I’m happy to help you out with your investigation, Ms. Twilight, but I’m not sure I have any useful information about the tragedy at town hall. I didn’t attend the concert last night. I saw the smoke, but that was all.
What caused the fire?
I don’t know, but I have a theory.
Let’s start with what happened two days ago. The day before the concert, a mail carrier gave me a letter in a blank envelope. What was her name? Ditzy, maybe?
She told me the letter was an extra-special one that she had been asked to deliver personally. I was curious, of course, so I opened up the envelope and took a look at it.
My heart froze.
The letter read, Your secret isn’t a secret anymore. Come to the town hall storage room at five o’clock tomorrow morning, or else.
It was blackmail.
Somepony knew my secret. Soon everypony would know it. I had only one chance to make things right. At five o’clock in the morning, I’d be waiting in the storage room in town hall.
I had no other choice.
What was my secret?
I’ll tell you, Ms. Twilight. I’ve wasted too many years worrying about what other ponies think of me. It’s time for me to be myself.
I want to be a dentist.
It’s crazy, but I think my Cutie Mark is wrong. Who decides our Cutie Marks, anyway? Is my destiny really determined by a mark on my flank? Not anymore! I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul!
I wasn’t exactly this confident when I received the letter two days ago. I was terrified. I wanted to keep my secret, well, a secret.
The next day—the day of the fire—I found myself shivering in the dark, frigid storage room on the uppermost floor of town hall. Now that the building is a smoking mound of ashes, the room is gone. I’ll have to describe it to you.
Junk was piled everywhere, which surprised me. I’d expected the storage room to be neat because town hall was the cleanest, tidiest place in Ponyville. The building was especially elegant because of the upcoming concert. Everything had been scrubbed, polished and decorated until the hall was a bright blaze of colored silks and shining surfaces.
Looking back, I bet town hall was so neat because all its mess was crammed willy-nilly into that storage room. Besides the clutter, the place was just dirty. Moonlight filtered in through two grimy windows, barely illuminating crates, boxes, chairs, podiums and tapestries, all covered by a thick layer of dust. Gritty cobwebs filled the corners, and one or two brave spiders struggled across the filthy floor.
One thing was weird. There was a single crate that wasn’t covered in dust. It was a plain wooden box with the letters DIN printed on the side. I still wonder what it was. It’s weird for such a small detail to leave such a large impression, but I can’t shake the feeling that the box was really, really important. It even came up in a conversation later that day—but I should get back to my story, shouldn’t I?
A pony arrived at last, a blue unicorn with a starry robe and a pointed hat. Lifting the hem of her robe, she dusted it off and looked around with an expression of bitter distaste.
“What is this?” she demanded. “Who the hay are you? The great and powerful Trixie demands to know what you’re doing in this disgusting place!”
I cleared my throat. “Um, hi. I, uh, got your letter.”
The great and powerful Trixie dropped the hem of her robe. It raised a little cloud of dust as it hit the floor, but she didn’t seem to notice.
“You got my letter?” she exclaimed. “I told that half-witted mail carrier to give the letter to Mayor Mare.” A wicked glint came into Trixie’s eyes. “So you came instead, did you? That means you have a secret. Well, this might be worth Trixie’s time after all. Out with it. What’s your secret?”
I changed the subject. “You sent that letter to Mayor Mare?”
“She dyes her mane,” said Trixie, shrugging. “It’s naturally pink, but she tries to fool everypony into thinking it’s a respectable, professional gray. I thought I could blackmail her into canceling tonight’s concert.”
“Why?”
A shadow passed over Trixie’s face. “Twilight Sparkle,” she hissed. “That smug, awful, ugly excuse for a magician humiliated Trixie, and Trixie does not forgive. This concert is Twilight’s special project. She’s been planning it for months.” Trixie kicked at the floor, raising a storm of dust. “Princess Celestia herself is coming to hear the performances. Trixie will ruin this concert, and Twilight will be totally disgraced.”
I stared at Trixie in horror. She was smiling, but it was an ugly smile, and there was something awful in her eyes. A snarl of hatred would have been less frightening that that bitter, mocking smirk.
As we stood looking at each other, something happened that’s hard for me to describe. I saw myself in Trixie. No, that’s not it. I looked at Trixie and saw the pony I was becoming: a pony obsessed with her image, a pony who would do anything, anything to make it seem perfect.
To see myself in Trixie frightened me.
It also made me angry.
“How dare you!”
I advanced on Trixie. Her smirk vanished, replaced by an expression of panic, and she began to back away.
“I don’t know what Twilight did to you, but what you’re planning is evil,” I yelled, stamping for emphasis. A gentle shower of dust fell from the ceiling.
“I should be going—” began Trixie, but I didn’t give her the chance to finish.
“Mayor Mare is innocent, and you’re trying to blackmail her!” I shouted. “And has it occurred to you that by ruining the concert you’ll be hurting every single pony involved? What about the musicians who’ve spent weeks practicing? What about the audience members who’ve paid for tickets? And did you know the profits from the concert will be donated to an orphanage in Canterlot? What about those orphans, Trixie?”
Trixie had backed up against the dirty wall of the storage room. Unable to retreat farther, she cowered beneath her hat with her eyes shut.
I took a deep breath and continued in a colder, calmer voice. “You want to know my secret? Fine. I want to be a dentist, and I don’t care anymore if you or anypony in Equestria think I’m crazy. If I keep obsessing over my image, I’m going to end up a selfish, narcissistic pony like you.”
Trixie whimpered.
“Go ahead and value your reputation more than the lives of other ponies,” I said, resisting the urge to yell again. “I can’t stop you, but I won’t let you stop Twilight’s concert. Now get out of Ponyville, and don’t come back until you’ve learned some kindness!”
I finished, breathing heavily.
A moment passed. The dust settled. Trixie opened an eye and peered nervously at me.
“This town is crazy,” she murmured. “The great and powerful Trixie won’t stick around any longer.” Her alarm seemed to subside, and a smirk slipped onto her face. “Don’t think this is over. Trixie may not have prevented the concert, but she made sure it will end badly.”
“What have you done?”
“Oh, not much. A few hours ago, Trixie broke into a house and damaged a couple of instruments—a string bass and a music console—that are supposed to be used in the concert tonight. That’s two flaws in Twilight’s perfect project. It’s not quite the grand finale Trixie hoped to see, but it’s better than nothing. Now it’s time for the great and powerful Trixie to be shaking the dust from her hooves and moving on!”
A puff of black smoke filled the room. By the time it cleared, Trixie was gone.
That’s my story, Twilight. While I’m not sure, I think Trixie may have slipped back into town hall last night and started the fire that burned down the building. It’s just a theory.
I may have yelled at the great and powerful Trixie, but I was really screaming at myself. It took her smirking face to show me how wrong I’ve been all this time. I don’t want to be like Trixie, worrying constantly about my reputation. I want to follow my dreams.
I am the master of my fate, and I’ve decided to be a dentist.
I sure hope you figure out what caused that fire, Ms. Twilight. Good luck!