The Fast, Dangerous and the Furious

Chapter Nine: Carnival Smack Down

No. That can’t be king Sombra.

But there he was. Red cape and all. Dark magic lighting up his horn with a real sense that told me he was out to fulfill an agenda. I looked back at Sour Tooth and saw his real smile, not the mask smile, at the corner of his mask. He was looking forward to this. I mean he was ready for a fight and wasn’t going to let Sombra leave without one of them kicking the crap out of the other. “You’ve got some nerve showing up here and interrupting my next meal, Sombra.” He growled sparking his horn. I swallowed and took in slow deep breathes. The weight of everything going on right now was passing over my head. I couldn’t tell you why these two were about to fight, but I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty.

Sombra couldn’t have care less. The look on his face made that clear. “I am here for a much bigger meal.” He licked his lips.

Meal? Like food? Why does that ring a bell? Something in the history book … what was it? My mind started racing. I couldn’t remember what it was, but it involved Princess Twilight. I kept my eyes on Sombra while he opened his mouth. Ugh … my … my magic. I looked up at my horn and saw every trace of my magic leaving body from the tip. My very essence. All of it started going into Sombra’s mouth like it was food. “You might want to scram foal, things are about to get messy,” Sour Tooth warned. Magic continued flowing out from me in patterned colors.

Sour Tooth cracked his shotgun shut and fired two rounds at the former Crystal Empire tyrant. The crystal he was on exploded, shattering to the ground.

My magic felt just fine now. I was a little weak from it, but I’d live.

King Sombra landed in front of a junk pile just as Sour Tooth fired a red beam from his horn. A protection spell formed around the former king, shattering under the pressure from the beam. King Sombra’s horn lit up sending beam right back at him. I dove away from Sour Tooth and looked back at him just in time to see the clown pony open his mouth and eat the magic. “You’re not the only one that can steal magic.” I was right! This was Lord Tirek’s spell! Although now that I think about that I wish I wasn’t right!

Sour Tooth’s telekinesis slowly lifted up every single weapon in his arsenal. Oh, shit. He wasn’t screwing around anymore. Wait. He had just been hunting me for sport! That actually isn’t all that surprising. My eyes went to the staircase. This isn’t my fight and I don’t want it to be. I galloped away, scooping up my pistol and rifle with what little magic was left.

King Sombra and Sour Tooth charged each other. A red beam exploded from Sombra’s horn while several animatronics levitated up to defend Sour Tooth. The clown pony dove behind one of them while another animatronic was vaporized to ash. Each animatronic was vaporized one after another until Sour Tooth was within a foot of Sombra. Giving one mighty push against the ground Sour Tooth lunged himself at Sombra and locked horns with him. “You will be my next slave!”

“Just try me you crystal eating freak!”

Their horns flared and both ponies bucked the other way. Sombra fired a beam that engulfed everything in its path just before destroying part of the wall he had blown partially apart. Sour Tooth was gone.

My head snapped back to the staircase just before I ran up the first few steps. I tried lighting up my horn, but it wouldn’t heed. Sombra looked at me and charged for the stairs. The ground underneath the tyrant rose up, metal teeth eating towards his stomach, every bit of dirt under him slowly drifted into the tunnels below. A crystal ejected out from under Sombra’s hooves sending him over the death trap like some sort of crazy ride. Sombra landed against the dirt, sliding across to the other side of the room. His eyes were frantically looking around for Sour Tooth. The moment he came to a halt the machete blade came crashing down towards him.

Sombra dove out of the way, growling at the cloth being ripped from his body like a cat dragging its claws down elegant drapes.

Bringing up his hooves, King Sombra slammed them against the ground. Crystal rose up from every tunnel entrance, not to mention every tunnel in general, sending a large pony figure high into the air before it came to a thudding crash against an animatronic.

SHIT!

I kept climbing the stairs until something in me demanded I stop. Ugh, what to do. My eyes darted between the exit and the fight. Without a second thought I reached over to my rifle.

I leaned it against the railing carefully aiming the barrel right at Sombra.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

I pulled the trigger. A loud mighty bombastic crack escaped my weapon sending a bullet right through the remaining part of Sombra’s cape. His eyes slowly feel on me with narrowed pupils. Nudging his head with a light jerk he turned his complete attention away from me.

Panels hanging on the wall behind me collapsed down as a crystal shoved itself from seemingly out of nowhere sending me right off the edge. My hooves grasped onto the crystal along with a pole hanging out from the torn walkway.

Okay, I’m afraid of dangling from crystals now!

I tried looking back at the fight, only feeling a pain in my skull right to my eyes, trying to glimpse what I could through my peripheral vision.

Sour Tooth ran behind a few mirrors with his horn fully aglow. His spell immediately started filling the mirrors with his image. Sombra didn’t let that continue. Spells erupted from the tip of his horn slamming into everything in their way before shattering each mirror one by one into nothing but glass shards.

BLAM! BLAM!

King Sombra yelled out in pain. The armor on his body was strong, but a stealth attack with a shotgun at almost point blank range was more than even his armor could protect. Sour Tooth gripped his machete with his teeth and charged towards Sombra. He dove at him swinging the machete right for his neck.

With a jerk of his head Sombra called a large crystal out of the ground just in time catch the blade. Cracks spider webbed through the structure while small shards chipped off as the blade was forcefully torn away.

Sour Tooth sprawled down and avoided another beam spell. He rose up and tackled King Sombra to the ground. His hooves slammed into his face over and over again just before he opened his mouth. All of Sombra’s dark magic began flowing into Sour Tooth like it belonged to him and only him. Sombra bucked Sour Tooth in the stomach stealth fully taking the machete from him.

The former king thrust it towards Sour Tooth, but the clown pony rolled away. He fired a spell right at Sour Tooth and knocked him into a junk pile. Sombra opened his mouth. Every single drop of magic inside the clown seeped out through the tip of his horn heading straight back into the tyrant’s seemingly endless supply.

I started pulling myself up slowly. My back hoof used one of the broken railings as support before pushing me up on top of the crystal. Frantically looking around for my rifle I noticed it had fallen to the ground. Ugh.

I tried lighting up my horn, but it only sparked. Wait. It sparked! Yes, my magic is returning! My focus went back to my horn. It slowly started to glow with enough force for my rifle rose up from the ground. A second later my magic imploded letting the gun clatter to the ground. ARGH!

Sour Tooth bucked Sombra in the stomach before tackling him against the ground. He rolled off of him levitating something over to his hoof. His chainsaw right at Sombra’s head. Sombra swung his horn and rammed it right against the chainsaw’s teeth! Sparks flew out in every direction like metal being put to a sharpening stone.

My horn sparked up again. I tried lifting my rifle for the fourth time. It started to shake but eventually just stopped altogether. It’s no use. My muscles were screaming at me to stop. There hadn’t been much rest at all since dealing with the Fireflies. The aching in my stomach, which somehow I had been oblivious to, sent my hoof to the throbbing pain. All four of my legs yelled at me to find a cozy spot and sleep not caring what was going on below.

I’m to freaking tried and spent to get that thing up here. I put every bit of strength I could muster up along with what I assumed was either ambition to stay alive or sheer will power to gallop down the staircase to my rifle. Once it was strapped to my saddle bags I started moving back to the stairs. Wait.

I crept over to the comic that was carelessly lying on the ground waiting for somepony to take it. Thankfully it was the fifth issue of Swordmares. With my award for surviving thus far in my saddle bags, I moved quietly back up the staircase straight over to the crystal hanging at a dangerously low angel now.

Sombra slammed his forehead against Sour Tooth’s making them both stumble back. Sour Tooth looked down and rolled past Sombra. His mouth clamped down on my semi-automatic and aimed it right at Sombra’s head.

Take him out Sour Tooth! One less evil threat to worry about in Equestria is good news to my ears! I climbed over the crystal and leaned against it with my rifle pointed right at Sour Tooth. The second he takes that shot I’m sinking a bullet into you.

Click! Click!

The pistol was empty!

Sour Tooth looked down at the gun just in time to see Sombra bring his hoof across the brim of his mask. He fell back almost to the breaking point on his side, crawling towards a square hole near the junk pile, sheer will power driving him forward. Sombra growled with his teeth almost grinding. This was it. It had to be.

Sour Tooth was looking even worse than I was. I pulled the trigger on my rifle and it clicked twice. No. Crap! My hoof went straight into my bag digging for another bullet. Just one. I only needed one. I could fire it right into Sombra’s back.

Nothing. My bag was empty … no, wait. I found an ammo box with five bullets in it. I loaded them into my gun and cocked it.

Sombra slowly crept towards Sour Tooth with his mouth open. Sour Tooth rolled into the hole. My heart began to slow down. Was he dead? I squinted my eyes. Sombra looked down in the hole.

“AREGGHGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Sombra stumbled back throwing his horn around like a bee was swarming around him. It was covered to the tip with crystals. I have no idea what Sour Tooth did, but Sombra was pissed. He kept trying to light up his horn. “Where is my magic,” Sombra shouted loud enough that the room shook. It felt like the entire structure was ready to come down on top of us.

Sour Tooth climbed out of the hole with blood dripping all over his body. With every sense of the word defeat able to describe him I wasn’t surprised he was already half collapsed on the ground. If anything his will power was the only thing keeping him up at this point. I knew he was smiling. Sombra threw his hooves up and slammed them against the ground hard enough that I felt the staircase shake with a loud metallic screech.

I opened the exit door and got to safer ground. The walkaway collapsed with the crystal.

Crystals punched their way out from the ground knocking Sour Tooth out of his rabbit hole right through the air. It knocked him across the room straight onto a junk pile. Sour Tooth coughed uncontrollably and spat out blood. King Sombra galloped over to him slamming a hoof right down on his neck with no mercy. He opened his mouth and waited. Nothing happened. Not even that magic stealing spell was doing anything.

Sombra moved away from Sour Tooth and a large crystal descended down from the ceiling right on top of him.

I looked away. Shit. He might have been a murderer, but I guess he went down trying to get rid of a greater threat. I looked back at Sombra and watched as the once powerful unicorn king tried to use a spell. Nothing happened.

I ran.

I ran as fast as my hooves would take me, which was nothing more than a light trot, but at this point that was sugar coating my terrible attempt to get away. My body was screaming at me. My heart was racing. I needed some sleep after everything I had just gone through. All I could think about was getting out of there.

*** ***

I didn’t think about what had gone on at the carnival. The only thing I could picture was Silver Shoe falling. Nothing else, because that’s all that really mattered to me. In one day I had gone from traveling with my best friend to being alone in Equestria.

I can’t go back. Not there. I made it out of that carnival and I made a promise to myself. I’m going to meet Showering Stones. Wherever she is I’m going to find her.

My horn lit up. As far as I could tell my magic had fully returned. It only took an hour of waiting. I never want to go through that again. Feeling your magic sucked out of you wasn’t a pleasant feeling. To a unicorn it feels like having a part of you ripped out almost like having your cutie mark torn from you.

I levitated my pistol up and pulled the ammo clip out. Three bullets. No problem. I’ve got a rifle … with five bullets left. Alright all I have to do is get to Remington without running into any slave traders, infected, or Fireflies. At the very least just avoid being seen by them.

WHACK!

Darkness.

*** ***

Ugh. I can’t catch a freaking break today!

My eyes slowly opened. Something was wrong. I could see the wheels of a wagon turning above my head. There was a … rather attractive pegasus mare hanging next to me. Her mane was a grayscale that complimented her light brown coat along with her bulky vest. My eyes went to her cutie mark. It depicted a compass rose inside of a partly unfolded map.

Holy crap, she looked almost like Daring Do! I groaned once the pain from whatever hit me on the head sank in. Buck me in the flank with a two by four.

The mare blinked and looked at me. She nudged her head at me. My eyes went shifty. What? Do I have something on my face? She nudged her head anxiously. I didn’t follow. She mouthed a few … AGH! Such unspoken language! Whatever her name was kept tilting her head in my direction. “My horn?” She nodded. I tried to light up my horn. It wouldn’t even spark.

She groaned with an unsympathetic head shake coupled with a scowl. I tried it again, but nothing happened. If anything it was probably drugs.

“Ugh, we can’t even play with the mare,” a pony I couldn’t see groaned.

He wasn’t alone. His friend hummed.

I finally realized this mare and I were hanging upside down. She was giving me dirty looks that I can guess were from me not using my magic to untie us from the wagon we’re hanging from. Actually it was more like the frame of a stable couch that had been taken apart so it could hold ponies like us upside down. The responsible pony of the bunch spoke up, “If the boss finds out you did anything to that mare, we’d both be shot dead.” I looked at the mare. She was trouble? How much trouble could one mare possibly be? I can understand a pair of ponies, like me and Silver Shoe, but one?

The mare looked at her wings then tried to wiggle them free from the rope that bound them both together. She couldn’t do it.

The mare’s eyes widened. A confident coy smile replaced her scowl. Her voice was full of seduction, “Ahh. Come on. I haven’t been with a real stallion in weeks. If you’re going to kill me at least send me off after I’ve had some fun.” Okay, I don’t see where this is going. You wanted me to break us free and you’re just trying to have fun with them. Geez.

The irresponsible stallion groaned. They argued for a minute before the responsible stallion gave in.

“Fine, as long as the boss doesn’t see or hear about this.” The stallion hissed. That same stallion unhitched himself from the wagon and stepped in front of me smoking a cigar like his life depended on it. It took less than a second for the irresponsible stallion to get that mare off the hook. She was taken into a cave, yeah, this was going to be a while. I groaned.

Rain started to pour again while I kept my eyes on the stallion smoking his cigar. He inhaled it for as long as he could before blowing out some smoke. I could use one of those right about now. “Hey, why the hell did you tie me up?” The stallion turned to me with a toothy smile.

“Boss said he wants more unicorn slaves so we got him one. That mare’s been causing trouble to but she’s just a bonus. Bet he’ll have a lot of fun with her.” Yeah, well I hope I’m not around when you see your boss again. I tried to use my magic. Nothing happened. Ugh, I was drugged.

WHACK!

We both turned to the cave. I have no idea what’s going on in there, but I’m afraid to find out. A gray blur went by me and I fell to the ground. All the ropes around my hooves were cut in an instant! The cigar smoking stallion had two moves. His first was letting the cigar go. His second was realizing he had been dropped over the edge of a cliff.

The pegasus mare landed next to me and brushed her mane back. She reached into the back of the stable coach bringing her bags down along with mine. I looked at her and she nudged her head at my bags. “For the record, that’s how you get out of a situation like this.” Pretend to need a stallion in your life then ambush ponies. I don’t think I can pull that off as well as she can. Besides I’m nothing special. Just a simple thief. “This yours?”

She pointed a hoof at my saddle bags while her tail set a pith helmet down on top of her head. I smiled and bent down to pick it up. Some pony cocked a shotgun. I looked up at saw the barrel of that shotgun in my face. “Put any food, water or bits in my saddle bags. Strap that pistol and rifle to my bags while you’re at it.” Come on! Are you kidding me? “Don’t try anything stupid.”

I put everything I owned inside of her bags, except for the comic books and map. She already had a map from what I could tell, plus I’m sure she had no interest in comics. “Is that it?” I nodded. She looked at the comics but ignored them. The mare strapped her saddle bags on keeping that shotgun pointed at me the entire time.

“Unless you want my comics and map, you’ve got everything.” I hissed.

She gave me a confident smile while slowly raising her body up into the air. Once she was high enough in the air she cracked the shotgun open. It didn’t have any ammo in it! Screw. HER! “You know this is complete bull shit!” The mare looked off at wherever it was she was going. She waved a hoof at me.

I take it back, she’s not an attractive mare. She’s a jackass that needs to have a bullet shot through her wing. If there is a sniper out there right now, this would be the time to fire at us. “You’re lucky I’m letting you keep the map and comics,” she called down to me. One loop later the mare flew off leaving a grayscale trail behind her. I strapped my saddle bags tightly to my body.

“Winged asshole!”