-The Harmony Challenge-
"It's that time of year again! The Ponyville Days Festival is coming up, and this year will be a special treat for all, so grab your quills and strap on your thinking saddles, The Harmony Challenge is here! Teams of up to six may compete in the week long challenge.
The first team to find all six Element Medallions will win the honor to participate in the opening ceremony of the Ponyville Days Festival, as well as meeting Princess Celestia! Not only that, the leader of the winning team will choose the item to represent our town in the Equestrian Time Capsule to personally present to Princess Celestia herself! Sign up soon to tackle the challenge to try and win the honor of sending your own message into the future!"
Twilight Sparkle had been looking over the flyer for the Harmony Challenge for the Ponyville Days Festival again. This year it was going to be extra special, not only because of the competition, but because the winners would decide the item for the new Equestrian Time Capsule. The Princesses were gathering an item from every town and city in Equestria to fill it, and once it was finished, it was to be presented and sealed at the next Grand Equestrian Summit. It would soon be Ponyville's turn, and it happened to also be the time of the Ponyville Days Festival, so it had been decided that it would be part of the event.
Usually such things were left to that year's Pony of Ceremonies, (this year being Miss Cheerilee) but she had suggested to get the whole town involved, which led to the organization of The Harmony Challenge. Ponies were to form teams of at least three, to work together to find the "Element Medallions," which were medals made to look like the Elements of Harmony, since they were so closely connected to the town.
Obviously, though, those could not be placed into the capsule.
Each day for one week, the teams would receive a clue to the location of one of the hidden "elements." Their task was to figure out the clues and find them. The team who found all six, or, in the event that none of the teams found all six, whoever had the most medallions, would win.
Twilight had decided to enter with some of her friends. Sadly, several of them were too busy with preparations for the festival to compete. Applejack was busy helping with the catering. Fluttershy had to practice with her bird choir. And Rarity had offered to help Cheerilee with decorating.
Though mostly to avoid anything that might involve "getting dirty."
So instead, Twilight had formed a team, (Team Friendship, as they had named it) with Spike, her trusty dragon assistant, Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty and, according to her, "bestest flyer in all of Equestria," and Pinkie Pie, Element of Laughter and the most random pony Twilight had ever met.
Twilight set down the flyer and levitated the latest clue over with her dark pink magic. The clue said:
Setting: Storage Room
Action:
TOM THE STAR IN THE HOLDNOT WALL.
"What do you think it means, Twilight?" asked Spike, who was sitting across the table from her. "I mean, who the hay is Tom? And how can a star be in a hold not wall? And what IS a holdnot wall?!" The baby dragon sighed in frustration and rested his head on the table.
Twilight didn't answer as she squinted at the note. She knew it had to be some kind of code. The question was, what?
"I've got it!" she cried a moment later.
"Ack!" Spike said, startled by the sudden outburst. He fell off the stool he had been sitting on.
"Sorry Spike," Twilight apologized. "But I finally figured it out!"
"Well I kinda gathered that," he said, rubbing his head as he stood. "So, what is it?"
"It's an Anagram," Twilight explained.
"An Ana-what now?" Spike asked in confusion.
"An Anagram," she repeated. "It's a code where the letters of the words are all scrambled to form new words."
"So what does this one say?"
"Well, if my guess is correct, I think I'm supposed to go check the thermostat in the town hall," she said.
"That's kinda weird," Spike said. "Guess we better get going, anyhow."
"No Spike. Why don't you stay here in case the others come by? I'll go check it out myself and tell you what I find. Besides, someone has to stay here in case somepony wants to check out a book. This is a public library, after all," she reminded him.
"Fine," Spike groaned. "You guys always get to have all the fun," he muttered under his breath.
"Thanks Spike. It's a big help," Twilight said, getting a smile out of him.
She then walked to the door, levitating her saddlebags over to her, making sure she had everything she needed.
"Checklist? Check. Quill? Check. Backup Quill? Check. Backup Quill for the Backup Quill? Check."
Spike rolled his eyes. Sometimes, Twilight was a little too organized.
"And, Journal..... Check. Okay, I'm ready." She turned to Spike. "I'll be back soon," she said, and walked out the door.
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Twilight Sparkle entered the Town Hall about five minutes later. The place seemed deserted, which seemed a little odd.
'Everypony's probably just gone home for the day. It is getting kind of late,' Twilight thought as she looked out the window. The sun was beginning to set, and it would be dinnertime soon.
'Still,' Twilight thought, 'There shouldn't be any problem with me coming in here. Right? It's not like I have some kind of official business to do here.'
She looked around for a moment, before finding a sign that said "Storage Room This Way." She headed down the hallway the sign pointed to.
She passed several doors on the way, taking a few turns, and she was starting to wonder if she had somehow missed it, before finally coming to a door marked 'Storage.'
"At last," she said, breathing a sigh of relief. She still wasn't sure how a thermostat was going to help her find the next medallion, but she figured she'd soon find out.
Using her magic to open the door, Twilight stepped inside and looked around. There wasn't much there, oddly enough, just a few stacks of boxes and a couple of crates here and there. Finally her eyes fell upon the thermostat.
"There it is! Now, what am I supposed to do with it?" she wondered.
Just as she took a few steps forward to inspect it closer, she heard the door slam shut behind her, followed by the sound of a key turning in a lock.
"Who's there?" she called out, trying to hide the fear in her voice. 'Maybe it's nothing,' she thought. 'Maybe Rainbow stopped by the Library and Spike told her where I was, so she decided to follow me and play a prank on me. Yeah, that makes sense,' she thought. Although, how would Rainbow Dash have a key to the town hall storage room?
Her attention was drawn back to the thermostat when she heard the crackling of sparks. Turning around, she saw an ice cube appeared to be stuck to it.
"An ice cube?" she said, curious. "What in the world could that- Aahh!" she shrieked as there were several more sparks, before the thermostat burst into flames!
The fire was quickly spreading to the walls. Twilight began to panic. What was going on here?!
That question was one she couldn't answer at the moment. All she knew was that she had to escape. Now.
She ran to the door, jiggling the handle. The door didn't budge. "Oh no!" she cried. "I forgot somepony locked it!"
'What do I do, what do I do?' her thoughts screamed at her. She put a hoof to her head, trying to steady her thoughts. She had to focus if she was going to find a way out.
That was when she felt her horn. "Oh yeah...." she said, embarrassed that she had temporarily forgotten she could do magic. "I can teleport!"
The fire was spreading fast, and the smoke was building up. She coughed, trying to keep the smoke out of her lungs.
"Okay *cough* just need to *cough* focus my mind," she whispered to herself. She closed her eyes and pictured the town hall lobby, right before the main doors.
Her horn began to light up with magic, surrounding her in a magic bubble, before she disappeared in a bright flash.
Seconds later, she reappeared in the lobby, just as she had pictured. The fire was really spreading now, the smoke getting thicker by the minute. Her eyes began to burn, as well as her lungs, desperate to get fresh air. Wasting no time, she burst through the main doors to the outside.
-----------
Twilight burst out the doors, stumbling down the front steps. She coughed violently, trying to clear her lungs of the awful smoke as she gulped in the fresh, clean air.
There was already a small crowd of ponies gathered, and they all turned in shock as she hurriedly exited the burning building.
Suddenly, a microphone was being shoved in her face by a goldenrod colored unicorn with a bright red and yellow mane.
"Twilight Sparkle, what were your reasons for burning down town hall?" she asked somewhat accusingly.
"What? But I didn't-" Twilight started before the unicorn, apparently a reporter, interrupted her.
"Was this politically motivated?" she demanded. "Perhaps as a protest of sorts?"
"Absolutely not!" Twilight exclaimed defensively. "I would never-"
She was cut off yet again, this time by a voice undoubtedly belonging to a stallion. "No press until we've taken statements from everyone," the voice said. The reporter pouted at this, but backed off. Twilight turned to see several royal guards, which she recognized as part of Princess Celestia's Royal Guard.
Sure enough, about twenty feet away, stood the Sun Princess herself, next to her chariot. It appeared she had arrived after she finished lowering the sun. Twilight recalled the Princess saying she would arrive a few days before the festival. The guards must have taken notice of the fire and rushed over to help.
-----------
Twilight had been pulled aside by one of the guards to be questioned, just like all the others had.
"State your name for the record," he told her.
"Twilight Sparkle," she replied.
"Where were you when the fire broke out?" he asked.
Twilight bit her lip. She knew this would make her sound incredibly suspicious, but she knew better than to lie. "I was locked in the room where the fire started," she replied.
The guard raised an eyebrow. "What were you doing there?" he asked her.
"Someone sent me a note, telling me to go there," she replied, knowing that also must sound suspicious.
The guard looked at her for a moment, before continuing. "Was there anything strange about the way the fire was burning?"
Twilight thought for a moment. "The fire spread through the whole building in a matter of seconds."
The guard wrote this down before saying, "What was the color of the smoke?"
"Black," Twilight responded. She remembered that clearly.
He nodded. "Did you notice anything else odd?"
"Well, there was a snowflake shaped ice cube on the thermostat," she recalled.
"Interesting," the guard muttered. "Did you see anyone else at the scene?"
"Yes. There was Trixie Lulamoon, Cranky Doodle, Mayor Mare, and that reporter pony," Twilight stated.
"Do you believe somepony intentionally started the fire?" he asked. "If so, who?"
"Well, yes," Twilight admitted. "I just don't know who. But it wasn't me! I know my story may sound... fishy, but I swear it's the truth," she finished.
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The next day....
Twilight frowned at the newspaper article she was reading. It was about the fire the previous night. The article appeared to have been written by Sunset Shimmer, the nosy unicorn reporter Twilight had met last night. She had thought she seemed somewhat familiar.
-"'There you have it. A former hero and icon rendered speechless.
And speechless is the word of the day, as onlookers struggle to deal with the destruction of the beloved town hall, by none other than the Element of Magic and precious student of Princess Celestia they all had trusted their safety, their lives, homes and jobs to.
Truly a sad day for Ponyville."
-Sunset Shimmer, Ponyville Express
Twilight tossed the newspaper back onto the table with a flop.
"I still can't believe that happened! What a doozy!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. She had come over first thing in the morning after reading what had happened. (somehow she had missed the sirens and guards the night before)
"I know. It was pretty scary," Twilight agreed.
"Did you see what started the fire?" Pinkie asked.
"Yeah, it was really strange. There was an ice cube on the thermostat..."
Twilight was interrupted-she was really getting tired of that- by a knock on the front door.
Twilight trotted down the stairs from her personal quarters to the main part of the library, and over to the door. When she opened it, she was shocked to see Princess Celestia, standing next to a couple of guards.
"Princess?" Twilight asked. "What's going on?"
"Twilight Sparkle, you are under arrest for the arson of the Town Hall last night," one of the guards informed her, while another came forward to place a cone over her horn to prevent her from using her magic.
"But-but I had nothing to do with that!" Twilight exclaimed. "Princess Celestia," she pleaded, "I didn't do anything wrong! Please believe me!"
The Princess avoided Twilight's gaze. "I- my hooves are tied, Twilight. I'm sorry," she said quietly.
"W-what? No! P-please! I didn't do it! You have to believe me!" Twilight begged.
But the Princess said nothing.
Spike and Pinkie Pie had rushed down, hearing the commotion. They gasped at seeing Twilight being led away by royal guards.
"Hey!" Pinkie said. "Where are you going with Twilight?" She lit up. "Ooh! Is it a party? Because if so, this isn't a very good way to invite someone." She noticed the Magic Blocker on Twilight's horn. "And that party hat is terrible," she added.
"This isn't a party Pinkie Pie!" Spike nearly shouted. "Twilight's being arrested!"
"WWWWHHHHHAAAATTTT?!?!??!!" Pinkie shrieked. "Stop right there, ya big mean mean meanie-pants! Twilight hasn't done anything wrong!"
"Yeah!" Spike agreed. "Let her go! Or you'll have to answer to me!" He took a deep breath, then blew out a thin trail of green fire. "Erm.... Gimme a second to warm up here...."
"Oh, I get it! Warm up! Cuz it's fire? Good one Spike!" Pinkie said, collapsing on the floor in a fit of giggles.
Spike watched her for a moment, then ran over to Twilight's side, hugging her foreleg protectively.
"Let go, little dragon," one of the guards grunted.
"You let Twilight go first!" Spike shot back.
"Spike...." Twilight said softly.
"No!" Spike cried. "I'm not letting them take you!" His eyes were getting teary.
"Spike, let go," Twilight softly commanded.
"But..." Spike sniffled.
"I don't want them to arrest you too. Besides, I'll be fine, okay? The truth will come to light. It always does. And then I'll be back. Okay?"
Spike sniffled again. Then with one last squeeze, he reluctantly stepped back, glaring at the guards as they led Twilight off.
"Spike, I'm-," Celestia started.
"Don't talk to me!" Spike cried. He knew Twilight would smack him if she heard him say that to the Princess, but she wasn't there, and he was too angry.
"You must understand. There was nothing I could do. I don't like this any more than you do, but-"
"But you're the Princess! The co-ruler of all Equestria! How could there possibly be NOTHING you can do?" Spike demanded.
Celestia hung her head. "Just because I am a Princess doesn't mean I can just do anything I please. Twilight is being accused of a serious crime. There is evidence against her, and she has no alibi. I cannot simply wave my hoof and get her off the hook because she is my student. I know she is innocent, but I'm afraid I cannot help to prove that."
"Then.... how can we help Twilight? We can't just stand around and let her rot in the Hooskow!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. She had stopped her giggling fit some time ago, and now also seemed to be about to cry.
"The Hooskow?" Spike questioned.
"You are Twilight's friends. Together all of you share the bonds of friendship. And as you know, friendship is a powerful thing. Together, you can help Twilight. You can do what I cannot. Do not give up hope, my little pony. And dragon," Celestia added. "If there is any way in which I can help, I will certainly do so. But I know you have what it takes." She smiled.
"Yessiree, Ma'am Sir!" Pinkie said with a salute. She turned to Spike. "C'mon! We got work to do!"
"I'll leave you to it," the Princess said, and with that, she flew off.
"What's the Hooskow?" Spike asked again.
Just then, Rainbow Dash landed down next to them.
"Hey guys," she said. "What'd I miss?"