| Crusading for a Turnabout - Part 2 | |
|---|---|
 ~Why The Caged Bird Sings~ | |
| Date added | May 15, 2021 |
| Duration | 1:22:33 |
| Transcript | Available |
| Part of | My Little Ace Attorney: Elements of Justice |
| ⇐ Crusading for a Turnabout - Part 1 |
⇒ Crusading for a Turnabout - Part 3 |
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Trivia[]
- Scootaloo's story of how she got the ribbon from Rainbow Dash is mostly lifted directly from My Little Investigations.
- My Little Investigations creator GabuEx is given a "Special Thanks to" credit in the closing credits.
- As revealed in the director's commentary for the episode, Sugar Stamp did not exist in the original version of the script.