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 bitsPinkie 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.)
