//------------------------------// // Puzzle 5: Buckball Games // Story: School of Logic: a Collection of Puzzles involving the Student Six // by Coyotek4 //------------------------------// Of all the classes to miss … why’d it have to be Professor Dash’s? Gallus muses to himself as he works on a paper for another class while holed up in Headmare Twilight’s office. He stretches his left wing for a moment before wincing and pulling it back. “You probably just overextended your wing,” Twilight suggests as she pores over her latest curriculum updates. “You should be fine in the morning, as long as you don’t exert yourself too much this afternoon.” Gallus sighs. “It was supposed to be a friendly flying competition between me and Smolder … I guess I got a little carried away.” “I would have thought you and the others would know better after seeing how some of your professors can get,” Twilight lectures. “In any case, what’s done is done and now you have time to catch up on your studies.” “But Buckball Day,” Gallus pines. “The one day when classwork doesn’t involve any actual learning.” “Teamwork, good sportscreatureship, being there for your teammates during both wins and losses … seems to me that you can learn a lot from activities like that. And who better to teach?” Gallus ponders Twilight’s comment. “Well, thanks for trying to make it sound boring,” he replies before refocusing on his paper. Twilight chuckles at the comment before setting herself back to her tasks. … A knock on the door catches Twilight’s attention. “Come in!” she calls out. The door gently opens and Ocellus flutters into the office, followed by the rest of her classmates. “You ready to head back to the dorm?” she asks. “Just about,” Gallus replies as he puts his work away. “So how’d your buckball games go?” “Pretty well,” she responds. “We were all on five different teams. No names given, just ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘D’, and ‘E’. There wasn’t enough time for every team to play every other, but all teams played either two or three games, always against different opponents. And of course, there were no ties.” “Sounds like it was fun,” Gallus dejectedly points out. “So who won?” Instinctively, all four remaining students begin calling out different game results. “Whoa, whoa, whoa … I don’t have 20 ears, you know! One at a time.” The four students look to each other, before Silverstream continues: “A beat B, but B beat C. Then again, E beat B. Oh, and E beat D, too.” Sandbar speaks next: “A beat C and A also beat E. Oh, and B beat D.” Yona follows: “B beat D, C beat A, and D beat C.” Smolder finishes up: “Well … A beat E but D beat A. Also, B beat D.” Gallus looks from one student to the next. “Those was some strangely random results you all just gave me.” He turns towards Ocellus. “Don’t you have any results to add?” “No, but I do have this to say: Any result given by somecreature who was on one of the teams mentioned is true, but all the other results stated are false.” Gallus’s jaw drops. “So for example,” Ocellus continues, “If Yona was on team A, then C did beat A … but if she was on team B instead, then C didn’t beat A; C either lost to A or didn’t play A at all.” “I understand what you said,” Gallus declares, “but why would you bother giving me the results this way.” “Well …” Ocellus slowly admits, “… professor Rainbow Dash heard about how much fun Headmare Twilight had solving Applejack’s puzzle with the squirrels and chipmunks, so she wanted to give her a puzzle of her own.” “… You’re kidding.” “She may have asked for my assistance in creating it,” Ocellus continues. Gallus slaps his right wing to his head, then turns to Twilight. “Feel free to explain this one, headmare.” Twilight smiles. “… what?” “Remember what I said after the last puzzle? I think you’ll prove to be up for this challenge … and I would prefer you not being dismissed for the day until you’ve solved it.”