Chapter One: Forgotten Dreams on the Ocean Breeze Part 6
Chapter One:
Forgotten Dreams On The Ocean Breeze
Trial Part One
Fact #1: Monoponi File I: “The victim is Wallflower Blush, the Ultimate Nobody. The time of death is estimated as being between 8:00 PM and 3:00 AM. The victim shows signs of multiple injuries to the stomach, neck, and throat. There are also traces of sleeping medicine in her system.”
Fact #2: Cleaver: “A large stainless steel meat cleaver, found in the victim’s body. The letters ‘S.K.’ are engraved on the handle. The cleaver came from the Sushi King kitchen. The wound caused by the cleaver bled very little.
Fact #3: Body Condition: “There is a ring of marks around Wallflower’s neck. The pattern is two inches wide, with an uneven, inconsistent pattern. There are also bruises and small cuts on the back of her throat, and her legs are swollen. Her whole body is damp, especially her head and upper torso. There are further marks on her ankles and wrists, and scuff marks on her shoes.”
Fact #4: Odd Material: “A few fragments of odd material were discovered underneath the body. A long, thin fragment of the same material was discovered in the Sushi King’s janitor sink drain.”
Fact #5: Tainted Cider: “The bowl of Sweet Apple Acres cider at the pool party made Applejack, Timber Spruce, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Diamond Tiara sick with vomiting and diarrhea. According to Applejack, the cider was tainted somehow. It was disposed of at sea by Pinkie Pie. According to TImber Spruce, the cider had a nutty, bitter taste, and made his tongue and mouth itch.”
Fact #6: Timber’s Account: “According to Timber Spruce, he spent forty-five minutes in the bathroom, with some of that time spent on cleanup, using cleaning chemicals and air freshener. Rainbow Dash corroborated his account, stating the men’s room was spotless and stank of air freshener, but she spent some time spraying cleaner anyway to be safe.”
Fact #7: Sushi King Kitchen: “The janitor’s corner in the Sushi King kitchen was wet, as if it had been used recently. A long, thin fragment of material identical to the one discovered under Wallflower’s body was found in the drain. Scuff marks were on the floor nearby. A bag of ice in the freezer was open, missing some of its contents.”
Fact #8: First Aid Kit: “Adagio Dazzle had purchased an ultra deluxe first aid kit on Tuesday, stocked with plenty of drugs and surgery materials on top of the usual contents. It was stolen Wednesday morning, and discovered inside the Sushi King freezer vent. The kit was effectively destroyed, all the supplies rendered useless. Most of the packaging was torn up, letters removed to be pasted into a love note.”
Fact #9: Party Timeline: “The party ran from 8:00 PM to 3:00 AM. At 8:00 everyone scrambled for swimsuits, but no one was gone for more than a few minutes. Everyone attended the party except for Wallflower Blush. Music was played from 8:30 PM till 10:00 PM, then at 10:15 Applejack, Timber Spruce, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Diamond Tiara became sick and left for the bathrooms. All except Rarity returned at 11:00, and she at 11:20. Trixie and Rainbow Dash left to clean up at 11:30 and came back at 12:15. After that Sunset, Flash, and Twilight left at 1:00, then everyone else at 3:00.”
Fact #10: Water Stain: “The Lover’s Corner alcove contained a large water stain on its carpet, along with a plastic bottle cap and a note.”
Fact #11: Note: “The note reads: ‘Dearest Wallflower. You’re the prettiest chick I’ve ever seen. We should meet up tonight, at *blank* in the Lover’s Corner, so we can ditch those losers at the party and hang together.’ The note was not signed. The note was crafted from pasted together letters taken from the packaging of first aid kit supplies, many of which were made of reflective material. A few of the letters were torn off from the note, including the time of the meeting.”
Fact #12: Shop Receipts:
“AD@RX Tue1005: Ultra Deluxe First Aid Kit.
RB@RX: Tue1047: Melatonin, Ibuprofen.
AD@RX Wed1440: Ultra Deluxe First Aid Kit.
SS@RX: Wed1530: Basic First Aid Kit.
WB@RX: Wed1725 Aspirin, caffeine pills, multivitamins.
FS@RX Wed2005: Basic First Aid Kit, condoms, acetaminophen.
RB@FS: Tue1020: Deluxe sewing kit, bolt of linen x 2, bolt of cotton x 2.
RD@SG: Tue0812: Leather backpack, soccer ball, basketball.
TS@SG Tue1225: Leather backpack, sneakers, yoga pants, fabric backpack.
SS@SG: Tue1410 Leather backpack, running shoes, water bottle.
RD@SG: Tue1415: Parachute cord, bungee cord, carabiner clips x 2.
RB@OS: Tue1033: Deluxe arts and crafts kit.
PP@OS: Tue1245: Deluxe arts and crafts kit.
FS@ OS: Tue1420 Deluxe arts & crafts kit.
TS@ OS: Tue1425: Notebooks x 6, pen x 12, pencils x 12, erasers x 3.
DT@OS: Tue1515: Deluxe arts and crafts kit, notebook x 2, pen x 3.
TS@ OS: Tue1622: Deluxe arts & crafts kit x 2.
DT@ JS: Tue1825: Diamond earrings.”
After the painfully long elevator ride that felt far longer than was possible with the length and height of the ship, we filed out into a large circular courtroom, with walls patterned to resemble flowers and bushes and floors of carpet over more metal deck plating. Several large spotlights dominated the ceiling, along with rows of fluorescents, lending the room an artificial, unsettling feeling. The interior was set up precisely as I expected it would be, with a set of sixteen podiums arranged in one large circle, each engraved with our name. A massive throne loomed over the podiums, decorated with Monoponi’s jagged eye cutie mark.
I took my spot between Fluttershy and Trixie, settling in. The podium had a built in computer screen and a cord labeled “Monopad,” so I plugged in my Monopad to it. The screen lit up with an evidence selector, ready to showcase any evidence to the others as needed. It would be fun in a way if the reason for it existing wasn’t so horrifying.
When I looked up from my podium, I saw a portrait hanging at the podium directly across from me.
Wallflower… I’m sorry. We’ll find your killer, and bring them to justice. I promise.
“Now then,” said Monoponi as he flashed into existence on his throne, plopping himself down in a comfortable fashion, “everyone settled in? Monopads plugged into your podiums? Good! Let’s begin with a basic overview of the ship’s trial. Ahem. Your job here is to discover the blackened, the one who brutally killed Wallflower Blush! You may argue and debate to your heart’s desire, or until I get bored. Then you must vote. If you choose correctly, only the blackened will be punished. But if you pick the wrong person, I’ll punish everyone besides the blackened, and they alone will go free!”
“So it really was one of us?” Trixie inquired in a scared tone. She clutched her podium as if to steady herself. “Trixie was still hoping it would turn out to be Monoponi…”
“How many times must I say it? It was one of you!” Monoponi fluttered his wings in anger. “Accuse me again and I’ll hold you in contempt of court!”
“Wait, what does that mean for Trixie?!”
Adagio flashed her an amused smirk. “He’ll probably kill you, idiot. It’s what he does for everything else.”
“No!” Trixie squatted down, hiding behind her podium. “Please don’t kill Trixie! Trixie is sorry!”
“Anyway, I had a question before we began,” Scootaloo said. She pointed at the portrait of Wallflower. “Why is that there?”
“Because, you wouldn’t want your dear, departed fellow passenger to feel left out, would you?” Monoponi replied in a mocking tone, holding a hoof to his mouth. “Upupupu, how disrespectful!”
“Ah for one think it’s a lovely gesture, to honor her memory,” Applejack said, frowning deeply at Scootaloo, who shriveled under the stare.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way,” Scootaloo said. “I was just wondering.”
“Kinda morbid though,” Rainbow added, staring at the portrait and shivering. “That blood pink X creeps me out.”
“Probably the point,” Apple Bloom said.
“Forget the portrait!” Diamond Tiara interrupted. She slammed both fists on her podium. “We need to figure out who did this. And I already know my number one suspect!” She pointed an accusatory finger directly at me. “It was you, Sunset! You left the party early! You had plenty of time to kill her, and motive to do so! You’ve been suspicious from the moment we first got here and I’ve had enough of it!”
“Huh?!” I cried, my face aghast. “But I’ve been doing everything I can to tell people not to kill! Why would I turn around and kill someone after doing all that?”
Diamond Tiara snorted. “Obviously it was so we would doubt you’d do it, duh! I shouldn’t have to explain that.”
“It is a bit suspicious,” Sweetie Belle mused with a half frown.
“Whoa, whoa, hold up,” Flash said, throwing out his hands. “It’s way too early to be accusing anyone yet. We haven’t established anything about what went down.”
“Flash is right,” Twilight agreed, holding up a single hand. “We need to establish all of the facts of the case in order to be sure about anyone. Remember, we’re all suspects here.”
“Of course you would agree with him,” Diamond Tiara sneered, crossing her arms over her chest.
Twilight’s eyes narrowed into slits. “And just what is that supposed to mean?” she replied, her words dripping with acid.
Timber held out his hands between the two women. “Hey, ladies, easy there. No need to get so upset. Flash’s right. We gotta figure out everything before we can vote. I don’t wanna die today, you know?”
“Please, Twilight,” Fluttershy urged from Twilight’s other side. “Calm down.”
Twilight blew out a sigh through her teeth, and brushed her hair back. “Fine. Sorry.”
“Anyway,” Rainbow Dash spoke up, scratching the back of her head. “What should we talk about first?”
“Usually, the cause of death is a good start,” I pointed out. “The Monoponi file doesn’t list one.”
“Okay! Let’s figure that out then!” Dash replied, smacking one fist against her other palm.
I adjusted my posture, and waited, ready to point out any mistakes.
“So what could have killed her?” Scootaloo wondered.
“Ah, uh, Ah didn’t look too closely at the body,” Apple Bloom admitted, shivering in place. “So Ah don’t know.”
“Trixie knows the answer to this!” Trixie cried, posing dramatically as if she was wearing a cape fluttering in the breeze. “It should be obvious to anyone who paid any attention to the body!”
“Well don’t just leave us hangin’ there, sugarcube!” Applejack replied. “What was it?”
Trixie held up a hand, still stuck in her pose. “It was obviously the cleaver buried in her stomach! The culprit knocked Wallflower over and with one might swing--” she slammed her hand down on her podium for emphasis “--she was stabbed to death!”
Fluttershy gasped, holding her hands to her mouth, eyes misty. “Oh my goodness, that sounds so awful!”
“And painful,” Rainbow cringed, shivering.
“Lord have mercy,” Applejack breathed, her mouth twisting up as her face tinged with green.
Okay. I gotta do it, at least once. I chuckled under my breath as I readied my finger, then pointed straight at Trixie. “No, that’s wrong!” I shouted.
“What?!” Trixie gasped, hands falling to her sides. “But how could Trixie be wrong?”
Fact #2: Cleaver: “A large stainless steel meat cleaver, found in the victim’s body. The letters ‘S.K.’ are engraved on the handle. The cleaver came from the Sushi King kitchen. The wound caused by the cleaver bled very little.
“The wound caused by the cleaver didn’t bleed nearly as much as it should have if it were the cause of death,” I replied as I keyed up the relevant evidence on the podium. To my surprise, it didn’t just show up on the screens, but appeared as a three dimensional hologram floating in the center of the podiums. Okay, that’s pretty neat, I admitted to myself. Aloud, I added, “I think we can safely say the wound was caused after she died, not before.”
Everyone let out little gasps in reaction to the hologram. “Well, shoot, it sure does look like you’re right about that, Sunset,” Applejack said, nodding. “Ah’ve had to slaughter pigs on mah farm before. Ah know just how much they can bleed, and they ain’t that different.”
“Yeah, it’s a big mess,” Apple Bloom said with a grimace.
“Oh those poor pigs,” Fluttershy said, eyes misting up.
“Ah know,” Applejack agreed with a sad nod. “We don’t raise ‘em for meat. We use ‘em for truffles. But they get old, and well, at that point, might as well make their passin’ easier. Always a shame when we have to do it.”
“Nevermind your stupid farm, no one cares!” Diamond Tiara interrupted, shaking a fist at Applejack. Then she shifted her gaze back to me. “So the cleaver didn’t kill her. Then what did?”
“That’s what we need to figure out,” I answered. I placed a hand on my chin. “I’m still not sure. Any other ideas?”
“What about the marks on the body?” Scootaloo pointed out. “She had marks around her neck. Did someone strangle her?”
“Oooh, ooh, but the body was really wet, right?” Pinkie interjected, hopping in place. “Maybe she drowned!”
“Drowned? Truly, darling?” Rarity said, the first thing she’d said since she ran away from Twilight and me in the hallway during the investigation. “How would that even happen?”
“Oooh, I know, I know!” Sweetie cried, scrolling through the evidence on her Monopad and throwing up a piece for us to see.
Fact #10: Water Stain: “The Lover’s Corner alcove contained a large water stain on its carpet, along with a plastic bottle cap and a note.”
“Remember this, Rarity? We found it together,” Sweetie added. “Maybe she drowned there, and the culprit spilled some water in the process.”
“I dunno, that doesn’t seem right,” Scootaloo replied, scratching her head. “Is there really enough water spilled there to drown someone?”
I shook my head. “No way. That stain was large, sure, but it was more like someone dropped a full water bottle on the floor. That’s not nearly enough water.”
“Agreed,” Twilight added with a nod. “You need to be immersed in water for several minutes, and you need to breathe it in. If she had drowned, we’d see the signs all over her body, but we didn’t.”
“Oooh, shoot,” Pinkie groaned, her hair losing some of its bounce.
“Okay, but, what about the marks,” Scootaloo said insistently, pumping her fists for attention. “I already mentioned that. Was she strangled?”
“Those marks were huge!” Trixie pointed out. “Surely this had something to do with her death?”
“Yeah, I think it looks pretty clear to me,” Timber agreed, rubbing his chin. “The culprit strangled her. What an awful way to go.”
“Hmm…” I took a good long look at the evidence again. “I’m not so sure that’s the case, actually. Twilight, we’d see the same things from strangulation that we would from drowning, right? Blue lips, pale skin, and so on?”
“Yes we would,” Twilight replied with a frown. “And we didn’t see that when we investigated the body.There were injuries to the neck and throat, but they weren’t consistent with death by strangulation. That means if the culprit choked her at all, it was either only till she fell unconscious and then let her breathe again, or they did it to her after she died.”
“Uugh, Trixie is so confused now!” Trixie blurted, throwing up her hands in frustration. “If she wasn’t stabbed, and she wasn’t strangled, and she didn’t drown, then what killed her? Trixie doesn’t understand!”
Everyone started talking at once, throwing out random ideas as I stared down at the evidence. They’re right. She wasn’t stabbed, strangled, or drowned. But then what killed her? What caused her injuries? Did they drug her to death? I thought about that for a second, then shook my head. No, if they did it would’ve been more obvious. Those drugs must’ve been for another purpose. They definitely killed her by inflicting an injury. But how?
My eyes scanned further and further down the list, and then I spotted something. Was it the ice? It could be used to inflict injury, but how?
Everybody continued to argue while I thought it over. Ideas were tossed out by people and just as quickly shot down. We’d reached a rut.
I thought again about the state of the body, and the one thing that stuck out to me: her swollen legs. I wasn’t an expert on anatomy and physiology, but even I knew swollen legs usually meant some kind of heart problem. And while drugs could’ve caused that, I’d already dismissed that idea. And it’s not like they froze her body either, or else everything would be swollen, not just her legs. So what did they… wait. Wait a minute. That’s it! It’s the wackiest thing ever, but it fits!
“Everyone, please!” I cried out, interrupting the cavalcade of discussion. They all focused their gaze on me. “I think I know what killed her.”
I pulled up the relevant evidence for everyone to peruse.
Fact #7: Sushi King Kitchen: “The janitor’s corner in the Sushi King kitchen was wet, as if it had been used recently. A long, thin fragment of material identical to the one discovered under Wallflower’s body was found in the drain. Scuff marks were on the floor nearby. A bag of ice in the freezer was open, missing some of its contents.”
“Wait, what does this have to do with anything?” Diamond Tiara asked, sneering at me and shaking her head. “If you’re going to be stupid and present irrelevant things, don’t waste my time!”
I scowled at her and grunted, “Well maybe if you used your brain for more than two seconds you’d see it! Look at the last line.”
“Wait, are you talkin’ about the ice?” Applejack asked, eyebrows raised. “What’re you sayin’, the culprit used the ice to kill her?”
“Huh?” Apple Bloom’s whole face screwed up. “What kinda sense does that make? How do you kill someone with ice?”
“I think what the culprit did,” I responded, “was use a long, narrow piece of ice like a bludgeon to the back of her throat. With a few good solid hits, they would’ve damaged her brain stem. The resulting brain failure killed her. The proof is here.”
Fact #3: Body Condition: “There are also bruises and small cuts on the back of her throat, and her legs are swollen.”
“We checked the inside of her mouth and confirmed the injury, and I felt her swollen legs myself.” I couldn’t help but grin at my elegant solution. What a crazy way to kill someone! It’s completely nuts. No wonder we had such a hard time figuring it out. I’m not sure I would have had the culprit not spent so much effort trying to disguise it with other potential causes.
“That makes a lot of sense, actually,” Twilight said, nodding. “Damage to the brain stem would cause sudden heart failure, and swollen legs are an obvious symptom of that. I should’ve realized it sooner.”
“Are you loco in the coco?!” Pinkie dramatically interrupted, pointing a finger straight at me as she spoke.
“Wait, huh?” I blurted, not expecting such a fierce response. “What do you mean?”
Pinkie held up one hand to gesture with while she slapped the other on her hip. “The culprit used ice to damage her brain stem, huh? What kind of sense does that make? Sure, she might have some injuries on the inside of her neck, but that could’ve just as easily been from when she was strangled! How do you know they didn’t drug her to death, huh?”
Alright. I can see why you’d doubt this, because I sure would. I took a deep breath, steadied myself, then fired back, “That’s not possible. If she’d died from a drug overdose, there’d be other symptoms, but the only symptom she had that stood out was the swollen legs. And while strangulation can injure the neck, it wouldn’t inflict cuts to the back of your throat. Maybe if she’d broken her neck, but unless you want to suggest they strung her up on a chandelier in the promenade, there’s no place they could drop her far enough to do that, and you can’t break someone’s neck with your bare hands.” Unless you’re Applejack, I guess. But that’s beside the point.
Pinkie Pie blinked, then shook her head furiously as if to clear out cobwebs.“Okay, fine, I admit that,” Pinkie rejoined, “but you still can’t prove the culprit killed her by damaging her brain stem! What if they froze her to death? Or, or, what if they used a knife to stab her throat?”
I shook my head. “If she’d been frozen, her entire body would be swollen, not just her legs. And if they used a knife, there’d be larger cuts, and she would’ve bled all over the place. You can’t stab a neck like that without causing massive amounts of bleeding, and even if they tried to wash it away, there’d still be bloodstains in her clothes. Which there wasn’t. But if they used a bludgeon, they could avoid that. The cuts could easily have come from the ice chipping as the culprit bashed her repeatedly.”
Pinkie’s mouth twisted up like she’d bit into something especially sour, and she spluttered before responding, “Well, okay, but you still can’t prove they used ice! They could’ve used anything else and then just disposed of it! And unless you can find some way to prove ice was used, I won’t believe it!”
“I’ll rip your argument to pieces!” I declared as I cued up two relevant bits of evidence, highlighting the important bits.
Fact #7: Sushi King Kitchen: “The janitor’s corner in the Sushi King kitchen was wet, as if it had been used recently.”
Fact #3: Body Condition: “Her whole body is damp, especially her head and upper torso.”
“See, here’s what I think they did. They used the ice to deal fatal damage to her brain stem, then left the ice in place so it would melt overnight. They used the janitor’s sink to soak the body, to make it look like she drowned, then inflicted the neck marks and the stomach wound to further obscure the cause of death!”
“Of course!” Twilight agreed, with a snap of her fingers. “The culprit probably did it this way to hide the evidence, and hoped we’d conclude something else killed her. That’s genius!”
Pinkie’s eyes bulged like saucers as she threw her jaw open as far as it would go, then slammed her jaw shut by forcing it closed with her hands. Her hair deflated to rest flat against her head. “Awww, I guess I was wrong,” she said, pouting and kicking her podium. “Sorry, Sunset.”
“Hey, it’s fine,” I shrugged. “I wouldn’t have thought of it either till I put it all together.”
“Dang, the culprit must be pretty smart to come up with that,” Timber said.
Sweetie frowned, her forehead creasing. "But I don't get it. Why use such a wacky way to kill her? There were so many better and easier ways to do it!"
With a snort, Scootaloo said, "That's probably the point. It's so weird because the culprit figured we'd assume something else killed her. Then that'd lead us to suspect someone other than them. It was a big misleading scam!"
Or they were desperate, because they messed up their original plan and had to improvise, I considered. But we can't assume that. I'd rather overestimate than underestimate the culprit, so we don't miss something else wacky they did to mislead us.
“Wow!” Trixie gasped, eyes agog. “That’s so sneaky! Trixie would never have considered that in a million years!”
“Naturally, you would be too stupid for it,” Adagio snarked with a nasty grin. “Most of you would. Whoever this culprit is, they’re smart.”
“Hey, that’s a little uncalled for, Adagio,” Apple Bloom said with a pout. “Ya shouldn’t be insulting people like that.”
“Yeah, don’t be a meanie!” Pinkie objected, pointing two fingers at Adagio. Then she pointed them at her head. “Besides! Just because someone seems stupid doesn’t mean they are! It just means they’re different.”
“Trixie agrees with that!” Trixie announced dramatically, as if she’d said something profound.
“No one cares what you think, Trixie,” Adagio retorted, casting a death glare in the illusionist’s direction.
Trixie deflated under the gaze until she sank below her podium. “Sorry…”
I chuckled despite myself, because Trixie’s response was so silly it was hard not to. “Okay, Adagio, I think you’ve teased poor Trixie enough for now,” I said, fighting the urge to grin.
Adagio stared at me, one eyebrow raised, then let out a single quiet bark of laughter and nodded. “Fine.”
“Anyway, Ah think we’re gettin’ off track here,” Applejack interjected. “So Ah think we can all agree we know the cause of death now, right? So what’s next?”
“Well, we know how she died, but we still don’t know where,” Sweetie Belle, frowning and staring down at her podium with her arms crossed. “I think that’s probably important.”
“Oh, that one’s easy,” I answered. “We already brought up the relevant evidence.”
Fact #7: Sushi King Kitchen: “Scuff marks were on the floor nearby.”
Fact #3: Body Condition: “There are further marks on her ankles and wrists, and scuff marks on her shoes.”
“See? Scuff marks on the floor. And there were identical scuff marks on Wallflowers shoes. So she was dragged into the Sushi King kitchen, probably bound hand and foot.They needed to take her there anyway, so they could use the ice and the sink.”
“Oh my gosh, we have a sushi slayer on our hands!” Trixie blurted, grabbing both sides of her head and tearing on her hair. “They probably wanted to turn Wallflower into sushi too! That’s why they used the cleaver!” She let out a wordless squeal and leapt two feet in the air. “Trixie doesn’t want to be sushi!”
More than a few of us slapped our palms to our face in response to that. Silence reigned for several moments before Rainbow Dash said, “Ugh, Trixie, come on...none of us are cannibals.” Then she frowned, her eyes widened, and she added, “Uh, at least, I don’t think any of us are cannibals…”
“Yeah, no, I don’t think so,” Flash replied, shaking his head in disbelief. “Come on guys, can we be serious for two seconds here? Our lives are on the line, man.”
“We’re all well aware of that, thank you,” Diamond Tiara replied in a nasty tone, then fired off several scowls in Trixie’s direction. “You! If you have nothing useful to say, then just be quiet!”
Trixie’s eyes filled to the brim with tears, and she sank below her podium once more. “Sorry…”
“Anyway, sushi aside,” I said, “like I said before, they only used the cleaver to hide the cause of death, just like with the marks on her neck.” I frowned and set my arms on my podium. “Between that and the ridiculous cause of death, I think whoever the culprit is, they took Monoponi’s rule about complex mysteries very seriously.”
“As they should!” Monoponi intruded with a slam of his hooves against his chair. “Nopony likes a boring mystery! They want action! Drama! Intense back and forth debate!”
“Nopony?” Sweetie Belle said quietly, eyebrows raised.
“You’re talkin’ like this is on TV or somethin’,” Applejack said, glaring up at the posturing pony. “But this ain’t a TV show!”
“Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, who knows?” Monoponi giggled, resting his forehooves on the arms of his throne.
“...are you broadcasting this to someone?” Twilight asked, fear underlying her every word. “Are there people out there watching this, right now?”
Monoponi glared wordlessly at Twilight for several moments, then burst into cackling laughter. “Ahahaha! Of course it’s you that asks that! Ahahahaha!”
“H-hey!” Sweetie objected, raising a fist. “Answer her question!”
“We have the right to know!” Rarity added.
Monoponi’s laughs faded. “Well, let me put it this way then. There’s one very special individual out there who’s getting to see everything you’re up to. And they might be closer to you than you might think.” He pointed his hoof squarely at Twilight.
“Me? What?” Twilight held a hand to her breast. “I don’t understand. Who is it?”
Both his forehooves shot up to cover Monoponi’s mouth. “I shan't speak another word!”
“But… ugh, fine.” Twilight threw her hands up in disgust. “Whatever. You’re probably just being a jerk again anyway.”
“If we could all get back to the matter at hand,” Rarity said, pointedly clearing her throat. “We’ve figured out where she died. And how. But we don’t know when.”
Scootaloo nodded. “Right! We still don’t have a single clue about that.”
“Actually, Ah was wonderin’ somethin’,” Apple Bloom interjected, raising her hand. “Before we move on ta when she died, Ah was thinkin’, the culprit used some kinda rope to tie her up, right?”
“Yeah, we think so,” I replied, scratching my head. “I still don’t know what kind but they must’ve used something to cause those marks on her body. Maybe the streamers?"
Pinkie shook her head. "Nope! There weren't any missing streamers. At least, I didn't see any go missing..."
“Well, what Ah’m sayin’ is," Apple Bloom continued, "We don’t need to figure out when it happened at all. All we need to do is figure out who had rope, and Bob’s yer uncle!”
“Hey, now you’re talking!” Timber cheered. “Great idea!”
Flash scratched his chin and stared down at his podium. “But have we seen anyone with rope? I don’t remember seeing anyone.”
“I coulda sworn I saw someone with some,” Timber added. “But who?”
Who had rope, huh? Think… think… oh, of course! My eyes darted about, then fixed on a single individual, who was already turning pale and shaking in her boots. I pointed my finger squarely at her, and she yelped, almost falling backwards before grabbing her podium to steady herself. “Rainbow Dash. You’re the only one!”
“M-m-me?! What? What do you mean?” Rainbow blurted. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
In response, my lips spread into an anticipatory smirk. “I’ve seen you with rope before. And I can prove it too!”
Fact #12: Shop Receipts:
“SS@SG: Tue1410 Leather backpack, running shoes, water bottle.
“RD@SG: Tue1415: Parachute cord, bungee cord, carabiner clips x 2. ”
I pointed out the relevant lines, hiding the rest to make it stand out. “Right there, right after my own purchase. RD, Rainbow Dash, at SG. Sporting goods. Parachute cord, bungee cord, and carabiner clips. You even stopped to talk to me!”
~*~
I stuffed my receipt into my pocket and was about to leave when I heard Rainbow Dash call out, “Hey, Sunset! Wait up!”
I looked back: she had a length of parachute cord, a pair of carabiner clips, and a bungee cord in her hands and was scanning them through the register. “What’ve you got those for?” I asked.
She snatched up her receipt, balled it up and tossed it in a nearby bin. “Oh these? Just gonna make some exercise equipment with it. They didn’t have any kind of hand grips or arm stretchers or anything so I’m just gonna improvise.”
~*~
“That seemed pretty strange to me at the time,” I continued, building up steam pretty fast as Rainbow fell further and further into panic. “I mean, sure, I can see someone making a DIY piece of exercise equipment. But I’ve been in that store. It has all kinds of things! Are you seriously telling me you couldn’t find a single worthwhile thing that matched your needs?”
“Um, excuse me…”
All eyes turned to face Rainbow Dash as she spluttered and shook, making wordless noises but nothing coherent. “And hey, she left the party too, didn’t she?” Timber added, frowning heavily. “Monoponi screamed at her and Trixie to clean up the bathrooms.”
“She did indeed,” Adagio said in a low, dangerous tone as she bared her teeth in Rainbow’s direction. “She had every opportunity.”
“Excuse me, please…”
“N-n-no I didn’t!” Rainbow blurted, so pale she was almost ghost white. “I didn’t! I swear I didn’t!”
“Oh?” Trixie popped out from behind her podium and pointed a furious finger at Rainbow Dash. “But you went to clean the men’s room first, right? Trixie remembers telling you to! And, if Trixie recalls, it took you awhile before you came to help her in the women’s!”
“That’s right!” I agreed. “She admitted as much to me earlier today.”
Fact #6: Timber’s Account: “According to Timber Spruce, he spent forty-five minutes in the bathroom, with some of that time spent on cleanup, using cleaning chemicals and air freshener. Rainbow Dash corroborated his account, stating the men’s room was spotless and stank of air freshener, but she spent some time spraying cleaner anyway to be safe.”
“That was just a few minutes!” Rainbow objected. “That doesn’t prove anything!”
“Please, listen to me!”
“True, it might not be enough time for everything, but it was enough time to get Wallflower tied up and kill her,” I pointed out, adrenalin surging through my veins. “You could’ve stashed her body in the Sushi King kitchen and done the rest after the party. After all, the Monoponi file only says she died during the party. It doesn’t say anything about what was done to her body afterwards!”
Rainbow Dash was crying now, great messy tears streaming down her cheeks in droves. “No! It wasn’t me! I didn’t do it! I swear!”
“Oh please,” Diamond Tiara sneered, the full force of her death glare fired right at Rainbow Dash. “Stop wasting our time and just admit your guilt. I still haven’t had breakfast and I’m hungry!”
“EXCUSE ME!”
We all fell quiet, stunned. I stared at Fluttershy, mouth agape, unable to believe my eyes at how angry and serious she was looking right now. It was nothing like the meek, quiet girl she’d been this whole time. Where was she hiding this?
Fluttershy, upon realizing everyone was staring at her, shrank back into herself for a moment before she stopped, took a deep breath, then stood right back up to point an angry finger out and sweep it over all of us. “Shame on you! All of you! Haranguing poor Rainbow Dash like that! You should feel ashamed of yourselves!” she declared. Then her finger fell upon me. “Especially you, Sunset!”
I didn’t know how or why, but this got to me. Hard. It was like being under Adagio’s gaze all over again, except this time it was just the disappointment of a kind, gentle soul. And yet it was more crushing, more defeating than anything I’d ever felt in my life. I felt myself sinking underneath it, shrinking down till I was small. Tiny.
Ashamed.
“You should know just as well as the rest of us,” Fluttershy continued, “That Rainbow Dash was already half drunk when she went to clean the bathrooms! I was right there when she teased you for getting a bottle of water instead of beer! There was no way she could’ve possibly killed Wallflower in her inebriated state!”
~*~
So I just went and grabbed a drink, choosing to start with plain water. “Oooh, water, huh?” Rainbow Dash teased when she saw me grab it. “Feeling a bit too scared to try something harder?”
“I’m just trying to make sure I don’t have a massive hangover in the morning,” I replied, taking a swig from my bottle and doing my best to look anywhere but directly at her. I ended up focusing on Fluttershy instead, who was standing quietly nearby, not saying a word. Seriously, why the g-string?
Rainbow grabbed a bottle of soda, handed it to Fluttershy, then took a long drink from her cup of beer. Somehow the girl already had a bit of a pink flush to her cheeks. “Oh come on, that’s gonna be future Sunset’s problem. Tonight’s a time to party!” she cried.
~*~
“Yeah...yeah! I was! I was drunk! Tooootally drunk off my ass!” Rainbow cried, wrestling herself back up from her half-fallen state on her podium to stand straight and tall, confidence restored. “Come on, Sunset, you should know that!”
“I… I’m sorry, I just, I…” I stammered, searching for words and not finding any. “I didn’t… but the rope, I just…”
“Hmph!” Diamond Tiara took one look at how I was acting and laughed. “Hahaha! Sunset, you idiot! Hahahahaha!”
“Weren’t you just as insistent on Rainbow’s guilt a minute ago?” Applejack pointed out, glaring at the younger woman.
Diamond Tiara stopped laughing, glared at Applejack, then flipped her the bird. “Shut up.”
“I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash,” I finally managed to say. “I just was so sure, because of the rope.”
“Hey, I get it, don’t worry about it,” Rainbow Dash said with a laugh. “I know it looked pretty suspicious.” She leaned over past Flash’s podium to give Fluttershy a quiet little fist bump. “Thanks for having my back, Shy.”
Fluttershy returned it with a quiet, “You’re welcome,” as she relaxed her whole body back to the meek, quiet self she typically presented.
“Speakin’ of which, Ah was thinkin’ about that while y'all were jawin’ on,” Applejack said, raising a hand for attention, “And ah don’t think she coulda used that rope anyway. Not to toot my own horn or nothin’ but if anyone knows rope, it’s me. And there ain’t no way those marks came from parachute cord or a bungee cord.”
Fact #3: Body Condition: “There is a ring of marks around Wallflower’s neck. The pattern is two inches wide, with an uneven, inconsistent pattern.”
“See, Ah know that because the marks are so wide. Most rope would barely leave an inch wide mark, let alone two inches! And the pattern’s all funky and strange, like whatever the culprit used weren’t a real rope at all, but somethin’ they made.”
“Something made, hmm?” Adagio mused, then whirled to face Rarity and pointed right at her. “Such as by a seamstress, perhaps?”
Rarity let out a gasp, then pointedly gasped again. “Oh, you’re accusing moi now?! How dare you suggest I’d ever craft something so, so, so clumsy as whatever made those marks! I am an artist! I craft gorgeous gowns, dashing dresses, stunning suits, and spectacular outfits! Not makeshift shabby ropes to garrote someone in the nighttime!”
"Sure, but what about the streamers, hmm?" Adagio's mouth spread into a sadistic smile. "Nothing says you couldn't use one of those."
"Absolutely not!" Rarity protested. "I would never pervert one of my lovely creations into a tool for murder!"
"Ah don't think a streamer would make this pattern either," Applejack added with a frown.
No. There’s no way she did it, I’m sure of it. And I’m not about to turn around and accuse someone right after getting egg all over my face with Dash. “I don’t think you made the rope used either, Rarity, but I did have a couple of questions for you.”
“Oh?” Rarity perked up, then her eyes bulged and she shut her mouth. “Mm-mm,” she mumbled.
“Sorry,” I said, shaking my head, “but that’s not gonna fly this time. We need to clear up why you took an extra twenty minutes to come back from the bathrooms compared to everyone else.”
“Twenty minutes is plenty of time to subdue Wallflower and kill her,” Scootaloo pointed out, hand on her chin. “I dunno though… I can’t see Rarity doing that.”
Rarity stayed firmly quiet, holding her hands on her jaw to keep her mouth shut.
“Then again, she’s actin’ mighty suspicious right now,” Apple Bloom muttered, narrowing her eyes at the older woman. “Ah don’t really think she could either, but…”
“But we are all suspects,” Twilight added. “Sorry, Rarity, but can you just tell us? Please?”
Rarity let out a low moan and fell face first onto her podium, heaving sigh after sigh. “Must I? Must I embarrass myself in front of everyone?” She looked up just long enough to see me nodding, then lowered her head again. “Fine. Very well!”
She raised her head, her cheeks blazing hot pink. “I… I… I defecated all over myself!”
“What?!” I cried, my whole face screwed up in shock. “You… you what?!”
Rarity’s whole body shuddered like mad. “I defecated on myself! Please don’t make me repeat it!”
“Ewww!” Scootaloo recoiled, sticking out her tongue.
“Gross!” Timber blurted, waving a hand in front of his nose. “God now I can remember the smell…”
“It wasn’t my fault!” Rarity blabbered, stuttering on almost every word. “I-I lost cont-trol! I c-couldn’t make it to the t-toilet in t-t-time!”
“Is that what I stepped in when I left the stall?!” Diamond Tiara shrieked, slapping both hands to the sides of her face.
“This is even yuckier than when I took care of the Cake’s twins when they were sick with the flu!” Pinkie groaned, her lips curling up in disgust.
“I really didn’t need to hear any of this…” Flash muttered, covering his face with his hand.
“Well, I’m sorry, but you forced it out of me!” Rarity fumed. I could practically see the steam rising from her ears.
“Oh god,” Rainbow Dash clapped a hand to her mouth, her cheeks bulging. “So gross!”
“Did you seriously have to phrase it that way, sis?” Sweetie Belle whined, her face tinged green.
“And I’m guessing none of the rest of you had this problem?” I asked, looking to Diamond Tiara, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Timber Spruce.
“Ah sure didn’t. Ah mean, it was close, but…”
Fluttershy quietly shook her head. “No.”
“Nuh uh. I was lucky,” Timber said.
“Of course not!” Diamond Tiara replied, shaking her fists in my direction.
“Huh. Trixie thinks that explains something she noticed when she was cleaning,” Trixie said. “Two of the stalls had no toilet paper left at all, when the rest had half rolls. Trixie thought that was odd.”
“Yes, well, I had to use something to get it off me before I could use the sink!” Rarity retorted harshly, throwing up her hands. “It was the most embarrassing experience of my life! I never want to go through that again!”
“Okay, okay,” I held up my hands in surrender. “I’m sorry you suffered.” I’m even sorrier I asked. I don’t need to picture something so gross. “So it sounds like none of you had a chance to go after Wallflower.”
“No way. We were waaay too sick,” Timber agreed. He winced and held his stomach, which reminded me that we’d forgotten to get him some digestive medicine. Whoops. Sorry, dude.
“Well, shoot!” Pinkie said. She’d recovered the bounce to her curls, and while not completely perky, she did have a spark of energy. “I was sure one of them had something to do with it. Now we don’t have any suspects at all!”
“Oh yes we do!” Diamond Tiara thundered, reaching out a finger to point in my direction. “We never addressed my initial accusation! Sunset Shimmer, you left the party two hours early! You weren’t drunk like Rainbow Dash! You had plenty of time to kill Wallflower!”
“Oh come on!” I fired back. “I only left early because I needed to sleep!”
“But didn’t Flash and Twilight leave the party early as well?” Rarity added, face screwed up in confusion. “I don’t understand why you insist on accusing Sunset when they had just as much opportunity.”
Diamond Tiara burst out laughing, holding her hand to her mouth like a goddamned anime villain. “Ohohoho, but they have an alibi, and she doesn’t!”
“Wait, what alibi?” Pinkie asked, eyes darting between myself and Flash and Twilight, both of whom were now blushing furiously. “I don’t get it.”
“Aren’t you older than Ah am? Ah get it just fine,” Apple Bloom muttered.
“What a surprise, the childish one doesn’t understand what sex is. Who would’ve guessed?” Adagio snarked, shaking her head in disbelief.
“Wait, they did what?!” Pinkie screeched in response, clutched her head as if in fright, then immediately dropped her hands and smiled a huge ear-to-ear smile. “Well I’m happy for them, then!”
“Do we really have to discuss this?” Flash groaned, casting a sympathetic look to Twilight, who was oscillating between florid embarrassment and hideous rage. “This isn’t anyone’s business but our own.”
Sweetie raised a hand, opened her mouth to speak, closed it, then opened it again to say, “Uh, sorry. Really sorry. But this is a trial. We gotta discuss anything and everything to figure out the killer, right?”
“She’s right about that,” Scootaloo added with a grimace and shrug. “Sorry, but we can’t overlook it.”
“It’s not even a debate anyway,” I added. “We already know they were together.”
Fact #12: Shop Receipts: “FS@RX Wed2005: Basic First Aid Kit, condoms, acetaminophen.”
“And if that’s not enough proof, let’s not forget what Monoponi said before we even came down here.”
~*~
“Au contraire, mon chérie,” Monoponi retorted. “You’re just too stupid to recognize magic when you see it. But what else should we expect from a science-obsessed bookworm who’s so lonely and miserable she puts out on the first date?”
~*~
Twilight’s head shot up, her furious gaze locked directly upon me, her eyes blazing like the sun as she snarled, “Did you really have to bring that up, Sunset?!”
I cringed back. “Sorry,” I said sympathetically, “but I was just trying to prove your alibi. And besides, there was one more thing that proves it too. Adagio and I both saw Flash in your room this morning, just before we found the body.”
“It’s true, we did,” Adagio agreed.
“Okay! We get it! Now drop it,” Flash said, frowning deeply at me.
“Well, does that satisfy you, Rarity?” Diamond Tiara chortled as she fired off a wide smirk in my direction. “Sunset’s the only suspect left! She had a motive. She had the time to do it. She has no alibi. And she’s smart enough to come up with the method used to kill Wallflower. It was her! She did it!”
Fingers of fear reached up and down my spine as many of my fellow passengers started leveling gazes at me just as suspicious and certain as Diamond Tiara’s. “Wait, wait!” I objected, throwing up my hands and waving them frantically. “Hold on! It wasn’t me!”
“I’m not so sure it was her, either,” Rarity agreed, hand on her chin. “I mean, she did figure out the cause of death, when the rest of us were stumped. Why would she do that if she were the culprit?”
Trixie let out a bark of laughter. “Hah! Trixie thinks it was just so she could try to excuse her guilt now. Trixie believes Diamond Tiara. Sunset is guilty!”
“Yeah, I dunno, Rarity, I’m kinda with Trixie and Diamond Tiara here,” Timber said, flashing me an apologetic look. “I don’t wanna think Sunset is capable of killing someone, but who else could it be?”
“No way!” Pinkie shook her head frantically. “Nuh-uh! I believe in Sunny Girl! If she says she didn’t do it, she didn’t do it!”
“Yeah, Ah dunno, Sunset’s been answerin’ all the questions so far,” Apple Bloom spoke up, frowning. “And it doesn't make any sense for her to do that if she killed Wallflower. I ain’t sayin’ she ain’t suspicious, but I ain’t convinced yet either.”
“Well I am,” Sweetie Belle said, glaring at me. “Sorry sis, I get you believe in Sunset, but who else could it be? We’ve eliminated all other suspects.”
“Have we really?” Twilight spoke up, adjusting her glasses. The poor girl was much calmer now, thankfully. “We haven’t even answered all the mysteries of this case yet. I’m not ready to vote.”
Rainbow Dash’s lips twisted up in a sad frown, then she looked at me and shrugged apologetically. “Maybe we haven’t, Twi, but I can’t see who else could’ve done it. Sorry Sunset, but you were kinda gunnin’ for me pretty hard earlier, and that’s kinda suspicious too, ya know?”
Fluttershy’s eyes filled with tears, and she looked down at her podium, not meeting my gaze. “Sorry, but, I agree with Rainbow Dash.”
Applejack snorted, and briefly took off her stetson so she could toss it on her podium in disgust before snatching it back and placing it back on her head. “Ah don’t believe this. Y'all're ready to string Sunset up when we ain’t even solved the case yet.”
“Yeah, I’m not saying it’s not possible Sunset did it, but I’m not convinced yet,” Flash said, nodding to me. “I’m not ready to vote either.”
“But it makes sense though, that she did it,” Scootaloo said, her expression full of indecision. “I… I don’t know what to do now. But who else could we vote for?”
“Whoever the real culprit is,” Adagio grunted. She favored me with a calculating look, then nodded. “Frankly, I don’t think Sunset did this. In fact, she's probably the least capable of murder out of all of us.”
Diamond Tiara let out a scream of frustration and smashed both fists onto her podium. “Then what do we do, huh? We’re split right down the middle!”
“Split? Did you say, split?” Monoponi interrupted, a wide smile of glee splitting his muzzle.
“Oh no,” I moaned, slapping a hand to my face. “Come on. We’re not seriously going to do that, are we?”
“Do what?” Sweetie mumbled.
“Why, we have to, Sunset!” Monoponi replied with a giggle. “When you’re split down the middle, what else can we do to solve it but have a scrum debate?!” Monoponi’s horn lit, and the room was suddenly filled with the sound of a familiar techno beat.
“Oh my god you’re even playing the music…” I moaned harder, slamming my face onto my podium.
“What?! What’re we doing?!” Sweetie said again, throwing up her hands.
“What’s with the music?” Adagio grunted, eyes scanning for the speakers.
In response, Monoponi lifted his forehooves to the sky and stretched out his wings. “You’ll settle this debate the only way you can, with our very own morphenomenal trial grounds!”
“That term’s so stupid,” I mumbled into my podium.
His horn lit up once more in a fierce crimson light as our podiums began to float up into the air, everyone screeching or letting out cries of shock as we each lined up in two rows, ready to face off. “Now then, let’s get this scrum debate started!”
IS SUNSET THE CULPRIT?
BEGIN!
Trixie started us off, shouting, “Sunset has to be the culprit. There’s no other possibility!”
Rarity huffed in reply, “Not true! I don’t believe she could be the culprit!”
“But Sunset is the most suspicious person here! That means she did it!” Diamond Tiara spluttered.
“Of course she’s suspicious,” Adagio laughed. “But so are others. It doesn’t mean a thing.”
“But we’ve solved all the mysteries, haven’t we?” Sweetie Belle argued.
“We haven’t even come close to solving all of the mysteries,” Twilight replied, shaking her head.
Rainbow Dash held up a hand and said, “But Sunset’s the only one who left the party early who coulda done it, right?”
“Nope,” Apple Bloom shot back. “She ain’t the only one who left the party. Lots of people did.”
“Oh please,” Diamond Tiara scoffed, “she’s the only one smart enough to come up with the cause of death!”
“Nuh uh!” Pinkie Pie countered. “Lots of us are smart enough to come up with the cause of death in this case!”
“But didn’t Sunset have a pretty good motive?” Scootaloo suggested, face screwed up in confusion.
“We all had a motive,” Flash retorted. “Monoponi gave us one, remember?”
“But, she… she doesn’t have an alibi,” Fluttershy murmured, looking very uncertain.
Applejack was ready for this one, “She might not be able to prove her alibi, but she said she was just sleepin’, and Ah believe her.”
“But if it wasn't you, then who else could we vote for?” Timber blurted, throwing up his hands.
I took this one myself. “We don’t know! That’s why we can’t vote yet! We just don’t have all the answers!”
With that response, the music silenced itself, and our podiums fell back to rest on the floor in the normal positions. I was more than happy to be back on the ground. Floating in the air just gave me flashbacks to bad memories. “I know I haven’t been able to prove my alibi,” I continued, “But we still haven’t solved this case. We can’t risk voting until we’re absolutely sure.”
“Fine! Fine! Ugh!” Diamond Tiara screeched, throwing her arms up in the air and then slamming them back onto her podium in disgust. “We won’t vote yet.” She raised one arm to point directly at me. “But I still think it was you, and I won’t budge on that till you can prove otherwise!”
I nodded. This trial was just getting started, but I could be sure of at least one thing. I wasn’t the culprit. I didn’t do it. I still wasn’t sure who could have, but we still had plenty to go.
This wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.
I won't lie: trials are fun. Even if all I ever wrote for the story was the trials and nothing else, it'd still be worth doing, just because of how fun they are to write. The balance between creating sufficient clues for the people to work from, without making things too obvious, and making things solvable is an amazing challenge, well worth doing. Placing characters under the tension, the stress, the sheer paranoia of the trial just makes them do all kinds of fun things.
Also, in constructing this trial, I used aspects from many Fangans I've read, as I've stated before. In particular I did my best to make things as story-centered as possible, while still touching on my own version of a couple of game mechanics, like the scrum debate. The very first debate too was intentionally framed like a traditional non-stop debate, because like Sunset said, I had to do it, at least once. The rest of the trial, naturally, doesn't follow that format so much, nor should it, because usually they have people repeating themselves endlessly or unnecessarily restating the same thing they just said before the debate starts, etc, all to fulfill game mechanics. So I cherry-picked what works in a story format and discarded the rest. Sadly, this means Sunset will not be racing taxis in her mind or riding a snowboard.
Regarding the cause of death: this actually changed quite a few times, until I settled on this. It's utterly bizarre, I know, but trust me, there is a very good reason why, and will be explained. Just not yet.
Oh, and as for Monoponi's little revelation? You might get an answer to that sooner than you might think. 
Wednesday: the second part of the trial.
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Had to skim through this for now (got limited time at the moment), but I'm still saying the culprit is:
Timber, though Rarity's getting a bit suspicious as well
Eww... someone rammed a pole of ice into Wallflower's mouth until they broke her brain stem? God, that's brutal! I actually had a nightmare like that once, but with a sword...
Also, I really admire the effort you put into all the signs and symptoms of the death! I had no idea your legs swell if your heart fails!
...This sounds hella morbid, I think I'll stop now.
Also, I like that Dash and Shy are next to each other and Sunset and Trixie are next to each other
I like that you have everyone contribute possible evidence with their monopads
I think you meant improvise
10531666
I'm usually good about avoiding those. As for the Monopad touch, I figured it'd make for a nice visual effect. It's the kind of thing I'd like to think always takes place, but was never explicitly pointed out. Regarding the placement of everyone at their podiums: I actually shuffled things around quite a bit there until I settled on this arrangement. Trixie and Sunset were always next to each other though. Just felt right.
It's certainly possible. Thank you by the way for catching that typo of mine.
10531711
I did my research when it came to the symptoms of death. It's my intention to portray things at least semi-plausibly, and the research was entertaining, in a morbid fashion. As for the brutality, well... you can thank the darker portions of my mind for that one.
Thank you!
Well this is fun so far.
We have learned a lot. Wallflower’s true cause of death is brutal. I mean, using an icicle as a bludgeon and a severed brain stem? Danganronpa has had some brutal deaths, but for a first case murder that one is one of the most brutal.
I loved the interactions. Trixie getting embarrassed and sad, Fluttershy standing up for Rainbow, Rarity admitting why she was so embarrassed, even everyone discussing Twilight and Flash’s love life as their alibi. Oh, and Sunset using the famous “No, that’s wrong!” catchphrase. That part was pure gold.
They seem like they are at an impasse at the moment, but I have a theory. I don’t think anyone who defended Sunset in the scrum debate is the culprit, since if they were they would have been trying to pin the blame on Sunset instead. That means it must be someone from the side that was accusing her. It is even fewer than that since some of them already have alibis. It is admittedly a weak theory, but it would still fit my initial guess that the culprit is Timber.
10531859
I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed the interactions. I worked pretty hard on trying to make everyone feel like themselves here in the trial, because if there's anywhere it's important, it's here. I'll probably be throwing in at least one "No, that's wrong!" into every trial just because I can, too.
As for your hypothesis, I will say this. If I was a culprit in a trial, I'd certainly never pass up a chance to make someone else take the blame. So you might be right there, about the scrum debate. We'll see in part two, of course.
Hmmm, so we got it heavily suggested that someone is doing this to hurt pony Twilight? Points to an Equestria villain as the mastermind (Chrysalis would be most likely because she could disguise herself) or maybe even Sunset herself. Orrrrr it could be a fake-out and Monoponi is referring to someone else.
Aaaactually, we have established that the characters we've met have human memories, but we don't know some aren't lying. It's possible that, say, it's pony Applejack pretending to be the human.
10532246
It certainly looks that way. Like I said, you'll get at least part of an answer to that pretty soon.
Also, that's quite the intriguing thought you've had there, regarding a pony pretending to be human. Quite intriguing indeed.
Ugh, Sunset please use your trap card. A love note that is used to lure Wallflower to the killer. Someone else had to be a mean spirited person who didn't really want to play nice with others. That's it, I am going to vote: Diamond Tiara is the killer.
This is good stuff, I'm liking what i'm reading so far. I am on the edge of my seat during the whole trial. Keep up the good work!
10532435
I promise to do my best. Or worst, as the case may be.
Oh don't worry. Sunset hasn't forgotten about the note.
10532639
Glad to hear it!
So, Wallflower died from someone shoving an ice poll into her mouth and breaking her brain stem. That almost sounds like how Mr. Hyde killed General Glossop in the musical version of "Jekyll & Hyde", only he used a swordstick.
10541381
Oh, is that so? I'm glad I managed an unintentional literary reference then. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is one of my all time favorite bits of classical literature, and I do so enjoy musicals.
again, loving the art! very video gamey!
hehe, because blood is pink in this universe! very fun
ah, predictable
genre savvy! so i'm thinking now the cleaver was a red herring planted by the murderer to frame Sunset given her previous job at Sushi King?
Bicyclette also does not understand
how can ice have enough mass to do that very well? it's not very dense as material!
video game!
well i see where your Sunsagioxie comes from! really great stuff here
that would certainly be my reaction
oof, just want to give poor Trixie a hug. it's not her fault that she is very bad at Danganronpaing
hehehe, meta jokes
well, that does add to the meta-mystery!
ugh did i point out Rainbow Dash is the only one who had bought rope earlier? i was thinking it! do i get any extra credit? but i also dismissed it since i am pretty sure it's Timber Spruce
dangit i was thinking this a bit odd too back then! especially since the store was mentioned as having the objectively best kind of exercise equipment: free weights! agh, i want credit! okay but i still don't think it's Rainbow Dash, though.
oof, it's that Fluttershy Stare!
nice, i was correct in dismissing that evidence
love Rarity's ridiculous use of Prench even in this situation! that is dedication to a bit and it's why i love her
oof, poor Rarity! having to admit something so very un-Rarity
aww! me too, Pinkie!
yep! knew it couldn't be those two, at least
hehehe, Adagio using what she knows about pony psychology (of course, Sunset is hardly the average pony, having once gladly mind-controlled a high school full of students, but Adagio does not know that i guess!)
meta!
meta again!
i have absolutely no idea what this means but i will nod along
trollestia indeed!
Oh, hey! I see someone can't take Ibuprofen!