Chapter Five
Whistle for the Wind
Trial Part 2
I sank to my haunch, my grip slipping away from the podium. My crutches clattered to the floor on either side of me as I burst into tears.
“Woah, woah, what in the heck?” Scootaloo shouted. “Trixie, what happened?”
“Hmph! She’s falling apart from the pressure,” Tiara said with her nose stuck up in the air. “Naturally. I knew she couldn’t handle it.”
“Don’t be an ass Tiara,” Applejack chided. “Ah’m guessin’ this is for somethin’ else.”
“Trixie?” Rarity said, her breath choked. “What… what is it?”
Wordlessly, I pointed towards the wall behind Sunset’s podium, where the light had once beamed. Once, that is. “She… she… Sunset…” I hiccuped, my heart hammering in my chest. “Sunset just died.”
“What?!” Rarity screamed at the top of her lungs, slapping both hands to the sides of her head. “That’s… that’s impossible! How could you know?”
“Ahahaha!” Monoponi chortled, slapping both forehooves to his barrel over and over again. “Eyahahahaha ahahahahahaha ahahahaahaha! Tell me, Trixie, do you liiiike my little light I rigged up? Because you’re right. It was tied to Sunset’s life!”
“She… she really was still alive?” Diamond Tiara said, her jaw falling open.
“Was being the key word!” Monoponi replied. “Ahahahaha! So long as she was alive, the light continued to shine. But only if her heart kept beating. Looks like it stopped! Ahahahaha! Sunset Shimmer is dead. And I couldn’t be happier!”
“You… you… “ I growled as I reached out for my crutches and wrenched myself back up on my feet. “You monster! We had a deal!”
“Deal? What deal?” Monoponi said, cocking his head to the side and placing a forehoof on his chin. “I don’t know anything about a deal.”
“Ah think she’s talkin’ about how if Sunset managed to escape, you wouldn’t execute her for missin’ the trial,” Applejack said, though she eyed me. “That is what you’re talkin’ about, right Trixie?”
I fired off the most furious glare I could manage at the farmer. “Of course that’s what I’m talking about!”
“Oh, that,” Monoponi said, letting out a huge horsey snort. “Puhlease, you didn’t actually think that meant I’d protect Sunset’s life, did you? You moron! Don’t you remember what I said?” He fired off a jet of light at the holographic displays, which switched on to show a brief clip of security camera footage.
~*~
Monoponi rolled his oversized eyes. “Very well! Since you morons won’t let this go, knowing you, I will say this. If Sunset Shimmer is alive, she will have until the end of the trial to make an appearance. So long as she attends the end and votes, she will not be executed. But if she fails to show up, then that’s the end of the line for her.” He held a hoof to his fuzzy chin. “Assuming she’s still alive that is, upupupu.”
~*~
“Now you tell me, your Captain, where in there I said I’d keep Sunset alive. Because I don’t think I did. All I said was, I’d give her the chance.” He shrugged his shoulders and plopped back onto his rump. “Not my fault if she died before she could take advantage of it.”
“Then she’s gone,” Rarity whispered. Tears ran down her face, but unlike her melodramatic displays of emotion before, she didn’t shriek or claw at her hair. She froze in place, barely breathing. “Sunset’s gone.”
“I… oh god damn it!” Scootaloo shouted, balling her fists up and slamming them down on her podium over and over again. “Damn it! Damn it! Daaaamn it!”
Tiara took in a sudden breath, her expression screwing up into one of utter shocked sorrow. “I… I thought I’d… I thought I accepted… but now…” she mumbled before trailing off, her face falling into her hands.
Applejack took off her hat and held it to her breast. Even she began to tear up. “Ah’m gonna miss you, Sunset Shimmer,” she muttered. “You were the best of us.”
I wanted to wail, to scream at the heavens, to beg and plead and wish and do anything to bring her back. I wanted to undo what has been done.
I wish we’d never been brought to this ship. It’s been nothing but slow torture since we got here. First our memories of friendships once had, torn away and discarded. Then slowly, piece by piece we kill each other, scream and shout in suspicion for hours, pretend to make up, then we do it all over again. Again and again and again. Even I’d fallen prey to it. I still remembered how awful, how horrifyingly gross and ashamed I felt when I realized I’d actually murdered Pinkie Pie. I stole her life, and for what?
For what?! For Sunset? Who was so furious with me I almost lost her friendship forever? For myself? I didn’t deserve to live after what I did. And now it was even more pointless. Sunset had figured out it was me, because of course she had. She was always so smart.
Was.
Was was was.
I hate that word. I hate it so much, it makes me want to vomit. It’s not fair. It’s not right! If anything, it should’ve been me kidnapped by Adagio. I’m the one who deserved to suffer.
I could just imagine it. Imagine what Sunset must’ve gone through. Beaten up by Adagio, probably tied up, thrown in there in the dark, left to die. Laying there, unable to move, slowly wasting away until her heart gave out.
That should’ve been me. It should’ve been Sunset standing here, trying to figure out who killed me. Not me trying to solve Adagio’s murder. Sunset deserved justice.
No, more than that.
She deserved to live.
If any of us did, it was her. That’s why I gave in the first time. It was for her. Not me. Never me. Always her. Always for her.
If you’d told me, before I came to this ship, that there’d be someone out there I’d be willing to die for? Willing to kill for? I’d have laughed in your face. Then I’d have distracted you with a magic trick or two, because come on, I’m Trixie. Magic’s my thing. But then I befriended, or rather, re-befriended Sunset. It was like my father had come back to me. Or my mom. Or… no.
No, she was like my older sister. The sister I never had. I looked up to her. I emulated her, I learned from her. I watched her in the trials and I copied what she did. Heck, half the reason I threw my magic show was so I could make her my assistant. So she could keep helping me.
What am I going to do without her? What’re any of us going to do?
I didn’t want to know. I wanted nothing more than to suddenly wake up, realize this was all some fever dream, that Sunset would be there asking why I’d been talking in my sleep again.
But it wasn’t going to happen. There was no point in going on.
“Hey! Hey!”
I looked up only to yelp and shrink back when I saw Monoponi glaring at me, his massive eyes barely a few inches away from my own. “W-what?” I murmured.
“Wake up!” he shouted, before fluttering up to hover above the podiums. “All of you morons, wake up! You still have a trial to do!”
A lump formed in my throat. My stomach felt heavy, like a ten ton weight had settled in. But I gathered my courage, and said, “No. We’re done.”
“Excuse me?” Monoponi barked, holding a hoof to one of his ears. “What was that?”
“She said we’re done, dumbass!” Tiara added, slapping a palm down on her podium. Her eyes were red and puffy, tear stains dotting her cheeks. “We’re not doing it anymore.”
Scootaloo looked at me, then Tiara, then set her jaw and nodded grimly. “That’s right! We’ve had enough of this shit!”
Applejack took her hat and set it squarely back on her head. “Well now, if y’all’re gonna stand up to him, Ah’m with you. Ah ain’t wastin’ no more time on this boondoggle. Ain’t like no one cares that Adagio’s dead anyhow.”
Rarity took a deep breath, stood up straight, and calmly wiped her face clean. “While I wouldn’t say I don’t care who killed Adagio, if they refuse to participate, then so do I.”
“Oho. Ohohoho!” Monoponi spun circles in the air, sounding angrier by the second. “Ohoho this is rich. This is riiiiich. Look at you idiots. Acting like you’re friends. Acting like you’re working together to stop some big bad evil. ‘Oooh we won’t play your game anymore Monoponi! Oh we’re sick of you! Oh you’re a monster!’ Well I won’t tolerate this!”
He flew back over to his throne and landed on all four hooves, spreading his wings out. “You morons think you can stand up to me? I am your Captain! This trial is mandatory! You are required to participate. And if you don’t… well, in that case, what’s the point in keeping you alive?”
His horn ignited, and panels opened up in the walls and ceiling, aiming a large variety of nasty looking weaponry at us. Not just those big barreled machine gun things, but flamethrowers, and grenade launchers, and even nastier looking stuff I didn’t have words for. “I’m perfectly happy to end this game right here, right now. It’d be a bit of a disruption in my plans, but no plan survives contact with the enemy. I can cope. I can find a way to succeed in my goals without you idiots. Do you understand what that means?”
He leaned forward, his horn glowing along with his throat, and when he next spoke, it sounded like a beast that clawed its way out of hell itself. “You’re expendable.”
Then he sat down on his rump, crossed his forehooves over his horsey chest, and said, “Your move! I’ll give you three minutes to decide.”
Tiara whimpered, her whole body shaking like tree limbs in a windstorm. “I-I-I don’t want to d-d-die!” she moaned.
Applejack gulped. “Woah nelly… Ah wasn’t expectin’ him to respond like that. Ah ain’t ready to die either.” She bowed her head. “Ah mean, Ah wouldn’t mind seein’ mah sister again. Or mah parents. But… Ah ain’t ready. Granny still needs me. Big Mac still needs mah help on the farm.”
“Tch,” Scootaloo held up both hands and flipped Monoponi off. “Fuck you if you think threatening my life is going to get me to stand down. I don’t care anymore if you kill me. I’m sick of playing along with your game.” Then she wavered, her expression fading as her hands slowly dropped to her sides. “But I do care about everyone else. I don’t want them to die…”
Rarity heaved a world-weary sigh as her confidence visibly evaporated. “I wish I could say I was ready. That I’d be happy to go see Sweetie Belle, Sunset, our other friends that have died in this wretched game… but I’m not. I’m afraid. Afraid if I die all that’ll happen is that I… that I cease to exist. And I don’t want to cease to exist!” She cast an apologetic look my way. “I’m so sorry, Trixie.”
I shook my head, giving her a smile that didn’t come within a million miles of reaching my eyes. “You don’t have to apologize, Rarity. It was a long shot. Trixie can’t blame you for wanting to live.” I let out a sigh of my own, then looked up at Monoponi. “Fine. You win. We’ll play.”
The various weaponry all withdrew into their hidden panels as Monoponi’s muzzle split into a massive toothy grin. “Excellent! I thought you might.” He held out his forehooves and waved them in a ‘go ahead’ gesture. “Please, don’t wait for your Captain. Continue.”
“Where did we leave off, anyhow? Ah sorta forgot, what with the, uh… bad news,” Applejack said.
“I think we just finished deciding we couldn’t declare Rarity the culprit?” Tiara said with a gormless shrug, her voice listless. “I don’t know anymore.”
I briefly glanced towards Sunset’s podium, and my heart skipped a beat when I realized he’d replaced the portrait without us noticing.
That blood-pink X would haunt me to the end of my days.
“S-so, Trixie thinks,” I began, trying not to let my voice quiver and shake, “w-we should look into how the church is connected to the case.”
“Yes, that’s right,” Rarity said, taking a shuddering breath of her own when she saw the new portrait. “And Trixie and I found many clues in the church we need to examine carefully.”
Scootaloo’s expression became unreadable. “I didn’t go into the church during the investigation,” she admitted. “What did the music room look like? It was a mess when I left it.”
“Actually, now that you mention that, Scootaloo'' Rarity said, pressing her knuckles to her lips, “the music room was especially odd, given what we know now.” She tapped a few times on her Monopad.
Fact #25: Music Room: “The music room was disturbed. Many of the instruments had been moved around. Two shekeres had woven strings of linen and cotton tied to them. There was also a single long string of cotton approximately twelve feet long discovered curled in a pile in the corner of the room.”
“Huh. You’re right. That is weird,” Scootaloo commented, staring quizzically at the evidence. “A shekere’s that bead net gourd rattle thing, right?” At Rarity’s nod, she continued, “Those were not hanging from the ceiling when I left the place. And there was no string either.”
“I’m certain the string came from my thread,” Rarity replied with a frustrated frown. “I left the thread in the theater workshop the other day, because I had been working on new clothes for… for Sunset.” She shook for a moment after saying the name before managing to compose herself. “But when I went back for it after tearing my skirt yesterday, it was gone. That’s why I didn’t repair the damage.”
“Did anyone check the fabric store’s register?” Tiara asked, her tone still reeking of a lack of enthusiasm. “Maybe someone bought some string.”
“No, Trixie didn’t consider checking that,” I said with a shake of my head. “She thinks no one would’ve been foolish enough to leave a paper trail. Receipts have been important too often in prior murders.”
“You got that right,” Applejack muttered, a scowl forming on her face.
“Indeed,” Rarity mumbled.
“So Trixie thinks unless we have reason to believe otherwise, we can safely conclude the string was made from Rarity’s thread. Rarity, how difficult would this have been?”
Rarity hummed to herself, rubbing at her chin, though rather than stare at the ceiling like she usually did when she did that, she stared down at her podium, her whole body held limp. “Not very,” she said. “The thread I used was thin, but weaving it into string wouldn’t take much effort, especially not with these awful quality strings we found.”
“They were bad?” I uttered in bemusement.
She gave me a small smile that vanished in a heartbeat. “Yes, darling. Trust a seamstress to know what is and isn’t bad when it comes to string and thread.”
“Nevermind whether they were good or bad,” Scootaloo said with a wave of her hand, “the question is: why? Why were the instruments tied up?”
“Hmm…” Rarity said, opening up the evidence screen on her Monopad. “I wonder. The string wasn’t the only thing we found from the theater workshop there, was it, Trixie?”
“No, it wasn’t,” I said.
Fact #24: Bucket: “A metal bucket, with the words ‘property of ship’s theater’ stamped on the bottom. It was discovered in the ladies restroom of the church, with a few droplets of water inside.”
“This is a bucket.”
I saw Scootaloo’s eyebrows raise and an amused smile briefly dart across her face before she said, “Does that mean someone dumped water in the church?”
“Yes, I’m certain it does,” Rarity answered for me. “Because we also found this.”
Fact #23: Waterlogged Rug: “One of the rugs in the church foyer was soaked in water. The rug had also been moved from its standard location and was pressed up against the wall with the hallway leading to the church restrooms.”
“Well, Scootaloo, you were in the church,” Applejack said after taking in the new information. She fixed Scootaloo with a curious look. “Ah don’t suppose you know anythin’ about this?”
“Nope,” Scootaloo said with a brief shake of her head. “That rug was still in the same place it usually is when I left.”
“Usually that rug’s in front of the door to the main church, right?” Tiara said. Her movements had become more animated, less robotic, like she regained a bit of her usual energy. “So does that mean it was there when the water was dumped on it?”
“You’re makin’ it sound like someone put the bucket over the door,” Applejack muttered with a roll of her eyes. “Like some kinda prank.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Rarity chided, glaring at the farmer. “What sort of person uses a prank as part of a murder attempt?”
Pinkie Pie might have, I mused, but I opted not to answer that. “Perhaps before we conclude that’s what occurred, we should examine other evidence,” I said.
“Oh, yes, there was something else that stood out about the church, wasn’t there?” Rarity said, making a disgusted face. She held up her hand to her nose and waved it as if waving away a nasty odor. “That smell.”
“Smell?” Applejack asked. “What smell?”
“This one,” I answered.
Fact #22: Incense and Wax: “A substantial smell of incense was present in the church, far stronger than usual. The smell is strongest around several puddles of melted wax found on the floor near the door to the foyer.”
“Trixie could hardly breathe when she went in. It was nasty.”
Scootaloo stuck out her tongue. “Ugh, I can imagine. The incense burned in that church was pretty strong to begin with. If a whole lot of candles were set off at once…”
“Y’all would need gas masks just to go in there,” Applejack said, cringing. “Ah can’t imagine how intense that would be. Or why someone would do that.”
“Was there anything else weird this culprit hooked up? “ Tiara said in an exasperated tone. “Did they rig up a chocolate syrup cannon or something to shoot syrup in people’s mouths?”
“Uhh… no, no they didn’t,” Rarity said, staring at Tiara in disbelief. “What on Earth are you talk--”
Tiara cut her off, “I had that happen to me once. Don’t ask.”
“Okaaaaaay,” Rarity muttered, eying Tiara with a flustered frown before shaking her head to clear the thought out. “Well, I don’t believe there was much else we found, was there Trixie?”
“Hmm... “ I stared back down at my Monopad, scanning for evidence, then snapped my fingers. “Trixie spotted something else, yes.”
Fact #5: Bloodied Confetti: “Strings of bloodied confetti found on the body of the victim. Similar pieces of confetti were discovered on the floor of the church foyer.”
“We found confetti on the body, and pieces that looked just like it, minus the blood, in the foyer. Trixie thinks they must be connected.”
“Okay then,” Applejack said, staring up into the brim of her hat as she rubbed at her chin, lost in thought. “So we got some incense candles, confetti, a bucket of water, and a bunch of instruments rigged up on strings. What in all things holy do any of these have to do with the murder?”
“It’s starting to sound like it took place in the church, not in the museum,” Scootaloo said.
Rarity held up a hand, her features schooled into a questioning look. “But how is that possible? There was no blood in the church. All the blood found was in the museum and the library.”
“And on the prayer mat,” Scootaloo pointed out. “What if the culprit used that to catch the blood, and then planted everything else after the fact?”
“But that doesn’t make sense,” I objected.
Fact #4: Printed Note: “A typewritten note discovered in the pocket of the victim, printed off the museum printer. It reads ‘I know what you did. Meet me at the museum theater tonight, at 2:30 AM.”
“Recall the note Trixie found on the body. It says for Adagio to meet the culprit at the museum.”
“We still don’t know what Adagio did,” Rarity murmured. “Or do we?”
“Ah’ve said it before and Ah’ll say it again,” Applejack said, placing her hand palm down on her podium. “She was the one who kidnapped Sunset. It ain’t like Monoponi’s asking us to figure out her murder too.”
“Actually… hmm.” Monoponi spoke up, silencing us all as he took flight from his throne and spun around the courtroom in lazy circles, humming to himself. “Hmm, hmm, hmm… should I? Should I not… is it really necessary? ...oh why not.” He settled back down on his throne and patted his chest with a forehoof. “Ahem. Yes, actually, I will be asking you to solve Sunset Shimmer’s murder. So when you morons vote, you get to vote for Adagio’s killer first, then Sunset’s! Because who doesn’t love voting twice in one trial?”
“Nice one, Applejack,” Tiara groaned, flopping onto her podium.
“Whu-that’s not mah fault!” Applejack retorted, throwing down her hat in annoyance. “Ah guess Ah should learn to keep mah fool mouth shut.”
Rarity’s lips thinned. “Great. Wonderful. And how are we supposed to prove who killed Sunset when we never had the chance to gather the appropriate clues?”
“Not my problem,” Monoponi replied.
“Of course not,” Rarity muttered, throwing up her right hand in disgust. “Whyever would I expect the lunatic monster from another universe to play fair?”
Monoponi shot up from his chair. “Hey!” he shouted, waving his forehooves at Rarity. “I may be a monster, but I draw the line at lunatic! I’d never worship that stupid alicorn that calls herself a Princess!”
“...what?” Rarity stared at him, utterly baffled.
Monoponi blinked, then groaned and slapped a forehoof to his head. “Excuse your Captain. What I meant to say was, I’m not crazy! I am perfectly sane, thank you.”
“Perfectly sane for someone who delights in the misery of others,” I grumbled under my breath. “Trixie thinks we already have everything we need to prove who ki… ki… who was behind Sunset’s death.” I couldn’t say it. I still didn’t want to accept she was gone.
Applejack calmly picked up her hat and fixed it back on her head. “Eeyup. Ah agree with Trixie. It’s safe to say it was Adagio.”
“Oh for heaven’s sake--”
“Rarity, stop it,” Tiara said, slamming a hand down on her podium for emphasis. “Face the facts. The message said ‘I know what you did.’ If the culprit thought she killed Sunset, then she killed Sunset.”
Rarity leaned forward at her podium, gripping the sides with her hands. “I’m sorry, but no. I can’t accept that. I refuse to accept that just because someone murdered Adagio that means Adagio was guilty.”
“But who else could it have been?” Scootaloo asked. “I wouldn’t hurt Sunset. You wouldn’t hurt Sunset. Applejack saw Sunset as a friend. Diamond Tiara did too. And Trixie was locked up. That just leaves Adagio.”
Sighing, Rarity pushed herself off her podium and stood up straight. “Let me put this a different way. Who was the last one to speak with Sunset?”
“It was me, duh,” Tiara replied with a nasty glare at the seamstress. “I told everyone that yesterday morning when we went searching for her. I was the last one to talk to her. And she was still in her room. That was about 7:45 or so. No one saw her since.”
Okay. It’s time to admit to something. Not like I can get her in trouble now. “Actually, that’s not true,” I said.
Everyone’s gaze focused on me at once. “What? What’re you talking about, Trixie?” Diamond said.
I struck a pose, to bask in the attention, but my heart wasn’t in it. “Exactly what Trixie said. You weren’t the last one to speak to Sunset Shimmer. Trixie was.”
“What?!” Applejack roared, slamming a fist down on her podium, her face rippling from sudden fury. “What in the hell are you talkin’ about? Why didn’t you say nothin’ before?!”
“Seriously, Trixie!” Scootaloo shouted, vibrating with just as much anger as the farmer. “Why the hell did you keep this secret?”
“What else are you hiding, huh?” Tiara growled, reaching forward with one hand like she wanted to claw my throat. “Did you kill Sunset?”
Raw anger coursed through my veins, burbling up in my mouth with a sour taste like spoiled milk. “No!” I thundered, slamming both fists on my podium. “How dare you?! I would never, ever in a million years hurt Sunset Shimmer!”
“Of course you wouldn’t, darling,” Rarity said, her voice brimming with sincerity. She glared at the others. “And no one who’s actually bothered to get to know you thinks otherwise.”
My lungs pumped air in and out as I fought desperately to regain control over my temper. I don’t get mad like this often. It sucks. It hurts, like a pounding, aching feeling in my chest, as if there was a whole horde of circus performers doing their acrobatics, trying to tear their way out.
That’s a weird metaphor. I’m weird, I know.
But I managed, after a few moments, to regain myself. “Of course not, Rarity,” I said. “The Great and Powerful Trixie would never hurt her dearest friends.”
“So you say,” Applejack retorted. She raised both hands and pointedly cracked the knuckles of one, then the other, balling and unballing her fists. “But Ah asked you a question, Trixie. Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Because, Trixie doesn’t betray her friends' secrets,” I fired back, flipping a finger at my hat and flashing my teeth in my best attempt at my winning smile. “And Sunset didn’t want anyone to know she was able to visit me.”
Tiara screwed up her face in thought. “Wait, wait. Are you saying she had her own key?”
“She did,” I said, nodding. “Sunset was the one who made the lock on my door, remember? Of course she made herself a spare key. She was able to visit Trixie anytime she wanted.”
“So, assuming we accept that,” Scootaloo said, doubt written all over her face, “can you prove you spoke to Sunset last night?”
“Trixie can most certainly prove it! Behold!”
Fact #6: Sunset’s Monopad: “Sunset’s Monopad was discovered in the library, on the first floor, taped to the underside of the archive door.”
"Though we don't have it here, there were four texts sent between Sunset and Trixie. Allow Trixie to show you the messages on her pad!" After a moment of fumbling, I brought them up:
~*~
SUNSET SHIMMER [10:03 PM]: Hey, you awake still?
TRIXIE LULAMOON [10:03 PM]: Yeah. What’s up?
SUNSET SHIMMER [10:04 PM]: Mind if I come hang out? I can’t sleep.
TRIXIE LULAMOON [10:04 PM]: Sure.
~*~
“As you can see, the timestamps prove Sunset visited Trixie after 10:00 PM, over two hours after she spoke to Tiara.”
"Now hold on a minute there," Applejack said, waggling a finger at me. "How do we know you didn't just make those up?"
Wishing I could reach out and snap that finger, I instead flashed her my winning smile and said, "You don't. But what purpose would making these up serve? Why should Trixie concoct a lie when she's dedicated to finding the truth?"
"Indeed!" Rarity seconded, giving me a firm nod. Then she sighed. "If someone hadn't left Sunset's Monopad behind, we could've double checked it with that one, but..."
"Trixie..." Sorrow welled up in my breast, threatening to burst out once more. "Trixie did what she thought was right at the time."
"I understand, darling," said Rarity as she reached over to gently pat me on the hand. "For what it's worth, I agree you did the right thing. If... If only... oh..."
Tiara’s whole body trembled with repressed anger. “I can’t believe Sunset went behind our backs like that! What if she’d let you out?! You’re such a psychopath you could’ve killed any of us at any time!”
“That is not true and you know it, Diamond Tiara,” Rarity retorted with a sniff. “Whether you believe her or not, Trixie holds nothing but remorse for her actions. That’s why I forgave her.”
“And Trixie has not forgiven herself,” I added.
Rarity nodded at me, then held up a beckoning hand to Tiara. “You see? Trixie is trustworthy. She’d never be so stupid as to murder someone again after the first time.”
“Ah still don’t believe that, but that’s all beside the point,” Applejack said. She casually knocked her right fist against her left palm. “So you and Sunset met up, huh? What’d you talk about?”
I shrugged. “Nothing pertinent to the case. She had some weird dreams, but Sunset has a lot of those. And she talked about Adagio.”
“She did, huh? Hmm.” Tiara rubbed at her chin, gears turning in her mind. “What exactly did she say about her?”
“Um…” I had to focus for a minute to remember. “If Trixie recalls, she talked about how she and Adagio got together, and why she loved Adagio. And that she still loved Adagio, and wanted to make amends with her.”
“O-oh. She… she said that, did she?” Rarity said, her face falling. Then she put on a fake smile. “Of course. Sunset was always a loyal person. She’d love someone even if they were slapping her across the face.”
I reached out and offered to hold Rarity’s hand. She took it straight away, squeezing it so tight she almost cut off my blood circulation. “For what it’s worth, Trixie thinks she might’ve liked being with you, Rarity, if she ever got the chance.”
The seamstress’s eyes misted up as she sniffed. She reached up and brushed away a few tears with her other hand and gave me a watery smile. “That’s good to know.”
“Oh for pete’s sake,” Applejack snarled, gripping her fists so tight her knuckles turned white.
“What? What’s wrong with what I just said?” Rarity growled, her eyes flashing with ire.
Applejack heaved a heavy sigh and deliberately relaxed her hands. “Nothin’,” she muttered, looking away from the seamstress.
“Well then, don’t speak up if you have nothing to say!” Rarity harrumphed. She reached down to smooth the wrinkles in her shirt and skirt then focused on me. “What happened after that?”
I hesitated for a moment before shaking my head. “Nothing. Trixie and Sunset hugged and she said goodnight. Trixie offered for Sunset to stay the night, since she was lonely, and Sunset was feeling scared.” A sour sensation of regret washed through me, like an ocean wave rushing forward, threatening to carry me back out to the sea of depression. “Trixie wishes she’d insisted. Instead, she let Sunset leave. Sunset locked the door. Trixie didn’t hear Sunset was missing until the next day.”
“Oh, right,” Tiara said, frowning at herself. “The door was locked, huh? I remember that now.”
Scootaloo held up a hand for attention. “Well at least we know Sunset was safe until the evening announcement. But if she locked you back in, Trixie, then that leaves us right back where we started. We still don’t know when she went missing.”
“Are you sure you didn’t hear nothin’ outside your door, Trixie?” Applejack said in a muted tone.
Biting at my lip, I stayed quiet for several moments. “Trixie… might have heard something. But she’s not sure. The cabins are soundproofed.”
“Your cabin is two down from Sunset’s, right?” Scootaloo asked. “And no one else’s is closer.”
I nodded. “Trixie’s is the closest to Sunset, yes.”
“Well what’d you hear then?” Tiara demanded, poking her podium with an outstretched finger. “Tell us already.”
“Trixie isn’t sure what it was,” I said sincerely. “It sounded like a… a scream.”
Everyone else froze. “A scream?” Rarity repeated, her voice trembling. “S-Sunset?”
“Trixie thinks so.”
Applejack paled, and had to take a few breaths before she was able to respond, “W-what kind of scream?”
“...pain.” I cringed, curling up as I remembered it all too well. “She was screaming in pain.”
Scootaloo swallowed, her pupils shrinking to pinpricks as she shivered. “How long after Sunset left did you hear that?”
I stared down at my podium. “...less than five minutes.”
“Oh my goodness,” Rarity gasped, holding a hand to her mouth. “Whoever did it must’ve ambushed her.”
“You mean, Adagio ambushed her,” Applejack countered. When Rarity fired off a nasty glare at her, she continued, “Look Ah don’t know what it’s gonna take to convince you, Rarity, but no one else doubts it.”
“There’s… there’s another reason Trixie thinks it was Adagio,” I said, my voice shaking. “Sunset told Trixie a while back that when she made the lock, she made a spare key for her room and gave it to Adagio.”
“She what?! What the hell?!” Tiara blurted, throwing up her hands, her face turning purple. “Why would she do that?!”
“Because at the time she trusted Adagio!” I retaliated, feeling a deep-seated need to defend Sunset. “It was a foolish choice. She never should’ve done it, but she did.”
Tiara rolled her eyes and let her hands fall flat onto her podium with a loud smack! “But she told me, specifically, that she was hiding in her room to give Adagio space. Why would she think she could hide in her room if she knew Adagio had a key?”
“Uuuuh, well,” Rarity said, grimacing. She took hold of her hair and curled it around a finger. “Sunset could be… dim. Sometimes. On occasion.”
“Sometimes? Sometimes?!” Monoponi leapt out of his throne again, hovering above us. “Try all the time! Do you know how many basic things that moron missed? Every single trial, she made some stupid mistake or overlooked some simple detail. She was infuriating to deal with! Like the world’s smartest idiot, able to put together all these intricate parts but too damned blind to see something staring her in the face! And lest you morons think she was the only one, I’m lumping you all in with her! So many things you overlooked. Texting, the audio function, the rules, Scootaloo’s profile, the secrets, on and on and on!”
“It sounds like you had some idea of how we were gonna act, and then we didn’t do that,” Applejack said, eying him suspiciously. “So was Sunset right? Did you plan all this out?”
“Tell you what, farmer,” Monoponi said, landing back on his chair. “If you survive this trial, there may be a chance in the future where I’ll actually answer that. But this trial isn’t the time!”
“Ah’m gonna take that as a yes,” Applejack said, one corner of her mouth twitching up in a half grin.
“I still can’t believe Sunset would overlook something like that,” Tiara frowned. “How do you forget that?”
“Maybe she didn’t,” Scootaloo said, her nose twitching as she hummed in thought. “Maybe she hoped Adagio had enough care left in her not to abuse that.”
“Well she was wrong!” Tiara proclaimed, slapping her hands to her hips like she was some politician standing before a crowd. “And it got her killed!”
“But, but,” Rarity stammered, waving her hands around as she sought for words. “But I still can’t believe Adagio would go so far as to murder her!”
“Trixie can,” I muttered. “Adagio was evil. No matter how much Sunset tried, she could never change the essence of what made Adagio who she was. Did you know Adagio pulled a knife on Sunset once, before Trixie’s magic show? She thought Sunset was cheating on her. With Trixie. Hah! Can you believe that?”
“Yes,” Scootaloo said flatly, glaring at me through narrowed eyes. “Yes I can.”
“W-well, we weren’t! Dating that is,” I said, momentarily taken off guard. “Trixie doesn’t date anyone. And that’s not her point! Her point was that Adagio had a history of mistreating Sunset.”
“Ah can believe that,” Applejack said, nodding. She held up her left arm, the same one Adagio had once taken a bite out of, and cringed. “That girl was mean. Nasty. Ah mean, she became a mite nicer when she was datin’ Sunset, but uh, a mite ain’t enough when you start out as mean as a siren is.”
“Seriously, Rarity, give it up already,” Tiara said. “You’re the only one here who thinks Adagio didn’t kill Sunset.”
“Ooooh…” Rarity flopped her face down onto her podium, smooshing into it like a cat nuzzling up against a tree. “I suppose you must be right. I was so certain she was sincere when she talked to me, though.”
“Well look at it this way,” Scootaloo said with a sympathetic smile. “If Adagio didn’t do it, then that means one of us did it. Is that really any better?”
Rarity popped up off her podium and looked Scootaloo straight in the eye, silent for a few moments. Then she finally said, “No. No I suppose it isn’t.”
“Besides, none of us had means, motive, or opportunity anyhow,” Applejack added. “Whereas Adagio had all three. Ah’d say it’s a slam dunk.”
“How… what exactly did she do?” Tiara asked, looking at me as if I had the answer. “How did Adagio kill Sunset?”
I didn’t want to answer that question. I so didn’t want to answer that question. With a heavy sigh, I said, “Trixie thinks Adagio tied Sunset up and left her somewhere she couldn’t escape from, so she’d… she’d die of dehydration.”
“Oooh, that’d do it,” Applejack said with a major wince. “Ah can’t imagine that’s a good way to go.”
“Dying of thirst… how horrible,” Rarity said, her eyes misting up as she struggled not to weep. “She didn’t deserve to suffer like that.”
“And she was locked up in the archive room, right?” Scootaloo said. “But how? That’s been locked up ever since the library opened.”
“Maybe it was unlocked during the last exploration,” Tiara suggested, “And Sunset was a moron and didn’t tell anyone about it. She might’ve had a key.”
“Trixie agrees,” I said with a nod. “Sunset and Adagio must’ve both been aware of it. She knows Sunset explored with Adagio. So if Sunset knew, Adagio knew.”
“But couldn’t she unlock the door from the inside?” Scootaloo said, frowning.
Applejack shook her head. “Not if it’s a double cylinder lock. And Ah’m willin’ to bet somethin’ like an archive would have one of those. She’d have to use the key from the inside too, meanin’ she’d be stuck.”
“Wait a minute!” Rarity said with a sudden yelp. “I’ve got it! I know what happened to that telescope!”
“What telescope?” Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow.
“This one.”
Fact #12: Broken Telescope: “One of the telescopes on the museum observatory balcony was discovered with its mirrors broken. There were a few torn bits of paper and duct tape inside.”
Rarity nodded to herself, a satisfied expression crossing her face. “I’m certain the telescope was broken because the key was stashed inside. Adagio hid it so if we ever searched her, we wouldn’t find it.”
“Right!” Scootaloo said, gesturing with her hand in agreement. “Then she could go pick up the key after Sunset died, so we could find the body and hold a trial.”
“Where she’d spin her sob story about worrying over Sunset,” Tiara concluded. “And she’d have plenty of time to lay fake clues too.”
Applejack nodded once to each of them. “And Ah’ll be she would’ve tried to lead the investigation and the trial, claimin’ she had the experience. Then she’d blame whichever one of us she wanted to pin it on and enough of us would’ve fallen for it.”
“I would have,” Rarity admitted, her expression torn. “I hate to say it, but if she were leading this trial and not Trixie? I’d’ve been clinging to her every word.”
“Me too,” Scootaloo said, her mouth twisting up with doubt and shame. “I mean, I wouldn’t have swallowed everything, but Sunset trusted her. And I trust Sunset.” Her expression darkened even more. “Trusted.”
“...she probably could’ve convinced me too,” Tiara said, so reluctantly it was like the words were ripped right out of her throat. “It would’ve taken a lot, but…”
I shook my head fiercely. “Trixie never would have. She’d have insisted on Adagio’s guilt.”
“Ah doubt Ah would’ve believed it either, but Ah guess it don’t matter now, does it?” Applejack mused. “Ah mean, if Rarity, Scootaloo, Tiara, and Adagio all voted for someone? Adagio would’ve won.” The farmer wrapped her arms around herself and shivered violently, her eyes shrinking to mere dots. “Lord Almighty, she would’ve won.”
“Thank heavens that didn’t happen!” Rarity gasped, holding her hands close to her chest. “Can you imagine how foolish I’d feel?”
“Nevermind foolish!” Tiara said. “We’d die. I think that’s more important.”
“Anyhow,” Scootaloo said, raising her voice just a little. “What made you check the telescope to begin with, Rarity?”
“This.”
Fact #11: Handwritten Note: “A handwritten note found on the floor of the museum theater. It reads: ‘See the stars.’”
“I found it on the floor in the museum theater,” Rarity said. “It took me a moment to comprehend it.” She suddenly let out a groan and glared at the ceiling. “Oh darn it, Trixie, we forgot to check the handwriting against the library log.”
“Trixie doesn’t think we have to,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s obviously Adagio’s handwriting.”
“Hmm, lemme take a look,” Applejack muttered, peering down at the image of the note on her Monopad. Then she nodded a few times. “Yeah, yeah Ah’d say so. Ah had a good long look at her handwritin’ back when Ah helped Sunset after…” she swallowed and blinked a few times. “After Apple Bloom died. Ah’m sure it’s the same."
“Okay, so the key was there,” Tiara said, holding up a hand. “But where did it go?”
“Maybe the culprit found it,” Scootaloo suggested. She tapped a few fingers on her chin as she spoke. “Then they took it… somewhere.”
“Quick, everyone! Empty your pockets!” Rarity ordered. She immediately turned out hers, dumping her sewing kit , her cabin key, and a few loose tissues onto her podium.
Rolling my eyes, I took out the contents of mine, which was just the picture of myself, Sunset, and Wallflower. I tried not to look at that. I didn’t want to cry. Again. “Trixie thinks this is pointless.”
“Duh,” Tiara said, though she’d also brought out a few items onto her podium. “Like the culprit would be dumb enough to bring it to the trial.”
Applejack placed her keys onto her podium, her mouth thinning as she said, “Ah thought we concluded that the culprit killed Adagio as revenge for Sunset. Don’t you think the culprit would’ve let Sunset out if they had the key?”
“I know I would’ve,” Scootaloo said in agreement. “So maybe the culprit didn’t take the key after all?”
“But then where did the key go if they didn’t take it?” Rarity inquired, her face screwed up in puzzlement.
“Who cares? It doesn’t matter now! Sunset’s dead,” Tiara said, slamming the palms of both hands onto her podium with a loud slap. “Let’s drop it and move on.”
“No, I think we need to figure this out,” Rarity said insistently, slapping a palm of her own down. “I won’t be satisfied until I understand why the culprit didn’t free Sunset.”
“Maybe they couldn’t,” Applejack said. “Maybe somethin’ kept them from doin’ it.”
Scootaloo arched both eyebrows and snorted. “Like what? The only one who wanted Sunset locked up was Adagio. The culprit wanted her free. So unless Monoponi said the culprit couldn’t free her…wait…”
“Would you?” Applejack said, turning to the pony on his throne. “Did you tell the culprit they couldn’t free Sunset?”
Monoponi stared at the farmer blankly for several long moments, his crimson eyes boring holes in her like mining equipment. His lack of an answer went on for so long Applejack curled in on herself and muttered something under her breath that might’ve been “nevermind.”
Then he spoke. “Yes. Yes, I did tell the culprit they were not allowed to free Sunset."
“What?!” Rarity shrieked. “Why? And when? Did you tell them before or after they killed Adagio?”
“Sorry, but your Captain’s not answering anymore questions,” Monoponi said before leaning back in his throne. “I’ve already given you too much free information. But since I know one of you morons is going to question this: no, this does not count as me participating in the murder! I had nothing to do with it. All I did was tell someone else they couldn't interfere either. That is well within my purview as your Captain.”
“Damn it,” Scootaloo muttered. She rapped the back of her knuckles against her podium. “Well at least we know that now.”
“If the culprit wasn’t allowed to free her, then the culprit must’ve ended up with the key at some point,” Tiara concluded with a nod. “So they must’ve been told after they killed Adagio. That was the only time they could’ve freed Sunset.”
Rarity shook her head. “I’m not so sure about that, Diamond darling. Isn’t it possible the culprit witnessed Adagio kidnapping Sunset?”
“Say what now?” Applejack gaped. “If they saw that, why wouldn’t they fess up about it? They could’ve kept Adagio from lockin’ her away at all!”
“Not if Monoponi told them they couldn’t,” Scootaloo said. Her upper lip curled into a sneer as she began mimicking his gestures with her hands. “Monoponi’s an asshole. I’ll bet he said something like ‘oh no it’s a Rescue Attempt you can’t interfere in a Rescue Attempt.’ Bull.”
“Trixie agrees it’s something Monoponi would do,” I muttered, my words coated with bitter tasting anger.
“Huh. Guess if he did it’s only because her murder was going to take a lot longer than usual,” Diamond muttered. “God, poor Sunset.”
Rarity pressed her lips together and bowed her head, leaning forward at her podium. “I don’t want to picture it. I don’t.”
“Me neither,” Scootaloo muttered. “Fucking Monoponi. If the culprit could’ve spoken up they could’ve done something and then both of them would still be alive. But no, he has to force one of us to kill another one of us. Again.”
“You heard him,” Applejack replied scornfully. “We’re expendable. Guess that means he don’t care how fast we die, only that we do.”
Tiara let out a loud groan. “Then what was his deal with the whole count bullshit he was going on about before Miss Psycho over here drugged Pinkie to death?”
“Stop calling Trixie that!” I growled through gritted teeth.
“Dunno,” Applejack shrugged. “And he ain’t gonna tell us. Does it even matter?”
“Maybe it does,” Rarity proposed, holding up a single finger. “Maybe that’s why Monoponi refused to let the culprit interfere. He’s made it obvious his goals have nothing to do with us. And Sunset, she… she once speculated with me that the whole purpose of this was for someone else, someone who’s watching us, like Monoponi said back in the first trial.”
“Hey, yeah!” Scootaloo said with a nod. “And we found that picture of the two Twilights after the fourth case. He said the one watching was close to Twilight, right? So what if it was the other Twilight? The one with wings?”
“Ah think Sunset said that one would’ve been from Equestria, like her,” Applejack said. “And he’s from Equestria too. So maybe this whole thing was some kinda revenge scheme. Makin’ her suffer by watchin’ us kill each other.”
“Yeah that sounds like something he’d do,” Tiara said. “Either that or this other Twilight is Monoponi and is having fun by screwing with us.”
“No, if that was the case, I doubt he would’ve executed our Twilight,” Rarity said, shaking her head firmly. “Besides, I recall he said something unusual after her execution.”
~*~
As the displays winked off and the lights returned, Monoponi leapt up from his throne with a mighty cheer. “Ooooh yeah! Now that’s what I call an execution! Such pizazz. Such intricacy! Such magical wonder! Upupu, do you think she was mad, because I killed her with magic? Probably. But do I care? Nope! Ahahahahaha! Ooooh it felt so good. Even if she wasn’t the real one...”
~*~
“Even if she wasn’t the real one,” I echoed, feeling my blood chill in my veins like iced coffee.
“Woah, woah, he doesn’t mean this is, like, a simulation or something right?” Tiara said, her eyes widening to the size of saucers as she took a couple steps back from her podium. “Like, it’s all fake and we’re just in pods or something, like in The--”
“No, no, no, don’t be ridiculous,” Rarity interrupted with a harsh tone to her voice. “Honestly. It’s obvious what he meant was, she wasn’t the one from Equestria. That’s what he meant by real one.”
“Ah get it,” Applejack said with a wan grin. “To someone like Monoponi, any kind of duplicate or alternate or whatever would be a fake. So even if he killed her, it wouldn’t be the same as tryin’ to kill the so-called real one.”
Scootaloo bit her lower lip, her face falling. “Then if this is some kind of revenge scheme, he’d want to keep it going as long as possible. Or at least as long as that Danganronpa bullshit he based it on.”
“Did Sunset ever tell y’all how long one of those games went?” Applejack wondered.
“She told all of us once,” Tiara answered after a moment’s consideration. “It was the same day we set up guard schedules. She said there would be ‘six murders but not six murder trials.’”
“Then this must be the last trial!” Rarity said, her face lighting up with a small spark of hope. “If it follows form, that is.”
“No, just the last murder,” Scootaloo countered. “You heard Monoponi. He said we might get answers after this trial. Not during it.”
“Either way it explains why Monoponi wouldn’t let the culprit interfere,” Applejack said with an unhappy sigh. “Darn it. He wanted to be sure we’d have a trial, and Ah’ll bet my boots and garters he wanted Sunset dead.”
“Trixie’s certain he did,” I growled, trying to restrain my anger. “She stood up to him. He couldn’t allow that.”
“But wait a minute,” Tiara said, holding up her hands to count on her fingers. “Wallflower, Apple Bloom, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Sunset Shimmer… and Adagio. That’s seven! Why would he let the culprit kill Adagio if he only wanted six murders?”
“Same reason he told us we were expendable,” Applejack groaned, slapping her forehead in frustration. “Because whatever his goal is, he’s almost done with it. Meanin’ we might be in a heap of trouble soon.”
“And, knowing him,” Rarity hissed, her tone dripping with acid, “he enjoys watching us run around scared and lost. He wants to be sure we can’t resist him. And without Sunset, I don’t think we can.”
Tiara bit her lower lip and whimpered. “So what do we do?”
“We solve this murder, first,” Scootaloo declared, stabbing a finger into her podium. “And then… then I have no idea. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
“Okay. Okay,” Tiara said, taking a deep breath and nodding to herself, running a hand down her arm a few times. “Okay. So where were we with it?”
“Well,” Applejack answered, “We know a whole lot of junk was set up in the church. We know the culprit gave Adagio a note askin’ her to meet ‘em at the museum theater. And we think the murder weapon was that funky knife Ah found.”
“The athame,” Scootaloo corrected.
“Yeah, that.”
Rarity frowned down at her Monopad. “Honestly with so many things set up at the church, I wonder if we were misled after all. Scootaloo, you suggested earlier that the culprit slew Adagio in the church and then planted evidence in the museum, right?”
“Yeah, I did,” Scootaloo replied. “And the more I think about it, the more sense it makes. I mean, the pool of blood was thin, right? And the prayer mat was soaked?”
“Thoroughly,” Rarity said, her mouth twisting up in disgust. “It was vile! I’ve never seen so much blood soaked into something before.”
“Then there you go!” Scootaloo declared. “The culprit must’ve killed Adagio in the church, used the mat to catch the blood, then spread it out all over the place in the museum and out to the library, to make it look like the crime took place there.”
Tiara frowned, then shook her head. “I dunno about that. I mean, if the culprit killed Adagio in the church, and the mat was that soaked, shouldn’t there have been blood in the church too?”
“Not if it was washed away by a bucket of water there wouldn’t,” Applejack said. “Maybe that’s why the culprit used it.”
“Or perhaps,” I said, raising a finger up, “we are making a mistake about what precisely killed Adagio.”
“Whaddya mean?” Tiara asked, arching her eyebrows at me. “She was slashed in the neck, right? That was the cause of death.”
Rarity’s lips pressed together before she shook her head. “Mmm, I don’t think so. I think Trixie’s right. I realized something earlier when I… when I suspected Applejack, but I never had the chance to say it.” She looked over at me. “Shall I?”
I spread out my hands. “Go ahead. Trixie is nothing if not magnanimous.”
Applejack let out a loud snort of laughter before managing to suppress it into quiet, soundless chuckles. “Yeah right,” she muttered.
“Well then,” Rarity continued after briefly shooting daggers Applejack’s way, “I believe the actual wound that caused death was this one.”
Fact #2: Body Condition: “ There is a severe puncture wound to the back of the neck, at the base of the skull.”
“I believe the culprit used the athame to stab Adagio here. It would’ve severed the spinal cord, killing Adagio instantly. Or near enough. And there wouldn’t have been that much blood spilt.”
“Wha--but how the heck could the culprit do that?” Tiara said, her face screwing up in confusion. “That’s like, a super hard place to stab someone! The culprit would’ve had to have taken Adagio completely by surprise!”
“...or they distracted her enough she couldn’t defend herself,” Applejack said, fixing the rest of us with a steely-eyed glare.
Everyone went silent at that proclamation. No one spoke for several long moments. Then, finally, Scootaloo uttered, “Is… is that why there were so many things set up in the church? To distract Adagio?”
“Probably,” Tiara agreed. She shook her head and chuckled under her breath. “This culprit is sneaky. What I don’t get is, why’d they bother with all the mystery?”
“We’ll have to ask them when we figure out who it was,” Rarity said. She turned to me. “Trixie, given this new information, I don’t suppose you have any idea?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but before I could, we all heard the strangest sound. It was loud, getting louder by the second, like grinding gears, metal scraping against metal. It echoed throughout the courtroom, setting my teeth on edge. “What the heck is that?” Applejack muttered.
“It’s coming from over there,” Rarity said, her voice rising in pitch by the second as she pointed towards the courtroom entrance. “Is… is that the elevator?!”
“It sure sounds like it!” Tiara said, shaking in her boots, her eyes darting about like she was looking for a place to hide.
“But, but how? Who could be on it?” Scootaloo muttered. Then she took in a sharp gasp of air. “Oh my god! Do you think it could be…?”
The elevator ground to a halt. The doors opened. And when I saw the figure stepping out, my heart leaped into my throat, out my mouth, and high up into the sky where it exploded in a brilliant cascade of fireworks, and my face lit up like the sun.
“No…” Monoponi said, his eyes bugging out. He hopped up from his throne. “No, no, no! No no no! This is impossible!”
The figure stepped forward, one arm tied up in a sling and waving with the other. “Hey guys,” said Sunset Shimmer. “What’d I miss?”
