Mirror: Book I - Mind

A soulless, heartless reverberation echoed throughout the castle corridors and bounced right back to the very person taking each and every step down the hall as slowly and methodically as possible. The weight of all the events the night prior lingered still, his hand pacing against the wall as each tread felt heavier than the last. Laying in bed that very morning, he wondered if bothering to get up this morning bore any purpose into his very existence in this world whatsoever. What was he then, after all of this? A simple, silly spell gone haywire? Something that was not meant to occur, and now had to be dealt with and accounted for its liabilities. In other words, he was not meant to be here after all.

He was an accident.

The library doors parted to his push, slowly and creakingly, the stark white and gold light of the morning bouncing off the crystalline railing and walls. His gaze slugged across the shelves and sauntered to the center of the chamber, where he and the very pony whom he had glimpsed into the mind of, laid in slumber only hours ago. Alas, the blankets and pillows lied barren of anypony whatsoever. Twilight was gone.

David nearly collapsed altogether as he closed the distance to the small table and rested himself to its surface, gazing longingly up towards the stain glass windows lining the rotundus center of the library. Yet another memory played in his head, a reminder of the same church he and his family had gone to every Sunday. He could only wonder how they were fairing.

Suddenly, the library doors burst apart. The boy jolted and raised his sights, a single little pony and a dragon quickly running up to him.

“Mr. David, you have to help us!” Came a desperate wail.

“Sweetie Belle?” The boy rose to his feet. “What’s the matter?”

“I-It’s Scootaloo!” The white little unicorn cried. “She’s…she’s…”

Easy does it, nothing terrible could have possibly happened to the little sport, not now. David surmised within his head. She’s probably just scraped her knee, or lost her scooter, or something.

Spike rose to finish the little mare’s sentence. “Scootaloo, she’s been taken to jail.” The dragon gulped audibly. “They’re going to take her to court!”

The boy was reminded once again that of all the places in Equestria, it always seemed that Ponyville was most notorious for housing the most ludicrous and inexplicable of events. And that most certainly wasn’t because the near entirety of the main cast lived here. Right?

“Well, mister Equerry.” Starlight calmly trotted into view. “I don’t suppose you got any tricks up your sleeve for this one, do ya’?”

“Sure makes me wonder,” he stared back. “What do you suggest a guy like me is supposed to do in a situation like this?”

“If I were Equerry, then maybe I’d know.” The unicorn answered back.

David delivered a stung, slitted gaze before glancing back to the barren spot in the middle of the library. He rubbed his temples and shook the last of his sleepiness away. “Where’s Twilight?” He asked.

“She went to Town Hall as soon as she heard that Scootaloo was in trouble.” Spike provided. “It’s a mess out there, all of Ponyville is up in hooves! And it’s not just Scootaloo, but the weather team will be there, too.”

“The pegasus patrol?” David wondered. “I suppose the local farmers weren’t too happy with their deeds, but what do they got to do with any of this?”

“The ‘do-no-wrong’ witness just so happened to fall beneath the same victimization of all our lucky suspects.” Starlight explained. “The weather pegasi have a lot to make up for in rain fees, and Scootaloo…well, the sport’s got a whole story of her own. We should probably go listen to what she has to say, while there’s still time.”

“So let me get this straight, they’re going to have two trials for the same guy?”

“And that’s where the Judge comes in.” Starlight announced. “Miss Mayor Mare has declared a joint trial.”

David stood back and pondered over the possibilities that lay before him. Only last night had he walked out of a series of daunting revelations, walking the empty halls of the castle in wonder of where exactly he was supposed to go or what to do next. There was a sense deep down within him that had been awakened, a sense to one’s duty. He slowly reached into his pocket and pulled forth the medallion that lied within, the Equerry’s badge.

“Please, Mr. David, you’re the Equerry of Ponyville.” Sweetie Belle pleaded. “You can do anything, can’t you?”

David gave the filly a sharp gaze. “No.” He said. “Not anything.”

The little pony’s ears flattened.

“But,” he rose again. “I’ll be damned if I don’t do something.”

This is it then. He decided. I’m going to put everything to the side and focus on what needs my attention the most. It’s do or don’t!

“Spike?”

“Y-Yeah?” The dragon jumped.

“You still got that sandwich wrapped up?”

The assistant nodded.

“Heat it up for me.” David adorned a tight and confident stride. “I’m going to need it.”

The orange little pegasus sat quiet as ever in the center of her jail cell, uttering not a peep nor eliciting a single whimper. The hurt which she felt was a shock instilled within, one that shook her to her core and made her but a husk of the pony she had only been the day before. The bat pony positioned on the other side of the bars struggled to fix his gaze over the child, even though it was his job to do so. In spite of the fact that neither of them were the same, distant cousins as it might as well have been, Ralph could still sense the discomfort stirring deep within her. He glanced over the little pony once more, a whole new strike of sympathy filling his yellow sights. Ralph opened his mouth to speak, but the door to the barracks burst open.

Ralph raised his spear in alarm to the sudden occupancy, but the boy had his badge out quicker than the guard could speak.

“Talk to the badge.” He splayed. “If I didn’t have this I’d flip you the bird anyhow.”

Sweetie Belle looked over to Spike with an expectant answer, but the young dragon simply shook his head. Those with digits weren’t allowed to say.

“Guys…” Scootaloo scooted closer to the bars, hooves wrapped around. “I can’t believe you all came to see me. You didn’t have to do that…”

“I’m sorry, Scoots, this is all my fault.” Sweetie gripped the bars, tears threatening to trail. “I never should have-”

“Don’t sweat it, Belle.” The pegasus struggled a chuckle. “I kinda had the feeling that I’d end up in jail at some point in my life. But now…I guess I don’t really know what to do.”

“And that’s why we’re here.” David knelt down. “I’m sure there’s some innocence to find here yet, just have faith.”

“Thank you,” she fidgeted. “Mr. David.”

The boy studied her body language, the twitch of her ears and the way her tail swished from one side to the other every so often. Obviously the girl was a tad uncomfortable, as though she knew something.

“You don’t gotta be so formal.” The boy reassured. “Just call me David.”

Scootaloo said nothing thereafter, her eyes locked towards the ground and her snout in a tiny scrunch. The boy caught Ralph in the corner of his eye, partially opening his wings as though to assert a degree of authority, slitted eyes landing on Sweetie Belle and Spike before glancing back to the Equerry.

“I trust her Highness, Princess Sparkle, has assigned you here on official business only?” The bat pony questioned.

“Why would she need to do that?”

“It must be because Scootaloo doesn’t even have an attorney to defend her case.” Starlight joined. “It’s the reason why she went to Town Hall, to speak with her guardians over the matter.”

“Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty said they could get somepony for me, but…that was since last night. They haven’t been back since.” Scootaloo slumped.

All of this was going on while I was asleep. David thought to himself. If only I had stayed at the bar a little longer that night, maybe I would’ve seen something, maybe I could’ve changed something. But, that’s all out of my reach now. I’ll just have to probe the hell out of her, get what information I can.

“It should come to your attention that if the suspect does not acquire a suitable attorney in time for the trial, she will be transported to the capitol where the court will commence there. The city will provide her with an attorney of their own, but…” Surprisingly, Ralph’s eyes showed uncertainty. “There will be no guarantee that the selected defender will be the best fit for Scootaloo, or even the case set against her for that matter.” He blinked back his composure. “In any case, if you plan to draw out a testimony from the suspect, all unauthorized individuals will need to vacate the room.”

David followed Ralph’s gaze over to Sweetie Belle and Spike, their stances wavering between wishing to stay or simply leaving for the sake of their friend. The boy waved with a calm gesture, telling them to listen.

“I need you two to go find Twilight.” He said. “Tell her Starlight and I have spoken to Scootaloo.”

“On it!” Spike puffed his chest and beckoned for the other pony to follow. Sweetie spared one last look at her pegasus friend before trotting along. The door turned shut, and the duo returned to the estranged, little victim behind the bars.

There was a quiet moment longer, almost as though none of them knew what to do or what to say next. David knew what he had come for, but wasn’t entirely sure how to reach towards such a testimony, especially when it came to the fragility of a simple child. However, Scootaloo was a strong young pony, and he wanted to put his faith in those words, and in his thoughts. Memories of an injured apple filly filled the boy’s head, along with his commands he had sent out to the unicorn and the small pegasus before him. In the midst of his thought, Starlight raised a hoof and nudged the boy’s side, beckoning with a flick of her head. David nodded in understanding.

“Scootaloo…?” He began hesitantly.

The pegasus said nothing.

“I want you to know that I don’t see you as a criminal, a bad pony, or anything like that.” He attempted. “Just because you’re behind those bars doesn’t mean you did anything wrong.”

“Then why am I really in here?” Muttered the pegasus.

It was David’s turn to lay quiet.

“You know what the other pegasi always told me? The kids from Cloudsdale who used to live here?” Scootaloo started. “I always talked some big game about my dad, said that he was out on his adventures wrestling cragodiles or something like that. But those kids always told me-” She shuttered. “They said he was a bad pony who did a lot of bad things, and he was in jail because of it.” The little pegasus curled inward, shaking and sniveling. “I’ll bet Rainbow Dash already knows I’m in here, she may as well never speak to me ever again…”

Ralph willed himself to bite back the urge to tell the boy that all appendages must remain outside of the confines of the cell. With that, the boy reached forward with an open palm and held the little pony’s hoof. Scootaloo blinked her tears back and looked up.

“Wouldn’t wanna cry like that in front of Rainbow Dash, now would ya’?” He tried a joking tone. “She still needs somepony to look up to.”

“H-How could I ever…?” Scootaloo quavered.

“I’ve trained with her before.” David chuckled. “She still needs some work.”

It got a snicker out of the little pegasus.

“Listen, kiddo.” Starlight butted in. “Everything’s a little confusing right now, I know, but this is important. We need you to tell us what happened last night.”

David realized then why she had let him take the initiative in talking to Scootaloo, as even she knew her blunt attitude wasn’t quite the best fit for children. It seemed as though the little pony took her words as a direct order, and struggled for a more serious tone.

“I can try.” Scootaloo nodded. “But, I hardly remember what happened at all. Everything was so blurry, and I felt sick too.”

“Sick?” David wondered.

“I guess you guys were going to find out, one way or another.” She took a deep breath, fixing her posture and closing her eyes. “Well, here goes…”

「SCOOTALOO’S CONFESSION ‣」
“I was feeling really down that night, so I went behind the bar to find a drink.”
“Ever since Apple Bloom took her fall, we’ve felt nothing but guilt.”
“Anyways, it was really dark that night. I couldn’t even see where I was going.”
“Then, there was a big crash! Like—WAM! And then I heard another crash further away.”
“Something hit me over the head and it really hurt.”
“The next thing I know the guards came to get me, and now I’m here.”

David and Starlight leaned back and began pondering over the confessor’s words, taking everything in the best they could. The boy sat and wondered how exactly he was going to remember everything, especially knowing how important the details were to the bigger picture. At the scratching of a pencil and the whirling of magic, David turned to see Starlight hovering a pencil over a small notepad, dotting down the last of her notes.

“What’re you doing?” He asked.

“What does it look like?” Starlight drawled. “Taking notes, genius.”

“Hm, I guess I never would’ve thought of that.” The boy’s mind clicked.

“This is why you never would’a made it in this world without me.” The unicorn played a cocky grin.

“Right…” David dead-panned, knowing damn well this was the same pony who not only tried to kill him upon first meeting, but also allowed him to walk straight into perhaps the deadliest forest on the entire planet. He subsided the thoughts and turned back to the pegasus with a serious gaze. “So, Scootaloo…” He began slowly. “Is it true that you were drinking?”

The filly nodded in shame.

“You would’ve been luckier to get a scolding from your aunts, but now that the cops know there’s bound to be a penalty.” David sighed. “Sorry, squirt.”

“But-!” She started. “All those other things they said about the crash, and the farm pony and his shed.”

“So, when you heard that crash, it was the farm pony’s shed?” David wondered. “What happened to it?”

“It got destroyed somehow, smashed to pieces.” She gripped the bars. “But it wasn’t my fault, honest!”

“I know, Scootaloo, I believe you.” He calmed. “You said there were a lot of things you don’t remember, so it sounds like there’s a lot more to the story here. More than we think.”

“This farm pony.” Starlight ventured. “Who was he?”

“I-I don’t know.” Scootaloo came up blank.

“Did you at least see his cutie mark?”

“No, it was too dark.” She shook her head. “I only ever remember seeing the guards.”

David and Starlight leaned back to relax once more, absorbing the information and attempting to come up with conclusions in their head. Alas, one could only get so far on words alone. As far as they knew, other ponies might have already beaten them to the punch. The boy only hoped that Sweetie Belle and Spike had gotten to Twilight in time.

“When does the trial start?” David asked.

“Eleven o’clock.” Ralph dutifully informed. “You have approximately three hours until then.”

“Aren’t they hasty?” David grunted, rising to his feet.

“Ready to tackle the ‘crime scene’?” Starlight readied.

“Sure, but first let’s-”

“No time to waste!” The unicorn flared her horn to life.

“No, WAIT-”

He hadn’t spoken quickly enough, and was ensnared into the teleportation spell as a cold-teal flash of light splashed out, leaving nothing but magical sparkles in their wake.

Starlight sauntered calmly down the lane leading to the Ponyville plaza square, the boy bringing up the rear as he clutched his stomach and lumbered along the cobbled roads with one heavy march after the other. The unicorn was busy underlining and highlighting the last of her reports, taking careful note to anything that might be of use to their case. She felt an impact at her rear, the pony whipping around to address her companion.

“What’s the matter with you?” She sneered.

“You know my intestine don’t agree with your fancy mode of transportation.” He slouched back and caught his breath. “You made me lose the most important piece of evidence.”

“Oh yeah, what’s that?”

“My sandwich…”

“Wrong.” She justified. “The most important piece of evidence we have right now lies with this.”

Once again, Starlight’s horn swirled with magic and her kinesis went into his pocket. She pulled forth the very medallion she had fought a good nine months for, only for it to fall into the hands of some hairless bipedal from another planet. The piece shined brilliantly in hues of golden and silver beneath the sunlight. The Equerry’s badge.

“If it weren’t for this, you and I would have absolutely no say in this whole ordeal. Nada, zilch, nothing.” Starlight furthered. “I think I know who you are now. After having a few months to get a good taste of your character, the picture’s all starting to come together. You’re a little bitchy from time to time, you whine when I’d rather you not and you just can’t help but let all the answers to your problems fly right over your head. But you’re kind-hearted, sometimes a little too much for your own good, but you wanna help people, even if you’re not fully prepared to do so. That’s why…” She faltered into a pause.

“Starlight…?” David searched.

“I’ve made up my mind.” She nodded. “I want to help you.”

“Is there some sort of existential crisis you’re not telling me about here?”

“Trixie is gone now, and ever since things haven’t been the same. For me, at least.” She confessed. “I didn’t offer you my friendship because Twilight told me to. That might’ve been the case at first, but seeing one of my best friends hit the road came with a more devastating blow than I could have ever conceived of.” She fought a glower, looking to the boy confidentially. “I’m not going to turn a blind eye to my friends’ problems anymore. So, let me do the best I can to guide you. Just this once?”

David straightened his pose and crossed his arms. “What’s the first rule of fight club?”

“What club?” Starlight grinned.

The boy grinned back, and the two gazed at one each other knowingly.

Then, yours truly appeared out of thin air, derailing the third-person narrative with a simple snap of my claws! Oh, that’s right, neither of them have that odd sense the pink one possesses. I suppose I ought to speak to them in between quotations?

“Do you hear something?” David scratched his scalp.

“Something tells me we’re in for a treat…” Starlight drooped.

A taxi cab roared up to the nearest lamppost and came to a screeching halt, wherein the draconequus of the hour lumbered out of the door, adorned in a typical New Yorker’s hat and suit, whatever that was supposed to look like. Discord was also driving the cab.

“And keep the change, you filthy bilge rat!” He hollered, and kicked the door closed. The cab driver Discord leaned out the window and threw a bird at the suit Discord, whom caught it, peppered it with salt, and tucked it into his pocket. The pocket burped.

“Shit just never ends with this guy.” David groaned.

“Entrances, entrances, is anypony taking notes here?” Discord extended his eagle claw and yoinked the unicorn’s notepad right out of her grasp. “Ah, I see you’ve already done the hard part. Well done, my little acolyte.”

“Give that back!” Starlight hopped and swung for her booklet, missing as the serpent dangled it higher and higher. The pony seemed to forget that she had telekinesis.

“What do you mean the ‘hard part’?” David quested.

“Don’t rest easy quite yet, my boy, this week’s episode has only just begun.” He wrapped the duo in his arms and brought them to the attention of the plaza. “Take a look around! Nearly every equine in town has gathered to the one place in which you managed to summon not one, not two, but three uproars over the most ridiculous and might I say creative of matters. If I am being honest, things had suddenly become just a little more interesting ever since you showed up, my boy. I haven’t seen this much excitement since, well…I’m sure the girls could fill you in on the details.”

“Just cut to the chase.” David prompted. “In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re in a hurry.”

“To become the first ever human attorney this world has seen?” Discord grinned with mischief.

“Wait, wha-”

“Oh, I know I know, first you nail the Equerry’s role without a hitch, and now a shot at justice!” The beast swiveled over to Starlight. “By the by, wasn’t that meant to be your element?”

“I never-”

“Never you mind, you mentioned you two were in a hurry, yes? I’ll spare what I can before the bell beckons.” Discord clicked his claws and summoned a brief case overflowing with papers, and from the clutter of sirens, power tools and cat cries, his paw emerged with a single, crinkled letter. “Lookie what I’ve got here, I’ve found you another piece of paper that will come in more use than a degree in philosophy will ever be. All of the fine print is there, just show it to the Mayor when they start yelling at your or something. Ta-ta for now~!”

The draconequus dug back into his pocket and rolled out a paved road in which the taxi returned from seemingly nowhere. He growled at the other Discord driving and ordered him into the back seat, leaving the driver door open, and then kicked the door closed and proceeded to climb into the trunk. The taxi drove away on its own.

Starlight gawked for a moment before turning to the boy. “What did he leave you?” She asked.

“It looks like…” He squinted. “My official Equerry’s title.”

The heckles and clamor of the ponies beyond the great, double doors whinnied against the walls and pounded into the hearts of the partners as they stopped and delivered each other steady looks, finally gaining the courage to push their way in. As the portals waned apart, the noise hissed to a halt as the occupants of the great chamber turned and eyed the human and the unicorn with various amounts of caution. Mumbles and murmurs spawned about the crowd like rustles in a wheat field, and all the duo could help to do was scan the room for any sign of her Highness, strides tight and confident as they could manage. The doors clicked shut behind them, and the duo ventured on.

Like pews set out before an altar, rows of seats lined the walls and spanned out to the long, scarlet carpet running down the center isle. A wooden guard rail divided the audience from the northern front of the room, wherein a red cross bar was the only permissible entrance. Beyond the railing lied two, large desks made of fine mahogany, each accompanied with a set of chairs and facing each other from both sides. Finally, leading onward from the center isle and up to the balcony awning over the center stage laid a grand desk with a tall, executive chair, the Mayor of Ponyville seated calmly and expectantly within.

She glazed over the newcomers with a suspecting glare. At the red cross bar, a familiar, white guard pony raised his spear and denied the duo their entry. Mayor Mare slowly caressed the judge’s gavel in her hoof.

“Greetings, young Equerry.” Mayor Mare called down below. “We have been expecting you.”

David cocked his head, surprised, and turned at the attention of hoofsteps from the balconies above. To the top right section arrived the Cake family, Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty, and among them was Twilight. The boy couldn’t help but keep his eyes locked on the Alicorn’s form, the shame and guilt practically emanating from the sorry expression she so desperately tried to shield. She couldn’t shun away, she was a Princess. She had to maintain an image in the presence of her people. But when it came to her friends… The boy stopped and wondered just why exactly she was making that expression in the first place. Was he the only one who had noticed?

“David?” Starlight nudged. “What’s wrong?”

“I…” He hesitated, shaking his head. “I-It’s nothing.”

With a single, sharp clang, the room snapped to a sudden quiet. The Mayor slowly lifted her gavel and eyed the piece reverently before returning to the boy. Court had yet to begin, and she had already grown fond of its authority.

“Royal and Honorary 5th Equerry of Ponyville, you are hereby in ordinance of Town Hall to testify the causation of the attorney of defense’s absence, and compensate for the retrieval of the role in an Equestrian court of law.”

David felt himself turn and lean down so that Starlight might explain all of the big, scary words the Mayor was using just now. Starlight pushed him back forward and gritted her teeth.

“Just give her the letter.” She growled.

The boy nodded in quick remembrance and shoved a free hand into his pocket, emerging with the letter as he craned a leg over the red cross bar. It had only come up to his knees anyhow. Sam once again raised his spear, but the Mayor raised her hoof, signaling the two entry. The energy of the room rose up once again, as the boy inched closer and closer with his Equerry documents in hand, only for the papers to be encapsulated in a magical blanket of velvet and lifted up to the judge’s chair. David delivered a cautious stare to the Princess standing atop the balcony, and her shameful expression had returned, if only a little.

“Do you wish to contribute your official Equerry documents as ‘court evidence’?” The Mayor asked him.

“Court evidence?” The boy repeated.

“You must understand that an official document of citizenship is just nearly enough to attend a court of law in any sort of manner.” The Mayor took a pause. “In other words, forfeiting your Equerry documents would mean to forfeit your only means of citizenship.”

The boy lowered his head.

“And in turn,” she furthered. “You would become the property of the court for the time being.”

“Property?” He mumbled back. But that could only mean-

“Miss Mayor.” Twilight rose and finally spoke. “If I might inquire-”

“Please, your Highness.” The old Mayor halted. “I wish to hear this from the boy.”

Once again, the boy found himself standing before the midst and dreadful anticipation of the better part of the ponies of Ponyville. He felt their eyes upon his back, their gazes digging deep as the clenching of his fist grew tighter by the second. He told himself to suppress the urges, to lash out against the Princess a mere shout and scream away, asking her why she had done this, why she had kept this from him all this time. How can I stand up for others if I can’t even stand up for myself? He thought fiercely within. But I guess this isn’t really about me, now is it? He knew the answer he was to tell.

“That’s right, your Honor.” The boy bowed, almost apologetically. “The reason I stand before everyone here today is because of Twilight. I mean, Princess Twilight.” His gaze strained across the room, to the pony at the balcony. “I acknowledge that had it not been for whatever benefits being the Equerry brings, my so-called citizenship in this town would hold no credibility whatsoever.”

“And that is to say…?” The Mayor pushed.

David sighed and lowered his head. “I’m not a person, I’m classified as somepony’s property.” His eyes returned to Twilight once more, piercing into her form with every ounce that which he intended. He felt sorry for his actions then, if only a little.

“Do you adhere to the temporary forfeit of your Equerry’s license?” The Mayor finally asked.

“I do.” He nodded.

Twilight lowered her head and rested back into her seat.

“Then it is settled.” The Mayor raised her gavel at the ready. “By the power invested in I, Mayor Ivory Scroll Mare, I hereby revoke your Equerry license in exchange for your role as the office of defense in this trial.” And slammed the mallet to the surface.

David gave a slow nod of understanding as the crowd’s volume from behind him began to rise, but he ignored it as he found his way back over to Starlight, now seated behind the defense attorney’s desk. The Mayor slammed her gavel once more, both to hush the crowd and further confirm the position of the new defense attorney. An attorney whom was undoubtedly an alien from another planet.

“A monkey for a defense attorney, eh?” one pony scoffed.

“Really makes ya’ think this is a circus show.” Another commented.

“Not until we see who’s up to the prosecution.” They laughed.

And everything fell to a deathly, heart-stopping quiet. The doubles doors blasted apart once more, a stark blinding light shining through as a rushing wind roared down the center isle. The entire hall slowly turned their attention to the entrance as one thump after the other grew ever so slowly and dreadfully in volume. Like the beat of a war drum, one step after the other sent shock after shock of thunder through the thick of the courtroom.

The figure was like a wall, its brawny shoulders swinging side to side, the snout ring jingling and its fists clenched tight. Sam’s spear rattled, and Bulk Biceps whom was among the audience whimpered for cover beneath his chair. The mist cleared, and the towering figure halted before the crowd, fixing his tie, and tapping the mic piece next to his snout.

“Iron WILL!” The minotaur boomed. “Get my verdict, no matter what the cost!”

The room was like a stone statue. Nopony dared speak even while the burly being breathed.

“Say, Glim.” David hovered a shaky finger forward. “Is, uh…that our competition?”

“You mean the monstrously sized minotaur who looks he could snap you in half if he wanted to?” The unicorn gave a sure nod. “That’s a prosecutor, if I’ve ever seen one.”

“He has hands.” David stared, dumbfounded. “Why does he have hands?”

“Because he’s a minotaur…?”

“Only I’m supposed to have hands!” The boy declared.

The bull-headed behemoth snorted and twisted his sights over to the human, daggers glaring through at a million miles a second. “Iron Will thinks this monkey looks lost.” He snorted, stepping closer. “Iron Will thinks he will rid this court of the evil that has been spawned upon it, and put your cheap chimp chump back in the forest, WHERE YOU BELONG-!”

“MISTER WILL!” The Mayor slammed her gavel with force.

Though the defense’s desk had already met the unforgiving fate of the minotaur, the burly prosecutor slowly raised his eyes to the judge with an apologetic twist to his expression.

“Lest you plan on having your newly found attorney’s license being revoked, there will be no degree of violence within my court whatsoever.” The Mayor huffed. “Are we clear?”

“As crystal…your Honor.” Iron Will bowed before backing away and lumbering back to his own desk. “Gotta remember what the doctor said…” He mumbled to himself. “Gotta watch the heart rate…”

As the minotaur walked back through the crumpled wood and sat on his uncomfortably small chair, the crowd’s attention returned to their defense attorney, whom laid upon the floor in the defeated fetal position.

Starlight leaned over the boy and prodded at him with the attitude of a young boy poking roadkill with a stick. “Strap your balls back on, we’re about to start.” She snuffed.

The boy shook in response. “Just tell me where the little attorney’s room is at, and we’ll get this all sorted out.” He gurgled.

Clack!

The judge’s gavel slammed against the wooden surface, and thus the courtroom proceeded.

“The Trial for Miss Scootaloo and the Pegasus Weather Patrol team is now underway. As for the defense and the prosecutor’s offices, be aware that this is a joint trial. Any advances made upon one case or the other must be clearly stated before making any proceedings, unless stated otherwise. Is the prosecution-”

“OBJECTION!!”

For what seemed like the umpteenth time now, the room snapped quiet and all eyes were drawn to the front. David stood at the defense’s desk, arse well out of his seat and his finger pointed forward in the air.

“For the love of Celestia, we haven’t even begun any testimonies yet!” Starlight growled. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve played these games before.” David leaned down in a whisper.

“What games!?”

“Mr. David…” Mayor Mare, or rather the judge, glowered. “Is there something you’d like to tell us?”

“Um…yes, your Honor.” He rubbed his scalp. “Isn’t the defense supposed to go first?”

The judge blinked, and sighed. “The prosecution is tasked with delivering a summary of the case.” She fixed her glasses and peered down at him. “However, if you would like to deliver the case summary instead of Mr. Will, then by all means-”

“OBJECTION!!” Iron Will raised his fat finger.

“Y’see?” David showed Starlight. “This is why I should be the only one who has hands.”

“Your Honor, I object to allowing the defense the case summary.” The minotaur argued. “His puny little voice is too tiny. In fact, everything about him is tiny! How can anypony possibly hear him over my THUNDERING THUM?!”

The ponies in the crowd began getting riled up once more, and the judge began to slam her gavel again. She was already letting out one frustrated sigh after another, and feared the might of her swing simply wouldn’t be enough for her poor mallet to manage. She turned back to the minotaur, eyes fierce and focused.

“If that is the case, Mr. Will, then perhaps you would like to begin with your opening statement instead?” She suggested.

“Without a doubt, your Honor!” Iron Will declared, hopping to the surface of his table. “Ladies and Gentlecolts of the-”

The table wavered, creaked, and split into two with a loud SNAP! The minotaur had suddenly found himself a head or two lower than he had been, surveying the onslaught of his table damages.

“Uh…jury?” He finished.

“Shall we fetch another table?” The Mayor’s assistant asked.

“Oh, just give him a tree trunk, for Luna’s sake.” The old mare sighed.

Iron Will kicked his one hoof up and arched upon the severed half of the table. His chest proud and protruding, voice booming, he continued on with his speech.

“Humble ponies of Ponyville, have you any doubts that the guilty filly of this case is responsible for the destruction of a hard working, farmer’s property? Or that these Cakes are trying to avoid expensive repercussions, all thanks to the intervention of your trusty weather pegasi? Well, I say…NO WAY! Get those heart-felt thoughts out of your heads and my unrelenting, heart-attack inducing voice into your minds! I’ll cram that evidence so hard down your miserable, squishy little throats, you’ll clamp shut like a good filly! We don’t play with airplanes, HERE COMES THE TRAIN!” The minotaur came to a concerning halt. He stopped and breathed, placing his fingers to check his pulse, and with a nod he continued. “Proof is the truth, and Iron will reveal the truth! Iron will crush the competition! Iron WILL get my verdict!”

Quietly, the minotaur gave a small and courteous bow, placing himself down to his seat as he crossed his legs and folded his hands in his lap, politely and elegantly as ever. “That is all.” He nodded curtly.

A moment of silence passed, and from across the room the defense stood to deliver their statement. David sighed and waltzed around for a moment, eyeing the chamber as though he owned the damn place. The boy fixed his imaginary tie, crossed his arms, and cleared his throat.

“The defense has one condition and one condition only.” He said. “The prosecution shall refrain from updating any and all autopsy reports.”

The entire courtroom fell dead silent. David looked around for a moment to reassure himself that he had in fact said that out loud, and not just in his mind. The Mayor was rubbing her temples fiercely, clearly regretting her decisions in the past twenty minutes.

“Is the defense even aware that there are no murders for this case whatsoever?” She growled.

The weather pegasi were busy letting their faces fall to the table. Iron Will twitched his eye, Starlight face-hoofed, and Twilight took a slow and shaky breath of air. There was a brush upon her flank, as though somepony had been behind her, watching. She turned to find Discord with a wide variety of carnival themed snacks in his infinite assortment of claws.

“Popcorn, your Highness?” The chaotic beast cackled. “It’s going to be quite the show.”

The doors to the courtroom opened once more, much more slowly and calmly this time, as the familiar sight of an orange coated pegasus timidly ushered her way inside, beckoned by the bat pony guard whom wore a flower-patterned sunhat over his head. Ralph stopped and gave a stiff salute to Sam, whom returned the gesture, and calmly took Scootaloo to bring her to the front of the room. As the two roamed down the isle, an old farmer pony glared daggers at her from the front row seat, joined to Iron Will’s side. Scootaloo pushed her eyes to the floor and stumbled across the remainder of the red carpet. She could feel the entirety of the room’s eyes upon her back, and the walk up to the front felt as though it were taking centuries.

“With everypony present, the defense shall now call their first witness to the stand.” The judge announced.

“Of course, y-your Honor.” David cleared his throat for real this time. “The uh…the defense calls Scootaloo to the stand.”

In reply, the filly was escorted to the stand, sitting to the left of the judge’s desk.

“Do you know what to do?” Starlight asked the boy.

“I won’t deny your help is going to be needed.” The boy swallowed. “A lot.”

“We’ll start simple.” Starlight followed up. “Scootaloo seems like an honest kid. Just get the full truth out of her, then we’ll go from there.”

“If she wanted to tell us the full truth, don’t you think she would have done it earlier?”

Starlight shook her head. “What’s said in court is the only thing that matters. Dig deep if you have to.”

“Is the defense ready?” The Mayor waited.

“Y-yes, your Honor.” David jumped.

“Good, then we may begin.” She craned her head to the side and hollered to the filly below. “Will the defendant please state her name and grade level?”

“That’s you, sport.” David gestured.

“A-Ah! Right.” The filly mumbled. “My name is Scootaloo, I-I’m in the eighth grade…at Miss Cheerilee’s schoolhouse.”

“You and your class will graduate from the school house by the end of this semester, correct?” Mayor Mare thought to ask.

“That’s right.” The filly remembered. “Y-Your Honor.”

“Very well, Miss Scootaloo.” The Mayor nodded. “Please be aware that this case may heavily effect the outcome of your future.”

The filly replied with nothing.

“Scootaloo?” David began, calm as ever. “Would you like to tell us what happened that night?”

She took a deep breath, fixing her posture and closing her eyes. “Well, here goes…”

「SCOOTALOO’S CONFESSION ‣」
“I was feeling really down that night, so I went behind the bar to find a drink.”
“Ever since Apple Bloom took her fall, we’ve felt nothing but guilt.”
“Anyways, it was really dark that night. I couldn’t even see where I was going.”
“Then, there was a big crash! Like—WAM! And then I heard another crash further away.”
“Something hit me over the head and it really hurt.”
“The next thing I know the guards came to get me, and now I’m here.”

The court laid silent for a long moment, taking in the words of the young filly. The judge nodded with understanding, Iron Will stood at the ready, and David placed a hand to his chin. Maybe I should refrain from the drinking dilemma. If the court brings it up, I’ll just try to divert the topic somehow. He thought to himself, placing his hands back to the desk.

“So you say you felt guilt?” The boy began. “Over what happened to Apple Bloom?”

“Yup.” The pony admitted, looking down. “That’s why I tried drinking.”

Divert. David reminded. “And you said it was really dark, too?”

“Yeah, like super dark.” Scootaloo emphasized. “I couldn’t even see my own hoof in front of my face.”

Iron Will chuckled, shaking his head. “It must’ve been a defect of the underage drinking.”

Dammit, divert! The boy minded again.

“Well, m-maybe you crashed into something?” David attempted. “Y-Y’know, because it was so dark-”

“OBJECTION!!” Iron Will howled.

“Mr. Will, what is it?” The Mayor waited.

The prosecutor leveled his finger. “Your Honor, the defense is glossing over a crucial clue of misinformation, and his tiny monkey brain doesn’t even realize it!” He slammed his fat, minotaur paw to his new desk, eliciting a wince from the repair ponies, and continued with his speech. “The defendant has clearly stated in her testimony ‘we’ve felt nothing but guilt’ as in a plural!” He slammed his paw down once again, the table breaking at any moment now. “According to her further proceedings, the defendant’s testimony is inaccurate! There is somepony’s identity whom she is hiding!”

The mumbles and murmurs of the courtroom rose to a considerable volume, and the Mayor slammed her gavel for order once more.

“Miss Scootaloo, the prosecution appears to make a fair point.” She stated. “Why did you switch to a plural contraction in the middle of your testimony?”

“I-I…” Scootaloo darted her eyes. “That’s just the way I talk, I guess?”

“Is there something you’d like to tell us?” The Mayor droned. “Speak up.”

This is going south already. The boy thought worriedly. They’re gonna keep pressuring her into a corner until she cracks, and she’ll admit that she’s responsible for all of the faults, even though that’s not true!

“David, don’t forget what I said.” Starlight hissed to him. “Get the full truth out her, even if it hurts. There may be something deep down in there that we can use to our advantage, and we can’t let the enemy get to it first.”

“What should I say?” He asked.

“Ask her if somepony else was there.” Starlight splayed. “She probably didn’t want to rat out any of her friends, is all.”

Her friends? The boy wondered for a moment. Quickly, he turned back to the witness stand.

“Scootaloo, I’m gonna need you to be honest with me.” David tried calmly.

Timidly, the little pony nodded his way.

“You said that you’ve been grieving over Apple Bloom with somepony else.” He stated, and dug. “It was Sweetie Belle, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah…” The little pegasus shuddered. “Yeah, it was.”

“Was she with you that night?”

“Only for the first part.” She confessed. “Sweetie Belle was the one who gave me the drink.”

The volume of the room increased once more, and the gavel met the desk’s surface. Everypony present sought for their composure as the Mayor went to fix her glasses and clear her throat.

“Is this correct, Scootaloo?” She asked her.

The filly nodded.

“Very well.” The Mayor tugged at her collar. “The defendant Miss Scootaloo will change her testimony to adhere to the hearings of the court.” And she slammed her gavel once more.

“Well, I guess we’re back to square one.” Starlight shrugged over to David. “Try not to linger on your questions, will ya’? Otherwise you’ll give ‘maze master’ over there another chance to strike.”

“He seems a little trigger happy if you ask me, but I’ll keep it in mind.” The boy answered.

With that, the court reordered themselves, and the filly at the stand began once again.

「SCOOTALOO’S CONFESSION 2 ‣」
“It’s true, I did get the drink from my friend, Sweetie Belle.”
“But she has nothing to do with what happened after. I stumbled into the night on my own.”
“Then, there was a big crash! Like—WAM! And then I heard another crash further away.”
“When I woke up, there was a big lump on my head. Something had hit me.”

The court room was given ample time to settle down as the boy analyzed the pony’s words like crazy. He knew deep down that there had to be at least one clue within her tellings, something that would change the course of this case for the better. If only…If only it were to just hit me over the head! He thought inwardly, and then stopped in realization. Wait. Hit me over the head…?

“Scootaloo.” He pounced. “You keep saying that something hit you over the head. Do you have any idea what it was?”

“I-I don’t know.” She stumbled. “All I know is that it hurt.”

Iron Will shook his head once again. “The defendant had clearly stated that it was too dark to see. How could she have possibly known what hit her?”

“There is a way to know.” The boy readied. “You need only to look at her head.”

Within minutes a clear inspection had gone underway. Nurse Redheart herself was summoned to fulfill her task and assess the young filly’s scalp, reassuring the pegasus time and time again that no, they would not have to shave her mane. After a thorough inspection, the nurse made her notes and turned to deliver her findings to the court.

“There’s no doubt about it.” Nurse Redheart announced. “Scootaloo was struck over the head by a blunt object with an alarming amount of force. Considering the size of the bruise, she may even be experiencing head trauma as we speak.”

The Mayor blinked with surprise. “I-I see, we were not aware.” She recomposed herself. “In that case, Miss Scootaloo, do you feel that you are unfit to speak at the witness stand any longer?”

“Yes ma’am!” The pegasus sprung. “I-I mean, no ma’am. I mean-!” She rubbed her scalp. “I think I need a lollipop for my booboo…your Honor.”

Smart kid, I suppose? David speculated. If anything, at least we have both of her testimonies, so we can at least go off of the records. I’ll have to remember to look into the court evidence later on.

Suddenly, the room sprung back into surprise, and not from the judge’s gavel this time.

“My question to you, your Honor, and this whole circus show of a court for that matter is—why was this poor little filly’s injury not brought to my attention in the first place?!” The nurse doubled down. “I work Ponyville General day and night, and believe me it does get tiring, but to see these young, innocent little angels be faced with all this turmoil absolutely breaks my heart! I just can’t bare to even think about it. As a matter of fact, I intend to stay in this court for as long as I please, in the event that yet another harmless, little pony’s injuries have gone unchecked due to this court’s carelessness. Do I make myself clear?”

“Er-yes. Of course, Miss Redheart.” The Mayor fixed her glasses. “That is exactly what we intended to ask of you. How kind of you?”

“Hmph!” The nurse huffed, and returned to her chair at the side of the room.

The courtroom returned to an acceptable volume then, and by acceptable that meant the Mayor wouldn’t have to use her gavel. Even she was aware that it needed a rest at times. The old mare engaged in a brief conversation with her assistant before returning to the court, looking to her right this time.

“The prosecution shall now call their first witness to the stand.”

“It’s about time.” The burly minotaur cracked his knuckles and whipped his left hand down to his thigh. Next to him stood a small, white goat with a mic clipped to the side of its mouth. The goat craned its neck down and buried its face into the brief case sitting on the table before emerging with a piece of paper in its jaws. Iron Will took hold of the paper, shook the slobber off of it, and held it to his face. “The prosecution calls Mr. Hayseed to the stand!”

The witness in question bustled his way from the edge of the front row seat, practically stumbling through the red cross bar as Sam lifted the chain, and the old farmer turned up his snout to the guard. The farmer wore a bland, brown coat over his hide, a tattered and shifty hat atop his gray, aging mane, and not to mention the peculiar looking pipe that hung in his mouth. It resembled that of a cob of corn cut in half, little kernels popping here and there with every huff and puff he blew through the old, antique pipe. As he lumbered across the front of the room towards the witness stand, David took note of the foggy, green cloth he wore over his flank. At that moment, Starlight nudged the boy again.

“There’s something off about this guy.” She whispered. “Keep an eye on him.”

「HAYSEED’S TESTIMONY ‣」
“This year’s been nothing but trouble, I tell ya’! Absolutely rotten to the core!” *pop*
“First my crops go to crap cause somepony forgot to bring the rain.”
“And now my cart’s nothing but a pile of driftwood, because o’ THAT little varmint!”
“She pushed a bolder from up yonder the hill.” *snap* “Can you believe it?”
“If it weren’t for them guards, she mighta’ even gotten away with it.” *crackle*

The room settled back down, and Mayor Mare gave a slow nod, the rest of the court diminishing into whispers and murmurs as they pieced together the puzzle of the case. Iron Will stood from across the room with a tight and ready expression, preparing whatever questions he was about to shoot towards the witness, and David knew he had to be just as prepared as well. He’s probably going to focus on Scootaloo’s case before moving on to the Weather Pegasi, which means I shouldn’t waver my focus from it either. He looked back to his partner. In the meantime, I could get Starlight to look over the details involving the Cakes and the weather team dilemma.

The prosecutor huffed and intensely addressed his witness. “Mr. Hayseed, where were you at the time of the crime?”

The old farmer blinked and snorted. “Where do ya’ think I was, ya’ big buffoon? Right next to my cart!” He gnawed on his pipe.

“R-Right, of course…” Iron Will sagged. “I knew that.”

“Then why’d ya’ ask!” Hayseed huffed. “Minotaurs, I swear…”

That’s a pretty crumby way to treat the guy who’s defending you. David supposed.

Iron Will fixed his tie and proceeded with his examination. “Mr. Hayseed, you have testified to the fact that a bolder had rolled over your cart and damaged everything from the goods within to the cart itself. You had also explained how the bolder came rolling down from the hill, correct?”

“The hill up yonder, weren’t ya’ listenin’?” The witness yapped.

“Investigation of the crime scene states that the bolder’s course can be led straight back up to where the defendant, Miss Scootaloo, was found by the guards the night prior.” He slammed his paw down on to the desk, it was amazing that it had held up this long. “Your Honor, the explanation here is as clear as day. The defendant, Miss Scootaloo, had wandered out into the night after her splurge of underage drinking and pushed the bolder from the top of the hill, smashing into the poor and unsuspecting cart that belonged to my trusty client-”

“OBJECTION!!”

“Not so loud!” Hayseed grinded a hoof into his floppy ear. “You’ll blow my eardrums out, ya’ dump ape!”

“Mr. David, please keep the volume of the…’objection pointings’ to a minimum.” The Mayor glared below.

“B-But, your Honor.” David tried. “Where’s the fun in that?”

“OBJECTION!!”

Iron Will crossed his meaty arms. “There’s no fun allowed in a courtroom.” He slammed his paw. “Your Honor, I propose to remove the defense for his lack of seriousness in the face of the justice system, that way I can win by default.”

“OBJECTION!!”

“What is it now, boy?!” The Mayor growled.

“I uh…” He twiddled his fingers. “Just wanted to say it, one more time.”

“OBJECTION!!” Iron Will glared. “Mine is louder.”

By this point Nurse Redheart had been passing ear muffs around the room, and the Mayor raised her gavel again to calm the court, eyes daggering back over the boy. “Enough of this nonsense, both of you!” She gritted her teeth. “Just go back to the start. What flaw do you see in Mr. Will’s explanation that you wish to bring to the court’s attention?”

“I was just going to ask-” The boy started. “Exactly how big was this bolder, the one that smashed through the cart?”

“Big enough to smash through the cart.” Iron Will huffed again. “What more do you need to know?”

“Really now?” David crossed his arms. “Something big enough to smash through an entire cart would be a bit much for somepony Scootaloo’s size, don’t’cha think? That’s why I ask you again, exactly how big was this bolder?”

Iron Will fumed, but grabbed another paper from the goat’s maw, snapping it to his face and eyeing over the details with care. Then, a small and sure grin slowly crept to his fat, bovine lips. It sent a momentary spike of panic down the boy’s spine, as though he instantly knew that the minotaur had been waiting for this moment. The prosecutor chuckled and gave a tight shrug.

“Quite frankly, the size of the bolder doesn’t matter.” He laughed. “The bolder smashed through my client’s cart, and that’s that. You want to know how it ended up there? Then without further ado, I will gladly elaborate to the court.” He whipped out another paper and promptly continued. “Investigation of the crime scene states that along with Miss Scootaloo and the starting position of the bolder, a foreign object was found lying upon the ground where the rock used to lay. That object, was a stick!”

“A stick…?” David drawled.

“Yes! A long, wooden, stick.” Iron Will went on. “Your Honor, as you can see the explanation to this case is more clear than ever. The defendant, Miss Scootaloo, could not have pushed the bolder down the hill on her own. As a result, she jammed the stick beneath the rock and weighed down on the other side to leverage the behemoth from its resting spot!”

The courtroom riled up in volume once more, and the Mayor raised her gavel with a cautionary gesture. The boy could only think to shoot forward.

“Not true!” He pointed a desperate finger. “There wouldn’t have been enough counterweight.”

“Then how did it end up there?” The minotaur laughed. “No need to strain your tiny, chimp brain over it, I’ve already explained it!”

“Dammit, he keeps bringing up these items to use to his advantage.” The boy whipped around to his partner. “Starlight, we’re going to need a full list of the court’s evidence.”

“Let’s see…we’ve got a stick, a rock, and a pissed off crop collector.” She played the boy a stupid grin. “Anything else you’d like to know, smart ass?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, did I miss the overwhelming sarcasm when you told me you wanted to help?”

The unicorn grimaced and elicited a long, tired growl. “Just go back on something that Scootaloo said to counter his argument. Neither the defendant nor the witness were in the same exact spot when the crime had occurred, there’s gotta be something that makes the difference between their testimonies.”

“And what if neither of them said anything useful enough?”

“You have to trust in your client.” Starlight encouraged. “I know it sounds a little tacky, but they hold the key to proving their innocence. All you have to do is show them the way.”

David stood idle and placed another hand to his chin, closing his eyes and thinking back with intensity on every detail the little pegasus had told thus far. It had to be something striking, something that would take the court by surprise. Something they could never see coming. He thought.

“Does the defense have no further objections?” The Mayor called.

“Not so fast, your Honor.” David halted. “There’s…something that we’re all forgetting here.”

“Then let’s hear it.” She prompted.

“I-It’s…” The boy hesitated.

“I see that you’re a formidable opponent.” The minotaur from across the room laughed again. “But that just means I get the opportunity to watch you crash and burn over and over again!”

Crash and burn. The words boomed in the boy’s mind over and over. Crash and burn, crash and burn, crash…

Then, there was a big crash! Like—WAM! And then I heard another crash further away.

An instinctual flare caught in the boy’s eye. He stood tall and pointed. “Your Honor.” He began. “Clearly there is a contradiction in the testimony here.”

The Mayor’s gavel hovered only an inch above the plate, threatening the sentence upon the defendant. As the courtroom went back into a quiet spell, every set of eyes and ears traveled back to the defense in anticipation of his next move.

“You have our ears.” The Mayor nodded.

“Mr. Hayseed, is it true that you heard a crash when the bolder struck your cart?” He addressed.

“I was standing right next to it, how could I not?” The farmer yammered.

“Then what about the first crash?”

The witness groaned, fixing his pipe around his teeth. “Your Honor, what’s this zoo escape on about?” He groaned.

“Do explain, young Equerry.” The Mayor encouraged.

“We’re all forgetting a crucial piece to the puzzle here, and that’s the puzzle that doesn’t seem to fit anywhere.” David went on. “If we remember what Scootaloo had said, she said there was a first big crash, and then another one that went off further away. There were two big crashes.” He pointed his finger. “My question to you, Mr. Hayseed, is why did you leave the first crash out of your testimony?”

“Pfft, y’think I was twenty years younger just yesterday?” The farmer spat. “My ears ain’t what they used to be.”

But your mouth sure is. The boy determined.

“If you didn’t hear the boulder's first crash, then how did you know where to look?” He furthered.

“Whatta’ ya’ mean?”

“Don’t forget what you said in your testimony.” He quickly reminded. “You said if it wasn’t for the guards then Scootaloo might’ve gotten away with it. If you claim that you never heard the first crash, then how did you even know where the guards went in the first place?”

“B-Because-!” Hayseed jerked. “Because they…” And from his cob pipe, a kernel popped.

The whispering concerns of the crowd only grew all the more as they waited for Hayseed to come up with some sort of explanation, only for his stuttering to choke him up every time. The farmer had been calm, or at least what was considered to be calm for him, since the very start of the trial. Why begin to crack in the midst of questioning? It was exactly as the boy intended to prod upon, had it not been for the interruption the Mayor’s gavel provided.

“Order.” She called out strictly. “Mr. Will, does your client have any more to say on the matter?”

“No, your Honor.” The minotaur huffed with frustration. “He most certainly does not.”

It was then that the prosecutor knew should he allow his witness to testify any further, things which would rather be unsaid on his account would simply slip out. Interrogate my client, I’ll interrogate yours. David thought to himself. How’s it feel to have a taste of your own medicine?

“Very well then.” The Mayor nodded. “We will take a five minute recess. Afterwards, court proceedings shall continue on the case for Miss Scootaloo and Mr. Hayseed.”

The gavel struck the plate, and soon after the room dispersed.

By this point the prosecution had already gone through four tables, the damage expenses threatening to reach past the fine that Scootaloo would inevitably receive for underage drinking. As such, the defense was stationed into an empty room on the second level of the Town Hall building, several members of the court joining in as they gave their peace on the matters for the filly whom had been wrongly blamed. Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty were sure to provide their encouragements, as well as their estrangement, to the human standing before them.David’s sights strafed about the room time and time again, but Twilight was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey.” Starlight snapped. “I know you’re way taller than us, but you don’t gotta act like your head is in the clouds all the time.”

“Right, sorry.” David pinched the bridge of his nose. “I was going to ask, do you think we could use any other witnesses besides Scootaloo?”

“Our two trusty guards might have some answers for us, but it’s a risky bet considering how anal they are about the law.” She sighed and thought over again. “I just wish more children had been involved, they’re the easiest to manipulate. You can get them to say anything.”

“Wait, what?”

“It looks like we’ll have to reach out to some of Scootaloo’s classmates, they’d be more adamant on backing up their friend than any other, after all.”

“What was that you just said about manipulating children?”

“Recess is almost over.” Starlight bolted for the door and called over her shoulder. “You stay here, I’m gonna go hunt down Miss Cheerilee for us. Try not to make matters any worse while I’m gone.”

“You’re the one who wants to use children for this case and you’re telling me not to make matters worse?” He called back, shouting down the hall. “Hey, what am I supposed to do if the minotaur starts charging at me again?”

Clack!

“The court is now back in session for the case of Miss Scootaloo.” The Mayor announced over the crowd. She paused and played a once-over to the boy, standing alone at his desk. “Mr. David, where is your assistant?”

“Oh, you mean that psychotic unicorn who was only helping me out of the goodness of her heart?” David drawled.

The Mayor laid stagnant, strictly unamused.

“Sh-She said she’d be back…soon enough.” He answered timidly.

“Tuh!” The bull snorted over. “An attorney without an assistant is a fool looking to lose this case. Cough it up, ape, you’ve already lost this match. I’ll be taking my verdict now, your Honor.”

“Neigh, the defendant is innocent until proven guilty.” She argued.

Isn’t the saying guilty until proven innocent? David wondered. Or is she just trying to give me the benefit of the doubt here…?

“After recent remarks, it has come to the court’s attention that a…revision of sorts will be needed in order to progress the trial.” The Mayor turned to the prosecution. “Mr. Will, would you be so kind as to elaborate upon the contents of our courtroom evidence?”

“With pleasure, your Honor.” Iron Will glared to his goat assistant happily gnawing away at a vitally important paper from his briefcase. He grabbed the goat by the tongue and pried the documents from its maw, tossing the poor nibbler to the side as he cleared his throat and continued. “At the time of the crime scene, royal guardsponies Sam and Ralph had located what appeared to be a wooden stick lying next to the defendant. The stick is assumed to be the tool that was used to commit the crime, it spans to at least three and a half feet in length, six inches in width, and three inches in height.”

He’ll tell us all about this stupid, little stick, but God forbid we get some measurements on that bolder. The boy groaned in his thoughts.

“Upon further analyses, there appears to be a small indentation that circles all around one end of the stick, a divot that appears like that of a ring. Investigators suggest that when the defendant had used the stick to leverage the stone from the hilltop, being pressured in between the bolder and the earth is what caused the small divot to appear.” Iron Will slammed the paper down onto his desk. “So there you have it, your Honor, the indentation around the surface of the stick is undeniable proof that it was used in the crime scene!”

“Not so fast!” David quickly cautioned. “How do you know that’s how that ring got there?”

“And why else would it be there?” The minotaur countered.

“Well, how do you know it wasn’t there before?”

“Investigators determined that the ring is only a day old.” Iron Will crossed his arms. “Otherwise known as the time that had elapsed since the crime, just in case your pathetic monkey brain couldn’t realize that.”

“OBJECTION!!”

“Mr. David?” The Mayor startled. “Do you mean to object the prosecutor’s reasoning?”

“Not exactly, your Honor.” He growled. “I just…want him to stop making monkey insults!”

“Oo-oo! Aa-aa!”

“That tears it!” David raised his chair over his head and proceeded to slam it down onto his desk multiple times, splitting the wooden surface into two.

“What in the name of the branded are you doing, boy?!” The Mayor barked furiously.

David came to a halt and slowly lowered the chair to his waist, turning up to the judge with wide, timid eyes. “Imitating the prosecution…” He answered. “Your Honor.”

“I can do better.” Iron Will scoffed.

With a great bang, the courtroom double doors swung open and revealed a pair of young colts, one taller and the other fatter, Starlight ordering the two further in. Some would say it was a sight all too familiar pertaining to a certain magician mare, and all that could be heard then was the drop of the Mayor’s gavel, only this time in defeat and desperation.

“Luna help this court…” The Mayor groaned.

“So uh,” the fatter one began. “When do we get those bits you promised us, miss?”

“Forget da’ bits, Snips.” The taller one followed. “Just keep following da’ pretty lady. From behind.”

“Hold the presses, the defense has got some new witnesses in line.” Starlight announced proudly, trotting up the isle with her companions. She halted, glossing over the sight of the boy holding his chair over the splintered remains of their table. “Do you have some sort of mental disorder you’re not telling me about?”

“I didn’t think you were serious about the freaking kids…” David shuttered beneath his breath.

The Mayor hesitantly fixed her glasses back to her face and adjusted her collar. “Will the defense be calling their second witness to the stand?”

“We most certainly will, your Honor.” Starlight promptly turned to her adversaries. “You.”

The taller one was in his own world.

“What’s your name, kid?”

“Hehe, you’re pretty.” The colt drooled.

“Yeah yeah, just listen. Lanky over here is gonna ask you a few questions and we need you to answer them to the best of your ability. Can you do that?”

“Anything for a friend of Trixie.” He smiled stupidly.

Starlight ended with an irritated sigh and pushed the young pony towards the witness chair, turning to her partner soon after as she levitated a folder of papers and pictures lying within, the contents mysteriously unknown. “Here, just ask him about these. It’s all you’re gonna need.”

David carefully opened the folder, and his eyes popped out of his skull. “The boys back home would sell an organ or two for this.” He snuck another look, just to be sure, and knelt down to Starlight’s level as he cocked his head and delivered another shuttering whisper. “And I suppose this is your plot to getting that Equerry’s badge, eh?”

“In case you forgot, you’re temporarily revoked.” The unicorn reminded.

“Starlight, this is smut.” David smacked the folder. “Unless you can explain to me how this has anything to do with the case here, the ball’s in your park, sister.”

“I thought guys were supposed to talk about this stuff all the time.” Starlight side-eyed him. “Or are you trying to tell me you don’t swing that way?”

“Gimme that!” He quickly realized that it was already in his hands, and made a grunting effort towards the younger colt at the witness stand. “Ya’ like the sexy stuff, kid?”

The court house elicited the equivalent of watching a puppy get rolled over by a bulldozer. Their cries roared on and the Mayor’s gavel hammered like mad, but the boy ignored it all.

“Naked mares everywhere.” He flipped the folder back open. “On second look, a lotta’ the mares in this magazine are wearing socks, but I’m sure that says plenty about your tastes. The fact of matter is, this flip n’ fap’s got your name written all over it, and you’re gonna to tell me why.”

The colt in the stand squinted at the magazine before shaking his head. “Nuh-uh.”

“Nuh-uh?” David shrugged. “Nuh-uh, what?”

“My name’s not on dat thing.”

David looked to the magazine, and back to the colt. “What’s your name?”

“Uh…it’s Snails.” He smacked his lips. “Duh.”

“You weren’t just going to try and look for his name in that book, were you?” Starlight eyed the boy worriedly.

The boy turned and stared at the unicorn for what felt like an eternity, or at least whatever kind of eternity about ten seconds was supposed to instill. He played a long side-eye on her before resting the book over his forearm and gesturing for her to take it back into her field. The mare flared her horn and levitated the piece back into the folder. There came a pause, and she flared her horn again. David covered his face as a page of the magazine emerged from beneath his coat.

Thus as their questioning went on, David failed to get a lick of any useful information out of Snails. The boy wasn’t sure if the name was actually supposed to mean something, or if the colt had done this before and knew to keep quiet, for whatever reasons he might’ve wanted to. As a result, his dear friend Snips, the fatter one, was soon conjured forth to the witness stand. Within seconds the young, chubby colt was practically shaking in his seat.

“Uh.” David paused. “You alright, kiddo?”

“F-Fine! Yes, thank you.” He wobbled in his seat. “I-I-I’ve never been butter! Er-beater! I-I mean, better! Yeah…”

“You look a little…pale?” The boy commented. “I didn’t know ponies could do that.”

The younger pony was showing several signs of fear that were all but unknown to the human. Snips’ ears were bouncing all over the place, and his teeth clattered like mad.

“Just take a breath, son.” Mayor Mare peered down, speaking warmly to him.

David snuck another awkward look over his shoulder. The entirety of the building had glued their concerned gazes to him and the scared little colt at the witness stand. The boy fretted in that moment if he might just give this poor pony a panic attack instead of giving the court some truthful evidence. For reasons he failed to adjust, the boy felt sorry for the witness.

“You are a witness, correct?” David finally asked.

Snips nodded rapidly.

“Can you tell us what you saw that evening?”

“Oh, y’know…” His eyes darted between the attorney and his friend, sitting from afar. “Just…getting my steps in.”

“Didn’t happen to see anything out of the ordinary?”

“Not p-puh-puh-particularly.” Snips twitched. “The bushes looked quite ripe.”

“I didn’t say anything about the bushes.”

Snips froze, and gulped audibly.

“Would you care to tell us what was so special about these…bushes?” David prodded.

“I-I-” Snips’ gaze locked onto Snails with plead. “G-Gyuh-!”

“Calm down, son.” The Mayor soothed again. “Not all at once.”

“Several wadded up pages of what appear to be pornographic images-”

“OKAY OKAY, IT WAS ME!” Snips wailed to the ceiling. “I DID IT! TAKE ME AWAY!”

“Snips…” Snailed called to his friend disappointingly. “I told ya’ not to tell ‘em.”

“I couldn’t take it anymore, this guy’s been tearing me apart for hours!” Snips cried.

“It’s only been two minutes…” David reminded.

The gavel slammed against the plate to gain the attention of the witness and his friend, Mayor Mare barking over the hammer’s reverberation. “Whatever sort of fuss you young colts are going on about, the court expects an explanation!” It seemed as though all the gentleness she had for the young ones had left her.

“Snips? Snails?” David jumped back in. “Do you guys have anything to do with the uh…naked bush mares?”

“The biology notes!” Yelped Snips.

“Stop tellin’ ‘em about it!” Snails wailed again.

“It’s too late, we’re already caught! I’m spillin’ all the beans!” Snips cried out. “Snails likes tight butts and pantyhose!”

Snails leapt from his seat and barreled down the center lane, ready to wrestle his friend right here and now, which turned out more like a couple of horses imitating a cat fight, if anything.

Another collection of slams from the gavel rang throughout the hall. “Would you boys please do this court a favor and testify anything but your suggestive preferences?”

“We’re sorry, your Honor…” Snails dipped his head.

“Yeah, we’ll take our business some place else, we promise!” Snips added.

“Business?” David clued.

“OBJECTION!!” The minotaur shouted. “Iron Will finds it rude for the defense to prod at a young colt’s puberty angsts.”

“Overruled.” The Mayor countered. “I will allow these two to testify as long as they keep these ‘angsts’ of theirs to themselves. Snips, Snails.”

“Y-Yes, your Honor?” They spoke in unison.

“Elaborate on this business of yours.”

“Well, it all started back when I turned twelve-” Snails began.

“I thought you said it started when you turned ten.” Snips returned.

The taller one threatened yet another cat fight.

“Enough.” The Mayor barked. “Our investigators found scraps of pornographic material crumpled inside of the bushes and buried beneath the earth around them. Elaborate.”

“Well, the truth is, those were the biology notes.” Snips explained. “Y’see, it wasn’t safe to call them by their real name out loud, so we started using the code name ‘biology notes’, that way we could pass them around during class without anypony noticing.”

“Okay, but, why bury them?” David questioned.

“To grow more.” Snails drawled again. “Duh.”

“Grow more?”

“These biology notes as we like to call them are in super high demand among our most trusted clients.” Snips chortled to himself. “Why, a single picture could go for at least twenty bits. If we wanted to make some serious dough off of this stuff, then the best way to do it was to grow some more.”

“And I suppose it broke your little hearts to realize that’s not exactly how it works?” David supposed.

“They keep showing up in the mail.” Snails shrugged. “Every month or so.”

“If you guys can just get these magazines mailed, why try to ‘grow’ them, as you put it?”

“They must be addressed to their mothers, or something.” Starlight noted, flipping over the magazine to the back cover. “These are all mailed from the big cities like Manehattan and Baltimare, where companies send out smaller portions to try and promote their products. Remember all the mares wearing those socks that you liked?”

“A few…” David wasn’t entirely in denial.

“Apparently these companies sew a lot of lingerie, too.” Starlight darted her eyes to and fro, as though she was expected to further explain her findings. “Rarity’s had a few…ins and outs with them.”

His gaze fixated to the rather saucy looking equines featured on the back, the boy soon came to realize that such suggestive material had in fact existed in Equestria too. It made more sense to him than he would have liked. Why wouldn’t the ponies make a business off of it? But still, something’s missing here. He wandered in his thoughts. This can’t just be a joy ride into a kid’s curiosities and that’s the end of the story. I’m gonna need to dig a little deeper to keep this case rolling.

“Well, it would appear this little fiasco has nothing to do with our case here.” The Mayor started.

“Hang ona’ second, your Honor! There’s something important I need to ask these two.” The boy readied.

“Then make it quick.” The Mayor glared impatiently. “We’ve spent enough time on this meaningless banter of bushes and magazines already. I’ll give you one chance, boy.”

If I screw this up, then that’s that. We may not get another chance to prove Scootaloo’s innocence. The boy placed his palms over the desk, shaking and struggling to adjust his breath. His sights slowly shifted over to Starlight, whom was already posing in a gesture of intense thought.

“They’re just going to keep on talking about their stupid business plans, it’s like they can’t get their minds off of it.” Starlight tapped her chin. “What we need to do is to steer the argument more towards the scene of the crime, ask them how they buried those pages. Focus on the evidence.”

Ask them how they did it…? The boy trailed. Focus on the evidence…? Wait, that’s it! The evidence!

David’s hands slammed back down onto the desk. “Snips, Snails. What did you use to bury the evidence?”

“B-bury the evidence?” Snips trembled.

“Face it, you two were just a couple o’ kids who were doing something wrong and you knew it.” The boy furthered. “It’s like when a child breaks something or wants to hide an accident, they’ll try to sweep it under the rug. And much like a child sweeping their mistakes under the rug, someone who might’ve committed a crime would use something to bury the evidence.”

“Clearly this is going nowhere.” Iron Will bellowed from across the room. “Your Honor, I propose to put this cymbal banging to a rest.”

“The defense still has the floor.” The Mayor cautioned. “Though my patience may be worn, my curiosity remains alive. Do explain yourself, boy.”

“Your Honor, if it is assumed that Scootaloo could not have pushed the bolder without the help of the stick, then who’s to say Snips and Snails couldn’t have buried their biology notes…using the same stick!”

The courtroom filled with the mixtures of intrigue and blabbers of doubt, and the boy could easily tell why. Above all else, he had decided to go with an assumption, an assumption in the hopes that it might elicit some manner of truth for him to go off of. Even David himself knew that for an attorney it was certainly a risky move in the face of a court, a last ditch effort so to speak. Seconds later, the Mayor’s gavel rang against her desk.

“Does the defense mean to suggest that the stick had been used before the time of the crime?”

“I’m suggesting that the stick in our evidence isn’t any ordinary stick.” He continued. “If we go back to what court investigations had concluded, it was assumed that the ring divot around one end of the stick was a result of the depression between the bolder and the earth. But I can really tell you why that ring is there.” He slammed his hands to the table once again. “It’s because the stick was a handle to a tool!”

The entire room froze into a deep and unnerving silence. David would have been quick to assume that the silence was out of surprise, had it not been for the dreadful feeling that was slowly crawling its way up his spine. Had he said something wrong?

“Would the defense be so kind as to explain what a…handle is?”

“Handle?” David reviewed his wording. “I uh…?”

“I think you mean the ‘helve’, buddy.” Starlight corrected. “Not all of us are born with hands.”

The boy peered across the room at the minotaur, tucking his meaty hands beneath his armpits. I know you’re my competition, but would it kill ya’ to help me out on the vocab here? He drooped.

“Alright then, helve.” David updated. “Sounds a little gothic to me, but you get the point. I’m willing to suggest that the stick belonged to some sort of tool, and that’s why the divot appears around one end of it.”

“Then it only begs the question.” The Mayor peered back down. “Well, boys? Did you just so happen to use the stick in our court evidence for your little schemes?”

The two friends gave dull, expressionless eyes to the Mayor, looked to one another, and then back to the court.

For the love of God, just say yes! David pleaded. I don’t even care if it’s true, it’s all we need!

“Why would we need to use tools?” Snips dulled. “We’re unicorns, we have horns.”

The sound of a balloon deflating bounced throughout the room, and everypony took a minute to realize that it was David, whom laid on the floor in a crumpled and defeated lump.

“Bwahaha!” Iron Will guffawed from his desk. “Even you should’ve known this was going nowhere. Finally now, I’ve been waiting for this verdict all day!”

“But we did use that shovel head.” Snails added rather conveniently.

“OBJECTION!!”

“M-Mr. Will?” The Mayor jumped. “Did you just…object a witness’ testimony?”

Iron Will was hovering a desperate finger in the air. “N-No, your Honor.” He struggled. “There’s no reason to object because…the witness doesn’t have anything further to say! That’s it!”

“Quick, Snails, tell us all about this shovel head!” David sprang back up. “It’s the only thing that’ll save your naked bush mares now!”

Once again, the court rose into a fit of protests and shouts, causing the Mayor to whack her gavel against the desk over and over. By this point that poor little hammer was taking quite the beating, and nopony could tell when it was going to snap. It took another few whacks for the room’s volume to die down, and at that very notice the Mayor whipped over to the two young colts.

“This shovel head you speak of-” She snarled. “Does it not belong to the supposed helve in our court evidence? Well? Speak up, you two!”

“I-It…it might?” Was all they could manage.

“Ralph.” The Mayor barked. “Retrieve this shovel head and bring it back to the court for analysis. It may carry vital information to the case.”

“Yes, your Honor.” The bat pony saluted and took flight, exiting through one of the open windows.

Within mere minutes, Ralph had located the shovel head sitting just outside of Snips’ residence. After a detailed conversation between the guard and the little colt’s guardians had gone underway, the piece was carried back to the courtroom and laid before the stick, each of the items laid out on a table with a white cloth thrown over the top. Sam and Ralph stood at both ends, attempting to carefully piece the two items together. David took a short glance over his shoulder to find the entire room was on the edge of their seats, glued with anticipation, and he weighed on the fact that nearly the entire half of the town seemed uncomfortably desperate to witness the assembly of a garden tool. As the helve and the head came together, there was a small rattle, and then a pause.

“The head, it fits.” Ralph blinked. “But…”

“But, what?” The Mayor waited.

“There’s too much space in between, it won’t stay secure.” Sam included. “But, the length to the divot perfectly lines up with the end of the head’s shaft.”

Maybe that’s why the divot is there! David quickly thought.

“OBJECTION!!”

What the-? The boy recoiled. Can he read my thoughts?

“Mr. Will, is there something on your mind?”

“A revision, your Honor.” The bull readied. “Evidence has shown that the shaft of the shovel head meets with the divot around the stick’s surface. This can only inquire one explanation.” He slammed his meaty palm down once again. “The defendant knew the stick would break beneath the weight of the bolder, and used the shovel head before discarding it soon after in an attempt to clear the evidence!”

The Mayor readied her gavel once again, but the sound of the hammer slamming to the desk failed to arrive. In fact, the entire room had fallen silent, as the old mare was almost sure that such a bold statement would arise in an uproar of sorts. It was a bold statement after all, as nopony could quite conclude what exactly the prosecutor was trying to get at. As it seemed, almost no one in the courtroom hardly even knew what they were talking about any more.

With a heaving, tired sigh, the Mayor let her glasses fall from her muzzle as she rubbed her hooves into her sockets and fixed her posture. “Does the defense have anything else to include?”

“I think we’re going to need a better look at this stick…handle…helve thingy.” David mumbled. “Your Honor.”

“Mr. Will?”

“Iron Will was…just going off of a whim.” The minotaur sadly admitted.

“Well if anything, I believe this proves that the shovel head may have no relation with the stick after all, otherwise known as the helve in the defense’s terms.” The Mayor nodded, slowly turning her gaze down towards the two young colts before her. “And, it would also appear that we’ve gotten to the bottom of this ‘biology notes’ business.”

Snips and Snails quivered where they stood.

“Tell me, boys, however did you come about coining the term ‘biology notes’?” She questioned. “Perhaps recent academics had given you some ideas?”

“Y-Yes, your Honor.” Snips quavered. “You see, we’ve been learning about biology as of late. Plant life studies, and all that stuff.”

“Miss Cheerilee gives out a lotta’ homework…” Snails complained.

“And thus, you sought to utilize this rich source of education for your own bidding?” The Mayor huffed.

Snips and Snails laid completely silent. Like statues caught in a cockatrice stare, the pair stood with unmoving shock and guilt as they awaited their judgment before the Mayor of Ponyville. The old mare sighed, let out the slightest chuckle, and pushed her glasses back up.

“I must admit, I cannot blame you entirely.” She chortled. “After all, you are only children.”

“Does this mean we can go home?” Snails asked her.

The Mayor tapped her chin, then nodded to her assistant. “Take a note.” She commanded.

The assistant readied his quill, and the mare began to speak. “To the humble and deservedly recognized scholar of the southern school house in Ponyville, Miss Cheerilee. I grant you full force and obligation to increase the biology studying material for your two students, Snips and Snails, by tenfold! Should they refuse to elaborate on the matter, you may converse with me at Town Hall. Signed, Mayor Ivory Scroll Mare.”

“Way to go, Snails…” Snips sneered to his friend.

“I shall neither hear of this biology notes business nor see you falter in your studies until the two of you have received one-hundred percent scores on your biology exams. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes…your Honor.” The colts sighed in unison.

By the time the two juveniles had left the courtroom, leaving the audience to a relieved yet uncertain peace, everypony had managed to recompose themselves from the onslaught of baseless conclusions that had been thrown from one side and the other. If it wasn’t apparent enough, even a child could tell that the court was desperate from both ends. All it took now was one step in the right direction, or rather, the wrong direction. The questions was, who would make which move first?”

This is it. David thought intensely. The last stretch. I’ve only got one more chance to get this trial back on track, and finally prove Scootaloo’s innocence. His eyes traveled over to the small, orange pony still positioned in the client’s chair. Her eyes had been darting all about the room ever since she arrived, but grew calmer with each step the trial took. In spite of the rather shanty direction the case was being carried, there was still a glint of hope in the little pegasus’ eyes, and the boy felt that he almost knew why. She was looking to him now, the faintest sparks of inspirations filling her gaze. This was a pony looking up to a him, a pony putting her trust and faith in this human. David deemed he’d never forgive himself should he let her down. With a strife his eyes turned back towards Iron Will, and found still that the chills would not cease whenever he stared into his deep, fiery glare.

Iron Will knows just as much as I do that the alteration to the tool used to commit the crime can aid in a huge step towards proving her innocence. If he even gets the slightest advantage over this one item, everything might fall into his will. He thought shakily. If I can just prove the true purpose of the handle, this helve, then that could lead us to where it actually came from, and who really had it in their possession to begin with. Maybe then…I can finally rest this case.

He breathed with one shaky rhythm after the other. His gaze did not waver from the minotaur’s. Silence took hold of every soul seated within the building, only the distant chirping of the birds outside and a few sniffs or coughs from the crowd here and there was all there was to entertain their ears. The silence reigned on, evermore.

Silence.

…

“Well?”

Everyone blinked and looked to the Mayor.

“Y-Your Honor?” Her assistant stuttered.

“Are the two of you going to continue making googly eyes at each other, or are either one of you going to explain the missing pieces of our case here?!”

A great pause of silence reigned over once more. In the midst of the quietness, many could swear they began to hear the hisses of smokey fumes leaking from the Mayor’s ears. The very next second, everypony witnessed the very spirit of the boy and the minotaur being drained from their bodies. They ceased their staring contest and drooped low with arms hanging over their desks.

“I don’t know…” They spoke in unison.

“What?” The Mayor barked, bewildered. “What do you mean you don’t know?”

“It would appear that the argument has driven our competitors into a dead end.” The assistant timidly spoke. “Your Honor.”

“To think that the one and only chance I get to judge a trial turns out to be far less productive than any other!” She growled again.

Quickly then, the opponents retreated back to their desks and began to haggle the hell out of their assistants for more paper work. Iron Will became frustrated with the limited dexterity of his fat fingers, and Starlight complained that David flipping the pages too fast wasn’t really convincing anypony that he was actually looking for something.

“Ow, ow!” David cried, holding his finger. “Paper cut, paper cut!”

“AHA!” Iron Will produced a death grip to the single sheet of paper he raised, as though it were the holy grail of updated autopsy reports. “IRON WILL HAS OBTAINED…has obtained…” He hesitated.

“What? What is it?” Mayor Mare asked urgently. “Read it to us at once!”

Alas, the minotaur failed to speak, his statue like stare being maintained as a magical aura took hold of the paper and was raised up to the judge’s desk. The spirit was drained from his eyes, and the Mayor did a single once over to the paper held before her. The same silence from before filled the room once again, a lengthy death stare piercing its way through her glasses being cast upon the prosecutor. Iron Will was Iron Still.

“This…is an I.O.U. to the Las Pegasus tanning salon, for nail polish.”

The minotaur was frozen.

“Mr. Will, are you aware that you don’t even have nails on your fingers?”

“Then who the hell was that nail polish for?” David asked in the distance.

Iron Will delivered a slow turn of his head, looking to his goat assistant and seeing that he was now eating the one and only paper he was looking for, all the answers to win his verdict being gobbled up as the goat gave a baah-ing burp of satisfaction.

“A five minute recess, your Honor?”

“Gottathink-gottathink-gottathink-gottathink-”

“What makes you think pacing around in circles and saying that over and over again is actually going to help you think?” Starlight asked, exasperated.

The boy came to a halt, stared, and blinked at the mare. “You’re right!” Then, he dropped to the floor.

“Why are you doing push-ups…?”

“To get the blood rushing to my head.” He explained between breaths. “Rainbow Dash taught me this, it’ll make me smarter.”

“First of all-” Lighting her horn, the unicorn grabbed the human by the legs and dangled him above the floor, his hair and arms towards the earth as he hovered at eye level with the pony. “This is how you get the blood rushing to your head. Secondly, that’s the stupidest shred of advice I’ve ever heard and I’m not surprised it came from Rainbow Dash of all ponies.”

“I’m taking this from a thirty-some year old who sits inside reading old books all day?” He crossed his arms.

“I’m nineteen.” She leered.

“Really?” He blinked. “I’d hate to see what your actual thirties are like.”

“Keep this up and you won’t be around to see them.” The unicorn sneered, but quickly drew back to collect her composure, lest she say or do anything out of line. “Look, you and I both know we’re up to our eyes in shit that’s hit the fan multiple times already. The best thing we can do right now is to just relax and let our minds clear themselves, otherwise we’ll burn out in the middle of court.”

“I know…” The boy frowned.

“Scootaloo is counting on us, and so are the Cakes and the weather pegasi. When the time comes to defend them, we’re gonna need all the brain power we can get.” She emphasized. “Most importantly, I need to know if you’re going to be up to the task.”

“I…” He covered his face with his palms. “I-I’m not sure anymore.”

“There’s something that’s been bothering you, hasn’t there?” Starlight brought his face closer to hers. “Go on, spill it. Or are you going to make me shake it out of you?” She threatened with a dangle.

Like a roaring wave of water, the sights and the sounds reentered his mind all over again. Images of Twilight studying within her castle, quickly soaring for the skies soon after, arriving at the Everfree ruins. The wolves, the rubble, the rescue…the tree. Just why was that tree there, and what was its purpose? The cover of his book was the very next thing to invade his thought.

Quickly, like fingers pinched between a candle flame, he snapped the trail of thoughts away and looked back to Starlight with thin veils of determination glossing over his eyes.

“Even if I told you it wouldn’t have any relevance to our current situation.” He argued.

“It seems to have enough influence to be hindering our progress here.” She countered. “Trust me, I’ve been there before. You’ll want to tell yourself that your past has no influence on the person you want to be today, but sometimes its too hard to forget. Some things just…stick with you. They feel sort of natural, like doing things out of habit.”

“Like bribing children to deliver witness testimonies?” David replied dully. “You realize that all of our witnesses up to this point have been children, right?”

The mare glowered again and gave a heavy sigh. “You’re not going to tell me what’s on your mind, are you?”

“I’ll cut you a deal.” The boy sufficed. “If we win this, I’ll tell you everything your little, fluffy ears so desire to hear.”

Starlight froze and blinked with realization, the remembrance of Discord’s words pounding on the walls of her skull. You will get your reward. He had told her. In due time, in due time… Could this be it, then?

“And another deal, Starlight?” David asked.

“Huh?” The pony blinked.

“Could you put me down, please?”

Indeed, the boy was still floating off the ground, upside down and dangling from the unicorn’s magic. Starlight involuntarily let go, and watched as the boy slammed against the floor noggin first. He groaned and held his head.

“I think some of that brain power you wanted leaked out…” He moaned.

“Well, chimp, it looks like it’s round two.” The minotaur glared down at him. “I see you have replaced your puny stick arms with puny straw arms.”

“Oh yeah?” The boy puffed, hands to his hips. “And I see you’ve replaced your goat with a tie with…another goat with a tie.”

“The previous assistant had been sent to the hospital to get his stomach pumped, but never mind that!” The great bull struck a pose, pointing his finger. “Iron Will spent three full months studying the law and three more months earning my prosecutor’s license at the finest academy Manehattan had to offer, and it will NOT be wasted all for the compensation of a filly whom is clearly to blame!”

“You arrogant bastard, she’s just a kid!” David slammed his hands to the desk. “You would pin the blame on one, little pony just to get your grubby mitts on some bits? Just to get your filthy verdict?”

“Come pony, griffon, donkey or mule, child or not, all who commit crime are guilty in the eyes of the law.” The minotaur shook his head. “Your emotions lay no claims, here. This is a house of logic and reason!”

“I’ve given this court every reason they’ll ever need to believe that Scootaloo is innocent.”

“Believe?” Iron Will laughed. “Whatever you are, you must really have a monkey’s brain. If your precious defendant truly is innocent, then prove it.”

David prepared for yet another counter, but held himself back this time, as a sense of caution and urgency struck him whole. If Iron Will did indeed have all the answers at his disposal, then he would have laid them before the court several moments ago. Instead, the minotaur was playing the trigger game, attempting to toy with the boy’s emotions. It told him one thing, and that was based upon the suspicion that the prosecution was desperate. By all means, the defense was at the same level.

“The question remains.” Mayor Mare began. “If not the shovel head, what manner of tool could this stick, this supposed helve possibly belong to?”

“No matter which way you look at it, the stick was indeed used in the crime, your Honor.” Iron Will insisted. “The prosecution proposes that in this claim, the original intention of the stick is irrelevant.”

“Neigh, I trust that the stick’s original purpose may lead to clues that are yet to be uncovered.” The Mayor insisted. “Does the defense have any more witnesses to bring unto the court?”

Iron Will does have a point, the stick was undeniably a part of the crime scene. David thought within. And the Mayor seems oddly adamant on pushing towards more possibilities. Could it really be that she’s trying to place her faith in me? Or, is it something else? Something she’s noticed that I haven’t yet?

It took but only once glance back to the supposed victim of this case, the trusty witness that hardly anypony had bothered batting an eye towards for nearly the entire court. Mr. Hayseed, a local farmer of Ponyville, yet anypony would hardly ever see him around town or even near his farm. He seemed to spend the better part of his time indoors, which was rather odd knowing that he had his entire crop to look after. The old crapper seemed keen on getting the entire town to do his bidding, and that even included so much as the weather pegasi bringing personal rain clouds to his residence. Although he felt the boy’s stare on the side of his face, the farmer dared not stare back, maintaining a stoic and innocent glance over nothing in particular hovering about the room.

Suddenly, the Mayor gave an audible clearing of her throat. “Does the defense-?”

The boy pointed and shouted. “Mr. Hayseed!”

The court sprung back in surprise. Hayseed turned, and the Mayor blinked with disbelief.

“M-Mr. David?” She fixed her glasses. “Do you intend to call the prosecutor’s witness to your stand?”

“What are you doing?” Starlight asked urgently.

“What’s the big deal?” The boy wondered.

“OBJECTION!!” Iron Will pounded against his desk. “The defense is making a direct violation of the rules! My client can’t possibly be called to testify by your puny, insignificant command!”

“What?! Since when?” The boy countered.

Iron Will whipped out his arm and produced a thick, blue text book out of seemingly nowhere. He wordlessly flipped to a certain page without even looking, smashing his fingers against the words on the paper. “Each and every witness is bound only to the attorney they are inclined to prior to the takeoff of the court. Any witnesses received during court are subject to the same rule, and all fall beneath the exception in the case of a special testimony procedure.”

Special testimony procedure? The boy wondered inwardly, quickly turning to his assistant for answers. Alas, the look in her downcast eyes said it all.

“I hate to say it, but he’s throwing us for a curve.” Starlight admitted. “It looks like he almost knew we would try this.”

“But what is this ‘special testimony procedure’ all about?” He asked.

“I-I’m not sure, it must have been added into a new edition somewhere. I haven’t read anything like it before.” Starlight desperately flipped through her notes. “Iron Will claimed he had been studying the law three months prior to our trial here. There could be a whole list of rules he knows about that we haven’t even seen yet.”

The minotaur released a booming, mocking laugh. “Iron Will isn’t surprised even in the slightest. A single, puny monkey and his little pony assistant couldn’t have done anything to prepare for any trial.” He bulleted his finger to the defense. “Your text of rules is outdated!”

David froze and blinked hard, his fingers curling inward as he seethed with fury and slammed his fist to the table, doing more harm to his hand than anything. “You…” He shook and cried with anger. “You updated the autopsy report you sonuvabitch!”

His fury unfolding before the crowds, the faint memories of the events that had taken place just outside in the plaza square swiftly took over the minds of all. Their murmurs grew into spoken concerns and soon enough chants of protest. Neither Sam nor Ralph possessed the strength any longer to quell the cries of the crowd. Children huddled beneath their guardians, boos were hollered and curses were flung. The ponies told themselves that they knew this never should have come to be, they knew they should have gotten rid of this creature the moment they had laid eyes on them. In the midst of the chaos, David raised his eyes above to the balconies once again, and there the pony looked upon the horrors with a tight and sickly gaze. Even the Princess of Harmony felt powerless in this moment. Trust… The words entered the boy’s mind without repercussion. I need to place my trust in my friends.

The slamming of the Mayor’s gavel sprung him from his thought. Alas, the crowds failed to squander, and the old mare was becoming quite visibly frustrated.

“Order.” The Mayor tapped her gavel.

“This is madness!” The audience roared on.

“Order!” She slammed again.

“Ludicrous! Get that ape euthanized!” The jury declared.

“I call order, dammit!” She attempted to bark over the court once more, but to no avail. If her voice would not suffice, then she decided that her gavel would. “By the hot hells of Celestia’s sun! I. Said. ORDER-!”

PANG-POP!

In the slim moment that the mallet made contact with the block, Mayor Mare’s swing had packed enough force to snap the handle right in two. The hammer end bounced off of the plate and soared sky high, the entire courtroom suspended into an awe-struck pause. The head spun, and spun, and spun…until it decided to plummet back towards the crowd threatening to clonk the noggin of its unlucky victim. It took the room a second then to realize that an air-born chunk of wood was indeed headed straight for them, and instead of any pegasus thinking to catch or any unicorn attempting to levitate the block, everypony panicked.

David watched as poor Fluttershy was sure to become the victim, assuming her feather shield technique, and the images ran through his head like a memory replayed on a projector screen. Frame for frame. He swung the axe down, and felt a shock course through his body. The axe head had seemed to pop right off of the handle.

“Your Honor!!” His exhilaration was enough to light the bulb popping over his head.

“What is it, boy?!” She squawked. “I’ve lost half a gavel and I’m about to lose the other half of my patience!”

“Some poor sap can call a replacement while the defense calls Miss Fluttershy to the witness stand!”

The room returned to a stiffened, shocked silence. The hammer end spun and clocked the boy right over the top of his head, smashing his lightbulb to glassy bits in the process, yet he stood unmoved and smiling evermore. Meanwhile, Fluttershy stood in the midst of the audience struggling to catch her breath.

“Oh my…” She quavered.

Everypony watched as Ralph found every difficulty there was in getting the shy, timid mare to rise from her seat and willingly approach the witness stand. David made a pleading gesture with desperate eyes, only for Fluttershy to stare back with ten times the plead he could ever muster. He clasped his hands together once again and glanced to Scootaloo, the little defendant’s eyes big and frightened as ever. At this, the older pegasus finally seemed to understand, and shakily made her way for the witness’ chair.

“Now…” The boy began. “Miss Flutterbutter-”

“U-Um, actually, it’s Fluttershy…” She weakly corrected.

“Right, Fluttershutter.” He resumed. “Allow me to start with a general view of my perspective here. I imagine like most other ponies in this town, you too have quite an abundance of firewood that needs to be chopped.”

Fluttershy’s eyes darted about, and she nodded.

“And the best tool for such a task would be an axe, would it not?”

“I-I suppose.” She nodded again.

“Let me bring it to the court’s attention that just the other day, you had called me over to your cottage to have no more than a dozen bundles of wood logs chopped into fourths. In the process of fulfilling this task, both you and I realized that there was something a little…oh I dunno, off about this axe that we were using. Miss Butterfly, would you mind telling the court what you witnessed that day?”

“Oh, well, I suppose that wouldn’t be too difficult.” Fluttershy recomposed herself. “There was a lovely breeze that day. The birds were preparing to migrate, the frogs had all been tucked beneath the dirt and soil at the river bank, and Harry was having trouble finding his back scratcher, again.”

The audience and the court members began to give each other odd looks.

“So, I did him a favor and-”

“No, no, I meant-”

Fluttershy paused, cocking her head.

David charaded a motion like that of a swinging down an axe towards a log.

“O-Oh, right!” The yellow pegasus beamed. “And you did a very good job of chopping my firewood for me.” She smiled.

David summoned every ounce of will he had to force back a face palm, but his hand met his forehead anyhow, sliding down his complexion with sluggish frustration. All the eyes of the court were upon him now.

“Please be honest with me, son…” The Mayor rubbed her eyes. “Does the defense know where they are going with this?”

“I-In a moment, your Honor.”

“OBJECTION!!”

The courtroom trained their attention on the minotaur, yet another fat palm of his slamming against his table. “The monkey shall refrain from discussing his day-to-day life with the locals! Chimp proceedings have absolutely nothing to do with this court!”

“Now WAIT just a moment, mister!”

A collective gasp bellowed all throughout the room. Iron Will stood aghast, the Mayor glanced back in shock, and David took cover at the threatening use of the word “mister” once again. Fluttershy blinked and drew her hoof back.

“Oh, I-I’m sorry.” She flustered. “Was I supposed to shout ‘objection’ or something like that?”

Before anypony could respond however, the pegasus returned a menacing glare and spread her wings over the witness stand, flying over and hovering before the prosecutor with hooves to her hips.

“What makes you think you have the right to call our friend David here any kind of classification of cercopithecidae that you so please? Have you even tried asking him what he really is?”

“Erm…” Iron Will rubbed the nape of his neck.

“I didn’t think so.” Fluttershy crossed her hooves. “David is a human, and if you’re going to treat him otherwise then I don’t want to hear another ‘objection’ run from your mouth. Do I make myself clear?”

Iron Will raised a finger in response, but any run of words failed to spill from his fat, bovine snout, and a desperate snort towards the judge’s desk was all he could give.

“The…lengthy objection is sustained.” The Mayor ruled, fixing her glasses. “Mr. Will, from here on out you will refrain from making any objections unless you have something productive to deliver to the court. Is that understood?”

“Y-Yes…your Honor.” The bull felt defeated once again.

“Now, Miss Fluttershy, would you care to give the remainder of your testimony?”

“Gladly.” The pegasus nodded to the Mayor and returned to her chair at the stand. In spite of the strangely threatening amount of assertiveness this timid, little pegasus could pull from seemingly nowhere, David had surrendered some amount of admiration in her efforts. A small smile crept to his lips as she got comfortable and proceeded with her story.

“When I had called David over to help me with chopping the firewood for the coming winter, it was unbeknownst to me just how poor of a state my axe laid in.”

「FLUTTERSHY’S TESTIMONY ‣」
“David showed up at my cottage one morning to begin chopping firewood.”
“Everything was going very smoothly, until all of a sudden, the axe head flew off of the helve!”
“We had to duck for cover, it was the second most terrifying moment of my life!”
“If only I were more well versed in gardening tools, then this never would have happened.”
“We decided to take the axe to Applejack for repairs.”
“After fixing it, we left it in the stump leading up to the orchard.”

The courtroom resumed to a quiet setting, taking in the words of the pegasus’ testimony. Quietly, the Mayor nodded in understanding. “I see.” The old mare began. “So, the axe you had been using must’ve been quite old, and in desperate need of a wedge or two?”

“That’s right, your Honor.” Fluttershy nodded. “I often let the state of the tools I use run by my attention, because my animals come first.”

“And I suspect that this specific tool of yours will be used in reference to the defense’s explanation?” Mayor Mare looked to the boy expectantly.

“That’s just where I was getting to, your Honor.” David responded, turning back to the witness. “I never did get the chance to ask you, Fluttershy.” He began calmly. “Where exactly did you get that axe from?”

“The axe?” Fluttershy blinked. “Oh, that’s right! I got it from the local gardener, of course.”

David’s sights slitted. “And who might that be?”

The boy watched as her pupils expanded to the size of saucers, her gaze slowly shifting over and across the courtroom, as the human suspected he already knew who she was going to look at. Mr. Hayseed’s stoic, stagnant stare had all but fallen apart, replaced by fury, by an urgency to cowardice and retreat.

And thus, the boy gave pursuit.

“Well well, Mr. Hayseed. It seems you’ve left more out of your testimony than we first thought.” He crossed his arms. “Mind explaining to us how this axe of yours ended up on the crime scene?”

“OBJECTION!!”

Iron Will ignored the concerned glares of the Mayor. “The defense is making baseless claims! There is no way to prove that the stick of the crime scene and the axe in the witness’ testimony are the same exact tool!”

“OBJECTION!!” David shot back. “The divot on the end of the stick is all the proof that we need.”

“The defense’s objection is sustained.” The Mayor applied. “Mr. David, explain your findings to the court.”

“Simply go back to what Sam and Ralph had discovered with the shovel head and the stick.” The boy explained. “The shaft of the shovel met perfectly with the ring around the surface of the stick, giving light to the possibility that it’s no ordinary stick, but the helve of a tool. In fact, even if somepony had tried using a stick to leverage the bolder from its starting point, it would have broken in two under the weight of the rock. Therefore, a tool had to be used at some point in the night.”

“And what of the axe?” Mayor Mare prodded. “Do you mean to suggest that not a shovel head, but rather an axe head is the missing piece to this tool we are attempting to piece together?”

“It’s all in Fluttershy’s testimony, your Honor.” David reminded. “She stated that after repairing the axe, they had left it in the stump leading up to the orchard, otherwise known as Sweet Apple Acres.” He slammed his hands to the table and pointed forward. “The axe was never found in the investigation because the scene of the crime occurred just outside Sweet Apple Acres, exactly where the stump is!”

Another wave of disturbance sounded throughout the hall, and Mayor Mare had resorted to slamming her hoof against the desk in an effort to quell the court’s outcries. The boy wondered how she even managed a goof enough grip on the mallet in the first place. Eventually the voices began to subside, and the old mare glossed over the chamber before speaking.

“It would appear that a special testimony procedure will need to take place in order for the court to proceed with its findings.” The Mayor ruled over. “In the meantime, Ralph, you are tasked with engaging in an extensive investigation of the crime scene. Leave no stone unturned this time.”

“Yes, your Honor.” Ralph seemed almost shaky this time around, as he saluted and took flight for the outdoors.

There it is again, that special testimony procedure. David thought on. I had forgotten that although this is a court of law, this one is reigned over by colorful, pastel horses from another planet. Not everything is going to be the same as it would be on Earth. He tapped his chin for a moment. Come to think of it, I don’t even know what a real court back on Earth does. Wait, why the hell am I here again?

“In light of Miss Fluttershy’s testimony and the new findings of the court, the prosecutor’s client, Mr. Hayseed, will be redirected to the witness stand to testify under oath and give answer to any and all questioning that the jury deems fit.” The Mayor fixed her glasses to the two below. “Can I trust that you boys will keep the…’objection sparring’ to a reasonable level?”

“Yes, your Honor.” David obliged.

Iron Will slammed his table and shot forward. “I’ll make the defense DROWN IN IT!”

The Mayor stared silent, unamused.

“I-Iron Will means…” The minotaur slouched. “Yes, your Honor…”

This is it then. David deemed. All I need to do is get this Hayseed guy to confess. I already know he’s going to deny a lot of my claims, but if I can somehow prove that the axe did indeed belong to him, then maybe we can find out what really happened that night.

His momentary thought shed light upon what his assistant had told him near the very beginning of the trial.

There’s something off about this guy. Starlight had told him. Keep an eye on him.

「HAYSEED’S TESTIMONY 2 ‣」
“Fine! Ya’ want the truth? I knew exactly where them guards were at.”
“After my cart been smashed to smithereens, I told ‘em to look up n’ over the hill.” *pop*
“I-I.” *hic* “I wanted to stay behind and make sure my cart was okay.”
“My granddad gimme that cart, and that lil’un gone n’ destroyed it!” *sob*

The courtroom came upon a spell of silence, the ponies nodding calmly in pity and understanding to the poor farmer’s testimony.

“What a spout of cragodile tears.” Starlight snorted.

“Well, with you, I can never really tell.” David returned.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She retorted.

“You don’t give anypony a moment of compensation, Star.”

The unicorn huffed and explained. “The culprit will often resort to emotional strife when it seems most convenient to them because they’re trying to get out of something, and that’s because they know they’ve done something.” Starlight furthered. “I told you to keep an eye on this guy, and now I really think we’re on the right track here. Don’t hesitate to make him snap.”

I’ll have to take this slow. David thought to himself. It’s all a matter of time before Ralph returns from the investigation, hopefully with something useful. What I need is the right tools to make him say something that I can use against him. Hm, the right tools…

“Has the defense prepared a proper examination?” The Mayor asked.

“I believe I have just the thing, your Honor.” David rounded his desk and approached the old farmer at the witness stand, training his sights into his stiff yet wary eyes. “Mr. Hayseed.” He began. “At the top of the hill where the supposed crime scene had occurred, this large stick was found lying next to Scootaloo. In light of recent investigations, the court deems the possibility of this stick being a helve for a tool, and in light of Miss Fluttershy’s testimony not only had she claimed that she acquired an axe that you had once possessed, but said axe was also left embedded into the tree stump lying a mere trot away from the crime scene.” He prepared. “My question to you is, do you happen to recognize this tool helve?”

And the farmer snorted. “Never seen it in my life.”

“You are a gardener, correct?” David asked.

“Was.” Hayseed huffed. “Wudn’t makin’ the cut, so I got a whole crop to take care of.”

“Then would you care to explain as to why Fluttershy referred to you as a gardener instead of a farmer?”

“T’snot like I’m tellin’ everypony ‘bout my business, not if’n they ask.”

“And if they did, how truthful would you be?”

“You question’n my honesty?” His lip quivered. “My cart dun got smashed-”

“We know, Mr. Hayseed.” David halted. “But what we can’t seem to figure out is why Fluttershy had claimed that you were in possession of the axe, in spite of the fact that you said you’ve ‘never seen it in your life’ before.”

“I said I never seen that damn stick before.” He grunted.

“Then you admit to having owned the axe?” David returned.

Hayseed threw up his hooves. “So what if I owned an axe?” He grunted. “Dudn’t mean it’s the same axe you been dreamin’ about.”

“And if it were the same axe, would you still be hesitant to have claimed previous ownership of it?” The boy quested.

“I ain’t sayin’ I didn’t own no axe, all I’m sayin’ is that stick ain’t got nothin’ to do with it!” He cried. “What gives ya’ the gull to question me like this? Knowing a poor colt like me can’t hardly work no more without his cart.”

“I’m only trying to understand why it was so difficult to lay claim to this axe in the first place.” David went on. “Could it be the fact that after having given it to Fluttershy, it just so happened to end near the same location where the crime scene would go down several days after its repair? Only, when the morning of the investigation came, the axe was nowhere to be found. Hence why the court evidence came up short of an axe, or almost any tool at all for that matter.” The boy slitted his sights. “Almost as though somepony were attempting to get rid of the evidence early on.”

Silence began to take hold of the court, and worse more over Hayseed as well. He knew he had to keep the farmer going, lest he lose him and the intrigue of the trial.

“Mr. Hayseed, might I ask what it is that you grow on your farm?”

“Whatsitooya’?” The farmer snorted.

Is it just me, or does this guy try to cover up everything about his life. The boy wondered. Something tells me this dude’s real deep into some shady business.

“Mr. Hayseed, you are under oath.” The Mayor reminded.

And the farmer snorted again. “Alfalfa.” He answered.

“Before you had claimed that your role as a gardener simply wasn’t bringing in enough bits.” David brought up. “Could it be that this alfalfa is in high enough demand that it might reign in enough money to suit your needs?”

“It’s used for hay, keeps ya’ fed.” The farmer splayed. “If’n that’s what ya’ wanna know.”

“What I want to know is why you decided to abandon your gardening role altogether.” David went on. “What I really want to know is why you decided to abandon your axe given the fact that both gardening and farming must make frequent use of such a tool. Am I wrong? The only reason I can deduce as to why you, a former gardener and farmer who was already tight on money, would freely hoof away a tool like it was worth nothing. That could be because it almost certainly was worth nothing, and Fluttershy and I figured that out the moment the head split from the helve without us even knowing about it. But you knew about it, didn’t you?”

“Knew what?” The farmer chuckled shaking his head. “You don’t know nothin’, chimp.”

“You gave the axe to Fluttershy because you knew it was already in need of repairs, but you didn’t have the money for it, which leads me to believe that you didn’t just give the axe away out of the kindness of your heart.” David crossed his arms. “You sold it.”

Hayseed shrugged indefinitely.

“I suppose you’re not going to tell me how much you sold it for?” David attempted.

“Would it help?” Hayseed cackled.

“Well, that explains the grievances over your shiny, new cart.” The boy returned.

A kernel popped. “What you gettin’ at?” The farmer stiffened.

“You knew Fluttershy didn’t know a pair of trimmers from a pair of nose clippers. She even claimed in her testimony her deficiency in the field of tools.” David justified. “You took advantage of this and sold the axe to her at an unfair price, and used the money to get cozy with the cart you so claim your granddad gave to you. That’s a contradiction to your testimony, Mr. Hayseed, and you’re under oath.”

“Now you listen here, shit flinger!” The farmer seethed, red in the face. “All you been makin’ are nonsense and tomfoolery and falsehoods towards me this entire trial! If’n I say my granddaddy gimme’ that cart, he gimme that cart! Y’hear?! Don’t you go saying I ain’t tellin’ the truth!”

“With that being said, you claim everything you told the court in your testimony to be one hundred percent true?” David ventured. “The truth, and only the truth?”

“That’s right!” The farmer nodded firm, puffing his pipe.

And the boy grinned.

“Then tell the court why it took you this long to realize that your second testimony contradicts your first.”

Hayseed froze and sprung back, like a swarm of wasps threatening to sting him so. The court erupted into a fit of howls, and the Mayor was beginning to worry for the health of her hoof, should she continue her slamming upon the desk.

“The defense will explain their reasoning at once!” The Mayor demanded.

“With pleasure, your Honor.” David whipped out a small stack of papers, holding it in one hand whilst slapping it with the other. “We’ve only to go back on what Hayseed had claimed in his first testimony. He had stated that if it weren’t for the guards then the defendant would have gotten away with the crime, claiming that he left the investigation up to Sam and Ralph. However, how would he have known where to look if he hadn’t already been up there himself in the first place?”

“OBJECTION!!” Iron Will boomed. “The bolder rolled down from the hill and smashed the cart, it would have only been a matter of seeing where the stone had come from!”

But the boy shook his head. “He wouldn’t have been able to tell because it was too dark that night. Don’t forget what Scootaloo said in her testimony, it was too dark to see anything. There has been no mention of the usage of light, and going off of that, the only way somepony could have navigated the crime scene in the dark is if they had already been there!”

“Your statement bares holes!” The minotaur protested. “If it were too dark for anypony to see that night, how could the guards have navigated their way through the scene?”

“You don’t seem to be as familiar with a certain bat pony as I am.” The boy held a grin. “Ralph possesses bat attributes. In fact, he doesn’t even need to see, he can already hear where he’s going.” And he slammed his hands to the table. “Neither Sam nor Ralph needed any direction from Hayseed because Ralph could hear the bolder rolling down the hill from miles away, giving him and his partner plenty of reason to go investigate. Therefore, Mr. Hayseed never called the guards. No, instead…he was running away from them!”

The court erupted once more, and the Mayor slammed her hoof again.

“Does the defense mean to claim that…Mr. Hayseed is the true culprit to this crime?!” The Mayor blinked back, astounded.

“It’s simple, your Honor.” David slammed his hands to the desk for a final time. “The reason the axe was missing from the stump is because Hayseed drew it on his way back up the hill…and attempted to attack Scootaloo!”

The Mayor nearly fell out of her chair, the audience halted mid frothing of their mouths, and the jury was nothing less of a grocery store shelf line up of dropped jaws. In that very moment, light pooled down the center isle, and down the lane came Ralph with his evidence in tow.

“The axe head has been located.” He announced. “It had been buried beneath the shed on Mr. Hayseed’s farm.”

“Y-You-! You slimy, slippery, winged devil you!” Hayseed’s pipe popped like mad. “Y’can’t go rummagin’ through another pony’s stuff like that! Where’s your warrant?!”

Ralph shook his head. “Court laws rule that in the event of potential harm being done to the public, or the possibility of missing or obstructing evidence, warrant procedures are to be surpassed. In any case, your documentations concerning the farm are outdated.”

As the rest of the court watched in awe, Ralph trotted up to the examination table laid out with the helve and the shovel head. The shovel head was pushed to the side as Sam joined in and prepared to assemble the missing pieces together. After a brief, heart thumping and deafening pause, the axe head slid over the end of the helve like butter sliding in a pan. Ralph weighted the tool in his wings, trained it, and studied it.

“A perfect fit.” He deemed.

Quietly, all eyes in the room turned to Hayseed. The old farmer’s cob pipe in his mouth jittered like a rattle snake’s tail, his sights failing to stay focused and the sweat of his brow trickling over like a tiny waterfall. At the defense’s desk, the unicorn closed her eyes and slowly formed the clues together in her head.

“I see now.” Starlight said. “Perhaps this could have been a murder trial after all?”

“M-Miss Glimmer?” The Mayor hesitated.

And Starlight went on. “Scootaloo went wandering out into the night after having a drink with her friend from behind the bar. She was grieving so much over what had happened to Apple Bloom that her hooves seemed to assume a mind of their own, and inevitably brought her to the outskirts of Sweet Apple Acres. Deep down she missed her friend, and wished only to see her again, but that’s when in the midst of her sorrow, the ‘crime’ had gone down. A bolder from the hill came crashing down next to her, which is why she heard the first crash, and the second soon after it smashed through Mr. Hayseed’s cart. The impact of the bolder threw her into a daze, and the drinking hadn’t done anything to help the situation. She could hardly see or hear anything, and that’s when Mr. Hayseed came running up the hill. He stopped by the stump and drew the axe from its resting spot, and smitten by fury he swung down on Scootaloo. However, the head of the axe came loose from the helve, and soared into the sky as the blunt end of the helve came down on Scootaloo’s scalp, giving tale to the large bruise on top of her head. Hayseed quickly realized that he would have to get rid of the evidence before the guards arrived, and so he chose the axe head over the helve, thus setting the filly up for a more practical looking crime.”

Starlight’s conclusions came to a haunting close, and the entirety of the building laid in a shroud of unmoving and unspoken horror. Accordingly, David raised his finger to the farmer.

“Mr. Hayseed.” He pointed. “You attempted murder…on a child!”

“I-I didn’t-! Sh-She was-! Th-The stick! The bolder! The cart-! The-!” Hayseed’s face twisted and contorted into unimaginable triumphs of rage as he stretched his teeth across his muzzle, bellowed fumes of fire from his corn cob pipe, popped and fiery kernels erupting like molten rocks from a volcano. They quickly went up in flames and singed the upper half of the farmer’s head to an ashy, pitch black, the whites of his eyes blinking in the midst of the smokey dark.

Then, Hayseed fainted, turned upside down, and his cloth fell from his rump. Every breathing being present took the better part of the ten-second pause to let their jaws hang to the floor. Mr. Hayseed’s flank…was blank.

“I knew it!” Starlight shouted aloud.

“My word, Mr. Hayseed!” The Mayor gawked. “Where is your cutie mark?”

“That’s just the thing, your Honor.” Starlight triumphed. “He doesn’t have one.”

“No cutie mark, at his age?” David tapped his chin. “No wonder he’s mad…”

“Hayseed was never going to get his cutie mark, and never will.” Starlight declared. “And that’s because he wasn’t born a pony.”

“Not a pony?” Mayor Mare fixed his glasses. “Then that would mean his property claims over the farmland are invalid.”

“Wait, what?” David hadn’t meant it quite outloud, and craned his head to whisper to Starlight. “Is that just a Ponyville thing or something?”

Starlight shook her head. “The Mayor is right, Equestrian law states that if you’re not a pony then you need a special visa in order to claim ownership over your property, regardless if it was yours to begin with or not.”

“So that means donkeys and mules or whatever don’t have the same rights as a pony?”

“Pretty much.” Starlight shrugged and nodded.

David stood back, rubbing his scalp. “That’s a little, I dunno…fucked up?”

“This would make all the damages dealt to his cart void.” Starlight explained. “In other words, Scootaloo is…”

The Mayor carefully applied the finishing touches to her gavel one drop of glue after the other. Satisfied, she raised the mallet and bellowed over the courtroom.

“Not Guilty!” And slammed the plate.

The gavel split into two once more, this time the hammer head rolling of the desk as it met the floor with a defeated, pitiful clack.

“But she will receive a two-hundred bit fine for drinking underage.” She finished.

The words almost meant nothing to the little filly, a smile shining brighter than the sun ever could as her eyes spanned across the courtroom and met the boy’s with several amounts of warmth, joy and gratitude. She sprung from her seat as Sweetie Belle and her classmates joined her, hopping and cheering as they hugged altogether. Piggy bank and loose couch change transactions were already underway in an effort to pay off Scootaloo’s fine, and with that the boy gave a satisfied nod and returned to the court. Everypony’s eyes were trained to the witness stand where Mr. Hayseed had fallen unconscious, but alas, his figure was nowhere to be found.

“Mr. Will?” The Mayor quickly addressed. “Where has your client gone?”

“The minotaur has retreated for the time being.” Came a low, icy thum. “And so has my most unworthy adversary, Mr. Hayseed. Or should I say, Mr. Greenhooves.”

The voice far more than familiar, the chill running up his spine and the sting that stuck every time the boy dared look into the aged, mysterious ambassador’s eyes. Those cold blue circles had instilled a strange sense of uncertainty and fear in the boy before, but they seemed this time to return with a vengeance, and he was already being told why.

“This is the last time you will be intruding upon my affairs, boy.” The thum returned. “I shall take the reigns, and face you. Do not disappoint me.”

Mikado.

Visions of lavender. The soothing touch of silk. The scent of flowers became unbearable, unbearable to the point that it became natural, natural to the point that it became familiar. Too familiar, deathly familiar. She felt deep down that she had been here before, among these people, among these sorcerers and masters of medicine, those who let the moon guide them and trained endlessly in the ways of water. She reached out with her hooves, but failed to find the strength. She wanted to look upon the world around her, but found no light to reveal its wonders. The scent of flowers told her everything, and it told her that she was home.

“Mother…?” Amethyst mumbled, quietly and slowly. “Is that you?”

A flash of white, and a thousand pink petals fluttering in the air clouded her vision. Cherry blossoms danced through the air, accompanied by a summer-green pasture and a leaning sakura tree. Her gaze began at the canopy of the tree and traveled to the earth it rooted within, and at the base of the great blossom tree, stood a tall and slender mare with a curved horn. Her mane struck a deep violet, and her coat a fervent flower orange. Her gaze was like nothing Amethyst had experience before, yet every ounce of it was more familiar than she could fathom. Gentle, loving, motherly…

“Senkō.” The motherly mare breathed. “O, my beautiful daughter.”

Amethyst could not find any room to speak, and she felt she did not need to. She only listened as the mysterious pony drew her bright and gentle hoof up to the younger mare’s face, the scent of flowers overwhelming her senses, her mind and body like sinking beneath a warm, soothing bath.

“He has taken too many away.” The mare mumbled.

Amethyst opened her eyes. “Who…?”

“But not you.” She continued to caress her. “He will never take you away from me.”

“Is this a dream?” Amethyst asked quietly.

“Follow your heart.” The mare told her calmly. “When the time is right, you will return to where you truly belong.”

“Mother…?” Amethyst reached forward, desperate and desiring. “I-Is that really you?”

“Stay strong, my daughter.” The light shined over, and the voice of the mare echoed.

“Senkō…”

As the petals of the great sakura tree flurried and spun all around, a scent so fleeting and distant, yet familiar the moment she encountered it, shook her awake. It was him, her prince. The light became harsh now, striking through foggy panes of glass as the mare struggled to adjust, unbeknownst as to how long she had laid unconscious. All the memories of the pain, the drowsiness and the nauseous aching had subsided to a fading and diminishing insignificance. As all laid quiet, Amethyst rose from the white sheets of the bed she laid in and uncovered her form, carefully studying her left hind hoof. The bandage was gone, and the scar reduced to a thin, lavender patch over her fur. Amethyst had been healed.

She raised her head, and there he was. As her words failed to arrive, his did not.

“Looks like you couldn’t keep yourself out of trouble.” Ronin said.

Amethyst stared, unbelieving. “You came back…?” She mumbled.

The colt leveled himself from his chair, trotting about the room aimlessly before stopping and staring out the window. “Doctor Horse had told me you were in trouble.” He explained. “On the day you and I turned our culprit into Town Hall, I planned to leave Ponyville for good, but not before making a stop by his office. He went on to tell me all about his travels through Neighsia, our culture and our ways in the field of medicine, which I of course was more than familiar with.” He took a pause. “Then, he showed me something that caught me by surprise. I suppose it makes sense now that uncle would send me here.”

Amethyst remained silent, allowing the colt to say his peace.

“You are very fortunate to have such knowledgeable doctors in your midst.” Ronin nodded.

“You saved me…didn’t you?” Amethyst reached. “If it wasn’t for you-”

“Save your breath.” The stag halted. “I only came to give you some answers so you wouldn’t have too many questions. You should get some more rest.” And he trotted for the door.

“But you never answered my question.” Amethyst started. “Why are you really here?”

The colt in the door paused, his ears aimed back towards his partner.

Her gaze fell to the sheets. “There’s no way anypony would come back for a dumb mare like me. It’s like you said, I’m rude, impulsive, selfish. There’s nothing about me to put any value or worth into.” She paused, and breathed. “But…I guess I could always tell that you thought otherwise.”

At that, Ronin turned, looking to the mare sitting up in the bed.

“I had a peek at your book.” She admitted.

Ronin felt that in the deepest pits of his mind and that strange tug upon his heart, the time had finally come. Visions of his uncle and his encouraging words filled his memories as he recalled upon the day he had left his home village, the world ahead and its mysteries a threatening yet wondrous adventure at his hooves. The young colt trailed slowly back into the room and returned his gaze past the stark white light of the window, pupils dancing upon the details of the outdoors. His breath came slow and shaky, the words calm and careful.

“Ever since the day I left my home village, I’ve been on a mission. That was three years ago.” Ronin painted. “I crossed through the cities of Equestria, from the bustling towns of Manehattan to the great splendor of the Crystal Empire, all in search for one pony in particular. The Lost Princess.”

Amethyst stared on, the revelations filling her mind.

“Where I come from she is only a legend, a fabled mare at best, said to bring peace back to the nation and restore our world to its former glory, delivering us from the strife that which he had set upon us so many moons ago. He is a traitor to our family, a traitor to our land, and even his own kin. I’m more than sure that by now you know whom I speak of.”

“Mikado…” Amethyst breathed coldly.

“To the world, he is an emperor and a hero.” His eyes glared devilishly. “But to us, he goes by another name. Yaksha, the White Bastard.”

Amethyst felt a chill run down her spine.

“I would not be telling you this even if my suspicions were dead on. There are two things for certain that I must know.” Ronin told her. “I must know that you are the one I’ve been looking for all this time.”

“And if I am?” Amethyst returned. “What’s the second thing?”

“Will you leave with me?”

Amethyst turned and returned her sights to the outdoors, the white and golden light of the early afternoon shining through with brilliant rays of estrangement and familiarity. It was in the middle of Fall, and a bright pink cherry blossom petal fluttered through the wind past the window.

“Not until we solve this case.” Amethyst turned with a confident nod. “Once and for all.”