//------------------------------// // Chapter 65 // Story: The Mask Makes the Pony // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// Hennessy watched and waited as Flicker headed out the door, off to take a morning shower. He suspected that Flicker hadn’t slept much, as when he woke up, Flicker was standing and staring out the window. Spud had Flicker’s whole bed to himself. Feeling concerned, he elbowed Piper in the ribs. “He’s gone weird,” Hennessy muttered, “well, weirder. I’m starting to think that concert was a bad idea. I’m worried, Piper, and kinda scared.” “I’ll admit, I’m rather frightened myself. He had a weird look on his face this morning when he was just standing there, staring out the window.” Hennessy nodded, but didn’t know what else to say. “I need a shower myself,” Piper mentioned in passing. “Before I go… Hennessy, I think Flicker could use a bit of reassurance for his fencing test. I have an idea, a cracking good one, and I think you and I could pull it off.” “Okay, I’m up for it, whatever it is.” “Good… good… I’m going to go and shower.” “Me too. I am going to watch Flicker shower.” “Naughty!” The rug had been yanked out from beneath Flicker and his world was filled with chaos. Flicker detested chaos. The rats were chaos in small, disgusting, wretched bodies, and oh, how he hated them for what they represented. Yesterday he had been flying high, or so it felt, having a wonderful moment of catharsis when he had shattered the training dummy. Now, well, now he very much felt trapped within himself. Last night, he had felt, and he didn’t like it, not at all. What he had felt unnerved him, almost broke him, and the awareness of the cavernous emptiness inside of him had almost unhinged him. He had a woeful lack of preparation to deal with what he had seen inside of himself. His self discovery had almost broken him. He was a hollow shell of a pony that wore a mask as his real face. Beyond the mask there was little else, just a machine for murder and mayhem that was made out of gristle, muscle, bone, and sinew. Octavia’s music had echoed within the vast, empty space inside of himself, a haunting, unwanted reminder of just how meaningless his existence was. Kneeling before Princess Cadance’s statue had been like lancing a wound, only to find that everything was shriveled up, dessicated, and empty inside, because there was nothing for disease to find purchase on. He couldn’t even understand what had driven him to Princess Cadance’s shrine, other than he had felt a powerful tug, a pull, he had felt something and it was powerful. Kneeling there, praying, Flicker had realised one horrible truth about himself, a truth so terrible that even now, he wanted to deny its existence. There was no love for himself. He was not a harmonious creature, no servant of order. “Mister Nicker, are you having a problem?” Mister Balister’s voice was stern, harsh, yet still had a faint hint of worry. “Yes,” Flicker replied, being honest as he realised that he had been staring at the same spot on the wall for an unknown period of time, and he probably deserved a good head-thumping from Mister Balister. “Yes, I am collapsing in upon myself, Mister Balister.” “Well, we can’t have that.” Mister Balister’s voice softened a bit, but not much. “Since you cannot seem to study, is there something else that you would rather be doing? Something productive?” “Could you hang me by my hind fetlocks so I can do a thousand sit ups? I need to sort out what’s in my head, Mister Balister.” “Very well, Mister Nicker. I shall hang you, as requested, and you shall take some equinal time to sort out your head. A thousand sit ups it is, then.” Mister Balister’s eyes narrowed with worry as he watched Flicker rise out of his seat. It was never a good sign when ponies like Flicker began showing cracks and ponies with his level of training could do a lot of damage if they flipped their wigs. Joined by Doctor Sterling, Piper and Hennessy watched their friend doing sit ups while hanging upside down, hung by his hind legs. Flicker had been going at this for a while now, and the three ponies watching all did for different reasons. Doctor Sterling watched with a look of worry that was plain to see upon his face. Hennessy watched with fascination, as there were just so many rippling muscles on display. Piper watched with envy, and wondered if she could even perform a single upside down sit up. “Undone by a concert,” Doctor Sterling muttered. “I’ve heard that Octavia has rare and powerful magic for an earth pony. It seems that she has ensorcelled our Mister Nicker. I sent word to the Crusaders, maybe they can help. You say he went to Princess Cadance’s shrine?” “Yes,” Hennessy replied, his head bobbing up and down in time to Flicker’s sit ups. “Now, why would he go there, I wonder?” Doctor Sterling, perplexed, used his magic to smooth out his handlebar mustache. “Being a warrior, I would think that if Mister Nicker suddenly found religion or a need to be spiritual, he would go to Princess Celestia’s shrine or Princess Luna’s. What would possess him to go to Princess Cadance’s shrine, I wonder? She is enshrined as the Princess of Love and the Patron of the Arts.” “Patron of the Arts?” Piper turned away from Flicker to look at Doctor Sterling. “Each princess is a patron of various professions and interests,” Doctor Sterling replied, explaining their purpose to Piper. “Princess Celestia is the patron to soldiers, warriors, and wizards. She is also the patron of wainwrights, for some peculiar reason. Princess Luna too, is also a patron to those of martial professions, but her shrines are just now being reestablished, due to Prince Gosling.” “Princess Cadance’s school focuses on the arts and the equinities,” Piper said, reciting her newfound knowledge. “Correct, which is why artists worship her.” Doctor Sterling eyed Flicker, his worry increasing. “Princess Twilight Sparkle agreed to allow herself to be enshrined as the Patron of Scholars, but only on one condition.” “And that is?” Hennessy asked. “She demanded that her shrines, if she had to have them, be used as public libraries.” Doctor Sterling made a gesture at Flicker and then asked both Piper and Hennessy, “How many sit ups do you think he has done?” Both Hennessy and Piper shrugged, as neither had been keeping count. The earth pony colt drew in a deep, almost shuddering breath and then whispered, “Flicker could be the Patron of Ripped Abs.” “He could indeed,” Doctor Sterling replied. “He does this when he gets stressed out over something, or bored. He exercises obsessively when he’s feeling high strung.” “Those muscles…” Hennessy’s words came out as a longing hiss, accompanied by the trembles. “You really fancy him, don’t you?” Doctor Sterling asked. “From the moment I laid eyes on him,” Hennessy replied. “He’s handsome.” “Love at first sight,” Doctor Sterling said, sighing. “Such a magical thing. You just look at a pony and feel that magical, electrical connection. It really is quite grand, isn’t it? Or maybe it is lust at first sight, but I really do want to be an optimist, in spite of how awful everything really is.” “Oh, Doctor Sterling, before I forget, I need your help with something. We want to do something nice for Flicker before his fencing exam. Something to help cheer him up and make him feel good.” Piper tapped on the floor with her hoof and she squinted at the good doctor. “He’s been a good friend, and I want to do something nice.” “Tell me about your plan, Miss Pie…” Wicked’s office held a princess, but it was not the one that Flicker was expecting. Summoned by Mister Pepper, he had stopped doing sit ups and come to Wicked’s office right away, something he regretted. He wished that he had showered, that he had cleaned up, that he had made himself presentable. The pink pony was impeccable, perfect, and it was all he could do not to fall to the floor and grovel, something she had forbidden him from doing the second she had laid eyes on him. He now stood, trapped, his backside against the door, wondering what would come of all of this. “Some time ago,” Princess Cadance began, “I had quite a moment of alarm. I have some interesting danger senses as an alicorn and I am still getting used to them. Some of them do take me by surprise though, and you took me by surprise. Which is why I am here. Of course, I was in town anyway, to visit family, but I figured, hey, since I was here…” Flicker gulped, terrified. In a creaking voice he asked, “Why are you here?” Eyes-widening, Princess Cadance smiled. “Did you not ask for me to come into your life?” Ears drooping, Flicker gave thought to the princess’ words; he had, in fact, asked her to come into his life, he had done so at the shrine, but he had not expected this to happen. He averted his eyes, feeling unworthy, the emptiness ached within him and he couldn’t bear to look upon such a perfect, beautiful creature. “We’re still figuring this prayer thing out,” Princess Cadance admitted. “But last night, I felt you. I felt your sincere, heartfelt desire to be loved. I was right in the middle of lecturing Gosling for letting Flurry roll around in paint so she could make pictures with her body. I swear, that pegasus…” As her words trailed off, the alicorn rolled her eyes and whatever else she was going to say came out as a groan of frustration. Flicker wondered if he had inadvertently spared Prince Gosling a terrible fate. Returning back to the task at hoof, Princess Cadance’s expression became solemn. “You… you pledged yourself to my service and promised to be my devoted servant if I gave you some small measure of peace. You are the second warrior to have done this, and I must confess, I am baffled and a whole lot flattered.” “The second?” Flicker asked, bewildered. He watched Princess Cadance take a deep breath and her wings flared out from her expanded ribs. She had a curious, serious look upon her face, and he could not fathom the emotion he saw in her eyes. “Yes, the second. The first shall go unnamed for the sake of their privacy, which I respect.” Holding her head high, Princess Cadance studied Flicker, and with a soft touch of her magic, she smoothed out his mane and then gave one of his drooping ears a playful, affectionate tug. “I looked into myself,” Flicker confessed, “and I didn’t like what I found.” “We seldom do,” Princess Cadance replied. “Tell me, Flicker, do you love?” She already knew the answer of course, but she wanted to hear him say it. Self-actualisation was something she treasured. Still as a statue, Flicker did not respond right away. Precious seconds passed and his blank stare intensified. More seconds passed, then a minute, and then about a minute and a half later, Flicker broke. He bowed his head, closed his eyes, and made an admission of the great sin he had committed. “My love is meaningless and has no warmth. It is something I use as an excuse for duty. I use it to justify my transformation into whatever it is that I am becoming. Of all of the aspects of harmony, of which love might be the greatest, I have exploited it. I have done so ruthlessly and without a shred of remorse. Of all of the alicorns, the manifestations of the will of harmony, I have sinned against you the most and I am undeserving of your forgiveness. I request penance.” Her proud neck bent and Princess Cadance shook her head. “Oh, poor Flicker… it pains me more than I care to admit to hear you say that. Come here, Flicker.” Seeing Cadance advance, Flicker panicked and his stoic mask, a thin shell indeed, broke. He tried to take a step back, but his behind was already against the door. She loomed over him, larger than life, a menacing, terrifying shade of pink. There was no escaping her, no fleeing, and Flicker let slip a gibbering cry as she wrapped her wings around him. Flicker’s knees gave way beneath him, and he would have fell, but somehow Princess Cadance held him up with her wings. Her embrace was warm, soft, kind, and something about it made him think of his mother, Twisty. “Octavia’s music woke something within me, it made me feel,” Flicker gasped as he squeezed his eyes shut. “I thought about it all night as I stared out the window, and I’ve been thinking about it all day today… she inspired me to make right the wrong that I had done and to atone for my sins.” “Yes, she does that,” Cadance whispered as she stood neck to neck with Flicker, hugging him, and trying to console him. She felt a damp moistness, not much, but enough to know that the colt was crying. “Every now and then, she delivers a real zinger to somepony, and it hurts a lot. It sounds like she got you pretty good. She is one of my most powerful agents and she brings so many ponies to me.” Sniffling, Flicker asked, “What happens now?” “Well,” Cadance responded. “Now… now I help you get better and I get to figure out what to do with a second warrior among my growing flock. Your faith has touched me, Flicker, and I will help you with your penance. You will not go through this alone. Be warned though, I can be strict and I have peculiar demands. I am a harsh, jealous mistress. My love can be a terrible, weighty burden.” “My life for you,” Flicker whispered, buried in a pink embrace. “Accepted. There is no more succinct oath of fealty.”