The Game

The Game: Chapter 2

By AlphaOmega

November 13, 10:45 A.M. Romp & Stomp Circus

"What a beautiful day." I realized. The sky was dark, as usual, but I, Diviner Festus, was lucky to be alive. I had been on the run for a year now, with not much luck on my side. Not that it wasn't unwarranted. After all, I did tell them all to invest in a fake company and I took all the money from the false account. I giggled to myself.

I doubt I was supposed to use my cutie mark talent to rob the rich.

Nonetheless, here I was, miles away from Hoofington. I was happy enough. I bought a little circus, set myself up as ringmaster, and used a nice sum to furnish the circus. And I still had a little left over.

None of the other circus members questioned my past, strange as it may seem for an employer. They were good folk, but greed was certainly a factor in wanting to be in my circus. I paid them better than companies did. Yet, they never questioned me or my motives, and we all have lived well for a year. Better than living in a filthy city all the time every day.

I had set myself up as a fortuneteller. After all, that is my "destiny". I can read people and their emotions. Once in a while, I can tell so much about a person, I see into their future, sometimes even their past. But, it is a one in a few. I work at it every day. Although, there is a price. I can't see my future. Although it may seem more like a blessing than a curse, no one wants to not know their future. Who wouldn't want to know how bad or good one's future can be?

I came back to reality. Deep thinking really wasn't my style. Better to live in the present than to wait in the past or to worry about the future. I stepped over to my closet and grabbed my fortuneteller costume. Time to work.

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"I have never heard such crap in my life!" yelled the mare.

"If you don't think so, see for yourself!" I retorted, loudly. Using my horn, I tried to make an image of the pissed off mare's future. As the image began to form, she continued to yell at me.

"What a joke! This is ridiculous. As if some-wait. What's that?" She asked inquisitively. I smiled to her and merely showed her what her heart knew would lead her to.

A mare and a stallion. Rings being exchanged. A little filly. Then everything went wrong. The house burned to ashes. The filly died a few months later. The money they had struggled to keep to survive was gone. Finally, the husband left, leaving the mare alone. She began to drink, sleeping with various men. She lands a job as a coal miner. But through an unfortunate event, the cave collapses. Yet...

"I see something else." I said. "There is a chance to save yourself."

"Yes?! What is it!?" She asked in a panic.

I slid over a bowl. "It's pretty cloudy right now." I smirked.

With a growl, she handed over a standard "see a better solution" fee. I changed the image. In it, one could see her not marrying the stallion. The mare becomes rich and her fortune is known worldwide. She lives her life in luxury and actually has a filly through an illegal marriage. However, she does get married. Tragedy strikes again. The house is burned, the filly gone, but the husband as stayed, and so has the money. They live the rest of their life together in happiness.

I dropped the image. "Now you know."

The mare's jaw just hung where it was. Attempting to do anything, really, her mouth opened up and down like a fish out of water. "I...I-wha-no wait..."

"Please lead the lady back to the front." I told a servant who came over. A stallion dressed in gold and black clothing came and removed her.

"Wait!" She yelled back to me. I looked up from counting the bits. "How do I know I can trust this future?"

I smiled knowingly. "I only see the future, I cannot change it. That is up to you."

She was led away by my servant. He eyes begged for an answer, but I didn't care. I continued to count the bits. What I did was real, unlike parlor tricks that second-rate magicians use. However, seeing as I was here and some, like Harry Hoofdeneigh, were in Prance making magic, I'm here in beautiful Spring Meadows, making a decent bits off something I was born to do, but for the wrong purpose. Irony maybe?

As I was finishing counting the bits, someone walked in. I didn't bother to look up. "I'm still busy right now, servant, please escort-"

"He is not here." I stopped and looked up. At first, I was a little shocked. The pony (I assume) had been wearing a hood. I couldn't see her face from the angle where I sat and from the candles in the room. But most striking of all, I noticed a dark. luminescent pupil. It struck me cold.

"I-I-" I slapped myself mentally. "How can I help you?"

The pony smiled. "I would just like a simple reading. Nothing more." I motioned for her to sit. We began the ritual as I usually do.

"Bones or eyes?" I asked, knowing her first question.

"Eyes. For that is the only reason you see my eye." I was a little shocked. The usual first question was "Why bones/eyes?" I just blinked as the pony looked at me intently. I realized something else. Her hood had a point. She must have been a unicorn. I was shocked I hadn't noticed it earlier.

"Alright. I want you to think about your current life right now but also the past. Think very carefully now." I asked.

His/her eyes, like many people, seemed to glaze over. I looked at her eyes, the gateway to the soul, as they say. What I saw terrified me.

The world was burning. A crowd was gathered around this pony. They yelled and threw things at the unicorn. Then it shifted to the pony's sister...or brother? She/he yelled something, before taking flight with her sister. Fast forwarding, I saw the pony crying in a small cave. She/he was hunched over another form, possibly the brother or sister. And then...

I pulled away. My mind hurt so much. When I go into someone's memories, I can feel some of the emotions they felt. My heart was giving out, I could feel myself losing hope. I-

"So what did you learn?" The stranger asked.

My jaw didn't work. For once, it was my turn to be shocked. Who was this pony?

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Things went by in a blur. The explosion, the betrayal, the police. It was all a lot to take in. Why couldn't I have seen it coming? Oh. Right...I couldn't have.

I couldn't think straight. Trying to recollect the pieces of the puzzle, it came back to me.

Once the stranger had left, I prepared for the main show in the big tent that was usually set up in the middle of the entire circus grounds. The other members of the circus would be getting ready as well. No doubt Tippy Toe was practicing the tightrope while Tamer was prepping the animals for the fillies.

The clothes were...extravagant. We all wore a leotard-type clothing but I specifically wore an ACTUAL suit with fancy colors and shapes and lines, all that nonsense. A huge top hat that I was a lot bigger than it looked, had a small cage inside to hide the mouse for the opening act. It wasn't the most spectacular event but the young ones liked it, so I continued the tradition.

As I was preparing, a knock came. A threatening voice followed. "Ringmaster Diviner Festus! Please come out! We have a few questions for you."

Admittedly, I panicked. I, instinctively, backed away from the door to possibly go out the back.

"Don’t bother!" Came a voice from outside. "We have that side surrounded to! Just come out and talk to us. We mean you no harm."

I struggled for a moment. I trotted over to the door...

And was promptly knocked to the ground. The world spun black as the police came in.

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"Do you know why you're here?" Asked the "good cop". "We just want to talk."

I decided it was best not to say anything until the lawyer came. Not that it would help. They weren't the average police force. And the courts really don't have that much power in these parts of Equestria.

"I don't fully know." I responded, making sure to put emphasis on "fully" just to confuse them a little in their subconscious. I smiled coldly inside.

The supposed "bad cop" came over and promptly slapped me. Ow. "Then allow us to fill you in, you two bit carnival-"

"Enough." Said partner. "Diviner Festus, you are here on suspicion of a bomb threat and the actual detonation of said bomb." My jaw dropped and the officer had the nerve to pick it up. "Don't act shocked; it’s your signature right here."

He showed me a letter that, sure enough, had my signature. I was slightly stunned. I don't remember signing a paper...oh crap.

There was someone who knew how to MAKE people do things. And she was even in my circle of associates.

"I didn't do it!" I yelled. "It was her. The hypnotizer!"

"We know that dumbass." Said the bad cop. The good cop came over and merely smiled. "We know you didn't do it." With a stunned look, he explained it fully. "Your alibi is perfect. At the time of the explosion, you were preparing for your circus act. However, we know for a fact that this "hypnotizer" does not. She was seen in town around 9:30 A.M. and promptly disappeared." I was about to question their sources, when the bad cop just spoke. "We knew who you were the whole time; we have been watching."

I was too shocked to speak. I always thought my whole life that I had gotten away. But in truth, I was being watched for my every move. They had played me and my emotions for a whole year. Staring at them, I motioned for them to continue.

"Hypnotizer disappeared down a mineshaft and wasn't seen again. We believe she was behind the bomb at the site. We were called on the scene immediately. That's when we realized that a note was given to us a few days earlier about this bomb. But naturally, we can't believe EVERY person who comes around making threats." The good cop finished explaining.

I had enough of this. "Can I talk now?"

"Speak when your spoken to or otherwise shut the hell up." Said the bad cop.

Slightly taken aback, I pressed forward. "What do you want from me?"

"What do you know about this employee of yours?" I caught the fact that the cop had said the hypnotizer was under MY supervision. Silence had entered the room. Then it was chased away by a voice.

"I know her very well. Her cutie mark is hypnotizing. She could do it so well. But the scary thing was...she was an earth pony. Now, unicorns can obviously do it better, but an earth pony? That is something different. It takes time and is difficult. That's why I took her in." I explained. Silence once again. And then a laugh.

The bad cop couldn't control himself. "You-PPFFFT-You think YOU hired her?!?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" He gathered himself. "You're free to go."

My jaw dropped again. But this time, no one picked it up. I was escorted out. The officers came over to me and shoved me out of the building. Turning around, I yelled indignantly, "What the hell are you cops playing at!?"

The good cop turned around and merely smiled. "You know nothing that will help us. You're just a pawn in a large game. Try not to get eaten." And the doors to the jail house closed.

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Diviner Festus's goal: Discover the IDENTITY OF HYPNOTIZER and learn the TRUTH.