My Little Clony

by therealfeedback

Act III, Chapter IV

MY LITTLE CLONY

Chapter IV, Act III
The Showdown

“You’re sure you want to go through with this?” As I asked the question, I was busy carrying a tray over to Promontory. On it was a simple breakfast that Whooves had prepared, which I found odd since I had never known him to be a cook before. Then again, it was fairly hard to place much about him. It was early morning, with the sun peeking over the hills, giving a soft, amber light to the rented room the six of us were in.

“Not much choice, eh?” Promontory replied, looking over the meal. “The challenge’s been made. Backin’ down from him’ll just push him on an make things worse. Good or bad, I’m seein’ this through. Besides,” He reached down, picking a piece of bread off the tray. “I have some things I want to find out about this ‘Golden Gallop’.” At that, he took a bite of the bread.

“Well, however it goes, I wanted to say…I’m sorry. I was overly forceful with the whole clone thi—“

“Don’t worry ‘bout it.” He cut me off. “Crazy as it was, yer’ heart was in the right place with all that stuff. Don’t give me this “however it goes” stuff though. However it goes ain’t how it goes. How it goes is that I come back. Simple as that.” I nodded, though inside, I was curious. Only yesterday, Promontory had seemed genuinely furious about all this. Now, he was shrugging it off. Whatever it was, I hoped for a chance to ask him more about it later.

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The sunlight peeking in through the window shined on Golden Gallop’s forehead as his eyes blinked open, taking in the morning around him. He shifted slowly out of the bed, cautious as not to wake the mare he had been lying next to.

“I need a drink.” He muttered, dragging his things off the floor and tossing them over his brown coat. He slowly pushed the door open, walking out quietly before heading down the stairs into the bar of the saloon. He sat back on one of the stools, turning to the bartender cleaning out a glass. It was a different, younger-looking bartender than the one who’d been shot the previous day. “Give me something. Anything. Just…something to wake me up.”

The barkeep nodded, walking away. A moment later he returned, setting a medium-sized glass in front of Gallop, what was in it obscured by the discoloration of the glass. Without hesitation, the bandit grabbed it, gulping it down. He slammed the glass down onto the bar, his head snapping from side to side as the drink traveled down his throat, sending strands of his coat standing up on-end.

“Um…that’ll be…” The barkeep started, only to be shot a menacing glare by the bandit. “I’ll…just…that one’s on the house.” The ‘customer’ smiled.

“You’re smarter than the last one.”

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“I want to ask one more time.” Caesar said. “You’re sure you want to go through with this?” As he spoke, Promontory stood in front of him, loading the sheriff’s borrowed revolver.

“Not much choice now.” He replied, gesturing his head towards the sun. “It’s almost noon. Besides,” He slid the firearm into its holster, tugging on the brim of his hat. “There’s somethin’ I need to find out about this Golden Gallop. Somethin’ don’t sit quite right.”

“May I ask what?”

“We’ll talk about it after I win.”

“For someone facing a trained killer, you’re confident.” Caesar observed.

“I don’t fall short of my word. Ya’ sound like ya’ don’t believe in me though.”

“N-no, I do, it’s just—“ He stammered, before being cut off by Promontory.

“That’s all I need to hear. See ya’ in a few minutes.” At that, he turned around, moving slowly out of the doors of the hotel, marching towards the center of town.

Something was different today than yesterday. Some sort of confidence. Some sort of question. Whatever it was, it had bolstered the brown pony. He was ready to fight.

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The sun sat high in the middle of the sky, bearing down on the black cloak the lone pony in the center of town was wearing. He glanced from side to side, looking for his opponent. Moments later, he walked into view, slowly lining up across from the black-cloaked pony.

“Didn’t think you’d show.” Golden Gallop shouted.

“I keep my word.” Promontory answered. “Even to those who don’t deserve such.” The comment drew a laugh from Gallop.

“I guess someone doesn’t like me. Don’t worry though, my feelings aren’t hurt. Right,” At that, he brushed his cloak aside, the sun now glowing down on the exposed grip of his firearm. “Now we start.”

The gaze between the two was unflinching, as if a solid line connected their lines of sight. Each hovered a hoof above their weapon, but dared not act first. While sweat rolled down Promontory’s forehead and almost every other inch of his body, Gallop stood dry, clearly used to the scenario he was in, save for a stray drop of sweat from the heat of the black cloak.

The wind blew across the two, scattering dust around, tossing the black manes of the two about, throwing the hats of both to the ground, and throwing Golden Gallop’s cloak back into the wind. Neither flinched. As the few minutes the two stood perfectly still seemed to tick on forever, seconds turning into hours, minutes years, each inched their hooves closer to their guns, drops of sweat trickling down onto the grips of the weapons.

And in a second it was over. Both shot to grab their weapon. Three bangs, a scream, and a strand of blood through the air.

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The brown pony writhed in pain on the ground, clutching his shoulder. The victor stood over him, having picked his hat back up off of the ground.

“Y…you…dammit!” Gallop rasped through gritted teeth, then spat, wincing from twisting his shoulder as he did.

“Quit squirmin’.” Promontory said, wiping the spit off his face. “Yer’ just gonna make that wound worse.”

“S…s…shut up! Shut the hell up!”

“Oh, now ya’ know what that means?” Promontory taunted. Slowly, ponies who’d been hiding inside buildings, behind structures, and in-general keeping out of sight peeked out to see the aftermath, some cheering upon seeing the bandit on the ground. One particular pony who came back out from the foreground was the wounded sheriff, one of his legs now carried in a sling. He cleared his throat, staring down at Gallop.

“Golden Gallop, as the sheriff of Appleloosa, I hereby place you under arrest.”

“H…How about…how about you go…and f—“ Before the bandit could finish, a hoof slammed into his face, knocking loose a tooth in addition to stopping his mouth.

“How about no?” The sheriff replied, before turning back to Promontory. “Thank you for stepping in to handle him in my place.” Promontory nodded.

“Anythin’ to help, sir.” The sheriff leaned down, pulling the revolver out of Golden Gallop’s holster. The weapon had been put in by somepony clearly intoxicated, and as a result, caught on its own holster, a smoking bullet hole in it where the two shots now in the ground had pierced.

“You…you ain’t better than me! My damn gun got stu—“ Another hoof, and another tooth.

“Shut up. Again.” This time it was the sheriff telling him to shut up. He looked away from Gallop, and back to Promontory. “I owe you. A lot. Ya’ stepped in fer’ me when I couldn’t do my duty as sheriff. That’s a debt in need’a repayin’. Is there anythin’ I can do now to start repayin’ it?”

“Honestly, Silverstar?” Promontory started. “Remove his cloak. There’s somethin’ I need to see.”

“Wait, wait, wait. It ain’t enough for you to shoot me and beat me, now you want to strip me in public?!” The wounded bandit demanded.

“Shut up. All between you and bein’ naked is a damn cloak, it ain’t hidin’ nothin’.” At that, Silverstar turned back up to Promontory. “I admit it’s a…strange request, but I don’t see what harm’d come from it. Hold ‘im down?” The brown pony nodded, leaning down on Gallop to prevent him from moving as the sheriff removed the black cloak. The sun bore down now uninhibited on his brown coat. Promontory stood for a moment, silently staring at Gallop, before nodding.

“That’s all I needed.” He said. “Take him away.” The sheriff nodded, yanking Gallop up with his good front leg and dragging him towards the sheriff’s office.

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“So…is that it?” Vinyl asked. The five of us had watched the duel from the second story of the hotel, and still hadn’t seen Promontory since, in spite of the fact he had won. “He’s not coming with us?”

“I guess not.” I answered. It was the simplest conclusion. “He’s a loyal friend, our secret’s safe with him. I’m sad though, he would’ve been a nice way to round out the group…”

“So, what now? We still haven’t investigated the sheriff.” Whooves asked.

“Actually, we have.” At that, I pulled the hat off of my head, handing it to him. “While the sheriff was down after getting shot, his hat was on the ground. I switched it with the one I bought at the train station. A few strands of his mane are stuck to the sweatband, which should be more than enough.”

“Excellent.” He said. “We should probably be going then, odds are there’ll be an official response to all this soon, and any notoriety right now is bad.” I nodded, taking the hat back.

“Pack what you brought with you, the train leaves in an hour, and I already have five tickets.”

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As the train pulled into the station, I glanced at my ticket, then back at the town one last time. The stress from the two days here were enough for a month. Somehow, I had a feeling that was something I’d be getting used to. With a nod, I turned back to the train.

The five of us began boarding, when there was a tap at my shoulder. I spun, panic in my head, only to see a familiar face. Promontory.

“…Aren’t you pulling the trai—“ He cut me off, chuckling.

“I got a substitute. I’m comin’ with y’all.” I stared, stunned after the last two days.

“Why didn’t you see us at all before now toda—“ He cut me off again.

“I’ll explain inside the train. Come on, it’s about to leave.” I nodded, leading him in to our car.

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“So, if you don’t believe all this clone stuff, why did you come with?” The Doctor asked. The section of the train we were in was similar to the one from before, including having its door shut.

“Didn’t.” Promontory replied. “I do now. I didn’t, but somethin’ didn’t seem right about that Gallop fella. He sounded and looked too familiar. That, along with all yer’ talk about clones, just didn’t seem right to me. So, when I beat him today—“

“Why were you so confident about all that, anyway?” I interrupted.

“Never do somethin’ ya’ ain’t sure yer’ goin’ to do well at. That’s something a certain pony in here told me once.” At that, he turned back to the center of the car. “That’s why I asked to see Gallop without the cloak. To get a good look.”

“At what?” Trixie asked.

“…A good look at his—“ Vinyl started, before being cut off by a light punch to the shoulder.

“I know what I look like, tip to tail. He sounded like me. His face looked like mine. It was disturbin’, like lookin’ in a mirror. That along with the clone talk ate at me – I didn’t sleep a wink last night. So I wanted a full look at him once I got the chance.”

“And?” I asked.

“Identical.” He replied. “More than identical. A perfect copy. Maybe my mind’s messin’ with me, but I’d rather miss a few days of work and find I’m wrong than wonder night after night.”

“Count me in.”

“Excellent.” I said, the excitement of having an old friend in the group apparent in my voice. “We’ll need to roll out another bed, but that’s more than doable. It’s good to have you back onboard, old friend.”

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I sighed, staring at the glowing monitor in front of me. It had been hours since we had arrived back in Manehattan, and hours more the computer in front of me had been analyzing the strands of the sheriff’s mane, but it had felt like days. I hopped up out of the chair, pacing around. The amount of time that it had taken for it so far on the sheriff seemed to indicate that it’s not him.

“So then that would narrow down our list a bit more…” I said, speaking to myself. An odd habit I’d picked up ever since starting all this.

“Why not narrow it down all the way?” The words were whispered in my ear, and in that instant, a chill went down my spine, my heart skipping a beat. “After all…what if this ‘Game Master’ you’re so desperately looking for…was right behind you? Right now?” The voice was familiar, as if I’d heard it before, at the same time distant. The terror and uneasiness inside of me only worsened.

“Well, it’s your lucky day, little guy. Turn around. Get a good look at your ‘master’. Because I’ve been waiting for this for a while.” My entire body shook at the words. These few moments could easily be my last. One trembling hoof after the other, I slowly turned around, to face the one who was behind me. The one I had been hunting. The Game Master I was woefully prepared for at this time. Caught off-guard. And as good as dead. Their gaze met mine, and I felt my heart not skip a beat, but seem to genuinely stop.

This was them. This was the Game Master.