Chapter 28
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The Orb of Omniscience
Sherclop Pones took one last puff of her bubble pipe.
“It’s elementary, dear Watspike.”
Watspike adjusted his black face mask and grumbled, “Is that what you want to call it? Seems crazy to me…”
The pony and her intrepid investigatory assistant, dressed like ninjas, hid behind a tree, waiting for the right moment to bounce on the hideout of the evil menace, Maelstrom.
Watspike threw up his claws in distress.
“For starters, it’s the middle of the day! Are we really going to just run out there and hope to not get caught?”
Sherclop Pones returned her bubble pipe to her saddle bags.
“Hmm, observe, young Watspike.” She motioned her hoof towards Maelstrom’s tent. The lone patrolling guard passed around the EFL-colored tent. Watspike followed Sherclop’s gaze and saw that the other guards standing nearby were talking. They nodded to one another then left.
“Lunch time, Watspike! Our only chance to get inside while that patrolling guard is walking around the other side of the tent! Let’s go!”
Sherclop was off in a cloud of dust. Watspike chewed the ends of his claws.
“Oh crud, we’re done for! W-wait up Pink—err, Sherclop!” he whisper-shouted as he followed after his master investigator companion.
In a flash, Sherclop pulled back, tore open her saddlebags, and yanked out a strange, large device. She tossed it towards the base of Maelstrom’s tent and it started to take form.
“Good thing I had that spar with the villain’s henchman, Slapshot!” Sherclop announced as Watspike caught up, breathing heavily. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have thought of using this!”
The device Sherclop had thrown popped open to reveal a medium-sized trampoline. Watspike frantically searched all around himself, sweating buckets at the same time.
“O-okay, you jump up first Pinkie – err, Sherclop,” Watspike began, “T-then I’ll go after!”
Before he could finish, Sherclop was already leaping unto the trampoline and gracefully launching herself into the air. She landed with a barely perceptible “thud” on top of Maelstrom’s tent. The roof was shaped in such a way so that anypony on the ground wouldn’t see anypony on top of it, unless they headed for the flagged spire of the tent in the middle. Sherclop poked her head over the side of the tent and called down to Watspike.
“Hurry, Watspike!”
With one final gulp, Watspike closed his eyes and jumped onto the trampoline. He flew into the air with a muffled cry, landing right next to Sherclop. Watspike looked back down on the ground.
“What about the trampoline??” he whispered. As if to answer his concerns, the trampoline folded itself back into what appeared to be a weird rock.
“O-oh… how’d it do that?” Watspike inquired. Sherclop shrugged.
“Ehh, it’s old. Usually only stays unfolded for two jumps now!” Sherclop looked stalwart at her assistant.
“Okay, Watspike! Time for your important duty in this plan!”
Watspike held up a claw and deadpanned. He then flicked his claws together and one of his fingers shot open like a switchblade. He used his finger to delicately cut a large hole into the tent roof.
“T-there! It’s done!” Watspike swallowed hard, and Sherclop looked more excited than he hoped for. “W-who goes first?”
Sherclop grabbed Watspike and lowered him, upside down, into the hole.
“Bwah, P-Pinkie! What the hay?!”
“Shh!” Sherclop shushed. “What do you see, young Watspike?”
Watspike looked around, trying to decipher the inside of the tent while upside down. He stared ahead then turned around. It appeared there was a circular entrance hallway of sorts that surrounded an enclosed, middle portion of the tent, as if there were a smaller tent inside the bigger one. Watspike couldn’t see what was inside the middle portion. Candelabra, complete with burning wax fixtures, lined the hallway, and on the walls at certain intervals were portraits of regal looking, frowning stallions.
“It’s weird, it’s like one of the hallways in Canterlot Castle, only inside a tent.” Watspike called up. Sherclop whisper-shouted back with urgency.
“Yes, but is the coast clear, Watspike?!”
Watspike twitched. “Oh, right. Yes, nopony is here. It’s… safe, I-I guess.”
Sherclop unceremoniously dropped Watspike and leapt in after him. Watspike had no time to cry out in dismay as he landed on his face into the lush, red carpet of the tent’s outer hallway.
Both super sleuths heard a muffled exclamation from just outside the tent.
“Huh, I never noticed this weird rock before. Odd…”
Sherclop looked at Watspike, who was perspiring madly, and made a shushing gesture with her hoof. The two tiptoed around the hallway, looking for an entrance to the inner chamber. There was a bust of some stallion on a marble pedestal, and when nearby candlelight hit it, it cast a wavy shadow down the hallway. It was eerie, and Watspike scratched his neck nervously.
Finally, the two reached an opening to the inner chamber of the tent. Sherclop and Watspike stopped just outside the opening to the inner chamber and looked at one another with a nod, then continued inside.
The inner chamber of the tent was a wide, open, hexagonal-shaped sleeping area of sorts. On one side was a huge chamber bed, complete with hanging silk curtains and an elaborate bedframe and headboard. The other side of the room contained rows and rows of bookcases showcasing old, dusty tomes that Twilight Sparkle most certainly would have loved to peruse. An ornate armchair was at the back of the room, opposite Watspike and Sherclop, right underneath a huge portrait of a grey-furred stallion wearing a silver crown.
But the object that drew both detectives’ attentions the most was covered with a thick blanket, smack dab in the middle of the room. It was almost as tall as the roof (Sherclop noted the tent was similar in size to Carousel Boutique) and appeared spherical, as if a globe might be hidden underneath the blanket. Watspike and Sherclop exchanged glances again, before both pulled back their black ninja masks. Sherclop’s poofy mane was at last freed.
“Let’s find out what Maelstrom is trying to hide!” Sherclop whispered. She approached the blanketed object tentatively, Watspike keeping his distance, constantly checking behind his shoulder.
Sherclop flopped her front hooves onto the object, tore off the blanket, and stared in awe as a bright light emanated from underneath.
What the object was, exactly, neither individual knew, but it appeared to be a huge crystal ball with an elaborate iron pedestal. The inside of the ball seemed liquid, or at least, the flowing streaks of grey and white floating inside of it made it appear that way. The ball’s glow covered the room in an eerie turquoise light. Watspike stepped closer.
“W-what the hay is it, Sherclop?”
To her discredit, Sherclop could not answer. Her mouth was agape and she brought a hoof to her chin. After a moment to ponder, she did the only thing she could think of in that situation: she reached forward and touched the crystal ball.
As soon as Sherclop’s hoof touched the hard object, her mind was wrenched to a far-off place, as if it fell into a vivid dream. Sherclop saw a dark room surrounded by stone walls which glowed a faint magenta color. Two ponies dressed like Maelstrom’s guards stood by the door of the room, and upon seeing Sherclop, their faces twisted into horrified expressions.
“Who are you?!” one of them cried. Sherclop pulled back in distress and found herself falling backwards back inside Maelstrom’s tent. Watspike went to her side and patted her stomach.
“Pinkie, Pinkie, are you okay? W-what happened? You stopped moving for a minute there!”
Breaking character, Pinkie Pie looked at Spike with a confused expression.
“I touched the crystal ball and then I went to a room in a castle somewhere. Maelstrom’s guards were there, and when they saw me they started freaking out, so I got scared and fell back into… here. Did I get teleported or something?”
Spike shook his head.
“Like I said, you just stopped moving, that’s it.”
Pinkie cried out, “What is this thing?!”
A quiet, monotone voice called in response from behind the pair.
“That is… the Orb… of Omniscience.”
The voice made Spike and Pinkie jump, and they quickly cranked their necks behind them to see where it came from. It only took a second for Spike to realize that it was the young mare he had met at Canterlot Courtyard a few days ago, the one who stayed away from the crowd. Pinkie hadn’t seen the pony before.
“What… are you… doing here?” the young mare asked. The pinpricks behind her ebony mane latched onto the combined four eyes of Spike and Pinkie, and both then found themselves stuck to the floor. More than that, their bodies seemed to be immovable. Their mouths dropped, but no other muscles moved from that point on.
“Not good… not for you… sister and Maelstrom… will want to… meet you now…” The young mare shook her head. “Not good… at all.”
Spike’s vision started to become blurry, and the world around the young mare swirled and swirled until it became dark and black. All he could see now was her pinprick eyes, enlarged and glaring down at him, throbbing and pulsating. The sensation was like an out of body experience.
Time seemed to stop completely while in the trance-like state, but eventually, time must have passed, because when Spike came to, he was tied up with rope and lying on the ground in Maelstrom’s tent, surrounded by a few emerald-armored guards.
“Good job,” one of the guards declared, staring over at one side of the room. “If you weren’t here, Ms. Velmeera, these little spies would have ruined everything.” Spike followed the guard’s gaze and saw the young mare, apparently named Velmeera, hunched up on the ground. Her body shook and vibrated. Her muffled winces of pain were her only response to the guard. Spike remembered his situation and started to struggle.
“L-let us go!” Spike cried, looking over to see a passed-out Pinkie, her mane deflated and sprawled out all over the red carpet of Maelstrom’s tent. “Pinkie! Pinkie, wake up!”
There was no use struggling. Spike felt a jab to his side and saw a guard pull away as he turned to see what it was.
“Quiet, little spy!” the guard cried. “Or next time I’ll kick you harder! You’ll wait silently until Maelstrom comes to decide your fate, or else we’ll have Ms. Velmeera do her own thing to you again!”
Spike’s throat was as dry as a desert. His breathing started to pick up its pace, and he realized that his and Pinkie’s game of detectives was evolving into a very scary, new reality.
* * *
Rainbow felt like laying on the grass forever. She didn’t move. She barely breathed, except to make deep, sad sighs. Her eyes laid toward the ground. Crackclaw prodded her with a gentle claw.
“Come on, Rainbow. Get up.”
But the cyan mare did not get up. She was utterly defeated. Team 117 lost the first race of the Storm’s Challenge. Jerri was injured. That piece of manure, Slapshot, passed to the second race, and Rainbow was left in the dust. Worst of all, her so-called friends were nowhere to be seen.
Crackclaw sat cross-legged in front of the depressed pegasus. He started flipping her ears up and down, then blew on her mane.
“Up. Get up. Stop mopping.” Rainbow didn’t respond. Crackclaw sighed, losing patience.
“Listen,” Crackclaw grabbed Rainbow and forcefully stood her up. She defied the black dragon with a piercing gaze but he continued to speak, unfazed. “You’ve got friends here, right? Go find them and let them cheer you up. I’m not going to put up with this anymore, I’ve got to go check on Jerri.”
Friends…
Rainbow became sour upon hearing the word. Her “friends” barely seemed to care about her and the races over the last few days. She hadn’t seen any of them during practice, and the only time they seemed to care about her race, it turned out they hadn’t even seen her finish! Hay, Pinkie Pie hadn’t even bothered to show up at all! They were all off doing more important things, clearly!
“Those guys…” Rainbow started with a grumble. Crackclaw tilted his head.
“What?” he asked. Rainbow gritted her teeth and hissed.
“I’M GONNA GIVE THOSE GUYS A PIECE OF MY MIND!” Rainbow was off. Crackclaw raised a single brow.
“Oookay…”
- - -
Saddlebred Citadel was slowly decreasing in population at the end of the first day of races, though many ponies still remained to try and get autographs, to buy souvenirs, or visit injured flyers. Rainbow navigated the immense structure with purposeful dexterity, whizzing around obstacles and scanning every hide and flank for the familiar cutie marks of her friends. She eventually found the Cutie Mark Crusaders, of all ponies, and Rainbow’s anger dissipated for a moment as she landed in front of the tiny fillies.
“W-what are you fillies doing here? Where are your sisters and Fluttershy??”
Scootaloo hopped up and down, face aglow.
“H-hey Rainbow Dash! You were super awesome just now! I mean, I saw some of the race, Fluttershy dragged me down to the infirmary to see her friend because he got injured, so I didn’t see the end. Did you win? You won, right?!”
Rainbow looked down at the ground, and with a shocked expression, Scootaloo realized something was amiss.
Apple Bloom looked at Sweetie Belle, brow creased, and spoke next. “We were all watchin’ the race, an’ then AJ started talkin’ to somepony about cider, Rarity about dresses to somepony else, an’ Fluttershy… well, we had to stay with a bigger pony, see? So we all kinda…”
Sweetie Belle lamented, “Sorry, Rainbow! Nopony meant to leave, it just sort of — stuff happened!”
Rainbow looked back up, fire in her eyes.
“Where are they?”
All three fillies pointed a hoof to their right. Rainbow looked over and, in the distance, she spotted her friends. Rarity and Applejack were snout to snout and red in the face, while Fluttershy tried in vain to break them apart. Rainbow zoomed over almost as fast as she flew during the race.
“Once again yer being a right pain in mah butt, Rarity!” Applejack cried. Rarity pulled her head back and raised a hoof to the side of her face.
“A pain in your… behind? And I suppose you think you’ve been completely innocent in this entire tirade…” Fluttershy cleared her throat loudly.
“Umm, girls? Rainbow is—”
Rainbow was standing before Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack, and once the arguing duo snapped out of it, they looked over and their ears folded over.
“Ahh shoot, the race…” Applejack began, hoofing the ground in embarrassment.
“Right…” Rarity started to say to Rainbow, ashamed of herself, “We completely missed it, darling.” Rarity smiled sheepishly. “But s-surely you won…?”
Rainbow ignored the half-hearted question. She tore into her friends with her scowl.
“So, you three obviously had better things to do than watch me race in, like, the biggest race of my life! I risked my life out there, and so did my teammates! But when it was over, and when I needed support the most, here you are, arguing about… what, your stupid competition again? And Fluttershy, where the hay where you? What’s your excuse?”
Fluttershy stepped back, obviously wanting to be anywhere else at that moment.
“Oh, umm, well…”
Applejack protested.
“Let us explain, Rainbow! It-It happened like this…”