Nightmare Moon's Mask

by yoshiXII

Days Three, Two, One

I awoke.

I touched my face. The mask wasn’t there! I could actually see without looking through the slits. Finally. Maybe now I was free from the enslavement.

Then, I remembered my dream. I got up immediately and ran outside.

I saw it. The moon. Even though the sun was dawning, the moon was hovering above Ponyville. It wasn’t anywhere close, but I could see that it was descending slowly. Thankfully, it didn’t have any flames licking it right now, though it still had that creepy face.

The mask was levitating in front of the cottage. It silently watched the moon coming down as if the moon was his newborn. It seemed serene and peaceful, like having the destruction of the world was therapeutic.

I trotted next to him. Together, we both watched the dawn of a new day with the moon coming down. It was so peaceful that I couldn’t believe it was happening.

Dawn of the First Day. Seventy-two hours remain.

Three days. Seventy-two hours. What could anyone possibly do to stop this? Once the puzzle pieces of the mask’s plan fell into place, it became fate. Destiny. This event was set in stone. Might as well accept the inevitable and give yourself up. What was the point of struggling?

I sat down, overcome with emotion. The mask re-attached to my face. I sighed as I realized that all of my efforts were for naught. What could Applejack do? What could the Ponyville citizens do? What could all of the ponies in Equestria do?

My vision once again limited to slits, I got up. There wasn’t any point in doing anything right now, but I felt it my duty to listen to everypony. If I inadvertently caused this, the least I could do was listen to them. How would they react? Would they try to run from town or stay? Would they hate me? That couldn’t be possible since they didn’t know that the mask and I destroyed the bearers of the elements.

The three days passed as a blur as I wandered aimlessly around town. With the ponies’ rising anxiety and fear came tension. Tension with desperation. Desperation with panic. Panic with bad decisions.

First, I went to the town square. I was pretty sure that by now all of the ponies in Ponyville have seen them imminent threat of the moon. With that in mind, I figured that they would all go to the square to get a better view.

Sure enough, they were there. All of the ponies were pointing at the moon and talking fearfully. They all gathered around Town Hall where a solitary mare was standing. I was sure that that mare was the mayor. She was a light brown mare with gray mane and glasses along with a collar adorned with a blue ribbon.

“Citizens of Ponyville,” she called. Everyone turned to her. “I have gathered you all here to witness what seems to be the moon falling down upon our town.” A murmur passed through the crowd like a gust of wind. “Settle down, settle down. I assure you that if we work together, we’ll find a solution to stop this.”

“Why isn’t Princess Luna doing anything about this?” a young colt asked in a stuffy accent. Calls of disbelief and assent resounded through the crowd.

“I’m sure she’s doing the best she can,” the mayor said, though unconfidently. “We’re not sure why the moon is falling or why our Princess isn’t stopping it. All we do know is that if we stand around and wait, the moon can potentially destroy us all.”

“Maybe Nightmare Moon is back,” a stallion said, “And she’s killing us all for vengeance.” The crowd gasped as one.

“If that were the case, I’m sure Celestia would right it. No, I think that it’s an external source that has caused this.”

“Then who is it? There isn’t any magic around it,” a mare said.

I slunk into the crowd, trying to lose myself in it. After hearing about Nightmare Moon, I was sure that that made me the most conspicuous of the entire crowd. Luckily for me, the ponies were too busy looking at the mayor to notice me.

“We’re not sure. There’s no information regarding this as of yet. We’ve already sent a letter to the Princesses which should come back any minute.”

I noticed the small purple dragon was to the right of the mayor. But where was Twilight? Like most of her friends, she was likely at her home waiting for customers. They would stay to see the apocalypse but they wouldn’t do anything. They were the mask’s slaves.

After a few moments of waiting, the dragon belched. At the edge of the small emerald flames, a scroll appeared. Immediately, the mayor unraveled it with her magic and levitated it up for her to read. Ponies squirmed anxiously, waiting for the news.

The mayor cleared her throat. “‘To the ponies everywhere, we don’t know what’s happening. My sister Luna and I have tried several times to control the moon with our magic, but we couldn’t stop it at all. Keep calm and we’ll find an answer. Sincerely, Princess Celestia.’”

“What does that mean? Not even the Princesses can stop it? We’re doomed!” a random pony shouted.

Everypony began talking as one. I could sense the fear present in their tone. This was awful. The moon was moving slowly enough that it would make ponies panic. It was psychological torture and the wait would be unbearable. I couldn’t believe the mask was doing this. It was all in good fun, it had said, and now it wanted the ponies to descend to chaos.

“But in three days, the Summer Sun Celebration is still being held here, isn’t it?” a young filly asked. She looked so hopeful that it was heartbreaking. I couldn’t even look at her.

“I’m afraid not. By our calculations, the moon will be crashing upon us in three days.” The mayor looked sympathetically to the filly.

“That’s not fair!” she shouted. “I’ve always wanted to see Celestia rise with the sun.” I heard her sniffling. I felt so guilty; my heart was torn to pieces. Please, let me right my wrong. Please let me stop this. Even if it costs me my life, I want that filly to be happy.

I heard other ponies say the same things and that they would stay just to see the celebration. Arguments sprouted between the logical ponies who suggested fleeing and the ones who wanted to stay. As the voices grew louder and louder, it was as if the town itself had split into two factions. The logical side and the stubborn side.

“Settle down!” the mayor yelled. “We can decide whether to leave or not in the three days. But for now, we should all try to find a way to stop the moon. At the current velocity, it will crush Ponyville, Canterlot, and Cloudsdale. If we can find a way, then we can stop this madness that has plagued you all.”

The talk died down. Satisfied, the mayor continued, “Can I have a representative from the pegasi, the unicorns, and the earth ponies to discuss this with me later? Thanks for listening.” With that the crowd dispersed and went back to their homes.

Suddenly, a mare grabbed my hoof and held it up. “It’s Nightmare Moon’s Incarnate! This colt’s the one who caused this all.” Everypony making their way back turned around and watched the mare drag me to the front.

I could feel my face burn beneath my mask. Everypony stared at me. What should I say? Should I admit that it was technically my fault? Should I remain silent? These thoughts ran rampant in my mind as I tried to think of something to say.

“It’s just a costume,” the mayor said, waving her hoof. “How could a colt manage to bring the moon down upon us? I think you’ve been drinking too much, Berry Punch.”

Berry Punch let go of my hoof. “I do not,” she said indignantly. I used this time to slip away as everypony else kept her eyes on her. “Everypony thinks I drink because of my name, but it’s not my fault my parents named me like this.”

I trotted quickly away into the maze of cottages. Luckily, nopony was lurking around there since they were all back at the square. I breathed a sigh of relief and thanked the mayor. I walked around the desolate town until I came to a grassy hill and rested there. After that, I wanted a low profile.

I sighed. This was exactly what the mask wanted. The town to plunge into discord. For paranoia to overtake the ponies’ logic. How bad was it going to get? I didn’t know. The three days passed like a blur and a snail at the same time. Without the Elements of Harmony, there was no way that they would stop the moon. I remained on the grass until I felt nopony would care about me.

“Derpy, try seeing if the pegasi in Cloudsdale can stop it with their strength. Applejack, see if the earth ponies can construct something to stop it. Minuette, try gathering all the unicorns and stopping it with your magic.”

I was currently pressing my ear to the door of the mayor’s cottage. So far, it seemed like she was trying to find a plan to stop it, though I knew it wasn’t going to work. I wondered how the ponies would feel once they found out that it was inevitable. Would they run or would they accept their fate? Even so, it would take a long time to salvage the entire town.

For a moment, it was silent, which I took to mean that the three ponies were nodding. I darted out of the way to the other side of the door as it opened. The three mares charged out and went off to do their duties.

I waited for a minute, about to follow them when two stallions started approaching the cottage, bickering. They crossed the threshold and then stood in front of the mayor.

“Yes?” she asked unenthusiastically.

One of the stallions, a brown one with money bags as his cutie mark, cleared his throat. “Mayor Mare, we must continue the celebration. Our children would be beside themselves if it didn’t happen. Who cares if the moon falls on us? I accept my fate here in Ponyville.” He closed his eyes and put a hoof on his chest solemnly.

“Are you crazy, Filthy Rich?” the other brown stallion with an hourglass as a cutie mark exclaimed. “All you care about is your investment in Ponyville. You’re scared that you’ll lose your fortune because the moon might be a fraud.” He pointed accusingly at Filthy.

Filthy looked incredulous at the other stallion. “Doctor Whooves, I’m being reasonable. What if this is all a hoax some prankster set up and that’s a fake moon? Anyways, the Celebration is such a momentous occasion that even if we were to die, we would go out in a bang.”

Doctor groaned and started massaging his head with his hoof. “Reasonable? All you know is that in three days, unless you do something about it, this town will be destroyed. And if Princess Luna, Celestia, and all of the unicorns in Ponyville can’t stop it, you know we’re in trouble. Evacuate the town. We don’t have enough time.”

The mayor looked suspiciously at Doctor Whooves. “How do you know that the unicorns can’t stop this? We still have the pegasi and the earth ponies to back us up too.”

He looked at the mayor. “Well, according to my calculations, the mass of the moon plus the momentum it’s going at cannot be diminished significantly by ponies. We don’t have enough strength or time for a solution. Something is controlling the moon and we can’t stop it. I’m sorry, mayor, but we must leave. We can rebuild later.”

Filthy narrowed his eyes. “Leave all our precious work to be destroyed?”

“That or be destroyed ourselves. Your choice.”

As they continued bickering, I had to leave. How could the ponies be arguing over common sense? Was Filthy that nationalistic or was he just selfish? I couldn’t fathom how they would stop the moon if they were this stupid. Was the mask right? Were these ponies unsalvageable? Were they all going to die?

I continued roaming about Ponyville. Most ponies were outside, discussing what they would do. I overheard the earth ponies saying that they would construct a structure that would barricade the town. The pegasi were racing about in Cloudsdale, taking ropes and attaching them to the moon, attempting to pull it away. Periodically, the moon would glow with a multitude of colors from the unicorns, only for the moon to go unhindered.

I couldn’t bear it anymore. I went back to the cottage and slept, hoping for the third day to come faster.

I awoke.

Dawn of the Second Day. Forty-eight hours remain.

The ground shook violently.

I got up swiftly and ran outside. The moon was so much closer now. The entire earth beneath me shook like an earthquake.
This really was it then. The end of the world. And what could I do? Even all of these ponies couldn’t stop this devastation caused for the enjoyment of a cruel mask.

“Give me another donut, Joe.”

I was at the local coffee shop on a table, savoring my cappuccino with a couple ponies. They all seemed depressed and worn down. I wondered if they were all tired from the discussion yesterday. But they seemed as though they wanted to give up living. Was their decision that gut-wrenching?

The mare who asked for the donut was currently sitting on the counter next to a few other ponies. The morning bustle in the shop seemed to be the same. Ponies milled about, fulfilling orders behind the counter. It was astonishing to me that their daily routines could keep continuing even as the end of the world stared at them, literally. And what do they do? Drink coffee and eat donuts. Gotta admire them.

“Here ya go, Derpy,” the yellow stallion said, passing a donut on a napkin over to the gray mare.

Derpy looked at the donut, and laid her head on the table. Her body shook as tears dropped onto a rapidly growing spot on the table. All the other ponies ignored her and continued about their business.

I felt awful. What happened to her to make her so sad? I bet the moon wasn’t the least of her problems. I got up and sat on the stool next to her. As I rubbed her back soothingly, I whispered, “It’s okay,” in her ear.

Derpy sniffed, wiping her tears and lifting her head a bit. “Thanks, mister. I don’t know what’s gotten into me.”

“Just tell me what’s your problem. Tell your entire story.”

She nodded, though she didn’t look up. “I’m the mailpony around town, so it’s my duty to keep delivering mail. Even after the three days are over and everyone has gone, I still have to do it.”

“But, why?”

“How do I explain? All the ponies are depending on me. I still have to deliver mail during the Celebration. My own filly, Ditzy, is so eager, how can I deny her? And my husband, the Doctor, still insists on helping everypony around town. What can I do? I’ll have to stay ‘til the end.”

I felt bad for her. She was stuck here due to obligations and her family. Mail must be her life if she feels so attached to her job. Was she bound to Ponyville because of that? Was her fate tied to the town? How many other ponies had a story just like that? Was this town full of Derpys?

“You don’t have to. Just convince them to leave with you. Forget about the other ponies.”

“But I have to.” She looked up and stared at me with her ditzy eyes. I understood. Something in her eyes related the pain and the misery she went through from other ponies. Like me, she was different. Yet instead of feeling apathetic to the pony world, she felt it necessary to help them. Derpy didn’t care whether or not the ponies made fun of her, she just wanted to help. Even if that cost her life. To her, her life was inconsequential compared to others.

We maintained eye contact, or lack thereof, for a while. I felt shameful in front of her. I felt bitter in front of others while she was loving. Feeling a sudden surge of emotion, I embraced her tenderly. After a moment, she returned the gesture. I couldn’t tell you how much I admired this mare right now. She’s sad for her inevitable demise, yet she feels so dedicated to her position. Even if her instincts tell her that this is wrong, she’s going to do what she feels is right.

“I hope everypony is proud of you.” I drew back and held her at arm’s length. “I hope you know what you’re doing. Please...stay safe,” my voice cracked.

“Thanks,” she said, “I feel a lot better now.” Her smile returned and my heart swelled. I was so happy to know that I could help her. It was my way of redeeming myself.

I walked away and took my cappuccino with me before Derpy could see the tears streaming down my face. I suppose then that this should be my job. Help the town out as my final actions. Even if I will be labeled as a demon in front of everypony, at least I’ll know that I did my best.

I spent the rest of the day traveling to restaurants and other stores to listen to the ponies’ stories. I considered helping the five bearers of the Elements, but I couldn’t. Call it weakness, cowardly, or foolish, but I couldn’t go back. I couldn’t bear looking at them again, even if I would help. I would feel too ashamed. Hopefully, Applejack would know what to do.

It was only at this point that I really felt a sense of the ponies’ life. I would talk to Roseluck and feel her attachment to her garden. I would talk to Mr. and Mrs. Cake and know their devotion to the bakery. I’ve finally learned more about the ponies instead of being forced around by the mask.

Luckily for me, everypony was quite friendly and willing to talk to me. After hearing their story, they would thank me and walk off happier. It was astounding, knowing how much help I was just by lending an ear. These ponies calmed down around me and started to rationalize their next plan of action.

I trotted home as the sun set, exhausted yet satisfied. For the first time since I’ve come to Equestria, I’ve actually helped them with their troubles. I’ve actually learned who they all were.

I collapsed on the ground. The ground shook again. I sighed. Throughout the day, these tremors were frequent and only reminded us of the moon. I noticed that this was the first day in Equestria that I’ve slept at a normal time. I closed my eyes.

I awoke.

Dawn of the Third Day. Twenty-four hours remain.

I walked outside, bleary-eyed. The moon was just above the town now. This was it, I guess. My final day of life. I was sure that if I tried to escape, the mask would drag me back. As it said, it wanted to be the figure of destruction.

How did I want to spend my last hours of living? Yesterday, I was with other ponies, but today I wanted to be alone. I was tired, I needed to think, and I wanted to accept my fate.

So, I sat down next to the tree on the edge of town in my natural habitat. I know, this is pretty anticlimactic, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Eventually, I was at peace. I accepted my fate and I genuinely wished my life was over. I was happy for everything that happened thus far. I felt bad for the ponies, but I couldn’t do anything about it now.

I sighed. The sun was setting now. The moon covered the entire town’s view of the sky with its flames. I made my way over to where I assumed it was going to crash. The clock tower. The ground rumbled again as I watched the ponies crowd around town strewn with decorations for the Celebration. Ponies were also leaving the town through various modes of transportation. The five bearers of Elements must’ve been in their homes. Just like my dream.

Suddenly, I felt myself being lifted up. I levitated above the clock tower and was dangled limply in town. The ponies gasped as they saw the symbol of their destruction. A giggle erupted from me, loud enough for all to hear.

"Six minutes to the end of the world."