“NO, THAT’S WRONG!”

Piece of Rope <> Nothing they could’ve held on to.

< Argument Break >

“I think Copper might have been right. The killer could very well have been the other side of the rec room window, looking in.”

“What? How!?” Dish Panner exclaimed. “Do you seriously think someone could have climbed through the window? That’s impossible!”

“Unless someone here is a secret contortionist!” Button cried.

“No,” I said. “They didn’t climb through. They climbed up from the outside.”

“With what?” Dish Panner asked, shaking her head perplexedly. “Unless you’ve forgotten, the rec room is on the second floor. We’re not talking a matter of a few feet, we’re talking five ponies high! They didn’t build a tower and it’s not like they could’ve clambered up with an ice pick or something.”

“No, nothing like that, but they could’ve climbed up there using a rope.”

“Rope?” Dish Panner balked. “This is the first I’m hearing of this!”

“Yeah, Grey,” Copper said. “We found all kinds of stuff like the knife, the crowbars, but not a rope. And didn’t you guys check all that stuff in the MonoMart? I heard the count hasn’t changed one bit and suddenly there’s weapons and tools lying all over the place. How do you explain that?”

“I don’t know that. Yet,” I admitted. It was the biggest mystery of the entire trial, something I had no answers for. “But still, we know there was a rope. Dopple and I found it in the rec room fireplace.”

Dopple nodded. “I can attest to that.”

“Really?” Lancet remarked. “What was it doing in there?”

“The killer was probably trying to dispose of the evidence,” I continued, “We only found a small piece, but from what we could tell, there could have been a whole coil of it that got burned up. There was definitely something else in the fire aside from the wood. If so, judging by how long the coils are in the MonoMart, it would’ve been long enough to reach the roof.”

Dish Panner rubbed at her chin thoughtfully. “There are two things I don’t understand. First, if we’re assuming the killer was a unicorn, how would they have fastened the rope to the side of the building in order to climb up? There’s already a rule in place that prevents unicorns from levitating themselves by simply standing on or holding onto an object and then levitating it. Secondly, if that’s what they did, how did the rope end up in the fire?”

“I… don’t know,” I sighed. For all my apparent breakthroughs I still felt as if I were grasping at straws. I half-expected Mesmer to jump in and start mocking me, but he was being remarkably quiet.

“Then it’s mere speculation,” Dish Panner said, rolling her eyes. “What even points to the rope being used in the first place? How do we know it wasn’t there by pure coincidence?”

“If so,” Maribelle said, “whomever brought the rope to the rec room should speak up and give their reason so as to clarify whether it is connected to the murder.”

Silence was the answer.

“Maybe Yoko brought it,” Button suggested. “I dunno, maybe he was gonna try an’ hang himself. Ooh! Or maybe he was gonna use it himself to strangle whoever came through the door!”

“Even if someone innocent brought it,” Sanscript said, “I can’t see them admitting to it, as it would only pose more questions and cast suspicion on themselves.”

“I say we forget the rope,” Dish Panner said with a wave of her hoof. “I can’t see how it connects to anything other than by some wild stretch of the imagination.”

“Indeed,” Maribelle said. “It seems far more likely that the killer was just waiting in the hallway or followed Yoko into the rec room. Who is to say the nail bomb was originally on the end of the table? It could’ve been hidden somewhere at first, then the killer could have simply moved it into place and set it off, running away as they did so.”

My eyes were planted square at the floor as the others engaged in back-and-forth suggestions about the killer’s methods. My head was pounding, the fear that I’d proposed a ridiculous solution bearing down on me like hail stones. Nobody was even considering the use of the rope. I started to think that maybe my hunch was wrong, that maybe I’d made the same mistake again and again. I looked over at Mesmer, the stallion’s eyes fixed on me pensively. I stared back, trying to gauge his intentions. Was he laughing at me? Pitying me? Or maybe…

A spark went off in my mind. I bolted upright. “That’s how the rope fits in,” I muttered.

“What did you say?” Lancet said beside me.

“Wait, everyone!” I bellowed, interrupting the conversation. I received some stern, unamused looks. “I know how the rope was used. I… I should’ve realized it sooner!”

“You do?” Copper said, glancing at the others. “Let’s hear him out.”

I took a deep breath. There was another clue, something else that was out of place, something that backed up my insane hypothesis. Something that connects to the rope, something that explains it all…

What other truth bullet is connected to the rope?

Trail of Blood

Threatening Sign

Service Bell

State of The Body

Crowbars

Fireplace Guard

MonoMart Stock Check

What would this allow the rope to be used as?

P I N K G R A P H L O G O

Author's Note

Clues are starting to come together, but some discrepancies still remain...

Poke and prod and question with all your might! The truth may find you yet!