Turnabout Storm/Part 3 - Phoenix

Part 3 - Phoenix

Part 3 - Phoenix
Date added	April 13, 2012
Duration	1:41:44
Part of	Turnabout Storm
⇐ Part 3 - Twilight	⇒ Part 4

Part 3 is a double feature. It shows the second day of investigation from both Phoenix's and Twilight's point of view in 2 different videos. Originally, the Phoenix video was released first, followed by the Twilight video months later, but the author has stated that the correct order is to watch the Twilight part first followed by the Phoenix one.

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The episode starts off with a flashback to several years earlier in Phoenix Wright's universe. At the Fey Law Offices, Phoenix is shouting "My name is Phoenix Wright, AND I'M FINE!" at the top of his lungs.

Head lawyer Mia Fey soon bursts in wondering why Phoenix is shouting; he explains he's following the instructions of a motivational tape in order to prepare for his very first case the next day. Amused, Mia tells Phoenix that he doesn't need the tape as they start to talk about the case and client--Larry Butz, Phoenix's childhood friend. Phoenix is worried about what to do if Larry really is guilty, but Mia tells her junior partner that he shouldn't stress, asking him directly if he thinks his friend could have committed murder. Phoenix replies that although his friend may be a bit of an idiot, he's not a killer, to which Mia responds to go with that--to always believe in his client and always pursue the truth.

Feeling a bit better, Phoenix asks Mia who the prosecutor for the trial will be. Her answer doesn't help his nerves--the prosecutor is Winston Payne, also known as the "rookie killer". Mia then asks why he wanted to know, but Phoenix says to just forget it as the camera fades out.

As the picture goes dark, a parting, sorrowful thought is heard from Phoenix as he reflects on his former boss and her words of wisdom from that long-ago day:

I’ll never forget what you taught me. But somehow...I highly doubt you're looking down on me smiling after what I did today.

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Returning to the here and now, Phoenix and Twilight Sparkle are exiting the courtroom after a disastrous session. Saying she was wrong about Phoenix after he accused Fluttershy of the murder, a tearful Twilight abandons him. Uncertain what to do and feeling miserable over his poor trial performance and Fluttershy, Phoenix is startled by the appearance of an odd pink Earth pony that smells of cotton candy. Seemingly unperturbed by or oblivious to the fact he's a human, she introduces herself as Pinkie Pie, explaining she was trying to find the "spiky-headed monster" everyone was talking about!

Though upset further by this, Phoenix introduces himself. Upon hearing his name, Pinkie starts calling him "Feenie", which uncomfortably reminds him of Dahlia Hawthorne. Needing a sounding board and in desperate need of a friendly voice, Phoenix wonders aloud what he should do next, to which Pinkie suggests he talk to Rainbow Dash about the trial. Suddenly remembering the Pegasus pony had psyche-locks on her, Phoenix perks up and immediately sets off for the Detention Center.

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Upon arrival, Phoenix finds Rainbow beside herself over the embarrassing pictures that Trixie revealed in the courtroom earlier, dramatically proclaiming her life to be ruined. He manages to calm her down but she then turns her frustration on Phoenix, blasting his trial performance and claiming she could have done a better job defending herself. Additionally, she accuses Fluttershy of betrayal over her damaging testimony, declaring her to be an ex-friend.

Phoenix tries to explain that Fluttershy was just being honest about what she saw and that it "tore him up" having to accuse her, but Rainbow still won't forgive her. Changing the subject, Phoenix orders the Pegasus pony to tell him the truth about why she was in the Everfree Forest that night. Phoenix immediately sees chains and three psyche-locks surround Rainbow Dash, to his great relief--the Magatama still works after the earlier incident with Twilight.

At first, Rainbow Dash repeats her earlier claim that she was only in the Everfree Forest to practice for the race. Not believing her, Phoenix asks to play a game where he will try to guess what really happened and she will tell him if he is correct. An uneasy Rainbow Dash agrees but sticks to her story.

Phoenix starts off the game by guessing that she was at the Everfree Forest for something very important--such as meeting somepony. Now visibly nervous, Rainbow asks who she would want to meet there, particularly since nopony ever goes in the forest willingly, especially at night. Phoenix agrees and turns her logic back on her, asking why she would be training for the race in a forest nopony ever willingly goes into.

Phoenix then guesses that Rainbow Dash was meeting Ace Swift in the Everfree Forest, breaking the first of her psyche-locks. As the cyan Pegasus starts to sweat, she quickly asks Phoenix why would she be meeting him when she could have been doing something more important. Phoenix guesses that she had to be there because Ace had something which the Pegasus pony would "move heaven and earth for." When Rainbow Dash asks what that something is, Phoenix brings out the envelope with the embarrassing images Trixie introduced at the end of the trial. Rainbow freaks and begs Phoenix to hide them but owns up that the pictures were the reason for the meeting, causing the second psyche-lock to shatter.

With this, Phoenix asks his final question: why did Ace have the pictures in the first place? With forced and unconvincing nonchalance, Rainbow replies that it's too bad that with Ace dead, they'll never know. But Phoenix responds that he does know: Ace was using the photos to blackmail her, trying to force her to drop out of the Equestrian 500. With that, the last psyche-lock breaks, leaving the prismatic mare stunned and very impressed he was able to figure it all out.

Her secret revealed, Rainbow Dash relates the whole story: two days earlier, she received a letter from Ace saying only "I’ll let your secret out if you don’t drop out of the Equestrian 500. Meet in the Everfree Forest clearing at 8:35PM for negotiations," making it clear what secret he meant by attaching one of the pictures to the letter. Phoenix starts to ask her about the images but she cuts him off hard, saying only "it's a hobby, ALRIGHT?!?"

Reassuring the Pegasus pony that he knows she's innocent, Phoenix asks Rainbow Dash to be completely truthful in answering his next series of questions, even if she thinks it makes her look bad. When she agrees, he point-blank asks her why she moved the cloud to the clearing and set it off.

Scared, Rainbow offers a weak denial, but Phoenix reminds her that he knows she didn't kill Ace and won't feel any differently about her in light of what she reveals. Mustering her courage, Rainbow Dash admits that she did move the cloud to the clearing and set it off with the purpose of scaring--not killing--Ace during the meet-up, both to "kick dirt in his face" and as an emphatic statement that she wouldn't drop out of the race, even in the face of blackmail.

After the two go off-topic briefly, Rainbow Dash explains how her prank was going to work: she prepositioned the cloud in anticipation of the meeting, getting a bigger one then usual in order to make more powerful lightning and a louder, more frightening boom. Phoenix asks if the lightning bolt hit Ace, but the Pegasus pony emphatically denies it, saying she made sure that the cloud wasn't over him; Rainbow insists she could clearly tell Ace wasn't hit by the first strike, which succeeded in frightening him. Her statement made, she left Ace behind and hightailed it out of the forest; Phoenix guesses Fluttershy saw her then.

When Phoenix asks Rainbow why she didn't mention about the blackmail to anyone else, she tells him that if she did, she would have had to explain what she was being blackmailed with, meaning the photos--and her secret--would still be revealed. Accepting her rationale, Phoenix then asks the Pegasus pony to help him understand why Ace was found dead underneath the cloud if the first bolt missed, and why his second lighting bolt theory wouldn't work.

To that, she explains that Cloudsdale Pegasi have been making a new type of storm cloud with a unique safety feature--its lightning never strikes the same place twice. So, once the first bolt strikes (which is always directly under the cloud), you could then move to where it hit and be safe from any subsequent strike. Phoenix then asks Rainbow about how thunder and lighting work in Equestria so that he has a better understanding next time. The Pegasus pony confirms that the lightning bolt creates the boom of thunder when it hits the ground, but concedes that if a bolt struck something in the air close enough to the cloud, then there would be no thunder, possibly explaining why the second bolt wasn't heard.

But Rainbow Dash further notes that if that was the case, then the second bolt couldn't have killed Ace since he was wearing a special lightning-proof race suit which makes Pegasi immune to lightning while flying. The suit has some exposed parts at the neck while a Pegasus is standing on the ground, however...

Armed with new information, Phoenix tells Rainbow that he is leaving to investigate more. Before he can go, the cyan Pegasus calls him back, explaining she has something for him. To his shock, she gives him the key to Ace's room at the Hay and Stay Hotel near Sugarcube Corner, explaining she found it under his room's welcome mat and used it to sneak in before the meeting to see if she could dig up dirt on him. She couldn't find anything incriminating, but maybe Phoenix can?

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Outside the Detention Center, Phoenix is lost in thought, contemplating his next move only to be interrupted by Pinkie Pie, who gets his attention with a party horn. When Phoenix asks why she was waiting for him, Pinkie says she needs help finding something. Figuring she means the "spiky-headed monster" she mentioned earlier, Phoenix begins to admit it's him but Pinkie doesn't let him finish, saying she's actually trying to find something else but won't tell Phoenix what it is because... "It's a SECRET!"

Confused, Phoenix then asks Pinkie if she knows where Sugarcube Corner is so he can find the nearby Hay and Stay Hotel, but this causes the pink party pony to ramble on about making cupcakes. Trying again, he asks Pinkie to show him the way to the hotel, but she says she only will if Phoenix can make her laugh. Phoenix tries several jokes without success until Pinkie notices the pink heart-shaped Equestrian Attorney Badge given him by Twilight. Laughing hysterically over him wearing such a girly-looking trinket, she takes an emasculated-feeling Phoenix to the hotel.

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As Phoenix and Pinkie arrive at the Hay and Stay, Phoenix starts to worry they may get into trouble if anyone catches them breaking into Ace's room, but the point is rendered moot when Pinkie takes the key from Phoenix and opens the door herself. As Phoenix starts to look for evidence, Pinkie asks what they are looking for, occasionally rambling about unrelated subjects. Phoenix tries to explain that they are looking for clues related to the murder, but this leads to an argument over whether a ladder leaning against a bookshelf in the room is a stepladder or regular ladder.

After Pinkie goes off on a slightly more... disturbing tangent, Phoenix suddenly wonders why Ace would even need a ladder if he was a Pegasus, which leads to Pinkie finding a partial letter on the top half of a torn sheet of paper. Though incomplete, it contains some intriguing information about someone taking a "permanent leave of absence" after the Equestrian 500, saying they "can no longer work with" whoever the letter is addressed to. The bottom half of the letter is missing, however, and with it the likely explanation and identity of whoever wrote it.

As they try to figure out the letter's meaning from the limited information, Pinkie's tail starts twitching. She takes cover just as Phoenix is hit on the head by a book that tumbles off the top shelf. Though annoyed and disbelieving that Pinkie's tail spasms could predict anything, he opens the book and discovers it's an advanced spell tome similar to one he saw Twilight reading earlier. Despite not understanding the language used in the book, he finds a small handwritten scribble on one of the pages saying "Continue from here, third line".

Phoenix reaches up high to return the book to the top shelf only to rip a large hole in the underarm of his suit in the process, causing him great consternation. Pinkie then finds a letter on a table which lists all the racers who were competing in the Equestrian 500; at the very top, Rainbow Dash's name is written with a time next to it saying "8:35".

While Phoenix starts to guess what this means, a voice behind them asks what they are doing.

Realizing they been caught red-handed (or red-hooved, in Pinkie's case), Phoenix turns around and is stunned to see Mia Fey in front of him, alive and well. He tries to talk to her, but she acts like she has never seen him before in her life. When she reveals her name to be Sonata, Mia turns out to be a gray, spectacled unicorn with a brown mane and eyeball cutie mark; Phoenix finds it very disconcerting how similar she feels to a pony version of Mia.

Sonata informs Phoenix and Pinkie that they've broken into her room and she could have them booked on breaking and entering charges. Phoenix is confused since Rainbow Dash said it was Ace's room, but Sonata tells Phoenix that she was Ace's manager before the murder and that they were sharing the same room while at the hotel. As she says this, Phoenix starts seeing a side of her that strongly resembles Adrian Andrews, freaking him out a little.

Sonata then starts talking more about Rainbow Dash and how justice will be served once she has been given a guilty verdict. After arguing briefly over Rainbow's innocence, they end up talking about Trixie--Sonata states that she wanted to be the prosecutor for the case but Trixie beat her to it, registering for the job before Sonata could get back to Canterlot to do so herself. They talk more, and it is shortly revealed that Sonata bears her own grudge against Trixie, a former classmate at magic school, resenting her for being better at magic despite being younger and having such an arrogant and obnoxious personality.

When Pinkie briefly interrupts the story, Phoenix notices Sonata appears to be in pain. He asks about it but she insists she is fine. Resuming their conversation, she tells Phoenix how she is striving to become better at magic and not be like Trixie--i.e., not using her magic for showing off or cheap parlor tricks. Phoenix questions why she would hate Trixie just for that, to which she reminds Phoenix about the way Trixie treated him during the trial. Phoenix notes he's had worse but can agree with the sentiment. Next, he inquires why Sonata wants to be the prosecutor to Ace's murder so bad, to which she replies that if she was in charge she would behave professionally and have already closed the case with "cold, hard, swift justice." Phoenix tries telling her about the methods Mia taught her--to seek the truth, not just a desired verdict--but Sonata is unmoved.

Phoenix then asks about Sonata's eyeball cutie mark, which seems to cause Sonata to wince with pain for the second time. When Phoenix again asks if she is alright, she claims to be fine and changes the subject back to his original question, explaining that her cutie mark means she is good at perceiving and having a keen eye on detail--case in point, she is able to tell Phoenix is hiding a suit rip, and Pinkie is thinking about ladders.

Perturbed, Phoenix asks her more about Ace and her relationship with him as a manager. This query, however, sets off the Magatama as four psyche-locks appear in front of Sonata. Clearly not wanting to answer his question, Sonata orders Phoenix and Pinkie to leave. They do so, leaving Phoenix wondering why she didn't call the police as she threatened to.

As Phoenix and Pinkie exit the hotel, Phoenix asks Pinkie how she thinks the murder happened. He immediately regrets this as the pink Earth pony launches into an outlandish theory that Rainbow Dash was framed for the murder by her evil twin, "Wob Niar". An exasperated Phoenix tries to reason with Pinkie that this is not what happened, but is startled by the sudden appearance of a gray Pegasus with a blonde mane asking if they have received a letter not addressed to them.

Phoenix starts to freak out over her eyes, which point in two wildly different directions, but is steadied by Pinkie and manages to answer that they haven't received such a letter. Disappointed, the skew-eyed mail mare explains that an important letter was misdelivered and now she has to track it down. When she recognizes Phoenix as the human lawyer who didn't know anything about Pegasi or weather, Phoenix ruefully admits he was under-prepared and asks for the mail mare's name.

She gives it as Derpy Hooves, but Pinkie warns Phoenix not to call her by it, as she is very sensitive about it. Not quite believing her but heeding the warning all the same, he asks Derpy her opinion on the trial, who replies with a surprisingly well-done (and rather cutting) poem detailing her feelings and observations. As Derpy leaves to continue searching for her missing letter, she warns the two that a "mean unicorn calling people names" is out and about.

With that, Phoenix remembers the hole in his suit, and Pinkie takes him to get it repaired.

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As Phoenix and Pinkie reach the posh Carousel Boutique, they are met by Rarity, who immediately--and to the human lawyer's pleasant surprise--sincerely compliments his often-insulted hair and suit. Noticing the tear in the latter, she is horrified and insists on fixing it immediately. While she starts repairing it, the two introduce themselves properly.

Impressed by her passion and maturity, Phoenix asks Rarity why she wasn't able to make it to the trial. She explains it was due to an important shipment of perfume she had to retrieve that morning from the post office, which turns into a terrifying fit of rage about being stuck in a very long line with a filly crying behind her while another pony in front was taking forever to do her task with the one available pen, and when she finally got to the front, it turned out her package had never arrived, making her trip and long wait in vain.

After this outburst ends, Rarity regains her composure and calmly produces a copy of her invoice, asking a thoroughly shaken Phoenix to use it to sue the post office for the "torture" she went through. Eager to change the subject, he asks Rarity more about the package she was expecting. Rarity explains that the perfume is very rare and expensive but also very long-lasting, so a single bottle will last an entire year. As they finish chatting, Rarity gives him his suit back, fully repaired. Phoenix compliments her on her work, noting it's his only suit in Equestria.

IIIIIIDDDEEEEEAAAA!!!! This causes Rarity to launch into a long-winded monologue about making a new suit for Phoenix, replete with gemstones and purple fabric. Saying that Rarity will probably be like this for the next hour, the suddenly sane-in-comparison Pinkie tells Phoenix that they have to go to Fluttershy's cottage next. When Phoenix asks why, Pinkie breaks the fourth wall to claim the script says so. Though having absolutely no idea what she's talking about, he agrees to go.

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Arriving at Fluttershy's cottage, Phoenix hears a country-accented voice. Turning, he is shocked to see Lotta Hart and starts to panic. However, just like Mia turned out to be Sonata, Lotta turns out to be a Stetson-wearing orange Earth pony named Applejack. She starts to lecture Phoenix, threatening to "smack [him] upside the head" for accusing Fluttershy of the murder. Phoenix starts to explain but Applejack cuts him off, saying she figures he only did it to buy Rainbow Dash another day, but still wants to smack him for it.

Phoenix expands on this, insisting he didn't want to accuse Fluttershy but he had to make a small lie in order to save Rainbow Dash from getting a guilty verdict. The orange Earth pony is unimpressed, reminding him that even little lies have consequences. Trying to change the subject, Phoenix asks if she is Apple Bloom's elder sister due to the similarity of accent. She confirms it, formally introducing herself and Big Macintosh, who greets Phoenix with his trademark "eeyup". She then asks Phoenix and Pinkie if they have seen Apple Bloom, who is supposed to be grounded for going to the Everfree Forest so late.

They haven't, but Applejack makes a point to thank Phoenix for getting Apple Bloom to tell the truth on the stand, noting herself to be the Element of Honesty and wishing to pass this on to her sister. Chatting briefly about the Elements of Harmony and Twilight, Phoenix asks if Apple Bloom came home at the time she said in the trial. Applejack confirms she did. That point settled, they try to figure out the mystery of the second lightning bolt, but this stops when Applejack's head starts hurting. Talk turns to Trixie, and Applejack explains the origin of the show pony's grudge against Twilight and the rest of the Mane Six. At the end, she asks him to prove Rainbow Dash innocent and stick it to Trixie. He promises he will.

After they go their separate ways, Phoenix asks Pinkie if meeting Applejack was the reason for coming to Fluttershy's cottage. Before she can answer, Pinkie coughs, which she says means something strange is about to happen. He scoffs again at her predictive power, only to be struck speechless when impossibly, his cellphone rings.

Shocked, he answers the call and is greeted by an unfamiliar male voice. Its owner refuses to identify himself or how he is calling Phoenix, but claims to have evidence that will prove Rainbow Dash innocent. He asks to meet Phoenix in the Everfree Forest clearing the murder took place in, and orders him to come alone. Despite misgivings, Phoenix agrees to the terms, telling Pinkie to wait by the forest entrance.

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When Phoenix reaches the clearing, he finds himself alone. Just as he's starting to wonder if he's in a trap, a pony charges in behind Phoenix and knocks him out (in a cutscene animated by MrPoniator). When he comes to, he finds himself lost in the middle of the Everfree Forest and all his evidence stolen. Going from bad to worse, he hears an ominous growling as timberwolves surround him; Phoenix fears for his life until Fluttershy comes out of nowhere to stare the vicious lupines down, ordering them to leave.

Stunned to see the timid Pegasus able to accomplish such a feat but very grateful for her rescue, Phoenix apologizes profusely to Fluttershy for accusing her in the trial, explaining why he did it. Fluttershy accepts his apology, saying she went looking for him after being told by Pinkie he had gone in the woods alone. Phoenix then asks why she is out of police custody; she answers that they let her go, meaning the feather theory was a bust.

Phoenix then asks if she spotted the pony who attacked him. She didn't but starts to fret she was supposed to, reverting back to her trademark timidity after staring down a pack of timberwolves. Phoenix tells her it's fine, but Fluttershy adds one more piece of ominous news--Twilight has decided to fire Phoenix and defend Rainbow Dash herself.

Realizing he needs to talk to Twilight immediately, they head for the exit. Before they reach it, they run into a very surprised Twilight galloping up the path.

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Back at the Library, Phoenix explains to Twilight his actions at the trial, telling her there was no other way to buy time but to accuse Fluttershy--that if he hadn't done it, Rainbow Dash would have been found guilty right then and there. As Twilight starts to understand, Phoenix mentions he knows that Twilight was going to fire him, warning her that if she becomes Rainbow Dash's defense attorney, she will be facing a well-prepared and dangerously clever Trixie. He reminds Twilight that despite being a professional defense lawyer he barely held his own against the grudge-driven show pony; she was remarkably adept at overruling or explaining away any argument or evidence thrown against her.

Twilight becomes visibly confused, uncertain what to do. Phoenix asks Twilight to allow him to do one thing before she makes the decision to fire him--question a pony he knows is hiding something. Twilight says she knows one too, telling Phoenix that ever since the incident with his Magatama she's been "seeing lots of locks". Shocked by the news that she can now see psyche-locks, Phoenix tells her about the Magatama, explaining how it works and aids him in his investigations.

Fascinated by what Phoenix has told her, Twilight asks what black psyche-locks mean but Phoenix doesn't know, having never seen them. Changing the subject, Phoenix tells Twilight that since he told the truth, he wants it from her in return about how he arrived in Equestria--he was summoned on purpose, not by accident as claimed, and demands to know why.

Embarrassed and chagrined, Twilight decides to own up, telling Phoenix that Princess Celestia had ordered her to summon him to Ponyville and play dumb afterwards. She apologizes, but insists she honestly didn't know Phoenix would be a human from another world--the princess didn't tell her that. Phoenix becomes confused how the princess could even know who he is, and Twilight is equally surprised that Phoenix knows nothing about Princess Celestia despite her seemingly knowing everything about him.

With things resolved between them, Phoenix asks Twilight if she managed to find any clues related to the case, at which point the violet unicorn reveals a half-torn letter. Recognizing it as the missing half of the letter Phoenix found in Ace's hotel room, Twilight and Phoenix put the pieces together, revealing the full text:

“This is my letter stating my permanent leave of absence. After the Equestrian 500 is over, I can no longer work with you. We made quite the team, but I can’t live with the guilt any longer. I can’t keep helping you ruin others' lives. It saddens me beyond belief that we must part ways, but I must say farewell. Goodbye Ace; may our paths cross in the future.”

Though there's no name on it, Phoenix guesses from the content who wrote it. With the new information, he suggests to Twilight they split up to interrogate the ponies they want to and meet back at the Library afterwards. She agrees.

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Returning to the Hay and Stay Hotel, Phoenix goes to Ace's hotel room to confront Sonata. She is not happy to see him as he opens by wondering aloud why she didn't call the police since their last encounter, especially since if Phoenix was arrested for breaking into the hotel room, Rainbow Dash would be left without a defense attorney--and very likely be found guilty, just like she wanted.

Not getting a reply, Phoenix goes back to asking Sonata about her relationship with Ace. Just as before, this sets off the Magatama, causing four psyche-locks to appear. Sonata still refuses to answer, claiming it isn't any of his business. Despite this, Phoenix presses her, claiming she has a connection to the murder. When Sonata challenges him to explain the connection, Phoenix reveals the letter Twilight and Phoenix found, noting only she could have written the letter seeing she was the only one doing business with Ace at the time.

This startles Sonata and breaks one of the psyche-locks. She tries to deny it by claiming anypony could have written it, but Phoenix proves it was her with the advanced spell book that fell on his head earlier. At first, Sonata denies the book belonging to her, claiming it to be the property of the hotel. Phoenix debunks that claim quickly, noting the book had to belong to Sonata given another unicorn who has read the same book told him it was only available in Canterlot, where Sonata lives.

Sonata owns up and admits that the book is hers but insists that doesn't prove she wrote the letter. Phoenix points out that, despite the fact the book is in a language he does not understand, there is a small handwritten note "continue from here, third line" written on the corner of one of the pages, guessing Sonata used it as a bookmark. He goes on to say that they can easily do a handwriting comparison of the note in the book to the writing on the letter, thus confirming she wrote both.

The second psyche-lock breaks as an increasingly frustrated Sonata confirms that she wrote the letter, asking Phoenix how her quitting has any connection to the crime. In response, Phoenix reads out part of the letter stating "I can't help ruin others' lives". Phoenix tells Sonata that he knows what it means, showing her the embarrassing images of Rainbow Dash. Despite the unicorn claiming she has never seen the pictures before, Phoenix asserts that Sonata had some part in Ace's blackmailing business, causing the third psyche-lock to break.

Sonata then accuses of Phoenix of having a wild imagination, asking why she or Ace would want to blackmail Rainbow Dash in the first place. This time, Phoenix replies by showing Sonata the blackmail letter Rainbow Dash gave him earlier. Sonata claims that there is still no way that letter could prove her or Ace had anything to do with it until Phoenix reminds her that they could do handwriting analysis on it as well--a simple visual inspection shows the writing styles match, thus proving she wrote the letter and was directly involved in the blackmail scheme.

With this, the final psyche-lock breaks and a strangely serene Sonata congratulates Phoenix on uncovering the truth.

Confused as to why the gray unicorn seems unperturbed about her secret being found out, Sonata informs him that she has nothing to worry about because he is not going to tell anyone about it. Phoenix immediately denies that, claiming he is going to the police immediately, but is stopped short when Sonata reminds him about being caught breaking and entering earlier. After brazenly detailing the blackmail scheme, she warns him that if he tells anyone about it, she will immediately have him arrested and will be attending the trial the next day to make sure his lips stay sealed. She further reminds him of what he himself noted earlier--if Phoenix is arrested, he won't be able to defend Rainbow Dash, and the Pegasus pony will almost certainly be found guilty.

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Frustrated, Phoenix returns to the Library to wait for Twilight, trying to think how to get around Sonata's threat but also uncertain as to how the blackmail scheme relates to Ace's death. Entering the library, he spots Owlowiscious and tries talking to him. Not getting any response from the avian except owlish hoots, Spike appears, explaining the owl is Twilight's nocturnal assistant while he handles the day chores. The two are chatting about Twilight as the violet unicorn returns.

Glaring at Spike after overhearing him call her a nerd, she tells Phoenix that she thinks she knows who's behind Ace's murder. Announcing to Phoenix he is not fired, she promises to fill him in the following morning, heading to bed to rest after an exhausting day. Wishing her good night, Phoenix stays up a little while longer, brooding over what to do about Sonata.

Abruptly, an idea occurs to him, and he asks Owlowiscious for a favor.

Trivia

• Phoenix shouting "My name is Phoenix Wright, AND I'M FINE!" is a reference to Apollo Justice, who frequently shouts "My name is Apollo Justice, AND I'M FINE!"
• The song Pinkie Pie hums on her and Phoenix's way to Ace Swift's hotel room is Pursuit ~ Cornered from the first Ace Attorney game's soundtrack.
• Pinkie Pie's guesses as to what Phoenix hopes to find in Ace's hotel room include:
  • A magical stone (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, also known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States)
  • A secret chamber (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)
  • A prisoner (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)
  • A cup (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)
  • Something Phoenix "ordered" (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)
• Phoenix and Pinkie Pie's conversation about the difference between Ladders and Stepladders is a reference to a recurring joke in the Ace Attorney series.
• Pinkie Pie's remarks about hacksaws and saws is a reference to the fanfiction Cupcakes, which depicts Pinkie Pie as a violent psychopath.
• Sonata's remark that "I don't know what trials and tribulations you've been through", is a reference to the title of the third game in the Ace Attorney series, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations.
• Pinkie's mention of Rainbow Dash's evil twin "Wob Niar" mirrors Maya Fey's mention of Phoenix's evil twin "Xin Eohp" in Trials and Tribulations.
• During Phoenix's conversation with Derpy, Derpy says "Oh how I laughed and laughed" followed by Phoenix thinking "Except I wasn't laughing", which is a reference to the lyrics of the song Want You Gone from the end credits of Portal 2.
• Rarity's middle name, Tabitha, is a reference to her voice actress on My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, Tabitha St. Germain.
• Rarity mentions she attempted to "love and tolerate", which a reference to the Brony fandom's original insignia of love and tolerance.