//------------------------------// // Chapter Two: What Lurks In The Depths Part 5 // Story: Danganronpa: In Harmony's Wake // by Dewdrops on the Grass //------------------------------// Chapter Two: What Lurks in the Depths Deadly Life “What happened, what happened?!” Flash cried out as he practically galloped down the stairs. “I just heard screaming and shouting and--holy shit, Apple Bloom!” Applejack let go of her sister’s body and fell over, shaking, her crying meek and quiet now. She laid there without a care as the blood pooling from Apple Bloom’s wound soaked into her hair, turning it from blonde to a rusty dark pink. I wanted to rush forward, to comfort her, but I was afraid in her sorrow she’d end up snapping my neck. So instead I slowly stepped down the steps from the stage and checked on Trixie, who was still lying on the ground, her eyes spinning. Her silk hat was crushed beneath her body, ruined beyond repair. “Ooooh,” Trixie moaned, holding a hand to her head. Blood was streaming down the side of her face from a gash on her forehead, staining the front of her performance shirt. “What happened? Trixie blacked out for a moment.” “Hey Tiara, pass down that first aid kit!” I ordered, brooking no dissent. A quick toss from Tiara later and I brought out a large moist towelette from a paper wrapper, using it to wipe as much blood off of Trixie’s face as I could manage. Then I unwrapped a large bandage, sprinkled on some antibacterial ointment, and pressed it against Trixie’s wound until it firmly adhered. “There. Better?” Trixie poked at the bandage and winced, then wiped away some of the dripping blood I’d failed to get. “Trixie supposes, but Sunset, what happened? Trixie just remembers bowing, and then…” “Apple Bloom’s dead,” I said in a stoney voice. “What?!” Trixie’s hands both shot to her face, then she squealed as she realized she’d smacked her own wound in the process. “How? What? Why?” DING-DONG DONG-DING That chime, that infuriating chime rose as the screens in the theater lit up, revealing a smug, satisfied, dare I say it gleeful Monoponi holding a snifter of brandy at his desk. “A body has been discovered! I’d say everybody should gather in the theater, but you’re all already there! Upupupupu!” As the screens shut off, Monoponi flashed into existence on the stage. “Well, well, well,” he said, holding both his forehooves to his mouth as he used his wings to hover. “Would you look at that. Little Apple Bloom! How shocking. How terrible! How delightfully horrible.” I took a moment to scan the faces of everyone, reading the shock, horror, and sickness in their eyes. Pinkie was once again without a single spark of energy, her hair flattened against her skull, her whole body limp like a puppet with its strings cut. Fluttershy was weeping into Rainbow Dash’s shoulder, who stood there stoically, her open jaw the only sign of distress. Rarity had Sweetie Belle wrapped up in what was for all intents and purposes a chokehold as she cried messy tears, destroying her makeup. I could hear her whispering quietly to Sweetie Belle about how she was so glad it wasn’t Sweetie. Sweetie was stunned into silence, her eyes full of tears. Twilight was doubled over, weeping into her hands. Tiara and Adagio, meanwhile, had guilty looks on their faces. Probably because they’d failed to save Apple Bloom’s life, even though they tried. Flash had fallen from confusion into sad anger, squeezing his hands until his knuckles turned white. Scootaloo had stomped up to the stage and was kneeling down by Applejack, a look of pure fury etched across her features. Applejack was catatonic, entirely unresponsive, so she seemed ready to be angry in her place. “You!” she snarled, pointing a furious finger at Monoponi. She gripped that finger back into her fist and took a single step forward. “You made this happen!” “And again, here we go with the accusations,” Monoponi said in a weary tone, snorting in disgust. “‘Oh Monoponi, it’s your fault! Oh Monoponi, you killed my friend!’ I’ve heard it all before, and I’m tired of it. It wasn’t me who did this.” He raised a hoof and pointed it in everyone’s direction. “One of you is responsible.” “But how?” Tiara blurted, her hands clapping to her hips. “We were all sitting down watching the show!” “Yeah, we were, all except…” Scootaloo whirled and advanced on Flash till she was at the edge of the stage. Flash took a step back and almost tripped on the seat behind him. “You!” “Me?!” Flash countered, anger welling up within him as he steadied his stance and held up his fists. “I didn’t do a damned thing and you know it, Scootaloo!” “Trixie still doesn’t understand what happened,” Trixie interrupted, getting between Scootaloo and Flash, almost slipping off the stage again in the process until I grabbed her hand to stop her from falling. “How did Apple Bloom die?” “She saved us, Trixie,” I said. While everyone was talking I’d taken the first aid kit and was seeing to my own wounds. The dress was torn up, ruined just as badly as Trixie’s outfit, and if it weren’t for the bra I’d insisted on wearing under it, I’d be bare chested. So much for treasuring Rarity’s hard work. It took several bandages to cover all of the burns I’d picked up from skidding across the stage. I had a major ache in my arm too, and though I could move it just fine, I was afraid it might be sprained. It hadn’t swollen yet, but it might. “She saved our lives.” “She did?” Trixie turned and knelt by Apple Bloom, her face turning green as she beheld the massive wound. The spear was still firmly stuck through Apple Bloom’s body, which was probably a good thing. We didn’t need to see her with a gaping hole in her torso. It was bad enough as it was, her body leaking blood in such a large puddle I began to fear Applejack might somehow drown in it. “She did,” Adagio said quietly, her eyes closed, her expression somber. “I watched it happen. She must’ve heard it or something, and pushed you both out of the way, just so she could take the blow herself.” She squeezed one hand into a fist, the fist shaking from the effort as a few tears dripped down her cheeks. “She could’ve let you die, but she didn’t. She sacrificed herself.” I couldn’t believe my eyes. Adagio? Crying? In public?! She must’ve been scared half to death by what just happened. I wanted to go over and hold her, comfort her, but she’d probably just gut punch me again if I tried. Not the time for it. Scootaloo moved back from the stage and knelt back down to see to Applejack, setting a comforting hand on the farmer’s shoulder. When she didn’t respond, Scootaloo bent down further and embraced her from a rather awkward looking angle, then tried to lift her up. She managed to get Applejack up to a sitting position, though apart from that the farmer didn’t move. A thousand yard stare was etched across her face, her tears having long since run dry. The effect was more than a little unsettling, especially considering the amount of blood all over her shirt, pants, and part of her face. It even dripped a tad from her chin, a macabre display if ever there was one. “Is... is she gonna be okay?” I heard Rainbow Dash mumble. “She’d better be by the trial!” Monoponi answered, landing on his hooves. “Your Captain won’t make any exceptions! She’ll be attending just like the rest of you. And speaking of the trial, I hope you didn’t forget…” “Investigation. We’re going to have to investigate,” Tiara muttered. The bravado she’d demonstrated when Monoponi had announced the motive was gone. She was just like the rest of us: scared. Afraid. Without hope. “Yes indeed!” Monoponi’s horn lit up, and our Monopads let out a shrill bleep. “Oh, but before you start, keep in mind one very important thing! All the rules still apply. There is to be no sharing or implying of your secrets, not during the investigation, nor the trial! You’ll have to puzzle those out for yourselves!” He immediately disappeared with a crack and flash of light. So the motive is critical to the case, then, I thought, nodding in understanding. I wasn’t bothering to process the fact that I’d almost just died, again. I took any feelings regarding that and shoved them down a deep, dark hole, along with everything else. I could cope later, after the trial. Damn it. Apple Bloom wasn’t going to be the last person we watched die tonight, was she? Someone did this to her. Maybe they were aiming for me, or Trixie, or both of us. Or maybe it was just targeted at whoever it happened to strike. But this was intentional. Definitive, obvious murder, just like with Wallflower. And just like with Wallflower, Apple Bloom didn’t deserve to die. None of us did. We were just people, trapped on this godforsaken cruise ship, struggling to survive. And someone broke under the stress. Just like Timber Spruce. Just like I knew they would. Whoever it was, I hoped they were satisfied. Because by the end of this night, I’d make damn sure they paid for this. *INVESTIGATION START* My first act, as before, was to check the Monoponi file. I pulled out my Monopad and brought it up. Fact #1: Monoponi File II: “The victim is Apple Bloom, the Ultimate Builder. Time of death is 7:45 PM. Cause of death was blood loss due to a massive stab wound through the torso.” Of course, nothing useful. I checked the time on my Monopad. 8:02. She died only fifteen minutes ago. Her body's not even cold yet, and here we are investigating. Damn it all. I put my Monopad away and approached the body. “Hey, Scootaloo, got a second?” I asked. “I need to ask you a favor.” Scootaloo looked up from her position next to Applejack. She’d taken a seat right next to her, one arm draped over the farmer’s shoulder, sitting cross-legged and apparently not caring that she was also getting blood all over her clothes. “What is it?” she grunted. “I know you’re busy with Applejack, but do you think you can act as a guard for the body, too?” Scootaloo considered this, scratching her chin with one hand briefly. “Yeah. Definitely. Apple Bloom, she was my friend. It’s the least I can do.” The brave, stoic face she’d thrown on cracked just a little as I saw her eyes grow misty, and she sniffled before shaking it off. “Thank you.” I turned to the other nearby onlookers. “Trixie, do you think you can be the other guard?” “Huh?” Trixie mumbled. For a moment her pupils dilated, going wall-eyed before she shook her head and snapped out of it. “What?” I laid a hand on her shoulder. “You’re in no condition to investigate. Can you guard the body with Scootaloo, please?” Trixie held a hand to her forehead wound and cringed, squeezing her eyes shut. “Yeah. Trixie can do that.” “Good. Take it easy, okay?” I patted her on the shoulder, then grabbed up the first aid kit Tiara had tossed me. I rummaged through it and found two pairs of disposable latex gloves. I donned one pair. Twilight was still crying in the seats, being useless, so I handed the other pair to Adagio. “Think you can investigate with me, Adagio?” “Me?” she inquired, raising one eyebrow. She pointed a finger at her own chest. “I thought you did this with Twilight before.” Rolling my eyes in exasperation, I gestured towards the weeping researcher. “Does she look like she’s any use right now?” I said with a sneer. Adagio’s eyes briefly widened and she took a step back. “Okay. I’ll help.” She took the gloves and slipped them onto her hands. “So what do we do?” “First,” I said, getting down on one knee, grimacing as it sank into the pool of still warm blood. The warmth was the creepiest part. The color, I didn’t mind, but the warmth? The smell of iron? That was awful. “We’re going to examine the body.” “No problem,” Adagio muttered as she too fell to one knee. Apple Bloom’s body was still warm, just like the blood. Her eyes were frozen open, still in that shocked, bugged out state, her pupils dilated to tiny pinpricks. Her mouth hung open slightly, a trail of blood dripping from her lips down her chin and into the larger puddle. The spear had lodged itself in her torso, the long, thin serrated spike shoved entirely through to the base of the twin-spiked crossguard, coated from tip all the way down in pink. It was only as I examined the rest of the spear that I realized this wasn’t just any kind of spear. This one was of Qilin design, just like the swords Trixie had used. Fact #2: Qilin Spear: “A polearm with a thin serrated tip and twin-spiked crossguard, its origins unknown.” “I’ve seen a weapon like this before,” Adagio said as she ran her hands along Apple Bloom’s back, very carefully ensuring to skirt around the edges of the wound. “In…” her eyes darted about before she pointedly looked at me and mouthed “Equestria.” I nodded in understanding, and went back to examining it. “The culprit must’ve bought this in the game corner. Where else would they have gotten it? We’ll need to check there.” I frowned in puzzlement. “It almost looks like the spear shot up from underneath her.” “That’s exactly what it did,” Adagio agreed. “I saw it pop up. Like toast from a toaster.” *Updated* Fact #2: Qilin Spear: “A polearm with a thin serrated tip and twin-spiked crossguard, its origins unknown. The spear impaled Apple Bloom from underneath, popping up out of the stage.” “Then there was a trap set below the stage,” I said. My eyes fell upon the big X of tape right below the body, or what little of it I could see past the blood anyway, and my whole body froze up. “This could’ve been me…” Adagio squeezed her eyes shut, and bit her upper lip, bowing her head. “Yeah. I’m… I’m glad it wasn’t.” “Was the culprit trying to kill me?” I wondered, my blood chilling even more at the thought. “They must’ve! But, but why?” Her eyes shooting open, Adagio replied, “I told you, Sunset. Number one.” Fact #3: Accidental Victim: “Apple Bloom was not the culprit’s intended target. The intended target was Sunset Shimmer.” Okay. Okay. I can deal with this. I can deal with the fact that someone just tried to kill me. And someone died in my place. Right. I can deal. I just gotta stay calm, and cool, and collected. I can deal. I can deal. I can deal. “Right. Right. Okay.” I took several deep breaths, in and out. In and out. “Right. We-we’ll need to search under the stage, then. If I remember correctly, there’s a trap door backstage.” “Okay. Lead the way.” We headed backstage, but on the way, I almost tripped over a sackcloth bag of… something. Something heavy and metal. There was a length of black painted chain a good several feet or more long wrapped around the bag too, ending in part of a quick release clamp. “What the heck? What is this?” I wondered as I bent down to examine it. The planks of wood making up the stage floor all around it was chipped and cracked, as if it had fallen down with great force. Or from somewhere very high up. Or both. Then I remembered. ~*~ But right as we did, I heard something… odd. Like something snapped. Then a whistle of something falling. Then a furious clomping of boots on the stage as Apple Bloom screamed “Look out!” right before we were both body checked to the ground. Trixie fell over off the front of the stage while I skidded on my shoulders most of the way to the other side, friction burning all down every bit of exposed flesh, the sound of crashing metal in our ears. ~*~ “Adagio, I heard something falling at the same time Apple Bloom pushed us over. This must’ve been it.” She poked inside the bag, and withdrew a hammer. “It’s full of tools. Like a lot of tools.” She tried picking up the bag and frowned. “And it’s pretty heavy too.” Fact #4: Bag of Tools: “A heavy sackcloth bag, filled with a selection of random tools. The bag was tied around its top with a length of chain many feet long, ending in half of a quick release clamp. The chain was spray-painted black.” “What the heck was this even for?” I asked, picking up the length of black chain. “It’s like it was hanging from something. And why was it spray-painted?” On a hunch, I decided to look up. And up, and up. Hanging from the stage light rafter was… something. I could see some kind of movement in the air. “Hmm… hey, Rainbow Dash!” Rainbow, who was poking around elsewhere on the stage, looked up and said, “Yeah?” “Can I borrow your penlight again?” With a shrug, she pulled it out of her pocket and tossed it over. “Here.” I caught it deftly in one hand. “Thanks.” Using the penlight, I shined its light up right in the same place I’d seen the movement. And sure enough, there it was: more chain, spray-painted black. Without direct light we never would’ve seen it. The other half of the quick release dangled from the end too, as if the bag had been designed to just come off the chain right at the end for some reason. Fact #5: Black metal Chain: “A chain hanging from high up on stage light rafters. It was spray painted black, and ended in half of a quick release clamp.” “How are we even going to get up there?” Adagio asked, shielding her eyes from the spotlights as she looked up. “And see, for that matter?” “There’s a ladder in the prop shop,” I said. “We need to investigate there anyway, so we might as well do it first. I think it’s probably connected to the case. As for the lights… Hey Flash!” Flash had Twilight wrapped up in his arms, doing his best to calm her down. “What?” he replied, not bothering to look my way. “Can you go back up to the light booth and turn off the spotlights?” Now he glanced my way, his face twisted up in frustration. “Does it have to be right now? I’m kind of busy here.” Busy wasting your time. “Yeah, sure, just get it done soon, please,” I answered, trying not to glare. Don’t even get what she’s crying about anyway. She wasn’t the one who almost died. Waving for Adagio to follow, I left the crowd behind and made my way into the prop shop, stripping our gloves and tossing them into a small bin as we walked in. It was in the same state we’d left it in. The safety box holding the swords was still laying open, sitting on one of the work benches. The shelves stood untouched, save for the supplies we’d taken, the rolling step ladder leaning against the wall between two shelves… wait. I pointed right at the ladder. “That’s not where it was before.” ~*~ It wasn’t the largest shop I’d ever worked in, more suited to smaller set pieces, furniture, and costumes than manufacturing, but it was well stocked with most of what we needed, and well organized too, albeit with plenty of dangerous tools. Hammers and screwdrivers aplenty, heavy wrenches, some power tools, a nailgun or two, table saw, even the large rolling step ladder laying against the wall next to the saw… yeah, there were plenty of tools for murder here. ~*~ “It was next to the table saw when we were working here yesterday. Apple Bloom and I never touched it. We didn’t have a reason to.” Fact #6: Rolling Step Ladder: “There was a rolling step ladder inside the prop shop. It had been moved from its original position.” “Naturally,” Adagio responded, rolling her eyes. “How else did the culprit get up to the rafters? Fly?” She stuck her hands to her hips. “What’re we looking for here, anyway?” “Anything out of place,” I answered as I began poking through the shelves, searching the various boxes. I hadn’t bothered to inventory it, so I couldn’t be sure what, if anything, was missing. But I did stumble across a few things worthy of note, including a box containing several lengths of metal chain, just like the one wrapped around the bag. *Updated* Fact #5: Black metal Chain: “A chain hanging from high up on stage light rafters. It was spray painted black, and ended in half of a quick release clamp. The chain came from the prop shop inventory.” I quickly took a moment to check the large garbage bin in the corner. As I expected, there were several paint cans, some large pieces of cardboard also covered in black, and, oddly, a lot of sawdust. I wasn’t sure what the sawdust was about yet, but the rest made sense, so I moved on. To my surprise, nothing was out of place on the tool shelf. “Then where did the tools… oh!” Underneath the shelf, in a cabinet I hadn’t bothered opening before, was several sets of tool kits, like the kind you’d buy at the mall to keep in your garage. These had all been rifled through and emptied, then shoved back in here. *Updated* Fact #4: Bag of Tools: “A heavy sackcloth bag, filled with a selection of random tools. The bag was tied around its top with a length of chain many feet long, ending in half of a quick release clamp. The chain was spray-painted black. The tools came from toolkits in the prop shop inventory.” “Let’s keep checking around. I feel like there’s still something we’re missing.” I continued to scan the shelves and poked inside the cabinets and the hanging tool racks, but I didn’t see it until I came to the section with power tools. “Oh that’s right. Apple Bloom told me there was a missing drill this morning.” Fact #7: Missing Drill: “According to Apple Bloom, a drill was missing the morning of the show. Its whereabouts are unknown.” “We’ll need to keep an eye out for it.” “Hey, you two!” Diamond Tiara stomped into the prop shop, irritation writ all over her features and flowing off of her in waves as she held up a finger to shake in my face. “What the heck do you think you’re doing, Shimmer?” Oh for pete’s sake. Resisting the urge I had to reach out and snap that finger, I instead took a step back. “What’re you talking about?” Tiara threw up her hands in disgust. “What do you think? You told us yesterday you had no intention of being our leader, then here you are, giving everybody orders, telling everybody what to do, and leaving me just standing there like an idiot!” “That’s because you are an idiot,” Adagio immediately retorted, amusement twinkling in her eyes. “Excuse me?!” Tiara snarled, whirling on the siren and holding up a shaking fist. I don’t have time for this shit. “Look, Tiara, I’m not trying to rain on your parade or anything, but we’ve got an investigation to do, and not a lot of time to do it in.” I started to walk past her. I swear, if she does one more thing to piss me off... Then Tiara made a big mistake: she grabbed my arm. “Hey! You’re not going anywhere! You were one of only people working back here! That makes you pretty supic--” I whirled and cold-cocked her in the face. She fell back and slammed to the concrete floor on her ass with a loud “Oof!” blood trailing from a split lip. Her whole face went blank, shell-shocked. One of her hands slowly reached up and touched her bleeding lip, coming away with pink on her fingers. “I am sick and tired of you accusing me every single chance you get, Tiara!” I screeched. “Don’t you get it? I almost died out there! The culprit was trying to kill me!” I raised one flat-clad foot, ready to kick her back against the floor. Then Adagio set a single hand on my shoulder and fixed upon me with a cold glare. “Stop,” she ordered. I met her gaze with a stare of my own, but against those eyes, those frozen, predatory eyes that, even as I watched, shifted and flashed with a crimson light.. I wavered, buckled, and gave in. With a wordless grunt I turned and left Tiara still sitting there on the floor, completely stunned. I grabbed the ladder from the shop before we left it and rolled it out with me on-stage. By now most everyone was milling about, searching here and there amongst the theater for potential clues, save for Flash, who was still comforting Twilight. “Flash!” I called out. “Come on!” Flash patted Twilight on the shoulder, breathed a quick apology in her ear, then stood. He was angry as he scowled my way. “What do you need me to do?” he growled. He’ll get over it. “I need you back up in the light booth. Turn off the stage lights, and stay up there in case we need something else,” I answered. Rolling his eyes and snorting like an angry minotaur, Flash spun on his hell and stomped back up towards the light booth without saying another word. After a couple minutes wait, the stage lights winked off. I set the rolling ladder right below the hanging chain and, together with Adagio, we climbed up. And up, and up. The ladder reached the top of the beams, but only barely. Taking out the penlight, I switched it on, holding it in one hand and scanning while using the other to feel things out. I had my legs wrapped around the ladder so I didn’t fall. “Well, hello,” I said as the light panned over a familiar object. Adagio’s eyebrows shot up. “Is that the missing drill?” “Yeah, it is, but that’s not all.” I leaned in closer. The drill had been positioned upside down and carefully taped to the beam with some duct tape from the prop shop, with another strip laid on the activation trigger. The drill was set to its lowest setting. But instead of having its power cord plugged into an outlet, since there wasn’t one up here, someone had jury rigged some wiring, mating the drill to the closest light. “Damn,” I whispered. “How’d they do this? And why?” *Updated* Fact #7: Missing Drill: “According to Apple Bloom, a drill was missing the morning of the show. It was discovered taped upside down to the beam supporting the stage lights, set to its lowest setting and with its trigger taped down. The power supply was jury-rigged into the nearest light.” Using the penlight, I followed the end of the drill, to spot something else: a rope tied to the beam. Or rather, fragments of one. The drill bit had chewed through the rope, splitting it apart. What was left remained tied around the black metal chain, which reached off well back towards the backstage wall, past where I could see it. “What do you make of this, Adagio?” Adagio scratched her chin, her expression full of puzzlement. “Maybe they had the bag tied up here?” Then she snapped her fingers. “Yes. It was tied here, and the culprit used the drill to cut through the rope. Like a timer.” Fact #8: Rope: “A rope tied to the stage light support beam. It had been chewed through by the bit of the drill, splitting it apart.” I nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that’s probably likely. Adagio, can you go back down and ask Flash to turn the stage lights on again?” She nodded, and swiftly made her way back down the ladder. I leaned back away from the beam, so I didn’t risk getting electrocuted. Soon enough the lights switched back on. This high up, the effect wasn’t at all blinding. And as I expected, the drill whirred to life, very quietly spinning its bit between the bits of snapped rope. I quickly scanned around with the penlight but I didn’t see anything else of note, so I made my way back down the ladder, squinting my eyes against the bright lights as I passed them. “Did the drill turn on?” Adagio asked me as I came off the ladder. “Yup,” I answered. “So it had to be someone with the brains to do that. That couldn’t have been easy. Or safe.” “Hmm…” Adagio rubbed her chin, then turned to face Twilight, who was sitting quietly, no longer sobbing, but not moving either, rather like Applejack. “Do you think?” I considered that for a moment. She was acting rather guilty. And if anyone had the brains to create something like this, it was her. Still, I wasn’t Tiara, or Scootaloo. I wasn’t about to accuse someone during the investigation and waste everyone’s time. So I shook my head and replied, “Wait for the trial.” “Um, excuse me,” said Fluttershy, walking up to the two of us. “Do you have a minute, Sunset?” I took a hissing breath, then steeled my nerves, trying not to present as much irritation as I had been doing. “Yeah, what is it?” She let out a little whimper, taking several steps back. “Um, that’s okay, nevermind, if I’m bothering you, I--” “Fluttershy,” I interrupted, trying to give her a reassuring smile and succeeding only in plastering an irritated grimace on my face. “Just tell us, please.” “Well, you see, it’s just… I found this.” Fluttershy pulled out some fragments of rope from her pockets, and showed them to us. “They were on the stage. Near… n-n-near Apple Bloom’s… b-body.” I took the pieces from her and examined them closely. They matched the rope we found tied to the beam above. “This is definitely useful. Thanks, Fluttershy.” *Updated* Fact #8: Rope: “A rope tied to the stage light support beam. It had been chewed through by the bit of the drill, splitting it apart. Many pieces fell to the stage below and were discovered near the body.” For some reason, despite the praise, Fluttershy seemed even more scared of me, shrinking away as if I was going to hit her. “Y-you’re welcome, Sunset! Excuse me!” She whisked herself away back to the protection of Rainbow Dash. I held out my hands, flabbergasted. “What? What did I do this time?” Adagio quietly took my right hand, the one I’d punched Tiara with, and turned it over. It was spotted pink with blood, right on the knuckles of the middle and ring fingers. I hadn’t noticed at all. “Oh.” “Sunset,” she said, grimacing, “I’m not… good at this sort of thing, but even I can tell you’re not feeling alright. You’re… angry. Angry like me.” “Angry?” The word churned through my mind, over and over, until all I wanted to do was scream. “Angry? You’re damned right I’m angry,” I said, my words acrid and dark. “Someone killed Apple Bloom right in front of us!” Without meaning to, I’d raised my voice, until I was bellowing so loud Flash could probably have heard me clearly without even trying. “Apple Bloom was my friend! She was kind, and caring, and good! She didn’t deserve the pain and agony of such a cruel death! If I find the motherfucker who did this I’m going to rip them apart myself!” I broke into angry, bitter tears. “She saved my life. She saved my life! I almost died! The only reason I’m still alive is because she saved me, and she paid for that! I… I should’ve… I…” I fell apart entirely, falling over, gripping my head in my hands as I wept, the weakness and fear washing over me in endless pounding waves. I’d come face to face with my own mortality, come bare inches from death, and it scared me more than anything. I didn’t want to be here anymore. I didn’t want to do this. I couldn’t keep feeling empty inside. I couldn’t keep shoving my feelings away and pretend none of this affected me anymore. I’d been pretending for too long, acting all detached, as if I was just an observer, or… or just a player, playing through the motions of the story. But I’m not. I’m Sunset Shimmer. I am a person. Whether human or pony, I matter. My emotions matter. My well-being matters. My life matters. I realized, right then, how I’d been trying to treat this killing game, retreating further and further into my old self, the Sunset-that-was, throwing up barriers, jumping into bed with a freaking siren of all people… everything was just me trying to cope. And I was not coping well. I’d been telling myself I’d stop murders, I’d bring people together, but I hadn’t done a thing. I’d say it to myself, to feel better, then just move on and act like nothing was wrong until the next body hit the floor. Was I going to keep acting this way, the whole time? Keep acting like nothing was wrong, even as friends died all around me? Had I already given up? Given in? I didn’t even know anymore. A hand rested on my shoulder, strong and firm, brimming with an honest warmth, startling me out of my freakout. I looked up in surprise, expecting it to be Adagio, and gasped when I saw who it really was. “Applejack?” I breathed. Applejack didn’t look any better than I did. She was still covered in blood, her eyes still haunted, every so often staring right back into the distance. But she was moving. She was acting. And she was trying to give me a smile. “Sugarcube, Ah can see what you’re goin’ through,” she said. “And Ah heard what you said, about Apple Bloom saving your life. Ah just wanted you to know somethin’. Apple Bloom told me, earlier today, that she thought of you as a friend too.” A few fresh tears glistened at the corners of her eyes.Then her smile turned harsh and cruel. “And you and Ah? We’re gonna get the sunnuva bitch that killed mah sister.” She reached under my arms, grabbed me by the armpits and with one quick motion had me up on my feet before I could react. “Come on, Sunset. If we’re gonna track ‘em down, you and Ah better get cleaned up first.” Without another word, she guided me out of the theater, even as everyone stared in shock our way, including Adagio. I met Adagio’s gaze briefly, but she just looked away, frowning. No one had expected Applejack to get up like this, least of all me. Somehow, it left me feeling even worse, even more guilty. She’d lost her sister, but she was the one having to console me now? How selfish was I? “Ah can see what you’re thinkin’,” she said abruptly as we passed through the food court. “And you can quit feelin’ like you’re being selfish. You’re not, trust me. Ah’m doing this for me as much as for you right now.” “You are?” I said. My voice was hoarse and rough. Weak. “Sure am,” she answered. “Ah won’t lie: Ah’m barely functionin’. Ah can’t even hardly deal with what just happened. Ah gotta focus on somethin’ or else Ah’m just gonna fall apart again.” We reached the cabin corridor, and rather than split off, Applejack insisted we both go inside hers. “Ah don’t think either of us should be alone right now,” she said. “Good point,” I admitted. At any other time, the thought of sharing a shower with someone as pretty and strong as Applejack would’ve excited me, thrilled me even, but that was by far the furthest thing from my mind. Together we made quick work of washing away all the blood, sweat, and tears. The hot water helped me feel a bit better. At the very least, it let me think again, rather than being consumed by my emotions. Applejack made me wait while she dressed, then threw on the bathrobe from her bathroom on me and escorted me to my own cabin. I dressed in a hurry, grateful to be back in my usual clothes. That helped to ground me even more, and allowed me to focus. We still had an investigation to finish, after all. “So,” Applejack said as we returned to the promenade offshoot, “what’re we doin’ first? Ah’m gonna let you lead.” She crossed her arms as she noticed a slight touch of doubt in my expression. “Don’t fret now. Ah ain’t gonna be upset, no matter what we gotta look into.” “Okay.” I pointed to the game corner. “We need to go in here. The weapon used definitely came from here. There’s nowhere else it could have come from.” Applejack gestured with one hand. “Let’s go then.” We entered the game corner. We weren’t the only ones with the idea to explore here. Pinkie Pie pranced around poking at the various games. Rainbow Dash bustled near the prize counter, along with Fluttershy, who meeped when she saw me and hid behind her friend. I started to reach out, to apologize, but Applejack just slowly shook her head. “Not right now. Save it for later.” So without saying a word, then, I stepped past the duo, ignoring the harsh glare Rainbow Dash was throwing my way, and examined the various weapons behind the counter. Like I’d noticed the first time we were here, there was just about every kind of melee weapon you could imagine, in sets of three for each kind. And there, right there, in a cabinet close to the empty space where Trixie’s swords came from, was a set of two long polearms, identical to the one used to kill Apple Bloom. There was a label, too, from the register, along with the code to punch in to dispense it: qiang spear. *Updated* Fact #2: Qilin Spear: “A polearm with a thin serrated tip and twin-spiked crossguard, obtained from the game corner prize counter. The spear impaled Apple Bloom from underneath, popping up out of the stage.” “Looks like I was right,” I said with a sad frown. “Well, that should make this easier then. The prize counter register should tell us who bought it.” Applejack cracked her knuckles on both hands, then stretched out her neck and shoulders. “Right. Lemme at it.” She approached the register and started pushing buttons. I was a little worried she’d start slamming her fist against the screen or something, but she was actually quite patient with it till she got it printing a list. Once it was done, she scanned it, arched her eyebrows, then handed it to me. Fact #9: Prize Counter Receipts: “Tickets scanned: Sun1621DT x 10: DS1a Purchased Sun1623DT x 10: DS1b Purchased Sun1625DT x 10: DS1c Purchased Sun2240AB x 10: QS1a Purchased” I stared, stunned, at what I was reading. “Am I reading this correctly?” I muttered to myself. “Because it looks like the one who purchased the weapon was…” “Apple Bloom,” Applejack said sadly. “Ah don’t get it either.” “Wait, Apple Bloom? Really?” Rainbow Dash interjected, snatching up the paper from me. “That’s so weird. Why would she do that?” Fluttershy gasped in horror, slapping a hand to her mouth. She immediately grabbed Rainbow Dash’s arm and dragged her out of there. I took the receipt back from Rainbow just before they left. “What just happened?” I asked Applejack, my face twisted up in confusion. Applejack shrugged. “Don’t ask me.” With no more clues to be found in the game corner, I decided to move on to the library. I had no idea if it was involved, but it was worth checking out. “Remember to be quiet,” I whispered to Applejack as we entered. We found Rarity and Sweetie Belle inside, searching around for anything out of place. “Oh, good, Sunset,” Rarity said quietly. “Come with me, please.” Leaving Sweetie Belle by a bookshelf, Rarity guided Applejack and myself down to the second floor, where there was a desk near the stairwell. “This is where I placed the logbook,” Rarity added, pointing to a bog-standard notebook on the desk. “I thought you might want to take a look.” Nodding gratefully, I opened up the logbook, and took a read. Rarity had thoughtfully formatted it as a list with two columns near the right side of the page, marked “checked out” and “returned” respectively. Fact #10: Library Logbook: “19th Century Prench Chemists: Twilight Sparkle X/X Chemical Formulas 301: Twilight Sparkle X/O Expert Calculus and Derivatives: Twilight Sparkle X/O Shadow Spade: To Catch A Butterfly: Rarity Belle X/O Sakaguchi Chise: Crusader Queen #1: Sweetie Belle X/X Sakaguchi Chise: Crusader Queen #2: Sweetie Belle X/X Strategies for Anger Management: Adagio Dazzle X/O The Lesbian Kama Sutra: Adagio Dazzle X/O The Art of Magic: Trixie Lulamoon X/O Daring Do and the Cornerstone of Light: Rainbow Dash X/O Love Doth Ran Smooth: Fluttershy X/O Sakaguchi Chise: Crusader Queen #3: Sweetie Belle X/O The Burning of the Stars: Apple Bloom X/O Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering: Apple Bloom X/O Springs and Pulleys: Apple Bloom X/O” “The Lesbian Kama Sutra?” Applejack said in sheer disbelief. “What in tarnation--” “Nevermind that,” I said quickly as I turned a shade of pink more commonly associated with little girl’s clothes than human faces. “Look at what Apple Bloom checked out.” “Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering and Springs and Pulleys, huh? What about them?” I started to explain about the drill, but stopped, as a sudden, utterly terrifying realization came to mind. Is this what Fluttershy realized? “It… nevermind. I’ll explain during the trial.” I stuffed the logbook into my pack for later. God I hope I’m wrong. Applejack favored me with a displeased look, but said nothing. “Fine, fine. Let’s keep a move on. Rarity, you see anythin’ else around here?” “Ah, no, I haven’t,” Rarity said hesitantly. A look of pure sorrow crossed her features as she tentatively set a hand on Applejack’s shoulder. “Listen, darling, about Apple Bloom, I’m so, so terribly--” “Save it,” Applejack said, shrugging off her hand. “Not that Ah don’t appreciate where you’re comin’ from, Rarity, but right now if Ah hear much of that Ah might just break again.” That thousand-yard stare briefly appeared in Applejack’s eyes as she spoke, lending credence to her words. Rarity pulled her hand back, and nervously bit her lower lip. “Of course, of course. I’ll… I’ll just go.” She left without another word. Applejack slowly shook her head as she watched the other woman leave. “Poor Rarity. Ah really do appreciate what she was tryin’ to do. Ah just… Ah can’t…” I laid a gentle hand on Applejack’s arm. “It’s okay. Don’t force it. We’ve got the information we needed here. Let’s go.” We left the library, and made our way back towards the theater, in case we missed anything there. Just before we entered, however, Twilight and Flash emerged together. Flash was not happy to see me, and Twilight wasn’t looking too pleased either. “Hey, uh, listen,” I said, unable to meet either of them eye to eye. “I wanted to apologize for, um… earlier.” Flash crossed his arms, glaring at me for a moment before his gaze softened into a sympathetic frown. “Hey, it’s cool. We’re all under a lot of stress right now.” Twilight shot Flash a glare, then sighed, lowering her head to stare at the floor. “Yeah. It’s okay.” “Hey, actually, while I have you here,” I continued, trying not to wince at Twilight’s reaction, “I wanted to ask you about the Monopad map issue last night.” Twilight’s head shot up to look right at me again. “You think that’s related?” “I’m not sure,” I replied, “but we should note it just in case.” Fact #11: Monopad Map Glitch: “At approximately 10:30 PM the Monopad map experienced a glitch, erasing all icons. This glitch lasted for two and a half hours, ending at 1:00 AM.” “You’re sure it was over at 1:00?” I asked. Twilight held up her notepad, showing detailed notes. “I’m certain. I stayed up late last night reading, and was watching it the whole time.” “May I see that?” She offered up the notepad, so I examined it closer, checking back through the last couple of pages. “Looks like you were tracking everyone’s movements.” A flush came to her cheeks. She took a step closer towards Flash, as if seeking protection. “Yeah. After the last trial, I just thought it was a good idea.” “It was,” I replied with a small smile. “It could be very useful information.” Fact #12: Movements Tracked: “At 10:30 PM, just before the map glitched, the following people were outside of their cabins: Twilight Sparkle, Apple Bloom -- Library Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo -- Bridge Deck Adagio Dazzle -- Theater Diamond Tiara -- Game Corner At 1:00 AM, all fourteen passengers were in their cabins.” “I remember seeing Apple Bloom,” Twilight said. “She actually left the library before I did, and was going back to her cabin.” Applejack broke into the conversation, just a hint of desperation in her voice as she asked, “Ya sure ya didn’t see her go into the game corner or nothin’?” Twilight shook her head. “No, I didn’t. Why?” I showed Twilight the game corner receipt. “Wait, what? Why--” “We can figure that out later,” I interrupted, before Twilight upset Applejack further. The poor farmer was sweating, that faraway look in her eyes showing up for a few seconds then disappearing, then coming back again. She was on the verge of panicking, or going catatonic. Again. “Mebbe we can ask Tiara, then,” Applejack stuttered after a moment. “Maybe she saw Apple Bloom there.” “Uuuuh…” I felt my whole body heat up with embarrassment and shame. “That might not be the best idea right now.” “Ah don’t care,” Applejack blurted. She grabbed me by the collar and dragged me into the theater with her. Adagio was still poking around the stage, and flashed me a look that was some bizarre mixture of jealousy and amusement as she watched Applejack carry me down onto the stage. Applejack pointedly did not look anywhere near Apple Bloom’s body, which was still hanging there, like a sick man’s version of a pinata. Trixie and Scootaloo hovering near it just added to the nauseating effect. I did notice, interestingly, that Trixie had changed back to her usual outfit, cape and hat included. Someone must’ve brought her the clothes. Instead we headed back into the prop shop. I wasn’t sure how Applejack knew Tiara would still be in there. Maybe she had some kind of sense for these things I wasn’t aware of. But sure enough, there she was, fuming and pouting as she sat in a chair by one of the drafting tables, nursing her split lip. When she saw me, she turned beet red and immediately hopped to her feet! “You!” she roared at the top of her lungs. “You little piece of filth! How dare you hit me?!” She raised her fists up and fell into a runner’s stance, ready to pounce. Before she could move another muscle, Applejack gripped her wrist and twisted her arm, just enough to stop Tiara from moving. “Ah wouldn’t do that if Ah were you sugarcube,” Applejack snarled, her eyes roiling with fury and more than an ounce of hatred. “Ah ain’t in the mood for messin’ around.” “Aaah!” Tiara cried out, though whether it was in pain or fear I couldn’t be sure. Either way, the sight left my stomach twisting. I should’ve felt some level of vindication or satisfaction, because she’d been a complete bitch towards me from the very beginning, and this wasn’t anything she didn’t deserve. But I didn’t. Instead, I just felt sad. Like I was watching someone who by all means should’ve been kind and caring act descend into becoming a vengeful bully. Like watching a friend fall from grace and become the very kind of monster they used to strive against. So I set a hand on Applejack’s arm, and whispered to her, “That’s enough, AJ. Please.” For the briefest of instances, Applejack’s eyes landed on me, so full of fury it was like she’d transformed into a wild beast. Then she let go of Tiara and shoved her back into the chair. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “That might’ve been a bit much.” “Ya think?” Tiara grunted, her face screwing up in pain as she worked her shoulder muscles. “First my face, then my arm. What’s next? My back?” “Look, I’m sorry I punched you, Tiara,” I said, still not feeling that sorry about it, “but we need to ask you a couple of questions.” “And why should I tell you anything?” Diamond Tiara pointedly looked away and stuck her nose up in the air, her elitist bearing fully restored. “Yer not tellin’ her, Tiara,” Applejack retorted, the dark hatred once again roiling throughout her whole being. “Yer tellin’ me. Because Ah don’t know if you noticed, but someone killed mah sister!” She emphasized her shout with a mighty slam of her boot into the floor, actually managing to crack the concrete. Tiara yelped, clinging to the back of her chair. “Okay, okay! I’ll talk!” Applejack took a step back and gestured to me. “You ask her.” Okay then. “Tiara, you were in the game corner last night, right? At 10:30?” Tiara rolled her eyes in exasperation, and mumbled something under her breath. Then she said, “Yeah. What about it?” “Did you happen to see Apple Bloom at all?” I asked. Her face twisted with a combination of confusion and annoyance. “No. I didn’t.” I pulled out the receipt for the ticket counter and showed it to her. “Are you sure? Were you still there at 10:40?” Tiara snatched the paper from me and glared at it like it had personally offended her. “No. I left at 10:35. I went back to my cabin. I didn’t see anything.” Then she tossed the paper aside. I caught the receipt before it could fall and slipped it back into my bag. “Okay. That’s all we needed. Thank you.” We left Tiara to stew in her own frustration. My mind turned over with ideas, suggestions from the clues, all leaning towards a conclusion I didn’t like one bit. And it didn’t sit right with me either. It was the logical conclusion, but was it the right one? “There anythin’ else we need to see?” Applejack said, breaking up my thoughts. “Yes,” I answered. “We still need to check under the stage.” As we left the prop shop, we encountered Adagio, standing there with her arms crossed, weight on one leg. “Going under?” she asked, arching an eyebrow. I saw Applejack briefly make a bemused face at Adagio before I was able to answer, “Yeah, can you come with? Three sets of eyes better than two.” Adagio nodded, uncrossing her arms. “Sure.” Together, the three of us made for the trapdoor. As we neared it, I pulled out the penlight on a hunch, and sure enough, I saw the same chain from the rafters extended down the wall and into a perfectly circular hole near the trapdoor. “Huh. Wonder what that was for,” Applejack commented. Opening up the trapdoor, we each descended, one at a time. It was a short descent, down a ladder built into the wall. Underneath, the stage was dusty, dirty, dank, and most of all, dark. I was starting to wish I’d brought a better light, but the penlight would have to do. Deciding to use the chain as a guide, I searched for it on the wall, and saw it went down then along the floor. We followed it until we reached… some kind of mechanism. The chain, it turned out, had been tied around a large lever fashioned from a plank of wood. The lever was pulled back, in the direction of the trapdoor, towards the backstage wall. It was hooked into an unwound spring, a rather large one at that. The spring rested underneath a very small platform with smaller pieces of wood around it as a protector. Casting up my light, I almost fell over when I realized what the long stick poking out from the ceiling was. It was the other end of the spear. We’d found the trap. Fact #13: Spring Loaded Trap: “A trap fashioned from a spring, lever, and wooden guides under the stage. The spring was discovered unwound, the lever pulled towards the backstage wall by the black metal chain.” “So this is how they did it,” Applejack growled. She raised a foot as if she was going to kick the thing, then seemed to think better of it and lowered her foot again. “Ah’m still not sure Ah understand how it worked though.” “I think I’m starting to piece it together, but--” DING-DONG BING-BONG The screens in the theater above us switched on. We couldn’t see it, but I knew Monoponi was grinning wickedly, just like he always does. “Attention all passengers! This is your Captain speaking. What a way to end a magic show, eh? Talking about ending with a bang! Or would that be a stab, upupupu? In any case, investigation time is up! Please assemble in the food court at once!” A haunted expression came over Applejack’s face as Monoponi’s voice faded away. Making her way back to the trapdoor ladder, she hopped up it quickly and onto the stage again. Adagio and I followed after her. She turned her gaze onto her sister’s body, and quietly started moving towards it. “Applejack?” I asked, reaching out. “What--” Applejack cut me off with a quick swipe of her hand. She slipped past Trixie and Scootaloo, who kept looking at each other and then Adagio and me, completely lost as to what to do Kneeling down by her sister’s body, very carefully avoiding the pink pool of blood, she laid a single hand on Apple Bloom’s cheek. “Don’t worry, sis,” I heard her whisper. “Ah’ll make ‘em pay, even if Ah have to tear ‘em apart mahself.” She pressed her lips to Apple Bloom’s forehead. “Ah love you too.” She stood back up, her posture tense, but resolute. “C’mon y’all. We gotta git goin’. That Monoponi ain’t gonna wait on us long.” With that, she left the theater, calmly walking away. Forming up as a group, albeit with Trixie and Adagio occasionally shooting each other glares, the four of us followed after her, Tiara trailing behind at a distance. It didn’t take us long to reach the food court, where everyone else was already gathered. Grim expressions dominated the crowd. Pinkie Pie especially seemed more than a little heartbroken. I remembered what she told me the other day, about how she never wanted to go through this again. None of us did. These trials, the suspicion, the fear… knowing one of us would be lying to the rest, hoping we’d get it wrong so we’d die while they live...I wouldn’t wish the experience on anyone. No one should ever have to go through this. Monoponi flashed into existence before us, smiling that irritating grin of his. “Ah, my passengers!” he said, striking that Celestia-ripoff pose he was so fond of. “It’s so wonderful to see you again! Once again, it’s time for the exciting, heart-pounding thrill of a ship’s trial!” “Shut up before Ah make you shut up!” Applejack bellowed. “Just let us on that damned elevator already. We ain’t got time to listen to you jaw on.” Hanging his head low, Monoponi dropped his pose and made extremely annoying fake sobbing noises. “Oh, so ungrateful. So disrespectful to your Captain.” Then his head shot up and he stared Applejack square in the eye. “But then, you did lose your sister, didn’t you, Applejack? That’s too bad. I was really hoping she’d last longer. But she really only has herself to blame. She just had to play the hero.” Applejack took one thundering step towards him. Then another. Then a third. The closer she got, the wider his grin became. Finally, she stopped right before him, inches away, and bent down to look him face to face. “...Ah hope you burn in hell,” she snarled. Then she turned around and walked away. I let go of the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. Jeez, Applejack, you could’ve gotten yourself killed just now! Monoponi broke into amused laughter. “Well, that was entertaining!” he gloated. “But enough appetizers. Time for the main course!” With a wave of his lit horn, his magic spiraled out and into the over-sized padlock. It unlocked and started to fall even as it disintegrated into a flurry of crimson sparkles. The gates squealed their way open, grating as ever on the ears. With a leading gesture to board, Monoponi vanished. But before any of us could take a single step, Applejack leapt ahead, then turned to face us. “Listen up, y’all!” she growled in a no-nonsense voice. She raised a finger and pointed it at each of us in turn. “Ah’m only gonna say this once. One of y’all killed mah sister. One of y’all is a low-down dirty rotten snake. Ah aim to take you down. And if somehow, by some miracle we vote wrong?” Her expression turned dark as midnight as she ran her finger along her throat. “Before Ah die, Ah’ll kill you mahself.” With that threat hanging over our heads, Applejack boarded the elevator. It took us all a couple moments before the rest of us could, none of us wanting to get too close to Applejack, lest she decide to just lash out right then and there. Once we were all aboard, the doors closed, and our descent began. And as we fell, I pondered the case once more. Apple Bloom… she was my friend. Maybe not the closest or best friend I’d ever had, but a friend nevertheless. And she died saving my life from a vicious, bloodthirsty trap. Once again, one of us took a life. One of us stole her from this world, for their own selfish ends. Who was it this time? And why were they trying to kill me? Adagio had a good guess, but was she right? Was it just because I’d guided us during the last trial? Just because I was number one on the list? I didn’t know. But I did know this: It was up to me to find them. Find them, and avenge Apple Bloom. For my friend. For her sister. For the sake of us all. I will save our lives in this trial of life and death!