//------------------------------// // Chapter Three: A Maelstrom of Murder Part 6 // Story: Danganronpa: In Harmony's Wake // by Dewdrops on the Grass //------------------------------// Chapter Three: A Maelstrom of Murder Trial Part 1 Fact #1: Monoponi File IIIa: “The victim is Fluttershy, the Ultimate Veterinarian. She was executed by machine gun turrets on the promenade at approximately 6:15 PM Tuesday evening, due to her theft of a tourmaline encrusted gold ring from the jewelry store.” Fact #2: Monoponi File IIIb: “The victim is Pinkie Pie, the Ultimate Party Planner. The victim’s body has multiple injuries, including blunt force trauma to the head, puncture wounds on the arms, and the fifth metacarpal bone of both hands are broken. Signs of opioids were discovered in the victim’s blood.” Fact #3: Body Condition: “The body was discovered floating face up in the shallow end of the pool. Every part of the exposed skin is covered in red rashes similar to chemical burns. The back of her skull was broken open by the impact of a blunt object. There are multiple puncture wounds, consistent with needles, on both of her arms. The skin along both hands had started to slough off. There is a large puncture wound on the body’s chest, right above the left breast.” Fact #4: Weight-Lifting Room: “The central mat is covered in a large half-dried bloodstain with a single bloody footprint heel emerging from it. The equipment in the room was moved around and disturbed, suggesting a struggle. Curly pink hairs and straight yellow hairs were discovered at the scene, alongside a single wavy purple hair.” Fact #5: Dumbbell: “A seventy pound dumbbell, with a small splotch of blood on one end. Only five people could use it as a weapon: Flash Sentry, Adagio Dazzle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity.” Fact #6: Free Weights and Rope: “A group of four fifty pound free weights, placed under the free weight shelf, dripping with water. They were tied together with a jump rope threaded through and knotted loosely at both ends.” Fact #7: Guard Schedule: “The guard schedule on Wednesday into Thursday is as follows: 2:00 PM Trixie S/Scootaloo P 6:00 PM Adagio Dazzle S/Scootaloo P 10:00 PM Diamond Tiara S/Pinkie Pie P -----Midnight--- 2:00 AM Twilight Sparkle S/Rainbow Dash P 6:00 AM Applejack S/Rarity P 10:00 AM Flash Sentry S/Sunset Shimmer P Fact #8: Photo #1: “A picture of Applejack, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom eating together at a diner. Applejack and Rarity are wearing matching rings.” Fact #9: Photo #2: “A picture taken by Pinkie Pie’s Monopad in the weight room, showing the silhouette of someone with long hair approaching her with a dumbbell in hand, blanked out due to a bright light behind them. Only Pinkie’s skirt is visible in the picture.” Fact #10: Sauna Door: “The sauna door is dented on the inside, with traces of blood in the dents. There is also damage to and blood on the interior door handle.” Fact #11: Drug Cases: “Six cases of injectable drugs, two oxycodone, two heroin, two morphine. One case of each type only contained empty syringes. Each of the other three cases have four syringes, two of which were two-thirds empty, one of which was entirely empty, and with the fourth full and untouched.” Fact #12: Diary: “A diary discovered in Pinkie Pie’s cabin, wherein she admits using drugs. The following is scribbled repeatedly on several pages, in barely discernible handwriting: “What have I done oh my god what have I done she’s dead she’s dead and it’s my fault it’s all my fault I killed her I killed her why why why why why?!” The last entry in the diary reads: “Thank you Sunny. I’ll do what needs to be done.” Fact #13: Discarded Note: “A handwritten note torn to shreds, found in Pinkie Pie’s wastebasket. The handwriting is messy and heavily slanted to the left. Most of the text was illegible, save for the following words: ‘help me surprise Fluttershy.’ The handwriting near perfectly matches a sample of Rainbow Dash’s handwriting.” Fact #14: Twilight’s Account: “According to Twilight, she heard no noise during her entire shift from 2:00 AM to 6:00 AM Thursday morning. She saw Rainbow Dash twice during the night, and performed her regular fifteen minute interval text check-ins. She spent most of Tuesday prior to 6:00 PM in the library, with a brief break for the bathroom and fresh air around 2:30 PM. Flash corroborated this account, stating she passed by his cabin on the end by the lounge.” Fact #15: Library Log: “The handwriting of the log entry ‘Daring Do and the Cornerstone of Light: Rainbow Dash X/O’ is a near perfect match for the handwriting of the note found in Pinkie Pie’s wastebasket, apart from being slightly slanted to the right.” Fact #16: Diamond Tiara’s Account: “According to Diamond Tiara, she saw nothing and heard nothing during her entire guard shift, save for seeing Pinkie Pie around 11:00 PM, going down the stairwell into the access corridor.” Fact #17: Towels: “A bundle of towels were found stuffed in the dryer in the laundry room, still warm. Another bundle was discovered in an overfilled washing machine, soaking in a pool of blood-stained water.” Fact #18: Indoor Pool: “The indoor pool is twenty-five yards by thirteen yards, with a depth ranging from one to three yards. The pool uses PHMB instead of chlorine.” Fact #19: Applejack and Rarity’s Account: “According to Applejack and Rarity, they were at the spa most of Wednesday evening following the 6:30 PM meeting, and departed for their cabins at 9:00 PM. During her guard shift, Applejack heard footsteps at the bottom of the stairs around 7:20 AM. Rarity saw someone emerge from the pharmacy at 6:10 AM, unable to tell who it was due to being on the far side of the promenade.” Fact #20: Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash’s Account: “According to Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash, neither one saw anything suspicious during their entire guard shifts. Rainbow Dash did stop at the pharmacy around 3:30 AM. Scootaloo did, however, see Diamond Tiara walking back and forth by the cabins, muttering to herself about courage, on Tuesday, about 3:20 PM.” We stepped off the elevator, into a once again altered courtroom. This time the room was split in half between two sets of decorations. One half was dominated by images of animals, of all shapes, kinds, and varieties, ranging from flocks of birds to herdes of deer, a whole heap of bunny rabbits for some reason, and a single picture of a grizzly bear. The other half was a heap of wild, florid pink splashed all over the place in zig-zaggy lines and swirls, like someone had filled a jar of paint with something carbonated, shook it, and let it spray all over the place. Intermixed amongst the pink were images of balloons, cartoonish-looking cannons, and party favors. Oddly enough, the lighting was more sedate, relaxed. Less fluorescent, more like natural daylight. I took my spot next to Trixie, and first took in the podium across and to the right of me. Sweetie Belle. Our second culprit. Mixed feelings ran through me as I considered her portrait. At least, unlike Timber, she was smiling. I then cast a sad, long look at the podium next to me. In place of the meek, kind Fluttershy, there was just a portrait. Of course the cross was right between the eyes, just like the aim of the gun turrets that cut her down. The trio of butterflies was a nice little touch, at least. I cast my gaze across the courtroom to the podium next to Wallflower’s. Unlike everyone else so far, who’d looked either petulant or happy in their portraits, Pinkie was downright terrified. As if she’d known what was coming, what had happened. As if she’d known death was ready to take her. Fresh waves of guilt poured through me as I took in both portraits. My self-accusing thoughts returned as I contemplated my actions over the past couple of days. Maybe I wasn’t the one who killed Fluttershy, or Pinkie, but I definitely contributed. I told Fluttershy to go to the store with Pinkie. I told Pinkie to confront the one who gave her the note. I might not be the blackened, but I sure as hell feel like it. I’m sorry, Pinkie, Fluttershy. I will avenge you. I promise. “Well now,” Monoponi said theatrically as he flashed into existence, posing on one hoof like a ballerina before whirling to sit down. “What do you think of my decorations, hmm? Oh I know the themes clash, but then, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie weren’t exactly the most compatible of people, were they? Ahahaha!” He held up a hoof to his mouth. “Ahem. So, before we begin, allow me to remind you that this trial is a bit different from the two we’ve held so far. You are looking for two potential suspects, not just one. Now, are there actually two blackeneds? Maybe yes, maybe no! It’s up to you to figure it out. But keep this in mind: until you are absolutely one hundred percent certain, do not call for voting time! If you vote for only one person and it turns out there’s two, the one who wasn’t voted for gets to escape with their plus one, and the rest of you get executed! No credit for partial answers!” “So even if we know for sure who one of them is, we can’t vote until we figure out the other one, is that it?” Scootaloo demanded, a mixture of outrage and sorrow clouding her face. “Exactly!” Monoponi’s horn flashed for half a second and a bright gold star planted itself on Scootaloo’s face before disappearing in a shower of sparks. “But, that’s not all that’s special about this trial! For this trial, and this trial alone, I am temporarily rescinding rule fifteen. If you want to falsely admit your guilt, or you want to fess up because the guilt is just too much for you to bear? Go right ahead! Nothing would please me more than to watch you morons argue in endless circles.” My blood ran cold as I contemplated what he just did. Up until now, thanks to that rule, no one had been able to mess with us by pretending to be the guilty party. I’m sure that’s not why he instituted it--he just wanted to keep us from submitting to our guilty conscience--but it still had the side effect of keeping someone from leading us all down a completely pointless path and wasting our time. Why would he rescind this now? It didn’t make any sense. Before I could spend any more time contemplating that though, Twilight Sparkle held up both hands and clapped for our attention. “If we’re ready to begin? There’s something I want to discuss before we get into anything else.” She pointed a finger squarely at Rainbow Dash. “I want to know what the heck was up with that magic Rainbow Dash demonstrated!” “Oh, so you’re finally willing to admit magic exists?” Adagio chuckled dryly. “Never thought we’d see the day.” Twilight took a step back from her podium even as her expression rearranged itself into that cold scientific detachment I’d come to loathe. “I am a scientist. I can admit when I’m wrong. The body of evidence for the existence of magic is too large to deny at this point. Regardless, that’s not the point. The point is that Rainbow Dash exhibited magic, and Monoponi drained it. I want to know how that happened and why.” “Don’t ask me!” Rainbow Dash said with a scowl as she crossed her arms. “Seeing Fluttershy listed as a victim made me mad as hell, that’s all. I wasn’t trying to, like, cast a freaking spell.” Her face twisted up as her whole complexion faded into that same pale, waxy pallor she’d had right after Monoponi drained her. She fell forward onto her podium, propping her head up with one hand. “Even thinking about it makes me feel sick.” Twilight shifted her gaze to focus on me, her shining eyes like twin lasers trying to burn away the surface to reveal secrets underneath. “You. You know what Monoponi did, don’t you? You have an explanation.” “Kind of?” I said, holding up a single hand palm upward. “I know it takes dark magic to do what Monoponi did. Dark magic is evil magic. It can corrupt you, corrupt your very soul, turn you into a monster. We already know Monoponi’s a monster, though. That’s not really new information.” “You’ve got that right!” Monoponi agreed, holding his forehooves to his mouth. “Upupupupu!” “Oh please, you can be more specific than that.” Bits and pieces of Twilight’s hair popped out of her perfect bun. “You know what he used. You know why Rainbow Dash has magic, because--” “No. I. Don’t, Twilight,” I interrupted, slamming my raised hand onto my podium. I raised it back up to point at the ceiling. “I was just as surprised as you were. Both by the magic, and by Monoponi draining it.” Twilight gripped her right hand into a fist and smashed it on her podium. “That’s a lie and you know it!” She raised her hand to point right at me, as more hair popped out of her bun to stick out at random angles. “You know because you’re behind this whole killing game, aren’t you? You’re the traitor! Sweetie Belle was right!” Rarity gasped in shock, holding a hand to her breast. “How dare you,” she hissed. “How dare you bring my sister into this? When we all know very well Sunset Shimmer is innocent! Don’t you dare use my sister to browbeat Sunset just because you have a grudge against her!” Flash let out a frustrated groan, holding his hand to his face. “Look, Twilight, I’m really not happy with Sunset right now either, but come on. How many times are we going to do this stupid song and dance about Sunset being the traitor? How have we still not let this go?” “Seriously, Sparkle,” Diamond Tiara snorted, some of her old elitist scorn leaking into her otherwise kinder demeanor. “Even I don’t think that anymore.” “But, but… Adagio! Adagio’s secret!” Twilight insisted, becoming more frantic with every word. “I told you all what Adagio’s secret is. She’s killed before. That’s why Sunset became involved with her! To keep her in check!” “Uh, no,” I scoffed, “That’s not it at all. My relationship with Adagio is none of your business anyway.” Adagio took one fingernail and scratched it along the side of her podium. “Please, keep harping on about it. I’m sure it’ll end well for you,” she hissed. “Trixie admits Adagio’s secret is a bit concerning,” Trixie said, coming to our defense. “But that does not mean Sunset is the traitor. Your logic is faulty.” “Oh what would you know about logic, Trixie?” Twilight fired back, holding up both hands to mock her. “Tell me, how many times were you wrong during Wallflower’s trial? Miss ‘oh no, we have a sushi slayer on our hands’?” Trixie harrumphed, throwing out her arm to send her cape fluttering. “Trixie has gotten much better since then. She wasn’t the one who was convinced Apple Bloom killed herself. That was you.” Applejack clapped her hands several times for attention. “Oh for pete’s sake, y’all, why’re we retreadin’ old ground? This ain’t a trial for Sunset, and it ain’t for Wallflower or mah sister. It’s for Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy! We oughta remember that and move on.” “Agreed!” Monoponi pronounced, using his horn to create the illusion of a gavel slamming against a desk. “You are boring your captain! Forget about Rainbow’s magic and get on with the actual trial!” “Fine.” Twilight took several deep breaths, calming herself, and adjusted her glasses. “We don’t have a lot of evidence for Fluttershy yet, so we should start with Pinkie Pie.” She glanced down at her Monopad and rolled her eyes. “The Monoponi file doesn’t list a time or cause of death, so we need to figure those out first.” “Well, we found her in the pool, right?” Scootaloo said, holding her chin on her knuckles. “And the body was really gross and bloated, like she’d been in there a long time. She probably drowned.” I shook my head and punched up some evidence. “I don’t think so, Scootaloo.” Fact #3: Body Condition: “The body was discovered floating face up in the shallow end of the pool. Every part of the exposed skin is covered in red rashes similar to chemical burns.” “We found her face up in the pool. Everything I know about drowning says that when you drown, your body ends up face down. Even if she initially was facing up, struggling for air, trying to get to the surface, she would’ve inevitably turned over. Right, Twilight?” With a sigh, Twilight nodded. “Sunset’s right about that. During the investigation I spent a bit of time researching drowning deaths, in case that’s what killed her. Like Sunset said, there’s a classic drowning position people adopt, where their anterior, or front, of their body faces downward with their arms outstretched, and their back towards the surface. Pinkie did have her arms out, but she wouldn’t have stayed face up. Not to mention there’s the other classical signs of drowning, such as blue skin, blue lips, etc, none of which we saw.” “That doesn’t mean she didn’t drown,” Scootaloo objected. “Pools use chlorine to keep ‘em clean, right? So if she was in the pool long enough, it would’ve burned all her skin. Your evidence even says she has rashes similar to chemical burns. So that’d have to be chlorine, right?” “No way!” Diamond Tiara said, giving Scootaloo a thumbs down. “Did the pool smell like chlorine? Huh? No! Take a look at this.” Fact #18: Indoor Pool: “The indoor pool is twenty-five yards by thirteen yards, with a depth ranging from one to three yards. The pool uses PHMB instead of chlorine.” “Monoponi told us the other day he uses PHMB to keep the pool clean, instead of chlorine. That stuff’s nowhere near as nasty as chlorine is,” Tiara added, grinning. “She’s right,” Twilight added with another world-weary sigh. “PHMB isn’t the safest substance around, but it wouldn’t burn a body like that unless Pinkie was immersed in a much more concentrated solution, for a much longer period of time. We’re talking days, not hours.” Blinking owlishly, Scootaloo shrugged. “Oh. Okay then.” “So if she didn’t drown, what killed her?” Rarity asked, pressing her knuckles to her lips. “Because her body certainly looked like she drowned.” “I think it looked that way because the culprit kept her body underwater, where she wouldn’t be noticed,” I said as I tapped a few buttons on my Monopad. Fact #6: Free Weights and Rope: “A group of four fifty pound free weights, placed under the free weight shelf, dripping with water. They were tied together with a jump rope threaded through and knotted loosely at both ends.” “Diamond Tiara discovered these in the weight room during the investigation. These would’ve been sufficient to keep Pinkie Pie’s body underwater if positioned correctly. And if she was submerged in the deep end of the pool, which is on the far side from both entryways, anyone patrolling nearby wouldn’t have seen her unless they went all the way over there and looked into the pool from the right vantage point. No one would’ve had any reason to do that.” Applejack took off her hat and gently set it on her podium so she could scratch the top of her head, blatant confusion written all over her face. “Uh, Sunset, if that’s what they did, Ah don’t get why they wouldn’t leave the weights in the pool. Or why they’d bother gettin’ her body out of the deep end. Once we realized she was missin’, we would’ve found her either way.” Adagio hummed, arching a doubtful eyebrow at me. “Applejack’s right about that. Plus, the edges of the pool were dry. There was no splashed water anywhere. If someone dove into the pool to retrieve her body, they would’ve had to do it after Rainbow Dash’s shift, which means they would’ve done it a couple of hours before we found the body at the absolute earliest. That wouldn’t leave enough time for the pool area to dry up.” Huh. That’s a really good point. Is there a way I can explain that? I took a glance back at the evidence. Oh, wait, yes there is. “You’re right. There wouldn’t be enough time for the pool to dry up by itself. But what if they used these?” Fact #17: Towels: “A bundle of towels were found stuffed in the dryer in the laundry room, still warm. Another bundle was discovered in an overfilled washing machine, soaking in a pool of blood-stained water.” “There were enough towels to dry up the pool as well as whoever went swimming.” “I guess…” Adagio admitted, the doubt refusing to fade from her eyes. “But I still don’t get why they’d bother to move the body after they hid it. It just doesn’t make sense.” Damn it. She’s right. None of this makes sense. The only thing I can think of is that the culprit wanted to be sure we found Pinkie, so they took the weights off her body. But why not leave them in the pool then? Applejack was right about that. We never would’ve found them, because we never would’ve had a reason to go looking. The only thing removing the weights did was make it more obvious that she didn’t drown. It only hurts the culprit, by eliminating a potential cause. Wait. Maybe that was the point. “What if…” I suggested, thinking aloud now. “What if it wasn’t the culprit who moved the free weights? What if someone else did it?” “What?!” “Huh?!” “What in tarnation?” “What the hell?” Everyone reacted at once, filling the room with an unintelligible cacophony of noise. It took Flash Sentry whistling at an extremely high volume to calm everyone down. “Cool it, guys!” he urged. Then he focused on me. “Sunset, are you seriously suggesting that someone other than the culprit found Pinkie’s body, messed with the scene of the crime, and didn’t tell anyone?” “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” I responded, holding my ground. The more I thought about it, the more confident I became. I was right. “I’m certain someone stumbled upon the crime after the fact, and messed with the scene.” Flash narrowed his eyes at me. “But why? Why would someone mess with the scene and not tell anyone about the body?” “Yeah, seriously, Sunset,” Scootaloo added, glaring at me in disbelief. “If I found a dead body, I wouldn’t mess with the crime scene. I’d just run and tell somebody about it. It doesn’t make any sense.” I had an answer. It was an answer I didn’t like. I didn’t know if it was the right answer, or the correct one. It would mean bringing up something I’d wanted to keep quiet. But I had to pursue it. We couldn’t risk leaving a single stone unturned, not even this one. So, taking a deep breath, I answered, “Because they were afraid someone they cared about was responsible, and they wanted to try and hide the most damning proof, while also trying to take the blame.” I saw Adagio’s eyes widen in realization, but she stayed quiet, letting me lead. Trixie, on the other hand, seemed more confused than ever. “But, Sunset, who would do such a thing?” I’m sorry I have to do this. I sighed, held up a finger, and pointed directly at the only one I could think of who’d do this. “Applejack, you’re the only one!” Applejack scowled at me, working her jaw. She spat on the floor, scooped up her hat, and placed it right back atop her head. “Ah’m gonna give you a chance to take that back, Sunset, because that’s a bigger heap of bullshit than what mah brother and Ah had to scoop out of the barn at the end of last winter.” “I’m sorry, Applejack, but I can’t do that,” I said, refusing to back down despite knowing she could easily rip my head off if she wanted. Taking a deep breath, Applejack blew it out her nose in the most impressive imitation of a stallion snort I’d ever heard. “Alright. Ah hope you have some kinda proof to back this up, because if you don’t, Ah’m inclined to whoop your hide into the ground.” “I do, actually.” I queued up the relevant evidence. Fact #8: Photo #1: “A picture of Applejack, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom eating together at a diner. Applejack and Rarity are wearing matching rings.” As the three-dimensional hologram of the photo rotated in the center of the podiums, the entire room fell silent. I watched Applejack’s jaw fall open, her whole body deflating in shock. “We found this picture locked up in a locker, alongside Pinkie Pie’s Monopad. The key for the locker was on Pinkie’s body.” “What… What the hell is this?” Applejack demanded, holding up her own Monopad so she could look more closely at the picture. “Ah’ve never seen this before in mah life! Ah… oh my dear sweet lord, are we wearin’ matchin’ rings?!” Silent tears trickled down Rarity’s cheeks as she too examined the photograph. “We were married, darling,” she said simply. “Before Monoponi stole our memories. That’s what this must mean.” “Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait,” Scootaloo said, holding up her hands. “Seriously? Rarity and Applejack? Married?” “Not just that,” Flash added, staring at the picture in bemusement. “Looks like Sweetie and Apple Bloom were friends, too. Where did this picture come from?” “Pinkie Pie, Sunset, and I found it the other day,” Adagio admitted before I could formulate a response. “What?!” Applejack was on her like a wolf chasing down a wounded deer, all snarls and growls. “Why didn’t any of y’all tell us about it then?” “Because I told them not to show it to you,” Adagio replied, matching Applejack snarl for snarl. “I did that because I was afraid something terrible would happen if you saw it too soon. And what do you know? Pinkie Pie’s dead. Because one of you killed her.” “Absolutely not!” Applejack thundered, smashing a fist on her podium so hard the wood splintered. “Ah can’t believe you’d accuse me of killin’ someone after Ah lost mah sister!” “It’s not you she’s accusing, Applejack,” I said, drawing the rage of the farmer onto me. “It’s Rarity.” “No… you, you wouldn’t dare,” Rarity whispered, shaking her head over and over. “But it makes sense,” I replied, now on a roll, ignoring the nagging feeling at the back of my mind that I was looking at this all wrong. “I was holding onto that picture until yesterday morning, when it was accidentally left in the laundry room. Rarity, you could’ve easily discovered the picture, and between that and Monoponi’s offer of allowing the blackened to escape with a plus one, you’d have the perfect motivation for murder.” I tapped a few buttons on my Monopad. Fact #5: Dumbbell: “A seventy pound dumbbell, with a small splotch of blood on one end. Only five people could use it as a weapon: Flash Sentry, Adagio Dazzle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity. “Given the injury Pinkie Pie sustained, this is probably the murder weapon right here. Rarity, I’ve seen how strong you are. You could have easily used this dumbbell to kill Pinkie, then dumped her body in the pool to make it look like a drowning.” Rarity, her makeup half ruined from crying, glowered at me with a fury I hadn’t seen her demonstrate since I accused Sweetie Belle. “I will admit I could have used that dumbbell,” she said, every word dripping with acid, “but that is entirely beside the point. I would never dream of harming a single hair on Pinkie Pie’s head!” “I dunno, it’s not like there’d be anything stopping you,” Rainbow Dash pointed out, glaring at Rarity. “With your sister and AJ’s sister being dead and all.” “You shut your fuckin’ fool mouth, Rainbow Dash!” Applejack shouted, shaking both fists at her from across the courtroom. “Fuck off, Applesnack,” Rainbow Dash said, flipping the farmer a double bird. I coughed for attention. “Applejack, you’re one of the only people here strong enough to lift those free weights out of the water. You could have stumbled across the scene, found the picture, realized who must’ve killed Pinkie, and did your best to make it look like you did it instead.” I brought up another piece of evidence. Fact #4: Weight-Lifting Room: “The central mat is covered in a large half-dried bloodstain with a single bloody footprint heel emerging from it. The equipment in the room was moved around and disturbed, suggesting a struggle. Curly pink hairs and straight yellow hairs were discovered at the scene, alongside a single wavy purple hair.” “Straight yellow hairs were found at the scene, Applejack, and you’re the only blonde on this ship. I’ll bet you cut pieces of your own hair and scattered them everywhere just so it’d look like you were involved. And I’ll bet originally there were a lot more hairs from the real culprit, Rarity, hairs that you cleaned up. But you missed one.” Applejack lashed out in a might kick to her podium, sending wood chips flying everywhere. “This is the dumbest thing Ah’ve ever heard. Ah told you, Sunset, Ah never saw that picture before you brought it up in the trial. Ah didn’t have anything to do with Pinkie’s death, and neither did Rarity! Ah dunno why you’re trying to blame us when we’ve done nothin’ but support you the entire time we’ve been stuck in this killing game, but if this is how you repay our friendship, maybe we ought to stop bein’ friends!” I reeled back as if she’d kicked me instead of her podium, doubling over in surprise. “But, but it makes sense. Why else would someone move the body? Why else would someone lock up the picture and Pinkie’s Monopad?” Am I wrong? Did I pursue the wrong path? Again? “No it does not make sense, Sunset,” Rarity insisted, drawing herself up even as she dabbed the tears from her eyes. “Even if I had seen that picture before today, which I assure you I have not, I would never kill someone just to escape this place with Applejack. Do you not remember what I told my own sister?! Killing is wrong.” She bore down on me with the full force glare of a woman scorned. “I don’t know who was responsible for moving that picture. I am furious with you over the fact that you didn’t share this sooner. But I did not kill Pinkie Pie. I was in my cabin after 9:00 PM, and I never left afterwards.” “So was Ah,” Applejack added, shaking her head at me. “And Ah think we can both prove that. Right, Scootaloo?” “Huh?” Scootaloo had been watching us go back and forth without saying a word, and this caught her off guard. “Oh! Oh yeah!” She let out a sheepish laugh and scratched the back of her head. “Yeah, I remember seeing them go into their cabin last night. They never left.” “And if they’d been seen, Pinkie would’ve told me,” Diamond Tiara seconded, glaring at me. “She kept up with her regular check-in texts, remember?” “I’d like to think Rainbow Dash would’ve informed me as well, if she’d seen them,” Twilight said, smirking at me. “Nice try though, Sunset. You idiot.” My face fell into my hands. I’m wrong. I’m so wrong. I went completely the wrong way with this. Good job Sunset. Good fucking job. “I’m sorry,” I gasped, struggling not to cry. “I just, I thought--” “Aw hell, Sunset,” Applejack said quietly, her whole demeanor relaxing from rage into something more akin to pity. “Ah get it. Ah get where you were goin’ with that line of thinkin’. But sometimes, sugarcube, you get some fool idea in your head and you run with it till the cows come home, no matter how dumb it is. Ah can’t blame you for thinkin’ Ah might’ve had somethin’ to do with this. And Ah’m just as mad as Rarity is at you for keepin’ that picture quiet. We’re gonna have words about this after the trial. For now though, can Ah ask you to just think a bit more before you start accusin’ people?” “Indeed, darling,” Rarity said, shifting to favor me with pity as well. “I second everything Applejack just said. I consider you a friend, Sunset. Please don’t give me reasons to reconsider that notion.” I nodded, utterly ashamed of myself. “Okay. I’m sorry. I’ll… I’ll try not to mess up again.” “That’s all we ask,” Rarity replied with a soft smile. Trixie reached over and patted me on the shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Sunset. The Great and Powerful Trixie still believes in you. And she thinks we still haven’t figured out what killed Pinkie.” “No, we haven’t,” Flash said, rubbing his chin. “Sunset, you suggested earlier it was the dumbbell. How certain are you of that?” “Right now? I’m not sure of anything,” I said, throwing up my hands in frustration. Rainbow Dash raised a hand like she was in school. “Uh, Sunset, I think you were probably right about that. Look at this.” Fact #9: Photo #2: “A picture taken by Pinkie Pie’s Monopad in the weight room, showing the silhouette of someone with long hair approaching her with a dumbbell in hand, blanked out due to a bright light behind them. Pinkie’s skirt is visible in the picture.” “See? She even took a picture of her killer before they killed her.” “Hmm…” Adagio lowered her head till she was resting on her fist, her elbow supporting her. “That’s what I thought too, when we first saw it, but now I’m not so sure. We can’t even see who it is.” “Well, we can see who it’s not?” Flash suggested, with a slight laugh. “It’s not Scootaloo, and it’s not me. That doesn’t narrow it down much, but it helps?” “Not really,” Twilight said, rolling her eyes. “So many of us have long hair that it could be almost any of us.” “Well, that sure ain’t me,” Applejack said. “Ah’d think you’d be able to see mah hat if it was. Or at least the shadow of it.” “Or you took the hat off,” Twilight retorted with a glare. “It doesn’t mean anything.” Trixie snapped her fingers. “Trixie wants to know why Pinkie’s skirt is in the picture. If you’re taking a picture of someone else, why would your own skirt be visible?” “Good question,” Scootaloo said, leaning down to stare harder at the picture. “Maybe she took it in a hurry?” Diamond Tiara huffed, clacking her pen on her podium to get attention. “Better question: why did she take it at all? Who sits there and takes a picture of someone trying to kill them?” “Uuuuh…” Scootaloo’s mouth twisted up in confusion as she stared up at the ceiling like she was searching for an answer. “Maybe she was going to text it, as a cry for help?” “Was there a time stamp on the photo?” Twilight inquired, looking right at me. “You still have her Monopad with you, right?” “I do,” I said, rummaging through my pack to dig it out. Then I froze, and looked up at Monoponi, who leered down at me with a big fat grin on his face. “Uuuuh, my having this doesn’t break a rule, does it?” “Oho, you have no idea how tempted I am to say that it does!” Monoponi said, waggling one forehoof. “Ahahaha! But no, no, that wouldn’t be right. You can’t steal from the dead! The rule doesn’t apply to a dead person’s Monopad. You should know that, Sunset, remember?” Oh. Right. The first game’s second case. That one involved dumbbells and a locker room too, didn’t it? Weird. “Ahehe,” I laughed nervously, rubbing the back of my head and trying to ignore the harsh glare Twilight shot my way. “Riiight. Uh, anyway, let’s look at this.” I switched on the Monopad and tabbed through to the picture. “Hmm… okay, it doesn’t list the timestamp on the picture itself, but the file title contains one. Says it was taken at… 12:15 AM?!” “What?!” Rarity gasped, throwing her hands up to clutch her head. “But how is that possible? Pinkie Pie sent check-in texts for two hours after that!” “Did she, though?” Diamond Tiara wondered, scanning through her own Monopad. “Hey, Sunset, double check this with me, will you?” “Right.” I tabbed back over to her texts, and scrolled through them. I hadn’t noticed before, but… every text after 11:45 PM was exactly the same: “Pinkie Pie is here and the coast is clear!~~” “Holy crap. How come we didn’t see this before?” Tiara slammed her open palm on her podium. “Damn it. This should’ve been obvious!” “What? What is it?” Rainbow asked, eyes dancing back and forth between us in concern. I slapped a hand to my forehead. “Uuugh. I’m such an idiot. The culprit faked the texts. I should’ve figured that out the moment I realized the culprit had their hands on her Monopad.” “Grrr,” Rainbow Dash growled, squeezing a fist tight enough to turn her knuckles white. “Damn this culprit. They’re such a sneaky little jerk.” “Okay, so, I’ve got it then!” Scootaloo said, snapping her fingers. “Pinkie whipped out her Monopad to take the picture, was trying to text it, and then wham she was hit over the head! Dead before she could do anything. I raised a hand, but before I could say a word, Trixie pointed a finger at Scootaloo and shouted, “No, that’s wrong!” She tapped buttons on her own Monopad and brought up some evidence. Fact #3: Body Condition: “The back of her skull was broken open by the impact of a blunt object.” “The culprit clearly hit Pinkie from behind. Why would Pinkie Pie turn her back to someone threatening her life, hmm? And don’t say she was trying to run. Trixie knows she wasn’t.” She punched up more evidence. Fact #4: Weight-Lifting Room: “The central mat is covered in a large half-dried bloodstain with a single bloody footprint heel emerging from it. The equipment in the room was moved around and disturbed, suggesting a struggle.” Trixie pointed squarely at the first line. “See how there’s a single footprint sticking out of the puddle? Trixie is certain that means Pinkie was standing still when she was hit. And if she was standing still while taking the picture, the culprit would’ve hit her from the front, not the back! As further proof, take a look at the pool of blood. If she’d been moving when she was hit, it would be scattered, splattered all over. But it’s not. It’s in one single place.” I curled my lips in an impressed pout, nodding several times. “Nice. Well done, Trixie,” I said, tempted to add some applause, but I held back. I didn’t want her to think I was making fun of her. “Okay, okay, jeez, I get it,” Scootaloo groaned, crossing her arms with a petulant look on her face. “You don’t have to hammer it in.” Rarity favored Trixie with a questioning look. “Trixie, darling, if I may, it sounds as if you’re suggesting the picture might have been faked.” Adagio’s eyebrows shot to the top of her head. “Wait, how did you get that from what she said?” “Well,” Rarity said, holding up a hand, “If Pinkie Pie was standing still, that means she wasn’t trying to escape. And I can’t imagine any reason why she’d do that, not while also taking a picture of her killer. So that must mean something here isn’t what it appears to be.” “Or,” Rainbow Dash objected, rolling her eyes, “it means the picture doesn’t tell the whole story! Look, the dumbbell has to be what killed her. We already know she didn’t drown. I mean, look at the Monoponi file, right?” Fact #2: Monoponi File IIIb: “The victim’s body has multiple injuries, including blunt force trauma to the head, puncture wounds on the arms, and the fifth metacarpal bone of both hands are broken.” “Right there,” Rainbow said, pointing to the last line. “On her hands. What if she was hit by the dumbbell twice? She blocked the first hit with her hands, which broke both the bones mentioned. Then, she--” “Stop right there,” Twilight ordered, glaring at Rainbow over her glasses. “Do you even know what bone the file is talking about?” “Uh, yeah, I do,” Rainbow scoffed. She held up her right hand and pointed with her left index finger right at her right pinkie, then ran her index finger down her hand, stopping just before her wrist. “That’s what it’s talking about. This bone right here.” “Good. You’re not completely ignorant.” Twilight turned to face her closest, and only, podium neighbor. “Diamond Tiara, would you please do us all a favor?” Tiara arched a single eyebrow, shifting her weight onto one leg. “What is it?” Twilight handed Tiara her notebook. “Take this, and hold it in both hands like you would a dumbbell, then trying to hit me with it please. Slowly.” With a shrug, Tiara did as she was asked. As she raised the notebook up, Twilight made an exaggerated face of surprise, then slowly threw up her hands as the notebook descended. Her arms crossed over each other and the notebook hit, not at the metacarpal, but at the lower part of the wrist, only on her right arm at that. “Thank you,” Twilight said, taking her notebook back. Then she faced Rainbow. “Did your simple mind understand that, or do we need to do it again?” “No. I get it,” Rainbow rolled her eyes and raised her middle finger at Twilight. “Didn’t have to be a bitch about it.” “Okay, so she wasn’t injured because she blocked the dumbbell,” I said, giving Twilight a grateful nod and pointedly ignoring her answering glare of derision. “And Trixie’s right that she had to be standing still in order for the bloodstain to be the way it is. So I think Rarity might be right too. The picture is fake.” “Ah’m not sure Ah understand how they faked it, if that’s the case,” Applejack said, scratching at her hair right under her hat. “Ah mean, Pinkie’s skirt is in the picture, right? So, what, did the culprit put her skirt on?” “Wow. Kinky,” Tiara snickered, then burst out laughing hard at the glares she got from several of us, myself included. “Oh come on, it’s funny!” Adagio, ignoring Tiara, looked at Applejack and nodded to her. “I think the farmer’s on to something. The culprit must’ve worn the skirt, or at least put it on something so it’d be in the picture. It was like the culprit was trying to make sure we thought it was Pinkie taking it.” “The sad thing is, if they hadn’t thrown in that little detail, their plan might’ve worked,” Rarity said, pressing her right fist to her chin as she set her left arm on her podium. Scootaloo doubled over, groaning. “Ugh, but I don’t get it. If the culprit took the picture, that means they’re not the one holding the dumbbell. So who is?” “Two possibilities,” I answered. “Either it’s an accomplice, which I doubt, or… it’s Pinkie Pie herself.” Rainbow Dash smacked both her palms on her podium. “What?! How does that work? Why would Pinkie Pie be holding up the dumbbell? She wasn't strong enough!" “You’re not going to say she was trying to kill the culprit, are you?” Scootaloo demanded, glaring at me now. “No, of course not,” I rolled my eyes. “Pinkie Pie was no more likely to kill someone than I am, and I know she wasn't strong enough. What I’m suggesting is, when the picture was taken, Pinkie Pie was already dead.” “What?!” “Huh?!” “Oh my heavens!” “You can’t be serious!” “Holy crap!” For the second time the whole group burst into excited chatter, arguing back and forth over the plausibility of what I’d just suggested. "But that's stupid!" Rainbow Dash intervened. "I just said she wasn't strong enough to hold the weight. Now you're saying she held it while dead?!" "It wouldn't be that difficult," I said. "If the culprit propped up her body in the right way, they could position things so Pinkie could appear like she was holding the weight even if she wasn't actually holding it. They could've done that by tying her arm and hiding the rope." “Now hold it right there, sugarcube,” Applejack warned, holding up a hand at me. “Ah’m not sayin’ you’re wrong, but Ah ain’t sayin’ you’re right either. Let’s think about this before we just accept it. We don’t want a repeat of what just happened with Rarity and me.” “Sure,” I nodded with a smile. “I don’t want to make the same mistake twice either.” “That’s good to hear,” Applejack smiled back. “So, what makes you think it might be Pinkie Pie? Her hair was curlier than a sheep doin’ cartwheels. Wouldn’t that stand out in the photo, even with that bright light?” I shook my head. “Not necessarily. Pinkie Pie’s hair has been flat for the past few days. I’ve been watching her hair the whole time she was alive in the killing game. It always reacted to her mood, deflating when she was sad, inflating when she was happy.” I rubbed at my chin. “Actually, come to think of it, that makes me wonder if she had some latent magic too. That’d explain why her hair worked that way.” “Ah suppose you’re right. Her hair was mighty strange from time to time,” Applejack allowed. “But can you be sure it was flat when she died? Ah’m not suggestin’ she was happy to die or nothin’ like that, but let’s be certain about this.” “I’m one hundred percent certain of it, for multiple reasons,” I answered. I held out my hand to count on. “First, she absolutely hated the trials. The first one was bad enough, but the second one effectively broke her. She was always depressed after it, and suffered from constant mood swings. Second, remember the way she acted the morning after Fluttershy died?” ~*~ Pinkie Pie drooped over her table, a goofy smile on her face. Her forkful of eggs hung loose in her hand, and as she raised it to her mouth she missed a couple of times before she got it in. Her pupils were oddly dilated, given the bright light of the food court. “Heeey,” she said, waving at us and giggling. “What’s up?” “Uh, not much?” I said, sharing a confused look with Trixie and Adagio. Pinkie dropped her fork to her plate. Her happy smile flipped to an ugly, gross frown. “Not much? Not much?!” She slammed a fist on her table, sending her fork clattering to the floor. “Fluttershy died yesterday, and you call that not much?!” “Whoa!” I took a couple steps back, my hands shooting up in surrender. “I didn’t say anything about Fluttershy. Cool it.” “Oh.” Pinkie’s frown flipped back to the goofy smile as she scooped up her fork and tossed the fallen eggs into her mouth, carpet fuzz and all. “Okie dokie loki.” ~*~ “Oh, Ah heard about that. Ah wasn’t there for it, of course, on account of being on guard duty,” Applejack said. “She didn’t sound like she was in her right mind. But that still doesn’t mean her hair was flat when she died. Can you prove it was, without a shadow of a doubt?” “I’ll ri--err...I’ll prove it with this,” I said, curtailing my usual response to this kind of back and forth debate in favor of something a bit nicer. I called up the evidence just the same. Fact #12: Diary: “A diary discovered in Pinkie Pie’s cabin, wherein she admits using drugs. The following is scribbled repeatedly on several pages, in barely discernible handwriting: “What have I done oh my god what have I done she’s dead she’s dead and it’s my fault it’s all my fault I killed her I killed her why why why why why?!” The last entry in the diary reads: “Thank you Sunny. I’ll do what needs to be done.” Applejack almost fell over backwards from the shock of reading what I’d thrown up on our screens. “As you can see,” I said sadly, “Pinkie Pie, who we all know was in the jewelry store with Fluttershy the night Fluttershy died, was under the impression she was responsible for Fluttershy’s death. She was using drugs to cope with the guilt, because she felt so isolated and alone that she couldn’t turn to any of us for help.” Scootaloo’s eyes watered, letting quiet tears flow. “She, she really felt that alone? But we all liked her! She was our friend.” “Did we ever tell her that thought?” Rarity wondered, likewise crying softly. “She… poor Pinkie Pie, I can’t recall if I ever spent some time with the dear once outside of group meetings and events.” “Trixie spent some time speaking with her,” Trixie sniffled, “but it was only once. Then she became friends with Sunset and forgot all about Pinkie.” “Ah can’t say Ah ever spent any time with her either. That girl was fun, but hoo boy she was she exhaustin’ to be around,” Applejack said, holding her hat to her chest in lieu of crying. “You said it,” Tiara seconded as she closed her eyes and squeezed one fist. “Every time she showed up I needed to pop another aspirin just to stave off the headache.” “Yeah, I think the most I ever did for her was DJ for her party,” Flash said, hanging his head. “And I didn’t even do that most of the night.” Adagio pursed her lips, her eyes flashing with irritation. “I couldn’t stand her. Too energetic. Too loud.” “She threw a sweet party, I guess?” Rainbow said, rubbing the back of her head. Even Twilight softened up, seeming regretful. “She was more worthwhile than I gave her credit for.” “I wasn’t any better than the rest of you when it comes to Pinkie,” I said. “In fact, I made the poor girl cry once, and I--” “Wait a minute,” Twilight said, her mask of detachment back in place as she smacked a hand on her podium. “Wait a damned minute. What does that diary entry say at the very end? ‘Thank you Sunny, I’ll do what needs to be done’? What does that mean?” “She asked me for some advice last night,” I answered, the guilt welling up inside me, threatening to overtake me. “She asked me what she should do if she did something really bad because someone said it was okay, and it wasn’t okay. I told her to ask the person who said it why they said it was okay.” I saw Twilight open her mouth and forestalled the next question by adding, “And she had one of my jackets because I gave it to her. She kept having cold chills.” “What exactly did Pinkie do that made her think she was guilty, anyway?” Flash asked, setting a hand to his chin. Tiara and I exchanged a look, and she waved for me to go ahead. “Diamond Tiara and I discussed this before. We think it’s probable that Pinkie Pie is the one who planted the ring on Fluttershy.” Scootaloo blinked, looked between Tiara and myself, then settled on me, glaring in irritation. “Oh my god, Sunset, you did it again. You did it again!” “What? Did what?” She rolled her eyes and slapped her hands to her hips. “You withheld the one piece of evidence that proved who killed someone. Again. This is like the third time!” “I--no! No I didn’t!” I objected, throwing out one arm in protest. “I didn’t want to mention this because I didn’t want to give people the false impression that Pinkie Pie killed Fluttershy. Because she didn’t.” “Really? Because Ah’m thinkin’ that diary tells all,” Applejack retorted, crossing her arms and thumbing the edge of her hat. “Unless you got somethin’ else that makes you think her own admission ain’t enough.” “Ugh!” I threw my hands up and let them fall to my sides. “Number one, I just told you guys that she told me she only did something because someone else told her it was okay. Number two, yes, Applejack, I do have something to prove it.” Fact #13: Discarded Note: “A handwritten note torn to shreds, found in Pinkie Pie’s wastebasket. The handwriting is messy and heavily slanted to the left. Most of the text was illegible, save for the following words: ‘help me surprise Fluttershy.’ I deliberately kept the bit about Rainbow Dash’s handwriting matching it off screen for the moment. I didn’t want to muddy the waters further. We could deal with that later. “See? She was given a note. The note said ‘help me surprise Fluttershy.’ That implies that someone told her it was okay to place that ring in Fluttershy’s pocket. Pinkie Pie was super sneaky, but she was also pretty naive. I’ll bet the rest of the note told her to give Fluttershy that specific ring. Remember how the box had a piece of red tape on it?” ~*~ Monoponi pointedly strode up to her and used his magic to rummage through her pockets, withdrawing a small black box with a piece of red tape stuck to the top. “Oh? Ooooh? Then what do you call this?!” He popped open the box, revealing a beautiful gold ring encrusted with a large yellow tourmaline. “Because I call this thievery!” ~*~ “The person who wrote the note probably marked that box so Pinkie would know which one was ‘safe’ to give Fluttershy. Fluttershy was already taking Pinkie to the store so she could buy Pinkie a gift. Pinkie was probably all too happy to return the favor, and help whoever gave her the note to boot.” “Oh that poor darling!” Rarity gasped, holding up a hand to her forehead and sighing dramatically. “And then it was all for naught, because poor Fluttershy was cut down in the prime of her youth, for a crime she didn’t even commit!” Her hand slipped down and into a fist at her breast. “Damn whoever gave her that note. They’re the real criminal here.” “Are they, though?” Twilight scoffed, holding up both hands in a gesture that screamed bitch please. “Because the way I understand the rules is, what matters is who did the actual deed. Pinkie Pie’s the one who planted the ring. Therefore, she’s the culprit. We’ve found one of the blackeneds.” “Yeah, Twilight’s right!” Rainbow Dash railed, slamming a hand on her podium. “If Pinkie Pie herself admitted she did it, then she did it!” Tiara held up a single finger and shook it. “But Pinkie wouldn’t have done it without that note. I think Sunset’s got a point. Pinkie Pie isn’t the culprit.” Applejack tapped her foot on the ground several times with an obvious clicking sound. “Well, if Tiara says it wasn’t Pinkie, Ah’m inclined to disagree with her just cause Tiara’s sayin’ it,” she groused, glaring at the rich elitist. “Because Ah don’t like you.” “Wow. What a petty reason,” Tiara snorted derisively. “Pot callin’ the kettle black there sugarcube.” Scootaloo let out an irritated groan and fell over onto her podium. “How is this even a debate? Like Rainbow said, Pinkie admitted it.” “Gonna have to agree with that,” Flash said, lowering his hand from his chin as he nodded. “An admission of guilt is an admission of guilt.” “You didn’t see the note,” Adagio said, stabbing a finger into her podium. “It’d be foolish to suggest Pinkie Pie was guilty when someone deliberately misled her.” Trixie thrust out her arm so her cape billowed. “Trixie, of course, will support Sunset. Though Trixie isn’t sure this matters. Isn’t it up to Monoponi, not us?” “Oh, nonono, by all means, argue over this!” Monoponi said, holding his forehooves to his belly with a grin of glee. “Eyahaha, I’ll let you idiots decide this one for yourselves. I’ll go with whoever wins!” “Wait, really?” I said, arching both eyebrows. “Are you only doing that because we’re split down… the… middle… oh god damn it!” I slapped both hands to my head and moaned. “Ahahahaha! You said it, not me!” Monoponi’s horn lit up, triggering the speakers to fill the room with that techno beat once again. “After all, when you say it, we gotta do it. Presenting our very own morphenomenal trial grounds, it’s time for the scrum debate!” “Good job me,” I groaned as our podiums rose up to split up in twain. Out the corner of my eye I saw Pinkie’s portrait and Fluttershy’s join my side before the debate began. WAS PINKIE RESPONSIBLE FOR FLUTTERSHY’S DEATH? BEGIN! Rainbow Dash began, thrusting out a finger and shouting, “Pinkie Pie admitted it herself! She’s the one responsible!” Rarity retorted with a twirl of her finger, “Sorry darling, but just because she admitted she was involved does not mean she’s the actual blackened!” Applejack threw down her hat and argued, “But she’s the one who gave her the ring! That means it’s gotta be her!” Tiara held a hand to her mouth and laughed. “Ohoho, but she only gave her that ring because someone told her to!” Groaning in frustration, Flash objected, “But that doesn’t mean anything! We can’t even be sure that’s what the note says!” Her cloak billowing like a strong wind behind her, Trixie laughed and said, “Trixie read the note herself! It said ‘help me surprise Fluttershy.’ That seems pretty blatant to Trixie!” “So what’re you saying, huh?” Scootaloo snarled. “That the real culprit is the one who wrote the note, because they had the intent to kill? That they just used Pinkie Pie?” “Obviously,” Adagio sneered with a mocking laugh. “The culprit wanted Fluttershy dead, and used Pinkie Pie and Monoponi to do it.” Twilight ripped her glasses off her face and glared right at me. “According to the rules the blackened is the one who did the deed. Note or not, intent or not, Pinkie’s the one who did it. Therefore, she has to be the blackened!” I glared right back, putting the full force of my personality behind this one. “You don’t get to interpret the rules, Twilight. Monoponi does. He put this debate in our hands, which means he agrees our argument makes sense. As with any crime, intent matters. Pinkie Pie was as much a tool as Monoponi himself was. The one who intended harm was the true culprit behind Fluttershy’s death, not Pinkie Pie!” “But can we really make an exception just because we don’t want it to be Pinkie Pie?” Flash demanded. Using one hand to fluff her hair, Tiara whirled on him and retorted in a fiery manner, “Hey, dumbass, did you forget that an exception is what kept you from being the blackened for Apple Bloom?” Applejack scooped her hat up and slapped it back on. “But there’s a difference! Flash didn’t even know there was a trap. Pinkie Pie was well aware what she was doin’ might break the rules!” “There’s no difference at all!” Adagio shot back, slapping a hand to her head. “Pinkie Pie was lied to. She was told it was safe.” “Oh come on, that’s just a bullshit assumption and you know it!” Rainbow Dash said, slamming an open palm on her podium. Trixie leaned forward, favoring Rainbow Dash with a mocking half-lidded leer. “It’s not an assumption, it’s fact. Pinkie Pie told Sunset as much, remember?” Scootaloo pulled at her hair, utterly frustrated. “But how can we be sure that note was even real? What if it was fake? What if Pinkie Pie made it up, just to cover up for her own guilt?” Rarity hummed, smiling gently. “Scootaloo, I understand where you’re going with this, but why shouldn’t we assume the note was real? Which is truly more likely, Pinkie Pie committing murder and covering it up, or Pinkie Pie being misled into committing murder? I know which one makes more sense to me.” More hairs bursting from her otherwise perfect bun, Twilight set her glasses down on her podium, sighed, and said, “You do understand if we decide that Pinkie Pie can’t be the blackened that we’re putting another life in jeopardy? That instead of accepting someone already dead, we might be throwing someone else’s life away? Wouldn’t the moral thing to do be to preserve as many of our lives as possible?” My blood boiling at that remark, I fired back, “Oh, so Pinkie Pie’s life was meaningless? Fluttershy’s life was meaningless? Is that what you’re saying? Because if we let the person who wrote the note get away with this, that’s exactly what we’ll be saying. And I refuse to accept that. I refuse to blame someone conned into doing something they’d never do otherwise just so we can spare the life of someone who thinks it’s okay to manipulate others into murdering each other! That’s not the moral thing to do at all. It’s the wrong thing to do! I won’t accept anything else!” With that answer, our podiums descended back to the courtroom, resuming their usual layout. “Well, I’d say we have a winner there, folks!” Monoponi cheered. “Sunset’s team wins! Whoever wrote the note that told Pinkie what to do is who I’ll consider the blackened to be! I hope you idiots don’t regret making this choice in the end, upupupu eyahahaha ahahahaahahaha!” Monoponi’s ominous laughter aside, I was glad this was the direction we were taking. Pinkie Pie died believing she was responsible for killing Fluttershy. If there was any justice in the world at all, somewhere out there, in whatever afterlife may or may not exist, Fluttershy was telling Pinkie it wasn’t her fault, and that she forgives her. I can only hope, anyway, because I sure as hell wasn’t about to let the monster who tricked Pinkie into doing their dirty work get away with this. And I hadn’t forgotten that we hadn’t even come close to solving Pinkie Pie’s murder either. We may have nailed down a rough time frame, but that’s all we’d done. We didn’t even know the cause of death yet. This trial had only just begun.