Recap / Elements of Justice

Turnabout Theatre

[1-1] ~ The Troubled Production

In the prologue, spotlights shine down on ponies performing a play on a stage. In the middle of this, a pony is seen chasing after another pony through the dark backstage area and up a flight of stairs. The pursuer is struck on the head by something and falls over. One of the performers on stage hears a noise behind her, turns around, and is horrified to see a pony hanging above the stage by the neck. The spotlights turn off. A flashlight searches the scene, and the unconscious body of Coco Pommel is discovered.

The scene shifts to the law office of defense attorney Phoenix Wright, where Phoenix continues to screen phone calls in search of clients of represent. His present company includes his fellow attorneys Athena Cykes and Apollo Justice and daughter Trucy. While discussing plans to get some food, Phoenix is suddenly overcome by an unseen force that freezes his movement, and the others notice him start to vanish. When they grab him, the same thing happens to them, and Phoenix feels a sense of deja vu.

Minutes later, the four find themselves transported inside a grand castle, and they are able to move again. They are greeted by a talking unicorn with wings, who addresses Phoenix as if they have met before. Apollo, Athena, and Trucy are shocked at the sight of a talking horse; Phoenix does not recognize her at first, but when the events of Turnabout Storm come rushing back to him, he remembers her as Twilight Sparkle. After a warm reunion, Phoenix introduces Twilight to his associates and daughter (who were accidentally brought along with him when they touched his frozen body), and he learns Twilight has gained wings, a castle, and the title of "Princess" since they last saw each other.

Phoenix explains how he was previously summoned to Equestria to defend Twilight's friend Rainbow Dash in court when she was arrested for murder. However, while it has been eight years since this event took place from Phoenix's point of view, it has only been a year and a half for Twilight. In the aftermath of that case, Gilda (who tried to frame Rainbow Dash for the murder and was briefly jailed for perjury and crime scene tampering) reconciled with Rainbow, and Sonata (who was believed to be the true killer but exonerated by Phoenix and jailed for crime scene tampering and blackmail) stated that she would "help out all those who need it" after her jail time was served.

When Phoenix asks Twilight why she summoned him this time, Rarity appears and, after another round of introductions, begs Phoenix to defend a friend of hers from a murder charge. Phoenix agrees, and Twilight gives him the Equestrian Attorney's Badge he will need to get into the detention center where Rarity's friend is detained.

Following a train ride to the bustling city of Manehattan, Phoenix goes inside the detention center and meets with the accused: Coco Pommel. The first thing Phoenix notes about her is that she is suffering from an unexplained headache. Coco explains that she is a costume designer for the nearby Bridleway Theater and that her friend Overall Concept was murdered by hanging in front of a packed audience. Coco was accused and arrested for the murder when she was found at the scene of the crime, though Rarity believes she is innocent.

When asked about the victim, Coco says he was the theater's head costume designer and that she worked alongside him, though she insists their relationship was purely platonic and professional. When asked why she was at the crime scene, Coco says she recalls rushing to the catwalk after hearing a commotion, and then discovering the body and being arrested by the police some time after, but she does not remember anything between those two times. Finally, Phoenix holds his magatama and asks Coco if she killed Overall Concept, which she immediately denies. The magatama does not react, meaning Coco is telling the truth, and Phoenix agrees to be her lawyer.

Back outside, Phoenix explains the situation to Twilight and the others, and Rarity reveals she was in the audience when the murder took place, having gotten the last available ticket to the play from Coco. On their way to the theater to investigate the crime scene, Rarity briefly bumps into Suri Polomare, with whom she has a sour history. Inside the theater, Phoenix and company meet with the overly perfectionist theater director Playwright. In interrogation with Phoenix, he comments positively on Coco and Overall Concept's skills and teamwork, remarking that the two always looked very happy while working together. He explains further that he witnessed Coco chasing Overall up the left side of the catwalk before the murder, giving Phoenix a map layout of the theater.

In the stage area, after a brief tangent involving Trucy's "magic panties", Phoenix discovers the murder weapon - a rope tied into a noose - still hanging above the stage. Apollo discovers a torn piece of fabric; Rarity recognizes this as a special fabric Overall Concept developed that is coated in glitter and treated with fluorescent paint to make it glow in the dark. On the catwalk above, Trucy discovers traces of glitter from Overall's fabric. When the theater lights briefly flicker, hoofprints left by fluorescent paint are also found. The hoofprints lead down the right side of the catwalk, despite Playwright stating earlier that Coco ran up the left side and was led down the same side by police, meaning someone else could have committed the murder. Using a specialized forensic flashlight for detecting fluorescent paint, Phoenix determines the hoofprints lead from the dressing room to the catwalk to the theater's back door. In the dressing room, the group finds multiple cans of fluorescent paint, which Rarity comments must have been very expensive.

With the evidence they have collected, Phoenix believes they have enough to cast doubt on Coco's guilt in the next day's trial.

Back at Twilight's castle, the rest of the Mane Six and Spike appear to greet Phoenix. After yet another round of introductions and some lighthearted conversing, Trucy suddenly realizes that she had seen Twilight and all her friends once before when she was little. Phoenix recalls that when Trucy was younger and she started to outgrow her original magician's hat, he gave her the hat that Trixie gave him at the conclusion of Turnabout Storm to replace it. Inside the hat was a photograph of Phoenix and his new pony friends. Even now, Trucy still has the photo pinned to the inside of her hat.

When Phoenix asks Twilight what Trixie has been up to, Twilight relates the events of the episode Magic Duel, when Trixie returned to Ponyville to get revenge on Twilight using the mind-corrupting power of the Alicorn Amulet - though she apologized afterward upon being released from its effects and realizing what she had done. The episode ends with Phoenix telling his pony friends stories of what he has been up to during the eight years since he left Equestria.

[1-2] ~ A Princely Sum

On the morning after the previous episode, Phoenix, Twilight, and their friends are gathered in a courtroom lobby and waiting for the trial to start. Twilight intends to serve as Phoenix's co-counsel as she did during Rainbow Dash's trial (as a princess, she does not need an attorney's badge in order to practice law) while Apollo, Athena, and Trucy observe from the gallery.

When Rarity arrives with Coco Pommel, Coco is strangely quiet, reacting only with tears when Overall Concept is mentioned. Rarity notices some glitter stuck in Coco's mane; Coco mentions she never got a chance to clean up since her arrest. When asked who the trial prosecutor will be, Twilight says it is Prince Blueblood, much to Rarity's extreme annoyance. After some more light conversation, the bailiff calls everyone into the courtroom.

Court is called to order, with Coco's trial being presided over once again by the same judge that presides over most of Phoenix's cases. As Twilight predicted, Prince Blueblood serves as the prosecution.

The pompous Blueblood explains the case's details: during a sold-out performance of Hinny of the Hills at Bridleway Theater, Overall Concept was hanged to death. According to the autopsy report, he was unconscious at the time of his death due to a bruise on the back of his head, and his hooves were covered in glitter. Blueblood alleges that Coco attacked Overall in the theater dressing room at 8:50pm, chased him up the catwalk, knocked him unconscious, and hanged him with the nearby rope.

Playwright is called to the stand as Blueblood's witness, and he testifies that he saw Coco chase Overall up the catwalk from the stage's left wing. When he went up the catwalk, he saw Coco looking down at Overall's hanging body. In his cross-examination, Phoenix learns there was a 15-minute intermission at 8:00pm, during which the stagehooves cleaned up for the second act and Playwright spoke with Overall Concept about a private matter. When pressed for details, Playwright only says it was related to Overall's special fabric. Further pressing reveals that the stagehooves were positioned at the stage's right wing during the play while Playwright and his stage manager were at the left, and that the stagehooves did not see anyone go up or down the catwalk after the second act started. A glitter-stained and splintery fabric roll was also found near Coco by police. When Playwright found Coco, she was crying over Overall's death, after which the play was cancelled, the police were summoned, and Coco was arrested.

Phoenix objects to the point in Playwright's testimony about the fabric roll, which neither Coco nor Overall were seen carrying to the catwalk. Blueblood suggests that Playwright simply did not notice Overall carrying the fabric roll due to how dark it was backstage. When Phoenix questions what motive Coco would have to commit murder, Blueblood calls Coco herself to the stand to testify about her living situation.

On the witness stand, Coco testifies that, as part of her apprenticeship under Overall Concept, he let her live with him in his Manehattan apartment, and the two brought much joy to each other's lives. When asked why she did not tell Phoenix this the day before, Coco admits she was afraid he would not take her case if he knew the whole story. Phoenix is especially confused after hearing from Playwright and Rarity how close Coco and Overall were, despite Coco insisting they were just good co-workers.

Blueblood presents a document that recognizes Coco and Overall as domestic partners; because Overall died without leaving behind a will, Coco would be entitled to all of his assets. Said assets would include Overall's costume designs and the special fabric he developed, which would help Coco win an upcoming fashion competition and earn her much recognition in the fashion industry, thus establishing a motive. When Blueblood mentions the fabric and the fashion competition, Twilight feels this is an important detail. From all this, Blueblood concludes that Coco attacked Overall Concept, he fled with the fabric roll, and upon catching up with him, Coco knocked him unconscious with the fabric roll and murdered him.

To twist the knife even further, Blueblood reveals that Overall Concept was planning to propose marriage to Coco, presenting an engagement ring the police found in his apartment. Most of the gallery is now against Coco, and Phoenix is unable to refute Blueblood's claims. Before the judge delivers his ruling, Twilight raises an objection and asks Blueblood to present the fabric he referred to earlier. Blueblood does as Twilight requests, and Phoenix notices that this fabric is incomplete. According to Playwright, the fabric was to be treated with fluorescent paint and coated with glitter, and according to Rarity the day before, fluorescent paint is difficult for most ponies to obtain. This casts considerable doubt on Blueblood's theory for Coco's motive for murder.

Blueblood presents what he claims are his most incriminating pieces of evidence: Coco's hooves were covered in glitter when she was found after the murder, explaining the glitter on the fabric roll, and the noose used to hang Overall Concept is also covered in glitter. With all the evidence pointed at Coco, Phoenix presents the torn piece of fabric found on the stage and points out two things: the fabric somehow ended up on the stage after the stagehooves cleaned up during the intermission, and it is already covered in paint and glitter. This means there was at least one completed sheet of Overall's special fabric that the police never found, indicating the presence of a third party that stole it.

If this third party attacked Coco during their escape, it would also explain her headaches and memory loss. Phoenix suggests the fabric roll was used to knock Coco unconscious, explaining the glitter in her mane earlier. Thus, Phoenix presents his own theory of events: while Coco and Overall were working on the fabric, a third party stole a sheet of completed fabric and were spotted. Overall chased the thief with the fabric roll, followed by Coco, but he tripped and dropped it, allowing the thief to knock both Overall and Coco unconscious with it. However, Blueblood points out two problems with this theory: How did the thief get away without being seen by the stagehooves? And if the fabric roll left glitter in Coco's mane, why did it not also leave glitter in Overall's mane?

Playwright finally speaks up and makes a confession. There was a time gap of five minutes between when he saw Overall being hanged and when he went up the catwalk. During this time gap, he called the stagehooves and actors over to give them instruction, meaning the right wing of the stage was unguarded long enough for a third party to escape unnoticed. Playwright admits he was told by Prince Blueblood not to divulge this, and the judge admonishes the prosecution for withholding information.

Due to this time discrepancy, the possibility of a third party being present at the crime scene is now undeniable. Blueblood demands further proof, and Phoenix presents the glowing hoofprints that lead from the dressing room to the catwalk to the theater's back door. The police never discovered the hoofprints because they never turned off the lights during their investigation. When Blueblood suggests Coco could have left the hoofprints, Phoenix uses the forensic flashlight on Coco's hooves; they have no trace of fluorescent paint on them. But Blueblood points out it was raining on the night of the crime; Coco could have left the hoofprints, then washed her hooves off in the rain. Blueblood even suggests Coco covered her hooves in glitter afterward and made up the story of losing her memory to create the illusion that a third party exists.

Twilight considers some of the facts so far: if Coco and Overall started covering the fabric in paint during the intermission at 8:00pm and the murder occurred at 8:50pm, the paint on the fabric would have still been wet (according to Athena the day before, fluorescent paint takes an hour to dry). Secondly, there was glitter in Coco's mane but not Overall's mane, suggesting the third party knocked Coco out with the fabric roll and knocked Overall out with something else. Finally, there is no certainty that Overall brought the fabric roll up the catwalk; it is now possible that the third party took it because it had the still-drying fabric on it.

Assuming these facts, Phoenix theorizes the third party got their hooves covered in paint by touching the fabric before the paint was fully dry, causing them to leave the hoofprints. They wrapped the fabric up on a nearby fabric roll before being caught, resulting in the subsequent chase and Coco and Overall being knocked out. If Coco was knocked out with the fabric roll with the still-wet fabric on it, it would have left not only glitter but also fluorescent paint in her mane. Phoenix uses the forensic flashlight on Coco again; there is a streak of paint where she was struck on the head. This not only proves that Coco could not have stolen the fabric or killed Overall Concept, but also that a third party was indeed present.

Exasperated, Blueblood demands to know where to look for this alleged "third party", and Twilight suggests looking among the other contestants of the fashion competition. Entering the competition involves a thorough background check, and the contestants would have had their hoofprints taken. If any of their hoofprints match the hoofprints from the crime scene, the third party will be identified. With that, the judge grants a 30-minute recess for this analysis to be conducted, and court is adjourned.

Back in the lobby, Phoenix and the others regroup to assess the situation, with Phoenix mentioning they still have a long way to go before proving Coco Pommel's innocence. Coco joins them, still in disbelief that Overall Concept was planning to propose to her. Rarity reveals she had provided the diamond for the engagement ring. With words of encouragement from Rarity, Coco tries to be strong for Overall's sake.

As her memories return little by little, Coco remembers working with Overall to coat one of the rolls of fabric in fluorescent paint before stepping out to wash her hooves. When she returned, she saw Overall racing out of the dressing room and up the catwalk. As she followed, she heard a loud clanging noise, and she does not remember anything after reaching the top of the stairs. The clanging noise is believed to be when Overall was struck by the third party's unidentified weapon. After Coco regained consciousness, she had an empty fabric roll in her glitter-covered hooves. Playwright stayed with her until the police arrived and took her into custody.

Phoenix asks Twilight how she is so sure that the third party is a contestant in the fashion competition. Twilight says there is one particular pony who fits the M.O. of doing whatever it takes to win a fashion contest: Suri Polomare, the mare Rarity bumped into outside Bridleway Theater the day before. Rarity had her designs stolen by Suri once before, and Coco used to work for Suri as her assistant, with Suri passing off all of Coco's designs as her own.

Just before the group returns inside the courtroom, Phoenix asks Coco why she kept her relationship with Overall a secret from him. Coco was worried if Phoenix knew the full extent of their relationship, he would have realized she had a strong motive to commit murder and not taken her case. Not wanting any more unexpected curve balls from Blueblood, Phoenix asks Coco to put her trust in him as her lawyer, and Coco promises not to hide any more information. With that, Phoenix and Twilight report to the courtroom to finish the trial.

[1-3] ~ Curtain Call

Court is called back into session, and Prince Blueblood confirms what the defense claimed before the recess: the glowing hoofprints at the scene of the crime do not match Coco Pommel or Overall Concept. Instead, they are a perfect match to one of the contestants in the fashion competition: Suri Polomare - just as Twilight predicted.

Suri is brought to the witness stand, visibly irritated about being pulled away from her work. In regards to her hoofprints at the crime scene, she testifies that she was at the theater to meet with Coco and that her hoofprints were simply the result of a casual backstage stroll before the murder ever took place. However, during cross-examination, Phoenix points out that Coco never mentioned meeting with Suri, and when asked what they met about, Suri's answers are vague. When pressed, Suri adds that she arrived to the theater after the play started and entered from the main entrance. Phoenix says she could not have done this because the play was sold out. Furthermore, the police interrogated everyone in the audience, yet Suri was not among those interrogated.

Having been caught in several lies already, Suri openly mocks Blueblood's prosecuting skill and abuse of his royal status, remarking "how far Equestrian royalty has fallen". This remark appears to affect Twilight deeply. Suri admits that she was not at the theater as an audience member and, without any respect remaining for Blueblood or his position, agrees to testify about her relationship with Overall Concept.

Suri explains that because the play was sold out, she entered the theater from the back door and was only there to visit Coco; she had never met Overall prior to the night he was killed. During Phoenix's cross-examination, Suri claims to have been invited to come to the theater by a letter Coco sent her, but she refuses to divulge exactly what was in the letter. Regardless, Phoenix is unable to find a direct connection between Suri and Overall. After being caught in a moment of distraction, Twilight suggests Suri's motive for murder is related to someone else.

When Suri asserts there was only one victim on the night of the murder, Phoenix objects; Overall Concept may have been the only murder victim, but Coco Pommel was also a victim of physical assault. Given Suri's relationship with Coco and established history of cheating, Phoenix proposes she would have sufficient motive to get revenge on her former assistant, including framing her for murder. Suri loses all sense of patience and dismisses the current trial as a farce, hurling insults at everyone around her. Phoenix is unfazed, however, and tells Suri to testify about what she did on the night of the murder - truthfully.

Suri claims to have met with Coco after being invited by letter, but shortly after their meeting, Overall started chasing her for no reason. He followed her up the catwalk with the fabric roll before tripping and dropping it. Coco came from behind, knocked Overall out with the fabric roll, and proceeded to hang him with the rope, after which she instructed Suri to take the fabric and leave. Suri says she kept quiet about this because she did not want to be Coco's next victim.

During cross-examination, Suri states she arrived at the theater around 8:45pm (lining up with Overall's time of death) and that while Overall chased her, there was a loud clang as he tripped (which Coco and Playwright also stated to have heard). However, Phoenix objects to Suri's claim that Coco knocked Overall out with the fabric roll, which contains several inconsistencies:

1. If Coco held the fabric roll while the fluorescent paint was still wet, why was no paint found on her hooves?

2. If Coco struck Overall with the fabric roll, why was there no paint on his head?

In the face of such facts, Suri finally admits she was at the theater to steal Overall's special fabric. Unfortunately, the reasoning that Coco could not have struck Overall with the fabric roll without leaving paint on him applies to Suri as well, and Suri assures she did not bring anything to the theater to attack Overall with other than what she is currently wearing. To that end, Phoenix suggests Suri used the catwalk itself as a weapon, strangling Overall with her blue scarf and throwing him against the metal railing hard enough to render him unconscious. Plus, any marks on Overall's neck left by the scarf would be assumed to have been left by the rope that hanged him.

The judge cannot deny this possibility, and with no rebuttal from Blueblood, he is about to suspend trial proceedings when Suri objects to Phoenix's theory. If her hooves left hoofprints and she used her scarf to strangle Overall, there should be paint residue on it, and she volunteers her scarf for residue testing, knowing no paint will be found. Phoenix points out the obvious: the scarf would not have any paint on it because it would have been washed off in the rain. Enraged, Suri points out that all of Phoenix's evidence is circumstantial; none of it directly incriminates her.

Phoenix presents the fabric roll once again, explaining that when Coco regained consciousness after being knocked out, she found the fabric roll in her hooves, placed there by someone attempting to frame her for murder. Using the forensic flashlight, Phoenix reveals hoofprints all over the fabric roll, and they are a match to Suri's. Phoenix concludes that Suri not only framed Coco but also murdered Overall Concept herself. Finally driven into a corner, Suri breaks down on the witness stand with a scream of rage.

At this time, it becomes clear that Suri was intending to steal a roll of Overall Concept's special fabric to use in the fashion competition. When she got caught, she knocked out Overall and Coco Pommel, and then murdered Overall and framed Coco for the act in order to get revenge on her. However, Suri desperately insists she did not murder anyone and pleads for someone to help her. Just before the judge declares Coco not guilty, Coco herself interrupts, stating her memory has fully returned and that Suri could not have knocked out Overall.

As everyone is shocked by this revelation, Suri angrily tells Coco to stay out of it. However, Coco refuses to stand by and let Suri be convicted of a crime she did not commit, stating that not even she deserves such punishment. Phoenix tries to get Coco to reconsider, but Coco is determined to save Suri and asks Phoenix to trust her as much as she trusts him. Realizing Coco's firm convictions, Phoenix allows her to testify.

Coco testifies that after washing her hooves of paint and glitter, she witnessed Overall run up the catwalk and followed him. On her way to the top of the stairs, she heard the loud clang. At the top of the catwalk, she saw Suri looking over the side of the catwalk, with Overall nowhere to be seen. Before Coco could ask where Overall was, Suri knocked her out with the fabric roll. When she woke up, she discovered Overall's hanged body, Playwright found her, and she was shortly arrested.

When Phoenix presses her during cross-examination, Coco says she found only Suri at the top of the catwalk; Overall Concept had somehow disappeared. Considering the expression on Suri's face and the audience's panic, Overall had already been hanged before Coco was knocked out. Blueblood seems to briefly go crazy with giddiness when Phoenix's own client appears to have disproven his theory and shifted blame for the murder onto herself, and he expects Phoenix to have Coco's testimony stricken from the record. Doing so would easily get Coco a "not guilty" verdict, but Phoenix refuses to betray Coco's trust in him, and he accepts her testimony as absolute truth.

While Phoenix does believe Suri stole the fabric and framed Coco for killing Overall Concept, he does not believe she committed the murder itself. To prove this, he presents the noose used to hang Overall; there is glitter on it, but no paint, meaning Suri could not have touched it with her paint-covered hooves. With Suri ruled out as the killer, that leaves Coco as the only other suspect. Phoenix is silent while Twilight exhausts all possible arguments, and Blueblood believes he has won the trial.

However, this is revealed to be part of Phoenix's plan to get Suri to testify on Coco's behalf. He explains to Suri that Coco just risked everything to clear her name, and now it is Suri's turn to do the same for Coco. Coco appeals to Suri to do the right thing, and Suri eventually caves in. She confesses to stealing Overall's fabric and attacking Coco. Fully aware of what this will mean for herself, Suri agrees to testify one last time, claiming she does not want to owe Coco or Phoenix any favors.

In her confession, Suri explains that she indeed went to the theater with intent to steal Overall's fabric, though she does not say how she came to know about the fabric's existence in the first place. When Coco left the dressing room to wash her hooves, she snuck into the dressing room while Overall's attention was focused elsewhere and rolled up the fabric, but Overall eventually caught her, resulting in the chase up the catwalk.

When Suri reached the far end of the catwalk, she heard the clang behind her, turned around, and noticed Overall had disappeared. When she heard screams from the audience, she looked over the side of the catwalk and saw Overall's hanging body. By then, Coco had arrived looking for Overall, and in her state of extreme panic, Suri knocked her out with the fabric roll. With Coco unconscious, Suri saw an opportunity to get revenge on her and framed her for Overall's death, unintentionally tearing off a piece of the fabric while removing it from the roll, before making her getaway.

With that, the full picture of the events surrounding the murder becomes clear. However, it is still unclear who killed Overall Concept if neither Coco Pommel nor Suri Polomare did. Phoenix declares the only remaining possibility is that Overall Concept killed himself, despite nothing in the evidence or testimony given that supports it and suicide being completely unheard of in Equestria.

Phoenix's theory is that after chasing Suri up the catwalk, Overall hanged himself with the rope. When Blueblood mentions Overall was unconscious at the time of his death due to a bruise on the back of his head, Phoenix believes he may have simply hit his head on the catwalk railing while falling to his death, thus explaining the clang that Coco, Suri, and Playwright all heard. To further prove his theory, Phoenix presents the autopsy report, which states Overall's hooves were covered in glitter, which is how glitter got on the noose.

When asked why Overall Concept would commit suicide when he was planning to propose to Coco, Phoenix does not have an answer but says that can be figured out later. The judge agrees, requesting that the police investigate this matter further. As to the matter at hand, however, Suri is placed under arrest for perjury, theft, and crime scene tampering. And for the crime of murder, Coco Pommel is found... Not Guilty!

In the courtroom lobby, Phoenix and Twilight's friends congratulate them for winning the trial. Coco soon joins them, and while she is happy about the verdict, she is devastated to learn the true circumstances of Overall Concept's death. As she wonders if she somehow drove him to suicide, Athena - using her experience in analytical psychology - assures her that Overall's death was not her fault. Earlier in the trial, it was mentioned that Overall suffered from depression after his parents died; Athena posits that Overall had been carrying that weight for years, even if he seemed perfectly happy on the outside.

Phoenix adds that Overall was clearly at his happiest when he was Coco, so much that he was planning to propose to her. Whatever his reasons were for taking his own life, Coco was not to blame. Coco still feels like she could have done more to help him; Apollo sympathizes with her plight but says the situation was out of her control, and all she can do now is carry on his legacy and spirit using what she learned from his teachings. With the assets she inherited from Overall Concept, Coco decides to make his final pieces of work a masterpiece.

Playwright then enters and apologizes to Coco for accusing her of murdering Overall. He also expresses his utmost faith and confidence in Coco that she will be able to succeed on her own in the fashion industry. Considering how his perfectionism affected his employees, he feels somewhat responsible for Overall's suicide and vows to change his perfectionist ways. Playwright reveals that Overall approached him during the play's intermission about letting Coco design costumes for the next performance. In honor of Overall's final wishes, Playwright promotes Coco to head costume designer for Bridleway Theater. Coco happily accepts this honor and promises to do her best.

With that, Playwright and Coco leave to return to the theater, with Rarity delighted to see how Playwright has changed for the better. The rest of the group is left still wondering why Overall Concept killed himself, hoping that the police can solve that remaining mystery. Phoenix himself is also curious as to why Twilight summoned him to Equestria considering she was more than capable of representing Coco herself, has been studying law for some time, and would have felt compelled to help a friend of Rarity's as the Princess of Friendship. When Twilight struggles to come up with an answer, Phoenix sees a dense tangle of chains and five Psyche-Locks appear around her, indicating she is hiding something.

Before Phoenix can press Twilight further, Pinkie Pie arrives, having slept through yet another trial yet still finding time to put together an after-trial party and travel from Ponyville to Manehattan. As the friends head to the party together, Phoenix notes in the closing narration that unbeknownst to them, something dark and mysterious was lurking in the shadows of Equestria and would continue to unfold before them, eventually bringing Phoenix face-to-face with someone he thought he would never see again.

In a post-credits scene, a flashblack to one year prior shows Sonata being released from prison, having served her eight-month sentence. A royal guard escorts Sonata out, gives her her glasses, and asks her what she is going to do now. She answers, "I'm going to help those that need it. Just like he did for me."

END

Crusading for a Turnabout

[2-1] ~ The Crusade Begins

In the prologue, a pony runs through the Everfree Forest, being pursued by a timberwolf. As the timberwolf closes in on the pony, shots are shown of Zecora's home and the Castle of the Two Sisters. The timberwolf pounces, and following a shot of the Nightmare Night statue of Nightmare Moon, the pony is shown lying dead on the ground in a pool of their own blood, with a moderately-sized hole in their head.

One day after Coco Pommel's trial, Phoenix Wright, Athena Cykes, Apollo Justice, and Trucy Wright are happily conversing with Twilight Sparkle and the Mane Six at the Castle of Friendship, with Athena showing off Widget to Twilight and Fluttershy and Apollo introducing Applejack and Rainbow Dash to his "Chords of Steel" vocal exercises. Phoenix, feeling that his top priority is to take care of his law business, believes he, Athena, Apollo, and Trucy should go back to their world, much to everyone else's disappointment. Saddened but ultimately understanding of Phoenix's decision, Twilight prepares to send her human friends back home.

Before she can do so, however, Apple Bloom bursts into the throne room and alerts everyone to an emergency outside the castle: Scootaloo is being arrested by royal guards under suspicion of committing murder in the Everfree Forest the previous night. Her friends all doubt this, but when Scootaloo claims she wasn't in the forest, Phoenix sees three Psyche-Locks appear around her, indicating she is lying. A young colt arrives to defend Scootaloo, attacking the guards with a toy sword. When Phoenix jumps in to keep the situation from escalating, the colt attacks him and makes off with his magatama, prompting Athena to give chase.

Athena catches the colt just outside the Everfree Forest and retrieves the magatama. Before the colt can fight back, he is called away by his mother's loud, disciplinary voice. The others catch up with Athena shortly after and explain that Scootaloo has been taken into custody. When Apple Bloom repeats Scootaloo's claim that she didn't go into the forest the night before, Athena senses uncertainty in her voice, and she volunteers to take the lead on proving Scootaloo's innocence, feeling this case will require her psychology skills. Twilight puts in an appeal to the Equestria High Council to have both Athena and Apollo be given attorney badges so that they can serve as lawyers in Equestrian court. Phoenix, Twilight, and Apple Bloom all assist Athena with the investigation.

Inside the Everfree Forest, Phoenix recalls his encounter with timberwolves the last time he was in Equestria. The group stops by Zecora's hut to see if she knows anything about the murder (with Twilight warning the others to avoid the nearby poison joke plants), but Phoenix points out the state of Zecora's mail, indicating she has been away from home for quite some time. One of the letters in Zecora's mail bears the royal Canterlot seal, meaning it was sent by Princess Celestia or Princess Luna.

At the crime scene near the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters, the group meets Canterlot investigator Private Eye, who was assigned to this case by Princess Celestia for unknown reasons. Private Eye states that while Scootaloo has no apparent motive to commit murder, all the evidence incriminates her. He also reveals the identity of the victim—Royal Order, a member of the royal guard and the father of Turning Page, the young colt from earlier—and the cause of death—a stab wound to the head. Private Eye explains that Royal Order got home at 9:30pm the night before but was drawn out of the house soon after for some reason, leading to his death, and Turning Page's whereabouts around that time are unknown.

Right next to where Royal Order's body was found are Scootaloo's scooter and wagon; the scooter's left handle is broken off and stained in Royal Order's blood (matching his stab wound), and the front wheels are warped and unable to roll. According to Apple Bloom, the scooter was in perfect condition up until she and Scootaloo each went home at 3:30pm the day before. Inside the wagon are two Cutie Mark Crusader capes (the third cape is being examined by police), a roll of gold silk, and a strange hoof-like imprint in dried mud. The group also finds shards of broken glass from a pair of eyeglasses near the crime scene.

Private Eye also mentions to the group that a small pool of blood not belonging to the victim was discovered behind the statue of Nightmare Moon. He also gives them a diagram of the Everfree Forest and a diagram of the crime scene. On their way to the statue, Athena talks privately with Apple Bloom in an effort to get her to open up about what she's hiding.

At the Nightmare Moon statue, Athena and company find the small pool of blood behind it that Private Eye mentioned; at Phoenix's suggestion, Athena shines her forensic flashlight on the blood and discovers traces where a blood trail was previously wiped away. They follow the trail to the front of the statue where, to their complete horror, there used to be a massive blood splatter. The group quickly determines that whoever lost this much blood is most certainly dead, and because the blood doesn't belong to the victim, they wonder if this case has two victims instead of one.

Turning Page returns to confront Athena and Phoenix in Scootaloo's defense; he only stands down when Twilight steps forward and assures him that Athena and Phoenix are working to prove Scootaloo's innocence. Athena questions Turning Page and learns that he and Scootaloo initially didn't interact much and only became friends the day before when Turning Page defended her from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's bullying, after which Scootaloo gave him a ribbon in gratitude. It was during this incident that the toy sword his father made for him broke.

Before Phoenix can question Turning Page about his whereabouts the night before, his mother Fair Devotion appears to reprimand him again for wandering off, and she refuses to answer any questions about her husband's murder after already being questioned by the police. As Turning Page is dragged away by his mother, Athena assures him that they'll prove Scootaloo's innocence. Before they leave the Everfree Forest, Phoenix makes a note of how many minutes apart each area of the forest is from each other.

While on the way to the detention center where Scootaloo is being held, Apple Bloom wants to stop at Carousel Boutique and pick up Sweetie Belle. When Phoenix catches a glimpse of Twilight's castle in the distance and Athena expresses some jealousy that Twilight gets to live there, Twilight gets upset and asks to take a brief detour before heading to the detention center.

She shows the others to the ruins of the Golden Oak Library, which was destroyed just a few months prior during her battle against Lord Tirek. She says that even though she got a castle out of that battle, she would've preferred getting her old home back, and that the title of princess is something she never wanted. Athena sympathizes with Twilight's dilemma, comparing it to the path her own life took that led to her becoming a defense attorney.

Twilight apologizes to her friends for this emotional distraction, and the group continues on toward the detention center.

[2-2] ~ Why The Caged Bird Sings

On their way to the detention center, Phoenix, Athena, Twilight, and Apple Bloom stop by Carousel Boutique to bring Sweetie Belle with them to see Scootaloo. Initially finding the boutique door locked, they are let inside by Sweetie Belle, who behaves uncharacteristically nervous and distant. When asked about her behavior, Sweetie Belle claims to not be feeling well, and when asked to accompany the others to visit Scootaloo at the detention center, she is reluctant.

Phoenix discovers some leaves, vines, and branches in a nearby trash can; when questioned about these, Sweetie Belle falls silent, and several Psyche-Locks appear around her (which Athena is able to see as a result of still having Phoenix's magatama in her possession). Claiming sickness, Sweetie Belle insists Athena and the others visit Scootaloo without her. Outside the boutique, the group briefly discusses Sweetie Belle's Psyche-Locks and whatever secret she's hiding behind them but decide to address it at a later time.

Back at the Castle of Friendship, Athena and the others share their investigation findings with Apollo, Trucy, and the rest of the Mane Six, and a friendly mailpony named Sugar Stamp appears to deliver Athena's Equestrian attorney badge and a letter for Scootaloo from her parents. When asked about Sweetie Belle's strange behavior, Rarity offers no explanation, and she reveals a note Scootaloo left in the boutique the night before, in which she apologizes for taking one of Rarity's rolls of gold silk without permission (matching the roll found at the crime scene). Phoenix believes he knows why Scootaloo stole the gold silk.

At the detention center, the group meets with Scootaloo. Scootaloo believes Phoenix is going to defend her in court like he previously defended Rainbow Dash, but Athena says she is going to be Scootaloo's lawyer, and the others encourage Scootaloo to give her a chance. When asked about the case victim Royal Order and his son Turning Page, Scootaloo claims they're nothing more than casual acquaintances. From here, Phoenix takes charge of the interrogation to try and break Scootaloo's Psyche-Locks from earlier.

Phoenix questions Scootaloo about her relationship with Turning Page and challenges the notion that they're just acquaintances, presenting the ribbon Scootaloo gave him the day before. The first Psyche-Lock breaks, and Scootaloo confesses she and Turning Page became friends after he defended her from bullies. When she claims the confrontation wasn't too serious, Phoenix presents Turning Page's broken toy sword as evidence that the confrontation eventually got physical, causing another Psyche-Lock to break. As he presses Scootaloo further for the truth, Phoenix presents the note she left at Rarity's boutique and the scooter, wagon, and gold silk she left at the crime scene, leading him to the conclusion that Scootaloo's bullies were blackmailing her for the gold silk. Scootaloo is impressed by Phoenix's deduction skills, and the final Psyche-Lock breaks.

Scootaloo explains that around 12:00pm the day before, she and her friends were confronted and harrassed by Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon over their disparity in wealth. During this confrontation, Diamond noticed the gold silk lining the Cutie Mark Crusaders' capes and demanded some for herself. When Turning Page intervened, Diamond and Silver ran off, and the Crusaders became friends with him (with Apple Bloom lightly teasing Scootaloo over what was a budding crush). While they had lunch together, Turning's mother Fair Devotion appeared and dragged him away without explanation.

When the Crusaders went to Sweet Apple Acres at 3:30pm for a sleepover they had planned, they discovered Scootaloo's scooter and wagon with all their capes inside had been stolen. In a ransom note, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon demanded a roll of gold silk to be exchanged for the stolen items near the Castle of the Two Sisters at 10:00pm. The Crusaders collectively decided to ignore the ransom demand and make a new scooter and capes, and Scootaloo suggested they cancel their sleepover plans. However, after the Crusaders parted ways for home, Scootaloo decided to go after Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon alone to retrieve the scooter that she got from her parents. Inspired by Turning Page's bravery, she recruited his help to steal a roll of gold silk from Carousel Boutique and bring it to the Everfree Forest at 9:25pm, whereupon she gave him the ribbon.

Before Scootaloo can continue, one of the guards interrupts and says the case prosecutor needs to question her. The guard doesn't divulge the prosecutor's identity, and he even reveals another individual has been arrested under suspicion of being involved in Royal Order's murder thanks to an anonymous tip: Turning Page. Scootaloo suspects it was Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon who made the anonymous tip, and she asks Phoenix to clear both her and Turning Page's names, believing Phoenix to be more up to the task than Athena. Athena disagrees, believing her past experience of being accused of murdering her parent and her natural empathy make her the most qualified person to defend Scootaloo and Turning Page in court. She asks the two to place their complete trust in her, promising to exonerate them, and they agree.

In a brief tangent, Scootaloo reveals that she was approached earlier by someone offering to defend her in court, but Scootaloo declined in favor of Phoenix. When Scootaloo gives the description of a dark-coated unicorn with glasses and an eyeball cutie mark, Phoenix and Twilight immediately recognize it as Sonata. With that, the group leaves the detention center.

Back at the castle, Athena and the others bring their friends up to speed, and at Athena's request, Twilight tries to determine who Athena will be facing in court the next day. As some of the ponies leave for home, Athena still wonders about Sweetie Belle's odd behavior earlier, Phoenix wonders about Sonata, and after an explanation from Twilight, Athena starts to worry about the punishments Scootaloo and Turning Page might face if she fails to defend them in court. Despite her worry, Phoenix trusts her to follow her best judgment.

Later that night, Twilight finds Athena on the castle balcony still worrying about the next day's trial. As the two talk, they realize they share a common ground when it comes to the expectations and obligations of their respective professions (Athena as a defense attorney, and Twilight as a recently-crowned princess). Acknowledging her own inexperience, Athena asks Twilight to be her co-counsel during the trial, and Twilight agrees. When asked why she is still up at this late hour, Twilight claims she couldn't sleep; Athena senses deceit in her voice and believes she is hiding something.

In a post-credits scene, Sonata meets with Lawkeeper Equity, the highest-ranked member of the Equestria High Council, and says Scootaloo declined her services as a lawyer and that Twilight will be serving as defense co-counsel. Equity instructs Sonata to continue her investigation. As Sonata leaves, Equity looks over a photograph of Royal Order and his family.

[2-3] ~ Striped Sonnets

On the morning after the previous episode, Athena, Twilight, and their friends gather in the courtroom lobby and wait for the trial to start. Twilight informs Athena that she was unable to find out who the trial prosecutor is. Scootaloo and Turning Page arrive, and Turning tells Athena and Twilight that he does not care if he himself is found guilty as long as Scootaloo is proven innocent and that he is even prepared to take full responsibility for the crime if the trial does not go in their favor. When Athena asks Scootaloo and Turning Page who the prosecutor is, even they will not reveal who it is; the prosecutor has sworn them to secrecy.

When the rest of the group, including a reluctant Sweetie Belle, arrives, it comes out that Sweetie lied about not feeling well the day before and did not want to help Scootaloo because of her actions (stealing the gold silk from Carousel Boutique to give to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon). This causes considerable tension among the group as Sweetie Belle is suspected of hiding something and Rainbow Dash gets aggressive trying to get her to confess. Before they can discuss this further, the court bailiff announces that the trial is starting.

Court is called to order, and the judge from Phoenix's world once again presides over the trial at Princess Celestia's apparently personal request. To everyone's surprise (especially Twilight's), the prosecutor is Princess Luna. She explains that, despite the defendants' young age and one of them being a good friend of hers, she is duty-bound to uphold Equestria's laws and serve justice.

Luna explains the case's details: Canterlot royal guard member Royal Order was murdered in the Everfree Forest on the night he returned home to Ponyville. According to the autopsy report, he died instantly upon receiving a stab wound to his right temple, though he also sustained several additional stab wounds after death and a large bruise on his left side before death. At the time of his death, he also suffered weak knees from coming into contact with poison joke. Luna submits a photo of the crime scene as evidence.

Detective Private Eye is called to the stand as Luna's witness, and he testifies that, upon returning home after serving his guard duties, Royal Order went to look for his son Turning Page in the Everfree Forest, where he was ambushed and subsequently murdered. In her cross-examination, Athena learns that Turning Page's mother Fair Devotion told Royal Order where Turning had gone, having learned herself from a note Turning left. It is also determined that there was no time for Royal Order to make any detours on his way to the forest (aside from a possible 30-minute window from teleporting partways past the forest's entrance). Private Eye suggests further that Royal Order's assailant took advantage of his poison joke-afflicted state to catch him off guard, knock him down, and kill him. When asked what was used to knock him down, Private Eye suggests Turning Page's wooden sword, which Luna believes broke in half during the attack.

Athena objects, saying the sword broke during another incident by Turning's own account, but Luna argues that Turning's word alone is insufficient without proof. As for the murder weapon, Luna presents Scootaloo's scooter, whose broken-off handlebar is stained with the victim's blood. After hearing Private Eye's summary of how the murder happened, Athena notices a contradiction: if Royal Order was struck on his left side, he would have fallen onto his right side, making his right temple inaccessible to stab. Luna even hints that it would be difficult for a small foal to stab an adult stallion in the head.

Just as Athena believes she has blown a hole through the prosecution's case, Luna counters and suggests Royal Order fell onto the murder weapon after being struck, making it possible that the murder was accidental. She also suggests that Turning could have planted Royal Order's blood on Scootaloo's scooter to implicate her in the murder. Even though such a scenario would lessen Turning's punishment and completely exonerate Scootaloo, Athena refuses to accept it and asserts that both Scootaloo and Turning Page are innocent.

With the accidental murder scenario ruled out, Private Eye suggests that, after being knocked over, Royal Order reacted in such a way that exposed his right temple, allowing his murderer to stab and kill him. As Athena struggles to disprove this theory, Luna tells her she is futilely fighting "on the wrong side". This hint gives Athena the clue she needs, and she presents the crime scene photo; the tape outline of where the victim's body was discovered indicates he was lying on his left side, contrary to the prosecution's claim of the murder's series of events. After thinking it through, Athena concludes that the victim's body must have been moved after he was killed.

However, Luna suggests yet another possibility: that the victim was struck on his left side, fell onto his right side, stood back up, and was then stabbed in the right temple, causing him to fall dead onto his left side. The judge agrees with Luna's theory, and Luna tells Athena that if she alleges the body was moved, she has to prove the victim was not killed where his body was discovered. Athena believes Luna is giving her another hint, and when she looks at the crime scene photo again, she notices the absence of any of the victim's blood, thus giving some credence to her theory that the body was moved there from somewhere else. In order to disprove Athena's theory, Luna calls her second witness to the stand: Zecora.

On the witness stand, the rhyming zebra testifies that she was the one who discovered Royal Order's body and reported it to the police. At the time, she was tending to her plants when Scootaloo and Turning Page passed by on their way to the Castle of the Two Sisters. Some time later, she heard a strange sound and headed toward it, spotting a small figure in the shadows along the way. Eventually, she discovered the body with blood around its head. When Athena argues that there was no blood around the body when she and her friends were investigating, Luna presents a second photo of the crime scene with both the victim's body and what appears to be a pool of blood underneath it. She also presents the Cutie Mark Crusader cape that was seized and examined by police, completely covered in the victim's blood. As it turns out, the "pool of blood" Zecora saw under the victim's head was the cape soaking up his blood, and Zecora mistook it for blood due to its red color.

With another of her theories shattered by Luna's expert prosecution, Athena ponders heavily on the version of events Luna has established. She asserts that, if Royal Order stood back up after being knocked over, Scootaloo would not have been able to stab him in the head because of their height difference (made doubly impossible by the fact that Scootaloo cannot fly). Luna argues back that Turning Page could have done so with his unicorn power of telekinesis. Twilight believes Luna is attempting to shift all blame onto Turning Page with this line of reasoning, but Luna neither confirms nor denies.

In Athena's cross-examination of Zecora, she learns that the poison joke near her home were planted there recently. In addition, when Scootaloo and Turning Page passed by, Turning's sword was perfectly intact, contradicting his claim that it broke during his confrontation with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. When asked why she did not follow Scootaloo and Turning to make sure they were okay, Zecora claims there was no indication that they were in danger up until she heard the strange sound, which she describes as a loud and metallic clang. On her way toward the castle, she saw a figure in the shadows that looked like a small, four-legged creature; she called out to it but was drowned out by the howl of timberwolves. Eventually, she discovered Royal Order's body and the Crusader cape under its head; close examination of the corpse indicated it had no pulse. However, Scootaloo and Turning Page were nowhere to be found. After this, Zecora left to inform the police (corroborated by a report from the police station).

Unable to find a contradiction in Zecora's testimony, Athena turns to Twilight for ideas; Twilight has one but is hesitant to go through with it after having suffered through a similar situation once before. Unfortunately, Athena is desperate, and with no other apparent options, she casts suspicion on Zecora as the true murderer, suggesting Scootaloo and Turning Page fled the scene after knocking Royal Order down and Zecora discovered him still alive, killed him with the scooter, and falsely reported to police that he was dead when she found him. While Athena has no evidence to support her claims, the judge cannot deny the possibility.

Zecora naturally and categorically denies these allegations, but even members of the gallery start to suspect her. In her booming Royal Canterlot Voice, Luna silences the courtroom and angrily admonishes both Athena for hurling baseless accusations instead of following basic courtroom protocol as well as the gallery for acknowledging said accusations.

As she calms down from her emotional outburst, Luna argues Athena's new theory by establishing Scootaloo and Turning Page's motive. She brings up the letter in which an unidentified blackmailer demanded a roll of gold silk in exchange for Scootaloo's scooter and wagon as well as Scootaloo and Turning Page's subsequent theft of the gold silk from Carousel Boutique. Athena believes the blackmailer was Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, but Luna disagrees, believing the letter's addressing of the Crusaders as "blank flanks" to be a deliberate misdirect. The letter was written in letters cut out of a magazine, and Luna presents two magazines with letters cut out of their pages; analysis reveals that the letters in the note match those cut out of the magazines. What's more, the magazines were found in Royal Order's home.

Athena and Twilight refuse to believe Royal Order was the blackmailer (especially since he was in Canterlot at the time Scootaloo's scooter and wagon were stolen); Luna instead implicates Royal Order's wife Fair Devotion. She explains that, after Turning Page's confrontation with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, Diamond Tiara informed her mother Spoiled Rich, who demanded compensation from Fair Devotion for the fillies' ruined dresses. Fair Devotion, fearing that Spoiled's influence as president of the Ponyville school board would get her blacklisted from substitute teaching, concocted the blackmailing scheme to get her hooves on Rarity's gold silk, which she could then sell for a large sum of money and pay off Spoiled Rich.

Luna even suggests that Fair Devotion and Royal Order were working together on this scheme and that Royal Order's real reason for going into the Everfree Forest was to make the exchange. Thus, Scootaloo and Turning Page's motive for committing murder could be as simple as negotiations going sour or Turning becoming furious when he learned what his father was doing. And since Scootaloo was incapable of carrying out the murder due to her inability to fly, Luna is willing to drop all charges against her if Athena concedes that Turning Page alone is guilty.

Turning Page finally speaks up, prepared to confess to everything as he had promised to do before the trial started, but Athena vehemently objects. When asked straight out who he and Scootaloo met with on the night of the murder, Turning says it was indeed Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon as Athena claimed. When Luna assures Turning that everything will be all right, Athena realizes that Luna was intentionally giving her hints and helping her along throughout the trial. Realizing they share the same goal of saving Scootaloo and Turning Page, the two decide to figure out once and for all who the blackmailer is: Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon as Athena claims, or Fair Devotion and Royal Order as Luna claims.

Based on Scootaloo, Turning Page, and Royal Order's movements on the night of the murder, Athena concludes that Royal Order could not have teleported into the forest as was suggested earlier or else he would have appeared in front of Scootaloo and Turning Page. Before continuing, she retracts her earlier accusation toward Zecora. The judge is about to hold Athena in contempt for making a false accusation, but Luna objects, acknowledging Athena's legal inexperience, and leaves this decision up to Zecora. Athena sincerely apologizes to Zecora for accusing her, and Zecora accepts her apology, understanding that she was simply doing what she thought was best for Scootaloo and Turning Page. The judge decides not to punish Athena, allowing Athena to scrutinize Zecora's earlier testimony.

During Zecora's observation of the forest for a short while after Scootaloo and Turning Page passed her, she saw no one else pass by. With all possibilities ruled out, Athena concludes that Royal Order could not have been involved in the blackmail scheme, thus eliminating any motive Scootaloo and Turning Page would have to commit murder. Luna commends Athena for her excellent and compelling rebuttal, but it does not clear the defendants completely. In an attempt to clear up any remaining details, Athena suggests that Scootaloo and Turning Page testify themselves, but they exercise their right to remain silent. Besides that, Luna claims there is no proof that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are even involved.

This time, Twilight raises an objection and presents the shards of broken glass that were found near the crime scene the day before, which came from a pair of eyeglasses. She points out that none of the ponies involved in the case wear glasses, but Silver Spoon does. When Luna argues there is no way to prove who the glasses belong to or when they were broken, Twilight turns to Zecora; she had been looking for rare flowers in the area where the murder took place, and while she did see the glass shards that night when she discovered the body, there were no shards earlier that day. Therefore, the glasses must have been broken sometime that evening. Furthermore, Twilight is certain that if the glasses are examined, they will match Silver Spoon's eye prescription.

Both the judge and Luna agree with Twilight's summation, and with Twilight's support, Athena is confident enough to press forward, even after all the mistakes she made during the trial. They assert once again that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are behind the blackmailing scheme and that they planted the magazines used to forge the blackmail letter in Royal Order's home to throw everyone off their trail. Twilight and Athena call Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to the witness stand to explain themselves, and Luna agrees, revealing that the fillies are already in the witness lobby waiting to be summoned. With that, the judge orders a 30-minute recess for the glass shards to be analyzed, and court is adjourned.

[2-4] ~ A Timely Arrival

During the 30-minute recess, Athena and Twilight take stock of the trial's progress thus far. Athena feels particularly ashamed for making false accusations against Zecora and having Twilight and Princess Luna bail her out of her mistakes. Phoenix appears to offer Athena words of encouragement, comparing her plight to when he made similarly false accusations against Fluttershy during Rainbow Dash's trial. When Scootaloo and Turning Page enter, Turning Page confirms what Luna stated earlier: after his fight with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon resulted in their dresses getting ruined, Diamond's mother Spoiled Rich demanded monetary compensation from Turning Page's mother Fair Devotion. He reveals that Diamond herself accompanied Spoiled to Turning Page's house, which Athena believes is when she planted the magazines used to forge the blackmail letter.

When asked for more details about the night of the murder, Scootaloo and Turning Page explain that when they met Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon in the forest to exchange the roll of gold silk for Scootaloo's scooter and wagon, Diamond suddenly changed her mind and demanded two rolls of gold silk. Angered, Turning Page attacked the bullies with his sword, and Silver Spoon's glasses were broken in the ensuing scuffle. At Turning's insistence, Scootaloo fled the scene on her scooter, losing the blackmail letter in the process, while Turning distracted the bullies further by throwing Diamond Tiara's tiara into the nearby gorge. As Diamond and Silver went to retrieve it, Turning Page left the scene. When asked why they kept this information to themselves until now, Scootaloo and Turning Page explain Princess Luna instructed them to do so until it was proven the scooter left the crime scene at some point (since the scooter was discovered at the scene by investigators).

Lastly, Private Eye enters to provide Athena and Twilight with a few new pieces of evidence: a photo of the Everfree Forest clearing near the Nightmare Night statue where traces of blood were found – blood identified as the victim's – the missing handlebar from Scootaloo's scooter, and the fang of a timberwolf. Private Eye tells Twilight that these items were provided by a "mutual acquaintance" of theirs; having suspicions of who this "acquaintance" is, Twilight asks Private Eye to request that they forensically test the area of the forest where the handlebar was found.

Court is called back into session, and Princess Luna confirms that the glass shards found at the crime scene are a match to Silver Spoon's eyeglasses. Both she and Diamond Tiara are brought to the witness stand, and Luna makes it clear to them that, regardless of their wealth and social status, all ponies are equal in the eyes of the law and will be treated and judged accordingly. The two testify that they were in the forest for a school assignment, that they saw Scootaloo and Turning Page running away from the crime scene before they even got there, and that Silver Spoon's glasses breaking was merely the result of her shock at seeing Royal Order's dead body.

During cross-examination, Athena points out that if Diamond and Silver entered the forest at the time they claim, they should have run into Zecora, meaning they must have entered the forest before Scootaloo and Turning Page (which Silver admits to after some pressing). When accused of blackmailing the Cutie Mark Crusaders, not only do Diamond and Silver deny it, but they also claim to have witnessed the murder itself. They testify that, while at the castle ruins for their "school assignment", they heard a clanging noise and saw Scootaloo and Turning Page standing over Royal Order's body. Luna additionally verifies that no one else was present at the scene. When Silver Spoon has a visible reaction to Diamond Tiara's statement about the clang, Athena inquires further, and Silver Spoon says she heard two clangs, not one.

In a moment of confusion, Diamond claims to have witnessed the very moment Royal Order was stabbed, but her statement contradicts the autopsy report, meaning she and Silver did not witness the murder at all. When asked what happened when they approached the body, Diamond and Silver testify that they did not even realize Royal Order was dead until they saw the stab wound in his head. When Athena presents the crime scene photo and points out the bloodstain under Royal Order's head, Diamond Tiara correctly identifies the "bloodstain" as one of the Crusaders' capes. The fact that they knew the "bloodstain" was not actually blood and did not mention it in their testimony leads Athena to the conclusion that when they approached the body, there was no cape under the victim's head and that they themselves put it there.

Based on what she and Twilight learned during the recess, Athena once again suggests that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are behind the blackmail against the Crusaders, and when it did not go the way they planned, they framed Scootaloo for murder in retaliation. However, Luna challenges Athena's claim that Scootaloo left the crime scene with her scooter because it was found at the scene. In addition, the golden silk was free for the taking, yet it was left at the scene, clearing Diamond and Silver of any wrongdoing.

With some input from Twilight, Athena rethinks her theory; she suggests that Diamond and Silver placed the cape under the victim's head to search for the blackmail letter, knowing they would be implicated if it was found by authorities. To support this theory, Athena uses the forensic flashlight to reveal traces of the victim's blood on Diamond and Silver's hooves. Backed into a corner, Silver Spoon confesses that she and Diamond Tiara were indeed blackmailing the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

In her confession, Silver Spoon admits that after Turning Page ruined their dresses, Diamond Tiara came up with a plan to get back at the Crusaders by blackmailing them for a roll of gold silk and pinning the blame on Fair Devotion by planting the magazines in her house. The events in the forest that night transpired as Athena surmised: they arrived at the castle ruins before Scootaloo and Turning Page to make the exchange, Turning Page threw Diamond's tiara into the gorge, they discovered the body after retrieving the tiara, they searched under the body for the blackmail letter (eventually assuming it was blown away by the wind), and in their state of fright, they left the golden silk behind and went home.

While their confession clears Fair Devotion and Royal Order of blackmail, it does not clear Scootaloo and Turning Page of Royal Order's murder; they still had the opportunity to carry it out while Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were in the gorge. Luna points out the absence of much of the victim's blood, previously believed to have been soaked up by the cape under his head but now established to have been placed there after the murder, meaning the victim must have been murdered in a different location. Luna believes Scootaloo and Turning Page killed Royal Order somewhere else and used the scooter and wagon to transport his body back to the castle ruins in order to frame Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon as payback for the blackmail, thus reestablishing their motive to commit murder.

As Athena struggles to rebut, Twilight raises an objection and calls attention to the scooter's bent front wheels; transporting the body via scooter would have been impossible. She believes that after Scootaloo left the scene with her scooter, she crashed into something, causing the front wheels to get damaged and the handlebar to break off. She also presents the handlebar itself, which was found at a crossroads near the forest's entrance – too far away from the crime scene to transport the scooter and wagon before Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon realized.

Even still, Luna argues that if Scootaloo and Turning Page did not kill Royal Order, they had to have run into the real killer at some point due to the limited number of available paths in and out of the forest. Turning Page is certain that he did not see anyone in the forest aside from Zecora, but Scootaloo is not so sure. She testifies that on her way out of the forest, she got distracted by the howls of timberwolves, crashed into something, and escaped the forest on hoof. Sensing the discord in Scootaloo's heart, Athena decides against a typical cross-examination and proposes a brief therapy session using her Mood Matrix computer program.

Luna strongly opposes this course of action, citing Athena's inexperience and impulsive trial decisions. After an internal debate with her friend and rival Simon Blackquill, Athena stands by her decision, acknowledging that she is still a novice attorney but refusing to ignore the painful cries in others' hearts. Luna, recognizing Athena's growth, agrees to let her conduct her therapy session with Scootaloo—under her and the judge's supervision.

Using the Mood Matrix, Athena analyzes Scootaloo's testimony for irregularities in her emotions and finds that she was angry during her escape from the forest over her scooter getting damaged after going to so much trouble to get it back. Further analysis reveals what she crashed her scooter into: the victim Royal Order, with the scooter lodged in his head. Everyone is initially horrified that Scootaloo may have taken Royal Order's life (albeit accidentally), but further analysis of her testimony reveals that Royal Order was still alive after the crash. Luna theorizes he ended up at the crime scene by teleporting himself there in his final moments of living.

However, Athena brings up the autopsy report, which states Royal Order died instantly from his stab wound. Scootaloo is certain it was Royal Order she crashed into and that he was still breathing after the crash, and Luna stands by the accuracy of the autopsy report. The only explanation for this glaring contradiction, as pointed out by Twilight, is that there were two Royal Orders in the forest that night: the real Royal Order and a cloned duplicate of him!

Twilight theorizes that when Royal Order went to the Everfree Forest to look for Turning Page, he first cloned himself with the magic of the Mirror Pool, passing through Froggy Bottom Bog and getting exposed to poison joke in the process. Both Luna and the judge are skeptical, but the evidence and testimony thus far appear to indicate the Royal Order that Scootaloo crashed into and the Royal Order discovered at the crime scene are two different individuals. Twilight says further testing at the crash site would yield more information, but that needs more time to be completed. With that, the judge is ready to suspend trial proceedings for the day.

Just then, another face enters the courtroom and raises an objection: Sonata.

Sonata, the "mutual acquaintance" Private Eye mentioned during the recess, and Private Eye arrive to present new evidence that appears to confirm Twilight's theory: a photo of the crash site where traces of blood were found leading to the Nightmare Night statue; the blood is confirmed to be Royal Order's. To further the defense's argument, Athena presents the photo of the Nightmare Night statue, where a large amount of blood was in front of it and a small pool of blood was behind it. Though the blood was determined to not be Royal Order's, the fact that his blood leads to the statue from the crash site leads Athena and Twilight to the conclusion that the blood in front of the statue contains blood from more than one pony.

Sonata confirms this as well; the small pool of blood behind the statue belongs to an unidentified pony (assumed to be Royal Order's killer), but the large pool of blood in front of the statue contains blood from both the killer and Royal Order. Athena believes there was a fight between the two, which resulted in Royal Order's death (his head getting punctured on one of the statue's sharp edges) and the killer getting injured. Then, while the killer hid behind the statue, timberwolves came and devoured Royal Order's body, as evidenced by the timberwolf fang. Meanwhile, the other Royal Order was killed in the nearby clearing, as evidenced by the clearing photo, and his body, the scooter, and the wagon were transported to the crime scene.

As to who moved the body, scooter, and wagon and how, Athena calls attention to the strange mud imprint inside the wagon, believing whoever left it also transported the body. Twilight identifies the imprint as having the same shape as Sugar Stamp's mailpony badge. Sugar Stamp, being a Pegasus, could have flown the body, scooter, and wagon from the clearing to the crime scene. Athena presents the letter from Zecora's mailbox; it had not been opened and was much dirtier than the rest of her mail (meaning it had to have been delivered on the night of the murder), and it bears the royal Canterlot seal (Luna confirms that Sugar Stamp specifically was tasked with delivering it).

With all that in mind, Athena concludes that Scootaloo and Turning Page could not have murdered either Royal Order or his duplicate, and the actions and motives of the mailpony Sugar Stamp are now highly suspect. Luna has no objections to Athena's summation and now wishes to question Sugar Stamp. Despite these lingering unanswered questions, the judge is satisfied that Athena and Twilight have sufficiently proven their case. For the crime of murdering Royal Order, Scootaloo and Turning Page are found... Not Guilty!

In the courtroom lobby, Athena and Twilight's friends congratulate them for winning the trial, despite feeling somewhat dissatisfied with the questions it left unanswered. Scootaloo and Turning Page join them, and while Scootaloo is grateful to Athena for clearing her name, both she and Turning are worried about Sugar Stamp and what will happen to her if it turns out she was involved in the death of Royal Order or his clone.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle then arrive, with Sweetie Belle still behaving strangely. Apple Bloom angrily chews Athena out for falsely accusing Zecora of murder (especially after the efforts she made to be welcomed in Ponyville), and after explaining the reasons for her actions, Athena gives a heartfelt apology, which Apple Bloom accepts. Princess Luna then appears, and after offering congratulations to Athena and Twilight, she reveals that the pony whose blood was found at the Nightmare Night statue (presumably Royal Order's murderer) has been identified:

Sweetie Belle.

In a post-credits scene, Private Eye meets with Lawkeeper Equity to update her about the investigation in Ponyville, but Equity's main concern is the ongoing investigation in Manehattan from the first case. After threatening Private Eye with her sword, Equity allows him to continue investigating Royal Order's death and says she will be accompanying him to Ponyville soon but gives no reason as to why. As Private Eye leaves, a framed photo of Royal Order is shown on Equity's desk; Equity appears to be standing next to Royal Order in the photo, obscured by a sun glare.

[2-5] ~ Stop All the Clocks

Athena, Twilight, and their friends return to Twilight's castle to bring Spike up to speed on the case. Although Scootaloo and Turning Page have been found not guilty of murdering Royal Order, suspicion has now fallen upon Sweetie Belle and the mailpony Sugar Stamp, and Rarity is utterly distraught over her little sister's arrest. Rainbow Dash, still bitter that Sweetie Belle kept quiet about the night of the murder and did nothing to help Scootaloo since then, believes she deserves to be arrested. This causes a heated argument between her and Rarity, who is upset over Rainbow Dash's continued harassment toward Sweetie Belle and interprets her behavior as a declaration of Sweetie Belle's guilt.

When Applejack fails to break the two up, Apple Bloom angrily steps in, sympathizing with both but asserting that helping Sweetie Belle matters most. Athena and Twilight vow to defend Sweetie Belle in court as they did for Scootaloo and Turning Page, and they recap what they believe to have been Royal Order's movements the night he was killed:

1. Royal Order teleported to Froggy Bottom Bog, where he was infected by poison joke.

2. He cloned himself with the Mirror Pool; one Royal Order went to the Everfree Forest clearing, and the other to the Nightmare Night statue.

3. As the first Royal Order made his way to the statue, Scootaloo crashed into him at the crossroads. He then made his way to the statue, where he was killed and his body was devoured by Timberwolves.

4. The second Royal Order was killed in the clearing. His body was then transported to the Castle of the Two Sisters, along with Scootaloo's scooter and wagon, presumably by Sugar Stamp.

The group decides to question Sweetie Belle (as well as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon about the blackmailing scheme) and investigate the forest crossroads and clearing, while Applejack and Apple Bloom head home.

At the detention center, the group is informed by one of the royal guards that Sweetie Belle is still being questioned by police. In addition, Scootaloo and Turning Page were picked up by Turning's mother Fair Devotion after their release from custody, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were bailed out by their wealthy parents, and Private Eye and his investigation team are currently tracking down Sugar Stamp. Rarity decides to stay at the detention center until the police are done interrogating Sweetie Belle (with Apollo volunteering to keep her company) while the rest of the group heads to Fair Devotion's house.

At Fair Devotion's house, the group checks in on her, Scootaloo, and Turning Page to see how they are faring after the trial's conclusion. Among the subjects discussed in the ensuing conversation include Princess Luna's vast pre-trial knowledge and counterproductive decision not to share any of it with the defense, the still-unknown identity of the anonymous tip that led to Turning Page being arrested, and Scootaloo's growing concern about Sweetie Belle and the overall nature of this case.

When the subject turns to Royal Order, Fair Devotion reveals that he only recently started having extended stays in Canterlot, but she is vague about the reason why. Royal Order even had a travel case with him during those extended stays, but it was seized by police as evidence. When Trucy notices a nearby calendar and makes a note of the current date – Hearts and Hooves Day – Fair Devotion mentions she and Royal would have had dinner plans that evening if not for the incident with Spoiled Rich and Royal's subsequent death. It is also revealed that Fair Devotion and Sugar Stamp are childhood friends.

Next, the group stops by Diamond Tiara's house to speak with her and Silver Spoon. The two confirm what was already discovered during the trial to have transpired the night Royal Order was killed: a fight broke out when Scootaloo and Turning Page came to negotiate for Scootaloo's stolen belongings, Turning threw Diamond's tiara into the gorge, and Diamond and Silver discovered Royal Order's dead body after retrieving the tiara. When the group shares that Sweetie Belle has been arrested on suspicion of killing Royal Order, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon insist they do not know anything.

When the subject turns to Silver Spoon's glasses, she resents having to wear such bulky eyewear in order to see clearly. Athena sympathizes with her, having been forced by her mother to wear special headphones as a child to dampen her heightened sense of hearing. While she initially resented her mother for being forced to wear them, Athena later realized it was out of motherly concern. Silver Spoon also wishes her parents, who work at Ponyville Hospital, spent more time with her, but Diamond Tiara assures her as long as they are best friends, she will never be alone.

On their way out of Diamond Tiara's house, Phoenix mentions to the others that he noticed – and took a picture of – magazines in Diamond Tiara's trash can. These magazines are similar to the ones used to compose the blackmail letter, giving credence to the belief that Diamond Tiara planted the magazines in Fair Devotion's house.

Finally, the group goes to the Everfree Forest to investigate the crossroads and clearing, finding Apollo there attempting to gain entry into the forest himself, but the guards refuse to let anyone enter until Private Eye returns from Canterlot. As the group discusses what to do next, Sonata appears. She quickly deduces that Athena intends to defend Sweetie Belle in court and offers her consolation for the mistakes she made during the trial (namely, falsely accusing Zecora).

Sonata relates to Athena the role she played in Turnabout Storm as the manager of star athlete Ace Swift and co-conspirator in many blackmailing schemes. Since the events of that case, Sonata turned her life around and, inspired by Phoenix, pursued a career in law to help those in need. Although she is unable to grant the group entry into the forest, she informs them that Private Eye has just returned from Canterlot – with Sugar Stamp.

Back at the detention center, Private Eye informs Athena and company that Sweetie Belle is once again being questioned, and he agrees to grant them access to the crime scene once their business at the detention center is finished. He also reveals that evidence found in Sugar Stamp's home confirms her connection to Royal Order's death. However, that evidence is currently in police custody, and any examination of it is ultimately pointless because Sugar Stamp has already confessed to murdering Royal Order. Private Eye also has no information regarding the anonymous tip or Royal Order's travel case.

With that, the group decides to speak with Sugar Stamp. She gives no clear reason for confessing to Royal Order's murder or even a motive for committing it in the first place. Because of this, the case is considered closed. Further questioning reveals that Sugar Stamp is very close with Fair Devotion (whom Sugar Stamp refers to by the nickname "Deva") and her late husband Royal Order, both of whom visited Sugar Stamp in Canterlot often and gave her emotional support ever since her husband died of a heart attack half a year prior.

All of a sudden, Apple Bloom bursts into the detention center to inform everyone of a break-in at Carousel Boutique. The group races to the boutique in the hopes of catching the perpetrator before they escape.

[2-6] ~ Leap of Faith

Twilight, Athena, and company race to Carousel Boutique after being alerted to a break-in, but the intruder is already long gone. According to Rarity, all of the doors and windows were locked, none of the locks had been tampered with, and Rarity has the boutique's only key, suggesting a unicorn gained access via teleportation. Inside, the group finds several things knocked over and a mess of blood and white cat fur. Rarity's cat Opalescence appears, unharmed, with blood on her claws from when she attacked the intruder. However, nothing appears to have been stolen.

Phoenix sees that the leaves, vines, and branches he found in the trash can during the group's previous visit to the boutique are still there, and Sweetie Belle's behavior when asked about it effectively confirms that she was in the Everfree Forest on the night of the murder. Phoenix advises they gather more information and evidence to get Sweetie Belle to open up about what she knows.

In a brief tangent, Athena asks Apple Bloom about timberwolves, and she explains that, while they are typically aggressive, loud noises like a clang scare them off; the group reasons that one of the two clangs heard that night was for that purpose. On their way out of the boutique, Athena briefly examines the lock on the front door.

Now able to enter the Everfree Forest, the group goes to Froggy Bottom Bog next and meets with Private Eye, who shows them the latest discovery of his investigation: a royal guard helmet, presumably Royal Order's, with a bloodstained puncture mark where he was stabbed in the head, suggesting whoever killed Royal Order at the clearing threw his armor into the river and only his helmet could be recovered. He also presents evidence that incriminates Sugar Stamp in Royal Order's murder: a bloody letter opener in her mailbag believed to the murder weapon (its shape matches the hole in the helmet).

Deeper into the forest, Private Eye leads the group to the Mirror Pool, whose entrance had been unsealed after Twilight previously sealed it and where Private Eye left Royal Order's travel case. Inside, the group finds a letter addressed to Royal Order from Sugar Stamp that not only reveals that Royal Order was engaging in an extramarital affair with Sugar Stamp but also paints Sugar Stamp as being extremely possessive of Royal Order, wanting him to leave his family to be with her. They also find Royal Order's journal, in which they discover he had been researching the Mirror Pool in order to clone himself so that he could be with Fair Devotion and Sugar Stamp simultaneously.

From all this, the group reasons that Sugar Stamp killed Royal Order because she could not bear the thought of having to share him with someone else or the idea that he would choose his family over her. Athena is skeptical of this theory, however, because she sensed no possessiveness or bitterness from Sugar Stamp in their earlier talks. Lastly, Private Eye presents the anonymous tip that led to Turning Page's arrest: a note made from letters cut out of a magazine and delivered to the police station the day after the murder, accusing Turning Page of killing his father. It is believed that Sugar Stamp delivered the note to frame Turning Page and punish Royal Order further for not choosing her over his family.

Remembering how Private Eye spoke of Royal Order during the trial, Athena correctly guesses that the two were close friends; Private Eye confirms that he and Royal Order attended the same school and later pursued different careers but still kept in touch. Back in the forest area, the group takes stock of their findings thus far, and Sonata mentions that the glass shards from Silver Spoon's broken glasses only match one of the lenses, suggesting the other lens was still intact.

At the forest clearing, Athena and company encounter Lawkeeper Equity, in the middle of paying her respects to Royal Order. Equity reveals that Royal Order was being considered for the position of captain of the royal guard, contrary to Private Eye and Princess Luna's claims during the trial that he was just an ordinary member. Equity also points out how deceptive Princess Luna has been since the start of the case, withholding information from Athena and her team and guiding the case in her desired direction (even suggesting there might still be some trace of Nightmare Moon left in Luna).

Equity appears to hold a personal grudge against the royals of Equestria, dismissing friendship and trust as "naive ideals" before leaving. Her parting words deeply affect Athena as she realizes everyone involved in the case has been keeping secrets from her, including her own clients, and her determination is shaken. With no clues left to uncover in the clearing, the group splits up to search different areas: Sonata, Apollo, and Trucy go to investigate the Nightmare Night statue, and Athena, Twilight, and Phoenix go to Zecora's hut.

At Zecora's hut, Athena once again apologizes to her for wrongfully accusing her during the trial, and Twilight apologizes for letting it happen and not speaking out against it, but Zecora assures them that they are forgiven.

When asked about the letter she received from Princess Celestia and Luna, Zecora says she cannot share the details of the letter's contents. However, she does share two new pieces of information: the entrance to the Mirror Pool was still sealed on the afternoon of the murder, and a healing potion is missing from Zecora's belongings. She explains that the potion only heals wounds that are closed, such as with a tourniquet; this gives Phoenix an idea to analyze the leaves, vines, and branches found at Carousel Boutique with the forensic flashlight, and he discovers traces of blood on them.

At the detention center, Athena, Twilight, and Phoenix rendezvous with Sonata, Apollo, and Trucy to share their findings. Sonata and company discovered trees in the forest between the statue and the clearing that were smeared with blood; the bloodstains all face toward the statue area. Meanwhile, Turning Page and Fair Devotion are nearby having a heated argument; Turning believes his mother wants him to give up on his dream of becoming a royal guard, but Fair assures him that she will support his endeavors as long as he gets a proper school education first.

When Athena tries to ask Fair about the letter from Sugar Stamp they found in Royal Order's travel case, Fair angrily insists that their relationship was purely platonic, suggesting she already knew of the possibility they were having an affair.

The group finally sits down with Sweetie Belle to find out what she is hiding, with Phoenix taking charge to try and break her Psyche-Locks. First, he confronts her about her blood found at the Nightmare Night statue and claims she was attacked by timberwolves and used the dead Royal Order's helmet to make a clanging noise to scare them away, breaking the first Psyche-Lock. When Sweetie Belle claims she does not have any injuries, Phoenix presents Zecora's missing healing potion, claiming Sweetie Belle stole it during the time Zecora was away from home, causing another Psyche-Lock to break.

When asked how Sweetie Belle could have made it to Zecora's hut without leaving a trail of blood, Phoenix presents the leaves, vines, and branches, suggesting Sweetie Belle used them to make a tourniquet and stop the bleeding, breaking the third Psyche-Lock. Lastly, Phoenix points out that Sweetie Belle recently picked up the habit of rubbing her leg whenever she gets nervous or agitated, believing that to be where she was wounded. In the face of Phoenix's relentless pressing, Sweetie Belle's final Psyche-Lock breaks.

Sweetie Belle confesses that everything happened as Phoenix deduced, but she is still tight-lipped about why she was in the forest in the first place and the circumstances of Royal Order's death. She agrees to let Athena defend her in court, but she demands to be left alone for the time being.

Back at the Castle of Friendship, Athena and the others catch the rest of their friends up on the case's development. This is interrupted, however, when Rainbow Dash sees Sonata and immediately gets enraged. Despite everyone saying how helpful Sonata has been in helping Athena build her case, and Sonata insisting how much she has changed since the events of Turnabout Storm, Rainbow refuses to trust her and leaves.

When Athena voices her frustration over Sweetie Belle's continued silence and questions her trustworthiness, Phoenix pulls her aside and firmly tells her to stop trying to solve everything on her own. Athena says she wants to be a lawyer that does not have to rely on others' help to win like Phoenix, but Phoenix says he has always relied on the help of others in court, including Maya Fey, Miles Edgeworth, Dick Gumshoe, and even the Judge. He tells Athena about the court case where he truly was alone and lost his attorney's badge by presenting forged evidence, and he warns her not to make the same mistake. As the day starts to wind down, Sonata departs for the hotel.

Later that night, Athena has a nightmare about her friends all verbally abusing her and calling her a screw-up, and Princess Luna appears to save her from her horrible dream. In this dreamscape, Athena confronts Luna about her questionable, secretive methods used throughout the trial, and Luna admits she was not sure she could trust Athena to cooperate with her at first since she was a complete stranger. Therefore, she guided the trial and Athena's defense in such a way that would ensure Scootaloo and Turning Page were declared innocent (a less sympathetic prosecutor would have made sure they were found guilty).

Now that she is certain of Athena's convictions to find the truth, Luna apologizes for distrusting and deceiving her. Athena, recognizing that she has her own mistakes to move past, forgives Luna. Unfortunately, Luna is unable to give any information about Royal Order's status in the royal guard as it is an issue of a "sensitive nature". Regardless, the two of them are determined to work together to find the true culprit in this case, which they believe is either Fair Devotion or Sugar Stamp (or even both).

Upon waking up from her dream, Athena takes Luna's words about "finding the truth in any way she can" to heart, and in the dead of night, she goes to see Sonata at the hotel.

[2-7] ~ By Fair Means or Foul

In the courtroom lobby on the second day of the trial, Athena relates to her friends the conversation she had with Princess Luna in her dreams the night before. When Sweetie Belle arrives, the group notices her acting strangely calm and confident about the trial's outcome, but Athena senses she still does not fully trust her or Twilight. Private Eye then arrives to give Athena a sample of Royal Order's blood per her request, with Private Eye even confirming that he was able to obtain the sample secretly.

Athena explains to her friends that, having learned to stop trying to solve everything on her own, she went to Sonata for assistance, having her request the blood sample from Private Eye and look into the blood-covered trees between the Nightmare Moon statue and the Everfree Forest clearing, the source of the anonymous tip that led to Turning Page's arrest, and one of the Royal Orders' missing guard armor.

Court is called to order, and Luna summarizes the findings of the previous day's trial: the victim Royal Order cloned himself via Mirror Pool, whereupon one was killed in the forest clearing and his body transported to the bridge near the castle, and the other was killed at the statue and his body eaten by timberwolves. In addition, two ponies' blood were found at the statue: Royal Order's and Sweetie Belle's.

In order to determine how the second Royal Order was killed, Luna calls Private Eye to the stand. Private Eye theorizes that Royal Order attacked Sweetie Belle, forcing her to defend herself, and her small stature coupled with Royal Order's poison joke-afflicted state of having weak knees caused him to stumble and get impaled on the statue, making his death an accident. Athena firmly believes in Sweetie Belle's innocence, but Sweetie continues to exercise her right to remain silent. To substantiate Private Eye's theory, Luna calls to the stand both Fair Devotion and Sugar Stamp, who claim to have witnessed the murder themselves.

Fair and Sugar testify that they were in the statue's general vicinity at the time of the murder – Sugar flying overhead, and Fair looking for her husband on the ground – when they were drawn to the sound of fighting and witnessed Royal Order getting accidentally killed. During her cross-examination, Athena notices Fair Devotion leading Sugar Stamp in her testimony. Believing Fair went into the forest for a reason besides looking for her husband, she presents Royal Order's travel case, in which Sugar Stamp's love letter to Royal Order was discovered. With Royal and Sugar's affair exposed, Fair and Sugar start to argue on the witness stand, but Athena does not detect any actual surprise or anger in their voices.

An unsurprised Luna points out an entry in Royal Order's planner indicating his intention to clone himself so that he could be with his wife and mistress at the same time, thus giving Fair Devotion an ulterior motive for following her husband into the forest. However, Athena points out another entry in the planner stating Royal Order and Sugar Stamp had arranged to meet up at the clearing before the murder at the statue, meaning she was not a witness to that murder. Athena requests further testimony from Sugar Stamp to recount her true actions that night, especially considering she confessed the day before to killing Royal Order in the clearing.

Sugar Stamp testifies that when she met with Royal Order and learned of his plan to leave her with a clone of himself, she killed him in a rage with the letter opener, removed his armor, and moved his body to the castle ruins. On her way out of the forest, she saw Scootaloo crash into the other Royal Order and moved the scooter and wagon to further shift blame away from herself. During Athena's cross-examination, Sugar elaborates that, before stabbing Royal in the head, she first kicked his side; her hoof connecting with Royal's armor caused the clanging noise that other witnesses have testified to hearing. When Athena presses Sugar on other details, Fair Devotion steps in to lead Sugar in her testimony like before.

Athena asks Sugar about the letter she was to deliver to Zecora's hut, and Luna presents the letter's empty envelope. Sugar claims she delivered the letter after killing Royal Order, moving his body, and putting the bloody letter opener in her bag. Athena objects; if Sugar did all of that in the order she claims, Zecora's letter should have gotten blood on it, but it did not. Luna suggests Sugar simply got mixed up and delivered the letter before killing Royal Order, but Athena asserts that is not possible based on the movements of Zecora herself; the letter could only have been delivered after Zecora left for the police station.

Based on that and the envelope not having any blood on it, Athena concludes that the letter opener did not have any blood on it after Royal Order was killed, meaning it may not have been the murder weapon. This casts considerable doubt on Sugar Stamp's entire confession, and Luna calls Private Eye back to the stand to clear up the matter.

A visibly nervous Private Eye retakes the stand, and he testifies that the blood on the letter opener was a match to Royal Order, indicating it must be the murder weapon. In addition, the shape of Royal Order's stab wound and the hole in the helmet found at Froggy Bottom Bog also match the letter opener. In Athena's cross-examination, Private Eye asserts no one could have planted the helmet at the bog because it was sealed off after the previous trial.

Athena objects, suggesting Private Eye himself had access to the bog since he ordered it sealed off in the first place and thus had the opportunity to plant the helmet (hidden from his fellow officers in Royal Order's travel case) in order to support Sugar Stamp's testimony. In the face of this accusation, Private Eye falls silent. When Luna asks how Royal Order's blood got on the letter opener and helmet if they are in fact fabrications, Athena presents the blood sample Private Eye gave her earlier, which he confirmed he obtained in secret.

Athena theorizes that, while he and his team were arresting Sugar Stamp in Canterlot, Private Eye went to where Royal Order's body was being autopsied, he put the helmet on the body and "stabbed" it with the letter opener, thus creating the false evidence needed to support Sugar Stamp's confession. When Luna brings up Royal Order's planner, Athena calls that into question as well; Private Eye previously claimed he confirmed Royal Order's writing personally, but that has not corroborated by any forensic team. Thus, when Athena has the planner re-tested, the writing inside is found to be a match for Private Eye.

Private Eye is now found to have fabricated multiple pieces of evidence to support Sugar Stamp's confession, but before the judge can get an explanation out of him, Fair Devotion interjects. With a much colder demeanor than before, she offers to explain the inconsistencies in Sugar Stamp's story. She suggests that the traumatic events of that night affected Sugar Stamp so deeply that she cannot remember all the details with 100% accuracy, and that Private Eye fabricated evidence to ensure that Sugar Stamp face justice for Royal Order's murder. Both Sugar Stamp and Private Eye agree with every word.

With the trial more or less back where it started, Luna reminds Athena that they are here to determine Sweetie Belle's guilt; everything related to Sugar Stamp was just an unrelated tangent. Luna suggests going back to Fair Devotion's original testimony about why she was in the Everfree Forest, and Fair predicts Athena will name her a suspect in Royal Order's murder because of the affair. After consulting with Twilight, Athena believes hearing from Sweetie Belle to be the best course of action, but Sweetie still refuses to speak.

Determined to get to the truth one way or another, Athena makes a bold gambit: she announces that she is stepping down from being Sweetie Belle's attorney. Everyone in the courtroom is shocked by Athena's sudden decision, especially since Sweetie will almost certainly be found guilty thanks to Sugar Stamp and Fair Devotion's testimonies. However, she agrees to stay on as Sweetie's attorney if she testifies. Trusting in Athena's judgment, Luna puts the decision to Sweetie Belle. Sweetie, pushed into a corner, finally agrees to testify. The judge orders a 20-minute recess for all parties to prepare, and court is adjourned.

[2-8] ~ A Winding Route

In the courtroom lobby, Athena briefly gets chewed out by her friends for threatening to step down as Sweetie Belle's lawyer but states she had no choice given Sweetie's prior refusal to testify. She also suspects Fair Devotion, Sugar Stamp, and Private Eye to be involved in some sort of conspiracy/cover-up, considering how Fair guided their testimonies earlier and her and Sugar's reactions when Sugar and Royal Order's affair was brought to light.

Sonata arrives with the results of the investigation Athena sent her on: the blood on the trees between the statue and the forest clearing belonged to Royal Order, the magazine in Diamond Tiara's house was used to make the anonymous tip that led to Turning Page's arrest (the source of the tip has yet to be identified), and the clone Royal Order's missing armor has been recovered – with a large dent in the body plate's left side believed to have been made by a "long, wedged object". When informed of Private Eye's unethical actions, Sonata believes he would not do such things without good reason.

Zecora then enters, and Athena asks her to identify the flowers on the boulder outside the Mirror Pool. She also points out the shelf in her hut on which she kept the healing potion before it was stolen, as well as the potion's high demand from the local hospital. Finally, Turning Page enters, and he cryptically asks Athena to help his mother "no matter the cost". Just before the trial resumes, Scootaloo confirms she heard two clangs on the night of the murder while Zecora only heard one and that Royal Order was not wearing any armor when she crashed into him.

Court is called back in session; despite Princess Luna's reservations about having Sweetie Belle testify, Athena is determined to find the truth. Sweetie testifies she was at the Nightmare Moon statue on the night of the murder, was wounded by a timberwolf, used two pieces of Royal Order's armor to make a clanging noise and scare them off, hid behind the statue and passed out for an indeterminate amount of time, and eventually made a tourniquet for her wound and went to Zecora's hut for a healing potion.

During Athena's cross-examination, Sweetie reveals she went to the Everfree Forest after finding Scootaloo's confession note to Rarity, upon which she was drawn to the statue after hearing a deep, loud metallic clang. However, Athena objects to Sweetie being able to make a tourniquet without blood from her wound dripping everywhere, and when asked to demonstrate making a tourniquet, Sweetie is unable to, leading Athena to believe someone else did it for her. In addition, she incorrectly identifies the shelf where Zecora kept her healing potion.

Athena believes Silver Spoon made the tourniquet and stole the healing potion for Sweetie Belle, since she was also in the forest that night and has some medical knowledge. Despite Sweetie's objections, Silver Spoon is recalled to the witness stand to explain.

Both Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara take the stand. Their testimony is much the same as it was the day before: during a blackmail exchange, Turning Page tossed Diamond's tiara into the nearby gorge, and Silver's glasses broke as they went to retrieve it. However, as was discovered in the previous day's investigation, only one of the lenses in Silver's glasses broke, meaning she could still see through the remaining lens. Plus, Silver Spoon stated the day before that she heard two clangs while Diamond Tiara only heard one.

Athena explains that, given the timeline of the night's events, the second clang must have been caused by Sweetie Belle scaring the timberwolves away at the statue. And if Silver Spoon heard the second clang and Diamond Tiara did not, Silver must have been closer to the statue than Diamond was and not in the gorge as she claimed. Athena believes Silver Spoon chased Scootaloo and Turning Page through the forest, followed the trail of Royal Order's blood at the crossroads, found Sweetie Belle unconscious at the statue, and used her minor medical knowledge to make a tourniquet and treat her injury.

Silver Spoon admits to following Scootaloo and Turning Page instead of accompanying Diamond Tiara into the gorge, but she denies helping Sweetie Belle. Before disproving Silver's claim, Athena addresses the anonymous tip and reveals the letters in it were cut out of the magazine found in Diamond Tiara's home. At first, Diamond appears to be the one behind the anonymous tip, but based on the discarded Hearts and Hooves Day envelope found under the magazine in her trash, the magazine could only have been thrown away the day AFTER the anonymous tip was delivered, thereby clearing Diamond of suspicion.

Only Silver Spoon had the opportunity to throw out the magazine in Diamond's home, and after some pressing, Diamond admits that Silver was carrying a magazine when she visited Diamond's home the day before. However, Silver could not have sent the anonymous tip either because she was at a doctor's appointment at the time it was delivered. With some additional pressing, Diamond reveals that when Silver visited her home, she had a bloodstained scratch on her coat. Athena believes Silver Spoon was the one who broke into Carousel Boutique and was attacked by Rarity's cat Opalescence.

Because all of the boutique's doors and windows were locked, it was originally believed that only a unicorn could gain access via teleportation. However, Athena points out that, due to the specific lock in the boutique's front door, anyone could enter and lock the door when they leave as long as the door is left unlocked in advance. The only pony who could have done so was Sweetie Belle.

Athena theorizes that Sweetie Belle left the boutique's front door unlocked before the previous day's trial, and Silver Spoon, at Sweetie's instruction, entered the boutique to retrieve something, whereupon Opal scratched her. On her way out, she engaged the front door's lock, making it appear as if the boutique was locked the whole time. Athena even suggests they test the blood left on the boutique floor and see if it matches Silver Spoon's.

Backed into a corner, Silver Spoon confesses to breaking into the boutique and stealing the magazine, thus tracing the source of the anonymous tip to Sweetie Belle. When asked how she could have delivered it without being seen, Athena remembers there was a period of time two days before when Rarity asked Spike to check in on Sweetie Belle; she believes Sweetie had Spike send the anonymous tip to the police station with his magic fire breath during that time.

At this juncture, Athena moves to prove that Silver Spoon indeed helped Sweetie Belle on the night of the murder. Traces of blood were previously discovered on Silver's hooves – blood originally thought to be Royal Order's. However, it has now been established that Silver never touched Royal Order's body. If the blood on her hooves matches Sweetie Belle's, it would confirm definitively that she treated Sweetie's wound – and, by extension, confirm Sweetie's elaborate scheme to frame Diamond Tiara. In the face of such overwhelming evidence, Sweetie Belle breaks down on the witness stand with a scream of tears.

Athena and Princess Luna ask Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon to finally tell the truth, despite the repercussions they will face for their actions later. They explain that, after Sweetie was attacked by the timberwolf and left with a life-threating wound, worse than she originally testified, Silver had followed a trail of blood at the forest crossroads and found her nearly unconscious behind the statue. She dressed Sweetie's wound with a tourniquet and stayed with her until she regained consciousness. Being too far away from a hospital for Sweetie to receive proper medical treatment, Sweetie suggested getting a healing potion from Zecora's hut.

As they walked home together, they started talking about Silver's friendship with Diamond Tiara, and Silver admitted to being jealous of the Crusaders, wishing her and Diamond's friendship was more like theirs. However, she does not want to break off her friendship with Diamond out of fear that she would not have any other friends left. Although Sweetie was grateful to Silver for helping her out of the forest, she was still bitter over the role Silver played in blackmailing her and her friends.

The next day, Sweetie Belle heard about Scootaloo's arrest and was unwilling to talk to anyone or cooperate with the investigation out of fear of also being arrested. Even still, she wanted to help Scootaloo in some way, so she made the anonymous tip and had Spike send it to the police station (offering to set him up on a date with Rarity in return).

When that was not enough to get Scootaloo acquitted, Sweetie roped Silver Spoon into a scheme to get Diamond Tiara blamed for the anonymous tip, partly as payback for her blackmailing scheme. When Silver refused, Sweetie told her it was time to separate from Diamond for good. When that didn't work, Sweetie resorted to blackmailing Silver Spoon and that she would tell Diamond what she said about their friendship and Zecora for stealing the potion if she did not go along with it. Fearing serious punishment from her parents (as the potion was rare and in-demand for the hospital), Silver Spoon agreed. Everything else happened exactly as Athena theorized.

Princess Luna conveys to Sweetie Belle the tragic irony of her actions: in her attempts to get back at Diamond Tiara for blackmail, she herself resorted to blackmail. Realizing this, Sweetie Belle hangs her head in tearful shame.

Despite all that has revealed thus far, Luna points out that very little has been learned in regards to Royal Order's murder itself. However, Athena points out that Sugar Stamp testified earlier to seeing Zecora and Turning Page heading toward each other while flying over the forest, yet she did not see Silver Spoon. This, coupled with Private Eye's confession to falsifying evidence to support Sugar's testimony, means that none of her testimony can be accepted as truth. Unconvinced, Luna still brings up that even without Sugar Stamp's testimony, Royal Order's body must have been moved somehow.

To solve the mystery of how (or why) Royal Order's body was moved from the clearing to the castle ruins, Athena takes a moment to mentally review the case's facts:

1. The blood Sonata found in the clearing is unmistakably Royal Order's blood, but it does not prove his body was there.

2. The blood on the trees between the statue and the clearing is also Royal Order's, but it must have been placed there by someone else.

3. If no blood was found on the ground, it had to have been moved from the statue to the clearing via unicorn levitation.

Considering all of this, Athena concludes there was never a murder at the clearing to begin with, which means... THERE WAS NO CLONE.

Despite everything heard and revealed up to this point, Athena now believes Royal Order never cloned himself at all—that it was a faulty theory based on premature information and too convenient circumstances. She suggests that when she and Twilight proposed their clone theory in the previous trial, Private Eye was listening and informed Sugar Stamp after the trial, after which the two created false evidence and false confessions to make things line up with that theory.

Luna refuses to accept Athena's new theory after she went to such lengths to prove her original one, and demands proof to support it. To that end, Athena presents a photo of the Mirror Pool entrance, showing where flowers have bloomed on the boulder that kept the pool sealed. According to Zecora, these flowers only bloom during the day, meaning the boulder could only have been moved during that time, possibly as recent as right after the previous trial. And only one pony could have done so: Private Eye.

However, Luna points out that the Royal Order found near the castle died instantly, and Scootaloo testified that the Royal Order she crashed into was still breathing afterward. The only explanation is that Scootaloo was mistaken about what she heard the breathing coming from. Luna, however, refutes the argument as only somepony who was a child would even be able to hide behind Royal Order's body. This causes Athena to make another, horrifying revelation, and with a tremble in her voice, she calls Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle back to the stand to confirm a couple things.

First, Silver Spoon reveals that, while chasing Scootaloo and Turning Page, she saw Zecora headed her way and jumped in the bushes to hide, meaning she was the small shadowy figure Zecora testified to seeing. In addition, Sugar Stamp's testimony about seeing Zecora and Turning Page while flying over the forest can no longer be trusted. This begs the question: after the blackmail deal went sour, where did Turning Page disappear to? Luna appears to come to the same terrible realization as Athena.

Secondly, Athena asks Sweetie Belle why she specifically targeted Turning Page in her anonymous tip to the police when she could have just as easily implicated Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon. Sweetie explains it is because of what she overheard someone saying right before she passed out behind the statue.

With this information, and as much as she does not want to believe it, Athena believes she has finally identified Royal Order's true killer: his son, Turning Page. Even though he was found not guilty in the previous trial, Athena concludes it is the only explanation that fits. Turning is small enough that he could reasonably hide behind his father's body after Scootaloo crashed into it (meaning it was his breathing that Scootaloo heard), and he even has signs of bruising on his right side caused by the crash.

At this point in time, Fair Devotion objects to Athena's line of reasoning and announces that SHE killed Royal Order, sending the courtroom into an uproar. Athena objects in return, saying Fair's sudden confession cannot be taken at face value until they hear one last testimony from her. Luna, at a brief loss for words, agrees with Athena, and the judge orders Fair Devotion to testify for the final time.

[2-8.5] - A Hanging Omen

At the Bridleway Theatre in Manehattan, eccentric Canterlot detective Philo Reed is investigating deeper into Overall Concept's death and has uncovered a new lead. Coco Pommel, having learned about this lead from theater director Playwright, confronts Philo about it and outright refuses to believe it. However, Philo believes in his lead's veracity, stating, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." The detective quickly leaves to follow up on this new information, leaving Coco to somberly ponder on the new, mysterious development surrounding her beloved "Ovie".

[2-9] ~ The Resolve of Athena Cykes

Picking up right where the previous episode left off, Fair Devotion testifies that she and Royal Order teleported to the Everfree Forest together to search for Turning Page. During their search, they got into a heated argument about Turning Page that ended with Fair knocking Royal into the Nightmare Moon statue and killing him. She covered up the murder by making it look like a timberwolf slaying (while also explaining Sugar Stamp and Turning Page's subsequent actions and motives).

With everything Fair has explained, the judge feels a cross-examination would be pointless; instead, Athena proposes a therapy session with the Mood Matrix. Fair Devotion opposes the idea; she calls attention to all the false assertions Athena has made in this case (accusing Zecora of murder, suggesting the involvement of clones, and now accusing Turning Page after promising to save him) and believes Athena took on this case not to defend Turning but to prove herself as a lawyer.

Fair's harsh tirade deeply affects Athena and even starts to turn the courtroom gallery against her. But upon inwardly reflecting on why she became a lawyer in the first place and acknowledging her faults, Athena resolves to press forward in pursuit of the truth. After briefly consulting with Twilight, Athena stands by her therapy session proposal, and Princess Luna and the judge agree.

Using the Mood Matrix, Athena analyzes Fair Devotion's testimony; Fair claims to have kicked Royal Order into the statue with her bare hooves, but based on the dent in Royal's armor, he could only have been struck with something long and rectangular, like Turning Page's toy sword (the sword and dent are tested and found to be the same shape). Fair confesses that her and Royal finding the sword at the statue is what instigated their argument.

Turning explains that, after the blackmail deal with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, he teleported to the statue to get ahead of Scootaloo and ensure her safety. There, he heard his parents approaching and hid behind the statue, but he dropped his sword, inadvertently causing their argument. In a flashback, Fair angrily berates Royal for drilling the royal guard mindset into their son's head, exposing him to the Everfree Forest's dangers, and giving him a hero complex. She also admonishes Royal for being away from home all the time and not giving Turning Page proper discipline.

Fair Devotion interrupts Turning's recounting of events and claims that is when she killed Royal Order; Athena demands to hear what happened in Turning's own words, but he falls silent. Returning to Fair's therapy session, Athena notes much surprise when she mentions the clang of Turning's sword hitting Royal's armor, suggesting she was not present at the scene when it happened. She requests hearing from Turning again, but Fair once again objects, challenging what the Mood Matrix says and demanding actual proof that she was not at the scene when Royal was hit with the sword.

Athena turns to Sugar Stamp, Private Eye, and Sweetie Belle to try and support her claims, but they either repeat Fair Devotion's words or say nothing, with Sugar even being driven to tears by the proceedings. Athena turns back to Turning Page, reminding him of his earlier request to Athena to save his mother "no matter the cost". In a desperate plea, Athena reveals to Turning how she previously thought she killed her own mother, how someone dear to her took the blame for it, and how that guilt ate her up inside for years afterward; she is trying to save Turning from a similar fate. Clutching the ribbon Scootaloo gave him on the night of the murder, Turning decides to confess.

Turning Page explains that Fair Devotion ran off in the middle of her and Royal Order's argument, leaving Royal alone with his thoughts before Turning came out from behind the statue. Fair cuts Turning off yet again, telling the judge that he is just confused, but Athena and Luna demand she let her son speak. A frantic and overemotional Fair Devotion continues to insist she is Royal Order's killer, causing the Mood Matrix to overload. In her new testimony, Fair claims that Sugar Stamp and Private Eye helped cover up Royal Order's murder in order to protect "the one who actually killed Royal Order".

Athena realizes that Fair Devotion, Sugar Stamp, and Private Eye all worked together to protect Turning Page; Sugar Stamp and Private Eye were both close to Royal Order that they would have wanted to shield his son from punishment. In an effort to get Fair to allow Turning's confession, Athena brings up the legal clause of double jeopardy—a defendant cannot be prosecuted for the same crime twice—and Turning was already acquitted of Royal Order's murder. However, Turning would be forced to carry the stigma of having killed his father for the rest of his life, and everyone would look at and treat him differently.

Athena points out that the alternative is Turning Page having no one left to look after him because Fair Devotion, Sugar Stamp, and Private Eye would all face punishment for their actions. Sugar and Private are swayed by Athena's words and ready to come clean, and even Turning is prepared to face whatever happens, driving Fair to snap her teaching baton in half and break into tears.

Turning Page continues to explain what happened: after his mother ran off in the middle of her and Royal Order's argument, he came out from behind the statue. He told his father what happened with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, and Royal realized his teachings had given Turning an overinflated sense of justice and a reckless attitude. When Royal suggested they slow down on Turning's royal guard training and even enroll him in school, Turning got angry, mistakenly believing his father was telling him to give up on his dreams. He eventually got so upset that he struck Royal Order with his sword, causing Royal to stumble on his weak, poison joke-affected legs and impale his head on the statue. Turning Page had unintentionally killed his father.

Fair Devotion chimes in, confirming what Athena said to be true, and continues: she returned to the scene after hearing the clang of Turning Page's sword hitting Royal Order's armor and found Turning standing over Royal's dead body. Turning suggested turning himself in to the police, but Fair, unwilling to lose both her husband and son in the same day, covered it up by making it look like Royal was killed by timberwolves. Sugar Stamp, having been in the forest at the time delivering a letter to Zecora, observed the scene from the trees and overheard Fair's plan.

As Fair and Turning moved Royal's body to the crossroads, they heard the clang Sweetie Belle caused to scare the timberwolves away. While Fair went to investigate and move the blood and armor to the forest clearing, Turning was left alone with Royal's body when Scootaloo crashed into them with her scooter. Turning eventually teleported the body to the castle ruins to frame Diamond and Silver for the murder as payback for their blackmail scheme. Unfortunately, he had also teleported the scooter and wagon, causing Diamond and Zecora to discover them. When Turning confronted his mother again at the statue about wanting to turn himself in for killing Royal, Sweetie Belle heard the whole thing while hiding behind the statue, giving her the idea for sending the anonymous tip. Afterward, Turning Page was forced to watch as Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Sugar Stamp all came under suspicion of murder while Fair Devotion pressured him not to turn himself in.

When Turning himself got arrested after Sweetie Belle sent the anonymous tip, Sugar Stamp approached Fair Devotion and offered to take the blame for the murder, and they worked together to concoct a fake story about Royal Order and Sugar having an affair. Private Eye eventually got roped into the scheme as well, and he agreed to help for the sake of his dear friend's son. Despite Fair's best efforts, however, her scheme unraveled in the end because she could not hide her true emotions from Athena Cykes. With everything now out in the open, Fair asks Athena if pursuing the truth of this case was worth the tremendous cost, but Athena does not have an answer. For the crime of murdering Royal Order, Sweetie Belle is found... Not Guilty!

However, it is a hollow victory; Fair Devotion, Sugar Stamp, and Private Eye all face criminal charges for their roles in Fair's conspiracy, and though he cannot be found guilty of murder due to double jeopardy, Turning Page faces punishment for crime scene tampering and perjury. In lieu of potential jail time, Princess Luna proposes that Turning be enrolled in a royal boarding school to teach him the discipline and temperament necessary for him to become a royal guard. Athena and the judge both agree with this sentencing. Fair Devotion and Turning Page have a sorrowful goodbye as they are forced to be separated, with Turning giving his mother the ribbon that Scootaloo gave him. Though he will likely be stripped of his authority as detective, Private Eye promises to find a way for Sugar Stamp to be named Turning Page's legal guardian until Fair's release.

In the courtroom lobby, Twilight offers halfhearted congratulations to Athena for winning the trial, but with the way it ended, no one in the group feels like celebrating. Apollo in particular feels this case left too much collateral damage in pursuit of the truth, but the others agree that the truth should always be a lawyer's ultimate goal in court, regardless of the fallout it causes.

When Rarity and Sweetie Belle enter, Twilight's friends immediately deal with such fallout when Scootaloo berates Sweetie for sending the anonymous tip. This leads to a very heated argument between them, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash, despite Apple Bloom and Applejack's efforts to calm everyone down. Twilight is doubly concerned when Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, who have been absent for much of the case, are once again absent and Applejack appears to be hiding the reason why. Lawkeeper Equity then appears, seeming to find amusement in the disharmony among Twilight's friends. She congratulates Athena on her trial victory, agreeing with her that the pursuit of truth is always more important than the consequences that come with uncovering that truth.

Equity announces to the group that, thanks to the investigations of a new lead detective, a new suspect has been identified in the death of Overall Concept: Rarity. Shaken by this sudden development, Twilight trusts that the Wright Anything Agency will prove Rarity's innocence, but Equity casts doubt on their trust in Twilight for the secrets she is keeping from them; Phoenix mentions the Psyche-Locks he saw around Twilight, and Athena remembers the discord she heard in her heart. As Rarity is placed under arrest and dragged away, the case comes to a bleak end.

END

Turnabout Discharge

[3-1] ~ Hindsight and Foresight

The episode begins with a flashback to an unspecified time in the recent past; in a Manehattan courtroom, Overall Concept (the Turnabout Theatre case victim) is on trial for murder, with Princess Celestia as the judge, Sonata as the defense attorney, and Trixie Lulamoon as the prosecutor. This is Sonata's first trial since she was released from prison and became an attorney.

Celestia begins the trial, and Trixie explains the case's details: Overall Concept has been charged with murdering Estella Pantomimia, a prominent Bridleway Theatre costume designer and Overall's coworker. In addition, Estella's twin sister Espie has mysteriously disappeared. Overall and Estella were rumored to have been romantically involved prior to her death, but Trixie suggests that Overall may have killed her because she threatened to replace him as Bridleway's head costume designer. Sonata dismisses this motive as unfounded speculation, but Trixie still has evidence and testimony implicating Overall Concept as the murderer. Regardless, Sonata is determined to prove Overall's innocence.

The story then flashes forward to several days after the end of Sweetie Belle's trial; Rainbow Dash has been arrested for another crime and detained at the Cloudsdale detention center. Sonata has offered to represent Rainbow in court, but after the events of Turnabout Storm, Rainbow wants nothing to do with her, and any and all attempts to reason with Rainbow fall on deaf ears.

Refusing to let Rainbow Dash hinder her efforts, Sonata employs a communication tactic to press her into talking and draw information out of her through the proper responses and reactions. Despite Rainbow's defensiveness, she eventually reveals that Pinkie Pie was a witness to the events that led to her being arrested and that the victim was a fellow member of the Wonderbolts Reserves named Stream Line, of whom Rainbow appears to have a very low opinion. Stream Line had suddenly collapsed during a training exercise at the Wonderbolt Academy, and Rainbow is suspected of poisoning her.

Rainbow expects Phoenix to defend her in court like last time, but Phoenix says Sonata will be her attorney while he serves as co-counsel. Rainbow is still resistant to this idea, but Sonata once again assures her that she has changed since the events of Turnabout Storm and promises to do everything she can to prove Rainbow's innocence. With Phoenix vouching for Sonata, Rainbow finally agrees to accepting her help. Unfortunately, a guard enters to take Rainbow away for further questioning and reveals that, due to her case being of supposed "national importance", her trial will be taking place later that same day, giving Sonata and Phoenix very little time to prepare her defense.

Meanwhile, in Manehattan, Apollo, Trucy, Applejack, Sweetie Belle, and Spike are investigating at the Bridleway Theatre. After Rarity was arrested for her suspected involvement in Overall Concept's death, Apollo has offered to defend her in court, and after numerous delays by case prosecutor Prince Blueblood, Apollo and his friends are finally able to investigate.

The group meets with theater director Playwright, who was shocked and appalled to learn that Rarity was arrested; Coco Pommel had taken the news especially hard. Playwright explains that Rarity had no apparent connection to Bridleway Theatre outside of her relationships with Coco and Overall Concept, and he offhandedly mentions that Overall got along well with everyone he knew, including Estella and Espie Pantomimia, who mysteriously disappeared six months prior.

With Bridleway Theatre and Overall and Coco's apartments having already been extensively investigated, the group is unsure of where to go next. At Sweetie Belle's suggestion, they decide to check out Overall's previous place of work: "Keresmatic's Mare Attic", an establishment that – according to Playwright – is known for hosting seedy and unsavory activities. Playwright also informs them that the case's lead detective (whose investigation resulted in Rarity's arrest) is currently there

[3-2] ~ Skeletons in the Closet

Apollo and company arrive at Keresmatic's Mare Attic; realizing it is not an appropriate establishment for children, Apollo goes inside with Trucy while Spike and Sweetie Belle wait outside with Applejack. Inside, Apollo and Trucy meet Fated Pursuit, a member of the Equestrian High Council alongside Lawkeeper Equity, and learn from her that Prince Blueblood has been removed from Rarity's case after his conduct in Coco Pommel's trial, though she does not know who is replacing him as prosecutor. They are joined by Philo Reed, the case's lead detective, who quickly deduces that Apollo and Trucy are investigating Rarity's case.

When asked what new evidence resulted in Rarity's arrest, Philo explains a recently discovered letter proved Rarity's involvement and guilt, but the letter is still undergoing police examination. Philo also shows Apollo and Trucy to Overall Concept's old room, where they find a framed photo of Estella and Espie Pantomimia on the nightstand and an empty glass vial hidden in the pillowcase. Apollo is disappointed by the bare findings and skeptical that the Pantomimia sisters are even related to the current case.

On their way out, they bump into Coco Pommel, who is anxious for any developments about Rarity's case. Apollo tells her about the relationship between Overall and the Pantomimia sisters, but Coco was unaware of any such relationship. Regardless of their lack of progress so far, Apollo remains steadfast in his belief in Rarity's innocence and assures Coco that he will defend her as best he can. Trucy convinces Apollo that it may be worth looking into the Pantomimia sisters' disappearance, and Philo offers to get Apollo that information as well as put in a request for Trucy to serve as Apollo's co-counsel for Rarity's trial.

Meanwhile, Sonata and Phoenix investigate at the Wonderbolt Academy. They meet with Wonderbolts captain Spitfire; though she maintains the outward appearance of a tough captain who is disappointed by the actions of one of her cadets, Sonata detects that, deep down, Spitfire does not believe Rainbow Dash would do what she has been accused of. Using that belief, Sonata asks Spitfire to let them investigate before Rainbow's trial later that day. Spitfire agrees on the condition that she accompany Sonata and Phoenix as they conduct their investigation.

In the Wonderbolts Reserves locker room, Sonata and Phoenix discover two boxes of grape juice with different shipping numbers in Stream Line's locker. In Rainbow Dash's locker, they find an entire carton of grape juice boxes; the shipping number on them matches the number on one of the boxes in Stream Line's locker. In the Reserves' barracks, they discover a tear in the mattress next to Rainbow's bed. Phoenix suspects Rainbow has something to do with the tear considering it's in the bed next to hers and that when they were questioning Rainbow earlier about the reason for her arrest, Phoenix saw Psyche-Locks appear around her.

Having found all that they can, Sonata and Phoenix turn to Spitfire for information on Stream Line. As Rainbow Dash already explained, Stream Line suddenly collapsed during a training exercise and started exhibiting multiple symptoms including excess sweating, extremely high heart rate, lightheadedness, vomiting, and anxiety. She was also heard mumbling "Stay, uh... so sorry..." over and over until she passed out, after which she was taken to the hospital and has been under observation ever since. In addition, despite Rainbow Dash being suspected of poisoning Stream Line, her tox screens came back negative for any known poisons.

When asked if anything else happened at the academy lately, Spitfire leads Sonata and Phoenix to a destroyed landing strip. During a public tour of the academy, a large tornado blew across the landing strip, resulting in the Wonderbolt Fleetfoot and a filly in the tour group named Sky High getting injured. It happened on the same day Stream Line collapsed, and Spitfire suspects someone created the tornado as a prank. After the police's initial investigation turned up no leads, Spitfire believes Sonata and Phoenix are the only ones who can find out the truth behind these events, especially after Detective Private Eye's recent tampering of evidence has shaken her trust in the police.

In Lawkeeper Equity's office in Canterlot, Philo Reed requests several favors of her. First, he passes along a message from Private Eye concerning Turning Page's custody case, but after Private Eye's unlawful actions in the previous case, Equity has since ignored his attempts to reach out. Second, Philo petitions for Trucy to be assigned as Apollo's co-counsel in Rarity's case; Equity denies the request, citing proper protocol, but advises Philo to tell Trucy to send an official letter of request herself.

For his last favor, Philo wishes to give Apollo the Pantomimia case file, believing it would make things more balanced between the defense and prosecution. Equity sees no point in doing so, as Rarity's guilty verdict is virtually certain, but when Philo mentions Equity's predecessor and mentor – the Lawkeeper before her – she acquiesces. However, she mentions that Philo has been summoned as a witness in Rainbow Dash's trial and thus will not be able to give the file to Apollo until afterward.

Just before Philo leaves, Equity mentions that she could never forget her mentor and that, while history remembers him as a hero, she will always remember him for who he truly was. As Philo exits the office, Equity opens one of her desk drawers. Inside is an ink stamp, with a ribbon around it that reads "To Equity, from Lawkeeper A"; the rest of the name is obscured.

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