Death City

Ok, I have good news and bad news. The good news I’ll be mentioning in the first authors note (this authors note), while the bad news I’ll be mentioning in the second authors note (the one at the end). Ok, the good news is that I’ve finally gotten to the point where I can add another song. This means that this chapter finally features a song. (It’s been a while since I’ve put a song into one of my chapters. I think the last one was chapter 30. Oh look at me. So many chapters to keep track of). Well, I’ll tell you the bad news at the end. But for now, enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 36 – The Greatest Show Unearthed

The group had been galloping across the damaged city of Canterlot for the past hour in search of an entrance to the underground cavern. The sun had been on the very verge of setting; the last rays of light scattered across the quiet and calm land of Equestria. Ace knew that night would fall soon and that he would have to hurry up and use the remains of light to his advantage before it disappeared. Who knew what monsters would creep out in the dark of the night. Ace and the rest of the group only hoped that they wouldn’t have to find out.

Then, it happened: right in front of them had been the large and tall mountain that stood not only on the edge of Canterlot, but the end of Equestria as well; the Crystal Mountain; the same mountain that held the castle of Canterlot since its creation.

Across the mountain was a set of train-tracks that led up the sheer rises to the castle. It had been the only way to get up and down from the castle, or so it was thought. Few knew about the secrets that lay beneath the castle itself. Such a nightmare would be too much for a mortal soul to take in and could lead to sudden death.

“We made it,” Ace announced calmly as the night wind rustled through his mane. “We’re here.”

“But, but where’s the cavern?” Twilight asked, looking at the base of the mountain in front of her. “It has to have an entrance somewhere.”

“Now that’s where our searching abilities come into play,” Ace said. “Think of it as a simple game of hide-and-go-seek where the winner is the one who locates the entrance.”

“And here I thought games were supposed to be fun,” Strife said rolling his eyes. “This sounds boring as hell to me.”

“Well, I guess you can just wait out here while the rest of us go inside once we find it,” Ace shot back.

“Ok, ok,” Strife threw up his hooves defensively, “I’ll play your dumb little game. But if it kills me, you’re the one I’m gonna blame first.”

“Now that’s more like it,” Ace grinned. “Ok everypony, spread out. Tell us if you find anything interesting, ok?”

“On it!” Rainbow Dash confirmed, putting a hoof up to her forehead in a quick salute before launching off into the sky in search of an entrance to the underground cavern.

“Same,” Twilight said as she dashed off into a different direction.

“I’m with her, so….” Thunder turned around as well and followed Twilight back to where she dashed off to.

“And you two handle this task by yourselves, correct?” Ace asked, facing both Seamus and Strife. Alone, the two had been useless, but something about them together made both of them seem perfect.

“Well, I guess so,” Seamus responded nervously. “We do make a good team if you think about it.”

“Yeah,” Strife added, putting a hoof around Seamus’s’ shoulder.  “Me and Sea have that ‘special bonding’ that not many other friends have. We’re like two peas in-a-pod if you think about it.”

“Ok, I guess,” Ace said a little awkwardly, slowly backing away. “Just try not to get hurt or anything.” With that, Ace took to the sky, flying up to where Rainbow Dash had been against the mountain.

“Well, you heard the big guy,” Strife nudged Seamus gently. “C’mon, let’s find the entrance to this dead prison or whatever.”

“Um, I think you mean the underground cavern, but it really isn’t that important,” Seamus corrected. “So, where should we start?”

“I don’t know nor do I care,” Strife responded. “But that area over there happens to be calling my name.” Strife pointed outwards to a large, ridged area against the Crystal Mountain. It seemed as though an avalanche occurred near that area and it had somehow been affected.

Galloping over to the area Strife mentioned he would be in, Seamus knew that Strife wanted to be alone for the time given, so he went over to another end of the mountain that hadn’t been occupied. To his luck, Seamus found an area that was to be piled with a few boulders. Even though there hadn’t been many boulders, each one was big enough to count as several.

Examining the boulders closely, Seamus could easily tell that they had been made out of andesite, a rough type of rock that, like granite, was made out of more than one material. He knew that identifying the rocks would tell him their mass and make-up, something that could come in very handy in a situation like this.

Slowly backing away from the rock, Seamus glanced once more at the sets of rocks from a distance. He could then see that the rock at the bottom had been twice as big as the two above it. This provided an even bigger challenge to Seamus as he had to use just his magic to lift the enormous boulders out of the way.

Closing his eyes, Seamus began focusing all his magic into his horn as a light aura floated around his horn. The aura soon covered one of the two rocks on the top as Seamus used his magic to lift up the rock and put it down to the left, out of the way from the rest of the rocks. He did the same with the other rock on top putting it off to the side as well.

“Two down, one to go,” Seamus thought. He knew that this last rock hadn’t been a rock at all, rather a boulder. Its enormous size and weight triple the size of Seamus himself. Half of him said he could do it, yet the other half denied it and told him he couldn’t. But Seamus wanted to show them. He wanted to show them all. He wanted to show them that he hadn’t been just a regular pony. He wanted to show them that he had been anything BUT that. That he was an alicorn. A true, strong , brave alicorn.

Spreading to steady himself, Seamus closed his eyes once more and focused in every last ounce of magic that flowed through his mare-ish body. Just like before, the aura returned on his horn again as well as around the boulder as well.

Seamus could now find himself struggling to move the boulder out of the way. He knew that he didn’t have enough strength to move the boulder, but it hadn’t been the strength that counted. It had been the courage. And Seamus was full of it.

Digging his hooves firmly into the solid dirt ground just to keep his balance, Seamus could feel the weight of the boulder itself over his own body as he kept on persisting to lift the massive object. Both sweat and tears trickled down his smooth face as he struggled as hard as his body would allow it.

But it hadn’t been enough.

Seamus could tell that he hadn’t been lifting the boulder an inch. Not by sight, but by touch. The weight would weaken slowly if he had been able to lift the boulder, but all it did was get harder and fiercer every second. Seamus knew he would have to take a different approach and fast before he would pass out from exhaustion.

Then it hit him.

Seamus soon realized that if lifting the boulder wasn’t possible, then maybe he could simply roll it to the side.

Seamus was feeling as weak as ever and had barely enough energy to stand up, but this would be his last chance. His last chance to show them all what he really had been made of.

Focusing his energy again, Seamus began concentrating on the ability of pushing, rather than lifting. Seamus didn’t have enough energy as before, but it still had been enough for him to perform magic.

Finally, it worked.

A loud crunching sound was emanated as the boulder itself began to roll slightly. It began to pick up speed as Seamus pushed harder and harder on it with his unstable magic.

Apparently, the sound had been loud enough for everypony else to hear as they all turned their heads to Seamus to find him rolling the colossal rock.

Rushing over to assist him, the group was forced to stand back and watch as Seamus rolled the boulder; unaided other than his magic.

Finally, the aura around the rock faded away as the one around Seamus’s horn did the same. The boulder had successfully been moved out of the way. The group soon gasped at what they saw in the stone’s place.

There was a long, dark, treacherous hole engraved into the side of the mountain. It had been a few yards high and wide, able to be crawled through by a cyclopes.

“God job, Seamus,” Ace said appreciatively, putting a hoof gently on his back. “Looks like you were able to find the entrance to the place all by yourself.”

Seamus slowly began to rock back and forth, his heavily lidded. Using all his energy and magic to roll the boulder over, Seamus didn’t even have enough energy to focus, let alone stand up properly. Ace Noticed this quickly.

“Maybe you should take it easy for a while,” Ace said in a little, high pitched voice. “You’re in no condition to fight.”

“Fight?! Who said anything about fighting?!” Rarity said frantically.

“It’s just an expression,” Ace replied back, looking at the white mare. “More like a figure of speech. But still, I can’t guarantee we’ll be the only ones in the underground cavern.”  Ace began examining the insides of the cave in front of him.

“Well, only one way to find out! Let’s go!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she dashed into the cave.

“H-hey! Wait up!” Thunder yelled, trying to get Rainbow Dash to slow down. “I don’t know why, but she has the brain of a squirrel.”

Twilight giggled a little before trotting down the cave as well, passing Thunder Ice. “You just read my mind.”

Thunder followed behind the lavender mare as always as the two entered the cave. Strife had been next as Rarity took her time when entering, avoiding all the rough ground or insects, or anything that had been dirty.

All that had been left were Seamus and Ace as the stood in front of the large cave that they expected would lead into the underground cavern. Looking back at Seamus, Ace knew that he didn’t have enough energy to walk, rather move, so Ace gently placed the tired alicorn on his back and slowly began trotting down the cave, not expecting what would come next.

“Damn, this place is dark,” Strife said loud enough for everypony to hear. “It’s as if this place wants me lose my sanity.”

“Don’t think that way,” Thunder said, looking back. “If you do, then you WILL go insane.”

The group had now been traveling through the cave for several minutes. Ever step they moved further into the cave, it got darker and darker. If this kept up, soon they wouldn’t have any light to see with.

Suddenly, music began playing. The noise glided through the air as the catchy melody rang though the cave.

“Hey, do you guys hear that?” Thunder asked.

“Yeah,” Twilight was first to respond as usual. “It sounds very mysterious.”

“Leave it to the unicorn to come up with a good adjective,” Strife said quietly to himself. Apparently it had been loud enough for Twilight to hear as well.

“Well, sorry that I can’t think straight in this darkness!” Twilight shouted back.

“Hey, cool it!” Ace yelled at the two. “We don’t have time for anymore arguing.”

“Well, she started it,” Strife pointed a hoof towards Twilight.

“BUT YOU WERE THE ONE WHO…!” Twilight was interrupted as Thunder shoved a hoof up Twilights mouth, preventing her from speaking. All that could be heard were the muffled voices as she struggled to get the hoof out of her mouth.

“You were saying?” Thunder turned to Ace.

“Thank you,” Ace responded formally. Just then, the music began to get louder as it rang in everypony’s ear.

“What is that?!” Rainbow Dash snapped. “It’s really starting to get on my nerves!”

“Well, I don’t know what it is, but I surely know where it is,” Ace answered. “It seems to be coming from the end of this cave.”

“But just what is at the end of this filthy and horrid cave?” Rarity spoke up.

“Think of it more like a magic trick,” Ace began, “the ball could be in any of the three cups. There is more than one possibility. There is no real way to know approximately what cup the ball can be under. All one can do is guess and hope that their assumption is correct.”

“What he’s saying is that he has no clue,” Rainbow simplified.

“Why, thank you,” Ace said irritably.

“Anytime,” Rainbow Dash simply responded.

“Guys, look!” Thunder Ice announced in front of the group. He pointed a hoof towards the far end of the cave.

In the distance had been what seemed to be a steel door against the dirt walls of the cave as well as a torch that was still lit and had been producing light well. Thunder and the rest of the group could easily tell that the rhythmic music was coming out of that very door, yet they didn’t know what was going on over there.

“The underground cavern! We did it!” Ace shouted victoriously. “In all my years of living, I’d never thought to get this far as to explore something as valuable as diamonds themselves.”

“Did somepony say diamonds?!” Rarity’s head shot up like a missile.

“Focus, as always,” Twilight calmed the group down. “Now, I want to see for myself what this underground cavern really is and the secrets within it. More importantly I want to take down that rotten Queen Chrysalis pain and take back Equestria once more!”

“Sheesh. Looks like somepony’s having their moment,” Strife whispered to Thunder Ice.

“Ok, we’ll all go as a group, unlike last time!” Ace looked up directly at Rainbow Dash.

“What?” She asked innocently. “I didn’t do anything wrong.

Ace sighed before continuing. He knew that Rainbow was a very stubborn mare, but he had to admit, if it hadn’t been for her, he wouldn’t be alive right now.

“Never mind. “ Ace put that thought behind for now, focusing on the task ahead of them. “Now, just follow my lead and nopony go ahead me. We’ll take our time and be careful. Celestia knows what evil and disgust lurks behind that steel door. One can only pray that it isn’t blood-thirsty.”

“Can we just go already? My hooves are getting tired from trotting so long.” Rarity complained.

“Leave it to the white mare to make you want to chop your ears off with a saw and boil them,” Strife said imaginatively.

“We’re going now!” Ace announced, breaking up what would have ended in a fight between the two unicorns.

Ace began trotting down the cave once more, heading towards the door. Both the light from the torch and the music increased as he went on further and further, the rest of the group following close behind.

A short trot brought them to the steel door at the end of the cave. The fire of the torch crackled causing its waving light to dance across the area.

Ace could now hear the music clearly. The only thing separating him from whatever lurked in the underground cavern was the steel door itself. The door had looked heavy to Ace and he was this temped to get Seamus to open it with his magic. That’s when it hit him.

Where is Seamus?

Quickly turning around, Ace expected to find the worn-out alicorn lying on his back, still tired from lifting the enormous rocks out of the way. But to his surprise, he wasn’t there. All Ace could see was the remainder of his back as Seamus had disappeared.

“What’s wrong?” Twilight was the first to realize that something had been wrong.

“W-where’s Seamus?!” Ace stuttered. “H-he was on my back j-just a while ago.”

“Oh, don’t tell me we lost Seamus,” Rainbow Dash put a hoof up to her face. “Great. It’s bad enough we lost Fluttershy and Dusk, but now Seamus too! If this keeps up, all of us will be torn apart!”

“Well, what do we do?” Thunder asked. “We can’t just go after Seamus. Can we?”

“No, it’s too late.” Ace closed his eyes halfway and looked down at the ground. “We’ve already made it this far. We can’t turn back now. Chrysalis is still in the process of developing her army again. It’s best if we go and confront her right now, when she’s still weak and vulnerable. And even if we were to go after him, where would we search? Equestria is too big of a place to play hide-and-go-seek in. IT could take us weeks, maybe even months to track him down.”

“But what if we don’t find him?” Twilight asked in a scared voice. “He could get injured out there or maybe even die!”

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take,” Ace responded, looking back up. He put a hoof on the steel door. “It’s best to finish what we started before moving on to something else. I’m sorry, everypony, but life isn’t always fair.” With that, Ace pushed against the steel door as hard as he could. It began to chip a little as slowly opened, allowing the light long with the music to flow right out.

Ace kept on pushing till the door had been wide enough for everypony to go through. He held the door until he was the last one to cross.

The first thing everypony did once they entered the place was look around at their surroundings. What they expected to find was an old, abandoned prison of some sort. But what they got was a little extra.

Rusted cell bars were placed against the walls as a usual prison would contain. Skeletons and even some corpses lay against the walls of the cells as the flies bit on the raw meat of what was left of them. The area seemed as if it was a nightmare of a video game where the setting had been an abandoned prison, and they were the victims.

The Greatest Show Unearthed - Creature Feature (open link in new tab)

Suddenly, a rough voice was emanated through the air as everypony turned to see where it had come from. It had been what seemed to be a slightly obese pony with completely black hide and no mane or tail. It had no hair whatsoever and screamed the feeling of death just by the looks of it.

Mares and Stallions,

Fillies and Ghouls,

Step right up.

Behind this curtain 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’m warning you, there’s always a price.

Welcome to the greatest show unearthed!

“Oh, no!” Ace thought. He knew the underground cavern had been a dark place, but neither Celestia nor Luna said anything about it being a circus! He knew nothing good could come from it. All his head told him to do was play along and hope they don’t mess with him and the rest of the group.The ponies could soon feel the craziness of the influential melody begin to make their way into their own bones as they began to shake along to the beat too. It was irresistible.

Suddenly, in the center of the prison, on a stand had been a dark shadow with beaming red eyes. The group could see that it was holding a top hat on its head as it looked at the group.

As the creature looked up, everypony could soon get a good glimpse of it. It was a light brown pony with a dark brown tail, a small black top hat, and a white cane. But what was fearful about him the most was where his left eye should’ve been, a huge patch of hide around it had been missing, showing only the bone of the area. Blood leaked out of the area, showing that the creature must still be alive, or had been recently.

As the music continued, the creature began to sing.

The dark carnival is in town.

You better be ready.

Just follow the parade,

Of dancing skeletons.

For a ghoulish delight,

Around every corner.

Don’t tell your parents you’re her,

They will soon be mourners.

Welcome to the lower birth,

The greatest show unearthed.

We appear without a sound,

The darkest show around.

We will leave you in a daze,

Madness, murder, dismay.

We will disappear at night,

With blood on the concrete.

Just as on cue, the blood from the gap in his left eye fell to the floor and splashed on the concrete. It had been as every part of the song fit perfectly with the corresponding actions. Even with the dancing skeletons, Ace swore he saw some of the corpses and skeletons move a little against the wall after he spoke of that.

I will be your ticket taker.

Come inside, it’s a dream.

Enter the fun house of mirrors.

Nopony can hear you scream.

We can supply anything,

That your heart desires.

But the consequences,

Will surely be dire.

Welcome to the lower birth,

The greatest show unearthed.

We appear without a sound,

The darkest show around.

We will leave you in a daze,

Madness, murder, dismay.

We will disappear at night,

With blood on the concrete.

The madness had just started as more and more circus freaks came out of nowhere. It was a place where the word, sanity, had no meaning.

Welcome to the lower birth,

The greatest show unearthed.

Ace finally realized why the princesses were so reluctant to tell anypony about the cursed underground cavern. They had hardly given Ace any details about it. But now, now that Ace had seen what went on by itself, the sight horrified him. Never had he seen a performance take place underground in an abandoned prison. But after thinking that, it finally hit him.

“THAT’S why they call it the greatest show unearthed,” Ace said to himself. “Because it’s dead performance and spine tingling scenes are what made it unable to be shown above ground, as well as the circus takes place far beneath Canterlot Castle”

The irresistible song continued on as creature by creature awoke from their cell and made their way onto the floor, showing off their talents. While most of them had been some sort of pony creature, others hadn’t been even close. There even was one that had the shape and size of a werewolf!

Come inside for the ride,

Your deepest, darkest fear.

The best night of your life,

You’re never leaving her.

The unknown, the unseen,

Is what you’re gonna find.

Witness this, witness that,

Until you lose your mind.

It finally hit Ace what this place reminded him of; the music, the horror. It all seemed too familiar to another ghoulish holiday celebrated by colts and fillies: Nightmare Night. But never had dark, mysterious music be this catchy as to drive somepony insane. Maybe that’s what everypony meant. Maybe that’s why they didn’t tell anypony about this place due to its dire consequences previously mentioned in the song.

Ace didn’t care about the song anymore. All he wanted to do was escape. Escape before he lost it as well; before his friends are lost in the song forever; before everything was over.

Welcome to the lower birth,

The greatest show unearthed.

We appear without a sound,

The darkest show around.

We will leave you in a daze,

Madness, murder, dismay.

We will disappear at night,

With blood on the concrete.

Soon, all the creatures began to sing along as the tune grew louder and louder. As if the song hadn’t been crazy enough; it was as addicting as drugs.

Turning to his left, then to his right, Ace could see that his friends had begun to sing along to the music as well. It had been as if they had been hypnotized by it.

“Why wasn’t I affected, then?” Ace thought to himself. “What’s different between me and everypony else?”

Soon, the music began to die down slowly. Ace was relieved that this had been the end. He couldn’t take any more of this particular music, especially since it nearly hypnotized his friends permanently.

Right as the music came to a stop, Ace could tell that the rest of the gang had finally snapped out of their trances. He heard moans and rubbing of heads. He could tell that his friends had gone back to normal, yet he still had one more question that his curiosity sprang into his mind:

Who was the empire pony?

There was a small silence between everypony as each side looked at each other, examining their aspects and looks. It had been complete silence for a good minute before Ace stepped forward and spoke up.

“Um, hello,” Ace said a little nervously to the light brown pony with the cane and small top hat. He was standing on a platform only two feet above ground.

“Oh, hello there, my boy,” the pony said very quickly in a rushed tone. “Come to see the show? Well, I’ve got just the place for you. Oh, a see you’ve brought friends as well.” Looking at Rainbow Dash, he continued, “and even a mare-friend! How nice.”

Turning around to see who he had been looking at, Ace turned back to the pony with an intense blush across his face. “What?! She’s not my mare-friend! And I don’t even wa-“

“Oh, sorry to make you blow a fuse. Do you want some water to calm down? Here, take this.” Taking out a sprayer, the pony squirted some water onto Ace’s face, pissing him off even more. “There, now you’re all refreshed and hydrated.”

Wiping the water off with the side of his hoof, Ace looked up towards the pony with dark eyes. “Look, I don’t want to cause any trouble or anything but-“

“Trouble?! How in Equestria would I be causing trouble? “ Regardless of what he said the pony always kept a smile imprinted on his face. It was as if his lips had been stitched into that positing permanently.  “Hey, how about I do this. Buy two tickets, get the third one for original price. Eh? How’s that float your boat?”

“Just to let you know my boat sank a long time ago. About since I entered this place,” Ace said in a low tone. “And for the last time, I’m not interested in the show!”

“Ok, ok. Fine. Suit yourself,” The pony still spoke very quickly. He spoke almost  as fast as Pinkie herself.

“Boy would Pinkie love this guy,” Ace thought to himself.

“How about buy five tickets, and get one percent off the sixth. What do you think of that?” The pony shot out.

“Okay, look,” Ace began. “I don’t want your services, I don’t want your performances, I don’t want your water sprayer, I don’t want your cane, I don’t want your top-hat, and I certainly don’t want your damn tickets!” Ace grew louder as he spoke, yelling as he finished. Ace was red from screaming so much that and he was on the verge on snapping this pony’s neck in half and eating his heart out.

Stepping forward, Rainbow Dash put a hoof in front of Ace and spoke up. “Here, let me try.”

“Oh, look who we have here. The fellas little mare-friend. How adorable,” The pony began.

“For the last time, SHE’S NOT MY MA-“ Ace was soon cut off by Rainbow.

“Like I said, let me deal with this clown,” She kept a calm and cool tone the entire time. Turning back to the brown pony, Rainbow introduced herself quickly and briefly to the empire pony.

“Hey there. Name’s Rainbow Dash. Fastest flier in Equestria. Undefeated. Everypony knows me and wants to be me. Yada yada yada.” Her words began to drift off as she ended her sentence.

“Then how come I don’t know you if everypony else does?” the empire asked. “And how can you be the fastest filer in all of Equestria with THAT body? Sure I can admit its sheik, sexy, etc. But for flying?! You make me laugh.” The pony chuckled to add more effects to his words.

“Oh you wanna go?!” Rainbow zoomed up to him, flapping her wings as she had been suspended in air, only inches from his face.

Putting the curved end of the cane around Rainbow’s neck, he pulled her forth till their muzzles touched. “Don’t even try,” he whispered to her. He still had the same smile imprinted on his face as he said so. “I may seem weak and worn out, but that’s what death does to you. Eats away at your heart and soul.” Unhooking the cane from the mare’s neck, the pony pushed Rainbow Dash in her stomach backwards with her hoof, resulting in her hitting the cement ground with her back.

“Rainbow!” Ace yelled, rushing over to her assistance. Twilight did the same as she approached the cyan Pegasus as well.

“You sick bastard,” Ace said quietly, slowly looking up at the empire pony.

“Oh, I have no problem getting physical,” The empire pony responded.

Suddenly, a shadow began circling around the pony faster and faster like a mini tornado. After a short while, two red eyes stuck out as the shadows stopped moving. The pony was completely black now. His mouth and nose along with the huge gash over his left eye had been covered. He was no longer wearing a top hat. Even his cane had transformed. It was now a sizeable dagger that he held in his hoof. Altogether he looked like an assassin, which sent chills down Ace’s spine.

“It’s just what I do best,” the newly transformed pony continued. “Now, which pony wants to roll the dice first?”

Taking no sorts of precautions, Ace charged as fast as he could towards the dark pony, yelling out what seemed to be a battle cry at the enemy.

Knowing his opponent, the pony jumped out of the way right as Ace was only a few inches away. He flew over his target and nearly crashed into the floor, barely catching himself with his wings.

Doing a quick flip or two, the pony landed back on his hind legs only, standing up proud and tall. He had landed directly on the same part of the stand that he stood on before. “Is that the best you’ve got? I’ve seen chickens with better reflexes than you!” the dark pony exclaimed.

Once again offended by this, Ace locked onto his target again and dove in for another attack, but this time while flying. Instead of the dark pony jumping up into the air like before, he leaned out of the way a little. Just as Ace passed by him, he stuck out his dagger. It caught Ace as he flew by, tearing open a gash in his hide.

Ace yelped in pain as he passed by the dark pony. Backing away, he took a good look at his incision to see that his left side had a cut a few inches deep and around a foot long. The cut hurt bad, but it made him stronger.

“Ok, that’s it! No more playing easy!” Ace announced before charging again at the pony.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Was I going too hard on you? Maybe I should DIE it down a little.” The pony made a quick pun before doing the same routine as last time, except this time he made a mark on Ace’s right side, causing him to howl in pain again.

“Ace, stop! You’ve done enough!” Twilight yelled.

“The purple mare’s right,” The dark pony said, “persist and I’ll have a new head to hang over my fireplace.”

“N-no!” Ace made out as blood leaked out of his mouth. “He knew the consequences of his own actions, yet he ignored them. Now it’s time for him to pay the price.” As always, Ace charged once again to the empire pony, but this time, he didn’t move. All he did was stand there as Ace neared him. Inch by inch soon turned to centimeter until Ace had been on the verge of colliding head first into him. But that’s when he went overboard.

This time, instead of aiming for the sides of Ace like before, the empire pony made one quick movement by sliding the dagger across Ace’s left wing. It had been a sudden movement, and the empire pony barely had time to defend himself as Ace passed by.

Crashing onto the ground, Ace felt a burning sensation across his left side. He was laid out on the concrete ground, lying flat on his stomach, hoofs spread out.

A series of yells and screams were soon emanating from the group as Ace saw Rarity pass out from the corner of his eye. He didn’t know why everypony had been so terrified all of a sudden. But that was until Twilight spoke up.

“Ace, your wing!” She screamed, shocked at the sight in front of her.

“My what?” Ace asked, turning to his left wing, Ace could see that where his wing was supposed to be had been a huge gash that leaked out blood like a waterfall, yet no wing. Lying next to him was his sliced off wing, also leaking blood. It was a gory sight that few could stand.

“You arrogant bastard,” Ace managed to say one last time as he felt the pain get to him. He felt his life draining out of him as he turned back to the shadow of the empire pony.

“What can I say?” The empire pony said, looking innocent. “You rolled the dice, and screwed up. You knew the risk you’d be facing, yet you took it for granted.” Turing around, with his back to the gang, he motioned a hoof outwards. “Take them to the cells. I’ve had enough of their company for one day.”

The performers from the circus began closing in on the group, taking each one by the legs. Struggling was not an option as the performers were bigger and stronger than the six ponies.

All Ace could do was lie on the floor in pain. He watched one by one as his friends were taken in as prisoners; Strife, Twilight, Rarity, Thunder Ice. Even Rainbow Dash, who he could still hear moaning.

For some reason, he had been the only one who hadn’t been taken in yet. He soon heard the clopping sound of hoofsteps on the floor as he looked upwards. It was the empire pony, except now he had returned to his earlier form with the top-hat and cane, not to mention the huge gap of bone around his left eye. He was standing on his hind two legs as before.

Looking up, Ace saw the evil in the pony’s eye as he could see he had been getting ready to say something else, the same creepy smile still implanted onto his face.

“Just remember one thing,” the empire pony began. “Don’t fuck with the big-shots.”

With that, the empire pony lifted up his cane with both front hooves, and brought it down onto Ace’s head, cracking his skull.

Ace heard a crunching sound as it all went dark…..

Talk about a good cliffhanger. The song in this chapter was The Greatest Show Unearthed by Creature Feature. I want to thank JasonTheDemon over at fanfiction for introducing me to the song. Once I heard it, I loved it enough to find a way to insert it into my fic. Oh, and talk about that empire pony as well. He took a lot of creativity to produce, and I think it went well.

Now, onto the bad news. I’m actually sorry to say this, but this will be the last chapter in a while. The thing is, I’m going vacationing on July 3rd and won’t get back till around the 30th of July. (In other words, that’s an entire month.) And the thing is, where I’m going, there’s no internet. No updates. And to make matters even worse, I won’t be bringing my laptop to type anything. I’ll still have other devices to type with, yet it won’t be as fast and I probably won’t be able to get anything done anyways. So, I’m sorry to say that I’m going to be putting this fic on hold for an entire month. Sorry. D: But when I get back, I’ll be sure to continue this story just like before with regular updates.

Thanks to krushnazag for proofreading. Dat be it.