Whodunit

by Pracca

I'd Like To Play A Game

The last echoes of that dreadful laugh still rolled through the halls as Twilight and co. were roused from their slumber. They all exchanged glances, increasingly worried. They questioned, for a moment if what they had all seemed to hear was even real, or a dream. But those thoughts were dispelled as noises came through the walls: voices, the shuffling and clopping of hooves on the floor. Other ponies were waking up, and they were getting out of bed; they must have heard it too.

KRAKOW

All the girls leaped from their covers at once as the lightning flashed outside the shut curtains, illuminating a cleaved path of the room a lighter shade of blue; at that same moment, someone was banging on their door. “Hey, girls, open up!” came the scratchy voice of the DJ, Vinyl Scratch. Applejack was the closest one to the door, and flung it open to see a crowd of individuals, most of the guests arrayed outside their door.

“Good, you’re all here!” Vinyl said with a dose of relief. “C’mon, get out here, you all heard that laugh, right?”

“Y-yeah, we did.” Applejack said, stifling a yawn as she and the other Ponyville mares dazily walked into the hallway. Their initial impression was true; it seemed like everyone really was standing out there, exchanging nervous glances and chattering about things their exhausted ears couldn’t quite make out yet. “What’s the matter, Vinyl? Everypony up an’ about?”

“We cannot find Miss Trixie anywhere!” Luna explained, her rear hooves nervously shifting and pawing at the ground.

“She never came to our room tonight, and now that laugh!” Carrot Top continued. “We were hoping you girls might’ve seen something of her, nopony else has.”

“No, we haven’t seen anything.” Twilight responded, rubbing her eyes groggily. “Are you sure anything’s wrong, everyone? It might have just been an old record or—“

“AIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”

Everyone’s eyes immediately drifted to the staircase. That had come from below, and the voice was unmistakably Trixie’s. There was no point in standing around asking questions anymore, and in a massive train the party guests rushed down the staircase and back to the ground floor; Pinkie Pie and Gustave wound up at the front of the group, leading the others in as they stepped out of the stairwell and charged down into the dining hall. Everyone slowed their steps, and looked at the scene in confusion.

Though the decorations and colors of the dining hall remained the same, the furnishing was entirely different. The long dining table had been relocated to one corner of the room rather than the center, and in its opposite corner, in front of the fireplace, several bookshelves and a comfortable recliner were parked. On either side of said recliner was a pony; to the left, the butler Pompadour stood in grim silence, hoof over his heart, and saying a few quiet words as the fire gave the slightest hint of tears on his cheeks. On the right side was Trixie, who looked more to be in genuine shock than any form of sorrow; her chest was expanding out and caving in at a rapid rate, and her eyes were dim and unfocused even as the others approached.

“Miss Trixie? Yoo-hoo?” Pinkie asked as she approached ahead of the others. She waved a hoof, but the magician gave no response. “Come on now, don’t be all catatony-phony! What’s the matte-t-ta-ta-ta…” Her eyes, slowly drifting from the pony to the armchair, grew as wide and unfocused as the magician’s, and her pink jaw gaped.

“N-n-n…”

Twilight attempted to step forward, but a long foreleg was placed in front of her; Princess Luna stepped forward and lit up her long horn, its dark aura lifting the armchair out of its snug position to rotate around and show its contents to the others. Everyone present immediately wished she hadn’t done that.

A grisly scene was laid out before them; Nicodemus Pie still sat snugly in his lounging chair, a pipe still rigidly gripped in one hoof and a red-stained book on his lap. His luxurious purple robes hid most of the blood on them, but his skin was less suited to such a task. His head was leaned back against the back of the chair, as if it had been forced up like that, and a single red line ran across his throat in an unbroken, horizontal direction. The thick liquid had bubbled down from there and to his chest, where it collected in the largest swathes and stains.

Everyone present recoiled from the sight, and most averted their eyes. Bon-Bon’s stomach revolted, and she emptied its contents onto the floor, causing those closest to her to back up another step.

The Princess stamped her foot, and her eyes began to glow. “WE DEMAND TO KNOW WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SUCH A HEINOUS CRIME IN OUR PRESENCE!”

The force of her voice pushed the already in motion ponies in more, chaotic directions. Twilight attempted to step forward to question Trixie; the obvious choice, really. But she was beaten to the punch as a gray earth pony stepped forward, fire and brimstone in her eyes.

“You.” she spat in a hoarse whisper, straight towards the so-called Great and Powerful Trixie. Still breathing rapidly, the caped pony could only whimper in shock as Octavia grabbed her by both hooves and dragging her in close. “Tell me what happened to my father, or you are glue.”

“I-I-WHAT?!” Trixie asked, eyes bugging out, still unable to process what was happening. The musician raised a hoof to smack her, but a violet magical hoof shoved her away. Twilight stepped forward, glaring at Octavia.

“We’re not going to learn anything about what happened like that. Let me try.” She turned back to Trixie, who was shaking now, and gently put a hoof up to her face. “Trixie. It’s me, Twilight; I know you don’t exactly, you know, like me. At all. But you do know me, and you know I only want to help. Please, just calm down and try to explain what happened.”

Trixie continued to pant, but after a minute her breaths began to slow. They were ragged, and she looked ready to die from the stress, but Trixie was calming down. Finally, she began to talk. “I-I don’t know how it happened. I’ve just been wandering, I haven’t really felt like sleeping yet. Then I heard this—this evil laugh!”

The other ponies nodded at each other silently. At least THAT part of her story was accurate.

“So I came down here, because I heard it coming from here, obviously, and I—I saw—that!” she pointed with her hoof at the body of Nicodemus, but refused to look at it. “I screamed, and that’s when his butler came rushing in. You all showed up a minute later… I think.” She bowed her head and muttered, “I sort of freaked out for a minute…”

Luna stepped forward, and wrapped a wing around the traumatized unicorn. “Do not fret; we shall find who is responsible. But, you must be exhausted, and thirsty. Come, let us fetch you a drink.”

The Princess led Trixie out of the room, and through the door into the kitchen, out of the eyes of more than a few ponies who hadn’t wished to see any more of her. Twilight watched as Octavia directed all of her hatred into her eyes, and aimed it for the magician. She glowered like that until the very moment that Trixie disappeared behind the door. Then, something changed in her eyes. It was like she’d gone from the cold mare she’d been all day into… into a filly. A scared, confused little foal. The gray pony’s eyes swelled with tears, and they began to rain onto the floor as she fell back onto her haunches.

Vinyl approached Octavia from behind, watching in pain and confusion as she tried to think of what to do, what to say as the other mare quietly sobbed. Her cries were drowned out by those of her cousin, who by now had shifted from shock into utter despair; she had grabbed the nearest pony, Bruce, and was now bawling into his shoulder as loudly as her prodigious lungs would permit.

Vinyl removed her sunglasses as she drew up next to her companion, unsure of what to say to her. She gingerly lifted up a hoof and placed it on Octavia’s shoulder. “Tavi, I’m—“

“GO! AWAY!” the other mare snarled, smacking away Vinyl’s hoof with her own before doubling over and redoubling her sobbing. The unicorn took a step back, and her distraught face could only hint at the torture going on in her own mind as she turned away. She took extra care to ensure her sunglasses were placed back on her face. It’s not good PR for fans to see a musician cry.

Confused chatter shot back and forth between everyone present, trying to make sense of their situation, but Twilight was currently absorbed in her own mind; trying to make sense of all of this. Who in Equestria would kill a kindly old pony like Nicodemus? Especially when so many powerful individuals were present in the house. It couldn’t have been for any pragmatic reason. Perhaps they wanted to… show off?

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIEEEEEE!”

The guests turned towards the kitchen, and at the same moment the doors were bashed open to let Princess Luna jut her head out. “We require everyone in the kitchen, this instant! I believe it is vital to solving our current dilemma!”

Confused, the others hoped that whatever Luna had found would explain further what was going on. What they found was far worse than that.

Inside the kitchen, Luna sat in the corner, wing wrapped around the shivering body of Trixie; they were faced in the opposite direction of what was instantly recognizable as the source of the haughty magician’s torment. The décor was simple, whites blacks and chromes being the only hues to be found. On the linoleum floor, bloody hoof marks led from the door they were all standing and in, stopping at a row of cabinets across from them. In crude, erratic writing upon the wall was a message written in fresh, crimson blood stolen from Nicodemus’ neck.

WELL, HELLO DEAR GUESTS!
I SEE YOU’VE FOUND MY LITTLE PRESENT; CONSIDER IT MY CONTRIBUTION TO THE NIGHTMARE NIGHT FESTIVITIES!
SPEAKING OF WHICH…
YOU KNOW WHAT I JUST THOUGHT? IT’S BORING BEING LOCKED IN A HOUSE WITH A MANIAC, WITH NOTHING TO DO, RIGHT? SO!
IN THE SPIRIT OF NIGHTMARE NIGHT, I PROPOSE A GAME!
I’LL START TAKING VICTIMS PREEEEETTY FAST, SO I’D SAY YOU’VE GOT UNTIL MORNING BEFORE YOU’RE ALL DEAD. HA!
YOU’VE GOT FROM NOW UNTIL THEN TO FIGURE OUT…
“WHODUNIT”?
HAVE FUUUUUUUN!

“That… that can’t be right.” Hoity Toity squeaked, eyes nearly popping out of his skull as he read with the others.

“But he already got Nickie Pie!” Soarin fretted. “He’s not bluffing; we gotta figure out who did this!”

“What do you mean figure out?” Carrot Top, looking ready to smack the Wonderbolt for his stupidity. “Look at these!” she pointed at the ground, at the bloody hoofprints. “We already know that whoever did it was a pony; and since only two of us were even awake when it happened, we’ve got it narrowed down to him—“ she pointed at the butler. “—and her.” and then at Trixie. The pony, still sobbing, looked at the farmpony with a look of sheer bafflement.

“Ya know, you’re right!” Soarin agreed. Others began to speak up, indistinguishable in the crowd forming as they lined up against the magician and the butler, who were slowly backed into a corner. Twilight stepped in between the group, raising her voice to try and calm them down. “Everyone, stop this right now! We have no proof!”

A kitchen knife shot through the air and embedded itself in the wall approximately an inch from Twilight’s ear. Her face immediately began to pour sweat as she ducked. The crowd took a step closer, before—

“SHE! SAID! STOP!”

Everyone stopped in their tracks, and turned to see the source of the voice. The last pony they expected to see with any sense was standing before them, stern eyes under the brim of a tweed deerstalker cap. “Everypony needs to calm down, right now. We’ve got a game to win!”

“Now zat, is somezing I should have seen coming.” Gustave remarked, an impressed smile on his beak as Pinkie walked over and plopped a bowler hat on a surprised lavender mare’s head. “Not one to let your feelings hinder ze greater good, are we?”

“Pinkie…” Twilight asked, confused. “where did you even get these hats?!”

“Silly filly!” Pinkie giggled, rubbing her sidekick’s head. “I snuck them along in your saddlebag!”

“WHAT?!” screamed Rainbow Dash from the back of the group, though her cries of confusion fell on deaf ears. The others had their senses trained on Pinkie Pie, who was pacing in front of the gory message left for them and blowing into a bubble pipe in one hoof.

“If this slimy-sicko wants us to play a game, then by Celestia, we’re gonna play a game!” Pinkie shouted, waving the pipe every which way as she continued to pace and think. “The killer could be any one of us… it could even be somepony entirely different! If it was, they could have been hiding anywhere in Brindlehoof Manor. Therefore, I say we split up, and look for clues!”

“Uh, split up?” Bon-Bon asked, speaking up for what seemed like the first time. “Isn’t that a tad, I don’t know, insane?”

“Insane enough to WORK!” Pinkie replied, smacking Bon-Bon’s nose with her pipe. “See, the killer’s just A killer, right? One pony, or griffin, or whatever! That means if we split up into groups of three, they’ll be outnumbered no matter what! But if they’re NOT in our group, they could easily avoid all of us in this big ol’ house; so we’ve gotta split up to cover more ground at once.”

“Wow, Pinkie.” Twilight said with a hint of shock. “That’s surprisingly well-thought out.”

The party pony turned back to her sidekick with a stern look, and the faintest hint of a smile on the corners of her lips. “Anypony that messes with my family gets no mercy. Pinkamena knows how killers think…”

Twilight was about to question her friend, but a deep chill in her bones quickly warned her that she absolutely did not want to inquire deeply into that mystery. She stood by in silence as Pinkie Pie lifted a hoof. “I’ll split up the groups!” she said with authority. A few ponies exchanged glances, but no one spoke up in protest.

“First, Princess Luna!” she said, pointing at the midnight mare. “Would you be all right taking Fluttershy and Carrot Top to check the towers?”

The Princess bowed, and smiled graciously. “Of course, Pinkie Pie. This is your family's home, and tonight I shall do as you command.”

Fluttershy, taking a few nervous glances at Carrot Top, tried to speak up. “Um, this may not be such a good—“ but she was cut off by a kick to the foreleg by Angel Bunny. He glared at his rival in anticipation; tonight would be the culmination of their feud, and he wouldn’t let his pushover of an owner ruin that.

“Awesome!” Pinkie squealed, before pointing at her orange pal. “Applejack; you, Rainbow Dash and Soarin can check out the top floor!”

“Er, right.” Applejack said, clearly nervous about this whole situation. “What’s, uh, what’s up there if ya don’t mind me askin’?”

“Oh, just usual house stuff!” Pinkie said innocently. “Creepy caverns, secret passageways, dusty old attics, maybe a spider or two…” she was stopped as Applejack pulled her Stetson over her face.

“All right, Pinkie, Ah get it! Just… just get the other groups together, so we can get this over with!”

Rainbow Dash, as serious as the situation was, couldn’t help but snicker at her rival’s jitters as Pinkie pointed her pipe-holding hoof at her own cousin. “Octavia, you take Mr. Mane and… let’s see… Vinyl Scratch.”

“Yes!” said the DJ, in a whisper too low for anyone else to hear.

“You three’ll check out the third floor; everypony’s stuff is up there, but I know you don’t mind going through other ponies’ things!”

Octavia looked miffed, and replied indignantly “Just because I read your diary ONE TIME does not mean—“

“Too late! Bored!” Pinkie said, quite clearly brushing off her cousin’s retorts to move on. The cellist glared as Detective Pinkie next selected Rarity, Pompadour, and Hoity Toity. “You all can take the second floor. Uncle Nickie Pie kept all his records up there, so maybe check out if he was writing about anypony that was mad at him?”

“Excellent idea, darling.” Rarity said, approving with a nod. Though whether it was a genuine appreciation for Pinkie’s leading skills, or an appreciation for being with the two most sophisticated stallions of the group was hard to tell.

“So that leaves… Lyra, Bon-Bon, and Trixie!” Pinkie said with excitement.

“Yeah, but, where do we go?” Lyra asked with a shrug. “You already named all the floors besides this one.”

“That’s right.” Pinkie said, mulling it over in her head. Suddenly, a bolt of inspiration hit her. “Oh, that’s right! You girls can check the basement!”

“B-b-b-basement??” Trixie asked, having recovered from her catatonia only to look ready to go back into it for the third time that night. “Why in Equestria would you send ME to the BASEMENT?! Isn’t that, you know, where the killer always hangs out?”

“It is!” Pinkie said, a conniving grin stretching her lips. “But if this guy’s smart, then he’s going to know that, so he’ll avoid the basement completely!”

“Oh…” Trixie said, relieved for a moment. Then, a second emotion hit her, as she realized the gesture Pinkie Pie had made towards her by completely removing her from the danger. “Th…thanks.”

“Thanks for what?” Pinkie asked, confused. Trixie sighed and told her never to mind. With all the others assigned, Pinkie leveled her hoof at the griffon baker.

“Gustave, you’re with Twilight and me!”

“Excellent, Miss Pinkie.” Gustave said, bowing to her before drawing up beside his newfound companions. “What, precisely, shall we be doing?”

“We’ll be here on the ground floor, checking out these clues, and then we’ll be doing a circle around the whole house! As veteran detective (and assistant), Twilight and I have the most experience with all this, so we need to share our super sleuthing skills with everyone else.” Pinkie explained, a bit of pride in her gleeful demeanor. Gustave nodded in understanding, and turned to the others.

“Well zen. It seems we all have our ‘orders’, no?”

Everyone nodded, others more excited, fearful, or generally freaked out than others. Nopony was really sure that this was an excellent idea, but it was the only one they had. Pinkie Pie pointed her pipe at the door out of the kitchen, and back the way they came as directions to her fellow guests as they prepared for the longest night of their lives.

“Mares and Gentlecolts! Go forward, and WIN THE GAME!”

“Oh!” Twilight spoke up, realizing they’d forgotten something. “Everypony, check any doors you find when you pass them; we don’t know if they’re all locked, and if one’s not then it might just be our ticket out!”

All the guests present gave a firm nod of agreement, and stepped out the door.

The chase was on; though it was difficult to tell who was the one doing the chasing.

Comments

[SuperPinkBrony12]

Octavia read Pinkie's diary once, wonder what was in there?

[Waluigi Pie]

you sir know how to balance creepiness and comedy well. i give you a mus... NO! I shall give you a for the coolness/epicness of your story