Who was that mysterious pony that was spying on me? I ran outside as quickly as possible. Looking at the bushes where she darted into, I found that she wasn’t there. I glanced up only to see her galloping away.
I wasn’t really sure why I started following her. Not even the mask was inclined to cover its footsteps and make sure everypony didn’t find out. I could feel some resilience in this girl, something I longed to see since the mask started torturing them. I wanted to be sure that she could rebel against me and that it might be possible to stop the moon.
I started following her. She was definitely a fast runner and was trying her best to deter me, but I eventually caught up to her at the apple orchards.
The mare was panting in front of the gate as I trotted up to her. I took note of her features. She was a beautiful, orange mare with her blonde mane and tail in a ponytail, and wore a brown hat. I was guessing that this was her home and that she was an apple farmer.
This time, I used my own magic to analyze her. “Hello, Applejack,” I said by myself.
Applejack looked up and glared at me. “Now don’t you act all pleasant on me. Ah saw what you did to Rares back there, you turned her like Discord did. What is this some kind of joke?”
“Actually no.” I tried to get my voice to sound intimidating. “Let’s see, you’re the Element of Honesty. Stubborn, yet wise.”
“Jus’ who do you think you are?” Applejack asked, trotting straight up to my face. “Behind your mask, who do you think you are?
I stopped. I never thought about that. Back in Hyrule, I always praised my mask because it gave me anonymity and ambiguity, but here I dread the mask. Did the mask truly help or was I just that ashamed of my features? Was I emotionally detached to the rest of the world because of that? I’m sure she didn’t mean it that way, but I felt inclined to tell her my true feelings.
“I...I’m nothing,” I admitted, trying to back away slightly. “I’m petrified if someone discovers who I am behind this facade. Inside, my strength relies entirely on the mask.”
Applejack’s eyes widened, obviously not expecting this answer. “Why are you doing this then?”
I glanced around me. “Let me just say that I’m warning you Applejack. If you allow me to succeed, then I could potentially destroy the world.
At this point, Applejack must’ve thought that I was insane because she backed up. “Ah know you ain’t a bad pony,” she said. “Ah know that ponies can lead bad lives. But can you try to help yourself? What happened to you?”
I wasn’t sure what I was planning on doing. At first, I wanted to approach her like the mask would and break her down, though to a lesser degree so that Applejack would stay resilient. What ended up happening was confirming that I was entirely crazy. I already knew I was insane, but this was desperate.
This was my last ditch effort to make sure that I would stop the mask. If I wasn’t strong enough, I wanted to be sure another pony would help me if I faltered.
“I’m not sure I can. When my time comes up, all I will be is a puppet. A face for ponies to fear. And I don’t want that.” I wanted to tell her about the mask, but I feared that it might be too far-fetched.
But she understood. Something in Applejack’s eyes could grasp the truth from my cryptic words and interpret it. She knew. “Ah pity you. Can’t be easy.” Her eyes looked deep into mine.
I sighed. “I try. Only I’m not strong enough. Sometimes, events occur that are beyond my power to control. I learned that I’m only mortal. Ponies might die and Ponyville, Canterlot, and Cloudsdale might be destroyed because of my weakness. Promise me that you’ll stop this if you can. Tell all of the townsponies you know and try to help your friends.”
Applejack nodded slowly. “And what if Ah can’t? What if Ah fail?”
I looked solemnly at her. “Then pray for a miracle. Look to the skies.”
I left, hoping that that was enough incentive to start rallying up the ponies. I couldn’t fathom what Applejack or the ponies could possibly do to stop the moon from falling, but some help is better than no help.
I returned to the cottage and promptly fell asleep immediately, wondering what would happen tomorrow.
No matter, she’s only the Sixth Element. I won’t bother with her. I don’t need to. Just learn your lesson, Skull Kid.
I opened my eyes to see ponies fleeing. They were yelling and shouting in their hasty attempt to escape. I looked up and I saw it.
The moon. In all my other nightmares, I’ve never seen it before. Deep in its eye sockets were two red eyes with a tiny dot for the pupil. A crude nose stuck out below it and its mouth was stretched into a grin. It petrified me. The face, though slightly comical, was intimidating and only reflected how cruel the mask was. How unfair life could be. How it intended to destroy ponies.
What was worse was that it was only a couple of meters from hitting Ponyville, the epicenter. It was descending rapidly with wisps of flames licking the front part of its face. I heard the clock tower chiming slowly.
I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, I saw Twilight. I saw Fluttershy, I saw Rainbow Dash. I saw Rarity. I saw Pinkie Pie. As my vision flickered through all of them, I noticed they stood vigilant in their homes, waiting for customers.
Occasionally, they would glance outside to see the moon, only to avert their eyes and maintain their composure. As they looked down, I could tell that the conversions did a real number on them.
I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I saw Applejack with the mask in the center of town. Applejack was shouting something, I think. Something about stopping the moon. Unfortunately, the mask was levitating above her so she couldn’t attack it and the mask was also ignoring her. The clock tower chimed.
I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I was on the edge of town, gazing at the moon. I was lying on the grass being whipped around by the wind. I couldn’t see the clouds, but I could hear thunder and see lightning from above.
It took a few minutes, but the moon made contact. On the clock tower. The chiming stopped as the building was slowly crushed. As the tower came down even further, more buildings followed suit. The fiery energy covered the entire town by now.
Then, it hit the ground. The flames exploded and covered me along with all of the fleeing ponies. I shielded my eyes as I was overwhelmed. The heat was overwhelming.
I saw it. The mask. In the flames. Giggling.
“You’ve met with a curious fate, haven’t you?”