Sherclop Pones and the Adventure of Pinkie's Cupcakes

by A Sherlockian Brony

Chapter 21: Cupcakes

“How did you learn it, then?” said I, after a long pause.

“By the account of the Guard, as you may remember, we learned about the Queen’s plot—pose as the bride, steal the Captain’s love in order to gain power in preparation for the attack; but when she had gained enough power, she would be powerful enough to overthrow the Sisters and feast upon everyone’s love. Now, in order to understand where do I come to this, we must understand once more who had originally wished to direct my attention to this plot—my brother.

“As it had been previously stated, Myclop had sent for me this letter”—he raised it in front of me—“in order to direct my attention in solving a crisis in which he foresees at the upcoming marriage—that crisis is at it seems is the Changeling plot. But how does he expect me to help? There was not much specifics in his wire, but we could easily ascertain it by knowing what exactly is Myclop’s Caballus Club.

“He is, as I have already told you, of government employ. But I had never told you what position does he hold in it. Myclop Pones is the founder of the Caballus, a secret Government society. Its purpose is to detect any activities made by the Equestrian Monarchy’s most ancient enemies—Discord, Nightmare Moon, the Changelings, Lord Tirek, King Sombra, etc. etc. And if there were any indeed detected activity, that information would duly be reported to the Princess, whom, in turn, shall find a solution to the problem. Since its foundation, it has only found a purpose since the return of Nightmare Moon, when a slight anomaly was detected in the moon, which had brought suspicions of the worst. It was then reported Princess Celestia, and in response, had orchestrated events that led the future wielders of the Elements to meet one another’s acquaintances. As it is well known, the future band of heroes under memorable title of the Mane Six defeated the evil Mare of Darkness. A similar procedure had been used during the return of the Lord of Chaos, when activity had been detected in a specific location at the Sculpture Garden, which could only mean one thing. The Mane Six had then been summoned, and, despite some difficulties, managed to eventually return Discord back to stone after a millennium of being incarcerated in it.

“Now, if ever in case of the Changelings’ detection (like one right now), it is here where the Club encounters some difficulties. The Radar, the device in which they use to detect, has its limits—it could only detect activity within the borders of Canterlot, and nowhere else in the Monarchy. If a Changeling was detected within it, its exact location and its presence is only detected. But it is quite unable to detect what form exactly is it posing as. Let us say, for example, in a Government meeting, in it, a Changeling’s presence is detected amongst those present. The Club would, then, be left in quite the dilemma—who amongst them is the imposter? Therefore, it is up to them to ascertain which. They have, as it seems, come across a similar situation in the case of Queen Chrysalis’.

“When she had been detected, the Club was unable to detect that she was indeed the Queen, but just the presence of her being a Changeling. But they were able to locate where she was—amongst those present at the wedding preparations. Therefore, amongst the attendees, is a Changeling. This, then, brings us back to Myclop.

“It is no coincidence that Myclop had sent for me a letter at the exact same day when the Queen should have been detected in the wedding. Therefore, it is safe to say that his reason for wiring was to call attention to find amongst those present at the upcoming royal wedding who is the Changeling. Knowing my famous reputation, I more often than not solve a problem. So, the exterior source (whomever it may be) has come across quite the dilemma—how could he prevent me from attending the wedding. Something that must drive his attention away from it. Hence the “case.”

“Now, due to this fact, it becomes more impossible for a Changeling to know the existence of such a device as the Radar, and further reinforces the possibility to the presence of an exterior source that knows of its existence and found a loophole to counter it.

“And with this deduction, I was able to form a coherent narrative of events—

“The Queen had concocted a devious plan, perhaps one that been years and years of hard work, that is taking advantage of the upcoming royal marriage of Captain Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza in order to overthrow the Equestrian Monarchy and feed its love to her subjects, by posing as the former’s the gaining power by stealing the latter’s love until she is much powerful to stage her coup. It was here that she had received the help from an exterior source named “the Professor.”

“For some reason quite unclear, she and him had struck quite the relationship, and the former had placed her confidence entirely upon the latter to ensure the success of her plan in which the Professor spotted a fatal flaw in. That fatal flaw being the existence of the Caballus Club.

“The Club would, upon the Queen’s action of posing as Her Highness and imprisoning the latter—her presence as a mere Changeling would be immediately detected under the watchful eye of the Club. Its leader—my brother, as a solution to this problem, would send for me to snuff out the imposter amongst the attendees. Thus, ultimately ruining years of hard work on the Queen’s part.

“It may be perhaps that some attempts were made to find an alternative plan to avoid such a detection, but looking at how matters turned out, the Queen had insisted upon her original plan. The Professor, then, concocts plan on how counter this dilemma—maybe he had thought of intercepting the wire, but that would be quite the Herculean task for the Club would never permit for anyone to simply intercept a wire; perhaps the idea of silencing both parties—both me and my brother—in order to save the trouble, but that would cause unwanted attention. Therefore, that too has to be eliminated. If the Professor can’t intercept the wire, nor silence either of the Holmes, what remains is the younger one—me. How could the Professor prevent me from receiving the wire and interfering with the Queen’s plan without causing much of a fuss. By keeping me too busy to pay heed to the plead. And what keeps me busy? By the presentation of a case. Hence the “disappearance” of Rainbow Dash.

“Now, for this procedure to work, the case in which the Professor shall present to me must have the basic elements in which the typical case that the latter finds appealing. Now, what kind of case does Sherclop Pones find appealing?

“Looking back at previous cases, each one had shared at least one thing common—the element of mystery—the bizarre, the peculiar, the grotesque—one in which promises the game—one in which shall challenge my intellectual powers and act as mental stimulus, and often just for my mere pleasure. And often, that mystery element often leads to a serious crime. Now, if this case possesses this element, this shall compel me to accept it. So, what is that “mystery element” in which the case that shall be presented to me? As it was seen, the mystery element are the mysterious circumstances surrounding the queer disappearance of the famed athlete—Rainbow Dash.

“We then move on to the point in my deductions—

“Since the vast majority of the cases in which I partake action in more often not conclude with a criminal revelation with certain vague but suggestive clues that may lead to it. Therefore, the case must be a criminal one. What, then, are the elements of a criminal case? In dissecting the elements that make up the average case, they are as follows—

- The devious crime
- The devious criminal
- The innocent victim
- The unsuspecting and naïve witness
- What had the witness witnessed

The crime, the criminal, the victim—bringing justice upon all of them is what shall keep me too occupied from interfering with the coup. The criminal had committed a seemingly flawless crime upon his or her unsuspecting victim in which—the crime—had left several damning pieces of evidence that hints its existence and if pieced together with order and method, one may be able to deduce what happened. Now, how would I would be presented to this? Often by the unsuspecting and naïve witness (whom is in some way or another concerned for the victim’s well-being), whom had witness just enough to trouble him or her, but not enough to suspect criminal activity, and mysterious enough that it compels him or her to consult upon my services. He or she would do so in the form of a stated narrative. The clues in which shall lead to the clearing up of the mystery—like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle—lie hidden and scattered across the narrative, being unknowingly the clues. And it is up to me to put them together and form a coherent explanation for it by the applications of mg methods—deductive reasoning and reasoning backwards. I would then depart to the place where the witness had witnessed something in order to confirm my theories, and if they are, he shall orchestrate events that shall end in the criminal’s arrest. That is the typical case.

“Now, in this case—well, at least the one presented to us, where are these alluded elements? They are within Ms. Hooves’ narrative, with its contents being the pieces of the puzzle.

“This is where my initial deductions come in

“Pinkie Pie murdering Rainbow Dash for her own sadistic pleasure is the crime

“Pinkie Pie is the criminal

“Rainbow Dash is the victim

“Ms. Derpy Hooves is the unsuspecting and naïve witness

“Her narrative is what contains the clues of the mystery

“In Ms. Hooves’ narrative they seem to hint out, though extremely vague but extremely suggestive at the same, to foul play. Now, the Professor designed this specifically to toy with my imagination in order to arouse my interests and then eventually compel me to take up the case.

"Having formed my deductions, I am thus compelled to set off inquiries to confirm them. Thus, also leading me to leave for Ponyville where he shall spend the majority of my time solving an entirely fictitious case as the crime—the coup—is in contemplation.

“Now, this brings in a new question—why had the actors of this drama had been specifically chosen for it? Why had, for example, Pinkie Pie been chosen specifically to be the devious murderer? Then again, why had Rainbow Dash been chosen to be her victim? Why had been Derpy Hooves chosen to be the naïve and unsuspecting witness/client? Why had the crime scene need to be specifically at Ponyville? We could only ascertain the answer by judging the actors—in other words, studying their characters and find something that may appeal to the Professor’s object.

“Why had been Ponyville chosen to be place of the crime? To answer it, we must ask ourselves again why had been the fake case been presented to us?”

“To drive your attention away from the upcoming wedding.” I answered.

“Where is the wedding due to take place?”

“In Canterlot.”

“Where does Sherclop Pones takes his residence in?”

“221B Baker Street.”

“Where is it?”

“Canterlot?”

Sherclop Pones clasped his hooves together.

“Now,” said he coldly. “if the fake case were to take place in Canterlot, if I were ever to grow suspicious, I would be such in an easy distance to the one place in which is desperate for my presence—that is the royal wedding. The Queen’s plan and the Professor’s assistance would all be for naught. Therefore, it must take place as far from Canterlot as possible—but is also an ideal place for a serial killing to take place where it is reasonable for such a thing to occur. Now, let us analyze Ponyville—it is a relatively peaceful countryside, mostly devoid of crime, has a relatively far distance from the capital—there it is! It is the last place for such devious acts to be committed due to is low crime rate and it is distant enough from Canterlot for me to interfere.

“Now, why had been Pinkie Pie chosen for the role of the devious criminal? To know, we must ask ourselves who is Pinkie Pie—what is Pinkie Pie’s nature? She is a happy-go-lucky individual, without a single care in the world. She has a bubbly personality. She cares for the well-being of others by bringing happiness to their lives, no matter what circumstance. She is practically the most wholesome citizen of the entirety of Ponyville! But why had she been chosen to be the criminal? It is such a contrast to her bubbly nature and to be this cold-blooded sadistic homicidal psychopath.

“But, why?” said I. “Why indeed? She isn’t the ideal figure to be the criminal for she is the least to be associated with such horrific crimes!”

“But, there!” said Sherclop Pones. “—there is the answer. She was chosen because she is who she is—she is too innocent to be associated with such sinister deeds that she is the ideal criminal to appeal to my imagination, and compel me even more to take up the case.”

“And as for Rainbow Dash?”

“What is she, then?

“Well, she has a reputation of being a worthy individual. To be the victim of a devious crime is such an of injustice upon her part for she does not deserve—”

“There it is! That is the answer—because the Professor needed someone who is totally undeserving of such a demented treatment—and Rainbow Dash is the result, for she is the most ideal heroine of that small town.

“Now as for Derpy Hooves—why had she been chosen to be the naïve and unsuspecting witness? Now, in order to answer this, we must not draw our answer from studying the character of the Derpy Hooves that spent the majority of her presence in the case, for that Derpy Hooves is a Changeling, therefore we can’t judge her character from an imposter. Instead, we judge from the real one. I had just one limited exposure to the real Derpy Hooves—that is what Billy portrayed on what she had looked like. Well, from what we could ascertain from the young lad’s narrative, Derpy Hooves is a kind-hearted individual, but at the same time, a blundering idiot. Now, the Professor needs for the client in his concoction to be in some way concerned for the victim’s well-being, but also stupid to not notice the significance on what she had witnessed. Therefore, Derpy Hooves is the ideal figure he needs for she is a blundering idiot, but a kind-hearted individual.

“Now, why was the case the way it is—why does the crime needed to committed in such a fashion. Two reasons—

“The vague yet suggestive clues of it appeals very much to my’ ever-active imagination, and two—a very cruel crime gives me a sense of duty. If a case were to possess both elements, I am bound to partake action in it.

“Now, having explained this, we come to the next question—why had been a Changeling needed? Why had it posed as the actors of this particular fabricated drama? Well, in order to ascertain their answers, we must put ourselves in the Professor’s shoes—

“You, Watcolt, wish to drive my attention away from the real crime in which its success you assured by presenting to him an entirely concocted case that bears not a single ounce of truth, but it must give an impression upon me that it is not so and that it is worth my undivided attention. Therefore, you design it to be authentic as possible—you thought of the crime, the criminal, the victim, the dumb witness, the clue etc. etc. But these are all in paper—now here comes the real problem—how do you convert the written into reality? There must be actors in this case! But you can’t have Pinkie Pie murdering Rainbow Dash and Derpy Hooves witnessing it—that is an absurd notion! That is certain to attract unwanted attention! Nor can you commit an actual crime for that would have the same effect. Therefore, you are compelled to stick to your original plan—but the problem still remains—the actors! Then, you realize something—your clients—they are Changelings—they possess the capability of taking on different forms into absolute perfection.

“So that’s that! The problem is solved! A Changeling shall pose as both the client who shall present the case and the criminal. There is no need to pose as Rainbow Dash for she had already been murdered. All the Professor has to do is to ask for a volunteer Changeling from the Queen.

“Now, doing so leads to the suggestion that some sort of deal had been made between each party—the Changeling Kingdom and the Professor—where both benefit from one another in both their expeditions. Either willingly or unwillingly, the Queen obliged by offering one of her subjects—as the results show.

“And thus, it was decided—the plot is ripe for execution—

“The Queen was to imprison Her Highness—Princess Mi Amore Cadenza below the forgotten caverns of Canterlot, while the former poses as the latter; she then gains the necessary power in which she shall use for the attack by stealing the Captain’s love over his wife.

“Myclop detects this and directs a wire to me via coded telegram; before I was to receive it, the volunteer Changeling consults upon my services, posing as the “client;” it presents to a nearly-convincing narrative; it then takes me to Ponyville in order to confirm my “deductions”; it directs me purposely to a prearranged “crime scene;” I then work my way to bring justice upon Pinkie Pie (whom is being posed by the same Changeling) for an entire day;

“Meanwhile at the Royal Wedding, the Queen slowly but surely gains power—she does this until the big event—then the attack commences, destroy the protective barrier (which the earthquake in which we had felt indicated its destruction), and their kin benefits greatly with the feast before them. Thus, not only giving profit to the Changeling Kingdom, but sharing it with the one whom had contributed greatly to its success—"

“This, then, brings us a new question—who is the Professor?”