Chapter 5 : Moving The Pieces
Sherlock mindlessly walked down the hallway, searching for Carbine and more importantly, Sunset Shimmer. Clutching a note on his left hand, he kept on going until the Art Room came into view.
With a tug, the door of the Art Room swung upon, revealing a messy room with different colours of the rainbow splashed on the walls and on the floor which were fortunately covered in large sheets of paper. In the middle of all the colors was a red-haired boy giving the detective the worst poker face ever.
"Hey! Sherlock!" Carbine shouted at close range, "Knew you'd come although I never reckoned you'd show up a tad earlier, ol' sport".
"We've no time for this" Sherlock bluntly said, whacking the paintbrush out of Carbine's hand, "Who's been sending Sunset Shimmer these?" he asked as he shoved the paper from Fluttershy's backpack right at his face.
"No bloody idea", Carbine replied, "Although I have a hunch that it's from..."
"The same pony who helped Sunset Shimmer break into the Crystal castle undetected, I know. Just tell me who the hell has she been meeting?" Sherlock finished.
"Guess you fancy getting everything outta me now heheh", Carbine chuckled nervously, "Alright, Sunny's been texting somepony every single day ever since we got here. Everything we had, every bloody crap we done, it's all planned by whomever she's been talking to. And everything always works out".
"Interesting. It appears Miss Shimmer has an accomplice that has more knowledge about this world than I initially thought", Sherlock admitted, placing his head on his hand.
"I've tried asking her about it but she keeps shoving the fact that I'm only where I am because of her right at my face" Carbine added, "She's right though. I wouldn't have lasted a freaking day in this place without her friend's plans".
"Let's backtrack a little bit", Sherlock interrupted while he sat on a chair, "You have said that everything you did had been planned out by her aid. I believe you meant the previous two Fall Formals, Spring Flings and the falling out of the school unity"
"Spot on, old chap", Carbine smiled, "I'm not entirely sure how but ever since the other lads and lasses got separated from each other, she quickly rose to power".
"What about last night? I take it you do know what happened"
Carbine's smile slowly faded away. He hadn't anticipated that Sherlock would be asking questions regarding the events of the previous night.
"..I...I...I'm not gonna lie...", Carbine's spirit rapidly dropped, "I knew she was going to do something dumb as soon as the portal was opened again and when it did open, I didn't follow her and warn Princess Celestia even though I could have".
"Yes, burn yourself inside for that mistake", Sherlock coldly replied, getting up and preparing to leave the Art Room.
"It's because of her" Carbine lowered his head.
"Sunset Shimmer?"
"No"
"Really? You still don't harbor any intentions of reconciliation with her?" Sherlock asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It's a bloody impossible task, mate. Can't just go swooping in say you're sorry. Nope, can't work that way", Carbine replied, barely managing to force a small smile.
"Still, you're all to blame for Sunset Shimmer getting her hands on the crown in the first place" Sherlock slowly turned his head away, "I know you won't aid us so I suggest you don't stand in our way"
"Take care of Twilight. She may not share the same feelings but I sure as bloody hell don't want anything bad happen to her" Carbine pleaded.
"I don't plan on letting any harm befall the princess. However, she chose her own path. I won't stir her away but I won't be held accountable for any wrong decisions she might make...like running for the Fall Formal Princess", Sherlock said without any emotion as he exited the room.
"Yeah, I know right? Hehehe", Carbine chuckled before he realized something, "Fall Formal Princess? Oh shit..."
The little brother of Mycroft slowly plodded lazily towards the gymnasium which was, from what he had heard, was the place where he could find Princess Twilight Sparkle. With the plot thickening at every new information it stored, his mind raced to find out what or who exactly Sunset Shimmer was in cahoots with.
Just as he was about to open the doors of the gymnasium, a student holding stacks of clothing crashed right into him, much to his annoyance. Fortunately for Sherlock, his face barely managed to miss the aluminum handle right next to him.
"Oh...I'm terribly sorry, I didn't see you there", an almost familiar voice immediately apologized as he tried to regain his composure from the crash.
"Really? With all those dresses blocking your view, I sought and failed to find a reason why you wouldn't expect a collision", Sherlock grumbled, annoyed.
"I guess you are right. I really should stop walking around handling more clothes than I can handle", the girl, whose hair was an all too familiar blue said.
Sherlock blinked twice as he stared at the girl he bumped into. It wasn't her, was it?
The same makeup, the same hairstyle and the same blue eyes. Even if he tried to resist being fed the reality, he had to eventually accept it. He had just bumped into his own cousin, Rarity.
"Beg your pardon, mister", Rarity said with a nervous smile as she waved a hand in front of Sherlock's face to get his attention, "But do you mind taking a step back? You're standing on top of one of my dresses"
"This...this is an unexpected turn of events", Sherlock said as he slowly turned his back, much to Rarity's confusion, "No, it's impossible", he told himself, "Is it not?"
He was once again swallowed by his thoughts about the current situation. How could he be so stupid? If he had met humans who were obvious counterparts of the ponies in Equestria, why hadn't he figured that he was going to meet Rarity of all ponies eventually?
It wasn't as if he was scared or terrified of her, it was just that...he felt...remorseful even though he would never show it.
This Rarity probably hadn't faced the same treatment he gave to his while he was younger and immature. She was undoubtedly more polite in his presence, a clear indication that she might have not met his counterpart in this world.
"Uh...pardon my interruption but I haven't seen you around here, have I?" Rarity suddenly asked, snapping the detective out of his thoughts.
"I'm new" Sherlock replied as he helped pick up an eerily familiar black scarf from the small pile of clothes on the floor, "This..." he muttered, holding the scarf and fixing his gaze on it.
"Oh, what a coincidence!" Rarity chimed, "Your scarf looks just like the one I made for my cousin", she commented.
"Cousin?" Sherlock quickly turned to her.
"I made it especially for him", she replied, admiring the scarf, "Come to think of it, you do remind me of him in a way. Do you mind telling me your name?"
"I...My name is..." Sherlock hesitated a bit before he decided she deserved an answer, "Just call me Sherly".
"Okay, good to see you, Sherly", Rarity nodded with a warm smile on her face while she picked up the last dress that was on the floor, "I would love to give you a tour of the school but as you see, I am a bit occupied", she giggled before she turned to leave, "I do hope you enjoy your time here".
"We share the same sentiment, Rarity" Sherlock said in an almost inaudible tone as he watched the girl leave.
A small smile formed on his almost expressionless face as he began pondering about what kind of person his counterpart might be. Considering the attitude of this world's Rarity, it appeared that either his counterpart had a working connection with her or she had never met him before. Either way, he was a bit happy to know that his assumption from before was true.
After taking a few moments to return to reality, he peered through the door of the gymnasium after he heard some balloons popping some seconds before. From the corner of his eye, he could see Sunset Shimmer and two small boys, presumably the accomplices Fluttershy had mentioned before leaving the gym through a backdoor. With a slight push of the doors, he entered the gym.
For some reason, those that were present, including Twilight had their attentions diverted to Sunset Shimmer so they didn't notice his entrance right away. That didn't bother Sherlock much though as he resorted to using the time to analyze the decorations hanging everywhere. A work, which he deduced, could only be done by a professional decorator or party planner.
"Hey! Sherlock!" Twilight waved at him as soon as she noticed the detective, "So, did you meet Carbine? What did he tell you?" she asked even before she approached him.
"Everything's planned", Sherlock replied softly.
"What?" Twilight arched an eyebrow.
"Sunset Shimmer is getting her hands on the crown one way or another", he promptly told her.
"Wha-at?!" Twilight yelled out loud before she quieted down, "I thought you said we had a chance at getting it back", she said.
"That was before I found out everything's fixed and planned for Sunset Shimmer", he replied with a heavy sigh, "We can't even steal the crown. Whoever Sunset Shimmer's working with would probably see it coming".
"You're not giving up, are you?" Twilight asked, "We should at least try. I've already signed up".
"Do what you want. I already told you I'm not going to interfere with your methods"
"But you also said you were going to help me"
"I would if I was positive Carbine was lying but he was not. The only thing we can do is let the others do it for us"
"Let them do what?"
"Change the plans. We're constants, they're variables", Sherlock replied, pointing at a pink haired girl and another girl wearing a hat just a few feet away, "Get them all together to form one giant constant that even Sunset Shimmer can't use. In order words, brush up your knowledge and find something useful or this mission is done"
"That won't be too hard", Twilight chuckled nervously.
"Believe me, it will be", Sherlock looked at her straight in her eyes, "Head for the library, I'll meet you there", he added.
"What're you going to do?" Twilight asked.
"You wanted my help, didn't you?" Sherlock asked back.
"Err...okay then..." Twilight said with a sheepish smile before she left the gym.
Sherlock stopped before he let out another heavy sigh. Organization wasn't one of his strong points and it had sucked that it was the one thing he needed to make sure the hand of luck pointed at them. Winning over the students was an almost impossible task for him. He had barely managed to make friends with just Shining Armor and Cadance before and doing the same to a whole mass of strangers was completely out of the question.
However, he felt a bit relieved that Twilight Sparkle was with him especially after he heard all about the friends she had made in a place she had barely been to before. If there was one thing he could bet on, it was that the princess would find a way to do the same to the students.
"What was Sunset Shimmer doing here?" he asked the girl wearing a hat, "I'm guessing she was foreseeing the decorations in this place".
"Yeah...you're right, she was" the girl replied with a hint of anger at the mere mention of the name, "And what about you, mister? Can't say I've seen you 'round these parts", she asked with a smile.
"Sherlock Hooves. I think there's no harm in saying that I am here for the Fall Formal", Sherlock replied.
"Well, the name's Applejack and this here's Pinkie Pie", the girl said happily, pointing a finger at the pink-haired girl standing next to her who gave Sherlock an enthusiastic wave, "Dunno if someone else had done it before but welcome to Canterlot High", she extended her hand for a handshake.
"I've already got my share of welcomes around here", Sherlock said bluntly, making Applejack awkwardly place her hand down, "I will admit though, the decorations in this place are average...for something made by a bunch of apes".
"Was that a compliment? Cause it sure doesn't sound like one", Applejack scratched her head.
"Of course it was, silly!" Pinkie suddenly said, standing between the two, "OMIGOSH! If you're new here then we should totally have a party to welcome you here! It is gonna be so epic and great and off the charts! What do you say? Huh? Huh? HUH?" she got right in Sherlock's face in an instant, the detective slowly moving back.
"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather avoid having another "unpleasant" conversation" Sherlock told her after a few moments of unusual hesitation. Although he was able to handle the "Rarity's counterpart" situation easily, it felt a bit awkward for the famed detective to talk to a counterpart of the pink pony he had mercilessly berated.
"Another? You met Pinkie before?" Applejack asked, raising her eyebrow.
"And I'd rather enjoy it if you don't ask me questions regarding that, Applejack", Sherlock quickly added.
"I think grumpy pants needs a party! ASAP!" Pinkie whispered a bit loudly in Applejack's ear.
"I think he's just feelin' the ol' anxiety. You know, new day, new school. Every darn one of us had it, didn't we?" Applejack assumed.
"Do you mind ceasing your blather?" Sherlock asked the girls, annoyed at the diversion of the attention.
"Oh sorry, is there somethin' you want, Sherlock?" Applejack asked politely.
"There's a high possibility that you might not have the answer but what I'd like to ask you is: Do you have any idea as to how every student got separated from one another?" Sherlock asked, looking at Applejack straight in the eyes.
"Uhh...Honestly, I'm not sure, I mean, you've gotta ask everyone to get the answer" Applejack replied as she shrugged.
"How about I just ask you? I know you have some animosity targeted at a rainbow-haired girl", Sherlock inquired.
"Rainbow Dash? How did you?...She ruined my sale by not showin' up like she was supposed to", Applejack answered in a tone of rekindled frustration and anger.
"She notified you in person?"
"Err...not exactly...she texted me but still, she should've shown up" Applejack crossed her arms. Sherlock could see that she felt uneasy at giving the answer, probably because of her lack of confidence in it.
"Yes...she should've", Sherlock mumbled, remembering the few important words he heard coming from the said girl back at the cafeteria, "And she would've", he added under his breath.
"WOW! How did you know Applejack and Rainbow Dash totally hate each other? Are you a psychic like your friend?" Pinkie Pie asked excitedly. Sherlock merely facepalmed himself.
"Of course, I'm psychic! How else would you explain the bloody trench coat?" Sherlock replied before he exited the gym in a hurry.
"That explains that", Pinkie gave a huge smile.
"He was bein' sarcastic, sugarcube", Applejack told her.
+++++++
"Sorry mister!" a rather stout boy apologized after bumping into the much taller boy. Sherlock rolled his eyes after seeing how clumsy the boy and his friend were.
"And they're Sunset Shimmer's accomplices? Give me a break", Sherlock said to himself as he entered the library, "Another erasable variable" he thought.
Something caught his eye though, making him steal one last glance at the duo before they disappeared behind a door. They both had the devices Carbine showed them earlier and he felt a bit of regret not taking the time to ask Carbine more about what they were capable of.
Shaking his head, Sherlock entered the library right in front of him. It was quite a marvelous place, for library that is. A large equine statue stood in the middle of the circular shelves of books.
He arched an eyebrow, however, when he saw Twilight with a stack of books on her head and arms.
"What are you doing, Twilight?" Sherlock asked the princess from behind. Twilight was visibly startled and as a result, she dropped the books she was carrying, followed by a reprimanding "Shhh" from another female human.
"Just...gathering knowledge about the school like you asked" Twilight replied, picking up the books she dropped.
"I never knew the school was centered on the study of Advanced Quantum Physics for Dummies" Sherlock sighed as he held up a book.
"Err...I only planned to read that in case I get bored heheh", Twilight smiled sheepishly before she took the book from Sherlock.
"Looks like we may have to spend the night in this world after all" Sherlock said, obviously annoyed by the stated fact.
"Where'll we sleep?" Spike asked from beneath the pile of books.
"Oops...sorry, Spike", Twilight apologized as she removed two books which kept the purple dog hidden.
"Here" Sherlock replied, "We'll spend the night here. We can't afford to waste our time searching for other places".
"That's a good point and plus, we get to read all the books here! Can you believe our luck?" Twilight said excitedly, almost too excited for Sherlock's liking.
"I absolutely can't" Sherlock groaned before he grabbed a random book, "I'll be in the upper levels reading this..." he added, checking the title, "...The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes?"
Some hours and several books later
"And then the masked man grabbed Sherlock while Watson watched on in disbelief and..." Sherlock muttered to himself as he read the book.
The sun had disappeared for a good four hours and apart from the occasional flipping of pages, not a single peep could be heard from the girl and her dog.
Engrossed in his story, Sherlock wondered if the book had actually been based on his own life especially when he read about Sherlock Holmes' family. But he dismissed the idea quickly after realizing the story was written well over a century ago.
"Sherlock? " the detective could hear Spike's voice coming from near the stairs, "Twilight's found something ".
"Are you sure it's not related to anything remotely quantum physical? " Sherlock asked with a slight hint of annoyance.
"I'm pretty sure it isn't that" Spike insisted.
"Fine" Sherlock groaned, "I'll be down"
With that, Sherlock followed the purple dog down the stairs to the second floor where Twilight sat, giving her attention to a book on the table in front of her.
Judging from the cover, it appeared to be one of those so-called year books which recorded the events of a school's year.
"I do hope you found something relevant" Sherlock said, standing behind Twilight.
"Sherlock, take a look at these" Twilight told him as she showed him some photos from the year book.
Different groups of students hanging out together and participating in school activities. The most noticable things absent were Sunset Shimmer and Carbine Hubson.
"Which year is this?" Sherlock inquired as Twilight flipped the page to reveal a familiar group of friends.
"Probably way before Sunset Shimmer arrived" Twilight assumed after noticing the age of her friends.
"Keep that" Sherlock pointed at the book,"There's a possibility it will prove useful later".
"Okay" Twilight nodded before she yawned, "I...should get some sleep" she added.
In an instant, the princess fell asleep on the table, a purple dog curled right next to her.
Sherlock watched the sleeping figures for a few minutes ro make sure they were alright. Slowly, he headed for the stairs but something made him stop in his tracks. He walked back stealthily towards Twilight before he sighed heavily.
"You owe me one, Shining" Sherlock muttered before he removed his coat and placed it over Twilight.
After making sure his companions were both comfortable, Sherlock sneaked back upstairs to finish his book.