Super Ponyronpa: Cacophonous Symphony

by TrackdNTraild

ACT 1: CLASS TRIAL

>>ACT 1 CLASS TRIAL: START!<<

"Allow me to explain to you all the rules of the trial!" Philomena cleared her throat and flapped her wings as she adjusted herself. "So, your votes will determine the results! If you can figure out "whodunnit" then only they will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong pony... then I'll punish everypony besides the blackened, and the one that deceived everypony else will graduate! Does that sound clear enough?"

"As clear as what was written in the Phoenix Pads," Starlight said, pulling out her own pad so she could open the notepad.

"Good!" Philomena cawed happily. "Then let the class trial begin!"

"I'd like to start off the trial, if that's okay with everypony," Twilight said.

"Go ahead, Twilight." Shining nodded to the mare across the room.

"Let's start the topic off simply." Twilight pulled out her own Phoenix Pad and showcased a picture of Party Favor's stab wound. "We need to talk about this; Party Favor's stab wound. There's no clear and obvious explanation to what was used to stab him, and we need to get the weapon out of the way before anything else."

"Why does the weapon matter?" Prince Blueblood yawned. "A pony is dead, we should be more focused on the circumstances of the death itself."

"Because I have a theory." Twilight put her Phoenix Pad away.

"And the theory is?" Feather Bangs questioned.

"It's simple." Twilight coughed and cleared her throat. "It's the fact that there are no weapons on this campus. Anything that we could've used to kill another pony was in Restaurant Row."

"There were knives, forks, and other things at the table," Shining pointed out.

"But no pony could get to Restaurant Row!" The Doctor spoke up. "It was blocked off by the magical barrier."

"The barrier only opened up today because Party Favor died last night." Rainbow Dash fluttered her wings on her back. "No pony could've gotten in there to get anything until after the murder happened!"

"That's my point." Twilight tapped her foot on the ground. "There are no weapons on campus that fit the wound before Restaurant Row opened up."

"So why are we talking about it if we know nothing works?" Feather Bangs flipped his hair and huffed.

"Because, there is something that works, and I know how many of us have it." Twilight looked around the room. "There are 7 ponies in this room who all share something in common with the victim, including myself."

"Well, what is it?" Rarity adjusted her mane on her neck. "It might help us cut down a few case subjects."

"Starlight, do you know what it is?" Twilight looked at the mare across the room.

"It's..." Something that these 8 ponies have in common... Starlight took a moment to think, before it hit her. "It's the horns! There are 8 ponies in this group who are unicorns, or have a unicorn horn."

"Correct," Twilight hummed to the mare. "I did the measurements myself while I was away from my group during the investigation. The wound on Party Favor's stomach was in the shape of a circle, roughly 2 and a half inches in diameter. It was a near perfect circle, but if one looked at the wound deeply..."

Twilight pulled out her Phoenix Pad again, showcasing a zoomed in image of the wound. Many ponies didn't like the sight, but Twilight knew it was necessary for them to see it. Starlight knew they had to as well.

"The wound isn't a perfect circle all the way down," Starlight explained while Twilight showed the picture. "As the wound goes in, it gets smaller. Only a pony with a unicorn horn would be able to create a wound like that without a weapon."

"To summarize," Twilight put her pad away. "The only ponies that could've killed Party Favor were the same species as him."

"That cuts down half of the class from being suspected!" Rainbow Dash tapped her hooves on the ground. "The rest of us are pegasi and earth ponies!"

"That leaves us 7 potential culprits in the grand scheme of things," Prince Blueblood began. "Miss Glimmer, Miss Sparkle, Miss Lulamoon, Sunburst, Miss Belle, Sir Shining Armor, and Myself."

"We have a definitive species because of the wound," Twilight nodded to Prince Blueblood. "Now we can focus on other important things, such as how Party Favor was killed."

"Well, he was stabbed!" Feather Bangs chuckled. "What else is there to discuss?"

"That's the wound that killed him," Starlight said. "But that isn't the only thing that happened. We need to figure out the timeline of events as to how this happened."

"So let's start from the beginning then," Twilight said with a firm stomp of her hoof. "We need a record of events that occurred yesterday and last night. Everypony needs to have an alibi other than sleeping in the dorms. If you don't have one, you should stay quiet."

"I-I woke up to some loud noises in the night..." Fluttershy weakly spoke up, just barely enough that ponies could hear her.

"I went to bed soon after the announcement," Prince Blueblood said confidently.

"Many of us were eatin' grass because Restaurant Row wasn't open," Applejack said. "But Ah was also buckin' apples in the fruit tree orchard. Ah was lookin' for backup food before bed."

"I was eating grass too," Twilight confessed. "I was picking out the best blades of grass to eat before I did so."

"Why, I slept the whole night!" Rarity hummed. "Heard not a peep from any pony."

>>TRUTH BULLET #7: RARITY'S ACCOUNT

"Rarity, you're lying!" Starlight exposed the mare openly with her Phoenix Pad. "You told me yourself during the investigation in Party Favor's room that you woke up in the night to go to the bathroom."

"Oh, my," Rarity fanned herself with her hoof. "Indeed, I forgot that part... my memory must have slipped."

"Sounds like an early confession to me!" Trixie spoke up confidently. "Trixie says this mare is guilty!"

"Now now, let's not get overworked yet," Twilight tried to calm the situation. "Starlight, did Rarity say anything else?"

"She told me that when she was awake, she didn't see Party Favor," Starlight explained what she had written down. "I'm lead to believe that Rarity couldn't have killed him, because she wasn't awake when he was."

"Ah, I do remember now." Rarity took a few deep breaths. "I suppose having my beauty sleep interrupted halted my memory as well."

"O-or maybe she's just anxious..?" Fluttershy spoke out. "I-I know I am, this trial is r-really scary..."

"It's only scary if you let it be!" Pinkie snickered. "I think this is really fun!"

"Yeah! We shouldn't let it get us down in the dumps!" Cheese Sandwich agreed with the mare directly across from him. "If we focus on our bad feelings, then we'll be all discombobulated! We'll be wrapped up in a crazy weird bow on a Christmas present nopony asked for!"

"I have to say, I agree with them. On the context, rather than the form," Twilight chuckled softly. "We need to try and stay positive or else we're going to let our feelings interfere with what is actually being said. If that happens, we're going to pick the wrong pony and lose our lives."

"Then we need to focus on this trial!" Shining stomped his hoof. "We've discovered two things; the culprit was a unicorn, and judging by her account, Rarity didn't do it. We need to move on!"

"Let's focus back on how the murder was committed," Twilight brought the trial back to the base topic. "Why would Party Favor have been out of his dorm so early at night?"

"Maybe he was like Rarity and he had to go to the bathroom," Feather Bang snickered.

"Are you making fun of me?" Rarity blushed and glared at the stallion.

"Guys, please focus!" Twilight slammed her hooves on the front of her podium. "You're going to get us killed! Think!"

Think, think, think... Starlight closed her eyes as she thought about the scenario. Why would Party Favor have been out of his dorm...

"He didn't have a reason to be out!" Rainbow Dash spoke up. "It's not like he could sleep outside; it's against the rules to sleep anywhere but your dorm!"

"And there wasn't anywhere he could go that would be meaningful," Prince Blueblood said, lifting his chin high.

>>TRUTH BULLET #5: FEATHER BANGS'S ACCOUNT

"Actually, that's wrong!" Starlight spoke up against the so-called prince. "Feather Bangs and Party Favor were talking when they came inside after the nighttime announcement. Party Favor told him he was going to see if the barrier to Restaurant Row shut off at night. That place was meaningful to him because it was the only place where he could test his theory. That's why he was out of his dorm at night!"

"Well!" Prince Blueblood seemed offended that Starlight had spoken out against him.

"So now we know why he was out of his dorm," Rarity mused. "So, why would the culprit be out at night?"

"The answer is that they knew that Party Favor was going to be out," Twilight explained as she glanced around the room. "Or they had their own reason to be awake, and took the opportunity while no pony could see them."

"I think it should also be important to note the location where Party Favor died," The Doctor said. "We know that Party Favor was in his dorm at the time of his death, as that is where we found the body."

"Do we though?" Trixie spoke up. "Trixie believes any pony could have simply dragged his body there!"

"I don't think that's true." Twilight shook her head. "There was no way that Party Favor could have been dragged into his room, and we have evidence that supports that."

Do we? Starlight thought. She looked through her Phoenix Pad, silently going over the evidence herself. Why couldn't Party Favor have been dragged into his room after death? She looked through every option before she found what supported that theory.

>>TRUTH BULLET #13: BLOODY SCANNER

"It's because of the dorm scanner!" Starlight straightened her back as she spoke the revelation.

"The scanner?" Shining asked.

"She means the scanner inside Party Favor's room," Feather Bangs flipped his hair as he spoke. "The scanner inside the room had a bloody hoofprint on it. There was no hoofprint on the outside scanner showing some pony getting in."

"There were no blood trails either," Starlight said. "And from the dried puddle on the outside, we can deduce that he died while he was in the room."

"He wasn't covered in blood either," Twilight pointed out. "If he had been dragged through blood, his side would've been entirely covered, but there was only blood coming from the wound on his stomach!"

"That confirms that he died inside the room. No more explanation needed for that," Prince Blueblood said.

"So next, ah think we should be talkin' about how the killer got in with him to take him out," Applejack said, trying to think herself.

"With the last motive, there's no way he would've just let some random pony come into his room!" Cheese said. "I know I wouldn't have, I wouldn't want to end up in his place!"

"That means that the culprit must have snuck into his room when he wasn't looking, and surprised him!" Pinkie hit her hoof on the podium for emphasis. "And then boom! He was gone..."

"Surely he would've put up a fight," Rainbow Dash said. "He wouldn't have just accepted his fate!"

"No pony would." Twilight shook her head. "It's our natural instinct to fight back. But that doesn't help us right now. Let's go with the idea that the culprit snuck into Party Favor's room while he wasn't looking in order get in and kill him. Then what? What happened that resulted in him being stabbed?"

"A fight broke out," Starlight knew the answer without having to think about it.

"We already knew that!" Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and hovered in the air. "But what's important enough that i has to be brought up?"

"Let's talk about it," Twilight nodded her head.

"So, when the culprit snuck into Party Favor's room, they began fighting," The Doctor said. "The culprit wouldn't have expected the fight to break out, surely."

"Party Favor must've fought back!" Rainbow Dash put in her two cents. "There's no way it would've just... happened!"

"So obviously, the culprit won the fight, but how?" The Doctor pondered.

>>CONSENT: DOCTOR WHOOVES
>>TRUTH BULLET #15: LARGE BRUISE
>>TRUTH BULLET #20: PARTY FAVOR'S PHOENIX PAD

"Because he was disoriented," Starlight said.

"How?" Trixie questioned.

"His Phoenix Pad." Starlight pulled her pad up to show a picture of the broken pad. "Feather Bangs and I found his Phoenix Pad cracked and thrown in the trash in the stallions' bathroom. There was also a large bruise on the back of his head, as stated in the Phoenix File."

"There were also glass shards around the body," Feather Bangs added to her statement. "That could only mean that the culprit must've hit Party Favor with the Phoenix Pad so that they would be able to attack him easily."

"He wouldn't have been able to fight back because of the trauma," Twilight continued. "I see now."

"Oh jeez, I never even thought of that..." Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her head with her hoof. "Poor guy."

"Yes, it's not the best thing to think about..." Starlight sighed. "But that's what happened. The culprit took advantage of that brief moment of weakness in order to deal the final blow."

"Then they waited until after he was dead to scan themself out of the room," The Doctor mused. "A very smart pony that culprit is indeed."

"So we've got to the point where Party Favor has died," Twilight recalled the events. "But now we need to learn the events afterwards. We still have no definitive clues to who the culprit is, and the cleanup should help us figure it out."

"I do know one thing though. Fluttershy couldn't have done it either," Double Diamond spoke up for the first time that trial. "And it's not just because we know a unicorn did it."

"How would you know?" Twilight asked.

"When we were all outside, I noticed hoofprints formed out of blood." He seemed uncomfortable talking about it, but he knew he had to. "They were leading to Fluttershy's dorm, which is right in front of Party Favor's."

"So the culprit was trying to frame Fluttershy as the killer?" Pinkie gasped. "How horrible!"

"The culprit isn't as smart as we think," Twilight chuckled. "Those hoofprints couldn't frame Fluttershy. We can prove her innocence."

"How can we? Well, other than the species thing." Rainbow rolled her shoulders.

"There was no way she could've done it," Pinkie said. "She's too sweet of a pony to do something like that!"

"I-I really wouldn't do something like that..." Fluttershy drew circles on the ground with her hoof.

"But there's something obvious that shows she couldn't have done it," Twilight said.

"The hoofprints lead to her dorm though! Why else would they be there?!" Trixie yelled out.

"Yeah, they come from her dorm, so why couldn't it have been her?" Applejack spoke up.

There's something wrong here... Starlight thought, feeling the stress of the situation weighing on her. She knew she could prove Fluttershy's innocence, but how?

"Her dorm is in front of Party Favor's, so she had direct access!" Trixie jolted in. "Trixie believes if she were a unicorn, she could've done it!"

"The hoofprints prove it!" Rarity butted in. "She walked from her dorm to Party Favor's and snuck in behind him!" Starlight gasped. She knew.

>>TRUTH BULLET #21: FLUTTERSHY'S ACCOUNT

"No, that's wrong!" Starlight yelled out over everyone else's shouting. The room fell silent as the eyes trained on her. "Fluttershy couldn't have done it because she heard the murder taking place!"

"Explain, Miss Glimmer," Prince Blueblood edged the mare forth.

"Fluttershy told me that in the night, she heard noises and a scream or yell from the hallway. She was too scared to leave the dorm or go back to sleep! That means the she couldn't have done it, because she heard it happen!"

"I-If I can a-also speak..." Fluttershy nervously raised her voice. "I-I peeked out of my dorm to see what was g-going on, and saw a pony leave P-Party Favor's dorm. B-but, I got scared and hid in my room under my bed... i-it was so dark I couldn't s-see who it was..."

"In short, Fluttershy didn't do it," Twilight confirmed. "One, because she's a pegasus. Two, because she heard the crime being committed from across the hall."

"So we're back at square one," Feather Bangs huffed in annoyance.

"We've confirmed that the culprit tried to frame Fluttershy, but failed," Starlight looked at her notes. "So now, we need to continue with the cleanup process."

"That's a good place to pick up from," Twilight said with a nod to Starlight. "The culprit had to clean up at least some of their mess, so how did they do it and where?"

"The bathroom," Starlight said. "Earlier we learned that there are showers in the bathrooms here on campus. After the crime was committed, the pony went to the bathroom to shower, and clear the blood from their hooves and head because of their horn."

"Now we just need to figure out which bathroom got used," Trixie said. "There are stallions and mares here who are unicorns that could still be at fault."

"You're one of those unicorns, Trixie," Rainbow stared accusingly at the pony.

"Are you accusing the Great and Powerful Trixie of murder?!" Trixie yelled at the pegasus.

"Guys, please focus!" Twilight tried to tame the situation. " We're not going to get anywhere by arguing all the time. Now, back to the topic at hoof... the bathrooms."

"Either bathroom could have been used, the possibilities are endless," The Doctor said.

"Are they really?" Twilight pondered. "Both bathrooms couldn't have been used, that's impossible."

I know something is here, Starlight thought. She screwed her eyes shut, forcing herself into the palace in her mind so she could think. She listened to every word and tried to piece things together. Think Starlight...

"You should only shower one time, why would you need to do it more than once?" Pinkie snorted. "That's just silly!"

"Well, they needed some way to clean up the mess!" Rarity said.

"But there's no evidence they had to shower to clean up!" Rainbow flapped her wings angrily.

>>TRUTH BULLET #17: BATHROOM DRAIN

"You're wrong!" Starlight slammed her hoof on the ground. "The drain in the mare's bathroom is proof!"

"The drain?" Twilight inquired.

"There was hair and blood in the drain," Starlight explained, showing a picture of the scene. "It got trapped in the drain when that pony showered. And there's evidence that they showered too; the towels in the bathroom were wrinkled and smelled of water. They had been used."

"So our culprit took a shower afterwards to try and clean up the crime scene, and left behind some incriminating evidence," Trixie said, side-eyeing the ponies around her. "But then what did they do about the crime scene itself? Walking away from that bloody puddle mess would leave hoofprints!"

"They did leave hoofprints, we already talked about that!" Feather Bangs rolled his eyes.

"But those hoofprints only came from Fluttershy's door," Twilight reminded the stallion. "When the culprit walked away, they would've left a different trail leading down the hall to the bathroom."

"Well, we didn't see one," Prince Blueblood snorted.

"That's because something happened that got rid of the hoofprints," Twilight said. "Starlight, you know what I mean don't you?"

"Huh?" Starlight thought about what had been said. What happened that got rid of the hoofprints in the hallway? She closed her eyes to think, and opened them when she got her answer.

>>TRUTH BULLET #19: EMPTY BUCKET & STAINED MOP

"The hoofprints were washed away from the scene," Starlight said.

"How so?" Applejack asked.

"There are a mop and a bucket in both bathrooms," Starlight answered. "The stallions' bathroom had a bucket with no water, and a mop that was stained with blood. The mares' bathroom had a full bucket and a clean mop."

"So we're back to the basics again?" Rainbow Dash pulled at her face in frustration. "Ugh, this is so confusing!"

"Let's continue with the facts of the case, then we can clear up the confusion and catch the culprit," Twilight said as she looked at her notes again.

"So the culprit washed away the hoofprints," The Doctor said. "They also took a shower to clean off the blood, and their hair also fell into the drain. They dried up with towels, and left the scene as it was."

"This still doesn't prove who did it!" Rainbow Dash yelled in frustration.

"We've gone over every possibility, how do we still not know who it is?" Applejack was beginning to get frustrated too.

"There is one important detail that you're all missing out on," Twilight said and looked at Starlight. "The colour of the hair in the drain."

Starlight knew what Twilight was asking, without even saying it. The pony's hair that was caught in the drain was... purple.

"The hair was purple," Starlight said. "There are only 3 ponies here who fit the criteria to be the culprit. The only ponies who have purple in their hair are Twilight, Rarity, and... me."

"So, one of you three killed Party Favor," Trixie hissed.

"We need to think more rationally about this. Think shades," Twilight said.

"What do you mean shades?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You all have purple hair, that still doesn't tell us which one of you did it!"

"It can," Prince Blueblood spoke up. "The shades of purple in their hair are different. Different textures and lengths as well. If we're going to get to the bottom of this, we must determine what the consistency of the hair in the drain is, and match it with another pony."

"I can tell you confidently that it wasn't my hair," Starlight said hesitantly. "If it was my hair, the drain would have also had teal strands of hair in it, but it did not. It only had purple. The same situation applies to Twilight's hair. Her hair is primarily blue, so why would only purple strands be in the drain?"

"She could've easily thrown away the blue strands of hair. Flushed them down the toilet or something," Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Caused a bit more confusion, maybe."

"That's not possible," The Doctor refuted her argument. "Even if Twilight had done such a thing, very little hair would have remained because the stripe in her hair is so small. What Starlight found was a clump of hair, not a few strands. Twilight could not have committed the crime."

"And there's only one pony who could fit the criteria now." Starlight stared the pony in the eyes, watching the anger and fear swirl around in their pupils like raging flames. "And to explain who it is, let me retell the story of how this murder played out."

"Nighttime is supposed to take place from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. as written in the school rules. Usually there would be no reason for a pony to be out during this time, but Party Favor had one. He went to Restaurant Row to test a theory that the magical barrier would shut down during the nighttime. The culprit used this as their perfect opportunity to strike. As he walked back to his dorm, the culprit followed after him. Party Favor scanned himself into his room, but the culprit snuck in when he was unaware."

"A fight broke out between the two. The culprit took Party Favor's Phoenix Pad, and hit him on the head with it! Seeing Party Favor disoriented, they took advantage of his weakness and stabbed him in the stomach with their unicorn horn. The thudding of the struggle and Party Favor's yell were overheard by Fluttershy, who was too scared to leave her dorm. The culprit waited until Party Favor bled out before making their next move. They used his hoof on the scanner to open the door, leaving him on the ground when the door was open."

"The culprit attempted to frame Fluttershy by walking backwards, and trailing bloody hoofprints to her room. The culprit then went to the bathroom and took a shower, during which the blood and pieces of their hair fell out and clogged the drain. The culprit dried their hair with the towels, then went to the stallions' bathroom to take a mop and bucket and clean up the hoofprints leading down the hallway. They drained the water and squeezed water from the mop in the shower and sink, not bothering to fill the bucket back up with fresh water, and trashed Party Favor's Phoenix Pad thinking that no pony would find it. They thought that they had committed the perfect crime and were free of suspicion thanks to their perfect alibi, but the wound and the hair in the drain made the killer quite obvious."

"I know that you killed Party Favor! And you can't hide from us Rarity Belle, Ultimate Fashionista!"

"Well, I never!" Rarity threw her head back, entirely offended by the accusation. "I think you're awfully bold accusing me when you have a horn and purple hair too!"

Starlight knew that Rarity was right in some regards, but the evidence spoke the truth. She was outnumbered by the truths of her crime!

"Starlight is entirely correct," The Doctor glared at Rarity. "It was you that killed Party Favor, and you have no reason to deny it!"

"But you have no reason to accuse me!" Rarity fought vehemently against the accusation with fury in her eyes. "She is just as likely to have committed the crime as I!"

"We have every reason to believe you did it, and I've already told you the truth!" Starlight yelled at the mare beside her. "You killed Party Favor!"

"I refuse to accept this!" Rarity screamed, stepping to the side of her podium and entering a defensive stance to glare at Starlight. "Show me your proof! Give me your evidence!"

"Fine! I will!" Starlight stood her ground and held her head high with her horn sparking, refusing to let Rarity intimidate her.

>>BULLET TIME BATTLE: START<<

Rarity was furious, but Starlight was angrier at her denial. The air around them was tense, so thick it could be cut with a knife. Rarity was violent in her refusal to accept the truth, and Starlight was violent in her stubbornness to push the truth forth. Both mares were clashing teeth like ravenous wolves during their argument, screaming at eachother for what seemed like forever. Neither of them wished to give in. Their resolve was too strong, and they knew it. They would push on as long as they needed, but Rarity was beginning to crack under the pressure of keeping herself in tact. She was beginning to sweat, and her horn would fizz as she got angrier. Finally she did snap.

"Where's your proof that I killed Party Favor?!" She screamed at Starlight at last, her chest heaving as she began to run out of breath from her screaming. "What evidence do you have that makes me the culprit?!"

>> HAIR IN THE DRAIN <<

>> BREAK! <<

Starlight's throat was hurting from the screaming, and Rarity's must have been too. Tears were forming in her eyes and her head was hung low. She was finally accepting defeat at Starlight's hooves. She swallowed hard and stood back in her proper position. The tears rolled down her face. She closed her eyes, and waved her hoof in Starlight's direction.

"Go on," She said, her voice raspy and broken with sobs. "I-I... have been bested."

"Is it finally time to vote?" Philomena squawked. She seemed excited that the trial had finally come to a close. "Oh boy oh boy! Let's get this show on the road everypony! It's voting time! Are you going to pick the right choice, or the horribly, truly terribly, dreadfully wrong one? Place your votes now!"

A panel appeared on each of the podiums. All 16 ponies had their cutie marks shown on the buttons on the panel in square boxes. Starlight strangely thought they looked familiar to her. She pressed her hoof on Rarity's cutie mark, and pressed the green button to send her vote in. The panel disappeared back into the podium, and a big screen emerged from the wall beside Philomena's throne. An animation played, similar to that of a casino's slot machine. It randomly scrolled through the cutie marks of every pony, and finally, all 3 boxes landed on Rarity's cutiemark. Confetti streamed from two pipes on either side of the machine, and coins rained down from the ceiling. It appeared that they had picked the right pony. Every pony stepped down from their podiums as the trial finally ended.

"So why did you do it?" Starlight asked Rarity, but she stepped away from the pony in question. The rest of the students stood behind her, glaring daggers at the mare.

"I had to," Rarity said tearfully.

"What do you mean you had to?!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "One of our classmates is dead because of you."

"I know that!" Rarity shouted back, more tears pooling down her face now. "B-but... if I didn't do it, then we all would've died. I just didn't want to starve, and I didn't want other ponies to starve because I had done nothing. I didn't think taking my own life would satisfy Philomena's needs, so I had to kill another pony. When I saw that Party Favor was awake, I knew I wouldn't get another opportunity, so... I had no choice. It was him, or all of us."

"And what if taking your own life would've worked?" Starlight asked.

"Then I would've." Rarity lifted her head and sniffled. "I would've done it a thousand times over. For years I would do it, just so you all wouldn't have to die. And it worked, didn't it? We're all here, still alive. We're alive because we got to eat, because some pony had to die. Think of it... think of it as a gift of generosity from me to you all. It took a pony's life to give, but in the long run... it was worth it to see you all still standing here."

Starlight couldn't help but feel bad for Rarity. She had done something good for them. They all got to stay alive, even if it meant Party Favor had to die. If it wasn't for Rarity, they would all have starved to death in a week. Not every pony was happy with Rarity's explanation, but Starlight could feel that she didn't care. She was happy she had done something.

"You all are so sappy." Philomena blew raspberries at the crowd, which was surprising because she is a bird. "It's time to get on to my favourite part of the trial; the execution! I've got a very special execution prepared for Rarity Belle, the Ultimate Fashionista! Let's give it everything we've got! Iiiiit's punishment time!"

Philomena pulled a remote from behind one of her wings, and pressed the button as she cackled maniacally. A panel in the wall opened up, exposing a long hallway. Rarity looked back just in time as chains flew from the opening at high speeds towards her. A cuff wrapped around her neck, and two more clung to her front left leg, and bright right leg. She struggled against the chains momentarily before they were sucked back into the hallway, forcefully dragging her into the bright white light that filled her execution chamber.

Author's Note:

OnBoneTheMeat

The class trial has finally come to an exciting close as the culprit is revealed! Just a reminder; please don't talk about the culprit without spoiler tags in the comments! All the comments show up on the front page of the story, we don't want to spoil things for new readers!

I hope you put on some trial music while reading! I could only imagine this song playing while the trial is going on. This whole story is definitely inspired by V3 the most. I know I binged the soundtrack while I was writing.

Credits for the Rarity and Starlight vectors seen in the Culprit Exposure pictures can be found HERE and HERE.

Comments

[superfun]

"It's only scary if you let it be!" Pinkie snickered. "I think this is really fun!"

"Yeah! We shouldn't let it get us down in the dumps!" Cheese Sandwich agreed with the mare directly across from him. "If we focus on our bad feelings, then we'll be all discombobulated! We'll be wrapped up in a crazy weird bow on a Christmas present nopony asked for!"

Only those two (and Philomena + whoever the Mastermind is) could have fun in a murder trial.

"The same situation applies to Twilight's hair. Her hair is primarily blue, so why would only purple strands be in the drain?"

Really? The only color other than Purple that I've heard it described as is Lavender

Called it.
Then again, this is probably the most obvious first culprit besides Leon.

[TrackdNTraild]

11246139

Really? The only color other than Purple that I've heard it described as is Lavender

Twilight's only got pink and purple stripes in her hair, even the wiki has her main hair as blue
cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/429099687966932994/976930413043941426/unknown.png

Yeah, there was no way to make the culprit not obvious with the lack of things we could use haha. I'll try not to make it so obvious for the next chapters.

[TrackdNTraild]

11246340
Spoilers!

[vcsting]

11246357
ahh fuwee

[Killer Rose]

i knew it was them like it was simple

why would starlight do it she's the MC unless the writer go the kaede route. and twilight was being way to helpful like kyoko to be her like it was really simple

[TrackdNTraild]

11252868
To be fair, it is the first trial Culprit is always an easy pick first try.