canterlot.”

“I’m used to it. But would you mind telling me what you’re doing here, Vinyl Scratch?” she asked in a mild tone, entering and enlarging the circle of defending ponies with the frightened stallion at their center, facing outward from him. “I don’t know how you got here, but this is no place for an untrained and inexperienced dreamwalker!”

“Hey! I’ve dreamwalked before!” Twice, she didn’t say. “And I’ve dealt with demons before, too.” Maybe four, all individually and they left me afraid to sleep again after. “So don’t look down on me just because I don’t have your level of experience,” Vinyl snapped, even though she knew the other mare was not trying to scold her.

Delta blinked. She knew the pony DJ well enough to realize that for one as normally unflappable as Vinyl to be so irritable, something must really be bothering her. “Vinyl, what’s going on?”

The explanation was short and brief. “I see…” Delta’s lips tightened. “Unfortunately, getting you to that trial is going to be a bit… problematic. I came here at the Captain’s call. He said you needed reinforcements, but I had no idea what we were up against until I got here,” she said grimly. “You can’t reach Ms. Fey’s location with all these demons running interference for her. We can take you there ourselves… after we’ve taken care of these.” She nodded out to the ranks of repulsive creatures around them, who had just taken the form of a gryphon legion from the ancient war, chanting and screeching, hungry for pony blood.

“It’s us against an army,” the unicorn corporal interjected, wondering if she should turn into a dragon again as she zapped the first rank of them, ignoring the clenching of her guts at a sight she knew her ancestors must have once faced. “We’re getting mentally fatigued and it’s all we can do to hold on here!”

“Oh, I think we can take care of them,” Delta’s smile got thin as the hoard prepared to rush them, and she began to sing softly, causing their surroundings to shimmer and a series of vines to erupt and ensnare the lead ranks.

“Stay back, Ms. Scratch!” a thestral mare ordered, looking a bit battered to Vinyl’s eyes, her eyes sunken and uniform ripped as she’d been worn down by constant attacks. “Don’t try to help! You can’t fight these things!”

Vinyl actually smirked. “Oh, can’t I?” She materialized her magenta glasses over her eyes and a microphone in front of her face, making her next words boom out. “Listen up and listen well, fillies and gentlecolts! It’s time to party and dance hearty, ‘cause DJ-PON3 is in da house!” With that, she willed an entire soundstage into existence and aimed the speakers at the demons, who immediately countered by turning into some punk rockers and rival DJs she knew, wielding guitars, drum sets and their own amps. Far from being intimidated, Vinyl smiled and bared her teeth. “Oho, a battle of the bands, is it? In that case, allow me to introduce my lead singer!” she materialized and passed a microphone to Delta. “The one and only Delta Requiem!”

The pegasus mare, knowing a cue when she heard one, smirked and changed her garb to that an entertainer; a sparkling violet evening dress with some jeweled trim. “Thank you, my mare, DJ-PON3! We’re gonna start with a little number from Tellus’ dimensional neighbor, Earth!” Materializing and tossing a vinyl record to the DJ, she waited for the unicorn to ready it before continuing. “I’ve modified the lyrics some, but I think you’ll agree; this song is hot!” With that, she materialized an amp-hooked piano and began to pound on it as she sung:

You shake my nerves, and you rattle my brain
Dreamin’ ’bout demons drives a mare insane
Tryin’ to break my will?
Ain’t that a thrill!
Goodness gracious, great BALLS of FIRE!

As she hit the last line, enormous fireballs rained from the heavens to batter the demonic horde. Several were immolated outright, others bowled over from the concussive force.

“Not bad, Lady D. That’s a human song?” Vinyl asked after the damage had been done.

“Indeed. And considered a classic,” she confirmed, but her smile was short-lived. With half their number eliminated, the demons changed tactics, countering with a song of their own, turning into fairy-winged creatures with red eyes and pointed ears. There were both human and pony variants wearing red jewels around their necks, focusing the totality of their power on the small group.

“Sirens!” The unicorn mare warned just before their music erupted, a dark and entrancing beat boring into their head, trying to shatter their focus and very will:

Welcome to the show
We’re here to let you know
Our time is now
Your time is running out

More demons joined in the song, adding their own power to the chorus, the discordant harmony crashing down around the pony defenders’ ears.

Feel the wave of sound
As it crashes down
You can’t turn away
We’ll make you want to stay
We will be adored
We’ll make you love us
We won’t be ignored
It’s time for our reward
Now you need us
Come and feed us
NOTHING CAN STOP US NOW!

But Delta had an answer for that as well.

Oh-oh, oh-whoa-oh
I’ve got the music in me
Oh-oh, oh-whoa-oh

The spellsinging pegasus mare began, her power and that of harmony itself allowing the dream guard members to become her backup vocalists, trading their night-blue uniforms for rocker costumes and instruments as she launched into her song:

Don’t need to hear a crowd
Cheering out my name
I didn’t come here seeking
Infamy or fame

The one and only thing
That I am here to bring
Is music, is the music
Is the music in my soul

Gonna break out (Out!)
Set myself free, yeah
Let it all go (Go!)
Just let it be, yeah
Find the music in your heart
Let the music make you start
To set yourself apart

The demons were staggered briefly, but came back with redoubled force, reinforcements arriving as they sensed this was the pivotal battle.

What we have in store
All we want and more
We will break on through
NOW IT’S TIME TO FINISH YOU!

With that, the sirens turned into powerful and lethal looking dragons and began circling, breathing not fire but assaults of throbbing beats and off-key screeching that was the equivalent of fingernails on a blackboard, a noise strong enough to shatter crystal if they’d been real. The Dream Guard mares recoiled, some of Vinyl’s amps blew and even Delta Requiem was affected, trying to counter with her own spellsinging talent, which though potent was now stretched to its limit.

“Sorry, nightmares. You ain’t beating me at my own game!” Vinyl willed her equipment back to working order and turned her amps to maximum as she focused all her considerable strength of will into them. Pulsing waves of sound erupted outwards, targeting the dragons and forcing them back for a few seconds. But they regrouped and counterattacked again, their increased numbers starting to tell, their shrill screech overwhelming even Vinyl’s best efforts.

“We need… more… power!” she grated out, struggling to keep her head clear.

“But that means more will and more singers!” the unicorn mare protested. “And where do we get them?”

“Leave that to me…” Delta hissed through gritted teeth. “But I’ll need some musical help to do it!” she requested, reminding Vinyl that she could derive more spellsinging power from hearing a powerful song that resonated within her.

“Then maybe what we need… is that little number from Maya herself!” Vinyl announced as she materialized a new record and played it, picking up a microphone herself to sing one of the first songs Maya had shared with her; one she had composed herself and said was her favorite:

You’re never gonna bring me down
You’re never gonna break this part of me
My friends are here to bring me ’round
Not singing just for popularity

Even without knowing the words, Delta quickly picked up the song and joined the DJ in a duet. Instead of trying to fight the demons directly, she reached out to other dreams with her power, trying to connect to other ponies in them.

We’re here to let you know
That we won’t let it go
Our music is a bomb and it’s about to blow

Harmony taking hold of them again, the two thestrals and unicorn mare sang the last line along with Delta and Vinyl before the latter pair resumed the song alone.

And you can try to fight
But we have got the light of
Friendship on our side!

A drum solo erupted and they looked back, surprised to see a human version of Pinkie Pie suddenly present, hammering away on a drum set and adding her own voice to the chorus. Additional voices began to join them as Delta’s power succeeded in reaching first the stallion they were protecting, and then the ponies in nearby dreams, lending their voice and magic to the effort, increasing the power of their effort with each new voice and pony.

Got the music in our hearts
We’re here to blow this thing apart
And together, we will never
Be afraid of the dark
Here to sing our song out loud
Get you dancing with the crowd
As the music of our friendship
Survives, survives!

By the time the stanza was complete a hundred then a thousand additional voices had joined them as not just the entire Dream Guard but the very ponies they were trying desperately to protect turned on the entirety of the nightmarish army, who were now reeling hard, being forced back and ground down despite their numbers. They needed to induce fear in their hosts to defeat them, and as the song took hold, that fear was quickly ebbing, leaving them facing steadily worsening odds as the final chorus began, the music shifting to a new and higher key:

With the final riff played, a massive wave of magic and harmony blasted outward from Vinyl’s soundstage, disintegrating every demon it encountered, reducing the forces of The Nightmare Army to nothing, leaving behind only an empty and suddenly peaceful dreamscape behind.

“Holy…” the unicorn mare began.

“Nightshades…” her thestral teammate finished, having felt the flow of Harmony through her in a way she never had before, still wearing her rocker costume. “That was amazing! And you say that song came from a human?”

“From the mind of Maya Fey, yes it did,” Vinyl said proudly, marveling herself and suddenly wondering where Pinkie Pie had disappeared back to… or was that even her to begin with? “And she’s the girl I’m now here to save.”

“She’s good, but I have to say, you’re a natural at this game yourself, Vinyl. Ever considered a career in the Dream Guard?” Delta had to ask as she returned to her usual appearance..

The pony DJ grinned as she willed her soundstage away but materialized a handkerchief to clean her shades in its place. “Well, I admit I enjoy the nightlife, but not if it means I can’t still do my DJ thing.”

“If you enjoy the nightlife, you should come to Hollow Shades!” the other thestral suggested hopefully, referring to one the biggest thestral enclaves in Equestria. “That’s our home. It’s a good place with good ponies, but our party scene could use an upgrade.”

Vinyl’s grin got more pronounced. “A village full of ponies who are up all night? I’m there, sister!” she promised as she let the pair guide her towards a portal as they eased the stallion they were guarding back towards a more peaceful slumber. “I’ll have my agent book a visit. In the meantime, now the Nightmare’s got no backup, how ‘bout we rescue Twi and Maya?”

“Head on ahead, Vinyl. We’ll follow after we’ve mopped up here,” Delta said with a smile. “Rescue Maya and tell Princess Luna to kick The Nightmare’s flank for us, would you?”

“Will do… though I’d like to do some of the kicking myself!” she said with a tip of her shades, bumping hooves with the three Dream Guard mares before departing. The stars turned to streaks again as Vinyl recast the tracking spell and continued on her journey, drawn to the soul she sought. This time, there was nothing to stop her and she soon arrived at a new portal, this one bearing the doors of a courtroom. She opened it and entered into shadow, walking slowly forward towards the light of a courtroom pit, where she beheld… a beaten and bloodied Maya hurling insults and invective at a bewildered Twilight.

Any other time, the pony DJ might have marveled at the sheer number of spirits present, to say nothing of some of the most legendary figures from Equestria’s past standing guard like bailiffs. But she had no eyes for them even as their own turned on her as she passed; her gaze fixed on the human girl speaking from the witness stand, crying and demanding justice for what had happened to her. She didn’t hear the start of her friend’s speech, but what she did hear was enough to curl her lip and realize just how badly her human friend was hurting.

“C’mon, Maya, can’t you see she’s using you?!” Pinkie Pie called out, leaving Vinyl wondering again who the Pinkie she saw at the dream battle was. “She doesn’t care about you, she just wants Twilight’s body!”

“Like I care!” Maya all but snarled, her eyes wild and full of hate. “After what she did, she deserves it! I wish I’d never heard of Equestria!” she finished with a shout, Pinkie flinching back like she’d been slapped.

The gallery went silent at that, all eyes turned to the shaking, trembling form at the witness stand. Before anyone else could speak, Vinyl’s hurt voice broke the silence. “Is that really how you feel, Maya?” she asked, stepping forward into the light, passing between Fell Flight and Wind Whistler as she entered the courtroom pit, flipping up her shades to stare at Maya directly.

“Cause if that’s true, you ain’t half the girl I thought you were…”

Author's Note

This chapter was actually a collaboration between me and LeoArchon, intended to not only showcase Vinyl Scratch, Delta Requiem and the Dream Guard, but to pay homage to what I still consider the best of the Equestria Girls movies. And who was that human Pinkie Pie? Don't worry, you'll find out! The trial resumes tomorrow, and it's going to be one hell of a ride to the finish.

24: The Heart's Turnabout, Part 8 - For the Fate of Two Worlds

Music: Calm Disturbance

Celestia had learned long before that her very connection to the sun had rid her body of any natural circadian rhythms.

It had also rid her for the most part of any actual need for food or sleep; she was able to stay up for days at a time without eating and instead be nourished solely by the sun itself, though she greatly preferred not to. Food was a pleasure and sleep both a luxury and a respite to her, one she’d often missed as the sole caretaker of Equestria. In fact, the past week had seen a far more regular sleep cycle for Celestia than she’d had since her last vacation well over a year earlier, at least.

She might have thought that her sister’s return would lessen her workload, but just the opposite had happened. It was inevitable, she supposed; to the modern pony, Luna was an unknown, an enigma who had yet to engender favor from her subjects, and she needed much schooling and instructions on the new ways of the world before she could govern alongside her older sister again, catching up on all she’d missed. Celestia, on the other hoof, was familiar to them, and her presence comforting; until Luna was fully up to speed and accepted as a co-ruler again, it fell to the sun princess to carry both their burdens.

At the moment, however, Celestia knew she’d have little in the way of sleep that night. Between all that had happened with Maya and the ongoing sense of foreboding she had, she found herself prepared to burn the midnight oil once more, standing sentry all night if need be. The difference between this time and all the times before was that she had no guards to call upon or any advisors to discuss strategies with; her only company was her own troubled thoughts, which continued to insist there was danger out there but couldn’t pin down the source. Her instincts were confirmed when a dark portal appeared before her, startling her. She jumped back slightly, lowering her horn for a fight, until she saw the translucent figure within the portal. “Delta?” she asked, surprised as she recognized the unique magical signature of her Court Bard. “What are you…?”

“There’s no time to explain, My Princess,” the spellsinging pegasus mare replied with brief bow, having not even bothered to transform herself into a human for her appearance on Earth. “I apologize for appearing to you in such an abrupt manner and interrupting your vacation, but by your sister's request, I need to escort you into the dreamscape immediately.”

Celestia frowned. For Delta to drop formality completely was rare, and never boded well; ditto for Luna requesting her immediate presence in her nighttime realm. “Very well. May I at least know the reason I am needed…?”

Delta’s next words froze the blood in Celestia’s veins. “The Nightmare has returned and laid claim to Twilight Sparkle’s soul…”

“Is that really how you feel, Maya?”

“V-Jay…” Maya choked out. “I…”

“How did you get in here?!” the Nightmare snarled. “Nopony outside of my former host or her Dream Guard should be able to traverse the dreamscape!”

Vinyl’s response was a beam of focused energy that blew mere inches past the Nightmare’s ear, a heavy bass beat accompanying it. “I ain’t talking to you, plothead. I’m talking to my friend.”

“Nevertheless, it is a valid question,” Trixie said, no less shocked. “How in the name of the sun and moon did you find your way here, Vinyl Scratch?” She was at least acquainted with the other mare, having encountered her once or twice in the past.

Rolling her eyes, Vinyl sighed. “It ain’t important right now, but if you really wanna know? I’ve dabbled in dream magic before. Enough to plant a ward around Maya just in case some nasty dream demon decided she’d make a nice meal in her current condition—I learned about them the hard way during a bad time in my life some years back. When that ward went off, I dove into the dreamscape to find her, and tracked her here. Happy, Trixie?” she arched an eyeridge at the showmare.

Princess Luna and the entirety of the Dream Guard stared at her in disbelief. “You did all of that… with no formal training in dream magic?” Alucard asked, dumbfounded.

“Uh… yeah? It’s not that big a deal,” Vinyl demurred, causing the present members of the guard to gape at her.

“Quite the contrary, Miss Scratch,” Princess Luna countered. “The fact that thou wert able to accomplish such things with no formal study is indicative of a natural talent that few have! Perchance thou wouldst be willing to apply for our Dream Guard when we are finished here?”

Vinyl shook her head. “Appreciate the offer, Princess, but I’ll have to decline. Natural talent or no, my music is my life. I ain’t giving that up for long hours and brutal training.”

“’Tis a shame. But ’tis also, of course, thy prerogative,” Luna acknowledged with a nod.

Trixie coughed into a hoof. “Fascinating though this is... we are about to hear testimony regarding this case. So if you would take a seat in the gallery, Ms. Scratch…?”

“Give me a minute,” Vinyl replied, before turning her attention fully towards Maya. “Look, girl, you’re hurting. I get that. You were forced into what happened and you’ve got every right to be upset at Sparkle. But you really shouldn’t let that blind you to the long-term consequences of what you’re gonna do!”

“What the heck is that supposed to mean, V-jay?” Maya asked, feeling betrayed. “You know what she did to me! Why are you taking her side?”

“’Cause if I don’t, both our worlds are gonna pay the price!” Vinyl exclaimed, starting to sound exasperated. “The Nightmare’s no ordinary demon! She possessed Princess Luna and got her exiled a thousand years ago! Her only goal is the corruption and outright domination of the mortal realms, but she can’t do it without a host! She’s trying to possess Twilight to make sure the only things that can stop her in a host body won't work!”

Maya stared at her. “You can’t be serious! I mean, I get that it’s probably a bad thing, but there’s no way she’d pose an actual threat to Earth. We’ve got tech and such she wouldn’t have any way to combat.”

“So is that to say you don’t care about what happens to Equestria?” Rainbow Dash called out in disgust.

“I thought you better than this, young Maya.” Firefly shook her head in disappointment.

“You aren’t giving her enough credit, Maya,” Vinyl insisted as The Nightmare stifled a laugh, looking content to just sit back and watch the proceedings. “She’s a master manipulator and a powerhouse of dark magic. Moreso if she gets her hooves on Twilight’s body, who’s probably the most magically gifted unicorn there is! Their combined power would be the equal of an alicorn, and it’d take another one to fight her! I admit from my visit that humanity’s got some cool tech, but it wouldn’t matter here—anything you throw at her, she’ll throw right back with twice the force!”

“You flatter me, Vinyl Scratch,” The Nightmare bowed her head and grinned. “Perchance when I rule Equestria again, you would make a fine addition to my court. I will require someone of your talents to compose works extolling the glory of my new rule. I must admit, I rather like the human ‘metal’ genre, and your works aren’t far removed from it.”

“Pass, plothead,” Vinyl barely spared her a glance before turning her attention back to Maya. “Make no mistake, fillyfriend—she’s a real threat to every living being there is! And if you help her win this case, both our worlds will suffer!”

Maya flinched, not from the scenario described but not from the form of address. “I-I’m not your girlfriend, V-Jay…” her voice went shaky again even as her cheeks flushed beneath her bruises.

Vinyl’s lips tightened. “Maybe not. But we’re still friends, Maya. And as your friend, I can’t let you do this.” Without another word, she stepped over to defense bench and took her place at a surprised Mia’s left. “Maybe The Nightmare’s right and your sister and Phoenix can’t cross-examine you. But I can!” she announced, then turned to Trixie. “With Your Honor’s permission that is…?”

The showmare stared at her fellow unicorn for a moment. She knew the DJ had been a prosecutor, if not a very good one… but she could also think of no one else present who could do the job. “Trixie regrets she sees no other choice in the matter. Does either side object?”

“I do, Your Honor,” The Nightmare looked angry. “Considering what they did, Miss Scratch has severe conflicts of interest of her own.”

“What they did?” Phoenix repeated while Maya just looked away; from her reaction, Phoenix was able to put the remaining pieces together, his eyes going wide. “Wait. You mean she and Vinyl…” he turned to Mia, whose only reply was a curt nod.

This time, Vinyl cut his question off, raising her voice and pointing a hoof across the pit. “Mine aren’t any worse than yours, Nightmare! You’re trying to convict her to take her as a host! It doesn’t any get more compromised than that! The only difference is that unlike Ms. Fey and The Phoenix here, you don’t give a horse’s backside about not hurting her!”

“And you do?” The Nightmare all but snickered. “If that were true, you would not be willing to press her at such a terribly vulnerable point. Or tell me, Ms. Scratch, do you simply have ulterior motives of your own?” The Nightmare suggested with a leer.

“Yeah, do you, V-Jay?” Maya demanded to know.

Vinyl sighed and closed her eyes. “Maybe I do. But you know what? It doesn’t matter right now.” She opened her eyes back up and met Maya’s gaze evenly with her own. “I’ll do it ’cause somepony’s gotta be the grown-up, and for once it may as well be me. I’ll do it ’cause I know what’s at stake and if it means sacrificing my friendship and anything else I might share with her to save her, I’ll hate it but I’ll do it. ’Cause I can step away and go back home and she never has to see me again if she doesn’t want to, but Phoenix and her sister here don’t have that option if they want to help her later.” She reeled off a list of reasons Phoenix found surprisingly compelling. “So what’s wrong, Nightie? Afraid one mediocre ex-prosecutor DJ is any sort of threat?” she goaded.

To little surprise, the appeal to her pride worked as the alicorn apparition all but cackled. “You? Hardly. In that case, the prosecution withdraws its objections, Your Honor,” The Nightmare announced, looking greatly amused. “As Miss Scratch did not exactly cover herself in legal glory in the cases she prosecuted, I can scarcely imagine she would do much better as a defense attorney. Matching wits with her should be amusing, to say the least.”

“Uh… are you sure you’re up to this, Vinyl?” Phoenix had to ask, inwardly agreeing with The Nightmare. She really wasn’t effective in the Sonata Tarot trial… maybe a bit better than Winston Payne, but that isn’t exactly saying much… he kept the thought to himself.

“I am,” she promised, letting the human pair see the determination in her eyes. “I can do this. I admit I ain’t any Octavia, but this is personal and I got a reason to fight. Don’t worry, I’ll make her see the light,” she promised, her jaw set.

“Oh, so you’re taking their side, V-Jay? Some friend you are!” Maya spat out, her eyes watering and lip quivering.

“I am your friend, Maya,” Vinyl said evenly, closing her eyes again briefly. “But sometimes being a friend means you gotta tell ponies things they don’t want to hear. Sometimes it means keeping them from doing things you know they’ll regret. Sometimes it means helping that friend see the light even if you know they might hate you for it afterwards.” With that, she lowered her shades back over her eyes.

“So let’s do this, sister!” she announced, pointing a hoof across the pit at The Nightmare in challenge, who grinned and showed her teeth. “Let’s hear some testimony. ’Cause I’m gonna use it to make you see the truth, fillyfriend, one way or another…”

“Very well. If there are no further objections, we will begin this witness’s testimony,” Trixie brought her gavel down, wondering if the trial she now found herself in had been set up with the express purpose of parading past her all the most annoying individuals she’d ever met.

“About time!” Maya groused.

“Before we begin, a moment, Your Honor,” The Nightmare spoke up, wearing her sly grin again. “As both the witness’s older sister and her prospective paramour have recused themselves from cross-examining her, they cannot be present behind the defense bench. I therefore request they remove themselves from this trial and very dream for the duration of the witness’s testimony.”

Both Phoenix and Mia shouted at once. “We may not be performing the cross, but we’re still representing our client! We can still stand in the co-counsel position!” Phoenix pointed out, not about to leave Twilight’s side.

“As I’m afraid their very presence is upsetting to this witness, the prosecution must insist on this arrangement, Your Honor. Otherwise they may taint her testimony, even without meaning to… and I do not think it a stretch to say that they may indeed mean to.” She bared her teeth again.

Trixie grimaced as she brought down her gavel to silence a sudden uproar of indignation. “This court finds the prosecution’s objection has merit based on the situation presented. Any objection, Ms. Scratch?”

Vinyl’s lips tightened, feeling a bit less secure without the two more skilled and experienced attorneys at her side. Relax, filly. You knew this wouldn’t be easy. Doesn’t mean you can’t do this… “None, Your Honor. Can’t argue with her logic, much as I wish otherwise. But rather than remove them entirely, I do ask that they be allowed to remain in the courtroom, able to watch events that may transpire from the gallery. That way, if we end up moving to another witness, they’ll still be up to speed and can take back over if need be.”

Trixie nodded in some relief. “A fair compromise. Does the prosecution object?”

The Nightmare hesitated, then smiled. “As I sincerely doubt there will be any witnesses past this one, I will accede to the request. In fact, perhaps this is preferable—for that way they can observe my victory and be utterly helpless to prevent it!” she closed her eyes and smiled again.

“Hey! What am I, the third wheel here?” Maya suddenly spoke up. “Don’t I get a say in this?”

Trixie looked at her in annoyance and disdain. “You are a witness, not counsel or co-counsel, Maya Fey. Your say will be your testimony, so you can stay silent until the grown-ups are through talking,” she all but sneered, causing Phoenix’s lips to tighten, both for recognizing a line Sonata Tarot had originally used on Trixie in Rainbow Dash's trial and for quickly guessing what Maya’s reaction to be spoken down to like a child would be.

“Listen, you ice queen idiot! I am a co-counsel! At least I always was until she came along!” she pointed an accusing finger at Twilight again, who looked no less confused than earlier.

“Well, you aren’t here!” Trixie brought her gavel down and then flared her horn to slap a cone of silence around the still-squawking girl, who hadn’t yet figured out she could will it away if she so wished. “Charming assistant you have, Wrong. I don’t know how you stand her. In any event, the prosecution’s objection is upheld. By my order, you and your mentor must leave the pit. You may watch the proceedings from the gallery, but you may not participate in any way, shape, or form from it. I hear so much as a single objection from either of you, I’ll penalize the defense and order your immediate removal… or ask our resident Princess to do it. Clear?”

“Clear, Your Honor,” they both said, reluctantly leaving the defense bench and walking up to join Twilight’s friends, who immediately cleared space for them. Mia knew that not even Luna could force an ascended spirit such as herself to leave, but preferred it not to reach the point that she had to contemplate breaking the rules of the trial to stay. If I do, I may save Maya but lose Twilight… she sensed grimly, ruefully giving The Nightmare credit for a surprise and superb strategy, one that even for all her angelic power had trapped her between a rock and a hard place. Don’t let us down, Vinyl Scratch. For the fate of not just Twilight and Phoenix but two entire worlds now rests on your shoulders...

For Phoenix’s part, he realized there was little he could offer this testimony anyway, not knowing what had happened to Maya, praying that the pony DJ proved a better defense attorney than a prosecutor, also appreciating the bind The Nightmare had placed them both in. How do we get out of this one? He didn’t yet know. Both Earth and Equestria now hangs in the balance, and all I can think of is the two people closest to me. Does that make me noble, or selfish? He suddenly wasn’t sure as he sat beside Applejack, at least mildly glad he wasn’t next to Fluttershy, who he was still having trouble looking at. Get out of this first, figure out how I’m going to deal with her later… if there even is a later… he swallowed as he thought.

“Fear not, Mister Wright,” Rarity told him, placing her hoof over his hand. “You and Ms. Fey did well, and I daresay Twilight knows you’re here deep down where The Nightmare cannot reach. If anypony can break free of this, Twilight can.”

“She’s right, Phoenix,” Mia told him as she sat beside him as well. “Twilight’s stronger than you know, but remember she still needs to feel your strength. To quote someone who once meant much to me… a lawyer is someone who smiles no matter how bad it gets,” she said, making a point of wearing one herself.

“I know, chief.” He nodded jerkily. “I just hate not feeling in control. Not being able to help!” he whispered to her as Rarity’s hoof squeezed his hand.

“That goes for all o’ us partner,” Applejack agreed from Mia’s left “Weren’t any fun watching Rainbow’s trial and not being able to help then either.”

“You have helped, Phoenix. But we have to trust Vinyl now,” his late mentor whispered back. “Take it from me—that mare’s definitely got some serious strength and smarts. I know she didn’t do well from the other side of the pit, but maybe she was miscast before and having someone to fight for is all she ever needed…”

“Ahem. May we continue?” The Nightmare asked with a triumphant look at Mia. “The sooner Miss Fey testifies, the sooner we can reach our inevitable guilty verdict and Vinyl Scratch will learn just how out of her league she really is,” she said as much to her angelic opponent as to Vinyl herself.

Far from being intimidated, Vinyl grinned, making a show of removing her shades and cleaning them, showing off her red eyes for a moment. “That so? I wouldn’t be so overconfident, Nightie. May interest you to know that your army is gone.”

She blinked at that, and so did a surprised Luna. “What?” they both spoke at once.

Vinyl’s grin got bigger. “It’s true. The Dream Guard wiped it out… with a bit of help from yours truly,” she said as several more dream guard members arrived, saluting Alucard (and briefly marveling at the presence of so many legends in one place) before taking up more guard positions around the room. “So you’re now all alone without any backup, filly. There’s no escape, and no help for you now. You lose your hold on Twilight, and you’re as good as dead!” She lowered her head and bared her teeth.

The dream demon looked perturbed for just a moment, then smiled again. “A Nightmare just can’t get good help, it seems. But no matter. My army’s ranks are easy enough to replenish, and your threats are meaningless to me, Vinyl Scratch. But since we’re making them, know that I will make sure you suffer mightily for your insults.” Her eyes gleamed as she showed her own rows of sharp teeth.

“Aw, don’t want me composing music for you now? And here I was hoping to land a new contract,” Vinyl put on a pouting look, to snickers from the gallery. “Now how about we do this while we’re still young? Well, then again, I know you aren’t…” she taunted; meanwhile, trapped inside the soundproof bubble, unable to hear or be heard, Maya just fumed.

“Enough!” Trixie’s gavel came down, suddenly having a new appreciation how The Judge in Rainbow Dash’s trial must have felt in the face of her own taunts and insults towards Phoenix Wright. It’s like I’m having to babysit a room full of whiny, bratty FOALS! “Both the prosecution and defense will keep their backbiting to a minimum! And the same goes for you, Maya Fey!” she ordered as she removed the soundproof shield from around Maya. “You keep a civil tongue and limit your testimony to only the questions asked! Fail to do so, and you will be found in contempt and your testimony expunged!” she made her eyes glow blue for emphasis.

Maya badly wanted to say that the only truly contemptible ones in the courtroom were Twilight and Trixie, but she held her fire, her ire up even further for being put into time-out like a misbehaving child. “Yes, Your Honor,” she hissed out, her fists clenched at her sides.

Trixie stared at her a moment more, then nodded. “Very well. The Prosecution may begin.”

“Thank you, Your Honor.” The Nightmare’s glittered as she spoke, but took on a more gentle tone now that Maya could hear her again. “Miss Fey, to repeat my initial statement, you have been called here to offer testimony against Twilight Sparkle regarding the deleterious effects her mating magic had on you. So to start, would you please tell this court exactly what that said magic did you, including the events that transpired over the past day?”

“If it’ll put Sparkle away? That’ll be my pleasure!” her eyes started to glimmer with tears again as both Twilight and Phoenix looked at her in confusion.

Music: Witness Condemnation ~ Moderato

—— Witness Testimony ——

Consent not given

Twilight Sparkle is a menace to not just Nick, but to everyone she meets! Two nights ago, I was at a nightclub with Princess Celestia, when it hit me! It was a wave of magic and lust that infected everybody on that dance floor! The Princess removed me from that scene before I could be taken advantage of by the other patrons, but the damage was done! Just like Sparkle, I couldn’t stop thinking about Nick and sex afterwards, and ended up having to be screwed by V-Jay there to be free of it! Her magic corrupted me in the most disgusting and immoral manner imaginable! And I’ll never forgive her for it! She all but raped me, and if she hurt me this way, what is she doing to him?

By the time her testimony was complete, a silence had fallen over the courtroom, broken only by the sound of Maya’s sudden sniffles as she finished and her anger gave way to sorrow, the wounds on her face and body suddenly looking very fresh and raw.

Twilight was looking at her in sorrow, her own eyes starting to water as she felt the full force of the human girl’s rage and pain, helpfully fed her by The Nightmare, whose tendrils started to sink deeper into her again. Watching from the gallery, Phoenix was no less shocked, looking to Mia for confirmation, who gave it with a terse nod and a very clipped explanation.

The Nightmare let her testimony hang in the air for a moment, allowing it to sink in further both with Twilight and the greater gallery. “A terrible tale indeed. I know it wasn’t easy to share, Miss Fey. Thank you for finding the courage to do so,” The Nightmare said in solemn tones that made lips curl into sneers throughout the courtroom.

“I see…” even Trixie sounded subdued. “So you were severely and adversely affected by a climactic magical burst?” she asked the young mystic to clarify.

“YES!” Maya shout burst like it was torn from her very soul; she then fell back against the rail, and buried her head in her hands, sobbing again. "Yes..."

Vinyl’s frown was rather pronounced. “Excuse me, Your Honor. I don’t think everything’s quite as she says it. I’d like the chance to cross-examine her.”

“That is your right, of course,” The Nightmare made a show of acquiescence. “But I would hope, Ms. Scratch, that you would be gentle on our poor witness and respect the very real pain she feels,” she closed her eyes and looked down in a pose that approximated solemnity. “Else she may not be able to continue her testimony, and your cross-examination would have to be immediately concluded.”

And how much of that pain is real, rather than being amplified by you? Vinyl thought sourly. She wasn’t stupid; she’d seen the tendrils of darkness around both Twilight and Maya, and as there was only a single being present that could manipulate such things, it wasn’t hard to determine what was going on. “Given that you feed on such things, you’d know,” she said out loud. Before The Nightmare could retort, she turned to Maya. “Alright, fillyfriend, just to warn you; ‘gentle’ and ‘easy’ are two separate things.”

“Not your girlfriend, V-jay…” Maya muttered.

—— Cross-Examination ——

Twilight Sparkle is a menace to not just Nick, but everyone she meets!

“‘Everyone she meets’ sounds a bit broad there, sister. She’s well-liked in Ponyville, got a brother and parents who love her, and five friends back in the gallery there who’d die for her,” Vinyl pointed out as much to Twilight as to Maya.

“You got THAT right!” Rainbow Dash’s voice was the most prominent among the shouts of agreement that erupted.

“Though the witness may be engaging in some understandable exaggeration, Twilight Sparkle is far from universally liked. I believe that you yourself, Your Honor, can attest to that fact?” The Nightmare’s grin turned wry.

Trixie’s lips tightened as her gavel came down. “That is not at issue here. The witness statement is struck as argumentative and irrelevant, and she is reminded again to limit her testimony to the questions asked!”

“Thank you, Your Honor,” Vinyl said with a bow. Turning back to Maya, she said, “So how about you tell us the real problem, rather than slinging insults?”

Maya glared at her, but nodded. “Fine. Be that way, V-Jay… for all the good it’ll do you!”

Two nights ago, I was at a nightclub with Princess Celestia, when it hit me!

“When what hit you?” Vinyl automatically asked, causing both Phoenix and Mia to grimace.

Trixie looked annoyed, and The Nightmare no less so. “If you can wait a single sentence, you will have your answer, Ms. Scratch. Or do you feel compelled to ask irrelevant questions of your own?” The Nightmare asked.

Far from being chagrined, Vinyl simply smirked. “I do everything for a reason, Nightie. Whether those reasons are clear or not ain’t my problem.” She turned back to Maya again. “As you were saying, fillyfriend…?”

Maya blushed and huffed in annoyance; Mia, however, noticed the edge of her lip twitching slightly, wondering along with Phoenix what Vinyl hoped to do by deliberately tweaking Maya. “As I was saying…”

It was a wave of magic and lust that infected everybody on that dance floor!

“Help me out here, Maya. You’re saying everyone there was affected the same as you!”

“Yes! Well… okay, maybe not exactly the same as me…” she hastily added at Vinyl’s raised eyeridge. “But everyone there was affected!”

Vinyl made a show of removing her shades and cleaning them again before replying, an amused glint in her red eyes. “Really. Well, that’s kind of funny if you ask me. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I didn’t hear anything from Celly or anyone else about some dance party ending in an orgy.” Her grin got a bit more pronounced as she spoke with the air of somepony who’d seen it happen before.

The call came from the left of the defense bench. “Thou shalt mind thy manners and call our sister Princess Celestia, young minstrel!” Luna immediately admonished.

“Well said! After all, proper form of address is paramount… Lulu.” The Nightmare added with a twinkle, causing several of the newly arrived Dream Guard to giggle before Luna glared them silent.

“Lulu, huh? Have to remember that one…” Vinyl agreed with a growing grin of her own as she replaced her glasses. “So let me ask you direct, fillyfriend—how was everyone else ‘affected’?”

Dammit, why is she teasing her like that? We need to win her back to our side! Phoenix wondered again while beside her, Mia likewise couldn’t understand why the pony DJ kept trying to throw what happened in her hurting younger sister’s face.

“See if we’re friends after this…” Maya muttered under her breath as her angry flush got deeper, but she replied. “They got a lot more affectionate with each other! Started groping and kissing and everything!” she shivered at the memory.

Infuriatingly, Vinyl’s grin only grew further. “That’s it? Seriously?” she asked in an almost-rhetorical tone. “Sounds like any old DJ-PON3 dance party to me!”

The Nightmare’s objection overrode the laughter that erupted. “Surely you can do better than this, Vinyl Scratch,” The Nightmare rolled her eyes. “I think the point, which should be obvious to everyone in this courtroom except my un-esteemed opponent, is that their behavior immediately after being struck by the magical effect was not normal or natural, and therefore it could be said that Miss Sparkle’s lack of magical restraint was responsible for many involuntary sexual acts that night, ones given without consent of those they affected,” she said with a glance at Twilight, who slumped again in her seat.

“Humans, as is already well-established, have no natural magical defense and could not resist the effects of Miss Sparkle broadcasting her mating magic. Miss Fey alone among them recognized what was happening due to the ethereal awareness imparted by her mystic training. But in the end, she could no more resist it than they.”

Phoenix had to bite his tongue to keep from firing an immediate objection and Mia likewise shifted forward fractionally in her chair, gazing intently at Vinyl Scratch. Trixie apparently expected one as well, turning immediately to her left, but the unicorn mare’s only response was a raised eyeridge.

“Does the defense have anything to say in response?” Trixie prompted, but to the agony of Mia and Phoenix, Vinyl just shook her head. The Nightmare frowned as well, but only briefly, wondering immediately why her bait hadn’t been taken.

The Princess removed me from that scene before I could be taken advantage of by the other patrons, but the damage was done!

“Sorry… just how were you afraid you’d be ‘taken advantage’ of, fillyfriend?” Vinyl asked in a mildly mocking tone that made both Mia and Phoenix again wonder what in the name of heaven and earth Vinyl thought she was doing.

“Is there a point to this question other than antagonizing an emotionally fragile witness, Your Honor?” The Nightmare spoke up, a brief moment of worry crossing her face as she picked up on the first inkling of a possible purpose for why Vinyl was acting so oddly.

“She said it, I got the right to challenge her on it, Trixie,” Vinyl gave a very deliberate shrug.

Trixie was scarcely less exasperated. “It’s Your Honor, you bass-blasting buffoon! And though you may have the right to ask that question, I’d better start seeing some relevance for it other than embarrassing her or I’ll have to end this cross immediately. Is that clear?”

To her annoyance, Vinyl just shrugged and wiped her glasses again. “Funny, Trixie. I seem to recall you weren’t quite so standoffish that one time I visited Zecora’s place looking for a way to boost my music magic. That Zap Apple you ate really did a number on you, didn’t it?” she gave a knowing grin. “Have to say, I really did like hearing that Neigh Orleans accent you put on! But not as much as I enjoyed you hitting on me, filly…” her grin got even wider.

Trixie flinched hard and her eyes went wide. “But… that… you promised you wouldn’t…” Trixie sputtered. She turned beet red as Twilight’s friends gaped, then grinned at her and a series of snickers erupted from the various spirits and Dream Guard members as well.

“Wouldn’t what, filly?” Vinyl echoed, letting the still-unknown answer hang in the air. “What wouldn’t I tell them about?” she challenged again, at which point Trixie clammed up and signaled for Vinyl to proceed as The Nightmare just glared. “Now then, where were we…? Ah yes.” She turned her attention back on Maya. “So how ‘bout it, fillyfriend? What were you afraid would happen?”

Maya looked at her in disbelief. “That’d I’d… get…” her gaze went glazed for a moment, visible even behind the black eye she was sporting.

“Get what?” Vinyl prompted. “Get groped and kissed and everything?”

“Yes!” Maya exclaimed, though the sudden flushing of her cheeks was not lost on anyone. “I-I mean if I stayed I might have…” she couldn’t finish her own sentence, shocked at the words she nearly said.

“Might have willingly taken part in it?” Vinyl guessed immediately, rubbing her chin with a hoof in a manner reminiscent of Phoenix.

“Speculative and argumentative, Your Honor,” The Nightmare’s frown was deepening as she started to see the outlines of Vinyl’s strategy.

“What? NO!” a cringing Maya said before Trixie could rule.

“Withdrawn,” Vinyl immediately replied and instead gave Maya a cockeyed look. “Sorry, guess I’m just confused again. I mean, why were you afraid? Are you saying all that groping and kissing was happening against the will and without consent of those doing it?”

Maya blinked, remembering the scene inside the club again, trying to stop the images suddenly flooding her head of what might have happened, each more titillating than the last. “N-No, but…” her voice went shaky as she tried to will her sudden and inexplicable excitement back to bay, her inner emotional reactions only enhanced by the dreamscape.

“No buts, fillyfriend. This is relevant. Were any of those advances uninvited or not?” She challenged the young human girl directly.

“Your Honor, once again, there is no point to these questions other than to humiliate the defendant and force her to needlessly relive a very traumatic experience. There should be no doubt to this court that she could not defend herself against such advances, and therefore could not properly offer her consent to them any more than she offered it to Ms. Scratch there!”

Music: “I Want My Tears Back (Instrumental Ver.)” by Nightwish

Vinyl finally made one herself, pointing across the courtroom pit as Phoenix did, the sharp twang of a materialized bass cannon underscoring her words. “Ignoring the question of how you know about that, Nightie,” she began, leaving Phoenix and Mia wondering anew why she wasn’t pressing it, “the point of these questions is to prove two things. And if Your Honor will allow me to continue, I’ll be able to demonstrate both!” I’m sorry to do this to you Maya, and you may hate me for it, but if you don’t see the truth here and now, we’re as good as dead…

“Very well, Vinyl Scratch, but make it quick! Two questions, and if they don’t prove your point, this cross is over!” Trixie warned again. “Secrets or no…” she added under her breath, deciding if Vinyl lost, the remains of her reputation was the least of her worries.

“Noted,” Vinyl replied easily. “So answer the question, Maya. Was anything you saw at that nightclub non-consensual before or after what happened?”

“Well, no, but…” she had a sudden and very vivid memory of a woman she was watching at the party being groped after the wave hit, and far from being unhappy, encouraging more of it.

“And once Sparkle’s magic hit, did you see random people suddenly start hooking up, or was it just existing friends and couples having a bit of fun?” Vinyl mused aloud. “I’m just trying to see where the danger was here.”

“But that’s not why…” she clutched her head between her hands again, afraid to voice the thoughts she was suddenly having, the same ones she’d had back then.

“You’re right, Maya. It’s not!” the unicorn mare said in satisfaction. “And the fact the only people who started doing stuff were those already eager and willing means that first, you weren’t going to be taken advantage of there by random strangers… unless you wanted to be, that is,” she added with a near leer. “And second, Sparkle’s magic didn’t make anyone do anything they weren’t already inclined to, just maybe loosened them up a bit the same way a spot of cider or that super-special party punch of Pinkie’s does,” she said with a grin up into the gallery, where Pinkie sat. “So given that, I think it’s fair to say you weren’t afraid of what they would do to you, fillyfriend. So the question then becomes, what were you afraid of?” she said with sly smile of someone who already knew the answer.

“Stop it! Stop it!” her voice got more shrill, leaving Mia amazed and appalled at how ungently Vinyl was handling her sister. The Nightmare’s right though. Neither I nor Phoenix would have been able to press her like this…

The Nightmare cut off her chain of thought. “Vinyl Scratch can twist what happened all she wants, Your Honor. That doesn’t change the fact that Ms. Fey was forced by Twilight’s Sparkle’s careless use of mating magic into a situation that left her unable to offer true consent and potentially very vulnerable to predation.”

“For once, we agree, Nightie…” Vinyl said evenly. “But I trust you see now where this is going, Your Honor?”

“Much as I wish I didn’t, yes,” Trixie stated with a rap of her gavel. She didn’t want to hear about the human girl’s mating mores any more than Sparkle and Wrong—Maya Fey had sex with VINYL SCRATCH??? she had realized earlier with a shudder—but though her fellow unicorn mare was skirting the edge of the allowable, thus far she had not fallen off that fine line she was walking. “Nevertheless, you’ve milked this line of testimony dry. Move on!” she ordered, and Vinyl did so.

Just like Sparkle, I couldn’t stop thinking about Nick and sex afterwards, and ended up having to be screwed by V-Jay there to be free of it!

Vinyl made her first direct challenge to Maya’s testimony. “Sorry, maybe I misheard you, fillyfriend. Did you just say I had to screw you to be free of it?” Vinyl sounded as genuinely offended as Phoenix was by the implication that Vinyl had indeed taken advantage of Maya in her state. “Because as flattering as that is, that’s not the way I remember it.”

Maya bit her lip again. “Oh, come off it, V-Jay! You were there! Celestia brought you over just to… just to s-screw me…” her voice went shaky again and for the first time Phoenix noticed that some of her wounds seemed to be healing.

“Oh, did she, now?” The Nightmare spoke up. “‘Twould seem your sister is as perverse as ever, Lulu. At least we know where you get it from.” she teased as Luna flushed again.

“She brought me over to help you, Maya. Because you were afraid and unwilling to help yourself, remember?”

“Assumes facts assuredly not in evidence, Your Honor. We cannot accept the tainted word of the defense counsel for such things, particularly when the witness herself denies them.”

“Then perhaps you will accept my word,” a new voice broke in as the center of the courtroom pit shimmered and disgorged several Dream Guard members and Delta Requiem… as well as a very large new figure, one that caused every pony present, living or dead, to bow.

“Sister!” Luna exclaimed. “We must apologize for summoning you…”

“My Princess!” The Bolt Knights chorused, and even the Red Talons lowered their heads in respect.

“My noble knights…” she acknowledged in wonder, her eyes flitting from Twilight to them, lingering on the gryphons in surprise as well. It was rare the sun princess could be caught off guard for everything she had seen and experienced in her long life, but finding herself in the dream realm amongst so many old friends and departed spirits was clearly disconcerting, even for her.

“Why hello, Tia,” The Nightmare gave her a toothy grin, sketching her a mocking bow as she cast a spell that made Maya seemingly fall asleep, trying to ensure she would not hear the exchange that followed. “Greetings and welcome to my realm, former sister. I must say, I’m so glad you’re here. You’re just in time to witness your greatest defeat. Very shortly, your prized pupil and precious Element of Magic will be mine, both body and soul. And there is nothing you can do to to stop it.” She leaned over her bench and grinned.

Forcing herself to focus in the very unfamiliar environs she found herself in, the sun princess turned her steeliest gaze on The Nightmare. “I would say this is a pleasure, Nightmare, but I much prefer to see this as being allowed witness to your long-awaited execution,” she gave the ethereal entity a thin smile and a look of pure hate that none living had ever seen from her before.

“Why, you wound me, Tia. But then again, you do so often disappoint me. I was so looking forward to battling you again when I returned from exile. But then what did you do? Surrender without a fight.” She sighed and shook her head.

Celestia’s lip curled. “Because I swore an oath a thousand years ago that I would never again raise my hoof or horn against my own sister, even possessed as she was. And because I knew full well that it was not my place to defeat you this time. Not if I wished to have her back and not be banished again,” she said with a regretful glance at Luna, whose eyes glimmered for a moment. “Make no mistake, Nightmare, I will not allow you take yet another soul from me, pony or human. I have been brought here to help defeat you, and I will start by confirming the truth of Ms. Scratch’s words,” she turned her attention to the bench, no less disconcerted to see a badly flustered and equally uncertain Trixie sitting there.

“Princess…” she bowed her head nervously from the bench. “Trixie assures you she was not placed here by choice and will remove herself from this bench immediately if you wish…”

Celestia shook her head, her previously sharp voice turning far more gentle. “Much as I may wish to preside in your place, Trixie Lulamoon, I cannot. The terms of this trial have already been set and from what I have been told, any verdict rendered by me in your place would be meaningless if Twilight is not convinced of her innocence.” She paused long enough to glare at The Nightmare again. “Just know for now you are not in trouble with me, Ms. Lulamoon. I have been informed as to what is happening, and… much as I may wish to intervene, I have no authority here nor my sister’s power. What I can do is offer this court my assurance that what Ms. Scratch said is true—that I did summon her to earth to help Ms. Fey, because it was clear she could not find the courage to help herself, and because I felt that… as she needed someone she trusted implicitly, it would be very inappropriate for me to do so,” she bowed her head.

“Inappropriate? Why, you disappoint yet again me, Tia,” The Nightmare put on a pouting look, though Phoenix thought she caught a glimmer of annoyance behind her facade as well. “But a few centuries ago you would never have hesitated.”

Celestia flushed, but replied. “Because unlike you, I’ve changed, Nightmare. And as I recall, you were always afraid to face me on a battlefield, resorting to cheap tricks and senseless sacrifice for your victories. So face me in this trial if you dare,” she goaded, flaring her large wings before the apparition.

“Your timing couldn’t be better, Princess. So, Nightie, are you gonna make us go through this entire song and dance, or will you simply concede the point?” Vinyl grinned, unperturbed by Celestia’s presence.

The Nightmare merely smiled, far more chilling than before. “As tempting a distraction as it might be to humiliate you on a witness stand, Celestia… methinks not. We are nearly at trial’s end, and I see no reason to delay my acquisition of a new host any longer. There will be plenty of time for fun and games once I have Twilight as a host. It should be quite interesting watching you and Lulu try to beat me without the Elements and without harming Twilight.”

Celestia actually sneered. “We shall see… coward,” she couldn’t resist one final dig before turning her attention back to Trixie, exchanging a brief nod of acknowledgment and approval with Layan Kaval, to Rainbow’s surprise. “As my word is not challenged, may it be accepted as authoritative, Your Honor?” she gave a short bow to the bench and Trixie, which only flustered her more.

“No objections, Your Honor,” a still-grinning Vinyl quickly said.

“Nor from I,” The Nightmare made it unanimous.

“Very well then… Princess. This court accepts your statement as corroborating testimony.” Trixie still sounded flustered as she marked her ruling with another gavel rap, wondering who else would yet visit the trial before all was said and done. The Princesses are here, The Nightmare is here, Snarkle and Wrong are here… by the winter winds, who else is LEFT?

“I thank this court for its indulgence,” Celestia gave another bow, then turned to Twilight. “I’m here, my pupil,” she told her, though Twilight’s glazed eyes seemed to look right through her. “And I will not allow her to take you.”

“She cannot see or hear you, Tia. And even if she could, ‘tis not in your power to prevent,” The Nightmare taunted as she released Maya from her sleeping spell, only to frown as Twilight gave a delayed but deliberate bow.

* * * * *

“Okay, then. So getting back on topic, fillyfriend…” Vinyl turned her attention back to re-rousted Maya, who took the word no better than before, “As the Princess herself just confirmed, I seem to recall that the reason I got summoned wasn’t because you were trapped in that state. It was because you were unwilling to do what was necessary to get out of it,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, and you were only too happy to help out!” Maya spat back.

Vinyl closed her eyes briefly. “I was happy to help. But answer me this: was my help even necessary, Maya?” she asked the human girl. “Or could you have just done it on your own?”

Maya’s cheeks flushed again. “Oh, come off it! I didn’t know I could!”

“That ain’t true, Fillyfriend, and you know it.”

“She’s badgering the witness, Your Honor. If Vinyl Scratch has any proof the witness is lying she should produce it immediately, else the denial stands.”

“Do you have such proof, Vinyl Scratch?” Trixie quickly asked, praying that she did.

Vinyl smiled. “Physical proof? No. But we’re in the dream realm, meaning all memories are within easy reach. So we could just have Luna there pull our memories of the whole affair and see if they match…”

“NO!” Maya somehow both paled and flushed at the same time.

“…but is that really necessary, Fillyfriend?” The unicorn mare finished with a sly grin. “You really want everyone to see what happened from both our points of view, or will you just answer truthfully?”

Maya’s lip quivered violently, and her eyes glimmered. “Fine! You win! You said if I wanted relief, all I had to do was indulge it. But then you said that you’d be happy to help! Encouraged me to say yes!”

“And did you, Vinyl Scratch?” Trixie asked as The Nightmare smirked and Mia whispered the explanation in Phoenix’s ear, causing him to flush again at the scene she described.

“I said I’d help her if she wanted me to, yes,” she admitted immediately. “But in the end, the choice to have me help was hers, Your Honor.”

“Really. Because it’s starting to sound like you helped yourself, Vinyl Scratch,” The Nightmare suggested with a leer of her own. “Are you sure you didn’t pressure her into it? Or do we need to charge you with rape as well?” she further grinned.

For the first time, Vinyl’s lips visibly tightened, telling Phoenix a raw nerve had been struck. “Answer this question yes or no, Maya. Did I offer to leave and give you privacy?”

“Yes…” she grated out after a moment of silence.

“Did I make the offer more than once?” the DJ mare followed up, but this time Maya didn’t answer, looking to Phoenix and Mia like she was trying hard not to.

“Answer the question, Miss Fey,” Trixie prompted, though the young girl’s reaction left her no doubt as to that answer.

“Yes…” she finally said, barely audibly.

“And both times you told me to stay?” Vinyl asked, receiving only a very curt nod. “So my final question is this, filly—did I do anything to you without asking?”

“No…” she admitted after another short hesitation, balling her hands into fists and punctuating her words with a hiss. “But I didn’t ask for any of what happened!” she belatedly remembered, pounding her fists on the rail in frustration.

“Neither did I, fillyfriend. But it happened and we gotta deal with it. And in your case, that means dealing what you’re feeling and not hiding behind Twi’s magic, blaming her for what you just can’t face.”

“What are you talking about?” Maya gaped.

Her magic corrupted me in the most disgusting and immoral manner imaginable! And I’ll never forgive her for it!

Music: Disturbance of Fate Lvl. 1

“Corrupted you, Maya? Really?” Vinyl only shook her head reproachfully. “Tell me, fillyfriend… what did I tell you when you made that same claim to me earlier today?”

When Maya didn’t reply, Vinyl did for her. “That mating magic doesn’t work that way. That it doesn’t change who you really want or desire, only heightens those feelings,” she pointed out. “And that brings up another point—that Twi’s magic shouldn’t have been able to get hold of you like that… unless you already had those feelings. Unless you had the same desires to be with Phoenix as she had, enabling her mating magic to find a host that could use it to that end within you as well."

“You are a musician, not a magical expert, Vinyl Scratch! So kindly do not expouse on subjects you know nothing about! I request - ”

Vinyl gave an audible snort. “If the subject is mating magic, you think I don’t know what it can do and what its limits are? Trust me, Nightie, I’ve learned through plenty of experience, including some very hard lessons. And any unicorn knows you can’t use a spell or mating aura to force someone to love you. It doesn’t work that way; there has to be some kind of spark or connection to begin with. All it can ultimately do is help along or enhance what’s already there… smooth the way, both figuratively and literally.” She closed her eyes as if in pleasant memory.

Music: Disturbance of Fate Lvl. 2

Both Phoenix and Twilight cringed, guessing what was coming. “Then clearly, you know very little about what a mating aura backed by a unicorn as powerful as Twilight Sparkle can do, Vinyl Scratch.” She showed her teeth in a grin. “As fun as this trial has been, I think it’s time to end it. Your Honor, the prosecution requests that Phoenix Wright step forward at once.”

“On what grounds?” Trixie gave her an odd look, exchanging a glance with an equally quizzical Vinyl.

Her grin only got larger. “So I may show this court exactly what effect Twilight Sparkle’s mating magic had on Phoenix Wright. Irrevocable evidence of what her limitless lust and lack of control not only did to Miss Maya… but to him.”

“No… please…” Twilight finally spoke. “Don’t do this to him…”

“Wrong, what is she talking about?” Trixie asked, Twilight’s reaction not lost on her or anyone else in the courtroom.

“Yeah, what is she talking about?” Maya demanded to know.

“Well, uh…” a nervous and very flushed Phoenix glanced at Mia, who closed her eyes, but gave him a nod.

“It’ll be okay, Phoenix,” she promised him, placing a hand on his arm. “Let her do it. She’s playing her final trump card now. I expected it earlier, but I’m ready for it…”

If it was anybody but her telling me that, living or dead… Phoenix could only shake his head, but got up to the questioning glances of Twilight’s friends and then very slowly, deliberately, walked down into the courtroom pit, passing between Fell Flight and Blindside before stopping in front of the prosecution’s bench.

Music: Disturbance of Fate Lvl. 3

The Nightmare regarded him almost lazily for a moment before speaking. “Well, Phoenix Wright?” she asked him.

“Well, what?” he rejoined, looking at her nervously, unable to remember the last time he felt so scared, trying hard to put up a brave front not just for himself, but for Twilight. I’ve faced down Manfred von Karma and Damon Gant, intimidating though they were. I can face her down too…

“Playing coy? Very well. Then we shall simply do this the fun way…” she announced as her horn flared blood-pink and a twisted version of a unicorn mating aura washed over him…

Causing him to start getting immediately and very violently aroused, his cheeks flushing and breathing quickening. “Stop it…” he told her, clutching his head between his hands as his artificially induced arousal quickly grew beyond any and all reason. “Stop it!”

“Nick? What’s she doing to you?” an alarmed Maya demanded to know, but got her answer as Phoenix’s clothes were magically and none too gently torn from him, stripping him naked in the middle of the courtroom pit to reveal his altered masculine equipment, now much larger and taking on obvious equine attributes. He closed his eyes tightly at the sight of his own humiliation, but was unable to shut out the shocked and occasionally horrified noises that erupted from the crowd… or the sudden sobs of Twilight as she fell head first against the rail in front of her chair as the Nightmare revealed exactly what had happened to him...

What her own uncontrollable magic had been responsible for.

Music: Disturbance of Fate Lvl. 4

“Holy…” Vinyl couldn’t silence her shock, flipping up her glasses to gawk as in the gallery, Twilight’s friends also stared openmouthed.

“Wow, that’s…” Applejack couldn’t finish her sentence as she removed her hat in amazement, uncertain what to think.

“You did that to him, Egghead?” Rainbow’s tone was more appalled while Rarity summoned a very large and ornate fainting couch to pass out on.

“I didn’t… mean to…” Twilight said between sobs. “I”m so sorry… I broke my promise… I hurt him… Phoenix… everypony… please don’t hate me…” she begged all present for forgiveness, clearly expecting none as she broke down completely, her deeds laid as bare as her stallion.

“Didn’t mean to? Didn’t mean to?” Maya couldn’t stop staring in anger and horror. “Look at what you did to him, you purple-furred menace! Look at what you did to both of us!”

Even Celestia was stunned by the sight as Luna could only close her eyes, believing the worst was about to happen and mentally steeling herself for it. “But… that shouldn’t be possible from a mating aura alone…” the sun princess could only shake her head, wondering why it had never happened to her. Wait… as I think about it, it did once, when…

“Your point is made, Nightmare! Let him go!” Mia demanded, her eyes glowing white as she threatened divine retribution, standing up and flaring her angel wings menacingly but the alicorn apparition only cackled.

“So soon, Mia Fey? I think not!” she savored the moment further by turning him towards Twilight, letting her see again what she’d done to her stallion firsthoof, picking up with her magic and hovering him in front of her. “Look and well, Twilight Sparkle! Look and look well, Maya Fey and all else present! This is what Twilight’s magic did to him! This is why she cannot be trusted with him, or indeed any lover, human or otherwise! For her magic will try to mold them against their will!” she yelled triumphantly as Twilight could only sob.

“Enough!” a disgusted Trixie turned away. “What were you trying to do, Snarkle, turn him into a stallion in stages? As much as I hate to admit it… this is irrefutable evidence of illegal magical influence and spellcasting, transforming Phoenix Wright against his will!”

“Sparkle hurt Nick and me! You have your evidence, so find her guilty, blue-butt! Now!” Maya demanded, tears rolling down her own cheeks as she pounded both fists down again on the rail.

Mia’s cry was thunderous and a wave of angelic energy washed over the entire courtroom, releasing Phoenix from The Nightmare’s power like he was a puppet cut from his strings. “Your Honor. The defense still has the right to examine this… evidence…” she announced as she flew down to a fallen Phoenix and placed both her hands against him in what Trixie could only guess was some kind of healing manner. “And to the end, we wish to call an expert witness that can explain what happened.”

“We do…?” Vinyl wondered aloud.

“Yes, we do…” Mia said easily, helping a visibly shaking Phoenix to his feet, even willing him a fresh suit and his body back to normal. “An expert witness who is ready and only too willing to testify, rather impatiently awaiting my summons,” she announced as her hand went to her neck and she grasped her Magatama, causing it glow brightly as another shaft of light appeared, marking the arrival of yet another spirit.

When it had faded, a collective gasp was heard as the new figure resolved. He was a bearded gray unicorn stallion with an outfit somewhat reminiscent of Trixie’s, but looked to Rarity’s eyes far less tacky on him. He bore a wizard’s hat lined with bells and his back was covered with a blue cape of various hues, studded at points with stars and crescent moons. His head was initially bowed, but quickly raised to lock onto The Nightmare in recognition and anger, and there was a look of surprise followed by genuine worry and wariness in her eyes as she beheld him.

HIs appearance was so sudden and unexpected that even the princesses who once knew him were struck speechless; Trixie was stunned and even Twilight’s eyes widened from the defendant’s chair as she beheld him, though he did not immediately acknowledge the attention given him, continuing only to glare at The Nightmare. Mia was content to let his presence speak for itself for a few seconds, but did finally introduce him.

Author's Note

The nadir has been reached. The Turnabout now begins. I wrote this chapter before Starswirl's return in season 7, and haven't thus far retconned the story to incorporate what we learned about him, but it can work if in this AU he sacrificed himself to stop the Pony of Shadows, who The Nightmare was in fact responsible for creating. Actually, you'll find that my version of Starswirl isn't that different from the show version in terms of attitude and temperment. But you'll find out about all that next chapter, as well as why he has a younger appearance here.

25: The Heart's Turnabout, Part 9 - Expert Opinions

Music: Breaking Point ~ Choking on Ashes

Spike couldn’t sleep.

Twilight was due home in but another two days, but his anxieties continued to get the better of him, his fears trying to convince him that she would decide to stay with Phoenix Wright and never return to Equestria…

Or worse, if she did, she somehow wouldn’t be the same pony she was before.

No matter how many times he told himself differently or read the last letters he’d received from her and Maya assuring him otherwise, some part of him continued to insist that all was not well; that there was a very real danger that Twilight would not keep her promise…

That somehow, Twilight was in danger a world away.

That he’d written the pair earlier that night but had not received a reply didn’t help his anxieties any, and more than once he thought to go out and seek Twilight’s friends, only to decide he’d pestered them enough over the past several days, needing their company after discovering he no longer wanted to stay at the library alone. Even sleeping in Twilight’s bed was no longer helping him; he was resting quite fitfully and whenever he did sleep, dreams gave way to nightmares of being alone and abandoned often enough that he was increasingly afraid to close his eyes.

Still, he was but a baby dragon, and the needs of his young body would not be denied. After two hours of tossing and turning, as well as a whispered prayer to the dragon lords of old, he finally nodded off, only to go into an immediate nightmare of Twilight being menaced by a shadowy figure, of which the only features he could make out were slitted eyes and glowing pointed teeth.

“Twilight!” he called to her and tried to reach her, only to find her being dragged further away from him no matter how fast he ran, finally leaving him on his knees crawling forward, a paw reached out for her in desperation as a murky blackness surrounded her, one he was somehow certain he’d seen once before. “Don’t leave me…” he begged her through tear-filled eyes, only for her to turn towards him, fear and confusion in her eyes.

“Spike… help me…” she called to him in a dull voice. “I don’t know what’s happening…” was the last thing she said before the darkness enveloped her and two new winged figures dressed in the armor of the lunar guard suddenly appeared at his side, causing him to stumble back in shock.

“Sir Spike!”the two bat ponies bowed to him. “By order of the Moon Princess, we are instructed to escort you through the dreamscape to the location of your mistress!”

“Sir Spike? My mistress?” he blinked despite his surprise, having never heard those forms of address before. “Wait… y-you mean Twilight?” he asked in what he thought was forlorn hope, not knowing if what he was seeing was real or not.

“Yes,” they quickly confirmed. “She is in danger, and our princess believes that the presence of her friends will help her…”

Music: “Storytime (Instrumental Ver.)” By Nightwish

“Your Honor, as an expert witness and authority on unicorn magic, including the potential effects of mating aura, I request the immediate testimony of the greatest sorcerer and most learned unicorn in all of pony history, the great Starswirl the Bearded,” Mia said solemnly into the pall of silence that had fallen over the courtroom, even The Nightmare herself struck momentarily speechless. “He can shed light on not only exactly what happened to Phoenix Wright, but how, far from proving the prosecution’s charges of rape and illegal use of magic, it disproves them in total.”

Trixie didn’t immediately respond, still staring stunned at one of the most legendary unicorns in Equestrian history. “Hello, Nightmare,” said unicorn spoke in a deep, clear voice with an accent that the humans present could only describe as cultured English. “Know that I have waited nearly two millennia for this day.”

The Nightmare stared as well, then smiled. “Why hello, sorcerer. I will admit your presence is unexpected, but still welcome. And yet, I cannot fathom why you would speak to me in such an unfriendly manner. One would almost think you bear a grudge against me.” She closed her eyes and grinned.

The unicorn stallion’s eyes flashed, but he turned to face the princesses, his expression softening somewhat. “My students…” he nodded to them, then made a show of looking them over in disapproval. “I see that you are every bit as unlearned now as you were eighteen hundred years ago. Clearly, few of my lessons took.”

To everyone’s surprise, both Celestia and Luna gave an involuntary cringe, an echo of a scolding from a long-ago foalhood as Celestia answered for both of them. “And I see that you are still as exacting and uncompromising a taskmaster as you ever were… my tutor.” She bowed her head in deep respect.

“We bid thee welcome and are honored to see thee again, mentor,” Luna hastily added, duplicating her sister’s gesture.

His facade cracked, but only for a moment. “I would say the honor is mine, but as I find myself among far less exalted company with so much at stake, reunions can wait,” he announced before turning his attention to the bench, giving Trixie a short bow. “Your Honor… I should hope my name and reputation proceeds me, even now. But let me be clear—I am here for one reason and one reason only: to make The Nightmare pay for what she has done. Not just to Twilight Sparkle and the other spirits present, but to me,” he said with a glower at the dream demon, who simply closed her eyes and grinned as if in pleasant remembrance.

“You are, of course, welcome in this court,” Trixie replied, unable to stop staring at him. “Though if you truly are Starswirl the Bearded, your speech is surprisingly modern and your appearance is not as it is so often described…” her prosecutor mind pointed out.

“I hate that name…” his eyes narrowed. “My proper title is Starswirl the Sage! It was those two who called me ‘the bearded!’ A little joke they had between them…” he pointed at the two princesses as he spoke.

The barest of smiles broke their lips. “Come now, tutor. We were only trying to teach you the one subject you had no knowledge of—humor.” Celestia closed her eyes and took on a coy tone. “We will vouch that this is truly he, Your Honor.”

“Aye! ‘Twas but a lark when we dubbed thee that. And we would not have spread it but for the fact that thou so hated it!” Luna suddenly wore a lopsided grin. “And thus, thou art now known as ‘The Bearded’ for all time!” she finished triumphantly.

“As incorrigible as ever, I see…” he shook his head in only half-feigned disgust, then turned back to Trixie. “With regards to speech, I am still a scholar and my thirst for knowledge transcends life and death. Thus, I have kept up on the history and language of both worlds from the Summerlands. As for my appearance… perchance this is what you were expecting?” he willed his body into his more classic appearance, much older and more wizened with a long white beard, his sudden transformation causing Trixie to flinch. “I take the form I had when I was younger and The Nightmare tempted me. I wanted her to see me again as I was then. I want to face her as I was then!” he said as he turned himself back to his younger self.

“Tempted you? Why my dear Starswirl, if memory serves, you came to me.” The Nightmare mocked. “You actually sought to trap me. Thought you could control and contain me as I recall, offering me release if I would but do one little thing for you. And perchance you would care to inform this court what it was?”

“Silence!” Starswirl spat, the bite in his voice making both Celestia and Luna snap to attention and sit up straighter in their chairs like they were back in their long-ago classroom again. “I have been summoned here to give testimony, and I do not like being made to wait!” he marched over to the witness stand where Maya still stood. “Stand aside, you moronic mare! In the crude words of your own language, I have to unscrew what you screwed up!”

“Screwed up? ‘Moronic mare’?” Maya went red again. “I don’t know who you think you are, you snooty, stupid stallion, but I’m not done with Sparkle yet! So you can just wait your turn!” she crossed her arms and refused to move.

“And just who do you think you are?” he looked her over from head to toe, inspecting her wounds unsympathetically. “You think just because you can’t face what you feel, you have the right to sacrifice both worlds? I’ve been watching the proceedings even before I got here, and a more foalish and foalhardy filly I don’t think I’ve ever seen! And considering I had to teach those two, that’s saying a lot!” he pointed back at Celestia and Luna, who glanced at each other and grinned in shared memory. “I’ve waited eighteen hundred years for this, little girl! And I will not be kept from my long-awaited revenge by a two-bit human mystic who only thinks of herself and can’t see how she’s being used or the damage she’s doing!” Starswirl’s horn flared and suddenly Maya disappeared from behind the witness stand in a flash of light only to reappear in the stands.

“Wha… hey!” Maya protested but found herself unable to re-enter the pit through a fresh barrier Starswirl erected.

“Wow, a remote dreamscape teleport…” Twilight noted in some wonder, seemingly taking interest in the ancient unicorn’s presence despite The Nightmare’s influence. “I didn’t think that was possible…”

“Well then. I think this court will be more than happy to accommodate you, honored Sage.” Trixie bowed her head in real respect, looking very pleased at how Maya had been dealt with. “As you have been summoned to offer expert testimony on Mister Wrong’s physical transformation, I will direct both counsels to facilitate exactly that. Proceed, Prosecutor Moon.”

“That would be my pleasure, Your Honor,” she replied easily, and it sounded to Phoenix like she meant it. “State your full name and occupation, witness.”

“Such tiresome preliminaries. But so be it. I am Starswirl the Sage. In life a scholar and teacher, in death a keeper and collector of knowledge; a patron of the arcane arts and thus the foremost authority on magic in all its forms and effects!”

“Also Equestria’s most immodest and insufferable pony,” The Nightmare noted. “To say nothing of one of its most arrogant. Let us first establish why you are here, shall we?” She gave the unicorn stallion a sideways grin.

“Not relevant, Your Honor,” Vinyl looked pleased with the proceedings as Mia continued to help Phoenix.

“It will establish that this so-called expert has severe conflicts of interest and his word cannot be trusted.”

“At this point, there ain’t any damn one of us that doesn’t have a conflict of interest in this case, Nightie! You’ve had your own major conflict of interests from the word ‘go’, so you hardly have room to call the rest of us out on it!” Vinyl countered.

Trixie’s gavel came down. “The defense’s objection is sustained. Everypony—rather, everyone here—has a conflict of interest to one degree or another, myself included. In a normal trial, under normal circumstances, on Equestria or Earth, these proceedings would have gone very differently. As it is, we will continue as we have. The witness does not have to answer the prosecution’s question!”

The Nightmare grimaced at that, but smoothed her features out quickly. “Very well. Now, tell us, Starswirl; what exactly do you have to contribute to this case?”

Starswirl waited a beat before responding. “An explanation for Mister Wright’s physical transformation that will destroy your claims and break your hold over Twilight Sparkle.”

“Bold words. Let us see if they hold up…” she struck a note of bravado, though Wind Whistler thought she spotted a glimmer of concern appeared in the alicorn apparition’s slitted eyes. “By all means, then, testify as to your explanation!”

“Oh, I can’t wait to hear this!” Vinyl said with a grin as Mia rejoined her behind the defense bench, Phoenix gathering his strength off to the side.

—— Witness Testimony ——

Love is Magic

It is said that the mating aura is designed to entice a mate, but this is in fact a misnomer. Its purpose is to increase compatibility with a prospective partner; to ease the way between them for mating and conception. Let us not forget the purpose of love and sex is not simply to have fun, but to propagate the species and as such, a unicorn’s mating aura works towards that end. In the case of Phoenix Wright and Twilight Sparkle, the latter’s magic sought to accomplish that goal by giving him a set of stallion equipment so he might not just pleasure her more readily as a pony, but actually be able to sire her foals.

Were we to test Phoenix Wright’s new equine attributes, I have no doubt we would find that they are quite capable of impregnating her the next time she enters heat. Regardless, this action was completely involuntary on Twilight Sparkle’s part, and she was no more conscious of it than she was her heart beating!

As he finished, silence descended over the courtroom, broken only by a low murmuring from the audience, including Twilight’s friends. Twilight herself raised her head a bit as he spoke, as if something was suddenly clear to her, only to lower it again as the Nightmare once again fed additional dream power into her, dulling her senses once more. “That’s it?” the dream demon queen said, looking almost annoyed. “That is your grand revelation?”

“That her magic acted on him involuntarily, seeking to make him a suitable sire for her future foals, yes,” Starswirl confirmed in equal annoyance. “And I fail to see why you look so relieved.”

The Nightmare began to laugh, first low, then with increasing energy and volume. “I’m sorry…” she finally offered. “But your defense is so pitiful as to be barely worthy of note. With such a grand entrance and such grandiose words, I expected far more from you, Starswirl…”

“If you find my testimony inadequate to the task, dear demon, I offer it up for cross-examination. And feel more than free to participate in it!” Starswirl stuck his nose in the air while in the stands behind him, Celestia and Luna conversed in low tones.

“With your permission, Your Honor, the defense will cross-examine the witness,” Vinyl said. “That is, if you don’t mind, Mia? I’m kind of on a roll, here.”

“By all means,” Mia nodded, stepping back slightly and sparing Phoenix another concerned glance.

“At your leisure,” Trixie replied with a nod, feeling far more confident about Vinyl’s defense attorney abilities than she did before.

—— Cross-Examination ——

It is said that mating aura is designed to entice a mate, but this is in fact a misnomer.

“I admit I’m only speaking for myself here, but I always thought that mating aura was the equivalent of a magical pheromone, one designed to entice and arouse a potential partner. In fact, I’ve heard no less than Twilight herself call it that?”

“Then she is incorrect, and my former student has taught her very poorly on that subject… if she has taught her at all,” he said with a glance at Celestia, who cringed under his withering gaze like she was a mere schoolfilly again. “For if she ever paid attention in class, she would in fact know…”

Its purpose is to increase compatibility with a prospective partner; to ease the way between them for mating and conception.

“So you’re saying that’s what happened here? Sparkle’s mating aura was just trying to ‘ease the way’ between The Phoenix and Twilight by ‘increasing their compatibility’?” The unicorn DJ gained an odd smile, like she was suddenly considering the possibilities this leant.

“In blunt terms, yes. But let us be clear on this. That is not a normal effect…”

“Not normal, you say? Our so-called expert witness just undermined his entire testimony!” The Nightmare said with a grin.

“… between ponies!” Starswirl cut her and Trixie off hard.“It is not a normal effect then for the very simple reason that ponies are already physically compatible and can freely conceive between them. So there is no need for a magically induced physical transformation! But between a pony and a human, conception is not possible unless…” he let the statement hang in the air unfinished, but nodded towards a still slumping Phoenix Wright, who was trying very hard to recover his wits after what had just happened to him.

Vinyl rubbed her chin with a hoof in unconscious imitation of Phoenix. “I think I get it. You’re saying that basically… her mating aura was trying to make it so he could give her foals!”

“Finally. Comprehension!” Starswirl rolled his eyes. “For as seems to be all too easily forgotten…”

Let us not forget the purpose of love and sex is not simply to have fun, but to propagate the species and as such, a unicorn’s mating aura works towards that end.

“And was Twilight Sparkle aware of this potential side effect?” Vinyl asked.

Starswirl snorted. “Given Miss Sparkle’s propensity to derive all her learning from books of often questionable repute and my own former student’s neglect in explaining such matters, I think not. Even in this so-called enlightened day and age, there is very little scientific literature available on the subject of interspecies relationships; the phenomenon has simply been observed too rarely to be recorded.”

“Observed too rarely because it’s nonexistent. Tell me, Miss Scratch: As a magically strong unicorn mare who has had a few interspecies partners of her own over the years, did you ever observe this effect on, say, your griffin mates?” The Nightmare asked with a sly grin.

Vinyl frowned at that, considering the question. “Well, no… not that I remember…”

The shout was thunderous, and did not come from either Mia or Vinyl. They both turned to their right where they beheld… Phoenix Wright having pulled himself to his feet again, standing and pointing a finger across the stage.

“Oh. Welcome back, my future consort,” The Nightmare teased. “I hope our little demonstration was not too humiliating for you. After all, if I’m to keep my promise to Twilight and you are to properly satisfy your new queen, you and your new equipment must be kept in working order.” She grinned lasciviously, then considered him almost lazily. “Though I may yet offer up a few enhancements of my own…”

Phoenix both paled and flushed, though the latter was more prominent to Mia’s eyes. “Ain’t gonna happen, Nightmare. And as for that question you asked... she wouldn’t necessarily know!”

“Wouldn’t know?” everyone’s voice echoed at once as even Vinyl and Mia turned their heads to look at him in disbelief

Phoenix’s face flushed further but he plunged ahead anyway. “Twilight and I made love several times where she was a pony before we finally noticed it was happening. The other times, it didn’t happen until, well… I entered her, so we didn’t see the transformation. And by the time we were done and I’d pulled back out, I was back to normal. So the same could have happened to Vinyl Scratch or any other unicorn!”

“You didn’t notice? Are you seriously suggesting you couldn’t see what was right in front of your face and between your legs, Phoenix Wright?” The Nightmare looked both amused and annoyed by the question.

Phoenix took on his goofy grin, to Mia’s relief as she realized that he’d now completely shaken off what The Nightmare had done to him earlier. “Well… my eyes were actually closed for most of it. And when they were open, they were on… her…” he offered as in the stands, both Twilight’s friends and Maya were flushed to various degrees, even Twilight’s cheeks as well as those belonging to some of the Bolt Knights had taken on a hint of color.

Trixie’s gavel came down hard and repeatedly, her own cheeks warm. “Way too much information, Wrong! Witness! Is what he says plausible? Could her magic have only taken hold of him while he was… inside her?” she grimaced as she spoke, addressing Starswirl directly.

Starswirl looked annoyed. “I am not a peasant pulled off the street, young ice elemental! So you will kindly call me by my proper title of Sage!”

“She will call you what is appropriate to the situation!” snapped a voice, a blur of movement behind Starswirl resolving into the figure of Shadowmoon, who glared at the (relatively) ancient unicorn. “Mind your manners, sir. You are speaking to the judge of this trial, no matter how unusual it is. As such, you will refer to her as ‘your honor’. And while you are on the stand, you are a witness. I would advise you to remember that!” The earth pony magician punctuated this with a smoke bomb, disappearing back into the gallery.

Starswirl coughed a little and waved his hat around to clear the smoke, his bells jingling before finally summoning a wind to disperse the vapors. Replacing his hat, he glared at the Bolt Knights and Red Talons. “And what are you lot doing, allowing something like that to happen? Aren’t you supposed to be acting the part of bailiffs?”

The Bolt Knights snorted in unison. “Must you even ask, sir?” Firefly asked in a tone drier than some deserts. “Our purpose here is make sure the Nightmare faces justice tonight, not to protect you from your own petty insults. But even were this not the case, I would not intervene. You addressed his granddaughter by her abilities, not her current position after scolding her repeatedly about your proper title. Given that being an ice elemental has caused no end of torment for her over the years, ‘tis only natural that he would leap to her defense,” the warrior mare noted unsympathetically.

“Aye,” Layan Kaval agreed. “Consider yourself lucky a smoke bomb is all you suffered, self-titled sage. For in our days, such an insult to honor would result in a duel!”

“As if I couldn’t fight one!” Starswirl grumbled, but relented. “Very well. To answer Your Honor’s question, yes, it is plausible what the defense said,” he agreed. “Her mating magic is at its most intense within the confines of her body… which rutting her would certainly allow him to reach! It molded him then and served dual purpose by doing so—to allow him to sire her foals, and to more properly pleasure her!”

“There are two major problems with that statement, old friend, both of which should be obvious to this court and opposing counsel…” The Nightmare began with a leer.

“I am not your friend, demon!” Starswirl retorted.

The Nightmare put on a pouting look. “Such ingratitude. And after all I did for you and Stygian?” she shook her head in mock sadness as there was yet another rippling in the dreamscape and three more figures disgorged at the entrance of the courtroom pit to reveal…

“Spike!” Twilight’s friends all called out in surprise as the baby dragon looked around in confusion, the two thestrals he arrived with turning and bowing to Luna.

“Great. And yet another member of the Twilight Sparkle peanut gallery arrives…” Trixie rubbed her eyes with a hoof.

“I hate interruptions!” Starswirl groused as well.

“Huh? Guys?” He glanced up to Twilight’s friends, then at Phoenix at the defense bench, who was just as surprised to see the scribe as he was him. “Phoenix Wright? What’s going on? These guys said Twilight was in trouble…” he noted, then locked onto Twilight sitting forlornly in the defendant’s seat.

“Well. It would appear the least of my quarry’s friends has arrived to join the proceedings,” The Nightmare rolled her eyes as she spoke, causing Spike to look towards her and start. “How lovely, if only for yet one more witness to my triumph.”

“Nightmare Moon!” he recognized, stumbling back in shock, falling on his backside. “How is she here? What’s going on?” he looked around frantically, not reassured by either Trixie in the judge’s seat or the ancient griffin and pony warriors all around him, only one of which he recognized. “Captain Firefly? But how can you be…”

“Greetings, young drake,” she bowed to him. “I know you have questions, but we have little time for answers. Just know for now that The Nightmare seeks a new host in your mistress, and should she succeed, both Equestria and the human world are at grave risk. She is attempting to possess Twilight by convincing her she is guilty of heinous crimes, and should she succeed, all is lost.”

“She’s what?” Spike fell openmouthed. “No! She can’t! Twilight! Twilight!” he began to rush towards her only to be repelled by the Nightmare’s power, though once again Twilight’s slumped head came up fractionally at his voice. Thwarted, he rounded on The Nightmare. “Hey! You let her go!” To his credit, he charged across the pit at her breathing green fire, though his attempt at intimidation only seemed to amuse the alicorn apparition, who considered him lazily.

“Well, then, young dragon. Such spirit you have. You might yet make a fine familiar once me and your mistress are joined, but I fear we will have to do something about that scrawny form and independent streak you seem to have. Fear not, a little old-fashioned greed should do wonders for your body and disposition!” she closed her eyes and grinned.

“Oh yeah? Think I’ll ever help you? Forget it!” he made to rush her, only to be plucked out of the pit by a new unicorn aura.

“No, Spiky-wikey!” Rarity called to him, sweeping him up in her magic and back towards her, shielding him protectively. “You dear, brave dragon, you mustn’t try to challenge her or interfere.”

“But we have to do something!” He insisted, tears in her eyes as Maya stared at him, suddenly reminded uncomfortably of how much Twilight meant to her friends.

“We are, partner. Just by bein’ here,” Applejack answered, putting a reassuring hoof on his shoulder. “We can’t help the trial, but we can dang well sure let Twi know her friends are here. Nightmare can’t hide us from her; if she hears us, she’ll remember us… and try to come back to us.”

“Believe whatever you like, my little ponies. But back to the matter at hoof… I believe there were a pair of problems with the witness’s latest statement,” she recalled. “We’ll save the more embarrassing one for later, but for now, let us concentrate on one simple contradiction in your words, so-called Sage. You said earlier that the purpose of mating aura was to enable the conception of foals. I grant that is a perfectly reasonable statement. But then you just turned around and said it was to allow her more pleasure? So which is it, you worthless wizard? Is it for progeny or pleasure?” she took on a tut-tutting tone that reminded Phoenix of Franziska again.

This time, Vinyl fired in with another blast of bass that left a chord warbling in the air. “I think it’s safe to say the two goals ain’t mutually exclusive, Nightie…” she said in a very mild tone.

“Indeed,” Starswirl rolled his eyes yet again. “We mate for both progeny and pleasure. And where pleasure exists, the chances for progeny increases for the simple reason that we will want to mate more! That hardly requires magic or an arcane theorist to explain!”

“Agreed!” Trixie dismissed the objection with a rap of her gavel. “One down. And the other issue…?” she prompted and mentally braced for impact, having already spotted the second problem herself. Much as I wish I HADN’T! she internally grimaced, certain she was never going to get the picture of Wrong with stallion equipment out of her head.

The Nightmare’s grin got more pronounced. “The other problem, Your Honor, should be obvious to anyone with a pair of eyes. I’m sure all present noticed that Mister Wright’s new… equipment was considerably larger than the pony norm?” she asked with a grin while Applejack explained in blunt terms to Spike what she was talking about, causing the baby dragon to blush. “That strongly suggests that Miss Sparkle’s magic did do a little more than simply ponify his male attributes, and if what our witness says is true, that means she had to do so consciously and against his express wishes. If this court wishes, I will be more than happy to offer said attributes up for inspection again.” She turned her mating aura back on.

“NO!” Phoenix, Maya and Trixie all shouted at the same time, Phoenix’s hands going involuntarily to shield himself as he felt unwelcome excitement take hold again. But it was mercifully short-lived as Trixie immediately moved to block the alicorn apparition’s aura with her own… and succeeded, to Phoenix’s great relief, a sudden burst of cold air around him generated by the showmare helping his sudden arousal to just as quickly subside.

“Oh, you’re no fun,” The Nightmare pouted again, but didn’t make an effort to push past Trixie’s power.

“I’m sorry to disappoint our pathetic prosecutor, but that argument doesn’t fly either, Nightmare!” This time, Starswirl didn’t wait for an objection before speaking up. “The simplest explanation for the fact that Phoenix Wright’s new equine equipment is larger than normal is the fact that even his human equipment was oversized, and thus Miss Sparkle’s mating aura simply turned it into its proportional equine equivalent. No more and no less.”

Vinyl’s face lit up as she realized something. “So for argument’s sake, let’s say she turned her mating aura on him while they were both human—which I know firsthoof they’ve done,” she grinned at Phoenix, sitting back and making some kneading motions with her hooves, causing both him and Maya to blush anew. “So would there be a physical transformation then?”

“No. Because in that example, there is no need for one,” he confirmed. “In such a case, they are already compatible and he could sire her foals whenever her human body is able to conceive. Perchance if he was undersized it might have made him bigger as a means to facilitate more successful mating. But again, this is not something Twilight Sparkle did consciously… unlike some certain former students of mine, who seem to have no qualms about it!” he gave another pointed look into the gallery, where Celestia in particular blushed. “They didn’t like studying or completing my assignments, but they quickly mastered every mating and enhancement spell there was!”

“Oh come now, former teacher. You’re not still mad about me and Luna trying out a couple such spells on you, are you?” Celestia closed her eyes and grinned. “You were the talk of the palace for the next several days and, as I recall, in very high demand with the court mares!” Her grin got broader.

“Verily!” Luna added with a grin of her own, the two falling quickly back into a long-forgotten schoolfilly mode neither Twilight nor any living pony had ever seen them in. “We dubbed thee Starswirl the swollen after that! ‘Tis unfortunate that title did not take as well as the first…”

For the first time, the unicorn spirit blushed as laughter erupted from living and departed spirits alike. “Absolutely incorrigible…” was the only thing he could immediately say.

“But you know you love us!” Celestia said with a smile in the voice of the impish teen she was then.

Starswirl rubbed the side of his head with a hoof. “Methinks I must, or after all you two put me through, ‘tis certain I would have killed you both!”

Trixie gavel-ed the proceedings back to order over the fresh roar of laughter that erupted. “Trixie finds this explanation adequate if rather stomach-turning. Is the prosecution satisfied?”

To little surprise, The Nightmare even twisted that question into something far less innocent. “Satisfied? Never. I fear you’re going to be quite busy before too long, Phoenix Wright…” she gave him a knowing leer. “But as to the question at hoof… the prosecution feels that this statement is as yet unproven, Your Honor. After all, we have seen his pony equipment, not his human version. If we are to establish the veracity of the witness’s statement, we must see the latter as well…”

“NO!” Phoenix, Maya and Trixie all shouted again as Mia simply crossed her arms and shook her head in disgust.

Music: “Scaretale (Instrumental Ver.)” by Nightwish

The Nightmare’s grin only increased at their reaction. “I’m afraid the prosecution must insist on hard proof, Your Honor. So come now, Phoenix Wright. Don’t be shy. But since I’m well aware you’ll need to be aroused by a human in order to see such things, I will be more than happy to help you…” she said with a toothy grin as her horn glowed again but this time, she transformed into a very familiar human, punctuating her sudden appearance with the sharp crack of a whip…

One that caused Phoenix to go pale. “And just who the hay is that supposed to be?” Trixie stared at the newcomer in some interest while Mia and Maya’s lips curled.

“Franziska…” he gulped as he beheld the daughter of the legendary Manfred von Karma for the second time in several days, remembering again how the eighteen-year old prosecuting prodigy had given him all he could handle and more in the course of two trials, her wit and whip leaving its mark on his body and at times, his very psyche.

The Nightmare curtsied in her new guise. “Franziska von Karma at your service, Your Honor,” she replied in Franziska’s voice. “Or at least, a faithful recreation from Phoenix Wright’s own memories.”

Trixie blinked as she remembered something. “Wait… she’s the prosecutor Wrong said beats him with a whip when he steps out of line?” she asked, now studying The Nightmare’s new form with keen interest.

“Ah, he has mentioned me? I am indeed. Phoenix Wright!” she then shouted and pointed across the pit, brandishing her whip menacingly. “This time I will defeat you!” She cracked her whip a second time an inch from Phoenix’s nose, not noticing Twilight taking on an angry expression.

“I told you not… to… touch him!” she suddenly snarled, her eyes glowing red and sending what amounted to a magical feedback shock through the Nightmare’s power tendrils, jolting the dream demon hard and disrupting her guise, causing her eyes to go slitted again for a moment.

“Twilight!” everyone shouted at once, hoping she was breaking free, but though startled and slightly singed, the Nightmare reasserted her control before Twilight could loosen it further. She dulled her quarry’s senses as much as she could, using so much magic to maintain power over her prey her shield was almost completely retracted. “Oh. It would seem they’ve met already. No matter then… if I cannot use her whip to arouse him, then perhaps this will do…” she shifted tactics and took a very provocative pose, sitting on the prosecutor’s bench and crossing her legs as she began pulling the bow at the top of her blouse and unhooking the large buttons over her midsection, causing Phoenix to swallow as despite all, his mind began to suddenly and vividly fantasize about the real Franziska acting this way.

Sensing she was having an effect on him, The Nightmare pushed things further. “You did what no man ever has—you beat me in a court of law, Phoenix Wright! And to the victor, goes the spoils…” she spoke in a sultry voice that was both Franziska’s voice and not, performing a striptease before him.

Despite his rigid expression, Phoenix’s couldn’t look away; his insides began to churn and he did feel an appreciative twinge in his loins despite his disgust at her actions. I will never, EVER see Franny the same way again!

“For all my years and study, I don’t think I will ever understand human sexuality…” Starswirl sighed while in the stands, Twilight’s friends wore expressions ranging from confusion to outright distaste, Rarity covering Spike’s eyes with a materialized mask.

“Nothing? Well, then as you seem to favor younger girls, perhaps this, then…” her features morphed again and this time she turned to… Maya!

“What?!? HEY!!!!!” Maya shouted from the stands, but the Nightmare ignored her and various shouts of protest, taking a slow walk towards Phoenix.

“The truth is, Vinyl was right. I do want you, Nick…” she told him in a very demure voice in a perfect imitation of Maya that made his guts outright clench, doubly so when she began pulling the sash on her kimono with exaggerated slowness, trying with all his might to will his increasingly insistent excitement back to bay. She’s my friend… my assistant and Mia’s SISTER! She’s not… she can’t be… he thought as he realized that even though they were in the dream realm, his mouth had gone dry.

“Stop it! Stop it!” Maya called as The Nightmare began to completely disrobe before Phoenix, Nick’s reaction not lost on her or anyone else. But before the process could be completed, a wave of angelic energy knocked the entity back out of Maya’s form, throwing her hard back against the prosecutor’s bench.

“That will do, Nightmare,” Mia’s arms were crossed and her expression lethal, her wings flared like an angry pegasus. “We do not have to see Maya or Phoenix naked to answer this question, if you’ll just check again the notes Twilight took of her observations of Phoenix and Fluttershy.”

“Her notes?” Trixie frantically grasped at the lifeline, willing the notes scroll Rarity had produced back into existence.

“Indeed. Read through them, Your Honor. Look for the diagram. What does is say is Phoenix’s length?” Mia prompted.

The showmare read through the document again in distaste but to her great relief, could answer. “7.42 inches.”

“I seem to recall that Twilight herself said that when we were watching through Rarity’s memories as well.” Mia couldn’t resist giving Phoenix a wink. “Twilight Sparkle’s a lucky mare, then, given normal human size is around six inches. So he is significantly larger than average, and the witness’s argument holds—he has a larger stallionhood, for lack of a better term, because he has a larger manhood. And that, Your Honor, is that.” She moved a lock of hair aside as she spoke, her voice and expression smug.

“Sold! Objection overruled!” Trixie brought her gavel down with relief, while the Nightmare simply shrugged, leaving Phoenix wondering why she still seemed so unconcerned.

Especially since Twilight seems to be perking up again… he quickly noted, trying to use thoughts of her to drive away stubbornly persistent fantasies of Franziska and Maya. He glanced at the latter only briefly, only to find her looking back, causing both to quickly look away.

“Ahem. May we continue now?” Starswirl asked impatiently. “I’ve had quite enough of such interruptions!”

“Be our pleasure…” a grinning Vinyl replied for all of them.

In the case of Phoenix Wright and Twilight Sparkle, the latter’s magic sought to accomplish that goal by giving him a set of stallion equipment so he might not just pleasure her more readily as a pony, but actually be able to sire her foals.

This time the call came from Phoenix. “As much as I hate to bring this up… there’s still an unanswered question here!” he pointed at Starswirl. “If you’re right and her mating magic was only acting on me like that when I… entered her…” he slumped at the snickers he heard from both the dream guard and the mingled pony and griffin spirits, “Then why did my transformation not go away immediately after I withdrew that last time?”

“Yes, by all means, please answer why, so-called Sage!” The Nightmare needled.

This time, he spared the Nightmare but a glance, keeping his attention on Phoenix. “Suspicious, aren’t you? The answer to that is simple, attorney—you’re absorbing progressively more of Twilight’s magic, and thus, it both takes progressively less additional magic to accomplish the same goal, and its effects last progressively longer over time,” he said evenly.

“I’m… what?” Phoenix felt a moment of panic. “Absorbing her magic?” he resisted the urge to pat himself down.

“Oh, don’t act like it’s a disease, human! You should be both honored and grateful for it having selected you like this. But since you seem to still have doubts, allow me to enlighten you…” his horn glowed and his magic suddenly rearranged the courtroom, producing what looked like an ancient classroom/laboratory replete with arcane scrolls and diagrams combined with telescopes and potion-making equipment, all surrounding an ornate if rather cluttered desk.

“Attention!” He slapped a materialized instructor crop down on his desk as he stood in front of it and unrolled a large papyrus scroll against an easel, the sharp crack of the crop and snap of his voice instantly bringing Celestia and Luna to rapt attention, making them sit bolt upright in their seats like they were fillies again. “Magical theory 101 is now in session! And your instructor expects your full and undivided attention during it!” He pinned The Nightmare and Phoenix with a glare in turn, the latter deciding quickly it would be best to keep quiet for the duration.

“First, let us see how much my former students actually remember. Tia! Luna!” he called to them. “Stop passing notes and pay attention for once! What was the first rule I ever taught you about magic? I should hope you remember for as many times as I made you recite it!”

The Celestial sisters looked at each other for a moment before answering. “Magic ‘tis a living force. Above all else, it seeketh expression and to grow in scope and power; to spread itself into realms it doth not already exist,” they recited as one.

“Correct. I must admit to being pleasantly surprised that you recall it,” he groused, but wrote their response on the papyrus sheet in very elegant script. “It is indeed a living force. And just as nature abhors a vacuum, so does magic, Mister Wright. Both you and your world are magic-poor but not lacking of it entirely. That idiot assistant of yours with her so-called Kurain technique is evidence enough of that!”

“Hey!” Maya shouted again, but a grinning Trixie cut her off with another gavel rap, slapping another soundproof cylinder around her.

“Her so-called mystical power is simply an alternate form of magic, related to it in the same way that electricity and magnetism are closely intertwined. They are, in other words, just different expressions of the same force, or if you prefer, different branches of it. And the greater force, you ask? Call it Harmony if you must, but the point is, it is present in your world as well, and has a will and purpose all its own.”

“You truly expect us to believe such a ridiculous statement?” The Nightmare cackled. “Are you as senile now as you were upon your death, old stallion? It would appear that your time in the Summerlands has addled your once mighty mind. There is no greater will to this world or any other but the work of individual agents like myself or Ms. Fey, seeking to orchestrate events to our ends. There is no good or evil, only power and those too weak to seek it!”she proclaimed, making Maya’s eyes go wide.

“That is a lie, and you know it, Nightmare!” an angelic Mia glared, crossing her arms and spreading her wings wide for emphasis. “The very fact that we stand on opposite sides of this courtroom is evidence enough of that!”

“Is it?” she closed her eyes and smiled. “You speak of magic as if it has plan and purpose, Starswirl. The truth is, it has none but to spread itself like a cancer, filling voids it was not present in before. One such void, it would seem, was Phoenix Wright, and he looks hardly happy to have it. And the conduit it used for that purpose… was Twilight Sparkle, infecting him through her. Should he stay with her, it would continue to do so, and who knows then what it might do to him?” She let the implications hang in the air for a few seconds, long enough for a trickle of sweat to appear on Phoenix’s neck.

“I understand, of course, that you see him as little more than a lab specimen to be studied, but as he is given neither his consent nor offered any choice in the matter, he can hardly be called anything but a victim to its deprivations. In truth, he has every reason to be afraid of it, and to save himself from further effects by abandoning this gross perversion of a so-called relationship they have!” she proclaimed, causing tears to start rolling down Twilight’s cheeks.

Phoenix felt a chill in his heart at her words, all his fears suddenly struck home. And yet… “I am afraid of it…” he admitted, his fists clenching. “In the same sense that I fear everything I don’t understand. Life and death. Change. A destiny I sense but don’t yet see. A feeling of not being in control, like decisions are being made for me…” he spoke slowly, trying to grasp something that still seemed just out of reach, Mia staring at him, silently urging him on.

“But that is where you are wrong, Phoenix Wright,” Starswirl’s voice softened slightly, though was still stern. “For there is the second lesson to learn: that despite what she may say, magic is not indiscriminate. It seeks proper hosts for itself that can wield and express it, and here it found one in you.” The second lesson wrote itself down on the mounted piece of papyrus.

“And what purpose is that, prey tell?” The Nightmare asked. “A perversion of his body and hostile takeover of his very spirit?”

Phoenix’s cry rose above the shouts of outrage. “You’ve got some nerve saying that, when that’s exactly what you’re trying to do to Twilight!” he pointed an accusing finger at her.

The Nightmare was completely unrepentant. “Perhaps. But at least I am up front about my intentions, Phoenix Wright. Can you say the same about this so called magical, mystical force?” she leaned over her bench to ask him, causing his expression to drop.

“…which brings me to the third part of my lesson, and adds another nail in your coffin, Nightmare!” Starswirl sneered, his quill pen beginning to scratch on the papyrus again. “Magic only acts through willing hosts who can wield it properly and for its intended purpose!” he announced triumphantly. “That is exactly what happened to Miss Fey up there whether she wishes to admit it or not. She absorbed Twilight Sparkle’s mating magic so readily because she had the same intent and desire as her, and thus could wield magic created for the purpose of mating with Phoenix Wright to that end,” he pronounced with a contemptuous glance at her, causing Maya to flinch and flush.

“The magic she absorbed was created for the purpose of making love to Phoenix Wright, and was attracted to that so-called mystic’s deep-seated if deeply buried desires to do the same. In short, it would not have affected her any differently than the rest of the people at that dance party unless she had the exact same desires as Twilight Sparkle!” she said as Celestia nodded in silent agreement and Maya’s jaw fell open.

“Hey! You listening up there, fillyfriend?” Vinyl called to her. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you the whole time!” she added, to which Maya could only clutch her head again.

Phoenix resisted the impulse to do so himself. Twilight… Fluttershy… and now MAYA? He was at a loss. Let’s just deal with one crisis at a time, okay…?

“And this information saves Twilight Sparkle… how, exactly?” The Nightmare was still unimpressed. “All you have proven is that Twilight’s magic affected Maya Fey against her will, just as it did Phoenix Wright!”

“Yeah!” Maya had finally figured out she could remove any containment given her with a simple thought, but her success was short lived as Starswirl slapped a fresh cone of silence around her, one that she could not remove.

“Be quiet, girl. I am not yet done,” he told her as his quill began to write again. “The corollary to this final point, which The Nightmare is so carefully trying deflect attention from, is that magic responds and makes use of one’s true heart and desires, not the surface thoughts or abject denial that one may mask them with!” He waited until the line had finished writing before continuing. “So just as Twilight’s mating magic found Maya Fey able to wield it for the admittedly shallow purposes of the flesh, it found you, Phoenix Wright, for another, if much deeper one. A purpose that is both incredibly simple, yet potentially very far-reaching. A purpose that, much as it may pain me to say, my own former student sensed and sought to nurture even before I did!” he said with a glance up at a very pleased-looking Celestia who was grinning and nodding as he spoke.

His quill finished writing and replaced itself in its ink jar as the letters of his script suddenly glowed bright against the papyrus they were written on. “So, Phoenix Wright… study this lesson in full, and then ignore The Nightmare and answer from your heart. The question here is less what Twilight’s magic or magic in general has done to you… as what you are doing for it…?”he finished, stepping away from the easel. “And the answer, I leave as an exercise to the student.”

“I…” Phoenix felt the pieces starting to snap into place, the fog of his uncertainty and worries starting to clear, the truth starting to shine brightly through cracks in his fears just as the letters of scripts were glowing. Not what it’s doing to me… what am I doing for it… for HER? he repeated the question to himself, staring at the four lines written on the papyrus before him.

Music: “Holding Out For A Hero” by Bonnie Tyler

As he had done so often before, he tried to step outside of the box he was in and look at the case from a new angle, and was surprised by what he found. “I’ve been selfish,” he realized with a downcast look, bowing his head and closing his eyes. “All this time I’ve been thinking only of myself, and not of her. She bent over backwards for me, meeting me more than halfway by coming to Earth and taking human form. It was heady and scary what I was feeling when I was with her, so intense I couldn’t control it and leaving me wondering how much of it was me and how much of it was her…” his fists clenched at his sides for a moment before relaxing as Mia stared at him intently, silently urging him on.

“And yet, as I think about it now… as much as I worried this wasn’t real, it wasn’t that I feared. It was her magic. All magic…” he finally admitted. “People fear what they don’t understand, and ultimately I’m no different. I feared what it could do to me, that I had no say in it and it was forcing this on me against my will.

“And maybe that’s where my overreaction came from,” he shook his head at the realization. “All the sudden, it wasn’t my choice what was happening to me, and I lashed out at the only source I could—Twilight herself. But it wasn’t fair to her. I know in my heart she’d never hurt me and I know now that she didn’t lie to me or deliberately break her promise. I’m not sure how I feel about the idea that magic or harmony or whatever has a plan for me, but maybe that’s less the point than something Mia herself told me earlier—that every relationship is messy in one form or another, requiring sacrifice and to meet halfway. After all, this is love, and when is love ever predictable?” he asked rhetorically, to which Mia closed her eyes and nodded, Twilight’s head coming up fractionally at his words as well.

“Love?” The Nightmare mimicked in mocking tones, though there was also an undercurrent of anger in her voice. “Spare me such ridiculous sentiments, Phoenix Wright. What has happened to you was not love; it was a magically induced infatuation aided and abetted by a force that seeks to spread itself regardless of the wishes of those it uses. You are nothing more than a convenient conduit to its ends, and this so-called love will consume you if you let it… just as I believe it did once before?” she asked with a knowing grin, and Phoenix flinched.

“No…” Phoenix said finally, the rest of the courtroom deathly silent. “Not like before…”

“Deny it all you wish, Phoenix Wright. But the truth of the matter is, you are no more equipped to handle this relationship than your last… even if it was real.” She drove the knife deeper into him. “You should be thankful, for I am in fact doing you a great favor by taking away this magical mockery of a relationship from you and replacing it with one you will find far more rewarding… for as my former host can attest, I can be very generous to those who serve me well.”

“No you won’t…” he said quietly, his soft voice belying the fists suddenly clenched at his sides. “Because I get it now, Nightmare. Get what Mia was trying to tell me, and now what Starswirl has now taught me with this lesson,” he raised his eyes to meet hers. “I get now that her magic would not have latched onto me any more than it would have Maya if Twilight’s feelings towards me weren’t mutual. That love is magic no less than friendship, and in some ways more. That if I didn’t feel towards her as she did towards me, none of what we shared or experienced would have been possible, magic or no. All this time, I’ve been worried that her magic caused it, but the truth…” his eyes began to glimmer. “The truth is that her magic just worked to enhance what was already there between us, a seed that was planted in Equestria and ready to grow!” he pointed across the pit at the Nightmare again, the fervor in his words causing Twilight’s head to come up further.

“Then you are every bit the fool I initially took you for, Phoenix Wright,” The Nightmare’s lip curled. “I could offer you everything, give you a life filled with your dream lovers. Twilight… Fluttershy… von Karma… young Maya… or if you favor the more mature, perhaps even your own mentor, if you like?” She took Mia’s form. “So how about it, Phoenix? Care to show me how much you’ve learned?” She asked in Mia’s voice, showing even more cleavage than normal.

Phoenix stared at her again, then closed his eyes and shook his head. “Franziska would tell me I am a fool…” he agreed, letting out a sharp exhale of breath. “And she’d be right. Fool for believing you, fool for putting my own fears ahead of Twilight’s and thinking only of myself. Fool for not seeing what was right in front of my face—that Twilight loves me and would never hurt me; that her magic only sought to enhance the feelings we already had for each other. And to what end, you ask? To the creation of friendship, of love, of life itself…” his face suddenly lit up as the answer crystallized in his head. “To the creation of more magic! New magic!” he suddenly realized.

“That’s what all this is about! Yes, it’s about us, and yet it’s far bigger than us! Her magic acted on me not simply to increase our passion or pleasure, but produce a progeny that will span both worlds! An offspring of not just two different species, but two different forms of magic!” he said in excited tones, the words now coming quickly. “By uniting us, it’s uniting them, and thus helping to make our two worlds one! And whether it’s God or harmony or whatever you want to call it, it didn’t choose us so much as it found us for that purpose, because what we felt for each other… was already there and real!” he slammed both his fists on the rail before him, feeling himself shaking with the revelation, knowing in his heart it was The Truth.

Starswirl clopped his hooves together in genuine applause, causing the rest of the ethereal gallery to do the same, clapping hands of humans combining with the clopping hooves of ponies and the raucous calls of the griffins. “At last. A student who listens! If only my prior ones were so attentive!” he couldn’t resist another dig at the two princesses, who chuckled to themselves but joined in the acclaim themselves.

“You lose, Nightmare! You can’t tempt me, and you can’t make me doubt this any longer. I love Twilight Sparkle! And I willingly accept that love and all it entails, including and especially her magic! She wouldn’t be the same pony without it, and that’s the pony I fell in love with!” he stood tall and straight, pointing his finger at her while she listened with a disgusted expression, Twilight’s eyes glimmering and lip trembling as she spoke, only the barest tips of the Nightmare’s tendrils remaining inside her as Phoenix’s words reached her as well.

“Woo-hoo! You tell ‘er, partner!” Applejack shouted from the stands, twirling her stetson over her head as Fluttershy listened with her eyes glimmering and Rarity outright cried, her eyeshadow running as she clutched Spike to her.

“Way to go, Nix!” Even Rainbow Dash looked satisfied at the outcome of events, giving Phoenix an approving nod, exchanging a high-hoof with Pinkie Pie, who was now sitting on her party cannon though she didn’t fire it yet.

“So, to summarize, Your Honor…” Mia placed her hands on Vinyl’s shoulders and Phoenix’s arm, indicating she wanted to strike the finishing blow herself. “Twilight Sparkle never raped Phoenix Wright, either on earth or in Equestria. She did not make him fall in love against his will, nor did she deliberately transform him; it was merely her magic and mating aura acting automatically upon him for purposes of procreation and the spreading of friendship and magic. Said magic neither hurt him, nor induced him or Maya to feel anything they did not already have… whether or not my younger sister can yet accept it,” she said, sparing a now-tearful Maya a glance. “As the defense submits all the prosecution’s claims have been disproven, we move for an immediate not guilty verdict on all counts!”

“Time to end this, Trixie!” Vinyl agreed, though then her expression dropped fractionally. “I’ll finish dealing with Maya later…”

“That will be my pleasure!” Trixie agreed, letting the lack of proper title drop this time, relieved that the worst would not come to pass. “Then on the matter of the ponies-er, people versus Twilight Sparkle, this court renders a verdict of—”

The Nightmare’s laughter following her interjection was low and long, as though enjoying a rather dark joke. “Ah, you poor, pathetic foals. You think you’ve won? Yes, you may have taken this round, but in the end, it gains you nothing.”

“What the hay are you on about?” Vinyl asked, bewildered. “You’ve got nothing left, Nightie! No charges left to pin on Twilight, and with your army gone, no backup coming to help you!”

“Your case is broken and with it, your hold on Twilight!” Phoenix agreed, pointing a triumphant finger at her. “I can tell just by looking at her she’s almost free of your influence now. And soon as the verdict is read, she’ll expel you completely!”

The Nightmare merely continued to chuckle. “You still don’t get it, do you, Phoenix Wright? This entire trial was meant to serve one purpose; to break Twilight Sparkle’s will and allow me to claim her. And while that may not have turned out as planned, I will say only this in closing: she will be mine, this whole ordeal notwithstanding.”

“A bold claim, demon,” Firefly challenged with a sneer. “What arrogance leads you to such a conclusion?”

“Not arrogance, my dear departed Captain, but the truth,” the Nightmare replied easily. “And the truth is simply this: I am the reason Twilight is attracted to Phoenix in the first place.” she grinned and bared her teeth.

There was a brief uproar at this, punctuated by Trixie’s gavel slamming repeatedly. “What are you talking about?” she asked, once the hubbub had died down.

“I meant exactly what I said, Your so-called Honor. That Twilight Sparkle’s feelings for Phoenix Wright were manufactured solely by me, for the purpose of making her vulnerable to my possession.” The demon in alicorn’s clothing looked very smug. “In other words, were it not for me, she would have no attraction to him at all.”

Starswirl gave a snort at that. “Were you not paying attention, Nightmare? Neither her magic nor mating aura would have done what it did to Phoenix Wright unless they were well and truly in love with each other!”

“And that, you ancient and overstated fossil, is where you’re wrong. From what you’ve said, the mating magic acts based upon the feelings and desires of the host, and I grant that is true. However, at no point did you say that the magic is cognizant enough to determine if those feelings are genuine… or artificially induced by a second source.” Her toothy grin got broader as Starswirl’s face fell at the realization. “My dream magic is not so limited by what you describe; through the power of dreams I am more than capable of manipulating minds and emotions to my own end, convincing my victims that love exists where there is none.”

Starswirl’s wasn’t the only dispirited face in the crowd; several of Twilight’s friends looked nervous or despairing as well. “Uh, Pinkie, why’s that such a big deal?” Spike asked, bewildered. “I mean, yeah, it’s not nice to know her feelings have been fake all along, but…”

“Because, Spike,” Pinkie said, her voice as flat as her mane and tail were becoming, “knowing that her feelings towards Feenie are fake will cause Twilight to doubt her own heart. And that kind of doubt is what draws dream demons like the Nightmare in the first place.”

“And the Nightmare can use that doubt to hide away within Twilight, to lay claim to her at a later date, beyond the reach of the Princesses,” Wind Whistler elaborated, her face contorted in a furious grimace.

Spike grimaced himself at that, and turned towards Mia. “You’re some kind of super-spirit, right? Can’t you do anything…?”

Mia looked grave. “As an angel, yes, I could expel the Nightmare from Twilight’s psyche through pure spiritual force. Luna could do the same with her power. However, for either of us to attempt such an intervention would cause irreparable harm to Twilight, and make things worse than they are now.”

“Damned if we do, damned if we don’t,” Firefly swore. “Her strategy has more layers than Prelate Gaius’ Equestrian invasion plan. Methinks she’s played us all for foals. The trial was but a shadow play to obtain her goal, but she had this in store the entire time.”

The Nightmare chuckled. “Correct, my dear little ponies.” She turned towards Trixie. “Now, I do believe this trial has gone on long enough. Go ahead and render your verdict, Trixie Lulamoon. I commend you for a superbly fought trial, Ms. Fey. You and your friends have won this battle… for all the good it does you.” She let off another chuckle. “If only you could disprove my claim. Unfortunately for you, it’s impossible to prove matters of the heart!”

The call startled everyone present into silence, including the Nightmare, as the one who called out was the sole male behind the defense bench.

“Nick…?” Maya asked, bewildered.

“Nightmare, your name is well earned,” Phoenix said, not a trace of fear or doubt in his voice, facing her calmly. “You’ve certainly caused enough trouble tonight to give anyone nightmares for a lifetime. But it all ends here. Unfortunately for you, I can, in fact, prove that your claim is false!”

The Nightmare looked only briefly annoyed. “Please, Phoenix Wright. This trial is over. Don’t make things worse for yourself by resorting to bluffs.” She looked at Trixie. “Now, your verdict…?”

“Your Honor, as your verdict has not yet been rendered, I have the right to refute the prosecution’s claims! And even if you had passed judgement, I could still challenge it in light of last-second testimony or evidence! Remember what happened in Rainbow Dash’s trial?” Phoenix reminded the showmare.

Trixie, who’d been wavering in indecision, nodded with a noticeable sense of relief. “The defense has a valid point, Nightmare. You made the statement, and the defense is well within their rights to challenge you on it. Objection sustained.”

The Nightmare looked somewhat pole-axed for a moment, but Phoenix didn’t give her time to recover. “Thank you for your indulgence, Your Honor.”

“Don’t thank me yet, Wrong. Like it or not, she also had a point; everything else in this trial has already been covered. Therefore, legally, I can only give you one chance to disprove her claims. You’d best make it count!”

“One chance is all I need, Your Honor,” Phoenix said with a nod. It’s all coming to an end… and for what she’s put both Twilight and me through, I swear I’ll strike the finishing blow MYSELF!

Author's Note

How does Phoenix prove the impossible? How does one prove matters of the heart? And will the Nightmare accept her defeat even if he does? The answers come shortly, but in the meantime, hope you liked this depiction of Starswirl! In this verse, he outright sacrificed himself along with the other Pillars of Harmony to defeat the Pony of Shadows, who the Nightmare had some part in, and he has an as-yet unknown history with her even before that. I may relate that story someday in a future sequel, but for now, he played his part quite well. I especially like the interaction between he and the princesses there, who instantly revert to mischievous teenagers in his presence.

We’re reaching the climactic phase of the trial now, and expect a suitably epic ending. Enjoy!

26: The Heart's Turnabout, Part 10 - Nightmare's End

Music: “Last Ride Of The Day (Instrumental Ver.)” by Nightwish

There was a quickly silenced shriek as the thestral named Weiss Wolke tore another demon’s throat out with her fangs. It was, she reflected, a study in just how different being part of the Dream Guard could be when there wasn’t an army of them to deal with… as well as allowing her to indulge the predatory impulses she normally inhibited in the waking world.

The albino bat pony found herself even more at home in the dreamscape than most of her kindred, as her sensitivity to bright light was compounded by both her lineage and her albinism, making even moonlight painful to her. Forced to keep in deep darkness and seeing as there was little else for somepony like her, she’d applied to the Dream Guard upon Princess Luna’s return and had been accepted readily by her regent, passing her brutal mental training regimen with flying colors and quickly rising in rank through the Dream Guard for it. Finally possessing purpose, she spent most of her days now inside the dreamscape, only leaving to tend to her body’s needs. She, in fact, had been the one to alert the other Guards of the demon army; she reflected that, were it not for her habit of staying within the land of dreams and becoming so intimate with it, the demons could have caused far more damage than they did.

After the Harmony spell had rocked the dreamscape and scattered the demons to the four winds, Weiss, along with a few other members of the Guard, had been tasked with hunting down any demons that tried testing their luck further. She had just found and defeated a demon that had been terrorizing a poor piebald colt’s dream. Using some of the dream magic she’d been taught, she gave the Trottingham foal a much more pleasant dream to work with before she moved on.

That has to be most of them, she thought, winging her way through more and more dreams in search of any stragglers. Let’s see… have I gone through here yet? Stupid shifting dreamscape making directions unreliable…

The sound of a filly’s cry of terror got her attention, and she homed in on the source. As she approached, however, she had to revise her thought; it wasn’t a filly, but a human girl. She was clad in a bright pink robe, with her light brown hair done up in a strange pretzel-shape on top of her head. The demon marauding her had taken the form of an older human girl, with long flowing black hair and purple robes. Weiss was certain, however, that the horns and red eyes weren’t part of the girl’s usual looks.

“P-please, Mystic Maya! W-what did I do?!” the young girl sobbed, as she backed away from the demon in disguise.

“You broke Mystic Ami’s jar, Pearly,” ‘Mystic Maya’ said in response, baring her sharp teeth and speaking in a low growl. “You let the soul of our founder escape, all because you wanted to play with a ball indoors! You should know better, Pearly, and now you must be punished!” A clawed hand was raised as she spoke.

“NOOOOOOOOO!!” ‘Pearly’ cried, falling backward onto her rear as the claw came down, closing her eyes tight.

Weiss took advantage of this. The girl didn’t deserve to see her friend beheaded, even if it wasn’t truly her friend. She swooped in, wingblades appearing on her, and cut through the demon’s neck in one stroke. The demon vanished into the ether before the head hit the ground.

‘Pearly’ cracked her eyes open when the blow failed to land, then opened them wider on seeing her rescuer. “P-pony…?”

Weiss flinched. She knew that, when it came to human dreamers, they were supposed to leave before being discovered. If the dreamer found them, they were to alter their appearance to human horses and act like them as well. Acting never was my strong suit, though, she thought mildly, wondering how she was going to get out of this one now that she’d already been seen in uniform.

Before she could think on it more, the girl zipped up and latched onto her leg, sniffling. “Thank you for saving me, Miss Equestrian Pony!”

Weiss blinked. “You are welcome. But… how do you know of Equestria, little one?”

The girl smiled. “I’ve been there before! Mystic Twilight accidentally brought me there, along with Mister Edgeyworth, Mystic Maya, and Mister Nick!”

The thestral latched onto one particular name. “Mystic Twilight? As in Twilight Sparkle?”

She nodded eagerly. “Uh-huh! She’s so nice and so are all her friends! Do you know her, Miss Pony?” she brought her hands together and bowed.

Weiss couldn’t help but smile at the girl’s enthusiasm and eagerness, already finding her endearing as she bowed her head back. “My name is Weiss, little one. And I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I only know her by reputation.”

The girl paused, then bowed again. “I’m Pearl Fey! So, you don’t know if she’s doing alright?”

Weiss bit her lip. She knew, of course, that Twilight was in danger; all of the Guard had received the message from their Captain about the ‘trial’. She also remembered that some other members of the Guard were fetching friends for her… and it would seem this young human girl was another. “I’m afraid Mystic Twilight is in trouble, Miss Fey. Would you like to help her?”

Pearl’s eyes widened briefly, before she nodded vigorously. “I’ll do whatever I can to help her!”

Weiss smiled and knelt down. “Then climb aboard, Pearl Fey, and I’ll take you to her…”

Maya was feeling increasingly out of her depth.

It had seemed so simple when she’d been brought into this ‘trial’: tell everyone what Sparkle did to her, and make it clear that the unicorn deserved whatever she got for a guilty verdict. And so she had spoken up, making sure the course of events was as clear as could be.

So why was it that no one present seemed to be on her side? Even Vinyl, her supposed bestie, was siding with Sparkle over her! She was even defending Sparkle from Maya’s testimony! Some friend she was, especially with the way she kept deliberately pushing Maya’s buttons, throwing what happened in her face!

Then Nightmare, or whatever she was called, had revealed what Sparkle’s magic had done to Nick earlier that evening. Maya was, quite frankly, disgusted. How could Nick possibly side with Sparkle after that? A small, rebellious part of Maya wondered idly how that massive organ would feel in her hands or inside her, but it was quickly silenced by her rational mind. It was a gross perversion of nature, and she was ready to send Sparkle to the wolves for hurting Nick like that!

But of course it wasn’t that easy. Her own sister had interfered with the soon-to-be ‘guilty’ verdict by bringing in an ‘expert’ witness; some old-fashioned unicorn that looked like he was straight out of Harry Potter, a stallion who in looks and attitude she could only describe as the bastard love child of Trixie and Severus Snape. He’d come in, forced her off the stand in the middle of her own testimony, and proceeded to blather about how Sparkle’s magic affecting Nick like it did wasn’t unnatural at all! The nerve!

And yet… for all her demonizing of Sparkle, Maya couldn’t quite bring herself to completely ignore what everyone was saying. A small but insistent part of her was saying that she shouldn’t be so self-absorbed. After all, wasn’t Nick himself saying that he’d been selfish in regards to Sparkle? And if he was admitting it, what did that say about her…?

Her thoughts were interrupted as a pure white mare appeared from the shadows next to her, a very familiar girl on her back. “P-Pearly?” Maya gasped, bewildered as the pale bat-pony saluted her thestral captain, then turned to Luna and bowed.

“Pearly!” Twilight’s friends exclaimed, making Mia and Celestia look over briefly in surprise, the pair looking uncertain whether they wanted her there or not.

Pearl had been looking around in brief wonder. She quickly returned their greeting with a wave and a delighted expression, not knowing why her Equestrian friends looked so grave until she turned to face Maya. “Oh, hi, Mystic Ma- MYSTIC MAYA!!!!” she yelped, seeing Maya’s condition. “What happened to you?!”

Maya groaned. “I’m getting tired of answering that question… Sparkle happened to me, Pearly.”

Pearl’s eyes widened. “Mystic Twilight…?” She looked around, noticing for the first time the fact that this was a courtroom… and Twilight was at the defendant’s chair. “Wh-what’s going on? Why is Mystic Twilight on trial?”

“Because she hurt me and Nick, Pearly! Because she needs to be punished!” Maya growled almost as low as the demonic version Pearl had seen in her nightmare.

The thestral mare snorted, figuring what was happening quickly. “And is an accident worth dooming both of our worlds over, Miss Fey?” she snapped. “The Nightmare is not your friend, and seeks to possess Twilight Sparkle. Should she succeed, both your world and our own may fall!”

“What does Weiss mean, Mystic Maya?” Pearl asked, confused, her additional excitement over spotting Mystic Trixie sitting in the Judge’s seat tempered by Maya’s state.

“I mean that The Nightmare over there,” Weiss indicated with a pointed hoof, “has laid claim to Twilight Sparkle’s body and soul, using her anguish and guilt over accidentally harming Phoenix Wright to break her will and make her agree to possession. For any mare in Equestria, hurting a stallion, especially one they love, is a grave act that most would never contemplate. She is using Twilight’s belief that she has done so.”

There was a moment of silence. “Wait… Mystic Twilight… likes Mister Nick…?” Pearl said, bewildered. “But she’s a pony!”

Maya groaned, but nodded. “Yes, Pearly, she’s a pony, but they’ve still been making googly-eyes at each other whenever you’re not looking. I mean, come on, they haven’t even been that subtle around you! I’m surprised you didn’t notice on your own.”

Pearl blinked several times, looking back between Maya and Phoenix, though the latter hadn’t yet noticed her presence, looking lost in thought below, stating something about destiny. “But… you and Mister Nick…” she put a finger in her mouth in confusion.

“We’ve never been more than friends, Pearly,” Maya sighed in exasperation, shaking her head and rubbing her bruised eye. “Honestly, why can’t anyone here see that? You, Vinyl, that snooty old pony down there…”

“Perhaps if you didn’t protest quite so much, we’d be more likely to believe you, darling!” Rarity fired in from the row in front of Maya. “And perhaps your cousin figured out long ago what you can’t seem to accept!” she stuck her nose up in the air beneath her hat and harrumphed.

“You said it!” Rainbow growled, instantly reminded of all the reasons she didn’t like Maya.

“You ain’t being honest with yourself, Maya! And now you’re gonna make Twilight and all us pay for it!” Applejack added with a note of anger, while all a flat-haired Pinkie Pie would do was look over at Maya and shake her head sadly.

Maya growled, while Pearl had a contemplative look on her face, her finger still in her mouth. “So… Mister Nick and Mystic Twilight like each other… but Mystic Twilight accidentally did something that hurt Mister Nick… and now Mystic Twilight’s in trouble because of it?”

“That about sums it up, darling,” Rarity said with a nod, along with the rest of Twilight’s friends.

Pearl frowned, then looked at Maya. “And she accidentally hurt you, too, Mystic Maya?”

“That it was accidental is up for debate,” muttered the battered-looking teen.

Pearl’s frown deepened. “If it was an accident, and she said she was sorry, then that makes it okay, right?”

“There are some things ‘sorry’ can’t fix, Pearly!” snapped Maya.

“Only because you’re so unwilling to accept it, dearie,” Rarity mused unsympathetically. “What Twilight did was completely involuntary… and it wouldn’t have affected you in the first place if your feelings for Phoenix Wright were strictly platonic. Or haven’t you been listening to the proceedings?”

Maya growled again. “That’s not…!”

“Mystic Maya… are you jealous of Mystic Twilight?” Pearl asked.

“Wha—! NO! I’m not jealous of her, I’m angry at her! Angry that she did this to Nick, that she did this to ME! Angry because… because she can make Nick smile in a way I’ve never seen before… because he seems happier since she came into his life…” Maya trailed off as she realized what she was saying.

This didn’t go unnoticed. “Mystic Maya… if Mister Nick is happy, shouldn’t you be happy, too? If you do like him, isn’t his happiness important to you…?” Pearl asked simply.

It was strange, hearing the same question Franziska had asked her several days ago repeated by her cousin. And yet, Maya couldn’t quite bring herself to answer. I want Nick to be happy, she thought, but is it really happiness, what he feels with Twilight…? She asked herself again. But how can it be? And how can I feel anything for him…?

She remained silent during The Nightmare’s revelation that she’d manufactured Twilight’s feelings for Phoenix, lost in her own thoughts, that grew more and more confusing. Can Nick really be happy with Sparkle? And… can I let him go if he is…?

Music: “Song of Myself (Instrumental Ver.)” by Nightwish

“…One chance is all I need, Your Honor,” Phoenix said with a nod, thinking Trixie had never more seemed like The Judge as that moment as he had flashbacks to the end of the Matt Engarde trial, cornering his own client into a guilty plea. It’s all coming to an end… and for what The Nightmare’s put both Twilight and me through, I swear I’ll strike the final blow MYSELF!

“As amusing as this has been, Phoenix Wright, my earlier point stands—you cannot prove matters of the heart. So let us be clear one final time on the stakes at this moment,” The Nightmare’s teeth gleamed. “Should you be bluffing now, you are only allowing me to take Twilight immediately, as opposed to some indefinite point in the future. For when her logical mind rejects whatever your unlikely evidence is, I will tell her the only way to make her fake love for you real is to surrender herself to me here and now. And I promise you, Phoenix Wright… as desperately as she wants it, she will!”

“And I promise you, Nightmare, that your reign of terror ends tonight,” he rejoined, lowering his head and giving her a predatory stare, never feeling more calm or in control as he had at that moment. I’ve finally been able to accept what I feel for Twilight as real. And now, all that’s left is to show her the one piece of evidence that proves it IS real…

Trixie’s gavel came down. “This is it, Wrong! This court directs you to reveal your evidence right now and back it up, or this trial is over!”

“Do it, Phoenix!” Vinyl told him. “Don’t really know what you’re planning here, but I can tell you’ve got it all figured out…”

“Indeed he does,” Mia agreed, stepping back to allow Phoenix the finishing blow and signaling Vinyl to the same. “Make me proud, Phoenix.”

“Will do, chief. Couldn’t have gotten here without you,” he bowed his head to her. “Your Honor, I hereby present my final piece of evidence…” he willed an object into existence in his hand, then held it high for all to see. “This!”

Everyone stared dubiously as the object resolved… into a small paperback book. “Wait. But that’s…” Rarity recognized it first, materializing her glasses and squinting. “That’s one of the novels I gave Twilight! Dragonfire!”

The Nightmare looked surprised, then annoyed. “That’s it?” she asked with a sneer. “That’s your case-breaking evidence, Phoenix Wright?”

“Not quite, Nightmare,” he willed multiple copies into existence, then simply tossed one to her, one to Trixie, and one onto the rail in front of Twilight, where her bowed head could see it, though they were all showing the back cover instead of the front.

“Are you out of your mind, Wrong?” Trixie asked as she scanned through the book description on the back, which was little more than standard romance-novel fare. “Your evidence is a bucking two-bit romance rag?”

Far from being chagrined, Phoenix’s grin only got wider as he crossed his arms and stared triumphantly at The Nightmare. “I suggest Your Honor and the prosecution simply turn the book over,” he instructed them both. “You’ll see something very interesting if you do…”

Both she and The Nightmare gave him an odd look, but obeyed. “Oh please, Phoenix Wright. I can’t imagine what good you think this will…” the latter fell silent, stunned along with Trixie when she saw the book was indeed titled Dragonfire and on the front cover…

Was the picture of a unicorn mare cuddling with a blue-furred pegasus with a spiky black mane, his coat the color of Phoenix’s courtroom attire. “But… that’s…” Trixie’s eyes went from the book cover to Phoenix and back repeatedly. “That’s you, Wrong!”

“Indeed it is, Your Honor!” he waited a beat, watching The Nightmare’s expression suddenly turn nervous and Twilight now staring directly at the front cover, her lip quivering. “And perhaps the lovely Miss Rarity can confirm that this book was one of Twilight’s favorites, read long before I ever came to Equestria or she even heard my name?” he put his hands on his hips in triumph.

“Yes! Yes! YES I CAN!” Rarity all but shouted in her excitement. “I gave her that book and several others back before Winter Wrap-Up! Months before Phoenix Wright arrived in Equestria! She told me it was one of her favorites! Along with…?” she trailed off as she looked to Phoenix again, suddenly understanding what he was doing.

“Along with these, Your Honor!” he materialized two more romance novels that Twilight had shown him that months-ago day in the library where she confessed the source of her feelings to him. “This book is part of an interspecies romance series…” he remembered Twilight telling him as he held up a novel titled Talonhoof, “and here’s a story about a mare falling for a defense attorney…” he next held up Mare in Manehattan, noting idly that the pony prosecutor opposite the defense attorney character looked suspiciously like a pegasus version of Edgeworth.

“And don’t forget these!” Rarity offered up two more books of their own. “Cloverfields… a mare heals a deeply wounded stallion with love and devotion. Nor should we neglect Silverwing—a romantic adventure story of redemption and triumph over great odds! Twilight told me she liked both of them, when she sought my advice regarding Phoenix Wright the morning before the second day of Rainbow’s trial!” she recalled, causing Twilight’s eyes to go wide as she remembered, beginning to shake and tremble in The Nightmare’s grasp, causing the latter to shoot her a look of alarm.

“You don’t say!” Vinyl grinned. “So let’s see… her favorites were one about a ponified Phoenix lookalike, another about an interspecies relationship, a third about a mare falling for a defense attorney, a fourth about helping a wounded male, and the last where the protagonist achieves a turnabout like you couldn’t believe…” the unicorn mare summarized helpfully. “Well, now… what could define The Phoenix more than that?” she asked rhetorically, raising her glasses and flipping through the books herself with a grin. “All these books, Your Honor… they’re about him!”

Music: Pursuit ~ Cornered (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney OST)

“EXACTLY!!!!!” Phoenix’s shout was as loud as one of Vinyl’s amps and caused the same reaction as The Nightmare was rocked backwards by the force of his logical blast, his volume high enough that Luna thought it could rival her Royal Canterlot Voice. “As I think Your Honor and Twilight herself are realizing, these books have one common thread… ME!” He pointed a finger across the courtroom pit, where for the first time, The Nightmare was starting to look outright fearful as Twilight’s breathing was starting to quicken, her power and will beginning to boil up from far beneath the surface, reasserting themselves in response to the truth seeping in despite The Nightmare’s best efforts. “In Twilight’s own words… ‘you’re all my favorite romance novel themes and characters rolled up into one tidy package…’” he quoted her.

“You’re right…” Twilight whispered, then recited the next words of her original statement herself. “So if these books are any indication…” she blushed hard as she’d done then, “you’re my ideal mate.” For the first time, she raised her head and turned her eyes to meet Phoenix, finally seeing him. “And you’re here…”

Sensing she was almost free, Phoenix hammered the point home, each statement recorded like a physical blow against The Nightmare, who now looked like she was struggling mightily to keep control, grimacing, her power weakening, her tendrils into Twilight fraying. “A mate you’d never even met or heard of at the point in time you read these. A mate who only presented himself when he arrived months later in Equestria. A mate and a man who embodied all of these books and characters… all your favorite themes and traits…” he recited, realizing he was now trembling himself as well. “I mean, how could you not fall in love with me?”

“How could I not…” she echoed his words to him, tears welling in her eyes as she remembered.

The Nightmare finally managed to find her voice, even though it was just a hoarse croak, all her remaining power now dedicated to trying to keep her tenuous connection to Twilight intact. “But how could you fall in love with her without magical help, Phoenix Wright? She’s a pony, not a woman! What could possibly be in this relationship for you?” she demanded to know.

“For me, Nightmare…?” he closed his eyes and bowed his head, the words now coming quickly and easily. “Love. A real love, from a mate who isn’t just using me and won’t discard me when my usefulness is at an end. A mare who gathered up the pieces of my broken heart and made them whole again. A mare who loves me for who I am, and puts my needs ahead of hers! A mare whom, pony or woman, is the most beautiful, wonderful lady I’ve ever met. As I thought about it even back then, I realized she was just my type—smart and savvy, a mare who lives for her friends… just as she now lives for me,” he finished quietly.

“We are a matched pair. A man and mare, The Lawyer and The Unicorn…” he shook his head in amazement and gratitude as he raised his eyes to meet Twilight’s, which were now glimmering. “I don’t know what the future holds for us, I don’t even know what this means for our two worlds. All I do know that is somehow, we work, and she’s the one for me,” he told her fervently. “All I know is that now and forever… I’m yours, Twilight Sparkle. And neither heaven nor earth will keep us apart!” He finished to the cheers of the gallery.

“Neither heaven nor earth would wish to,” Mia added, flaring a wing to drape across Phoenix’s shoulders. “Well done, Phoenix. Game, set and match! You lose, Nightmare!” she pointed across the courtroom at the now-reeling alicorn apparition.

“What she said! And I think Twi’s about to free herself, Nightie,” Vinyl warned gleefully, pointing across the pit with her own hoof. “Be real afraid marefriend! ‘Cause once she does, you’re dead!”

“I actually thank you, Nightmare,” Phoenix grinned, showing his teeth as he pointed his own finger across the pit. “Because it took you to force me to face my own fears and finally see the truth! A truth I was then able to share with Twilight. She sees it as well as me now, and all that’s left then…” he looked to Trixie, turning his arm towards her. “Deliver the verdict, and you deliver not just Twilight, but all of us from The Nightmare’s evil, Your Honor!”

“For once, Wrong… that’ll be my pleasure!” Trixie raised her gavel. “In the case of the people versus Twilight Sparkle, this court finds the defendant…” her voice trailed off as something started to happen to The Nightmare and impossibly, she began to laugh.

“You think you’ve won…? “The Nightmare said in a pained voice, wispy dark smoke beginning to gather around her, her very body beginning to vaporize. “Twilight Sparkle is mine… and I won’t… let… you… WIN!” she dissolved completely into smoke except for her slitted eyes and teeth, and then shot towards Twilight, enveloping her in a blue miasma, causing her to cry out in pain and anger.

“NO!” Twilight shouted as she fell to the ground and began to roll back and forth on the courtroom floor, her horn sparking but unable to produce a coherent spell.“Get out of my head! Get out of my head!” she ordered as she clutched her head in her hooves, The Nightmare’s presence trying to overpower her.

“Twilight!” Phoenix and her friends shouted, the former trying immediately to go to her side only to be blocked by Mia’s arm.

“No Phoenix,” she told him softly. “This is now Twilight’s fight. She has to expel The Nightmare on her own.”

“She can do it now,” Vinyl was certain, though she was in just as much agony not being able to help. “She’s fighting for you and her friends now. And take it from me—when those she cares about are at stake, there ain’t nopony with more will than her!”

Phoenix knew she was right, but it was still agony for him to watch but not be able to interfere, worse still to not be able to see the progress of the battle that was taking place in the plane of her mind. “You’re lying!” Twilight said at some length, fighting hard to focus her will and power through whatever The Nightmare was doing to her. “Everything about you is a lie!” she hissed out through gritted teeth.

“Come on, Twilight, fight her!” Rainbow Dash flew down from the gallery and landed beside her, but obeying Mia’s instruction to keep a short distance. “Show her who’s boss mare!”

“Don’t let her win, Twilight!” Fluttershy was close behind. “We don’t want to lose you!”

We’re here, Twilight!” Applejack shouted as she leaped down from the gallery and stood to Rainbow’s left, the three forming a semicircle around Twilight. “Don’t listen to her! You’re our friend, and we ain’t ever gonna leave ya, no matter what!”

“Show her, Twilight!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she arrived. “Show that meanie-weenie no-fun Nightmare that you won’t let her be a party-pooper!”

“Return to us, Twilight!” Rarity arrived next, discarding her femme fatale outfit and standing directly in front of her friend. “We love you just as you love Phoenix Wright!”

“Love… me…” Twilight repeated through tears and growing anger. “No! I do hear them!” Twilight proclaimed in response to something else The Nightmare said. “I hear all of them! But you tried to keep me from hearing them this whole time! From seeing that Phoenix and all my friends were here! That they support me! That they love me!” she accused, though nobody could hear the response, only one side of the conversation audible from the outside.

“Come on, Twilight!” Spike implored. “We want you back! I want you back!”

“We are here, my student,” Celestia added, adding herself to the rapidly forming circle around Twilight. “May our voices be heard, and may The Nightmare fall!”

“Thou art lucky to have such friends and know friendship, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna agreed, standing beside her sister and readying a capture spell when The Nightmare was expelled. “We hope thee might yet teach us its ways…”

“A fine student you wouldst have made, Twilight Sparkle. Admittedly, the magic of friendship ‘twas something even I was not well-versed in…” Starswirl admitted from the witness stand, watching the proceedings with more curiosity than worry. “Perchance you might even complete an old spell of mine using it, someday… but that cannot happen unless you defeat The Nightmare here and now!” he slammed his hoof down on the rail hard.

“A student of Starswirl… me?” Twilight actually looked almost giddy for a bare moment. “Still have… so much… to learn…”

“A finer mare I have rarely seen, Twilight Sparkle!” Firefly added her own voice to the chorus. “Know that the blessings of the Summerlands itself fall upon you and Phoenix Wright.”

“And of the Gryphon Valhalla as well,” Layan Kaval added. “Bare your teeth and show your warrior spirit, young mage! Defeat this abomination and crush her dreams of conquest!”

“Twilight…” Phoenix called to her when all her friends had had their turn, breaking the circle and offering her his hand. “I’m here. Come back to me. Come back to all of us,” he asked her softly.

“I… I…” Twilight’s eyes locked on all her friends and teacher briefly as she struggled to draw strength from their presence. There was another short pause as The Nightmare spoke inside her head and Twilight’s expression abruptly contorted into a snarl. Whatever was said, her eyes glowed red and she suddenly exploded into flame, taking the same fire form she had when she fought Trixie, in direct reflection of her deepest power and sheer force of will.

The sight caused Trixie to flinch, but she silently urged her rival on. “You… will… not… TOUCH him!” Twilight then said in response to what Phoenix could only assume was a direct threat against him. “Or any of my friends, ever! Because once I’m free of you, I promise that I will learn whatever dream magic I have to to keep them all safe!” she proclaimed, leaving Phoenix no doubt she meant it as she suddenly climbed to her hooves and gathered her strength and magic for a final assault on the invading entity. “Do you hear me, Nightmare? This is it! I’m your last victim! You will not have me! And you will not… harm… HIM… EVER!!!!!”

A massive surge of flame and wave of magical energy erupted outwards from her, knocking them all backwards but otherwise washing over them harmlessly as The Nightmare was expelled with an agonized scream and burst of blue smoke that was quickly captured by Luna, resolving itself back into her Nightmare Moon form. Her energy spent in a herculean effort to expel her demonic possessor, Twilight dropped out of her elemental fire form and collapsed to the floor, breathing raggedly, her friends and teacher quickly surrounding her and hugging her, saying how proud they were of her. She accepted them gladly, but quickly raised her head and searched for…

“Ph-Phoenix…?” Twilight called to him, reaching out with a hoof. “Forgive me, please. I’m sorry I was so weak…” she sniffled as she spoke.

“Ssshhh…” he called, taking her hoof in his hands and kissing it, letting her collapse against him. “I’m here, Twilight. You did it. She’s gone.”

“Th-thanks to you…” she told him, tears in her eyes as he pulled her into an embrace. “You showed me the truth, Phoenix. And that’s what freed me.”

“You freed yourself, Twilight,” Mia told her, keeping a respectful distance to that point but then stepping forward to put a hand on her shoulder. “As I knew you would once you both saw the truth. But truth or no, you are far from weak. If you were, The Nightmare would never have been forced to resort to the measures she did,” she noted, looking up with a glare.

“A desperate ploy indeed, demon!” Luna mocked as she pulled the evil entity back, reeling the alicorn apparition in like a fish on a hook, her eyes and horn glowing. “That thou wouldst try and take over an unwilling spirit hath cost thee all thy remaining strength and power! Her rejection means thou hath nothing left, and now thou shalt face the judgement of the spirits themselves!” she informed the struggling apparition.

To the surprise and disgust of all, The Nightmare managed to work up some laughter. “You know me well, but not well enough, former host!” she bared her teeth. “For if you didst, you wouldst know that we always have a backup plan! And that plan is…” With that she turned her gaze, to Mia’s dread and horror, on…

“MAYA!” Mia and Phoenix shouted in shock and fear as a forgotten tendril leading to Maya illuminated and thickened, The Nightmare turning intangible again and pouring the remaining dregs of her magic into the connection.

“Huh?” Maya wasn’t immediately aware what was happening, having been watching the proceedings from the sideline, speaking with Pearls the whole time. “What’s happening…?” were the only other words she got out before the miasma that was The Nightmare slipped Luna’s net and collected around the young human mystic, trying to take her in place of Twilight Sparkle.

“That will not avail thee, demon!” Luna shouted, but the sudden alarm in her eyes belied her own statement as Maya was suddenly raised up into the air like a marionette.

“Oh, I think it will, my former host!” The Nightmare cackled gleefully. “Her will is weak and her anger real! I will take her instead of Twilight, and there is nothing you can do to stop me!”

“Maybe they can’t…” Twilight pulled herself up and glanced at her friends, who grinned back knowingly, Luna taking on a pleased expression as well as she realized their intention—one she had brought them here to realize. “But we can!” She closed her eyes and a tiara suddenly materialized on her head followed by a series of pendants around the friends bearing jewels that matched their coat colors and cutie marks.

The Nightmare’s expression instantly dropped as she recognized the danger. “No! NO!!!!” she shrieked, going to immediate work on a dazed-looking Maya, whose eyes went glazed and expression distant just as Twilight’s had been when her perceptions were altered.

“Maya, fight it!” She heard Phoenix shout. “Don’t let… her… win…” but the rest of the words were lost as reality itself seemed to slow down and she was enveloped in a dark blue haze, and suddenly her world was reduced to an empty courtroom, only shadows of the occupants present, their voices impossibly distant and inaudible.

“Greetings, young mystic…” Slitted eyes and pointed teeth greeted her as she floated in a room she thought was empty, huddled in fetal position against the sudden cold she felt. “I offer you the greatest of all boons, and the chance for vengeance on Twilight Sparkle.”

“Vengeance…” Maya repeated, tears in her eyes as she recalled all that had happened to her over the previous day. “She hurt me…”

“Indeed she did. And I will punish her for it… if you let me,” the voice promised in cloying tones. “In fact, I can give you everything you’ve ever wanted… simply name it, Maya Fey, and it is yours!”

“You mean can punish Sparkle… even give me… Nick…?” she visibly wavered, shocked by her own admission but only vaguely aware of something fanning the desires she felt.

“Everything…” The Nightmare’s voice all but cooed, then as example, magically matured and enhanced her body before her eyes, aging her up to her mid-twenties. She watched stunned as she grew two more inches and her body fleshed out, giving her a set of curves the equal or better of her big sister. “For example, you may have your sister’s body, which you have always envied… one fit to attract Phoenix Wright himself!”.

“But… I…” Maya’s expression changed repeatedly from hope to disbelief to revulsion to desire as The Nightmare pushed all her internal buttons at once. “I do want him…?”

“Indeed you DO! And I can give him to you!”the voice promised. “I can grant you power beyond measure, your mystic abilities enhanced a thousandfold… a siren’s body combined with an alicorn mating aura…” The Nightmare recited. “Between them, you could have not just everything, but everyONE you want!”

“I could have Nick… a-and Vinyl…?”her eyes suddenly sought out the unicorn mare, recognizing a shadow she thought was her… or was it?

“If you wish,” the voice answered placatingly, though with what might have been a note of annoyance and exasperation, illuminating the pony DJ just long enough for Maya to see her shouting. “And all you need to do is join with me. Accept me…”the invader all but purred, though there was a increasingly harried note in her voice as well as shadows moved in the background, equine figures seemingly stepping into a formation around her. “You have been wronged, Maya Fey. But I ALONE can make it right! Twilight Sparkle is about to be found innocent when you KNOW she is guilty!”

“Guilty…” Maya repeated dully, no longer certain of it herself as Nick’s final arguments and Vinyl’s earlier cross-examination still rang clear in her head, to say nothing of her earlier talk with Pearl. “But is she…?”

“Of COURSE she is!”The Nightmare said with increasing urgency as several of the shadows suddenly formed a semicircle around her and there was what she could only describe as a magical effect around them, just visible through the cloying mist. “Accept me NOW, Maya Fey, or all is lost for both of us! Nick! Vinyl Scratch! A new body! All the power and lovers you could ever want! Just let me IN!”she said, her presence starting to pound on the door of her very psyche…

A door that was beginning to break down.

And then a new voice made itself known, a smaller shadow stepping in front of the six. “Please, mystic Maya…” an impossibly distant voice called to her which she was just able to recognize as Pearl. “I know you’re hurt. But don’t let her win! Please come back to us!” the more words she heard, the clearer and nearer her voice became until finally the shadowy form resolved into Pearly herself, stepping through a crack of light in the dark background.

“Pearly…” she called out weakly, reaching for her even as she felt herself being tugged back. “I… can’t…”

“Yes you can, Mystic Maya!” she said with tears in her eyes, trying to push through the boundary The Nightmare had erected and reach her cousin’s hand. “Mister Nick is here! I’m here! So are all our pony friends! She’s lying to you! Just like she lied to Mystic Twilight!”

“Don’t listen to her!” the voice was now one of outright panic as the glow intensified around the six circling ponies. “You must let me in NOW or there is no escape for either of us, Maya Fey! No punishment for Sparkle, and no hope for you! Reject me, and you will be nothing more than what you always were—a pale shadow of your older sister, in body AND soul!”

“That is not true, abomination…” A bright light suddenly shone, illuminating a pair of angel wings flared before it with Mia Fey between them. “Maya has always been her own girl, beautiful and special in her own way. Smart and sassy, and a good friend with a good heart when it’s not being manipulated. But make no mistake, The Nightmare has been manipulating you this whole time, Maya. Pressing your buttons, enhancing your anger to use it against Twilight. But she could not do that unless you were unwilling to accept what you feel… for both Phoenix, and Vinyl Scratch.”

“Unwilling?” Maya tried to reflexively deny the word, only to have her own thoughts at The Nightmare’s own offers of Phoenix Wright expose the lie yet again. “You mean…”

“SILENCE, MIA FEY!” the voice shouted in desperation, now trying to force her way in and take Maya against her weakened will. “If I cannot have Twilight Sparkle, I will take your sister instead, then make my escape and discard her like the useless refuse she IS!”

Music: Pursuit ~ Cornered (Limitless Remix)

“Useless… refuse…?” Maya felt a white-hot anger suddenly rising within her as the lights surrounding the six still-unseen ponies began arcing, connecting them even as an internal light suddenly illuminated what was happening from deep within her. “You bitch! Sis is right! All this time you’ve been using me!” she accused.

“NO! I Didn’t mean…” for the first time, The Nightmare stammered hard, realizing she’d just overstepped badly.

“It’s what I was telling you all along, Maya…” Vinyl now entered her field of view through the crack of light behind Pearl and stepping to her left, breaking through the miasma that surrounded her. “The Nightmare ain’t your friend. You were going to condemn yourself and both worlds on the basis of a lie. Worst of all, a lie to yourself. I’m sorry I had to throw all this in your face during cross, but you had to see that your feelings for me, for Nick… they’re real, fillyfriend.”

“Real…” she repeated to herself, the truth starting to shine bright from within her. “Then I do want Nick…” she finally realized, the virtual wounds on her dream realm body suddenly beginning to heal themselves.

“I know, Maya…” Phoenix spoke up for the first time, appearing between Pearl and Mia. “I don’t know what this means for us, but I promise that whatever my feelings for Twilight, I will never abandon you. What I share with Twilight is special, but with you is no less. You’re my friend as much as she, and always will be.” He held out his hand for her.

“Friends…” she replied, tears in her eyes as she reached back for him. “I love you, Nick…” she finally made the fateful admission, and with that, her wounds healed, and The Nightmare’s miasma completely dissolved away to reveal… Twilight and her friends now wearing a jeweled tiara and pendants in the rough form of their cutie marks, a spectrum of arcane energy flowing between them.

“Get clear, Nix!” Rainbow was shouting as a spectrum of light enveloped them and jewelry they were wearing. “You too, Pearly! Let’s do this, girls! Time to make The Nightmare Taste the Rainbow™!”

“Do it!” Maya shouted, clutching her head as Mia pulled Phoenix and Pearls back, now trying to keep The Nightmare contained within her. She didn’t fully understand what was about to happen, except that they were going to free her fully from The Nightmare’s influence. “DO IT! BLOW HER TO HELL!”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!” The Nightmare screamed as a massive wave of energy rocked them, expelling the entity and filling Maya with warmth and love in her place, enhancing this time not her hate or doubt, but her feelings of love and friendship.

For Mia.

For her mother.

For Phoenix.

For Pearly.

For Pinkie Pie.

For Vinyl.

For all of her friends, both human and Equestrian.

For life itself.

And for the first time, she saw that friendship truly was magic, and what it had brought her. I love them all… and I nearly threw them all away… she realized, tears of sorrow and joy in her eyes as she finally beheld all she had… and all she nearly lost. “Oh gods, I’ve been such a fool… I’m so sorry sis...” she said as the light faded, her head suddenly completely clear, the truth in her shining with clarity she’d never before known.

“Don’t be…” Mia told her, hugging her tightly and wrapping her wings around her. “You saw the truth and held her off in the end, giving Twilight and her friends the time to power up their elements. In the end, your will was strong and she couldn’t possess you any more than she could Twilight.”

“Hey, you okay there, Maya?” Vinyl called from behind in deep concern.

“Vinyl!” she reached for her DJ friend immediately.

“I’m here,” she said quickly, going to her and offering her a foreleg. “I’m here.”

“I’m so sorry, V-Jay…” she fell in Vinyl’s arms. “Nick… Vinyl… sis… I’m sorry for everything. It was all too much. And I just… wasn’t… ready…” she told them all through tears.

“I know, fillyfriend. I know…” Vinyl hugged her tightly. “And whatever it takes, I swear I’ll help you through it…”

“Mystic Maya!” Pearl shouted and leaped into her arms. “You’re okay!”

“I’m better than okay, Pearly…” Maya answered, her face lighting up with a genuine smile. “All thanks to you. You got me thinking, and then you broke through to me when I was on the edge of surrendering to that… thing.” She held back the word she wanted to use for Pearl’s presence.

“Are you all right, Maya?” Twilight asked in some wariness. “I’m very sorry my magic affected you like that. If I’d known…” she went downcast.

“It was an accident. I see that now…” Maya answered, then brought her palms together and bowed. “Nick is yours, Sparkle. You two were meant for each other. But please take good care of him…” she sniffled.

Twilight regarded her, then smiled. “You know, I can’t be here for him all the time, Maya…” she replied, reaching out to hug the human mystic, each realizing that only the other could truly understand what they’d just been through… the near possession and the sense of violation it brought. “And that means you’ll need to do so in my stead!” she reminded her, making Maya hug her tightly, the two sharing sniffles over an ordeal only the other could understand.

With that, their attention turned back on Luna, who was once again holding the drained remains of The Nightmare, now reduced a shadow of her former self. “This is the end, vile creature!” the Moon Princess proclaimed as the spirits gathered close, The Nightmare struggling within her magical grasp, Weiss using her power to block Pearl’s sight and hearing of what was to come. “Thy final gambit has failed. So methinks the only question now would be… shall we end thee ourselves, or leave thee to them?” she asked with a look around the gallery, and received shouts in English, Latin, and other ancient languages in return, the Bolt Knights and Red Talons materializing their weapons while the Romans in the audience stood and passed sentence with thumbs raised but pointed at and motioning towards their necks, shouting “Iugula!” (“Throats!” Phoenix recognized from a long-ago Latin class) as though witnessing a gladiatorial event at the Colosseum.

Luna noted their actions, then glanced at Celestia, who nodded at their shared thought, a satisfied if rather chilling smile on her face. “So be it! We wished to end thee ourselves, but we now feel we owe it… to them!” the moon princess passed sentence, holding The Nightmare up and preparing to toss her into a gallery of spirits calling for her blood.

“This court concurs!” Trixie brought her gavel down, not wanting to miss her own chance to be a part of the final action. “Nightmare, you are found guilty of demonic possession, illegal magical manipulation, perjury, threats against officers of the court, and if our audience is any indication... at least a thousand counts of murder! For which the penalty… is death!” Her eyes glowed blue as she sat back in great satisfaction to watch the show, like Nero in his private box. “Does the condemned have any last words?” she added as an afterthought, almost gleefully.

“You are a foal, Lulu…” The Nightmare worked up some final defiance and a last toothy smile. “You are all foals! No matter what happens tonight, you will have accomplished nothing! For there must always be a Nightmare! Slay me, and another will rise in my place!”

Luna gave her a sly but mocking grin. “Then may she be less craven than thee, and face us directly in open combat instead of slinking in the shadows like a coward!” And with that, she threw The Nightmare’s spirit to the proverbial wolves, her screams silenced by her former victims as her ethereal body was quickly torn to shreds.

Author's Note

No Ace Attorney trial is complete with a closing twist and epic climax, and I tried to make sure this had both in spades. The Nightmare gets a richly-deserved comeuppance, Twilight and Phoenix are reunited, and even Maya finally sees the light she’d been hiding from. There’s one more trial chapter remaining, as there remains one final order of business to attend, as well as a post-trial sequence where Luna takes center stage. And after that? It’s back to the living realm to reconnect and absorb all that happened here.

27: The Heart's Turnabout, Part 11 - Verdict

Music: Admit the Truth ~ Exponere Mendacium

“Well then,” began Fell Flight, blood dripping from her mouth, “’tis certain I enjoyed that possibly far more than I should. But ’twas so satisfying to end that blight on the thestral lineage and history!”

As The Nightmare had been tossed into the gallery, the half-breed mare had all but pounced on the faux alicorn, going straight for the jugular with her fangs. She had held onto The Nightmare’s throat even as the rest of its body had been ripped asunder by the rest of the audience.

Captain Alucard nodded. “None here would deny that you earned that right, Emissary.” He bowed low before the former Bolt Knight.

“‘Emissary’?” asked Maya, puzzled as she went up and poked the remnants of the dream demon with a materialized stick, seemingly trying to make sure she was dead, watching as her remains seemingly disintegrated into smoke and grayish mist under her prods until there was nothing left. “Isn’t she a soldier?”

“Yeah, Fell Flight was a leading member and founder of the Bolt Knights, but she retired from that life after the war, and became Equestria’s emissary to the thestral tribes, eventually establishing the Thestral Conclave in Canterlot which worked to re-integrate the bat ponies into mainstream pony society after centuries of Nightmare Moon stigma!” Rainbow Dash rattled off her history with the ease of someone who had studied the matter extensively, leaving Twilight marveling how readily she memorized certain facts yet cared so little for others. “One of her sayings was how she wanted her legacy to be one of life, not death; and an emissary was a better job for that than a soldier.”

“Much as I elected to serve the cause of life and friendship by later becoming the Gryphon Ambassador to Equestria,” Layan Kaval noted.

“Indeed, Prelate. But in fairness, ’twas Thunderbolt’s saying, originally,” Fell Flight took pains to point out, nodding to the large and handsome pegasus stallion with jagged lightning cutie mark, who bowed his head and smiled in pride like a proud papa. “And ’twas his teachings and legacy I sought to honor by taking them as my own.”

“Aye. And ’tis a great thing that thou didst so, Emissary,” Princess Luna said, stepping towards the cat-eyed mare, who stood to attention. “When we were returned to our senses, we confess that we had thought ‘twould take months, perchance even years, to reform the Dream Guard and return it to active duty. Imagine our surprise when, upon announcing its rebirth, the children of the night flocked to its banner, along with many unicorns. Thy work towards bringing thestrals back into Equestria’s good graces have eased our transition into these modern times.”

Fell Flight nodded, a hint of color coming to her cheeks as she was praised by one of the patrons of her people. Any response was cut off by Trixie’s gavel coming down repeatedly. “Order in the court!” she called. “We still have one final order of business to attend, so if everyone would please return to their places…?”

The gallery settled down, with Maya and Pearl returning there along with Twilight’s friends, this time sitting among them. The Bolt Knights and Red Talons resumed their positions as bailiffs, though with The Nightmare now vanquished, there was no further need for them. Vinyl, Mia, and Phoenix were all at the defense bench, while the prosecutor’s bench stood empty, and Twilight returned to the defendant’s chair. Trixie waited until they were done before speaking, looking out over everything.

“This has been one of the most bizarre nights I’ve ever experienced, and I doubt anyone here would say otherwise,” she began, to some light chuckles. “I was brought into Twilight Sparkle’s dream to pass judgment on her by command of The Nightmare, who tempted me with the thought of revenge on Sparkle for her wrongdoing against me in the past.” Here, she bowed her head. “And, I’m ashamed to say that it very nearly worked. I nearly let my personal bias against Twilight cause me to pass summary judgement on her, with no consideration of the facts at hoof.

“Were it not for the sharp legal mind and quick thinking of our excellent defense team leader,” she nodded to Mia, who nodded back, “I most likely would have done so. And in so doing, I would have become just like the ill-named Fair Verdict, who briefly presided over my own trial not that long ago.” She paused, then amended, “No, I would have been worse than Fair Verdict. She was bigoted, yes, but she was bribed to put me away. I have no such excuse; I let my passions rule my judgement. And had I gone through with it? I would have proven only that those who distrust the law already are right to do so... never mind enabling The Nightmare to take her new host and thus condemning all of Equestria!” She shuddered for a moment.

“A judge cannot let their passions rule them, for in so doing, they forsake both their honor and the evidence, resulting in vastly erroneous rulings. However, a judge also cannot shut their heart away from a trial completely; to do so causes them to become cold and distant, as unfeeling as the windigos of old. A true judge must strike a balance between passion and serenity, taking into account the evidence and emotions in the case, to make a proper ruling,” she recalled, looking thoughtful. “Due Process taught me that at my own trial. Both he and the human judge I met once before are, perhaps, the best examples of such judges I’ve seen, and I am glad to have met role models like them.”

“You give yourself too little credit, Your Honor,” Mia said, her hands clasped in front of her and angel wings folded behind her. “I had a feeling from the start that you would surprise The Nightmare, even had I not brought your grandfather into the picture.”

“Perhaps, Mia Fey,” Trixie conceded, “but perhaps not. I doubt even an ascended spirit such as yourself can say what would have happened on the path not taken. But enough of such things. I am glad I played the role I did, but it’s now time to finish it! Twilight Sparkle, rise to receive verdict!”

Twilight stepped up to the witness stand, looking far more calm and at ease than she had been all night. The two unicorns regarded each other for a moment before Trixie spoke again. “Let me make one thing clear, Snarkle—I still haven’t forgiven you for invading my mind and violating my privacy during our duel. Nor have I forgotten that you bared my heart for all to know during my trial! That said, you did not deserve what The Nightmare would have done to you, and I’m ashamed that I nearly enabled it to happen.”

Twilight lowered her head in chagrin. “It’s okay, Trixie. I understand if you never forgive me. And in truth, I can’t help but wonder how I would have turned out in your position,” Twilight admitted. “What would I have become in the absence of Princess Celestia’s support and teaching? I could very well have ended up in your place… or even worse.”

Trixie smiled wanly. “Well, I am glad that you didn’t. After all, there’s only enough room for one angst-ridden, boastful showmare in Equestria!” This brought another round of laughs from the gallery, louder than before. “But I’ve rambled long enough. So let’s finish the job! After due consideration of the charges, arguments and evidence, this court hereby finds the defendant, Twilight Sparkle…”

Music: Won The Case! ~ Veritas Vos Liberabit

With that proclamation, Pinkie Pie whooped and fired her party cannon, causing confetti to rain from the ceiling as the gallery erupted into thunderous applause, consisting of human claps raucous gryphon cries and pony hoofstomps. Trixie waited for the ruckus to die down a bit before continuing. “My job is finished and that is all for this case. Court is—”

“Ahem. Pardon the interruption, Thine Honor, but may we take over thy bench? We wish to offer some judgments of our own,” Princess Luna asked, approaching the bench, stopping Trixie before her gavel could come down.

Trixie blinked. “Ah, certainly, Your Highness. And the case is over now, so you may simply call me Trixie.” She stepped down from the bench immediately.

“’Tis our hope to call thee more than that one day, but for now… we feel a change of decor is in order!” Before Trixie could ask what she meant, the lunar princess closed her eyes as their surroundings rippled, the courtroom replacing itself with a far different environment, one reminiscent of olden times with blue firegem torches lining the walls alternating with large tapestries of famous scenes and ponies, all night-related, the Equestrian flag behind her beneath a large circular window with painted glass, but the banner of the night draping the refurbished bench.

“Wait! This is—was—your Night Court!” Celestia recognized with a startled look around. “Back from our old Everfree castle!”

Music: The Extraordinary

“Indeed, sister!” Luna acknowledged as she ascended the stairs and sat down at her desk, suddenly garbed in what Celestia also recognized as her sister’s old Dream Warden armor she had worn during her first few hundred years as Princess of the Night. “For if we are to give an olden award, we shall call back to olden times! Vinyl Scratch, step forth!” she ordered, and though surprised, the Pony DJ did so, stepping before the elevated bench Luna sat behind.

“Your servant, Princess,” she bowed, uncertain of the Lunar Regent’s intentions.

“Indeed thou art,” Luna acknowledged in some wonder. “To even find thy way here ’twas an incredible feat, made even more so by the fact thou hadst no formal training in dreamwalking, possessing nothing but thine own natural talent and desire to protect thy friend. And yet… we are also told by our own guardsponies that they could never have defeated the dream demon army without thee—that thy song and spirit succeeded in uniting both regular ponies and the dream guard that protects them in harmony.

“Thy achievement is breathtaking and deserves to be rewarded. And though we may no longer command a Navy as we once did, perchance we can still give the naval titles as awards,” she said as she materialized a pair of odd swords, one short and one long. “For such superb service to the lunar crown, helping to save not just Maya Fey and Twilight Sparkle but all Equestria, we pronounce thee a Star Sentry, the second order of the Lunar Guard!” she tapped both of Vinyl’s shoulders with the flat of her swords and a dark blue cape with silver trim suddenly materialized on her, clasped at the front with a crystal brooch that had the appearance of a star-shaped blue diamond embedded in a larger white diamond done up to look like the full moon.

A shaft of moonlight then speared through the window above her, illuminating Vinyl with a pale glow that caused the crystal to glitter. “Whether thou seeketh to join the Lunar Guard or not, we grant thee title within it. Stand and be recognized, Star Sentry Vinyl Scratch!”her last words boomed out as her Dream Guard instantly came to attention and saluted the surprised DJ, even the Bolt Knights and Red Talons offering up salutes their own.

Though very surprised, Vinyl offered a facsimile of a salute back. “Wow, I… I don’t know what to say, Princess!” she admitted at some length, admiring her new attire.

“Wow, you don’t know what to say, V-Jay?” Maya smirked from the sidelines. “I’ll have to make a note of the date!”

“Thou may simply say thou accept, young minstral!” Luna smiled. “And though we are not certain we can appreciate thy rather… loud music, perchance thou wouldst honor us with thy presence in Canterlot one day? We can then make thy title official in the physical realm as well as the dream one!”

“Be my pleasure, Princess!” she bowed again. “But it wouldn’t be right to say I did this alone. I mean, couldn’t have done it without Lady Requiem or your dream guard…” Or without Maya’s music, she decided to save for later.

“We are aware, Vinyl Scratch. Be assured Lady Requiem will be properly recognized later, and we will also offer public commendation to all our loyal guardsponies, who proved themselves admirably this night. But methinks there is one other pony present this blessed eve who cannot wait. A pony who, by chance or by fate, we are also afforded the opportunity to offer our thanks to, even though she is long departed…” her voice trailed off as her gaze fell on one of the Bolt Knights.

“First Lieutenant Fell Flight! Step forth!”she commanded in her Royal Canterlot Voice, and though surprised, the spirit of the large thestral-eyed pegasus mare immediately did so, taking a knee before the bench.

“My Princess,” Fell Flight used the olden address and the same formal bow with splayed wings Phoenix had earlier seen from Firefly. “We are honored by your presence and that we were able to serve thee not just in life, but now in death!”

“The honor is ours, great warrior and emissary,” Luna acknowledged, raising her swords vertically into a salute. “Thy life is legend, and thine achievements in both war and peace rank with the greatest of all time. Since our return, we have studied all thy Bolt Knight brethren, but ’tis certain we took particular interest in thee. For thou wert the greatest champion of us and our servants, and thy legacy is all around us,” she noted with a look around the courtroom at her mostly-thestral dream guard, who, at their captain’s instruction, quickly fell into an honor guard formation around her and came to rigid attention, the Bolt Knights and Red Talons quickly doing the same, the latter drawing their weapons and holding them in an extended salute as they normally did for decoration ceremonies.

Luna waited until they were finished before continuing. “’Tis to our great regret that we were not there for thee in life, but perchance we may now rectify this in death,” she told the long-passed warrior. “For thy great martial prowess, long service to Equestria and unquestioned love and loyalty to the night, thou art awarded the revered and rarely given title of… Shadowbolt!”

With a flare of the Moon Princess’ horn, Fell Flight’s uniform was transformed into the ornate dark armor the elite lunar guard once wore, the ensemble completed by prominent crystal rank insignia on her shoulders of a lightning bolt against a crescent moon, the moon itself suddenly shining even more brightly through the painted glass a window above the princess down onto departed spirit, illuminating her like a blue-and-white spotlight, causing her slitted thestral cat-eyes to glow brightly.

“Is that a big deal?” Phoenix wondered out loud as gasps were heard from the Dream Guard and even Fell Flight looked shocked.

“Uh… yeah?” a hovering Rainbow answered like it was self-evident. “Way back when, the Shadowbolts were Luna’s elite! They were her Bolt Knights! You had to score like a hundred aerial victories to be one, and either win a duel with an existing Shadowbolt or perform a battle feat so amazing that there was no choice but to let you in!” she said in excited tones. “There weren’t more than fifty in all of history!”

“Quite,” Luna acknowledged with a slightly annoyed glance up, at which point conversation ceased. “To be named a Shadowbolt is to be elevated to the fourth order of the Lunar Guard, an honor granted to only the most elite of lunar warriors and greatest servants to the night! Know that by our command, honored emissary, thy life will be remembered, and thy deeds immortalized in the annals of lunar history for all time!”

The cheers that followed from the thestral members of the dream guard present were loud and raucous, the ponies pinwheeling their hooves and stomping them appreciatively, even the gryphon warriors present nodding their heads in agreement.

“My Princess honors me,” Fell Flight bowed low, Phoenix wasn’t certain but he thought he saw tears in her eyes for a moment. “To serve thy cause ’twas my greatest honor in life… and to be recognized by thee as having done thy work ’tis my greatest honor in death.”

“’Tis well-earned, noble warrior of the night. As our sister will say, we value long and loyal service above all, and how could we not recognize one who served us and our kindred so faithfully even when we were not here?” she mused, then addressed all present. “May the blessings of the Sun and Moon fall upon all of thee great warriors, whether allies or adversaries of old,” she nodded to the Bolt Knights and Red Talons in turn. “We thank thee for thy sacrifice and service here tonight, and bid thee our fondest farewell!” She finished as she offered up her ancient swords in salute.

“’Twas our greatest pleasure, Princess Luna,” Firefly answered for both the Bolt Knights and Red Talons as they returned the salutes, then she turned to Celestia. “My Princess… ’tis nearly time to take our leave. Once your sister departs the dreamscape, we will lose our anchor and be unable to stay in this realm.”

“I see…” Celestia’s eyes were suddenly glimmering. “Then may the winds be at your backs, and the rising sun guide you home,” she choked out and had to look away at her recitation of the old pegasus funeral prayer, an expression that Rainbow instantly recognized as coming from an even older pegasi belief that the rising sun led the way to the Summerlands for fallen warriors. “I will raise it in your honor when I return home.”

“Fret not, our Princess,” Wind Whistler stepped forward, followed by the rest. “Be at peace, and know that through the centuries, our love and loyalty for you has never diminished.”

“My noble knights…” she sniffled again, basking in the presence of her former champions and friends for as long as she could.

“Just a moment…” Mia called out. “Captain, with your permission… I believe I would like to visit the Summerlands myself. May I accompany you?”

Firefly looked back at her and grinned. “’Twould be our honor and pleasure to escort you, Mia Fey,” she bowed low. “There would have been no victory here but for your power and presence.”

“A greater warrior of wits I have never known, Mia Fey,” Layan Kaval said, saluting her and signaling his fellow warriors to do the same. “You and your student fought a brave and brutal battle, and in the end triumphed over impossible odds. ’Tis my hope you will honor us with a visit to Valhalla as well, human angel. But until then, our mission is complete, and we too, must take our leave. Fare thee well, honored friends,” he saluted Firefly with his sword, then bowed low before the two princesses, signaling his forces to do the same.

“Your presence was appreciated, Prelate,” Mia bowed back. “Just the sight of you kept the dream demons away.”

“You are quite welcome. ’Tis a pity, though. I was so looking forward to a fight…” he sheathed his sword in some disgust.

“As were we all…” one of his female subordinates said. “Though perchance we may yet get one. I believe there is a challenge pending…?” she looked pointedly at Rainbow Dash.

To little surprise, Rainbow took the bait instantly. “Oh, you puffed-up chickenhawks want a fight, huh? I’ll give you one for the ages!” she announced brashly, to which Firefly could only close her eyes and shake her head, though she made no attempt to stop her greatest granddaughter.

“Not alone, you don’t!” Applejack stepped forward as well, puffing her chest out and lowering her stetson hat fractionally. “I got your back, marefriend!”

“So be it,” the second gryphon and her comrade lowered their heads as well. “Then before this night out, we will find you in a dream and fight you there! Beware, my little ponies…” they called out as their surroundings rippled and they departed into a fresh rift through which Phoenix could see great towers and spires.

“Oh yeah? Well, you better beware of us!” Rainbow called after them, then exchanged a high-hoof with Applejack as Firefly simply sighed.

“When I was her age and ability, I needed to get beaten down badly to learn where I stood and how far I had yet to go. And methinks so does she,” was all she would say to Phoenix’s inquiring look. “Whatever happens in the realm of dreams will only hurt her pride, not her body. I cannot speak for Ms. Applejack, however.”

“She will be fine,” Sky Sentry stated, stepping up beside Firefly and speaking up with a strangely pleased grin. “She is of my line, and that means she has warrior stock as well. Methinks you do not give them enough credit, Captain—they may well surprise you.”

Firefly glanced at him and smiled. “Perchance you are right. When it comes time, we shall watch the duel ourselves. Until then… ’tis time to return home. Are you ready, Ms. Fey?” she called over to Mia.

“I am,” she stepped forward and flared her angel wings for takeoff. “Goodbye, Phoenix, Maya and the rest of you. And know that the blessings of all heavens are granted to you.”

“Goodbye sis,” Maya had gone teary-eyed.

“Never goodbye, Maya,” Mia replied, going back and hugging her sister one last time. “I’m always with you in spirit, and always just a channelling technique away.”

“I know, but…” she sniffled. “Still not the same…”

“Dwell not in sorrow, young mage,” Wind Whistler answered, taking her hand in her hoof. “Instead, honor your sister’s life by carrying on her work. And know you may draw on her… or us… any time you need.”

“I will,” she put her hands together and bowed low to Firefly and other Bolt Knights. “And thank you.”

With that, the seven pegasi warriors and one human angel departed through through own rift, showing beautiful skies and idyllic scenery before it closed.

Music: Case Epilogue ~ Nil Sine Magno Labore

“Well, now that this is over, why don’t we all go home and get some sleep?” Phoenix asked before everyone looked at him funny and he suddenly realized what he’d just said. “Oh, wait…” he blinked as Maya facepalmed and Pinkie Pie giggled.

“Wow. Granny Smith and Big Mac ain’t ever gonna believe this one…” Applejack had taken her stetson off in wonder as the spirits departed. “Even if I did tell ’em, they’d just say I was telling tall tales again!”

“You tell tall tales?” Rainbow looked at her in disbelief.

“Reckon I did once…” Applejack answered, rubbing the side of her head. “That story’s the one thing that can really get Big Mac chatty again…”

For the first time in five minutes, Trixie reentered their circle. She had been speaking with her grandfather off to the side, watching the ceremonies and goodbyes from afar. “Okay, okay, everypony’s happy and tears have been shed. It was touching, it was amazing, now can we please go home?” she asked, wearing her regular cape and hat now. “Trixie would much rather go back to her normal dreams where she’s the star of the show! And would much prefer to forget everything she heard and saw tonight!” She grimaced and stuck her tongue out.

Luna actually chuckled. “’Twas actually our plan to do so all along, Ms. Lulamoon. We offer thee our regrets, but we must now remove thy memories of this night,” she announced as her horn started to glow.

Trixie’s eyes went wide. “What??! Hey! Don’t I get a say… in… this?” Trixie trailed off as she suddenly fell asleep, collapsing in her grandfather’s forelegs, her cape and hat suddenly evaporating off her without her conscious will to keep them there, leaving only her frosty coat and mane behind.

“Luna…” Celestia said in disapproving tones even as most of Twilight’s friends cheered.

“Forgive us, sister. And you too, Sir Shadowmoon…” Luna bowed her head apologetically first to Celestia, then to the spirit of Trixie’s grandfather. “But ’tis best for now, as we have plans for her, ones that require she be yet unaware of us. We will return her memories of this night if and when she passes our test. But not before.”

“Plans? Test?” Twilight asked the questions everyone else was thinking.

“Indeed,” Luna replied, giving Celestia a warning look. “Thou wilt know them in due course. And not before!” she said with finality.

“I am aware of what you plan, Princess,” Shadowmoon the Illustrious acknowledged with a raised eyeridge, cradling Trixie’s body. “And I will be watching.”

“We would expect no less,” Luna acknowledged, then turned to Alucard. “Captain, we direct thee to dispatch two guardsponies to return Trixie Lulamoon to the waking world…”

“If you don’t mind, Princess…” Shadowmoon spoke up again, “I would prefer to do that myself.”

“Of course, fair spirit,” Luna bowed low before him. “Fare thee well, and know that in the end, we intend to help thy granddaughter realize her full potential… and our own!”

“I know you do,” he grinned. “For if I thought differently, I would not allow it!” With that, the dreamscape rippled yet again and both he and Trixie disappeared through it.

They watched her leave, then turned back to each other.

“Before we head out ourselves, got a question for you, Pinkie Pie…” Vinyl spoke up. “Just how were you there to help us when me and the Dream Guard were fighting The Nightmare’s army?”

Pinkie Pie gave her a strange look. “Huh? Help you?”

“Help you?” Twilight and her friends chorused as well.

“Well… yeah…” Vinyl suddenly rubbed her head, realizing how ridiculous the story was going to sound, dreamscape or no. She outlined the course of the battle for the better part of a minute before finally arriving at the critical moment. “… so then this girl I swear was a human version of Pinkie Pie appeared to us in the middle of the song, pounding away on a drum set! I’m serious; aside from being human, she looked and sounded just like you!” Vinyl explained.

“But that couldn’t have been her! She was right here the whole time!” Rarity pointed out.

“Last I checked, she ain’t exactly human, either!” Applejack added.

“Hmmm…” Pinkie pulled on a detective’s hat and starting puffing on a bubble pipe, considering the question for a few seconds before she suddenly lit up. “Oh. Oh! Nonono, that wasn’t me, silly! Or not ME-me. It had to have been another me!” she quickly clarified upon seeing everyone’s confused looks, making Twilight want to rub her eyes with a hoof.

“Say what now?” Applejack was no less befuddled. “Another you?”

“Yep-yep! Another me!” She said as if it was self-evident, then turned to her left and spoke to seemingly nobody in particular, “Thanks, other me!”

Before anyone could ask another question, an oval portal opened in mid-air right beside her, and a floofy pink-haired human stepped through, causing everyone to flinch backwards. “No problem!” she answered, her voice and mannerisms identical to her pony counterpart.

She greeted Pinkie like an old friend and gave her a high hoof, then she turned and saw Phoenix, her eyes going wide like she recognized him. “OoooOOOoooo…so Ace Attorney is real in this dimension? Cool!” With that, she suddenly whipped out a pink smartphone emblazoned with her three-balloon cutie mark, put an arm around a startled Phoenix and took a selfie with him, dressed slightly oddly in a blue vest over a white shirt with a heart on it, pink skirt and knee-high blue boots that looked to Maya like an ensemble out of some anime. “Just wait until Sci-Twi sees this one! But then again, I know what she’ll say! ‘Multiverse theory’s unproven’! Well, not anymore!” With that she hugged the pony Pinkie Pie hard, took a selfie with her as well, and then darted back through her portal, closing it behind her, leaving stunned silence in her wake.

“Uh… what just…” Phoenix was at a rare loss for words.

“Who’s ‘Sci-Twi’?” Rainbow blinked.

“Maybe… it’s just best not question it,” Twilight reluctantly said, rubbing the side of her head. Ended up in traction the last time I did…

“Indeed. That mare breaks all the rules!” Starswirl spoke up in a disgusted tone, having remaining silent through much of the post-verdict proceedings.

“Eh. To me, they’re more like guidelines,” Pinkie shrugged, materializing some cotton candy and taking a bite.

“Wow. Guess multiverse theory really is a…” Maya again bit off the last word for Pearl’s presence, suddenly wondering what other versions of her might be out there. And what did she mean, Ace Attorney is REAL here…?

“Well. My life may be over, but my quest for knowledge never ceases. So I suppose it’s time I return to the Summerlands as well,” Starswirl announced.

“Huh? And just how did any soul as ornery as you get into heaven?” Maya had to ask.

“Maya!” Phoenix and Twilight were aghast though Celestia and Luna just laughed.

“Take it from us, Miss Maya—it’s all an act with him. He truly is, as you humans say, a ‘big softie’ at heart,” Celestia said as she and Luna stood to either side of him and gave him a huge hug and affectionate nuzzles, which he seemingly only barely tolerated.

“Verily!” Luna said. “As much as we may tease him, he is our beloved mentor. Even if he never doth seem to appreciate our pranks…” She transformed his wizard hat into a jester cap on his head.

“Don’t push your luck, either of you!” he growled, teleporting a few feet away and leaving the hat behind, materializing a fresh one in its wake. “Or I swear I’ll come back and give you a nightmare of being in class again!” he materialized a crop and slapped it hard against his hoof.

The two chuckled at that. “You know you love us!” Celestia said impishly again.

He sighed and even deflated a bit at that. “Yes. I suppose I do…” he granted. “So to answer your question, Miss Fey… ignoring all the times I saved Equestria, all the magical foes I vanquished, all the magic I discovered and the schools I founded, I trained these two! And considering all they put me through, that alone should grant me access to the Summerlands!” And with that, he disappeared in another shaft of light, departing for the afterlife once more.

“A soul’s worth is judged by what they have given back versus what they have taken in their life,”Mia’s voice suddenly sounded in Maya’s head, causing her to start. “And one such as Starswirl ultimately did much for many. Do not judge him harshly for being ill-tempered. For were that alone disqualifying, we would all be judged badly.”

“I hear ya, sis…” Maya clutched the magatama jewel around her neck. “So, not to sound ungrateful or anything, but um… just how are me and Pearly going to get back?” she wanted to know.

“I’ll take Pearl Fey home,” Weiss spoke up, stepping forward. “Seems only fair, My Princess, since I brought her here?”

“So be it,” Luna nodded. “Thou hath done well this night, Dreamfarer. We will reward you at a later time.”

“My Princess,” she bowed, then presented herself to Pearl. “Hop aboard, little one!”

“I will, but first…” she went over to Phoenix and Twilight. “Mister Nick? Do you really… like Mystic Twilight?” she wanted to know.

Phoenix grimaced slightly, as did all else present, but he answered honestly. “I do, Pearls,” he told her, making a show of laying his hand on the back of Twilight’s neck. “I hope you’re not disappointed.”

“Well, um…” her finger went in her mouth like it normally did when she was uncertain. “I guess it’s okay… oh! I know! Maybe she can be your special somepony as long as Mystic Maya is still your special someone!” She suddenly turned happy again even as Twilight’s friends erupted in laughter and Phoenix blushed as Maya smacked her forehead with her palm.

“Think it’s time for us to head home too, Maya…” a chuckling Vinyl said, still wearing her regalia though she knew it was only a dreamworld construct that would disappear when she reentered the physical realm. “And since I came here to save her, I’d like to take her home myself, if I may…?” She looked to Luna and Phoenix for permission.

Luna smiled. “’Tis thy privilege… and mine to provide thee an escort,” she nodded to Alucard, who immediately assigned two thestrals to the duty. “We look forward to receiving thee one day at Canterlot and giving thee a more tangible award.”

“Be my pleasure, Princess. I’ll be in touch,” she grinned. “You ready fillyfriend?” she offered her human friend her hoof. “Just take it, and we’ll be off.”

“Oh! Uh… okay?” Maya obeyed, if a little uncertainly. “But before we go… uh, Nick?” She looked to Phoenix.

“Yes, Maya?” he asked.

She looked like she was fumbling for words for a moment. “Um… just… enjoy the rest of your time with Sparkle, and, um… I think we need to talk later…?” she cringed a bit as she spoke, not unlike how Phoenix felt at that moment.

“Yeah…” he agreed, rubbing the side of his head with his hand. “But let’s wait a few days first, okay?”

“Deal,” she agreed quickly, a note of relief in her voice. “Let’s go home, V-Jay!”

“You got it, fillyfriend! Now hold on tight!” she commanded as she cast a spell and a fresh rift opened in the dreamscape, the pair passing through it and then out of sight.

He had scarcely gotten over that awkward moment before another presented itself. “Oh! Um… Mister Phoenix…?” Fluttershy called to him, blushing hard as she stepped forward.

He forced himself to face her as to his annoyance, Twilight blushed but her other friends giggled. “Y-yes, Miss Fluttershy…?”

Her own blush got even deeper. “Um, I just wanted to ask… if… you and Twilight were… mad at me…?” she all but squeaked out the last words as she cringed even harder than Maya, hiding her face behind her bangs as she spoke.

“Oh, Fluttershy…” Twilight hugged her hard. “How can I be mad? I admit I was drunk, but hay… I encouraged it!” she said in some disbelief.

“I could never be mad at you, Fluttershy…” Phoenix assured her, whispers of memory rising up within him again of their punch-induced encounter, causing his loins to twitch appreciatively. “And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t… enjoy it…” he blushed hard, and so did she.

“Oh! Um, well… I did too… I think?” she looked away, her wings twitching in remembered arousal for a moment.

“You did indeed, darling,” Rarity confirmed, stepping forward. “And I’m certain Mister Wright would love tell you just how much he enjoyed your company?” she looked at him pointedly.

He looked to Twilight, who nodded and grinned. “I’m a lawyer. I always seek the truth. And the truth is…” he knelt before her and gently raised Fluttershy’s hoof to his lips, laying a kiss on it, causing her to softly gasp. “The truth is, you’re a beautiful, wonderful pony, Miss Fluttershy. And I feel like the luckiest stallion of either world to have gotten to be with you!”

“Oh my…” Fluttershy’s wings twitched harder. “Then, um… maybe someday… we…could…” she blushed fiercely again, unable to finish the sentence, then did the only she could think to express her feelings, laying a quick kiss on his cheek before stepping back, struggling to keep her wings under control. “Goodbye, Mister Phoenix.”

Abruptly, there was a sharp flapping of wings followed by the appearance of a perturbed-looking rainbow-maned pegasus between them. “Okay, enough, Nix!” Rainbow’s cheeks had also gone red, though from decidedly different emotions.

“Jealous much, Rainbow?” Applejack smirked, though beside her, Spike was sticking his tongue out his open mouth and pointing a finger down his throat..

“Indeed, darling. Your blue coat has turned utterly green with envy!” Rarity rejoined, using a simple spell to turn her friend’s fur an emerald shade and causing Pinkie and Spike to laugh.

“Wha… hey!” Rainbow pawed at herself frantically before finally figuring out she could turn it back with but a thought of her own, to the laughter of all. “Okay, okay, enough fun and games! I’ve got some sleep to catch up on and some Red Talon tail to kick! So what say we all head home?”

“As you wish, impetuous young pegasus,” an amused Luna nodded, then looked behind her, causing Captain Alucard to immediately step forward. “Captain, we trust thee to see these special souls safely to their slumber?”

“Of course, My Princess,” he bowed low, and quickly assigned thestrals and unicorn guardsponies to each of Twilight’s friends, except for…

“Lady Rarity,” he bowed low before her. “Would you do me the supreme honor of allowing me as your escort?” He kissed her hoof for emphasis, causing Spike to glare.

Rarity blushed. “The honor is mine, viscount…” she gave Twilight a hug along with all her friends before she took his hoof, then looked back. “We will be in touch via mirror spell, Twilight! And until we meet again, Mister Wright… ta-ta!” she blew him a kiss, and then they were off with yet another ripple of dreamscape, leaving an increasingly empty courtroom behind.

“Quite a night, I’d say…” Celestia said in prize understatement. “Though in truth… I feel somewhat responsible for this. I fear Starswirl was right—I didn’t teach Twilight enough about matters of the heart. And I should have contacted her immediately when I sensed she was distressed.”

Twilight put her hoof on her mentor’s foreleg. “I can’t be dependent on you for everything, Princess. And you did teach me a lot. Besides, I don’t think there’s any book or lesson out there that deals with… well, all this!” she motioned around her.

“Indeed, young mage,” Luna acknowledged. “But in truth, we bear some blame for this night as well. We sought Phoenix Wright first and allowed thee to suffer in thy nightmares so he could see how thy guilt-filled conscience tormented thee and that thou hadst no intention of breaking thy promise to him. ‘Twas these unchallenged demons that allowed The Nightmare to nearly take thee.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Princess…” This time, Phoenix spoke up. “It was mine for letting my fears get the better of me and not listening to my own heart. It was only when I saw she was in danger, I realized what a fool I’d been…”

Twilight tried to take responsibility as well. “Hey, Phoenix. Don’t let me off the hook here. Turned out I correctly guessed what happened, but didn’t take it to its logical conclusion—that my aura wasn’t trying to turn you in a stallion, but let you sire my foals. Guess we’re going to have to be a bit more careful from here on out…” she rubbed her head with a hoof, then grinned. “Until we’re ready that is!”

“Until we’re ready,” Phoenix agreed, amazed he could agree to such a previously outlandish idea so readily. “Guess there’s plenty of blame to go around, then?” he asked, as everyone nodded or murmured their agreement. “Then let’s not dwell on it. In fact, in some ways we should thank The Nightmare for what she did to us. In the end, without even meaning to she revealed to us the truth, and only made us inseparable for it…”

“Fate takes many an odd twist at times, young barrister. But we acknowledge the truth in thy words, and wish thee both nothing but the best,” Luna told them. “In truth, in many ways we envy thee, both for the ease with which thou saileth such troubled waters as these, to say nothing of being able to walk amongst either world so readily. Our sister has invited us to visit Earth as she does, but we are… reluctant. ’Tis certain we have enough trouble fitting in back in Equestria, so we fear we would not manage well in such an alien culture as thine own, particularly one that was… barbaric at best last we knew.” She looked away in some embarrassment.

“We’re different now, Princess. At least, in most areas of the world,” Phoenix hastened to add, though there had been times during some of the cases he had worked on that he had cause to wonder himself. “I think your sister’s right and you should visit!”

“I like it there, Princess, and this is only my third time visiting!” Twilight spoke up. “There’s so much to do and see, and you’d be surprised how lively the night is there!” she told her, causing Luna to perk up.

“Indeed. It’s as I’ve told you, sister. The night is revered on Earth. Enjoyed and celebrated with much revelry.” Celestia smiled, knowing well the way to her sister’s heart.

“Truly…?” Luna looked surprised.

“She’s right, Princess,” Phoenix concurred, his hand resting on the back of Twilight’s neck again. “And as we’ve already entertained your sister, we would certainly invite you to visit us as well. Be more than happy to show you around. And I’m sure Maya would love to take you out to see our nightlife!”

The lunar princess considered the offer carefully for a moment, looking lost in thought. Then she materialized a mirror and cast a spell on herself, causing her form to ripple and change. Within seconds she had transformed into a tall, dark-skinned and very gorgeous human female, rivaling her sister in looks as she stood nearly six-foot-two, possessing sparkling deep blue hair, slightly lanky but still shapely curves…

To say nothing of very naked ones as she inspected her unclothed human body in the mirror. “’Tis our human form. How do we look?” she turned to Phoenix and asked, causing a gaping Phoenix to blush hard and Twilight and Celestia to giggle, his immediately obvious arousal not lost on any of them...

Least of all Luna, who saw and grinned. “We shall take that as a compliment. In due time, we will accept thy generous invitation. Until then… fare thee well, Phoenix Wright!” With that, she closed her eyes and her ethereal horn glowed as she returned he and Twilight back to their bodies on Earth.

* * * * *

The Celestial Sisters watched them depart, Celestia herself almost wistfully. “You did well here, Luna,” she noted, taking a moment to admire her sister’s human form.

“In truth, we did little, sister,” she shook her head after her task was complete, transforming their surroundings to the same beautiful night-kissed meadow she had earlier shown Phoenix Wright and herself back to an alicorn, to Celestia’s quickly-hidden disappointment. “’Twas Mia Fey and Phoenix Wright who fought The Nightmare on her own terms and won. And had they not…” she hesitated, but decided she had to say it. “And had they not, we were prepared to do whatever was necessary to stop The Nightmare.” She gave her sister a meaningful look.

Celestia’s eyes closed at that, understanding exactly what she meant, considering again how close to disaster they had truly come that night as they began to walk together, taking in the scenery and each other’s company. “Then you would have done what I would have had not the heart to…” she said solemnly. “But thankfully, it did not come to that. Harmony favored us tonight.”

Luna rolled her eyes in response. “Oh, please, sister. We love thee, but methinks at times thou art far too reliant on the graces of the gods. Indeed, thou art far too forgiving and gentle for thy own good and that of Equestria at times, most notably during the prelude to war with the Gryphons. Having studied the conflict’s history, we can safely say had it been us, ’twould never have happened. For we would have slain then-Consul Gaius following the attacks on Epsilon base and made an example of their forward forces, then ordered the Empire to leave Equestrian lands forever…”

“And thus denied the gryphons our future friendship, one that has by now borne great fruit for both races. Or perhaps set the stage for an even worse war later,” Celestia shook her head. “In the end they fought us because they feared us. Feared me… and your actions would only have made that worse. Though you are correct that at the time, I thought too much of my own power and allowed our readiness to slip…”

“’Twould be a lie to say that ’twas not an egregious error borne of overconfidence. ’Twas worse still that thou hadst in large measure disbanded my Navy, which even reduced to but a dozen airships carried many a day. Though ’tis also certain that thou concluded the war far more honorably and less bloodily than we would have.” She closed her eyes as she spoke. “If ’twas us in thy place, without thee here to temper our fighting blood… perchance The Nightmare was right and we would have not have needed her to become every bit the monster she was.” The moon princess went downcast.

“No, my sister,” Celestia draped a wing over Luna. “We cannot know what would have become of paths not taken, and ’tis pointless to dwell on them. How you would have fared without me, we will never know… though I suspect time itself would have changed and tempered you as it did me.

“All I do know that is without you, I was lost… variously in grief, lust, and loneliness. Thus, the real lesson is… that we are not complete without the other,” she said as she took her sister’s gilded hoof. “The real lesson is… we need each other, Luna. Just as day needs night, and the sun needs the moon…”

“For thou art Equestria’s shield…” Luna remembered the oath they had once taken upon their ancient ascension.

“And thou art its sword,” Celestia said the next line. “Together we protect our ponies…”

“And together, we serve them,” Luna finished. “Thou by sunlight, and we by moonlight. Thou in the physical realm, and we in that of dreams,” they hugged tightly for the better part of a minute. “Enjoy thy remaining leave, elder sister. And know that Equestria is safe in thine absence… though we cannot promise that we may not yet lock all bickering nobles in the Canterlot Mines!” she announced somewhat more wanly as she personally returned Celestia’s spirit to her body on earth, and then resumed her watch over the night and nation she loved.

Music: Residence (Short) ~ Home Is Where…

Phoenix open his eyes to find himself on the living room couch on the first floor of their rental villa, feeling both infinitely tired and somehow incredibly refreshed. “Wow…” he muttered to himself, already wondering if it had all been real. “A trial for the ages… complete with angels, spirits and demons… and all over…” he abruptly remembered, then threw off his blankets and ran upstairs wearing only his shorts. “Twilight? Twilight?” he called somewhat frantically, only to see her groaning and moving restlessly on the bed.

“Phoenix…?” she called out tentatively, sitting up at the sound of his voice. “Was it real? Are we… back…?” she looked around in some doubt, afraid it was just another illusion conjured by The Nightmare.

“I’m here, Twilight,” he told her, sitting on the bed beside her and immediately taking her into an embrace, concerned only that she was safe. “I’m here. And I’ll never let you go…”

“Oh, Phoenix…” she sniffled once, burying her face in his chest. “I love you.”

“And I love you too,” he quickly told her. “Now and for all time…” And the weird thing is that without The Nightmare’s takeover attempt, we might never have truly believed it…

Author's Note

And thus the trial comes to an end. Hope you enjoyed it! This is not the end of the story however, as the aftermath of all this remains to be explored. We will do so in the final few chapters, which includes a surprise appearance or two by other notable Ace Attorney figures. Thanks for reading!

28: A New Day

Music: Finding Clarity

Maya woke up feeling much better, more alive and refreshed than she could ever remember.

Far from restless after her ordeal, her sleep was deep and her dreams, when they came, were intense—a happy side effect of being hit with the Elements of Harmony, Vinyl later suggested—alternating between serene and surprisingly sexual in nature.

And yet, she felt no qualms or conflict over any of it. Her feelings and desires having been laid bare by the Elements, she was at long last at peace with them after months of hiding from it all, and her subconscious responded by freely exploring many different fantasies. Most of them had involved Nick, but Vinyl had also featured prominently as the young mystic had dreamt of making love to her Equestrian friend as well. Even Celestia had appeared in her dreams once as in it, Maya thanked her for her compassion and help by offering herself to the sun princess, who had only too happily took her up on that offer, showing her what an alicorn magic aura backed with a thousand years of lovemaking experience could do.

The memories alone made her shiver, amazed at the difference in herself between today and yesterday. Wow… is there any friend I won’t make love to now…? Was the first thing Maya thought as she awoke to find the sun had risen on a new day. Her surroundings were the same as when she’d went to bed but the world was now somehow different for her, full of new hope and tantalizing new possibilities she found herself increasingly eager to explore.

Still, that didn’t stop her from moodily reflecting on the previous day’s events as she emerged in her Kurain kimono to greet her pony friends in the morning, finding only Vinyl present and somewhat anxiously awaiting her emergence, a spread of light morning fare from room service courtesy of the Sun Princess delivered for them both. Celestia herself was missing, Vinyl explaining that she’d gone downstairs to get her a few things to wear from the gift shop for when she was transformed into a human. She was taking her time about it, however, and Vinyl shared her suspicions that it was so she and Maya could have some privacy.

Just for talking or for something more?Maya wasn’t sure, a touch of color entering her cheeks at the memories of the dreams she’d had, seeing her friends in a whole new light. Still, there was a difference between fantasy and reality, and though now at peace with the former, she wasn’t sure she was ready for the latter. She also wasn’t sure she deserved any of it after her behavior the previous night, and said as much to her unicorn friend while they ate.

“I just feel awful about what happened, Vinyl,” Maya admitted at one point as she helped herself to some melon, wishing some meat was present but knowing that Celestia had probably left it off the menu since Vinyl was still a pony. “I was jealous of Sparkle in the worst possible way and couldn’t even admit it because that meant admitting I liked Nick… and then I let that… that Nightmare thing use me and didn’t even care about the consequences. I nearly doomed both worlds just because I didn’t care about anything except getting back at Sparkle for something that wasn’t even her fault.”

Vinyl’s expression softened as she poured some ‘champagne’ in a tall flute and mixed it with Maya’s orange juice on a suggestion from Celestia. A ‘Mimosa’, huh? Let’s see… she thought as she took her first sip and found herself surprised by the effervescent citrus flavor, the barest bite of alcohol coming through from the sweet bubbly wine. “Listen, Maya. You were up against an entity that’s been around for thousands of years and even once possessed Princess Luna.

“The Nightmare specializes in manipulating ponies—and people—to her own ends and is damned good at it. She can use the power of dreams to see your inner fears and desires and then turn around and use them against you. That’s the essence of dream demons right there, and you don’t get to be queen of them without being the very worst of them. So there’s no shame in falling prey to her. Besides, you did fight her off at the end, filly.” She reminded her human friend.

“With a whole lot of help…” Maya shook her head. “I mean if sis and Pearly hadn’t been there or you hadn’t tried to smack some sense into me… I don’t even want to think about what would have happened or what I might have done as… as Nightmare Fey.” She visibly shuddered as she spoke.

Probably nothing, because you’d be dead, Vinyl didn’t want to say, remembering how the Nightmare promised she was only going to possess Maya long enough to make her escape… which likely meant she would have killed her human host just to spite Phoenix and Mia Fey. Barely knew you and came this close to losing you… she suppressed a shiver of her own. By the Moon, how does Luna do it? Deal with something so evil, and know that she once allowed herself to be possessed by it…? “Hey, enough of that, fillyfriend,” Vinyl pointed a hoof at her. “You held her off, and that’s no mean feat. You remembered yourself and your friends in time, and that’s what ultimately beat her, not the Elements,” she finished, but Maya still seemed unconvinced.

“Maybe. But still, it feels like I made things worse, not better. I mean, even the spirits got a shot at her, but I didn’t do anything to defeat her. In fact, I helped her. Deep down, I knew she was using me, but… I just didn’t care. I was willing to do anything as long as it meant getting back at Sparkle. And how am I ever supposed to live that down, V-Jay? How can I look Sparkle or Nick in the eye after this?” She went downcast.

The unicorn mare put a hoof on her arm. “Come on, Maya. Think about this. You saw how large that audience of spirits was last night. They were all victims of The Nightmare and you can bet most have stories like yours. What happened to you happened to countless others in the past, with one difference—you were able to hold off her influence at the end and give Twilight and her friends time to use the one weapon she couldn’t fight.”

“The Elements of Harmony…” Maya said, shaking her head again in wonder at how it had stripped away all her surface doubt and showed her the truth that lay within her as effectively as any piece of evidence Nick could present in court.

“Exactly. And besides, you’re wrong. You did help, fillyfriend…” Vinyl began with a sly smile.

Maya looked up in surprise. “I did? How?”

The pony DJ grinned like she’d been waiting for her human friend to ask. “I’ll show you…”

Music: There in Spirit

“With this!” Vinyl then levitated Maya’s smartphone off the nightstand and zapped it with her horn, causing it to start playing a song. “Remember this little number I helped you write, Maya? It was the same song I used to unite the dreamscape in Harmony and defeat The Nightmare’s dream demon army when they were on the verge of overwhelming us. I played this, and all the sudden we had no more fear and all the ponies they were attacking rose up to fight back. So it was you and your song of friendship that beat them, Maya. Not mine. Yours,” she emphasized. Though that weird human Pinkie helped too… how did she even know to find us there?

“Wow… really?” Maya plucked her phone from midair to stare at the song display.

“Really.” Vinyl grinned, releasing her magical hold on it, thinking that human electronics could make an excellent addition to her DJ ensemble. “So chin up and stop beating yourself up, Maya. I forgive you, and I know Twi and Phoenix do too,” she promised, to which Maya stared up at her friend with glimmering eyes… and hugged her hard, sniffling softly.

“There’s a good filly,” Vinyl said, patting her on the back, holding her for the better part of a minute before they finally broke the embrace. So now that you’re safe and seeing things clearly, what say we celebrate properly now?”

“Vinyl!” Maya all but squealed, but unlike the previous day, there was no fear or anxiety in her voice.

Vinyl noted Maya’s change of tone and gave her human friend a lopsided grin. “I didn’t mean like that, fillyfriend… well, unless you want to, that is?” She gave Maya an askance and teasing look, delighting in her cheeks turning a deeper hue and noticing her shifting slightly in her seat. Well, will you look at that… I think she LIKES the idea now!

“Well, um…” Maya squirmed a bit, realizing anew that part of her very much wanted to, but even with her feelings laid bare, she still didn’t feel quite ready to. “Yeah, um… maybe… we should talk about that first. Because, well, I um… have some questions…” she offered tentatively, fidgeting in her seat.

“Okay?” Vinyl asked, dropping her teasing tone and giving her friend her undivided attention.

“Well, guess the first thing I’d like to know is… if we did become, you know… lovers… what about Octavia?” Maya asked, having met Vinyl’s marefriend during a couple nights she’d stayed over with Vinyl in their odd home, split in half with markedly different decors that reflected their individual tastes and personalities. “Have to say, I’m not sure she liked me that much, and I don’t want to cause trouble between you two any more than I do now between Nick and Sparkle. So what would she say about you being with me?”

Vinyl just grinned and shrugged as she drained her flute. “Same thing she always does. ‘Have fun’.”

“Really?” Maya looked both dubious and hopeful.

“Really,” Vinyl confirmed, pouring herself another glass of Mimosa, deciding she liked the sweet bubbly and at least mildly alcoholic beverage mixed with orange juice. “We’re ponies, Maya, and that means we’re generally a bit more at home with the idea of having multiple partners than I gather humans are. Granted, that’s more me than her, but one thing we figured out a long time ago is we gotta be ourselves. And for me, that means I’ve got my wild side and I imagine I always will.”

“And for Octy…?” Maya asked, but Vinyl just shook her head.

“Nah, she ain’t into the same scenes I am. When it comes down to it, she’s a one-mare girl, even though she knows I’m not. Our rule is that I can go out and have a good time if I find somepony special to have fun with, just so as long as I come back to her afterwards. And as much as I love that mare, I ain’t ever had a reason not to.” she popped another piece of melon in her mouth and took a fresh sip of her glass, turning her attention to a bagel next, sniffing at some cream cheese and then spreading it on.

Maya deflated a bit at that. “So… then what am I to you, V-Jay? Just ‘somepony to have fun with’?” she asked, somewhat hurt.

Vinyl gave her a reproachful look. “Give me some credit, Maya. I said somepony special. I don’t just jump into bed with anypony. I mean, there’s gotta be a connection first. Some kinda spark. And you know, it’s there with you. It’s in your music, it’s in how fun you can be, it’s all about how good a friend you are… at least when you’re not tying yourself up in knots over Nick.” Her tone turned teasing again.

“Gee, thanks…” Maya groused, but if she’d learned nothing else about her Equestrian friend, it was that she spoke her mind and told it like it was. And besides, she’s right… just like she was yesterday and last night… “Do you have to be so blunt about things, V-Jay?” she asked, only half-annoyed as Vinyl chuckled. Not that I’m one to talk…

“Sorry, bad habit of mine. Octy says that she’s never met anypony ‘so annoying and yet so endearing’ all at the same time. Guess you could say pushing buttons is a talent of mine just as much as my music.”

“Well, you certainly pushed my buttons!” Maya rubbed her eyes. “Just what were you trying to accomplish last night, provoking me like that in the trial?”

Vinyl grinned and shrugged. “Exactly what I did—get you talking and get you thinking. Make you mad and hopefully make mistakes. Makes it easier to point out all the ways you were rationalizing what happened and how many ways it was wrong. It’s a legal lesson I actually learned from Octy when I was first starting out. Figured if I did that, your testimony would be discredited and you’d come to your senses afterwards even if you hated me for it. Listen, I’m sorry to have put you through that, but time was short and I really didn’t have many other options, filly. And you know, you got every right to be upset with me for it.”

Maya searched her feelings and found… “I’m not upset, V-Jay,” she shook her head. “Really, I’m not. After getting zapped with those… things… everything’s just crystal clear now. You were right all along. I like Nick. I like you,” she raised her eyes to her friend in an admission she couldn’t have made just eight hours earlier. “And, well…” she fidgeted for a moment, her eyes going furtive. “I wasn’t ready for everything we did before, but maybe now…” she raised her gaze to her friend meaningfully, both nervously and hopefully.

Vinyl’s cheeks took on a hint of color. She suspected what Maya was trying to say, she also sensed that it wouldn’t take much a push to move her in that direction. The thought was very heady, and a variety of actions suddenly suggested themselves… but long experience and some difficult past lessons meant Vinyl Scratch also knew better than to do so.

“Listen, Maya… I’d like nothing more than to be with you again, but if we do… it’s gonna be by choice this time. It’s gonna be ‘cause you’re well and truly ready, but… the fact that you’re hesitating at all means you’re not quite there yet, and anything short of that is just asking for trouble. So as much as I’d love to get my hooves and magic on you right here and now… I’m gonna say we should wait, fillyfriend.”

She was gratified when Maya looked both disappointed and relieved, exhaling sharply. “You’re right, V-Jay. Guess you meant it when you said you were being the grown-up last night.”

Vinyl smiled at that. “You’ve come a long way in a short time, Maya. And when we do it for real, I want it to be something special!” she said as she sensed a powerful alicorn aura approach and the room lock clicked, announcing Celestia’s return. “So tell you what—for now let’s have Celly make me human, and then head out and explore this town proper! After I learn how to walk on two legs again, that is!” she laughed, and Maya did too. “Seriously, walking upright is kind of interesting, but four legs is where it’s at, fillyfriend…”

As Vinyl and Maya talked, Twilight and Phoenix were still asleep.

Upon their return from the dreamscape, they had stayed in bed with blinds drawn, talking, snuggling but unable to sleep for hours, as after their close call both were simply too scared to close their eyes again for the irrational but still-potent fear they would find themselves back in the grips of nightmares…

Or worse, in the grasp of The Nightmare herself.

The pair clung to each other for the rest of the night, reassuring each other of their presence of love, but emotional and physical exhaustion finally caught up with them around sunrise and they fell asleep in each other’s arms. They did dream, but no nightmares found them as reassuring figures appeared to stand sentry over them, from the Bolt Knights to thestral Dream Guard members to even Princess Luna herself.

“Fear not, Phoenix Wright,” she said to him at one point as he told her of his fears. “Thanks in large measure to thee, The Nightmare is no more, and neither she nor her demons will trouble thee again. Thou art under our protection, as is thy chosen mare,” she promised him, offering to arrange for him a dream of his choosing. He took her up on that offer, choosing one where he rescued Twilight like a damsel in distress from a romance novel, swooping in to save her on a pair of pegasus wings.

It was nearly noon before the pair finally rousted themselves and Phoenix put some coffee and a late breakfast on. Upon going downstairs to the kitchen, they found several messages waiting by the dragonfire candle, scrolls containing more mirror spell crystals from Rarity saying they all wanted to make sure the pair were okay and to contact them as soon as possible. In response, Twilight wrote a brief note back asking them to wait a bit so she and Phoenix could wake up and eat first, promising they would talk in an hour. Their friends seen to, the pair then sat down to eat a simple but hearty breakfast of bagels, bacon and some scrambled eggs.

The food was good and the pair ate ravenously for having had no appetite the previous night. They were just starting to clean up when the doorbell buzzed. “What the…” Phoenix turned to face the front door. “You don’t suppose that’s the Princess, do you?” Guess she decided to check up on us after last night…

Twilight’s horn was visible for just a moment, a pulse of magic making itself known as she activated a minor spell. “No, it’s not the Princess. Or Vinyl or Maya,” she said. “There’s a single person outside, probably male.”

“How can you tell?”

In response, she gave the door an askance look. “Well, I couldn’t really before, but… I’m starting to be able to detect human auras as well as pony ones. They’re generally weak but they’re there. Maya and Pearly are easy to recognize because they’ve got that ‘mystical’ energy thing going. Vinyl has enough magic in her as a human to be obvious too, but whoever is out there doesn’t have either.”

“Well, guess we should be polite and answer, then…” Phoenix shrugged, pulling on a shirt and waiting to answer until Twilight did the same. He had no idea who the mystery male could be, and normally might have been a bit more leery of an unexpected knock, but with Twilight’s magic backing him, he realized there was pretty much next to nothing to worry about. Other than demonic dream demon queens… he chuckled nervously while heading to the door. He opened it to find…

“Edgeworth!” Phoenix exclaimed.

Music: You Can Never Hide

“So there you are, Wright…” his prosecutor friend said, noting immediately his undressed state. “I must say, you’re a hard man to track down. You weren’t at your apartment or your office, and I couldn’t even get hold of your assistant. I thought perhaps you’d been pulled to Equestria again.”

“No such luck. So what brings you here?” Phoenix immediately invited him in.

“Edgeworth!” Twilight’s voice called from the living room as he entered, then she appeared at Phoenix’s side.

Edgeworth’s eyes fixed on her; Phoenix caught a brief widening of them as he beheld her human form, identifying her instantly even though she’d changed her hair black and eyes brown as a precaution. “Twilight Sparkle…” he recognized, staring almost agape at her, looking uncharacteristically unnerved. “I suspected you were here, but still, to see you as a human…” he rubbed his eyes. “Forgive my reaction. What brings you to our world?” he asked, recovering quickly.

“Phoenix, of course!” She made a show of hanging off his arm, then gave him a wink and grinned, confirming her identity by reverting her hair and eye colors back to their normal bright hues, causing him to flinch again. “Rarity sends her love, by the way.”

Phoenix had the distinct pleasure of seeing Edgeworth flush. “Yes, well…” he cleared his throat. “Since you present an opportunity, I will… write her a letter that you may take back with you, but for now, you may tell her that… her tea is missed,” he offered, visibly flustered.

“Just her tea?” Phoenix smirked, and Twilight did so as well as Edgeworth flushed an even deeper hue. “So what brings you here, Miles?” he asked again as they sat down at the kitchen table and he put the coffeemaker back on.

Edgeworth looked grateful for the change of subject. “I am here at the behest of a mutual… acquaintance…” he began carefully. “Von Karma asked me to check up on you, Wright. She left a message for me stating that she met you ‘and your new love interest’, and that there was ‘something very suspicious’ about her. She said she was worried about you and asked me to look into Miss Sparkle.”

“Wow. Franny was actually worried about me?” Phoenix had to suppress a sudden memory of the Nightmare teasing him in Franziska’s form. I don’t think I’ll EVER see Franny the same way after that!

“She went to great lengths to assure me that her interest in your safety is simply that of making sure she gets another chance to defeat you in court.” He rolled his eyes. “Though I highly doubt that, I did not press the matter, as she did seem genuinely perturbed. She said she’d had a ‘very disconcerting’ encounter with you, Miss Sparkle, that there was something ‘not right’ about you and asked me to investigate you. So dare I ask what you did to arouse her suspicions?”

Twilight actually grinned. “Nothing except warn her that she was NOT to use her whip on Phoenix ever again, and well… I was angry enough after seeing her threaten him with it that I might have let her see my eyes glow.” She let them do just that as an example, causing Edgeworth to flinch again. “I wasn’t going to hurt her, of course, but well… we mares tend to be quite protective of our stallions.” She hugged Phoenix closer.

Edgeworth actually chuckled at that. “Yes, well… as amusing as the thought of her reaction is to such a sight, I must strongly advise against such displays, Miss Sparkle. Equestrian magic is unknown here and its discovery could be… problematic. Which brings me to my second question…” he said as Phoenix poured him a freshly brewed cup of coffee and one for himself as well. “Von Karma also reported that your new love interest was the personal student of a minor European royal she knew and was surprised to encounter as well. So I must ask... is Princess Celestia here?”

Twilight and Phoenix looked at each other before replying. “She is,” Twilight confirmed, deciding there was no point in hiding the truth from him if he’d already deduced it. “And Maya’s staying with her over at the Gatewater, I think it was…” And how the hay does that hotel chain exist in both Earth and Equestria…? she made a mental note to look into later.

“She’s here on vacation, if you could believe that,” Phoenix added. “She’s disguised as…”

“As Princess Celeste Alva of the minor European Principality of Equios, nestled deep in the European Alps on the Austrian/Swiss border,” he finished to the surprise of them both as he took his first sip of coffee. “Yes, I’ve been checking up on Equestrian interests on Earth ever since I learned about that bank you were paid from, Wright. Though I have found nothing untoward going on, it would appear that the Princess has a valid human identity and bank accounts, and is known well in certain circles for her beauty and philanthropy,” he noted, crossing his arms and tapping a finger on his sleeve. “Unfortunately, being under the Swiss banking charter as they are, there is no way to know what money goes in and out of her accounts.”

And thus, you can’t figure out who her agents are or what they’re doing… Phoenix suppressed a smirk.

“…Which brings me to the question of you, Miss Sparkle.” Edgeworth raised an eyebrow. “Do you have a human identity of your own here? It could be problematic if you are put in a situation that demands one.”

Twilight’s eyes went wide as if she suddenly remembered something. “Oh! That’s right. The Princess gave me this…” her horn flared and a small booklet appeared in her hand. “She said it worked as a valid identity card on Earth.”

“An Equios passport…” he recognized, opened it and then frowned. “And stamped by customs showing entry at Los Angeles International Airport? Wright, this is fraud!”

Phoenix was unimpressed. “Oh, come off it, Edgeworth. Just what are she and the Princess supposed to do? They arrive via magic and we don’t exactly have cross-dimensional customs!”

“Be that as it may, I do not like the idea that they can just appear anywhere they want at any time, Wright. No offense, Miss Sparkle…”

“None taken,” Twilight chuckled. “And in fairness, we really can’t. I can only make the trip during certain trans-dimensional ley line convergences, which happen at most monthly. The Princess is more powerful and can travel any time she wants, but her vacations are just a once-or-twice a year thing and even with her power our arrival points are actually quite limited. We can’t just appear anywhere we want on a whim, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I see.” Edgeworth considered her words carefully. “That does match up with what I read about magic during my time in Equestria. Still, I would appreciate it if you advise the Princess that I would like some warning when she is coming to this city so I may see to her security… and that of her current paramour, Mister Ferro Stabile.” He arched an eyeridge at them as he revealed just how much he knew.

Vintage Edgeworth… pretty much impossible to hide anything from him! Phoenix couldn’t help but grin.

“The Princess can take care of herself, but… I’m sure she’d appreciate the thought,” Twilight granted with a glance at Phoenix.

“Thank you,” He took another sip of his coffee, then looked them both over. “So is there a reason you two look so exhausted, and not, I daresay, in a good way?” He arched an eyebrow at them again, his powers of observation as inescapable as ever.

They looked at each other again before replying. “Well, we had kind of a rough night…” Twilight admitted.

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Something… happened,” Phoenix rubbed his hand behind his head. “Never mind what, but the upshot was that Twilight and I had an argument, and went to bed upset.”

“It was my fault. I thought I’d hurt him, so then this ancient dream demon called The Nightmare tried to take advantage of that to possess me in my sleep,” Twilight picked up the tale next.

“But Mia appeared to challenge her, angel wings and all, so we ended up having a trial in the dreamscape for Twilight’s soul,” Phoenix followed up as Edgeworth simply stared at them.

“It was the same entity who once possessed Princess Luna and turned her into Nightmare Moon,” Twilight noted ruefully, her memories of cold despair still fresh, making her shiver. “Maya and all my friends got pulled in too, and the Nightmare tried to stack the deck by having an evil version of Phoenix as co-counsel and Trixie Lulamoon preside as judge,” she recited without a hint of humor or irony.

“But Trixie turned out to be a surprisingly fair judge, and Mia’s power as an ascended spirit made all the difference. It was one hell of a trial, Edgeworth, filled with angels and demons, a slew of departed spirits and even using memories and romance novels as evidence. But we won in the end. The Nightmare’s gone now. Slain by her former victims,” he said in great satisfaction, wondering if he’d get the same feeling from watching Dahlia’s eventual execution. They say vengeance doesn’t solve anything, but I swear I’d just about throw the switch on her myself…

Edgeworth stared at them for a moment more. “I don’t think you’re joking, and I find that very worrisome…”

“No joke…” Phoenix rubbed his eyes. Any other time, I’d enjoy teasing him with this, but for how close I came to losing her… “In the end, I had to prove that our love was real. And I did it!” he proclaimed in great pride and satisfaction as he took Twilight’s hand.

“You really did, Phoenix,” Twilight nuzzled him and squeezed his hand back. “You proved the impossible and made me see it. And without that, Celestia knows what would have happened…” She shivered as he kissed her forehead.

“I will neither ask, nor pretend I understand.” Edgeworth rubbed his temples this time. “But regardless, I am glad to see you both well and gratified to see that you are getting along so… warmly. And as I have met you, Miss Sparkle, I believe I would also like to meet the princess before she departs, if at all possible.”

“I’m sure that can be arranged. So in the meantime, what you are going to tell Franziska?” Phoenix asked.

He drummed his fingers on the table a few times before answering. “That I checked into her claims and found your ‘mysterious love interest’ to be nothing more than a charming young lady with an odd name, hailing from the same small European Principality that Princess ‘Celeste’ comes from. That whatever she thinks she saw was probably a simple function of the odd energies of Kurain village than anything else. That place has been known to cause heightened emotions and even hallucinations in the past, after all,” he shrugged and sipped his coffee.

“It has?” Twilight blinked. Huh… considering how I offered myself to the princess and nearly lost my temper with von Karma, maybe it affected me too…?

“And you think that’ll satisfy her?” Phoenix was very dubious, knowing how Franziska became when presented with contrary evidence or otherwise thought something was being hidden from her.

“No, I do not, but it is not something she can pursue right now. She is currently in the middle of a major Interpol investigation, and I am currently pursuing one of my own regarding a recent arson and art smuggling ring,” Edgeworth told them, crossing his arms and tapping a finger against his sleeve again as he so often did. “Still, I would advise against antagonizing her, as once her current duties are complete, she may well decide to look into Miss Sparkle on her own.”

Well, by the time she does, Twilight will be gone… Phoenix shrugged, deciding he’d come up with a decent cover story later. “I’ll think of something. In the meantime, thanks for coming by and letting us know. And if you haven’t had lunch yet, we’ve got some leftover breakfast if you like?” He motioned to the remaining bacon and eggs.

“With regrets, I must decline as I am due at the arson site shortly. Regardless, I assume this rather opulent villa was paid for by the Princess?” He looked around.

“That it was,” Phoenix confirmed. “She wanted to do something nice for us both, so here we are!”

“Actually, you should stick around at least a few minutes, Edgeworth,” Twilight told him as the antique wall timepiece chimed one o’clock. “We were about to contact my friends, and I know they’d love to see you!”

He looked up in confusion at that. “Contact them? How?”

“By mirror spell,” she explained, then saw his uncomprehending look. “Well… maybe it would just be easier to show you…” she floated up one of Rarity’s crystals, and then touched it to the large living room mirror.

The surface shimmered and resolved to Twilight’s basement lab, scattered around the floor and benches of which were Twilight’s friends, all looking very anxious and somewhat sleepless, talking in low and worried tones with each other.

“Hey! There she is!” Spike spotted first, running up to the portal.

“Girls!” Twilight called in delight.

“Twilight!” They all called back in relief, immediately gathering around the mirror on the other end as Edgeworth could only stare at his former Equestrian acquaintances in shock.

“Hey, is that Edge?” Rainbow suddenly recognized.

“Miles!” Rarity’s eyes lit up.

“Lady Rarity…!” he gaped, then gave her a hasty bow, which she blushed and returned.

“I’m not a princess, darling, but I certainly don’t mind you treating me like one! It’s so good to see you again!” She batted her eyes at him, causing him to blush and Spike to glare.

“And… you as well…” he said in flustered tones again, at which point Phoenix took pity on him.

“Tell you what, Edgeworth, if you want to talk to Rarity separately, just take this upstairs to the bathroom mirror.” He tossed him one of the two communication crystals they’d received, this one blue. “Just touch it to the mirror, and once she does the same with its companion crystal on her end, you two can have a private chat,” he promised as Rarity picked up a matching blue one with her magic on the other side.

“Oh. Well… I see…” he said, though it was clear he really didn’t as he gave the others a brief greeting and went upstairs along with Rarity on the other side of the mirror, the latter promising she would return to speak with Twilight herself.

Music: Through the Looking Glass

“So, cuttin’ right to the chase here… are y’all okay?” Applejack asked in concern on behalf of everypony, to which both Twilight and Phoenix nodded, the latter standing behind her and putting his hands on her shoulders but otherwise letting her speak for them.

“I’m fine, really. Just… disgusted at myself for how weak I was…” she had to look away at that despite Phoenix squeezing her shoulders. “I’m really sorry I put you through all that.”

Applejack shook her head sharply and put her hoof down hard. “Now none of that, Twi! You went up against the same saddle sore that took over Princess Luna once, except you beat her, so there ain’t no shame in what happened.”

“Yeah, but would you guys mind explaining what did happen?” Rainbow Dash asked. “We got there late and didn’t exactly get the the full story in the trial!”

Twilight glanced up at Phoenix briefly, who nodded cautiously. “Well… we had a fight over… that transformation you saw,” she grimaced, deciding to Phoenix’s relief not to mention what else had happened. “When we saw it, he thought I’d deliberately broken my promise to not use magic on him, and in all honesty… so did I. I thought I’d hurt him, I thought I’d lost him, and… well, you know the rest.” She had to look away again as her friends nodded in sympathy.

“It was my fault too, Twilight. I completely overreacted to… what happened and it only made things worse.” Phoenix rubbed his head.

“Dude, how could you not overreact to that?” Rainbow stuck her tongue out. “Seriously, you with pony equipment is one image I’m never getting out of my head!”

“Rainbow!” Fluttershy scolded, while Applejack just shook her head.

“Speak for yourself, marefriend. What I saw looked mighty fine!” she tipped her hat to Phoenix, who blushed. “Well, reckon you ain’t the only one who overreacted. Can’t say I was all that happy to be foalnapped by a buncha bat ponies right out of my own apple orchards, but reckon they didn’t deserve that beating I gave ‘em either. Didn’t give ‘em a chance to explain and I’ll have to find a way to apologize to ‘em later,” Applejack admitted.

“Speaking of which, forgot to ask… how were you already there, Pinkie?” Rainbow asked.

“My Pinkie Sense, of course!” she said brightly. “When my tail points to the west, it means somepony’s being possessed!”

The others gave her a look. “Pinkie, Zecora came by. She wants her schtick back!” Rainbow quipped, to which Pinkie could only giggle.

“Oh, um… but are you okay, Mister Phoenix?” Fluttershy asked, to which he could only smile. “Oh, I was so worried about you…”

Phoenix blushed while Twilight and her friends giggled… except for Rainbow, who stared at her in disbelief.

“I’m fine now, Fluttershy. In fact, I’m some ways I’m glad it all happened.” Phoenix bowed his head as he spoke.

“Glad?” the others chorused while Twilight nodded her agreement.

“Glad.” Phoenix closed his eyes and exhaled softly, giving Twilight’s shoulders another squeeze. “I know how it sounds, but by attacking Twilight, The Nightmare forced us both to face our fears that our love might not be real. More to the point, she forced me to face some long-standing demons I’d had regarding… relationships and women. But thanks to her, now we know what we feel is real. And we’re inseparable for it.” He reached down and kissed her.

“Huh? You guys seriously thought it wasn’t real after how gaga you’d been acting over each other?” Rainbow Dash asked in some disbelief, to which Twilight and Phoenix could only grimace.

“Well… there was always this nagging doubt for both of us that it was only my magic somehow making him like me. I guess The Nightmare saw it and exploited it,” Twilight answered, rubbing a hand behind her head.

“Well, y’all know better now,” Applejack pointed out. “And talk about confronting yer demons, y’all had to face a real one there!”

“But you kicked her flank!” Rainbow made punching motions at the air. “That was epic when you took her down, Twi!”

“Thanks, Rainbow, but it took Phoenix, Mia Fey and all of you to get me to that point.” She turned her head to the side and reached up so she could kiss Phoenix’s hand. “Mia was right all along—I had to be shown the truth and believe it before I could find the strength to beat her. And Phoenix showed me that truth! But still… I feel really bad for putting him and the rest of you through all that. So… thank you all for being there for me,” she raised glistening eyes to her friends and put her human hand against the mirror as they did the same back from the other side with their hooves. “As lost as I was, I still knew you all were there somewhere deep down. And in the end, it was you being there that gave me the strength to hold her off and finally fight back, not just for Phoenix but for all of you.”

“That’s what friends are for, egghead!” Rainbow Dash said, to smiles and sounds of agreement from the others. “We got your back, always!” she pounded a hoof on her chest, causing Twilight to smile, feeling tears of joy glimmering in her eyes again.

“And we can’t wait for you to be back! We’ll throw a massive party once you’re here! Pinkie Pie jumped up and down like her legs were on springs.

“You are coming back, aren’t you Twilight?” Spike asked somewhat nervously, wringing his paws for a moment.

“Oh, Spike…” She turned to him, suddenly remembering what The Nightmare said about how her scribe had been afraid of being abandoned. “Of course I am! I’d never leave my number one assistant behind!” She smiled. “I love Phoenix, but I love you too. And you know what? I’ve just decided that next time I come to Earth, you are coming with me!” she promised, causing Spike’s eyes to light up and the rest of her friends to speak up.

“Hey now, we wanna come visit too, egghead! See what this weird world you’re in is all about!” Rainbow reminded her, taking another look at the villa living room behind her before reverting to form. “Besides, what world is complete without the utter awesomeness of Rainbow Dash?” she put her a hoof to her chest.

“Bombast aside… I’ll second that!” AJ popped up. “Ain’t no world that an Apple can’t make better! And if I say it, it ain’t no lie!” she exchanged a high hoof with Rainbow.

“Oh, um… I might like to come too… if that’s okay with you…” Fluttershy suggested tentatively, but Twilight wasn’t sure whether it was due to uncertainty over visiting such a strange place or that she was hoping to see Phoenix again. One more thing we’ll have to talk about eventually…

“Oh! Oh! I wanna go too! I wanna visit Maya and see what the party scene is like there!” Pinkie added in her usual over-the-top excitement, leaving Phoenix wondering if Earth could take her presence.

“Don’t worry, girls. You’ll all get the chance to visit…” Twilight promised with a glance at Phoenix, who whispered a reminder in her ear, “…but I think Phoenix is right and not all at once. It’ll have to be one at a time to make sure he’s not overwhelmed. We’ll figure out the order later… but for as patient as he’s been and as much as I’ve been taking him for granted of late, Spike goes first!” she announced adamantly, causing the scribe to smile and sniffle.

“I know Maya will love showing you around, Spike,” Phoenix confirmed. “And she’s got a large comics collection for you to look through too!”

“She does?” Spike all but rubbed his paws together in glee. “Can’t wait!”

“Oooo! Speaking of her, how’s Maya?” Pinkie asked while the others took on somewhat sour looks.

The change in attitude wasn’t lost on Phoenix. “She sent me a message this morning that she and Vinyl were okay, but beyond that, I don’t know, since we’re not gonna see them again until tomorrow,” Phoenix explained. “But you’ll be happy to know that when we do meet up, we’re all going to a big fairgrounds right next door!”

“Lots of games and junk food, Pinkie Pie! And they’ve got a big Mare-is Wheel out there too!” Twilight grinned.

“Oh! Oh! Are you guys gonna ride it? You have to ride it!” The party pony started jumping up and down again.

“Promise, Pinkie,” Twilight chuckled, and with that, her mood turned more reflective. “So, uh… enough about us; how did your little duel go, Rainbow?” Twilight asked, turning to her hovering friend.

Instead of answering with a boast, Rainbow’s eyes went evasive. “Oh. Well, uh…” she rubbed a hoof behind her head. “Yeah, they might’ve been a little tougher than I thought…”

“A little?” Applejack rolled her eyes. “Ain’t no two ways about it, Twi. We got our flanks kicked something fierce…”

“Aw, come on! We got a couple good shots in!” Rainbow tried to protest, but Applejack just shook her head.

“Ain’t no sense lying to ourselves, Rainbow! They beat us bad,” Applejack fired back. “Hay of a thing. They took us back to the time of the war and gave us Stalliongrad as a battleground. Ain’t no lie to say it was brutal. Gives me new respect for my ancestors, that’s fer sure.” She took off her stetson and rubbed her eyes with a foreleg. “Worst part was, those ‘red talons’ or whatever told us everything we did wrong afterwards and what to work on. Even said they’d come back and give us another go once we’d gotten better if we wanted. Ain’t sure I wanna take ‘em up on that or not…”

“But you girls are okay?” Twilight asked in concern, to which both nodded vigorously.

“Now don’t you worry none, Twilight. I mean, sure, getting stabbed with a sword in a dream is still one HAY of a shock—” Applejack shivered as she remembered waking up afterwards in a cold sweat and a fluttering heart “—but what don’t kill ya only makes ya stronger, right? Reckon it’s also the best training you could have!”

“Maybe, but it sure wasn’t fun,” Rainbow grumbled. “I just don’t get it, though. I’ve got Firefly’s blood, I’m wicked fast, I’m the same age she was during the war, I can even do the Sonic Rainboom… so how come she could take them and I can’t? How come I’m not as good as her?” she asked almost forlornly.

Phoenix chuckled while Twilight outright laughed. “Firefly wasn’t born that way, Rainbow. She didn’t just turn twenty, put on her wingblades and was suddenly the best warrior in Equestria. She had many different trainers and had to learn as she went. She had to earn her skills and she suffered many setbacks and defeats along the way,” the latter told her friend.

Rainbow looked shocked at that. “She did?”

“She did,” Twilight suppressed another chuckle. “May interest you to know that Maya channeled her a few days back, so the Princess could see her again. And she told us a story that the first time she challenged her drill instructor, she got her flank kicked even worse than you,” she explained, noting how her pegasus friend suddenly looked almost thoughtful and spotting an opportunity for it. “And you know, Rainbow… there’s a book that tells the story of her rise and how she became the soldier and warrior you know in the leadup to the war. Spike, you know what book I’m talking about?” She turned to her scribe.

“Oh, you mean Rise of Firefly? Yeah, that’s in the biography section,” Spike confirmed, heading upstairs to get it.

“Ugh. Reading?” Rainbow stuck her tongue out.

“Now hold on a sec… how’d you know so much about the Bolt Knights if you hadn’t read about them?” Applejack asked as Twilight heard footfalls from upstairs, announcing Edgeworth’s impending return.

“Oh, that’s easy.” Rainbow waved a hoof from her hover. “Dad took me to the Wonderbolts museum in Cloudsdale a bunch of times when I was just a filly. He read me the captions, bought me some toys, and we saw all the movies, too!”

“Well, her autobiography has a lot of her story the museum and movies don’t. And I really think you might like it, Rainbow,” Twilight said. “You like Spike’s comics, right? Well, that book’s got just as much action as them and tells the story of all the original Bolt Knights, not just her,” she explained as Edgeworth reappeared behind her and Rarity did the same on the other side of the mirror, the former looking quite flushed and the latter looking quite happy.

“Welcome back, Edgeworth,” Phoenix couldn’t help but tease. “Any reason your cheeks are as red as your suit?” he asked to the giggles of Twilight’s friends.

“All right. What’d’ja do, Rarity?” Applejack smirked at her friend.

“A lady never tells, Darling!” She looked very pleased with herself as she tossed her exquisite mane.

“And I certainly won’t…” Edgeworth could barely mumble. “As gratifying as it was to see all you again, I’m afraid I must take my leave,” he announced with a bow towards the mirror.

“Don’t be a stranger, dear! Mister Wright now has the means to keep in touch with our world!” she pointed out as the image suddenly shimmered and began slowly closing in from the edges—Rarity had said in the note she sent the gems with that Vinyl Scratch had found a way to boost their magic, but they could still only power such a spell for so long. “Oh! And in the nick of time, then! Twilight! Mister Wright! Be well and keep in touch! We’ll contact you again tomorrow! Until then, ta-ta!” she shouted frantically through a narrowing field of vision, the image of Equestria suddenly withdrawing as if into a deep tunnel until the entire mirror surface rippled and by the time it was smooth again, it only showed their reflection.

“Okay, what did she do, Edgeworth?” Phoenix turned to his friend with a lopsided grin.

Edgeworth could only clear his throat. “I really should be going…” he insisted. “It was… good to see you and your friends again, Miss Sparkle. And I believe you are still owed a rematch in chess?” He quickly changed the subject, giving her a short bow.

“I’d love one! So if you’re available before the princess and I leave in three days, you’re more than welcome to come by.” She materialized the chess set box they’d found in a closet. “Not as nice as the set I gave you when you left Equestria, but it should do!”

“I believe I will bring that set with me, as I have not yet had the chance to use it. Though as it now sits on a table in my office, Von Karma saw it and found it rather… odd, asking me if I was ‘into equines’.”

Twilight and Phoenix looked at each other and exchanged a smile, each thinking the same thing. “And did you tell her only if they had an immaculate white coat with sapphire blue eyes, an exquisite violet mane and an exacting eye for detail?” Phoenix asked with a smirk.

Edgeworth flushed again as Twilight giggled. “You two are enjoying yourselves far too much,” he finally said, making a Herculean effort to recover his composure, crossing his arms and tapping his finger on his bicep once more. “Miss Rarity is… a special lady, certainly. And I admit I was impressed with her eye for detail and deductive abilities when we investigated the corruption of the Equestrian prosecutors’ office. However… though I believe her to be an… admirable mare, I do not feel it appropriate to engage in more… personal pursuits with her,” he said carefully.

Phoenix thought of teasing him further by telling him they knew what happened with him and Rarity under the influence of Pinkie’s party punch, but decided against it—for now! “Your call, but ‘special ladies’ like her don’t come along too often, Edgeworth,” he reminded him, emphasizing his statement by holding Twilight close and kissing her. “You really should give her a chance like I did for Twilight.”

“Seconded!” Twilight said as she gave him a second, and deeper kiss.

Edgeworth stared at them for a moment, then gave them both a short nod and bow. “I must be off. Good day to both of you, Wright and Miss Sparkle. I will return this weekend to meet the Princess and have our chess match if possible.”

“See you then!” they said together, seeing him to the door and then waving goodbye.

Once the door was shut behind him, Twilight turned to Phoenix. “So… how long do you think it’ll be until he gives in to Rarity?”

Phoenix grinned at that. “Edgeworth is stubborn but not immovable. It took me a few cases to crack him, so I imagine it’ll be the same for her. I’ll give him six months before surrender.”

“Six? Rarity’s plenty stubborn too, and has lot more experience with stallions. Three at most!” she rejoined with a grin of her own. “So… now that all that’s taken care of, what do you want to do today?” Twilight asked, putting her arms around his shoulders.

Though tempted to suggest staying in for some lovemaking—he half-thought she was hinting at it—Phoenix decided that it was still best to wait for a bit so soon after the previous night’s events, as they were still tired and at least somewhat rattled. “Well, how about this: since we’re still worn out, why don’t we nap first, and then… since we’re going to do the fair tomorrow, why don’t we head into the city today so you can see the courthouse where I argue cases? And after that…?” he grinned and showed her his credit card. “And after that, we’ll come back and spend the evening in town, including dinner and a trip to that big bookstore down the street?” he suggested meaningfully.

Her eyes lit up. “You certainly know the way to my heart, Phoenix Wright!” She kissed him again. “So let’s get that nap and get a fresh start…”

29: Young Wubs

Though I’ve taken most of the adult action out, this chapter nudges slightly into R-rated territory in one or two places for some impending or implied humanized Vinyl-on-Maya action. Read the author’s notes at the bottom for an explanation. —Firesight

Music: Lost in Thought

One of the things Celestia enjoyed most about Earth was simply being able to walk around unrecognized.

True, her size and beauty even as a human tended to turn heads, but there was still a huge difference between that and being followed, attended, and all but worshipped everywhere she went, making it all but impossible to eat out or even visit a hotel gift shop as she was doing then. Though I suppose having one at Canterlot Castle would be just a bit gauche… she admitted with a soft chuckle as she looked through the Gatewater gift shop wares, searching for something suitable for Vinyl Scratch to wear. She wouldn’t want anything too feminine but she would want it bright and showy, and something that would go well with the colors of her shades and mane…

She took her time about it, leaving the pair in her penthouse suite with some light room service fare while she shopped. It was in order to allow them enough time to talk, as well as engage in more… intimate affairs if that was what they wanted. Celestia knew full well what the Elements of Harmony could do and its likely effects on the human girl, having been one with them in the distant past. But in truth, as much as she hoped they would bring out Maya’s sensual side, she also thought it best to not be around if they did.

Especially not after that dream last night! She gave an involuntary shiver, the images of it still vivid in her mind. In it, she’d been back in Equestria in her original alicorn form, lounging in her Canterlot quarters when Maya had approached her, walking right out of her bedroom mirror to all but offer herself, saying it was her thanks for helping her and being there when she’d needed her. It had been an offer Celestia had only been too eager to accept, levitating her onto the bed and then...

Celestia shook her head sharply to clear it, suddenly worried her horn or mating aura might be showing. Dangerous territory, Tia… she knew only too well. She could only imagine what Luna would think if she saw that dream… or worse, Maya’s sister, though she didn’t think there was a danger there.

Not if she’s truly visiting the Summerlands right now… she somewhat fervently hoped. There may be no adultery in the realm of dreams, as Luna says, but after the way Mia Fey dealt with The Nightmare, I’d rather she not think me a threat to Maya…

Seeking a new target for her suddenly lurid thoughts, she found them suddenly turning… to Mia herself, remembering the striking, confident figure she cut as an angelic attorney. So beautiful… so powerful… and so… sensual… she recalled, her attentions suddenly turning from the younger sister to the older one. The attraction was entirely different there; a deep-seated desire to be dominated by a more powerful female, and one the sun princess never got to indulge—for who was more powerful than she?

She chuckled again at that, rubbing her eyes and forcing herself to focus on the task at hoof. Be careful, Tia… she warned herself, knowing that even though Mia Fey was beyond the reach of all but her fantasies, Maya Fey was not. And given her dreams, the sun princess was afraid her own proclivities towards younger mares might yet get the best of her, as it once had not too many years past.

Sunset Shimmer… she reminded herself, her eyes closing in deep regret. A moment of weakness cost me a student and Equestria a promising young unicorn. I will NOT succumb to temptation again lest it cost me my new human friends and a young girl the chance to explore her sexuality on her own terms and with HER choice of partners! she told herself firmly, wondering again what had happened to her former student. She disappeared not just from my life, but from Equestria itself… where did she go…?

Putting aside her suddenly brooding thoughts, she marveled again at the events of the previous night, recognizing how blessed she was to see so many old friends again... and how lucky they all were that the worst had not happened, shivering at the realization that she’d nearly lost Twilight to the same evil that had taken Luna from her. It took all of us to prevent disaster—Mia Fey and Phoenix Wright, Luna and her Dream Guard, Twilight and her friends, even Vinyl Scratch… Celestia took pains to grant, thinking that given her surprisingly good performance as a defense attorney, perhaps the brash Pony DJ had been miscast as a prosecutor.

Even Trixie Lulamoon played her part as a surprisingly fair judge. So maybe Luna is right about her after all? She still didn’t approve of her sister wiping the young mare’s memory, though she understood why well enough—Luna was very big on tests of character, perhaps because she’d failed one so badly in the past, and wanted to give her potential apprentice an untainted one… which became impossible if she was aware of Luna’s interest.

Her reunion with her former Bolt Knights had been bittersweet and all too brief, but it did her heart good to see that they were all at peace. Perhaps someday I will finally join you… she told them, reflecting on the blessings and curse of her ageless life. But until then, I will forever honor you…

“Excuse me, ma’am…?” the clerk behind the counter called out to her, snapping her out of her reverie. “You’ve been there a while. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Oh!” Celestia called out, her attention finally pulled back to the present and back to the task at hoof. “Yes, sorry. I was… merely lost in thought…” she quickly picked out a selection of shorts, sandals and blouses before taking them to the cashier. Hopefully, Miss Scratch will like at least some of these. And hopefully, I’ll have given her and Maya enough time for whatever they decided to do…

Music: Change of Clothes

Upon returning upstairs, Celestia found, to her quickly-concealed disappointment, that Maya and Vinyl had polished off their light meal but otherwise had not indulged in any more intimacies, still sitting at the table talking with the former clothed in her kimono. She couldn’t help but blush a bit at the sight of the young girl as they instantly sparked memories of her dream the previous night, but accepted a hug and heartfelt thank-you from her all the same.

Not helping was the fact that the teenaged mystic’s head only came up to her chest or that she held the hug for several long seconds. “Um… Miss Maya…” Celestia said cautiously, not quite willing to break the embrace.

Vinyl noticed and smirked. “Careful there, fillyfriend. ‘Cause as hot as you are, think you’re gonna turn on Celly if you keep that up,” she suggested, causing both to blush hard and instantly pull back.

“Oh, uh… sorry, Princess,” Maya quickly said, rubbing a hand behind her head as Celestia found herself tempted to do the same, though it was hardly a normal gesture for her.

“Quite all right,” she quickly responded. “I do understand what you are feeling, young Maya, but I must advise caution and not to do that which you may later regret,” she told herself as much as Maya. “As I have already told Twilight, it is a heady time but also a dangerous one as you may find temptations everywhere, including some perhaps best not indulged... for now,” she finished, wincing for having not meant to add the last two words.

“That’s sage advice, fillyfriend. Take it to heart,” Vinyl advised from behind her.

“Y-yeah…” Maya admitted, memories of the dream where Celestia had magically pleasured her still fresh, leaving her wondering if the sun princess could do it for real. “Sorry, Princess. I really don’t want to cause any trouble with you and Ferro…”

“Ferro?” Vinyl echoed, and was shortly given an explanation. “Whoa. So he’s the stallion you’re seeing, Princess? Human or no, he must be real special.”

“Indeed, but… I must ask you not to spread that around back home, Vinyl Scratch. Not so much for my sake but for his,” she implored her fellow mare. “I care less about the scandal that would erupt than if those who wish Equestria ill were to find out about him…” she trailed off meaningfully, infinitely glad The Nightmare had either not known about him or not thought to use him as she had Maya the previous night. Probably the former. After all, she was always more an opportunist than a strategist...

“They might try to go after him, even on Earth. I got it,” Vinyl answered. “Already Pinkie-promised along with the rest of the gang when Twilight told us, but lemme say it again, Princess—my lips are sealed. Still like to meet him, though…”

“You’ll get your chance tomorrow, V-Jay. He says he’s gonna meet up with us, Nick and Sparkle at the fairgrounds,” Maya promised, showing her friend an earlier exchange of texts. “Even says he’s even going to bring his daughter along!” she announced, causing Celestia to smile.

“Really? Cool! But in the meantime, I don’t really wanna spend my time cooped up in here, so… how about it, Princess?” The pony DJ turned to Celestia and presented herself. “Ready when you are!”

Celestia smiled again. “By all means. Please hold still, Vinyl Scratch. And you might wish to stand back, Miss Maya...” she instructed as she closed her eyes and her long ethereal alicorn horn appeared, wreathed in a golden light, barely dimmed for it being on Earth, all but dazzling Maya’s mystical awareness for the sheer strength of aura and amount of energy she could sense. The same golden energy washed around Vinyl, whose form visibly shifted beneath it, her lower limbs lengthening and equine features melting into human ones, though even through the glow Maya could see she was still retaining her electric blue hair color. Her fur faded, leaving pale white skin in its place, while her hooves suddenly sprouted a familiar set of appendages as she continued to stand on all fours through the entire process, through her new fingers curled against the carpet at the end.

The transformation spell took around twenty seconds to complete, and by the time it faded from around Vinyl, the Pony DJ was now in her human form and trying to pull herself awkwardly to her new feet. “Yeah… this was hard last time, too!” Vinyl admitted with a chuckle as, seeing her stumble, Maya rushed to her side to help, offering her an arm up as Celestia likewise offered her aura to steady the now-human mare, trying not to think too much about the fact she was unclothed and quite attractive for it, quickly withdrawing her magical touch once her fellow Equestrian was successfully standing, holding onto Maya’s arms. Too many temptations, Tia…

“Easy there, V-Jay…” Maya said, recognizing her friend’s difficulties as well as her well-built human form. “Lean on my arms. Get your balance and take slow steps forward,” she instructed as Vinyl obeyed, taking short steps at first, distracted by the myriad new sensations of the cool room air against her bare skin… to say nothing of Maya’s hands guiding her, her lack of fur and sensitive fingers enabling her to feel everything far more keenly than her hooves did.

So what’s that gonna mean when I have sex as a human…? she had the sudden heady thought at how much more she might be able to feel and stumbled slightly at the loss of focus, pitching forward to where she was caught by Maya, who blushed hard to see her friend’s face an inch from hers. “Uh… sorry?” Vinyl suggested with a smile, not immediately trying to stand on her own again.

“Um…” was all a fiercely blushing Maya could immediately say, quickly and keenly aware of her friend’s proximity and unclothed state. The moment and possibilities seemed to stretch out before them... until a throat cleared.

“If you two wish, I will be more than happy to leave you here for a while…?” Celestia suggested almost hopefully, her grin askance and teasing.

Maya and Vinyl looked over at her, then back to each other, each reaching the same reluctant conclusion. “Not yet…” they said as one, Maya carefully pushing Vinyl back on her feet. “We agreed it was best to wait,” the former added, wondering how much longer she could wait at this rate.

“I see…” Celestia said with a quickly hidden flash of disappointment as Vinyl’s grin suddenly turned mischievous.

“For the best, Princess. But, you know, fillyfriend, that doesn’t mean we can’t…” the now-human DJ let her actions finish the sentence as she suddenly leaned in and kissed a surprised Maya deeply, the action of it not much different than it had been for her as a pony. This time, it was her surprised human friend whose legs nearly buckled, her eyes initially wide, but quickly closing in pleasure.

It was nearly half a minute before they finally separated, Maya looking quite flushed after. “You know, you’re making a pretty good case we should get together sooner rather than later, V-Jay!” she said somewhat breathlessly.

“Hey, even if you’re not there yet, doesn’t mean I can’t help get ya there, fillyfriend!” Vinyl grinned, then turned back to a slightly-squirming Celestia, recognizing the effect they were having on her. “Hope you liked the show, Princess!”

“Quite…” she said in a dry voice as Maya giggled. “But may I suggest you get dressed and we head out before there are any more such shows…?”

Music: Hit the Streets!

An hour later, the trio were exiting the Gatewater, heading for a diner Celestia knew about at her suggestion, Vinyl now dressed in blue shorts and a simple white t-shirt bearing the Gatewater logo that accented her blue hair. Her magenta shades still fitted for her pony head, and her own magic seemingly ineffective while human, Celestia had sent Spike a message asking him to retrieve the Pony DJ’s human-fitted ones she’d made for her previous trip from her house and sent to her via dragonfire. He had done so by the time they were ready to leave, close to noon.

“You know… our old law office used to be there!” Maya pointed to a building across the street. “We moved out after the Lana Skye trial, though. I wasn’t there for that one, but too many bad memories of this place…” a shadow passed over her face. “Sis was murdered there,” she decided to add at their quizzical expressions, earning her a shocked look from both Vinyl and Celestia, the former squeezing her hand and the latter, her shoulder.

“I am so sorry, Miss Maya. From what I saw, your sister was—and is—a remarkable woman who more than earned her ascension to the human heaven,” Celestia offered cautiously.

“Second that. She was something else at that trial last night. Even when you channeled her yesterday, I got a sense how much she loves and protects you, even from the hereafter. You’re really lucky to have her as a sister, Maya.”

“Thanks, both of you.” Maya’s expression was more wistful than sad, squeezing their hands in turn. “It’s okay, really. Nick nailed the guy who did it, and I’m lucky that I still get to see sis occasionally when Pearly channels her. Just knowing she’s out there watching over us helps a lot.”

Vinyl was confused at that. “When Pearly channels her? What about when you channel her?” she asked, but Maya simply shook her head.

“The way it works is, when a medium channels, the channeled spirit takes over. I have no memory of what happens during that time,” she explained, remembering how much trouble that fact had once gotten her in, resulting in being framed for murder by Pearl’s mother, Morgan Fey, who had wanted Maya out of the way so her family and daughter would become head of the Kurain house. “Basically, my spirit is shunted aside and I temporarily become that person in both body and spirit. So in effect, when I channel sis… I am sis,” she concluded.

“And the same holds true for Firefly or anypony else you may channel,” Celestia recognized in some wonder. “I wonder if ponies could learn that technique…?”

“No idea, but you’d think so given your magic. And didn’t that weird wizard pony say that your magic and our mystical power were related forces?” Maya recalled.

“Starswirl…” Celestia’s expression turned wistful as she remembered getting to see and tease her mentor again, as had been a favorite pastime of her long-ago youth. Two thousand years and he hasn’t changed at all… nor would I wish him to! she couldn’t help but grin at the thought. “Perhaps he is right. We will have to find a way to see if our some of our own mages can become mystics as well… do you think your school would consent to outside students, Young Maya?”

Maya had to think about that. “Right now? Probably not. Pretty sure the elders would balk and insist the Kurain power is supposed to be hereditary, not acquired. But when I become Kurain Master? Then they have no say and we’ll see if ponies can gain it. Promise, Princess!” she looked up and grinned, knowing that with Morgan Fey out of the way, there was nothing to stop her eventual ascension to the rank. I’ll do it for you, Mom… she promised the long-lost Misty Fey, wishing fervently she could yet see her again.

“You have a deal, Miss Maya,” Celestia confirmed with another squeeze of her shoulder. “When the time comes, we will make arrangements. For now, though… let us enjoy a simple lunch…” the sun princess said as they headed upstreet towards the diner.

* * * * *

The walk took but ten minutes. As they neared their destination, Celestia couldn’t help note that the two younger mares were already very close, even holding hands. This brought a smile to her face… although it dimmed somewhat when she noticed the venomous looks coming from a few passersby. California tended to be a very permissive place, she knew, but that didn’t mean there weren’t those living there that didn’t share its outlook.

Vinyl noticed this as well. “Geez, you’d think these people didn’t know same-gender relationships are a thing,” she muttered under her breath.

Maya grimaced. “Well, for most humans they really aren’t. Many religions and conservative viewpoints consider such relationships ‘sinful’ since such relations can only be for pleasure, not progeny.”

“And pleasure is a bad thing… why?” Vinyl asked, perplexed.

“Never said I understood the reasoning either, V-jay,” Maya admitted, somewhat ruefully remembering how negatively she’d first reacted to the idea of first being with her pony friend. “Talk to any Catholic about it, and they’ll say, ‘God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve’ or something like that.”

Celestia snorted at that. “Ah, yes, the Roman Catholic Church. A fine example as to why the separation of church and state is so important.”

Maya blinked and looked back at her. “I take it you have a low opinion of organized religion?”

“Not in the least, Maya,” Celestia replied evenly. “I firmly believe that faith is a necessary component to life and society, providing purpose and a shared set of values that allow individuals and cultures to grow. Organized religion is not in itself a bad thing—within reason, some human faiths are certainly more backwards or at least less benign than others—but a nation run by its religion, or vice versa, often is. It’s why I’m so keen to seek out and dissuade anypony who worships me or my sister.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Vinyl mused. At Maya’s bewildered look, the DJ clarified. “It’s hard to get under Celly’s skin, but one thing that will get her dander up is worshiping her like she’s some kind of goddess.”

Maya blinked repeatedly. “Really? People worshiping you seems kind of an odd thing to get mad about, Princess.”

Celestia sighed. “Understand, Maya, that for all my age and alicorn power, I am by no means a perfect pony. I have my flaws, as I believe I told you the other night, and even now, I can only too readily make mistakes,” she said as they neared the diner. “If you need an example, there was a point in the distant past where I would arrest ponies for questioning my power or judgments. So given that, why should my little ponies worship somepony who is as flawed, if not more so, than they? Religion is meant to join ponies—or people—in the belief of a greater, flawless power. I am not that power. I did—and still do—what I must to dissuade those who would put me on such a pedestal.”

Maya looked thoughtful at that. “Yeah, I guess I can understand that. But… well, forgive me for saying this, what about Twilight? She’s clearly put you up on a pedestal, herself.”

Celestia chuckled. “True, but she learned quickly the boundary between admiration and worship. I made clear to her early in our relationship that I had no wish for her to revere me as a goddess. She simply admires me for my prowess and wisdom… though I fear I’ve had ample cause to doubt both myself, as of late.”

The two younger mares exchanged a glance before looking back at her. “Is this about last night?” Maya guessed.

The disguised alicorn’s face grew downcast. “Twilight is my faithful student. I’ve been there for her many times throughout her life. Yet when she needed me most, I was completely oblivious to the danger she was in until Delta came to find me. I feel like I’ve failed her, and I’ve no wish to do so again.”

Vinyl reached up to put a hand on the princess’s shoulder—a human gesture she would never have used as a pony. “Don’t worry too much about it, Princess. Yeah, you didn’t know what was happening at first, but you’re not to blame for what happened. If anypony’s to blame, it’s The Nightmare. She engineered what happened herself, and did so without any of us noticing. From what I could tell, not even Luna realized what was happening until it was nearly too late.” Seeing Celestia’s unconvinced look, Vinyl pressed on. “Besides, you did show up, and you gave your support when it was most needed. You don’t need to be so hard on yourself.”

“Vinyl’s right,” Maya said firmly. “We all got caught off-guard by what happened, but we all pulled through in the end. Nick and Sparkle are happy again, I’m finally thinking about things clearly, and The Nightmare is gone. That’s what I’d call a triple play.”

Celestia finally smiled at that. “Ah, a baseball term. I’ve watched a few games with Ferro. My attempt to translate it for ponies… didn’t go so well.”

Maya blinked, and grinned. “Lemme guess… pegasus outfielders ruin the game?”

“The one time a full game was played, it lasted thirty-two innings before I finally called the game a tie,” Celestia said ruefully. “A tie with no scores on either side, for that matter. Though in fairness, other sports have been adopted quite well. Rugby has become very popular with earth ponies, for example. And I myself rather do enjoy a good round of golf… though after our first course was built, it did take some time to explain to unicorns that they couldn’t just enchant the ball to go into the hole!”

The three shared a laugh as they entered the restaurant. Maya looked around the American diner, far simpler than the fancy places she’d initially assumed the Princess would favor. “Out of curiosity... why come to this place, Princess?”

“Ferro introduced it to me. We’ve eaten here a few times in the past and it has good memories for me. Better yet, they not only have good food, but karaoke with an open mic,” Celestia replied, nodding across the room to a small stage. “I thought we could perhaps entertain ourselves a bit while having breakfast.”

“Works for me!” Maya said cheerfully, looking forward to seeing Celestia sing.

Music: Five Star Service...

After the three were seated and had placed their orders for drinks—Maya got cola for herself and Vinyl, while Celestia requested a water and a Bloody Mary (resulting in a quick explanation to a surprised Vinyl as to its contents), another pair of women entered the diner. Glancing around, they spotted the trio, and made their way over. “Pardon me, Princess, but may we intrude?” asked one of them, giving the large woman the sun princess was disguised as a short bow.

Celestia blinked and looked up, seeing a human woman wearing a dark amaranth blazer and matching skirt of knee length. Under the blazer, she wore a white blouse, the top two buttons left undone. Her sparkling blue eyes held a hint of mischief, and her blonde hair had a streak of crimson running through it. That alone clued Celestia into the woman’s identity. The clasp on her neck of the sun and moon merely confirmed it. “Certainly, Delta. Please, join us.”

“Delta Requiem?” chorused Maya and Vinyl, surprised.

Delta chuckled. “Yes, it’s me.” She helped her companion into a chair before sitting down herself, as her friend was noticeably unsteady on her legs. This woman had a tan business suit on, with a matching blouse and skirt. Her hair was a dark green, an unusual color for certain; then again, Maya had seen people with bizarre hair colors before (the fiend who killed her sister came to mind, as did his slut-friend). Perhaps the most striking thing about her were her eyes: they were a bright orange, quite the unusual color among humans.

Then again, Maya was quite certain this woman wasn’t truly human, either, given her unusual appearance and how unsteady she’d been on her feet, to say nothing of the company she was keeping. The young mystic was also rather certain she’d seen this particular woman before… and suddenly, it came to her. “You’re one of the ponies that saw us off from Equestria,” she said quietly, pointing at the green-haired woman. “You were in the library when we left!”

This earned a smile in response. “Quite right. I’m impressed you remembered that, Miss Fey, let alone recognized me like this,” she replied. “My name is Five Stars. I’m Delta’s manager. Good to see you again, Ms. Scratch,” she added in an aside to Vinyl.

“You too, filly. Take it you’re having as much trouble as I did figuring out how to walk upright?” she asked with a wry grin.

Five Stars smiled. “We just crossed over, and I’m always a little unsteady for the first hour or so. After that I’m fine. Wouldn’t do for a manager to be stumbling all over, after all...”

Maya blinked at that. “Why does a prosecutor need a manager?”

That caused all four disguised ponies to start snickering, chuckling, or outright laughing as was their wont. “I’m not just a prosecutor, Miss Fey,” Delta responded through her laughs. “In fact, Trixie’s trial was the first time I ever prosecuted a case. In my day job, I’m the court bard of Canterlot. Think of me as a civilian equivalent to the Captain of the Guard. I’m essentially one of the highest-ranked civilians in Equestria.”

“’Civilian’ my flank, Lady Requiem,” Vinyl retorted, Maya noting that even during the dream trial she hadn’t been one to mince words. “A ‘civilian’ doesn’t bear a title of nobility or make a five-figure monthly income and report directly to the Crown.”

Delta rolled her eyes. “Okay, so I’m technically more of an internal security specialist of sorts. The point I was trying to make is that I’m not military. I handle certain… domestic matters. And speaking of which…” She pulled out a small booklet. “By request of the Princess, this has been made for you, Vinyl. It’s a valid human passport you can use as an identity card should the need arise.”

“Really?” Vinyl reflexively tried to pick it up with her magic only to find that once again, she couldn’t as a human, so she reached out with her hand to grasp it, picking it up somewhat awkwardly, still getting used to having fingers again.

Maya leaned over her shoulder to look as well. “Equios… is that an actual country?”

“Indeed it is,” Delta answered as Celestia just smiled. “An internationally recognized European ministate located right beside Lichtenstein,” she added, as Maya promptly took out her smartphone to look it up.

“It’s true. Not known for much except for some minor agriculture and a historic castle or two, but it’s carved out a nice niche for itself in the banking industry. And once a year, a wine-and-music festival that brings in much of our yearly income,” Five Stars added, looking through the menu with some familiarity.

Maya blinked as she quickly read through the information she found. “Okay… though that doesn’t answer the question of why you need a manager. Doesn’t that make Five Stars your boss?” she suggested.

This caused another small outbreak of laughter. “I suppose a better word for my role would be ‘agent’,” Five Stars admitted. “I manage Delta’s business affairs and set up her concert tours when she’s away from Canterlot, whether that’s in our world or yours. I have to say, though, it’s rather more fun in your world, if only because I get to use better toys,” she said as she pulled out a large wallet with a tablet inside and began working on it.

“Here or there, you’re the best at both jobs I’ve ever had,” Delta said without hesitation, causing Five Stars to flush slightly.

“Oh, so ‘bard’ isn’t just a cover for your whole… spellsinging thing? You actually do sing normally?” Maya asked.

Delta grinned. “Singing is my talent, my passion, and my life, Miss Fey. The fact that it coincides with my special ability is just the icing on the cake.” Looking up, she saw the current performer on the open mic finish their song, and stood up. “Speaking of which… with your permission, Princess?”

“Of course,” the Princess invited, sitting back to watch as Delta sauntered over to the man running the karaoke, and after a few moments, took the mic. After a moment, a piano began to play, interspersed with the sound of hand claps. As a drumbeat and guitar joined in, Delta began to sing:

There was quite a bit of applause as Delta finished. She made her way back over to the table as their drinks arrived and they asked for a couple more minutes to make food selections.

“A very good song, Lady Requiem,” Celestia said with a smile. “Though I think my student and Mr. Wright could appreciate it as well.”

Delta smiled and bowed her head. “Oh, I’ve sent them VIP tickets to my concert at the end of the week.” As she said this, Five Stars removed some items from her tablet wallet, and passed them out. “And here are yours, by the way.”

“So, you’re known here, too?” Maya asked, somewhat baffled as she looked the ticket over. Then she blinked. “Waitaminute… ‘Arianne Reichmuth’? You’re Arianne Reichmuth?!” she exclaimed quietly, trying to not draw attention to the fact that there were not one, but two famous foreign visitors in the diner.

Delta smirked. “Well, given that Celestia does a good bit of her business in Geneva, I decided to craft a persona for myself based there as well.”

Celestia arched an eyebrow. “I take it you’ve heard of her human name, Miss Maya?”

“She’s an enigmatic pop star from Switzerland!” Maya said in wonder. “No one knows much about her. She appears to do concert tours every so often, then vanishes just as quickly. Even the paparazzi can’t keep tabs on her.” She looked at Delta with wide eyes. “Of course, that’s because you don’t stay here that long, do you?”

“Only long enough for my tours, and then it’s back to Equestria to make my report,” Delta replied with a nod. “And in between concert appearances? I have ways of keeping hidden.” She closed her eyes and grinned.

“I’ll just bet!” Vinyl chuckled, then blinked. “A report on what, though? How many humans like your music?”

Delta smirked. “My dear Vinyl, I am the Court Bard. My trade is rumor and gossip; my weapons are song and the spoken word. You’d be surprised what a pop star can learn while on tour.”

“Indeed,” Celestia said with a smile. “Delta’s reports on the human world have allowed me to introduce some elements from human society… as well as correct certain oversights.”

“Oversights?” Maya asked.

“I mentioned to you before that I believe Equestria could use a little less harmony now and then?” Celestia said, getting a nod from the young mystic. “Well, to that end I’ve been taking certain things from Earth and adapting them for use in Equestria. Reel-to-reel cinema and early-model cameras were such things. Still, the process isn’t always perfect,” she chuckled at a sudden memory.

“About a century ago, we tried to import trains, but… a rather critical piece was missing. It was only about twenty years later I was informed that a locomotive is meant to pull the train, at which point we… borrowed blueprints for a steam engine and figured out how to power it magically instead of through coal. Creating such magically-powered engines took almost all of two decades, and it’s only now that train travel has become as ubiquitous as it has.”

Maya blinked at that, before realization set in. “Oh… yeah, I can see that, now.”

“As an aside, employment in our railroad division has gone up dramatically since we got rid of the ‘train puller’ job,” Delta noted in perfect deadpan. “Engineers, ushers, mechanics and track layers are all needed. It’s been quite the boon, actually, to Equestrian commerce and travel. They’re even trying to find a way to lay tracks across the far northern straits to the Griffon continent of Aresia.”

“And more boons are ahead. These crystal ‘batteries’ you and Twilight Sparkle came up with are already opening up a slew of new possibilities for us,” Five Stars addressed Vinyl, fingering the one around her neck powering her transformation spell. “Before, I had to carry around a caseful of potions charged with transformation spells and take a new one every few hours to stay human. But now? One fully-charged crystal is good for an entire day!”

Vinyl all but preened. “Thanks, but it was Sparkle who figured out how to charge them with mana and the initial inspiration actually came from Maya’s ‘smart-phone’ there. If you like human toys, kinda surprised you don’t have one yourself there, Five Stars.”

As if on cue, there was a ringing sound from Five Stars’ purse. “Who says I don’t?” she answered in an amused tone, then went outside to take the call, leaving chuckles in her wake.

“She’s as devoted to you as ever, I see,” Celestia noted in some satisfaction. “And she’s taken to Earth quite readily.”

“She really has. She even seems to have an attraction to human men now. Not surprising, I guess…” her eyes turned sad as she sipped her juice.

“Why’s that?” Maya had to ask. So Sparkle’s NOT the only mare who likes men…?

Delta paused before replying. “Five Stars had a series of unhappy herd experiences, some her fault but mostly not, ones that soured her pretty badly on stallions and shared partners. She also got into a relationship with a griffin at one point she wasn’t ready for, and had a very bad time dealing with the aftermath,” Delta explained. “On the one hoof, interspecies relationships like that are very difficult to make work. On the other… they can also be that much more rewarding. But she wasn’t ready and jumped into it too soon without really thinking things through. The results were... predictable.”

Vinyl nudged Maya under the table. “Sounds like more sage advice to me, fillyfriend,” she reminded her.

“Yeah…” Maya recognized. More difficult… but more rewarding… she repeated to herself, suddenly lost in thought, her hand finding Vinyl’s beneath the table again as the waitress returned to take their orders. Five Stars came back as well, a frown on her face before she quickly masked it.

“I’ll have the Belgian Waffle Deluxe, with strawberries, sausage links and extra syrup with a fruit salad on the side,” Celestia told the waitress after glancing back at her menu.

“Gimme the Pigs in a Blanket,” Maya said next, deciding that even if her Equestrian friends weren’t meat-eaters, she was.

Vinyl stifled a snort of laughter before placing her order, wondering what kind of human food bore that name. “Let’s see… don’t mind trying lots of new stuff, so... I’ll take the Sampler Skillet,” she said, to Maya’s approval.

“I’d like the western omelet with extra bacon on the side,” Five Stars said, causing Maya to give her a look of surprise.

Unperturbed, Delta glanced over the menu herself for a moment longer before ordering. “Hm… I’ll have the Superstar combo, with raisin toast, hashbrowns, bacon, scrambled eggs… and peanut butter on the waffle.” she said with the air of making her usual order, passing her menu in, then noticing Maya staring at her. “Why, whatever’s wrong, Miss Maya? I thought you humans believed that everything goes better with bacon,” she asked with a coy grin once the waitress had double-checked her information and departed.

Before she could reply, Vinyl turned to Maya. “Guess I’ll find out what bacon is, but what the hay is ‘Pigs in a Blanket’? I mean, seriously?”

Maya was only too happy to tell her, causing her friend to burst out laughing when she got it. “Pork sausages wrapped in pancakes… nice,” she conceded. “While I’m an official omnivore, might try a bite or two if that’s okay… and that ‘bacon’, whatever it is.”

“Oh, you’ll definitely like it, Ms. Scratch. It’s certainly one of the things I look forward to eating when I become human,” Five Stars agreed, though she still seemed somewhat troubled.

“Something wrong, Five Stars?” Celestia quickly asked.

“Nothing that can’t be fixed, Princess,” she said with an annoyed air. “Just some trouble with the concert preparations. It seems the amphitheater double-booked us with another band. I’ll deal with it,” she promised, and nobody disputed that she could. “In the meantime, let’s eat…”

Music: An Afternoon Out

The afternoon passed quickly and pleasantly after that.

Not long after lunch ended, they received a text from Phoenix that said Edgeworth had come by to visit and that they’d been in contact with Twilight’s friends; the pair saying that they were going back to sleep after a restless night and would be spending the rest of the day after that seeing the courthouse and then having some quality time together. He also said that Edgeworth had warned him that Franny had suspicions about Twilight and might come around later asking questions about her.

She immediately messaged him back that she thought Franny was more concerned about him than anything else, so she’d address that worry if and when the nineteen-year-old prosecutor came by. You know, sometimes I forget she’s my age… Maya couldn’t help but chuckle, wondering if Franny had any love interests of her own. Hell, given her whip, for all I know she moonlights as a dominatrix… she snickered, knowing she, too, would find it hard to see her the same way again after The Nightmare’s little display while in her form the previous night.

She thought they were done as she wished them both well on behalf of herself and everyone else, but then Phoenix sent one final line:

PS: If you happen to run into Edgeworth, be sure to tease him about Rarity! They had a private chat and apparently, she did something he didn’t want to talk about! You should have seen it, Maya; his cheeks were as red as his SUIT!

Tease Edgey-poo? Now THAT I can do! Maya grinned, promising she would before signing off.

Delta and Five Stars likewise took their leave, the former heading off on a Celestial errand and the latter going in a different direction to sort out the concert issues. In the meantime, the remaining threesome visited a science museum—“Human magic,” Vinyl pronounced in some wonder as they examined the old Space Shuttle Endeavour, to which Celestia quoted a human author saying that any technology sufficiently advanced was indistinguishable from magic—and then headed for a park with a train museum so Vinyl could see where the idea of it had actually come from and how train travel had evolved in the human world.

They had dinner at a steakhouse, Celestia’s treat, where Maya only too eagerly introduced her pony friend to the joys of a medium rare ribeye (“by the sun and moon, I ain’t ever gonna see bovines the same after this!” Vinyl said after she had finished and patted her very happy belly)—and finished with an evening visit to an ice cream parlor and movie theater to watch the next installment of a popular superhero franchise movie; Maya amazing Celestia again with her appetite by polishing off a massive shake and most of a popcorn tub all by herself.

It was nearly 10pm by the time they returned to the hotel… to find a surprise waiting for them as a young girl Pearl’s age abruptly rushed up to them as they entered the lobby. “Auntie Tia! Auntie Tia!” she called out as she all but leapt into Celestia’s embrace, to which the sun princess was initially surprised, but her expression quickly turned to delight.

“Why, hello, little one!” the sun princess all but cooed, nuzzling the young girl in a surprisingly pony manner before giving her a kiss on the forehead. “So good to see you again! And by the sun, you’ve grown so much! Are you being a good girl for your daddy?” she asked, quickly looking around for…

“That she is, Sunshine. That she is,” a familiar voice confirmed from behind them, followed by Ferro Stabile stepping out of the shadows, watching the scene happily. “Surprise, Tia!” He told her, going up to kiss her in a gesture Celestia only too eagerly returned.

Their kiss was long and deep enough to make both Maya and Vinyl blush. “Surprise indeed. I thought you were spending a long weekend with her?” she nodded down to the girl still clinging to her, rubbing cheeks with her again.

“I was and I am. But when I told her you were here, she wanted to see her favorite Aunt immediately, and in all honesty… so did I.” He took and kissed her hand, then noticed the other two girls flanking her. “Hey, Maya.”

“Hey, Iron Man!” Maya rejoined with a grin, enjoying the scene. “Sorry, after seeing that movie, kinda hard not to call you that!”

“Thanks, I think… and who’s this?” He turned to the electric blue-haired woman with magenta shades next, studying her with some interest.

“Greetings, friend. Name’s Vinyl Scratch.” She offered him a hand in greeting as she’d seen humans do, guessing he was Celly’s stallion instantly but still surprised by his large size.

He accepted it and shook it gently. “Ferro Stabile at your service. Vinyl Scratch, huh? With that name and hair, I take it you’re an Equestrian?” He motioned to her two-tone mane.

“That I am,” she said proudly and without any surprise, flipping up her glasses to show him her deep red eyes.

To his credit, Ferro flinched only slightly at the sight while Maya giggled. “And who’s this…?” she nodded up at the young girl Celestia was still cooing at, delighting her by producing an Equestrian coin with a quick flare of magic she and Vinyl could sense.

“This is my daughter, Cypreus,” he introduced her in great pride. “Say hi, Cyprey!” he instructed as Celestia gently let her down.

“Hi there! Good to meet you both!” the dark-haired girl offered her hand, her complexion somewhat olive like her father. “I’m Cyprey! Are you ponies too?” she asked openly, studying them with great interest.

“Maya Fey,” the young mystic replied chuckled, accepting her hand, then bringing her palms together and bowing in the Kurain manner. “And sorry, but... no, I’m not.”

“Vinyl Scratch,” the Pony-turned-human DJ introduced herself next. “And not sorry to say that yes, I am!” she announced, but decided against showing her eyes, knowing they sometimes scared younger foals back home.

“Cool! Can you do magic too?” she asked the blue-haired woman eagerly, to which Vinyl smiled a bit wanly.

“I wish I could, filly. I wish I could.” She shook her head a bit forlornly as she gave the young human girl an affectionate mane ruffle with her fingers. As much as she’d enjoyed the day and the experiences she’d had in a new body, she did feel a little lost without her magic, too weak to use as it was in her human form. Guess you really don’t realize how much you appreciate something until it’s gone...

“So is this just a courtesy call, then?” Celestia put a hand on Cyprey’s shoulders as she addressed her human lover, to which Ferro grinned.

“Actually, we were hoping to come get you. I know it’s not your Penthouse suite, but how’d you like to stay the weekend at my place? Cyprey would love to have you, and so would I! Besides… by the time we get back, it’ll be getting to be about her bedtime…?” he trailed off meaningfully.

“Aw! But daddy…!” Cyprey suddenly pouted while Maya and Vinyl shared a knowing grin.

In response, the sun princess gave them all a wink and quickly levitated the girl back into her arms with another quick and barely visible use of magic. “I promise we’ll spend plenty of time together tomorrow, dear filly. I’ll make you pancakes, we’ll play lots of games, and we’ll even go to the big fairground in Santa Monica, my treat, where you can meet even more new friends. We’ll have some candy apples, we’ll ride the Ferris Wheel, and I’ll even try to win you another stuffed animal. How does that sound?” Celestia clearly knew the way to the young girl’s heart.

“YAY!!!” came her one-word response.

“You spoil her, Celly. You know that, right?” Ferro tut-tutted.

“Auntie’s prerogative,” she closed her eyes and grinned. “And I will be more than happy to spend my remaining time with you both,” she promised, a growing twinkle in her eyes, then turned to her Maya and Vinyl. “So then… it looks like I now have some new plans. Can I trust you two to stay here all alone?” she said in mock admonishment even as she gave them a quick and meaningful wink with the eye Ferro couldn’t see.

The pair blushed and looked at each other. “Think we’ll manage, Princess,” Vinyl promised, her thoughts turning quickly heady as Maya’s hand almost instantly found hers.

“I’ll hold you to that,” she giggled, then reached into her purse; Vinyl and Maya felt a fresh flare of magic as she pulled out something that hadn’t been in it before, using its confines as cover for her retrieval spell. “Here’s the spare room keys. Feel free to order whatever movies or room service you like, and if you wish to head out…” she likewise gave them several hundred dollars in cash. “Just don’t spend it all in one place, please!”

“Wow! Thanks, Princess!” Maya eagerly accepted the bills, pulling out her own wallet hidden in the sash of her kimono. “We’ll meet up with you and Iron Man at the fairgrounds tomorrow! Say, at around lunchtime?”

“Deal, Miss Fey,” Celestia chuckled. “Now you two enjoy yourselves… and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” she gave them a parting wink as she left the lobby with Cyprey still in her arms, heading with Ferro out the door.

“So what wouldn’t she do?” Vinyl wondered aloud as they passed out of view. Never knew Celly had this side of her… I’m real glad she does, though!

“I’m beginning to think, not much!” Maya replied with her own grin, then shook her head. “Nah, that’s not fair. I’m sure she was thinking about it, but in the end, she had the chance to take advantage of me for the better part of a day and didn’t. Instead, she called in sis, and… you.” She squeezed Vinyl’s hand. “And in the end, you didn’t take advantage of me either. Sorry to have accused you of it.” She went briefly downcast.

“It’s okay. But I ain’t gonna lie, fillyfriend. I wanted to,” she admitted openly. “For as pretty and vulnerable as you were, I wanted to real bad. But hay, even if I didn’t know better, I wouldn’t have after you channeled Mia. Talk about intimidating, those griffies last night ain’t got nothing on your sister. You know that, right?”

Far from perturbed, a deeply flattered and increasingly excited Maya all but beamed at that as the pair found themselves walking back towards the elevators, hand in hand. “You should have seen her in life, V-Jay. She was amazing…” she said despite her suddenly dry mouth.

“She still is,” Vinyl answered, then turned to Maya as they waited for the elevator to arrive. “So then, fillyfriend… seems like we got some time and the Celestial suite all to ourselves. Sure seems like the stars are aligning for us, so any thoughts on what we might do?” she asked mildly and with a sly grin.

“Well, I might have a few ideas…” Maya said somewhat coyly as the elevator chimed and the doors opened, several other guests spilling out, hoping the growing heat in her body didn’t yet show on her face. “Including...”

She was barely able to wait until the door closed and they were alone again before leaping at and kissing her friend.

Author's Note

Though I can't say this was my intent at the start, this story generated not one but two unlikely ships, and here was the second. Before anyone asks, this uses the western version of the games where Maya is 18 at the time of Justice for All, which this story takes place after, so she's not underage. I'm fairly certain she's in fact younger in the Japanese version of the games, but the western version is what we're going with.

I debated striking the chapter entirely but decided there was enough of non-adult interest here to allow for a T-rated variant, including the OC cameos, Celly's thoughts on human religion, and getting to meet Ferro and his daughter again. To make clear, Maya basically emotionally matured overnight after being hit with the Elements of Harmony. They showed her the truth about herself in a way she couldn't ignore or deny, stripping away all her surface doubts and fears to lay her true self bare. Thus she no longer fights what she feels, which includes her feelings for Vinyl. The entire ending sequence that shows what happened is cut, but suffice it to say, she got the first time she needed.

For those who are curious, Five Stars is a trademark character of mine, the protagonist of Five Star Service, which is another adult story that takes place in a separate verse available on my story page. As I like tying together my stories, Phoenix himself makes a guest appearance in it towards the end in a very surprising role at a very particular time in his life.

Just four chapters remain, and I'm going to say that one is an absolute must-read--a discussion of human history over a chess match between Celly and a certain prosecutor. Enjoy!

30: Romance Rekindled

Music: Meadows of Heaven (Instrumental) - Nightwish

While Celestia, Maya and Vinyl spent the afternoon sightseeing, Twilight and Phoenix slept.

It was nearly four in the afternoon before they opened their eyes again, finding themselves in each other’s arms. “Good afternoon… or is it evening…?” Twilight wondered somewhat blearily, remembering only then how groggy long midday naps made her. How does Rainbow bounce up from them so easily…? she couldn’t help but wonder even as she snuggled a little more deeply into her human coltfriend’s embrace.

“Think it’s still mid-afternoon, but we’re going to have to hustle if we still want to hit the courthouse…” Phoenix chuckled, noting the sun’s rays coming through the westward-facing window at a somewhat sharp angle and then checking his watch which he’d placed on the nightstand. “We’ve got time, but not much. Guess we were both pretty wiped there…”

“You said it,” Twilight agreed, nestling up closer to him as Phoenix gave her a kiss on her forehead where her horn would be. He was rewarded immediately with a weak glow from it, her desires starting to respond to him for the first time that day. “Sorry…” she offered with a wan grin.

“Don’t be,” Phoenix said soothingly, now lightly kissing her face. “I certainly don’t mind you being insatiable…” he told her, feeling his own desires rise in reply. Guess we’re rested and over things now!

“It’s all for you, Phoenix…” she allowed the intensity of her mating aura to increase, just gratified to know he still wanted her after all that had happened and all they had been through the previous night… or is it BECAUSE of that we do…?

Her response was noted with approval by Phoenix, his attorney’s eye for detail being turned to far more pleasurable pursuits. “Seems like you’ve gotten used to your human form quite nicely…”

“You know, I think I have…” Twilight admitted between kisses. “Vinyl’s in for a treat when she finally tries…”

Phoenix felt his excitement increase even further at that, realizing if the pony DJ did, it was very likely going to be with Maya, his mind suddenly and very vividly fantasizing about it. Whoa. Guess if she had to admit that she was interested in me, the same holds true in reverse… he granted, finding his feelings for Twilight did not diminish for it. Still, gonna be a REAL interesting talk with her after Twilight leaves…

His thoughts were scattered as Twilight spoke again. “Care for a little fun before we leave…?” she asked coyly, her magic tugging him towards her.

Phoenix hesitated, not because he didn’t want to but because… “Love to, but time’s short, Twilight. Courthouse closes at six and it’s a forty-minute bus ride to…” he didn’t finish as Twilight’s mating aura intensified again. All his senses were heightened under its influence, leaving him able to smell her scent and feel the softness of her skin; the warmth of her human body. “You know, you make a pretty strong case we should stay, Twilight…”

“I’d say the evidence is incontrovertible, Phoenix…” she rejoined, wriggling against him enticingly. “Surely we can spare five minutes…?”

“Only because you asked so nicely…” he said, biting down lightly on the top of her ear, surprised when she all but melted at the gesture. “I guess the courthouse can wait…”

Five minutes turned into half an hour before the pair finally rousted themselves, after much cuddling and some minor lovemaking.

They simply did not wish to get out of bed, enjoying each other’s company too much. Phoenix felt compelled to reassure Twilight of his feelings for her after the previous night and Twilight simply drank in his touch and presence; the former still ruing how easily he’d allowed his fears to get the best of him and the latter regretting again how easily she’d allowed The Nightmare to nearly take her. Despite their mutual enjoyment, it was Twilight who finally stopped things, saying she wanted to save something for that night.

“Planning something?” Phoenix smirked.

“Maybe…” she answered with a coy grin that would have done Celestia proud. “It’s funny, though. The longer I stay here, the more adjusted I seem to get to your world and this body,” she noted idly as they started to dress. “Even with the help of this ‘battery’, it’s taking me less mana to stay human now. And even as a human, I can feel my magic recharging more quickly than it did and it’s more effective than when I arrived,” she added, pulling her clothes to her with a simple flare of her horn.

“I think you’re right. Your horn glow is stronger now too, even as a human,” Phoenix noted, reflecting that even the previous day the prospect might have worried him. But now, no longer worried about what her magic was doing to him, he was surprised at how easily his own body seemed to accept it, feeling more invigorated than spent for it. Case in point, twice the two lapsed into more make-out sessions before reluctantly stopping and finally making it out the door, walking to the bus stop, hand in hand.

Music: Exchanging Knowledge

It was nearly five by the time they arrived at the courthouse, where business was wrapping up for the day. From the outside, Twilight was surprised at how similar the architecture was to what she knew back home and remarked to Phoenix as much, to which he noted that Celestia truly had imported their justice system if it was similar to that degree. In fact, aside from uniformed humans acting as police and bailiffs instead of Guardsponies, almost everything looked exactly the same to Twilight, though as they got inside she also noted there were cameras where observation and recording crystals would be.

Phoenix checked the day’s court docket and realized they were in luck, leading her down the hallway to the Judges’ chambers, where his ID and attorney’s pin got them past security. They did confiscate his cellphone and check Twilight’s passport as well, which caused him some mild consternation, but it passed inspection and soon they were walking to a very specific office, one that, despite all his work there and how often he’d appeared in front of its occupant, he’d never actually been in before. Taking a breath—he was surprised to feel a moment of schoolboy anxiety like he was about to enter the Principal’s office—he rapped on the door.

“Come in,” the familiar voice called, and The Judge looked up in surprise as he entered, still garbed in his robes from an earlier case.

“Greetings, Your Honor.” He bowed his head to the older male. “Please forgive the intrusion.”

“Mister… Wright?” he recognized in some surprise. “This is unexpected. If memory serves, you have no cases on my docket, so why are you here? And in street clothes, no less?” he asked, Phoenix noting with satisfaction he kept a few Equestrian souvenirs of his own around his office, everything from a signed letter from Princess Celestia he’d had framed to an award from the Equestrian Judiciary for stepping in to help when Fair Verdict had been revealed as corrupt.

“This is a social call, Your Honor. I apologize for coming during working hours, but there’s someone visiting I thought you might like to see,” he said, trying but not quite succeeding in suppressing a smile, holding the door open for Twilight to enter. She had turned her hair black and eyes brown again as a precaution, but to Phoenix she was still recognizable enough.

“Greetings, Your Honor. It’s good to see you again,” she offered with a smile and a polite bow.

“Uh… yes…” The Judge’s brow furrowed, plainly certain he knew her but not immediately recalling from where. “My apologies, Miss… but have we met?” he asked as Phoenix just smirked.

Twilight took that as flattery for her spellcasting. “Sorry, Your Honor. We have met, but definitely not here. Maybe this will help?” Just as she’d done for Pearly, she flared her horn and reverted her hair and eye colors to normal, showing him a dark indigo mane with two center stripes and deep purple eyes.

The Judge’s eyes went wide. “Twilight Sparkle!” he immediately got up to greet her, taking her presence and use of magic in surprising stride. “This is indeed an unexpected pleasure! What brings you to Earth? And how are you…?” He motioned to her woman’s body.

“Well, I wanted to visit Phoenix, but could hardly neglect you as well!” she surprised him by hugging him, causing him to momentarily stiffen. “I’ve been spending the week here with Phoenix. I’ve magically transformed myself to allow it. Took a while to get used to this form, but now that I am, I’ve enjoying my time here a lot… to say nothing of the company!” She slipped her arm through that of Phoenix, who rested his opposite hand on her arm.

“Oh! Then you and Mister Wright…” The rest went unsaid as his expression went somewhat mixed.

“We are, Your Honor,” Phoenix confirmed, patting her arm. “I would never have thought it possible before meeting her, and didn’t even fully accept it until last night. But… in the end, she’s the one for me.”

“I… see…” The Judge said tentatively, not appearing fully at ease with the idea. “Though I am gratified you have found someone special, Mister Wright, I am not sure I can offer my blessings for such a union…” he offered very cautiously.

Phoenix was surprised to feel a mild sting at his words and even Twilight looked a little crestfallen. “I… understand, Your Honor,” he bowed his head. Guess it was a bit too much to ask…

Their reactions were not lost on The Judge, who suddenly gained a twinkle. “Unless I am allowed to marry you when the time comes!” He suddenly grinned as the two blushed. “Due Process and I had a long chat after we encountered you on the night of the big party in Equestria. We exchanged family photos, discussed past relationships, and in the end, he… convinced me that your potential pairing was neither untoward nor undesirable, pointing out that interspecies couples were acceptable if not commonplace in Equestria. He also rather nicely shot down all my potential objections to them. However, you may call me old-fashioned on one score: I do still believe in marriage!” he told them both. “So if you would choose to seal your bonds in such a way, I would be more than happy to perform the ceremony!”

Twilight and Phoenix blushed more deeply, both suddenly rubbing their hands behind their head, the latter taking on his goofy grin. “I don’t think we’re ready for that, Your Honor, but… the offer is appreciated!”

“Seconded!” Twilight said as she suddenly imagined how crazy Rarity and Pinkie Pie would go over the prospect. Bet those two could organize one HAY of a wedding… she knew, blinking at how readily she seemed to accept the idea. But if we did get married, how would we make it valid on both Equestria AND Earth…?

“Thank you for understanding, Your Honor. It means a lot to us both,” Phoenix bowed his head.

“You’re very welcome. I wish you both well, Mister Wright, and look forward to seeing what turnabouts you pull off in my courtroom next!”

“Well, I don’t have any clients right now, but maybe that will change soon...?” Even as he said it, he somehow knew it would.

“I'd love to see you in action again, Phoenix! Preferably without one of my friends’ lives at stake, that is…” Twilight offered somewhat ruefully.

“Trust me, my dear, there are no shortages of cases or clients here!” The Judge rubbed his eyes, motioning to his full trial schedule for the next workday. “Oh, and while I’m thinking about it, Miss Sparkle…?”

“Yes, Your Honor?” Twilight immediately asked.

“Would you do me the favor of taking a letter back to Due Process? He was a fine judge and became a good friend in the time I was there. In truth, I do rather miss him…”

“It would be my pleasure, Your Honor,” she smiled and gave him another short bow. “We can wait for it now, if you like…?”

“I will write it this evening, and then leave it at the lobby desk,” he told them both. “In the meantime, enjoy your stay, Miss Sparkle, and be assured that should Mister Wright step out of line, I will be more than happy to penalize him!” He brought up his gavel for emphasis, though there was a fresh twinkle in his eyes.

“He’s not lying…” Phoenix chuckled, remembering how many times The Judge’s gavel had rung one out for him in various cases, especially early on when he wasn’t the veteran attorney he had become. “He’s got a gavel and he’s not afraid to use it!”

Twilight giggled as she quickly picked up on the joke. “I trust you to keep him in line in court, Your Honor. And I’ll do the same outside of it!”

“I will hold you to that, Miss Sparkle!” he told her, jovially. “It was very good to see you again and please convey my regards to the Princess!”

“I will,” she promised as the pair took their leave. “Take care and be well, Your Honor…”

After their visit to The Judge, Phoenix took Twilight on a tour of the courthouse, showing him the very courtrooms he argued cases in.

A few trials were still in progress, and Phoenix pointedly ignored the murder cases—of which there were far too many in L.A.—to show her a simple trial over car theft, prosecuted by Winston Payne and defended by Marvin Grossberg. “I know both these two,” he told her as they settled into the stands, though his memory of the former was anything but pleasant, knowing they typically only gave him easy cases which he still usually managed to screw up. As intimidated as I was by him at first, he’s not even remotely in Edgeworth’s or Franny’s league. They only call him the ‘rookie killer’ because that’s usually about all he can handle…

Twilight took an instant disliking to him as well, unimpressed by his performance. “He’s like Trixie without the wit or legal wiles,“ she whispered to him at one point.

“Ouch,” Phoenix whispered back, but couldn’t help but smile, reflecting that for all of Trixie’s obnoxiousness and put-downs, she at least proved an effective prosecutor. And when it came down to it, a surprisingly good judge, too… he conceded with his thoughts. If nothing else, she really did have an ability to cut through the crap and get to the heart of the matter…

The presiding Judge was the younger brother of Phoenix’s usual one, who demonstrated a propensity for not knowing what he thought of things as well some odd aphorisms—“Is he Caneighdian?” Twilight finally wondered out loud—and also asked Phoenix if it was just her, or was Marvin Grossberg a human ringer for Golden Rule, the pony attorney of Gilda and Cruise Control?

“I think you’re right…” he told her, remembering his own startled reaction to encountering him in Equestria. “Funny, that… he’s a good man and a decent defense attorney. He was Mia’s first law firm chief,” he added as an aside as Grossberg chose that moment to look into the gallery and notice him. They exchanged a brief nod before he turned his attention back to the case, which lasted another hour before a guilty verdict came down, one overly-celebrated by Payne, though Grossberg did succeed in gaining leniency on the sentence much as his pony doppelganger had done for Gilda.

* * * * *

They stuck around long enough for Phoenix to find Grossberg and introduce Twilight to him, his fellow defense attorney surprised to see that he had found a girlfriend but wishing them well for it. By the time they left the courtroom, it was nearly seven, the pair discussing both the trial and what they might like to eat for dinner, when they rounded a corner of a deserted hallway and ran into one of the absolute last people Phoenix wanted to see.

“Well, howdy there, Mister Lawyer!” came a familiar voice, causing Phoenix to cringe, and Twilight to blink at the familiar accent. Turning to their left, the two saw a young woman with bright orange hair pulled into an afro, wearing a green turtleneck sweater and white pants. Around her neck hung an old camera.

Music: Not a Lotta Honesty

“Hello, Lotta,” Phoenix said resignedly, rubbing his eyes. “Fancy seeing you here. What brings you to the courthouse?”

“Was just deliverin’ some photos and testimony in a trial!” Lotta Hart said with a grin, “And figured I’d stick around and see what else might be newsworthy! Gotta say, it’s a lot easier to testify when you ain’t the guy trying ta poke holes in mah statements!”

“I can imagine,” Phoenix deadpanned, trying to stay polite. “Well, we need to get going, so—"

“Now hold on, there!” Lotta snapped, stepping in front of him and scowling. “We ain’t seen each other in a few months, and ya barely stop ta say ‘hello’?! That’s just plain rude! Why ya gotta…” She trailed off, glancing between Phoenix and Twilight, before suddenly grinning again. “Oh, so that’s what’s goin’ on!” She brought up her camera and began snapping, the flashbulb leaving spots in the pair’s vision.

“Um… what?” Twilight asked eloquently. She sounds uncannily like Applejack, but there’s something… off.

Phoenix sighed. “Twilight, meet Lotta Hart, independent… photojournalist,” he said instead of ‘wannabe paparazzi’, which he found a far more accurate term. “Her pictures have figured in some cases I’ve defended. Lotta, this is Twilight, a… friend of mine,” he offered cautiously, hoping Twilight would take the hint not to confirm their relationship.

Not that Lotta needed confirmation. “Ah’d say a fair bit closer than ‘friends’ from the way you two are standin’!” Lotta chuckled, snapping a few more photos. “Thanks for the close-ups, Mister Attorney! Reckon this oughta earn me a few bucks from the local tabloids.”

“Wait, what?!” Twilight yelped. I came here to get AWAY from tabloids!

“Ah can see it now! ‘Lovestruck Lawyer finds Brown-Eyed Beauty!’ Might not make me millions, but it’ll put food on the table for a while!” the photographer laughed as Phoenix just facepalmed, guessing what was coming next.

Twilight’s eyes narrowed, and her hand lashed out to grab the camera, snapping the cord that held it around Lotta’s neck with a quick burst of magic. Ignoring the southerner’s startled ’Hey!’, Twilight popped open the film compartment, and unraveled the film, exposing it to the light and ruining it.

“Why, you—! That’s an antique camera! And 20 bucks’ worth of film ya just ruined!” Lotta snapped, putting her hands on her hips and bearing her teeth. “You’ll be payin’ for that, Missy!”

“I won’t be paying for a thing,” Twilight said in a low voice, one that caused chills to go down the southerner’s spine, seeing something in her other woman’s brown eyes she couldn’t place. Despite being a full head taller than the brown-eyed girl, Lotta felt very intimidated by the smaller woman as she stepped in front of her and leveled a glare. “Our personal life is none of your business, and it is most definitely not the business of the supermarket tabloids!” She shoved the camera into Lotta’s hands with enough force to knock her back a few paces. “So back off and leave us alone, you cut-rate paparazzo!” she snarled and stalked away, Phoenix following after a second, leaving the shaken photographer behind.

“That was… rather cold for you, Twilight,” Phoenix noted once they’d gotten out the door. Can’t say I didn’t enjoy it, though… he suppressed a smile.

She took a deep breath. “Sorry, Phoenix. I might’ve been a bit hard on her, but after the tabloid incident in Equestria, I’m a little tired of po—er, people, butting into our personal life,” Twilight sighed. “It was weeks after you left before they finally stopped bothering me, and I don’t care for them at all now. And as for Lotta, she may have sounded like Applejack, but I could tell she’s nowhere near as honest.”

That earned a chuckle from Phoenix. “You said it. On the one hand, she’s honest enough about what she is, but yeah, she lied through her teeth on the witness stand a couple times,” he remembered ruefully. “When I first met Applejack and heard her voice, my first impression was that Lotta had followed me somehow,” Phoenix said, suddenly suppressing a shiver. “Imagine what she’d do with photos of Equestria here. We have tech that can detect fraudulent photos, so if she got them verified… it could cause chaos.”

Twilight shivered, too. “Yeah… think I’m with the Princess and I’m really not ready for Earth as a whole to be aware of us, yet,” she muttered. And why does the mention of chaos unnerve me? She wondered with her thoughts, her mind flashing back to the odd statue of the mismatched creature in the Canterlot Gardens. “But I think I am ready for dinner…” she told him, wondering what human food Phoenix would introduce her to next.

Music: Mental Exploration

Deciding it was too late to cook at the villa or make it back out to Santa Monica, they ended up eating locally at a Mexican place Phoenix knew, one he’d been to with Maya and Pearls a couple times for celebratory meals after winning cases. Though unfamiliar with the style of cuisine, she found it somewhat similar to what she could get from Burro-run carts and shops, greatly enjoying the tortilla chips and ‘salsa’ that was complimentary with the meal. Remembering she didn’t like things that were overly cheesy, Phoenix declined the waiter’s suggestion of queso and instead ordered them some guacamole made tableside—a favorite of both Maya and Pearl—so Twilight could see what it was made of, and it did indeed meet with her approval, leaving her amazed at how well the avocado-based dip went with the salty, crunchy chips.

Feeling adventurous, Twilight also asked to try some alcohol, and though surprised by the request, Phoenix ordered her a frozen daiquiri and got one himself as well even though he was more typically a wine drinker, reasoning that for all the ciders and Pinkie Pie cupcakes she’d had, she might go for something sweet. The rum-soaked slushie-style drink with red and green swirls arrived with a salt rim, causing him to grimace when he realized he’d forgotten to ask them to remove it, but to his surprise, she was delighted by it—“It’s like a salt lick and spiked snow cone all in one! Pinkie Pie would love this!” she said appreciatively as she tasted the striped strawberry-lime concoction for the first time and found herself starting to feel its bite a minute later, significantly stronger than most ciders she knew. Though she definitely enjoyed it, Phoenix limited her—and himself—to two, recalling the warning from the dream trial that alcohol and magic didn’t mix.

The chicken fajitas for two they ordered were quite good, though Twilight was surprised by the presentation, arriving as it did sizzling on a large cast iron skillet. They polished it off as well as all the trimmings between them—a function of having only a late breakfast and no lunch. Sated, they walked it off afterwards, heading back to Santa Monica so Phoenix could keep another promise to take her to the bookstore. As it closed at 11, that still gave a delighted Twilight two hours to roam the many aisles, picking out book after book on everything from history to science to even some of the games and puzzles she saw in one of the racks… though Phoenix advised her to obtain Maya’s advice before she picked out some ‘human nan-gas’ for Spike.

Phoenix also made a point of finding and presenting her with the Lord of the Rings book trilogy and also obtained her the Harry Potter series as well—“an old classic and a new,” he told her, though he’d never much cared for the latter himself. In the end, they were walking out at closing with two bags stuffed full of books into the Santa Monica evening, which was filled with activity on a Friday night. After sending the books back to the villa via Twilight’s reverse retrieval spell, they walked the streets for a while, just taking in the weekend scene, then headed for the shore to have some quiet time on the beach.

The air and water grew increasingly chilly, but the pair barely noticed it as they walked barefoot through the sand, arm in arm. They talked for a long time about everything from their visit to The Judge to even broaching such topics as Maya, Phoenix relating to Twilight the story of how he’d met her and how many times he’d either defended or saved her, either from a murder charge or being held hostage.

Twilight was shocked by the story of how Maya had been framed for murder by Pearl’s mother and later kidnapped by a professional assassin to force Phoenix to defend another client, noting somewhat wanly that Maya seemed to have a propensity for finding trouble, to which Phoenix could only ruefully agree. But then she added she also now understood just why she had fallen for him so hard without even realizing it—“you can bet that any mare would swoon for a stallion that repeatedly saved her!” she chuckled, causing Phoenix to blink.

“You know, you’re right…” he had to admit. It’s funny, but I never saw it like that… and yet, now that I think about it, that’s exactly what happened. I saved her, was always there for her, and after a while, we got attached to each other and it was hard for me not to have her around. I saw her as a younger sister or maybe thought of myself as an older uncle or big brother, and that was fine. But then all the sudden she grew up, and… and suddenly, the appreciative twitch of his loins told him he was starting to see her more as a woman than a girl.

At Phoenix’s request, Twilight returned the favor by telling the story of how she’d met all her friends, dispatched to Ponyville by Celestia to oversee planning for the previous year’s Summer Sun Celebration, and how she had at first thought “all the ponies in this town are crazy!” for it. She went on to relate the battle against Nightmare Moon and how they’d discovered and activated the Elements of Harmony, cleansing Princess Luna and purging The Nightmare from her body and psyche.

“Taste the Rainbow,” Phoenix chuckled, quoting Rainbow Dash from the previous night, noting idly that somehow, Maya seemed to have changed for it afterwards, standing taller and seemingly no longer wracked by jealousy or doubt. What exactly did they do to her? It’s almost like they made her grow up…? “It’s funny, though. From what you said, Nightmare Moon didn’t seem to really to be trying that hard to stop you from reaching the old Everfree castle, just tempt you,” he noted.

“You know, I’ve thought about that,” Twilight said as they laid out on the beach, watching the moonlit waves. “Looking back, I think she was just trying to corrupt us, knowing that the Elements wouldn’t work if we gave into our base fears or otherwise doubted ourselves and each other. Judging from last night, The Nightmare did seem to enjoy the idea of corruption more than anything else. If she succeeded, she could then mold us however she wanted—turn us into her soldiers and servants. And deep down she was held back by the simple fact that Luna didn’t want us or any other ponies dead—she just wanted to be loved. She waged war against Celestia a thousand years ago, but I think that was more the Nightmare than her,” she suggested as some teens started setting off some fireworks further down the sand. “Hey, neat…”

“You don’t have fireworks back home?” Phoenix smirked at the display—fireworks were illegal in Santa Monica, which stopped exactly nobody—to which she grinned and fired off a facsimile of one from her horn, which burst nicely overhead like a small mortar in multicolored sparkles.

“As far as non-magical ones go? The Minotaurs do. They live on an island called Minos in the Mareterranean Sea. They’re really good with machinery and metal. In fact, Celestia enlisted them to help make the first locomotive… what’s so funny?” she suddenly asked as she saw Phoenix chuckling softly.

“I’m sorry. It’s just all the historical and mythological parallels between our worlds that keeps getting me. I really don’t know why I keep ending up so surprised…”

“Parallels? Like what?” she asked earnestly as she leaned back on her hands.

Phoenix gave her a deadpan look. “Everything from similarity of names and geographies to the fact that our history and ancient mythology seems to echo your world. Unicorns, pegasi, griffins, dragons and now minotaurs? These are creatures that don’t exist on earth… except in our old classical mythology,” he told her, going on to relate in brief terms the Greek myth of Theseus and how he had fought and defeated a Minotaur. “And in the myth, the home of the Minotaur was the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea… ruled by a king named Minos!” he concluded in wonder.

Twilight listened raptly to the tale. “I see what you mean…” she told him, thinking that the fact such uncanny similarities existed would require much more investigation when she got back home. Are we parallel worlds? The fact that ponies like Golden Rule seem to have human doppelgangers would suggest we are! Or is the answer more simply that there were connections between the two worlds in the ancient past, ones that left our world’s races embedded in the psyche of his…? she suddenly wondered, considering the possibilities before a fresh round of fireworks went off, attracting their attention again. They watched for a few minutes more before Phoenix glanced at his watch and realized it was now past 2 am.

“Tired at all?” he asked her, showing her how late it was.

“Nope,” she grinned. Guess that long afternoon nap helped. Then again, I’m no stranger to all-nighters…

“Me neither,” he agreed, amazed and how awake and alive he felt with her, lying out on the beach beneath the stars, hearing the sounds of the surf punctuated by the occasional burst of a rocket in the distance. “It’s more Maya’s thing than mine, but… want to try hitting a nightclub or something?”

“Nah. Not really my thing either,” she said, then turned to him, her smile going sly and eyes turning hooded. “Right now, I think what I’d like to do is…” she said silkily, her voice trailing off as she trailed a finger down her chest and magically popped a couple buttons on her blouse. “Can I tempt you, Phoenix Wright?” she asked, her entire posture one of open invitation.

“Always, Twilight Sparkle…” he grinned, reaching in to kiss her and causing her to sigh happily, though Phoenix hesitated when he realized her horn was starting to show, casting a pink glow on him that immediately caused his own excitement to surge. “Probably too many people around to do it here…” he told her between kisses.

“I could cast a privacy spell…” she reminded him between kisses. “Though for as much mana as it takes, I would have to be a pony to power it…” she suggested meaningfully.

“How terrible…” he rejoined, suspecting that was more the excuse than the reason but not particularly caring as he began to undress her with his hands and she returned the favor with her magic. “That would mean I’d have to take you as one…!” he all but cooed, deciding he was ready to do so again. “And out in the open, no less…” he further reminded her, suspecting what her reaction to it would be.

To his satisfaction, Twilight indeed moaned and shivered at the thought. She REALLY likes that idea! And as much as I hate to say it, that was actually part of the thrill for me last time too…

“And would that be so bad?” she asked coyly, her tone teasing but still trying to make sure he was okay with the idea. Especially after what happened last time… she flashed back hard to happened the last time they were together, causing her to suppress a shudder. Or was it a shiver…?

“Not in the least,” he reassured her, momentarily letting up his efforts, moving back so he could see her flushed face in the light of her mating aura, tilting her head up with a finger. “Believe me, I’d love to see my favorite filly again. So if it’s what you want…”

In response, she smiled and kissed him deeply, then stepped back and reverted her transformation in a matter of seconds. Phoenix watched in fascination as her form shifted back into her equine one, revealing her mare body and brightly colored fur, showing up nicely in the pink light of her horn. For as much as he appreciated her human form, it was her equine one that had initially held his interest and what he found most exotic about her, and his excitement only increased for it

She then closed her eyes, concentrating on casting the privacy spell, causing a brief shimmer in the air around them that quickly faded, leaving the sights and sounds of their surroundings intact. “Nopony can hear or see us now,” she promised him, turning her mating aura up to full power and sending her human clothes and crystal pendant back to the villa with another flare of her horn. “So… a beach to ourselves, a starry sky, and a willing mare in front of you…whatever will you do with her, Phoenix Wright?” she asked, doing her best to bat her eyes at him as she’d seen Rarity do to Edgeworth earlier that day.

“I might have a few avenues of investigation to explore...” he rejoined, going to her. Lost in the act and later falling asleep on the sand in its aftermath, they failed to see or hear a drone flying overhead with a low buzzing sound, circling the area the privacy spell protected for the better part of an hour before leaving.

Author's Note

When I write an adult story, I typically end it with a lot of fireworks, and this one was no different. To give you some idea of the scope of them, the size of this chapter was reduced by 3000 words over its M-rated counterpart to cut out the adult action. But I also typically interweave the sex with the worldbuilding and scene-setting, so there's plenty of non-adult interest left over, as you see. Hope you enjoyed seeing The Judge and Lotta, to say nothing of coming along as Twilight enjoys a little Tex-Mex! Chicken fajitas and guacamole are favorites of mine too, after all...

And yes, that drone at the very end is significant. You'll know why in a chapter or two. Just three more chapters remain!

31: Fairplay

There is one R-rated(ish) scene still present in this chapter. The reason it remains is explained in the author’s notes. —Firesight

It was 10 in the morning and following a long night of lovemaking before Vinyl and Maya reluctantly rousted themselves, Vinyl pointing out that they needed to get up and get moving if they were going to make the fairgrounds by the planned meeting time of noon.

“I really like that you’re so eager, fillyfriend, but we really do gotta get going…” she motioned to the room clock.

“Yeah, you’re right…” Maya said, deflating slightly. “Guess I just don’t want this night to end…”

Vinyl smiled at that. “Me neither, but there’ll be other nights, filly. I’m here until Celly and Sparks go home. Guess I really should get word to Octy of where I am, though…” she mused.

“You can ask Celly or use Nick’s dragonfire candle to send her a message,” Maya reminded her friend. “She’s not gonna be mad that you just up and left to be with me, is she…?”

“Nah. She’s on a concert tour with the Canterlot Philharmonic right now anyway. She wasn’t supposed to be back for a couple weeks,” Vinyl answered as she began pulling on her human clothes.

“Just music? No prosecuting?” Maya asked while she did the same, wondering how the earth pony mare juggled both jobs.

Vinyl chuckled at that. “Octy’s not an everyday prosecutor. She’s so good they only bring her in for real important or difficult cases. She’s in a courtroom maybe once or twice a year. She’s really something else…”

“Better than Nick?” Maya teased as she began dressing, to which Vinyl had to pause and think.

“Put it this way, filly… if they ever got in the same courtroom together, I wouldn’t wanna bet either way!”

“Fair enough,” she granted, then turned thoughtful again. “Wonder what she’d think of being human?”

“Don’t know, but after I tell her how much I enjoyed this? It wouldn’t surprise me if she wanted to try it too!” Vinyl answered. “Octy’s serious and stubborn, and she’d hate me for saying this, but she enjoys the chance to loosen her bow tie once in awhile. And who knows, coming here and spending time as a human might be a way she can. Seriously, Trixie doesn’t know what she’s missing!” she decided, remembering the mare magician’s less-than-favorable response to learning Twilight took human form to be with Phoenix.

Maya’s expression went sour at the showmare’s mention, a fact not lost on Vinyl as she slipped on her top. “Still don’t like her, do you?”

“Oh, you think?” Maya rolled her eyes as she pulled her kimono back on. “She’s the most obnoxious, insulting and outright infuriating mare I’ve ever met! She rubs me the wrong way like you wouldn’t believe. I really don’t get what Pearly sees in her!” Okay, actually, I do… she admitted with her thoughts, remembering her cousin’s favorite movie.

“Eh, Trixie’s not so bad. She’s got an ego and an attitude to be sure, but she can walk the walk both in the courtroom and on a stage. She did real well in that dream trial, and take it from me—she’s real fun when she’s drunk!” the pony DJ recalled with a wistful smile.

“Yeah, well, you can say she’s okay, V-Jay,” Maya retained her sour look as she pulled on her kimono. “All I know is that whenever I see her, I get this urge to drop a railcar on her head.”

“A railcar?” Vinyl blinked, giving her friend a look as the finished dressing, pulling her t-shirt on over her blue-maned head. “That’s oddly specific.”

“Maybe, but it’s…” she started to reply but then her head abruptly snapped up. “Wha? Sis?” she suddenly called out, looking around.

Music: Classic Suspense (Remastered)

“Sis? You mean… Mia?” Vinyl felt a sudden surge of apprehension.

“I can sense her. She’s… she’s here! She wants me to channel her. It’s okay, Vinyl, I don’t think she’s mad…” she quickly reassured her instantly anxious friend. “She just… wants to talk…”

Vinyl did her best to suppress a sudden urge to swallow, remembering how utterly intimidating Mia Fey had been when facing down The Nightmare… or Vinyl herself, as she’d done the previous day. “Well… best not keep her waiting, then…” she gave a slightly nervous grin. “Bring her on, and let’s hear what she has to say!”

Her reaction was not lost on Maya, who put a reassuring hand on her friend’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay, V-Jay. If she was watching, she has to know how much I enjoyed being with you…” she promised as she stood up from the bed and grasped the Magatama that lay around her neck. Its glow brightened as she drew on its mystic power reserves, causing her body to quickly take a new form…

Within seconds, where Maya Fey once stood was a much larger, older and decidedly more mature-looking Mia Fey, who instantly crossed her arms and stared down at Vinyl from a head above her, a stern look on her face even though there was a decided twinkle in her eyes as well. Despite that, Vinyl Scratch couldn’t quite suppress a cringe, hoping Maya was right about her not being mad as the powerful spirit of her passed sister loomed large over her.

“Uh… hey there Mia. Maya said you wanted to talk, so… what can I do you for, sister?” she summoned her nerve and offered a wan grin.

Mia didn’t reply right away, holding her glare for several long and uncomfortable seconds until the corners of her mouth abruptly crooked upwards. “Sorry, Miss Scratch, I couldn’t resist. Let me put your fears to rest here and now by saying I couldn’t be more happy to see you together, and I thank you for making sure you waited until Maya was fully ready and the time was right. You made her happy and made her true first time memorable, and in the end, I could ask for no more than that,” she brought her palms together and gave Vinyl a short Kurain-style bow. “As you have shown nothing but the utmost love and respect for her, you are more than welcome to be with Maya going forward; I only ask that you restrain her more… problematic impulses until such time as she has fully figured out her boundaries.”

“Count on it, sister. I won’t be here all the time, but when I am I’ll treat her right and keep her grounded as much as I can,” Vinyl answered in some relief.

“Thank you. In the meantime, I did not come here just to tell you that. If you would please pass Maya a message, I would like her—and you!—to help arrange something for me,” she said, going to the nightstand to grab the pad and pen sitting there, using them to write out a quick note.

Vinyl cocked her head curiously in a gesture that was shared by both humans and ponies alike. “Arrange something?” she repeated. “What?”

In response, Mia gave a coy grin that was the equal of anything Celestia could offer as she completed her missive, passing it to Vinyl. “I’ll elaborate more when Pearly can channel me later today in Maya’s presence, but for now… let’s just say that I’ve learned some rather interesting things from the time I spent in the Summerlands, and if both you and my sister are willing, I’d like to put that information to good use…”

Music: Let The Games Begin!

One of the advantages of the beachfront villa Twilight and Phoenix were staying at was having plenty of good things in walking distance, including the pier-built fairgrounds they’d been admiring from afar for days.

After an eventful morning and a mirror talk with Twilight’s friends, who took great pleasure in teasing Phoenix and Twilight over what Pinkie had picked up of their activities the previous night, they left the Villa and simply walked down the beach until they arrived at Pacific Park, Santa Monica’s longtime oceanside amusement park. They reached the front gates to find that Maya and Vinyl had arrived first, Phoenix guessing instantly what had happened between them from their held hands to the obvious glow they both had, blushing slightly for it as Maya gave him a heartfelt hug that lingered a second too long. Pearly arrived next, running all the way from the bus stop—“No, we don’t worry about her traveling alone, because she’s insanely strong for her size and got a wicked right that could floor anyone!” Phoenix said in response to Twilight’s query—then all but leapt into Twilight’s arms to give her a huge hug, asking if she was taking good care of “Mister Nick”.

“I am, promise!” she assured the young girl, just glad she didn’t have to hide her affections for Phoenix around Pearl any longer.

Celestia, Ferro and Cypreus appeared next, the former pair looking quite content as they introduced the latter, who Twilight couldn’t help but take an instant liking to, finding herself nearly as adorable as Pearly. She made fast friends with Ferro Stabile’s daughter, both girls delighted to meet someone their own age as they headed as a group into the hustle and bustle of the fairgrounds.

Being Saturday and the inland weather being quite warm, it was packed, but that scarcely mattered to Pearl, who loved people and activity after her previous mother-enforced isolation at Kurian village—to say nothing of getting to gorge on junk food like cotton candy, roasted nuts, and funnel cakes.

With the entire afternoon to work with, they alternated their activities between rides, games, and food carts, Celestia introducing Twilight to the challenge of Skee-ball—“You might say I’m something of a fanatic. You mustn’t use magic, or it’s cheating, my student!” she admonished as her practiced roll won a slew of tickets which she used to get a new stuffed animal for Cypreus—while Maya introduced Vinyl to video games, taking her into the arcade where she proved herself a master of all sorts of fighting, racing and shooting games.

Me, I never progressed past Pac-Man… Phoenix thought as she watched Maya play, working up a surprising sweat on the dancing games and even enticing Vinyl to try. Given her affinity for music, the unicorn mare DJ did surprisingly well for her first time despite her human form—“seriously, this’d be a lot easier on all fours!”—Maya picking out songs she knew her pony friend would like.

For her part, Twilight was startled and somewhat perturbed by the violent theme of certain games, but quickly discovered the simple joys of an older Tetris box, going head to head with Phoenix and beating him handily once she had figured out the rules and controls. She quickly took to some of the pinball games as well, though Phoenix caught her using very quick flares of magic to redirect the balls at times to score extra points and bonuses.

“I’ll tell the Princess on you, Twilight!” Phoenix mock scolded her, to which she only grinned on her way to the high score… only losing a ball when the machine went tilt from another magical nudge, to which they both looked up and saw Celestia giving them a wink.

Working further down the pier, they stopped next at an attraction that wasn’t Phoenix’s favorite—the bumper cars, and not just because he didn’t drive. It was because Maya loved them a little too much, and she and Vinyl quickly teamed up to try to hunt him and Twilight down. It was to some minor embarrassment that Twilight seemed to master the controls more quickly than he did, and scored at least one solid hit on the princess, who laughed and promised her ‘appropriate punishment’ later but otherwise took it all in stride, spending the bulk of her time with Ferro and the two younger girls.

Roller coasters and other rides were next; Maya found them ‘WAY too tame!’ but they were perfect for Pearl and Cypreus, who squealed with joy as they hit each one in turn. At Maya’s insistence, Phoenix got dragged onto the largest roller coaster even though Twilight initially wouldn’t let him on until she’d had a chance ‘to study the forces involved’ and was convinced it was safe. Finally, she was, but she insisted on joining him, riding up front with Maya so she could ‘save them if anything went wrong’, leaving Phoenix a seat behind with Vinyl.

Nothing did… except for Vinyl giving Phoenix a wink and then turning her mating aura on Maya on the way up the initial hill, causing her to squirm and squeal while a smirking Celestia did the same to an equally startled Twilight from below, telling her with a telepathy spell that “the penalty for assaulting a princess is severe, my student!”, leaving them flushed in the face and unbearably excited as they reached the top and began the initial plunge.

“Vinyl!” Phoenix initially protested.

“Sorry, Phoenix. Celly’s orders!” Vinyl explained as the combination of the mating magic and roller-coaster driven stimulation drove them both to climax in the middle of the ride as even Phoenix couldn’t help but laugh at the sight and sounds of their mutual pleasure, lost in the screams of the other riders.

When the ride was done and Twilight and Maya stumbled off, still flushed and holding onto each other heavily, they both stared at the Sun Princess. “Enjoy the ride, my student and Miss Maya?” Celestia asked in perfect innocence and a wink while she held Ferro’s hand, who likewise wore a smirk.

“We’ll get you both for this…” Maya swore as a momentarily speechless Twilight stumbled over to Phoenix, her eyes never leaving Celestia’s, something stunned yet strangely lascivious in them.

“Promises, promises…” Vinyl teased even as she helped an overheated Maya to a nearby bench, letting her sit in the sea breeze while quickly getting her a cool drink. “Now what say we hit that Mare-is wheel, finally…?”

After they had left, a nearby couple stared after them. “What’s up with them?” the boyfriend asked, but his girlfriend could only shake her head.

“No clue. And what’s a Mare-is wheel…?”

* * * * *

Once the girls had recovered, They got on three different cars, Celestia and Ferro along with Cypreus in the first, Twilight and Phoenix in the second, and Vinyl, Maya and Pearl in the third. The ride went delightfully slowly this time, stopping to load and unload everyone before going into a slow spin, taking them high over the pier and giving them spectacular views of the park and the Pacific Ocean.

Finally alone with Pearly, and still somewhat unsettled after her intense and unexpected climax, Maya fulfilled her sister’s request and asked Pearl to channel Mia. “Anything for you, Mystic Maya!” she quickly said, and did so, the cart suddenly sinking a little more to that side from the abrupt addition of extra weight.

“Hello, Maya,” Mia Fey called with a warm smile, quickly sharing a hug with her younger sister. “I must say, you seemed to be enjoying yourself a little too much there…” she winked.

“With a little help!” Maya gave Vinyl a halfhearted glare.

The pony DJ threw up her hands in a gesture she’d picked up quickly. “Hey, don’t be mad at me, filly. I was just doing what the Princess told me to! Remember, I’m a pony; I can’t disobey her!” she grinned impishly, not sounding sorry in the least.

In truth, Maya wasn’t upset either, but one of her ironclad rules of life was that if you were the victim of a joke, you always retaliated. “Yeah, well, I’d like to get back at her now! Don’t suppose you got any suggestions for pranking a princess, sis…?” she turned back to Mia, whose grin turned sly.

Music: Coming Karma

“Actually, I might…” Mia closed her eyes and grinned. “But it will take some effort to arrange. So if you two are willing…” she proceeded to outline her request, one that took most of the ride to explain but was enough to make them both blush.

“Whoa…” was all Vinyl could immediately say when Mia was finished.

“Sis? Are you serious?” Maya asked, initially shocked but liking the idea the more she thought about it. “I mean, this hardly seems all that angelic…”

“Not in the classic sense, perhaps. But as I seek to both punish the guilty and reward the worthy, I think the heavens will approve,” she replied, her sly grin growing. “But only if you’re comfortable with it, Maya. For what I’m asking, you should not feel you have to do this for me…” she quickly added, patting her younger sister’s hand.

Maya responded immediately and in way she wouldn’t have dreamed of just a few short days earlier. “Oh, don’t you worry about that, sis! After how much the princess did for me and after what she pulled out there just now? You bet I’m okay with it!” she grinned, rubbing her hands together eagerly. “Just sorry I won’t be able to see it…”

A hand on her shoulder stilled her. “Easy there, filly. Honored though I am, I gotta ask… what about Ferro?” he pointed out.

“I already spoke to him. With Luna’s help, I was able to approach him in a dream,” Mia replied. “He gave his blessing on one condition I will keep private, and will even do what he can to clear the decks when the time comes.”

“Guess we’re free and clear then! Don’t worry, filly, I’ll give you all the juicy details after. You can count on me, Mia! And hay, after what the Princess did out there, bet Sparks might be willing to help, too…?”

Mia chuckled. “If she is, so much the better. Since I think you both know what to do, I’ll take my leave for now. If for whatever reason you change your mind, Maya, just channel me and either leave me a note or have Vinyl tell me. I won’t be upset. And if you decide to go through with it…?” she grinned again. “Then I trust you two to have everything ready.”

“Oh, we will! Might take a bit of shopping first…” Maya glanced at her unicorn marefriend.

“Hey, we got plenty of money, remember?” Vinyl brought out the cash that the Princess had given them, holding it in a cheap blue Velcro wallet she’d bought earlier. “All Celly told us was not to spend it all in one place!”

“You’re right!” Maya grinned evilly. “So it’s settled, sis! We’ll go shopping tomorrow, and have it all ready for you by evening…”

The afternoon passed quickly, even though they took their time at each individual place, trying to get to everything the park offered before evening. But soon the sun was going down, and it was time to head out for their next activity, Celestia hiring another limousine to transport them to the Hollywood Bowl where Delta’s coming concert would be held.

As the group approached the outdoor amphitheatre and were led to their VIP box seats, they saw a frazzled-looking Five Stars pacing in front of the entrance to the venue, talking on her smartphone. “No, no, it’s okay, Byte, you stay with your wife, I’ll think of something… Okay, bye.” She hung up and blew out a breath, running a hand through her green hair.

“Hey, Five Stars! Is something wrong?” Maya asked as they came forward, Phoenix and Twilight looking curiously on.

Five Stars looked up in surprise, her eyes finding and lingering on Phoenix for a moment even as she bowed to the Princess. “Oh! You’re all here!” Glancing at her smartphone, she sighed. “I’m afraid something is indeed wrong, Miss Maya, but at this point, it’s not something I can really do much about. Our sound tech had to rush back to Equestria; one of his mares just went into labor.”

“And, lemme guess, you don’t have any backups?” Vinyl asked with the air of it having happened to her at various points in the past.

“You called it. We didn’t think we’d need one, since this was going to be a one-off performance before Delta heads back herself,” the green-haired manager explained. “Now it’s biting us in the flank. I call him a sound tech, but Sound Byte is, in effect, Delta’s entire band. Given the need for discretion, she doesn’t want to employ human musicians who’ll wonder where she goes whenever she’s not touring. But there’s not a lot of ponies willing to travel to another world in an unfamiliar body just to play their instruments. Sound Byte came along because he wanted a change of pace, and he didn’t really mind the change, since as an Earth Pony he can use his sound gear more easily as a human than a pony.”

Maya nodded. “That’s right. ‘Arianne’ never has a full band with her; just a guy on stage who runs a big set of synth equipment.”

“And lacking them, she’s going to have use recorded music, which she hates,” Five Stars noted in turn.

“Synth equipment, eh?” Vinyl mused, grinning. Flipping out her magenta sunglasses, she slipped them on. “Then it’s a good thing you invited me, eh?”

Five Stars blinked, looking suddenly hopeful but wary. ”You can do it? I thought you were mainly a disc jockey!”

“I am, but take it from me, there ain’t much difference between using synth equipment and being a DJ,” Vinyl replied easily. “I’ve done both. I may prefer the sound and feel of scratching records, but I can use a synth setup, no problem.”

Maya grinned, pulling out her own shades, ones she’d initially received as a parting present from Vinyl in Equestria. “And since I mix my own music, I can show her how to use them effectively as a human. Two backups for the price of one. You can’t beat that, Five Stars,” she said, exchanging a high five with Vinyl.

Five Stars looked thoughtful as she considered their offer, then tapped her smartphone a few times with a finger before holding it to her ear. “Hello, Delta, it’s me. The Princess and the rest are here… Yeah, they heard about what happened with Byte. Vinyl actually asked if she could help out, and Maya volunteered, too… you sure? Alright, thanks.” Hanging up, she looked relieved. “Well, Delta seems to think it’s a good idea. Follow me, and I’ll show you the setup. With your permission, Princess?” she gave Celestia another bow before receiving a nod and smile. Glancing at the rest of the group, she added, “Your seats are near the front, but not quite in the mosh pit section. Oh, and… good to meet you again, Mister Wright,” she addressed Phoenix directly, giving him a wink as she turned away.

As she led the two girls away, Phoenix looked at Twilight and Celestia, feeling oddly perturbed. “Forgive me for asking, but… who exactly was that?”

“I don’t know her, except that I sometimes see her around Lady Requiem,” Twilight shrugged. “Actually, I think she was there in the library with her when I sent you and everyone else home from Equestria?”

Phoenix thought back to their departure, and remembered there had indeed been a green-maned mare there with Delta… one who gave him a look he wasn’t exactly comfortable with. “I think I remember her. Does she… come here often?” he asked, uncertain why he was feeling the strangest sense of deja vu at the sight of her.

“Her name is Five Stars. She’s Delta’s business manager and agent for her concert tours,” the princess explained. “She’s an excellent businessmare, and she’s nearly as good an organizer as you, my student. She accompanies Delta on all her concert tours, whether that’s in Equestria or on Earth giving a performance as ‘Arriane Reichmuth’.” Celestia grinned mischievously, then couldn’t resist a tease. “She’s been coming here regularly for a couple years now. And in that span of time, she’s grown quite fond of human men.”

The sense of deja vu got stronger. “And… dare I ask why…?” Phoenix had to know, unconsciously holding Twilight a little closer.

Celestia’s smile faded. “She had some… bad experiences that soured her on stallions and traditional herds. So when she first came here, and discovered men… she felt something she hadn’t felt in a while. Just ask the British writer she bedded,” she chuckled, and then, noticing the human lawyer’s discomfort, she smirked. “Be at ease, Phoenix Wright. While she, much like me, enjoys the company of men, she is not the type to poach those who are already spoken for. She clearly likes you, but be assured that although she may tease, she won’t touch.”

That made Phoenix and Twilight relax, as the group entered the theatre grounds. As they found their box seats, they noticed that the amphitheatre was already mostly full. “Delta’s human guise must be popular,” Phoenix noted.

“She is. As a mare or woman, her songs can truly touch the heart,” Celestia said idly. “Her spellsinging power is quite potent, even here… as I believe you will shortly see.”

As if on cue, the lights in the area began to dim at that moment. Movement could be seen on the stage, though it was impossible to see exactly what was going on. When the music started suddenly, it caught Phoenix off-guard, especially since none of the lights had come back on. A spotlight then lit up, falling on Delta, who was wearing an elegant gown of the same color as her fur in pony form. She began to sing as the intro ended, launching into ‘The Power of Love’, the same song she had sung at the diner with Celestia, Vinyl, and Maya.

At the song’s end, everyone cheered as Delta bowed and smiled to the audience. “Hello, City of Lost Angels!” she called out. “I’m only here for a brief time, so we need to make the most of things, wouldn’t you agree?” A deafening roar answered her. “Sounds good to me, so… let’s just live!”

Music: “Let’s Just Live” by Jeff Williams (ft. Casey Lee Williams)

As the cheers spiked, the next song began, a hard rock guitar, drums, and bass sounding out, having a scarce few seconds before Delta began singing again. While the music was upbeat, the lyrics were somewhat somber, reminding the crowd that life wasn’t a fairy tale, that tragedy could strike without warning. But through all the downs of life, the song reminded the crowd to not get bogged down in their troubles, to let time mend their hearts and keep moving forward.

Partway through, much of the music cut out, as a very somber verse was sung. It was definitely a change from the very upbeat ‘Power of Love’ or even the earlier segment of the song. Yet again, despite the slow, sad pace, the song’s message remained; keep going forward. Finally, as the music picked up once again, Delta belted out the final chorus, which had different lyrics:

LET’S JUST LIVE!
Just one day, let’s forget about our problems
Let’s fall in love with life and just be free!

The sun will never fade
The night won’t steal our day
Let’s dance and laugh and love and
LET’S JUST LIVE!!!

The crowd roared in approval, as Phoenix and his friends all cheered and applauded. It was one of the most powerful songs Phoenix had ever heard, and he decided it fit part of his life. He’d had a lot of low points in his life, particularly his trial, and the death of Mia. Yet he’d never truly given up. He’d come close, but he’d always found a way to press on. He decided that, if he ever got tired of the Steel Samurai theme, this song would make an excellent ringtone.

The concert continued. Many of Delta’s songs were about love, loss, and pressing on, though something odd was happening as well. With each new song, Vinyl got more and more into it, until suddenly her horn ignited brightly and she magically took control of all the lights and equipment, the sound becoming far more pure and light show more spectacular for it.

“Twilight? What’s going on?” Phoenix asked her as Delta gave her and Maya a glance and grinned, feeding off their combined energy and enthusiasm as well as that of the crowd, who didn’t know what was happening but could certainly appreciate the show.

“Her magic…” Twilight realized in surprise and excitement. “She could barely use it as a human before, but now she’s at full strength!”

“But how could that be…?” Celestia was just as surprised as her student, having never seen this effect before, watching as Vinyl played all the synth equipment like a maestro, sensing her magic flowing through the electronics themselves, enhancing and improving them.

“I think I know!” Twilight answered in excitement. “Magic flows from Harmony, and for a pony to be in Harmony, they have to act in accordance with themselves and their special talent—which for her, is music! By doing what she loves and is best at, she gets her magic back! Princess! Do you know what this means?”

Celestia understood the implications as well. “It means all unicorns or ponies, in general, could use their magic here, even as humans, as long as they were doing what they loved and acting in concert with their cutie marks!” the Sun Princess realized immediately. “Not just the most powerful of mages like us…”

“But… then how can that apply to you, Twilight?” Phoenix asked. “I mean, you don’t have a specific talent like singing or DJ’ing…”

“But it does apply to me! In my case, my special talent is magic, so…” she let him follow the evidence to reach his own conclusion.

“So in your case, you get more magic by simply using magic…” Phoenix paraphrased. “Wow…”

“I believe we will have to investigate this more upon our return, my student!” Celestia noted, to which Twilight could only nod eagerly, already planning a foray for information into the Canterlot Archives.

As the concert neared its end, however, the Sun Princess suddenly stood up. “Celly? What’s wrong?” asked Ferro, surprised.

“Even a Princess must occasionally use the little filly’s room. As humans say, when you gotta go, you gotta go,” Celestia replied, giving him a kiss. “Don’t worry, darling, I’ll be back.” With that, she carefully made her way out of the seats, and seemingly vanished into the crowd.

“Huh. Hope she hurries up, the next song’s the last one, according to the pamphlet,” Phoenix noted.

As the current song wound down, the group was nervous that Celestia wouldn’t make it in time. Up on stage, Delta bowed to the crowd. “Thank you, Los Angeles! I’ve had a blast here, and I hope you’ve all enjoyed yourselves, too!” The resounding cheers made her smile. “But, alas, all good things must come to an end, and so too must this concert. This final song is… an unusual one by my standards, and one I wouldn’t normally sing. That’s why I’m not going to,” she added cryptically. As the crowd murmured in confusion, she continued. “This song is an old one from a distant land, dating back to a time of war and strife. For those who suffer through such things and ask why they must… this song provides a few answers.”

With that, she, Maya, and Vinyl began a haunting chorus, pitched lower than the earlier upbeat songs of the concert. It was a mournful tune, a far cry from Delta’s other songs. As the chorus ended and some strings joined in, Delta spoke up. “Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to welcome a special guest: Princess Celeste Alva of Equios!”

“Wait, what?!” blurted Phoenix quietly. The others of the group looked no less pole-axed.

Sure enough, walking onto the stage was the unmistakable figure of Celestia’s human guise. She’d changed from the casual attire she’d been in earlier into a beautiful flowing gown of white, her hair not blonde but in its usual flowing multi-colored locks. As she took center stage to uncertain murmurs, Twilight and Ferro just as surprised as Phoenix was that she was revealing her true colors, Delta passed her the microphone, falling back to be near Maya and Vinyl as the music started and Celestia began to sing:

To all of my children in whom life flows abundant
To all of my children to whom death hath passed His judgment
The soul yearns for honor, and the flesh the hereafter
Look to those who walked before to lead those who walk after

As the song went on, the lyrics and the music grew more and more powerful, Celestia proving that she didn’t just have the body of a goddess, but the voice of an angel. The more she sang, the more the audience got into it, starting to sing the choruses even though they didn’t initially know the words, watching as images of dragons and destruction were projected by lasers through smoke and screens.

It was touching. It was incredibly moving. It was felt to Phoenix and all present as a tug on his very heart, a callback to an earlier time that involved a titanic struggle. He had no idea what it was, he just knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that it had happened, that for the emotion Celestia was displaying that she had been there, that many had fallen in battle—and worse, had fallen for her. Her sorrow was real; he could just see the glistening in her eyes, but could also hear the pride in her voice at how her nation and her beloved ponies had risen up in their own defense.

He held Twilight tightly all through it, listening as by the end they were both singing along with everyone else. And when the song ended, the applause was raucous, even Vinyl and Maya rising to offer their acclaim as Delta gave Celestia a heartfelt hug.

It was another hour before Maya and Vinyl returned from backstage, the princess following shortly after giving an impromptu interview to a music magazine, having changed back into her day clothes and reverted her hair to blonde to make her less recognizable.

“Quite a day, huh?” Maya offered, holding Vinyl’s hand again as they reappeared.

“That it was. And you both were something else!” Phoenix offered them the well-earned compliment. “So was Lady Requiem, for that matter!”

“She was, but she wasn’t the only one! That show you put on was amazing, Vinyl! And Princess… I had no idea you could sing!” Twilight gushed, still awestruck as her mentor went to Ferro and kissed him.

“Mare of many talents, my student. And it gratifies me greatly to know that Harmony can even find us here,” she said. “A truly special night, and one I was very happy to spend with all of you.”

“The feeling is mutual, Princess…” Phoenix told her, and meant it, having thoroughly enjoyed the concert and getting to share it all with Twilight and all his friends. So, guess we’ll all meet up again for dinner tomorrow?” he suggested.

“Actually, Nick, V-Jay and I were thinking…” Maya began with a glance at Vinyl, who grinned. “Since tomorrow’s the last full day before everyone goes home… why don’t we all meet up at the Villa and make a grand party out of it? There’s lots of room there and plenty of stuff to do! We could have a cookout, use the beach, cool off in the pool, soak in the hot tub…”

“Uh…” Phoenix exchanged a quick look with Twilight, who nodded and smiled. “Sure, but… do you and Vinyl even have a swimsuit, Maya?” he had to ask.

“Does Sparkle? I’ll buy one for me and V-Jay with the leftover money the Princess gave us!” she answered, hoping she didn’t sound too eager for a yes answer. “So what do you say, Princess?”

“A tempting offer, Miss Maya,” Celestia gave the response Maya hoped. “An informal beach party instead of stuffy afternoon tea with nobles at Canterlot Castle? I would like nothing better. And as it happens, I do have a swimsuit,” she announced, causing Maya to go giddy.

“Hey, if Sunshine’s in, I’m in,” Ferro said evenly, winking at Maya and Vinyl before kneeling down before the two young girls, putting a hand on their shoulders. “So how about it, Cyprey? Pearly? Do you two want to go to the beach tomorrow? If you want, Pearly, you can even stay the night and have a sleepover with Cyprey!”

”Yay!” They both said in unison, their antics reminding Twilight more and more of the Cutie Mark Crusaders Pearly was an honorary member of.

“Sounds like it’s settled, Nick!” Maya put on her smug look.

“Sounds like we’ve been volunteered…” Phoenix rejoined with a chuckle, rubbing a hand behind his head. Guess I’ll have to go get Twilight a swimsuit too… he thought, liking the idea of seeing her in a two-piece. “Oh, but there is one thing…” he belatedly remembered, and quickly explained that he’d checked his voicemail before the concert and returned a message from Edgeworth asking if he could come over the following afternoon to meet the princess and give Twilight her promised rematch in chess.

Maya’s eyes lit up at the news, despite the complication their prosecutor friend’s presence could present. “Oh, Edgey-poo’s gonna be there too? Cool!” Knowing him, I doubt he’ll stick around that long. He should be gone by the time sis shows…

Unaware of Maya’s thoughts, Celestia smiled. “You may inform Miles Edgeworth I would be more than happy to receive him and answer any questions he may have. But a chess match, my student?” The Sun Princess turned to Twilight and gave her an arched eyebrow.

Twilight nodded ruefully. “He’s really good, Princess. He beat me easily the one time we played!”

“Truly?” Celestia’s smile got broader as they headed for their waiting limousine. “How interesting. I might wish a match with him myself, then…”

* * * * *

With the hour approaching midnight and most of the group exhausted by the long day, they said their goodbyes with a promise to meet back up at the Villa at 2 pm the next day. Phoenix was already thinking about what they could cook to satisfy all tastes as he and Twilight walked back down the beach towards the Villa, hand in hand. He wondered at one point if he was just imagining hearing a faint buzzing noise overhead over the sound of the surf but otherwise paid it no mind.

With Maya and Ferro’s permission, Pearls went back with Ferro and Celestia to have a sleepover with her new friend Cypreus, having thoroughly enjoyed the day’s activities but starting to nod off for it.

“See you tomorrow!” Maya and Vinyl waved goodbye to them before Maya pulled up an app that summoned them a car to take them back to the Gatewater. Upon arriving, they went upstairs and collapsed on the made bed, too tired to do much else. “I’m beat, V-Jay…” Maya announced. “But it’s a good beat. Never mind the park and getting to talk with sis, getting to handle the sound equipment for Lady Requiem was a lot of fun… and that last song was something else!”

“You said it, filly…” Vinyl replied, reaching over to hold Maya’s hand. “I was so happy to get all my magic back there, but… think I may have overdone it. Feels like I’ve got a touch of magical exhaustion now,” she sensed, feeling weak and somewhat lightheaded after her energy expenditures at the concert. “I’d love to be frisky, but at this point, I need sleep ‘fore I do anything else, sorry…”

“No problem,” Maya said evenly, rolling over to give her friend a kiss. “I’m ready for bed too. I’m just happy we got to spend today together, even if you and Celly did pull that little stunt on the roller-coaster earlier…” she mildly groused.

“And are you mad we did?” Vinyl asked in an impish tone as they tossed off their clothes and climbed up the bed to get under the covers.

Maya’s initial reply was another kiss. “It was fun, but… I’m still gonna get her back for that!” she promised. “Gonna feel almost guilty for it after the way Celly sang, though…”

“I know what you mean! But don’t worry. In the end, I don’t think she’s gonna mind! Well then, we better get some sleep, filly…” Vinyl grinned as she reached down to pull the covers up over them both, snuggling up close with her human marefriend. “’Cause considering what your sis says she has planned for tomorrow, we both better be rested and ready…!”

Music: Classic Suspense (Remastered)

Author's Note

Once again, a great deal of adult content was removed from this chapter, nearly halving its length, but there was still plenty of worldbuilding interest left over afterwards. I did leave the one R-rated(ish) fairgrounds scene in only because it becomes important later. So what's Mia planning? Exactly what she said--punishment and reward for a certain soul that sorely deserves both. That certain soul was shown at her best and trolling worst in this chapter, and features prominently in the final chapters.

We're nearing the end now, and the next chapter is my favorite out of the whole story for reasons that should shortly become clear. Be ready for it!

32: Recording History

Music: Alone…Are You?

For the first time in several nights, Twilight and Phoenix slept quite soundly.

Exhausted after a long day filled with activity, and both their bodies and spirits needing respite from the powerful emotions and intimacy of the past two days, they engaged in no intimacy other than some minor snuggling. Instead, they simply enjoyed each other’s presence and love, lulled to sleep by the sound of the surf and kept there by the warmth of each other’s bodies, contrasted with the cool breeze coming through the window… though once or twice Phoenix could have sworn there was a mosquito in the room for the faint buzzing he was hearing.

Morning came, but it was nearly nine before they rousted themselves. Phoenix went downstairs to whip up a light breakfast in anticipation of heavy eating later that day, limiting themselves to a sunrise skillet he’d occasionally made for Maya consisting of pork sausage links, peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, and a very light dusting of cheddar cheese.

“You know, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I really think I’m going to miss being an omnivore when I go back!” Twilight noted as she dabbed at her lips with a napkin.

They cleaned up the kitchen and then showered together after that, Twilight leaving Phoenix to shave in the bathroom mirror while she went downstairs to check if there were any additional dragonfire messages she’d received from her friends.

It was only then, as Phoenix was shaving in the bathroom that he heard the faint buzzing sound again, this time coming from right outside the window. “What the hell is…?” Frowning, he looked at the window through the mirror only to see… a small drone of some sort, hovering outside the open window for just a moment before darting away. Staring at the place it had been, he remembered then that he’d heard the sound of it repeatedly for the past several days, and, drawing the only conclusion possible, finished his business before heading back into the main room. Someone’s spying on us, and given when it started, I have a sneaking suspicion I know who…

“Phoenix, are you done with the bathroom? Good, because we have a lot to do if we’re going to prepare for everyone’s visit,” Twilight said with great enthusiasm. “I asked my friends if they’d be willing to wait to talk until evening, when everyone’s here?” she suggested, then her expression fell slightly as she noticed his troubled look.

“Sounds good, but… we may have a problem, Twilight,” he warned her, his lips tight. “I spotted something outside. A remote-controlled drone, probably with a camera attached.”

Twilight blinked, and chanced a glance at the window, but there was nothing there. “A ‘drone’? What do you mean?” The only ‘drones’ she knew of were the shapeshifting servants of a hive-like race called Changelings, and they hadn’t been seen in Equestria for ages.

“I mean, a remotely operated flying device. They’re sold as high-end toys here, but some come with cameras equipped and they make perfect surveillance devices when you don’t want to be seen doing it.”

Twilight considered that, then understood why he was concerned. “So in other words, someone’s spying on us.” she concluded, then frowned when Phoenix shared his theory of who he thought was behind it. “I see. Well, then… I’m going to try something, but since it involves teleportation, I’ll need to be a pony to have enough power to do it.” Removing her amulet, she reverted to her pony form well away from the windows, before her horn lit up and she suddenly faded from sight.

“Invisibility spell. I’m going outside,” she announced from behind her magical cloak as there was a flash that announced her teleportation followed by the sound of hoof-falls on the roof. A minute passed before Phoenix’s phone rang and he picked up to find Twilight on the other end, her telepathy spell connecting to his phone just as they had initially discovered it could during Rainbow Dash’s trial so many months earlier. “I see it, Phoenix. It’s this weird… insectile thing circling the building. I can see a camera on it too. Looks like it’s positioning itself to look in windows,” she told him through the connection.

“Figures. Now if we could just find out where our not-so-secret spymaster is…” he thought out loud, not particularly concerned. If it really is who I think, I doubt they’ll be too hard to deal with or discredit...

“Leave that to me, Phoenix. I learned spells to deal with human electronics before coming here,” she told him. “I can’t take credit for it, though. The princess insisted I be as prepared for this world as possible and told me to learn the same spells she teaches her agents.”

“Of course she did…” Phoenix could only chuckle and shake his head. “Just… be careful, Twilight. You can’t be seen in public as a pony.”

“I know. I’ve got this, Phoenix. Just hold on…” she promised him over his phone, then there was a pause. “I can sense a two-way signal going between the drone and its owner.”

“Probably the radio signal used to control it, as well as send its pictures back to its main computer,” Phoenix noted. “Can you track it?”

“I can tell its direction but not its distance. But that’s fine. Just need to triangulate it…” she told him, concentrating, teleporting to multiple locations over the next minute before she smiled, homing in on a cheap motel a couple blocks away. “Found her!” With that, Twilight’s horn flared, and she vanished with a sharp pop! Only to reappear a few seconds later back in the Villa beside Phoenix… along with a very discomfited Lotta Hart.

“Wh-what in…” was all Lotta got out before she clapped a hand to her mouth, and bolted for the bathroom, stumbling over a chair in the process. A few seconds later, Phoenix and Twilight heard the sound of retching.

“Guess she’s not as inured to teleporting as I am,” Phoenix said dryly, crossing his arms and smirking while they waited for her to re-emerge.

“Celestia did say that those who aren’t used to it tend to vomit,” Twilight noted mildly while wearing an identical smirk, not bothering to transform back. “Excuse me while I retrieve the rest of her surveillance gear…”

It was several minutes before Lotta re-emerged from the bathroom, still looking shaky. By that time, Twilight had recovered not only the drone, but its controller and a laptop. With a quivering hand, Lotta pointed at the Equestrian unicorn standing before her with a smug look. “Ah knew it! Ah knew it! Ah knew there was somethin’ fishy goin’ on!”

“Yeah, and the fishy one is standing right in front of me,” Phoenix said sourly, glaring over his crossed arms. It was bad luck for Lotta, as she was the last person he wanted to deal with so early in the morning. “So, just what do you think you’re doing, Lotta? You are aware that recording of residences without consent is illegal, aren’t you?”

“Oh, don’t you start, Mister Lawyer! Ah knew somethin’ was off about yer girlfriend, and it looks like Ah was right! Once Ah’ve got all the pictures and such sorted, Ah’ll be sendin’ this straight to the government!” Lotta declared, working up some nerve even as she was unable to stop staring at Twilight.

“The government?” Twilight asked with a blink. “Why not the tabloids?”

Lotta grimaced. “At first I thought I could get some juicy pics of you two doing some hanky-panky, and ya even started to on the beach! But then she turned into… that! And then ya both disappeared!” she waved at Twilight, causing both to grimace at the realization they had been observed that night. “And here Ah thought Ah had a real winner—’Ace Attorney kidnapped by Alien Equine!’ But when ah took the video to the tabloids, they rejected it! Said her eyes were so big it had to be ‘real shoddy CGI’ and it was ‘too obviously faked’ even for them! That’s when Ah realized; there’s some sort of conspiracy goin’ on, and ah’m the only one who can stop it!”

“A conspiracy to do what?” Phoenix couldn’t help but ask, exchanging a glance and an eyeroll with an unimpressed Twilight, who thought the paparazzi back home were far better at their craft than Lotta was.

“Ta invade the planet!” She said frantically. “She obviously ain’t from around here, so what else could she be ‘cept this weird purple pony alien—”

“I’m lavender!” Twilight corrected sharply.

“Fine! Lavender! But now here she’s got you believin’ nothin’s wrong!” Lotta stood up and pointed a shaky finger at them while Phoenix just rubbed his eyes.

“Nothing is wrong, Lotta,” he sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I’ll tell you who she is and where she comes from if you’ll promise to stop bothering us…” Reluctantly, he gave her the broad outlines of Twilight’s world and how they met.

Lotta listened in disbelief. “So you’re saying she comes from an alternate world of pastel ponies? One where friendship is magic and they walk on all fours? Really?” Lotta put her hands on her hips again. “Just how big a fool do ya think Ah am, Phoenix Wright?”

“Do you really want me to answer that, Lotta?” Phoenix couldn’t resist asking.

“But supposin’ ya are tellin’ the truth…” she grinned as a sudden idea occurred to her. “Ah’m a reasonable gal; and as long as the world’s not in danger Ah’m willin’ ta overlook this for now… if’n ya pay me for the film she ruined the other day, as well as some extra for mah silence.”

Phoenix’s eyes narrowed, as did Twilight’s. “And… if I refuse?” he asked, giving her a look of contempt.

“Then Ah take everything Ah’ve got to the mayor, the police, an’ anyone else who’ll listen!” Lotta snapped, hands on her hips.

“And what makes you think they’ll believe you?” Twilight asked in annoyance at the clumsy threat. “Phoenix told me about you after our earlier meeting, Lotta Hart. You’ve been implicated in several hoaxes, committed perjury on the stand numerous times, and openly admit to selling information and photos to the tabloids. So I imagine if you go to the authorities with nothing but this, you’ll be laughed right out of the city.”

“She’s right, Lotta,” Phoenix said darkly, though he couldn’t quite keep a smug note out of his voice. “You’ve been caught out in your lies in very public trials on more than one occasion. You’ve been involved in outright fraud as well. So why would anyone believe your claim that we’re being invaded or Twilight is anything but a foreign visitor?” he asked as Twilight took her cue and transformed herself back to human before her eyes, smirking as she made Lotta flinch, crossing her arms over her bare chest. “You have no solid proof, no details of what’s going on. All you have are a few grainy night-vision videos of me and Twilight that even the tabloids wouldn’t touch.”

“Are ya’ll daft? Ah got my pictures and video! And this conversation’s being recorded!” she claimed, slightly shrilly. “Ah gotcha both dead to rights, ya hear?”

“Do you?” Twilight asked mildly. “I’ve been jamming all electronic signals in and out of here since we spotted your toy, so nothing’s getting recorded. And as for your existing pictures and video…” she growled as her now-ethereal horn lit up. Before Lotta’s eyes, a magic bolt fried the laptop, causing it to all but explode from the inside out, destroying its innards including the hard drive. The drone and its controller swiftly followed suit. “There goes all of your so-called ‘evidence’. Now I’m going to tell you once more, Lotta Hart, since you apparently did not get the message when we last spoke…”

“Ah ain’t afraid o’ you, Twilight Sparkle! Ah’m a god-fearing gal, but Ah ain’t gonna be cowed by some half-size horse!” she proclaimed a bit too shrilly, both Phoenix and Twilight easily picking out the false bravado in her voice.

Twilight’s grin turned all but evil at her statement, while Phoenix could only facepalm, suspecting what was about to happen. “I see. Well, then... guess I’ll just have to put the fear of the gods into you. So listen and listen well, Lotta Hart…” Twilight lowered her head and stalked towards Lotta, who backed away as a glow appeared around where her horn would be. “Our personal lives are none of your concern, and most certainly not the concern of the tabloids or the government. So consider this fair warning, you wannabe photo floozie—if you ever try to blackmail Phoenix or myself again, I’ll show you exactly why crossing me or my friends is a very… bad… idea.” With the last three words, Twilight let some of her elemental powers show, her eyes glowing red and dark indigo hair briefly converting to flame, giving her a demonic appearance.

“H-holy…” a sudden wetness appeared between Lotta’s legs as she bolted for the front door, threw it open and ran outside, fleeing as fast as her legs could take her.

“You enjoyed that, didn’t you?” Phoenix asked once she was gone, unable to suppress a smile as he watched her panicked departure.

“The Princess wouldn’t approve, but... yes,” Twilight admitted as she withdrew her flames. “After all the trouble I’ve had with the tabloids back home, I just really don’t have much patience for people or ponies like that. Sorry, Phoenix.”

“Don’t be,” he kissed her. “For all the trouble she’s caused me and my clients, you’ve no idea how often I’ve wished I could do that to her myself. And who knows? Maybe after this, she’ll finally leave me alone and I won’t have to worry about her or her pictures appearing to bedevil me in court again...”

Music: Calm Moment of Respite

Once Lotta had fled the scene, Phoenix called Miles Edgeworth to tell him what had happened and ask for his intervention.

Having heard the facts, he promised he would issue a warrant for Lotta’s arrest, sit her down and make clear that with the evidence of the destroyed electronics left at the Villa, he could send her up for months and she was categorically not to bother Phoenix or Twilight again. “I would advise seeking a restraining order as well,” Edgeworth said before they hung up, and Phoenix promised he would.

Satisfied that she’d been dealt with and the threat of exposure was gone, Twilight and Phoenix cleaned up and started getting the place ready for company. Another scroll containing a message and four mirror gems arrived, but Twilight asked her friends to wait to chat until the middle of the afternoon or evening when everyone was present.

Once the villa was presentable, they headed out to a local shop to find her a swimsuit, and to little surprise of Phoenix, she chose a ~~purple~~ lavender two-piece that was close in color to her fur, modeling it and a few others for him before they bought it. After that, it was time to get enough food for eight, including drinks, desserts, and trimmings. He knew Maya would want to cook burgers or steaks, but Twilight vetoed the suggestion, saying that after having thought about it, she simply wasn’t comfortable with eating beef given the bovines she knew.

“No issue with chicken or pork, though!” she reminded him, so after checking with Ferro by text as to the princess’s preferences (“Tia says ribs are fine with her, and we’ll bring the beer!”), he and Twilight picked up a series of chicken leg quarters and rib racks as well as plenty of trimmings. He honestly had no idea what Edgeworth might prefer, but did get some packets of Rarity’s tea delivered via Spike’s dragonfire direct from her carousel home.

To little surprise, Edgeworth arrived first, right at 2 pm. Punctual as always! Phoenix thought as he greeted his prosecutor friend, noting that he was in his regular work clothes and had a briefcase under his arm containing the chess set.

“Don’t you ever take a break, Miles?” Phoenix had to ask.

“Unlike you, Wright, I do not get to choose my cases or clients. The job of a prosecutor is forever ongoing, and it is what I was born to do,” he arched an eyebrow at Phoenix, who didn’t press further. To his surprise, Edgeworth did, however, say he was willing to indulge in a single glass of wine, and was starting into it as the doorbell buzzed again and they found Vinyl and Maya waiting outside, their hands filled with shopping bags.

“Don’t tell me that’s all swimsuits!” Phoenix pointed at their purchases.

“Don’t you wish, Nick!” Maya gave him a flirtatious wink. “It’s… lots of stuff. Mind if we, um, stow it in the second upstairs bedroom?” she asked, making Vinyl suppress a smirk.

Her request seemed oddly specific to Phoenix, but he let it go, pouring her favorite cola when she came back downstairs with a surprise—the keg of Applejack’s special reserve cider he’d received as a gift his last day in Equestria. “Picked it up from the office. AJ said it was for special occasions, and I think celebrating the defeat of The Nightmare qualifies! So are the burgers on yet?” she asked as she found a place in the refrigerator for it, only to go momentarily crestfallen when she found out the cookout was beef-less.

“We’ve got plenty of meat, Maya. I’m doing teriyaki chicken and barbecued ribs,” he promised, motioning to the spread already marinating in the kitchen, at which point she gave in without much further grousing. Phoenix then in turn offered some Sangria to the Equestrian girls, who, he was happy to see, did appreciate the sweet wine, not far removed from what they knew back home.

“Ain’t bad, but Burros really do it better…” Vinyl decided after her first glass, heading out onto the deck where Twilight and Edgeworth were already starting their chess match using the pony set that Twilight had given him as a gift upon departure from Equestria months earlier.

Edgeworth was surprised to see Vinyl when she stepped out, caught a little short as he recognized her by her red eyes and shock of electric blue hair. “This is unexpected. What brings you to Earth, Ms. Scratch?”

“Oh, just a friend in need…” she said, grasping Maya’s hand, causing Edgeworth to flush slightly. “Long story, but… I do got a message for you, Worthy. My girl Octy approved of your performance when you were rooting out the corruption in the Equestrian prosecutor’s office.”

“Octavia Melody?” Edgeworth recognized, even as he grimaced slightly at the nickname; it had been used on him before by the corrupt police chief, Damon Gant. “I did not speak with her, but was told she was the best you had.”

Vinyl nodded almost proudly. “That she is. But she wasn’t needed since you were there. She said that since you took care of it, she didn’t have to and was able to remain on her concert tour. She saw the transcripts of the trial afterwards and said you did ‘quite well’—high compliment from her, believe me. She also promises she’ll repay you someday.”

Edgeworth bowed his head. “Tell her I appreciate the sentiment and compliment, but I was simply doing my duty as a prosecutor.”

“And she’ll love hearing that, too.” Vinyl nodded in satisfaction, settling down to watch the chess match unfold as Phoenix put out some plates of appetizers, including plenty of raw vegetables, chips and dip.

He offered Edgeworth a second glass of wine, but he declined, saying he would have to return to work after speaking to the princess, who had not yet shown… until a third doorbell buzz was heard and in burst Pearl and Cyprey followed swiftly by Ferro and Celestia, hand in hand.

“Our apologies for being delayed, but our morning was… eventful.” She closed her eyes and smiled. “I trust we are not too late for the festivities?”

“Not at all, Princess.” Phoenix motioned them in. After giving and getting initial greetings, including shaking Edgeworth’s hand and saying he was very honored to meet him, Ferro took the two girls downstairs to the pool and Celestia materialized a large pack of beer and a couple oranges once they had departed. “A case of Blue Moon… in honor of my sister,” she smiled, popping one and guzzling half in one draw, causing Twilight to blush again, Vinyl deciding to try one herself.

“Huh. It’s like bread in a bottle…” the pony DJ realized, licking her lips, then taking Celestia’s advice to add an orange slice to it. “Ain’t sweet, but it’s mellow and it works. Think I like it,” she announced, though Maya declined to share it, saying she ‘didn’t want Edgey-Poo arresting her for underage drinking!’

“Why do you keep calling him that?” Vinyl finally asked, to which she only too happily shared the story of his rather aggressive elderly admirer, Wendy Oldbag. The mere mention of her name caused Edgeworth to flush and shift uncomfortably, to Maya’s delight and Phoenix’s smirk.

“But that’s okay. Oldbag’s old news because Edgey-poo’s got a new filly now!” Maya proclaimed loudly at the end of the story, enjoying herself immensely as Phoenix took his cue.

“With love, from Rarity,” Phoenix grinned as he took his cure, serving Edgeworth the tea she had delivered just that morning, along with a handkerchief bearing her perfume, enjoying the sudden blush that broke out on Edgeworth’s face as he caught her scent and squirmed for just a moment.

“You… and Miss Rarity, Miles Edgeworth?” Celestia couldn’t resist a tease of her own. “I believe this is the first I’ve heard of this!”

“Whoa, there! You landed Rares of all mares, Worthy? She must really like you! She has high standards and doesn’t take just any old stallion, you know…” Vinyl piled on as well.

“I am aware…” Edgeworth answered with as much dignity as he could muster, suddenly feeling very warm under the collar and struggling to keep his attention on the game. “And I will thank you all to respect our privacy.”

“Wasn’t aware there was anything to keep private!” Phoenix added as he took a beer of his own, sitting down beside Twilight, who giggled despite the fact that she was in a precarious position in the chess match.

Everyone settled down after that, watching the match to its conclusion, which took but forty minutes to reach.

“Checkmate,” Edgeworth announced as he moved his final piece.

Recognizing her defeat, Twilight nodded slowly and tipped her king over. “You win again, Edgeworth,” she conceded, sitting back heavily as she realized it hadn’t even been close. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever met as good a player as you. Except maybe…” she looked up at her mentor.

“Your skill is impressive, Miles Edgeworth, as my student is no novice at this game,” Celestia complimented him as well, then grinned. “Before leaving, perhaps you would grant me the pleasure of a match as well…?”

Edgeworth was surprised by the offer, but only momentarily. “I would be honored, Princess,” he gave his most sweeping bow before her, his forearm held parallel to the ground at the completion of the gesture. “On one condition, that is. I do have some questions about your role and purpose in our world… would you be willing to answer them as we play?” he inquired as he stood back up.

Music: An Exchange of Knowledge

“Am I to be questioned by a prosecutor?” she asked mildly with the barest hint of a smile on her face as she sat down opposite him and swiftly reset the chess board with her magic, taking the side of the sun while Edgeworth took command of the night-themed royal blue pieces with Luna as its queen and an intricate carving of the moon itself as the King.

“As this is not a courtroom and you do not stand accused of any crime, I can hardly compel your testimony, Princess,” he replied as he sat down himself and crossed his arms, tapping a finger on his bicep. “I simply ask that you do so as a courtesy, to ease my concerns regarding your activities in this world.”

“I see,” Celestia answered without offense. “By all means, then, Miles Edgeworth. As I am the challenger, I feel it only fitting this match be played on your terms. To that end, I also invite you to make the opening move.”

“I would never say you are ungracious, Princess. But as my time is somewhat pressing and I often have little time to consider my next words or actions in court, let us play a speed match where each of us must move within ten seconds,” he proposed as Celestia nodded and Twilight quickly set up the clock the chess set had come with.

Once she had finished and began the game by starting the clock with a flare of her magic, Edgeworth reached over the board and moved a batpony pawn forward one space, then tapped the clock to reset it. “My first question is one that has troubled me for some time. You paid me and Wright quite handsomely for our service in Equestria, in our own currency by certified cheque drawn on your own national bank. But as your financial movements are hidden within the Swiss banking system, my first question must be: how are you funding your activities on earth?”

“With gemstones, Miles Edgeworth,” she answered easily as she made an identical move with a Royal Guardspony pawn wielding a spear, resetting the clock with her own magic. “Precious gems that are rare for you are in fact quite common in our world. The trade in high-quality industrial-grade diamonds is quite lucrative, for example, and a few of our stones have even found their way into the jewelry business. Equios itself survives on tourism, as we have a few historical sites as well as some hot springs sought out by the ill and afflicted that are said to be… magical,” she took on her coy grin as Edgeworth made a second move. “Not without cause, as part of the reason I founded it there was a confluence of ley lines that would facilitate travel between our worlds and ease our use of magic.”

“Really? Think I’d love to visit there, Princess!” Maya piped up, to which Celestia smiled as she advanced a solar Knight from the second rank of her pieces.

“I’m sure that can be arranged, Miss Maya. And as regent of the land, I would say you are more than welcome to visit yourself, Miles Edgeworth, should you wish to inspect our humble province firsthoof.”

“A generous offer. Perhaps I will, the next time I travel to Europe,” Edgeworth granted, tapping his finger a few more times, turning his attention fully on the game for a few minutes as they exchanged a few pleasantries and a dozen moves, making the first exchanges of taken pieces. “But back to business… my next question must be: for how long have you been coming to earth that Equios has existed for so long?” Edgeworth asked as he moved a lunar bishop diagonally forward two squares in an attempt to cut off her rook.

“Our first forays into your world predate even my life, and it was not until well into my reign that we began exploring in more earnest,” the Princess replied as she moved her solar knight forward, a pegasus mare in the guise of a Bolt Knight, pausing as Edgeworth countered with his own knight wearing the garb of a Shadowbolt. “If you mean how long have I been coming here myself, my first visit was over a millennium ago, but I only started to come on a regular basis in the past five hundred years or so…” Celestia answered as she considered her next move, looking like she was very much enjoying the match, Twilight spotting that Edgeworth had already eluded several of her traps and retained his own offensive options.

“And why did you start doing so?”

“I discovered, much to my surprise, that your world provided excellent respite from the pressures and loneliness of ruling Equestria alone, and over time, I got progressively more comfortable there, marveling at your race’s rapid advancement from the renaissance into the industrial age. I would not say that all my visits have been pleasant ones, but they have certainly always been… interesting. In that time, I have walked among many nations and seen much of your peoples and history.” She steepled her hands, now moving her pieces and resetting the clock strictly by magic.

“And… have you played a role in it?” Edgeworth probed gently as he performed a castle move to pull his king inside his rook, Phoenix noting that he was being far less blunt than he would normally be in a courtroom, interrogating a witness. “As a student of history, I am curious to know what you may have done.”

“I would be lying if I said I had not,” Celestia acknowledged as she moved her own white-hued bishop to present a new threat to an exposed blue-hued rook that was in the shape of the old Everfree Castle. “But lest you think me some shadow overlord, my machinations, such as they are, have been very… subtle. A nudge here and there, attempting to slowly shape a more harmonious future in which our two worlds might someday be united. It is far from an instant process, and certainly suffers its share of setbacks. But given my long lifetime, I can afford to be very patient about such things. In fact, it has been very rare that I or my agents have directly intervened in human affairs.”

“But not unheard of?” Edgeworth challenged, raising an eyebrow at her, watching her reaction carefully like Phoenix would an opposing witness or poker player.

“No,” she confirmed. “If you wish an example of direct intervention, I would point you back to your own nation’s history. In 1862 of your common era, your country was embroiled in a great Civil War. In autumn of that year, the Union of your northern states was on the defensive, in danger of losing to the upstart Confederacy of southern states right then and there as General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia invaded Maryland,” she recited with ease. “As a self-proclaimed student of history, I’m sure you know well what was at stake.”

“A great schism that would have left one of the ugliest of all institutions intact,” he recited carefully as another exchange of moves followed, leaving Phoenix in admiration of how indirectly and diplomatically he could answer such a loaded question.

“Indeed,” Celestia answered gravely as she advanced a bishop; a unicorn pony who wore the pointed hat of her onetime sun sages, making Twilight take immediate mental note to look up the conflict she spoke of in her human history books. “But rather than simply tell you what was done… let us see if you can deduce it. Tell me, Miles Edgeworth… what happened during Lee’s offensive?”

Edgeworth’s brow furrowed as he recalled the information from college history courses and own personal study, Phoenix trying to remember what he could of that era as well. “Fresh off several stunning successes, including victory in the Second Battle of Bull Run, General Lee led his army into Maryland, intending to invade Pennsylvania, take Philadelphia and cut off the Union capital of Washington D.C. Even without directly taking the capital, his success would have triggered Britain and France to recognize the Confederacy as an independent nation and intervene to break the northern blockade of their ports, all but winning the war for the South.” The prosecutor tapped his finger on his bicep as he spoke.

“Correct. But why did it not happen?” Celestia prompted.

“Certainly, not because of superior military leadership,” Edgeworth immediately recalled, clearly surprised that the Princess was testing him as much as he was her. “General George B. McClellan, the then-commander of the Federal Army of the Potomac, was incredibly timid and afraid to commit his much larger force, moving only very cautiously. He was simply no match for a commander as quick and cunning as Lee. And even when he did stumble upon Lee’s plans by pure happenstance, he…” Edgeworth suddenly trailed off and blinked, looking up at the Sun Princess like he’d just guessed the answer, causing Celestia to give him a sly smile.

Edgeworth stared at her a moment more before speaking again. “During the course of that campaign, a copy of Lee’s general orders were lost and found by a Union private on the side of a road. They detailed exactly where Lee’s army was and where it was planning to go. It was that information that enabled McClellan to bring Lee to battle before he was ready, resulting in the Battle of Antietam. Though McClellan unsurprisingly failed to crush Lee’s numerically inferior army because he attacked piecemeal and refused to commit his reserves, he did check Lee’s advance and forced him to end his offensive right then and there. That extremely costly and incomplete ‘victory’ in turn spurred President Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, which ended the threat of European intervention and changed the entire character of the war,” he finished, then gave her a sideways look. “And the origin of that lost order…?”

“A simple levitation spell applied to an inattentive courier was all it took,” she confirmed. “It was then moved to a path where Union columns would be passing and left in plain sight. And the rest, as they say… is history.” Perhaps to emphasize her words, she moved herself as queen forward to threaten Edgeworth’s flank.

“Remarkable…” Edgeworth acknowledged as he countered with his own queen, Luna herself. “I must admit, I am quite impressed, princess. With one minor and measured act at just the right moment in time… you changed the very course of human history.”

“I prefer to think of it as keeping history on its proper course,” she replied easily. “Understand, I do not do such things often or lightly. I could not control humanity even if I wished to. The events of the last century were certainly evidence enough of that.” She closed her eyes in regret for a moment. “But even in humanity’s darkest days, I have never lost faith in your capacity for friendship and good. Nor have I ever stopped coming here, even during the times of greatest strife.”

“Not even during World War Two?” Maya had to ask, fascinated by it all. “I mean, I’d think you’d’ve stopped coming here then, given how awful Hitler was…”

“Indeed he was…” Celestia’s expression went pained and brooding. “And I would know. I met him.”

M̶us̀įć: M̷eǹtal ͡I̵rr͏egu̢lar̸ ͝D̸éf͡ib͟r̛i͟l̢la҉to̶r͘

That immediately got the attention of every native human present, though Twilight and Vinyl looked on in some bemusement. “Really? You met Adolf Hitler, Princess?” Maya asked, more astonished than aghast.

“Twice,” she confirmed, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment, and taking a quick sip of beer, as if to steady herself. “Equios sent a small contingent to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin—humanity’s version of the Equestria Games,” she said in an aside to Vinyl and Twilight. “I attended in the guise of Queen Alva, hereditary ruler of Equios, and I first met him then, at a state dinner following opening ceremonies. He kissed my hand and I never more wanted to wash it as afterwards.” She visibly shuddered. “I met him again a second time when he was seeking allies and international support for his takeover of the Sudetenland. As I bore blonde hair and fair skin, he thought I was of Germanic descent and thus appealed to my sense of ‘Aryan pride’, saying ‘such a strong line’ as my own obviously was should be able to appreciate what he was trying to do in building a ‘Greater Germany’ and master race.”

“Wow…” Maya was enthralled as she quickly looked up a picture of Hitler on her smartphone and then showed it to Vinyl and Twilight, who all but recoiled.

“Yeah… you can tell just by looking at him that’s a bad dude,” Vinyl noted.

“Those eyes are just… ugh. I don’t think any amount of Harmony would’ve helped him,” Twilight added, suppressing a shiver. She felt tempted to gently move over to Phoenix’s side in hopes of protecting him against such overwhelming evil and utter disharmony as she sensed, not certain at all she wanted to know more about the human or conflict the Princess spoke of.

Maya, however, was not so constrained. “Then when you met him, Princess… did you… know?” she had to ask.

Celestia looked up at Maya for a moment before answering. “Did I know then I was speaking to a man who would become one of the worst monsters of human history? No,” she said. “My powers do not include prescience. Though just like you, much about him chilled me to the bone. His manner of speech, the look in his eyes, his open desire for vengeance and conquest, his disharmonious disdain for all not of his race or nation… I had seen his ilk before and knew nothing good ever came of it. If anything, he reminded me a young King Sombra,” she shook her head, then turned to Twilight again as she saw her questioning expression. “Former ruler of the lost Crystal Empire, and one Luna and I fought a bloody war with some sixteen hundred years past.”

“So you knew then what Hitler might be capable of, and yet you took no action?” Edgeworth asked, shifting his queen to meet the new threat and taking a rook off the board with it.

“What action was there to take?” she asked in all seriousness, countering by moving up her remaining bishop. “To that point, he had not engaged in anything more than aggressive diplomacy, annexing Austria and remilitarizing the Rhineland, Miles Edgeworth. The latter was in violation of the Treaty of Versailles, certainly, but given how unfair that treaty was, it was hard to be too ‘up in arms’ over it. And domestically… he was popular with his people, having restored his nation’s economy and pride; he had not yet engaged in any real deprivations. Or at least, nothing that was not already happening on a far greater or bloodier scale in other nations,” she shook her head and sighed.

“Not a happy chapter of humanity’s history,” Edgeworth agreed, looking troubled but not taking his attention off the game, advancing another royal blue bat-pony pawn.

“Not at all,” she shifted a Canterlot Castle rook to counter. “But let us suppose for a moment, that I did intervene. That against all honor and harmony I covertly took his life or otherwise prevented his rise to power. The question then becomes… what follows?” she asked almost rhetorically. “Nothing good, I fear. His absence would leave a power vacuum in the middle of Europe. One vulnerable to a far different kind of monster that had already slain and enslaved millions of his own. One had no qualms about starving his own people or sacrificing countless soldiers to attain his aims. You know of whom I speak…?”

M̯̪̩͘u̻͚s̰͉͇̯̝̕i̙̫͓̖c̤̙:̝̹̻̗͍̘̱͠ ͖̞͈̮̥͇Ą̺̝̙͈̲͓̥n͈ ̖̩̺̹͠E̴̦̗̼v̯͖i̖̦̬͔͙͓ͅl̸͎̟ ̛̯̺͍̭͈Ev̙̪̭͔e͙͜n̻̦̥ ̭͕̘̰͚͢W̳̬o͏̘͎̬̦̗͈̮r͚̱͙͢ͅs̀e̠̤̟̣͉͜

“Stalin,” Edgeworth echoed Phoenix’s immediate thought. “In a century full of butchers, he was amongst the worst.”

“Indeed,” she replied gravely, closing her eyes again. “In many ways, his deprivations and ruthlessness exceeded even Hitler’s. Millions dead in forced collectivization, millions more to die in his great purges and the war to come after he had already slain most of his best soldiers and generals. He slew more of his own people than Hitler killed in the Holocaust. And thus, a case could be made that he was the greater threat. That without a strong Germany to his west, without the rise of the Nazis and the coming of the Second World War, that the war would have instead erupted on far different terms. And worse, given Russia’s manpower reserves and industrial base, his Soviet Union would have eventually overrun the whole of Europe instead of only half.” She shook her head. “I do not pretend to know for certain this is what would have happened, but given the many lessons of history I have learned and lived through, it seems only too possible to me.”

“So better the devil you know? You’re saying that people like Hitler have purpose?” Maya was dubious, fascinated by the conversation even as Twilight was appalled.

“Unfortunately… yes,” Celestia closed her eyes. “Take it from me, Miss Maya—sometimes choices are not between good and evil, but between bad and worse. Sometimes you must make a distasteful judgement of which despot will do the less long-term damage,” she said as she shook her head. “Such was the case then. I knew dark days were coming, but my hope was that humanity would emerge much sadder and wiser for it, with lessons learned and friendships kindled. For such evil also spurs the greatest of courage and camaraderie to fight it, sparking the spreading of cultures and forging of friendships between nations and races that endure,” she pronounced solemnly.

“Historically, that has held for both our worlds. And the parallels do not stop there,” she went on. “You had Hitler. We had King Sombra. You had Genghis Khan. We had the Overmare. You had the Persian and Roman Empires. We had Spursia and Roam. You had Napoleon Bonaparte. We had Salvio Gaius, the great Gryphon General. Or Prelate, as they called him.”

“Oh, I read about him!” Twilight spoke up, fascinated by the game and the conversation, at how much of human history her mentor had known about or even experienced firsthoof. “They said he was one of the greatest military minds of all time. A master strategist who could pick apart the psyches of his opponents and tailor his responses to them.”

“Indeed,” Celestia’s eyes turned pained again for a moment. “His plan to conquer Equestria was appallingly brilliant and might have worked if not for the selfless sacrifice of a single spy. But having fought him, Firefly herself would say he was also fatally flawed in many ways. That much like your Napoleon, he was too enamored of his intellect and vulnerable to overreach. That for all his brilliance he often relied too heavily on subterfuge and maneuver; that he made his designs too complicated and thus too vulnerable to discovery or disruption. That when faced with an opponent of equal skill who lacked his ego, he was found wanting.”

“Wind Whistler,” Twilight guessed. “Only the second pony you ever gave the rank of Sun Master to?”

“Correct, my student,” Celestia said with a smile. “And I must say... I do see something of her in you, Twilight.”

Twilight blinked. “You do?”

“Your brilliant mind, your drive for knowledge, and above all else, your devotion to your friends; your willingness to do anything for them. You have much in common, which is hardly surprising… given Wind Whistler is your direct ancestor!” she twinkled.

Twilight’s mouth fell open. “She… is?”

Music: Knowledge Exchanged

Celestia chuckled at her student’s shock. “Not surprising you were unaware. Her hallmark was always her humility, and she did not wish her line to be tainted by the high expectations of her name. At heart, she was but a simple scholar and craftspony, a mere maker of whistles and windchimes before the war, and after…? She returned to that life, perfectly content in it, forgoing all fame to run her shop and raise a family. Though she was called back to duty one final time when Dragon Lord Diabla threatened…” she remembered as she moved a Knight forward. “Check.”

Edgeworth frowned, clearly not used to playing an opponent his equal or better. “The amount of history you have lived through on both worlds is truly remarkable, Princess. I must say, I am impressed that you chose not to abandon us for all you must have seen, even from afar.” He moved his king out of danger, at least temporarily.

“So why did you stick with us, Princess?” As usual, Maya asked the question Twilight and Phoenix was afraid to.

“A valid question. And my answer is one of the greatest lessons I can ever teach you, Twilight,” she said as she again moved to bracket Edgeworth’s King. “That to be capable of great good is to be capable of equally great evil… and vice-versa. There are no exceptions to this. Good and evil are but two side of the same coin; you cannot have one without the other. It holds true for you and for me, for both Earth and Equis, for all individuals and nations regardless of their race or world.

“And that, Miles Edgeworth, is why I did not abandon humanity even for all the atrocities I saw.” She turned her attention back to him. “For even in the midst of such awful evil, the greatest of courage and compassion was also present, nations and peoples that rallied to the defense of others to defeat evil. Friendships were forged and the lessons of the war applied; I note with great satisfaction that thanks to the aid offered them afterwards, the aggressors have become thriving republics that are forces for good and respect the lives of all. And that is the lesson I much prefer to draw from the horrors of humanity’s previous century.”

“I see… so you had no role in the war at all?” Edgeworth tapped a finger on his arm.

“Not entirely…” Celestia said as she shifted a pawn forward; Twilight recognizing that she was closing in. “I took a page, as you say, from help we received many centuries ago during war with the Gryphons. A rather… reclusive race aided us by working in the shadows and passing us occasional information and intelligence that helped us win battles or uncover agents. So during the Second World War of Earth, we did the same. My agents aided the French resistance, we sheltered some war refugees and intelligence operatives in Equios, and we even played a role in the first British capture of an Enigma coding machine in 1941.”

“Truly?” Edgeworth was impressed. “That action alone may have saved Britain.”

“Britain saved itself,” Celestia said adamantly. “And in doing so, perhaps all of Europe.”

“I would argue to the contrary,” Edgeworth pointed out as he made another move. “Without the Enigma, Britain might well have been starved into surrender for not being able to sink the Bismarck or route convoys around U-Boat ambushes. It would also have made the Africa campaign against Rommel far more difficult, as they would not have been so readily able to find and attack his supply convoys and eventually starve his forces of fuel.”

A quick explanation of the Bismarck and U-Boat warfare was given for the benefit of the two Equestrian girls. Twilight staggered at the notion of both surface and submersible warships that could weigh tens of thousands of tons, while Vinyl seemed only slightly less stunned, pointing out that not even their own world’s maritime power, the Zebras, could make ships that large, making Phoenix take a mental note to take the pair to the Battleship USS Iowa Museum located on the Los Angeles waterfront at some point in the future.

“My role in the Enigma’s acquisition was minor, but I’ll accept the praise nonetheless,” Celestia replied, making another move of her own. “However, though your point is taken, Miles Edgeworth, I stand by my statement that England saved itself. Through the sinking of the Bismarck, through the valor of its pilots in the Battle of Britain, through the civilian flotilla that rescued its trapped soldiers at Dunkirk in the face of enemy air attacks, through the simple steadfastness of the average British subject under threat of invasion and the bombers raining ruin on their cities.

“Take away any of them or the stalwart leadership of Winston Churchill, and perhaps we would be having a much different conversation right now,” she said gravely, to which Edgeworth could only nod slowly in response.

“Then if you met Hitler, did you meet Churchill?” Edgeworth asked as he studied the board and frowned as found his options now severely curtailed.

“I regret I did not,” she replied. “Though I did meet his predecessor, Neville Chamberlain, during the Sudetenland crisis and thought him a foal of the first order for seeking to appease an aggressive power, having made the mistake on multiple occasions myself. Despite his promise of ‘peace in our time’, I believe that is when I knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that war was inevitable and began planning appropriately, making arrangements and forming our own intelligence networks to aid the Allies where we could. Our role was small, but I hope, did make some difference.

“Understand, however, that what we did was not without risk. Had our actions been discovered, retribution would have been swift and terrible despite our professed neutrality. Had Hitler decided to punish us, or his interest in the occult led him to investigate rumors of strange magic in our land, there was little we could have done except evacuate. Thankfully, it did not come to that… though we did participate in one combat action during the closing days of the war.”

“Oh?” Edgeworth and Phoenix asked at once.

“The final days of the Third Reich were… chaotic as the Allies closed in from all sides and Germany’s remaining soldiers became ever more desperate and fanatical in their actions, most notably the regime’s SS enforcers. Civilians fled their deprivations as well as the advancing Soviets and some found their way to us. But two days before surrender, an SS company invaded Equios intending to kill the refugees we were sheltering and was… dealt with,” was all she would say, then made her final move. “Checkmate.”

Edgeworth closed his eyes and nodded slowly, then reached for his king and gently tipped it over, saying words Phoenix never thought he would hear from his prosecutor friend. “I surrender, Princess,” he stood and bowed to her. “Your power is vast, and yet it is for your intellect that I must admire you most. You are truly a remarkable being, possessing wisdom and cunning far beyond even your many years.”

She stood and bowed back. “Thank you, Miles Edgeworth. But be under no illusions—that wisdom was hard-earned, and both Equestria and its Solar Princess had their own bitter lessons to learn. History is a harsh teacher, and woe to those who do not learn from it.”

Her words brought a moment of brooding to her assembled friends, each lost in their own thoughts until Maya finally spoke up. “You know, as interesting as all this was, it’s way too heavy. This is supposed to be a party! Let’s lighten up, people! I wanna hit the beach!”

That seemed to break the spell as Celestia nodded and smiled. “You’re absolutely right, Miss Maya. We are here to have fun, so let us leave such unhappy talk behind, and enjoy ourselves.” With that, she stood up, a wave of magic passed over her, and when it was finished, she was wearing a rather revealing swimsuit, enjoying the reactions of all present from Edgeworth’s squirm to Twilight’s blush. “What?” she asked her speechless audience in perfect innocence. “I said I had a swimsuit!’ she said as she strode through them all like she was modeling it, calling her towel to her as she headed downstairs.

“Well. With apologies, Princess, I believe I should be off,” Edgeworth said, coughing a bit to regain his composure before giving her another deep bow. “If you ever wish another rematch, Miss Sparkle, you know where to find me.” With that, he collected his briefcase and departed after saying his goodbyes. The rest of the group then headed downstairs piecemeal, following Celestia until only Maya and Vinyl remained, cleaning up some of the drinks and trays.

“So after hearing all that, you still wanna go through with what your sister plans, filly?” Vinyl couldn’t help but ask with a lopsided grin, already knowing the answer.

“Are you kidding? Now more than ever!” Maya grinned back as they finished cleaning up and went inside to change, both thinking that evening couldn’t come soon enough.

Author's Note

This was my favorite chapter for several reasons, not the least of which is it let me wax philosophical on my favorite periods of history and engage in a great deal of worldbuilding, showcasing Celly at her best. This is my version of her--A master chess player in every sense of the word, gently guiding things behind the scenes and in the process doing far more for both worlds than anyone realizes. She’s smart, she’s sexy, she knows who and what she is...

Or so she thinks. Even Celly can be humbled, and perhaps she even needs to be. Making the conclusion T-rated will be a bit of a trick, but I’ll do it.

33: Fun in the Sun

Author's Note

Welcome to the ending! But one more chapter remains after this. The M-rated version ended with plenty of fireworks and two additional chapters that will be skipped over here, but this chapter remains R-rated in places for suggestiveness, simply because there’s no other way for me to set the closing scene and engage in certain worldbuilding aspects without completely rewriting this.

Such as? A couple things to think about as you read this: what effects is constant exposure to Equestrian magic in general and Twilight’s magic in particular having on Phoenix other than what we've already seen? I'll give you a clue: there are two effects, and hints of both are shown here. Those two effects will become vital to him and his work heading into Trials and Tribulations, but for now... it's time for Mia's final plan to come together, and be assured there is method to her madness (and to mine!). You'll find out why she's doing what she's doing in the final chapter, but just roll with it for now.

There are also a pair of rib and chicken recipes in here; ones I use myself. Consider them a bonus!

33: Fun in the Sun

Music: Sunscreened

The chess match concluded, Edgeworth had barely (and somewhat hastily) departed before everyone split up to get dressed for the beach, stopped only at the door long enough for Phoenix to give him Rarity’s tea and handkerchief, as well as a sealed private note the fashionista had written.

Sure like to be a fly on the wall when THAT gets opened! Phoenix couldn’t help but grin as he saw his prosecutor friend off.

Ferro came up with the two girls from the pool, got them some snacks and soda, and then chatted with Phoenix as they ate before taking them outside again, this time to the ocean. No idea why his ex-wife divorced him, but he really is a fine father and good with kids… Phoenix noted, wondering idly what kind of dad he might make someday.

While they talked, Celestia, Twilight, Maya and Vinyl went into a side room to change, the latter pair carefully steering the former away from the second bedroom they’d stowed their earlier purchases in. Maya wasn’t sure why the sun princess was there given she was already dressed until she produced a large plastic bottle, materializing it with her magic. “Twilight and Ms. Scratch? You should both put this on.”

“What is it?” Twilight asked as the princess popped open the cap and her nose wrinkled slightly at the smell.

“Sunscreen,” she explained with a sly grin as her magic popped the bra clasp on Twilight’s and Vinyl’s swimsuit tops, causing the latter to blink in surprise and the former to involuntarily reach up to cover herself and keep her top on, leaving her reflecting how quickly she’d picked up human social mores. “Extended exposure to the sun on bare skin in this world can result in what humans call sunburn. This will guard against it for an hour or two,” she said as her aura began applying it rather liberally to the backs and bellies of her two Equestrian subjects, who both blushed and squirmed slightly from the cool gel and slightly tingling touch of the sun princess’ aura. “Arms, legs, and faces too. Would you like me to apply it you as well, Miss Maya?” she suggested in a hopeful air, the bottle hovering before her.

Maya blushed hard herself. “Uh… that’s okay, I’ll have V-Jay do it. But… what about you, Princess?” she asked in some surprise. “Don’t you need it too?”

“Not at all. I’m a solar-powered princess. Sunlight is what defines me,” she winked, clicking the lid closed and tossing the bottle to Maya. “But kindly do pass this to Ferro when you’re done so he can put more on Cyprey and Pearly as well. They’ve already been out for over an hour in the sun at the pool, after all.”

“Celestial Kryptonian origin confirmed…” Maya snickered to herself under her breath. “Will do! We’ll see you outside,” Maya agreed, then turned to Vinyl after the sun princess and Twilight had departed, the latter still looking flushed. “She is so asking for it…” the young mystic noted to her friend, hoping her sister was watching from the hereafter. That’s one more sin for the Princess to answer for, sis!

“She really is…” Vinyl smirked as she rubbed the remainder into her arms than began applying it to Maya’s back. “Can’t say I mind, though… so why didn’t you take her offer to put it on?”

“Let’s just say I don’t want to spoil my appetite or sis’s. And besides...” Maya trailed off meaningfully as she reached in to kiss Vinyl deeply, pressing the bottle into her hand. “Think I’d rather have you do it…”

“Okay, but only ‘cause you asked so nicely, filly…” a suddenly breathless Vinyl replied, fulfilling Maya’s request quite happily.

* * * * *

It was another ten minutes before the pair finally emerged to find Phoenix alone in the kitchen, handling the cooking chores. As Maya watched, he dried his hands with a paper towel and then crumpled it, tossing it over his right shoulder where it landed neatly in the trash can at the end of the counter.

Whoa… usually, he misses when he tries! the young mystic idly noted, thinking that he’d seemed far more sure of himself recently, ever since he’d started getting serious with Sparkle. “Hey, the beach is calling! You coming, Nick?” Maya called to her, taking some pains to model her new swimsuit for him. She’d chosen a two-piece, to Phoenix’s surprise, one that matched her usual kimono colors.

She really IS acting a lot more adult now! “Yeah, but... let me make sure the meat’s on first,” he told her, trying not to blush, finding himself with a new appreciation for his longtime assistant after the past few days. Don’t quite know what the Elements of Harmony did to her, but ever since she seems less a child than a woman... “Ribs have to cook for four hours at 250, then finish on the grill—I’ll assume you’ll want that job, Maya?—and I’ll need to come back up in three hours to put the chicken in and make the barbecue sauce,” he said as he made an aluminum foil tent over the ribs before putting them in.

“You bet I do!” Maya said eagerly, never missing an opportunity to grill meat, even if it wasn’t the steaks or burgers she usually preferred.

“Four hours, huh?” Vinyl arched an eyebrow behind her shades, wearing a magenta two-piece of her own and shorts over top, noting the mingled smells of marinating meat and cooking spices were pleasing to her human palate. “Eh, that ain’t so bad. Sometimes the griffies’ll cook a flying boar for half a day. Meat gets so tender even a pony’ll like it. They aren’t that big on sauce or spices, though...”

“Too bad, ‘cause Nick’s BBQ sauce is something else! But wait… you’ve had meat as a pony then before here?” Maya asked the question that Phoenix immediately wanted to.

“Oh yeah! Like I said, I’ve been to the Kingdom to DJ parties for them and they don’t respect ya unless you’re willing to partake. So I learned to,” she said as she asked for and Phoenix flipped her a beer, landing it perfectly in her grip, surprising Maya again with the perfect toss that even put the can upright in Vinyl’s hand. “Let’s see… I, uh, do this, right?” She popped the tab with a finger on the second try, producing an immediate release of carbonation. “Not bad…” she said as she took a long draw on the drink.

“Sure you don’t want one, Maya? I won’t tell Edgeworth!” Phoenix smirked, waving a can at her. “Just don’t take it outside!”

“Naughty, Nick!” she waggled a finger at him. “I bet you’re just trying to get me all drunk and suggestible!”

“Oh, like you need any help for that now!” Vinyl gave her a playful swat, to which Phoenix could only laugh.

Maya’s grin only got more lopsided. “You know, maybe you’re right, V-J! And after all, Nick’s been doing nothing but ogling us both since we came in! So how ‘bout it Nick? Wanna peek?” she leaned over slightly and her hand went to her top as if to pull it down.

Phoenix couldn’t help but squirm a bit at that. Tease me at your peril, Maya! “That depends. Are you offering?” he rejoined, trying to not look too interested even as part of him was strongly hoping she would and immediately started fantasizing about it, mentally urging her top off.

But to little surprise, she was only teasing, laughing as she withdrew her fingers and stood back up. “Sorry, not today, Nick! Guess you’ll just have to wait until—” her top abruptly popped off as she leaned back against the high counter and the edge caught the clasp of her swimsuit bra just right, sending it fluttering to the ground.

“Eep!” her hands went instantly to cover herself, eyes wide, giving a surprised Phoenix a brief but tantalizing eyeful.

“Smooth, fillyfriend…” Vinyl laughed in great satisfaction, letting her suffer for a moment before picking up her top. “Serves you right,” she added as she refastened it with a sorely embarrassed Maya looking away, leaving Phoenix wondering if the humanized unicorn mare somehow caused it with her magic.

Not that I’m complaining! He smirked, then frowned slightly. But still, it’s weird, though. I didn’t see Vinyl’s horn or aura, and from what Twilight said she can’t use magic here without music… he mused as the two departed and he put the rib rack in the oven before heading out to join his human and Equestrian friends on the beach.

Music: Good Times

Phoenix had been big on the beach as kid, but not so much as an adult.

Still, there were times he could remember the love his child self had for his family’s forays to the LA waterfront and sometimes points further south, and being able to introduce Twilight to the joys of the water was one of them. He was shocked to learn that for all her travels Twilight had never been in an ocean, only seen it, so he took her in quickly, Maya dragging Vinyl along as well.

The two Equestrian girls were surprised by how cool the water was even on a warm day, which resulted in an explanation to Twilight of oceanic currents and how the world’s rotation and shapes of the oceans affected them. But Twilight simply tapped her inner fire to stay warm in the water and to his surprise, Phoenix found he wasn’t bad off either, staying in the better part of an hour even though he normally couldn’t tolerate more than about half that before getting chilled, teaching Twilight how to body-surf the swells. Maya did the same for Vinyl, the former quite used to cold water given part of her training involved meditating under waterfalls.

Celestia joined them for a while, looking like she was enjoying herself immensely as she dove into and out of the waves, but for the most part, she spent the bulk of her time with Ferro and the two girls, helping them play and even build sand castles, later taking a walk in the sand with her human stallion as Phoenix and Twilight took over watching Pearl and Cypreus for them. Celestia’s large size garnered considerable attention, even being recognized by a pair of young beachgoers who came up to her and asked her somewhat excitedly if she was ‘that beautiful princess with an angel’s voice’ from the previous night’s concert.

At her confirmation, they asked for her autograph, saying they had never been so moved by a song. Gratified, she granted their request and promised she would one day return for an encore. “Oh, and… how’d you do that thing with your hair?” they asked her, making Ferro smile as he remembered that she’d let her hair revert to its normal multi-colored flowing state during the song, assuming that everyone would believe it was just another of the concert’s special effects.

“Magic,” she replied with a coy grin, inviting them both to visit Equios someday. “Consider this an open invitation from the heir to the Equios throne. If you enjoy music and traveling, such a fine and worldly young couple as yourself should find much of interest there…”

* * * * *

Three hours on the beach passed surprisingly quickly, to the point that Phoenix realized he was going to be late getting dinner ready, rushing back up to the Villa while telling Twilight to continue enjoying herself. To his relief, all was well in the kitchen, the ribs coming along nicely by the smell, and he started immediately on getting the chicken ready to bake, reducing the same teriyaki sauce he had marinated it in on the stovetop:

1 cup soy sauce
1 cup sugar
½ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp ginger
1 tbsp garlic powder

Once it was reduced by a third, he added a tablespoon of cornstarch dissolved in a small amount of water and the sauce thickened instantly, leaving it suitable for basting. He wasted no time after that, brushing the chicken quarters with it and then putting it in the second oven, where it would stay for the next hour at 375 to be turned over and re-basted once.

With that, he lit the burners on the decktop grill—it even caught on the first try, which hardly ever seemed to happen for him—and then went back inside to start the barbecue sauce simmering, a tried-and-true recipe he’d used in the past on the rare occasions he’d convinced Maya to let him cook something other than beef:

1 cup ketchup
1 cup chili sauce
½ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp bbq spice mix
Dash of hot sauce

It was a good, tangy recipe and he enjoyed making it, but, spotting the keg of Applejack’s ‘special reserve’ cider Maya had brought over, he decided he’d pay the country mare homage by using some of her cider in the sauce as well. He changed the vinegar to rice wine and threw in half a cup of the cider after it, which he then sipped and confirmed was the best he’d ever tasted, feeling an odd glow wash over him for it. Huh. That almost seems familiar… he idly noted, but shrugged and continued his work, getting the barbecue sauce burbling.

Six o’clock rolled around, and everyone started filtering back in, Pearls and Cyprey looking ready to sleep and an afternoon in the sun and even Vinyl and Maya looking tired but happy, all eager for food. “Grill is yours, Maya!” he told her as he took the ribs out of the oven and opened the aluminum foil tent he’d erected around it to reveal… very tender ribs, the meat all but falling off the bone, the happy sight and smells eliciting equally happy sounds from all...

Though it was only after he’d transferred the two racks to a separate plate that he realized he’d never put on oven mitts to handle them yet his hands didn’t feel burned in the least.

Though odd, he decided he was enjoying himself too much and he’d wonder about it another time. Just two minutes later, the ribs were brushed with barbecue sauce and hit the grill with a sizzle. As they were already cooked, the objective was nothing more than to sear the outside to seal the juices while also searing on the barbecue sauce in the process, though he did keep a few ribs plain for Cyprey at Ferro’s request. The chicken came out of the oven shortly thereafter perfectly cooked, and Phoenix allowed it to sit while he readied Pearl’s dinner, who was coming back from upstairs with Cyprey after a quick and needed nap.

Like most members of the Kurain tradition aside from Maya remained, Pearl was a vegetarian, so Phoenix prepared her some plain pasta and watermelon slices as well as some cut up carrot sticks and celery with some ranch dressing, giving her also a small pile of corn chips, a cup of milk and a glass of the grape soda she loved so much.

She may not have acquired Maya’s meat-eating habits yet, but she has started to enjoy junk food! Phoenix somewhat ruefully noted as she happily munched on the chips, sharing a few with Cyprey as she did so.

In the end, they all ate out on the deck as the sun started to go down over the Pacific, the adults (excepting Ferro, who had to drive) indulging in a mug or two from Applejack’s cider keg—“Wow, this is really good!” Twilight said as she sipped it and licked her lips, noting she’d never had the Apple family’s special reserve cider, only their regular kind—and after two cups, everyone was feeling quite mellow, even the Sun Princess, who finished off half a rib rack and two chicken quarters all by herself, licking her fingers quite happily.

“My compliments, Phoenix Wright,” she gave him a short bow. “Your recipes are simple but superb. I may have to bring you to Equestria again just to have you teach my chefs proper human cooking, as their last effort went rather… poorly…” she chuckled softly to herself.

“I’ll bring him there anytime, Princess! That was delicious!” Twilight immediately piped up, slipping her arm instead of Phoenix’s, who patted it in turn and kissed her. It was nearly eight and another round of drinks later when Ferro took his leave and kissed Celestia goodbye, saying he had to get Cyprey home. Sorry, Princess, but I’m back to work tomorrow and it’s a school night as well!”

“Aw!” Cyprey pouted, asking if Pearly could stay the night again, both Phoenix and Maya mentally urging Ferro to say yes. Even if Pearls is okay with us now, I’m not sure I want her around considering what may happen with me and Twilight… he had a sudden nightmare of her bursting in on them.

“For you, sweetheart? Anything,” he hugged and kissed Cyprey on the head, and then extended the offer to Pearly, who only too eagerly accepted, hugging everyone goodbye. Somewhat reluctantly, Celestia got up to go with him to Maya and Vinyl’s brief consternation, but Ferro had it covered. “No, Sunshine,” he told her, holding up a halting hand. “This is your last night of vacation, so you stay right here and enjoy yourself. There’s still a hot tub to hit, remember?” he reminded her with a grin, then turned and gave Maya a quick wink, who blushed.

“Oh…” Celestia felt equal parts crestfallen and hopeful, her mind going in some surprising directions even for her as she downed her fourth mug of cider. “If you insist, my wonderful prince, but…” she went to him and gave him a kiss that took his breath away and put her arms around him, causing Twilight to blush and Pearl, budding romantic that she was, to giggle in delight. “Please come by tomorrow before I must depart?”

“Now don’t you worry about that, Tia. I’ll stop by tomorrow morning before work and after I drop Cyprey off at school to see you off. And I trust you all to take good care of her?” he gave Maya a knowing look, who gave him a nod and wink back, just relieved he was okay with what they planned.

Wonder what sis promised him…? she wondered as Celestia hugged Cyprey and Pearl goodbye and Vinyl nudged her beneath the table they were sitting at, then rested a hand on her upper leg and squeezed it.

“Getting about time, fillyfriend,” she noted, both girls feeling their excitement starting to rise, helped along by the alcohol. Gotta say, this ‘special reserve’ cider of AJ’s is really something else...

“Yeah, it is…” Maya felt her own heart start to race slightly; she’d just had a couple cups of the cider herself at Vinyl’s insistence but either due to her smaller size and less experience with alcohol, it was affecting her more than she thought it should. I don’t feel drunk exactly, just… she didn’t know how to quantify it, only that her thoughts and desires suddenly seemed to be flowing far more freely. “So, gang, how about we clean up and head over to that hot tub…?” she said as easily as he could.

“Sounds like a plan to me, Miss Maya!” Celestia replied, her magic immediately picking up all the outside dishes at once and piling them into the kitchen sink for cleaning.

Music: The Calm...

With everyone pitching in, they made good time cleaning up the villa after that.

Phoenix was amazed at how eager Maya seemed to help him clean up the kitchen, scrubbing larger dishes in the sink’s large basin beside him while loading the smaller ones into the dishwasher. Usually I have to bribe her with burgers before she’ll clean up the office kitchenette or the one at my apartment when she stays over during cases… then again, maybe she’s got ulterior motives this time! he chuckled, noting she was helping him from just to his left while wearing her swimsuit, seemingly offering him endless opportunities to ogle her—opportunities he was increasingly hard pressed not to avail himself of, liking this new, more mature version of Maya almost in spite of himself.

Not to be outdone, a slightly tipsy Twilight did the same from the opposite side of him as she took the drying duties, using a simple application of her fire magic to heat the air to speed her effort and then using her aura to pile them back into their cupboards. Noting Maya’s efforts to draw Phoenix’ attention, she countered by showing off her own considerably more mature curves to him, making Maya at least slightly fume and Phoenix reflecting that at this rate and the amount of alcohol in his own system, it was getting harder and harder to resist the temptation to keep his eyes off either of them!

In fact, surrounded by no less than four attractive females, and Applejack’s cider going to work on him—he’d’ve wondered what was in it to be affecting like this but was enjoying himself far too much to care—his mind couldn’t help but wander in various heady directions as, after some mock argument between Maya and Twilight about who held Phoenix’s attention, Maya playfully snapped her dish towel at Twilight’s flank, who retaliated by doing the same back with her magic. And when a smirking Phoenix told them not to hold back on his account, they simply did it to him as one and Maya then threw her dishcloth in his face, leaving him uncertain which was actually worse—the pair fighting, or cooperating!

Despite various interruptions and temptations, they made good time as Vinyl and Celestia cleaned up spills and empty cans and bottles from outside, the latter knowing to save them for recycling; Phoenix noting the sun princess had probably gone through at least a quarter of the case of Blue Moon herself in the course of the afternoon and Vinyl hadn’t been far behind. After they were done, a rose-cheeked Celestia came back into the kitchen to announce she and Vinyl were heading upstairs for the private hot tub and inviting the rest of them to “join them at their leisure,” drawing and downing another mug of cider before putting the empty glass on the countertop, noticing but not particularly caring about the pinkish haze the cider increasingly seemed to cast on her vision…

Nor about the thoughts that were running increasingly unbidden through her head, one of which she couldn’t help but indulge. “Do come soon, Phoenix Wright, Miss Maya and my student,” she told them, approaching to stand close behind Phoenix, surprising him by pushing her chest into the back of his head and then removing the tops of two girls flanking him with her magic, instantly exposing them.

“Princess!” They both squealed and immediately moved to cover themselves as Phoenix’s cheeks went flushed, suddenly keenly aware of the Celestia’s presence, even through the thin fabric of her swimsuit top… which was then left on his head as she abruptly turned on her heel and departed, walking off topless. By the time they turned around, the only thing visible was her retreating back and a stunned-looking Vinyl Scratch, who could see the sun princess from the front and had flicked up her magenta shades to stare before Celestia gave her the same treatment, magically removing the DJ’s top a half-second before putting a hand on her shoulder and teleporting away with her subject in a flash of flight, leaving the threesome is the kitchen scrambling.

“What’s gotten into her?” a flushed but slightly swaying Phoenix asked. My wish... came... TRUE!?

“She’s really in rare form…” Twilight granted as she pulled on a t-shirt tossed her by Maya. What’s gotten into ALL of us? she half-wondered, realizing she not only didn’t mind Celestia’s actions that much, but she was getting rather excited herself, her aura threatening to go pink at any time but having just enough restraint to not let it happen around Maya again.

“Just hope you’re happy, Nick!” Maya said in only mild disgust, her own excitement skyrocketing as she sensed the long-awaited moment approach. That’s IT! Celly is SO gonna get it! she decided as she hurriedly pulled on a shirt to replace her own purloined top. Just sorry I won’t be able to WATCH!

Fifteen minutes later, they’d finished the clean-up, the kitchen pristine and the shelves restocked. They left the dishwasher running as they readied to head upstairs themselves, though Phoenix did admit to some mild worry about being in the Celestia’s presence.

“Uh… is really safe for us to be near her right now?” he asked Twilight, the image of sun princess walking away topless and giving him that look all but ensconced in his mind.

“What’s the matter, Nick? Afraid she’ll take off our tops again?” Maya teased, pouring them another round of the cider in plastic cups.

Twilight giggled at his squirming reaction to the suggestion. “I think it’s okay, Phoenix. She’s playful, but she’s not dangerous… wouldn’t have said so when I first got here, but now I think I like this side of her…” she said, entertaining not-so-idle fantasies of being with her mentor as a human again. She said no before… has she changed her mind…? she barely dared hope, her aura flashing pink for a half second when Maya and Phoenix weren’t looking.

“You do?” Phoenix’s grin turned lopsided and whatever doubts he had started to dissipate behind a veil of increasingly insistent fantasies and another cup of cider Maya passed him and Twilight. Well, I guess I can’t begrudge a two-millennia old demigoddess her down time, right? he thought as he downed the cup, noting a pinkish hue starting to creep in along the edges of his vision.

Huh? Why does that effect seem familiar…? he only half-wondered, then shrugged and grabbed his towel before following the girls upstairs.

Music: The Night Begins

The villa’s large hot tub lay on the second floor deck, giving them excellent views of the Pacific and at that hour, the setting sun; Phoenix had noted before that it was also quite private, with the deck walls blocking view from the other units.

Twilight had been impressed by it as well when Phoenix demonstrated its various water jet functions, calling it a ‘mini spa’ and saying she had no doubt Rarity would love to have one of them for herself. He’d entertained fantasies of making love to her in it during the evening—something he had no doubt other renters sometimes did, especially given some of the noises they’d heard from next door the previous night—though he and Twilight yet hadn’t been able to avail themselves of it for everything else that had been going on.

He half-worried (hoped?) that Celestia and Vinyl would be sitting it in topless, but ever the tease, the sun-princess had replaced her own top even as she kept the others in a pile beside her, dangling them in front of their owners as they emerged on the deck before simply making them disappear, sending them with her magic back to her still-reserved penthouse suite at the Gatewater and taking a sultry but satisfied tone as she let them know where they were.

“That’s not fair, princess!” Twilight mock-pouted, wondering if her magic was strong enough to do the same to Celestia, only to find that despite her inebriation, her mentor had already guarded against it with a magical ward.

“All’s fair in love and leadership, my student,” she winked as she sensed and deflected Twilight’s magical probe.

Sure hope you’re watching this, sis! Maya grinned as she slipped into the water wearing just her swimsuit bottom and t-shirt top, getting an amused sense back that said she indeed was. We’re almost set! She added with her thoughts even as she found the temperature of the hot tub a bit too tepid for her tastes and said so.

“Too cool? This from the girl who likes meditating under cold waterfalls?” Phoenix smirked as he slipped his own foot in and realized she was right.

“Not warm enough? Easily rectified,” Celestia announced and tapped her power to raise the temperature of the water several degrees, the water burbling up with added heat around her for a few moments. “Better?” she asked, looking very relaxed and happy.

“Perfect,” Maya granted as she got in fully, the shirt quickly becoming cloying and revealing plenty of skin as she settled in between Nick and Vinyl, the latter of whom gave her a grin and wink.

“This is the life,” Vinyl Scratch granted, her shades off as she slipped an arm around Maya, who snuggled close. “Ya know, I’m gonna have to talk to my agent and maybe Delta’s to see if I can start going on tour here like she does. Think that’d be okay, Princess?”

“Oh! Can she?” Maya asked excitedly.

Celestia chuckled, the rosy glow on her cheeks growing only more intense, though Phoenix was given cause to wonder whether it was the temperature of the water or her latest glass of cider. “Though I admit I have not truly heard you perform, Vinyl Scratch, I would have no objection. It’s clear you have taken to this world and your human form quite well,” she noted appreciatively, making the water bubble up around the pony DJ. “To say nothing of your human lover, whom I would not dream of keeping you from any more than my student’s. But let us not speak of such things right now. We are here to relax, so feel free to let down your hair fully, Mister Wright and my student,” she told them both, letting her blonde hair revert to its usual pastel-hued flowing state for emphasis. It is just us and a wonderful evening to end a wonderful week.” She nodded out over the scenic Pacific, where the sun was now orange and not far above the horizon.

“It wasn’t all wonderful…” Twilight had to say as she likewise snuggled up with Phoenix. “I mean, there was that little Nightmare thing…” she couldn’t help but shiver, Phoenix immediately pulling her close as he, too remembered how close he’d come to losing her.

Or being turned into The Nightmare’s slave… He had no idea what the ancient dream demon had planned for him, but he remembered well her looking upon him as little more than a piece of meat she could mold for her pleasure.

Celestia’s eyes turned compassionate. “Be at ease, my student,” she immediately offered. “The struggle was terrible, but in the end, you defeated a demon not even my sister could and turned what might have been tragedy into triumph. You all did,” she nodded to each in turn. “The Nightmare is now slain, and for it, not just one but two new relationships now blossom and will help bring our worlds closer together. As you say, Miss Maya, a triple play. Though I admit I did not foresee you and Ms. Scratch becoming a couple as I sensed my student and Phoenix Wright would...” she gave the former pair a wink and nod. “But so much the better, I believe you will both agree.”

Maya’s desire to take revenge on the sun princess wavered for a moment, the young mystic reminding herself of all Celestia had done for her when she needed help the most. But it isn’t just revenge, it’s reward as well… so, is it almost time, sis…? she asked the ether, and smiled at the answer she got back.

Unaware of Maya’s thoughts, Celestia materialized the now half-empty cider keg on the deck beside her and poured herself yet another cup, immediately drinking it. “You really must give my compliments to Miss Applejack for this superb cider, my student…” she added. “I believe I much prefer it to the overwrought wines I am usually served at supper.”

“Be my pleasure, Princess,” Twilight promised, her magic pouring cups for her and Phoenix, the latter eagerly accepting and downing half in one draw, feeling ever more at ease for it. “And I’m sure she’d be happy to give you some!”

“Think I’m gonna have to ask her for more myself,” Phoenix admitted, a strangely compelling picture of the country mare without her hat or ribbons suddenly appearing in his head. She’d be SO sexy like that… he couldn’t help but think. He might have wondered where the thought came from, but like all other concerns at that moment, didn’t much care. Never tasted any cider as good as this… he noted again, the flavor just the right balance of tartness and crispness, the fermentation subtle but there. Along with something else I can’t quite figure… he licked his lips as he finished off the cup, the pinkish haze around his vision growing, seemingly sharpening his senses even as they slowed his wits, casting a warm and pleasant glow over everything, letting him feel every single bubble in the water, every nuance of the cool breeze on his face. Whoa. Haven’t felt like this since…

The thought was strangely elusive and cut off by Maya. “Ya know, Princess, I’ve got just enough alcohol in me right now that there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you…” she spoke up, an odd smile on her face.

Celestia turned her eyes on Maya, letting them rove over her young body for a moment. “And that is…?”

“Well, back when I was hit by Sparkle’s magic and so horny I couldn’t sleep or think straight… did you wanna do me yourself before you called in V-Jay?” she asked with a lopsided grin.

“Maya!” Twilight and Phoenix shouted, the former in alarm and the latter less for that than for the lurid image.

For all the cider and other alcohol in her system, Celestia had just enough shame left to blush. “Would you forgive me, Miss Maya, if I said yes?” she closed her eyes and admitted. “I fear that young mares such as yourself are… something of a weakness of mine. One that has gotten me in trouble in the past,” she said with a slightly apologetic glance at Twilight, who smiled. “That said, had we not been able to summon Ms. Scratch in sufficient time, I was going to ask your sister for permission to... take care of you myself,” she said in a tone almost approaching regret.

Far from appalled, Maya smiled like she’d been flattered. “I see. Well in that case, Princess…” She then glanced at Vinyl, who grinned and nodded, removing her arm from around the young mystic’s shoulders and shifting slightly away from her, lounging back like she was awaiting the show to come. “I think sis would like to have a word with you right now!” Maya said in great glee, then closed her eyes and grasped her Magatama, which glowed brightly for a moment as she pulled on its power.

And within seconds, where Maya Fey once was, Mia Fey now sat, her body filling out Maya’s too-small shirt quite impressively.

Music: Angelic Arrival

“Ch… chief?” Phoenix recognized in surprise, never more appreciating his mentor’s curves before that moment. Wow. She’s… beautiful... how did I never notice her before? he wondered again.

“Mia… Fey?” Celestia was no less surprised or enticed by her appearance, feeling her fantasies for the human woman start anew.

“Hello, Tia…” Mia addressed her informally, a tone in her voice Phoenix could never remember hearing before—something he could only describe as both teasing and accusing. “Hello, all of you.” She greeted all of them, giving Phoenix a wink.

“Uh… hey, Chief. What brings you here now?” Phoenix tried to ask with an ease he wasn’t feeling, unable to keep his eyes off her as she lounged back in the water between him and Vinyl, seemingly inviting their gazes on her… though she herself only seemed to have eyes for Celestia at that moment.

“Nothing earth-shaking, really. I just wanted to pass along some news. As it turns out, I’ve been promoted,” she announced. “For defeating the Nightmare and preventing her possession of Twilight, I’ve been elevated to the lower ranks of the archangels.” She closed her eyes and grinned.

“You mean the warrior choir of angels?” Phoenix offered, remembering the term from old Sunday School classes. “Congratulations, chief!”

“Sounds well-earned, sister!” Vinyl grinned. “So what exactly does that mean?”

Mia grinned, turning her eyes back on Celestia. “It means that along with additional power, I gain additional responsibility to protect the innocent… reward the worthy… and punish the wicked,” she said meaningfully, her eyes locked on Celestia again. “And as it happens, sometimes all of those duties coincide.”

“Coincide…?” Phoenix wasn’t sure what to make of his mentor’s coyness or fixation on the sun princess.

“Indeed,” Mia said in a tone both grave and gleeful, closing her eyes for a moment as if in lazy anticipation. “As you may recall, I visited the pony Summerlands after the trial. And while there, I learned some very… interesting things about Tia, here...”

That got everyone’s immediate attention. “Oh…?” Celestia wasn’t sure why she suddenly felt strangely nervous, sensing a strong power around the channeled spirit that hadn’t been there before.

“Indeed,” Mia said almost gravely, though her eyes never lost their twinkle. “I spoke to spirits spanning your entire lifetime, Tia…” she trailed off meaningfully, the sly smile on her face growing. “To all your past students from Guiding Light to Silver Sentinel. To all your past servants from Indigo Ink to North Star. Even to all your past lovers from Desert Wind to the mighty Ironmane…” she recited, Celestia’s eyes growing wider with each name spoken in turn. “They all had many stories to tell about you, sun princess. And among other things, it turns out you had quite the lustful phase for a century or more in there. One where nothing and nopony was off-limits to you…” she said almost ominously, her head lowering and eyes taking on a new gleam. “Such depravity and so much innocence taken. So many sins you never answered for…”

“I am… no longer that pony, Mia Fey…” Celestia said in a slightly shaky voice, some part of her already guessing what was about to happen.

“Really?” Mia asked almost rhetorically, taking pains to look around the tub at her fellow females, all in a state of undress, causing all but Vinyl to blush, the latter just wearing a smirk and looking she was very much enjoying the scene. “I think not, sun princess. I think that part of you is still very much present,” she announced with an air of readying divine judgment, one Phoenix suddenly had no problem believing she was fully capable of passing.

Mia then sat up taller, moving fractionally closer to the ageless alicorn. “Even now, I know what immoral acts you contemplate. For I can see into your very soul and it is clear you have designs on not just my sister, but all here!” the wind picked up and her voice grew more imperious as she spoke, and yet somehow, her smile never left her face. “You even lust after me, an ascended spirit, proving your wickedness has no limits; that you seek to corrupt your student, your subject, my protege and even my own sister into your pleasures of the flesh! Do you deny it?” she pointed an accusing finger at Celestia, whose cheeks were starting to turn from warm to hot.

“I…” it had been ages since anyone had spoken to Celestia in such a manner and to her shock, she realized she was getting sorely turned on by it, each accusation only spurring new fantasies, each more vivid than the last, her mating aura threatening to activate despite her faltering efforts to restrain it. “I…”

“Chief…?” Phoenix asked tentatively, uncertain what was happening even as Twilight likewise sensed a powerful force growing within Mia, unable to categorize it but listening intently as the angel’s words, the fantasies having an effect on her as well.

Then the princess... really DOES want me…? she still barely dared hope.

Mia didn’t acknowledge him, abruptly pulling back. “But perhaps I misjudge you, Sun Princess. Perhaps, as you claim, you are not the same pony you once were. So I will give you one final chance to prove yourself. Let us see if you can, in fact, resist temptation…” she suggested, then stood up in the water...

And suddenly unfurled a pair of large angel wings from her back, flaring them forth as her eyes glowed a cool blue.

“Holy…” was all Phoenix could say as a strong wind came up, blowing Mia’s hair upwards as she took flight upon her wings, hovering in front of and above Celestia, showing her full angelic power and beauty, her already superb physique enhanced and idealized even more for it. He couldn’t take her eyes off her and neither could Twilight or Tia, the former awestruck and the latter…

“I…” Celestia couldn’t stop staring, every one of her buttons pushed at once as she beheld the immortal angel before her. Her beautiful body. Her incredible power. Her stern words...

Her threatening punishment…

Her will weakened and her excitement surging, she held it back with all her faltering will, but in the end, with the picture of power and female perfection before her, the sun princess’s greatest and most unrealized desire could not be denied… “I… I…” she stammered, and finally…

Her mating aura ignited, bathing them all in its glow.

“I thought as much…” Mia smiled even as she raised her hand like she was preparing to smite the sun princess as her voice suddenly began booming out. “The judgement of all heavens is upon thee, Celestia Daybringer! For far too long thou hast let thy lust go unpunished! And thou shalt now answer for thy many sins!” she thundered, and at that moment, Phoenix wasn’t sure whether to be very excited…

Or very afraid.

Music: “Wish I had an Angel” by Nightwish

34: All Good Things

The final chapter is once again R-rated for suggestiveness and implied action in a couple places. Nothing explicit, though. —Firesight

Music: Awakenings

Phoenix awoke to the sound of clanging dishes and the smell of vanilla pancake batter.

He opened his eyes only to find the morning light painful, his head throbbing and mouth very dry. He groaned and tried to sit up only to fall back down onto his pillow, finding himself on the rug in front of the living room mirror with an equine Twilight snuggled up to him, her head on his chest and horn in his face. She stirred briefly at his movement but did not awaken from her slumber.

“What… where…?” was all he could manage at first, feeling exhausted and dehydrated. He tried again to look around but was unable to see much more than a hazy blur at first, though there was movement in the kitchen; he had the impression of a second, larger and lighter-colored head turning to face him.

“Awake, Phoenix Wright?” Celestia’s voice called out from the kitchen. “I advise you to lie there for a bit longer and not try to move right away.”

“Mmmmm… pancakes…” Twilight’s nose twitched appreciatively. She tried to raise her head only for it to fall back down against Phoenix’s chest. “I feel so… tired…” she managed, unable to remember the last time he felt so spent and not certain why her thoughts and memories felt so scattered, unable to immediately recall what had happened.

“That is… unsurprising,” Celestia’s voice answered carefully as there was a sound of liquid being poured into glasses. “I fear you are both suffering from magical withdrawal and exhaustion in addition to a severe hangover. And for that reason, I feel it inadvisable to use more magic on you.” There was a clopping sound that announced her approach. “I’m afraid the best I can offer you for both the dehydration and pain are this world’s remedies—a sports drink and aspirin,” she said as she magically helped them into a sitting position and then floated a full glass of orange liquid to them. “Drink it slowly, my student, and this may help as well.” She passed them a pair of cool compresses next, pressing it against their foreheads.

Phoenix managed a few swallows plus the two pills before he had to lie back down, letting the sweet liquid absorb into his pasty mouth. “Thanks…” He offered weakly while he held a compress against his head with one hand and Twilight’s with another, then looked up at Celestia, belatedly realizing she was in her alicorn form as her image at least partially resolved to his bleary eyes. He dabbed at his crusty eyes to clear them, and finally saw her fully, staring down at them with some concern.

The sight of her jogged his memory and his brow furrowed as stray thoughts and images began to surface around the edges of his still-sluggish wits. “Princess? Last night… did we…?” He was afraid to voice the rest.

Her blush answered for her. “We did,” she admitted, knowing she could not hide it from him, unable to meet his eyes. “And if you do not remember the particulars, I would greatly prefer not to tell you.”

Phoenix wasn’t sure he wanted to know at that moment, either. “You don’t have to. But… why can’t I remember…?” He felt like he did after the party in Equestria, like the more he grasped at his own memories they more they slipped away. All he could recall was the hot tub, Mia’s appearance, and then…

“Because of this.” Celestia summoned Applejack’s empty keg, which appeared before them with a flare of her horn. “After I woke up this morning, I magically tested what little was left and found this ‘special reserve’ cider was made from zap apples, and thus infused with a great deal of Everfree Forest magic. It explains much.” She looked away in some shame.

“So it was the party punch all over again…” Twilight realized with a groan. “Zap Apples are a very potent magical catalyst and mood-altering fruit. Its effects are to sharpen senses even as it reduces inhibition and ruins short-term memory, exposing and enhancing a pony’s innermost powers, thoughts, and desires,” she recited despite her barely ebbing pain. “And for the amount we all had…”

“You are correct, my student. Its effects on ponies are notorious for that reason and it is considered a controlled substance in Equestria. And judging by last night, it would appear... to be equally effective on humans as well.” She gave Phoenix a furtive glance, blushing harder when she realized he was giving her the same look back. “For the amount we all had, it is a wonder we have any memories of last night left at all.”

“I remember Trixie saying that about zap apples in Twilight’s trial…” Despite his exhaustion, Phoenix couldn’t help but feel a twinge of remembered desire as another stray memory rose up. “Then how did Twilight and I end up down here…?” he asked as he tried to sit up again.

Music: Pieces of the Puzzle

Celestia hesitated again. “I’m afraid I do not know, Phoenix Wright. I found you like this when I woke up this morning and came downstairs. All three of you were…” she caught herself too late.

“Three?” Phoenix and Twilight asked instantly, to which Celestia closed her eyes tightly for a moment, then told them the truth.

“The two of you… and Vinyl Scratch... were cuddled up in front of the mirror,” she informed them, causing their eyes to go wide. “I rousted Ms. Scratch and asked her to attend young Maya, then put the blanket over you both.”

Me with Twilight… AND Vinyl…? Phoenix would have clutched his head if it didn’t hurt so much. Gods… what did we do? And how is ANYTHING going to be the same now? He ruefully realized that he’d been asking that question an awful lot of late, but had little time to consider it before the sound of a toilet flushing caused their heads to whip around.

“And don’t forget me, Feenie!” Of all the sights the three were prepared to see at the moment, an eager and energetic Pinkie Pie bounding out of the downstairs bathroom was not on the list! “Hey, Twilight! Oh, hi Princess! Wow, that’s a neat new look! Sorry, I was sleeping in the tub! Gotta say, those toilets are just a little awkward for ponies to use, too!”

“Pinkie Pie?” Twilight’s jaw fell open while Celestia was scarcely less stunned.

“How could you be…?” Phoenix asked, not knowing why the sight of her suddenly caused him to break out in goosebumps.

“You don’t remember?” Her expression dropped, then lit up again almost instantly. “Aw… but that’s okay! Don’t worry, Feenie, we had a doozy of a good time!” she trotted right up to him and nuzzled he and Twilight affectionately. “We all did, even Dashie!”

“Dashie…?” Phoenix felt his guts clench even further as Celestia and Twilight immediately scanned the area with their magical awareness to find any more ponies. To their relief, there were none.

“Yep-yep! But I’ll let her tell you that! ‘Til then, think I’m gonna go upstairs to snuggle with Maya and Vinyl! It’ll be just like the big party in Ponyville before the Equestrian 500 all over again!” she proclaimed. “Those pancakes smell good, Princess! Don’t worry, we’ll all be down when they’re ready!” she promised, bounding right upstairs as the trio gaped after her, then shared a look.

Okay, NOW I’m scared… Phoenix all but gulped, wondering and worrying anew what had happened the night before, noticing only then the spent mirror spell crystals by the wall-height living room mirror on the floor. We used up all FOUR? Why? What did I do…? And what does it have to do with Rainbow Dash…? He really wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

“Princess? How is she…?” Twilight was at an equal loss.

Phoenix was not reassured when Celestia could offer her no answers. “I… have no idea what she was talking about or how she arrived here, my student. I am familiar with enough arcane theory and metamystical law to know not even she could normally travel between different physical realms—but there are no other ponies present,” Celestia promised. “There is nobody else here but Vinyl Scratch, Pinkie Pie, and Maya Fey.”

“Maya?” Phoenix focused on the final name. “Wait… you said you woke up with her? Then she… you…” he reeled anew, but to his relief, she shook her head.

“Though last night no doubt gave you a contrary impression, I do have some sense, Phoenix Wright. When I fell asleep, it was in the embrace of your mentor, but her spirit departed to the human Summerlands during the night, leaving Maya in her place,” he explained, the image alone causing both Phoenix and Twilight to blush as they were finally able to sit upright, if still leaning on each slightly. “I awoke this morning to find young Maya in bed with me, and after the... events of last evening, I felt it best I not be there when she awoke lest I be... tempted.” She blushed hard.

“She is now sleeping upstairs in the second bedroom with Ms. Scratch, and be assured, I have no intention of disturbing her—or them. I cannot speak for Pinkie Pie, though,” Celestia said as she and Twilight sensed a sudden flare of magic from the room above as Vinyl’s aura activated, if somewhat weakly.

“I see…” Phoenix removed the compress long enough to rub his temples, the throbbing starting to lessen and his senses starting to more fully return. He looked up at her again and tried to bring her more into focus, certain something was different about her. What did Pinkie mean when she said ‘nice new look’...? It was then he noticed…

“Princess… your mane?” he pointed at one stripe in particular of her flowing locks, which seemed to be a darker violet color now. It turned that color last night after Mia… he shivered again.

“My mane…?” Celestia blinked, then turned towards the living room mirror to behold herself, her eyes going wide. She then blushed again and sat back heavily, as if she understood the meaning. “Then it is as you wished, Mia Fey…” she said in a tone both resigned and strangely satisfied. “I am whole now.”

Music: Made Whole

“Whole? I don’t understand…” Twilight asked the same question Phoenix was thinking.

“Returned a part of my being I once was, my student,” she explained, studying her reflection. “When I had my lustful phase Mia Fey spoke of so many centuries ago, this one color was the hue of my entire mane,” she told them. “That is why it turned that color again last night when she returned me to that state. But when I gave that version of myself up, I lost it, and in their place came different hues for the many different roles I had to fill as sole Princess and caretaker of Equestria. Colors for mother… for leader… for teacher… and for lover,” she motioned to each stripe from the top of her mane to the bottom. “And this color has now taken the place of the last.”

“Really? Wow, Princess…” Twilight had never even thought to wonder if the colors of her mane had meaning. “I had no idea…”

“But... what does that mean?” Phoenix asked her, even though he thought he might know.

Her grin got a little wider. “It means, Phoenix Wright, that I have, at least in part, become that pony again, and yet… to judge by these colors, I am far more than just her. That the other colors remain means my greatest fears were unfounded; that releasing this side of myself would not overtake me. That for so long I held myself back needlessly… or perhaps I did not understand that I could safely indulge it when the time was right. And last night… thanks to your mentor, it was.”

“It was…” Phoenix repeated in some wonder with a glance at a slowly nodding Twilight, sensing the truth despite his hangover and not being able to recall most of what had happened following the initial few minutes in the hot tub. The one thing he clearly did remember was being with Mia; he could recall the curves of her body and the feel of her angelic power infusing him, letting him feel not just her physical form, but all her love and affection for him, still present and even enhanced from the afterlife. Is this really what you wanted, Chief? For all of us? Phoenix couldn’t help but ask the very ether, hoping that Mia could somehow hear and answer his question. “And do you regret it?” He asked himself as much as her.

“No,” Celestia answered with some wonder after only a brief pause. “For all that happened last night, I have no regrets and in fact, I could not be happier. Never mind your mentor fulfilling one of my deepest fantasies, I had forgotten how good it felt to completely cut loose. To be able to share my passions with others and let them experience the pleasures of the flesh as I can.” Her smile got wider. “I know not how much you remember or how you feel about all this, Phoenix Wright or my student, but please accept both my most fervent apologies… and my thanks.” To the surprise of he and Twilight, the sun princess turned and bowed low to them both.

“You’re welcome, but… for what?” Phoenix asked with another glance at Twilight.

Celestia turned her head fractionally to Twilight and gave her a quick wink with the eye Phoenix couldn’t see; Twilight’s eyes went wide as her mentor telepathically asked for—and received—permission for her next actions. “For being there… my new consort,” a gleam appeared in her eyes as she approached him. “For simply being yourself—a wonderful, selfless stallion; a protector of the innocent and defender of truth. For giving me the chance to reciprocate your kindness and all your efforts on behalf of my student and subjects. You have saved not one, but two element bearers now, and as I think about it, I realize that all the money in both worlds would not be sufficient compensation for such a feat…” she trailed off meaningfully as she magically tilted up his chin to kiss him...

And then proceeded to reward him properly as only she could.

Music: A Place on Earth

Celestia, Phoenix quickly found, was every bit as good a lover as she was a chess player.

She amazed both Phoenix and Twilight by bringing them to ecstasy without any use of magic or mating aura, explaining after she was able to suppress her aura when she wished (and was sober!) and that she would not cast spells on them while they were suffering from magical withdrawal. She further noted that anypony could perform with magic, but the truest test of lovemaking skill, she felt, was to do so without it. A test she passed with flying colors, Phoenix had to grant afterwards, leaving him all but lost in the afterglow of the act and falling asleep again on the floor after.

It was another ten minutes before he woke back up, to find the table being set and plenty of teasing remarks still being said about him; Maya, Pinkie and Vinyl all having come downstairs and witnessed the end of their act. Waiting snuggled at his side, Twilight had brought him a change of clothes, and he put it on under the blanket to the particular disappointment of Maya before finally getting up.

“Please, my little ponies and Phoenix Wright. Do be seated and allow your princess to serve you for a change…” Celestia invited, resuming her efforts to prepare breakfast. She turned on the stove but heated the griddle instantly with her magic so she could immediately pour the batter, where it landed on the hot surface with a sudden sizzle.

“I think you just did…” was all a still-floating Phoenix could think to say, causing giggles from Pinkie Pie, who’d had another freshly chilled sports drink ready for him, doting on him almost as much as Twilight was.

“Wow. So you clop and you cook, Celly?” Vinyl asked with a teasing tone, though her voice was genuinely impressed she took a seat beside Maya, hopping up on the human-height chairs, which offered her just enough room to sit on. “Think I’m falling in love with you now myself!”

Celestia grinned. “I’ve been known to dabble in each…” she admitted with a fresh blush as she flipped three pancakes while pouring three more on the griddle, her aura also whipping heavy cream in a separate bowl while snagging plates from the cupboards and arranging them on the dining room table for her guests. “With regards to food, I am no gourmet chef, to be certain, but there are certain things I enjoy making. And in truth… I rather enjoy playing host, but I regret I do not get to do so in a meaningful way very often back in Equestria.”

“You’re all in for a treat,” Twilight confirmed as she poured glasses of juice and coffee for those who wanted it, except Maya and Pinkie got cherry cola, her weakened aura strong enough to hold a carton and a few cups, at least. “The Princess’s pancakes are really something else!” she said as they all assembled at the table.

To his surprise, Celestia also served Phoenix a full rack of pork sausage links she had obtained from a nearby store, explaining with a wink that “he needed to replace all that protein!” he lost the previous night and that morning, to the giggles of the others. Though surprised anew, the smell was very tempting and Phoenix indeed ate them ravenously, along with Maya, who had likewise lost a great deal of energy while channeling her sister for an extended period of time.

The smell was appetizing even to most Pony noses, and Pinkie decided to try a sausage link as well, biting down and then chewing, her eyes going wide as the flavor hit her. “Wow! Pigs are good!” she licked her lips happily, but her rare foray into meat-eating didn’t stop her from eating a very large stack of pancakes slathered in syrup and topped with tons of whipped cream as well as various fruit, and then downing half a box of the store-bought donuts and washing it all down with an entire two-liter bottle of cherry soda. “It’s all good, Princess!” she told her regent eagerly.

“Thank you, Pinkie Pie. As you work at a confectionery, I consider that quite the compliment given your standards for sweets are so high.”

“Yeah, they are! But you know, I’d really like to take this cherry soda back with me! I bet it’d go great in cupcake batter!”

Celestia ate last, sitting, allowing Phoenix to clean up at his insistence, piling the dishes into the sink and washer for another cleaning. The unicorn mares had been able to use human silverware with their magic, but Pinkie hadn’t needed any, just using a spatula to flip individual pancakes and donuts into her seemingly bottomless maw one by one, adding more syrup and whipped cream to each in turn.

“Great breakfast, Princess! Thanks!” She burped and licked her lips happily. “Hey! Do you think I could go out and explore a bit? I wanna check out that fairgrounds and Mare-is wheel you said was next door!” she asked hopefully.

Celestia smiled but shook her head. “I appreciate your eagerness, my subject, but I’m afraid I must instruct you not to. I would have to turn you human and find clothes for you first, and there is simply not enough time for you to adjust to your new form or see much before we return to Equestria. I am due back at Canterlot Castle in under an hour.”

“Don’t worry, Pinkie. We’ll bring you back here for a full weekend at some point, and turn you into a human for it!” Twilight promised. “The Mare-is wheel will still be here then!”

“What Sparkle said. When you come back, I’ve got plenty of places to take you, Pinkie! Including a malt shop you wouldn’t believe!” Maya called out as well, helping Phoenix clean up the Villa before checkout.

“You will? And you do? Cool! I can’t wait!” she pronked again, acceding to Phoenix’s relief and then helping them put the Villa to rights.

“You know, Princess, we really should get some souvenirs before we leave,” Twilight suddenly remembered. “With everything else going on, I didn’t think to do that before…” the rest went unsaid.

Celestia smiled again, if somewhat more slyly. “Fear not, my easily distracted student. I have Ferro attending to that even as we speak,” she told them in a coy tone, Vinyl quickly explaining to Pinkie Pie who ‘Ferro’ was, causing Phoenix to suddenly and belatedly worry about how he would take the events of the previous night. “He is checking me out of the Gatewater and should be arriving shortly, bringing young Pearl with him. I have given him my credit card and instructed him to purchase what I hope are appropriate—and Equestria-safe—gifts for each of you.”

“Wow, thanks, princess, but… what about you? Don’t you want something too?” Twilight asked her.

“I already have it.” Celestia closed her eyes and smiled. “Thanks to Mia Fey and the rest of you, I have received the greatest gift imaginable—myself made whole. I leave with a warm heart, new partners, some very fun experiences and a far better understanding of myself now. It never ceases to amaze me that even after eighteen hundred years of life, I still learn and grow,” she nuzzled Twilight, Phoenix and Vinyl in turn, hugging them with her head. “Thank you all for being there. Thank you all for being a part of this. Even for all my years, this week and certainly this past night have given me the memories of a lifetime.”

“Well, at least you still have your memories, Princess…” Phoenix told her as he returned the gesture, accepting and reciprocating her affection for him. “I don’t, and just like last time, I don’t think there’s any way to get them back.” He was surprised to feel a pang of disappointment.

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that, ‘Feenie’...” Vinyl smiled, producing a series of three crystal orbs from the second bedroom. “I’ve had these benders before, and when I know they’re coming, I always like to know what happened after. So I developed a spell to record my memories to crystals just like my songs! That way, I can experience all the fun again later and I don’t miss a thing afterward!” she told them with a grin. “And since there are three crystals here, looks like I must’ve told you guys about them sometime last night as well. This one’s mine, but there’s ones here for Twilight and Phoenix too!” she announced, causing Celestia to shift nervously.

“Really…?” Twilight was both intrigued and worried.

“Really. So how about it, fillies and Gentlecolts? Want to find out exactly what happened last night right now?” the pony DJ asked with a salacious grin as behind them, Celestia froze, still uncertain if she wanted them to remember or not but knowing it was their choice, not hers.

Phoenix and Twilight looked at the crystals, and then to each other, each sharing the same thought. “Sorry, Vinyl, but… even after this morning, I don’t think I’m ready for that...” Phoenix finally said for both of them, putting a hand behind his head.

“Me neither...” Twilight concurred, duplicating the gesture with her hoof. “No offense, but I really need some time to assimilate all this first before I add even more to it…”

“Pansies. Well, that’s fine,” Vinyl said, her tone only half-teasing. “Suit yourself; I’ll just keep them safe ‘til you decide you are. And in the meantime…?” she zapped the crystal that contained her own memories and began reabsorbing them; her smile turning to surprise, then astonishment, and then…“Whoa...” She looked from Twilight and Phoenix to a winking Celestia and then to the living room mirror before her eyes settled back on Pinkie Pie, giving her a very wary look. “Okay, yeah… things got a little wild and crazy there, even for me…” she sat back heavily, wondering how or even if she should explain all this to Octy. I don’t normally mind telling her everything, since she seems to enjoy it vicariously through me, but this time…?

“Oh! Do tell! Do tell!” Pinkie pleaded, jumping up and down again. “I mean, I didn’t know what happened before you guys called home…” she told them, all but confirming to newly nervous Phoenix that they had drunk-dialed Equestria the previous night. And THEN what did we do…? His memories still stubbornly refused to reveal.

“Yeah, V-Jay! I mean, if even you’re acting shocked, I’d kinda like to know now!” Maya spoke up, smirking at her friend over crossed arms.

Vinyl rubbed her hoof behind her head. “I’ll, uh, tell ya later privately, filly. And I’m sorry, Pinkie. It ain’t that I didn’t enjoy the buck out of it while it was happening, but… yeah, I think this is one time I’m gonna have to borrow a line from Las Pegasus: what happened here, stays here.”

“Aw…” Pinkie went crestfallen, but just for a moment before the Dragonfire candle at the end of the dining room table flared, disgorging a note plus two new gems.

Vinyl got there first, reading it with some trepidation before exhaling sharply, showing visible relief. “It’s from the rest of Twi’s friends! They’re fine… and they’re really eager to see ya again, Feenie!” she gave him a wink. “You may not remember what happened last night, but they sure do!”

“Uh… should we be worried?” Phoenix had to ask.

“Very!” Vinyl grinned, writing a quick reply and then sending it back before he or Twilight could read it. “Don’t worry, though. They’re all waiting for us now, so I’ll let them explain it to you!” And before he could object or stop her, she levitated one of the newly-sent crystals to the living room mirror and touched it to the surface.

Music: Reunited

Within seconds the spell was established and the image of Twilight’s lab’s materialized in the mirror. Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were all present, and as soon as they spotted him, they erupted in cheers. “So there’s our favorite stud!” Applejack whipped her hat around her head. “I don’t know if ya’ll remember what happened last night, but just wanted to say… thanks for one hay of a time!”

“Um… I’m afraid we don’t remember…” Twilight tried not to cringe at the hungry looks they were giving Phoenix. To her surprise, they were almost a turn-on to her; a validation that her stallion was equally desirable in their eyes.

“Aw… nothing?” Rainbow Dash went something approaching forlorn, then looked surprised at her own statement, slapping her hooves over mouth while in a hover, to a smirk from Applejack and Rarity.

“Sorry, Rainbow…” Phoenix was having a hard time looking at them, not out of embarrassment but because every time he saw one of them, some half-remembered emotion or sensation kept trying to rise up as well as a fragmentary image or two that he wasn’t sure were fantasy or reality. “After all that cider, we just don’t...”

“Don’t listen to ‘em. They’re just bein’ wimps, girls. I got all their memories right here!” Vinyl levitated two crystals before the mirror to let them others see. “One little spell, and they’ll have total recall!”

“Vinyl!” Twilight and Phoenix shouted at her, their cheeks flushing.

“Oh, really?” Rarity stared at the crystals, and then Phoenix with a very lascivious look.

“Ya don’t say…” Applejack’s expression was more intrigued while Rainbow’s was thoroughly mixed.

“Oh, please do, Mister Phoenix. For me…?” he was surprised when Fluttershy of all ponies batted her eyes at him!

“And me, Nix!” Rainbow all but blurted out after biting her lip hard for several seconds. “And me…” she landed and lumped in what almost sounded like a painful admission to Phoenix, Fluttershy immediately flaring a wing to hug her friend.

“Just letting them know that you can get them back!” Vinyl winked at a wavering Phoenix, who found himself tempted to do it for Fluttershy’s request more than any other, then turned back to the mirror. “Don’t worry, girls, I’ll convince them! I’ll work on them as well as they worked on you!”

“But what do you mean, ‘worked on them?’” Phoenix echoed in disbelief. But how the hell could I have done anything when they were on the other side of the mirror? Did Pinkie bring them over and back one by one…? Was the only thing he could think of, even with Celestia’s assurance that she could not.

“Ya wanna know, you’ll have to accept these!” The pony DJ offered him the crystal again. “It’s right here whenever you want it, Phoenix!”

“We’ll hold ya to that, Vinyl! And if yer the man ‘o truth I think ya are, Phoenix Wright, you’ll do it sooner rather than later so we can do it all again!” she tipped her hat to him. “But answer us this, Pinkie—the connection cut and we weren’t able to see, so... did our favorite stud here win the bet?”

“Bet? What bet?” Phoenix asked, increasingly frantically, his eyes drifting nervously to the crystal again.

“Nope! He didn’t!” a grinning Pinkie Pie replied without answering him, an odd gleam in her eye for just a moment. “And you all know what that means…”

“Hoo, boy! Ah can’t wait!” Applejack reared up and pinwheeled her hooves as Rarity giggled, even Rainbow smirked and an increasingly befuddled and worried Phoenix looked on along with Twilight.

“Oh, my. He’ll make such a nice one,” Fluttershy added, giving Phoenix an oddly appraising look.

“Yeah, this I’ll wanna see…” even Rainbow looked eager, but any further questions were halted as the doorbell rang and Maya rushed out to open it. She returned a minute later with...

“Hey, Sunshine…” Ferro Stabile wore a lopsided grin as he entered the living room with Pearl bursting in behind her barely a second later, waiting until she had hugged every pony inside before greeting Celestia himself, the young mystic especially delighted to see Pinkie and Celestia in her alicorn form, then going up to the mirror to see the rest of her pony friends. “I brought everything you asked, including your luggage. Cyprey’s at school, but sends all her love. Hope you enjoyed last night!” he winked as he hugged her, standing a full head above her while she was in her Alicorn form.

She stared at him in wonder, then went up to him and kissed him deeply, not caring in the least that she was an alicorn or that Pearly or the others were watching. He gently grasped her chin as he returned the gesture, one that told Phoenix he’d done it before.

“Whoa… so he’s her stallion?” Applejack whispered to Rarity, appraising the large human from behind the mirror portal.

“I suppose he must be. He is rather dashing…” Rarity appraised him favorably as well. “And just look at those arms! With such muscular forearms and thick fingers, he simply must be a masseuse!” she recognized from long experience at the spa.

“He seems very nice…” Fluttershy agreed, finding a warmth within him and not at all afraid of his large size for it. “Don’t you think so, Rainbow?”

“Uh…” she cringed when her eyes automatically went to his large hands.

“I did immensely… my wonderful prince,” Celestia told him at some length. “Thank you for offering your blessing and being there for me last night.”

“Being there?” Phoenix exchanged a look with Twilight and the others; even Vinyl didn’t appear to know what she meant despite her restored memories.

“Not here, Phoenix Wright. But in the realm of dreams,” Celestia explained. “It was all arranged by your mentor, with the help of my sister. He was invited there along with the spirits of all my past princes, and... I think nothing more need be said.” She closed her eyes and smiled.

“Yeah, it was interesting and all, but all your old beaus pretty much interrogated me, Sunshine! It was kind of intimidating, actually… they all wanted to make sure I was worthy of you! Even gave me some rather interesting advice on dealing with you… which I think I’ll be putting to use next time you’re over!” He scratched her chin with a finger as if in demonstration; Celestia all but melted at the gesture, her tongue briefly hanging out of her mouth.

“And I may have some new things to try with you as well… my wonderful prince…” she told him with a second kiss as Pearly giggled, watching from behind her own splayed fingers pressed against her face. “But I regret my time here is now short, and my vacation is at an end. I must now return to my own realm and the not-always-pleasures of ruling Equestria.”

“I know. But don’t you worry. I’ll be here, Tia. For you, always.” Ferro promised her.

“And I love you for it…” she told him, embracing him with her wings. “So if I may request your indulgence one final time, my beloved prince… would you please take young Pearl out of earshot? There are certain... subjects I wish to discuss I would rather not have her around to hear.”

Ferro winked. “Whatever you say, Princess,” he agreed, and took Pearly out onto the deck so she could see the ocean again, which was still a novelty to her after a lifetime spent at Kurain Village.

After they had left, Celestia cast what Twilight recognized as a privacy spell before she spoke again, soundproofing the room around them as well as preventing any prying eyes from seeing them. “Miss Maya… I have no right to ask this of you, but before we depart, may I… please speak one last time with your sister?” she said in uncharacteristic nervousness.

Maya grinned at that. “That was her plan all along, Princess! It’ll be my pleasure… and maybe yours as well…?” she winked and then grasped her Magatama, causing her form to shift and grow. Her transformation was a bit slower than usual to Phoenix’s eyes, but within seconds Mia once again stood where Maya had been, her too-small kimono and open lapels instantly drawing Phoenix’s eyes.

“Hello, Tia…” Mia spotted and addressed Celestia with a knowing smile. “Did you have a good time?”

Celestia’s only response was to stare at her in wonder and then bow very low before her, flaring her wings before the channeled spirit as pegasi would normally do to her, to the great surprise of her subjects. “Words fail me… my mistress…” was the only thing she could immediately come up with, her wings and tail twitching before the human angel. “I dare not speak for my student, my subject, or for Phoenix Wright, but I enjoyed myself immensely, and I could not be happier. I just wanted to thank you directly, and if I may ask, I would simply like to know… why?” she posed the question Phoenix wanted to. “Why would you do this, not just for me, but for all of us?”

Music: Take Your Passion

“A valid question,” Mia smiled, not offended in the least. “And one I will be happy to answer. What it boils down to is, each of you had a different need and a different lesson to learn.” She nodded to Celestia, Twilight, and Phoenix in turn. “And by fate or by chance, what each of you needed, the others could offer.”

“How you mean, Chief?” Phoenix had to ask, remembering again getting to be with her and how good it made him feel.

“Let us start with you, Solar Princess,” she replied, making her blue-tinged angel wings visible for just a moment. “I sought to fully unleash your old self because she is very much a part of you, but you had been restraining her far more than was healthy out of fear she would consume you. But as I believe you now realize, this is not true—you are far more than just her and she alone does not define you. But at the same time, she is a part of you, and she needs a voice as much as any other part. That is what I sought to allow by giving you a safe environment that she could be unleashed in.”

“I understand this, but… I still fear her lack of restraint,” Celestia admitted while Twilight’s friends exchanged confused looks. “There is no denying I turned our students and subjects into my very playthings last night and… fear I might yet do so again…”

“Indeed you did. But as I feel safe in saying they were fully consenting participants, do you truly believe that you would do so against their will, Tia?” she asked with a quick wink at Phoenix, who blushed again. “Just so you all know, I was the one who told Maya to bring the cider, though I didn’t tell her why or what was in it. I had them bring it because I wanted all your limits removed. Because it was only by becoming that pony again and then finding yourself not lost to her afterward that you could truly see you were more than just her. That you could see it was occasionally safe to be her.

“And as for restraint…?” Mia grinned and approached Celestia, putting her hand under her chin and tilting it upwards, then gently caressing her. “You demonstrated it amply this morning, my little princess, when you did not take advantage of Maya despite severe temptation—as I knew you would not—and later refrained from using more mating magic on Twilight and Phoenix out of concern for their well-being,” she said, laying a kiss on the top of her muzzle. “You love the pleasures of the flesh, true enough, but you are also a pony who puts others before her and sees to their needs as well as her own. That is who you are first and foremost, Sun Princess, and not this former self.”

Celestia had to blink back tears at the statement, one she could not disbelieve simply for its source. “Thank you, Mia Fey. It means much coming from you. But… even when I was not under the influence of the cider, I did not refrain from taking advantage of my student or Phoenix Wright,” she stated somewhat shakily.

With that, Mia turned to Phoenix, a twinkle in her eye. “How about it, Phoenix? Twilight? Did she take advantage of you? Did she do anything you didn’t want her to when you woke up this morning?”

“Sure looked mutual to me!” Vinyl pointed out, having watched the latter half of the act from the the stairwell.

“Me too!” Pinkie added, being uncharacteristically quiet through the initial exchanges. “You guys looked like you were having a bestest of best times!”

Twilight and Phoenix shared a glance, both realizing the answer instantly. “No…” the latter finally admitted, knowing to say anything else in the face of his own heart and witnesses was a grotesque and completely transparent lie. “Everything she did, I wanted and reciprocated…” he admitted, suddenly very glad Ferro was in the other room.

“Me too…” Twilight admitted, far more adamantly. “Getting to be with you like that was a dream come true, Princess. And I’ll never say I’m sorry for it!” She put her hoof down hard.

“And there you go,” Mia told Celestia, who then stepped forward and hugged both Phoenix and Twilight tightly with her wings; the spirit of Maya’s older sister waiting until their embrace was broken before continuing. “You are, at your core, a creature of passion, Solar Princess, perhaps the most powerful there is. In order to be the Princess your ponies and all Equestria needs, it is unhealthy to hold back, whether in friendship or in love. And to that end, you must accept all that you are, and give it voice when needed.”

She put a hand on Celestia’s head, causing the sun princess to lean into it, drinking in her mistress’s love and angelic energy. “And you speak of restraint? Well, you had deliberately restrained yourself for so long, there was a danger of it bursting free at a less opportune time, so I sought to provide a safe space in which you could indulge… to say nothing of proper partners.” She grinned and winked at Phoenix. “Be assured, I made certain nothing was heard or seen beyond these walls last night. As far as any other guests are concerned, it was just a cool and breezy night.”

“But Chief… how was I a proper partner?” Phoenix asked next. “I was content with Twilight. Why would you introduce Celestia, Vinyl, and yourself into all this?”

“And that brings me to what you needed, Phoenix.” Mia turned to him next, facing him and crossing her arms. “It’s both your greatest virtue and deepest fault that you always put the needs of others before your own, whether it’s your clients, Maya, or now Twilight. It’s endearing, but also ultimately unhealthy when you unceasingly uplift others at your own expense.

“You need to be uplifted as well, Phoenix Wright. In your own way, you needed to completely let go and cut loose as much as Tia did, just so you could see that you could. And though I admit I didn’t foresee every way it would happen…” she gave a glance and wink towards the mirror portal, causing all of Twilight’s friends to blush. “You did. And again I ask: even not knowing all that happened... do you regret it?”

And again, the answer for Phoenix was… “No,” he told her. “Not at all. I’m kind of tired now, and yet… I’ve never felt so alive…” he realized in some wonder, rubbing his hand behind his head. “But the thing is, Chief… the only thing I remember clearly about last night… is being with you!”

“Well…” Mia almost looked chagrined for a moment. “It may be unseemly for an angel, but I admit that was a bit of indulgence on my part. I wanted you to remember being with me, Phoenix. And I also didn’t want your choice to do so to be cider-induced. I wanted you to want me unreservedly,” she told him. “So I blocked the effects of the cider and Tia’s aura during our little encounter to make sure you were completely you…” she said as she put her arms around him.

“Chief? This is kinda public…” Phoenix protested weakly as she pressed close and began kissing him, taking his breath away.

“And since when do ponies care about public displays of affection, Phoenix?” she asked rhetorically between kisses as through the mirror behind her, a wide-eyed AJ removed her hat, Rarity fainted, Fluttershy’s hooves went to her mouth and Rainbow blushed fiercely, amazed that not just Phoenix but a human woman could turn her head!

She broke their embrace after another minute and smiled. “Forgive me for yet another indulgence, Phoenix. One thing becoming an angel does for a spirit is to liberate our desires and lift our inhibitions. Or perhaps The Nightmare was right and death truly does make voyeurs of ascended spirits. Nevertheless… I enjoyed our time together greatly last night. So if Maya, Twilight and yourself are willing, I might like to be with you again.” She kissed him deeply, for emphasis, her hand trailing over her own chest and then down her side.

“After all you did for us both, I could hardly say no, Mia Fey…” a dry-mouthed Twilight replied in a shaky voice, not fully understanding why she felt anything but possessive of him at that point.

With a parting kiss to Phoenix, Mia turned to Twilight. “Forgive me, Twilight Sparkle…” she then knelt before the unicorn mare. “Though admittedly, that was a bit more indulgence on my part, there was another reason I did it. And that’s to show you why you needed to be part of this.” She put a hand on the unicorn’s shoulder. “You are the avatar of friendship and magic, but that does not mean you fully understand either yet, or your very destiny…” she said with a look up at Celestia, who gave her a quick, frantic shake of her head, begging the human spirit not to say more. “But even in your human form, you’re an Equestrian mare at heart, and a particularly unselfish one at that. Phoenix is your stallion, and that means…” she trailed off to let Twilight finish the thought.

“It means I want to share him…” she realized abruptly, having spotted where Mia was so carefully leading her. “With all my friends… and his!”

“An any Equestrian mare would a special stallion,” she confirmed, putting her hand on Twilight’s head. “Doubly so when it serves the causes of love and friendship, which you and your fellow element bearers embody.”

“And… that’s why you wanted me in this?” Twilight was suddenly singularly disinclined to move, surprised to feel the angel’s touch quickly restoring her magic, almost instantly returning her to full power.

“Not entirely,” Mia told her, standing back up but keeping her hand in place until the process was complete. “You, too, had a great deal of unrequited feelings towards your friends and mentor, and you, too, were held back because of it. Friendship is Magic, Twilight Sparkle, but love and intimacy even more so... when properly indulged and understood. In order to realize your full potential, you will need to understand them. And that means you must explore them. You may consider all that happened last night part of that; just remember that it worked because you already had the depth of bonds and trust you needed with your mate, your mentor, and your friends.”

Is she actually TELLING me to have more sex? Twilight realized with some headiness, glancing over at her mentor and her friends beyond the mirror, their minds clearly turning as well. “I understand,” she told the ascended human spirit. “And thank you.” She bowed low as she normally only would before Celestia herself.

“So, any words of wisdom, for me, Mia?” Vinyl asked, stepping forward, hoping for a turn with the human angel herself someday.

Mia turned to her and smiled. “Just three, Vinyl Scratch. Don’t. Ever. Change.” She told her, putting a hand on the back of her neck, recharging her magic like she’d just done for Twilight.

“Music is the language of life, and those who create and share it with others are especially blessed in the eyes of all heavens. I daresay you have changed least from these events, but that is not to say you had no role—you are a catalyst for change in others, enabling them to evolve and enjoy themselves as you did last night. You were there for my sister when she needed you not once but thrice, and all I ask from you now is that you be the friend and lover she needs and keep her grounded as much as possible.” With that, she kissed Vinyl’s forehead and ruffled her mane.

“Count on it, sister,” Vinyl promised with a deep bow to the spirit of Maya’s sister, her horn still tingling from the human angel’s imparted energy. “I’ll visit when I can, and be there when she needs me.”

“I know you will. And I also know you’re in love with your ‘wub’ and party scenes. But if I may offer you a suggestion for a potential sidelight...?”

“Sure!”

Mia grinned. “I know you didn’t enjoy being a prosecutor, but given how well you did in the dream trial... perhaps you simply had the wrong end of the legal stick?” she wondered aloud. “I think you should try being an attorney again, but this time from the other side of the courtroom pit. If you set your mind to it, I truly think you’ll come into your own there.”

It was a rare moment when Vinyl was caught short. “Huh...” she said, her mind visibly turning, Phoenix wondering as well if she could do it and suppressing a smile at the sudden thought of Miles Edgeworth switching sides, no matter how unlikely it seemed. “Me, a defense attorney? Well, Octy’ll be less than pleased, but you know... we’ve always been opposites in everything, so you might just be onto something, sister. I’ll think about it long and hard; I promise!”

“That is all I ask,” she grinned. “You’re a good pony, Vinyl Scratch.”

“Oh! Hey, Mia Fey! Do me! Do me!” Pinkie requested, pronking repeatedly.

Mia chuckled but indulged her. “What else is there to say about a pony who brings the gift of joy and laughter to others, Pinkamena Diane Pie?” she asked almost rhetorically. “You live life to its fullest and help others to do the same. Ultimately, I can give you no greater compliment than that. There are few spirits as free or full of life as you, or get as much out of as making others happy as you. All I ask is that you remember that with great power comes great responsibility. That you take good care of ‘Feenie’ and all your friends, and like Phoenix remember that you can see to your own needs as well as theirs.” She closed her eyes and grinned.

“Wow! So I only have to do what I always have? Thanks, Mia Fey!” Pinkie pronked appreciatively.

“My pleasure,” she told her, giving her mane an affectionate ruffle. “And with that, it is time I return to the heavens, my friends. I can tell Maya’s getting tired again from channeling me this long, so I best not linger.”

Phoenix deflated slightly, and so did Celestia. “Thanks for checking in, then, and explaining things. Until next time, Chief?” he said hopefully.

“Until next time, Phoenix… and you too, ‘Celly’…” the parting look she gave Celestia was enough to make the Sun Princess squirm. “Be a bad girl again, and I might just come back to punish your sins a second time…” she winked, and then her spirit departed, leaving the form of Maya behind and Celestia already thinking of ways to induce her otherworldly mistress’s return.

Music: Not the End...

Maya slumped slightly as her body was restored, and Phoenix quickly caught and steadied her as a still-blushing Celestia recharged her Magatama and imparted as much of her magic directly to the young mystic as she dared.

“Better?” the sun princess asked her while opening the door to the deck to indicate to Ferro she and Pearly could come back inside. Maya nodded but asked for some water, which was swiftly retrieved for her by Vinyl. “And though our departure approaches, I believe there are some souvenirs to be passed out first…?”

“Got ‘em right here!” Ferro hefted two bags, then began passing out items with it.

“For you, Twilight…” he first brought out a white human hoodie. “I think Celly’s right and you’d look great in this!”

“Really?” she pulled it on, finding it loose enough to fit over her even as a pony and very soft and warm on the inside. “Wow… I like this! I already had some books and my new swimsuit to take back, but… thanks, Princess!” she nuzzled Celestia, and even Phoenix had to admit she looked utterly adorable in it while in pony form.

“This next one’s for you, ‘V-Jay’!” he produced an entire crate of Blue Moon beer bottles, causing her to grin. “Will this do you?”

“Hey now! That’ll probably only last me ‘bout a week, but… thanks, Celly!” She popped the first one with her magic and chugged it right then and there.

“My pleasure. And next up is you, Miss Maya and Young Pearl…” Celestia announced, producing some form of small orange crystal on a gold chain. “These are magical talismans I had Lady Requiem create. When paired with your Magatamas, it should both increase your own mystical power and allow you to hold channeling transformations longer, and also help you ward off any unwanted magical influences,” she told them.

“Really? Cool!” Maya accepted it and tried it on, already feeling its effects the instant it came into contact with her, noting it hung just a little bit lower on her chest than her Magatama. “Be sure and thank Lady Requiem for us!”

“I can already feel it working! Thank you, Princess! And thank her!” Pearl immediately gave her a formal bow.

“I will. And you are very welcome,” Celestia returned the bow with her head.

“Oh! What about me, Princess? What about me?” Pinkie asked eagerly.

“You, my dear subject, are very possibly the easiest pony to shop for,” Celestia chuckled as Ferro next pulled out a dozen fountain shop bottles of various flavored drinks from the same Malt shop she’d taken Vinyl and Maya to two days before. “Decide which ones you like best, and I will be happy to obtain more for you later.”

“Wow! Thanks, Princess! But it’d be a shame for just me to try them… oh! I know! I’ll serve them at my next party!” she pronked again, eagerly reading the labels on them.

“And I believe all that leaves… is you, Phoenix Wright.” Celestia turned to him last. “To borrow a line from the Lord of the Rings movies, there is nothing I can give you that is more valuable than that which you already possess,” she said with a smile at Twilight, who beamed. “But since it would be a terrible shame to not give you something as well…”

She passed him an Equestrian papyrus scroll and invited him to unfurl it. He read it in some surprise. “Princess, this is…”

“A standing invitation from the Royal Family of Equios for you and Miss Maya to visit during next year’s wine and music festival, with a promise of VIP tours and treatment,” she smiled as Maya immediately came over to study it as well. “There are plenty of vineyards and hiking trails, Phoenix Wright, and for you, Miss Maya? Cold waterfalls and magically-charged hot springs for you to meditate under and cultivate your power with.”

“Wow! You’re the best, Princess!” Maya threw her arms around a startled Celestia.

“Um, Miss Maya…” she said as the hug lingered for several seconds, her blush growing deeper with each moment.

“Careful there, filly,” Vinyl teased as Maya finally broke the embrace, giving Celestia a parting wink and putting the barest bit of sway in her hips, leaving Phoenix glad that what was happening seemed to pass right over Pearl’s head.

With some effort, Celestia recovered her bearing. “Well, then, my friends… I’m afraid that this is it.”

“Aw… I don’t want you to go, Princess!” Pearl went up to her again. “Or you, Mystic Twilight! Or Mystic Vinyl or Pinkie Pie!”

“I don’t want to go either, Pearl,” Twilight hugged her close, with Vinyl and Pinkie close behind. “But we can’t stay. You know that.”

“I know, but…” she began rubbing her eyes and crying.

Watching with Ferro, Celestia’s heart went out to her… and then smiled as an idea occurred to her. “This does not have to be a goodbye, young Pearl. Tell me, would you like come back to Equestria with us? I would be more than happy to bring you. I’m sure all of Twilight’s friends would love to see you again!” she pointed out with a glance behind her, and nods both surprised and eager were received.

Pearl stopped crying and her eyes immediately lit up. “Oh! Could I?” she performed a little dance.

“Absolutely… as long as your guardian grants permission, that is…?” she asked with a look to Maya.

“Can I, Mystic Maya? Can I?” she turned to her cousin and asked excitedly, now hopping up and down in her excitement.

“Well, I know her mother wouldn’t approve…” Maya smirked unpleasantly at Phoenix, who gave a tight-lipped smile back, having no more love for Morgan Fey than Maya did. “But far as I’m concerned, that’s a good enough reason for her to go! Have fun, Pearly! I know how much you loved it there. But you keep doing your Kurain technique drills and attend school there, you hear?” She hugged and then waggled a finger at her cousin. “If anyone asks back home, I’ll just say you’re doing some special training and let them know to expect you back at the village in two weeks. Is that enough time in Equestria for you?”

“Wow, thanks, Mystic Maya! It really is! And don’t worry, I promise to keep training and study hard there!” Pearl hugged her before being picked up in Celestia’s aura and placed on her back.

“Careful of my wings, little one…” Celestia instructed her, and Pearl immediately moved her legs forward a bit, away from her feathers and flight muscles. “Twilight? Vinyl Scratch? Pinkie Pie? It is time for us to leave,” the sun princess told them solemnly. “So say your goodbyes…”

Twilight and Vinyl deflated at that; even Pinkie’s mane drooped for a moment, the latter two going to Maya to hug her while Twilight went to Phoenix. “I guess this is it, Phoenix...” she told him, going downcast as Ferro and Celestia said their goodbyes as well, exchanging a very heartfelt hug and kiss.

“Yeah...” Phoenix wore the identical gesture. “Listen, I’m glad you came for a whole week. I had a great time.”

“Me too,” She reared up and hugged him, tears in her eyes as she rested her head on his upper chest and took in his scent and presence one last time. “And I’m really not ready for it to end...”

“Me neither. But there’ll be other visits,” Phoenix promised, hugging her tightly back as the others looked on, Applejack nodding, Fluttershy smiling, Rainbow Dash fidgeting and Rarity sniffling as they watched. “Though hopefully without all the extra drama and attempted possessions by dream demon queens,” he said a little ruefully.

She sniffled at that. “Don’t ever blame yourself for that. You saved me, Phoenix,” Twilight reminded him. “You saved me and showed me the truth, and I’ll never forget that. Or stop loving you for it.”

“And now and forever, I’m yours, Twilight Sparkle,” Phoenix echoed the words he’d told her at the end of the trial, when he’d finally succeeded in breaking The Nightmare’s hold over her. “Whatever happens, I’ll always come back to you,” he promised her, to which Twilight could only hug him all the tighter through glimmering eyes.

“Come, my student...” Celestia opened her wing to invite Twilight forward into its embrace. “Remember, this parting is only temporary. Both you—and I!—will return to Earth in time. In the meantime, Equestria awaits, as do all your friends... and I hope many friendship lessons and adventures yet to come,” she reminded her, then her smile turned somewhat more amused. “And besides, if I know my sister, she is by now awaiting my return quite impatiently, having had as big a bellyful of squabbling nobles and Prince Blueblood as she can stomach. I really should get back before she truly does decide to imprison them all in the Canterlot mines…” she chuckled to herself.

“With regards to Blueblood, tell her she may feel free!” Rarity called out from behind the mirror.

“My friends...” Twilight closed her eyes and smiled. “I love you, but I love them too, Phoenix.”

“I know,” he told her. “It’s what makes you you, Twilight—that you live for your friends and for friendship itself. And that’s the mare I fell in love with.”

“Oh, Phoenix…” she hugged him again. “When you say things like that, I—”

“Oh, just kiss already!” Pinkie Pie piped up from beside Maya. “Time’s wasting, Twilight! We gotta get back, and then I gotta throw a massive hookup party for everypony!” she promised, pronking yet again.

“I may ask for a delay on that, Pinkie…” Twilight told her, but did so, sharing a long and lingering kiss with her human stallion. “No offense, but after we get back, I think I might just want to be alone and rest for a bit...” she said with a slightly wan grin, and Phoenix found he was of the same mind, finding himself looking forward to just taking a quiet walk by himself and then finding a poker game to play.

“Not me!” Vinyl spoke up, then approached Phoenix herself. “Crazy times last night, Phoenix. But even if it’s still a bit hazy for ya, I’m glad we were in it together.” She reared up to give him a surprise kiss of her own in full view of Maya, who pretended to fume. “You’re a wild and crazy dude, and I’ll share another keg of AJ’s special reserve cider with you anytime!”

“Reckon that can be arranged!” Applejack called out from the other side of the portal as Spike finally joined them, having completed his morning chores. “Next zap apple season, it’s yours, Phoenix Wright!”

“Um… think I’ll pass on that for now…” he flushed hard, wondering again what had happened the previous night that had them so eager for more.

Finally, it was Pinkie Pie’s turn. “So, Feenie! I know you don’t remember me last night, but… maybe you’ll remember her...” No sooner had she said it when her head lowered, her eyes went hooded and her hair fell flat, instantly transforming her appearance and sending a tingle that was equal parts thrillful and fearful down his spine as all present took an involuntary step back. “I like you, Feenie...” she told him in a voice that was Pinkie’s but not as she reared up and backed him into a wall. “You lost your bet. And when the time is right, you will keep your promise...” she all but warned him, poking him in the chest as her eyes bored into his.

“Uh… sure…” he said through suddenly dry lips, finding this version of Pinkie somehow both incredibly dangerous and supremely sexy for it. Guess I’ve got a thing for bad girls…? He suddenly wondered as she kissed him aggressively, sending a final shiver through him as she pulled back off him, her mane going instantly floofy again.

“Okay! I’m ready!” she said, happy-go-lucky again, taking her place beside Twilight and Vinyl, who gave her a wary look. “What?”

Celestia was uncertain too, but smiled, deciding that Mia Fey would not have allowed Pinkie passage to Earth if that version of her was any danger. “As are we all. As my sister would say… Fare thee well, Phoenix Wright.” Celestia bowed her head to him. “Whatever the future may hold, fear and regret nothing that happened between us, and know that you have my gratitude many times over. Thank you for having us… and for putting up with me!” she gave him a wink.

“It was… our pleasure, Princess,” Like you wouldn’t believe… he silently admitted, realizing he was about as sorry to see her go as he was Twilight.

“And mine as well,” she closed her eyes, remembering. “But all good things must come to an end. Now please step back…” she instructed them as her horn glowed and a shimmering golden bubble surrounded her, Twilight, Pinkie and Vinyl while a second one formed on the other side of the mirror portal, amongst Twilight’s friends, who quickly gave the expanding sphere room. As the one in front of Phoenix and Maya turned opaque and then shrank to nothing, the one in Twilight’s lab reached its full dimensions and solidified, the golden glow fading to reveal… Twilight, Pinkie, Vinyl, Celestia and Pearl back in Equestria, on the other side of the mirror.

Twilight’s friends instantly and eagerly hugged her and then flocked to Pearl, nuzzling and embracing her as Celestia magically lowered Maya’s cousin from her back. Once she had been properly greeted as well, Twilight hugged a sniffling Spike tightly, and then turned back to the mirror portal one last time, tears in her eyes. “Goodbye, Phoenix. Thank you for everything, and I’ll see you again whenever the next ley line convergence occurs, probably in a few weeks?” she suggested hopefully.

“You bet! Just give me warning of when you’re coming and who with!” he requested of her.

“I promised it would be Spike…” she reminded him, giving her scribe’s head scales an affectionate hoofruffle. “So have some comics and movies ready, Maya!”

“You got it, Sparkle! In the meantime, you take care and keep the princess and V-Jay in line! I’ll do the same with Nick and Iron Man on this end!” she teased.

“Keep me in line, fillyfriend…?” Vinyl gave her a smirk back through the mirror. “Ain’t nopony gonna do that!”

“One of the reasons I love ya, V-Jay…” she blew her equine lover a kiss. “Thanks for everything and don’t be a stranger!”

“Goodbye, my friends,” Celestia bowed to them through the mirror. “Until we meet again, Miss Maya, Phoenix Wright and my beloved Prince…” she told them meaningfully just as the mirror spell ran out. The image of Equestria rippled, got sucked into a tunnel and then shrank to a single point before disappearing, leaving their own reflections behind and their Equestrian friends and lovers impossibly far away.

Music: Normality Resumed

Phoenix, Maya and Ferro stared into the now-normal mirror for several seconds, lost in their own suddenly sad thoughts before Ferro finally spoke up. “Well. Take it I missed quite the scene last night…” he said very mildly. “That’s okay, though. I had my own little get-together to attend! Be very flattered that Tia favors you like that, Phoenix.” He put a large hand on his shoulder. “I know she may have given you a different impression, but character matters a lot to her.”

Despite the affectionate gesture, Phoenix couldn’t help but be nervous and Maya held her breath slightly as well. “Thanks, but um… look… a lot of things happened last night, most of which I don’t even remember…” And what I DO remember I still don’t believe I did…

To his relief, Ferro only chuckled. “It’s fine, Phoenix. You don’t have to tell me, and you don’t have to apologize for it. Really. If it’ll put your mind at ease, I’ll tell you the same thing I once told Tia—I don’t ever want her to hold back from enjoying life or helping others to do so on my account. I don’t have any right or desire to demand an exclusive relationship from her given how little we can actually see each other. For all her power and for all she’s responsible for, she more than anyone else needs to occasionally kick back and really cut loose, and having seen for myself her day-to-day life in Equestria... I know she just doesn’t get enough opportunities to do it.

“Hell, if I’ve learned nothing else about her over the past few years, it’s that she’s got passion to spare and a driving need to share it with others. And something I learned just last night is that my role with her isn’t just lover,” he said in wonder.

“What do you mean?” Maya asked, genuinely curious.

Ferro looked to Phoenix like he was struggling to find the right words for a moment. “It’s hard to explain, but… you know how she calls me her ‘Prince’? You notice that she doesn’t call you or anyone else that, just me. I don’t think I realized exactly what she meant by it until last night, when I met all her previous ones, but she means an equal. A person who is not just her lover, but her confidant and partner. It means someone she can love unreservedly, someone’s who’s mature enough for her and emotionally compatible with her—and given what I saw last night, there haven’t been many over all the centuries of her life who were, either pony or human. You know, I sure as hell wouldn’t want her immortality, but I’ll be more than happy to be there for her and give her as many years as I can for as long as she’ll have me. And besides, she’s a big girl. She can do with her powers as she pleases.”

He looked down and smiled, then opened his eyes again and turned them on Phoenix’s. “So whatever happened… don’t worry. I already know how much she loves me, and now I know how much she loved all her past ‘Princes’ as well. And having met them? They’ve left one hell of a legacy to uphold. And it’s actually an enormous honor to join such an exclusive club.”

“Um… thanks…” was all Phoenix could immediately offer, still feeling embarrassed. “I’m still feeling like I should apologize, though. I admit I wasn’t really thinking about you last night or this morning…” he told him, but the larger man waved him off again.

“It’s not like I’ve never had a drunken bender in my life, Phoenix, and given the way I’ve seen her, I don’t doubt she initiated things and know firsthand how irresistible she can be. It’s okay. Listen, I’m glad to have met you guys, and it’s actually really nice to finally have somebody I can chat with about all this.” He offered Phoenix his hand. “So you if ever need a personal trainer or just someone to talk stuff over with, give me a ring,” he said as he gave Phoenix a business card. “I’ll give you a good workout or share a beer with you anytime you want.”

“I prefer wine, but… deal. And if you ever need a defense attorney, give me a call.” Phoenix shook the other man’s hand in deep respect, and then passed his own business card back. He followed that up by exchanging a hug and clap on the back with Ferro; each man now the sole individual in either world who could truly relate to the other. With that, Ferro hugged Maya as well, told him with a wink to take care of Phoenix for Twilight and Tia, and then departed for his job at the Gatewater with a final wave.

“So, Nick…” Maya slipped an arm around his waist in an affectionate gesture as they watched their new friend leave. “Have to say, after channeling sis for as long as I did last night, I’m still pretty hungry even after all those pancakes and sausages! So after we drop off the keys for the villa, wanna get some burgers?”

Music: Turnabout Sisters (Cadenza Remix)

Phoenix chuckled. More mature, yet still the same old Maya! “Sure. But I take it I’m buying?”

“Well, duh! You’re the high-priced defense attorney who makes the big bucks, after all! You’re even on the payroll of a Princess, now!” She grinned, putting her arm through his. “Besides, you know the old saying—there’s no better time to talk than over a good burger!”

“Oh, really? And whose old saying was that?” he challenged her as he hefted his travel bag and closed up the door to the villa behind them.

“Maya Fey, future Kurain Master, who will one day be a household name to mystics and spirits throughout both worlds!” she announced grandly, then turned at least slightly more serious. “Besides, we did say we needed to talk…?”

“That we do…” Phoenix granted, but to his surprise, found he felt very little sense of dread or worry over it given everything else that had happened. Compared to all that, talking about mutual feelings with Maya’ll won’t be awkward at all! “To the nearest In-N-Out, then?”

“Oh, yeah! And this time, I want my burger done monkey-style!” Maya announced.

Phoenix rolled his eyes at that. “We’ve been over this before, Maya. There’s no such thing as monkey-style. They only do animal-style there!”

Maya harrumphed. “Well, that just shows how much you know, Nick! It’s on their secret menu! And I’ll prove it to you by ordering it!” She promised him.

“Fine, but don’t blame me when they gave you a blank look! Monkey-style is a myth, Maya. It doesn’t exist,” he said with certainty, even though he knew it was an argument he could never win.

“Oh yeah? Well, seeing is believing! I bet you didn’t believe in purple ponies or alicorn princesses either until you saw them!” she smirked at him.

He gave her a look, even though there was a twinkle in his eyes. “Are you actually comparing a magic-wielding unicorn and sun-controlling equine demigoddess to a fictional burger style?”

“You forgot to tag Tia with ‘biggest perv ever’, Nick,” she winked at him. “But yeah, why not? Besides, any pony who likes burgers is okay in my book! And guess what, Nick? Celly does!”

“She does?” he blinked, having thought after the previous night and week there was no way Celestia could still surprise him.

“Oh yeah! I took her to In-N-Out after we dropped you and Sparkle off at the Villa a few days back. And you know, I bet she’d love monkey-style too…” was the last thing heard within the villa as the door closed behind them and the pair began walking down the street, arm in arm.

—FINIS

Author's Note

... and done. Sorry for the delay on this one, but once again I had to think long and hard about what to take out and what to leave in. In the end, I decided to leave enough to make clear what had happened, or most of it--even in the M-rated version I didn't show everything! It was a fun story to write, and in some ways is the story I'm proudest of just for everything I was able to do with it.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for putting up with all the suggestive stuff. In the end, I know what I like, and let's face it--sex sells. But I also pride myself on being able to weave plenty of worldbuilding around it all, and I definitely did so here. This story and verse will continue at some point in the future; more sequels are planned and I will offer, if not separate stories, at least separate M-rated and T-rated chapters where adult action may be present. In the meantime, thanks for following, and if you want the full story of what happened, you know where to look!

Prologue

Author's Note

Welcome to the story! To recap, this it the T-rated version of the already-completed The Lawyer and The Unicorn (M-rated version), which is available through my story page or through the following blog post: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/475549/the-great-ship-sets-sail

They are the same story, except that all explicit content has been removed from this version; the adult scenes still happen but off-camera. It will still be suggestive at times, however, and may cross into R-rated territory once in a while where it serves the story. As for what to expect? The Lawyer and The Unicorn is a three-arc story detailing the aftermath ofTurnabout Stormas a smitten Twilight seeks out Phoenix once more.

The first arc is worldbuilding and character developing, the second is a twelve-chapter Ace Attorney-style trial with stakes and a setting unlike anything Phoenix has ever experienced before, and the third is its aftermath with some closing scenes, celebrations and some very special cameos. You are invited to follow the continuing story of Phoenix and Twilight as they try to answer the most important question of their lives: is what they feel real, and can it work? The answer lies ahead. You can read it here, or read the M-rated version of the story instead. Either way, enjoy!

Prologue

Music: My Feelings For You are Still Alive...

Twilight Sparkle couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so nervous.

She darted to and fro in her basement lab making arrangements and adjustments to her many machines, both mechanical and magical, all fighting for her attention. She double and triple-checked her calculations, mentally reviewing her extensive preparations and all-important checklist one more time…

For what had to be the twentieth time. She knew it was overkill even for her, but she was terrified of making a mistake, knowing that even if everything went as planned, there was no guarantee of success… no guarantee that she’d be able to see him in the short time she’d have, or even that he’d even be happy to see her. What if he isn’t even home? Or worse, what if he is but DOESN’T want to see me? she asked over and over again, part of her wondering if the only reason she was being so meticulous was to avoid the dreaded moment of truth. With the sole exception of Rarity, she hadn’t even told her friends that she was going now, fearful of their reaction…or of having to face them if her efforts ended in failure.

She just couldn’t help it. Even fighting for Rainbow’s Dash’s life in court had been nowhere as nerve-wracking as… this!

“Okay… let’s do this again, Spike,” she ordered, poring over the long checklist yet again.

The baby dragon groaned. “Come on, Twilight! We’ve been over this two dozen times already, and if we wait any longer, you’re going to miss your window!” he reminded her with no small amount of exasperation.

Twilight’s ears went flat. “You’re right, Spike. It’s just… everything has to be perfect!” She magically unrolled the scroll again. For me, and for HIM...

Spike visibly deflated. “Fine…” his shoulders slumped. “But this is the last time!”

“The last time…” Twilight agreed with no little trepidation, mentally steeling herself and trying to put her many worries aside.

“Teleportation circle…” the scribe called out the first item on the list.

Twilight stepped inside the painstakingly drawn arcane diagram on the floor of her basement lab. “Check.”

“Inter-dimensional alignment…” he said next.

In response, Twilight closed her eyes and magically searched the ether, confirming again the predicted convergence of ley lines from her world… to another. They’re still there! she recognized in relief, even though she knew full well they’d be in alignment for another several hours at least. “Check!”

“Clothes…” he followed up, giving her odd attire a dubious look.

In response, Twilight tugged at the unfamiliar and improvised garments draped loosely over her equine form. “Check!” Good thing I remembered these, or Phoenix would give me a roasting… Heh. Puns. I just hope Rarity did a somewhat decent job on my outfit...

“Return spell…” he called out the second-to-last item.

She flared her horn briefly, activating the prepared enchantment, giving it a couple quick magical tugs to confirm it was in place and acting properly. “Check!”

“And letters…” Spike reached the end of the list yet again.

Twilight checked her oddly-shaped saddlebag, now draped over one shoulder, finding several scrolls inside. “Check!”

“That’s it, then,” Spike announced, rolling up the checklist and crossing the arms to make it clear they were done. “So all that’s left…” he waited expectantly.

Twilight nodded, deciding the moment was finally at hoof (or should that now be ‘at hand’? she wondered with a nervous chuckle). She took a deep breath and cast the most important incantation in the sequence, feeling the significant drain on her power it took, only opening her eyes when the spell’s work was done. “How do I look?” she asked, rearing up awkwardly, trying to balance herself on just her lengthened hind legs, magically tugging her clothes into position over her new form.

All Spike could think was that she looked decidedly strange. “Uh… okay, I guess…”

She gave him an odd look. “Okay, you guess? It can’t just be a guess!” She flared her now-ethereal horn to float herself a mirror, but realized after a few seconds of looking at her own reflection she realized she had no more idea of what constituted ‘okay’ for her new form than Spike did. Just hope it’s okay enough for HIM, then… “Okay. I’m as ready as I’m going to be. Get back, Spike, I’m casting the spell…” she announced, waiting until the baby dragon was three times as far away as he technically needed to be before taking a deep breath, closing her eyes and activating her magic for the final time.

Arcane energies swirled up around her, enclosing her a bubble whose edges reached the outer ring of the teleportation circle. For a moment she could still be seen inside, but the bubble soon went fully opaque, glowing white for a few seconds until it began to fade.

Spike watched carefully, biting his lip in nervousness despite himself, knowing there was no way he would know whether she had succeeded or not… until and unless she returned.

“Good luck, Twilight…” he finally voiced his fears, but the bubble faded to reveal that she was no longer there to hear him.

4: Mares, Mentors and Magic

Music: Home is Where...

Twilight Sparkle had never felt so scared or confused.

She quickly abandoned her human form and clothes as soon as she rematerialized in her basement lab, running upstairs and covering her face before Vinyl could say something or a waiting Owlowiscious could offer a single hoot. She heard Vinyl call after her and teleported to her rooftop observatory, unable to face her or anypony else… including herself.

What happened back there? What have I DONE? was all she could ask herself over and over again, ignoring Vinyl’s repeated offers to talk from the ground floor. “Go away…” she finally answered, lying by her telescope and covering her head with her hooves, trying to drive the memories away.

But the unicorn DJ was not so easily dissuaded, startling Twilight by appearing with a flash next to her, now back in her pony form. “Come on, Sparks, let’s talk. Sounds like you need to,” she offered.

Twilight glared at her. “Not with you I don’t! And since when can you teleport?” she demanded to know, trying to work up some anger around the tears in her eyes.

Vinyl shrugged. “Mare of many talents. I got plenty of power, especially when I’m really into my music. But even without it, I can manage a few winks. Octy doesn’t like me doing it, so I generally don’t,” she explained shortly. “Now come on. You looked like you were having a really good time back there! So why are you so upset?”

“What do you care? You were just ‘enjoying the show’, remember?” Twilight bit out, struggling to hold back her tears.

Vinyl didn’t deny it. “Yeah, I admit I was. I mean, that was pretty hot back there, even if Maya looked like she was gonna blow an amp,” she grinned briefly, causing Twilight to flush hard in anger and embarrassment. “So are you just mad she saw you? Or that I did?”

“Well, it sure didn’t help!” Twilight snapped as her cheeks flushed further, resisting the urge to teleport further away and hide even as tears started to run down the sides of her cheeks. “It wasn’t… I didn’t m-mean for that to happen.. c-caught up in the moment… w-wanted to do it r-right… not like that… not as a… a…” she broke down sobbing as the fresh and unwelcome memories of her own enjoyment reared their heads again.

“Hey… hey. I’m here. And I promise it’s gonna be okay…” Vinyl said as she gently but insistently pulled her friend into an embrace, holding Twilight for a minute and letting her cry herself out before speaking again, waiting until her sobs had subsided a bit again. “Now I want you to listen to me. Sparks. It know it’s a shock, but there ain’t nothing wrong with it—or you. Take it from me—friendship and love ain’t like those romance novels of Rarity’s. Hay, Octy and I are evidence enough of that!” the pony DJ chuckled almost ruefully. “Truth is, they rarely happen in storybook fashion, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be any less magical when they do… and believe you me, filly, what I saw back there between you two was magic,” she gave Twilight an affectionate mane ruffle before materializing a box of tissues and dabbing at her eyes with them.

“Now you dry those tears. I know Maya’s jealous, but me, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with what you guys did, and I certainly don’t think that Phoenix only likes you as a human—I saw the way you guys acted around each other while he was here,” she reminded her teary-eyed friend. “I’d’ve liked nothing more than to see you two finish what you started. In fact, after seeing you two go at it, think I’m gonna have to take that human body out for a real song and dance myself!” she proclaimed.

“But… why would you want to?” Twilight had to ask, her voice trembling with repressed tears. “W-why would you want to be something else other than what you are?” she asked, thinking that half the friendship reports she’d sent to Celestia in some way addressed the problems caused by that very issue.

“Better question is, why wouldn’t I?” the DJ rejoined with a broad grin. “Sparks, I’ve been around the block a few times by now. I’ve had fun with just about every sapient species under Celly’s sun. I don’t shy away from new experiences, and I don’t think you should either.”

“And were you ever not yourself in your ‘trips around the block’?” Twilight challenged. “Were you ever in a different form during your ‘new experiences’? Did you only do it because of that form? And did you ever worry that maybe the colt you’re falling in love with only likes you because of that form?” Twilight’s worries spilled out uncontrollably. Or even worse, what if I can only be with him in that form? Her eyes went wide at the uncomfortable thought. What… what if I like it more as a human than a unicorn? What if I want to stay with him like that and then have to choose between him and all my friends HERE? she shivered. Oh by Celestia and Luna, PLEASE don’t force me to make that choice! she begged the sun and moon goddesses in turn.

Vinyl stared at her a moment, then smiled. “Maybe the better question to ask yourself, Sparks… is were you really not yourself there? I mean, did that form actually change who you were… or just alter the way you expressed yourself to something a little more suitable to your body?” she grinned knowingly like she already knew the answer, catching Twilight short. “Answer that, and I think you answer everything.”

Twilight reeled. Wait… she’s saying that… WAS me? That being human only meant I’d express my interest AS a human? But… that’s… her mind went into logic lock, unable to quite accept the implications. “I… I need to think about this…” the violet unicorn fell back heavily on her haunches, clutching her head in her hooves.

Vinyl stared at her again, then nodded. “Okay. But listen. If you need to talk, find me, ya hear?” she put a hoof around Twilight shoulders. “I’ve been where you are before, Sparks. So if you need advice or just a friendly ear, I’ve got them.”

“Promise,” Twilight managed a wan smile, wondering if she’d ever be able to face her friends or even look in the mirror again… thinking only that there was only one pony whose counsel could possibly help her now. Leaving Spike a note and making a brief apology to a concerned Owlowiscious, she went back out into the night, heading for the train station.

Phoenix Wright couldn’t remember the last time he felt so miserable.

As he sat out on the balcony with his head despondently clutched between his hands, he was certain that he’d not only just alienated Twilight, but perhaps more importantly, crossed an unforgivable line in Maya’s eyes. The young mystic had retreated to the backroom lounge she used as her own office, locked the door and was adamantly refusing to talk to him, leaving him alone with his own brooding thoughts.

I still don’t understand… one minute we were just talking and the next… he shivered, the memory of his own enjoyment clashing hard with the confused look on Twilight’s face and outright anger on Maya’s as the spell—he didn’t know what else to call it—had finally been broken. Glancing at the dragonfire candle, he went back to his desk and began writing a letter to Twilight, only to crumple the paper he was working on and start again several times over, unable to find the words to properly express his remorse or make amends.

For what could he even say? What words could help when you took advantage of someone you cared about and possibly left her so traumatized you’d never see her again?

I took advantage of her… the thought rang in his head over and over, clutching it between his hands. She didn’t know how her body worked… she couldn’t have known what was happening… I did… and I let it happen anyway… he clenched his fists, trying to drive the remembered feel of her human form away.

But it wouldn’t. And no matter what he did, he couldn’t stop thinking about it… thinking about her. But her as a human, not as the Twilight Sparkle he’d come to know and treasure…

Not as the Equestrian unicorn she truly was.

Does this mean… I can only be with her if she IS a human? That I’m only in love with her disguise? He slumped further in his chair at the thought. Sensing a myriad of contradictions in his own thoughts and actions, he tried to step back and examine it as he would a case in court, but there was no tangible evidence he could examine, no witness he could cross-examine… and he found his insides were simply churning too much to look at anything logically.

He shook his head in disbelief—how did logic even apply to a situation like this? I get pulled into another world full of pastel talking ponies to defend one from a murder charge. I feel an attraction to her unicorn friend who pulled me there, we hit it off. She’s a different species from a different world, wields magic and friendship, and at the very end we kiss… I spend all that time trying to get around the fact she’s a four-legged unicorn who wears no clothes, and finally do—finally accept what I feel for her and that I’m interested in her as a pony, but then when she shows up here as a human, I can’t keep MY HANDS OFF HER???? He suddenly wanted to pound his head onto his desk repeatedly as he’d seen Trixie do at Rainbow’s trial.

That brought another terrifying thought. Rainbow… Applejack… Rarity… Pinkie Pie… Fluttershy… what will THEY think of me now…? He looked up to see Fluttershy’s quill pen on his desk and turned away in pain. I hurt Twilight… I hurt their friend… if I can’t forgive myself, how could they?

Finally deciding there was nothing more he could do and that no purpose would be served by sitting at his desk brooding, he went home, telling Maya one last time through the locked lounge door he was sorry, adding that he understood if she hated him now. When no answer was forthcoming he left, turning the office lights out behind him while taking the long and lonely bike ride home to his apartment.

Maya managed to keep herself from crying until she heard the office door close behind him.

Music: A New Lesson

Time passed in a blur for Twilight as she boarded a late-night express train to Canterlot.

She was still in a daze, but her body remembered where to go, her actions happening on autopilot as she walked the darkened streets of Ponyville, went to the train station and purchased her ticket. The trip to the palace passed quickly, as the thestrals on duty allowed her to pass and enter Celestia’s private quarters without question. Within a matter of minutes, she found herself outside a pair of golden-engraved doors, opening them without even bothering to knock.

While it wasn’t unusual for Twilight to visit Celestia’s personal chambers, it hadn’t happened since she’d moved to Ponyville, and she had always had the courtesy to knock before entering. As such, Twilight’s unexpected entry into Celestia’s room came as something of a surprise to the solar princess, who was lounging in bed reading with her royal vestments removed. “Twilight! This is quite unlike you. No letter, or anything to tell me you were—” She cut herself off as she noticed the puffiness around Twilight’s eyes, her quivering lip, and dazed expression. “Oh, dear.” She moved aside on her bed slightly. “Come up here, and let’s talk, Twilight.”

Twilight climbed up onto the four-poster, princess-sized bed, and promptly buried her face in Celestia’s neck. “Oh princess... I don’t know where to begin,” she mumbled, her confusion and fear evident even though it was muffled by her position.

“Well, in my experience, it’s best to begin at the beginning, Twilight,” the alicorn said patiently. “So, let’s start with how your day went. You said you were planning on visiting Phoenix Wright on Earth, correct?”

Twilight flinched slightly. “Y-yes, that’s right.”

Noting her reaction, Celestia paused. “Then… this has something to do with him?” she hazarded.

The dam broke. “It has everything to do with him!” Twilight burst out, startling Celestia slightly. “Or maybe nothing. I don’t know, and that’s exactly the problem!” The dam broken, the story came tumbling out, about the visit to Earth, the day they spent together, their decision that their attraction was genuine, and then… the incident that was cause for her current distress at the very end. “… s-so now I don’t know if what we did and felt for each other is genuine, or if was just some… some byproduct of that human body I was in!” She said between broken breaths as she finished speaking. “What happened to me, Princess? W-why did I do that?” she begged to know. “I hurt him and me! I didn’t want him like that and certainly not so soon! We finally decided it was real and then…” she broke down crying, certain all they had or could have had was ended before it had even truly begun.

Celestia regarded her prize pupil silently for a moment, absorbing everything she had heard. She had suspected this day would come, just not so soon… or in quite the manner described. “Twilight…” she began, magically tilting her student’s face up to meet her gaze, letting her see the compassion and concern in her eyes. “I understand your distress, and that you must feel very confused and frightened by what happened. But I must ask this question, and please do not feel I am trying to make light of your ordeal,” she cautioned.

Twilight nodded jerkily, uncertain what awaited her.

“What happened with him when you were human… did you enjoy it?”

Twilight’s eyes went wide—of all the things she could have been asked, the last thing she was expecting was something so direct and probing. “I-I…” the words caught in her throat, her bloodshot eyes glazing over as she bit back the undeniable answer, fresh echoes of the sensations she had felt washing over her body.

Her reaction was not lost on her mentor, whose expression now betrayed the barest hint a smile. “Did he force or pressure you in any way?” she asked next.

Twilight looked startled at the question. “N-NO!” she exclaimed, feeling a wave of anger and indignation rise up at the suggestion. “He’d never force me! He couldn’t anyway! If anything, I led him on…”she admitted, her shoulders slumping again. “It all just… happened…”

The Sun Princess gave a barely perceptible nod, the hint of her smile growing. “And when it happened, did he enjoy it—enjoy you?”

“Yes…” Twilight barely squeaked, barely able to nod her confirmation even as she burrowed deeper into her mentor’s side, seeking sanctuary from the feelings and emotions she wasn’t yet able to accept.

With that, Celestia’s smile finally broke fully into the open. “So it was mutual, spontaneous… and pleasurable for you both?” she summarized, speaking gently.

Twilight finally recognized where her regent was gently leading her. “Y-yes… “ she finally admitted in defeat, tears streaming down the sides of her muzzle as she was forced to face the truth, looking away in shame. “B-but princess, it wasn’t… real! I-I mean, he enjoyed me a human, not as… not as… ME!”she broke down completely, sobbing into Celestia’s side.

The ageless alicorn suppressed a chuckle as she draped a comforting wing over her student’s shivering, silently sobbing form. “But is that true, Twilight?” she asked gently. “Do you really believe that what happened was somehow false just because you were in a different form?”

Twilight looked up at her in disbelief. “How could it not be?” she managed. “I wasn’t myself… wasn’t acting normally at all! That body… it affected me somehow…” she shivered. “I was doing things I never would have otherwise! I offered m-myself to him as a woman, and even before that, I tried—” tried meat, she bit her tongue to keep from saying, certain her mentor would banish her from her sight forever if she knew.

Celestia’s smile turned sly. “You tried some human food?” she suggested, a twinkle in her eyes.

Twilight froze. “I-I…”

“And liked it?” she asked again.

“Pr-princess, please…” the violet unicorn cringed, covering her head with her hooves.

Celestia could restrain herself no longer, laughing softly but nuzzling her student affectionately as she did so, squeezing her closer with a sweep of her wing. “Oh, my dear Twilight…” she tilted her chin up again, this time with a single gilded hoof. “You have learned much, but you have so much yet to learn about life… and the nature of magic.” She stated, her tone both maternal and mischievous.

Twilight was bewildered by the sudden surge of amusement and affection. “Wh-what?”

“Let me start by saying that you are quite correct, my observant student—magically taking a different physical form will affect you in some ways. The mind and spirit adjust automatically to its new body, taking on some of its preferences and proclivities. This is in fact quite normal, and even desirable—for simple self-preservation,” she stated with surety. “Doing so enables the mind and spirit to reside in and maintain that form. If it did not… the result could be eventual starvation or insanity as the body’s needs did not match those of the mind and spirit that inhabited it,” she explained with the certainty of one who had lived a thousand years and knew her magic well. “It would not, for example, do for you to retain an appetite for hay while in a human body, which is unable to digest it.

“Thus… by becoming human, you take on the omnivorous appetites of that race… and all its sensual and sexual traits as well,” her grin got broader, even knowing.

“I… I don’t understand…” Still reeling, Twilight’s mind couldn’t easily process what she was being told. “Then you’re saying that… I really wasn’t myself?” she asked, both hopeful but strangely uneasy at the thought.

“Not at all,” Celestia corrected, closing her eyes and smiling again. “Such changes are but peripheral. For what transformative magic does not do is change the core of who you are inside—who you are here,” she tapped Twilight’s chest lightly with her hoof. “Human or pony, you are still Twilight Sparkle. So what I’m saying is… yes, you reacted to him as a human woman would. Yes, you offered yourself to him as one. But you did not do so just because you were in that form,” she grinned, then her eyes turned directly on Twilight, letting her see the surety in them.

“You did so because you wanted to, Twilight, regardless of the form you were in.” She spoke slowly, emphasizing each word in turn. “I daresay the only thing your human form changed… was the manner in which it happened.”

Twilight felt faint as the words sunk in, getting up from Celestia’s side and taking a few unsteady steps away. Then… Vinyl was right and that really… WAS me…? she reeled. “I… I… I th-think I understand what you’re saying, Princess,” she finally managed, even if she still wasn’t quite able to accept it. “But doesn’t it somehow… cheapen it if I’m not in my true form? How can I be with him in a body not my own, and yet still be myself?” she shook her head. “I mean, how could you approve of me d-doing this…?” she had to ask, swallowing hard.

Celestia regarded her student for a moment, as if deciding how best to answer. Then she smiled as if she had discovered the perfect way. Closing her eyes, her horn glowed gold as she summoned her magic, her alicorn aura enveloping her entire body as lay lounged out on her bed.

Twilight recognized the spell the instant it was cast, having performed it twice that very day, but still watched agape as her mentor transformed. Her body shifted as hooves turned to hands and her alabaster fur melted into radiantly glowing bronzed skin. Her body curves facial features likewise took a decidedly human form, though her eyes remained violet and hair its flowing pastel hues. Her long alicorn horn faded into the glow it cast until it disappeared entirely, leaving no visible trace of its spiral form even though Twilight could still sense its presence.

Her transformation complete, the Sun Princess swung her long legs to the side, rose from her bed and stood on two legs before her student, a tall woman with what even Twilight now recognized as an exquisitely beautiful human body, well-proportioned and flawless, her pastel hair flowing out behind her. With that, Celestia turned her now-human gaze on Twilight, compassion but also an element of mischief in her eyes as she saw her student’s shocked expression.

“Because, my dear Twilight… I’ve done it many times myself.”

Twilight felt herself start to sway as her mentor’s words and actions registered, her vision graying out around the edges. Synapses sizzled as her already-overwhelmed mind tried and failed to process what she was seeing. A faint buzzing sound was all she heard as something shut down within her, her eyes rolled back in her head, and thus it was that Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia, fire elemental, master mage and Element of Magic, fainted dead away.

Music: A Healing Heart

Why am I bothering to come here today? Phoenix wondered to himself as he unlocked the door to his office. There’s no way that I’m in any shape to take on a case… he paused as he saw the door to the back room of the office still closed. Did Maya… stay here all night? Was she THAT angry at me…? He slumped onto the couch. Not that I blame her. There’s no one I can really talk to about this, is there…?

His inner turmoil was interrupted as the office door flew open again to admit an irate Pearl. “Mister Nick! What did you do that made Mystic Maya so angry?!” she snapped, rolling up her sleeve in preparation for a good smacking. “She won’t tell me what happened, but were you seeing a Sugar Mama? Did you break her heart? I’ll never forgive you if you did!”

All Phoenix could immediately think was that impossibly… he was, and he had. He was about to stammer an apology when his eyes suddenly landed on her magatama. It was then he remembered there was one person who he could talk to, and he very desperately needed her counsel. “Pearls… I need your help.”

Pearl stutter-stopped out of her impending rant. “Wh-why do you need my help?”

“I need you to channel Mia so I can talk to her,” Phoenix requested.

Pearl puffed up a little, bearing an uncanny resemblance to Maya when she was angry. “Why? So you can tell her how you made Mystic Maya upset?”

“Yes, actually,” the lawyer said, grimacing. “It’s important for Maya that I talk to Mia. Please, Pearls?”

Pearl frowned, but sighed. “Alright. As long as it helps Mystic Maya, I’ll do it.” Her magatama glowed, and her form expanded until before him stood his former chief and mentor, Mia Fey.

He started to greet her only to pull back. It never occurred to Phoenix until now, but Pearl’s clothes were most definitely not designed for the fully-grown, and far curvier Mia Fey. He gulped a little, trying hard not to stare. Wh… why did I never notice this until now?

“It’s been awhile, Phoenix,” Mia said with her customary smile, immediately noting with some surprise where his eyes flickered to. “What’s up?”

My blood’s location, for one thing, Phoenix didn’t say as he blushed a little, still keyed up after Twilight’s visit and shifting uncomfortably on the couch. “Well… it’s a long story, Chief,” he rubbed the back of his head, deliberately looking away from her.

“Well, I’ve certainly got time to spare.” Mia sat on the couch next to him, noting his sudden discomfort. “So, start at the beginning.”

And so Phoenix did, beginning with his unexpected journey into Equestria, and the unprecedented trial that had resulted. How he had proved Rainbow Dash and Sonata Tarot both innocent of the death of Ace Swift. How he had gone on to defend both Sonata and Trixie, getting their sentences reduced and waived, respectively. And how, through it all, he had grown closer to the mare who had brought him there in the first place, to the point they had shared a kiss and possibly more just before he had left.

“Well, then. Sounds like I missed a lot a couple of months ago,” mused Mia, a coy note in her voice, her smile growing. “You’re truly a remarkable person, Phoenix.”

“Yeah, well, after last night, I don’t feel like it,” muttered Phoenix, clasping his head in his hands again. He went on to explain how Twilight had unexpectedly visited four weeks earlier, transforming herself into a human woman, explaining that she now intended to visit whenever the dimensional ley lines were aligned around once a month or so. Finally, he got to talking about the night before, their time together, their talk, and then with great difficulty… the encounter which was cause for his current distress. “… so, in short, I’m fairly certain Twilight hates me now, and I’m definitely certain that Maya’s mad at me. She hasn’t spoken a word to me since last night.”

Mia had a rare frown on her face. “Phoenix, let me ask you something. Were you… enjoying yourself, when it happened?”

Phoenix blushed and squirmed, knowing there was no point in hiding what his own body language was saying quite clearly. “W-well, yes, kinda…” his hands flexed at the memory.

“And was Twilight enjoying herself, too?” the channeled spirit of Mia followed up.

“Well, uh… from what I could tell, yeah,” the living lawyer replied hesitantly, not sure where Mia was going.

He wasn’t expecting her to smile. “Well, then. That being the case, I fail to see that there was a problem at all, aside from perhaps Miss Scratch’s interruption.”

Phoenix stared at her in disbelief, wondering if dying had deleterious effects on one’s mental processes. “Chief… did you miss the fact that I took advantage of someone who had no earthly idea what was going on with their body at the time?”

Mia chuckled and shook her head. “From what you said, she offered herself, Phoenix. Which means she probably had a far better idea of what was going on than you think.”

“B-but still, we had just decided that what we were feeling was real, and then we just…” He trailed off, noting that Mia’s smile had a different quality to it now. “What?”

“I’m so happy to hear you say that, Phoenix,” Mia said, in an oddly relieved tone. “It means your wounded heart is finally healing.”

“I… don’t follow,” Phoenix replied, his brow furrowing in confusion.

“Don’t you? Don’t you remember what happened with the last so-called woman you entrusted your heart to?” Mia asked pointedly, crossing her arms again.

Phoenix’s expression darkened as he got what she was hinting at. “How could I forget? Dahlia ripped my heart out in that trial.” His fists clenched at his sides.

She nodded gravely. “Indeed she did. And for all these years afterward, you’ve never looked at any woman the same,” Mia went on. “You never even eyeballed me, despite my choice of attire when I was alive, and even when I fill out Maya or Pearly’s clothes.” She gestured to herself, deliberately taking a provocative pose, grinning when she saw him squirm and blush. “At least, you didn’t eyeball me until today. That means you’re finally starting to get over it.”

Phoenix blinked despite his embarrassment. The more he thought about it, the more he realized Mia was right; heck, he’d said as much to Twilight, back after his misconduct hearing. He had never given any woman—any human woman, at least—a second look since Dahlia. Had Twilight’s human form really affected him so much? “I g-guess so. But, still…” he protested weakly.

“Phoenix, you were caught up in the moment with the person who might well be your soulmate,” Mia said gently, putting her hand over his. “And I do not use that term lightly. Does it really matter to you whether she’s human or a pony? Can you not give her the love she deserves regardless of her form?”

Phoenix turned the thought over in his head. Is… is it really a matter of my preference? The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous and ashamed he felt. Mia’s right. Human or pony, she’s still Twilight! And… that’s who I’m interested in! He sat up straighter and looked up at Mia, smiling for what felt like the first time in forever. “Thanks, Chief. I needed to hear that.”

“What you need to do is to write a letter to Twilight, using that fancy candle she gave you, and explain how you feel.” Mia stood up, her smile abruptly vanishing. “I daresay she’s probably feeling just as scared and guilty as you are right now, and for all the same reasons. Meanwhile, I’ve got something to do, too,” she announced, her expression turning stern.

“Huh? What do you need to do?” Phoenix asked as he headed for his desk.

“I need to talk some sense into my little sister,” his former chief explained, shaking her head sharply. “Your love life is your business, not hers, and she needs to be made aware of it.” With that, she headed for the back room.

Phoenix shivered a little after seeing that look on his former boss’s face; one he’d only ever seen was she was getting ready to cross-examine a lying witness in court. I’m really glad I’m not in Maya’s shoes right now, he thought as he took up the quill pen made from Fluttershy’s pinion, and began to write.

17: The Heart's Turnabout, Part 1 - To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

Author's Note

Welcome to the trial! A few notes before beginning… first, this chapter DOES have an R-rated scene and a pretty dark and intense one at that as The Nightmare attempts to break Twilight, and doesn’t hold back in doing so. I took the edge off it, but decided to leave the bulk of it intact to make clear the nature of The Nightmare; that she’s perfectly willing--and able--to use your own fears and nightmares against you. Second, I’m trying something different with the trial objection graphics where the side of the screen they’re on represents the side of the courtroom they’re coming from—left for Mia, right for Nightmare. This is going to be a twelve-chapter trial, with many surprises and revelations along the way. Enjoy the opener!

—Firesight

17: The Heart's Turnabout, Part 1 - To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

Music: Unthinkable

Wha… where am I? was all Twilight could initially think as she awoke in an unfamiliar place, shivering from an uncharacteristic chill in her body. Blinking, she pulled herself up and found herself… in a courtroom. Not the one she was familiar with from Rainbow Dash’s trial and the two subsequent ones she assisted Phoenix in, but one that was… darker and firegem-lit, like something out of ancient times. She heard indistinct voices and saw shadowy shapes around her in the low light, but couldn’t recognize any of them. What’s going on…? She tried to light her horn, only to be restrained with a sharp stab of pain as a sharp rap sounded from the direction of the judge’s bench.

“Order! Order!” a dangerously familiar female voice called out, its owner hidden in the shadows by its dark coat. “This court will come to order!” she further announced with an evil grin, showing two rows of white pointed teeth that glowed bright in the moonlight, causing her guts to clench when she recognized the gleam of the judge’s helm, her midnight-purple coat, oversized wings and very long horn.

It was then she further realized she was restrained, a collar around her neck similar to the one Trixie wore in her trial and she was bound in place, confined to the defendant’s chair to the right of the defense bench… at which sat nopony. “Wh-what’s happening?” she cast about in panic, looking for her friends—for if the being sitting on the judge’s chair was somehow there and real, the only chance to defeat her was to activate the Elements of Harmony. “Where am I?”

“Isn’t it obvious, Twilight Sparkle?” Nightmare Moon asked her, the lights coming up just enough to illuminate the large and evil alicorn further, confirming her identity to Twilight’s sinking heart. A knot of fear quickly grew in her as she realized that Shining Armor and Delta Strike were also there, flanking the judge’s bench and dressed as bailiffs. They glared at her with angry, disapproving expressions, their uniforms altered to be darker and more ominous, marking them as servants of the Nightmare herself. “You are on trial. And your precious Elements won’t save you this time!” she leered.

“You’re wrong!” Twilight replied immediately, trying to work up courage and finding little, fear clutching at her heart as she beheld the terrifying creature, one she’d only barely stood up to before. “Wh-when my friends arrive, we’ll…”

Nightmare cut her off with a cackle. “Your friends are here, little Twilight…” she nodded behind her. “For all the good it does you!”

“Wh-what?” she spun and beheld… Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and even Fluttershy there, all gazing down on her with disgusted looks, forelegs crossed. Pinkie’s hair was flat, her eyes harsh, while Rarity simply stuck her nose up in the air at an angle, affecting an air of disdainful revulsion as beside her, Fluttershy simply turned her back. Only Applejack and Rainbow Dash would meet her eyes, and it was to shake their heads reproachfully.

“G-girls… pl-please…” she begged them, tears welling in her eyes. “W-we have to…”

“Halfta what?” Applejack challenged. “After what y’ did to him? Ya ain’t our friend no more. Far as Ah’m concerned, she can do whatever she wants with ya!”

“And how!” Rainbow Dash stuck her tongue out. “How could we have ever liked a perverted egghead like you?”

“I’m never throwing a party for you again!” Pinkie Pie announced. “Not after hurting Feenie!”

“H-how could you, Twilight? H-how could you do that to Mister Phoenix…?” Fluttershy began to cry while Rarity simply harrumphed and gave Twilight the silent treatment, turning her gaze on her former friend just long enough for her icy stare and manner to chill Twilight’s heart further.

“You are no longer my student, Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia announced from one row higher, sitting among the other spectators; Spike, Trixie and even her parents were among them. “I did not teach you such selfish misuse of your magic. Banishment is too good for such crimes, but our long association means I must recuse myself from the bench. So it is The Nightmare that will judge you instead,” her eyes narrowed.

“Thank you, former sister. You are as gracious as you are wise. For recalling us to sit in judgement, we almost forgive your banishment of us,” Nightmare Moon closed her eyes and grinned. “Now where were we… ah yes!” she announced theatrically, materializing a scroll written on dark parchment, bearing her seal. “The charges against Twilight Sparkle are as follows: multiple counts of misuse of magic, illegal influence of minds, imposing physical transformation against one’s will, repeated invasions of privacy, violations of the sanctity of self and most grave of all…” she paused as if to savor the moment, “rape and deliberate injury of a stallion.”

“Wh-what?” Twilight recoiled.

The alicorn’s grin got wider. “And these charges carry a hefty penalty, and I have such an interesting range of punishments to choose from. Should it be exile from Equestria? Or perhaps removal of the horn? A millennium of imprisonment might suffice… perchance even banishment to the moon, where you wouldst become my servant and plaything,” she grinned lasciviously, causing Twilight’s fear to deepen. “But then again, you might convince me to be merciful… simply by admitting your guilt.”

“No! Throw the book at her!” an angry Spike demanded from the stands. “The ones she always made me organize!”

“I knew you were bad for Nick, Sparkle!” Maya added from beside him. “But after this, you won’t hurt him ever again!”

“Wh-where’s my lawyer?” a reeling Twilight looked around frantically, seeing again the empty defense bench. “Where’s Phoenix?”

She cackled again, and this time her laughter was shared by everypony in the audience. “He would not defend you. And you can hardly blame him,” Nightmare Moon leaned partway over the bench to stare down at Twilight in triumph. “For what you did, there is no defense, Twilight Sparkle. And knowing that, nopony would take your case. But fear not. Your precious Phoenix is here…” she said as she nodded to her left. Twilight followed her eyes to see…

Phoenix Wright standing at the prosecutor’s bench!

Twilight jaw dropped and heart sank. “Ph-Phoenix?” she called to him. This c-can’t be happening…

His only response was a cold stare and crossed arms as Nightmare Moon spoke again. “Is the prosecution ready?” she asked him.

Phoenix waited a beat before answering “The prosecution has never been more ready,” he replied at length, his new prosecutor badge gleaming bright even in the low light of the room.

“Then by all means, give your opening statement,” Nightmare Moon invited.

“Ph-Phoenix… pl-please…” she called to him again through tears, but this time, he wouldn’t even look at her. Am I really… abandoned…?She began to cry.

* * * * *

“Thank you, Your Honor,” Phoenix acknowledged, his stance strangely reversed in that he kept his left hand on his hip, not his right. “As this court is only too aware, I first encountered Twilight Sparkle nearly four months ago, when she summoned me to Equestria to defend her friend.”

“And this summoning… was it willful?” Nightmare Moon asked as if she already knew the answer.

“It… was… not…” Phoenix grated out, briefly glaring at Twilight, causing her to cringe. “She pulled me into Equestria against my will and forced me to defend her friend!”

“B-But… I was just doing what I was told!” Twilight protested. “A-and I didn’t force you!”

Nightmare Moon’s silver-armored hoof came down like a gavel with a sharp rap. “The defendant will be silent while the opening statement is in progress,” she ordered. Her horn flared briefly, and suddenly Twilight couldn’t talk, her mouth moving uselessly. “She will have a chance to testify later. In the meantime… proceed, Prosecutor Wright.” She took particular glee, some part of Twilight noticed, in saying his new title.

“With pleasure, Your Honor,” Phoenix picked right back up where he left off and proceeded to recite the full litany of her sins and times she’d use magic; not just against his will, but the will of others.

Tagging him with a tracing spell after he’d been attacked. The scrying spell she’d used on Trixie. Repeated attempts to entice him with her pink aura, even his very first night in Equestria as they investigated the clearing where the murder took place. On and on the list went, each instance weighing heavily on her conscience anew, until finally…

“And I don’t think I need tell this court what she did to me just hours ago!” he slammed his hands down on his rail hard. “Transforming me against my will! Forcing me to take her in such an unnatural way!” his face contorted in disgust, his reaction all the more sharpened as Twilight felt, to her horror, her aura going pink again at the memory, visible even despite her restraint collar, which prevented magical casting but not expressions of mood. “And just look at her! She liked it!” he pointed an accusing finger at her, to expressions of revulsion and derision from the stands.

Still unable to speak, she shook her head violently even as she impossibly felt her excitement rising again to the levels it had earlier that night, her magic suddenly straining hard at the restraint collar.

“Indeed,” Nightmare Moon grinned evilly like she recognized what was happening. “And it would appear she still does. Is something wrong, Miss Sparkle? You seem… discomfited…” she asked almost lazily.

Twilight sensed what was going to happen, what her magic was about to do… but could not stop it. Her power burst free, shattering her collar and chains as it began tugging Phoenix towards her. She tried to stop it, but suddenly her desires for him were impossibly all-consuming and her mating magic again acted of its own accord, ripping his blue suit and undergarments right off him before imposing the same transformation as before, leaving his altered equipment even bigger than before.

“NO!”she shrieked, unable to defeat her own urges or control her aura as she felt herself being dragged back towards him. “Not here… not in front of everypony!” she pleaded with her own power, but it did not obey, seemingly answering only to her basest desires and not to her conscious will. Within seconds, they were performing the same unnatural act as before, bringing tears to her eyes again as she sensed her undeniable enjoyment of it, sensed the disgust of all watching…

And worse, their eyes on her only increased her enjoyment and passions further, causing her aura to intensify its efforts even more, leaving no doubt to her or anyone else of her guilt. “Such a public display, Twilight Sparkle…” Nightmare Moon needled her as she watched the obscene act almost lazily, Twilight hearing each of her words keenly despite what she was experiencing, each one causing a fresh wave of weakness within her. “One would almost think that you enjoy being watched…” the evil alicorn twisted her knife deeper, Twilight’s insides now all but afire with pleasure.

F-fire…? She suddenly blinked, then realized what was also rising within her… elemental powers surging along with her out-of-control mating magic. “No! No! NOOOOOOO!” she shrieked but it was too late. She exploded into her fire form as she reached climax, immolating Phoenix, who staggered back, ensheathed in flame, and finally keeled over, seemingly dead.

“Well, then. It would appear Phoenix Wright was correct to fear your lack of control, Twilight Sparkle,” Nightmare Moon noted with a grin as Twilight sobbed over his body, her powers having betrayed her for the final time. “Your guilt is now all but proven, but formalities must still be observed. As the trial cannot proceed without a prosecutor…” her horn flared and enveloped Phoenix’s body, remaking him. “How fitting that he is named Phoenix!” When she finished, a now-furious Phoenix had been reborn from his own ashes like his namesake… and completely transformed. Instead of his blue suit, the flames fused into an identical red one, while his hair went from black to fiery, his eyes glowing the same red that hers did in her fire form.

He now looked like a demon of vengeance, ready to drag Twilight down to Tartarus where she increasingly believed she belonged. Her vision started to go dark as the demonic Phoenix began to accuse her again, but she no longer heard him. All she could hear were her own sobs of despair as she knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that she could not be with Phoenix, that neither her magic nor her own magic-driven desires could be trusted. That she had hurt him and she could not take it back, and it had cost her everything. She felt like she was drowning in an ocean of inky blackness, icy tendrils reaching into her, clawing at her very soul… and she didn’t care. It doesn’t matter anymore… after what I did… just let it end…

And then, abruptly, a presence broke through the din, a pair of glowing, cat-slitted eyes drawing her like a moth to a flame; she instinctively migrated to the only possible source of warmth in her cold and hurting soul. It does not have to end, Twilight Sparkle… Nightmare Moon’s voice sounded clearly in her head. You can still have all that you desire. Your mate… your friends… they can be with you again…she promised.

R-really? She called to it, barely daring to hope even as some part of her recoiled, sensing dark magic and evil intent. You can undo what I did to him? I can be with him again? She called out with her thoughts in a foal-like voice.

Indeed,the voice whispered seductively. All you need to do is accept your guilt and your punishment. All you need do… is surrender to me…the voice of The Nightmare cooed softly to her. All you need do… is join with me. And all will be made right…

But… I… this isn’t real… this isn’t right… part of her still recognized, even then. Deep in her being, she sensed she was in danger, but lost in despair, she felt herself drifting inexorably closer to the voice, to its dark embrace and the promise of absolution it offered.

Join with me, Twilight…the voice of Nightmare Moon invited again.Join with me, and all is forgiven. Join with me, and the love of Phoenix Wright will be yours forever…it promised her as the darkness began to swallow her whole.

Music: An Angel’s Intervention

Twilight didn’t know how long she had been there… how long it had been since the darkness had consumed her. She could barely recall what had led her there to begin with, aside from one fact: she had hurt Phoenix gravely, and he was suffering for it. Nothing matters now… not after that.

A flicker of blue light pierced the veil of darkness that had settled around Twilight. She barely looked at it, consumed as she was by her turmoil. But when the light flared brightly, shattering the darkness around her, Twilight looked up… to see that things had changed.

Gone was the demonic version of Phoenix. Indeed, the entire gallery now stood empty, where it had been full of shadows before. And standing directly in front of Twilight was a human woman that she remembered seeing once before, if only via spirit channeling… though she didn’t have a pair of white-feathered wings sprouting from her back then, flared like a shield before her.

“M-Mia Fey?” she called out.

“It’s all right, Twilight. I’m here. I will not let her harm you,” she called back, her voice and the light somehow radiating off her breaking through, at least partially lifting the darkness that was now enveloping her, though she felt its tendrils clinging cloyingly to mind and spirit.

“Harm me? Who…?” her thought processes felt very sluggish, focusing with difficulty on the apparition before her. “Nightmare… Moon?” she recognized again, a faint buzzing sound coming from behind her that part of her insisted was from Phoenix. But… he hates me… now everypony does… she realized in renewed despair. I hurt him… I hurt everypony…

She was only vaguely aware of the confrontation in front of her, finding it very hard to process their words. Finally, the two suddenly split off to go to separate sides of the room. Mia took her place at the defense bench, and Nightmare Moon at the prosecutor’s table where Phoenix had earlier been. But… that couldn’t have been Phoenix… part of her insisted. This isn’t… real…

Her train of thought was interrupted as she heard another, all too familiar voice. “Wha? What is this place? And why is Trixie here…?”

That’s all I need, Twilight thought miserably. Another reminder of somepony I’ve failed…

* * * * *

Trixie glanced around in confusion. The last thing she remembered clearly was going to sleep in her wagon, near Appleloosa. Now she appeared to be in a courtroom, albeit one far darker and more ominous in appearance than the one she was familiar with in Ponyville. She took a good look around, examining everything she could.

“Let’s see… a winged human woman who seems vaguely familiar at the defense bench…” She cataloged, then glanced at the prosecutor’s bench, only slightly startled at who was there. “… Nightmare Moon as the prosecutor, and…” Leaning over, she was able to make out a familiar lavender unicorn at the defendant’s chair. “Twilight Sparkle as the defendant?” She broke out in a huge grin. “Clearly, Trixie is having a dream. A weird, yet wonderful dream.” She stood up and raised a chin, putting a hoof on her chest.

“But what are dreams, if not reflections of what is in our hearts… Your Honor?” Nightmare Moon asked her with a smile, putting particular emphasis on her last two words. “What purpose do dreams serve, if not to fulfill our deepest desires and wishes?”

Trixie blinked at the form of address, watching as a stairway suddenly formed in front of her, leading up to judge’s bench… “Hm… so Trixie is to pass judgement on Twilight Sparkle?” She grinned almost giddily. “Even if this is but a dream, it is a chance Trixie cannot refuse! But as judge, I will need some appropriate attire…” As she spoke, a purple robe with her trademark stars shimmered into existence around her body, covering more than her cape usually did, and a gavel appeared in her hoof. “Much better. Now then, let’s do this properly, shall we? For if I am to find her guilty, I intend to savor every moment!” She rapped the gavel on the bench, delighting in the sharp sound it made. “Court is now in session for the trial of Twilight Sparkle! Are the defense and the prosecution prepared?” she lounged back in her chair, almost leisurely.

“The prosecution has been prepared, Your Honor,” Nightmare Moon said with a grin. “And has a veritable mountain of evidence to present.”

“You’re trying to stack the deck, Nightmare. But I don’t care.” The winged human woman closed her eyes and crossed her arms. “The defense is likewise prepared, Your Honor. And fully intends to prove the defendant innocent… not just to you, but to her,” the human woman said as she looked back up and nodded at Twilight, a stern and determined look on her face.

Instead of responding with snark, Trixie stared at Mia for a moment. “You remind Trixie of somepony she really doesn’t like,” she noted, eyes narrowing before brightening again. “But that will just make ruling against you all the more fun! Very well, then,” the showmare nodded. “Prosecutor Moon, will you be so kind as to outline for Trixie the case against Miss Sparkle…?”

* * * * *

“That… ungrateful…” Phoenix bit off his last word as he watched a very gleeful Trixie ascend the offered stairwell to the judge’s bench and take her seat, immediately materializing herself a robe and gavel. “Trixie will never give Twilight a fair verdict!”

“So The Nightmare thinks. ‘Tis why she summoned her.” Even Luna sounded startled and strangely troubled; she immediately dimmed the portal they were looking through when Trixie appeared even though Phoenix could still see the darkened courtroom clearly. “She hath nary an intention of playing fair, Phoenix Wright. She never did,” Luna all but snarled. “We learned from bitter experience that she knoweth only too well how to use a pony’s fears and desires against them.”

“But there’s gotta be something we can do!” he told her in frustration, feeling helpless. He knew Mia could certainly defend Twilight, but… dammit, I can’t just stand out here and do NOTHING! “Is there any way you could get me inside there, Princess? If I can just reach Twilight, maybe I can snap her out of it…”

“Perchance there is…” Luna told him cautiously, then closed her eyes and concentrated, flaring her horn briefly. But whatever she did, nothing changed and the moon princess did not explain her spell. “But have faith, Phoenix Wright. Methinks that using Trixie as judge shalt not work as well as she thinks…” Luna set her jaw. “In truth… we have been watching Trixie Lulamoon for some time. And we do not believe she is the pony that the Nightmare and others think her to be.”

Phoenix looked at her. “What do you mean?”

Abruptly, the Nightmare looked out at them and laughed. “So you have designs on her too, my former host? Be warned you are not the only one,” the disguised alicorn cackled, startling them both. “Not that I blame you. Her power makes her an excellent prize.”

“If she is the prize thou claimeth, then why hast thou not tried to possess her thyself?” Luna challenged, recovering quickly. “Methinks thou wouldst have found her a far easier capture than Twilight Sparkle!”

“Call it professional courtesy.” The Nightmare closed her eyes and smiled. “And she is not as powerful or valuable to me as the Element of Magic herself…”

Trixie looked annoyed, rapping her gavel. “What is this? Who are you talking to?” she demanded to know, making Phoenix realize that whatever Luna had done, they could see in but Trixie could not see out… though apparently the Nightmare still could. “Trixie asked you a question: what are the charges against Twilight Sparkle?” she repeated, somewhat more annoyed that her dream was somehow not fully under her control. “The sooner Trixie hears them, the sooner we reach the guilty verdict!”

“My sincerest apologies, Your Honor. I shall now detail them forthwith…” the Nightmare bowed low, but never losing her grin. “In short, Twilight Sparkle stands accused of a multitude of different crimes, all quite serious. Among them are misuse of magic, illegal and unethical influence of minds, imposing physical transformation against one’s will, repeated invasions of privacy and most grave of all…” she repeated her earlier statement almost word for word, “the repeated rape and deliberate injury of a stallion.”

Trixie looked surprised, then grinned. “Oh really? This should be good…” she leaned forward eagerly as Mia listened dispassionately, her arms still crossed and eyes closed as Phoenix knew she often did when she was concentrating. “By all means, tell me more! So just who did she force herself on?”

Nightmare Moon smiled as Twilight slumped. “The human named Phoenix Wright.”

Mia spoke up for the first time in the trial. “The charge of rape is invalid as Phoenix Wright consented to every encounter! And the defense requests he be called as a witness to confirm this!” she pointed across the floor, and Phoenix quickly appreciated what she was trying to do—get him inside the barrier where he could be seen and heard by Twilight.

“The word of Phoenix Wright cannot be trusted, given Twilight’s magical influence on him,” the Nightmare responded quickly. “He is human and therefore has no defense against magic. He has no idea what her mating aura might have done to him, or even if his choices were actually his own.” She looked right out at Phoenix as she spoke, grinning like she knew his fears firsthand, making his guts clench.

“Do not listen to her, Phoenix Wright,” Luna told him. “She will allow Twilight to feel thy doubt and fears, which she would then use against her. Be assured she is lying, as she so oft does. We can see into thy heart as easily as she… and know the truth just as much as she.”

In contrast to Phoenix’s uncertainty, Trixie’s expression morphed from one of glee to distaste. “She rutted him?” the showmare asked in disbelief. “And more than once?”

“I believe there is an objection before Your Honor,” Mia pointed out patiently, her eyes still closed. “We need a ruling.”

Trixie looked over at Mia. “You know, you even sound like her…” she noted, giving the human woman a sideways, suspicious stare. “But whatever. I don’t care about that. Trixie will not accept suspect testimony from a weakling human that could be easily influenced by Equestrian magic. Further, Phoenix Wright is a lawyer and thus, an accomplished liar, willing to say or do anything to save a friend or client… as he so richly proved in the trial of Rainbow Dash when he falsely accused Fluttershy,” she all but sneered. “So either way, his word is worthless. Objection overruled!” She brought a gavel down hard. “Wow. That does feel good…”

“A wise decision, Your Honor,” the Nightmare grinned, and even a frustrated Phoenix had to admit that given the circumstances and his past record, it was the correct one as the spirit-turned-alicorn continued. “And I’m certain you will have more opportunity to give them. May I proceed?”

“In a moment, Prosecutor Moon,” Trixie replied with a matching grin, unable to resist a dig at Twilight. “So what’s wrong, Snarkle? No stallion would give your flank a second look? Were you just that hard up for male company that you had to force yourself on a human? Or do you just have a thing for hairless apes with no magic?”

“The defense requests that Your Honor refrain from insulting my client,” Mia asked evenly as Twilight slumped further in her seat, tears welling in her eyes once more.

Trixie gave her another look. “Every time I look at or hear you, I see and hear her…” she all but hissed. “Trixie doesn’t know who you are, or why my mind would have come up with you. But this is my dream and I’ll say or do whatever I please!”

“Unfortunately, it is not, Your Honor,” Mia said, looking up to lock eyes with Trixie for the first time. “Since we have not been formally introduced, allow me to do so now: my name is Mia Fey. I am Phoenix Wright’s mentor, and the older sibling of Maya Fey, whom I believe you already met,” she grinned.

“You’re her sister?” Trixie’s jaw dropped open, then she examined her more closely. “Yes, Trixie supposes there is a resemblance… although from what we know of human beauty standards, she obviously got the short end of the stick as far as looks are concerned.”

For the first time Mia’s eyes narrowed, but she otherwise ignored the slight. “The point, Your Honor, is that this is no mere dream. The stakes here are only too real, and you must put aside any personal enmity towards me or my client to render a proper verdict. If you do not, then not just Twilight but all Equestria—and even Earth itself—may regret it.”

“Don’t listen to her, Your Honor,” The Nightmare grinned again. ‘Tis your dream after all, so by all means have as much fun with it as you like,” she suggested evenly.

“Don’t worry, Trixie fully intends to make the most of this opportunity!” her eyes flashed, glowing blue for a just a moment. “For all the defeats and humiliations Snarkle and Mister Wrong visited upon Trixie, there is nothing you could tell me that could convince her to not return a guilty verdict!” she leaned over the bench to glare at Mia. “Now then, Prosecutor Moon… elaborate on the charges you have laid against Twilight Sparkle.”

“With greatest pleasure, Your Honor…” she grinned. “Then let us start by calling a witness to her innumerable crimes. Namely, my former prosecutor, and the defendant’s now-former plaything…” She flared her horn and the pile of shards beside her suddenly stirred again. A wind whipped through the room, chilling Twilight to the bone as it took shape, within seconds gaining the form once more of a red-suited, fire-haired Phoenix Wright, one that even startled Trixie.

“The defense calls Phoenix Wright to the stand.” The Nightmare announced with a smile.

“It should be perfectly obvious to Your Honor that is NOT Phoenix Wright! And even if it was, the prosecution just said that the testimony of Phoenix Wright cannot be trusted. She cannot have it both ways, Your Honor!”

“This Phoenix Wright is one of Twilight Sparkle’s own creation. The inevitable result of her magical meddling and injuries to him, turning him into someone unrecognizable to all. One who has every reason to hate her… and abandon her.” she recited slowly, evoking a stifled sob from Twilight and allowing one the Nightmare’s tendrils to sink another inch into her. ”And one who has every reason to tell the truth about what transpired.”

Trixie stared at the demonic version of Phoenix for a moment, then rubbed her eyes. “That’s it. No more spiced pinecones from Burro food carts before bedtime,” she muttered to herself. “But fine, Trixie will go with it. By all means, Trixie would love hearing from the mouth of Phoenix Wright himself how much he hates her. Objection Overruled!” she banged her gavel again, then lounged back in her seat with a look of lazy anticipation.

Mia didn’t give up. “Your Honor, you are dishonoring your bench, and yourself… to say nothing of the help Twilight Sparkle and Phoenix Wright gave you in your own trial.”

“What does that have to do with this?” Trixie demanded to know, though her sharp tone of voice told Phoenix that Mia had touched a raw nerve. “She didn’t help me, she humiliated me! Again!” she started trembling.

“If memory serves, she saved you from a certain guilty verdict at the hooves of a corrupt judge, and then later fought hard along with Phoenix Wright to defend you, winning a verdict that spared you any jail time. So tell me, Trixie Lulamoon… are you okay with being as unfairly biased against Twilight Sparkle as Fair Verdict was against you?” Mia retorted, her arms crossed and staring pointedly.

Trixie flinched at that, her expression dropping, and watching from outside, Phoenix was likewise stunned—but Maya never channeled her in Equestria! How does she know about that? Was she watching me from the afterlife the whole time…?

“What? How did you… but… I… this is different!” the showmare sputtered, shaking her head sharply. “Fair Verdict was bribed and unfairly biased against me just because of what I am!” she further added, Phoenix instantly noting she had slipped back into first-person speech from the still-sore emotional point of her trial.

“Whereas you’re biased against Twilight Sparkle out of little more than simple spite, bribed with a promise of petty vengeance for supposed slights that were in large part of your own making—a point I believe your own grandfather made to you?” Mia replied, causing Trixie to flinch even more sharply, now staring at the human woman agape. “Under any normal circumstance, you would not even be allowed to stand in this courtroom, let alone sit at the bench. However, as this is assuredly not a normal circumstance and I cannot request your recusal, I must ask that whatever issues you have with my client, you save them for the waking world.”

She paused for a moment to let a speechless Trixie process her words. “If you will not do so for the sake of my client, then at least do so for the sake of your grandfather, who begged you to let go of your hate and hurt.” her voice softened. “He may not be here as I am, but be assured Shadowmoon is watching you right now, Trixie. Do not disappoint him as you have so often in the past.”

“Don’t listen to her!” The Nightmare hissed. “Nothing here is real except what you wish to be. And if you wish Twilight to be found guilty… it is in your power to make happen! Simply declare it, and it shall be!”

Mia didn’t let up, continuing to address a badly wavering Trixie. “Besides that, I’m surprised you would take what Nightmare Moon says at face value, given her reputation as a liar.”

Nightmare Moon was scowling at Mia now. “A liar, am I? You don’t know the first thing about me, spirit!”

“I know that you are a demon of dreams and possessor of souls. I know that you once enthralled Princess Luna, promising her the adoration and respect of her subjects. I know you promised her that she would be as beloved as her sister,” Mia recited, causing the Nightmare’s eyes to go wide, Luna nodding her agreement from outside the barrier in bitter memory. “And yet, what happened? Luna was, and still is to this day, viewed with fear and suspicion amongst the ponies of Equestria because of what you did. So what else can I call you but a liar?”

The Nightmare gave her a sneer. “So I am being accused of serial lying by a defense attorney? Lies are your stock in trade!”

Both Mia and Nightmare Moon looked up at Trixie at the shout. The unicorn took a deep breath, rubbing her head with a hoof. “The defense… has made a valid point,” she said with obvious reluctance, to the Nightmare’s visible shock. “Just to be clear, Mia Fey… I do not like you or even understand how you could know these things about me. I have no idea how my subconscious mind came up with you, but you remind me too much of an old enemy and thus far I find you just as manipulative as she is!” she all but hissed, then sat back and rubbed her eyes again.

“And yet… even if this is but a dream… were I to declare Twilight Sparkle ‘guilty’ based purely on my own personal feelings… then I would be no better than Fair Verdict,” she admitted grudgingly. And though I am many things, I will not sink to her level!” With that, she seemed to take new resolution as sat back in her chair, her voice much calmer than before. “Make no mistake—I still don’t believe this is real, or that my grandfather is somehow watching this. But out of respect for his memory and a simple desire to see proper justice done, I will try to judge Twilight Sparkle based on the evidence and testimony presented.”

“Thank you Your Honor,” Mia nodded in satisfaction while The Nightmare fumed.

“You are making a mistake, Trixie Lulamoon,” she turned her ire on the mare magician for the first time, baring her teeth again in anything but a pleasant grin. “Pray you do not give me cause to make you regret it.”

Trixie gave her an odd look. “I’ll take my chances.” She then regarded both sides, her eyes narrowing. “Now then… we are here to confirm or disprove the guilt of Twilight Sparkle in regards to the charges laid by Prosecutor Moon. And if Trixie is to be a real judge, then she must act as one. And that means any more threats against the bench or pointless attacks on the character of either the defense or prosecution will be met with a steep penalty… and I remind you both that whether this is a dream or not, I have the power to make it happen.” Her eyes flashed blue in emphasis, the air around her chilling sharply. “Is Trixie clear?”

“Yes, Your Honor,” Nightmare Moon grated. “Though it will make little difference,” she said with a hiss, directing a cat-eyed glare at Mia.

“Crystal clear, Your Honor,” Mia replied with the barest hint of a smile, then turned her attention across the darkened courtroom pit, only the light of a moon illuminating the space between them. “The playing field is now level, Nightmare. So I’m afraid you won’t win this case by cheating.”

“We shall see, Mia Fey…” abruptly her smile returned. “We did ask for a true battle of wits. And we grant that thus far, you are providing one.”

“Enough!” Trixie called out, rapping her gavel and suddenly sitting up a little straighter in her seat. “Now call your first witness, Prosecutor Moon… whatever he is,” she frowned at the Red Phoenix.

“As you wish,” she acknowledged, as Red Phoenix walked to the witness stand, hair aflame and eyes aglow.

* * * * *

Outside of the Nightmare’s barrier, Luna smiled at a gobsmacked Phoenix.

“I don’t believe it…” he told her. “She actually got Trixie to be fair!”

“‘Tis true, thy mentor is quite clever… but e’en her efforts would not have worked had Trixie lacked all conscience or heart.” The moon princess nodded in great satisfaction. “We told thee that there was more to Trixie Lulamoon than met the eye, Phoenix Wright. And thus, the Nightmare has made her first miscalculation. One of the major pieces on her side of the board has been removed, and we sense that she had staked much of this trial on Trixie’s bias. Now she must win legitimately and can only do so by making a solid case against Twilight Sparkle. One even she will believe.“

Phoenix nodded dumbly, barely daring to hope that Mia could yet pull off the impossible… and wanting with every fiber of his being to help. “But what is that thing?” He pointed at his doppelganger. “Twilight has to know that’s not me!”

“We regret that in some ways, it is thee, Phoenix Wright,” she shook her head. “‘Tis best described as a dark version of thee, given form and voice by The Nightmare’s magic. ‘Tis not corporeal and cannot exist outside her realm, but she has imbued it with thy memories and select emotions, likely taken from you during dreams,” she explained. “And ‘twould seem the emotions she selected were thy feelings of anger and betrayal thou felt earlier towards thy mate…”

Phoenix slumped. Great… so that thing is all my fears and anger I felt earlier towards Twilight… meaning I’m partially responsible for making him…“I have to get in there…” he told her again, every second he spent outside agony, unable to reach Twilight. “I have to take that thing’s place!”

“Be patient, Phoenix Wright…” Luna promised him. “We have already summoned help…”

Music: Testimony - Moderato

“State your name and occupation,” Nightmare addressed her star witness.

“Phoenix Wright. Or rather, what’s left of him,” he all but snarled, his voice that of Phoenix but darker and angrier, a reverberating echo accompanying it “As for my occupation, I was a defense attorney. But now, betrayed and lied to for a second time, I will never defend again! I am now incapable of love or trust, and it’s all thanks to her!” he pointed an accusing finger at Twilight, who slumped again

“Truly a tragic tale,” the Nightmare said almost mournfully. “And just what did she do to turn you into such a fallen creature?”

“Where do I begin?” his eyes flashed, glowing brighter.

—— Witness Testimony ——
Betrayal and Broken Promises

Twilight Sparkle is a selfish mare who ruins every life she touches, to whom friendship is just an opportunity to exploit. She lied to me and tried to seduce me repeatedly, even going back to my first night in Equestria, unable to take no for an answer. She used her magic to force me to love her, then make love to her, making me feel and do things I would never have otherwise! She used magic on me without telling me, and then in her most egregious act and violation of magical law, she transformed me against my will, trying to turn me into her dream stallion! She is a menace to all males of any species, and thus neither she nor her power can be trusted!

The testimony was delivered with great outrage and vehemence, each word heard keenly by Twilight, a fresh stab into her-already battered psyche.

“Dammit, don’t listen to him, Twilight! That’s not ME!” Phoenix yelled uselessly from outside the magical barrier, even as he felt part of his own fears re-emerge. But… what if he’s right? What if her magic did all this to me, even without her knowing…?

Mia glanced out at Phoenix like she could see him as well, and frowned. “Your Honor, the defense moves to strike this witness testimony. It is nothing more than insults and unsubstantiated allegations. The prosecution has not yet produced one shred of evidence to back such outlandish claims!”

“Sworn witness testimony is always given the benefit of the doubt, Mia Fey. If you feel my witness is lying, feel free to prove it in cross-examination. That’s what it’s for,” The Nightmare responded instantly.

Trixie closed her eyes for a moment; she looked to Phoenix to be grappling with her own internal struggle. “Trixie cannot strike testimony simply because the defense doesn’t like it, Mia Fey. But by the same token… as much as Trixie wants to believe this witness and find Twilight guilty of these crimes on the spot… she cannot do so with unsupported allegations, particularly coming from a highly questionable source. The defense is correct that accusations mean nothing without evidence, Prosecutor Moon. I cannot convict with witness testimony alone.”

“Oh, I have plenty of evidence to present, Your Honor,” Nightmare closed her eyes and smiled. “I am simply saving it for opportune moments. And I would not dream of denying my esteemed opponent her right to cross-examine my witness.” She gave a mocking bow across the floor to Mia. “The floor is yours, counselor.”

“And so is he,” Mia said, pulling back a lock of her hair and fixing her gaze on the faux Phoenix Wright.

—— Cross-Examination ——

Twilight Sparkle is a selfish mare who ruins every life she touches, to whom friendship is just an opportunity to exploit.

“Twilight Sparkle is a beloved friend of six mares and many other ponies, each of whom the defense would be happy to call as character witnesses.”

“Their testimony is irrelevant to the issues at hoof, Your Honor. My witness may be engaging in some understandable exaggeration given his experiences with the defendant, but should this become a battle of character witnesses, I can call everyone from neglected former schoolmates to threatened griffins to Your Honor herself!”

Trixie grimaced. “Trixie will not allow this trial to turn into a high school popularity contest! Trixie will decide this case based on evidence, and she reminds the prosecution that thus far she has presented none!”

The Nightmare’s grin only got wider. “I ask for Your Honor’s indulgence for now. Be assured I will present another witness and much accompanying evidence later.”

Mia smiled as well. “If she isn’t willing to present evidence now, that line of testimony should be struck, Your Honor.”

“So ordered,” Trixie rapped her gavel and the line magically erased itself from the trial transcript. “So what did she do to you, witness…?”

She lied to me and tried to seduce me repeatedly, even going back to my first night in Equestria, unable to take no for an answer.

“When did she lie to you?” Mia asked.

Red Phoenix made a derisive sound. “Try my very first night in Equestria, when she said she summoned me by accident!” he answered immediately and with great contempt. “Never mind that ridiculous garbage about using an ‘identity spell’ to learn my name!”

“And did she later explain those lies?” Mia challenged, her tone making clear she already knew the answer, leaving Phoenix wondering again how she knew all that had transpired in Equestria. It’s as if she was there…

The red-suited copy of Phoenix rolled his eyes and snorted. “By claiming Princess Celestia ordered her to make them, yes.”

“And what was her purpose in making them?” Mia followed up.

“Supposedly, to force me to defend her friend.”

“So she did it for others? Funny, I thought you said she was selfish,” Mia chuckled.

“That testimony was struck, Your Honor,” The Nightmare quickly pointed out.

“Withdrawn,” Mia answered before Trixie could rule, then turned her attention back to the Phoenix doppelganger, closing her eyes and grinning. “So by your own testimony… my client’s choice was between defying her mentor or saving her friend by gaining her competent defense counsel?”

Red Phoenix audibly hissed. “She didn’t need me! She could have gotten any Equestrian lawyer to defend Rainbow Dash!!” He slammed his fists down on the rail in direct imitation of the real Phoenix.

“Really. Because I know for a fact she tried a dozen different lawyers before Phoenix, and all declined due to the unheard-of charge of murder.”

“And just how does the defense counsel ‘know this for a fact’?” The Nightmare asked the question Phoenix wanted to.

Instead of answering, Mia looked across the pit and smirked. “I can have my client name each of those dozen attorneys, whom we can then call to testify to the truth of my statement. I’m sure we’ll find at least a few of them asleep, and thus available to be summoned to this realm. But do you really want to waste this court’s time on such a pointless tangent, prosecutor? Or will you just be a good little Nightmare and accept my claim’s veracity?” she needled.

Nightmare lowered her head, her cat-eyes narrowing in anger. “If it means moving on from your equally pointless nitpicks and on to more fertile grounds… the prosecution accepts the defense’s claim and withdraws its objection.”

“Trixie can certainly see how you were Phoenix’s Wright’s mentor!” a facehoofing showmare added from the bench, suddenly wondering just what kind of dream she was having that was giving her flashbacks to Phoenix Wright’s cross-examinations in Rainbow Dash’s trial. “Let Trixie end this line of questioning by saying that since the prosecution concedes the point, this court will not require evidence and accepts that Twilight Sparkle lied—in this one instance—because she was ordered to by the Princess. Now move on!” she ordered Mia, increasingly impatient.

“Yes, Your Honor,” Mia agreed. “Now what was that you were saying, witness…?”

She tried to seduce me repeatedly, even going back to my first night in Equestria, unable to take no for an answer!

“So exactly how did she try to seduce you?” Mia visibly rolled her eyes.

“Do I really have to hear this?” Trixie grimaced.

“He made a claim, so I am allowed to challenge it, Your Honor,” Mia grinned while outside the barrier, Phoenix flushed.

“If you want to humiliate your own client, feel free, counselor,” The Nightmare grinned again as a shoulder-slumped Twilight looked like she wanted to hide.

Mia flicked her but a glance, sparing a more concerned one for Twilight. “Answer the question, witness.”

“Suit yourself, Chief. You even have to ask? By letting her aura go pink around me. By letting her magic go to work on me! She just couldn’t control herself, and that alone makes her a menace to any male she faces!”

“So she directly requested sex while he was in Equestria?” Mia challenged, tapping her fingers on her arm.

Red Phoenix looked triumphant. “Yes. Once. She used her aura on me and everything.”

“And you gave in?” Mia pinned him with a probing stare.

For the first time, he hesitated. “Well… no,” he admitted.

“And did she accept your answer?”

“Yes…” he finally admitted. “But that doesn’t mean…”

Mia looked very smug as she pointed at him. ”But it does mean it. By your own statement, my client was ‘unable to take no for an answer’. Yet you just admitted that she did accept an answer of no the one time she directly offered herself. So how can you claim she ‘couldn’t control herself’ when she in fact respected your wishes?”

The Nightmare tried to head off the damage as she saw Twilight’s head come up slightly as she sensed the truth of Mia’s argument herself. “The defense is trying to focus all this court’s attention on a single incident, Your Honor, as if that nullifies all the others that came after.”

“So is the prosecution suggesting he was raped later?” Mia folded her arms again.

“The prosecution is saying the defendant was working on her victim, even then—or rather, her aura was,” The Nightmare leered at Twilight. “That she was a very patient predator, using it to mold him into her lover.”

“Her mating aura is involuntary!” Mia pointed a finger across the pit at the apparition-turned-alicorn. “When aroused, a unicorn cannot restrain it any more than their breathing! You can’t accuse her of willful rape based on that!”

“I most certainly can, because involuntary or not, she knew its effects!” The Nightmare quickly countered. “She knew he would be much more vulnerable than the average pony to them, lacking as humans are any form of innate magical defense! And she also knew those effects would be cumulative over time with repeated exposures, making him gradually more amenable to her advances! I would be more than happy to call my own expert witnesses to confirm such facts… or would you just be a good little angel and admit my claim’s veracity?” she retaliated as tears began to stream down Twilight’s cheeks.

“That does not prove her motive or establish a pattern of wilful manipulation—particularly when two of the instances were spontaneous!” Mia pointed across the floor.

Trixie’s gavel came down hard again, silencing the back and forth. “Allow me to cut this short by pointing out that whether this claim of willful rape or influence is plausible rests on one simple question: Witness! Did Twilight Sparkle inform you of a mating aura’s effects?” she asked directly.

“Not right away,” he sneered, turning to glare at the object of his hate. “She did later, making some excuse about ‘being a fact of pony life she didn’t think about it at the time’.”

“How convenient,” Nightmare stated simply as Trixie frowned and even Mia grimaced. “And how many times did she show you her pink aura while you were in Equestria?”

“Three! Including once on the very first night!” he pointed an accusing finger at Twilight again, who cringed. “We were investigating the crime scene, and she went pink right in the middle of it! She wanted to have me right then and there!”

“Well. So much for putting the needs of her friends first!” Nightmare noted idly, sinking her fangs into Twilight further.

“Withdrawn,” The Nightmare said easily, though Phoenix knew the damage was done as Twilight slumped further and Trixie’s troubled look got more pronounced.

“You don’t waste time, do you Sparkle?” she finally said at some length, rubbing her head again with a hoof. “Just kindly spare me the salacious details…”

“And what were the circumstances behind that particular incident?” Mia quickly interjected. “Did she just do so out of the blue? Or did something set her off?”

The Nightmare frowned while the red-suited mockery of Mia’s former subordinate hesitated again. “I… might have brushed her horn while wondering about magic.”

Mia smirked. “‘Might have’?”

He looked angry, but gave his grudging reply. “She lit up the clearing with her horn and I asked her about magic, pointing at her horn. She jerked back from it and her aura turned pink then, okay?”

There was a loud thump sound as Trixie’s head met her bench. “And you’re trying to pin that incident on her?” she deadpanned, pulling herself back up. “Unicorn horns are an erogenous zone, you red-suited reprobate!Since you seem as dimwitted as you did the first day of Rainbow Trash’s trial, allow me to spell it out: Horns are very sensitive to physical contact, especially while magic is being channeled in any way! In fact, one of the dirtiest tricks you can pull on a unicorn is to rub their horn while they’re charging a spell. That always produces a reaction!” She rubbed her head as if in memory. “Trixie had to learn that herself once… though she very much got even for it later…” she closed her eyes and grinned.

“I didn’t know that at the time!” protested the red-clad mockery.

“Ignorance of the facts is no defense in this instance, witness!” Trixie retorted. “Knowingly or not, you provoked that reaction from Sparkle! This incident was of your own doing!”

Too true, Mia noted. “I thank Your Honor for putting it so succinctly and ask her to spare us her personal experiences. And what of the other incidents, Witness?”

“Your Honor, allow me to spare this court more interminable nitpicking on this point by saying the prosecution concedes there was no rape in the three incidents mentioned,” Nightmare Moon interjected. “The rapes in question took place later, enabled in large part by repeated exposures by Miss Sparkle’s mating magic.”

“How much later?” Mia asked, crossing her arms and allowing herself a smug grin. If she claims it was months later on earth like I expect, I can just say that was more than enough time for any magical effects to have dissipated. Even Trixie would have to admit the truth of that…

The Nightmare waited a beat before answering, then grinned broadly, showing her teeth. “Mere days, counselor,” she announced evenly, her next words flooring Mia, Phoenix, and even Luna herself. “The night before Sonata Tarot’s trial, she forced herself on him as he slept…”

To be continued…