Other faces began to appear, everyone congregating on the scene of Yoko’s demise. Their arrival was accompanied by shock, horror, and intense bawling. Mesmer appeared angry, his cheeks flaring, and nary spoke a word. After recovering herself, Lancet managed to resuscitate Elsie, the mare latching onto the wall, muttering about her head spinning.

Reph’s door was pried open from inside with a shower of splinters, the stallion having had to force his way through. As soon as he did, he scooted back again and hollered after seeing Yoko’s corpse. I only heard – didn’t see – his cries to a lord upon which he begged for mercy.

“Greyscale!”

Someone was shaking me, their eyes overflowing with tears. I hadn’t even realized that Copper had arrived on the scene.

“We can’t just stand here,” she said. “Look, we need to find out who did this, remember?”

I gritted my teeth and clenched my eyes shut. With a stomach full of lead and a mind that was spinning out of control, I took several deep breaths, the stench of exposed guts permeating my nasal passages. Someone here had killed Yoko. Someone here might just kill us all if we let them. I knew what I had to do.

“I won’t be beaten,” I muttered under my breath, catching a glimpse of Mesmer’s cold, calculating gaze from the other side of the corridor. I wasn’t about to fail in finding my best friend’s killer. I had to face the horror of his demise if hope was to survive. “Don’t worry, buddy. I’m gonna do you proud.”

== Investigation Start! ==

“Well, howdy!” Monobunny said cheerfully, bounding onto the scene. “Quite the mess we have here! Now who could possibly be responsible for this harrowing murder?”

“Quit taunting us!” Lancet cried, shivering anxiously.

“Oh? But I’m here to provide you all with important information!” Monobunny held up a slip of paper. “It’s the next Monobunny File! Now, who wants to open it?”

Mesmer levitated the paper from Monobunny’s grasp and held it up, reading aloud. “Yoko died at approximately thirteen past six this morning from a knife wound to the neck.” His eyes narrowed. “That was only three minutes ago.”

Truth Bullet added: Monobunny File #2

Yoko died at approximately 06:13 this morning from a knife wound to the neck.

I stared at what remained of Yoko’s body, the stallion’s eyes closed forever. It was hard to believe that he was alive and well when I’d woken up this morning, and was now just a pile of meat and bone. Lancet took up the task of inspecting his body, lifting up the various pieces to check for further evidence. “It’s near unbelievable," she muttered, shaking her head. "His body has taken so much damage, and yet it was the knife that killed him.”

Truth Bullet added: State of The Body

Yoko was found with his flanks, abdomen and hind legs shredded, huge chunks of flesh torn away, with what appears to be pieces of shrapnel embedded inside. He had a combat knife buried into his neck. He suffered three wounds from knife attacks aimed squarely at his jugular. His left foreleg has been completely removed at the shoulder joint with a clean cut.

I held back an urge to retch. The mere idea that someone or something was capable of such an attack on a titan like Yoko seemed impossible. I’d considered him invincible, untouchable. I walked past his body, then stopped for a moment. The carpet was stained thickly with blood from the rec room to where Yoko now lay. Peering inside, there was yet more blood in the doorway.

Truth Bullet added: Trail of Blood

A trail of blood extends from the doorway of the rec room to Yoko’s body.

“Greyscale?”

I looked up to see Mesmer, his lips tensed and his posture wavering. “Yeah?”

“Are you okay? Can you investigate by yourself, or do you need any help?”

“I’ll be fine,” I said.

“Good.” Mesmer let out a deep breath. He paused, looking as if he had much more to say. Instead, he stepped aside, allowing me into the rec room where Dopple and Inky were currently searching, having to tread through Yoko’s blood in order to do so. At that point I stepped on something sharp and immediately recoiled.

“Watch yourself,” Dopple said. “They’re all over the room.”

It was at that point I realized the devastation that lay before me. The rec room had been trashed, the two sofas were ripped to shreds, the table had collapsed, and shards of metal and glass peppered the walls and floor. I stepped carefully, but few spots remained untouched. I was going to have to bear the pain in my hooves no matter what.

“What even are they?” Inky asked, managing to pry something from the wall with her teeth. She spat it into her hoof to reveal what appeared to be a long metal screw, all bent out of shape. Looking further, there were other similar items such as nails and razor blades strewn across the floor. “They’re all over the place,” Inky remarked, peeking behind one of the sofas. “Even here! How are there so many of them?”

Truth Bullet added: Pieces of Metal and Glass

Pieces of metal are strewn about the room, embedded into the floor, walls, and furniture. Some appear to be parts of razor blades, screws and nails. There is also a small amount of glass scattered in the same manner.

With another few careful steps I was stood at the center of the room, my hooves having nicked at some of the sharp pieces. I looked down at what remained of the table, which was now a mess of splinters. Peering closer, something odd jumped out at me. Amongst the wreckage there were a few streaks of a peculiar white substance. With a delicate press of my hoof some of the substance was wiped off, allowing me to inspect it closer. It wasn’t liquid, like I’d expected, but a fine powder. I sniffed at it, but its odor wasn’t familiar.

Truth Bullet added: White Powder

Traces of white powder can be found on the rec room table.

“That was reckless,” Dopple said from behind me. “That could’ve been poisonous for all you knew.” She motioned towards the fireplace. “Notice anything?”

The fire was burning well, its logs and small amount of tinder stacked in an orderly fashion amongst the surrounding chaos. Thinking back, I realized it was the first time I’d seen it lit. “Yeah, who started the fire?”

“Not that,” Dopple said, pointing again. Only then did I realize what she meant. A small piece of rope was poking out from the fire, still burning on one side. Upon closer inspection, there were yet more pieces of rope in the fire itself, but had almost completely burned up and were barely recognizable from their original state. It was impossible to tell if it was actually several smaller pieces or one long coil, and the evidence was burning up in front of us before we could have a chance at finding out.

Truth Bullet added: Piece of Rope

A small piece of rope was found burning in the rec room fireplace. There are the remains of more rope that has since burned up.

“I’m pretty sure that’s the rope found in the MonoMart,” Dopple mused. She frowned and shook her head. “Just like the knife. We’ll have to check the MonoMart as soon as our search is done here, but I’m afraid of what we might find.”

The bronze-coated metal guard that usually stood in front of the fireplace was instead on the floor, looking as if it had fallen forwards, away from the fire. At first, I didn’t think anything of it, just another victim of whatever destruction had occurred. And yet, something about it didn’t make sense. The guard itself was mostly solid with a few air-holes lining the top and bottom, and a few other holes peppered across the front. I lifted it up, finding it to be surprisingly heavy.

“Is there a unicorn around?” I called towards the doorway, my gaze landing on Sanscript, who was peering inside, not seeming to want to take another step forward.

“Oh, yes?” the stallion replied, looking flustered.

“Could you lift this in place over the fire for me? I want to check something.”

Sanscript did as he was asked, the guard sliding neatly into a groove in the stone base. It fit perfectly, shielding the fire almost in its entirety. It was then that I noticed some clips on either side that hooked up to metal rings embedded in the stonework. Something to stop it from getting knocked over…

Truth Bullet added: Fireplace Guard

The guard for the fireplace was found tipped over in front of the fire, as if it had fallen forward. There are clips on either side allowing it to be hooked onto metal rings and held in place.

“Do be careful, Miss Slinger!” Sanscript called. “You’ve already sustained an injury! I can see blood coming from your hoof!”

“I’ve had worse,” Inky said nonchalantly, still snooping around.

“B-b-but even still, you should seek medical attention!”

“That can wait until after the trial,” Inky said without looking up, her nose to the ground.

“Right. Well then.” Sanscript exhaled sharply through his nose. “Well, if nobody needs me…”

“Actually,” Dopple said, cutting him off. “We’ll need your help in a moment, if you’re up for it. There’s something we need to check in the MonoMart.”

“Oh, absolutely!” Sanscript exclaimed, appearing relieved. “I’d rather not spend another moment staring at this atrocity.”

I took stock of the room one more time to pick out any more details. The window at the far end was closed, its handle in the locked position. Much like everything else in the room, it was peppered with holes, tiny pieces of glass missing from its pane, though it hadn’t shattered. A hypothesis sprung itself on me, but I quickly dismissed it. The window itself was incredibly narrow. While it was around five feet in width, its height was around half a foot, if that. Not even Button could climb through that, I thought, chastising myself for even considering such a thing. I need to be a better detective. I can’t fail now!

Truth Bullet added: Broken Window

The rec room window was closed upon discovery, with a few small holes. It is extremely narrow, with around half a foot of clearance. Nowhere near enough room for a pony to fit through.

I left the room, glancing to my right to see Button huddled up in the far corner near his room. His eyes were pointed at the ground, focused on a nonexistent object. Instead of being at his side, Maribelle was squeamishly taking stock of the situation and talking with Reph, who had his back to Yoko’s body. I slunk past, once again trying to think of the mess as just a sack of meat and fluid, not the remains of my best friend. That’s what it had to be for now.

As I did so, my gaze drifted over to Reph’s room, the door swung back. It had a large dent, and the right side of it was chipped and splintered. What was most noteworthy, however, was the magnetic lock, which was completely busted, almost smashed into pieces. Internal wires were exposed, letting off a few small sparks. It looked as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to it.

Truth Bullet added: Broken Lock

The magnetic lock on Reph’s door is completely broken, presumably from being struck with great force.

“Reph,” I said, calling out.

“Ah!” The stallion flinched at hearing his name and turned around. He quickly turned back, however, when his eyes caught a glimpse of the body. “W-what do you want!? I d-didn’t do anything, okay?”

“I never said you did,” I replied, wandering into his field of view.

“Sorry,” said Maribelle, who was rubbing Reph’s back tenderly. “Someone, whose name I will refrain from mentioning, has already accused him of murder. It was extremely rude.”

That explains why Button and Maribelle aren’t together, I said inwardly. “Well, I’m not here to accuse. I just want to ask Reph what happened. The victim was right outside his door, so maybe he has a clue that’ll help us in the trial.”

Reph sighed deeply. “A-alright. I understand. You see, I was woken up this morning by a terrible noise. It was so loud it must have shaken my walls! I pressed an ear up to my door, and then there were hoof-steps g-getting closer by the second! Then something started h-hitting at my door. It was shaking violently! I thought the h-hinges were going to come off! But like an idiot I was frozen in fear, just standing there, w-waiting for my end to come!”

“And then?”

“Then it got quiet all of a sudden. I didn’t dare move, just listened. I heard something else, like quieter thuds, b-but not against my door. Th-then there was a scream, then the body discovery announcement, and I step outside to see all this b-blood! That’s all I know, honest!”

“Just to make sure,” I said, “while all this noise was going on, did you see what was going on outside through the peephole?”

Reph shook his head. “No, sorry. In hindsight that should’ve been the first thing I did, b-but when my door started getting pummeled I was too scared to look! I had no idea what was happening.”

“One more question. When you heard the hoof-steps outside your room, can you remember if it sounded like one set of hoof-steps, or several?”

Reph closed his eyes and thought for a moment. “No, now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure it w-was only one. The steps were rather slow, so I don’t think it could have been two. I was listening r-really carefully, you know, and my d-door had a hole knocked into it by that point. If something else was g-going on in the hallway, I would’ve heard it.”

Truth Bullet added: Reph’s Account

Reph was awoken by a loud noise, then heard the hoof-steps of one pony outside in the hallway. His door was pounded on several times before there was silence. Shortly thereafter, there was the body discovery announcement.

“Was that any help?” Reph asked.

“Of course,” I answered. His testimony did a great deal in explaining some of my own experiences, which I was sure would prove vital during the trial.

“I hope so,” Reph said, biting his lip. “W-we’ll all be executed if we get this wrong, won’t we?”

“It’s a curse, isn’t it?” Maribelle said solemnly, staring into space. “We live in fear of what may come, but it’s the ones who are left behind that truly suffer. Sometimes, I think to myself, would it be better if we were all put out of our misery? We wouldn’t have to worry about dying in the most horrific and painful ways. What if we could all just drift away? Nobody would be left to mourn or fear execution.”

“Maribelle!” Reph exclaimed. “Y-you shouldn’t be thinking like that!”

“Of course,” Maribelle continued, as if she hadn’t heard him, “we might get lucky like Pinkie Pie, who passed in the blink of an eye. But what about Shetland? He was wracked with guilt, questioning everything he ever believed in, and we all saw the horrors he was put through. And look at Yoko, his body ravaged. I don’t think anyone wants to go like that.”

I said nothing, leaving Maribelle to her own musings. Dopple called me over to where she was standing alongside Sanscript, Mesmer, Elsie and Lancet. “They’re coming too?” I asked.

“Yes,” Dopple said, nodding. “We don’t know how much time we have left to investigate, so having all four unicorns will make this much easier.”

“Anything,” Elsie mumbled between retches, “to get out of this hallway. Oh goodness, the smell!”

The five of us trotted downstairs and into the entrance lobby. “What is that!?” Sanscript said aloud as we approached the door leading outside.

On a large sheet of paper stuck in the middle of the door were the words ‘GO NO FURTHER OR FACE EXECUTION! THIS IS THE ORDER OF MONOBUNNY!’ A picture of Monobunny had been drawn on the same sheet, a stream of ‘HA HA HA’ cascading from his mouth.

“Can we not go outside?” Lancet asked. “This isn’t fair! How are we supposed to continue the investigation?”

“Wait,” Dopple said. “We need to check with Monobunny himself.” She reached over to the wooden counter and paused. “The service bell isn’t here. Where can it have gone?”

A door opened behind us. “Pardon me! It looks like someone wants to get my attention!”

“We need to know,” Mesmer began, “whether we’re allowed outside. Is that sign one of yours?”

“Oh, that thing?” Monobunny bounded past us and tore down the sheet. He scrunched it up into a ball and tossed it aside. “I hereby declare you may leave the hotel! Access to the MonoMonoMart has also been granted despite it being before the official opening time.”

“Wait,” Mesmer said. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“I know,” Monobunny said with a shrug. “I pledge everyone my honesty, not my knowledge. Well, looks like you can continue the investigation!” With that said, he ran out.

“Whatever,” Mesmer muttered. “At least we can get to the MonoMart.”

Truth Bullet added: Threatening Sign

A sign was found on the inside of the hotel entrance doors during the investigation, threatening anyone who tries to leave with execution. Supposedly, this was a rule put in place by Monobunny, who then tore it down when we needed to leave.

We stepped outside to a most peculiar sight – a number of crowbars littered the ground, arranged haphazardly. After picking them all up we counted seven in total and began to inspect them.

“Look here,” Mesmer said, holding one up to the rest of us. “Small fibers are stuck to the end. Is it the same for all of them?”

I checked the one I had been looking at and found the same. Brown fibers were stuck to various parts of the crowbar along with a whitish residue. Looks like dried glue…

“I don’t get it,” Elsie said. “Why would these even be out here?”

Truth Bullet added: Crowbars

A total of seven crowbars were found outside the hotel, strewn about in random places. They all have traces of brown fibers and a dried white substance, possibly glue.

“This might not be everything,” Mesmer said. “There are some out here, but for all we know there could be some on the roof. Dopple, if you would.”

Dopple nodded and took to the air, flying just out of sight over the top of the building. Within a few moments she returned, holding a small, shiny object.

“Is that…?” Lancet muttered. “The service bell?”

“Yeah,” Dopple said, holding it out on one hoof. “I didn’t see anything else.”

“So,” Mesmer mused, rubbing his chin. “These crowbars are on the ground, but the bell was on the roof? That certainly limits who among us who could have put it there.”

The case was becoming more complex than I had expected. If the killer was capable of putting everything on the roof, why only take the service bell? Why leave the crowbars out in the open? Or maybe…

Truth Bullet added: Service Bell

The brass service bell used to summon Monobunny, normally found in the lobby, was discovered by Dopple on the roof during the investigation.

“This doesn’t make sense,” Lancet said as we piled the evidence on one of the picnic benches. “Seven crowbars? From what I remember we don’t even have anywhere near than many in the MonoMart. Where could they have come from?”

“That’s what we need to check,” Dopple said. “But I fear I already know the answer.”

Upon reaching the aisle stacked with tools the four unicorns worked quickly to bring each item down and line them up as per our usual checks. Going through slowly and methodically, we counted against the numbers painted on the floor.

8 kitchen knives

7 combat knives

4 pairs of shears

5 lump hammers

3 sledgehammers

5 claw hammers

3 crowbars

6 wooden bats

4 wooden mallets

6 meat cleavers

8 wrenches

4 hacksaws

10 large screwdrivers

4 coils of rope

“It all matches up,” Dopple said sullenly.

“But how?” Sanscript asked. “We have several crowbars outside which are unaccounted for, not to mention the combat knife that was used in the murder itself. We’ve been diligent enough to make sure nothing was taken, so how is this possible?”

“Who wrote the numbers?” Mesmer asked.

“I did,” Elsie said quietly. She tutted in annoyance. “And I know what you’re going to say, but I have witnesses who can vouch for me! Greyscale, Sanscript and the Doctor can all confirm that I wrote the correct amounts for each item upon our initial inspection.”

“She’s right,” Lancet said. “Also, I’m pretty certain these numbers are the same as when we performed our initial stock check. But still, this doesn’t make any sense. We’ve been checking constantly ever since the first trial. How can we suddenly have more things than we started with?”

Truth Bullet added: MonoMart Stock Check

Not including other items found during the investigation, the stock levels of tools and weapons remain exactly the same as the initial tally, and all subsequent checks yielded the same result.

Now I was truly puzzled. Each piece of evidence I’d found had only added mystery upon mystery, with no clear answer to how they all fit together. There was nowhere else to go, nothing else to do but simply think, and that was getting me nowhere. Even with the smallest of connections between information it didn’t come close to pointing to a specific culprit. I sat in dismay for a minute or so, until I noticed Mesmer doing something strange out of the corner of my eye. He was levitating one of the coils of rope and intensely rubbing something else against it.

“Looks like I was right,” he said, looking over to me.

“About what?”

“I was just considering if it were possible to perform certain acts of murder using razor blades. They’re somewhat sharp, but not incredibly so, and they’re too finicky to apply a great deal of force with without losing your grip, even through magic.” He held up a razor blade along with the rope, only a small notch embedded in its side. “The cords for our keycards are thin and flimsy in comparison, so of course it’d be easy enough to cut through those, but nowhere near enough to slice and dice flesh with ease.”

I instinctively reached for my neck, a certain memory resurfacing.

“Sorry,” Mesmer said. “I didn’t mean to, well… revolt you by saying that. I know you and Yoko were close.” He dropped the items and came over to me. For a brief moment his right hoof twitched, as if he were deliberating on lifting it. Then it settled and he cleared his throat. “As much as we may have argued, I had nothing but respect for him. He made some good points about me, and despite how it may have looked to you, I think the two of us would have gotten along sooner rather than later. It’s a real shame it’s come to this.”

“Yeah,” I said.

“Even so, we must go forward. Yoko wouldn’t want us to face execution. And so, I must ask.” Mesmer moved in closer. “Have you figured out who the killer is?”

“No,” I said forlornly. “I have no idea.”

“That’s alright,” Mesmer replied. “I’m not sure yet either.”

*DING DONG DONG DING*

The familiar sound of bells rang out as it had once before, followed by Monobunny’s diabolical demands.

“Your time is up! The investigation is now over. Please make your way out into the courtyard and through the entrance to the courthouse for the next murder trial! Don’t dilly-dally or I’ll have to punish you! See you there!”

“Here we go,” Mesmer said. “There’s no option now but to uncover the truth any way we can. Are you ready?”

“I don’t know,” I said quietly as everyone began to gather outside the MonoMart. “I hope so.”

“Well if it makes you feel any better,” Mesmer whispered, “I won’t go easy on you if you make any ridiculous claims. I will bite back just as hard, if not harder than in the first trial.”

I chuckled. “Good. I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

The time was near. Just as before, a portion of the dome’s wall had been lowered into the ground, revealing a cave, within which stood a set of double doors bearing Monobunny’s image. We waited a short while as the others left the hotel, a mixture of fear, anxiety, sadness and anger etched on each of their faces. I mistakenly expected Yoko to appear behind them, and was on the cusp of asking where he was, when I understood once more.

“We’d better come out of this alive,” Dish Panner said gruffly, deliberately distancing herself from the rest of us.

“Would that even be a blessing?” Maribelle muttered somberly.

The atmosphere was different this time. When Pinkie died, some were still holding onto the idea that Monobunny was the killer. But now we knew, we all knew, that one of us had committed murder. I scanned the crowd before me and sighed. I didn’t want anyone here to be the killer. I didn’t want to lose another one, but there was no choice. Whomever it was had to die. That was the rule.

The doors were opened and once again, we shuffled down the pitch-black staircase, guided by the floor-level lights. Nobody spoke. The doors creaked behind us and slammed shut, sealing our fate. Behind the door at the bottom of the stairs was the same opera house filled to the brim with cameras that jittered excitedly. There were cheers, whoops, hollers and applause as we approached the center stage. Monobunny sat atop his golden stool suspended high above us, spinning his gavel as if he were a cheerleader.

“Well, well, well! Is someone having a case of déjà vu? I could’ve sworn you were all here just a few days ago! Come on now, take your place, and let’s get started!”

“Bastard,” I heard someone say under their breath.

We all did as we were told, standing on our individual spots and watching as the blue pillars of light enveloped us. Then came the sound of gears grinding, and each of our signs whizzed behind us. Yoko’s picture had been greyed out with a red ‘X’ splashed across it, matching Pinkie’s and Shetland’s. In addition, the sign previously depicting a question mark had been replaced with a picture of a stallion wearing shades, presumably Cube Rick. It too had been given the mark of death. Four down, twelve to go.

“Silence!” Monobunny blared, the cheering audience quieting to a mere whisper. “So, a second trial, eh? The first one was quite eventful, wasn’t it? Let’s see if we can top that, shall we!?”

My heart thumped inside my chest. I could feel beads of sweat forming on my forehead. Adrenaline filled my veins. This was it, the same rush I had felt once before. A murder to solve. My life on the line. Failure was not an option.

Monobunny slammed the gavel down and reached for the skies. “Let the trial commence!”

Author's Note

This is now the fourth chapter in a row where I've... (Oh, I'm sure someone will figure it out eventually...)

Up next is trial number two. Will you be able to solve the puzzles and figure out who the killer is!?