Trigger Happy Equines

“NO, THAT’S WRONG!”

Pinkie’s Towel <> no sign she’d left her room before then

< Argument Break >

“Actually,” I said, “we can say for sure she’d left her room earlier than that.”

“How can you know?” Dish Panner asked. “None of us saw her.”

“Shetland and Dr. Scalpel found Pinkie’s towel in the swimming pool storage room. This was before we’d even tried to get into her room.”

“So?” Elsie said in a snarky tone. “What’s to say she didn’t take it there last night?”

“Well…” I could feel a burning anxiety as I realized I was suddenly the center of attention, everyone silent and simply waiting for my response. “She couldn’t have, right? The swimming pool area was closed off by the time we left the dining room last night.”

“You’re right,” Dopple said in agreement, giving me an encouraging smile. “Not to mention, the only place you can find Pinkie’s towels is in her room, which means she had to have left her room at some point before the search took place. Good thinking, Greyscale.”

I instinctively looked away in embarrassment. “Th… thank you.”

“Oh, come off it,” Mesmer said, rolling his eyes. “That much was obvious from the beginning. The real question is how Pinkie’s towel got there in the first place. Either she took it to the swimming area herself or it was moved there by the killer after she left her room.”

“She might have gone early,” Inky piped up, “just like me when I went to the MonoMart. Maybe she wanted to start the day off with a swim? And then she couldn’t be bothered to put it anywhere else and threw it in the storage room because it was nearer.”

“I don’t know,” Scalpel said. “The towel was right at the back, under a stack of floats. She couldn’t have just thrown it in there. It might have been the killer.”

Copper sighed annoyedly. “It just doesn’t make any sense. If it was Pinkie who put the towel there, why in such an odd place? And if it was the killer, why would they put it there?”

“I know why!” Inky said, raising a hoof. “Pinkie tried to escape from the killer by hiding in the storage room and when they tracked her down and killed her, she dropped the towel.”

“Unlikely,” Shetland replied. “It couldn’t have merely been dropped under the floats like that. I’m thinking it was put there in the hopes that we wouldn’t find it. The room itself doesn’t have a light so without a thorough search it could have easily been missed. If that were the case there’d be no clue that Pinkie had already left her room.”

“So then…” Inky trailed off, hanging her head in defeat. “Yeah, I’ve got nothing.”

“Let’s forget the towel for now,” Dopple suggested. “We know that Pinkie left her room before the search took place.”

“In that case,” Sanscript said, “there’s only one possibility.” He nodded to himself assuredly. “I have figured out those responsible for Pinkie’s death!”

“Y-you have?!” Reph exclaimed. “Oh, you saint! Tell us now so the guilty can be outed!”

The atmosphere became electric in an instant, everyone’s curiosity piqued by Sanscript’s grand proclamation. I couldn’t help but wonder, had he really figured it all out? The stage began to revolve once more as we entered into a heated debate!

Truth Bullets

Pre-Meeting Swim

Swimming Area Windows

Greyscale’s Account

Inflatable Ring

Sanscript: It’s clear to me that we have not just one killer, but two!

Dish Panner: What!? How could that be!?

Sanscript: The two co-operated with each other to kill Pinkie and hide the evidence. And they are Shetland Yard and Doctor Scalpel!

Shetland: Simply outrageous! How can you make such an accusation?

Scalpel: Shetland is right, we did no such thing.

Sanscript: Ah, but you see, the two of you went to the swimming area during the search. If you were both in cahoots, you could have killed her and left the body while we were all busy searching!

Elsie: But why would they have helped each other?

Inky: They have been buddy-buddy since we got here. Do you think they already knew each other?

Sanscript: Whatever the reason, it’s the only thing I can think of. They must have dragged Pinkie to the swimming area before the meeting and killed her! Then when it came to the search, they just needed to make sure nobody else came inside and saw Miss Pinkie Pie. They were theonly ones who went therebefore Maribelle found the body!

Copper: Would they have really left the body out in the open like that?

Reph: W-well… for the trial to commence the body needed to be found. Maybe they were hoping for that to happen but when we made a fuss over Inky and Pinkie being missing they had to come up with a plan!

Copper: But if that’s the case it wouldn’t have mattered who searched there, the body would have been found anyway no matter what. And why reveal the towel to everyone if they could’ve kept that hidden too?

Sanscript: No matter! They clearly worked together to commit the murder. Unless anyone else can think of a better theory.

Shetland: Your theory is wrong!

Sanscript: Can you really prove that? How else could this have happened!?

Shetland: …

Scalpel: We didn’t kill her…

Something about Sanscript’s accusation doesn’t sit right. I just need to point it out to the rest of the group before we get into a frenzy!