"Wha? WHAAAAAAAA!!!" Zephyr Breeze just about fell over himself as he backed up to where Scootaloo was still shaking.

"No way! This is messed up!" Snips was holding up better than Zephyr and Scootaloo, but not by much.

"No...this can't be...Capper!" Octavia was on the verge of tears. Lemon Zest and I both remained silent as we stared into the elevator, trying to comprehend what we were seeing.

I couldn't believe my eyes. There, inside the elevator, lay Capper's body. It was a surreal experience. Just last night, we'd been casually flirting at the bar. And now there he was...dead. I couldn't believe it. No, I wouldn't believe it! He might still be alive, he might-

*Ding Dong Dong Ding*

The monitors all turned on, and Monokuma appeared exactly as he would in the morning and nighttime announcements. "A body has been discovered! Everyone, please gather in the lobby! Now then, after a certain amount of time has passed, the hotel trial will begin!" The monitors then turned off abruptly.

We all stood there in disbelief. Was Capper really dead? Monkuma must be lying, right? That's what we all wanted to believe, but...I knew that it was just wishful thinking. We'd been having so much fun yesterday that we completely forgot that we were living in a nightmare. Then all of a sudden, Lemon Zest seemed to get her faculties back before anyone else. While the rest of us were still frozen in disbelief, she rushed towards the body. She didn't make it very far.

"Now hold on there!" Monokuma appeared from seemingly nowhere, blocking the doorway and threatening her with those dangerous looking claws of his. "Not a step further! Nobody investigates a thing until I say so, got it? It wouldn't be fair if you got a head start before everyone else got here, would it?""

"Out of the way! He might still be alive, we might be able to save him!" She looked ready to beat the stuffing out of the bear to get him out of the way, damn the consequences.

"Might still be alive? Are you stupid? Didn't you hear the body discovery announcement? It only plays when three or more people discover a dead body!" He eyed all of us, malice radiating from his very being. How could something so small be so terrifying? "Now let's get this straight. Capper, the Ultimate Con-Artist, is dead! Deceased! Stone cold! Cadaverific! He has ceased to be! This is an ex-person!" Lemon Zest slowly stepped back, barely holding her tears back as she angrily stared at Monokuma.

It was about that time that everyone else arrived. Looking at both groups led by Limestone and Trouble, nobody else seemed to be missing. The newcomers' gazes followed our own to the open elevator. And that's when everyone else really started to freak out.

"WHAT THE HEEEEEEELLLL?!?!?!?!" Iron Will cried out, both hands on his head.

"Capper! Oh goodness, no!" Rarity started crying a little before she suddenly fainted. Thankfully, Trouble Shoes was close enough to catch her. He simply gave a somber stare, shaking his head sadly. Meanwhile, Apple Bloom and Cozy Glow went to try and calm down Scootaloo, and also Zephyr by proxy. Aria didn't say anything, nor could I read her expression.

"Th-this is a trick! Yes, it must be a fake! Trixie demands to know where the real Capper is!" She said that, but I didn't think even Trixie believed what she was saying. It was just a desperate grasp at hope.

"GOD DAMMIT!" Limestone collapsed to the floor, slamming her fist down hard as tears began to form in her eyes. "This wasn't supposed to happen! We were all supposed to get along and find a way out together!"

"So it finally happened." Moondancer said calmly. "I hoped it wouldn't, but I guess it was only a matter of time before somebody took Monokuma's bait."

"Good! You're all finally here!" Monokuma shouted gleefully. "Now that everyone's made it, go ahead and take out your MonoPads! We're gonna go ahead and knock out some of your inevitable questions early this time! Take a look at the-"

"This time?" Aria interrupted him, speaking angrily through clenched teeth. "This isn't the first time you've implied that you've done this before. Just how many of these sick games have there been, you little freak?!"

"Puhuhuhuhu! How many, you ask? ...Enough." The bear let his vague answer hang for a few beats before he hopped over to the singer and pointed a claw up at her. "Now stop with the interruptions and look at your MonoPads already! I've added some new Hotel Regulations!"

It was only for the briefest of moments, but I swore I saw her expression falter into fear for a moment. If it did, she was quick to mask up again. With a frustrated grunt, Aria did as she was told along with the rest of us. As I pulled up the regulations tab, it became apparent that Monokuma had decided to add some new rules.

1. Guests must live at the Hotel Despair for the foreseeable future.

2. “Nighttime” is from 10 pm to 7 am. The restaurant, kitchen, and courtyard are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution.

3. Violence against Hotel Manager Monokuma is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of surveillance equipment.

4. Attempting to break into a locked room is strictly prohibited.

5. With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore the Hotel Despair at your discretion.

6. Anyone who kills a fellow guest and becomes “blackened” will check out, unless they are discovered.

7. Littering will not be tolerated! All trash must be disposed of in the proper trash receptacles. Don’t trash the hotel! (Murder scenes don’t count as littering)

8. Mealtimes are from 7 am to 8 am and 5 pm to 6 pm. The kitchen will be off limits during mealtimes in order for our eclectic staff to do their jobs. Attending mealtimes is not mandatory but is highly recommended if you want the best food the Hotel Despair has to offer!

9. The "Body Discovery Announcement" will play when three or more guests discover a body for the first time.

10. Once a murder takes place, a "Hotel Trial" will begin shortly thereafter. Participation is mandatory.

11. If the guilty party, or "blackened," is exposed, they alone will be executed.

12. If the "blackened" is not exposed, they alone will check out and all remaining guests will be executed.

13. Monokuma or hotel staff will never directly commit a murder.

14. If there is an accomplice involved in a murder, only the "true blackened" (the one who carried out the murder) may check out.

15. Additional hotel regulations may be added if necessary.

After we were all given some time to read the new rules, Monokuma hopped over to stand on the nearby front desk. "Alright you bunch of sad sacks! Do you have any questions? Hmm? Hold on." He put his paw over his forehead as he peered out into the crowd. "Hey! This isn't the time to be sleeping! Somebody wake up the prima donna and make it snappy!" He was referring to the fainted Rarity who had been gently placed on the floor by Trouble Shoes at this point. Before any of us could say or do anything, something moved up in the dark lobby balcony above. Whoever or whatever it was, it tossed a huge bundle of lit firecrackers down to the first floor, halfway between the group and the statue of myself. And then, they began going off.

Rarity woke up alright. She screamed and dove to try and take cover behind something, anything, with her hands over her head. She very likely thought they were gunshots. I had a good look at her face when she caught sight of the firecrackers and the statue. Her eyes had widened like saucers as she looked up at the image of my former self, lit up by the explosions with that horrible grin. It was sickening enough for me to see it from where I was. Rarity waking up to that, it must have been outright terrifying. She was trembling as both Trouble and I rushed to help her up, trying to comfort her.

I glared at Monokuma. "That was fucked up and unnecessary."

"It sure was funny though! Maybe that'll teach her to get over her little fainting problem!" Monokuma then started tossing yet another type of tablet towards us without warning. What was this, the third different one? We all managed to catch the one thrown to us, with the exceptions of Rarity and Zephyr. I caught Rarity's for her and gently handed it to her while she tried to shake off what just happened, to which she gave me an appreciative, albeit weak, smile. While Scootaloo had gotten a hold of herself, Zephyr was still freaking out a little bit. He was halfway under the Christmas Tree, trying to hide. He didn't have a good view of the firecrackers, so maybe he thought they were gunshots at first too. Apple Bloom caught his tablet as he slowly started to get up on his own.

"What are these? More videos to fuck with us?" Limestone snarled.

"Oh, nothing like that! This is the Monokuma File!" He said it proudly and with lots of energy.

"The what?!" Lemon Zest looked like she was about to throw up. "Why the hell would anyone be attracted to-"

"You idiot! He didn't say Monokumaphile, he said Monokuma File!" Moondancer made sure to separate the words so that Lemon understood her mistake. Of course, she looked like she was going to be sick herself now that she'd said what the somewhat dense rocker girl was thinking. In fact, the entire room looked extremely upset by it.

"Oh...uh...sorry." Lemon's face flushed red with embarrassment as she tried to pretend she was invisible.

"Uh-huh. Yeah, that's not an extreme blow to my self confidence or anything." Monokuma was looking down and sounded depressed. However, that didn't last long as he perked up after a mere few seconds. "Anyway! Let's get on with it. The Monokuma File will offer you some information about the murder! After all, you're not professionals. I can't just have you going into an investigation blind, can I?"

"Information about the murder?" Octavia questioned. "I take it that means you know who did this?"

"Of course! I couldn't offer fair judgment at the Hotel Trial if I didn't! I caught everything on camera!" He pointed up to one of the security cameras to illustrate. "I've got all the information. But don't think you'll be getting any hints from me! I will neither help nor hinder your investigations. It wouldn't be fair otherwise!"

"Okay, fine. Then what about information we can't get otherwise?" Cozy Glow broke away from her group and stepped closer to the bear. She wasn't even attempting her cutesy schtick. She was all business. "We're not allowed to break into locked doors. There could be important clues in the victim's room. You aren't just going to leave that locked, are you?"

Monokuma seemed to consider this for a moment before shrugging. "You make an excellent point! For the sake of the investigation, I'll unlock the victim's room. Anything else?"

"Yep. How do we know anything in this file is the truth?" Trouble Shoes asked. He made a great point.

"Ugh! Seriously? You lot are so untrusting!" Monokuma seemed genuinely offended. "I've already told you before, I don't lie about these things! Everything in that file is the truth! And everything I say about the case will be the truth! Of that, you can be certain. It wouldn't be fair or fun otherwise! Now, if you have any important questions about the investigation, feel free to call for me! Otherwise, keep all questions about the trial to yourselves until it's time! I'm getting bored, so we're getting this investigation started already!" Without another word, Monokuma hopped behind the desk, vanishing from sight. Then, he suddenly appeared again. "Oh, and don't worry about the elevator! I've already made sure it's locked in place, so it won't close on you or anything!" After that addendum, he disappeared for real.

We all looked at each other in silence for a moment before each of us looked at the Monokuma File. As I opened it up, it showed a gray silhouette of Capper's body with a bright pink spot on the left side of his head, consistent with where the injury on his body was. I remember thinking it was weird that the injury was highlighted with pink instead of red, but that wasn't an important detail to focus on.

Monokuma File #1
The victim is Capper, The Ultimate Con-Artist. The estimated time of death is around 12:00 midnight. The body was discovered in the elevator as it opened to the hotel lobby. The cause of death is a single killing blow to the left side of the head with a blunt instrument. There are no signs of other conspicuous injuries and no traces of foreign substances like drugs or alcohol.

Truth Bullet Obtained: Monokuma File #1

"So he got killed in the elevator?" Snips spoke up after we all read it.

"Yes, Trixie thinks that should be obvious." The magician pursed her lips as she tried to put the pieces together.

"Hold on, stop." I stepped up and addressed the group. "Let's not jump to any conclusions yet. We need to investigate first. Save it for the trial."

"I absolutely agree." Rarity, who had recovered from the earlier ordeal, was studying the Monokuma File closely before putting it away and stepping towards the crime scene. "In any investigation, you must find all the facts, no matter how trivial they may seem."

"They're right." Moondancer adjusted her glasses. "And before we start, we should set up a few rules of our own. I believe we should all investigate in pairs or groups. That way, the culprit can't risk tampering with evidence. Second, we should post at least two guards to watch over the body."

"Moondancer makes a good point. Everyone, separate into groups. I'll take one of the guard posts." Limestone volunteered, standing to one side of the elevator.

"Iron Will volunteers to take the other guard position. If anyone tries to tamper with anything, you'll be feeling the pain!" And with that, we had both of our guards.

The rest of us began to split off into groups. Unsurprisingly, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Cozy Glow all congregated together. Snips tried to be a part of the group as well, blushing a little bit and looking down as he addressed Cozy Glow. The blue-haired girl put on her sugary sweet act in response while both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked at each other, unsure of what to do. After a brief conversation, she convinced him that his expert skills were needed elsewhere. And so, he saluted her and went to pair with Trixie. I felt bad for the guy, but he was really proving that his title of Ultimate Sycophant was somewhat accurate. Moondancer paired with Trouble Shoes, Octavia paired with Aria Blaze, and Lemon Zest paired with Zephyr Breeze.

That left Rarity as my investigation partner. I was somewhat relieved at this fact. Out of everyone here, Rarity was someone I was growing to like and trust. That said, she was still a suspect. I didn't want to believe she could be capable of such a thing. I didn't want to believe that about anyone here. But the fact of the matter was that one of us was a murderer. Someone had given into their motive video and killed someone to get out.

"Well, where shall we start?" Rarity looked to me with a grim expression.

"I guess we should start with the body." I shrugged.

Rarity grimaced. "I was afraid you were going to say that. Alright, lead the way dear."

I stepped into the large elevator with Rarity in tow, avoiding stepping in the dried blood while the two guards watched us carefully. "I'm assuming we don't have anyone with medical expertise to confirm what the Monokuma File says?" After nobody gave a positive answer, I sighed and shook my head. "Yeah, I thought so. Well...here goes."

As I got closer and bent down, the first thing I noticed was the somewhat metallic smell of blood around him. Yet another unsettling thing about dealing with a dead body. Still, at least it hadn't started to smell yet. Even though the blood had dried, it was still easy to tell that the wound was pretty nasty. The blood ran down the side of his head, drenched his shoulder, and trailed down towards the entrance of the elevator. I wasn't an expert by any means, but it was easy to believe a hit like this to his temple would cause instant death. The Monokuma File was probably accurate. All things considered though, it didn't give me much comfort knowing that he didn't suffer.

The next thing I noticed was his left sleeve. There was a gash in it, as if it had been cut by something. His skin was visible, but there was no wound. This gash in his clothes definitely wasn't there last night at the party. Other than that, his clothes looked the same as yesterday.

Truth Bullet Obtained: Gash in the Sleeve

I next began to look through his pockets. Unfortunately, all he had on him was his MonoPad and room key. And since Monokuma said he was unlocking the victim's room, there was no reason for me to take the key.

"Sunset, take a look at this." Just as I was getting up, Rarity pointed to a bloodstain on the elevator's floor. "Doesn't this seem strange to you?"

As I took a closer look, I realized she was right. The blood made a trail that ended at the entrance to the elevator. At first, I simply assumed that's how the blood had pooled and it dripped into the elevator shaft. However, the way it was shaped and smeared made it clearer to me that Capper's body had been dragged, leaving a trail of blood behind.

Truth Bulled Obtained: Elevator Blood Stain

"Yeah. And now that I think about it...there's no blood splatter anywhere. It should be on the wall too, shouldn't it?" I pointed to where he was leaning against the back wall. There was barely any there, only a small stain from where he was propped up against the wall.

"Indeed it should. I'm thinking we should check elsewhere, aren't you?" She began to exit the elevator, turning back to see if I was following. Figuring that there was nothing else to learn from the body, I nodded and followed.

"Now, let's lay out what we should do next." Rarity seemed relieved to be out of the elevator. I couldn't blame her, I felt the same way. Dealing with a dead body for the first time, especially when it's someone you knew and liked, was a harrowing experience.

"Alright." I took a deep breath and went over it with Rarity. "We'll need to talk to everyone to get their alibis and any testimony they might have. We'll also need to check a few places. I'm thinking the lounge, Capper's room, and wherever else the elevator opens up into. If anywhere else comes up during the investigation, we should go there too." It would be nice if we could check everyone else's rooms too, but I doubted that would be particularly easy to do. Not to mention, we had no idea how much time we had before this Class Trial was supposed to start. The smartest thing to do seemed to be investigating the most relevant places first.

"Very well. I suppose we can start with Limestone and Iron Will, since they're right here." Rarity motioned to the two guards, who were both staring at us, probably having heard everything we said. I blushed just a little. I wasn't about to admit it, but I was so focused that I completely forgot that they were there for a minute. As for everyone else, they seemed to have spread out since Rarity and I had taken first look at the body.

"I'll go ahead and tell you this." Limestone spoke up first. "I investigated this elevator on the first day. Aside from the lobby, it goes to two upper floors and a basement. The upper floors are blocked off, so you'll probably wanna check out the basement. There's a door that leads to some stairs in a small hallway near the courtyard exit. All that was down there was a big boiler room and a utility storage closet."

"Iron Will will cover the alibis!" It was Iron Will's turn to speak. "Both Iron Will and Limestone Pie have rock solid alibis!" Limestone rolled her eyes at the rock joke. "Capper was killed at midnight, right? Well, that clears a few of us! Limestone, Lemon Zest, Trixie, Snips, Scootaloo, and Iron Will himself! Scootaloo and Iron Will left the party at about 12:45 in the morning. The rest stayed to clean up. And nobody was gone on bathroom breaks for more than a couple minutes at a time. Public bathrooms are right next to the lounge after all."

"Yeah, the rest of us were there til about 1:30 or so. The big guy's on the level here." Limestone nodded.

"Wait." I interjected. "What about Apple Bloom? She was still there when Rarity, Octavia, and I left. Also, what time did Capper leave the party?"

"Apple Bloom left a few minutes after you did." Iron Will crossed his arms and thought. "Actually, Scootaloo tried to follow her, but Apple Bloom told her to stay put and keep enjoying herself. Capper, he left at about 11:45 I think?" He looked at Limestone to be sure he was getting the time right, and she nodded.

"I see. Thank you both for everything. We'll see you later." I motioned for Rarity to follow me as we made our way toward the stairs to the boiler room.

Truth Bullet Obtained: Iron Will's Account

As Rarity and I descended the stairs to the basement, I was reminded of Limestone's complaints from the first day. It was pretty damn hot in here! As we reached the dark basement, I flipped on a light switch and turned a corner. Unlike the hotel proper, the basement wasn't decorated to look nice in any way. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all dark concrete. The entrance was built like a wide hallway with the elevator on the righthand wall. Further down, the room opened up into a spacious area with pipes going through the walls and ceiling everywhere. There was another door further down, most likely the utility storage room that was mentioned. I could hear the pipes and boilers working to keep the place heated.

The first thing Rarity and I made sure to look out for was blood on the floor, and we spotted it immediately. There was a trail of blood leading from the elevator to the open area of the basement. Upon closer inspection, it was smeared around in odd places. It looked as if someone had tried to wipe it up but gave up partway through.

Truth Bullet Obtained: Trail of Blood

"Looks like we were right. He was dragged into the elevator." I stated as I followed the trail. The more spacious part of the basement held a few large boiler tanks and valves. Sitting next to one of the boilers by a wall, a small wooden table sat with various tool scattered around it. The trail of blood led directly to a large bloodstain right in front of this particular boiler and the table.

"And lo, our intrepid duo finds themselves at the true scene of the crime!" Rarity spoke dramatically, as if reading aloud from a mystery novel. I turned back and raised an eyebrow. She blushed a little and began fiddling with her curls. "Ahem...sorry. I believe I got a bit carried away for a moment there. I know this isn't the time, I just wanted to try and-"

"Hey, it's fine. I get it." I smiled and gave a soft chuckle. "Thanks for trying to brighten the mood a little." I knew that we all had different ways of coping with stressful situations. If this was what helped Rarity, then I wasn't going to give her grief for it.

Rarity gave me a look of gratitude before clearing her throat and re-entering investigator mode. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe there may have been a struggle here." She motioned to all the discarded tools scattered everywhere. Wrenches, screwdrivers, ratchets, pliers, hammers, all sorts of tools spilling out of a large tool bag on the floor. "In fact, one of these may very well be the murder weapon."

I took a knee and looked over the tools closely. That's when I saw it. Close to the bloodstain, there was a large crowbar laying there, one end of it coated in dried blood. I lifted it from the clean side, testing its weight a bit. Yeah, this was definitely heavy and sturdy enough. "I don't want to say anything definite yet, but I think this might be it." This was probably the weapon that killed him instantly.

Truth Bullet Obtained: Bloody Crowbar

Truth Bullet Obtained: Scattered Tools

Before I got up, I noticed a glint of reflected light from between the boiler and the wall from under the table. There was something back there. Thinking it might be important, I grabbed the longest wrench I could find and used it to try and grab the item. I didn't want to touch any of the pipes or the boiler tank itself for fear of getting burned, so it took a minute of careful maneuvering before the item was finally in full view. It was a kitchen knife with dry blood on its blade. I pulled it out and looked at it curiously. It matched the ones that were normally in the hotel kitchen.

Truth Bullet Obtained: Bloody Kitchen Knife

"Well that's unusual. Why would there be a bloody knife? Capper had no wounds except the one on his head, correct?" Rarity questioned as she helped me up.

"I have no idea, but we can't focus on that right now. We'll figure it out at the trial."

"Very well, you're right. Well speaking of unusual clues, I've found one of my own. Look there." She pointed to the boiler I had just been crawling dangerously close to. On the front of the boiler, there was a small blood stain, no more than an inch or two in diameter. It was too far and precise to be splatter from the killing blow, so what was it?

Truth Bullet Obtained: Boiler Bloodstain

"This just keeps getting weirder and weirder." I stared at it for a few moments more before shaking my head and heading to the utility closet. There were stepladders, spare tables of various sizes, chairs, tablecloths, lightbulbs, brooms, all sorts of things. Oddly enough though, there were no chemical cleaning supplies. Tossed haphazardly behind some equipment was a bloody tablecloth, no doubt what was used to try to wipe up the blood trail. It seemed the culprit had given up on cleanup after being unable to wipe the blood up very well.

Truth Bullet Obtained: Bloody Tablecloth

After taking a few more quick looks around, Rarity and I decided that we were done here and ascended the stairs back to the first floor.

As we got back to the lobby, we saw that Snips was investigating the body while Trixie looked on from just outside the elevator. Seems she was getting him to do the dirty work. We stopped and asked them to corroborate what Iron Will and Limestone had told us, which they did. Our next stop was the lounge.

As we entered the lounge, we saw that Lemon Zest and Zephyr Breeze were inside, investigating. And the place sure didn't look like it was cleaned up after the party last night. At least not entirely. There were various bottles of alcohol sitting on the bar along with multiple empty glasses. The DJ table and the surrounding area was covered in stacked up records while another stack sat on the bar near the empty glasses.

"What the hell?" I looked at the state of the place in confusion.

"That's what I said!" Lemon Zest exclaimed with exasperation. "I had all those records put up neatly last night before I left, and now look at them! Not cool, man!"

"Not to mention the bar." Zephyr mentioned. "Sure, I wasn't here at cleanup, but I don't think Limey would've just let all this sit out." I rolled my eyes as I remembered Limestone's distaste for anyone but her family calling her that nickname.

'Better not let her hear you say that.'

Rarity looked at all the alcohol scattered about. "That's quite a lot to just leave sitting out. And you're sure these weren't here when you cleaned up?" Lemon Zest nodded her head.

"Maybe they belong to the culprit?" Zephyr stared at the bottles with an uncharacteristic frown. "Maybe they felt guilty and came to drown their sorrows?" As he put forth the possibility, I had to admit it made some amount of sense. I wasn't sure yet though.

I approached the bar and examined it. There were three empty cocktail glasses. I immediately noticed something. Inside of each of them, along with some remaining white liquid, were cherry stems. Each pair of stems were bent in a way that I recognized. And then I took a closer look at the record albums sitting nearby. There were six of them, and each one was by the artist DJ-P0N3. They all either had her on the front or back cover in some way.

"One of those is in the player." Lemon Zest spoke up. "Just in case you're wondering why 'Jam With My Melody' isn't in its case." I looked through and sure enough, the album by that name was missing its record. Oddly enough, I also noticed it was the only one where DJ-P0N3's eyes were showing. She was lifting her glasses up and winking.

Truth Bullet Obtained: Empty Cocktail Glasses

Truth Bullet Obtained: DJ-P0N3 Records

Having seen enough here, I approached Zephyr Breeze. He was chatting with Rarity when I interrupted.

"Oh, hey there Sunny. What can the Breeze do for you?" He leaned back against the bar.

"First of all, call me Sunset. Second, I'd like to hear your alibi for the murder last night."

Zephyr sighed and shook his head. "Afraid I don't have one. I left the party at about 11 and went straight to my room. Didn't see anyone, so I guess I can't really prove it. I'm thinking a lot of us who left early are in the same boat. Cozy, Moony, Aria, and anyone else that left before midnight are suspects."

"He's right, I'm afraid." Rarity sighed, shaking her head. "Even us. We may have left together, but there would be plenty of time for either of us to make our way to the basement after we parted. One of us would simply have to leave after making sure the other was in her room." And just like that, Rarity had voiced a worry I hadn't wanted to think about. She was right though. We left at 11:30 and were only together for maybe...5, 10 minutes tops?

I sighed and put a hand to my forehead in frustration. Getting alibis wasn't going to be so easy after all. I took a deep breath to steady myself and began to head out. As we were leaving, I thanked Lemon Zest and Zephyr. Lemon shrugged nonchalantly while Zephyr turned slightly and shot a finger gun at me while winking. I wished he would stop doing stuff like that, especially at a time like this. Once we were in the hallway, we ran into Moondancer and Trouble Shoes.

"Sunset. I was looking for you." Moondancer approached. "I'd like to speak with you a moment. Alone." Without waiting for me to answer, she dragged me a fair bit away while Trouble Shoes assured Rarity that everything was fine.

Once we were out of earshot, I crossed my arms and looked at the librarian suspiciously. "Okay, what's going on?" I made sure to keep my voice down.

"First of all, before you ask, I was in the library from the time I left up until 2 in the morning. No, I don't have anyone who can corroborate I was there the whole time. Trouble Shoes can, however, attest to me entering the library right after we left the party." After pausing a moment to make sure I got all that, she continued. "Now, you seem to be a competent enough sort. So I'm going to let you in on something. I highly suggest you investigate the pharmacy."

"The pharmacy? Why?"

"Don't interrupt me. I'm not done. Investigate the pharmacy and be thorough. I'm also offering some free advice. I highly recommend you recall the order in which everyone left the party, as well as exactly where their destinations were."

"Why would I need to-"

"What part of 'don't interrupt me' do you fail to understand? Were you raised in a barn?" It took everything I had to not sarcastically respond with 'no, a stable.' However, I clammed up and let her continue. "Good girl. As I was saying, there are no irrelevant details in a case like this. Our lives are on the line. Investigate every angle, no matter how trivial it may seem." She stopped speaking, and after a few minutes she let out an annoyed sigh. "Yes, you can speak now. I'm done."

"Oh, thanks so much." I tried not to sound too sarcastic. I was used to Moondancer being a bit condescending and aloof, but she was really being insufferable right now. I'd just about had it with her today. "Thanks for the tip. Is there anything else you can tell me?"

"Plenty. But I'm saving most of it for the trial." She started to turn and walk away, but she paused, turning around again. "But I suppose I can give you a hint. Listen well. At minimum, there are four liars." Without another word, she began walking away, leaving me completely dumbfounded by her words. She motioned for Trouble Shoes to follow her and the two entered into the lounge.

Truth Bullet Obtained: Moondancer's Account

After joining back up, Rarity and I stared at each other for a moment. She then spoke up. "And what was that all about?"

I almost told her everything right there, but then I remembered those cryptic last words. At minimum, there are four liars. What did that mean? I had no way of knowing yet, so I decided to keep some of that to myself. "She told me her alibi and recommended we investigate the pharmacy. She also said we should make a list of when each person left the party. She's also a lot ruder than I gave her credit for!" I said that last bit through gritted teeth and she gave me an apologetic look.

"I see. Well, I'm sure she means well. We're all in this together after all. Unless she's the culprit that is." Rarity frowned as she said that. It seemed to me that she felt deeply uncomfortable throwing any sort of accusations to anyone. I didn't blame her. I felt the same way. "By the way, Trouble Shoes says he went straight to his room after leaving the party and saw Moondancer go into the library. He says he was in his room until morning."

We decided to hold off on making any sort of list of departures until we had some sort of account from everyone who left before the murder. We still needed to hear from Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Cozy Glow, Octavia, and Aria. We ran into the latter two in the lobby on our way to the pharmacy.

"Hey, I was just looking for you two." I approached them as they conversed near the front desk. "Do you have a minute? I want to ask you about where you were last night."

"Alibis, huh?" Aria crossed her arms and blew a bit of hair out of her face while she regarded us with an unimpressed look. "Yeah, whatever. I left at about 10 and went straight to my room. I stayed there all night."

"And I left the same time as you two." Octavia added before trying and failing to stifle a yawn. "I went straight to my room and stayed there all night as well." She yawned again and looked embarrassed. "I'm terribly sorry. I couldn't sleep and it seems to be catching up with me."

"It's fine, don't worry about it." I kept any suspicions I had about those two to myself and instead shared mine and Rarity's alibis in exchange. "Thanks for sharing."

We then left them behind and entered the pharmacy. Nobody else was in there so we had the place to ourselves. "What is it we're looking for exactly?" Rarity asked as she began to walk around.

"I'm not really sure. She wasn't exactly forthcoming." I looked around at what they had and was both impressed and a little uneasy. On one hand, they had just about anything you could need. Medication for aches, coughing, allergies, insomnia, vitamin supplements, if it was over the counter, they had it somewhere. There was also plenty of ointment, cream, bandages, basically anything you could think of that a pharmacy might have. However, there were also some stronger drugs. Prescription pain killers, anxiety medication, anti-depressants, the works. And multiple types and dosage sizes at that. Having these so readily available was potentially dangerous.

"I think I may have found something." Rarity bent down behind the sales counter and pulled five items out: some small scissors, a partially used roll of gauze, some rubbing alcohol, a partially used bag of cotton balls, and a half-empty tube of burn cream. "There are some bloody cotton balls in the trash bin back here, but I am not touching those."

I looked over the items and had an idea. I went to where each item would be placed on the shelves. And sure enough, each of the five spots looked like they were missing one item compared to the rest of the surrounding products. "Okay, those definitely all came from these shelves. This is probably what Moondancer wanted me to see. But how did she know to check here in the first place?"

"Hmm...one moment, dear. I need to check something." Rarity stepped from behind the counter and looked out the door for a moment before leaving. When she came back in a few minutes later, she had the most smug look I'd seen on her the entire investigation. "I see, I see. Well isn't that fascinating."

"What is it?"

"Ah ah ah! I can't be spilling all of my secrets, can I?" She held up a finger and wagged back and forth. She then chuckled and gave me a gentle pat on the back. "Don't worry darling, I'll reveal it at the trial. Think of it as me leaving you in suspense." Seeing that she wasn't planning on relenting, I just shrugged and went with it. There wasn't time to argue about it.

Truth Bullet Obtained: Pharmacy Products

Truth Bullet Obtained: Rarity's Secret

Our next stop was the victim's room in the east wing. On the way there, we ran into the last three individuals we needed to see, leaving someone's room and entering the hallway. Cozy Glow, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo. Scootaloo was in the clear since she'd been at the party the whole time, but the other two weren't.

"Oh gee, my alibi?" Cozy responded to my question. "Golly, I'm sorry. After I left the party, I just went right to bed. I was feeling awfully tired if you remember."

"And I left just a couple minutes after y'all did. Came straight to my room and went to sleep." Apple Bloom added.

I was pretty annoyed by this point. Not a single alibi I'd gotten for those who left before midnight could be verified! Even my own and Rarity's left enough time for one of us to go commit murder. Even with Apple Bloom a few minutes behind us, it wasn't farfetched to reason that the culprit would have waited for her to get to her room too. Rarity was still a suspect. And in the event she's innocent, I was no doubt still a suspect in her mind as well.

It wasn't until after the three had left that I realized something important. They hadn't exited the victim's room. Nor had they exited any of their own, all three of which were here in this wing. No, the room they exited belonged to Iron Will. Why and how had they done that? Iron Will was still guarding the body. And lockpicking broke the rules. Did he maybe leave it unlocked? But then why would they think to look in there in the first place? There were just too many questions. With an exasperated sigh, I opened the door to Capper's room and began to look around.

It was a room much like the others I had seen so far and he kept the place very neat. The only thing out of place was his Mini MonoPad sitting on the desk. Even though he was dead, learning what Capper's motive video was might offer some insight. I picked it up and turned it on.

The video started identically to how mine and Cozy Glow's did. It showed a chibi version of Capper standing in the middle of a city. Monokuma's voice came over the speaker. "Capper, the Ultimate Con-Artist! A renowned cat burglar who's done jobs in Klugetown, Panthera, Canterlot, Manehattan, Las Pegasus, and more! He didn't do it alone though! He and his gang The Alley Cats were the best there was at what they did. Capper, Chummer, Max, Shadow, Molly, and Admiral Fluffington. This gang was inseparable!" Five other individuals congregated around Capper and they all seemed to be happy. Then, everything went dark and the other five disappeared. "But oh no! Something has happened to this gang of thieves! Are they safe? Are they even alive? Who knows!" A text graphic appeared on the screen that said, 'Check Out of the Hotel to Find Out!'

Truth Bullet Obtained: Capper's Motive Video

"Oh dear...as I feared, he had someone precious taken as well." Rarity was bowing her head somberly. I found that I was actually jealous. He had so many friends and their identities weren't being kept a secret from him. Once again, I wondered what Monokuma's personal grudge against me must be. There must be one for him to be targeting my memory and dredging up my past like this.

"I suppose now we should lay out the order of departures?" Rarity reminded me. I nodded and we went to grab a pen and piece of paper from Capper's stuff.

Trouble Shoes, Moondancer, and Cozy Glow were the first to leave the party. Trouble Shoes went straight to his room in the west wing, claiming to have stayed there until morning. Moondancer was seen entering the library at around 9:15 pm. She claims to have been there until 2 am, but no one can corroborate this. Cozy Glow went straight to her room in the east wing and claims to have been there until morning.

Aria Blaze left at 10 pm for her room in the west wing and claims to have been there until morning. Zephyr Breeze left at 11 pm for his room in the west wing and claims to have been there until morning. Octavia Melody, Sunset Shimmer, and Rarity all left at 11:30 pm. Octavia went to her room in the west wing and claims to have been there until morning. Sunset and Rarity walked to their rooms together in the east wing. Both claim to have been in their respective rooms until morning.

Apple Bloom left the party a few minutes after 11:30 pm, heading towards her room in the east wing. She claims to have been there until morning. Capper left at 11:45 pm, presumably heading to the basement where he was murdered at midnight. Scootaloo and Iron Will left the party at 12:45 am and headed to their rooms in the east wing. Limestone Pie, Snips, Trixie Lulamoon, and Lemon Zest all left at 1:30 am. Limestone, Trixie, and Lemon went to their rooms in the west wing. Snips went to his room in the east wing.

Truth Bullet Obtained: Order of Departure

And with that, we had finished writing it all out. I don't know why Moondancer wanted me to do this, but I did it. What was she up to? She came to me but wouldn't be up front about anything. Did she trust me or didn't she? And why did she have to be such a pain in the ass about it all?

"Oh, what's this?" I was brought out of my thoughts by Rarity bending down to reach into the trash bin. She pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. As she opened it up, she perked up. "It's a note!" She placed it on the table, smoothed it out a bit, and we both began to read it.

Meet me in the boiler room at midnight. I may have found a way out and I want your expert opinion before giving the others hope. - C

Truth Bullet Obtained: Note in the Victim's Room

We were both quiet for a moment before Rarity finally broke the silence. "So...it seems we still have a small bit of time. Is there anywhere else you can think of?" She avoided voicing what we both were clearly thinking. The C signature at the end of the note. There were some unsettling implications if it were to be believed.

"Um...actually, do you mind going to the kitchen and seeing if any knives are missing?" I was reminded that I had wanted to do that. However, there was something else that had occurred to me to try earlier during the investigation. I couldn't do it with Rarity nearby though. "I'm going to check around, see if we might have missed anything." It wasn't entirely a lie, but I wasn't being entirely truthful.

"Yes, I suppose I could check just to be sure." Rarity got up and started to walk out, but stopped. She turned and looked at me with some concern. "Are you going to be alright?"

"I'll be fine. Thanks." I lied. I wasn't sure if I was ever going to be fine again after today. But I forced a smile and got up to follow her.

We parted ways in the lobby. Once Rarity had entered the restaurant and was out of sight, I stepped outside into the courtyard. This was a longshot, but I had to try. I went straight for the centaur statue, trying to seem like I was merely on a walk to clear my head for the cameras, and leaned back against it to "rest."

It took a few moments, but I soon heard that gravely voice in my head.

'Ah, so you return to speak with me. I imagine it has something to do with that ghastly announcement earlier?'

'Yes. Wait, you can hear what goes on out here?'

'I cannot see, I cannot feel, I cannot smell. But I can hear, to an extent. Though sometimes I wish I couldn't.' He grunted in annoyance. 'That creature's voice echoing all around...his voice is even more grating and irritating than-' Whatever he was going to say, he cut himself off. 'So it's true then. One of your lot has died?'

'...Yes. It's true.' I paused as I thought about how I wanted to go about this. 'I know it's unlikely, but I was hoping you might know something.'

'I know a great many things, child. But unfortunately, nothing about how this death came about. However...' He let his words hang for a minute before continuing. 'I may still be able to tell you something worthwhile.'

'You can? Well what is it?' Maybe he knew why we were all here in the first place? I was starting to get excited at the prospect of getting some sort of answers.

'Aren't you an eager one?' He let out a dry chuckle. 'I can't just tell you everything for free, you know. There must be a price to be paid.'

'A price. Fine, name it.' My enthusiasm dried up as quickly as it had appeared.

'Oh, nothing unreasonable. I merely ask for more conversations in the future. Believe it or not, being locked in a statue is quite boring.'

'Oh. If that's what you want, then sure.' I suddenly felt a lot less uneasy about the whole thing. If talking was all he wanted, then I could manage that. 'I'll try to come talk when I can. I just need to be careful about it. I'm being monitored.'

'Thank you. I look forward to your next visit. Sadly, I can feel our connection fading once more. Whatever magic you employ can't pierce through this barrier of stone for long it seems.' He sounded forlorn, almost sad about it. It must have been a long time since he had anyone to talk to. 'I'll leave you with this. Someone else has been paying me visits. I don't know what they want, but they have not attempted communication of any sort. I advise you to be careful, Sunset Shimmer. You never know when an enemy is lurking nearby.' And with that, the connection ended.

'Gee, thanks for being cryptic about it. I guess I'll have to ask more when I come back.'

*Ding Dong, Bing Bong!*

The monitors all lit up and Monokuma was sitting in his usual spot. "Ahem! Time's up! Your investigation is at an end! Please report to the gazebo in the center of the courtyard maze immediately for the Hotel Trial!" The monitors then all turned off.

'How do those monitors and cameras work out here without any problems? Maybe they're magically protected from the elements?'

The answer to my internal question didn't really matter. I was just trying to distract myself from the harsh reality in front of me. We'd soon all be subjected to whatever Monokuma's Hotel Trial was. Which also meant we were about to fight for our very lives. Not seeing any point in delaying, I made my way to the hedge maze.

Author's Note

Hey, I managed to get one more chapter in before the new year!
So here we are, the first investigation phase has been completed! What do you think? Do any of you have the answer yet? I tried to make sure it wasn't too easy while also laying out as many clues as I could. So while it's true that not all the answers are there yet, I hope there are enough breadcrumbs to lead you all to point the finger at the culprit! Next time, we get into the trial!

By the way, should I try to make a map of the hotel and upload it? This may just be me being self conscious, but I'm not sure whether I'm getting across the intended layout of the locations as well as I could be. A map could fix that. The only downside is that I'd have to make multiple versions of the map for when new parts of the hotel open up. (Does that count as a spoiler? I think we all knew ahead of time that more of the hotel would open up, right?) I don't know, what do you all think? Am I overthinking this?

Edited to fix a minor mistake and fix a little bit of formatting.