8427746 I can assure you from experience that it's entirely possible to achieve the sensation of tightness being described while using a choke-proof collar. It's not actually dangerous to do so, though of course it does give some of the impression of possible danger.
Well, this far into the tale, let me preemptively award you with a like, and a fav. This is the kind of tale that shows the love for the mystery genre, the kind of love I would recommend Umineko to. Good work.
That said, let's tackle the mystery. After some thought, I have assembled a workable theory. I might miss, but I'll spoiler it anyways, for those who don't want to be influenced.
First, it seems obvious that the motive in this crime is to frame High Tide for it. That, or High Tide did an obvious and extremely stupid crime. (Also, would a possessive and jealous suitor actually leave the object of their passion in the borderlands, for anyone to rape? Vengeance could be stated as motive, but... it doesn't quite fit his narrative.)
Second: The main problem with many theories about the crime is that the culprit would have had to transport Floral from where she was dosed with salts to the place she was found in the borderlands. Even if many people at the Society wouldn't bat an eye at such a scene, some people they crossed would probably remember it, and that would have come up at the initial investigation by the Legion. A risky action, with no caveat if something went wrong.
Third, if High Tide was to be framed, any circumstantial evidence would fall short against an ironclad aliby. Therefore, a plot to frame him would have a step to make sure he didn't.
Fourth: Salts, as any intoxication substances, doesn't cause 100% memory loss automatically. Any competent plot would have to make sure this wouldn't be a factor.
To sum the necessary conditions for the frame plot:
* Access to the Society * Access to the salts High Tide supplied. * Opportunity to dose Floral with salts without witnesses (Needs Floral's trust) * A way to transport Floral to the Borderlands, without anyone noticing anything strange. * A way to make sure that High Tide wouldn't have an alibi * A way to make sure that Floral wouldn't witness against the one who dosed her with salts.
So. Against Simple Syrup? She wouldn't have the transport condition. Specially a cute little mare.
Against Praiseworthy? She could have access to the drugs. If she confiscated some from other ponies, but Floral wouldn't trust her enough. And wouldn't have a way to ensure High Tide's stupor. She would also be too conspicuous for the transport condition.
High Tide? Again the transport condition. He could be a lucky idiot, but... Pretty unlikely.
The only one who could fulfill the transport condition would be Floral herself. Not as a way to get illicit thrill, but to actively ruin High Tide. Perhaps with some help to ensure that High Tide wouldn't be in condition of having an alibi.
You little minx. I'm bad at deductive reasoning and this is going to tease me until the next chapter comes out.
Also, now that all the players have been introduced, I just want to say that it's wonderful cast of characters you've created in this story, each of whom feels like an actual person with their own depth and motivations. You've really brought this mystery to life and I can't wait to see how it plays out.
I wonder, though, if you'e noticed the discrepancy of the salts?
(Do not click on that unless you want a hint).
As for Umineko, you can't recommend it if I've already read it. Multiple times. Scarlet Letter's cutie mark includes a golden rose for a reason, and Manifest Harmony knows me well enough that she based the covert art for the story on Umineko's aesthetic. Which is bae.
8428119 Really? The cast feels fleshed out to you?
I'm... yay. That's the real draw of a mystery story, to me, so it means a lot that I got there.
I might be able to puzzle this out, but to be honest, the most fun I get out of mysteries is watching the detective unravel the enigma. I'm having too much fun as is to guess. I'm not sure if I should apologize for being a nonparticpatory audience.
8427890 An excellent theory, but I do think you're leaving out an obvious suspect .
I'm more inclined to think it's collaborative than ever now. It could be Floral on her own, for attention or to get rid of High Tide. But there's a big problem with that.
Floral would have to be willing to fuck over her dealer.
She's a strawberry for him. She's hooked, and he's her source. Annoyed with him, even scared of him, as she might be, and I'm thinking she's just annoyed at worst, an addict doesn't usuallyh kill the golden goose like that.
But if she didn't know he'd be without an alibi? That could be bad.
Especially if she had an accomplice who wanted her off the salts, and who may e had a personal reason beyond even that to dislike the old, somewhat racist dealer?
I still lean towards involvement by Grant, myself. SS might have been involved, but I doubt it, unless it was to frame Floral with a cocktail that wouldn't kick in until she was into the Badlands already.
If SS did it though, it's probably a double frame. Frame Floral for framing HT so she could have him for herself. Unlikely, but possible.
I still think Grant and Floral working together to "redeem" his image is more likely, with framing HT a fringe benefit for Grant that Floral wouldn't blame him for.
As for the Legionnaire, I cannot think of any conceivable motive, though it isn't impossible.
"This makes more sense when you remember this kink club basically exists to ensure that enough ponies are fucking at any one time to keep the world from literally freezing over." ...Huh. I was not aware of that bit of Clocktower Society lore. Though this story is pretty much the first time I've done more than brush up against it.
"Let me see... that she did not mind him being gentle in aftercare?" Is there a negative missing from that? Or... ohhh. Okay, I misinterpreted the original sentence, I think. Yeah, it makes a lot more sense now.
8431356 A white-collared submissive, in contrast to a red-collared one, is looking for a long-term relationship with a particular dom. Black-collared submissives like Scarlet are already in one.
Okay, locking in a theory... hm... see, this is a bit of an odd case for me, because as Scarlet herself pointed out, the HOW is not as important as the WHO and WHY. So I'm going to be a little vague on the 'how', and focus on the other two.
I think it was Miss Syrup, but not actually for malevolent purposes. I think she was trying to shock Floral out of her self destructive spiral. The 'white collar' thing is a red herring.
She wanted to set up a situation to scare Floral straight, and decided to simultaneously get some revenge on High Tide, Floral's dealer, who she blames for supplying Floral's fix. I think timeline wise, she incapacitated High Tide first, then when his brain was nice and fuzzy and he was in a place where he wouldn't have an alibi for the crime, she went and captured Floral, relying on the memory blocking properties of salt to avoid being caught.
Of course, this does beg the question of whether she intended for Floral to actually get... well, raped. And I think the answer is no. I have a feeling that it wasn't an accident that Grant was the one to find her. I DON'T think he was in on things, but I think if you know where someone 'hunts', it would be very easy to leave Floral where he would be the one to find her. This does, of course, bring about the question of whether Syrup had help... and I don't think so.
Whether I am correct or incorrect, I have very much enjoyed this story. I look forward to the ending, and I hope to see more of these characters in the future.
this is such a great story, I think I have a guess as to who it is but I'm not entirely confident. Anyways this is a wonderful story and it has the same dimensions of emotion and writing as a professional author's book. I have read many a novel of mystery but this is definitely up there with authors like ken follet and tess gerritson. This is the greatest story I have read on Fimfiction.
Oh man, I've no idea! haha I do think something feels off about Simple Syrup, she's hiding something... And I like how you had Scarlet confront Praiseworthy about telling her she needed to be gagged more- I thought something felt off about that earlier exchange, like she was overstepping, so glad to see it not just passed over as nothing
Alright, really want to see where this goes, and just, no real time to go into detail, so smaller responses and just on major things, or whole scenes.
Okay, first scene, nice bit with more showing Scarlett and her whole attitude, the 'I'm not an adult' thing, so many ways that could be taken. Also, THANK YOU! For somepony pointing out that whole 'She didn't own the gag" really doesn't mean anything. I'm sure many do have their own personal gags custom made, but gags are so common, you could find them anywhere in the Dungeons. I'd suspect every play room has several different versions just there for the taking. Kind of same for the Safety Bell not quite being the certainty she thinks it is, not so much doing it to fool ponies as; one, we don't know for sure how they work, so nothing said conclusively that they wouldn't be able to be muffled. After all, why would there be rules about making sure you never interfere with a safety bells ability to ring, if there was no way to do so in the first place? Second, even if that is the case, how many ponies know that? How many really consider that and work out how they work? It could have been the assailant thought that the cotton would have an effect. Now yes, her theories are valid, but hardly as air tight as she seems to think, but nice to see her having to acknowledge that.
Still don't think this works well as self harm... mostly because there are way, way way simpler ways to do that, this is just far to convoluted to feel right as that alone. Given, yeah all she had to do was not safeword in the first place.
Oh and one other first scene note, how did they know the pony they were talking to knew about CTS? Gotta figure they had to tell Floral's friends and family something, and just a general 'she was assaulted by an unknown assailant' is a good cover and close enough. Everything Cutie said, could have been a pony reacting to that news. Now the "the ones everypony is talking about" is a strong hint, but not conclusive proof, and Scarlet was the first to bring up CTS stuff, without conclusive proof this pony was a member, bit sloppy, but also highlights one other potential problem CTS members would have to deal with.
What I mean is, the Torch Legion aren't detectives.
Which makes them not hiring a proven, well-ish known detective to help out all the more curious. Hell, Chicago PD doesn't' even believe in the supernatural (barring a few officers) but doesn't stop Dresden from getting most of his money from consulting gigs with them whenever something they can't quite explain happens.
Also her whole description of them.. feels a bit off, far to modern and treating this just like IRL, what she says works for that, not so much what we've seen in Equestria... it's not outright impossible, but also just, feels a bit iffy to me in how its worded.
..... ....... ........
OH BUCK YES! Tell that fucking idiot off and put her in her place! THANK YOU!
And she's still a total fucking... ummm, can't really call her an ass or bitch, would be an insult to all the upstanding Donkey and Diamond Dog members of the Society. But yeah still just all the "Why are they letting an incompetent, short sighted idiot like you handle this?" But seeing Scarlet stand up to her was just glorious!
And Red Heart being awesome, and also not putting up with Scornworthy's shit.
As to the Salts, well clear that was going to happen.. though it is limited a bit by the audience not actually knowing what, precisely this stuff does. We know it's a drug of some kind, but without knowing the details, it's hard to see exactly how it fits in and judge it in it's entirely was a variable in the equation. Still don't think it was him, but wouldn't be surprised if either he gave her some of hi stash, or she nabbed some. ORRRR this was to set him up. Still many many ways this could play out.
And the next scene is why I don't think it was him... or at least have low odds of it being him. he's just too huge of a wreck to pull of something with this much planning, and has clearly been like that for some time. it's to planned out, too meticulous, and with to many threads all tied together. I could see him lashing out, doing something stupid and ill thought out, but this crime is to clever.
Tells me not to leave the house.
This brings up a question of jurisdiction... do the Legion have any authority outside of CTS? If so, what and from where? What limits? A lot of things this one bit brings up. Is she even legally allowed to do that? All that kind of thing.
"He's a dealer."
Well, this does change a lot... so not just her Dom, but her supplier? She seems self destructive enough.. plus this seems like the thing that would get him in deep shit even outside of CTS. Though he's also very very stupid, as like, rule one of drug dealing is never get hooked on your own goods. But, this being the case..... makes this being done to target him raise in the listings. Somepony that wanted to hurt him for being a dealer, but couldn't find another way, so framed him for this. New motive. Though, have to wonder just how much business he'd have in a place like Ponyville.
also... owwwwwwww..... the feels.. the poor guy... he screwed up, but still... just... owwwwwwwwwwww!!!! Way to being the feels there story.....
Floral wears a red collar. Not what I would expect from an attached sub.
Ehhh, possible. Not the norm, but not unheard of. Still want to play the field, not settle for a certain master, or just afraid of the commitment. But still very very much attached to one or two doms. Subs could even be red collar, but wear a dom's padlock rather then the normal CTS one. That said, the way he talked about her, yeah that was too possessive.
Anyway, yeah it's not something that is at all implausible in and of itself. The whole collar coding for ownership is a lot looser then some ponies seem to treat it.
It's not encouraged, but nothing says you can't.
Pretty sure discussing what seems to be clearly illegal operations, and talking about committing crimes is something that would be good ground for "Get the fuck out". Assuming it's illegal. If not then, yeah nothing technically wrong.
Hmmm, so, High Tide, Grant, Scornworthy, Floral and Syrup.
High Tide, unlikely, for the reasons above, plus why would he want to draw attention to himself given the dealer thing? It seems to obvious this was done in part to set him up.
Grant, really don't think so, biggest two motives would be to screw over/frame High Tide, and for the Hero Complex idea of being praised for saving her. But he wasn't acting at all like that, wasn't basking in praise, wasn't doing anything like someone who did that would do. The other, it's to big a risk to Floral and going way to far.. though won't fully rule out this is a group effort and he was in on it, that I could maybe see, but not doing it to her on his own.
Scorn..... there would be safer ways to set up false evidence, hell just haul him in for something and plant salts on him if you're going to go breaking the rules to get him caught. So no, not on her own...
The other two... again, bit much for either to do, already said why not on Floral, Syrup is new to the story and don't have a good motive for that and going that far... though I'm guessing the implication is she's the white collar high Tide mentioned?
This... none of it feels quite right for things to be just one. And a lot of questions left, like details from a physical examination of the crime scene, gathering more forensic clues... right now most of what she's going off of is statements from people, which is the worst kind of evidence to go off of versus hard, objective, factual forensics. The 'how' it's done really does matter as it can limit other things. That said, of the group, I'm most liking Syrup for it, trying to scare Floral straight, and also get at the one she blames for hooking her on drugs. Sets her up with all this, and then keeps High Tide distracted so he doesn't have an alibi.
Lots of other possibilities, so just see where this all goes.... later anyway.
Thanks, now I'm gonna be thinking of this all day
8427746
I can assure you from experience that it's entirely possible to achieve the sensation of tightness being described while using a choke-proof collar. It's not actually dangerous to do so, though of course it does give some of the impression of possible danger.
So they can totally do this with safe equipment.
Well, this far into the tale, let me preemptively award you with a like, and a fav. This is the kind of tale that shows the love for the mystery genre, the kind of love I would recommend Umineko to. Good work.
That said, let's tackle the mystery. After some thought, I have assembled a workable theory. I might miss, but I'll spoiler it anyways, for those who don't want to be influenced.
First, it seems obvious that the motive in this crime is to frame High Tide for it. That, or High Tide did an obvious and extremely stupid crime. (Also, would a possessive and jealous suitor actually leave the object of their passion in the borderlands, for anyone to rape? Vengeance could be stated as motive, but... it doesn't quite fit his narrative.)
Second: The main problem with many theories about the crime is that the culprit would have had to transport Floral from where she was dosed with salts to the place she was found in the borderlands. Even if many people at the Society wouldn't bat an eye at such a scene, some people they crossed would probably remember it, and that would have come up at the initial investigation by the Legion. A risky action, with no caveat if something went wrong.
Third, if High Tide was to be framed, any circumstantial evidence would fall short against an ironclad aliby. Therefore, a plot to frame him would have a step to make sure he didn't.
Fourth: Salts, as any intoxication substances, doesn't cause 100% memory loss automatically. Any competent plot would have to make sure this wouldn't be a factor.
To sum the necessary conditions for the frame plot:
* Access to the Society
* Access to the salts High Tide supplied.
* Opportunity to dose Floral with salts without witnesses (Needs Floral's trust)
* A way to transport Floral to the Borderlands, without anyone noticing anything strange.
* A way to make sure that High Tide wouldn't have an alibi
* A way to make sure that Floral wouldn't witness against the one who dosed her with salts.
So. Against Simple Syrup? She wouldn't have the transport condition. Specially a cute little mare.
Against Praiseworthy? She could have access to the drugs. If she confiscated some from other ponies, but Floral wouldn't trust her enough. And wouldn't have a way to ensure High Tide's stupor. She would also be too conspicuous for the transport condition.
High Tide? Again the transport condition. He could be a lucky idiot, but... Pretty unlikely.
The only one who could fulfill the transport condition would be Floral herself. Not as a way to get illicit thrill, but to actively ruin High Tide. Perhaps with some help to ensure that High Tide wouldn't be in condition of having an alibi.
You little minx. I'm bad at deductive reasoning and this is going to tease me until the next chapter comes out.
Also, now that all the players have been introduced, I just want to say that it's wonderful cast of characters you've created in this story, each of whom feels like an actual person with their own depth and motivations. You've really brought this mystery to life and I can't wait to see how it plays out.
8427820
Goal achieved!
8427831
Very much this.
8427890
Hmmmm. Intriguing theory!
I wonder, though, if you'e noticed the discrepancy of the salts?
(Do not click on that unless you want a hint).
As for Umineko, you can't recommend it if I've already read it. Multiple times. Scarlet Letter's cutie mark includes a golden rose for a reason, and Manifest Harmony knows me well enough that she based the covert art for the story on Umineko's aesthetic. Which is bae.
8428119
Really? The cast feels fleshed out to you?
I'm... yay. That's the real draw of a mystery story, to me, so it means a lot that I got there.
Also im not blushing.
I might be able to puzzle this out, but to be honest, the most fun I get out of mysteries is watching the detective unravel the enigma. I'm having too much fun as is to guess. I'm not sure if I should apologize for being a nonparticpatory audience.
8427890
An excellent theory, but I do think you're leaving out an obvious suspect .
I'm more inclined to think it's collaborative than ever now. It could be Floral on her own,
for attention or to get rid of High Tide. But there's a big problem with that.
Floral would have to be willing to fuck over her dealer.
She's a strawberry for him. She's hooked, and he's her source. Annoyed with him, even scared of him, as she might be, and I'm thinking she's just annoyed at worst, an addict doesn't usuallyh kill the golden goose like that.
But if she didn't know he'd be without an alibi? That could be bad.
Especially if she had an accomplice who wanted her off the salts, and who may e had a personal reason beyond even that to dislike the old, somewhat racist dealer?
I still lean towards involvement by Grant, myself. SS might have been involved, but I doubt it, unless it was to frame Floral with a cocktail that wouldn't kick in until she was into the Badlands already.
If SS did it though, it's probably a double frame. Frame Floral for framing HT so she could have him for herself. Unlikely, but possible.
I still think Grant and Floral working together to "redeem" his image is more likely, with framing HT a fringe benefit for Grant that Floral wouldn't blame him for.
As for the Legionnaire, I cannot think of any conceivable motive, though it isn't impossible.
""Um.." Syrup furrowed"
"..." or "."?
"This makes more sense when you remember this kink club basically exists to ensure that enough ponies are fucking at any one time to keep the world from literally freezing over."
...Huh. I was not aware of that bit of Clocktower Society lore. Though this story is pretty much the first time I've done more than brush up against it.
"Let me see... that she did not mind him being gentle in aftercare?"
Is there a negative missing from that? Or... ohhh. Okay, I misinterpreted the original sentence, I think. Yeah, it makes a lot more sense now.
I can't wait for the conclusion to this. I love your writing and have been more interested in CTS because of it.
So what does it mean if someone wears a "white collar"
8431356
A white-collared submissive, in contrast to a red-collared one, is looking for a long-term relationship with a particular dom. Black-collared submissives like Scarlet are already in one.
8431450
Thanks for the info
Whoever High Tide was "playing" with wanted to bump off the competition.
Okay, locking in a theory... hm... see, this is a bit of an odd case for me, because as Scarlet herself pointed out, the HOW is not as important as the WHO and WHY. So I'm going to be a little vague on the 'how', and focus on the other two.
I think it was Miss Syrup, but not actually for malevolent purposes. I think she was trying to shock Floral out of her self destructive spiral. The 'white collar' thing is a red herring.
She wanted to set up a situation to scare Floral straight, and decided to simultaneously get some revenge on High Tide, Floral's dealer,
who she blames for supplying Floral's fix. I think timeline wise, she incapacitated High Tide first, then when his brain was nice and fuzzy and he was in a place where he wouldn't have an alibi for the crime, she went and captured Floral, relying on the memory blocking properties of salt to avoid being caught.
Of course, this does beg the question of whether she intended for Floral to actually get... well, raped. And I think the answer is no.
I have a feeling that it wasn't an accident that Grant was the one to find her. I DON'T think he was in on things, but I think if you know where someone 'hunts', it would be very easy to leave Floral where he would be the one to find her. This does, of course, bring about the question of whether Syrup had help... and I don't think so.
Whether I am correct or incorrect, I have very much enjoyed this story. I look forward to the ending, and I hope to see more of these characters in the future.
this is such a great story, I think I have a guess as to who it is but I'm not entirely confident. Anyways this is a wonderful story and it has the same dimensions of emotion and writing as a professional author's book. I have read many a novel of mystery but this is definitely up there with authors like ken follet and tess gerritson. This is the greatest story I have read on Fimfiction.
Oh man, I've no idea! haha
I do think something feels off about Simple Syrup, she's hiding something...
And I like how you had Scarlet confront Praiseworthy about telling her she needed to be gagged more- I thought something felt off about that earlier exchange, like she was overstepping, so glad to see it not just passed over as nothing
Alright, really want to see where this goes, and just, no real time to go into detail, so smaller responses and just on major things, or whole scenes.
Okay, first scene, nice bit with more showing Scarlett and her whole attitude, the 'I'm not an adult' thing, so many ways that could be taken. Also, THANK YOU! For somepony pointing out that whole 'She didn't own the gag" really doesn't mean anything. I'm sure many do have their own personal gags custom made, but gags are so common, you could find them anywhere in the Dungeons. I'd suspect every play room has several different versions just there for the taking. Kind of same for the Safety Bell not quite being the certainty she thinks it is, not so much doing it to fool ponies as; one, we don't know for sure how they work, so nothing said conclusively that they wouldn't be able to be muffled. After all, why would there be rules about making sure you never interfere with a safety bells ability to ring, if there was no way to do so in the first place? Second, even if that is the case, how many ponies know that? How many really consider that and work out how they work? It could have been the assailant thought that the cotton would have an effect. Now yes, her theories are valid, but hardly as air tight as she seems to think, but nice to see her having to acknowledge that.
Still don't think this works well as self harm... mostly because there are way, way way simpler ways to do that, this is just far to convoluted to feel right as that alone. Given, yeah all she had to do was not safeword in the first place.
Oh and one other first scene note, how did they know the pony they were talking to knew about CTS? Gotta figure they had to tell Floral's friends and family something, and just a general 'she was assaulted by an unknown assailant' is a good cover and close enough. Everything Cutie said, could have been a pony reacting to that news. Now the "the ones everypony is talking about" is a strong hint, but not conclusive proof, and Scarlet was the first to bring up CTS stuff, without conclusive proof this pony was a member, bit sloppy, but also highlights one other potential problem CTS members would have to deal with.
Which makes them not hiring a proven, well-ish known detective to help out all the more curious. Hell, Chicago PD doesn't' even believe in the supernatural (barring a few officers) but doesn't stop Dresden from getting most of his money from consulting gigs with them whenever something they can't quite explain happens.
Also her whole description of them.. feels a bit off, far to modern and treating this just like IRL, what she says works for that, not so much what we've seen in Equestria... it's not outright impossible, but also just, feels a bit iffy to me in how its worded.
.....
.......
........
OH BUCK YES! Tell that fucking idiot off and put her in her place! THANK YOU!
And she's still a total fucking... ummm, can't really call her an ass or bitch, would be an insult to all the upstanding Donkey and Diamond Dog members of the Society. But yeah still just all the "Why are they letting an incompetent, short sighted idiot like you handle this?" But seeing Scarlet stand up to her was just glorious!
And Red Heart being awesome, and also not putting up with Scornworthy's shit.
As to the Salts, well clear that was going to happen.. though it is limited a bit by the audience not actually knowing what, precisely this stuff does. We know it's a drug of some kind, but without knowing the details, it's hard to see exactly how it fits in and judge it in it's entirely was a variable in the equation. Still don't think it was him, but wouldn't be surprised if either he gave her some of hi stash, or she nabbed some. ORRRR this was to set him up. Still many many ways this could play out.
And the next scene is why I don't think it was him... or at least have low odds of it being him. he's just too huge of a wreck to pull of something with this much planning, and has clearly been like that for some time. it's to planned out, too meticulous, and with to many threads all tied together. I could see him lashing out, doing something stupid and ill thought out, but this crime is to clever.
This brings up a question of jurisdiction... do the Legion have any authority outside of CTS? If so, what and from where? What limits? A lot of things this one bit brings up. Is she even legally allowed to do that? All that kind of thing.
Well, this does change a lot... so not just her Dom, but her supplier? She seems self destructive enough.. plus this seems like the thing that would get him in deep shit even outside of CTS. Though he's also very very stupid, as like, rule one of drug dealing is never get hooked on your own goods. But, this being the case..... makes this being done to target him raise in the listings. Somepony that wanted to hurt him for being a dealer, but couldn't find another way, so framed him for this. New motive. Though, have to wonder just how much business he'd have in a place like Ponyville.
also... owwwwwwww..... the feels.. the poor guy... he screwed up, but still... just... owwwwwwwwwwww!!!! Way to being the feels there story.....
Ehhh, possible. Not the norm, but not unheard of. Still want to play the field, not settle for a certain master, or just afraid of the commitment. But still very very much attached to one or two doms. Subs could even be red collar, but wear a dom's padlock rather then the normal CTS one. That said, the way he talked about her, yeah that was too possessive.
Anyway, yeah it's not something that is at all implausible in and of itself. The whole collar coding for ownership is a lot looser then some ponies seem to treat it.
Pretty sure discussing what seems to be clearly illegal operations, and talking about committing crimes is something that would be good ground for "Get the fuck out". Assuming it's illegal. If not then, yeah nothing technically wrong.
Hmmm, so, High Tide, Grant, Scornworthy, Floral and Syrup.
High Tide, unlikely, for the reasons above, plus why would he want to draw attention to himself given the dealer thing? It seems to obvious this was done in part to set him up.
Grant, really don't think so, biggest two motives would be to screw over/frame High Tide, and for the Hero Complex idea of being praised for saving her. But he wasn't acting at all like that, wasn't basking in praise, wasn't doing anything like someone who did that would do. The other, it's to big a risk to Floral and going way to far.. though won't fully rule out this is a group effort and he was in on it, that I could maybe see, but not doing it to her on his own.
Scorn..... there would be safer ways to set up false evidence, hell just haul him in for something and plant salts on him if you're going to go breaking the rules to get him caught. So no, not on her own...
The other two... again, bit much for either to do, already said why not on Floral, Syrup is new to the story and don't have a good motive for that and going that far... though I'm guessing the implication is she's the white collar high Tide mentioned?
This... none of it feels quite right for things to be just one. And a lot of questions left, like details from a physical examination of the crime scene, gathering more forensic clues... right now most of what she's going off of is statements from people, which is the worst kind of evidence to go off of versus hard, objective, factual forensics. The 'how' it's done really does matter as it can limit other things. That said, of the group, I'm most liking Syrup for it, trying to scare Floral straight, and also get at the one she blames for hooking her on drugs. Sets her up with all this, and then keeps High Tide distracted so he doesn't have an alibi.
Lots of other possibilities, so just see where this all goes.... later anyway.