> Ten Little Ponies
>  by Forefront1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> ...And Then There Were Nine
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ten Little Ponies


Victory had never tasted so sweet. At this point in time, the mane six had just defeated Lord Tirek and stood as the heroes of Equestria. Now, becoming heroes of anything obviously is one of the coolest feelings, but being the heroes for what the fifth or sixth time (Jeez I lose count) of an entire kingdom obviously has its perks. Ceremonies, respect, or in this case an entire castle for a new princess (Twilight Sparkle if you weren’t already aware (It happened in the third and fourth seasons)). However, due to the overall success of the mane six, plus the fact that this would be the third time that year that called for mass celebration, Celestia decided to try something different. Most of Equestria already knew how great the mane six were so they didn’t need more recognition. Also, the parties and celebrations, although fun, were taking many work days from the already carefree and relatively easy work year. This time, the group planned to have a small dinner party for the mane six in Twilights new castle, with minimal outside invitation. So the date was set, soon the mane six, Spike, Luna and Celestia, and Princess Cadence were getting ready for the dinner party. Shining Armor could not attend since he would be busy guarding the now empty castle in Canterlot.
        Although it was in a very pristine and very shiny (much to the dismay of Twilight's neighbors) castle it was a very laid back party. The main room had been set up with a few small tables for friends to sit at along with some background music playing to lighten the mood. There was a nice buffet set up in the main room for everyone which consisted of food brought by everyone since Twilight was recently a librarian of average wealth and could not afford servants. Most of the party consisted of everyone going to get food every so often and quiet mingling between the ponies despite the room being small enough for everyone to hear bits of others conversation. Although it didn’t seem like a good party, it was actually enjoyed by the partygoers and was a welcome change to their normally abnormal lives. For once, they could enjoy a quiet and peaceful evening for a change (Little did they know, the real fun was just about to start. BWAHAHAHA!, you know I’m going to stop interjecting my own thoughts, it throws off the pacing). Pinkie Pie, being the party pony she is, decided to be in charge of the aforementioned background music by being the DJ for the night. Twilight, if she had the money, would have hired Vinyl Scratch, but Pinkie was the second best DJ around and she worked for free.
        “Wait I’m not getting paid!?”
        (I’m just going to ignore that). Anyways, as everyone began mingling about it seems as though tension began to slowly rise between the group.
        “I’m not sure that I can fully encourage this Tia.” Luna said to her sister in a hushed tone.
        “Relax Luna we are at a party.” Celestia said taking another bite of the MMM cake that Pinkie brought.
"Yes, but I don't feel comfortable leaving the castle empty." Luna continued to whisper. "Our enemies might see us in our weakened state and plan an attack." Luna worried.
“You are such a worrier,” Celestia said with a slight chuckle. “Shining Armor is more than capable in taking care of the castle while we are gone.” She said taking another bite of cake.
Luna looked down nervously before speaking again. “Yes but-”
“But nothing.” Celestia said cutting her sister off. “Luna for the last time we are at a party with all of our friends and I intend on having a good time.” Celestia said getting up from the table to go put her plate away. “I suggest you do the same.”
As Celestia left Luna gave a quick glare at her sister before finding someone else to talk to. However, they were not the only two that seemed to be at odds. Sitting on the other side of the room sat Rainbow Dash and Rarity. Rainbow Dash, as she finished downing her third mug of Apple Family Cider, let out a loud burp as she slammed her mug down on the table.
“Whew, man every cider I drink just gets better and better. I gotta *burp* go get another one.” Rainbow said beginning to get up. 
“Rainbow Dash stop being so uncivilized, we are at a dinner party and there is no excuse for your kind of behavior.” Rarity said in pure disgust. 
“Geez Rarity calm down, I’m just having some fun.” Rainbow laughed giving Rarity a nudge on her shoulder. “Besides it’s just a party with our friends, it’s not like the Grand Galloping Gala or anything.” She continued.
Rarity sighed and rolled her eyes as she responded. “Yes but we are still in fact at a dinner party with the princesses no less so you need to be on your best behavior.” She said in an irritated tone. 
“You need to be on your best behavior blah blah blah.” Rainbow Dash said imitating Rarity. “Look you’re not the boss of me so calm down.” Rainbow said getting up in Rarity’s face. “I’m going to get more cider.” Rainbow Dash said as she grabbed her mug to refill and stormed off leaving Rarity to grumble at herself.
Meanwhile sitting closest to Pinkie’s DJ setup sat Twilight and Princess Cadence. They had been talking for hours telling stories about Shining Armor, discussing childhood memories, and all in all having a enjoyable time. They would talk for a few minutes, share a laugh, then get more food as the night went on. After dessert, Cadence and Twilight continued to talk as they drank glasses of water.
“Thanks again for hosting this wonderful party Twilight.” Cadence said giving her sister-in-law a hug.
“I’m just glad everyone could make it.” Twilight said looking around at the party goers. “It wouldn’t be the same without them.”
“Well you threw a top notch party for them to attend.” Cadence said giving another compliment to Twilight.
“Thank you.” Twilight said before silently staring out over the small crowd. 
Cadence, sensing this odd behavior took a moment to try to figure out what Twilight was looking at. “Twilight,” she said softly “what’s wrong?”
Twilight sat for another moment in silence. “I’m not sure, I’m just uneasy about something.” 
“Uneasy about what?” Cadence asked nervously.
“I...I guess I’m just not used to this time of peace. Its almost as if it’s too good to be true.” Twilight said before noticing Cadence’s concern. “Probably just too much sugar. I’m alright.”
Cadence stared at Twilight skeptically for a moment before getting up to get more water. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Cadence asked.
“I’m fine.” Twilight assured as Cadence left. Twilight then sighed and looked back to her friends. “I hope.”
Just as everyone was deep in their conversation Spike walked into the room holding a sealed scroll. He stopped by the cider barrel, grabbed one of the empty mugs left, filled the mug with cider, and walked to the front of the room by Pinkie Pie. He motioned for Pinkie to stop playing as he cleared his throat.
“Ladies and…” He began before noticing his audience. “Me...I guess. I just wanted to to take a moment and recognize a few ponies before the night is up.” He continued as the crowd sat down and looked towards him. “First of all, thank you to Twilight for hosting tonight's party and for the princess for attending.” Spike started as there was a quiet applause. “Most of all, a round of applause to Ponyville’s finest for defeating Tirek and saving the day.” Spike said as there was cheering and loud applause.
Spike then took a drink from his cider mug and continued. “Now on my way up here I found this note with a label that said: Urgent. Read at Party, so I figured that I would read it now.”
Spike unfurled the scroll and began to look it over before reading it to the group. As his eyes moved down the paper they began to open wide. His claws began to shake and he began to sweat. 
“Spike, what does it say?” Twilight said in fear.
“It...It says that o-one of us...is a murderer.” Spike stammered in fear.
The group gasped all together and began to whisper quietly.
“It says that *cough* tonight the *cough* *cough* killer will strike and- *cough* *cough*.” Spike spat out as he collapsed to the floor. 
“Spike!” Twilight shouted as she rushed to his side.
Spike clutched his spilled cider mug as he looked into the bottom of it to see his fear. As the rest of the group rushed up to meet Twilight they heard Spike whisper two short words.
“Dragonsneeze Tree.” Spike coughed out before falling limp in Twilights hooves.
“No, no this can’t be happening!” Twilight shouted tears coming to her eyes as she look down at Spike. "Spike, say something!"
The rest of the group stood in shock at the scene that unfolded in front of them.
Luna quietly walked over and put her ear up to Spike’s chest. “There’s no beat.” Luna said much to everyone’s horror. “He’s dead.”
“Dragonsneeze Tree.” Rarity pondered grabbing the mug. “Wait! Didn’t you say that Spike was allergic to Dragonsneeze Tree.” She said in fear.
“Yes,” Twilight sighed in defeat “But he’s never had a reaction as bad as this” She said motioning to Spike’s body.
“Are we all forgetting that there’s a killer on the loose?!” Pinkie shouted drawing all attention back to the current situation. “Twilight don’t you have some sort of a panic button?” Pinkie asked searching frantically.
“I one installed it two days ago by the door but don’t touch it.” Twilight said now getting off the floor.
“Sorry what was that last part?” Pinkie Pie said one hoof on the button already.
Suddenly a siren sounded out of nowhere taking everyone by surprise. They covered their ears as all of the doors and windows locked shut followed by the formation of a forcefield around the castle.
“What the hay just happened?” Applejack asked as the siren stopped sounding.
“Pinkie Pie just trapped us in here for the night.” Twilight said in annoyance. “That magical force field is impenetrable and prevents all forms of magic even including immortality.” She said while staring at the Alicorns during the last bit.
“Well there’s a killer here. I say we find out who it is and teach them a lesson.” Rainbow Dash said pounding her hooves in rage.
“Calm down Rainbow Dash.” Celestia interjected. “We can’t get let ourselves get caught up in all this.”
“Celestia’s right.” Cadence agreed. “We need to shut down the force field. Twilight you installed it, what can we do?” Cadence asked hopefully.
“Nothing,” Twilight said in defeat. “Once activated the force field stays up for 12 hours. None of us are leaving until morning.” 
“Great going Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash said pushing Pinkie aside.
“Don’t blame me.” Pinkie whined. “Twilight wasn’t talking fast enough. 
“You know I bet you’re the killer since you locked us in here.” Rainbow said aggressively causing Fluttershy to back away slowly.
“Rainbow Dash, how dare you?!” Rarity said, completely appalled. “It was an accident. Now I think we all need to keep a deep breath and cool our heads.” Rarity said quieting down.
“Um...before that you might want to read this.” Fluttershy said returning to the group. “I found it taped to the door.” She said handing the paper to Twilight.        
“It’s a poem. Ten Little Ponies?” Twilight said gawking at the title as she began to read…




Ten Little Ponies

Ten little ponies all doing just fine.
One started the panic,
and then there were nine. 

Nine little ponies, now not doing so great.
One died from a fright,
and then there were eight. 

Eight little ponies, two gone to heaven.
One was dethroned,
and then there were seven. 

Seven little ponies, one playing the tricks
One opened the wrong door,
and then there were six.

Six little ponies, trying to stay alive.
One blamed another,
and then there were five. 

Five little ponies, two dead from a door.
An pony bit the dust,
and then there were four.

Four little ponies, terrified as can be.
One tried to fight back,
and then there were three. 

Three little ponies, one tried to run. 
The killer defeated, 
and then there was one.




        “This is too weird.” Cadence said quizzically.
        “I know...Spike’s a dragon not a pony.” Pinkie added.
        “No it’s weird because it's outlining things that haven't happened yet.” Rainbow Dash said completing Cadence’s thought.
        “Why should we listen to some dumb poem.” Rarity said trying to hide her fear.
“Well that dumb poem just described what just happened and I don’t see anyone with a pencil, pen, or quill.” Twilight observed. 
“Also look at this.” Luna said grabbing both the letter and the poem. “These two documents have the same hoof writing.” 
“So the same person wrote both of them.” Fluttershy said finishing her thought.
“Exactly.” Luna said passing the two around.
“I don’t recognize this hoof writing.” Twilight said trying to identify the writer. “The pony who wrote this does not want someone tracking them down...for obvious reasons I suppose. 
“So? why don’t we just start asking questions and figure out who is responsible for all this?” Rainbow said, once again looking for trouble.
“Rainbow Dash be careful, don’t make the killer mad.” Fluttershy pleaded.
“Or what? For all we know you could be the killer. We have to take action.” Rainbow Dash said boldly.
“Look y’all one of us is a blood thirsty killer and we can’t get anywhere by just arguing right?” Applejack asked.
        The group nodded.
        “So if we just stay in this room and not leave until morning so the killer can’t hurt anyone.” Applejack reasoned.
        “Yes but then when we can leave someone gets away with murder.” Celestia concluded.
        “We have to get the killer to show themselves somehow.” Rarity suggested.
        “I have an idea,” Pinkie said bouncing over to a light switch. “I’ll turn off the lights and then once the killer strikes we’ll know who they are!” She said putting a hoof on the switch.
        “Pinkie NO!” Shouted the group collectively.
        It was too late. She turned the lights off and the entire group screamed collectively. There were fast hoofsteps heard and then in a moment silence. Pinkie turned on the light after about 30 seconds to find that the entire group had scattered throughout the castle.
        “Oh this just got much more difficult.” Pinkie said shrinking back in fear.







One started the panic,
and then there were nine.



> ...And Then There Were Eight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


...And Then There Were Eight


The once bright and cheerful castle had now become a sinister and twisted maze where any wrong turn could mean certain death. In this very castle, the frightened ponies were cautiously creeping through the halls to avoid being found. The thought of a killer on the loose was made much scarier considering that no one had any idea who could be the killer, nor where they could be. Any slight sound, any change in lighting, just the feeling that someone was watching them, these tormented the minds of each and every guest making every moment seem to carry on and on. The feeling of fear was causing everyone to think they saw things or overreact to every little thing. The worse part was that along with these happenings, everyone would have to fight for their lives until morning, being as there was no escape. 
        Twilight paced through the halls, racking her brain of any information as to who the killer might be. However, she was being consumed by a feeling of dread at the same time, making it hard to concentrate. No matter how she tried to take her mind off of the imminent danger, her thoughts always drifted back to her untimely demise. She knew that if she were ever going to crack the case, she would need help. Of course, as the saying goes, two heads are better than one. Yet at the same time, she knew that she would have a hard time trusting anyone since everyone is a suspect. In fact, her thoughts were getting so clouded that she was having a hard time justifying that she wasn’t the killer herself if she was going to be accused.
        As Twilight continued to pace she heard the soft noise of hoofsteps coming around the corner. Not knowing what to do and having nowhere to hide, she, using terrible logic, decided to run past whoever was advancing, hoping to confuse or scare them. Taking a deep breathe, Twilight ran as fast as she can down the hall and around the corner. Unfortunately, the other pony decided to walk right in front of her path and the two collided. Both ponies landed on the ground with a thud after the collision. They groaned and held their heads as they staggered to a standing position. Twilight regaining focus, looked towards the other pony?
        “Fluttershy?” Twilight groaned rubbing her forehead trying to numb the pain. “Are you okay?”
         “I think so.” Fluttershy replied, wobbling a bit from her dizziness.
        “Good, sorry about running into you.” Twilight said steadying her friend.
        After a moment of silence, Fluttershy spoke again.
“Twilight, I’m scared” Fluttershy said shrinking back against the wall. “The killer is going to get me, I just know it.” she continued, now on the brink of tears.
“It’s okay calm down, calm down.” Twilight said hugging the frightened pony. “We have them outnumbered. There’s eight of us and only one of them.”
“We have no idea who it is though, it could be anybody, why it could even be…” Fluttershy said before pausing shortly. 
“Twilight, are you the killer?” Fluttershy said getting ready to bolt.
“No, of course not.” Twilight said before realizing the issue with her statement, “But seeing as how I can’t prove it, and how you or anybody else can’t prove their innocence either, I suggest that whenever you see anyone, just be extremely careful, understand?” Twilight warned.
Fluttershy said nothing but quickly nodded her head in agreement.
“Now, let’s both keep going where we were going and just mind our own business.” Twilight said beginning to walk away.
Fluttershy nodded again and went on her way but was then stopped when Twilight spoke softly again.
“Also, this conversation NEVER happened.” Twilight said sternly as she walked down the hallway.


===============

        
Luna quickly walked the halls in search of the killer. Once the killer was revealed she would be ready to obliterate that messed up psycho who would dare hurt her friends and she would stop at nothing until she accomplished that. Luna was fuming as she searched frantically and the look on her face would confirm that, yet at the same time she was scared out of her mind. The fear of death had never phased her as that is something alicorns never truly have to deal with. In fact, felt like the weight of her own fear alone could suffocate and crush her to death. Just as she was about to take a pause from her search, a hoof gently tapped against her back.
“WHO GOES THERE!!! BY TARTARUS I SWEAR-” Luna shouted in her Royal Canterlot voice while turning around.
“Stop its just me Rarity, don’t hurt me ple-e-ease.” Rarity begged laying down on the ground.
“Oh,” Luna said looking down and the cowering figure. “My apologies Rarity, I guess I am just a bit on edge.” Luna said helping her friend off of the ground.
Suddenly something in Luna’s mind clicked as she realized her situation. Luna pushed Rarity into the wall and pinned her against it, using her left hoof to push against Rarity’s throat.
“Are you the killer!?” Luna said ready to snap Rarity’s neck like a twig.
“No...please...stop.” Rarity whispered as she desperately gasped for air.
“How can I be sure?” Luna asked keeping eye contact with Rarity.
“Because...If I was...you’d be dead by now.” Rarity said her face beginning to turn a light shade of blue.
Luna, thinking that was a good answer and realizing that she almost suffocated her friend, took her hoof off Rarity and caught the unicorn as she fell off of the wall. 
Rarity after coughing and wheezing for a few moments as she regained the much needed oxygen regained her balance and stood up on her own.
“What the heck Luna?” Rarity said holding her throat as the pain subsided.
“I-I am so sorry Rarity.” Luna said putting her hoof around her friend. “I don’t know what came over me. I guess I am just on edge from all of this.” Luna said still hugging her friend.
“Who isn’t in this situation?” Rarity asked as she broke up the hug. “What are you even doing acting like this?” Rarity asked, still slightly in shock from what just took place.
“I’m trying to find the killer, same as everyone else. Only when I find her, she will wish she killed me first.” Luna said angrily.
“Who do you think it could be?” Rarity asked, hoping Luna had an answer.
“I’m not sure.” Luna sighed in defeat. “But she had to have been able to get a hold of a lot of Dragonsneeze and would have to have access to the cider to put it inside.” Luna explained to Rarity. 
“Speaking of which, wasn’t Applejack in charge of the cider?” Luna said reviewing the evidence.
“She was, but you don’t really think she would be the one behind this do you?” Rarity said fearing the worst.
“Don’t forget that anyone’s a suspect Rarity, so be careful.” Luna said as she began her hunt again.
Rarity began to walk away from Luna before Luna spoke up again.
“Plus, if the killer has planned this night out as well as that poem would have us believe, then there will soon be a lot fewer suspects left to choose from.” Luna said without even turning back as she continued walking.


	===============


        While most of the group was unfortunately split up in the beginning, there were two ponies that trusted each other enough to stay together. Pinkie Pie met up with Applejack soon after the lights came back on and they didn’t part since. However, they made a deal to eliminate the threat of one of them being the next victim. The deal was that if Pinkie was the killer and attacked Applejack, Applejack would kick her into next week. If the opposite was the case then Pinkie Pie would just have the writer lock Applejack in a closet for the rest of the night…(wait what?). They also hoped that if one of them was next, the other could go get help before it was too late. Despite their best judgment, they were hardly silent as they kept on their walk. They talked about a variety of things, all of which were only a mere distraction from the obvious terror they were feeling inside. They had even discussed hiding somewhere and just waiting the night out, but both of them knew that sooner or later they would be found. So they kept walking and talking, nervously approaching every corner in fear of what was around it.
        After what seemed like hours, they entered the main room again and, after a thorough check that nobody else was there, they decided to sit down and rest for a bit. They sat down at the table closest to the center and sat at opposite ends, constantly watching each other’s back.
        “Do you think we’re safe Applejack, I feel like we should keep moving.” Pinkie Pie said, her eyes nervously darting back and forth.
        “The way I see it, Sugarcube, we know that we are the only ones in this huge room, where as if we start walking again, we won’t know what to expect.” Applejack said trying to calm Pinkie Pie down, however to no avail.
        “How could one of our friends do this to us?” Pinkie Pie said, fear beginning to set in.
        Applejack tried to come up with a reasonable explanation to calm Pinkie again, but she couldn’t think of anything.
        “Ah, don’t know.” Applejack sighed in defeat. “All I know is that I’m counting my minutes, cause I think I only got a few left.” She added, shaking her head.
        Pinkie Pie opened her mouth to speak, but quietly shut it as the two sat in silence. Suddenly, an ear piercing scream was heard throughout the castle, and caused the two mares to bolt upright in their chairs.
        “HELP! ANYONE PLEASE HELP ME!!!” The voice shouted.
        “That sounded like Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie said jumping out of her seat.
        “Well what are we waiting for? We have to help her!” Applejack said triumphantly as she too got up. 
        The two mares rushed out of the room and down the halls as they frantically searched for Rainbow Dash. However, Applejack did not realize how fast she was running compared to Pinkie Pie and soon outran her to the point that they were hopelessly separated. Pinkie Pie tried to keep up, but the dozens of rooms and hallways, got her lost and she soon realized that she was all alone. 
        “Applejack, can you hear me?” Pinkie called out to her friend.
There was no response, and Pinkie Pie feared the worst for her until she was reminded once again why she left the main room in the first place.
“Rainbow Dash?” Pinkie Pie shouted.
        Again, no response.


=======


        “HELP ME! PLEASE!” Rainbow Dash screamed, quickly flying through the corridors.
        “The killer’s behind me! Anyone, please help!” She screamed again, tears streaming down her face.
        She knows what she saw. A few moments ago she was walking down a hallway and turned a corner and saw it. There, in a darkened hallway with a flickering light, stood a shadowy figure. The moment Rainbow locked eyes with it, she knew for certain that That figure, was the killer. There was nothing but, violence and blood lust in its gaze. Just as Rainbow began to walk away slowly, the light went off for a moment and when it came back on, the figure was gone. Rainbow knows that it saw her and it was coming for her. So she ran. Of course, running to Rainbow Dash means flying at breakneck speeds. She flew down hallways and in and out rooms to try and shake the pursuer. 
“HELP! ANYONE PLEASE HELP ME!!!” she screamed for help, hoping someone would be near. 
After no response and no help, Rainbow called out again.
“HELP ME! PLEASE!” 
Rainbow continued darting through the castle going as fast as possible. She hadn't heard anything behind her so she decided to check. As rounded the next corner she quickly looked down the hallway she had just flown down. To her relief the hallway was empty. Rainbow was about to stop flying and take a breather since she had lost it. Rainbow just then looked in front of her and her eyes went wide. She tried to stop flying but it was too late. 
Ropes, dozens of them, jutting out from the wall blocked her path. Rainbow Dash was going too fast to stop and she ran right into all of them, getting completely tangled up. Fearing that this was a trap to slow her down, Rainbow frantically tugged at the ropes to get free, hoping to get away without being found. She had gotten completely caught up, there were ropes around her wings, her torso, and her hooves. She pulled at the ropes to detach them from their hangers on the wall and it appeared to be working. Except, there was one lone rope that she forgot about. 
Right under her neck, was a rope that extended from the bottom left of the corridor to the top right, and Rainbow had completely missed it. As she was about to free her wings, her hoof got stuck under this rope so she yanked it out of the bottom hanger. In response, the rope flew across the room and wrapped itself twice around her neck. In horror, Rainbow tried to undo her mistake, but it was too late. The hook of the hanger got caught on the other end of the rope closer to the top, just out of her reach. Then the trap gave way. The ropes holding her up finally broke off of the hangers sending her body and wings downward. The rope around her neck, tightened, causing her to choke. She tried to fly, but couldn’t handle the pain and the dead weight of the ropes. She tried to pull the rope down to the ground, but it was fastened to the ceiling too well. Giving up, Rainbow felt the last few breaths of air leave her body as her eyes rolled back and she let death take her. After a few minutes the rope around her neck gave way and sent her lifeless body crashing to the ground with a thud.
        

=======


Pinkie Pie walked out of the room she was in and down a hall. As she turned the corner she was surprised to find the lights turned off. Looking across the hall she found a light switch and turned it on. There, down the hallway lying on the ground was a sculpture that had seemingly been knocked over. Pinkie went over and propped it up against the wall and took a moment to look at it. It looked like an amateur art project, it was simply the sculpture of a very bland, average looking pony. However, one notable feature was that the eyes were made out of two glass lenses that somewhat reflected the light.
        “Wow, Twilight, nice creepy sculpture.” Pinkie muttered to herself as she continued to look for Applejack.







One died from a fright,
and then there were eight.



> ...And Then There Were Seven
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


...And Then There Were Seven


Cadence went motionless as the castle went quiet. From all of the evidence given, and the sudden silence, anyone could have figured that the killer had claimed their second victim. Cadence carefully looked around each corner, as she was trying not to see what happened to Rainbow Dash. The hallways were perfectly silent, even more silent than before. Cadence took very light steps, as to not make any noise which could attract unwanted attention. She thought about flying to be even quieter, but noticed how tight the hallway was and figured she couldn’t fully extend her wings. Sighing she folded her wings and kept walking. 
        The castle seemed larger now since she was travelling at a snail’s pace. The corridors all seemed to twist and turn around one another, and the entire place seemed like a maze. Cadence had never visited Twilight’s castle before, so she wasn’t sure how big it was. From the outside it seemed only as big as Twilight’s old house, but, as Cadence turned the corner, she realized that it was a lot larger than she thought. In front of her was a flight of stairs heading down to a lower level, despite the fact that she was already on the ground floor, at least she was pretty sure that she was on the ground floor. Looking down into the room, Cadence could see that the light was dimmer down there. It wasn’t pitch black, but one could easily hide in the shadows. At first, Cadence was going to go back, but as she turned she realized that she would probably be the only one down there. Plus, she figured the lower level would be smaller and easier to navigate. Figuring there was no reason to backtrack, she took one last look behind her as she descended the stairs into the shadows.


===============


        Celestia took a deep breath and grabbed the door handle. She heard the Rainbow’s screams and was now checking nearby rooms to make sure there wasn’t someone hiding, someone who could easily follow her in silence. So far she had checked a few, finding mostly empty closets or small empty rooms waiting to be furnished. Yet, every time she went to open another door she was always prepared for anything to be on the other side. 
        Celestia slowly turned the handle and began to push the door. All of a sudden, she jumped into the room while flinging the door open. As she landed on the other side of the door she quickly looked around for any other pony.
        “Oh thank goodness it’s empty.” Celestia sighed.
        “What’s empty?” said Pinkie Pie as she poked her head in from the hallway behind Celestia.
        This, of course, caused Celestia to nearly jump to the ceiling and spin around to face the puzzled pink pony.
        “Pinkie Pie?! What in Equestria are you doing?” Celestia shouted grabbing the pony by the shoulders.
        “Well, I was with Applejack, but then I got lost so I was wandering around here…) The Pinkie said as she began to ramble on.
        “Oh, nevermind.” Celestia sighed, taking her hooves off of Pinkie and walking past her.
        “So what you up too?” Pinkie said hopping behind the alicorn.
        “Well, I was trying to sneak up on the killer, but so much for stealth...unless.” Celestia said stopping in her tracks.
        “I’m not the killer.” Pinkie pie said bluntly.
        “Oh, thank goodness…” Celestia sighed as she continued walking down the hallway.
        “Soooo, see any good movies lately?” Pinkie Pie asked cheerfully.
        “Pinkie, not that I don’t trust you or anything, but can you please leave me alone?” Celestia said turning around and pointing down the hall.
        “Why?” Pinkie said, with a slight frown.
        “Because I don’t trust you.” Celestia stated flatly. “And, I don’t want the killer to get both of us if they find us.” She continued, noticing the mare getting sadder.
        “Oh, ok I get it.” Pinkie said, slightly upset as she began to walk down the hall.
        Celestia turned around again to begin her search again, as Pinkie chimed in for the last time.
        “But if we meet again and you want to chat I will be happy too!” The pink mare cheered as she hopped down the hallway, going who knows where.


===============


Fluttershy sat alone in the party room, her eyes constantly looking around her. She had run out of ideas. Running seemed obvious, she even wanted to run, yet something was holding her back. On the other hoof, leaving the castle was out of the question, since she didn’t know how to unlock the security system. Which brought her once again to her final option, hiding. It seemed like a good idea at first, however the more she thought about it, the more she decided against it. She knew putting in all of the energy to creep silently through the castle, find a spot to hide, only to get found in the end was a waste of her time. So she sat, staring vacantly out into the equally as vacant room. 
The silence was maddening, Fluttershy, even quiet as she was, could barely stand it. Some days she would take a walk around the town border, ponies rarely walked there. She would walk for hours and only be accompanied by the sound of a light breeze, or the faint chirp of a bird. This silence, was unnatural, uncomfortable, and unearthly. Fluttershy needed to talk, just to break it. After a quick look to make sure nopony was around, Fluttershy began to sing a comforting song to ease her nerves. She chose one of the latest songs that the Ponytones were practicing, she couldn’t remember all of the words, but she was calmed all of the same. 
As she sang, she began to sway her head back and forth. She couldn’t help it. Whenever she heard a song from the Ponytones it just filled her with such joy.
Her voice began to get louder. 
After a few more verses, she got out of her seat and began to sway and dance around the table. 
Her voice got louder. 
She hopped up on the table and sang out to the empty room as if she were performing for the world. 
Her voice got louder. 
For a second, Fluttershy opened her eyes and could have sworn that she heard someone else in the room. 
Her voice got louder. 
As she belted out the last words of the song, a loud crash came from right behind her, followed by her scream.
Her voice went silent.


===============


Twilight let out a sigh of relief as she shut the door behind her. It had been much more stressful than she wanted, but she finally made it to her secret room in the basement without being seen. She hadn’t told anyone about this room, not even Spike. She wanted a room, away from all of her troubles, where she could just relax. Granted, this was not a time that she could relax. Twilight knew that sooner or later, she would have to come out, and she did not want to meet what would be waiting for her. Twilight walked slowly over to the lounge chair that she put in there and sat down. Letting out another sigh, Twilight looked over to the book on the small table that was next to the chair. It was a new novel on the history of the Ponyville Express. It was not exactly a page turner but Twilight was about halfway through and she was not one to leave a book unfinished. This time however she wasn’t in the mood to read. She was absolutely drained, emotionally and physically. Twilight looked at the clock in the room and saw that it was only 11:30 pm. With a tired yawn, Twilight decided to get some shut eye to try and wait out the night. She knew it was a bad idea, but it was the only thing she could think of. As Twilight slowly drifted off to sleep, she began to slouch in the chair. One thing she forgot to notice, however, was that in her tired state she left the door unlocked...and it slowly began to open.


===============


Rarity walked down the hallway in front of the throne room admiring the many tapestries that draped elegantly from the ceiling. Despite being in a life threatening situation, Rarity could always spend a few moments admiring a beautiful piece of art. Plus, she needed the distraction. She never had time to truly admire the magnificence of the castle undisturbed. Stopping halfway down the hallway, Rarity looked to her left to see a purple tapestry bearing a picture of Twilight’s cutie mark. Sighing, Rarity sat down underneath the tapestry, a little upset. She hated to admit it, but Rarity was jealous of Twilight. At first, Rarity held her breath. When Twilight became an Alicorn, which was Rarity’s absolute dream, Rarity understood. She told herself that Twilight was better with magic and Twilight was Celestia’s student, but eventually it got harder and harder to stay quiet. Now, Twilight has this castle, this luxurious castle. Rarity always wanted a castle. She tried to find any reason to go to Canterlot and visit just to look at the castle there. Now, one of her best friends had a castle that Rarity could look at every day. It mocked her. Every moment that Rarity looked at it, she wanted it to be hers. It wasn’t fair, she was more regal than all her friends, yet Twilight was the one to get the castle and the princess title. As much as this upset Rarity, Twilight was her friend, and it wasn’t her fault she got all of this recognition. So Rarity kept quiet, only sometimes venting to herself. 
Figuring she had spent enough time complaining to herself, Rarity got up and continued to walk down the hallway. As she continued to walk she noticed that the last tapestry was missing, due to her eye for detail, however this didn’t bother her that much. Rarity then turned to face the door of the throne room and cautiously go inside. 
Inside the throne room she saw the map of Equestria surrounded by each of the chairs that her friends and she sat on. Rarity walked over to her chair and took a seat, looking down at the map. Suddenly, Rarity thought she heard hoofsteps coming to the door behind her so she turned around quickly. She noticed that she forgot to shut the door and that the hallway was empty. Rarity nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders and turned around. As she turned she noticed something that soured her mood. Looking at Twilight’s chair she noticed that it was, in fact, just a bit larger than her and her other friends. 
“Well that’s just great.” Rarity said quickly standing up out of her seat. “Not only does she get a castle, but her throne is bigger than ours.” She huffed.
Rarity knew she was overreacting, but she was too annoyed to care. Rarity walked over to Twilight’s throne and sat down with regal posture. 
“Well, if little Miss princess doesn’t make it out of this then I suppose that I will take her place. I think this life really suits me.” Rarity said with a smirk as she sat on the throne.
Out of nowhere, a loud crash came from behind her taking the breath right out of her lungs. Rarity pressed her back against the back of the throne, motionless staring straight out into the room. Then, a loud scraping, worse than nails on a chalkboard, began to inch closer and closer to her. Rarity began to cry, she couldn’t look at what was coming, nor did she want to. The scraping on the ground reached the back of her chair, the began to move next to her right side. It finally stopped right next to the arm rest. Rarity did not dare look down. She simply sat in silence, hoping whatever just entered the room would leave. Every second dragged on, never ending as Rarity waited for peace. Suddenly she got it as the door behind her slammed shut.	
Rarity quietly caught her breath, tears streaming down her face as she was practically screaming in her mind. After another moment she let out an audible sigh as the threat seemed to pass. Without any delay a hoof swung around the throne striking Rarity on the left side of her face. Rarity was knocked to the side and off of the chair falling to the floor.
Just a moment before she went over the side, Rarity caught sight of what caused the horrible scraping sound. On the ground below her was some sort of case, and inside the case was a few dozen butchers knives, sticking straight up in the air. She tried to dodge them but Rarity hit the knives and screamed in agony as they cut into her. She slid down farther on the knives until she was pressing against the ground. Below her, a pool of blood began to grow rapidly. Rarity tried desperately to push herself off the knives, but her strength was gone. Her head went limp as the blood continued to drain out of her body. With her final moments, she saw a shadowy figure running out of the throne room into the hallway, away from the crime. Then with a final gasp from pain, her eyes finally shut.








One was dethroned,
and then there were seven.



> ...And Then There Were Six
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


...And Then There Were Six


        Twilight woke up with a massive headache. Along with that, it seems her sight had gone too. No matter how hard she tried to concentrate, she could only see absolute darkness. She reached out to feel her surroundings when she oddly hit a solid surface. Thinking she fell on the floor during her rest, Twilight turned herself around to stand up again. Pushing up from the ground, Twilight hit her head on a what appeared to be ceiling. She then began to place her hooves on other sides of her. She began to panic as she realized that she was closed in a box, each side unbreakable. Twilight then tried to lift the lid off of the box. She began repeatedly pushing against the top of the chest. However, her heart sank as she heard the light rattling of a padlock. Twilight then curled up and began furiously shaking and breathing heavily. Suddenly the door opened behind her.
Twilight held her breath as she heard hoofsteps behind her. Whoever locked her in the chest in the first place was now in the same room as Twilight. Twilight then felt the chest jerk forward and heard it scrape across the ground. She didn’t know where she was or where she was going, but she knew she wouldn’t like the answer. The mysterious pony pushed the chest through the castle as Twilight remained absolutely silent. Then out of nowhere the chest stopped moving.
Twilight listened for any signs of her captor leaving as she still stayed silent. She leaned against the back of the chest so that she was staring at the top of the chest just in case. As she leaned back, she felt the box tilting back with her. Trying desperately to readjust herself, Twilight felt the chest slide down onto a set of stairs. 
The box tumbled down the stairs with loud crashes with each step. Inside the chest, Twilight’s body was flung around, crashing into each side. The box continued falling down the stairs for a few moments until it finally hit the ground with a final *thud*. With the final landing, Twilight’s head hit the ground, knocking her out cold.


===============


        “Pinkie Pie?” Applejack whispered from around a corner. “Are ya there?” She asked, her voice shaking. 
        Applejack didn’t mean to outrun Pinkie Pie when Rainbow was shouting for help. It was just instinct. Applejack knew her friend was in trouble and she was going to get to her no matter what. By the time that Applejack reached the scene it was too late for anyone to save Rainbow, she was already gone. Realizing that she left her friend alone, Applejack then spent the next few minutes trying to get back to Pinkie Pie. She looked everywhere, it was almost if the party pony had disappeared from existence.
        “Poor Pinkie.” Applejack whispered to herself. “She must be terrified without me.” She sighed, taking her hat off and running a hoof through her mane.
        Applejack continued to walk through the hallways looking for her friend. Yet, she stayed absolutely quiet, as to not attract any unwanted attention. Turning around a corner, Applejack faced a long hallway, filled with doors on every side. However, the first door on her left was slightly opened and Applejack could hear voices from the other side. Applejack crept over to the door and peered in.
        “Well that’s just great.” She heard Rarity say. “Not only does she get a castle, but her throne is bigger than ours.” The unicorn complained.
        Applejack rolled her eyes as she watched Rarity walk through a nearby door.
“That mare needs to learn some manners.” Applejack said bitterly as she shut the door and crept away.


===============


Luna looked into the open party room as she lifted herself off of the ground. She looked behind her at the empty cider barrel on the ground that she tripped over. Brushing herself off, she cautiously called out to the room.
“Hello?” She spoke softly. “Anyone here?” Luna continued, walking into the center of the room. 
Hearing no response, Luna decided to look back at the first crime scene.
Spike’s body had been mysteriously moved from the scene. However, the mug he was drinking out of, was left behind. Luna picked it up and looked inside to reveal the leftover plant leaves.
“It just doesn’t add up.” Luna whispered to herself.
She then noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Turning her head, she saw something odd sitting under the cider table.
“That’s odd.” She said as she began walking towards the table.
Once she reached the table Luna lifted the tablecloth and looked underneath.. There, in a big bag under the table with the words “Dragonsneeze Leaves” in bold letters on the side of it. Sure enough, when Luna looked in the bag there was a big pile of leaves inside. She then quickly closed the bag and put the evidence back where she found it.
“Interesting…” She said to herself.
As she turned to leave, she heard some noise coming from inside the room. Almost as if someone were watching her.


===============


Cadence strained her eyes as she tried to see in the dimly lit room. Even though it was dark, Cadence could make out shelves filled with glass bottles and beakers. 
This must be Twilight’s laboratory. Cadence thought as she held of a filled beaker.
Cadence continued to look around the room when she came across a table covered in loose leaf paper. On the paper, were strange drawings and scribbles with arrows pointing from one scribble to the next. Cadence continued scanning the paper until she saw that there were two big drawings on the side. One drawing was a picture of lines crossing back in forth between two vertical lines labeled “walls”. The second drawing was a rectangle with pictures of knives sticking up into the air.
Just then, Cadence heard a thumping coming from somewhere in the room. She slowly backed away, hoping that whatever it was would go away. After a few moments of silence, the thumping began again. However, it came from the other corner of the room. Cadence realized that something was in the room with her, and it knew that it wasn’t alone. Cadence continued to slowly walk away and towards the stairs again. Once again, after a short pause, the thumping continued; getting closer with each thump. Cadence, reaching the stairs quickly turned and ran up, hoping to shake whatever was stalking her.
Cadence ran to the top of the stairs and quickly looked behind her to see if she was alone. She saw nothing. Gazing down the nearby halls, Cadence saw that she was alone. All of a sudden, the loud slam of a door and the shattering of glass came from downstairs. Hearing the noise, Cadence began sprinting through the nearby halls, trying desperately to escape. As she turned a corner, she could hear rapid hoofsteps coming up the stairs behind her. Cadence’s eyes began darting back and forth, searching for a safe place to hide. At the end of the hall she saw her safety, a closet door that was opened just a crack. She darted inside and slowly shut the door so it didn’t make a noise.
Cadence’s heart was racing and she hid behind the door. She breathed quietly as she calmed herself down. Yet when she heard the sound of hoofsteps coming to an abrupt halt at the end of the hallway, she knew she was still being hunted. 
The hallway was quiet for a moment as both Cadence and whatever was outside stood still. Cadence leaned against the door and held her breath to see if she could hear any movement. At the end of the hall, the sound of hoofsteps, lightly walking across the floor, could be heard. Cadence couldn’t tell what direction the hoofs were going, so she kept listening. Suddenly, Cadence heard the sound of a door being flung open and being slammed shut after a second. Cadence recoiled away from the door and held in a scream by biting her tongue. Then another door flung open and shut, this time closer than the last. She kept quiet as another door was checked and as the figure crept closer. 
Then, the door next to her’s flung opened. Cadence stood absolutely still. She continued biting her tongue and tears began streaming down her face. The hoofsteps slowly walked from the next door, inching closer to her. Cadence prayed that they keep walking. Much to her dismay. the hoofsteps stopped right on the other side of the door. She felt faint, Cadence had never been this scared in her life. Then the doorknob rattled. Cadence closed her eyes and prepared for the inevitable. 
But nothing happened. The doorknob twisted back to its previous position as the hoofsteps quickly walked away. Cadence, face covered in tears, was both confused and relieved. She felt dizzy as she took a few breaths to calm down. After a few moments, she figured that the coast was clear. She reached for the doorknob and tried to open the door. It was locked.
Starting to panic once again, Cadence kept trying to open the door to no avail. She then resorted to bashing against the door to see if she could break it down. Finding herself stuck after that, she slouched down against the door and decided to wait for help to come. Until she heard the sound of a fuse being lit.
Looking up at what was in the back of the closet, Cadence saw Pinkie Pie’s party cannon, fuse lit, aiming straight for her. Cadence then began banging on the door and shouting out for help.
“Help! Somepony please! HELP!” She cried out, looking back to her impending doom.
The fuse continued to shorten as Cadence then tried to diffuse it. Reaching for the fuse, Cadance found that it was actually inside a glass box on the side of the cannon. She began to cry and scream again as the fuse began to reach the end. At last, Cadence let out one final scream as the fuse finally ran out.
The canon fired, sending pounds of explosive fireworks and confetti out into the small closet space. A bright ball of fire exploded in Cadence’s face as she was knocked back from the blast. The force of impact sent the door flying off its hinges into the opposite wall. The door then broke in two pieces on impact and then crashed to the floor. On top of it, lay a scorched, broken, and lifeless Cadence; covered in confetti.






One opened the wrong door,
and then there were six.



> ...And Then There Were Five
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


...And Then There Were Five


The party cannon blast echoed through the castle, shaking every wall. Everypony stopped in place where they were and looked around, trying to find the source of the sound. While the location of the sound was unknown, it was clear the killer struck again. 
 Celestia cautiously peeked out from the room she was hiding in, unsure if she should leave or not. After another quick look up and down the halls, Celestia walked out and quietly shut the door behind her. She then walked down the hall and around the corner towards where she thought the sound came from.
        Luna was out of breath from running when she heard the noise. She was previously trying to get away from whatever was watching her in the main room. She nervously looked behind her just to make sure she lost it before leaning up against a nearby wall to catch her breath. She knew from the sound that someone else died, but she didn’t know who or where. So she started walking. Hoping to find the victim before anyone else.
       Applejack quickly ran through the halls trying to find the source of the explosion. She wanted to get to the scene of the crime alone. If she was ever going to get through the night she needed to see how the murder played out. Plus, if she was lucky, she could find another suspect at the scene. She held on to her stetson as she picked up speed.





=============== 


        Twilight jerked awake at the sound of the blast and bashed her head on the side of the box. Wincing in pain, she adjusted her position and laid down on her back facing upward. She couldn’t tell how long she’d been out, but she did know that her head was killing her. It felt like someone threw a dictionary at her face. As she was rubbing her head, she could hear hoofsteps approaching her box. Twilight was unsure of what to do. There was no escape, she was cornered. After quickly going through her options, Twilight quickly fell to the floor and pretended to be knocked out again. Cowering in fear, Twilight heard the top of the box opened.
        “Twilight? Are you okay?” She heard a cheerful voice say.
        “Pinkie Pie?” Twilight asked nervously.
        Twilight looked up to see Pinkie Pie holding up the top of the box and looking down at her.
        “Here, let me help.” Pinkie Pie said as she held a hoof out to help Twilight out of the box.
        Twilight cautiously took Pinkie Pie’s hoof as she stood up in the box. Her head must have still been injured because Twilight was very dizzy when she stepped out of the box. Losing her balance, Twilight fell against Pinkie Pie, who struggled to hold her up.
“Whoa whoa, easy.” Pinkie Pie said balancing Twilight.
“Okay, okay. I’m fine.” Twilight said, regaining her senses. 
Pinkie Pie waited a second to see if Twilight could stand up before letting go. Twilight rubbed her head again as it was still throbbing in pain. 
“What time is it?” Asked Twilight groggily.
“I wish I knew. But I haven’t seen you for a while. Why were you in a box?” Pinkie asked the wobbly alicorn.
“I don’t know. I think I dozed off in my private study and next thing I knew, I was locked in a box.” Twilight said, trying to recall the info. “Speaking of which, how did you open the box?” She asked curiously.
“Well, despite what you remember, there wasn’t a lock on it when I found you.” Pinkie Pie said, pointing to the opened chest.
“But I...oh never mind. How did you find me?” Twilight asked, changing the subject.
“Oh, I was walking around near hear when that explosion went off and I found this box at the bottom of the stairs. And everyone knows how much I love presents and surprises. I just had to open it.” Pinkie Pie said happily.
“So there was an explosion.” Twilight said, pondering the reason behind it.
“I think the killer struck again, we have to go. The explosion wasn’t far from here.” Pinkie Pie said grabbing onto Twilight’s arm and pulling her along.


===============


        The two ponies walked up the stairs out of the basement. Actually, Pinkie Pie walked while Twilight somewhat stumbled and limped from the many injuries she had gained from being pushed down the stairs. Nothing serious, but she was in pain. Since Twilight had been out of the action for a while, she followed Pinkie Pie around.
        “So where are we going?” Twilight asked, making it to the top of the stairs.
        “Well, I figure that since we know that another murder happened, I figured that we could be the first ones to find it and solve the mystery.” Pinkie Pie said while jumping in the air.
        “I suppose so.” Twilight began. “But where did the murder take place?” She asked Pinkie as the two continued down a hallway.
        “Don’t know, but I’m sure we can find it.” Pinkie Pie said cheerfully while she turned a corner.
        “Wait, you don’t know. Then why am I wasting my time with this? I mean the murder could be anywhere, it could take hours to find it. Did you even- *Mphf*” Twilight said before being stopped by Pinkie’s hoof. “Why did we stop?” Twilight asked.
        The pink pony did not respond but rather pointed a shaking hood down the hallway. Twilight turned to see a horrifying sight. The right side of the wall was charred and covered in ashes and farther down a closet door was broken in half, with little bits of wood scattered around the hall. In the middle of all of the rubble was a terrifying sight. Cadence’s body was lying on the ground, completely burned, bones broken beyond repair, and lifeless.


        “I wonder what happened.” Pinkie Pie said as her hair began to deflate.
        Twilight held back tears as she looked over the scene. Cadence was dead, there was no denying that. Twilight was about to stand up and leave when something caught her eye. Tucked away in what was the singed remains of Cadence’s hair, was a small piece of yellow confetti. Twilight slowly reached out and grabbed the confetti and stared at it.
        “Pinkie Pie,” Twilight began calmly. “How did you find me again?” She asked the mare.
        “I was just walking around near here. Why?” Pinkie asked, looking down at Twilight.
        “Because I think that you are lying!” Twilight shouted as she stood up and held the confetti out in front of Pinkie Pie. “You’re the killer and you saved me from the box just so you could kill me next!” Twilight shouted in pure rage.
        “Twilight, why would I ever do something like that?” Pinkie Pie said in shock as she walked forward to calm Twilight down.
        “STAY AWAY FROM ME!” Twilight shouted backing away. “You are just lying to me. Thanks to you my friends are dead!” Twilight continued to shout.
        “Twilight I’m not the killer!” Pinkie Pie screamed at her all while she started to cry.
        “Oh yeah,” Twilight began as she looked down at the piece of confetti. “Let’s see what everyone else thinks about that.” She said as she ran off into the castle, with Pinkie Pie right behind her.


===============


“Everyone, Pinkie’s the killer!” Twilight shouted as loud as she could, running faster as she tried to get away from Pinkie Pie. “Get to the main room as soon as you can!” She shouted while running around a corner.
“Twilight, Stop Listen!” Pinkie Pie shouted back as she continued to run with her.
As the chase ensued, the remaining ponies heard the noise and tried to follow it. Applejack stopped hunting for the crime scene and instead turned to find Twilight and Pinkie running down the hallway behind her. Without thought, Applejack started following them. Luna heard that they were all heading to the main room and, after gathering the courage to return, decided to head that way as well. Celestia heard the commotion, turned around, and ran back towards the main room hoping to catch up with everyone before it was too late. Everyone entered the room at virtually the same time and Twilight quickly gathered everyone together to question Pinkie Pie.
“It’s over Pinkie Pie.” Twilight began, recovering from the run. “Admit it. You are the killer.” She said, backing into line with the others.
“Please, let me defend myself I’m not the killer.” Pinkie pleaded to the group.
After a quick glance and a few nods, Celestia stepped forward and stared down at the pony.
“Since most of us don’t have any idea what is going on, you may give your defense.” She said stoically.
“Thank you Princess.” Pinkie said with a sigh. 
Pinkie Pie then stood up, took a breath, and began her defense. “I saved Twilight from a box she said she was trapped in and we walked up some stairs. After we turned a corner we saw Cadence dead. Twilight saw a piece of confetti and I assume she thought that I hit Cadence with my party cannon. I am trying to say, that’s impossible because I locked the party cannon along with all of the other supplies in the closet over there.” Pinkie Pie said, pointing to the other side of the room. “Also, the only pony who know the combination to the padlock on the door...is Twilight.” Pinkie said nervously.
“Are you implying that I am the killer?” Twilight asked in disbelief.
“Well there was no lock on the box you were, as you say, trapped in.” Pinkie Pie depanned.
Twilight looked around nervously as all of the other ponies in the room slowly walked over to Pinkie Pie to defend her.
“But there was a lock…” Twilight stammered. 
“So you say.” Luna said aggressively. “But a killer would say anything to prove their innocence.” She continued.
“That’s not proof though. Plus all of you are still suspects.” Twilight said, quickly pointing around at the group.
“We ain’t got nuthin’ against us.” Applejack retorted.
“Well…” Luna began.
The group looked at Luna with wide eyes as they awaited what the princess had to say.
“Well...what?” Applejack said bitterly, getting up in Luna’s face.
“Well, when I was in here earlier...I may have seen a bag full of Dragonsneeze leaves lying underneath the cider table.” Luna said sheepishly.
“That doesn’t prove anything!” Applejack snapped back at her. “Besides, there’s nothing there now!” She yelled, pointing at the empty ground beneath the table. “Plus, you were acting very strange earlier tonight. Acting more like the hunter rather than the prey.” Applejack continued.
“I was nervous. Death could have been around every corner.” Luna shot back.
“The rest of us kept our cool. Why couldn’t you?” Applejack questioned Luna.
“The two of you stop it!” Celestia shouted, standing between them and pushing them aside. “Stars above, you’re acting like children.” Celestia said with a sigh.
“Don’t act so innocent sister.” Luna whined.
“And what would I have to hide?” Celestia questioned.
“I don’t know. Why were you jumping in and out of rooms like a psycho earlier?” Pinkie Pie said nonchalantly.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Celestia questioned, staring down at the pink mare.
“What’s the matter little miss I-have-nothing-to-hide? Somepony spill the beans?” Pinkie Pie said sarcastically.
“Everyone stop it.” Twilight said as every eye shot back to her. “We all might have some evidence against us. But I know Pinkie Pie is the killer. It’s her party cannon, she was the first one to find me, and she led me straight to the murder. There’s your proof.” Twilight said once again pointing to Pinkie Pie.
“For the last time. The party cannon is locked in the room over there. You can go check. If it was moved, then Twilight’s the killer.” Pinkie Pie said once again pointing to the closet.
“No, Applejack is playing you both. I saw the Dragonsneeze and plus, she’s the strongest. She break the door down and move the party cannon without anyone knowing.” Luna said, quickly accusing Applejack again.
“It’s not me. Pinkie Pie, you said Celestia was looking in and out of rooms. Probably trying to find a hiding spot for it.” Applejack said, placing the blame on Celestia.
“Applejack! No, all of you listen. Luna’s been acting hostile all night. She is just taking her pent up aggression out through murder.” Celestia said as she recalled Applejack’s evidence.
The group went around in a circle like this for a few more moments. Twilight, as her curiosity peaked, slowly walked over to the closet door. 
“QUIET!!!” Twilight shouted to the group.
The group once again looked back over to her.
“I know of one way to clear this up a bit.” Twilight sighed. “Pinkie Pie, if your cannon is in here. You are innocent...for now at least.” Twilight said grabbing ahold of the padlock.
Twilight quickly twisted the knob on the lock until the code was complete, causing the lock to, *click*, open. Twilight threw it to the floor and then looked at the closet. Twilight did remember putting the canon in here before the party, and she definitely did not open the lock since. The group sat in silence as Twilight slowly reached for the knob. With a gulp, Twilight twisted the knob but did not dare open the door, afraid of what was on the other side. Was Pinkie Pie really a murderer, or was the killer her subconscious, doing things without her knowing. With a deep breath, Twilight flung the door open. Inside was the party cannon...fuse lit and aiming right for her.
Twilight’s eyes went wide and she screamed as the cannon went off, replaying the last murder for all to see. The group ducked as Twilight’s body flew back towards them, landing with a lifeless thud. As the smoke and ashes was causing the ponies to cough, Applejack got of the ground and ran to her friend.
“Twilight!” Applejack shouted, putting her ear to Twilight’s chest.
As Applejack feared, there was no sound. Twilight was gone.
The group sat in silence for a moment at the loss of their friend until Applejack realized something. 
“The party cannon just killed another person. Pinkie...why do I agree with Twilight now?” Applejack said getting more intense.
Pinkie realized her situation and began to slowly back away. The rest of the group got up and stared her down.
“This isn’t what you think.” Pinkie Pie said. “I’m not the killer.” She cried out.
“Really? Because your party cannon just killed another pony.” Celestia pointed out.
“I know. But I don’t know how, or why. I’m not the killer!” Pinkie Pie shouted, as she began to cry hysterically.
The group backed up Pinkie Pie into a wall and surrounded her. Pinkie feared the worst as Luna spoke up.
“This is it Pinkie Pie. We know you are the killer. It’s time to pay for what you’ve done.” She said in a commanding and terrifying voice. “Any last words?” Asked Luna, staring daggers at the cowering pony.
Just as Pinkie was about to give up, she realized something. Something that might just save her. 
“As a matter of fact, yes. Let me see the poem.” Pinkie pie said, holding out a shaky hoof.
Applejack walked over to the table that the poem had been previously been set down on and brought it to Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie quickly scanned it over and then a wave of relief washed over her.
“Look here. It says: One blamed another. That’s talking about Twilight.” Pinkie Pie said showing the paper to everyone. 
“Yeah, so?” Luna asked in confusion.
“Well, it says here that only five ponies should be left.” Pinkie Pie said, reading on.
“Look here. Applejack said pointing to an earlier verse. It says: One was dethroned.” Applejack read. “Ah saw Rarity near the throne room earlier. So that means-” Applejack said with a gulp.
“That means the killer must have struck there too.” Celestia concluded.
“Right, so there’s five ponies left.” Pinkie Pie said again.
“Again...so?” Luna asked again.
“I guess what I’m trying to say here is…” Pinkie Pie said, putting the pieces together.
The group waited in suspense to hear her conclusion.
“Where’s Fluttershy?” Pinkie asked to everyone’s horror.






One blamed another,
and then there were five.



> ...And Then There Were Four
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


...And Then There Were Four


        The group stared at one another intently, eyes wide in shock.
        “Has anyone seen Fluttershy?” Celestia asked, hoping for an answer.
        The group shook their heads in reply.
        “Not since the lights went down in the first place.” Applejack muttered. 
        “Sorry.” Pinkie Pie sighed in response.
        “Nevermind that.” Luna said laying a hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder. “At this point we are all now trapped in a castle with a psychopath intent on killing us all. We need a plan.” Luna declared.
        “Luna’s right. At this point all signs point to Fluttershy as the killer.” Celestia agreed. “I suggest we take the only hunch we have.” She added.
        “Ah agree.” Applejack said chiming in. “Plus, if one of us turns out to be the killer…” She said shooting a quick glance to Pinkie Pie, “then the other three can stop her.” She finished.
        “That’s right!” Pinkie Pie agreed. “I’m in!” she declared putting a hoof in the middle of the group.
        “Let’s do this!” Applejack chimed in, putting her hoof in as well.
        “It’s now or never.” Celestia added, laying her hoof on top of the others.
        “We are not going to die tonight. Not on my watch.” Luna said, joining the other three.
        The group cheered with enthusiasm and lifted their hoofs in the air. The looked around the rest of the room with determination as they planned their next step.
        “Soooo...What now?” Pinkie Pie asked bluntly.


===============






        The group travelled through the castle together, still skeptical of each other's innocence, as they searched for Fluttershy. They called out to her multiple times at first, with no response. After a while, they decided it was a fruitless effort and continued on in silence. With no way to track her down, the group began to lose hope.


        “Do you think she made it out?” Pinkie Pie asked the others.


        “I don’t think so. Besides, if she is the killer then why would she want to leave?” Luna responded.


        “So what exactly are we going to do when we find her?” Applejack asked the others.


        “We should question her, calmly.” Celestia responded. “We don’t want her to suspect anything, and besides she might not be the killer.” She reasoned. 


        “Agreed, we need her alive if she is innocent.” Luna said to her sister.


        The group continued to walk through the hallways without another sound coming from anyone. It must have been sometime in the early morning, still before dawn. But the hunt was still far from over. As much as they hated to admit it, the poem still called for the death of four more ponies. They knew that only one person would make it out alive.


        After a few more moments of search, a muffled cry for help was heard coming from down the hallway.


        “Did anyone else hear that?” Pinkie Pie asked, looking around.


        “It sounds like it’s coming from that door down there?” Applejack said pointing down the hallway. 


        The group quickly ran down to the door and surrounded it. The muffled cry was heard again, coming from right behind the door.


        “That must be her.” Celestia whispered to the others.


        Taking a deep breath Pinkie Pie walked up to the door and put a hoof on the handle. She closed her eyes and quickly threw open the door. Inside was a coat closet with some of Twilight’s winter coats. On the ground was a toppled bookshelf, most likely put away for storage, and a few coats lying on the ground. Suddenly the pile of coats shifted and the muffled noises came again. 


        “Fluttershy!” Applejack said quickly picking up the coats.


        Fluttershy was facedown on the ground, trapped underneath the weight of the bookshelf. She struggled to free herself but the shelf would not budge, despite her efforts. 
        “Luna help me lift this up.” Applejack said trying to lift the shelf up.


        It was heavy, but the combined efforts of the farmer and the alicorn were enough to put the shelf upright.


        Once the shelf was standing up, the group once again looked to Fluttershy. The pegasus struggled to stand, breathing heavily from her struggling. 


        “You alright sugarcube?” Applejack asked, holding a hoof out to her friend.


        Fluttershy looked at Applejack’s gesture and then quickly looked to the rest of the group. Her eyes shot fully open and she bolted out from the closet, pushing past the others. She quickly ran down the hallway and turned left without a second thought.


        “She’s getting away!” Luna yelled as she began to run after Fluttershy.


        The group sprinted after Luna, trying to catch up to the pegasus. As fast as Luna was running, Fluttershy was always just out of reach. The group could tell that they were headed back to the main room and they didn’t want to lose her there. As the group turned another corner, their faces fell as Fluttershy was nowhere to be seen. They could still hear her hoofsteps so they knew the chase was still on.


        “Everyone split up!” Luna shouted, continuing to sprint ahead.


        Celestia and Applejack turned down the left and right hallways respectively and Pinkie Pie turned back around to see if she could find another way. They continued to dash around looking for Fluttershy but it looked like she had eluded them.


===============


Fluttershy ran at speeds she rarely reached as she bolted from the group. She didn’t know how long she had been stuck in the closet, but she knew she had to get away from the others. She wasn’t sure what would happen when they found her, but she feared the worst. She knew she just had to make it until the morning, however long it would take.


===============


Applejack couldn’t believe what was happening. She was sprinting down the halls as fast as she could chasing down Fluttershy like she was a criminal. Fluttershy, one of the sweetest, most innocent, and kindest ponies she knew. Plus, the group was split up once again, with little knowledge of how to meet up again, the killer still yet to be identified. They were all in the final hours of the night It was four vs. one, but Applejack still felt that this was all too easy, too convenient, too...safe.


===============


Luna was right behind her. Every corner she turned, she saw the end of Fluttershy’s tail quickly dart behind a corner. Her heart was pounding at rates that she wasn’t normally used to, but she pressed on, staying one turn behind Fluttershy.
“Fluttershy! Stop running!” Luna shouted out to her friend.
The pegasus made no indication that she heard the princess, or that she cared. 
As they kept running, Luna’s vision began to blur as she was being pushed to her limit and Fluttershy’s gain on her began to grow. With a few deep breaths, Luna picked up her pace to keep up. She couldn’t let Fluttershy escape...she wouldn’t let Fluttershy escape.


===============


Celestia heard Luna’s shout coming from a few hallways over. She knew that in Luna must have been right behind Fluttershy. She also knew that Luna was furious, and the last time she was this mad ponies got hurt. A LOT of ponies got hurt, some guards were still recovering at the time. Celestia needed to get to Fluttershy and her sister before someone got injured, or worse. As she trotted down the hallway in search of a corridor connecting them, she realized something. Fluttershy wasn’t necessarily the one in danger.


===============


“Oh this is hopeless!” Pinkie Pie shouted to no one in particular as she walked back into the main party room.
After Pinkie Pie turned back to find another way to stop Fluttershy, she ended up walking back the way she came. By the time she thought of going back, it was too late, there would be no way she could catch up to the rest of them. Pinkie took a deep breath and slumped down in a chair, just waiting for someone to show up. 
The longer she sat in the chair, the more tired she grew. It just dawned on her that she had been up for almost 24 hours, and hadn’t even thought about sleeping. At first she gave into the drowsiness, but she knew she had to stay awake in case Fluttershy came back. Sitting back up in the chair to prevent herself from sleeping, Pinkie’s ears perked up at the rapid hoofsteps coming down the hall.
“Stop right there!” Pinkie could hear Luna shout from the same direction.
Quickly, Pinkie Pie got out of her seat to help Luna stop Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie began running towards the hallway just as Fluttershy was entering the room. Fluttershy’s eyes went wide as she saw the pink pony bolting towards her and so Fluttershy began running towards the opposite side of the room. 
Just as Fluttershy was about to get away again, Applejack and Celestia entered the room from two other hallways, blocking Fluttershy’s exits.
“It’s over Fluttershy, we have you surrounded.” Luna panted as she slowed to a stop.
“Stay away from me!” Fluttershy shouted, her eyes darted from one pony to another.
“Calm down sugarcube, we just need to talk to you.” Applejack said, trying to calm the pegasus.
“No! Stay back!” Fluttershy shouted as she was being backed into a corner.
“Fluttershy calm down, it’s alright.” Celestia said in a soothing voice.
Fluttershy was about to speak again when a nearby light switch caught her eye.
“I said...stay...AWAY!” She screamed as she clicked off the light.
What followed was four ponies simultaneously shouting “no”, a moment of silence, then five ponies screaming in horror. 


===============


Luna flew from the room with the sliver of energy she still had left, the killer was going to strike then, it was the perfect time. Luna was so scared she was even shouting in her Equestrian voice with the old Equestrian vernacular. 
“SOMEPONY GET THEE OUTSIDE NOW!” She screamed still flying through the castle.
As she flew she noticed that it was getting harder to fly due to her exhaustion and she began to lose control. The princess turned a corner and noticed a suit of armor on display at the end of it. However, that was about all she noticed as she flew straight into the side wall along the way. She then fell to the floor and slid into a dust covered suit of armor, causing the dust to fill the air around her. The armor shook in place as Luna began to cough and wipe the dirt off of her face.
“Someone get this dust and sod off of me!” Luna shouted, still speaking in the old
Equestrian vernacular.
Then her eyes widened as she remembered the poem. Bit the dust… she thought to herself. She then looked back up to the suit of armor. The suit of armor shook and rattled because of the collision and Luna knew it was too late to move. Piece by piece the armor came tumbling down on top of her. The heavy iron plating caused the armor to crush her fragile wings and injure the rest of her. She tried to move but found that the armor was too heavy and kept her in place. 
Then she looked up to see the final piece of armor falling off the stand. The final piece was the right hoof, holding a gleaming iron sword. The sword fell straight down to Luna, blade parallel with the ground. With one final moment Luna closed her eyes as the blade sliced through her back, quickly and cleanly. The sword fell to the ground with a loud crash as Luna’s body went limp, still crushed under the armor.





An pony bit the dust,
and then there were four.



> ...And Then There Were Three
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


...And Then There Were Three






        Scattered, in the dark, alone. Three ponies shook violently in fear as they crept through the darkness, while another hunted them down in silence. Every hoofstep echoed through the halls as the castle was absolutely silent. Every breath exhaled seemed as if it was a shout, every set of teeth chattering like the cracking of bones. The victims felt as if they had lost everything, however, the nightmare was not over yet.


        At one small corner of the castle, the kitchen door slowly creaked opened. A figure, shadowed in darkness sneaked in a pushed the door shut, not making a sound. The figure then quickly slipped over to a set of drawers and grabbed the handle. Slowly pulling the drawer open, the figure looked into the drawer with an evil grin. The figure quickly grabbed a small knife from inside the drawer. Testing the sharpness of the blade, the figure dragged it across the countertop, leaving a thin scratch on the surface. Just as quickly as she had entered, the figure left the kitchen, loudly slamming the door shut.






===============






        Applejack’s eyes darted back and forth to the four hallways around her. She had just walked into an intersection of hallways in the center of the castle and was unsure of her next move. Not that it really made a difference, the castle was pitch black and she couldn’t see two feet in front of her. Yet that was also what made her nervous. She couldn’t remember how she had got there, or how to get out. She could be wandering the halls for hours and still be going in a circle. As much as she wanted to make a choice, she at least knew that if she didn’t move, she couldn’t get lost. 


        Suddenly, Applejack could hear the faint sounds of hoofsteps slowly coming towards her from down one of the halls. Freezing in place, Applejack tried to figure out which direction the hoofsteps were coming from. The faint noise seemed to surround her and approach her from every hall. Turning around in circles, Applejack tried to pinpoint the direction of the sound, but the inky darkness of the castle made it impossible to know for sure. Holding her breath, Applejack picked a hallway at random, and ran.




===============


   
Princess Celestia rarely had a reason to fear. She had lived for thousands of years, she had defeated tyrants and monsters, plus death wasn’t even a consideration. Mortality changed all of that. She was no longer the great leader she was, she almost just a simple earth pony with a useless horn and no where to fly. She wondered if this was what it was like for Luna on the moon. Alone, trapped in endless darkness, not knowing if anything else was out there.
Celestia continued walking down one of the many hallways she had walked down earlier that night, yet it seemed so strange and unfamiliar. Feeling the sensation of something watching her, she quickly turned her head to make sure that she was alone. Seeing nothing behind her, she sighed and continued on her way.
As she continued walking she noticed something odd. The sounds she was making, her hoofsteps and her breathing, seemed to almost repeat right after they were made. Celestia, hoping that she was just imagining things, held her breath and did not move a muscle. To her surprise and delight, there were no more noises. She let out a sigh of relief, as she began walking again. 
Suddenly, there was a loud thump on the ground behind her, almost as if someone tripped. Celestia did not stick around to find out however, she sprinted away from that hallway as fast as she could, leaving her pursuer, hopefully lying on the ground.

	



===============






        Pinkie Pie anxiously paced the halls looking for a safe place to hide. She knew that if she would stay out in the open, she would be found. I just have to make it until morning she kept telling herself. But, no matter how much she denied it, she was not okay. She needed some place, any place, to hide. 


         All of a sudden, a figure turned the corner from down the hall and Pinkie Pie froze in place. It was too dark to see who it was, but Pinkie did not want to find out. Quickly, her eyes darted up and down the hallway looking for a way out. Just as she was about to give up hope, Pinkie spotted a small table right outside one of the doors. She dove under it as quickly and as quietly as she could, bit down on her hoof to keep quiet, and waited.


        The figure down the hallway slowly began walking towards Pinkie Pie. Every hoofstep it took was agonizingly slow and seemed to drag on forever. Tears began to well in Pinkie Pie’s eyes as she was overcome with fear. Eventually, the figure stopped right in front of the table. Pinkie Pie simply stared at the hooves in the dark, still unable to determine who it was. Her heart was beating so fast she felt as if she could pass out. Pinkie Pie was sweating and holding her breath, begging for the pony in front of her to leave.


        After a few more moments of remaining still, the figure walked away at a normal speed. Pinkie Pie waited a few more seconds and took in a slow deep breath. She then fell back against the wall and took a few moments to compose herself and gather the courage to start moving again.





===============




Fluttershy couldn’t believe what was happening. She never could have imagined that she would ever be in this sort of situation. Her friends, almost all of them dead, and she was still being hunted. She cried silently as the fear continued to crush her. She then let out a small yelp as she heard a door slam shut from somewhere in the castle. She then shrank back against a wall, hoping that whatever or whoever made that noise would just leave her alone. 
She continued to cry, just wanting to be back home away from this horror. She couldn’t take it any more. She knew that even if she made it out alive she would be scarred for the rest of her life, never able to sleep again, knowing that she would be haunted by nightmares of this unfortunate night.
She continued to cry and shiver for a long time, as she awaited the inevitable. She’s going to find me. I’m going to die if I don’t shut up! She thought to herself. Just then, her suspicions were confirmed. Fluttershy was quickly thrown back into reality as the sound of heavy hoofsteps stopped down the hall. Fluttershy jumped to her feet and saw a dark figure standing a mere few feet in front of her.
“YOU!” Fluttershy yelled.
The figure did not respond.
“You’ve killed my friends for the last time. I am going to stop you here!” Fluttershy screamed, overcome with anger and fear.
The figure once again did not respond.
Without another thought, Fluttershy lunged forward at the unmoving figure and was ready to attack. Just as she reached the figure, she screamed as a sharp pain came from her chest. Fluttershy was pushed back and held her chest with her hoof. Feeling a cold liquid with her hoof Fluttershy looked down. To her horror, a knife was sticking out of her chest and had already caused a lot of blood loss. Fluttershy felt sick and dizzy as she collapsed to the floor. She gasped for air as her eyes rolled back into her head. With one final breath, her body went limp as a pool of blood continued to grow. Standing above her lifeless body the mysterious figure began to chuckle and smiled with a malicious grin.

	






One tried to fight back,
and then there were three.



> ...And Then There Were Two & One
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


...And Then There Were Two & One


“Applejack.” A faint voice cried out.
Applejack felt strange. Her eyes were shut, she was completely disoriented, and her head was killing her.
“Applejack.” The voice cried out in a strangely soothing tone.
She couldn’t remember what had happened. One minute, she was wandering the halls in the dark, the next she was knocked out and hearing voices.
“Applejack.”
Okay, that one was definitely real. Applejack struggled to focus her thoughts, her head pounding with each second. She slowly opened her eyes and began to gain her composure. Oddly enough, the lights were back on in the castle, but that didn’t help her determine her location. She looked around the room as her surroundings came into focus. She was in a small room with crystal walls on every side and one door in front of her. There was a small table with a remote control on it sitting across from her as well. On her left was one single screen that appeared to be a security monitor. Interestingly enough, Applejack did not remember seeing any cameras that night.
Applejack tried to move her hooves to rub her temples but alarmingly she realized that they were tied to the chair with rope. She struggled to break them but at the moment she was just too weak.
“Oh, good you’re finally awake.” The voice said in a chipper tone.
Applejack looked up and her eyes shot open wide in surprise.
“Celestia?!” Applejack shouted.
Celestia gave a evil smile in response.
“You’re the killer!” Applejack concluded.
“Yes, and I have been waiting all night for this moment.” Celestia cheered.
"How did I even get here?" Applejack questioned.
"Let's just say that sometime when the lights were off I somehow took you down and dragged your unconscious body here." Celestia explained. 
“I can’t believe this...what?” Applejack said, trying to take everything in.
“I know you are probably confused, but before we get into details let’s see how Pinkie Pie is doing.” Celestia said grabbing the remote control off of the table.
Clicking a button, Celestia looked toward the security screen. After a quick start up the screen turned on and showed footage from another room. Applejack gasped as she saw Pinkie Pie trapped in a cage, banging against the locked door.
“Hello! Is anyone there?” Pinkie Pie shouted. “Please, someone get me out of here!” 
As if to respond, Celestia clicked another button and the door swung open. Pinkie Pie took the opportunity and ran out of the room she was in as fast as she could. Celestia clicked another button which showed a long empty hallway. Within a few moments, Pinkie Pie appeared on the screen. Looking to her right, Pinkie Pie cheered at what she saw. Applejack saw it too. It was the open front doors of the castle. Pinkie Pie ran as fast as she could towards the doors.
“Freedom!” She shouted as she got to the doors.
Applejack looked toward Celestia and instantly got a bad feeling. Celestia did not look upset as Applejack thought, but rather, happier than she had ever been.
Pinkie Pie reached the doors, thinking that she was finally free from the fear. Then, she ran into the doors. Rather, she ran into a sheet of paper that was designed to look like the doors. In her haste, she couldn’t tell the difference. On the other side of the paper was a window which Pinkie Pie crashed through. Falling out of the castle Pinkie Pie quickly looked around. 
Pinkie Pie saw the forcefield, still powered up, surrounding the castle. The sun was just barely coming up on the horizon as morning was approaching. Finally, Pinkie Pie looked down and saw the long fall in store for her. She had fallen out of one of the top floors and it was easily a 70 foot drop. Pinkie Pie held her eyes shut and braced for impact as the ground rapidly approached her. She landed at high speeds with an unnatural crack, her body contorting into an impossible shape and remaining motionless. Applejack just wished that Celestia hadn’t put a camera outside.







One tried to run.




“Well, that was certainly entertaining but now let’s get to business.” Celestia chuckled.
“Celestia, why?” Applejack said, fighting back tears.
“It’s quite simple actually,” Celestia began. “I am the one in charge, but that doesn’t mean I’m the one everyone looks up to. My sister and niece along with you six were gaining too much popularity, too much praise. I feared that my position as ruler would be compromised, so I got rid of you.” Celestia explained.
“How could you?” Applejack asked.
“Don’t act so surprised, this isn’t the first time it’s happened.” Celestia said much to Applejack’s surprise. “Ever wonder what happened to Star Swirl the Bearded, and of course you can’t forget my sister and “Nightmare Moon.” Sure she was evil but I was the one who created her in the first place.”
“What about Spike!?” Applejack shouted. “He wasn’t in your way.”
“Spike’s death was a warning. I was hoping that someone would leave the group in fear, but since you all stayed together I had no choice but to continue.” Celestia remarked with fake sympathy.
“Okay…” Applejack said, finally gaining her composure. “We’ve established the why, but how?” Applejack questioned.
“What do you mean?” Celestia asked quizzically.
“The poem, the murders...how did you make all of that work?” Applejack asked, searching her brain for answers.
“Trust me it was a royal pain. First I had to get you all together. So I planned this simple party and only invited you all.” Celestia explained.
“It was you.” Applejack realized. “So the only reason we had this party was so you could pick us off?”
“Correct.” Celestia replied. “Once everyone showed up, I simply had to write the poem in a forged writing style so that no one could track me down.” She told Applejack as Applejack replayed the scene in her mind.


“I don’t recognize this hoof writing.” Twilight said trying to identify the writer. “The pony who wrote this does not want someone tracking them down…”


"Along with the poem, I had to make sure that each one of you would run into their trap at precisely the right time. Fortunately, being thousands of years old allows you to figure out ponies next moves."
Applejack just sat in silence.
“After you all found the poem and I set up the murders all that was left to do was wait without giving myself away too much.” Celestia recalled.


“Calm down Rainbow Dash.” Celestia interjected. “We can’t let ourselves get caught up in this.”


“So how did you manage to kill Spike?” Applejack asked. “I brought the cider from the barn, meaning that it had to be contaminated during the party.”
“It was.” Celestia confirmed with a small nod.
“But you were with Luna the entire time during the dinner.” Applejack protested in confusion.
“Think again.” Celestia corrected.


“Luna for the last time we are at a party with all of our friends and I intend on having a good time.” Celestia said getting up from the table to go put her plate away.



“That’s right.” Applejack realized “So you put the dragonsneeze in a cup of cider then?”
“Yep, I had to be quick about it though.” Celestia commented under her breath. 
“Weren’t you afraid that someone would notice when they went up and grabbed a new cup of cider.” Applejack wondered.
“I did think about that, however, by that point in the night the only one left drinking cider was Rainbow Dash. Thanks to her lack of etiquette, I knew that she would not grab a new cup and spoil the plan.


“I’m going to get more cider.” Rainbow Dash said as she grabbed her mug to refill and stormed off.


“Dang, you thought of everything.” Applejack replied, surprisingly impressed.
“Yes, I even remember the fatal amount of dragonsneeze needed, from when Spike was young.”


“But he’s never had a reaction as bad as this.” Twilight said motioning to Spike’s body.



“So what about Pinkie Pie and I?” Applejack wondered out loud.
“What about you two?” Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow. 
“Why did you keep us until the end?” Applejack replied.
“Why to keep ponies guessing, of course.” Celestia said calmly.
“Huh?” Applejack asked with a puzzled look on her face.
“I’ll explain.” Celestia said gathering her thoughts. “You and Pinkie Pie were two very likely suspects that could be the murderer the way the night played out.” Celestia began. “Pinkie Pie was the closest to Spike before he began talking. Plus, she was the one who locked everyone in for the night.”


“Pinkie Pie just trapped us in here for the night.” Twilight said in annoyance. “That magical force field is impenetrable and prevents all forms of magic even including immortality.” 


“That’s another thing, how did you know about the security system?” Applejack pointed out.
“Oh please. Every castle in Equestria has one just like it, it took virtually no effort to convince Twilight to install one of her own.” Celestia chuckled at her own genius.
“Anyways, back to my story.” Celestia said bluntly to Applejack. “The most convincing piece of evidence was that her party cannons were used for two murders. It’s one of those: too obvious to be true but then again maybe not, situations. Keeps ponies guessing.”
“What about me then?” Applejack asked curiously.
“You are almost in the same boat. The cider was used for the first murder and, if anyone found them, ropes from your barn were used to kill Rainbow Dash.” Celestia explained.
Choking back tears from hearing about Rainbow, Applejack asked another question.
“There’s one more thing I don’t understand.” Applejack muttered. “Why did you say that the killer dies in the poem?” 
“To clear my name.” Celestia said with a grin. “When I kill you and frame you for the murders of nine of the most powerful citizens of Equestria, I will be the sole survivor described in the poem. Along with the cider and the ropes there will be plenty of evidence. Plus, even if there are doubts, the poem itself is evidence enough to believe me.”
Applejack looked to the ground for a moment in sheer awe of the complexity of Celestia’s plan.
“Ah must say, I am very impressed Celestia. You really thought of everything.” Applejack said in defeat.
“Why thank you Applejack. Still honest in defeat I see.” Celestia said with a satisfied smile.
“That is, almost everything.” Applejack said picking her head up.
“Oh really,” Celestia said with a scowl. “and what might I have forgotten?” Celestia said in annoyance.
“That I’ve been the lasso champion at the Appleloosan Rodeo for five years straight.” Applejack said with a quick smile.
In a flash, Applejack finally loosened the ropes enough to fling them off of her hooves. Before Celestia could react, Applejack tossed the ropes toward Celestia, tying her front hooves together. As Celestia struggled to get the ropes off, Applejack got her legs free and bolted out the doors.
“Don’t think you’ve escaped just yet!” Celestia shouted, getting to her feet.


===============


Applejack’s heart was pounding faster than she thought possible. Knowing that the sun was just coming over the horizon, the force field would be down soon and she could escape. However, so could Celestia. Then a thought rang through Applejack’s head. 
Only one of us can get out of here alive.
She stopped in her tracks when she realized that. Sure, Celestia had done some terrible things, but Applejack was no killer. Yet further thoughts began to convince her her otherwise.
I can’t let Celestia escape, or she’ll just continue to take out her competition.
As she struggled with what to do, she heard Celestia’s voice from behind her.
“There you are Applejack!” Celestia shouted with a crazed look in her eye.
“Ahh!” Applejack shouted, once again beginning to run.
“You’d better run faster than that!” Celestia chuckled as she began to chase her victim.
Despite Celestia’s appearance, she was much faster than Applejack. Within a few moments, she was right behind the earth pony, practically within reach. Applejack quickly turned a corner, desperately trying to escape, but Celestia was still right behind her. As fast as she could sprint, 	Applejack ran to the end of the hall, threw open a door, jumped inside and locked it.
Celestia ran to the door Applejack took cover behind and proceeded to try and bust the door down. On the other side, Applejack began to push furniture in front of the door to stop Celestia. After a few loud bangs against the door, Celestia stopped trying. Applejack slowly backed away from the door, not taking her eyes off of it.
Just as she thought she had escaped danger, Celestia bashed the door open along with the stacked furniture. Wood and debris flew forward towards Applejack, knocking her to the ground and pinning one of her legs as well. Panicking and struggling to get free, Applejack slowly looked up to the hole in the wall and saw Celestia slowly walking through, her pupils just larger than pinpricks.
“I have to give you credit Applejack, you put up quite a fight.” Celestia said, her eyes staring daggers at Applejack. “However, enough’s enough. Sit still and this might not hurt as much.” Celestia said grabbing the knife from underneath her wing. 
Applejack’s world went into slow motion. She pulled as hard as she could on her stuck hoof, begging for it to come free, as Celestia menacingly approached. Celestia then raised the knife and let out a sickening laugh. In a last ditch effort, Applejack swung her leg awkwardly in the air, striking Celestia in the jaw. 
The alicorn stumbled back a few feet, dropping the knife to the ground. Applejack used this moment and, with all her might, finally got her hoof free. She then ran back past Celestia and out into the hallway. 
Looking to the right, Applejack saw a pair of doors leading outside. She ran over to them and pulled the handle. They were locked.
“Nice try.” Celestia said in a raspy voice from behind her. “But the field is still up.”
Without looking behind her, Applejack ran down the hallway to her left and to the man room of the castle. Looking out of some windows, she could see that the sun was almost full up.
“Just a few more moments.” Applejack told herself.
“There is no where left to run.” Celestia said, locking the only open doors left. “I already locked the others when you were unconscious. It’s over. I win.” She said with a bloody smile.
Turning around, Applejack saw that Celestia was bleeding and she had lost a few of her teeth. Applejack began backing up into a pillar, out of options. Celestia, still holding the knife, slowly walked up to Applejack. Cracking her jaw, Celestia let out another laugh.
“You’ve bucked you last apple tree.” Celestia spat out, blood dripping from her mouth.
Looking around Applejack was about to accept her fate, until she thought of something.
“I don’t know, I think I still got it.” Applejack said confidently.
With that, Applejack reared up on her front legs and pulled her back legs in. Applejack kicked her legs out as hard as she could and struck the pillar. The pillar immediately cracked and crumbled to the ground and the room began to shake. Celestia’s eyes went wide as the roof above them began to crack and break apart. Soon most of the area above her was crumbling in front of her eyes. Applejack dove under a table as the roof finally gave way. Celestia screamed as tons of crystal and stone landed on top of her and crushed her. Applejack curled up under the table and hoped it would hold. Luckily, the crystal table was able to handle the impact. 
After the roof finally finished falling, Applejack opened her eyes and crawled out from under the table. Right next to the table was the entire pile of roof that fell, and one white hoof sticking out from the rubble. Applejack cautiously walked over to the hoof and gave it a slight nudge, to which there was no reaction. She was finally safe.







The killer defeated,




Looking to the top of the rubble, Applejack saw a hole in the roof of the castle. Looking through the hole, Applejack finally saw the forcefield come down. Showing that she was free. Climbing up the rubble, Applejack looked out over the horizon. The sun shone brightly in her eyes, and Applejack had to squint just to see. She then looked over to the quiet town of Ponyville, just waking from their slumber. Looking over to Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack let out a sigh.
“Ah hate dinner parties.” She muttered to herself, shaking her head.
She slowly climbed down the damaged side of the castle and began to slowly start home.





And then there was one.






The End…?