Super Ponyronpa: Cacophonous Symphony

by TrackdNTraild


ACT 2: CLASS TRIAL

>>ACT 2 CLASS TRIAL: START!<<

"Allow me to explain to you all the rules of the trial!" The ponies already knew what they had to do, but by now they knew Philomena loved to hear herself talk. They decided to pay attention anyways. "So, your votes will determine the results! If you can figure out "whodunnit" then only they will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong pony... then I'll punish everypony besides the blackened, and the one that deceived everypony else will graduate! Let's get this trial on the road, everypony! We don't have all day!"

"I want a straight answer," Pinkamena was the first to speak up. She raised herself onto her hindlegs and rested her forehooves on the podium before her. "I want to know who did it now."

"You think they'd just openly reveal themself?" Prince Blueblood laughed. "If they were to do that, there would be no trial!"

"I'd rather there wasn't one!" Pinkamena snapped at the stallion beside her, only separated by Party Favor's portrait. "I just want them to be honest..."

"The only way we can get a confession is by talking about the case," Twilight said. "We need to get our facts straight about this case. And this time, everypony needs to participate. It doesn't matter if you investigated or not, even your theories might help us out here."

"Let's talk about the state of the body first," Starlight said as she pulled out her Phoenix Pad. "According to the Phoenix File, Cheese was found dead in the market plaza. The cause of death is drowning. It was also noted that he had a broken jaw."

"Well, that's all the information that we need in that regard," Twilight said after Starlight finished talking. "Let's kick things off with this; how the death happened."

"The file says it already!" Rainbow Dash facehoofed. "He died by drowning!"

"But that's impossible!" Sunburst countered as he adjusted his glasses. "Cheese Sandwich was found in the market plaza. There's no evidence that he could've drowned!"

>>TRUTH BULLET #6: WET HAIR

"No, that's wrong!" Starlight raised her voice to catch their attention from the debate. "When we arrived to the scene, Cheese's hair was wet. That's evidence enough that he drowned."

"His hair was wet?" Double Diamond said curiously. "But, Sunburst is still half-right. If his cause of death is drowning, then why was he in the market plaza?"

"That's something we need to figure out as we go along," Twilight said with a shrug of her shoulders. "We need to get the full facts of the case out before we can determine how the murder played out."

"Well, is there any more information that you guys found we can use?" Pinkamena said with a yawn.

"Starlight, did you notice anything particularly strange about the body?" Twilight looked at her with a raised brow. "Anything that might help us properly determine a death cause?"

Is there anything? There has to be something I can say... Starlight raised a hoof to her chin as she began to think. She twitched her ears, which then froze up as the answer came to her head.

"That's right, there were hoof marks all over Cheese's body!" Starlight said while she looked through her notes. "There were prints on his jaw, chest, and side."

"He took a real good beating," Rainbow Dash said, sucking air in through her teeth. "That must explain the broken jaw huh."

"But how could one pony cause that much damage?" Shining Armor said. "You need to have more strength than necessary to leave imprints on a pony's skin like that."

"Well, Trixie believes a pony who has practice surely would know how to do something so vile," Trixie spat with a glare at the stallion. "Only a pony as big and burly as you could do damage like that! After all, you do know how to fight."

Shining Armor's podium moved up to the center of the trial room, and red lights emitted from the floor around it. The suspicion was all falling on him, and even he seemed caught in the surprise of being accused...

"She's got a point," Applejack said, her eyes narrowed. "Can't argue with it."

"You're the only pony here who's got practice in that kind of field," Double Diamond said. "You're trained to kill, aren't you?"

"I would never have killed him!" Shining Armor held his ground. "I am the Ultimate Guard, my job is to protect ponies."

"So what?" Trixie yelled. "You're a pony too, Trixie believes that being a guard does not only mean protecting other ponies, but yourself too! You killed Cheese Sandwich so that you could protect yourself from death!"

"Honestly, I side with Trixie on this one," Sunburst said as he adjusted his glasses. "Wounds that severe need to be well thought out, don't you think? Only a pony who has had practice creating those kinds of wounds"

This is bad... Starlight thought. She bit down on her hoof, and frantically scrolled through her notes. Every pony thinks that Shining Armor is the culprit, but there has to be a way to prove that he's innocent. Think, Starlight, use your head!

"I'm telling you, I didn't do it!" Shining yelled, his eyes rounded with panic and anger.

"And Trixie is telling you that you are lying!" Trixie countered. "You used your big, strong legs and your guard training, and you killed him!"

"Shining wouldn't do that!" Twilight joined into the debate. "He started the Student Survival Committee, he took an oath to never harm another pony!"

"That's a likely story," Double Diamond spoke up. "You're using that as an excuse for your actions!"

"B-but it's true..!" Fluttershy even put herself into the debate, despite how much she was shaking. "A guard's job is to p-protect ponies from bad things... Cheese did nothing wrong, h-he had no reason to..!"

"You can't all be assuming that he did it!" Starlight was getting frustrated. "There's no evidence of it!"

"Starlight's right!" Rainbow Dash flew into the air, but held her hooves against her podium. "Shining Armor would never go back on his word!"

"It only seems logical that he did it," Prince Blueblood spoke up at last. "He does have the strength for it."

"And you have the build for it!" Pinkamena yelled at Prince Blueblood. "But no pony is accusing you, so how can we all accuse Shining?"

"Yeah, what the hell?!" Feather Bangs spoke up with annoyance in his tone. "No pony is saying Prince Blueblood could have done it, but he and Shining Armor have a similar build! We can't accuse Shining if we aren't accusing him too, it's unfair!"

"Prince Blueblood is a regal pony," The Doctor pointed out. "Shining Armor works in the army. We can rule out the Prince's involvement in the murder because he does not have the experience. Therefore, Shining Armor is the likely culprit."

"Ah've got to agree with the Doc." Applejack nodded her head. "Ain't no pony else got that kinda experience in fightin', so ain't none of us got the strength to do the crime."

"Wow, you ponies sure are getting heated over this!" Philomena cackled. "And dare I say that there is a... split opinion in this room?! Oh, so exciting! I've been waiting since the first trial for this moment!"

"Excuse me?" Starlight stared at Philomena with a confused look.

"I would like to present to you ponies..." Philomena whistled a tune, and a gear with a keyhole appeared in front of her. "...the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Ponies' very own morphenomenal trial grounds!"

"The what now?" Rainbow Dash tilted her head as she landed back by her podium.

"Morphenomenal?" Pinkamena's ears perked, and the edges of her hair seemed to fizz back to life with excitement. "You mean the trial grounds are gonna morph?!"

"Oh! " Philomena stuck her tongue out. "Right, you guys didn't do that last time... I was really hoping that you would argue more in the last trial, but that girl did put up quite a fight... It's okay, you'll get the hang of it, just hold onto your hats!"

"Hehe this is gonna be fun!" Pinkamena hopped from hoof to hoof, joy pulsing through her body. Starlight almost swore that Pinkie's hair would fizz back to life at any second...

Philomena cackled as she pulled a key from behind her throne. She shoved it into the keyhole in the gear, and twisted it around. All at once, light burst through the area, surrounding the podiums in rings that lit up one by one. Some ponies covered their eyes from the light, but some merely flinched and took little time to adjust. The weight of the podiums shifted, and one by one, the podiums began to lift into the sky. Starlight couldn't tell whether it was machinery or magic that was doing it, but she did know there was an order to this. The podiums came to their designed location, and Philomena flew alongside them with the widest smile on her beak. The room was split in half; on one side, the ponies who were accusing Shining Armor stood, and on the other side were the ponies who believed he couldn't do it. Starlight took a breath. This is going to be tough.

>> DEBATE SCRUM: START! <<
SHINING ARMOR DID IT vs. SHINING ARMOR DIDN'T DO IT

"State your opinions!" Philomena said. "One at a time, please and thank you!"

"Shining Armor killed Cheese in the plaza," Trixie said bluntly.

"I took an oath to never kill or harm another pony." Shining tried not to yell at the pony across from him.

"He's using the Student Survival Committee as an excuse!" Double Diamond stomped his hoof on the ground.

"He started the committee because he wanted to protect ponies!" Twilight countered.

"He is the only pony with the build and strength to carry this out," Prince Blueblood stated.

"You've got the same exact build he does!" Pinkamena yelled at the Prince.

"Shining Armor leads the Royal Guard. He has the training to kill another," The Doctor said.

"Rarity killed Party Favor with no training what so ever!" Starlight retorted.

"But none of us are strong enough to carry this out!" Sunburst raised his voice.

"Y-you don't need to be s-strong to do bad things!" Fluttershy tried to shout, but her voice fell just over a normal speaking volume.

"Then how are his wounds so bad if any of us could've done it?" Applejack questioned.

"Any pony can create a bucking wound!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

"You can't assume the wounds are bad just cause you think a bigger pony did the crime!" Feather Bangs added to Rainbow Dash's comment.

"THIS IS OUR TRUTH!"
>> DEBATE SCRUM: COMPLETE! <<

As the podiums separated, and left back to their original places on the ground below, Starlight continued to think about the case. All in all, their debate hadn't done much good for them. Nothing new was learned, and it didn't seem like any pony was particularly convinced in their argument. Some of the other side seemed to sway, but it wasn't by very much. Every pony was still casting looks around, as if they knew the truth of the case already. This trial had gone off the rails so early on, but on a good note, Shining Armor was back in his rightful spot with the other podiums. Suspicion isn't on him for now... good.

"We need to focus on something else," Twilight said, tapping her hoof on the ground to get the attention of every pony. "We haven't finished discussing the state of the body."

"His hair is wet, and he looks like he had been beaten to death," Trixie said to remind everypony. "This is all that we know. But what else? How does that help us?"

"We understand a little more about what could've happened to his body," Starlight answered. "If we know just how it looks, we can deduce how exactly things played out."

"My best guess is the hoof marks came first," The Doctor said. "I believe that Cheese Sandwich was hit to destabilize him, in order for the drowning to happen."

"I can agree with that," Starlight said. "As we established, the markings are on his side, chest, and his jaw. The hit to the jaw broke it, and the side marking might come from knocking him over."

"But then why the chest wound?" Rainbow Dash questioned. "If you can knock him down just from the side why would you kick in his chest?"

"Starlight, do you have any ideas?" Twilight asked the mare. "What piece of evidence can we draw a conclusion from?"

What piece of evidence..? Starlight scrolled through her notes. Her eyes lit up when she got the answer, and she cleared her throat before she spoke.

>>TRUTH BULLET #8: CRUSHED TORSO

"It's about the torso itself," Starlight said, showcasing the evidence for the other ponies on her Phoenix Pad. "It was noted that his torso appears to be collapsed in on itself."

"That's horrifying..." Feather Bangs shuddered with discomfort.

"But what was the reason for that?" Trixie raised her voice to ask. "He drowned, we all know! Why smash him up?"

"I've got an idea but... you aren't going to like it," Twilight said. She swallowed hard and looked at the evidence herself. "The way his torso looks, there definitely must've been some bone breakage. Hitting the chest breaks the cage directly where the lungs are. Starlight, you know what I'm getting at don't you?"

What is she getting at? Starlight has to take a few seconds to think. When she comes to the realization, her ears pin back, and she feels her stomach churning. It takes a hard swallow to keep herself from getting sick.

"So that's it..." Starlight mumbled, clearing her throat.

"What is it?" Rainbow Dash asks.

"Twilight said that his ribcage would've broken because of the state his torso was in," Starlight explained again. "If that's the case, then the chest wound... it wasn't to destabilize him. It was to intentionally break those bones, and stab him in the lungs."

"What?!" Double Diamond yelled, covering his mouth. From the revelation, several other ponies had the same reaction Starlight did, but she wasn't done explaining.

"Y-You all know what that means, right?" Starlight struggled to continue.

"Let me say it, Starlight," Twilight said. She nodded to Starlight, deciding to take over to spare her the sickness. "What Starlight is saying is that because of those bones being broken, and stabbing him in the lungs, he didn't die by drowning in the way we think. He bled out into his lungs, and drowned in his own blood."

"T-that's so horrible..." Fluttershy cried, covering her face as tears began to flow. "W-why would somepony d-do that..?"

"And to Cheese of all ponies," Pinkamena gagged, fanning herself as she felt her coat heating up. "It's horrible!"

"Well, the circumstances behind the death are a bit more clear," Prince Blueblood coughed and cleared his throat. Even he was uncomfortable. "Let us change from this topic, and move on."

"Agreed," Trixie gagged.

Starlight was grateful they both weren't keeping on with this. Even they felt sick, and she could tell. She was the most happy that they were going to try and switch the conversation around. Starlight dreaded having to bring this event up later. She knew she would, but she was intent on staying away from it for the time being.

"So what do we talk about now?" Rainbow Dash tried to bring back the conversation to its original state.

"Let's talk about the circumstances leading up to the murder," Twilight suggested. "That will get us one step closer to finding out who the culprit could be."

"That's a good idea," Shining Armor agreed. "We should be talking about what happened during our investigation, and before Cheese died. We know it happened early in the morning, at 7 am. Let's talk about things that were happening around that time."

"I was awake," Twilight said. "Every morning, I wait at the feast table for everypony else before the morning announcements."

"As do I," The Doctor added to her alibi. "I also tend to wait with Twilight at the table."

"Cheese and I were always up early," Pinkamena said. "We woke up early so we could start preparing breakfasts for everypony."

"Ah tended to wake up around then too." Applejack nodded. "Ah was helpin' Cheese and Pinkie with breakfast, gettin' ingredients and such."

"Pinkamena," The pink mare corrected.

"Whoops." Applejack tilted her hat and cleared her throat with a nervous laugh. "My bad, Pinkamena."

Everypony's alibi checks out... Starlight thought. But there's nothing useful to be found in this discussion. No pony has said anything worth contradicting, or using. What do I do?

"So what about after that?" Shining Armor began. "There was no pony else that woke up around that time?" Starlight's eyes glimmered.

>>TRUTH BULLET #12: NEW SEATING

"Actually, there was!" Starlight raised her hoof and showcased her notes. "Trixie, Sunburst, and Feather Bangs also woke up early and came to the table before the announcements."

"She's right," Sunburst adjusted his glasses as he spoke to confirm Starlight's observation. "I'm used to waking up early to study, so that habit carried over to here too. The others are usually there when I arrive."

"We all met outside the garden," Trixie confirmed. "Trixie decided to join them just because they were awake, but Trixie does not usually wake up early."

"Same with me," Feather Bangs said. "I always wake up early for tours around Equestria. My body still has that kinda natural clock, yknow? Wakin' me up when I don't need to be up. Sunburst and Trixie were talking before I got there."

"Applejack joined us too," Sunburst pointed out.

"But she was already at the table!" Rainbow Dash pointed out. "How did she join you?"

"She came and joined us with a basket of ingredients," Trixie said.

"That checks out with what Applejack said earlier," Shining Armor remembered. "She said she helped Cheese and Pinkie by collecting ingredients in the morning."

"But from where?" Twilight asked, her eyes catching onto the farm pony's.

"The greenhouse," Applejack said. "They got a whole heck of a bunch of things growin' up there, it was the first place Ah looked when the second floor opened up. Ah met up with them other ponies after I picked em out, and we all left and went to the garden on our way to the feast table."

"Applejack stayed behind," Sunburst said. "She said that she'd wash the crops in the garden's fountain before she came to the table."

"She told me about that during the investigation," Starlight remembered.

"It is a shorter walk, I will admit," Twilight said. "And the garden entrance is closer to Restaurant Row. I'd like to think that you'd also be able to wash off the vegetables in the garden's fountain."

"Ah do that." Applejack nodded to Twilight's comment. "Y'all gotta have your food fresh and clean, you don't want it covered in mud n' dirt, do ya?"

"There's just one thing I'm not getting," Rainbow Dash said, tapping her chin and glancing around the room.

"What is it?" Twilight asked.

"The fountain," Rainbow Dash rested her hoof back on the ground. "During the investigation, I was out with Double Diamond and Shining Armor cause we woke up late. We found a splatter of blood on the fountain."

"We didn't see any," Sunburst said.

"Trixie doesn't recall ever seeing blood," Trixie confirmed.

"Ah didn't see any either," Applejack also confirmed.

>>TRUTH BULLET #14: SMALL BLOOD SPLATTER

"They're all right," Starlight said. "They came from the door leading out to the garden. The blood splatter that Rainbow Dash, Double Diamond, and Shining Armor found was on the opposite side of the door. It was on the side parallel to the fence surrounding the campus."

"So in other words," Trixie began. "The blood could have been there, but we could not have seen it because it was on the other side?"

"I think Starlight is right," Twilight said. "But if that's the case, that means that Cheese was already dead before you all came out."

"Twilight, you were at the table," Prince Blueblood said. "Did you not see any of your fellow ponies leave?"

"Oh, well..." Twilight laughed nervously, blushing hard. "Y-you see, I found some... really good books in the library, and I was reading them at the table with Doctor Whooves. We... got so distracted that by the time we finished reading, it was almost time for the morning announcement."

"That sounds like a load of bullshit to me!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "How do you get so involved in a book that you just ignore the world around you?!"

"Uh-!" Twilight jolted as her podium was pushed forth along with the Doctor's.

Twilight's ears pinned back, and Starlight could almost feel her heart beating from all the way across the room. The Doctor seemed uneasy as well, judging by the way his lips pursed and his coat seemed to stand on end.

"Starlight's done that," Sunburst said in Twilight's defense.

"What?" Trixie tilted her head.

"You remember, right Starlight?" Sunburst looked to her with a teasing smile. Starlight blushed at the memory.

"Starlight? You're still awake?" Sunburst asked as she reached the bottom.

"Yeah..?" Starlight tilted her head. "Is that a surprise?"

"It is, actually," he said as he approached her. "We all left the library because the nighttime announcement was called. Didn't you hear it?"

"What?!" Starlight's ears drooped back and she pulled out her Phoenix Pad. Did it have a clock?

"I-I saw that you were really into your book, so I didn't disturb you, but seeing you awake at this time..." Starlight paused when she did find a clock on the Phoenix Pad. According to it, it was 12:37 in the morning.

"O-oh, right," Starlight laughed nervously, and scratched the back of her head with her hoof. "I was reading a Daring Do book in the library on the first day, and I got so involved in it that I binge read the entire thing, and didn't even hear the nighttime announcement go off... I ran into Sunburst in the hallway and he told me just how late it was."

"You actually read it?!" Rainbow Dash's eyes lit up with glee. "You have to tell me all the details!"

"Rainbow, this isn't the time for that!" Twilight snapped to the pegasus on the other side of the room.

"Well, uh, when the trial is over of course," Rainbow Dash smiled sheepishly.

"The point is," Sunburst cleared his throat as he continued. "We shouldn't entirely fault Twilight and Doctor Whooves. If they didn't see anything, they didn't see anything. We just have to deal with that."

"Thank you," Twilight sighed in relief. The Doctor nodded to Sunburst while the two ponies' podiums were pushed back to their normal locations.

"Well, Pinkamena was at the table too," Trixie pointed out. "Why didn't she see anything?"

"I wasn't at the table the whole time," Pinkamena said. "While everypony else was outside, I went inside with Cheese to start cooking breakfast. There's no windows in the kitchen, yaknow! But, I will say one thing, my Pinkie Sense was going craaazy at the table."

"Your what?" Rainbow Dash tilted her head.

"My Pinkie Sense!" Pinkamena stood up straighter. "It's this supernatural-phenomenon-thingy that only I have! When something bad is about to happen, my tail and my body start a twitchy-twitching. It's helped me avoid lots of bad accidents, like stuff falling on me."

"That sounds ridiculous," Prince Blueblood snorted.

"But it's true!" Pinkamena slammed her hooves down. "When I was at the feast table, before we went inside, my tail started twitching like crazy! My tail twitching got even worse when we were inside, because then Cheese left!"

"He left?" Rainbow Dash tilted her head to the side. "Why in the hell would he leave on his own?"

"He wanted to go get ingredients," Pinkamena said.

>>CONSENT: PINKAMENA PIE
>>TRUTH BULLET #10: EAVESDROPPING

"Pinkamena's right," Starlight confirmed. "Applejack told me during the investigation that she overheard Pinkamena and Cheese talking at the feast table. Cheese mentioned wanting to check the fruit tree orchard to see if the trees had ingredients he could bring back."

"Yup yup." Applejack nodded her head in agreement. "Ah decided to go get ingredients myself after that point. They said they'd ask me to, but Ah went off without askin' first."

"Yeah, cause you're stubborn," Pinkamena snorted and giggled. "If somepony tells you no, you're gonna do it anyways!"

"It's the truth," Applejack laughed. "I ain't no liar, not anymore."

"So Pinkamena and Cheese were still at the table when you left, right?" Twilight asked Applejack.

"Yup," Applejack answered.

"When Doctor Whooves and I finished reading, we did notice that Trixie, Sunburst, and Feather Bangs were with us, and Applejack was still at the table, but Pinkie and Cheese were both missing," Twilight explained. "Applejack must've left to get ingredients while we were reading, which must've been when Pinkamena and Cheese decided to head inside."

"But this doesn't make any sense," The Doctor mused. "Cheese Sandwich's body was found in the plaza. Why, by all circumstances, it's beginning to sound like he should've died in the garden or the orchard!"

"Now that he mentions it, that is really strange..." Shining Armor tapped his chin. "All the evidence is pointing to him dying in the garden."

"Trixie, Feather Bangs, and I all found him in the plaza," Sunburst recalled. "But with this evidence piling up, it is sounding like he died in the garden most likely."

"How is that possible?" Rainbow Dash wondered out loud.

"I have an idea," Twilight said, looking at Starlight. "I know somepony who might know too."

She's right, Starlight thought. I do know. The only way that Cheese could end up in the plaza. The reason why the evidence is so confusing... It's because Cheese wasn't killed in the plaza. But why? It's because of..!

>>TRUTH BULLET #2: PHILOMENA'S MOTIVE

"It's because of Philomena's motive," Starlight said at last.

"What?" Rainbow Dash looked at Starlight with wide eyes.

"Philomena told us what the motive was a day or so ago," Starlight recalled as she pulled up her Phoenix Pad. "She said that if somepony committed a murder, she would tell them the honest truth about how they came to this place. She said that she wouldn't lie to us, because she was wearing a lie detector anklet."

"I forgot about that," Double Diamond mused. "I didn't think anypony was going to take it seriously."

"Well, whoever took it wanted the information, and they wanted to escape. Philomena moved Cheese's body to the plaza to help our culprit escape this... hellscape Celestia calls a school," Twilight said with an affirmative nod and a scowl on her face. "We aren't sure why, but we can always demand answers at the end of the trial."

"Yeah, if we all survive," Trixie scoffed. "There's still no concise evidence as to who in Celestia's name did this."

"Then can we focus and find out?" Pinkamena rolled her eyes. "We're dragging this on for way too long."

"Pinkamena is right," Starlight said. "We need to finish going over the evidence before we can start pointing hooves. We already got distracted at the start of the trial, we can't let that happen again."

"But there isn't any other evidence!" Rainbow Dash slammed her hooves down on the ground beneath her. "His jaw was busted, his torso crushed, he drowned in his blood, he left when Twi and the Doc were distracted... While they were distracted, the culprit killed Cheese because he left the kitchen, and Philomena moved his body to the plaza. That doesn't help us find out who did it or even how this murder was carried out!"

"That's true," Twilight said with a gulp. "This is... really difficult to figure out."

The group fell silent, trying to think about all the evidence they had gone over. Starlight had to admit she was nervous too. If they didn't figure out who did this, they all would die and the culprit would win. Starlight couldn't let that happen. She outright refused it. She swallowed hard, and went over the evidence in her head again...

"Trixie has an idea," Trixie broke the silence, trying to focus herself. "There are only a few potential culprits to this case. Every pony that awoke early is a suspect."

"...Trixie has a point," Starlight said. "The only pony that could've committed the crime had to be awake at that time. Every pony who was awake early is a suspect."

"Twilight, Doctor Whooves, Applejack, Pinkamena, Trixie, Sunburst, and Feather Bangs are all suspects." Double Diamond looked at each of the ponies as he listed their names one by one.

"The rest of us were sleeping," Rainbow Dash said with a relieved sigh and flutter of her wings.

"So we're all that's left," Sunburst said. "That clears Shining Armor, Rainbow Dash, Starlight, Double Diamond, Prince Blueblood, and Fluttershy from suspicion."

"Can we really be sure though?" Trixie said with a yawn. "Some pony could have very easily come from the dorms, killed Cheese, and went back to sleep."

"No, I don't think so," Twilight said confidently. "The sleeping ponies couldn't have known that Cheese was going to leave the table. Even if they did, he didn't specify a time, did he Applejack?"

"Nope," Applejack said with a shake of her head. "Just said he was thinkin' about it."

"Exactly," Twilight said. "Even if they knew Cheese was going to leave, they would have very easily missed their opportunity. Some pony could've spotted them waiting outside as well, and distracted them."

"If some other pony was awake, surely some pony at the table would remember," Trixie said. "And Trixie has no memory of any pony other than those already deduced as being awake."

"Then we really can only pick from those ponies," Starlight confirmed "But who..?"

"I have an idea," Twilight said. "The only pony who could've done it had to be the pony that knew Cheese was going to leave. There are a few ponies that fit that description, right Starlight?"

Starlight swallowed hard. Right. The only ponies who knew that Cheese was going to leave were at the table too. Those ponies that were there, the only ones that would've heard it, were...

"It was Pinkamena, Twilight, Applejack, and Doctor Whooves," Starlight said. "They were the only ponies that would've heard Cheese saying that he wanted to get more ingredients, as Trixie, Sunburst, and Feather Bangs weren't awake yet."

"So our list has narrowed further," Trixie hummed with satisfaction. Clearly she was happy that she was off the suspect list.

"How do we know it wasn't them?" Rainbow Dash challenged. "They could've taken Trixie's idea from before, couldn't they?"

"No," Twilight retorted. "Sunburst and Feather Bangs were already together. Trixie, you joined them later on. Do either of you remember where she came from?"

"The dorms," Sunburst said. "She looked like she had just woken up."

"Can confirm," Feather Bangs said with a chuckle. "I've never seen her with such bed hair."

"Excuse me!" Trixie pinned her ears back, her face blooming with blush. "Trixie does not get bed hair! Why, Trixie's air conditioning must've made her hair flow in the night!"

"Excuses, excuses," Pinkamena snorted. "Every pony gets bed hair!"

"Guys, focus please," Twilight sighed. "So Trixie, Sunburst, and Feather Bangs couldn't have done it."

"Then who?" Prince Blueblood said. "We have 4 suspects, any of them could have done it."

"Except two of them," The Doctor said. "Myself and Twilight can be excluded."

"That sounds like a likely story!" Rainbow Dash stomped her hoof. "You can't just say 'I didn't do it' and expect us to believe you!"

"But I have proof," The stallion said. He looked to Starlight, just as Twilight had before. "Starlight knows it as well."

Do I? Starlight tried to think. There has to be some sort of evidence that he's looking for. What could clear Doctor Whooves and Twilight both of suspicion? She wasn't entirely sure of her answer, but still she spoke it.

>>TRUTH BULLET #11: TWILIGHT'S ACCOUNT

>>TRUTH BULLET #12: NEW SEATING

"It... has to do with you both reading, and the new seating, right?" Starlight spoke uncertainly.

"I think I see what the Doctor means," Twilight said. "We were both reading at the table, and when we stopped, Trixie, Sunburst, and Feather Bangs were sitting with us. We couldn't have left to commit the murder because we were distracted with our book."

"Trixie, Sunburst, Feather Bangs," The Doctor spoke. "Have any of you any objections?"

"I don't," Sunburst said. "When we got to the table, you both were talking and Twilight had put the book down as we all sat down."

"Trixie cannot deny it either," Trixie said. "Though, I do wish I had questioned what silly book you were reading."

"Yeah, it's true," Feather Bangs said as well. "I was still pretty sleepy though, so my vision was blurring quite a bit. I saw your magic fade out after I blinked a couple times."

"And that is why it couldn't be us," Doctor Whooves said. "As these ponies have confirmed, we were there at the table when they arrived. I can also vouch for Miss Sparkle and say that she did not leave during our reading."

"And he did not leave either," Twilight said confidently.

"Sure," Rainbow Dash snorted, clearly in denial. "So that only leaves Pinkamena and Applejack."

"It could be either of them!" Trixie spoke out. "They're both earth ponies, they would've had the strength to do it!"

"How dare you!?" Pinkamena shouted at the mare between her and Feather Bangs. "You would dare to accuse me of killing Cheese?!"

"Well, why not?" Trixie hissed. "You were the closest to him, he trusted you and all that you had talked about together. You could have known how to get close to him so you could kill him!"

"Hey, ladies, let's not fight," Feather Bangs nervously said to try and stop the fighting.

"I would never do that!" Pinkamena ignored Feather Bangs. "I cared about him just like I do with all of you. The things we did together were special! Why would I ruin that?!"

"To escape!" Trixie shouted. "You would surely do just as much as any pony else in order to escape!"

"Ladies, please stop!" Feather Bangs yelled over them. "Pinkie couldn't have done it!"

"You don't know that!" Trixie retorted to the stallion.

"We do!" Starlight yelled, bringing the attention to her. "We have proof that she couldn't have done it!"

The room fell silent. Pinkamena stared at Starlight with pleading eyes. She was relying on Starlight, and she knew that. Starlight saw how badly Cheese's death had affected Pinkamena. The flat hair, the sobs and wails in the plaza... and the refusal to leave Cheese's body. Pinkamena would have never done this, so that only means that...

"...Applejack did it," Starlight said.

The shock waved across the room, but based on the evidence some ponies agreed. They glanced towards the mare, whose podium drove forward to the center of the room. Applejack was silent, staring at Starlight with half lidded eyes and a sad smile on her face.

"What do you mean?" Pinkamena said, confused.

"Applejack was the only one who could've done this," Starlight sighed. "Pinkamena said earlier that she saw Cheese leave the kitchen. Twilight and Doctor Whooves couldn't have seen because they were reading. Applejack was the only pony at the table not doing anything, and so she left to get ingredients. But why? To illustrate how this played out... let me tell you all the details in the form of a story."

The entire room fell silent, eyes trained on Starlight. Once more she felt anxiety filling her stomach and her chest. She felt sweat begin to form on her forehead, and her heart was pounding. She didn't like this revelation either but... it was the only one that made sense. She took a deep breath, bringing together all her strength. When she was ready, she began to retell the facts of the case...

"Let's paint a picture just for a moment; our culprit naturally wakes up early. Along with them, Twilight, the Doctor, Cheese Sandwich and Pinkamena also wake up. The culprit overheard Pinkamena and Cheese talking; they knew that he wanted to find ingredients... in the fruit tree orchard. It was at that moment that the culprit decided to hatch their plan; the plan to kill Cheese and take advantage of the motive Philomena had given, or so one would think. They had to be patient though, because they didn't know when Cheese would leave or if any pony would be able to see them. They were lucky though, because a few ponies weren't paying attention."

"Pinkamena went into the kitchen with Cheese for some time to begin cooking, while Twilight and Doctor Whooves began reading. Cheese eventually left the kitchen to collect ingredients, which Pinkamena knew was a bad thing because of her Pinkie Sense. It was then that the culprit put their plan into action. They left after Cheese had, and cornered him in the garden, and that was when they attacked. They bucked him as hard as they could, breaking his jaw so he couldn't call out for help. It was likely this hit that splattered blood on the fountain. They hit him again, in the torso and in the chest, and broke his ribcage. This is why the Phoenix File said he had drowned; he had drowned in his own blood because of the bone shards in his lungs."

"After the attack, the culprit must've left to fulfill the rest of their alibi and talk to Philomena. In this time, they did just that. Philomena then fulfilled her end of the promise, taking Cheese's body to the plaza, where he bled more than when he was at the fountain to confuse us further. The culprit decided to make their own alibi by rushing to the greenhouse, and collecting their own ingredients; they had said to Pinkie and Cheese they would do this if they asked, but they did it on their own. As they were coming back downstairs, they encountered Trixie, Sunburst, and Feather Bangs. Other ponies had seen them, they thought it all came together..."

"The ponies left, the culprit washed the ingredients in the fountain, and they returned to the table. Every pony had seen them, they had a solid alibi... but no pony vouched for them, even though their plan was flawless. The confusion of the entire case was their escape, but we all knew better!"

"And we all know the truth... so just admit that you've bucked your last apple, Applejack, the Ultimate Farmer!"

The room was entirely silent from the revelation, and yet Applejack had no anger on her face. She stared at Starlight as though she were ashamed. Her ears lowered, and she shut her eyes. A brief nod was cast in Starlight's direction, before she removed her hat and placed it over her chest. The expressions of the ponies around became angry, upset that another pony had to die. Starlight could imagine what they were thinking; she was trying to apologize after she killed someone? How dare she! Pinkamena seemed the most upset, but she kept her mouth shut, lips drawn back in a snarl.

"Wow, aren't you all just a joyful bunch!" Philomena cackled. She had been quite silent since the debate scrum. "Well let's get this show on the road everypony! It's voting time! Are you going to pick the right choice, or the horribly, truly terribly, dreadfully wrong one? Place your votes now!"

The panel opened up on the podiums again. Starlight heard the sounds of angry votes being placed, and she even saw Applejack vote for herself on her panel. Starlight put in her vote for the mare, feeling guilt. She shouldn't, but it is what must be done. She didn't want to die, and after she exposed all the evidence, it would be stupid of her to vote any pony else. She was upset, but their lives were more important. The panel disappeared back into the podium, and a big screen emerged from the wall beside Philomena's throne. An animation played, similar to that of a casino's slot machine. It randomly scrolled through the cutie marks of every pony, and finally, all 3 boxes landed on Applejack's cutiemark. Confetti streamed from two pipes on either side of the machine, and coins rained down from the ceiling. Every pony stepped down from their podiums as the trial finally ended, and Pinkamena shot Applejack a heartbreaking glare.

"Was the information worth it?" She hissed to the mare, stepping away from her in disgust.

"At the moment, no," Applejack said as she put her hat back on her head. "It was at the time, but, sittin' on all this guilt aint doin' much for me."

"Well you shouldn't have done this in the first place!" Rainbow Dash flapped her wings angrily. "You wanted some information and that was it? You didn't even have the audacity to try and push things so that you could leave?!"

"Ah didn't want to leave," Applejack snapped back. "Ah wanted to know why Ah was here. Ah didn't care about leavin'; this place had everything that I ever wanted. Ponies that Ah liked, plenty of food, plenty of space, Ah could do anything Ah ever wanted!"

"So why kill somepony?" Trixie scoffed. "Why risk it all for some pathetic information?"

"Well..." Applejack sighed and drew circles on the ground with her hoof. "Cause... it reminded me of somethin' important."

"What did Philomena tell you?" Starlight stepped forward to ask.

"She told me how Ah got here," Applejack said as she adjusted her hat. "Ah was at home, Sweet Apple Acres. My family was strugglin'. We just lost our big brother, he up'n disappeared one night and no pony in town could find him. Now that Ah'm thinkin' about it, bein' in here, Ah'm thinkin' that he suffered the same fate as us; he was out there in a killin' game too. When Ah went to bed that night, ah woke up in the courtyard at this school. Ah went to bed, and that was it. They nabbed me in the night. Ah was out like a light, Ah swear."

"They must've kept you asleep," Twilight said. "That could explain why you didn't wake up in the night."

"Maybe," Applejack sighed, defeated. "But it don't matter now. Y'all caught me, and y'all were right. Ah'm not gonna try and lie my way out of it. Ah'm no liar, and ah ain't a sore loser either. Y'all won fair and square, and y'all get to explore this place freely. My time is over."

"D-don't say things like t-that," Fluttershy whimpered. "I-I feel bad now..."

"Don't," Applejack walked to the mare and patted her back. "Ah may be gone now, but y'all still have a chance. A chance to live and to get outta this place. Y'all can do it, don't worry about me. Y'all ain't supposed to be feelin' bad for me anyways."

"Let's get the fun underway everypony!" Philomena interrupted the moment with a laugh. I've got a very special execution prepared for Applejack, the Ultimate Farmer! Let's give it everything we've got! Iiiiit's punishment time!"

Philomena pulled a remote from behind the throne, and pressed the button. Every pony stepped back, knowing what was meant to happen now. Applejack removed her hat, bowing her head and holding the hat close to her chest. She resigned herself to her fate, and no pony seemed particularly upset about it. Apart from Fluttershy, who usually seemed to cry when things like this happened. Pinkamena looked away, disgusted, but she still looked to Applejack with a side glance that spoke more words than she could manage currently. The ponies jolted as the ground suddenly gave way beneath Applejack, and she yelled out as she fell through the ground, on the way to her execution.