The Legend of Equestria: Majora's Mask

by xombiekilla

Chapter seven: Dawn of the Final Night (I)

Night of the final day:
12 hours remaining

Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pinkie, and Hero hurried back towards Clock Town, worried about the whereabouts of Rarity, Applejack, Starlight, and Twilight. "Where are the others? Are they okay?" Fluttershy asked.

"We don't know, Fluttershy. We haven't seen them yet, but we'll search everywhere around here until we find them. I promise," Rainbow replied.

"There's not much time left, and we still need to help Luna and Celestia. Do you think Celestia is with Luna?" asked Fluttershy as she looked to Pinkie, who nodded.

The team arrived at Clock Town and saw that everyone there was nervous, except for the construction workers operating the tower at the center. Hero explained how he became a changeling to Rainbow and Fluttershy, who sympathized with him. "Really? Oh dear, that's just awful. I'm so sorry to hear that happened to you, Hero."

"Yeah, man, you didn't deserve that," Rainbow said as they proceeded.

As the clock advanced towards morning, time moved relatively fast, making the team even more anxious. "We have no time left, guys," Pinkie exclaimed.

"Fluttershy asked, feeling worried and uncertain, 'What are we going to do now?'"

Pinkie replied, "We gotta keep moving, guys. Last we checked, Luna was at the top of the clock tower at the peak of South Clock Town, which is exactly where we are now."

They saw that the ponies were panicking. Some were losing their minds, curled into a fetal position, and muttering inconsistent ramblings to themselves. The tremors became more frequent as the bell rang, and the ponies' panic rose to a crescendo. The ponies tried to flee Clock Town, believing they would be saved.

One pony screamed in hysterics, "Aahhhh... This is too much, man! I don't want to die. Please, for the love of—It's every pony for themselves..."

The bell continued to chime as if harkening to the inevitable end. Hero, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow knew where they had to go as they approached the entrance to the tower where the happy mask sales pony resided. To their relief, the pod was still there, and they appreciated how convenient this was. As the moon approached the ground, more tremors shook the land.

Hero then brought out his changeling mask and put it on his face as it clamped down with a sickening crunch and merged with his flesh; he bent over and cradled his head in pain as he transformed, his face reaching up as a horrified expression could be seen.

In a flash, he was a changeling again as he went over to the pod to launch himself up high as Fluttershy and Rainbow helped Pinkie get up to the entrance now that the eve of the next day was approaching.

"Cowards! All of you are cowards!" Mutoh, who was known for being stubborn, saw his workers running away and leaving their work behind. He scoffed and glared at the moon, calling his workers cowards. "If that moon is going to fall, then let it fall, damn it. If this is the end, then so be it!" Even though he was tough, Mutoh shed a tear as he knew the end was near. The Carnival's plan began as the fireworks went off, and the stairs to the tower's peak opened up for anyone to climb.

Rainbow took a deep breath and said, "This is it, guys. It's the end," trepidation laced Rainbow's voice as they began to make their way up the stairs to confront Majora.

---

The team of four finally reached the top and saw the possessed Luna and Celestia floating beside her. Luna and Celestia were enveloped in evil purple magic, which made them unable to fly or use their powers. Majora was momentarily surprised as the mask fixed its glare at Hero. "Are you guys safe? That's excellent news, but where are the others?" Celestia asked.

Hero then removed the changeling mask and returned to his standard form to show Majora that his curse had failed. "We couldn't find them, Celestia," Rainbow said solemnly.

"Oh no... Then there's nothing we can do. It's over. Majora is too powerful to take head-on. Luna... I'm sorry," Celestia said as tears streamed down her cheeks. She felt like she had failed to save this world and her sister.

"We have to think of something, right?" Fluttershy tried to brainstorm with the other four heroes, not including the possessed Luna.

"Impassable swamp, treacherous mountain, vast ocean, and deep canyon. Hurry, my little ponies. Bring the four giants who are there here. It's too late to do anything now—" The possessed Luna slapped Celestia with the back of her hoof.

"Quit talking out of line, you stupid pony," the masked alicorn snapped bitterly.

"That's enough, you creepy wooden mask. We will not take this anymore." Rainbow protested as the masked mare shrugged.

"Well, whatever. Even if the four did come, they couldn't handle me. Just look above you!" The four heroes then looked up and said, "If it's something that can be stopped, then just try to stop it."

The possessed mare summoned its evil magic with a high-pitched shriek, using Luna's Canterlot Voice to strengthen it. Time was even shorter now as the moon was descending faster.

"I-I may not be able to fight you, Majora, but I will not allow my little ponies to suffer because of you. This is a secret and forbidden song used by the royal family of Equestria a thousand years ago when we were younger. It will reverse time back to the most reasonable point. I can sense that you have a spiritual instrument, Hero. Please bring it out now!"

"Please follow along, Hero."

Celestia's horn glowed brilliantly as she emitted sounds of tones using her magic alone. However, she struggled to keep up, and her teeth were gritted as she played the notes of the Song of Time. Right, base, down, right, base, and up notes were played as Hero played the final notes on his ocarina to finish the song.

As the four ponies completed the song, a bright white magic swelled around them, enveloping them in its powerful embrace. The magic reflected their unity and determination to save their world from the impending doom.

Celestia accepted her defeat and urged the ponies to leave, her voice heavy with emotion. "Well done, Hero," she said, addressing the group's leader. "Now, all of you, get going! I have faith that you'll pull through. For now, farewell."

The four ponies were saddened to see Celestia's tear-streaked face, but they huddled around Hero to leave with him. As they disappeared from the doomed timeline, their vision blurred and turned white as they fell through an endless spiral of time energy.

They could feel the weight of their world lifted off their shoulders as they traveled through time and space—Each event was shown to them in reverse as if undoing everything they'd done; their hope renewed as time resets to its first day as time once lost.

Finally, after an eternity, they returned to the dawn of the first day, safe and sound, and the world around them restored to its former status. They had succeeded in their escape but failed in getting that mask back.

---

Hero slowly opened his eyes to see Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rainbow hugging him tightly. He felt a warm blush creeping up his cheeks from the close contact. As they pulled away, he looked around and realized they were inside the clock tower, which was full of old machinery and gears.

"And so you return, Hero," they heard a cheerful voice behind them and turned to see Flam. Rainbow narrowed her eyes, suspicious of this being the Flam they knew in Equestria. The sales pony continued, "Well then, you have saved a few of your friends. Wonderful, just wonderful."

The sales pony asked, "So, you did get it back, didn't you? My mask? The one that mare has? The one you said you would have for me as part of your end of the deal?"

There was a moment of silence, and then the sales pony's face twisted in anger as he picked up Hero to shake him rather roughly. "What have you done to me? You were supposed to get that mask back," he said as he dropped Hero before he covered his face with his hooves, wrought with despair. "You guys have no idea how dangerous that mask is. Its powers are unfathomable."

Rainbow inquired, "Woah, now?! What exactly is that thing?"

The sales pony looked grave and said in a low tone, "It's called the Majora's Mask, and the evil sealed within it is incredibly powerful. It possesses ancient magic and can do whatever it wants to anyone, no matter how strong or determined they are."

Flam said, "Ages ago, a chaotic spirit waged war with an ancient protector deity. The Fierce Deity, Sol, finally had enough of its wickedness and used the height of his power to defeat it. The spirit was then trapped inside the mask, ending its reign of terror and destruction. In the past, an ancient tribe used the mask for their hexing rituals. However, the mask had a will of its own, which made it impossible to control, often causing havoc and destruction wherever it was used."

The sales pony explained, "They sealed the uncontrollable mask away so nobody could ever find it again. My job is to travel around searching for even the most terrifying of masks. Once I found that mask, I wanted to ensure nobody else could use it. However, that blue alicorn has it now, and we're all in grave danger."

Flam added, "When I first laid eyes on the mask, it emitted a strange blue glow that appeared to be calling out to someone. I believe that's how the mare who attempted to rob me managed to find me. Although I say attempted, she was successful," he said, letting out a dry chuckle.

The sales pony looked worried and said, "Now you understand why I'm in such a hurry to leave. The longer I stay here, the higher the risk to our reality. We cannot allow the mask to fall into the wrong hands, or the consequences would be dire."

Rainbow raised an interesting question about the versions of themselves that Hero had met. "Hey, what about all the ponies we've met that we recognize? Will our friends still return to us?"

"Well, yes; each universe has its own set of rules, its version of time, and unique ponies and creatures. Even if you recognize them, I can assure you, they are not the same ponies," Flam continued, "if you managed to find someone from this place that you already with you in your group, if you ever went back in time, then this universe corrects that discrepancy by filling in those blanks, as it were."

Fluttershy expressed relief, saying, "Oh... that is such a relief. I can't imagine leaving my friends behind. Never." She then snuggled up to Rainbow, who accepted it with a warm smile.

"So, we must find a way to stop this mask with unlimited power. But how in the world are we going to accomplish that?" Rainbow mused aloud, her concerns understandable.

"Believe in your strengths, my friends. You must have faith in yourself. If you can control the flow of time, it will give you borrowed time in exchange. You can use this to your advantage. I have trust in you all, my friends."

"That does give us some clarity and relief. So where do we go now? Celestia mentioned Swamp, Mountain, Ocean, and Canyon, right?" Rainbow asked their group.

"Well, Hero and I beat one of those big meanies and freed this giant alicorn that looked so cool. Then, we got Fluttershy and you back. So that would make the mountains our next location, right?" Pinkie was excitedly hopping in place.

"I guess so, yeah. So Hero, you ready to rock and roll?" Rainbow peeked at him to see him nod, "Awesome, buddy. We'll have hope in our awesome friendship to win. All of us together."

"You might not be the Flam we're familiar with, but you're not too bad for a strange guy." Then, everyone exited the room to begin the cycle all over again.