Something Sour at Crystal Prep

by Stratocaster

J'accused!

Sunny Flare curled up with bugged eyes in the cushioned chair, still reeling from the grizzly sight. The scene was even more haunting illuminated by the glow of the moonlight from the tall lounge window, as rain tapped against the glass. No lights were turned on inside as she refused to get any better of a look. Fortunately she was not alone, or else she would never know how to react.

The other Shadowbolts mimicked her actions, each having a big, comfy chair of their own. Lemon Zest, who had stopped the rock ballad she was listening too, seemed the most freaked out compared to all the rest. Sour Sweet’s lifeless arm stretched towards her chair, as if she were trying to crawl forward before being attacked.

“This...this can’t be happening.” Sunny stammered, hugging her legs. “I just saw her this morning.”

Indigo Zap, though considered the toughest of the group, looked like she was about to puke. “We had g-gym together…” she stammered, “the last period of the--the day. I thought she was right behind me as we were le-leaving…”

Lemon Zest knelt down to prod at the body. “Come on, Sour. Joke’s over.” She said, in denial. “It’s not that funny anymore!”

Sugarcoat got out of her chair and stood over Lemon, letting her try to wake Sour from her deadly slumber for a few more moments before speaking up. “It wasn’t funny to begin with. If you thought it was, that’s messed up.” Her voice began to waver, so she looked away from the crime scene. “She’s obviously not joking, Lemon. She’s dead. Anyone with eyes can see that.”

“How could this happen?!” blurted Indigo. “Why would Sour just...end up...like this right here!” she tried to avert the words die and death.

All of the Shadowbolts were left clueless, unable to ask Indigo’s question, though it was something they all wondered themselves. “She could have been poisoned... “ Sunny suggested, though knew that was unlikely, consider the blood all over the floor. “...Then stabbed to death…” she added in a whisper.

“I think it would probably help if the lights were on.” Sugarcoat said, going over to the lightswitch. She got screams of “no” almost instantly, making her pause a little too late.

The lights of the lounge flicked on, revealing the gruesome sight of Sour Sweet lying lifeless in the carpet. A wave of gasps were contracted from the living girls. Indigo finally ran off to vomit, but failed to reach the bathroom and instead settled for a potted plant.

“Sugarcoat!” Lemon yelled angrily, “we told you to stop! Why’d you turn the lights on anyway?!” She backed away from Sour’s body, about ready to advance on the blunt Shadowbolt.

“Someone was going to eventually.” Sugarcoat shrugged. “The real question is, who would want to murder a student at a prep school? Granted, Sour Sweet could be a little, ahem, harsh, but even this seems very extreme.”

Sunny seemed alarmed at what Sugarcoat had said; if anything, she was the one who was harsh, but she kept to herself. “True,” She agreed anyway, “she does have a nasty habit of being sarcastic. I can’t think of anyone who would want to kill her, though.” She winced at the last two words, taking a deep breath, to try and calm her stomach down. “Does anyone else have any ideas?”

Lemon Zest continued to stare anxiously at her deceased friend. But then, a thought suddenly struck her, and her expression turned into a bitter scowl. “Wondercolts!” she hissed. “Those little ingrates! They probably did this to Sour to make sure she would never bother them again! Oh they are gonna pay!”

The rest of the Shadowbolts agreed with Lemon simultaneously; they had never fully forgiven the friendship-loving freaks after they had beaten them at The Friendship Games...or after they got their own Principal fired….or after they took Twilight away from them. They say that Twilight chose to transfer to their school, but they all could see through the Wonderbolt’s lies. “We can’t just go over there and accuse them, though.” Sugarcoat mumbled, “even though they probably did do it, we’d be on their school grounds and they could have Celestia kick us off. Maybe we should call Twilight and she can help us decide how to confront them.”

Indigo returned from her upchuck, her face a bit pale green. “But how do we know Twilight will even help us out?” she asked. “She seems pretty happy over there mingling with those jerks.”

Lemon wrinkled her nose, getting slightly more angrier by thinking about the rivals. “She’s still our ‘friend’, or whatever, isn’t she?” She grabbed her headphones and her iPhone, seriously needing the moral support of music at this moment. “She’d still help us, as long as we don’t call out those idiots right away.” Lemon figured the music could wait, so she unplugged her headphones and dialed Twilight’s number, putting it on speaker phone.

One ring. Two rings. “Hello?”

...

“Ha! Take that, AJ! That’s five rounds in a row!” gloated Rainbow Dash as she raised her controller in victory. She had been focused on Super Battle Lizards 4 the entire sleepover.

“That ain’t no fair!” Applejack cried, “you were cheatin’! I saw y’all lookin at somethin’!” She leaned over to try and see what Rainbow had been looking at, but the blue-skinned girl snatched the paper off the floor and hugged it close to her body. Applejack sent her a remorseful look before turning to Twilight. “Was she cheatin’, Twi?” She asked innocently.

Before she could answer, Twilight’s phone vibrated on her nightstand. “Hold on, Applejack. I have to take this.” She stood up from her bed and took the phone out into the hall. “Hello?” She asked.

“Twilight!” Lemon yelled, “Sour Sweet’s been murdered!”

Twilight looked a bit confused, looking back into her bedroom and hoping the other girls weren’t listening. “Huh? Lemon, what are you talking about? Is there something you need to tell me?”

She heard some groans in the background and a small slap. “Sour. Sweet.” Lemon said, much more quietly and slowly this time. “Has. Been. Murdered. I don’t know how else to it.”

The purple girl paused for another moment with a blank expression. “...Lemon if this is another one of your prank calls, it’s not that funny. I thought you were over that.”

Louder groans sounded again. There was a slight argument, then Sugarcoat’s voice floated through the speaker. “Are you really that dense?” She asked, making Twilight instantly regret answering the phone. “Lemon said Sour was dead. She wouldn't joke about something like this. Do you want me to text you a picture?”

The oddity of the situation was suddenly beginning to turn into reality. Twilight could hear the desperation in her former friends’ voices. Her stomach grew heavy. “Oh no,” was all she could muster. “Uh...hold on, I’ll be right over!” Twilight hung the phone and began to leave anxiously.

Rainbow, Applejack, and the rest of the six immediately noticed Twilight scrambling for her jacket, shoes and backpack, along with Spike trying to scoot his way in. They exchanged glances, each wondering what she was doing and why. Sunset eventually walked to the frantic girl and touched her shoulder lightly to get her attention. “Twilight…?”

Twilight snapped her head to her quickly. “Oh! Sunset! Uh, I just, um...I have to step out for a bit.”

The girls, excluding Twilight, became more concerned than curious at this response. “Are you sure everything’s okay?” Sunset asked.

“Yes! Of course!” replied Twilight, trying to think on her feet. She hesitated to mention the girls from the Shadowbolts to Sunset, considering her grudge. “I just realized we...are all out of milk and need to go to the store to get more!”

“I already brought some!” Pinkie piped up, lifting two jugs of milk out of her duffel bag. “You never know when someone will eat a really spicy pepper and needs milk really fast .or they’re mouth might burst to flames!”

Fluttershy stared at her erratic friend for a moment. “Um, Pinkie, that milk is expired. How long have you been carrying those jugs around?”

Pinkie looked at the expiration date on the milk, squinting a little to see the faded numbers clearly. She tossed them behind her, which made them bounce off Twi’s bed and land perfectly on Twilight’s homework desk. “Before 5/5/14.” She responded.

After shaking her head at Pinkie, Rarity turned to Twilight. “Why do you look so worried, Twilight?” she asked. “You’re practically pale as a ghost!”

Twilight knew she didn’t really have any excuses, and she was a terrible liar; it was pure luck that they bought her milk lie, yet she had no idea what to tell them now that they had brought up her current appearance. “I--I---I…really need fresh milk?” She tried, but when she saw the looks on her friends faces, she knew they weren't buying it. With a small sigh, she lowered her head so she wouldn't be able to see their anger. “I need to go to Crystal Prep.” she said reluctantly, “The Shadowbolts kind of need me there.”

The other six exchanged looks before Rainbow finally responded. “The Shadowbolts? You still talk with them after that whole mess with the Friendship Games?”

Twilight nodded reluctantly. “Why?” Applejack asked, “they didn’t seem ta be very nice ta ya, from what we saw of ‘em. What if they’re just messin’ with ya, and they somehow hurt ya when ya get there?”

“But we’ve made up since then,” replied Twilight. “And I can’t help coming to someone if they need my help.”

“We understand that you’d like to help them, Twilight.” Sunset assured, “we just don’t want you to risk it. They did seem pretty cruel.”

“I’ll be fine, Sunset,” Twilight touched her shoulder. “And if there is any trouble, which I’m not saying there is, I’ll be sure to call you.”

Applejack rose from her spot on the floor and started packing up some of the things she brought as well. “Ah don’t like the feelin’ of this. Ah’m comin’ with you, whether ya like it er not.” She finished packing in record time, the rest following suite. Twilight felt like she couldn't do anything as they grabbed the necessities they felt they needed.

“I’m coming too, Twi,” said Sunset in earnest. “I’m willing to look past what happened.”

Knowing there was no way to convince them otherwise, Twilight sighed, grabbed her bag, gave Spike a goodbye pat and held the door open for her pals. “Just be careful okay?” She warned, “they seemed more….uh...meaner….than usual….”

“Eh, how bad could they be?” shrugged Sunset. “It used to be I wasn’t any better, right?”

During the short three months Twilight had transferred to Canterlot High, she had caught wind of what Sunset used to be like more times than ever thought possible, especially from this group, who seem to bring it up whenever one feels like their world might cave in on them. “I guess…” Twi mumbled, “I just----I’d still be careful around them, okay? They don’t know your coming and probably won't forgive you for a long...long time…”

“Don’t worry, Twi!” said Pinkie enthusiastically. “We’re in this together! How bad could it be?!”

...

Sunny Flare took one look at Twilight’s posse and groaned for the third time that night. “Why did you bring them?” She asked, “We specifically asked for you. Nobody else.”

“I couldn’t exactly leave them back in my room all night, Sunny.” Twilight said as she stood at the doorway of Crystal Prep. “Plus they simply care enough to help out.”

Sunny wrinkled her nose in disgust. “You’re just too much of a pushover….some things never change.” She scoffed and did a half-hearted wave to the six girls that stood behind Twi, then turned her back to them. “Welcome to the crime scene, I guess. Please, don’t hesitate to leave at any time...now would be nice.”

“Crime scene?” queried Twilight, as she followed her into the school lounge. “What are you talking about? What exactly hap…” She immediately froze. There in front of her was the corpse of her former foe, her purple eyes still open as if she had just fallen. Twilight remained speechless.

Sunset gently pushed her way to the front, wondering what happened as well. “Is everything okay, Tw--” She, to, stopped dead in her tracks at the scene before her. The smell of old blood hit her strong and she rushed to a plant to vomit.

“Sweet needle in a haystack!” shouted Applejack as she got a look as well.

“Oooooh! How horrid!” shrieked Rarity.

Fluttershy started to cry while Rainbow winced and started for the door. Pinkie knelt down towards the body, now wearing a Sherlock Holmes uniform; one she definitely didn’t have a moment ago. “Was she like this when you came in?” She asked, surprisingly the only one who wasn’t freaking out about the whole thing.

Indigo looked at her as if she had sincerely asked what the moon was. “Of course she was like this when we came in! Do you think we made her look like this?!”

Pinkie stood up, brushing invisible dust off the long, plaid coat. “Maybe not. Maybe she got attacked during the day. Maybe seconds before you were all here. Maybe she was even alive when the first Shadowbolt entered and was dead when the second one came in...don’t you feel that’s a possibility, girls? Hmmmmm?” Her friends were too busy trying to not look at the late Sour Sweet to hear, let alone, agree with the perky girl.

Lemon Zest approached Pinkie with a sneer. “Are you implying that one of us killed our friend?!”

“Denial is one of the obvious signs of the murderer.” Pinkie retorted, shrugging innocently. “I didn’t make the rules.”

Applejack looked over at her friend quizzically. “Since when did you start gettin’ all Sherlock?”

Pinkie knew, in a way, Applejack was trying to break up the fight before it began. She took off the jacket, kept the hat on, and began ‘investigating’ around the crime scene. “Since a few years ago.” Pinkie responded, “I had a dream where I was a pony and was helping pony-Twilight with this train mystery and have been helping people with mini-mysteries ever since.”

“Pinkie, that wasn’t a dream.” Rarity discerned. “The pony universe is real. You knew that! Have you not been paying attention these past couple of years?”

Pinkie blinked, giving a side glance to the Shadowbolts, then back to Rarity. “Oh, right.” She gave a nervous chuckle, giving another side glance to the Shadowbolts. “I blanked out for a second.”

Twilight knelt down beside the body of her former comrade with disbelief. The scene would have been sadder if Sour Sweet’s eyes weren’t crossed. “Who could have done this?” She spoke.

“Why do you think we called you?” Indigo snapped, “we thought you’d be smart enough to find out, but apparently, you aren’t.”

“You thought I could solve this?” Twilight looked up at her in half-confusion, half-disgust. “It’s one thing to unravel the mysteries of magic, but this...this is just a whole different playing field! I’ve never had to deal with murder before!”

Sunny threw her hands in the air and stomped her foot, clearly agitated. “How were we supposed to know that?!”

Applejack stepped in between the annoyed Shadowbolt and Twilight, who was flinching at Sunny’s angry words. “Now, now...let’s just calm down, y’all.”

“I agree,” said Sugarcoat. “All this bickering won’t get us anywhere. And I think it’s pretty obvious who the culprit is.” She stared at the Wondercolts suspiciously.

Rainbow, who had her arms folded, and was leaning against the doorframe, noticed Sugarcoat staring at her, out of all the other Wondercolts, and quickly straightened herself up. “What are you staring at?” She snapped.

“What’s the matter, Wondercolt?” Indigo Zap taunted. “You seem awfully defensive.”

Rainbow moved closer to Inigo, still trying to avoid the mess in the center of the room. “I only seem defensive because that bloodhound you have keeps staring at me.” She growled, pointing to Sugarcoat.

“Who are you calling a bloodhound, you crazy-haired motormouth?!” Sugarcoat hissed, unusually.

Fluttershy, who was now huddled down, hiding her face behind her hair and whimpering, stopped due to all the noise. “Can’t we just get along and try and solve this peacefully?” She whispered. Unfortunately, nobody heard her, and the shouting grew louder.

“There’s one class where Sour isn’t with us, and that’s fourth period Science.” Indigo said. “I happen to know that the Wonderbolts have a free period during that time.”

Rainbow took a step back, freaked out by her knowledge. “How did you know that?” She asked.

“It’s a wonder what you can do with the Canterlot High School website and a Hacking For Dummies book.” Sugarcoat said simply.

“You’ve been spying on us?!” Rarity gasped. “Please don’t tell me you found pictures of me in gym class! Those horrid shorts and jerseys make me look terrible!”

“No one is lookin’ at ya in gym class, Rarity.” Applejack pinched her brow.

“Well why not?!” Rarity whined.

Sunset rolled her eyes and gave a slight sigh. “That’s not important right now, Rarity.”

Indigo started to pace in front of all the girls, something that helped her think. “One of you must have left the school during your free period, came over, and killed her.”

“Didn’t you say you have gym with her? The last period of the day?” Sunny asked.

“Okay, they must have ran over and killed her before we got here.” Indigo said, slightly annoyed. “Everyone knows she always arrives fifteen minutes earlier than anyone else for practice.”

“This is just malarky!” Applejack glared. “Yer really gonna accuse one of for murder?”

“Just because you’re all so lovey-dovey about friendship doesn’t mean you’re not hiding cruel intentions.” Lemon sneered. “If you freaks could kill a trio of sirens then who’s to say you wouldn’t come and kill our friend?”

“What?!” Pinkie gasped. “Why would we kill sirens?! That would be really bad for the fire department! What are they gonna do without sirens?!”

“Pinkie, she’s talking about the Dazzlings.” Sunset corrected. “Remember? Those three girls who were really evil serpents trying to hypnotise everyone?”

“Sunset, please, you think I’d remember something like that!” Pinkie rolled her eyes.

“You know what I think?” Indigo glowered. “I think they used some of that magic from that crazy pony dimension or whatever! They put a spell on Sour to kill her!”

“Ugh, really!” Rarity scoffed. “Even if we wanted to do something as cruel as murder, against someone who we already forgave, why would go to such drastic lengths?!”

“You know what?” Rainbow huffed. “Forget these ungrateful jerks! We don’t need to stand here and get the third degree. We’re out of here!” She stomped off in anger along with Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie.

“Guys, wait!” Twilight called to them. “I thought you wanted to help me!”

“I’m sorry, Twilight,” said Fluttershy, remorsefully. “But those girls obviously still don’t trust us. It’s better if we just leave and not get in the way.” She joined the other four sadly as they exited the prep school.

Twilight sorrowfully watched her dear friends leave, before turning to her former ones in great disgust. “I can’t believe you girls are suspecting one of us of killing Sour Sweet!” Twilight glowered. “And now we find that you’ve been spying on us online? After all we went through, you seriously have no trust in us?”

Lemon Zest folded her arms, putting on a bored expression. “It’s not that we don’t trust you; it’s just---”

“We don’t trust you.” Sugarcoat finished.

Lemon sneered at her friend’s bluntness for a second and then shrugged. “Yeah, pretty much.”

Twilight, usually a calm sort of person, was seething. “And why is that?!” She yelled, trying hard to restrain herself.

“You want to know why we don’t trust you, Twilight?” Sunny spoke. “Because you left us behind! We all had something great together and you suddenly became friends with these nobodies like we didn’t matter! We may have acted forgiving, but really we were stewing inside! And Sour took it the hardest! So don’t be surprised if we still have a little bit of a grudge!”

Twilight looked at the Shadowbolts with uncertainty, wondering how to go about this situation. If she came on gentle, the Shadowbolts might think she wasn't taking it seriously. If she came on harsh, the Shadowbolts might think that they were being blamed for being in the wrong. Twilight lowered her head, letting out a small sigh. “You're right,” she said, taking the Bolts by surprise. “And I’m sorry.”

“You're just saying that so you’ll look good in front of your friends.” Sugarcoat blurted, even though she knew her friends were already gone.

“No, Sugarcoat, I’m serious.” Twilight continued. “My friends literally just left. I understand you still feel betrayed after I transferred to Canterlot. And to be honest, I still miss certain times when we were friends. But you have to understand that none of us want any bad blood. We all forgave you after the Friendship Games, and you have no excuse to blame us for something this horrific. I’m sorry for how you feel. Especially Sour. But this not the time to be holding any grudges! Do you understand?”

“We--” Sugarcoat started.

Twilight stepped forward, arms folded, eyebrow raised. “You all wish to continue to pick a fight and not let things go?” She asked, using Sugarcoat’s bluntness against her. She shook her head in disappointment and dropped her arms to her sides. “I can try and help the best I can,” Twilight said to the other Shadowbolts. “I’m going to need a DNA sample of her blood and you girls to collect whatever clues you can find.”

Sunny smiled mockingly, gestured towards the floor. “There’s plenty here.” She said. “And if you need clues, you’ll just have to wait on them.”

“Then I guess you’ll just have to wait on me helping you.” Twilight retorted. She took a small eyedropper and a jar out of her backpack nonetheless and collected a sample. When she got haughty smiles from the rest, she added in a defensive manner that blood dries quickly and would be difficult to do experiments on if it were no longer wet. She stalked towards the door, slamming it behind her.

The Shadowbolts briefly exchanged remorseful glances with one another, Lemon taking a step forward towards the door. Sugarcoat held her back by gently touching her arm, shaking her head. “She’s a pushover.” Sugarcoat said, “she wants to help. She’ll come back.”