> DANGAN RONPA Equestria: The Elements of Hope and Despair!
>  by Nyte-Blade
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Hey! Shady! Get up already, you’ve been left behind!” Hearing the familiar yelling, I’m being pulled by the forearm. “GET UP!”

“Gah, wha...?” I open my eyes on command, to see my friend, Featherweight waking me up. It doesn’t help that the sun’s light is reflecting off of his camera lens.

“We’ve been here for ten minutes already!” He warned, scowling at me for being so lazy.

“Oh, sorry! I err, where’s everypony else?” I hesitantly asked, desperately trying to fight that urge to go right back to dreamland.

“They’re in the school waiting for us. Miss Cheerilee’s so gonna scold you for sleeping for so long!” Featherweight closed his eyes and shrugged. He must partially look forward to her scolding me.

“It’s not my fault that I had to think of some questions to ask the princess when we meet her! Besides, she’s technically not our teacher anymore.” I told my friend/boss.

        “I hear she’s planning on teaching there since Princess Twilight felt she’d be a great for her school. Plus I hear the pay is amazing! You know she’d jump at the chance since teachers don’t get paid as much as they should!” 

        “If I have to go to this school and she ends up my teacher again, I might want to cut class even more.” I was joking here, but still. I’d be pretty weird to have your teacher at kindergarten teaching you.

“Let’s get going then! It’d be rude to be late!”

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” I reminded. I didn’t need any redundancy, but he has a point. Princess deserve to be treated with respect. 

        Especially the new ones.

        And so I was prompted to gallop with my friend through the busy town, dodging everypony until we reached the purple brick road decorated with white stars. It was a moderately long gallop, but in the distance, we easily reached the large structure before us.

There, it stood before me. Here, in Equestria’s capital, Canterlot, a large building resembling the kind you would see in the big city, and the area it covered was three times as big as Sweet Apple Acres I think. It’s the only place I can really compare it to.

The steel gates before me were partially opened. In the middle of the gates, I can see a figure of Princess Twilight’s cutie mark. 

This building is known as Harmony’s Academy of Magic and Friendship.

        Despite the name, you don’t need magic to enter the school. But this was the first thing Twilight had created since her ceremony, and It’s taken several years for the school to get this big. 

        To be honest, I’m a little nervous to enter such a prestigious high school.

        Sure, it’s purpose is to make the world a better place by showing us that friendship brings hope. But look at this place, it’s huge! I’d get lost in there big time!

        Unfortunately, that’s what’s going to happen anyway. I was the last one off the train since I fell asleep. Somepony must’ve kept the others from waking me up, not that I care. When you’re tired, sleep’s the number one priority.

Well, either way, we weren’t that far from the entrance, and I can meet everypony. Miss Cheerilee is supposed to be inside meeting with Princess Twilight so she can give us a tour of the school during this field trip. 

Then again, ‘field trip’ might be a bit childish. We’re not colts and fillies anymore, so the term should be ‘reunion’. We’re at that high school age. That point of our lives where we learn a little more about what life’s capable of, about responsibility, about the skills needed to tackle life’s challenges.

You’d think it’s something reserved for college, but no. We only know what we’ve been told at school during elementary and middle. But as we’re getting older now, we have to be ready for life’s challenges. 

This academy is also here to teach you exactly how friendship can help overcome those trials. There’s no reason to despair when you think about those important to you.

Before I go on, I should introduce myself.

My name is Shady Daze, a grayish-blue earth stallion with a dark-blue mane that covers my right eye a bit. I'm also wearing a new waistcoat i just bought with a white shirt underneath. I’m just a young reporter who works at the Ponyville Express in my spare time with my friend. I’ve yet to find my special talent though. 

But that’s actually the last thing on my mind. 

Why go hunting for something so trivial when I can rely on simple hard work? 

The white pegasus stallion with the gap-tooth, a short light-brown, bowl-cut mane and tail with me is named Featherweight. His cutie mark, the thing that signifies your special talent, is a simple white feather. Even after all this time of being an editor, Featherweight still likes his camera. He’s got a higher position than me at the press, despite looking like a dork. At the most, he only lets me borrow it for the sake of the paper. Afterwards, I always have to give it back.

“Here ya go!” Featherweight took his camera off and handed it to me. “You got the questions?”

“All present and accounted for!” He means the notepad with the questions to ask Princess Twilight. Thankfully I had’em with me.

With that, Featherweight and I walk through the gates of the school, following the same purple brick road, going between several pillars under the regal sunroof that extended into the gates, all the way to some polished, light-brown, wooden double doors. I can see six symbols engraved into the bevels of the door that resemble the Elements of Harmony, the treasures that hold the power to save the world.

In reality, the “Elements of Harmony” usually refer to the mares that hold these powerful sacred treasures.

I hear that the treasures themselves are what turned Twilight Sparkle into an alicorn though, but it’s merely a rumor. One of the questions in the notepad I gave to Featherweight asks about the process to become an alicorn.

I doubt I’d get a straight answer though; becoming an alicorn is top secret, but I might as well try to get the scoop.

Before we could touch the doors, they open automatically for us, as if we were expected to enter despite that there aren’t any other students besides us.

Inside, we see large, white tiles across the floor, with the center of the entrance hall covered by a purple carpet. It looked pretty glittery as well, reflecting a starry appearance with the somewhat dim light here.

...Princess Twilight sure likes her stars, huh?

“Maybe Princess Luna had a hand in the school design of this place!” Featherweight speculated after looking at the put-off expression on my face. I’m inclined to agree with him, actually. I can tell it’s a school built by Twilight, but you would also think it’s a school built by Princess Luna.

As we trotted through the hallway, we reached a life-sized marble statue of Twilight Sparkle, wearing her tiara on her head surrounded by her friends. That tiara she always wears is the Element of Magic. At that statue, we can see Rainbow Dash facing us, Rarity to the left, Fluttershy, then Applejack, and finally Pinkie Pie, all in a clockwise motion we made when we looked at the structure.

Twilight’s friends look somewhat older too since they’re not alicorns. They look like they’re ready for action.

Naturally, I thought to take a few shots of this statue. Equestria’s heroines so-to-speak. The mares who’ve saved the world many times whether under Princess Celestia’s orders or not. They’re the best.

“This is pretty cool, don’t ya think, Featherweight?” I asked my friend when I lowered my camera away from the Princess Twilight statue.

When I looked to my left, he was collapsed on the floor.

What!?

I wasn’t able to think about anything other than helping him, but even that didn’t last.

My body felt heavy and my legs are giving out a little too easily.

Why am I...?

.......
...................
...........................

“........him up...”

“No... it!”

“Hey...!’

I’m hearing too much noise. 

It’s noisier than one of Pinkie Pie’s parties.

I don’t like noise.

“HEY! GET UP!”

“Oof...!”

I felt a stiff pain shoot through my right forearm. Naturally, I grunted a little before waking up aggressively, swinging my hoof at the rude culprit. I shot a glare at whoever did it, and sure enough, it was a face that SHOULD have woke me up earlier.

But did she have to be so rough about it?

“Took you long enough! GET UP ALREADY!” At that moment, I looked into some sharp, azure eyes and a familiar tiara on her head and cutie mark. Her coat is pink while her mane is purple with a white streak in the middle of it.

Diamond Tiara, the local so-called princess, but still just a spoiled Earth mare. You never change, do you?

“You could stand to be a little nicer about it.” I retorted.

“You shouldn’t be such a slacker, you Blank Flank!”

Ah, she had to remind me of my lack of a Cutie Mark. Does having a one matter that much? She acts like it’s supposed to hurt me. And her special talent? Crafting tiaras apparently. But that in itself is what allowed her to get closer to the princesses, so she’s actually proud of her talent. She seriously hopes to become a real princess someday.

Looking away from her piercing stare, I manage to stand on my hooves despite my head still feeling somewhat heavy. I look down at the purple carpet and let out a sigh of relief when I noticed that the camera he gave me is still hanging around my neck.

I look beside me and I notice Featherweight’s shaking the sleep off of him as well. 

“What happened? Where am I...?” Featherweight asked in a drowsy tone before noticing that we’re just as confused as he is. But I’m glad he’s okay.

Now that I have a chance to look at where exactly I am, I can definitely tell I’ve ended up somewhere different.
        
        I can see several classroom desks in front of me with everypony standing next to them, looking at them nervously. Did the same thing happen to them? If that’s the case, Featherweight and I are the last two awake.

In front of us all was a chalkboard and a podium for where the teacher would be. However, the desks all have a more luxurious appearance to them, worthy of a rich school in Canterlot. Looking around the smooth, marble walls, and instead of windows, I see  giant, steel plates with giant screws protruding out of them.

        Are we supposed to take a seat in here?

        I also take a look at my left forehoof, noticing a strange black band around it. I took a closer look at it, and it looks like a piece of fabric with a strange white gem on top. 

Looks like Tiara has a bracelet too, but hers is pink. Now that I notice it, everypony here has these strange bracelets. When I waved it around a little, a strange light shone from the stone, showing a strange screen with my picture on it. There’s also my other data, such as weight, height, color, likes, dislikes, and talent.

Wait, talent? I shouldn’t have a talent!


Shady Daze: Super High-School Level Hard Worker


I quickly check my rear, seeing that it’s still blank, and back to the profile screen.

If I’m still blank, why do I even have a talent? Was some sort of background check performed on all of us?

        I should see what everypony else has to say. I’m a little curious about their talents as well.

        I start with speaking with Diamond Tiara, the one who woke me up just now. I start by asking her about the situation.

        “You think I would know? What, are you stupid? Why WOULD I!?” Okay, did you need to chew me out?


Diamond Tiara: Super High-School Level Crown Maker


        “Ugh, what’s with this whole weird title thing anyway?!” The spoiled mare complained.

        But does she really have the right to complain? Even if her talent is crafting tiaras, I do know that she’s good at it. Whenever I need any inside info from Canterlot, I’d actually beg ask her for whatever she knows. Her skill netted her access to some inside information about Equestrian royalty, as long as she swore an oath to secrecy.

        Afterwards, a certain dark-gray earth mare that’s always with her concurs with her friend. She has a single braid in her long, gray-colored mane. “You heard her. We all ended up here the moment we stepped in that hallway.” Silver Spoon adjusted the glasses in front of her violet eyes, glaring at me as she explained. 


Silver Spoon: Super High-School Level Scion


Her cutie mark is that of a silver spoon with gems at the end of the handle. As her name and cutie mark implies, she’s used to having whatever she wants in her house since she’s the hope of her family. The same can be said about Diamond Tiara, but I always thought Silver Spoon was more mature than she was.

        “You guys are still jerks? You do realize how strange this situation is, right?” I asked.

        “That’s precisely why I’m mad! What was Miss Cheerilee thinking when she organized this reunion?!” Tiara answered curtly, not wishing to prolong the questioning. But she has a point. We don’t even know what happened, or why we’re here.

        Her words reminded me about Miss Cheerilee too. When I look around the classroom, I don’t see a sign of her at all.

“Don’t worry about it! Whenever strange things happen, ponies just happen to get a little weirded out. I’m sure we’ll all be having fun by the time we resolve this.” Featherweight tapped me in the back, reassuring me not to worry.

        If there’s one thing I know, is that he seems to never lose his cool. I guess that’s part of his talent.


Featherweight: Super High-School Level Hope


I think he did tell me at one point that the white feather is a symbol of hope according to his parents. The fact that that’s his cutie mark, this title makes a lot of sense. He’s always been optimistic, and he’s always had the leadership skills that I don’t have. He’s able to bring everypony together unlike me.

I’d rather not start selling myself short though.

I then walk up to Twist and the Cutie Mark Crusaders to see if they know anything.

        “Oh, you’re up! What do you think happened back there?” The light-gray unicorn mare with the Purple and pink mane asked when I approached her. Her name is Sweetie Belle, the little sister of the widely known fashion designer, Rarity. Naturally, she was just as curious as everypony else. Of course, like Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, she doesn’t have a cutie mark.


Sweetie Belle: Super High-School Level Songwriter


        “And this title! Why does everypony think I’m gonna sing even now?” Sweetie Belle griped.

        However, she definitely has great potential for songwriting. Every event we had for school, Sweetie Belle always had a song to sing, getting her friends to sing with her. She even sang when Babs Seed hopped on the bully bandwagon for a little while. She’s not the best singer, but it’s amazing how she able to have lyrics on the fly like that.

        “Maybe we’ll get our cutie marks if we found out!” This light-yellow earth mare with the red mane and bow in her hair and cowgirl hat behind her neck is Apple Bloom, Applejack’s little sister. 

Apple Bloom: Super High-School Level ???


And like her sister, she’s an earth pony with a southern accent.  She’s the founder of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and she’s always willing to get her cutie mark. That would explain why disasters occur whenever she, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo go crusading. With all the activities they’ve done all over Ponyville, you’d think they would’ve earned their cutie marks by now. At least they’ve calmed down considerably over the years, but still. Apple Bloom doesn’t have one of those titles it seems.
        
        “I, umm, don’t think this is the time to think about getting your cutie mark.” I’m inclined to concur with the white, red-framed glasses-wearing mare with the deep-red curly mane and candy cane cutie mark. 


Twist: Super High-School Level Candy Maker


This earth pony is named Twist. She used to defend Apple Bloom when Tiara and Silver Spoon would make fun of her a lot. But they don’t talk as much these days ever since Twist earned her cutie mark a long time ago when she discovered how great her candy tastes, and ever since, has made candy for all the colts and fillies in town, earning their adoration. It's only natural when you eat delicious candy.

        “Ain’t ya just sayin’ that cause ya don’t hafta worry ‘bout yer cutie mark?” Apple Bloom harshly retorted. Her chipper expression remained unchanged, but it was a piercing question to Twist though..

Makes me wonder if their friendship was strained by that.

        “C-come on, that wasn’t really nice! I’m sure you’ll figure out your talent one of these days!” Featherweight tried to step in, but-

        “She’s right.” Twist suddenly looked really crestfallen all of a sudden, agreeing with Apple Bloom’s claim.
        
        “A-ah’m sorry, I didn’t...” Apple Bloom herself lowered her head, speaking meekly.

        “We really need to find out what’s going on here though. Cutie mark or not, I wanna know!” This burnt-orange colored pegasus mare with the parted purple mane spoke wisely, even if she just really wanted to quench her curiosity.


Scootaloo: Super High-School Level Bad Luck


This mare’s name is Scootaloo, surrogate little sister of Equestria’s number one flyer, Rainbow Dash. She’s also the founder of the Rainbow Dash fanclub. I’m surprised that’s still a thing. These days though, her hairstyle’s somewhat more girly, and now she’s wearing a gray hoodie.

        “So you guys just all collapsed at that statue in the main hall, right?” I spoke up, walking between some desks.

        “Yeah! That’s it!” Scootaloo spoke quickly, then put a hoof to her mouth in a thinking pose. “But we were supposed to be with Miss Cheerilee! Maybe she’ll know why my stupid ‘talent’ is ‘bad luck’. Sure I can’t fly, but I’m not gonna chalk that up to bad luck!”
        
        Where the heck is Miss Cheerilee!? Ugh, I feel a large pit in my stomach. I have a horrible feeling about this.
        
        I walk past a few desks around the front row to find Snips and Snails at the chalkboard, holding the chalk with their magic and writing, “Snips, Snails, and Puppy Dog Tails.” Guess they’re as immature as ever.

        “Hey, it’s the puppy dog!” The grayish-opal, pudgy unicorn stallion with the moderate-brown mane turned to me and made his remark, fitting me in somehow. 


Snips: Super High-School Level Cutter


This little guy is Snips, and true to his name, he has a pair of scissors for a cutie mark. I think his special talent is being good at using scissors somehow.

        “He should totally start barking then!” The more lanky unicorn stallion with the amber coat and turquoise mane added on, laughing like they just told some grand joke.


Snails: Super High-School Level Bug Tamer


This guy is Snails, and true to his name also, his cutie mark is a snail. I guess bug taming connects the dots. But why is he wearing a cape and top hat like some junior magician?

        “Do you guys know where Miss Cheerilee is?” I would ignore their remarks and ask, and they’d give me a scowl in kind.

        “We don’t have a clue! Besides, we’re busy writing on the chalkboard!” Snips turned his back to me, as if he wanted me to go away.
        
        “You guys don’t care at all whether she’ll come back and catch you, huh?” I asked, stunning them a bit.

        “W-w-well, you don’t know when she’s coming back, do you?!” Snips suddenly gave me a nervous look, contemplating putting down the chalk.

        “Umm, I don’t.” Really, if I knew, I wouldn’t be asking where she is. 

        “Dude, just relax! We’re only just doing it for nostalgia’s sake!” Snails said, getting back to drawing that stupid graffiti on the board. They’re gonna get in trouble for that.

        “Yeah, they really don’t care. It’s best to just let the teacher catch’em. Isn’t that right?” Featherweight asked after he and I walked away from them. “I’m sure she has to be somewhere. After speaking with everypony, let’s try to assess the situation.”

        “Yeah.” I agreed with Featherweight before he went back over to converse with the crusaders.

        Next, I head over to Dinky Doo and Ginger Snap, who seem to already have some speculation amongst each other. They were just two desks away down the center from where Snips and Snails were.

        “Shady! Do you have any clue about where Miss Cheerilee could be? Did you at least see her when you came to the entrance hall? Because We didn’t.” The pale yellow earth mare with the bob-cut, orange and dark-orange mane asked me. Around her body is a dark-green strap with a series of badges and on her head, a beret of the same color.


Ginger Snap: Super High-School Level Girl Scout


This mare is Ginger Snap, and I’m under the impression she probably wanted to give cookies to the royal guards and Princess Twilight. I can see why she has that title though. She's earned hundreds of merit badges, earning even the recognition of Princess Celestia for her efforts.

But she’s a little old to be doing that, isn’t she?

        “I haven’t seen her at all. I was the last to wake up in here. But I’m a little worried though. Don’t you think all of this is strange?” I asked.

        “You were also the last one to wake up on the train, soooooo...” The pale-purple unicorn mare with the blonde mane and tail reminded me. 


Dinky Doo: Super High-School Level Underdog

        
Her name is Dinky Doo, and she’s the daughter of Ponyville’s resident mailmare, Ditzy Doo. As a result of her mother’s failures, she’s always assumed to not be very bright, and it doesn't help that she doesn’t have a cutie mark either. She's always underestimated, but I've seen her pull through in several local competitions, like some of the Sisterhooves Social events.

        “You guys should’ve woke me up!” I sternly replied, stomping a hoof down. It’s different this time. I didn’t mean to get snippy, but I can’t shake this bad feeling welling up inside me. I feel a weight on my back similar to the kind I got when Nightmare Moon or Discord terrorized Equestria.

        “Geez, relax! You usually don’t care for sleeping in late!” Dinky tried to justify her remark, looking a bit put off at my retort. “But still, it beats me on why we’re even here. Some reunion, huh?”

        “Tell me about it. Cheerilee’s pretty straightforward in her teachings. She’s not the roundabout type like Princess Celestia, so I doubt she’d be behind this.” I muttered, trying to piece together what little facts I have.

        “Doesn’t answer where she is though. I’m not happy about this either. Bolted windows? We don’t even know what time it is! I could’ve already missed out on the release of that new Daring Do comic!” Dinky continued, making a good point, comics aside. 

If we woke up here, then just how long has it been? Just how long have we been out?
        
        I walk over to Truffle Shuffle, the fat, light-gray earth stallion with the chocolate-colored mane sitting in the center of the classroom. 

        Is he spacing out?

        “Umm, Truffle?” I hesitantly call to him.
        
“I’m hungry.” He said, faintly acknowledging my existence.


Truffle Shuffle: Super High-School Level Glutton


        “Umm, this isn’t the time to-”

        “I said I’m hungry. Got any snacks?”

        “No. That wasn’t part of the plan.”

        “We’ll talk if you bring me snacks.”

        He- yeah, he doesn’t care about the situation at all, does he? Considering that his cutie mark is that of a knife and fork. Probably earned it from eating something every five seconds, or from winning several eating competitions. But he should be more concerned about Miss Cheerilee at least. Didn’t he used to be the teacher’s pet?

        And my next step was to talk to Grace Lightning, who’s standing by the sealed off windows to the left and next to the last desk in that corner.

“Boo!” Hearing that next to my ear, of course I’d find myself lying on my side. My heart thumped rapidly as I desperately tried to catch my breath.

“Whoa, you’re okay, ya?” An earth stallion with a brown spot on his eye spoke to me. His dirty blonde mane, styled somewhat spiky, I almost didn’t recognize him. As soon as I got on my hooves, I knew right away.


Pipsqueak: Super High-School Level Horror Connoisseur


“Pipsqueak!?” I asked, looking at him, noticing that he’s taller than me now. It’s been years since I last seen him. Did he have a growth spurt? Only thing that’s the same, is that like me, he has no cutie mark.

“I didn’t give ya a heart attack did I? You’re not an old colt, ya know?”

        Pipsqueak; If I recall correctly, he’s one of the ponies who helped Princess Luna enjoy Nightmare Night. In fact, it’s his favorite holiday, and he always raves about it. He was in our class as a transfer student, but had to go away a year later.

“Oh man, it’s been ages! But who knew this would be the first thing I’d run into when I got back from Trottingham, ya know?”

        “Wait, you JUST got back?” I asked. I thought he came back to Ponyville yesterday.

        “Of course! I get a call from Miss Cheerilee for a class reunion, and bam! Something terrifyingly unexpected happens, ya know! I wonder if this is part of the trip?” He rambled.

        “I really doubt this is a part of the trip.” I reminded him.

        “But I mean, if it is, it’s a perfect set-up for a real scare, ya know? Everyone screams because there might be some sort of killer on the loose! It’d be perfect if Miss Cheerilee came out and scared the fur off of us, ya know!” Pip’s eyes shone with a gleam he was nervous about having, but it’s obvious he wanted this to be a simple prank. Surely he doesn’t want some serial killer in here for real...

        Right?

        “Who cares if this a part or the trip or not!? I WANTED TO SEE THE STADIUM, NOT THE CLASSROOM!” A gray mare with a purple mane spoke aggressively, not wanting to be in this classroom at all. 


Grace Lightning: Super High-School Level Rollerblader


This mare’s name is Grace Lightning. Unlike Pipsqueak and I, her cutie mark is a simple lightning bolt. On her legs, she’s wearing a pair of black and white horseshoes; probably the kind with the skates in them. 

I used to help with the coverage of her team’s races in the annual Equestria Roller Derby for the sports column. She’s a mean athlete, and is very aggressive during the tournaments, so she strikes fear into her competition.

“C-calm down, Gracie! Look on the bright side: A classroom’s a perfect setup for a horror play!” Pip nervously tried to calm her down after her outburst the moment she bucked the steel plate over the window.

        “Don’t give me some stupid nickname!” She quickly turned her head, shooting a glare at poor Pip, who only didn’t want her to go crazy.

        “Where was Miss Cheerilee last before you guys passed out?” I asked the two.

“I can’t remember that either. Agh! Why can’t I remember!?” Grace instantly grew frustrated after her eyes shut. Trying to remember where Cheerilee was just before this happened.

        I can’t say I can relate to their frustration at all though. The others weren’t around when Featherweight and I arrived at the entrance hall and passed out promptly. For me, that’s probably worse.
        
I can’t shake it. I feel like I’ll be fine if we can find our teacher, but she’s not here, the windows are sealed- wait, I haven’t tried the door! 

And so I walk up to Featherweight and tell him my plan. I tell him that I want to try that door.

        “I don’t know if that’s a good idea, dude.” Featherweight suddenly became very weary of the door.

        “But none of us has tried to escape!” I argued back, having a much stronger urge than before to just break that door down.

        “Then give it a try then. Make yourself useful!” Tiara chimed in.

        “Don’t bother. The door’s locked.”

        “WHAT?!” Tiara swiftly turned around, snapping at the one who made the remark. 

        A light-gray pegasus stallion with a slicked back, black and gray mane tells us about the door, walking up from it after separating himself from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

“How do you know?” I asked, not realizing that I sounded rather aggravated. But then I quickly noticed a small dark spot on his left forehoof.

“Because I tried. Isn’t that obvious?” This stallion’s name is Rumble. Like me, he’s also a lacks a cutie mark. 


Rumble: Super High-School Level Quick Learner


At the same time, he’s known for learning to fly exceptionally well at such a young age. He’s the younger brother of Thunderlane, one of the recent new members of the Wonderbolts. Rumble’s ability to learn is insanely fast, and has the potential to become the youngest Wonderbolt in history.

Still, Rumble seemed to have a chip on his shoulder, but I can’t fault him for it. Not when this same bad feeling is forming a chip on me as well.

“This is so royally stupid! We’re locked in a classroom with no answer as to how we even got here! And where’s Miss Cheerilee anyway? She wouldn’t even dream of doing this to her students!” Diamond Tiara walked up past Rumble, ranting along the way. She marched up to the regal wooden double door and held out a hoof to push it open. “GAH! What is this?!”

Upon contact with the door, Tiara jerked back, holding onto her right hoof the moment it touched the door. She started blowing on it as if she was burned.

“Dia, you okay?! What happened!?” Silver Spoon ran up to check on her friend, noticing a singe on her hoof.

“That DOOR just shocked me! What sorcery is this!? I DEMAND TO KNOW RIGHT NOW!!!” Tiara was screaming, ranting at this point.

“I don’t even know. But if somepony doesn’t come in here in the next few minutes, I’m bucking the door down! Who’s with me!?” Grace made a sudden, fiery declaration, raising up a forehoof, hoping the others will do the same. It’s like she wants to lead an army or something.

“Ah could try myself! After all, If I can buck a tree like mah sister, I can buck a door open! Ah’m not as good as she is, but I’ll do my best!” Apple Bloom surprisingly agreed, her eyes full of fire. Please tell me this isn’t some ruse to go for a cutie mark again.

“Apple Bloom, we’ll get in big trouble if we do!” Sweetie Belle shrieked back as she thought what kind of temper their teacher would display. And no one would dare incur the wrath of Princess Twilight.

“But this is STRANGE! Why lock us in this classroom!? I don’t care if we get in trouble!” Scootaloo concurred with Apple Bloom, wanting to break the door down as well.

“Hey, you twerps up front! Use your magic to open this door!” Diamond Tiara shouted, commanding the two pranksters at the chalkboard.

“No way, do it yourself! We’re busy here!” Snails kept his back turned, not wanting to look at the demanding Diamond Tiara.

“Drawing a bunch of graffiti and nursery rhymes on the board isn’t ‘Busy’ you know. Just how stupid can you guys be?” Silver Spoon glared through her blue-framed glasses.

“Umm, why don’t we all just sit down in the desks? Maybe somepony will come in to start class?” Twist pointed a hoof at Truffle Shuffle, who unlike everypony else, was sitting at the desk in the middle of the classroom. 

One would wonder why he’s sitting there anyway.

“And why should we follow that fatty’s example?!” Turning her head and letting her mane sweep in a “Hmph!” fashion, Tiara scoffed at the idea.

“Don’t make fun of him! I just thought he might be onto something! Look, I’ll do it too!” Twist promptly takes a seat in a desk right next to Truffle and gives the fat stallion a quick smile.

“Oh, hey Twist.” For some reason, he turns around and greets her normally. What happened to being so hungry you refused to talk?

“Ugh, this isn’t what I feel like doing!! Let’s buck down the door!” Grace made a mad dash for the door, nodding off to whoever wanted to join her. Surely enough, Applebloom and Scootaloo were the only ones who complied.

“That’s gonna be futile.” Rumble said, looking away. In fact he looked as if he wanted to sigh. 

“Oh look, the blank flanks are gonna try to open the door for us!” Tiara rolled her eyes, saying with such callousness the moment she saw Apple Bloom and Scootaloo stepping up. 

By the time Scootaloo and Applebloom got to the door with Grace, they turn their backs to it and ready their legs.

“This sucker’s coming down!” Grace declared, her legs rising up along with Scootaloo’s and Apple Bloom’s. At that moment, their legs unleashed their full force at the door. I actually widened my eyes seeing such power from their legs, channeling a small bit of hope into me. 

I hoped that the door would break, granting us freedom.

But yet, the door itself had to be guarded with magic. A strong kind of magic obviously.

It’s then I began to wonder: What good will it do if the door can’t even be touched?

That question became a reality the instant I asked myself that. Their hooves didn’t touch the door at all. Instead, they were pushed away by an unknown force. Of course, they briefly writhe and moan in pain, just the way Tiara did when she touched it. 

“Whoa, really!? You’re kidding!” Snips commented while both he and Snails had stopped messing with the board. They wanted to see what would happen, and surely enough, they too saw the result. 

“Then let me! I have to try!” Dinkie Doo would then gallop to the door, her horn glowing with a grayish-purple hue.

“But your magic might not be strong enough!” Ginger warned, wanting to stop her friend.

“I gotta try! Daring Do wouldn’t back down in this situation!” Dinkie ignored Ginger’s warning, making a quick rebuttal using her favorite heroine.  Quickly, a blast of magic shot from her horn, headed straight for the door. The laser that fired was thin and looked weak, but even then, it didn’t have any effect at all. It’s as if the magic was vaporized.

No damage. No burns. Nothing. 

Diamond Tiara would shoot a sudden glare at Snips and Snails, as if she expected them to step up this time.

“Well, my magic’s not all that strong!,” Snips nervously tried to get some excuses in.

“Same here! And Trixie hasn’t taught me her best spells yet!” Snails added.

“You’re still learning from that crazy mare?! Seriously!?” Snips whispered after cocked his head, looking at his friend like he’s gone insane.

“I’m her biggest fan, what do you expect!?” Snails retorted.

I clenched my teeth, realizing that this isn’t normal.

No.

This was never normal. From the very beginning, this wasn’t normal.

I can see Twist and Sweetie Belle looking back at the door in horror. Everypony else who didn’t participate in the act also looked in fear, realizing just as I have, that we’re trapped.

There’s nothing for us to do, but wait. 

Why wait? We need to get out.

But maybe It’s just because I don’t want to drive myself insane in here. I know for a fact that If I gave in to my desires, I’d do everything I could to destroy this place, and hope everyone would do the same.

I sighed deeply, ignoring the arguing and gossip and took a seat at the first empty desk I could find. One a desk away from Truffle Shuffle.

I put my head in my hooves, feeling nauseous. I feel anxious. Restless. But then I was quickly pulled out of it.

“Okay you bastards, get in your desks so we can begin roll call!”

What I heard isn’t some lame motivational speech, but something that shocked us all.

“Gyah!?” Both Snips and Snails dropped their chalk quickly.

“Uhh, who was that?” Featherweight asked me, but I gave him a ‘beats me’ look in response. A second later, we’re suddenly blinded by a very bright light. The same kind of light we’re used to seeing whenever Celestia makes her grand appearance.

But it wasn’t Princess Celestia. Why would It be? Why should it be? This is Twilight’s School. So it was natural for Princess Twilight Sparkle to make her entrance. A purple alicorn wearing her regal gown and crown stood at the podium, with her eyes closed in such a haughty princess fashion.

Upon her appearance, Snips and Snails make a mad dash for the back of the room with the rest of us, feeling like they were in trouble.

But what’s with that starting line? Princess Twilight wouldn’t say anything like that at all.

“Oh, look who’s FINALLY here! Princess Twilight! What happened to you, did work loosen one of your screws?” Diamond Tiara was the first to speak, and naturally, everyone but Silver Spoon looked at her like she’s lost her mind. 
No seriously.

Even though she herself spoke pretty crudely just now, that’s STILL Princess Twilight.

“Oi, I’m a princess! You don’t talk to your ruler like that, now sit down or you’ll be punished!”

“Uhhh, maybe this is a Nightmare Night prank afterall... hahaha! Some sort of plan to scare us into thinking she’s gone nuts! Ah, I can see a scenario where she decides to teach us how to destroy the world, and if we don’t pay attention, she’ll destroy us! Perfect horror set up I guess!” Pip force out a laugh, nervously looking at the new Alicorn before us.

“Oh, I get it. You want me to speak prim and proper! Something more like, ‘Hi everypony! It’s me, Princess Twilight! Could you all pwetty pwease sit down? I’d like to take roll call now!’ right? You spoiled rotten kids!”

“Maybe she’s been infected by the poison joke or somethin’! That’s gotta be it!” Apple Bloom happily speculated, having stars in her eyes even. I seriously don’t think that’s something to be happy about.

“Might as well do as she says. Maybe she’ll explain herself.” Rumble walked to the desk next to mine and took his seat. “I want to know what’s going on. That way we’ll know whether or not to resist.”

“That’s if we can resist.” Ginger Snap commented.

“Oh puh-leeze! You’re talking about resisting an alicorn here! Even though it’s so not like her, she’s STILL an Alicorn! All powerful! A princess!” Diamond Tiara nervous chided those who spoke of ‘resisting’ the princess. Despite her hypocritical statements, we could hear the hint of nervousness in her voice. Yet, didn’t she just speak ill of her just a minute ago? Is she a hypocrite?

“Oh, someone finally gets me! It brings a pretty tear to my eye! Now hurry up or you’ll be punished!” Twilight ordered, her glare shooting daggers at all of us.
 
This is definitely strange, but Rumble had a point. We had to at least know what’s going on. We can’t just be blind about this.

So, out of curiosity and hopes of learning the truth, we comply to her demands by filling the sixteen desks in the room, despite how weird she’s acting. In fact, we simply took Apple Bloom’s absurd claim and hoped that was true. Maybe Diamond Tiara believed this isn't Twilight at all. And I’ll be honest: If she made that declaration now, I’d probably believe it.

But before I could ask, the so-called Twilight Sparkle spoke again with another demand.

“Now that you bastards are finally present, there’s three things that need to be done! First off...!” The strange princess trailed off before making a single, loud stomp with her left forehoof. As it echoed across the room, our surroundings slowly began to transform. 

The walls surrounding us and the roof over our heads vanished, just the same way as our desks, letting us fall to the new concrete.

What we saw before us this time, was what appeared to be an entire district full of fancy homes and stores, with a single, starry brick road leading to a castle up ahead.

“Umm, is this Canterlot again?” Sweetie Belle asked the question that we all wanted to. 

“Now that we’re out of that stuffy room, It’s time to invite you ponies to the KINGDOM OF MUTUAL KILLING!” Princess Twilight opened her eyes, and had a look of absolute glee. Not to mention, her left eye is glowing brightly red.

“Whoa, what? Mutual Killing?” Scootaloo, confused as everyone else, looked at her peers, then back to Princess Twilight.

“Forget that, what’s with Princess Twilight’s eye? It’s like she’s got the crawling chaos hidden within!” Pipsqueak pointed a hoof at the red gleam shining from her left eye.

“Must’ve dabbled into some dark magic I assume?” Silver Spoon speculated.

“Oh, that? It’s part of what I really am.” The moment the princess curtly said that, several beams of light broke out of Twilight’s back, as if she were a statue breaking away from the inside. But what emerged, was a strange teddy bear. 

Really?

The bear, white and cute on one half, and black and wicked on the other half. To top it all off, this bear was wearing a golden crown on it’s head.

“WOW. I should’ve broke out sooner! This place needs a real king! King Monobear!”

Monobear: that’s what the toy called himself. With his high-pitched voice, he declared himself the king of this ‘kingdom’ we’re in.

“Heh. I didn’t care for princesses, but it looks like our NEWEST princess just went full retard!” Grace Lighting said curtly. “Whatever! That was lame! Let’s just blow this joint!” She turned her back to the alicorn before us and tried to walk off, but her face hit a wall; an invisible wall. “THIS AGAIN?!”

“So that was the wall we touched. Interesting.” Rumble muttered to himself. How is that remotely interesting?

Looking behind us, we see an entire open field of grass, but nothing else, unlike where we are now. It’s like we’re in the middle of nowhere. Or maybe Canterlot somehow teleported here.

“I just built this kingdom, and I’m looking for some loyal subjects to bring me some entertainment! You bastards are perfect for that!” Monobear continued talking, sitting on Twilight’s back.

That’s not Twilight at all, is it?

“I think we’re in trouble!” Snips whispered to Snails, believing they’re the reason we can’t leave. But they were loud enough that Diamond Tiara and I could hear’em.

“No, you’re in trouble, you idiot! You should’ve never drawn on the board!” Snails argued back, desperately pushing his buddy under the bus.

“Me?! It was your idea to act like a kid!” Snips snapped back.

“WOULD YOU IDIOTS SHUT UP!? You were BOTH foolish enough to act like kids, so take responsibility!” Never thought I’d think it, but thank you, Diamond Tiara. 

“N-no way! You’re our princess, right?! Y-YOU do it!” Snails pointed a hoof at Tiara, earning yet another soul piercing glare. But then that bear speaks again.

“Oh? You think I care what you wrote on the chalkboard? Those stupid drawings are what you ponies amount to! Just pieces of art that represent nothing!” Monobear commented.

“WHERE’S PRINCESS TWILIGHT!?” Diamond Tiara asked, finally.

“Oh, she’s right here. Isn’t she a good, fluffy pony?” Monobear sarcastically answered, even petting the fake Twilight’s mane. It’s even reacting by snuggling against it’s paw!

        “I MEAN IT!!! WHERE IS SHE!?” Diamond Tiara’s anger was stronger than anypony around her. She may be haughty, but it’s clear from the get go, from the moment of this Twilight’s appearance, she knew this wasn’t the real Princess Twilight. If there’s one thing I would know about a wanna-be princess like her, is that she would show proper respect to a fellow princess.

        “You’re breaking my heart to tiny molecule pieces! It makes me beary sad that you can’t at least be my jesters.” Monobear petted the fake Twilight’s mane again, like he got some sympathy from it. “That’s what you’re all here for, right? And you bastards want to leave the moment I introduce myself!”

        Despite her demands, it seems this ‘Monobear’ wouldn’t answer at all. He purposely avoided the question.

        “Why would we come here on our own?” Ginger Snap looked around, and glared at the bear once more, “This isn’t the Canterlot that I know!”

        “What’s this Canterlot? This kingdom is called MONOLOT! The Kingdom of Mutual Killing!” Monobear’s left eye lit up brightly, sending a chill down Ginger’s spine.

        “We don’t have a choice in this, do we? We’re suddenly declared to provide you ‘entertainment’ like we’re already your jesters. If you simply want us to tell jokes, then-” Rumble speculated, hoping that things would be that simple.

        “Jokes are for losers who hang onto hope and friendship like a holy grail!” Monobear angrily scoffed.

        “Then don’t expect us to be your jesters! I for one, refuse to be some teddy bear’s jester, subject, or whatever! I’m Diamond Tiara! Celestia forbid the day I’m reduced to such a ridiculing role!” Tiara put a hoof to her chest, speaking from the heart about her position.

        “Naturally, I’m with her on this. You can’t seriously expect us to follow your whims, yet alone stay here. You kidnapped us, didn’t you? And for such a ridiculous claim? Who do you think you are?” Silver Spoon backed up her friend’s declaration.

        “Uu~pupupu~” After his strange giggle, he continued, “The real question is who do you think you are? I’ve even prepared shelter and food, and that’s how I’m repaid? How ungrateful!”

        “There’s food? I sure hope it’s tasty.” Truffle Shuffle’s first comment is about food.  Really?

“Fine, since you bastards insist on not being my jester anymore, there’s only one way out: A promotion!”

        “Promotion? Is this a game now?” Snails asked. 

        “If you count killing as a game, sure!”

        “WHAT!?” I suddenly yelped. I didn’t even care, but to nonchalantly say something like that; he can’t be serious. Even though I feel a terror like no other, I don’t want to take this seriously. Our reunion can’t have gone from a tour of a school to some kingdom where we have to entertain a teddy bear with violence.

        “I didn’t stutter! The only way you’ll receive a promotion, is to kill someone! Only then, can you receive your promotion!” Monobear repeated.

        “K-k-kill? As in, kill somepony...?” Sweetie Belle’s legs violently trembled.

        “Come on, Sweetie Belle! He’s just a cute, teddy bear! He wouldn’t want you to kill anypony!” Apple Bloom, you think that bear is cute? Despite the absurd claim, she seemed just as afraid as Sweetie Belle.

        “Like Apple Bloom said, this might be some Poison Joke at work! I mean, maybe Twilight’s gone insane again and wants us to hog another doll of hers, right?” Scootaloo speculated, despite the beads of sweat on her head.

        “Killing is a pretty good joke if you put your own spin to it! It involves stabbing, poisoning, bludgeoning, cutting, gutting, all sorts of fun things you can toy with! If you want to get promoted and go home, just kill someone among you! It’s easy!” Monobear seriously thinks we’ll kill each other. Why should we?

        “How about I just kill YOU!?” Grace Lightning marched past all of us and inched closer to Monobear.

        “That wouldn’t be beary good! That’s considered TREASON! Surely you wouldn’t lay your filthy hooves on a bear, get executed in front of your friends, and send them all to despair, would you?” 

        “You shouldn’t have asked us to kill! You think you can just kidnap us and expect us to kill each other!? FAT CHANCE!” Grace Lightning’s hooves dropped it’s wheels to the ground. She rolled her way towards Monobear with lightning speed and attempted to ram him. But before she could get close, she suddenly dodged the bear on it’s horse, ducking away from a member of the Royal Guard; or so we thought. 

But it’s not that she ducked away. Their sudden arrival allowed their wings to slice Grace on the sides.

        They have golden helmets. They have golden armor. 

But a simple glance at these two, and you can tell they’re not the Canterlot Royal Guard at all. They look like they’re made of metal, red eyes and all. Not to mention, their wings, dripping with Grace Lightning’s blood, looked as if they could cut anything like butter.

        “Say hello to my Monoguards! They sure like to jump the gun, don’t they?” Monobear was scratching the back of his head, acting so nonchalant about what just happened.

        “GRACIE!!!” Pip tried to run up to her, but the Monoguards would block his way with their sharp, steel wings. He simply backed away and slumped to the ground, fearing for his friend’s life. 
        
        “I WANNA GO HOME!!!!” Sweetie Belle’s tears ran like a river, crying, begging to go home to her sister.

        “I can’t stand this! Is Princess Twilight even alive!? What about Princess Celestia? Or Princess Luna!?” Twist began asking everyone, despite that there’d be no answer. None of us know.

        Everyone simply stood there, horrified. Even the likes of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Even that hungry Truffle Shuffle is trembling.

        Monobear probably was aiming for this from the start. He probably wanted to make an example of us. He showed it to us clearly.

If we try to fight, we die. If we try to resist, we die.

We can’t oppose him. Why try?

It’s that horrifying realization that made me want to give up. To just stop right here. 

And what’s this killing business anyway? He wants us to kill each other? For what, a promotion? 
To what? Some unknown position allowing us to leave this place? What’s his game?

        “PHEW! I almost got trampled by a wild set of hooves! Better get her fixed up so she can participate in the kingdom of Mutual Killing. Wouldn’t want such fierceness to go to waste, right?” On Monobear’s order, the Monoguards picked Grace up and flew her away.

        “This isn’t a joke, is it? That blood’s real, right?” Scootaloo asked.

        “That blood’s real. It looks real. We just saw what happened.” Rumble grimly said, unable to avert his eyes from the blood pool left behind.

        “Better read the rules on your ID bands! I’ve already updated the info about the requirements for ‘promotion’! Ignorance of the rules is unacceptable!” Monobear ordered us, then finished talking.
        “But I see you get it now, don’t you? You desire to oppose me and leave. But that’s simply a byproduct of friendship. It builds unnecessary relationships with the outsiders of my kingdom. Relationships you hold dear. Relationships you can’t let go. But know that in the end, friendship is despair.” 

We thought this bear was just a joke. But with words like that... with despair inducing words like that, we can’t call it a joke.

“With that said, I look forward to how you’ll all provide me with the grotesque, messy, despair-inducing entertainment I crave! GIDDYUP!” With Monobear’s parting words, he rode on that fake Twilight Sparkle and flew off.

        We were brought here. We were probably kidnapped, but I never imagined it’d be for some sick purpose such as this.

        “That bear’s worse than Chuckie!” Pip put on a cracking smile.

        “That’s just a teddy bear! T-that’s... it can’t be capable of... THAT, right?” Snails hesitantly asked, earning a glare from Diamond Tiara.

        “Oh, I don’t know, why don’t you go attack that thing! See what’ll happen!” Diamond retorted.

        “Instead of trying to goad somepony into getting himself killed, why don’t we read the rules, okay? Maybe we’ll find something useful!” Featherweight suggested. He was just as scared as I was. How can he say something so hopeful? Doesn’t he know what’s going on?

        “He’s got a point. We look at the rules with this band, right?” Scootaloo lifted her hoof, looking around at us, hoping for a little clarification. 



1. The king’s subjects will live a communal lifestyle with no time limit inside the the kingdom.
2. The time between 10pm and 7am is called “Night Time”. During Night Time there are places that are forbidden to enter, so please take care.
3. Sleeping is only permitted in the personal homes prepared for you in the neighborhood area. Anyone intentionally falling asleep elsewhere will be punished.
4. You may investigate the kingdom as you please. There are no special restrictions on your actions.
5. No violence is permitted against King Monobear. Destruction of the surveillance flowers and cameras is forbidden.
6. A “culprit” who kills a fellow subject will be promoted. However, they must not let any other subject know they are the culprit.
7. Additional rules may be added by the king at any time.

Nopony said a word. All we could do was look at each other. I’m guessing they all saw the killing rule.

That’s the rule that stood out to us the most.

That rule; What Monobear wants us to do in order to leave:

To kill somepony.

We have families at home. We have friends at home. We also have hopes and dreams we wish to achieve, but not by being here. We don’t even know if this place is Canterlot. For all we know, we could be far away from home. Anything could’ve happened to our loved ones.

The friends I’m looking at this very minute... would these friends truly risk it all? Would they truly murder one of us?

It makes me sick thinking about it.

> Ch.1 (Ab)normal Days Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER 1: The Generous murder of the good ol’ days!

After reading the rules, especially the sixth rule regarding promotion, we all looked at each other with weary eyes.

They probably were thinking the same thoughts as I. Or worse.

Surely, this class - this Cheerilee’s class wouldn’t be plotting murder as we speak. No way.

“We can’t give up! We may not be able to oppose him right now, but there’s gotta be a way. Afterall, the good guys always win in the end!” Featherweight suddenly spoke up, breaking the thick, cold silence filling the air amongst everypony.

“What’s with the idealism? You saw what happened. Surely you’re not that naive, right?” Silver Spoon curtly asked.

“And how can you be so sure? The princesses; if they were here, they would’ve came by now. And if we plot anything, we might get punished!” Sweetie Belle expressed her worries.

“But it says we can live a communal lifestyle here, and that we can investigate this place as much as we want. We’ll just use that time to come up with a plan that’ll get us out of here alive. We might find Miss Cheerilee! And I’m sure we’ll find the real Princess Twilight too! We can’t let him shake us!” Featherweight pressed us all with hope.

But will things be that easy? When he has such fearsome guards at his side, just where will we even begin our plans?

“Featherweight, we’ve known each other for a while, but this isn’t just you being naive, right?” I walked up to my friend. My voice was calm, but filled with a whole bucket of doubt.

“Like I’m saying, we’ve yet to really try. We have families at home, right? We have to at least try. For their sake.” I see. He’s scared. But he doesn’t want to submit to fear. He doesn’t want to submit to despair.

“Because Miss Cheerilee wouldn’t want us to kill each other, huh?” Truffle Shuffle spoke at last. As expected of the teacher’s pet.

“That’s right!”

“Hmmm, hmmm...” Truffle closed his eyes and went into a deep thought none of us could tell what he was thinking. But if Featherweight could believe in him; believe in all of them, believe in me, then I suppose I should too.

If we submit to despair, we’ll never see our families again.

But if we don’t submit, what then?

Before I could open my mouth, I hear the blowing of several loud horns sounding a brief alarm, the kind that one would hear in a real kingdom.

At that moment, we looked above at the source of the sound and saw a large screen displaying Monobear sitting in a throne, holding a chalice. It’s as if he were some higher form of power truly looking down on us.

“Okay you bastards! It’s night time! As of now, all shops and restaurants are forbidden to enter! Go to your homes and sleep! Sweet dreams!” Monobear’s announcement echoed throughout the kingdom, loud enough to ring our ears.

Soon after, we saw several of those ‘Monoguards’ in the sky.

“Wow. He’s sharp. He’s even got his guards on patrol from the air.” Rumble commented.

“Ah’ just done realized somethin’: he only said the shops and stuff are locked up. Ah wonder, what if it’s okay to enter each other’s homes? What if we could just waltz on in an’ kill somepony?” Apple Bloom, much to everyone’s surprise, made a horrifying speculation. Despite how much sense it made, it’s still scary to hear Apple Bloom of all ponies say that.

“Apple Bloom...” Twist was obviously appalled.

“Despite how she said it, she has a point. The rules don’t forbid that. That bear does expect us to kill each other.” Rumble backed up Apple Bloom’s speculation, taking the implication in stride, but providing fair warning.

“But don’t! Please guys, don’t! We kill somepony, and for what? You go home, but you’ll have to shoulder that guilt forever! You guys can’t really be prepared for that, right?” Featherweight stomped a hoof down, warning everypony as sternly as his consciousness would allow. He wasn’t the kind of pony to be strict.

“H-h-he’s right! I mean, I’m sure you guys won’t kill anypony! It’s just all some ruse, and the princesses may save us any minute now!” Scootaloo started rubbing her left forearm, looking tense.

“Oh, if you’re so scared, just board up your door! The rules don’t forbid blank flanks from acting like little chickens!” Tiara quipped with a sharp tongue, with every intention of getting under Scootaloo’s skin.

“I AM NOT A GODDAMN CHICKEN!” Scootaloo’s eyes shot daggers at Diamond Tiara the second she was called a ‘chicken’. I’ve never seen Scootaloo snap before, so this is a first. Her seething struck fear into me, causing both myself and Featherweight to back away just a little bit.

“Ah remember tha first time ah called her that! She even bit my head off. Ah’d like to see where this is going!” Apple Bloom actually looked happy for some reason.

“Okay so, like, we’re gonna exit; stage left.” Snails, having his hoof point backwards, starts backing away slowly along with Snips, but quickly picking up their pace.

“Yeeaaah, I can’t watch this.” After Snips’s comment, their slow steps turned into a full-on gallop.

“G-geh...” Tiara’s eye twitched.  “It’s not my fault you can’t fly! I’m just gonna go! Maybe by tomorrow you’ll get over yourself! Let’s go Silver Spoon. I can’t stand the sight of those blank flanks any longer.”

“It’s okay, Diamond Tiara. No need to be scared.” Silver Spoon commented, obviously trying to hold back laughter.

“I’M NOT SCARED!” Tiara could be heard in the distance. She looked back at us, and then looked away, as if she were saying ‘hmph!’

“Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle meekly called out to her friend, but she was already walking away.

“Leave me alone, Sweetie Belle. I need some time alone.” Scootaloo walked off, going to her home as well.

“Let’s go find our homes, Sweetie Belle! We’ll just have to stay alive!” Apple Bloom said, full of optimism.

“For what, finding your cutie mark? But there’s no time for that.” Twist faced her with a grimace, saying what she thinks.

Apple Bloom looked down for a minute, her mane covering her eyes. For a moment, I thought she was going to cry, and I suddenly felt bad for her.
        
But I didn’t think about cheering her up, once. This issue is about the proof of your talent: the cutie mark. That cursed mark that everypony feels is what makes you who you are.

The mark that gives you an identity to fit into society.

Seriously.

        But her head rose up, eyes focused on Twist, giving her a very strange smile.

“Hah. Ya know, Ah’ hate that. Ah’ hate hypocrites like you. Ah’ bet ya’ll got some fancy title when we got those lil’ colorful bands, but me? Ah’ ain’t got none.” Apple Bloom tilted her head, keeping up her obsessive smile. “Just as Ah’ have no cutie mark, Ah’ don’t have one of them fancy Super High-School Level titles. Even Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo got’em, and Ah’m super happy for’em! But Ah’m not gonna let that git me down at all! After all, a cutie mark crusader never gives up!”

“.........!” Twist suddenly felt terrified of Apple Bloom, looking away from her. “She’s right...!”

Twist whispered to herself, backing away from stating her opinion again.

Despite the optimism in Apple Bloom’s tone, despite her smile, both of us could definitely see something deeper in that smile.

After Apple Bloom walked away to her assigned home, so did Twist and Sweetie Belle.

“Pip, are you okay?” Dinky and Ginger went to the young stallion, still horrified at what happened to Grace.

“A-ah, yeah, I’ll be fine! I-I’m just not used to seeing really real blood, ya know? And you don’t think he’ll just kill her anyway, right? Like, some sort of mad scientist performing an experiment and turning her into a non-working frankenstein or something?” Pip hesitantly answered, thinking the worst already.

“The rules state not to use violence against him, but that probably means that if our attack lands on him, he has the right to respond in self-defense, or something like that.” Ginger Snap speculated.

After that, the three of them walked off to their homes as well. Even Truffle Shuffle walked home, just as dejected as everypony else.

Rumble would walk up to Featherweight and I, quickly saying his piece.

“I’m taking off as well. Featherweight, I would suggest that you learn all you can about this situation first, then apply all the hope you want to it. Tonight wasn’t a good time to throw in one of those speeches. Everypony’s volatile right now.” Rumble offered his quick word of advice before walking to his assigned home.

“Well, guess he means try tomorrow. It’s been a long day. I’ll try to sleep. You should get some rest too, dude. And remember: nopony’s going to die.” Featherweight said, full of confidence.

“How can you say that? After what we just witnessed-” I started to assume the worst again.

“We need to believe in them. They’re our friends, remember? We may not have kept contact with them, but they’re still our friends! So just believe in’em!” Featherweight finished, his voice beaming with hope, just before trotting off.

Now it was just me, alone. The commotion has ended.

The noise is gone.

I looked at the night sky once again. I want to enjoy this view. I want to feel at ease looking at the stars.

But seeing the Monoguards flying about, that’s not even an option.

I even noticed the red glare from their sockets. It’s as if my eyes kept meeting with theirs.

I’d rather sleep. I can’t have the Monoguards swooping down to slice me to pieces just for standing out here.

Then again, they probably wouldn’t mind if I wanted to kill somepony.

I walk up to my assigned home, ignoring the other homes around me as I walked down the street. The path then splits into two different directions: left and right. Nothing is up ahead except for an obvious shop of sorts. At the corner of the street, I see a signpost, that shows that I’m currently at the Generosity district.

Now that I look at the ground in the middle where the path parts, I see a few diamond-shaped gems drawn on the ground.

I’m pretty certain that that’s Rarity’s cutie mark.

It was the one story house right here, the very first home I saw. It was a luxurious-styled home from the outside, the kind you’d see in Canterlot everyday, but with two front windows and a door in between two pillars of the sunroof.

Now that I look down at the grass, I can see a daisy with what appears to be an eye in it’s center. This might be one of the flower cameras listed in the rules. I just hope they’re not fragile.

At the blue, wooden door, I saw a picture in the middle with my name underneath it. The picture itself was an eight-bit version of me.

I use my right forehoof to push the door open, but it wouldn’t budge. I then tried my left hoof, and it opened, just like that. Inside, is exactly as I expected: an entirely open room with all of the common necessities, save for the two security cameras at the ceiling corners, positioned to cover the whole room. To the left, I see a kitchen with a working refrigerator, sink, stove, and microwave. I walk inside the kitchen to investigate a little.

Inside the drawers, I find a conspicuous lack of spoons and stirring utensils. There are plenty of knives and forks though, each the name “Shady Daze” engraved at the handles. Underneath the utensils is a note.
                
        Forks: 5
        Knives: 5
        Skewers: 2
        
        Fine utensils for butchering the competition!

        At the bottom right corner of the paper is a stamped mark of Monobear’s face.

That bastard.

        Despite that, this note might be important, so I better burn it into my memory at least.

Inside the cabinets, I find plenty of porcelain plates and teacups. On that door is another note showing what’s inside the cabinet.

Plates: 5
Teacups: 2
Small dishes: 3
Glass cups: 5

Have a bloody fun teatime!

At the bottom right of the note is the face of that bear again.

He’s serious about this killing game, isn’t he?

Inside the refrigerator, I find various microwavable veggie meals and bottled beverages.

Guess that Monobear somehow knows we’re vegetarians.

I leave the kitchen and look to my right. There’s a single bed with a pretty royal-looking headrest and mattress. On top of that headrest, I see a note taped on top. I use my mouth to pull it down to the white sheets to read it.

“An Announcement from Your King, Monobear”
“There is an anti-picking mechanism installed in the each house.”
“The doors can only be opened by the house’s owner, as the signposts at your door will read your ID Bands and automatically open the door for you.”
“There is a shower installed in every room. Please note that during Night Time, no water comes out.”
“If you haven’t already, I’ve fitted each of your kitchens with a sufficient amount of dishes and eating utensils.”
“Your benevolent king thought you all would be hungry for blood!”

............

Well that explains why I couldn’t open it at first.

I guess I better keep this note too. Never know when It’ll come in handy.
        
        After folding the note up and quickly placing it into the nightstand drawer, I plop onto my bed and stare at the ceiling.

        I didn’t care how long. I just wanted to look at it. Today’s events wouldn’t let me sleep. I really didn’t want to sleep.

        And yet, this bed feels more comfortable than I thought. The soft mattress is making my eyelids heavy.

        Before I knew it, I drifted off to sleep at last.


________________________________________________________


        I wake up the next morning, feeling somewhat groggy. I look outside the window to notice that it’s still a little dark outside.

        I guess I didn’t sleep that long.

        Since I’m awake, I might as well go outside to get some fresh air and explore this place.

        The moment I step out, I can see that the sun is rising off in the distance, albeit, a little slower than usual. Maybe it’s just me still feeling anxious. Still, that means I slept somewhat properly.

        Taking a look at the shop I saw last night, I can see somepony looking through the window.

        I think that’s Ginger Snap, right? Better see what she’s doing here.

        “HA!” She suddenly swung a hoof at me. I barely managed to dodge in time.

        “Whoa, watch it!” I scolded, shaken up from almost having a tooth knocked out first thing in the morning.

        “Sorry, sorry! That was my reflexes!” Ginger waved off her attack, and I quickly forgave her. After all that’s happened, I guess I can’t blame her for being even the slightest bit paranoid.

        “So what are you doing here?” Naturally, I was curious.

        “This place looks like a bakery of sorts, so I was thinking.” She answered without hesitation.

        “About what?”

        "It’s what Featherweight said to us, and I think he’s right! So I wanted a chance to go bake cookies for everypony, maybe get their spirits up!” Ginger said with plenty of enthusiasm.

        “Oh, that. About not giving up, right?” I remembered his words.

        “Well, I think it was more on the plan of escape. I thought it’d be great to discuss an escape plan while eating cookies and milk. Of course, we’d have to do it the Canterlot way.” Ginger said it like I was supposed to know what she meant.

        “What’s the ‘Canterlot way’?” I inquired.

        “Drinking just about everything from teacups. It’s all about the teacups if you ask me! But don’t get me wrong, I’m not a wannabe princess or anything. It’s just that I’m originally from Canterlot. Besides, it might be better to get ponies like Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon to participate.” Ginger made her intentions clear. Honestly, hearing these plans actually puts me at ease.

        “I didn’t even know that. You sure don’t look the Canterlot type though.” Seriously, she didn’t. She looks the part of a Ponyville native through and through.

        “I get that alot. I only left Canterlot because I wanted to be a girl scout. You wouldn’t believe that a girl scout is Canterlot material, huh?”

        “Well, no. Not really, I guess.” I hesitantly answered, thinking that it’s a little weird. And then I suddenly asked, “Wait, did you leave on your own?”

        “Yeah. If I’m gonna be a scout, mom and dad won’t be around to protect me from the manticores, sea serpents, and bears, right?” She happily asked.

        “..................... What?”

        I was at a loss for words. Just what kind of scout group did she join!? Did they make her camp in the Everfree Forest!?

        “What? It’s not like I’ve become a military recruit yet, but it’s a dream of mine. Sometimes you just need to do what you must to collect those merit badges. Beats getting a cutie mark.”

        With that mentality, no wonder she hasn’t earned hers yet..

        “Aren’t you getting too old to be a-” She cut me off before I could finish that question.

        “My, my, I’m not old or anything.” With her emphasis on that word, I think I may have gotten under her fur a little bit. “The older scouts are usually aspiring to join the royal guard. I’m even leading my own group of fillies! I’m training them to earn their merits in besting the world’s dangers, teaching the ways of Canis Canem Edit.” 

        “Canis Cane-wha?”

        “It’s the name of our girl scout group.”

        “Sounds hardcore...” I nervously spoke my mind.

        It’s then, that Monobear’s image appeared above us, just like last night. Sitting on that throne.

        “This is an announcement from your king! It’s now 7 AM! Get up everyone! Let’s all strive for royal entertainment today!”

Shortly after Monobear’s announcement, I hear a series of clicks, including one right by our ears.

Looks like we’re free to explore now.

“Let’s go inside. You never know what you’ll find!” Ginger immediately opened the door and trotted inside.

“It’s just a sweet shop.” I muttered to myself. Thankfully she’s too fired up to hear me.

Despite that, I go inside anyway to look around.

I see a security camera on the ceiling at the far off corner the moment I opened the door. Those cameras always stand out to me. They’re a constant reminder that we’re being watched.

The floor is made out of white, marble tiles with violet streaks. The circular tables are made of a bright, well polished wood, and matching chairs. Counting the chairs, it seems like this place is specifically fitted to hold sixteen ponies.

To my left, I see a counter with various types of doughnuts and cookies inside the glass container. Behind that, I see a wooden shelf with many different bags of coffee beans and bottles of flavoring lined across. There are also coffee mugs here as well, all made out of porcelain.

“Umm, Ginger? This might be a coffee shop instead.” I grabbed her attention while pointing over at the shelf.

“Is it?” Ginger seemed surprise at my claim. She probably didn’t see this shelf when she looked through the window. “Oh, you’re right! Pardon my mistake! I guess I thought it was a sweets shop when I saw all the yummy doughnuts in the container.” She gave a wry smile.

Still, this is pretty convenient. We’ll be able to drink a little coffee to stay awake and focused.

“Oh, Shady! Ginger!” Featherweight called out to us when he walked inside.

“Featherweight, glad you’re here! I was thinking we should take this time to at least catch up with everypony. Coffee and Cookies are the best ways to bond!” She showed her enthusiasm to Featherweight, who instantly formed a smile on his lips.

“Yeah, and that may calm everypony down too! We can use that time to discuss our findings later. For now, I think we need to explore. We’ll gather up here at three o’clock.” Featherweight suggested, activating his ID Band and checking the time. “Come on, Shady!”

As Featherweight began to trot out of the shop, his face bumps into another pony, knocking her down to her rear. Her red-framed glasses even fell off, which sent her into a panic.

“A-ah! I- I need those glasses! My glasses!” Twist frantically pressed her hoof around the ground, searching for those glasses. Thankfully, Featherweight picked them up just in time. 

“Umm, Twist? I have your glasses.”

“Ah! THANK YOU!” She screamed, snatching the specs away and putting them back on. “Seriously, thank you.”

“Err, no problem...?” Featherweight was clearly unnerved by her sudden panic and change in attitude. “I guess you can’t see without them?”

“I apologize for my outburst.” She meekly lowered her head. “It’s just, for me, it’s no different than turning off the lights.”

Turning off the lights? Isn’t that just a normal thing to do?

“Oh, Twist! Just the pony I needed!” Ginger called out from within the shop. “Could you help me set this party up? I know you specialize in candy, but you can handle cookies, right?”

“Well, I guess? As long as it’s sweet, I can try my hand at it.” Twist walked past us, answering Ginger’s question.

I guess she’s going to help out with the party.

“In any case, let’s check the kingdom out! We gotta find SOMETHING useful, I’m sure!”

“How about we check the houses first? I want to know just how safe we really are.” I suggested.

“You’re paranoid too, huh? I’m not surprised.” He looked away,crestfallen, “Everypony’s probably been on edge since that bear took over, but there’s still hope, right?” Featherweight walked ahead, headed straight for the center street.

“You got a point.” I replied. Afterall, there’s no motive to kill. We can’t just slaughter one another without motive, right?


________________________________________________


With that, our investigation began, starting with the houses. Of course, one pony is already in front of a home, pressing his head against the door.

“Whoa, I can’t hear a thing at all! Even Trixie’s showers were more loud and noisier than that, and I had to stand outside!” Snails mumbled to himself.

“Hey, Snails! What’s happening?” Featherweight asked.

“Ah! Y-y-y-you didn’t hear me, did you!?” He frantically asked, “O-of course you didn’t! I’m not that kind of colt, I swear! The Great and Awesome Snails is innocent and pure, I tell you!”

“Relax, we wanted to know why you’re pressing your head against the door.” I asked, trying to wash that image out of my head.

“Right, right. You see, Snips wanted to try making some noise, to test something out. But I can’t hear anything at all!”

“So these houses are soundproof? Just what are they made of?”

“I wouldn’t begin to imagine. When Snips and I hung out at each other’s houses when we were little colts, he’d snore really loud!”

“Wait, you guys don’t hang out anymore?” Featherweight asked, surprised at the possibility.

“Don’t get me wrong, we’re still cool! It’s just I can’t talk about The Great and Powerful Trixie around him.” Snails answered.

“Why not? I thought both of you were Trixie fanboys.” I said, judging from his attire.

“Wow, way to utterly and totally get her name wrong, guys.” Snails lowered his eyelids, sounding disappointed, much to our confusion. “C’mon,  she’s The Great and Powerful Trixie. You say the whole thing! You wouldn’t like it if I got your names wrong, huh?”

Before the two of us could answer, Snips comes out of the house, saying that the place is soundproof after all.

“I wondered why nopony heard my snore, so I needed to find out for myself. Lo- and behold, I can’t be heard.” Snips went on. “So, what brings you guys here?”

We tell them that we’re investigating the kingdom and that we’re to discuss our findings later during the party.

“Well that’s great! Just make sure Truffle Shuffle doesn’t get there before us. Not only when he eats, he gets all high-and-mighty when he’s no longer hungry. That fatass pisses me off.” 

“Now, now, The Humble and Awesome Snails thinks you’re being a little hateful.”

“Eh, we’ve done our part here. Leeeeeeeet’s go.” Snips walked off, with Snips chasing after him.

Huh. Did Snips hear what we were talking about somehow? 

Nah. That wouldn’t make any sense.

“Hey guys!” Dinky Doo called out to us, standing next to a strange bulletin board in front of the alleyway between the coffee shop, and a building to the right of it. Curious to know, we walk up to her to see what she wants. “You guys should’ve seen this a long time ago!”

“What is it?”

“Like, it’s a map! Duh, whaddya expect? Some kind of lesson on how to not get lost?!”

        That’s the purpose of a map though...

        “Huh, it’s like those maps you see at the mall!” Featherweight said.

        “That ain’t all! How about touching it with your ID bands?” Dinky suggested. We simply nod in agreement before I do it. Once my left hoof touched the board, the light on my band lit up, displaying a map of our current spot and small holographic figures of everypony’s home in the area, as well as the location of the coffee shop. I even see small little colored dots that match our manes and coats, so I easily can tell where everypony is. I feel a little silly for not figuring this out earlier.

        “I bet you feel so silly, huh? Or maybe you were just lazy?” Dinky teased, playing the fool here. She had to be. She knows my apparent “talent” already.

        “Well, thanks for telling us about this map.”

        “Everypony already found out about this! You two were just the last on the list. I hope you guys had fun having a hard-working time figuring that one out!” She giggled to herself, but I just put a hoof to my face, sighing in disbelief.

        What a bad pun.

        “W-well, at least this’ll help us, right?” Featherweight played along, giving a dry laugh to Dinky’s pun.

        “Dude, look up here at the map! There’s a place right here, and a place we can go up to!” Featherweight pointed out to the left of the Coffee shop, indicating that there’s an alley to go down to, and to the far right from it, there’s a second alley and a boutique.

        “A boutique, huh? That’s an interesting spot.” I muttered to myself.

        “You’re thinking what I’m thinking?” Featherweight asked.

        “Only one way to find out.” I answered, following his lead.

        So we gallop to the indicated boutique on our map, but it wasn’t what we thought it would be.

        “I thought It’d be something like Carousel Boutique.” I was sure I’d see a replica, especially considering the mark in the road and the title ‘Generosity District’.

        The building itself looked nothing like what I expected it to be. It instead, it looked somewhat plain. A simple one-story building, but only the kind you’d see in Canterlot. It didn’t look anything like the Carousel Boutique that I’m used to seeing in Ponyville.

        Despite it being one-story, the area of it was so much bigger. But it’s expected in this Canterlot knockoff.
        
        ...

        Should I really be calling this place a Canterlot knockoff? The only thing about it is that the houses and buildings look all royal and whatnot like they belong in a kingdom.

        “Well, I don’t think we’re THAT far off the mark. It is called ‘The Rarity Shop’.” Featherweight said reassuringly before pushing the door open and walking inside. But as he said, this place is named after Ponyville’s talented fashion designer and the Element of Generosity.

        As I expected, the place is huge and spacious. To my left, I see various shelves of clothing fabrics, sewing materials, and gems. Not far from those shelves, I see several racks of clothes on their hangers all beautifully made, and separated by gender.

        Behind there is the changing rooms, which are all open. I glance inside each of them, noticing that they’re all the same: White, wooden barriers, a door to close them off, and a large mirror.

        There’s a security camera at each corner of the ceiling as expected. To the right, is the cash register, and behind it is several folded towels, bed sheets, and other various linens all neatly lined up.

        The moment we walked a little further inside, I heard a little rustling by the clothes.

        “Y-you heard that, right?” Featherweight asked, looking at the clothing racks suspiciously.

        “Yeah.”

        “Oh, hey Shady n’ Feather!” Applebloom popped out from between the clothing racks. “What’s with the look? Ya’ll didn’t think Ah’d murder ya’ll just to earn my cutie mark, huh?”

       I stared into Apple Bloom’s eyes, filled with cheer, joy, as if full of hope, not a hint of despair. Is she seriously taking this in stride so easily?

        “Apple Bloom, please don’t joke about that.” Featherweight worriedly said, giving her a stern look.

        “Ah’ wonder.” Her eyes lowed, smiling once more.

        “Ahem.” I clear my throat before she can speak any more nonesense. “Where’s Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle?”

        “Yo, Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo came out of one of the changing rooms, holding a set of clothes in her mouth, then threw them on the rack. Turning her attention to us, “Didn’t expect to run into you guys here. You’re investigating here too?”

        “Yeah. Did you find anything?” I inquired, hoping for some new info.

        “Well, nothing interesting. What about you?” She asked Apple Bloom, who shook her head left and right.

        “Guys, come over here! I found something!” Sweetie Belle waved them over from behind the shopping counter. We trot on over to her quickly, curious to see what she’s so excited about. “Look at these!”

        “Are those receipts?” I looked inside the basket Sweetie Belle held out to us, only to find a few receipt copies. Printed on them seems to all be the exact same thing: ‘School Uniform: 500 bits’.

        “School Uniform? That’s weird. This place isn’t even a school.” Scootaloo said what I was thinking.

        So why?

        “Hmm, weird. This place doesn’t look the type to sell uniforms to begin with though.” Featherweight noted.

        “Oh, those things might be useless anyways.” Scootaloo said, dismissing the idea.

        “Well, I guess.” Sweetie Belle looked crestfallen all of a sudden, as if she wanted to pursue the topic a little more.

        “What’s wrong, Sweetie Belle?”

        “You know what’s wrong already.” She answered bitterly. her feelings probably welled up when she remembered the name of this shop.

        “Oh, don’t worry, I miss my sister too! But she and her friends will save us! And so will Big Mac and the rest of the Apple Family!”

        “How can you be so sure?” Sweetie Belle... every time she thought of her sister Rarity, she’d always look tearful for some reason. Shouldn’t she be more hopeful?

        “Because the Apple Family is HUUUUUUUUUUGE, ya know? Get on their bad side and they’ll buck ya harder than train ramming some plywood!” Apple Bloom managed to get a small laugh out of Sweetie Belle with her weird analogy.

        “Yeah! You’re right! I’m sure she’ll be here for me! I’m... sure of it!”

        “Heh. I’m not worried a bit. Rainbow Dash has my back! She did promise to get me a shot at going to the Wonderbolt Academy as soon as my flying’s up to snuff, so I know she and her friends’ll get us out!” Scootaloo seemed to have some hope as well.

        The cutie mark crusaders... I’d hate to see anything bad happen to them. Their friendship seems to work around picking each other up, despite not having a cutie mark.

        To be honest, I think they tried to recruit me at one point, but I turned them down.

        I don’t care for having a cutie mark.

        “That’s great though. I’m happy to see you guys hanging in there! I was worried when everypony was tearing into each other last night, but I think we’ll be fine.” Featherweight showed how relieved he is.

        “We will be as long as we have each other!” Scootaloo grabbed both Sweetie and Apple and held them close.

        I sorta resisted the urge to smile to myself after seeing such a heartwarming sight, even if it was brief.

        After that brief conversation, legs take me to a conspicuously empty clothing rack with several hangers on the pole.

        “Hmm, maybe the school uniforms on the receipt could’ve been on those hangers?” Sweetie Belle speculated, examining the metal rack as if she were looking for something, with Featherweight doing the same.

        “Who knows, there’s no label on it.” Featherweight noted.

        “Ah’ have a super idea!” Apple Bloom suddenly shouted. We all inquired to know what she wanted to know, and she simply pointed a hoof at the shelf with all the scissors and needles. “See all of those? We need to box them up!”

        “Wh-why? isn’t that stealing!?” Sweetie Belle tried to reason to no avail.

        “Ya think somepony would care about that if they wanted to kill?” Apple Bloom wore a strange smile, almost as if she were melancholic.

        “Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo scolded, but she didn’t care. Apple Bloom had a good point, even if it just screams paranoia.

        “What? Ah’m just hoping to earn mah cutie mark in keeping everypony safe!”

For all the wrong reasons.

        “So you’ve become paranoid?” Sweetie Belle hesitantly asked, looking Apple Bloom in the eyes sternly.

        “Not really. Ah’m just prepared, that’s all!”

        “Same thing!” Scootaloo retorted.

        “Hmm, I wonder. A cutie mark in preparation sounds nice~. A nice talent that suits me really well.”

        “.............” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo both seemed unnerved by Apple Bloom’s words.

        She’s really obsessing over her talent, isn’t she?

        “A-a-anyway,” Featherweight changed the subject, “Well, even if the purchases are for uniforms, perhaps there were ponies here before us?”

        “It’s a kingdom here! What if everypony before us broke the rules? They probably got locked in the dungeon!” Apple Bloom speculated.

        A dungeon, huh? Actually, that’s a pretty big possibility. but I’d rather not get into that without any evidence.

        “There is no dungeon!”

        “You again!?” Scootaloo backed away quick the second she saw him standing in the middle of our circle. Where the heck did he come from!?

        “What do you want!?” I angrily asked.

        “To tell you bastards that there is no dungeon in this kingdom! I’m a bear! Why would I need a dungeon?” Monobear angrily asked, glaring at us fiercely.

        “To trap us there when we break the rules?” Apple Bloom answered as if she were proposing an idea.

        “Oh, that’s boring. I’ll just kill you instead if you break the rules.” Monobear cleared that up nonchalantly.

        “!!!” Sweetie Belle gasped, trembling for her life.

        “Oh, but you’re not breaking the rules, so don’t be such a chicken!” Monobear turned his head to Scootaloo, knowing full well she hates being called that. “The only ones you should fear are yourselves! You never know when someone will play pin the tail on the donkey! U~pupupup~” Monobear went away after that.

        .........

        “Umm, Apple Bloom, err, a-a-about that plan of yours!” Sweetie Belle nudged her friend, who replied immediately.

        “See what Ah’ mean? Point proven!”

        Scootaloo pushes a box up to them with her head, and the girls all start sliding the lethal items off the shelves, letting gravity send them into the box.

Afterwards, the box is handed off to us.

        “We’ll take the box into the coffee shop!” Apple Bloom elaborated her plan, having her friends place the box on my back.

        “Wait, I didn’t-”

        “Just do it!” Scootaloo ordered.

        .....................

        “Fine.” I agreed, but not without a series of complaints.

        “It’s fine, if it’ll keep them calm, then we have to.” Featherweight calmingly said.

        “Whatever.” I groaned. Even with Featherweight helping me keep the box on my back, it’s more heavy than it looks. Just what did they pack in here!?

        Once we arrived in the Coffee shop, we saw Ginger and Twist, working hard at setting up the party, and Pipsqueak, who must’ve just arrived. She was surprised to see us back so soon, but we explained to her about Apple Bloom’s idea of keeping all the lethal items in this box.

        “I see. But shouldn’t that extend to us?” Ginger made a confusing statement.

        “Huh?” I had to ask, wondering what she was getting at.

        “We have knives and such at our homes, right? We might want to box those up as well.” Oh, so that’s what she meant.

        It made me remember all the knives and forks and such supplied in our kitchens.

        “Woah, scissors for nipping off the important bits!” Pipsqueak was suddenly looking in the box we had set down. “And needles too! Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in your EYE! Man, that sends a chill down my spine! Haha!”

        “Pipsqueak, stop that!” Sweetie Belle pleaded.

        “I don’t really mean it, ya know? I was kinda remembering a few movies and plays I saw, ya know! It’s just, the last time I was in Trottingham, these things were used as props for a horror play I took part in. But uh, they were fake and stuff.” Pip tried to justify his enthusiasm.

        “In any case, we should probably get around to grabbing our knives and such from our homes, and let everypony else know. When that’s done, we can continue to investigate!” Featherweight said, then suggesting for somepony to look after the box.

        “I’ll look after the Killing Goods!” Pip immediately volunteered, giving the box a name.

        ‘The Killing Goods.’

Truthfully, the name actually fits. All of the items in this box are capable of killing somepony in some way. The more I thought about it, the more I thought keeping it all in one place actually had some merit.

With that, Featherweight and I informed the other ponies, locating the others using the map from our ID Bands, telling them to gather all of their killing items into one box. It took a little while, but eventually, everypony contributed to the plan, and now we can begin our meeting.


___________________________________________


        At this time, Everypony has gathered around, with several desserts, baked by Twist.

        “Woooooow, it’s been way too long since I ate one of your cakes Twisty~” Truffle spoke with his mouth full. 

        “If you like it so much, swallow it all instead of being rude and talking with your mouth full?” She muttered, her eyes suddenly going ice cold.

        “Hm?” Truffle asked, completely oblivious to Twist’s sudden change in attitude.

        “...Nothing.” Twist sighed.

        Those two; I thought they spent Hearts and Hooves day together at one point. Was I mistaken on what I saw?

        “Sooooooooo~” Applebloom started, sitting at a table with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, “Does everypony feel safe n’ sound?”

        “Well, I do feel somewhat safer.” I answered, just to humor her.

        “H-ha! I’m always safe! I’m Diamond Tiara! I don’t need a blank flank like you asking ME that!” She pointed her hoof at her.

        “Pfft. Sure.” Dinky Doo snarked under her breath.

        “In any case, what did you all find?” Featherweight asked.

        “The King’s court is out there, behind this Coffee Shop! You should’ve seen it, it’s bigger than a tower of forty wedding cakes! I swear it, you must see for yourselves on how locked the place is!”

        “Wait, locked? So the place is locked, what’s the big deal?” Dinky asked.

        “It’s the fact that there are even more Monoguards stationed there than at the gates to the next two areas.” Rumbled said, sipping on the milk from his cup. “Specifically, there are ten Monoguards at the doors to the central building.”

        “King’s Court? Makes me wonder if there’s anypony else inside. I’d like to know if we’re truly alone or not.” Silver Spoon set down her teacup and continued, “We can’t be the only ones here. That bear said for us to ‘entertain him’ by killing each other, but just whom are we entertaining?”

        “Maaaaaaaan, we’re probably entertaining a jury of demons or something, ya know?” Pipsqueak surmised.

        “A King’s Court and a jurists’ court are two different things, idiot!” Diamond scolded.

        “Who cares! What’s this about other areas? Are we really just confined to this one!?” Scootaloo chimed in with her question. “The rules claim we’re free to explore, but what’s with the guards blocking the gates to other areas?!”

        “Maybe those areas have things they don’t want us to know! The known unknowns I say!” Snips said, making a good point.

        “Oh, a great and mysterious conspiracy you mean!” Snails said, then widened his eyes. “Wait, they’re like, weird and mechanical, right? Can’t we like, bust’em up?”

        “Oooooooh, that’s a great idea! The rules don’t forbid that!” Pipsqueak lit up in smiles.

        “Perhaps it would be akin to taking down a manticore~.” Ginger said, trying to not look too happy at the prospect of fighting.

        “This looks like fun! Can I join in?” It’s the voice of a bear we did NOT want to see.

        “Sure thing, MonouuuuuuuuuaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!?!?!” Pip fell out of his chair the second he saw Monobear right next to him.

        “It’s MonoBEAR! Get it right you bastards!”

        “W-w-what are you doing here! Nobody invited you!” Snips snapped.

        “That’s right! No evil stuffed teddy bears allowed! SHOO! SHOO!” Tiara made a motion with her hoof, trying to make Monobear go away.

        “My own subjects treating me like some puppy off the street! I could die the next moment when I starve to death!” Monobear morbidly spoke in jest.

        “THEN DIE!” Scootaloo picked up a cookie with her hooves and prepared to throw it, with Sweetie Belle holding her back. 

You’re not gonna take down Monobear with a cookie.

        “That’s a pretty funny irony though. Your king will have mercy on you bastards. You failed to invite ME to this little party, even though I brought you all a very special present!”

        “We don’t want presents from someone like you!” Sweetie Belle angrily pointed at Monobear.

        “Are you sure? Because it’s a go~od present. Beary good.” Bear puns aside, his proposition suddenly sounded a bit sinister.

        “We should accept.” Ginger suggested, her voice hushed.

        “Y-you don’t think he’ll-” I knew what Dinky was thinking.

        “Yeah, he might.” Ginger surmised.

        “Fine. We’ll accept your present!” Featherweight answered for all of us.

        I have a bad feeling about this.

        “Good choice!” The moment Monobear rose his hand, a smokescreen blew into the room, blinding us briefly.

        After a moment of coughing and trying to catch our breath, the smoke cleared at last. But what we saw wasn’t what we expected.

        “See, I found this cute little dog and thought she’d be fun and entertaining! Like Lassie!” Monobear held out his arm, pointing to the ‘dog’ in question.

        “ARF! ARF!” With such generic barking sounds made, our eyes widened in horror.

        But that was no dog. Not this one that glared at Monobear, then looked at us with worried eyes.

        That wasn’t supposed to be a dog. But being called as such is the biggest insult to Miss Cheerilee.

        That’s right. This ‘dog’ is our favorite teacher, Cheerilee wearing a big, gray-colored dog-suit where that light pink mane on her head can clearly be seen poking out of the mouth portion. Seeing that same purple coat, and light pink mane that we’re all used to seeing, trapped in some sort of large suit, sent a shiver down our spines.

On her mouth is some sort of strange, steel-looking muzzle.

        “Thank goodness you bastards took her in! After going through all that trouble of fixing her up, I would’ve had to put her down like Old Yeller if you didn’t accept!” Monobear sighed a breath of relief.

        The tower of cookies Truffle Shuffle was eating from flew off the table to the left, revealing an unspeakable fury. “P-p-put her down?!”

        “Euthanasia! Put to sleep! Lethal injection! MERCY KILL!” Monobear answered Truffle’s question, making it painfully clear that Miss Cheerilee would’ve died if we hadn’t accepted.

        *Whimper*

        “Why in the world can’t she talk?” Truffle asked.

        “Because she’s a dog! Dogs don’t talk!” Monobear gave an irritated obvious answer, jumping on the table.

        “It’s that strange dog muzzle, isn’t it?” Rumble asked, referring to that mechanical, dog-like muzzle covering her whole mouth. 

        “Whatever do you mean? Dogs bark, whine, and whimper for love, care, and attention!” Monobear, stating the obvious, only served to make our blood boil. 

“Starting now, there’s now an additional rule: From here on out, each of you will take turns to feed that dog, take her out on walks, and so forth! I call it Doggie Duty! Check your ID bands to find out who’s on Doggy Duty for today! I even added a doghouse in the neighborhood to take her to for feeding! Failure to comply will just tell me that you don’t want the dog anymore, so I’ll just put her down!” Monobear tore into our hope by bringing in this new form of despair, continuously making it worse as he spoke so sternly and nonchalantly.
        “So love and tolerate this mangy mutt, you bastards!”

        We’ve been looking for Cheerilee all this time, trying to find a way to escape.

        And here she is. Our teacher, now reduced to the role of a pitiful dog.

        Having never been in those shoes, never knowing how a dog thinks or feels, we couldn’t possibly imagine what could be on Cheerilee’s mind, or how she’s even taking it.

        But if she’s here, she knows about this game.

        She has to. But if she doesn’t, we have no idea of knowing, because she’s our dog now.

Our class pet.

> Ch.1 (Ab)normal Days Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Day 1: 3:32 PM

“You can not be serious! You expect us to treat our teacher, a fully grown mare like a dog!? It’s despicable!” Truffle, glared at Monobear, having a strong urge to hurt and tear him apart. Truthfully, we all had that urge. I’m sure we did.

But it’s pointless to oppose him. The Monoguards are outside and they’ll just swoop in to tear us limb from limb if we so much as lunge at him.

After all, this kingdom is his. We can’t break the rules.

“Uupupu~ If you don’t, I’ll be sure to take good care of her pelt~!” There’s that strange giggle again “Unless you’d prefer a bear as a pet. But you don’t know where my honey stash is! And don’t count on me telling!”

“You’ve got to be lying! I can’t treat my teacher like a dog!” Truffle hysterically claimed, hoping for some kind of loophole. Anything, so he wouldn’t have to go through with such a degrading rule.

“That’s insulting. I’m an honest bear! Truth be told, she reminded me of a dog that wouldn’t stop barking no matter what I said, so here she is!” Monobear basically just explained why he’s making Miss Cheerilee wear this dog suit.

“Let’s go with it for now.” Featherweight said, earning a mixture of glares and confusion from everypony, but he wasn’t done yet.

“At least one of you get it!” Monobear laughed maniacally.

“No, we’ll only go with it for now, because when we escape, we won’t have to treat her as a dog anymore. We’ll get out together! You won’t win!” Featherweight’s words seemed to silence Monobear for a brief moment. He looked down at the tiled floor, seemingly crestfallen at our plan for escape. But then...

“A~HAHAHAHA!!! That’s a good one! You bastards think it’s that easy!? You’re worse than a typical shounen hero! So cliche! You’re a hero without powers! All talk!” After his sudden fit of laughter and insults, he calmed down and continued. “In that case, I’ll prepare a nice gift for all of you. It seems you won’t kill unless you have a motive.”

“Took you long enough.” Rumble said. What the hell, Rumble?

“ARF! ARF! GRRR!!!” Even though Cheerilee is barking fiercely at Monobear over giving us a motive, hearing it all made me cringe. It’s painful to hear Cheerilee’s words converted into mere barking.

“For bastards like you, those who have been taught the silly little ways of friendship, I need to prepare this one in a special way! In the meantime, be sure to check the rules, if you know what’s good for the class pet!” As Monobear spoke of providing a motive, he became noticeably agitated at Cheerilee’s barking.

“SHUT UP, YOU MUTT!”

At that point, a swift kick landed on Cheerilee’s side, causing her to cry and whimper in pain, the same way a dog would if it were abused.

“MISS CHEERILEE!” Truffle ran up to his teacher and held her close, making sure she was alright. We could see the stream of tears flowing from his eyes as he heard her dog-ish whimpers.

“If that mutt ever gets out of control, call me and I’ll shut her up! That’s in the rules too, so read up, you bastards!” Monobear then hopped from off the table and sat on Miss Cheerilee’s back.

“Get off of her! GET OFF!” Truffle prepared to lunge at Monobear.

“Tsk, tsk...” He shook his head, waving a finger at the enraged pony, “Didn’t your teacher tell you that animal cruelty is bad? But don’t worry! As a pack, we’re strong against beasts like you!” As the stuff bear rambled on, Truffle’s agitation became contagious to everypony here.
“Of course, if you want your teacher back to normal, you just have to kill someone. A normal teacher wouldn’t be happy to be treated as her student’s pets! She’d prefer to be at home, thinking of homework and science projects for you bastards to do! If this isn’t a motive to get you going, then my present will be a guaranteed box office hit!”

With that, Monobear happily left the coffee shop, leaving behind the biggest tank of despair to us all.

“How can you say you’re alright!?” Truffle screamed suddenly.

“What? Are you able to understand Miss Cheerilee!?” Sweetie Belle immediately asked, hoping that to be the case.

“Just look in her eyes! You were all her students too!! Cheerilee’s been with us since we were little colts and fillies! She understood us to the core! You better be able to understand her too!” He tore into us with the intent of making us feel ashamed for not understanding our teacher.

“H-hmph! You’re just bragging because you used to be the teacher’s pet, and now the tables have turned! Must feel nice to have that superiority!”

Diamond Tiara you idiot, WHY NOW!?

        “You’re just a problem child. A PROBLEM CHILD! Like whenever you and Silver Spoon would look down on everypony without a cutie mark, I don’t regret ratting you two out every time you went too far!” Truffle glared, swinging his hoof around.

        “Oh, so you were the one to rat us out to the teacher. Figures. That’s how you cheaply took the ‘teacher’s pet’ title. Did you cheat your way to the top too? You’re the arrogant one, not us.” Silver Spoon soon joined in.

        “ARF!! ARF ARF!” Cheerilee interjected with that mechanical barking, followed by a strong glare at both parties, diffusing the situation.

        Even as a dog, she still acts as a responsible teacher.

        “Looks like she wants us to stop fighting and just follow the rules. Fighting like this won’t get us anywhere.” Truffle interpreted as best as he could. “And so I shall do just that.”

        “I still don’t believe it; she’s barking! You can’t tell what a dog thinks by looking in it’s eyes!” Tiara argued in disbelief.

        “But she’s not a dog. She’s Miss Cheerilee. She was our teacher back then, and she’s our teacher now. In our hearts, she’s definitely our teacher. I don’t think it’s that big of a stretch to look into her eyes and figure out what she’s saying. She’s still a pony after all. So please, instead of tearing into each other like a pack of animals, why don’t we finish our investigation of this place?” Featherweight decided to support Miss Cheerilee’s intent to keep this discord and despair to a minimum.

        “H-he’s right! Fighting like this always leads to murder! And that’s how serial killers are born too, like Jason Vorhooves, ya know!” Pipsqueak made a comparison to another horror flick.

        “Who?” Ginger asked.

        “You know, the pony who wears a hockey mask and kills everypony he sees with a machete, ya know?” Even though said serial killer isn’t real, you don’t have to look so excited about it, Pip.

        “And that’s utterly and horribly creeping me out.” Snails had no further comment, and yet, I heard Dinky chuckling at that.

        “Eh, that’s not exactly the issue you know.” Snips sighed.

        “Hah, Ah’ remember watching that film! Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had nightmares!” Apple Bloom said with glee.

        “Oooo~ What were they like? The nightmares I mean. I gotta know!” Pip asked, unnerving the mares.

        “None of your business! I wasn’t scared at all!” Scootaloo denied vehemently about being scared. She didn’t deny having a nightmare though.

        “I know I was! But it was pretty good to mess with Rarity by bringing it up whenever she made me mad.” Sweetie Belle sounded nostalgic, but immediately hung her head low. “I miss my sister... I wish her and her friends would hurry and save us...”

        “They can’t if they don’t even know where we are.” Twist said, adding some doubt into their hearts.

        “Theeeeeeeeeeere ya go, Twist! Ah wonder if it’s part of a Candy Maker’s talent to add hopelessness to the situation!” Apple Bloom widened her eyes and focused on Twist, causing her to back away, trembling as she saw her smile.

        “I mean, err, I’m sorry. I just thought if we’re in some magic barrier, it might make finding us harder... I mean, you don’t know how long we’ve been here. It could’ve been weeks, you don’t know!” Twist, as nervous as she was, spoke her mind.

        Now that I think about it, she always seems to speak bluntly with a hint of regret. She looks like she always wants to retract her opinion after stating it, and it’s more prominent when she’s around Apple Bloom. I can’t tell if Twist feels resentment or regret.

        “I would think that the princesses or the royal guard should have come for us by now. Twist is simply saying if it has been a long time, that could mean that either they don’t know, or-” Rumble tried to make it clear what Twist was getting at.

        “Don’t you dare say it!” Tiara didn’t want to accept that possibility. She didn’t want to believe that the princesses could go down so easily. She didn’t want to believe that the princesses could be defeated already.

        That was her own brand of hope. Believing in the princesses was her own factor of hope that she didn’t want to let go for a second.

        “I-it... it looks like I’m on doggy duty today.”

        We all turned our heads to Dinky Doo, who was looking at the rules on her ID band while the others were bickering, prompting us to take a look as well. She just mentioned “Doggie Duty.”

        I hold out my left forehoof and the holographic screen automatically comes up. I move it to the left to scroll through the rules until I find the new one that Monobear was referring to.



8. The one responsible on Doggie Duty for today, Dinky Doo, will feed and walk the dog, to ensure that the dog is well taken care of.

8A. Should the caretaker neglect any of his or her responsibilities or treat the dog like it is no longer a dog, then she will be put down under the assumption that the class no longer wants the pet.

8B. In the event of a murder, should the culprit be the one on Doggie Duty, the dog is automatically counted as an accessory to the crime. In addition, the dog is to be present during the investigation.

8C. Should the one on Doggie Duty choose to investigate the kingdom, they must keep the dog on its leash at all times. Doing this will count for taking the dog on a walk, giving it proper exercise.



“I should be the one on Doggy Duty, ME!” Truffle grumbled.

“That shouldn’t even be an issue! We have to do this in order to keep Miss Cheerilee alive! Besides, I think she’s cute!” Dinky picked up the leash, glaring at Truffle Shuffle, all while ignoring Miss Cheerilee’s barking.

“How do we know you’re not going to kill somepony just to help Miss Cheerilee? If you wanna, then KILL ME! I’ll gladly sacrifice my life for her!” 

What the hell are you saying, Truffle!? Are you THAT devoted to Miss Cheerilee? That’s not what being a teacher’s pet is about!

“I should ask YOU that! You sound so freaking obsessed!” Dinky Doo fired back, not backing down for a minute.

“SHUT UP!!!”

Finally, he had enough.

Featherweight has had it with our bickering. He feels he should’ve snapped much earlier, but now is better than never.

He was determined to make sure nopony drives the other to commit murder.

Everypony reluctantly became silent to listen to Featherweight’s words.

“We can’t have all of us constantly worrying about who’s going to kill who! So whenever somepony’s on Doggie Duty, we’ll need at least three others to accompany that one!” Featherweight suggested, walking past everypony and turning his attention to them. He looked as if he were trying to take the lead, hoping to start our investigation.

It was natural, all things considered. Tearing into each other is a waste of time, and it’s what Monobear wants.

Featherweight may have been the most determined to go against Monobear.

        I don’t have that level of determination. In fact, he always seemed a lot better at dealing with these situations than I was. I usually would stay silent and just let it blow over, especially if it’s none of my business.

        I see this side of him more whenever we work at the Ponyville Express. I know Featherweight’s not the type to be strict, but I guess even a situation like this would have him evolve his normal approach to diffusing a dispute.

“I’ll tag along of course.” Truffle immediately volunteered, making Dinky move to the side just a little.

“In that case, I’ll help too. I don’t like how Cheerilee’s scolding falls on deaf ears now.” Rumble made a good point. He reminded me of Cheerilee barking earlier, and yet the bickering between Truffle and Dinky continued.

It made me cringe to remember that.

“I can go too. The rules don’t limit Doggy Duty to just one pony.” Rumble pointed out another loophole.

“That means you’ll all have to treat her like a dog!” Featherweight noted.

“I say we remove that muzzle!” Truffle walked up to the teacher, reaching out for that muzzle, but Miss Cheerilee rose a hoof at him, signaling him to stop. “Wha- why!?” 

“I’m sure Miss Cheerilee has already tried that herself. Maybe she’s saying it can’t be removed by normal means.” Rumble speculated, to which Miss Cheerilee confirmed with a quick nod.

“H-how do YOU know? You can’t understand Miss Cheerilee like me!” Truffle angrily asked.

“It’s something you should’ve picked up on the moment Cheerilee joined the group, teacher’s pet.” Rumble flatly answered. Before Truffle could argue again, Featherweight spoke immediately.

“Well, that said, we should finish investigating the kingdom. We have a long day ahead of us. We can check the time at least with our ID bands, so let’s meet back here in the Coffee Shop at 8 to discuss our findings.” Featherweight laid his plans out. But of course, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon didn’t nod or anything. They simply left without another word, save for Tiara’s usual ‘Hmph!’


____________________________________________


4:00 PM

But everypony else agreed. And with that, our investigation began, or so I thought.

        “Err, Shady, we gotta talk.”

        Featherweight and I went out to the edge of the district where Rarity’s Cutie Mark was painted on the ground, away from everypony else.

        “What’s up?”

        “You still got my camera, right?” He quickly asked, feeling somewhat paranoid.

        “Yeah, sure, but It’s back at my house.” I calmed him down with a simple answer.

        “Ah, good. *phew*.”

        “Were you worried about it?” I inquired, based on his mannerisms.

        “Well yeah! See, after all that’s happened, I hadn’t even thought about it until now, but truth be told, it’ll be useful. You can hold onto it a little longer, but ya gotta give it back!” He said, putting on a brave smile. But I can’t blame him for forgetting about it until now. There’s enough to worry about as it is. Maybe the camera was the last thing on his mind and he just wanted to keep everypony from turning on each other.

        “I never asked, but why in the world do you obsess about that camera so much?” I still had to ask why though.

        “Dude it’s not an obsession! I just got that thing from my dad back when I was just a colt. It was a hand-me-down, yeah, but still.” Haha, guess he looked ticked off when I called it an obsession. “What kind of pictures did you think I was taking?”

        “Nothing indecent I’m sure.” I quipped.

        “Obviously! My dad would kill me for that!” He chuckled a little, then carried on, “At first he thought of letting my brother Snowflake have that camera, but he’s way too big. He’s afraid it’d get crushed!”

        “I still have a hard time believing a stallion like Snowflake is your brother.” Seriously. Snowflake’s bulging muscles are ridiculous. I’d never ask him, but I call steroids.

        “That’s because I don’t work out nearly as hard as he does. I’d end up having muscles so big, my wings would be tiny! So I decided to be strong in my own way. ‘Charisma’ is the word, I think.” Featherweight said, talking about his own strengths.

        Strength: is this what it means to be strong?

        “Anyway, about those questions to Princess Twilight; You still have’em too, right?” I asked, changing the subject.

        “Oh, those are at my assigned home too! Hahah, Dude, you remember, though right?”

        “The questions? They were all a bunch of mundane things like, have you aged any further since becoming an Alicorn, stuff about what her princess life is like now, how she became an Alicorn in the first place...” I trailed off. 

        But curiously, Alicorns are a mystery aside from the obvious agelessness and awesome power. 

        “Uhh, mmm...” For some reason, Featherweight went silent, just making a series of grunts as if he wants to say something, but doesn’t know how to put it.

        “Well?” I inquired, but this only made him even more nervous.

        “Dude, this is a kingdom, right? And Monobear did say ‘promotion’. You don’t think he means turning somepony into an Alicorn, right?” 

I hadn’t thought of that one...

        “Featherweight, that’s crazy. He can’t turn us into alicorns.” To be honest, I only said that to convince myself. Being an Alicorn is considered the closest thing to godliness.

        “But you can’t really deny the possibility, right? I mean, we don’t even know how Twilight Sparkle became one, and becoming an Alicorn is a tight secret in the royal family. I wouldn’t put it past them if killing somepony meant becoming an alicorn!”

        “Stop it. Please, just stop that. Stop thinking it. Isn’t our mattoo at the express, “To destroy conspiracies with the truth?” I mean,”

        “Ah haha, you’re right. Nothing good comes from murder. I’d be a hypocrite now if I even considered it. Yeah, gotta keep our heads high. There has to be another way.” Featherweight’s voice was cracking as he looked at the ground, wearing a bitter smile.

        ...

        I don’t get it. Why even come to that conclusion? Don’t say things like that, man. We’ve been friends since we were little colts. Don’t stoop to that level. That’s not you.

        You’re not that kind of guy.

        “Let’s investigate the rest of this place. There was that gate we have to check out, right?” He walked past me and kept his head forward. He never looked back.

        “Yeah.” I simply agreed.

        Even for somepony as optimistic as Featherweight, I can tell this is starting to get to him.

        It’s already gotten to me a long time ago.

        But everypony is alive. And I don’t want to suspect my old classmates of wanting to kill. If I suspect, I just don’t have any form of hope.


_________________________________________


4:06 PM

And so, we make our way down the brick road, going cutting through the alleyway to the left of the of the coffee shop, and reach the ‘central courtyard’ according to our map. At this area, we can see a familiar marble statue of Rarity, in her same battle pose.

“Didn’t we see this one in the beginning?” Featherweight asked what I was thinking, and I nodded in agreement.

This is weird. The statues were together before, but now they’re separated? What’s with that?

“Were they moved or something when we were knocked out?” I asked.

“Probably. This might be worth looking into! You took a picture of what it looked like before, right?”

“Yeah, I did! It was one of the first pictures I took!”

“We’re gonna have to develop the pictures we took somehow. It doesn’t look like this district has a photo development place, but the next one might!”

Checking the map on my ID Band, I see an arrow pointing to the left, saying “To the Honesty District”.

I turn my head around to survey the area, noticing that Truffle wasn’t lying when he said that the King’s Court is pretty much off limits due to the number of guards at the doors. I then turn left to see a single guard with it’s wings standing up, ready to slice us at any second if we got too close.

At that moment, I hear a gasp, catching my attention. I turn around to see Sweetie Belle there, by herself.

“Oh, hi Sweetie Belle!” Featherweight greeted.

“I-I-I’ll come back later.” She walked away, crestfallen.

“I think we should leave her alone for now. She’ll tell us what’s wrong when she’s ready, okay?” Featherweight put a hoof on my back.

“Not of my business anyway.” I replied.

“That’s a bit cold.” Featherweight gave a dry laugh.

I walk up to the gate, to find Diamond Tiara standing far away from the Monoguard, hiding behind a trash bin.

Silver Spoon is getting a closer look though.

        “Hey, Silver Spoon!” Featherweight called out.

        “So it’s only you two.” Silver said.

        “That guard can slice you up at any minute, you know.” I said, warning her.

        “Somepony has to know what these guards are made of. What kind of mechanics they’re filled with, if their bellies are nothing but nuts and bolts: a work of machinery.” She said with a smile.

        “Trying to find out how they work, huh?”

        “Yes, I am. I’m intrigued at such advanced machinery here. If only Diamond Tiara would realize the obvious mechanic of it.”

        “Obvious mechanic?” I asked.

        “If you don’t make any attacking actions, they won’t retaliate. These bots are designed to retaliate! It’s obvious when you consider what happened to that fool.” Silver Spoon must’ve been referring to that night when Grace Lightning tried to attack Monobear. “They don’t seem to attack without his orders either.”

        She’s right. Seeing where she’s standing, my tension eased up, if only just a little. Even if Silver Spoon’s been a bully most of the time, I still wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to her. 

        Yet, she stood close to it, looking closely, but not getting close enough to where she’d get attacked.

        “I Didn’t know you were into machines!”

        “Well, let’s just say that with the perks of being an heir to the Sterling family name, comes the perks of seeing some of the finer points of the world around you. With the world at your hooves, it’s only natural I’d find an interest eventually.” She told Featherweight.

        “What are you doing talking to that blank flank!? H-he’s just trying to act cool isn’t he!?” I  heard Diamond Tiara yelling from the bush nearby.

        “I’m trying to see if these guards have a weakness!”
        
        I simply sigh at her outburst while I approach her.

        “What are you doing?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

        “What’s it look like? Waiting for her to finish looking at that thing!”

        “Featherweight’s got her back. He’s not a blank flank, so it shouldn’t matter, right?”

        “Muu~ fine, you got a point. I just don’t want her to get sliced or something! I told her over and over that guard might strike, but no, she won’t listen!”

        “She’s fine.”

        “Yeah, for now! But it’ll attack when you try to get around! That stupid bear said so!” So Monobear talked to them about the guard? That explains a lot. He must’ve sent a shiver down her spine.

        “Would you like to be chopped up faster than an onion on an infomercial?”

        Diamond told me word-for-word what that bear said.

        “Coast is clear!” Silver Spoon shouted.

        “O-oh. Just so you know, I wasn’t scared! Not one bit!”

        “Sure.” Silver agreed, “Looks like they’re well built... There’s not exactly any openings either. I’m sure it’ll be difficult to destroy them.”

        “Well, let’s figure that part out when we look around a little more.” Featherweight suggested, with his voice somewhat trembling. “We might even get in trouble for even talking about that.”

        *DING*

        “Hey! Don’t go destroying my ponies!”

        “Monobear!?” Diamond shouted, slowly backing away.

        “I heard you bastards talking about animal cruelty! Does that mean you’ll discriminate against bears next? Maybe I should have this guard slice you all up for sending shivers through every inch of my fur!”

        “Not according to the rules.” Silver Spoon said, showing the rule list again, going through all eight rules.

        I see. The only thing we can’t destroy are the security cameras.

        “Ooooh~, how diligent, Silver Spoon~” Monobear looked down, acknowledging the loophole. “In that case, be my guest! Seeing a pony lose it’s ability to walk will finally give me an excuse to use my brand new shotgun!” Monobear suddenly pulled out a double-barrel shotgun, unnerving all of us. “Pain’s such a despair-inducing element! If you all felt too much of it, this shotgun would be your best friend!” He then took aim at us.

        “Aaah!” Diamond quickly hid behind Silver Spoon, then pointed her hoof at Monobear, “Put that thing down, now! I don’t deserve this! I’m not breaking rules!”

        “Why so scared? You’re not breaking the rules!” He put the gun down. 

        Hearing him giggle afterward is pissing me off. I really want to trample this bear.

        “But alas, if you commit a murder, I may make this guard step aside to let you bastards pig around in the mud! Consider it a generous gift!”

        “We’re not going to commit a murder just to get to the next area.”
 
        “You’re right! That’s why I’ve planted a present in your homes! Doesn’t hurt to give a friendly reminder!”

        The motive... he’s definitely talking about the motive he promised us.

        “Do remember to have fun, will ya?!” Monobear left with those parting words.

        “Well this is troublesome.” Silver Spoon sighed. “If he’s that confident we can’t destroy them, then we’re in trouble. There’s something he’s not telling us. But what?”

        “H-how about we figure this out when there’s not too many eyes around?” Featherweight nervously suggested. 

        I see. Looking at the flower bush, I can see several flower cameras in the garden patch by the gate. For all we know, the guards themselves may be fitted with those cameras, making them impossible to destroy.

Yet, he never mentioned anything about that possibility. Just beating around the bush.

        “We’ll tell the others about our findings. What will you two do?” Silver Spoon asked.

“What with you, Sil? You never talked to those two like that!” Diamond asked worriedly.

“Considering our situation, I think I can’t be the same anymore, Dia. I don’t need to spell it out what would happen If we continued our behavior.” Silver trialed off.

I got it too.

“Tch... you two are lucky! Really lucky! Silver Spoon’s a beautiful Mare, just like me! A mare of natural talents! I just can’t bring myself to cooperate with you blanks!” Diamond ranted, then started to storm off.

“There’s no need to worry, you two. We’re going to be fine! We’re gonna get out of this mess! We just need more time, okay? You don’t have to change just because of a temporary situation!” Featherweight gave them a boost of hope with a small statement alone.

I sure hope you’re right, my friend.


___________________________________________


5:21 PM

The two of us decide to head for that doghouse Monobear spoke of. On the way back, we saw a door leading to the back entrance of the Coffee shop. 

It must be a storage section of the coffee shop.

        Curious, I decide to go and check it out, to see what was there. I never really explored the coffee shop that much, now that I think about it.

        Once I was inside, the room was completely dark, save for the light from the sun. I press a hoof around the walls near the door, quickly finding a switch to turn the lights on. What I discover are several empty boxes scattered around, opened already.

        I guess that’s where all the extra coffee and products are held?

        There’s not exactly much to find, so I leave the room, headed for the first alleyway I see, taking me back to the front of the coffee shop.

        Down the street, I head straight to the road our houses are located, to find Dinky Doo, Rumble, and Truffle Shuffle there, with our ‘class pet’.

        I could hear Truffle grunting and holding back tears, as he watched Dinky feed the dog through... a straw? 

        Wow. He actually thought this through. Inside the dog house, there’s a mechanism consisting of two tubes, and a tube attached to both. As a single tube, it looks like the muzzle opens up a small hole to insert the tube to give water and food.

        Okay, I get the whole dog shtick, but that’s just plain wrong.

        “You feel disgusted, don’t you?” Rumble asked me. “You know, she and I had to hold Truffle back from destroying the dog house. I shouldn’t have to explain why.”

        “Yeah. I know.” I said, taking the rules into consideration.

        “How did you actually stop him?” Featherweight asked.

        “We didn’t. Miss Cheerilee did. A single hug from her was all it took to calm him down.”

        “And now he has to suck it up and deal, huh?” Dinky chimed in, earning a glare from Truffle. “What? All I did was say you have to deal unless you want her dead!”

        Making puns like that is not a good idea.

        “Tch... this shouldn’t be! She’s still too kind! You’re fools for going through with this! Fools, the lot of you!!!” He stormed off in tears.

        “Wow, I’m sooooo happy to have a new puppy! So cute!” Dinky waved her hooves around, rolling her eyes through her sarcastic complaints. “Ugh, geez, what a baby. Well, whatever. She knows we’re not malicious about it.”

        “You’re right. You follow it because you fear for her life.” Rumble stated in a matter-of-factly tone.

        “Yep! What else can we do? Until we know something, we won’t be able to feed our need to free her.” Dinky, you’re doing it again.

        “She’s still strong to accept this, and be able to help us. At the least, she’ll be able to calm any one of us down. She’s always been there for us when we needed her, right?” Featherweight said.

        “Even I owe her for cheering me up at one point.”

        “Yeah, and I wanted to make her proud of me, so whenever she met my mom for any PTA meetings, She’d tell her how smart I am, making mom proud of me! Two bits of smiles in one shot!” Dinky added, making me think of how Miss Cheerilee helped me to get the job at the press.

        We all owe her a lot. It hurts to treat her this way, but we don’t want her to die.

        I could then hear her barking again, looking at us with determined eyes, but immediately felt dejected since we don’t understand that artificial barking.

        But she then gave us a serious stare, one filled with determination.

        “Don’t worry about me.” is what she would probably say. I’m pretty sure she’d say something like that.
        

______________________________________________________


10:00 PM        

Several hours later, night time arrived, and we hadn’t found anything new in the kingdom, other than another storage in the clothing shop, naturally, with just more boxes and black tiles, explaining where the one for the killing goods came from to begin with.

        The goods are inside the coffee shop, locked away.

        But now...

        *DING*

        The screen lit up from above, showing Monobear sitting in that throne again, holding a chalice.

        “Hey you bastards! It’s night time! Hurry and get to your beds! As of now, both stores are locked! May you all have pleasant dreams~!”

        Night time’s finally arrived, and with everypony knowing about the present inside their homes, they’re hesitant to go to sleep.

        “I saw this coming.” Rumble  began walking to his assigned home.

        “W-where are you going!?” Sweetie Belle nervously asked.

        “I’m going to learn my motive for murder. You can ignore yours, but I’m going to find out now.” Rumble continued to walk off. 

        “Wait a minute!” Scootaloo called, but to no avail. Rumble had already closed his door.

        “Let’s just ignore the motives! No matter what, we can’t look at them!” Featherweight implored everypony, followed by Miss Cheerilee’s barking.

        “Miss Cheerilee’s right! Everypony, listen to Featherweight, and ignore the motive!”

        “Easier said than done.” Twist meekly added.

        “W-what?”

        “Doesn’t everypony here have family?! I’m worried about my parents! What about you!?” Twist tearfully struck us with that question.

        “I think I see where Rumble’s coming from, b-but there’s no way Rainbow Dash would be in trouble!”

        Without a moment’s notice, Sweetie Belle gallops to her assigned home in tears.

        “Wha- Sweetie Belle!? What was that about.”

        “Just a blank flank being a coward as always! I’ll check out my motive and I’ll be just fine! Watch me!” Diamond Tiara walks off too.

        “I’ll show you what makes us different from you!” Scootaloo stormed to her home too, with Apple Bloom nonchalantly walking as well.

        “You fool.” Silver Spoon whispered under her breath before walking away as well.

        “Oh man, oh man, hope the kids aren’t in trouble!” Snips muttered to himself before walking off.

        “Yeah, they’ll be fine! I think?” Snails sighed in doubt, walking away as well.

        “I uh, gotta go.” Pipsqueak walked off as well.

        “I want to stay by your side Miss Cheerilee, but to bed, I must go...!” Truffle ran off in tears.

        “I’ll just take Miss Cheerilee to the dog house now.” Dinky said, trembling as she walked Miss Cheerilee off to her house.

        Even Ginger just walked away without a word.
        
        Once again, it was just me and Featherweight.

        “No one’s listening to me this time. That sucks. But I’ll try again tomorrow.” Featherweight spoke, not to me, but himself.

        “I might even look at it.”

        “Guess you’re worried about your family too, huh?”

        “Aren’t you worried about yours?” I asked out of concern.

        “Well yeah! Now that Twist said that, I’m worried too! We can’t do anything here, but we’ll figure out a plan tomorrow. There has to be something. Promise me you won’t stop thinking!” Featherweight put a hoof on my shoulder. “Promise me!”

        “Alright, I promise! But what do you mean? Don’t stop thinking about what?”

        “A happy ending I guess? That one thing that makes you comfortable?”

        “Not my style. But I’ll try.” I sighed, agreeing to his request.

        “Good!” He gave a reassuring smile, lifting my spirits.

______________________________________________________


10:07 PM

Now that Featherweight’s gone, I go to my assigned home. The moment I open  the door, I find a small, neatly gift-wrapped present on my bed.

        “Huh? The motive’s a gift? Can’t call it generous though.” I mumbled to myself as I approached the box.

        I bite onto the ribbon to unwrap it, then open it up.

        It was then that I saw what he meant.

        The place where I grew up. A large, kinda run-down house, but stable to hold them all. The front yard is a mess due to the fillies and colts playing ball and casting magic all day. It was a mess, but this place is a sanctuary to me.

        Everypony there that I know from that place is fine in this picture. She’s fine... He is too... All of them are fine. 

        I move that picture away, revealing the next one, but this time, a few more ponies are gone. I simply sigh, believing that some ponies missed out on this one.

        The next picture, even more ponies were gone, and it was just the two adults left.

        “What the hell? Now this is just depressing.” I sighed to myself, before turning to the next photo, which is simply a black card. I rose my eyebrow in confusion.

        “With a promotion, only you can prevent orphanage fires!” Is what’s written on the card with a white marker.

        “What?”

        I quickly moved that stupid message out of the way, revealing that a photo of that place set ablaze.

        Why? Why is that place on fire!? 

        There has to be a way to edit these photos... there has to be!

        With a burst of panic and fury, my forearm suddenly swings, striking the box off the bed along with it’s contents.

        I’m not even gonna look. I can’t.

        And secondly, how the hell did Monobear even know that!? It’s not like i keep it secret, but he’s just a damn teddy bear!! 

        I my anguish escaped in an instance, echoing throughout these four walls.

        I let my voice roar, to the point where my throat began to feel itchy.

        I had to. I had to direct this feeling at something, and right now, even that may be a bad idea.

        Featherweight said to ignore the motive, yet here I am, out of breath as I lay in my bed, powerless, unsure if what I just saw was real. I let my curiosity get the better of me.

        Damn it!

> Ch.1 (Ab)normal Days Part 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Day 2, 8:21 AM

        Everypony here in this cafe... their eyes make what happened painfully obvious.

        Everypony here has a motive now, and nopony is talking.

        Surprisingly, this includes Featherweight.

Before I got here, I could hear a faint, distinguished and annoying sound of snoring as I passed by Snips’s home. I seriously thought that those houses were sound-proof. From the looks of it, Snails, Twist, and obviously Grace Lightning aren’t here either. Not even the Crusaders showed up. 

        Our eyes meet Miss Cheerilee’s, but it doesn’t take a genius to see that she’s full of worry. Ginger’s on Doggy Duty today, so she gets to hold the leash.

        As for Featherweight, if I had to guess, he probably received pictures of something happening to his family, and saying he can save them with power if he achieves “promotion”.

        I know his family, and they’re the reason he has hope anyway.

        *BAM*

        Suddenly, his hooves slam on the table he sat at with me and Rumble. “Everypony, can I have your attention, please!” 

        “No way! Are you gonna give some “Don’t give up” speech to us again!? No! I’m not sticking around for that!” Diamond Tiara began to storm out of the place.

        “But it’s important! I know you looked at those photos anyway! I assume everypony received strange photos, right?” His question stopped her, thankfully.

        “Yeah, I did! So what? Are you gonna go into our personal lives, ask what our motives are, and start pointing the hoof at me? Huh!? I won’t have it! No! I’ve had enough! I’ll go on my own to find a way out of this place!” Diamond continued to leave, forcefully swinging the door open.

        “Dia, wait!” Silver Spoon put a hoof on her friend’s back, stopping her again.

        “What?” Tiara asked calmingly.

        “We should hear him out.” Silver Spoon suggested, hoping her friend would listen.

        “Oh?” Tiara slowly turned her head to Featherweight, “He can’t tell me that daddy is okay with certainty. He doesn’t know. He’s not an alicorn. He’s not some god. Why should I waste a single second of my time to hear something so meaningless?” With those words, Featherweight slumped down to his chair, holding his head with his hooves.

        Before Tiara could walk through that door, the ‘class pet’ runs in front of her, ‘barking’ at her. Tiara backs away slowly, hearing that continuous ‘barking’

        “She’s saying that even though he doesn’t know, he’s trying to make sure you don’t do anything rash.” Truffle said, giving a self-proclaimed translation of Cheerilee’s words, to which she actually nodded to.

        “What!? I-I’m not gonna do anything stupid! Is it wrong to find out if my daddy’s okay!? I WANT TO SEE MY DADDY!”

        “You’re right, Diamond. You’re right.” Featherweight rose his head. “I don’t know what anypony’s feeling. But I just don’t want you all to play into his hands.” His tone rose in anger. “Don’t you see!? This is exactly what Monobear wants! He wants us to slaughter each other! No matter how noble it sounds to you, you just can’t kill somepony!”

        “He’s right.” I got out of my chair. “I’m just not willing to risk it all, just for some power. I can’t do that. I’m not gonna become the puppet of a teddy bear!”

        “But still, if he trapped us here, he’s obviously stronger than us.” Ginger said, voicing her resignation.

        “We don’t know yet. There may be some mastermind controlling that damn thing.” I continued, saying what’s also been on my mind lately about Monobear.

        “Oh, I already thought of that possibility, Shady.” Rumble sighed. He turned to me and then glanced at everypony else. “I say we redirect our investigation and identify the Mastermind behind that thing.”

        “Mastermind? Wow, that thing’s not a live bear?” Dinky’s tone sounded entirely sarcastic, but Rumble took it in stride anyway.

        “Yeah... yeah! It’s not gonna be Child’s Play ya know!” Pipsqueak hesitantly showed his enthusiasm.

        “Yes! I’ll be sure to make Miss Cheerilee proud!” Truffle put a hoof over his chest, pledging.

        “Yeah, way to raise the stakes, huh?” Dinky giggled to herself, but sighed, “But you’re right... mom is strong. She’s clumsy, but strong. She’s fine, I know!”

        “Yes. I’m sure if one murder’s gonna occur, then let that one be against the mastermind.”

        “Well obviously! I’ll be sure to take the credit though!” Tiara puffed her chest out, but in this case, her arrogance directed towards that bear is reassuring.

        I glance at Miss Cheerilee, noticing that she wants to sigh, but decides to smile at us instead.

        I’d like to think things are going to be okay, but I can’t help but be worried about Featherweight. He still looks anguished from earlier.


________________________________________________________


9:01 AM
        
        I decide to talk to Featherweight alone, taking him to the alleyway between the Coffee shop and the clothing store, so I can ask him what’s going on. He doesn’t normally let it get to him when somepony decides to not listen to him.

        “Shady, be honest with me.” He suddenly looked at me with a kind of emotion I’m not used to seeing from him. “If Miss Cheerilee wasn’t here, how would that have gone?”

        “Huh?” I asked, confused by his question.

        “I tried to cheer everypony up, but Diamond Tiara is right. If Rumble hadn’t said anything to steer everypony’s emotions elsewhere, directing their anger at the source, then what? What would’ve happened? Give it to me straight.”

        I let out the longest exhale ever for the first time in my life. I seriously couldn’t believe what I was hearing. But at the same time, even Diamond Tiara had a point.

        “I don’t think it would’ve gone well at all.” I gave a short and sweet opinion, rubbing the back of my head as I sighed.

        “Go on.” He calmly asked.

        “You’re asking me to elaborate!?” He can’t be serious. He knows how cynical I am.

        “Yes, I am! I want to know the details on how bad that would’ve gone!” What the hell is his deal?

        “I’d be betting that Diamond Tiara would’ve killed or gotten herself killed. Even if things had gone well, not everypony’s present. They might be plotting a murder as we speak! We don’t know what their motives are, and some words aren’t gonna fix that.” I laid it on thick, just as he requested.

        “Then what the heck is up with my damn talent then!?” I knew he’d say that. “My cutie mark represents hope, and it’s always worked, so why not now, huh!? If somepony dies, I don’t think I could even accept that guilt!”

        “Because you got one pony to listen, I guess? Look, hope isn’t some skill, it’s just something we gotta have I guess. Something that keeps our heads up. Think about it: At work, you’re able to motivate just about anypony, no matter what, and whenever they didn’t listen, you never let it bring you down like this before.”

        “Because lives are at stake!” He screamed, swinging his hoof, striking the wall.

        “So you’re saying you don’t trust anypony anymore? Wasn’t it you who told us to trust each other, believe nopony’s going to die? What did you get in that box?” I asked. The response that came was a bit unexpected though. Watching him clench his teeth was more than enough to warn me.

        “Just leave me alone for now.” His voice wavered.

        “Eh?” My eyes widened on reflex at Featherweight’s response.

        “I said leave me alone. I just need to be alone for a while, okay?” Featherweight began to gallop away.

        “Wait! Featherweight!!” I called out to him, even going after him, but the result was no different. He quickly flew away, leaving me behind. “Damn it!”

        He’s never been like this before. Even when we fought, he’d always turn the other cheek right away. He’d always forgive and forget. 

        Monobear’s present.

        That’s the only reason why he’s acting this way.

        But why the hell is he ignoring me now!? Is it because of how I view things? Is it because that I’d believe that what I saw in the pictures is the absolute truth?! Or is he planning a murder behind my back!?

        Fine, do what you want.

        I put a hoof to my face, sighing in disbelief before walking out of the alleyway.

        “Well that was interesting.”

        Rumble was standing there, with an unusual smug on his face. He wants to laugh, huh?

        “Rumble, what do you want?” I didn’t feel like talking to anypony right now.

        “You’re really an idiot if you thought you could talk to a pegasus when they’re mad.”

        “Yeah, yeah. So I don’t have wings. Sue me..” I rolled my eyes. “So he’s on top of the coffee shop right now?”

        “Yeah, but If I were him, I’d be careful. There’s security cameras even on the rooftops. So as long as he doesn’t destroy them, he’ll be fine.”

        “Why didn’t you say that before?”

        “I learned that Featherweight and I are the only flyers in this situation, so I didn’t think it would be important to say.” When he left out Scootaloo’s name, I wonder if she’s ever tried to learn how to fly.

        “Why don’t you teach her then?” I asked, looking for an answer from him, but instead, he just paused, going completely silent on me.

        “In any case, I think you should continue looking around. I doubt you’ll find anything new, but why not?” Rumble suggested, completely ignoring my suggestion before walking off. 

What the heck was that about?

        Maybe I should’ve asked Featherweight if he’d be willing to teach Scootaloo how to fly. More eyes in the sky would benefit us at least.

        ...

        I’ll talk to him about it later.


______________________________________________


11:00 AM

        I suppose I can find some use for my free time.

        I head back into the Coffee Shop and I locate Twist, who sat by herself at a table, drinking a cup of coffee.

        I can’t see her eyes behind her glasses, but I’m sure she probably had trouble sleeping like everypony else.

        “Shady!? I’m... I Don’t wanna die!” She shrieked, backing away slowly.

        “I’m not gonna kill anypony, okay? I just wanted to talk. Is that alright?” I calmly, yet curtly answered.

        “Oh... *phew*” Twist sighed, then smiled. “So what is it?”

        “I’ll get straight to the point: You got your motive, right?” I asked.

        “..................................” She went silent for several seconds. I guess she doesn’t wanna talk about it.

        “Alright, you don’t need to talk about it. It’s none of my business.”

        “Sorry.” After a quick apology, she went silent again. I sat at the table, sighing, trying to think of another topic.

        I’m no good at this.

        “Am I too gloomy for you?” My eyes widened a bit when she asked that.

        “Wha- no! Where’d that come from?!” I asked, thrown off by the sudden scathing question.

        “Ah, I’m sorry! I take it back!” She nervously waved off.

        “Okay...?” What’s her deal anyway? “Anyway, I just thought I’d say hi or something. Truth be told, I wanted to know why you’re here alone.”

        “I don’t know. It’s not like being alone is a bad thing, right?” Twist took a sip from her cup, then continued. “Ponies come and go everyday, whether it’s through life and death, or just walking in and out of a door. So being lonely isn’t that bad.” She answered.

        “I see. Didn’t you spend Hearts and Hooves day with Truffle? If you liked being alone, then why?” I asked.

        “That was when we were little. His diligence and determination to excel in class motivated me to work harder in making my candy, and look forward to the day I can open my own shop and go head-to-head with Sugar Cube Corner. Of course, I just can’t agree with his reasons. Ever.”

        “Reasons?” I asked, hoping she’d answer.

        “..........................................”

        Okay, I get the memo. Don’t wanna talk about it.

        “Alright, I’ll ask him when I get around to it.”

        “Thank you.” 

        She looked apologetic, but it’s clear that she would rather not talk about it.

        I wonder if there’s more to their relationship. In fact, I think they may have gone out at one point, but now? I don’t know.

        After talking to her a little longer, I think she’s calmed down a little. Guess we got a little closer.

________________________________________________


12:00 PM

        Let’s see who else I feel like talking to. I still have a little time.

        I head over to the front of the Rarity Statue to find Snips there, gazing at the craftsmanship of such a sculpture.

        “Shady? Whaddya want? You’re not gonna fanboy that crazy mare, are you? I’m sure Snails has gone on and on about it.” Snips looked annoyed.

        “Haha, no.” I answered bluntly.

        “Good!” He smiled, apparently glad that he didn’t have to hear about Trixie. “So, what’s up?”

        I highly doubt he’d tell me what motive he got.

        “Why are you looking at Rarity?” I asked.

        “Think about it: A hair stylist, paired with a fashion designer. What kind of awesomeness you’d get, huh?” He rose an eyebrow. I have no idea what kind of answer he even wants.

        “Err, the ultimate combo? I dunno?”

        “Heh, don’t worry, I’m not vying for her affection, so that lil’ dragon dude doesn’t have to worry!” Snips waved off.

By dragon dude, I’m guessing he means Princess Twilight’s famed assistant, Spike. That dragon’s crush on Rarity is obvious to everypony in Ponyville.

“So what’s the deal?”

“Alright, get this: truth be told, I don’t like my title. Come on, ‘cutter’? Really? It’s like saying that somepony’s really good at cutting themselves!” Snips exaggerated.

“I don’t think there’s any skill involved in something that bad.”

“Of course not! Just because I did it once or twice doesn’t mean I’m good at it!”

I... won’t ask about that one.

I was left at a loss when he said that, but he continued his rant anyway.

“My cutting skills revolve more around other things like manes, paper, or just about anything else!”

“Maybe that’s why you’re a Super High-School Level Cutter then. It probably had the literal meaning, but you’re taking the term the wrong way.” I gave my own quick analysis.

“Nah, stereotypes are dominant in this society. You autta know that better than anyone. Still, I’d prefer a super clipper, or something! Anything other than cutter! Ugh!”

His mark, a pair of scissors, is proof that his talent lies within the art of cutting.

It’s just weird that he takes the title in the wrong way.

We changed the subject to cutting up mundane things, like papercut-outs. I guess we got a little closer.

________________________________________________


10:00 PM

I looked around the kingdom all day, but I didn’t find anything different, other than what I’ve already saw, save for the ventilation shafts in the clothing shop. But those don’t matter.

Nothing else really stood out to me at all. 

But maybe it’s because I can’t focus.

Featherweight didn’t have to snap like that. I get the feeling there’s something i’m missing here.

All I could do was go back to my assigned home. Nothing was accomplished at all today.

When I enter, I find Featherweight’s camera on top of the small kitchen table, placed in the middle.

I don’t recall putting it there before.

Maybe I was too tired to even care. But at least it’s still safe.

I’ll give this back to him tomorrow. Maybe it’ll lift his spirits and he’ll start following his own advice again. A yawn escaped  the moment I approach the bed and laid myself face down on it.

I’m way too tired today. Nothing new to even find. 

Monobear could’ve at least waited a little longer before laying that motive on us like that.

...

Whatever.

________________________________________________




Day 3, 7:00 AM

        “Rise and shine, everyone! It’s a beautiful morning! Let’s all strive for royal entertainment today!”

        Monobear’s announcement broke my comfortable sleep. 

        That’s strange.

        I shouldn’t even feel comfortable sleeping, considering my situation. But sleep is sleep, and after a hard day’s work, who doesn’t love sleep?

        I honestly don’t wanna get up, so I find myself turning over to my right side. Once glance at the floor caused me to heave a deep sigh.

        Those pictures on the floor weren’t gonna go away after all.

        So, one-by-one, I picked them up with my mouth, placing them into the box that laid on the floor next to them. I grab the lid with my mouth and neatly seal the box with it.

        I then take the ribbon I untied off of it to wrap it back up.

        Into the trash it goes.

        With this, I don’t even have to look at them. It’s like I never opened that box to begin with. Hah.

        I plop back into my bed and close my eyes, hoping to fall back asleep.

        ...

        ......

        .........


_____________________________


7:41 AM

So much for that.

        All I did was just toss and turn for a good thirty minutes.

        I can’t get this feeling out of my head.

        “If Princess Twilight decided to pass down one of her weekly lessons of friendship to us, she’d probably tell us to always talk things out with your friends when a fight occurs. Or something.”

        I convinced myself.

        I’ll talk to Featherweight. Yeah. I’ll focus on that task.

        Rolling out of the bed, I walk over to the kitchen table and grab Featherweight’s camera.

        I open my door and step outside, seeing the morning sun rising in the distance, slowly as ever.

        Something was strange though.

        Nearly everypony left their door open.

        What the hell are they doing?

        Sure, a few doors are closed, but still! I prepare to investigate the homes to see if anypony’s occupying them, but then...

        “SHADY! HELP US OUT! NOW!”

        Huh?

        Diamond Tiara just yelled at me, as she galloped through the Generosity district, with Snails, Dinky Doo, Silver Spoon, Pipsqueak, Ginger Snap, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom with Miss Cheerilee on a leash. 

Of course, I saw Truffle lagging and following Rumble, who quickly flew through the second alleyway, and Scootaloo, who simply ran along at full speed.

        “AAAGH!” Scootaloo cried out. Did she get hurt somehow?

        I didn’t even get to ask questions. I just galloped off after them, going through the first alleyway.

        Just what in the world is going on!?

        When I arrived, I saw Rumble and the others cornering a mare whom we haven’t seen since the first night.

        Grace Lightining.

        So she’s finally back. I didn’t think Monobear would heal those wounds, judging by the white gauze taping around her body.

        Yet, why is everypony chasing her like this!?

        “What’s going on!?” I asked, hoping somepony would hear my question.

        “Truffle, restrain her!” Diamond shouted, the moment she noticed Truffle catching up with everypony through the second alleyway. Of course, he complies when he sluggishly pins Grace down, while Dinky and Snails are using their magic to keep her from struggling.

        “Agh, I just stepped on a screw!” Scootaloo complained, with her friends coming to check on her.

        “WHAT THE HELL, YOU IDIOTS!? Let me go, now!!!” Grace seethed, still trying to resist.

        “You killed him! He’s dead because of you!!!” Diamond retorted.

        “I DIDN’T KILL HIM!” Enraged, she started struggling even harder to no avail.

        The moment she saw Miss Cheerilee, she began to struggle even more. When I looked at Grace’s eyes, she looked like a rat cornered by a cat.

        Even so...

        My mind started going blank.

        For some reason, I suddenly started to draw the worst possible scenario.

        Featherweight’s not here among them. I can even see Twist and Snips arriving to the scene, asking questions.

        Featherweight.

        No.

        No! 

NO!

        The blood rushed to my head, giving me the energy to make one good burst, galloping through the second alleyway. I ignored the noise behind me, desperately trying to find my friend.

        I opened the coffee shop door, quickly glancing through the place, but nothing. No presence at all.

        I then turned my attention to his home, which the door is wide open. I galloped inside, looking for any sign of him, but nothing...

        I then dashed to the Rarity shop, jumping over the fallen clothing racks, instinctively going to that suspiciously broken door to the second changing room.

        And there it was. That dreadful pool flowing on the ground. And the source of it was a body. The body of my best friend, lifeless..

        The broken door is giving me an open view of the body.

        With only his head crashed through the mirror, his body appeared to be on it’s knees, with his wings completely limp like the rest of his body.

        I couldn’t help but scream.

        I wonder if this is my fault. I wonder if I made him feel powerless. I can’t help but blame myself.

> Ch.1 Abnormal Days Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Death’s bound to happen. It’s a universally accepted, undeniable fact. It’s accepted because it’s not possible to fight or run away from. 

We all die someday anyway.

But does that mean I have to accept his death?

        For it to happen to him... can I just accept that!?

        My legs collapsed upon seeing the body. All I could do was intake as much air as I could, and exhale as much as I could.

        I’m hear some hoofsteps approaching, but I just didn’t care.

        The following gasps of panic and screams didn’t matter to me either.

        It’s noise to me anyway. 

        “Ding~Ding! A body has been discovered! After a brief period of investigation, a class trial will begin!”

        ...huh?

        “By the way you bastards! I want you to meet me at the King’s Court, at the Rarity statue! You’ll do it, right? I have very important information to give before you begin snooping around for the culprit among you!”

        Oh.

        Wait, why aren’t you the culprit then, Monobear? Does it really have to be one of us?

        I thought these ponies were friends.

        If it turns out that one of these ponies around me is the killer...

        I stood on my hooves and began walking out of the dressing room.

        I ignored the noise behind me and headed to the place where Monobear said to meet.

        Nothing else matters. If it means getting at that little bastard, then all the reason for me to be there!

        Maybe it’s the blood rushing to my head, but I have never experienced this emotion at it’s peak before.


_________________________________________________


8:16 AM

        We all arrived at the statue, with all the noise following me. 

        Once I reach the statue, Monobear pops up, sitting on top of the back, as if he’s riding Rarity. He’s even surrounded by his guards.

        Monobear shrieked back a little the moment he saw my glare, making me wonder if he sensed my urge to trample him limb from limb right now.

        I dont’ give a damn if he’s a teddy bear.

        “W-w-wow! Such killing intent! I didn’t even get to speak yet! Learn some manners before spreading that icky aura around me!” Monobear taunted. I guess his own little fear was just sarcasm.

        “I know you killed him.”

        “Uu~pupupu~! You’re a stupid one! If I killed one of you, wouldn’t that defeat the whole purpose of causing you despair?” He countered my claim effectively. As much as I hate to admit, he did have a point.

        “D-despair!? What happened to harmony?!” Scootaloo asked.

        “With despair, there’s no need for harmony! Isn’t despair so much better? You get to open your eyes to the wonderfully glorious hopeless reality before you! So much better than that stupid harmony! Come now, surely you’d rather just embrace despair and feel better about yourselves~!” Monobear laid on his side nonchalantly. “It’s obvious that one of you wanted power to go back to your home and save your loved ones! Honestly, who wouldn’t want to do anything for power?”

        “So that’s why you sent those horrible and awful pictures! You edited them with strange and unbelievable magic I bet!” Snails surmised.

        “Oh, you should know better to think that a sleight-of-hand can make me dance as good as me!” Guess that’s Monobear’s way of saying that he can’t use magic. 

He even started to move his body in a rhythmic way by spinning around, moonwalking, and even spinning around on his back, ending back in the pose he was in before.

“Holy crap, he can dance!” Dinky applauded the bear’s little performance, but I can see Miss Cheerilee glaring at her, making her stop and apologize.

        “But aren’t you just a teddy bear? Maybe you’re being controlled by some crazy pony’s ghost!” Pip said, irritating the bear.

        “Geez, so persistent with the questions! Blah, blah, blah! Let me get to the point!!”

        “So are you going to tell us what that ‘promotion’ is?” Rumble asked.

        “Tsk, tsk, tsk!” Monobear wiggled a finger teasingly. “So impatient! It isn’t that simple! The real fun begins after the investigation!”

        “Real fun? How the heck is any of this fun to begin with!? Somepony’s dead and you’re blaming us!” Tiara seethed.

        “Wait, are you talking about the ‘class trial’ you mentioned during your announcement?” Silver spoon asked.

        “Ding-dong! Correct! We’ll all merrily go to the trial room, and you get to act as the jury to discuss and decide who among you is the culprit! If you correctly point out the culprit, then they alone will be executed! If you fail, then everyone else will be executed while the culprit receives their promotion!”

        “Executed!? The heck do you mean by executed!?” Snips nervously asked.

        “It’s as I said! An Execution! Death by poison! Electrocution! Skinning alive! Meat processing into delicious sausages!” Monobear provided tons of examples, hammering in exactly what he meant. “In fact, I have a glorious, wonderfully hot example! Behold!”

        He beckoned our attention to the sky, where his image would normally appear for his announcements.

        What appeared on screen...

        Was a blindfolded  yellow mare with her mouth tied up and hooves strapped to a black wall. Her blood red and bright yellow mane rustled about as she struggled to no avail. The camera zooms out, further and further, revealing a large, cylinder column made of steel, erected in the middle of a field during a beautiful sunset.

        Suddenly, the structure begins to turn and tilt slowly, pointing itself at the sun. Afterwards, the cylinder is closed off by several clear discs. 

It didn’t take long for a large truck to arrive. Fitted in it’s flatbed, is a strange device in it’s flatbed resembling a disc launcher, loaded with the same type of thin, rounded glass disc the tube got sealed off with.

        Once the truck is parked, one-by-one the discs launch, soaring through the air and past the cylinder, passing by the sun. Each time a glass faced the sun as it flew, a small beam would shoot into the cylinder.

        The camera zooms in on this poor mare, showing that the darkness she’s tied to is lit on fire bit by bit with each laser.

        Back to the glass launcher, rapidly firing those things through the air, as if it’s making the sun shoot a laser into the barrel, lighting the mare’s surroundings on fire, and even hitting her too. Eventually, her blindfold was burned off, and her eyes were filled with the tears of terror as the flames slowly consumed her entire body.

        It didn’t take long for the cylinder to act as a cannon by firing the mare off into the sunset.
        
        “Toasty~! Upupupu~ It took a while to get that one buttered and ready!”

        We had no words for such a horrific way to die. No response. 

        Only fear for our lives.

“That could be all of you if you don’t find the culprit!”

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!” Sweetie Belle’s tears and anguish was enough to represent not just my feelings, but everypony’s feelings.

“So like, what’s the point of us killing each other if we’re just gonna die anyway!?” Dinky asked.

“Silly Dinky! The real question is, what do you have to lose? When your minds, hearts, hooves and guts are overflowing with despair, then what do you truly have to lose?” The bear gleefully asked.

        “So somepony has to die when one decides to kill another. That’s the game?” Rumble asked.

        “Smart one, aren’t you, Rumble? Your title fits you well!” Monobear praised, but I doubt Rumble was happy about it.

        “One last thing! check your ID Bands to look at a file of your fallen classmate! I call it the Monobear file! Through that, you can see details about the victim’s death, as well as the time the death occurred! On top of that, you can use it to log in any evidence you find to use against your ‘friends’! You should thank your benevolent king for considering that you’re all a bunch of amateur investigators!”

        I see.

        Monobear makes a good point when he said things would be pointless if he did it, so by logic, one of us has to be the culprit.

        I hate to believe it, but everypony was on edge when they each received those pictures.

        I’m sure some weak-willed pony finally snapped. Whoever that somepony is, I’ll just have them executed. I just need to investigate, and get that culprit executed.

        I already decided I will avenge Featherweight, and the trials are the perfect outlet for that.

        “Surely now that you all understand, I’m looking forward to the trial even more now! Uu~pupupu~”

        “Hey, wait!! YOU SET ME UP!” Grace snapped, but Monobear left anyway. She’s already tied up, restrained by the hooves with a rope and unicorn magic.

        With Monobear gone, I take a deep breath, and focus my mind.

        I’ll work hard to find every bit of evidence there is!

        Of course, I felt a hoof on my back again, grabbing my attention.

        “Shady, wait!” Truffle was the one to stop me. For a minute, I thought It was Rumble. I honestly didn’t want to hear him out when he just randomly ate a cookie right in front of me.

        “I don’t have much time. Make it quick.” I said, to which he swallowed his snack quick.

        “Listen... *huff*...  I get that you’re angry that he’s gone, but we need a plan!” Truffle desperately tried to make me stop, but he’s still out of breath from all that running.

        “Oh come on, We have our culprit hogtied! Amazing roping skills by the way, Apple Bloom!” Snips said before letting out a yawn. “Can’t believe I have to wake up to this.”

        “Well come up with one yourselves! I don’t have time for this!” I tried to shake off Truffle’s hoof off, but he just galloped in front of me.

        “Just stop talking and listen! Personally, I think Snips has a point! You just saw what happened to that pony! The same could happen to all of us if we don’t work together! And on top of that, we haven’t seen Grace Lightning at all until today, so of course she’s the most suspicious, but-” Truffle said, but Grace was so livid, he couldn’t finish what he had to say.

        “Hey fatass! I said I was set up by that friggin’ toy!” She continued to struggle from her ropes.

        “And you say we weren’t!? Didn’t you get your motive too!?” Diamond Tiara snapped back, countering Grace’s claim..

        “Of course I did, but-” Grace answered, but Tiara wasn’t having any excuses.

        “Then that settles it, everypony! Let’s all participate in gathering evidence so we can vote her guilty! I’m not letting myself get burned to a crisp with you blank flanks! I’m too good for that!”

        “You bitch... you are SO dead, you hear me!? DEAD!” Grace seethed at the wanna-be princess, but the moment her eyes met Miss Cheerilee’s, they slammed shut suddenly.

        “See?! She’s threatening to take my life! Whatever shall I do?!” Diamond scoffed at Grace’s threat. “Get real! You’re an idiot! And I’m not letting you find evidence either! You’ll just muck up the crime scene since you forgot to clean up your mess!”

        “Ah’ could find more rope? Tie’er up more! It’s no different from ropin’ up cattle, right? Mah sis Applejack taught me how to rope up wild animals!”

        “You’re on the list too, bitch!” Grace was livid, directing her fury to Apple Bloom.

        “Apple Bloom! S-shouldn’t we try to hear her out?” Sweetie Belle asked.

        “Huh? But Ah’ ain’t ready to die yet! Not till Ah’ find mah talent! Ya’ll have super talents! Everypony here has precious super talents used for this here game! Why dun Ah’ investigate so Ah’ can find mahself a lil evidence too? Ah’ might finally get one’a them fancy titles at last!”

        “Apple Bloom, this isn’t about finding talent! Somepony just died, and we may be next!” Scootaloo scolded, but Apple Bloom came to me instead, ignoring her friends.

        “Shady! Need a lil’ help? Got Miss Cheerilee on a leash an’ everything! She can prolly sniff out the culprit!” Does this mean Apple Bloom’s on Doggy Duty today? If that’s the case, I don’t need to check the ID band.

        I rose a hoof, about to tell Apple Bloom off, but if Miss Cheerilee’s supposed to join in our investigations, I can’t really refuse. I recall a rule about the dog’s participation being a requirement in any investigation.

        In fact, I might be going crazy, but having our teacher help us out might be good.

        I’m fairly certain she won’t go pointing hooves at anypony, but I’m sure she may help discover a little evidence.

        Dunno if she’d even be willing though. But does she have a choice? Her position in this game is way worse than ours.

        “Fine. I’ll need all the help I can get.” I reluctantly accepted Apple Bloom’s offer. 

I looked at Miss Cheerilee, her eyes filled with worry and distress. Maybe she doesn’t want me to be so hell bent on finding the killer. But I don’t think she understands what it’s like to lose somepony I considered a brother.

        “Yay! SUPER HIGH-SCHOOL LEVEL CUTIE MARK CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATOR!” Apple Bloom shouted.

        Tiara ran in front, holding out her hoof. “I meant what I said! Don’t you dare tamper with the crime scene, you blank flanks!” She ordered, “We better get somepony to watch it!”

        “Why just ‘somepony’? You know that ‘somepony’ may be a culprit and tamper with the crime scene. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be wise to get at least three ponies to watch the crime scene? If one of us is really the culprit...” Ginger stopped, knowing that she didn’t have to finish that sentence.

        “Ginger has a point.” Rumble nodded.

        “I concur.” Silver Spoon agreed.

        “I’ll help guard the crime scene then! I’ve never really got a good look at a real dead body before!” Pip said, trembling. I don’t know if it was fear or excitement.

        “I’ll guard the scene too.” Silver Spoon sighed.

        “Ugh, I’d rather go investigate. I-I need evidence! If there’s a trial, we need evidence to convict her!” Tiara nervously declared, then walked off.

        “W-whoa, wait up! Don’t leave us!” Snips ran off after her.

        “Don’t leave me behind!” With Snails galloping right behind.

        “So who’s gonna watch Grace Lightning, huh?” Dinky asked.

        “You dumbasses are still on that!? I said I didn’t do it!”

        “Oh, in that case, we’re totally gonna release you and let you kick our flanks for this later!” Dinky’s sarcasm only made Grace narrow her eyes dangerously at the cheeky mare.

        “I’m sorry for this, b-but, what you did... nopony can overlook!” Sweetie Belle sighed, feeling a sense of guilt.

        “If we have evidence, then we’ll believe you.” Twist added, then nervously continued, “I-It’s not that we don’t believe you! We just want the evidence to prove you’re innocent!”

        “It’s pointless if somepony’s going to die no matter what when this is over.” Rumble laid the hard truth out, before readying himself for flight.

        “Hey, what about you?! Don’t tell me you’re going to fly?!” Scootaloo noticed Rumble spreading his wings.

        “Of course I am. I need a birds-eye view of the area, so I can learn the environment a bit.”

        “Aren’t you gonna join him?” Dinky’s remark earned her a glare from Scootaloo this time. “G-geez! Can’t take a joke at all!” She complained. “I’m sorry, alright? You don’t gotta be mad!”

        “Scootaloo, you can draw basic lines, right?” Rumble asked.

        Scootaloo rose an eyebrow, responding to Rumble’s question, “Well, yeah. Anypony can do that, right?”

        “Okay. We’ll look at the area together and make a map of this place. We may be able to see any escape routes the culprit took here.

        “Ugh... you... you’re all... huff... terrible ponies...” Truffle struggled to say while catching his breath from the running earlier. “You... putting Miss Cheerilee... through so much stress...!”

        “But It’s not our fault!” Dinky responded defensively.

        “Grrr...”

        He’s definitely too tired to argue, but his eyes tell me that he definitely wants to blame us for falling for that motive.

        “I need... to catch... my breath...” Truffle laid down on his side, taking deep breaths.

        He needs to work out more.


________________________________________________


INVESTIGATION START!


________________________________________________


        8:30 AM

        Apple Bloom, Miss Cheerilee and I head to the Rarity shop, the location of the body.

        Stepping over the clothing racks, I can see that a few of them are bent, and all of the shelves have been knocked over. 

On top of that, there are some thick scuff marks that trail to and from the body, appearing to be made by a set of wheels that rolled in the blood.

Was Grace Lightning here after all? I remember these wheels being used when she tried to charge at Monobear the night she got injured.

When I finally have the body in my line of sight, I can see Pipsqueak, Ginger Snap, and Silver Spoon there already, guarding the scene.

Before talking to them, I activate my ID band and move my hoof to the left, scrolling along until I find the Monobear File logged in. A photo of Featherweight is displayed, with his face crossed out in blood. Next to it, are the details behind his death.




        -The Victim is Featherweight.
        -The estimated time of death is around 7:30 AM
        -The body was found in the Rarity Clothing shop.
        -The victim died in the second changing room
        -The victim’s right forearm is outright broken.
        -In addition, the victim appears to have suffered a concussion.
        -The victim’s head is also covered with several cuts.



        A breath escapes my mouth on reflex, as my brain struggles to accept this reality.

        But several cuts around his head, and a concussion?

        Judging from these notes and the state of this store, a huge struggle took place, ending with Featherweight dead.

        I walk up to Featherweight’s body, but I could only stand there, motionless. To be honest, I didn’t know what to think. 

        Great, now I’m getting cold feet. 

        Come on, move! You have to avenge him!

        “Heeeeeeeeeeey, Shady! You’re on a mission! Use your hard-working talent to investigate!” Apple Bloom’s reminder snapped me out it.

        I don’t like how she worded that though.

        I take a closer look at the body, heaving a deep sigh every few seconds, while taking care to not step in the blood.

        It seriously hurts to do this, but I have to find his killer. No matter what.

        I look at his right forearm, and notice that it’s bent in a very unnatural way. It looked as if somepony performed some kind of wrestling hold on him.

        Taking a closer look at the source of blood, I notice that a majority of it was flowing from under the mirror.

        Maybe there’s more to this than I thought. But first, I’ll see what everypony here has to say.

        “Maaaaaan... I’ve seen plenty of fake bodies, but never the real deal, ya know?” Pip put a hoof to his nose. “No doubt about the smell either!”

        “This is quite an atrocious sight.” Silver Spoon adjusted her glasses, then continued.  “Featherweight was only trying to help all along. I never pictured him as the reckless type.”

        “Think his motive could’ve drove him to behave that way?” Ginger asked.

        “If only we knew exactly what motive he got.” I  suggested.

        “Ah’ say we go to his house! It’s still open!” Apple Bloom cheerfully declared.

        “Apple Bloom... stop that.” Silver Spoon bit her lip, getting those words out.

        “Stop what?” Apple Bloom looked genuinely curious, oblivious to what was wrong.

        “That... smiling. You’re too happy for some reason. Any normal pony would find that somewhat disturbing.” Silver Spoon sighed.

        “Oh. I see. Normal. Do blank flanks always behave as such? Am I not allowed to smile and be happy?”

        “......” After a brief pause, Silver answered, “No. I won’t blame you being a blank flank. It’s just-.”

        “Then could ya hush?” Apple Bloom maniacally grinned. “Unless it’s about how to get mah cutie mark!” She ended with a wink, unnerving Silver Spoon.

        “Alllllllllllllright everypony! Who wants to talk about murders~??” Pip nervously intervened.

        Silence. The only thing that was used to respond.

        “This is serious, you moron.” Ginger scolded him.

        “Geez, sorry. I just thought I’d offer my take.” Pip sadly pursed his lips.

        “In that case, I’ll hear you out.” Silver offered.

        “Ah, thank you! I somehow knew you’d get me, Silver Spoon!” Pip gleefully hopped up and down thanks to her throwing him a bone. “Alright, listen! When me and my buds up in Trottingham have to do a horror flick, we usually study up on gruesome ways to kill the victims! Especially if we decide to do a quick slasher flick!” Pip then pointed a hoof at Featherweight’s body, “Didn’t that file say that Featherweight’s got a concussion? That’s not enough to kill somepony unless you do it right, ya know?!”

        “Do it right?” I asked, wanting clarification.

        “Well, In most of our flicks, If we decide to headshot the victim, we usually go for a blunt object for a weapon, like a bat! That can do massive damage to the skull, even break it if you strike hard enough! Brain damage and all, ya know?”

        “What about a simple buck then?” I asked.

        “Hmm... well, depends the power of it! But u~usually, a buck tends to send a poor smuck flying, ya know?”

        Wait, that means Featherweight was bucked through this mirror! Is that really all there is to it though? 

“But that doesn’t explain why there’s so much blood here. What about that?”

        “Well, I’d think that the blood comes from the neck ya know? Like, plenty of slasher flicks have the killer target the neck for good measure. Srrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeek!” Pip ran his forehoof through his neck, making a throat-cutting gesture.  “Yeah, sure, the blood spray is played up and it’s pretty laughable when that happens, but that seriously can happen if you get the right spot, ya know?”

        “I can see that.” Ginger mentioned, glancing then gulping.

        “I see. Now that you mention it, it makes a lot more sense.” I told him.

        “Hmph. You carry more knowledge than I initially believed.” Silver praised him.

        “Really?! Awesome!” Pip hoofpumped, glad that he was useful. “Also, Shady, I’m not doing any disrespect, right? I mean, I know the difference between reality and movies, ya know? And that this is real, ya know? Like, not fake and whatnot, ya know?”

        “No. In fact, I think I have a different angle to work with.” I answered, reassuring him.

        Miss Cheerilee still continued to look at me with worried eyes. She then started turning her head back to the body, and then upwards, like she’s tracing something.

        But I’ve already seen all I could from this side, unless I’m missing something?

        I didn’t want to, but I move closer to the body, specifically getting a view of his neck.

        .......

        So his neck appears to be scarred from going through here, yet there’s nothing piercing him from this side.

        “C’mon, Shady! Follow’er eyes! It’s like listening to whenever Winona finds a bone!” Apple Bloom complained. Did she have to compare Cheerilee to the Apple Family dog?

        Yet, Miss Cheerilee is still looking upwards, and back down at the body. I’m not getting it, but I’ll have to trace her eyesight upwards.

        ...

        An air duct!? 

The hatch is gone! But how? Last I checked, we didn’t have any screwdrivers! Yet, there are four loose screws lying under the body.

I look down again, and I find a set of hoofprints that head away from the body, and seemingly merging with the scuff marks.

“So you noticed the prints?” Silver Spoon asked. “See anything strange about them?”

“Hey, I noticed first!” Ginger complained.

“You were too slow then. I guess you don’t understand basic deductive reasoning, yes?”

“Phooey. You win this round, Silver Spoon. But I assure you I know things you’re not supposed to know. You can’t expect too much from a little girl scout like me.”

You two can’t seriously be competing about this.

        I take a closer look at the hoofprints and scuff marks, noting the merging point. A little further back, I see the scuff marks extend further back. It’s as if the hoofprints merged like a set of rails, marking the black into the color of the blood.

        “So you do see it.” and added that comment.

        “Hey, what do you guys mean? I don’t get it!” Pip complained.

        The mares sighed, “He’s hopeless.”

        “Psh. Detective stuff is lame anyway, ya know!”

        That settles it: I have to look at the other side.

        I leave the clothing shop with Apple Bloom and Miss Cheerilee. On the way out as I followed the blood trail, the thick, dreadful color vanished slowly as I walked closer to the exit, leaving only the darkened markings.

        I definitely have to remember this trail.

        I make a sharp turn from the exit, and walk through the second alleyway. But on my way,

        Apple Bloom held Miss Cheerilee by the neck, bringing their cheeks together as they noticing something important. “Hey, what’s that? C’mon girl, tell Apple Bloom whatcha see!”

        I can hear Apple Bloom whispering to Miss Cheerilee, making me turn around to find out what’s going on.

        I can see our teacher give this crusader a strong scowl, but closed her eyes in defeat. Her ‘paw’ pointed at the ground by a drain, and I see a small spot of blood in the concrete.

        No way.

        This can’t be Featherweight’s blood, right?

        I’ll keep note of this.

        I proceed through, reaching the back entrance of the Rarity Shop.

        The last time I was in here, I didn’t find anything important, other than a series of boxes, filled with supplies for the shop, mainly various cloths, linens, and and threads. We couldn’t find any lethal items, and concluded that the ones we took off the shelves are the only killing goods available for that particular shop.

        I turn on the lights, and again, there’s nothing but a series of boxes that occupy a majority of this place. The floor’s tiles are black as well, so any sign of Grace being here are obscured by the color.

        What’s odd though, is that there are two towers of boxes standing alone against the wall in the middle. 

        I actually sigh in relief, but I then see Apple Bloom knocking the boxes over with her body. What she uncovered, was the lifeless eyes that took my breath away.
        
        My throat began to feel thick and heavy and I couldn’t take it. I doubled over and covered my mouth, trying to get it together.

        I can’t let myself falter. I have to avenge him!

        “Hey, what’s wrong? We have to see what the murder weapon is! Your friend would be so proud, he may give you his cutie mark!”

        At that moment, I felt my blood boil once more. All of the fury I saved for the culprit, suddenly started to direct itself to Apple Bloom.

        But then, I heard her collapse to the ground, landing on a couple of empty boxes.

        I could see that Miss Cheerilee’s eyes were full of anger and tears after slapping Apple Bloom like that.

        “What’d ya slap me for?”

        Miss Cheerilee didn’t bother to speak.

        “Ya can’t tell me? Ya can’t sign the reason to me? It hurts. Ah’ just want to help everypony! Why am Ah’ hurt?!” Apple Bloom shouted, her eyes leaking as well.

        You ever stop to think that you’re just going insane? 
        
I nearly blurted the words out.

        “Gotta endure a lil’ pain if Ah’m gonna help everypony alive and earn my cutie mark!” She suddenly smiled, and turned her attention to Featherweight’s body, getting a closer look at it.

        Wasn’t she just sad a minute ago?! How in the world did her mood just go from something sympathetic to this demented phase again?!

        Has she always been like this, or did this behavior begin when Monobear came?

        “Wow!” Apple Bloom shouted. “Look at this!”

        I was hesitant at first, but I did as she asked, all while watching Miss Cheerilee close her eyes and let out a “dog’s” sigh.
        
        Bloom pointed her hoof at Featherweight’s head, causing me to avert my eyes. I just feel a sense of anguish every time I look into those eyes that were once full of hope. His face had a few cuts around the cheeks and forehead, mostly due to the mirror I’m guessing.

        But I look at the blood coming from his neck like a waterfall. 

        It looks like the blood ran to the ground and under the mirror. From the looks of it, the boxes were used to block off the blood and redirect the puddle. Definitely noting that one.

        “Noooooo, not the blood! Ah meant the hole in his neck!” She pointed again at Featherweight’s head.

        I put a hoof to my face, swallowing my spit, “Can’t you just tell me what you see?”

        “Aincha you a Super High-School Level Hard Worker? Ya ain’t gonna make me do all of the work now, are ya?” She asked. That question made me wince.

        “Apple Bloom, please! I just can’t!”

        “Ooooooh? Then can you truly trust me? Ah may lie to ya! Ah’ may say there’s noooooooothin’ here, when there’s obviously sooooooomethin’ here~!” Apple Bloom then sighed, “If yer expectin honesty from me, then think again. I ain’t my sister and Ah’ll neeeever be~!”
        
        I see.

        She’s forcing my hand here. I honestly didn’t want to look at the body any more than I have to. I didn’t want to come face-to-face with this gruesome sight for long.

        But I guess I have no choice. If I don’t, we’re all dead. 

        Fine! I’ll do it!

        I took the first step forward. And then another hoof. and another. I kept stepping forward, inching closer to his head.

        I look closely underneath his neck as his head hung low.

        I can see a small wounded opening underneath, where all the blood is flowing from. Not to mention, the wound has a distinct lack of mirror pieces. In fact, the hole is somewhat small. An inch or two, maybe?

        Looking at the hole his head made to the mirror, I doubt any of the shards could’ve been used to go deep enough into his neck. Maybe another item was used as the murder weapon?

        I’ll have to keep that possibility in mind. 

        I continue to look around, and to the right of the body, I notice a ladder against the wall, formerly hidden behind the boxes, clearly exposed now that Apple Bloom knocked all the boxes over.

        “A step-ladder!” Apple Bloom pointed out.

        “A ladd- Ugh, we are not having this stupid argument!” I chided, shaking my head furiously to get such that crap out of my head.

        I can clearly see the ladder going up into a hole in the air duct. Looking closely, the hatch to open it was nowhere in sight. On top of that, the edges of the opening seem jagged and damaged.

        Did someone get rid of the hatch? Then again, that is an odd place to even have an opening to begin with.

        I decide to approach the ladder and climb inside.

        If I were the culprit, I would crawl slow and easy, so nopony could hear me. To be honest, I need to know if that was possible, so I start by crawling as slowly as possible.

        “Ah’ can hear ya!” Apple Bloom suddenly shouted.

        ...What? Is she talking about my hooves knocking against the steel around me?

        Okay, let’s try to shimmy my way through!

        “Did ya think ya think my lil’ ears couldn’t hear that racket??”

        I see. There was no way the culprit could’ve gone through here without making a sound. Yet, as I go through here, I make the turn to my right, and find the exit, and beyond that, the lid to the shaft right there in front of me, out of the way.

        I’ll note this too.

        But that’s strange. If the culprit escaped through here, how did everypony not notice that!?

        I climb out of the shaft the way I came, and hop down the ladder.

        “Ah saw whatcha was thinkin’! I ain’t a dummy! Why else would ya go up there?”

        “Whatever.”

        “Whatcha find?”

        “....................”
        
        I didn’t really respond with anything. Just a long, grumbling, sigh. I’m still a bit rustled over her comment about Featherweight earlier.

        The clues I’ve found so far are odd, but they’re leading me to believe that maybe Grace is not the killer. Yet, even if she isn’t, where the heck has she been the whole time?

        Heading out of the storage room, I head to the central courtyard to meet with Sweetie Belle, Dinky Doo, and still-restrained Grace Lightning.

“Oi! Blue snooper! Get over here!” Grace called me out.

        Guess I failed to avoid eye-contact.

        “Ya gotta tell me you found something to prove my innocence! I want these damn ropes gone, now!” Grace’s began struggling again.

        “No.” I replied quickly and bluntly, all while taking a brief step back.

        “DAMN IT!! I keep telling everypony, I didn’t do anything!”

        “Then why was everypony chasing you earlier!?”

        “Ah! Err... look, just know I ain’t kill him, got it!?” Grace replied. I could only put a hoof to my face.

Your responses aren’t helping your case, you know.

        “You know, thanks for asking her the same questions we did earlier! Great work, Shady!” Dinky complemented. Though, I felt a bit of sharp annoyance from it.

        “I wanna believe her. Something’s off about her words, but I think she’s hiding something big!” Sweetie Belle said. Now that I think about it, she wasn’t using her magic to restrain Grace anymore.

        “Hiding big red targets of suspicion you mean!” Dinky smiled, but we knew what she really meant.

        “You’re already on the list, bitch. I’ll kill ya when I’m free!” At this point, Grace’s behavior reminds me that of an angry dog.

        “Good luck with that one.” Dinky looked away, giggling.

        When Grace turns her attention to Miss Cheerilee again, she shuts her eyes once again.

        “Why do you keep doing that?” The moment I asked, Grace’s eyes open, full of fire and anger.

        “Doing what?!” She responded the way I expected her to.

        “That thing! You close your eyes every time you see Miss Cheerilee!” I clarified.

        “Ha! Err, that’s because I hate seeing her in that dog outfit! It’s like, sad! It makes my eyes water, and it’ll blow my image if those floodgates opened! I’m tellin’ the truth, dammit!”

        Right. She’s definitely hiding something. And I have a feeling it’ll be a huge breakthrough in the case if I can just find out what.

        Speaking of Miss Cheerilee, I need to ask Dinky a question.

        “Wow, I didn’t know I had such a pretty face!” Dinky joked about the moment our eyes met. “Eh, what’s up?”

        “It’s about the Doggy Duty thing. Monobear said we had to take Miss Cheerilee out on walks, but how early?”

        “You’re seriously asking me that? I heard from Ginger that that weird band thingy woke her up earlier than usual. You know, she said something about it going beep-beep, really loud and stuff.” Dinky answered.

        *DING*

        And with that, Monobear suddenly pops up out of nowhere.

        “There you are. You’re number one on my kill list!” Grace smiled viciously.

        “You bastards really can’t bother to properly restrain a hog!? You’re lame! You have to gag her to shut her up, or the local animal authorities will catch you!” Monobear ranted.

        “What the hell do you want?” I asked.

        “I came to confirm Little Dinky’s notion about the Doggy duty of course!” He rubbed the back of his head, gleeful as ever.

        “Wait, so it’s true?” Dinky asked.

        “If you bastards would check your ID Bands, I wouldn’t have to bother explaining!”

        “You don’t tell us when you add rules!”

        “On the contrary, that’s where staying diligent comes in! Don’t you always grab the newspaper everyday? That’s why it’s called NEWS! The ‘New’ part showing what’s new! Of course, my ninja skills need work before I can do that!”

        “Get to the point!” Grace seethed.

        “Just thought I would add, that whenever someone on Doggy Duty turns out to be a victim, the duty is instantly transferred to another, so the puppy will never suffer from that idiot’s abandonment!”

        What!?

        “The victim was killed! That can’t be abandonment!” Sweetie Belle seethed.

        “And it’s his fault for dying! People these days are sure irresponsible! It’s why there’s so many stray dogs out there in this world!” Monobear looked crestfallen, yet it just made my blood boil. 

        “What do you mean by that!?” I asked.

        “You got a brain! I’m not gonna explain to someone with the common sense of a common cur! Upupu~”

        Monobear quickly left, but what he said...

        If somepony on doggie duty dies, the responsibility is transferred immediately to somepony else...

        I turn around to ask Apple Bloom.

        But she’s already gone.

        Damn it! She slipped away! I have to find her!

> Ch.1 Abnormal Days Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Hey, did any of you see where Apple Bloom went? She was just here a minute ago!”

“Hmph. I didn’t see her And I don’t give a damn. Why should I when you dumbasses are accusing me of murder?!” Grace’s glare wasn’t sending any shivers down my spine today. Whatever she feels, it’s way stronger for me.

“I didn’t see her myself, and she didn’t say anything to me either. Doesn’t she realize that her actions are making her look too suspicious?” Sweetie Belle gave her answer. A more composed one, compared to the one Grace gave.

“Eh, didn’t see her either. But hey, that’s pretty suspicious!” Dinky grinned, then turned to Grace, “You were hoping I meant that, huh? Well too bad!” Sticking her tongue out, it’s no surprise that she’s only fueling Grace’s ire for all of us.

But still, it’s possible Apple Bloom slipped away when Monobear popped up.

        “Hey, at least you have no reason to open those floodgates!” Dinky cheerfully explained to Grace.

        “Your ranking on my kill list just continues to rise, huh?” Grace said in a deadpan tone.

        “Oh, I notice you’re not struggling anymore.” Sweetie mentioned.

        “Whatever. I’ll be dead by the end of this crap anyway. Everypony’s too damn stupid to hear me out, so whatever!”

        “We would hear you out if you’d just tell us the truth!” I retorted.

        “That’s how it works, huh? You were always quite the pest when trying to get info out of me for your stupid articles.” Grace rolled her eyes. I guess her irritation is contagious.

        Seriously. I put a lot of work into getting the scoop for those!

        “It’s called making a worth-while read.”

        “Who needs to freakin’ read a research paper on how I win!? Just make one single sentence: The Genociders crush the competition again in this week’s roller derby! Just how hard is that to write!?”

        “It’s way too short!” I put a hoof to my face, realizing that I’m going way off topic. “Ugh, I don’t have time for this! I need to find Apple Bloom!”

        It’s clear she has no intention of talking.

        I ran off, heading for the first alleyway, but my gallop came to an immediate halt the moment I saw light peering from a certain door that’s open wide.

        The storage room for the Coffee Shop. I realize I haven’t investigated that yet, and Apple Bloom might have ran there.

        I look inside, seeing that there are several open cardboard boxes surrounding Diamond Tiara, Snips, and Snails. The two unicorn stallions were using their magic to levitate several coffee products from the boxes, seemingly searching for something.

        I’ll speak to Tiara first. Might not be the best idea since she looks pretty grumpy.

        “What do you want?” She asked in a subdued tone, yet irritated to see me.

        “What are you doing?”

“Look for yourself.” Tiara pointed her hoof around the room, showing off the boxes. Snips and Snails return the products to the boxes, turning their attention to me.
        
        That’s when it hit me.
        
        “The killing goods! They’re gone?!”

        What am I saying? A murder happened, of course the culprit used something from those boxes we packed!

        “Just the first box. That girl thinks she’s smart, trying to hide evidence from someone as good as me!” Tiara narrowed her eyes and grinded her teeth as she searched every box in the room.

        I didn’t bother saying anything. It’s hard to say whether Grace killed him or not, but she definitely was involved in this somehow. I don’t have enough evidence to say she’s innocent though.

        But from the look of things, they were searching for killing goods under the assumption that the culprit stole them.

        “So why just the first box?” I asked.

        Snips turns to me and answers, “Dude, I don’t know anything. All I did was put my lethal stuff into a box. I mean, there were sixteen of us, so obviously everything wasn’t going to fit into one box! I say Diamond Tiara’s onto something.”

        “Yeah, and don't forget the ones from that clothing shop too! Those were the ones gathered first!” Snails followed up.

        He’s right. The number of killing goods was big enough as it was, and because of that, Ginger had to get another box from the storage room for the rest of the items.

        Ah, now I get it.

        Grace was never around to get her items into the box. That would give her free reign to use’em as she sees fit.

        Unless...

        “Hey guys, is it possible that she probably took them to her own home?” Snips asked exactly what I thought. “Because she’s the culprit, right? She had to take the goods with her!”

        Except for that last part.

        “You know what? I bet she did!” Snails replied, turning to Tiara.

        Tiara perked up, and gave them both a diabolical grin. “Heh, I guess you two aren’t dunces after all! Let’s break down her door!” She stormed out of the room past me, Snips and Snails galloping right behind her.

        Huh... that is possible.

        I follow the three of them out of the storage room and to Grace’s assigned home.

        I looked at her nameplate, an eight-bit picture of her just like everypony here. However, something’s strange.

        It looks like someone placed it wrong, similar to incorrectly hanging a frame on a wall. Compared to the door plates for everypony else, this is one that seems off. I’ll have to note that.

        “Alright you two! You’re not making me get my pretty hooves all dirty!”

        “Well, alright! Here goes...!” The horn on Snails’s head lit up as he readied a spell to open the door.

        “Err, wait, you know an unlocking spell!?” Snips looked to Snails, surprised.

        “Dude, I was never taught that! She-who-must-not-be-named-around-you would kill me!” Snails answered.

        “Well, okay, let’s imagine the lock, then we unlock it together!” Snips suggested, still preparing his magic.

        “Just buck the door already! Don’t make me stand out here all day waiting!” Tiara griped, tapping her forehoof as her patience wore thin.

        “Don’t say it like that.” Snails shifted his eyes away. 

        I’m not sure if I want to know what he’s thinking.

        *DING*

        “You won’t get any of those hooves dirty!” Monobear popped up again.

        Tiara whipped her attention to the toy bear, giving a well-deserved glare. “You! What do you want?!”

        “To tell you that those lockpicking mechanisms are immune to your cute little pixie dust! A convenient imagine breaker!” Monobear scolded the three.

        I don’t get what he means by imagine breaker though. Probably just more of his nonesense.

        “It’s magic! Get it right, o-or I’ll get all great and powerful on you!” Snails nervously retorted, shaking his hoof at him.

        “Wait, whaddya mean!? How the heck do we get in then?!” Tiara asked, growing steadily irritated.

        “You won’t if you haven’t discovered the secret method! Otherwise, you have to bow down to me and say, ‘Oh our great, wonderful, powerful, and handsome king Monobear, please open the door for us for the sake of our pathetic investigation!’ And don’t leave out a single word!”

        Secret Method? 

        “Hmph! You must be out of your wooly little mind if you think I’ll-” Tiara obviously wasn’t going to do what Monobear says, but she was shocked to see Snips and Snails bowing down to the teddy bear.

        “Oh our great, wonderful, powerful, and handsome king Monobear, please open the door for us for the sake of our pathetic investigation!” Snips was the first to bow down, acting in such a hurry. Of course, Snails bowed down as well.

        “Ugh! For the love of Celestia, I can’t believe you two! Getting so close to that ugly belly button! Disgusting! Sick!” Tiara scolded the two as her eye twitched.

        “Hey, you’re just jealous that you don’t have one!” 

        Monobear, did you just seriously take offense to that?

        Snips whipped his head, glaring at her, “Didn’t you wanna get in there!? I did what needed to be done!”

        Monobear put a hand behind his head, seemingly blushing, “Aww, did you really think I wanted you to bow down to me like that? I’m so flattered, it makes my heart flutter! But I just said that because I knew you bastards would do it! Anyway, I’ll open the door!” Monobear clapped his hands together, triggering a clicking sound. “Happy investigating!”

        “Stay away from me you two! Especially you, Snips!” Tiara stormed ahead.

        “Well excuse me for wanting to help!” Snips retorted, as he walked inside the home before being stopped by Snails.

        “Snips, do we really have time for this?” Snails asked, sighing afterwards.

        “Look, I just don’t really appreciate being told off when I offer to help. But as always, you fail to understand that much.” Snips rolled his eyes.

        “Snips!” Watching Snails sigh like that in frustration, I decide to go in to.

        Did they seriously forget I’m here? I mean, I know I like to snoop, but come on.

        “Hah! I knew it!! The Killing Goods box is here, open for ALL of us to see! Looks like somepony dug through it too! Gee, I wonder who??” Tiara asked, knowing the answer.

        But she was right, and this is only making Grace even more suspicious now. 

I walk into the kitchen, and open the drawers. Looking inside, I can see that all of Grace’s knives and such were still present and neatly placed.

Which reminds me about that list of items that came with these things. Seeing the note on the countertop, I read off the list of equipment here to myself.



Forks: 5
Knives: 5
Skewers: 2
        
Fine utensils for butchering the competition!



And then there’s that other note:



Plates: 5
Teacups: 2
Small dishes: 3
Glass cups: 5

Have a bloody fun teatime!




Then again, knowing that these notes are here in the first place is surprising. I thought for sure Grace would’ve burned them with the stove or tore them to shreds. I took the time to look through all the utensils, counting them off one-by-one.

...

They’re all in tact. not a single one is missing. Not a trace of blood, nor any sign of them being tampered with. 

        So just when did she come back? I’ll have to note this.

        “Hey, what are you doing!? You’re tampering with evidence,  you blank!” I didn’t feel like dealing with her right now. She thinks she has this whole thing figured out.

        “Then let me ask you this: Don’t you think this is strange!? It looks like everything’s in tact! Did she really come here?”

        “Of course she did! Why do you think the killing goods are here!? And you can’t think she’d be dumb enough to use a knife with her initials on it, right!? That means that there’s definitely somepony’s knife or something at the crime scene!” 

        But you already think she’s too stupid to hide evidence.

        “Point is, I’m beginning to think Grace is innocent.” I voiced my opinion, despite her claims. And she had a good point on that last bit. Even the dumbest of ponies wouldn’t commit murder with a weapon that had their name on it.

        “Whatever blank theory you have, it’s just circumstantial at best!”

        “And I checked the crime scene through and through. There was no knife! There wasn’t anything with initials at that crime scene!” 

        She’s really beginning to get under my skin.

        “I guess you didn’t look hard enough! Why don’t you leave the investigating to me; when I figure out the culprit, you’re free to kiss my hooves and thank me!” With that declaration, Tiara laughed triumphantly, like her victory was assured.

        I know what I’m talking about, Diamond Tiara. And it’s safe to say, you’re an idiot. You can’t half-ass this. We’ll die if we’re wrong.

        Featherweight would want me to reach the truth and live on. If Grace isn’t the killer, then I’ll know for certain when I find enough evidence and put the pieces together.

        “Dude, you’ll be better off leaving things to us. Unlike you, she’s definitely one smart cookie.”

        “Since when the hell did you suck up to her, Snips?” I asked. Judging by his immediate glare, I must’ve pushed a button.

        “Suck up? I’m just agreeing with her! How is that sucking up!?”

        Wow, way to bite my head off, Snips.

        “Err, Shady does have a pretty good point. You normally don’t like sucking up to anypony, much less take orders. Aaaaaaaand, didn’t she just chew you out earlier?” Snails hesitantly agreed, treading lightly with Snips’s emotions.

        “No, I just think his little revenge binge is clouding his senses! I’m outta here.” Snips galloped out, chasing after Tiara.

        Revenge binge?

        Whatever.

        Snails heaved a deep sigh, “I think we need to prove him wrong. I mean, dude. If something ever happened to Snips, I think I’d want to turn over every bed just to find out who did it. It’s not very fair on how they’re kinda dogging ya. You have a very sensitive and personal attachment to this thing, so let me help you out, man.”

        “Can I even trust you?” I rose an eyebrow.

        “Hahaha... well, I’m used to The Great and Powerful Trixie not trusting me to walk in on her during a shower, so come on. If you know what I’m saying, then I know you can trust me.”

        That sounds so backwards.

But whatever. Guess I’ll do it, but I think I don’t wanna know what goes on during your apprenticeship anymore.

        “Okay, so you got those lists, right? Suppose Grace really did bring these things here. Why don’t we try counting everything that’s in the box, to show nothing’s been tampered with? I mean, the stuff won’t stay perfectly arranged if somepony’s lugging it around, right?”



        With his magic, all the killing goods were levitated out of the box and neatly spread across the floor.

        “Okay, so she’s got a list just like the rest of us. The numbers are the same, so we’ll know for sure if anypony’s missing anything.” Snails said, sighing afterwards. It’s as if he’s trying to tell himself that everything’s going to be fine.

        I doubt it.

        Taking the time to separate the goods found in everypony’s home from the ones found in the clothing shop, we began counting everything up, matching whatever’s on that list.

        A few minutes later...

        “Well that settles it: looks like nopony’s missing anything.” I muttered, organizing that last knife, which belonged to Featherweight’s set.

        “Yeah, but we got a little problem; two, in fact.” Snails hesitantly said. Was he afraid of me or something?

        “Two?”

        “Well, you know, for the stuff from the clothing shop, we never got a list for those, so proving Grace’s innocence is probably going to be like making up a story of taking down an Ursa Major.” Snails explained.

        “I knew that one already. I was going to point out, that not everypony’s stuff was in that box. The only ones here are Ginger’s, Snips’s, yours, Featherweight’s, Sweetie Belle’s, Apple Bloom’s, and Scootaloo’s. The other goods are in the second box, meaning-” 

         Snails whipped his head to me quick, cutting me off, “But Snips told me that there was nothing wrong with the second box. It’s still in the coffee shop!” 

        “I see.” I simply nod.

        I stand on my hooves after Snails magically places all of the weapons into the box again, and start to walk out of the door.

        “Hey, where are you going?” Snails asked, clumsily dropping the rest of the goods into the box.

        “To check out the second box. Can we be so sure that it wasn’t tampered with?” I answered, intent on leaving in a hurry.

        “Well true, but still! I mean, why would the culprit have any need to-”

        “You know what, I’ll just come right on out and say it:” I exhaled, then narrowed my eyes, focusing on the wanna-be magician, “Try to stop me, and you’ll be a prime suspect. Got it?”

        “Got it!” Snails stood up straight on his hooves, seemingly paralyzed by my declaration. 

        Whatever. I don’t have time for this.

        So I storm out of Grace’s home and head straight to the coffee shop. I don’t know why, but something’s bothering me. Why just the first box, and not the second? And why wasn’t anypony’s items in the first box used? What if the culprit used one of the clothing shop items to begin with?

        I guess I just want to be sure. To be certain that the culprit isn’t using somepony else’s knife. Maybe I’m hoping that one of mine isn’t the murder weapon.

        I don’t know how I’d respond if that were the case. But then again, if that were the case, it would determine whether I’m surrounded by idiots or not.

        When I reach the Coffee Shop, I find Truffle and Twist at the table, talking to Rumble, while Scootaloo is holding a pencil with her mouth. I notice that her left hoof is bandaged too. In front of her, is a white sheet of paper that she’s drawing on, following Rumble’s instructions.

        I approach the table to get a closer look at the sheet, noticing a series of complex lines and curves. At the top center under the half circle, I see a small doodle of a unicorn.

        “You’re here. Took you long enough.” Rumble commented.

        “I was investigating.” I replied.

        “What was it like? Looking at the body I mean. Was it fascinating? Interesting maybe?”

        “Rumble, come on! The poor guy just lost his best friend!” Scootaloo chided, but that made my eyes narrow, focusing on her instead.

        “Don’t pity me. Let him say whatever he wants. I’d rather save this feeling for the culprit.”

        I know Scootaloo meant well, but still.

        “You should direct half of it to Monobear.” Twist’s words steered my glare towards her. She shrieked back, waving her forearms at me. “I-I’m, sorry! I didn’t mean to, I was just-”

        Rumble began by vocalizing a loud “Sorry,” then continued, “I got a little carried away. I can’t help that I prefer to learn the inner workings of everypony and what affects them.” 

        Guess he wanted to shift things back on topic quickly.

I simply sigh in defeat, and hear what they have to say.

        “Okay Everypony, listen up! It’s clear there’s somepony among us who’s lying!” Truffle chimed in.

        “And?” Rumble asked, raising an eyebrow, smirking at him.

        “Uhh, well, you see, you got that map, right? I’m seeing some escape route shenanigans!” Truffle answered. With the way he was hesitating a minute ago, it’s as if he were looking for the right word to describe what he thought.

        “Heh, that’s funny. I thought you were a Culprit-is-Grace sheep, just like the rest of the herd.” Rumble held back from laughing. I’m beginning to think this is somehow amusing to him...

        “Come on, he doesn’t know any more than the rest of us.” Scootaloo sighed, finishing the map.

        “So what’s with the map anyway?” I asked, wanting to gain their input on the case. The thing about using one of the alleyways as an escape route has me curious. Definitely noted.

        “Well, Rumble said he could create a ‘mental map’ or whatever and have me draw it out.” Scootaloo dropped the pencil and scratched her head, “What I don’t get is why he even needed me. I can’t even walk much right now.”

        “Well, you did get that screw stuck in your hoof, right? I doubt you wanted to hear a certain somepony’s complaints about your lack of investigating.” Rumble gave Scootaloo a quick pat on the back, making her scowl at him a bit.

        “Can I see that screw?” I asked Rumble.

        “It’s right there.” He pointed next to Scootaloo’s left forearm, a screw with a spot of blood around the tip. Looking at it closely, it resembles the screws found near Featherweight’s body, though not nearly as bloody. I better note this.

“I guess. I just don’t know why the heck it was there!” She continued. “It wasn’t there before!”

        “Actually, can you go into detail about that?”

        “What, about a screw? Come on,” Scootaloo dropped the pencil again, "It’s just a stupid little metal thing that just happens to be pointy! What kind of answer do you want!?” 

        She sounds agitated.

        “Not what I meant. Like, when did that happen, and where?” I asked for clarity, hoping I won’t get chewed out this time.

        “Well, the second alleyway, see?” Scootaloo pointed a hoof of the map, showing the second alley, where she ran through. “It happened when we finally cornered that idiot at the Rarity statue. Like I said, that screw wasn’t there before! I know it wasn’t! I ran through it three times today, and that was where Featherweight and I had a chat yesterday!”

        That would explain the spot of blood I found in the second Alleyway. And for some reason, I think that screw is somehow important. Noted. 

        “Bad Luck I guess.” Twist muttered. She even heaved a sigh of relief, believing nopony heard her.

        “Huh... I was wondering what he was up to yesterday!” Truffle said.

        I am not telling this guy what transpired yesterday. But what did Scootaloo mean she spoke to him yesterday? Last I recall, he was practically freaking out.

        “What did he say to you?” I asked, trying my hardest to not glare at her.

        “Alright, before you go pointing hooves, I'm not your killer!” Scootaloo began defensively before pursing her lips and answering. “All he talked to me about was the motives and why not to go through with’em.”

        “And what did you tell him?”

        “He asked for my motive, but I didn’t answer, because I told him I don’t believe it. Even now, I still don’t believe it, just like how I don’t believe in this stupid title of mine. Funny enough, that may have reassured him that I wasn’t gonna kill anypony.” Scootaloo answered.

        “Don’t believe it, huh? You’re more positive than I thought.” Rumble said.

        “Or naive...” Twist muttered under her breath again.

        “I am NOT naive! I just refuse to quit, got it!? I learned from the best to never quit!” Scootaloo seethed.

        “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it! I was just saying that-” Twist tried to apologize with some sugar coating, but Scootaloo wasn’t having any of that.

        “Save it! We have to focus on finding the culprit!”

        “Y-yeah...”

        “Twist, maybe you should-” Truffle tried to chime in, but...

        “I get it already. Please don’t tell me any rehashed Cheerilee life lessons.” Twist looked away from the pudgy stallion, looking somewhat crestfallen. But when she hides behind those glasses, I can never tell what kind of expression she’s making.

        “........” Truffle went silent instantly. “I think I’ll go get some coffee.” He muttered to himself as he got out of his chair and headed for the back room to get a cup.

        “Anyway, that’s pretty much all I have to say. You might wanna see what Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom have to say. I know he talked to those two as well.”

        “Actually...” Twist rose a hoof, turning my attention to her, “He spoke to me as well.”

        “Really now?” Rumble rose an eyebrow, even making a pretty devious smirk.

        “Yes, but well, I’m not sure how to put it.”

        “You mean, the nicest way to put it?” Rumble asked, once again, making that same suspicious smirk.

        “Right. Umm, see, it went the same way it did when he spoke to Scootaloo.” Twist answered as quickly as possible.

        “So he asked you to not buy into that motive and kill anypony and you agreed. Sounds about right.” Rumble guessed the rest.

        I see.

        Yet, this makes sense. I have to find Apple Bloom.

        Out of the ones he talked to, she’s my prime suspect. Why else would she slip away?

        “Thanks.”

        I thanked her. Scootaloo’s testimony about the nail and speaking to Featherweight the day before is definitely going to be a big help, and it may even narrow down the number of suspects. I’ll note it.

        “No prob!” Scootaloo grinned happily.

        I still need to track Apple Bloom down. if she’s the killer, then...!

        No. Calm down. It’s not time yet. It’s not time.

        “Eh?” The question escaped my lips, as I tried to contain this pressuring feeling.

        My eyes were drawn to the box near the door. Getting closer to it, it became clear that this was the second box of Killing Goods, especially getting a good look at the makeshift label.

        Looking closer, the tape used to seal it is loose with bits of cardboard paper stuck to it, as if somepony already opened the box. There’s even a small stain at the edge, underneath the tape.

        Blood?!

        I can’t forget this.

        I’m not sure if I should tamper with it. my priorities keep getting screwed up, and my head’s all jumbled. I really can’t think straight today.

        But I have to. I can’t let my emotions stop me.

        Still, that bloodstain on the second box is interesting. Definitely noted. I’ll check the box after confronting Apple Bloom. I wouldn’t be doing this if she hadn’t slipped away.

        So I head out of the Coffee Shop, and back to the housing sector of the district. I pass by Featherweight’s house, thinking about his motive, thinking about what he could’ve told Scootaloo’s friends.

        I think she might be here.

        If he spoke to her, then she’s probably in his home...

        My steps are slow, hesitant even. My vision is slowly blurring a bit thanks to all the good times. But I have to shake it off. 

        Now’s not the time to be overwhelmed with weakness.

        My steps become more fierce, taking me into Featherweight’s home, and allowing me to confirm my suspicion.

        Apple Bloom is here afterall, with Miss Cheerilee in tow.

        I should’ve known.

        “Hiya! Yer here for that motive, huh?” Apple Bloom greeted, all cheerful as ever.

        “Where is it?”

        When I asked that, Miss Cheerilee kicked a box over to me. I quickly put a hoof on it to stop it’s momentum. What was she doing with the box?

        “Well, lemmie tell ya! Ah thought Ah’d get a cutie mark if Ah burned the one thing that made ol’ Featherweight suffer! Ah wanted to help him even in death, see?! But Miss Cheerilee’s such a stick in the mud, even after I told her I’ll burn everypony’s motive! Cute lil’ bear’s plans go up in smoke!” Apple Bloom was literally pouting.

        Honestly, I just about want to hurt her myself.

        But I shouldn’t. This overwhelming feeling isn’t right. It’s not, and he wouldn’t want me to feel this way, but it’s easier said than done.

        All I could do was glare.

        At that moment, before I could get a word in, I heard those blaring royal horns again in the distance.

        “Alright you bastards! Make yourselves more useful than pack mules and report to the king’s court so we can have our main event: The Class Trial!!” Monobear announced.

        I turn my head, focusing on the exit, only to meet the gleaming, robotic eyes of one of the Monoguards standing outside.

        “Let’s get going! My cutie mark awaits at last!!” Apple Bloom galloped out of the home with our dogged teacher in tow.

        ................

        I reluctantly had to follow. I get the feeling that the guard is just here to take action against any defiant pony.

        Leaving Featherweight’s home, even leaving his motive box behind, I bit my lip, wanting to open it, but knowing I couldn’t. I’m not going to take a chance at letting this robot slice me open.

        With the guards escorting us to the King’s Court, I reunite with everypony as we followed the bright red carpet inside the large tower before us.

        Inside, only the double doors were up ahead inside this dark hall, illuminated by the dim lights on the ceiling and floor to highlight the path.

        It wasn’t long before we reached the doors, revealing an elevator, which didn’t move until everypony stepped inside.

        The ride, which put a light pressure on my upper body, was enough to tell me that we’re ascending higher. I could feel everypony’s anxiousness as we rode our way to what may be our final destination.
        
        “Great, I feel like we’re all getting arrested.” Dinky complained.

        “If you think about it, it was like that since the beginning.” Silver Spoon sighed.

        “Hah. I get my sides treated only to go to court. Well shit.” Grace scoffed.

        Looks like Everypony’s on edge.

        Somepony’s going to die after all. With the way this crazy system works, either the culprit dies, or we do.

        But for me, that’s perfect. I’ll avenge Featherweight through the power if exposure. It’s not the first time I’ve done it either.

        Our matto at the press is, “Exposing the truth out of everypony’s conspiracies.”

        This won’t be any different.

        The brakes on the elevator kick in, and the doors open at last, revealing the dreaded trial room...

        

        

> Ch.1 Class Trial Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The mechanical sound of the elevator doors opening sent several volts of anxiousness through my body.

        My eyes were drawn to the center of the room, and the circular stands that surrounded Rarity’s cutie mark in the center of the floor. There were sixteen stands, all stuck together, meant for all of us. 

Up ahead is Monobear sitting on his throne, kicking his legs about like an impatient child. Next to that throne, was a separate stand, surrounded by littered doggy treats. Pretty obvious on whose stand that belongs to.

        The walls seemed to be made of giant slabs of uncut gems all around, each of them various shades of purple, like they were just dragged from the mines uncut. Aided by the light, that gave the room a shine and elegance, in an unorthodox way.

        On the ceiling, I counted at least four crystal monitors, with nothing displayed yet.

“Get in here already! You’re making me bored with your confused gawking!” Monobear ordered, standing in his chair and raising his arms.

I look back at the stands in the middle of the room, and notice a pole with monochrome photo of Featherweight attached, smeared with a giant red X.

        “Hey! What’s going on!? Why the picture!?” I had to ask about it.

        “Now, now, I was generous enough to even let Featherweight join you bastards! You wouldn’t be able to focus if your friend was left out, right? You believe in the magic of friendship, right?! Just use your imagination and pretend he’s talking! You’re such a horrible friend for wanting me to just forget about him!”

        I really hate this bear. 

        Goddamn it all.

        “He’s just toying with you. Don’t let him get to you. Just focus on a calculated revenge.” Rumble whispered to me.

        “Huh?” 

        I was seriously surprised by his sudden encouragement. He wants me to have my revenge, huh?

        “Instead of focusing on Featherweight, try to focus on Grace. I learned that the key to this whole case is not about whether or not she is innocent, but by how much.”

        Before I could ask him anything else, he headed to his place at the stand, leaving behind that random advice.

        But the key, being ‘how much’? I know she’s involved, but does the case revolve around her to the point that I have to determine her level of innocence?

        How the hell am I supposed to figure that much out? I never had to solve mysteries before!

        Is it because of my experience snooping around and working hard to get that scoop that everypony wants to read?

        Whatever.

        I still have a goal. And I won’t miss out on this chance.

        I’ll take my place on this stand and out the asshole responsible for killing him.

        I guess if one were to look from above, adopting a clockwise view, I’m standing at the 3 o’clock position.

        Clockwise from here, is Dinky Doo, Silver Spoon,  Diamond Tiara, Pipsqueak, Twist, Rumble, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Snips, Snails, Truffle Shuffle, Grace Lightning, Featherweight (well, his picture anyway), and Ginger Snap.


______________________________________________


        “Okay you bastards! It’s time to begin our main event of the day, the long-awaited, heart-pounding, Class Trial!” Monobear gleefully carried on, “As I said before, the purpose of the trial is to discuss amongst yourselves and find out who finally caved in and kill a donkey amongst you! Think it over, discuss, and tear each other apart! This is a time where friendship brings the most despair! So why don’t you start by discussing how he died?”

        Monobear was nice enough to give us a topic to start with.

        “W-we were just getting on that!” Diamond Tiara chided the bear.

        “Still, he’s got a point. So like, he died when we saw him, right?” Dinky asked.

        “You mean he was already dead then when we saw him! Why do you think we ended up chasing Grace Lightning down?!” Tiara said.

        “And I told you, I didn’t kill him! Why the heck would I, huh?!” Grace obviously wasn’t having any of her suspicions.

        “Should’ve never run away like a coward.” Twist muttered.

        “You sayin’ I’m a coward?!” Grace’s eyes widened dangerously at Twist, quickly making her back down and retract her comment.

        “She’s got a point however. You ran, and that made you look guilty. If you have any troubles, you honestly should’ve talked to our teacher! At least she would’ve helped!” Truffle chimed in.

        “Not when I can’t understand a goddamn thing she’s saying, wide load!” Grace slammed her forehoof on top of her stand.

        “Hey, don’t knock the fat! It took a good effort to get where I am!” Truffle retorted.

        “But seriously Grace, what happened?” Sweetie Belle asked, keeping her composure.

        “Look, it’s nothin’ to do with you, got it? Just know I didn’t kill that guy. All he did was try to talk to me, but that went south pretty damn quick.” Grace answered calmly despite her scowl.

        “AHA!” Diamond made her victory calling already.

        “W-what?!” Grace asked, unnerved at the sudden outburst.

        “You just outed yourself! Good going, you idiot!”

        “Hah!? The hell you on about!?”


___________________


NONSTOP DEBATE




EVIDENCE BULLETS:

-Monobear File
-The blood from under the mirror
-Scuff marks on the floor

Diamond Tiara: Like I said, you just implicated yourself!

Grace Lightning: And like I said, I don’t know what the hell you mean!

Dinky Doo: So things didn’t go south? They went north, right?!

Silver Spoon: You just implied you did it, and you even contradicted yourself.

Grace Lightning: And I don’t see how! Just because things go south, doesn’t mean there’s a wall to smash into, dammit! I should know, I’ve crashed many ponies into walls!

Diamond Tiara: Then lemmie give you a rundown on what happened!

Diamond Tiara: Featherweight tried to talk to you, while you were in the shop for some reason, staging a murder...

Diamond Tiara: And then you kicked him so hard, he died when he crashed through the mirror! The shards attest to that!

Grace Lightning: Wait, what!?
        

YOU GOT THAT WRONG!






____________________________________


“What the heck, Shady?! I had her!” Diamond Tiara chided me for yelling, but she’s way off.

“No, you didn’t. You’re not even freaking close! Didn’t you look at the crime scene? You noticed the blood, right?”

“Well yeah! Everypony saw it!”

“And where was the source?” I asked, hoping she’s not stupid.

“Source...?” She muttered to herself, closing her eyes. “Ah! Under the mirror!”

“Exactly. That’s why you’re wrong. you're so gung-ho on keeping the spotlight on Grace, you're failing to see the obvious.” I said, somewhat glad she got what I was saying.

“I-I knew that! I was just testing you blank flanks, that’s all! Nothing else!” She’s doing a poor job at hiding her mistake.

“You know, I’m pretty sure a brief bout of violence isn’t allowed in court, so I’ll retrain my usual urges to clock you in the head. Just this once.” Scootaloo’s eye was twitching, focusing on the wannabe Princess.

        “Shady, elaborate on the contradiction, please.” Ginger requested.

        “Right.” I took a deep breath, trying to prevent my emotions from surfacing too much. “We know that when Grace Lightning knocked Featherweight through the mirror in the shop, it gave him a concussion, but that didn’t kill him. Didn’t you notice the blood? A buck to the head and crash through the mirror wouldn’t cause all of that.”

        “I can attest to that one, ya know!” Pipsqueak chimed in. “See, it’s just like in common slasher gigs! If it was reaaaaaaaaally a blow to the head, it’d be a more messy scene, like, SPLOOSH! Ya know?”

        “Could you not look so excited when talking about head explosions?” Silver Spoon asked, trying to hold her composure, but it’s obvious she’s unnerved.

        “Come on, if you’re gonna make heads go sploosh, then turn it into a ball of locusts afterward! I’d tolerate it better!” Snails demanded.

        I think a head exploding into locusts would be even worse. 

        “Come on, you know that’s awesome when done right! Especially when it’s so unexpected, ya know!” Pip kept his enthusiasm going.

        “You should try to get back on topic.” Twist muttered.

        “Oh, right!” Pip scratched his mane, “Sorry bout that! But anyway, if it was really a headshot, there’d be more uhh, how do I put it... head chunks and stuff, ya know? The neck’s also a great spot due to all that blood rush!”

        “Rushing which way? North or south?! Pfft!” Dinky covered her mouth with her forehooves.

        “Don’t say it like that!” Snails chided, holding his own head in shock.

        “Still, the neck, huh? You’re basically saying that Featherweight was cut somehow?” Ginger asked.

        “He’s right. I went and looked at the body myself.” I said, sighing deeply. The image of Featherweight’s body is still vivid. If I didn’t have to look, I wouldn’t have.

        Hold those emotions back, Shady. Save them for when it’s over.

        “Hey, Ah' was there too!” Apple Bloom finally spoke up.

        “Were you, now?” Diamond rose her eyebrow the moment Apple Bloom mentioned her part of the investigation.

        “Sure was! Got a good look at that body n’ everything! So much blood all coming from the neck!”

        “So which way was he cut?” Rumble asked her.

        “Hmm, Ah’ think he was cut this way!” Apple Bloom waved her hoof left and right briefly.

        “You mean horizontally.” Ginger Snap put a hoof to her lip, “That’s a pretty good tactic. Maybe our culprit thought this murder through.”

        “That means he was killed from the other side?! B-but how!? Grace has those stupid wheels, but she’s not that fast!” Way to fire those shots, Diamond.

        “Well, at least I’m faster than Rainbow Dash.” Grace said nonchalantly.

        “Oooh, burn!” Dinky held onto her stomach, laughing out loud.

        “Hey, you take that back!” Of course Scootaloo wasn’t gonna tolerate that.

        “Still though, the way he was cut, there’s no way he was killed from the initial side, from which Grace bucked-”

        “Oh come on!” Snails shouted. I wish he’d stop trying to imply things here.

        “Ahem,” Silver Spoon rolled her eyes, “kicked him through the mirror...”

        “You sure he really died on the other side? Maybe his neck just impaled a mirror shard when he was sent flying, I dunno?” Snips asked, somewhat skeptical. But the current theory makes the most sense.

        “No, there’s actually a way to prove it.” I said.

        IT’S OBVIOUS!

        “The air vents in the shop. Did anypony look up, above the body?” Answering with evidence, I’ll steer this discussion in the right direction!

        “Oh man, that’s right! It was open like crazy, ya know?” Pip clenched his head.

        “Ah hah! I knew there were some crazy shenanigans going on!” Guess Truffle’s throwing in his two-bits now.

        “Shenanigans? What shenanigans?! Spill it!” Diamond ordered.

        “The vent was an escape route! When you screamed, didn’t you see the blood already?! That’s why you wanted us to chase her down!” Truffle said, throwing the ball back into Diamond Tiara’s court.

        “Aah, now I get it...” Diamond's eyes focused on Grace once again.

        “Wait, you’re back on me being the culprit again!? I’m not the culprit! Damn it, I’m used to having a lawyer for this crap!”

        Sure, Grace’s complaint aside, I thought Truffle was going to suspect Diamond Tiara of being the culprit for a minute there.

        “Just how many crimes do you commit?!” Snips asked. I’m surprised he’s not using that against her.

        “I just break a lotta bones of ponies who piss me off! And you’re all gonna join’em if you don’t stop accusing me!”

        “Then tell us what happened already!” Diamond Tiara ordered.

        Here we go again...

__________________


NONSTOP DEBATE

        


EVIDENCE BULLETS:
-Open vents
-Scuff Marks
-Hoofprints

Grace Lightning: I told you dumbasses that I ain’t kill no pony! WHAT THE HELL IS IT NOW!?

Diamond Tiara: You were stupid enough to contradict yourself by saying that he angered you!

Snails: Should've never bucked him to death!

Snips: Pretty obvious you’re the culprit. The weapon could’ve been those mirror shards anyway!

Grace Lightning: You’re freakin’ stupid! I ran after kicking him! That’s the end of that! NO BUTS!

Snips: Where’s your evidence then?

Grace Lightning: I couldn't get any evidence thanks to you assholes restraining me!

Sweetie Belle: I didn't want to, but you ran away! You should've just talked to us instead of dodging questions!

Dinky Doo: Ooooh, so you’re saying you DIDN’T leave a trail behind?!


AGREED!




_____________________________________

        
Dinky literally jumped at her stand, startled.

        “W-what?! I was being sarcastic! Can’t you tell sarcasm!? You can’t agree with sarcasm!” Dinky chided me, but I had evidence supporting her claim, even if the sarcasm was obvious.

        Weird. I wonder if I’m going for or against her claim. No time to think about that.

        “Well, I ignored the sarcasm, because those words are actually the truth. And the evidence to back that up are the scuff marks!”

        “Scuff marks? What are those again?” Dinky asked, pursing her lips.

        “Guess you don’t know common knowledge.” Twist muttered to herself.

        Grace heaved a deep sigh. She didn’t want to, but she had no choice to explain the one thing she knows. “Idiots, scuff marks are those black curved lines you see on the ground every time I make hard turns with my wheels, get it? Got it!?”

        “Huh, so wait, that means Grace didn’t do it! Doesn’t this prove her innocent?” Sweetie Belle happily asked.

        “Psh, it better, or I’ll be pissed.” Grace’s grin grew devious, from ear-to-ear, like she wants to be angry.

        You still are! Your eyes and expression aren’t helping!

        “Those black trails on the ground. I knew they were scuff marks, but I always thought they made a steady trail. I wasn’t aware that they were exclusive to sharp turns.” Silver Spoon commented.

        “Hah!? The heck you mean?! Don’t you watch Roller Derby?!” Grace acted as if Silver Spoon committed a sin.

        “Roller Derby is just one of the few sports that the Sterling Family considers uncouth and barbaric.” Silver Spoon answered.

        “You’re on my kill list now, bitch... insulting my very core! MY SOUL!” Now i can see the veins popping up on Grace's head...

        “About the marks... you’re referring to that blood trail, aren’t you?” Ginger politely asked for elaboration.

        “That’s right. That trail ran from the body to the exit. Everypony who’s seen the body knows this, no? Surely it wasn’t coincidence that your scuff marks somehow merge with the blood trail.” Silver Spoon answered, putting the heat back on Grace.

        “YEAH! I got where this is going! You’re basically saying that she jumped from the vent, and just happened to run into the blood!” Snips nodded, “Yep, I’m pretty damn smart!”

        “Bite me!” Grace’s eyes made her look like she was powering up for something fierce.

        “Hah! You don’t scare me! You’re nothing against good ol’ brain power!” Snips boasted, puffing his chest out.

        “If only you applied yourself during school, otherwise Miss Cheerilee wouldn’t have had to scold you nutty butts!” Truffle warned, still irking everyone with that teacher's pet attitude.

        “Nutty butts? Really?” Dinky asked.

        “He’s got a point though. We were incredibly lazy and troublesome! The Great and Powerful Trixie would attest to that!” Snails tipped his top hat.

        “It sounded better in my head! Leave me alone!” Truffle folded his forearms, looking away.

        “Yeah, well, I explained how my wheels work, and yet you dumbasses are so dumb! This is giving me a huge headache, like my head could explode any minute! Aaaagh!” Grace groaned while grabbing her head, fed up with all of the suspicion. Yet, Pip ended up hiding behind his stand, ducking.

        His head popped up a bit, looking at all of us, wondering why we’re staring at him. “W-what?! I thought her head would blow up for real, ya know!” 

Pip looked at us like we were the crazy ones for thinking how weird he is.

        “But still, something doesn’t feel right!” Sweetie Belle chimed in.

        “And what would that be? I’m not interested in a Blank Flank’s blank theories!” Diamond threw her usual insult.

Despite that, Sweetie Belle didn't seem fazed at all.

        “I just figured that the wheels move in a circular motion, right? Wouldn’t there be a splash? Even a little bit? I thought blood would be thick, so there should’ve been a splash of some sort, especially if she ran away!”

        Sweetie Belle’s onto something. I can even remember that time when she tried to fight Monobear on the first night here. When her wheels are active, she tends to rev herself up before charging head first into danger.

        Not to mention, nopony noticed a single drop of blood on her hooves. I'm sure that if they did, Diamond Tiara would've been all over that.

        “How can you be so sure? The evidence could be circumstantial!” Diamond still insists her theory isn’t worth anything, but I have proof that Sweetie Belle’s not that far off the mark, so-to-speak.

        THERE!

        “Look at those scuff marks on the ground again.” I said, supporting Sweetie’s words.

        “Eh!? Again?! We already confirm-” I wasn’t going let Tiara go on her tirade.

        “Closer! Just look closer! Can’t you see the direction those wheels are turned?” I pointed out the evidence I picked up at the crime scene.

        “Agh! No way! Those scuff marks are turning in the opposite direction!”

        Now she sees it. Seriously, this is weird. Didn’t she look at the crime scene herself?

        “Hmm, hmm... that makes a lot of sense.” Rumble nodded, then noticed that everypony turned their attention to him. “Don’t mind me, I’m still learning about the crime through you all.”

        “So you have nothing to say?!” Scootaloo asked, surprised at Rumble’s off-handed comments.

        “I’m not ready to drop my pipebomb yet. I’m saving it for the right moment, you see. Continue the discussion. Get back to talking about Grace Lightning’s involvement.” Rumble said.

        “Oh, so you’re one of THOSE ponies! You think I did it too, huh!?”

        I’m surprised that Rumble isn’t afraid of Grace’s glaring at all. He’s as calm as ever.

        “Oh, I don’t think you did it. Not at all.” Rumble waved off.

        “Now you’re just being sarcastic! Don’t mess with me!”

        “Now, now, I’m not sarcastic in the slightest. All I want to do is help this trial along by pointing out how obvious it is that you’re not the killer, Grace.” Rumble smiled, then added, “Of course, what I’m about to say isn’t my pipebomb, but pointing out some obvious facts that should’ve been understood from the very beginning if you ask me.”

        “Obvious facts? What obvious facts?!” Snips, just like the rest of us, looked to Rumble to hear his words.

But what the heck is this 'pipebomb' he keeps mentioning?

        “Think about it; The scuff marks, the air vents, the broken door to the changing room, the blood, the whole chase scenario that Diamond Tiara woke us up for... It just means that there was another pony who was awake in the morning other than Grace and Featherweight, that’s all. Think about it, Grace was the one who sent Featherweight flying through the mirror in the clothing shop, right? It would be impossible for her to climb into the vent, get to the other side, kill him, then crawl back. It’s common sense when you add up the time.”

        Wait, waking everypony up?

        That explains it why they were chasing Grace to begin with when I stepped outside this morning. Diamond Tiara had to wake up during the morning announcement, right?

        “Somepony else... Geh!” Diamond Tiara suddenly realized it. I could see her sweat becoming more apparent too.

        She suddenly realized that now she’s the suspicious one.

        “Hold on! HOLD ON!” Diamond waved her hooves in a panic, “D-don’t look at me like that! I’m not the culprit! I swear! I’m not! Daddy always told me to be a good girl!”

"You bullying us all through our childhood contradicts that." Scootaloo scoffed at Tiara's pleas.

        “No wonder you’re so demanding.” Twist muttered under her breath. “And no, I’m not taking that one back. You’re super suspicious right now.”

        “For Celestia's sake! I’m surrounded by dunces!” Diamond Tiara panicked.

        “Heh, now you know how I felt! HOW’S IT FEEL NOW, HUH BITCH?! Gonna weep? Call for daddy!?” Grace taunted, showering in Diamond's fear.

        “I-I... I DON’T NEED DADDY FOR THIS! I'M A GOOD STRONG GIRL!”

"Uu~pupu~! You don't even know if your precious daddy is alive after all!" Monobear's precise opportunity to twist the knife worked wonders. The words of a teddy bear produced a fury from the wanna-be princess like I've never seen before.

"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!!!"

        Seeing Grace and Diamond exchange glares reminded me to never get on their bad side.

        “Now, that depends on the conclusion we reach when we look through the sequence of events, you see.” Rumble said. "So calm down and recall."

        “Alright, look, I was the first to find the body, blood and all! I saw Grace there, and I ran to wake everypony up! COME ON, GRACE! TELL THEM!”

        “Oh, I dunno~ I really don’t feel like it now that you put me through all of that BS earlier! Who the hell do you think you are!?”

        “Thanks for confirming it for us, Grace. You instantly cleared Diamond Tiara of all suspicion in one fell swoop.” Silver Spoon sighed, but smiled lightly.

        “Wh-how! HOW!?”

        “Instead of outright lying about not seeing Diamond Tiara, you denied telling them. That’s an indirect confession.” Silver answered in a matter-of-factly tone.

        “Agh! I wanted her to suffer, dammit!”

        “So much for that entertainment.” Scootaloo sighed.

        “Phew, thanks!” Diamond grinned from ear-to-ear at her friend. 

Yet it looked like it took everything she had to produce that smile.

        “So... Diamond Tiara isn’t our suspect. Then who is? We’re under the assumption that the culprit escaped from under our nose using the vents, but didn’t that escape occur during the chase? At least that’s what I see. Such weird tactics...” Ginger pondered.

“Yeah, that’s right! There’s still the issue with those vents, ya know!?” Pip scolded, steering them back to this important part of the topic. “Wait a sec, if that air vent was opened, how the heck did the culprit sneak past us like that then!? And wasn’t the vent open from the other side as well?”

        “What if Grace was used somehow? We were so focused on her, of course the culprit would use her to escape. Not to mention, Grace doesn’t appear to be smart enough to plan something like that.” Ginger said, pondering a possible escape route.

        “You sayin’ I’m stupid?!” Grace seethed.

        “I wonder about that.” Ginger tried to hold back her giggle.

        “If the culprit used the chase with Grace to get away, then any one of us could’ve done it. You know that, right?” Rumble gravely reminded us.

        In other words, Grace Lightning was just a mere decoy.

        “W-what?!? NO WAY!! THAT MEANS I’M A SUSPECT AGAIN?! I’m Diamond Tiara! I’m too good for this!!”

        “It would appear so...”

        “Don’t act so special! We’re all equal ponies! I’m a suspect, just like you!” Truffle hurriedly said.

        “Don’t sound so retarded.” Twist muttered as usual, voicing more contempt than normal.

        “Heh! I’m glad for that! Means I’m not the suspect anymore!” Grace puffed her chest out, happy as ever.

        While Apple Bloom is giggling to herself quietly, we’re all grasping at straws!

        Back to square one... that means I’m a suspect too, right? No, I don't think I’m special just because I’m Featherweight’s friend. But still... it’s hurtful to think I may be a suspect too. But there has to be a way!

        Come on, think, Shady! THINK!

        Don’t stop thinking!

        .........................

        .............

        ......

        !!!

        I GOT IT!

        “I have a suggestion.” I spoke up solemnly.

        “Huh? What kind of blank theory you have!? Spill it!”

        “It’s not a blank theory if it’ll make a breakthrough in the case.” Silver Spoon defended me, surprisingly.

        After a quick grumble and grinding her teeth, Tiara caved. “Fine! Go on, tell us what you got!”

        And Apple Bloom’s grin grew even wider. I guess her role in this crime is coming up, and she knows it. She probably has plenty of ammo saved just for this, and I’ll have to be ready.

        “We’ll use Featherweight to commence a process of elimination.”
> Ch.1 Class Trial Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        “We’re gonna let Featherweight himself narrow down the suspects.”

"That's insane! He's dead!" Snips exaggerated.

"Whoa, seriously?!" Dinky Doo said in response to Snips.

        At least, that’s my plan. I just hope it works. Because there’s still plenty of evidence we’ve yet to go through. But if we narrow down the suspects, then at least we’ll be able to pinpoint the culprit faster from whatever they say.

        “You must be speaking in a meta sort of sense, yes?” Silver Spoon rose an eyebrow as she asked.

"Well, he'd have to be. Letting the dead speak for them is leaning towards voodoo territory. That's grounds for me to believe that he has Zecora affiliation." Ginger added.

        “Right. Scootaloo said to me that Featherweight went to her and her friends yesterday; that he spoke to them about their motives and such.” I explained.

        “You’re seriously gonna believe that blank flank!? She can’t even fly! If anything, she and her friends have the biggest reason to kill!”

        “Diamond Tiara, could you please shut up? You never took the time to know them. All you know is the fact that they don’t have cutie marks.” Twist's eyebrows furrowed. Despite the shine in her glasses, I can tell she was getting tired of Tiara's insults.

        “Grk!” Heh, guess this is a first time for her being told off so effectively.

        I’m not even a crusader, but eh. That was a nice one, Twist.

        “I-I, mean that...” Twist began trembling uncontrollably when she said all of that, even losing her train of thought.

        What is with this girl? Brave one second, yet always backing out of it the next.

        “No one’s mad at you Twist. We’re actually happy for saying that!” Sweetie Belle happily said, which made Twist herself heave a sigh of relief.

        “Fine, FINE! I get it, so go on!”

        “I got it from here, Shady.” Scootaloo then turned her attention to the others, “He told me not to commit any murders. He sorta managed to guess my motive right, wanting to lend me an ear I suppose. To be honest, even now, I don’t believe that motive. Believing it would just drive me nuts anyway, and I’d be waving a white flag to that stupid bear and his whole despair crap. I only told Shady that Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were approached by him too. And Twist answered the same thing, so that makes four of us.”

        “Oh, speaking of which, the little guy talked to Me n’ Snips as well! He really looked desperate, so I was kinda worried, so we chatted at the coffee shop! Man, Snips was so on edge, he drank so much coffee!” Snails added, confirming that himself.

        “What the heck, man!? You know that you just outed us as suspects!” Snips chided.

        “No I didn’t! We just have to tell him the contents of our conversation soooooo, no worries! My magic master taught me about how honesty should be the best policy!” Snails tipped his top hat, looking to Apple Bloom. 

        “Wow, nice shot at me. Ya know, Ah’ ain’t gonna be mah sister. So don’t expect that of me. But Ah’ can at least tell ya what he said to me.” Apple Bloom said.

“Wow, awesome!” Dinky clapped her hooves, applauding. “Sooooo, this narrows this down to six suspects, how?”

        “The process of elimination starts depending on the conversations he had with these ponies, right?” Rumble asked.

        “Right. I’ll take the conversations and the abilities of the ponies in question, as well as their wherabouts during today’s events, and we’ll reach our answer, and we’ll know our culprit, and we’ll know who tried to frame Grace Lightning for this mess.” I answered. 

        “Heh, sounds good to me!” Grace grinned, looking forward to what she probably thought was an interrogation.

        “Wait a sec, how can you just narrow it down to the ponies he just talked to?” Truffle asked.

        “Didn’t I ask that question?” Dinky glared at me instead. Guess I should’ve answered earlier.

        “Because! Ever since Scootaloo told me about his actions yesterday, it had me thinking, did he say something to somepony that made them snap? Because really, why him? What did he say to make him a target? That’s what I need to know!”

        “He has a point...” Sweetie Belle spoke up, even raising a hoof up like she was in class. “I’ll speak first. Scootaloo already told her part, so I’ll say my part too.”

        “I’m listening.”

        “See, to be honest, before coming here, my sister and I got into a huge argument. I didn’t know what would happen, and I’ve been worried ever since. But then I received those pictures...! I told Featherweight everything, including the contents and my sister too!”

        “Really?”

        “Yes.” Sweetie Belle began clutching her body and breathing heavily, trembling even as she continued. “I was worried that something may have happened to Rarity! I didn’t want our last conversation to be that argument! The Carousel Boutique was in ruins and the walls were littered with blood! Featherweight basically tried to give me hope that things will be fine! Rarity is one of the elements of Harmony, so she won’t go down that easily! That’s what he tried to say! All he tried to do was cheer me up!”

        It must’ve taken Sweetie Belle everything she had to say all of that. Looking at her now, I thought she could break any moment. 

        I’m curious about what her and her sister argued about, but I’m sure that’s not relevant to the case.

        “Why are you breaking down? You’re not guilty, so-” Twist muttered.

        “You’re right, I’m not guilty, but I’m still worried!” I never seen her get so worked up before.

        “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t-”

        Anyway...

        “Man, that’s tough stuff. But I can’t believe in my motive at all though!” Snails said, but it’s obvious his voice is shakey. “I mean, she’s the Great and Powerful Trixie! Of course she’ll be fine! Featherweight just told me that there’s still hope and all. Saw right through my doubts! Real cool of him!”

        “Yeah, well what does he know?” Snips asked, narrowing his eyes, giving off a vibe full of scorn. “I don’t believe my motive either. I mean, it’s dumb! Just grabbing pictures outta nowhere and putting’em in our homes! What’s up with that! Didn’t Featherweight have a camera of his own by the way?”

Camera? Why'd he bring that up?

        “Well, yeah, but-” I wanted to explain, but he cut me off.

        “Dude, it’s alright, he’s not smart enough to control that fat bear thing up there anyway.”

        “Hey! I’m not fat, I’m big-boned! I’m a bear after all!” Monobear made a quick retort.

        “Wait, you suspected him of being the freaking mastermind!?” I couldn’t stop myself from glaring at him.

        “Whoa, calm down, man! I’m not the culprit! I just thought he was the mastermind for a bit because of the camera, but when we talked, he didn’t know what my motive was at all! Like, he was just randomly guessing what it was and telling me that there’s still, hope!” Snips frantically explained. “And you, Twist? Don’t go quiet on us now!”

        “Right.” She sighed, “My motive... I did believe, but he simply asked a series of questions, like, what are my parents like and such. And he got me to believe that they’re strong. They wouldn’t die so easily. I was skeptical, but I decided to take those words to heart. I repeated his hope over and over, turned it into a mantra. I can’t fulfill my dream with a conscious full of guilt.”

        “Heeeeeeeeeey, what happened? Why am Ah’ bein’ ignored??” Apple Bloom pouted.

        “Because we’re afraid you’d go on your whole cutie mark quest here in this trial.” Silver Spoon answered.

        After rolling her eyes, Apple Bloom answers, “Ya know, ya’ll some awfully harsh ponies, even after the death of a friend. A dear ol’ talented friend with a nice cutie mark to boot! But he did talk to me too! Ya’ll really don’t wanna hear me out? Believe that Ah’ll lie, maybe wish Ah’ was lil’ miss honesty like mah sis?”

        “Whether you lie or not, we’ll use what you say against you, should the evidence add up to the murder.” I glared at her, so she knows I’m not messing around.

        “Alrighty then! Git yer jimmies on, we’re ‘bout to go into a short story mode!” Apple Bloom’s too happy about this...

        “J-just get on with it!” Diamond Tiara’s impatience with Apple Bloom was actually something I agreed with in this case.

        “Ol’ Featherweight talked to me at that ol’ coffee shop! Tellin’ me to not let those pics get ta me! Ah’ told him that the photos I got were of Sweet Apple Acres smashed to bits! And it’ll cost a lotta bits to get it back up to speed! Yet, Ah’m told Ah’ need power and stuff! But I have no reason to fret! My mighty mom ‘n dad will help fund the farm! And I’ll use my super talent I get from this place to help’em out! Ah have no reason to kill! All I care about is talents n’ cutie marks! That’s it!”

        “..................................” Silver Spoon looked on, appalled by Apple Bloom’s words.

        “Wait, you’re not worried about your family at all? Not even about Applejack??” Sweetie Belle asked, unnerved by Apple Bloom’s cheerful expression, saying the condition of her farm like it was nothing.

        “Nah, why should I be? They’re the Apple Family! Good ol’ strength in numbers! They all got each other’s backs, and Ah’m sure Applejack’ll scold me later, so I have looooooots to look forward to! Hahahahahaha!”

        Scootaloo stayed silent, not knowing how to comprehend this behavior. I’m pretty sure none of us knew what to say.

        To be honest, it kinda sounds like she’s glad that her family farm is gone...

        “Okay, so now that the six ponies here all explained what they talked to Featherweight, how can we even know that he talked to just these six?” Truffle asked, insisting on knowing the answer.

        “That’s easy.” Rumble scoffed at the question, as if it should’ve been obvious. “Remember when we all got our motives yesterday? We were all on edge. We all sat at that coffee shop, right? The ones absent were Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Twist, Snips, and Snails. He had no reason to speak to us twice. In fact, let’s add Grace Lightning to that list.”

        “Wait, what?! You-”

        “Settle down. You’re not a suspect, but you weren’t with us either. In fact, you’ve been gone for days. You still haven’t told us the whole truth. You’re hiding information, something you won’t tell us. Something big.”

        “Grrrrr...” Grace grumbled, but couldn’t think of any rebuttal, sighing in defeat in the end. “I get it. You want to know why I ran. I guess it makes me a coward to know that I submitted to my fears.”

        “Sooooo, am Ah’ the prime suspect or what? Am Ah’ a talented suspect?! Talented at getting suspected?!”

        “Zip it, hick girl! I’m shutting these idiots up!”

        “Fiiiiiiiine~”

        “You idiots... one of you tried to kill me! I wasn’t gonna die. Not alone, so I ran! THERE!”

        “W-wh...... IMPOSSIBLE! Somepony like you!?” Diamond Tiara couldn’t help but vocalize how shocked she was. But I think she speaks for everypony here.

“If somepony tried to kill her, then perhaps her tough appearance is merely a front.” Silver Spoon sharply added on, even giggling a bit. 

“Who!? You gotta tell us!” Scootaloo demanded.

“I didn’t see who, it was freakin’ dark in there!”

Dark in there...? Just where in the world did she hide?

“You can’t be serious!” Diamond Tiara grabbed her head in frustration.

“Look, I just went into hiding, then somepony tried to kill me, so I ran! And I thought it was that Feather guy, alright?! Happy now?!”

“W-why!? Why him!?” I demanded.

“BECAUSE HE WAS THERE! Dragging around that dog!” Grace pointed a hoof at our teacher.

“Miss Cheerilee!? She’s no dog! You take that back now!” Truffle demanded.

I look to Miss Cheerilee, with her eyelids lowered. She probably thinks he’s crazy for believing she’d take offense at this point.

“Zip it, wide load! That guy followed me around and tried to act all nice with me, but I know somepony tried to stab me! That much I know!”

“You should’ve told somepony!” Truffle demanded, knowing that we should’ve stuck together.

“And what, show how weak I am?! SCREW YOU! It’s easy for you to say, but have you had someone try to kill you!? Hah, screw that! I’m living on, dammit! I won’t go down, not without a fight!”

Through all of that screaming and ranting, she put on a brave front. It’s obvious that she was terrified to the core. She used most of her emotional strength to not cry.

        But still, the place was dark? There was a pony inside wherever she hid!

"I believe she may have hidden herself in the storage room of the clothing shop the first time." Rumble said.

"How do you know?"

"If there's one thing I learned from this case, is that air duct is a pretty big hint. I think the culprit was there the entire time, creating an escape route. Why else would the culprit use it anyway?" Rumble answered with a question.

"Oh, riiiiiight!" Dinky gasped in amazement. "But how'd you think Featherweight tried to kill you? I'm conpuzzled!"

       Dinky has a point. And on top of that, from the sound of it, she ran from him to begin with...

        So why did she run from Featherweight the first time? Her explanation about mistaking him for a killer sounds more like the reason why she kicked him, not why she’d run.

        Something’s off. Something’s way off with what she’s saying. It’s as if she’s going back and forth about Featherweight.

        She’s not telling us the whole truth!




NONSTOP DEBATE


Evidence Bullets:
        -The Air vents
        -Monobear File
        -The Killing Goods
        -Scuff Marks

Grace Lightning: That little guy and that dog were planning to kill me, that’s why I ran!

Diamond Tiara: You should’ve said so from the beginning! I would’ve let up a little if I knew!

Sweetie Belle: I have a hard time believing that he was trying to kill you! I mean... he was kind! He was helpful!

Grace Lightning: Didn’t mean he wasn’t gonna snap. He snapped, end of story, got it?!”

Pipsqueak: Dude, I just can’t see a guy like that losing it to that point, ya know!?

Pipsqueak: And besides, since he had working wings, he coulda cornered you more easily!

Grace Lightning: I-I wanted to kill him, that’s all! That Dog made it hard for me to do it!

Truffle Shuffle: How did Miss Cheerilee make it hard for you!?

Truffle Shuffle: Was it a hug?! Was it a scolding!? The barking noise!?

Dinky Doo: She sure kept blinking pretty hard whenever she saw Miss Cheerilee!

Dinky Doo: I say she wasn’t that far off the mark when she talked about the murder!

Cheerilee: *ARF! ARF, ARF!* *whines*

Scootaloo: Nooooot helping there, teach.

Huh... Dinky Doo’s words reminded me of Grace’s odd behavior around Miss Cheerilee before. Not to mention, Miss Cheerilee herself was trying to say something.

That has to mean she was pointing out a contradiction... Could it be!? 

I got it!


YOU GOT THAT WRONG!


_________________________________________________________________




        “Damn it, what the hell, blue snooper!?” Grace chided me for shouting, but I had to. Dinky Doo’s words helped me to remember something huge that hasn’t been brought up.

        Until now that is.

        “You’re wrong, because you’re lying about something. And it’s actually about Miss Cheerilee.” I wasn’t gonna let her scare me this time!

        “Geh- Wait, no, it’s not what you think!” Grace is suddenly trembling before I even get to the point. Guess she knows where this is going, huh?

        “It’s been bothering me. Every time you saw Miss Cheerilee today, you’d slam your eyes shut for some reason, like you didn’t want to look at her no matter what. Why is that!?”

        “NO WAY! I DIDN’T, I MEAN, I... agh!” She couldn’t find any excuses through her ranting.

        “You’re afraid of dogs! Isn’t that right!?” I shouted with all I had.

        I’m sure of it. It sounds silly, but if that’ll explain why she ran away to begin with...

Yet, why am I being stared at like I've lost my mind??

"Really? That's your big objection?" Diamond Tiara asked me, unable to comprehend where I'm going with this.

"If she's afraid of dogs, can I be afraid of cats? Wait, that doesn't make much sense, does it?" Dinky asked.

"I don't see how it would!" Snips chimed in.

        “NO! I’m not scared! I’m NEVER Scared! I mean, uhh... I’M JUST NOT!”

        “Then look at Miss Cheerilee. Can you focus on the teacher without focusing on the suit!?”

        The only way to corner someone like her is to challenge her...

        “OH YEAH! Watch me! WATCH ME DAMMIT!”

        Taking the bait, Grace turned to Miss Cheerilee, and her eyes shut the moment she saw the suit.

        She’s actively forcing her eyes open with her hooves even! 

        “Huh... Now I get it. It’s not just any dog she’s afraid of.” Rumble muttered to himself, but loud enough for us to hear.

        “What?” I asked, curious as to what Rumble was getting at.

        “Look at Miss Cheerilee’s suit. The color, especially.”

        Well, yeah. It’s a gray suit...

        Wait a sec, that’s it!

        “Diamond Dogs... right?” I answered, expecting clarification, hoping that I’m right.

        “Of course. I doubt she’d be afraid of an ordinary dog. So the Diamond Dogs is our best guess. Hey Grace, care to confirm that for us?” Rumble said.

        “GAH! No! NO NO NO NO NO! I’m not scared! I’m not I’m not I’m not! You can’t expose my fears here! This isn’t important! I DIDN’T KILL ANYPONY!” And now she’s just spouting random rants.

        I think we’re spot on. She wouldn’t be freaking out like this if we were wrong, I’m sure.

        “We need to know the initial reason you ran! Because if that’s the case, then Featherweight couldn’t have tried to kill you! Somepony else was in the Rarity Shop storage room!”

        Grace grumbled, groaned, and roared in anger. She pounded her left forehoof onto the top of her stand again and again, angry that her secret was exposed. “DAMN IT! Fine, I’m afraid! Happy now!? LEAVE ME ALONE!”

"I don't feel like it." Dinky chimed in, then noticed Grace's piercing glare. "H-hey! I was kidding! Come on, take a joke!"

"You're not a blank flank, so very well!" Tiara said, earning more scorn from Scootaloo as usual.

        “Yeah. We will. I think that broke through everything now. But before that, allow me to ask one last question.” Rumble looked to Grace, hoping his eyes would let her know he’s not saying she’s the murderer.

        Remaining silent, Rumble went on with his explanation anyway.

        “What time did you get back?” He asked.

        “What time!? What, do I look like somepony who wears a watch?! How the hell would I know that!?”

        The ID band you're wearing kinda functions like one...

Ah, of course! She never learned know how to use her ID band!

        “Then did you see a sunrise?”

        “Of course I did! The sun was up by the time I got back! I also heard that stupid morning announcement!” Grace ranted, setting off Monobear in the process.

"Hey! I go out of my way to wish you a good morning, and that's how I'm treated? That really stings worse than a honey bee swarm! Remind me to make fun of you tomorrow morning! Enjoy your rude awakening, you bastard!" Monobear ranted.

"I don't need greetings from a teddy bear anyway!" Grace retorted. Then again, I doubt anyone would enjoy being told 'good morning' by that bear.

        “She must've arrived at seven, something!” Dinky rose a hoof, happily declaring.

        “We'll have to go with that if we recall when Monobear makes his morning announcements.”

        “Then there’s nothing else we can really go off of, huh?” Snips sighed, somewhat disheartened.

        “I have something that’s bothering me right as we speak. Perchance, you’ll allow me to voice my thoughts?” Silver Spoon turned to us, giving a look of determination.

        In fact, I’m curious about it too.

        “Recall when Grace Lightning said that one of us tried to kill her. This perhaps is actually related to Featherweight’s time of death. I’m beginning to think Grace gave the killer a chance to commit this murder through her actions.”

        “Huh?” Pip formed a somewhat solemn scowl, letting out a slight nervous giggle. “Hahaha, you’re implying we could’ve gotten to him on time... haha...!”

        “She’s more or less implying that we wouldn’t even be here if we actually acted when we saw the body... I think.” Even Twist was beginning to get nervous. Speaking adding on to the conversation, Twist too, grew nervous at the implications.

        “That’s precisely what I mean. He died at 7:30 AM, yes? And it was 7:41 when that body discovery announcement was made. Grace Lightning even mentioned mentioned a killer somewhere during the chase. All Diamond Tiara walked in on, was a limp Featherweight.”

        “I... was wrong!? I mean, I can’t be! NO! Why should I be!?” Tiara's haughty attitude began to crumble.

        “Dia, listen. We all looked at the body before we chased down whom we once saw as the culprit. We came to the conclusion of death, perhaps a bit too early." Silver Spoon clarified.

        “Monobear! Explain the death announcement!” Truffle demanded.

        “Oi! Who do you think you are!? Can’t you see I’m eating honey-like popcorn?! Honey Popcorn! This is my enjoyment! Don’t bring me into it!”

After Monobear set down his bag of popcorn, Truffle's eyes lit up and drool began running down his mouth. "Actually, could you share some of that instead? I really really reaaaaaaaaaaallly would like some popcorn! I'm hungry!"

"Ask again after losing fifty pounds!" Monobear's denial was swift and effective.

"That's too much weight!" Truffle complained.

"Shut up already!" And Diamond Tiara was having none of that.

        “Just answer our question and you can fill your chalice with our despair all you want. Just how does the death announcement work?” Rumble asked.

        “Whatever! I guess I’ll stop eating this deliciously mouth watering honey to answer!” Monobear set down his bag to the side. “The announcement occurs when three or more of you discover the body! And before I have to stop again, no! It does NOT include the culprit!”

        “That means... he really wasn’t dead. I don’t know the time span between when we found him and before his death, but Tiara, when you said to us that he was dead, and we all arrived the first time, it’s highly likely he wasn’t dead. We probably could’ve saved him if we hadn’t jumped to conclusions.” Rumble said.

“So it’s our fault! If only we didn’t panic!” Sweetie Belle was already in tears.        

“!” Diamond Tiara’s eyes started to well up, but she quickly shook her head and turned to me. “Err, hahaha, you see, what had happened was-”

I already knew what was coming, and I won't have any of it.

        “Don’t even bother apologizing to me. I didn’t reach the truth just to gain your sympathy. I came here so I could catch a killer. That’s all that matters. I don’t need anypony’s pity, got it? Besides, I’m sure you’re not that stupid to just cry wolf like that.” I said.

“Well duh, you’re right. She ain’t got a right to apologize. But I do, and don’t give me that no-pity crap! I was the one who kicked him when he took the blow for Miss Cheerilee! I made him vulnerable to begin with! Don’t get it twisted with that pity BS you’re on about. I’m just taking responsibility!”

Took the blow for Miss Cheerilee? Is that why Featherweight ended up like that...?

        “LISTEN TO ME!” Tiara screamed, “I saw the blood, I know I did!”

        “How much was there then?” Ginger asked.

        “Ya saw that crime scene too, at least, didn’t you?” Apple Bloom added..

        Tiara went silent for a brief moment, shutting her eyes tight.

        “Well?! Hurry up and tell us!” Scootaloo demanded.

        “SHUT UP! I’M THINKING!” A minute or so later, her eyes widened as her mouth slowly opened. “The blood... the amount of blood I saw after was... different! There was more blood than what I previously saw!”

        “T-that means we could’ve saved him, right!?!” Scootaloo asked, despite the outcome. She just wanted to know anyway, I suppose. What’s done is done.

        “Then even if we got to him in time, he probably would’ve bled out eventually. Sounds legit.” Rumble sighed.

        “Well geez! That’s a pretty harsh way of dying!” Even Dinky Doo, who’d normally whip out a joke or two, was completely mortified.

        “Yep. It’s done already.”

        “Doesn’t that mean that the whole chase lasted about eleven minutes? That’s a very short amount of time!”

        “Even in a short amount of time, it doesn’t take long if we assume that the culprit was active from the very beginning, planning his or her plot to kill. From Grace’s testimony, the culprit may have already prepared an escape route.” Ginger said.

"Escape route, huh... That explains why Rumble there had me draw this map of the whole place."

Scootaloo dug into the pocket of her hoodie, taking out the map I saw earlier before the trial.

"I can see why too! When we cornered Grace, we have two alleyways here!" Scootaloo pointed out on the map, and then traced along the escape route with her hoof. "Of course the culprit could've used either one to blend in with us in the end!" Scootaloo ranted, narrowing her eyes slowly as she went on.

All because of an unwitting decoy.

        “I think I have an idea who the culprit is. And I know I’m not the only one who thinks the way I do.” Rumble asked, glancing my way with a very strange smile. It’s almost as if he’s looking forward to it...

"You're not seriously expecting me to know the culprit this quick, right?!" I asked, unnerved by the sudden expectations.

"It's not that hard, Shady. You used Featherweight to narrow down the suspects. I'm sure somepony's words seemed a bit off to you." Rumble kept smiling in anticipation. 

Was it anxiousness? Excitement?

        But he has a point. When I think about the evidence and facts we established during this trial, and even some of the smallest things, then I may have an idea on who the culprit is. Even though we haven't gotten there yet, I have an idea on the true murder weapon if I recall the contents of the Killing Goods boxes

        “So it really is one of the six of us that Featherweight spoke to before he died, right?” Sweetie Belle asked.

When I think about what those six said to Featherweight, one of those statements didn't sit well with me at all.

        There’s only one pony who fits everything so far. I have evidence I've yet to speak of, but with everything else out of the way, the answer’s clear!
> Ch.1 Class Trial Part 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It could have only been you!

“Hey, Snips?” I calmly got his attention.

        “W-w-w-what?” Snips was shaking.

        “You told me your conversation with Featherweight, but I have to ask, when I remember this morning before I discovered the body, I saw just about everypony here running after Grace but you or Twist, but...”

        “Oh hoooo~, I see where the Blue Snooper’s going with this!” 

I’m not sure if I should be happy or scared that Grace is kinda cheering me on now.

        “Whoa, heeeeeeeey, you’re saying Snips is the culprit!? Come on, Shady, have a heart! I mean,  we were together the whole time, so like, don’t scare us like that!” Snails turned to Snips with a worried look in his eyes. 

        Right... I should’ve known Snails would step in this, but I can tell even he has his doubts. But I already made my decision, and I’m not backing down!
        
        “Are you not taking me seriously? Guess we’ll just have to go over the evidence.”

        “What evidence!? We went through it all! You’re accusing me because I won’t cut your mane, isn’t that right!? You got such a stupid hairstyle anyway, letting it cover your eye like that!”

        “Hey, I think his mane’s cool! In a sorta emo kinda way!” Dinky rose a hoof, cheerfully declaring unfortunate implications about me.

        Gee, thanks for the typical stereotype.

        I focus back on Snips, adding on to my accusation. “But it’s strange! I’ve had to point out several contradictions to Diamond Tiara about the crime scene, it had me wondering! I ended up remembering that you went with her when she decided to go look herself! It’s like someone either told her the wrong things or kept her from looking at the obvious places! Then there was your conversation with Featherweight, where you outright accused him of being the mastermind!”

        “Hey, I thought I said that was a misunderstanding!”

        “Right. Then how did that misunderstanding really end? In fact, let me ask you: During the initial chase, I saw everypony going after Grace Lightning but you or Twist! But your actions during investigation and here got me to suspect you!”

        “You know, for a blank flank, you make a lot of sense...” Tiara gave me a suspicious look, but when she turned to Snips, those eyes narrowed instantly. “You led me wrong! And to think I decided to throw you a bone!”

        “I-it was just wrong information! I’m sorry! You told me to stay away from you, and I did just that!” Snips hurriedly defended himself.

“Wrong information?! What the hell! Are you trying to get us all killed?!” Scootaloo seethed.

        “Whoa, hang on, what’s this about wrong information!? Snips, explain yourself or you’ll be in big trouble!” Truffle ordered, pointing a hoof at Snips.

        “L-look, I came with her, right? Diamond Tiara here wanted a look at the body but shrieked back because she couldn’t look at it for too long! So she simply asked me if there was anything strange, and I said ‘No, nothing out of the ordinary’, see?”

        “Nothing strange?! You mean to tell me you didn’t notice the blood flowing under the mirror or the screws lying in the blood!?” I asked, practically seething. This is just incriminating him even further if he’s purposely giving wrong information.

        “I think that was probably the biggest contradiction Shady pointed out too... you’re not blind, are you?” Twist muttered, yet everypony heard it, and again, she didn’t take it back.

        “Ugh! Y-you idiots! Just because I’m wrong a few times, suddenly I’m the culprit?! What kind of reasoning is that?! Shady, you’re out of your mind! You just want revenge so bad, you’re willing to point the hoof at anypony, huh?!”

        “C-come on, Snips, you have to calm down! We just wanna give you a chance to prove you’re innocent! I mean, I know you wouldn’t kill anypony!” Snails gave a wry grin, his voice trembling more and more by the minute.

        “No, shut up! I don’t need this! This is all Shady’s fault!”

        “I wouldn’t do this if I wasn’t sure! If I’m wrong, then you’re free to get payback on me tenfold!”

        “Heeeeeeeeeey. What happened, Shady? I thought I was the prime suspect! You mean I failed in looking suspicious?” Apple Bloom interjected with her own complaint.

        “The Doggy Duty thing turned out to be just a little misleading. It just didn’t seem to add up. Plus, considering the time and circumstances, there’s no way you’re the culprit. You acted suspicious on purpose. For what reason, I don’t know. But I’ll get back to that in a bit.”

        “Whaaaaaatever~” Apple Bloom whistled.




NONSTOP DEBATE!


Evidence Bullets:
        -The Killing Goods
        -Opened Air Vents
        -Mirror shards
        -The Screws found in the blood

Diamond Tiara: You better explain yourself, Snips!

Snips: Come on! I was just as scared as you guys! You think I can just stare a dead body down into eternity!? Get real!

Pipsqueak: Yeah, but still, even I knew that blood came from under the mirror, and I’m not exactly one of the brightest bulbs ya know!

Silver Spoon: So what can you say that can make us stop suspecting you? Lucky for you, even I’m a bit skeptical.

Sweetie Belle: You really were just “wrong”, right?

Dinky Doo: He has eye problems, that’s why he thought the blood didn’t come under the mirror!

Snips: No, idiot! And if I killed him, I’d need a weapon! There’s no weapon at the crime scene, or anywhere for that matter!

Snails: See? He’s right! He’d need a weapon to kill, and we just proved the mirror shards aren’t the weapon!

Grace Lightning: Well, poor guy didn’t kill himself.

Snips: Well duh!
        

YOU GOT THAT WRONG!




        Snips turned his glare to me, shooting me with daggers. “What...?!”

        “You’re wrong, Snips. We still have the Killing Goods.” I answered.

        “Yeah. We found the first box at Grace’s house. Funny that you conveniently forgot that.” Diamond Tiara twirled her mane around her hoof, looking as smug as ever.

        “WHAT?!” Grace suddenly screamed.

        “That reaction may have proven that she had no idea. Pretty funny.” Ginger tried to hold back her giggle.

        “She’s lying, you idiots! CAN’T YOU SEE?! Look at her, she doesn’t look honest one bit!” Snips tried to pin the blame on her again, but it wasn’t working.

        “Hey, I haven’t entered my house once since I came back!” Grace clarified.

        “Err, sorry Snips, we already long proved that Grace Lightning’s innocent. We spent nearly the whole time proving that, man.” Snails sighed as he nervously reminded him.

        “W-we haven’t proven anything! It wasn’t solid evidence!”

        “But dude, Shady and I checked her stuff and it was clean! All of it! Even her own killing items were untouched, like she was never in her home to begin with! That list can attest to that! Nopony’s items were used, not even hers!”

        “What list!?”

        Oh, I know exactly what he means.

        Got it!

        “The list of items that everypony found in their kitchens, remember? You have a list too, I’m sure.” I pointed out.

        “I thought everypony burned their lists.” Scootaloo chimed in.

        “I simply threw mine in the trash bin, like a mare of class should. Perhaps you have a penchant for arson?” Silver Spoon quipped.

        “I threw mine away too, you blank flank! Don’t you dare say I wanna burn anything! I’d rather burn whatever a blank flank would cook, that’s all!” Yes, because you totally just said you wouldn’t burn anything, Diamond Tiara.

        “And you didn’t tell me this, why!?” The veins on Snips’s head began to surface, the same as his anger.

        “Well, dude, didn’t we already establish that Grace isn’t the culprit!? You were the one who pointed out all that evidence to me and Diamond Tiara that turned out to be false!” Snails retorted.

        “Oooo, take that down for cash for told!” Dinky cheered on, but then looked around, wondering why she was just being stared at.

        “What.” Pipsqueak was dumbfounded.

        “You know, something I totally made that up! Means he just got told!” Dinky frantically explained, stifling a laugh.

        “”Hmmmmm? Soooooo we gon’ talk ‘bout that doggy duty thing or what?” Apple Bloom interjected.

        “Doggy Duty? What does that even have to do with the case?” Ginger asked as she curiously rose an eyebrow.

        “Oooh, I dunno~ Maybe because Ah’ thought ya saw me as yer prime suspect at first? That I successfully swindled ya?”

        “But nopony thought of you as a suspect! Besiiiiiides, a blank flank like you couldn’t possibly be smart enough to pull it off!” Diamond Tiara smugly said.

        “Hmmm~ I could’ve been lying though~!” Apple Bloom continued to cheerfully screw around with our heads.

        “Wh- Apple Bloom would never! Who would even suspect her of all ponies!?” Sweetie Belle said.

        “Yeah! She’s reckless, but she’s not a murderer!” Scootaloo added.

        “Ain’t ya’ll both reckless too?” Apple Bloom pouted at her friends. I think she took offense to them leaving themselves out.

        I think I better tell them what I thought.

        “Err... that would be me.” I nervously rose my hoof, fessing up to suspecting Apple Bloom.

        “Why!? How could you suspect our friend?!” I should’ve known Sweetie Belle would scold me for that...

        “Because during the investigation, I found the evidence leaning towards Apple Bloom. Especially with her odd behavior. I thought she was the culprit at first.”

        “Then why the heck are you pointing hooves at me then!?”

        “Because the evidence started to point to you after hearing everypony’s words! You still haven’t effectively defended yourself either!” I answered Snips.

        “But I’m still confused. What in the world does this have to do with Miss Cheerilee!?” Truffle Shuffle demanded to know.

        “Actually, I’m sure Ginger might do a better job at explaining. But the ID band...” I proceeded to say, but thankfully Ginger interjected.

        “Oh! I know what you mean! Yesterday morning, I was awakened by my ID Band much earlier than the rest of you. It made a loud beeping noise and it didn’t stop until I got Miss Cheerilee’s leash from her,” Ginger winced,  “Ahem, doghouse.” 

        “Wait... Grace, you said you met him when you first got back this morning, right? Featherweight I mean.” Scootaloo asked.

        “Well yeah! How many times do I gotta say it, huh!?”

        “You only said it once.” Silver Spoon clarified.

        “Oh right.” Grace grinned, then carried on. “But yeah, I met him and his dog!”

        “I knew it... so that explains why he was up so early! I thought he was gonna rage against the sun or something!” Dinky said in a joking manner.

        “I’d rather eat the sun right now...” Truffle said. I really hope he wasn’t serious about that.

        “You wouldn’t have a stomach.” Twist muttered. “Least you wouldn’t be fat anymore.”

        He’d be dead if he did that...

        “So, we established that Featherweight was on Doggy Duty, so...” Rumble trailed off.

        “Apple Bloom’s Band thing must’ve gone all beepy boo, ya know!” Pipsqueak said.

        “Well, yeah it did!” Apple Bloom answered quickly.

        “So you’re all admitting that Apple Bloom’s the culprit and not me, huh?! That means I’m off the hook!”

        “Not quite.” Ginger said.

        “WHAT!? You idiots, you can’t just say that I’m the culprit still! There’s still no weapon and there’s no way I could’ve escaped from that part of the shop anyway!”

        “You’re seriously forgetting the air vents?!” I asked.




NONSTOP DEBATE!


Evidence Bullets:
        -Open Air Vents
        -Screws in the blood
        -Possible Escape route
        -Scootaloo’s Testimony

Snips: You’re still saying I’m the culprit, but I would’ve had to go through the vent! 

Snips: I would’ve been seen no matter what! Why can’t you see that!

Grace Lightning: But wasn’t I just a decoy!? 

Grace Lightning: Frame me, then lead everypony on a wild goose chase while giving yourself a damn alibi! You’re the worst!

Snips: But Diamond Tiara lead that chase!

Snails: He’s right! She did lead that chase!

Ginger Snap: Yes, but why aren’t we suspecting Apple Bloom?

Ginger Snap: It’s as if you’re saying she’s merely suspicious for knowing who the culprit is.

Rumble: Maybe she does, maybe she doesn’t. But it doesn’t change the fact that Snips gave false information.

Snips: It wasn’t false, It was a mistake!

Silver Spoon: Isn’t that the very definition of false information?

Snips: JUST LAY OFF ALREADY!

        You’re wrong, Snips. Someone just mentioned the major possibility a second ago.


AGREED!





_______________________________________________


        I turned my attention to Ginger, getting her attention.

        “What is it?”

        “It’s about when you said that Apple Bloom knows who the culprit is. I was thinking the same thing.”

        “Ooooooh, ya must be psychic! Too bad it’s not a talent though~” Apple Bloom said.

        No, it’s not about being a psychic. I have evidence to prove it. But first...

        “That’s where the whole rules of Doggy Duty come in. While the culprit was making his escape, Featherweight must’ve officially died. At that moment, the duty shifted over to Apple Bloom. I’m sure the culprit panicked by then when she came to retrieve the leash. That would explain Scootaloo’s predicament. When the culprit backed away, Apple Bloom must’ve heard him.”

        “Huh? What the heck are you talking about?” Scootaloo looked at me, raising an eyebrow.

        “When I climbed into the vent myself during the investigation, Apple Bloom kept telling me that she could hear me every time I moved. Apple Bloom had already gotten Miss Cheerilee during the finale of the chase, but you all must’ve ran through the alleyway, which is why the culprit thought twice about leaving through that air duct leading outside. It was around then and the time Featherweight officially died, is when Apple Bloom learned of the culprit.”

        “Of course. That map Scootaloo and I drew may be able to help with that.” Rumble said, prompting Scootaloo to take the map out again.

        “Huh.” Scootaloo looked at the map, then widened her eyes, “Wait a minute! That’s right! The second alleyway is in between the Coffee shop and the clothing shop! The air ducts had an exit that led that way!”

        “Not to mention, the screw that was stuck in your hoof looks similar to the ones found near the body.” Silver Spoon added.

        “Yeah... YEAH! Heh, I knew it wasn’t bad luck! That happened because the culprit got me!” Scootaloo was excited. “Hey wait, how did anypony unscrew that anyway? We don’t have any screwdrivers... unless...!”

        “No, a screwdriver wasn’t the murder weapon. The wound doesn’t match. Remember, the wound looked more short and horizontal.” I said.

        But Scootaloo had a point. Just how did the culprit get those screws out?

        “Wait, think there was something in those killing goods that could’ve maybe acted as a screwdriver? Yeah, I bet there was! Like maybe a knife or something!” Diamond Tiara surmised.

        “We’re under the assumption that the culprit was active all along. Perhaps the murder weapon is the alternative screwdriver. Snips, care to tell us? You can clear your name depending on how you answer.” Silver Spoon asked condescendingly. 

        “W-well, uh... look, maybe a knife can be used, right? Or a fork!” Snips answered.

        “That’s so wrong though. A knife is too wide and wouldn’t fit into a screw very well unless you did some odd angling. A fork is outright impossible to use as a screwdriver, and don’t even suggest the skewer. Remember that list from everypony’s home?” Rumble asked.



Forks: 5
Knives: 5
Skewers: 2
        
Plates: 5
Teacups: 2
Small dishes: 3
Glass cups: 5



        Rumble’s right. No matter how you look at it, none of those things would work.

        “I see... yeah, when Shady and I checked that list and the box at Grace’s place, everything was intact!” Snails, said.

        “Y-y-you don’t know that!”

        “But we did check! Dude, you’re making things worse! We might be able to clear your name, so just calm down, okay?”

        “B-but...!”

        “The clothing shop.” Twist muttered.

        “Huh?”

        “I mean, I thought Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom gathered the items from the Clothing shop... isn’t that why we made the killing goods boxes to begin with?” Twist asked.

        “That’s right! We did, didn’t we? Hehe!” Apple Bloom shifted her eyes.

        “In that case, then maybe something from the clothing shop could’ve been used as that alternate screwdriver!” Grace said.

        “C-come on, nothing in that shop was usable anyway, right?! You’re wasting your time!”

        Nothing he says.

        But it’s a clothing shop. I’m certain something, commonly found in those shops, had to be used...

        Something very common.

        I just have to think.





S C I S S O R S




        THATS IT!

        “Scissors... I think those were used. I’m certain of it. The most common item found in a clothing shop like that, along with needles and threads. I’m pretty sure that was the murder weapon as well.” I said.

        “Hahaha... that’s... that’s crazy! Scissors being used as a screwdriver.” Snips scoffed. “I mean, a knife coulda been used or something...” 

        “They can if you have the right kind and angle them correctly.”

        “That’s a pretty good feat fer a Super High-School Level Cutter!” Apple Bloom cheerfully declared. But if she knew that he’s the culprit... is she saying that because she’s showing off?

        “THAT’S COMMON KNOWLEDGE! Anypony can use scissors as a screwdriver! Y-you just said so yourself! My special talent has nothing to do with it!” Snips, can you not defend yourself at all? You’re digging yourself deeper and deeper.

        “But you just denied that they could be used at all. What were you thinking!?” Scootaloo reminded him.

“What was I thinking?! This part of the discussion started because of your bad luck!” Snips argued back.

        “What the hell! It wasn’t bad luck, it’s because you tried to escape!”

        “But you have wings! How do we know you didn’t try to fly up there!?”

        “BECAUSE I CAN’T, DUMBASS! Everypony knows that!” Scootaloo seethed, forced to remind us of her lack of flying ability.

        “Whoa, Snips, you can’t suddenly suspect Scootaloo now! That’s insane!” Snails said, appalled that Snips is just randomly pointing the hoof around now.

        “Why the heck are you stopping me!? I’m the prime suspect! I don’t wanna die!”

        “I don’t want you to either, but we can’t just randomly suspect other ponies now! Scootaloo was with us as well when we chased Grace!”

        “Then you want me to be the suspect?! I knew you would! You even investigated behind my back!”

        “Why the heck does that bother you?!” Snails was thrown off by Snips’s anger, his rants, his desperate plea to get the heat off of him.

        During that exchange, I could hear some clapping. I instantly turn to Monobear, but he wasn’t clapping. All he was doing was giggling and eating popcorn.

        That clap... came from Rumble.

        “Hehehehehehehehehehe...” He could no longer contain his obvious amusement.

        “Wh-what!? Explain yourself, you!” Diamond, always the first to demand.

        “Whoa, he sounds like a comic book villain! I like it!” Dinky smiled, happy to see Rumble giggling like that.

        “I don’t know, I have a bad feeling about this...!” Sweetie Belle as always, showed concern.

        “Not like he’s gonna transform into a scary monster or something, ya know? But that would soooooo be cool, ya know!?” Pip said.

        “Silly Snails, you claim to be his best friend, yet you threw him under the bus in one fail swoop.” Rumble turned to the friends and spoke up.

        “Wh-what?” Snails asked, suddenly worried.

        “Can’t you see? Your words, nearly all of them, just made Snips the prime suspect in more ways than one. It’s probably why Shady pointed him out in the first place. Especially the coffee part. I’m surprised Shady didn’t point that out.”

        “Huh?” Rumble’s words caught my attention instantly.

        “Shady, you know as well as I do, that if the culprit made an escape route, they would have needed to do it ahead of time. Way ahead of time. That’s the only way to shimmy through an air duct and rejoin the group in a matter of minutes. Everything was planned, and Coffee was the simplest thing to keep him awake.”

        “Coffee? You’re getting at me because I drank a bunch of coffee?!” Snips... confused by the concept of the coffee shop, or it’s coffee for that matter being a key element to the case.

        “Well yes. And Snails unwittingly made that clear, among other things.” Rumble elaborated.

        “I... I mean, I was just pointing out-” Snails tried to defend his words, but Rumble definitely wasn’t having that. 

        “The flaws in his logic? Yes... yes... that would be the right thing to do. In fact, it’s for the greater good. I love the greater good.”

        “Snails... you... he’s right!” Snips agreed with Rumble, turning his scorn to his own friend.

        “But I didn’t mean to! I was-”

        “NO! You did throw me under the bus, just like that! You yourself could’ve done it too, you know!”

        “But, I mean, why the hell would I?!” Snails could only be dragged into the wave of anger.

        “You have a motive just like everypony here!”

        While their argument began to escalate, I turned to Rumble, trying to form my words.

        “Problem? I said what needed to be said. Why do you glare at the greater good?”

        “Just what the hell are you doing!?” I asked, demanding to know why he would say that!

        “I’m just here to see the flaws of friendship, that’s all. Monobear put us in this game, and yet, here we are, throwing accusations around. I just feel friendship is being sullied right now; tainting the good name of friendship. I mean, if Snails won't see his friend as the culprit and properly protect him with his life, then what good is he?” His grin became more... devilish by the second. “I respect friendship. I admire Friendship, just as Princess Twilight did. Why do you think a whole school dedicated to friendship exists? Hehehehehe... I want to see if friendship is as powerful as she makes it out to be. And I guess in their case... it’s not.” Rumble finished his rant, then started to cackle as silently as possible.

        I just can’t tell what he’s thinking behind that slight smile though.

        Is he glad that their friendship is crumbling so easily? Or Is he disappointed?

        .......

        I didn’t think Rumble was like that. True, I found it strange that he seemingly looked forward to this game, but I didn’t think he’d go and do that. I thought he was cooler than that. He even gave me a tip to help solve the case, but... is this why? Did he wait for this opportunity all along?

        ....

        This is his “pipe bomb” isn’t it? Waiting for the opportunity to strike friendship down. But I don’t have time to focus on him. Snips and Snails are practically tearing each other’s throats out!

        Considering the conditions of the school trial, I can’t play a neutral party. Not with this subject on the murderer.

        I think I’ll have to listen to their fight, pick a side, and back them up with evidence. That’s the only way to end this.

        Because either way, somepony has to die in the end!






 Sinking Friendship Battle


Snips: You’re jumping on that bandwagon!?

Snails: You pointed a hoof at me too!

Snips: The only way that crime could’ve been done is through magic, and you know it! You’re a better magician than me, so of course!

Snails: No way! I was with Shady investigating!

Snips: And I was with Diamond Tiara when she told me to stay away from her!

Snails: You still gave her false information!

Snips: You should’ve corrected me! I WAS WRONG!

Snails: YOU WERE WRONG ON PURPOSE!

Snips: No I wasn’t! It was an honest mistake!

Snails: But how do you explain the killing goods?! The evidence was there!

Snips: That was a mistake too!

Snails: So everything’s a mistake?!

Snips: No, We found that stuff though!

Snails: You led us to it!

Snips: It was just a hunch!

Snails: Dude, just a hunch!? Are you not taking this seriously at all!?

Snips: I’m telling you, I DIDN’T DO IT!

Snails: Do what!? Anything right?! Because It sure sounds that way!

Snips: I’m saying I didn’t kill him!

Snails: Then how come you told us to not check the second box!?

Snips: Because it was in it’s same spot! The first box was stolen!

Snails: By you! Using some stupid method to open the door!

Snips: I can’t believe you’re doing this to me!

Snails: You’re trying to do the same to me! Stop it!

Snips: You stop first!

Snails: Tell me how the box was stolen!

Snips: Grace Lightning stole the box! It was in her home!

Snails: But we just proved that she didn’t do it!

Snips: Then somepony else switched the name plates!

Snails: Why the hell do you keep insisting it’s Grace?!

Snips: She’s the most suspicious! And thanks to you, I'm the suspicious one!

Snails: Because you never talked to me, man! We coulda talked! But no, you had to lie to me!

Snips: I’M NOT LYING, I WAS WRONG!

Snails: Nopony even believes that! The evidence and circumstances all add up, idiot!

Snips: What circumstances?!

Snails: Your window was freakin’ open, so you had to have heard diamond Tiara trying to wake us all up!

Snips: What made you even say that?!

Snails: You heard me when I talked about Trixie during our investigation didn’t you!?

Snips: IT GETS HOT IN THERE!

Snails: You just proved it!

Snips: SERIOUSLY!? Well screw you! We’re gonna die, and it’s gonna be because of you!

Snails: I don’t want you to die, I just want you to tell the truth!

Snips: NO WAY!


THAT’S ENOUGH!




I shouted. I listened to both sides, and put my hoof down.

I had to stop this. I heard all I needed.

“Grrr...” Both Snips and Snails were glaring at each other, but Snails was the first to sigh, and hang his head.

        “Dude, look at us, we’re throwing each other under the bus. We’ve been friends for a long time, and-” Snails sighed in defeat.

        “NO! I... how could you!? Why didn’t you think before you speak, huh?! You got me labeled a suspect!”

        “Then what’s with the uncouth behavior? If you weren’t guilty, then you wouldn’t lose your composure like this.”

        Snips pointed to Grace. “But she definitely lost her cool when we was on her! THAT’S NOT FAIR!”

        “Yes, but she’s always aggressive. Originating from a barbaric sport, it’s purely natural. Not to mention, I believe she was telling the truth about being the original target.” Silver Spoon made her stance clear.

        “Yep. Silvie’s right.” Tiara smiled coolly. “You practically exploded when we pointed all the contradictions out. And plus, I listened to everything.”

        “Why didn’t we stop this sooner!? This is horrible! Their friendship... it’s ending so fast!” Sweetie Belle had her eyes shut and covered her ears with her hooves.

        “This is what happens when Friendship loses to despair. And here I thought Friendship was hope. Oh, Twilight, why did you say Friendship was hope again?” Rumble looked at the ceiling, addressing an absent princess. He looked genuinely down, but he started this.

        They wouldn’t have torn each other’s throats out if it wasn’t for him!

        “Shut up, you bastard...” Scootaloo Hissed.

        “Oh? Why the anger towards me?” Rumble nonchalantly asked.

        “You know DAMN WELL why!”

        “But it was for the greater good. That friendship was doomed the moment Snips committed murder. It was contaminated with despair. I figured it all out when I listened to this whole trial, compiled all the evidence in my head, and zoned on him. Alas, you don’t have to like my methods. I just hate despair-tainted friendships. That’s not what Twilight’s Academy of Magic and Friendship is about.”

        “WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?” Scootaloo seethed.

        “Their whole argument was filled with contradiction and truth. Everypony saw this. I’m just the one who allowed them to see it.”

        “See what!?”

        “The truth. I did what needed to be done to bring about the truth. Shady, you heard the argument. You have the evidence too. Tell me, whose side do you take?” He calmly asked, coolly letting the scorn roll off his back like it was nothing.

        “.............” I went quiet.

        “What about your friend, Featherweight? Surely you’re not going to let him down.”

        He’s right... I came to this trial, seeking revenge. But to see them tear each other out like that, reminded me of how Featherweight was before I saw him again. We didn't’ get that bad, but the face I saw before his death was one of despair that he desperately tried to overcome on his own.

        ..........

        I have to do it.

        “Snails, you’re right. The big thing that stood out was the second box of killing goods. We never checked them. None of you did because Snips said not to. So none of you noticed that blood stain on the tape.”

        “Wh- a blood stain?!” Truffle said.

        “Yeah. I think the real murder weapon is in the second box.” I said. “And then there’s the method of getting the first box of killing goods into Grace’s home...”

        “This I gotta hear!” Grace leaned forward, naturally wanting to know how her house was infiltrated.

        “Snips mentioned something about switching the nameplates in that argument... we all know that to enter our home, we have to use our left hoof here and press against the nameplate. The door unlocks by reading our ID Bands to match the nameplate on the door, opening it. I’m pretty certain that’s how he got in.” I elaborated.

        “Argh, you stupid bear! You left such a huge flaw on our homes!?” Diamond Tiara turned around, directing her anger to Monobear.

“Forget that! Hey, Monobear! GET THAT BOX FOR US!” Truffle turned to Monobear’s throne, but noticed he was gone. “Err, where’s Monobear?”

“I think he went out for a walk!” Dinky said, “Then again, why isn’t he here? I thought he wanted to see this kind of thing?”

“Heh, I don’t give a damn what he does. I just want to see what this guy tried to kill me with. I just might kill him myself.” Grace’s eyes were on fire, showing a blazing hot bloodlust.

“Whoa!”

Was that... Monobear we just heard?

“Hah! Gotta be careful with these!”

Yep. that’s definitely Monobear’s voice.

I looked around for the source of the voice, eventually finding Monobear rolling on a big, black and white ball, juggling three pairs of scissors like a clown.

        “Oooooh! Cool!” Dinky gasped in excitement.

        “Wait, look!” Truffle pointed a hoof at the scissors.

        “He’s just messing with us!” Diamond Tiara sighed, annoyed that Monobear would do this.

        Then again, at this point, we should expect anything from this guy.

        “Blood?” Twist fixed her glasses, leaning closer over her stand.

        “She’s right, there’s blood on one of the scissors!” Pipsqueak said.

        “Crap!” Snips let that word pass through his lips.

        Coming behind Monobear, were two Monoguards, both bringing in a box to the room on their backs. It was obvious that both of these boxes were the killing goods.

        “I knew it...” I muttered.

        Honestly, I suspected that the item from the killing goods used had to be one of the items from the clothing shop.

        In fact, now that I think about it, Scissors could easily work as an alternative screwdriver to open the air ducts if angled correctly. 

        I’ll have to tell everyone how it happened. 




THIS IS HOW IT HAPPENED!


It all began, long before Featherweight woke up for Doggy Duty.

The culprit woke up late at night while Everypony was asleep, and had the first box of Killing Goods in possession. He took his nameplate, swapping it out with Grace Lightning’s to get into her home, open the box, and leave it, while leaving with a pair of scissors.

Later, early in the morning before anyone woke up, Featherweight was awakened by his ID Band for Doggy Duty. During this, he saw Grace Lightning, but she ran and hid away somewhere. While he was out looking for her, she had yet to realize she was in the room with the culprit. Upon seeing her, he took the opportunity to strike, but she was quick enough to get away, but the Culprit didn’t give chase. 

While the culprit waited for the coast to be clear, Featherweight tried to talk to Grace in the clothing shop, but her phobia kicked in again, causing her to go wild and attack Miss Cheerilee. Thanks to Featherweight taking the hit, he crashed through the mirror, startling the killer and keeping him from leaving. 

When Featherweight came to, he saw the culprit, and was silenced as a result by having his throat cut. The culprit used his magic to move the boxes around the head, making the blood flow under the mirror to deceive the others, forcing everypony to believe Grace Lightning killed him. Yet, since it happened so quickly, it meant that Featherweight didn’t die yet.

When Diamond Tiara saw the body and began rounding everypony up, this caused Grace to run away again, causing a massive chase throughout the district because she was the prime suspect. During this time, the culprit climbed through the air duct he opened and tried to go an alternate route, but hesitated when he saw the others outside. This mistake caused a screw to fall and later get stuck in Scootaloo’s hoof.

While this all occurred, Featherweight eventually bled out and died officially. At the climax of the chase, the culprit was able to slip away through the air ducts, paint more evidence against Grace while fleeing from the crime scene, stash the scissors into the second killing goods box, and blend in with the others.



        Using the scissors, able to cut anything, knowing about everything to cut... that was his special talent.



        “The only one with the magic, the only one who could’ve done it.. It couldn’t have been anyone but you, Snips!”

        “Yup~, his cutie mark is a pair of scissors! His talent is Super High-School Level Cutter! Such good talent! That means you had to know exactly what to cut to let that fella Featherweight bleed out!”

        “I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT ARTERY TO CUT!”

        ............

        “W-what?!” Snips looked at us like we were the ones wrong. If only he’d realize what he just said...

        “You’ve gone from denial, to ranting, to outing yourself. It’s a shame.” Silver Spoon sighed.

        “Looks like such a wonderful talent’s going to waste. If only I hadn’t seen and heard ya.” Apple Bloom sighed.

        “Wh-what?!”

        “Ah’ saw ya when I went to go get Miss Cheerilee, remember? She tried to help Featherweight, but she was so heartbroken to see you crawling outta that vent! Ah' waited outside when ya thought the coast was clear!” Apple Bloom’s fully coming clean about what she saw.

        “You’re looking at me like it’s the end for me! Snails, say something! Tell them you believe me!”

        “.................”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGH!” Snips simply screamed with everything he had.

        It was a scream filled with rage, hatred, and despair.

        We could tell all of that by hearing it. We could cover our ears, but that wouldn’t work out very well. We’d hear it anyway.

        “NO WAY!” Snips said. He’s not still in denial is he. “I was simply wrong! I WAS WRONG! WRONG INFORMATION! WRONG EVERYTHING! WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG!”

        I see. I can’t see this as denial anymore.

        Perhaps this is his way of admitting that he was wrong for his actions.

        He’s right when I think of it that way. He’s wrong for killing Featherweight. He’s wrong for leading his friends in the wrong direction.

        It’s clear he killed Featherweight.

        “Alright you bastards! You all seem to have reached your decision! See the voting panel in front of you? Press the button on who you think is the culprit! Good luck!”

        When Monobear said that, the stand in front of me suddenly opened a hidden hatch, showing a series of buttons and small eight-bit portraits of all of us.

        So this is what he means by voting. A simple majority vote.

        And I pressed my hoof against that switch. Unlike everypony else, I voted without hesitation.

        “Come on, Snails! That includes you too!” Monobear urged him on, noticing that Snails has looked down this whole time.

        “I... I...” Snails tried to speak, but he could only scream as his hoof went straight for the voting panel.

        We’re then shown a slot machine on the monitors against the walls. The slots spin fast, and they all land on Snips, displaying “GUILTY!” in bright, flashing red colors.

        “Congratulations on such a unanimous vote! Because the one who killed Featherweight was none other than Snips! Good job everyone!”

        “Unanimous?” Snips asked himself, then turned to Snails, “...You voted for me too?”

“........... I’m sorry! THERE’S NOTHING I CAN DO, SO I HAD TO DO IT! The vote was decided a long time ago, man!”

“Wow, such a good friend, don’t you think? I’m beginning to see friendship as such an amazing thing!” Monobear chimed in.

        “YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING!”

        “Oh, but I do. You bastards think your friends will save you?! What makes you think that a friend will die for you when you decide to stupidly commit a murder, expecting to go home? Your families at home wouldn’t approve of that! I’m sure your siblings would be sad if you let their favorite magician die!”

        “T-that...! But...” Snips looked at Monobear, and back to Snails, who voted him guilty. “You... you... ah... no. I... if I blame you again, then I... ugh. I really was wrong. The little ones always preferred you anyway.”

“Huh?” Snails turned to his friend, tears endlessly flowing.

“I was wrong... but I don’t deserve to die. I don’t wanna die...!” Snips said, as his horn began to glow in a bright light.

“Sn-Snips, what are you...?”

        “I don’t wanna die... Why should I die just because you all say so!? Why should I live here just because you say so!? Why must I do what I’m told all the time?!” Snips’s horn started to glow brighter and brighter.

        Naturally all of us were beginning to back away from him.

        “He’s not gonna kill us all is he!?” Diamond Tiara shrieked, backing away slowly.

        “I think we better run!” Pipsqueak said.

        “Defiant till the end.” Rumble sighed, standing his ground.

        Snips’s roar rang throughout the trial room. He lifted a series of scissors and targeted Monobear!

        What is he doing!? We’re not supposed to attack Monobear!

        “He’s been found guilty, so he doesn’t have anything to lose!” Scootaloo said, making a good point.

        “Ooooh, I get to see his talent in action!” Apple Bloom watched in awe.

        Charging at Monobear with several scissors in tow, he sent them flying at the bear, letting the steel tools sink into Monobear’s fur and cotton.

        With each quick chop and snip, Monobear was ruthlessly attacked by scissors.

        When that was done, the scissors dropped to the floor, just as Monobear fell apart into a series of fluffy pieces of cloth, cotton, and mechanical parts.

        “He... he did it! He went and killed Monobear! Holy crap!” Pipsqueak gasped, amazed.

        “Was it really this easy?” Rumble asked himself, looking somewhat disappointed.

        “Ha! Hahahahahahaha! Dude, I did it! I’m alive! I DON’T HAVE TO DIE! How do you like that, Shady!? You condemned me to die, but I don’t have to!”

        Wow.

        I see. He took down Monobear.

        But why am I still so pissed off!?

        Why!? I should be glad he destroyed Monobear, but why am I so mad!?

        “Uu~pupupu~ Did you think you could beat me that easily?!”

After Monobear’s voice echoed from above, the bear, wearing a strange outfit, suddenly swooped down with a sword in hand, dropping right in front of Snips.

        “Eh...?”

        His horn slowly and smoothly slid off like a piece of sliced jelly.

        “Agh...!  AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

        There’s no way a unicorn could take such a blow to not only their pride, but their source of magic. He doubled over, uncontrollably writhing and twisting violently as his screams of agony rang through our ears.

“You’re a thousand years too early to try and beat me!” Monobear chided Snips, who was on the ground, twisting and writhing in pain. “How was my super cool Samurai impression? Fighting in an honorable duel ending in a despair-inducing defeat!”

        “Snips! Dude, why’d you cut his horn off?!” Snails went to his friend, horrified to see the blood gushing from where his horn once was.

        “Because you’re trying to escape your execution, and we can’t have that, now can we!? You bastards earned this execution through a correct vote! I mean, I even have a special execution planned for the Super High-School Level Cutter here! I really want to get on with it. That screaming is getting way too annoying! I like my peace and quiet after a good movie!”

        “Good.” A single word escaped my lips.
 
        “Why!? Snips is gonna die!” Snails obviously didn’t want him dead, but I have my reasons.

        “Because he killed Featherweight!” I turned to Monobear, filled with this unpleasant feeling. “Monobear, end it. You said you’d execute the culprit if we were right, so get on with it!”

        “Shady!? Why!? We don’t need anypony else to die!” Sweetie Belle tried to reason, but that fell on deaf ears.

        I think I understand what I’ve felt all this time.

        This is rage. I’ve never felt rage before. But it really doesn’t feel good. It’s stressful.

        It’s taking too much of my energy.

        I mean, Featherweight didn’t deserve to die. So why should I spare the damn culprit!?

        “Hey, what good will it do to kill him? He may have murdered, but you wanna keep this going?” Ginger asked, but eh, it’s just more noise.

        “At least someone gets it! Now let’s get started!” Monobear cheerfully declared as he made his way to his throne.

        “WAIT! Come on, Shady’s just mad right now, can’t you spare-” Snails desperately begged, but that wouldn’t work.

        “EXECUTION TIME!”

        “NO! NOOOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Snails begged to no avail.

        With the way Monobear went on, it’s as if Snails’s pleas never happened.

        Monobear hops on his throne and a large switch with a giant red button rises up from the ground.


__________________________________________________________________


        Pulling out a hammer, he whacks the switch, and it displays a black screen showing an eight-bit version of the courtroom and Snips standing in the middle. I could see Monobear dragging him off the screen, as the words shown on the screen typed up:


GAME OVER



SNIPS HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY.


COMMENCING EXECUTION.


At that moment, a chain with a collar attached at the end came flying through one of the doors into the trial room, and grabbed Snips by the neck, dragging him away at full speed. Snails tried to go after him, but not only did it happen so fast, he couldn’t get through the doors before they closed, keeping Snails in here with the rest of us.

All we could do was turn to the monitors to see what would happen.

Why am I looking forward to this?

Snips was shown strapped to a barber chair by the neck, hind legs, forearms and body, completely preventing any form of escape. His horn being gone, he could no longer cast any magic either.

Next to him was Monobear, wearing a barber’s coat and afro, holding a pair of clippers, the sound of buzzing echoing through the screen. 

Then we get a title card, with two red and white poles commonly seen outside of barber shops, with a title in between them. I guess this is the name of the execution.


~My First Cut~


        Monobear throws the clippers behind him, but quickly grabs the cord at the end of the clippers. Slowly, the clippers are swung around and around by the cord, which caused Snips’s eyes to widen with terror.

        The clippers came down onto his body like a whip, making a dreadful, unnatural buzz upon impact. Monobear swung his clippers onto Snips’s body again, and again, and again, slowly cutting off his fur and cutting deep into his skin as well. Furiously and rapidly cutting and shaving, Snips squirmed left and right, his forearms and hind legs struggling to no avail. 

        After thousands of rapid fire swings, Monobear pulled the lever to the chair Snips was in, tilting it forward a bit too much, until a hole beneath opened up. The shackles that held him down were released, and he descended into the darkness, furless, into a strange, ominous machine, which closed the second he entered.

        With the machine expelling tons of steam, I could see the red light on the front blink five times, then turn green. A front hatch to the machine opened, and the conveyor belt rolled out...

        a leather vest.

        Monobear was there already to put the vest on, showing the back of it, displaying, the words “DESPAIR” sewn on above and below an eight-bit version of Snips’s face. Monobear was simply showing off his new leather vest, made out of a pony who was once alive.
> Ch.1 Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        It was over.

        The culprit died as promised.

        Snips is dead, just as Monobear promised.

        Yet I looked forward to it. I wanted Snips to die, and yet... yet...

        “When I talk about having nightmares, this is NOT what I had in mind!” Pipsqueak was horrified at the sheer reality of this execution. It was absurd and over-the-top, yet real, two things that someone like him couldn’t handle.

        “Damn it... he’s dead...! Damn it! You’re happy now, right!?” Snails seethed, as he sobbed at the steel door in front of him. I know he was addressing me.

        What’s wrong with me? I don’t even feel satisfied. Is this really how I am?

        I thought I’d feel happy, glad, cheerful even. But this won’t bring Featherweight back. Maybe I just wanted closure. A satisfying feel fulfilled through vengeance, but I should’ve known better that revenge would amount to nothing.

        Right... of course. Revenge doesn’t revive the dead. Is that why I’m not even satisfied?

        I’m not even happy.

        “Wow! That was a lot of work, but this cut was totally worth it in the end! So how does it look? Awesome, right? Brilliant? Sweet? Twenty percent cooler?” Monobear quickly asked, disregarding our feelings as usual.

        “SHUT UP!” Snails hissed at the bear.

        “You turned him into leather and you fish for compliments?!” Dinky angrily asked.

        “I ask how this cut looks on me, and this is what I get?  It’s just a simple question, you bastards. Save the rivers for later or I’ll turn into a beaver and build a dam!” Monobear scoffed.

        “Well what’d you expect?! YOU KILLED HIM FOR THAT! Why should we give you a straight answer!?” Diamond Tiara asked. 

        “But he should’ve never made his choice to kill! He thought he could get away with it in the end, and he was wrong! Guess his siblings are going to remain homeless and starve to death! HAHAHAHAHA!” Monobear cackled.

        “Wait... siblings?!” Sweetie Belle asked, growing worried. “What happene-”

        “Don’t worry about that, Sweetie Belle! He’s dead, so anything about him is now obsolete! Irrelevant! It’s all ants at a picnic!” Monobear refused to answer Sweetie Belle, and continued. “This is what happens when you bastards cling to hopes and dreams outside of this kingdom! I ask you all to live your lives and this is what you do to disturb the public order! What idiots!”

        “You wanted us to kill, and now you’re chiding us for it?!” Snails hissed.

        “But Snips made his choice, and went in for a kill! And to think he would’ve gotten away with it too if he succeeded in killing Grace Lightning!” Monobear said, scratching the back of his head.

        “What’d you say!?” Grace’s eyes suddenly widened after hearing Monobear say that.

        “Oh, you didn’t know? That guy had guts and a smart plan! Take advantage of the absence of a pony who returned to the circle of friends today! If she was successfully killed, I doubt you would’ve found her body until several days later! If I were you, I wouldn’t feel sympathy at all!”

        “B-but... he was still our friend!” Sweetie Belle cried.

“Friend? Hahahahahaha! Oh right! Seeing such a despair-inducing friendship end has brought even me to despair! But that’s okay, you’re all still here, so continue living your communal lifestyle within this kingdom! Cheerio~!” Monobear said before leaving the room.

        Scootaloo then directed her piercing glare to Rumble. 

        “Rumble, that was cruel and you know it!” She referred to when Rumble instigated that cruel argument between those two during the trial.

        “Shady wanted him dead, not me. I just gave the parties involved a little push. You’re free to scorn me as such. But you’ll realize that my actions were without a doubt, for the greater good.” Rumble said, smiling coolly.

        “But still! You ended things on the worst note possible! There could’ve been some forgiveness!” Sweetie Belle said.

        “Forgiveness... to forgive a friend for a despair-inducing act such as murder and laying on the responsibility of keeping it a secret; sounds a little too difficult for any normal pony. If I had to say one thing, that’s probably why Snips didn’t say anything to Snails about his despair inducing crime. Oh well. Whatever works. It had to be done.” Rumble sighed.

        You’re implying that you’re a normal pony. You’re implying that what you did was normal.

        But I held my words back. I know I’d be called out immediately for my abnormal vengeance if I said anything.
        
        “Ugh... I hate this...! I wanna go home!” Sweetie Belle cried out of sympathy, yet trembled fervently after seeing that execution.

        “That’s another talent gone. Ah’m not getting a cutie mark out of this at all, am ah’?” Apple Bloom asked, disregarding any tact.

“Heh. Whatever. I don’t even care! He tried to kill me while taking advantage of my absence! He got what he deserved! Well screw him and that asshole Monobear!” Grace smiled smugly, but I still recall how she was nearly on the verge of tears earlier.

        “I too, believe he brought this on himself. Instead of gathering with everypony, he chose to take the life of another. Whom can we truly blame for such foolish actions?” Silver Spoon asked, obviously referring to Monobear.

        “I don’t think he deserved to die in such a horrific way though. But shouldn’t we blame Monobear? He’s putting this on us, yet he’s giving us the means to kill each other off, twisting our minds to fit his scheme. I don’t appreciate that.” Ginger said, wincing as she thought about the execution.

        “H-h-hmph! Getting turned into leather is a fitting death for one such as he! Hah!” I doubt I could take Diamond Tiara’s words very seriously, not when she’s obviously trembling like that.

        “.....................” Twist remained silent. I guess she’s scared as well. It’s still a bit hard to tell behind those shiny glasses though.

        “This isn’t right! At this rate we’ll disappoint Miss Cheerilee! I thought you were better than this!” Truffle barked, earning Grace’s ire.

        “What makes you so special, huh fatass!?” Grace glared at the fat stallion for his condescending words.

        “B-because! I’m the teacher’s pet, remember!?” Truffle retorted.

        At that moment, Miss Cheerilee got in the middle of the room, glancing at all of us, trying to talk to us. Yet that barking noise started coming from that mechanical muzzle on her mouth, so whatever she was saying, sounded like belligerent dog barking.

        “I... I apologize, Miss Cheerilee.” Truffle said, hanging his head low.

        “What the heck?” Grace widened her eyes, with no idea why he even said that.

        “Look at her eyes! She weeps for us! She’s trying to cheer us up, but she can’t!” 

        “Geh... “ Grace looked away, but kept glancing at our teacher. “Damn it...!” 

        It was surprising, but the tears began to flow from Grace’s eyes.

        “Miss Cheerilee... I don’t understand. Why are you trying to help despite our actions? We just condemned another pony to die. Normally you’d punish us.”

        Miss Cheerilee glared at Twist for even suggesting such a thing, all while her words translated to mere barking. But I’m sure Twist understood that Miss Cheerilee wasn’t scolding us. Not at this time.

        Even I can tell that all she wants to do is help, but this atmosphere amongst her students, is the biggest source of despair to a teacher unable to do anything.

        Despite the insulting treatment courtesy of Monobear, she’s still trying to talk to us.

        Trying to help us. She wants to shoulder our pain.

        “I think she’s saying that she wouldn’t punish us and that we have to stay strong. We can’t crumble now.” Truffle said.

        “Well that’s obvious. Even I can tell that much.” Rumble looked away with a smirk. I couldn’t tell what was going on.

        ................

        I wonder what Featherweight would think of me if he saw me like this.


_______________________________________________________________


Day 4, 12:00 AM

        Nopony said a word for the rest of the day. Featherweight is dead, and Snips was executed for killing him. I honestly couldn’t get it out of my mind.

        I didn’t even get go back to Featherweight’s house to look at what kind of motive he had. It was sealed shut, and his portrait on his nameplate was turned into a white noise, like a nonexistent channel on a television. The same happened to Snips’s nameplate as well.

        All I could do was remain in my home, staring at the ceiling, recalling even my own behavior earlier.

        I outright wanted Monobear to come back.

        I’m going to be consumed by this feeling, aren’t I? I’ve never felt this way before.

        A normal day for me would be to go to work, and work hard at my job. It wasn’t anything special.

        But Featherweight was sort of a counterbalance to that emptiness. Like a brother I never had.

        But he’s gone, and I have to move on. Death’s a common thing anyway, isn’t it? It’s right to simply move on, right?

        ...........................

        I don’t know what to do.

        I need some fresh air.

        I can’t stare at this ceiling any longer. 

My eyes hurt.

        I turn my body over and land on my hooves once I fall out of the bed. A yawn escapes my lips before I know it.

        It’s like my body and mind don’t want to agree as far as sleep goes.

        I open the door and head outside to the doorstep, staring at the starry sky.

        ........

Will we ever get out of here?

......

*Crack*

Huh?

As I stare off into space, hear a crack somewhere. It didn’t sound very close either.

        It was a very faint crack, like glass on the verge of breaking.

        At least it wasn’t my window. I think I’d be terrified if somepony tried to kill me now.

        But still, where did that sound come from?

        I get off of my doorstep and head out to the middle of the district, looking around fervently, checking the kingdom's border, the other's windows, and even by the Rarity statue.

Yet I found nothing. Was I just hearing things?

I guess I’ll head back.

I'll take one last glance at the stars.

...What!?

The crack’s up there?!

I look straight up, right above the central tower of this kingdom, discovering a very noticeable white crack high in the sky. The Monoguards are even acting up. 

Normally they’d fly around in circles, watching for any rule breakers, but this time, they’re investigating this... thing.

I can’t be seeing things, right? This isn’t some Chicken Little conspiracy, right?

Why the heck is there a crack in the sky?

What’s going on here?!

Chapter 1, END


_______________________________________________________________________




NUMBER OF PONIES REMAINING



14
 plus a dog.
> Extra Bits (1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



Author’s Note:

The Extra bits are chapters that I’ll post at the end of every arc, showing the free time events for every character. That includes events for the deceased. Since this is the end of Chapter 1, I’ll do everypony’s first Free time Event except for Grace Lightning due to her absence for the majority of Chapter 1. 

Yeah.... These are only the first ones that all take place during Chapter 1.

The only reason I’m even doing this, is because I want you guys to get attached to these characters!

Now feel free to roll back the clock and read these Free Times.




____________________________________________________________________


Featherweight Free Time Event (1)


I find Featherweight at the back of the clothing shop, looking inside for clues.

“Yo, Shady! What’s up? Need any help?” Featherweight asked when I approached him.

“Nah, just asking to hang out.”

“I could use a break break from investigating I suppose. I haven’t found any way out yet, but I won’t give up! I’m just not used to wrecking my brain this much.” He grinned.

After heading to the coffee shop, the two of us decided to chat about old times to get our minds off of the current events.

“To this day, my bro keeps telling me to lift some weights so I can defend myself, but I really doubt somepony’s gonna fight me.”

“Not so sure about that. Somepony’s always looking for a fight because they can. We’re not a perfect species after all.”

“I can always just keep my distance, otherwise, I can talk my way out! Or learn the language if it’s a dragon or something... I dunno.”

“You can’t be serious.” I lowered my eyelids at how crazy that sounds.

“Well of course! Sometimes, you have to try and be just a little understanding! Peer into their hearts, drill’em if you have to! I mean, giving just a little bit of hope makes one heck of a difference! I tell my brother that all the time, but he has a point when he says I’ll have to at least take a hit.” Featherweight cringed when he said that last bit.

Is that all there is to it? Believing in hope?

“Is hope really that special?” I had to ask.

        “Of course it is! Well, of course you wouldn’t believe it. You’ve always been all grumpy, man!”

        “Yeah, I get that a lot. Even your bro noticed. Why do you think he tried to get me all roped up in working out? That’s your deal, not mine. I don’t see how he can lift so many weights.” I sighed, but smiled at the same time.

        “He’s been working out before I was even born! Why do you think he’s so huge?” Featherweight grinned.

        “And shrunk his wings in the process? Yeaaaaaaah...” I looked away, but Featherweight figured out what I thought right away.

        “No, he doesn’t do ‘roids, hahahahaha!”

        Featherweight laughed at where I was going with that. We always joked about those tiny wings on Snowflake, and it’s great how he never took any offense to it. 

        Either way, it was good to just chat and have a great laugh. This ever optimistic featherweight, I doubt he’ll ever lose it.


____________________________________________________________


Diamond Tiara Free Time Event (1)


        I find Diamond Tiara by the district map, scanning it for any new locations.

“Hmph! What do you want? Make it quick!” Diamond Tiara glared at me the moment I approached her. Of course, she’d take a quick glance at my flank before focusing on me.

        “Wanna take a break? From investigating I mean.” I asked, expecting something like, no way, you blank flank!

        “Mmmm... Give me a minute! I’ll think about it!”

        What.

        “You actually have to think about it...? Look, we don’t have to-” I tried to spare her the trouble, but she’d have none of that.

        “Alright, fine! But just this once, got it?! You’re a blank flank, so I really don’t want to be seen with you! I’d rather go someplace secret!” She demanded.

        “It’s just us and the others. Nopony els-” I said, but of course, she won’t let me finish.

        “THAT’S THE POINT! My name would be ruined! I’m Diamond Tiara! You can’t possibly think you’re good enough to ‘hang out’ with somepony as pretty as me!”

        “But I never said-”

        “What are you waiting for? Let’s go drink coffee. You drink the low brand!” She stormed off, expecting me to just follow her. Guess I’ll humor her.

        .........

        Despite being so unreasonable, I drank coffee with her anyway while letting her bark ridiculous orders at me.

        ...what was I thinking?

        “Hmph. This coffee tastes okay at best. You’re probably making it taste bland with your blank flank.” She said after another sip of the coffee, then putting a little sugar into her cup.

        “This coffee was supplied by Monobear. Blame him.” I sighed.

        “Oh don’t worry I do. He’s worse than you afterall, or at least whoever’s behind him.” Tiara winced in disgust after taking another sip.

        “You mean the mastermind.” I stated the obvious.

        Tiara slammed her hoof on the table hard enough to make the teacups jump slightly. “Well duh! I won’t submit to the whim of a teddy bear! Can you believe it? A teddy bear trying to order someone like me around! I’m Diamond Tiara! I won’t stand for it! I’m too good for this treatment!”

        “For once I agree.” I nonchalantly said, sighing afterward.

        “For once!? You should always agree!”

        “Has anyone ever disagreed with you, ever?”

        Just curious.

        “Hmph! Why should they? I’m pretty, I’m smart, and I’m very talented unlike the average mare! Especially compared those three blank flanks!”

        “The cutie mark crusaders?” I guessed.

        Now that I think about it, why did her and Silver Spoon target those three anyway?

        “Who else did I mean, you and your parents?!” Diamond asked smugly.

        “I don’t have parents.” I answered in the most deadpan tone ever. Diamond Tiara even cringed when I simply continued sipping my coffee. I wasn’t mad, but I guess she can’t stand being seen as crazy.

        “H-haha! D-d-d-did I say your parents? S-silly me, I meant you and your um,” Diamond’s eyes scanned her entire surroundings desperately until she came up with something new, “uh, imaginary friends! Yeah, that’s right! Whaddya say to that!?”

        ......

        She’s hopeless...

        Even so, I guess I somehow got a little closer to her, whether or not she’ll admit it.


_______________________________________________________


Silver Spoon Free Time Event (1)


Seeing Silver Spoon by the gate to the next district, I decide to talk to her. Whether or not this’ll end well, is left in the air. She is a mare of class after all.

        “Pardon?” Her eyes peering through her glasses made me feel like she doesn’t wish to be spoken to.

        “Well, I thought it’d be a good idea to take a break from investigating. For a little bit.”

        “Hmm... I am quite tired. Perhaps cup of tea would suffice.”

        I went with Silver Spoon to drink tea like a gentlecolt.

        ...... Not my thing, but I still had fun i guess.

        “Now what do you wish to speak to me about?” Silver asked, setting down her teacup.

        “I’m curious, why do you guys bully the Cutie Mark Crusaders?”

        “Ah. Perhaps it’s a desire for freedom a little bit. It’s tough when you have to create and endlessly maintain a persona of perfection.” She calmly answered.

        “Persona of perfection?”

        “Yes. Father and Mother expect only the best, pristine and well-mannered behavior from the heir of the Sterling family. As such, I sometimes feel quite envious of my friend for knowing herself.” Silver said.

        I didn’t think she even envied Diamond Tiara. 

        Wait, I thought they both came from rich families?

        “I didn’t even know you felt that way.” I commented.

        “It would be quite foolish to let it show, so of course. But I merely go along with it to release stress, so-to-speak. You’re free to condemn me if you wish.”

        “No, I won’t. I mean, I’m stressed out, and normally I don’t take my frustration out on anypony. Featherweight would have none of that.” I explained.

        I’m not kidding. If I acted the way they did, Featherweight would punch me, then follow up with a long winded lecture like some comic book hero.

        Silver Spoon giggled a little bit, her lips making a slight curve. “I see... Perhaps, if I didn’t just simply go along with her whims, then perhaps...” Silver Spoon trailed off, but quickly cleared her throat. “Ahem. I’ve said too much already. Please forget what you heard.”

        Oh, come on.

“But you started it!”

        “And my family has power; more than you’ll ever believe. It’s a super power. Surely you wouldn’t dare expose any potential secrets to the press, yes? I do have the means to... decrease your societal ranking to that of a common bug.” 

Silver Spoon’s cold stare, and her knowledge of me working for the press... I better agree to her whims.

        “..........Yeah, I heard nothing.” I gulped on any further comments.

        “Good. You learn well, Shady Daze.” Silver Spoon smiled, and walked away.

        Even though her words just now sent one heck of a shiver down my spine, I still felt like we grew closer. Or maybe I’m just a little delusional. 

Who knows.


___________________________________________________________


Truffle Shuffle Free Time Event (1)


        “Darn... I should be on Doggy Duty... me! Life's been quite a cruel mistress ever since I’ve learned her tricks!”

        Truffle was here at Miss Cheerilee’s doghouse, mumbling to himself about our teacher as usual. Guess I’ll see what he’s even talking about.

        “Hey, Truffle?” I called out to him, causing him to jump in response.

        “Wha?! Ahem. Shady Daze! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” Truffle wiped the sweat off his forehead.

        With the way you eat, that may come sooner than later.

        ...

        I might want to keep Pipsqueak away from this guy.

        “I just wanted to talk. Got a minute?” I asked.

        “Of course I have one minute! Doesn’t everypony have just one minute!? I just wish I could be using that minute to find a way to set Miss Cheerilee free!” Truffle pointed out his hoof at me, showing off his determination.

        But yes, I only want to talk for one minute. Totally.

        ...........

        The two of us hung out and discussed plans to get Miss Cheerilee free.

        That totally didn't take longer than a minute.

        “I don’t want that toy listening to us! You have no idea how much trouble I’d be in if that bear heard me! I could be breaking the rules!” He held his head in his hooves.

        “Yes, but we’re fighting this bear... somehow.” I reassured him.

        I’m not really lying though, but with our current position, there’s not much we can do.

        “Right... I need to calm down. It’s bad for my blood pressure.” Truffle said, calmly taking a series of deep breaths.

        “Why are you so active to rescue Miss Cheerilee anyway?” I asked.

        “Because nopony else cares! They just go along with this doggy duty thing like it’s natural! It’s indecent I tell you! If it were me, I’d gladly find some way to set her free!” Putting his forehooves together, he made his determination clear.

        But...

        “I mean, why do you care so much? It’s... borderline creepy.” I asked.

        I had to be honest.

        “C-c-c-c-c-c-c... CREEPY?!” Truffle’s eyes widened with shock, his mouth agape, twitching even.

        “Uhh... Truffle?” I waved a hoof in front of his eyes, but he just stared off into space, still in shock.

        .....................


        I decided to walk away since he refused to say anything else.

        I have no idea what’ll happen from here on out. All I did was be honest with him, because deep down, I want him to approach this differently.

        I honestly see that he cares for Miss Cheerilee.

        He just needs to understand that he's not alone in this.

        But there has to be a better way. I guess I want him to succeed somehow.


_______________________________________________________________


Dinky Doo Free Time Event (1)


        I saw Dinky Doo over by the Coffee Shop entrance, looking through the window.

        “Heya Shady! What’s up?” She called out to me the moment I walked up to her.

        “Wanna hang out? Thought I’d talk for a bit.”

        “Eh? Hmmmmm...” Dinky Doo closed her eyes, pondering seriously. “Ah! Hey, you read Daring Do, right? RIGHT?! I gotta talk about the latest issue and it’s been reaaaaaaaaaaaally eating my head up outside in! I can feel the dangerous snake’s teeth biting in!”

        What?

        “I normally don’t-”

        “Then let’s go!”

        Disregarding my unfinished denial, she drags me off to the coffee shop to ramble about Daring Do.

        I only understood the first word that came out of her mouth.

        “As I was saying...” I cleared my throat, “I’m normally don’t have time for books.”

        “Books? Pshaw! I’m talking about the comics!” She rolled her eyes.

        “Oh, those. The books are normally more famous.”

        Seriously. I hear about the book series all the time.

        The comic wouldn’t even exist if Rainbow Dash didn’t promote the heck out of it. She became more open about her love for the series.

        It’s just one day, she spoke to somepony who just happened to be a comic book artist, and here I am today, listening to a new Daring Do fan ramble on.

        “Yeah, but the comic series has been gaining plenty of steam! It all started when my super mom bought me a comic from the store when it was supposed to be a magazine or something. Sure, she messed up, but I so glad she DID! It was the greatest experience eveeeeeeeeeeeeer! Totally cheered me up when I had a bad day at school! You gotta read it when we get outta here! I’ll even let you borrow all the issues I bought!” Dinky rambled on.

        She’s optimistic, huh?

        “If we get out of here.”

        “Puh-leeze. Daring Do would be so disappointed around a depressing colt like you! She wouldn’t be uttering that stupid two letter word if she was trapped in a pit full of flesh-eating locusts!” Dinky chided, but grinned afterwards.

        ...............

        All I could do was let out a dry laugh in response. 

        I didn’t think she’d take offense to the word ‘if’.

        Nah, that’s putting it strongly. She’s just more positive than I imagined.

        This talk of Daring Do never thinking of ‘if’... just doing...

        Ah, she’s just a fictional character. They usually always overcome their challenges.

        “You’re thinking, ‘she’s just a fictional character, she can overcome anything anyway,’ aren’t you?! You’re freaking terrible!” Dinky blurted out, scowling at me.

        ..........

        Despite the scolding, we got a little closer.

        That’s scarily accurate though. Can she read minds?


____________________________________________________________________


Pipsqueak Free Time Event (1)


        While looking for someone to take a break with, I decide to approach Pipsqueak, who was standing outside his assigned home.

        ...

        Or so I thought. The moment I approached him, he sort of vanished all of a sudden. I rubbed my eyes, thinking I was probably seeing things.

        “BOO!”

        “AGH!”

        Yeah, that feeling went away in an instant with an instant scare.

        How the heck did he do that?!

        “Hey! What’s up? Gettin’ lazy, huh?” Turns out it was Pipsqueak as usual.

        “You know that’s not in my code.” I replied.

        “Heh, I guess so! Not for a Super Hard Worker ya know? Hahaha!” He laughed.

        “No, I’m just looking to take a break, that’s all.”

        “Oh, why didn’t ya say so?”

        “Because you somehow managed to sneak up and scare me?” I responded.

        “Oh yeah, I did, huh? Anyway, let’s hang. We gotta talk anyway!”

        “Yeah, sure...”

        So I reluctantly talked to Pipsqueak about a lot of scary stories.

        ...

        There goes any pleasant dreams I planned on having...

        “C-c-can we change the topic...?” I nervously asked.

        “Whoa, did the story about the Sweet Apple massacre scare you that much? I thought it coulda been better, ya know? More fight and less gore maybe? Hmm...” Pipsqueak pondered, pursing his lips.

        ...... I don’t want to remember what we just discussed. 

        “Anyway, why do ya think I got this crazy title anyway? Super High-School Level Horror Connoisseur? I wonder if It’s because I like Nightmare Moon, ya know?”

        “What.”

        Has he lost his mind? It’s been nearly a decade, but Nightmare Moon nearly destroyed Equestria. Thankfully the Elements of Harmony saved the day, but still.

        How does he like that fiend!?

        “Come on, you don’t think I’m crazy too, do ya? I mean, isn’t that the whole purpose of Nightmare Night? To tell scary stories about Nightmare Moon, cosplay, have fun, eat candy? She’s the origin of that holiday. So I owe her something, ya know?” Pip said while wearing a big grin on his face.

        “Oh. I never thought of it that way...” I replied.
 
        I really hadn’t. I tend to forget that Nightmare Night is named after Nightmare Moon, but I’ve always only saw her as just a villainess who tried to annihilate us with Everlasting Night.

        “Yeah! And besides, when I learned that Princess Luna can transform at will, I was so stoked! Heck, the reason I agreed to come back from Trottingham and attend the tour is so I can meet her again, get her to become Nightmare Moon, and snap a few pictures! Thinking about it gets me all pumped and excited, ya know?! I’m hoping she’ll do a jump scare when we meet again!” Pip finished making his point with a beaming smile.

        .............

        It’s great he’s so enthusiastic about Nightmare Moon. I doubt I’ll be able to look at her as anything other than a villain, but maybe I need to learn to let that go. It’s in the past, right?

        Thanks to that, I think I got a little closer to Pipsqueak.


____________________________________________________________________


Ginger Snap Free Time Event (1)


        I found Ginger at the second Alleyway, looking around for clues like the rest of us.

“Oh, Shady. I thought we were supposed to search for an escape route of some sort...” Ginger said as she saw me. She must’ve known I wanted to take a break.

        “Yeah, and that hasn’t changed, but I’m thinking of taking a break and hey, you look like you could use one too.”

        “Fair enough. My eyes hurt trying to search with all this light. Let’s have a chat over some coffee, okay?” She asked, giving a light smile.

        “Gotcha.”

        Heading for the coffee shop, we had a talk about her days as a girl scout on the way there.

        “To be honest, I wonder how I’m able to be here, why the higher ups let me go.” Ginger muttered to herself, looking into her empty cup of coffee.

        “Let you go? You mean to attend the tour?” I asked, watching as she took her beret off.

        “Yes. Sure, the higher ups would allow me to attend school, sure, but a mere tour is just that. Then again, considering our situation now...” Ginger sighed, taking another sip from her cup, despite it being empty.

        She soon realized that, and quickly shook her head.

        “I know. We’re trapped.”

        “Yes, but you have noticed that this place feels like a dome, right?” Ginger put her hat back on, then smiled. “It makes me think we should just dig our way out.”

        “What? We’re on solid ground, not dirt. We can’t just go digging. And I seriously doubt that Monobear would just watch.” I pointed at the security cameras, reminding her.

        “It’s no different from that time I had to dig my way out of a cave-in...” Ginger sighed, saying that like it’s no big deal.

        “What.”

        “As a Canis Canem Edit girl scout, I’ve had adventures that’ll make even the Elements of Harmony a little jealous.” Ginger smiled kindly. 

        A little?

        “Just what kind of adventures?”

        “Oh, the ones me and my fellow scouts had to go on that tested us as future royal guards.” She answered calmly, carefully rubbing the tip of her right forehoof around the tip of her cup in a circular motion.

        “That is a dangerous job, despite how safe it looks on the surface.” I commented.

        To be a member of the Royal Guard, one must be ready to protect the princesses from anything, even with their lives.

        They dedicate themselves to the service, taking on dangerous missions to ensure Equestria’s safety.

        ...

        Which brings many questions as to why this situation isn’t resolved yet...

        “Yes. One step at a time, I’ll prove my worth to them...”

        “Who’s ‘them’?”

        Ginger’s eyes widened for a second, but she calmly answered, “Don’t worry about it for now. I’ll tell you some other time. I’d like to continue looking around if you don’t mind.”

        “Alright, see ya later then.”

        She wants to join the Royal Guard? Guess that explains a little about her casual talking about dangerous things, but I still don’t know enough.

        I do feel we got a little closer, so I might be able to learn more later.


____________________________________________________________________


 Snails Free Time Event (1)


        I found Snails sitting outside his assigned home, yawning.

“Yo, Shady! What’s up?” He asked after quickly getting up.

        “I’m still investigating, but I do want to take a break.” I answered.

        “Dude, I was thinking the same thing! My head hurts! I seriously hate thinking all day.”

        “Fair enough.”

        “So in that case, I say I we talk all day about how awesome and amazing the Great and Powerful Trixie is!”

        “Err, I don’t thin-”

        “Let’s go! To the  calm and relaxing coffee shop!”

        Snails dragged me off to the coffee ship just as he said, somehow getting me sucked into his rambling about Trixie.

        ...

        Now my head hurts.

        “Okay, so enough about her amazing talent and magic shows. Tell me how you got to be her apprentice. Because that kinda bugs me.” I asked.

        “Well that is my talent~!” Snails proudly said.

        “Not what I meant.” I replied, letting him know that I wasn't making puns here.

        “Hmm... How I became the Great and Powerful Trixie’s apprentice...” 

        Snails closed his eyes, frowning as if he wanted to construct the entire story. As he did that, small butterflies started floating around his hat.

        I only want a summary, and I'm worried that those butterflies might just run away.

        Even then, a smile formed, and he began to speak.

        “Well, truth be told, It was a couple of years ago. Snips and I had vowed to never speak of that err... thing again. But I honestly couldn’t take my mind off of it.” Snails opened his eyes as his tone grew more serious. “I decided that the New and Revived Trixie had to be worth seeing. As you know, she’s a show mare through and through. A real magician unlike the other posers. To be honest, I’ve been a huge fan for years, long before that Ursa Minor deal.”

        “I remember that. The news of her being a fraud spread like a wildfire. Me printing an article about that at the Foal Free Press back then made me a fan.”

        Yes, I know that the choice of words was kinda bad, but I seriously couldn’t resist.

        “Yeah, real funny, dude.” Snails lowered his eyelids, sending signals of ‘you’re not helping.’ to me.

        “Sorry, but go on.” I gave him the green light.

        “Right, right. But like, after that newest show, I decided to meet Trixie backstage. I snuck in, but eh, who cares about all the security and sneaking in on her changing clothes like that i mean-” Snails suddenly began running his mouth faster when he got to that last bit...

        “Slow down! You’re going to fast!”

        Seriously. What a motor mouth.

        “Ah~hahaha...?” Snails nervously laughed, scratching the back of his head. “But still! I had to ask some questions! About her tricks and technique! That kind of thing! Like, she’s a unicorn and all, yeah, but dude, she’s so freaking amazing, you gotta see it to believe it! Honestly, I wanted to be just like her!”

        “Be just like her? What, all stuck up and whatnot?” I asked, remembering the Trixie I first saw.

        “Nah, she’s long past that. Sure, she’s still all hard and whatever, but she’s not as arrogant as she used to be. Not since that incident.” He said.

        “What incident are you referring to? You’re either talking about the Ursa Minor thing or that Alicorn Amulet business.” I asked, hoping he'd clarify.

        “I... would rather not talk about it. I can’t risk triggering Snips. Sorry.”

        “It’s fine. We’ll talk another time.”

        “Yeah. Hopefully you’ll respect the Great and Powerful Trixie just as I do!”

        He really admires that mare, huh? Aside from some questionable choice of words here and there, I can tell that he really cares about the Great and Power...

        Just Trixie. I will not say the whole name.

        I guess I got closer to Snails, but it doesn’t mean I’ll become a fan of Trixie.


____________________________________________________________________


Apple Bloom Free Time Event (1)


        “Hey Shady! Got a cutie mark yet?” Apple Bloom asked the moment she laid eyes on me, immediately focusing on my flank. “Aww, guess not.”

        “Err, I don’t care about cutie marks.”

        “Yer sure? Ah’ mean, you could have a loooootta fun with us! Ya should join the Cutie Mark Crusaders!”

        “No thanks.” I made a swift decline.

        She’s tried to recruit me a while back, and I said no before. She’s definitely stubborn about cutie marks though.

        “Ah’ bet Ah’ can change your mind after a nice chat~!”

        “I’ll chat, but there are no guarantees.”

        So I headed for the coffee shop with her, and let her go on about how it’s important to find my special talent.

        ...

        I only half paid attention.

        “Look, I guess the main perk you mentioned is Diamond Tiara not calling us blank flanks anymore, and I don’t even care about that. But, why do you think it’s so important to figure out your special talent? Why the rush?” I asked.

        “A rush? Whaddya mean? Ah’ just want my cutie mark as soon as possible! What's wrong with that?”

        “That’s what I mean, right there. You speak as if you’re desperate.” I pointed out.

        In fact, her behavior gives off a vibe of desperation rather than fascination most of the time.

        “Ya know, Applejack told me that Ah’ll get my cutie mark sooner or later, but look how long it’s been! We still dun have our cutie marks!” Apple Bloom stomped down on the floor. I wasn’t feeling any sort of bad vibes from her tone, but still.

        “I know, but just don’t see why you need to have one so bad. Considering our situation, that should be the least of your concerns.”

        “Why don’t you want a cutie mark then?” Apple Bloom tilted her head, scowling curiously.

        “Look, if I do get one, great. But if I don’t, that’s fine too. I’d rather not focus on finding a cutie mark right now. I just don’t see why it’s so important and why everypony treats it like some important factor of life itself. As long as I show my worth to society through hard work and take care of myself, then I don’t need a talent.” I answered, hoping to give her a perspective on why you don’t need a cutie mark so quick.

        “But having a talent makes others recognize you!” She argued back.

        Wait, this can’t be about attention, right?

        “Maybe I don’t wanna be recognized.” I said.

        “Hmmm...” Apple Bloom closed her eyes, sighing. Her expression soon turned into a frown, looking away from me.

        Is she sad or something?

        “You don’t get it, huh?” She asked, eyes half closed.

        “Get what?”

        “Why a cutie mark is important.”

        “You’re right, I don’t. But I still don’t understand why you’re prioritizing the need for a talent above trying to get out of this place.” 

I'm genuinely curious. Maybe a bit concerned.

        “Ah have no cutie mark. Ah’ don’t even have a super talent.” Apple Bloom soon got up out of her chair and started walking away. “We’ll talk again later! Gotta go find my cutie mark~!” She cheerfully said.

        Somehow, that tone seemed somewhat forced, making me feel a little bad.

        Was I too hard? Eh... whatever. I’ll ask again later. I can’t stop feeling uneasy about her talent obsession.

        It’s like she doesn’t care what happens as long as that stupid mark appears...

        Only way to help is to try getting closer I suppose...


____________________________________________________________________


 Sweetie Belle Free Time Event (1)


        I Find Sweetie Belle standing on the right side of the Rarity statue, gazing with eyes of sadness.

“Shady...” Sweetie Belle mentioned my name in a solemn tone.

        “You sound sad. Is there something on your mind?” I asked.

        “I-i-it’s fine! I was just spacing out! Nothing else!”

        “You normally don’t space out when nothing’s on your mind. Unless you’re an idiot.” I added, just to tease a little.

        “It doesn’t work like that!” Sweetie Belle chided. “Geez, what is it?”

        “Just thought you wanted to hang out, that’s all.” I stated my reason for approaching her.

        “O-oh... alright. I do need something to take my mind off of it...” Sweetie Belle said, walking past me. “We’ll have some tea while we chat. Is that okay?”

        “Yeah, that’s fine.”

        The two of us headed to the coffee shop.

        the entire time, she remained silent.

        ...

        How awkward.

        “Sooooooooo... anything else on your mind?”

        “Else? Hmm... Well, I do want to talk about my title I guess.”

        “Oh, you got Super High-School Level Songwriter, right?”

        “Yeah. Just because I managed to lead everypony to sing with me a few times, doesn’t make me some super singer!” Sweetie Belle complained.

        “I suppose, but it is a bit uncanny how you can make a song out of anything.”

        “It’s not like I want to, it just happens and the time of the place has to maaaaaaatteeeeeer!~” Sweetie said in a singsong tone.

        .......

        “There it is again.”

        “Eep! Err, Look! I-I just want to know what the title means! If I’m such a super singer, how come I haven’t gotten a cutie mark for it? It’s strange, don’t you think?” She frantically asked.

        “You have a point. I doubt there’s a cutie mark to symbolize hard work.” I remarked, followed by a slight giggle.

        Doesn’t change the fact that the titles are very strange though.

        “I wonder about that. You’ve only ever been around Ponyville, so there might be a pony or two with a hard-working cutie mark!” Sweetie Belle made her rebuttal.

        “Pot calling the kettle black.” I shot back, then followed up. “Truth be told, I’d rather not worry about my cutie mark right now.”

        “O-oh! That’s right... you don’t like cutie marks.”

        “It’s not that I dislike them, I just don’t care. I don’t see why they’re so important.”

        “To be honest, I don’t get it either. But when Scootaloo and I joined Apple Bloom that day, I hoped to discover that answer.” Sweetie Belle smiled gently.

        “On why the Cutie Mark is so important?” I asked.

        “Yes. I thought that maybe if I earn my cutie mark someday, I’ll finally see why they’re so important. Haven’t you ever wanted to know?”

        “I... never really bothered to search for that answer. Like I said, I don’t care for cutie marks.”

        “I see. Well, if I get my cutie mark, I’ll be sure to tell you my answer!”

        “Yeah, but only when we get outta here.”

        “Yeah!” Sweetie Belle’s smile displayed her strength, staying sane despite being in this ‘kingdom’.

        It’s obvious she’s worried about her sister still, constantly thinking if she’s okay or not.

        I would imagine that it would take a lot to smile while worried, but I still feel like she has something on her mind.

        I’m sure she’ll talk when she’s ready.


____________________________________________________________________


Scootaloo Free Time Event (1)


        I find Scootaloo in the Clothing Shop, looking at the girl’s section.

        Is she trying to find a new outfit?

        “Scootaloo?”

        “Gah! W-what?!” Scootaloo stumbled, knocking over several clothes off their hangers. “Ah, come on...”

        After grumbling and complaining, she put all the clothes back at a surprisingly fast pace.

“Now what is it?” Scootaloo asked, scowling.

“Just wanted to hang out, but if you’re busy trying to fix your wardrobe then-”

“I don’t wanna fix my wardrobe, I just wanted to see what kind of clothes this had! Is there a problem!?”

.....

“Sure, let’s go with that.” Yep.

I’ll just go along with her assumption.

“Ugh,” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Okay, I guess we can hang out, but I’d rather stay here.”

        “Alright. But I’m guessing you have something you wanna talk about?”

        “You know, I gotta ask, what outfit would make me look cooler?”

        “Cooler?”

        “Yeah, cooler! Haven’t you wanted to look cooler?”

        “Not really. I’m usually too busy to think about that, so...”

        “Geez, you’re so lame!”

        I don’t think a girl wearing a hoodie should call me lame based on my clothing preferences...

        “Anyway, what’s this about wanting to look cooler?”

        “I hear you live longer the cooler you look and how awesome you are!”

        “Awesome... err, is that some classic Rainbow Dash wisdom?”

        “You bet! She’s always the coolest! I definitely strive to be just like her!”

        “Yes, but she’s known as Equestria’s number one flyer.”

        “Tch... you know, I really wish everypony would stop reminding me about that...”

        “Sorry, I-”

        “Save it. I’m sure Dashie would’ve said the same thing.” Scootaloo sighed.

        “I doubt that. I think she would’ve done something about it instead of bringing it up for the hell of it.”

        “She tried already, but sometimes, you’re just not meant for certain things.” 

        That’s strange... Don’t all Pegasi learn how to fly? Sure it’s a little late for her, but she can still learn, right?

        “You just thought “Oh, she can still learn”, didn’t you?!” Scootaloo snapped me out of my thoughts, glaring at me. “I told you, I’m not meant to fly! I bet it’s why I got this stupid title too. Shady, why don’t you leave me alone for a bit, alright? I gotta think about some things.”

        Watching her put her hood on and grumble about her title, Super High-School Level Bad Luck, it makes me wonder...

        Did something happen to her wings?

        I would rather not ask right now though. She might tear me a new one if I keep pressing her.

        Oh well. It’s not my business.


____________________________________________________________________


Rumble Free Time Event (1)


        I found Rumble standing on the roof of the clothing shop.

        ...

        What the heck was he doing up there?!

        The moment he saw me, he swooped down and began approaching me.

        “There you are. I’ve been wanting to speak to you.” Rumble coolly declared.

        “You did?” I rose an eyebrow, confused at his request.

        “Yes. I don’t suppose you have time, right? I have something on my mind, and I wish to borrow a bit of your time. A little. Not too much, just enough to get what I have on my mind off my chest.”

        “Err... okay? Sure, if you want?” I rose an eyebrow, a little unnerved by his approach.

        “Not here.” Rumble scowled at the surrounding area, noticing the others are still investigation. “This isn’t something that I want heard.”

        “Weirdo.” I muttered under my breath.

        Rumble lead me to the coffee shop, then looked around to make sure nopony was there before finally sitting down.

        Beginning with a sigh, he finally spoke what was on his mind at last.

        “The Cutie Mark Crusaders...”

        “What about them?”

        “Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Snips and Snails. You and Featherweight.”

        “.....huh?!”

        Okay, he’s really strange.

        “I’m worried about all of them.”

        “Oh. You’re referring to Monobear’s game, right?”

        “Yes. But, what if they betray one another? I’m scared, Shady. I’m terrified that those friendships may break.” Rumble said, biting his lip.

        He may have been a little weird, but he does have a legitimate worry.

        I’d hate to see these friends betray each other myself.

        “Just do me a single favor, Shady Daze.”

        “Yeah?”

        As long as you don’t keep saying my full name like that.

        “Don’t ever let despair poison your friendship with Featherweight.”

        “O...kay?”

        He didn’t have to remind me. I already have it in my mind to work with Featherweight and get everypony out of here.

        What the heck is Rumble talking about anyway? He sounds like these friendships are some goldmine or something.

        “Thanks for hearing me out. Now if you’ll excuse me.” Rumble pushed himself away from the table, fell to his hooves and walked out of the door.

        ...

        I guess we got closer, but what a weird guy.

        Seriously.
> Ch.2 (Ab)normal Days Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER 2: The Hearts, The Hooves, and the Honesty!

Day 4, 6:58 AM, Generosity District - Housing Area

        I opened my eyes to the sight of this plain ceiling fan swirling around. To be honest, I wished I had woke up in my room instead.

        So much happened in one day, and I can’t get Featherweight and Snips’s deaths out of my head.

        And then there’s that crack in the sky...

        I looked at it for a while, even tempted to wake everypony up to see.

        But nothing else happened. The Monoguards seemingly disappeared as well during that moment.

        All of that made sleeping a little too difficult. Quite unusual after a hard day’s work.

        I guess I’ll go outside to see if that crack is still there.

        I roll out of my bed and head for the door.

        Followed by that creaking sound, hose blaring horns sounded, prompting me to listen for Monobear’s announcement.

        I look in the sky to see that bear displayed on the screen above, sitting in his throne and holding a chalice as usual.

        Wait, that crack... it’s gone! Was it repaired?!

        “Good Morning everyone! Rise and shine! Prepare to get those hooves of yours dirty because a new area has opened! The Monoguards aren’t in the mood to turn you all into sandwich meat for once! Also, Grace Lightning sucks!”

        “Bite me, asshole!” I saw the mare in question standing in the middle of the district, shaking her hoof at Monobear just after he ended his announcement. It was then when I remembered Monobear’s words during the trial yesterday.

        “Hey! I go out of my way to wish you a good morning, and that's how I'm treated? That really stings worse than a honey bee swarm! Remind me to make fun of you tomorrow morning! Enjoy your rude awakening, you bastard!”

        I guess he meant what he said...

“Hey, Blue Snooper, you’re up early, huh?”

        When that announcement disappeared, I continued looking at the sky, bewildered at the lack of a fracture.

        Just what happened, really?

        “Hey! What the hell, are you bird watching!?” Grace chided, forcefully gaining my attention.

        “Ah, right, umm...” I trailed off, trying to figure out a response. “I had trouble sleeping.”

        “Heh, guess that’s what happens when you want somepony dead, huh? Listen, I got your back! I don’t blame ya for what happened at all!” Grace said with a cheerful smile.

        “You’re pretty forgiving... wait, I thought you said Monobear set you up. What did you mean by that?”

        I remembered her yelling about that all of a sudden. Guess my thirst for answers is taking over again.

        “Huh? Oh! It’s like that son of a bitch threw me into a pack of dogs! I had a feeling that as soon as he gave me my motive the other day, I was sent back here only to be a freakin’ target! Ain’t no way I’m letting that slide! Taking advantage of my absence!” Grace ended with a grumble.

        “If he took advantage of your absence, we’d all be dead for real, huh...” I sighed.

        “Oi, stop looking all gloomy! Just because you’re blue doesn’t me you have to be blue!” Grace chided me.

        I instinctively put a hoof to my face, shaking my head. “That makes no sense.”

        “Screw you! It made better sense in my head! Anyway, I’m itching to blow off some steam. I’m still pissed off from yesterday.”

“But the trial’s over-” I tried to remind her, but her rant wasn’t finished.

“Yeah, but I felt like a puppet through and through! If I died, you guys would be dead. And because I didn’t, I was used to nab the culprit! It makes me mad! It pisses me off!” Grace ranted.

“Yeaaaaaah... err, you’re mad that I exposed your secret in court, huh?”

The Diamond Dog phobia.

Speaking of that...

“Damn right! I should strangle you now! But I’ll save that urge for whoever’s the voiceover for that bear! Soon as I find that guy, he’s roadkill! No one turns me into a puppet and gets away with it!”

Heh, seeing her so angry is somehow cheering me up. How strange.

...

Wait, I’m being cheered up by that? What the heck’s wrong with me?

As soon as I shook my head, I saw Scootaloo come out of her assigned home, yawning. She must’ve heard the last bit of our talk.

“What’s with the noise, guys? As soon as I opened my door, I heard you yelling! You’ll blow somepony’s ears out like that!” Scootaloo complained.

        “You! Dashy Fangirl! I wanna race! You and me! A hot spot just opened, and I wanna check it out!”

        “Race? Oh come on, I can’t even fly-” Scootaloo scowled, but Grace cut her off.

        “Who gives a damn about that?! I don’t have wings either, and I sure as hell don’t need’em! All I need are these wheels! Nothing else!” Grace stomped her hoof down, drawing attention to her special horseshoes.

        “Well I don’t even have my scooter right now! I left it back at home!” Scootaloo complained.

        “Well, go make one!” Grace brusquely suggested.

        Scootaloo put a hoof to her face, sighing, “I’m going back to bed. This is giving me a headache.”

        “Heh, what, are you chicken? Guess that’s natural since you know how I’m faster than Rainbow Dash, right?” The moment Grace made her taunt, the moment I blinked, Scootaloo instantly ran up to Grace, headbutting her in the process! 

        “Okay, that’s it! You’re on!” Scootaloo instantly agreed, even if it was out of anger.

        Watching Scootaloo run off, Grace calls out to her. “Hey, your house isn’t that way! I said get your scooter!”

        “I’m going to make my own scooter, you idiot! And as soon as I’m done, you’re done!”

        “Heh, it better not be a piece of scrap, or you’re gonna get wrecked!” Grace smiled manically, happy that her challenge was accepted.

        Watching Grace and Scootaloo get all fired up, I simply sigh and proceed to walk away from this developing rivalry.

        “Oi, Blue Snooper! No one said you can go!” Grace called out to me.

        With my eyes quickly narrowed, I turned to the two to reply, “But this isn’t even my involvement!  You can’t drag me into this!”

        “Oh, but we need a referee! Someone to judge, and you just happen to be here! Make it a fair race!” Grace demanded.

        “But-”

“Oh, I can just drag him off. I want a fair race too. And you’re totally an impartial guy!” Scootaloo interjected. Great, these two are in sync.

        “Hey- WHAT!? LET GO!” Scootaloo grabbed me by my collar and dragged me off with Grace following and glaring at me. She’s looking like she’s like a hungry beast, looking forward to the best meal of her life.

        ..........

        What a pain.

Then again, that phobia of hers made me think of Miss Cheerilee. Makes me wonder if Grace has been up all this time.

“Wait, Grace! Are you on Doggy Duty today?!” I quickly brought it up before being dragged any further.
        Her eye suddenly twitched, but quickly turned away, making up a solid excuse.

“Who cares, the teach can take care of herself!” Grace averted her eyes, despite the cocky reply.

Despite not saying yes or no, it’s pretty obvious...


______________________________________________________________________

7:23 AM, Honesty District

        As I’m being dragged away through the newly opened area, I see a sign that reads, “WELCOME TO THE HONESTY DISTRICT!”

        ...

        First the Generosity District, and now the Honesty District. What’s next?

        Looking around, this whole area seems to be a replica of a farm of sorts. 

        The first thing I see is a second entrance to the central tower. Between the doors, are several fences to contain the various farm animals behind them, each separated by species through a different level of elevation.

        On the left side of the tower, we have chickens on the first level, above that are pigs, and the ones closest to the door are cows. On the right side, we have the goats, the cats, and bulls.

        ...

        Why are there cats here?

        In the middle of the district, several feet outside the tower, I see a statue of Applejack, the Element of Honesty. It’s just like when we saw the Rarity Statue in front of the first entrance to that tower.

        At the center between the gates and path, I see a pattern of apples on the road, reminding us of Applejack’s cutie mark.

        “Now where’s a suitable racetrack...?” Scootaloo asked herself.

        “Err, I might be able to help if you let me go?” I nervously grinned, hoping she’ll drop me. “I mean, I’ll referee your little race or whatever. Just put me down, okay?”

        Because it’s seriously a pain having to be dragged around.

        “Fine, fine, I’ll put ya down. But you better not run!” Scootaloo finally let go of my collar, letting me hit the dusty bright orange brick road on the ground. I quickly get up and shake my body to get the dirt off of me. “Phew, finally.”

        “I don’t see why I would. I already decided to explore this place anyway. We’ll investigate together and see what we can find, alright?” I suggested.

        “Ohhh, that’s a pretty good idea. We need a track, so we’ll make one if there isn’t one!” Grace muttered behind us, still giving off a barbaric vibe.

        “I’ll win... no matter what! She’ll pay for saying she’s faster than Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo muttered to herself, full of determination.

        Past the Applejack statue, is another gate leading to another district, blocked off by a Monoguard. No need to go there yet.

        Turning to my left, I saw the brick road lead to a forest of trees blocked off by a long, wooden fence, stretching out to the exit. At the entrance, there was familiar bulletin board with a map displayed, just like the one in the Generosity District.

        Guess it’ll work the same way if I press my hoof against it and get a map for this place, right?

        Doing just that, the gem in my ID band lit up. Checking it out, the map really did update, showing the locations of this new district.

        “What the heck are you doing?”

        “I’m getting a map for this area.”

        “Huh?” Grace blinked twice, not understanding what I’m saying.

        “Just put your hoof on the map here, and it’ll go into your ID band. I guess it’s so we don’t have to keep running to this spot in order to know our way around here.”

        “Oh, so it’s just for the sake of convenience.”

        “That would’ve been obvious if your brain wasn’t as flat as the bugs you run over everyday.” Scootaloo teased.

Another reminder that Grace never learned the ropes of using her ID band due to her absence.

        “Oh, you’ll be joining those bugs when I’m through with ya!” Grace retorted. Despite the insult, she didn't seem bothered at all.

        So she decides to follow my advice and gains a map for her ID band. I can even see her amazement over such technology.

        This part of the district according to the map, is called “Super Duper Fruity Orchard”.

        Taking a stroll down the path, I see cherries, peaches, mangos, grapefruits, and all kinds of citrus on the trees around us. 

        With such a bountiful supply of fruit, this place definitely lives up to it’s name, almost enough to make my mouth water.

        “Hey Fangirl!”

        “What?!” Scootaloo turned around, facing Grace with a scowl.

        “Whaddya say the loser has to eat five lemons at once? Soak that bitterness!” Grace nodded her head, directing our attention to the lemon trees.

        “Huh?” Scootaloo’s eyes widened in surprise.

        Lemons... egh. Even I have trouble eating them outright. That sourness overtakes me.

        Lemonade is good though.

        “No lemonade either! Just the lemon itself! One huge bite!” Grace specified.

        She just read my mind, didn’t she?

        “Fine! You’re on!” Scootaloo agreed.

        I don’t know if this’ll be a good idea.

        I’ll have to continue investigating.

Once I reached the end of the path, the first thing I saw was a curving dirt road surrounding a crop field. Beyond that, I saw three unique buildings.

        The first one I saw had a “Fruit Processing Plant” label above the entrance, which is a giant steel garage door.

        Next to that building, is a simple red and white wooden barn, with a combine harvester parked outside. Guess that explains why the circled area here.

Next to that barn, spaced several feet away, appeared to be a regular small office building. With it being only one story, I figure it wouldn’t take that long to investigate it.

“A barn! Hah, reminds me of Sweet Apple Acres! Betcha there’s plenty of stuff we can use to make a scooter!” Scootaloo happily ran inside. 

“But what about-”

The investigation?

...is what I meant to say, but Scootaloo interrupted me.

“You’re supposed to be our race judge! You’re gonna stay with us while I build my scooter!” Scootaloo reminded me to stick around. 

“Heh, you two can do whatever. I’m gonna check out this place! I think I found an awesome track for our race!” Grace said, running of.

...................

Scootaloo and I decide to investigate this barn, hoping to find some supplies.

Looking now, the ground is littered with dirt and hay. At the same time, there’s several stacks of hay at the corners of this barn. To the left near the door, is a wooden, nailed down ladder leading to the upper floor.

In front of me, I see a few folded tables next to one of the hay stacks, as well as several folded chairs. I guess this is to host a party of sorts.

Next to that, are farming tools, such as shovels, rakes, pitchforks, a tiller... Nothing particularly useful there.

I see a couple of planks of wood and four old wheelbarrows leaning against the right wall.

“THAT’S IT!” Scootaloo shouted, dashing to the wheelbarrows. “I’ll get the wheels off of these things and use’em for my scooter! That wood will help as well! But we’re gonna need something to cut it with.”

        “I think we’d need as saw mill to even begin making this thing. We might be able to find additional parts, but that scooter’s not getting made unless we cut it up.” I reminded.

        “Yeah, and the only guy who may have been able to help with that is dead.” Scootaloo sighed.

        ............

        All I could say was “Sorry.”

“What’s with you anyway?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” My eyes slowly narrow at where she’s going with this.

“Like, it’s like you don’t wanna have any fun. I’ll be honest; I wanna race to take my mind off of that trial yesterday. I’m not gonna mull on it forever. Snips and Featherweight wouldn’t want us to.”

“You don’t know what Featherweight would’ve wanted!”

        .....

        Why did I scream? Why did I say that?!

        Scootaloo’s just trying to tell me to have fun, to distract my mind from all of Monobear’s crap, and yet...

        What am I doing!?

        “Listen, I’m-” I tried to apologize, but I heard a familiar voice at the barn door.

        “Err, did... I come at a bad time?” Sweetie Belle looked at us, feeling awkward that she just walked in on an argument.

        “No, I was just going to leave.” I said.

        “Wait!” Scootaloo called out to me, stopping my movement.

        “What? I was going to apologize. I know you’re just trying to help. But I don’t want any sympathy from you guys. Featherweight’s gone, and that’s that. Nothing’s bringing him back.”

        “Just because you have to accept it, doesn’t mean that you have to like it!” I don’t know what Scootaloo means.

        Just what do I have to do other than move on!?

        “.............”

        “So, Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle called out, changing the topic, “I heard about your race! What are you even thinking?”

        Scootaloo rose an eyebrow, then furrowed them before answering her friend. “I remember during the trial how Grace claims she’s so much faster than Rainbow Dash! I’ll show her!”

        “Let me help then! I mean, I might be able to make it easier if I use my magic!” Sweetie Belle said.

        “Uhh, you don’t even know how to put a scooter together, do you? Can you even cut wood with magic?” Scootaloo lowered her eyelids, staring at Sweetie Belle like she’s lost her mind.

        “No, but I can try! Come on, I’m willing to try new things! And cutting wood with magic is simple! Just get me a saw, I might be able to design your scooter!”

        “It’ll be just like that time with the float!” Scootaloo said jokingly.

“The one Babs Seed sabotaged during her stay in Ponyville?” I asked.

“Yep. Thinking now, I’m kinda glad she skipped out on this trip.” Scootaloo sighed, rummaging through the items with Sweetie Belle.

“You’re right! She’s definitely alive out there!”

        “Besides, not like your sister can stop us, right?”

        “You’re right... Rarity’s not here...” Sweetie Belle agreed, but progressively became crestfallen.

        “B-but she’s coming to save us! I know it!” Scootaloo quickly followed up. “Besides, everypony’s gonna see this race anyway!"

        Coming to save us... I wish I could say that’s why there was a crack in the sky last night.

        I mean, nothing else happened, and to top it all off, it’s not even there anymore. It’s like it never happened to begin with.

        I’ll have to tell them about it, but I honestly don’t want to get their hopes up without solid evidence.

        If Featherweight were in my shoes, he’d tell them right away.

        “Can I go now?” I spoke up after just sitting on the pile of hay, listening to the girls chatter.

        “Ah, fine fine, you can go do whatever. But be back when I finish building my scooter, okay?” Scootaloo calmly asked.

        “Yeah, got it.” I answered, nodding in agreement.

        “Don’t tell Rumble either. I’m still in the mood to knock him to the next continent!” Scootaloo added.

        I wave a hoof, letting her know that I get it already. You want to tear Rumble limb-from-limb.

        I head straight for the barn door, stepping outside.

        The morning sun here really feels like I’m on a farm.

        The moment I step out though, I find Snails waiting for me, with his face covered with flies.

        ...........

        What?!

        “Shady, there you are. I’ve been looking for you, man.” Snails said. Just then, some of the flies flew onto his top hat, blending in with it’s solid black color.

        I almost would like to think that they merged with his hat.

        “Umm, you do know there’s a swarm of bugs on you, right?” I asked, unnerved by what I’m seeing.

        “Oh, these are just fruit flies. They don’t bite. I mean, I brought’em on me when I went through that little fruit forest. Adorable, eh?”

        “I... see?” I was still unsure of this.

        But his special talent is bug related, so it’s understandable, since he’s acting like this is nothing new to him. I even saw one of the flies crawling around his eye, narrowly missing it by an inch, making my eye twitch by reflex.

         Just how often does this happen!?

        “Anyway, we gotta talk. Got a minute?” Snails asked, his eyes frowned to a near scowl.

        “Sure. What is it?” I asked, as Snails bobbed his head over to the right, prompting me to follow him to the mysterious office building.

        ...........

        He’s not gonna kill me, is he?

        I suppose he has a right considering what happened yesterday, but I’m not ready to die yet.

        Of course, when we reached the front of the office building, Snails turned around, widening his eyes in fear.

        “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up! C-can you relax a little? Please?” Snails politely asked, noticing that I was preparing for a fight.

        Okay, guess I can calm down.

        A little.

        Heaving a sigh of relief, Snails speaks up once again. “Man, you scared me for a minute there! Did you think I was on that same revenge thing?!”

        “...”

        Revenge...

        That word...

        “Then what is it?” I calmly asked.

        “I... just want to say I don’t blame you for what happened. That thing was right. Snips made his choice, putting his siblings over us. But what good would it do to blame you for it? You were angry that my best friend killed your best friend.” Snails took off his top hat, letting the flies fly into it. “But I guess that makes us even? Like, does that make any sense? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I know I was so mad at first but I got to thinking I can’t keep blaming you for killing my friend so I-”

        Snails started to talk really fast, but I knew what he meant.

“Yeah, yeah, I got it. You don’t blame me. But don’t you have every right to? I wanted Snips dead for what he did. I wanted him to pay.” I replied.

        “Mmmmmm....” Snails put his hat back on, while rubbing the temples of his head with his hooves. “Yeaaaaaaah, you’re right on that, dude. But I most assuredly and definitely won’t blame you!” Snails said with conviction.

        “I see. But why?”

        “Well, long story short, if The Great and Powerful Trixie can forgive and forget, then I can too! She’s my magic instructor afterall!” 

        Trixie, huh?

        Now that I think about it, she held a grudge against Princess Twilight for a long time for exposing her as a fraud for the Ursa Minor incident. She had returned to Ponyville sometime later to exact revenge, and became drunk on the power of the Alicorn Amulet.

        Afterwards, she forgave Twilight and even apologized for what happened.

        Is this a reflection of events or something? Why do I suddenly feel that I’m in a Trixie scenario?

        ...

        I better not tell him that though.

        “I just thought I’d let ya know, man. Our friends are dead, and The Great and Powerful Trixie wouldn’t want that craziness between us to continue.”

        “Does that mean you’re over Snips’s death?” I asked, just curious to know.

        Snails clenched his teeth and shut his eyes, “Dude, of course not! I know you’re not over Featherweight’s death either, so don’t you dare give me that crap! I feel guilty even now! I feel like I stabbed him in the back! If I’m mad at anypony, it’s me! I should’ve voted for myself, but I was scared! I was so damn scared, dude! There was literally nothing I could do! I didn’t wanna die either! How am I supposed to choose between my friend and my dreams or future?!”

        I really shouldn’t have asked that. It was insensitive. I need to stop having such expectations of others.

        “Uu~pupupu~!” 

We turn around, only to find Monobear to our left, making that stupid giggle.

Was he listening to us?!

        “But Snails~, it’s like me having to choose between a salmon I just caught five seconds ago and a hive of honey I just found for the first time in months! If I had to choose, I’d pick the tasty honey! Because unlike a rotting dead fish, honey will prevail in freshness!” Monobear’s twisted analogy made Snails narrow his eyes dangerously.

        Snails’s horn began to glow, and I knew where this was going.

        “STOP!” I ran up to him, shoving him out of the way, just before he fired a magical beam, narrowly missing Monobear.

        “Oh? Why didn’t you let him? He’d become fresh slices of meat for your lunch today! He’s guilty by association afterall! His friend’s a dead horse, so why keep beating it?” Monobear asked nonchalantly.

        “Don’t screw with us! Just tell us what you want!” I demanded.

        “Oh, nothing at all! I’m just here contemplating what bitter sweet juicy fruit to eat, just like you! Want any recommendations from your benevolent and fruity king?” Monobear asked.

        “No!” I instinctively shouted.

        “Aww, I’m feeling bitter. I’ll eat a snack instead!” Monobear ran away again.

        ... please tell me he means lemons.

        I slowly turned to Snails, taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

        That was the only thing I said.

        And I mean it.

        I really am sorry.

        You’d be in my shoes if the roles were reversed, right?

        ...Right?

        Snails got off the ground and shook the dust off. His eyes narrowed just before making his comment. “What the heck, man? I was gonna blast that guy!”

        “And let you lose your source of magic!? I can’t watch that happen again!”

        He should know better than anyone.

Snails sighed deeply, looking crestfallen. “Sorry, man. I didn’t mean to get like that... All I did was drop some baggage on ya. Forget it, alright? Besides, I doubt I can enjoy the race with my vision blurred like this!” Snails put on a forced grin after quickly wiping his eyes, then walks away.

        After another sigh, I turn around and let my legs take me back to the barn.

        “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!”

        “Gah! What the heck was that?!” Snails jumped at the sound of a horrified scream, dropping his top hat in the process, releasing various bugs from within.

        My body tensed up the moment I heard that scream...

        No, not again!

        “What the heck’s happening now?!” Scootaloo burst out of the farm with Sweetie Belle, hearing that scream as well.

        “That sounded like it was near our assigned homes!”

        Thinking now, we are pretty close to where they should be according to the map.

        “We better go find out!”

        Sweetie Belle nodded, despite being on the verge of tears again.

        I seriously hope this isn’t happening again.

        The three of us rush to the Generosity District, hoping that a body wasn’t found. That the trials wouldn’t happen again.

Running through the gate, we entered the district quickly and ran through the alleyway to reach the assigned home area.

What we saw wasn’t what I expected, but it might as well be just as bad.

Miss Cheerilee, trapped in her own ‘dog house’, was suffering a beating from a teddy bear, ridiculous it may be.

“Didn’t I tell you that the dog would be put down? You really don’t want your dog? I think she may have contracted rabies of neglect!” Monobear said, landing another strong punch to our teacher.

“You fool, just take the leash!” Truffle was here, and so was everypony else. Of course, the teacher’s pet would be the one to stand up and take the hit.

“NO! Why should I?! I don’t need to listen to you!”

“Stop this selfish behavior and just do it! Miss Cheerilee’s getting hurt!”

Grace had her eyes shut, trembling as she knew she’d have to take Miss Cheerilee. 

        Now that I think about it, Grace was awake awfully early this morning. Guess this explains it.

        She was supposed to commit to her doggy duties, but wanted to race instead. And because of it, her phobia is kicking in.

        “Monobear, transfer it over Doggy Duty responsibilities to me!” Truffle pleaded to the bear.

        “Tisk tisk! So eager to have your dog! So desperate! Is that what you’re into? I don’t think I can give you the duty if you’re so indecent about it!” 

        “THAT’S NOT TRUE! That’s never been true!” Truffle’s eyes widened in a panic as he collapsed to the ground.

        “Then don’t act so desperately and just watch! Maybe you’ll awaken a new side to you!”

        Truffle tried to formulate a rebuttal, a retort to Monobear’s accusation, but nothing came out but tears and belligerent blubbering.

        “Fine, fine fine fine fine FINE! I’ll do it! Gimmie the leash!” Grace held out her hoof following her demand, fighting that urge to crumble again.

        If only it were that easy.

        “I’m not giving you anything you know! She’s a good punching bag, and I’m having trouble letting go! You’re free to take it though! It’s easy!” Monobear tugged Miss Cheerilee’s hair, widening her eyes, even forcing her eyes to water. Her muzzle also started to leak various sounds of a puppy's pain going out of control.

        “Grace!” Truffle called out.

        “Hmph! She’s just a coward after all!” Diamond Tiara twirled her mane while making that scathing remark.

        “I’m finding this hard to watch.” Silver Spoon averted her eyes.

        “Ah’m gonna be a hero! Saving the helpless will surely get me mah cutie mark!” Apple Bloom’s eyes sparkled, seeing nothing but opportunity as she approached Miss Cheerilee and Monobear.

        “You’re still on that?!” Scootaloo asked, appalled that she’d even be thinking about that at a time like this.

        “N-now’s not the time for that!” Sweetie Belle followed up.

        “Why not? Ya’ll two need to help me out! We’ll all get cutie marks! We can save these two! Turn those frowns upside down! We’re the cutie mark crusaders! We autta be helping!” Apple Bloom went on.

        “I wanna help, but not to get my cutie mark!” Scootaloo stomped her hoof down, glaring at her friend for this same attitude.

        “If you’re not gonna, then let’s see how far this neck can twist!” Monobear said before getting a hold of Miss Cheerilee’s head, slowly turning it. As he began doing that, four Monoguards dropped from the sky to stop us from helping.

        “Boo. So much for our helping.” Apple Bloom sighed.
        
        Why is she still hesitating!? The phobia can’t be that bad, right!?

        Normally Miss Cheerilee would put on a brave face, but this time it was slowly turning into a look of terror, wincing as her head twisted.

        Suddenly, Grace’s body was sent sliding over to Miss Cheerilee, putting her hoof on the leash. In response, Monobear released his grasp of our teacher’s head..

        “You idiot! Miss Cheerilee’s our teacher, not a diamond dog! Geez, my mom’s more brave than you!”

        Dinky Doo chided Grace Lightning for her cowardice just now. In fact, it turns out she was the one who pushed her down in the first place.

        “YOU BRAT!” Grace screamed, glaring at Dinky as she quickly marched up to the short mare, while dragging Miss Cheerilee’s collar.

        “Hey! I might be small, but at least my mom helped me to overcome my fears!” Dinky bravely retorted, fiercely looking at the towering mare before her.

        “Oh whoop-dee-do! Mommy this, mommy that! Unlike you, I became strong on my own!” Grace fired back.

        “That’s far from what I see now.” Dinky landed the finishing blow.

 Just before Grace’s hoof was heading straight for Dinky’s face, Ginger galloped between the two, swiftly parrying Grace’s strike, then outstretching her hooves to hold them back.“Stop this, you two, this is no time to be fighting! Miss Cheerilee’s okay, that’s all that matters!” Ginger then focused her glare towards the the creepy bear.  “Monobear, we have the leash, now leave!”        

        “Why should I? I’m here to deliver important news about Dinky Doo’s mom!” Monobear put his hands on his hips in a rather hammy fashion.

        Dinky’s eyes widened with a mix of excitement and panic. “Wha- Where is she?! IS SHE OKAY?!”

        “Nah, I lied, I just wanted to get your hopes up. Besides, I just wanted to talk about another present for you all!” Monobear scratched the back of his head like he made a simple mistake, but quickly started cackling, grating our ears.

        “A present?!” Scootaloo angrily asked.

        “I can’t believe you don’t know what a present is! It’s a cute box wrapped in-” Monobear tried to answer Scootaloo’s question, but she cut him off.

        “That’s not what I meant!”

        “When are we getting our present? I’d like to know.” Rumble asked.

        “Geez, so impatient! Just think of It as something you can look forward to while you investigate today!” Monobear said before running off again.

        His present...

        It’s probably another motive for murder. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the case.

        I’ll put it off for now though. I can’t focus if I’m constantly thinking about whatever Monobear has in store for us.


___________________________________________________________________


8:30 AM

        After that whole catastrophe, Grace reluctantly had to fulfill the Doggy Duty role. I guess I’ll see how she’s doing.

        With a phobia like that, I’m scared for Miss Cheerilee, because if Monobear starts assaulting her again, then I don’t think I’ll be able to just stand and watch a second time.

        I find Grace at the Applejack statue, blindly wandering around while holding onto the leash. 

...Why is she wearing a blindfold? 

Seeing Snails and Truffle Shuffle with her, I have to wonder if this was their idea.

        “Hahaha! See! I can do this! I can take care of the teach afterall!” Grace gloated. But of course, Snails sighed, shaking his head, and Truffle looked crestfallen for some reason. Normally he’d go on about how to handle Doggy Duty.

        “So, why the blindfold?” I asked her and Truffle.

        “Err, that was my idea.” Snails nervously answered. “Yeaaaaaaaaah, remember that phobia of hers? I thought it’d make it better to blindfold her. If she can’t see, there’s nothing to worry about!”

        “If she runs into a wall, it won't end well.” I warned, followed by a sigh.

        “Oh, I trust Miss Cheerilee won’t let that happen. Is that wrong to think she’s a seeing-eye dog? I mean, you know, maybe I shoulda never blew that chance to learn the teleport spell from The Great and Powerful Trixie that time...” Snails muttered to himself.

        “Ruined your chance?” I asked.

        “Ahhh~, come on, it’s nothing to worry about! I’m a pure and clean stallion free of those indecent thoughts The Great and Powerful Trixie hates so much! hahahahahahaha!!!!” Snails made his suspiciously, specific denial, speaking very rapidly.

        ...

        Yeah, I don’t wanna know.

        “T-the issue is though, I uh, just don’t want Miss Cheerilee to suffer that again! I mean, you know what I mean?” Snails quickly changed the subject, speaking quickly, but at least I got the point.

        “Hey! Tell me which way I need to go to get to that stupid barn! No wait, walk me through the track! I just need to walk her, right?! And don’t you dare make me use my teacher as a seeing-eye dog! I don’t need it!” Grace barked.

        “Yeah, just a bit more to the crops, and we can begin our turn over this way...” Snails explained while escorting Grace Lightning. 

Yet, Truffle Shuffle, who’d normally stay by our teacher’s side, looked down, sighing while walking at a much slower pace through the fruit tree path. Each tree he passed by, he would smack one with a hoof to drop down a fruit and eat it instantly.

        After munching on an orange, he notices my presence and quickly puts on a more commanding expression. “Shady... you’re here. You’re not feeling bad, right? Whenever I did, I’d report to my teacher!” Truffle said, then sighed again. “Ah, what am I doing?”

        “What’s going on? This isn’t like you.” I said, curious about this new behavior, making me match his slower walking pace.

        “Uhh... is my will to protect our teacher that indecent? I thought I was doing her a service!” He meekly asked, uncommon for his quite deep voice.

        I see. He’s bothered by Monobear’s words earlier.

        “Err, it comes off that way.” I answered.

        “I see... could it be... why she...” He trailed off, mumbling to himself.

        “Huh?”

        “Twist. You think... that’s why she... you know... maybe hates me now?” He spoke up finally.

        He’s definitely implying that they really were an item at one point.

        “Hmm... I have no idea.”

        “Right! Hmm... well, she called it quits whenever I would prioritize tutoring sessions with Miss Cheerilee over her. I mean, s-s-s-she called me creepy and just... walked away! I’ve spoke with Miss Cheerilee time and time again, hoping she’d give me the answer why Twist did that, but nothing!”

        Way to awkwardly summarize what happened.

        But I get it.

        “Just apologize to her.” I suggested while we slowly walked down the path.

        Truffle abruptly stops, addressing me like I’ve committed a crime. “W-w-wh- apologize!? Y-y-y-y-you can’t be serious! That’s tougher than advanced classes! That’s Super College Level Thermonuclear biology level of difficulty! It’ll never work!”

        “And if it doesn’t work, just try again. Work hard at proving that you mean what you say. Because your dedication will say a lot.”

        “Dedication... Oh! T.L.C.!” He blurted out, covering his mouth.

        “Huh?!” I widened my eyes, dumbfounded by the sudden use of an acronym. 

        What on Equestria’s green soil does he mean by that!?

        “Truth! Love! Commitment!” He formed the letters with his hooves with gusto. “It’ll make you go far in life! Yes, you have the potential for it! To serve, to advance our societal practice!”

        “Uhh, aren’t we straying just a bit off topic here?” I asked.

        “Hahaha, silly young colt! You dare say I’m off topic? Hah! I just merely remembered what made me such a great, faithful young stallion in the first place.” Truffle said before slamming a forehoof into one of the fruit trees, dropping a lemon into his hoof. After taking a bite of it, he continues his statement, “My radiance is larger than life!”

        That’s not the only thing larger than life...

        “Come on, what about Twist?”

        After eating five more lemons at once, he sighs, “Ahh... hahahahaha... okay, you’re not gonna let me go on this at all, huh?” He sighed, looking somewhat hesitant.

I'm... somewhat not surprised he can ingest lemons so quickly.

        “Nope. You’re the one who said you wanted to do it, not me. If you back out, it’ll be as if we never had this talk.” I clarified, hoping to give him a push.

        “You’re one heck of an expert on mares, aren’t you? To think, you of all ponies!” Truffle noted.

        “But-”

        How does this make me an expert on mares?

        “I appreciate the super advice! Buuuuuuuuut, if you don’t mind, I’m gonna err, mentally prepare myself before I go trying to talk to Twist again. Trust me when I say she’s tougher than a jawbreaker.”

Truffle finished another lemon and galloped away.

        I have no idea what runs through his mind. He’s hard to figure out, other than his dedication to our teacher.

        A dedication that somehow ended his relationship...

        “Whatever...”

        A relationship sounds like a real pain to me. I’m pretty sure that having a marefriend would just turn my life into a total multitasking situation.

        Since I’m back at the crop field, I’ll head to that processing plant. It’s on the way to the barn, so Scootaloo and Grace won’t mind if I’m absent for a little while.

        Going around the rounded dirt road clockwise, I reach the steel double doors of the plant and head inside.

        Well this place is massive.

        Fitted with dark-gray marble tiles, I saw various conveyer belts, all which weren’t functioning to both my right and left, even at the upper area.

        At the far back, I find a door and an elevator next to each other.

        Since Silver Spoon and Ginger Snap are here, I'll see if they found anything.

        “Shady...” Silver Spoon said with a hint of contempt.

         “Don’t tell me you’re weary around me too?” I asked, sighing.

        Maybe I’m getting just a bit annoyed at this treatment.

        “Not really. I doubt anypony could strike fear into me considering the overwhelming power of my blood.” Silver Spoon said, giving me a calm expression, yet I felt a sharpness to her words.

        “Blood?”

        “Right... The Ponyville Express would never cover any stories about us. Such a lowly company as such isn’t worthy. But alas, enough about that.” Silver gave a sly smirk.

        “....Right.”

        A lowly company huh? Despite the more refined demeanor, she still isn’t afraid to look down on others.

        “I can’t say I’ve found anything of a particular interest, but...” She trailed off, “This plant... It reminds me of the ones that the Apple Family own.”

        “I didn’t know they had any.” I replied as I scanned my surroundings.

        “Well, remember that day when we had to bring a member of our family that we held in high regard, so-to-speak? It was one of Miss Cheerilee’s assignments.” She asked, but I didn’t want to think about that day.

        “Yeah, I do. But I really don’t want to talk about it.” I replied.

        “And I could care less about your failure to comply to that assignment.” Silver curtly said, but that reminder made my blood boil.

        I simply sigh and kept my ears open.

        “Point being, recall when Granny Smith mentioned how her family were the founders of Ponyville. That alone was what began a generation’s worth of business. Thanks to them, the town thrived, and eventually expanded from Ponyville, to more upscale locations such as Manehattan or Los Pegasus. I’ve visited many of their locations to help my father conduct business deals.” Silver explained in a matter-of-factly tone.

        “So the Sterling Family and the Apple Family actually get along?”

        “As the saying goes, ‘You scratch my back, I scratch yours.’ Those plants wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for me.”

Way to get straight to the point.

        “Wait, YOU?!” I asked, shocked at this amazing truth.

        So she actually helped the Apple Family?

“I myself had to conduct some these deals alone as a part of my upbringing. Of course I succeeded without fail. It’s only natural when you possess the best genes a pony can have.”

        “You mean Diamond Tiara wasn’t with you at all?” I asked, because I’m sure Diamond Tiara hates Apple Bloom and her friends still.

        “No.” Silver shook her head. “She would normally be off handling her own business with Equestrian royalty. Alas, I rather that she, as well as that trio of meddlers remain oblivious to that fact. It may crumble our plans.”

        “Plans?”

        “Ah, I believe I’ve said too much.” Silver said, flipping her hair while looking at me with contempt, “Just pretend that I intentionally said that to tease you, and leave it at that. Any further questioning will simply be dealt with.”

        ........I’m not gonna bother asking how. I’m too scared to press further. I feel like she’d kill me with that magnified glare alone.

        But I see. Silver Spoon has more connection to the Apple Family than I thought. If Diamond Tiara knew of that, I’m pretty sure she’d lose it.

        Let’s see what Ginger Snap has to say.

        “You just spoke to Silver, right?” Ginger asked.

        I guess she must’ve overheard our talk...

        “Yeah, she said that it reminded her of one of the ones that belong to the Apple Family.” I answered.

        “Yes, we’ve spoken of this already, and I found it very interesting, leaving me curious to know more! I wanted to talk to Apple Bloom, but I’m not sure if I should.” Ginger sighed.

        “Is it because Silver Spoon didn’t want her finding out?” I guessed.

        “Let’s not refer to that.” She looked away, as if she didn’t want to talk about it. “It’s something else. I’m a bit unsettled that Apple Bloom may resent her family more for some reason.”

        I know what she means.

        But why didn’t she talk about Silver Spoon’s ‘plan’? It’s like she either knows about it, or she’s in on it.

        “I know what you mean,” I said, staying on topic, “Wouldn’t Ponyville itself be in huge trouble of Sweet Apple Acres is in hot water like that?”

        “Yeah, they’re pretty much the founders. Hmm... I never bothered to learn any history lessons during any of my scouting days. But I suppose I should delve into more history now that I have this free time.” Ginger said with a smile.

        “I thought you took those classes?”

        “Don’t you remember? I used to miss quite a few days of school.” She answered, but it didn’t jog my memory.

        “Why?”

        “Because of injuries and the like inflicted by the wild. It was Mare vs Wild, and the Wild won when that school bell rang that time. Tch...” She clicked her teeth in regret, but smiled deviously. “I got my revenge though. Hehehehehe...”

        Just what the hell did she used to do!?

        “Moving on, if I had to say I found anything, I suppose I have, thanks to Twist.” Ginger smiled.

        “Twist? What’d she find?”

        Actually, I didn’t know Twist was in here.

        “Just some tools to make candy with using the fruit juice here. This plant is pretty much made to make any product that uses a bit of fruit, including candy. Not that she’s happy about it.” Ginger looked away, circling a hoof around one of her merit badges.

“Why would she not be happy?”

“You should ask her yourself. See what she has to say.” Ginger said, nodding off to Twist’s location at the second floor, a large windowed area.

        The only way to it is through that elevator, so...

        Walking up to the panel against the wall, I press the red upper arrow button to call the elevator.

        I hear a faint noise of something descending that quickly grew louder until the doors opened. I step inside and hit the arrow again, ascending to the next floor. But instead of opening the door in front, an opening was made to my left, showing me the white room where I can see Twist fiddling with the oven at the left wall. 

At each of the corners, I see cardboard boxes filled with neatly organized fruits. At the window where I can see the others, I see a steel table pressed against it with a blender, juicer, and several stacks of wrapping paper on top of a stack of cookie sheets. 

Next to the oven was a slightly open refrigerator/freezer, which appears to have been searched already.

        This room is pretty bright but with these white walls, I feel like I’m in a place for the mentally unstable to craft candy.

        Guess I’ll speak to Twist to see what she thinks and figure out why she doesn’t look very pleased.

        “Hah... this place...” She muttered to herself. “High Fructose Corn Syrup...”

        “Twist?”

        “Eep?!” Twist turned around quickly when I called her name, backing away swiftly, but sighed when she saw it was me. “Oh, it’s you.”

        “What’s up? I heard this place allows you to make some candy, but you’re not happy about it.”

        “Because there’s too much High Fructose Corn Syrup in there!” She meekly answered, pointing at the fridge. She's like a cat, hissing at a dog.

        “Isn’t that what most candy is made out of nowadays?”

        “Y-yes, but... it’s maddening. What if I’m forced to used this unhealthy goo? I may give little fillies and colts a reason to sue me!” She frantically expressed, putting a hoof to her mouth.

        “Umm, why would anypony sue? And besides, their parents would have to do the suing, not them.” I cleared up.

        I would know. As a member of the Ponyville Express, I’ve had to cover my share of stories about civil lawsuits and such.

        “Irresponsible parents letting them eat too much candy which result in super cavities.” Twist quickly answered while furrowing her eyebrows.

        “I see...”

“S-still... I can’t pay them if I’m broke... and if the parents are actually responsible, I may not get much business, and I’d have to pay them back. Rinse. Repeat. That’s what my father says anyway...” Twist sighed.

Then I’m sure your father is wrong.

“That still sounds weird. I highly doubt you’d get sued for a cavity. It doesn’t make anypony sick, it just damages their teeth which is nothing a good dentist can’t fix.” I said, offering some basic knowledge.

“If only my dad actually fit that term...” Twist solemnly said.

“Look, we just need to eat in moderation. And besides, that’s why we gotta brush our teeth anyway.” I added.

It’s true, we’re responsible for our own teeth, not the salesman. 

        “I guess so.” Twist closed her eyes. “Okay, I’ll get started.”

        “Eh?”

        “Candy. I want to make candy. We’ll have something nice for the conclusion of that race. I just hope I can find an alternate to that syrup... I refuse to make anypony sick.”

        “Oh, cool! I look forward to it!” I gave her an encouraging smile.

        I decided to not say anything about Truffle’s intentions though. That’s his task. It’s not my place to interfere.

“W-w-wait!” She nervously brought my attention back.

“What?”

“Do I dare make some for Truffle? Would anypony understand if I didn’t want to make him any?” She meekly asked, but hidden in her shy tone, I hear a bit of anger.

...

        So much for staying out of it...

        “Throw him a bone.” I suggested. Just hope she doesn’t take it literally.

        “I don’t think he deserves it. But I rather nopony found out, so... yes. I’ll be impartial and have candy for all.” Twist sighed.

        Guess she really doesn’t want to make him anything.

        Poor guy. He better work up the nerve to say something and soon.


_______________________________________________________________


9:21 AM 

After leaving the plant, I head back to the barn to check up on the others.

To my surprise, there’s more ponies inside now.

        Aside from Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, Dinky Doo and Pipsqueak are in there this time as well.

        However, it appears that Pipsqueak and Dinky are working on their own part, surrounded by tools consisting of a saw, a small buffer, a screwdriver, and some paint. It’s as if she’s planning on joining the race herself.

        “That’s because I am! Your face totally wanted to know about me! I felt intrigued! Hehe, using big words is totally part of my character!” Dinky grinned with glee. Yet, how the heck did she know what I thought!?

“Err, right. What are you building though?”

        I asked, because that definitely isn’t a scooter. It appears to be just a single flat board, slightly curved on both ends, as well as two small metal sticks attached close to each end. Near it, are four other small wheels lying around.

        Pipsqueak’s answer followed after a quick yawn.“It’s a skateboard. Turns out Dinkles wanted to race and she dragged me out of that nightmare I was having.”

I was wondering where he’d been. Guess he was sleeping the whole time. But why’s he actually disappointed?

        “Wait, you’re not happy that your nightmare was broken?” I asked out of curiosity.

        “Of course not! It was crazy, scary, and epic! It had ghouls and ghosts and everything making Monobear explode again and again! KABOOOM! BAM! SPLOOSHING! It was the best nightmare ever!” Pip went on, ending with another disappointed sigh.

        ...Did you seriously just confuse a nightmare with something awesome?

        I resist the urge to giggle at how absurd the idea is.

        “I didn’t even know you could make anything.” I commented on the skateboard. To be honest, it actually doesn’t look that bad.

        “It’s just simply stuff, ya know! I’m sorta used to building my own stuff back at Trottingham for whatever Nightmare Night projects I hosted. But a skateboard is a bit err...” Pipsqueak trailed off.

        That’s... pretty amazing now that I think about it. I didn’t know that he brought his love of that holiday to his hometown.

        “Well I can’t make a skateboard alone!” Dinky complained, prompting Pipsqueak to add on additional parts.

        Makes me wonder where the power tools came from.

        “Mmmm... true... you don’t have the wheels on yet... Wait, does Gracie know that you’re entering the race at least?” I asked.

“That’s the point! I’m just gonna get under her skin a little.” Dinky said, screwing on a third wheel to the board with her magic.

“Hmm... think the plan will work though? You’re gonna have to win before I do anything, ya know? Dunno why you need me for this though. Coulda gotten somepony else.” Pip said with a light laugh.

“Because you’re supposed to be very scary! You’re a Super High-School Level Horror Connoisseur, right?! Shiver me some timbers!” Dinky demanded with excitement.

That’s not what the phrase means...

“Eh, I still don’t get that whole title thing. Been wrecking my brain on that more than anything. I don’t have a cutie mark either ya know! But still...” Pip trailed off, as if going into a deep thought. “Hmm... shiver. Hehehehehe. I’m pretty sure Gracie and Scoots will probably want to turn me into a headless horse by the end, but such a scary thought it totally worth it!” Pip had stars in his eyes.

        He’s clearly out of his mind.

“Yeah, have fun with that.” I said, shifting my eyes away, knowing what their plan is.

“Come on, it’ll be funny! Just wait!” Dinky said with determination. “Now let’s finish this thing!”

“Mmm, you could kinda help me out ya know.” Pip complained as he shook the sweat off his head. He’s even taking the time to polish the board they have to give it a shine.

“Boo! I already grabbed the tools from up there!” Dinky pointed at the ladder,

It’s obvious to me what they’re planning.

But if she’s joining in in this race, then how does Scootaloo feel about it?

I walked up to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, getting their attention. Looking at the scooter though, it looks close to completion.

“Just spoke to Dinky, huh?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yeah, she said she wants in.” I answered.

“I know.” Scootaloo sighed, applying some duct tape onto the handle of the scooter. “Poor mare’s gonna get creamed out there.”

“Well, at least she’s trying!” Sweetie Belle added.

“I guess. Besides, it’ll make my victory all that sweeter when I can have that that idiot in third place instead of second! Gives me an excuse to call her a third rate racer!” Scootaloo smiled deviously as she tossed the tape over to Sweetie Belle, who caught it with her magic. “Just one step closer to being twenty percent cooler!”

“She can say the same to either one of you if she wins!” Sweetie Belle pointed out.

“Either way, I approve of Dinky joining us. Dunno if Grace does though. She’s too busy ‘walking the dog’ or whatever, so it's gonna be kind of a surprise.” Scootaloo giggled.

Even Scootaloo has a few extra tools at her hooves. Guess Dinky found them earlier, probably as soon as she arrived.

“Just let me know when the race starts.” I requested.

“Huh, I’m surprised. I thought you didn’t want anything to do with that.” Scootaloo said.

“Normally I don’t, but I already said I’d do my part. There’s one more place I’d like to check out, so I’m hoping I have enough time.”

“Better tell me what you find then!” Scootaloo said, hopping on her scooter, probably about to take it for a spin.

“Yeah, will do.”

For now, I’ll leave the barn and head to that office building. That’s the one that’s bothering me the most. It just seems so out-of-place in an area like this.


_________________________________________________________________________


        It wasn’t long before I reached the doors of the building.

        Pressing my hoof against the glass, the door opened smoothly. This place really does look like an office building, with the gray marble tiled floor, orange walls, and even a ceiling fan. To the back, I see a short hallway, leading to a wooden door with an empty nameplate.

        On those walls, there’s just a few framed photos showing Twilight and her friends having fun at Sweet Apple Acres.

        To my right is a desk void of any contents on top, showing a well polished reflection on the wood.

        The one on the left looked more cluttered though.

        Seeing Rumble sitting in the chair and staring at the ceiling, I can see why there’s a mess.

        “Shady, you’re finally here!” He smiled, like he was happy to see me. 

        “What are you doing?” I asked, watching him adjust himself on the office chair.

        “I’m looking around, just like you. I’m just here to learn some new facts.” Rumble answered.

        “Like what?”

        “I dunno if I want to tell you right now.” Rumble hopped out of the chair, landing on his hooves, walking a bit past me.

        “What? Why?” I asked, confused about his sudden secrecy.

        “I found some valuable info, and I don’t quite trust you yet, if you catch my drift.” He calmly answered.

        “What are you even talking about!?”

        He’s getting on my nerves...

        “If it makes you feel better, I believe that we have a similar mindset.” Rumble smiled, then turned his attention to the photos on the wall. “I mean, look around you. The princess and her friends, having fun on the farm, basking under the sun of friendship! Even Rarity, who once hated such an ‘uncouth’ activity as she would say! Friendship warms my heart a little too much, you see? It’s too... beautiful.”

        “Get to the point!” I yelled, getting sick of his rambling already.

        “I’m saying that we, you and me, believe that Friendship is a sacred bond that must never be tainted with something rotten like despair. Friendships built on despair make my stomach cringe, twist in such a grotesque way, and it angers me.”

        ...

        I don’t get it. I don’t understand at all.

Why is he so obsessed with friendship!?        

        “Are you gonna tell me what you found or not?” I asked, because this is wasting my time.

        “On one condition.” Rumble closed his eyes.

        “What’s that?”

        “I want you to make a contract with me.” He immediately requested..

.....

        What?!

> Ch.2 (Ab)normal Days Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“I want you to make a contract with me.”

“A contract!? What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, backing away from him by reflex.

 Rumble gets back in the swivel chair, letting out a quick sigh. “An agreement to help each other in slaying the poisoned friendships around us. A friendship is sickening and worthless to the balance of harmony when tainted by despair, you see.” Rumble explained as he swung left and right, smirking as he went on.

“And what gives you the right to judge other ponies’ friendships like that?! I don’t think like you at all!” I insisted, raising my tone ever so slightly.

What does he know?

        “But you do. That moment when you magnificently displayed your hatred for Snips, I was intrigued. Why do you think I gave you that tip before the trial? Together, we reached the truth.” Rumble moved aside some of the papers on the desk, like he was revealing something.

        “What...?”

        “I great minds think alike, as the princess would probably say, and I just can’t leave a great mind alone; one who despises the worst kind of friendships.” Rumble elaborated.

         I slammed my hoof on the top of the desk. “You’re wrong! I’m nothing like you! The only reason I wanted Snips dead was for revenge, nothing more! Featherweight didn’t deserve to die because of him!”

         Rumble sighed, then went on. “Yes. But his death tainted a friendship. Death is despair. Murder is despair. Being associated with such rotten behavior is what corrupts a perfectly fine friendship. It’s not what Princess Twilight would want and you know it.”

        “How would you know what the Princess would want!?”

        “I know because she preached the warmth and hope of Friendship whenever she went public. Didn’t you watch any of her speeches on TV? She and her glorious friends uphold the balance of harmony everyday, right?” 

Rumble hopped out of the chair, lifted himself to stand on his hind legs, leaning against the wall where a photo of Twilight and her friends rested once more. Putting a hoof on the glass, his expression changed to that of a pony yearning for something. 

“Yeah... A circle of friends... a perfect world where all can be friends with each other... I’m in love with it.”

        “Sorry, but I don’t share such idealistic views.”

        I turned my back to him and proceeded to leave. I didn’t know how much longer I can stand to listen to him.

        “You don’t... but I’m sure Featherweight did. He was ‘Hope’ after all.” Rumble said, looking into my eyes with that same longing for friendship.

        My legs moved on their own.

        My body flew at him on it’s own.

        My body knocked him down on it’s own.

        “What’s the matter? I speak the truth.” Rumble sighed, as if he were disappointed.

        Did he seriously expect me to keep my cool?

        “You don’t even know him! You never knew him!”

        “I don’t have to know him personally to know the truth. His cutie mark is the symbol of hope. Isn’t Friendship the element of hope? It’s the only way to slay despair! We need the power of friendship!”

        Clench your teeth, you son of a bitch.

        “Oh? What’s this? A couple of blank flanks fighting? It better be for a cutie mark.”

        I whip my head, seeing the source of that familiar mocking voice.

        Diamond Tiara looked at us with contempt like always, which is nothing new. But it was enough to snap me out of my moment. I got off of Rumble, resting my body against the wall.

        “Diamond Tiara, you’re here to investigate as well?” Rumble asked, calmly getting up, acting as if nothing happened.

        “What’s it to you?!”

        “No reason. I just thought Silver Spoon would be with you. Your friendship is pure after all.” Rumble smiled coolly, letting Diamond behave in her usual manner.

        “I don’t need somepony like you commenting about my friends!” 

        “You amuse me, Diamond Tiara... but you also make me happy.” Rumble gave a peaceful smile.

        “W-w-w-w-what?! Ah?! Err, what?!” Diamond Tiara choked on her words, blushing even.

        Wait, since when did she ever become embarrassed!?

        “I meant your friendship with Silver Spoon. It’s purity somehow makes my heart race. Please don’t do anything to ruin it, okay?”

        That embarrassed feeling vanished seconds after Rumble finished his sentence.

        “GET OUT! I don’t need some blank flank ordering me around!”

        “Though a blank I may be, a cutie mark isn’t required to admire friendship.” Rumble said.

        It’s amazing that he can never lose his cool though.

        “Hey! GET OUT HERE, EVERYPONY!” I heard Dinky Doo off in the distance, sounding excited as her voice rang.

        “Looks like the race has begun.” Rumble slowly spread his wings, and whoosh... he was gone, just like that.

        I wanted to click my teeth, express my frustrations and everything.

        But I do have a responsibility, so I gotta get out there.

        “Hmph. I don’t really care. I’ll continue investigating. I don’t need to watch some stupid race.”

        .....

        “You could cheer on the one with a cutie mark and hope Scootaloo humiliates herself.”

        I didn't quite put much thought into that comment, but eh, whatever it takes to pacify her I guess.

        “Hmmm.... you drive a good bargain. I want to say no because you’re a blank, but... agh. You make a good point! Geez, stop making good points! You’re a blank flank, at least make it easy for me to disagree!” Diamond groaned in frustration.

        “Just pointing out that you’d miss a good opportunity for entertainment.”

        “Why the heck would you want me to go!? I don’t need to be around you and those blanks!”

        “Because it’d suck if you didn’t watch. Anyway, I need to go.”

        ...

        I don’t know why I’m even trying to get her to come along.

        Maybe because, deep down, I don’t want the bloodshed to happen again.

        I’m asking for a lot though.

        “H-hey! Slow down, you blank flank! I’m running ahead! Only the talented go first!” Diamond Tiara squeezed past me at the doorway, heading outside.

        Difficult as ever.


________________________________________________________


10:00 AM, Honesty District - Crop Field

        Aside from Truffle and Twist’s absence, everypony gathered out here.

        Truffle better be working out his differences. I’ll have to talk with him when he comes around.

        The track the competitors will race on goes full circle around a crop field, with the starting line being right in front of the barn.

        First up, we have Grace Lightning, using her own special horseshoes fitted with skating wheels. That maniacal expression on her face sends shivers coursing through my fur, making it hard to tell if she’s happy or just outright bloodthirsty.

        Second, we have Scootaloo, who with the help with Sweetie Belle, crafted a scooter. It looks functionable, but I wouldn’t present that craftsmanship to even a monkey.

        Lastly, we have this new entrant, Dinky Doo, smiling and ready to roll. I didn’t know she could stand on her own two hind legs for so long like that. Then again, she’d have to if she’s going to race with a skateboard.

        “Don’t worry Dinkles! Ya know you got this!” Pipsqueak cheered.

        “Tch... Last minute entrant, huh? And you knew about this!?” Grace angrily asked Scootaloo.

        “What’s got you? Scared of a little extra competition?” Scootaloo quipped.

        “Hah! Who the hell do you think I am?! The more competition I have, the more roadkill I leave behind! BRING IT, BRAT!” Grace quickly turned to Dinky after glaring at Scootaloo.

        “I’m not a brat! And I’ll have you know, we’re the same age!” Dinky boasted, despite the insult.

        To be fair, Dinky isn’t short enough to be considered a filly, but she’s definitely a bit shorter than the average mare.

        “Who cares, mommy’s little girl~ You’ll be crying her name when I smoke you both!” Grace taunted, lowering her body as if she were preparing for takeoff.

        “Feel free to keep bringing each other down, because by the time you look up, you’ll see just how cool I am with my win!”

        Of course Scootaloo would get into it.

        “Hey! If you’re a blank flank, I want you to lose! LOSE!” Diamond Tiara shouted.

        “SHUT UP!” Scootaloo retorted, then focused her attention on the road ahead.

        “Don’t let anypony get to you! Just focus on the road!” Sweetie Belle said in a cheerful coaching manner. "Apple Bloom and I are rooting for you!”

        “Go out there and earn that cutie mark!” Apple Bloom’s words were meant as encouragement I’m sure, but that didn’t stop Scootaloo from rolling her eyes.

        “FINISH YOUR CHEERS ALREADY! Ugh!” Grace chided the others, rolling her eyes.

        “Run them over, Grace! You can do this!” Snails suddenly shouted.

        “Shut up!” Despite saying that, Grace had a very awkward smile plastered on her face for a brief moment before fervently shaking it off.

        I need to get this started already...

        “Err, Everypony! Get those wheels ready! The rules are to go around the crops full circle until one of you crosses this finish line first! So that said-”

        “You sound pretty weird, Shady.” Scootaloo interjected, smirking.

        “Get on with it or you’re becoming roadkill too!”

        “Should we get somepony else...?” Dinky looked away, whistling like she didn’t just say that.

        Hey! I put a lot of thought into that speech, even though it doesn’t look that way!

        “Fine then! Three-two-one GO!”

        That last word was the cue, a burst of wind blasted my face, even roughing up my hair a bit the moment the competitors zoomed past me.

        I immediately back away from the track, with no idea when those three would come around.

        “Hey everypony! Get on top of this harvester! We’ll be able to see them from here!” Apple Bloom suddenly shouted.

        “Oh, good idea!”

        “What, you can’t just teleport?” Diamond Tiara asked, knowing full well the answer to that.

        “No! That’s an advanced spell and you know it!” Sweetie Belle chided, but she fell for that sarcasm hook, line and sinker.

        “Hmph! Of course I expected too much from a blank flank.” The spoiled wanna-be princess flipped her hair in contempt.

        “Yeaaaaaaah, I can’t do it either soooooo...” Snails chimed in, earning a condescending glare from Tiara as well.

        “Useless! You’re so useless!” Tiara complained.

        “You could just.... y’know, do it yerself~” Apple Bloom said, making the haughty mare’s eyes twitch.

        “Tch...!”

        “Just humor them for now.” Silver Spoon said.

        Tiara whipped her head, shocked at her friend’s words. “You too!?”

        “I guess I’m not in a bickering mood.” Silver Spoon sighed.

        “She has a point, Diamond Tiara.” Ginger said, siding with Silver Spoon.

        “No one asked you!” Tiara chided before heading for the harvester to gain a bit of elevation.”

        “Hey guys!” Pipsqueak suddenly shouted. “Check this out! I have a step-ladder! We can use this to climb onto the roof of the barn!”

        At that moment, I wore the greatest poker face in the history of Equestria, in hopes that I don’t give in to the temptation to say that that thing is not a step-ladder.

        “Oh, good. Now I don’t have to sit near those three blank flanks!” Tiara happily declared, unaware that Silver Spoon is putting a hoof to her face, shaking her head.

        “Alright! Let’s go!” Snails climbed up the ladder, running towards the front center of the roof. He extended his forehoof outwards, exclaiming, “I see’em! Over there!”

        “Who’s in the lead!?” Pipsqueak asked, hurriedly climbing up. “Oh crap, Grace is in the lead! GO DINKLES!!” 

        Suddenly, Diamond Tiara pushes Snails and Pipsqueak aside, with Silver Spoon taking a newly empty spot, as their shouts reach for the racers. On top of the harvester, I saw Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Ginger Snap cheering for Scootaloo.

        I better get on top somewhere too so I can see.

        But that happened quicker than I thought. I guess my desires manifested, bringing me an overhead view all of a sudden. Upon a quick realization, I began to struggle, but whoever gripped me, suddenly grew stronger, perhaps to keep me from falling, or to keep me in place.

        There’s really only one pony capable of flight at this time, and that’s...

        “See that, Shady? See what they’re racing to bond around?”

        “Racing to bond?!”

        I don’t get it!

        “This race is to strengthen bonds, can’t you see that?! Only friendships are true bonds, not associates! I think it’s pretty stupid, don’t you agree? Not when they have no idea...!” Rumble shouted, flying higher and higher. Sure, this gives a great view of the race, but still!

        “What the hell are you going on about?! Also, put me down!”

        “Not until you see what I’m talking about.”

        “What!?”

        I’m getting irritated. I’ve only been glaring at Rumble this whole time, and my neck can only stay twisted for so long.

        So I turn around to look down, and there it was.

        I guess this is what he meant.

        That crop circle they were racing around... it wasn’t an ordinary hay field. Not from this angle.

        Seeing it now, behind the crops, is a work of art that can’t be seen from an ordinary angle.

        One half has it’s crops fully grown, but only cut at small portions, giving it the lighter half. The dark half, had nearly all of it’s crops cut down to where only the ground is seen, save for a zig-zag portion for the right eye and wicked grin.

        ...

        Is he implying that Monobear is an alien? 

Which of course, is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.

        As the stories go, only aliens make those weird crop circles, yet, I’m not really surprised that that bear would do this. But what is Rumble getting at, really?

        That Monobear is watching us, and that bonds are meaningless as long as we bask around his looming presence?

        “That crop circle... quite elaborate, don’t you think?” He asked, solemnly.

        “Listen, I have a race to watch. Can’t we discuss this some other time?” I asked nicely, despite my remaining glare, just to get my point across.

        “Suit yourself.” Rumble said. “Just so you know, I’m personally cheering for Scootaloo. With her friends backing her, she’s bound to win.”

        “Right...” I just casually agreed.

        Preferably so he’d shut up.

        Even if he’s rooting for her, she’s not in the lead.

        Grace Lightning is, with Scootaloo at a close second.

        Dinky of course, is slowly catching up to them, propelling herself with her magic.

        ...

Wait, that doesn’t count as cheating, right?


___________________________________________________________________________


        “What the heck?!” Scootaloo whipped her head around, drawn to the sound of an oncoming vehicle.

        But that was no vehicle; that’s without a doubt, Dinky Doo, casting a basic spell on her wheels, giving herself a boost.

        “Move it! The underdog is still here to play! HAHAHA!!!”

        “Tch!” Scootaloo gritted her teeth as Dinky gradually passed her by. “It’s not over yet! C’mon, wings!”

        Clenching her teeth, her wings began to flex, little by little. Between each gradual stroke, she would maintain momentum by kicking the ground in a rhythmic pattern with her wings.

        With her wings moving like that, it’s obvious that she wasn’t trying to fly; she only wanted a little speed boost.

        “Oh, ho? You’re not just road dust, huh? Good! Bring it, punks!”

        With the way Grace rolls, I’m beginning to think she’s got a motor attached somewhere.


__________________________________________________________________


        Despite the constant smack talk about the alleged boosting these ponies are using, they steadily approach the white line painted on the ground.

        All three mares are neck and neck, forcing me to squint my eyes in search of the slightest lead.

        This whole turning course... looks like Grace is still in the lead, with Dinky using all of her power to pass her by.

        “Uh oh.” Rumble muttered the moment he heard a violent snap come from the ground.

        Seeing the race, I can see Scootaloo struggling to even keep her roll steady.

        Did her tire pop or something?

        The second that thought crossed my mind, I saw a black little dot rolling away from Scootaloo’s scooter.

        Oh. This won’t end well.

        A little rock was all it took to send the young pegasus mare flying with all her might.

        She flailed about as she soared uncontrollably, and reached the end spectacularly.

        The end being head-first into a trash can by the entrance of the office building.

        It’s as if somepony took a quick bankshot into a hoop. Grace surprisingly stopped, thrown off by the sudden accident, and Dinky crossed the finish line!

        “I WON!!! HAHA!” Dinky celebrated, jumping up and down.

        “Yeah, yeah. You just got lucky.” Grace sighed. “I lost for real?”

        “Hmph. As long as one of those idiots lost, that’s fine by me.” Tiara smiled wryly, looking at Scootaloo’s legs kickabout.

        She’s practically struggling to hold back her laughter.

        “HEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!!! GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!” Scootaloo’s muffled screams were heard across the field as she eventually tipped over from kicking about.

        Rumble quickly put me down and hurried over to Scootaloo, gently pulling the trash can off her head with his hooves. Her brief moment of relief was soured the moment she laid eyes on her savior.

        “You...” Scootaloo glared.

        “Your friends weren’t fast enough, I see.” Rumble smiled coolly.

        “You didn’t give them the chance!” 

        “Perhaps. Apple Bloom had her opportunity to rush here, and Sweetie Belle can use simple magic. They failed, unlike me.”

        “So what? Doesn’t make you my friend.” Scootaloo spoke curtly and quickly, intending to quickly end this conversation.

        Rumble let out a lengthy sigh, then answered her claim. “You’re right. If I, a mere stallion can save you faster than your friends, then that should give some unfortunate implications.”

        “Will you shut the hell up about friends!? You don’t know anything about Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle!”

        “Hehehehe... I’ve said this before, but I’ve no need to know them personally. Now if you’ll excuse me... I have to finish my investigation.”

        “Ugh, why won’t he just die already?!” Scootaloo complained.

        “Don’t say that!” Sweetie Belle shouted. “He may be unpleasant, but I don’t want to go through that again!”

        “Sorry Ah’ didn’t get there in time, Scoots.” Apple Bloom apologized. “Rumble’s got a point. Ah’m not fast enough. Not to get my cutie mark, not to get to you...”

        “H-hey, don’t let what that guy said get to you. You’re both my best friends! Nothing’s gonna change that!” Scootaloo grinned, reassuring the two.

        “Hmmm... Yeah! You’re right! Ah’ just gotta try harder!” Apple Bloom suddenly became chipper again. Guess it doesn’t take much to cheer her up.

        “Guys, what do I win, A trophy or something? It’s gotta be something other than bragging rights!” Dinky said.

“I never really discussed what we get for winning. All I know, is that... the losers eat lemons or something.” Grace nervously looked away.

        ...She didn’t think this through.

        “Boo!” Dinky pouted, “I just wanted to have something to brag to mom about.”

        “Tch. Assuming you don’t wind up dead before that happens.” Grace commented.

        “Wha...! OH, I GOT IT! You’re jealous that I won, so now I’m a target, huh?!”

        “Wait, that came out wrong! You got it all wrong! Look, I lost fair and square. I ain’t gonna-”

        “Fat chance! Two of us are dead, remember!?”

        “Oh for the love of- Just listen to me, you brat!”

        “No! Not till I’m safe, you hear me! I refuse to die before I get to see my mom again!” Dinky cut Grace off before galloping away.

        “Wait, you dumbass! That- GAAAAAAAAAAH!?!” Grace shrieked the moment the back of her neck was touched- no, propped on by a certain stallion that somehow went unnoticed again.

        “Wow, way to scare her off. And that was supposed to be my thing! Hahaha-AAAAAAAHHHH!” Pipsqueak, putting a hoof on the back of a very volatile mare is a very bad idea.

        Taking a harsh buck to the face, he could only scream until his body crashed into the side of the barn.

        “Pipsqueak!” Snails called out, then sighed, putting a hoof to his face, “Damn it, I told him not to do that...”

        Snails ran back to the barn to check up on him, while Grace slipped away.

        I don’t know why, but I ran up to her anyway. 

        Maybe it’s because I just want to believe that Dinky’s suspicions were simply out of paranoia.

        “Don’t bother me right now, Blue Snooper.”

        “I just wanna know where you’re going.” I said, hoping to get some kind of honesty around here.

        “Nowhere. If you think I’m gonna check on the brat, then you’re wrong, that’s for damn sure. She’s gotta get over it herself. No sense botherin’ with dumbasses who ain’t gonna listen.”

        “Maybe you’re right, but maybe she’s still shaken up about everything, especially about her mom. Give her a break.”

        Who am I to even make that kind of call?

        “I guess. Maybe she’s just a lucky mare who’s got a good mom, I dunno and I don’t give a damn.” Grace walked away after peering into my eyes with a half-hearted glare.

        It’s obvious that she feels bad about what she said, but I think it’s a good idea that she’s giving Dinky some time to herself too.

        This whole talk of murders is making everypony paranoid.

        ...

        Featherweight, how would you handle this?


________________________________________________________________________


Day 4, 11:41 AM, Generosity District - Housing Area

        The race was over, but it ended on quite a sour note.

        I’m not sure how to feel about their moods rubbing off on me like this.

        It’s only been at least thirty minutes though, so I suppose I can check on somepony.

        Walking through the Generosity District, I locate Grace Lightning leaning against the gate to the Honesty District, with her eyes closed as if she were in a deep focus.

        “This isn’t like you.” I commented, earning a quick glare from her.

        “Didn’t I tell you to leave me alone?”

        “Yeah, but you normally don’t focus this hard.”

        “Tch...” Grace clicked her tongue. “I was trying to forget about what I said, alright? I don’t know whether I went too far or what, but in the end, it ain’t my business!”

        “Mmm... wanna hang out then? Maybe take your mind off of it?”

        At the very least, this should lighten the mood.

        “Eh, whatever. But if you can’t roll with the best, then walk with the rest!” Grace’s sudden smirk was scaring me.

        “Huh?”

        Grace got her wheels out and began to skate away from me, forcing me to run after her.

        ...

        Why the hell did I have to run?!

        “Whoo! Nothin’ like a good roll!” Grace sighed, grinning as her wheels went back into her horseshoes.

        We stopped at the dirt road where the race took place. Beat from suddenly running a few laps around the course, I lay out on a hay pile, trying to catch my breath.

I’d like to think I’m in pretty good shape, but that was ridiculous. 

        “What the heck, why’d you do that?!”

        “Just wanted an excuse to roll around, what else? That and to laugh at ya!”

        “Good grief...” I sighed.

        “So whatcha wanna talk about? You got that interviewer look on ya.” Grace rose an eyebrow as she looked at me laying in the hay.

        Makes me wonder how I look like an interviewer.

        “I’m always like this!”

        “Really now? Even when you’re out of breath? Anyway, spit it out.”

        I lifted my body, as it’d be a bit bad to ask questions while laid out like this.“I’m just curious, but why are you so afraid of Diamond Dogs? What’d they ever do to you?”

        And here comes the hostility train.

        “I don’t believe that’s any of your damn business.”

        “Look, I ask, because most of the trial involved figuring that out, and then there’s this morning with Miss Cheerilee...”

        “Oh, you’re saying I’m a nuisance or something?!”

        “No, I’m not! I just thought there’s gotta be a better way to approach it!”

        “Ugh, you’re hella annoying, you know that? Well, whatever. If you expect me to just get over it, then I’m kicking your ass. You already exposed it, now you wanna press for more info!?”

        “I don’t expect you to just... get over it. I don’t know anything, so I can’t just say that.”



        “Well, that depends on what I know. If I don’t know, I can’t make any calls.” I answered honestly. “On the other hoof, I won’t offer my opinion unless you ask for it. It’d be unfair otherwise, right?”

        “.....................................” Grace closed her eyes, grumbling wincing a bit, like she were thinking a little too hard on something.

        “I’ll at least say this: If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have met my team.” Grace skipped the important part to my inquiry, but I’ll humor her for now.

        “Your team?”

        “The Genociders. It’s my roller derby team. Those mares got me out of a funk that shoulda never happened. Got introduced to some real Roller Derby.”

        “You mean those two tough-looking mares that you skate with, Hot Wheels and Checkered Flag, right?”

        “Figured you’d know that much. They’re the only ones I trust to watch my back, and I know they feel the same about me. I know they’re fine. They’re strong, dammit!”

        You don’t know that.

        ...is what I want to say, but that’d be pretty cruel, I know.

        A single tear started to form the moment she brought up her team mates.

        ...

        I think it’s pretty obvious on what her motive might’ve been that day.

        I guess thinking about those you really care about hits you hard. We don’t know the truth.

        I wasn’t sure what else to say, so I simply stopped asking questions.

        At the very least, it’s safe to say that I’ve gotten a little closer to her.


_______________________________________________________________________

        
1:46 PM, Honesty District - Orchard

        I should check on everypony else. Although, there is one guy who’s been kinda in the corner of my mind.

        I don’t really like to meddle in those kinds of affairs, but knowing the kind of guy Truffle Shuffle is, I have a feeling he may have screwed up.

        Probably.

        I wonder if that makes me a jerk for not having any kind of faith.

        I still need to find him. I’ll check on Dinky Doo afterward.

        I’ll head for the processing plant, since I’m a hundred percent sure he’s there considering that the candy isn’t even here yet.

        Before I get inside though...

        “HOWDY, SHADY!”

        Oh boy... Apple Bloom’s sitting in that harvester. Actually, I wonder what for?

        “What are you doing?” I responded with the natural question.

        “Rememberin’ how this here thing works!” Spoken like a true farmer, she shifts her focus back to the control panel, widening her eyes suddenly. “Oh, there’s keys here!”

        “You have one at the farm now?”

        “Yup! Top of tha line too~! Makes me wonder why Ma n’ Pa decided it was time to get a lil’ advanced though...” Apple Bloom looked away, hiding her face the moment she brought up her ‘ma and pa’.

        “That’s new. You never bring up your parents. Aren’t you worried about them?” Apple Bloom stopped fiddling with the controls to whip her sharp sights on me. Of course, greeting me with her chipper smile, she responds immediately.

        “Ya wanna learn about this here thing?” 

        “Huh?!” She just changed the subject on me so quick, I almost yelled at her. But I had to hold back.

        People tend to change the subject when they don’t want to talk about something.

        Something I picked up on whenever I did any sort of interview.

        But honestly, I probably would’ve yelped instead...

        Because, just now, in that split second, I could’ve sworn she just gave me the scariest, murderous glare ever...

        “C’mon, it’s easy to use! Buuuuuut, Ah’d prefer if everypony were here! Ah’ wanna give a lil’ lesson! Might get a cutie mark for it too if Ah’m good at teachin’!” Apple Bloom grinned happily.

        “R-right...”

        Tomorrow though. If I keep talking to her about things related to Sweet Apple Acres, it might not end well for me.

        ...

        Whatever.

        At least I can talk to Truffle and let him know while seeing how he’s doing.

        I step into the processing plant, heading straight for the elevator.

        What I didn’t expect, was to see Snails here pacing back and forth like a nervous colt.

        “Ah! Man, you scared me!” Snails put a hoof to his chest, sighing in relief. “What’s up?”

        “Why are you even...”

        “Oh right, well, I saw Truffle up there, and I heard Twist was there too, but like, get this: they’ve been in there the whole time, even during the race! I didn’t wanna bother, but I’m curious!” Snails’s eyes were sparkling like a little foal.

        “Umm, curious about wha... oh boy...” I sighed in disbelief. “Look, I doubt he killed-”

        “No no no no no! That’s not what I meant, man!” Snails frantically waved off. “Besides, it’s bad enough Dinky’s paranoid. I don’t need you getting all paranoid on me too!”

        “Have you seen Dinky Doo at all since then?”

        “No, but Pip told me he’d take care of it.”

        “Take care of it...?”

        “Her fears. Though I guess with a title like his, I guess he’s supposed to be good at that kind of thing? I dunno. Those titles are freaking weird. I mean, you know my title, right? I mean, yeah, I tamed a few bugs, including parasprites too, but still...” Snails said quickly.

        He really needs to learn to slow down when he talks. I understood him this time, but seriously!

        “A-anyway! Listen, I think they may be doing the thing up there!”

        Do I even wanna know what he means...?

        “Uhh...” I made a wry smile, trying to stay level headed, “I’m just gonna go up there and find out.”

        “L-l-let me know what’s going on when you come back!” Snails nervously said.

        “Why didn’t you just get on earlier?”

        “Because I’m trying to keep my head TV-PG! Do you know how tough that is at my age!?”

        ...........

        I just walked away and got on the elevator.

        Not hearing another word of that.

        .................................

        The elevator stops, and the side door opens, letting me enter the candy production room.

        I walk inside, and the first thing I see, is a mare and a stallion sitting together against the wall, watching the dark orange color inside the oven.

        Uhh... did they JUST start on the candy?

        Before I knew it, before I could even think of the first word of the comment I wanted to make, Truffle suddenly stood me on my hind legs and wrapped his forearms around me, swinging me round and round.

        He finally stops spinning after a minute, but still hugged me tightly as he reported.

        Ugh... dizzy...!

        “Ah! Shady! Young man, you must hear the brilliant news! I have to say, I’ve succeeded! She’s finally accepted my apology! You sir, are a brilliant stallion! Driven a bit by revenge and justice sure, but very brilliant in the way of mares!”

        “Um, all I did was tell you to talk to her. Aaaand judging by how you’re hugging away my oxygen... it went well...!”

        No seriously. It hurt like crazy. My arms, my lungs... just put me down already!

        “Oh sorry! Just got a little excited.” Truffle finally let go. After letting me catch my breath, he cleared his throat. “Yes, yes. See, I told her about the misunderstanding!”

        “Uh, misunderstanding?”

        “Yes! Look, Miss Cheerilee’s an amazing, most brilliant and amazing teacher that I know, but I’m not romantically attracted to her! You told me to be honest and I was!”

        Wait, did you just realize that at some point, or was it always like that...? Twist never struck me as the type unwilling to listen to reason...

        “H-hey! Don’t tell him everything!” Twist commented as her cheeks flared up a bit.

        “Ah! Ahem... sorry Twist.”

        “So... you guys back together or something?”

        If so, then that was quick.

        “Not quite, but she’ll be ready once she makes it up to me for all of that contempt and spite she gave me for so long!” Truffle Shuffle gleefully said.

        “Spite, huh?”

        I didn’t think Twist was the spiteful type of character.

        “I... I wasn’t...! I... I umm, just...” Twist trailed off, muttering something to herself.

        “Hmm... right. Well, good for you guys.” I said, congratulating them on making up.

        At least something good came out of this.

        “By the way, you might wanna get out of here. The others are worried.” I reminded them.
________________________________________________________________________
2:20 PM

        I should go check on Dinky to see if she’s okay.

        Now that I think about it, I never really sat and talked to her home life.

        Once I returned to the Generosity District with the intent to find Dinky, I already found Pipsqueak talking with her outside her assigned home.

        It’s quite surprising, and I’m a little curious to see what they’re talking about.

        It’s been a little while since I spied on anypony for getting that big scoop, so I suppose I can do it just once while I’m here. I need to make sure I haven’t lost my touch.

I’ll hide behind Miss Cheerilee’s dog house over here, then move in close. The ideal spot would be on the side of Silver Spoon’s home.

Slowly shimmy my way on the ground through the grass...  avoid those flower cameras... get around those stairs...

        Presto! Let’s listen in.

        “I told you, I’m just worried about my mom!” Dinky yelled. I guess that’s the topic?

        “I-I know! I mean, I’m worried about my aunt as well, ya know? But you can’t freak out like that. I mean, I know the feeling! It makes your mane stand on end, ya?” Pipsqueak put on a nervous smile.

        “Y-yeah...” Dinky lowered her head, as if trying to figure out what to follow up with.

        “Right! Besides, Snails said he’d keep an eye on Gracie, so you’re safe! I’ll make sure to keep ya alive, ya know!” He proudly bumped his chest, then followed up with, “Your mom’ll be proud of me!”

        “Hey, she’s supposed to be proud of me! If we beat that bear, I’m taking the credit!” Dinky faked her annoyance. She looks as if she can’t hold that laughter for long.

        “Hehe, no problem! Weeeeeeeeeeelllll, assuming Diamond Tiara doesn’t beat ya to the punch or something. She’ll definitely take credit, ya know! But I seriously think we autta focus on surviving, ya know?”

        “Yeah, yeah. But If I don’t, you know, do something, I’ll never know if my mom’s okay or not.” Dinky bit her lip, rubbing her left forearm.
        “Ah, she’ll be fine. Like my aunt would tell me: one step at a time, ya know!”        

“Thanks, Pip! I think I’m feeling better now!” Dinky gleefully declared as she hopped off the step at her home.

        Pip quickly closes the door, and turns back to Dinky. “Awesome! So like, you’re gonna hear Gracie out? I mean, I did my part, ya know!”

        “I guess. She’s so scary though!”

        “I’d like to think she’s more on the ‘scared’ rather than ‘scary’ scale, ya know. I mean, I would know!”

        “And how would you know?” Dinky lowered her eyelids, making Pip a little nervous.

        “A~hhh... let’s not worry ‘bout that, ya? I mean, err, let’s just get that outta the way!”

        “Muuu~ Tell me!” Dinky hopped on his back, causing him to run wild for a moment.

        “No way! I got nothing to tell ya know- AH! Crap she’s strong!” Pip complained as he desperately tried to regain his balance.

       They look like they’re having fun. Since when’d they become good friends?

        Then again, Pipsqueak’s a pretty sociable guy, and he’s always been pretty easy-going. Well, aside from when he goes around scaring everypony...

        I guess that’s enough spying for now. I was worried for nothing.

        “BOO!”

        “AAAAAAGH!”

        What the hell!? That nearly got me out of my skin!

        It was Dinky and Pipsqueak standing before me.

        ...When did they figure me out?

        “Hahahaha! Thought you could scare me, ya? You thought wrong!”

        “That’s not-”

        “He was eavesdropping! The pervert!”

        “How does that make me a pervert!?”

        “My mom told me that perverts are guys who sneak around!”

        “One, she probably meant voyeur, and two, what I’m doing is snooping. I used to do it all the time before becoming more direct with my approach.”

        “Hmm... Well, that does make sense.” Pipsqueak said, scratching his chin.

        “Boo. If he wanted to talk, he should’ve just talked!”

        “Oh. Well in that case, I’d like to ask some questions.” I focused on Dinky, watching as she climbed off of Pip’s back.

        I also needed to calm down a bit. I don’t particularly have nerves of steel.

        “What’s up?”

        “Well, since you guys are about to talk, I’ll go check on Snails!”

        What is this, a free time event? Either way, I have a chance now, so now’s as good a time as any.

        “I’d like to know about your mother a bit.”

        Mostly because I still have a hard time believing that somepony like Derpy Hooves is a mom. For one, she always seemed pretty young, and you have to admit, she’s not the brightest bulb around.

        But maybe I’m wrong. Somehow.

        “My mom, huh...” Dinky pursed her lips, but suddenly widened her eyes for some reason. “Hey! She’s married to dad already, so don’t even think about it, buster!”

        “Wha- NO! I’m not interested in her like THAT! I just wanna know what makes her so great!”

        “You sure? She’s clumsy but she’s really cute!” Dinky gave a cheeky smile.

        “Seriously, I’m not interested. Just answer my question already.”

        “Boo~, you’re no fun.” Dinky looked at me like I’m some lame guy.

        So she was just joking? Good grief...

        “Err, anyway, I love my mom because I just Idolize her.”

        “Idolize?”

       “I mean I really look up to her for how hard she works. She used her actions to give me confidence! I mean, she used to get made fun of. A lot. But she took it in stride and kept working hard to pay the bills. I love that about my mom, and I think that makes her great!”

        Or maybe she’s just oblivious... but ignorance is bliss.

        That kind of philosophy never worked for me by the way. I always believed in knowing the truth, no matter how hard it is.

       At least you’ll earn a heart of impenetrable steel.

        That’s what worked for me always.

        “Hey, you just thought ignorance was bliss, didn’t you!” Dinky pointed her hoof at me.

        “I don’t know how you keep figuring me out like that.”

        “Because for a guy who thinks he’s hardened on life, you’re reaaaaaaaal easy to read.”

        ..........

        “Hahahaha, I doubt it. What am I thinking right now?”

        “About how you don’t know what to say in response to my claim!”

        “!”

       Okay.

        Maybe she’s just really really sharp.

        “See? Way predictable! Like my mother! My mom is pretty simple, and that’s not a bad thing! Taught me how to be open and honest myself!”

        “So I remind you of your mom!?”

        I remind her of Derpy?

       “Yep! Except that you’re way too serious! You gotta learn to lighten up a bit! Though if you did, I’m afraid I might not be able to read you, so...”

        “I’m not a book!”

        “Whatever you say, buddy! And don’t say I’m not your buddy, because I am!”

        ...............

        Maybe we’re closer. Or too close.

        I’ll go with ‘too close’. I don’t wanna believe that I’m that easy to read.

        So for now, I’ll just turn around, and walk away as fast as I can. Yep.


____________________________________________________________________

3:50 PM, Honesty District - Administration Office

        After all of that chatter, I head back to that office building Rumble was in before that race. There’s something that’s been bugging me about that place.

        To be honest, I would’ve already been here investigating instead of checking on everypony.

        The well being of others shouldn’t really be a concern to me. So why do I care?

        ...I guess Featherweight left more of an influence on me than I thought.

        Anyway, time to check out that left desk.

        Looking now, everything in here is still the same. I guess nopony came here to check it out yet. There’s still plenty of time today though, so...

        I take a seat in the swivel chair and roll myself close to the mess before me.

        Looks like most of these papers are blank applications to club creation and such. Yet, all of these are for Twilight’s Academy of Magic and Friendship.

        There’s some job application forms here as well. Unlike the club forms, there’s only three of these. You’d think there’d be more. Dunno if they were stolen, but if I’m in the right train of thought, the princess’s academy didn’t have much of an administration.

       The drawers were strewn open as well, revealing a very disorganized mess in both.

        Now to check out the desk across from this one. I hop out of this chair and make a quick gallop to the next.

        This desk has no features to it at all though. It’s as if nopony bothered to investigate this one.

        Let’s check the drawers here, aaaaaand...

        Oh. That explains it. These drawers are locked...

        There’s still that door at the end of the hallway. It’s probably locked as well, but I better check, just to be sure.

        I place my hoof on the doorknob and... figures. Not gonna budge, huh?

        Rumble... he had to have found something; he’s just not telling me.

        The second the thought crossed my mind, I turned my attention to the entrance to find him there, smirking.

        “What do you want?” I asked.

        “I came here to laugh at you.”

        ....... Then why didn’t I hear a laugh?

        “You’re wondering why I’m not laughing though. I want to, but I can’t find your futile struggle for information funny.” Rumble calmly answered as his eyes examined his surroundings, seemingly focused on that messy desk.

        “Huh?”

        “Friends tease each other, right? At least that’s what I believe.”

        “Get to the point!”

        “The offer’s still open.” Rumble smiled coolly.

        “I’m not making that contract with you! Besides, you and I are nothing alike!”

        I probably shouldn’t vehemently deny so much. That’ll just create more ammo to use against me.

        “We’ll see if that claim holds water after four more of us are dead.”

        “What...!?”

        “I’m predicting that you’ll open your eyes when four more of us die. I guarantee that we’re not gonna make it out alive. The friendships around us are contaminated with... dishonesty? Maybe that’s a better word to fit our location.”

        What the hell is he saying!? He’s not gonna...

        “I won’t kill anypony. I have no reason, will, nor purpose to commit murder. I just wish to smite tainted friendships.”

        “You... just... what are you?” I asked, beyond confused with his cryptic way of talking.

        “An admirer of bonds, nothing more.” Rumble said, without losing that smile. “Everything about this game boils down to one simple matter though I think. But you might know that better than anypony.”

        “I don’t get it!”

        An ‘admirer of bonds’?

        “I see.” Rumble turned his back to me, “Then we shall speak again later. Preferably when the next death occurs. I just pray that you won’t be the next victim.”

       “Wait! What did you find in here!?”

        “A revealing treasure that I plan to give to the one who needs it most.” Rumble flew off like a rocket.

        “Damn!”

        My hind leg kicked the desk in front of me, putting a small dent in it.

        Monobear hasn’t even given his next motive for us yet, so there’s nothing to worry about.

        Yet why does my blood boil so much!?

        I... need to cool off. Really, I do.


_________________________________________________________


11:00 PM, Generosity District - Shady's Home 

        Bedtime now, huh? I think I’ll wait for it to happen.

        If it happens.

        That crack in the sky last night couldn’t have been my imagination. I’m not going crazy. I’m not seeing things.

        ...But maybe I am? I probably had a slight glimmer of hope when that trial was over.

        Feeling the slight breeze brush my mane aside to reveal my other eye, I stare into the sky, just watching the Monoguards fly around, patrolling, watching us like Big Brother.

        Heh. Featherweight, if you had to convict somepony, how would you handle it? What would you do if it were me that died instead?

        ......................

        *CRACK*

        What!? I-it’s happening again?!

        The cracks were forming once more... those white jagged lines directly above the tower...

        Wait, that’s it!

        I quickly gallop into my house and find Featherweight’s camera on my kitchen table, just where I left it... I think? No, right now, that doesn’t matter! I have to act fast!

        I dash to the table to swipe the camera from it... “Whoa- ah! Crap, too close!” I can’t drop it now!

        Now to get outside, aim the lens, and... huh?

        Damn it, the crack is gone again!? Shit!

        What’s going on...? Am I really going crazy here?

> Ch.2 (Ab)normal Days Part 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Wait a second... This is exactly the same as the first time.

The crack appears, then the guards disappear along with it.

Maybe they’re repairing the damage? It’s possible that they’re doing it at such an abnormal rate, I can never really catch it on time.

Next time it happens, I’ll have this camera ready.


_______________________________________________________________

Day 5, 8:53 AM, Honesty District - Crop Fields

Despite the fact that we gathered here at the honesty district, the only thing that ran through my mind was the shatter and repair of the sky. There’s definitely something up with this place.

I’d like to think we’re in a magical dome of sorts, and I assumed that what we see outside is the same, but when I see those fractures, I just can’t help but wonder if there’s something about this place we don’t know?

I know Apple Bloom wanted to tell everypony here about how far her farm had come and to talk about the harvester she’s in, but I couldn’t really pay attention all that much. All I could do was ponder my next move while fiddling with the camera lens.

“Heeeeeeeey! Ah’ hope yer plannin’ to take a pic of me!”

        Of course, she’d snap me out of my thoughts.

        And snapping a picture of all of this wouldn’t make for that good of a scoop.

        “Yeah, yeah.” I replied, just so she won’t keep pestering me.

        “This is just another scheme to get a cutie mark, right?” Scootaloo asked, hopping into the harvester, followed by Sweetie Belle.

        “Yep! Why not?” Apple Bloom quickly agreed.

        “Well teach, you’re missing a few students. Miss Cheerilee can attest to that.” Scootaloo pointed to our teacher standing with us, who looked at the farm mare with eyes that speak, “What are you doing?”

        Of course today was Scootaloo’s turn to “take care of the dog”, so it couldn’t be helped.

        “Oh, come on! She can’t even speak right now! And who cares about that lil’ prissy girl anyway? Yer disruptin’ mah lesson!” 

        “That’s not the issue here!” Truffle shouted, but was promptly ignored.

        “Err, why are ya teachin’ anyway? Dinky asked, letting out a quick yawn. Pipsqueak of course, laid on the grass sleeping with his back turned to everything.

        The only ones here are me, Ginger, Grace, Pipsqeak, Dinky, Snails, Twist, Truffle, and of course, the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

        Diamond Tiara would have none of it and didn’t want a lesson from a “blank flank” as usual, and Silver Spoon followed along, while Rumble is still surveying the area.

        “Ah only wanted to show that I know mah stuff!”

        “Pfft. I ain’t plannin’ on working on a farm no time soon! Besides, I betcha that thing ain’t fast!” Grace taunted.

        “Is too!” Apple Bloom shifted her body, to face forward to operate the machine. What caught my attention is the combine harvester suddenly moving forward, followed by a yelp from a suddenly thrown off Scootaloo!

        “Scoots, are you okay!?”

        “Ah, yeah, I’m fine!” Scootaloo lifted her back off the ground and stood on her hooves, shaking off the dirt on her hoodie. 

Did Apple Bloom crank the engine already?!

        “Whoa, whoooooooah!” Apple Bloom started saying, as she frantically shifted the controls around until it suddenly stopped. I can see Apple Bloom lifting something and placing it by her legs before letting out a sigh of relief.

        “Heh, what I tell ya! It’s slow!” Grace gloated.

        “I think the fact that it was slow was a good thing. If she hadn’t stopped it on time, she would’ve crashed into the barn.” Ginger added.

        “It’s too bad, too. I personally hoped that Scootaloo would get run over!”

        That voice... oh great. And he’s using a stupid southern accent too!

        “Ya know, ya’ll bastards had ya’ll fun yesterday! Stop trying to destroy that there property!” Monobear came out of the crop field while wearing cowboy hat, as well as a certain vest he made a few days ago.

        “I thought you’d watch the race yesterday. Where were you?” Ginger rose an eyebrow. Maybe she believed that Monobear would screw with the race somehow.

        “Eh, I was coming up with a different motive! We can’t let my entertainment end with just one murder!”

        “Get on with it!” Snails stood up, staring daggers into the strange bear before us. I’m not surprised that his temper would come out with the sight of that vest.

        “You’re still thinking about that dead horse, huh?”

        Ginger immediately held Snails back the moment his horn began to glow, making Monobear tremble in fear.

        “Geez, can’t even take a good pun! You bastards really had it too good all your lives!” 

“Well, having our loved ones threatened and living in some foreign kingdom that we’re trapped in isn’t what we’d call normal.” Pipsqueak replied.

        “Oh, really? Isn’t Equestria itself a kingdom? Isn’t Canterlot the capitol? Wasn’t it ruled by princesses only? That’s what I’d find strange! At least in Monolot, you’re not ruled over by little girls!”

        Can Celestia and Luna really be called ‘little girls’...?

        “Enough about that though! Your king has a present for you!”

        “Ooooh, a present!” Dinky’s eyes widened, but quickly shook off that sparkle. “Wait, I can’t get excited about this, can I?”

        No. No you can’t!

        Monobear then hopped back into the crops, shouting “Hurry up!”

        The Monoguards suddenly land behind us, forcing us to follow the self proclaimed ‘king’.

        Once inside, we found Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Rumble headed towards us with the guards behind them as well.

        At the center, what stood before us appeared to be a box covered in a giant blue sheet.

        Rumble though, had a smirk of anticipation. He was definitely looking forward to this.

        “I’m curious...” He muttered.

        “Great, now I gotta listen to this bear!” Tiara grumbled.

        “Now that you’re all here, I present to you...” Monobear ran up to grasp the sheet, followed by an audible drumroll. “THIS!”

        With a quick, audible fwap, the contents revealed a... bookshelf and a rocking chair...?

        “Huh...?” Scootaloo dropped her shoulders in disbelief, expressing the confusion that we all shared.

        On the bookshelf, we saw fourteen books neatly spread and organized next to each other.

        “Oh come on. You all love books. At least that’s what my little pony told me!” Monobear stroked the fake Twilight’s mane in a surprisingly loving manner.

        “You’re doing this again?!” Diamond Tiara’s eye twitched as she focused on the obviously fake alicorn princess.

        “She’s not fake, she’s right here!”

        “Cut the crap!” Grace Lightning followed up.

        “Wow. You kids really refuse to believe me, even here in the Honesty district? Ya’ll’s got some gall!” Monobear chided, suddenly using his southern accent again.

        “Ah... Ah’m not sure how Ah’ feel about you mockin’ mah sister like that.” Apple Bloom’s expression lacked any emotional output, matching her deadpan tone. I honestly can’t tell how she feels.

        “What’s that supposed to mean!? You’re supposed to get mad!” Scootaloo glared at Apple Bloom instead.

        “Ignoring all of that riff-raff, here’s your next motive” Monobear pointed his paw at the bookshelf, “Monobear’s Aesop Madness!!”

        “You mean... by reading books...?! Why should I read anything to you!?” Snails hissed at the bear.

        “Do you really think this is just any old story!? Look at the book covers!”

        When Monobear pointed at the bookshelf, I narrowed my eyes to see those eight-bit portraits on the covers.

        “So... we’re to read the books that are assigned to us, correct?” Silver Spoon asked.

        “Bingo! Kids these days don’t like to read, so I’m going to fix that by having you read me a story!”

        “Why? Are you late for your hibernation or something?” Dinky asked.

        “Oh please, I’m more energetic than your average bear! I wouldn’t be able to enjoy myself if I went to sleep!” Monobear launched himself in the air, performing a perfect 360 flip, landing in the rocking chair perfectly.

        .....

        “See, these stories contain a moral, just like any other story! However, when you finish, you have to tell me the moral! Only then will I give you the prize!”

        “Perhaps like a children’s book, maybe?” Ginger theorized.

        “The prize...?” Twist asked, expecting Monobear to answer.

        “One truth! Learn the moral of the story, and you’ll learn one truth, which could be about the state of your homes, the state of your loved ones, the truth behind the Monobear Special...”

        “I don’t think I can trust that last one...” Pipsqueak said.

        The moral of the story, huh?

        “You’re free to try it right now! I’ll be right here all day! Any takers?”

        “NO! I’m not reading anything unless it’s a book daddy recommended!” And there she goes, running off, avoiding the motive.

        “Who’s the coward now?” Scootaloo hissed under her breath.

        “Eh, she’ll come around!” Apple Bloom cheerfully said.

        “We can think about it, right?” Dinky Doo asked, tilting her head just before Pipsqueak immediately pulled her aside.

        “I’ll read it.” Rumble stepped forward, heading straight for the book case.

        “No surprise there, freak.” Scootaloo commented.

        “B-but why?!” Sweetie Belle asked, as if she wanted to beg him not to do it.

        Rumble turned his head towards the supposed songwriter. “Sweetie Belle... I understand that you believe in the saying, ‘Ignorance is Bliss’, and in this kind of game, we’d actually live longer. But not everyone wishes to remain ignorant. A disagreement that puts lives on the line is a despair-inducing friendship.”

        “W-what do you mean!? I don’t get it!” Sweetie Belle cried out.

        “Redirect that question to somepony else.” Rumble turned his attention back to the bookshelf and grabbed the book meant for him.

        ...

        Is it wrong that I knew what he meant?

        The context was made more obvious when Sweetie Belle turned to Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. Gritting her teeth, she looked as if she were gathering the courage to ask them.

        “A meeting...” Sweetie Belle muttered.

        “Eh?” Scootaloo perked her head up in confusion.

        “We need a meeting!” Sweetie Belle shouted.

        “Oh come on, you don’t seriously believe that guy!?” Scootaloo scowled at her friend despite her plea.

        “Alright! Meetin’ time!” Apple Bloom of course, wholeheartedly agreed, beckoning Scootaloo to come along.

        “Agh, fine.” After a reluctant agreement, Scootaloo followed her friends, keeping Miss Cheerilee in tow, but not before Rumble earned a quick glare from our ‘class pet’.

        “Oh, don’t worry about it. A dog that’s just jealous that she doesn’t have a motive is just a worthless mutt! I should’ve trained her to not be jealous! Uu~pupupu~!” Monobear giggled, kicking his legs about like a kid.

        “I disagree. With her suit, she can’t commit a murder anyway.”

        “Have you ever done mail delivery?” Monobear asked.

        “I know where you’re going with this, and it’s because of that that Pegasi are the ones allowed to deliver any mail.” Rumble calmly answered.

        “But then you’ll feel teeth sinking into your wings! You’ll be feeding them those hot wings they craved for a while now! Too bad it’d be their last meal!”

        “Our wings don’t get hot like that. I don’t fly very often unless I have to.” Rumble answered. Though for some reason, he didn’t smile coolly like usual...

        “What in the world...?” I muttered, gaining their attention.

        “Uu~pupu~! You’re here to take a picture of my furry curves? Well too bad! You need to be a Super High-School Level Photographer to snap a picture of me!” Monobear ranted.

        You’re not worth wasting film on anyway.

        “No, I’m trying to wrap my head around what you two are talking about!” I retorted.

        “Oh, poo poo. It’s got nothing to do with you, so why don’t you just run along and wait your turn like everyone else?”

        “It’s as he says, Shady Daze. I’ll tell you my findings when the time is right.” 

        “Oh, I forgot to mention; You can’t share the contents of the prize! Gotta teach you bastards a little selfishness! Didn’t anyone tell you it’s okay to be selfish?”

        “Hmm... I see. That’s too bad. I was hoping to share information about my family to my friend there.” 

        “Tch... we’re not friends, Rumble. Don’t decide that on your own.” After my sharp decline, I take my leave.

        Before I could even get one good hoof forward, I hear a clap-clap behind me, followed by a huge thud eerily close by.

        I turn my head around to see a Monoguard there, staring down at me.

        It didn’t move though... I guess it’s safe to back away, right? I guess he’s here to prevent the contents of the stories from being shared.

        Damn it.

        Maybe deep down, I wanted to see what that guy was up to. What Monobear would say, what Rumble would get...

        What drives him to go on and on about friendship so much?

I can’t be bothered to wreck my brain on this.

        I’d rather check on the others.


_________________________________________________________________________


9:30 AM, Generosity District - Housing Area

        Guess I’ll hang out in the Generosity District for a while. There’s no way to get to that crop circle with the guard around...

Just as I decided to head to my assigned home, I find Snails, standing outside of somepony’s home, seemingly spacing out.

My curiosity takes over my legs, leading me to him.

        The moment I saw the nameplate however, everything became clear.

        “Ah, Shady! What’s up?” He jumped but quickly regained his composure, quickly letting out a sigh.

        “Wondering why you’re spacing out.”

        “Oh... I just have some stuff on my mind.” Snails said, focusing his sight on the white noise emitted from the empty nameplate.

        Looking at that plate... it makes me wonder if it was really worth it.

        I’m curious as to what Snails has to say. I know we talked before, but still... This isn’t an easy thing to just move on from.

        “Hey, wanna chat for a bit?” I asked.

        “Oh! I kinda thought you might’ve hated me. Because... y’know, association and whatnot...?”

        “Nah. It’s a waste of energy to hate for no reason.”

I only have so much energy to spend for a day’s worth of tasks.

        “Yeah, I know! The Great and Powerful Trixie said the same thing! Hahaha!” Snails stifled a laugh.

        We decide to head over to the coffee shop so we could talk.

        Once Snails took his seat, he took his top hat off and magically set it on the table. “Alright, so what’s up?”

        “Why were you just standing there, looking at Snips’s house?” I had to get straight to the point.

        “Oh, I dunno, just wondering if I could’ve... y’know, stopped him? I mean, if I did, Featherweight would be alive, and we’d all be pretty chipper, but... guess that’s how it’s gotta be.”

        “Can I ask some questions about him? If you don’t mind that is.”

        “I don’t mind I guess... Only if you’re willing to trade-off.” Snails gave a serious look.

        “Gotcha.” I replied, already understanding what he means.

        “Alright, what’s up?”

        “I’m curious. His words at the end of the trial... before he got executed...”

        “What, him being defiant? He’s been like that since that whole Alicorn Amulet deal.”

        “I meant the siblings part.”

        “Oh right... that... tough question right off the bat.” Snails sighed and groaned, but shifted his body a bit. It was as if he was about to walk through some fire.

        “Weeelllllll, remember how I went on about how the Great-and-Powerful Trixie is my master and stuff? Well, I would take whatever I learned from her and put on a fun and awesome little show for the kids. Snips actually has like, five little siblings! All from different dads of course, but still!” Snails answered carefully, speaking faster at the end like usual.

        “I take it they liked your show?”

        “Yeah! Even Snips thought it was cool! I can’t begin to describe how it feels to be cheered on after putting on a magic show! Like, it made me awaken something I never thought when I was just a colt who fooled around!”

        I guess he’s really passionate about his magic... but isn’t it stated that he won’t reach any sort of full potential unless he’s particularly talented? Last I remember, his talent’s in bug taming...

        “Err, Snails, what exactly are the contents of the magic show...?”

        “Oh, just me turning different things into different bugs and taming them to fly around, do tricks and whatnot. I mean, yeah. It’s probably as you suspect; I’m not quite that talented at magic, but I can use it to do a whole lotta cool tricks with bugs and even show that even the scariest ones aren’t so... you know, scary! Buuuuuuuut, like, it’s not like I summon bees, butterflies, parasprites, tatzelwurms, fruit flies, wasps, dragonflies, mosquitos-”

        I put a hoof to my face, sighing, “Stop right there... you’re making my head hurt.”

        “Oh come on, I haven’t even gotten started! Bugs are cool, but the Great and Powerful Trixie isn’t too fond of’em. Got sent flying through a window when I woke her up with a stag beetle one time! you should’ve seen it’s cute little legs crawl up her mane! Hehehehe~” Snails smiled with glee.

        You have an insane amount of balls to do that to Trixie...

        “Right... I think I get the picture regarding your shows for Snips’s siblings. And I assume he got jealous, right?”

        “Geez, way to ruin my attempt at lightening the mood!”

        “Shouldn’tve changed the topic.” I bluntly answered as usual.

        “Meh. But yeaaaah, he got a little snippy with me.”

        That pun was intended. It had to be.

        “When I told him that I was training with Trixie. After all that time, he still hated her.” Snails sighed.

        I could tell that Snails was probably more sad that his friend never learned to forgive before his death...

        “I see... I think I get the whole picture now.”

        “Yeah. Now it’s your turn, man.”

        “What?”

        “Tell me about Featherweight! He didn’t have some deep dark secrets, ya?”

        “Uh.......”

        No. I’m serious. Featherweight was as chipper as anypony can be. Ever positive and never one to quit.

        Though I can say he’s never really handled pressure well. He would freak out whenever the going got tough, but it never lasted. He would always bounce back and keep going.

        At the very least, I had to say that much. He didn’t particularly have any crazy secrets. His life was actually pretty lively, with his parents and brother always finding a way to have fun after a rough day, keeping hope alive.

        ....................

        “Hey, Shady. Glad we had this chat. But uh... next time, let’s not start with such a heavy topic, alright? I mean, it’s just that I’m being considerate for everypony here not just me, but I guess I sound selfish and stuff, but maybe it’s hard on you too and so maybe-”

        “Slow down, alright? We’re good.”

        Sheesh, what a motor mouth. But he’s right. Talking about this over and over, I don’t really feel like we’re getting any closer as friends. I just feel like a reporter pressing a victim for answers.

        Give me a break...


___________________________________________________________

10:54 AM, Generosity District - District Gateway

        After that chat, I decided to head back to the Honesty District. Not because I want to find out my motive.

        No.

        I just want to investigate some more.

        ...

        Am I lying to myself now? 

What’s happening to me...?

I wouldn’t have much of a chance to ponder though...

“Are you sure about that...?”

Walking past the Applejack statue, I could hear some voices...

        “C’mon! What’s the worst that can happen? Besides, look at this!”

        Wait... those voices sound like they’re coming from within the fruit forest...

        “Wha-! No! Who’d you get that from?! Monobear?!”

        “Scootaloo, shhh!!”

        Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo...

        I remember them saying they had a meeting, but why are they even hiding in the orchard? Don’t they realize how loud they are?
        
        I’ll hop over this fence and get in a little closer. This is a little too suspicious to ignore...

        I hide behind a pomogranate tree, listening to their voices grow louder as I draw closer. The trees ahead block out most of their figures, but as long as I can hear, that’s good enough.

        “Who knows? Point is, mah sister’s alive!” Apple Bloom whispered, holding her excitement back.

        Her sister? She has evidence of that?! But why would Monobear give her that kind of evidence!?

        No, wait...

        Him giving her something like that makes a lot of sense. It might give her all the more reason to kill.

        “That may mean Rarity’s alive too! I’m so glad!” I saw Sweetie Belle’s tail sweeping left and right...

        Why are you even happy about that though...?

        “Don’t get your hopes up. We still need to cover each other. Never know when Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon might want to kill us.” Scootaloo sighed.

        Despite the blatant bias against the spoiled wanna-be princess, Scootaloo makes a good point here.

        At least someone’s level-headed.

        “S-she wouldn’t! She may call us blank flanks but she wouldn’t go that far!”

        “She uses words that cut us like a knife every chance she gets!”

        “Still, we have to get along! We can’t keep fighting like this!” Sweetie Belle cried out.

        “Tch... I wouldn’t be so upset if I could just kill her without any consequences!” Scootaloo scoffed. I could even hear her spit on the ground.

        “Oh, did ya read yer motive?” Apple Bloom asked casually.

        “Nah, I don’t need Monobear’s help to get rid of her, but what if Rainbow Dash is alive? She’d stop thinking I’m cool if I sold you guys out like that.”

        “*phew*!” Sweetie Belle sighed with a bit of relief. 

        “Ya’ll need to stay alive ya hear? I don’t wanna get my cutie mark without ya’ll!”

        “You’re still on about that? You could be dead before that happens!”

        “All the more reason to hurry up! I’m a talented gal! I have potential! Ya really think Ah’ll just kick over n’ die like talentless trash?”

        “Wh- I didn’t say all of that! I just think we have more important things to worry about!”

        “Oh, is that so?” Apple Bloom asked, calmly. Yet, for some reason, I always get a chill down my spine when she starts behaving this way.

        “TWIST, WAIT! WAIT UP!!”

        Truffle? What...?

        Hearing his scream, I turn my head towards the dirt road leading back to the Applejack statue. I could see Twist galloping with all her strength, with Truffle chasing after her despite quickly running out of breath. After collapsing for a moment, he gets back up and runs after her again.

        “Hey, ya know? Ah’ ain’t spoken to Twist in a long time.” Apple Bloom suddenly said, then ran through the trees and over the fence.

“Wait, Apple Bloom?!”

         “Come back here! I’m not finished talking!” Scootaloo dashed off with Sweetie Belle, chasing after their friend.

        I better get out of here too.

        “Getting that scoop must be tough, ya know?”

        “I know, right? Gotta jump through hoop-oh my god!” I shrieked, turning to face Pipsqueak, who couldn’t hold back his laughter after startling me again.

        “Man, you’re gonna let the girls know you were spyin’ on’em, ya know?” Pip reminded me.

        I wouldn’t scream if he didn’t sneak up on me like that!

        After a deep sigh, I turn to him, “What do you want?”

        “I saw ya sneakin’ into the forest, ya know! Guess we’re lucky we didn’t get caught!”

        “Wait, how long were you-”

        “A few seconds after you jumped the fence! Thought I’d try to scare ya again, but man, you gotta admit, the girls were talking about some interesting stuff!”

        “So you think they’re suspicious?”

        “Mmmm, nah. Gotta have a little faith in’em, ya know! I’m not gonna get crazy ya know! Then again, I wish they were more or less talking about what kind of nightmares they had last night...”

        “That’s not a normal topic...”

        “Anyway, whaddya think? Should I go check out what my motive is? I mean, truth be told, I think good horror flicks gotta have an aesop, and well... yeah.”

        “It’s up to you. I mean, you have somepony you care about at home, right?” I asked.

        Did I seriously say that instead of saying ‘no’?

        “Yeah, my aunt, Milky Way. Been raising me since I heard the news ya know!”

        “What news?” I rose an eyebrow, expecting an answer considering how easygoing he is.

        “Oh, uh... no need to worry about that, ya know! Hahahaha! Gotta run off. See ya, and try not to have a heart attack!”

        That was weird... suddenly running off like that. Don’t tell me that I’ve actually found a sensitive topic...?

        Anyway, let’s get out of here.


________________________________________________________________

12:00 PM, Honesty District - Crop Fields

        “Huh, the guard’s gone.”

        It wasn’t standing outside the crop circle this time... Guess I can enter without restraint.

        “Hey you!”

        I know that annoying voice anywhere now...

        “Yeah, you! I need some entertainment! Care to read a story in Monobear’s Aesop Madness?”

        “Aesop Madness?”

        “C’mon, you’re supposed to be my jesters! Haven’t you ever needed some fun entertainment when you’re stressed out from dealing with pests?!” Monobear clenched his little paw.

        “What, got too many fleas on you?”

        “Aww. Guess you don’t get it. But it’s better that you don’t. If I told you, you’d get all chummy with me!”

        Right...

        I turn my attention to the bookshelf, which lacked any sign of Rumble or Truffle Shuffle...

        Just those two? Could’ve sworn Apple Bloom read hers...

        “...let’s just get this over with.” I walk up to the bookshelf to grab the blue book with my portrait on it.

        ... It’s surprisingly thin, actually. Guess they are children’s books, right?

        Why am I doing this?

        Curiosity? Satisfaction? An inability to resist temptation? Possibilities?

        There’s nopony here to stop me, is there?

        I take a seat in the dirt, and open the book with my left hoof...

        Inside, I could see the text, accompanied by crudely drawn illustrations.


___________________________________________________________________


A long time ago, there once was a sheep, who had hopes and dreams that extended beyond the reaches of space.

A space that only he knew in his mind, and kept it to himself.

His own world, he knew the way things worked for everyone, but not himself.

Others would reach for the stars of this lone sheep’s world, but he, as the god rejected them all.

Giving up, the outsiders would continue with their everyday, ordinary lives.

The sheep, giving up, would continue with his every, ordinary life.

A life that continued until he became just a memory that would soon fade with each generation.

A life that was considered ordinary, a life that the sheep never gave up on, a life that the sheep simply went along with.

No one knew this sheep, aside from his name, age, and a few details such as what kind of food he likes.

But those details are quick to disappear into the void of time.

______________________________________________________________


        I’m... confused... What is this?

        “So? Whaddya think? Huh? Award-winning?” Monobear asked, tilting his head, kicking his legs about.

        “Short story.” I commented, closing the book.

        “I know, right? I think I did pretty well if I do say so myself! So what’s the aesop?”

        “This is about me, right? That I should stop being a realist?” I asked, giving the obvious answer.

        “BZZZZT! Aww, I thought I made the aesop for this one painfully obvious!” Monobear hung his head low in disappointment, “But since you got it wrong, there’s no prize for you!”

        “I read your stupid story, what the heck!?”

        “But you missed the point of the story! Geez, you’re quite the idiot! Guess that’s why you got that little idiot antenna on your head like a typical protagonist, huh? Uu~pupupu~!” Monobear giggled.

        “Hang on, the message couldn’t be anything else!”

        “Come on, isn’t disappointment a gift too? But hey, get out! You were wrong already!” Monobear clapped his paws together, summoning a Monoguard to stand in my presence.

        “Damn it!”

        Of course Monobear would cackle at my failure here...

        Despite being forced out of the barn, my book was here at my hooves. Guess it’d be okay to take it.


______________________________________________________________________


9:30 PM, Generosity District - Shady’s House

        “I still don’t get it!!”

        The book I held in my hooves was sent flying at the desk lamp in a fit of frustration.

        The only good this book did was get me to ponder my life until now.

        I wake up, work, come back, donate money to the orphanage... rinse and repeat.

        My life would have some stable pattern to it, conforming, working as a functioning member of society.

        ...

        If that were the case, I guess I wouldn’t have had as much fun trying to get that one big scoop for the Ponyville Express.

        I’ll always be grateful to Featherweight for helping me get a job there.

        I didn’t have quite the talent, but they would rely on my connections, which is pretty critical.

        Yet, if I’m laying here reminiscing, then maybe I have a serious problem.

        I really don’t know anymore.

        If I’m some sort of functioning member of society with such a set pattern, maybe that’s why everypony here thinks I’m so easy to read.

        ....................................

        *KNOCK KNOCK*

        I need to get up.

        *KNOCK KNOCK* *DING DONG*

        Dunno who it could be, but I guess I better see who it is and fast.

        The knocking starts to kick up the pace, soon followed by a loud, annoying ding-dong.

        Alright... on the hooves, and out the door.

        The door opens faster than I intended, despite not putting that much force into opening it.

        After the wide swing, along with a quick breeze, a cold, rough steel made contact with my neck for a brief moment.

        Thanks to instinct, I find myself lying on the floor, then rolling away from repeated attempts to disembowel me with a pitchfork!

        ...!

        “Dinky Doo...?!”

        What the hell is going on?! Why is she trying to kill me!?

        “GIVE ME BACK MY MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!”

        Her cry, her demand echoed through the walls of this house, ringing my eardrums.

        “What the hell are you talking about!?” I quickly got up and backed away slowly.

        Dinky Doo’s tears dripped to my floor, as she slowly marched towards me.

        “You know... what you did... TO MY MOM!”

        I seriously don’t know what she’s talking about!

        Wait... was it the motive?! If that’s the case, then how did it drive her trying to kill me!?

        I scan my surroundings for a way to get around her.

        I’m backed into a wall, so my options are limited...

        Not to mention there’s a trail of blood on the floor, stopping to where I am. Not to mention the sudden pain around my neck.

        ...

        Oh. Well this might not end well...

        Think! Come on, THINK! Don’t stop thinking...!

        Got it!

        My legs gather strength as they take me straight to her. At that moment, she used her magic to try and stab me fast.

        Just as I thought! Now a quick tuck-n’-roll... yes! I’m at the door!

Now to just run! I’ll head for the Honesty District; there’s gotta be something I can use! I can’t die yet!
 
        “DIE, SHADY! DIE! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!”

        “WHAT THE HELL DID I DO?!”

        “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!”

        Right, of course she won’t tell me!

        I just have to keep running... and hope I find some first aid...!

        Okay, there’s the gate! Wait, why can’t I...?! No, NO!

        Crap, of course she’s use her magic on me! I have to fight it! I have to! I can’t die! Not now!!!

        Wait, I can save myself if I just... need to reach for it... fight this magic and hit that shutter when I’m close enough...

        Just a little more... come on... aaahh...! *FLASH*

        “AAAGH!!!” 

        The moment I heard Dinky’s yelp, I fell to the pavement, but quickly got up and galloped away, holding onto the camera tightly.

        Thanks buddy...


_____________________________________________________________

9:45 PM, Honesty District - Apple Barn

        Alright, there’s the barn!

        I quickly run inside and slam the doors shut before collapsing to the floor.

        “Haaa... haaa... damn it...”

        I guess I’m pretty lucky that the wound’s not too deep. Too bad the trail might get me killed for real this time...

        I have to look for something... to defend myself with...

        The moment I got on my hooves, bam, goes the door, blowing a gust of wind at my back.

        Heh... she got here quick.

        Ah, she’s about to throw the pitchfork at me. With that magic of hers, she won’t miss.

        I have to dodge it.

        Just as I started to think this through, Dinky Doo’s body was sent flying to the wooden beam in here, slamming her head against it. After a loud thud, an unconscious unicorn laid out near the door.

        “Good thing I got here in time. Are you okay?”

        “You should be grateful.”

        Oh, Ginger. And Silver Spoon. Wait, how did they find me... oh right.

        I quickly figured it out the moment Ginger rushed to my aid, examining my neck.

        “It’s not too bad, but we need to get you some first aid.”

        “I’ll inform the others.” Silver Spoon walked off. “We can’t stay in the dark about this.”

        “And her...?” I looked over to Dinky.

        “She’s just unconscious.” Ginger answered.

        “... Let me make sure.” I barely walk over to Dinky, placing my forehoof to her neck. Sure enough, I felt a steady thump.

        “Wow, can’t even trust me for a minute, huh?”

        “I don’t really know much about you besides the fact that you’re a girl scout for some crazy group.” I replied.

        “You’re right about that, but you seriously need some first aid, Shady. Keep losing blood like this, and you’ll end up unconscious.” Ginger said before scanning her surroundings. “There’s gotta be a first-aid kit around here somewhere...”

        I watch her movement to make sure she’s not trying anything funny. I’ll believe the first aid when I see it.

        “Oh!” Ginger dug around the hay next to the barn door. “Dynamite?!”

        “You planning to blow me up...?”

        “Shady, I’m simply helping out of the kindness of my heart. At the very least, I’d like to believe that kindness gives everypony a decent sense morality.” Ginger replied with a hint of irritation.

        “Oh... you’re planning on treating Dinky too then.”

        “Yes. I wish I didn’t have to kick her like that, but I just couldn’t sit by and watch you die.” Ginger pulled out another crate from the hay, and opening it quickly.

        “Okay, we have some cotton balls, alcohol... don’t need those... oh, out of gauze. Hang on!” Ginger whipped her to the left side of the exit, noticing a cloth there.

        Oh, right... that large cloth covering the hole Pip made... or was it Grace?

        After a harsh ripping sound, Ginger approached me with the first-aid supplies.

        She laid me on my back, prompting me to relax for a moment. I could feel her hoof tilting my head upwards, and suddenly a sharp, burning sensation!!

        “Hold still! We have to clean the wound!” Ginger struggled to wipe the blood off... and my flailing about wasn’t helping. It’s not my fault this happened!

        Right... as a Super High-School Level Girl Scout, she’d have to know First Aid, but still!

        She thoroughly cleaned the blood off, then quickly applied that piece of cloth around my neck, with that same stinging sensation. However, it wasn’t as strong.

Guess she must’ve used alcohol on the cloth as well. It’s not too tight either, thankfully.

        “Okay, that should do it! Now to treat Dinky...” Ginger quickly ran over to the unconscious killer to treat her wound as well.

______________________________________________________________

10:11 PM, Generosity District - Coffee Shop        

        We gathered here after getting my wounds treated and tying Dinky to a chair, leaving her in the barn. Emergency discussion I guess.

        But I’m not really in the mood.

“Man, I thought I’d have to go through that whole trial thing again. I’m already sick of it!” Snails complained, gripping his head in anguish.

        “Ya know, I still think she had a good reason for targeting Shady, ya know?” Pipsqueak didn’t look like his usual easy-going self.

A memory that would fade into the void of time...

        “Hmph! She was whining about her mom! I bet she got some kind of dead body pic!” Diamond Tiara said.

        “Don’t joke about that!” Sweetie Belle cried out. It’s too sad that somepony almost died!

        “Don’t see you blank flanks coming up with any ideas!” Tiara scoffed at her demand.

        “Quite peculiar indeed...” Rumble sighed.

        “Guys, think it might’ve been those books? That aesop madness thing!” Snails said, turning to Rumble.

        “Rumble, you read your book, right?! What was it about!?” Scootaloo angrily asked.

        “Oh, I simply got a document or two about my brother, nothing special. Of course, you get nothing if you get the aesop wrong.” Rumble answered coolly as usual, looking at me.

        Guess he must’ve saw when I tried to guess my aesop.

        If it’s not about keeping others away, then just... what is it?

        “Then that means Blue Snooper don’t know a damn thing...” Grace scratched her head.

        “Wait, what about Dinky? We can’t just leave her there by herself ya know!” Pip sternly suggested.

Time... memory... past tense...

        “I say we have somepony watch over her for the night! We need to at least be ready to ask questions when she regains consciousness!” Truffle made a good point, but still...

        “We also need to make sure we all take turns so we don’t fall asleep.” Ginger said.

        “Oh, the Nighttime rule, I forgot about that!” Truffle frowned, almost as if he were regretting his forgetfulness.

        “Ah’ll watch over’er!” Apple Bloom stood on two hooves as she made her quick declaration.

        “Oh no you don’t. We watch over her; all three of us!” Scootaloo scolded her.

        “Pfft, you three blank flanks? Seriously? I’d rather barf!” Diamond Tiara said, flipping her hair.

        “But Truffle Shuffle has a point. We need to know why she tried to kill Shady Daze.” Silver Spoon added.

        “You sure you don’t know anything?!” Scootaloo turned to me with a scowl.

        .........

        Is this my punishment? For my own world view?

        “I told you, I don’t know why she tried to kill me.” I answered.

        But she did try to kill me.

        I was just thinking about Featherweight in the past tense before all of this.

        “Does it matter!? Point is, she DID try to kill! She’s dangerous if you ask me!” Diamond Tiara argued.

        Past tense...

        Past tense... past tense... I just thought of Featherweight in the past tense...

        “We still don’t know! We need more information ya know!” Pip stood his ground on the issue.

        “I... I can help watch Dinky too actually.” Twist meekly rose her hoof, volunteering.

        “Oh, see? Twist has a talent! She’d be much better than you three!” Diamond taunted.

        “Oh, whatever! You’re just scared of her, aren’t you!” Scootaloo fired shots at the spoiled mare.

        Past tense...!

        “You wanted to call me a chicken, didn’t you! YOU CHICKEN!” Diamond fired back. She shouldn’t be surprised that Scootaloo tried to hop the table to attack her. Thankfully Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are holding her back.

I wouldn’t be here if Ginger didn’t save me.

What would’ve happened if I died?

        They’d talk about me in the past tense, right?

        And I’d be just a memory... to disappear into the void of time...?

        A memory that’d fade in due time. 

It’s like I’d cease to exist. Is that really me? My fate?

        ......I... I can’t.

        I won’t have it...

        “I WON’T HAVE IT!”

        “S-Shady!?” Sweetie Belle tried to call out to me, but...

        I... I can’t have this happen!

       She's gonna try to kill me again, right?! RIGHT?!

        My body bolted on it’s own in a mad gallop to the barn where Dinky Doo was restrained.

        I might agitate my wounds with this furious screaming, but I don’t care... I have to live! I don’t wanna die!

        There’s the barn... I just... have to kill her, right?!

        “SHADY! STOP!”

        Against all expectations, I felt something heavy slam against my side, sending me sliding  into the crop circle. I open my eyes, expecting to see stars, but instead, I see Miss Cheerilee’s face hovering over me.

        “Don’t do it! It’s not worth it! Don’t do it!” Sweetie Belle shouted.

        “But... but I...!!!”

        “Shady, it’s okay! You’re not alone!” Just as Sweetie Belle said that, my teacher wrapped her arms around me, holding me close, despite my trembling...

        I even felt small droplets of water hitting my cheeks. I felt prompted to look at the source... the eyes of my teacher... our class pet.

        “She’s right!” Ginger added, rushing to my side.

        ......

        I... really was about to... huh?

        I...

        “Ahh... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

        All I could do was regret that desire to kill through screaming into Miss Cheerilee’s chest.

        “It’s okay... it’ll be alright.” Sweetie Belle cooed.

        Even as Sweetie Belle and Miss Cheerilee tried to comfort me, I just... couldn’t stop screaming.

        *CRASH*

        “What?!” I opened my eyes and quickly broke away from Miss Cheerilee to look at the direction that noise came from.
        
        *BOOM!*

        I quickly grab Sweetie Belle, pulling her down to the ground as I felt something fly over us.

        Whipping my head around, I could see a wheel and some large pieces of wood strewn all over. The source of it all easily illuminating the night sky.

        “Oh no! NO!” Ginger galloped to the blazing wreckage that was once a simple barn. 

        “Dinky Doo!!” Sweetie Belle screamed.

        I’m already assuming the worst. When I step closer, I stumble upon a certain mare at my feet.

        “Wait a minute, Twist?! What’s she doing-” I started to ask, but got an immediate answer.

        “She was checking on Dinky to make sure nothing happened!” Ginger answered as she checked on her, gasping the moment she determined the burns on her back. “Her burns are horrible... second... no, third degree burns!”

        She’s barely even breathing, her glasses are broken. There’s blood running down her face as well... Looks like the culprit tried to kill them both...

        “H-help... me...” Twist meekly cried out.

        “Who would do this...?” Sweetie Belle’s tears would never soothe the flames that lit up the night.

        Before we could look for a way through, I suddenly felt some wet drops hitting my face.

        After several minutes, the fire was put out, revealing a horribly charred unicorn.


Ding~Ding! A body has been discovered!


> Ch.2 Abnormal Days Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        I thought the rain would’ve stopped, but for some reason it came back, this time even heavier than before and on top of that, acting very indecisive. Is the rain sticking around or not?

At the moment of downpour, Sweetie Belle quickly emitted a light-purple hue around us, much to our convenience.

Soon, the others arrived, following Snails as he had his magical umbrella covering the others.

This is the second time I wanted anypony dead... And I somehow got my wish.

I’m sure they’ll believe that this is my doing.

I can't really blame them if that’s the case... 

Can I even say that I didn’t want this? Can I at least convince myself that I didn’t want this?

I...

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! Twist! Oh Celestia, why?! Why did she...?!” Truffle rushed to the red-mane mare at an unexpected speed, quickly holding her close.

“Damn it! Shady, did you do this?! Tell me ya didn’t do this!” Pip marched towards me, maybe intending to knock me down.

“Back off, Pip!” Grace held Pip by the shoulder.

“Lemmie go, Gracie! I want answers!”

“...........”

I didn’t feel like saying anything.

What good will it do to deny it? I won’t protest what I didn’t do. It’s obvious I didn’t do it.

I understand why I’m a suspect, but... I want to believe that the others aren’t stupid.

“No, he didn’t!” Sweetie Belle defended me.

“Hmph! Blank flanks lying to cover each other. Typical!” Of course, Diamond Tiara would find some way to add an insult.

“Diamond, this is no time for-” Ginger’s reminder was shot down quickly.

“Shut it! I know you’ve been trying to take Silver Spoon away from me! She’s my friend, not yours!”

“Actually, it is my decision on who gets to be my friend. Now I suggest we focus on the bigger picture.” Silver interjected with a sharp reply.

“The bigger picture is that you’re probably trying to turn against me!” She doesn’t sound so spoiled when she talks like that.

“...........” Silver Spoon... either she didn’t have a comeback, or refused to make one.

“Ugh, whateve-uaaah!?” Tiara turned around, but suddenly yelped the moment we heard a blaring alarm in the distance, quickly coming closer in a matter of seconds.

What sped past Tiara, coming to a screeching halt in front of the crime scene, was a  random firetruck. Monobear would suddenly hop out with a firehose, desperately looking left and right.

“Alright, where’s the fire... aww... I wanted to put it out! Stupid weather control!” Monobear complained.

Weather control...?

“Monobear! I thought there was some kind of rule to not destroy property!” Pip said, hoping for confirmation.

“Nah, I don’t really care. Why should I? Anyways, you’re not supposed to be is perfectly sealed and extra enforced to resist horse bucking!” Monobear walked to the crime scene, walking around Dinky’s charred body. “Wow, this is a doozy! You bastards are extreme! Destroying both my barn and harvester!”

“So one of us is the culprit again?” Silver asked.

“Of course! Whaddya expect? That pony didn’t cook itself!” Monobear aimed the hose at one last lingering flame on top of the corpse. After quick squirt, he felt relieved, acting as if he just worked hard putting out the fire.

“Forget that, we need to get Twist some help! HELP HER!” Truffle demanded, holding Twist closer to his chest.

“Y-you know, you should ask your king a bit more nicely...” Monobear trembled at the bass of Truffle’s demands.

“She’s gravely injured! Her beautiful coat is burnt!” Truffle pleaded.

“Well, that’ll be twice the points for tonight’s culprit! Would I really want to deny our lovely culprit those extra points?”

“YOU MUST! I want Twist saved NOW!”

“Oh? She’s not the only one burnt. Also, would it kill you to beg? Seriously, I’m the king! BEG ME!” Monobear pointed at Dinky’s corpse.

Truffle quickly bows to the stuffed teddy bear, appearing in a pose of worship, “PLEASE! KING MONOBEAR, HELP HER NOW! I BEG YOU!”

Truffle, don’t you have any pride left?

“Haaa... fine, fine. So demanding.” Monobear complied after a quick giggle at Truffle’s anguish.

After letting out a sigh, Monobear clapped his paws together, summoning two guards to take Twist away.

“You bastards were a bit too thorough! Don’t you see what’s happened now? I doubt you’ll ever solve this crime with the way things are!” Monobear asked.

“What’s that supposed to mean!?” Scootaloo hissed.

“Game balancing issues! As much as I’d love to execute all of you, I’m trying to run a fair game here! Why do you think that is?!”

“...THE EVIDENCE!” Tiara panicked.

“There’s also Twist... Considering that she’s still alive, she may know who the culprit is. If she didn’t get hurt so badly, we wouldn’t have to worry about the lack of evidence.” Rumble surmised, giving another calm smile.

How could he smile at a time like this!?

“Bingo! Without evidence, you’d never stand a chance! So, I’m gonna give you a handy little tool for tonight’s investigation!”

“A tool...?” I asked.

“As of now, that tool is activated! I’ll leave you bastards to investigate for a while before we have our next class trial! If you’re smart, you’ll figure it out!” Monobear ran back into the firetruck.

“Wait you asshole! You ain’t gonna even tell us?!” Grace angrily asked.

“I’m not gonna help you THAT much! If you can’t show me your resolve to live, then you don’t deserve to! Happy investigating~!”

There he goes... driving back through the orchid. He probably ran somepony over with that firetruck at some point.

“Is a king allowed to have a driver’s license?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Who cares! He’s not even gonna tell us what that ‘tool’ is! Useless!” Tiara complained. “And I have to investigate a murder again!? You idiots are making me sick!”

“Says the bitch who bullied us for years...” Scootaloo muttered.

Tiara whipped her head around, glaring and furiously approaching Scootaloo. “What was that? Come on, say it again, you blank chicken!”

“You heard me! We make you sick?! How do you think I feel about you!?” Scootaloo’s eyes were starting to show a fury like a ghost with a thousand year grudge.

“Stop this now! We have to figure out who killed Dinky or we’ll all die!” Ginger stood in between them, holding Tiara back.

“Oh, that’s funny! Last I heard, she was trying to kill Shady for that stupid promotion, probably to show off to her mom! She’s just as guilty and she deserved what she got!” Tiara fired back.

“SHUT THE HELL UP!”

Tiara shrieked at the volume of Pipsqueak’s simple demand.

“Ya know... All she ever wanted was to see her mom again, that’s it...” Pip’s voice was quivering, but he continued his rant without fail. “But she had to die because one of you couldn’t control that urge, ya know!? We need to solve this crime... for her sake.”

“Then do it! Just leave me out of it!” Tiara began storming off again.

“What, you think you're too good for this or something? That you’re too good to get executed along with the rest of us?!” Snails asked.

“I don’t THINK! I AM too good for this! You idiots should be glad somepony like me is here to lead!” Tiara viciously answered.

“Don’t be surprised if we ain’t gonna listen!” Apple Bloom quipped, sticking out her tongue.

“Tch...! Do what you want! I’ll solve this crime, then we’ll see who’s stupid! I won’t get mislead this time!” Whipping her pink mane, she quickly walked away.

I guess that did wonders in flipping her switch though. She has to be smart enough to know that she just can’t walk out of this.

During the first trial, I recall how the murderer practically made her look like an idiot, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who felt that way.

Guess we’ll get to see if she’s as smart as she claims.

“Hmm... perhaps while we investigate, we’ll have to find out what Monobear meant by a tool for us to use.” Ginger said.

“Might be something in our homes I guess?” Scootaloo said.

I attempted to walk away from the wreckage, heading for the crop circle, but I suddenly felt a hoof on my back.

“Whoa, hold on. You’re not going anywhere!” Scootaloo walked in front of me, blocking me off.

“Hey, I thought Blue Snooper didn’t do it! Didn’t Sweetie Belle and Ginger say so?” Grace chimed in, scowling at Scootaloo.

“How do we know that our little girl scout ain’t lying then!?” Scootaloo pointed at Ginger.

“Wow, way to imply the worst.” Ginger sighed.

“What!?” Scootaloo widened her eyes, then noticed Sweetie Belle’s solemn expression.

“So you think I’m lying too? Scoots, we’re friends!” Sweetie Belle pleaded.

“I-I don’t! I just... I can’t trust this guy!” Scootaloo pointed her forehoof at me. “Why should I!? He was gonna kill Dinky anyways, so-”

“Then we can just help him out! We’ll work together like always!” Apple Bloom suggested, cutting Scootaloo’s defense short. “Hmm hmm... Ah’ can feel it! We clear his name, we’ll get our cutie marks for sure!”

“You can’t be serious... that’s what this is about?! I’m willing to do my part, but not for something like that! Cutie marks can wait! We don’t have time for that!” Scootaloo reminded, this time much more harsh in tone.

“Guys, please don’t-” Sweetie Belle’s pleas fell on deaf ears.

“But what if we’re next? What if we die? We’ll die talentless, die as a nopony. Die as a blank. Do ya want that? Ah’ don’t! So let’s get busy! Positive thinking!”

‘Positive Thinking’ and desperation don’t mix. Just so you know.

“Tch... You know, fine. Do whatever you want, Apple Bloom, but I’m staying out of it. Unlike you, I’ll focus on survival!” Scootaloo walking away, headed straight for the Generosity District.

“C’mon Sweetie Belle! Let’s go!” Apple Bloom prompted.

“B-but what about Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle kept her eye on her friend.

“She’ll come around! We’re friends, aren’t we? Friends fight all the time!” Apple Bloom said without a care in the world.

You... You’re starting to sound like him...

“Braaaaaaavoooo you three...~”

And look who speaks up...

“R-Rumble!” Sweetie Belle whipped her head around seeing him smiling like usual.

“Hiya Rumble! Wanna join us?” Apple Bloom nonchalantly invited him, despite his behavior.

“Not right now. But before you take Shady with you, I need to borrow him for a moment. Go ahead without him for now, okay?” Rumble smiled.

“Alright~” Apple Bloom agreed.

...........

What does he want now?

Rumble stood next to me as he watched them walk around the crops.

“Shady, that was magnificent.”

He looked as if he couldn’t contain his excitement.

“What was?” I asked, despite knowing what he meant.

“Those three. It seems like their bond is being tested. These abnormal days have tested their bond ever since. You can see it too, I’m sure.”

“You’re going on about friendship again?” I asked, disregarding my growing irritation.

“Relax. I am not here to play the role of an admirer. Rather, I’m here to give you a piece of advice that you should focus on.”

“This better be good.” I rolled my eyes.

Just get on with it.

“Why did she try to kill you?” Rumble asked, lacking a smile this time. He looked pretty calm and focused. For once, I thought I could take him just a little seriously.

“I told you, I don’t know why!”

“Then find the answer. That’s all I can say for now. You know where to look after all. You actually decided to read your motive and it made you go insane. I have to say, that was quite unexpected. But I think we can keep that from happening in the future if you’d just make that contract with me.”

“No, I’m fine. Instead of pestering me about this, you should investigate too.”

Besides, I won’t let myself fall into that again.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already activated my thinking cap. I’ll see you once more when the trial begins.” Rumble outstretched his wings, and whoosh, flying into the air like a bird, I was left behind.

Figure out her motive, huh?

Were it so easy.


INVESTIGATION START!


Okay... before I begin focusing on the motive, I need to scrounge what little evidence I can get.

Starting with who read the motives...

I head to the crop circle where Monobear held his Aesop madness at, hoping to get a look at the bookshelf. There’s probably somepony other than Rumble and I who read their motive.

Finding the bookshelf surprisingly intact, I can see that Ginger, Twist, Diamond, Silver, Snails, Grace, and Pipsqueak never read their motives. Their books sat on the shelf, untouched. However, Myself, Rumble, Truffle, Dinky, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom all read their motives. All noted.

It doesn’t help much, but it’s a start.


NEW AMMO

-Motives Read: Shady, Rumble, Truffle Shuffle, Dinky Doo, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom read their motives.

At the very least, I should ask the ones who read their motives some questions. 

Oh right, there’s one important thing I need to look at!

I extend my left hoof, opening the ID menu, scrolling to the Monobear File. Next to the choice on the screen, it read “New!” next to it. I open it, and it displayed a photo of Dinky Doo, with her profile in black and white. With a small doodle of fire displayed around her picture, there seems to be a little mark around her head, right next to her horn.

Guess these are becoming more detailed.




-The Victim is Dinky Doo.
-The estimated time of death is around 10:20 PM.
-The body was found in the Honesty District barn.
-The victim died while restrained inside the barn.
-The victim has a concussion and skull fracture on her forehead.
-In addition, the victim is covered in fourth degree burns. 
-Death is almost instantaneous.




NEW AMMO

-Monobear File: Details of the victim’s death are contained within.

10:20... that was around the time the barn exploded. I’m pretty sure the dynamite had to be the cause.

Let’s go over what I already know and connect some dots.


NEW AMMO

-Dynamite: Found by Ginger Snap in the barn when she was treating my injuries. What could’ve set it off though?

It says the death was almost instantaneous here... if one explosion from the dynamite didn’t do it, then the harvester had to finish the job, right?


NEW AMMO

-Wrecked Carbine Harvester: I can see the wreckage of the harvester at the site of the murder. Did the culprit drive it in? That would explain the crash we heard before the explosion...

Also, a skull fracture...? Guess she must’ve hit her head pretty hard when Ginger knocked her out. 

Either way, I better keep note of all of this.

Okay... that’s four bits of evidence right off the bat based on what I already know, but I wouldn’t be able to point hooves at anypony unless I can get something more concrete.

I have to figure out Dinky’s motive, talk to everypony who read their motives, and figure out what Monobear meant by giving us a ‘tool’ to use. I have a vague idea, but I better take advantage of this opportunity to gather evidence on my own.

“So Ginger, how’d you find Shady anyway?”

Before I could get moving, my ears twitched the second I heard my name. I can also see Pip digging through the wreckage, desperately looking for something. I’ll keep my eye on him...

This line of questioning takes control of my legs, bringing me closer to the conversation. Honestly, I’m curious too. How did she find me?

“Oh, Shady. I was just gonna answer that question. I guess you just couldn’t resist your name being heard from my lips.” Ginger giggled. “But yes... I was in the coffee shop, having a chat with Silver Spoon about our plans. But when I suddenly heard ‘Die Shady Die’, how could I not?”

Oh... Well that makes sense. The coffee shop doesn’t have soundproof walls unlike our homes.

“Plus, that trail you left didn’t really help.”

“Yeah, you okay man?” Snails looked at my neck worriedly.

“I’m fine. It’s no big deal.” I answered.

“You would’ve passed out from blood loss if you left that wound untreated.” Ginger put a hoof to her face.

“Poor Dinky... what could’ve made her snap? And for that matter, what made you snap, man? I mean, sure she tried to kill you, but that was way too sudden!” Snails quickly said.

“I... read my motive. I didn’t get the prize, but it still got me.” I answered.

I’d rather not go into details.

“Then, maybe she actually won her prize?” Snails asked himself.

“You realize this applies to more than just her, right? If you look at the bookshelf, more of those books are missing.” I pointed to the crop circle.

“Oh, so you know I didn’t need to read the motive... yeah, I’m not gonna be a hypocrite...” Snails nervously said, but I can tell he means it.

“I had no reason to read mine either. Rather, I never had the time.” Ginger sighed.

“So you planned to?” I asked, which made Ginger start walking towards the crops.

“A little curiosity never hurt anypo... oh, that was mean.” Ginger widened her eyes, sighed, then continued. “Ahem, I was just as curious as you and Rumble. I wanted to see if it’d say something about my motivations now. So much for that...”

Ginger stopped at the bookshelf, looking at her own hardcover. She reached for it, but stopped her advance.

“What’s that supposed to mean though? Why didn’t you get to read it?” 

“Because the Cutie Mark Crusaders.” She turned to me after giving her answer.

“Huh? Wait, you mean they were in the way somehow?” I asked.

“They were practically keeping anypony else from reading the motive while they read theirs. Selfish, aren’t they? But I suppose they had good intentions.” Ginger answered.

“How’d they block the way?”

“By just sitting there on that road, studying their books.”

“Then... how... wait, when did Dinky get to read her motive?” I asked, confused.

Something’s not right here...

“That’s the biggest mystery. I’m beginning to think that maybe they spoke to her at some point. Maybe recruit her since she too didn’t have a mark.”

Okay, that may explain at least why Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon didn’t read theirs. If the CMC were in the way, They’d want nothing to do with it. However, why’d they let Dinky read hers? Whether they did or not may answer a lot of questions...


NEW AMMO

-Ginger’s Testimony: States that the CMC blocked anypony else off from reading their motives. Just when did Dinky read hers?

Something’s bothering me though...

“Guys! I found something here!” Pip shouted, prompting us to come over.

“What is it?” Snails asked.

“Look at this! I found it under the wheel there!” Pip held out what appeared to be a crushed object that looked nothing like the rest of the pieces. It looked as if it were formerly a piece of hard plastic with some metal attached to it. 

“Dude, you sure that didn’t just come off the harvester itself?” Snails asked.

“Actually...” Ginger narrowed her eyes, trailing off. “I think that might be the lighter from the first-aid kit I found...”

“Lighter!?” I couldn’t keep my shock contained this time.

“Well, yes. When I pulled out the dynamite, you were paranoid enough as it is. Did you honestly want me to go further?” Ginger asked, giving me a ‘you can’t be serious’ look.

“DYNAMITE?! WE HAD THAT!?” Pip fell on his rear.

“You... didn’t know? I found it next to the hole you crashed through. I could’ve sworn you had known about it.”

“No, I didn’t know! Besides, I was dazed when Gracie bucked me to next week, ya know?!” Pip quickly denied.

“Don’t say it like that!” Snails interjected, blushing for some reason.

Okay, she had a point. But she knew that there was a lighter in that box!

“You three are acting as if a lighter is something uncommon in a first-aid kit. It actually a necessity.” Ginger groaned.

“Whaddya mean?” Pip asked.

“A lighter is used to sterilize sharp objects that would be used during a first-aid process, like a needle or something similar. If you were attacked by say, a griffon or something, and they slash a wound into your chest... you wouldn’t want some nasty germs getting into your bloodstream, right?” Ginger smiled gently, but I have a feeling she was imagining some seriously terrifying stuff in that head of hers.

Least we know how the fuse was lit on that dynamite now.


NEW AMMO

-First-Aid Lighter: It may be broken now, but this had to be why the dynamite was lit.

Pip and Ginger continue to look through the rubble in hopes of scavenging any evidence, with Snails supporting them with his magic.

I still have to meet up with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, but I’ll try to talk to the others along the way. If I can get information on their locations and such, I’ll have a better lead.


________________________________________________________________

Generosity District - Central Courtyard

“Hey you!”

The moment I passed through the gate, a certain prissy voice grabs my attention from the sidelines.

“Diamond, what is it?”

She walked a little past me, then turned around, giving me a smug look. “Oh, I dunno... just waiting for the killer so I can talk to him.”

“Don’t tell me you think I did it...” I sighed.

Tiara would sigh as well, even shrugging off my statement. “Of course not. She tried to kill you, and I still think she got what was coming!”

“That’s pretty callous.” I retorted.

“You don’t have the right to say that to me!” Widening her eyes and putting a hoof to the side of her head, it’s like she’s saying ‘Are you stupid or something!?’.

...

She has a point though.

“Hmph!” She looked away from me, “If you did kill her, I’d out you in a heartbeat! I don’t care if you think I’m your number one source!”

“Let’s just focus on the real killer then.” I said, changing the topic.

“I got a theory! I bet it was one of those blank flanks!” Tiara just had to go there, didn’t she?

“But I’m a ‘blank flank’, and we already know I didn’t-”

“I didn't mean you, you idiot! You’re different! I meant those crusading idiots!” Diamond Tiara clarified.

“You sure you’re not being biased?”

“Oh, I’m sure! VERY sure! In fact, I bet you’re looking for them now, huh? To question them?”

“Do you even know why?” I asked, since she’s got the right idea, funny enough.

“Nope! But you’re gonna tell me, right? You’re gonna have to! You can’t resist telling me your secrets!” Tiara grinned confidently.

“What in the world are you babbling about? And I never agreed to tell you anything!”

“Oh? But I thought I was your number one source. I mean, I could just stop, but I thought you’d have enough sense and decency to return the favor for all those precious little scoops I helped you with the past year!” Tiara turned away from me.

Whelp... she got me there.

Anything Canterlot related... I had to pry those lips open to get the info I needed.

I guess NOW she wants compensation.

“Did you look at the bookshelf?”

“I never even bothered with it. Daddy would buy me the highest quality books, so I deserve the best written stories to sit in my super expensive bookshelf. Why would I read something written by a stupid teddy bear?!”

Right...

So I explain to her about it and who read their motives and may or may not have claimed a prize for guessing the aesop.

“Ho ho~... So those three are suspicious after all? Hmph. Silver Spoon’s been trying to get me to bury the hatchet, but this changes EVERYTHING! Hehehehehe...” Tiara’s giggle sounded sinister...

“Don’t use this evidence to fuel your vendetta.” I reminded.

“But don’t you see!? This explains a lot! Think about it! Silver Spoon told me that those three blocked the way to the motive anyway!”

“Wait, did she try to read her motive too?”

“No, but Ginger and her had a chat about it. I just happened to be at the table, but I didn’t care.”

“So you knew that Dinky was trying to kill me anyway and didn’t help?”

“I’m a princess! A princess doesn’t soil her hooves with flanks like yours! You’re a stallion, right!? You took care of yourself, didn’t you? Quit getting so irritated!” Tiara looked away, twirling her hair.

I can’t believe this mare... unreasonably selfish to the core, doesn’t care about anypony but herself...

All she’s good for is being generous enough to give me information about the inner workings of Equestria’s politics. That’s it.

Ugh...

“W-w-w-wait! WAIT YOU!”

“What?” I turn around just to humor her.

“I didn’t finish what I was saying!”

aaaaaaand she has nothing useful.

“I don’t want to hear it.”

After hearing her groaning, I felt a surprise burst of wind brush my mane aside, giving a full view of Diamond Tiara’s scowl from her blue eyes.

And off she goes...

Figures. Typical, going home crying... err, wait a minute...

Why is she taking her nameplate off and heading to Dinky’s?

Oh right... I almost forgot somepony could do that. Note-to-self: Block my door with everything but the kitchen sink next time.

“GET OVER HERE!”

For a second I thought she’d actually pull out a rope to draw me in with.

I don’t get her at all. Regardless, she did open up Dinky’s home, so I better take a look.

___________________________________________________________________________


Generosity District - Dinky Doo’s home

To be honest, I expected this place to look like a cow stampede ran through here. Instead, it’s surprisingly well kept still.

“Hmph! I bet she threw away her motive somewhere!” Diamond Tiara said, heading straight for the trash can set by the bed. “Where the heck is it?” She then trotted over to the bin in the kitchen. “Here’s the book anyway...”

“It’s right in our face.” I looked at the table in the middle of the room, reminding me of where I had this camera placed all this time in my home.

Tiara took the book from the trash bin and trotted over here to the small table.

What lay before me was a yellow envelope, large enough to fit your typical office documents. In the middle, was a giant stamp in the center with Monobear’s face. It didn’t appear to be thick at all. Underneath the stamp, was a message in the center.


DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU SEE IN THE MEDIA!


That’s the aesop, isn’t it...?

“I-I knew that! I just thought you should read it first since you were the original target!” Flimsy excuses aside, she picked up the envelope and handed it to me. “Go on! Don’t keep me waiting!”

“This motive doesn’t have much to do with you, really.” I said, irritated at her pressing me.

“Just do it! Make it quick!” She demanded, like an anxious little filly waiting for her Hearth’s Warming present.

“Whatever.” I sighed.

I’m only doing this because this is what I need anyway. Once I open up this envelope, I might know why I was targeted...

I turned the envelope upside down, emptying its contents from the open slit at the top.

What spilled out, was a single newspaper article.

That’s it?

I picked up the paper, turning over to reveal what set Dinky Doo off. For some reason, the date is blotted out...

___________________________________________________________________


PONYVILLE EXPRESS ROYAL NEWS SECTION

-----------, -----------, ------------

Resident mailmare of Ponyville and mother, Ditzy Doo, was arrested today, charged with the crime of smuggling and theft from the Canterlot Archives. The ongoing investigation by the Canterlot Royal Guard and hired detectives was aided by an anonymous tip from one of our own.

The tip that the guards were given lead them to raid the mailmare’s home, discovering the tomes of forbidden time travel spells stuffed inside an official post office carrying bag. The books were immediately confiscated and returned to the royal library just when the arrest was made.

The mailmare denies any wrongdoing, and immediately demanded a lawyer. A trial will be held for Ditzy Doo, for she could face life in the dungeon or a possible execution for these crimes.

Further development of this story will continue when a verdict is reached.
_________________________________________________________________

What followed the article, was an overhead photo of Ditzy Doo, being taken to Canterlot’s Dungeon...!

Wha... what’s going on here!?
> Ch.2 Abnormal Days Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Unbelievable...

Ditzy Doo arrested... for theft and smuggling...? This is why her daughter tried to kill me, isn’t it?

Tiara snagged the paper away from me, skimming through, then scowled.

“S-she thought you did that!?” Tiara was as shocked as I was, surmising why I was the target.

“Well she was wrong! She should’ve asked instead of trying to disembowel me!” I retorted.

Normally, when your family is subject to misinterpretations and slander by the media, of course the ones related would suffer massive amounts of humiliation, maybe even bullying. But it’s just us here, nopony else.

So why would she go that far?

Even if the article could be fabricated, this picture looks very real. So what happened?

It may be an Express paper, but I would never...!

“Wait, wait, wait, wait... What about-” I knew exactly who Tiara was gonna mention next.

“DON’T YOU DARE SAY IT! Featherweight would never do this either!” I snapped.

Perhaps I’m trying to convince myself here.

“Then who else?! Come on, tell me! Make it quick!  One of you guys either wrote that stupid paper, or was that anonymous tipster!”

“Featherweight and I aren’t the only two who work at the express! Common sense would tell you that! Somepony from my branch must’ve fabricated this story, edited in a photo or something!”

I hope I’m not sounding desperate...

“But it’s Canterlot! You can’t just make up stories about that place! There may be a few white lies for the sake of politics, but this doesn’t fit that scope, idiot!”

“Look, I’m telling you, it wasn’t me. I didn’t even know her mom delivered mail to Canterlot anyway!” I grunted, knocking the paper down.

Yet, Featherweight and I are the only two reporters from the Ponyville Express that wound up in this game. One of us is dead... so naturally, one of us would become a target.

“Then we just need more information! Geez, getting scared and panicked like a coward! What’s wrong with you!?”

“Yeah, you’re saying that because it wasn’t Mr. Rich! If it was him, you’d probably would wanna kill me or Featherweight too, right?!”

“...........”

Tiara suddenly went silent, staring blankly into my eyes.

Suddenly, I began backing away slowly by instinct the moment I saw her empty stare move closer to my face.

Oh boy...

I... might’ve struck a nerve.

My back is against the wall, and the door is right next to me. I could escape, seeing as she’s lifting her hoof... to her mouth...?

“Pfft...!”

What.

“A~HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Tiara’s laugh was hysterical. She even doubled over, holding onto her stomach as she pointed her hoof at me, leaving me confused.

“Oh, my sides! Hahahahaha!”

...............

The spoiled mare would get on her pretty hooves and proceed to explain herself. “Woooooooow, you’re such an idiot! You dare underestimate me?! I’m Diamond Tiara! The best mare raised by the best daddy ever! You dare compare me to a blank flank like her?! HUUUUUUUH?!”

...............

“No, I-”

“Oh, zip it! You obviously know too little about me to make those types of conclusions! Some reporter you are!”

“Well excuuuuuuuse me, princess!”

Ugh... why did I even get scared?!

No way I’m gonna tell her that her stupid laughter actually alleviated my fear a bit.

I’m not used to being laughed at, but it was still a reassurance.

“Pfft, that’s what I like! Call me Princess Diamond Tiara! Greatest mare in all of Equestria!”

“I don’t think I have enough air to inflate that ego right now.” I quipped, sighing and walking off, all while ignoring her complaints.

Just more noise.

Either way, Dinky’s reason for targeting me... I get the feeling this may be a huge hint if I can find the right time to use it in the trial.


NEW AMMO

- Dinky Doo’s Motive: A newspaper report containing etails of the arrest of Dinky Doo’s mother, a prize won from Monobear’s Aesop Madness. Perhaps the murderer won a similar prize?

“Hey, wait!” Tiara reclaimed my attention.

“What now?”

“OPEN YOUR NOSE!”

“What.”

Open my nose? Really?

“Don’t look at me like that! It makes you look stupid!” Tiara scowled, knowing what I’m probably thinking.

“You shouldn’t have said something so absur... huh?”

That smells like smoke...

“Told you... and it’s coming from Scootaloo’s house! I knew that blank flank was up to something!”

“You’re probably just being bias again.”

Although... she’s probably thinking what I’m thinking. Scootaloo and her friends read their motives.

With a quick click and squeaking sound, the door opened with only a single mare trotting away quickly.

“I’m so uncool...” She said to herself.

Scootaloo?

The moment I began to wonder what she was doing, the pink mare next to me suddenly called her out in her usual condescending tone.

“Hey, you blank flank!”

Scootaloo would whip her head around, armed with the sharpest of eyes the moment she heard a very annoying voice. “What. Do. You. Want...?!”

“Whatcha burning in there, huh? Couldn’t help but smell the smoke of some oh, I dunno, bad cooking?”

Are we really doing this?

“Oh, what I burn is none of your business. Why should I tell you? You’re just gonna find some way to use it against me in the trial, right? Yeah, I know your tricks!”

“Puh-leeze! What’s a bla-mmmmmm!!” I wrapped my arms around her and covered her mouth, restraining her.

That’s enough, Diamond. Antagonizing a suspect isn’t gonna get us anywhere.

“Sorry Scootaloo, Tiara’s just a little jealous that she doesn’t know the first step to cooking! hahaha...?”

Smooth, Shady. Smooth.

“What are you doing with the likes of her, killer?” Scootaloo asked, focusing her bloodthirsty glare on me now.

“Really?” I asked, hoping she would remember that me being the killer is impossible.

“You tell me. You wanted Dinky dead anyway, you should be glad.” Scootaloo was pretty precise this time. But at least she’s not shooting daggers anymore.

“I don’t know what came over me, but putting that aside-”

“Put it aside!? You wanted payback! There’s nothing wrong with payback! There’s nothing wrong with revenge! Remember what I told you when I was working on my scooter for the race?!”

So much for changing the topic.

I don’t have time to try remembering what she told me.

“Wait, I thought you were against revenge?”

“I only pretended. I can’t cut loose when I’m around those two. If they knew how I really felt, we’d never be the same.” Scootaloo looked away solemnly, letting out a long sigh.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Scootaloo pointed at the mare in my arms, “Stop hanging around her, and I’ll maybe think about telling you.”

The moment Scootaloo walked away, Tiara forced herself out of my arms.

“Agh! You idiot, what was that for!?” Of course she’d be mad for silencing her.

One day she’ll thank me. Then again, that’s asking a lot from somepony like her. 

“Oh, I dunno, maybe saving you from your own stupidity! We have an investigation! Trying to antagonize your enemies should be the last thing on your mind! You’ll end up dead if you keep this up!”

“Tch. I’ll never die! Now if you’ll follow me, I think we need to focus on another thing!” Diamond pointed her hoof at Truffle’s home this time.

I don’t think her ego would diminish even if she died...

And now I’m hearing some loud banging nearby.

“GET OUT HERE, FATASS!”

Grace Lightning? Don’t know why, but I guess she’s got a bone to pick with Truffle. I better go see what’s going on.

“What’s going on?” I asked, getting Grace’s attention.

“He’s being a coward, that’s what! All he cares about is Twist! He doesn’t care what happens to the rest of us!” She complained before banging on Truffle’s door again.

“He and Twist used to be in a relationship, so...” I reminded her, hoping she’d try to be reasonable.

“Used to be?” Tiara put a hoof to her mouth, pondering to herself.

“Wait, really? I didn’t think somepony like him could even land a mare! Good for him!” Grace grinned, but quickly returned to her usual scowl. “Now help me flush him out!”

“Wait, why are you-”

“He read a motive too! You didn’t notice the shelf?!” Grace hissed her answer quickly.

That’s right... Truffle DID read his motive.

Don’t tell me he...

“Oh hoh~ so we have another suspect?” Tiara looked intrigued, but knowing her, she’s probably disappointed that we’re not focusing on the CMC. “Well, I don’t get it, but looks like this is a job for the Tiara Special!” Diamond’s devious grin made my eye twitch more than anything.

This wasn’t scary, this was just plain breaking-and-entering.

The moment Tiara ran to grab her nameplate, Truffle stuck his head out of his window.

“Ah, Shady! Please get these crazy mares away from me! I’ll open the door if it’s just you!” Truffle quickly said, trembling at the window.

“You got it.” I immediately replied.

I wasn’t gonna pass up this chance. I needed to talk to him anyway.

“Grace, mind backing out of this for moment?”

“Ah, fine. I can’t trust him at all since he hasn’t done any investigating!”

“Just simmer down and leave this to me. I’m just gonna talk to him.”

“I’ll make sure that rich bitch doesn’t bug you guys!” Even though she had a quite cheery grin, I wonder why.

“That’ll be helpful.” I replied.

As Grace backed away from Truffle’s door, the cowardly stallion carefully poked his head out, looking for me. With a quick shriek, he slammed the door in my face.

“Shady, Shady Shady Shady Shady!!”

I couldn’t even get out a good sigh feeling a quick grip on my collar, pulling me inside. With a loud slam and a click, I could hear my name frantically called.

“What the heck? You should’ve just let me walk in!”

“She suspects me... she thinks I’d harm Twist... well she’s wrong!” Truffle walked around the table, grinding his teeth as he cursed those who see him as such a heinous stallion.

To be fair, I kinda suspect you too. But I’ll keep that to myself.

“Soooo... uh, what’s going on, really?” I asked. He did say he’ll talk.

“That motive... that mindboggling motive! I don’t get it! Why did this have to happen?!” Truffle started to breathe heavily for some reason...

So I instinctively grabbed a paper bag from under the sink and gave it to him. He quickly snatched it away, inhaling deeply.

Yeaaaaaaaaaaah... he needs to calm down just a moment.

“You’re okay, right?” I asked.

“Yes, I’m fine. I  thank you for such a quick act of kindness!” Truffle sighed with a bit of relief. 

“Now what’s that supposed to mean? What are you talking about.” I asked.

“That... lemmie see!” Truffle rushes over to his trash can, revealing a crumpled yellow envelope, similar to the one in Dinky’s home. The front part of it is gone for some reason though...

“It was a newspaper clipping from Ponyville Express... so I needed to ask you if you wrote this behind my back!” He said as he revealed the other piece he got from the trash...

Another newspaper clipping? Seriously?

“Were you gonna kill me?” I instinctively asked. 

“NO! Of course not! I don’t have it in me! I’m a super duper pacifist! I’m all for love, not war!” Truffle vehemently denied.

............

“Okay, show me what you’re talking about. Calmly of course.”

I grabbed the crumpled clipping from Truffle, placing it on the table so I can press the wrinkles out.

Oh great...
______________________________________________________________

PONYVILLE EXPRESS LOCAL NEWS SECTION

-----------, -----------, ------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
--immediate surgery to close the wounds found on the victim’s head.

Upon recovery, the victim seems to have lost his memory about the incident.
_____________________________________________________________

The most important part was already torn off!

Okay, this is way too fishy.

“Where’s the middle?” I asked without looking at him. I have to approach the topic carefully so he won’t clam up.

“It was taken from me right after I read my motive. I bet it’s probably in their hooves now...” Truffle answered solemly.

Seriously?

“Whose?” I asked.

The fat stallion grabbed his head with his hooves as he frantically explained his situation. 
“The crusaders. They talked to Twist before I could! She saw my motive when I was reading it, and panicked! Maybe she was afraid that I’d kill somepony and wanted me to keep me sane, I don’t know! I never got to read the whole thing!” 

Hmm... Well, she did seem to be running away from him much earlier today. I remember that.

Something’s way too fishy here though. I don’t have much to go on with this clip either.

“What was the aesop then?” I asked, hoping I could have some kind of connection.

“Mmmm...” Truffle put a hoof to his chin and pursed his lips. “I think it was something about scorched earth! Yeah, scorched earth!” Truffle repeated himself, as if he were convincing himself more than anything.

“Scorched earth?” I asked.

Truth be told, I thought that was a word used in economics.

“It’s something you’d do to permanently sever a relationship to somepony!” Truffle immediately answered.

“Like killing them...” I answered. Truthfully, I’m testing what his reaction will be.

“N-no! NO NO NO NO! No way! It means more like, using the most burning, scathing words possible to make somepony hate you! It’s a thing that’s used with a hundred times of spite!” Truffle frantically explained.

I totally don’t suspect him of anything. Totally.

Somehow, I’m gaining a little too much ammo to use in the trial.

The only thing I can conclude is that if Twist went to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, then maybe his motive might’ve been meant to make him target her. She knew that and probably went to the them for help. 

But something still doesn’t quite add up.

The Crusaders are looking more suspicious by the second, and that’s a little too convenient... I have to find them.

I’m already beginning to think that the scent of burning might’ve been the erasure of vital evidence.

“Alright. That’s all I need to ask.”

“T-then you don’t suspect me, right?! I’d never hurt Twist! EVER!”

“Thou doth protest too much.” I said a favorite quote of mine.

Though at the rate this is going, I’m gonna need to follow my own advice.

“Ah! Err... mmm...” Truffle started grunting and sighing, unable to find any new words to follow up with.

“Relax. Just help with the investigation and the others will stop suspecting you.” I reminded him.

“You’re right, Shady Daze! You know, for an almost-killer-guy, you’re a good guy!” Truffle hugged me tightly, slowly cutting off my breath.

...Should I be offended?


NEW AMMO

-Truffle’s Motive: A torn newspaper clipping with it’s missing part stolen by Twist, and probably in the hands of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Is the article hinting towards an accident of sorts or...?


_________________________________________________________________


Generosity District - Central Courtyard

I got some much needed information, but I feel like somepony’s lying to me. Too much of the suspicion is going to the CMC...

I need to find them fast.

If I’m gonna go on the hunt, I’m gonna have to ditch a certain bully. I can’t have her antagonizing them while I get answers.

I head back to the Honesty District gate, but before I could pass through, I find Silver Spoon standing there, looking my way.

“You there.”

Was she waiting for me?

“What is it?” I asked, looking from the corner of my eye.

“You’re looking for those three, right? I’ll come with you.”

Way to get straight to the point, eh?

“Yeah. Did you see’em?” I asked before going anywhere.

“They’re over at the barn to help look for evidence. Just know that Scootaloo’s not with them.” Silver Spoon walked ahead, prompting me to catch up.

“Uh, what?” I hurriedly asked as we approached the orchid.

“Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle went back, but not Scootaloo. I don’t know where she went.”

“..........”

“You take my words for lies, yes?” Silver Spoon stopped in the middle of the orchid trail.

Did I offend?

“Oh, I don’t know, everypony seems to think the CMC are the prime suspects. In fact, that’s not sitting well with me. Too convenient.” I explained.

“Perhaps that may be. But allow me to make a counter-point:  Those three DID read their motives, and if anypony has motivation to get out, then it has to be them. Apple Bloom, little sister of Applejack. Sweetie Belle, little sister of Rarity. Scootaloo, surrogate sister of Rainbow Dash.” Silver Spoon said in a matter-of-factly tone.

“Counter-counter point!” Did I really just say that? “Those three have the least chance of being a killer! If anything, they’re counting on the elements to rescue us!”

“And that brings us back to Scootaloo. Notice how she looks at Diamond Tiara and I. See my point now?”

“Ah!”

Of course she’d notice Scootaloo’s behavior... she’s been coming off as irritable lately. Probably because she’s building up some form of anger. Every time she laid eyes on those two, it’d be filled with rage, unlike Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle...

Would Scootaloo really betray her friends like that?

“I respect your ability to not avert your eyes from the truth, as harsh it may be.”

“That remains to be seen.” I sighed. Honestly, I’d rather not think on morals right now.

“I suppose so. I imagine I’m not the only pony who suspects her either. Anypony who made their way here most definitely saw who read their motives.”

“Then why aren’t you questioning Rumble?”

“I may have the genes of the highest class, but I cannot bend reality to take flight!” Silver Spoon answered with a hint of irritation.

Of course... Rumble... just where did he go? He’s marked himself as suspicious, but I just can’t suspect him this time around.

He still wants me to make that stupid contract with him, so it wouldn’t make sense to send Dinky off to kill me.

“You’re right about that, Rumble’s just as suspicious as the others. So is Truffle, but I just talked to him.” 

“What did he say?” Silver asked.

Truth be told, I didn’t know why I decided to just spill everything I just learned from Truffle and Dinky’s motive to her, but that sharp glare is really intimidating. Normally I’m not one to reveal who my sources are, but I can’t really play by the rules this time.

Not when lives are on the line.

Not that I deserve the right to uphold such a noble purpose... not after what I almost did...

“I see. Did he think you wrote that article too?” 

“No, surprisingly. He didn’t get to read it.”

“So he says.” We both said the same thing back-to-back.

Guess we agree somewhere.

“Shady Daze, before I let you go to question those mares with your current, disgusting disposition, I’ll leave you with a family saying.”

Geez, that was quite harsh and really out of nowhere...

“What’s that?”

“Eyes forward.”

“Huh?”

“It’s a Sterling Family matto. It means to focus on the future, now and always, for the spoils of the past have long been claimed.”

“Is that some book quote?” I sighed.

It really sounds like a quote from a dictatorship.

“Not that I know of. My mother and father would remind me of this as they brought me up. It just took me so long for me to see the real truth behind those two words...” Silver gave a faint, yet, bittersweet smirk.

“Gotcha. I’ll lament on my attempted murder later.”

“Not quite what I meant.” SIlver sighed at my response.

We have to solve this mystery. I can’t go dwelling on my actions right now. Not until this is over.


____________________________________________________________________________


Honesty District - Barn

“Howdy Shady! Ah’ was just wonderin’ how long ya was gonna take to find us!” Apple Bloom quickly greeted, while poking her head from the pile of rubble, which was quickly lifted with Sweetie Belle’s magic.

“Sorry for not coming back for you! We were just taking care of something really quick!” Sweetie Belle frantically explained.

She didn’t even have to say that.

“Yeah, I have some questions for you two.. and Scootaloo.” I said.

“Oh, Scoots is with Rumble right now!” Apple Bloom quickly answered.

“With him? Really? I thought-”

She wanted him dead?

“Meeeeee too! Ah’ coulda sworn she couldn’t stand him! Sure had a change of heart pretty darn quick!”

“Right... now about those questions-”

“Also, we gotta show ya somethin’!”

“...Okay...?”

“Somepony’s patience is crumbling.” Silver Spoon commented, smirking my way. All I could do was click my teeth in response.

“No seriously, Shady! The girls figured something out! It’s something we needed!” Pip quickly put his hooves on my shoulders.

“Okay, just tell me already!” I yelled.

“Alllllrighty! Just hold out that there ID Band of yers!” Apple Bloom instructed, pointing at my left hoof.

“Right...?” I held it up, opening the holographic menu.

“Now go under that evidence menu! Scroll down and you’ll see it!” Apple Bloom held out her own hoof and physically demonstrated by example.

Guess I’ll do as she says. After that, I’m getting my answers.

Let’s see here...

Watching the evidence scroll through, I desperately looked for whatever Apple Bloom was talking about.

Got to the end of the evidence, now let’s see... huh?

I see a special menu at the bottom of the screen that reads, “Luminol Bubble”...?

The moment I switched it to ‘on’, a dark green sphere enveloped a portion of the barn, enough to cover the whole thing if I stood in the center of the wreckage. It also made our surroundings slightly darker as well and made the wreckage pitch black.

A quick gasp escaped from under my breath, for this bubble’s quick activation was a little startling.

This might be something the princess brought from that other world...

The ‘other world’ that Princess Twilight went into in order to retrieve her element from the culprit, Sunset Shimmer. 

That incident that happened several years ago though. I was just a little colt working for the Foal-Free Press at the time with no concept of the word, ‘future’.

I know the princess went to this world, fulfilled her objective, and had an experience that nopony but the princess herself could begin to describe. All I can really say is that it allowed her to meet an entirely new species.

However... there is one thing that stood out: the Technology. 

It was said that the technology in that other world was more “advanced” than the stuff here in Equestria.

It was some time later that Twilight decided to work with Sunset to make Equestrian technology a bit more ‘convenient’. Apparently Sunset had turned over a new leaf, so they worked together to bring about the beginning of Equestria’s “Magitech Age”.

These ID bands are prime examples of that...

“Interesting... so he’s allowing us use of this technology?” Silver Spoon asked.

“Neato, huh? We found a white stain with this!” Apple Bloom happily declared.

“Stain?” I asked, looking around the area, noticing a ‘white stain’ by Dinky Doo’s corpse.

“Yeah, and Snails here thought it was something different.” Ginger sighed.

“Well, I couldn’t help it! That kind of assumption made itself when Apple Bloom said it, okay?!” Snails quickly defended himself, pouting.

“So Ginger you seem to know what those ‘white stains’ are.” I surmised.

“I do, actually! I took the time to look up some of the new technology the Royal Guard  and law enforcement is authorized to use a while back. I can’t become a member if I don’t know my stuff!”

“Can you tell us?” I asked.

“Luminol is a handy tool that law enforcement would use to find traces of blood whenever they’ve been wiped off or washed away. Though this technology is still pretty new...” Ginger happily explained.

“I see... so those spots is actually blood? That’s convenient. Serial Killer flicks never have to worry about that, ya know!” Pip chimed in. 

Alright, let’s start by checking the corpse...

Looks like there’s a small spot on the forehead.

“You’re seriously getting that close to the body?!” Snails asked.

“If I don’t, who will?” I retorted as I got a closer look.

Looks like that’s where she hit her head. The file did say something about a concussion...

Let’s look around a bit more. There’s gotta be something else!

“Hey, look at this!” Pipsqueak yelled out, as he pointed at the ground a little bit outside the barn.

I hurry over to him to see what he found.

“Check this out! It’s a block!” Pip said enthusiastically.

“A... block?” I couldn’t help but be thrown off.

No specifics behind it? for all we know, it’s just another burnt up piece of wood!

Despite that, it too has blood on the corner of it...

“Oooh, like one of those falling ones you match up?” Sweetie Belle asked, then let out a quick ‘eep!’ the moment she noticed Silver Spoon’s glare. “S-sorry about that... I don’t know why, but I thought about him for a moment...”

Who’s ‘him’? Unless...

“Let’s see that block.” Silver Spoon requested. When Pip handed her the block, she began to ponder. “This feels like a brick...”

“A brick? Wait a sec, we had a brick in here?”

“Oh come on, now! Ya’ll know that a classic barn like this is made of wood, nails, sweat n’ tears! Ain’t nopony gonna make a barn outta brick! It just ain’t how it works!” Apple Bloom interjected.

But if what she says is true...

“Was there maybe a supply of bricks in here?”

“I dunno!” Apple Bloom rose her hoof enthusiastically... not that it helped.

“I don’t know either. Sorry...” Sweetie Belle followed up.

Yet the brick has blood on it...

“Perhaps... this is the true Murder Weapon?” Silver Spoon surmised.

She has a good point... If there’s one thing that’s been bothering me, it’s that head injury that the file documented. Now that I think about it, Twist was also injured in the head...
Better take note of that...


NEW AMMO

Bloodstained brick- A brick revealed by the luminol bubble with a stain of blood on the corner. It’s possible that this may be the murder weapon.

The culprit must’ve tried to wipe the evidence with the explosion...

But there’s still something off about all of this. Something I can’t quite put my hoof on...

I need to ask Apple Bloom some questions.

“Apple Bloom, did you talk to Scootaloo earlier? Before she started burning something in her house?” I asked out of the blue.

“Ah... Ah don’t know bout that one!” Apple Bloom suddenly trembled.

You’re a terrible liar, Apple Bloom....

“Apple Bloom, we’re becoming suspects at this rate!” Sweetie Belle rushed up to her friend, trying to make her get a hold of herself.

“Don’t try directing suspicion onto yourself again! Tell us the truth! Lives are at stake here!”

I’m not letting her pull that stunt on me again.

Before I could press her... those damn horns start blaring. The last sound I wanted to hear.

“Alright you bastards! Make yourselves more useful than pack mules and report to the king’s court so we can have our main event: The Class Trial!!” Monobear announced.

“Saved by the bell. You’re quite lucky you two.” Silver Spoon commented.

“W-we didn’t...” Sweetie Belle tried to explain.

“Don’t waste my time with your protests. You should’ve been ready to deliver facts and explained yourselves. Any secrets you lot hide will be your fault, and possibly your undoing.” Silver Spoon stormed off, heading for the Central Tower.

Sweetie Belle could only express sorrow at this point...

Looks like I’ll have to get the answers during the trial.

Damn it!

__________________________________________________________________


Honesty District - Central Courtyard

Silver Spoon’s right. There’s no sense in hiding secrets. Not during this trial.

Another truth to unravel, another secret to expose...

Once more, we’re herded into the Central Tower, with the Monoguards herding us in. As I approached the double-doors, I felt a abnormal breeze brush against the back of my neck...

Is it getting cold around here?

Not that I could check or ponder. The trial is about to begin.

Once all of us is in the tower, the double-doors make a loud slam shut. The only road ahead is another elevator to take us to the trial room.

Down the hallway, I could see an entire gallery of Apple Family portraits: pictures and paintings of the hundreds of members of the Apple Family.

Once again, we step into this familiar elevator... only this time, theres just twelve of us...

Twist is still injured, so she can’t participate.

With the elevator’s ascension, all I could do was just wait for the inevitable game of whodunit.

“Fear not, everypony, I’m gonna find the culprit! I, Diamond Tiara, swear to not be swayed by lies! Not this time!” Tiara bragged.

“Let us hope that your path to victory doesn’t blow up in your face.” Ginger replied, then gasped. “I’m being horrible again, aren’t I?”

“Where were you, Rumble?” Pip suddenly asked.

“Gathering answers, and wallowing in a sea of disappointment.” Rumble answered. He didn’t look too happy either. Normally he’d always have this cool demeanor.

What’s gotten into him?

This elevator ride’s a little longer compared to last time.

But we’ve finally stopped.

The doors open, and all I can see is that dreaded room where friendship is rendered worthless...

> Ch.2 Class Trial Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

11:59 PM, Central Tower - Trial Room 2

The elevator doors opened, revealing the Trial Room with a difference in appearance from the one we were in before.

Once again, I can see Monobear sitting in his throne, gleefully awaiting our arrival like a little foal. I can see those sixteen stands meant for us, as well as the doggie stand for Miss Cheerilee, complete with water and doggie treats.

However, this room looks like the set of a wild west film. 

At the surrounding edges where the gallery would usually sit, there are instead, Zap-apple trees neatly spaced from each other so they don’t block the exits or Monobear’s view of our anguish.

Surrounding those trees is a set of thick wooden planks to keep the dirt in, while the floor at the stands was a more polished wood. In the center of the room, I see Applejack’s cutie mark as well as... a tumbleweed rolling around the stands?

Near the ceilings, I see those monitors again, this time with edges made of a brighter colored wood.

The anxiousness from that time came rushing back tenfold, trying to shift my thoughts into a what-if scenario...

What if it was me...?

No! I can’t think this way!

“Shady. You’re the key to this case.” Rumble suddenly whispered to me.

“What?!”

“I know you found something that connects these mysteries to you, but the culprit also knows that. You weren’t the original target; You were the distraction. Keep that in mind, and you’ll know who’s lying.”

Rumble suddenly went to his stand, leaving behind a bit of cryptic knowledge.

What the heck? Again with the hints...

But how did a Ponyville Express paper even turn me into the bait?!

“What’s the matter, Shady? Are you sad that you couldn’t get your kill?” Monobear tilted his head, giggling the moment I replied with silence.

Whatever.

One-by-one, all of us took our place at the stands and prepared for the trial.

When I took my spot, I saw a monochrome portrait of Dinky Doo, with a giant red X smeared on it, just like Featherweight and Snips. Of course, Snips’s portrait was crossed out with a pair of open scissors.

I guess the culprits have a special mark for them when executed...

I could see Snails clenching his teeth in anger as he saw the portrait of his best friend next to him...

Let's look over the evidence I've gathered...



-Monobear file
-Dynamite
-Carbine harvester
-Motives read
-Ginger's Testimony
-First Aid Lighter
-Dinky Doo's Motive
-Truffle's Motive
-Blood-stained brick




______________________________________________________________________


“Wow-wee! You bastards just couldn’t wait to have another trial, huh? You couldn’t even wait a week?”

“You’re the one who couldn’t wait, ya know.” Pipsqueak replied harshly.

“Boo, I’m just an impatient bear. But you’re all here anyway! Of course, since one of you bastards failed to kill Twist, she doesn’t even get a portrait! Way to make her miss out on the fun! How could you leave her out?!” Monobear chided us, only to sigh when he heard that artificial barking from Miss Cheerilee. “Oh? Got something to say, you mangy mutt? Well too bad! You’re not even relevant to the case! You’re becoming less relevant every day like a dog on the street!”

“Stop saying that about Miss Cheerilee!” Truffle demanded.

“You forgot about her too though! You’re all about that poor little curly-top now! Typical boys in love, huh? Can’t control those hormones to save their lives!” Monobear hit him right where it hurts.

“I... uhh... ahh... err..!” Truffle failed to formulate a coherent response, blushing even.

He really shouldn’t be giving a teddy bear that satisfaction.

“Just get this trial started already, you cotton swab!” Tiara demanded.

“Boo~ too bad I’m not fond of horse ears!” Monobear scoffed, then cleared his throat. “Ahem! Okay you bastards! It’s time for another lovely class trial!” Monobear gleefully carried on, “You know the rules already, so there’s no need to wait! Let your honesty show and tell each other what you really think! You’re free to start whenever!”

“Aaaagh, right... this stupid thing AGAIN.” Tiara groaned, then went on. “Whelp, who suspects Shady?! Raise your hooves!”

What.

“What kind of question is that?” Scootaloo asked, forming an increasingly noticeable scowl.

“I just wanted to test if I’m working with some idiots, that’s all. He did read his motive. Everypony knows that. He confessed to it!”

“Yeah, after Dinky tried to kill him.” Snails pointed out.

“Buuuuuuut he tried to kill her too!” Apple Bloom blurted out.

“You do have your facts in order, yes?” Silver Spoon inquired.

“Whaddya mean?” Apple Bloom tilted her head.

“She attacked first. Then he tried to bite back.” Silver Spoon answered.

“A classic survival instinct.” Ginger followed up.

“You guys...” I sighed, remembering Rumble’s tip a few minutes ago...

Shady... you’re the key to this case.

Makes sense. This murder occurred after Dinky’s attempt on my life.

“Listen, I never got my prize. All I did was spend hours in my room thinking on what the heck that stupid aesop was. Apparently I got it wrong the first time, but it still triggered something in my head.”

“Triggered, huh? Wasn’t aware you had some kind of PTSD.” Ginger theorized.

“Uhh, what?”

Why would she even say that? I’m confused.

“Oh right! He’s still a reporter! He’s covered wars, ya know?!” Pipsqueak added.

I wish.

“Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It’s where-” Let’s stop there, Ginger.

“I know what it is! But why would you be saying that I...”

Hang on... what if Dinky probably knew somehow and just repressed this memory?

Thinking now, her motive revealed news of her mother’s arrest and trial, facing a sentence of life in the dungeon or execution... that may have been traumatizing sure.

It’s a strange memory to repress, but she’d always go on and on about how great her mom is. Could that have been just a way to keep herself from the truth...?

If so, then...!

“Wait! That’s it!”

“Wow, you’re admitting that? Keep away from me, you psychotic idiot!” Tiara cringed.

“First of all, that’s just discriminating.” I started off. “Second of all, don’t you get it? That whole PTSD business might’ve happened to Dinky! Her mom getting arrested probably did-”

“Whoa whoa whoa, hang on a sec...” Pip held out his right hoof, stopping my explanation short while trying to figure this out. “Her mom was arrested?!”

“Better if I show you so you guys don’t get confused.”

Not everypony knows of Dinky’s motive.

I opened the ID band menu, going to my evidence and showing them the contents of Dinky’s prize.

.............

“Ponyville Express... You and Featherweight worked there, right?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Yeah. She either thought that one of us wrote the article or tipped off the guards.”

“Wow, snitching huh? I woulda been pissed off too! Snitches need to stop hiding and step up!” Grace chimed in.

Yeah, well, some ponies would rather make peace, not war.

“Ooooooh... Ponyville Express, Ponyville Express...” Apple Bloom put her hooves to the temples of her head, repeating my place of employment over and over.

“Hey, what’s the deal?! Quit saying that! You blank flanks aren’t qualified to be reporters anyway!” Diamond Tiara slammed her hooves on the stand.

“I don’t care.” Scootaloo spoke in a deadpan tone.

“And Shady doesn’t have a cutie mark either!” Apple Bloom followed up, holding up her hoof.

“Tch... p-p-point is, just stop that! You’re annoying!” Tiara stuttered briefly, but got her point across, not that it mattered.

“We have to get back on topic though.” Rumble interjected. “Shady, you say that you were targeted because you were believed to be the anonymous tip. Tell me, have you ever given an anonymous tip before in your life, before this game?”

“Well, thing is, I’d actually have to get any inside info from my source at the castle. I mean, if I’m to do my job, I need a source to start.” I answered.

“So... maybe the culprit might be that source?” Snails asked.

“No, because they would’ve been targeted instead. Dinky tried to kill me because the part on the article said ‘an anonymous tip from one of our own’. The only ones who’d fit that scope are me and Featherweight.” I elaborated.

But still, something’s not right...

“Soooooo, you know...” Apple Bloom started, and I knew where she was going with that.

“Don’t say it. Like I told Diamond Tiara already, Featherweight would never-”

“So you claim, but it doesn’t take much to see that Featherweight is the kind of stallion who’d always do the right thing.” Silver Spoon cut me off, and she made a surprisingly good point.

I hate to admit it, but Featherweight was all about doing the right thing.

“Okay,” Get it together, Shady. This theory can easily be debunked. “It just doesn’t fit the timeframe. I’d like to think I have a pretty good memory, and I wouldn’t forget something that major. He would’ve told me if something that big happened.”

“Fair point, Shady Daze. However, I have a counterpoint.” Silver Spoon started. “Suppose if what you say is true, that the times don’t match, what if somepony, namely the culprit, spoke to Dinky about you?”

“What do you mean?”

“What if you said something to somepony that caused them to manipulate Dinky to kill you in revenge?”

“Huh... yeah, Shady doesn’t mince words, does he? He’s probably upset somepony by now, right?” Snails asked.

“Hmph, if that were the case, I’d be dead too! Besides, if somepony’s being stupid, I say let’em have it!” Diamond Tiara refuted, somehow defending me in the process.

“Pfft, words just don't’ cut it, rich girl!” Grace went on, “You gotta lay the smackdown! Knock their ass out! Teach’em a lesson!”

“Yeah, but then you’d just get charged with violence and-” Ginger tried to warn.

“Pfft, you think I haven’t been charged already? Hah! The hell you think you talkin’ to?” Grace scoffed, and even spat on the floor.

“You’re cleaning that up, right?” Monobear casually asked.

“Back on topic though... Shady? Any answers to Silver Spoon’s theory?” Rumble asked.

“Oh come on. I didn’t say anything THAT mean to anypony! All I did was investigate like normal from when the Honesty District opened until this trial! Sure, I made my claims, but still!”

“You did talk to Dinky though, right?” Snails asked.

“Whether he did or didn’t matters not.” Rumble said, closing his eyes. “If you think about it, if Shady himself was the one to set Dinky off, then her death would’ve never happened.”

“Uhh, whaddya mean?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I mean that Shady himself was probably a mere distraction for the real culprit.”

“I understand that much.” Silver Spoon agreed, nodding. “They would’ve had to known that Dinky would be tied up in there. That’s why Shady being bait seems plausible.”

“As expected of you, Silver Spoon. You catch on quick.” Rumble complimented.

“Then what about Twist!? Why was she hurt?!” Truffle roared.

“Because she happened to be there at the wrong time. She said she’d go check on Dinky while Sweetie Belle, Miss Cheerilee, and I went to stop Shady. Simple as that.” Ginger said. 

“Oh-ho...” Diamond Tiara smiled deviously.

“What is it?”

“You say the culprit had to know that Dinky would be tied up in there, right...? You do remember how the murder went, right?” Tiara asked.

How the murder went...

Yeah, that’s easy!

“The barn exploded. But we knew that... where’s this train of thought going?” I asked.

“I’m saying that somepony knew how to blow it up! I vote for somepony who’s been in that barn from the very beginning!” Diamond Tiara said, pointing her hoof out victoriously.

She has a point...


NONSTOP DEBATE




Evidence Bullets:
-Motives Read
-Dynamite
-Monobear File

Diamond Tiara: That’s how it has to be... somepony who knows that barn inside and out! 

Diamond Tiara: They have to be the culprit!

Ginger Snap: Somepony knew about the dynamite before I discovered it... That’s a relief...

Grace Lightning: Oi, what makes you say that?

Ginger Snap: Because that means I’m not a suspect.

Snails: Knock the happy off! You’re still a suspect! Not to mention selfish!

Diamond Tiara: Why don’t we focus on our suspect?!

Scootaloo: I don’t really care.

Silver Spoon: Nopony said your name.

Scootaloo: You’re just gonna suspect me anyway, right? I don’t care. Just hurry and get it over with.

Sweetie Belle: Aaaah! Scootaloo, stop that! You’re innocent! 

Sweetie Belle: There’s no way they can connect you to the crime!

Apple Bloom: Ponyville Express, Ponyville Express, Ponyville Express...



Sorry, but I gotta stop you here!


YOU GOT THAT WRONG!



_________________________________________________________________


“Sorry Sweetie Belle, but...”

“Shady, she’s innocent, you have to-” Sweetie Belle pleaded, but I had to cut her short.

“Then why did you three read your motives?!”

“Eep!” Sweetie Belle was obviously surprised. Did she seriously expect me to remain oblivious to that?

Meanwhile, Apple Bloom’s still reciting those words, “Ponyville Express.”

I really doubt she’s trying to remember something...

“So tell me, why did you three read your motives? If Diamond Tiara’s theory is right, then all three of you are prime suspects!”

“If that’s how it is, then whatever.” Scootaloo said, putting her hooves in her pockets. It’s as if she’s just telling herself.

“Ah. Ya know Shady... The Cutie Mark Crusaders... no. Actually, lemmie ask ya’ll a question.”

“Only if you answer ours afterward!”

“Would a cutie mark for murder be worth it?” Apple Bloom asked anyway, disregarding my words.

Guess I have to answer.

“By asking such a heinous question, you’re pretty much admitting you’re the killer.” Silver Spoon put a hoof on her glasses.

Truffle growled in anger, “If you’re the one who tried to kill Twist, then I-”

“Ya’ll are gon’ answer mah question right?” Apple Bloom asked in her usual chipper tone, but her expression was fierce... 

It’s as if she’s demanding an answer now or she’ll snap.

Maybe I’m reading too much into those sudden sharp eyes, but... I can’t shake the feeling.

“W-well, the answer’s obvious! It’s wrong, cutie mark or not!” Snails hesitantly answered.

“It’s wrong.” Ginger said.

“That’s a stupid reason, and you’re a dumbass for thinkin’ it!” Grace answered curtly.

“Err, is there even a cutie mark for murder in the first place?” Pipsqueak asked.

“Might’ve been if Ah’ had kept them Cutie Pox!” Apple Bloom asked. “Anyway, don’t dodge that question now, Pippy!”

“Pi-Pippy?!” Pipsqueak blushed, “My aunt calls me that and I wish she’d stop, ya know... but uh,” Shaking his head, “no way! It’s a dumb! Unless you’re aiming to be some vigilante serial killer-”

Tiara interjects, “Hmph, a blank flank like you-”

Apple Bloom suddenly cut Tiara’s interjection short. “Ah’ didn’t ask you. Prolly shoulda asked you n’ Silver Spoon to keep yer mouths shut! Movin’ on!” Apple Bloom happily declared.

“Grrrr!!!” Diamond was grinding her teeth. “You...!”

“Dia!” Silver Spoon’s sudden callout made Tiara yelp unexpectedly. “It would be of our best interests to listen to Apple Bloom. Honor her request... for now.”

“Hmph. Fine! This better lead to something good!”

“Aaaaaaanyway!” Apple Bloom rose her hoof, wanting us to continue answering her question.

“O-of course it’s wrong... your morals are corrupted if you’ve resorted to murder and... hate! There’s no love in a murder!” Truffle answered.

“Shady? Rumble? Ya’ll gonna answer?”

“It only sounds silly to me at best.” Rumble answered.

“It... doesn’t matter to me.”

That’s my answer.

“Oh?”

“I don’t care about getting a cutie mark. I know murder is wrong, and it’s probably hypocritical coming from me, but...”

“Yeah, it is hypocritical, you hypocrite.” Scootaloo suddenly answered.

“Scoots?” Apple Bloom was actually taken aback.

“Yeah. You’re a hypocrite. Apple Bloom’s dumb enough to want an answer from you. Mister Killer. You’re just as bad as Diamond Tiara if you ask me.” Scootaloo continued, ignoring the fact that Apple Bloom’s eye suddenly twitched.

“Uh, where’s this coming from?” I asked.

“Don’t compare that idiot to me! I’m smarter, cuter, and much more classy than that idiot!”

Well excuse me, princess.

“Ah. I wasn’t aware that trash could speak.” Scootaloo said in a strangely deadpan tone.

“W-w-w-w-w... WHY YOU LITTLE BIT-”

“Dia! Language!” Silver Spoon stopped her.

“Tch... you better be glad that daddy taught me to not use bad words, or I’d-”

“Coward. Daddy’s little girl is such a coward, using this whole trial as an opportunity to suspect me... this is... thrilling? Ah... I don’t know what word to use anymore.” Scootaloo said, scratching her head, looking crestfallen.

“Scoots, what’s wrong?! Why are you talking like this!? Nopony suspects you!” Sweetie Belle pleaded.

“I was at the barn since the Honesty District opened up. I knew of the Dynamite. I knew of the first aid kit, and I did read my motive. Ah... but that makes me uncool. I thought it’d be because I didn’t care for getting my cutie mark anymore.” Scootaloo continued, disregarding Sweetie Belle's concern.

“But you’re still a crusader and mah friend! We promised to find our cutie marks together!” Apple Bloom reminded, putting a hoof on her chest.

“Ah, Apple Bloom. You act as if you don’t care for nothing but that damned cutie mark, but I guess what your parents said to you before we got here is still lingering. You and Sweetie Belle read your motives. Don’t act morally sound around me.”

“Scootaloo, we never said anything about that!” Sweetie Belle pleaded.

“Why did you ask me to burn your motives then? We could’ve come clean, but instead, we’re keeping secrets. The Cutie Mark Crusaders... the end is near, huh...”

“Not really! We won’t have a meteor land on this planet for another million years!” Monobear commented.

“Alright you Dashie Fangirl, you’re startin’ to piss me off!” Grace glared.

“But I haven’t right? So let me finish.” Scootaloo replied.

“Just tell us where you’re going with this!” I demanded.

I don’t know what Scootaloo’s getting at, but I have to get her to be straight with us!



Evidence Bullets: 
-Newspaper Report
-Truffle’s Motive
-Ginger’s Testimony
-Motives Read

Scootaloo: I’m probably the culprit in your eyes, thanks to her...

Diamond Tiara: You brought this on yourself! I hadn’t said you yet!

Scootaloo: But I am a suspect.

Scootaloo: I was the one who knew the contents of the barn.

Scootaloo: I was the one who read a motive with friends.

Scootaloo: I was the one who decided that letting Dinky in was a bad idea...

Scootaloo: I’m the one who burned it all.

Scootaloo: I’m also sick of it all. I’m done...

Scootaloo: Done with this game, done with her crap, done with everything!

Apple Bloom: ...........

Sweetie Belle: ...........

Rumble: That’s all?

Hmm... Something Scootaloo just said gave away her real intentions, so therefore...




AGREED!



______________________________________________________________________


“Shady, you better have a good reason for agreeing other than to get on my good side...” Scootaloo glared at me.

“I think I get it now. When you said you’re “done with her crap”, you can’t have possibly meant Dinky Doo.” explained.

“What are you on about? Why should anypony listen to you? Oh right, you think I’m the-”

I slammed my hooves on the stand, cutting her off. “If you’d let me finish, I was gonna say that you can’t be the killer. Your motivation to do it is way too flimsy, and you’re dancing around way too many issues! You’re not even letting the other two talk!”

“Oooooooooooh, I see her game... she’s just trying to take the fall for one of her friends! Hehehehe... I think we’ve been on the right track to suspect them! Hehehehe...!” Diamond Tiara’s grin matched that of a playful, evil little imp.

“Man, even though Diamond Tiara’s just being crazy, I gotta say, she’s got a good point.” Snails nervously said, as if convincing himself this is the right thing. Suddenly focusing on Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, “Cmon, you gotta tell us what happened. I really don’t want to suspect you guys, since I didn’t wanna see it, but... agh, come on!”

“Yeah, I uh, really can’t see those three committing the crime, ya know!?” Pipsqueak followed up.

“Uu~pupupu~!”

“Dammit Monobear, what the hell do you want!? What the hell are you laughing for!?” Scootaloo suddenly was staring daggers at the bear enjoying itself.

“It seems someone forgot an important rule! Or maybe didn’t read it? Did you ever read‘em?!”

“What do you mean!? You’re saying I somehow broke a rule!?” Scootaloo may have kept her scowl, but her sudden beads of sweat speak volumes.

“You totally broke a rule! Because breaking a rule means having to be put down like a horse that can’t pull a cart holding my favorite comics!” Monobear went on.

With a deep sigh, Rumble quickly interjected. “Scootaloo, you didn’t break a rule. That bear’s just messing with you. However...” Rumble paused for a moment. “you forgot to read a murder rule.”

“Murder rule? I don’t have time for-”

“A good education hasn’t hurt anypony before, right?” Rumble smiled, as if entertained by Scootaloo directing any irrational hatred towards him. “You remember that being an accomplice to a crime is worthless, right? You can’t all commit a crime together. Though that should’ve been obvious.”

“!!”

Oh... looks like Rumble just hit a switch in both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom considering their simultaneous gasp just now.

“Now hold on there! Ya’ll sayin’ we were in on murderin’ Dinky Doo!?” Never thought I’d see Apple Bloom get mad like that.

“I didn’t say that... but you’re free to interpret it as such. If you’re willing to explain yourselves, you may even lift the suspicion and quell a certain stallion’s anger powered by love.” Rumble smiled, focusing on Truffle, who’d been glaring at the trio for a while now.

Apple Bloom let out a long-winded sigh, followed by a minute-long silence that felt like an hour.

She’s never been under this much pressure before. All this time, all she’s cared about getting her cutie mark. But I guess she finally sees that this isn’t an ordinary game.

“Hmm... Alright, fine. We’ll talk.” Apple Bloom gave a bitter smile, nothing like that creepy, cutie mark-obsessed smile I’m used to seeing.

“That wasn’t what we agreed to!” Scootaloo’s eyes widened with shock.

“See... yeah, we read our motives. We went and read’em through like mah sis would buck every tree in the orchid.” Apple Bloom sighed then continued. “Thing is, we never got our prizes. So we’re in the same boat, Shady!”

Huh... that sounds familiar actually.

Got it!

“So what Ginger said was right...” I said.

“Whaddya mean?”

“He means how you were in the middle of the road, studying your motives.” Ginger answered.

“Well yeah, we didn’t want ya’ll killin’ anypony! It was my idea!”

Apple Bloom, you...



Evidence Bullets:
-Motives Read
-Dinky doo’s Motive
-Truffle Shuffle’s Motive
-Ginger’s Testimony

Apple Bloom: Yeah, we read them motives through like a stampede of cattle running from a little fire!

Sweetie Belle: We were curious and talked Scootaloo into it... She never wanted to, but...!

Apple Bloom: We asked Scoots to burn our books earlier! We gave up on them books, ‘cus we never got the lesson!

Rumble: So you didn’t want to give Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon ammo against you?

Grace Lightning: Couple of wusses.

Truffle Shuffle: You’re excluding what you talked to Twist about!

Apple Bloom: She asked us for help! She wanted us to burn her motive!

Scootaloo: ............

Pipsqueak: I didn’t know Twist read her motive too... maybe she got attacked by-

Truffle Shuffle: I DIDN’T HURT HER! Why would I hurt her!? I’ll kill you!

Pipsqueak: Not sure if scary... hmm... 

Scootaloo: Grrr.......!

Scootaloo’s anger aside, somepony’s a terrible liar.




YOU’VE GOT THAT WRONG!



_____________________________________________________________________________


“What in tarnation!?” Apple Bloom hissed.

“Twist never read her motive, in case you didn’t realize... or maybe you’re terrible at lying.”

“Ah’... uh, c’mon now, that ain’t no way to act... hahaha...?”

“Wow, lying even though you just told them what I did. Way to sell me out.” Scootaloo went into her deadpan tone.

“Now hold on there Scoots! Ah’ just-”

“Oh, save it. I don’t wanna hear it. Unless it’s just another scheme for a cutie mark. I mean, that’s all you care about.”

“Scootaloo, stop it! You’re wrong, she-” Sweetie Belle chimed in.

“Taking up for her... you want your cutie mark, too, huh? We’re all blank flanks. I thought we were in this together, but in the end... in the end...!!!”

“What’s the matter, gonna cry?” Tiara smugly asked, twirling her mane with her hoof.

“Gh... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

“Eep?!” Scootaloo’s sudden outburst made even our spoiled wannabe princess cringe.

“I’m sick of this! I can’t take it anymore!”

“You sure gave up on your family fast.” Ginger commented.

“Who are you? A stupid girl scout?! What do you know!? Ah, I’m sick of it...!”

“Sick of what? Unlike Diamond Tiara, I haven’t bullied you. I was just stating what I see.” Silver Spoon said.

“Sick of what you ask...? I’m tired... of living... LIKE A PARIAH!”

“Scootaloo, stop it!” Sweetie Belle cried out. “We’re the cutie mark crusaders! We don’t have cutie marks so we try... no, we just wanted to fit in with everypony! We wanted to be normal! What else can we do while we’re in this stupid game?! Just sit back and wait for somepony to kill us!?”

Scootaloo suddenly widened her eyes, and brought her face close to Sweetie Belle’s. 

“Yeah. We could have... or we could’ve just watched each other’s backs. Look at our group! Who the hell can we trust?!” Scootaloo ranted. “We have a  vengeful reporter if you get on his bad side, a stupid bully who I’m sick of, a stupid bully’s high-maintenance crony, a colt who only likes horror stories, a love obsessed fatty, a secretive girl scout, A timid bug tamer, a friendship obsessed idiot, a self-righteous reporter who got himself killed, a defiant cutter who got executed, a scared mare who thinks she’s tough, a mousy mare who almost died, and a nosy mare who died in a fire! Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!”

Scootaloo suddenly grabbed her head, laughing maniacally and even drooling a bit...

“...................” Sudden silence from her...

With a quick motion of her hoof to the back of her hoodie, she dons her hood, and her eyes suddenly appeared to have a crimson shine.

“I thought I did the right thing... and even now, I’m doing the right thing. I’m doing what’s right. I am right, right is me, and you’re both wrong.”

“Uhh... Scootaloo...?” Sweetie Belle’s lips quivered at the darker turn her friend took.

“Why I wonder, are we having a trial for a mare who deserved her death? A nice death to burn away all her faults down to the marrow?” Scootaloo’s tone sounded much more... mature? Or even sinister? I don’t get it!

This is ridiculous!

Is this even the same Scootaloo!?
> Ch.2 Class Trial Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

     “Wha... ah, OOOOOOOOOH MYYYYY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!” Pip held his head, shocked at Scootaloo’s sudden transformation. “Hey Monobear! Permission to perform an exorcism!”

“Denied!” Monobear fiercely answered.

“Aww, man...” Pip actually looked dejected.

How would he even perform an exorcism anyway...?

“She’s admitting she’s the killer! Maim her already!” Truffle demanded.

“I see... so that’s your answer afterall.” Rumble sighed.

“Oh. I have to give you my thanks. You convinced me it was okay to be true to myself at last.” Scootaloo gave a slight grin.

“That wasn’t my intention! I didn’t mean for you to toss them aside! Your friendship with those two was one of the ones I admired most... and you decide to throw it all away?!” Rumble’s voice quivered with anguish.

“Don’t preach to me. You’re already a broken record as far as I can tell.”

“........” Rumble sighed and suddenly began staring at the ceiling.

Wow. She actually got Rumble to shut up. Aside from that, he could only take several deep breaths.

“Scootaloo, you coulda just talked to us! We can still work this out!” Sweetie Belle pleaded.

“Hmph! Just because she got a little power-up, doesn’t mean she can hold a candle to me!” Tiara taunted.

“You’re right. I can just kill you after this trial and we’ll back here again. I don’t mind it if you're the last bully I erase. I’m sick of you breathing anyway.” Scootaloo curtly said.

The last bully you erase?!

“H-h-h... heh... yeah, right! Good luck with that! Oh wait, your title is BAD LUCK, right!? Hah!”

Somepony’s desperate to hide their obvious fears...

“Dia, I don’t think pushing her will be a good idea.” Even Silver Spoon was on guard. “However, this doesn’t answer enough questions regarding the murder....”

“Hey hold the phone, you said something real weird before you went all demon-spawn on us!” Pip suddenly clasped his hooves together. “A ‘nosy’ mare that got herself killed? I don’t understand that, ya know! What the heck was she nosy about?!”

“Ask the killer.”

“Err... aren’t you the killer?” Pip shyly asked.

“You said it, not me.”

Dealing with this new Scootaloo’s gonna be difficult...

“Pardon me Scoots, but ya better tell us what the hay’s goin’ on here! What’s the meanin’ of this? You sayin’ ya don’t wanna be a cutie mark crusader anymore?!”

“That has nothing to do with whether or not we’re doing the right thing. You’ve all zero’d in on me, deciding that I’m the murderer. Why not go with it? We can have a debate right now and we’ll all railroad to the same spot.”

“Now back up there! Ah’ ain’t accuse you of anything!” Apple Bloom protested.

“Hah, why debate!? You just admitted that you hurt Twist! If I could, I’d vote for your execution right this instant!” Truffle hissed.

“Feel free, if that’s what your beating heart thinks is right.”

“.............”

“Alright you blank flank, you’re on!”

For once, I agree. We need facts, not speculation.


NONSTOP DEBATE!




Evidence Bullets:

-Broken Lighter
-Dynamite
-Carbine Harvester
-Bloodstained Brick

Diamond Tiara: I know how she did it!

Diamond Tiara: She went behind our backs when we went to check on that idiot...

Diamond Tiara: Somehow snuck through everypony else...

Diamond Tiara: And [u]set off the bombs! What do you think, everypony?!

Scootaloo: Wrong.

Pipsqueak: Doubt she used the front door, ya know... Hmm...

Snails: You’d have to be pretty fast to even pull that off! 

Grace Lightning: Don’t go pointin’ at me if that’s where you’re going.

Scootaloo: You’re right. You’re pathetic without those wheels after all.

Grace Lightning: Bite me!

Sweetie Belle: Stop ganging up on her like this! Why aren’t we accusing somepony else!?

Scootaloo: Does it really matter?.

Damn it... this isn’t going anywhere useful! I’m beginning to wonder if she’s really the culprit! I just need to remember the circumstances...

.....................................................

Got it.




AGREED!



_____________________________________________________________________________


“I get it now... Pipsqueak and Snails are on to something!” I said.

“About the culprit’s speed?” Snails asked.

“Yes, and no. Think about it, have you ever thought about how somepony would sneak in the barn, past the ones who were already there with me?” I asked.

“Hmm... ya know, I think I got what ya mean!” Pip smiled enthusiastically.

“..........” Scootaloo’s growl sent a shiver down my spine, and I’m sure Pip felt the same way.

“Man, I can’t tell if it’s you or Miss Cheerilee that’s doing that. Oh, no offense, Ma’am.” Snails nervously scratched his head. 

Surprisingly enough, Miss Cheerilee rose up a paw, as if to say, “None taken.”

“A hole...!” Pip said to himself, his tone rising higher as if he had an epiphany.

“What.” Silver Spoon lowered her eyelids, wondering if he’s messing around right now.

“A hole, ya know! A hole!”

“Ahahahaha!, it sounds like you’re callin’ somepony an asshole!” Grace cackled.

“Hahaha, my bad guys! But still, Gracie, you remember that nice buck you gave me? Like, I went through that hole pretty quick-”

“REWORD THAT! SERIOUSLY!” Snails screamed suddenly.

“Ya know, I don’t get what the deal is, but I meant the barn! I made a hole in the barn when I crashed through it! I mean, you probably forgot about that since it was destroyed tonight, ya know?” Pip reminded us.

“So you’re saying that I went through the hole on the side of the barn, right?” Scootaloo calmly asked.

“W-weeeeeeeeelllllllllllll, no, buuuuuuut-”

“Is that code for ‘I think you did it, but I don’t want to get on your bad side so not really’?” Ginger asked.

Pipsqueak could only whistle a random upbeat tune.

“Of course she did it... she’s the only one who could’ve done it! If somepony like Grace Lightning did, there would’ve been a wheel trail in the dirt to find!” Truffle said.

“Could’ve said that myself, fatass!” Grace chided.

“Hehehe...! Let’s do it! Let’s vote right now!” Tiara smiled impishly.

Dammit Tiara, we haven’t...

“STOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!”

Sweetie Belle...

“STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT! STOP THIS RIGHT NOW! PLEASE STOP IT!” Sweetie Belle’s plea resonated through the dreaded walls of this trial room, silencing everypony. Her tears flowed like a river as she clutched her own arms, trembling as she pleaded. “Just stop... I can’t take this anymore...! I can’t watch Scoots take these accusations! Why aren’t we accusing Truffle instead!? Why aren’t we accusing Ginger either!? What about Snails, or Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon?! WHY SCOOTALOO?!”

“Yeah, why not!?” Apple Bloom followed up. “Ya’ll wanna go pointin’ hooves at Scootaloo, but ya’ll need to see the obvious!”

“What!?”

“Really?” Ginger lowered her eyebrows, forming an a near scowl. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she wanted to slap Sweetie Belle.

Sweetie Belle pointed her hoof at the fat stallion,“Twist came to us for help because she thought you’d try to kill her! She even went to Dinky for help too!”

I see... so that’s what Scootaloo meant by that word...

“Eh!? What?! WHAT?!” Truffle shook his head furiously, wondering if he was dreaming.

“Twist was so scared! She wanted us to keep you from killing her, but you read your motive already, and wanted her gone!”

“Yeah! Some lover you are!” Apple Bloom followed up.

“BUT I WOULD NEVER!” Truffle retorted.

“That... sounds flimsy at best.” I spoke up, putting a hoof to my chin.

I need to think this through. With everything that’s been said so far, I just can’t see Truffle doing this.

“WHY?! Shady, why defend him!?” Sweetie Belle focused her frustration on me now.

“Because if he was really in love like he claims, he wouldn’t-”

“Don’t give me that idealistic viewpoint! You don’t know what love is!” Sweetie Belle cut me off.

“Heh, puh-leeze! Like your silly crush on that gamer counts as anything!” Diamond Tiara retorted.

“Stay out of this!” Sweetie Belle hissed.

“Maybe I don’t... but I know one thing: Unless there was a way for him to get the job done and re-join the others in such a short span of time, there’s just no way he could’ve done it. Unless he can somehow gallop really fast, but even then, he-”

“Then how would you have done it!?” Sweetie Belle suddenly asked, cutting me off.

“Uh, what?”

“Yeah! Ya wanted that mare dead too! Tell us!” Apple Bloom repeated.

“She has a good question. You’re debunking accusations, yet you yourself almost became a murderer. At the very least, you can provide a theory.” Silver Spoon said.

I see. I just need a theory...

Does speed really factor into how this murder was played out?

Is it theoretically possible to pull that off in such a short span of time?

This needs to be the basis of my theory...

This is actually a huge chance too!



 You’ve been put on the spot! You’re being asked for a possible theory that puts you in the shoes of a killer! However, it should be easy for someone like you. You’ve experienced the purest form of despair first-hand, only to be pulled away from the finish line at the last second.

Your experience however, can now be used to your advantage. Now is the time to vanish the world and set the stage! 

Put together a scenario using only the characters and evidence in your arsenal! Make a strong theory that can be challenged with only the strongest counters to steer the trial in a new direction!

This is called the Criminal Dive!

Keep your sanity, but tap into the despair within to truly understand desperate criminal minds!






Set the stage.


Gather the pieces.


Put it together.

I... 

I can see it.

The setting. I had to set the trial room aside, and create the stage.

Let’s make the surroundings like an old western film. Let’s paint the skies with storms of dust. Yet the center stage... will be this very field of crops where the murder took place.

Everything matters.

First: The characters for the stage.

Sweetie Belle: She was a few feet away from me.

Ginger Snap: With Sweetie Belle as they both tried to stop me.

Miss Cheerilee: She stopped my actions.

Shady Daze: Me, the one who went in for the kill. However... let’s replace him with a blank piece. Whereas, Culprit X is me.

Twist: The one who went inside the barn to check on Dinky Doo.

Dinky Doo: The target, and the one who wanted

Second: The Setting pieces for the stage.

The barn: Where the murder took place.

The crop circle: Where the characters are closest to. Obstructs view of the front of the barn.

The path that leads to the Crop Field: Where everypony else arrived from.

Third: How would one pull it off under these conditions?

...

Most important is line-of-sight.

Sweetie Belle was a couple of feet away from where the blank piece stands. Ginger Snap was somewhat further away, with a small glimpse of the door.

The blank piece and Miss Cheerilee’s line of sight can be eliminated due to the circumstances of that scene.

Let’s insert myself into the role of Culprit X, and trace a starting path...

Around the crop circle. But how? What position?

A. The last of the arrival group.
B. The first of the arrival group.
C. The middle of the arrival group.


This’ll do.

Culprit X perhaps was somepony who went well ahead of the others in between the two groups. 

Tracing a line by jumping into the orchid, around the crop circle, and into the opening of the barn, I could take the lighter and set off the dynamite.

But then there’s the matter of Twist... If I went in, I’d be seen without a doubt.

A. I run away of course!
B. Take her out.
C. Tie her up.

That’s where the brick comes in. I throw the brick at her to take her down and get out in time before the bomb goes off...

So how do I clean up and get away with it?

A. Additional bombs
B. Wait for the bombs
C. Use the harvester.

Yeah. That harvester... The very brick that was used, I’ll place it on the gas pedal and let it roll right in to finish the job.

I know I'm missing something, but I need somepony to challenge it. If they know something, they’ll definitely challenge it.

This requires precise thinking to pull this off. The noise caused by the harvester would cause a distraction that can’t be ignored. They’ll focus on the source of the noise, giving me time to rejoin the group once the job was done.

How would I do this...

A. Wait outside and sneak in the group.
B. Join them as the last of the pack.
C. Back the way I came.

Right... I can just go back the way I came. It’s as simple as a hit-and-run powered by a true distraction.





_____________________________________________________________________


“That’s how I would’ve done it.”

I’ve laid everything out. This is the strongest theory I could come up with. Now... if somepony knows something, they’ll have to challenge it. 

“I can challenge this theory on the account of how absurd it was to watch you flip your mane... and I can challenge it based on how foolish it was for you to play the role of the culprit, but I won’t.” Silver Spoon put a hoof to her face, but continued. “It’s still a solid theory for how the culprit could’ve done it though.”

“I think he means that the first group of ponies was distracted by the crash, while the second group of ponies was distracted by the explosion.”

“That makes no sense! You’re saying it’s easy no matter your speed, right?! All it took was just those forms of distraction! That means Truffle or Ginger could’ve done it, not Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle protested.

“Excuse me Sweetie Belle. I know I might sound rude, but just how am I the culprit? You and I were in the same spot when we went after Shady.” Ginger asked, noticing that her name was mentioned.

“W-well, you probably went in after Twist, lit the fuse and came out!” Sweetie Belle desperately answered.

“That’s impossible. You would’ve seen me do just that.” Ginger sighed, nonchalantly fiddling with her merit badges.

“Then maybe Dinky was already dead when you knocked her out! Or maybe you built some switch to detonate the dynamite!” Sweetie Belle fired another shot.

Ginger’s eye twitched, just once. It was a single, very noticeable twitch.

“You’re becoming quite irritating with these flimsy accusations towards me. Need I remind you that Shady checked her pulse? Not to mention I arrived with Silver Spoon. if she had died then, the death announcement would’ve gone off.”

“But... but...!”

“How would ya have done it without gettin’ run over!?” Apple Bloom blurted out.

“What?” Snails asked, confused. “What are you talking about? It’s not like he could... crank... the... oh boy...”

“Yer rememberin’ now, ain’t ya?! That darn harvester is broken! It needed that brick to keep it from moving! Ya’ll didn’t notice it when I was ramblin’ on about my family’s farm this mornin’?!”

“Hmph! I wasn’t there, but now that you say it, that means you knew how to do it without getting squished, huh?! You’re the culprit! You have to be!” Diamond Tiara pointed her hoof in triumph.

“Say what ya’ll want! Ah’ ain’t backin’ down! Not ‘till ya’ll stop pointin’ hooves at Scoots!”

“Hey, that fangirl brought that on herself!” Grace reminded.

“Ah’ don’t care! Ah’ ain’t lettin’ ya’ll destroy the cutie mark crusaders! Ah’ ain’t gonna have it! We’ve come too far to not find our talents now!”

“Again with that...” Scootaloo muttered, grinding her teeth.

...

Wow, I actually forgot something so crucial! Damn it, this nearly destroys my theory!

This is great though... this should force a new angle of thinking!


Nonstop Debate!




Evidence Bullets
-Carbine Harvester
-Broken Lighter
-Bloodstained Brick
-Dynamite

Apple Bloom: That’s right ya’ll! That harvester can’t move as long as that brick was holding the brake down!

Snails: If the brick was heavy enough to hold down that brake, then it’d have to be big enough to kill somepony I guess...

Snails: But to do it without getting run over...?

Pipsqueak: Guess that hole on that barn doesn’t matter if you think about it...

Apple Bloom: That’s right! Even if you knew ahead of time, you can’t do it without breakin’ a hoof!

Truffle Shuffle: You just threw out your theory about me doing it!

Apple Bloom: Nah Ah’ didn’t! 

Apple Bloom: Just sit in the seat and take off the brick!

Apple Bloom: Let the harvester act as the fuse! Jump out quick, and yer job is swift!

Silver Spoon: Somepony sounds desperate. This still allows us to implicate Scootaloo.

Silver Spoon: You have nothing to save her with.

Actually, I think she’s onto something. I just need to get her facts straight.




YOU’VE GOT THAT WRONG!



______________________________________________________________________


“Shady!” Apple Bloom seethed. “You’re tryin’ to destroy the cutie mark crusaders!”

“No, I’m trying to get your facts straight.” I corrected. I’m not letting this one of. “You forgot about that lighter we found earlier, didn’t you? I really doubt the harvester is capable of spontaneous combustion.”

“Agh, goddamn it, shut up!” Grace suddenly interjected.

“No you!” Apple Bloom angrily retorted, pointing her hoof out.

“Dammit, this is pissin’ me off! You dumbasses think it’s alright to go on and on and on with this stupid way of thinking! Look, you probably think we STILL suspect the dashie fangirl ‘cause she has wings!  But guess what? She can’t use’em! It’s impossible!” Grace ranted, then suddenly focused on Scootaloo. “Yeah, I made fun of your lack of flight! Come at me, bitch!”

“I don’t need to waste time on small fry like you.” Scootaloo quipped.

“Grace Lightning is right though.” Rumble spoke up again. “I’m a pegasus too, so it’s perfectly okay to suspect me as well. Unfortunately you’d be wrong since if I took flight, you’d notice my disappearance right away!”

“Ugh! If all that's true, then nothing works!” Diamond Tiara complained.

“Oh, on the contrary Diamond Tiara, there is a theory that will work; a theory we’ve been deliberately trying to avoid. Shady may remember if I remind him that he was the distraction.” Rumble glanced my way.

The distraction... that’s right. I was the distraction.

Gotta remember the facts. 

In order to pull this off, somepony had to speak to Dinky long before she tried to kill me. If I’m the distraction, that’ll give the culprit a chance to commit the deed, but how can somepony do it without getting hurt?

I was a distraction for that purpose, but is it really possible to light the dynamite, strike the victim with a brick and get away without getting hurt or seen?

I need to think... Don’t stop thinking...!

...

............

..................

!

“AAH!”

“Whoa, did you just see a ghost or something!?” Pipsqueak asked, startled by my outburst.

“No, I just realized something crucial! And thanks to that, I know who did it and how!”

“Took you long enough...” Rumble sighed, but gave a cool smirk.

“It was one of those three, wasn’t it!?” Diamond Tiara grinned, but...

“No, it wasn’t. But I know who could’ve pulled this off, based on HOW.” Once I made my intentions clear.

The one pony who could’ve committed this murder... the one who could’ve made the harvester move without getting hurt... no matter what, it seems impossible until I realized the one possibility we’ve subconsciously avoided...

It can’t be anyone else!

“Monobear?” I turn to the giggling bear on the throne. 

Of course he looks annoyed when I call on him. 

“Get Twist in here!”
 
> Ch.2 Class Trial Part 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Monobear... Get Twist in here!”

If I’m right, Monobear would actually comply...

“Uu~pupupu~ You’re quite callous...”

...or not...

“You... you...!” I knew Truffle would be set off... but this is for everypony’s sake. “You fool! How dare you suspect Twist!?”

“Seriously?! Shady, are you insane!?” Snails widened his eyes.

“What’s your basis for this? It’s mighty cruel to pin the crime on somepony who’s injured.” Ginger said.

“Heh, normally I’m willin’ to back you up, but if you ain’t got any proof, then you’re just bein’ a dick.” Grace added.

“You can thank the Crusaders for this one.” I said.

“What!?” Truffle made a quick glare at the crusaders, then back to me.

“Apple Bloom, your words throughout this trial got me to believe you three were defending her.” I answered.

“W-w... you don’t know a darn thing! What the hay you on about!?” Apple Bloom demanded, her southern accent growing more panicked by the minute.

“Yeah! Twist was hurt!” Sweetie Belle followed up.

“You’re right, she was hurt... and that’s precisely why she’s the culprit. You said it yourself, Apple Bloom; It’s impossible to use that brick as a weapon without getting hurt.”

“But a pegasus like Rumble-” I knew what Sweetie Belle was gonna say, and I had to shoot that down.

“That falls flat too. If a pegasus was responsible, they’d be seen flying away by the rest of us. The only way this murder could’ve been committed is if the culprit remained on ground-level the whole time to avoid being seen. Yet, in Twist’s case, she did get hurt, which in itself is a very solid alibi. This whole time, we thought of Twist as the victim, but we never considered the possibility that when she went to check on Dinky, she did commit the murder.”

“You can’t prove she did it though! There’s no evidence! It makes no sense!” Truffle desperately pleaded.

“Come on, you saw it too... this morning when the Harvester suddenly moved? I know you were there with Twist. I meant what I said when you should be thanking Apple Bloom for this new train of thought. She said that brick held the brakes in place. How else did it end up wrecked along with the barn?!”

“You’re really gonna need more than that to prove she did it...” Ginger sighed.

“So hey, murder-suicide’s a thing, ya know!” Pip blurted out.

“!” Scootaloo made a disgruntled gasp.

Scootaloo’s reaction just now...  I see. I think she knew...

“Murder-suicide!? Pip you gotta be referencing horror stories again, huh?” Snails was surprised.

“Actually, I’m pretty sure he might be on to something here. In fact, it seems more likely given the circumstances and setup...” I answered, backing up Pip’s sudden claim.

“I wasn’t really saying that’s what happened, but it sure sounds like what Shady was getting at, ya know?” Pip partially denied. “I’m just thinking it’s a bit... weird, ya know? Twist was bleeding from her head and burned on the back, so-”

“WHY!? WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY?! Why would she want to kill herself?! Why why why why?! I don’t get it! You idiots! She may be shy, but she’d never want to-”

“Kill herself? We’ll know once we get her in here. Monobear?” Rumble turned his attention to the bear.

“Uu~pupupu~ Wow, didn’t think you all were heartless!” Monobear giggled.

“Whaddya mean?!” Truffle asked.

“Didn’t you forget? She’s hurt! If I got her in here, you wouldn’t want her to come in kicking and screaming, right? That’d get annoying really fast!” Monobear said.

“Yeah!” Truffle agreed... though most likely out of desperation.

“Ah’ can’t see’er bein’ the culprit! Ain’t no way! The culprit tried to kill her too! If she really tried to kill’er self like yer sayin’, she’d have only one injury!”

“Alright, if we can present enough evidence to connect her to the crime, then you get your guards to bring her here. Sounds like a good deal, right?” I asked. Knowing Monobear, he’d have to comply.

“Shady! You’re gambling with somepony’s life! That’s just too cruel!” Sweetie Belle seethed.

“We’re already gambling our lives, Sweetie Belle. If we’re wrong, we’re all dead.” I reminded.

“Just so you know, there IS evidence to support the murder-suicide theory. In addition, she may have simply let her injury act as an alibi.” Silver Spoon followed up.

“Then you’re gonna have to get through me! I’m not letting you hurt Twist anymore! NEVER EVER!”

“Hmph! Fatty’s so desperate! I’m a little let down it wasn’t those three, but Sil’s right. There’s pleeeeeeeeenty of evidence to support Twist being the culprit, and those blank flanks were in on it!”

“You sure you’re not being biased again?” Snails asked. “Besides, I’m... wondering, even if she did do it, how would you even explain her head injury? She can’t have hit herself that bad!”

“WHY WOULD WE HELP SOMEPONY KILL HERSELF?! What did we ever do to deserve that accusation!?” Sweetie Belle cried out.

“Should’ve never asked me to burn the motives...” Scootaloo said in the harshest tone possible.

“Alright Scoots, that’s it! We’re tryin’ to help you and yet you’re tryin’ to push us away! Why?! Take that hood off and talk to us!” Apple Bloom seethed.

“Because all you care about is your cutie mark... that’s why we burned the motives to begin with.”

“We were just tryin’ to help somepony!” Apple Bloom argued. 

“Tsk tsk tsk...” Rumble shook his head, then let out a disappointed sigh. “You girls... I’m saddened. But your behavior and words throughout this whole trial... tells me you three were just pawns in the culprit’s plan and I’m sure Scootaloo was smart enough to figure it out.”

“If Scootaloo knew, why’d she help us anyway!? Why didn’t she stop us?!” Apple Bloom seethed. “Ah’ refuse to believe Twist would just use us to kill somepony!”

“Because she’s better off dead.” Scootaloo answered.

“Eh...?” Sweetie Belle was taken aback.

“You wanted her to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders just because you felt bad for not talking to her for a while.”

“What, yer jealous or somethin?! That’s stupid! Nopony was gonna repla-” Apple Bloom argued.

“I DIDN’T SAY REPLACEMENT.” Scootaloo curtly said after an audible slam on the stand.

“Stop it! STOP THIS ARGUING! Don’t you see!? This stupid game’s tearing us apart! I don’t want that! Stop it now!”

“And there we-”

“Don’t you dare, Rumble! I know what you’re gonna say! I won’t let you destroy our friendship like you did with Snips and Snails! No! Never!” Sweetie Belle hissed.

“On the contrary, I don’t have to. Scootaloo’s doing a perfectly fine job of that. I have no need to drop a pipe bomb on you three as a result. However, I can avenge your broken friendship... for seeing the damage on your bond is beginning to become the iron maiden that encloses my heart.” Rumble put a hoof to his chest. His eyes looked regretful, almost as if he were going to cry at any moment. “It’s the least I can do to atone for not wording my statements more carefully.”

“No need. I prefer to thank you.” Scootaloo gave Rumble a sinister smirk.

“You idiots... you three have made this trial all about you! Nopony cares about your stupid infighting right now! Besides, it’s your fault that everypony’s beginning to suspect Twist! You say she came to you for help so that I wouldn’t kill her, right!? Why would she kill herself just for that!? ANSWER ME!” Truffle roared.

His eyes are starting to become bloodshot...

“C-calm down! We were jus-” Apple Bloom nervously said, with her hooves matching the ‘calm down’ gesture.

“I will not! Not until I get answers!”


NONSTOP DEBATE!




Evidence Bullets:
-Broken Lighter
-Combine Harvester
-Monobear File

Truffle Shuffle: Why would she kill herself?! How would she kill herself!?

Truffle Shuffle: She tore my motive away and gave it to you!

Truffle Shuffle: And then you burned it, right?! That’s what you said!

Scootaloo: That’s right.

Truffle Shuffle: THEN WHY?!

Ginger Snap: Nopony can answer, but the way the murder happened...

Sweetie Belle: Twist was burned on her back and injured on the head!

Sweetie Belle: How could she have done it!?

Snails: Sweetie Belle has a point... I don’t see why Twist would need to go so far...

Apple Bloom: Ah’ can’t see it either! Ol’ Shady’s gone nuts!

Truffle Shuffle: That’s right!

Truffle Shuffle: Dinky was burned to death, or maybe she was hit with the brick...

Truffle Shuffle: but how could Twist do it if she was knocked out!?

At least the facts are straight...




AGREED!


____________________________________________________________


“You... You agree!? With what?!” Truffle asked.

“About Dinky’s death. It’s all according to the Monobear File after all. You’re right that it never outright stated the cause of death.”

“THEN WHY DO YOU KEEP SUSPECTING TWIST?!”

“Because in every scenario, Twist could’ve pulled it off. If the victim burned to death, then it’s because Twist set off the bombs. If the victim was killed via blunt force, Twist could’ve used the brick, but got injured trying to clean up her mess.” I answered.

“No matter how you would try to spin this story, Twist is the culprit... I’m certain of that. Everything adds up when you remember one key element that I’m sure the crusaders would know.” Rumble added.

“Then they’re the culprits, not Twist! They roped her into their scheme and...!” Truffle frantically denied.

“Guess having a criminally deranged girlfriend is your dream...” Scootaloo muttered.

“She’s not crazy! I’m crazy! I’m criminally insane, not Twist! Stop suspecting her! What if I am the culprit?! You’ll stop suspecting Twist then, right?! I DID IT!” Truffle shouted, pounding his chest 

“Whoa, he admitted it!” Snails widened his eyes in shock.

“Lemmie at’em!” Grace prepared to punch Truffle.

“Don’t be a fool, you two. He’s just trying to redirect suspicion. A futile attempt I may add.” Silver Spoon sighed.

“Hmph. You’re both idiots, really. Both you and that mare of yours. But hey, if you value Twist so much, let her defend herself! I’m sure she’s a strong mare like you think, ri~ght?” Diamond Tiara impishly smiled, requesting in her condescending tone.

“Monobear, let Twist defend herself. She’s not dead, so she needs to participate along with the rest of us!” I shouted.

“Hmmmmmm...” Monobear pondered, rolling over to his side, then sitting up and crossing his leg in a thinking pose...

And then turned his back to us and pondered... and then a handstand... then laid on his side... then random push-ups...

Okay, this is getting stupid.

“MONOBEAR!” I shouted.

“Geez, so impatient! I was just trying to stretch!~ Even bears need to exercise!”

“What the heck was the thinking poses then?!” Tiara seethed.

“Thinking about my exercise regimen for tonight!”

........

... is it wrong that I somehow get what he means...?

“Fine, fine, I’ll get her here!” With a double clap of his paws, Monobear summoned the Monoguards to the trial room. He then turns his attention to our teacher in the dog suit, then pulled out a picture of Twist, shoving it against her nose.

“Oh crap...” Pip said, shocked at Monobear’s actions.

“Got a good whiff? Go get her, girl!”

With those words, the Monoguards abduct Miss Cheerilee and take her out through the roof!

Ah... suddenly I’m regretting my decision to bring Twist here...

No backing out now though.

“WHY’D YOU MAKE MISS CHEERILEE DO IT?!” Truffle screamed, unable to hold back his tears this time.

“Don’t you watch crime TV shows? Police always get their dogs to hunt down the culprits! Don’t worry, your dog will have your culprit soon enough!”

“Shady, I think this was a really bad idea, ya know...” Pipsqueak scratched the back of his head.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be okay with this...” Silver Spoon sighed.

“You stupid bear! Just use the guards! What makes you think Miss Cheerilee will even do it?!” Tiara hissed.

“You bastards wanted Twist in here, not me! And since you nicely asked your benevolent king, I decided to honor your request!” Monobear reminded. “You should be glad!”

“I never wanted this! This is too cruel!” Sweetie Belle cried. “And you all should be ashamed!”

“Can’t we stop this?!” Apple Bloom angrily asked.

Her anguish directed mainly at me, since I directed suspicion on Twist to begin with...

But I can’t turn away from the truth. We may have to endure more despair, but I won’t turn away from the truth.

Soon enough, after a few minutes, Miss Cheerilee is returned to the trial room with an injured Twist in her arms. The guards are using their metallic hooves to force our teacher into holding Twist in place.

Once the white mare with the curly red mane took her place at her stand, Truffle’s lips quivered as he saw the fear in the eyes of the mare his heart yearns for. Miss Cheerilee however, was returned to her stand, sobbing at what she was forced to do to her own student.

Monobear even sighed in annoyance hearing the artificial dog whines. “I should’ve tweaked the noises a bit.”

Twist looked just like she did at the crime scene; injured with burns on her back and with the bandages on her head to indicate her head injury.

“Shady, this is a bit much, right? Like, let her defend herself, then we can just let her go back and heal, right?” Snails hesitantly asked.

I didn’t like how Twist was brought in, but she’s here now. I need to hear her testimony.

“Twist... we got you in here because we think you killed Dinky Doo. We want to hear your side of the story.”

“We?” Apple Bloom directed her glare at me.

“You sound like a reporter getting his next big scoop... is that all this is to you? Dinky really shouldn’t trust you bullies from the media.” Scootaloo calmly said.

“Scootaloo, you know damn well this isn’t just some scoop for me!”

“Can’t you see she’s hurt?! Ah’ knew even gettin’ curious was bad! We gotta let her finish healin’!” Apple Bloom demanded.

“Not until we hear what she has to say!” I retorted.

“Well? We’re all ears.” Rumble dropped his smile the moment he asked.

“Yeah, tell us!” Tiara demanded.

“I... I was attacked by somepony...”

“So you didn’t hurt yourself on the harvester!?” Pip asked.

“N-no! Why would I even go to the harvester!? I just wanted to see if Dinky was okay! She tried to kill her after all!” Twist pointed her hoof my way.

“S-she’s right! She had every right to see if you had done anything!” Sweetie Belle followed up.

“I never got to the barn by the time I was stopped.” I reminded.

“I can attest to that one and so can you, Sweetie Belle.” Ginger added.

You should know that better than anypony. You’re sounding desperate, Sweetie Belle...


NONSTOP DEBATE!




Evidence Bullets:
-Broken Lighter
-Combine Harvester
-Dynamite
-Monobear File
-Bloodstained Brick

Twist: I told Ginger that I wanted to ch-check up on Dinky...

Twist: When I went in there... 

Twist: I was attacked with a blunt object...

Twist: When I came to, the fuse was set and the harvester had broken in...

Twist: The harvester rammed me just as the explosives went off...!

Twist: So... why am I here...?!

Twist: It hurts... WHY AM I STILL HERE?!

Twist: IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS!!

Twist: AAAAAAGH!

Sweetie Belle: .........

Rumble: You’re here because we think you killed Dinky, that’s all.

Apple Bloom: .......................

Twist: But the culprit attacked me! I was dazed...!

Diamond Tiara: Should’ve never talked to those blank flanks.

Scootaloo: ...............

Truffle Shuffle: LAY OFF OF TWIST! I was the one who knocked her out! I hurt Twist!

Snails: Uh, weren’t you in such hard denial earlier...?

Pipsqueak: We can let her finish recovering, right? I already feel a little bad doing this, ya know.

Twist... it’s over. Just stop it.




YOU’VE GOT THAT WRONG!


_______________________________________________________________________


“Eh...?” Twist widened her eyes.

“You’re wrong Twist. There’s just so much wrong with that alibi now... but one part stood out.” I started. “You said ‘the harvester had suddenly broken in’... but yet you never noticed anything. It’s as if you had your back turned. You said you were knocked unconscious with the brick, but that’s impossible! If that were the case, you should’ve heard the harvester move the second it was lifted from the brake!”

“AAAAAAAAGH! It hurts it hurts it hurts!” Twist grabbed her head, trembling with each shot fired.

“STOP IT!” Truffle demanded.

No, I’m not gonna stop.

“Shady’s right, but there is one problem...” Silver Spoon began.

“Huh?”

“Suppose if we are going with the murder-suicide theory...” Silver Spoon carried on, “how did Twist receive her head injury? We’ve yet to tackle this issue. I’m sure that she’d have to be abnormally fast to strike herself and the victim. How do you propose that would be possible?”

“That’s also a good point... I mean, we’re already pretty mean suspecting her, and I feel worse getting her out of... wherever she was!” Snails added.

“That means there was another culprit! ME! HA!” Truffle boasted.

He thinks he’s already won, but I have two bullets left that just came to mind...

“What if Dinky did it?”

“Huh...?” Sweetie Belle opened her eyes suddenly.

“N-no... no!” Twist shrieked.

“You’re saying Dinky regained consciousness...?” Pip asked worriedly.

“Well...” Ginger trailed off. “When I kicked Dinky into that wooden post, I didn’t do it with killing intent. I just wanted to subdue her. And besides, It’s just like with Featherweight. Can’t Grace Lightning attest to this? Hmm?” Ginger asked.

“Gah, you’re makin’ me feel bad! Damn it all!” Grace clicked her tongue, then let out a sigh of defeat. “But yeah, coulda sworn we established that guy was conscious after I kicked him.”

Featherweight...

“So you propose that Dinky herself was the one to wake up and attack Twist... perhaps because she saw her lighting the dynamite?” Rumble asked. “Sounds good. In fact, I think this works out, and it’d explain why we have a bloodstained brick.”

“I thought Dinky died due to blunt force!” Truffle insisted. “You’re saying that the explosion killed her?!”

“Well, of course. Otherwise this theory wouldn’t work! I’ve been thinking it too actually!” Rumble followed up. “Think of it this way: You wake up alone in a dark place to find somepony planning to blow you up... what would you do?”

“Kick their asses to Tartarus and back, that’s what!” Grace happily answered.

“As would anypony. A perfectly valid self-defense option.” Rumble backed her up.

“Hmph! I coulda said all of that! Dinky could’ve used her magic to lift the brick from a distance too as long as she had sight of it!” Tiara said, twirling her mane.

“Oh, so my hole is useful again! Whoo hoo!” Pip cheered.

“OH MY GOD.” Snails groaned.

I’m not gonna think about what went on in his head just now...

“YOU CAN’T PROVE IT! Even if Dinky woke up, that means Dinky could’ve been the one to kill herself and Twist nearly died! You can’t prove it was the other way around!”

“Goddamn it, Fatass! First you were on the Fangirl’s ass, then on your own ass, now you’re on that momma’s girl’s ass! Make up your goddamn mind!” Grace chided.

“Dinky definitely blew herself up! She had the lighter and set it off by accident!”

“Never thought I’d agree with the fatty, but he’s got a point. You remember how her mom is, right?” Tiara followed up.

“Now that’s just low blow, ya know?” Pip commented.

“Actually, I can prove otherwise.” I said, putting my left hoof into my pocket to take out the broken lighter.

“T-That’s just the lighter that Dinky could’ve used to blow herself up!” Truffle said.

“Yep... and if Twist held this lighter and was injured by Dinky in the process... then there should be a bloodstain if I activate the the Luminol Bubble.”

“Then Dinky held it and Twist struck her trying to defend herself!”

Defend herself from what? The whole crime scene would’ve been entirely different if that were the case.

“No... there’s nothing on it!” Twist hesitantly said, but the way her lips tremble says a lot.

“STOP CHEATING AND USE REAL EVIDENCE!” Truffle demanded.

“Permission granted! Uu~pupupu~”

If there’s blood on here... we win.

If there’s no blood on here, we lose...

Either way, Monobear gets some form of satisfaction from this gamble.

But I have to do it!

I hold out my left hoof, open the menu, and activate the Luminol Bubble, enveloping the trial room in a dark green tint...

To my left, I can see Twist’s head injury, but that’s not my focus. My focus should be on that lighter.

I open my eyes... and... 

YES! There’s blood on the lighter, just as I hoped!

“Ah... AH...! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!” Truffle cried in defeat, slumping to his knees.

“So... you were right...” Sweetie Belle admitted.

“Hmph. Talk about decisive evidence.” Tiara folded her forearms.

“That blood can only belong to the one that held the lighter, all because that pony was struck with a blunt object... talk about luck!” Rumble said.

“Err, you sure it wasn’t because Scootaloo transferred her bad luck or something like that?” Snails asked, only to feel Scootaloo staring daggers into him. “M-maybe not...”

“This is kinda hard to take in, ya know?” Pip sighed.

I deactivated the bubble.

Rumble sighed, then focused on Twist. “There you have it; decisive evidence... and to think this would’ve never happened if you had succeeded in convincing Truffle to not read his motive. That’s what drove you mad, yes?”

“Rumble...?” Truffle looked at the dark gray-coated pegasus with eyes of anxiousness...

“Come now, aren’t you the least bit disappointed? Twist claimed that she didn’t want you to kill anypony, yet she’s a murderer, all because of your motive! You’re a failure of a friend, and she is no different.”

He’s doing that “pipebomb” thing again!

“Rumble, stop!” I demanded.

“Let him.” Scootaloo said, much to the surprise of her friends.

“W-why!?”

Rumble continued his lecture, “Twist basically talked about you behind your back... she probably told them that you’ve been a bad boyfriend.”

“Ah... wha...!”

“I NEVER SAID THAT ABOUT HIM!” Twist vehemently denied. “Please, believe me!”

“Are you sure? Why didn’t you successfully convince him to not read his motive? Why did you let him? Why go through all of this? And worst of all, why would you let the darkness within take over when Miss Cheerilee was brought up?”

“......”

“Truffle, I didn’t say anything to those three! You have to believe me!”

“You did. It’s pretty obvious. You told us he might kill you, so you took away the motive before he could read it. That sounded so fishy, but I kept silent... because I thought he came off as a creepy stallion anyway.” Scootaloo said.

“Twist... but it... it adds up...!” Truffle averted his eyes from Twist.

“And Truffle... why did you act as if Miss Cheerilee was more important to you than Twist? You’re both friends now, so I think saying this much is fine. I don’t understand things such as love... so care to enlighten me?”

“But... how can I... I’m... I’m a failure... I was never fit... for Twist.”

“YOU’RE WRONG!”

“No, he’s right! I’M A FAILURE! I should’ve never read that motive!”

No... damn it, Rumble! It’s happening AGAIN!?

I have to stop this. I’ll listen first, then end it with evidence...




SINKING FRIENDSHIP BATTLE


Twist: Don’t listen to them!

Truffle Shuffle: But I saw you go to the CMC anyway! I overlooked it but...

Twist: I only wanted their help!

Truffle Shuffle: To keep me from killing you!?

Twist: I never said that!

Truffle Shuffle: Then why!? WHY?!

Twist: Your motive had details about our relationship!

Truffle Shuffle: But I told you that Miss Cheerilee’s like the mother I always wanted!

Twist: And I apologized for that, but I remember what I did to you...! I just wanna die!

Truffle Shuffle: You don’t need to die! You could’ve just killed me if you were so scared of me!

Twist: I could never kill you! I will never kill you!

Truffle Shuffle: Then why would you do this!? Why even say I’d kill you when I never would!?

Twist: Because you have every right to!

Truffle Shuffle: I don’t get it!

Twist: It’s better you don’t know! I’m just a danger to you! I can’t keep living and making you miserable!

Truffle Shuffle: What are you talking about!?

Twist: It’s better that you don’t know! That’s why I had the CMC get rid of it!

Truffle Shuffle: I don’t get it! You didn’t need to drag them into our problems!

Twist: What should I have done?!

Truffle Shuffle: STOP RUNNING AWAY FROM ME!

Loaded Bullet: Dinky Doo’s Motive.




THAT’S ENOUGH!!



__________________________________________________________________________


“Stop it.” I requested. “Twist, he’s right. You didn’t need to involve the CMC. And you damn sure didn’t need to involve the victim.”

And you didn’t need to involve me either.

“You...! THIS IS YOUR FAULT! You wrote that paper! You reporters...! You made me look like a monster! You just wanted revenge on Dinky, right?! You always want revenge! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!”

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about, but that may explain why I was the perfect distraction.” I sighed.

“Yeah, I'm gonna remove the clothing on this mare’s secret.” Scootaloo rose her head.

“Sheesh, what the heck’s with the metaphors?” Snails asked.

“Don’t say it! You know nothing! NOTHING!” Twist’s eyes suddenly became bloodshot.

“She thought he was cheating on her with the teach apparently... which resulted in a case of domestic violence. Fa~ntastic.” Scootaloo answered.

“Stop talking! Just stop it!” Twist demanded, covering her ears.

But with the way Scootaloo is now, I can't see her stopping.

“Then Dinky butted in our plans and snagged Truffle Shuffle’s motive and looked at it. She started saying things like, ‘oh wow, you probably had a good reason to hit him, huh? Good job’!”

“Domestic violence?” Snails asked.

“Looks like the motive really WAS designed to make Truffle kill Twist. She was telling the truth, but the article gave birth to a level of shame that words can’t describe.” Rumble said.

“Shut up... Shut up...! You’re just as much at fault!” Twist seethed at Rumble, but of course, he didn’t drop his cold smirk.

“Ah... Twist, hurt me? hahaha.... sure, she had her moments, but... sh... she’d never hurt me. I even felt unworthy, and she just denied how much she’d hurt me... so... well...” Truffle nervously trailed off.

“You probably lost your memory because of it.” I said.

“I’d remember if Twist attacked me!” Truffle slammed his hooves on the stand, then held his head in anguish.

“Truffle, read this last part.”

I showed him the very article he gave me... or what was left of it.


________________________________________________________________


--immediate surgery to close the wounds found on the victim’s head.

Upon recovery, the victim seems to have lost his memory about the incident.


_________________________________________________________________


Twist promptly snatched it, balled it up, threw it on the ground and furiously stomped on it to the point where the paper began to wear and tear.

“YOU...! WHY DID YOU WRITE THIS STORY?!” Twist glared with her teary bloodshot eyes.

“Twist...”

“That... I don’t know what to say... that implies a little too much if you knew about this all along, ya know...” Pipsqueak put a hoof to his chin, “Maybe that’s why she always acted standoff-ish around Truffle, ya know?”

“Uu~pupupu... the bastards are right! You need a better taste in girls! Unless yanderes are your thing! They’re quite devoted if you’re willing to pay with everyone else’s lives!”

“What the heck do you mean!? And what the heck is a yandere!?” Truffle was more confused by that last part...

As am I.

“I could explain it ya know...” Pip looked away, hiding his obvious desire to ramble about it.

Suddenly, Monobear hopped on Truffle’s head, knocking him down to his chest.

“BEHOLD, THE SHOCKING SCAR OF TRUTH!” Monobear declared as he pulled Truffle’s mane apart, exposing a part of his head that revealed a particularly nasty scar, held together by stitches...

“G-get off of me! HEY!” Truffle struggled. “W-what?! Why isn’t anypony getting him off?!”

“Can’t put our hooves on the king! It’s in the rules, remember? Hmph!” Tiara reminded.

“It’s a pity... turns out you were perhaps in a poisonous relationship.” Silver Spoon sighed. “It’s probably for the best that family business keeps me from seeking a relationship with anypony.”

“I’ve never had to stitch wounds that bad before...” Ginger looked away in disgust. “Makes me wonder when this happened?”

“Those two have been silent for a while, huh?” Pip’s eyes were filled with an ambiguous worry for Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.

Even though Scootaloo didn’t really help matters much, she did force the truth out.

Once Monobear hopped back in his throne, he suddenly cackled, “With a scar like that, it wouldn’t be surprising that a monster attacked you! The guy with the monster girlfriend! And here I thought monster girls were cute!”

“She’s not a monster!” Truffle immediately got up.

“Shady, you know what to do. Conclude this trial.” Rumble said.

Damn it... he’s right, but damn it...!

I can’t stand to see Truffle like this anymore.	





THIS IS HOW IT HAPPENED!


It started with the motive reading. Fairly early in the day, after Rumble read his motive, Truffle Shuffle read his.

The culprit caught wind of what the motive was after a quick peek and took it away from him.

Knowing Truffle, he couldn’t chase after the culprit for long, who was soon approached by Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo.

The culprit decided to ask a favor to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and knowing Apple Bloom, she bought into it immediately. That’s where our victim, Dinky Doo comes in.

She suddenly walked on by, read the incriminating article, and gave it back like it was nothing. This is what made the Culprit begin the plan of taking out a mare who was never supposed to know the secret.

Once the victim read her motive, and learned that it was a Ponyville Express paper, she decided with that alone that I’d be the perfect distraction by turning me into a villain...

After failed attempt on my life, I snapped just as the culprit hoped, because this too relied on the fact that I read my motive, act, and be stopped just before committing a murder. Meanwhile, the culprit would use the excuse to check on Dinky Doo while I had to calm down.

It was then that the second phase was put into motion. With a lighter from the First-Aid kit, the culprit began to light a fuse on the dynamite to take them both out.

However, Dinky Doo regained consciousness in the middle of this plan and attacked the culprit by taking the brick off the brake of the harvester outside. She reached that through the broken hole in the wall, and used a simple levitation spell. Unfortunately, the fuse had already been lit and the harvester began to move.

The culprit of course, was flung outside of the house, while Dinky Doo unfortunately didn’t make it...



“Despite the serious injuries, the only one who could’ve done it... is you, Twist!”

..........

“...........Ah...!”

Twist suddenly pressed her hooves against the stand... reeled her head back and...!

*BAM!*

“What the shit?!” Grace widened her eyes.

Twist suddenly bashed her head against the panel with all her might... reeled her head back again, and out came another loud slam against the hard, wooden stand..

*BAM* *BAM!* *SLAM!*

Truffle dashed to her side and held her tightly, begging her to stop. She desperately struggled to free herself, despite her head bleeding profusely.

“I... I don’t wanna die... not like this...! NOT LIKE THIS!” She cried.

Hesitantly sticking out her tongue, she prepared to bite down with all her might like a guillotine.

“Geh... no...!” Truffle immediately shoved her tongue back with his forearm, taking the full force of her bite. He winced as he saw the deep gash she made, weakening his grip.

Twist, with her eyes widened to the horrible act she committed, frantically crawled into a corner, quivering like a cornered mouse. Truffle tried to go to her, but... “STAY AWAY!”

“W-what... it’s... just a flesh wound!” Truffle tried to play it off, but he’s not fooling anypony... not with all that blood coming out of his right forehoof...

“N-no...! Not again! I... I can’t keep hurting you!”

“Wow! Looks like you’re certain on the culprit! It’s that time again! Vote for who you think is the culprit on the panel in front of you!”

A hatch in front of me opened at the stand, displaying the voting panel with those eight-bit portraits of us. We have to vote the culprit...

“NOOOOOOOOOO!” Truffle let go of Twist and made a mad dash for me! “Don’t vote for her! DON’T!”

But his advance was halted thanks to the Monoguards landing on him like a pile-up.

I really shouldn’t be saying thanks though. I understand why he’d want to stop any of us, but...

I’m sorry.

“I... I can’t...! This is our fault...” Apple Bloom hesitated. “Ah’ can’t do that to mah first friend!”

“Just do it. Unless you want us all to die.” Scootaloo reminded, sounding irritated, and pressing a button without hesitation. Of course Scootaloo’s still in her dark mode. “Think of it as putting her out of her misery. Do you want to send her home filled to the brim with guilt and shame?”

“....she’s right...” Twist finally broke down. “Just... do it. I... don’t want to live anymore.”

“But Twist!” Sweetie Belle cried.

“JUST DO IT!” Twist demanded. “Please, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, just do it... You too, Truffle.”

“Never!” Truffle vehemently denied, seemingly pressing a button at random.

I voted for Twist, just as everypony else did...

We’re then shown a slot machine on the monitors against the walls. The slots spin fast, but slowly stop on Twist, displaying “GUILTY!” in those flashy red colors.

“Truffle, voting for yourself won’t do any good! In fact, your vote’s invalid! You should be glad that everypony’s majority vote was on a guilty monster!”

“I’m... not a monster...!” Twist half-heartedly denied.

“You’re right, you’re not a monster... you’re a Super High-School Level Candy Maker, and I have a special execution for cowards who try to run away by killing themselves!” Monobear happily declared.

“NO! SHE DOESN’T DESERVE TO DIE! LEAVE HER ALONE! TAKE ME INSTEAD!!” Truffle screamed as he struggled to free himself from the weight of the Monoguards.

“Nope! Didn’t your heroes ever tell you? You mustn’t run away!” Monobear chided Truffle. “Geez, this is the second time someone tried to escape their punishment...”

“Because she wants to live!”

“If that were the case, she would’ve never tried to kill herself! I watched it all, remember?” Monobear reminded us of the security cameras. “Now with the voting out of the way...”

“I’m sorry... Truffle... for everything...” Twist apologized repeatedly in a hushed tone.

“Don’t apologize... I still love you!”

“Please... live on... you don’t need somepony like me...!” Twist cried, forcing one last smile...

“EXECUTION TIME!” Monobear shouted, as a big red switch rose up from the ground.

“I NEED YOU!” Truffle reached out for the mare in front of him, despite being held down by the Monoguards...

I... I just don’t feel happy about this at all.

Pulling out a hammer, Monobear whacks the switch, and it displays a black screen showing an eight-bit version of the courtroom and Twist standing in the middle, then getting dragged away by Monobear...

	GAME OVER



	TWIST HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY.


	COMMENCING EXECUTION.


With that, Twist was taken away, and the monitors are switched on to display the execution.


__________________________________________________________________________


Twist suddenly found herself wrapped up by the waist, hanging in a dark area. The first thing to splash on her, is a dark, orange-ish goop...

Then followed by a sudden burst of feathers and confetti that clung to her body.

After that, she’s quickly lowered to a certain length, and stopped suddenly.

Several lights turn on to brighten the room, revealing what appeared to be a party in progress.

As Twist hung in mid-air, tarred and feathered, she’s surrounded by several robots, including a blind-folded Monobear holding a bat...


~My Little Quinceanera~


The robot pony spins Monobear around and around, until he’s spinning furiously like a tornado, which slowly approached Twist, and... Wham!

A strike to the face. And then a strike to the flank...

Another hit on the knee, causing a very severe bruise.

He rapidly bats her again and again, splattering blood in the party room, painting the drinks the very same color...

Monobear suddenly stops spinning and lifts his blindfold just a little bit to cheat at his little game. He then makes a jumping strike for Twist’s belly.

As he flew straight at her, his bat suddenly became spiked! The spiked edges sunk their way into Twist’s belly, tearing her open...

At that second, an assortment of blood-stained candy came falling out of her like a downpour, with each hard piece rolling all over, some even hitting her broken glasses on the floor...

Meanwhile, Monobear is getting scolded by the fake Twilight for ‘cheating’, expressing his own embarrassment...
> Ch.2 Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Once more, another one of us received capital punishment...

Once more, the atmosphere is filled with despair.

Damn it...

Once the execution ended, I heard an audible splash close by. 

I turned my attention to the source to find that Pipsqueak was doubled over after vomiting...

“Oh... T-t-t-that umm... that wasn’t that bad!” Tiara... you’re not convincing anypony with that facade.

Ginger had her head turned away from the monitor. “...It’s over, right?”

“Yeah... it’s done... Twist is dead! She didn’t have to die like that!” Snails cried.

Suddenly, I heard the growl of a vicious dog preparing to attack.

The moment I turn my attention to the source of the sound, I felt a the force of ten stallions press against my face with all their might. Of course I’d fly, spinning towards the wall with all my might.

Before I knew it, I was on the ground after slamming against the wall, unable to process what was happening.

The angry stallion before me decided just who should be on the receiving end of all of his anguish.

With every left and right, each strike came at me non-stop.

“Alright fatass, that’s enough!”

Grace shoved Truffle away and helped me up. “Hey, you alright Blue Snooper?”

Ah, this must be what I get for directing suspicion onto Twist.

...This kinda hurts.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Haven’t you learned that revenge isn’t worth it?” Monobear asked after a sudden cackle. “Your monster girl committed a murder and got punished for it! You should be happy she let you live just a little while longer! She very well could’ve won this game!”

“Let me guess, you gave us the Luminol technology because Twist tried to commit suicide, right?” Silver Spoon asked.

“Ding-dong! You’re right! Without it, you bastards would be buttered up and toast!” Monobear answered.

Terrible analogies aside, and as much as I’d hate to agree, Monobear has a point...

“Hmph! Snips tried to escape his execution too. I’m not really shocked or anything.” Tiara turned her head away while twirling her hair.

“Besides, didn’t I tell you? Friendship is despair... and I just learned today that love and tolerance is despair too!” Monobear looked disappointed. “Good thing I’m a bear!”

“What the heck does that have to do with anything?!” Snails asked.

“Because there’s no such thing as love for bears! With that, I bid you all goodnight! Sweet dreams ~ !”

And there he goes...

“Wish you’d just hibernate forever...” Pip muttered, as he steadily got back on his hooves.

“You should’ve hit us instead...” Sweetie Belle meekly turned to Truffle, which got his furious attention, but Apple Bloom immediately stood in her way.

“No, hit me instead! Ah’ wanted to talk to Twist! Ah’ wanted to see if she’d still wanna join us! Ah’ wanted us to be friends again! It’s mah fault!”

Truffle growled like a bloodthirsty hound, “Oh, but she relied on Shady’s penchant for vengeance! She probably got the idea when you guys talked about it! And if Shady never wrote those articles...!”

I still don’t believe that I wrote those...

“What...?” Snails asked. “But Twist had a cutie mark! That’s kinda weird, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but... Twist was mah very first friend. Before Ah’ met Sweetie Belle n’ Scootaloo, Twist was mah very first friend. But we stopped talkin’ when she discovered’er talent back when we were lil’ fillies. Ah’... Ah’ was jealous of’er. Ah wanted mah cutie mark too, and Ah’ was happy to find friends who wanted the same thing. Even now, Ah’ don’t wanna die without knowin’ mah place in this life.” Apple Bloom confessed as the tears rolled down her cheeks. “She trusted us... and we...!”

“Should’ve thought about that before wanting a cutie mark just for that. Isn’t talent just a means for society to control our future?” Scootaloo asked, then shot a glance at Rumble.

“Is wanting a talent such a bad thing!?” Sweetie Belle intervened.

“Hm?” Scootaloo focused that hate-filled glare on Sweetie Belle.

“We want to discover what we like to do; what we’re good at, what we’re meant to do. That’s why we looked for cutie marks in the first place!” Sweetie Belle followed up. “That makes me just as guilty as Apple Bloom! That’s why you’re angry with us, isn’t it?!”

“It seems you fail to understand the bigger picture... oh well. I’ll calm down if Apple Bloom can beat some sense into me. If her ideals are stronger, then we’ll have status quo again. Otherwise...” Scootaloo pointed at Apple Bloom.

“What in tarnation’ you talkin’ about!? Beat some sense into you!?” Apple Bloom asked, thrown off by the sudden challenge.

“I mean just that. I want to fight. You’ve never been in a fight before, have you?”

Scootaloo, I wish you wouldn’t wear the grin of a murderer when challenging your friend to a fight...

“.........” Apple Bloom sighed, “Alright! You got it!” A quick reply...

“Apple Bloom?!” Sweetie Belle widened her eyes, trying to find what to say to her.

“And I thought avenging your crumbling friendship would make your bond stronger... was I wrong?” Rumble asked.

“You’re just as much at fault!” Sweetie Belle seethed.

“But I crushed their friendship for your sake... to atone for poor wording when I chose to converse with Scootaloo. But it seems she’s made her choice.” Rumble gave his usual cool smirk.

“Get out!” Sweetie Belle hissed.

“Fair enough. But before I leave, I have a question about Twist: She may have tried Murder-suicide, but how did Twist survive?” Rumble asked.

He has a good point. If Twist was really hit by the harvester just as the dynamite went off, her injury would’ve been a lot worse, logically thinking.

...

“If Dinky woke up and attacked Twist, what if she realized what she had done and threw Twist out herself?” Ginger asked.

“You mean... Dinky saved her?” Sweetie Belle asked, appalled even further at the possibility that Dinky’s efforts were in vain...

“Of course. In such conditions, you’d think saving anypony would be impossible, but aren’t the underdogs the ones to break such expectations?” Rumble asked, happily expecting an answer.

Her title... SHSL Underdog. 

Guess it makes sense... a last ditch effort to save a mare, who in the end, didn’t want to be saved... and with good reason.

Rumble then proceeded to leave the room, but he suddenly stopped and turned to me. “Shady, I hope you’ll accept my apology for unleashing a hell hound on you.”

A ‘hell hound’... he means Truffle for sure.

It’s ironic too. His fury reminds me of a rabid dog, and to think, he was so against Miss Cheerilee being a dog...

I started shaking my head, hoping to ward off that dazed feeling from those hits earlier.

Hearing a fierce growl, Truffle tried to lunge at me again, but this time, it was Miss Cheerilee who held him back with all her might.

Truffle broke free from his teacher’s grasp, “GET OFF OF ME! I’M NOT DONE WITH HIM YET!”

“Yes, you are!” Ginger shouted, allowing Miss Cheerilee to hold Truffle down again. “What good will it do to kill him? We’ll be back in here again, and I won’t hesitate to put you down like the rabid dog you’re acting as!”

“Grrr!” Truffle simply forced himself away from Miss Cheerilee and walked away.

“This really is our fault, isn’t it...?” Sweetie Belle murmured.

“We really done goofed this time...” Apple Bloom put on her cowgirl hat, hiding her shameful eyes.

“That’s what you blank flanks get for getting deceived by the culprit!” Diamond Tiara chimed in, earning a quick glare from Scootaloo.

“Shut your mouth, you trash.” Scootaloo interjected. “Dinky Doo was the one who decided to be nosy, and look what happened... and you just might be next. You’ll be the main course. I think I’ll enjoy killing you for everything you’ve done! As for you, Apple Bloom...” Scootaloo turned to her friend, “We’ll fight the next time we cross paths.” And there she goes...

“Why is this happening to us...?” Sweetie Belle murmured.

“I’ll never die! Hmph!” Diamond Tiara quickly retorted.

“You know you’re tripping a death flag by saying that, right?” Snails worriedly asked.

“Shut your mouth! Just watch, I’ll prove you wrong!”

Diamond Tiara suddenly galloped out of the room just as she said that, with Silver Spoon simply walking behind.

“Alright Blue Snooper, I gotcha.” Grace put my hoof around her neck, helping me walk to the exit.

Truth be told, I’m still a little dazed from taking those punches...

What a pain... literally.


_____________________________________________________________


1:51 AM, Generosity District - Shady’s Home

After such an ordeal, everypony went to their homes to sleep.

All I could do was just toss and turn a little, swimming in a sea of thought and speculation.

It was again, a tiring, painful experience after all.

Just how does Monobear know so much about us? Is it these Super High-School Level titles?

What are they anyway? Why do I, one without a cutie mark, have one of these titles? The questions just keep piling on, and I get the feeling I haven’t even gotten close to scratching the surface yet...

The truth... I just want to know the truth. Why are we here, and who’s making us do this to each other?

Then again, would the truth even be worth knowing? So far, everypony who’s gone crazy was affected by truth.

I knew somepony that once told me that if somepony said something bad about me, it depends on me whether it’s true or not.

That same somepony is the reason I ended up having to take care of myself to begin with...

“Whatever.”

I still have this camera though.

...

Oh shit!

Upon realization, I shoot out my bed and make a quick dash for the door. 

Heading outside, I immediately look to the starry sky to see if there’s any cracks... aaaaaaand there’s nothing.

Either it didn’t happen at all, or I was too late. I decide to look above with the lens, scouting for a sign or something up there... anything.

“Brr... seriously?” It really is getting cold out here!

Gotta focus on the sky though... I can handle this much.

I need to get closer. I think I’ll have a good shot if I get close to the tower.

I make a quick gallop to Rarity statue, quickly sliding to the pedestal. After a quick sidle, I peek around the corner to look for any guards.

...looks like the coast is clear.

The Monoguards are coming back... and they’re phasing through the sky, like ghosts descending from the heavens.

Let’s zoom in on them. 

Now that I have a good look at these robots, I notice some large spots of blood on their wings and faces. Just who the heck did they fight? I’d hate to imagine whatever fatalities they were committing out there...

Now that’ll make a good shot. I’ll turn the flash off first, so I don’t get their attention.

Now to press the shutter, and...

*beep-beep*

Huh? Out of film already?! I just changed the roll first thing when I woke up for the tour! Why the heck am I already out of film?!

Just as I was about to open the back of my camera to check the roll, I find a tiny little sparkle on the ground, just to my left side against the pedestal.

The little twinkles of light from this spot seem to flash in an intricate pattern... reminds me of Morse Code.

Not that I can actually understand it. I’m sure Ginger might know it though since she’s a girl scout.

Now that I get a closer look, I think this might be a fragment of something. A sky fragment? It looks a little too clear though... and it’s shaped like a perfect diamond.

I hold the fragment towards the moonlight, and it’s gleaming light reminds me of the Crystal Empire’s...

“--ond! Can anyp--y he-- e?”

...is that a voice?! 

“Is anypony alive? Please respond!”

Chapter 2, END


_________________________________________________________________________



NUMBER OF PONIES REMAINING



12

> Extra Bits (2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Featherweight Free Time Event (2)


“Ah, Shady! What’s up?”

“Just wanted to hang out.”

“Hmm, hmm. Yeah, I’d rather not be bummed out all day. Let’s talk about something else to distract ourselves!”

“You’re nuts.”

We end up spending most of our time talking about future assignments and reports we have to write.

Seriously, he’s insane. I didn’t wanna talk about that!

“Not what I wanted to talk about...” I sighed.

“But I thought you’d want more work!” Featherweight said with a particular determination. At the same time, I had a slight feeling he was just teasing too.

“Not when I’m in no particular mood for it.” I answered.

“Oh come on, when you’re bummed out or whatever, don’t you work extra hard just to keep your mind off of it? You have this scary workaholic vibe about ya!” Featherweight said.

“Really?”

“Well yeah! I’d have to get ya to vent just to make you take a break!”

...

Okay, he has a point. I’ve had moments in life where I just felt particularly angry, and that was way too stressful. All of my daily energy was being poured into thinking about the problem than working. 

So yes. I do need to redirect my energy to something productive to take my mind off of it. It pays off in the end. A rewarding feeling cheers me up in an instant...

But that feeling doesn’t always come when I need it to. A sense of accomplishment, a feeling of completion...

It isn’t always there when I absolutely need it.

So I keep working, seeking that release through accomplishment.

Featherweight... he’s always been that guy to snap me out of it though.

“Shady?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I just was thinking that you’re right.”

“Come on, don’t you get all moody on me too!” Featherweight griped.

“What about you? You’ve implied all day that you’re not in the best of moods yourself!”

“Hmm... You’re right about that. I’m not.”

“Alright my friend. Vent to me.” I clapped my hooves together just once, grinning.

“Oh boy. You’re gonna give me one of your harsh truths, right?” Featherweight nervously laughed.

“I won’t if you say you don’t want me to.”

“Then not today!” Featherweight quickly put his forearms together, making an X.

“Alright. So what’s up?” I asked.

“Hmm... Well, one thing that bugs me is my title.”

“Title... you mean those weird Super-whatever titles?”

“Yeah. Being Super High-School Level Hope... I feel like I’m suddenly tasked with a super responsibility! Like, it’s my role to be everypony’s hope or something...” Featherweight trailed off, smiling bitterly. “I really wonder if I can even be that hope though. A title like that is pretty heavy, don’t you think?”

“You know I’m not answering that, right?”

What I want to say is yes, that is a heavy burden for you to carry, and you don’t need to go around being some messiah. That’s not your job.

You’ll only stress yourself out in the end, I’m sure.

Personally, I think it’s a real pain and I see no reward for acting as such.

“Hahaha... I have an idea what your answer is though.” Featherweight stifled a laugh, rubbing the back of his head. “But yeah... I don’t really know if that’s the role I should play or not.”

“Do whatever you want. I’ll tell you that much at least. Anything else I’d say would limit your choices.” I had to at least say something though.

“Now you sound like some wise old goat! Hehehe!”

“That kind of advice is as old as Princess Celestia’s real age.” I sighed.

“Hey, she’s a real beauty for somepony over a thousand years old! She’s totally hot!”

“So you’re into older mares, huh...? That’s new.” I quipped.

“Eh?! Uhh... I mean... Agh, stop smirking like that!”

Judging by how you’re blushing like crazy, I’d say I’m not too far off the mark!

“Geez, Shady! I just like them a little more mature! Nothing wrong with that, right?”

“Hmm... just be careful when saying that around Truffle...” I whistled after saying that.

“I’m not into Miss Cheerilee!” He playfully cried.

...

I’d like to think I had a pretty good time.

____________________________________________________________


Snips Free Time Event (2)


“You again, eh?” Snips smirked.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, nothing. So you wanna hang out? Want a manecut? A trim? Wanna talk about mares?”

“.....................”

“Say no more! I’ll make you an impressive bro! A bro among bro’s!”

“Uh... right. I never agreed to a cut.”

“Hmmm... you’re right... I’d need to find a barber shop in this place... I’d also need a pair of clippers too. Give me experience so when I totally open my own barber shop!”

“You wanna open your own barber?”

“Hell yeah I do! Listen man, I’ve been wanting to come up with some wicked styles, like, real cool stuff! Popularity booster cuts!”

“Popularity Boosters...?”

“Come on, now. Back when Snail’s n’ I was in middle school, I tried cutting his mane once. Guess how that turned out?”

“Uhh...”

I have no idea... but judging by his talent, I’m inclined to think it went well.

“Time’s up! Kid, you gotta be quick on your hooves and answer my questions!”

Did he just call me kid?

My eye twitched at the thought of being seen as a kid by this  guy.

“Anyway, his cut made ME popular for a week!”

“How the heck does that even work?!”

“I intentionally botched his haircut a bit! Gave him a bald-spot! I wanted to play a quick joke, but the other students found out that it was my handiwork! They called it a cool haircut, but Snails became a laughing stock when the other students saw what I did. I kept popularity when I told’em I did it on purpose!”

“Uhh...”

I’d be pissed if somepony botched my haircut...

“Haha, of course Snails was pissed off! Truth be told, it felt kinda good to make him mad, since he’d been getting along with my siblings a little too well. He’d been having it too good lately.”

“How the hell are you two still friends?!”

“Cuz he gets me, you see? Bros don’t just ditch each other over little tricks! We prank each other all the time, and of course we prank other ponies. It’s all good! Like how he hovered a giant swarm ball of cockroaches over my bed the very next day. I saw that thing when I first woke up one morning and my heart almost came out my mouth!”

“Yeah, but-”

“Shady,” Snips began in a hushed, lecturing tone, “you seem to not understand the way of the bro. Like, lemmie tell it to you straight, and you better not forget it!”

“Oh boy, here we go...” I rolled my eyes.

“First off, he knows I’ve been jelly for a long time now over his new-found skills while training under that slave-driving bitch.” Snips closed his eyes, but continued. “He knows to not suggest that I train under her. I refuse to be a slave to two bitches again. I refuse to be whipped again just for not working hard enough.”

What did he mean by ‘two’?

“But Trixie was influenced by-”

“Do I look like I care!? She did what she did!” Snips chided me, and continued like he never got upset. “And yeah, I know not to do something he’d absolutely hate, such as badmouthing Trixie. We know each other’s boundaries and faults. We know how much the other can take. We grew up together, man! You think our friendship’s so easily shakable? C’mon, man!”

“Alright, alright. I get it.”

I think...

“Don’t you and Featherweight tease each other, or is it some friggin bromance going on? Talk to me. Gimmie the word!”

“It’s not like that. But we do at least tease each other. Just... not to the level you guys do it.”

“See! I friggin knew it! So my level’s acceptable! I know I’m not a bad friend! So don’t lecture me!”

“Alright, alright. I won’t lecture you about friendship anymore.”

“Good! Now that you got it, I’ll have an easier time talking to ya!” Snips grinned.

It’d be a shame if somepony around here was actually obsessed with friendship though...

Other than him blatantly chewing me out, I can’t say I had a good time. But I did learn a lot about him.


_______________________________________________________________________


Diamond Tiara Free Time Event (2)


“You again, hmm?” Tiara raised an eyebrow, snarking at my presence.

“I don’t have to be in your ‘gracious’ little presence.” I quickly spun around and started walking away.

“H-hey, wait!” I didn’t even get a few good steps away before she stopped me.

“What?”

“Alright, alright, I’ll hang out with you just this one time! Consider it a service from this Alpha Mare!”

I covered my mouth, trying to hold back my laughter.

“What’s so funny!? Oh, you’re getting full of yourself, huh!? You’re so giddy you get to hang out with a pretty mare like me, right?”

I’m not gonna tell her what I heard that as.

“You better treat me to some sweet coffee! Sugars delight!”

What even...

I decided to humor her by taking her to the coffee shop and whip something up.

Better than have her nag at me like some stern teacher.

...Miss Cheerilee did that all the time, huh?

A few minutes later...

“Geez, this coffee is lame! Can’t you put in the right amount of sugar!?”

“I don’t know what Sugars Delight even means.” I said, sitting behind the bar, supporting my head with my right hoof.

“It’s what I tell my servants! They mean to put in a specific amount of grams! It’s simple math!”

“Okay ‘princess’, what’s the grams?” I held my hooves up, quoting that word she loves to be referred to as.

“Just three!” 

What.

“Don’t look at me like that! You’re the one who put in ten!” Tiara complained.

I just face-hoofed in response, unable to comprehend her unreasonable behavior.

“When you say ‘sugars delight’. I thought I’d go all in. Just if that wasn’t the case, then don’t be so vague.” I walked away from the bar and headed back to the coffee machine...

“EEEEEE!!” Tiara squealed in anger. “Alright, alright! You just want me to be reasonable, huh? Tell you every little thing! Do all the hoof-holding, right! Oh, I get it! You want a hug so your little peanut-brain can even-”

“Just shut up and drink this.” I held a cup of coffee at her face, making her back away in surprise.

“I-I wasn’t finished!”

“I decided to re-do the coffee while you were sitting there ranting.”

“Nnngh...” Tiara groaned, but took a sip anyway. “It’s... okay I guess...”

“Good. I’m not gonna guess your preferences until you learn to actually say what you really want. We’ve known each other long enough anyway.”

“You haven’t earned that much respect from me to get that! You’re a hundred years too early to make an alpha mare such as I give you what you want!”

Alpha Mare.... oh man...

“Yeah, yeah. But I’m not your butler or whatever either.” I said, putting on my best poker face. It’s hard to resist laughing at her every time she calls herself that.

“Hmph. You’re right. You’re just an annoying reporter who’d do anything for information. Unlike you, my actual servants give me what I want and do their best to make me stand above all the ponies of Equestria!”

“I’m surprised they don’t complain about it.”

“Geh...” Tiara looked hesitant for a moment... Did I hit a landmine?

“What?”

“N-nothing! It’s nothing! They don’t complain! They never ever complain! They think I’m super duper cute! Why would they complain about me?!”

...........

You’ve gotta be kidding me.

“These servants of yours... they wouldn’t happen to be ‘blank flanks’, would they?”

“I dunno! Their clothes keep me from seeing their flanks! But they’re good enough, so who cares! Daddy’s rich, so he pays them handsomely to tend to our needs!”

They care, you idiot!

I’m not gonna tell her that though... not until I feel close enough to where she won’t bite my head off.

We may have talked off and on after she got her job at Canterlot Castle, but still...

“Oh, you’re jealous, huh? It’s okay. If you serve me well enough, I’ll lend you a maid or two. You look like one of those disgusting stallions who’s into maids!”

“Just... what do you even think I am?”

“A blank-flank stallion who refuses to see his own talent.” Tiara groaned. 

She can’t possibly be frustrated about that, right?

“For once you’re right.”

I don’t care about talent, and I can’t see myself changing my opinion on that anytime soon.

“F-for once!? H-hey! WAIT UP!”

I’m outta here.

Is it bad that getting on her nerves makes me a little happy? If she saw me smiling now, she’d just start complaining.

But at the very least, it’ll be a nice way to pay her back for being so unreasonable with everypony.


__________________________________________________________


Silver Spoon Free Time Event (2)


“Oh, Shady Daze... State your business.”

“Just hoping to talk to you for a little while.”

Silver Spoon fell silent for a moment, as if she were seriously considering my offer.

...She’s definitely one of those distinguished ponies. 

“I suppose I can spare some time for you. If you brew a decent cup of tea, I’ll humor you a little.”

“Err... I’ll try.”

Another trip to this coffee shop... I’m already beginning to feel that this place was our common meeting spot...

After using the materials behind the counter, I whipped up a cup of Earl Grey tea (I think...) for her and handed her the cup.

Silver Spoon of course, gave me a fierce look after glancing at the hot dark liquid in her cup. She brings the cup to her lips, taking a quick sip, then narrows her eyes as if she were determining everything to it’s latest ingredient.

She suddenly gets out of her chair, taking the cup with her, walks behind the bar, and tilts the cup over the sink, letting the tea flow into the drain, all while staring at me with eyes of disdain.

Well then. 

Note-to-self: Say no when asked to make tea.

Without any comment regarding her action, she sat back at her seat, and beckoned me to sit across from her.

“So what did you want to speak to me about?”

...

Don’t ask about the tea, Shady. You did your best...

“I’d like to know a little about the Sterling Family.”

“You’re a reporter, are you not? What you already know should be sufficient.”

 “I meant on an insider basis. Things I don’t know that I don’t know.” I explained.

Did I really just say that?

Silver Spoon put a hoof to her face, sighing at my request. “Perhaps... but you tell me. As a reporter, what do you already know?”

“Why?”

“Because even we have our secrets, and we’ve used plenty of tactics to eliminate any rumors. Perhaps what you know about us now may be just a blanket of lies.”

I just put a hoof to the back of my head, then spoke up after a quick sigh. “You’re the only one in this world that’d make asking about a family more difficult than it needs to be.”

“We do it out of necessity. We are a multi-billion bit organization. Sometimes, the wrong words would turn the people against us. We influence equestria’s advancement with money, and money is power. You agree, yes?”

“I do, but at the same time... it’s just us here. Whatever I learn from you today may die with me tomorrow. Somepony may murder me and you know it.”

“Oh?” Silver Spoon widened her eyes with intrigue. “Interesting... you do make quite a good point. Do you speak like this to anypony you’re trying to acquire information from?”

“If I know them enough I guess.”

“I suppose that I can tell you that I am an only child. I do not have any siblings... except Dia.”

“I thought you two weren’t related.”

“We grew up together, meeting on the day our fathers signed a business agreement together. If I want to be technical, she’s my cousin.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Our fathers are brothers by blood. It’s just that my father was the one to take my mother’s name. She was always the dominant one in this generation of the family. All the mares are raised to inherit the business, for Stallions are seen as... tools.”

“Tools, huh? To help produce foals with good genes or something?”

“You’re only partially correct in my mother’s case.” Silver closed her eyes, as if she were wondering how to proceed. “My parents did not love one another at first. It was a mere tolerance for the sake of producing the perfect child. Father just happened to be lucky that he had good genes. Truth be told, many foals that don’t meet standards in the family are exiled without question.”

Tossed away like scrap metal...

“You’ve gotta be kidding me. The world sees you guys as this perfect family!”

“I don’t mind sharing this with you since you say you’ll die tomorrow.”

“Could you not kill me off so easily?”

“Why not? I told you a deep dark secret that a sane mare of class shouldn’t reveal. In fact, I have a reason to eliminate you right now.” Silver Spoon giggled.

............. *gulp*

“I speak in jest. No need to look my way with such fearful eyes.”

“I wasn’t scared! I was just baffled on how easily you said that!”

“Because I am a mare of perfection. Simple as that.”

“Even so, you gotta have a limit to that kind of thing!”

“I have no need for limits.”

I can see how she and Diamond Tiara are such good friends...

They’re ruthless in their own ways...

Even so, I guess we got a little closer. Just a little.


___________________________________________________________________


Truffle Shuffle Free Time Event (2)


“Wah! Shady!”

“What’s got you all worked up?”

“Just got some things on my mind. Don’t mind me.”

“Wanna talk about them? I can lend an ear.”

“Right... not like you can publish it anyway...” Truffle sighed in relief. “Sure. let’s hang out for a bit, my friend!”

Truffle took me to the Coffee Shop, rounding up a plate full of cookies to eat while we chat.

The cookies are all on his own plate though.

“So... what’s bugging you?”

“Remember how you called me a creeper last time we chatted?”

“Oh right... I was just stating popular opinions. It’s not what I think.”

“Oh! That means I’m not creepy then!?”

“It bothers you THAT much?”

“Well... no... not until recently I guess...” Truffle passed his plate over to me.

I don’t know if he didn’t have much of an appetite, but I can’t turn down a cookie.

“Recently?”

“Yeah... before, all I needed on my mind was my grades and Twist and Miss Cheerilee... I didn’t care what anypony else thought of me, so any remarks about me I just sorta... forgot. I had no reason to care about snide remarks when I have those who care about me and my grades.”

“It’s still unbelievable how you would always score higher than anypony else during state tests and whatnot.”

“Well yeah. Studying’s fun when you actually get it. You study, right? You’re used to working hard and all, right? Right?”

“That’s far from the truth. I kinda hate studying unless it’ll benefit me somehow and not get in the way of my current tasks. I just treat it as a necessity, not as something fun.”

“For me it’s both. And you know who taught me that??” Truffle grinned as he asked.

“Miss Cheerilee, I know.”

“Wait, how’d you know!? Wait, you’re not psyc-” Truffle’s eyes widened, much to my surprise.

“NO! It’s obvious considering how Miss Cheerilee always wanted us to study! Out of everypony in the class, you always took her seriously!”

“Well why not? She’s our teacher! It makes her happy when we do our best! She wants us to have a good future!”

...........

“I just wish everypony took her as seriously! Everypony always wants to do their own thing and not study. Don’t you think it’s stressing Miss Cheerilee out too much?!”

“Whoa there, big guy. I’m sure Miss Cheerilee isn’t getting stressed out by the others going off to do anything but studying. Have you ever thought that she’s savvy enough to know that much and not let the stress get to her?”

“Yeah but-”

“I’m sure we would’ve picked up on her stress a long time ago if that were the case. Just because a lot of us don’t study, doesn’t mean we don’t take our teacher seriously. Some ponies just want to have fun, others have things that need to be done.” I calmly explained to Truffle.

He fell silent, sighing heavily every few seconds.

“Is this why nopony likes me then...?”

“Huh?”

“You still called me creepy. Is taking Miss Cheerilee seriously and giving it my all to please her a creepy thing?”

“When you put it that way, no...” I said.

In reality, I wanted to tell him, ‘that’s not how everypony sees it though’...

He seems quick on the uptake, so I think he knows that much.

“Yeah! I knew it! See, I’d always ask Miss Cheerilee for private lessons! She’s a super teacher! Ultimate Teacher!”

“Private lessons...” I said in a teasing tone.

“Yeah! It’s such a hands-on experience! My friend, I’d be happy to give you a recommendation when we get out of here in one piece! Private lessons between teacher and student are an experience worth having again and again!”

...

Uhh...

“Oh Shady! You’ve done well to revitalize my spirits! As a reward, I’ve given you some indecent things to think about! Now give ol’ Truffle a hug!”

“Wait a sec, I didn’t...” I backed away slowly as he came closer.

Mean it THAT much! I was just messing with him!

As a result, he’s giving me one of those bear-hugs. 

My ribs are closing in on my lungs and I’m running out of breath...

Did I just get swindled...?

I believe I just got swindled...

Fantastic...

Celestia, save me now...


____________________________________________________________________


Pipsqueak Free Time Event (2)


“Yo!” Pipsqueak called out to me, startling me a little.

“Uh... heya!” I replied, shaking off any sign of my brief scare.

“So listen. I gotta talk to ya about somethin’ ya know? f you’re still busy, then it can wait. But this can’t wait!” Pipsqueak said.

I don’t know if that flip-flop was intentional or not...

“Which is it!?”

“I dunno! Can ya talk to me or not?” Pipsqueak awkwardly demanded.

I guess he really has something on his mind...

“Alright, fine, I’ll talk.”

“Good!”

“So what’s up?”

“Alright, big trouble, ya know!”

Really?

“And just what is this ‘big trouble’?”

“Hmm... this is a dream, right?” Pip put a hoof to his chin, pondering.

“Huh...?”

Okay, what the hell is he even saying?

“Ya know, I think this is a dream. It’s gotta be! Like, what if this whole game was just... one big dream, ya know?!”

“Calm down.”

“Like... one big nightmare!” Wait, why are his eyes sparkling?

...........

“Like, I’d be happy if this was all just one big nightmare. I can just jump out of the bed and bam! I’m back on my last-minute flight from Trottingham to Canterlot!”

I felt this strong urge to convince him it wasn’t a dream.

And I knew the only way how.

My forehooves grabbed his face, and started to squish his cheeks together slowly, but strongly.

“Blrg- ey! --at are --ou --ooing!?”

“Making you realize this isn’t a dream. If I can’t turn your head into a potato, then you’ll get my point. Because anything can happen in a dream, right?” I let go after twisting his cheeks around.

“Ya know, that makes sense... ow though!”

“It’s not a dream, Pipsqueak. It’s reality. It’s just that everyday reality for us has gotten worse, that’s it.”

“You really like to lay it on thick, ya know? Geez, I know life’s tough. It sucked when I had to go back to Trottingham for a few years.”

“What made you go back anyway?”

“Eh, Not sure if I wanna go into that, ya know? It was a shock worse than a jump-scare, and not the good kind either. That’s all I’m saying on that, ya know?”

Something shocking... sounds like he was forced to go back for some reason. What for though?

Guess I’ll know when or if he ever wants to talk about it.

“Fair enough.”

“But hey, I’m not one to brood over this stuff, ya know!”

“Then how do you even keep your mind off of it?”

“I dunno, I just don’t think about it.”

“Sounds like the easiest thing to do.”

“Yeah, I know! I just find something else to think about or heck, change the subject, to like... I dunno, how I fantasized Nightmare Moon as a hero!”

“What.”

He changed the subject just like that. Sure, there was a warning, but still.

Either way, I guess I’ll just roll with it. It bugs me, but whatever.

“Come on, it’ll be fun! Like, let’s look for logic in her actions! If you think of the underlying motives, it makes her a total woobie ya know?!”

Alright, guess I’ll humor him. In my own way.

“Everypony knows that she’s just the result of Princess Luna getting jealous of her sister, which didn’t end well for her when she acted on said jealousy.” I said, remembering that day when I was just a colt, witnessing the events of the Summer-Sun Celebration. “Point is, her motivations don’t excuse her actions.”

“She was still forgiven, ya know.” Pipsqueak had a sudden serious look in his eyes. He didn’t seem angry or anything, but I figure he isn’t amused either.

“....”

“Are you telling me that if somepony you were close to did something atrocious, you wouldn’t forgive them?”

“.............”

I’m... not sure how to respond.

To be honest, I’m not sure how to forgive. It’s just a few sugared words to heal wounds on both sides, right? It’s just to make the perpetrator feel better, right?

Is it really that simple though?

“Well?” Pipsqueak pressed. I guess he feels more strongly about it than I thought.

“I don’t really know.”

Pipsqueak heaved a heavy sigh, then smiled bitterly for a moment. “I’m not that surprised, ya know. Make a mistake, and you’re kinda screwed, ya know?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I quickly asked.

“Mmmm... nah, it’s nothing. Another time. It’d just get too sad, ya know? I’d rather talk horror flicks instead!”

“Hahahaha... no.” I smiled in my reply.

“C’mon, live a little! Horror is fun when you get used to that feeling of your heart almost bursting through your chest!”

That’s not something you’re supposed to be used to!

I’d say I had a good time...

If he didn’t go and start telling me stories anyway!

_____________________________________________________________


Grace Lightning Free Time Event (2)


(Takes place during Chapter 2)

“Oi, Blue Snooper!” Grace called out to me. “Whassup?”

“Just wanted to talk for a bit. Got some time?”

“Do I?!” Grace’s eyes lit up suddenly, as if someone just offered her a slice of pizza.

She seems excited for some reason... I’ll just assume she’s just looking for an excuse to not investigate.

“Alright, another race around the track! Let’s roll!” Grace suddenly got on her wheels and rolled off after a quick start.

When I wanted to talk, chasing her around isn’t what I had in mind... yet I quickly got caught up in her pace anyway.

“That’s... not what... talking means...!” I said while catching my breath, laid out on the dirt road.

“Good grief! With the way you sneak around, how do you even move fast enough to get away, huh?”

“I only use... energy when necessary!” I answered, still catching my breath, but slowly feeling less exhausted.

Running a few laps without a warmup is not fair when you’re up against somepony who skates around all the time.

“Well damn! You need to exercise more!”

“Says the one who can’t run.”

“Ohhhh, so you’re one of those ponies, eh? Thinkin’ rollerblading means I got it easy, huh?”

“Huh?”

“Well you’re wrong, dammit! Ya think rollerbladin’s easy, huh?! I had hell trying to stand up straight when I first started! My legs would split and it hurt like hell down there when I wasn’t used to it!”

...down there?

Do I even wanna know what she means?

“So how long have you been doing it?”

“Been rollerblading for years! Hottie n’ Checks both got me into it and made me realize my talent!”

Hottie and Checks... I’m sure she means her teammates Hot Wheels and Checkered Flag.

“Talent?”

“Yeah! I realized just how freakin’ fast I am on these wheels! When I got used to it, it was smooth sailing from there! Got me ready for my first Roller derby gig and everything!” Grace grinned, as she skated a quick circle around me.

“So you got your cutie mark when you learned how to skate?”

“Yeah. Awesome stuff! But wanna know something funny?”

“What’s that?” I asked curiously.

“I ain’t realize my cutie mark until a month after I got it! I hang out with my teammates one day and Checks is all like, ‘Graces, what’s with that lightning bolt on your flank’, and I’m all like, ‘A lightning bolt?!’ and Hottie’s all like, ‘That’s your cutie mark, stupid!’ I tell ya, that was so weird!”

“Wait... so in reality, you don’t know when you got your cutie mark...”

“Hell nah. I figure I got it when I learned to skate and won my first roller derby medal! I sure as hell didn’t have it before then!”

....................

Unbelievable. How the heck... nah.

Actually, despite how crazy that sounded, I suddenly have a new respect for Grace.

Guess she doesn’t care about talent and prefers to do what she loves. That’s quite admirable, and I can respect that a lot.

“Yo, what’s with the look? You’re actin’ like some old stallion thinkin’ about what to write on his will!”

“I don’t have any plans to write a will anyway.”

“Heh, cuz ya ain’t gonna let yourself die so easily, huh?”

“That’s right. I can’t let my life end. Not until I find the truth.”

“You’re on your own with that bit though! I ain’t no damn detective! That’s why I wanted to hang out! Gettin’ sick of this whole detective gig already! My brain ain’t ready for this crap!”

“You’ll get used to it.” I smiled slightly, trying to hold back my amusement.

“Oh, ya think i’m a dummy, huh?” Grace’s eyes gave off a blood-thirsty glare.

“Depends. And on that note, I’ll just make my exit and...”  

I simply turned around and galloped with all my might. I couldn’t resist that moment to tease, but she seriously chased me, seriously caught me, and seriously roughed me up after that.

I had a good time though.


___________________________________________________________


Ginger Snap Free Time Event (2)


“Hello, Shady.” Ginger greeted with a smile. “What brings you here?”

“Just wanted to chat a little bit.”

“I suppose a bit of my time spent with you wouldn’t hurt.”

Well, when you put it like that...

Anyway, we decided to go to the Generosity District coffee shop, where she grabbed a quick cup of tea, and sat at a table with me.

“So, what is it you wish to speak to me about?”

“Remember the last time we talked about the Girl Scout group you’re with?”

“Yes, I do recall. Perhaps, you’re asking to join Canis Canem Edit? You are a stallion though... but I’m sure we can pass you if we applied a little make-up...”

“NO.” I immediately refused.

I’ve no need to ever cross dress, especially to not join the girl scouts.

“Well this is troubling... and I thought you’d look a little cute that way.”

“No thanks. Seriously.”

“Fair enough. A shady stallion like you would truly live up to your name for dressing as such for such reasons. Fufufu~” Ginger pretended to make a light giggle, but I could tell how hard she wanted to just laugh out loud.

“So... about Canis Canem Edit... for one, I never covered any stories about them.” I said, starting things off.

“Of course. We don’t want to stand out too much. A girl scout group ran by a griffon would easily garner us unwanted attention.”

“A griffin?”

“Oh my, I’ve said too much! Perhaps I should-”

“Nah, if you could not commit any death threats-”

“Keep going? I’ve nothing to lose, though I may be overpowered by my future assailant someday.”

“.... Well that... okay then.” I was thrown off guard, but then sighed in relief.

Okay. So she didn’t threaten to kill me, and she seemed genuinely surprised at my remarks.

One surprise after another I guess.

“Shady, just what kind of mare do you think I am? I may have been trained to kill any wild creature that threatens my life and survive in the harshest of conditions, but I wouldn’t kill needlessly.”

“But I’m still a reporter.”

“That may be true, I suppose. But I’d like to believe you have your priorities in order in regards to what knowledge is important to bring to light.”

Hmm... I can’t argue with that. If anything, as a reporter, I’d have to focus more on finding the truth behind this game.

But I’m not searching for the truth because it’s right. I’m doing it because...

“Shady?”

“Oh, right. I agree with what you said. I do have my priorities in order.” I reassured her.

“Good. So, any questions regarding the scouts?” Ginger smiled.

“Yes, you say you’re trained by a griffin, right? Isn’t that a bit... I dunno, off?”

“Not really. Equestrians and Griffins actually have a decent relationship from what I know. There’s no need for discrimination.”

“You’re right about that. I just thought they were known for being kinda... brute-ish? Kinda like this one Griffin Gilda. I think she had a problem with Rainbow Dash, but that’s all I remember, and that was a long time ago.”

“Oh, you know Gilda too?!” Ginger’s eyes sparkled.

“Wait, YOU know her?”

“Yes! I met her once before! Her strength is something I can always admire! She’s someone worthy of my greatest respect!”

“Respect, huh?”

“Yes! And she understands the feeling of being an outcast! It’s not the same, but it’s the feeling that counts, right?”

“I suppose. But what’s that about being an outcast though?”

“You remember? She and Rainbow Dash were friends until a fallout involving a pranking party. Her return to patch things up didn’t go as well as she’d hoped though.”

“You know a lot more about this story than I thought.” I said, but the facts are a bit... lopsided.

In fact, wasn’t Gilda entirely at fault? I never spoke to her myself, so I can’t say for certain though, but...

“I’ve said too much already though. I can speak of more stories of the mighty Gilda any time though. Please, if there’s anyone you admire, do tell.”

“I don’t admire anypony, really.”

“Doesn’t have to be a pony.” Ginger added.

“Correction: I don’t really admire anyone.”

“You’re truly what they call a stick in the mud, aren’t you...” Ginger seemed appalled at my response, but I didn’t really care. 

I don’t admire anyone.

I’d feel like a jerk if I admired myself too, so I can’t admire anyone. I can have respect, but admiration? That’s... that’s not my thing. Why admire someone?

Just so you can aspire to be like them someday? What’s wrong with staying the way you are?

“Maybe someday. But as of now, no. I have no reason to admire anything or anyone.”

“As I thought... an awkward little stick in the mud...” Ginger smiled.

“Could you stop calling me that?”

“As soon as I stop having this urge to pick you up and use you for a bit.” Ginger shifted her eyes away from me as she said that.

“I’m not sure I want to know what you meant by that...”

“It’ll mean what you want it to mean. Of course, I just find a bit of entertainment in testing a serious pony like yourself.”

“I’m not serious all the time! I just get cautious!”

“You have a long way to go before convincing me otherwise.” Ginger giggled.

I’ll prove that I’m not some stick in the mud...

Okay, taking that seriously? I really need help. Maybe I’m just stressed out, huh? Is that what’s she saying?

Well, I know how to have fun when I feel like it. I’ll prove it next time.

Yep. I don’t care, I’m proving something. I had a good time for now, but I at least have a plan now.

______________________________________________________________


Twist Free Time Event (2)


“Oh... hi, Shady.” Twist meekly looked at me as I approached her.

She’s once again at the Coffee shop by herself...

“Just thought I’d have a chat. No need to be afraid like last time.”

“I-I’m... I’m not afraid of you! You don’t-”

“Okay, that’s enough of the cliched lines. Can’t you talk to me normally? I know we hardly spoke when we were little, but can we talk? Just this once?”

“............” Twist fell silent for what felt like several minutes. She frowned, as if struggling to make a decision.

It’s just a simple request though...

“I’ll talk... but I... I can’t trust you yet. Not with anything personal... You’re... you work for the Ponyville newspaper thingy... I can’t let you spread anything.”

“Fine. We’ll just talk like normal ponies then. Let’s ignore job descriptions and whatnot.”

“I’ll comply...” Twist turned her head away from me, unable to look me in the eye.

Then again, her glasses tend to glare a lot... I’m beginning to wonder if she does that on purpose.

“So....” Twist broke the ice.

“Ah, right. I wanted to ask you a bit about your middle school life. Nothing personal, I just want to know. You transferred to an All-Mare school, right?” I asked.

It’s true though. After elementary, she went to an All-Mare Middle School. It’s just something I heard, so it’s worth the confirmation.

“Yes... my parents wanted me to have a successful education.”

“So I guess they’re rich?”

“Far from it.” Twist sighed. “I wish they had just sent me to a public school, but they had connections to net some good financial aid.” 

“I guess there was some trouble with the initial payment?”

“We don’t have the bits to pay for any school... so financial aid’s always been what we turn to.”

“Sounds like your parents were willing to jump through plenty of hoops just to get you an education.”

“I wish they’d just home school me instead.”

Home school? You used to be pretty cheerful back when we were in Miss Cheerilee’s class.

I don’t think it’s a good idea to remind her though.

“Why would you want to be home schooled?”

“So I could stay away from everypony...”

“I... see.”

“I thought you were gonna remind me that I wasn’t like this before.” Twist bitterly said.

Somehow I feel like she just read my mind. Then again, everypony’s been able to guess what I’m thinking pretty easily, and that’s getting annoying.

“...No, I wasn’t. But what you said is true though. So why the change?”

“.....................................” Twist fell silent.

Of course, that means that she’s not gonna answer. I’ll just have to drop the subject for now.

She’s way too moody though.

“Okay, let’s ask a more positive question.”

“Hm?” Twist looked up, cautious with a hint of curiosity.

“Well, let’s see...”

“If you have to think about something positive to ask, then don’t ask. Somepony like you won’t mean it.”

“Well excuse me for not being the happiest guy around!”

“........................pfft.” Did Twist actually... giggled just now?

I’m not sure if I should be offended.

“You could just ask me how’s the weather.”

“Okay, how’s the weather?”

“Rainbows, sunshine, and gumdrops.”

....................................

I regret asking.

“Positive questions require positive answers, or so he told me...”

“And who’s ‘he’?”

“Truffle...”

“Oh of course.”

“He’s always just... positive. That’s why his priorities aren’t straight either... and... and...!” 

“Okay, calm down. I didn’t ask you about him, but if you’re willing to open up to me about him...”

“It’s fine. I was speaking out of line, I’m sorry I won’t go back to thinking about that. Must not talk about it... must not think about it...”

She’s... difficult. This negativity... she definitely wasn’t like this before.

Now I’m curious. I won’t press her now, but I’ll slowly get closer to learn what really happened to make her like this.

There’s plenty of clues laid out before me, but I think I have a plan on how to proceed...

I’ll leave it at that for now.


_____________________________________________________________


Apple Bloom Free Time Event (2)


“Hiya Shady! Didja get yer Cutie Mark this time?”

“No.” I answered irritably.

“Then whaddya want?”

“I wanted to just talk normally, but if you’re gonna...”

“Whaaaaa!” Apple Bloom suddenly ran in front of me, holding her hooves out. “Stop right there, Shady!”

“W-what?”

“Ah’... um, Ah’ didn’t mean it like that! We can chat!”

“Oh. Alright.” I agreed instantly.

I didn’t feel like questioning why she’d suddenly stop me, but I guess even she knows how to be a bit sensible.

“So what ya wanna talk about?” Apple Bloom asked, sighing in relief.

“I wanted to ask about why you want a cutie mark so much.”

“Ah’d like to talk about somethin’ else... like mah adventures!”

..............

“Okay, sure...” So much for getting an answer about the cutie mark obsession...

“Let’s see... Ah’d like to talk about that time where we suck into Canterlot castle one time!”

“Go on...”

Great, now I’m interested.

“We thought we’d try learnin’ about our magic, so we suck into the Princess’s Library! The guards were everywhere!”

“Back up, that’s exclusive to Unicorns though, right?”

“Nah, I meant that uh... magic that acts on it’s own for everypony’s type!”

“Involuntary?”

“Ya, that! Earth Ponies n’ Pegasi got their own magic!”

That would explain things like pegasi can walking on the clouds, but still.

“Why didn’t you just ask somepony who knows about that stuff instead of going through that trouble? Better yet, why didn’t you just go to the public library?”

“It’d be borin’! Besides, We wanted to test our sneakin’ skills! Thought we had a talent in that!”

“You could’ve been sent to the dungeon if you guys got caught!”

“But we didn’t get caught! And we still didn’t get our cutie marks!”

...

“Okay, so what did you REALLY do in the castle?”

“Whaddya mean?”

“Going to the royal library just to look up some facts that the public library would have documentation on? Really?”

“Caught me in a lie, huh?”

You’re not talented in it, that’s for sure...

“We went there to pull a prank on Diamond Tiara. For fun!”

“Uhh... can I ask exactly what this prank entails?”

“Oooooh, replacing a key component in one of the crowns Diamond Tiara made for Princess Twilight! We looked up her blueprint and just snagged it! Ah’ think Scootaloo was looking forward to Diamond’s reaction the most though.”

.........

If I were in Diamond’s shoes, I’d be pretty mad.

“Turns out we didn’t have talent in that prank either. She never used the gem we’d thought she use!”

“A gem? What did you do with it?”

“We gave it to Spike as a birthday gift!”

“I’m sure he enjoyed it...”

“We still couldn’t get a reaction out of Diamond though! Guess we were just a little unlucky!”

“Well, better luck next time, right? I’m sure you guys will get those marks eventually.” I hesitantly said, knowing that she’d just accept my half-hearted encouragement.

“Yeah! Just gotta keep on truckin’! You should join us next time!”

“Nope.”

Apple Bloom... you’re insane, you know that?

__________________________________________________________________________


Sweetie Belle Free Time Event (2)


“Hey, Shady!” Sweetie Belle called out.

“Not crusading for any cutie marks?” I asked, noticing her friends weren’t around.

“I’m not really in the mood right now. I just don’t want to run into any trouble. Or break a rule...”

“I know what you mean by that. Wanna hang out for a bit?”

“Sure. I don’t know if I’ll be entertaining enough though.” Sweetie Belle bitterly smiled.

“I’m not looking for entertainment. Just wanted to talk for a bit. If you need a drink, then we can head for the coffee shop.”

“Sure thing!” Sweetie Belle agreed.

We headed for the coffee shop, with Sweetie Belle taking getting us both a cup of coffee. The fact I got anything was a little surprising, but I didn’t show any reaction.

I sat across from her, took a sip from my cup, and started with my first question.

“Remember when we talked about cutie marks?” I asked.

“I do, yes.”

“What was it like before you founded the Cutie Mark Crusaders?”

“Before I met Apple Bloom? Hmm...” Sweetie Belle closed her eyes, furrowing her brows as if she were trying to figure out how to explain it.

After a few minutes of thinking...

“I can’t think of anything exciting. Things were just ordinary...”

“Ordinary?”

“Sure, I was bullied by Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, but at the time, I had other things to think about.”

“That’s not what ordinary means... or at least, I don’t think it’d involve bullying.”

“It doesn’t?”

....................

Just how long did this bullying last for her to think of it as something normal?

“Anyway, carry on.”

“Ah, right! After school, I’d always come home to help my sister with her work every now and again... Whenever she actually needed my help. Sure, some time after the Nightmare Moon thing, she and I have gotten along so much better!”

“So your sister was mean too before then?”

“N-no! I didn’t mean that! I just mean that sometimes whenever she’s working on some brilliant dress, she doesn’t want me in the way. To be honest, I resented her a little bit.” Sweetie Belle bit her lip as she said that. “Was she just rubbing her talent in my face? Did she not want my help all the time because it’s not my talent? Did she not want my lack of talent to get in the way?”

“So that’s when you started wanting your Cutie Mark...”

“That’s right! I definitely wanted to feel important and show that I can be useful too, but...” Sweetie Belle trailed off.

“But?”

“Well, ever since Rarity showed that I don’t need a talent and that she does love me all the same... ever since my family proved that they love me, then I began to wonder if getting a cutie mark is worth it...”

“Well, well...” I muttered.

“Why are you smirking? I know your views on the cutie mark, but...”

“I’m smirking? Uhh, ahem...” I cleared my throat, forcing my interview face back on. “Carry on.”

“You’d be pretty terrible at interviews if you smirk so much! Hehehe!” Sweetie Belle giggled.

“Th-this isn’t an interview! I never quite held a serious one before either, but I’ve done my share of less-important ones and mock interviews...”

“Well, let’s get you that interview experience!”

I don’t like how she worded that...

But I’ll let it slide.

“Right... okay then, well, since you started wondering if the cutie mark is worth it, then why do you still crusade?”

“Because in the end, it’s fun. I’m with my best friends the whole way, so it’s fun! Going on a new crusade every day with friends is fun, isn’t it?”

“I suppose...” I doubtfully said, giving Sweetie Belle the impression that I don’t like to have fun.

I do like to have fun, I just... don’t have a lot of time for it.

But with all the rules in place for this so-called kingdom, it’s no wonder you can’t crusade.

Will their friendship last in this confined prison though?

If something happened, it’d be pretty sad.

I had a good time... and I think I learned just a little something too.


______________________________________________________________________


Scootaloo Free Time Event (2)


“You again, huh? What’s up?”

“Somepony’s in a bad mood.”

“I-I’m not in a bad mood, okay! I’m just... irritated.”

Close enough. But I won’t say that.

“Wanna talk it out?”

“Why should I talk it out with you? It’s not like you’re my friend.”

Ouch.

“Because sometimes taking it out with an unbiased party is the best solution. I’d like to believe so. I’ll probably be dead by tomorrow or something, so I’ll at least take your secret to the grave.”

“Okay...” Scootaloo scratched her head, giving off a regretful expression. “You don’t gotta go that far, alright? I’m just irritated. I’ve been this way since that stupid bear thing showed up.”

“We’ve all had negative feelings directed at Monobear though.”

“Yeah, but what about our futures, huh?! Just, who’d be horrible enough to do this to us?! Telling us to kill each other for some stupid promotion thing?! Following some stupid rules just so we don’t get sliced by overpowered robots?! What did we do to deserve this?!”

“I don’t know. All we can do is investigate and find the truth behind it all.”

“Ngh... you’re right... I gotta find a trail. I just want to kill the mastermind.”

“Kill the mastermind...”

“Sometimes you gotta do what needs to be done! Some people don’t deserve to live! The mastermind’s gonna pay for trapping me and my friends in here... if one of them dies, I don’t know how I’d react...”

“You just said you’d want revenge.”

“I did say that, but I’m scared... I thought our crusading days would go on forever, but that’s in danger now. Somepony may snap... so I don’t know who I can trust... Can I even trust you? How do I know you won’t stab me in the back?”

“I’m not gonna stab you in the back.”

“You come off as the vengeful type to me though...”

“And how’s that?”

“Just your disposition in general... you just come off as bitter with only a little left to lose or something.”

“I still don’t get how you figure that about me.”

“If Featherweight were to die, how would you feel?”

“I’d find out whoever killed him and-”

“Thanks for proving my point, Shady.” Scootaloo smiled deviously.

“Wha... ngh... fine, Scootaloo. You got me. But still, isn’t it normal to get upset at the loss of a friend?”

“I think it is normal. I also think it’s normal to take action. But I know it’s wrong to deliver an eye for an eye. It’s wrong, but...” Scootaloo paused, then sighed, “Nevermind. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Okay...”

“It’s fine, I’ll talk to you later. I expect you to try cheering me up this time if you’re still alive.”

“I’m not gonna do anything to get killed.”

“Heh... I sure hope so. See ya later, Shady.” Scootaloo walked away, leaving me to ponder some of the words she said.

It was kinda cryptic, as if she was hinting at something that I failed to catch on.

I’ll question her about it some other time though.


________________________________________________________________________


Rumble Free Time Event (2)


(Takes place during Ch.2)

“Ah, Shady... how nice of you to see me.”

“Cut the crap, Rumble.”

“Well you’re quite the cruel one. I have yet to even speak despite you coming to see me.”

“I’m just here to ask questions, Rumble...”

“Questions? Hmmm... so an interview?” Rumble asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah. After that trial, when you decided to slay friendships all of a sudden...”

“Let me stop you there, Shady. I’m insulted.” Rumble scowled for the first time.

“What?!”

“When you say ‘all of a sudden’, you say that as if Monobear’s game made me this way recently...”

“You’ve been like this from the beginning?!” I asked.

“It’s as I told you before, Shady. Princess Twilight Sparkle... is an inspiration to me. A goddess of friendship... one who taught me what I know.”

“You didn’t speak to her personally, did you?”

“No, I didn’t. I merely watched the TV, that is all.”

As I thought...

“I would’ve loved to meet her though! I have plenty of questions for a mare of experience such as she. Alas, that plan fell flat, for this tour met an untimely end and now we’re stuck trying to stab each other in the back.” Rumble sighed, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Then what’s the deal then? You think you’re some judge of friendship, but who gave you the right?”

Rumble simply smirked, pointing a forehoof at himself.

Guess he made his own mind up a while ago.

“You just fail to understand the beauty of friendship, that is all.”

“And can’t you see what you’re doing is wrong?”

“Wrong? It’s not wrong. It’s harmony. It brings harmony to slay poisoned friendships, don’t you think? Isn’t that what harmony is all about?”

“Ngh...”

There’s just something wrong with that statement, but how do I argue against it? Friendship brings harmony! Isn’t it simple like that?

Is there something about friendship... the magic of friendship that I don’t know...?

Rumble calmly closed his eyes, “I won’t give up Shady. Not until you understand. I want you to understand someday. You’re the only one who can, really.”

“What the hell does that supposed to mean?!”

“You’ll understand that too if you ponder it enough. Next time we have a casual chat like this though, I’d prefer if it were something positive.” Rumble smiled coolly, then flied off. 

Damn it...

What he’s doing isn’t normal, but... I need to find a way to argue against his claims.

I wish I had a better nickname. >_>


> Ch.3 (Ab)normal Days Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER 3: It’s A Little Late for your Half-hearted Kindness, don’t you think?

Day 6, 1:59 AM, Generosity District - Shady’s Home

*Track: Beautiful Dead*

“Is anypony there? Please respond!”

I wanted to smile. I wanted to grin, or even feel relieved. This light shining from this perfectly cut crystal was almost enough to see that hope is real. But alas, I can’t act out. All I could do was dash back to the house as soon as possible

I wanted to respond, but with all these security cameras around, it’d be a pretty stupid move on my part.

The moment I came to the house, immediately stuffed the fragment under the pillow until I could find a good place to actually answer.

“Don’t stuff that under there! He-”

That’s all I heard the moment I did it. Guess whoever’s talking can see me.

Hmm... That’s right! I can use the bathroom! I don’t know why, but there’s never been any cameras in there!

Guess Monobear has some decency afterall!

I whisk the fragment away from my bed and dash into the bathroom.

“What are you doing?” The voice asked.

Whoever this is sounds like a grown stallion, the kind who would still see us as kids.

“Wondering who you are?” I answered after closing the door and hopping into the bathtub.

Better close the curtains as well...

It’s completely dark in here, save for the light emitting from the crystal in my hooves.

Now that I think about it, it’s probably one of those ‘Crystal Cells’ I’ve heard about.

They’re a fairly new product from the Crystal Empire that’s been undergoing beta-testing, but luckily, this one seems to work well.

The Crystal Cell is inspired by the concept of “Cell Phones” from that other world, but as always, anything brought from that world has to be modified to be user friendly for us ponies.

“You seriously don’t recognize me? I can see you, you little reporter.”

“Okay, so you know who I am. How do I know you’re not Monobear just screwing with me?” I asked.

“‘Come back when you’ve covered wars’. Remember that line?”

“Nope.”

Seriously, who is he!?

I hear a deep sigh from the other end. “Captain Shining Armor. Ring any bells?”

Shining Armor? THAT Shining Armor!? Wait a minute... didn’t Dinky’s motive mention him leading an investigation?

“So if you’re really Shining Armor, then you’d be able to tell me about that case involving Dinky’s mom and those stolen time travel books?”

“Hey, that’s classified. You should know that better than anypony.”

I’m not sure if I should be worried...

“Okay, what about this kingdom?”

“Kingdom? What are you talking about? That’s the Academy of Magic and Friendship!”

The Academy? That’s... not surprising. I had a feeling we were at the academy, despite the renovations.

Honestly, I was just seeking a bit of confirmation. I’d rather not start some rumor without any evidence.

“Why would you even think you’re at some weird kingdom? Who told you otherwise? Where’s your teacher? Let me speak to her.” Rapidly firing off each inquiring statement, I sighed, trying to figure out where to even begin.

“Uh... about that...”

I proceed to explain to Shining Armor what Monobear is, what he’s doing, and everything that’s happened so far. If anything, he’s probably as lost as I am as far as this whole ordeal is concerned.

He sounds pretty surprised as I lay out the initial details, but his tone steadily grew more stern when I told him about this game.

“Let me get this straight: Some weird teddy bear called ‘Monobear’ is making you kill each other and dressed Cheerilee in a dog suit? What even. Besides, I can’t believe you kids are actually going along with his whims! What the hell are you thinking?!”

“Monobear knows more about us than we thought! He takes our deepest fears and secrets and uses them against us! He’s trying to make everypony go insane!”

“From what you told me, you’re no different, Shady. I’m disappointed in you.”

“Ngh...” I groaned in defeat.

He’s right... I am no different.

I did try to kill before, and I claimed revenge already too...

“Looks like the situation’s more dire than I thought. The report didn’t mention a teddy bear though...”

“What report?”

“Classified.”

Ugh!

“Is there anything you can tell me?” I asked, hoping for something useful.

“I can tell you that reinforcements will be here within the week. Normally I’d tell you to spread the news, but you know the saying ‘loose lips sink ships’, right?”

“Gotcha... but why haven’t you gotten in here yet?”

“I made the mistake of underestimating this mastermind’s defense system. Whoever this guy is, they really don’t want us getting you out of there. Besides, I have a favor for a reporter like you.”

A favor? Really?

“And that is?” I asked after a irritated sigh.

“I simply want the truth behind everything that’s happened so far.”

I haven’t come close to figuring that out.

“You mean this game?”

“I mean, what happened to this world, and what’s really going on.”

“I thought you already knew that!”

Wait, what does he mean by that first part? Did something happen outside the school?

Actually... thinking now, that might not be too farfetched. Thinking about the first motive... could those photos have been from what’s going on? Maybe the Mastermind’s taking other ponies hostage just to drive us further off the deep end.

“We have our suspicions, but the higher ups won’t give us enough information. So much has happened after all this time, and I still don’t have the answers; just orders.”

“And what are your orders?”

“Our orders were to break in and secure the one who took over my little sister’s school. And if she’s hurt...” Shining’s tone grew into a vicious growl as he said that last part.

Do I dare tell him about the fake Twilight?

Even so, judging from the context, Twilight must’ve gone missing...

With everything that’s happened, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if she’s dead... how else did the mastermind even take over her school anyway?

“The mastermind...”

“I’m disappointed in you guys, but I still want to save all of you. But I also need the truth so the sacrifices of my men won’t be in vain.”

That explains the blood on the Monoguards, but still...

“I don’t even have a clue who’s running this game, why it’s happening, nor where Monobear gets his info! Where the hell do I even start!?”

All I could hear was the usual slight hissing sound from the other end like a telephone. He’s not gonna tell me ‘classified’ again, is he?

“You can start by finding the Elements of Harmony- damn, looks like those things are after me again. I’ll contact you once I get in touch with the others.”

“Wait, what about the cameras?!”

“I’ll use the Morse Code function again to let you know to find a good spot.”

Right...

A quick blip sound like a TV being turned off could be heard for a split second. Guess I’ll have to wait for him to contact me again.

Damn it... that was way too vague! Find the Elements of Harmony?

I feel like I just got tasked with a sudden easter egg hunt...

“Whatever.”

I’ll just hit the sack and wait for him to contact me again later.


________________________________________________________________


6:24 AM, Generosity District - Shady’s Home

....

...........

.......................

*SLAP*

“Gah!”

Ugh... okay, sleeping’s not as comfortable as it used to be.

Not to mention my jaw hurts like hell... Truffle packs the punch of forty pro-wrestlers...

Wait, why is my cheek stinging...? Oh, it’s Diamond Tiara straddling me on my bed. 

Yay~...

.................!

WHAT?!

*Track: Junkfood for a Dashing Youth*

“AAAAAAAAAHHH!” I instinctively swung my hooves at her, which she dodged with surprisingly quick reflexes, then covered my mouth to muffle my screams.

Goddamn it, somepony’s trying to kill me again?

“Calm down! Stop it!” Tiara nervously whispered, trying her best to keep me still.

I free my mouth from her hoof, “Why should I?! You did that thing with the nameplates again!”

“Just shut up for a minute! Seriously!” Diamond Tiara covered my mouth again.

.....

“Calm down! I’m not trying to hurt you! Why would I stain my hooves with the blood of an idiot like you?!”

My grumbling could be felt bouncing back to my nose with Tiara’s hoof covering my mouth.

“Y-you’re calm now, right?” Tiara nervously asked, glaring at me with those sharp blue eyes of hers.

...........

I gave a quick nod just to humor her.

*Track: Beautiful Ruin*

“Come with me.” Tiara got off my bed.

“Where are we going?”

“Stop asking questions and c’mon!” Tiara pushed me out the door.

...What the heck is she even doing?

“I’m not gonna kill you.” She reminded me, sounding a tad annoyed after getting another glance at me.

“You don’t need to repeat yourself.” I reminded with a sigh.

“I-I-I know that, idiot! I’m just reminding you!”

Diamond trotted ahead of me, prompting me to follow, with my compliance acknowledged with a sigh once more, for I have no idea where this is going.

“I don’t know about that... Write a few papers and suddenly somepony wants your head. You should give it a shot some time.”

Truth be told, I still don’t believe I wrote those articles, but what can I do at this point?

“Puh-leeze! If you wrote an article about me praising how wonderful and cute I am, I’d give you a tiny bit more attention! Besides, you’ll get used to somepony wanting you dead!” She retorted.

“I’m sure you’ll eat those words when Scootaloo tries to kill you.”

She could only groan irritably, muttering ‘She’s just bluffing.’

Things were somewhat quiet for a little while as we made our way down the alley and towards the gates to the next district.

So we’re headed to the Honesty District, huh?

Looking past the Applejack statue, I notice that there’s are no guards at the next gate.

Is that where she’s taking me?

Once I came closer, I looked to my right, noticing a sign that reads ‘TO THE KINDNESS DISTRICT’.

Once we went through the gates, the scenery around us changed, revealing an atmosphere that pleasantly filled me with relief.

Surrounding the lengthy yellow brick road we walked on, was an assortment of flowers, beautiful green grass that the wind gently brushed, little wild critters and butterflies frolicking and flying around, and the sunrise lighting our surroundings...

This picture-perfect scene, save for this harsh cold breeze, took all the tension that’s been built up for the past few days away instantly.

...

Seriously, what’s with this weather? I can’t be the only one noticing this.

“Tch, should’ve brought a jacket!” Tiara complained.

“So this is the new district that opened, huh?”

“We gotta talk.” Diamond looked at the ground, fidgeting.

...

Yeah, let’s not think that way.

If she tries to kill me, I have my wits.

“Out with it. It’d have to be pretty important for you to break into my house and slap me.”

“S-shut up! I’m nervous, okay?!”

You still slapped me.

And yes, I’m gonna remember that.

“Make it quick, otherwise I’ll just head off and look around.”

“W-well... you see...” Tiara gulped, then took a deep breath.

I patiently waited for her to start talking, narrowing my eyes.

“S-stop looking at me like that!”

“Stop taking so long!” I fired back.

“F-fine! Just look up there!” Tiara pointed her hoof to the skies above.

“Huh?” I looked up, expecting to see something, but the only thing that I hoped for was another attempted break-in.

“You thought you were the only one that knew about it!?” She suddenly shouted.

Seriously?!

“Oh! You mean-”

The attempted break-ins?!

“Shhhh! He’ll notice!” Tiara covered my mouth, then pointed at the assortment of flowers around us, particularly the odd black and white ones mixed in...

...

Good grief, there’s cameras mixed in them!

“Let’s go to that gazebo over there!” Tiara shouted, leading the way.

It’s a pretty large one at that... 

The structure was crafted in an octagon shape, with the roof being supported by six tall pillars, all with a statue of Fluttershy in the center. 

Surprisingly, the structure seemed to be large enough to support at least twenty-four of us. And here I was expecting room for only sixteen.

Past the statue and to my left were two additional bricked roads, one leading to a blocked off gate, and the other leading far off into some woods.

The two of us took a seat on the bench at the front-rightmost part of the statue.

She better have some good news.

“I noticed back after our first trial, after I got to my house. I noticed something strange while I was properly securing the house...” Tiara started.

“Properly securing your house?” I repeated. I get the feeling that she put a bunch of stuff in front of her door. Just a hunch.

I mean, with houses with such a vulnerable way of entry, who wouldn’t block their door off?

Then again, I’ve become so caught up in my own thoughts, I’ve forgotten to do that myself.

“I-It... It’s not like I’m scared or anything! I just don’t want that crazy blank flank gettin’ her hooves on me!”

You’re seriously not fooling anypony.

“A-anyway! Well, I saw the dome crack for a moment, but then it repaired itself, like someone hit the rewind button on my DVR!”

“So... did you notice any blinking on the ground, or did you get scared and run off again?”

“W-well...” Tiara twirled her hair nervously.

“I got it.” I sighed.

“No you don’t! That dome thing repaired itself way too fast! Besides, what blinking thing are you talking about?”

..............

It’s okay to tell her, right...?

Do I even dare tell her?

Logically, it’d be beneficial to tell somepony who knows about the attempted break-ins. I don’t have much to lose by telling her.

On the other hoof, what if she blurts the secret out in a fit of rage against the CMC or something? Her attitude towards them would be a huge problem if she uses this info against them...

... I have an idea though. 

Whether or not it’ll bite me in the rear depends entirely how this goes.

“Before I go on about that, I wanna ask you a simple question.”

“Hmph. Depends on the question and what you plan to do for me after.”

Good grief, this mare...

“I want to know why you hate the Crusaders so much. What did they ever do to you?”

*Track: DISTRUST*

“...........” Tiara sighed, closing her eyes in silence, as the breeze brushed the grass around us.

“Or do you just hate blank flanks in general?”

“You finally went there huh?” Tiara’s tone suddenly grew deeper, like a hushed, but brewing storm. “You’re asking me why I hate that stupid freakin’ circle-jerking ragtag bunch of misfits, huh?”

Circle-jerking?

“That’s right. Otherwise, I can’t trust you with what I know. You antagonize them every chance you get, and I can’t have you using this info for your own gain.”

“Everything that I do to them, they deserve! They’re talentless! What can they contribute to our society, huh!?”

“By that logic, I’m talentless and haven’t contributed to society one bit.” I retorted.

Yet I worked hard to get to where I am today.

“Y-you’re different!” Tiara nervously tried to justify excluding me from that scope.

It’s obvious that her hate lies in just the Crusaders, not ponies without cutie marks.

“How am I any different from a blank flank!? I unlike some ponies, I don’t give a damn about having a special talent. All I care about is getting stuff done! What the hell makes me so different?!”

“You’re a reporter, and you’re pretty good at it! You’re good at what you do! You could’ve gotten your cutie mark a long time ago if you actually cared!”

“Then why do you want me to have a talent? As far as I’m concerned, you’re reminding me of Apple Bloom and her obsession with talent!”

Tiara suddenly stood up like an erupting volcano. I’m sure she wants to melt my face off right about now...

“You dare compare ME to HER?! I’m Diamond Tiara! I’m the greatest, cutest, most brilliant mare that ever lived and you dare compare me to a talentless loon?!” Tiara’s rage echoed through the district, fully shattering the peaceful atmosphere of this district.

“It must be true given how you’re reacting!”

“Who I hate is none of your business!”

“Dia, Shady Daze...”

I turned my head to find Silver Spoon standing there, with Miss Cheerilee on a leash. Looking now, Miss Cheerilee’s eyes seem to be red...

“So it’s your turn to do Doggy Duty, huh?” I asked casually.

“Sil, this idiot’s trying to get into my business!”

“I heard the whole thing, considering how loud you can be.”

“Sil, come on! Let’s ditch this idiot!”

Okay, now she’s pissing me off...

“Idiot? Who the heck are you kidding!? You’re the one hating on others for no reason!”

“Shady Daze, need I remind you, that she didn’t hold this petty vendetta against those three alone?”

“Then you’ll provide me some answers, right?”

“It’s still none of your business, and I’d thank you to stay out of our personal affairs.” Silver Spoon coldly answered.

“Yeah, you tell’em! Let’s get out of here!” Looks like they’re headed back to the Honesty District.

...........

*Track: Beautiful Ruin*

I knew that wouldn’t end well...

I slump onto the bench and stare at the ceiling of the gazebo.

Honestly, I wouldn’t mind staring for another ten hours...

Once again, I hear those horns blaring in the distance.

“Good morning everyone! For once, you bastards get a chance to relax! A new district has opened, but I wouldn’t hop and skip like a rabbit if I were you! You just might get caught in something awful!”

“Give me a break...”

Traps in this beautiful scenery? Eh...

I can’t just sit around. Shining Armor said to find the Elements of Harmony, but where the heck would I even start?

To begin with, why are they even here in this school?

Hopefully I’ll learn something new once I go investigating.

I hop off the marble-crafted bench and surveyed the gazebo itself, noticing a fourth road behind the statue that leads straight to that dreaded central tower...        

At the same time, I find a bulletin board next to the path which displayed a map of this area just as always. Guess I better download it...

...

And done. Let’s see where everything leads...

I open the menu in my ID band and scroll to the Kindness District map, so I can see where these roads lead...

Central Tower... Next District... Honesty District... Everfree Glade...?

That last one sounds interesting. Seems like the path in front of this Fluttershy statue leads to it.

Don’t tell me Monobear actually knows how dangerous the Everfree Forest is...

“Hey, Blue Snooper!”

“Shady!”

Grace Lightning and Pipsqueak... wonder what they want?

Wait, why do they look like they haven’t even slept?!

“Uhh... do I dare ask what happened?” I asked, curiously looking at their sleep deprived eyes.

“Monobear made us clean the trial room, ya know!”

You can’t be serious.

“That damn asshole woke us up in the middle of the night and dragged us back! I thought my time was up, dammit!” Grace complained, scaring away some of the butterflies nearby.

“But then it turns out he just made us clean our mess, ya know?” Pipsqueak happily followed up, raising a hoof to say, ‘It’s no big deal’.

“Don’t sound so happy about it! I take spitting on that asshole’s property with pride!” Grace puffed her chest out and tapped it with her forehoof as she boasted. She turned to me with a competitive grin. “You should spit sometime! Hawk up a big loogie for me!”

Eww.

“Yeah, great idea. Just don’t mind my complaints about you when I have to clean up as well.” I quipped.

“Anyway, I’m gonna try’ta sleep. Again. If that stupid bear wakes me up again, I’m tearing him limb-from-limb!” Grace waved farewell before bringing out the wheels and rolling away with her eyes closed.

Note-to-self: remind her of the last time she tried that.

“Same here, Shady. I’m too sleepy to look around... I’m headed to bed myself, man.” Pipsqueak yawned.

Watching the two of them leave for the Generosity District, I’ll make another note-to-self...

Make sure to never vomit or spit in Monobear’s presence.


________________________________________________________________


7:07 AM, Kindness District - Everfree Glade

So this is it, huh?

In contrast to a forest, the glade seems to have smaller and thinner trees. Thankfully it isn’t as dense either, so I have a pretty good view of my surroundings.

*Track: Despair Syndrome*

The leaves on the trees and ground are brown, as if we were heading into fall season. A little strange to see those kind of leaves flowing into the garden behind me, but I better not think too hard on that.

Despite the fall season-like environment on the ground, I can see a clear path embedded in the dirt, curving it’s way around the trees. I’m kinda curious to see where it leads...

Alright... it’s not the Forest. It’s a glade. Just a glade... I have a good view of my surroundings, so no surprise attacks.

It’s not dangerous... no monsters or whatever. I’m good. I’m fine.

One step at a time...

*crunch*

That’s just my hooves crushing the leaves... nothing to be afraid of!

*Crunch, crunch, crunch...*

Huh, this isn’t so bad. I’m fine!

“Yo, Shady!”

Dammit!

Oh, it’s just Snails...

“Geez, what’s with the yelp?  No need to be on guard! I told you, I won’t blame you for what happened!” Snails asked with his eyes widened.

That yelp is a reflex.

“Oh, it’s just you, Snails...” I heaved a sigh of relief.

“Well yeah! Like, I was calling out to ya earlier! You didn’t hear me?” Snails asked, tipping his hat a bit.

I cleared my throat, just to regain some sense of composure. “So, what’s going on?”

“Just as curious about this place as you are I guess. Hmm... I mean, like, it’s kinda crazy. I just downloaded the map too, so like, I wanted to check this deal out.” Snails said, looking at his own map through his ID Band.

“Beats going alone I guess.”

*Track: Beautiful Ruin*

“You got that right!” Snails walked ahead of me, then nodded his head forward. “Let’s get going. There’s gotta be something at the end of all of this, right?”

I sure hope so.

I follow just a little bit behind him, watching my surroundings.

There’s nothing to be afraid of. I won’t get attacked.

“So...”

“Ah!” I couldn’t help but jump for a second...

“Geez, you really need to relax, man.” Snails sighed.

“Sorry.” I sighed again, “What’s up?”

Snails turned his head around, occasionally turning around to keep his eye on the path.

“So... who do ya think is the mastermind of this mess?”

“Huh?”

“Like, someone’s gotta be controlling that Monobear thing, right? So like, who do you think it is? Is it some villain that the Princess and her friends beat up? Maybe Discord?”

“Discord?”

That’s a weird guess. Wasn’t he reformed?

“Yeah, like, what if Discord’s the one behind this? Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past a guy like that to make us kill each other off.”

“Hmm... I guess that makes sense, but he’s the God of Chaos. He’s supposed to cause chaos, not despair. Think about it, why would Discord have to hide?” I asked.

Snails turned around to face me, putting a hoof to his chin. “Isn’t Chaos and Despair the same thing?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Well, whether or not it’s true, Discord’s that kind of guy I guess. Thinking now, I doubt he’d be such a chicken about it. Like, why the heck would he hide behind a stupid stuffed animal anyway? Also, he was supposed to have reformed if I recall correctly.”

“Did he really?” I asked.

“... You think he’s still a bad guy?”

“Well... I guess it doesn’t matter. If what we said earlier about him holds true, then he can’t be the mastermind. He’s not a coward with his tricks.”

“Theeeeeen... I really don’t know. I was just speculating, man.”

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll find the answers soon.”

I hope...


_____________________________________________________________________


7:50 AM, Kindness District - ???

We finally reached the end of that path in the Glade, but now I’m seeing one large, rounded building that appears to be at least only two floors.

You’d expect to see one of these buildings in Manehattan or Las Pegasus at least. 

At the top-center, I can see the words, “AQUARIUM ZOO ASYLUM” in all caps.

“Asylum? Good grief, That Mono guy really thinks we’re gonna go insan... ah. Right.” Snails sighed, realizing that on the contrary, many of us are slowly sinking into madness.

Let’s check it out.

Snails and I walk up to the glass pane double door. The moment I put my left hoof on it, the doors slid open automatically, as if it read my ID band on the spot. In addition, the lights turned themselves on upon entry.

The first thing I see when I enter the building is the large, finely polished reception desk in front with nothing on top, save for a lamp to the right and a single computer monitor to the left. At the back wall behind the desk, are two functioning elevators.

Looking to my left down the curving hallway, I notice several doors to the right. At the end of the hallway, there appears to be a double-door entrance to a cafeteria of sorts.

“Oh snap!” Snails suddenly blurted. “Shady, check this out!”

I follow Snails’s voice, going down the other end of the hallway., it all  appears to be just the same, except for a dead-end leading to a set of double doors on my left. At the top of the doors, there was the word, “HOT SPRINGS” written on top.

“What is it?”

“Dude, hot springs! Let’s tell the girls!”

The moment he said that, I put a hoof to my face on reflex.

“I know where this is going. We’re not gonna peep.”

“Oh come on, it’ll be great!” Snails grinned. “Listen, I’m totally gonna check out the bath, see if there’s any routes to take and stuff! Plus it’ll help ya loosen up a little, dude!”

There he goes, running through the doors.

I might end up more tender if I peeped, and I wouldn't consider that a good thing...

Either way, I’ll just leave him to his own devices. I need to check something out anyway.

I head back down the hallway, stopping at the reception desk.

This kinda reminds me of that office building back at the Honesty District...

“I found some valuable info, and I don’t quite trust you yet, if you catch my drift.”        

Dammit, I just remembered...

Rumble found something in that desk back then!

I don’t have to deal with him now, so let’s see what I’ll find!

Dashing to the reception desk, I frantically opened all the drawers at the bottom, quickly scanning the contents that catch my eyes.

First drawer: Just an assortment of office supplies.

Second drawer: Another set of supplies...

Third drawer: some random documents regarding the animals in here... I might wanna keep that.

Fourth... another document and... an ID card? Let’s turn it over...

“What!?”

*Track: Beautiful Dead*



Fluttershy

Title: ELEMENT OF KINDNESS
Position: Academy Staff Member and Animal Administrator
ID No: 101010-EH2K




That means Shining Armor wasn’t kidding about the identity of this ‘kingdom’... 

This card doesn’t appear to be in mint condition though, yet it’s not broken or scratched either. Has Fluttershy actually been here...? I thought this school was just built!

Now to check out this document...




Dear Princess Celestia:

The petting zoo is almost complete, and progress on the aquarium is going smoothly! Thank you so much for helping me bring the most exotic animals I could find here! I hope the students will enjoy the friendly animals as much as I do.

I wasn’t sure that having a petting zoo in such a prestigious school would be a good idea, but with Twilight’s encouragement, I feel that these exotic animals won’t hurt our students. I’ll keep them safe myself.





Huh... the letter ends there. Is it unfinished? I guess she forgot to sign it, right?

I have a hunch that Princess Celestia helped fund many of this school’s features. A Clothing shop, a farm, and apparently a petting zoo too...

It’s starting to feel less of a school and more like a theme park.

I’m curious if there was any actual faculty here, like teachers, or a student council... I mean, there’s Miss Cheerilee, but she can’t have been the only teacher called in...

To be fair, the school just opened, so maybe she was brought in for chaperoning purposes or to monitor teacher-student interactions in a school designed to develop strong bonds between everypony.

I wish I could ask Miss Cheerilee, but what can I do? That stupid dog suit’s not gonna let her talk... But I might be able to communicate with her reactions if I show her this card.

Time to check the fifth drawer. There has to be something useful.

Opening it up, I discover a single post-it note stuck to the bottom that had few numbers written on it.

11037

Huh? I don’t get it. Maybe it’s a code of some sort?

“Shady Daze...”

I jolted up, laying eyes on Silver Spoon with Miss Cheerilee in tow.

“It’s only you...”

“I’m offended by such words. What do you mean ‘it’s only you’? You do recall who I am, yes? I would prefer if you didn’t speak to me so casually.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I sighed, “So what brings you here?”

“I won’t ask of your apparent paranoia. However, I do wish to know what you’re doing back there.”

“I’d prefer if you’d just guess. I mean, it’s pretty obvious.”

I didn’t feel like telling her ‘I’m investigating’.

After heaving a deep sigh, “Your rudeness aside, what did you find?”

“I found some rather curious documents. See those papers there?” I made a quick double-tap on the sheets in question. “After a quick glance, it turns out that they’re parts of an entire list of animals in this place, as well as their life spans and birth dates, wellness, all of the things you need to know of an animal you’re taking care of.” I explained, then closed the last drawer.

Once I said all of that, Miss Cheerilee put a paw to her mouth, as if she were thinking.

“What else did you find?” Silver Spoon asked.

“There’s also this.” I took out Fluttershy’s ID card and placed it on the table.

“I see... she’s alive perhaps? This card appears to be used.”

“I don’t know if she is or not, but Monobear’s mighty careless to leave this important clue around, huh?” I stifled a laugh.

“You do remember that we’re freely able to explore this place, yes? I’d like to believe that our enemy left that there on purpose.”

That sounds like something Monobear would do...

I turn my attention back to the desk to reclaim the card, only to see that Miss Cheerilee is in possession of it!

“What is it? Did you recognize something?”

Miss Cheerilee held out a paw, as if she wanted something...

Silver Spoon laid her eyes on one of the documents, handing it to her. Snatching it away, she held out her paw again.

“Pen!” Silver Spoon shouted.

So she needs... OH! She should be able to write something!

I search the first two drawers again, quickly finding a pen and giving it to my teacher.

Laying the paper flat on the floor, she held the pen with both of her paws with all her strength, crudely writing in huge letters.

an M...that looks like a Y... and an I... then a D...

MYID?

Waaaaait a minute.

“You’re saying that you want us to find your ID?” I asked, to which Miss Cheerilee frantically nodded, as if she were happy.

“If Fluttershy has an ID, then Miss Cheerilee would have one too. She was originally summoned to be a teacher for the Academy of Magic and Friendship, so she’d need a specially made Faculty ID.” Silver Spoon fixed her glasses.

“We’ll need a lead as to where that card could be.” I turned my attention to the computer on my right.

“See if there’s a pair of gloves under the desk.” Silver Spoon sounded a bit enthusiastic.

Doing as she asked, I find a pair of gray five-fingered gloves on a hook next to the CPU. “Huh... yeah, they’re here.”

“Computer Gloves... yes.” Silver smiled slightly as she put them on and sat in a swivel chair. “Another piece of Magitech, invented to accompany the arrival of the Computer. Their sole purpose is to work with this type of keyboard and mouse.” 

“We have keyboards here in Equestria already though.” I said, not really impressed.

“Yes, but you underestimate why these gloves are so important. Sure, the keyboards we’ve had before were suitable for typing with hooves, but they weren’t efficient in terms of speed.” Silver Spoon said, closing her eyes, as if going into a deep focus.

I’d beg to differ, but I’ll let her go on. She seems to like talking about technology after all.

“With these gloves and more compact Keyboards, we’re able to type information with more efficiency and speed. Unless the Ponyville Express is more old fashioned?” She opened an eye, giving a light smirk.

“I guess we’re old fashioned in some departments. At least I am. Featherweight used those gloves, but I didn’t. I worked hard learning to type with these hooves and I don’t feel like getting used to something new.” I hopped in another swivel chair, sliding closer to get a look at the screen.

“Suit yourself.”

On the other hoof, it takes time getting used to those gloves. It requires the magic circuits inside to connect to your mind via the hooves. Inside the glove is a type of enchanted silicon chip of sorts, designed to connect to the brain, and make you believe that these are hands, not hooves. It’s a partial possession, for it functions depending on what kind of tasks you want to do, such as writing a paper, or typing simple words in a letter.

Those who lack an affinity to magic require a quick, but deep focus to connect to the magic circuits, which is a pain to get used to.

But as expected of Silver Spoon, she connects easily.

“I still remember the day when Sunset Shimmer proposed the idea. We were there to provide the funds for these gloves.”

The Sterling Family...

“I remember covering that story.” I sighed, glancing at the gloves again. Truth be told, from a certain position, they just look silly to wear, despite their practical usage. 

“That you did. Sunset Shimmer’s contributions to Equestria have truly revolutionized our world... and she did it all for the sake of atonement for her crimes. I wanted to understand why do so much good just to atone for a single crime.”

Atonement... Silver Spoon sounded a bit melancholic as she said that word.

“Hey Shady! I just checked out that spa and stuff! Like, I got some great news, dude!”

“What?”

Snails hopped over the desk, bringing my head closer.

“There’s no cameras in there!” He whispered.

“What?!”

“You do realize I heard you, yes?” Silver Spoon asked, with her eyelids lowered, giving the magician stallion a look of disdain.

“Uh... uhh...” Snails fidgeted a bit, looking around desperately, then landed his eyes on our teacher. “Ah, right! Miss Cheerilee! You look like you were writing something! You wrote something right? What did you write?” Snails asked in rapid succession.

I’ll have to explain that, along with what we found so far.

“So you guys actually found Fluttershy’s ID card, and now Miss Cheerilee wants us to find hers, huh? It’d be nice if we found it. We might be able to get her out of that suit! If I didn’t know any better, she’s like, the one with all the answers!”

That may be... but is it really that simple? That makes her a huge liability to whatever plot the mastermind has. If he knows that, then why keep her around? He could just kill her off if she knew so much, so why?

“Hmm... looks like it’s password protected.”

“What?” Snails blinked twice.

Right, that computer... we were originally gonna look through it.

“Username and password, huh?” Snails leaned in, looking at the computer screen.

“Hmm... I have an idea for a username, but let me see that card again.” Silver Spoon asked.

Putting the card on the table and shooting it to her side, her hoof comes down with precise timing on top of it.




User: F L U T T E R S H Y
Password: ***********




*BZZT!*

A Window popped up for a brief moment, displaying, "WRONG PASSWORD" before disappearing.

“Hmph... wrong one?”

“What did you type in?” Snails asked, taking the card away.

“I assumed her own ID number would give me access.” Silver answered.

“Hmm... maybe try it without the dash?” Snails suggested, to which she silently complied.

.........

*BZZT*

After another error, A digital Monobear showed up walking across the screen, laughing at us.

*Track: Junkfood for a Dashing Youth*

[One more error, and I might do more than lock this computer! I’m watching you!]

After his warning, the little avatar stuck around, giggling.

I then heard something above us opening...

Turning my attention to the ceiling, I saw the cameras lowering their height and then slowly sliding to the side, as if it were making room for something.

... Oh crap.

“Guns!? Seriously!?” Snails trembled, putting a hoof on the desk. “So like, I totallygottagodosomething!”

With a brisk, clumsy, and desperate hop over the desk, Snails made a mad dash for the door, only for his face to hit a set of iron bars instead.

“Those weren’t there before...” I muttered.

[Obviously! If you’re gonna hack a computer, do it right! Such amateurish hacking deserves the more literal form! I’ve never had horse-flavored swiss cheese before, but I’m willing to try it!]

“Shut up!” Snails shouted, shaking the computer monitor.

Silver Spoon simply knocked Snails on the head with her free ‘hand’, then sighed out of mere annoyance. “Calm down. It’s just one chance. No need to show fear until you know you’ve lost without a doubt.”

“C-c-calm down!? HOWAMISUPPOSEDTOCALM! I CAN’T ONTO CALM! AHHHHHHH!!! I don’t wanna get shot! Heeeeeeeeeelp!”

Wait a second. That post it note...

“Hey, try this instead.” I quickly gave Silver Spoon the post-it note I found earlier.

Those numbers have a purpose. I may be wrong, but those numbers... they can’t be just for show.

“Oh ho?” Silver Spoon quickly typed the numbers in and...

*DING DING!*

The iron bars were lifted and the guns quickly went back into the ceiling!

“So you were right.” Silver Spoon smiled.

“Wait, I won’t get shot anymore!? WOO HOO! I CAN’T GET SHOT! YAHOO! I CAN’T GET SHOOT~” Snails repeated in a singing tone, rushing to us, singing about how he can’t get shot.

“I won’t get shot~ I won’t get shot~! I’ll never get shot, so everypony’s safe! I feel like singing and dancing for not getting shot!”

You’re already doing that!

One of the guns that I thought had left, suddenly lowered from a hole above Snails and pointed at him...

“Uhh, Snails?” I called out to him, but he was so immersed in dancing around like an idiot... and out came a bullet, hitting the ground directly next to his hooves.

“Gyaaaaaaaaaaah!”

After a sudden shot of gunfire, Snails slipped and tumbled spectacularly, earning a massive cackling from Monobear over the intercom.

“WHY!?” Snails demanded.

You brought that one on yourself, Snails.

[Because I have better dance moves than you!]

“Uhh...?” Snails tilted his head.

[Oh? Did you want to do a dance off?] Monobear asked enthusiastically.

“N-not really... question mark...?” Yes, Snails said all of that. 

[Ah well. You got served anyway! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!]

“Now I see why Trixie tries to remain humble!” Snails trembled.

Either that, or he’s just picking up on his teacher’s former arrogance.

“Hmm... What’s this?” Silver Spoon asked, prompting me and Snails to check the computer to see what she meant.

Looking at the screen, I see what appears to be a spreadsheet Document titled “RELEASE SYSTEM”. Under the title, were three organized columns. Going from left-to-right, first was a column of green squares. Next to that, were the names of several exotic animals and numbers next to them.

“Was there anything on the desktop?”

“No. This screen was the first thing displayed upon logging in.” 

“Holy crap... Manticores, cockatrices, cragadiles, fruit bats, orthros... Holy crap, there’s even Ursas in there! Maaaaan, reminds me of that time when me and Snips tried to call the Great and Powerful Trixie’s bluff! Fun times, man!” Snails rambled, then let out a melancholic sigh.

“Eyes forward.” Silver Spoon muttered, sneaking a glance at Snails.

“Eh?” Blinking twice, he put a hoof to his chin, muttering, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“A red square?” I muttered, making Silver Spoon wonder what I meant. “There, next to the Chimera...”

“Oh. If this is a release system, then... we could find out if we took the elevator on down... If you’re brave enough that is.” Silver Spoon suggested.

“Uhh, if that red square means that a chimera’s on the loose, then I’m not sure I wanna go down there.” Snails nervously declined.

I turned my attention to the elevators, looking for some sort of sign. They’re here for a reason.

“That was quite a spectacle earlier, wouldn’t you say?”

Hearing a familiar calm voice from behind, I sighed heavily, knowing who it was.

“Rumble...”

“Relax, Shady. I’m merely here to investigate, nothing more... but it seems you’ve beaten me to the punch.”

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?!” Snails asked, looking at me, then Rumble again.

“You must’ve found a certain ID card, right?”

He means Fluttershy’s I’m sure. But I know just how to use it.

“I’m not sure I trust you yet.” I said.

“Hm?” Rumble lowered his eyelids to a near scowl, much to my surprise. “Hahahahahahaha! Shady, you’re amusing! Interesting! You could’ve asked to exchange information instead of using my lines against me.” Rumble asked, forming a devilish smirk, anticipating my next response.

Somehow, it’s pissing me off... but I won’t turn this down.

“Fine. Let’s exchange information.”

“What is the meaning of this?” Silver Spoon asked.

“Just two brokers exchanging information. I’m sure you’ve participated in the stock markets as well Silver Spoon, seeing is that you’re a Super High-School Level Scion...” Rumble answered.

“As a jack-of-all-trades, I can’t deny that.”

“That you are. Hey, how’s your friendship with Diamond Tiara coming along? I’d like to know. Is it holding up well?”

“RUMBLE!”

“Shady, that’s not a good way to express jealousy. I’m right here, and I can hear quite well.” Rumble pouted, pressing a hoof against his ear.

“I’m not jealous, it’s just you’re going way off topic. I’m not letting you go on your little friendship binge until you tell me what you know.”

“So you intend to let him intrude on my personal affairs afterwards? How careless of you Shady Daze. I thought you were a stallion who’d be more considerate to a lady’s secrets and such.”

“Oh. I wasn’t aware that friendship is secretive! Hmm, hmm... I think I’ve learned something new about you, Silver Spoon...” Rumble said.

“Shady, please get him out of my sight.”

“Don’t be so hasty, Silver. I’ll be a good friend and tell you that I have found Applejack’s ID Card and letter to Princess Celestia. That is a satisfactory amount of information right?” Rumble smiled coolly as usual, but I’m getting a condescending vibe from him.

I also don’t like how he worded all of that...

“Where are they then?”

“Oh? What ever do you mean?” Rumble widened his eyes, faking his surprise. I feel like he’s mocking me now...

“You say you ‘found’ them. For such a major discovery, one would think that you’d have them in your possession.”

“Let’s just say... I put them back in their rightful place. With that, I say farewell for now.”

“Rumble wait!”

With a quick whoosh and a gust of wind, Rumble took off like a rocket once again...

Damn it!

“Uhh, what was that about?” Snails asked.

“No clue... but I’m heading back to the Honesty District.”

“Wa-wait up! I’m tagging along!” Snails ran past me and out the door.

he’s still a bit shaken up by that gunfire...


______________________________________________________________________


9:00 AM, Kindness District - Everfree Glade

Why would Rumble hide such important information anyway? Is it because he still wants me to make that ‘contract’? There’s gotta be more to this than a simple contract...

I may seek the truth, but I’m not gonna sever friendships in the process.

But with the way I’ve lead two trials already... I’ve severed friendships by bringing out the truth.

The truth is becoming a sword... a sword that proves Rumble’s point even further.

“Maaaaaan, I’m glad to be out of there! No guns or traps or whatever!” Snails happily trotted along the path, then slowed down to keep at my pace.

“Yeaaaaah...”

“So Silver, what made you follow us?” Snails turned his head around, seeing her follow us from a feet away.

“I never said that I wouldn’t.” She answered quickly, sounding somewhat annoyed as well.

“Huh. Fair enough I guess. Like, I got so many friggin’ questions though! It’s like we’re answering our own questions with another question!”

“Another question that brings us closer to the golden answer, I suppose. Besides, I like the challenge.” Silver Spoon smirked.

“A challenge? Four of us are dead!” Snails suddenly turned to face her.

“That may be, but that’s the result of the decisions made by the deceased. Nothing we can do but foward our eyes for today.” Silver Spoon finished, as she coldly stared into Snails’s eyes.

Flinching, he slowly backed away, and with a sigh, he followed up, “Man, that’s just rough stuff, I swear.” Snails sighed, then suddenly stopped in front me now. “Whoa, wait a sec, something just popped in my head!”

“What?” I asked, considering whether or not to just step around him.

“Sunset Shimmer! What happened to her? Weren’t you guys talkin’ about her before?”

“She was originally assigned to help with the tour of the Academy. Her role was to guide us in the use of the school’s newfound Magitech equipment for us students, but thanks to our current predicament...”

“If anyone would know something, it’d have to be her, ri... huh?” Silver Spoon stumbled, thanks to Miss Cheerilee not budging. 

Wait... is she drawing something?!

“D... D?” Snails asked, noticing what was drawn on the dirt.

“E...?” Silver Spoon wondered.

“A...” Three letters, and now the fourth...

“APPLEBLOOM!”

*Track: Living to the Fullest*

The sudden scream threw whatever Miss Cheerilee was drawing in the dirt way off track, opting to follow the sound instead with the utmost urgency.

“Miss Cheerilee?!” Silver Spoon called out, nearly getting dragged across the ground! “S-slow down! Slow down at once!”

We galloped after Miss Cheerilee, getting out of the forest in a matter of minutes.

Upon exiting, we see Scootaloo and Apple Bloom with a bruised face, shakily getting on her hooves.

I know exactly what’s going on...

“Scootaloo, STOP!” Sweetie Belle cried out.

“I meant what I said. Next time we cross paths, we duel. No exceptions.”

“Nah... it’s fine, Sweetie Belle. Ah’ think it’s time Ah’ knocked some sense into’er!”

“You know me well, Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo rushed in like a missile, swinging a left hook at Apple Bloom, which was quickly dodged, then countered with a body tackle.

Falling into the flowers in front of the gazebo, Scootaloo kicked Apple Bloom off, sending her flying into the Fluttershy statue.

Apple Bloom of course would quickly get back up and strike Scootaloo with a right straight.

Scootaloo quickly shook it off, then immediately rushed at Apple Bloom, placing her head underneath her belly, throwing her overhead, and suddenly jumped to deliver a roundhouse kick!

Apple Bloom landed right in front of us, and Scootaloo showed no signs of stopping her assault with her charging in for another attack.

“SOMEPONY HELP ME STOP THEM!!” Sweetie Belle demanded, chasing after Scootaloo.

Miss Cheerilee, much to our surprise, grabbed Apple Bloom, preventing her from charging at Scootaloo.

“It ain’t over til it’s over!” Apple Bloom angrily said, pulling the teacher along, but not for long. Miss Cheerilee planted her feet into the ground, uprooting a few flowers at the feet of her suit.

The eyes of our teacher were filled with a new determination.

Miss Cheerilee wasn’t gonna let Apple Bloom fight...

If I were in her horseshoes this whole time, I wouldn’t be able to handle watching my students tear each other apart. I wouldn’t be able to sit by and do nothing. That suit, limiting the abilities of a pony, would make anypony feel powerless.

I guess she’s had enough of being just a dog.

`        “I’M SORRY!” Sweetie Belle’s tears aside, her horn shone with a light-purple hue. Her eyes shut for a brief moment of focus, opened with fierce intensity as she fired a beam at Scootaloo, stopping her dead in her tracks. 

“Sweetie Belle!” Apple Bloom screamed, noticing that Scootaloo hasn’t stopped glaring this whole time...

With Sweetie Belle using her magic to draw her friend away from Apple Bloom, her eyes widened with shock the moment she saw Scootaloo’s right forehoof, inches away from her face.

There was no time to dodge. She felt the full force of a punch meant for Apple Bloom... or perhaps because Sweetie Belle interfered, she had to be the target.

Sweetie Belle was sent soaring across the flowers, eventually landing in a bed of them...

But there was something strange the moment she landed. Why didn’t any petals pop up?

Scootaloo’s hood came off, and the realization soon came hitting her like a hailstorm...

That glare and fury she had been emitting vanished from her face in an instant.

“SWEETIE BELLE!”

Everypony present, even Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, galloped to where Sweetie Belle had fallen.

But there weren’t any petals when she fell... with this many flowers, you’d think the impact would raise even a few of them, but...

Oh. Well that explains it.

Sweetie Belle flew in a hole hidden in the flowerbed...

Oh shit.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo cried out her name again and again, seeing their friend’s unconscious body in a hole at least six feet deep.

Wait, what’s with the stone pieces in there!?

“Ugh...” Sweetie Belle groaned, pressing her hoof around, hoping to find solid ground instead of another piece of stone. Just barely, she began to stand on all fours.

Her legs and forearms shook like they could collapse at any moment. her body was covered in dirt and light cuts from the stone pieces as well. Looks like there’s some blood all over the stone pieces too.

I hope she’s not gravely wounded.

...We need to get her out of there.

Sweetie Belle attempted to move around just a bit, shaking off any pain she may have felt. But then, for some reason, she used her magic to levitate a pretty big sized rock, peering closely at it. “Huh? Ah...! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!”

What the hell did she see?! 

I’ll use my camera to zoom in... I have to find out.

...

Is that... Discord’s head...?

I put down the camera, turning my attention to find Monobear in between Apple Bloom and Scootaloo..

“Uu~pupupu~... You really shouldn’t have done that...”
> Ch.3 (Ab)normal Days Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        “Uu~pupupu~... You really shouldn’t have done that.”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo turn around, backing away on reflex the moment they heard Monobear behind them.

Track: Despair-Syndrome

“What’s that supposed to mean?! It’s her fault!” Scootaloo seethed, pointing at Apple Bloom.

“Me?! Yer the one who done knocked Sweetie Belle in that hole!”

“Whelp, since you bastards can’t take responsibility for your actions, I’ll just have to clean up your mess! Who makes a king clean up his subject’s mess? It’s worse than changing diapers!” Monobear clapped his paws twice after saying that.

“Uhh... you’ve changed diapers before?” Snails hesitantly asked.

Out of nowhere, a faint hum of a motor off in the distance quickly grew louder and louder with great haste.

“That sound...” Silver Spoon nervously muttered.

The vroom that echoed, coming from the entrance of the Kindness District, revealed itself to be a cement truck speeding it’s way towards us.

Wait, a cement truck!?

Dangan Ronpa the Animation OST track 11, CD2

Miss Cheerilee dashed to the hole and threw her own leash down, beckoning Sweetie Belle to grab onto it.

Our teacher’s brave and she’s got the right idea, but pulling on that leash would just choke her.

I took a firm grip of the leash, with a bit of support from Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Snails’s magic.

Much to my surprise, even Silver Spoon grabbed hold.

We all looked at Miss Cheerilee’s eyes, and with a quick nod, we pulled Sweetie Belle up with all our might, just before the cement truck got close enough to the hole.

Remembering what I laid eyes on a moment ago, my hooves take me back to the pit, noticing that the pieces of the statue are still there.

“Snails! Get the head of that statue down there!”

“Wha-”

“DO IT!” I screamed

“Alright, alright!”

Snails used his magic to briskly lift the head out of the hole.

“Uu~pu pu pu~”

Monobear hopped in the truck and began trying to intentionally get cement on the statue’s head, making Snails glare at Monobear.

“HEY, CUT THAT OUT!”

“Snails, focus!” I shouted, noticing that his levitation magic was cut short.

“Ah, crap!” Snails focused on the falling head, getting it before it fell into the solidifying liquid below.

Come on, I know that’s Discord’s head. I need that head.

I don’t know why, but I need Discord’s head!

The second it was within reach, I grabbed it, rolling away from the hole.

“Wow, I didn’t think you’d cling to that thing so fondly! If you wanted a head so badly, I could just serve you one from one of your dead classmates!” Monobear hopped out of the truck after filling the hole completely.

I had no need to respond to this guy. All that matters is that I have this head.

The fact that I even have it... may be one step closer to the truth. It opens many other questions, but I’d rather have that than nothing to go on. I need to examine this head the first chance I get.

I need all the clues I can find.

Diamond Tiara of course, was walking through the flowers, quickly regaining her composure as if she were startled a moment before. Her eyes were homing in me, or rather, what I was holding in my hooves.

“Discord’s head- wait, why was his statue down there? Did you blank flanks break it somehow? Typical trashy behavior!” Diamond Tiara scoffed, approaching Scootaloo and Apple Bloom.

Track: Distrust

“Break it?! We didn’t even know Discord had a statue down there!” Scootaloo replied defensively.

“Ya still knocked Sweetie Belle into it! There’s blood on the head! She prolly hurt’erself cuz of you!”

They see the blood, but I guess they’re too heated to notice that the blood is right around the neck area, as if the blood came from within. Not only that, but it’s somewhat dried too...

“What, you’re saying I hurt her!? She doesn’t have any injuries on her body anywhere!” 

“Then explain that blood- Oh waaaaaait, ya done punched her!”

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom... I never thought they’d start blaming each other like this.

And then There’s Sweetie Belle; she hasn’t said a word. She normally would’ve made them stop by now, but she’s just staring at nothing. I can’t tell what she’s thinking. It’s as if a robot were shut down and acting as a mannequin. 

To be honest, I found it kind of scary.

“I think I’ll leave you bastards to tear each other’s throats out. At the rate this is going, I may not even have to give a motive! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Monobear cackled.

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?!” Scootaloo hissed.

“He wouldn’t be sayin’ that if ya hadn’t knocked Sweetie Belle in that hole! She could’ve died!” Apple Bloom chided.

“I would never kill her!” Scootaloo seethed, completely ignoring Monobear driving the cement truck out of the district.

“Uhh, guys? If you could calm down for a moment-” Snails feebly interjected.

With a unionized ‘shut up’ from the mares, Snails backed down quickly, fearing any further wrath from them. 

“Ya went all out against ME a minute ago! Who’s to say this new attitude of yers ain’t gonna make ya kill yer own friends?!” Apple Bloom continued.

“Friends? Hah, you just said I almost killed Sweetie Belle! If you hadn’t opened your big mouth, I’d be apologizing to Sweetie Belle right now instead of arguing with you! And what the heck do you mean by friends anyway?! I don’t trust any of these ponies here! But if you think I’m an enemy too, then so be it! I’m done with you! I don’t see how you can hunt for cutie marks now that there’s only one of you!”

“One? Who said Sweetie Belle’s going with you?! Ah’ can’t have the cutie mark crusaders by myself! So she’s stickin' wit' me! You can go n’ leave if ya wanna!”

With a deep and heavy sigh, Scootaloo hung her head low quickly, swinging her hood onto her head.

Here we go again...

“All you care about is finding your stupid cutie mark. I told you before, didn’t I? Why can’t you get your priorities straight?”

“...”

Sweetie Belle, continuing to stare off into space, takes one step forward, and then another, heading towards the district gate.

Is she in a state of shock? Why isn’t she saying anything!?

“So you’re just gonna let Sweetie Belle go?” Silver Spoon interjected, with better success, despite the instant, if not, arguably worse scorn from the two mares.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Honestly, hearing you talk just makes me wanna tenderize you right now.”

“Instead of ‘tenderizing’ me, you really should just heed my words, you base mare.” Silver calmly sliced away Scootaloo’s threat.

“B-base!?” Scootaloo’s eye twitched, looking at Silver Spoon, then Sweetie Belle. That’s when she realized it. “Sweetie Belle!? Where are you-”

“Aww, are these two getting on your nerves? Never fear, Diamond Tiara is here!”

“Dia, what are you...”

“Come now, Sil! Sweetie Belle is bothered by her two besties fighting each other! Daddy always told me to let things cool down before going back to your friends to work things out! I totally think that’s what Sweetie Belle should do!”

“YOU BITCH! GET AWAY FROM HER!” Scootaloo barked, inching closer to her enemy, like a dog preparing to pounce it’s prey.

With a light giggle, our wanna-be princess for once, wasn’t affected by Scootaloo’s blood-thirsty glare. 

“Oh please, you talk as if she’s your property. She’s not. She’s got a will of her own, and she’s free to do as she pleases.” Diamond flipped her hair before calmly continuing, “I talk down to you blank flanks as I please, and honestly, I always thought Sweetie Belle had the best chance of rising to my standing. She’s got the cuteness thing going for her at least, but she’s being held back by base, blank flanks like you two. So leave Sweetie Belle alone for a while.”

Scootaloo stopped in her tracks, as her fury slowly melted into a puddle of desperation. Even Silver Spoon could sigh at Tiara’s actions.

“You’re trying to manipulate her! She’s just in shock from falling down that hole! At least let me say I’m sorry!”

“Wow~ you really are an idiot! Hear me out just this once, you two: I was thinking of talking to Sweetie Belle myself so we could bury the hatchet!” Tiara gleefully said, ignoring Sweetie Belle’s scorn. “It’s something that’s been loooooooooong overdue, don’t you think? We’ll all benefit from it and maybe live just a teeny bit longer, right? Of course I’m right! I’m Diamond Tiara! When a brilliant mare of my caliber can think of a nice little good deed like this, it’ll always go right! The world conforms to top class mares like me! When everything already goes my way, then what do you possibly have to lose, hmm?” I never thought I’d see her smile so kindly like that, and to one of her enemies at that.

“Dia...” Silver Spoon winced, as if appalled by Diamond Tiara’s suggestion.

But...

Is it bad that I can actually see some merit in this plan?

If she can make amends with one Crusader, she can make amends with them all.

It reminds me of the story I heard with how the Elements of Harmony actually befriended Discord.

But still, on paper, this plan sounds like the best thing Diamond Tiara can do. In practice, it still can go right, but not without getting past a few emotional obstacles.

I’m not sure I can trust such a task to somepony with a history like Diamond Tiara.

You don’t lay out a benevolent plan in such a mocking and condescending tone, no matter how much of a cute smile you put on. You just don’t.

Track: Welcome Despair School

Scootaloo of course rushes in front of Sweetie Belle, shoving Diamond Tiara to the side, putting her hooves on her friend in a reassuring manner.

“Sweetie Belle, you don’t need go with her! I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean to punch you! Come on, you don’t need to go with this stupid mare! She’s just trying to get in your head cuz she’s jealous of something she doesn’t have!”

“WHY WOULD I BE JEALOUS OF YOU!?” Tiara seethed, while getting back on her hooves.

“Then why did you have to fight?” Sweetie Belle calmly asked.

“Huh? I mean, I had to teach her a lesson, and uhh... I mean, it was partly her fault that Twist and Dinky Doo died, and, uhh...”

“...” Sweetie Belle closed her eyes, and gently moved Scootaloo’s hooves off her shoulders. “You’ve done enough, Scootaloo. No more. Please... No more!”

She turned her head away from the mare before her, with her cheeks slowly getting soaked in her tears.

“SWEETIE BELLE!” Scootaloo cried out.

“So it was only mah fault that two friends died?” Apple Bloom muttered in an gruff, hushed tone. “Mah fault... me...? Mah fault...”

“G-guys, it was nopony’s fault! I mean-” Snails hesitantly said, but honestly, deep down, I think he knows just how futile that is.

“Snails, don’t.” I said.

“This freakin’ sucks dude, can’t you see that?!”

“I know. But it’s not our business. What can we do? We don’t know those three personally. They gotta work their own problems out. We outsiders can’t do a thing for them. If we interfered, we might make things worse.”

That’s honestly what I thought.

What can we do?

Featherweight might’ve said something differently, but that’s one thing he never understood. Some matters we just can’t solve, simply because we’re not involved. Blindly going in to fix a problem just doesn’t work as well as you’d think. This isn’t some comic or idealistic Children’s book. This isn’t a cartoon or a movie.

This is just cold, cruel reality coming to slap us in the face every time hope comes around to lie about the despair before us.

Hope... is just a lie.

...!

What the hell am I thinking?!

Even if I’m not idealistic, I can’t let myself despair again. Not again! I won’t let that happen! I have to at least stay focused!

After shaking the petals off her fur, Diamond went to Sweetie Belle, with a victorious grin on her face. “C’mon, let’s get going, friend!”

“Stay away from me.” Sweetie Belle said, walking away from the wanna-be princess.

Despite rejection, Diamond Tiara’s smile didn’t fade, not one bit. It’s as if her confidence was at an all time high, like nothing could stop her.

...

For some reason, she even directed her grin at me, smiled cheekily, then ran off, presumably after Sweetie Belle.

Why me?

She really is difficult to figure out.

Whatever.

Silver Spoon, running past me, and bringing Miss Cheerilee along, leaving Snails and I behind with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, who directed their glares at one another once more.

“This... Sweetie Belle hates us now?!” Scootaloo muttered.

“And it’s yer fault! Ya shoulda never went crazy!”

“I didn’t go crazy... I’m not crazy! I’m doing what’s right! YOU CAN’T JUDGE ME!” Scootaloo hung her head over, donning her hood again, followed by a lunge at Apple Bloom once more!

A left hoof headed straight for the farm mare, who charged straight into it, preparing to counter attack! With Apple Bloom’s right headed for Scootaloo, she would suddenly swing at the air, crashing on the ground miserably.

...Where did Scootaloo go?

“Let me at her! Let me go, Rumble! LET GO!” Scootaloo demanded.

Oh. I should’ve known Rumble would show up. Way to be late though.

“I can’t let you do that, Scootaloo. No more damage.” Rumble looked at me for a brief moment, like he wanted to say something, but couldn’t.

With a sudden burst of speed, he carried Scootaloo away despite her protests.

Rumble’s expression of bitterness... maybe he regrets being late?

That’s the impression I got, given what I know about that guy.

“Apple Bloom?” Snails called out to the crusader left behind with us.

“Whelp! Time to go find mah cutie mark!” Apple Bloom turned to us with a huge grin and widened eyes. “Cutie Mark Crusader Apple Bloom GOOOOOOOO!”

“A-Apple Bloom?! What?” Snails nervously said, freaked out by her sudden excitement.

To be honest, so was I.

If I had one word to describe her eyes and smile right now it would be... 

‘Demonic’.

“Wanna come with me ya’ll? C’mon!”

“Uhh, I have my cutie mark already, so uhh...” Snails reminded her.

“...” Apple Bloom opened her mouth, but immediately stopped the moment she looked to me, giving me a scornful vibe.

“Oh, right, I forgot, you don’t care about talent n’ cutie marks, and finding out what yer purpose in life is! Ya think ya ain’t no friend o’mine, right?”

What the hell’s that supposed to mean?

“That’s not the issue here.” I answered.

“Bye~!” Apple Bloom waved, then galloped away.

“Whatever.”

“Let’s not hold it against them, okay? They’re not themselves.” Snails said.

“Still not my business.”

“Geez, can’t you act sympathetic for just a little bit?” Snails groaned.

“Only when you start to think realistically.”

With a quick sigh, Snails spoke once again. “I know it’s not my business, but I just have a bad feeling if we leave this be. At least we need to tell the others.”

“And what good will that do?”

“I dunno! But if we don’t communicate, more of us will just die, so I gotta try something, man!” Snails ran off.

...

Communication, huh?

I can’t fault that line of logic.


________________________________________________________________________


9:52 AM, Generosity District - Shady’s Home

Track: Dangan In the Dark

I had to bring Discord’s head back with me to the house as soon as possible.

Setting the stone head on the small table near the kitchen, I turned my camera around and opened the back, revealing the used roll of film in it’s capsule.

I’m not sure how I ran out of film, but I’ll dwell on that later.

Of course, you can’t expect a reporter to come unprepared! This extra roll of film should do the trick!

Taking out the film from my front pocket and placing it into the camera, I pull the tongue of film to the other side so it’ll catch.

Now to close the back and pull the lever... then snap a sample picture to see if it’ll move.

Good. All ready.

Model for me, Discord. I know you would love to screw up my shots.

*CLICK*

Let’s get a shot on the side... now on the back... the front...

That’s one anguished face you have there. Perhaps even the God of Chaos isn’t immune to despair.

I tilt the head over, just to look under the neck area... 

*CLICK*

Huh, this looks quite different.

I put my hoof on the strange, gray-ish underside of the stone head, and sure enough, it feels very strange, like a life-like texture. I even feel a little blood on my hoof as a result from touching it so much.

I should be freaking out. I should be scared.

But I’m not. I don’t feel anything. Yet, deep down, I’m hoping that he’ll just screw with my head or something. Maybe turn this house upside down, maybe spawn another head from this side.

Even if I hope for all of this, I’m not freaking out like a normal pony should.

Am I becoming desensitized to these things? If this is actual flesh and not some model, then...

Our enemy’s more powerful than we thought. Even Shining Armor’s having trouble to the point where he needs reinforcements.

Damn it...

*CLICK*

I’m still gonna need a place to develop this film, but I’ll worry about that later.

Maybe I should gotten myself one of those Magitech cameras. At least then I’d be able to see what my pictures look like.

I’m confident in my skill though, but I just want to see it.

I’ll leave the head here for now, and head off to the Honesty District. What Rumble said earlier back at the Kindness District is still bugging me.


_______________________________________________________


10:30 AM, Honesty District - Ground Zero

Ground Zero.

The name of this location changed ever since the barn was destroyed.

GIVE ME BACK MY MOOOOOOOOOOM!

Taking Dinky Doo with it.

Her screams of hatred directed at me... I can hear them even now. Maybe becoming a bit desensitized wouldn’t be bad if I can actually get some sleep.

My eyes turn to the Fruit Processing Plant nearby, resurfacing another memory.

“You...! THIS IS YOUR FAULT! You wrote that paper! You reporters...! You made me look like a monster! You just wanted revenge on Dinky, right?! You always want revenge!”

Twist’s hatred towards me as well.

......

............

Her haunting screams of agony and anguish drew me to the building.

There wasn’t anything of particular interest here.

But I still went inside, with my hooves taking me straight to the elevator.

With a quick chime, the elevator doors closed, taking me to the next floor.

What did I really do to deserve these accusations? Just why must the truth remain hidden? What good has hiding the truth ever done for anypony?

All the more reason to hunt it down.

Once the elevator doors opened, the first thing I saw was a disheveled Truffle with his back turned, eating a plate of candy very slowly.

Licking each and every morsel slowly, as if to savor the flavor, or to deliberately prolong the duration of each piece’s life.

“Truffle...?”

Track: Anime OST CD1 track 18

Our eyes met in the split second he turned his head around. The bags under his eyes... red as well. Has he been awake this whole time?

“Oh, hey, look who came into your candy shop, Twist! The reporter who’s here to put us out of business!” Truffle’s gaze was full of spite and hatred. His voice wavered, forcing a slight laugh in his words...

“Truffle, listen-”

When I went further into the room, I could see... something white, with a clump of red on top.

Oh, for Celestia’s sake.        

“That’s not-”

“GET OUT! STOP TAKING AWAY OUR HAPPINESS!”

“But-”

“AAAAAAAAAARGH!”

Truffle quickly thrust forward like a bullet, prompting me to roll to the side, dodging his attack. He then takes an empty metal tray into his mouth and heads straight for me again, swinging it left and right a bit.

“You’ll pay... for your transgression!”

“I did what needed to be done! You wouldn’t be alive if I hadn’t figured out that Twist was the culprit!” I said, trying to reason... but obviously that's not helping!

After dropping the tray for a brief moment to speak, he picked it back up and charged once again, to no avail.

Despite his newfound strength powered by hate, this, unfortunately for him, made him very predictable and easy to avoid.

He’s not right in the head at all. He’s completely snapped, and it’s all my fault...?

I’m not gonna sit here and let him kill me!

I turned my eyes to the oven next to me, giving me an idea...

I’ll just let him ram straight into the thing, turn it on and-

ARGH! Again?! Damn, I’m being stupid!

I need to solve this non-violently, but I need to escape first!

Of course, he’d be the one standing between me and the exit... I need to get around him somehow... gotta draw his attention... think, Shady, think!

Don’t stop thinking...!

...

Got it! That... that white thing...  and that steel rack... I’m probably going to paint an even bigger target on my back for this, but I need to bring him back to reality!

“Come on big guy!” I said, standing next to... no. I refuse to acknowledge this as Twist.

Just as I predicted, Truffled launched himself at me, allowing me to sidestep out of the way and rush to the holding rack and tilted it over.

Thankfully, I could still hear him growling in anger, but I also had to make like a frog and get out!

I rushed to the elevator, rapidly pressing the button for the first floor. It wasn’t long until Truffle suddenly started darting his way towards the elevator!

Come on, close faster!

*BAM*

A loud thud rang throughout the elevator walls the moment the doors finished closing.

I slumped against the wall, sighing in relief.

Catching my breath during the elevator’s descent, I shudder at the thought of taking another hit from a stallion that strong. 

I only let him last time because I felt that would make him feel better, but I clearly saw just how wrong I was.

There’s gotta be a way to snap him out of it, and fast.

I made my way out of the processing plant posthaste.

_______________________________________________________________________

10:52 AM, Honesty District - Office Building

Track: DR Anime OST CD2 Track 10

I should’ve went here instead.

The office building stood before me, still in one piece, despite the calamity last night.

That’s good... now I have a reason to check this place out again.

I decide to head for both desks, searching through in hopes of finding something different this time around...

To no avail.

Seriously? Sure, the contents that I saw before were arranged in a way like I had never looked through it before, but still.

Then again, I won’t dismiss these documents. I was hoping for something similar to what I found at the Kindness District, but I’ll take what I can get.

I took the documents from the bottom drawer and laid them all out, flipping through them one by one, carefully scanning for anything important.

Let’s see... 

A supply list with several farming tools and their prices, along with a budget. Farming Class budget, huh? Did Applejack want to teach us the meaning of hard work or something?

Let’s keep looking.

With each flip of paper brushing my forehooves, I silently tell myself, “Meh”, and “not important”.

There’s really nothing useful here.

I head over to the other desk, and as expected, it’s completely empty. 

As much as I’d love to see what’s behind that wooden door at the end of the hall, it remains locked. Despite that, walked up to it anyway, making a quick examination, but still nothing different.

One thing I did notice, is the door knob itself, or rather, the lack of any keyhole.

Hmm... our homes are opened by using our ID bands to interact with our nameplates, so maybe... should I try twisting it again?

I try it again, this time using my left hoof, but nothing happened.

Looking at the door itself, I decide to examine it all around. Why can’t I open such a plain and ordinary looking door?

Wait a minute...

I squinted my eyes a bit, focusing a bit upward to notice just a tiny little hole here in the middle, just a little above my head.

Wait, it can’t be! But if this door operates the same way, then...!


__________________________________________________________________


11:10 AM

Alright, after a brief dash to and from my house, I held in my possession, my nameplate and the nail that kept it in place.

It’d be crazy if this actually worked, but it’s worth a shot.

...

Okay, all set up. Now let’s try this.

A small flicker of light emits from my ID Band, fading away like a star’s twinkle. At that moment, a small, wall-mounted device revealed itself on my right, next to the door knob.

It appears to be a key card reader.

Now we’re getting somewhere. Makes me wonder if Rumble found out about this door already. But still, I have at least one ID card on me. Let’s see...

I take out Fluttershy’s ID card and swipe it through the reader.

*BZZT*

A small red light lit up the moment a small buzz sounded. I tried to twist the knob, but no dice, just as I thought.

Guess this isn’t the right ID card? If I’m right, maybe there might be more of these cards, maybe other hidden readers too, like in the Kindness District or even the Generosity District!

Actually, let’s see...

I removed the nameplate from the door, and just as I thought, the card reader vanished, like a candle light being blown out.

Geez, this is getting ridiculous. I didn’t think the “explore freely” rule means to solve stupid puzzles too.

In any case, I better head out. I have an idea on who might have Applejack’s ID Card if Rumble’s hint is any indication.


____________________________________________________________________


11:15 AM, Honesty District - Crop Field

Track: Beautiful Ruin

As soon as I left the office building and prepared to head back through the orchid, I run into a face I haven’t seen in a while.

“Ginger? Where have you been?” I asked.

“I’ve been... doing some thinking. Reevaluating my previous thoughts on some things.”

“Previous thoughts?” I tilted my head.

“I’d... rather not talk about them right now.” Ginger bitterly smiled.

“Alright, if you say so.”

“What have you been up to though?” She asked.

“Exploring and investigating. I suppose I found some interesting things though.”

“Do tell.” Ginger smiled warmly.

With that, I proceed to tell her about the Kindness District, all that’s happened, and what I found there.

“Is that so? I’ve been thinking about Miss Cheerilee myself, so that’s one thing.” Ginger closed her eyes, referring to our teacher’s request to find her ID. “But it’s sad to hear about the infighting amongst the Crusaders. They’re a crazy little bunch, but they’re pretty much the last hope of friendship actually staying alive in this place if you ask me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Their bond, remember? Sure, they go on adventures and little escapades, but it’s charming to watch them try so hard for a cutie mark.”

“What a strange way to think. You sound like their mom.”

“Oh?” Ginger lifted her eyebrows curiously.

“You speak as if you have a cutie mark when you clearly don’t.” I look at her flank just to make sure I’m right on the money, and surely enough, it’s still blank.

“I see... by the way, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t casually look at my rear. It’s a bit perverted.”

“That wasn’t the intent!” I quickly retorted.

“I was just teasing. Tee hee.” Ginger smiled, “No need to blush so much.”

Dammit, Ginger!

“Ngh, a-anyway...”

“I may not have a cutie mark, but my merit badges are more than enough to take the place of that. I have no need for one when I’ve proven my multiple talents.”

“I guess that makes sense to an extent, but your title is still Super High-School Level Girl Scout.”

“That’s right. One of the many mysteries of our imprisonment, and perhaps an answer sealed within the dog suit... Tee hee, am I metaphorical yet?”

“Yes, Ginger, you totally are.” I said, rolling my eyes.

“Cool!” Didn’t expect her to say that kind of word. “Shall we go? To the Kindness District that is. I’d love to see my former enemies.”

She’s not referring to the Zoo, is she?

“That’s what you see them as?!”

“I think a little time together in the Everfree Forest will make you understand what I mean.”

No, I’d rather not go there. Seriously, I don’t want to! Screaming internally at the thought!

________________________________________________________________________

11:30, Kindness District - Everfree Glade

If Ginger’s seriously gonna head down there, I can’t let her go in alone.

“HALLELUJAH, MILKSHAKES, AND HEART ATTACKS! WOO HOO!”

“What the heck, man?! I’m right here!” Snails complained, covering his ears.

What.

At the entrance of the forest, I can see Pipsqueak checking behind every tree with glee, then ran up to us.

“Guys, Snails told me things! Glorious things!”

“Hey, the cutie mark crusaders tearing apart isn’t what I’d call-”

“I’m not referring to that, ya know!” Pip grabbed Snails while pointing at the entire glade. “Look at this! This place is perfect for a Test of Courage!”

“Test of Courage?”

“So you don’t know, huh Shady? Listen, and listen well! If there’s one thing I’ve learned since I’ve had to deal with huge life-changing events, is that a good scare is enough to forget all your problems! It’s like something that forces you to focus on something else, ya know! Way better than getting drunk on some hard cider, ya know!”

“I still don’t follow.” I said, feeling uneasy about this whole thing.

“I get it! If we scare them together, they’ll forget that they were even enemies!”

“Former enemies forced to fight a greater foe... sounds like something commonly found in comic books.” Ginger said, covering her mouth.

“Oh please, ain’t no heroes or whatever. Too idealistic and no sense of danger, ya know?”

“You’ve never read a comic book before.” Ginger said in a slightly irritated tone.

“I have. Ever heard of the whole Power Ponies series? Sometimes our heroes will be in trouble, only for some careless mistake on the villain’s plan, blah blah blah. I mean, it’s predictable. That’s why Horror’s the better thing, ya know.”

“Even so, criminals are punished, as always. It’s better to let things run their course, after all.” Ginger retorted.

“And where’s the fun in that? Used to talk to Dinky ‘bout the same stuff, ya know. Daring Do’s more of the self-sufficient mare, but still. I say put her in a horror situation and you never know what’ll happen. It’s refreshing to overcome the near-death experiences without some crazy amount of luck involved.”

How did an argument about Horror vs heroics break out again?

“Our current situation is as you described.” Ginger smiled, tipping the flowers a little bit with her forehoof.

“Nope. Just living a life where somepony gets axed by sellin’ us out. Stupidity at it’s finest, ya know?” Pipsqueak said smiled bitterly.

“That’s the way the horror genre is though.” I chimed in, with my little experience with it.

“....................” Pip closed his eyes, heaving a deep sigh.

“Pip?” I tilted my head, confused at his sudden silence and sudden look of disdain directed towards me.

“Hmm... maybe I shouldn’t set up this event then.” Pip said under his breath, forming a scowl.

“No, no, the test is a good idea! We just separate into groups of six and go from there!” Snails waved his hoof.

“That’s not what I had in mind though.” Pipsqueak sighed, walking around a few trees. “I was gonna head to the Rarity shop, grab a couple of clothes and stitch together a scary costume to wear so I can chase everypony around, scaring them and whatnot, like this!” Pip made some quick scaring gestures, sneaking up behind us too, “Grr, Boo, or Arr! Something like that, ya know?”

“So we’re gonna be chased by Princess Monster-Wife?” Snails lowered his eyelids.

“I don’t even know who that is, but last I checked, I’m not into crossdressing, ya know.” Pip said, somewhat confused.

“Not what I meant!” Snails yelled.

“In any case, If I do this, then everypony who participates is gonna have to promise me that they won’t be stupid, ya know.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Snails asked.

“You really are stupid if I actually have to explain it, ya know. Try being a little savvy for once.” Pip wore this slightly deadpan expression, as if to say that he honestly has no faith in us as we are.

...

“I gotcha. I promise I won’t try killing anypony.” I said, raising my hoof as if I were making a pledge.

“OH! M-me too!” Snails followed my example.

“I too, promise to not murder anypony.” Ginger bowed. Unnecessary, but I guess she just wanted to promise in her own way.

“Good! Ya know, why don’t I promise it too! I gotta stay alive long enough to break the bad news to Dinky’s mom after all.” Pip said happily, but winced as he got out that last bit.

I see. This ordeal’s been affecting him as well. He’d always divert the topic to something scary whenever he had the chance, but now I see why he does that.

“Now we just need to get everypony in on this! I totally have a way to work this, ya know!” Pip’s lips curved, making a cat-like smirk. “I just need to find out what kind of creatures everypony’s scared of! I ain’t gotta worry with Gracie ya know! All I gotta do is get Miss Cheerilee’s help and-”

*BAM*

Pip’s enthusiasm was cut short the moment his face slid through the dirt thanks to a flying trash can.

I figured she wouldn’t like that.

“Why the hell would you even try that, you little shit?!” Grace chided, marching to the downed stallion.

“Because it’s fun?” Pip happily answered despite lying face down.

“Fun?! Ya ever stopped to wonder why the hell people fear those things?!” Grace lifted Pip off the ground, continuing her chiding.

“Wait, I coulda sworn Rarity already dealt with the Diamond Dogs, Gracie uuuaaaa~aah!”

Grace shook Pip back and forth, “That ain’t the point, and stop callin’ me that!” 

“Buu~ut ya give everypony nicknames~ too~aughbububu...”

“THATS ME! I do what I want, dammit! I ain’t participatin’ in some damn brave test thing! Why do I gotta!? What’s it about! Tell me dammit!”

I don’t think she even sees that he’s slowly losing consciousness.

“Err, Grace? I can explain. just put him down for a second. He’s kinda foaming at the mouth.” Snails stepped forward, putting a hoof on Grace’s back, earning a glare.

“Good! You’re taking his place if I don’t like what you say!” Grace complained.

“Well...”

Now it was Grace’s turn to hear what happened between the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

...............

“Hmm... so the Dashie Fangirl’s gotten her panties in a bunch, and the little Musical Number’s not takin’ it well eh?” Grace asked, referring to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle respectively.

“Y-yeah! That’s right!” Snails nervously agreed, perhaps hoping that he won’t get shaken the way she did Pipsqueak.

“Hmm... Those two are easy to deal with. From what you said, the weirdest ones are definitely the Country Girl and the Rich Bitch.”

“Yes, but I hear that she plans to put an end to the fighting.” Ginger said.

“Pfft, ‘end the fighting’ my ass. I say we deal with Dashie Fangirl first. I autta piss her off, just to see what’ll happen!”

“In case you haven’t noticed, she’s still Dark Scootaloo right now, ya know!” Pip warned.

“Dark Scootaloo?” I asked.

“I decided to give her that name! Like it’s some sort of cra~zy alter ego! Besides, she gives off some crazy blood-thirsty vibes, ya know!”

“I suppose it’s safe to assume that she’s committed some serious crimes in the past, right?” Ginger followed up.

“That doesn’t matter right now, does it?” Snails asked.

“Ya know, I’d like to think it does. She’s been staring daggers at Diamond Tiara, ya know! Fighting her might not end well for any of us!” Pip said.

“What, you sayin’ I can’t kick her little flank in? I’ve been wantin’ to have a go at that crazy mare since that damn trial last night!” Grace stuck out her forehoof, striking the air.

“Now, now, we should focus on gathering everypony for this event.” Ginger smiled.

“I guess. Just make sure they agree to the rule to not take advantage of the test to do something stupid. If they can’t agree, then I say they need to stay out of it. I’m not playing suspect Pip, ya know. And by the way Shady,” Pip suddenly grinned, “Ya know, I wanna apologize for roughing ya up a bit after that last crime scene, accusing ya and stuff, but I still don’t trust ya, ya know!”

I’m not sure how I feel about that.

“Got it. I’ll see what I can do to help!” Snails said.

“Grrr, this is still some stupid shit. But I won’t kill. Promise.” Grace reluctantly agreed.

Normally, I wouldn’t buy that when you run a team called “The Genociders”.

“Fantastic! So I’ll be at the Rarity shop if you need me, ya know!” Pipsqueak started to walk away.

“Mind if I come with you, Pipsqueak? I’d like to help if possible.” Ginger asked.

“Uh, sure I guess?” Pip nervously answered.

“Good. Shall we be on our way?”

Ginger led Pip along, headed to the Generosity District.

“We better do the same. We ain’t gonna be kumbaya or whatever, but it’s better than nothin’.”

“That’s true.” I said, making my way through the glade.

“Shady, where you going? I thought we were gonna find everypony for-”

“I promised not to kill, I didn’t promise to help. Besides, I’m not invited.” I bluntly answered.

“Oh come on, don’t be like that! Pip’s probably a little shaken up since that last trial!” Snails pleaded.

“Yeah, and he has every right to be. I gave into despair once already and everypony knows that. You guys are free to have fun, but I’m gonna continue to hunt for the truth.”

“W-wait up, Shady!”
________________________________________________________________

12:03, Kindness District - Aquarium Zoo Asylum

Track: Beautiful Dead

The moment I opened the doors, my attention is already fixed on the elevators behind the reception desk.

I think I’ll take the right one first, just to see if they both go up and down, or what.

“Hang on, that one might lead to... well, that Chimera!”

“Wait, a chimera? You’re kidding!” Grace looked to Snails like he lost his mind.

“Why’d you come along? All I’m doing is investigating.” I turned my attention to Grace. Why the heck did she come along anyway?

“I’m bored. Got a problem?” Grace asked, with a slight glare.

“Naaaah~, none at all. Nope.” I said nervously.

“Good! Punch that button, Blue Snooper!”

“Right...”

The elevator doors opened, and the three of us step inside.

I guess any elevator’s better than that one.

Once the doors closed, I was prompted to check the panel to my right.

“Second floor, huh?” I muttered as I pressed my hoof against the arrow, beginning my ascent.

As the elevator slowly went up, I heard a bit of violin music playing inside, soothing my ears a bit.

Not the kind of elevator music I’m used to.

“Huh, this tune sounds like that one piece Octavia made!” Snails muttered.

“Who the hell’s Octavia?” Grace asked.

“Famous, talented, classical musician? How do you not know?!”

“Because I prefer to jam to DJ PON3’s beats! You need a better taste in music!”

“Wait, you seriously like dubstep?” Snails asked.

The elevator doors opened the moment that question was asked.

“Damn, that ain’t all she makes! Me n’ my crew just all jam to her beats while we roll to victory!” Grace argued while casually rolling on her skates, keeping up with Snails.

While the two of them go at it, I notice that we’ve arrived to what appears to be a rounded corridor, with a series of pink, tinted glass windows in front of us, giving a full view of the Glade, the flower field, and even that colossal tower.

I wonder.

...

Nope. Looks like the next district is blurred by the dense mist in the distance. 

Guess I’ll head down these halls and see what I can find.

“So, your famous Roller Derby team wins by jamming to dubstep?” Snails asked.

And the banter continues to follow me.

Are they really doing this?

“Bugsy, I already told ya it ain’t dubstep!” Grace retorted.

“Sooooo, techno? Pop?”

“Well, not really, it’s more like-”

“Dubstep?” Snails smirked.

“Okay, it’s kinda Techno, kinda not! It’s more electronica or Industrial, or something!”

“But that’s dubstep. I think.” Snails retorted, snorting at the same time.

I’m surprised she hasn’t threatened to tear him limb from limb yet.

“Argh! Dammit all! Hey Blue Snooper, tell this guy that DJ-PON3’s music ain’t always dubstep!”

“No, she’s listening to dubstep! Shady you heard her music, right?” Snails suddenly whispered to me, “Tell her that she’s hearing dubstep!”

“I’d like to think the genre is called ‘I don’t care.’” I sighed.

“Come’ere you!” Grace wrapped her forearms around my neck, giving me a completely, unnecessary noogie. On reflex, I started tapping her arms and face.

“T-take it easy you guys!” Snails said, walking up to the brutish mare, but, “Aaaah!”

Welcome to the club.

“Ack! I give! I was just messing with ya! I don’t dislike dubstep!” Snails pleaded.

“It ain’t dubstep!” Grace retorted, 

Dammit, don’t you know tapping out means?!

I wanted to shout that, but our struggle led us to tumble through a half-open door.

With an upside-down view, the first thing I laid eyes on was an open window letting in that oddly cool breeze.

“Damn it, that stupid bear left the AC on! Where’s the switch?!” Grace released us from her grasp, glancing at the room’s white walls.

Flipping over and getting back on my hooves, I could see a white, metallic-looking nightstand at the corner of my eye with a single plain lamp on top. Next to that, was a bed positioned at the corner of the wall with bright white sheets, but a bit wrinkled.

But that pillow...

Track: Despair-Syndrome

“Ah! B-blood!? In here!? Did somepony-”

Pressing my hoof against the slightly blood-stained pillow, it felt a bit rough, with bits of it getting on it.

“This blood’s dry already. I don’t think this is a crime scene.” I said to myself while cleaning the particles off my hoof.

“Heh, betcha that blood was recent! The air’s so cold in here, I wouldn’t be surprised if it dried quickly!” Grace surmised.

“I don’t think that’s how it works. Besides, there hasn’t been a motive to kill.” Truth be told, I wouldn’t know, but I’ll go with my gut on this one.

“I ain’t buyin’ that last part if what you guys told me still held a bit of water.” Grace sighed.

“Hey Shady, look at this!” Snails said, beckoning me over to the nightstand, or rather, what’s under it.

Huh. Looks like a notepad.

“Oh, hang on a sec!” Snails’s horn lit up, levitating the notepad from underneath, placing it on top of the night stand.

Why would there be a notepad here?

Let’s flip the pages a bit...

What!?



I’ve been exposed... I’ve been shamed for the last time... I can’t do this anymore. I just want to die. I should’ve died back then...

Why... why did she have to save me...? I’m so sorry, Truffle... 

You gave me courage, and I used it to kill... I...

Just... forgive me at least. 

They’re gonna find out what I’ve done... but I just wish to be forgiven. 

I... never should have never done that to Dinky... she was just curious... that’s all!

But when-



“This room... you think this is where Twist had been when she got taken in for treatment?” I asked.

“Yeah,  nopony deserved any of this.” Snails scowled.

Hearing some slight sobbing, I turned my attention to Grace, whom I saw bawling her eyes out.

She widened her eyes for a split second, swiftly wiping the tears off. “W-what?! I... I ain’t cryin’ dammit! This is, err, there’s an onion in here! And I’m mentally cutting it to tune y out, that’s all!”

“Grace, you...” Snails put a hoof to his face, sighing at how absurd her excuse was. I was a little surprised that he beat me to it.

“I’m tellin’ the truth dammit!” Grace protested, despite the obvious tears.

“Says the mare who Dubsteps. Nothing wrong with that.” Snails stuck his tongue out playfully, then instinctively galloped away from an embarrassed rollerblader. 

“Get over here!”

“I know somepony who’ll want to see this.” I grabbed the notepad Snails dropped after Grace pulled him in for another headlock.

If this won’t calm Truffle down, I don’t know what will. This letter may end up putting him in deeper despair, but if it’ll end his rage, then so be it.

I’ll sneak out of here and head back to the Honesty District.


_______________________________________________________________________


1:23 PM, Honesty District - Fruit Processing Plant

 Track: DR Anime OST CD1-17

Okay, hopefully Truffle’s still here.

Just press the button, call the elevator down, go in, and head up.

This’ll be done quickly.

As long as I don’t have a broken bone by the end, this’ll go smoothly.

...

The doors are opening...

Not long before they finish opening, I felt my whole body drawn in by my collar like a strong magnet picking up a simple paperclip.

It wasn’t long before I was thrown to the other side, with my back slamming against a table corner.

‘Ouch’ would be an understatement.

With a quick swing, i felt that same pressure from his hoof, just like last night’s trial.

Before he could take another swing, I swiftly dodged by crawling under him, while reaching for the note in my pocket.

Truthfully, all I could do was crawl, since right now, it feels as if my spine has a voice of it’s own, voicing it’s complaints clearly through the massive pain I feel.

I put the note in his face, hoping he’d read it.

*BAM!*

Ugh... so much for that. This is getting ridiculous.

“You... you’re gonna... use the strength you gave Twist... for this...?!” I coughed out, as Truffle pressed his hooves onto my chest, applying pressure each second.

“SHUT UP! BE QUIET! THIS IS FOR HER!”

“I... I HAD NO CHOICE! WE’D ALL BE DEAD IF I DIDN’T DO IT!” I choked out, trying to talk some sense.

“I DON’T CARE!”

“Open your eyes! Don’t do this! Don’t let Twist’s sacrifice be in vain! Don’t you wanna know the truth!?”

“I DON’T CARE!”

“Yes you do! Stop lying to yourself! You know Twist wouldn’t want this!”

“Then... why...  why did she have to die!? Why?!” Truffle cried out.

With each tear that hit my face, the pressure he applied started to thin out bit-by-bit.

Least I can breathe now. I couldn’t let him kill me here.

“That letter you smacked out of my hoof... read it.”

“Huh?”

“Just read it. It’s better if you learn from her than me.” I muttered, clenching my teeth.

I’m really not used to being in so much pain.

But I have to keep moving. I have to deal with it.

After a few seconds, he finally lifted his hooves off of me, walking towards the note I had dropped.

He sat down, silently for several seconds as I caught my breath and shook off this pain as much as I could.

Honestly, it felt like he’d be sitting there for several minutes.

The note isn’t even that long. Is he just re-reading it?

“I’m sorry...”

“Huh?” I asked, more surprised than confused.

Suddenly, he wrapped his forearms around me, trying to crush my lungs again!

Wait a minute, he’s not mad?

Track: Desire for Execution

“I’m so sorry!” Truffle cried.

“I-it’s okay... now if you could maybe ease up a bit, that’d be great...!”

Because surely you know that I actually like to breathe, right?

“Miss Cheerilee never taught us this... this madness! Is this what we really are!? What’s happening to us?! I don’t wanna go crazy anymore! I’m scared!”

Truffle’s trembling reached my core quite easily. I can’t stay mad at him when he’s like this.

“I don’t know. But if we find the truth, then I think we’ll know. That’s more than enough motivation to stay alive, I think.” I answered.

Truffle set me down, looking to the ground, letting the teardrops tap the floor. “I... didn’t think I gave Twist any form of strength.”

“What do you mean?”

“I... all I ever did was just study my butt off and make sure to get the best grades, surpassing everypony through diligence to the tasks I’m given. My parents are strict and wanted the best for me, so, I did just that. I didn’t really care about being called fat and stuff.”

“So you had a focus. Least you went about it better though.” I commented, letting a few certain thoughts of the past briefly pass through my head.

“Even as a colt, I studied a lot, and made lots of good grades. When I made good grades the first time, Miss Cheerilee praised me for my effort. That was when I learned that feeling of hard work actually paying off.”

“And through that you became confident, right?”

“Yes. I... I didn’t care about anything else, but when Twist one day asked me out, I was nervous at first, baffled even. I didn’t know what she liked about me, and I was too scared to actually ask because I thought the chance would never come around again. So I accepted. I thought having a marefriend would be nice. Plus I thought she was kinda cute...” Truffle blushed.

“Youth at it’s finest, huh?”

Thanks a lot. Smirking actually hurts now.

“What are you, an old goat?”

Really?

“Anyway, if I gave her strength, maybe she used what she saw in me to ask me out. She wanted to be confident I guess. Maybe she thought we could be strong together, but I didn’t know that. And I let her down. I let her use that strength for murder.”

My chest tightened. I couldn’t help but feel horrible for the poor guy. I feel worse for reaching the truth behind Dinky’s murder, sending Twist to her execution.

But...!

“All the more reason to find the truth!”

“Huh?!”

“I apologize for getting Twist killed, but it had to be done. I didn’t want to die before knowing the truth. You want to know it too, right? Can you honestly say you’d be okay with dying without knowing anything?”

“I don’t know! But Twist didn’t deserve to die!”

“Nopony deserved it, but here we are! We’re alive! We can still reach the truth as long as we’re alive! Don’t you want to know who set this sick game up?! Don’t you want to take your anger out on the mastermind?!”

“Yeah, now that you mention it, the mastermind behind this whole game... Twist would be alive if this game had never started. What did we ever do to deserve this?”

“Right! I refuse to die until I learn the truth! Whoever the mastermind is... I think my revenge would be more justified against them instead.”

“Wha- You still want revenge?!”

“When Snips died, I felt empty. I... can’t really put that emptiness into words. But I feel that I need to know the truth.”

“I’m not sure I quite like your reasons. I have a bad feeling about them, but I’ll help you anyway. I want to know the truth too!”

“Goo- err, hang on, what do you mean you don’t like my reasons? Why are you helping me then?”

Track: Beautiful Days

“Because we’re friends! Or... err, so I’d like to think.”

...

Seriously?

“Sure, I guess? I mean, I can’t say I’ve had friends other than Featherweight... just acquaintances and all and, err...”

“Oh, come on, Shady! No need to feel embarrassed!”

“I’m not embarrassed! I’m just surprised you’d even consider me of all ponies a friend!”

After nearly killing me three times already.

Can’t say I hate the thought though.

“Anyway, let’s get outta here. I need a shower.”

“Aside from that, a lot’s happened during your little ‘phase’.”

With his desire to know, I decided to give him the news as we made our way back to the housing area.


_________________________________________________________________________


2:02 PM, Generosity District - Housing Area

“I see. OH! Speaking of Apple Bloom, I just remembered something!” Truffle gasped, twitching his ears.

“What’s that?”

“I saw her going into that office building-like place last night!” Truffle pointed to the Honesty District excitedly.

“Wait, what?!”

“I just remembered as soon as you mentioned her name!”

“She went in, then quickly left, paced around the entrance, then walked away. It’s like she was fidgeting about something, but I don’t know what.”

“Hmm, I see. I have an idea then in case I can’t find her today.”

“Oh, I wish I knew where she was right now. Why are you looking for her?”

“No reason.” I didn’t feel like making up an excuse. Being honest would be fair, but part of me still didn’t like getting beaten down.

“Wait a minute, are you gonna ask her hand for, THE DATE?!” Truffle gasped, genuinely shocked at the possibility.

“NO! It’s not like that! She just has something important!” I retorted, wondering where he even got that idea from.

“Like your heart! Hmm, hmm. I see... I’d like to think I’m an agent of love or something, so I think I can help-”

“Stop right there! First of all, you asked for my help when dealing with Twist, and second, you’re misunderstanding something here!”

“Oh? Then what is the important thing?”

“A clue that may lead to the truth about this whole game! Maybe!” I looked away the moment I let out that last word.

I do need that ID card.

“So it’s on a whim?”

“Not really. If anything, it’s something Rumble said to me this morning that got me to seek her out.”

“Wait, you’re going by Rumble’s words? Hasn’t that guy caused enough damage already!?”

“I know, but he’s... he’s helped me on more than one occasion. He’s cryptic, but whenever he leaves a clue, I tend to make some kind of discovery or come to a realization, I don’t know!”

“Hmm. you don’t like him instead, right? Not that I’m against Coltcuddling, but-”

“Again, you’re misunderstanding!” I corrected, then put a hoof to my head, sighing, “Just take your shower already.”

I don’t know what compelled me to try to shove the big guy into his home, but I’m regretting it a little. Maybe if I was strong as Featherweight’s brother, then I’d be able to make him budge a bit.

“Well yes, but-” Truffle tried to protest, but nope. Not having any of it.

“And get some sleep too! You’ve been up all night!” I advised. In fact, I’d prioritize a good sleep over anything else if I had to.

“Sure, I guess?”

Truffle went into his home finally. *phew*

I think I need to start working out.

Alright, let’s head back to the Honesty District, and... oh.

“Looking fer me?” Apple Bloom asked, with a smile plastered on her face, like she was wearing a plastic mask.

“Were you listening in?”

“Of course! Ya’ll talked about the end of the Cutie Mark Crusaders!”

Track: Beautiful Ruin

...

“I need to ask some questions.” I said, changing the subject. I have a feeling that if I went on about the crusaders, it wouldn’t end very well.

“Oh?”

“Do you have Applejack’s ID Card?”

“...” Apple Bloom went silent, with that smile of hers still there, unwavering. I can’t tell if she’s forcing it or if she’s just smiling just for the sake of it.

“What gave ya that idea?”

“Rumble said something strange earlier this morning, like how he put a certain thing ‘back where it belong’”. I thought he put it back in that office building, but I think if I follow a certain line of logic, her ID card would be in the hooves of her sister.”

I always wondered about Apple Bloom’s hat that she wears tied behind her neck. That hat always looked a little familiar, fluttering a bit thanks to the abnormally cool breeze.

“Ah’ see! So that’s how ya think! That there’s a nice way of thinkin’. But lemmie question ya before Ah’ answer yer question.”

“Huh?”

“Ah’ implore ya to answer these questions.”

When Apple Bloom said that, with emphasis on the word ‘implore’, I felt a shiver down my spine when I looked into her dead eyes. That’s not how you beg somepony to do anything.

She’s seriously making my tail twitch, almost like I’m emulating Pinkie Pie senses.

Track: Despair Syndrome

“Ask away...” I sighed, trying to calm my nerves.

“If a friend were to help a friend, that ends in death, who’s really at fault?”

“Huh?”

“Ah’ implore you to answer.”

“W-well... that depends on the circumstances behind the death. I can’t answer a question like that without details.”

“Ah’ guess Ah’ autta drop them curtains, huh? Ah’ meant the last case.”

Oh, well that makes this easier then!

“Twist made her decision, and she took responsibility in the end.” Answering honestly.

“Oh! That’s what Ah’ thought too! Twist made her mind up! She had that free will! She ain’t have to use’er talent either! Her precious, super special talent didn’t get used for murder.”

“Where are you going with this-”

“NEXT QUESTION!” Apple Bloom shouted, “Let’s see here; Who here do ya think Sweetie Belle hates right now? Me, for agreein’ to help Twist out without prior murder knowledge, or Scootaloo, for striking her own friends?”

“I can’t speak for Sweetie Belle. I’d have to ask her.” I bluntly answered.

I honestly can’t help her if I don’t know how Sweetie Belle thinks.

“That’s right, ya don’t know nothin’ ‘bout mah friends, huh? Well, talk to’er fer me, and I’ll see to it that yer questions get answered! Ah’ll be at the usual spot if ya need me!”

Apple Bloom galloped away suddenly, leaving me with another task.

‘Talk to Sweetie Belle’.

Telling Apple Bloom to do that herself might not end well for me.

Is Sweetie Belle even in the mood to talk at all?

*Sigh*, I really have to do this, huh?
> Ch.3 (Ab)normal Days Part 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Day 7, 6:59 AM, Generosity District - Shady’s Home

Why do I need to talk to Sweetie Belle anyway? Their infighting isn’t my business. I just wanna find the truth.

I would’ve talked to her yesterday, but I’m certain I wouldn’t have gotten very far. After that catastrophe yesterday, I figure that she would need some time for herself.

I let out a deep sigh, hearing those blaring horns in the distance, meant to wake us up.

With a quick sigh, I hang my head in shame, reminded that I keep forgetting to block off my door.

...I’ll deal with that later.

7:00 AM, Generosity District - Housing Area

I paced around the Generosity District center, grumbling to myself, but stopped midway.

I suddenly felt like a little foal having a fit over having to clean up their room, making me feel pretty stupid and petty.

Really, I should just pony up and deal with it. What do I have to lose? I need to hunt her down anyway.

Besides, where would she be?

I know Diamond Tiara chased after her, but that’s not much to go on.

...

Maybe... she could be at that place.

Honestly, I haven’t come back to that place since Featherweight died.

I have a plan so I don’t relive that.


_________________________________________________________________________


7.06 AM, Generosity District - Rarity Shop

        “Sweetie Belle, we need to talk!”

        I burst into the shop, with my eyes shut and making my demand, hoping she’d respond, or something.

        Instead, I get a Ginger poking her head from behind the curtains, giving me a slight look of disdain.

        “What are you doing, and why are you standing like a crazy pony preparing to shoot up an Apploosa bar?”

        Wait, is THAT what I’m doing?!

        I immediately fall back on my forehooves, clearing my throat.

        I just wanted to get out of here quickly.

        “Oh. Err, I’m just looking for Sweetie Belle.”

        “Hmm... right.” Ginger giggled. “If you need her, then...”

        Pointing her hoof at the cashier’s desk to my right, followed by Miss Cheerilee walking around, I slowly approached it, getting a good look underneath.

        Ah, there she is.

        Sweetie Belle looks over my shoulder, scowling at the girl scout, who simply stuck her tongue out in a “sorry!” manner.

        With a disgruntled sigh, Sweetie Belle stands on her hooves and slowly walks past me.

        “Wait, Sweetie Belle!”

        “I don’t wanna talk to you.”

        “And why not? If you think I’m just here to lecture you, then you’re wrong.”

        “I... I’m just... so tired. And I have Doggy Duty this morning.” Sweetie Belle complained. 

        She looked so... melancholic saying that. We’re witnessing her world falling apart.

        “So... what are those two doing behind that curtain?” I said, changing the subject.

        “She’s just helping Pipsqueak make some weird costume... I don’t get it.” Sweetie Belle sighed.

        “Right... Listen, let’s head outside. Maybe if we hung out a bit, you’ll cheer up a little.”

        “Hang out? I’m surprised you even want to. Whenever we talk, it feels like you’re interviewing me instead.”

        “T-that... that’s just how I talk!”

        “Hee hee~” She giggled with a slight grin. “Sure. I’ll ‘talk’.” Sweetie Belle emphasized that last bit.

        “You really don’t think I can talk normally, huh?”

        “I don’t know~” Sweetie Belle said in a slight singing tone.

        Miss Cheerilee of course, pats me on the shoulder, gesturing me to just go with the flow for now.

At the very least, I have the right idea. 

        “Alright, let’s just head outside. Actions speak louder than words.” I pointed at the exit.

        “We’re still using words in the end.” Sweetie Belle pointed out.

        “...”

        She’s got me there.

        “L-let’s just...”

        “Let’s.”

        Sweetie Belle and I left the shop, and sat outside, just in front of the entrance.

        I did want to divert her attention to the situation at hand, so I’ll start with a topic she can maybe relate to.

        “So, what was it like for you when you found out that your sister became a hero?” I asked, to which she went silent for a moment, giving me this ‘I knew it’ smirk.

        “J-just answer the question...” I nervously said.

        “Became a... oh, you mean one of the Elements of Harmony?”

        “Right. Her and her friends fight the bad guys with their power and to keep Equestria safe. So how do you feel living with a hero?”

        “Things are still the same I guess? Sure, she’d have to leave to do something important every now and again, but it’s nothing special... until she got even more responsibilities since giving up the elements...”

        That last part... ‘giving up the elements’.

        I recall the day when Equestria was infested with some dark roots, spawned from ‘plunderseeds’ that Discord planted over a thousand years ago. The six heroic mares had to return the Elements of Harmony in order to bring Equestria back to normal.

        Since then, they’ve used this new ability called ‘Rainbow Power’ to defeat the new major threat to this country.

        Honestly, that’s all I know. I don’t know how the new powers work, or why the elements returning to the Tree of Harmony actually solved the problem with the seeds.

        “That’s when she and her friends became part of some magic counsel if I recall correctly.”

        “Yeah... she’s been away a lot more nowadays. We barely spend any time together as siblings. Sure, I love hanging with my friends as the next pony, but just once would I’d like to spend time with my sister. Even Apple Bloom and Scootaloo have this problem with Applejack and Rainbow Dash respectively!” Sweetie Belle’s tone slightly rose with her frustration.

        “But they’re heroes. Can’t expect them to be around all the time.” I calmly replied.

        “I know, but this isn’t some comic book like Power Ponies!”

        “Right.” I agreed, but quickly followed up, calming any potential hostility (or maybe I’m a little paranoid again,) “Have you ever tried going into their new castle?”

        “No, I’d always have to study or do homework, but when I can, I’m usually off trying to find my cutie mark or something.”

        “Ah...” I sighed.

        She has it difficult... maybe she’s been feeling distant from her family, huh?

        “What about your parents? Haven’t they been around at least?”

        “Not really. They have some pretty high end jobs that require their presence very often.”

        “I see... and even if they were around, it’d be just you and them, with no sister in sight.”

        “That’s right!”

        “I’m not sure what else to say then.”

        “Then tell me what your family’s like?” Sweetie Belle asked.

        “Hahahahahahaha... oh wait, you’re serious.”

        “What’s with that deadpan robotic laughter!? You’re being weird again!”

        Again? When have I ever been weird?

        “Look, the concept of family isn’t something you should ask somepony like me.” I said, hoping she’d drop the subject.

        “Why not?”

        “All I know is stuff I’ve heard about other families. I can’t tell you about mine.”

        “Are you a mob boss?”

        “Farthest thing from. I grew up in an orphanage of my choice.”

        “You mean... oh i’m so sorry- wait how does that work!?” Sweetie Belle hysterically asked.

        “Eh... strings pulled, yada yada, something-something higher ups. I really don’t feel like going into the details of my past before becoming part of Miss Cheerilee’s class. But I can tell you that Featherweight and his folks saved me from myself.”

        “Huh?”

        “Let’s just say, he hit the brakes on a endlessly moving train.”

        “I’m so confused... and it’s no fair! I tell you all these things about my family but you don’t wanna tell me anything about you!”

        “Because I’m not in the mood. Look, next time we talk, I’ll try to tell you some things, okay?”

        “Fine...” Sweetie Belle let out a dejected sigh.

        She does have a point though... I am being a bit unfair. Maybe she decided to ask because she tried to break the interview dynamic I tend to establish unconsciously.

        I stood on my hooves, dusted myself off and started to walk off, but I just couldn’t take another step.

        I slowly turned my head to Sweetie Belle, “Hey, are you okay?”

        “Ah-” She let out a light gasp. I wasn’t sure if the surprise was at my pinpoint guess or the fact that I even asked.

        “Well?”

        “No... My friends... the crusaders.... I’ve lost my friends.”

        “Yeah, that’s what Monobear said. You’re not gonna prove him right, are you?”

        “But how?! How am I supposed to calm down Scootaloo and Apple Bloom?! How can I when they’re at each other’s throats!?”

        “Well, things did get worse when Scootaloo accidentally hit you, but I’m sure you know she didn’t mean it.”

        “I don’t know... She’s been weird since that trial. I’m beginning to wonder what made her turn her hatred towards everypony. She’s just full of hate...”

        “I see. But if I were you, I’d at least try to prove that damn teddy bear wrong.”

        “I... I want to get my friends back...” Sweetie Belle muttered, trembling as she held her right forearm.

        “Then just impress’em with a kill!”

        Oh great...

        Monobear popped out of the coffee shop, with a cup in his paw, taking a sip. Sweetie Belle of course, backs away and runs behind me.

        “Whoo! Nothing like a spot of tea while listening to your despair!” Monobear took another sip, ignoring the liquid running down his mouth.

        “What now?” I asked irritably.

        “I thought I’d offer my royally awesome kingly advice! Haven’t you ever thought that murdering the source of conflict can easily make you rest easy? It’s just like a movie! The antagonist dies and everyone lives happily ever after!” Monobear held out a random DVD cover to an action movie. 

        “I-I’m not gonna kill anypony!” Sweetie Belle choked out.

        “Oh, boo. You used to be bullied all the time, so why be afraid to strike? Sometimes you need to put down the rabid dog before it infects the family!”

        Thankfully, Miss Cheerilee wasn’t around to hear that...

        “I said I won’t kill anypony!” Sweetie reasserted.

        “You heard her. Or are you gonna keep dragging this on?” I asked.

        “Nah, I got better things to do! Like figure out the next motive to give you bastards! Who knows!”

        “Then what the heck are you here for?” I stomped the ground in frustration.

        “Wondering if you’d leak a secret! Say something that I don’t know! There are unknown unknowns after all! You’re hiding something aren’t you? If I were you Sweetie Belle, I wouldn’t trust this blue reporter here!”

        “What are you getting at?” I asked.

        “Telling her that you’re not to be trusted... maybe have her think you’re working for me...” Monobear... what's his game?

        “That plan won’t work if you just say it outright like that...” I sighed, knowing that he's just messing around.

        “You say that, but I’m not lying when I say you’re hiding a secret.” Monobear giggled.

        It can’t be... he can’t already know.

        “What’s that supposed to mean?!”

        “That’s for you to know and for me to find out! Sneaky little bastards...whelp! Back to pest control!” 

And there he goes...

        Pest control... damn it...

        “Shady, what does he mean?” Sweetie Belle nervously asked.

        “He’s just trying to get to us again.” I played it off. I can’t talk about it yet...

        “R-right...” Sweetie Belle backed away. “It was nice talking to you I guess, but I gotta get going. I’m still not ready to deal with Apple Bloom nor Scootaloo yet.”

        “Gotcha.”

        I watched her take Miss Cheerilee out of the Generosity District, with our teacher giving me a look of concern.

        Letting out another sigh, I tell myself to go find Apple Bloom since I fulfilled the request.

        All I can do is hope that this gets me one step closer to the truth.

___________________________________________________________________

8:30 AM, Honesty District

        Pretty sure Apple Bloom might be here somewhere...

        Normally she’d be here at the statue of her sister, but not this time. I put a hoof to my chin, thinking of possible places where she may have gone.

        Oh, didn’t Truffle say something about her?

        “I just remembered as soon as you mentioned her name! She went in, then quickly left, paced around the entrance, then walked away. It’s like she was fidgeting about something, but I don’t know what.”

        That office building... Maybe? It’s definitely a possibility.

        I briskly head through the path, gunning for that office building.

        She has to be there. If so, then that could mean she knows more than she’s letting on.

Honesty District - Office Building

        The second I arrive and barge in, I caught the scent of some sort of... gel? On top of that, it’s abnormally cold in here!

        Is it the AC?

        Oh. The door is open, and the card reader that appeared yesterday has a green blinking light unlike yesterday.

        I approached the door and moved it slightly, noticing Apple Bloom’s nameplate tacked to it.

        As for what’s inside... I’m not sure how to describe this darkness. But there is a strange scent coming from here, as well as that cool breeze.

        There does seem to be some sort of dim light around the entrance, but I can’t see any further in.

        Yet it compels me further to go. Something’s telling me to turn back now, but my desire to know the truth is more overpowered than I thought.

        Here goes...

        ..........

        ......

        ...

        Huh... as I thought, it’s cold and dark, yet I can see something clearly. It also appears to be snowing in here, but I don’t feel anything.

        It’s like a slight, yet visual white noise, and the only thing I can see is a replica of Sweet Apple Acres.

        However, the path seems to be fractured, like a mountain falling apart.

        The weirdest thing about this place is that the barn, the path, the house... all of them I recognize due to the stencil-like appearance of each landmark; black walls with white outlines. 

        My attention immediately went to the house though. Why were there outlined figures of Big Macintosh, Applejack, and... wait a second.

        I had to move closer, just so I could make sure my eyes weren’t deceiving me.

        Granny Smith... she’s got a crossed out portrait, just like the ones at the trials!

        Did... did something happen to her?

        I stare through the viewfinder of the camera, instinctively pressing the shutter.

        I move past that, walking through the opened door. As expected, the interior is just like the outside; void of any visible walls, save for the white outlines.
        
        Let’s check upstairs first... If anything, I might find something if I check Applejack’s room.

        Even as I walk up the stairs, the steps feel like wood, and with each step, that common squeak would sound.

        It’s just like a normal house, aside from this eerie vibe that I just stepped into a fabric of reality.

        *rustle rustle*

        Uh... what was that noise?

        I looked behind me, but there was nothing.

        Maybe I’m hearing things? No matter.

        Down the hallway, there were three doors going down the hallway. I guess I can assume the siblings stay up here at least.

        Alright. Let’s check out Big Mac’s room.

        ...

        Bed, nightstand, dresser, lamp... Looks pretty normal in here. Then again, you’d never expect something flashy from a guy like Big Mac... except that time when he took Twilight’s stuffed animal for himself when everypony and their mom fought over it.

        Does he still have that thing?

        The bed... what is that?

        Something seems a little off at the base of the pillow, like something’s sticking out from underneath.

        If it weren’t for that ‘something’ fizzing about like a TV Channel going crazy, I would’ve never noticed.

        I moved the pillow to the side, which effectively answered my question just now.

        Turns out Big Mac still had this thing. Closest thing to a body pillow you’re gonna get, I guess.

        But what’s with this thing? It’s like it’s trying to become Monobear with the way it’s... transforming...

        “Ah... AGH!”

        What the hell?! It feels like somepony is driving a huge nail into my skull!

        I dropped to the floor, trying to endure this sudden headache.

...

Okay... I think I’m okay now.

But still, something’s way off about Miss Smarty Pants here. I better take it with me and get out of here.

        With a quick peek around the corners, I make my way over to the next room on my right, closing the door behind me.

        This has to be Applejack’s room. Even though this place is void of any real colors, I can see that photo of her and her friends. There’s the closet, 

        I shouldn’t stay here long. I don’t know what this place is, but I have a feeling that I really shouldn’t be here.

        Let’s check for anything important. I quickly open the closet, skimming through it’s contents, but nothing stood out.

        Now to check the nightstand.

        Hmm... nothing interesting.

        Wait, what’s this?

        This stack of paper... Twilight Report number two?




Twilight Report No.2

Looks like the school was a big success! I really have to thank Sunset Shimmer for her help with this project! Her research into human technology is definitely a spark in the evolution of the species.

It’s kinda scary, but Equestria’s changed so fast with the addition of a few technologies from the other world.

Smart phones, computers, robotics, automation, medicine...

A lot of these things wouldn’t have been possible with simple magic alone. This school is the basis for that technology. We may have done it now, but we must make the next generation better than the last! Can’t teach an old dog new tricks, right?

Oh, silly me, that’d probably be an insult to Spike. I’ll take it back. I just want the newest generation to be a little bit more advanced. I’m glad Miss Cheerilee gave me the approval to allow her class to be the first of a new generation.

A Generation of hope, a generation that can assure the world that bonds can last forever.

I honestly don’t know why Miss Cheerilee is so worried though. I mean, we’ve done a pretty good job at making sure that our new discoveries don’t leak out to other nations. Wouldn’t want any form of jealousy to halt our progress, right? And I don’t wanna burden Princess Celestia either. She gave me permission and let me and Sunset lead this project, and everything’s been fine so far!

I wonder if that student of hers leaked something to her...

Nah, I doubt it. It’s still within our circle. Maybe once we’re just about finished with our magitech research, we’ll spread our knowledge to the world. I thought it was selfish at first, but since that little mishap, I don’t wanna put the world in danger with anything uncertain!




        Huh...?

        Experiments? Human technology? Miss Cheerilee giving approval for a new generation?

        ...

        No, I can’t jump to conclusions yet.

        I just found something huge, but it’s still not enough.

        If anything, there has to be more of these reports. Getting them all means learning the truth.

        One room left... Apple Bloom’s.

        Now this room appears to be filled with several trinkets and souvenirs across the window sill and inside the closet.

        There are also photos of the Crusaders and their latest adventures to get their cutie marks.

        I feel bad since I’m searching her room(?), but I need more info.

        Checking the nightstand for anything worthwhile, I shuffled the trinkets around a bit to see if anything would stand out.

        Nothing... Okay, let’s check under the bed.

        Lifting the mattress up, I could find a red-orange notebook with a pencil next to it, just lying there.

        In fact, now that I think about it, this bed feels a bit warm...

        Using my back to keep the bed upheld, I slowly reached for the notebook with my mouth, feeling the pressure of the bed slowly lifting off of my back.

        Alright, got it.

        Placing the notebook on the bed after letting it drop, I reach for the cover.

        “Aintcha gon’ thank me?”

        ...............

        Crap.

        I slowly turned around, and...

        “H-h...howdy?”

        “Hiya Shady!” Apple Bloom cheerfully greeted, then suddenly shifted to a more... understandable expression. “Mind tellin’ me what yer doin’ here?”

        “This isn’t your room, Apple Bloom. In fact, I don’t even know what the hell this place is!”

        “But it is mah room! Come on, Shady, can’t ya tell?”

        “You can’t be serious... didn’t you notice that Granny Smith portrait?! It’s the same as the ones at the trials!”

        Apple Bloom went silent, just giving me this... unnerving stare, as her lips slowly curved into a smile.

        “Hah! Shady, what you gettin’ all sweaty for? Can’t have been that tough to navigate this here home!” Apple Bloom put her hoof on my shoulder, trying to calm me down.

        If anything, it’s making me even more nervous.

        “So you knew about this place, huh?” I asked, calmly as possible.

        “Yep! Gotta say, that ol’ bear did a good job with the replication!”

        “Replication?”

        “Just mah’ two bits!”

        “Have you... slept here? This matress feels kinda warm.”

        “Maybe! If it’s mah bed, I’m allowed to sleep here right?”

        “I thought it was against the rules to sleep anywhere other than our assigned homes!”

        “But this is mah room! Ah’ ain’t broke any rules!”

        This... this is weird. Strange even.

        She’s all but outright said that she slept here and came out unscathed.

        “She’s right. It IS her room!”

        Monobear walked into the room, wearing a cowboy hat and holding a piece of straw in his mouth.

        “Howdy there, intruders!”

        “Yer in mah’ room too?” Apple Bloom casually asked, as if she weren’t surprised by Monobear’s presence.

        “Oh, don’t worry. Unlike that guy, I’m decent enough to not try to figure out what panties you wear!” Monobear bragged, pointing my way.

        “Cut the crap! What is this place?!” I demanded.

        “You’re not ready to know that yet. You’ve yet to see what truth really means!”

        “What’s that supposed to mean!?”

        “That’s for me to know and for you to know that I know!”

        “What?”

        “Haven’t you ever said to your parents, ‘mommy I did a bad thing’? How did you take the result?”

        “Oh, Ah’ never got a chance ta’ do it!” Apple Bloom happily declared. “Oh, does lashing out at mah’ sis count?”

        “What.” I let slip out, briefly directing a look of disbelief at Apple Bloom, before focusing on the bear before us again.

        I sighed, mostly at myself for even being surprised that Apple Bloom even gave this guy an answer.

        “You look jealous that you can’t answer! It’s okay, I already know your dirty secrets.” Monobear quipped.

        “What the-”

“Tick tock, time’s up! Make like a frog and get out!” Monobear said, raising up his arms for some reason- oh.

A bright white hole appeared above with a white outlined circle appearing below us. In the center of the circle was a menacing-looking eye, looking like the eye of a snake.

One look at my hooves, and I yelped in panic, noticing that most of my body is currently being disintegrated and pulled into the void above.

        Before I knew it, I couldn’t see anything. Just the image before me shattering like glass, revealing an all-white surrounding. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t close my eyes, and I couldn’t even breathe.

        I can think.

        .................

        From the bottom up, a new image was being constructed before my very eyes.

        My surroundings soon started to look as if I was back in the Honesty District.

        So I didn’t get erased, yet it felt like I did. I thought I did.

        I could still think during that.

        “What... happened!?” I managed to choke out, catching my breath.

        “Ah’ don’t know, and Ah’ don’t care!”

        “But the truth... I was so close!” I stomped on the ground, then grabbed Apple Bloom by the shoulders. “Do you know something, Apple Bloom!? Tell me!”

        “Mmmm... Aren’t ya becomin’ a lil obsessed with it? Try to simmer down a lil’, Shady!” She smiled before escaping my grasp and trotting away to the Generosity district.

        Damn it... damn it, damn it, damn it!

        There’s no doubt... Monobear used some power. He can use magic.

        Maybe... he’s not even a toy... maybe he’s actually a creature from another world. A powerful creature at that.

        “You don’t gain friends by bowing down to others.” Rumble sternly said, much to my surprise.

        “What do you want, Rumble?” I asked, disgruntled at his presence.

        “I want to know what happened. You look as if you just lost something important.”

        “I have to go back.” I stood on my hooves, bolting back to the office building.

        Once inside, I head down that hall, only to find that the door was completely gone, with no other way inside that place again.

        It’s as if the door was never there, like a mere figment of my imagination...

        I slammed my forehoof against the wall as hard as possible. “He sealed it...”

        “Hmm... you managed to see what was behind that door, huh?” Rumble asked. “If that’s the case, then good job getting that card from Apple Bloom.”

        “I never got it from her. It was already opened when I came here. I did suspect that she was the one that opened it, but I wanted to investigate as much as possible before I confronted her.”

        “And your one major clue is gone, I see.” Rumble followed up.

        I instantly faced him with a glare.

        “You knew about that room, didn’t you!? That’s why you had me find Apple Bloom! So I could get Applejack’s ID Card to access it! You had it in the first place and gave it to her! What is that place?!”

        “A place like that is... a bit beyond my understanding. All I know, is that it doesn’t feel like something that belongs here.”

        “Doesn’t belong?! Granny Smith’s probably dead, and even I didn’t know about that!”

        “You already know that families can choose to omit their deaths from the press.” Rumble reminded, which only got to me even more.

        “But still, Apple Bloom is our classmate! How’d something that major not get brought up!? Diamond Tiara’s still doing her bullying, as if she’s never shown any sympathy!”

        “That’s something I’d like to know, but I’d rather look into it from another angle.” Rumble calmly answered, sighing.

        I felt compelled to let out a sigh as well, disgruntled that perhaps he’s being more cooperative than usual.

        “Heh. I’m surprised you didn’t start preaching friendship and whatnot to me.”

        “I have no need to preach to you at this time. You haven’t lost your way after all.” Rumble smirked.

        “What’s that supposed to mean?”

        “If you dive into the past a little, you might get what I mean. Not really in the mood for anything long-winded.”

        “Huh?” I let out, but then I shook my head, remembering yesterday.

        “Wait, where’s Scootaloo? What’d you do with her?”

        “I did say I had to stop her damage, right? She wasn’t helping and you know it. If she’s going to keep her friends alive, fighting them isn’t the way.” Rumble’s tone slowly grew slightly hoarse, turning his back to me.

        For once, he might actually be angry.

        “Is it safe to say that you’ve had trouble with that lately?”

        “You can say that. I suppose getting in on her little secret has helped me be somewhat of a moral compass for her. Alas, you didn’t hear that from me.” Rumble said before flying out of the building unexpectedly.

        “WAIT!” I ran outside after him, but he’s too fast.

        Damn it, he’s gone already!

        I’ll ask him about that later. Right now, I need to look at this report some more.

__________________________________________________________________________

10:00 AM, Generosity District - Shady’s Home




Twilight Report No.2

Looks like the school was a big success! I really have to thank Sunset Shimmer for her help with this project! Her research into human technology is definitely a spark in the evolution of the species.

It’s kinda scary, but Equestria’s changed so fast with the addition of a few technologies from the other world.

Smart phones, computers, robotics, automation, medicine...

A lot of these things wouldn’t have been possible with simple magic alone. This school is the basis for that technology. We may have done it now, but we must make the next generation better than the last! Can’t teach an old dog new tricks, right?

Oh, silly me, that’d probably be an insult to Spike. I’ll take it back. I just want the newest generation to be a little bit more advanced. I’m glad Miss Cheerilee gave me the approval to allow her class to be the first of a new generation.

A Generation of hope, a generation that can ensure the world that bonds can last forever.

I honestly don’t know why Miss Cheerilee is so worried though. I mean, we’ve done a pretty good job at making sure that our new discoveries don’t leak out to other nations. Wouldn’t want any form of national jealousy to halt our progress, right? And I don’t wanna burden Princess Celestia either. She gave me permission to let me and Sunset lead this project, and everything’s been fine so far!

I wonder if that student of hers leaked something to her...

Nah, I doubt it. It’s still within our circle. Maybe once we’re just about finished with our magitech research, we’ll spread our knowledge to the world. I thought it was selfish at first, but since that little mishap, I don’t wanna put the world in danger with anything uncertain!




        The school was a ‘big success’? Why is she talking like the school’s actually been open for a while?

        ‘Evolution in the species’? We've had human technology for a few years, right? She’s speaking as if we've already grown or something. There’s still a lot of things in development if I recall correctly.

        ‘The first of a new generation’... That’s the part that worries me a little. If I’m to guess, Miss Cheerilee really does know quite a lot about what’s going on. Honestly, it’s been obvious for a while now.

        Monobear wouldn't have put her in that dog suit otherwise, turning her main means of communication into some automated dog yapping, and I can barely figure out what she’s trying to convey through her body language.

        Also, what’s this about jealousy, and keeping the research ‘within our circle’?

        The more I look over this report, the more I’m getting a bad feeling.

        At this point...I’m beginning to doubt our princess.

        I should probably have hope that she wouldn't betray us, but this report alone...

        No. I won’t jump to any conclusions. Not yet. I need more evidence. I just need to find other reports, anything related to them, and piece together as much as I can.

        Suddenly, I can hear a sudden breeze sounding against my ear.

        The key word is audible.

        I check my pocket, noticing that the crystal cell is faintly flashing in a rhythmic pattern.

        Is this what he meant when he was giving me a call? Gotta admit, it’s pretty stealthy.

        Taking the report with me, I dash to the bathroom, lock the door, and answer the call.

        “Shady, it’s me again. Any updates on your search?”

        “No luck on finding those things. But, I do have a few questions I need you to answer.”

        He won’t answer anything confidential, but if I tackle points that the higher-ups normally wouldn’t bother to hide, then...

        “Okay, but make it quick. You do remember that I’m still being chased, right?” Shining reminded.

        “I thought you were bringing in reinforcements.”

        “I am, but considering that a lot of my men got killed by that thing, I need to find an opening to get in here without getting more of them slain.”

        “Fair enough.” He’s got a point. He can’t just rush in here without a plan, and considering what Monobear did earlier, it’s not too far fetched to say that he’s got some kind of power.

        “What was your question?”

        “Right, so, ‘bringing in the next generation’. Ring any bells?”

        “Huh? She never told you guys about that?”

        “About what?”

        “About the younger generation of ponies to bring on a new age, making Equestria more advanced, simply put. It’s just passing down knowledge to the youth, hoping for some kind of evolution. I could never really keep up with my sister when she kinda went on her technobabble.”

        I see.

        “Why do you know about that?” Shining asked, his tone growing more suspicious of me.

        “I found this report of hers...”

        “Report?”

        “Hmm... well, I guess it might be written more like a diary. Doubt she’d show her brother what she writes in private.” I stifled a laugh.

        “You can say that again. But I honestly want to save her. She’s got to be alive in there somewhere. I won’t give up hope until then.”

        “You sound just like Featherweight. Kinda.”

        “Well, that kid did always go on about not giving up, and he did influence a lot of us. You don’t remember?”

        “I think I would’ve remembered something like that.” I replied, sighing.

        Remember...right...that’s another thing that’s bugging me. But I need more evidence.

        “Anything else you need to ask? About this report I mean.”

        “Right. Miss Cheerilee’s approval...how did Twilight get it?”

        “It’s not like Miss Cheerilee was uncooperative, considering that my sister is in royalty. At the same time, I know that she wouldn’t use her authority like that.” Shining Armor muttered, letting out a quick grunt before continuing, “If anything, I think she just went up and asked her and probably had some long-winded conversation, trying to learn as much as possible about you kids.”

        I see...

        Okay.

        “And one more question. It’s about Su-”

        “Dammit, I gotta get going! What’s taking those guys so long!?”

        The transmission ended.

        So much for asking about Sunset Shimmer. I wanted to ask about Granny Smith as well.

        He’s probably that ‘pest’ Monobear’s talking about.

        Something’s still off though...

        Suddenly, a loud, yet muffled knock echoed through the door, snapping me out of my thoughts.

        Who the heck could be trying to get my attention at this time?

        I step out of the bathroom and went straight to the front door to answer it, stepping to the side out of reflex.

        Slowly turn the knob and...

        “Shady! Dude, you gotta... uhh, dude?” Snails hurriedly stepped in with a huge grin that slowly melted into an exasperated expression, probably confused as to why I’m sidling against the wall.

        “It’s a defense mechanism. Don’t worry about it.” I sighed, walking towards the door. “What is it?”

        “Dude, the mares are taking a bath at the spa! I need a partner in crime!”

        “If this is what I think it is, then stop. The last thing we need is to be murdered for something as stupid as that.”

        “No problems! I’m tellin’ ya man, I got the perfect angle to look from! We won’t need to worry about getting caught at all! I guarantee that!” 

        He can’t be serious.

        “...Okaaaaay, who’s there?” I asked, only because it’s relevant to my actual interests, not because I’m trying to explore my tastes. 

Seriously.

        I mean, think about it, the CMC can’t have made up that fast, right?

        “Well, there’s Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, Sweetie Belle, Ginger Snap, and Grace Lightning too!”

        “Yeah, this won’t end well...wait, did you said Sweetie Belle?” 

        Tiara’s not trying to do what I think she’s doing, is she?

        “Yep! I mean, dude, you totally got good taste! I always thought she was super cute myself! Like, an angel I think!”

        “That’s not why I asked! I’m asking because I still think Diamond Tiara’s trying to convince Sweetie Belle to join her clique!”

        Snails bumped his forehooves together, “Oh, that’s right! All the more reason to listen in on them! This is a golden opportunity!”

“Our priorities are different, aren’t they?” I asked, lowering my eyelids in response.

        “I’m innocent Snails today!” Snails said, giving me a look of determination, then quickly putting his forearm around my neck. “Onwards, dude! The land of beauty and innocence awaits!”

        More like the land of pain and suffering if we screw up.

        Despite my protests, Snails drags me off to the Kindness District anyway.

        I have this sinking feeling this may not end well.

        Whatever.

___________________________________________________________________


10:24 AM, Kindness District - Spa

        “Through here!” Snails pointed at the vent on the wall in the hallway. We’re in that Aquarium-Zoo Asylum again, but there is indeed a spa, like he said yesterday. Snails of course, hopped into the vent, but crawled backwards, helping me get in.

        I know where this is going.

        Going up the slope and curving through the vent, we shimmied our way through until we saw an open vent below us, giving us a partial, steamy view of the spa. If there’s one thing that I like, is the pink lights at the bottom of the water, giving the water the appearance of a soap that looks pleasant to bathe in.

        Seems like there’s an additional route going left and right from this particular vent, so we at least have an escape plan.

        Probably. 

        I have no idea where those lead.

        “Paradise!” Snails whispered excitedly.

        I sighed, and shifted my view to the spa below.

        The floor was covered in white tiles, with six circular tubs filled with water. Inside the tubs themselves, (ignoring the mares in their chosen one), were live fish swimming underneath them. They didn't appear to be sinking any further, so it’s safe to assume that there’s a glass barrier underneath. To the right, is a big sign stating the times, along with a warning.


LADIES BATH TIME: 7:00 AM - 4:00 PM
MENS BATH TIME: 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM
CLOSING TIME - 10:00 PM


Caution!


During Closing Time, all bath tubs will be sealed! Be sure to leave before then!


        .......

        I need to keep a clean mind.

        “Ah~~~” Tiara sighed, waving around her wet mane. “Now this is a bath worthy of a princess!”

        “Drop the damn princess act already!” Grace chided, meekly touching the water. Tch... isn’t this place too hot!?”

        “You’ve never been to a spa before?” Ginger asked.

        “No! All I ever did was practice and wash up in the locker room showers!” Grace angrily answered.

        “Typical jock! Just get in here!”

        “It won’t burn your mane off, if that’s what you believe.” Silver Spoon sighed.

        Sweetie Belle of course, was deep in the water, with only half of her head surfaced, blushing even.

        Didn’t think she’d find this embarrassing.

        “Even Sweetie Belle’s in here, and I know she hasn’t been in a spa!”

        “I-I...I so have! My sister took me a few times!” Sweetie Belle protested.

        “Oh hoh~ That’s right...your sister’s actually pretty famous, huh?”

        “That’s right! Just because I’m a blank-”

        Tiara briskly held her hoof out, “Now, stop there, you! I invited you because I wanted you to join us!”

        “Then... why didn’t you invite Apple Bloom and Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle looked crestfallen.

        “You and I both know that some time away from them will do you some good! Unless you want a blood bath instead? I know you’re not that stupid!” Tiara said, twirling her mane.

        She’s...different with her mane down like that.

        Okay, this is getting stupid; what the hell am I even doing!?

        “Whoa, where you going?” Snails whispered, surprised to see me backing away.

        “Don’t know what got into me, but this isn’t who I am.” I said, slowly trying to crawl backwards.

        ...

        “At this time, Dia has a valid point. Enjoy yourself for now.” Silver said, smirking.

        “What’s that supposed to mean?!” Sweetie Belle suddenly burst out of the water.

        Even though I tried to leave, I suddenly didn’t feel the urge to try anymore, overcome by my desire to listen to this conversation.

        “I mean exactly that. Relax, and take your mind off those two. We will bathe with them as well, but as individuals, not as enemies.” Silver Spoon specified.

        “Enemies...why are you...why do you two hate us so much? What did we ever do to you guys?!” Sweetie Belle angrily demanded. “You’re not trying to turn me against them, are you!?”

        “I honestly can’t hate you three. I never have, but misery does love company. I went about it wrong, I’ll admit, but I wish to apologize for any suffering you three went through because of us.” Silver looked Sweetie Belle in the eyes, giving off an air of actual honesty.

        “But-”

        “Gosh, will you shut up already?!” Tiara commanded. “I wanted you here because I wanted to bury the hatchet, not for some stupid plot like you’re thinking. Don’t get paranoid like that blue idiot!”

        .........................

        “Blue idiot?” Sweetie Belle asked, slowly sinking back into the water.

        “W-who cares about that him?!” Tiara sounded panicked, “Anyway, I really meant it when I said I wanna bury the hatchet. We’re getting too old to constantly hang status over each other’s heads, right?”

        “Or maybe you just don’t want Scootaloo to murder you.” Sweetie Belle muttered.

        “I am not afraid of that no-good rat, Scootaloo!” Tiara asserted.

        “If that’s the case, why didn’t you bring her here?! Or Apple Bloom?! Why couldn’t we work things out?!”

        “Didn’t I just say I didn’t want some blood bath!?” Tiara fired back.

        No matter how afraid she is, she does have a point. At least she’s smart enough to avoid initiating another one of those trials.

        “She has a point. I don’t think it’d be a good idea to have the two of them in the same room, considering that they fought against one another yesterday.” Silver said.

        “I don’t know what to do anymore...” Sweetie Belle bit her lip.

        “Pipsqueak’s planning a test of courage at some point. He was hoping that a good scare would take your mind off of the despair.” Ginger blurted out.

        “A good scare my ass! He’s just asking to get flattened by me!” Grace boasted.

        “A test...of courage...I’ll think about it.” Sweetie Belle sighed.

        “Of course I’ll be joining. A mare of my caliber could never be scared of something so lame. Besides, a blank flank like him could never pull it off right!”

        Silver looked at Tiara, with a ‘really?’ expression.

        “W-what?! If you’re thinking what I think you’re thinking, then what happened was in the past! This is the future! I am Diamond Tiara Reborn, better than ever! Whatever’s in the past is in the PAST!”

        “Right. Whatever you say, Dia.” Silver smirked.

        “Anyway, Grace, join us already. You look more confused than a lost pony in the woods.” Ginger said.

        “Mmmm... I guess. We’re all mares here. Just like the locker room. Yeah! LETS DO THIS!” Grace backed up and prepared to make a leap.

        “Wait, no cannonball! NO CANNONBA-” Ginger panicked.

        *SPLASH*

        “Ahh! You idiot!” Tiara chided, shaking the excess water off.

        Half of Grace’s body was submerged in the water. with her backside surfaced.

        “My glasses!” Silver shouted, going after her washed-away property.

        Grace resurfaced, properly adjusting herself for the spa. “Ha! Now THAT’S what you call fun!”

        “You wanted to show off your nice flank, didn’t you?” Ginger sighed.

____________________________________________________________________

        
“Aaaaaaand this is where I take my leave.” I said to Snails, backing away slowly. This whole thing is going into dangerous territory, and I don’t wish to stoke my earthly flame.

        “Hey, wait!”

        “Sorry, but I’m out. There’s more I could be doing rather than risking myself to get caught. Besides, I got what I came here for.”

        I crawled out of the vent and away from the scene.

        Once I got out, I took a deep breath, welcoming the air conditioning.

        But still...

        Ugh, I can’t figure her out at all. Whatever. As long as nopony dies, it’s not my business.


____________________________________________________________________


11:12 AM, Generosity District - Shady’s Home

        The moment I stepped in, I went straight for the Twilight Report I hid away, opening it back up to look over it some more.

        There has to be more to it. I need more clues...
        
        ‘I wonder if that student of hers leaked something...’

        ...

        My chest suddenly tightened at those words.

        Who does she mean?

        “UGH!”

        I threw the report at the wall, flopped onto my bed, followed by a deep sigh.

        “I don’t know what to think! Dammit, this is drawing me to a conclusion I don’t like!”

        Complaining here won’t get me any new info, and it certainly won’t lead to the truth.

        Oh, right. I still have Fluttershy’s ID card. If it works the same way like Applejack’s... 

        With a firm resolve, I grabbed my nameplate and headed back to the Kindness District. If there was a strange room in the Honesty District, then the same rule has to apply for the other districts!


___________________________________________________________________


11:30 AM, Kindness District - Aquarium Zoo Asylum

        The moment I went inside, I immediately stepped into the left elevator this time, going down to the basement.

        I knew of the potential danger, but I just have this feeling that something’s down there. I’ve yet to investigate it, and I can’t let my fear sway me.

        I need to see what waits down here.

        I took a deep breath during the elevator’s short descent, just to ease my heartbeat. 

        The doors opened, revealing the left half of the room to be completely made out of glass with bubbles floating upward. On top of that, the lighting behind the glass was a bright pink, with all the various types of fish highlighted by this light.

        That side’s the Aquarium, huh?

        The right half’s floor panels were lit in a bright yellow, with the ceiling emitting a pink light. Honestly, I find the color decisions here to be a little strange, but eh.

        “Grrrrrrrrr...”

        A gasp escapes from under my breath the second I heard that. I frantically whipped my head around in both directions, desperately trying to find what made that monstrous growl.

        It sounded pretty fierce too...

        No. I can’t be scared. I think this might be a test of my luck. I’m not a luckster by any means, but I can’t be swayed by my sense of danger.

        There’s no way it’s the sharks to my right, or the large sea serpent to my left.

        This whole time, I’ve been aware that something is down here, out of it’s containment. Something’s lurking these halls, and it could definitely come around these walls to attack.


______________________________________________________________________

        “A red square?” I muttered, making Silver Spoon wonder what I meant. “There, next to the Chimera...”

        “Oh. If this is a release system, then...we could find out if we took the elevator on down...if you’re brave enough that is.” Silver Spoon suggested.

_______________________________________________________________________


        I remember what Silver and I found on that computer. I think I know what’s down here.

I wouldn’t put it past Monobear to have such a dangerous creature to guard this district’s secrets. But then again, I managed to find the one at the Honesty District pretty easily. Almost as if it were intentional.

        But why?

        As I’m walking down the Aquarium hall, I noticed a lone door to my right, that read, “AQUARIUM EXIT”. 

        Could this actually be a Diver aquarium?

        But how would anypony get in there anyway?

        I turn to my right again, noticing the fish separated from the dangerous sea creatures.

        I see... this is designed to keep the smaller ones from being mauled by sharks and whatnot. That would explain why I haven’t seen any of these creatures successfully attack one another.

        Must be terrifying to live next door to a predator...

        I opened the supposed exit door, noticing a single mask against the back wall, and sea creatures to both my left and right.
        
        This mask though...

        It looks a lot like Fluttershy, her eyes included. The texture feels quite real as well. This mask is very well-made. Like, probably the most realistic feeling mask ever.

        It’s almost as if Fluttershy’s staring into my soul, trying her best to paralyze me to the core.

        “The Stare.”

        That’s what it’s called. Her legendary technique that’s tamed hundreds... no, thousands of wild animals and creatures.

        I turned the mask around, noticing a small sheet of paper taped to the nasal area.

        ONLY USE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY! DO NOT WEAR THIS MASK UNDER ANY OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES!

        “Use? This mask can actually be...?”

        I continue to walk down the corridor, keeping my eyes closed for brief moments, trying to listen for any footsteps.

        However...I don’t hear anything.

        Not a growl, not a step.

        I know I haven’t been hearing things for this long, have I? I really could’ve sworn a Chimera was down here, out of it’s cage. If that’s the case, why haven’t I been attacked yet? What’s really going on here?

        My steps began to pick up a little speed, fueled by my curiosity.

        Why did it stop? Did the beast leave? Did it go back in it’s cage?

        As I made my way past the aquarium and now to the Zoo half of this area, I notice that the glass containers were lit up by a bright yellow from the ground.

        The light did well to reveal the creatures here; creatures I’d never thought I’d see unless I was dumb enough to walk into the Everfree forest. 

        Creatures like an Ursa Minor with it’s Major mother on the left, or perhaps those Timberwolves on the right.

        Maybe that sleeping Manticore on the right, or the Cockatrice on my left, or that Chimera that’s directly in front of me.

        Chimera in front of me.

        In front.

        ...oh no.

        Wait, why is it turned to stone...?

        The second I whipped my head to the Cockatrice, my body stopped moving. 

        Inside the cage, I saw a door behind the reptilian avian... it had a normal rooster’s head put on the body of a mini-dragon.

        That door though... and... stone... versions of... the animals owned... by... the... el...e...ment...s

        .....
        
        ...................
        

        .......................................

        .........................................................



__________________________________________________________________________


???, Kindness District - Aquarium Zoo Asylum

        “WAH!”

        I fell to my belly, breathing heavily, like I’m catching my first breath of oxygen for the first time since drowning for hours!

        Why the heck am I feeling this way?!

        I looked around, noticing pieces of stone around my hooves, and an unconscious Cockatrice before me, still in it’s containment, even though it’s open now. I frantically look around, checking my surroundings, even though I’m very sure I’m still at the Zoo.

        I noticed that the Chimera statue is gone as well, and I’m no longer in possession of the Fluttershy Mask.

        Did somepony take it?

        I guess I must’ve been turned to stone, just as I noticed those familiar animals.

        Owlowicious, Angel, Opalescence, Gummy, Winona, and Tank...

        The pets that belonged to the Elements, were all turned to stone, I’m sure.

        Alas, their statues are gone as well.

        I turned around, looking back at the Aquarium half, only to notice something strange inside the tank.

        A hoof...

        Somepony’s hoof.

        No... I really hope my mind’s playing tricks on me. I really hope I’m hallucinating.

        ...........................................................................................

        I walked to the tank hesitantly. My heart beat rapidly grows the moment I see that it is indeed somepony’s hoof. Now that I see who it is...

        Oh. It’s Sweetie Belle.

        Her eyes are lifeless...

        She’s not even trying to get out of the water.

        All I could do was stare. I felt an instinctive urge to move, but it was overpowered by my own questions.

        How did she get in there? Why is she in there? Why is this happening? Why did this?! Why did they do this!? HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!

        Suddenly, I hear a galloping set of hooves rapidly growing louder.

        I turn my head around, noticing a pony with a gold, blunt object in her mouth behind me.

        ...Fluttershy-

        *BAM!*
> Ch. 3 Abnormal Days Pt. 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Shady! Psst! Shady! SHADY, GET UP!

        Ugh...

        What time is it?

        Those thoughts flowed through my head as I tried to stand on my hooves.

        My head is throbbing, like it was hit with an anvil.

        I glance around, noticing that I’m still at the Zoo.

        Come on, this has happened twice already.

        I even feel some hooves on my body, making me come to. On top of that, I hear a loud dinging noise through the intercom.

        “A BODY HAS BEEN DISCOVERED! After a brief period of investigation, a class trial will begin!”

        Monobear...

        “Wait, a body? Who...wait...WAIT! WAIT!”

        I immediately look at the vacant tank in front of me. Save for the fish, there was no body in it...

        Why is the tank empty?! I know I saw a body there!

        “Shady! You’re alive after all! See, I told you he was alive!” Snails turned to Truffle with his boast.

        “Nonsense! I was never in doubt that he was alive!”

        “What happened?!” I demanded.

        “I’m a wanted mare, that’s what.”

        Diamond Tiara hid around the corridor, nervously coming around.

        “Huh?”

        “Sweetie Belle’s dead, and everypony thinks I did it! All because I bullied her and her friends for years! I’m too pretty and rich to be going through this! HELP ME! GET ME OUT OF HERE! I’LL DO ANYTHING! I’LL MAKE YOU RICH, GIVE YOU HOWEVER MUCH MONEY YOU WANT! JUST-”

        “Calm the hell down!” I shouted.

        She’s understandably in a panic, but sheesh!

        “No, you calm down, idiot! You don’t get it! Scootaloo and Apple Bloom...!”

        “I know, I know! If Sweetie Belle’s the victim, then I know their frustration and pain!” I reaffirmed.

        “Well you didn’t emit stupid amounts of killing intent when Featherweight died! I know you didn’t, I watched you honestly try to figure out the culprit, but this is different!” Tiara pleaded earnestly.

        I’m pretty sure she doesn’t realize that she’s becoming a sobbing mess right now.

        “How do I know you didn’t commit the murder by accident?” I asked, just to be sure.

        “I NEVER TOUCHED HER AT ALL!” Tiara answered in half a second!

        “Okay okay, seriously, calm down. If only you realized how you look.” I sighed, glancing at the tears rolling down her cheeks.

        “SHUT UP!” Tiara nervously wiped her tears away to no avail.

        “No, I’m not shutting up until I get answers. I need you to calm down and explain everything you know. If you really didn’t do it, you’re gonna have to start talking.”

        “Right! Right...you didn’t participate in the test. Of course you didn’t.” Tiara gulped. “That test...it had to be then. I’m sure of it!”

        “Dude, that makes Pip more of a prime suspect, because hosting a thing like that gives him a little too much freedom.” Snails groaned, not wanting to believe in the possibility. “Why’d Monobear have to take over?!”

        “Monobear did WHAT!?” I gasped.

        “See, what happened was...”

        Tiara began to explain that while I was encased in stone, the test of courage that Pipsqueak held took place at around ten at night, and went on for several hours. Pip and Ginger aided in hosting the test of courage, having the majority of it take place in the Everfree Glade. A place like that is perfect to scare anypony.

        The real kicker, as Snails said, is that Monobear took over.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

10:00 PM, Kindness District - Everfree Glade

        “Alright, I’m here to do this dumb test of courage.” And he’s a no-show! “Where is he?! You can’t scare me!”

        “He’s probably going to treat it like a slasher movie. He who boasts the most is the first to bite the dust.” Sil quipped. Always have something smart to say, huh?

        “W-well, I don’t need to boast if I just radiate confidence! Yeah, that’s it!” I totally wasn’t trembling ever-so-slightly.
        
        “Alright, so, where do we start?” Apple Bloom asked out of nowhere, almost giving me a heart attack!

        “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! Go away!”

        “I’m here to have fun, just like you.” Apple Bloom made that stupid, plastered smile. It’s just creepy how it looks! I want to say that’s how fake smiles look, but she’s not faking!

        “J-just... don’t scare me like  that.”

        “Oh, you’re all here.” Ginger said. 

        “Of course! Otherwise this wouldn’t be fun at all!” And then HE showed up!

        “Monobear!?”

        “I’ve had a little birdie tell me about your little secret test of courage! Why wasn’t I invited!? I’m the bravest one here after all! Selfish bastards!” That bear must’ve been talking about Pip. He was the one who set this thing up, but why he even said so really frustrates me.

        “Oh I dunno, because you’d make us kill each other again!?” I answered! Of course, my confidence wasn’t enough to get through to that bear.
_____________________________________________________________

        “I don’t think Monobear even cares.” Snails muttered.

        “Shut up, you! Anyway...”

        Tiara continued her story.
_____________________________________________________________

        “Please, you bastards decided to do that, not me! I don’t have a gun to your heads or anything!”

        “Only the wings of judgement constantly watching our every move...” Sil glanced up at the Monoguards. 

        “They’re just doing their job! Rules are rules! Everything and every place has rules! You can’t expect to get through life without following rules, right? Rules are everything! It’s only natural to punish those who break them! But enough of that, I’m here to turn this test into a hunt!”

        “A...hunt? WAIT YOU CAN’T! NOT HERE!” Snails freaked out for whatever reason.

        “Upu?” Monobear tilted his head, confused as the rest of us.

        “The zoo...I know something’s a loose down there!”

        “Pfft...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! If I let you bastards get eaten by something like that, the exercise would end right here! Besides, I have something much more simple in mind! Something you can all get behind!” Monobear jovially declared.

        Also, something was weird about that statement, but whatever!

        “Which is?” Rumble swooped to the scene like some dramatic crow or something.

        He pulled out a poster with three familiar faces on it...

        “TADAAAAAAAAAAH! Behold, a wanted poster!”

        “Uhh?” Truffle tilted his head, but he started to breathe heavily.

        We all had mixed reactions, but I didn’t know whether to smile or be afraid. But hey, I heard myself constantly thinking over and over, “I KNEW IT!”

        I thought it thousands of times, because I was right! I WAS SUSPICIOUS OF THOSE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS FROM THE START!

        “I present to you, TROUBLE IN THE EVERFREE! Where we hunt for traitors while avoiding being hunted! One of these three is a traitor amongst you, working for me, giving me all of your juicy secrets and giving me free food! You’re free to deal with the traitor in any way you like! ANY option is viable! I just thought that I’d finally release this info!”

____________________________________________________________________


        “Here...this is the poster.”

        Tiara gave the crumpled wanted poster to me, and it indeed had the Cutie Mark Crusaders profiles on it.

        Scootaloo...

        Sweetie Belle...

        Apple Bloom...

        That’s the perfect motive alright. 

        Does that mean...Sweetie Belle was a traitor?! She...betrayed us?!

“Do you think she’s a traitor?”

        !!!

        I looked up from the poster, and saw Scootaloo headed towards us...

        There’s just one problem.

        Her magenta mane now has a few black streaks in it. Not to mention it’s sticking up on several ends.

        Her eyes are also a bright crimson, allowing us to see her fury and killing intent.

        Snails, Truffle, and even Diamond were sweating bullets.

        Her very presence is making me forget that I need to breathe...

        “Answer me. Do you think she’s a traitor?” Scootaloo asked once again, without changing her tone in the slightest.

        “I don’t-”

        “SHADY!” Snails yelled in a hushed tone, eyeing me as if he wanted to say, “Now’s not the time for your brutal honesty!”

        “Err...of course I don’t. Why would I?” At Snail’s reminder, I toned down my initial answer.

        “You never participated in the test of courage with us. You were gone all night. You’re the perfect suspect.”

        My heart skipped a beat, then suddenly went into overdrive.

        Damn it...! This can’t be happening!

        “However, you have no motive to kill her. That poster...she gave it to you right?” Scootaloo turned her sights on Tiara.

        “Eek!” Tiara immediately made a break for it, tripping in the process. 

       Tiara's tears of pure terror began to overflow as Scootaloo slowly approached her.

        This may be the result of those years of abuse coming back to bite her, and I can’t say it’s undeserved, but this...isn’t right. Normally I would’ve just watched, letting things run their course, but...

        I made a step forward.

        One step.

        Why did it take so much to take one step forward? Are my instincts telling me to not be a hero?


        Is this even the right choice?

        “STOP THIS!” Snails erected a barrier in front of Scootaloo, making her bump into it nonchalantly. She seemingly didn’t care, even letting out a sigh before directing her newfound glare at Snails.

        “Well, I’ll have to mash the brakes first.” Scootaloo’s words terrified Snails.

        He erected another barrier between himself and the mare in furious anger. Alas, little did he realize, his barrier was breaking as her forehoof mashed it down. He didn’t see the small cracks, but it was actually beginning to break.

        When she said that, I knew exactly what she was gonna do to him and the rest of us.

        “RUN AWAY! NOW!” I hollered, making everypony else follow my lead as I galloped down the corridor.

        “.............” I turned back, if only for a moment, to notice that Scootaloo’s expression never changed.

        This investigation is gonna be a real nightmare if Scootaloo’s gonna keep acting this way!

        Snails, Truffle, and I all made it to the elevator, with Tiara arriving last from the other direction. The moment she stepped in, she furiously mashed the button to take us up a floor.
       
 As the elevator doors closed, I could see Scootaloo’s hoof reaching for us, making Tiara fall on her back.

        Seeing Tiara this scared, I’m not sure whether to feel sympathy or just shrug this off.

        It’s not like this whole situation went unprovoked. She prodded the CMC for years through bullying, and even carried on with it in this damn game! Goes to show that she’s dumber than I thought. 

        Whatever.

        Even so, I don’t have the heart to just turn my back on her.

        If her claim about wanting to end the conflict was true, then I want to believe that she didn’t kill Sweetie Belle.

        But even then, how did it happen in the first place? How did she end up in that tank?!  

        Wait a minute...


_______________________________________________________________________


I sighed, and shifted my view to the spa below.

The floor was covered in white tiles, with six circular tubs filled with water. Inside the tubs themselves, (ignoring the mares in their chosen one), were live fish swimming underneath them. 


_______________________________________________________________________


        That spa...

        “We’re investigating the spa!” I shouted.

        “Wha- why!?” Tiara asked, surprised at my suggestion.

        “Because Sweetie Belle had to drown in that tank somehow!”

        ...

        Why is everypony staring at me like I’ve lost my mind?

        “Uhh, we found Sweetie Belle at the Generosity district, not in the tank.” Truffle corrected me.

        “What?!”

        “Yeah, man. Whoever killed her...well...I think it’s better you see for yourself.” Snails muttered.

        “Did you have a dream while you were sleeping? And I thought It was against the rules to sleep anywhere but your own bed!” Tiara reminded.

        “No, I didn’t sleep, I was unconscious. There’s a difference, and at least Monobear knows that. Me being alive proves that much.”

        “Yeah, but we all saw Sweetie Belle at the Generosity District. That’s where her body is.” Snails reaffirmed.

        “Okay, fine. I’ll check there first. I need to prove to you guys that the body was moved anyway.” I had to accept, otherwise I’d have to bear the burden of being a suspect once again.

        The elevator doors opened, and I galloped outside, heading straight for the Generosity District.

        I had to see for myself if Sweetie Belle’s body was really there. I had to see if I was hallucinating earlier.

        As I look around, it looks like we’re at the crack of dawn.

        Just...what the hell happened while I was out?! A day already passed and suddenly Sweetie Belle turns up dead?

        I have way too many questions, and I can’t answer a single one until I find that body!


________________________________________________________________________

Day 8, 7:45 AM, Generosity District - Plaza
        
        The moment I arrived, there it was: a grotesque crime scene.

        Sweetie Belle’s Body is at the head of Rarity's statue, her horn impaling her torso.

        A twisted reunion between sisters.

        ... 

Is this some kind of sick joke? Some kind of attempt at art? Is the killer this time that deranged to do this?

        “You agree, don’t you?”

        Silver Spoon walked up past me, approaching the statue.

        “Agree with what?” I asked.

        “...that it didn’t have to end this way.”

        “Oh.”

        She’s been trying to make amends with Sweetie Belle and the Crusaders. I guess she’s actually devastated I guess.

        “I’m not surprised that Tiara and I are suspects. But Tiara’s innocent. I can assure you.” Silver turned to me, with a look of determination, believing her best friend to be innocent of this...horrible scene.

        “I dunno...I get why you guys are suspects. But why are you so sure that she’s innocent?”

        “Because...” Silver sighed, “we weren’t together during that test of courage. I can tell you this for certain, that the groups were split off into two: Myself, Sweetie Belle, Ginger, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom. Dia was grouped with , Snails, Truffle, Rumble and Grace.

        “So you were separated into two groups. Okay, but-”

        “Sweetie Belle ran off on her own. Monobear had implied that she or one of her friends may be a traitor, and she just...took off, all alone.”

        That was a stupid move on her part...

        “That look on your face suggests that you think that Sweetie Belle had a moment of stupidity.” Silver was quick to point out.

        “I...won’t deny that one. Why would she even do that when she knew she had a target on her back?”

        “If you’d consider her feelings and everything that happened so far, then it’s not that much of a stretch.” Silver explained.

        She’s right. Watching her two best friends fight ever since that last trial, and then being pegged as a traitor, I can see why she snapped.

        I just wish that it didn’t lead to...this.

        “Also, I think you should pay attention to your ID Band.” Silver reminded me.

        Prompted to check what she meant, I opened the menu, noticing that it’s my turn for Doggy Duty.

        ........

        Damn it. So on top of this, I have to “dog” my Teacher.

        I envy anypony who doesn’t have to do this.

        Knowing this, I make my way over to the dog house, to find Miss Cheerilee standing there, leashed to the pole.

        I move in to unhook the leash, only for it to unhook itself after a faint, dark green glow emitted from my ID Band.

        So that’s how this works.

        “I knew it’d be my turn for this, but I didn’t want it to be under these circumstances.” I murmured to her.

        Miss Cheerilee’s sigh was translated into a dog’s whimper, compelling me to sigh for her.

        I wonder how she felt whenever she had to be dragged around for an investigation...

        No. I don’t even have to wonder. Looking at her eyes, she looks as if she hasn’t slept a wink. She probably even saw everything and has no way of saying anything, and can’t stop any of her students from going crazy.

        She’s in constant despair everyday, and I’m beginning to think that some of us don’t even care.

        “How does it feel...” Silver paused, then looked to Miss Cheerilee. “Having that leash in your possession?”

        “...”

        Good question. I’m not sure how I feel. I knew it’d be my turn but still.

        “I’m so sorry for not caring, for being such a bad student. Ever since the death of my best friend, I’ve already lost my way. I’m probably a bit of a lost cause too, considering I’ve almost dirtied my hooves in blood- OW!”

        What the heck!? Why’d she headbutt me?! And what’s with all the barking, or yelling, whatever she’s saying?!

        Wait... oh. I see. She’s got this fire in her eyes, leaking tears too.

        “Right...right. But I can’t let these feelings in my heart go. Not until I find the truth behind all of this. Don’t you wanna know too? Or do you already know?”

        Miss Cheerilee... whatever she said was translated into the growl of an angry dog.

        Oh. I’m really letting this whole game get to me.

        “Let’s go. I know you don’t want to go outing Sweetie Belle’s killer, but I refuse to let the mistakes of one of my classmates keep me from the truth.”


INVESTIGATION START!


        First things first, I need to prove that the body was moved from the tank. If I check out the body, I might find something.

        Wow...I’m a little shocked.

        I’m actually a little enthusiastic about checking out a dead body. I didn’t think I’d change like this in such a short amount of time.

Miss Cheerilee turns her head away when we approach the body, as I expected. Honestly, I wonder how she feels about my motivation?

Let’s see here...

I need to find a trace of water, some kind of trace.

After the initial examination, I can’t find anything dripping except for her blood.

At this point, I put a hoof on the late Sweetie Belle’s hind leg, immediately recognizing the damp feeling on her fur.

This body was definitely moved.

        It’s not enough to determine when the body was moved, but it’s enough to know that it was.


NEW AMMO

-Wet body: The body feels slightly damp. This may or may not be enough to prove that the body was originally submerged in water.

        “Uupupupu~! I didn’t think you were into necrophelia!”

        “I’M NOT!”

        Monobear, out of nowhere, just accuses me of something so disgusting!

        “You’re already investigating and I haven’t even rounded you bastards up to hand out the files!”

        “Then what are you waiting for?”

        “Hasn’t anyone told you that taking care of a pest problem is a delicate process? The fun would end if you all came in contact with whatever pesticide I’m using outside!”

        Pesticide? Seriously?

“What’s with that look? Was I wrong about your preferences? Maybe you’re into bears instead?” I have this feeling that Monobear was gonna legitimately try some sexy poses.

I sighed, “Just get to the point.”

I would regret saying those words very soon.

Monobear would have a megaphone in his paw, leaving me a bit bewildered. Where the heck did that thing come from?

That question would soon be irrelevant when my ears suddenly began ringing at his announcement.

“ATTENTION YOU BASTARDS!”

He intentionally shouted into the megaphone directed at me, as loud as possible. I couldn’t help but feel my ears ring furiously and lose strength in my legs.

“You can’t start investigating without the Monobear File right!? MEET ME IN THE COURTYARD IN THE GENEROSITY DISTRICT!”

“Agh...! DAMMIT! What the hell?!” I asked, doubling over and clutching my head.

“Normally I’d ask you that...” Monobear grimly mentioned.

“Huh?”

Monobear grabs me by the mane, asking in a hushed tone, “You think you’re cute, snooping around in places where you don’t belong. But it’s okay! I won’t stop you! This happens all the time in the movies. You know too much, so something was bound to happen.”

I see...I knew it...he knows.

Maybe this is the part where the protagonist makes a really dumb decision in the movies, but the plot can’t progress otherwise.

“Whoa, what’d you do to him?!” I overheard Snails asking.

“He shoulda stood back when I made my call, that’s all! Why should I settle for not being heard?”

“Don’t... worry about it...agh...”

This ringing in my ears...it feels a bit...ugh. But I have to get up.

“Hey, don’t force yourself, man!”

“Hmph! If a megaphone to the ears brought him down like this, then I’m wondering how he managed to survive this long!” Tiara walked up to us, making such a scathing comment.

...didn’t make her claim any less true.

When Snails helped me up, everypony else arrived to the scene, yet unsurprised to see the state of Sweetie Belle’s body.

I guess I really am the last to see it like this.

“As much as it’d be funny to watch you bastards go on a wild goosechase, that’d be no fun! You should at least let me give you the file about the victim!”

The teddy bear clapped it’s paws together, making our ID Bands beep twice along with the front of the watch showing a holographic screen, prompting us to look at the updated information.

Of course, this would be information about today’s victim.




        -The Victim is Sweetie Belle.
        -The body was found in the Honesty District barn.
        -The victim has severe damage to the left lung.
        -The victim is covered in post-mortem cuts and bruise.
        -In addition, the victim seems to have a bruise on the left jaw.
-Death was not instantaneous.



What the hell? No time of death?

Wait... of course. It’d be too easy to prove that she was in the water by the time she died.


NEW AMMO

-Monobear File: Details of the Victim are logged inside. However, there’s no time of death present.

“Happy investigating! I’ll be seeing you bastards again when the trial begins!” Monobear left us with his farewells.

“Jeez... who could’ve did this to Sweetie Belle? She lived up to her name ya know!” Pipsqueak groaned, giving the rest of us a look of disdain.

“I’d like to believe that it was somepony who had a grudge against her.”  Ginger surmised, turning her attention to Diamond Tiara.

“No! Oh no no no no no no! You take your eyes off me right now! I didn’t do this, I swear! I-” Tiara stammered, slowly backing away.

“Cut the act! you little rich twit!” Grace snapped. “We know how much you hated her and the Cutie Mark Crusaders!”

“Sorry, but she’s right.” Snails sighed. “We can’t just ignore that. I want to, but...that...”

“W-why are you idiots closing in on ME?! I told you I’m innocent! Ugh, I’m not staying here for this! You idiots can do whatever you want, but I’m too good for this!” Tiara began storming off, but I knew Scootaloo would have none of it.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Scootaloo shoved Tiara to the ground.

“L-look...we can handle this...like mares, okay? You wouldn’t want to hurt me, would you?!”

“... Since when did a nicely stuffed punching bag gain the ability to talk?” Scootaloo began marching up to Tiara, muttering, “Maybe I should break its legs first...”

“That’s enough.” Silver Spoon stepped in between the mares.

“Oh. I guess a super-hero show became a reality... where the hero has to slay the cronie before getting the head of the villain! I love these kinds of shows!” Apple Bloom smiled clapping her hooves together like a happy filly.

“I believe in Dia’s innocence, and I intend to stay with her. If you wish to harm my friend, then you’ll have to go through me.” Silver declared, as she stared at the menacing Scootaloo. “Also, Dia, do as they say.”

“What?! But I have to find clues myself!”

“Oh, screw that, you’re just gonna destroy evidence!” Grace lunged at the rich mares, only to be held back by Snails’s magic.

“Stop, that’s enough! We can’t waste our time like this!”

“Snails is right, everypony! The clock’s ticking! We must make haste to figure out Sweetie Belle’s killer, and find out why!” Truffle followed up.

They’re right...they’re both right.

“Sounds good to me. Watching this maggot for too long may make me want to squash it.” Scootaloo coldly walks away, with Apple Bloom silently following.

That vibe from Scootaloo earlier though...she did calm down a tad, right?

“This...this is wrong...! I can’t go down for this! I just can’t!” Tiara whined, as she was left alone.

“You’re not helping your case when you word it like that.” I muttered after hearing her comment.

“Oh. Look who’s got the dog with him too. You’re the last person I’d wanna trust.” Tiara complained.

“I trusted you before in the last case. I think you should return the favor. For what it’s worth, I don’t think you have the guts to do something this insane, even if you did hate the victim.” I nodded my head at the body impaled on the Rarity statue’s horn.

“Look, I never hated her, okay? I meant what I said when I wanted to put this stupid war behind us, but those two made it much more difficult than it needed to be!” Tiara defended.

“What do you mean? What happened last night?”

“We were split off into groups, remember? Didn’t anypony tell you?”

Silver Spoon did mention that earlier, yes, but she and Silver Spoon weren’t together.

“Okay, tell me what you did with your group?”

“I didn’t want to stick with that lot. I wanted to get back to Sil since she was stuck with that crazy apple and bloodthirsty chicken!” Tiara explained.

“Right. So did you ever find her?”

“No, I didn’t. Not until WAY later. Every time I tried to find Silver Spoon, that horror freak kept getting in my way!”

Horror freak... Pipsqueak?

“Why didn’t you just, y’know, run past him?”

“W-well... umm... I dunno! H-h-he was in my way, and I had to run the opposite way to get around!”

Whatever you say, Diamond.

        “Okay, so, after you ‘turned around’, did you find Silver then?”

        “N-no! That idiot kept chasing me!”

        “I thought you turned around?”

        “I...J-J-JUST SHUT UP!” Tiara stuttered. “It was just difficult, okay?!”

        Just like you. “In any case, thanks for the info.” I let her know.

Right...so if Pip was doing what he was supposed to do... I doubt he had any time to actually commit the murder. However...


NEW AMMO

-Diamond Tiara’s Testimony: Pip’s actions, even if they were what he was supposed to do, is enough to paint him as an accomplice.

        “S-so what now?” Tiara meekly asked.

        “Don’t do anything. Don’t touch the crime scene, and if Scootaloo comes around, hide somewhere close by.” I suggested.

        “WHY SHOULD I!?”

        “Do I seriously have to remind you that between the two of us, you’re the most suspicious because of your history with the Cutie Mark Crusaders?”

        “Don’t forget, I too share that suspicion with Dia. She wasn’t alone in committing those acts during our days as fillies.” Silver Spoon reminded.

      Tiara turned to me, possibly a bit annoyed,  “And what makes you less suspicious than me?! You weren’t around for the test of courage AT ALL!”

        “BECAUSE I WAS TURNED TO STONE!” I blurted out, clicking my teeth immediately after.

        “Huh!?” Naturally, Tiara was bewildered, and Silver put a hoof to her chin, as if she were pondering something.

        “N-nothing! Nevermind!” I cleared my throat, trying to keep my cool. “I’ll question Pip. If you want to prove you’re innocent, do as I say!”

        “Ngh...” Tiara gritted her teeth, but stopped talking afterward.

        Damn, that was way too close. I can’t tell anypony what I was doing...it might get us all killed for getting too close to the truth. I just can’t do it. I have to pretend that what I’ve found isn’t related to this case.

        “Actually...” Silver grabbed my foreleg, “About that part, you getting turned to stone.”

        “Look, that’s-”

        “Don’t you think that whoever was involved would know that?”

        It hit me. That...makes the most sense. After I was un-stoned, I was immediately knocked out. That HAD to be the culprit! The culprit knew I’d be onto them if I was left ali...oh crap...

        “The culprit...may have tried to kill me.”

“Oh come on! Why HIM!?” Tiara pointer her hoof at me, “He wasn’t on that dumb wanted poster!”

        “No, but I’ve led two previous trials to the truth, didn’t I? The culprit was trying to be savvy.”

        “I don’t know...it would’ve been easier to eliminate you while you were petrified, don’t you think?” Silver followed up.

        “I guess...”

        Silver has a point too. Damn...but that doesn’t change the fact that whoever knocked me out that night was without a doubt, involved in Sweetie Belle’s murder.

        Doesn’t change the fact I almost became collateral damage.

        The thought of that really makes my blood boil...

        “S-so what are you gonna do?”

        “Find Pipsqueak. We need to talk.”

        “Right behind ya, buuuuuuuddy!”

        ...

        There he was, right behind us.

"Well? Let's talk."