Chapter Three: A Maelstrom of Murder Part 7
Chapter Three:
A Maelstrom of Murder
Trial Part 2
So here we were, part way into the trial for Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. We’d made a crucial decision, that whomever was behind the note was the one behind Fluttershy’s death. But we’d barely gotten our feet wet when it came to Pinkie Pie. We knew she didn’t drown, and I was pretty sure the dumbbell didn’t kill her either, but we hadn’t gone any further. We went off track because I brought up Pinkie’s diary.
It was going to take a lot more effort to solve Pinkie’s murder, but I thought we could at least continue where we were with the note. We had a possible clue as to who might’ve written it, so I figured that was the best place to start.
“Ah sure hope we made the right decision,” Applejack said, shaking in her boots.
Twilight brought out a rag, polished her glasses with it, then slipped them back on. “Frankly, I’m not sure we did. If there are two blackeneds, we may have just given up an extra life, if Monoponi decides to execute them both.”
“Oh dear, I hadn’t considered that!” Rarity said, somehow managing to pale despite her alabaster complexion. “Maybe we should have left it as Pinkie Pie after all…”
“It’s too late now,” Scootaloo groaned, slapping a hand to her face. “Hope we don’t regret this.”
“I don’t give a damn if it was the right thing to do or not,” Adagio said with a menacing grin on her face. “I just want to be sure that whoever wrote that note pays for what they did.”
Rainbow Dash smashed a fist on her podium. “Uugh, enough already, okay? Can we just move on?”
“Yes, let’s,” I agreed. “Because I know the perfect thing to focus on: the note itself.”
Trixie arched an eyebrow. “Oh? You’re bringing that up now?”
“Wait, what is Trixie talking about?” Twilight said, sighing in frustration. “Were you hiding something, Sunset?”
“Not hiding. I just didn’t want to bring it up till we’d settled the debate,” I said. “I left something out when I brought up the note the first time.”
Fact #13: Discarded Note: “A handwritten note torn to shreds, found in Pinkie Pie’s wastebasket. The handwriting is messy and heavily slanted to the left. Most of the text was illegible, save for the following words: ‘help me surprise Fluttershy.’ The handwriting near perfectly matches a sample of Rainbow Dash’s handwriting.”
“You can probably see why I didn’t want this distracting us,” I said.
“Fourth time!” Scootaloo cried, falling face first onto her podium and wriggling. “Fourth goddamned time!”
Adagio snickered at Scootaloo’s antics. “It’s only the third time, idiot. Apple Bloom didn’t count.”
“Adagio, that’s not helpful,” I groused.
“H-hey, wait a minute,” Rainbow Dash took a step back from her podium, enveloped in a cold sweat. “T-this doesn’t mean anything. I-I didn’t write that note.”
Trixie let out a low, dark chuckle. “Trixie might have something to say about that,” she said as she queued up another piece of evidence.
Fact #15: Library Log: “The handwriting of the log entry ‘Daring Do and the Cornerstone of Light: Rainbow Dash X/O’ is a near perfect match for the handwriting of the note found in Pinkie Pie’s wastebasket, apart from being slightly slanted to the right.”
“This is what Sunset and Trixie matched the handwriting to. Your own signature, remember?”
“That doesn’t mean anything!” Rainbow retorted, her face turning pale. “C’mon you guys, you can’t be serious! I loved Fluttershy! She was my sister in all but name. You really think I’d kill her like that? Or at all?”
“Oh, I’m sure that, with the right motive, she could’ve been convinced to sacrifice herself for you,” Adagio purred. “But, no, I don’t think you wrote the note.”
“I don’t either,” I agreed. “It wouldn’t make any sense for you to have written it.”
“O-oh…” Rainbow Dash, who’d been all but hyperventilating, managed to slow her breathing, letting out several nervous laughs. “Then why didn’t you just say so?”
A sheepish smile of my own spreading on my face, I replied, “Because I still wanted to bring up the possibility that you did. Look closely at the two handwriting samples. They’re almost identical, except one is slanted to the left, the other slanted to the right. If I wasn’t looking at these side by side? I’d be completely fooled into thinking this was your handwriting, Rainbow.”
Tiara peered down at her Monopad, comparing the samples. “Huh. Me too. But it wouldn’t be the first time someone faked someone else’s handwriting, would it?”
“No. It wouldn’t,” Twilight agreed. She glanced Rainbow’s way, frowning. “Then again, maybe that’s what Rainbow Dash was banking on.”
“Huh?” I blinked several times in rapid succession. “What do you mean?”
“I mean,” Twilight said with a mocking grin, “that Rainbow Dash, knowing someone’s faked writing before, deliberately made her writing look different on the note so that when we compared it, we’d see the difference and think someone must’ve faked it.”
“Woah!” Scootaloo gasped. “That’s so sneaky!”
“H-hey!” Rainbow Dash objected, the panic she’d managed to shed returning all at once. “No way! I couldn’t come up with anything like that! I’m not smart enough!”
Twilight barked a single, mirthless laugh. “You don’t have to be. Daring Do and the Cornerstone of Light, chapter eight. Daring Do deliberately pretends to fake her own handwriting to fool Doctor Caballeron into thinking someone else created a false map to the cornerstone. There was a perfect example right there in the very book you read.”
Tiara snickered, holding back a laugh. “Guess Rainbow’s not the only one still reading kid’s books,” she muttered under her breath.
“I heard that,” Twilight said, glaring daggers at Tiara.
I crossed my arms, frowning at the researcher. “Not to doubt what you’re saying, but is there any way we could prove that she faked it?”
“Certainly,” Twilight answered. She adjusted her glasses, causing them to catch a bit of light and twinkle. “Give Rainbow Dash a pen and a piece of paper, and watch her try to write the words from the note. ‘Help me surprise Fluttershy.’ She needs to write it several times. With each hand.”
“Um, beg your pardon, darling? Why each hand?” Rarity inquired, puzzlement etched across her face.
Twilight sighed, carefully rubbing her forehead with two fingers and a thumb. “Ugh, isn’t it obvious? Because the difference in the handwriting is clearly the difference between someone writing with their right hand versus their left. See how the note is slanted to the left? That means whoever wrote it did so with their left hand. Of course, there’s nothing preventing the signature from being left-handed as well. It’s just less likely, since it’s slightly slanted to the right.”
“But I’m right-handed,” Rainbow Dash said, her face screwing up in confusion. “I can’t write anything with my left hand.”
It was Twilight’s turn for stunned silence. “You… what?!” More hairs burst forth from her bun, leaving her with the appearance of someone aping a beholder rather than having perfectly brushed hair. “Since when?! You always eat with your fork in your left hand. I’ve seen you do it!”
“Well, yeah, that’s cause my grandma made me learn how to do that,” Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. “When I was really little, my parents used her as a babysitter. She was left-handed, and so was everyone else in my family, so she kept trying to "correct" me and made me use my left hand. She passed away when I was four. I was too young to learn how to write, but old enough to use a fork, sooo yeah.” She leaned against her podium. “Every once in a while I try to use my right hand to hold a fork or a spoon, but it never feels right, you know? So I use my left hand for that. But I use my right for everything else.”
Applejack raised a hand like she wanted to set it on Rainbow’s shoulder to comfort her, despite the animosity, and the entire courtroom, between them. Then she set it down on her podium. “Ah’m sorry to hear your Granny treated you like that. Mine sure never would’ve.”
A half smile briefly appeared on Rainbow’s face before it faded. “S’alright. Don’t worry about it.”
I pulled out a pen and piece of paper. “Still, would you mind doing the test Twilight suggested anyway, just to be safe?”
“Uh, sure, but how’re you guys gonna see it?” she asked as I handed them over to her, barely reaching past Fluttershy’s empty podium.
Monoponi coughed into his hoof. “Oh you let me worry about that. If it’s for the trial, your Captain is more than happy to oblige!” With a flourish of his horn and a bolt of crimson light, the center hologram display lit up with a perfect top-down shot of Rainbow Dash’s hands and the paper.
“Oookay, here goes nothing,” Rainbow said. Taking up the pen in her right hand, she proceeded to sketch out two columns on the paper, one marked left, the other right. On the right column she then wrote ‘help me surprise Fluttershy’ five times. Each time she wrote it, it matched the handwriting from her book signature.
Then she swapped the pen over to her left hand, grimacing at the feel. “Ugh, this is gonna suck,” she groaned as she began writing. Under our scrutiny, with no chance to fake anything, Rainbow tried her hardest to write clearly with her left hand. She did a bit better than I expected, but the end result was nothing like the note. Her usual handwriting was chicken scratch as it is. Her left-handed handwriting? All but unreadable. And I suspected the only reason I could read it at all was because I already knew what it said.
Monoponi let the image fade off the display as Rainbow Dash passed the pen and paper back to me. I made sure to pass the paper around the room so everyone could get a clear look at it. “Satisfied, Twilight?” I said, smirking. “She didn’t fake her own handwriting.”
As the paper reached her, Twilight’s lips puckered up like she’d bit into a lemon, then followed it up with a grapefruit, a lime, and washed it all down with kombucha. “I can see that.” Rather than pass it along to Flash, she decided to crumple up the paper and threw it as hard as she could across the room.
“Hey!” Monoponi objected, slapping a hoof on the arm of his throne. “You’re picking that up after the trial is over!”
“Whatever.”
“Why’re you bein’ so grumpy about this anyway?” Applejack inquired, arching an eyebrow at the researcher. “Ah thought you didn’t mind being wrong, bein’ a scientist and all.”
Twilight’s gaze snapped to focus on the farmer, her glare resembling a white hot inferno for a split second before cooling back down to the icy chill of scientific detachment. “I was just taken aback by Rainbow Dash’s revelation, that’s all.”
“So,” Adagio said, snapping her fingers for attention. “If Rainbow Dash didn’t write the note or fake write the note, who did?”
Twilight shrugged. “As far as I’m aware, a lot of us are left-handed. The library has books showing you how to imitate handwriting, as we already know from our last trial. Any of us could’ve done it.”
“Twilight’s right about that,” I said, nodding. “Maybe instead of asking who, we need to ask why. Why would someone write a note like that for Pinkie Pie?”
Scootaloo held up both hands and stared at me. “What kind of question is that? Obviously they wanted Fluttershy dead.”
“Maybe,” I allowed. “Maybe not. Can we really be sure that was their goal?”
“Of course it was!” Rainbow Dash declared, smashing a fist down on her podium. “I don’t know which one of you assholes wanted Shy dead, but why else would they do it?”
Trixie held up a hand, accidentally hitting the brim of her hat in the process. “Trixie thinks this culprit was sneaky, even for a culprit. Like they wanted others to do their dirty work.”
“Huh.” Twilight raised an eyebrow at Trixie and nodded. “Look at that. You actually came up with a good bit of insight.”
“Excuse Trixie, but she has done that several times during this trial, thank you!” Trixie shot back as she fixed her hat back into its proper place.
“Indeed, Twilight, do please give the dear credit when credit is due,” Rarity seconded as she twirled her hair around her finger. “As for dirty work, I can’t imagine there’s many of us who’d shy away from it.”
Flash favored Rarity with a scrutinizing look. “I dunno, Rarity, you’re the one always whining when she gets even a little bit of dirt on herself.”
“I beg your pardon?” Rarity said flatly in a low-dangerous tone. “I do not whine. I complain.” A malicious smile spread across her features as her eyelids sank down to a half-lidded, almost seductive look. “Would you like to hear whining?”
Flash held up his hands in surrender. “Hey, I’m just saying.”
Rarity’s eyes shot back open as she leaned back and held up one hand to gesture with. “Oh, I suppose you’re right. If for some awful reason I ever did want to kill someone, I’d rather not dirty my own hands with it. But!” She held up a single finger. “That does not mean I killed Fluttershy. I would never have a reason to.”
“Ah’m not sure any of us would,” Applejack said, pressing her knuckles to her lips. “That poor girl was like an angel. She was too good for the rest of us.”
“Maybe it wasn’t Fluttershy they wanted dead,” Adagio suggested, glancing over at Pinkie Pie’s podium portrait. She pointed right at it. “Maybe it was Pinkie they wanted out of the picture.”
Scootaloo frowned in concern. “But then why have her target Fluttershy? Why not just have her steal the ring for herself?”
“Because Pinkie wasn’t that naive,” I pointed out, nodding gratefully to Adagio. “It’s one thing to surprise a friend. Pinkie would happily do that, because that’s her thing. That’s what she does. But if she was told it was okay to take it out for herself? She wouldn’t fall for that. So the culprit needed to have her plant it on someone else, expecting that Monoponi would call a trial right after Fluttershy died, and that Pinkie would be the obvious blackened.”
“But that didn't happen,” Flash said, rubbing his chin. “We didn’t get a trial called until Pinkie herself died. Was that why she was a victim? Was the culprit clearing up a loose end?”
“If that’s the case,” Twilight replied, “then we’d only have one blackened, not two. But I find it a little hard to believe that our culprit would manipulate Pinkie into offing Fluttershy, and then decide to go and dirty their hands anyway by killing Pinkie afterwards.”
I gestured to Twilight. “I agree with that. If there is only one culprit, they’re too committed to working from behind the scenes to step forward and interfere like that.”
“Soooo, what, they manipulated someone else into killing Pinkie Pie too?” Rainbow asked. “How’d they do that?”
I shook my head. “Let’s not worry about that yet. We can figure out who killed Pinkie after we solve this.”
"H-hey, I just thought of something," Flash said, raising a hand for attention and turning to face Monoponi. "Doesn't it say somewhere in the rules that you wouldn't participate in a murder?"
I stared at him, confused for a moment before snapping my fingers. I checked my Monopad. "Hey, he's right! Look at rule number eleven!"
Rule #11: Monoponi will never directly participate in a Rescue Attempt.
"So what the heck, Monoponi?"
"Oh. That. And here your Captain was hoping you wouldn't ask." The alicorn let out a sigh as he stood up on his throne. "I will admit one thing! The culprit in this case completely fooled me. I was so outraged by such a flagrant rule violation that I didn't realize I was being tricked into murdering someone until after it happened. At which point, I had to think. Do I punish them for causing me to break the rules? Do I punish myself?! Well I'm the Captain and the Captain's above the law, so of course I wouldn't do that!" He flopped back onto his rump. "So I decided, for this case, and this case only I would allow this rule to be bent. After all, I had no idea I was participating in a murder. I was used. I was the murder weapon! And the weapon can't be executed. Riiiiiight, Sunset?"
Thinking back to a perfect example of someone trying to argue exactly that in the second game, I nodded. "I guess that's a good point."
"No it isn't!" Rainbow Dash protested, slamming a hand down on her podium. "That's bullshit! You punish one person for breaking the rules then let someone else break them right afterwards? Fluttershy died because of this! What kind of rigged game are we playing here?"
"The kind where I make the rules and I am the only one who decides how to interpret them!" Monoponi retorted with a petulant wave of his forehoof. "And if you don't like it, then tough cookies! I don't care and I won't listen to anymore babbling on about this. Get back to the trial!"
I gave Rainbow an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Dash. I know it isn't fair."
"No, no it fucking isn't," Rainbow replied, staring down at her podium. She gave it a solid kick with her boot as her eyes filled up with tears.
Wishing I could reach over to give the depressed athlete a hug, I sighed. "So, where were we? We decided we were going to focus on who killed Fluttershy, right?"
“Yes, we did,” Twilight said. She took a deep breath, pulled off her glasses to shine them again, then let out the breath as she donned them. “And apart from Rarity, there is one other person here who’s been pretty suspicious the past few days.”
Glaring, I groused, “If this is another crack about me--”
“No, Sunset,” Twilight spat. “Not everything is about you. I’m talking about the one who’s been pretending she’s reformed herself. The one who thinks she’s fooling some of us with her innocent act.” Twilight adjusted her glasses, held up a finger, then pointed it squarely at her suspect. “Diamond Tiara! It has to be you!”
Hey, that’s my thing! I groused internally as I watched Diamond Tiara let out an offended gasp. “Excuse me?! What did you just say about me?”
“Well it’s about time someone else called you on your lies,” Applejack declared, glaring at the rich elitist. “Cause Ah’m one hundred percent with Twi on this. You ain’t foolin’ nobody.”
Tiara ground her teeth together, shaking with rage. “I…” she growled, “have...been trying… to be...a better...person!”
“But it has been pretty sudden,” Scootaloo said, frowning at Tiara. “Come on, you’ve gotta admit to that.”
Slamming an open palm on her podium, Tiara snarled, “Who cares how sudden it is? Haven’t you been listening to me the past couple of days? I apologized to everyone for being a jerk. I’ve been doing nothing but trying to get us to work together as a team. Hell, I’ve even made friends with Sunset Shimmer! Sunset. Shimmer!”
“Seriously? Sunset?” Rainbow Dash raised both eyebrows in shock, looking between the two of us. “Is she for real?”
I rubbed the back of my head, laughing nervously. “Ah, ehe, friends might be a strong word, but we’re getting along, yeah.”
“Well Ah say it’s a bunch of hooey!” Applejack insisted, sticking her nose up in the air. “Ah won’t trust a single word outta Diamond Tiara’s mouth.”
Flash nodded to Applejack. “Well that’s good enough for me. Applejack’s the one who can see who’s honest. If she says Tiara’s lying, then Tiara’s lying.”
Adagio fell forward to smack her face on her podium. “You idiots. Whatever Applejack uses to determine people’s honesty is obviously clouded by her disdain for Tiara. That goes double if it’s magic.”
“It ain’t magic!” Applejack replied, smacking her podium for emphasis. “It’s just good old fashioned Apple family intuition.”
“Sorry, but I have to agree with Adagio on that, Applejack,” I said, smiling apologetically. “You’re too biased against Diamond Tiara.”
Applejack whirled to face me, smoldering anger burning in her eyes like hot coals. “You wanna say that again?”
“Excuse me,” Twilight intervened, clapping for attention. “But Applejack’s bias or lackthereof aside, my point is that Diamond Tiara has been acting suspicious for the past three days straight, ever since the second trial ended. And she is exactly the kind of person who would manipulate others into doing her dirty work. She’s a rich snob who thinks she’s better than the rest of us. You can’t trust someone like that. She’s just been trying to get on your good side so you’d defend her during the trial. Exactly like what you’re doing right now, Sunset. You’ve fallen for her trap.”
“Yeah!” Scootaloo seconded. “Sunset, remember what you asked me about during the investigation?” She called up some evidence.
Fact #20: Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash’s Account: “According to Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash, neither one saw anything suspicious during their entire guard shifts. Rainbow Dash did stop at the pharmacy around 3:30 AM. Scootaloo did, however, see Diamond Tiara walking back and forth by the cabins, muttering to herself about courage, on Tuesday, about 3:20 PM.”
“There. Right there. Remember? I saw Diamond Tiara muttering to herself about courage. I’ll bet she was trying to psych herself up into going through with her plan!”
Diamond Tiara let out a wordless screech of rage, slamming her hands on her podium several times, each successive time harder than the last. “No, no, no, no! That’s ridiculous! Why would I want to kill Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, huh? Huh?! I wouldn’t!” She dropped her arms to her podium, and to my shock, tears ran down her face. “I wouldn’t, damn it. I’m trying to be a better person. I really am. I don’t want to be the complete bitch I’ve been towards everybody. Why won’t you listen to me?”
“Uh huh. Sure. Then what were you psyching yourself up for, huh?” Scootaloo slapped her hands to her hips and leaned forward. “Huuuh?”
Tiara, her head held low, managed to respond, “I wanted to ask Sunset to meet me so I could share something private about myself. So she'd trust me more. That’s all. It’s not easy for me to admit things about myself, okay? You don’t know me!” She slammed a fist on her podium, anger once again overtaking sorrow. “You don’t know my life! You don’t know what I’ve been through. You don’t know what I’ve suffered.”
Applejack burst out laughing, harsh, mocking, insulting laughter that irritated the absolute hell out me. “Oh, sure, sure, Ah believe that. Ah believe ya suffered. What with your mansion, and your servants attendin’ your every whim, and your endless food, and your fancy clothes. Oh yeah. Ah bet you really suffered hard, not ever havin’ to work for a livin’ like us poorer folk, or worry about not havin’ enough to eat. Or losin’ your home. Yup. Real hard.”
“Fuck you, Applejack,” Tiara sneered, flipping Applejack off. For once, it was an appropriate response.
“Applejack!” Rarity shouted, aiming a razor thin glare at the farmer. “Not only is that not helpful, it’s completely uncalled for.”
Applejack snorted. “Ah ain’t surprised you’re stickin’ up for her, since you wanna be just like her one day.”
“I beg your pardon?!” Rarity gasped, deeply offended. “For your information, Applejack, I do not want to become ‘just like Tiara.’ Diamond Tiara, whatever her faults, has obviously suffered serious mental and emotional trauma. Perhaps it’s true I am trying to become far richer than my parents ever were, but I am doing so through my own merits and skills. But I have no intentions of forgetting where I came from and what really matters. I will not become cold-hearted, nor will I think I am better than others just because I have more money.”
A variety of mixed emotions rolled over Tiara’s face as she listened to this back-handed defense. “Err, thanks, Rarity,” she grumbled. “I think.”
“Of course, darling,” Rarity said, smiling warmly at Tiara. “Don’t misunderstand: I’m not happy with the way you’ve been treating people, and I think you have quite a long way to go before we can say you’ve reformed. But I’m willing to give you the chance. Everyone deserves a second chance.”
Tiara blinked, a watery smile spreading on her cheeks. “Wow. That’s… I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”
Wait a minute. I narrowed my eyes as I looked over at Rarity. “Hey, weren’t you refusing to believe her apology just yesterday? I could’ve sworn you were on Applejack’s side of things.”
“That was before Applejack proved she could be just as petty, mean, and hateful as Tiara had been,” Rarity responded, firing off another needle thin glare at the farmer. “If someone as kind-hearted as Applejack can descend to such levels of bitterness and nasty behavior, that made me realize someone like Tiara could just as easily become a better person. So rather than be petty myself, I’d prefer to give her the chance to prove she means what she says.”
Applejack heaved breath after breath, her face beet red, steam all but rising from her ears as she fumed and seethed. “And Ah thought you had more sense than to ever trust a snake like Tiara. But Ah guess Ah was wrong.” She worked her jaw, then spat on the floor between her and Rarity, the spittle landing right between Apple Bloom and Timber’s empty podiums. “Can’t believe Ah was ever married to someone like you.”
Rarity held her hands to her breast as her eyes filled up with tears. She pointedly faced away from the farmer, staring down at the floor, quietly shaking with her sobs. “Damn you, Applejack,” she whispered.
Trixie offered up a hand for Rarity to take. The seamstress didn’t hesitate for a second before gripping Trixie’s hand like a lifeline. The illusionist looked up at Applejack with her eyes burning with black fury, like I’d never seen her showcase before. “Trixie hopes Rarity forgives you for what you just said. Because Trixie certainly wouldn’t.”
Pride warred with regret in Applejack’s expression as she fought to come up with an appropriate response. Thankfully, for the potential future of her relationship with Rarity, Applejack managed to avoid saying anything. Instead she pointedly looked away as well, refusing to meet anyone’s gaze.
“Sooo… are we done with the chick flick shit?” Rainbow Dash asked, her voice soaked with acid. “Because we were kind of in the middle of accusing Tiara of killing Fluttershy.”
“Which I wouldn’t do,” Tiara protested, her anger flaring to life once more.
“I believe you, Tiara,” I said, smiling sympathetically. “If you weren’t sincere about trying to be a better person, you never would’ve shared that personal secret about yourself with me.” My smile flipped upside down as I glared at Applejack. “Which, for your information, contained a lot of genuine suffering.”
Twilight coughed for attention. “It’s also irrelevant. Tiara could share any secret with you she wanted, because she knew you’d never get a chance to spread it.”
My gaze fixed upon Twilight Sparkle. “What do you mean?”
With an exasperated sigh, Twilight said, “I shouldn’t have to explain this to you. Obviously, through her manipulating of Pinkie into offing Fluttershy via Monoponi, and through her manipulation of someone else to kill Pinkie, Diamond Tiara was set up to be seen as perfectly innocent during the trial. Even if we figured out she was the one behind Fluttershy’s death, it wouldn’t have mattered, because we couldn’t vote for someone who didn’t do the deed.”
I stared at Twilight, utterly nonplussed. “I don’t understand. What does that have to do with her sharing a secret? How does that lead to me being ‘unable to spread it?”
Slapping a hand to her forehead, Twilight groaned, “Jeez, Sunset, you’re usually so much smarter than this. Think about it. Put it together. Monoponi let us argue about who would be the blackened, right? About whether intent mattered? Well, what if he only did that because he was intending to rule that the one who wrote the note was responsible from the start? If we hadn’t had that debate, we would’ve voted for Pinkie Pie as the blackened for Fluttershy. That means we would’ve voted wrong. And according to the rules, that means Diamond Tiara would get to leave the ship, while the rest of us all get executed.”
My whole body froze as I contemplated her argument. Was it possible? Could she be right? Was Diamond Tiara playing us this whole time? I glanced Diamond Tiara’s way, watching her reaction. She recoiled from me, hurt and fear in equal amounts dotted all over her face. The more I stared, the more hurt she seemed, until I looked away, back at Twilight. Twilight’s explanation makes a certain amount of sense. Too much sense, in fact. But there’s a few flaws in it. It relies on too many things Diamond Tiara couldn’t possibly have known. It relies on Diamond Tiara being a perfect actor, able to twist us all into buying her redemption story while at the same time she set up this whole crime. Is she capable of it? Maybe. But is that really what happened?
As I watched Twilight, matching her gaze for gaze, I noticed something there I hadn’t before. Behind all the cold winter’s fury, behind all the scientific detachment, behind all the shields she’d thrown up… Twilight was scared. No. Not just scared. Terrified. But why? Why would she be--
And suddenly, it all clicked. I couldn’t help but burst out laughing, a rich, bitter laugh, reminiscent of Adagio’s own dark chocolate, only mine was more like coffee with too little cream. “I’m impressed, Twilight,” I said, ignoring the looks of confusion and shock I was getting from everyone else in the room. “You really had us going there. You’re a lot better at obfuscating than I thought you’d be.”
Twilight reeled back, more hairs splitting out from her not-so-perfect-anymore bun. Her glasses slipped down her nose, prompting her to fix them back in place. “I-I don’t know what you mean,” she stammered, her mask of detachment slipping.
“Oh yes you do,” I insisted, a mirthless smile spreading on my face. “You know exactly what I mean. I have to give you credit, you certainly pulled together a pretty convincing argument. But there’s just a few too many flaws in it.”
That bizarre maniacal smile I’d seen Twilight sport once upon a time slipped back onto her face for just a moment before Twilight managed to smother it. “What flaws? What are you talking about?”
“Yeah, uh, Sunset, mind letting the rest of us in on this?” Flash demanded, his tone harsh and unyielding. “Because I hope you’re not about to say what I think you’re about to say.”
“Sorry, Flash,” I said as I readied a finger. “But I’ve got to say it. We all want to know who wrote the note, right? Who wrote the note that got Fluttershy killed? Well I have your answer.” I pointed my finger squarely at Twilight, causing the researcher to yelp and duck under her podium. “Twilight Sparkle, you’re the only one!”
Applejack ripped her hat off her head and threw it down on the ground. “Oh mah god, Sunset. Ah can’t believe this. Did nothin’ Ah said earlier get through your thick skull? Or are you so blinded by Tiara’s snake oil that you’d rather accuse Twilight just to save Tiara’s hide?”
“Yeah, I’m not gonna lie, Sunset,” Scootaloo seconded, glaring harshly at me, “But this feels like you’re just trying to get back at Twilight for being a bitch towards you lately.”
Trixie gave Rarity one final squeeze of concern, then released her hand so Trixie could pose dramatically. “Trixie disagrees with you, Scootaloo!” she pronounced, her cape billowing with her grand gestures. “Trixie thinks it makes perfect sense that Twilight wrote the note. Twilight had a motive for wanting Pinkie Pie dead. Diamond Tiara didn’t!”
“A motive?!” Twilight slapped both hands on her podium, her detachment entirely gone now, the cold winter replaced by the fire of the summer sun. “What possible motive would I have for killing Pinkie Pie?”
Adagio leapt in with a smug smile. “Oh, Twilight, that one’s easy. We all remember the conversations you had with her the other day, right?”
~*~
“Look, forget about the traitor, that’s not what’s important,” Twilight said, whisking her hand out of Flash’s grip. “Sunset needs to tell us everything she knows. She might have some insight into Monoponi, since they’re the same species.”
“Wow. Racist much?” Pinkie Pie grumbled in a nasty, low tone, completely unlike her usual bouncy self. As she spoke, the curls in her hair vanished.
Twilight set a finger on her glasses just so she could glare over them at the party planner. “It’s not racism if she’s not human. It’s xenophobia.”
Pinkie Pie stood up from her chair, walked over to the bakery, and ordered three cupcakes. Shoving the first one into her mouth messily, she mumbled, “Same difference. Meanie,” as she resumed her seat.
~*~
“No way! I won’t believe it!” Pinkie retorted, smacking a fist down so hard she shook the table and knocked Twilight’s notebook to the ground. “I’d never kill anyone. Never!”
“Are you sure about that?” Twilight growled, glaring at Pinkie over her glasses. “What if someone attacked you, and you had to defend yourself? What if you accidentally shoved someone down a flight of stairs? What if you fed someone something they were allergic to? Any one of these cases could result in someone’s death, and according to the rules, you’d be a murderer in all three. And that’s just assuming it’s an accident. If Monoponi gives you the right motive, can you really tell me you wouldn’t kill someone, just so you could get out of here?”
“Are you saying you would?” Fluttershy interrupted, coming to Pinkie Pie’s defense. She reached out and gripped Pinkie’s hand, squeezing it gently. “Because it sure sounds like it. Don’t listen to her, Pinkie.”
“Aww, thanks, Shyshy,” Pinkie said with a sad little smile, the first smile I’d seen on the girl since the trial. It vanished as she whirled to face Twilight, shifting to an angry pout. “She’s right. I won’t listen to you. Not about this. I wouldn’t kill anyone. Ever!”
Twilight snorted. “Idiocy like that will get you killed sooner or later.”
~*~
“And wouldn’t you know it,” Adagio continued, “Fluttershy came to Pinkie Pie’s defense. Such an interesting coincidence, don’t you think?”
Twilight growled under her breath, more hairs coming loose from her bun. “Just a coincidence. That’s not a sufficient motive to kill someone. What kind of a petty person do you think I am?”
“Petty?” I said, shaking my head. “No, Twilight, you’re not petty. And you’re right. Even putting those two conversations together, there’s nowhere near enough provocation for you to kill someone. But you didn’t set out to kill someone, did you? You wanted to teach Pinkie Pie a lesson.”
“What?” Twilight whispered. “No. No! No, that’s ridiculous!” So many hairs had popped out of her bun that the hair tie outright snapped, dropping the rest of her hair down. She messed with it, trying to stuff it back into a bun, but, lacking a fresh hair tie, gave it up as a lost cause. “Are you seriously suggesting I got Fluttershy killed just to teach Pinkie Pie a lesson? Are you crazy?!”
Tiara spoke up, “Uh, Sunset, I appreciate that you’re looking out for me, but Twilight’s right. She wouldn’t do that. No one here would.” She lowered her voice to a whisper, and though I couldn’t hear it, I could still read her lips. “Except maybe the old me.”
“No, I’m not saying that at all, Twilight. You never intended for anyone to die. But you messed up.” Everything was so clear now. So obvious. “You never intended for Pinkie to successfully plant the ring on Fluttershy. You thought Fluttershy would catch her, and stop her. You figured the resulting close call would be a good way of hammering in the lesson to someone whom you saw as hopelessly naive about the killing game. You were trying to help Pinkie.”
Twilight took hold of her hair in one hand, stroking it absentmindedly like it was a security blanket. “This is absurd. You don’t have a shred of proof. All you have are suppositions. Anecdotes. Circumstantial evidence at best.”
“Seriously, Sunset, stop it,” Flash growled, almost slamming his fist into his podium before managing to stop it at the last second. “I thought you were better than this. Stop wasting time pursuing a vendetta.”
I sighed, and faced him. “But Flash, don’t you remember what we talked about yesterday morning?" I held up my Monopad and tabbed over to my audio recordings. "Let me remind you."
~*~
He chuckled, opting to lean against the wall next to me. “So, things are going a lot better between Twilight and me now.”
“I noticed that much,” I replied, smiling back. “I’m surprised she got over her whole trust thing with you so fast.”
“You and me both.” Flash stretched out his arms, then interlaced his fingers together behind his head. “I think it was because Fluttershy bit it. That scared her into realizing she wasn’t angry with any of us, just with you.”
~*~
“You said it yourself. She completely changed after Fluttershy died. It scared her, you said. It scared her because it wasn’t supposed to happen. And that’s not all.”
~*~
“Has she said anything to you?” I asked. At his questioning look, I added, “About me, I mean?”
“Oh.” Flash’s smile twisted into a concerned frown. “Yeah, actually. She wouldn’t shut up about it. How your insights into the killing game and into Monoponi help show you can’t be trusted. She’s convinced you’re going to do something to kill us all, sooner or later.” He let out a dry chuckle. “She said this motive was perfect for you. She even said you’ve been leading us in the trials so that when you do murder someone, you could blame it on someone else and we’d all buy it.”
~*~
“You see?” I asked, noting the growing look of horror on Flash’s face. “When Fluttershy died, Twilight probably expected Monoponi would call for a trial. When he didn’t, Twilight’s mind went into overdrive. We’ve all seen how she can be. Applejack said earlier that sometimes I get an idea in my head and pursue it without thinking. Well I’m not the only one who does that. Twilight does it too. Remember the way she acted after he gave us the motive?”
~*~
Twilight heaved a sigh, her cold gaze shattering like glass, stitching itself back together as melancholic acceptance. “I know she is. That’s not the point.” She walked right up to Flash, and raised her hand. But instead of the slap I’d expected, she caressed his face. “I just can’t trust her anymore, Flash. She lied to me. She lied to all of us.”
Flash opened up his arms, inviting Twilight in. After a moment’s hesitation, she sank into his embrace. “I know, Twilight,” he said in a warm voice that banished the remnants of her icy winter’s chill. “No one’s asking you to. You don’t have to trust her to accept that she’s right.”
Twilight burst into tears. “I’m sorry, Flash,” she sobbed. “I never should’ve--”
“Sssh, it’s okay, Twilight.” He smiled down at her and gently kissed her forehead. “I forgive you.”
~*~
“Her apology was so sudden, we were all taken off guard. But I don’t think she was apologizing for the way she treated you. She was apologizing for getting Fluttershy killed, and set you up to support her at the same time.”
~*~
“I guess I should talk to her then. Maybe I can get her to calm down.”
“You sure that’s a good idea?” Flash inquired, his frown deepening. “She seriously doesn’t trust you, man. You could make things worse.”
~*~
“You were right to warn me, Flash. I should’ve listened to you then, when you told me not to speak to her.” I glanced at Twilight, who was keeping quiet, staring at her podium, showing no reaction to my words at all. “When I went to her, I was trying to make amends, for the sake of our friendship. All I accomplished was making her paranoia worse.”
~*~
“No, no, come on, Twilight, none of that is true,” I said, finally managing to defend myself against this absurd accusation. “I’m not working with him, damn it.”
“Oh yes you are,” Twilight countered. A maniacal grin spread across her face as more and more hairs burst out of her bun. “I’m certain of it now. He made a mistake, telling us we could discuss our secrets. He shouldn’t have done that. He should’ve let you continue with whatever stupid plan you have here with me. I’ll bet you made that dream up just so you could try and get closer to me. Manipulate me. Turn me into a killer. Well I won’t listen. Not anymore. I’m going to tell everyone about this. Everyone!”
~*~
“Thanks to me, she became convinced that Monoponi would lure her into some sort of trap, force her to commit another murder, just so he could execute her over Fluttershy. So she panicked, and decided to blame Diamond Tiara. Diamond Tiara was a convenient scapegoat. But her argument for Tiara is flawed.”
“No!” Twilight slammed a fist on her podium, her hair completely disheveled and flying all over the place. The maniacal grin was back, this time flipped upside down to be a toothy grimace. The overall effect left her looking completely unhinged. “Nonono. That’s not what happened. It’s not my fault. It’s Diamond Tiara’s! She did it! She had to have done it!”
I took in a deep breath and let it out, meeting Twilight’s crazed gaze with my own resolute one. “Setting aside Diamond Tiara’s lack of motive, your whole argument rests on Tiara knowing that the one who wrote the note would be considered the blackened, not Pinkie Pie. But there’s no way she could’ve known that would happen.”
“W-w-well, maybe she talked it out with Monoponi beforehand!” Twilight shouted, slamming her fists on her podium in twain. “She was on your side of the debate! She’s never done that before!”
“She was on my side of the debate because she, like me, realized that Pinkie Pie would never have planted that ring on Fluttershy without someone explicitly telling her to do so. She even told me that the other day!”
~*~
“Maybe someone planted it on her.”
“What?!” Tiara whirled on me, eyes agog. “But the only other person in there was Pinkie Pie! What’re you saying, that Pinkie planted it on her to get her killed? Pinkie would never do something like that!”
“I guess that’s a good point,” I admitted.
“Besides, if she had, Monoponi would’ve considered it murder. But we’re not investigating, are we?” Tiara inquired, a trace of her old mocking smugness dancing on her face. “He said Fluttershy broke the rules. So she’s the one who stole the ring.”
Ugh. She’s right. What was I thinking? “You’re right. Sorry. It just seemed like it might make sense.”
Tiara snorted in derision. “Yeah, as if.”
~*~
“Uuugh!” Twilight threw her hands up then slammed them back down on the podium. “She only said that to throw you off the scent. D-don’t you s-see?” Twilight let out a small demented giggle. Not loud, or demonstrative. Just a teeny tiny one, barely audible, and all the more creepy because of it. “You were onto her, even then!”
I refused to back down, no matter how unnerved I became. “No, Twilight, you weren’t there. You didn’t hear the whole conversation. I wasn’t on to Diamond Tiara because she didn’t do anything wrong.”
Twilight hunched over, grabbed her head with both hands and pulled hard on her hair, moaning in frustration. “You’re. Not. Listening!” Her face shot up to glare at me, her eyes wild, her glasses completely askew. “Diamond Tiara has to be the one who killed Fluttershy. It’s the only thing that makes sense!”
“Then what was her motivation, huh?” I asked, holding out my hands. “Why kill Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie? Why buddy up to me, someone she loathed and hated? Do you know how suspicious I was of her doing that? Pretty damn! If she’s as good at manipulating people as you claim, it would’ve served her interests to have me killed instead.”
“B-b-but that would’ve b-b-been too obvious!” Twilight blurted, propping her face up on her arms even as her knees buckled, threatening to give out. “Everyone would’ve suspected her if she had you killed! So she h-had to get you on her side instead. Be your friend.” She laughed again, harder this time. “D-don’t you see?”
“Now you’re the one who’s not listening,” I argued, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. “I would’ve seen through that in a heartbeat. If Diamond Tiara was going to mastermind this whole plan, like you’re claiming, the better move, by far, would’ve been to kill me and you, not Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie!”
“Me?!” Twilight screeched, her chest heaving as she hyperventilated from sheer fear. “What?!”
“Yes!” I insisted. “Twilight, you’re smart! Smarter than me. Smarter than everyone else here. If it was just me she killed, you would’ve picked up the trail and figured her out easily. So if Diamond Tiara was really going to escape, the smartest thing to do would be to kill the two people who could’ve figured out her plan. Buddy up to someone else more likely to believe her, like Pinkie Pie. Use her manipulative skills to her advantage. But that’s not what happened, because Diamond Tiara didn’t do any of this!”
Tiara, for her part, started me slack-jawed, her left eye twitching. I could see her emotions churning. I know I’m insulting you here at the same time I’m defending you. I’ll apologize later, I promise.
Tears of frustration ran down Twilight’s face as she ripped off her glasses and threw them down on her podium. “But you have no proof she didn’t do it!”
“And you have no proof that she did,” I retaliated. I pointed down at my Monopad. “You can scroll through every piece of evidence we’ve got. You know there’s nothing in there that proves Diamond Tiara did this. You know as well as I do that you don’t prove a negative. You made the supposition, so you provide evidence.”
“Aha!” Twilight roared in triumph, her crazed toothy grin returning in full force. “There! Right there! What proof do you have on me, huh? You don’t have anything on me either!” She held out both hands, taunting me, daring me to approach her. “You have the exact same thing I’ve got on Tiara: supposition and suggestions! So go ahead, Sunset! Try and prove I killed Fluttershy. Because you can’t! You can’t prove I did this!”
“You’ve got that wrong!”
Silence fell upon the courtroom as we all whirled to see who spoke. It wasn’t me. It wasn’t Trixie. It was Flash Sentry, pointing a finger at his girlfriend, a determined look of resolute certainty on his face. Wordlessly, he lowered his finger to tap his Monopad, presenting a piece of evidence.
Fact #14: Twilight’s Account: “According to Twilight, she spent most of Tuesday prior to 6:00 PM in the library, with a brief break for the bathroom and fresh air around 2:30 PM. Flash corroborated this account, stating she passed by his cabin on the end by the lounge.”
“Twilight,” he began, the confidence in his voice demanding attention, “you all but admitted it during the investigation. You spent most of your time in the library, giving you plenty of opportunity to fake Rainbow Dash’s handwriting. You passed right by my cabin, which as everyone knows, is across from Pinkie Pie’s. That places you directly at the scene of the crime.” He raised his finger and pointed it at her again. “I saw you there, Twilight. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I saw you drop the note off. Right as I opened my door, you were rising up from the floor. There’s only one reason you’d do that. Because Sunset’s right. You wrote the note. You’re the reason Fluttershy died.”
Twilight Sparkle paled, her wild hair falling back down straight about her shoulders. Her maniacal grin faded away as her face fell into her hands. She whimpered and mewled, tears running through the cracks in her hands. She cried for a good few minutes, not saying a single word as she quietly sobbed. When she looked up, her eyes bloodshot and puffy from her tears, she whispered, “It wasn’t supposed to happen. No one was supposed to die.”
“But Fluttershy did,” Flash said, his voice steadfast. “Because you didn’t think things through. Damn it, Twilight, what the hell made you think that was ever a good idea?”
Twilight’s lips quivered, her voice hoarse as she replied, “B-because I didn’t want Pinkie Pie to hurt anyone through her ignorance. She wasn’t taking things seriously. She didn’t understand just how awful and manipulative this killing game is. Sooner or later she was going to get someone killed!”
Flash snorted, shaking his head. “So your solution was to create a situation where she’d do exactly what you were trying to prevent.”
“No, no, she wasn’t supposed to get away with it!” Twilight insisted, fresh tears coming to her eyes. “Fluttershy was supposed to catch Pinkie in the act! That’s what was supposed to happen!”
“Well guess what, you stupid fucking egghead!” Rainbow Dash roared, her hands opening and closing like she was itching to throttle the researcher to death. “Your goddamned plan was a fucking failure! It’s your fault Fluttershy’s dead! You might as well have killed her with your own two hands!”
Applejack scowled darkly at the researcher. “More’n’that. You gave Pinkie Pie the worst case of guilty conscience Ah’ve ever seen. The poor girl was already hopped up on morphine. Ah bet if someone else hadn’t killed her, she would’ve eventually killed herself just from overusin’.”
“Maybe she killed Pinkie Pie,” Trixie said in a dark tone. “Trixie is sure Twilight could find some way to justify it.”
“It certainly seems likely,” Adagio purred, favoring Twilight with a menacing smirk. “Why don’t you go ahead and admit it?”
“No,” Twilight said, shaking her head. “I didn’t kill Pinkie Pie.”
“Oh darling, please,” Rarity said with a world-weary sigh. “Don’t drag this out any further. There’s no point.”
“Seriously,” Scootaloo agreed, folding her arms across her chest. “You’ve already admitted you killed Fluttershy. Why waste our time now?”
“But I didn’t do it!” Twilight shouted, her arms falling to her podium. “I’m not lying! I didn’t kill Pinkie Pie!”
Flash scowled, dark anger polluting his features. “Twilight, for god’s sake just tell us how you did it. Just own up to it. Denial won’t help anymore.”
Twilight fell over onto her podium, smashing her face into her Monopad screen. “I’m not in denial, Flash! I didn’t kill Pinkie, okay? I don’t know who did it, but I know it wasn’t me!”
“That’s it!” Rainbow Dash declared, her eyes flashing dangerously. “If I have to pound it out of you I--”
“Stop it, you guys!” I demanded, silencing the courtroom once more. “Twilight’s telling the truth this time.”
Twilight rose back up from her podium to stare at me. “Why? Why do you believe me now?” she said quietly.
“Because it’s the truth,” I said simply. “And I can prove it.”
Fact #5: Dumbbell: “A seventy pound dumbbell, with a small splotch of blood on one end. Only five people could use it as a weapon: Flash Sentry, Adagio Dazzle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity.”
“Remember this?” I asked everyone. “This dumbbell was used by the culprit. It had to have been, because it has blood on it, and it matches the wound on Pinkie’s head. We know this dealt that wound, which means whoever killed her was capable of lifting it. As Diamond Tiara and Adagio can attest, I was barely able to lift the thing. And I’m a lot stronger than Twilight is.” I glanced over at her. “No offense.”
The researcher blinked at me in bafflement. “None taken?”
“But couldn’t the culprit have used it in some other way than with their bare hands?” Scootaloo suggested, still glaring at Twilight. “Like you said, Sunset, Twilight’s smart. Couldn’t she have just hung it up somewhere and let it fall?”
I shook my head. “No. If that had happened, Pinkie’s wound would be on the top of her head. But it’s not. It’s on the back. The only way for it to hit her on the back of the head while being dropped is if she was lying on her stomach. But if she had been, her whole front would be soaked in her blood. And it wasn’t. The only blood we saw on her body was in her hair and down her back.”
“Oh my goodness!” Rarity gasped.
“So Monoponi was tellin’ the truth,'' Applejack breathed, horror-stricken. “There really are two blackeneds, not just one!”
“That’s right,” I agreed. I looked over at Twilight. “Twilight may be behind Fluttershy’s death, but she’s innocent when it comes to Pinkie Pie. We’re still going to need her help to figure out who the other blackened is. Will you help us, Twi?”
Twilight jerked, opened her mouth, and then closed it again. She scooped up her glasses and placed them back on, carefully brushing her hair behind them. “Definitely,” she said. “I know my word might not be worth much right now, but… but I’ll do what I can. If I’m going down, I’m not going down alone.”
I nodded solemnly. “Good. Because we’ve still got a ways to go before this is all over.”
So we have our first blackened, Twilight Sparkle. While at first glance Twilight might appear to be an accidental blackened, that's not really the case. Twilight did everything she did with deliberate intent. What the intended result was is irrelevant. She still intended for someone to deliberately cause someone else to break a rule. Through her actions, she effectively killed someone. This wasn't an accident. She can tell herself it was one all she wants, but she knows she's lying to herself.
I feel the need to state this after having said on a couple of occasions that I generally don't like accidental blackeneds. I don't want this to come off as a case of hypocrisy. That's why I don't consider Pinkie Pie to be the blackened and never did, because she didn't plan anything. But Twilight planned the whole thing. She chose to act. She put a plan into motion, and the result was someone's death. As far as I'm concerned, that means it's not an accident.
However, that said, that doesn't mean the characters in the story will see it that way. And I won't blame anyone who disagrees with me, either. 
Also, congrats to Witegrlninja for figuring this one out before even the investigation. This one was the easier of the two, but still, you were more or less spot on. Good job! 
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Was not expecting a new chapter this soon. I thought it would be posted on Wednesday. So, it was Twilight. Then the second blackened must be Rainbow Dash.
10633184
Yup. As stated in my blog: bonus holiday post, several weeks late.
I had a feeling Twilight was involved, but this is unexpected. And it makes perfect sense given her actions in the chapter thus far.
As for who killed Pinkie, I'm still going with my theory that it was Rainbow Dash and that she did it in her rage over Fluttershy's death .
10633215
So, does that mean the story will update tomorrow or on Wednesday?
First of all, what a surprise upload. Thank you very much. But, moving on to the actual chapter.
Oh my god... this is awful. I knew Twilight was becoming much colder and untrusting, especially towards Sunset, but I never expected this to happen! I appreciate that she held no grudge to Pinkie and Fluttershy for standing up to her and wanted to help Pinkie, but her plan was just so stupid and had way to many holes in it. It got Fluttershy killed! This is really painful for me for two reasons: the first is that Twilight was one of the ones I was hoping was going to survive this game, but there is no way in hell Monoponi is going to let her live after she tricked him, and the second is when Twilight dies, my favorite ship (Flashlight) is going to get sunk. Speaking of which, while I am happy Flash finally stood up to Twilight and provided the final piece of evidence to prove her guilt, that also makes it even more heart-breakingly bittersweet.
We still need to find out Pinkie’s killer though, and I still have suspicions that Rainbow killed her out of rage over Fluttershy’s death, perhaps in a misguided attempt at revenge.
Well.... Fuck..
Really hope that SOMEHOW Dash isn't the second blackened and she's being framed, but it's not looking good.
10633237
Tuesday
Assuming Rainbow Dash is the culprit behind Pinkie Pie's death (It's looking REALLY likely that she is). The question now becomes... who is the Blackened for this trial? Twilight or Rainbow Dash? Again assuming Rainbow Dash is the culprit of course. I'm inclined to believe that the rule of 'First come, First serve' should definitely apply here, however I think the story would be far more interesting if Twilight were spared and Rainbow Dash is declared the Blackened and subsequently punished. Twilight has been an insufferable bitch, and I would like nothing more than for Twilight to be punished, however from a narrative standpoint, it makes more sense to keep Twilight alive, as this could be the turning point for her character, having to accept the fact that she is responsible for Fluttershy's death, no longer fully trusted by the others as she once was for what she did, hopefully this means Twilight will tone down her constant hate and slanderous accusations toward Sunset, however Danganronpa games & stories always need that one antagonistic character amongst the group, so perhaps Twilight won't completely cease her vendetta against Sunset.
Anyway back to my stance on the Blackened, AGAIN assuming Rainbow Dash was responsible for Pinkie Pie's death, I think Rainbow Dash will ultimately be chosen as the Blackened, ooohh you know what be even more interesting? Is if Monoponi forces the Spotless Victims to decide by majority vote; who will be chosen as the Blackened for this Case (Would definitely cause a lot of friction between the group). Or Monoponi could surprise everyone and have both Blackened executed out of spite for having been duped into killing Fluttershy. Two blackened, One GLORIOUSLY Despair inducing Execution! "What's it gonna be? WHAT'S IT GONNA BE!?"
Seriously loving this trial, didn't expect it to be as long as it has been, and there's still MORE to come? Not that I'm complaining, especially when they're this engaging to read, truly an excellent trial so far, and the way the classic double murder trial was handled here was genius, keeping the outcome shrouded in such tense teeth-clenching mystery, the fact that we don't even know who will be deemed the Blackened, or who will be Punished until after both Blackened have been identified? Genius, pure genius! Miss Dewdrops I salute your dastardly devious brilliance in the fine arts that is the Killing Game
10633403
Honestly, if Dash DID kill Pinkie, I think it'd be far more interesting if she got spared and Twilight got killed. Twilight didn't mean for Fluttershy to die, but Dash killed Pinkie on purpose, so the idea of the others having to deal with someone who already intentionally killed once would be interesting. I remember seeing people be disappointed that Korekyo killed both Tenko and Angie when they feel he should have just killed Tenko and someone else (preferably Tenko in some cases) having been the blackened for Angie
Well no wonder I had so much trouble with figuring out the note, this was a very creative 'motive!' As soon as she brought up the Daring Do book, I knew it was Twilight, but her reason for initiating any form of murder was what eluded me. That's the primary reason she was never a prime suspect for me while not being entirely out of the realm of possibility. But this makes sense, a murder without malice. It's exactly the sort of believably stupid thing Twilight (or any person) would do, especially when she's been living under such stressful conditions. I like that in the end she's being a big person and choosing to help as best she can with the next part of the trial.
Poor Rainbow, no one is giving her the benefit of the doubt. The only person that would surprise me more as the culprit is Sunset. I would like to point out that Pinkie's shift happened before Rainbow's, and that's the timeframe that we've already determined the murder happened. If Pinkie was the one to confront Rainbow, (which seems to be why everyone's accusing her) the wouldn't Pinkie have simply waited to talk to Dash as they traded shifts? The whole thing is too planned out to be a rage murder.
I'm not going to discount my previous theory, but... well... I just have a hunch that the second culprit is Flash. Before, I was really hoping that there'd be only one blackened but I couldn't make the pieces fit. With what we know now, it's all too likely. I don't have some elaborate theory on the how, nor any particular evidence. It's just well within the realm of possibility, and he has a reasonable motive. Oh, he was right behind Adagio when she left to do laundry. Dramatically speaking, he's the perfect choice since it'd mean him and Twilight going down together. It would also explain him deciding to out Twilight: if he is the second blackened and he were to succeed, there's nothing saying he still can't take Twilight as his plus one.
Oh, in regard's to the first part of the trial, I'm glad to see my theory on the weights confirmed, but using Pinkie's corpse for the false photo was not something I'd have thought up. Seems so obvious now... And it does put a kink in my earlier theory of two people having to work together.
Great job so far, I can't wait to see how this trial ends! The one piece of creative criticism I have for you is that I think Rainbow Dash, while still being mad at Pinkie for doing the deed, would have very much been on the side of blaming whoever wrote the note. The intent matters as much as the act, and the fact that someone else had a hand in Fluttershy's death wouldn't be something she'd glance over for an easy solution.
Hey, Flash and I are on the same page.
Also, I knew it. I knew that Twilight was a Blackened in some way or another. Everything just felt way off. The only problem is, I don't think I can really feel bad for her anymore. She had become so spiteful throughout this chapter that, honestly, getting Fluttershy killed even if she wants to believe it's an accident is not something she can get forgiveness for. Especially since Monoponi rescinded rule 15 where you can admit your guilt. Only Twilight didn't. If she believed it was an accident then she should have fessed up. The fact she didn't means that she wanted to get away with it. That's my interpretation anyways.
Now for the second blackened. Honestly? I don't think it was Dash. Maybe because I'm biased towards wanting her to live but it doesn't feel right. I think what might have happened is Pinkie called Dash up and tried admitting her guilt because she thought Dash was the one who wrote the note. However, Dash instantly admits that she never wrote the note. Or set up the trap. The conversation devolves and whether Pinkie admits she did it or not doesn't matter and Dash skulks off either furious or confused. However, someone followed Dash to the meeting. I want to bet Adagio.
I say that because she suddenly decided to sleep in her own cabin for once. The 'bring-a-friend' motive works in her favor because Sunset and she both has the strength to move the dumbbell and the swimming expertise to hide Pinkie. And maybe when Rainbow suddenly had some magic left, Adagio saw that as a chance to try and pull Sunset away from the crime scene before she'd find any important clues. But Sunset caught on too quick.
This is all a total crap shoot guess and, again, only cause I don't think Dash did it. It just sounds like it doesn't fit for some reason...
WOO! I am so smart! S-M-R-T! I mean, S-M-A-R-T! :D
Now... Pinkie's death, it's definitely between Rainbow, Applejack and/or Rarity. Either Rainbow did it out of revenge, or Applejack/Rarity did it because of the photo of them and will try to save their spouse. Applejack's currently furious with Rarity, who's currently heartbroken about it, so in that respect it leads me to think Rarity did it.
What a pleasant surprise, two chapters in two days, I feel like we are getting spoiled because of this.
Well dang, Twilight is a blackened. Not completely surprising in hindsight, but still impressive on how her motive fits her character pretty well, so good job on that. I am going to call it now, Monoponi is going to only execute one of the blackened and force the others to vote on who it is.
I do hope that Princess Twilight does eventually go over the transcripts, there has been a lot of information on her friends that probably connects back to her pony friends in some way.
Personally, I would love to see her reaction to Trixie’s secret. It would definitely give her some insight into why pony Trixie does what she does.
Anyway, this chapter has me pumped for the next update, so hope to see you soon,
SonicDJM
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Regarding your criticism: you're absolutely correct, and looking back I think I should have had Rainbow focus on that more as soon as the note was revealed. My reasoning was that Rainbow, being a woman of action, focuses on actions, and Pinkie's act of planting the ring was, to her, more important than the writing of a note. Because Pinkie could've disregarded the note, but didn't. Rainbow's not thinking rationally. But that reasoning may have been wrong.
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You can thank your post for that being in there, actually. It was something I only added after you pointed out the issue.
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Your compliment has melted my heart, my friend. Seriously, lots of smiles on my face from that one.
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Tuesday evening, standard time, as MLPFan said.
Oh... I have an absolutely crazy theory about Pinkie Pie's murder, but I think I need the rest of the trial to prove it. I think Pinkie asked someone [Applejack]to kill her because she felt guilty about Fluttershy's death The reason for it, is well, what possible reason Pinkie would have to go after the one person, who she thinks had written the note[Rainbow Dash] How awkward that conversation would even be? But if, Pinkie felt guilty for what happened she would be looking for someone to convince them to punish her, and the best punishment is execution.
Yay! Surprise update!
Okay. Now it totally makes sense for Twilight to be the blackened, even though she didn’t mean for Fluttershy to die.
As for who killed Pinkie Pie, I’m torn. It’s easy to blame Rainbow. She is strong enough to lift the dumbbell and her motive could be revenge. It’s not looking good for her. But... it doesn’t feel right. I think there’s someone else involved or something. There’s something they’re missing.
Applejack and Rarity... while they do have blond and purple hair... I don’t know... could they have done it? They’re strong enough for the dumbbell and they could’ve helped each other in the process.
Diamond Tiara couldn’t have done it. She’s not strong enough and she’s trying to be a better person.
Trixie. I doubt she did it. I really don’t think she did it.
It’s not Scootaloo. The slot machine would be a dead giveaway. Plus, she’s not strong enough to pick up the dumbbell. If the blackened is Rainbow, she could’ve helped her cover her tracks. She also seems to be building a grudge against Sunset. That could cause trouble later on.
Flash... I don’t know. I haven’t thought about him. He did rule himself out by saying that the photo proves it wasn’t him because of the long hair. That sounds a little suspicious. I just don’t think it’s him.
Adagio. She was acting pretty suspicious during the investigation. Almost as if the guilt was eating at her. She also didn’t want to sleep in Sunset’s cabin. She has the strength and the smarts to pull this murder off.
I don’t know who it is!
Prediction time for 2nd culprit. As much as I would think it would make sense for the culprit to be Flash, due to him seeing Twilight placing a note and maybe trying to save her. However, the problem is the picture, leaving in Adagio who could have accessed the picture and used the murder weapon. So yeah Adagio trying to trick everybody, also that's why Adagio rushed the hell out of the investigation.
Yeah, it became pretty obvious that Twilight did the Fluttershy deed when she knew about the Daring book and got stunned when Rainbow couldn't write on her left hand.
If my prediction is correct, there shall be no more couples on this ship. Those ships have sunk! They will be at the bottom of the sea! How many sea-related things can I spout? However, on the horizon, there is the possibility of Flash/Sunset pairing. Quick, kill either Flash or Sunset! Do it!
So. Two more chapters then an interlude for this chapter.
Alright I managed to guess that right although I don't want to pat myself on the back too much since it was mostly blind intuition and remembering something that honestly wasn't that relevant. I think I know what happened with Pinkie's murder too but there are still some loose ends with that one that makes me unsure. Good chapter like always.
so i was right about Twilight.
For Pinkie: Applejack- Blonde hair- strong
Rarity- wavy hair
Both strong.
Rainbow Dash- avenge Fluttershy.
Rainbow Dash could have cut off a piece of Rarity and AJ’s hair to make it look like they did it, like how Windrider cut a piece of Dash’s hair in Rarity investigates!
I agree, it’s Rainbow Dash. Motive: To avenge Fluttershy’s death. So that means... 4 Equestria Girls die.
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Flash/sunset pairings are really cute, and they actually do exist in Equestria Girls!
Spring Break down and Holidays Unwrapped. And possibly, Forgotten Friendship.
It all starts in Legend of Everfree.
I’m predicting those 2 will the last ones on the ship. I agree about Adagio, kind of. So that means... what they mean by she’s killed someone, it must be what happened when she was a siren!
Has anyone forgotten Sunset also has nearly killed someone before?
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You do bring up a valid point, however if Rainbow Dash were to survive this trial, I don't really know how much more development she can receive from here on out, there's not a whole lot to work with, she's in many ways; very similar to Mondo in that regard. I suppose she could receive some more development through Scootaloo, since Scootaloo idolizes her and is obviously crushing on Rainbow Dash (Flat out admitted so to her face). However if she were to survive this trial, I honestly can't see her surviving through to the next trial, she'll pretty much have a target on her back for what she's done. If Korekiyo had survived the the 3rd trial due to someone else having killed Angie (Not sure who else would have), but if he had, I think Miu would have targeted Korekiyo instead of Kokichi, and I think the same possibility applies here with Rainbow Dash, assuming she survives the trial, but I highly doubt it, if she does survive this trial however, I all but guarantee she'll end up the victim in the next trial, just knowing that they have a killer in their midst, is enough to stir up someone's paranoia to the point of committing murder (Trixie, Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara or MAYBE Rarity?).
Also while I agree that Angie should have been killed by someone else, if Angie had been killed by Tenko, and subsequently killed by Korekiyo, then Korekiyo would still have been the Blackened for that trial, but I suppose this scenario would have been far more ideal than Angie being an 'accidental victim' in the same way Hiyoko was in the 3rd trial of DR2
I say the other one is Flash!
I got nothing to prove it tho.
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We'll just have to see
and no. Only Angie's killer would be the blackened, remember
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Yes, but if Tenko (Or anyone else other than Korekiyo) had killed Angie, the seance would most likely still have happened, resulting in Tenko's death regardless, thus Korekiyo still would have ended up as the Blackened. Just like in Trigger Happy Havoc; Hifumi killed Ishimaru, and then Celeste killed Hifumi, thus she became the one and only Blackened.
I think Rainbow survives, but I also think that she might be needed to testify about the magic draining, so that might just be me.
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Actually, no.
Remember, the rules set up for the V3 case was that only Angie's murderer would be the blackened. Tenko's murderer would get off scott free from Monokuma.
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While I see where you're coming from, however if Tenko ends up murdered via Korekiyo's Seasaw Trick, then Tenko would no longer be viable for the 'First come, First serve' rule, because she's dead, the first Blackened has to be alive in order for rule to be viable, otherwise it just goes right up the chain to whoever is currently the only living Blackened at that time, just like it did for Trial 3 of Trigger Happy Havoc. The 'First come, First serve' rule was only in case there were two different culprits for two different victims, it wasn't a rule for that specific case, Monokuma only mentioned the 'First come, First serve' rule because it was a genuine possibility that there were two different culprits, had anyone bothered to ask Monokuma prior to V3, he would have surely provided this 'First come, First serve' explanation / rule. I'm surprised that no one ever bothered to consider the possibility of there being two different Blackened prior to V3.
Plus there's no rule forbidding another murder from occurring during an Investigation, Monokuma would surely welcome such a thing.
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While that is a possibility, the fact that it was never actually brought up before V3 means that it might not have been a thing until then (and I mean in universe. Out of universe it probably wasn't thought of until then).
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You could very well be right, aside from Trial 3 of Trigger Happy Havoc, there has never been a case of two culprits committing two different murders, or even just a suggestion of such a possibility, in DR2 it was pretty obvious there was only one killer, however they could have toyed with the idea of there being two culprits, but they never did until V3, and it was a complete missed opportunity, it would have been far more interesting if Korekiyo had gotten off scott-free.
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I also thought it was a missed opportunity. I believe the rule was created for that case to provide more tension and doubt for the player over who was the culprit, despite the intent being that the culprit was obvious and thus, the point was the journey on how they figured it out, and not so much the who it was.
I have seen many Fangans feature two blackeneds for precisely this reason, so mine is not the first to do this. I do believe the way I chose to handle it is a bit more unique, however, because usually said Fangans take the First Come First Served rule and use that, whereas I... have to stop right here lest I spoil.
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...now I'm MORE worried than I was before.
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What for? There's nothing to be worried about. Honest.
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It's a Lie!
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Nee-hee-hee!
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By the way, I meant to say this in my first reply to you, but the reason I haven't had Sunset lie that much is because lying is dangerous when it comes to a situation like this one. Lies were huge in V3 because they were central to the theme of the game. They were a big part of what made the game what it was. They're not central here. Thus I only ever want to use them when it's appropriate, and it's almost never appropriate for Sunset to lie, because it's so risky. As she's demonstrated, she's capable of being wrong. If she lies, and in doing so screws up the chance to prove someone guilty? That's it, game over. Her credibility is shot, and she doesn't get infinite retries.
Also, there's the fact that Sunset's not the greatest of liars to begin with. She's decent but she's fallen out of practice since she stopped being a jerk, and she's reluctant to lie in general because it reminds her of the Bad Old Days. In other words, Sunset sees honesty as a virtue and is extolling it. Being deceptive is only going to make her look worse. Especially so long as Applejack is around to sniff it out.
This probably won't happen, but I think it'd be interesting if, after the story is done, there's a Cruise Mode story like how the games have School Mode, Island Mode, and Dangan Salmon/Space Mode
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Kokichi Oma, right? Oh boy, this guy quickly became one of my favorite villain/antihero characters in the game. I think if someone like that existed in the group of Canterlot High School students then I think that they would have created a lot of chaos on the cruiser. I mean, wouldn't it?
I am thinking that if Sunset never got to meet someone like Oma she never would have thought that lying and manipulation could be useful tactic to use during the trials. The secondary function of 'Oma' is that they take the majority of the blame to themselves.
(I do agree that Sunny is always walking on the edge of the blade, sort of speaking.)
We should all forgive Twilight. After all, she's spent a lot of time alone with the traitor, having him say who-knows-what to her behind closed doors.
You really know how to keep the tension going up in these trials, the pacing is so good and it is so satisfying to see the mysteries unravel.
I do think it's very farfetched that Twilight would put someone's life in danger just to teach Pinkie Pie a lesson. Even with the development, she has gone through in your story, she doesn't strike me as someone who would risk the life of anyone (Except Sunset lol) to prove a point, even if it was because she was afraid Pinkie would get someone killed. The way safer solution was for Twilight to set Pinkie to 'surprise' her with the stolen present instead of Fluttershy, that way Twilight is sure she will tell Pinkie that what she's doing would endanger her for breaking the rules. But maybe I'm missing something, these are so engaging and I read them so fast that I'm probably missing details lol.
Regardless, having a character die (Fluttershy) for what amounts to bad luck (Fluttershy apparently being dumb/naive/absent-minded enough to not notice Pinkie was planting the present onto her) was not something satisfying to read. Especially because Fluttershy had little to no character growth. Though it was good you gave her a little in this chapter.
But I mean, though I think Fluttershy's death and the motivations of her killer have not been good, the rest of your story has maintained a great level of engagement, I always want to know what happens next . I'm still impressed by how good your prose is, for prose that's not attempting to be literary I mean. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this!
PS. I have a big feeling Trixie's 'she woke up earlier to take a shower' is gonna be this chapter's Sweetie Belle's manga sword lol. I hope I'm proven wrong, because Trixie has been the best written character in this story so far.
too soon, Sunset!
i told you, fictional characters i'm yelling at through the computer screen! i warned you, dog!
sounds like how the person who wrote the note would react!
so true
ahaha, love that Rainbow Dash is using my own excuse for her as a defense
yeah can you imagine a grown woman enjoying something meant for children? what a weirdo!
really? because when i write with my left hand it looks like a scrawly garbage mess and definitely not like my normal handwriting but slanted the other way
silly Twilight, Rainbow's just a classy lady, and not some common Amareican fork-switcher!
aww, AppleDash friendship!
truly i am Rainbow Dash. and also, this kind of test never makes sense! it only makes sense if proof that they are able to do something proves their innocence, not their guilt!
aww, why isn't nerdlight making my objection :(
well that brings back my earlier theory of the gift and surprise mechanic being a way for Twilight to test the rules of the game, but i dismissed that because it didn't make sense for her to endanger herself in such a scheme, but ugh, after dismissing Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash, it being Twilight is the only thing that makes sense now...
agh, i love her so much, which means that you will definitely kill her horribly in this story i am sure of it
i mean, an absurdly sadistic and unfair murder game? isn't it obvious?
aww, i too wish to hug Rainbow Dash
hehe, Twilight is the animé protagonist now!
ooh, it would be a fun bit of irony if it's Sunset being the viewpoint character that biases the reader into giving Diamond Tiara's reform too much credit
oof
oof, now this was a really good RariJack fight! i could see where each one of them is coming from, and it's all rooted in the very same complementary differences that make them such a wonderful ship in the first place, which makes their hurt hurt all the more
augh, but at this point everyone knows each other well enough that any murderer would have to be a very good actor!
dang, Trixie really does make for a great animé character with her over-the-top expression
augh yeah this brings to mind the very reason why i considered but dismissed Twilight! the plan seemed much too likely to go wrong for her to go through with it
and yeah i noticed Twilight changing recently, too! agh, if i had put together her conversations with Pinkie, she would have been my number one suspect, with Flash covering up for her
agh, and this stood out at me, too! i really should have considered that Twilight, Diamond Tiara, and Rainbow Dash were the only ones acting strange in this chapter, and that Rainbow Dash can be eliminated as she would have no reason to risk Fluttershy, while Diamond Tiara has no connection to anyone, so she would have to do everything herself, which doesn't seem possible, leaving Twilight as the only one that makes sense. blargh
augh Twilight why did you have to do such a dumb plan! you messed me up!
and of course my guess for who killed Pinkie if Twilight killed Fluttershy was Flash, but then what would his motivation be in all this if it's not to cover up for Twilight?
and Rainbow no longer has a motivation to confess (which is now allowed) with Fluttershy gone, and we went over Applejack and Rarity. i would actually guess Adagio if it weren't for her being so important for the main character of Sunset, with her reluctance to give in to being friends with non-Sunsets being also driven by having condemned them to death by her plan!
and at this point the idea of it being Applejack covering up for Rarity really makes the most sense, but it would be strange narratively to go down the exact same path that was developed and rejected earlier in the story. and of course, i don't have a single idea how to explain the details like the chemical burns being relevant.
okay, so i'll do a YOLO guess. it was Scootaloo who did the murder, since the only reason anypony thinks it's one of the strong characters is because of the bloodstain on the weight, which could have been planted. and it turns out Scootaloo is the one who was married to Sweetie Belle in the picture. but if not this, then i guess my old guess of Rainbow Dash.