//------------------------------// // The Circus Comes to Town. // Story: Il Carnevale de Artiglio // by Vicron //------------------------------// The sky flickered for a moment, stars that had shone for centuries dimming and fading if only for an instant. This did not escape Twilight's notice. As her cutie mark held several, the lavender mare had dedicated quite a bit of time to studying their movements and mannerisms. The stars had regained their proper brightness and alignment, but something still seemed off. She put her eye back to the telescope and searched the heavens, searching for the out of place piece she knew was there. There it was, a scar in the night sky. A single line of crimson light, jabbing directly into Scorpio like an expertly honed claw. She heard something click behind her, like bone on wood. She turned, peering into the darkened bedroom, she could see little in the shadows. "You know, I kinda like the dark." A glowing line of red appeared in the dark, it was curved slightly, and turned in such a manner that it resembled a crooked smile for some unseen face. She didn't recognize the voice, it was hard to even tell what gender the speaker was. "But I do not enjoy what follows." The red line drifted through the air over to her desk. "Let's not invite her, alright?" It floated over a candle, illuminated by the weak light the line gave off. "You're going to want this." The line- no, finger, she realized- wrapped itself around the candlestick. Picking it up and tossing it to her. She reached out with her magic and caught the candle, bringing it up to her face. "There isn't much light where you're goin'." The finger closed over the candle's wick for a moment before pulling away, leaving a small flame behind. A soft chuckle filled the air and she was falling. ----------------------- "Aaahhh!" Twilight screamed as she sat bolt upright in her bed, blanket and pillows flopping off to the ground. She sat there for a moment, trying to control her breathing. "Well," she coughed. "That was unexpected." Her bedroom was rather bare, her bed on one end and on the other a desk and mirror. She slid out of her bed, her horn humming as she replaced the things she had knocked off. "Twilight! Twilight!" The door swung open with a slam as Spike barged in, clutching a piece of paper in his claws. "What is it Spike?" Twilight rubbed her forehead, still trying to straighten her thoughts out. She didn't like waking up from nightmares, it always left her muddled for a few minutes. "There's a circus in town." Spike held out a flier, Twilight took it in her magic, bringing it up to her face. "Can we go? Please?" The flier depicted white, faceless stallion with disproportionately long legs and wearing a suit. Behind him a twisted, dead looking forest spelled out the name of the circus with its branches. "Il Carnevale de Artiglio?" Twilight flipped the flier over. "I've never heard of them." On the back there was a map of the expansive fairgrounds, emblazoned across the top in thick red letters was the phrase 'Darkest show in Equestria'. "When does it open?" "In an hour." Spike shrugged, "there was this weird guy handing these out with Pinkie Pie, he said they got set up last night, and they were delayed a little because they had to make sure no one noticed." "What?" Twilight arched an eyebrow at him. "Look at this map Spike, there's no way they could have set all that up in one night, especially not without anyone noticing." Spike rolled his eyes, walking over to the window. "Willing to bet?" He smirked. "I bet you twenty bits that when I open the blinds, there will be a fair that you can see from here." "Fine." Spike opened the blinds and sure enough, she could see the fairgrounds from her window. It was a chaotic assortment of colors, with a massive blue, circular tent right in the middle, perched on the eastern side of town. Twilight looked back at the map, the layout was the same. Twilight grumbled, lighting her horn. A drawer in her desk opened, a sack of bits floated out and into Spike's claws. "Thanks for the entry fee Twilight." He turned to leave, smiling cockily over his shoulder at her. "You coming?" Twilight sighed. "Yeah, just give me a second to get ready." She made a mental note to ask whoever ran the place how they set all that up in complete silence in one night. She looked up into the mirror, finding her mane a wreck she whisked up her brush to tame it. As she did, her mind drifted back to her dream, a strange one. She didn't think she'd ever dreamed about floating fingers before, and for all her research into the mental meanings of dreams she could not for the life of her think what it meant. She had never had prophetic dreams before and that was something that manifested at a rather young age, so there was no chance of it being a vision. Twilight looked up to the note pinned on the mirror's frame, she opened a drawer, lifting out a small graphite pencil. "Remember to research the meaning of disembodied fingers in dreams." She muttered to herself as she added to her list of morning reminders. She nodded, tucking the pencil back into its drawer. Her stomach growled and she glanced at item number three on her list. 'Remember to eat before getting to work.' This one was in Spike's handwriting, he had originally written it to make sure she took care of herself back when they lived in Canterlot. Checking it had become part of her morning routine rather quickly, and though she was pretty sure she could operate without it now, she kept it for sentimental reasons. And to add things she thought up in the mornings before they got swept away by the rest of life's antics, she usually managed to get these things done by the end of the day, with the exception of a spell that had taken a year to perfect. But hey, now she didn't have to worry about harmful molds on her leftovers anymore. As she walked down the stairs to the main floor, she wondered what kind of show the Artiglio would put on. If she remembered correctly from her lessons in different languages, the circus' name was Itailian. Literally translated it came out to, The Circus of Claw. That's odd, she thought to herself as she assembled a sandwich. Why make the distinction? Why not claws? Simply remove the O and it was plural, why singular? Oh well, she shrugged, taking a bite. I guess I'll find out when I get there. "Come on Twilight, you almost ready?" Spike called to her, Twilight sighed, quickly finishing her sandwich. She hadn't bothered herself with how it tasted before, why should she start now. "Yeah Spike, I'm coming." ------------------------------------------------- The fairgrounds had a thick, rope fence around them. They looked decrepit, but a quick prodding from a disillusionment spell revealed them to be in perfect condition, if only for a moment. Twilight puzzled over them as she walked Spike to the entrance. The spell making the ropes appear destitute was a rather intricate little piece of work, it also put a shield over the circus, preventing anyone from coming in unauthorized. A small crowd had gathered around the entrance arch. It was styled to appear rusty and twisted, hanging between the two poles the upper arch was carved out of wood. Carved into the rotted looking wood was the carnival's name. It wasn't hard to find Rarity and Applejack, the Cutie Mark Crusader's excited babbling made sure of that. "Hey girls." Twilight, pushed her way through the crowd to them. "Hiya, Twi. Spike drag ya here the same way these three did us?" Applejack chuckled. "Yeah." Twilight sighed. Rarity looked about ready to explode, obviously the decrepit appearance of the carnival was getting to be too much for her. "How they expect to entertain in this trash heap is beyond me." She growled. "It's an illusion Rarity." Twilight deadpanned. "It doesn't really look like that." Rarity stared at the rotted sign for a moment before turning back to Twilight. "Why?" All six of the others turned to her. "Huh?" "Why would they do that?" "Big reveal maybe." Spike shrugged. "Speaking of which, look, somebody's coming out." A large creature strolled up to the edge of the barrier. It stood high above any of them, walking on its hind legs, it raised its left arm in welcome. It wore a double breasted over-shirt and dress pants that appeared to be tie-dyed in white and black, causing the colors to swirl around and blend with each other in a chaotically mesmerizing display. An intricately gold-inlaid beaked mask covered the top half of its face. And its grey mane was pulled back into a ponytail that came down to where its other hand rested behind its back. It coughed loudly and spoke, cementing itself as a he, and as being in possession of a light Itailian accent. "Signore e signori, boys and ghouls, my name is Kleng. Beyond this illusion lies a ghastly concoction of delight, horror, fantasy and terror. Your every wish is our command, your every whimsical desire brought to life. But I warn you, there's always a price. Welcome," he brought his other hand out from behind his back, ushering out a chorus of gasps from his audience. There on his right hand, where his pointer finger was on his left, there was a massive, red claw, as thin as his other fingers but as long as his forearm. He threw his arms wide, the illusion covering the carnival shattering. The arches straightened, rust dissolving into thin air. The upper arch shed its rot and roughly carved words for a gleaming polish and scarlet lettering. The frayed ropes wove themselves back together, and the destitute looking tents of the fairground stood up straight, their colors brightening. Creatures of all shapes and sizes suddenly populated the once deserted carnival. "To Il Carnevale de Artiglio!"