The Canterlot Caper

by Silvermyr

Chapter four- Ponyville Prank

The Clown dashed out of the post office and fluttered as quick as possible towards The Wizard’s mansion. She held the short letter crumpled in her right hoof. Everything had gone haywire. They had a Princess on their hooves! Twilight Sparkle herself was coming after them! She had to warn the rest of her friends, they had to do… do something, anything! When she arrived to the mansion, she did not care to knock, but simply barraged into the door, giving the butler a minor heart attack. She took no notice of him, but flew up the stairs to the master bedroom.

The Wizard stood in front of the mirror and looked at his reflection with a critical eye when The Clown smashed the door off its hinges. He picked up a comb and slid it through his gunmetal colored mane. His eyes moved to meet The Clown’s in the mirror.

”I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I prefer to have my mail in the mailbox,” he said dryly. ”But now that you are here…” The Wizard turned around and held out a hoof. The Clown handed him the small note.

She thought The Wizard would flip out as well, but his face barely moved at all. He got a small furrow in his brow, but that was it. ”I shall have to look into this,” he said simply. ”But don’t you worry none, I will make sure to call in a meeting. Now, I trust you have better things to do than destroying my home? Thank Celestia that I am a generous soul and won’t demand that you pay for a new door.”

The Clown wanted to say something, but heard the butler huff angrily behind her. She turned around and left, somewhat saddened by The Wizard’s chilly dismissal. Her ears laid flat against her skull as she left.

When she got home, she sat down by the table and thought.

All in all, things were not that bad, now that she had begun to calm down. The Wizard had some way to contact their friends, so they could act soon. All she had to do was to finish the morning rounds as usual and go home. Eventually, The Wizard would contact her.

*****

The Escape Artist met The Tamer at the station. Of course they both wore masks, but they had learned to recognize each other through other means. The way you walked, your posture, your expression; it all said something about who you were. For that matter, The Tamer’s twitchy movements were hard to miss. The Escape Artist trotted up to him. Just having somepony he recognized close by helped him calm down.

They were both dressed in the fanciest suits they could afford and slowly moseyed their way to The Wizard’s mansion. Apparently something was brewing in Ponyville, so they would have to meet there instead of at The Golden Apple Slice tonight.

They both stepped into the mansion together as the sun was starting to set. A butler came and took their suit jackets and a small magenta filly looked at them curiously. Her eyes seemed to scour them for any type of flaw in their clothing.

”Who is this weirdo?” The filly asked while giving The Tamer a judgmental look. The pegasus’s right wing unfolded and folded again in rapid succession. ”Is he, like, stupid or something?”

”Forgive Miss Diamond, sir,” The Butler said apologetically to The Tamer, who took no notice of him at all. ”She is very temperamental. Mr. Rich is expecting you in the living room at the second floor.” The butler looked to The Escape Artist, no doubt unnerved by The Tamer’s twitches and strange demeanor. ”Allow me.”

They followed the butler up the stairs and were ushered into a large living room. The Wizard sat in a large leather armchair at the short end of a wooden table around which The Equilibrist, The Bearded Mare and The Illusionist already sat. On it were a couple of champagne bottles and glasses. Bookcases lined one wall and windows the opposite. Across from their doorway was a similar door, flanked by two crossbows with a fan of bolts under each. A large crystal chandelier hung over the table.

”Thank you, Randolph,” The Wizard said with a relaxed voice. ”Please leave us and make sure my little Diamond does not disturb.”

”Naturally, sir,” the butler said. With a small nod towards The Escape Artist and The Tamer, he left the room and closed the door. They both went to the table and took a chair.

As soon as the butler had left, The Wizard went up to one of the windows and opened it. With the sound of flutter and a loud crash, The Clown flew through it, and into the bookcase on the opposite wall. Prankster fluttered through the window in a more controlled manner and landed in front of The Equilibrist.

”RRRAK! SEEDS, RRRAK!” The Parrot said with expectant eyes.

”Well, of course, but be silent please,” The Equilibrist responded as he put a small pile of seeds, nuts and slices of fruit in front of the parrot. ”Else the butler might hear you, and you are a rather unique pet.” Prankster looked at The Equilibrist with disapproving eyes. The Tamer walked up to The Clown and helped her stand up.

”First of all,” The Wizard said as he looked at the dazed Clown, ”sorry for being so cold to you earlier, but I’m afraid I have to maintain my charade when Randolph is nearby.”

”Ohh, it’s nothing,” The Clown said. She was very happy that The Wizard apologized though. Few other ponies showed her such kindness. She pretended not to see that The Illusionist rolled his eyes.

The Wizard nodded. ”Now that you are all here…” He passed The Illusionist a small, crumpled note. He read it and passed it along.

”Huh, now that’s annoying…” The Equilibrist said when the note returned to The Wizard.

”Yep, it is,” The Equilibrist continued. ”we have more important business to attend to than silencing ponies right now.”

”You are aware that we have a Princess after us, right?” The Illusionist asked dryly. ”Twilight seems annoyingly persistent, based on what my sources say. We should at least keep track of what she does.”

”We should do far more than that,” The Escape Artist said with a wicked grin. ”The Escape Artist has learnt of a minor complication with the regalia.”

”Okay, and what is that?” The Clown asked in her curious way.

”Only an alicorn can remove it.”

The atmosphere fell in the room as her colleagues took that piece of information in. After a dramatic pause, The Escape Artist spoke again. ”But now that Sparkle will do us the favor of coming after us, that won’t cause much of a problem, will it?”

”I like the way you think, peasant,” The Illusionist said menacingly. ”We kidnap Twilight and then the rest of the operation will just be a simple heist.”

The Tamer cleared his throat. ”I s-suggest-t we d-do that-t as-s-soon as pos-sible. We c-c-can work out-t-t the re-re-rest of the p-plan later, b-but we will need s-some time to get T-Twilight to cooperate.”

”I agree, my friends,” The Equilibrist said as he stroked Prankster’s feathers.

”So the agent was supposed to meet up with Twilight here in Ponyville tonight, huh?” The Equilibrist continued. ”That could be an opportunity.”

The Equilibrist was silent a few seconds. ”In fact, I think I have an idea,” he said slowly.

”So you want to strike with the agent there? Sounds unnecessarily risky,” The Illusionist said with a lazy voice. He didn’t seem to be as afraid of the risk as much as having to work.

”We need to know who we are dealing with though,” The Escape Artist pointed out. ”Better to run into problems with the agent now than later in the coup. What is your plan, Equilibrist?”

The Equilibrist described his idea to the gathered ponies, who added their own suggestions. The sun dipped beneath the horizon as they talked and perfected the coup that would mark the beginning of their most daring performance, The Canterlot Caper.

”Well, well, well. This might work… theoretically,” The Equilibrist said when they finally were done.

”I dare say this might be hypothetically viable, if we are a bit lucky,” The Equilibrist clarified. ”But that will of course depend on you, Clown. Think you can do this?”

The Clown swallowed nervously. It should not be a hard mission, exactly; just as far from her comfort zone as possible. Her typical work for The Circus was either to control The Tamer, or to provide an extra pair of hooves when needed.

This mission would require her to operate alone and, even worse, there was a risk for violence.

The Clown hated seeing ponies get hurt. She preferred to run when threatened, but that would be impossible during this mission. Of course, she was not untrained in hoof-to-hoof combat, nopony in The Circus could be, but that didn’t mean she liked to fight.

”Clown?” The Equilibrist asked with a kind voice. ”I can do it if you prefer… but it will make other parts more difficult. And she might recognize me…”

”How about you pull your own weight for once? I don’t want to clean up your mess should he be recognized,” The Illusionist said with a demeaning voice. The Clown shrunk under his gaze. An angry hiss came from The Tamer who gave The Illusionist a look that could frighten the dead.

”No, don’t fight now!” The Clown said with an anxious voice. ”I’ll do it,” she mumbled.

”And you are sure you can do this without a hitch?” The Equilibrist asked, somewhat uncertain. ”If not, let me take care of it.”

”Nono, I will do it. I can do it,” The Clown said, a little louder.

”If you say so… Wizard, I trust you can get the things we need?” The Equilibrist asked as he turned to the earth pony.

”Already have them, my friend,” The Wizard said with a smile. He trotted up to the wall and took down one of the large crossbows. ”I will use this. You can have the other one.”

”Sure you can hit with that?” The Bearded Mare asked with a doubtful voice.

”Of course I can. I am quite the marksman, actually,” The Wizard said with a smirk. ”Clown?”

”Yep,” The Clown said as she picked up a small bottle and a couple of darts. ”I have never tried these, but from what I have heard from Nurse Redheart, it is very strong.”

”G-g-good,” The Tamer said. ”The more t-time we have the b-bet-t-ter.”

The ponies looked at each other in a fateful silence. ”Curtains rise, for now the show begins,” The Equilibrist said. As one, everypony rose from their chairs and filed out of the room.

*****

Rarity and Coco were chopping up carrots for dinner in Carousel Boutique. Together with Twilight, they waited with nervous excitement. They were about to meet a secret agent, the one who had been on The Circus’s hooves the longest. Even Coco had managed to put her anxiety aside for now.

”Perhaps we should turn on a Con Mane video?” Rarity asked with a swooning voice. She had to say something. She had a hard time keeping all excitement in. Was this how Pinkie Pie felt all the time?

”I don’t think so, Rarity. Let’s try to keep this professional, okay?” Twilight said with a serious voice, but beaming eyes. She seemed just as excited as Rarity.

”I am professional, I just want to have something to do while we wait,” Rarity defended. She was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. The three ponies tensed at the sound.

”Rarity, perhaps you should open the door?” Twilight suggested with a giddy voice. Startled, Rarity got up from her chair and opened the door.

”Hello, Rarity,” Bon-Bon said in a carefree way. ”Can I come in?”

Rarity opened and closed her mouth a couple of times. She had expected the agent, but instead it was just Bon-Bon on an evening walk. ”Why, yes. Of course,” she said when she had gathered her bearings somewhat. ”I was expecting somepony else…”

”Like a secret agent?” Bon-Bon asked with a smirk. Rarity's expression was priceless.

”Bon-Bon?!” Twilight asked in a startled voice that matched Rarity’s feelings perfectly. ”You are the secret agent? The one who has been tracking The Circus?”

”That’s me,” Bon-Bon said in a neutral voice. She took out a pair of shades from nowhere in particular and put them on. ”And my name isn’t Bon-Bon, it’s Sweetie Drops. I was originally trained to catch monsters, but due to an incident involving a certain bug-bear, the agency was shut down and I was then transferred to another agency that dealt with organized crime. Celestia wouldn’t waste her best agent, after all…”

”Whaaa…? Wh… when… wha… gaaaa?” was all Rarity could say. Bon-Bon was a secret agent?

…?

”Yep,” Bon-Bon said with an amused smile. ”So, Princess, you want to help me, huh?”

”Yes, I want to help you, and Rarity does too,” Twilight said with a surprised voice. She seemed to have been lost in her own thoughts.

”In that case, I just want to tell you something, let you know what kind of ponies we are up against,” Bon-Bon said with a serious voice. ”Everything I share with you now is classified, so you will have to keep silent about it, okay?”

Rarity and Twilight nodded. Rarity felt herself being filled with even more nervous excitement, if such a thing was possible. Classified information, just like in any Con Mane movie.

”There is one pony in The Circus whom I might know the real name of,” Bon-Bon said silently. ”The Tamer. I think his real name is Topsy Twitchy, former Wonderbolt.”

”Who?” Twilight asked. Rarity’s excitement died and was replaced by fright. She had expected to face the nastiest criminals in Equestria, but she did not expect Topsy, of all ponies, to be among their ranks. Wasn’t he supposed to be dead, for that matter?

”You mean The Twister? The Wonderbolt whose stunt nearly ruined half of Canterlot?” She asked while praying she was wrong.

”That’s him,” Bon-Bon confirmed calmly. Rarity swallowed.

”Hello, can somepony explain?” Twilight waved her hoof.

”Long story short,” Bon-Bon said patiently, ”’The Twister’ was one of the best Wonderbolts there ever was, and a master at weather manipulation with a special knack for storms. Some of his tricks are still regarded as the finest in recent Wonderbolt history. It was also he who worked out the wind funnel tactic used to bring water up to Cloudsdale. However, he turned out to have a few screws loose, and during one show he created a tornado so large it reportedly lifted spectators out of their seats and threw them. That is the only time spectators have been severely injured during a Wonderbolts performance. He went missing after the incident, and hasn’t been seen since. Most ponies prefer to think that somepony so dangerous as dead, but closing ones eyes and wishing… well, I find it doesn’t always work…”

”So you think he joined The Circus, and that they have hidden him?” Twilight asked. Rarity could see that her friend looked just as shocked and disgusted as she felt herself.

”Yep. And that is the type of pony you will be up against,” Bon-Bon said with a casual tone. ”Still sure you wanna join?”

”Yes,” Twilight said. ”More than ever. If that’s the type of pony they employ, then I will put them down.”

”Just one question, if you don’t mind,” Rarity said with an inquisitive glance. Bon-Bon motioned Rarity to continue. ”Do you know anything about them? Any signalment, race or gender?”

”Not much, no,” Bon-Bon answered. ”Every pony race is represented, but they are very careful with hiding their identities. They always wear masks, and the unicorns refrain from using magic.”

”Oh joy,” Rarity said glumly.

”Come on, Rarity,” Twilight said with an encouraging smile. ”The Circus have never had us to tangle with before. They won’t even know what hit them.” Rarity gave a wry smile.

”I like your spirit, Princess. This will be exciting,” Bon-Bon said with a smirk and removed her shades again. ”Celestia said something about somepony who has fallen victim to those vermin, is that right?”

”Coco Pommel, yes,” Rarity said. ”She is in here, please follow me.” Rarity went to the kitchen, where Coco had moved on to dicing up apples.

”Coco, the agent wants to see-” Rarity began before Bon-Bon tackled her roughly to the side and all but flew through the kitchen door towards Coco. The confectioner/ agent slammed into Coco and heaved her down on the floor.

CRASH!

A silvery streak penetrated the glass and cleaved the air where Coco’s neck had been just a moment earlier. The silence afterward was deafening. Coco’s eyes were small as pinpoints and her breathing came shallow and quick as she laid beside agent Bon-Bon who, in turn, had positioned herself just below the window in order to avoid any further shots.

”Things just got real,” Rarity said in a breathless voice as she got to her hooves again.

”Take cover you two,” Bon-Bon said with a voice of steel. Rarity and Twilight placed themselves behind the door. ”Now, Twilight, hoof me the bullet. I want to know what they are shooting with.”

Twilight stared dumbfounded towards the broken window. There was only night outside, and yet she knew there was somepony out there, maybe taking aim at her right now. She snapped back to reality at the sound Bon-Bon’s voice and looked around the room. She found what was left of the ”bullet” stuck in a wall, and levitated it over to herself.

”Bon-Bon,” Twilight said with a confused and scared voice. ”This is not a bullet, it’s a dart.”

”That means their sniper, The Wizard, is here, and likely somepony else too,” Bon-Bon said with a voice that was more annoyed than anything else. ”Rarity, stay here with Coco, I think it is her they are after. Twilight, come with me. We are bringing them down now.”

Before Twilight could voice a protest, Bon-Bon had jumped through the broken window and disappeared in the night. Twilight swallowed and dashed out the window as fast as she could. When she got out, she jumped quickly to the left and continued to move erratically to make herself harder to hit.

”There you are,” Bon-Bon’s voice was like Twilight had never heard it before. It was bitter, on the border to scary. Twilight saw the agent looking towards a roof at the other side of the street.

The darkness made it hard, but Twilight could clearly see the silhouette of somepony standing on the roof. He or she had a crossbow in hoof. Twilight watched the figure heighten the weapon, aim to his side and fire. The bolt shot through the air faster than the eye could follow and struck the house beside the pony on the roof. A rope went between the bolt and the house where the pony stood.

Without a word, Bon-Bon and the unknown pony both began to run. Bon-Bon ran on the ground, and the other ran along the rope he had spanned between the houses with the bolt.

Twilight was just about to follow, when something caught her eye. In the middle of Mane Street stood another pony, dressed in a long, black cape. Twilight knew he or she was looking at her, even if the long cape hid the face.

The Wizard is here, and likely somepony else too. There were two enemies. Twilight began to gallop after the other pony. The cape would make her target hard to spot from the air. Her enemy was fast though, in fact, more so than Twilight herself.

Twilight ignited her horn and prepared a spell. She focused on the running figure and lifted him or her from the ground. Before her target had come even a hooflength upwards, the unknown pony teleported. Twilight skidded to a halt as she tried to locate her quarry. The sound of running hooves behind made her turn around. The running pony dashed down the same street they just had run up. Twilight continued her pursuit, and readied another spell.

Just before she would cast it, a cloud of smoke exploded in the street and hid her target. Quickly, Twilight changed the spell in her horn, and summoned a gust of wind. The smoke cleared up and she saw the black cape disappear around a corner. Twilight followed the runner away from Mane Street and into the back alleys.

She had just enough time to see the figure coming up to a crossing among the houses. The running pony paused for a moment, and Twilight could see the faint glimmer of purple magic. Twilight locked on her target to lift her again, but immediately lost focus. Three identical figures stood in the crossing and galloped in different directions.

Twilight leaped at the one coming right at her and felt her hooves hit nothing. It was just an illusion. After a few seconds, she came up to the crossing and saw one of the ponies galloping towards Town Hall. It could be another illusion, but Twilight had no way of telling them apart, so she might as well follow that one and hope.

After a few seconds, she was pretty confident that this was the right ”illusion” to follow, or it would have disappeared by now. She licked her lips and readied a special spell, a type of inverted shield that should prevent anypony from teleporting. Combined with a simple levitation spell, her quarry would be caught.

Twilight summoned up the two spells in her horn, closed her eyes to concentrate and let the spell resolve. She felt her magic leave her and knew the spell must have hit. She opened her eyes and saw with a proud, if tired, smile that the circus artist was struggling inside a semi-transparent shield, surrounded by the glow of Twilight’s magic.

Twilight trotted up to the shield to look at the face of her captive, when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Something large. She tried to duck, but it was to late. The rock hit Twilight right on her horn. Her magic fizzled and died.

She landed on her hooves and grimaced at the pain in her head. She looked up and saw her magic fading. The pony faced Twilight, and she reacted quickly. She fought down the throbbing feeling in her horn and called a gust of wind. The black cape was lifted from the face of the running pony. Twilight stared.

Before her stood Shining Armor, her BBBFF.

”It takes more than that to catch The Escape Artist, Twilight Sparkle. Nopony in The Circus acts alone,” Shining Armor said snidely. But it was not her brother’s voice. It was a mare’s voice, like a confident birdsong. It was not Shining Armor, it was just a mask!

Not-Shining Armor reared up on her hind legs and another cloud of smoke filled the alley. When it cleared, Twilight could see the unknown pony running away. She aimed a spell at the pony and heard a sound as the mask fell to the ground. She set off after the mare, as fast as her hooves would carry her. If she could capture her now, then she would know who it was. Twilight rounded the corner and-

-And her vision exploded in a dazzling firework. The second she rounded the corner, a large metal surface caught in a bluish shimmer slammed into her head. She instinctively reached for her magic and teleported a short distance, anything to get away from her assailant. ”Tsk, tsk, how sloppy,” The refined and superior voice came from behind her. It was a stallion.

She staggered forward and reached up a hoof to her forehead where she had been hit. The assailant did not attack her again. She opened her eyes and looked back to where the attack had come. The world spun slightly. There was nopony there, only the abandoned frying pan she had run face-first into.

Her gaze fell on the wall beside her. With beautiful and squiggly letters, somepony had written something.

Nopony in The Circus acts alone.

Twilight stood still and breathed heavily. The pony had gotten away. She stomped her hoof in the ground, picked up the mask that she had ripped off and continued her pursuit. With a little luck, she might still catch up to the running pony.

There was something irking with the getaway, before the ambush, almost as if Twilight had seen it somewhere before. But where…? The thought gnawed at her mind as she ran through the night.

*****

Sweetie Drops kept her eyes on the running pony as much as possible. She smirked in excitement. His balance, his skill, his speed, this pony could only be the one she had searched for. She was chasing The Equilibrist himself. The leader of The Circus, and he was just a few ponylengths away.

She looked up to the roof where the enemy had disappeared, and quickly sprinted around the house. She saw the Equilibrist trot along a thin rope between two houses, and she reacted quickly. Sweetie Drops picked out the small hairpin she wore and threw it at the rope. The small, hidden blade in the pin sliced through it easily, and The Equilibrist fell.

Quick as can be, Sweetie Drops leaped at him, only to be pulled back by a rope tied around her left back hoof. She fell flat on her stomach and looked over her shoulder. There was nopony there, and The Equilibrist had not used his magic. The sound of running hooves caught her attention. The Equilibrist was back on his hooves and scaled a wall like it was a ladder. In the blink of an eye he was up on the roof.

Sweetie Drops ripped the rope around her ankle apart and continued running.

”I must get up to the roof somehow, else I will lose him sooner or later…” She thought as she tried to find a way up. She cursed as she thought of the suitcase with her rope and grappling hook which stood back at Rarity’s. She rounded a corner.

A woodpile stood against the wall. She did not pause to think, but dashed at it and leaped at the gutters. She just managed to get a hoof around it and began to heave herself up.

”Prankster,” She heard a calm, youthful voice call from up the roof. She put her other hoof at the gutter and lifted her face up over the roof edge. She saw the large black bird just because it was darker than the night surrounding it. It came at her with talons wide open. ”Go for the eyes.”

”RRRAK, RIPRIP, RRRAK!” The bird screamed a deafening screech. She had just enough time to get a hoof up to protect her face. The long talons raked over her front leg. She closed her eyes and hit blindly with her hoof to get the bird away. She was barely clinging to the roof with the other one.

The bird was gone just as fast as it had appeared. She opened her eyes. The roof was empty.

”Miss agent, is that me you are looking for?” She heard the voice come from behind her. It sounded just a smidgin different now, more mature. The loud screech of the bird had probably upset her hearing.

She crawled up to the roof and turned around. Sure enough, The Equilibrist stood on the opposite roof. He must have passed her with a speed that would make a Wonderbolt jealous in the few seconds the bird had blinded her.

”Equilibrist,” Sweetie Drops said with a venomous voice. She leaped out in the air and reached for the roof where he stood.

Then she felt the rope around her ankle again. It snaked around her as she flew through the air and slowed her down. She flailed to get to the roof, but only managed to reach the gutters. She hung on with only one hoof as The Equilibrist towered over her. The large bird landed beside him and looked at her with intelligent and malicious eyes.

Sweetie Drops looked over The Equilibrist. Unicorn, longer than most and lean. The mask looked like, of all ponies, Fleur De Lis.

”Taking a leap of fate?” The Equilibrist asked smugly as he reared up on his hind legs to crush Sweetie Drops’s hooves against the roof.

Sweetie Drops let go of the gutter just before the unicorn would stomp. She fell for about a second and landed roughly on the ground. The Equilibrist and his parrot looked down at her from the roof.

”EQUILIBRIST!” Sweetie Drops screamed up to him. ”Who threw the ropes!? Who helped you!?”

”Why, It was me, The Equilibrist, who threw them.” The smirk was perfectly audible. ”But then again, I am a liar… unless I lied when I said I am a liar, of course. Or does that make me a liar still…?”

”Stop with the riddles. I will catch you. I will follow you to the end of Equestria if need be,” Sweetie Drops called up to the pony.

”Try if you want, but remember that nopony in The Circus ever acts alone, so what does it matter if you catch me?” The Equilibrist asked. He then made a sweeping bow. ”That’s all for tonight, everypony, but I do hope you will grace us with your presence next time! You have been a wonderful audience!”

”RRRAK! THANK YOU!” The Parrot dipped its head. Then they both disappeared into the night.

Sweetie Drops sat on the ground for almost a minute, fuming with rage. If he just had gotten away it would have been one thing, but he had to taunt her too?

”No,” Sweetie Drops said to herself. ”He had a plan, he never does anything without a plan. Why did he taunt me? Why did he wait for me on the roof?”

Her jaw fell as she understood. ”Ponyfeathers, COCO!” She ran towards Carousel Boutique.

*****

The Wizard and The Clown watched Twilight Sparkle and Bon-Bon dash off after their friends. They both laid as flat as they could on another roof, waiting for the coast to clear.

”Hoof me another dart,” The Wizard whispered to The Clown. He felt the cold glass in his hoof and moved it up to place it in the crossbow. He pulled the string, arming the weapon. ”Alright,” he whispered. ”Rarity and Coco do not seem to come into view. I will cover the exit. Good luck.”

”Oi,” The Clown said nervously as she fluttered down to the ground and trotted up to the broken window. She peered inside, but saw nopony. She swallowed as she hopped through the window and into the kitchen.

This was not at all her cup of tea. It was normally The Equilibrist or The Escape Artist who handled kidnappings, but now they were both needed elsewhere. The broken glass crunched under her hooves. She backed against a wall and reached into her saddlebag. She felt the metal plunger against her hoof as she pulled out a syringe.

Nopony who saw it would ever think of it as a medical tool. It was far to large and crude for that. Everything about it screamed ”weapon”. The Clown felt a little calmer when she held it. Now, at least, she could defend herself if need be.

She quickly moved out of the kitchen, closed her eyes and listened. The only sound was from her own loud breathing. The Clown opened her eyes again. She had been in Carousel Boutique before, so she knew the basic layout. There was the main room, a small storage space and the kitchen on the ground floor. She trotted up to the door to the storage room, opened it and leaped back to avoid a possible assault. Nothing but bolts of fabric.

”Must be upstairs then,” The Clown mumbled to herself. She fluttered up the stairs and listened again. Strangely, she felt a lot less nervous now when she was actually doing something than she had been while she waited.

There was a faint sound coming from the door closest to her. She pulled at the handle. Locked, obviously. She licked her lips. Now came the scary part. Now she would literally have to carry out an honest-to-Celestia kidnapping. And to make things worse, the target was a pony she knew, even if she wouldn’t call her a friend, exactly.

She hesitated for a moment when she thought about it. She knew she was not the best pony, but she would never have imagined she would one day commit a crime like this. She wondered, as she had many times before, when her life had taken such a dark turn. And, as all the other times, she could only praise her luck that her life had taken the course it had. Now she really did have friends, friends who cared for her.

She shook her head and reached into her saddlebag again. ”One, two, three…” she counted as she let her hoof slide over the syringes. She took out the fifth one, and carefully put the tip of it in the crevice between the door and the wall. She pushed the plunger and heard the familiar hissing noise as the acid began to eat through the lock. She backed away from the acrid smell.

She applied a bit more acid, just to be sure, and then put the syringe away. She still held the other one though, loaded with the same hypnotic as the crossbow darts.

She waited for a couple of seconds before she tried the door again. It opened without any resistance, and she saw her target.

Rarity looked frightened, but determined to protect Coco, who laid quivering behind her. The Clown lifted her syringe, in case Rarity lunged at her. She didn’t. The Clown slowly took a step towards the two ponies. Rarity stood still. She took another step. The two were now just a few ponylengths apart.

”Of all masks to wear, you had to pick Derpy Hooves, didn’t you?” Rarity asked with a dark voice. The Clown felt as if Rarity had slapped her.

Then Rarity moved. She did not, as The Clown had expected, use her magic. Instead she made a quick motion with her hoof. The Clown instinctively looked away and brought up her hoof to protect her eyes from the sewing needles Rarity had thrown at her. She felt something hit her hard enough to make her stumble backwards, and a sweeping kick made her lose balance. The syringe fell out of her hoof. She looked up with dazed eyes at Rarity, who stood over her.

”While I hate to ruin such an exquisite piece of work, let’s see who you really are,” The Clown felt Rarity’s magic envelope her face, apparently trying to remove what Rarity thought was a mask.

The Clown's anxious mind kicked in the overdrive. She had to defend herself. This was not the time to be afraid.

Quick as can be, The Clown hit Rarity in the stomach. The unicorn crunched down with a cough, and The Clown head butted her, causing her to back away a few trots. The Clown sprung to her hooves again and looked around. She found her syringe just beside her. She grabbed it, flapped her wings and shot towards Coco Pommel, who laid in a corner and quivered. ”Always the weakest enemy first, else you might be overwhelmed,” she remembered The Equilibrist’s tip.

She felt Rarity grab her tail with her magic, but the momentum kept The Clown moving forward just a little while longer. She let her hoof sweep in a stabbing motion…

… and felt the familiar pressure as the syringe needle bored through flesh. The Clown pressed the plunger and injected the sedative into Coco’s bloodstream.

”WHY, YOU…!” Rarity screamed behind The Clown with a voice that became surprisingly hoarse. The Clown felt Rarity drag her towards her with her magic. She tried to turn around, but got only halfway before Rarity put a hoof on her throat. The Clown now laid on her side under Rarity with her wing in an uncomfortable position. She felt the hooves around her face.

Rarity pulled.

And pulled.

And pulled again.

Nothing happened.

”Derpy… Derpy Hooves? Is that… you?” Rarity asked silently, shocked. The Clown felt the hoof on her throat twitch a little in surprise.

”MY NAME IS NOT DERPY!” The Clown yelled as loud as she could. She felled the surprised Rarity as the fashionista was stunned by the realization. The Clown pinned her down to the floor. Rarity looked frightened by the sudden burst of anger.

”My name… is Ditzy Doo…” The Clown said sadly. Her anger vanished as suddenly as it had come and left only a hollow sadness. She was used to it. She felt the same wish to scream every time anypony used that name; the name the bullies tormented her with. She felt a few tears fall from her eyes. Rarity had not meant anything bad with the name, and yet it hurt so much.

The Clown reached for the syringe with slightly shaking hooves. Rarity struggled under her, but to no avail. The Clown injected the hypnotic in Rarity’s side. The alabaster unicorn stopped struggling and looked at her with frightened eyes, before she collapsed in a deep sleep. The Clown breathed choppily.

”My name is Ditzy Doo,” The Clown repeated unhappily to herself. She looked at the sleeping Rarity and felt a powerful pang of guilt. She sat on the floor and tried to control her breathing. She swallowed a few times, then shook her head as if to remove the memories of her nasty deed. It didn’t work. ”What have I done?” She peeped with an anxious voice.

She forced herself to move. She had to do what her friends expected her to. They counted on her. She would have time to think later. She scooped up Rarity and headed for the door. She had to get to The Wizard’s mansion. As she trotted down the staircase, she placed her empty syringe in the saddlebag.

She warily entered the kitchen and looked to the window. Once she reached it, she would just need a few minutes to get back to the mansion. She was almost done.

”Put her down, whoever you are.”

The Clown recognized the voice to some degree, but it was changed somehow. The Clown spun towards her left, and there stood Bon-Bon. She had a pair of shades over her eyes. The Clown’s anxiety amplified thousandfold. She had been caught red-hoofed in the act of kidnapping. An image flashed across her mind with her in striped prison garb. ”No!” She thought, terrified. ”She thinks it’s a mask, right? Just like Rarity? I’m not caught, I’m NOT caught.”

The Clown dashed towards the window as fast as her hooves and wings would allow. She was still not fast enough. Bon-Bon grabbed her tail and yanked her backwards. The Clown spun in the air as she was pulled and jabbed with her hooves in blind panic. Bon-Bon dodged nimbly, and put her back hooves in The Clown’s chest and bucked her.

The Clown felt the air leave her lungs as she was sent flying across the room and into a table. The window blazed past her and an idea formed in her mind. She saw Bon-Bon coming at her again. Just as The Clown landed she pushed off from the ground and flew forward to meet Bon-Bon’s charge head on.

While she was no match for the earth pony in raw strength, she had another trick up her muffin. They collided in the middle of the room, and The Clown crouched under her enemy. It put her at a disadvantage, but she had to keep down. Bon-Bon took the opportunity and struck the Clown over the neck. She felt the world spinning, but knew what she had to do. The Clown leaped off the floor, took hold of Bon-Bon’s front hooves and flapped with her wings. Bon-Bon felt herself being lifted and toppled backwards, she landed on her back and the pegasus flew over her and ducked down close to the window.

”I’m not alone anymore!” The Clown said while praying that her friend was still there. The agent moved to get up again, but she didn’t have the time. The Clown thought she could hear a crossbow sing. Her heart fluttered with relief in her chest as the dart hit Bon-Bon in the stomach.

For a couple of seconds, the earth pony fought the chemicals, but eventually she collapsed. The Clown trotted up to her limp body, removed the dart, picked up Rarity again and dashed out the window. She was done for tonight. She wanted to get home to Dinky, her sweet little muffin.

*****

The Bearded Mare and Shadow Shovel were slowly trotting by the edge of Canterlot’s graveyard. The many stones shone in the pale moonlight and the air was cold and damp. A bell tolled in the night. It was soothing and serene, something that only made The Bearded Mare feel more ashamed of what she was about to do.

Still, it was far better than what her colleagues were doing, so she couldn’t really complain.

”So, five, was it?” Shadow Shovel asked with a shady expression. ”Any preferences?”

”At least one of each race,” The Bearded Mare answered. ”But other than that, just make sure they are absolutely fresh. Deliver them to Ponyville’s post office tomorrow.”

”And the payment?” Shadow Shovel asked nervously. ”I’m sure you understand that body snatching is a… pretty risky business…”

”Of course,” The Bearded Mare said quickly. She didn’t like hearing the words ”body snatching”. ”Make sure the… wares… are sent on time and you will be paid justly.”

”Done,” Shadow Shovel said with a sly grin.

Author's Note:

Bear with me! I will explain The Clown's motifs for joining in the next few chapters. Perhaps you might wait till then with assembling a torchwielding mob?

Everypony in The Circus will have their motifs explained by the end of this.

Comments

[rosebug]

I've really been enjoying this story, especially this chapter. I love how the action ramps up here and we are starting to get an idea of who is who in The Circus.

I really want to know who The Equilibrist is though, probably more than the others since I at least have guesses for the rest of them...except for The Equilibrist.

”No, don’t fight now!” The Clown said with an anxious voice. ”I’ll do it,” she mumbled.

I love reading this line out loud, because it is so in character with The Clown once we find out who she really is and I can't read it without trying to mimic her voice.