Chapter Four: Passing in the Night Part 6
Chapter Four:
Passing in the Night
Deadly Life Part 2
“Flash Sentry?” Adagio gaped. “What the hell?”
Before I could say a word, the door to the promenade was kicked open again, by Rarity, who carried a blushing Trixie in her arms bridal style. “Who was it?!” she shouted frantically as she brought Trixie over and set her down carefully so the illusionist could steady herself on her crutches. “Who--oh my word!”
“What happened, Applejack, Tiara?” I asked, looking at the two of them, feeling more frazzled than I had since the investigation first started. “I thought he was searching with you guys!”
“He was!” Tiara replied, throwing up her hands. She pointed at Applejack. “Ask her! She’s the one who tried to do CPR!”
“Tried? More like failed,” Applejack admitted with a sullen frown. “Ah did mah best, but he wouldn’t wake up.”
“I don’t understand,” Scootaloo stammered, grabbing at her hair with her right hand. “Who the hell had a chance to do this? And why?! Do we have two blackeneds on our hands again?”
“You just might!” echoed Monoponi’s voice throughout the rink as he flashed into existence above us, still carting his mug of coffee as he settled to the floor. “Though I’m just as taken aback as the rest of you. I never would’ve thought we’d see a double murder twice in a row!”
“So he was murdered, then,” I said, glaring at him.
Monoponi glared right back at me, gesturing at me with his floating coffee. “Of course he was! Someone alive right here is responsible for his fate, just like every other instance! Don’t question me! Your Captain saw the whole thing happen. Was quite the show, lemme tell you, upupu.”
I looked back down at Flash, feeling an overwhelming wave of sorrow pummel into me, dashing me against the proverbial rocks of despair. “So the two blackened rule applies again. We have to find them both,” I said mutely, in a monotone.
“If there’s two, then yes, you will,” Monoponi agreed. His mouth spread in a savage toothy grin. “Ahahaha, it’s never a boring day on Captain Monoponi’s ship, is it?”
“Excuse me,” Adagio simpered, looking down at Monoponi with a fake smile plastered on her face. “But I was wondering about something. What if there’s two blackened and we fail to find either one of them? Do they both get to leave?”
“Hmm, that’s a good question,” Monoponi said, taking a few sips of his coffee while tapping one forehoof on the floor. “Tell you what: if that actually somehow happens, which I doubt, then yes, they’ll both get to leave. Never say your Captain isn’t generous! But that’s only if you all vote wrong for both of them. If you catch one, they still die with the rest of you.”
I fell down onto the nearby bench with a solid thump on my ass, my face falling into my hands. “This needs to stop,” I said, feeling the beginnings of tears falling down my cheeks. “We need to stop killing each other, damn it. What’d Flash even do to anyone to deserve this? Nothing! God!” I took my hands away from my face and balled them into fists, slamming them both down on the bench. “This isn’t fair.”
“Life’s not fair, Sunset,” Monoponi interjected, leering at me. “I thought you of all people would know that by now, ahahaha!”
“Shut up!” I railed at him, whirling with a fist readied to slam into his face. “Shut the fuck up! I am so tired of this shit! I am sick to death of hearing you make fun of us while leading us into murdering each other!”
Monoponi leaned in closer, his grin spreading to split his muzzle in half from ear to ear. “Well, if you’re so tired, Sunset, I’ll be happy to let you rest, for eternity! You just have to hit me. Do it. Do it and you won’t have to deal with any of this ever again.”
I howled, rearing back with my fist and sending it hurtling forth, right at his jaw. At the very last second, Adagio grabbed my arm and yanked me away from him, a terrified expression haunting her face. “Stop it you idiot!” she shouted at me. “Do you want to die that badly?!”
I struggled in Adagio’s grip for a moment before relaxing, leaning against her. “No,” I moaned, letting my arms drop to my sides. “No, I don’t.”
“Upupupu!” Monoponi leaned back onto his rear hooves, slapping his belly with his forehooves as his wings kept him aloft. “Ahahahaha! Oh Sunset, you’re so easy to tease. That temper will get you killed one day, mon cherie, mark my words.”
A dark hatred coursed through my veins as I sneered at him. “No. You’ll die long before I will,” I vowed. “I’ll make it happen.”
“You’re welcome to try!” Monoponi said, waving a forehoof at me. “In any case, you people have a lot more investigating to do, so I’ll let you get on with it. Take this Monoponi file, and have fun!” His horn lit up long enough to send our Monopads bleeping before he disappeared in a brilliant flash of crimson light.
The instant he was gone, I sat forward, filled with fresh determination. “I don’t know who’s responsible for Flash’s death yet,” I declared loud enough everyone could easily hear me, “But I will find you. You won’t escape. I promise you that.”
“I’m certain you will, Sunset,” Rarity said, nodding at me with a determined smile. “I believe in you. Though perhaps you should rein in your temper a bit.”
“She’s just tired, like the rest of us,” Scootaloo said, waving it off. “Probably needs more coffee. I’ll go get us some more.”
“Ah’ll go with you,” Applejack said.
“Go ahead,” Tiara said, sighing as she rubbed her forehead with her index finger and thumb. “I’m getting a splitting headache dealing with this crap. Sunset, you finished investigating Rainbow’s body, right? There’s no reason to guard it anymore?”
I swallowed, but nodded. “More or less, yeah.”
“Good, then Trixie and Rarity can guard Flash’s.” She glared at all of us. “There’d better not be a third murder during the rest of this! We’re going to be up all night with the trial as it is.”
“Oh, there won’t be,” I assured her. “Not if I can help it.”
Adagio gave me a quick half hug with one arm, and kissed my cheek. “Just don’t do anything else stupid.”
I pulled out my Monopad to check the new file first, as usual.
Fact #14: Monoponi File IVb: “The victim is Flash Sentry, the Ultimate Boytoy. Time of death is approximately 10:45 PM. Signs of amphetamines and opioids were discovered in his system.”
“Wow, thanks for nothing, Monoponi,” I muttered, glaring at my Monopad in irritation before setting it aside. I checked my pockets and pulled out a fresh pair of gloves, glad I’d thought to keep a stock on hand at all times.
Adagio and I took a moment to move the body out from between the benches where he’d fallen, and up onto one, giving us plenty of space to work with. “We’re going to have to check him top to bottom,” I said, taking a moment to slip the arctic coat he was still wearing off his arms so we had better access. Then I started with his face, peeling open his eyes, noting they were bloodshot, the pupils strongly dilated, frozen in sudden surprise. I then moved down to his face, and noticed his lips were pale, just like Rainbow Dash’s. Hmm… might’ve been from the drugs, if he was poisoned.
I ran my hand down his neck and paused, feeling around it. “Hey, his lymph nodes are swollen.” Then I snapped my fingers. “I knew he was sick! Damn it, Flash, why didn’t you admit it? Adagio, help me open his mouth. Rainbow, can you…” I trailed off, flushing in embarrassment and a bit of shame as several people all glared at me. “Err, does anyone have a penlight?”
Rarity, shaking her head at me and sighing, rummaged into her skirt pocket. “Here, darling.”
“Thanks,” I said as I took it, and used it to peer inside his throat. “Well, hello there, white spots.”
Fact #15: Flash Sentry Body Condition: “The body was found in the ice skating rink, behind one of the bleachers. His entire body was ghostly pale. His throat is spotted with white, and lymph nodes in his neck were swollen.”
“Doesn’t that usually mean strep throat?” Adagio asked as I peered all around inside his mouth for anything else out of place.
“Usually, but not always,” I replied before setting the penlight aside, confident nothing else stood out. “We’ll want to check the library again.”
Returning to my examination, I ran my hands slowly down his arms and hands, though I found nothing out of place. Then I switched to his torso, and on a hunch I pulled up his shirt, so I could examine his bare chest and stomach. Good thing too, because I instantly spotted the swelling in his stomach, standing out against his otherwise well sculpted muscles. I pressed my hands onto and around it, feeling it give to my touch, then bounce back when I stopped. “Weird. What caused this?”
“Don’t know,” Adagio muttered dryly, giving me a quizzical look. “Are you going to take his pants off too?”
“Actually, that’s a good idea,” I said, ignoring her exaggerated eye roll. “He might have other symptoms or signs we can’t see without doing it. You’ll have to help me.”
“Sure, sure, that’s why we’re doing this,” Adagio grumbled as she assisted me in stripping off his pants, one leg at a time. “It’s totally not because you want to stare at his dick.”
“He’s dead, Adagio,” I shot back. “I’m not a necrophiliac, god.”
Rarity gasped when she realized what we were doing. “What are you doing? Is that truly necessary?”
“Yes, Rarity,” I insisted as I ran my hands up and down his legs, searching for any other swelling. Nothing appeared immediately out of place, so I lifted his leg to look at the back. And then I spotted it: a peculiar rash on the back of his thighs, a mottling of red and white spots. “See? We never would’ve seen that otherwise.”
*Updated* Fact #15: Flash Sentry Body Condition: “The body was found in the ice skating rink, behind one of the bleachers. His entire body was ghostly pale. His throat is spotted with white, and lymph nodes in his neck were swollen. His stomach was also swollen, and there was a peculiar mottled rash on the back of his thighs.”
“Yes, well, at least give the man some dignity in his death, if you’re finished.”
“I think we are now,” I said, taking his pants and the arctic coat and throwing them over him. Sorry, Flash. I wouldn’t have done that if I hadn’t had to, I promise.
Since Applejack and Scootaloo had left for more coffee, I decided Diamond Tiara would be the next best person to talk to, so I told her I had some questions and took her aside. “Tiara, you were here when Flash died, right?”
Tiara waggled her eyebrows once and then nodded, crossing her arms. “Yeah, I was poking around the equipment rental shop. I had just pulled up the receipts when I heard Flash shout something all weird, like he was gargling mouthwash or something. Then I heard him fall, and Applejack shout his name. I turned around, but that’s when I saw something… weird.”
“Weird? What do you mean?” I pressed.
Tiara frowned, and shifted her weight to her other leg before moving in closer, whispering, “I saw Applejack deliberately wait to throw something in the trash bin before she went over to him.”
Okay, that’s pretty weird for AJ. Usually she’s quick to help. “What was it? Did you see?”
“Nuh-uh. I didn’t have time. I ran over to try and help him, but Applejack was already doing CPR, so I sat back and watched. Then she… gave up. Scootaloo came out to us from the door to the access corridor, and then the body alarm went off.” Tiara’s frown deepened. “I’d check that trash bin if I were you.”
“I will,” I said, nodding. “One more question: what were you doing between the hockey game and Rainbow’s death?”
She shrugged and stepped back. “I was in the library, reading. I had to go to the bathroom once.” She looked up at the ceiling and scratched her chin. “Now that I think about it, I saw Applejack then too, on my way out of the bathroom. She was leaving the convenience store.”
“Okay,” I said, before stopping and blinking in confusion. “Wait, Applejack? Not Scootaloo?”
Tiara shook her head. “No, I didn’t see Scootaloo at all. But I did see Applejack go into the game corner on my way back to the library.”
Fact #16: Diamond Tiara’s Account: “Prior to the murder, Tiara spent her time after the hockey game in the library, leaving only briefly to use the promenade bathroom, spotting Applejack leaving the convenience store on her way out. Later, during the investigation, she saw Applejack put something in the trash bin right after Flash Sentry passed out before going to help him.”
“That’s odd, but alright, thanks,” I said. “Do you have that receipt printout on you?”
“Yeah, right here,” she said, handing it over. “You might want to check the go-kart track’s register too, just in case.”
Fact #17: Shop Receipts: “The following purchases were recorded:
RB@IR Fri1922: Ice skates, knee pads, helmet, arctic coat, arctic pants.
FS@IR Fri2342: Arctic coat.
AJ@IR Sat1641: Ice skates, helmet, knee pads.
FS@IR Sat1643: Ice skates.
RD@IR Sat1644: Ice skates, arctic coat, hockey stick x 6, puck, hockey mask x 6.
SS@IR Sat1647: Ice skates.
AD@IR Sat1648: Ice skates.
SL@IR Sat 1651: Ice skates
DT@IR Sat1654: Ice skates, helmet, knee pads, shoulder pads.”
“I will,” I said, nodding to her. I took a brief look at the list she’d given me, but nothing stuck out as too odd, other than Rarity buying skates and safety equipment last night, and Flash grabbing his coat at almost midnight, of all times. Weird, but it’s not like I can ask him about it now. But I can ask her. After I check the bin.
Adagio and I walked over to the bin in question. It was a large standing type, reaching up to my chest. “Want me to dump it?” she asked, grimacing at the bin.
“No, we might lose something that way,” I said. “Just watch while I go in.” I leaned over it, and using the penlight Rarity gave me, began poking through. Fortunately the bin had a plastic bag in it, making it easier to spot contents inside. Unfortunately that same bag made it more difficult to poke around past a few things, and the light didn’t always reach properly. There were a few wrappers, which I ignored, and a couple of cups, which I also ignored. Then my hand touched something soft and wet, and I pulled said something out. “Bingo.”
Fact #18: Bloodied Cloth: “A cloth discovered in the trash bin next to the ice rink equipment rental shop. The cloth was half soaked in the blood, the rest damp with water.”
“I’ll bet you ten bucks this is what the culprit used to clean Rainbow’s Monopad,” I whispered.
“Probably,” Adagio agreed, taking the cloth from me and wrapping it in a plastic bag. “So you’re done with the bin, right?”
“No, I feel like there’s more in there,” I muttered. “Dunno why. Just a hunch.” I stuck my arm back inside and looked around some more till I spotted a flash of orange. I had to dig deep to find it, but when I pulled it out, I felt my heart sink. “This is a…”
“A pill bottle,” Adagio finished for me, just as morosely. “And it’s empty, too.”
Fact #19: Empty Pill Bottle: “An empty bottle found in the ice skating rink, in the trash bin next to the equipment rental shop. There was no label on the bottle, and the cap was missing.”
“This might be the murder weapon for Flash,” I muttered. I carefully placed that into my backpack. “Okay. The cap wasn’t on the bottle, so maybe it’s still in the bin.”
“Do we need it for anything?” Adagio asked as I dove back in.
“It might have the label on it, or I might find the label in here,” I said. It took me several minutes longer to poke around, but I didn’t find the label or the cap. But just as I was about to give up, my hands closed around something small and oblong, like a stretched out oval. “What the… a lighter?”
Fact #20: Used Lighter: “A cigarette lighter discovered in the trash bin next to the ice rink equipment rental shop, spattered with blood. It was drained of fuel. Scribbled on the bottom of the lighter, in sharpie, were the letters ‘RD.’”
“This must’ve been Rainbow’s,” I said as I pointed out the letters to Adagio. “I didn’t think she smoked, though.”
“Rainbow Dash used to smoke weed with Fluttershy when Shy was alive,” Scootaloo said, startling us. She cringed sympathetically. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. Guess you found something, huh?”
“Just a lighter,” I said, deciding not to elaborate for now. “But she and Fluttershy smoked weed? Really?”
“Yeah!” Scootaloo answered, one side of her mouth turning up. “Apparently Fluttershy has some friend named Tree Hugger that turned her onto it, so Rainbow did it with her to help Fluttershy relax. I’m surprised you found her lighter here though.”
“It’s probably nothing,” I said, jamming the lighter in my pocket. I spotted the coffees in the drink carrier in her hand and grabbed for one. “Thanks for the coffee. Say, Scootaloo, since you’re here, mind if I ask you a question or two?”
“If you’re gonna ask if I found anything in the access corridor,” Scootaloo said with a frustrated grimace as she handed Adagio the other coffee, “I didn’t. There was nothing there. I searched the whole place, from the go-kart track to the stairwell and back to the ice rink.”
“Good to know, but I actually wanted to ask what you were up to between the game and the murder,” I said, taking a good long sip of my coffee.
Scootaloo glanced over at Applejack, who was handing out coffee to Tiara. “After I helped Applejack clean up, I took her to the game corner to help her calm down with some games. She left for snacks at some point. Then she came back, and we played games till Flash came looking for us. That’s it.”
Fact #21: Scootaloo’s Account: “According to Scootaloo, she and Applejack left the ice rink after the hockey game, and spent some time in the game corner. She claims that Applejack left to get them some snacks, while she stayed in the game corner, then both played games until Flash came for help with Rainbow Dash.”
I frowned at her. “You sure you didn’t leave at any point?”
“No, I didn’t,” Scootaloo insisted, her frown deepening. “Ask Applejack. She’ll tell you.” With that, Scootaloo walked off towards the other side of the rink, presumably looking for clues.
“She’s lying,” Adagio said the instant she was gone. “I know I saw her.”
“I believe you,” I replied, watching Scootaloo’s departing back. I pressed my knuckles to my chin in confusion. “But why would she lie?”
“I said, back off, Applejack!” Rarity shouted, catching our attention.
I turned to see Applejack, still holding her own coffee, backing away from Rarity while holding up her empty hand in surrender. “Ah just wanted to apologize, that’s all!”
“And I don’t want to hear it!” Rarity said, gripping her coffee hard enough to pop the lid off. She thankfully stopped before she spilled coffee all over herself. “I appreciate the coffee, but I already told you several times: we are through. Leave me alone!”
“Applejack!” I said, deciding to intervene. I strode over and wrapped one arm firmly around hers. “Good timing, I just wanted to ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind.” I tugged her away from Rarity, hard enough to get her moving.
“Sunset?” Applejack muttered as she let me lead her away for a good couple of minutes till we were at the other side of the rink. “Ah don’t know if Ah should thank you for savin’ me from that or smack you for gettin’ in my way.”
“You should thank me,” I replied, scowling at her. “Rarity doesn’t want to speak to you anymore, so leave her alone, okay?”
The farmer wiggled her way out of my grip and glared right back at me. “Or else what?”
Adagio took a single step towards her, causing Applejack to swallow nervously. “Or else we’ll have unfinished business,” Adagio said, flashing her a toothy grin.
“R-r-right, don’t want that!” Applejack replied with a nervous laugh.
“Anyway, while we’re here,” I said, “I’ve got a couple of questions. First, I wanted to know what you were doing between the hockey game and the first murder.”
“Uh, well, Scootaloo and Ah decided to go to the game corner, so Ah could cool off a bit.” Applejack scratched her head under her hat. “Scootaloo left to get us somethin’ to munch on, but Ah stayed in the game corner. We kept at it till Flash showed up.”
“So Scootaloo left, but not you?” Adagio pressed firmly.
Applejack pursed her lips into a pout and shook her head. “No, Ah’m sure it was Scootaloo. Why?”
“No reason,” I said before Adagio could answer. “Next question: Diamond Tiara said you tried to give Flash CPR?”
Applejack’s face fell in shame. “Ah tried. Soon as he fell over, Ah was on him. Ah did my best, giving him so many chest compressions Ah think Ah might’ve broken his breastbone. But he weren’t breathin’ at all, no matter what Ah did. He was already gone.”
Fact #22: Applejack’s Account: “According to Applejack, she and Scootaloo spent the evening in the game corner. She claims Scootaloo left at one point to get them some snacks from the convenience store, while she stayed. Later, she attempted to resuscitate Flash the instant he fell, but failed, despite giving him so many chest compressions his sternum broke.”
*Updated* Fact #15: Flash Sentry Body Condition: “The body was found in the ice skating rink, behind one of the bleachers. His entire body was ghostly pale. His throat is spotted with white, and lymph nodes in his neck were swollen. His stomach was also swollen, and there was a peculiar mottled rash on the back of his thighs. His sternum was broken by Applejack during an attempt at resuscitation.”
“I’m sure you did your best,” I said, smiling sympathetically. “And I’m sure Flash would’ve appreciated it.”
“Ah just don’t understand how he died,” Applejack said, bowing her head. One hand shot up to rub at her chin. “Like, he weren’t doin’ nothin’, and it weren’t like I saw someone shoot him or somethin’. He just turned up his toes and started pushin' up daisies.”
I patted her on the arm. “We’ll figure it out in the trial. If you’ll excuse us.” I nudged my head towards the rest of the group, and left with Adagio in tow.
“Why didn’t you ask her about the trash?” Adagio whispered in my ear.
I arched an eyebrow at her, surprised she’d even ask. “If I ask her now, I’ll put her on guard. Better leave that sort of thing for the trial. Besides, her story contradicts Tiara’s in two ways, not just one.”
“I noticed,” Adagio said, frowning. “Which one’s lying, do you think?”
“Dunno. Like I said, we’ll find out at the trial.”
I walked over to where Rarity and Trixie were keeping watch. Trixie had taken a seat on the bench, setting aside her crutches and stretching out her one leg along it, while Rarity kept standing, the two occasionally exchanging a few amiable words. “Hey, Rarity, you okay?”
Smiling, Rarity reached out for my hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “Oh, yes Sunset, I’m fine. I appreciate your assistance.” Her smile fell as she dropped my hand. “That woman, honestly. Never listens.”
“Well, I think I’ve managed to get her to back off, at least for now. Anyway, I’ve got a quick question for you,” I said, holding up the receipt I’d obtained from Tiara. “It looks like you bought some ice skates last night. Why was that?”
Rarity frowned at me. “I hope you’re not suspecting me of doing anything, darling. But I suppose I’d better clear the air. I decided I wanted to get in some light exercise, so I thought I’d practice my skating, in the hopes of sharing a romantic moment with Applejack.” The name came out with such a sour taste soaking it even I could taste how foul it was. “That never happened, of course.”
“Okay, just thought I’d ask.” I consulted my Monopad, then turned to Trixie. “Trixie, I know you were in your room with Rarity and me, but I wanted to ask if you saw or heard anything before we arrived, or after the first murder, that might be important.”
Trixie’s lips puffed up into a sorrowful frown. “No, Sunset, Trixie never saw or heard anything that you didn’t. Trixie apologizes.”
I smiled at her. “Don’t worry about it, Trixie. Okay, Adagio, we’d better go hit the library again. I’ve got a few things I want to look up.” I started to walk away, then stopped, and hummed to myself, rubbing at my cheek. “Actually, we should go check the go-kart register first.”
Adagio shrugged. “Whichever you’d prefer,” she said as we walked away.
As soon as we’d left the ice rink behind, I said, “We’re also going to check the pharmacy register and the convenience store one too. I want to figure out what kind of pills those might’ve been. The Monoponi file mentioned both amphetamines and opioids, which could mean Flash was poisoned.”
“You think that’s likely?”
“We’ll find out.”
We stopped by the go-kart register, but all it listed was safety equipment purchases, so I nixed it. What a waste of time. Why’d Tiara tell me to go here? I wondered as we headed for the other two shops. Unfortunately, I’d forgotten it was past 10:00 PM, so the convenience store was closed, preventing us from checking it. The pharmacy was still open however, so we at least got to add some info to our list.
*Updated* Fact #17: Shop Receipts: “The following purchases were recorded:
RB@IR Fri1922: Ice skates, knee pads, helmet, arctic coat, arctic pants.
FS@IR Fri2342: Arctic coat.
AJ@IR Sat1641: Ice skates, helmet, knee pads.
FS@IR Sat1643: Ice skates.
RD@IR Sat1644: Ice skates, arctic coat, hockey stick x 6, puck, hockey mask x 6.
SS@IR Sat1647: Ice skates.
AD@IR Sat1648: Ice skates.
SL@IR Sat 1651: Ice skates.
DT@IR Sat1654: Ice skates, helmet, knee pads, shoulder pads.
FS@RX Fri0821: Cough syrup, ibuprofen , antibiotics.
RD@RX Fri1935: Tramadol, pads, methylphenidate.
AJ@RX Sat1405: Methylphenidate, tramadol, dental dams, medical tape rolls x 4.”
A lot of information, but I’m not sure how much of it is useful. Better keep it anyway, just in case. I’m not sure I recognize what those medicines Rainbow and AJ bought are. I pointed them out to Adagio. “That’s what we’ll want to look up, along with diseases and injuries.”
“I think tramadol is a pain reliever,” Adagio said as we walked back towards the library. Her face flushed with pink as she looked away from me, running a hand through her hair. “One of my sisters sold drugs on the street a few times. This was one of the ones she sold. As soon as I found out I told her to stop.” She faced me again, her whole face beet red. “I didn’t want to be a common criminal.”
“Sounds like the potential for good in you was present even then,” I said with a giggle, laughing harder when she glared at me. “Oh come on, you know it’s true.”
“Maybe,” she sniffed, fluffing at her hair with one hand.
As soon as we reached the library, I went straight for the same section we found the anatomy textbook in. “I’m going to check diseases first,” I said as I selected an appropriate textbook. I took it over to a table and sat down with it, running through quickly for any disease with white spots on the throat, making sure to collate their whole list of symptoms, and dismissing any that seemed too unlikely.
Fact #23: Disease Handbook 2020 Edition: “A nursing textbook from the library, containing information on all sorts of diseases. It states, amongst other things, symptoms for the following diseases:
Strep Throat: Fever, headache, sore throat with white spots, swollen lymph nodes in neck, swollen and inflamed tonsils, red spots on the roof of the mouth, and scarlet fever rash.
Mononucleosis: Fatigue, headache, sore throat with white spots, fever, swollen lymph nodes in neck and armpits, swollen tonsils, skin rash, soft swollen spleen.
Tonsillitis: Red tonsils, sore throat with white spots, sore lymph nodes in neck, vocal change, fever, trouble swallowing, halitosis, stiff neck
Oral Thrush: Sore throat with white spots, burning or aching tongue, bleeding in the throat, cotton mouth.”
“Looks like these four are the most likely,” I said once my list was done. “What’ve you got?”
Adagio showed me the book she’d found. “I looked up the drugs.”
Fact #24: Drug Handbook 2020 Edition: “A nursing textbook from the library, containing information on all sorts of drugs. It states, amongst other things, that methylphenidate is used to treat conditions such as ADD, ADHD, and cases of fatigue such as narcolepsy, and that tramadol is usually prescribed for severe pain. When combined, the two can cause severe seizures and even death.”
“Seizures and death, huh? Looks like we might be onto something, then,” I said. Looking back at my Monopad, I checked the list of purchases from the pharmacy. “I’m not sure why both Rainbow Dash and Applejack bought these though.”
“Don’t waste time speculating,” Adagio said with a knowing grin.
“Haha,” I said dryly, giving her a flat look. “There’s one more book I want to check. I want to see if there’s any other potential causes for Flash’s condition we’re overlooking.”
It didn’t take long for me to find a relevant book and put together the following information.
Fact #25: Injuries and Maladies 2020 Edition: “A nursing textbook from the library, containing a large repository of information regarding various bodily conditions. Amongst other things it lists the following causes for pale skin: fainting, frostbite, certain medications, vitamin deficiencies, exsanguination, and internal bleeding.”
“Hmmm.” I considered what that told me, and tried to put it together with some of the other information we’d found. Maybe if I could figure out what actually killed him before we got to the trial, I’d save us some--
DING-DONG-BING-BONG
Too late.
Monoponi’s irritating face appeared on the screens, an empty cup of coffee floating in his magic. As he spoke, he set it down on his desk. “Ah, another day, another pair of murders. So many murders take place on this ship, you’d think none of you want to be here! Upupupu! But whether you want it or not, your Captain doesn’t care. It’s that time, my lovely passengers. Get your rumps movin’ down to the food court, pronto!”
“Well, here we go,” Adagio said grimly, standing up to join me in leaving the library. “Another frustrating trial.”
“It’s late, too,” I murmured. “Everyone’s going to be cranky. Tired. We’ll make mistakes. Stupid ones. Even with the coffee.” I should’ve gotten something to eat too. Too late now.
“Coffee’ll probably make it worse for some of us,” Adagio replied with a heavy sigh. “I don’t know if you noticed, but Applejack was twitching a lot after she drank hers.”
“No, I didn’t notice,” I replied.
We’d reached the food court first, due to being closer, but the others were swift behind. Rarity was once again carrying Trixie, an act that warmed my heart. I heard Trixie murmur a brief thank you to Rarity when she was set down.
“We’re all here, Monoponi,” Diamond Tiara called out after a minute or two passed. “Show yourself already. We’re sick of waiting.”
“Oooh, sick already?” Monoponi said, flashing into existence. “Upupu, too bad for you!” He stretched out his limbs and his mouth spread in a massive yawn, showing off every last jagged tooth in his jaws. “Your Captain took a lovely nap while you were all running around like headless chickens. Rest is very important, you know! You really should get more sleep. All that caffeine isn’t good for you! Stunts your growth, don’t you know.”
“That’s a myth,” I groaned, slapping a hand to my face. “And we’re adults. We’re as tall as we’re going to get.”
“Oh Sunset, don’t try to correct your Captain,” Monoponi chided, waving one forehoof dismissively. “Your Captain is always right, he is. He knew that no matter what you people think, no matter what you say or try to pretend, you will always, always give in to my motives. And look at what happened. Yet again, one or two of you decided your lives mattered more than others.”
“And we’ll find out who it is and stop them, just like we always have,” Tiara declared, setting a foot forward. She gestured towards me. “Sunset’s never let us down.”
Aaand now she’s being completely friendly again. What the heck is up with you lately, Tiara? You’re all over the place. Then again, if I’m right about you being the traitor, that’d make sense.
I wonder if I should bring that up during the trial. I thought about it for a moment, then shook my head. No. Unless I absolutely have to, I won’t. I might be wrong, and the last thing we need is more baseless accusations pulling us apart.
“Sunset’s never let you down, you say?” Monoponi replied mockingly, holding a hoof to his lips. “I wonder if Twilight Sparkle would agree with that. Ahahahaha!”
“That’s hardly fair,” Rarity objected, throwing out an arm protectively in my general direction. “We had no way of knowing you’d manipulate us into executing her!”
“And yet here you are, carrying around the one who actually killed someone with their hands like she was your blushing bride.” Monoponi tittered, jumping up and down on his hooves. “Oh, is she? As your Captain, I would be more than happy to perform a marriage ceremony! Of course, you’d have to annul your previous marriage first…”
Rarity’s lips curled up like she’d bit into an especially sour lemon, and her eyes twitched as she glared at the alicorn with as much hatred as she could muster. Then she relaxed, letting out the breath she was holding, and the tension faded from her face. “Monoponi, I do not care for you.”
“Eh, who does?” Monoponi shrugged. “Nopony ever said I had to be liked to be Captain! And speaking of being your Captain, it’s time we ventured forth onto the stormy seas of the trial once again. Will you once again succeed in tracking down the scallywags who’d dare sabotage our ocean voyage? Or will you fail, and force your Captain to execute you all? Personally, I’m really hoping for the latter! Upupupu!” He held a hoof to his throat and cleared. “Ahem. Va-va-valuse!”
With a flourish of his horn and a shower of red sparks, the oversized lock on the courtroom elevator disintegrated, allowing the gates to screech open, assaulting us with the rusty screech of old metal. Monoponi took a quick bow and vanished in a flash of light, leaving the elevator for us to enter.
“Hang on a minute guys,” Scootaloo said before anyone could board. All eyes turned to her. “Listen up. Rainbow Dash was my friend, okay? She mattered to me. She was important to me.” She bowed her head for a moment before raising it again, eyes full of confidence. “I know I haven’t been the most useful in these trials, but I’m going to do whatever I can to find her killer and bring her to justice. Both for her and for Flash Sentry.” She held up a finger. “I don’t know which one of you killed them, or why, and honestly? I don’t care. I won’t let you get away with it. I won’t!” A few tears came to her eyes as she dropped her arms to her sides, balling up her fists. “They were important, okay? They mattered. We all matter. Every single one of us matters. I don’t want any of you to die, anymore than I wanted them to. But if we have to choose between you, and all of us? I’m picking us.”
“Here here,” I said, nodding and applauding the younger woman. “Scootaloo’s right, everybody. I’m behind her all the way.”
“As am I, darling,” Rarity said, smiling at Scootaloo. “You’ve been nothing but kind to all of us, Scootaloo, no matter the circumstances. It’s good to hear you speak this way.”
“Thanks, you guys,” Scootaloo said, smiling past her tears. She sniffled, wiping away at one eye with her fist. “Come on, let’s get moving.”
As I followed her into the elevator, I considered the case once more.
Rainbow Dash and Flash Sentry. Two souls who, prior to their untimely deaths, had found an unusual bond in each other. Both had lost someone unfairly to Monoponi’s machinations. Both had a reason to hate the other, due to their lost loved ones involvement in their respective deaths, but they saw past all that. They got along. And someone killed them. Or someones.
Perhaps these crimes were unconnected, but somehow, I doubted it. I knew there was a connection, an important one, but what?
What compelled the culprit or culprits to target these two in particular? Was Flash killed because his illness left him vulnerable? Was Rainbow killed because her secret was never revealed and someone thought she was the traitor?
Whatever the reason, neither of these two deserved to die. No one should have killed them. Perhaps there’d been the occasional crack in our group, but we’d been getting along better than ever.
But there was no point in looking back, at what should have been or might have been. The only thing I could do is look forward. Look forward to solving this case, to figuring out the culprit, and saving our lives once again.
I will save our lives in this trial of life and death!
You should now, between the two parts of the investigation and prior narration, have all the clues you need.
Oh, and if you're wondering why I killed two people, again? Because no one expects the double double murder! 
Okay, there's actually many other reasons. But that'll have to wait.
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OK, here is a weird thought. What if this is some kind of experiment to create an unbreakable bond through shared trauma and tragedy. What if this is based on the mastermind's twisted idea of friendship?
Okay...
Flash was definitely being poisoned. The methylphenidate (Ritalin) and tramadol together cause a good deal of the symptoms he was experiencing, including the rash, swollen spleen, inflamed lymph nodes, trouble swallowing, dry mouth (that could lead to the white spots), fever, fatigue, random twitching... and eventually death (heh, and erectile dysfunction).
Rainbow bought these two medicines recently... though Flash has been sick for two-three-ish days, no? Maybe he also had mono somehow (Twilight's parting gift I guess) and Rainbow took advantage of that. But then Applejack bought them as well...
The lighter was used to destroy the burnt note... it appears to have been written in a way that suggests the skates were sharpened for Rainbow and she was told to be careful with them... which sounds like a way for someone to frame someone else. Also, why would Rainbow label her own lighter with her name?
Alright, I think I can make my guesses:
Pretty sure Rainbow was involved, but ultimately not a killer. She spent plenty of time with Flash; combined with the drugs she bought she could easily have been poisoning him. She also never revealed her secret - it must've been pretty bad, bad enough she wanted the get-out-of-jail-free card.
But it's also possible Flash was involved. He might've realized he was being poisoned and suspected Rainbow was doing it. He knew about Rainbow's ice skates in her backpack the whole time, and combined with only needing a minute at most to use the bathroom he had plenty of time to sharpen the skates and make a cut in her chin strap (especially if Rainbow just so happened to start her period). Then all he had to do was wait until Rainbow got the red kart with the sharp roll cage bar. The bloody and wet cloth got bloody when he tried to help her down.
70% sure the single remaining (living) culprit is Applejack. The motive is very appealing to her. She caught on to what Rainbow was doing and bought drugs as well to sneak into Flash's stuff (god, poor Flash). She lied about the bloody and wet cloth she threw away by omission - I think you need a cloth to wipe off whatever you're whetting. Her leaving for the convenience store might've included her taking a detour to sharpen and plant the skates, and cut the chin strap.
If this is what happened, then the kill order would be Applejack killed Rainbow, who tried to kill Flash and succeeded posthumously.
25% sure it's Rarity. I don't buy her story about skating by herself for a second, as she had no interest in doing anything with the others involving the ice rink. She probably used the opportunity to buy the size 6 skates.
5% sure it's Scootaloo, though I think she was more just an unintentional accomplice. She might've been sharpening the skates for Rainbow's murder in the convenience store and that's what Diamond saw. The note was left by her to tell Rainbow what she'd done and to be careful with them... which the culprit then burned to tie up loose ends. She now knows the skates were used to kill Rainbow and feels horrible. Considering the slot machine talent, it'd be suicidal for her to actually commit a murder.
it was supossed to be scootaloo not scootaoo
I really don't believe it, but maybe Scootaloo, killed Flash because she thought he killed Dash. Well, technically, he kind of did manslaughter her.
Double murder really complicates things. Like there is no reason to kill two people at the same time.
ok, for some reason i thought that was a third victim lol
gosh, why is everyone so smart, i can't think of any theories aaa
also, am i the only one who got strong ishimondo vibes from flash and dash ?...
Man still sad over what happened to poor Flash. A few accounts contradicting each other is nothing new, but it is surprising that Applejack is involved in it. Normally I would be more inclined to believe Applejack was the one who was telling the truth, but she has been pretty aggressive lately, so I am not entirely sure anymore.
I think my thoughts on who could be the culprit, my top choices are Applejack, Scootaloo, or Diamond Tiara in that order of most suspicious to least.
When the second body discovery happened in the last part, I initially thought that maybe Flash felt responsible for Rainbow's death and committed suicide via overdose out of shame. But, with the shop receipts revealed here, I'm starting to think Rainbow knew about Flash's illness and tried to help him, but AJ poisoned him and staged his death as an overdose before trying to "save" him. AJ may have also been the one who killed Rainbow, because she threw away the cloth most likely used to clean Rainbow's monopad. I think she found out Rainbow's secret and whatever it was drove her over the edge.
Of course, I can't ignore Scootaloo lying about who left the game corner in her account, but I'm unsure as to why she'd lie.
One thing I suspect for sure, however, is that Rainbow's secret, whatever it may be, is going to be a big factor in this case. And the evidence involving AJ and Scootaloo is making them look really suspicious right now.
Heh, of course there's a "Tree Hugger is a stoner" joke in this.
Alright, so Flash's death wasn't a suicide. He was definitely poisoned. Most likely by AJ or Dash
At this point, I think it's safe to say that Scootaloo did NOT kill Flash
Right now, I get this feeling that:
AJ and Dash worked together to poison Flash, but then AJ double crossed Dash and made sure she'd die in the rink, since Dash was the one to poison him, and AJ wanted to make sure she was the one who got the motive. Scootaloo is lying about her account because she wanted to posthumously protect Dash
That or, it was a mutual kill, though not one that either was actually expecting
AJ could also have been responsible for both deaths, but I get the feeling that wasn't the case
My reaction exactly
Nonononono!!!
That’s... suspicious.
Okay, so Scoots obviously lied about not leaving the arcade. I’m not sure what’s up with that but that makes her suspicious. I’m pretty sure she didn’t murder either victims because she would easily get caught with the whole slot machine. Why would she lie though?
Tiara keeps switching on and off. One minute I find her suspicious the other she seems innocent. I’m not too sure about her being the traitor though.
Applejack throwing something, presumably the cloth, away is suspicious. The fact that Tiara said she waited until she tossed whatever she had in her hand away before helping Flash is odd.
Who could’ve poisoned Flash? And who killed Rainbow? Both were very vulnerable and were easy targets. I’m not sure who it could be.
I might be looking WAY too into this, but I'm VERY suspicious of the coffee, it got mentioned quite a lot, and if we assume that Flash Sentry was indeed poisoned, it's possible he drank poisoned coffee, (I can't remember who made or served the coffee, I tend to forget details like this in-between chapters, so forgive me if I'm completely wrong)think of it as being similar to Trial 4 of the first game where Asahina lied about poisoning Sakura, however this time the Culprit was intentionally trying to kill someone with a 'poisoned' beverage.
However it would be pretty difficult to mix whatever was used to poison Flash and NOT affect everyone else, after all presumably EVERYONE (Except maybe Trixie) drank the coffee, unless whatever poisoned him only affected him because of his illness, thus mixing in whatever was used to kill Flash WOULDN'T affect anyone else.
Plus the part that mentioned Applejack twitching, could she have been having a seizure? Based on a quick google search, a seizure can last anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes, however my older brother had seizures that sometimes lasted anywhere from 5 - 20 seconds, and if the coffee was mixed with the medication used to treat Flash's sickness, there's a possibility... a slim possibility that she suffered one of the side effects of the medication?... or she simply drank too much regular UNPOISONED coffee...
Honestly I'm probably WAY off the mark about all of this, but the coffee may have been the only way anyone could have poisoned Flash successfully, additionally if Applejack or Diamond Tiara or anyone EXCEPT Scootaloo made the coffee, and Scootaloo served it, maybe that could potentially bypass Scootaloo's Talent Reveal thing, maybe Scootaloo wasn't aware she was serving the poisoned beverage that would specifically kill Flash because the 'poison' was medication that would only affect him due to his illness, so the question would be; who would be the Blackened in that scenario? The person who made/'poisoned' the coffee? Or the unsuspecting person that served it?
Now I'm kind of hoping I'm right about this theory of mine, or I'll forever be remembered as the looney coffee theorist,
Soooooooo Flash's coffee was poisoned I think? I'm still going with my previous idea that Flash killed Rainbow, which means the accomplice (who sharpened the skates and probably disposed of the monopad) had insight into that and so figured out he did it. In that case, they had access to a subtle murder weapon: the rest of the lighter fluid in the lighter they used to dispose of the note. When everyone's back was turned examining Dash's body, someone easily could have gone up to Flash's coffee and poured the lighter fluid in there.
In this case, I strongly suspect Scoots. She'd want to help RD, and it's possible Flash snuck the lighter along with the note he left her as "proof" the note really was from Rainbow. Then, she'd be motivated to kill Flash in revenge. I think this is the most likely solution. (As for the scrolling talent thing: no one's checked, and it's entirely consistent with Monoponi's character to just not do that twice because it would make things too easy.)
Applejack is a backup possibility here, but she's been established in this story as a bad liar, so it seems unlikely she could be lying about who left the arcade.
EDIT: I really can see no possibility Flash didn't kill Rainbow. There's zero possibility the skates were just "planted" to cause damage to Dash in a wreck without her knowing about it, and the damaged chin strap suggests it's not a suicide. And Flash was the only one there.
Alternate theory: I was extremely intrigued by the note that Applejack was affected strongly by her coffee. It's possible she was just taking uppers herself to stay awake, which is the pill bottle she threw away, and the mundanity of that is why she didn't mention it in her story to Sunset. But could someone (probably Adagio or Tiara) have spiked some of the coffees with uppers? It's not a perfect theory, since they would have had to get those pills from Applejack or RD, but maybe someone snatched them from Dash's backpack. In this case, the death might even be an accident, because they didn't know Flash had recently just taken a pain pill.
And there's a missing piece of evidence I cannot tie in at all: the rash on Flash Sentry's leg. It could be he just unrelatedly had strep throat, of course, but it seems like odd placement.
Rarity's the extra leftover character who is suspicious because of that, but it seems like she really was with Trixie every moment anything important was happening, so I don't think it can be her. But... Dewdrops gave us the hint that the skate size was important. We saw almost everyone who bought skates wear them on the ice, and no one bought more than one pair. Rarity's the only exception here; I don't think we saw her skate. Which means Rarity could have bought small skates... but ehhh that means Dash's are hiding somewhere and the narrative gets messy.
I now fully ship Rarity/Trixie in this story as a platonic romance (which, given recent events the story I'm writing, might sound weird) so I'm HOPING it ain't her, at least.
Also just amused everyone's working so hard to solve the mystery, no one's commenting on the fact that poor Applejack jumped the gun in buying those dental dams, huh
10665838
Honestly I was thinking along the same lines as you with the coffee theory. Flash died soon after receiving it. Whoever made it definitely had the intention to poison him.
10665367
LOVING how well reasoned everything you're saying is. One quick thing:
The lighter was labeled because Rainbow Dash wanted to be sure she didn't mix it up with other people's when she, ah, had her judgement compromised. AKA: making mixing up the lighters stoner-proof. This might seem strange, but I've known many smokers in my life, and a lot of them had personal lighters that they kept and refilled, so they'd label them with their initials. It might not be something newer generations do, I dunno. Am I showing my age again?
10665411
Whoops, thank you. Typo fixed.
10665842
In regards to your theorizing, I'm loving it to death, but I will say this: the rash is more important than it might seem at first.
And I'm all for platonic romance shipping. Super Friendship, as I like to call it.
Poor Applejack, hehe. That's just a character detail but I like throwing those in.
10665892
Jeeez all I can think is the wet cloth. Maybe it was soaked with something poisonous and he was sitting on it in his go-kart, and the skin contact left the rash? This would implicate Applejack, since she was right up there close to the body doing CPR and could have reached into her pants and gotten the rag to throw it away.
There's holes here. I'm feeling pretty as confident as I ever am about the lighter fluid and about RD's death, but I am just not putting the pieces together about Flash's "sickness," including the rash.
And hey, establishing a character as ace and establishing a character as demi can look very similar, so maybe it wouldn't be platonic, given time. I just kinda love the take on Rarity here, all chivalrous and jacked.
10666037
)
If the rash doesn't seem to make much sense, you may want to go back and look at other evidence. It is possible you're making an assumption that is incorrect. (I'm not sure I can say anything more without giving it away, which I know you wouldn't want me to do.
True. And I'm glad you do. I've been having a lot of fun depicting Rarity as someone way stronger than most give her credit for, because there's a joke in here about her always pining for a knight in shining armor, and her actually being the knight all along.
10665874
I wouldn't really think about labeling a lighter myself. Kind of strange thing to do. Like many lighters are sold super cheap in the first place. (On a ship it's probably a different story, however Monoponi just giving away everything for free. Uh, no Monokuma coins) I guess It's all depends whether or not the person knows that the model they're using is reusable.
10666044
Ohhhh you know what? Somehow Rainbow froze to death in the ice skating rink, and everything else was set up as a decoy post-mortem. Sunset never mentions anything about any other safety equipment, even knee-pads, which would be in the way of slashed knees, and RD wouldn't be allowed to ride the go-kart without pads (not even to mention the helmet). It explains her smile and how she could be in the go-kart with the sharp skates under her knees when the crash happened: she was already dead.
This still implicates Flash, of course. But it allows for the possibility that RD's death was an accident or suicide, and Flash just set up a fake murder (uh, for some reason), including faking having an accomplice by writing an obvious note and then half-disposing of it.
I... lost track of focusing on the rash.
10666347
I'm glad you pointed out that Sunset didn't mention safety equipment when she examined Rainbow Dash's corpse, because that was an unintentional oversight on my part. Rainbow Dash was wearing her normal safety equipment. I need to go back and edit to fix that.
Though I do really, REALLY like where you were going with that, hehe.
10666356
OKAY LAST NEW THEORY
EDIT: NEVER MIND Monoponi explicitly says someone alive is responsible for Flash's death. So, uh, Scoots, I guess.
10666375
I have one last thing I can say when it comes to the rash: focus on what Monoponi said about the one responsible for Flash's death. There is very important meaning in the way he phrased that statement. Consider that in reflection with everything else seen in all of the parts of this chapter, and I do mean everything. There is a twist involved here.
10666379
It was quite the show?
I did have a rather silly theory involving those dental dams of Applejack's... Maybe she'd used one to safely cram an entire bottle's worth of pills in her mouth, forcibly kissed Flash and forced him to eat them all, then waited until he succumbed. Also because eww, boy cooties to someone who's into girls... actually, that would also explain her random twitch after drinking coffee.
Other than that, the only hint I'm getting is that either Diamond or Adagio - the ones who got coffee - had something to do with it. Diamond definitely could've lied about the trash and planted something in there... Adagio, I just don't see it.
10666640
Specifically meant this line:
10666643
Well... he was pointing directly at Sunset, then. Other than the likely possibility of being the unintentional traitor, I don't believe she actually did anything to him...
...Am I taking this way too literally?
10666654
Somewhat. It's not quite the direction I was going for.
10666379
Hmm... I think I see the loophole in his words here.
Flash committed suicide. Whether out of legitimate or illegitimate guilt concerning Rainbow, I don't know.
The "person alive responsible for his fate"? Monoponi himself, due to being the mastermind. That is the only possible "trick" to that phrase, as all living "passengers" were present when he said that.
10666632
That's part of it, yes. However, the ILP as a whole is not centered on any one franchise. I know for a fact that Splatoon, Danganronpa, and Danganronpa V3 are all active branches... but they haven't interacted yet I don't think.
10666671
Oooh nice. I've been in love with the Infinite Loops concept ever since I first saw the MLP Time Loops show up on this website. I have struggled to get into any other set of loop stories that weren't featured in its compilation, but maybe I should give the Danganronpa ones a chance. They sound like they'd be great. If I remember correctly there was ONE loop with Twilight and Makoto meeting up, and Twilight tried her memory spell on Junko. Which... kind of worked?
What I wish is that there were Star Trek running ones, but I get why the Trek loopers have to do what they do. (I, frankly, think they ought to be able to screw around every once in a while, because holy crap running baseline for a good 80% of your loops? I would go utterly insane trying to do that. But I didn't get to make the rules here.)
Lmao it might not be, but this sounds like a DRAT reference to me.
Anyway, I'm not very good at figuring out the killers before the trials, but I do want to point on some things that stood out to me in case someone wants to use them to piece together a theory.
1. I'm pretty sure Flash's illness was Mono? It's the only one that would have caused the stomach swelling. Of course, if the swelling has another cause, it could be one of the other 3.
2. I personally take methylphenidate for my ADHD, and if you consume a decent amount of caffeine while the medication is in your system - for example, a cup of coffee - you will become overstimulated which manifests differently for everyone but being twitchy and shaky is quite common. I can't even take Midol while my meds are in my system! I point this out because of it being mentioned that Applejack is twitchy after the coffee.
3. Methylphenidate can also cause seizures on its own without the combination of other meds. It's rare, but it is a possible side effect of, i believe, all stimulants. Adderall (not methylphenidate but it is an adhd medication) gave my boyfriend seizures.
I swear if you make me accuse Scootaloo, ONE MORE TIME!
Which i'm not going to in this case....and now I see where your going with Flash's murder. This could be like the time Nagito Komaeda planned ahead and relied on his own luck to snuff out the traitor for the trial. Or in this case, I can see Applejack be the one to be the one who killed Flash. It could be out of anger or some other reason, and she's been getting very distant and she is not normally the person to lie which goes against her morals. Applejack might have to lie her way out to save her own skin should she'd have killed Flash. But U am still holding out that it was Adagio who murdered Rainbow Dash due to having to witness her magic manifesting. It could be because of either that or the motive that was promised from Monoponi, clearing their name for crimes they have commited. This would be the opportunity for Adagio. I am hoping that she may in fact be the traitor for this case.[/spoiler
Finally, when I was reading the previous chapter, I might've skimmed ahead while it's late I was too focused on Rainbow's murder and, I had not noticed that Flash had died the whole time! Heh... whoops.
10666703
Nice catch.
That's because it is!
10666666
Yeah, my theory was pretty much this: RD froze to death accidentally or suicide, and Flash took it upon himself to set up a fake murder scene, then immediately afterwards commited suicide by pouring lighter fluid in his own coffee. If he's secretly enraged about Twilight, this would be an attempt to kill everybody by making another trial with two chances to fail, except this time, neither one's a murder.
If this is true, the one most directly responsible for getting him to the state where he'd do such a thing are Sunset, for catching Twilight, or Trixie.
But skimming through earlier chapters, there wasn't much here about this except Sunset saying there would indeed be a trial if there was a suicide.
Ak, sorry I didn't get to this sooner! I had a boat load of reading to do yesterday for some weird reason. 😜
Okay, so Flash is gone as well. Can't say he was a favorite of mine like Rainbow Dash, but it's still sad to see such a nice guy go. Your killing all the good people!
Oh, gosh, I was scared this was about to become a three-way for a moment there.
Yeah, okay, so I know I gave you lots of elaborate speculating in the last trial, but I can't seem to pin down a theory for this one. (To be fair, I stewed it over for a couple days last time) There's just too many viable possibilities. I'm still holding to that there'll only be one killer alive, and the possibility of at least one suicide (or death with permission) isn't out. But I'm thinking a simple suicide is unlikely.
A deadly judgment... A deadly deception... A deadly betrayal.
A deadly riddle, a deadly defense, and deadly faith...
A deadly... Ships Trial...!
10666768
Wait so that was an intentional reference to Danganronpa Abridged Thing? I wasn't sure if it was intentional or not, so I didn't bother to acknowledge it, but since it WAS intentional, then you leave me no choice...
10668669
Ahaha, nice. You know, it's a shame that DRAT ended at that point. I wish it had managed to go on to the end. I wanted to see their take on trials four and five. I really wanted to see how they played the "OMG KYOKO IS A GHOST" bit.
When Tree Hugger first introduced in the show. I wasn't a fan of her or smoking marijuana. Discord wanted to banish her into dimension of Muppets for jealousy reasons, and I was kinda hoping that Fluttershy wouldn't stop him from doing so.
I feel like this game is doing Rarity dirty, because I feel like Rarity would have been an awesome investigator.
Thankfully this game doesn't show any easily recognizable patterns. Well, probably not
this would be such a cute mental image if it were not happening immediately after two deaths!
oof, yeah! he and Scootaloo are probably the most innocent at this point? so i’m guessing his secret was more than what it was revealed to be before that will recontextualize him, or at least make the killer feel justified in killing him somehow, maybe by him sounding like he’s the traitor?
mood
oh no, not more lines that sound like ominous foreshadowing!
aww love how Adagio this line is
intriguing!
huh, feel like that was pretty obvious given the descriptions of Flash! argh, unless those were masking whatever was actually going on?
yeah Adagio! like after seeing half a dozen people tortured to death this is what you’re grumbling about? lol
aww, so Rarity to care so much about this!
i mean if i’d been brutally murdered, i’d want whoever was investigating to do whatever it took to figure it out!
sus! unless Diamond Tiara is just trying to redirect suspicion away from herself? double sus!
aww! love that weed Fluttershy is canon here. also why did you remind me that Fluttershy died!??!
ooh didn’t expect this to resurface, even though i totally should’ve! always nice to see :)
so RariJack
aww, Trixie back to her Trixie self!
i also am not sure! but uh, the dental dams sure are interesting…
i like to think that the problem Adagio had with this was the “common” part, haha
dang, but what difference would it make between the four of these?
yeah but what about the Joker smile on Rainbow Dash? like what was that about?
i also didn’t notice!
well that’s all it takes for me. i ship it now.
you know it’s kinda funny but despite them being adults, i have totally been imagining the CMCs as shorter than the rest of the cast this whole time
i love this
augh this is going to be so ironic if it turns out Scootaloo is one of the killers!
oh damn, i was so caught up in the RainbowFlash friendshipping that i did not make this connection at all! what if they are both each other’s Blackened? Flash was the one closest to Rainbow Dash when she died, right? whaaaaaa
oh hey that’s the thing that i kept suspecting!
well i guess i will see that soon enough!