Chapter 2
Not in Kansas Anymore
The bat and clown continued their tumbling struggle with every fiber, every sinew of their being to subdue the other. Bruises gradually covered more and more of Aero’s body and face while cracks began forming in Ektor’s artificial face at an agonizingly slow rate.
The void, for lack of a better word, was a tornado of colors and sounds; mostly pink and black with a smattering of warm colors here and there, accompanied by a cacophony of indiscernible sounds, always just beyond the reach of definition.
Ektor grabbed Aero’s wrist. Aero spun and delivered a heeled kick to Ektor’s jaw.
Aero couldn’t be bothered to think about how long they’d been like this, or how either would get out. He was far more concerned with the hulking freak trying to smash his skull open.
Through the struggle, Aero caught a glimpse of a strange uneven shape tumbling through with them. Glancing away from Ektor, Aero saw the curtain that brought them here just in time for it to swing hard to the edge of the tunnel and disappear in a flash of yellow.
Well that’s ominous.
WHAM!
Aero took a sharp, hammer-like blow to his cheek, and beheld a bright, sky blue light swallow both performers whole.
* * * * * * *
The box ignited, burning and sparking with the narcissistic unicorn’s blue magic.
How much magic did she put into that?
The entire crowd backed nervously away, lightly jostling Twilight as she stared, transfixed on the magic item. The blaze was like stepping into the sun from a dark room. As much as the blinding light hurt Twilight’s eyes, she continued to analyze everything that was happening in some remote hopes of stopping it.
With a concussive boom she felt in her chest and stomach, Twilight was knocked back in a shower of dazzling sparks and embers. Her head swam with colors and abstract shapes, laced with muffled, almost musical sounds.
Twilight slowly became aware of pressure on her left side. From this, she translated she was on her side. Her vision consisted of two blurred masses of white and yellow, struggling for attention. A giant blue shape bumped the other two out of frame.
Twilight’s senses righted themselves at an increasing rate and as her vision sharpened and her ears cleared, Twilight beheld the magenta eyes and blue face of a concerned Rainbow Dash. The pegasus pony breathed a sigh of relief, as did many other ponies outside Twilight’s pegasus-blocked view.
“I-i…” Twilight vocalized weakly, suddenly aware of how sore her chest and leg muscles were. “Is everyp…everypo…ny a-alright?”
Rainbow Dash gave a short and nervous but relieved laugh.
“She’s okay!” Dash announced to an unseen crowd who in turn cheered, relinquished captive breath, thanked Celestia, or some combination thereof. “Worry more about yourself. Everypony else is.”
“You! Go find Nurse Redheart! Tell her we have ponies hurt and in need of medical attention!”
“Is he alright?”
“Ah’ve got no idea what he even is!”
“Oo! I love guessing games! Or is this a puzzle? OH! A guessing puzzle game!”
Twilight pushed at the ground and attempted to stand. The soreness had reduced to a dull ache and her listing balance prompted Dash and Rarity to brace her from both sides and keep her steady.
“Oh, be careful over there!” Rarity warned. “He could be dangerous!”
“Pfft! Dangerous? He’s dressed like a performer! See?” Pinkie said.
“Oh my. He looks hurt. We have to do something about these bruises and cuts.” Fluttershy, ever the maternally-oriented veterinarian and medic, assessed the red and black heap on the ground before herself, Pinkie and Applejack.
Twilight took a shaky but still stable step forward with both Rarity and Rainbow Dash supporting her.
“Easy, now!” Dash protested.
“I’m doing better.” Twilight stated with increasing confidence.
The mass stirred and revealed itself to be, as Pinkie Pie already and correctly indicated, a circus performer. Fluttershy poked, prodded, and rubbed various sites of injury as she did when checking for serious damage.
“Nothing broken, yet.” She announced, pleasantly surprised. “I thought I’d hear mor-“
“OW!”
Everypony jumped, even the crowd who gasped in response. Fluttershy skittered backward and cowered behind AJ, who in turn had taken a braced stance.
The performer strained and groaned as he fought his way into a sitting pose, stretching two large ears and wings. Clutching his head, he appeared to have lost no motor function and by his expression, easily felt every wound and blow he’d sustained. Cracking an eye open, he looked at his impromptu audience.
“You alraht?” Applejack asked.
“Yeah… I think so… feels like I’ve been hit by a train, though.” He answered. He gave a sharp gasp, his eyes widened and frantically began searching in every direction. “Where is- AH! Where is he-AH!”
Fluttershy leapt into action, an act difficult to comprehend in the context of the soft and demur pegasus, and eased the bat.
“Don’t move, lie down.” She urged, but the bat would have none of it.
“Where’s who? Who are talking about?” Dash demanded.
“What do you think you’re doing? Don’t you dare ignore me!” The unmistakable voice of the unlikable Trixie came from behind the torn curtain of her stage shortly before she did. A tall bipedal giant took center stage and scanned the surroundings with blackened eyes. At least Twilight thought they were black, it was difficult to tell at this distance. “Trixie demand-“
The giant, who would have physically looked down at even Princess Celestia, simply and literally booted Trixie from the stage. The half-hearted kick didn’t look strong enough to any damage, though it did wind Trixie and cause her to stumble to keep upright.
“You’ll demand nothing, mule.” He threatened.
Everypony gasped upon hearing the derogatory remark, instantly earning the behemoth the hostility of all present, even in defense of the reviled Trixie.
“Him…” The bat said, voice strained by horror and fear. “Run, all of you. I’ve go-HAARGH!” He tried to stand before his body answered, Fluttershy immediately supporting him and softening his fall.
The sound of pain instantly drew the monster’s gaze. He smiled sadistically and stepped from the stage as easily as walking down stairs. He menacingly made his way for the fallen performer, ponies scattering and fleeing in his path.
“Aero… lovely to see you again…” He grinned venomously. “I have clear eyes again. That means I’ll enjoy breaking every last bone in your filthy little verminous body!” Twilight noted the giant’s voice had gone from unnaturally smooth to a rough sandpaper sound with the last statement.
Applejack launched forward to engage the invader. Picking up momentum, AJ’s galloping charge ran to meet the steady stride of the mannequin-like threat. The statuesque creature swung his enormous boot with full-forced kick that could easily kill with a single strike. AJ moved like she’d been expecting the attack, hopping up onto his foot, leaping up to his thigh, and finally vaulting into his nose delivering a trademark buck to his face. One hoof hit his cheek while the other honked his nose.
Surprisingly, that was no exaggeration.
His nose honked, loud and clear. Pinkie, who seemed to be fighting with herself as to whether or not she wanted to enter the fray, won the fight when the celebratory beep brought a smile to her face.
“Oh my gosh, HE HONKS!”
Twilight thought Rainbow had made up the stories of Pinkie racing across great distances on hoof faster than Dash could fly. After witnessing with her own eyes the speed at which Pinkie ran to squeeze the bright red nose, she vowed to be less skeptical of Dash’s stories or Pinkie’s unique physics.
With a burst of confetti and a pop like a firecracker, Pinkie Pie leapt up past a swinging fist as big as she, and bopped the bright red sphere with her front hoof.
The contagious amusement spread among the crowd, Twilight, and her friends. She even felt Rainbow and Rarity laughing along with her.
“Hey, Dash.” Twilight said, slyly. “I think I can walk on my own, now.”
“What?” Dash looked over at the purple unicorn, who cast hinting glances toward the action. Dash’s gears visibly worked.
“Ugh. Go fight.”
“Uh, that’s not…”
“SWEET!” exclaimed Dash before streaking towards the fight.
“Don’t make him mad!” Aero protested through clenched teeth and stabbing pain. “He gets mad, he could kill all of you in seconds! We have to force him back through the box!”
Twilight tensed. Aero’s fear told her all she needed to know. This clown-thing was dangerous and could not simply be overpowered.
“Okay, how do we use the box?” Twilight asked. Aero’s panicked expression scared Twilight just as much.
Now feeling back to her usual steady self, Twilight galloped toward the stage where Trixie still leaned against the wooden structure. The chance was slim, but she had to try first.
“Trixie, we need you to use the box again.”
The blue unicorn responded first with an incredulous and indignant chuckle and cocked brow.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie will nev- hey! Get back here!”
I knew it was a long shot. How to work this…
Even before she asked, Twilight was thinking about the inner workings of the mysterious prop. Drawing nearer, she could feel the flow of the magic throughout the box, something she doubted Trixie had paid any mind, provided she could feel it at all. The energy felt like a teleportation spell with a fixed start point. From this, Twilight deduced the box must be a gateway with no set destination, allowing a stage performer to send their assistant or volunteer elsewhere without visibly using magic.
Re-guided teleportation. I can do this!
Twilight looked over her shoulder to check on her friends and their struggle. The only one not fighting now was Fluttershy, everypony else having leapt into fray, swarming the killer clown from another dimension with pummeling hooves and sharp blows.
“EVERYPONY! BRING HIM OVER HERE! THROW HIM IN THE BOX!”
True, he was easily twelve times larger than the box in question, but that didn’t stop him from coming out of it in the first place.
Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack’s gazes all snapped toward Twilight’s order while Dash continued relentlessly striking but changed her angle accordingly. Aero, appeared to perk up and stand. His wincing conveyed lingering pain and spurred Fluttershy to try and stop him. Rarity began using her magic to try and grapple the clown’s leg and lift it, forcing him backward as Dash used her flight to deliver an endless sequence of acrobatic strikes to his face and chest. Just as AJ attempted the vaulting buck again, the monster greeted her with a clenched fist, knocking her several dozen feet and tumbling to the ground.
Upon seeing her friend fall to such a horrendous act, Fluttershy got ‘the look.’ Her face became a raging mask of hate moments before she too joined the attack with equal ferocity to Dash.
Spike and Pinkie both controlled the stumbling, thrashing giant with bursts of flame, fireworks, and confetti. AJ had gotten back up and began the assault anew with Aero still stumbling to catch up.
“EVERYPONY ELSE! STAY BACK!” Twilight bellowed to the bystanders who seemed to be empowered by the display and about to join any second.
Pleased with the steady progress the attack was making, Twilight turned her attention to the box. Igniting her horn, she started feeling out the magic workings of the chest. She picked it up simply and quickly, though her own impressive skill was not entirely responsible.
Something’s… guiding me…
Attempting to put something ethereal to words was difficult, but Twilight felt she was in a dark room with a light being shined everywhere she needed to apply her attention in the correct order.
The scuffling drew nearer. The box began to glow.
“No you don’t”
NO! Stay back!
Trixe pushed against Twilight’s flank and attempted to muscle her out of the way. Twilight responded in kind as best she could.
Aero had caught up, just as Spike was knocked reeling from a random kick.
Fighting her own maternal instinct to go help her little dragon, Twilight fought to retrace the origin of the creature and Aero.
All at once, it happened.
Trixie’s magic stabbed into the box, sending chaos and panic through Twilight’s careful calculations.
With a final push, everyone went right into the rapidly expanding blaze of magic from the box.
The next thing Twilight knew, she was tumbling.
* * * * * * *
Jacob and Betty watched in tense amazement as the ground all around them shook and tore. Great fissures opened up in the dried earth while tents and signs erupted from the depths. Spotlights, flares, fireworks, and the glow of thousands of lighted signs burned the darkness back.
The concession stands arose with their rancid wares. The gigantic Ferris wheel, the Big Bunyan Ride, invaded the skyline. The Chamber of Horrors grew from the forest floor into its medieval brickwork castle-like structure. The old Victorian Haunted House sprung up on the usual high hill and tracks for the Slay Ride wound all throughout the park. Above them, the oblong airship with its bat-like fins and stabilizers rose to its normal spot above the Big Top Tent.
An unexpected flash made both Jacob and Betty jump. It looked like ten or so objects just landed in the park with the grouping of a shotgun, two of them landing nearby.
Exchanging a nervous look, both adventurers ran to investigate a fallen black and red figure.
* * * * * * *
Twilight shook her dizziness aside and rose to her hooves from the damp, muddy ground. The mud caked into her coat and completely covered her hooves, as well as staining her cheek. Her eyes beheld the striped and brightly-colored tents and signs of a great circus all around her. The ground swelled and quaked, still in the process of belching up the attractions and housings. To Twilight’s astonishment, a wood and metal building rose before her with red and white vertical stripes along the bottom and red and gold lettering at the top reading “Shooting Gallery.” A sign down either side displayed what appeared to be skulls of a mother, father, boy, and girl with the grotesque words “Fun for the Whole Family!”
The questions as to where she was, what was happening, and why did they use a language common in Equestria, all took a back seat to the shadowed figure who stood in no such way Twilight had seen before. It was tall and slim, and stood upright like a minotaur, but with no hunching or slouching at all. Its gaze was perpendicular to Twilight and it appeared not to have seen her. Hurriedly, Twilight ducked behind a weighted barrel beside a tent and observed the figure through the narrow space between the barrel and the blue and red tent.
Fear burned her veins and mind, forcing her to cower like a little foal. Her breathing was sharp and heavy, her muscles tight and braced, her eyes wide and scared.
The figure threw up its arms like a speaker would to address a crowd and spoke in an aged and educated voice with deliberate articulation and an accent.
“Velcome to CARNEVIL!”