A Characters page for the Ace Attorney/My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic crossover series Elements of Justice. As it is a mystery story, beware of Self-Fulfilling Spoilers.

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Main Cast

Wright Anything Agency

Phoenix Wright

Comeback King

"I'll make sure to find the truth of all this, and once I do that this world will become peaceful again."

The boss of the Wright Anything Agency, an experienced and (in)famous lawyer known for his bluffing and ability to turn things around. He was summoned to Equestria by Twilight previously in order to help defend Rainbow Dash when the latter was accused of murder and now once again finds himself in the magical realm…only this time he is not alone.

Adaptational Angst Upgrade: In the games, his Pay Evil unto Evil moment against Kristoph Gavin is all but forgotten compared to how Gavin ruined him first. Here, the former is just as shameful for him.
Delayed Reaction: Phoenix at the start of the trial announces the defense is ready, then gets shocked when he noticed the Judge was back in Equestria to oversee the trial.
Experienced Protagonist: The Senior Partner of Wright Anything, with years of experience over Apollo and Athena. Not to mention having experienced Equestria before everyone else.
Mistaken for Gay: Gets briefly mistaken for this by Pinkie when Trucy states how she has two dads, asking if two guys can make babies in their world.
My Greatest Failure: The trial where he unknowingly presented false evidence, which resulted in his disbarment, and what he did to catch the one responsible are not some of his fondest memories.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives one to Blueblood in the final stretches of the Case 1 trial.
Phoenix: I don't care WHO you are! I'm here to find the truth! And if you aren't here to do the same, then the only "experience" you're going to get with these trials is how to severely damage your own judicial system.
Trademark Favorite Food As in the games, Phoenix is quite fond of grape juice. He expresses his approval when he learns that Rainbow Dash and Stream Line both drink grape juice regularly, and is offended when Spitfire disparages them for it.
Save the Villain: In "Turnabout Theatre," he once again jumps to the defense of a witness deemed to be the true guilty party, Suri Polomare, when the defendant Coco Pommel testifies for her innocence.
You Are Better Than You Think You Are: As soon as the Case 2 trial enters recess, he visits Athena in the Defendants Chamber to encourage her and praise her performance thus far, and tells her how he once accused Fluttershy to buy time for Rainbow's trial much like Athena tried doing to Zecora.

Apollo Justice

Clarion of Revelations

"No matter what the truth is that's waiting ahead, I won't be afraid!"

Another lawyer from the agency, known for his skills in perception and his "Chords of Steel". He finds himself to be the least receptive to Equestria, like Phoenix before him originally, and takes time for him to get into the spirit of the realm.

Only Sane Man: As expected, he's the most likely one to question the insanity around him, especially with Pinkie. In other words, he takes Phoenix's place in this role when being compared to the events of Turnabout Storm.
Tempting Fate: Apollo balks at the idea of Twilight preparing him an Equestria attorney badge along with Athena’s. She says there’s no harm in it, and who knows? He just might have to use it in the future. Sure enough, Apollo becomes a co-Protagonist in case 3 alongside Sonata, defending Rarity.

Athena Cykes

Courtroom Révolutionnaire

"The power of psychology will bring a breath of fresh air to the legal system."

An analytical psychology expert who applies her skills to the courtroom. Unlike Apollo, Athena is almost immediately smitten with her new surroundings and quickly makes friends with Twilight and other ponies. Her skills as a D.A. are slowly put to the test as she takes on case that involves several young foals who are accused of murdering a royal guardspony.

And Now for Someone Completely Different: Case 2 starts from Phoenix's perspective up until Turning Page steals his Magatama and Athena pursues him, at which point we go to her perspective getting the Magatama back before she requests to be given the lead in Scootaloo's case.
And Then What?: After Twilight explains how she misses Golden Oaks Library and that she feels that the role of Princess was forced, Athena starts questioning why she's still a Lawyer, since she already fulfilled her goal of saving Simon and even then she feels the others did most of the work.
Beware the Nice Ones: Needing Sweetie Belle's testimony to advance her case without playing into Luna or Fair Devotion's plans, Athena threatens to step down as the defence to force Sweetie Belle to forgo her decision to exercise her right to remain silent and testify about what she did the night of the murder, much to the shock of everyone present.
The Chessmaster: She becomes this in the second trial after she tricks Private Eye into secretly acquiring a sample of the victim's blood which she then uses to prove that he can conceal his movements and that he had access to the body so he could've been the one to put blood on the helmet and letter opener.
Gratuitous German: She falls into this habit when talking with Twilight and Fluttershy when Fluttershy invites her to see her animals, confusing the two since they never heard German before.
Guilt-Induced Nightmare: Has one where Twilight, Applebloom, and the rest of the agency berate her for accusing Zecora.
Have We Met?: Does this upon seeing Princess Luna for the first time.
Heroic BSoD: In the final stretch of the first part of Case 2's trial, she enters a brief one over her lack of confidence being confounded by her earlier attempt at accusing Zecora and needing to be bailed out by Luna, and needing Twilight's help to prove Silver Spoon was at the scene. Twilight is quick to snap her out of this though.
Heroic Self-Deprecation:
- Despite her upbeat demeanor, she's not very confident in her abilities as an attorney, seeing as she only led one case before and needed a lot of help through it. This, combined with Scootaloo and Turning Page's thinly veiled lack of faith in her, makes her less than confident that she can defend Scootaloo and Turning Page. However, thanks to a pep talk from Twilight, she regains her confidence and decides to have Twilight as her co-counsel.
- Comes up again in the second part of Case 2 when Phoenix confronts Athena over her conduct throughout the entire case and tells her to drop the whole doing everything by herself act. She admits that compared to both Phoenix and Apollo, who are amazing in her eyes, she is merely limping behind them. She wants to be a lawyer who can stand on her own rather than someone who always needs to rely on someone else to bail her out.
I Can't Believe I'm Saying This: Twice, first before accusing Sweetie Belle of writing the anonymous tip implicating Turning Page in Royal Order's murder, and again before indicting Turning Page as Royal Order's killer.
Innocently Insensitive:
- Worries she was this when she wondered if Zecora was the victim of Case 2, on account of her mail not being opened, upon hearing the relief in Apple Bloom's voice and realizing the two of them must be close, prompting her to apologize later.
- She expresses envy that Twilight gets to live in a massive castle, not knowing that she misses her old Library.
The Load: Athena feels like this compared to both Phoenix and Apollo. In her eyes the two of them are amazing lawyers while she on the other hand still needs a lot of hand-holding. This is the reason she takes on Scootaloo and Turning Page's case despite it likely being too much for her.
Lured into a Trap: During the second trial of "Crusading for a Turnabout", Fair Devotion goads Athena into accusing her as she seemingly helped and appeared to coach Sugar Stamp and Private Eye after they themselves were accused of a false confession and tampering/forging evidence, respectively. Averted as Athena can see Deva wants to be accused, doesn't take the bait, and instead gets Sweetie Belle to finally testify after scaring her that the defense will stop defending her.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Following Case #2's verdict, Apollo tells Athena that she should have given more consideration as to how the truth of the matter came out, as the way Athena handled the reveal caused significant damage to the friendships of both the Mane 6 and the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
Put on the Bus: She hands the Attorney role to Apollo and Sonata for Case 3 so she and Twilight can help Private Eye, Sugar Stamp and Fair Devotion deal with the fallout of Case 2.
Right for the Wrong Reasons: Athena accuses Diamond Tiara of placing one of the Crusader's capes under the victim's head to pin the crime on the Crusaders. After Luna pokes holes in that theory, she re-works the theory with Twilight and realizes that it was actually to look under his body for the Blackmail letter, not wanting to touch it directly.
Spotting the Thread: After hearing Turning's account of when Spoiled and Diamond Tiara came to his house, Athena realizes that maybe that's when Diamond planted the magazines.
What the Hell, Hero?: Is on the receiving end of this trope several times throughout "Crusading for a Turnabout".
- She first gets this treatment from Princess Luna, and later Apple Bloom, after accusing Zecora of murdering Royal Order.
- She is chewed out by Trucy and Scootaloo after threatening to step down as Sweetie Belle's attorney in the middle of the trial, which would have almost certainly resulted in her conviction and banishment.
- Fair Devotion gives her this when Athena accuses Turning Page of the murder, accusing her of following whichever theory makes her look best as an attorney even if it contradicts her previous positions. This is mitigated by the fact that Fair was just trying to protect her son, who really was the killer.

Trucy Wright

Child of Magic

"They always say that onstage you should hit the crowd with speed and ferocity!"

Phoenix's adopted daughter and a skilled stage magician. She finds herself mesmerized by Equestria upon being teleported there along with Phoenix and the others and finds new friends through their shared magical skills.

Cheerful Child: Of a sort. She's definitely the brightest of the humans, and she's Phoenix's daughter.
Commonality Connection: Her profession as a magician impresses equine practitioners such as Twilight and Rarity.
Innocently Insensitive: Accidentally pushes Coco's sadness button when mentioning Overall while trying to perk her up.
Mundane Made Awesome: Being a stage magician in a world of actual magic, the ponies actually find her quite good and spooky with how tricky she is.
Tagalong Kid: Invoked. After spending most of the series cooped up in the castle, she demands to accompany everyone to the Detention Centre to visit Sweetie Belle because she's gotten bored, even giving Phoenix the Puppy-Dog Eyes.
What the Hell, Hero?: She along with Scootaloo give this to Athena after she threatens to step down as Sweetie Belle's defense.

Mane 6

Twilight Sparkle

Element of Magic

"Well Phoenix it seems like I'm going to need your help once again."

The Princess of Friendship and the Element of Magic, who's summoned Phoenix once again.

Big Damn Heroes:
- In the first case, she turns Blueblood's attempt at painting Coco as a heartless monster to condemn by pointing out a Freudian Slip he made, casting his entire case under scrutiny.
- When, Twilight presents the shards of glass discovered earlier, claiming that with no one currently involved in the crime needing glasses, Silver Spoon is one of the few people they could belong to. Unfortunately, this had the side-effect of further affecting Athena's poor self-confidence as an attorney.
Crazy-Prepared: When she applies to get a badge for Athena, so she can represent Scootaloo, she opts to apply for one for Apollo too just in case.
Miss Exposition: Averted in regards to the main series, as whenever something from the main series comes up, she's quick to say she'll explain later and that they should focus on the case, much to Athena's chagrin. For more minor concepts, such as Poison Joke, or story relevant information, she's much more talkative. For example, she elaborates on the Equestrian High Council, a group of six ponies elected by the populace from five administrative positions^note, save one called the Lawkeeper elected by the five to lead them. She also explains how Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon.
Putona Bus: She is off helping Athena deal with the fallout of Case 2 during Case 3.
Secret-Keeper: When Phoenix realizes that Twilight could have just represented Coco herself, due to being a Princess and having studied law extensively, he questions her on it, only to be met with five Psyche-Locks.
- Later on, Athena asks her why she's up so late after their bonding moment, but when Twilight says she couldn't sleep, Athena hears some discord in her voice.
Skewed Priorities: During Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's testimony, she quickly gets annoyed at their Blatant Lies in regards to going to Castle of the Two Sisters at night for "immersion", angered at their disrespect for education.
Twilight Sparkle: The number of problems in that explanation is so high that I could only call it "offensive". These two clearly have no respect for the value of education.
You Are Better Than You Think You Are: When Athena is reluctant to refute Luna's claim that Fair Devotion was the Blackmailer despite proving that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were at the scene, in part because of her earlier attempt at accusing Zecora and now having needed to be bailed out twice, Twilight assures her that she only presented the glass shards because she had faith that Athena would back her up, giving Athena the confidence refute Luna's claim.

Applejack

Element of Honesty

The friendly Element of Honesty and a worker at Sweet Apple Acres.

Deadpan Snarker: She and Rainbow are great at slinging this back and forth with each other.
Secret-Keeper: When Twilight asks to know what Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were up to during most of the case 2, Applejack claims she doesn't know where they are.

Fluttershy

Element of Kindness

The shy Element of Kindness who works as an animal caretaker.

Out of Focus: Two cases in, and despite being a major witness in Turnabout Storm, her connection to the plot thus far is more friendship based, with fewer lines or interactions by comparison.
Secret-Keeper: During case 2, she and Pinkie Pie were very secretive of where they were and what they were doing.

Pinkie Pie

Element of Laughter

The hyperactive Element of Laughter, an expert party planner.

Motor Mouth: Pinkie starts talking quickly about how she should arrange for celebrating their reunion with Phoenix and their first meeting with his team. When she starts getting repetitive and redundant in her talking, Apollo begs Phoenix to get Pinkie to shut up.
Pinkie Pie: Hey Feenie! We should throw you a welcome-back party! You know, because you're back to Ponyville, and you also brought guests! I love it when guests bring guests to parties, and those guests bring guests, and those guests bring guests of those guests, and...! (trails off)
Apollo: Mr. Wright, for the love of God, get her to shut up, please!
The Nicknamer: Pinkie loves giving the lawyers nicknames: Feeny, Thena, and Polly.
Secret-Keeper: During Case 2, she and Fluttershy were very secretive of where they were and what they were doing.

Rarity

Element of Generosity

The high-class Element of Generosity, a fashion designer who beseeched Twilight to summon Phoenix when her friend Coco Pommel is accused of murder. Alongside Rainbow, she becomes one of the defendants of Case 3, being defended by Apollo for the very she crime she summoned Phoenix to solve.

Berserk Button: The mere mention of Blueblood, who just so happens to be the prosecutor for Coco's case, can get her angrily ranting. She chews him out a couple of times from the gallery when he tries to paint Coco as a heartless opportunist who willingly killed Overall Concept.
Rarity: WHAT?!? THAT POMPOUS EXCUSE FOR A STALLION!?
- She also does not care for her little sister being harassed, let alone accused of being a murderous criminal, as Rainbow Dash found out the hard way.
Big Sister Instinct: She wholeheartedly believes in Sweetie Belle's innocence and asks the Defense Team to help her.
Drama Queen: True to the main series, she bursts at the seems begging Phoenix to help Coco in the loudest most theatrical way possible. This was after she calmly and cheerfully welcomed him back to Equestria after so long.
Irony: She requested that Twilight summon Phoenix to Equestria so that he could take on Coco's case and clear her name for killing Overall Concept. Case 3 sees her being accused of the very same crime.
Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure: Has one with Rainbow Dash after the speedster shows no sympathy towards Sweetie Belle after she gets arrested due to her never showing support or helping her fellow CMC. This causes a rift between her and Rainbow Dash.
Secret-Keeper: She was aware that Overall Concept had been planning to propose to Coco, and had even offered him advice on what sort of ring to get.
Trauma Conga Line: 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 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 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, Rarity is arrested, because Equity claims to have evidence that Rarity murdered Case #1's victim.

Rainbow Dash

Element of Loyalty

The confident Element of Loyalty, a Wonderbolts Reserve Member and part of Ponyville's weather team. Phoenix defended Dash when she was framed for murdering a sports pegasus on his previous outing in Equestria and is happy to see him again. Her scars from that last experience still hurt upon a certain blackmailer-turned-defense attorney coming to Phoenix's aid and causing strain with her friends. She, alongside Rarity, serves as one of the Defendents of Case 3, with Sonata as her attorney.

Be as Unhelpful as Possible: Justified. Rainbow is very belligerent towards Sonata when she ends up serving as her attorney in Case 3, having not forgiven her for her role in her previous accusation. It's to the point that she's Sonata's first Logic Chess opponent because she refuses to divulge anything.
Big Sister Instinct: When she sees Scootaloo being roughly arrested, she's quick to storm over and demand the guards let her go.
Bizarre Taste in Food: Spitfire considers hers and Stream Line's fondness for grape juice to be this, comparing it to drinking from the toilet. Sonata also considers it strange, not because of the flavour, but because she doesn't understand why Rainbow Dash would emulate the drinking habits of a pony she so vocally dislikes.
Everyone Has Standards: She's furious at Rarity for defending Sweetie Belle's actions, but she is still shocked when Lawkeeper Equity has her arrested for Overall Concept's death.
Innocently Insensitive: She's quick to express confusion at why Turning ain't happy about his acquittal before remembering about how his father was the victim, quickly apologizing.
Jerkass Has a Point: Of a Both Sides Have a Point variant after Sweetie Belle's arrest, pitting her against Rarity. While it's harsh to believe that Sweetie deserved to be arrested, she's not wrong that Sweetie was acting suspiciously, which Rarity previously shrugged off likely due to sisterly bias. And, as Apple Bloom acknowledges due to feeling the same, she's not wrong to be upset at Sweetie for not being willing to vouch for Scootaloo to presumably cover her own flank, and it later turns out Sweetie is guilty of crimes, although not murder. However, as pointed out by an angered Rarity, seeing it as karmic and not believing in her innocence in regards to the murder is both harsh and more than a little Hypocritical of her, which Rainbow's later suggested to feel bad about.
No Sympathy For Grudge Holders: When it was revealed that Sonata offered to defend Scootaloo before Phoenix, Rainbow says in a low tone that she’s glad that Scootaloo refused Sonata’s services in favor of Phoenix. Twilight and Phoenix were a bit perturbed that Rainbow still holds a grudge against Sonata after the Turnabout Storm incident, reasoning that it’s over and done with, and that Sonata paid for her crime. Then, once she sees Sonata with the Defense Team after the second investigation, she berates her and everybody else for sticking up to her and leaves in a huff.
Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure: Due to Sweetie Belle not offering any support or help when Scootaloo and Turning Page were on trial, she loudly expresses her lack of sympathy towards the filly once she was arrested in front of her older sister no less. Naturally, this causes a rift between her and Rarity. Later on, this applies to everybody after she sees Sonata with the rest of the characters and claims she will only be back once Sonata is gone.
Starter Villain: For a given value of Villain, but she serves as Sonata's first Logic Chess opponent when she proves obstinate about getting defended by her.

Spike

Twilight's #1 Assistant

Twilight's Assistant, a dragon who can send letters with his fire breath.

Ascended Extra: Only had The Cameo in the original Turnabout Storm. Here, he's a supporting cast member, with plot importance to Case 2.
Only Sane Man: Thinks up a few different ways for Phoenix to think about being in Equestria again, and different ways to assuage his guilt on maybe having a client waiting for him.
Passive-Aggressive Kombat: It's evident that he's upset with Sweetie for tricking him into sending her accusation letter in Case 2, with him responding to her expressing a desire to help Apollo defend Rarity by saying that he "hopes that doesn't mean sending anymore Blackmail letters."
Precocious Crush: He's a baby dragon who immensely crushes on Rarity, who is implied to be a young adult mare. Sadly, this led him to be had by Sweetie Belle who promised Spike a date with Rarity if he sent the filly's anonymous tip to the police.
Unwitting Pawn: Sweetie Belle delivered her anonymous accusation against Turning Page by using Spike's fire breath to send the letter to the police, promising to get him a date with Rarity in exchange.

Other

Sonata

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2022_02_06_at_112343_am.png

"I'm going to help those that need it. Just like he did for me"

A Unicorn Phoenix met during his first visit to Equestria who has now become a defense attorney.

The Atoner: After the events of Turnabout Storm she became a defense attorney to "help those that need it" just like Phoenix did for her to make up for her past crimes.
Big Entrance: Enters the courtroom just before the judge can suspend the trial for the day with the evidence Athena and Twilight need.
Sonata: Well, I'm glad I made it on time.
Composite Character: Her time as the Deuteragonist of Turnabout Discharge sees her take queues from Edgeworth, doing her work with the Logic mechanic and Logic Chess he utilised in his own games.
Following in Their Rescuer's Footsteps: Became a defense attorney, just like Phoenix, to "help those that need it".
Ms. Exposition: Since Trucy, Apollo and Athena (and possibly some viewers) never knew the details of the case Phoenix took long ago in Equestria, Sonata filled in the details of her former blackmailing past with Ace Swift and how she ended up in jail to change for the better.
My Greatest Failure: In-Universe example. Her previous relation with Ace Swift acting as the one who used her powers of perception to blackmail others into dropping out of races or letting Ace win, of course.
Reformed, but Rejected: From Rainbow Dash's point of view, as her last spoken words to the ex-con in Turnabout Storm indicated. Understandable given that she not only helped Ace blackmail Rainbow but also framed her for his accidental self-inflicted death. Dash is quick to storm off when none of the others side with her.

Law enforcement

The Judge

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/judge_3.jpg

The Judge that oversees most of the Wright Anything Agency's trials, once again having been summoned to Equestria.

Hypocritical Humour:
- When told of how Royal Order spent a month in Canterlot, he speculates that he must be a Workaholic. As Athena thinks to herself, he's working on what's supposed to be his vacation.
- Upon hearing of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon’s reputations as bullies, he has half the mind to lecture them for such behavior. Athena can't help but Lampshade that he doesn't seem to have any problem with Luna and even he himself ganging up on her when she tries digging for info or takes her time to gather her thoughts.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Tries to act like one, and is mindful of the fact that children are involved in the second case. He acts assertive when he feels he needs to, and has no issue reining in Luna when the latter's emotions get the best of her. It also leads him to overrule Luna's objections to having Turning Page being examined for signs of bruising. Like in his source material, he will never ignore an opportunity to discover the truth.
Seen It All: As shown during the later portions of the second trial of Case 2, His Honor doesn't bat an eye at the more fantastical happens that occur (within their own reasoning) in Equestria. This makes Athena contemplate that he must have stayed for far too long after the events of Turnabout Storm.
Shut Up, Hannibal!: While his role is to be a neutral party who hears all arguments from all sides and judges impartially, the Judge won't hesitate to step in and lay down the law when he feels someone goes too far, regardless of their position.
- When Blueblood angrily accuses Phoenix of falsifying evidence when he finds himself losing, the Judge is quick to go on a tirade on him for making such a baseless accusation without solid evidence. He admits during his rant that it's in part out of guilt of when he fell for the forgery Frame-Up pulled on Phoenix.
- While it ends up coming a bit late, with Athena briefly getting thrown into a Heroic BSoD as a result, his honor is quick to bang his gavel and call out Fair Devotion on the harshness of her "Reason You Suck" Speech towards Athena, Twilight and Luna, threatening to hold her in contempt of court if she doesn't cease her behaviour.
The Watson: As always, the Judge often needs explanations about the more complicated nature of cases. This is also confounded further with the more fantastical things he needs to deal with.

Prince Blueblood

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/4530983764563435_3933.png

Celestia's Nephew

One of the Princes of Equestria and the Prosecutor of Case 1. He is Celestia's nephew (apparently 52 times removed on his aunts' mother's side) yet unlike his relative, Blueblood is a snobbish, entitled, and frankly charmless brat who is only acting as a prosecutor for the prestige and possibly to gain a foothold for obtaining a kingdom of his own.

Ain't Too Proud to Beg: After Overall Concept's murder gets a re-trial after the discovery of evidence pointing at Rarity, Blueblood is quick to beg Fated Pursuit to be given a second shot at the case, only to be swiftly and brutally shut down.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: He's doubtful that Suri would suddenly testify in Coco's defense after Phoenix accused her of murder, and is caught off guard when she agrees.
Fantastic Racism: He's very condescending toward Phoenix, constantly looking down on him for being both a "peasant" and calling him "human" as opposed to his name.
Fatal Flaw: His seemingly compulsive need to be a complete Jerkass. He could have simply asserted Coco's domestic partnership with Overall Concept as a motive for murder and be done with it, but he decides to Kick the Dog and try to paint her as a heartless monster to turn everypony against her for seemingly no reason, even going as far to mention that Overall was planning to propose to further twist the knife. In the process, he ends up presenting a contradiction in his logic that's pointed out by Twilight and has the entire case turn against him.
Hate Sink: He's just as egotistical and high and mighty as when he originally appeared, and he does his damnedest to paint Coco in the worst possible light with almost Sadistic enjoyment. This, combined with the confirmation that he's essentially Winston Payne in that he's the tutorial case Prosecutor, means that we are not supposed to be endeared to him in the short time we have to put up with him.
Hypocrite: When Phoenix finds a contradiction in Suri's testimony, he demands that he not make things up for his case. As Phoenix points out, it's pretty rich coming from him considering his previous actions.
Insane Troll Logic: When Phoenix blows a hole in his arguments and presents the possibility of a third part killing Overall Concept, he comes up with the extremely convoluted theory that Coco intentionally planted all evidence pointing at her while also planting evidence to create a third-party, all in the span of knocking out Concept and hanging his body. Unfortunately, the way it fits with Phoenix's theories and the fact that it's not completely outside the realm of possibility means the Judge considers it worth discussing.
Insistent Terminology: Every time someone calls him Blueblood, he insists that it's "Prince Blueblood".
Jerkass: Somehow worse than as he appears in the show, being a condescending prosecutor who mercilessly slanders the defendant and is clearly doing his job not for the sake of keeping the peace but to stroke his own ego.
Jerkass Has a Point: He's clearly not someone you're supposed to like in any capacity, but he's not wrong that The Judge and Phoenix's knowing each other and having been summoned to Equestria before has no importance to the trial and promptly orders them to cut the "chit-chat".
Kick the Dog: He already had a strong case against Coco, but he goes the extra mile in regards to her motive in order to paint her as a heartless Bitch in Sheep's Clothing who manipulated then killed Overall so she could get everything he owned to turn the Gallery against her, even going as far to reveal that Overall was planning on proposing to rub salt in the wound.
Laser-Guided Karma: He loses his position as a prosecutor and finds himself under investigation by the Investigation Committee after the way he acted during Coco Pommel's trial.
No-Respect Guy: His arrogance and incompetence lead to everyone getting sick of him pretty quickly. He even Lampshades that no treats him with supposed "proper respect", not that anyone listens.
Smug Snake: He is certainly very smug as he is prosecuting his case, just like Trixie before him.
Starter Villain: He serves as the first prosecutor, and is effectually the "Payne" of the show.
Wild Take: It doesn't happen often, but in Part 2 of Turnabout Theatre, whenever Prince Blueblood is really caught off-guard, such as Phoenix pointing out that his fabric roll evidence is incomplete or the Judge telling him off for accusing Phoenix of presenting false evidence, he rears back in shock and his normally slicked-back mane and tail "flare out" briefly before slumping back down, and he then cowers with a hoof above his head.

Princess Celestia

Princess of the Sun

One of the alicorn princesses who reign over Equestria, and the judge for Sonata's first case. She's the older sister of Luna, and has the title Princess of the Day.

Cool Big Sis: Her role in Bonds of Justice - A Plea for Strength is essentially comforting Luna over how she was made an Unwitting Pawn by Fair Devotion and the subsequent blow to her reputation, and encouraging her to not let what happened and what other ponies think about it stop her from prosecuting.
The Tease: After Sonata and Trixie get into an argument in court during the start of the trial, she stops it while comparing it Belligerent Sexual Tension.
Celestia: You can't court here. This is the courtroom.

Princess Luna

Princess of the Night

"It is my duty to uphold the laws of Equestria."

One of the alicorn princesses who reign over Equestria and the prosecutor of Case 2. She is Celestia's younger sister and has the title of Princess of the Night.

Adaptational Angst Upgrade: In the original show, the only problems Luna faces in regards to her past as Nightmare Moon were in Luna Eclipsed, which was more ponies pretending to be scared of her for fun, and Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep, which was mostly self-inflicted. In this, Luna is a lot prone to receiving criticism or derision for her past from the general populace, with Lawkeeper Equity seeing her as untrustworthy for it, while Bonds of Justice - A Plea for Strength starts with her listening to a radio host specializing in Malicious Slander criticising her two consecutive losses against Athena, the first of which saw Turning Page nearly become a Karma Houdini like Fair Devotion planned, before bringing up her past to twist the knife.
Batman Gambit: Fair Devotion reveals to the defense team that Luna accusing her of being behind the blackmail letter was part of this and that Fair herself was accomplice to it.
Be as Unhelpful as Possible: As Lampshaded by Athena, she seems to know almost everything about the case and yet involves everyone but the defense in her conspiracy to prove Scootaloo and Turning innocent, including the law enforcement, the witnesses, Turning's mother and even the defendants. Even Twilight, who usually places much faith in the Royal Family, finds this suspicious. Luna later reveals that this is because while she was familiar with Twilight and trusted her, Athena was a complete unknown to her.
Berserk Button: She doesn't take kindly to Athena accusing Zecora of murder without hard evidence as a stall tactic, let alone potentially damaging the life of an innocent civilian.
Big Entrance: Arrives in court shouting "Hold It!" just before the judge can postpone the trial.
Luna: My apologies, your honor. The prosecution...is ready.
Big "NO!": She lets out an horrified and panicked one when Athena suggests that Turning Page may be examined for signs of bruising, overwhelmed by emotions and even stammering right after it. She yells another one when the examination confirms Athena's hypothesis, complete with a "This Cannot Be!", word for word.
Big "SHUT UP!"": Does this when Athena accuses Zecora of being the murderer.
Luna: BE STILL!
The Chessmaster: Deconstructed. Luna is ultimately a well-intentioned prosecutor, taking the case with the intent of getting Scootaloo, Turning and later Sweetie Belle proven innocent by involving many of the involved ponies in a massive plan and attempting to guide Athena. However, all of her manipulation combined with her caution motivated refusal to let the defence team in on her plans only serves to stress out and undermine Athena, leading to her accusing Zecora in a desperation move, and growing more and more frustrated and incapable of trusting her the more she learns. This, combine with Athena doubting her beliefs on who the true culprits are, compels Athena to willingly become a Wild Card in her and Fair Devotion's plans so she can really get to the heart of the matter.
Crazy-Prepared: When Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are requested as witnesses based on the glass shards from the latter's glasses, she reveals that she already has them ready to testify in the event that the shards are from her glasses.
Defeat Means Friendship: After Athena wins the first part of the second trial, Luna congratulates her. Starting to call Athena "Ms. Cykes" instead of "Golden Pixie" also helps.
Exact Words: When Athena brings up Scootaloo's inability to fly as to why she can't stab Royal Order in the head while he was standing, Luna is nonplussed; she merely suggested that someone stabbed the victim while he was standing up, which could also apply to Turning levitating the scooter and stabbing his father.
Forced into Evil: Downplayed. Her reason for acting as the prosecutor as opposed to getting the case dropped was because the original prosecutor built such a strong case against Scootaloo and Turning that if she tried arguing for more lenience, it would come off as her having a bias towards the defendants and she would have been dropped in favour of another prosecutor, forcing her to push the case.
Foreign-Looking Font: Her interjections use a dark blue blackletter typeface.
Friend to All Children: Luna demonstrates several times during the second trial that she wants to protect the children involved as much as possible and to prevent them from suffering from further trauma. However, this attitude, despite how noble it is, turns out to be a weakness, as it leads her to initially reject Athena's attempt at therapy, and to try to avoid pursuing the truth, even when all signs point to the children being much more involved in the murder case than they seem.
Good is Not Nice: She's pretty no-nonsense as a prosecutor and will perform her duties to the letter, though she doesn't take pleasure at the thought of having to banish two foals from Equestria for murder.
Heroic BSoD: Luna suffers a massive one during episode 8 of the second case, as Athena accuses Turning Page of murdering his own father, and Fair Devotion jumps in to protect her son and confesses to having murdered her husband. She is so shocked that she is actually unable to speak for a moment.
Leitmotif: She borrows "Reaper of the Old Bailey" from Barok Van Zieks.
Little "No": While she tends to let out Big "NO!" more often, case 2 episode 8 has one instance of a little, weak and horrified "no": when Athena points out to her that Luna herself is the one who, without realising it, provided the correct hypothesis that a child was hiding besides Royal Order's body.
Magic Hair: Like Celestia, her mane and tail flow are seemingly unaffected by gravity due to a high concentration of alicorn magic.
Nepotism: Averted. It's evident that the reason that Celestia requested that the Judge oversees Scootaloo and Turning's trial in her stead was to avoid this, as Luna is revealed to be serving as the Prosecutor.
The Nicknamer: Calls Phoenix "The Blue Phoenix" and Athena "Golden Pixie".
Not So Stoic: While she seems to almost be completely in control, Luna is shaken repeatidly by the second trial's events:
- She lashes out at Athena for accusing Zecora as a stall tactic.
- She completely loses her composure when Sonata appears.
- Her stoicism completely vanishes when she suffers her biggest shock yet: Athena accusing Turning Page of murdering his father, and the fact that all the evidence uncovered so far points to her being right.
Oh, Crap!: While she presents herself as something of a Chessmaster throughout Case 2, she still suffers this.
- During the first trial she's surprised at Athena's desire to perform therapy on Scootaloo in the middle of the trial.
- She completely and utterly loses her composure after Athena dispels the Accidental Murder she posed after Scootaloo's Mood Matrix session.
- During the second trial, she's surprised when instead of looking into the affair letter, like she hinted at, Athena decides to hear testimony from Sugar Stamp about her movements that night.
- She's also shocked when Athena proves that Sugar Stamp's testimony is a lie and that the letter opener is fake evidence.
- She's completely blindsided when Athena accuses and proves that Private Eye was the one who created and planted fake evidence.
- She's blindsided again when Athena threatens to step down as Sweetie Bell's defense unless she testifies about what she witnessed on the night of the murder.
- Suffers her biggest one yet when Athena comes to the conclusion, and reveals to the court, that Turning Page was Royal Order's killer.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech:
- Tears into Athena for stalling by falsely accusing Zecora of murdering Royal Order just to gain an advantage, plus the gallery ponies for believing such unsubstantiated claims in the first place.
- Downplayed after Sweetie Belle is exposed as the author of the anonymous note implicating Turning Page, as Luna's calling out of her is far more gentle, but she points out to her that in trying to get Scootaloo off the hook, she took all the same actions as her bullies Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon did.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Tries to be one:
- Takes her role in prosecuting very seriously, bordering on being mildly antagonistic against Athena, but ultimately remains cavalier when proven wrong and doesn't falter even in the face of losing the case. She calls out Athena for attempting to stall by the latter accusing Zecora of killing Royal Order and even shames the gallery ponies who took such at face value, but is just as quick to defend her when the Judge wants to hold her in contempt for presenting a false accusation when she's forced to retract it.
- Averted at first in regards to Athena's Mood Matrix, not willing to trust Athena to delve into Scootaloo's psychological issues during her testimony due to her own experience in handling such things and not trusting Athena with this after her false accusation of Zecora. Fortunately, Athena is able to convince her by appealing to her own desire to help Scootaloo through her issues, in turn displaying her growth, to which she agrees so long as long it's under her and the Judge's watchful eye.
Right for the Wrong Reasons: During Scootaloo's trial, Luna theorizes that, based on the evidence presented by Athena and Twilight, Royal Order's death was an accident on the part of Turning Page, with Scootaloo being an innocent bystander. Luna doesn't actually believe this to be true, but proposes the theory to test Athena's resolve. It is later revealed that this is exactly what happened.
Shaming the Mob: After her "Reason You Suck" Speech to Athena, she rips into the gallery ponies for believing Athena's accusations against Zecora.
Stealth Mentor: Implied; it comes off at times like Luna is testing Athena as an attorney, occasionally dropping hints for the latter to pick up on and even calling her out for stalling by accusing Zecora.
Well, Excuse Me, Princess!: Her Good is Not Nice tendencies don't go over well with Athena, especially for the nickname "Golden Pixie". Athena even quotes the trope name verbatim at one point.
Wham Shot: Her identity is kept secret from almost everyone involved in the case (except for Scootaloo and Turning Page) to make her reveal as the prosecutor more effective.
Wing Shield: She does this when she gets shocked.
Would Hurt a Child: Not directly, but she states that whether a pony is an adult or child, a friend or foe, she will do her utmost to fulfill her duty as a prosecutor. Subverted when she helps Athena stop Turning from confessing and assures him that things will be alright, at which point Athena realizes that the hints Luna kept giving her were to help her in saving them both. Later in the second trial, she ultimately goes along with Athena's threatening to step down as Sweetie Belle's attorney if the filly refuses to testify.

Private Eye

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2021_07_22_at_34452_pm_5.png

An investigator from Canterlot who was appointed by Princess Celestia herself to lead the investigation of Royal Order’s murder.

Beware the Nice Ones: Given his kind and gentlemanly demeanor, it comes as a shock when he's revealed to have forged evidence.
Dirty Cop: 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.
Expy: Phoenix noticed that Private Eye’s voice, mannerisms, and especially his hat are exactly like Professor Layton.
Frame-Up: 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 was in on it.
Framing the Guilty Party: He claims to have been doing this to Sugar Stamp when his evidence tampering is revealed, having put it together but wanting certainty to arrest her. He's lying; he knows for a fact that Sugar Stamp was innocent but was helping her draw suspicion away from Turning Page.
Hoist by His Own Petard:
- Through Sonata, Athena requested that Private Eye get her a sample of Royal Order's blood. Little did he know that she did this with the intent of proving he could've placed the stabbed helmet at Froggy Bottom Bog and planted blood on Sugar Stamp's letter opener to help support her false confession, as him getting a blood sample proves he was fully capable of gaining access to both the helmet and the blood.
- Stating that he personally went through the notebook in Royal Order's travel case, meaning that this wasn't given to the forensic scientists to analyze if the handwriting was actually Royal Order's. It turns out to be evidence he planted at the scene.
Identical Stranger: Some fans have noted his passing resemblance to Guard #2/"Ash Tray", though Private's coat is a darker shade and has green eyes and hair as opposed to the former's red. No connection has been noted in-universe thus far.
Nice Guy: Just as kind and gentlemanly as his inspiration. In terms of morality, it's a bit more twisty.
One Degree of Separation: Investigating Royal Order's murder is very personal for him because he and Royal were friends and went to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns.
Reasonable Authority Figure: He's under orders to not tell anyone in the general public, including Apple Bloom, about the victim due to him being a Royal Guard, but he relents when Apple Bloom earnestly promises to keep quiet.
- Also, during the first recess, he approaches Athena and Twilight to inform them of how a mysterious bloodstain found far from the scene belonged to the victim, as well as the missing handlebar of Scootaloo's scooter and a timberwolf fang found in front of the Luna Statue. However, he does state he's doing at the request of a mutual acquaintance, revealed to be Sonata. He then acquiesces to Twilight's request to do a forensic search of the crossroads. Subverted when it's revealed that he forged evidence to implicate Sugar Stamp in Royal Order's murder.
Wild Take: His Wild Takes are more subdued than most; his eyes widen when he's surprised, and when he finally confesses to forging evidence, he takes off his hat.

Guard #2/"Ash Tray"

A currently unnamed gray Royal Guard, and one of the officers who arrested Scootaloo. He is shown to be a rather unpleasant stallion who takes a bit of pleasure in putting others down, even if they are national heroes like the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. His fellow guardsponies don't hold him in very high regard and have taken to nicknaming him "Ash Tray" due to his abrasive nature.

Fiery Redhead: His mane is red in color and he is the most aggressive and unpleasant of the three guardsponies we see during Case 2.
The Friend Nobody Likes: Even the other guards think he's too much of a hardass, Cinnamon Swirl giving him his In-Series Nickname because she thinks he deserves to have ash dumped on him.
Hidden Heart of Gold: Sterling Spade speculates in Bonds of Justice Episode 3 that he may only be acting like a Jerkass in order to seem like a tough and reliable guard to civilians. It remains to be seen if this is true, though.
Identical Stranger: He bears something of a passing resemblance to Private Eye, though the former's coat is slightly a lighter shade of gray and has a red mane and eyes, as opposed to Private's green. Nobody in-universe has commented on it, however.
In-Universe Nickname: His fellow guard Cinnamon Swirl calls him "Ash Tray" because of her disdain for his unpleasant behavior.
Jerkass: He is not a nice person from what we see of him. He spearheads a brutal arrest on Scootaloo, taunts Rainbow Dash as a "mere Element bearer" when she tries to stick up for her, rudely cuts off Scootaloo's talk with everyone, and looks way too smug about arresting Scootaloo and later Turning Page for Royal Order's murder.
Know When to Fold Them: Was being so abrasive to the point that Twilight angrily stares him down causing him to back down. He may be a member of the Royal Guard, but he has nothing on the Princess of Friendship.
Non-Indicative Name: Implied. While we do not know his real name, it is implied by Cinnamon Swirl in Episode 3 of Bonds of Justice that it does not fit him at all.
No Name Given: As of yet, we haven't been given his name, but the fact that he appears later with the same designation he had when he first showed up hints he has some measure of importance. Although he is given the In-Universe Nickname of "Ash Tray" by Cinnamon Swirl in Episode 3 of Bonds of Justice, his real name remains unknown.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: Has dark red eyes and is not a pleasant stallion at all.
Token Evil Teammate: Evil might be a stretch, but Twilight mentions that except for one of the guards, they were willing to tell her where the murder took place. Scootaloo also notes that during her imprisonment that a lot of the guards were treating her rather well with one exception. It's heavily Implied that he's that exception.

Equestrian High Council

Lawkeeper Equity

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2022_07_02_at_105007_pm.png

"You'd best heed my words if you wish to continue to believe in these...naive ideals."

The senior leader of the Equestrian High Council, elected by the other members.

Ambiguously Evil: There's nothing inherently evil about her position or her actions per se, but she's working alongside Sonata for unknown purposes, and seems to be interested in Scootaloo's case and the Manehatten investigation in a way that indicates darker intent.
Darkand Troubled Past: Is implied throughout the series that something happened in her past that caused her to believe that trust and friendship were pointless.
Jerkass Has a Point:
- She states it in a harsh tone and goes a bit far in using it to discredit her as still being evil, but she's not wrong that Luna's actions are very suspect, having kept the Defense Team Locked Out of the Loop on everything about the case while involving literally everyone else.
- Her words on giving out trust so easily also have weight. As Athena rants about as soon as she leaves, almost everyone involved in the case seems dedicated to keeping secrets from the group, including Private Eye, who's shown himself as a Nice Guy, and Princess Luna hiding Royal Order's status as a future Captain of the Royal Guard, and Scootaloo and Turning Page, her clients, were willing to keep secrets from her despite her defending them at Luna's word, and her next client, Sweetie Belle, is revealed to have been framing Turning Page for the murder of Royal Order (though to be fair to Sweetie Belle, we later learn that Turning Page really is the killer).
Kick the Dog: After the end of the second case she appears to find amusement in the disharmony among Twilight's friends, casts doubt on the Wright Anything Agency's trust in Twilight, and arrests Rarity as the new prime suspect on Overall Concept's death right in front of Sweetie Belle.
Mean Boss: Seemingly averted with Sonata who she appears courteous with, but played straighter with Private Eye who she intimidates into staying on the Manehattan case and only relenting after the former remains steadfast in uncovering the truth of Royal Order's death.
Pet the Dog: She noticeably softens ever so slightly after Apple Bloom tearfully recounts how bad she feels about Turning losing his father and also reveals to the Lawkeeper how both her own parents are gone too. Equity somewhat gently tells the forlorn filly to get back home so as not to worry Applejack.
- Earlier still, she genuinely appears to mourn the loss of Royal Order, paying him respect and telling Apple Bloom that he was a valiant soldier.
Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: Considers "the magic of friendship" as immature and naïve, and warns the Defense Team not to blindly trust others, especially Princess Luna due to her manipulative personality and time of bitterness when she became Nightmare Moon.
Sour Outside, Sad Inside: During her rant about the pointlessness of trust and friendship, Athena hears a great deal of sadness and anger in her voice, and even Luna later speculates that her beliefs stem from personal trauma. A "Bonds of Justice" short implies it has familial ties, though she quickly changes the subject when Apple Bloom asks. It's implied during her talk with Philo Reed that something bad happened with her mentor, the previous Lawkeeper, who she was very close to.
When She Smiles: One of the earliest signs that Philo Reed is her Only Friend is breaking into a genuine smile after he teases her.

Fated Pursuit

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2024_02_24_at_42657_pm.png

A member of the Equestrian High Council, charged with the administration of education.

"The Reason You Suck" Speech: We hear her before actually meeting her due to her loudly reprimanding Prince Blueblood on his abhorrent behavior during the first case, and his subsequent shameless persistence to get the case again after Rarity's arrest.
Wide-Eyed Idealist: Fated has a high opinion of the Equestrian education system, and balks at the idea of incidents such as bullying occurring in any school under Celestia's rule. Of course, we know this to not be the case thanks to the actions of Diamond Tiara from the last case, who pretty much kickstarted the whole thing with her attempt at extorting golden fabric from CMC. When Philo first appears, he actually tries gently persuading to look at things with a bit more scrutiny and cynicism.

Philo Reed

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2024_02_24_at_43118_pm.png

A member of the Equestrian High Council, and the self-proclaimed "greatest detective in Equestria."

Berserk Button: He doesn't take kindly to those that Speak Ill of the Dead. When Apollo gets upset dismissing the twins having nothing to do with their case in the long run, Philo drops his detective gimmick to angrily address to Apollo that he shouldn't be speaking down to those that are deceased, even if they have nothing to do with them.
Expy: He clearly draws inspiration from Herlock Sholmes, being a blonde clad in brown, with a Motor Mouth, eccentric behaviour, and surprising deductive ability.
Morality Pet: Downplayed, but he's able to serve as one to Equity to an extent, taking advantage of their shared history and her tendency to grant him the few favours he asks of her to bring out the Reasonable Authority Figure in her.
Only Friend: Seems to be Equity's, given how his antics actually result in some mild amusement on her part.
Punch-Clock Villain: He's the one who discovered evidence that pointed at Rarity as Overall Concept's killer, but he was otherwise just doing his job and is more than happy to assist Apollo in proving Rarity's innocence, with him even requesting a case file to give to Apollo to help his odds in the trial.

Case 1 characters

Coco Pommel

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/coco_3.png

The Defendant of the first case. A costume designer at the Bridleway Theatre, who's accused of killing fellow costume designer Overall Concept.

The Cameo: Appears again for a short towards the end of Case 2 that has her disbelieving that Overall's death was a homicide all along, which the evidence points to Rarity.
Curtains Match the Windows: Like in canon, she has light blue eyes to match her mane.
A Day in the Limelight: The first "Bonds of Justice" short focuses on her and her relationship with Overall Concept and her coping with his death in a series of phone messages she left on his answering machine.
Fatal Flaw: An inability to trust. Her time working for Suri has given her a tendency to doubt others, and while Rarity proved to her that not everyone has an It's All About Me attitude, she also realizes that it doesn't change the fact that there still are people like that. This combined with the fact that everyone was so convinced that she did it, made her reluctant to reveal to Phoenix that she and Overall were court-approved Domestic Partners since it gave her a strong motive for murder and she thought Phoenix would turn her down if she told him. This leads to Phoenix being completely unprepared when Blueblood reveals it to the court to further implicate her, and she's only able to dodge a guilty verdict thanks to Twilight's quick thinking.
Frame-Up: When Phoenix brings up the possibility of a third party, Blueblood accuses her of creating the possibility of a third party.
Karmic Jackpot: After her defense of Suri leads to the revelation of Overall's death by suicide, Playwright apologizes for both wrongly blaming her and his treatment of her and Overall, fearing his actions contributed to his suicide. To make it up to her, he decides to honor Overall's last wishes and promote her to head costume designer, much to Coco's gratitude. Philo Reed later picks out an ensemble she made and gives her praises.
Laser-Guided Amnesia: She was knocked out when the crime occurred, meaning her memories of the event are hazy. She remembers everything just in time to jump to Suri's defense when she's accused.
Nice Girl: Is shown to be incredibly kind and graceful, even to her former Mean Boss Suri Polomare.
Save the Villain: Regains her memory just in time to realize and defend Suri's innocence, interrupting a Not Guilty verdict for herself in the process.
This Cannot Be!: "A Hanging Omen" has her incredulous that Overall Concept was murdered and did not commit suicide as Phoenix previously concluded, let alone that Rarity was his executioner.

Playwright

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2024_01_27_at_93522_pm.png

The proprietor and main play writer of the Bridleway Theater.

Heel–Face Turn: While he wasn't necessarily a villain, his perfectionism made him a strict, Mean Boss. The possibility of Overall killing himself because of his perfectionist ways seems to be a Break the Haughty moment for him, prompting him to become less of one and transition into a Benevolent Boss.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's an incredibly haughty perfectionist and is Implied by Coco to be a Mean Boss, but he's quick to amend his testimony when the possibility that Coco isn't the murderer comes to light, and even calls out Blueblood on trying to get him to hide important details that could help prove her innocence.
Mean Boss: Implied. During her testimony, Coco mentions that she gets a less than desirable salary, to which Playwright awkwardly tries to look innocent.
The Perfectionist: He fears this is the reason Overall killed himself, since it made him into a Mean Boss and he may have put too much pressure on him.
Pet the Dog: After Coco is proven innocent, he not only apologizes for accusing her, but also gives her a pep talk when she questions if she can live up to Overall's skill, even promoting her to head costume designer.

Suri Polomare

A costume designer who lives in Manehatten, and Coco's former boss who has a grudge with Rarity.

Adaptational Heroism: Unlike Suri in canon, this version has a Heel–Face Turn.
Adaptational Villainy: A rare overlap with Adaptational Heroism. While she does pull a Heel–Face Turn — that doesn't change the fact that she tried to frame Coco for murder, when canon Suri's worst crime was plagiarism.
Batman Gambit: As a last resort, she tries to bait Phoenix into having her scarf analyzed for traces of paint. Phoenix doesn't take the bait however, pointing out that any paint would have been washed off by the rain.
Big "SHUT UP!": Regularly shouts "Shut Up!" in large red letters.
Big Word Shout: Gets her own unique cut-in: Shut up!
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Averted. Unlike when she first met Rarity, she makes it no secret that she's a Jerkass with a chip on her shoulder when we meet her.
Blatant Lies: She claims to have came to the show as part of the audience, but Phoenix points out that since the tickets were sold out at Noon that day, meaning she couldn't have possibly come. And when she claims to have got one in advance, Phoenix points that she would have been questioned by the police in that case.
Catchphrase:
- "M'kay?"
- "Shut Up!"
Confess to a Lesser Crime: Tries to claim that she witnessed Coco kill Overall and forced her to stay quiet, which would paint her as an unwitting accomplice.
Debt Detester: Her explanation of why she ultimately testifies on Coco's behalf after Coco clears her of murder.
Disproportionate Retribution: Points to this out as a reason she couldn't have killed Overall, citing that killing him and hanging him in front of an audience of ponies is too extreme a reaction to avoid being caught for theft. She turns out to be telling the truth, but she does end up trying to frame Coco when the opportunity presents itself.
Graceful Loser: While she isn't exactly happy about being arrested for her crimes, she at least takes it with some degree of dignity, especially given it could have been much, much worse. And she handles it better than Blueblood at the very least.
Heel–Face Turn: Coco's willingness to stick up for her when she's almost charged with killing Overall prompts her to testify what she really saw to save both her and Coco.
Hoist by Her Own Petard: Her decision to frame Coco ultimately comes back to bite her; since she wasn't aware of the paint at the time, she unknowingly leaves traces of the paint that was on her hooves on the fabric roll, which got left on Coco's hooves despite her having washed them previously, nearing ending in her convicted for the crime and, even when she's proven innocent, sent to jail for Perjury.
Improvised Weapon: When Phoenix tries accusing her of killing Overall, he claims that instead of the fabric roll, she knocked Overall by slamming his head against the catwalk after wrapping her scarf around his neck. Turns out to be untrue.
It's All About Me: Her philosophy is "It's everypony for themselves in the big city."
Karma Houdini Warranty: While she does end up not being the killer, her history of lying, cheating and plagiarism is exposed in court and will face jail time for committing perjury.
Murder Is the Best Solution: Discussed. In response to Phoenix accusing her of killing Overall to get his fabric, she points out how there are ways she could have stolen it without killing him. She did turn out to be trying to steal the fabric, but she didn't take it as far as murder, at worst just trying to frame Coco for it out of spite.
Must Make Amends: She claims the reason she visited Coco on the day of the murder was to put their past behind them. Turns out it was to steal the fabric.
Not Helping Your Case: She didn't actually murder Overall, but her decision to frame Coco for it out of spite and determination to get her accused doesn't make her look completely innocent. It's only Coco being such a Nice Girl and sticking up for her that keeps her from being convicted.
Opportunistic Bastard: While she did initially come to the theatre to steal the fabric, Overall's sudden and mysterious death and Suri knocking Coco out in a panic prompted her to try framing Coco as revenge.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: After Blueblood fails to help clear her of suspicion, she gives him a brutal one about his ineptitude as a prosecutor and how he's just using his relation to Celestia to look big. It even serves as one to the entirety of the Equestrian royalty, using Blueblood as an example of "how far the royalty has fallen" which really gets to Twilight.
Red Herring: Between her connection to Coco and her presence at the theatre, she seems like the obvious real culprit. In the final stretch however, Coco jumps to her defense after regaining all her memories, claiming it was impossible for her to have done it, claiming Overall was already hung by the time she got up there.
Revenge Before Reason: Not only does she try to create a massive Frame-Up on Coco out of revenge for leaving her, but her attempts at maintaining said Frame-Up even as it gets more and more unravelled just makes her look more and more suspicious, almost leading to her getting arrested for the crime instead.
Secret-Keeper: When Phoenix questions how she knew about the special fabric, since only Coco, Overall and Playwright should have known of it, she's adamant on not saying how.
Skewed Priorities: When she's brought to the stand, she's seemingly more concerned with how she still has dress deadlines to meet instead of the fact that she's being brought to the stand on murder changes.
Villainous Breakdown: When Phoenix presents a theory to how she could have committed the crime, her pupils go wide as she lets out a Skyward Scream, grabs her scarf with her hooves, and slams her head against the podium with it.
Weak, but Skilled: Blueblood tries claiming that she, a mare, wouldn't have been able to knock out Concept, a fully grown stallion. Phoenix then claims, however, that she could've worked around this by using her scarf to grab his neck and slam his head against the catwalk. Turns out she never did this.

Case 2 characters

Scootaloo

Resilient Daredevil

The defendant of Case 2, a member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, arrested on suspicion of murdering Royal Order in the Everfree Forest.

Accidental Murder: After her Mood Matrix session, it becomes speculated that this is what happened, with her crashing her scooter and accidentally impaling Royal Order's head, with her running away in a panic after discovering this. However, Athena quickly sees a contradiction; since Scootaloo claims that she heard the victim she crashed into breathing, this contradicts the autopsy report's claim of instant death.
Bonding over Missing Parents: "Missing" is kind of a stretch, but part of what made her and Turning get along so well was that their parents who they look up to, both of Scootaloo's and Turning's dad respectively, are often never home due to work.
Everyone Has Standards: Despite being furious at Rarity for defending Sweetie Belle's actions, Scootaloo is shocked when Lawkeeper Equity has her arrest for the murder of Overall Concept.
Harmful to Minors: Being arrested for a murder she didn't commit is one thing, but the manner in which it occurs is shown to be very brutal, with the guards acting especially cruel towards her and one even pointing a spear at her.
Horrible Judge of Character: She dismissed the first attorney to protect her even though Twilight says that Scootaloo should've been lucky that any attorney would be at her defense. Then again, considering said attorney was Sonata and the end of Part 2 reveals that Sonata is working with Lawkeeper Equity from the High Council...
Innocently Insensitive: Her initial demands that Phoenix defends her, and her attempts to switch to him after Turning is also arrested, don't exactly inspire much confidence in Athena.
Love Hurts: Turning Page, her crush, turns out to be the accidental killer of Royal Order, and while he can't face legal repercussions for it thanks to Double Jeopardy, he gets sent to military school as punishment for his additional crimes of perjury and tampering with the crime scene, which means he's going to be separated for a long while not only from Scootaloo but also from his own mother. Naturally, she's beyond angry at Sweetie Belle for sending the police the anonymous tip that incriminated him in the first place.
Memento Macguffin: The reason she went along with Diamond Tiara's Blackmail was because, despite Apple Bloom's promise to build her a new one, and going as far as to steal golden fabric from Rarity, is that she didn't want to lose her scooter since it was a gift from her parents.
Rescue Romance: She developed a crush on Turning Page after he saved her (and the other two Crusaders) from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's bullying.
Right for the Wrong Reasons: Although many of Sweetie Belle's actions during the case were morally dubious at best, the act which Scootaloo confronts her over, sending the anonymous tip that implicated Turning Page, was actually the right thing to do.
Ship Tease: After Turning Page helped the Crusaders out with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's bullying, Turning and Scootaloo hit it off quite well and Apple Bloom notes that the two were very talkative with each other. Apple Bloom approves.
- As of Case 2's conclusion, 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 reciprocate Scootaloo’s feelings.
What the Hell, Hero?:
- She along with Trucy give this to Athena after she threatens to step down as Sweetie Belle's defense.
- At the conclusion of Case 2, Scootaloo is so angry with Sweetie Belle's well-intentioned extremism that Scootaloo screams at her, saying that if Sweetie Belle had just left well enough alone, Turning Page wouldn't have to be separated from his mom. Sweetie Belle tries to counter that the situation is Scootaloo's fault for being so obsessed with getting her stolen wagon and scooter back, but Scootaloo reminds Sweetie Belle that "YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHY!!" those items were important (they were gifts from her parents).

Apple Bloom

Tenacious Leader

The second member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Applejack's younger sister. She helps assist in the investigation of Royal Order’s murder.

A Day in the Limelight: The fourth "Bonds of Justice" short sees her sneaking away from her chores and attempting to go uncover evidence in the Everfree, but is stopped by Sterling Spade and Cinnamon Swirl...and also has an unexpected interaction with Lawkeeper Equity.
Harmful to Minors: Upon discovering the massive amounts of blood on the Nightmare Night statue via the forensic flashlight, she briefly suffers a panic attack and requires Twilight's comfort.
Screaming Woman: Apple Bloom lets off a blood-curdling scream after she, Twilight, Phoenix, and Athena use a forensic flashlight on the Nightmare Night Statue, which revealed a horrifyingly large amount of blood against it and on the ground.
Tag Along Kid: Despite it being a murder investigation, she pretty much inserts herself into Athena's investigation, because she wants to help Scootaloo, with Twilight only allowing it since she'd probably follow them on her own anyway.
What the Hell, Hero?:
- After the trial, despite being glad for Scootaloo and Turning's acquittal, she's quick to lay into Athena for accusing Zecora and nearly blowing the good reputation she accumulated since arriving in town. However, after Athena explains her actions and acknowledges her wrongdoing, she forgives, recognizing her integrity.
- Then after Sweetie Belle gets arrested and both Rainbow Dash and Rarity bicker between each other as Applejack is drawn into the fight, she acts as the voice of reason that gets them to stand down for a while.

Sweetie Belle

Aspiring Artist

The third Cutie Mark Crusader and Rarity's younger sister and the third defendant of case 2.

Accidental Murder: Luna proposes that Sweetie Belle accidentally knocked one of the Royal Order clones into the Nightmare Moon statue while defending herself from him. This is later debunked.
Adaptational Villainy: Calling her a "villain" is a stretch, but Sweetie Belle does blackmail Silver Spoon to force her to steal a magazine from Carousel Boutique and implicate Diamond Tiara for writing the anonymous tip, which is magnitudes worse than anything show!Sweetie ever did.
All for Nothing: It's revealed that she sent the anonymous tip indicting Turning Page in hopes that it would get Scootaloo acquitted. Instead, this only got the both of them accused.
Beware the Nice Ones: Sweetie Belle may mostly live up to her name, but that didn't stop her from blackmailing Silver Spoon into committing breaking and entering and theft and framing Turning Page for his father's murder. Though this last example is mitigated since Turning Page really did kill his father, a fact that Sweetie Belle was aware of when she sent the tip.
Blackmail: She forced Silver Spoon to break into Carousel Boutique and steal the magazine she used to write the anonymous tip implicating Turning Page in his father's murder by threatening to tell Diamond Tiara that Silver doesn't really consider her a friend anymore, and reveal that she stole a healing potion from Zecora to heal Sweetie's leg wound, unless she did so.
Enfante Terrible: Downplayed. As good as her intentions may have been, blackmailing another pony into planting evidence indicating that the blackmailed pony's friend had framed a seemingly innocent colt for murder is not something that any decent filly would do.
Fatal Flaw: Her shortsightedness. While likely driven more by the fact that she's a child, and it's far from the first time the Cutie Mark Crusaders have made poorly thought out decisions, these flaws are at their worst with Sweetie Belle's decision making, given how her attempts to implicate Turning Page in order to save Scootaloo not only got both of them and herself in massive trouble, but played a part in driving a wedge between her sister's friends due to her poor decisions.
Frame-Up: She's the one who sent the anonymous tip implicating Turning Page in the murder of his father to the police. She also planned to have Diamond Tiara take the fall for the anonymous tip itself, both as a way to keep the blame off of herself and as a form of Revenge for Diamond Tiara's bullying, though Silver Spoon ended up being implicated instead.
- Subverted in the case of Turning Page. Sweetie Belle overheard Turning confess to the crime while hiding behind the Nightmare Night statue, meaning that her tip to the police had been genuine.
Good Lawyers, Good Clients: Downplayed; she's innocent of Royal Order's murder, but many of her actions surrounding the case were morally dubious at best.
He Who Fights Monsters: In her efforts to protect Scootaloo, and get back at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon for their Blackmail as a bonus, she sent an anonymous letter accusing Turning Page with the help of an unwitting Spike, and later tried to frame Diamond Tiara for the anonymous letter by getting Silver Spoon to place the magazine she used in her trash can, threatening to reveal both her feelings on their friendship and her theft of Zecora's healing potion to save her. As pointed out after her full confession, her efforts to protect her friend and get revenge ultimately caused her to commit actions not unlike that of the two bullies.
Kid Has a Point: Sweetie Belle is vilified by Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash for implicating Turning Page, but it had turned out that Turning Page is guilty, a fact which Sweetie Belle was aware of the whole time.
Manipulative Bitch: She convinced Spike to mail her anonymous tip implicating Scootaloo to the police without asking questions by promising to set him up on a date with Rarity. Twilight even calls her out on how manipulative this was of her.
My God, What Have I Done?: Once Athena exposes her as the true author of the anonymous tip implicating Turning Page, she realizes, thanks to Luna, that the actions she took are the same as those committed by Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. She even says the trope name word-for-word, minus the first two words.
Near-Death Experience: Sweetie Belle was mauled by a timberwolf the night of the murder, nearly lost her right foreleg and would have died of blood loss had Silver Spoon not found her and obtained a healing potion from Zecora's hut.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When everyone visits the boutique to ask if she wants to visit Scootaloo at the Detention Center, she acts very nervous and is reluctant to visit Scootaloo. This immediately concerns Apple Bloom, who notes that this is very out of character. After Phoenix finds some leaves and branches in the trash, and four Psyche-Locks appear when questioned on them, it's evident that she's hiding something.
Ocular Gushers: During her Villainous Breakdown after Athena exposes her as the author of the anonymous tip implicating Turning Page.
Secret-Keeper: It's evident that she's hiding some manner of involvement in the case, based on her odd behavior, the Psyche-Locks, and her blood being near the Nightmare Moon statue in the Everfree Forest along with Royal Order's. As it turns out, she went to the Everfree Forest the night of the murder to retrieve the golden fabric that Scootaloo stole. During this, she stumbled across the scene of Royal Order's murder. She was attacked by Timberwolves and got a life-threatening injury on her right foreleg, but scared them off by bashing the pieces of Royal Order's armor together. Then, before losing consciousness from the blood loss, she overheard Turning Page admit to killing his father. She woke up to find that Silver Spoon had made her a makeshift tourniquet out of vines and branches and went to Zecora's hut to get a healing potion for her wound.
Skewed Priorities: She absolutely does not want to divulge what exactly she was doing on the night of the murder, even practicing her right to remain silent when Athena requests her testimony, despite her being the current suspect. It takes Athena outright threatening to step down as her attorney, which would guarantee that she'd be declared guilty, to convince her to testify about her actions.
The Tell: Apollo and Trucy notice that she has a habit of rubbing her right leg when nervous.
Ungrateful Bitch: Silver Spoon saved Sweetie Belle's life by making a makeshift tourniquet for her when she had a life-threatening injury on her right foreleg and then stealing a healing potion from Zecora for her. Sweetie rewards her by blackmailing her into stealing the magazine Sweetie used to write the anonymous tip implicating Turning Page and then trying to have her friend Diamond Tiara take the fall for the whole thing.
Villainous Breakdown: Although "villainous" is pushing it, Sweetie Belle was revealed as the author of the anonymous tip against Turning Page and even blackmailed Silver Spoon to get her to do what she wants. Once Athena proves this all without a shadow of a doubt, Sweetie Belle breaks down with images going through her head of all the incidents caused by her and finally ends with her crying her eyes out (with a fountain of tears no less).
Well-Intentioned Extremist: She was 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 Sweetie Belle knew for a fact that said colt Scootaloo likes really did kill Royal Order.
What the Hell, Hero?: She is on the receiving end of one of these from Scootaloo after it is revealed that she was the one who implicated Turning Page. She shoots back with one of her own by pointing out that Scootaloo stole from Rarity and was the reason Turning had been in the forest to begin with.

Turning Page

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2021_07_22_at_34727_pm.png

Virtuous Defender

A young colt who's the son of Case 2's victim, Royal Order and the second defendant.

Accidental Murder: When Royal Order decided to be a dad and properly discipline Turning for his reckless actions, including encouraging him to start attending school and telling him he's not ready to be a royal guard with his current behaviour, Turning is so overwhelmed that he angrily hit Royal with his wooden sword. Unfortunately, Royal's Poison Joke affliction giving him weak knees causes the blow to knock him into the Nightmare Night statue, killing him.
Badass Adorable: He mentions to the Crusaders in a flashback that he regularly takes on monsters from the Everfree Forest for practice.
Black-and-White Insanity: Royal Order's training and lack of discipline, combined with Turning's recklessness and young age, is unwittingly instilling this in him, something Royal Order is disturbed to realize. Turning believes that attacking Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon was justified just because they were doing bad things, unaware of the problems it caused for his family and other nuances of these actions.
Blackmail: Attempted to do this with the Rich family by framing Diamond Tiara for Royal Order's death, so that he could use the truth as leverage to make them drop their demand that Fair Devotion pay for the dresses Turning had ruined. The attempt failed because he accidentally framed Scootaloo instead.
Broken Pedestal: Luna proposes this as his motivation for for murdering his father; learning that his father was Blackmailing his new friends, or at least an accomplice in it, Turning was enraged to the point of murdering him. Later subverted as it turns out the real blackmailers were Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.
- Double subverted as it later turned out that Turning really did attack his father in a fit of rage, as he mistakenly believed that Royal Order was forcing him to abandon his dream, although the death itself was an accident.
The Dog Was the Mastermind: Not quite "mastermind", a dubious honor of which goes to his mother and her two co-conspirators, but all of the evidence and information Athena uncovers throughout the case points to him being Royal Order's true killer.
Dulcinea Effect: His chivalrous upbringing adds to this. It's to the point that he asks Athena to pin the blame on him if things start looking south to defend Scootaloo.
Enfant Terrible: Subverted. Athena ultimately reaches the conclusion that he is the one responsible for the death of his father after all, and while that is true, it turns out it was purely an accident that he felt great guilt over. While he did assist his mother in the subsequent coverup, it was only because he didn't want her to deal with the pain of her son being banished from Equestria in the event he was found guilty of murder.
- Played straight, though downplayed, with 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, even if he intended to confess the truth eventually.
Fatal Flaw: Impatience and Impulsiveness. He wants to be a Royal Guard now and refuses to listen to his mom to wait a little and go to school. Additionally, his inability to approach situations with anything except full on impulsiveness leads to him accidentally causing a lot of problems such as getting them in trouble with Diamond Tiara's mother Spoiled Rich and revealing that Sugar Stamp and Fair Devotion were friends due to his outbursts. Worst of all, these traits end up driving him into a fit of rage when his father tries to rein in the bad habits Turning had developed due to his poor parenting decisions, leading to him accidentally murdering his own father.
Fearless Fool: As noted by Scootaloo, one of the few differences between them is that he's not held back by fear. This is part of why she asked him to go with her into the Everfree Forest to meet with Diamond Tiara.
Good Lawyers, Good Clients: Subverted. It turns out he really was guilty of the death of his father, which Athena defended and acquitted him for. While the death itself was accidental, he still led Athena to believe he had no involvement with it long after he had already received a false acquittal.
Harmful to Minors: Is accused of murdering his own father... and he did kill him (albeit accidentally).
Hero-Worshipper: He's a big fan of the Element Bearers, such as Rainbow and Twilight, as well as his father, who inspired him to become a Royal Guard himself.
Hot-Blooded: He acts very passionately and aggressively. Unfortunately, this also leads to impulsiveness which lead to him killing his father.
Irony: Absolute refuses to go to school, no matter how many times his mom tells him to do so. His punishment for killing his dad? He's going to a military academy in order to be properly taught how to be a Royal Guard and it's then he understands why education is so important to his life.
Karma Houdini: Downplayed. Thanks to the Double Jeopardy Clause, Turning can never face legal repercussions for his Accidental Murder of Royal Order, even though he actually wanted to. However, he can and does face repercussions for perjury and tampering with the crime scene, namely being sent to a military school for young aspiring Royal Guards. While this will help him progress his dream of one day joining the Royal Guard, it also means he will be separated from his mother for a long while, and his family's friends are also in severe trouble for their part in trying to cover up this costly mistake.
Kid Has a Point: He's not wrong to point out that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon should be held accountable for their actions because the entire case wouldn't have happened if the two didn't steal Scootaloo's scooter and blackmailed for more fabric.
Kid Hero: Horribly deconstructed. Turning fancies himself a Knight in Shining Armor who punishes villains and defends the innocent. Unfortunately, he's still a child and unable to grasp the nuances and consequences of his actions, something his father unwittingly encouraged with his parenting. Royal Order likely realized that if this behavior wasn't nipped in the bud soon, he'd end up as a Manchild with Black-and-White Insanity, which is exactly the wrong mindset for a soldier or law officer. Turning has to realize that he's not a hero yet and needs to learn much more before he can be, but he's so adamant on being one that trying to explain this gets Royal Order accidentally killed.
Knight in Shining Armor: He looks up to his dad a good deal, which inspires him to take a (somewhat misguided) chivalrous mindset.
Leeroy Jenkins: He has a tendency to take things at face value and not think things through, attacking the guards arresting Scootaloo despite attacking law enforcement and abetting suspects being a serious offense, and being quick to assume Phoenix and Athena are villains for trying to stop him from getting into trouble.
Love-Interest Traitor: Downplayed. When he teleported to the cliff in front of the Castle of the Two Sisters on the night of his father's death, he accidentally brought along the CMCs' wagon and Scootaloo's scooter, which led to Scootaloo, who has a crush on him, being incriminated in the death. While he did stay quiet during Scootaloo's subsequent trial, it was because he held on to hope that Diamond Tiara, whose actions indirectly resulted in his father's death to begin with, would be accused of the crime instead, and even asked Athena to pin the crime on him if things started looking south to acquit Scootaloo.
Magic Knight: Being a unicorn, he's capable of magic, albeit levitation and illumination spells at best, and he's been practicing swordsmanship with his father and carries around a wooden sword he made for him.
Military School: His punishment for committing perjury and crime scene-tampering to help his mother cover up his Accidental Murder of Royal Order is being sent to one. The irony here is that he hated going to school no matter how many times his mother told him to go.
My God, What Have I Done?: He was absolutely horrified when he saw that the blow he gave his father with his wooden sword in a fit of anger pushed him into the Nightmare Night statue and impaled him on its base.
No Listening Skills: Every single time he's told to go to school, he doesn't understand why it would be of his best interest to do so. When his father finally puts his hoof down, Turning lashes out and ends up killing his dear old dad.
The Only Way They Will Learn: No matter how hard you have to tell him to go to school, all of it goes one ear and out the other. He finally learns his lesson after killing his father and his punishment will bring him into a military school.
Patricide: He ends up being accused of this crime, becoming the second defendant alongside Scootaloo in the murder case where his own father is the victim. And it's ultimately revealed that he really did kill him, albeit accidentally.
Put on the Bus: While he avoids the legal repercussions of killing Royal Order due to double jeopardy, his counts of perjury and moving about the crime scene from helping his mother in the cover-up gets him sent to a youth military academy on Luna's orders so that his temper can be properly reigned in in hopes that he can become a proper Royal Guard one day.
Revealing Injury: A bruise is found on his right side which Athena uses to prove that Scootaloo crashed into him on the night of the murder.
Sweet and Sour Grapes: As punishment for his misdeeds, Turning Page is sent to military school, separating him from his mom. However, the school in question is for "youths wishing to serve the Crown", so Turning Page's dream of becoming a Royal Guard is actually still possible, though he'll have to learn discipline first.
Sympathetic Murderer: His killing of his own father was purely accidental, and he feels great guilt over it. While he did assist his mother in the subsequent coverup of the crime, it was only because he didn't want her to deal with the pain of his banishment from Equestria should he be found guilty.
They Just Dont Get It: He gets told repeatedly to just go to school and wait, but he never listens. Even after his dad tried to calm him down, he didn't understand why he should wait, and it led to him killing his dad accidentally. It's only after the truth is revealed in the trial does it sink in and he accepts going to a military academy as punishment.
A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: Getting more and more irate of being told by his father to go to school instead of continuing knight training, he smacks his dad with his wooden sword...but due to Royal Order's weak knees caused by poison joke, he ends up throwing his father into that Nightmare Moon statue...
Villainous Mother-Son Duo: Downplayed. Yes, he and Fair were working together to cover up the latter's Accidental Murder of Royal Order, but neither of them is a bad pony at heart; Turning didn't want his mother to deal with the pain of his possible banishment for the crime, while Fair wanted to protect her son from being banished for something he didn't mean to do.
Would Hit a Girl: He wasted no time attacking Diamond Tiara to defend the Crusaders from her and Silver Spoon.
Wrecked Weapon: His wooden sword, which his dad made for him, ended up breaking when defending Scootaloo from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

Fair Devotion

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2021_07_22_at_34230_pm.png

Royal Order's wife and Turning Page's mother. She's also a substitute teacher.

Accidental Murder: To defend Turning from Athena's accusations, Fair claims to have killed Royal Order by pushing him onto the sharp point of the Nightmare Night statue in a blind rage during an argument about Turning Page. As it turns out, this more accurately describes what happened between Royal and Turning.
Affectionate Nickname: Sugar Stamp calls her "Deva" stemming from being Childhood Friends.
Ambiguously Evil: The moment that Private Eye's Dirty Cop actions become public knowledge, Deva begins to display a colder and borderline Smug Snake side towards both Sugar Stamp and Private, coaching them along to explain away inconsistencies with the former's confession and treating both with a rigid degree of frigidity. Athena is disconcerted by the change in attitude. It turns out she's not evil; while she did try to cover up the murder of her husband, it was done to protect her son, as she did not want him to be banished for what was a tragic accident.
Anti-Villain: She's the primary antagonist of the second case, but it's because the killer is her son, and it was clearly an accident. Everything she does to gum up the trial is to protect Turning Page.
Blackmail: Luna presents the possibility that instead of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, she was the one who stole Scootaloo's scooter and threatened to destroy it to get the golden fabric. In addition, though, she claims that this was because Spoiled Rich, Diamond Tiara's mother, was threatening to use her position of President of the School Board to prevent her from working at a school again unless she could pay for the damage done to the dresses Turning damaged while defending the Crusaders. Subverted, as it turns out Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon actually were the blackmailers and framed her for it Then Fair Devotion tells the Defense Team later on that Luna herself did it on purpose and that she allowed herself to be accused..
The Chessmaster: When brought on to testify during Sweetie Belle's trial, she leads Sugar Stamp throughout her testimony when her story fumbles. Later on, when Private Eye is outed as having planted evidence to frame Sugar Stamp, Fair Devotion is quick to step in and provide lead-alongs for them to explain their actions and the contradictions in a manner that still keeps the blame on Sugar Stamp.
Childhood Friends: Sugar Stamp reveals that both mares used to be this along with Royal Order and it was Sugar herself who hooked them up. Deva, in turn, introduced Sugar Stamp to her own now-deceased husband.
Didn't Think This Through: As Athena calls her out on, her attempts at taking the blame for Turning killing Royal Order will lead to someone being hurt no matter what, as her taking the fall and getting banished would only leave Turning orphaned with a strong chance of finding difficulty finding a foster family due to the accusations, while Private Eye and Sugar Stamp would be unable to support him due to being punished for their help in the cover-up.
Education Mama: Justified in that her son refuses to go to school to focus on his Royal Guard training, especially when she herself is a substitute teacher, so she would naturally be concerned about her son's education.
Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: She is especially prone to doing this with her retractable pointing stick whenever she is being a Smug Snake and literally pointing out alternate plausible explanations in court.
Hypocrite: The argument she and Royal Order had before his death has her rage at him for being an irresponsible father whose inability to discipline Turning led to his reckless Chronic Hero Syndrome, and who often neglected him for his job the rest of the time. Despite this, the entire case is the result of her trying to prevent Turning from facing the repercussions of killing his father, and her method of trying to protect him, taking the fall and getting banished herself, will effectively lead to her neglecting him on a much greater scale than Royal Order ever did.
Ice Queen: Fair Devotion is an extremely cool and sometimes manipulative mare who is more than a little overbearing.
Immaturity Insult: She derides 19-year-old Athena as a "child" due to the many times she changed her mind about her own stances ^note over the course of the trial.
Make It Look Like an Accident: To protect her son from being banished from Equestria for his Accidental Murder of Royal Order, she conspired with him, Private Eye, and Sugar Stamp to make it look like Royal Order was the victim of a timberwolf attack rather than another pony.
Mama Bear: She's clearly concerned about her son's bullheaded attempts at helping Scootaloo and him running around in the Everfree Forest. It's to the point that she agreed to Luna accusing her of Blackmail in court, which could lead to her getting falsely convicted, in hopes that it'd lead to Athena breaking down the argument to correctly pin it on Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, and further lead to Turning and Scootaloo being proven innocent. When her attempts to mislead the trial are countered by Athena who ends up accusing Turning Page of murdering his own father, she immediately jumps to his defense and claims to have killed Royal Order herself.
My God, What Have I Done?: In the end once she realizes her role as The Chessmaster to prevent Turning Page from being indicted for murder over the death of his father/her husband has been found out and both her accomplices Private Eye and Sugar Stamp tell her to let it go and Turning himself tells her he admits to his role to stop the pain, she snaps her pointing stick and sheds tears over how Royal Order would never forgive her for what she did.
Perpetual Frowner: Her default expression is stern and no-nonsense, befitting her role as an educator. Given what her family has suffered during Case 2, that is the more likely reason for her dourness.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: In order to avoid a therapy session at Athena's hands, she goes on a vicious tirade against Athena for all the blunders she made during the case, going as far as to accuse her of being an over-ambitious child instead of a proper lawyer, and also throws shade at Luna and Twilight for supporting her despite this. While the Judge is quick to threaten to put her in contempt of court for going too far with her insults, this does briefly throw Athena into a Heroic BSoD before she thinks deeply about her motives and bounces back.
Retractable Weapon: She wields a retractable pointing stick as soon as she appears on the witness stand in 2-7, reflecting her attitude as a teacher. She smacks it in on the stand when she wants attention, bends it when a contradiction in any witness testimony is found, and points it at Athena (rather the audience) when she easily contradicts accusations or flaws in testimonies. When her attempts to mislead the court in preventing Turning to face justice for his crime have been found out and her accomplices tell her to finally let it go, she snaps it in two with her magic before she bursts into tears over her ploys.
Secret-Keeper: It's evident that she knows more than she lets on, making Athena suspicious. It's to the point that she's reluctant to divulge her friendship with Sugar Stamp, which Athena mentally Lampshades. It becomes more apparent when she begins to lead Sugar Stamp and Private Eye during the second trial, explaining away any discrediting evidence of the former's confession. It turns out the secret she's hiding is that her son is the one who accidentally killed her husband, and she's trying to cover for him.
So Proud of You: At the conclusion of Case 2, before Fair Devotion is arrested for perjury, and before Turning Page is sent to military school for accidentally killing his father, Fair Devotion asks for a few minutes to say a few words to her son. She then tells Turning Page how proud she is that he grew up to be such a good pony—while he did accidentally kill his father, he spent the whole case wanting to turn himself in and take responsibility, and only went along with the cover-up to spare his mother any further emotional pain. And while he's reckless, it's because he's loyal to what he believes in and will protect those he cares about at any cost. So, while Turning Page will need to atone for his crime, Fair Devotion still believes that Turning Page has the best qualities of both her and Royal Order.
Stern Teacher: Her default disposition implies this, at least in regards to getting Turning Page to attend school, which she does succeed in getting through to him after they visit Sweetie Belle in the detention center.
Sure, Let's Go with That: She admits she was a bit flabbergasted by Athena's clone theory, but decided to use that support Sugar Stamp's If I Can't Have You… cover, because it'd come off like something Royal Order might do.
Taking the Heat: When Athena accuses Turning Page of being Royal Order's killer, Fair objects and claims she was the one who killed him. Athena, however, proves that this is a lie to protect Turning.
Tragic Keepsake: Before Turning is shipped off to military school as punishment for the perjury and crime-scene tampering he commited as part of their coverup scheme, he gives Fair the medal that Scootaloo gave to him so that she'll have something to remind herself of her son while he's away.
Underestimating Badassery: Due to being able to fool most of the other involved ponies, including Princess Luna, and due to the latter's numerous blunders throughout the case, Fair essentially saw Athena as an Unwitting Pawn in her plan to take the blame Turning Page's crimes. Unfortunately for her, Athena becomes more of a Spanner in the Works due to her determination and abilities as an Empath.
Villainous Breakdown: Suffers a minor one when Athena is able to shake off her "Reason You Suck" Speech, accepting the points she made against her but also stating that she's adamant about pursuing the truth, and warning Devotion how taking the fall for her son's crime will only cause more suffering in the long run. After Athena successfully convinces Private Eye and Sugar Stamp to let Turning own up to his actions and Turning pleads to her to accept the truth, she angrily snaps her teacher's baton in two before bursting into tears.
Villainous Mother-Son Duo: Downplayed. Yes, she and Turning were working together to cover up the latter's Accidental Murder of Royal Order, but neither of them is a bad pony at heart; Turning didn't want his mother to deal with the pain of his possible banishment for the crime, while Fair wanted to protect her son from being banished for something he didn't mean to do.
Wild Take: When angry or frustrated, she hits the witness stand several times with her retractable pointing stick, and when she gets surprised or shocked she stands on her hind legs and starts bending her baton.

Sugar Stamp

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2021_07_22_at_34657_pm.png

A mail pony who delivers Athena and Apollo's badges.

Big "WHAT?!": Not herself, but the reaction of everyone/pony else when the investigators reveal she confessed to the murder of the Royal Order "clone" in the Everfree Forest Clearing.
Chekhov's Gun: Later on, it's pinpointed that the mark found in the scooter's cart bears a resemblance to her mailpony badge, pinpointing her as the culprit, or at least the one who moved the body.
Childhood Friends: She reveals at the detention center she knew both Fair Devotion and Royal Order growing up and was the one who introduced them to each other.
Evil Gloating: Possibly. When her affair with Royal becomes known to Deva, the latter is furious but Sugar Stamp just giggles "The heart wants what it wants!" Athena sees a lack of anger in either of their remarks and thinks it's all a farce, which turns out to be right on the money.
Expy: Of a sort to Lisa Basil. There's a slight mechanical background to her talking, and her blue hair does draw certain parallels to the character.
- She's more of a reference to Memry from Ghost Trick. Due to having the same hair color, freckles, and having the same "Phrase Catcher".
Foreshadowing: Applebloom briefly calls Sugar Stamp Mrs. before correcting herself to Miss in the first part of Case 2. The fifth part then reveals that she was indeed a Mrs. once before her husband's death and some ponies, as Applebloom demonstrated, continue to call her as such.
Friend to All Children: Loves giving candy to all the kids she meets on her travels. This makes her apparent attempt at framing Scootaloo and Turning Page all the more suspicious to Athena.
Girlish Pigtails: Her mane is set into pigtails.
If I Can't Have You…: This is speculated to have been her motive for killing Royal Order. The letter she sent to him, which was found in his travel case, came off as possessive-sounding, and the others speculate that she couldn't accept him deciding to clone himself so he could be with both her and his family, upset that by his indecisiveness and the possibility that she wouldn't get the real him. Athena has her doubts, due to her not coming off as such when they met in person. Athena turns out to be right, the letter was forged with Private Eye's help to draw suspicion away from Turning Page.
Intergenerational Friendship: Due to delivering letters from her parents to her often, she's on good terms with Scootaloo and the other Crusaders, expressing sadness that she got arrested and even giving a candy to Apple Bloom before leaving.
Leitmotif: "Iris Watson ~ The Little Biographer" from The Great Ace Attorney, a perky and joyful theme befitting her personality.
Nice Girl: A pleasant, friendly, and kind mailpony. Double subverted later in the case where she seems to have been a Yandere who was having an affair with her best friend's husband, but that turns out to have been part of the elaborate Taking the Heat ruse for Turning Page, volunteering as an attempted Heroic Sacrifice for him.
Motor Mouth: She's very talkative and friendly.
Older Than They Look: She's most likely the same age as Fair Devotion, the two being best friends since they were foals, but Sugar lacks the aged bags that the latter has under her eyes.
Stepford Smiler: Despite her happy façade, she harbors both intense sadness as she is a widow due to her husband having a fatal heart attack (and at the same time having no children since she didn't have time to mate with her former husband) and unrequited love towards Royal Order despite being the one who introduced him to her friend Fair Devotion. It shows up plenty of times during her testimony in the trial itself when she's "confessing" to killing Royal Order.
Sympathetic Adulterer: It's revealed that Royal Order was having an affair with her behind Fair Devotion's back, very likely soon after her husband died. Subverted in that the whole affair is a lie.
Taking the Heat: Her suspicious activity in Case 2 is a very elaborate self-frame to help hide Turning Page's Accidental Murder of Royal Order.
Tender Tears: Towards the end of Case 2, when Athena is about to definitively prove Turning Page's guilt, Sugar Stamp starts crying, visible tears on her face as she asks Athena not to go through with it.
Wild Take: When shocked or surprised, she hides behind her wings.
Yandere: The Affair Letters found in Royal Order's travel pack shows her with a rather possessive side, like being upset he chose to spend Hearts and Hooves Day with his family instead of her and telling him to come and see her as soon as he can, incriminating her as his killer. Subverted in that this side of her is a lie.

Diamond Tiara & Silver Spoon

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/diamond_tiara_and_silver_spoon_by_caliazian.png

Diamond on the left, Spoon on the right

Two fillies at the Crusader's school, who often picks on them for being "blank flanks".

All for Nothing: Diamond Tiara blackmailed the Crusaders to get the shiny fabric off of them. Not only does she not get the fabric but this spiraled into a much worse turn of events.
Ascended Extra: Silver Spoon gets more exposure than she ever did in the main show, with her parents, otherwise never talked about in FiM, being revealed to be MDs and she doesn't care for her glasses, thinking that she looks like an old mare with them. She's also revealed to not be satisfied with her current friendship with Diamond Tiara due their lack of significant bonding compared to the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
Aww Look They Really Do Love Each Other: Platonic example. Their testimony is very much Teeth-Clenched Teamwork, with them being unable to adapt to what the other is saying and exposing each other's lies. But when Silver later vents about the Parental Neglect she suffers, Diamond is quick to comfort her, with the two even sharing a hug. Silver, however, previously admitted to Sweetie Belle that she and Diamond have had no meaningful bonding in comparison to that of the CMCs and was considering ending their friendship because of it.
Blackmail: When the Crusaders weren't looking, they stole Scootaloo's scooter, wagon, and the Crusader's capes and threatened to drop them off the cliff near the Castle of the Two Sisters unless they bring her some of Rarity's golden fabric. Possibly Subverted when Luna reveals that the magazines' cutouts used to write the letter were discovered in the Order family home, and with Order in Canterlot at the time and Turning helping Scootaloo, concludes that Fair Devotion was the true blackmailer. It's later Double Subverted when it turns out the two actually were the blackmailers and framed Fair Devotion for it.
Blind Without 'Em: Silver Spoon mentions later that her vision is only 20/200 without her eyewear, though she doesn't enjoy having to wear them.
The Bully: They're all about demeaning those who are lesser than them.
Chekhov's Skill: Silver Spoon mentions how her parents are doctors at Ponyville General, and that one of the few times they spend with are dedicated to cultivating her own medical knowledge. She used these skills to make Sweetie Belle a makeshift tourniquet when she found her bleeding out from the near removal of her leg by the Timber Wolves.
Death by Materialism: Downplayed in that neither Diamond Tiara nor Silver Spoon are dead, but Diamond Tiara's greed is the reason why a death happened in the first place.
Didn't Think This Through: 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.
Everyone Has Standards: Even Spoon thinks Diamond goes a bit too far trying to steal Sweetie Belle's cape from her for its golden fabric. She was also reluctant to go back on the deal to try and coerce more golden fabric out of Scootaloo.
- And as petty and antagonistic as they tend to be towards the Cutie Mark Crusaders, neither of them are happy of the idea of Sweetie Belle being arrested.
Evil Is Petty: Why the blackmail and stealing of Scootaloo's scooter? Because Diamond Tiara wanted a roll of sparkly fabric.
Fangirl: Both are fans of Princess Luna. Silver Spoon is especially excited to see her while Diamond Tiara is a bit more composed.
Silver Spoon: OMC! It's her, DT! Look! You see?
Diamond Tiara: Ugh! Be quiet, Silver! You're embarrassing me in front of Princess Luna!
Frame-Up: They planted the magazine cutouts used to write their Blackmail letter to the Crusaders to in the Order family home to make it look like Fair Devotion was the one behind the blackmail.
Freudian Excuse: Apple Bloom states that Silver Spoon's parents are doctors at Ponyville, meaning they don't spend much time with her, and Diamond Tiara's dad is busy running his company so her mother looks after her and doesn't really care how Diamond treats the CMC.
Freudian Slip: When testifying about their discovery of the body, Diamond angrily reveals how there wasn't a bloodstain, which brings into question how they knew he was dead and indicts them as the ones who placed the cape under his head.
Gone Horribly Wrong: Diamond Tiara only wanted some fabric. She didn't want someone to be murdered!
Greed: Even after Scootaloo meets her demands, Diamond tries coercing another roll of silk out of the CMC. This bites her in the ass when an enraged Turning attacks her and subsequently leads to a murder.
Hidden Depths: Silver Spoon revealed to Sweetie Belle in a one-to-one conversation with her that she's actually envious of her and the other two Crusaders for how happy they seem together compared to her and Diamond Tiara.
- She also has some medical knowledge and training her parents taught her that she uses to save Sweetie Belle.
In-Universe Nickname: Diamond Tiara calls Silver Spoon "Silvie," and she calls her "DT" in turn.
It's All About Me: When we first meet them via flashback, they do their usual thing of picking on the Crusaders, but the moment Diamond notices the golden fabric on their capes, she's quick to demand some herself as if she didn't do anything wrong.
Know When to Fold 'Em: With all the evidence pointing against them Silver Spoon decides to confess that they were the ones behind the Blackmail.
Leitmotif: Fittingly, she and Silver get saddled with Luke Atmey's theme when they first appear.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Silver Spoon saved Sweetie Belle's life by making her a makeshift tourniquet when she was unconscious in the middle of the Everfree Forest with a life-threatening wound. The latter rewarded her by blackmailing her into committing breaking and entering and theft on her behalf, then trying to have her friend Diamond Tiara take the fall for the whole thing.
Parental Neglect: In addition to Diamond's drama with her own family, as the main show elaborated, Silver Spoon's parents are revealed to barely spend any time with their daughter outside of seeing what medical skills she's honed.
Pet the Dog:
- When visited to go over their testimony, Silver Spoon is not only a lot more polite and helpful than Diamond Tiara, but she's also concerned about Turning on account of his father being murdered. In an example that applies to both of them, they're both shocked to hear about Sweetie Belle's arrest.
- Silver Spoon saved Sweetie Belle's life when she was unconscious in the Everfree Forest with a life-threatening wound by creating a makeshift tourniquet for her. This is because her parents, being doctors, used what little time they have to be with her to teach her the value of pony life as well.
Poor Communication Kills: Literally in this case. Diamond Tiara's ill-thoughtout blackmail letter indirectly led to the death of Royal Order.
Revealing Injury: Diamond Tiara mentions that Silver Spoon had a red mark when she came over to her house, which implicates her as the one who broke into the Carousel Boutique and was attacked by Opal.
Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: In 2-5, they are revealed to have been bailed out by their parents after having been caught lying on the stand. That being said, when Athena visits them at Diamond Tiara's home afterwards, she learns that Filthy Rich has given her some form of punishment at home.
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Despite their status as Best Friends, their teamwork on the stand is rather ineffective, as they'll fail to cover for each other and when one of them says something the other is unaware of or disagrees with, the other will do a poor job hiding their reaction to it. And eventually, all the pressure forces Silver Spoon to confess to the Blackmail without Diamond's consent. It's given a new context later after Silver Spoon patches up Sweetie Belle. She admits that compared to the friendship between the CMCs, there isn't much of a real bond between her and Diamond to the point that she's on the fence about ending their friendship.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: For want of one roll of sparkly fabric, Diamond Tiara indirectly caused the Crusaders and Turning Page to end up in the Everfree Forest, and the Disaster Dominoes that resulted.

Zecora

A zebra apothecary who came to Equestria from a far-off land to advance her mixing and potion-making skills. Lives within the Everfree Forest.

Accuse the Witness: Like what Phoenix did with Fluttershy before her, Athena points out how Zecora is a possible culprit to give herself more time, at Twilight's reluctant suggestion. Unlike last time though, Luna prevents this by forcing Athena to bring the Blackmail letter Scootaloo received the day before, forcing her to pursue that line of inquiry instead.
Big Sister Instinct: Zig-Zagged. She witnessed Scootaloo and Turning making their way to their meeting with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, and so waited for them to come back from where they came while tending to her plants for about half an hour instead of pursuing them before going to bed. The moment she was awakened by a loud "clang", she immediately worried for their safety and went to find them. This is what led to her discovering the body.
Rhymes on a Dime: Like in canon, which Athena Lampshades.
Turn the Other Cheek: When Luna leaves whether or not Athena should be punished for her false accusation to Zecora, the accusee, Zecora forgives Athena after she apologizes, recognizing that she only did it to defend Scootaloo and Turning.

Case 3 Characters

Spitfire

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/large_5_8.png

The current captain of the Wonderbolts, and a drill instructor at Wonderbolt Academy.

Not So Above It All: Her lack of a surprise at Sonata finding a tear in Stream Line's bed is due to how a lot of cadets tend to make tears in their beds to hide contraband. She further admits she did this herself when she was a cadet, having tried the method to hide some chocolate only for it to melt and ruin her bed.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Despite needing to keep a public front of disparaging Rainbow for her apparent crime, she has her own doubts about her convinction and, after some prodding from Sonata, agrees to allow Sonata and Phoenix to freely investigate the academy under the condition that she guides them around and keeps an eye on them. She even allows them to investigate Stream Line and Rainbow's lockers, and gives them a copy of the incident report.
Seen It All: Justified. She's hardly surprised at the idea that a tornado tore through the landing zone, and repeatedly baffles Phoenix by her nonchalance about the idea that anyone in the academy could pull it off. Her main concern is not knowing who made the tornado and wanting them punished for injuring those who got caught in it.
You Remind Me of X: She notes that Sonata reminded her of Rainbow, namely in her persistence of asking for Spitfire's assistance. Sonata notes that Rainbow probably wouldn't be flattered by the comparison.

Victims

Overall Concept

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.

Dark and Troubled Past: 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. It's unfortunately hinted to have caught up to him, with him apparently having being Driven to Suicide while chasing Suri.
Driven to Suicide: 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 Mean Boss 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. 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.
The Lost Lenore: 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.
Loved by All: Overall was such a Nice Guy that Playwright says that pretty much everypony loved him.

Royal Order

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.

Chekhov's Gunman: 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.
Cop Killer Manhunt: If the cruel treatment Scootaloo received when she was being apprehended is anything to go by, his death Invoked this reaction.
Early-Bird Cameo: He was first seen (alive) during Turnabout Theatre's stinger as the Guard who releases Sonata from her incarceration after serving her time and asks her what she was going to do.
Good Parents: Whenever he came home from Canterlot, he would spend time with his son and even spar with him, even making him a wooden sword. 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.
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Apparently stabbed in the head by the metal bolt for the handle of Scootaloo's scooter, the handle having been broken off. 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.
Jerkass Realization: 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 Blind Rage and impale him on the statue.
Magic Knight: Along with being a Master Swordsman, he was gifted in the use of magic, with teleportation being among his arsenal of spells.
Master Swordsman: Implied, considering his son's weapon is a wooden sword he made him for practice, and that he often sparred with him.
Not Quite Dead: During Athena's Mood Matrix Session, it's revealed that 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.
One Degree of Separation: 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.
Only Friend: 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.
Open-Minded Parent: 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.
Our Clones Are Identical: 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. 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.
Papa Wolf: 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. Though Luna attempts to Subvert this by claiming he did so to help in his wife's apparent Blackmail scheme.
Rank Up: 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.

Stream Line

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.

Bizarre Taste in Food: Spitfire considers hers and Rainbow's fondness for grape juice to be this, comparing it to drinking from the toilet
Trademark Favourite Food: 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.

Characters / Elements of Justice

Main Cast

Wright Anything Agency

Mane 6

Other

Law enforcement

Equestrian High Council

Case 1 characters

Case 2 characters

Case 3 Characters

Victims

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