Trigger Happy Equines

“NO, THAT’S WRONG!”

Fireplace Guard <> Nothing could have stopped it

< Argument Break >

I chuckled to myself, shooting Mesmer an amused smirk. “How could you not have noticed?” I said. “The solution was right under your nose.”

“Oh?” Mesmer responded, appearing unfazed. “Do tell.”

“There was something in the rec room that had every capacity to protect the fire from the explosion. That being, the fireplace guard.”

“Yes,” Mesmer replied. “A strange design, wouldn’t you say? Completely unlike others I’ve seen before. Its opacity would’ve almost nullified the effects of air disturbance and left the fire essentially intact.”

My jaw hung in the air as words failed me. Mesmer’s response made no sense. It was as if he’d expected every word I’d spoken.

“Wait a second!” Inky cried. “I thought you said there wasn’t an explosion, now you’re saying there was? Come on, which is it!?”

“I don’t believe this,” Copper grumbled, shaking her head in dismay. “You knew! You led us down the wrong path on purpose!”

“What’s important,” Mesmer said, “is that we figure out every last detail, and since we’ve established that the fireplace guard must have been in place during the explosion, we can learn a great deal more about this murder.”

“What’s your game?” I said meekly, trying to process Mesmer’s logic. “Why treat me like an idiot when you knew I was right?”

“But you weren’t right,” Mesmer replied. “You figured out the basic method but forgot to think of the bigger picture. Not only that, but when challenged on it, you failed to simply dismiss my claims that instant and provide the answer. Instead, you acted surprised and wallowed in anger, allowing me to supposedly unfurl a rather airtight hypothesis. Do you understand?”

I sighed and dropped to the floor, feeling all the stupider for falling into Mesmer’s trap. All I wanted was to be one step ahead. “You were just test–” I stopped for a moment, realizing that the test was far from over, that I had something else to figure out. I thought about the ramifications of this new revelation. “The fireplace guard. It wasn’t in place when we got there, but it had to have been in place before.” I stood upright. “The explosion might’ve knocked it, but I don’t think it would’ve blown it from its original spot. Otherwise, the clips on either side would’ve been wrenched open, or ripped off the wall, and that clearly wasn’t the case. Yoko wouldn’t have unclipped it, which means it was someone or something else.”

Mesmer smiled, the stony expression from before dissipating in an instant. “Yes. That’s I wanted you to figure out.”

I understood. His message was clear. I had failed to see something so very important, something that might’ve seemed inconsequential, but painted a picture of even stranger goings on. He couldn’t have just told me. I had to see the light by myself. I had to be better. I had to prove my worth. I couldn’t allow myself to be a bad detective. A wave of delight passed over me, washing away my anger like a waterfall. I felt well and truly alive.

“Okay…” Elsie said, looking bewildered. “With that out of the way, the question is, how did the killer pull it off?”

“Um, hello,” Button jibed, rolling his eyes. “Nail bomb.”

“I know that, you little twerp!” Elsie snapped. “What I mean is, how did they do it? Could they have set a fuse? Were they in the room at the time? Did Yoko set off a tripwire or something?”

“A unicorn did it,” Maribelle muttered. “That’s what I’ve been saying this whole time.”

“Is that so?” Dish Panner said. “Explain.”

“Of course.” Maribelle cleared her throat. “Before I begin, do not confuse my accusation with anti-horn bigotry. I am not making this claim on the basis of race or the propensity to commit murder, but ability. I do not see how anyone could have remained in the room unscathed, and I also do not see how the killer could have set up a tripwire that would immediately set off the nail bomb.”

“We don’t know that,” Sanscript interrupted, raising a hoof. “It might have been disposed of. As for surviving in the room, they could’ve hidden behind one of the sofas.”

“I dunno,” Inky said, rubbing her chin. “That’d be a heck of a risk. Some of the shrapnel tore right through the fabric, but I guess it could be possible, maybe?”

“No, even if that’s the case,” Maribelle continued, “didn’t someone say earlier that the only way the powder could’ve ignited was if it was shaken up like a snow-globe? Could that have been the work of a pegasus or earth pony? They would have had to shake it with their own hooves.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Copper said. “And if that’s the case, they would’ve been blasted to pieces.”

“Absolutely,” Maribelle affirmed, nodding. “Only a unicorn, with their ability to levitate objects, would have been able to set off the nail bomb while remaining out of harm’s way.” She took a deep breath, eyeing the rest of the group with a serious gaze. “It means we can finally narrow down our list of suspects to Mesmer, Elsie, Sanscript and the Doctor. Anyone with an alibi should speak now, and we’ll go from there.”

“Now wait a second,” Mesmer said brashly. “Making such a bold statement will only take us down the path of wild accusations and derail this trial.”

“Of course you’d say that,” Maribelle said softly, her face stony and unflinching. “You’re a unicorn. Am I right in assuming you don’t have an alibi that can be backed up by anyone else?”

Mesmer’s eyes narrowed. “No. No-one was with me until after the body discovery announcement.”

“I should say,” Sanscript interjected, “that Mesmer didn’t like Yoko all that much.” He caught Mesmer’s furious glare and flinched. “In fact, th-they didn’t get on at all!”

“If that’s your argument,” Maribelle said, “then surely Elsie should be the most suspicious, since she didn’t like Yoko either.”

“That’s…!” Elsie began, but merely remained with her mouth open.

Maribelle continued. “But you, Sanscript, just tried to pin the murder on Mesmer simply because he didn’t get along with Yoko. Surely it shouldn’t matter who the victim is if the killer’s actions would see the rest of us die too? Seems a little suspicious to me. Do you have an alibi?”

Sanscript hung his head. “No. I, much like Mesmer, was alone before Yoko’s body was found.”

Lancet spoke up. “I met with Greyscale before the announcement and we discovered the body with Dopple and Elsie.” She sighed. “But I suppose that proves neither mine nor Elsie’s innocence. I didn’t meet Greyscale until a minute or so after the explosion, assuming that’s what that terrible sound was this morning.”

“She’s right,” Elsie said, looking deflated. “I can’t prove my innocence either. I was awoken by that noise too, but I wouldn’t have imagined it was a nail bomb of all things. I stayed in bed until I heard a scream outside my door.” She looked up at me apologetically. “Sorry for attacking you, by the way. I just assumed you were forcing yourself on the Doctor, because, well…” She bit her lip and averted my gaze. “I’ve known something like that happen before. As soon as I heard her scream, my mind instantly went to that. Again, sorry.”

“That’s… that’s alright,” I replied. I had my questions but thought better than to ask.

“Sanscript!” Inky said aloud, visibly shaken. “It can’t have been you, right?”

“Of course not!” the stallion yelled. “I wouldn’t dream of it!”

“We don’t know that,” Dish Panner said. “We all thought the same thing about Shetland, remember? I don’t think we can judge someone’s innocence based on their character.”

“Yeah, but I still think it was Mesmer,” Button snarked. “He’s the creepiest one here, and killing someone with a complicated plan seems like just the kind of thing he’d do.”

“Whomever it is,” Maribelle said, “I think it would be best if the four unicorns kept quiet.”

“Now hold on!” Elsie cried. “We deserve to have our say just as much as anyone! Even if a unicorn did this, which I still think is jumping to conclusions, that makes three of us that didn’t!”

“Greyscale?” Mesmer said. “What do you think?”

“Me? Why should I get to decide?”

“I never said that,” Mesmer replied. “I merely asked for your opinion. Why should you get to decide, indeed?”

Even now, he’s messing with me, I thought. Still, it was an awkward situation to be in. Mesmer. Elsie. Sanscript. Lancet. If what we’d figured out was true, it seemed like there was no way for a non-unicorn to have pulled it off. It meant one of those four was a killer. A lump formed in my throat. “We let them speak.” I turned to Maribelle. “Like Elsie said, three of them are innocent and might be able to help the rest of us during the trial. It also means the killer will have to watch what they say or risk mounting even more suspicion on themselves. But…” I licked my lips nervously. “We should still think twice about taking their words as fact.”

The four unicorns stood in pained silence, a mixture of grief, anger and worry on their faces. It was Lancet who spoke first. “So be it,” she said with a sigh. “I just hope you all make the right call.”

“J-just a moment, everyone,” Reph murmured timidly, raising a hoof. “If that is indeed the case, I’m j-just wondering how they went about it? We know they could’ve used their magic to sh-shake the container, but where were they when it happened?”

“They could’ve been anywhere, right?” Button said. “So long as they knew someone was in the room, they could’ve set it off! Kablooey!”

“That’s not true!” Sanscript interjected. “For a unicorn to do all that, they would’ve needed to see what they were doing. Keeping a flame just far enough from an explosive so as not to set it off prematurely and ensuring that it is activated at just the right time would be almost impossible if you couldn’t see the items in question. It would be like trying to build a house of cards in the dark.”

“Almost impossible,” Maribelle emphasized. “I’m sure with enough practice, anyone could train themselves to do such a thing.”

“That’s not the half of it!” Sanscript continued, getting more flustered by the second. “You’d need empty space between yourself and the apparatus! Monobunny has already expressed that using advanced magic is off limits. If you picked up an apple in one room and then closed the door on yourself, that would cut off direct contact with it, requiring you to utilize a magical grasp that extended through the door without physically affecting it. That would be in breach of the rules, meaning one of us would be missing a leg.”

“I’m sure there’s an easy answer,” Maribelle retorted. “So that’s what we’ll figure out next. Where could they have been when the bomb went off?”

“Not in the rec room,” Inky said. “No way they could’ve gotten out without a nail in the chest, and they still would’ve had to get out past all the stuff on the floor without cutting themselves and fight past Yoko, who still had enough strength to break down a door!”

“There must have been a clue,” Copper said. “But I can’t think what.”

Even with a fresh batch of suspects, the mystery was still far from being unraveled. One step at a time, I reminded myself. I know I can do this!

Truth Bullets

Reph’s Account

Broken Window

Service Bell

Piece of Rope

Threatening Sign

Crowbars

Button: If the killer wasn’t in the rec room, where were they?

Elsie: They would’ve needed line of sight, just like Sanscript said.

Inky: Maybe they waited in the hallway?

Copper: Wouldn’t Yoko have known something was up? You don’t just stand in the hallway without looking suspicious.

Maribelle: Not necessarily. The rec room was the meeting place for the MonoMart check. If it was Mesmer or Sanscript, it wouldn’t have seemed suspicious at all.

Dish Panner: For all we know they could’ve just waited behind the door.

Copper: I know it sounds crazy, but what if they were looking in through the window?

Elsie: That sounds rather far-fetched, don’t you think?

Reph: Well, they’d have line of sight and wouldn’t need to worry about breaking the rules, provided the window was open.

Maribelle: But how would that work? There’s nothing they could have held on to.

Elsie: Or better yet, how would they have gotten up there in the first place?

Inky: Ooh, maybe they climbed through the window!

Dish Panner: But then they couldn’t have got back to the ground without breaking a leg. Not to mention, it wouldn’t explain other aspects of the murder.

Button: Or they built a tower out of, I dunno, paint tins or something, and climbed on that.

Lancet: We didn’t find anything like that, though.

Copper: Sorry. I knew it was a stupid suggestion.

The killer had something at their disposal, something that would’ve allowed them to keep their eye on the situation. I just need to point it out!