//------------------------------//
// Day 2, Afternoon 
// Story: Troubled Water 
// by Twisparkfiles 
//------------------------------//

Interrogation I: Fluttershy
Last time I checked, the role of victim suited Fluttershy better than the culprit. In all my years living in Ponyville, she’s the last pony I’d consider as a suspect. But what kind of investigator pardons her best friend even when the evidence seems to suggest otherwise? The line clearly led to her pond, a convenient oasis. Wasn’t she informed about the water shortage? I guess she wouldn’t bother, given that she gets her water from the nearby river.
I’m faced with a decision that could break my ties with one of my best friends. If I blame her for the wrong reasons, I might as well say goodbye to our friendship. If the evidence points to her, I’ll have no choice but to implicate her of water theft, which can also ruin our friendship. There must be something in this mystery that can clear her name. I didn’t want to lose a friend, but I also had a duty to the public. 
Oh, Fluttershy, please forgive me if this interrogation turns south for you.

Day 2, 12:02 p.m.
Noon reached its peak, but the heat had yet to reach its hottest point of the day. Somewhere along the road to Fluttershy’s place, a confrontation has already come to a boil. A pond thriving with marine life in a sea of dryness made a mockery of everypony’s struggle to look for water. It’s a good thing only Twilight and Spike were present in the scene. Depending on the type of answer Fluttershy gave, they may even help her clear her of any wrongdoing.  
But reluctance had a tight grip on Twilight’s decision-making. Stuck between a hard and harder place, she silently struggled in choosing between friendship and duty. In front of her stood Fluttershy, the last pony in Equestria Twilight wanted to accuse of water theft, let alone any heinous crime. The fear on the timid pony’s face grew more apparent, much to the point that even the fish began to worry. The two friends needed to talk, but the topic was far from friendly.
“Fluttershy,” Twilight started hesitantly. “Did you know there’s a water shortage in Ponyville right now?”
“Um…yes?” Fluttershy answered without missing a beat.
“Well, then,” Twilight continued. “Can you explain why this pond doesn’t seem to be affected?”
“What do you mean?” Fluttershy said, but she may as well be pretending not to know. 
Twilight continued to press her friend for information by getting straight to the point. “Fluttershy, you have an entire river close to your place,” she said. “Why do you need to draw water from Ponyville?”
“But I get my water from the river, like I always do,” Fluttershy replied, feeling the tense atmosphere.
“Then explain this,” Twilight said, pointing to her accurate steel mold. “This connection wasn’t part of Ponyville's original water network. It was installed recently and goes along the road to your place. What’s it doing here?”
“I…I don’t know,” Fluttershy answered, shying away from her interrogator. “I didn’t even notice there was a pipe there.”
Twilight didn’t buy her explanations. Thanks to her strict attention to detail, she could see right through Fluttershy’s anxiety habits. Twilight pressed on with the investigation despite her fears for the worst. In her mind, the welfare of an entire town weighed more heavily than that of one friend, as much as she hated that reality. As the lantern on her head lit up as bright as the sun, her confidence shot up in a whim.
“Very well,” Twilight said calmly. “Lead the way.”
“Lead where?” replied Fluttershy.
“To the river. Where else?”
Fluttershy fell silent, but she refused to move. Just as Twilight’s confidence shot up, Fluttershy’s heart sank. “Um…I don’t think you want to go there right now,” she spoke up shortly. 
The response was just as Twilight expected, but it was too soon to say “Aha!” She kept pressing Fluttershy for info while looking unassuming. “Why not?” she asked.
“Well…um, it’s not safe there right now,” Fluttershy answered, shying away again.
“Not safe?” Twilight asked in reply. “How come?”
“I…I don’t want to talk about it.”
At that point, Twilight became convinced that her friend was hiding something. For the record, a question as an answer isn’t really an answer to a question. “Fluttershy, you’re making me ask ‘why’ over and over,” Twilight said. “It’s not helping.”
But the stern scolding did nothing to break Fluttershy’s silence. She shied away again, only to make Twilight more determined to make her spill the beans. 
“Well then,” Twilight said sternly. “If you won’t take me to the river, I’ll go there myself. Come on, Spike.” 
Soon enough, she and Spike went their way, clearly paying no heed to Fluttershy’s warning. After all, she and her PFFs have dealt with dangers that nearly spelled doom for Equestria dozens of times. There’s no reason for her not to deal with whatever was putting the river in deep trouble (no pun intended).
“Twilight, wait,” Fluttershy said, catching up to Twilight by flying. “You really can’t go there right now. It’s too dangerous.”
“Come on,” Twilight replied with skepticism. “How bad could it be?”
“Really, really bad, Twilight,” Fluttershy said frantically. “Please don’t go.”
“If it will solve Ponyville’s water problem, then I’ll take my chances,” Twilight replied, bristling with confidence.
Fluttershy kept pleading while growing more desperate, not to mention vulnerable to suspicion. “But you don’t understand,” she said. “I know what’s making Ponyville dry.”
“Oh, you do?” Twilight scowled. “Well, you should’ve told me that when I asked you the first time. But since we’re not at the river yet, I will ask you one more time. What in Celestia’s name is going on?” 
Fluttershy hesitated once more with another “how” type of answer. “Well, you see, it’s…it’s hard to explain.”
“Too bad, I’m not buying it,” Twilight scowled even more.
“Please believe me, Twilight,” Fluttershy replied, nearly falling down on her knees. “I get my water from the river. It lost some water but still had plenty.”
“Then why do you have a pipeline running to your place from Ponyville?”
“I really have no idea about that pipe. I even volunteered to give up my line to help Ponyville stock up on water.”
“You mean the line I accidentally ruined?”
Not a single word from Fluttershy came out to challenge Twilight’s spot-on deduction. 
“I’m sorry, Fluttershy,” Twilight added. “But I have to disagree. When I traveled along the line before meeting you here, I noticed that the line had a little bit more water. It’s funny considering that the rest of the network is all but bone dry.”
“What do you mean?” Fluttershy said.
“If you really have given up your rights to Ponyville’s water, then that pipe shouldn’t have been used. Unless there’s another building around here, the only sensible destination for this pipe is right your cottage.” Twilight concluded, pointing her hoof toward Fluttershy. 
The noose tightened around Fluttershy as she saw her options dwindle. Her mind had run out of excuses, her mouth had exhausted all possible words. It was time to come clean, starting with a deep sigh of defeat. “Okay, Twilight, you win,” she said. “I’m sorry for keeping the truth away from you. I guess I was just…scared.”
“Fluttershy,” Twilight replied, this time with a friendly tone. “I know there’s more to this than meets the eye. But this water crisis has already driven some ponies into a riot. If I can’t find the culprit soon, Ponyville will be in utter disarray. I need you to tell me everything you know. Spare no detail.”
Fluttershy took a deep breath and nodded in agreement. 

Day 2, 12:31 p.m.
Twilight, Fluttershy, and Spike made haste to the river, a five-minute trek through the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. Twilight expected to see bad news upon arriving at the riverbank, but what she saw was worse. One of Equestria’s major rivers, the only river cutting through the dangerous woodland, trickled under the mercy of the unrelenting heat. Rocks that were used as things for a drowning pony to hold on now were towering pillars spread across the chasm. Any fish flapping on a dry riverbed was lucky enough to be rescued and placed in one of Fluttershy’s temporary ponds, like the one Twilight saw. Fluttershy didn’t need to utter a word; Twilight made sense of the whole situation. 	
“I couldn’t leave the poor creatures,” Fluttershy said. “So I picked them up and put them in a pond like the one you saw.”
Astonishment best described Twilight’s response. It was expected of Ponyville’s animal shepherd. “You really thought this through, Fluttershy,” she replied. “I’m impressed.”
“Oh, well…um, it’s nothing, really,” said Fluttershy. “But I couldn’t make enough ponds on time. This is the first time the river has dried up so much.”
"You mean," Twilight replied in utter disbelief. "The river hasn't been this dry before?"
"Not at all." 
“An entire river sucked dry…the problem is far worse than I imagined.”
Nopony ever thought that the crisis in Ponyville would spill outside. A major tributary sucked dry should’ve set off alarms in Canterlot by now. It doesn't take much for Princess Celestia to recognize an emergency when she sees one. It should’ve been breaking news in the morning paper or the talk of the town. The more Twilight put the pieces on hoof, the more elusive the case grew. To top it off, the heat sapped her of most of her cognitive powers. 
Spike noticed Twilight looking sickly. “Twilight,” he said. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Twilight replied. “Just…a bit dizzy, that’s all.”
“Maybe we should continue the investigation during the cooler part of the day.” Spike suggested.
But Twilight shrugged her fatigue off. “No, I’m fine," she said. "We can’t afford any more delays.”
"Are you sure?"
The heat may have done a number to Twilight, but it did little to affect her attention to detail. While scanning the length of the riverbed, her eyes locked on to a faint glint of silver not far from her position. “Huh?” she said. “What’s that over there?”
“What’s what?” Spike replied, looking to where Twilight was looking. “I don’t see anything?”
“I saw something!” Twilight cried, jumping onto the dry riverbed without hesitation and running toward the glint. 
“Spike,” said Fluttershy, grossly worried. “Is Twilight okay? I don’t see anything, either.”
“If you ask me, Twilight’s never okay,” replied Spike. “Well, almost never okay.”
Despite their skepticism, Spike and Fluttershy went after Twilight who was struggling to pull something out of the ground with her magic. The ground cracked under the pull of magic, the veil of mystery slowly coming off the item itself. A huge steel helm took off like Tom hurled from a Party Cannon, nailing Twilight in the face with enough force to crack Canterlot’s walls. Much to the relief of her friends, her face remained whole; yet,  her eyes reflected a certain, wall-eyed mare’s look.
“You okay, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked.
Twilight rapidly shook her head and said: “Now I know how an apple tree at Sweet Apple Acres feels.”
“More importantly,” Fluttershy said, pointing to the huge helm. “What’s that you have there?”
Twilight looked at the loot she just scored. “Looks like an awfully big helm,” she said. “Too big for a pony’s head.”
“Then who does it belong to?”
For some reason, the helm looked all too familiar. It lacked protection for the wearer's face. Judging by the thinness of the steel, a well-placed hit by a rock may as well be a recipe for a concussion. If she could just remember what creature in Equestria had a head as big as this helm, it would be a step closer to wrapping this case up. Fortunately, it didn’t take long.
“Come to think of it,” Twilight said, looking at the helm some more. “I seem to recall the Diamond Dogs wearing steel helms as big as this.”
“The Diamond Dogs?” Fluttershy replied in shock.
“All but three dogs do,” Twilight said. “But what’s this helm doing here?”
“Makes sense,” Spike said jokingly. “Big helms to protect their small brains. Ha, ha…”
“Oookay,” Twilight returned a jaded response. “Jokes aside, I think I know where to go next.” 
Spike’s face lit up. “You do?” he said.
“Yes,” Twilight said. “But I need to ask Fluttershy a few more questions to confirm some details.”
Fluttershy and Spike looked at each other while Twilight went into deep thinking mode. The dirty helm intrigued her in several ways. Did the wearer drop it by accident? Did someone intentionally left it here? She couldn’t tell. After a few seconds of silence, she turned her attention to Fluttershy.
“Tell me, Fluttershy,” Twilight said. “Assuming you’ve forfeited your water supply from Ponyville, how do you keep up with the drought?”
“Well,” Fluttershy replied. “I primarily get my water from the river here."
“But the river’s dry as a desert, as you can see,” Twilight said, pointing to the trickling tributary. “How did you manage to reopen the line?”
The investigation quickly hit another lock. Fluttershy responded with utter silence, much to Twilight’s dismay. For a moment, the latter thought her friend had already agreed to “spare no detail.” What could be holding Fluttershy back this time?
“Come on, Fluttershy,” said Twilight with a hint of frustration. “The more you refuse to talk, the more agitated Ponyville will grow. Aren't you at least a bit concerned?”
However, the sound of silence stayed, as if civil unrest was a small price to pay for a secret to be kept out of the light. Instead of Ponyville growing more agitated, it was Twilight. “Why won’t you talk about it?” she said.
“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said in utter defiance. “I really can’t talk about that.”
“You have to talk,” Twilight said. “This is Ponyville we’re talking about. Do you want to be banished or thrown into the dungeon for endangering innocent ponies?”
“I want to help you, Twilight,” Fluttershy responded. “I really do. But I just…can’t.”
“Then, for Celestia’s sake, why not?”
“I made a Pinkie promise to never tell anypony.”
“You WHAT?!” Twilight yelled in shock and disbelief. "You made a Pinkie promise to a bunch of thieves? What in Celestia's name were you thinking?"
The outburst of emotion caused Fluttershy to retract in terror and keep her mouth from shooting out a single word. Twilight didn't take notice of her reaction as she continued to press her friend for info. 
"If you want to do this the hard way, then that's fine with me," said Twilight, frustrated. "I'm tired of being patient. It's time you tell me something I don't know or all of Ponyville will suffer." 
Spike witnessed the situation rear its ugly head. Over the course of the interrogation, he quickly saw Twilight spiraling out of her calm, collective self. No longer on the business of interrogation, her angry eyes shot straight into Fluttershy’s feeble soul while words of rage pushed her friend one step closer to eternal trauma. In a move only rivaled by a cavalry charge, Spike quickly got in between the two without hesitation. “Twilight, stop it!” Spike yelled. “Look at what you’re doing to Fluttershy!”
Upon snapping out of her frenzied rage, Twilight took a good look at her friend already crying a river. Every drop shed drew her reflection, capturing the ugly essence of her guilt. She had pushed the interrogation too far for little gain. On that moment, Twilight realized why everypony is given the choice to talk or not to talk at all. 
“I’m sorry, Fluttershy,” she said, horrified at what she had become. “I…I guess I got carried away.”	
“Twilight, this isn’t like you,” Spike said. “You would never pressure your friends into doing something they don’t want. Even if it’s for Equestria’s sake.”
“I know, Spike. I just forgot about it…for a while.”
Spike reiterated his previous take. “I think the heat’s getting to you,” he said. “We should probably go home for now.”
“But Ponyville…the water…” Twilight objected.
“Home," Spike replied sternly, his finger pointing to the direction of Ponyville. "Now."
This argument may as well end in Spike’s favor. Twilight pondered on her assistant’s words. Maybe it’s better to take a breather. Maybe it’s better to pat Spike on the head for reminding her of how close she came to severing her bond of friendship with Fluttershy. “Do you feel this way, Spike?” she asked with some reservations. “Is this really a good idea?”
“I don’t know,” Spike answered. “What do you think?”
Twilight’s sigh signaled the end of the interrogation. For now.