Less than one week later, forty-five guests were gathered in the woods on the outskirts of Canterlot, standing outside the three-story solid white mansion that was meant to be their place of partying.  Everypony that gathered outside of the mansion took a very careful survey of every other guest.  Many of them were not happy to see certain guests.

For example, almost everypony could feel the tension between the Apple Family and the FlimFlam Brothers.  Tensions were also high between Gilda and Pinkie Pie.  Twilight and Trixie also had a bit of tension apparent to the rest of the crowd.

Even in the presence of the celebrities from Canterlot and the Royal Family, the feuds between the different factions of ponies were more obvious than anypony would have liked.  Although many of the guests were laid back and carefree, many of them had problems with at least one other guest.

Standing in the orange glow of the setting sun, everypony waited for the mansion’s front doors to open and to be ushered inside.  The whole group was a ticking time bomb of anger and grudges.  Many ponies were considering just heading back to town, but the curiosity of how the party would play out kept them around.

At 5:00pm, the doors of the mansion burst open, and a large group of ponies marched down the stairs in single file, lining up on either side of the staircase.  Each of the ponies either wore a black-and-white tuxedo or a black-and-white dress.  They were all maids and servants of the Master of the House.  Following behind the group of ponies was one particular stallion.  He stood taller and was more muscular than the rest of the servants.

He held a megaphone to his mouth, shouting into it so as to attract the attention of everypony standing outside.  “My Master would like me to welcome each and every last one of you to this humble abode.  There are a few ground rules that must be laid out before I can allow you to enter the mansion for the party.”

The servants on the left side of the staircase unrolled a giant scroll with a single word written in large lettering at the very top:  NAME.

The stallion continued, “Although we have guests of many different titles gathered here today, every last pony that enters this mansion is equal to any of the others.  We have celebrities, heroes, royalty, and simple workers all gathered here today.  But know this before you enter this mansion:  All of you are equal rank in the eyes of my Master.”

Every member of the crowd looked around at each other with curious and confused looks.  The stallion continued, “Once you enter this mansion, you are no better than any other guest.  There will be no Prince or Princess; no Celebrity status; no employee or employer.  To my Master, every last guest gathered here tonight is equal and deserving of just as much respect as any other.”

A few of the more snobbish guests scoffed at this claim.  The stallion still continued, “If you have any type of feud or problem with another guest here tonight, it is asked that you either leave immediately or forget about your problems for the duration of this party.  If you are unable to forgive and forget, then I must ask you to leave.”

After the stallion finished saying this, most of the tension between rivaling ponies simply disappeared.  Many of the feuding factions gave their apologies and acceptance of the other faction.  Before long, the entirety of the tension was completely gone.  It amazed several of the ponies just how easily such great tension was disposed of.

The stallion waited for the chatter to end before continuing, “Now that such boring rules have been stated, let us begin with the introduction of the party.  My name is Butler.  I am a loyal servant of the Master of the House.  Although I regret to inform you that my Master cannot be here to welcome you in person, I shall handle every need you will have.  If you have any questions, please seek me out once we are inside the mansion.”

The guests looked around from one to another, wondering just why their host couldn’t greet them.

“Now then…  As you enter the mansion, I would ask that you sign your full title on the list you see beside me.  Please put down whatever it is you wish to be called when addressed by the staff here in the mansion.  Once you sign your name, you will be given a collar to wear during your stay here at the mansion.  The collar is used to ensure there are no uninvited ponies wandering about.”  Butler waved his hoof at the scroll and the mare that carried a large bucket of collars.

Butler waited for a few seconds before continuing, “The night will go about as stated in the letters you received.  Once all the names have been signed and all the collars have been worn, the introduction party can begin.  I shall read off the names of the guests in alphabetical order based upon your preferred name.  After a little while, I shall plug a recorded message of my Master into the mansion’s PA system, and it shall announce the rules of the game we are to play tonight.  Once the introduction party is concluded, both the children’s playroom and the bar shall be open to all ponies.”

There was some chatter coming from the crowd at the mention of the playroom and bar.

Butler continued, “Before 6:30 arrives, the playroom and bar are fair game.  I would ask that all of you gather back in the foyer before that time arrives.  The game and its rules will be announced at that time.  Now, you may begin signing your names and entering the mansion.  Please be respectful or your fellow guests and of the Master’s antiques and portraits.”  With a wave of his hoof, the scroll was placed onto the solid stone surface of the walkway so that everypony would be able to sign their names.

In a slow process, the forty-five guests all signed their names in succession.  Although Butler had said that everyone was equal, all formalities were still in effect.  The lesser ponies made way for the Royal Family and the celebrities.  Without much fuss and conflict, everypony soon had their names signed on the scroll, and they were standing inside the foyer of the massive mansion.  

Golden trimming surrounded every portrait and window frame, while diamond studded oak was used as the material for the guard rails on the stairs and doorways.  The carpet was pure red velvet, and the ceiling looked to be made of white marble.  The doorknobs were all cut from pure opal.  A massive chandelier swayed back and forth from the ceiling, diamonds hanging down from it and refracting the light into different colors.

Nopony had ever seen a room so beautiful, not even the Royal Family.  None of them expected such a magnificent décor from an unnamed pony.  Every last jaw dropped as they entered the foyer and were blasted by the beauty of the whole atmosphere.  Whoever was hosting this party was a very rich pony, and had a definitely amazing sense of style and flair.

Mesmerized by the beauty of the decorations and paintings, the guests barely heard Butler when he announced it was time to make the introductions.  The guests had been gathered in the foyer for nearly thirty minutes already, unaware of anything but the fancy designs.

Butler spoke into his megaphone again, and the front doors closed behind the guest ponies.  “I can tell by your expressions that you were not expecting such a beautiful atmosphere from an unnamed host.  I cannot blame you, personally.  I was surprised the first time I laid eyes on this foyer.  I’m afraid that the entire mansion is not this beautiful.  The foyer was made especially remarkable because it is where most of the party will be held.  Now, I believe it is time for me to introduce you to your fellow guests.”  Butler paused here to let the ponies think for a bit more.

Princess Celestia interrupted his speech suddenly, “Excuse me, Butler.  Can you tell us just exactly who our gracious host it?”

Butler shook his head and frowned, “I am afraid I cannot, Celestia.  Although I have worked for the Master for several years, I have never had the pleasure of a meeting.  I know just as much about the Master as you do.”

Princess Luna stamped her hoof, “How does one work for a pony he has never even made contact with?”

Butler sighed, “I’m not sure how it happened.  I received a letter from the Master one day asking me to do a favor.  I followed the letter’s instructions and ended up with a home and money.  I didn’t complain.  Now, allow me to introduce you all.  I would ask that you simply take a bow or step forward when your name is called.  Please do not interrupt me.”

One of the other servants handed Butler a much smaller piece of paper than before.  On it was written the name of everypony in attendance.

Butler called out the list of ponies, pausing to allow the pony to bring attention to itself.  “Amethyst Star; Applebloom; Applejack; Big Macintosh; Bon Bon; Cheerilee; Derpy Hooves; Diamond Tiara; Dinky Doo; Doctor Whooves; Fancypants; Filthy Rich; Fleetfoot; Flim and Flam; Fluttershy; Gilda the Griffon; the self-proclaimed Great and Powerful Trixie; Hoity Toity; Iron Will; Lyra Heartstrings; Nurse Redheart; Octavia; Photo Finish; Pinkie Pie; Prince Blueblood; Princess Cadence; Princess Celestia; Princess Luna; Rainbow Dash; Rarity; the Royal Guards; Sapphire Shores; Scootaloo; Shining Armor; Soarin’; Spike; Spitfire; Sweetie Belle; Twilight Sparkle; Vinyl Scratch; and lastly, Zecora.  You have all been invited here because of either a connection to a friend that was invited, or because the Master really likes you.”

With that, every last guest in attendance was called out in alphabetical order.  Having been told everypony’s names, the guests soon began their casual chatter.  Butler took a deep breath as he recovered from reading the list.  Then he called everypony’s attention back to him.

“The game room in the basement and the bar beyond the Dining Hall are now open to everypony.  Please enjoy yourselves, and try and be back here in the foyer before 6:30.”  With that, Butler placed his megaphone on the small table upstairs on the ledge overlooking the foyer’s first floor.  He motioned the servants to follow him as he entered the double-doors behind him.

It wasn’t long before conversation started to break out between all of the guests.  To any outsider looking in, you would’ve figured they were all best friends.  Most formalities were dropped as per request of the mysterious host, and all hostilities were forgotten at the door.  Everypony had something in some shape, form, or fashion to gain from this party, and so they all decided it best to comply with the rules laid out by Butler.

The princesses, Shining Armor, and all of Twilight’s friends were gathered together in one small area of the foyer’s first floor, talking.  They were discussing the matter of the mysterious host and the beautiful decorations hanging all around the room.  They talked about their anticipation for the game that would be announced before long, and discussed the matters of all the tension that was apparent before the party started.

Most of the guests gathered in groups, trying to make casual conversation and follow the rules of the party as best as possible.  Although most of the Ponyville ponies couldn’t help but be awestruck by the celebrities and Royal Family, most of the other guests didn’t seem shaken by any of the hoopla around them.  The groups of ponies happily made conversation and discussed miscellaneous subjects, all the while waiting for the real party to begin.  Even though other rooms were opened to them, all of the guests decided it would be best to hang around in the foyer until the game was actually announced.

It didn’t take long for the small groups to become defined.  As you can probably imagine, everything was split into cliques of similar personality or qualities.  All of the celebrities gathered together, along with the richer of the ponies.  All of the would-be antagonists managed to find common ground in their grudges against the Ponyville ponies.  All of the fillies gathered together in a group with Derpy and Spike.  Twilight, her friends, and the Royal Family were all gathered as one group.

The Wonderbolts simply wandered around the foyer, saying their hellos to every last group.  To most groups, this was still felt to be a big deal, as several of the mares swooned over meeting Soarin’, and several stallions were mesmerized by the beauty of Sptifire and Fleetfoot.  Rainbow Dash was just all around entranced with getting to once again meet with the Wonderbolts in general.

To go into great detail on the conversations that were shared between the many different groups would take much more time that I feel like wasting.  Rest assured that, no matter what one guest’s feeling were for another, there were no cross words spoken.  In fact, it seemed that if one had nothing good to say, one did not say at all.

As the large clock that hung on the wall above the door struck 6:30, Butler and a few other servants burst from the upstairs room.  Standing on the ledge overlooking the foyer, Butler picked up a small microphone and flipped the switch on a large black box.  Feedback screeched from the speakers that dotted the room for a few moments, before finally giving way to actual input.

Butler cleared his throat before speaking into the microphone, “To my Master’s dearly beloved guests, I would ask you to quiet down now as I play the first recording my Master has left for you.”

Everypony in the room shut up immediately, not wanting to be rude.  Butler took a small white box and connected a blue cord to it that ran from the larger black box.  Making sure that everypony in the room was silent, Butler pushed the play button on the recording.  What followed made everypony in the room stand on edge, and filled Butler with an unimaginable horror.

“Ladies and gentlecolts,” the voice that played was distorted, obviously to cover up the owner’s real voice, “I am glad that you could make it to my humble abode for this wonderful party.  As I have promised, we shall play a game.  This game shall begin in thirty minutes from the time this recording starts.  Allow me to explain just what this game will be…

Now that you are here in my mansion, I am afraid that I cannot allow you to leave.  That is, of course, unless you win the game.  Over the course of tonight, I shall kill each and every last one of you.  There is nothing you can do to stop this.”  There was a long pause here, and everypony started looking around the room frantically.  Butler’s eyes grew wide as he listened to the recording.

It continued, “Yes, each and every last one of you will die tonight.  There is only one way to avoid this horrendous fate:  You must find me and prove that I am the host.  Here is the catch…I have taken all the precautions necessary to not be caught.  I took the liberty of inviting myself to the party as a guest, and have left no sign that I am the host.  As far as anypony is concerned, I am within your numbers as I speak.” Another pause.  Eyes began darting around the room.

“You will not be able to tell who I am by simply looking at me.  I have ensured that I will fit in perfectly.  Any guest at this party can be me.  Even if you know you aren’t the host, no one else can believe you.  At any rate, allow me to elaborate on the game.  Starting at 7:00pm, I shall choose one random pony to be my first victim.  After that, I shall kill anypony I have the opportunity to kill.  The only way to stop the killing is to find me and give me evidence that I am the killer.  Either that, or kill me.  But then, no one will believe you.”  With a maniacal laugh, the voice paused to allow this information to soak in.

“I will not cheat, however.  I shall not use my wings or my horn or my strength, whichever I may possess.  I wouldn’t be able to use magic even if I could, anyway.  I have placed a magical barrier around this mansion that shall negate all magic used within.  And all of the walls and windows are made of indestructible material.  Yes, you are all quite trapped in my mansion.  But, it is not all bad, I don’t suppose.  I have left objects scattered about the mansion that will very subtly point to my identity.  All you ponies have to do is find them.  Teamwork will be key in surviving this game.

Now it is time for the rules of the game.  Rule number one, do not try to cheat.  This means you should not, under any circumstance, try and use your magic or destroy the windows after the first victim has been claimed.  Rule number two, do not cause any physical harm to another guest, unless you are killing them for being me.  After the first victim is claimed I shall be the only one causing physical harm.  Rule number three, don’t try to enter the master bedroom.  That room is reserved for the finalists of this wonderful game…

Those are the rules.  The collars I instructed Butler to give you are filled with a battery with enough voltage to stop a pony’s heart.  Should I catch you breaking these rules after the first victim is claimed or trying to remove the collar, I shall use a special controller in my possession to end your life on the spot.  That will be my least favorite part of the night.  I hate having to kill in such a mundane way.

Anypony that survives until morning light will be set free, and this game will end.  I should suggest that you don’t go to sleep.  Good luck everypony, and try not to drive each other crazy.  I will speak to you again at dinnertime.  I hope you live until then.” With another maniacal laugh, the recording stopped.

Every guest snapped their attention toward Butler, whose eyes were filled with the greatest horror imaginable.  Imagine how it would feel to find out that you had been working for a maniacal sociopathic killer.  He had single-handedly brought every single guest here right now into the mansion.  He couldn’t believe it.

“Th-the Master has always b-been one for j-jokes!  Nopony needs to w-worry!  None of you will be dying tonight.  It’s just some of Master’s dark humor.” he stuttered as he rushed through the double doors behind him.

Everypony in the room searched the room suspiciously, their eyes scanning every last pony thoroughly.  Celestia moved to the center of the room and announced, “A sick joke or not, a threat such as this must be dealt with.  If staying here will be our deaths, then we should leave.”

She nodded towards the door, and the four royal guards immediately began trying to pry it open.  After minutes of struggling, every stallion in the room joined in.  Even with the stallions’ combined efforts, it was a hopeless endeavor.  Even Iron Will lent a hoof at opening the door, but it was to no avail.

One of the royal guards gasped, “It’s sealed shut, Your Highness.  It won’t budge.  There’s not even a draft flowing through the crack.”

Luna stamped her hoof, “There is no way the door is sealed!  Nopony has had a chance to tamper with it!”  She bowed her head as if readying a spell to blast the door.  The stallions moved out of the way, the magic energy covering Luna’s horn.

But when Luna released the magic energy, it shot a few inches and evaporated into the air.  The energy didn’t go anywhere.  In disbelief, Celestia tried her own magic, but the result was the same.  Twilight tried to perform a basic spell such as moving the portrait on the wall slightly askew, but her magic didn’t even form around the painting.

“This is what the host meant by ‘magic barrier’.  We’re sealed inside this place with no use of our magic!”  Twilight exclaimed, a sense of horror filling her being.

The clock struck 7:00pm, and a loud ringing filled the foyer.  Once the ringing had stopped, a gut-wrenching scream could be heard coming from the room on the west side of the foyer.  With a loud banging sound, the screaming suddenly stopped.  Nopony wanted to imagine the source of the scream, or why it had stopped.

With dread in his heart, Doctor Whooves stepped toward the western door.  The ponies in front of him moved slowly out of the way, allowing him easy passage.  Nopony made a sound as Doctor moved through the foyer.  You could almost hear the pounding of the hearts in the room.  Doctor moved ever closer to the door, swallowing the lump in his throat.  With a single burst of speed, he let out a horror-filled scream as he charged through the door.  What he found on the other side made his scream change into a throat-shredding cry of terror.

The ponies closest to the door charged through, tired of the suspense.  What they saw made them collapse with fear.  It wasn’t long before everypony that was standing in the foyer had crowded into the Dining Hall to see what had happened.

There it was, hanging from the chandelier on a long rope, swaying side to side over the table’s centerpiece.  The limp body of a filly swayed ever so gently in the breeze of the air vents that poured air into the room.  With a scream of terror, one of the guests charged through the crowd to see the filly.

“D-Diamond…T-Tiara…?!”  Mr. Rich’s voice quivered horribly as he saw the familiar pink coat and purple-white mane of his daughter hanging from the rope.  His eyes filled with tears and his knees gave out on him.  He collapsed to the ground at Doctor’s hooves, unable to speak or think.

The guests all stood there, paralyzed by the realization that their host wasn’t joking about his game.  They immediately began to wonder who would be next as they watched Diamond Tiara’s body sway from the rope.  Unable to speak, nopony was able to try and comfort Mr. Rich.  Nopony could move from their place as the horror hit them.

They were trapped in a mansion with a sociopathic murderer.  The worst part was that the murderer could be any one of them.

With a choked sob, Mr. Rich cried out, “Why the FUCK would anypony want to do something like this?!  What the hell?!”

Taking a deep breath, Doctor forced himself to walk over to Mr. Rich.  “I’m…sorry, Mr. Rich.  But…what’s done is done…”

Mr. Rich lashed an arm at Doctor, making direct contact to his face.  “How dare you say that?!  This is my daughter!  Don’t try and cast this off like it’s nothing!”  Another punch hit Doctor.  Doctor stood there and took it.

“I’m sorry Mr. Rich.  There’s nothing we can do now.”  Doctor took another punch.  Bowing his head low, he sighed, “I’m sorry for doing this…but you need to calm down.”  With one quick chop to the side of the neck, Mr. Rich was out like a light.  Doctor caught him as he fell limp.

The other ponies watched as Doctor climbed up on the table and grabbed a steak knife from a set of silverware on the table.  Standing at the tip of his hooves, he was barely able to reach the rope with the knife.  With a sigh, he cut the rope and caught Diamond Tiara as she fell.  There was no sense leaving her hanging…

“This is just the start, I’m afraid.” Doctor sighed as he cut a large chunk of the tablecloth off, wrapping Diamond in it.

Celestia stepped forward, her body trembling at the sight of Diamond’s corpse being wrapped in the cloth.  “There has to be some way for us to escape this place.” she said as she looked away from the scene.

Doctor scoffed, “Sorry Princess, but we’re stuck here.  We can’t force our way out, and magic is useless.  We either have to live until morning, or find the sick bastard that did this.”  He picked the knife up in his hoof, holding it up to the chandelier’s light.  “That fucker had best hope I’m not the one to figure out who the hell he is!”

None of the other guests could speak.  Staring at the knife with the light shining off of it, they were speechless.  None of the Ponyville ponies had ever imagined they would hear Doctor say something like that.  Nor did they ever expect for anything like this to happen.

Big Mac walked up to Doctor, slapping the knife from his hoof.  “An’ what if ya find this fella?  Are ya gonna kill him?”  Big Mac’s voice was filled with a tone of anger.

Doctor looked at the knife and back to Big Mac, “No.  I would never kill him.  I wouldn’t kill anyone.  But I would make sure he was begging for death before I finished with him…”

With a swift kick to the chest, Doctor was sent flying.  “An’ how can we be so sure you ain’t the killer?!  Ya sure were eager enough to be first in here!”  Big Mac shouted to the fallen pony.

Doctor leaped to his feet and charged at Big Mac, meeting head-to-head.  “What the hell are you talking about, you mule?!  I was standing beside you the whole damn time!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Iron Will leaped to their sides, ripping the two stallions apart by the scruff of their necks.  “You two oughta be ashamed of yourselves!  This isn’t how Iron Will would expect friends to act!  We have to work together to solve this mystery!”

With an angry shout, Luna stepped up onto the table.  “If we don’t stop this pointless bickering we’ll all end up like that poor filly!  We have to get it together and stop this fighting!”

Gilda laughed, “Like we can trust you, Princess?  Any of us could be the killer, even you.”

Luna gave Gilda an evil glare.  Just as she was about to say something, Spike let out an angry shout, “Why don’t all of you idiots just shut up!  This fighting is getting us nowhere!”  His voice sounded different, almost more mature.

He shoved his way forcefully through the crowd, walking over to where Doctor had wrapped Diamond in the tablecloth.  Iron Will carried the two bickering stallions away from the table.  Reaching down and grabbing something the other guests couldn’t see, he held his claw up.  “You’re telling me you don’t see this cord?”  He traced the thing with his other claw, grabbing it at another point.  He pulled the two points apart, snapping the cord taut in his hand.

Twilight moved forward, unsure of just what Spike was getting at.  “So what if there’s a thin cord?  What are you trying to do?”

Spike scoffed, “If this cord were tied to Diamond’s hoof, and she had been placed on the chandelier before the host’s message, then all the host would have to do is pull it and she would come tumbling to her death.  This means that…anypony in the foyer before she died could have easily killed her…”

With that, Big Mac and Doctor’s tensions settled.  But now that anypony could have been the killer, they had no leads to go on.  There were no motives for doing this.  There were no windows of opportunity for anypony to leave the foyer before.  Whoever the host was, the person was a genius at devising cunning plans.

Spike looked at the crowd, “Any one of us could easily be the killer.  There’s no way of telling who pulled the cord.  We can assume that they were in the foyer when the clock went off, because the cord reaches into the foyer.”

“We have no leads to go off of.  We have no evidence.  The only thing we know about this killer is that he is among us.”  Celestia stepped up on the table beside her sister.

Luna continued, “We cannot use magic, and we cannot force our way out of the mansion.  There are forty-four of us here tonight, excluding the servants and Butler.”

Twilight stepped in front of them on the ground, “If we want to find out who our host is, we’ll have to find the evidence he left lying around.  We should split up into groups, and search every nook and cranny we can find.  The only place off limits is the master bedroom.  I believe that if we-”

Gilda scoffed, “If we team up we can find the killer.  If only it was that simply, you dweeb.  What about the group that gets the killer?  They’re just screwed, huh?”

Rainbow Dash pushed her way from the crowd, anger in her voice, “If only one person comes back from a group, we can pretty much assume that person is the killer!”

Shining Armor spoke up from the back of the crowd, “No matter what our course of action, we have to remain cautious of the ponies around us.  I would suggest groups of no less than four people.  That should give us roughly ten groups to explore the mansion with.  The more ground we cover, the faster we’ll be able to end this nightmare.”  

Most of the crowd nodded and chattered in general agreement.  There were a few ponies here and there that didn’t like the idea of splitting into groups.  Celestia spoke up, “Now we simply must put the groups together.  We can’t have all of the strong guests group up.  We need to make the groups as evenly distributed as possible.”

Another wave of agreeing chatter rose up from the crowd.  Spike pulled a piece of parchment from the pouch at his side.  “I also think it’s important to be in a group with people you don’t trust.  If one of your friends is the killer, you might not know until he’s stabbing you in the back.  But if you’re with people you already dislike, then you’ll be on edge and cautious.”

With a quiet mumble of agreement, the guests finally broke the crowd and spread throughout the room.  They were making Spike’s job as easy as possible.  He was writing down the names of ponies he thought might be good teammates because of their tensions or conflicting natures.  If the ponies stayed on edge all the time, it would be harder to catch them off guard.

Smiling as he finished writing the list, he read it aloud to the guests in the room.  Although there were some slight problems between members of certain groups, none of them were vocalized as they gathered together in their parties.  This was for the best.  They trusted Spike’s judgment in this matter, considering how keen his senses were to find the cord in the first place.

So there they were, eleven groups of guests.  These would serve as the lifelines and search parties throughout the night.  If anypony was killed in a group, the murderer would be exposed as a member of that group.  Keeping this in mind, most of the guests felt comforted knowing that if anyone died, the killer would be that much easier to pinpoint...

Fillies, colts, stallions, mares, a griffon and a minotaur, all gathered together in groups of four, awaiting their orders from the baby dragon.  Sure, things would be a bit harder from now on, but the Master of the House enjoyed a little challenge from time to time…