Meanwhile, at the police station.....
Twilight Sparkle was sitting in a holding cell, feeling rather depressed. She just didn't know what went wrong. Suddenly, a knock on the thick steel door interrupted her thoughts.
"Miss Sparkle," a deep voice called. "You have a visitor."
The door opened to reveal Princess Celestia standing there. Twilight jumped up and rushed over to her.
"Princess!" she cried, relieved to see a familiar face. "Have you come to get me out?"
"I'm afraid not," she replied sadly. "But you needn't worry. Your friends are investigating the case as we speak."
"Really?" Twilight asked hopefully. "Wait. Even Rainbow Dash?!"
"Yes, even Rainbow Dash," Celestia chuckled. "That's actually why I'm here. I've come to bring you something that will allow you to contact your friends, even if they can't visit you."
----------------------
"So.... now what?" Spike said, after they finished their cheer. "We need a plan."
"How bout I deliver these scrolls to the rest of our friends?" Rainbow offered. "I am the fastest one here, after all," she finished proudly.
Spike rolled his eyes. The pegasus never missed a chance to point that out. "Sure, and while you do that, Pinkie and I can check out the crime scene."
"Good idea. Why don't we meet back at the library when we're done?" Rainbow suggested.
Spike nodded. "Sounds good to me."
"Me two!" Pinkie cheered. "I mean, three! I mean.... yeah!"
"Great. See ya in a bit!" Rainbow gathered four of the scroll sets and took off, leaving a rainbow trail behind her. Pinkie and Spike took the last two and then headed for town hall.
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Back at the police station.....
Once the princess had left, one of the guards came over. Twilight felt like she knew him somehow, but couldn't put a hoof on it.
"Miss Sparkle," he began, "though you may be under heavy suspicion, I don't see a need to keep you locked up all the time. You're free to roam the station."
"Really?" Twilight asked in disbelief. "Why.... why are you doing this? Is that even allowed? Not that I'm complaining!"
The guard chuckled. "You probably don't recognize me with the uniform. I'm Sergeant Swift Hooves."
'Swift Hooves? Where do I know that- oh!' Twilight gasped in realization. "You went to school with my brother!"
"That's right. We were best pals back then. If it weren't for him, I might never have become a guard." He smiled at the memory. "I guess in a way I feel like I owe him. I know I only met you a couple times, but Shining Armor was always talking about how proud he was of you. Still does. And if his word counts for anything, I don't think you're the kind of pony who could start a fire. I heard Princess Celestia say your friends were working on an investigation; if they find anything, they can leave it at the front desk. If you can find enough evidence to prove your case, well, I'm sure I can convince the others to give it a look."
"Oh my gosh, thank you so much!" Twilight said gratefully.
"Don't mention it." He smiled, then leaned in closer. "No seriously, don't mention it to anypony. And be sure not to let me catch you messing with anything. Got it?" He winked.
"Understood," she said, winking back.
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Minutes later, Pinkie and Spike arrived at town hall; or at least, what was left of it. Fortunately, the safes and filing cabinets were solid enough to not be damaged much, so nothing too important had been lost. Still, it was a sad sight.
"Okay, we're here," Spike announced. "Where should we look?"
"Well, maybe we could start-" Pinkie was cut off by a buzzing noise.
"What is that?" Spike asked. "Is it a bee?"
"Nah, my nose didn't get itchy," Pinkie noted. A moment later, she said, "Woah! I think there's something in my saddlebag!" She quickly sat down and opened it to find two buzzing scrolls.
"Neat!" Spike said. "We must be getting a message!"
Pinkie took hers out and opened it. "It's a message from Twilight! The princess must've gotten the scroll to her!"
"Let me see!" Spike grabbed his out so he could read too.
Pinkie? Spike? Rainbow? Are you guys getting this? It's Twilight!
"It's her! It's really her!" Spike exclaimed.
Pinkie took out her quill and ink and wrote back:
Twilight! It's Pinkie! We're sooo glad you're ok! What's up? Life in the slammer treating you ok? DON'T LET THEM BREAK YOUR FREE SPIRIT!
Yes Pinkie, I'm ok. But how are you and the girls? Is Spike there? Is he ok?
TWILIGHT! I miss you so much!
I miss you too, Spike. Princess Celestia told me you're... investigating?
Yupperooni! We're at Town Hall right now!
Really? That's perfect! I need you guys to get a sample to test for accelerants.
How do we do that?
First, get a small glass tube. You can find some in my lab, Spike knows where they are.
Okay, then what?
Then, get a sample as close to the point of origin as you can.
Huh?
Where the fire started. You know, the thermostat.
Oh. Okey dokey lokey! We're on it!
Great. Deliver it to the police station when you're done. Swift Hooves said you could drop stuff off at the front desk.
Swift Hooves? Do I know that name from somewhere?
He's a friend of my brother's from school. He's... kind of helping me out.
Great! We'll need all the help we can get.
Well, I should go. There's some things around the station I'd like to have a look at.
Okay! We'll get ya that sample!
Tucking the scrolls away again, Pinkie turned to Spike. "C'mon! Let's get back to the library!"