My little Alibi in Ashes

by Snowy Song

Rating: everyone
Tags: Spike, Rainbow Dash, Adventure, Princess Celestia, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Mystery
Length: 6229

The Ponyville Days Festival is nearing, and Twilight has just been accused of arson! With Princess Celestia unable to help, can Twilight's friends clear her name before it's too late? Based on the computer game by HeRInteractive.

The Ponyville Days Festival is nearing, and Twilight has just been accused of arson! With Princess Celestia unable to help, can Twilight's friends clear her name before it's too late? Based on the computer game by HeRInteractive.

(if you like this, you should check out this story)

Proofread by my friend Berry Delight.

*cancelled for now, may or may not return*

Published 2016-07-20 04:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2017-03-27 07:38:15 UTC

Chapter 1: The Fire

-The Harmony Challenge-

"It's that time of year again! The Ponyville Days Festival is coming up, and this year will be a special treat for all, so grab your quills and strap on your thinking saddles, The Harmony Challenge is here! Teams of up to six may compete in the week long challenge.

The first team to find all six Element Medallions will win the honor to participate in the opening ceremony of the Ponyville Days Festival, as well as meeting Princess Celestia! Not only that, the leader of the winning team will choose the item to represent our town in the Equestrian Time Capsule to personally present to Princess Celestia herself! Sign up soon to tackle the challenge to try and win the honor of sending your own message into the future!"

Twilight Sparkle had been looking over the flyer for the Harmony Challenge for the Ponyville Days Festival again. This year it was going to be extra special, not only because of the competition, but because the winners would decide the item for the new Equestrian Time Capsule. The Princesses were gathering an item from every town and city in Equestria to fill it, and once it was finished, it was to be presented and sealed at the next Grand Equestrian Summit. It would soon be Ponyville's turn, and it happened to also be the time of the Ponyville Days Festival, so it had been decided that it would be part of the event.

Usually such things were left to that year's Pony of Ceremonies, (this year being Miss Cheerilee) but she had suggested to get the whole town involved, which led to the organization of The Harmony Challenge. Ponies were to form teams of at least three, to work together to find the "Element Medallions," which were medals made to look like the Elements of Harmony, since they were so closely connected to the town.

Obviously, though, those could not be placed into the capsule.

Each day for one week, the teams would receive a clue to the location of one of the hidden "elements." Their task was to figure out the clues and find them. The team who found all six, or, in the event that none of the teams found all six, whoever had the most medallions, would win.

Twilight had decided to enter with some of her friends. Sadly, several of them were too busy with preparations for the festival to compete. Applejack was busy helping with the catering. Fluttershy had to practice with her bird choir. And Rarity had offered to help Cheerilee with decorating.

Though mostly to avoid anything that might involve "getting dirty."

So instead, Twilight had formed a team, (Team Friendship, as they had named it) with Spike, her trusty dragon assistant, Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty and, according to her, "bestest flyer in all of Equestria," and Pinkie Pie, Element of Laughter and the most random pony Twilight had ever met.

Twilight set down the flyer and levitated the latest clue over with her dark pink magic. The clue said:

Setting: Storage Room

Action:

TOM THE STAR IN THE HOLDNOT WALL.

"What do you think it means, Twilight?" asked Spike, who was sitting across the table from her. "I mean, who the hay is Tom? And how can a star be in a hold not wall? And what IS a holdnot wall?!" The baby dragon sighed in frustration and rested his head on the table.

Twilight didn't answer as she squinted at the note. She knew it had to be some kind of code. The question was, what?

"I've got it!" she cried a moment later.

"Ack!" Spike said, startled by the sudden outburst. He fell off the stool he had been sitting on.

"Sorry Spike," Twilight apologized. "But I finally figured it out!"

"Well I kinda gathered that," he said, rubbing his head as he stood. "So, what is it?"

"It's an Anagram," Twilight explained.

"An Ana-what now?" Spike asked in confusion.

"An Anagram," she repeated. "It's a code where the letters of the words are all scrambled to form new words."

"So what does this one say?"

"Well, if my guess is correct, I think I'm supposed to go check the thermostat in the town hall," she said.

"That's kinda weird," Spike said. "Guess we better get going, anyhow."

"No Spike. Why don't you stay here in case the others come by? I'll go check it out myself and tell you what I find. Besides, someone has to stay here in case somepony wants to check out a book. This is a public library, after all," she reminded him.

"Fine," Spike groaned. "You guys always get to have all the fun," he muttered under his breath.

"Thanks Spike. It's a big help," Twilight said, getting a smile out of him.

She then walked to the door, levitating her saddlebags over to her, making sure she had everything she needed.

"Checklist? Check. Quill? Check. Backup Quill? Check. Backup Quill for the Backup Quill? Check."

Spike rolled his eyes. Sometimes, Twilight was a little too organized.

"And, Journal..... Check. Okay, I'm ready." She turned to Spike. "I'll be back soon," she said, and walked out the door.

Twilight Sparkle entered the Town Hall about five minutes later. The place seemed deserted, which seemed a little odd.

'Everypony's probably just gone home for the day. It is getting kind of late,' Twilight thought as she looked out the window. The sun was beginning to set, and it would be dinnertime soon.

'Still,' Twilight thought, 'There shouldn't be any problem with me coming in here. Right? It's not like I have some kind of official business to do here.'

She looked around for a moment, before finding a sign that said "Storage Room This Way." She headed down the hallway the sign pointed to.

She passed several doors on the way, taking a few turns, and she was starting to wonder if she had somehow missed it, before finally coming to a door marked 'Storage.'

"At last," she said, breathing a sigh of relief. She still wasn't sure how a thermostat was going to help her find the next medallion, but she figured she'd soon find out.

Using her magic to open the door, Twilight stepped inside and looked around. There wasn't much there, oddly enough, just a few stacks of boxes and a couple of crates here and there. Finally her eyes fell upon the thermostat.

"There it is! Now, what am I supposed to do with it?" she wondered.

Just as she took a few steps forward to inspect it closer, she heard the door slam shut behind her, followed by the sound of a key turning in a lock.

"Who's there?" she called out, trying to hide the fear in her voice. 'Maybe it's nothing,' she thought. 'Maybe Rainbow stopped by the Library and Spike told her where I was, so she decided to follow me and play a prank on me. Yeah, that makes sense,' she thought. Although, how would Rainbow Dash have a key to the town hall storage room?

Her attention was drawn back to the thermostat when she heard the crackling of sparks. Turning around, she saw an ice cube appeared to be stuck to it.

"An ice cube?" she said, curious. "What in the world could that- Aahh!" she shrieked as there were several more sparks, before the thermostat burst into flames!

The fire was quickly spreading to the walls. Twilight began to panic. What was going on here?!

That question was one she couldn't answer at the moment. All she knew was that she had to escape. Now.

She ran to the door, jiggling the handle. The door didn't budge. "Oh no!" she cried. "I forgot somepony locked it!"

'What do I do, what do I do?' her thoughts screamed at her. She put a hoof to her head, trying to steady her thoughts. She had to focus if she was going to find a way out.

That was when she felt her horn. "Oh yeah...." she said, embarrassed that she had temporarily forgotten she could do magic. "I can teleport!"

The fire was spreading fast, and the smoke was building up. She coughed, trying to keep the smoke out of her lungs.

"Okay *cough* just need to *cough* focus my mind," she whispered to herself. She closed her eyes and pictured the town hall lobby, right before the main doors.

Her horn began to light up with magic, surrounding her in a magic bubble, before she disappeared in a bright flash.

Seconds later, she reappeared in the lobby, just as she had pictured. The fire was really spreading now, the smoke getting thicker by the minute. Her eyes began to burn, as well as her lungs, desperate to get fresh air. Wasting no time, she burst through the main doors to the outside.

Twilight burst out the doors, stumbling down the front steps. She coughed violently, trying to clear her lungs of the awful smoke as she gulped in the fresh, clean air.

There was already a small crowd of ponies gathered, and they all turned in shock as she hurriedly exited the burning building.

Suddenly, a microphone was being shoved in her face by a goldenrod colored unicorn with a bright red and yellow mane.

"Twilight Sparkle, what were your reasons for burning down town hall?" she asked somewhat accusingly.

"What? But I didn't-" Twilight started before the unicorn, apparently a reporter, interrupted her.

"Was this politically motivated?" she demanded. "Perhaps as a protest of sorts?"

"Absolutely not!" Twilight exclaimed defensively. "I would never-"

She was cut off yet again, this time by a voice undoubtedly belonging to a stallion. "No press until we've taken statements from everyone," the voice said. The reporter pouted at this, but backed off. Twilight turned to see several royal guards, which she recognized as part of Princess Celestia's Royal Guard.

Sure enough, about twenty feet away, stood the Sun Princess herself, next to her chariot. It appeared she had arrived after she finished lowering the sun. Twilight recalled the Princess saying she would arrive a few days before the festival. The guards must have taken notice of the fire and rushed over to help.

Twilight had been pulled aside by one of the guards to be questioned, just like all the others had.

"State your name for the record," he told her.

"Twilight Sparkle," she replied.

"Where were you when the fire broke out?" he asked.

Twilight bit her lip. She knew this would make her sound incredibly suspicious, but she knew better than to lie. "I was locked in the room where the fire started," she replied.

The guard raised an eyebrow. "What were you doing there?" he asked her.

"Someone sent me a note, telling me to go there," she replied, knowing that also must sound suspicious.

The guard looked at her for a moment, before continuing. "Was there anything strange about the way the fire was burning?"

Twilight thought for a moment. "The fire spread through the whole building in a matter of seconds."

The guard wrote this down before saying, "What was the color of the smoke?"

"Black," Twilight responded. She remembered that clearly.

He nodded. "Did you notice anything else odd?"

"Well, there was a snowflake shaped ice cube on the thermostat," she recalled.

"Interesting," the guard muttered. "Did you see anyone else at the scene?"

"Yes. There was Trixie Lulamoon, Cranky Doodle, Mayor Mare, and that reporter pony," Twilight stated.

"Do you believe somepony intentionally started the fire?" he asked. "If so, who?"

"Well, yes," Twilight admitted. "I just don't know who. But it wasn't me! I know my story may sound... fishy, but I swear it's the truth," she finished.

The next day....

Twilight frowned at the newspaper article she was reading. It was about the fire the previous night. The article appeared to have been written by Sunset Shimmer, the nosy unicorn reporter Twilight had met last night. She had thought she seemed somewhat familiar.

-"'There you have it. A former hero and icon rendered speechless.

And speechless is the word of the day, as onlookers struggle to deal with the destruction of the beloved town hall, by none other than the Element of Magic and precious student of Princess Celestia they all had trusted their safety, their lives, homes and jobs to.

Truly a sad day for Ponyville."

-Sunset Shimmer, Ponyville Express

Twilight tossed the newspaper back onto the table with a flop.

"I still can't believe that happened! What a doozy!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. She had come over first thing in the morning after reading what had happened. (somehow she had missed the sirens and guards the night before)

"I know. It was pretty scary," Twilight agreed.

"Did you see what started the fire?" Pinkie asked.

"Yeah, it was really strange. There was an ice cube on the thermostat..."

Twilight was interrupted-she was really getting tired of that- by a knock on the front door.

Twilight trotted down the stairs from her personal quarters to the main part of the library, and over to the door. When she opened it, she was shocked to see Princess Celestia, standing next to a couple of guards.

"Princess?" Twilight asked. "What's going on?"

"Twilight Sparkle, you are under arrest for the arson of the Town Hall last night," one of the guards informed her, while another came forward to place a cone over her horn to prevent her from using her magic.

"But-but I had nothing to do with that!" Twilight exclaimed. "Princess Celestia," she pleaded, "I didn't do anything wrong! Please believe me!"

The Princess avoided Twilight's gaze. "I- my hooves are tied, Twilight. I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"W-what? No! P-please! I didn't do it! You have to believe me!" Twilight begged.

But the Princess said nothing.

Spike and Pinkie Pie had rushed down, hearing the commotion. They gasped at seeing Twilight being led away by royal guards.

"Hey!" Pinkie said. "Where are you going with Twilight?" She lit up. "Ooh! Is it a party? Because if so, this isn't a very good way to invite someone." She noticed the Magic Blocker on Twilight's horn. "And that party hat is terrible," she added.

"This isn't a party Pinkie Pie!" Spike nearly shouted. "Twilight's being arrested!"

"WWWWHHHHHAAAATTTT?!?!??!!" Pinkie shrieked. "Stop right there, ya big mean mean meanie-pants! Twilight hasn't done anything wrong!"

"Yeah!" Spike agreed. "Let her go! Or you'll have to answer to me!" He took a deep breath, then blew out a thin trail of green fire. "Erm.... Gimme a second to warm up here...."

"Oh, I get it! Warm up! Cuz it's fire? Good one Spike!" Pinkie said, collapsing on the floor in a fit of giggles.

Spike watched her for a moment, then ran over to Twilight's side, hugging her foreleg protectively.

"Let go, little dragon," one of the guards grunted.

"You let Twilight go first!" Spike shot back.

"Spike...." Twilight said softly.

"No!" Spike cried. "I'm not letting them take you!" His eyes were getting teary.

"Spike, let go," Twilight softly commanded.

"But..." Spike sniffled.

"I don't want them to arrest you too. Besides, I'll be fine, okay? The truth will come to light. It always does. And then I'll be back. Okay?"

Spike sniffled again. Then with one last squeeze, he reluctantly stepped back, glaring at the guards as they led Twilight off.

"Spike, I'm-," Celestia started.

"Don't talk to me!" Spike cried. He knew Twilight would smack him if she heard him say that to the Princess, but she wasn't there, and he was too angry.

"You must understand. There was nothing I could do. I don't like this any more than you do, but-"

"But you're the Princess! The co-ruler of all Equestria! How could there possibly be NOTHING you can do?" Spike demanded.
Celestia hung her head. "Just because I am a Princess doesn't mean I can just do anything I please. Twilight is being accused of a serious crime. There is evidence against her, and she has no alibi. I cannot simply wave my hoof and get her off the hook because she is my student. I know she is innocent, but I'm afraid I cannot help to prove that."

"Then.... how can we help Twilight? We can't just stand around and let her rot in the Hooskow!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. She had stopped her giggling fit some time ago, and now also seemed to be about to cry.

"The Hooskow?" Spike questioned.

"You are Twilight's friends. Together all of you share the bonds of friendship. And as you know, friendship is a powerful thing. Together, you can help Twilight. You can do what I cannot. Do not give up hope, my little pony. And dragon," Celestia added. "If there is any way in which I can help, I will certainly do so. But I know you have what it takes." She smiled.

"Yessiree, Ma'am Sir!" Pinkie said with a salute. She turned to Spike. "C'mon! We got work to do!"

"I'll leave you to it," the Princess said, and with that, she flew off.

"What's the Hooskow?" Spike asked again.

Just then, Rainbow Dash landed down next to them.

"Hey guys," she said. "What'd I miss?"

Author's Note

Note: This story will follow along the idea of the game, but i am going to try and make sure it does not copy it exactly. this is my first story, so please let me know what you think!
-the snow pony

Chapter 2: Making Plans

"I don't believe this!" Rainbow cried. Pinkie and Spike had just finished explaining what had happened to Twilight.

"I know!" Spike agreed. "They think Twilight did it!"

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Rainbow said. "Like that goody-four-shoes could ever commit a crime like that. I bet she couldn't steal a cookie from the jar without breaking down and pleading guilty."

"Well, there was this one time-" Spike began.

"No time for pleasant strolls down memory lane!" Pinkie interrupted. "We have to find a way to prove Twilight's innocent! Cookies will wait 'til later!" She paused. "Okay, maybe cookies on the way...."

"Pinkie's right," Spike said, nodding.

"About the cookies?" Rainbow said, confused. Pinkie looked hopeful.

"No- well, yes, but--- what I mean is she's right about helping Twilight!" Spike said. He was clearly taking Twilight's arrest the hardest.

"Right!" Pinkie chirped. "Alright, activating Focused Pinkie Mode," she said, putting a hoof on the side of her head and squinting her eyes.
The others watched her for a moment, then Rainbow turned to Spike.

"Sooooo..... How exactly are we supposed to do this?"

"I was... kind of hoping you would know," Spike admitted. "Twilight would usually be in charge of this kinda thing." He sighed, then brightened. "Hey, maybe we just have to think like Twilight!"

"Think like.... Twilight?" Rainbow gave him an 'are-you-serious' look. "Yeah..... In case you haven't noticed, I don't do egghead stuff."

"Aw c'mon Rainbow! For Twilight?" Spike pleaded. He knelt down and looked at her with tear filled eyes. "Please?"

"Yeah Dashie!" Pinkie suddenly appeared next to him. She copied his pose, and added a pouty lip. "Pllleeeeeeeaaaasssseee?"

Rainbow stared at her two friends, pleading at her hooves. 'C'mon Rainbow,' she thought. 'Don't be a softie.'

She tried to turn her head away from their tearful gazes, but she could still see it out of the corner of her eye, and it pulled her head back to them like a magnet.

Rainbow could swear their eyes had gotten bigger.

She bit her lip. She tried to stay strong, but she could feel their stares piercing into her soul, their sorrow basically playing a guitar solo on her heart strings. Her will was breaking.

Finally, she fell to her knees and threw her forehooves up in surrender. "Okay, okay!" she wailed. "Just stop with the pouting already! I can't take it!"

Almost instantly, the tears were gone as they got off the floor, Pinkie bouncing much like her hair. "Yay! Thanks Dashie!" Pinkie said, throwing her hooves around her in a tight hug.

"Yeah, well, *oomph*," Rainbow grunted as she pulled away from Pinkie. "Just to be clear, I'm doing this because I'm a loyal friend, so," Rainbow faced them with a stern look, "I don't want anyone saying I was broke down by a coupla cry babies."

"But you wer-mmph!" Pinkie was silenced by Rainbow's hoof in her mouth.

"No. One," she said, her face inches away from Pinkie.

Pinkie pulled her mouth off of her friend's hoof. "Okey-dokey-lokey!"

"Now," Pinkie said, pulling a detective's cap and bubble pipe out of nowhere. "As I'm sure everypony knows," she continued, "the best way to find a culprit is to look for clues! Just like that time on the train! Remember that?"

"No. I wasn't invited. Anyway, there's a bit of a problem about 'looking for clues'," Spike said.

"What's that?" Rainbow and Pinkie asked at once.

"The crime was arson, ya know, someone starting a fire, right?" Spike asked.

"Uh-huh. And?" Rainbow said, motioning with her hoof for him to get to the point.

"And so the fire probably burned any possible clues," Spike explained.

"But we can't catch the real culprit without any clues," Rainbow protested.

"There might not be clues at the crime scene," Pinkie said slowly, "but there could be some near the crime scene!"

"That's a good idea, Pinks," Rainbow said. "It's worth a try anyhow,"

"Yeah, but...." Spike paused. "Think maybe we could visit Twilight first? I just wanna make sure she's okay."

"Of course we can," Rainbow said, putting a hoof on his shoulder. "Hey! Maybe we could ask Twilight what she saw! She was the last one to see the place before the fire started. Maybe something she saw can give us a clue!" She winced. "I sound like an egghead now, don't I?"

About twenty minutes later, they were at the Ponyville Police Station, where Twilight was being held in a temporary holding cell.

"Okay, let's get in there and talk to Twilight," Rainbow said. But as she reached for the door, a voice boomed, "No visitors are currently allowed."

Rainbow hadn't noticed the officer standing near the door. She frowned.

"But we just wanna talk to our friend for a minute!" she exclaimed.

"No can do," he replied. "The police are busy looking into the Town Hall fire and questioning the suspect. So move along."

"Really? Then why're YOU just standing here doing nothing?" Rainbow said angrily, stomping her hoof.

The guard snarled at her, and she took a step back. "I'm standing here," he hissed, " to keep nosy ponies like you OUT!"

Rainbow gritted her teeth.

"Now why don't you all just run along and play tea party or something and leave the important things to the ones in charge," he taunted.

Rainbow was nearly fuming. "Why I oughta-"

"Excusey-woozy!" Pinkie chirped, cutting in between the two. "Rainbow, that's no way to make a friend," she said, smiling all the while.

"FRIEND?! I don't wanna be friends with this-"

"And you mister guard pony." Pinkie turned to him. "There's no need to be so rude! Turn that frowny upside downy, and then you can have a brownie!" Pinkie giggled at her rhyme, pulling the chocolate treat out of seemingly nowhere and offering it to the guard. He looked at it suspiciously.

"What's this?" he asked.

"I just told you! It's a brownie, duh!" Pinkie said. Then she gasped. "You mean you've never had one before?! You have GOT to come down to Sugarcube Corner! We have all kinds of delicious treats! There's cake, ice cream, all kinds of candy and-"

"Pinkie, focus!" Spike called.

"Oh right! Anywho, do you think you could let us see our friend Twilight for just an itty bitty minute or two?" She gave him the puppy dog eyes. "Please?"

The guard grunted. "Those eyes aren't gonna work on me. You really thing I'm gonna break that easy?"

Rainbow huffed and glared at Spike.

"And I don't accept bribes," he said shoving the offered brownie in Pinkie's still outstretched hoof.

"But it isn't-"

"Now I'm only gonna say this one more time. No. Visitors. Allowed." He glared at them. "So SCRAM!"

Pinkie jumped back at the guard's harsh words. "C'mon Pinkie," Spike said, helping her off the ground and away from the Police Station.

Rainbow hung back for a minute, watching her usually bouncy, happy friend trudge off sadly. She didn't like seeing her friends hurt.

She hated when they got hurt. Especially when it was on purpose.

She turned around and flew up in the guard's face.

"Listen, buster," she began angrily, "I don't care about your rules or orders or whatever, nopony and I mean NOPONY picks on my friends!"

The guard stared wide-eyed, not saying a word. Not that Rainbow would've let him.

"Pinkie Pie is the friendliest pony you'll ever meet! She wasn't trying to BRIBE you, she was TRYING to be NICE! Do you even KNOW what that IS?!

"So go look up the word 'Apology' cuz I expect you to use it! And if you DON'T," Rainbow pounded her hooves together, "you can expect a visit from me! And it won't be a friendly one. Got it?"

The guard nodded dumbly.

"Make sure you do." With one last glare, Rainbow turned around and flew off to join her friends.

"Well that didn't do much good," Spike said gloomily.

Rainbow landed next to them. "Sorry 'bout that guys."

"Where were you?" Spike asked.

"Let's just say, I think you'll be getting a big apology from that guy, Pinks," Rainbow said smugly.

"Really?" Pinkie said, brightening already.

"Really," Rainbow assured her.

"Awww you're such a good friend Dashie!" Pinkie wrapped her forehooves around the pegasus in a tight squeeze.

"You're.... welcome..... Pinkie.... Pie.... but can you.... let me.... breathe now?"

"Oops! Sorry!" Pinkie said, releasing her rainbow maned friend from the death grip she called a hug.

"Well, what do we do now?" Spike said.

The girls were drawn back to the situation at hoof and sighed. They didn't know what to do without Twilight.

"Perhaps I can help you," a voice said from behind them.

The ponies and their dragon pal turned to see Princess Celestia.

"I thought you said there was nothing you could do," Spike reminded her.

"There is nothing I can do to prevent Twilight Sparkle's arrest, but there is something I can do to help you in your investigation." She smiled.
She then opened her saddlebag, and used her magic to levitate a square shaped box out, which she set on the ground before them.

"What's this?" Spike asked, as all three of them leaned in to peer at it closer.

"It's.... a box of scrolls, quills, and ink?" Rainbow said, confused. "How will this help us?"

"Yeah," Spike agreed. "Twilight has loads of these supplies back at the library already."

"Perhaps," the alicorn began, "but I am quite sure she doesn't have any of these."

"Huh?" was the response.

"You see, these are magic scrolls," Celestia explained. "Each scroll is connected to all of the others."

"What does that mean?" Rainbow asked.

"If I write something on one of these scrolls," Celestia said, pointing a hoof at the box, "the words I write will appear on all of the connected scrolls. Though the ink is what really contains this magic, the scrolls must first be connected with a spell. One which I have already cast."

"That's cool and all, but I still don't get what this has to do with us," said Rainbow.

"This box contains seven scrolls, quills, and inkwells each. You can keep three sets for the three of you, and give the other four to the rest of your friends, so that even if you cannot all be together, you can still communicate with eachother, share ideas and opinions and keep you all informed," the Princess said.

"Wowza! That's super-duper-iffic!" Pinkie cheered.

"So this way, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity can help, and take care of their festival duties at the same time! This is great!" Spike exclaimed. "Thank you, Princess."

"You're welcome. I only wish I could do more," Celestia said sadly.

"Aww, cheer up, Princess! You're doing what you can, right? That's all anypony can do: what they can! And when everypony combines their can-do's together, it lets us do things we could never do on our own! I picture it like a big pile of rubber bands," Pinkie said, giving the Princess a pep-talk, Pinkie-Style.

"A pile of what now?" Rainbow scratched her head.

"Rubber bands!" Pinkie repeated. "If you take a BIG pile of 'em, and roll them into one giant ball, it's waaaaaaay bouncier than just a few, ya know?"

"Not really," Rainbow responded.

"Rubber bands aside, that was just what I needed to hear," Celestia said with a smile. "Thank you, Miss Pie. You're wiser than you look."

"Thanks!" Pinkie said, bouncing. She stopped for a moment. "I think."

"Sorry to ruin the moment, but how do we get one of these to Twilight?" Spike questioned. "They probably won't let any magic items even come near the station."

"Leave that to me," Celestia said. "I'm sure I can convince them a simple communication spell isn't going to be a problem."

"Great!" Spike cheered. "In the meantime, why don't we get these scrolls to our friends?" he suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Rainbow agreed. "And maybe we should check out Town Hall. There could still be something, right?"

"It's worth a shot," Pinkie said, nodding.

"Sounds like you have a plan," Celestia said approvingly. "I'll take the last scroll with me, as I'm sure Twilight will be allowed to use it. And if you run out of ink, I can supply you more. Now, I'm afraid I have some things I must attend to. A Princess' work is never done." She winked at them. "Should you need anything else, I will be staying in the Hay and Stay Hotel. I'll tell the guards to let you through. I wish you all the best of luck. Farewell for now," she said, before turning and walking towards the hotel.

"Alright, come on ponies!" Spike held out his claw, and the two ponies each stacked a hoof on top of it. Then they all cheered,
"Team Friendship, GO!"

Author's Note

Hopefully this doesn't seem too boring or slow paced. Now that everypony has a way to communicate, the investigation can begin! The pace will pick up now as the mystery and adventure begin!

Also, those scrolls? Equestrian version of cellphones/texting.

reviews are welcome! i wanna know if anyone actually reads and likes this. so, if you can, please review! and maybe like, favorite, or follow? if you want to.... (cue fluttershy voice: whatever you wanna do is fine...)

something i forgot to mention last time: this story takes place about early season three, before Discord's re-release and reformation, so no Discord or alicorn Twilight, and obviously no castle.

and lastly: The Hay and Stay Hotel is from Turnabout Storm, on Youtube, channel PWAAMLPFIM. if you haven't seen it you totally should!
-the snow pony

Chapter 3: Let the Investigation Begin part 1

Meanwhile, at the police station.....

Twilight Sparkle was sitting in a holding cell, feeling rather depressed. She just didn't know what went wrong. Suddenly, a knock on the thick steel door interrupted her thoughts.

"Miss Sparkle," a deep voice called. "You have a visitor."

The door opened to reveal Princess Celestia standing there. Twilight jumped up and rushed over to her.

"Princess!" she cried, relieved to see a familiar face. "Have you come to get me out?"

"I'm afraid not," she replied sadly. "But you needn't worry. Your friends are investigating the case as we speak."

"Really?" Twilight asked hopefully. "Wait. Even Rainbow Dash?!"

"Yes, even Rainbow Dash," Celestia chuckled. "That's actually why I'm here. I've come to bring you something that will allow you to contact your friends, even if they can't visit you."

"So.... now what?" Spike said, after they finished their cheer. "We need a plan."

"How bout I deliver these scrolls to the rest of our friends?" Rainbow offered. "I am the fastest one here, after all," she finished proudly.

Spike rolled his eyes. The pegasus never missed a chance to point that out. "Sure, and while you do that, Pinkie and I can check out the crime scene."

"Good idea. Why don't we meet back at the library when we're done?" Rainbow suggested.

Spike nodded. "Sounds good to me."

"Me two!" Pinkie cheered. "I mean, three! I mean.... yeah!"

"Great. See ya in a bit!" Rainbow gathered four of the scroll sets and took off, leaving a rainbow trail behind her. Pinkie and Spike took the last two and then headed for town hall.

Back at the police station.....

Once the princess had left, one of the guards came over. Twilight felt like she knew him somehow, but couldn't put a hoof on it.

"Miss Sparkle," he began, "though you may be under heavy suspicion, I don't see a need to keep you locked up all the time. You're free to roam the station."

"Really?" Twilight asked in disbelief. "Why.... why are you doing this? Is that even allowed? Not that I'm complaining!"

The guard chuckled. "You probably don't recognize me with the uniform. I'm Sergeant Swift Hooves."

'Swift Hooves? Where do I know that- oh!' Twilight gasped in realization. "You went to school with my brother!"

"That's right. We were best pals back then. If it weren't for him, I might never have become a guard." He smiled at the memory. "I guess in a way I feel like I owe him. I know I only met you a couple times, but Shining Armor was always talking about how proud he was of you. Still does. And if his word counts for anything, I don't think you're the kind of pony who could start a fire. I heard Princess Celestia say your friends were working on an investigation; if they find anything, they can leave it at the front desk. If you can find enough evidence to prove your case, well, I'm sure I can convince the others to give it a look."

"Oh my gosh, thank you so much!" Twilight said gratefully.

"Don't mention it." He smiled, then leaned in closer. "No seriously, don't mention it to anypony. And be sure not to let me catch you messing with anything. Got it?" He winked.

"Understood," she said, winking back.

Minutes later, Pinkie and Spike arrived at town hall; or at least, what was left of it. Fortunately, the safes and filing cabinets were solid enough to not be damaged much, so nothing too important had been lost. Still, it was a sad sight.

"Okay, we're here," Spike announced. "Where should we look?"

"Well, maybe we could start-" Pinkie was cut off by a buzzing noise.

"What is that?" Spike asked. "Is it a bee?"

"Nah, my nose didn't get itchy," Pinkie noted. A moment later, she said, "Woah! I think there's something in my saddlebag!" She quickly sat down and opened it to find two buzzing scrolls.

"Neat!" Spike said. "We must be getting a message!"

Pinkie took hers out and opened it. "It's a message from Twilight! The princess must've gotten the scroll to her!"

"Let me see!" Spike grabbed his out so he could read too.

Pinkie? Spike? Rainbow? Are you guys getting this? It's Twilight!

"It's her! It's really her!" Spike exclaimed.

Pinkie took out her quill and ink and wrote back:

Twilight! It's Pinkie! We're sooo glad you're ok! What's up? Life in the slammer treating you ok? DON'T LET THEM BREAK YOUR FREE SPIRIT!

Yes Pinkie, I'm ok. But how are you and the girls? Is Spike there? Is he ok?

TWILIGHT! I miss you so much!

I miss you too, Spike. Princess Celestia told me you're... investigating?

Yupperooni! We're at Town Hall right now!

Really? That's perfect! I need you guys to get a sample to test for accelerants.

How do we do that?

First, get a small glass tube. You can find some in my lab, Spike knows where they are.

Okay, then what?

Then, get a sample as close to the point of origin as you can.

Huh?

Where the fire started. You know, the thermostat.

Oh. Okey dokey lokey! We're on it!

Great. Deliver it to the police station when you're done. Swift Hooves said you could drop stuff off at the front desk.

Swift Hooves? Do I know that name from somewhere?

He's a friend of my brother's from school. He's... kind of helping me out.

Great! We'll need all the help we can get.

Well, I should go. There's some things around the station I'd like to have a look at.

Okay! We'll get ya that sample!

Tucking the scrolls away again, Pinkie turned to Spike. "C'mon! Let's get back to the library!"

Author's Note

decided to post the bit i'd written before it was canceled. odd this has gotten more attention since it's been canceled. please let me know what you think in comments!:fluttercry: