History Characters / ElementsOfJustice

* TheBusCameBack: After last being seen in ''WebAnimation/TurnaboutStorm'', Cruise Control returns as a Pony of Interest in Turnabout Discharge.

* ChickMagnet: In this case, Mare Magnet. Rarity and Amber Gleam each [[TheTease Tease]] him on occasion; and when he investigates Keresmatic's Mare Attic, which is all-but-said to double as an erotic club, he notes that he's "being stared at like [he's] some... exotic creature" by '''''everypony''''' there.

* ChickMagnet: In this case, Mare Magnet. Rarity and Amber Gleam each [[TheTease Tease]] him on occasion; and when he investigates Keresmatic's Mare Attic, which is all but said to double as an erotic club, he notes that he's "being stared at like [he's] some... exotic creature" by '''''everypony''''' there.

* ChickMagnet: In this case, Mare Magnet. Rarity and Amber Gleam each [[TheTease Tease]] him on occasion; and when he investigates Keresmatic's Mare Attic, all but said to double as an erotic club, he notes that he's "being stared at like [he's] some... exotic creature" by '''''everypony''''' there.

* ChickMagnet: In this case, Mare Magnet. Rarity and Amber Gleam each [[TheTease Tease]] him on occasion; and when he investigates Keresmatic's Mare Attic, repeatedly implied to be a Pony brothel, he notes that he's "being stared at like [he's] some... exotic creature" by '''''everypony''''' there.

* AscendedExtra: Only had TheCameo in the original Turnabout Storm. Here, he's a supporting cast member, with plot importance to Case 2.

* DirtyCop: [[spoiler: In 2-7, he's revealed to have forged the helmet found at the bog and planner in the travel case to assist in framing Sugar Stamp for Royal Order's murder. Downplayed, it that it was explicitly as part of a scheme to protect a child with Sugar Stamp's approval and he admits he didn't feel good about it.]]

** [[spoiler: Crosses into CorruptedCharacterCopy once his revealed to have forged evidence, something that Layton would never do]].
* FrameUp: [[spoiler: It's revealed that he was involved with Sugar Stamp's self-imposed framing, having placed the stabbed helmet at Froggy Bottom Bog and planted blood on her letter opener - an interesting case where the framed party [[TakingTheHeat was in on it]].]]

[[folder:Princess Celestia]]

* DidntThinkThisThrough: One of the taunts Spoon throws at the Crusaders is that they're poor, only for them to respond that A; a lot of Diamond Tiara's dad's wealth could be attributed to Sweet Apple Acres, which Apple Bloom's family runs B; Scootaloo's parents donate a lot of the money they make to research institutes, which if they didn't would make Scootaloo just as wealthy, and C; Rarity, Sweetie Bloom's older sister, is well on her way to becoming a well-known fashion designer, meaning that in the future, they'll likely be buying the dresses they're bragging about from ''her''. Also, the entire case is all the fault of Diamond Tiara not thinking of the reprecussions of having the drop point for the fabric being in ''Everfree Forest'' or that she could use some of her daddy's money to ''pay'' for the sparkly fabric.

* TraumaCongaLine: [=EoJ=] has dealt Rarity some serious mental grief. Case #1 has Coco, a trusted friend and fellow fashion designer, getting accused of murder and being prosecuted by a stallion Rarity can't stand to the point that she risks being held in contempt of court. The second half of Case #2 has [[spoiler: her little sister getting arrested for murdering a royal guard and then finding out that said sister committed blackmail to get payback on some bullies. That's not even getting into the way Rainbow Dash [[NoSympathy figures it served Sweetie Belle right]] for not supporting Scootaloo when the latter was on trial for the same crime and later witnesses Athena seemingly about to step down as Sweetie's defense when the latter initially refuses to testify.]] Rarity is notably absent from the aftermath of the first half of the second trial, which causes others much worry. And to top it all off, at Case #2's conclusion, [[spoiler:Rarity is ''arrested'', because Equity claims to have evidence that Rarity murdered Case #1's victim]].

* EveryoneHasStandards: While she's hardly happy with Rainbow [[spoiler: on account of her anger at Sweetie Belle for her actions in Case 2, when she hears about she's been arrested for a poisoning, she's quick to ask Apollo and the others if she's alright.]]

* BizarreTasteInFood: Spitfire considers hers and Rainbow's fondness for grape juice to be this, comparing it to drinking from the toilet

! Victims
[[folder: Overall Concept]]
[[quoteright:386:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2024_02_24_at_42853_pm.png]]

The victim of Case 1. He was a costume designer at the Bridleway Theater who Coco was noted to be very close to.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: His parents died when he was young and left him orphaned. This almost kept him from pursuing his dreams, but he decided to go on in their memory and a letter he wrote to Rarity states that Coco was helping fill the void he left. [[spoiler: It's unfortunately hinted to have caught up to him, with him apparently having being DrivenToSuicide while chasing Suri]].
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:It's ultimately revealed that this was the cause of his death, having decided to hang himself while chasing Suri; Athena theorizes that his depression may have played a part in his decision to do so, and Playwright worries that his perfectionist-born MeanBoss tendencies contributed to it, though it's obviously impossible to confirm with him dead and at this point in time the ''lack'' of a suicide note.]] [[spoiler:At the end of case 2, Lawkeeper Equity informs the W.A.A. that Detective Philo Reed has discovered evidence showing his death may have been a homicide after all]].
* TheLostLenore: [[spoiler: During the trial, it's revealed that he and Coco were more than friends, with them having entered a domestic partnership and him even planning to propose to her. Unfortunately, his death means that he'll never get the chance]].
* LovedByAll: Overall was such a NiceGuy that Playwright says that pretty much everypony loved him.

[[folder: Royal Order]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2021_07_22_at_34550_pm.png]]

The victim of Case 2, a Ponyville native who's part of Celestia's Royal Guard, as well as the father of Turning Page.

* ChekhovsGunman: A variation; he first appeared at the tail end of Case 1 in a flashback foreseeing Sonata's release from jail and his death comes to drive the plot of Case 2.
* CopKillerManhunt: If the cruel treatment Scootaloo received when she was being apprehended is anything to go by, his death {{Invoked|Trope}} this reaction.
* EarlyBirdCameo: He was first seen (alive) during Turnabout Theatre's [[TheStinger stinger]] as the Guard who releases Sonata from her incarceration after serving her time and asks her what she was going to do.
* GoodParents: Whenever he came home from Canterlot, he would spend time with his son and even spar with him, even making him a wooden sword. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, as his training to become the next Captain of the Guard escalated, his increasing lack of attentiveness to his family caused him to miss on certain habits he was ingraining into Turning Page, causing the latter to become impulsive and driven by a hero complex, which led to many problems. While Royal Order did eventually realize this, he ultimately never had a chance to rectify the situation, due to his accidental death by his own son.]]
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Apparently stabbed in the head by the metal bolt for the handle of Scootaloo's scooter, the handle having been broken off. [[spoiler:In actuality, he was stabbed by a sharp point of the Nightmare Night statue during a fight with the true culprit.]]
* {{Irony}}: It's revealed that around the time he died, he was suffering a Poison Joke affliction that gave him weak knees, which Luna notes is ironic considering his occupation as a Royal Guard dictates that he stand tall.
* JerkassRealization: [[spoiler: Before his death, he hears about how Turning attacked Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon roughly enough to nearly break his sword, and realizes that he wasn't exactly the best parental figure due to effectively encouraging this behaviour. This unfortunately backfires as Turning reacts negatively to Royal's attempts to tell him to be patient and attend school, as well as scolding him with how his reckless actions for showing how he's not ready to be a guard, causing Turning to hit him with his sword in a BlindRage and impale him on the statue.]]
* MagicKnight: Along with being a MasterSwordsman, he was gifted in the use of magic, with teleportation being among his arsenal of spells.
* MasterSwordsman: {{Implied|Trope}}, considering his son's weapon is a wooden sword he made him for practice, and that he often sparred with him.
* NotQuiteDead: During Athena's Mood Matrix Session, it's revealed that [[spoiler: after crashing her scooter and discovering Royal Order's body, Scootaloo expressed a brief bit of happiness because she heard him breathing, showing that he was still alive at the time. This is {{Subverted}} when Athena refers back to the autopsy report, which states that Royal Order died immediately.]]
* OneDegreeOfSeparation: [[spoiler:Both he and Private Eye went to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns and became friends. According to the stinger of the first trial of Crusading for a Turnabout, he and Lawkeeper Equity also knew each other.]]
* OnlyFriend: [[spoiler: It turns out he was this to Private Eye, being school friends from their time in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. They weren't able to hang out as often as adults due to their jobs but made the effort to meet up when they could. While he's able to hide it well at first, Private is affected by his death and wishes for his killer to face justice.]]
* OpenMindedParent: While his wife keeps trying to convince Turning to go to school, Royal didn't mind this and was happy he wanted to be a Royal Guard like him.
* OurClonesAreIdentical: [[spoiler: It's revealed that he was having a secret affair with Sugar Stamp hidden from his family. In the days before his murder he was looking for a way to duplicate himself or break off the affair. He somehow learned of the Mirror Pool and used it to clone himself and rendezvous with Sugar in the Everfree Forest to present his clone on the night of the murder. This led to there being ''two'' Royal Orders discovered; one by Scootaloo after crashing her scooter, and one by Zecora, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon at the crime scene. What happened to the two and which was the real one or the clone each different witness discovered is unknown.]] [[spoiler: This all gets {{Subverted}} when it's revealed that there never ''was'' a clone of Royal Order; Athena ended up coming to that conclusion initially due to lacking all the information, and Private Eye and Sugar Stamp went out of their way to try to make it look authentic to help deflect blame from Turning Page.]]
* PapaWolf: It's stated that the reason he was in the Everfree Forrest by himself at the time of his death was that he went after Turning when Devotion told him where he was. [[spoiler: Though Luna attempts to {{Subvert}} this by claiming he did so to help in his wife's apparent {{Blackmail}} scheme.]]
* RankUp: [[spoiler: Unknown to the defense team, he was on his way to becoming Canterlot's Captain of the Royal Guard (the same position held by Twilight's brother Shining Armor after he left for the Crystal Empire) before he was murdered. Nobody, however, told them about it, whereas Private Eye, Lawkeeper Equity, and Princess Luna all knew and kept the defense in the dark about it.]]

[[folder: Stream Line]]
[[quoteright:376:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2024_02_24_at_43320_pm.png]]

The victim of case 3, a Wonderbolt Cadet who collapsed during practice due to (apparently) being poisoned. While still alive, Rainbow Dash was arrested for her attempted murder.

* BizarreTasteInFood: Spitfire considers hers and Rainbow's fondness for grape juice to be this, comparing it to drinking from the toilet
* TrademarkFavouriteFood: While investigating, Sonata and Phoenix discover a couple of grape juice boxes in her locker, with Spitfire noting that she was always seen drinking them.
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* KidHasAPoint: [[spoiler:Sweetie Belle is vilified by Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash for implicating Turning Page, but it later turns out that Turning Page ''is'' guilty, a fact which Sweetie Belle was aware of the whole time.]]

** Played straight, though {{downplayed|trope}}, with [[spoiler: his attempt to frame Diamond Tiara for the murder. Much like with Sweetie Belle, his good intentions do not change the fact that a decent colt would not do such a thing]].

* WellIntentionedExtremist: She was [[spoiler:determined to prove Scootaloo's innocence in the murder of Royal Order even if it meant committing {{Blackmail}} and having the colt Scootaloo likes take the rap in her place]], though this latter example is mitigated since [[spoiler:said colt Scootaloo likes really ''did'' kill Royal Order and Sweetie Belle explicitly heard him admit to it]].

* WellIntentionedExtremist: She was [[spoiler:determined to prove Scootaloo's innocence in the murder of Royal Order even if it meant committing {{Blackmail}} and having the colt Scootaloo likes take the rap in her place]], though this latter example is mitigated since [[spoiler:said colt Scootaloo likes really ''did'' kill Royal Order]].

* ChildhoodFriends: [[spoiler: Sugar Stamp reveals that both mares used to be this along with Royal Order and it was Sugar herself who hooked them up.]]

* TurnTheOtherCheek: [[spoiler: When Luna leaves whether or not Athena should be punished for her false accusation to Zecora, the accusee, Zecora forgives after she apologizes, recognizing that she only did it to defend Scootaloo and Turning.]]

* GoodParents: Whenever he came home from Canterlot, he would spend time with his son and even spar with him, even making him a wooden sword. [[spoiler: [[DeconstructedTrope Unfortunately, as his training to become the next Captain of the Guard escalated, his increasing lack of attentiveness]] to his family caused him to miss on certain habits he was ingraining into Turning Page, causing the latter to become impulsive and driven by a hero complex, which led to many problems. While Royal Order did eventually realize this, he ultimately never had a chance to rectify the situation, due to his accidental death by his own son.]]

** As of Case 2's conclusion, [[spoiler:They both end up separated as Turning gets sent to a military school to learn the discipline he needs to join the Royal Guard and it turns out that he doesn't recuperates Scootaloo's feelings]].