Princess Twilight and the Puzzling Curse

by Parchment_Scroll

Puzzle 09: Pipsqueak's Treasure Map

Ferrets: Critters A and D
Weasels: Critters B, C, and E
There we go! All in their pens safe and sound, which frees Fluttershy up to go to the picnic.

Once you were able to find one ferret, the other one shouldn't have been too tough to... ferret out.

While Spike sat frozen in thought, trying to piece together the web of truth and lies woven by the mustelid critters, Twilight quickly sorted through them, placing them in their respective pens. "There we go," she said confidently. "Now, come on, girls. We've got a mystery to unravel!"

"Oh," Fluttershy said, "but what about the picnic?"

"It's off for now, Sugarcube," Applejack explained. "Twi's got herself all in a tizzy 'bout this puzzle thing, and Ah reckon she ain't too far off the mark none."

Fluttershy nodded. "I'm sure Pinkie Pie will figure something out," she said. "Have you told her the picnic's off yet?"

Twilight's pupils contracted to pinpricks as she considered the ramifications of the question. "Oh, Celestia, no," she said. "When I spoke with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, I was still getting ready for the picnic!" With that, she scooped Spike up onto her saddle and galloped off towards the park. "Come on, girls! They've got to be at the park by now!"

"We're comin', we're comin'," drawled Applejack. "Don't git yer bridle in a twist."

Chapter End
The following puzzles have been moved to Granny Smith's Puzzle Shack:
* Fair and Square Shares 2
* Rainy Days and Mondays

* * * * *

The trip to the park, short though it was, felt long enough due to Rarity and Applejack getting into an argument about manners. Eventually, Twilight felt the need to intervene.

"What's going on, you two?"

"Rarity's bein' a hoity-toity stuck up pony," snarled Applejack.

"I'll have you know," Rarity said, "that Hoity Toity is an excellent pony and not the least bit stuck up!"

"Yer jes' sayin' that on account o' he liked that dress y'all made fer Twilight."

"That's not it at all!" Rarity tossed her mane angrily, before looking slightly abashed. "Well, all right, that's part of it."

"Ah jes' don't see what's such a big deal about 'don't git yer bridle in a twist'. T'ain't like Ah said 'knickers', now, is it?"

"Applejack!"

The farm pony tried, and failed, to stifle a giggle at Rarity's over-the-top reaction. The face she made while trying not to laugh set Rarity off, and things generally proceeded downhill from there.

By the time the quintet arrived at the park, they were all out of breath from laughing so hard, and had completely forgotten what the argument was about in the first place. Twilight looked fondly over at her friends. "It's a good thing I have such wonderful friends," she said to herself.

"You've also got a wonderful assistant!" Spike chimed in as he ran up to her. "Between me, Applejack, Fluttershy, and --" He paused to sigh wistfully before continuing. "--Rarity," he said finally, "we've just about got all of those letter fragments we've been looking for. Look!"

"That's excellent, Spike!" Twilight scooped the baby dragon up into a quick hug before levitating him back atop her saddle. "Put them in the saddlebag with the others. I've been trying to put them together, and I think I've just about got this taken care of."

Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy trotted up alongside her, smiling. "Speakin' o' gettin' things taken care of," Applejack said, "Ah reckon Pinkie Pie woulda set up fer th' picnic by now. Y'all seen either o' them two?"

Twilight shook her head. "No," she said. "Although you'd be pretty surprised how good Pinkie Pie can be at hiding when she wants to."

"Tell me about it," a familiar voice said from just overhead.

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight grinned as she leapt up from the ground to meet her friend (and, more recently, flying instructor) in midair. "I'm so glad you're here! Quite frankly, I was dreading the idea of what I'd have to go through to look for you if you weren't."

"Well, hay," Rainbow Dash said, leading Twilight back to the ground and the other three ponies, "it's your special day, and I never leave a friend hanging!"

"Speakin o' leavin' friends hangin'," Applejack piped up, "where in tarnation did that Pinkie Pie get to?"

"Oh," Dash said with a dismissive hoof-wave, "she was getting bored waiting for you guys, so I suggested we play Hide and Seek to kill time. She's ultra-serious about playing by the rules, though, so she definitely hasn't left the park."

"So, all we have to do is spread out and look for her?" Rarity smiled.

"Shoot," Applejack said, "this won't take no time ay-tall."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Twilight said. "You wouldn't believe the places she squeezed herself into when Fluttershy was working with Photo Finish."

* * * * *

Within a few minutes, the ponies had canvassed the park. It was, oddly, almost completely devoid of ponies. Just more evidence of this strange puzzle curse that's swept across town, Twilight thought. Eventually, the five ponies (and dragon) reconvened just a short trot away from the one pony in the park.

"Y'all're sure it ain't Pinkie Pie in disguise?" Applejack asked.

"I'm sure," Twilight said. "Even Pinkie Pie couldn't disguise herself as a young colt!" She paused for a moment. "I think. Okay, I'm pretty sure it's not her."

"Maybe he knows where Pinkie Pie is?" Fluttershy asked.

The other four ponies (and dragon) nodded, and made their way over to the nearby hill, where a young and excited Pipsqueak was crouched down by a piece of paper, studying it intently. His tongue stuck out of a corner of his mouth as he tilted his head this way and that, trying to make heads or tails of the image on the paper.

Puzzle 09
Pipsqueak's Treasure Map
50/50 Bits

Pipsqueak found an actual honest to gosh treasure map! Unfortunately, the map is so smudged, he doesn't know where to put any of the landmarks, so he has no idea where to dig for his treasure. Fortunately, the Ponyville schoolhouse is already marked on the map, and he has the following information to help place the various landmarks.

1. No two landmarks are in the same row or column.
2. Unicorn Point is immediately east of the Big Grassy Hill.
3. Sweet Apple Acres is in a corner.
4. The Dangerous Cliff falls between Unicorn Point and the Big Grassy Hill when moving north or south.
6. The Dangerous Cliff is west of Unicorn Point.
7. Unicorn Point is the furthest landmark from Sweet Apple Acres.

Author's Note:

Twilight Sparkle's Saddlebags:
Hint Coins: 11
Bits: 290
Mysteries: Ponyville's Plague of Puzzles, The Earth Pony's Spellbook (solved), Princess Celestia's Letter
Total Letter Pieces: 22/27

Accompanying Twilight right now are Spike, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash.

Comments

[rip4thwall]

From clue 1 and 3, Sweet Apple Acres must be in one of the lower corners to not be on the same line as the schoolhouse. If it were lower right, clue 7 would not work, as the schoolhouse is as far away from there as you can go.

So, Sweet Apple Acres is in the lower left corner.

Let's name the three remaining rows Row 2, Row 3, and Row 4, and the three remaining columns Column C, D, and E.

From Clue 4, the cliff must be in row 3 because of 1 and 5 being taken.

The farthest away square in Row 4 is the same distance as the Schoolhouse from Sweet Apple Acres, so that sticks Unicorn Point in Row 2.

Unicorn Point from clues 2 and 6 must be east of both, sticking it in Column E - Unicorn Point is in E-2

The hill MUST be south of the cliff, and MUST be one west of the unicorn point - Hill at D-4

Process of elimination puts the Cliff at C-3, dead center

[Parchment_Scroll]

2672942
You know what? I'm getting tired of putting the same image link in these replies, so instead I shall

this time around.

Solution:
i.imgur.com/cKzsYdF.png
Once you've placed Sweet Apple Acres in the southwest corner of the map, the rest should be relatively easy. Unicorn Point, to be the furthest landmark, should be as far north and east as you can get it: in the easternmost column and one space south of the corner.

The other two landmarks are placed relative to Unicorn Point as shown.

[nemryn]

i.imgur.com/JvHFOrk.png
The Acres can't be in either of the top two corners, so they have to be in one of the bottom two. If they're in the bottom right, Unicorn Point can't be any further away from SAA than the schoolhouse is, so they have to be in the bottom left. That leaves the right three columns and the middle three rows. The Cliff is somewhere west of UP, and the Hill is immediately west of UP, so from west to east it's Cliff, Hill, UP. The Cliff has to be in the middle of the three going north-south; and if UP were south of the Cliff it would be too close to SAA, so it has to be north of the Cliff.

[okar2008]

2672942 Nice Work!

Man, and it was another of my favorite puzzle types.....

AND we sent puzzles to the shack barn?! Aw, man.......

Welp, I guess that means either a re-visit later or else just bonus material.

Btw, where to next?

[blastdragon]

Now I know how Celestia ends the letter it sounds so obvious. Still hope Luna will also have a role in this story. But I guess we will have to wait till we unlocked Canterlot at night.