elementary, my dear Fiesta Flair!
It was around noon, when Fiesta Flair got back to her home from her errands. Walking into her Spanish-styled white hacienda with the red tiled roof, the red maned pony removed her mantilla veil and mane comb, and collapsed into a chair in her living room in exhaustion.
The past week had been a pain in the flank for poor Fiesta, making the decorations for Ponyville's next celebration (Party preparation was her special talent, after all!) With a sigh, Fiesta Flair looked around at her messy living space. She was usually so busy jumping from one party preparation to the next, the mare had little time to do simple things like sweep her patio, or wash the dishes.
Fiesta barely had time to catch her breath, before there was a knock at the door.
"Oi! Jes one second!" The frustrated pony pulled herself back to her hooves. "I'll be there uno momento!"
Trotting over the door, Fiesta opened it to find her friend Puzzlemint standing there.
"Fiesta! Jolly good to see you!" the detective mare said with a smile. "Mind if I come in?"
"Puzzlemint! Mi amiga!" Fiesta's exhausted frown quickly turned to a smile. "Tan bueno verte! Pleas, come in and have a seat!" Puzzlemint hugged her old friend, and they both trotted over to sit down.
Fiesta Flair had a strong friendship with the detective pony- the two mares were a little bit different from the other earth ponies in Ponyville. Both Puzzlement's parents and Fiesta Flair's madre and padre had been ponies from far away lands, who ended up getting lost in the Ponyville region, and had decided to stay here. As a result, the two mares spoke and acted a bit differently than their friends, which had caused them to gravitate towards each other at an early age.
"So, what you need, mi amiga? Oh! let me guess, it's your daughter's birthday again!" Fiesta jumped excitedly. "Don worry, I can prepare the perfecto party for your little hija! I suggest we stick our husbands at a table far away from de other ponies, though... you know what happen when those two eat too many burritos- muy fétidas!" The mare covered her nose with her hoof.
"No, I'm afraid I'm here for a much different purpose, Fiesta." Puzzlemint shook her mane. "I need your help with some detective work once again!"
"Oi, another mystery to solve! impresionante!" Fiesta ran and grabbed Puzzlemint's old deerstalker hat and bubble pipe, and put on the black derby she used to wear when the two would solve mysteries together. "I so loved when we solved the case of de missing cookies- I knew it was Minty who ate them when she was sleepwalking!"
"This mystery is a bit more serious, I'm afraid." Puzzlemint put the deerstalker on, then gazed through her magnifying glass with a pink bow tied on the handle. "For a crime most foul is afoot..."
...
"Okay, girls! Keep those streamers in the air!" Twinkle Twirl Yelled, keeping an eye on all of her students as they danced. "Move to the rhythm, and remember to kick HIGH!"
The seven ponies glided across the floor of Twinkle Twirl's dance studio, leaping and pirouetting gracefully in time to the music. Dancing and kicking across the floor- Apple Spice, Bow Lace, Moondreamer, Loop De La, Forsythia, Gem Blossom, and Desert Rose all moved in unison with their graceful teacher. As he watched, Spike could only marvel at the perfection of their dancing.
"So, Master Heathspike, what do you think of our routine?" Twinkle Twirl asked, smiling as she twirled past the small dragon, and spinning the streamers she was holding in her hooves.
"Simply divine, Miss Twirl!" Spike complimented her enthusiastically. "Such beauty! Such magnificence! You certainly have the most talented group of Pony dancers this side of Equestria!"
After he and the others had returned from taking Rarity home, Twinkle Twirl had asked the dragon to personally come and review the dance she and her troupe were planning to do for the shimmering star festival. Spike had seemed to become the unofficial coordinator of all the festivals and parades that take place in Ponyville.
"Thank you so much, Spike!" Forsythia, the red maned mare with the yellow coat, commented. "We've been practicing long and hard on this routine since you left for unicornia!"
"I must say, all of that practice has made perfect!" Spike commented, as Forsythia quickly brought him a cup of hot coca and a plate of cookies. "Why thank you, my dear! But you really don't have to-"
"Oh, but I insist!" The red pony with the yellow flower cutie mark replied. "I just can't stand to see anybody not be taken care of!"
"That's what you get when your special talent is hospitality." Gem Blossom said with a laugh. "Always have to see to others comfort first! Not that that's a bad thing!"
Spike shook his head at the yellow pony with the Pink and orange mane. Her special talent seemed to be playing pranks and making jokes and sarcastic comments.. Her gold jewel and flower cutie mark did very little to indicate this.
"You don't have to be so sarcastic, Gem Blossom!" Coconut Cream chided her, trotting down off the stage. The white mare with the Pink and green mane had to step carefully to keep from tripping over her own hooves. "Thanks for the compliments, Spike! It makes all the hard work we put into practicing worthwhile!"
"Okay girls, that's a wrap!" Twinkle Twirl clapped her hooves together. "Makes sure to meet back here tomorrow at seven!"
"Hey girls, any of you want to join me for a slumber party tonight?" Moondreamer asked the rest of them. "Since we have to meet together here tomorrow anyway!"
"Ooh! Sounds like fun!" Bow Lace replied with a grin. "I'd love to spend the night at your place, Moon Dreamer!"
"I'd love to come too, Bow Lace." Desert Rose told the white pony with a light pink mane. "But I promised I'd help Daisyjo with the flowers in the castle gardens tomorrow!"
"Count me out, too!" Loop De La replied. "I promised Puzzlemint and Fiesta Flair I'd help them put the decorations up tonight!"
"Well, good luck everybody!" Spike waved to them, trotting out the door. "I'll see all of you at the festival tomorrow!"
...
"Excuse me, Señorita Puzzelmint... I don't mean to question you," Fiesta Flair asked the white pony in front of her. "But are you sure that this es de best way to uncover the culprits in the attack on the dragon Spike?"
"Blimey, Fiesta! They were the only ones in the park near the coaster that morning, before the accident occurred." The detective pony told her. "It's only logical to assume that they may have had a hoof in these events!"
The two of them were in Fiesta's hacienda outside of town, sharing a pot of tea and talking about Puzzlemint's plans. Being an adventurous pony, the yellow mare had agreed to help the detective pony investigate the mysterious accident that had afflicted Spike.
"An' how are we going to check an' see what they know, por favor?" The yellow mare with the maracas cutie mark inquired, taking a sip of her tea. "Ask Loop De La while she helps us work?"
"There are other ways to gather information besides asking, my dear Fiesta." Puzzlemint replied, pouring herself another cup of tea. "We shall find out exactly what we want to know... without Loop De La even knowing what we're after!"
...
That evening, Loopy was up on a ladder in the town square, helping the two mystery mares put up the bows, ribbons and streamers on the streetlights and houses surrounding the square.
"So yeah, as I told you before... Bow Lace is such a total klutz!" Loop De La gossiped, as she tied a large ribbon into a bow. "When she's not bumping into Apple Spice and knocking her over, Apple Spice is bumping into her!",
"Blimey, Loop, that's so amazing!" Puzzlemint replied in surprise, while hanging a bunch of streamers. "But I had heard Coconut Cream was the one who was always tripping over her own hooves!"
"Naw, that's only off stage!" The pony dancer replied. "On stage, she turns into one of the most graceful dancers in Ponyville! Really strange, huh?"
"But still interesting to know, Senorita." Fiesta told her, as she pulled a pinata up in the center of the square. "Muchas Gracias for telling us!"
...
Next, Puzzlemint and Fiesta stopped off at Moondreamer's sleepover, and got an earful from the ponies there.
"So what no pony outside the dancing circle knows..." Moondreaner gossiped, as she put Fiesta and Puzzlemint's manes up in curlers. "...is that Coconut Cream gets seasick on the roller coaster!"
"Really? I never knew dat!" Fiesta replied in surprise. "But how can she dance so gracefully, if she can't handle moving aroun so much?"
"She's just good at what she does, I guess!" Bow Lace replied, as she put a mud mask on the two visiting mares. "But did you know Wysteria, even though she loves flowers, is actually horrible at gardening?"
"What? The princess cannot garden?" Puzzemint asked in shock. "Get out of here!"
"It's true! She's good at planning a garden, and organizing the spring fancy parade. But when it comes to the actual gardening work, she's terrible!" Moondreamer added. "She has to have Daisyjo and Desert Rose do all the actual digging and planting for her- that's why Desert Rose says she's better off sitting on her flank and doing nothing as princess!"
"Muchas gracias, girls, we really appreciate de info!" Fiesta told them, as the other two mares finished thier makeovers. "We sure glad we came here to talk to you!"
....
It was a short time later, that the two mares got even more info when they went to help Apple Spice, at her orchard on Butterfly island.
"Wow, it's amazing de Pegasus ponies let you keep dis place on de island!" Fiesta commented, as she bucked several apples off a tree. "Dey usually muy tímido about having other kinds of ponies live or work here!"
"I give them a cut of the apples, to make apple ice cream cobblers with." Apple Spice bucked one of the trees. "And I want to thank you two for your help!"
"Oh, it's nothing, really!" Puzzlemint replied, picking up a bucket of apples with her hooves. "We are just glad to lend a helping hoof!"
After things had fallen quiet for a bit, Apple Spice tried to strike up a conversation again.
"Say, did you two hear about the two of Gem Blossom's practical joke that backfired?" The yellow earth pony asked. "It caused a bit of a stir at Twinkle Twirl's studio!"
"Really?" Fiesta asked, shaking her mane. "Tell us what happened, por favor?"
"About a year ago, Cloud Climber was the first Pegasus to try out for the dance studio." Apple Spice lowered her voice. "Skywishes was helping her do a dance routine to impress Twinkle Twirl, when Gem Blossom thought it would be funny to grease the floor with rainbow berry juice!"
"Blimey, how gross!" Puzzlemint replied. "That stuff becomes super-slippery when it dries!"
"Yep, and when those two tried to recreate the 'dancing in the clouds' routine from the last frendship ball, they ended up slipping and sliding all over the stage, from one end to the other!" Apple Spice had to stifle a giggle. "Twinkle Twirl took the whole thing in stride. But Skywishes and Cloud Climber were so upset, they quit the dance school altogether!"
"Interesting... thank you very much, Apple Spice." Puzzlemint said with a grin. "You've been more helpful than you realize..."
...
"Oi! Quite a lot of clues we gathered today Puzzlement, si?" Fiesta asked, as the two trotted down main street Ponyville.Fiesta adjusted the black derby she was wearing.
"Indeed, I believe with just a little more information , and we will be able to lay the mystery of Spike's assailant to rest!" Puzzemnt puffed on her bubble pipe.
"Muy bien, Puzzelmint, is good we are so close to de answer!" Fiesta shook her mane in worry. "For I'm afraid we let that fiend run free for too much longer, 'an we'll be laying Senior Spike to rest...."