Chapter 14: "The Museum Of The New World."

"Simon Cobalt and Cobalt Industries presents, The Museum Of The New World: See the future of the world, before it's end."

These were the words I read aloud, as I gazed up at the marble archway leading into the museum. The sign glowed bright blue, catching the eye of everypony who looked it's way. The Cobalt logo was seen proudly emblazoned on either side of the sign.

Before it's end. Simon knew what he was doing, what he was going to do. And he was so proud of himself, he built a damn museum dedicated to the future he was making for him and his "flock". I felt tight knots in my stomach, as the thought that I ever once called that stallion a friend, seemed to physically sicken me.

Ignoring that horrible feeling, I stepped through the archway into the museum. According to the directory in front of me, Each part of the place was dedicated to a certain theme, that all incorporated what Simon was doing. More specifically, the world we live in now and how "corrupt" it was, the way it will end (By Simon's own hooves) and the "bright" future Cobalt had planned for all ponykind.

I followed the path that lead to the "The World We Live In" exhibit. Stepping through I saw a collection of exhibits detailing the day to day of ponies, but in a much more sinister light, that was supposed to make ponies ashamed of the world they lived in. Scenes of ponies fighting with one another, scenes of famous disasters, Discord running amok, the threat of Lord Tirek, the apparent "tyranny" of the royal sisters, the constant danger Equestria is in from all manner of creatures bigger and stronger than us.

Then at the end, a statue of Simon, himself, with a button for visitors to press to hear a recording. Curious, I pressed it, and Simon's voice could be heard through the speakers above. The way he spoke, was not that of a brilliant scientist speaking to young ponies and families, but that of a cult leader, spouting his vision to his future followers.

"I realize that, what you have seen here today, may seem far fetched. We think we don't want to see our world like this, and you're right, we don't. But something is coming....you can feel it can't you? The world you know, ruled by princesses, governed by magic, always one step away from destruction due to some new threat." The recording said in a serious, monotone voice. "Where were you when Discord escaped from his prison and reeked havoc on our world? You were at home cowering in fear."

Some ponies came up behind me to listen as the recording went on. "Where were you when Tirek, was draining the magic from your loved ones, and you were deathly afraid to ever leave home again? You were trapped, unable to do anything to save yourself."

More ponies came up behind me, eager to hear what the "brilliant" Simon Cobalt had to say. Every word, just made that knot in my stomach bigger. He was just trying to scare them, make them afraid of the world. And it was working.

I couldn't stand it any longer, and quickly hurried to the next exhibit, titled "The End."

I was expecting exhibits of apocalyptic scenarios, depicting the world burning in fire and Tezcatlipoca rampaging across the lands. But instead, the exhibit was apparently still being built. Floor plans were laid out, and several contractor ponies were putting the exhibits together, and moving displays. One pony though, was clearly not a contractor or a Cobalt employee.

To the far corner, a busy looking stallion with a long blonde mane that obscured his eyes and dressed in a white collar shirt was busy adjusting the tripod of a camera, which he was fussing over quite a bit, while periodically strolling over to a table to look at a large cluster of papers and charts he had laid out. If I had to guess, he was probably a surveyor, taking pictures and measurements of the museum to see what exhibit goes where. He would be able to tell me more about the museum, and if he was hired by Cobalt, he may be able to tell me things about what Simon was planning, that a Cobalt employee wouldn't tell anyone else.

I went up to him and introduced myself. "Hello, my name is-

"Shh!" The stallion didn't look up from his charts as he shushed me.

Taken back by his rudeness, I skipped right to the point. "Um, okay. Well I wanted to ask you-

"Young lady!" the stallion exclaimed. "Do you not know what Shh! means? I'm trying to concentrate!"

Having no time for this, I skipped even more to the point, bluntness in all. "No, I don't know what that means when somepony hisses at me through their teeth instead of giving me the courtesy of just asking me to wait a moment!" I exclaimed, narrowing my eyes at him.

The stallion looked surprised, but I saw that I still got to him. He sighed as he moved away from the table. "Yes, alright. What is it that you need, just make it quick please." He said in a more polite tone.

Questioning (Bronson Bucket, Surveyor, May be able to explain more about the unfinished exhibit)

"You're a surveyor, correct?"

"Indeed. Hence why I have my trusty theodolite with me. Why?"

"What is it you are surveying exactly?"

"I was hired by Cobalt Industries to survey this room for a particular exhibit they are going to have brought here. Mr. Cobalt himself paid me top bit to make sure every angle was to his liking."

A particular exhibit? "What exhibit would that be?" I asked.

"I have no idea. All I know is that its rather large, considering how much space I was asked to lay down, and that Mr. Cobalt has it as a top priority. Apparently, they are bringing it in from the Voiceless Jungle."

My eyes widened in an instant. "Wait, the jungle? Is it coming from a village?!" I asked, my voice started to rise.

"I think so? Many details were excluded. They just gave me what they wanted to give me. What is this all about exactly?"

I ignored him, I had to find out if it was true or not. The details of the exhibit would've been in the report Cobalt gave him to use for reference. "This exhibit wouldn't happen to be made of crystal would it?" I asked quickly.

The stallion looked at me. "Y-yes it is, how did you know that? Are you a surveyor as well?"

I didn't hear him, as my brain was already trying to make sense of the situation that I just uncovered. What was going on? Was Simon actually going to bring Clover here and set her up like some kind of...exhibit?!

No, more importantly....did this mean that....Simon knew where the village was? And not only that but, did he already have her!? Why else would he hire a surveyor to make room for her as an exhibit!? My heart pounded against my ribs as the truth of what was going on, finally sunk in.

I had to find that village. Now. By any means, necessary! "Is there anything you can tell me, about where that village could possibly be? It's urgent!" I practically begged Mr. Bronson.

The poor surveyor had no idea just how important it was that I find that village, as he began to look worried and a little scared about the whole thing. "I-I.....I'm not sure, they-' then his eyes lit up for a brief second. "Wait!, I remember there was this one filly in here, who was talking about it, pretty loudly. Said we were making a huge mistake trying to find it."

A filly? What could a child know about the village? "Did she say anything else?" I asked.

"We asked her to leave because she was being a nuisance. She warned us one more time, and left, probably went to the Kiddie Kingdom; that's where all the employee's kids are put while the adults do their work."

"What did she look like?"

Bronson chuckled. "A cute, pink little thing, with a propeller hat and big twinkling orange eyes. She also had a whole bunch of coloring books and crayons with her. Probably given to her by her parents to keep her out of trouble. "

"Where can I find the Kiddie Kingdom?"

Bronson pointed with his hoof to the exit of the museum. "Go through that door, and take the elevator at the end of the hall to the first floor. After that just follow the music and big clown signs. You'll be there in no time."

"Thank you!" I said as I galloped out of the room, through the exit, leaving Bronson to stand there and scratch his head as to what just transpired.

Following Bronson's directions, I boarded the elevator, and pressed the button to take me to the first floor. As I stood there, waiting for the elevator to stop on the first floor, the calming elevator music was cut short by an announcement over the intercom system. "Attention, guests and employees of Sapphire Sands. We have just been informed that The Great Collapse has begun it's final preparations, ahead of schedule. We will begin evacuating to the bunkers in approximately three hours. Thank you!"

All at once, my heart started beating wildly, as sweat formed at my temples, and I could barely think clearly with the realization of what I just heard. This meant that everypony in this resort, knew about Simon's plans to destroy the world....and they didn't even care.

I suddenly felt terribly sick. My stomach turned inside out as I found I could no longer stand up. I just sat there in that elevator, trying to stay calm, and keep myself from throwing up out of disgust. I had never imagined that such ponies existed. Such evil, in our own species. Had ponies really fallen so far?

I had to get a grip! I couldn't let this stop me, no matter how disgusted I was with this whole place now. I just had to keep my mind on what I needed to do: Find that filly, and pray to Celestia she knew where the village was.

Kiddie Kingdom Fun Center and Playroom, 6:52 pm

It was much harder to get to the Kiddie Kingdom, then necessary, as the mere act of having to walk seemed like a slog thanks to the pit in my stomach. But somehow I managed to find the entrance to the Kiddie Kingdom; a massive doorway made from various toys and rainbows, and collapsed into one of the many massive beanbag chairs they had set up.

Taking a minute to calm down, I got up to take a look around. The room was like the inside of a massive toybox. Massive sculptures of toys and teddy bears, rounded the corners, while a huge carousel and gigantic jungle gym took up most of the rest of the room. But the centerpiece was the ocean sized ball pit that took up the entire center of the room. It was clear why kids liked this place so much.

And speaking of kids, there were quite a few here, playing on the jungle gym, sitting at the tables in their beanbag chairs, or diving into the ball pit from the diving board that reached to the ceiling. If I was a filly again, I'd never want to leave. Plus, seeing all these kids having fun, did help to remove the hole in my stomach.

But now I had to focus. That filly was supposedly in here somewhere. But where should I start looking? As it turned out, I didn't need to look too far. While all the other fillies and colts where busy playing, there was one filly who I could see sitting by herself in the corner.

Her pink coat was so vibrant, I could've seen her from halfway across the room. She wore a colorful propeller hat and had a marshmallow white mane and tail. As I approached, she turned to look at me with bright orange eyes, that shined and sparkled. She was clutching a red crayon in her mouth, but spit it out to talk to me. "Aren't you a little old to be in a kid's playroom?" she asked in a cute voice.

I smiled. "I'm not here to play, I was actually looking for you."

"Huh. You aren't with Simon are you?" she asked me, raising an eyebrow.

"What? You know Simon?"

"He has his goons out looking for me. He says he needs my, special talent."

"Special talent?"

The filly held up the drawing she had made, and smiled slyly. My eyes went wide as I saw it depicted me, swirly teal mane and butterfly bow tie and all, entering the playroom to talk to this pink filly. She had nailed every single detail of the exact scene we were currently in. From the two colts playing tag, to the little grey filly with glasses playing marbles with her friends over by the jungle gym.

"H-how did you?-"

The filly laughed. "I told you silly, it's my special talent! I can make predictions with my drawings. Sometimes I get these feelings about where I am, and where others are, and pretty much everything. When that feeling is really strong, I can draw what I sense will happen." she set her drawing down and smiled. "And I have yet to be wrong." she added cheerfully.

"You can see into the future!?" I asked, hardly believing what I was seeing. Then I remembered that this was frankly normal by my standards.

The filly shook her head. "No, I can't actually see anything. I just get a....feeling. A vibe or whatever. When those vibes get really strong, I can see things in the world that tell me what will happen. Little things, but there's usually enough to paint a full picture. Literally."

Amazing. This filly could definitely help me! Not only to find the village, but maybe she could tell me how Simon's plan was going to go, so I could stop it before he even puts it into action!

"What's your name?" I asked politely.

"Soothsayer. But my friends call me Soothy." The filly said proudly.

"Do you mind if I ask you some questions, Soothy?"

Soothy chuckled at that. "I knew you were going to say that."

Questioning (Soothsayer, Young filly able to make 100% accurate predictions about the future, Can help me stop Simon)

I've never had the opportunity to have a conversation with a pony who could predict the future before. I naturally had questions about Simon's plans, but I was also curious about Soothy, herself.

"How long have you had this ability?" I asked politely.

"Forever, basically. The very first prediction I made was that it would storm one night I was in my crib." she explained. "It did." she added with a smile.

"What do your parents think about your talent?"

Soothy looked suddenly nervous. "They worry a lot about me. They keep telling me that I'm too confident in my predictions. To think what'll happen if one day I get it wrong."

That was a good point. Despite her predictions seemingly never being wrong, it was dangerous to simply assume they could never be wrong. It would be wisest to take precautions in case, so one could be prepared even if they don't know what the future truly held.

That was of course, my own opinion anyway.

Moving on from that topic, I asked my next question, taking care to remain as polite and calming as possible.

"Do you know why exactly Simon is looking for you? Is it because of a prediction you made?"

Soothy nodded. "A few weeks ago, my parents and I were asked to come to his office. But when we arrived, he dismissed my parents. Said he only wanted to talk to me. I knew why, from the get go...

"He wanted to ask me about the end of the world."

I was surprised, but I let her continue, not daring to miss any important information. Soothy scratched the back of her head as she recalled her meeting with Simon. "He told me that he had to know how it would happen. That every detail was important. Naturally, I didn't tell him a thing, and told him I wanted to leave. He said fine, but he would ask me again in a few days. His goons have been looking for me ever since." Soothy smiled as she held up another one of her drawings. "But, I always see them coming, so they never catch me."

Looking at the drawing it clearly showed a clever Soothy hiding behind a plant as two goons march right past here, completely unaware. She was very smart. I doubt there was any real concern for her being caught. Still, it would be best if her and her parents left this island. With what Simon had planned, it wouldn't stay a paradise for long.

"Soothy" I began, "Do you.....do you think it's true? That the end of the world is coming?" I asked.

The filly looked at me a moment, as if me asking the question puzzled her. Then she went to her pile of drawings and brought one up from they very bottom of the pile and showed it to me. Soothy practically whispered "Yes."

My eyes went wide as the drawing seemed to come to life in front of my eyes. The world engulfed in flames, massive explosions tearing the very earth apart. Ponies running. Running in fear from a colossal figure that blocked out the sun. I could practically see the violent churning flames in front of me. Practically hear the millions of screams. A wave of chills ran down my spine, as I found that all I could do is stare at the drawing clutched in Soothy's hooves.

I didn't even notice the young filly get another drawing and place it next to the other in her hooves. "Unless' she said, "you and your friends stop it."

Looking at the drawing I saw that it showed the other half of the scene. It showed me, Daring, Dr. Seastone, Ralah and Salah and then...
My eyes went wide as I almost instantly recognized the figure standing with us, as we all faced Tezcatlipoca together. A mare with a burlap cloak and green mane with single branch of parsley tucked behind her ear. "Clover The Clever." I said out loud, my excitement nearly getting the better of me. At once all the fear left, as it was replaced by pure determination.

I suddenly felt like I had nothing to worry about. Whether it was just Soothy showing me what I needed to see, or if she was actually predicting the future, it didn't matter. I had confidence that....no. I knew we would succeed.

"Soothy, I have one last question for you."

I hadn't even needed to ask as the filly handed me a drawing of a map. A map that lead to the village, hidden in the mountains, from the very spot we were standing. The village where Clover was waiting for us. Where she had been waiting for centuries.

I thanked Soothy and gave her a hug, who eagerly gave me one back. "You and your parents should leave Soothy. This place isn't safe." I told her calmly.

But the filly only smiled. "Oh, my parents aren't here. They're already waiting for me in the boat outside."

"What! Then, why are you in here? You should be out there with them!"

Soothy rolled her eyes. "Because I needed to be here to meet you. And to give you the map, silly." the young filly scolded me. She then gathered up her books and crayons, dumped them into her saddle bag, then turned to me. "One last thing you should know, well....two last things."

"What is it?"

"One, bring an umbrella. The weather is about to get real bad soon."

"Okay. And the other?"

Soothy looked at me, a sparkle in her bright orange eyes. "After this is all over, you will be invited. A place of magic and Joy awaits you in a far away land. But something is overtaking this place. Something dark, darker then that you have encountered before. You will need to solve the murder of a murderer. You will wonder if it's all real. There is no true answer."

....that was it. Bye!"

With that cryptic prediction burned into my brain, Soothy left with her things, leaving me the map in my hooves, and even more questions than before. Questions that, I wasn't even sure I could ask.

I made my way to the lobby, my head buzzing with all that had happened while I was here, and purchased an umbrella from the gift shop, despite the clerk's insistence that it was a clear night.

I went outside, happy to be leaving this horrible place behind, and unfurled my umbrella.

There was a loud crack of thunder as lightning tore across the sky.

And then, it began to rain.