//------------------------------// // Chapter 13: Circus Shenanigans // Story: Talons of the Storm // by Storm Talon //------------------------------// Talon found the festival surrounding the circus to be very distracting. Every couple of feet, there was something new, colorful, bright, shiny, loud, or some combination thereof. This made progress down the streets slow for the crusaders, who had to drag him away from or past each distraction. “C'mon, Talon! We already got snacks, let's go!” The crusaders trotted, tumbled, and otherwise made their way through the crowd of ponies outside the oversized tent. Ponies meandered through the bleachers, trying to find seats that matched their tickets. The smell of candy, popcorn and fried foods wafted through the air as the heat from so many ponies in an enclosed space made the tent seem more like an oven. “Hey girls! And Talon! Where are you sitting?” Pinkie pie waved from her place between a bag of popcorn as large as her head and a clump of cotton candy that looked just like her hair. “I think we're sitting around here,” Sweetie guessed as she looked at their tickets. “Let's see, F20 through F24.” “Hey, I'm F25! You guys are right over here!” Pinkie shoved a hoofful of popcorn into her mouth as she waited for them to make their way over to her row. “You're just in time; the clowns are about to start!” The crusaders shuffled in to sit near Pinkie, with Talon on the end of the row. He was a little thankful for that, as Pinkie's excited antics showered them with popcorn, and the distance meant he missed the worst of it. Talon plucked a piece out of his crest, examining it before popping it into his mouth. “Is good. Apple Bloom, what is?” “Huh?” Apple Bloom tore her attention from the performers below, who were forming some kind of pyramid. “What is what, Talon?” Talon spotted several pieces of popcorn in her mane, and reached over to grab one. “See, what is?” Apple Bloom flushed as she felt his paw tugged on her mane. “Uhh... it's... popcorn.” “Popcorn is good.” Talon snapped up the piece out of his claw. “You never had popcorn before or something?” Scootaloo interjected. Putting a hoof up to her mouth, she whispered toward Apple Bloom. “And, did he just...” “Yes, Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom hissed through gritted teeth. “Let's just watch the show.” The clowns soon cleared out, allowing for the trapeze artists to start doing flips and twirls through the air. Some of the pegasi among them acted as hoofholds for their fellows on occasion, themselves converting the momentum into graceful twirls and spins before letting themselves be caught by another pony. Scootaloo was especially enthralled by them, sitting on the edge of her seat while her wings fluttered. Soon enough stunt ponies came out, getting shot out of cannons and performing acrobatic jumps and tumbles. Other ponies joined in, sword swallowers and fire breathers strutting and mingling with the others. Talon looked wide-eyed at the performance. “Ponies breath fire?” “Not really,” Apple Bloom explained. “It's a special trick they do, now hush.” Talon glanced beside him at Apple Bloom. “Okay.” “Ladies and gentlecolts,” Show Stopper announced as he stepped up onto the podium in the center of the ring. “I am Show Stopper, the proprietor and ringmaster of this amazing circus. Can I get a round of applause for my amazingly talented employees?” Hoot, hollers, and hoof stomping erupted from the crowd, as Show Stopper bowed deeply. “Thank you, thank you. Our performers may work for bits, but I can tell you they live for a happy crowd!” Laughter erupted from the crowd as he smirked and glanced around. “Pretty good so far, huh girls?” Pinkie nudged Sweetie before she noticed something off. “Girls?” Pinkie turned to the crusaders to see their attention fixed on Talon, who was gripping the wooden bleachers so hard his knuckles turned white as he tore small holes in the wooden surface. “What's wrong, girls?” “We don't know! He just froze up like this! Talon, what's going on?” He flinched away as Apple Bloom placed a hoof on his shoulder, but it snapped hi out of his stupor. “I-is like Show S-Stealer,” he managed to get out, pointing to where the ringmaster was introducing his next act, some sort of stage magician. “But he's not Show Stealer,” comforted Pinkie from his other side. “That meaniepants is in jail. And even if he wasn't, you've got friends all around you, so you'll be safe, okay?” “O-okay.” “Good!” Pinkie called to him from back in her seat. “Now let's watch this circus!” The stage magician turned out to be an earth pony, and the only actual magic his act used was for lighting and pyrotechnics, his assistants carefully showing that they weren't using their magic otherwise. His tricks made the crowd ooh and aah, wondering at the fact that anypony could do things like that, let along without magic. The rest of the acts were equally impressive, although Talon felt uncomfortable when the animal tamer came out. He felt much better when he saw how the animals acted so friendly to their tamer. He ended up laughing at the antics of the puppies, cats and monkeys along with the rest of the crowd. Twilight was relaxing at the castle, having just finished up some plans for her experiments the next week. If she was lucky, she might be able to increase the magical community's understanding of weather manipulation. For now, though, she settled into a chair with a good book and relaxed. “Hey Spike, do we have any of the jasmine tea left?” Spike poked his head in through the doorway. “I dunno, but I can-” Spike was interrupted by a large belch as his fire formed into a letter. Twilight scanned the letter swiftly. “Why would Celestia send a letter so late?” Twilight suddenly went pale, running to grab her saddlebags and hurrying to stuff a few scrolls and bits in with the newest letter. “Hey, what's the rush, Twilight?” “You know that circus that's starting tonight?” “Yeah, I think we saw them a long time ago in Canterlot, why?” Twilight lifted Spike in her magic and set him on her back. “I have a bad feeling about it. I just hope I'm wrong about this...” The door slammed shut as Twilight galloped towards the gigantic tent on the edge of town. Dear Princess Twilight, I regret to inform you that Show Stealer escaped from his imprisonment several days ago. We are still unsure of how exactly he did so, but it appears he had outside assistance. I would have informed you sooner, but it was only recently brought to my attention as part of a weekly report. While it is unlikely that he will do so, I fear for the possibility that he will find some way to target Talon. Such an incident would be unfortunate for many reasons, not the least of which is the trauma it would bring to poor Talon himself. I also fear that such an incident may tip the already precarious situation with Griffonia's high king toward disaster, should he hear of it. The guards are currently conducting a full investigation into his disappearance as I write this letter. Hopefully, it will shed some light on his current goals and relieve my suspicions. I have included a picture of Show Stealer for your reference. I truly hope this turns out to be nothing, but it is best to remain vigilant. Your friend, Princess Celestia A photograph of a surly-looking yellow unicorn with a green mane was attached to the letter which now bounced with every stride Twilight took, galloping between teleporting from place to place. “Twilight, wha-” “t's so impor-” “tant that y-” “ou can't slow d-” “own?” Twilight panted as she flew over a few pony pedestrians. “Show Stealer... got out... might be... at the circus... go after Talon.” Spike reeled back in shock, struggling to keep his balance atop Twilight. “Wait, what?” Twilight simply continued to fly over the crowd of ponies chattering excitedly as they exited the big top, dodging the occasional pegasus. She spotted Talon walking with Pinkie Pie and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, swooping down to land beside them. “Thank goodness you're alright!” Twilight looked around, trying to spot a particular pony in the crowd. “Whaddaya mean? Of course we're alright silly!” Pinkie gestured to the gaggle of foals behind her. “Auntie Pinkie's got everything under control, Twilight.” “Alright, just...” Twilight's face scrunched up and in a flash of light they were all suddenly in the castle. Twilight rushed around, her horn glowing as she did so. A cold, calculating gaze stared into the still pool. You didn't really need one for scrying, but some things were just traditional. The image cut out just as Twilight started to place spells around her castle. “Hmph, he hasn't even started, and already this much chaos. This,” the figure hissed, drawing out its breath as it grabbed a nearby unicorn's vacant face and turned it to either side. “This is why they need me and my father. It's just such irony that the road there is paved with discord.” The figure sighed as she turned away from the mindless unicorn. “So much work from one simple bandit raid. Father must have been so close to finishing, too.” She turned to look at the pool, once more clear and still. “Oh, well. Eventually, they will all languish in their misery just as I and my brother have.” The five of them stared as Twilight finished her magic and trotted over to them. “Okay, we should be safe from almost anything for a while.” “Safe?” Sweetie swiveled her head to look around the room as if something was going to jump out at them. “Safe from what, Twilight?” Twilight shook her head, trying to clear it. “I'm not sure, Sweetie. We need to be prepared in case Show Stealer gets here.” “Huh?” Pinkie gasped. “But I thought meanie mcmustardface was in jail!” “I just got a letter from Celestia. Apparently, he was broken out several days ago, but she just heard about it today. I was afraid he might try something while you were at the circus.” “Uh, Twilight... I don't think Talon is doing too good.” Apple Bloom pointed over to where Talon was hyperventilating as he lay on the floor. “Okay, we just need to calm down. My spells should let us know if anypony tries anything. We need to focus on figuring out whether Show Stealer is in Ponyville. If he is, then we can try and figure out what he might do.” Pinkie raised a hoof into the air, waving it frantically. “Ooh, me, me, I know!” “Of course we'll need to alert the guards to be on the lookout for him. We should get Talon's guards to accompany him just in case, and I'll see if I can set up a tracking spell on him to help.” “Twilight!” Twilight sighed in frustration. “Yes, Pinkie?” “I think I might know where to start looking for Show Stealer.” Twilight's head shot up, her eyes open wide. “How? Pinkie sense?” “Pffft, no, silly.” Pinkie waved her hoof dismissively. “I just thought the ringmaster at the circus looked a lot like Show Stealer, but I thought he couldn't be 'cuz he was named Show Stopper, and anyway Show Stealer was in jail except now I know he wasn't.” Twilight's eye started twitching, her face unable to hold a single expression. “He was at the circus? This whole thing could just be some sort of distraction. I'll alert the guards, you get Talon and the crusaders home!” With a pop, they were suddenly left alone in the castle. “So, who wants some more cotton candy?” After they had managed to calm Talon down, Pinkie escorted each of the crusaders home. Partway through doing so, she had elected to drape a sleepy Talon over her back for ease of transport. Fluttershy cracked her door open as Pinkie knocked, leaving her tapping her hoof against thin air. “Hey Pinkie what- ohmigosh, what happened to Talon?!” Pinkie looked over her shoulder. “Oh, he's just worn out. Probably the sugar crash, or finding out that Show Stealer is probably in Ponyville. Or both.” “Wait, what?” “Yeah, I might have given him a little too much cotton candy, but can you blame me? He looks super funny when he eats it.” A mismatched face glanced up from the welcome mat between them. “That does sound rather amusing, wouldn't you say, Fluttershy?” Pinkie Pie waved until her motions jostled Talon off of her back. “Hey discord! You missed out on the circus.” Fluttershy let out a heavy sigh. “Let's go inside.”