Where is Carmen Sandiego?

by CrackedInkWell

Chapter 2: Catch Me if You Can

“Honestly, the clue doesn’t make any sense.” Gallus let out a frustrated sigh, closing the book he had a little too hard.

“Gallus!” Twilight chided, “We’re in a library. Show a little more respect for the books.”

“I can’t say I blame him, Headmare,” Silverstream frowned, flipping through a history book. “I don’t even know where to look with a clue like that.”

Twilight didn’t say anything, she returned her attention to the ring of books that went around her. Internally, she wasn’t sure where to start either. The clue that Carmen gave was rather vague. All her students, including Spike, have been spending the last hour trying to figure out what it could mean. From bringing in a chalkboard to divide up each word, to bringing in every book they could find that had to do with history, geography, or culture. All the students were flipping through books in trying to deduce what Carmen could mean. All, that was, except for Ocellus who stared at the board. Studying silently those words.

To gain a new seat, is to have a change in view.

“Maybe it might have something to do with the Hippogriffs?” Sandbar suggested aloud.

Silverstream tilted her head, “What makes you say that?”

“Well, the clue said about a ‘change in view.’ Maybe it might have something to do with how the Hippogriffs dealing with the changes being out of Seaquestria. And maybe the word ‘seat’ has something to do with power since the Storm King was defeated?”

“Okay, but what exactly would she steal?” Silverstream asked, and Sandbar had his mouth open to answer, but nothing came out of it.

Ocellus looked at the chalkboard again, and a thought came to her, “Headmare? You said that Carmen was known for playing word games, right?”

Twilight looked up, “Yes. Why?”

“I’ve been thinking, this clue is worded oddly. And I’ve been wondering, why did Carmen say: ‘gain a new seat?’ It makes me wonder if that has some other meaning…” Then a thought came to her, “Headmare, do we have a thesaurus?”

In a moment, Twilight summoned the book over to her. By now gaining the attention of her friends. “What Ocellus thinking?” Yona asked.

“Question: What’s another word for seat?” Ocellus opened the book and flipped it over to the S section, eventually finding the word. “I have a feeling that Carmen is going after a seat of some kind. But what? Let’s see… Here we are, Seat: Chair (n.) Armchair, Bench, Couch, Pew, Stool, Throne-”

Smolder snapped her talons, “Woah! Wait-a-minute! I think that’s it!”

“What is?” Everyone else asked.

“Think about it. First Carmen steals a scepter. Now she’s laying out a clue about gaining a new seat. How much you like to bet she’s going to steal a throne?”

“But if that’s true, which one?” Spike pointed out. “I know there are at least a dozen thrones throughout the world. How do we know which one she’s going after next? That, and how do we know if that’s the kind of seat she’s referring to?”

Smolder approached the board, her eyes squinting, “What do you think she means by, ‘to have a change in view?’ That just sounds odd, isn’t it?”

“Not really, and that’s probably the most confusing part of the whole clue,” Twilight said. “A change in view could probably refer to anything in Equestria alone. There have been a lot of changes from the Crystal Empire showing up, to the Hippogriffs regaining Mount Aris, or even-”

“Oh!” Ocellus exclaimed suddenly as though she was given an electric shock. “Oh, I get it! Ugh! It’s so simple!”

“What are you talking about?” Gallus asked.

“I think I figured it out! The clue it makes sense now!”

“How exactly?” Spike raised an eyebrow.

“To gain a new seat… I think it’s referring to not just any throne, but one that’s new. And a change in view? Hello! Change-in! Changeling! She’s going to the Changeling Hive to steal the new throne!”

Gallus tilted his head, “There’s no way it could be that simple.”

Twilight hummed, “I’m not saying that you’re wrong, Ocellus. But it is possible. Honestly, that’s what makes the game so challenging. It only makes sense after the fact. And while it is a strong possibility, there might be other thrones to consider that might fit those criteria.”

“Like what?” Yona asked.

“For example, it could also point toward the Crystal Empire. Because they have a relatively new leader and have gone through some changes since they reappeared. It also could be Luna’s throne as I know that she had hers installed recently, and she had gone through a lot of changes herself. Then again, it could also mean she might go after one of the thrones in my Crystal Castle.” She hummed, “That makes the most sense to me.”

“What do you mean?” Spike tilted his head.

“Let’s break down the clue one more time. ‘To gain a new seat,’ suppose that means that that there might be more than one seat she intends to steal. Makes sense, there can’t be an old seat if there isn’t a new one. ‘Is to have a change in view.’ That part of the clue makes sense if there’s something there that keeps changing. And the one throne, or thrones that I can think of that does that is the map that shows a Friendship problem. Knowing how clever Carmen is, this is something she would likely do – steal something right underneath our noses.”

On the computer, a chime was heard. They saw on the screen a message from Carmen.

Carmen:

Time’s almost up, Detectives. Have you figured out my clue yet?

Nodding, she made up her mind. “Okay here’s what we’re gonna do. Spike, you stay behind with Yona, Sandbar, and Silverstream. Keep an eye on the computer to see if there are any changes or anything further from Carmen. Gallus, Ocellus and Smolder, you three will come with me to the castle. Spike, I want you to answer the question wrong, that way when she shows up at the throne room, we could stop her before she steals. But wait for my signal. Now let’s go.”

Twilight galloped out with Gallus, Ocellus, and Smolder in tow.

Approaching the computer, Spike and the remaining students looked at the screen when a question came to Sandbar, “So… what if we get this wrong?”

“Wrong?” Yona raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, what if Carmen doesn’t show up anywhere near where Twilight thinks she’s going?”

“I don’t know,” Spike shrugged, “let’s just hope we might be right.”

Another message popped up on the screen.

Carmen:

Have you figured out my clue, Detectives?

A moment later, Spike burped up a note from Twilight, saying that they were ready. So instinctively, Spike typed out a reply before hitting send.

Illuminators:

You’re going to steal Luna’s throne from Canterlot Castle!

Carmen:

Sorry, better luck next crime.

On the screen, it played a new scene. And as soon as it started, those watching it were alarmed by it.

“I don’t think that’s anywhere near Twilight’s castle.”

Indeed, it was not. They witnessed a pixilated animation where it showed the grassy meadows and the rocky tower of the Changeling Hive. It then showed two Changelings.

“…. All I’m saying is art and cvafts would be better if it included dance as well.”

“But we already have that with theater.”

“I know, but I figured that if dance is an art, then it should be expanded – who is that?”

It then cuts to Carmen sitting on the wooden throne. The two Changelings went up to her saying, “Hey, what are you doing! You can’t sit there! That’s Thorax’s!”

“This is a wonderfully made throne. An honest elegance to its’ craftsmanship.” Carmen commented, tracing a finger across the armrest. “I think I’ll take it with me.”

Suddenly, right behind the Changeling throne, a series of very large balloons inflated up, each showing the icon of Carmen’s logo as it got bigger and bigger until- The roots of the throne were being pulled up. Being lifted off the ground with dirt falling off and taking Carmen with it.

It is at this moment that Thorax walked on the scene. “What the…?”

“Thanks for the new seat, Your Highness! Au revoir!”

“Hey! Give that back!” Thorax’s wings unfolded, flying up to try to reach Carmen. But before he could get ahold of her or the throne, it suddenly zoomed away by a propeller attached to the back. Thorax could do nothing but watch as he saw his throne disappear beyond the horizon.

Moments later, Twilight and the other students returned to the library. “What happened?” She asked. “Did something happen?”

“You can say that,” Silverstream said. “In fact, Ocellus, you were right.”

“She made off with the Changeling Throne,” Spike told them.

“What!” Ocellus’s wings flared out in alarm. “What happened!?”

“Carmen had balloons and a propeller on the back of the chair, and she just flew off with it,” Sandbar explained.

The screen changed back to the Type-o-graph page where a new message was typed out.

Carmen:

I’m beginning to wonder if you’re trying, Detectives. My latest theft was like taking candy from a baby.

Ocellus marched up to the computer and typed back:

Illuminators:

Don’t get your ego too big, we will bring you to down. We will bring you to justice for this.

Carmen:

Threaten me all you like, Detectives. It hasn’t stopped me from taking the throne. Perhaps I might get lucky next time around. Speaking of which, are you ready for my next clue?

Ocellus scowled and slapped the side of the boxy monitor.

“So, what do we do now?” Gallus asked.

“The only thing we can do.” Twilight approached the computer. “We must keep going. Ocellus, I know you’re upset, but if we are to catch her, we need all the info on her that we can get.”

“What info?” Ocellus questioned. “We’re nowhere near catching her than from the start.”

“Not true. Because if there’s anything that I remember about playing this game, is that Carmen has a theme with her crimes.”

“A theme?” Smolder asked, “Like what?”

“For example, I remember playing a game where she was stealing all these monuments and statues, where the clues were game based. And it turned out, she was stealing for pieces for the world’s biggest game of chess. So even if we don’t stop her here, the more we play, the more we’ll figure out what she’s up to.”

“Huh…” Yona tapped her chin, “Thief steals scepter, and now throne. Could Carmen getting stuff related to royalty?”

“It’s very possible. But it may not be the only thing.” Twilight pointed out. “We don’t know what she’s planning or what the theme might be. However, the best way we can figure that out is to keep playing.”

Twilight then typed in the computer.

Illuminators:

What’s your next clue, Carmen?

Carmen:

You would need a pearl of wisdom for submerging this clue, Detectives.

Author's Note:

Carmen Clue #2

You would need a pearl of wisdom for submerging this clue, Detectives.

Comments

[emperer]

The Pearl of changing (maybe Queen novo's shard)
Wait no that is too obvious i do believe it is something hippogriff related but what i don't really know

(Ps i was right with the last one)

[Joe Toon]

Well, I was off but now this next one seems like an insult.

[MaverickTSU]

The clue is obviously referring to the pearl of Queen Novo

[MDCommissioner]

Okay, if this next clue isn't Hippogriff-related, someone needs to scale down the difficulty.

[CrackedInkWell]

11651286

11651035

11650881
Correct! I'll be writing up the next chapter and I'll be sure to get it out as soon as I can.

[Dan]

I never thought about it much until now, but I suspect the "Chief" AI in the original cartoon was probably at least partly inspired by Max Headroom. And if that exists in the same universe as Discord...

Oh, God...