Chapter Six: Misfits Fit Together
~BlackRoseRaven

“Welcome, one and all, to the greatest and strangest show in Equestria!”

The crowd roared as Dead Ringer grinned, standing on his hind hooves with his forelegs extended to either side. And all around him were ponies, all already performing different feats, some incredible, some insane, some purely unbelievable even though it was being performed right before their very eyes.

Vodka was posing with a safe held easily over her head, upon which balanced several contortionists forming a twisted pyramid of balanced ponies, all supported by one pony who stood on a single hoof; there, Raindance was guiding barking Wolf Colt through rings of fire with waves of her staff; and there, Datura was manipulating a pair of whips smoothly, using them to toss Angel into the air as she flipped and rotated herself gracefully, dancing with the stallion.

Sally watched from backstage with awe, careful to stay off to little nook at the side where she could peek through a hole in the curtain, but was out of the way of the ponies busily prepping other performers, checking on the caged animals, and carrying props back and forth. The Pegasus Avatar's eyes roved upwards... and she couldn't help but smile in amusement as she caught sight of one particular unicorn miserably wading through the audience, selling peanuts and cotton candy. But to his credit, at least Splinthoof was helping out.

The big top was packed to the roof: Sally didn't want to imagine where all of these ponies had come from, as she returned her eyes slowly to the center ring as Dead Ringer declared: “Tonight, you will see feats of strength beyond strength, and bear witness to wonders thought to exist only in myth! Tonight, you will see things that can never be unseen, from great and terrible beasts that rule the night, to creatures so beautiful and ardent they outshine the sun!

“Tonight, each and every one of you will discover there is no such thing as a difference between dreams and reality, here at the Cirque du Noir!”

The crowd roared its approval, and Sally smiled in spite of herself as Dead Ringer snapped his cane to the side. And even though she had actually helped set his up herself, she was still amazed by the display of light and sound as flames burst into life in the massive braziers set up around the ring, burning with all multitude of colors as they stretched up towards the roof high above.

Then they settled, returning to their normal colors as Dead Ringer grinned, then gestured towards Vodka, declaring: “And for our opening act, I have the honor of presenting the strongest mare in all of Equestria, a maiden fair of the furthest and coldest northern reaches... Vodka!”

Vodka flexed, easily shifting the massive safe to one hoof and bowing deeply while keeping the safe above her head, and then she roared before tossing it upwards and backwards. And without missing a beat, the pyramid of ponies that had been perched atop the safe flung themselves upwards and backwards as Datura launched Angel high into the air...

In perfect time, Angel flipped herself and caught a trapeze as it swung by, with her hind legs, then she swung forwards and caught the forelegs of one of the mares as the others formed a chain with their bodies and limbs. This swung far off to the side before Angel released her grip from the trapeze, and the mares landed in a perfectly-balanced ladder, their heads all held high and bodies piled one upon the other in a somehow beautiful jumble.

It was amazing. Sally laughed loudly and clapped before Vodka turned towards Datura and roared at him, and Dead Ringer gestured quickly to the side, calling out: “And here, a special guest for tonight, and tonight only, is the one and only Datura! A stallion of secrets and nightmares, he can see into your very soul and fears nothing... for legend says he comes from the depths of Tartarus itself, bringing with him shadow and hellfire!”

Datura snapped his whips to either side as he posed with his forelegs spread, his head raised proudly and an eyepatch protecting his broken eye from the bright lights of the big top. He was fearless, even in the face of all these ponies, and yet... he clearly wasn't big on social interaction or even being around other people. But here, he looked as natural as ever standing in the center of the big top, as natural as any of these other marvelous performers...

Sally leaned forwards, watching with as much as excitement as the rest of the audience as Vodka shouted something to Datura in what sounded like Russian... and the Pegasus Avatar was somehow unsurprised when Datura gestured and shouted something back in the same language.

And then Vodka roared and charged straight towards the scarred stallion, who set himself with a grin before he suddenly leapt forwards and lashed both whips down. But Vodka simply caught both of these with a grin around her forelegs, even as Datura's hooves snapped apart into claws that caught the handles of the weapons and he visibly tensed.

Then Vodka stepped forwards with a roar and snapped her forelegs upwards, and Datura was flung high into the air, the stallion streaking upwards like a comet towards the roof of the big top. All eyes followed with ascension with awe before Datura snapped his whips out to either side, twisting his body to spin himself rapidly as his whips both glowed.

Sally stared in amazement, leaning forwards with shock as Datura left a glowing trail behind him from his whips as he fell while spinning... and then Vodka leapt up into the air and snatched the stallion out of the sky, the massive mare flipping slowly once before she crashed down on her hind hooves and flung Datura across the ring.

He hit the sandy earth on his back and rolled quickly, both whips flying free from his claws before he flipped to a halt, slamming both claws down and digging them deep into the sand to halt himself as he looked sharply up.

Vodka was already charging at him again, and Datura flexed for a moment, clearly counting the timing in his head before he suddenly dropped backwards and thrusted his claws up into the air above his head as he gritted his teeth and his cracked horn glowed. And Vodka's hooves slammed down on top of his claws a moment later before the mare kicked her legs upwards, standing on her front hooves with her rear legs stretching high above her head.

She looked down with a wink at Datura, then whispered as he strained to hold her up, supporting her through both muscle and magic: “You are doing very well, Little Kafka!”

“I've told you so many times not to call me that.” Datura wheezed, and then he gritted his teeth before shoving upwards with a grunt as the mare pushed herself firmly off his buckling forelimbs at the same time, the mare grinning widely as she did a half-somersault before landing with his rear hooves on his still-extended upper limbs, Datura swearing in exertion as he struggled to keep the enormous mare held above his head... but all the onlookers only stared and cheered as the large, scarred stallion seemed to easily keep a surprisingly-agile giantess posed above his head.

And then Vodka leapt forwards, smoothly flipping and landing with an earth-shaking bang on all four hooves: there was no time to slow, however, as Datura leapt quickly up onto Vodka's back, and the mare rolled him easily into her forelegs before throwing him high in the air: this, really, was the easiest part of the act, though. All he had to do was not scream and just let Vodka guide his body's movements, keeping his eyes closed as ponies on trapezes swung back and forth around him and instead mentally counting to thirty...

He thrusted his front legs suddenly out to either side, and he was caught by two ponies as they swung across on paired trapezes, the stallion gritting his teeth as he was carried up to one of the high trapeze pedestals, the stallion wheezing as he hopped quickly off to catch his breath.

The trapeze swung away, the other acrobats taking over for a moment as Datura turned around and mumbled: “I don't know how you all talk me into this every year.”

“Probably because you love a good thrill.” replied one of the lithe acrobats, and Datura huffed a bit before the pony added cheerfully: “Mark.”

“Great.” Datura muttered as the twin trapezes swung back towards them, and then the stallion gritted his teeth before leaping out and throwing both front hooves up, swearing under his breath as the acrobats caught him before swinging him down... and flinging him hard upwards at the nadir of their arc, the scarred stallion flipping slowly and lazily before he simply let himself drop into a freefall.

And Vodka caught him easily with a laugh before tossing him in the air, Datura willing himself to be weightless before he dropped... and stumbled only slightly as he landed on Vodka's back before striking a pose along with her as colored flames flared up from the enormous braziers that ran around the edge of the rings, the stallion breathing hard but grinning in spite of himself before he leapt off of Vodka's back... then laughed and stumbled when she slapped him on the back, congratulating him in cheery Russian before she turned with a wide grin, flexing her enormous body with a wink to the crowd as Datura hurried off to the side to prepare for his act.

Vodka, meanwhile, went smoothly right into her own: it was mostly a strength routine at first, as she lifted anvils, easily outperformed several large, muscular stallions, and invited guests down from the audience to challenge her. But as she moved into the second half of the act, it grew much more comedic: she picked up several of her stallion assistants and began to juggle them between her hooves for a little while, before a strange, seemingly self-propelled carriage rolled through the rings and the mare easily swept this up like it was a toy.

The enormous mare shook this firmly out, and clowns poured from the interior: at least a dozen of them landed in a sprawling pile together before Vodka began to chase them around. This was probably the one clown act Datura enjoyed, and less because of the clowns and more because of Vodka's overacting: she was honestly a terrible actress, but she was terrible in a way that was absolutely perfect for her role here, her overemphasized lines and emotions just making the routine all the more amusing.

Vodka's act ended with her standing on top of the carriage as the clowns and her assistants carried it out of the ring... and Datura quickly replaced her, physically sore, but energized by the atmosphere, his eyepatch removed so that he could better focus his powers. He hated being in a crowd, he got nervous and shy around people... but if you put him in front of an audience and gave him an act to perform...

Datura grinned, then his horn glowed brightly, sending thrills of pain through his body before he spread his forelegs wide and arched his back, closing his eyes as he sent out a powerful psychic pulse: he wasn't very good at magic, but many of the spells he was capable of and had modified from his Dream Weaver days functioned heavily not just on his own powers, but on the powers others gave him. In other words, so long as people had their minds open, their emotions were high, their attention focused on him...

And a moment later, the audience gasped as the world seemed to go dark, malevolent purple lightning sizzling through the air as Datura gritted his teeth before his eyes snapped open, his broken eye swirling as blackness steamed from it. But he only focused the pain of concentration upwards, adding it to the malicious maelstrom that was beginning to whirl quickly through the air.

The more people gasped and reacted to his illusion, the more it became tangible, the more his power grew: and with an entire audience before him, marveling over his power, Datura was able to seize into all that emotional and psychic resonance and forcefully twist and shape it into something more, something terrible...

And a great and hideous, draconic beast ripped itself free from the swirling clouds with a roar, twisting and serpentine, terrible jutting spikes of bone all along its back and its eyes blazing with hellfire, dragging huge chains that clanked and banged together around its snakelike body. The audience screamed and gasped, pointing and almost panicking as the dragon twisted back and forth over their heads, while Datura grinned coldly and gestured sharply, easily guiding the terrifying beast in a wide circle above...

Sally watched with amazement... and fear that pricked sharply along her neck as she shivered a bit. The air was heavy with malice: if it wasn't for the fact that this was all part of some horror-act for the Cirque du Noir, she would have sworn there was something... evil, in the stallion's actions and what was clearly... real magic. Magic that went far beyond the powers she had seen so far...

Some part of her reacted to it, though, felt that... this power, this was the same kind of power that formed Figments. But if this was a dreamworld, and Datura had been taught to shape dreams within dreams... was it possible that he could bring dreams and nightmares to life in the world around them as well, even as only brief and transient echoes?

Sally watched as the dragon suddenly dove and twisted down... and Datura leapt onto the back of the illusion-made-real, riding the magical beast around the room as the crowd gasped and pointed. It all but confirmed Sally's theory, too, as she stared with amazement... and then shivered a little, thinking of Datura's instability, and how he sometimes reacted violently when stressed...

Was this why he hid himself away? He had some weird moral code, Sally knew that, even if he hadn't hesitated to torture her when she'd annoyed him. But he lost control of himself sometimes, overreacted, seemed... sensitive to certain things. He tried to push people away, keep them at a distance, and she had the sense that he had always done that, armoring himself to protect himself from them... but as she watched him ride this dragon of nightmare-made-real through the circus, as she saw the grin on his face, the glow in his eyes, she wondered if maybe he was trying to keep the world safe from him, too.

Sally felt quiet as she watched the rest of Datura's terrifying act, as he called up monsters and drove the audience into an excited frenzy. And then, as suddenly as he'd begun, he blasted away the illusions into a great show of fireworks and lightning, startling and amazing the crowd before the big top returned to normal, and Datura took his bow.

The crowd cheered for him, but Datura barely seemed aware as he only turned away and stumbled lethargically out of the rings. He pushed into the back stage, and Sally's eyes widened as she saw black goop and blood was leaking from his broken eye, the stallion shivering a little as he breathed hard in and out, a twisted grin over his face as he shook with visible pain.

She hurried forwards... and then Datura reached up and caught her by the face as she drew close, the Pegasus Avatar wincing in shock as he turned towards her and growled. His eyes glowed dangerously as he leaned towards her, their eyes locking for a moment, the mare feeling that terrible, bloody eye ripping into her very soul... and then he shivered before shoving her backwards, muttering: “Get... stay away. I'm tired.”

“No.” Sally said quietly, and Datura scowled over his shoulder at her before the mare stepped up beside him, eyeing him silently before she said finally: “I'm going to help you. Whether you like it or not. Okay?”

Datura glared at her angrily... but there was a hint of embarrassment there too, she thought. Either way, she looked as resolutely at him as she could manage, until the stallion finally sighed and dropped his eyes, jerking his head at her as he headed towards the open flap leading out back, and Sally couldn't help but note that even the work crew was doing their best to avoid the stallion as he made his way out.

All the same, she followed, as closely as she dared, until they reached the food shacks. Sally was surprised at first by this choice, even if the entire carnival seemed empty now... that was, until Datura shoved his way into the food stalls, then emerged a moment later with a wet cloth in a stuttering magic grip.

They sat down at a table, and Sally took the cloth from him before starting to dab gently around his eye, cleaning the sludge and blood from it as the stallion tilted his head aside. He growled at her moodily, but she ignored him, asking quietly: “Those powers...”

“Psychic trick. Give them something to believe in, excite them... then use all that energy in the air to make something even bigger and scarier. Rinse and repeat until desired effect is achieved.” muttered the stallion, breathing slowly in and out as his horn sparked a little, the Pegasus Avatar wincing a bit at this before she nervously touched this with the wet cloth... and immediately Datura hissed through his teeth and pushed at her... even though that shiver didn't seem to be entirely from pain. “You shouldn't touch large, hard things sticking out of stallions.”

“Doesn't look all that large or hard to me.” Sally muttered before she could stop herself, and Datura looked at her in surprise for a moment... and then he actually laughed.

And again, she saw the way his whole mood changed: he lightened, throwing off that darkness that he seemed to wrap himself in constantly otherwise, raising his head and gazing at her with amusement for a few moments...

And then he scowled when she pushed the wet cloth into his face, shoving at her childishly, but she warded him off and continued to rub quickly at his cheek, cleaning the gunk off it as she asked quietly: “Does it really hurt you that much to do that?”

“To do that. You make it sound like it was just a parlor trick.” muttered Datura, and then he grimaced a bit and continued grouchily: “You don't even know anything about magic or what ponies are capable of. You have no measuring stick with which to measure me by. You don't have the first idea about-”

“Oh, stop that. You don't have to get all upset now, you know I'm just curious.” retorted Sally as she finished scrubbing his cheek, and then she sighed and carefully dabbed around his eye again, murmuring: “It's scary, that's all. You shouldn't hurt yourself.”

“Sometimes we all have to hurt ourselves.” grumbled Datura, and Sally couldn't help but smile a little before the stallion shook his head briefly and finally gently pushed her away, blinking his blurry eye several times before he looked up into the night sky and murmured: “The moon and the stars are the only sources of light I can look at anymore without this thing... hurting me.”

He quieted, and Sally studied him for a few moments before she asked softly: “Did you... are you afraid of people, or are you afraid of yourself?”

“Both.” Datura answered simply, continuing to look silently up into the night sky, and then his eyes slid closed before he murmured: “I'm not stupid, Sally. I'm a hundred year old Avatar who was trained as a Dream Weaver, and I have an intensely-strong... imagination.” For some reason, Datura smiled bitterly at this word, shaking his head slowly. “I've always lived more in a fantasy world, always been driven more by the voices in my head than reason and logic. But unfortunately, staying here has also made... the more unpleasant aspects of my personality surface. And...”

Datura held up his hooves, looking down at them quietly. “I know that I can't be trusted with power. I can admit my failings freely, and I'm comfortable enough with what I am to admit what I enjoy and what I don't, and damn the consequences and the fear and the hatred. But at the same time... I don't like it. The only thing in this world I truly fear is... myself.”

He halted, then looked down and added reflectively after a moment: “And centipedes. They're vicious, poisonous, and they have too many legs.”

Sally looked at him studying him silently before she shook her head slowly, murmuring: “Why do you have to try and turn everything into a joke?”

Datura only smiled briefly before he shrugged a little, and the two looked at each other quietly before the Pegasus Avatar hesitantly asked: “Is that... is that why you want to go home, Datura? Or is that why you've been staying... here? Who... are you?”

“I'm me.” Datura answered simply, looking up with a brief smile. “I'm hard to like. I'm equal parts depressing and exasperating. I'm a little scary, and I exaggerate. I'll whine for an hour about stubbing my toe but never complain once if I break my arm. My... leg, I mean. My front leg.” He gestured absently with this, then shook his head and looked down, saying softly: “And well, like many Avatars, I would prefer a fantasy existence greatly over facing the trials and tribulations of real life.”

Sally smiled a little at this, studying him before she asked: “Are you trying to derail the conversation, or are you acting pitiable because you know I'll scold you, and then you can act all angry at me and walk away?”

Datura looked moodily up at her, then he said pettishly: “You make me sound so childish and conniving. I'll have you know I really am this pathetic from time-to-time. Being evil doesn't automatically make me any less whiny.”

“Apparently it makes you hormonal, though, considering how fast your mood changes.” Sally retorted, and Datura glared at her before he seized the table and roared, flipping it over before he leapt to his hooves.

“I'm perfectly normal!” he shouted, raising his head high and imperiously... and Sally could only gape at the unicorn until his face finally twitched a little.

And a moment later, they were both laughing again, Sally shaking her head slowly and Datura looking down at her with amusement as he seemed to slowly be relaxing, until he finally sat back on the bench as he said wryly: “Alright. Maybe that's a bit of a stretch. But... still. Don't talk about my ovaries.”

“You don't talk about them, or anything else related to sex, for that matter. I'm still trying my best not to think about how all you ponies are... naked.” Sally grimaced and shook her head briefly, and then she grumbled and looked down at her hoof, muttering: “I guess the whole... invisible genitals thing makes more sense than the weird invisible fingers thing...”

“Think of it as localized telekinesis, or... well, invisible fingers kind of works too, I suppose, yes.” Datura agreed after a moment, and then he looked down at one of his own hooves, saying softly: “Mine never worked.”

Sally looked at him curiously, and Datura nodded as he flexed his hoof before holding it up, the mare watching as it clicked apart into a claw. “As Avatars, I think... we develop based upon necessity, as much as anything else. On need, and very powerful desire, because... we do change, over time. When I first came to this world, I had normal hooves, but... that's all they were, hooves. I used telekinesis for everything. I had weak magic back then, but with my Dream Weaver training, my telekinetic powers became very refined, even if I was no stronger than your average unicorn.

“But after... my hoof was broken, it began to... change.” Datura flexed his claw slowly, looking down at it and studying it quietly. “The broken parts didn't heal properly, but instead... started to separate further. It was very painful, and... for a while I felt that I was taking after one of my own characters, from a stupid story I wrote what feels like forever ago, now...”

He shook his head slowly, then scowled a little when Sally gently took his other hoof to study it, the stallion shifting uncertainly as she rubbed along its surface, touching the distinct, cloven cleft in it and feeling out the hidden lines in the material where digits locked together to mimic the shape of a pony's hoof.

She pressed against it, and the digits clicked apart into a claw before she looked up at him quietly, at the sharp teeth in his muzzle, the cracked but curved, almost bladed horn, and of course... his eyes. Strange, dark eyes, both shadowed and emotional. You could see everything on their surface... but at the same time, they had depth and darkness...

Sally bit her lip, then she pulled her gaze away and looked down at his extended claw, asking quietly: “Then if I spent long enough in Equestria, what do you think I would become? Does... does everyone change?”

“Everyone and everything changes, yeah. That's... one of the hardest truths of the world to accept. You don't get to just remain friends forever: some come, and others... go...” Datura murmured, turning his head away before he closed his eyes and shook himself briefly. “But... uh... what the hell were you asking me again?”

Sally only smiled a little, then she murmured: “Nothing.” A pause, and the mare bit her lip before her eyes studied him silently, before asking: “But if you're in the mood to finally answer a question or two, maybe you could... you could tell me how you ended up with all these scars.”

“You just want to know about my eye. Everyone always wants to know about my eye, but no one ever has the balls to actually just ask.” Datura replied dryly, pointing at his eye for a moment before he sat back and shrugged a little. “Besides, it's not like I got all these scars in the same place or anything. Every scar has its own story.”

“Then let's start with your eye. You mentioned it was a spell backfire before, right?” Sally said brazenly after a moment, raising her head slightly, and Datura studied her for a few moments before he gave a brief, wry smile.

“I don't think you're allowed to hear that story quite yet.” the stallion murmured, and then he shook his head briefly before looking down and rubbing slowly at his eye. “Let's just say it was one of many in a long series of mistakes. A long series of mistakes I... always end up repeating, because I don't seem capable of learning.”

He went quiet, then cleared his throat before looking up and saying pointedly: “The real fun probably hasn't started yet at the big top. Go on, you don't want to miss the freak show. It's the whole reason everyone comes to the Cirque du Noir.”

Sally looked at him for a moment, and then Datura leaned forwards and said bluntly: “I'm telling you politely to go away.”

“Not exactly polite when you rephrase it like that, Datura.” Sally replied dryly, giving the stallion a mild look, but he only glowered at her in response until she finally rolled her eyes, then reached out and firmly smacked him across the nose, making him flinch back in surprise.

He glared at her, but she only smiled at him before saying honestly: “I won't rush you if you want to stay here longer. I... I like it here. I'm sure Princess Celestia can wait a few days.”

The scarred stallion blinked in surprise at this, his hoof slowly dropping away from his nose as he studied her almost uncertainly, but the mare only gave a brief smile before she pushed away from the bench and calmly strode off. And Datura was left gazing after her with something between suspicion and fascination, as his claw fell from his muzzle to rest silently over his slowly but steadily beating heart.

Sally ended up bunking with Harmony and Tshilaba once the show at the big top was done: they were both very relaxed, and while the cots were a little musty and uncomfortable, all the same Sally was asleep after only a few minutes of tossing and turning and squirming around.

In the morning, she was surprised to find she was the last one awake: Harmony was already gone, and Tshilaba was just finishing putting on her ornate jewelry, humming to herself before she smiled over her shoulder at the Pegasus Avatar. “Good morning, hon! Glad to see you up: now you won't miss breakfast.”

Sally smiled briefly, rubbing tiredly at her eyes before she asked the first question that came to mind: “So where do you need help today?”

Tshilaba smiled in return, tilting her head towards her and tipping the Pegasus Avatar a wink before she said: “I don't have to be a psychic to tell you that you won't need to worry about us today, Sally. I think where you're going to be needed most is out on the trails, helping your friends find their way back to Canterlot.”

The Pegasus Avatar looked surprised by this, tilting her head before she asked curiously: “But wait, I thought Datura really liked it here...”

“Datura will always put his responsibilities, and other people, above what he enjoys.” Tshilaba softened a little, tilting her head towards the Pegasus Avatar as she said gently: “He's always been kinder to us ponies and his fellow freaks than he ever has to you Avatars. But don't think for a moment he doesn't want what's best for everyone. He's just... been badly-wired.”

“He's...” Sally hesitated, then she asked finally: “Do you have any advice on dealing with him? It feels like I met one person in the ruins of the abbey... and then here, he was an entirely different person. And I've caught glimpses now and then of...”

Tshilaba only smiled kindly, bowing her head forwards and replying gently: “Datura... worries us all at times. He's bad with people and he gets very sad sometimes, and he'll always do his best to conceal his real feelings from you. And I know you're not a freak, darling, so this is harder for you to understand than the rest of us, but... it's when he's mean to you that he's gonna need you most.”

Sally smiled a bit in return, and then she nodded slowly before the beautiful earth pony said easily: “But well, enough of all this! Come on, it's time for breakfast! The twins are great cooks... or well, at least one of 'em is. You ready?”

The Pegasus Avatar nodded firmly, and Tshilaba gave her a wink before she turned and headed out of the tent, leading Sally towards the food court. With the sun only just beginning to rise, the carnival grounds were devoid of guests and gawkers... but there was still a flurry of activity as tents and stalls were repaired, new prizes were stacked in, and delicious food was prepared.

And speaking of delicious food, plenty of it was already strewn over the table: there were patters of pancakes, stacks of biscuits and bagels, all manner of other breakfast goods. Sally even saw what looked like bacon and some other meats, which didn't strike her as strange until she sat down at the set of tables that had all been shoved together... and realized that pretty much everyone gathered here for breakfast was a pony.

But she noted that all the same, a lot of the Avatars had grabbed quite a bit of breakfast meat for themselves, whether that meant bacon or sausage or other things that horses wouldn't normally eat. Well, she supposed that was kind of redundant: it wasn't like horses normally ate bagels or pancakes or drank coffee or did pretty much anything these magical talking horses did.

Sally smiled a bit as she sat down beside Splinthoof, who blinked at the sight of her, then suddenly hugged her, the mare leaning back in surprise before he whispered anxiously: “We really, really have to get out of here. These ponies are... they're crazy!”

“They are not. They're fine.” replied Sally, feeling strangely defensive. But all the same, she couldn't help but sigh a little at the look on Splinthoof's face and reassure him after a moment: “Look, I think... I think we're leaving soon, anyway. I just want to see if they want any help with anything this morning.”

Harmony's ears perked up at this, and then she looked over at Datura and made some quick gestures with her hooves: some kind of Equestrian sign language, Sally guessed. Datura only glanced at Harmony as she continued to sign at him, and then he simply grunted and shrugged before saying finally: “Don't blame me. I didn't want to do this, they're the ones dragging me along on this stupid adventure garbage.”

Harmony scowled at him a little, and Datura huffed at her before he rubbed at his face, then looked grouchily over at Sally, saying finally: “Harmony wants to know if we can stay long enough for... one quick game. I guess you could say it's sort of a tradition.”

“What kind of game?” Sally asked curiously, and then she couldn't help but ask: “And is it just me, or do you seem to be able to speak every language ever?”

“You don't speak sign language. That's rude.” Datura said dryly, and then he winced when Harmony smacked him firmly, the stallion scowling and rubbing grumpily at his head.

Sally couldn't repress a smile of amusement: it seemed like Celestia had been wrong about one thing, anyway. Hitting Datura seemed like the only way to get him to cooperate sometimes: it just took knowing when the right time was. “I... I think that's pretty neat, actually.”

Datura cocked his head, and then he said dryly: “Do you know what they call someone who's good with tongues? A cunning linguist. Cunning linguists are very good for oral traditions.”

Vodka snorted laughter, then picked up a large bottle of something that did not at all look like breakfast material to Sally, toasting the stallion with a cheerful shout. There were a few other laughs, but Sally only gave the scarred stallion a mildly-amused look before she said wryly: “Very funny. Glad to hear your mouth is good for something, at least.”

Datura scowled horribly as there were more laughs at this, and then Sally turned her eyes to Harmony, asking curiously: “What game is this, though?”

Harmony signed something in response with a smile through her stitched lips, and Datura only needed to glance at a few of her movements before translating: “It's sort of like juggling. But with knives and music. You'll love it.”

“Don't worry, miss, Datura is just being whimsical. I want everyone in good shape for the show, so no knives.” Dead Ringer said from down the table, and Datura grumbled and rolled his eyes as Sally winced back a bit: it sounded kind of like that meant that usually... “We're all strange people here, Sally O'Connor. And a little pain now and then is good for the constitution.”

“Besides, they're just spikes. Even Harmony doesn't complain about a scratch from a spike now and then.” Datura said mildly, absently shoving at the mare, who smiled amusedly and shoved back at him. And Sally felt... strange, when she looked over at these two, before she frowned a bit as she realized...

“Where's Angel?” she asked, and Datura scowled... although for once it didn't actually seem directed at her, which was a nice change of pace. Although what was weird was that... “Are you... actually mad at Angel?”

“I'm not mad at Angel...” Datura muttered, although it sounded almost threatening. This just made Sally all the more curious, but before she could question him at all, the scarred stallion picked up a handful of bacon from his plate and shoved it grumpily into his muzzle, childishly but effectively ending the conversation.

Sally remained quiet as they ate, listening to the hubbub and conversation while everyone else ate. Beside her, Splinthoof was scowling horribly, looking distrustfully around at all these ponies whom, so far, had been very enjoyable company to her: she was really going to have to scold him later, or at least find out why this Cirque du Noir was so terrible.

Breakfast didn't take long: everyone ate ravenously while they were chatting, which gave Sally an eerie sense of homesickness. After all, this really was just like being back on the farm: early morning, everyone jostling and laughing – okay, never quite everyone – and coffee flowing freely as they all prepared for the day ahead.

And when breakfast was done and everyone had taken their fill, they all did another old, familiar ritual for the Pegasus Avatar: they all grabbed the tables and worked together to move them aside, pushing them back into place. Of course, they didn't go shoving them into the barn – if the weather had been nice enough to let them eat outside, that was – but instead arranged them back in the little food court.

It also apparently cleared enough room for their game, because Tshilaba produced several scarves and passed them out to several others, and De la Couer brought out several ropes. And to add to Sally's surprise, Rose produced two instruments: Harmony took the violin, while scowling Rose only lifted the trumpet in her hooves to her muzzle and quickly played a short scale

Datura sighed as he took one of the ropes in telekinesis, absently snapping it once before spinning it easily in a complex pattern through the air, the stallion muttering: “Well, here we go. Wolf Colt, Raindance?”

“Oh, we should too! I love to dance!” declared Arsu, but Azizos only groaned loudly, still clutching a mug of coffee in one hoof and scowling horribly around at everything, even as his 'better half' stomped his hooves childishly up and down. “Oh come on, come on!”

“No. Go to hell. And close the door behind you on the way down, maybe then we can finally go our separate ways.” grumbled Azizos, but Arsu only smiled indulgently at this, the sewn-together twins pulling back and forth on each other for a moment before they both looked up as Harmony began to play a slow, almost somber piece on the violin.

Sally watched curiously as Rose sighed, then picked up the tune after a moment, her trumpet adding a bit more bounce to the melody. And as the music began to pick up, Tshilaba began to dance, her eyes closed, a smile on her face as she swung the scarves she'd tied around her hooves back and forth, making them flutter beautifully around her.

Wolf Colt gave a yip, then he began to prance back and forth with a scarf in his mouth, looking much like a puppy trying to get attention, and Raindance laughed as she joined Tshilaba, her dance much different, and yet the way she made the scarves tied around her twist and dance just as gorgeous in its own way as how Tshilaba whirled about her own.

Little-by-little, the music warmed: and as it did so, more dancers joined. Sally watched with awe and fascination before she laughed as Datura was finally dragged into the melody, the stallion rolling his eyes... but enjoying himself clearly all the same as he manipulated a rope tied with several scarves smoothly, whirling it around and between the dancers like a great serpent as the others jumped and ducked away from him while continuing their whirling and twirling and laughing.

She realized a moment later that there was more than a rhythm to this dance: as Datura danced through the crowd with surprising grace, whirling and twisting the rope around him, the other dancers all hopped and twisted away from him to the beat of the music, laughing as they tried to stay inside an invisible perimeter. And as the beat picked up and the audience of ponies began to stomp and clap their hooves, Datura began to move faster, lashing the rope around, trying harder to tag other ponies and onlookers with the strand.

But the dancers moved quickly and gracefully, dodging and evading around the rope as it twisted back and forth. And Sally laughed as she found herself stomping naturally along with the others, even Splinthoof seeming to lose some of his wariness as he watched the spectacular little game with something like amazement.

Datura weaved back and forth, his own movements becoming more fluid as he got more into the dance, a grin spreading over his face as he leapt back and forth. He toyed with them, the rope snapping out like it had a life of its own, but never quite managing to strike any of the ponies that were leaping back and forth around them.

And then the scarred stallion leapt towards Raindance and Tshilaba, and the two easily spun to either side, dodging away... and Datura landed dumbly right in front of Whisper, who only stared at him as he stared back in surprise. And then the rope dropped out of the air, landing on Datura's head and spilling one of the colorful scarfs over his face, and Whisper smiled a little up at him before she said: “So uh... hey.”

“Hey.” Datura said after a moment, and then he scowled a little before reaching up and sweeping the rope off as the music died out. Sally felt a distinct awkwardness in the air, tilting her head as Splinthoof frowned moodily, and then Datura sighed before saying finally: “You have other things to do. Go do other things.”

Whisper only shook her head quickly, and then Datura blushed as she held up an eyepatch with a design stitched carefully over the front, the stallion's hoof clicking apart into a claw as he reached up to take this... and Whisper repeated, quiet but insistent: “I'm coming with you.”

“Screw you.” Datura mumbled, but his head and eyes dropped in acknowledgment before he sighed and took the eyepatch, calmly slipping it only and scowling horribly down at Whisper. But Whisper only smiled back up at him before the scarred stallion turned a sour look on Angel, adding grouchily: “And you. I'm going to spare the rod and let you spoil.”

Angel only smiled at him kindly, the Figment bowing her head and replying softly: “If that is your wish, then so be it.”

Datura sighed loudly, then he shook his head quickly... then scowled as Dead Ringer began to clap and the others followed, the dancers breaking into laughter and making mock bows as Datura grumbled: “Yes. Yes. Wonderful, everything is awesome. Everything is truly great today.”

Sally only smiled in amusement as the stallion turned around and strode towards her, looking grumpily down at the Pegasus Avatar as he said distastefully: “So did you want to leave? Because I'm ready to go any time that you are.”

The two looked at each other for a few moments, and then Sally smiled a little at the rose that was embroidered in white string over the eyepatch. “That suits you, weirdly enough.”

Datura grunted moodily, and there was silence for a few moments before the Pegasus Avatar gave a hesitant nod, gesturing with one wing automatically as she said softly: “Yeah, if you're ready, well... maybe we can get everyone together for one last goodbye, and-”

“I'm leaving!” Datura called loudly over his shoulder, and then he turned his eyes grumpily back to Sally, who only sighed loudly as Angel gave a quiet giggle.

And then Rose calmly leaned in and blew a blaring note on her trumpet in Datura's ear, and the stallion threw himself sideways as his eye bulged, grabbing at his face and swearing angrily as he fell to the ground in a heap: but what Sally noticed most wasn't the way that he cursed angrily at the mare, but what his anger was badly attempting to cover up: how he was quaking on the ground, breathing roughly in and out, clutching his head and all but shivering.

“He's never liked loud noises. Some make him real angry. Some make him real scared. You can figure out on your own what does what.” Rose said mildly, gesturing with a thin smile towards Datura as Angel reached down to carefully help the stallion up. “If you need to keep him in line, it's pretty easy, really. You just have to know the right button to push.”

“I hate you, more than I hate anyone else.” Datura grumbled as he grumpily pushed Angel away, while Sally felt like she was torn between worry for him and amusement that maybe felt just a little bit malicious. “Let's just...”

Datura frowned and glanced away from her, and then he sighed tiredly as Harmony looked up at him with a smile, the scarred stallion grumbling and trying to look away before he finally sighed and reached up, ruffling her mane as he mumbled: “Fine. Okay.”

The scarred stallion slowly dragged himself around in a circle, glowering around at the crowd before Whisper walked up and nudged him gently, and he huffed at her and nudged her back with his shoulder. But all the same, whatever they shared in silence made the stallion draw his eyes towards Dead Ringer and the others, and say tiredly: “I'm... going to miss all you guys, really.”

His voice was flat and cranky, but there was something about the way he phrased the words, or maybe the steadiness of his eye, that made them actually mean something all the same. Sally smiled a little, studying the stallion silently as the various freaks and miracles of Cirque du Noir cheered and wished him well and waved, before Datura cleared his throat and turned around, glowering at Sally as he asked grumpily: “So are we ready to go or what?”

The mare smiled in amusement up at him, and then she turned curious eyes towards Whisper, looking at the earth pony avatar for a moment before she started: “You're welcome to join us, but-”

“I don't think that's such a good idea.” Splinthoof said testily, giving Whisper a suspicious look, and Sally couldn't help but feel amused by how he still almost seemed afraid of the earth pony avatar... at least, right up until one of Datura's claws shot up and grabbed Splinthoof by the throat, choking him and half-lifting him into the air.

Sally immediately turned a glare on Datura, but the scarred stallion was only smiling pleasantly, saying easily as Splinthoof flailed his front hooves uselessly at him. “I actually agree with you, but this is Whisper's decision. And whether either of us like it or not, she's very stubborn and this is the choice she's made. So instead of arguing about it, let's just make the best of this, shall we?”

Whisper punched Datura lightly in the side, looking at him pointedly, and the scarred stallion scowled before dropping the gasping guard... then yelling and swearing when Rose suddenly rose her horn and blared a note at him, the stallion stumbling to the side before he shouted something incoherent, then turned and stormed away as Whisper winced.

Angel nodded apologetically to Splinthoof before turning away to follow after Datura, and the unicorn mumbled something... then yelped when Rose seized him by one ear, his eyes watering before he stumbled hurriedly after her as the dull-pink pony growled: “Come on. If you're so concerned about everyone being useful, you can start by getting some rations for your friends to take with them.”

Sally smiled lamely, rubbing the back of her head as Whisper sighed a little, shaking her head before she glanced over at the Pegasus Avatar, saying softly: “Sorry. But... I know that uh, Datura, can be kind of a pain in the ass sometimes. And he and I... we go way back.”

The Pegasus Avatar turned an inquisitive look towards the mare, nodding and smiling again. “I was really curious, actually, about you and Datura...”

Whisper only fidgeted on the spot even as she smiled and nodded back, and Sally decided maybe it was better not to press the subject for now as she cleared her throat, then looked awkwardly away, saying finally: “But uh... maybe we should just focus on getting everything we need together. I... I don't even know the way to Canterlot from here...”

“You don't worry your pretty head about that. Canterlot ain't hard to find: just make sure you take care of yourselves on the way.” said Tshilaba as she approached with a smile, before the mare winked and reached up, removing one of her earrings before she offered it to Sally, saying kindly: “Here, darling. A token for good luck. You just remember one thing: whether you're against one or a hundred strong, as long as you all trust in one-another, you all gonna be just fine. You got lots of good ponies with you.”

Sally smiled after a moment at this: she really did. Sure, Datura scared her a little, and she didn't know much about Whisper... but Datura had his weird sense of honor, and Whisper had shown up just to support her friend, and she couldn't think of a better quality than that. And Angel was so kind and loyal, and Splinthoof felt like a brother to her. She really was lucky... especially for a country girl who still had no idea what the hell she was doing here in a world of magical talking horses.

She took the earring with a warm look to Tshilaba, saying softly: “Thank you. Thank all of you, for everything. This has really been... the best time of my life.”

“You thank us by doing what must be done. And we will help if we can.” Vodka said cheerfully, nodding firmly as she joined the group and looked kindly down at Sally. “You are good little girl, Sally O'Connor. You will help set things right.”

Arsu chuckled and nodded as Azizos grumbled under his breath, lowering his head. But they both seemed to study her with curious eyes before the sourer of the paired stallion brothers said grudgingly: “I hope... you find what you're looking for.”

They were all so kind, so good, and treating her so well... and yet as Sally looked around at these ponies, she felt a strange clenching in her chest, and wondered silently if they were really doing the right thing here. These wonderful Avatars and Figments, they were all going to be banished from this world, and... and the rest of these weird but wonderful ponies would be left alone... and...

“And all things must come to an end. Even the Cirque du Noir will have its final curtain one day.” Dead Ringer said quietly, and Sally looked up with a blush before the pale stallion gave a small but reassuring smile. “Besides... there's no guarantees with anything like this. And Celestia is wise and compassionate enough to know when... it's time.”

There was silence for a few moments as the ponies simply sat and lowered their heads in thought, until Splinthoof returned with two large satchels of food. A few moments later, Angel and Datura joined them as well, the Figment wearing a large backpack, and the unicorn heavy, ominous-looking leather packs.

This was it: Sally looked around, not knowing what to say... but Dead Ringer saved her the trouble by gesturing at her with his cane, saying pleasantly: “You will always be welcome at the Cirque du Noir, Sally. Consider yourself an honorary part of our little group.”

Sally blushed deeply, dropping her head with a warm smile, and then she laughed as the ponies of the Cirque all began to stomp and applaud. And maybe it was strange, but as she stood there with her new friends before this audience of freaks and miracle-workers as they said their goodbyes, she couldn't help but feel strangely like she was leaving home.