Princess Twilight and the Puzzling Curse

by Parchment_Scroll

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Spike, Adventure
Length: 15642

Newly-made alicorn Twilight Sparkle and her Number One Assistant have quite the brain-teaser on their hooves. Actually, they have several, since the citizens of Ponyville are plagued with riddles and puzzles lately.

One day, Princess Twilight and Spike woke up to find Ponyville plagued with a plethora of puzzles. What could be causing all of the ponies' puzzling problems? Why is everyone speaking in riddles and brain-teasers?

"A true princess always puts the needs of others first, Spike!"

Professor Layton-style puzzling in the land of ponies. Interactive!

Published 2013-03-15 01:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-08-04 22:21:41 UTC

Puzzle 06: Lyre, Lyre!

Solution:
In order to make best use of the Fluffy clouds, not only does Rainbow Dash need to keep the clouds close by, she also needs to use them as a buffer between the Shady clouds and the other two types, to keep them from soaking up any rain or thunder. Since Ponyville is behind the hill off to the right, the most efficient order is:.....

Thundery, Rainy, Fluffy, Shady

Now that the warehouses are properly labeled, Derpy can deliver Rainbow Dash's order, and the weather can get back on schedule!

"Now how did I forget that?" Rainbow Dash wondered aloud. "Thanks a ton, Twilight! As soon as I get these clouds sorted, I'll meet you and the other girls in the park for our picnic."

Twilight grinned. "No problem, Rainbow Dash," she replied, and headed back into town.

"We really ought to go meet up with the others, Spike," she said as they trotted through the residential district. "I'm a bit worried about Rainbow Dash's memory, and... What are you looking at?"

Spike held up the coin he was fidgeting with. "Look at this, Twilight," he said. "It's another one of those coins."

"That's weird," Twilight said, levitating it up for closer inspection. Sure enough, it had a question mark on one side and the word "Hint" on the other, just like the three that had come out of her umbrella. "I'm starting to think that these coins and Rainbow Dash's bizarre lapse of memory may be connected with each other."

"And the way everypony's standing around looking confused," Spike said. "Look!" He pointed out a nearby cottage, where Lyra Heartstrings was standing by the window, examining first one set of saddlebags, then another, then a third, before going back to looking at the first one.

"It's rude to point, Spike," Twilight said. "But you're right. It's like the entire town has been perplexed by a plague of pernicious puzzles. This is definitely something that needs taking care of. It's just a matter of figuring out where to start."

"Well, why not start where we are now? Let's go see what's bugging Lyra," Spike suggested.

Twilight arched an eyebrow at her Number One Assistant. "Awfully eager, aren't you?" she asked. "Have you finally gotten over your crush on Rarity?"

"Gotten over my...?" Spike looked at Twilight, baffled. "Now I'm puzzled," he said. "How could you possibly think I could just 'get over' my feelings for the most beautiful, elegant--"

"Okay, Spike," Twilight said, but the baby dragon continued regardless.

"--radiant, gorgeous, elegant, lustrous pony in the world?"

"You said 'elegant' twice," Twilight pointed out.

"Rarity's extra elegant," Spike huffed, and led the way to Lyra's door.

Inside the cottage, Lyra was clearly confused. "Is it this one?" She held up a set of saddlebags, examining the lyre picture on them. "Or this one?" She set that one aside and levitated up a second one. "Or is it this one?" The second set of saddlebags was set aside in favor of a third one.

"They all look the same to me," Spike said. "What difference does it make?"

"It makes all the difference in the world," Lyra said. "I keep my lyre in my left saddlebag and all my sheet music in the right one. My livelihood depends on getting the right saddlebags. And all three of these sets of saddlebags look exactly the same!"

Twilight's keen eye noticed something. "Not... exactly," she said. "They're a little bit different from each other."

"Right," said Lyra. "One's got my stuff in it, the others don't."

"Well, why don't you just open them up and see what's inside them?"

"And go through two sets of saddlebags that aren't mine?" Lyra was indignant. "Just how rude do you think I am?"

"But... they're in your house," Spike said.

"Clearly a simple mistake. I'm sure the owners will be by to pick them up momentarily. But in the meantime, I have practice to get to, and I can't go without my instrument and music!"

"I think we can help you, Lyra," Twilight said. "After all, if there's one thing I learned from Princess Celestia, it's that a princess is always there for her ponies."

Puzzle 06
Lyre, Lyre
20/20 Bits

These three cutie marks each differ from each other slightly. One of them is correct. The other two each have exactly one thing wrong with them! Figure out which one is Lyra's cutie mark so that she knows which saddlebags are hers.

(You do not have to have Lyra's cutie mark memorized to figure this one out.)

Author's Note

Twilight Sparkle's Saddlebags:
Hint Coins: 4
Bits: 13
Mysteries: Ponyville's Plague of Puzzles

Hint 1: Each of the fakes differs from the original in one and only one way.
Hint 2: Logically, they differ from each other in the same way as well, since they do not share differences.
Hint 3: The fakes therefore differ from each other in two ways, while differing from the original in only one.

Puzzle 02: Fair and Square Shares

Solution:

The easiest way to figure this out is to look for what the lyres have in common:

Lyres A and C have the same number of strings.

Lyres A and B both have scrollwork at the top of the arms.

The correct saddlebags are the ones with Lyre A on them. B and C are the fakes.

Twilight and Spike only just got out of Lyra's way as she seized up the correct set of saddlebags and bolted out the door for practice. With a shrug, Spike led the way back outside.

"So," he said, "where to now?"

Twilight looked around. All around them, ponies were standing around, confounded by the simplest daily tasks. Shopkeepers were unable to give proper change without first going through complicated rituals of addition, subtraction, and no small amount of guesswork. Foals spent their leisure hours arguing about whether or not Zeno's Paradox meant they were 'It'. Her ears laid back against her skull. "I say we look for the girls. Whatever's going on here, it couldn't hurt to have the Elements of Harmony handy."

"Great!" Spike leapt up into her saddle, slid right past his spot, and fell off again. "Heh," he chuckled. "Misjudged my distance," he said. "I guess I don't know my own..." He trailed off, as something shiny caught his eye. "Found another one," he said, holding up the coin triumphantly. "Hint," he read aloud. "Just like the last four. I guess this has something to do with all these riddles."

"That would be the logical conclusion, Spike." Twilight levitated him up to sit on her saddle. "Come on, we've got no time to lose!"

"All right," Spike said. "Carousel Boutique, here we come! Hang on, Milady! Your knight in shining... scales... is coming to the rescue!"

"Spike," Twilight said, rolling her eyes, "be reasonable! Carousel Boutique is all the way on the other side of town!"

"So," Spike asked, wilting slightly, "where are we going?"

"Right over there," Twilight said, jabbing a hoof at a large, oddly-shaped building. "Sugarcube Corner!"

"Okay!" Spike's enthusiasm returned. "I'll bet whatever riddle Pinkie Pie has for us is going to be hilarious!"

* * * * *

Sugarcube Corner was not filled with smiles and laughter. Instead, a deeply worried Pinkie Pie paced back and forth with a large knife in her muzzle. "Maybe if I cut it this way...?" she said, holding the knife over the top of the cake. "No," she said after a moment. "Then Pumpkin won't get those sugar tulips I put on the cake just for her!"

"Heya, Pinkie Pie!" Spike slid out of the saddle and ran over to her to give her a quick hug.

"Oh," Pinkie said glumly, "hi, Spike."

Twilight cocked her head curiously. "Wow, Pinkie Pie, that was... really unenthusiastic."

"I'm sorry, Twilight," Pinkie said. "I'm trying my very bestest to be all smiles, but this darn cake is driving me crazy!"

"Cake?" Immediately, Spike was paying attention.

"Yupperoonie!" Pinkie Pie was, for the moment at least, her old self again. "See, the Cake twins' birthday is coming up and I baked this special cake just for them!" She nosed the chocolate confectiion over to where Spike and Twilight could better see it. "I even put on gumdrops and sugar tulips because that's their favoritest cake decorations ever! But..." And suddenly, she drooped.

"But...?" Twilight prompted.

"Well, it's these toppings. They're not all evenly spread like they should be. So now I can't figure out how to cut the cake so that everypony gets a fair share!"

"So... why don't you just move the gumdrops and tulips?" Spike asked.

"I... I can't," Pinkie said.

"You can't?" Twilight frowned, her brow creasing as she looked her friend over.

"Noper-dopers!" Pinkie said. "I've already put them in place. If I take them out now, it'll mess up the frosting!"

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, if that's all it is, you can just smooth the frosting over after you move them, can't you?"

Pinkie looked completely nonplussed. "I can... smooth..." She stared off into the distance for a moment, her eyes losing focus. After a second of silence, she shook her head rapidly. "No way, Jose!" she said. "The Cakes would know if I did that! And what kind of babysitter covers up her mistakes, huh?"

"You mean like when you babysat for them the first--" Spike was cut off by Twilight shoving a hoof in his mouth. After she put her hoof back on the floor, he glared at her for a moment. "Been hanging around with Applejack, I see," he said.

Twilight frowned. "Spike, come here a minute," she said, then trotted over to the kitchen door, away from Pinkie Pie. When Spike followed, she leaned down close. "Don't you think this is weird?"

"It's Pinkie Pie," Spike said. "Weird kind of comes with the territory."

Twilight stared at him flatly. "You know what I mean," she said. "It's the riddles. This is the third pony today who has a problem, and so far, it's been some kind of puzzle or riddle or something. I'm willing to bet that when we take a closer look at Pinkie Pie's cake, it'll be more of the same."

"So... then why don't we just solve the riddle so that Pinkie Pie is free to come with us to get the other girls?"

Twilight frowned. "I guess we don't really have a choice," she said, "but it really bothers me, like whatever's doing this, we're playing right into its hooves by playing along."

"Well, got any better ideas?"

"Not 'til we get our hooves on the Elements of Harmony," Twilight said. "Come on, Spike. We've got a riddle to solve!" With that, she scooped Spike up onto her neck and let him slide down into the saddle. As soon as he was safely in place, she trotted over to Pinkie Pie.

"So..." Pinkie Pie looked expectantly at her friend, smiling weakly. "Think you can help me out, Twilight?"

Twilight Sparkle looked at the pink party pony determinedly. "Just show me this cake, Pinkie Pie, and we'll get you sorted out in no time!"

"Okey dokey lokey!" Pinkie chirped, and, balancing the cake tray on her nose, presented it to Twilight and Spike for their perusal.

Puzzle 02
Fair and Square Shares
30/30 bits

Pinkie Pie wants to celebrate Pumpkin and Pound's birthday with the Cakes, so she baked this cake to celebrate. She wants to make sure that everypony is happy, so she made the cake using the twins' favorite edible decorations.

In order to ensure everyone's satisfied, Pinkie needs to cut this cake along the lines so that everypony has the same number and type of decorations and the same amount of cake.

How should Pinkie Pie cut the cake? (You'll need to use an image editor to draw lines on the image.)

Author's Note

Twilight Sparkle's Saddlebags:
Hint Coins: 5
Bits: 33
Mysteries: Ponyville's Plague of Puzzles

Hint 1: Your biggest obstacle in this puzzle is figuring out how many pieces of cake to make.
Hint 2: You want to divide the cake into five slices of five blocks each - one for each twin, one for Mr. Cake, one for Mrs. Cake, and one for Pinkie Pie.
Hint 3: Start by cutting a V shape out of the upper-right corner.

Puzzle 07: Even Odds

Solution:

"Oh, wow, so you're the one who solved my cake-cutting problem for me, are you? Wow I wanna thank you so much and there's only one way to do that, and that's with a PARTY!

"I hope you don't mind if I hold off on baking you a cake. I don't wanna go through all that again!"

Fun Fact: The solution shown is one of at least five! However, moving two gumdrops up a space each would change that. Can you figure out which gumdrops would need to be moved?

"Pinkie," Twilight said after cutting the cake. "Who are you talking to? I'm right here. I cut your cake for you."

"Oh, gosh, Twilight," Pinkie said. "That's fantastic! Ooh, and you even used a different pattern from the nice pony who showed me how to do it!"

Twilight raised a hoof momentarily, then rethought her action and put it back down again. "She's just being Pinkie Pie," she reminded herself. Actually, it was quite a relief to have Pinkie Pie back to normal. Or abnormal, in Pinkie's case. Delightfully, entertainingly, amusingly abnormal.

"So, what are we doing?"

Twilight nodded briskly. "Like I said, we need to get the rest of the girls and go get the Elements of Harmony. Once we figure out who's causing this mess, we might need them to set it right. And even if that's not the case, I've learned that there's nothing my friends and I can't handle together!"

"Great. So... Rarity?" If Spike was trying to conceal his eagerness, he wasn't doing a good job of it at all.

"Actually," said Twilight, "no. It makes more sense to start close by. By now, Applejack should be in the market square with her apple cart, so we'll head there next."

* * * *

Twilight Sparkle looked around the market square in obvious confusion. "I don't understand," she said.

"What's to understand?" Spike waved a stubby arm, taking in the market square. "She's not here. Seems pretty clear to me."

"She should be here! It's not like Applejack to be late on market day."

Spike frowned. "What do you think?"

"Well," said Twilight, "as I see it, there are a few possibilities. One: She's overworked herself again, and could be anywhere between here and Sweet Apple Acres, asleep on her hooves. Two: Whoever did this abducted one of my friends so we couldn't use the Elements of Harmony. Three..."

"She's probably stuck on some stupid puzzle," Spike said. "Same as every other pony in town."

"Yeah," Twilight said. "That. We can probably eliminate the first possibility. Applejack said she learned her lesson last time she overworked herself. And I don't think the second is likely, either. Both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie are okay, after all."

"So... Sweet Apple Acres, then?"

Twilight nodded. "She's probably there, trying to figure out which of her horseshoes is fake or something."

"Well," said Spike, "in the meantime, I think I see somepony who needs your problem-solving brainpower!" He pointed over to Sofas and Quills, where an upset Davenport was pacing back and forth, muttering to himself.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "All right," she said. "Let's go see what's up."

* * * * *

"Oh, thank goodness you're here," Davenport said. "Just look at the mess these foals made of my best couch!"

Twilight took one look at the ravaged cushions and shook her head. "That's... pretty extreme," she said. "What did they do, graze on it?"

Davenport shrugged. "I have no idea," he said. "I tried casting a truth spell on them to see if I could figure out what happened, but..."

"Wait," Twilight said, shaking her head again. "Run that by me again. You, an earth pony, cast a truth spell?"

Davenport nodded, smiling brightly. "Oh, yes," he said. "It's all thanks to this fantastic book I found this morning." He held up the book by its front cover, showing it to Twilight and Spike.

"'The Earth Pony's Guide to Unicorn Magic'," Twilight read, "'by Duplicitous S. Cored'. I've... I've never heard of this book before."

"Neither had I," said Davenport. "But it's incredibly useful. Except..."

"Except what?"

"Well, this spell... It's a lot trickier than I thought it would be." He set the book down and flipped through the pages until he revealed the spell in question.

"Okay," Twilight said. "According to this description, if you cast it right, then anypony with an even number of letters in their name will tell the truth, and anypony with an odd number of letters in their name will lie." She frowned, blinking in obvious confusion. "What the hay kind of spell is that?"

"Oh, it gets more frustrating than that," Davenport said. "Keep reading."

"If you mispronounce one syllable, the opposite happens?" Twilight stared at the book again. "I guess this is what you get for casting a spell written by a pony named 'Duplicitous.'" She looked at Davenport. "So... did you cast the spell correctly or not?"

Davenport slumped to the ground, defeated. "I have no idea," he said. "And so, when I questioned the foals about who broke the couch, they all started contradicting each other, and I don't know who's lying and who's telling the truth!"

Puzzle 07
Even Odds
45/45 Bits

Davenport cast a truth spell on the five foals he suspects of breaking his most expensive couch. Unfortunately, this spell only makes some ponies tell the truth, while it forces others to lie.

If cast correctly, ponies with an even number of letters in their name tell the truth while ponies with an odd number of letters lie. If miscast, the opposite is true. Since Davenport isn't sure if he cast the spell right or not, he can't figure out who broke his couch. Can you point out the culprits to him?

Here are the ponies statements:

Snips: Dinky Doo never went near the couch.
Snails: I'm innocent. Dinky Doo and Snips broke the couch.
Diamond Tiara: Snips is completely innocent.
Silver Spoon: Diamond Tiara and I did nothing wrong!
Dinky Doo: I'm the only one who touched the couch.

Author's Note

Twilight Sparkle's Saddlebags:
Hint Coins: 6
Bits: 63
Mysteries: Ponyville's Plague of Puzzles, The Earth Pony's Spellbook

Hint 1: Truth tellers' stories will never contradict each other.
Hint 2: For purposes of the spell, each sentence is a separate and complete statement.
Hint 3: One pony made two statements that need evaluating separately.

Puzzle 12: Civic Planning

Solution:

Seeeensational! Now that is what I call the Art of the Dress!

"Thanks ever so much, darlings," Rarity said, batting her eyelashes at Twilight and Spike.

"Anything for you, Rarity," Spike said with a sigh.

"All right," Twilight put in before Spike could begin to wax poetic on Rarity's many virtues, "we need to put a stop to this puzzle nonsense once and for all. Come on, guys!"

Spike leapt back up into the saddle, posing dramatically for Rarity's benefit, and Rarity smiled indulgently.

"One moment, Twilight," she said, ducking back behind a divider. True to her word, it took her barely a moment to change into a flowing purple gown that complemented her mane and tail. "One must look one's best when one is travelling with royalty, after all!"

"You always look your best, Rarity," Spike said dreamily.

"Much as I hate to encourage him," Twilight said with a roll of her eyes, "you know he's right."

"Well, thank you, darlings," Rarity said, "but true perfection isn't nearly as effortless as I make it appear. In any event, lead on, Princess!"

"You can just call me Twilight, you know," Twilight said.

"Oh, but never in public, darling! Proprieties!"

"But we're not in..." Twilight knew a lost cause when she saw one, and cut herself off mid-sentence. "Okay, fine. Come on, guys. We should check in with the mayor while we're doing all this. If anypony has any information on how this started, I'm sure it's either her, or someone she knows."

* * * * *

Mayor Mare was, as with everyone else Twilight had met that morning, in a complete tizzy. She was pacing back and forth in front of the Ponyville Town Hall, muttering to herself.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Hello, Mayor!" she called out with a cheerful wave. "Tell me, any problems, conundrums, or puzzles that I, as a good friend, can help you with?"

"I doubt it very much, Twi--" The mayor cut herself off. "I mean, 'No, thank you, Your Majesty.'"

Twilight grimaced. "Please," she said. "I've only been a princess for a few days, and I don't even know what's involved in it. Just... treat me like you always have and we'll be fine."

"I beg Your Majesty's pardon?"

Twilight winced. "Twilight's fine," she reassured. "Twilight Sparkle if you have to be formal, but I'm still just plain old me." She chuckled ruefully and her wings fluttered at her sides before settling down again. "Okay, maybe with one or two minor changes, but really, still Twilight Sparkle."

"A-all right," the mayor said. "Twilight... Thank you, but this is definitely something more along the lines of city planning and less along the lines of the magic of friendship."

"So... no puzzles?"

"Puzzles?" Mayor Mare blinked at Twilight, clearly perplexed.

"Everyone I've met so far today has had a problem that turned out to be some kind of riddle or puzzle. Logic problems, things like that."

Rarity cleared her throat. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she said primly.

"And one hidden image puzzle," Twilight amended. Rarity, oddly, looked mollified by that declaration.

"No, no," Mayor Mare said, "I'm dealing with something a lot less perplexing than that," she said. "Frustrating, yes. Perplexing, no."

"What's the problem?"

"Someone in the Ponyville Civic Planning Committee has gone ahead and put in work orders for things that hadn't been voted on yet, and now..." Mayor Mare gestured broadly with a hoof, as though presenting town square to Twilight. "Well, just look!"

Spike scratched his spines in confusion. "Looks the same as ever to me," he said. "Except with less ponies walking around. Probably because they're all stuck at home because of those puzzles Twi was talking about."

"No," Twilight said after a moment's thought, "something is definitely different here."

Rarity nodded. "Why, I see five different things that have changed since yesterday alone!" she said, which earned her a grimace and an eye-roll from the mayor.

Puzzle 12
Civic Planning
30/30 Bits

Mayor Mare is very busy, in part due to the number of problems happening all over town, but mostly because somepony in the Ponyville Civic Planning Committee gave the go-ahead for a number of changes to Ponyville Town Square without putting the items to a vote!

Find five changes instituted by whoever did the deed.

Author's Note

Twilight Sparkle's Saddlebags:
Hint Coins: 7
Bits: 135
Mysteries: Ponyville's Plague of Puzzles, The Earth Pony's Spellbook

Puzzle 13: Pipe Nightmares 1

Solution:

Well spotted!

Which is more unbelievable? The fact that all of these changes happened overnight, or the fact that they seem to have gotten an apple tree away from Sweet Apple Acres?

"And that's just the half of it," grumbled the mayor when Twilight pointed out what had changed overnight. "There are problems all over town!"

"Tell me about it," Twilight said. "Everyone I've spoken to so far has had a puzzle for me. It's awfully suspicious."

"I'd appreciate it," said the mayor, "if you could do what you can to resolve as many of those as possible. It would clear up a lot of this paperwork, to say the very least."

"Oh, Princess," Rarity suggested, "perhaps you could contact Princess Celestia about this?"

"That's a wonderful idea! Spike, take a letter."

"Um," said Spike after a moment's hesitation, "about that..."

"What is it now?"

"We're out of the magic scrolls we use to mail the Princess," he confessed.

"Spike!" Twilight gritted her teeth in frustration. "You were supposed to pick more up!"

"Today," Spike said. "I was supposed to pick them up today."

"Oh. Right." She turned to the mayor and smiled winningly. "Mayor Mare, we need to restock on magic scrolls."

The mayor looked up from her stack of paperwork. "That's fine by me," she said. "Spike, you know where we keep them, right?"

Spike ran over to the cubbyholes where the enchanted scrolls were kept. "Oh, wow," he said. "There's only one left!"

"What?" Mayor Mare galloped over beside him. "That can't be right," she said, "I put in a requesition for more just the other..." She trailed off, her eyes drawn to an envelope sitting on top of the cubbyholes. "Ah. Aheh... heh... I don't suppose you'd mind just sending this along with your own letter, Twilight?"

Twilight spent a moment stifling the urge to groan. "I'd be happy to, Mayor. Spike? Take a letter."

Spike unrolled the scroll and pulled out his quill. "Better make this count, Twilight," he said. "Seeing as this is the only chance we've got."

Twilight nodded, and began to dictate.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I am writing to you about a strange set of circumstances occurring in the town of Ponyville this morning. It seems that everypony in town has been afflicted by some sort of ~~geez~~ ~~compul~~ spell that's caused their daily routines to be interrupted by puzzles and riddles.

I am gathering my friends in the event that the Elements of Harmony are required to deal with this problem, but at this time I'm unaware if the problem extends past Ponyville itself.

Any information or assistance you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle

"Ahem," the mayor interjected.

Twilight sighed. "P.S.: Enclosed, please find Mayor Mare's requesition for more enchanted scrolls."

"...enchanted scrolls," echoed Spike as he finished the letter.

"Great!" Twilight levitated the letter out of his grip and scanned it once before tucking the mayor's envelope inside and rolling it up. "Send it, please."

The scroll vanished in a gust of green flame from the young dragon's mouth, and he turned to Twilight. "Okay, so, do we wait for her response?"

"I don't think so," Twilight replied. "I told her I'm getting my friends together, so we should probably keep doing that. So long as you're with me, her reply can get to me anywhere in Equestria, after all!"

"So... who do we have left?"

"Well," said Twilight, "Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash should be getting ready for the picnic already, so I suppose we can meet them at the park like we originally planned. I haven't heard from Applejack or Fluttershy yet, so either they're getting ready for the picnic, or they're stuck on some weird puzzle themselves."

"So," said Spike, "where to fi--"

He was interrupted by a loud gurgle. "First," said Twilight, embarrassed, "we grab a light snack. With all these puzzles, I've worked up quite an appetite!"

"An excellent idea," Spike said, trying to conceal his salivation.

"Well, then," Rarity said, "what are we waiting for? The cafe beckons!"

* * * * *

It was, thankfully, a short trot from the town hall to Twilight's favorite cafe. She waved off any attempts to treat her differently than she was used to, and took a seat at her usual table, with Spike on the side opposite and Rarity sitting beside her.

It took no time at all for the waiter to take their order, thankfully. Twilight, who had been expecting some sort of puzzle, perhaps, breathed a sigh of relief.

After a few minutes of waiting for their food to be delivered, however, Spike began to grow impatient.

"Patience, Spikey-Wikey," chided Rarity. "One simply does not lose their temper in an establishment of this quality."

"I'm sorry, Rarity," Spike said. "I'm just kind of cranky when I'm hungry."

* * * * *

"This is taking forever," whined Spike.

"You heard what Rarity said," Twilight reminded him. "Patience."

"Oh, I'm through with patience," Rarity put in, positively fuming. "I said that when I was under the impression this was a quality establishment. Garçon!"

The waiter appeared at her side within moments. "Madame?"

"Have you any idea how long we have been waiting?"

With a wince, the stallion nodded. "Oui, madame," he said. "The management extends its apologies. We have recently installed a new system to speed food delivery, but the user manual is... shall we say 'verbose'?"

"And...?"

"And we must admit to having some difficulty in determining exactly how to use it."

Twilight sighed, rolling her eyes. "Would you like some fresh insight?"

The next few moments were made extremely uncomfortable for the studious mare, as she was unaccustomed to having a grown stallion prostrate himself before her, kissing her hooves. "Oh, madame," he said when he was calmed enough to speak, "if you would be so kind as to help us, we would be eternally grateful."

"Okay," Twilight said, heading off the incoming tide of gratitude before it became overwhelming. "Just... bring me the manual and I'll see what I can do."

Puzzle 13
Pipe Nightmares 1
25/25 Bits

The cafe's food delivery system is convoluted to say the least! Using a set of pneumatic pipes, the kitchen staff can, in theory, deliver food to any table on the patio in an instant. The only problem is that the route the food takes is not direct. Food proceeds either down or across in the pipe diagram shown, but never up. Whenever it reaches an intersection, the container must switch pipes.

As poor Spike is getting impatient, which pipe should his food be put in to ensure it comes out at his table?

Author's Note

Twilight Sparkle's Saddlebags:
Hint Coins: 7
Bits: 165
Mysteries: Ponyville's Plague of Puzzles, The Earth Pony's Spellbook

Accompanying Twilight right now are Spike and Rarity.

Puzzle 03: Fancy Mathematics

One has to wonder what kind of pony would design a system like this. Of course, one also has to wonder about the sort of pony who would use it to deliver food.

"Well," said Twilight as Spike picked through the mess the pneumatic system had made of his hay fries with a side of sapphires, "that was interesting."

"I do believe this new system of theirs might need just a teeny bit of tweaking," Rarity said.

"No kidding," Spike said. "There's bits of sapphire in my hay fries from when they got chipped in the pipes!" That didn't, of course, stop him from gobbling up the fries. He paused mid-chew, a delighted smile spreading across his face.

"I take it you don't mind the end result," Twilight said.

"Are you kidding? This is fantastic!"

Rarity beamed at the little dragon. "Well," she said, "this is what we creative types like to call 'a happy accident'. It's delightful when a seeming mistake synergizes with one's intentions to bring forth something new and different, isn't it?"

Spike's reply, though largely unintelligible, was enthusiastically positive.

"Spikey-wikey," Rarity reprimanded, "a gentlecolt never talks with his mouth full."

Spike swallowed. "Sorry, Rarity."

"Apology accepted." She turned from the dragon to Twilight, arching a delicate eyebrow curiously. "What have you got there, Darling?"

Twilight hefted the Earth Pony's Spellbook. "It's a spellbook that's supposed to let Earth Ponies use Unicorn magic," she said.

"What?" Rarity fluttered her eyelashes, taken aback. "But that's ridiculous! That's as ridiculous as--"

"A spell that lets Unicorn and Earth Ponies cloudwalk like Pegasi? Or that gives them wings like Pegasi?"

"Well, now," Rarity said, "I wouldn't say my wings were like a Pegasus Pony's." She sighed wistfully.

"Anyway," Twilight said, interrupting Rarity's reminiscence of the Glimmerwing spell, "I'm trying to figure out how any of these spells work, but they're just... nonsense! Who the heck is this Duplicitous S. Cored character any--" She trailed off, a look of dawning comprehension breaking across her face.

"What was that name again, Twilight?" Rarity asked, getting a glimmer of what Twilight had realized.

"D.," said Twilight, "S. Cored. I should have known he'd be involved in--"

"Hey," said Spike, "that kind of sounds like Discord!" Before either of the ponies could respond, he hiccupped. Rarity shot him a glare, and was visibly preparing herself to lecture him on table manners, but before either of them could utter a word, a loud belch erupted from the baby dragon's mouth, accompanied by a plume of magical green fire which coalesced into a scroll bearing the Royal Seal of Canterlot.

"Oh, Princess Celestia's reply!" Twilight set the book aside for the moment, her attention focused on the scroll.

"I got it," Spike said, reaching out to snatch the scroll off of the table. Unfortunately, in his haste, he knocked over the pepper shaker, and a disaster was in the making. "'To My Most Faithful Student,'" he read, "'Twa... Twa...'"

Twilight frowned, cocking he head curiously. "Having trouble pronouncing my name?" she asked.

"TWAAAAAAAAAAAAA-CHOO!" Twilight's attempt to yank the scroll out of range of Spike's sneeze was counteracted by the sheer volume of flame that erupted from his mouth. In moments, she was left with a single scrap of paper.

"'Please,'" she read. "Please what? Argh!"

"I'm sorry, Twi," Spike said, ashamed.

"Hey," Twilight said. "It's okay. It's not your fault. When the rest of that letter gets to Princess Celestia, I'm sure she'll figure out what went wrong and send another copy."

"Um," said Rarity, tapping Twilight on the shoulder delicately. "Twilight, dear, I do hate to be a bother, but I don't think that scroll went to Princess Celestia." She pointed skyward with a hoof. High overhead, fluttering in the breeze, were several tiny scraps of parchment, each pice singed and trailing a little wisp of smoke.

"Oh no!" Twilight galloped off after the errant papers, snatching as many with her magic as she could see. "Catch them, catch them, catch them!" Rarity galloped after her, Spike scrambling to keep up.

* * * * *

A few minutes later, the mad dash had ended, and Twilight surveyed the meager results of their efforts to retrieve the scraps. "Five?" She sighed. "That's all we managed to grab? Five?"

"Six," said Spike, "if you count the one you already had." He waved the little piece of parchment in the air.

"Well," Twilight said, "let's take a look and see if we can't make head or tails of these things."

"Well, this is definitely the same letter," Twilight said. "This scrap has my name on it, and it's all in Princess Celestia's writing."

"Let the guards know what?" Spike asked.

"I'm not sure. Let them know I'm working on this? Let them know the problem even exists at all? Have you even seen any Royal Guards today?"

"Shouldn't you have some with you at all times," asked Rarity, "now that you're a princess?"

"Rarity," Twilight said, "I'm not bringing guards with me when I travel around Ponyville! This is my home!"

"But think of the--"

"I know," said Twilight, "I know. Proprieties." She shook her head. "We don't have time to worry about that now. We should get the other girls together and collect the Elements of Harmony. Then we can get to work figuring out what's going on here, and what Discord has to do with it."

"Aren't you kind of making assumptions there?" Spike scratched his head. "I mean, Fluttershy did such a great job of getting Discord to behave, and Princess Celestia took him in hoof. Sure, this kind of chaos is kind of his thing, but hasn't he changed now?"

"Even if he's not behind it," Princess Twilight argued, "he's involved. That spellbook had his name on it. In any case, first things first: We have to get the girls."

"Why not try Applejack next?" Rarity asked with a smile.

"Any reason in particular?"

Rarity's smile widened somewhat. "I suspected as much," she said. "You've been so focused on chasing down those fragments that you didn't realize how far afield the chase was taking us. Applejack's closest, Dear."

Twilight frowned. "Rarity, don't be silly. Sweet Apple Acres is outside of Pony..." She trailed off as her eyes finally took in ther surroundings. Sure enough, in her frenetic gallop after rogue letter fragments, she'd led the trio all the way to the gates of Sweet Apple Acres.

* * * * *

Applejack and Big MacIntosh were glaring at each other. "Ah ain't one ta call a pony a liar," Applejack said angrily, "less'n they're lyin'! Admit it!"

"Nnnnope," drawled her brother sanguinely.

"Ah've had enough o' this, Big MacIntosh! There ain't no way ya--"

"Ahem," Twilight said, feeling it was high time she interrupted before the argument became a fight. "What's going on, Applejack?"

"It's Big Mac, here. Darn fool gone and hurt hisself again last week. Nurse Redheart says he's okay ta work the farm s'long as he takes plenty of rest as he goes. Ah reckon he's gone an' overworked hisself, seein' as he says he finished his half o' the work already, an' Ah just finished mine. There ain't no way he can be done less'n he's not takin' that half-hour off every hour like Nurse Redheart says he should."

"Well, A.J.," said Spike, "Big MacIntosh is bigger than you. Didn't you say he can do his work faster than you already?"

"Not that fast," Applejack said.

"Huh," said Spike. "Twilight, is this another one of those puzzle things?"

Twilight smiled. "Yes, Spike," she said. "Do you think you can figure it out?"

Puzzle 03
Fancy Mathematics
30/30 Bits

Big Macintosh and Applejack are busy bucking apples. Big Macintosh can buck three trees in the amount of time Applejack can buck two. However, after every hour of work, Big Macintosh has to rest for a half hour so he doesn't aggravate his injured side.

To keep things fair, Big Macintosh and Applejack have split the work exactly in half. Applejack can clear her half of the orchard in exactly six hours. How long does it take Big Macintosh?

Author's Note

Twilight Sparkle's Saddlebags:
Hint Coins: 8
Bits: 190
Mysteries: Ponyville's Plague of Puzzles, The Earth Pony's Spellbook (solved), Princess Celestia's Letter
Total Letter Pieces: 6/27

Puzzle 11: Dumb Schedule!

Solution:
Given their relative speeds, and Big Macintosh's break times, Applejack catches up to Big Macintosh at the 1 1/2 hour, 3 hour, 4 1/2 hour, and 6 hour marks.

Big Macintosh took breaks at the 1 hour, 2 1/2 hour, and 4 hour marks respectively, and finished after 5 1/2 hours -- exactly 1/2 hour before Applejack.

Either way, they both worked very hard and deserve a bit of a break, don't you think?

Spike grinned as he laid out the explanation for Applejack, with Twilight nodding her approval as he spoke. "So you see," he said at last, "if you're finished now, that means Big Macintosh has to have finished his, too!"

"Well, all right," Applejack said grudgingly. "If'n yer sure."

Twilight nodded. "He's right, A.J.," she said. "Well done, Spike!"

"Well," Spike said, "I can't be your Number-One Assistant without picking up a few things."

"In that case," A.J. said, "what brings y'all down here again?"

"Princess Twilight is... concerned," Rarity said.

"Oh, come on, Rarity," Twilight objected. "I'm sure you've noticed the way everypony can't get anything done today. Everywhere we go, there's a puzzle, riddle, or conundrum for us to solve, and nopony seems to be able to do anything about them until Spike and I solve them!"

"Well, shoot," Applejack said, "y'all must be happier'n a pig in th' mud!"

Twilight blinked, confused. "Why would that make me happy?"

"Well," said Rarity, "everybody wants to feel useful..."

"And ya gotta love puttin' all o' them smarts ta good use."

Twilight grimaced in frustration. "Okay," she said, "yes, I do love riddles. And it is nice to feel needed. But there's a difference between feeling needed and being the one and only pony who can solve everypony's problems for them!"

She had started pacing back and forth in longer and longer arcs as she spoke, and by this point in their conversation had ended up outside the barn. Granny Smith sat contentedly in a rocking chair in the barn, next to a model of the Sweet Apple Acres farmhouse. She looked up from her knitting, frowning, then grinned cheerfully at Twilight and her friends. "Well, howdy there, Twilight!"

"Look!" said Twilight, gesturing at Granny Smith. "You can't tell me that's normal behavior!"

Applejack frowned, looking back and forth between her grandmother and her friend. "Um, Twi...? She's knittin'. She does that."

"But... the little farmhouse! Inside the barn!" Twilight jabbed a hoof at the offending structure. "What's that all about?"

"Well," Applejack said. "Ah'm just plain, ordinary folks, but Ah reckon we could just... ask her?"

"Fine," said Twilight. "Fine." She trotted up to Granny Smith, her literally ruffled feathers smoothing themselves as she composed herself. "Granny Smith," she called out cheerfully -- a bit too cheerfully, Spike thought -- "do you have any problems, puzzles, or conundrums that I, as a good family friend, can help you with?"

"Nope!" Granny Smith replied cheerfully.

"None?"

"Not a one!"

"Then... what's with the little farmhouse inside your barn?"

"Well, Ah figger unsolved riddles need a home, too," the wrinkled old mare replied. "An' we got plenty o' room here at Sweet Apple Acres, so Ah had Applebloom build a little house fer 'em an' put it in th' barn."

Granny Smith's Riddle Shack
Some riddles may get skipped in the course of Twilight's adventure. After some events, these riddles will be placed in Granny Smith's Riddle Shack. After the story's conclusion, they will be made available in a single chapter, and their solutions added in a separate chapter. At any point in the story, however, the Riddle Shack may be visited in order to view any skipped riddles before the conclusion of the story.

"Riddles," Twilight said flatly.

"Well, Riddles need love, too!" Granny Smith replied.

"I'm not saying I don't like riddles," Twilight said, "I love riddles! Really!" She took a step forward, her wings flaring dramatically. "In fact, I will ensure that no riddle goes unsolved! Sorry to waste your time, Granny Smith, but that Riddle Shack of yours is going to stay empty, or my name isn't Twilight Sparkle!"

"That's the spirit, young 'un!"

Twilight trotted purposefully out of the barn. "Come on, girls!" she called to her friends, "we've got riddles to solve!"

"Wait, your name isn't Twilight Sparkle?" Spike asked, one claw upraised inquiringly.

"Her name isn't Twilight Sparkle?" Rarity blinked in confusion at Spike.

"Ah thought her name was Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight stopped, staring back at the trio. "Are you coming, or not?"

"Where to, Twilight Sparkle?" Spike asked. "If that is your name."

"That is my name, Spike!"

"But you just said..."

"It's a figure of speech!"

"Hold up, now, pardners," Applejack cut in. "This could go on all day if'n ya don't rein yerselves in. Where to?"

"Well, the most efficient path would be to start from one location and proceed in an outward spiral until we're sure we've covered the entire town. Also, that would help us retrieve all of the missing pieces of Princess Celestia's letter."

"Speaking of which," Spike said, "I found a few more pieces!"

"That's my Number One Assistant! Put them with the others, Spike!"

"Done and done! Where to?"

"Well, the next nearest location would have to be the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse," Applejack said.

"Oooh, I dread the thought of what sort of hijinx they could have gotten up to," Rarity put in. "Shall we, then?"

Twilight grinned at her friends. With them along, this wouldn't be nearly the chore it had seemed earlier. It might even be... dare she think it? ...fun.

* * * * *

They approached the clubhouse at a cheerful canter, Twilight and Spike bringing the other two up to speed on their adventure so far.

"Oh, my," Rarity said, "that is peculiar."

"Ah can't imagine R.D. not knowin' how ta put her clouds in storage. 'Specially since it's somethin' she's so proud of."

"What's that?" Twilight frowned.

"When she first come ta Ponyville, they was so disorganized they lost clouds all the time. Rainbow Dash was the one what figured out how ta put the clouds up so's they wouldn't mess each other up in th' first place."

"How could she possibly forget a system she devised?!" Twilight shook her head in consternation.

"I'm beginning to suspect," Rarity said slowly, "you may be right about there being some kind of spell over Ponyville."

"Well, the more of these riddles we solve, the more information we have to fix this mess," Twilight said. With that, she turned her attention to the clubhouse. As if on cue, an argument broke out inside the treehouse. Three high-pitched voices yelled at each other in a cacophonous mishmash of overlapping words.

"I'M NOT STUPID, YOU'RE STUPID!"

"Scootaloo," Spike identified the voice.

"NUH-UH! THAT'LL NEVER WORK! YOU'RE STUPID!"

Applejack sighed, rubbing the bridge of her muzzle. "Applebloom," she said.

"Well," Rarity put in, "at least--"

A third voice, louder than the other two put together shrieked, "YOU'RE BOTH STUPID!"

"You were sayin', Sugarcube?"

Rarity gritted her teeth. "I was saying that at least my sweet-natured little sister isn't adding her own prodigious vocal talents to the argument, but I was clearly mistaken," she said coldly.

The three adult ponies (and one baby dragon) galloped (and scrambled) up to the entrance of the clubhouse.

"Whoa up, there girls," Applejack yelled, but the Crusaders' argument had gotten physical. Tails were yanked, ears were pulled, and soon the girls were lost in a cloud of dust and frenetic activity.

"Now, Sweetie," Rarity chided, but the Crusaders took no notice.

"Girls!" Twilight yelled, and yet the fight continued. Frustrated, she put a hoof down, hard, and reached out with her magic to separate the fighting fillies. As soon as she did so, the three looked at her, their heads hung in shame.

"Sorry, Twilight," they said in unison.

"That's all right," Twilight said, putting them down. "Now... what's this all about?"

"Scootaloo--" Applebloom began, jabbing a hoof at the offending filly.

"Hey!" Scootaloo yelled, immediately flaring her wings in anger, "that's not fair! You told me to come up with a schedule--"

"Nopony even asked me what I--" Sweetie Belle interrupted, her own argument drowned out by Applebloom.

"You can't even do that right!" Applebloom yelled at Scootaloo, crouching in preparation for another fight.

"GIRLS!"

"Sorry, Twilight."

"Now," Twilight said, "One at a time, what seems to be the problem? Scootaloo?"

"Applebloom told me to come up with a schedule for today."

Twilight nodded approvingly. "It's always a good idea to plan things ahead of time," she said. "That way you make the best use of your time."

"So long as you don't mind spending time planning things instead of doing them," muttered Spike.

"So... what's the problem, then? Applebloom?"

"Scootaloo's schedule is dumb," Applebloom countered.

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Girls!" Twilight was losing her cool. She didn't know how Applejack and Rarity could cope with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. (There was no secret to it. Applejack and Rarity simply did their best to keep the damage to a minimum and waited for the storm to pass.) "Why don't you just let me take a look at this schedule?"

"Here," said Scootaloo, proudly hoofing over the paper she'd written it down on.

"Ah," said Twilight, as she examined the paper. "Ah. I see the problem. Spike?" She levitated the schedule over to the baby dragon. "What do you think?"

Puzzle 11
Dumb Schedule!
40/40 Bits

Scootaloo is clearly upset. She had a whole day of fun and games planned for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but Apple Bloom took one look at the schedule and said it was dumb.

What part of the schedule did Apple Bloom have a problem with?

Author's Note

Twilight Sparkle's Saddlebags:
Hint Coins: 9
Bits: 220
Mysteries: Ponyville's Plague of Puzzles, The Earth Pony's Spellbook (solved), Princess Celestia's Letter
Total Letter Pieces: 11/27

Accompanying Twilight right now are Spike, Rarity, and Applejack.

Puzzle 05: Ferreting Out the Truth

Solution:

Shadow tag relies on ponies' shadows extending past their actual bodies. At noon, with the sun directly overhead, the Crusaders would practically trample each other trying to step on shadows!

With their new, revised schedule, the Cutie Mark Crusaders are ready for a (likely tree-sap-filled) day of fun in the sun! Ponyville may not be grateful, but these three fillies sure are!

"Yeah," Spike said, "this schedule looks like a lot of fun, Scootaloo..."

"See?" Scootaloo smirked at the other Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"...but," the baby dragon continued, "how are you going to play shadow tag at noon?"

"Easy," Scootaloo said, "we just... oh." She sighed. "Darn, I was really looking forward to playing that, too!"

"That's easily remedied," Twilight said. "Just swap Shadow Tag with your second game of Hide 'n' Seek, and the shadows should be long enough to play!"

The three fillies examined the schedule, then Scootaloo made the suggested change. They nodded briskly, hoofbumped, and galloped out into the orchard to begin playing.

"That was just unbearably adorable," Twilight said as the fillies sped off.

"Where to next, Sugarcube?"

Twilight smiled. Having her friends with her would make this much more bearable, she decided. "I'd like to pick up the rest of the girls," she said, "so I guess our next stop would be..." She found her eyes drawn to the crude map of Ponyville on the wall of the Crusaders' clubhouse.

* * * * *

"Fluttershy's cottage," Twilight announced as they arrived at their destination. "We'll sort out whatever problem she's having with her animals in no time, and then we'll figure out where to go from there."

"What makes you so sure she's having a problem with her animals?" Spike asked curiously.

"Spike, everypony in town is having problems today. So, naturally, that would have to include Fluttershy."

"Well, yeah," Spike said, "but it doesn't necessarily have to be something to do with her animals."

Applejack, Twilight, and Rarity all just stared at him levelly.

"Okay," Spike said, "it's probably with her animals."

"Oh, Spikey-Wikey," Rarity said, "I believe I found a few more of those pieces of paper you've been picking up."

Spike's heart skipped a beat, and when Rarity levitated the paper pieces over to him, he looked like she was presenting him with the keys to the kingdom. "Thanks, Rarity," he said softly, and looked down at the papers in his claws wistfully.

"Easy there, loverboy," Applejack whispered, nudging him in the side with a knee. "Those ain't love letters, ya know."

"They may as well be," Spike said, but tucked the fragments in Twilight's saddlebags with the rest of those they had gathered.

Rarity, meanwhile, failed to notice the exchange -- either out of tact or because she had galloped slightly ahead of the other two ponies. "Oh, Fluttershy, darling," she called out.

The butter-yellow pegasus looked up from what she was doing. The consternation on her face gave way to obvious relief. "Oh, hello," she called out. "Is it time for the picnic already?"

"The picnic's been postponed," Twilight said as she and Applejack caught up to Rarity. "I need your help, Fluttershy."

"Oh," Fluttershy said. "Oh, my. I... I'll do what I can, but..."

"...but," interjected Twilight, "you've got a bit of a puzzle on your hooves?"

"Oh, yes," Fluttershy said with a smile. "It's these mustelines." She indicated a group of cute, furry creatures with a wave of her forehoof.

"Musty lions?" Spike scratched his namesake spines, frowning in confusion.

"Mustelines," corrected Twilight. "It means animals like weasels, otters, ferrets, minks, and such."

"Yes," said Fluttershy. "See, I had a group of ferrets, and a group of weasels, and they don't like being put together, but I can't figure out which is which."

"You," said Twilight, "can't tell which is which." She shook her head rapidly, banishing all thought of arguing the point. This just fit right in with what had been happening so far. "Right," she said. "Okay, so, what distinguishing characteristic will let us separate the weasels from the ferrets?"

"Oh," said Fluttershy, "it's all in the names, you see."

"The names? So, what, all the weasels have names like William or Wally or something?"

"Winona's a weasel?" Applejack said with a perplexed look.

"Oh, no, no," said Fluttershy. "You see, ferrets always tell the truth -- they ferret it out -- while weasels..."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "...weasel out of it," she concluded.

"Yes."

"I don't suppose you speak musteline?" Twilight asked hopefully.

"No," said Fluttershy. "I had Angel ask them, but of course, none of the weasels will admit to being weasels..."

"So, what did they say?"

Puzzle 05
Ferreting Out the Truth
30/30 Bits

Poor Fluttershy is in a tizzy. She can't remember how many ferrets she has, and how many weasels, and they've gotten all mixed up in her yard!

Fortunately, Ferrets always tell the truth, while Weasels are infamous liars. Sort through the statements made by the five cute little critters so Fluttershy can put them in the right pens.

Critter A: Critter E is definitely a weasel.
Critter B: Critter D and I are both weasels.
Critter C: Don't listen to any of these guys. I'm the only ferret here.
Critter D: Critter A is a ferret.
Critter E: Critter B is a ferret for sure.

Author's Note

Twilight Sparkle's Saddlebags:
Hint Coins: 10
Bits: 260
Mysteries: Ponyville's Plague of Puzzles, The Earth Pony's Spellbook (solved), Princess Celestia's Letter
Total Letter Pieces: 17/27

Accompanying Twilight right now are Spike, Rarity, and Applejack.

Puzzle 09: Pipsqueak's Treasure Map

Ferrets: Critters A and D
Weasels: Critters B, C, and E
There we go! All in their pens safe and sound, which frees Fluttershy up to go to the picnic.

Once you were able to find one ferret, the other one shouldn't have been too tough to... ferret out.

While Spike sat frozen in thought, trying to piece together the web of truth and lies woven by the mustelid critters, Twilight quickly sorted through them, placing them in their respective pens. "There we go," she said confidently. "Now, come on, girls. We've got a mystery to unravel!"

"Oh," Fluttershy said, "but what about the picnic?"

"It's off for now, Sugarcube," Applejack explained. "Twi's got herself all in a tizzy 'bout this puzzle thing, and Ah reckon she ain't too far off the mark none."

Fluttershy nodded. "I'm sure Pinkie Pie will figure something out," she said. "Have you told her the picnic's off yet?"

Twilight's pupils contracted to pinpricks as she considered the ramifications of the question. "Oh, Celestia, no," she said. "When I spoke with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, I was still getting ready for the picnic!" With that, she scooped Spike up onto her saddle and galloped off towards the park. "Come on, girls! They've got to be at the park by now!"

"We're comin', we're comin'," drawled Applejack. "Don't git yer bridle in a twist."

Chapter End
The following puzzles have been moved to Granny Smith's Puzzle Shack:
* Fair and Square Shares 2
* Rainy Days and Mondays

* * * * *

The trip to the park, short though it was, felt long enough due to Rarity and Applejack getting into an argument about manners. Eventually, Twilight felt the need to intervene.

"What's going on, you two?"

"Rarity's bein' a hoity-toity stuck up pony," snarled Applejack.

"I'll have you know," Rarity said, "that Hoity Toity is an excellent pony and not the least bit stuck up!"

"Yer jes' sayin' that on account o' he liked that dress y'all made fer Twilight."

"That's not it at all!" Rarity tossed her mane angrily, before looking slightly abashed. "Well, all right, that's part of it."

"Ah jes' don't see what's such a big deal about 'don't git yer bridle in a twist'. T'ain't like Ah said 'knickers', now, is it?"

"Applejack!"

The farm pony tried, and failed, to stifle a giggle at Rarity's over-the-top reaction. The face she made while trying not to laugh set Rarity off, and things generally proceeded downhill from there.

By the time the quintet arrived at the park, they were all out of breath from laughing so hard, and had completely forgotten what the argument was about in the first place. Twilight looked fondly over at her friends. "It's a good thing I have such wonderful friends," she said to herself.

"You've also got a wonderful assistant!" Spike chimed in as he ran up to her. "Between me, Applejack, Fluttershy, and --" He paused to sigh wistfully before continuing. "--Rarity," he said finally, "we've just about got all of those letter fragments we've been looking for. Look!"

"That's excellent, Spike!" Twilight scooped the baby dragon up into a quick hug before levitating him back atop her saddle. "Put them in the saddlebag with the others. I've been trying to put them together, and I think I've just about got this taken care of."

Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy trotted up alongside her, smiling. "Speakin' o' gettin' things taken care of," Applejack said, "Ah reckon Pinkie Pie woulda set up fer th' picnic by now. Y'all seen either o' them two?"

Twilight shook her head. "No," she said. "Although you'd be pretty surprised how good Pinkie Pie can be at hiding when she wants to."

"Tell me about it," a familiar voice said from just overhead.

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight grinned as she leapt up from the ground to meet her friend (and, more recently, flying instructor) in midair. "I'm so glad you're here! Quite frankly, I was dreading the idea of what I'd have to go through to look for you if you weren't."

"Well, hay," Rainbow Dash said, leading Twilight back to the ground and the other three ponies, "it's your special day, and I never leave a friend hanging!"

"Speakin o' leavin' friends hangin'," Applejack piped up, "where in tarnation did that Pinkie Pie get to?"

"Oh," Dash said with a dismissive hoof-wave, "she was getting bored waiting for you guys, so I suggested we play Hide and Seek to kill time. She's ultra-serious about playing by the rules, though, so she definitely hasn't left the park."

"So, all we have to do is spread out and look for her?" Rarity smiled.

"Shoot," Applejack said, "this won't take no time ay-tall."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Twilight said. "You wouldn't believe the places she squeezed herself into when Fluttershy was working with Photo Finish."

* * * * *

Within a few minutes, the ponies had canvassed the park. It was, oddly, almost completely devoid of ponies. Just more evidence of this strange puzzle curse that's swept across town, Twilight thought. Eventually, the five ponies (and dragon) reconvened just a short trot away from the one pony in the park.

"Y'all're sure it ain't Pinkie Pie in disguise?" Applejack asked.

"I'm sure," Twilight said. "Even Pinkie Pie couldn't disguise herself as a young colt!" She paused for a moment. "I think. Okay, I'm pretty sure it's not her."

"Maybe he knows where Pinkie Pie is?" Fluttershy asked.

The other four ponies (and dragon) nodded, and made their way over to the nearby hill, where a young and excited Pipsqueak was crouched down by a piece of paper, studying it intently. His tongue stuck out of a corner of his mouth as he tilted his head this way and that, trying to make heads or tails of the image on the paper.

Puzzle 09
Pipsqueak's Treasure Map
50/50 Bits

Pipsqueak found an actual honest to gosh treasure map! Unfortunately, the map is so smudged, he doesn't know where to put any of the landmarks, so he has no idea where to dig for his treasure. Fortunately, the Ponyville schoolhouse is already marked on the map, and he has the following information to help place the various landmarks.

1. No two landmarks are in the same row or column.
2. Unicorn Point is immediately east of the Big Grassy Hill.
3. Sweet Apple Acres is in a corner.
4. The Dangerous Cliff falls between Unicorn Point and the Big Grassy Hill when moving north or south.
6. The Dangerous Cliff is west of Unicorn Point.
7. Unicorn Point is the furthest landmark from Sweet Apple Acres.

Author's Note

Twilight Sparkle's Saddlebags:
Hint Coins: 11
Bits: 290
Mysteries: Ponyville's Plague of Puzzles, The Earth Pony's Spellbook (solved), Princess Celestia's Letter
Total Letter Pieces: 22/27

Accompanying Twilight right now are Spike, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash.

Puzzle 08: Beanie Babies

Solution:

Once you've placed Sweet Apple Acres in the southwest corner of the map, the rest should be relatively easy. Unicorn Point, to be the furthest landmark, should be as far north and east as you can get it: in the easternmost column and one space south of the corner.

The other two landmarks are placed relative to Unicorn Point as shown.

"Wow," Twilight said after she and her friends figured out where Pipsqueak should dig, "this puzzle thing is getting more frustrating by the minute!"

"Ah'll say," Applejack put in. "Whoever thunk a little colt like Pipsqueak could figure out a puzzle like that!"

"Hey!" the colt in question squeaked indignantly.

"No offense," she hastened to add.

"Well, this should be the spot," Rainbow Dash said, surveying the area from above.

"All right," Applejack said, "we better start diggin', then."

"Digging?" Rarity looked aghast. "Oh, no, no, no!"

"Y'all expect a little feller like Pip ta do it himself?" Applejack narrowed her eyes at her friend. "He ain't no diamond dog, ya know."

"Oh, very well," Rarity said.

With the help of Applejack's muscles and Rarity and Twilight Sparkle's magic, the ponies soon made quite a lot of progress digging for Pipsqueak's "real, honest-to-Celestia pirate treasure".

"Rainbow Dash," Applejack said after a few minutes of prodigious effort, "are y'all sure this is the right spot?"

"Hey," Rainbow Dash said, "I may not be an egghead like Twilight, but if there's one thing I know, it's what Ponyville looks like from above! This is the exact--"

She was interrupted by a thump and a squeak, as Pipsqueak's shovel (being weilded by Applejack) encountered a solid obstacle. "Ah apologize, Rainbow Dash," the farmpony said. "That sure sounded like wood ta me."

"Me too," Rarity said. "Come on, come on, come on, let's get that treasure dug up!"

Everyone stared at her for a moment.

"Sorry," she said. "I got caught up in the moment."

It was the work of just a few seconds, thanks to Twilight's magic, and then the chest was revealed. It was a wood chest, painted pink, with blue trim and brass fittings.

"Isn't that...?" Twilight said.

"Sure looks like it," agreed Rainbow Dash.

"Well?" Rarity looked over at Pipsqueak. "It's your treasure, after all. Go on and open it!"

"Do you think she's...?" Twilight said, continuing her half-unspoken conversation with Rainbow Dash, and gesturing at the chest.

Rainbow considered the question, then nodded. "Probably."

"We should act surprised."

"It's only polite."

Hesitantly, Pipsqueak opened the latch on what Twilight and Rainbow Dash had correctly identified as Pinkie Pie's toy chest. As soon as the latch was undone, the lid flew open in an eruption of confetti, streamers, and, of course, Pinkie Pie (thankfully, just the one). "SURPRISE!!!"

"Hey, Pinks," Rainbow said nonchalantly.

"What happened to acting surprised?" Twilight asked archly.

"I said it was polite," Rainbow Dash said, "not that I would do it."

While Pipsqueak rummaged through his new toy chest, gleefully unearthing board games and pirate toys and even a small bag of bits ("Thirty seven," Pinkie Pie said to the others), Twilight and her friends began trotting off towards town while they brought Pinkie up to speed on the situation.

* * * * *

"I bet it's Discord," Pinkie Pie said.

"All the signs point to it," Twilight agreed, "which bothers me. Last time he was in Ponyville, Discord really seemed to have learned his lesson."

"Well, everypony backslides occasionally," Fluttershy said. "I'm sure if we explain it to him, he'll apologize and put everything back."

"If he doesn't," Twilight said, "he's going to have to answer to us."

"Oh, Twilight!" Pinkie bounded excitedly over to her friend.

"Yes, Pinkie Pie?"

"These were in the treasure chest with my toys," Pinkie said, pulling a few fragments of paper out of her mane. "I was gonna throw them away, but then my knees got wobbly and my eyes fluttered and my ears flopped twice!"

"That's a new one on me," Applejack said. "What's that one mean?"

"I dunno!" Pinkie said. "But since it happened when I was going to throw the papers away, I figured maybe it meant I shouldn't do that."

Spike took the papers from Pinkie Pie with a grin. "Pinkie Sense saves the day again," he exclaimed. "I think this is all of them!"

"Fantastic, Spike!" Twilight said, then hugged Pinkie with both her wings and her forehooves. "Thanks, Pinkie, you were a big help."

"All we need to do now is put the letter back together!"

"Well, that," Twilight said, "and continue our investigation."

"Where to next?"

Twilight grinned, gesturing with a forehoof at the schoolhouse they were approaching.

"Thinkin' Cheerilee might have some information y'all c'n use?" Applejack asked.

"Well of course she does," Rarity said. "She's a teacher. She has to have noticed the odd behaviour in her students today."

"I think that's a safe assumption," Rainbow Dash said, jerking a forehoof over her shoulder to indicate the teacher. "She's clearly upset about something."

"Ah hope it ain't mah sister and her little friends again," Applejack grumbled.

"You and I both, dear," Rarity said as she and Applejack took the lead.

Cheerilee looked up as they approached. "Oh," she said. "Hello, there, Applejack. Rarity."

"Howdy, Cheerilee!"

"Hello." Rarity looked around. "Oh, my goodness," she said, taking in the schoolhouse interior, which looked like a minor tornado had struck. "I suspect we were right about our sisters, Applejack."

"Ah reckon so," Applejack said. As Twilight and the others approached, she looked over at the teacher. "Why'n't y'all tell us what happened here?"

Cheerilee shook her head, seeming to come to her senses for a moment. "Oh, this?" she said. "This is just... enthusiasm. See, the girls--"

"By 'the girls'," Twilight interjected, "I presume you mean the Cutie Mark Crusaders?"

"Yes," Cheerilee said. "They got in a bit of an argument yesterday in the playground. So, I gave them detention this morning."

"Ah wondered why Applebloom didn't seem none too thrilled about goin' off with her friends first thing in the mornin'."

"Anyway," Cheerilee said, "when they got here, I told them they could leave detention early today if they could solve a puzzle for me." She smiled. "But if they tried and got it wrong, they would have detention all week."

"That seems a mite harsh," Applejack said.

"Well, I'm trying to encourage critical thinking," Cheerilee said. "Not just guessing."

"So, Ah assume since the girls're back at the clubhouse, they done solved yer little puzzle?"

"Yes," Cheerilee said, "but I can't for the life of me figure out how!"

Puzzle 08
Beanie Babies
35/35 Bits

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were given an opportunity to get out of detention quick, and they took it! Cheerilee blindfolded the rambunctious trio and gave them each a beanie at random out of a box of five. Three of the beanies had propellers on them and two did not. In turn, each pony had their blindfold removed. If they could correctly state what kind of beanie they were wearing, then all three of them would be free to go. If a single one of them guessed wrong, however, they would have detention after school for a week. If they chose not to guess, they could put their beanie back in Cheerilee's trunk and she would remove the next pony's blindfold. Here is what happened:

Scootaloo couldn't tell what kind of beanie she was wearing, so she put it back in the trunk.
Sweetie Belle also couldn't tell what kind of beanie she was wearing, and put hers back in the trunk as well.
Apple Bloom was able to correctly identify her beanie, even though Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had both already put their beanies away before her blindfold was removed.

Cheerilee is sure Apple Bloom wasn't just guessing, since the penalty for guessing wrong was too severe.

Author's Note

Twilight Sparkle's Saddlebags:
Hint Coins: 12
Bits: 340
Mysteries: Ponyville's Plague of Puzzles, The Earth Pony's Spellbook (solved), Princess Celestia's Letter
Total Letter Pieces: 27/27 ALL PIECES FOUND

Accompanying Twilight right now are Spike, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie.

Puzzle 14: Wibbly-Wobbly, Timey-Wimey

Solution:

Scootaloo couldn't tell what type of beanie she was wearing, which meant that either Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, or both had propeller beanies.
Sweetie Belle only needed to look at Apple Bloom's beanie. If Apple Bloom had been wearing a normal beanie, then Sweetie would have known her own was a propeller beanie. Since she didn't know, Apple Bloom had to have been wearing a propeller beanie.

Twilight beamed proudly at her Number One Assistant as he laid out the explanation for Cheerilee, complete with a crude diagram on the chalkboard. "Well done, Spike!"

"Thanks, Twilight."

Cheerilee looked dazed. "I'm amazed that those three managed to figure that out!" she said.

"They're a lot more clever than they let on," Rarity said.

"'Specially Apple Bloom," Applejack put in. "Doggone if Ah ain't proud o' her."

"I don't think we've made any progress towards figuring out who's behind all these puzzles, though," Twilight said. "Although I'm glad we were able to help you out, Cheerilee."

"So, where to next?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Come on, let's get--"

She was interrupted by the ringing of the bell in Ponyville's clock tower.

"That's odd," Twilight said.

"What's odd?" Spike asked.

"That bell should only go off at the top and bottom of the hour." Scooping Spike up onto her back, she headed towards the tower at full gallop. "Come on, girls! Let's go check it out!"

* * * * *

As the ponies approached the clock tower, Spike laughed triumphantly.

"What are you so happy about?"

"I finally got all those pieces of the letter put back together," he said. "Look!"

The ponies trotted to a halt to take a look at his handiwork.

"What are all those splotches on the letter?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Is that blood?"

"Don't be silly, Rainbow Dash," Twilight said. "It's sealing wax. See?" She held the back of the scroll out for the pegasus to examine. Sure enough, at the top edge of the scroll was a golden seal held in place with a small blob of red wax, the same color as the splotches on the letter itself.

"That's quite peculiar," Rarity said, examining the front of the letter while Rainbow Dash looked at the seal.

"There's nothing peculiar about sealing wax on a scroll," Twilight said.

"It's unbecoming of a princess to be so slovenly with even an informal letter such as this one," Rarity said. "I simply can't imagine Princess Celestia, of all ponies, being so careless as to-- oh! Oh, my!"

"What is it?"

"Well," Rarity said, "do you mind?" With that, she levitated the scroll over to herself and began scraping at the wax blobs with the edge of a forehoof. In moments, she was finished, and the letter was much cleaner.

"Wow," Twilight said. "Good eye, Rarity!"

"What are you two talking about?" Rainbow asked, exasperated.

"If you'll look closely," Rarity explained, "you'll see that the oil from the wax discolored the scroll where it was attached."

"And," continued Twilight, "those discolorations outline some of the letters in the message. No doubt about it, this was definitely deliberate on her part!"

"Which letters?" Spike asked, taking the scroll from Rarity's telekinetic grip. "Hmmm. E. V-E-R. F-R. E. Another E... F-O-R, E-S-T! Everfree Forest!"

"Exactly!" Twilight said, cantering in place slightly. "Obviously, Princess Celestia wants us to go check out something in the Everfree Forest!"

"In the meantime," Rarity said, "since we're already here, we may as well see what is going on with the clock tower." She turned and led the way over to the base of the structure in question. "Oh, Time Turner!"

Puzzle 14
Wibbly-Wobbly, Timey-Wimey
40/40 Bits

They say even a broken clock is right twice a day. Time Turner's clock tower is very precisely maintained, but reading it takes some getting used to.

There are five clock faces shown in the picture. The one on the upper left is 12:00. The one on the upper right is 6:00. On the lower left is the time Twilight Sparkle and friends left the park fifteen minutes ago. On the lower right is the current time.

What time does the clock at the bottom show?

Author's Note

Twilight Sparkle's Saddlebags:
Hint Coins: 13
Bits: 375
Mysteries: Ponyville's Plague of Puzzles, The Earth Pony's Spellbook (solved), Princess Celestia's Letter (solved)

Accompanying Twilight right now are Spike, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie.

Metagame: Game Destinations, Letter Fragments, and Granny Smith's Puzzle Shack

Author's Notes
This chapter is set aside instead of being in an author's notes section or comments because it will help keep travel smooth through the story. Feel free to check this chapter at any time to see what locations have been unlocked, which ones haven't been visited yet, and so on. Also, feel free to check back in locations that have already been visited. If there are no new puzzles there, I will mention it in the comments and ask for a second destination.

Also feel free to suggest other locations. The ones listed are the ones I currently have puzzles (or other plot-related plans) for, but I am planning new puzzles all the time, and will happily apply them to other destinations.

Key:
- Visited locations are marked in bold.
- Current destination (determined by last person to solve a puzzle) is italicised.
- Unavailable locations are ~~struck out~~

Locations Available in Ponyville
Golden Oaks Library
Sugarcube Corner
Carousel Boutique
Rainbow Dash's Cloud House
Fluttershy's Cottage
Sweet Apple Acres: Farmhouse
Sweet Apple Acres: Barn
Sweet Apple Acres: Cutie Mark Crusaders' Clubhouse
Lyra Heartstrings' House
Vinyl Scratch and Octavia's House
Schoolhouse
Park
Town Hall
Market Square
Cafe
Bent Spine Bookstore
Time Turner's Clock Tower

Locations Available in the Everfree Forest
Zecora's Hut
Froggy Bottom Bog
Path to Castle of the Ancient Pony Sisters: Trial of Honesty (cliff)
Path to Castle of the Ancient Pony Sisters: Trial of Kindness (clearing)
Path to Castle of the Ancient Pony Sisters: Trial of Laughter (dense woods)
Path to Castle of the Ancient Pony Sisters: Trial of Generosity (river)
Path to Castle of the Ancient Pony Sisters: Trial of Loyalty (bridge)
~~Castle of the Ancient Pony Sisters~~ - MUST BE APPROACHED ALONG PATH

Granny Smith's Puzzle Shack
* Fair and Square Shares 2
* Rainy Days and Mondays.

Mysteries
Ponyville's Puzzle Plague: Something has Ponyville's ponies plagued with pernicious puzzles! I suspect some kind of spell has been cast on the whole town. As soon as I get the girls together, we're going to go looking for the culprit!
The Earth Pony's Spellbook: Davenport, the owner of Sofas and Quills, found a strange book that teaches Earth Ponies how to use Unicorn magic! I've never heard of this book before, and the author, one "Duplicitous S. Cored" is a mystery to me as well. [SOLVED] Clearly, Duplicitous S. Cored is a pen name for none other than Discord! How involved he is in this plague of puzzles is still a mystery, however.
Princess Celestia's Letter: Spike accidentally sneezed all over the reply I got from Princess Celestia. I don't blame him, but now we have to recover all of the missing pieces of her letter!
[SOLVED] Aha! Those splotches of sealing wax covering parts of the letter marked a hidden message from Princess Celestia suggesting further investigation in the Everfree Forest! (Everfree Forest locations unlocked!)

Letter Pieces:
ALL LETTER PIECES COLLECTED!

LETTER ASSEMBLED!

Author's Note

This should always be the last chapter. If at any time it isn't, please comment or send me a message so I can re-order the chapters properly.

Puzzle 01: A Cloudy Conundrum

Dear Princess Celestia,

Twilight Sparkle's coronation changed a lot of things in Ponyville. But something else changed things even more.

A few days after returning to Ponyville from the coronation, Twilight and I discovered the entire town was under a strange spell.

This is what happened...

"Spike!" The newly-made alicorn Princess called out from the first floor of the library. "Spike! Wake up, sleepyhead! We're supposed to meet the girls for a picnic today!"

"Five more minutes, Twilight," grumbled the little dragon, pulling the blanket over his head.

"Come on, Spike. You know we've got a narrow window for the picnic today because of the rainstorm!" With a telekinetic flourish, Twilight whipped away Spike's blanket, neatly folded it, and put it at the foot of his bed.

"All right, all right," Spike said, stretching. "I still don't know why you guys wanted to have the picnic today when it's supposed to be raining all day."

"You know how busy I am after the coronation," Twilight explained as she put on her saddlebags. "(Ugh, I have to talk to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy about wearing saddlebags with wings. This still feels weird.) Anyway, today was the only day I could squeeze it in. Fortunately, Rainbow Dash said she'd keep a nice two hour window open in the afternoon, so we could relax without getting soaked."

Spike grabbed their umbrella. "Even so," he said, "we should probably bring this."

"Good thinking, Spike," Twilight said, levitating the umbrella overhead. "After all, it's supposed to rain until just before our picnic anyway." Spike climbed up into her saddle and she stepped outside, opening the umbrella to sheild them from the rain.

Oddly, however, no rain fell. Instead, as she opened the umbrella, three coins fell out.

"What the hay?" Twilight stared curiously down at the coins.

"Did three bits just fall out of your umbrella, Twilight?" Spike asked, scooping the coins up.

Twilight levitated one out of his hand to examine it. "These aren't bits," she replied. "Look, instead of a sun and moon, the obverse has a question mark, and the reverse has the word 'hint' on it."

Tutorial: Hint Coins
To use a hint coin, simply post a comment at the end of a chapter requesting a hint on that chapter's puzzle. Be frugal with them, however, as from this point on, Twilight and Spike will only get one hint coin per chapter. Each hint purchased this way will be placed in the Author's Notes for the chapter in question, so that it can be viewed without needing to wade through comments. The contents of Twilight's saddlebags can also be viewed there.

Once a puzzle has been solved, all three hints for that puzzle will be revealed for free, and the solution will be included in the beginning of the next chapter, so that people can try their hoof at solving the puzzle after the story has moved on!

"We'd better hang on to these, Spike," Twilight said. "Who knows if they might come in handy or not?"

"Okay," Spike said. "We'd better hurry to the park, though, because it's obviously time for the picnic!"

Twilight shook her head, gesturing with a hoof at a nearby clock. "The picnic isn't for two hours," she said. "Rainbow Dash said she'd have to keep the rain going until just fifteen minutes before the picnic. Something's up. We'd better go talk to her."

Tutorial: Travel
Once a chapter's puzzle has been solved, and the solution has been confirmed by the author, the commenter who posted the solution may choose what Ponyville location to visit next. (Later in the story, locations outside of Ponyville will be unlocked.) Once this is done, the story can continue in the direction chosen.

With that, Twilight galloped in the direction of Rainbow Dash's cloud house. As she ran through the streets of Ponyville, she noticed ponies standing around town. At first, everything looked normal, but as she passed a few ponies, she realized that a lot of them, instead of going about their business as usual, were simply standing around looking confused. It looked like Rainbow Dash wouldn't be the only pony who needed help that day.

Nevertheless, the immediate concern was the weather, and they arrived at Rainbow Dash's house in good time. Just in time, in fact, to hear a frustrated scream coming from behind a nearby hill. Curiosity piqued, Twilight galloped over the hill, where she found Rainbow Dash standing in front of four dilapitated buildings.

"Hi, Rainbow Dash," Twilight called out.

"Oh, Twilight," Rainbow said. "Thank Celestia! You are just the pony I wanted to see right now."

"Same here," Twilight said. "What's the hold-up with the weather?"

"Rarity accidentally used up all of the clouds I had stocked up for the next month," Rainbow Dash explained. "I put in an order for a new shipment, but Derpy's the one bringing it, and I have a problem." She gestured with a hoof at the four buildings. "These are my cloud warehouses," she explained. "See, they're supposed to have signs on them so that Derpy knows which clouds to put in which warehouses, but one of the things Rarity did when she had my cutie mark caused a big windstorm to tear all the signs down. If I don't get the signs up in the right order, then the whole shipment could be ruined, and the Wonderbolts will never let me join the team if they think I can't even manage weather for a little town like this!"

"Well," said Twilight Sparkle, frowning, "just put the signs back up, then! As fast as you are, you could have it done in seconds!"

"I would," Rainbow said, "if I could remember which sign went where, but for the life of me, I can't! And it's really important that the signs go up in the right places, or the whole shipment will get ruined!"

"Why's that?" Spike asked, curious. He'd never put much thought into how much work Rainbow Dash's job involved before.

"Clouds are finicky," Rainbow Dash explained. "See, there are four different kinds of clouds I use in making weather, and if they're not stored properly, I end up losing two kinds every single time! It took me forever to get the hang of this, but I figure Ponyville's all-star Winter Wrap-Up All-Team Organizer could probably do it in ten seconds flat!"

"All right," Twilight said, "if there's one thing I know, it's how to organize. Lay it on me."

Puzzle 01
A Cloudy Conundrum
Solved: 13/15 Bits

Rainbow Dash needs the clouds organized for maximum efficiency. She has four warehouses (labeled A, B, C, and D in the illustration) to store them in, but if the right clouds aren't in the right place, then some of them could be ruined, and she'll have to order more.

There are four different types of clouds that Rainbow Dash uses to manage weather in Ponyville, which is just over the hill:

1) Fluffy Clouds are delicate, and only used for decoration on sunny and partly cloudy days. They're the ones Rainbow Dash uses the most, so it would be terrible if anything happened to them. Unfortunately, thunder causes them to break up, and if she's not careful, she'll end up with an empty warehouse.
2) Shady Clouds are like grey sponges. They can be used for shade on partly cloudy and cloudy days, but if they're kept too close to rain or thunder, they'll soak it up and change types.
3) Rainy Clouds are vital. Rainbow Dash has to keep these handy to meet her quota of rainstorms and keep farms like Sweet Apple Acres properly watered.
4) Thundery Clouds are difficult to manage. They tend to let off peals of thunder and bolts of lightning all the time, which helps keep the atmosphere charged with the magic that Equestria needs. Rainbow Dash uses them during heavy rainstorms to keep things running smoothly.

Author's Note

Twilight Sparkle's Saddlebags:
Hint Coins: 3
Bits: 0
Mysteries: None yet

Hints: (Free due to completion of puzzle.)
Hint 1: There are two ways to set up the clouds so that Rainbow Dash can keep all four types on hand, but she also wants the setup to be efficient.
Hint 2: There's only one type of cloud that the Shady Clouds can be safely put next to.
Hint 3: Remember that Ponyville is on the other side of the hill.

(REVISED VERSION) Puzzle 04: SenSATIONal!

Solution:

Well done unscrambling that particular mess!

Since Davenport miscast the spell, only Snips and Silver Spoon were telling the truth, exonerating Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Dinky Doo.

The statements "Snips is completely innocent" and "I'm innocent", being lies, point out the guilty parties: Snips and Snails.

Maybe Davenport should leave the spellcasting to the unicorns.

Davenport looked immensely relieved once Twilight was able to point out the culprits to him. Snips and Snails, however, looked anything but. "You two ought to be ashamed of yourselves, playing around on an expensive couch like that," Twilight said.

"We are," Snips said, hanging his head.

"Not me!" exclaimed Snails woefully. "I'm glad I broke Mr. Davenport's best couch!"

Twilight did a brief doubletake, then looked warily at Davenport. "Okay," she said slowly, "how long is that spell supposed to last?"

"I have no idea," Davenport said. "The spellbook doesn't say."

"What?" Twilight seized the book with her telekinesis and flipped to the relevant page. "What the hay kind of shoddy spellbook is this?" She read through the spell's description and wording several times. "I don't see how this thing could even work at all!" she exclaimed. "Unicorn magic requires power, focus, and a clear intent! This..." She trailed off. "Pardon me," she said, ducking out of the store.

Davenport looked over at Spike, nonplussed. "What was that all ab--" Before he could finish the question, however, Twilight had returned.

"I'll give this right back," she called out over her shoulder before the door closed behind her. Hovering in the air beside her, encased in her telekinetic magic, was a wooden crate labeled "soap". She set it down, climbed up on top of it, and continued her diatribe. "This so-called 'spellbook' is filled with nothing but nonsense words that almost rhyme. This isn't a grimoire, it's bad poetry!" With that, she stepped down off of the crate and levitated it back out the door.

"Feel better, Twi?" Spike asked.

"Now that I've gotten that out of my system," Twilight said, "yes."

"Okay, so... where to?"

"We still need to get the girls together," she replied.

Spike opened his mouth to say something, but Twilight cut him off, rolling her eyes. "Yes, Spike, we can go to Rarity's next."

"Oh boy!" Spike leapt into her saddle with vim, vigor, vitality, and other "v" adjectives.

* * * * *

The bell over the door of Carousel Boutique rang cheerfully as Twilight and Spike crossed the threshold.

"I'll be with you in a moment, darling," Rarity's voice called out from just beyond a door. "I'm just trying to wrap up one teeeeeeny tiny little detail."

"Rarity," Twilight called out, "it's me."

"Oh, Twilight, dear!" Rarity poked her head through the doorway. "Please, do come in and make yourself at home." She started to turn back to her work, then immediately turned back towards Twilight and Spike, bowing low. "I mean, if you would be so kind, Princess Twilight, I would be ever-so-honored to--"

"Rarity," Twilight said flatly, "it's just me. You don't have to do the whole bow-and-scrape thing."

"Oh, but I insist, darling," Rarity said. "Proprieties must be maintained, or what's the point of being a princess?"

Twilight grinned. "I think being a friend is more important anyway," she said.

"Oh, well, naturally you would, Twilight, considering how you became a princess in the first place." Rarity sat down primly opposite the lavender alicorn. "Well, what brings you to my boutique this fine day?"

"I'm trying to get all the girls together," Twilight said, "because--"

Rarity's eyes widened. "Oh dear, your celebratory picnic! How could I have possibly forgotten it?" She threw herself at Twilight's hooves. "Can you ever forgive me?"

"Rarity," Twilight said.

"I'm ever so sorry, but I'm afraid I shan't be able to attend."

"Rarity," the alicorn repeated.

"You see, I just had a rush order come in from Sapphire Shores and--"

"Rarity!"

"Yes, Twilight?"

"This isn't about the picnic."

"Oh." Rarity picked herself up and sat down primly. "Well, then. By all means, do tell. But make it quick, if you would. I have, as I said, a rush order to complete."

"Right," Twilight said. "In that case, the short version. Ponyville's in trouble. I need everyone together so we can find out what's causing all these riddles and puzzles and stop it."

"What riddles and puzzles, darling?"

Twilight stared. This was not the response she expected. "You're kidding, right?"

"Afraid not, dear." Rarity shrugged. "I've been a bit busy with my own problems, you see."

"What kind of problems?" Twilight had a sinking feeling she knew where this was going.

"Oh, it's just terrible. Awful! Of all the worst things that could happen, this is--"

"Let me guess," Twilight said. "The worst possible thing."

Rarity rolled her eyes. "Please, dear, when you say it like that, it takes all the fun out of it."

"Fun."

"Yes, fun."

"Okay," Twilight said, "skipping that, what's the problem?"

"It's this order for Sapphire Shores," Rarity explained. "I was just getting ready to cut my material when I realized that Sweetie Belle had just ruined the pattern! Fortunately, I still have my design sketch, but it still sets me back far too much to finish in time. She's expecting this jumpsuit to be finished this afternoon!"

"So," said Twilight, "if I can help you with your dress pattern problem--"

"Jumpsuit, dear," Rarity corrected.

"Jumpsuit problem," Twilight continued, "then you'll be free to help me figure out what's causing all these puzzles?"

"I don't see why not," the fashionista replied, "but really, dear, you're hardly the most experienced when it comes to this sort of thing."

"Trust me," Twilight said. "I wouldn't be surprised if this turned out to be some kind of riddle or puzzle or something, instead of something that needs a fashion designer's perspective. Let me see what you have."

"Well, all right. It couldn't make things worse, at any rate."

Puzzle 04
SenSATIONal!
27/30 Bits

Sweetie Belle has drawn all over the pattern for Sapphire Shores' new jumpsuit! With all of these lines here, Rarity can't figure out what's part of her pattern and what's a result of the young filly's rambunctiousness.

Find the jumpsuit's design so that Rarity can finish this commission and join her friends.

Author's Note

Twilight Sparkle's Saddlebags:
Hint Coins: 6
Bits: 108
Mysteries: Ponyville's Plague of Puzzles, The Earth Pony's Spellbook