Awakening Fluttershy's Dark Sky

by Misty Shadow

The Biggest Riddle

"Prince Luna…" Fluttershy said. "The defense accuses you of being the real murderer!"

DUN DUN DUN

Judge Discord, Prosecutor Rarity, Prince Luna, and everyone in the crowd looked confounded.

"Wait...really?" Prince Luna asked. "I...don't understand. I confessed to my small part in the affair, but I'm not the one who actually did the deed, nor am I the one who orchestrated the deed."

"Huh huh heh…" Fluttershy laughed. "And do you want to know what the craziest part is?"

Fluttershy slammed her hooves on the bench hard and shouted…

"I BELIEVE YOU!"

After a long moment of silence, Discord, Rarity, Luna, and everyone in the crowd looked even more confounded. The crowd was jabbering very loudly, trying to guess this mystery.

"FLUTTERSHY!" Judge Discord shouted as he banged his gavel harder than ever. "Are you...two smokes shy of being high?!"

"I…" Prosecutor Rarity stuttered as she wore a goofy grin on her face. "I...don't even have a smartass remark for this one. I feel no obligation to provide an extra dose of humor to the situation for once. This is laughable enough already. However, I do feel an obligation to ask you where you're trying to go with this."

"I'm trying to get this trial to go in a whole new direction." Fluttershy replied. "It's the only way to find the real killer. I've figured it out. None of the witnesses are the true murderer, at least not in the sense that they're the mastermind. The mastermind wanted me to believe that the real killer who devised the murder plan had to be a witness. But logically, that makes no sense. Think about it, why in the world would the mastermind show up to testify as a witness? He wouldn't send himself, he'd send a patsy, just like he'd send an assassin to do his dirty work for him."

"But Fluttershy," said Rarity, "it also logically makes no sense for the mastermind to send someone to testify for him as he would have no motive to do so. What does he have to answer for in court if we have no idea who he is?"

"Sorry Rarity," apologized Fluttershy as she shook her head, "but you're wrong. He does have a motive. The mastermind knew this trial was going to happen. Throughout this story, he has seen the evidence accumulating...evidence that could be used to incriminate him. He knows I've only been given one chance to win this trial, and he wants me to waste it by accusing the wrong suspect!"

"So you mean to say…" Rarity responded as her goofy look turned into a serious one. "...that he's made this entire trial his trap."

"It's a ruse!" Discord yelled, only to hear dead silence and crickets chirping in response. "What, am I not saying it right?"

"You propose an interesting idea," complimented Rarity, "Fluttershy. But might I ask, how do you propose the way the mastermind made this trial a trap? All of the witnesses I've prepared were prepared by me, and me alone."

"Hmm…" Fluttershy thought. "She makes a good point. How exactly could the mastermind have rigged this trial? I haven't cross-examined Prince Luna yet, there maybe an extra nugget of information that I've not dug out yet..."

"The defense acknowledges the prosecution's logic," said Fluttershy, "and would like to temporarily withdraw its accusation. However, the defense would also like to proceed with its cross-examination of Prince Luna."

"As you wish." Rarity replied.

"Prince Luna," said Fluttershy, "the main reason for me accusing you in the first place was because I found something in your testimony that just didn't fit."

"And what might that be?" Luna asked.

"It was in your final statement," answered Fluttershy, "where you said that you had "played your part in this story and would just be lost in the shadow of whatever continues"...but what does that mean?"

"I can tell you what means easily." Luna replied. "It means that I'm not a plot-essential character at this point of the story. Compared to a character, like, let's say you, I'm just going to get lost in your shadow."

"Hmm…" Fluttershy said with a smirk. "By me, do you mean me, or do you mean me as King Sombra?"

"...?" Luna went. "What?"

"For the possibly uninformed," said Fluttershy, preparing to give an explanation, "the reason that I have shadow powers is because I fused with King Sombra in the story before this one. Did you mean getting lost in his shadow, or mine?"

"Um...yours?" Luna responded. "Why?"

"It has not been established how exactly I'm a plot-essential character at this point of the story yet." Fluttershy told her. "While I did show Twilight's friends the way to the Immortal World, that was the only thing I did after you died that was crucial to the plot. At this point of the story, I should only be as important to the plot as you because like you, all I did was provide exposition back at The Risen One's home."

"But this trial!" Luna yelled. "Without you, the real killer couldn't be found...oh."

"Yeah," said Fluttershy, "this trial doesn't count, because it's just an optional puzzle that allows the Decision Makers to choose which ending they want to see. The real killer doesn't have to be found. Which begs the question Luna...why do you say that I'm still a plot-essential character?"

"..." Luna remained in silence for a while before shooting Fluttershy a deadpan glare. "Because I know who you really are."

"Oh?" Fluttershy responded.

"The Dark Sky members solved the riddle…" Luna explained. "We know what you've done…"

"Then please Prince Luna…" Fluttershy pleaded. "Show what I've done to the court."

It was then that Luna presented the riddle that Boss had shown the Dark Sky members at the end of the first chapter...in its solved form.

Everyone in the courtroom besides Luna and Fluttershy gasped. Even Discord and Rarity had astonished looks on their faces.

"I believe I have enough proof now to support my next accusation." Fluttershy said with a wide smile on her face.

"..." Fluttershy kept thinking, and something eventually dawned on her. "It's so crazy...but it's the only thing that makes sense...the only thing that could possibly make every clue come together…"

Fluttershy prepared to give Rarity a reply to what she had said about calling the witnesses herself.

"How sure are you about that?" Fluttershy asked.

"Hmm?" Rarity responded.

"Think deeply and carefully…" Fluttershy said. "The kind of world we live in. Any event can happen in this world if it's written in a god's story book, but only if it's approved by the god of the highest authority, right?"

"Um, yes?" Rarity replied. "That would be Discord and I."

"No," said Fluttershy, "I mean the god of the highest authority, not highest writing authority."

"?!" Rarity went as she got down on the bench and began sweating with a worried look on her face. "You wouldn't!"

"I would!" Fluttershy yelled. "And I will!"

Fluttershy slammed her hooves on her desk once more and shouted…

"THE DEFENSE ACCUSES THE RISEN ONE OF BEING THE MASTERMIND! HE IS THE REAL KILLER!"

That accusation left everyone watching the trial speechless, and it caused Prosecutor Rarity and Judge Discord to laugh harder than ever.

"So Fluttershy…" Rarity said. "Do you know who The Risen One is? Do you happen to know exactly who you are accusing?"

Discord banged his gavel.

"Whether you have the evidence or not," said Discord, "there is absolutely no way we are continuing this trial unless you can tell us who The Risen One is."

"And don't even think about just guessing…" Rarity added. "You're only getting one chance to do this for obvious reasons, and even if by some fluke you got it right, you'd be left with no satisfaction. After all, this is meant to be the most challenging puzzle of all…"

"...Puzzle?" Fluttershy thought. "Oh yeah...I think they mean that at this point, I was supposed to have had that riddle figured out."

"So Fluttershy," said Discord, "who do you accuse of being The Risen One?"

Question #4: Have you solved the riddle yet?

Fluttershy _a hit _ _ _ _ a Hawaiian _

A. Yes

B. No

No

"...Spike?" Fluttershy said sheepishly.

Judge Discord shook his head.

"Nope, sorry." he said. "That's not correct. This trial is over."

"Uh-wha-no!" Fluttershy yelled.

Discord banged his gavel, announcing that the trial was over.

"Keep trying, kid." Rarity said with a wide smile on her face. "But until next time, the show's over."

The courtroom doors shut.

Fluttershy had lost the trial.

Yes

"The Risen One…" Fluttershy said. "...is Fluttershy!"

DUN DUN DUN DUN DUM

The courtroom was more silent than it had ever been.

"...You?" Rarity asked.

"Fluttershy….." Discord said. "Is this a joke?"

"Guys…" Fluttershy said as she shook her head. "You set up this trial, only gave me one chance at finding the truth, and made the truth as hard to find as you possibly could...because that's what I ordered you to do. You couldn't disobey my order to set up this trial as a test to see how far the Decision Makers would go to find out my darkest secret. Their resolve to find the truth is to be admired. They found the solution to the riddle, the evidence that incriminated me…"

Fluttershy spoke the riddle's solution as follows...

Fluttershy called a hit on herself for a Hawaiian vacation.

"I am The Risen One." she confessed. "Congratulations guys, you figured it out. I asked Rarity and Discord to write this story. I asked Twilight Sparkle to kill me. I am the mastermind who devised the plan for my own murder."

Congratulations reader, you have chosen the Fluttershy ending.